Work Text:
Trimmed and filed fingernails plucked off a wayward string from the front of the recently pressed dress suit. After another quick once over in the mirror, Frisk decided she looked about as perfect as she was going to for today’s ceremony. It was a big event, a celebration of the grand opening of the very first human-monster science facility. As ambassador, Frisk was expected to be there for such a notable occasion.
Even if she wasn’t however, she would have gone no matter what to support Alphys. The soon-to-be lead scientist was beside herself with worry over the whole affair and the speech she was expected to give, certain that if even a single notecard was out of place it would ruin the entire thing. Hopefully, between Undyne and herself they could keep their friend from spontaneously combusting.
After a quick spritz of Crystal Noire, a perfume that was given to Chara of all people (“You’re just looking a little black around the edges” Sans had said when presenting the item after one of her post-genocidal bouts. He was lucky Chara didn’t throw the bottle into his eye socket), Frisk mentally declared herself ready and headed out the bathroom. Paused, whirled and straightened the flaps of her collar one more time.
Okay. Ready.
The heels she wore clapped loudly on hard floors, so there was no way to hide her entrance into the kitchen or avoid the sharp stare of red eyes that fell immediately onto her. When she heard the wolf whistle, she slapped her wife in the shoulder admonishingly. “Stop it.”
“What? You look Se…Sss…” Chara suddenly flushed, avoiding her gaze. “Well, you know.”
“I feel more like a pin-up doll.” Frisk replied, before leaning up and pecking one flushed cheek. “But thanks.”
Chara rubbed a hand across the back of her head, shaking off her embarrassment. It was almost tragically funny how in the dark of their bedroom, she could murmur things to her that could only be described as pure sin but fell to pieces the following morning if she had to utter the word ‘sexy’. Frisk would tell her how adorable it was, if she didn’t worry it might cause a mortified fainting spell. “You sure you don’t want us to come along?”
“Mmm, it’s fine. There won’t be a lot of kids there anyways and it’s not like I can just call mom this unexpectedly to watch them.” Frisk peered over one shoulder, spotting Azriel and Caroline in the living room, doodling at the coffee table. Every so often, a root would lift from the flower in the pot that sat in the center, depositing a crayon in a silently waiting hand. It seemed almost absentminded, Flowey never looking up from the game he was engaged in. Something about the scene filled Frisk with love.
And determination.
“Why not take them to the park today?” Frisk suggested. “And then when I get home, maybe we could all go out for dinner.”
Warm arms enclosed her waist, bringing her close. “As long as it’s not Grillby’s.”
“Killjoy.” She replied with an over-exaggerated huff that was quickly swallowed by a gentle kiss. “Love you.”
“Love you too. Go show up all those stuffy bastards.”
After another kiss or five, Frisk managed to wiggle away, heading for the other room. “Azriel, Caroline! Mommy’s heading out!” The kids popped up from their seats, racing to her knees. She lent down, giving each a hug and a kiss. “I’ll be back before six. Be good, okay?”
“’Kaaay!” Caroline caroled, sashaying in place like a dancing reed.
“We will mom.” Azriel promised, with a proud puff to his chest.
She pat their heads, subconsciously trying to straighten the part lines in their hair. “I’ll take a look at your beautiful masterpieces when I get back, so don’t lose them.”
Frisk watched her son nod and take his sister’s hand to lead her back to the table. Her daughter half-turned as she followed, smiling hugely and wiggling her index and pinky finger at her mom as if mimicking bouncing bunny ears. Frisk snorted and copied the adorable gesture before straightening up. As she passed, she tapped the top of one of Flowey’s petals in a silent goodbye, her best friend just giving a grunt that was his typical farewell, before heading out the door, already looking forward to tonight.
It wasn’t that Frisk hated social gatherings. On the contrary, she was too friendly, bordering overeager when it came to meeting new people; it had been what helped her survive in the Underground after all. But dressing up made her feel uncomfortable and out of place enough to throw her off her game. Childishly, she wished she could pass a policy of ‘super casual dress only’ so she could strut around in her light tops or comfy, hand-knit sweaters. She snatched up a glass of what was possibly spider cider from the refreshment table, her mom’s words casting through her head:
‘If you wish for others to take you seriously, you must first have an appearance that you take yourself seriously. Only then will they listen to what resonates within.’
It was solid advice. Of course, her mother had once been the queen of all monsters and even after relinquishing her title, it was clear that those who remembered her still deeply respected her prior status. Frisk just wanted to make this new world the best she could for monsterkind. If dressing in chest-compressing tops, plastic-feeling make-up and blister-causing heels helped accomplish that goal, then she’d make the small sacrifice.
“F-Frisk!”
The ambassador inclined her head, a smile spreading when she spotted the smaller, rotund reptilian monster weaving her way through the crowd towards her. Alphys was wearing an adorable U-cut cream dress that had black flowers going down the sides and a large bow that that settled around her waist. Only steps behind and dressed sharply in her formal guard uniform, Undyne offered her trademark grin as she waved. “There you are, punk! Where’s my baby fish and the tadpoles?”
“Hey you guys.” She replied, mood climbing already. “Figured they wouldn’t have much fun here, so Chara’s probably going to the park with the kids today.”
“W-Well, I’m so glad you made it!” Alphys stumbled out, tail curling around her.
“Pff, what’s with that? As if the kid would miss your big moment!”
“U-Undyne! It’s basically just a ribbon cutting ceremony. It’s not like we’ve done anything yet!” She grabbed her snout, groaning. “And there’s still the speeches!”
Frisk chuckled behind her glass. “But you’ll be a part of the first huge step forward. Dad says the more we focus on human-monster collaborations, the more we can assimilate and ease the country into what it used to be like. There have been reports on the news too. A lot of people, humans and monsters both, are saying how relieving it’ll be to start learning more about each other.”
“Pe-Perhaps. But if, if we don’t accomplish anything-!”
Undyne cut in with a growl, “Don’t doubt yourself Alphys. When you put your mind to it, nothing can stop you!”
To think, the monster who had once locked herself away in her lab, almost too terrified and self-conscious to greet the world outside, would be part of that first stride. She had come such a long way. Frisk placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder, heart full to burst with pride. “Right. You’re one of the smartest people I know Alphys. You’re going to do great.”
The fish over-exuberantly threw up her fists, sending off harmless sparks of magic that was more like mini-fireworks then painful, arrow-cutting spears. She had gotten a lot better at controlling herself since moving in with the other monster. At least in that, no houses have yet burned down. “Yeah! You’re amazing and you’re going to do awesome things and don’t you forget it!”
“S-Stop, you’ll make me cry.” Squinted eyes looked between them as Alphys sniffed, eyes and smile watery but sincere. “Thank you, both of you.”
After calming down and gaining more confidence, Alphys tugged Undyne off to meet a few of the other leading scientists. Following her example, Frisk finished her glass and straightened her shoulders resolutely.
Time to mingle.
It was mid-way through the afternoon that Frisk felt her phone vibrate and politely excused herself from the conversation she had been having with the mayor and head of engineering. Stepping discretely towards a pillar to keep out of the anyone’s path, she pulled out her phone. A scan over the received text made her snort.
Hey babe, how ya doing? Wanna have a good time tonight?
She swiped the screen, about to reply, already forming some ridiculous 90s slang-style response, when her fingers hovered over the touchscreen keyboard as she realized the message hadn’t come from Chara but an anonymous number. Frisk frowned, but replied all the same.
*I’m sorry. I think you have the wrong number.
It was only a short wait before her phone buzzed back.
Ah come on babe, don’t be like that. Didn’t we have fun last time?
Frisk rose a brow, typing back.
*I’m really sorry but I’m not who you’re trying to reach. Check the number. Hope you reach them though.
She tapped the sleep button, moving the phone back to her pocket, when it started to buzz like a hornet’s nest with rapid fire responses. She hummed in frustration, jerking it up and pulling back open the text box, a firmly worded reply already on the tip of her tongue.
She almost dropped the phone.
Ah come on babe,
A picture of a darkened, bloodied room was attached.
DON’T
Julie, one of the orphanage’s caretakers, lay slumped across a couch.
BE
A pair of mangled child, twins, rested at the foot of the stairs like broken-winged birds.
LIKE
A little blonde girl, lips split and neck slit, stared blankly up at the camera.
THAT.
Frisk covered her mouth, unsure if she was holding back a scream or vomit as the subject of her nightmares six months ago returned like a stab to her gut. The bustling room around her seemed to fade as her mind flooded her with memories. It was like she had jumped back and there she was again, walking onto the horrific scene that would later go down in history as the Sunnyside Orphanage Massacre. Hacked parts and blood-stained walls. Silence thick and hopeless. The fierce cut of a psychopath’s knife carving her skin as she crushed his Adam’s apple. Desperation as she called for her children, terror and anguish that nearly shattered her soul when she believed she’d lost them.
She could hear her breathes wheezing past her fingers while the rest of her was cold and numb.
What…
What the hell was this?
Her phone hummed a mocking answer: Got your attention now, don’t I?
Orienting herself, she forced herself to focus, knowing that if the Anti-Monster Faction was here, it meant every single person in this building was now in danger. The extremist group had been more than an opposition to her journey for peace between humans and monsterkind. Crimes had spread across the city since their formation: shattered shop windows and thefts of monster shops down Snowdin Lane, graffiti of the group’s symbol defacing walls and status, lynchings, a bombing at a minimart, a sidewalk shooting from a passing car. She too had been affected, having been blackmailed, kidnapped and tortured and Chara had been once beaten to near death. The orphanage incident was probably the group’s most horrendous crime; but afterwards they had gone oddly silent. Though relieved, no one held the hope they had disbanded and high level security was still hired for today’s ceremony as a precaution. Despite that effort, they had obviously bypassed it.
And now, somewhere, they were here, lurking under the disguise of strangers, waiting to strike. To kill.
Frisk struggled to grip device between her trembling fingers, heart racing as she switched out of the window and scrolled to Chara’s name. She had barely pressed the first letter before another reply came through, peeking down from the top of the screen.
I wouldn’t do that if I were you.
Frisk jerked her head up, looking at the throng of people around her, the once friendly faces all suddenly appearing as enemies to her. Another bing drew back her attention and Frisk saw an attached file and a third message.
Wouldn’t want anything to happen to them, do we?
Beyond her better judgement, she switched back into the screen.
A video was attached and in the thumbnail, she saw the face of a watch displaying the time 2:32 PM. Seven minutes ago. Foreboding weighing her down, Frisk pressed play.
Wind crackled weakly against the speakers as the watch came into motion, seconds ticking by, before the shot rose to face a park. Frisk slid down the pillar as she saw Chara come into view, pushing Azriel on the swings while Caroline twisted circles on hers. The screen moved away, back to the watch.
This time, there was a pistol in their hand.
The video ended.
Frisk couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think beyond, ‘why, why, why?’ A buzz broke her from her tirade.
Can your bitch survive a shot to the head?
As suddenly as a storm, Frisk was back on her feet, SOUL pulsing with rage, the glass of her phone reflecting a blue sheen as her eyes burned with determination. Grip so tight she almost cracked her phone, she retorted back:
*What the fuck do you want
The response came a minute later when a call labeled anonymous dialed through. Frisk answered it, jabbing the phone in her ear.
“Do everything I say and no one has to die.” A gravelly voice, possibly using a voice alter device of some sort, said. “Rules are simple: Don’t talk. Don’t try to flag anyone down. Don’t do anything suspicious at all or they all die. Nod if you understand.”
As she nodded, Frisk peered intently into the crowd. Looking for the anti-monster symbol. Someone on their phone. Someone looking at her. There was nothing.
“Good. See the door to your left? Take it. If anyone asks, you’re to say you’re taking a call.”
No one confronted her as she crossed the room to the appointed door, not even Dogressa from where she stood sentry nearby did more than eye her curiously, failing to approach and question her like she might anyone else. The hallway beyond smelt of fresh paint, walls white and bare. The lights above flooded the room in florescent yellow shades that somehow terrified her more than the foggy depths of Alphys’ basement lab.
“Take the third door on the right.”
Her feet echoed loudly as she walked down the hall, apprehension filling her as she passed every door, tense and ready to strike if something came charging out of them from behind. Though she held determination strong enough to bend time itself to her will, Frisk knew she was anything but immortal. No, rather, she had learned just how fragile life really was.
She knew she could die.
Frisk stopped in front of the door, heart racing in her ears and as her hand fell onto the doorknob, decided today was not going to be that day.
The door swung open, revealing a pitch black room, and she jerked out of the entryway in the same movement, tense, waiting. When nothing returned but the creak of the door swaying back on its hinges, Frisk found the light switch and tuned it on. Nothing but a bathroom.
“Close the door behind you and go to the toilet. Lift the cover off the tank and inside you’ll find a gift. Set it down on its base and open it.”
Frisk did so, having to juggle her phone in the curve of her shoulder as she lifted off the ceramic top, finding a water-proof metal case sitting inside, half-submerged in water. She pulled it out, finding it to be rather heavy. She soon found out why when she crouched on the floor and flipped the clasps, pulling up the top.
Inside was a handgun.
Frisk stared at it, mind whirling with half-formed ideas, and whispered, “What is this.”
“It’s simple, ambassador.” The voice replied, their tone twisting her title like venom. “You are going to single-handedly destroy any hope your kind has of treading among us humans. You are going to assassinate Mayor Weatherford.”
“Are you insane?!” Frisk burst out. “That’ll start a war!”
“Yes.” The other said, sounding pleased. As if the death of hundreds, no thousands, was a pleasure to them. It repulsed her. “And no matter what stand your filthy monsterkind tries to make, they will be outnumbered and we will wipe you all off the face of the planet. But don’t worry; we’ll keep our end of the bargain. Your family goes free.”
The snap of Frisk’s phone screen fracturing in her fist echoed in the bathroom. When she spoke, she didn’t recognize her own wrath-laden voice. “Why should I believe you when you heartlessly murdered twenty-two children?”
“And Asgore killed six, did he not?”
Her eyes widened. How…?
“It’s only not okay when we do it? And how many of us has that psychopath of yours taken out? How many did you?” Chills racked up Frisk’s back, the shattering of her Mercy all those months ago echoing like sin to her ears. “Fucking hypocrite.”
She shut her eyes, taking a few deep breathes. “Please.” She said, “Don’t do this. This isn’t the right path.”
There was a cackle of laughter in return. “It’s much too late for that.”
“It’s never too late! You can always do better if you just try!” Frisk countered firmly, pouring all her belief into that single statement.
There was a stretch of silence. When her invisible captor replied, their voice was amused and heavy. “I’m not interested in your inspirational bullshit. Give it up. The speeches start at three. Make sure the gun is concealed until the mayor takes the podium. If you try to tip anyone off, then you know what will happen.
“It’s your choice: Your family or your people.”
Frisk stepped back into the spacious conference room, people bustling around her, unaware and ignorant. As she wandered across the floor, the weight of the gun dug sharply into her hip where it rested in the waistband of her slacks, grip hidden underneath her shirt. It nonsensically occurred to her, possibly in some spout of inane madness, that she didn’t even know how to fire the damn thing. She was pretty sure Nora’s bulletless toy gun she played around with when she was nine didn’t count. Had she not been certain it would have sounded maniacal and given her away immediately, she would have laughed.
No. She had to calm down. She had to think. There had to be a solution to this.
She knew getting near security was out. She wasn’t sure she could make the canine unit understand her plight in any conventional way anyways and simply approaching them would immediately alarm her onlooker.
Her phone, and any of the contacts within, was also off the table. It was obvious they were able to either tap in to what she was doing on the display or could somehow see it. Cameras, maybe. Alphys always had a bit of an obsession with-
Alphys!
Frisk clenched her fingers to hold back sudden trembles as hope burned inside, the solution so clear to her she could have wept. She glanced at her phone, noting there was only a quarter of an hour left before the commencement began. There was no time to lose. She jerked her head up, scanning the crowd as casually as possible and after two sweeps, spotted the little dinosaur chattering away with a human she didn’t recognize.
She weaved through the throng, approaching the two and catching the tail end of the rant her friend was on, “-And that’s why the original Mew Mew is greatly superior to that tacky Mew Mew 2!” Catching sight of her, Alphys added, “Frisk agrees, right?”
“Yeah.” Frisk said, smile strained. “Mew Mew’s the best.”
“See?!” She near-shouted to the poor, overwhelmed human. “And don’t even get me started on the Crystal series!”
Sensing another oncoming tirade, Frisk stepped in, “Hey Alphys?”
“Oh uh, yes Frisk?”
“I just wanted to wish you good luck on your speech today.” Frisk said, nonchalantly placing her fist in her palm, giving her a thumb’s up. “Knock ‘em dead, okay?”
“Oh. Right. Uh.” Alphys floundered a moment, but quickly drew her hands up to her face. “The speech!? What time is it? I have to practice my cue cards!” She started to trot away, throwing over her shoulder, “Uh, sorry! Got to go!”
“Well she was uh… intense.” The man said in her wake.
Unsure what to think, Frisk just gave a soft ‘yeah’ in return before politely excusing herself as well under the guise she also had to prepare. As she wandered aimlessly in the crowd, she tried to think of a plan B. She couldn’t signal Alphys a second time. It would be too suspicious. Could she perhaps start a fire, get the alarm to sound? Try as she might, Frisk couldn’t think of any feasible way to pull that off without immediately pinning herself as the cause.
As the minutes ticked by and hopelessness threatened to swallow her up, a blue, webbed hand clapped down on her shoulder, the force almost enough to knock her to the floor. “Found you brat! I wanted to catch you before you went on! I had an important question for you.”
“Y-Yeah, what’s that?” Frisk asked.
“So, I was chatting with some of these weak losers who thought they were some hot stuff, having their little muscle competition, and told ‘em I could benchpress the four of ‘em easy. So what do you think? How many of these chumps do I got beat?” Frisk peered up at Undyne’s face, all wide smiles and an eager glint in her single eye. If it weren’t for the near bone-crushing grip she had on her arm, she wouldn’t have guessed at all the Captain of the Guard was being anything but playful.
At that moment, Frisk decided she was going to marry Alphys. “Well, in here, I think you could only bench press one.” Frisk said, struggling to keep her voice even and light, “But outside, maybe in the park, you could bench press one more.”
Claws bit like relief into her shoulder and let go. “What? Just one? What do you take me for, you punk! I’ll benchpress this whole dang building, just you watch!” She whirled around, eyeing the room at large as if sizing it up, then asked. “Hey, when is this gig supposed to go down again?”
Frisk had to check her phone. Her heart faltered. “Six minutes. And when we timed it in rehearsal it took fifteen minutes before we got to the closing statements.”
“Tch, so long.” Undyne scoffed between her teeth. “Well, good luck kid. If you need a boost of confidence, just look at the back of the crowd where I’ll be rooting you on.”
“Thanks Undyne.” Frisk said and as the captain wandered off, she was pretty sure she was going to walk out of this whole mess with two new wives.
“Alright everyone, we’re going to begin shortly. Would everyone scheduled for the program today please take your places onstage.” A slight, wiry woman said in the podium’s mic.
Frisk felt the vibration of her phone against her palm.
Showtime
She squared her shoulders and headed for the stage.
“There have been very special people in my lives – both of whom happen to be here today – that have taught me that when you combine the Determination of humans and the magic of monsters, remarkable things can happen. That will be my main focus here at Sci-Tech is to see what other incredible things we can do. As long as we work together, I feel like we will accomplish great things.”
At the sound of applause, Frisk tore her eyes away from her arms that she had crossed along her lap, cellphone’s display glowing from where it rested, hidden, in the crook of her elbow. She realized with a start she had completely tuned out Alphys’ speech. The scientist gave a meek thank you before stepping down and practically bolting back to her seat.
The announcer rose to take her place. The presentation was nearly over but as Frisk desperately scanned the back room, there was no sign of Undyne anywhere.
“To close us out today,” Mrs. Vehemia said, voice loud enough that she almost didn’t need the extra acoustics, “Mayor Weatherford and Ambassador Frisk will each be giving some final thoughts and statements as well as a short look into future plans. First, presenting Mayor Weatherford.”
In the corner of her eye, she could see the balding man getting to his feet. In her lap, her photo album app was still open to a shot of Chara settled on the recliner, Azriel snoozing away on her legs.
She had to stall.
Frisk quickly swiped back to her text messages and typed out with her thumb:
*Show me them
A hand settled on her knee. “F-Frisk?” Alphys whispered. “Are you uh, n-nervous?”
Frisk shook her head. Said nothing.
Looked out across the crowd. No one there.
Her phone gave a final death knell.
She looked down at the picture of her kids building sand piles.
Do it now.
The mayor began to speak. “First, I would like to-”
She jerked to her feet, chair almost falling over and phone thumping to the ground, ears buzzing, head pounding, skin tingling. Didn’t have a plan. Blurted out too loudly, “Mayor!”
The man jumped at the unexpected interruption, giving her a befuddled look. “Yes, Frisk?”
“Uh… I just…” Frisk stumbled, fingers twisting at the bottom of her shirt. It was so hard to breath. Her knees shook, the weight of the gun too much.
“I…”
And then in the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of yellow and her head jerked to follow it, seeing Undyne waving to her frantically, miniature spears dancing around her head.
And beside her, like a gift from heaven, was Chara. Safe and alive and very, very pissed off.
Frisk almost lost it right then and there, the relief crashing over her like a tidal wave. She composed herself enough to point towards the backroom. “I-I just didn’t want you to miss the fireworks.”
When she, and practically the entire room, looked again, she took note that Sans was now there as well.
“Uh, YEAH! SCIENCE RULES!” Undyne cried, her magic sparking into non-existence. Some of the crowd laughed, others made noises of surprise.
“Uh, thank you Frisk. That certainly was… something. Now, as I was saying…”
Frisk fell back into her chair, watery eyes never leaving Chara’s, even when she got up to speak her own piece.
Several months ago, a spry little girl caught the eye of a watchful woman. Playful and energetic, this girl bounced all over the orphanage, brightening up the room with her wide smile. She loved to color and read and play dress up. She also feared very little, not even the big hairy spider that was found one time in the corner of the room that sent everyone else running. However, despite all these great attributes, there was one thing holding her back from the stamp of approval and a new, loving home.
She had trouble speaking.
Whenever she tried, her words were terribly garbled or lisped. She had been born with a weak tongue, the muscles unable to form the shapes needed to sound out the rougher letters. Rather than seeking help, those who had watched her before she was left at the orphanage had turned a blind eye to the girl’s troubles. This inattentiveness in turn caused the girl to shy away from speaking in full sentences and her vocabulary was barely more developed then that of a five year old’s.
Already so behind in her age group, most hopeful parents felt incapable of being up to the task of handling what they assumed was a troubled child.
Except for one, who looked upon the child and remembered many years ago when she too struggled with her words and learned to get by almost entirely through expressions and pointing, until she met a reclusive monster in the Underground. Wanting to repay the child’s kindness for helping to build her own confidence to strike out into the world once again, the monster showed her how to make words with her fingers. Though knowing little herself, she made sure to show her the most important ones: The bunny-ears of I love you, the heart-circling please and I’m sorry, a kiss-waving thank you, and the ironic thumb’s up for help me.
Those little gestures had meant the world to a girl whose voice had been missing for much too long. Wanting to give that same strength to another, she had no doubts about signing the documents that would put the young child into her care. And after some practice, she started to teach her to sign those little, important things as well.
Had she never had reason to, the woman may have forgotten those signs entirely, lost after years of disuse.
So when Frisk lifted her little Caroline up into her embrace after a long day spent terrorized by the thought she might never be given the chance to again, she could only feel blessed to have been given such a wonderful child who would never know how many lives she had helped save simply by being herself.