HAZE

Pop Goes the Weasel

Ding, ding!

A bell rang throughout the small shop, causing Gerson to look up from the counter, blinking back into reality with a yawn.

The day had been slow; business not like it used to be, he supposed. Back in the Underground, monsters would come in on occasion in buy something, maybe strike up a conversation or two, but with all of the excitement of being free, such occurrences were few and far between.

And, even with the curiosity from the humans, not many came around to check his wares. It was...disheartening.

But, when he caught sight of the people walking in, he couldn't help but offer a smile. There were some customers he just couldn't forget, after all.

"Undyne!" He laughed, leaning forward as she ran over to the counter, the whole building shaking at her thundering steps. "Long time, no see! How've you been?"

"Hey, Gerson!" Undyne slammed her hands down on the counter, the old turtle not batting an eye. He'd come accustomed to her outbursts long ago. "I've been alright! Managed to keep my guard job, in case you haven't heard--turns out Asgore's ex is worried about Frisk's safety, so I get to protect the lil' punk!"

"Ah," Gerson nodded, a smile fixed upon his face. Undyne's energetic nature turned out to be contagious. "Aha--I'm glad! You seemed upset when Asgore announced the Guard wasn't necessary anymore, considerin' there wasn't gonna be a war..."

"Ugh, don't remind me! I'm still recovering from the disappointment...though, humans aren't that bad. I guess." Undyne glanced over her shoulder, frowning at the other two in the shop--one watching from the corner of his eye as he looked at the shelves, the other looking ready to jump over and crush the turtle in a hug, which wouldn't surprise her any. "Hey, Papyrus! Why don'tcha get over here, yeah? You're the one with the list, after all..."

The skeleton in question turned in her direction, smiling broadly. He reached her in two strides, colliding into the fish-woman's shoulder, who grunted at the sudden weight pushing down on her. Straightening himself, Papyrus held out the list, bouncing on his heels--almost hitting his skull on the ceiling in the process.

"Hello, Mr. Gerson!" he greeted, voice booming. "Queen Toriel requested we get these things for her--something about a party, I think? To celebrate how long we've all been Aboveground!"

The last member of the group--Papyrus' brother, Sans--reached out for something on one of the shelves, listening in on their conversation in the background. Humming an odd tune to himself, his fixed grin rose, but not enough to cause any alarm, if the others were even paying attention to him to begin with.

"Ah, a party, you say? Let me see, here..." Gerson took the list and looked it over, humming. After a moment, he said, "My, my, this is quite the order! But I think I can manage--hold on, let me just--"

BOOM!

Everything in the room turned blue in an instant.

Sans, who'd been looking over the bulging item in his hands while listening to the old monster talk, had no more than read the label before promptly dropping it, grin wider than ever. The thing had exploded and now covered the whole shop in a gooey, glowing blue substance—most likely magic from Waterfall, which Gerson was known to horde after moving Aboveground. One couldn't just let go of their roots—especially somebody like Gerson.

Everyone at the counter stood in stunned silence, dusted with blue residue, blinking at the small skeleton, who now stood doubled over, wheezing. Strangely enough, Gerson himself wasn't mad—

"Sans!"

--it was his brother he had to worry about.

The comedian coughed, laughing between wheezes. "I didn't expect it to go all over the place like that," he said, before sobering up. He walked over to the counter with a shrug, even daring to stand next to the taller, shaking skeleton. "Here, Gerson--for the experience."