VOXISTALE - Episode 2 "Recovery"

[comic]

4 Years Ago...

"Hey."
Frisk smiled as she crested the hill, coming to a stop near the mouth of a cave, which led to the sunken ruins of what was once the underground city of monsters, now collapsed due to the eruption of Mt. Ebott.

Two others were there already. A skeleton monster, several inches taller than her, and a flower donning a face beside him. Both held serious expressions, but tried to appear friendly as she arrived.
"heya." Sans replied with his usual greeting. "thanks for comin'."

Frisk's smile faltered. Sans and Flowey could never stand to be near one another, yet here they were... not to mention they were the only two with knowledge of her abilities. That meant this secret conversation Sans had called her to had something to do with her powers of determination. "What did you guys need me for?"

Flowey scoffed lightly, rolling his eyes. "You already figured that one out. We don't need to spell it out for you "
"look, we just..." Sans paused. "we've sacrificed a helluva lot to get here. this is the truest happy ending we've ever achieved, and..."

Frisk gulped. "And you think I might reset." She finished for him. "Might!? Ha!" Flowey laughed, before popping into the ground and reappearing at her feet, rising up to get eye-level with her. "You've always reset. Why is this time any different?"
She stared back at him, expression blank for several moments before she formulated her reply. "Because... even if I wanted to... I can't."

"can't? what do you mean you 'can't'?" Sans inquired curiously, frowning- or at least the grinning equivalent. "I mean what I said. My powers stopped working after we broke the barrier. I can't SAVE, or LOAD, and I definitely can't reset. This is the last timeline, whether we like it or not."
Silence befell the trio for several long moments, Flowey and Sans clearly processing this information.
"Maybe... someone else has a stronger determination now?" Flowey suggested, raising a brow. "Same thing happened to me shortly before you fell underground."

Sans shoved his hands into his pockets with a shrug. "nope." He stated. "only one of her souls can exist at a time. until she's gone, this is it." He paused, eyeing her. "you sure you can't access your save file?"
She gave him a nod, holding out her palm. A black, transparent, two-dimensional box appeared in front of her as Flowey slunk back to Sans.

The options SAVE and LOAD were present in the box, yet both were dull in color, and when she pressed on 'SAVE', simply nothing happened.
This seemed to satisfy the skeleton, who grinned widely. "cool. then that's that."
"Just like that?" Flowey spat. "There's something wrong here! It's not supposed to do that!"
"not my problem. the longer it doesn't work, the better." With that, he turned around and walked away.

…

Present Day

She felt... cold.
Numb.
Afraid.
Alone...
...
Why did she feel this way? Frisk had slaughtered her dear friends hundreds upon hundreds of times over in another life. In countless other lives. She'd turned Toriel to dust so many times without a thought, and now here...
It hurt.
More than she'd ever hurt before.

Perhaps it was the knowledge of her inability to RESET. Toriel wouldn't be coming back. Ever. No more experiments, no more non-lasting consequences. This was the final timeline and now Toriel was gone from it.
It had been a week since that night. Things had calmed down since then, but emotionally, Frisk just got worse. She'd been staying with Asgore, but neither could help each other out. They avoided each other sometimes, though that was mainly Frisk. Asgore was clearly trying his best to make her feel better, but every time he tried to talk to her, both of them wound up crying.

Now, here she was, standing in a black dress, Asgore to her right, Sans to her left. Asgore was dressed in a pressed black suit with a red tie. Meanwhile Sans, who was now nearly a foot shorter than her, wore a clean black jacket over a black t-shirt. Even his slippers were black.
Nobody spoke a word. The only sounds were breathing, sobs, and the occasional cough.
Other friends of Toriel stood or sat in silence around the room. Papyrus and Mettaton, who’d cancelled their show to attend, Undyne, Alphys who’d flown in from Clearasia once she’d heard the news, Grillby, Fuku, Muffet, Terrence, Gregory, among many other monsters, as well as humans whose lives Toriel had touched. Namely coworkers and parents of children that she’d taught.

Nobody had been invited to give a speech- perhaps everyone had assumed that Asgore or Frisk or maybe even Sans would give a speech about Toriel. But Asgore and Frisk were obviously far too emotional, and Sans simply wasn’t in the mood. Not that anybody could blame them.
Sans was likely the only person who knew what Frisk knew. He knew about RESETs, and while unclear, there was quite a bit of evidence that he retained his knowledge of certain timelines. He knew Frisk had killed Toriel before. But he’d never let it get to him all too much- the kid would always reset eventually, right?
Now however, things were far different. RESETs were off the table. With Toriel mysteriously killed, the monsters had become reserved the last week. A feeling of unease was among them all, even Sans.
Nobody was sure what would come next, but there was something obvious. Toriel's murder hadn't been random. With whatever she was involved in, as well as her influence with monsterkind, this blow was decisive and articulate.

Nobody had really felt like talking about the murder. Investigators and police had thoroughly talked to Frisk and all her friends already, but the simple truth was that they had little to no information on what had happened. Even Frisk was completely clueless. She didn’t know where, when, why, or how Toriel had been killed. And every time she thought about it... well, she cried a small river.
It’s funny, having done the things she’d done, to have once been heartless and cruel… now to be as emotionally vulnerable as she was. Frisk could only assume it was because she’d finally chosen the life she wanted, and she’d never messed with timelines after that. Not like she could anymore, anyway.

She'd run the scenario through her head a million times. Toriel was coming home from the grocery store, and something for some reason attracted her to an alley. She wandered down it and a group of men attacked her. Beat her. Killed her...
That's how Frisk thought it went down, at least.
Asgore, on the other hand, thought it was something far more sinister. He’d never speak of it aloud, but he suspected that Toriel’s murder had been an elaborate scheme by some horrible person who wasn’t fond of monsters. All he knew was that Toriel had been killed in an alleyway. They hadn’t given him- or anyone -any more detail than that.
The VCPD didn’t seem all that interested in investigating it, leaving Undyne to lead the investigation, but even after a week she’d turned up nothing. Nothing except a hard drive. One that both she and Asgore had recovered when they’d returned to Toriel’s house, and were attacked by that vicious… thing… in the dark. The drive had been the only thing left, hidden deep within the floor, and their attacker wanted it greatly, though had failed to retrieve it. Barely.
Before the call about Toriel’s fate had arrived, Asgore had Undyne promise him to keep the drive safe and hidden until they were both ready to view it. She had agreed.
He knew that Toriel was involved with something dark. His and Undyne's encounter with the strange being last week made that much known. That thing wasn't the killer, however. Toriel had been on the other side of town when she'd been killed. The timing didn’t match.

Eventually, the service ended on a solemn note. Asgore led Frisk out of the church, the same church Toriel had been attending with Frisk for the last four years. Asgore usually tried to come as well, but with his line of work, that made it a bit hard.
Most of the people left, but the majority of Frisk’s close friends stuck around a bit longer. She appreciated their company, even if nobody was talking.
The last week, despite her pain, Frisk had found herself leaning more and more on Terrence for support, who seemed happy to help. Gregory was quickly becoming a third wheel to their party, much like a couple years ago when Frisk and Terrence had briefly dated before mutually breaking it off.
Gregory didn’t have any problems with Terrence and Frisk being close. Heck, his two friends being like that was actually pretty cool. But it was what happened as a result that kind of bothered him. They were his only friends, and if they started hanging out without him, he... didn’t have anyone. He tried not to feel too awkward about it.

Asgore led Frisk to his truck, Terrence and Gregory saying a quiet goodbye to the girl before departing. She only nodded in reply, climbing into the passenger seat as Asgore started the engine.
"...I need to return to work tomorrow." He told her.
Frisk gave a quiet nod, swallowing dryly. She could understand that, but it was going to be rather difficult being home alone. Not to mention, this reminded her that she’d have to return to school soon, something she was not looking forward to in the slightest.
"Is there anything you need?" Asgore asked her, his voice a bit hoarse. She could tell he was trying his best to remain strong and supportive, for her sake. Despite everything he'd done, Asgore was one of the best people she'd ever met. Why had Toriel never allowed him back in? He clearly loved her, even after death. Why had she been so selfish?
Frisk felt a pang of guilt at the thought. Of being angry at her adopted mother.
It wasn’t fun to think about, but Toriel had done a really good job at holding a grudge against Asgore over the years. Over one foolish mistake he’d made many years ago. It made her think- if she’d given him another chance, and let him back into the home... would things be different today? Would she be alive, maybe? It was wishful thinking, and she was certain Asgore had probably wondered the same thing. He'd tried so desperately the last four years to regain her affection, and for what?

"I love you, dad." Frisk told Asgore, her voice quiet.
Asgore paused, eyes widening in surprise as she said that. He’d called her dad before, but that sentence felt so... sincere. In that moment, he felt a closeness to her that he hadn’t felt since Chara and Asriel.
“I love you too, Frisk,” Asgore said shakily as he relaxed a bit.
They rode in silence all the way back to Asgore's home, which doubled as a greenhouse, as about half the home was just chalk full of various flowers. Despite not having much free time, Asgore certainly took his hobby seriously. Even the past week he never failed to take care of them.
Neither of them spoke a word as they vacated the car, Frisk making her way inside while Asgore decided to stay outside and tend to his flowers for a while. Frisk’s new bedroom was... subject to change, needless to say. It wasn’t fully decorated just yet. Not that she had time for decorating. The walls were decorated with old posters she’d put up years ago. She hadn’t stayed over here very often, but Asgore had always insisted she personalize her room as much as she liked. It wasn’t as unique as her room at Toriel’s, but it was still a piece of home for her. The posters adorning her walls mostly consisted of Mettaton, but some were of movies that she’d taken a liking to over the years, like ‘The Eradicator’ starring Arvold Schwarzegebber. It was old, but a classic.
Lately however, for obvious reasons, Frisk didn’t feel much like updating her decorations. This week felt so long, yet so fast, it was hard to decipher it down the middle. Everything was a blur, but at such a slow pace.
All she really wanted to do was lie down and get some sleep.
Frisk looked over at her bed. Asgore had given her some spare bedsheets, as she’d always normally just bring her bedding from Toriel’s, but these ones were far too heavy and uncomfortable. She missed her old bed- but this one would have to do, for now. She climbed under the covers, closing her eyes.

It felt like no time had passed at all when she heard the rap of knuckles lightly against her door. "Frisk?" Asgore's deep voice called quietly to her. "I've made dinner. I know you may not feel like it, but you've barely eaten all week. You need something, dear."
Frisk took a deep breath. She wasn’t in the mood to eat- lately, everything tasted bland, and it was hard to swallow anything. She wasn’t trying to starve herself or anything, but she seldom felt the need to eat.
“I’ll be out in a few minutes,” she assured Asgore, who seemed satisfied with that, and returned to the kitchen.
The girl laid there for another minute or so, staring blankly at the ceiling, her mind wandering. She wondered what Asgore and Undyne had done with that hard drive... Toriel had left it for her, but why? And why couldn't Frisk get it? She'd asked Asgore about it, but he avoided the topic. All she knew about it was that the two monsters had recovered it before being attacked.

She decided to slide out of bed and head toward the kitchen before Asgore came back. The last thing she wanted was to stress him out more than he already was. When she arrived in the kitchen, she found a plate consisting of chicken nuggets, sourdough bread, cherry tomatoes, and some sliced cucumbers. Asgore was washing some dishes when she arrived.
He noticed her, and gave her a gentle smile. "Good evening, my child. How did you rest?" He asked, drying off his hands.

“Pretty well,” Frisk lied. Under normal circumstances, a three hour nap would have felt great, but right now, she barely felt rested. She silently wondered whether this constant state of exhaustion, depression, and emptiness would ever leave as she bit into a cucumber.
Asgore seemed to see right through her lie, but didn't press as he joined her at the table, sitting down in a reinforced metal chair. "You know, Frisk... I've done some thinking lately. About how to cope with this."
Frisk continued chewing for what seemed like forever, until she finally let the food go down her throat. It seemed to take its time getting down, and she looked up at him.
“What do you mean?”
"I just thought... about what Tori would want." He told her. "She wouldn't want us moping about like lost puppies, she would want us to stay our feet, remain headstrong, and do the best by her memory." He smiled. "I hate seeing you like this Frisk. I know she would too. Why don't you come with me to work tomorrow? I have volunteer work helping people that I think you may enjoy."

Frisk blinked. That wasn’t what she’d been expecting, but... it actually didn’t sound too terrible. Having a reason to get out of bed in the morning- other than sitting at a desk zoning out- might be a refreshing change of pace. Slowly, she replied with a nod, making Asgore smile brightly. "Thank you, Frisk. You'll enjoy yourself, I'm sure of it." Finished, he stood, and returned to the dishes.
“Yeah... maybe,” Frisk shrugged, being more optimistic than usual, but that wasn’t saying much. She continued to eat, slowly, managing to get down about three quarters of the food before feeling full...ish.

Recognizing this, Asgore took her plate and excused her from the table. She trudged her way back up to her room, and got back into bed when she felt a vibration under her pillow. A text message, probably from Terrence.
Frisk had been using the phone a lot more than usual, lately, which was ironic, considering she was also the most introverted she’d ever been the past week. It was mostly just her texting Terrence and receiving the occasional supportive message from one of her other friends. She checked the message.

It was from Terrence.
'Hey Frisk. Just checking up to see how you're doing. Missin' you!'
She stared at the message for a little while, before tapping in a reply.
’Hey. I’m doing okay, just took a short nap. Thanks for checking, how are you?’
’You know. The usual. Not a lot going on at school.’
’Have you been paying attention?’
’I’ve been trying, but it’s boring. I think even Greg nearly fell asleep after a few of the recent lectures.’
Frisk sighed, and leaned back. 'I'm helping at Obatech tomorrow. Asgore wanted me to. Come see me?'
’Yeah, sure, I’ll be there. Want me to bring you anything?’
She thought for a moment, but nothing came to mind. She considered Gregory for a moment, but vetoed this as well. 'No.'
’Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Wish I could chat longer, but there’s some stuff going on that I’m not allowed to skip.’
'See ya.' Frisk typed.
'See ya.' Was the response. She typed in something else. 'I love y' But stopped, staring at the unfinished message, before deleting it and sliding the phone back under her pillow.
It was somewhat late now, about 8 PM. Frisk groaned, knowing that after her nap, it would be difficult to fall asleep. Or, so she thought. Apparently, her depressed drowsiness was stronger than she thought, and she already felt her eyelids growing heavy.

------

"Frisk? Are you up yet? We need to go soon."
She was stirred awake by her adopted father once again, softly rapping his knuckles on the door. Frisk blinked groggily, looking over at her alarm clock and sitting up. It was now 7:50 AM- she was shocked. Nearly twelve hours of sleep, plus her nap yesterday, and she still felt groggy. Silently hoping her sleep schedule would return to normal soon, she got out of bed. “Morning.” She greeted Asgore through the door as she sat up, her hair a frizzy tangled mess.
Asgore let out a satisfied grunt. "Good morning. I'll be down in the kitchen if you need me!"
“What time do we leave?” Frisk called down as she stripped down, having forgotten to change into her sleepwear the previous night.
“8:30!” Asgore called back as Frisk selected a new sweater from her wardrobe. Her clothing options here at Asgore’s weren't exactly new. Most of her stuff still sat over at Toriel’s, though they were assured by Undyne they’d be allowed to get it soon. So most of her options were in a similar style to what she used to wear. Striped sweaters. Frisk sorted through the options of sweaters that would barely fit her, flitting past several. Purple and pink, blue and purple, green and yellow, red and blue… she came to a stop at an orange one with blue stripes, deciding it was good enough. She slid the sweater over her head, accidentally almost putting her face through one of the armholes- a mistake even the greatest of sweater enthusiasts suffered now and again. After putting on a pair of shorts and her shoes, she was ready to go, and went downstairs to meet Asgore.

As per usual, he'd cooked breakfast, which now sat on the table waiting for Frisk. Bacon, hashbrowns and eggs, all still steaming hot as Asgore hummed pleasantly. It seemed he'd gotten better after his revelation last night. He'd been given motivation. That motivation being living the best he could in memory and honor of Toriel. It was a sweet sentiment, and displayed just how deeply Asgore still loved her despite everything.
“Thank you for making breakfast,” Frisk said as she sat down in front of her plate. Asgore gave a nod as he continued to hum, reading a newspaper article about the stock markets and car battery prices. Frisk began to eat, trying not to rush too much, but she felt hurried due to how long she’d slept.

Asgore was dressed in his work clothes, which happened to be a very fancy black business suit. The ex-king was doing mightily well for himself, but despite all the wealth, he didn't opt to live in a bigger home, or drive fancy cars. Frisk had a feeling he was saving up a large sum of money for her college and whatnot. “Once you finish, we’ll be ready to go. Say, we might even get there early. Do you drink coffee?” Asgore asked. Frisk shrugged. “Sometimes.”
Asgore shrugged back. “If you’d like, we can get you some on the way. Something tells me you’re still a bit tired.”
Frisk let a small smile tug at the corners of her lips. "Thanks." She replied as she began to eat, and for once this past week, she managed to gulp it all down.
After Frisk cleared her plate, Asgore stood up, fiddling with his car keys a bit before he managed to get a good grip. He had yet to get a pair that was better suited for his massive hands. “Well, it’s time to go!” He announced, bouncing over to the door and opening it for Frisk.

 

[comic]

Asgore worked in a large office building that extended into the sky. Not the tallest building in Voxis, but close to it. People entered and exited the building regularly as Frisk and Asgore approached it, turning many heads. A lot of people still weren't accustomed to watching the massive form of Asgore waltzing into work, even after four years.
They entered, and Asgore began pointing people he knew out to Frisk, who took a sip from the lidded cup of coffee Asgore had insisted on getting her. It was helping with her grogginess, admittedly. She was considering drinking it more often. She tried to pay attention to everything Asgore was saying as best she could.
He pointed out a Lawrence Hawshawk in accounting, a Debora Gears also in accounting, a Patrick Monagy who was… also in accounting. Mostly people in accounting.

They then stopped as a tall man with short, slicked back blonde hair and vibrant blue eyes behind a pair of smart glasses stopped in front of them, wearing a navy blue business suit, hands held behind his back. Asgore smiled at him. "And this, Frisk, is my boss. Mr. Obaseki. He's been assisting me in my mayoral campaign."
Mr. Obaseki cast a steely gaze down upon Frisk, who got a strange internal feeling, like she was being watched from behind… She had to force herself not to avert her gaze, Mr. Obaseki’s stare nearly bringing sweat to her forehead. Frisk slowly extended her hand to the much taller man.
“Hi. My name is Frisk Dreemurr. It’s nice to meet you.”
"The pleasure is all mine." He replied, and smiled. The feeling of unease suddenly evaporated, and Frisk had no idea why. They shook hands, before he looked at Asgore. "I've compiled a list of documents on your desk, and set up a meeting with the press this afternoon." Asgore nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Obaseki, it’s much appreciated. I’ll be sure to take a look at those documents at my earliest convenience.”
Mr. Obaseki gave Asgore a smile. Frisk could see that he stood at about the same height as the monster king- something very few people could say. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.” Mr. Obaseki told Asgore, before walking past the two.

"Very good man there. He's helped me selflessly these last four years." Asgore told Frisk fondly. Clearly he admired Obaseki and respected him. With that, he led Frisk to the elevators. “How come you’ve never mentioned him to me before?” Frisk asked curiously as they got on. Asgore thought for a moment. “Well... I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s because this is the most time we’ve spent together.”
Frisk hadn't thought about that, but Asgore was right. She'd only spent some weekends with him, and never went to work with him. He never really ever mentioned work stuff at home anyway. This was a whole side to Asgore's life that was new to her.

When the elevator stopped, Frisk and Asgore got off. She could see at the end of the hallway, the office door was labeled ‘Dreemurr.’ It also had a framed photograph of Asgore posing cheesily for the camera hung up, making her smirk when she saw it. Asgore noticed this, and blushed slightly with a chuckle of embarrassment. "I'm not as photogenic as I used to be." He told her, sticking a key into the doorknob, twisting, and opening the door.

When Frisk entered the office, her first thought was that Asgore’s green thumb wasn’t something he kept just at home. Every surface had at least one potted plant of some kind- mostly cacti and buttercups.
"Make yourself comfortable." Asgore offered her. "Your job won't begin for about another thirty minutes or so."
“What exactly is my job?” Frisk asked as she sat in the chair across from Asgore’s. “Oh! Also, I... forgot to tell you, but... I kind of invited a friend, if that’s okay.”
"Terrence, I presume." Asgore smirked, a twinkle in his eye. Frisk frowned. "How did you-"
"Please, Frisk. You're smitten for that boy and he for you. I may not involve myself, but I do notice some things."

Frisk could feel her cheeks turn as red as spaghetti sauce. “No, it’s not like that,” she stated defensively. “We’re just friends. I mean, we’ve dated, but we broke up.”
Asgore smiled. “Yes, yes, my mistake. Anyways, you asked about your job.”
Frisk nodded eagerly, glad to be off the topic so quickly. "Yes."
"You'll be assisting on the base floor today. We've organized a homeless support program. There, they provide clothes, food, and books for the homeless of Voxis. Your job is to help the boss down there with anything she requires. She's a very kind lady named Ms. Juniper."
“So I’ll be... like an assistant?” Frisk asked, tilting her head to the side. “Yes, precisely. You’ll be acting as Ms. Juniper’s assistant for the day. And goodness, does she need it. Some of her workers are quite the slackers, you see.”

Frisk smiled. “Sounds fun,” she said, hiding her disappointment that she wouldn’t be working with Asgore today, but this would be interesting too. "I'm glad you think so." Asgore smiled, and grabbed a stack of folders on his desk as he sat down in a very large seat. "Now, let's see here..."
He began to flip through the folders, smiling as he did. “My, this is grand information... Mr. Obaseki never fails to amaze me,” he said to Frisk.
She felt her phone buzz, and pulled it out, seeing a notification. A text from Terrence. Before she even had a chance to open it, Asgore glanced at her. "I approve of him, you know."

“How did you even know it was...” Frisk asked, raising an eyebrow. Asgore chuckled. “You and that boy are always texting. I find it endearing. I’d just like you to know that I think he’s a good lad.” Frisk felt her face flush once again. "Well... just a friend, got it?"
Asgore smiled. "Wouldn't think of it any differently." He winked.

'On my way!' The text read.
Frisk smiled when she read it, and quickly typed up a reply.
’Okay, can’t wait!’
She blinked, noticing that it was the most upbeat thing she’d said to anyone all week. Asgore was right, this job thing was helping… or maybe it was just talking with Terrence. No. She couldn’t admit that. Terrence seemed to notice her upbeat attitude as well, his next reply reading; 'Well someone's excited. Asgore recount the story of how he was named King Fluffybuns again?'

Frisk snorted as she recalled the story he was referring to. She tried to ignore Asgore’s hums of satisfaction as she responded.
‘No, I wish! He won’t tell it anymore because he’s embarrassed, lol.’
'Good thing we got Gerson then!'
’Or Undyne. I’m sure you remember how her version of the story goes.’
'A little more scary, but yeah, lol'
’That’s Undyne for you. You’re lucky she didn’t invite you to her training sessions.’
'Well, I actually sort of want to attend those, so...'
Frisk smirked. 'You poor, clueless man.'
’Aw, but wouldn’t it be cool? I mean, I’ve gone to the gym and all, but what if one day I’m as strong as Undyne from training with her? That would be the best.’

Frisk shook her head, still smiling, before Asgore cleared his throat. She looked up at him angrily. "I'm not-" She began. "It's time." He smiled knowingly back. “Time? Time for what?” Frisk asked, blinking unawarely, before remembering. “Oh. Ms. Juniper?”
Still smiling, Asgore nodded. She shook her head at him in annoyance, but quickly found she was only acting as such because she knew he was right. “Dad, just please promise me you won’t say those kinds of things when he gets here,” Frisk pleaded. Asgore scoffed. “I can poke fun, but I’d never embarrass you like that, dear.”
She then smiled at him. "Thanks dad. When will I know when I'm done?"
"When I retrieve you. Have fun!" He waved to her as she made her way to the door.

Frisk suddenly remembered that she had no directions to get to Ms. Juniper, but her thoughts were interrupted when she nearly bumped into an elderly woman standing in the hallway. Her name tag read ‘Ms. Juniper.’ How convenient. She was shorter than Frisk, with thin silver hair pulled back into a tight bun and a large pair of thick glasses. "Pardon me young lady." Juniper smiled, but Frisk didn't move, at least not at first. "Sorry to bother you, Ms. Juniper." She replied. "Asgore sent me to help you."
"That large burly fellow with those lovely arms? Oh, yes, I remember."
“My name is Frisk Dreemurr,” She introduced herself, electing to ignore the comment on Asgore’s arms. Ms. Juniper extended a hand, and Frisk shook it, ignoring the saggy, wrinkly feeling of the woman’s cold fingers.
"Well, come on then." Juniper said, moving past Frisk. "I was just on my way down to the kitchens. You can help me out there."
“Of course. I hope you don’t mind, but a friend of mine will be coming to help too.”
“Oh, yes, yes, lovely, the more the merrier, that’s what I always say!” Juniper nodded as she walked, her heels clicking against the ground.

They made their way to the elevator and took it down to the first floor. Ms. Juniper led her away from the main lobby to the back, where a glass wall with a glass door separated the building from the homeless relief center. “Asgore tells me you’re a bit unlucky when it comes to staff,” Frisk said, trying to make conversation.
“...Well, my team just doesn’t take things as seriously as they should. It’s a real shame, too. Nobody ever applies, so I can’t fire them. Understaffing is bound to get my center... repurposed.”

That got Frisk thinking. Maybe she could start working here part time? It could get Frisk introduced to the working world and this seemed like an environment she could trust. Not to mention she'd be helping people.
“Now, your job will be to assist me, yes?” Ms. Juniper asked. Frisk nodded. “Wonderful, wonderful. Oh, and don’t be afraid to be a bit pushy to the staff. They could stand to be disciplined a bit, eh?” she gave Frisk a playful nudge, who chuckled at that. She wasn't the bossy type in any way, but if she had permission... she could stand to take a little charge. From the sounds of it, this poor old lady was left with the most work compared to her employees.
“Now then, without further adieu, I’ll give you what we call ‘the grand tour,’” she grinned, and lead Frisk through the glass door into the homeless relief center. As of right now, it seemed to be just opening, so there weren’t many people inside other than the staff.

The layout was simple enough. The large area past the entrance was the lounge. Tables were set up all along it. Past that was the kitchen, where cooks were preparing a meal fit for a king.
“Wow, the food looks really good,” Frisk commented. Ms. Juniper gave a toothy smile.
“Yes, I like to make sure to give the people a meal they’ll remember. After all, this isn’t the homeless relief center without reason.”
“So... what do you do? Do you supervise, or do you help cook, or...?” Frisk asked curiously, wondering what she’d be assisting with for the day. "Well, with the usual band of helpers I get, I'm required to manage all areas of the center." Juniper explained. Food preparation, food distribution, folding laundry, aiding the sick, you name it."

“Now, to start off, you and I are going to deal with the laundry,” Ms. Juniper told Frisk. “Fold in the morning, load up at night. Don’t worry, you won’t have to touch any dirty laundry,” she assured the younger girl, before leading her down a hallway to a glass door labeled ‘laundry room.’

------

Nearly thirty minutes later, Frisk looked up from the shirt she was folding, peering out of the door in time to see a confused Terrence walking into the center, looking about, searching for her. Ms. Juniper seemed to notice this as well, raising an eyebrow. “Now, he certainly doesn’t look homeless...”
“Oh, no, that’s just my friend. Mind if I go say hi to him?” Frisk asked. Ms. Juniper waved a hand dismissively. “Yes, yes, go ahead.”

Frisk thanked Ms. Juniper, and hurried out of the room, running up to the unsuspecting Terrence before he was tackle-hugged to the ground with a yelp of surprise and a hint of fear. He blinked a few times, looking down at the girl hugging him. He hadn’t seen her this excited in a long time.
“Sheesh, Frisk, you should consider football with a tackle like that,” he groaned with an added chuckle. “It’s nice to see you too.”

She let him go, climbing to her feet and offering him a hand, which he took. "Sorry." She apologized, cheeks flushing with color. "I just... I feel really good right now, you know?"
“Nah, don’t apologize, it’s cool to see you so happy. I just wasn’t expecting it,” Terrence said, smiling, brushing himself off a bit. "I'm glad you came. Can I ask what took you so long?" She asked. His face flushed this time, though for a different reason as he rubbed the back of his head. "I... just decided to take the scenic route, that's all."

He was a terrible liar, but Frisk decided not to press. It felt strange- as if this was the first time she’d seen him in weeks. Most likely because she was finally in a great mood, like usual.
“Sorry. I know a homeless relief center isn’t the ‘coolest’ place to hang out,” Frisk gave a small smile. “It’ll be fun, as long as you’re around,” Terrence assured her with a shrug, before blinking. “Okay, that sounded really cheesy... but it’s true.”
"I thought it was cute." Frisk teased, staring at him. She quickly realized how creepy that probably was, and diverted her gaze, clearing her throat. "Um... want me to give you the ‘grand tour’?"
“Yeah, sure,” Terrence nodded. Frisk hesitated, debating whether to grab his hand before leading him around the place. Making her decision, she quickly took his hand in hers and began to lead him, hoping he wouldn’t mention it.

To her relief and also surprise, he mentioned nothing of the hand-holding, his hand only holding hers right back opposed to hanging around like a dead fish.
“So, uh... that over there is the kitchen,” Frisk told him, pointing over at the chefs who were still preparing the food. “And over there is the laundry room, where I started folding about half an hour ago,” she added, pointing down the hallway toward the glass door. "Oh." Terrence nodded. When Frisk didn't continue, he decided to ask a question. "Mind if I help you out then?"
“Of course not. Ms. Juniper said ‘the more the merrier,’” Frisk smiled, and led him down the hall to the glass door. When she opened it, they were greeted with the many piles of neatly folded laundry that Frisk and Ms. Juniper had already completed, next to a few piles of unfolded laundry, which were significantly smaller.
They quickly got to work after Terrence had been introduced to Ms. Juniper, Frisk showing him the ropes of what the old woman had taught her, and they were breezing through the clothes, finished with the rest in as little as fifteen minutes.

Ms. Juniper marked off a few things on a clipboard once they were finished, then looked at them. “Excellent. That was less than half the time it usually takes me,” she told them, giving a toothy grin. “Now, we have extra time for cleaning duty.”
And for the next few hours, they worked, doing various chores around the kitchen. When the food was finished, they helped distribute it, helped do the dishes after, helped sweep, mop, and vacuum, and assist the disabled.

“Hello, Ms. Juniper,” Asgore greeted the older woman as he approached after winding his way inside to collect the two teens. “Frisk wasn’t too much trouble, was she?” He joked. “Oh, she was a delight. You should bring her in more often!” Ms. Juniper smiled widely. "Maybe some weekends." The monster replied heartily. "She still has school, after all."
Frisk led Terrence out of the kitchen (much to the boy's dismay, as he'd discovered a new affinity for shrimp and was indulging in leftovers), approaching Asgore.

“Ah, Frisk, did you have fun?” Asgore asked, and she could tell he was holding back a cheesy remark regarding her and Terrence, who gave the king a friendly smile as a form of greeting.
"You know what? I did." Frisk replied, electing to ignore Asgore's cheeky grin. "Terrence helped too."
"Good. It's my lunch break, so why don't we all... go get some food? My treat."
“Sounds fun,” Frisk smiled. “Do you have a place in mind?”
“Actually, there’s a nice place that opened just across the street a few weeks ago,” Asgore nodded. “I forget the name, but it’s said to be five-star quality.”

"How about Grillby's?" Terrence blurted out, half-distracted. "Terrence!" Frisk slugged his arm as Asgore chuckled. "Less money to spend also works with me." He thought for a few moments, before smiling. “Actually, Grillby’s is a good idea. It’s not too far from here, either. And I know you and your friends are ‘regulars’ there, Frisk.”
“Well... sort of. We go there often, I suppose,” Frisk shrugged. “I don’t know if Grillby considers us Sans-tier regulars.”

"I wish." Terrence grinned as the group left, Ms. Juniper thanking Frisk and Terrence. They made their way back out of Obatech Industries and to the parking lot where Asgore’s car was parked in a ‘VIP’ spot, right in front of the building, so the walk to it was brief. When they reached it, Asgore opened the backseat door for Frisk and Terrence, not even bothering with hiding his sly smirk as Frisk got in, followed by Terrence.
Once the door closed, Terrence looked at Frisk in confusion. "Why is Asgore staring at you like that?" He asked. "Are you guys like, plotting my death or something?"
“No, nothing like that,” Frisk giggled. “Although, I think he might have something planned...”
Asgore climbed into the front seat, humming a tune at a low volume as he started up the car.

As they made their way to Grillby's, Terrence showed Frisk a few new songs he'd downloaded onto his crappy, outdated phone. One thing the two of them shared was a taste in music. That among many other things. Frisk wished she’d thought to bring headphones as they listened. The speaker quality wasn’t the best, but she was still able to enjoy the music for the most part.

Eventually, they arrived at Grillby's. Or at least in a nearby public parking lot, as Grillby's didn't have its own. Asgore smiled as Frisk and Terrence got out of the car. The two waited for him to get out as well, but instead, he rolled down the window.
“I’ll be back to pick you two up soon,” he told them. Frisk blinked.
“You’re not coming with?” she asked blankly, before realizing he must have planned this.
"Frisk." He gave her a fake frown. "Why would I be there to interrupt your date? Have fun, dear."
The window rolled back up.

Frisk knew her face was red, and there was nothing she could do about it. Terrence seemed to notice this, and also seemed confused.
“You didn’t tell me this was a date,” he said, but didn’t sound upset.
"It..." She pursed her lips, staring as Asgore's truck pulled out of the parking lot. "It wasn't, originally." She answered before turning to him. “Sorry, I didn’t know this would happen.”
Terrence shook his head. “I don’t mind. If you’re cool with this being a ‘date,’ then so am I,” he said. Her blush only intensified as she stood there awkwardly for a few moments, entirely uncertain of how to react. This left Terrence to take the initiative, though he was just as awkward. "Alright, uh... come on, then." He nodded his head to Grillby's across the street.

When they entered the restaurant, it was just as Frisk had expected. A variety of humans and monsters occupied the tables and booths around the establishment. Grillby was behind the bar, polishing a glass, until he noticed the two humans as they sat at one of the booths and gave the girl a nod.
Usually, Grillby would be the one to take their order, but today, it was none other than his daughter, Fuku. She walked up to their booth in her waitress outfit, which was a lot different from the casual clothes she usually wore at school that they were used to. "Hi, Frisk! Terrence." She greeted with a smile, a clipboard in her right hand, pen in her left. "What can I get for you guys?"

Frisk didn’t bother looking at the menu, as she already knew what she was getting. “I’ll just have the burger and a lemonade.” Fuku nodded, writing it down on the clipboard before turning to Terrence. “I’ll just uh... have the same thing,” he said. Fuku wrote this down as well, before taking their menus.
“Alright, I’ll have those right out for you!” she told them, before turning and disappearing into the kitchen. Frisk silently wondered why Grillby and his daughter had a problem with water, but not lemonade.
The air was a bit awkward between Frisk and Terrence. Mostly due to the knowledge that this was a date, and not hanging out as friends. They could always just make it so, but both had pretty much accepted that this was an unforeseen, unexpected date.
They hadn't had one of these for over a year, and Frisk found herself wondering other things. Like, had it been a mistake breaking up with Terrence before? They obviously still liked each other and got along well enough. Before, during, and after the last relationship.

After a couple more minutes of both of them wanting to say something but struggling to find the words, Terrence piped up. “Do you remember the last time we did this?” he asked.
“Went to Grillby’s?” Frisk replied, immediately hating her response, knowing that’s not what he’d meant. “No, went on a ‘date.’ It was actually the same night we decided to break up, but before that, we went to...”
“Grillby’s,” Frisk recalled.
“...Huh. I guess we did go to Grillby’s,” Terrence nodded.
"We always go to Grillby's." Frisk smiled, shaking her head. "I mean, I love eating here a lot, so I'm not complaining."
"You'll never hear me complain about Grillby's." Terrence replied. "This place is the bomb."
“Even though Grillby doesn’t like you that much,” Frisk said, still smiling. “Yeah, and I’ll never understand why. You know what? It’s probably because I asked him for water the first time I came here. Bet he’ll never forget that.”

"Probably." Frisk giggled. "Pretty soon Fuku will be taking over here if Grillby gets his way though." She paused. "Maybe we can hook her up with Greg."
"What? Why?" Terrence grinned stupidly. “Because Greg clearly has the hots for her,” Frisk said, trying to keep a straight face as she delivered the punchline. Terrence just stared at her, also trying to keep a straight face. Fuku approached with the food, and both of them were doing the best they could to not lose it.
"Thanks." Frisk nodded curtly to Fuku, eyes tearing with mirth at keeping in the joke, which seemed to get funnier by the second as Fuku pulled out her pen again. "Anything else I can get for you?" She asked.
“No, that’ll be all, thank you,” Frisk smiled. Fuku nodded, and turned, walking away after setting the burgers and lemonades down in front of the two.

Terrence was quick to dig into his food, enjoying his burger just as much as every day he was there in all its greasy goodness. Frisk began to eat her food as well. The silence seemed a little more comfortable now, more casual, almost. A couple of laughs were all it really took to ease their nerves, for now. Terrence, per usual, was the first to finish, his plate licked clean. "That's some good eatin'." He told Frisk, patting his stomach.
“If we keep eating here, Grillby might just forgive you,” Frisk suggested as she finished off her food, taking a drink of lemonade to wash it down. "What are you talking about? I've been eating here for three years now." Terrence replied, glancing over toward Grillby, who was washing a glass. "...You ever notice how Grillby always seems to be washing some shot glass?"

Frisk blinked. “He’s not… woah, yeah... I think he’s doing that every time we come in here. I don’t think he actually serves anything in shot glasses... should we ask him about it?”
"Hm..." Terrence turned back to Frisk, smirking. "Let's ask Fuku first. Maybe it's some super top secret. Maybe this is a mystery we need to solve."
“Sweet. Our mission is to unearth the hidden secret behind the Grillby’s shot glasses,” Frisk said in her best deep detective voice. Terrence chuckled before Fuku arrived to take their plates.
“Is there anything else I can get for you? Or should I just bring the bill?” she asked.

"Uh, hey Fuku, I actually had a question." Terrence replied, leaning forward in his seat. She looked a little taken aback, probably not used to making conversation at work, before she recovered, and shrugged. "Yeah, sure, go ahead."
"Why's your dad always cleaning shot glasses?" He asked. "I've never seen him not doing that."
Fuku blinked, raising an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? He’s always doing other things, like...” She looked over at her dad, rag and shot glass in hand. She blinked a few more times. “Like... like...”
After a few seconds of silence, she shook her head. “I’ll bring the check,” she said as she came to the realization that they were right, taking their plates and retreating to the kitchen.
Frisk and Terrence spent a good thirty seconds laughing about this before Fuku returned with the check, her gaze shifting to her father every few seconds, only to see him still cleaning shot glasses. Fuku didn’t say a word to them as she left them with the bill. Grillby continued washing the shot glass, seemingly without a care in the world.
“There’s no way we’re the first to notice this,” Terrence chuckled. “But... it looks like we’ll have to ask Grillby himself.”

"don't really advise that, kiddos."
As Frisk and Terrence got up to approach Grillby, a familiar voice behind them stopped them in their tracks. Neither of them were surprised when they heard Sans’ voice. After all, he was at Grillby’s practically every day. Sometimes they even saw him when they went to lunch.
“Why’s that?” Terrence asked, grinning.
"he doesn't like talking about his habits. it's personal. leave it at that." Sans replied with a shrug, eyes closed as he sat in a small booth, two bottles of ketchup in front of him, his red jacket splayed open over his stained shirt, one leg propped up on his knee.

“...Fair enough. Looks like we’ll have to leave the mystery solving to another day, Frisk,” Terrence told her. She smiled, though was a little put-off by Sans’ seriousness regarding the topic. “Oh well. It was fun while it lasted,” she said as Sans began to ‘chug’ one of the ketchup bottles, the red liquid disappearing between his teeth, or… through them? Nobody knew how it worked and nobody wanted to know.
"Anyway, see you, Sans." Frisk waved to the skeleton, Terrence following suit. He only winked back at them as he continued to chug the condiment. With that, the two humans made their way outside.

“Shoot. Asgore might not be back for a little while,” Frisk said, checking her watch. If she remembered correctly, work lunch breaks were between forty-five minutes and an hour, and they’d been in Grillby’s for about half an hour. "Then we could just... hang out here until he shows up." Terrence suggested with a smile to Frisk, who gave a slight nod. "Yeah... Hey Terrence?"
"Yeah?"
"I..." She pursed her lips, a blush creeping up her cheeks again. "I... uh... thanks for not being weird about this being a 'date'."
He grinned. “Of course. But you don’t mind if I say one weird thing, do you?”
“Go for it,” she said, smiling.
“To be honest, I kind of missed going on dates with you. You know, just the two of us.”

Her flushed cheeks only intensified. She wanted to tell him that she felt the same, that after all this time, she'd only learned to love him more. To let him know that she loved him, but...
Something held her back. A wall that pushed her a way she didn't necessarily want to go. "I..." She swallowed, and gave a small nod. "I think I'll... go ahead and call Asgore to pick us up."
Terrence stared at her for a moment, biting the inside of his cheek, only thinking one thing to himself. ’Yeah, you screwed that up, man.’

“Alright,” he nodded. She pulled out her cell phone, and dialed Asgore’s number.

------

"So? How was it?"
Asgore and Frisk were alone in the car now, having dropped off Terrence at the park per his request. “Oh, it was, um...” Frisk paused. She didn’t want to worry Asgore, so she decided to talk about what had happened before the awkward incident. “It was really fun. We got burgers and lemonades, and almost uncovered one of Grillby’s darkest secrets!”

"You mean the one about..." Asgore was suddenly serious, and Frisk raised her eyebrows. It had been a joke, but she was quick on the uptake. Why was Grillby doing that simple thing he did such a huge deal all of a sudden? Asgore didn't continue, so Frisk shook her head. "N-no, I was just... making a joke..." She was a bit disappointed that Asgore hadn’t gotten the joke, and glanced out the window as the silence suddenly grew heavy. She could tell Asgore knew something was wrong, but she didn’t want to say it aloud.
"I'll take you home now." Asgore told her. "Ms. Juniper is done for the day, so the Relief Center is closed for now. Do you need anything from me?" He asked. “No, thanks,” Frisk shook her head. “Thank you for taking me to work today. I... had a lot more fun than I thought I would, actually.”
"I was hoping you'd feel better." He smiled. "I know that whenever I feel down, doing something to help other people makes me feel a lot better. It's good therapy."
“It’s a bit tiring too,” Frisk added, suppressing a yawn. “Or... maybe I’m just not used to doing work,” she shrugged. She hadn’t been to school in quite a while. She hadn’t really been doing anything that required effort lately. "Well, you have school tomorrow. Maybe... things can start returning to normal soon." Her father said, hope stringing his voice. “I guess I’d be alright with that,” Frisk nodded, feeling ready. The thought of going back after such a week of missed work was intimidating, but not as dreadful as it had seemed the day before.

They pulled into their driveway, the doors unlocking. "There should be some food in the fridge if you get hungry." Asgore told her. "And you might be without internet, the WiFi has been acting up again."
“I’ll survive,” Frisk gave him a smile as she got out of the car. “Have fun at work!”
Asgore chuckled. “I’ll do the best I can. I’ll see you later this afternoon,” he told her, before she shut the car door. The vehicle slowly rolled out of the driveway, before driving off in the direction of Obatech Industries.
She watched him go, before sighing, and heading back inside. Sure enough, the WiFi was out. That meant no Webflix, much to her dismay. Webflix was a great way to pass the time. She decided she'd check her bag for all that homework she'd had Greg and Terrence deliver her this last week. Might as well get some of it started, finally.

The homework was mostly algebra and English. They were reading a new book in English, and Greg had delivered her a copy. They were already on chapter eight, according to the homework, and she hadn’t even started.
Oh well. No time like the present. With a resigned sigh, Frisk grabbed her school bag from her room, dragged it downstairs to the living room, kicked off her shoes and plopped down on the couch with her English, which she'd deal with first.
Her thoughts continued to become distracted, however, with Terrence and the way she'd simply blown him off. He was trying to rekindle a relationship she wanted, but her own fears and insecurities had prevented it. Part of her considered texting him, but then stopped herself. Maybe it was too soon to talk about it? But not talking might just make things more awkward. Aaand now she was overthinking it. But she really couldn’t help herself; her mind was getting the better of her. She needed to focus. She doubted her teachers would expect her to have finished the homework, but she still wanted to put a dent in it.

Frisk was nearly halfway through chapter one when she snagged her phone, flipping it open, opened her contacts and hovered over Terrence's number, over the text button. This was gonna keep bugging her, and she felt so bad. She could recall his face when she'd denied him. Disappointment, dejection... She liked him back, so why was she being so difficult? Why was this so difficult?
As her thumbs tapped against the text box, she wondered what she’d even say. Would she apologize? Would she say she felt the same way? She had no idea. Did he even want to talk to her after what had happened? Somehow, things felt increasingly complicated.
Or... perhaps they were just so much simpler and she was over-complicating the matter. Ugh, why did she have to feel this way?
Taking a deep breath, she pressed the 'text' button and their chat pulled up. Now came the harder part.

She swallowed, and sent the first text.
‘Hey.’
She instantly regretted that. The period made it sound too serious. It wasn't casual at all. She’d ruined it already. Her heart rate went up slightly as the ‘read’ notification popped up, then came his reply.
‘Sup?’
She set down her phone, staring blankly at the English paper for a moment, before picking the device back up and staring at his reply. Slowly and decisively, she began to type.
‘Sorry for blowing you off earlier.’

She swallowed dryly, awaiting a reply, which soon popped up. It took a good second, probably because Terrence was as hesitant as her, or because his phone wasn’t quite as fast.
‘Nah, it’s cool. I shouldn’t have surprised you like that.’
‘I wasn't surprised.’ She replied simply.
‘Oh. Well, either way, I’m sorry. Hopefully things won’t be awkward between us?’ came his hopeful reply.
‘Hopefully not. Are you doing alright?’ She asked.
‘Yeah, I am. Just stopping by a friend’s place.’
Attached to the message was an image of a few cats, with a hand petting them, presumably Terrence’s.

‘Aw. What are their names?’
‘Not sure. They don’t have tags. I usually just call them Small Terrence #1, #2, and #3. They answer to ‘pspspsps’ though.’
Frisk couldn't help but giggle. One of the many reasons she was so attracted to him was because of his great sense of humor. It was akin to Sans, but unique within itself.
‘I love-’ She caught herself about to put 'you' after it. No, she couldn't put that. It was too soon and would be too awkward. She finished the sentence. ‘-that so much.’
‘They seem to like it too, unless they’re just using me for the free tuna,’ came the reply. Frisk knew that she had to keep going on her homework, but she didn’t want to end this conversation yet. It was like the encounter had never happened, like she’d never rejected his advance.
‘I’m surprised you haven’t introduced me,’ Frisk typed, before hitting the ‘send’ box.
‘Maybe one day.’ Came his reply as Frisk glanced past her phone at her homework. With things smoothed over with Terrence, she felt she could properly focus on getting her work done now.
‘I have to catch up on some homework now. Promise me we can chat later tonight!’ she texted.
‘Sure, I‘m not busy,’ he replied. With a satisfied smile, Frisk set the phone down.

Still smiling, she readjusted her book and started to read it, before something caught her eyes. Just out of sight, she thought she just saw something move by the living room window.
Frisk quickly turned to look at it only to find the darkening sky outside.
How weird. She hadn’t even noticed. She hadn’t been texting that long, she was sure of it. Oh well. She returned to her homework, wondering if the thing she’d seen moving had just been her imagination. Great. Now she couldn’t focus again.

------

Frisk awoke with a jolt at the sound of the front door opening. Heart thumping violently in her chest, she whirled around on the couch to turn to the door and- To her great relief, it was only Asgore, lumbering in with some groceries in-hand. Noticing her, he smiled. "Frisk, dear. Could you help me with some groceries?" She exhaled, before giving a nod. “Yeah, sure. You startled me,” she admitted. And here she’d thought her sleep schedule might be back to normal. Had she passed out in the middle of homework? She hadn’t even felt that tired. She quickly made her way over to him to assist with the groceries, taking half of them off his hands as he set down the rest in his other arm on the counter, before the both of them returned to the truck to collect the remaining groceries.

Asgore seemed particularly worn out this evening. Perhaps he'd had a rough day. She considered asking him about it, but decided to wait until he was relaxed before doing so. It didn’t take long. The groceries were soon put away, and Asgore was more than happy to plop down on the couch for some much needed rest.
She sat down on the chair beside the couch, watching as he rubbed his face tiredly. "Is everything okay?" Frisk asked. He sighed, taking a moment before lowering his hand. "Um... Frisk..." He began. "They found another body."

Frisk put a hand to her mouth as she gasped, surprised, immediately having a lot of questions, but she didn’t want to bombard her dad. “Is... who... who’s body?”
Asgore took another long moment to answer, meaning Frisk probably knew the monster in question. Of course, she knew most every monster anyway.
"The uh... employee at McOswald’s. The one Mettaton partially runs. Papyrus is the manager there?" He stated. "Burgerpants, I believe was his name."
“What?” Frisk recalled the name. Burgerpants was the employee at MTT resort back in the underground. The one who despised his job and sold her that steak in the shape of Mettaton’s face so many times.
"I'm sorry, I... just got the news. He was already dust by the time they… yeah." He told her. "Fortunately, nobody else was hurt. Papyrus was out on business with Mettaton tonight."

Frisk wasn’t sure how to take this news. She felt awful, especially because she hadn’t spoken to Burgerpants in a while. She did know he didn’t particularly fear death, so… maybe he was happier now. It was a cruel thought, but the best solace she could give him.
But on the other side... He had hopes and dreams for a better life outside of Mettaton's employment. Now? He was just... gone.
Asgore and Frisk sat in silence for a few moments, before Frisk got up. "I'm gonna go to my room." She told him, grabbing her phone and her English book, pretty certain she'd read through chapter 8.

When Frisk got to her room, she immediately laid down on the bed. She’d been hoping to get some sleep tonight. It was a school night, after all- but the thought of Burgerpants dying tormented her, keeping her awake. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop imagining what the poor employee’s final moments were like. What had even happened?
Unable to rest, she began pacing her room, running by the scenario in her head. Both the one for Toriel and now for Burgerpants. Burgerpants was just… working at his job. Maybe behind the counter, and some hooded figure approached, raised a gun and...
But the scenario for Toriel had shifted. Originally she thought it was a gang of muggers who killed Toriel, but thinking about it more... she could have handled that. No… It was those mystery people. That was the only thing that made sense. But why were they doing what they were doing? Why were they hunting down monsters? Why...

Her thoughts were interrupted as she glanced out of her window, and saw someone standing in the yard, staring up at her bedroom. She looked back quickly, eyes widening...
But the yard was empty. Nobody was there.
It was then that she recalled the same thing happening earlier that day. Wait... was... was someone scouting the house out? But judging from the pattern, the mystery people killing monsters...
Oh no. Was... was someone planning to attack tonight? If Toriel had gone first, then Burgerpants, it only seemed logical that they’d be targeting Asgore now, not Frisk. Paranoia creeped in, and fast.

It didn't seem she'd be getting any sleep tonight...