Frisk jumped as the door flew open. She had been splashing water on her face to calm herself down, and when Papyrus rushed in she whipped her head up. Water dripped down to her shirt, but she could ignore that. She quickly shut off the water and turned to the tall skeleton. Her surprised expression met his concerned one. "HUMAN! ARE YOU OKAY?" he repeated. He took a step further into the bathroom, but didn't risk getting too close to her. "Y-Yeah, Papyrus! Of course!" Frisk grabbed a towel and wiped off her face. The water hadn't helped as much as she wished it would have. "I just swallowed wrong, that's all." "THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT." Startled, Frisk looked up from her towel and at the skeleton. Despite her many growth spurts, Papyrus still towered over her. She searched his face and found such heavy concern, that she wasn't even sure if she was still talking to the same guy. Papyrus wasn't normally like this. Not at all. "What do you mean, Papy?" "I MEAN...WITH SANS." "What about Sans?" Frisk looked down. "YOU ACT SO STRANGELY AROUND HIM. BEFORE IT WAS ONLY EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, NOW IT'S ALMOST EVERY DAY." Papyrus' expression softened as he put a hand on Frisk's shoulder. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, IS CONCERNED." Frisk forced a smile. "It's nothing, Paps. I promise." She gently took the hand on her shoulder and held it reassuringly. "I'm just being a weird human." "YOU WOULD...TELL ME IF SOMETHING WAS WRONG...RIGHT?" Frisk paused, and her face fell for a moment. The last thing she wanted to do was lie to him. Papyrus didn't deserve that. But, she also didn't want to make her problem his, either. With a soft sigh, she smiled again and patted his hand. "Of course I would, Papyrus." There was silence for a moment. Frisk was beginning to wonder if she had said the wrong thing, when her favorite tall skeleton pulled her into a tight hug. She embraced him back, letting the tension leave her body before gently pulling out of it. "So, how 'bout we go to your room, and you can tell me how things have been going with you and Mettaton?" Frisk grinned at the light blush that crept along Papyrus' cheekbones. Without another word, they headed out of the bathroom. After Papyrus put away the rest of the spaghetti, they vanished into his room. --- Frisk found herself walking amongst a patch of yellow flowers. Pollen and pedals floated around her, and beyond them she saw nothing but darkness. Confusion hit her hard, followed by a sense of dread. Had she reset again? It wasn't often that she reset accidentally, but it was something she also feared. Looking down at herself, she found her adult figure and height. She looked at her hands and clenched her fists, letting out a relieved breath. This was a dream. Just a dream. [b]"It's kill or be killed!"[/b] Frisk snapped her head up, suddenly finding herself in the hall of judgement. She knew this place all too well. It's pure, golden light would forever be burned into her memory, no matter which timeline she was in. "It's a beautiful day outside." A chill ran down her spine. Frisk whipped around and spotted a familiar figure. "Birds are singing-" The words were so familiar in her ears, Frisk could mouth them perfectly. She could recite them perfectly. "Flowers are blooming-" "Wait, please!" "On days like this-" "This is a just a dream! Please!" Frisk forced herself to step forward. "Kids like you-" "Sans!" [b]"Should be burning in hell!"[/b] Sans' left eye shined bright as bones erupted out of then air. Frisk felt herself being dragged forward by her very soul. She clenched her teeth and tried to pull out of it, but could only work on dodging the bones that were hurled at her. "Stop!" she cried as she was struck. A bone pierced her arm. "Please!" Her voice was swallowed by the hall. She clenched her hands, and found something in her right hand. She didn't need to look down to know that it was a knife. Her knife. Her vision tunneled, and before she knew what was happening she was rushing forward. Bones hit her over and over, draining her HP. But all she needed was to hit him once. 'No! No, please! Don't hit him!' All she could do was think and watch as her body moved without her control. Her arm raised with the knife aimed high. 'Please!' Red smeared her vision. For a long moment, all she could see was grainy, deep red. Her stomach twisted, yet a feeling of pride surged through her. --- Frisk sat up with a gasp. The room around her was dark, and quiet save for Papyrus' snoring. Her gaze bolted from wall to wall. When she was satisfied that she was no longer in the judgment hall, she felt her body. There were no wounds, but the phantom pain lingered. Her soul ached. That nightmare wasn't new, but it never got any easier to deal with. Frisk took in ragged breaths to calm herself. Tears gathered in her eyes, and fell before she could stop them. Shakily, she rose from her pile of pillows and blankets on the floor. Yet again, she had fallen asleep in Papyrus' room. But she couldn't be in there, not after that dream. Seeing just the very outline of Papyrus' body as he slept made her sick - Sick and disgusted in herself. Making her way to the door, Frisk let herself out as quietly as she could. She climbed the door shut behind her, and as she did so she glanced at Sans' door. Whenever she had those kinds of nightmares, she went to the short skeleton first. He was very last monster she wanted to see after such dreams, but he was the only one who could understand. She sniffled softly as she realized that she couldn't go to him that time. Not after what had happened earlier. It had upset him enough to make him leave, so surely he wouldn't want to deal with her problems so soon afterwards. Sighing at that thought, Frisk turned and headed down the stairs. She was surprised to find Sans taking up the couch. She lingered near the stairs for a moment. What now? She couldn't go back to Papyrus' room. She couldn't go to Sans' room. It was far too cold to go outside. She could go to the kitchen, but in the end she decided to carefully sit at the end of the couch. Despite everything, Sans' presence still brought Frisk comfort, even after reliving his anger and hatred. She leaned her face in her hands and let herself cry. This was just not her day.