Alright, my very first serious Undertale story. I've had this idea bubbling around in my head for a while now along with a lot of other series I've been putting work into lately, so I decided to give this a go. It's been a lot of fun doing the research on this, playing the game out to refresh my memories, seeing different dialogue and pouring over tons of theories on unexplored characters, along with a few theories on the different Undertale multiverses. Just the notes on all of this took quite a bit of writing as I formed my own theories and fine tuned my ideas. I also did some research into some scientific theories about just how quantum physics worked and how multiple universes could exist, along with a few other things that needed some tweaking.
For example, Frisk. I also looked into a lot of things concerning law for her, and I did my best to portray the actual duties of an ambassador and just how many struggles there would be for a newly freed people. Granted, there are a couple things right off the bat that I should admit to. One, I'm largely basing this off American politics but it's not really our Earth since there are differing histories and technology in various locations of the story. While there is a basis in fact, I do take some liberties just for artist license. The idea of the ambassador possibilities was just too good to pass up, even if I'm no expert on law.
As a heads up, Frisk is female in the story. Some see Frisk as male, some see female, some see genderless. Toby Fox made it so we could interpret as we like though I have seen interviews that were set during early development how Frisk was a girl before she was made genderless for the game, and that's just how I see her. When I first played, I had no idea and girl just kind of stuck in my head. I don't think this will offend anyone, but if it does than this fic might not be for you. Chara, for what little is mentioned of the character, is going to be male. Though he doesn't come up much.
Only a couple more things before I bore everyone to death before the story even starts. There will be entry notes from a certain character before every chapter. I had considered putting them in the proper font but decided against this for two main reasons. First, while it doesn't really affect the plot immediately, it will be important to know what is being said for future points. I don't want to confuse people with my foreshadowing by making it illegible. Some sites like fanfiction dot net makes it impossible to just copy from the screen and paste elsewhere. This is done in order to keep thieves from taking work that does not belong to them and reposting on their own account, a worthy goal, but it would also make it impossible for anyone who wants to translate easily to just copy it and then put it through another font to read it, instead having to translate letter by letter. This suddenly makes something mysterious and fun into something annoying. Not what I want at all. Secondly, the sense of mystery is not all that important. The font would have given it away, and even without it, who is talking is so obvious that it's pointless to try to be vague on the matter. Of course the cover art makes it pretty clear too, and as a fast point thank you so much to the artist who made it for me, Kaitogirl on deviantart. She has an Underfell comic there that I strongly suggest you read. It's great and she updates several pages every weekend so it's progressing very well. However, if you guys would prefer to see the entries in Wingding just for fun, let me know and I'll change it. For now, normal font it is.
Besides that, I do not own Undertale. Toby Fox does. This is simply a tribute to a world and characters that I love. Also, as a warning. Yes, Frisk and Sans are married in this and are adults. Expect adult situations and relationships. There will not be anything explicit, but the fact of the matter there are several adult couples in the story and things like sex will come up. This is rated teen and I will not go over that but there are a couple things little kids shouldn't be reading. I'd say you're fine if you're about sixteen or up, especially since you obviously have access to the internet. That all being said, please enjoy.
Entry #1
I have decided to start these series of notes due to recent events. It's not often that I have new work to focus on. Handling things like the Core has long since become maintenance, easily handled by the day to day staff. Nothing terribly engaging. I suppose some might feel it's better this way, to have resources worked out, power supply and demands stable, food taken care of and all our other needs handled now. However, the mind is something that needs to be engaged. Without new problems to face, new puzzles, the mind becomes stagnate after all. With no new projects, would there even be a need for a Royal Scientist?
The human that fell through the barrier is quite fascinating. He is in observation right now, but I haven't been able to learn much as of yet. The fall seems to have broken a few bones, which I have had set and he has been sedated. Until he regains consciousness, I don't want to try too much in order to heal him. After all, most humans do not have magic like we do so I'm not sure how our method of healing will cause his body to react. It will be something to study, no doubt when the human wakes up.
The young prince is the one that found him. I'm hoping His Majesty will allow me to further question him on what he's seen and exactly what happened. As it is, the data I've gotten is barely enough. The prince is young, so I doubt there's much I can get from him. After all, he could barely understand things like the magic of the barrier yet, but certainly I could piece together something with his help and whatever the human can tell me when he wakes up.
We haven't ever had a human here before. In so many years, centuries. I've never even seen one myself. Who wouldn't be excited by the prospect?
Actually I suppose several wouldn't be. His Majesty has ordered this a secret for now for the sake of security. Only a select number of the staff and the royal family knows about the human so far. I suppose after the war, it would make sense such things would cause panic but that was all centuries ago, and he is so small. I don't honestly see what trouble one human could be… and honestly I find myself doubting the words of our ancestors that a single SOUL is strong enough to destroy all of us.
Surely if that was the case the humans would have simply wiped us out, not driven us away.
Hmm, I seem to be rambling now. I will stop the recording here.
Chapter 1: Static
Five in the morning was hardly a time to be awake for anyone. Night still blanketed the suburb, stars twinkling up in the dark sky. Most people in the city were sleeping, the area still and quiet. Few were up and moving at this time, leaving it almost desolate. In the quiet area there was a house, much like the others around it, small and square but it stood out like a sore thumb in spite of the similarities. The most striking thing about it of course was the snow on the roof and yard, cleaned off from the driveway but otherwise piled high around the house despite the fact it was in the middle of June. Snowmen and an igloo sat proudly out in front of the house, defying the summer heat as it had always since the family who lived there had moved in. Children seemed to love it, along with the almost tacky decorations hanging off the house, anything from a pirate flag on a pole sticking out from the roof to brightly painted gnomes and wind chimes of varying sizes all over the porch roof that always somehow played a piece of musical melody instead of a chime no matter what direction the wind seemed to blow or how hard it was. Horns, a piano, drums, anything but a soft jingle could be heard when the wind breezed past. It was no wonder how often they sneaked into the yard to play, often despite parent's objections that it was rude to go into the yard without permission.
Despite the oddities, the family inside was well liked by most of the people who knew them. The flares of obvious magic around the house had made everyone a little on edge at first since it was the only family to have monsters in it on the block, but after several years of living in the area, everyone had kind of gotten used to it. Though it was still considered a bit of an amusement whenever someone new moved in or a person visited friends or family in the area and saw the place for the first time. It wasn't unheard of to hear children and even adults bragging to newcomers that, oh yes there was a monster living in the area, known him for years and he makes great hotdogs for the summer barbeques. It had become something of a fun event to brag about it while whoever was hearing it gawked at the strange little house.
No one was staring right now though. In fact, the street was empty of humans and monsters. Things were still in the house as well, dawn not even bothering to approach yet, but it didn't mean that everyone inside of the house was asleep.
The alarm clock suddenly flared to life, blaring a harsh beeping in the otherwise silent room, the red letters glowing in the darkness. A hand reached out and hit the button to shut it off, silencing it immediately. The alarm hadn't really been needed, since Frisk had long since gotten used to getting up at early hours, a habit that just came with her work. Her eyes had opened several minutes ago, waking up before the clock had gone off and just laying in bed as she relaxed for those last few minutes she could before she had to get up.
Sitting up, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and glanced over her shoulder at her bed mate. Still fast asleep it seemed. She smiled softly at the sight. A full train could come through their room before he woke up. For a second, she considered shaking him awake in order to let him know she'd be getting up now, but there really didn't seem to be a point. It was the weekend after all. He deserved a chance to sleep in. Instead, she just leaned in, giving him a soft kiss on his skull before getting out of the bed and her feet padded over the cold, wooden floor as she stripped out of her nightgown and made her way to the bathroom.
The water took a moment to heat up before she stepped inside of the spray, letting the water wash over her. It was a good way to start the day, letting the hot water help her relax and get her ready for her oncoming schedule, mentally going over her checklist of things she had to get taken care of. It helped her keep organized while saving time as well. Hardly a day went by when she didn't have something she had to get taken care of, her career often leaving her very busy, so moments like this were cherished.
"Let's see," she mused. "Mmm, emails to look over, and I have to make sure the scheduled times are correct. I'll have to call Undyne and see if she'd be willing to sit in with me for this meeting. I'm going to need her expertise on the matter. If anyone could talk sense into General Jegness it would be her."
She sighed a little as she scrubbed the soap over her skin, letting it sud all over her before she moved to her hair. It had gotten long and thick since she'd been a child with a sloppy and uneven cut. A lot had changed for her in the twelve years since she'd fallen to the Underground, a little ten year old girl equipped with nothing but her willpower and desire to get away alive. She'd grown up a lot since then, both physically and mentally, her experiences shaping a lot of her life as she'd grown up. When she was finally finished she shut the water off, the air feeling cold in comparison to the heated stream she'd been under just moments ago. She groped out for her towel just beyond the curtain, feeling confused when she couldn't find it. The steam pouring out into the bathroom from the stall was making it a little hard to see as she peered around for it.
"over here, hon," a familiar, deep voice called out.
"Sans?" she asked as she looked over at the skeleton. Sure enough, he was standing there with the fluffy, white towel clasped between his phalanges, a broad grin with his pearly white teeth somehow looking wicked to her. "Sans, the towel?"
"mmmm, i don't know. i kind of like the view. seems a shame to cover it up," he replied, but she only laughed. What a flirt. Though it was cute, she was going to be busy today.
"I have work to do," she stated, holding her hand out expectantly and though he did roll his pupils in his eye sockets, the towel still ended up in her grip.
"Thank you."
"is that why you're up so early?" he asked as he yawned. "honey, it's sunday morning. what could you possibly have to do today?"
"Mostly prep work," she admitted as she dried herself off. "There's a hearing coming up soon. I told you about it, remember?"
"mmm? which one?" he asked her.
Frisk arched an eyebrow at her husband, her expression a bit annoyed. She had mentioned this over dinner, she was sure she had. Then again, he'd been pretty tired as they'd eaten in front of the tv, cuddling and watching Mettaton. The robot had become a pretty big hit on the surface, and he was beyond smug about it. It would be a bit irritating whenever he came over to brag about it if he weren't genuinely entertaining. She wondered if Sans had drifted off when she'd mentioned it, warning him she'd be busy for the day. It was pretty easy for him to fall asleep after all.
"Well, as you know, monsters have been campaigning for a long time to join the military," she explained. It was impossible not to know that part. It had been on the news for the last year. A lot of monsters had been a sentry or members of the Royal Guard. There wasn't really a need for such a force now though, especially on the surface with peace between monsters and humans, but it had left a lot of monsters with certain skill sets with nothing to really do.
It was no surprise petitions had been passed around, plenty of monsters asking for the right to serve in the country's military instead but there had been some opposition.
When monsters had come to the surface, there hadn't been a great welcome for them. It had been a shock to say the least to the humans, Mt. Ebbot's barrier suddenly going down and a group of monsters emerging and coming down the mountain. It wasn't surprising after all. Even though it had been centuries since the war, the legends and history lessons had stuck around. Monsters were perfectly capable of taking a human soul, to become a near unstoppable god. With claws, sharp teeth, magic and even more unlisted natural weapons, plenty of people had been more than a little nervous. Frisk had done her best to explain, to tell the ones that had rushed around them that nothing was wrong. The barrier had been broken and monsters wanted to simply come back to society.
It had been frankly awkward when the police had been called and she'd found herself questioned, asking her if she was alright, if she'd been taken against her will and kidnapped. She'd been gently but insistently taken away from Toriel, and while the female boss monster had found it terribly insulting, Frisk has assured her it was okay and that if they cooperated it would all be just fine. She'd explained to the authorities that she had come to the mountain and fallen on accident, and how the monsters had helped her get back to the surface. She'd fibbed a lot, telling the police how nice everyone had been and how they weren't violent at all. Well… it had been technically true, even if it had taken a lot of effort for her to make it that way. No one needed to hear her say how many times she'd been killed and hurt. It would only get everyone in a panic, and they all had ended up polite to her at the end. She hadn't been lying really, just giving an abridged version.
Besides, telling the police how she'd actually died more times than she could count and had simply come back to life by twisting time to her advantage for survival would just get her locked up somewhere. Why get into it? The simpler version had been better for everyone involved.
Of course, explaining how she'd actually been in the social services had been kind of weird. They'd been sure she'd gone missing on purpose, had not simply gone out playing with the other children on a field trip and had gotten lost from the rest of the group. They thought she was some run away, made even weirder when Toriel expressed interest in adopting her.
For the longest time, the monster race had been made to wait in the Underground. Only Toriel and Asgore had been allowed to stay in town, along with Undyne and the others that had left the mountain with Frisk. An explanation had been given that the other monsters were staff of theirs, bodyguards and the like. Considering the authorities were technically dealing with royalty, it had been allowed. Frisk had been lucky that no one had wanted to start any kind of incident and done their best to be cordial even when insisting that the situation had to be fully understood before anything could be done.
Months had gone by while things had been discussed. Word quickly spread over the news about monsters escaping the mountain, coverage on it almost everywhere. People had been starved for information on what was going on and soon the whole country, the whole world, was watching Ebott for any kind of new information.
Set up in a hotel, the monsters had been told they could see Frisk any time they wanted, but that she had to go home. Politicians had come to Ebott City to figure out what to do, and had frankly laughed when Toriel and Asgore had explained that Frisk needed to be there for negotiations as the ambassador. She was just a little girl, a child, but they had relented when talks went nowhere without her present. Frisk had found out at the same time as the politicians that to monsters, age was rather immaterial. After all, depending on the sub-species, aging rates and life expectancies were vastly different. Toriel and Asgore were essentially immortal without a child, reptilian creatures living centuries, while some creatures like bunnies or other mammals could live anywhere from twenty years to a hundred depending on the breed. Numbers, the royals had explained, were pointless to them and individual maturity and abilities were judged instead. In their eyes, Frisk had proven herself more than capable to be a peacekeeper and they wanted her and no one else to represent them.
It had just been easier to allow in the end, and Frisk was named official ambassador of the monster race.
It hadn't meant it had been easy though. Monster laws were rather… well, lax in comparison to human's. Hundreds of years had gone by and for the most part monsters had stayed the same. Knowledge were a bit lacking in certain areas, citizenship was just where you lived and if you moved than it was no big deal, and things like income taxes flew right over their head. Frisk hadn't been much better. She was human after all and while she did know a few things as common sense, borders and treaties and all sorts of other things made her head spin.
It had been obvious very quickly that monsters and Frisk were not really ready to handle this kind of thing, that the human world had advanced a lot past the middle ages since entrapment and things were going to need a lot of adjustments before any real progress was made. At best they'd been able to secure official ownership of the mountain and a city began to be constructed on the side of the mountain, Newest Home. It'd been impossible to persuade Asgore to name it anything else, but at least had been the first steps in securing peace, but it had left Frisk with a very clear message.
She had a lot of work ahead of her, and she had to get prepared fast. These men and women in their suits, with paperwork and fancy terms that she couldn't hope to understand had confused her. She was just a kid in her eyes, easy to take advantage of. Toriel had done most of the actual negotiations, polite in her manner of speech and sweet, but firm enough to make it sure it was understood that she was a queen and that she was not to be lied to or hoodwinked. She wanted to know what she had to do in order to be allowed to keep Frisk and what they had to do in order to secure a home for themselves. Frisk did her best to help, but there were some meetings that had just left her feeling stupid and confused.
So, she had decided to fix it. She wasn't going to sit around and be useless, not when the monsters needed her. She'd been asked to be ambassador, and she was going to do the best job she could. A simple elementary school student, she was ill equipped to handle things like laws and politics, but that didn't mean she couldn't learn, and she had an advantage on her side that few knew about.
She could still save and reset.
The child had never really understood what such a power was, or why she even had it. Something about her had been special, Flowey had told her that much, but she knew little else. She'd learned a lot of what she knew by experimentation, trial and error while still under the mountain. Turning back time, rewinding it, make things different. She'd gone down so many paths and done so many things a million different ways, trying to find a way to free her friends. Mt. Ebott was flush with magic, and she'd assumed when she left that the abilities would leave her. It hadn't, and it seemed to her a perfect weapon to use in the campaign for her friend's and family's freedom.
She took to studying with a passion she'd never had before. She'd never been anything more than a solid C student, but she hit the books with everything she had. When Toriel had been granted to act as a social home for Frisk, the little girl begged the goat woman to help her with her homework and to tutor as much as she could. It hadn't been easy at first, having little love for schoolwork, but she pushed herself to know as much as she could as fast as she could.
Then she reset. Over and over again. She wanted to get through classes quickly, to skip grades. Toriel praised her as being a natural genius, having no idea of the hard work Frisk had to go through to learn enough to just take the test and be pushed forward. She didn't allow herself to start over from the beginning each time. It would look suspicious, she was sure, and she did want to grow up. She didn't want to see everything monsters were working for get wiped away every time, but she couldn't allow progress to be too slow either. In only five years, she gotten through elementary, middle, and high school by testing out and skipping several grades before she had started in college, eager to get a law degree and be seen as an equal to the men and women who negotiated the rights of monster kind.
Political law, international interests, history of the monsters, she studied it all, and every few months would go back a couple months to make it seem as if she were simply a fast study. Life passed so slowly because of it and over time she lost track of just how long her childhood had actually been. It all sort of blurred together, and while she did feel slight guilt over making the world dance to her tune, it was for the good of monster kind. She had to be properly prepared.
Getting her bachelor's degree at seventeen, taking the LSAT, moving on to a Juris Doctor degree, it had all been exhausting, but rewarding and at eighteen she'd been a fully instated lawyer after passing her BAR exam. She'd never felt so proud of herself, doing it all despite her young age and was eager to use her education to her full advantage. Over time it had been less about forcing herself to learn what she needed to know, and becoming genuinely good at it. The young woman found she liked studying with such rewards waiting for her, and that once she understood the lingo, talking in negotiations was no longer intimidating but just another form of tactic. She'd learn to fight for her life in the Underground and this was no different to her. Say the right thing, do the right action, and things would fall into place in her and monsterkind's favor. Of course, negotiations hadn't simply stopped while she sped her way through school, but the more she learned, the easier it became.
Made easier was the fact that after the initial shock of monsters suddenly coming back, most humans were actually very welcoming to the change. Social media sites went crazy over the news, many people young and old coming to Ebott just for a change to glimpse the creatures taught only about in history. Pictures and stories spread of people meeting a monster, how cool it was and how nice they seemed, nothing like they had expected. Monsters also had a lot to offer as well that got them a foothold in the world. Gold was everywhere in the mountain, along with silver and uncut riches in the rocks. What was seen as simple 'stars' or paltry decorations to the monsters were revealed to be highly valuable in the common market. Many monsters with simple businesses or jobs found overnight that they were pretty well off in comparison to humans. A gold standard was explained to them, trade was established, and the more monsters were allowed to integrate with society, the more humans learned just what amazing advances monsters had for themselves. Technology was behind in almost every regard, but the magic they had amazed people.
Things like food quickly made the news. It shocked people to know a simple thing like a cookie or piece of candy could instantly heal injuries, more complicated food able to stitch wounds together immediately and even cure some mild sicknesses. Doctors and reporters flocked to the city of monsters, eager to see the marvels and spread them around if possible.
In it all, was Frisk. Even as she studied, she kept to her duties. She was asked to mediate for almost everything. Trade, services, citizenship and any other matter that came up concerning relations between monsters and humans. Just about every single matter that occurred came to her attention, asking advice or to help with one thing or another. Human voices joined monsters in the cry for equal rights, and while there was opposition by those who had no interest in change, change was indeed happening.
Now, a fully grown woman and more than equipped to handle matters much more serious than sitting in a questioning room with police officers and a social worker, fumbling to explain where she'd been the last few weeks when she'd fallen into the monster's home, she found herself tackling much bigger issues on the rights for monsters.
They'd spread out a lot over the years, moving into human cities, getting jobs, settling down, making friends and experiencing real freedom. They'd been seen as full citizens after only a year of emerging, and had been given the right to vote and become involved in politics a few years later. Population started to go up, no longer under a mountain with limited space and resources, and while there were complaints about 'nice neighborhoods getting tainted by monsters moving in,' more people were unaffected or worried about such matters. The first time a komodo dragon had made headlines by becoming the first monster police officer, he had gotten untold amount of support when he'd stopped a robbery on just his first month on the job, able to get into the bank via the vents and drop down on the unsuspecting robber and sink his teeth into the human, pumping his venomous anticoagulant magic and thinning the perp's blood so fast he'd simply passed out on the floor.
The pictures of the people leaving the bank unharmed, some of them families with children too little to be in school yet, hit the new feeds and everything from headlines to hashtags came in support of the monster. Frisk been honored the meet the hero, and he'd gushed over meeting her as well, finding it amazing what he saw as just his job getting so much support from so many people.
"I'm no hero," he'd told everyone who interviewed and spoke with him. "It's my job and duty to protect everyone under the law, monster or human, and I would do it again in a heartbeat because it's the right thing to do."
It had been a goldmine of good faith, and the more time went on, the more humans were more than happy to have monsters on their side than against them. Of course, it didn't mean it was all perfect. There were still plenty of ignorant people out there, as well as monsters. Hate crimes still happened, and some of the things Frisk was asked to oversee or clean up sickened her. Some monsters still wanted war, or went over to violent crime. Monsters who just wanted to live their lives would get ambushed, hurt by gangs or by humans who were afraid. It was far, far from perfect but there were more that just wanted peace, that just wanted to be able to live with the other race normally. Bumps in the road aside, things were going well for both sides. It was more benefiting to work together than to fight.
Still, rights had to be won the legal way. Bills and laws took time, not to mention acceptance from the ones passing such laws. Even with as much progress had been made over the years, there was still a very long way to go. No amount of resetting could get those to go through the channels any faster, but it didn't mean she couldn't go in as prepared as possible to help it along.
Like… say for example resetting when the vote of the Supreme Court and the Joint Chiefs of Staff had gone against her in this matter. She just hadn't been able to convince enough of them the benefits. Part of her understood. The fact was that human souls were still capable of making monsters into gods. To absorb a soul, even one of a comrade that died near you, a simple accident, could be a disaster. Allowing monsters in the military, to be part of war, it just wasn't safe in their minds. They'd completely shut down the proposal. This time she decided to aim lower, to make a more reasonable request, to be part of the military but in a non-combat role. She'd poured over books on the history of differing races and women being allowed to serve, the progression that had been made over the years, and decided to go by that. All kinds of soldiers were perfectly accepted now, and she hoped a similar path would lead that way for monsters.
She had to make sure she was ready to do this though. No matter how many times she had to do it.
"are you doing an appeal?" he asked her curiously, causing the woman to freeze suddenly as she dried off her hair. It wasn't easy to avoid his gaze, and she hid her face quickly underneath the towel, trying to keep up airs of just cleaning up while she did her best to hide her guilty expression.
"Ah… no," she admitted. "This is… this is the first..."
"frisk," he said, his tone a bit clipped now instead of holding simple curiosity. "tell me you didn't."
"I'm sorry!" she said quickly. "This is important to so many people, monsters and humans alike. I have to make sure that it passes legislation. I just have to."
"you reset? i knew it!" he accused. She flinched at his angry tone, hating when he was mad at her. It always made her feel terribly uncomfortable.
Somehow Sans could sometimes tell when things were off. Not every time. Most often, he never even noticed a skip in time, going back and redoing things without a word. Sometimes he could sense it though and whenever it happened he never liked it. She had no idea how he had this ability and he'd refused point blank to share whenever she'd asked or tried to find out. While he had no way to manipulate time himself with the resets, not like her, or previously Flowey, he could still just… know somehow. Déjà vu, memories and flickers of things in his mind. Apparently he'd learned a long time ago not to question it, that when things like this happened more often than not the cause was the very fabric of time and space being torn apart and messed with instead of his mind simply playing tricks on him.
It made him both paranoid and incredibly irate whenever he caught her, and he was looking downright angry right now.
She frowned and ran her hand through her hair, knowing what was coming before he could even say anything. This wasn't a new song and dance to her, and she held up her hand before he could continue on.
"Okay, first things first," she said firmly, "I will admit to what I did. Yes, I did reset. The vote went against us. It was a pretty bad loss too, only a few voted in favor of monsters serving in branches of the military. I screwed it up. I didn't do enough to convince them about it. I've decided this time to use both examples of the Royal Guard and previous examples of inclusion in the military for other people in order to-"
"first things first right back at you. i know that, cause i remember it. hence the reason i caught you. secondly, that is not the point, frisk," he interrupted. "you can't just go back in time every time some little thing doesn't go your way."
"Little thing? Sans, people want to make their livelihood in the military. It should be a basic right for them. That's not little," she insisted.
"all right, all right. fine," he conceded. "wrong term, but the facts are the same. you could have appealed. you didn't have to go back to… how far did you go back?"
"To the beginning of the hearing over the matter. It starts in two days, Tuesday morning."
"that… that was four months, frisk!" he cried out. "you went back four months?!"
"I don't need you yelling, Sans," she said as she moved past him to go leave the bathroom. She was starting to feel trapped in the small room, her skin prickling as he stared after her. There was no way she was going to have this discussion right now, and certainly not with him getting so upset over it. It was impossible to face him this way, finding it all too easy to feel uncomfortable around him like this. "If you want to talk, then that is fine but I'm not going to hear it like this."
He followed after her as she went to the bedroom to get dressed, and while it was clear he was still upset, he took a couple calming breathes to relax. He wasn't really the type to get mad easily, and even when he did, it never took long for him to calm down. It just went to show just how badly her abilities bothered him that he could get so worked up over it.
Still, she was surprised and worried that he remembered such a large gap. That had never happened before. More often than not it only happened when she went back a day or two, or simple time changes, like when she'd been running late for a flight and had forgotten her phone somehow. It'd just been easier to reset a short hour and bring it with her than to turn her car around to go get it, though the way Sans had jumped when she'd suddenly come out of their bedroom when he knew she'd already left had made it obvious he'd known what she'd done. It had never happened before over such a long period of time before, and that kind of worried her.
"look, hon, i know you're just trying to do what you think is right," he said as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He rested his forehead on her shoulder and she felt herself relax against him, sighing out softly as the tenseness left her like steam blowing out from some vents. She leaned against his body, a little shorter than her own by a few inches, but stable and warm with magic holding him together. "i get it, i really do. this is important to you, but you know how I hate the resets. you're going to hurt yourself one of these days. don't you think you're spreading yourself a little thin, being so busy on top of always changing things? you're gonna end up just like a car."
"A… a car?" she asked, feeling confused.
"yeah, cause you'll break down from being too 'tired'," he said playfully, causing her to giggle despite herself. His humor was as horrible as always, but at the same time it was something she just loved about him. "seriously though, you are working yourself so hard. even without the resets, i'd be worried about you. this keeps up and you're gonna make yourself sick or something."
"I know," she confessed. "I said I'd stop for all the little things, but this was so major-"
"you could have filed for an appeal," he stated clearly.
"I could have… but it would have been so low of a chance that it'd work that I-"
"frisk, you are not going to convince me you did the right thing," he said. "sorry, but you're not. there are other ways than just rewriting history whenever you feel like it. let things progress naturally. you don't have to force it so often."
"Says the lazy skeleton," she murmured in defiance, but she was already starting to feel bad. This had always been a point of contention between them, and it seemed he was starting to remember more and more often lately. Frisk had no idea why, but it was obviously bothering him that she kept doing it. Who knew how many resets he'd had because of Flowey, how many hells he'd seen or how many times he'd killed the flower or had been killed in return? Even if Frisk used her abilities for good, it still stuck with the skeleton. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to fix things. The odds were just more in the favor of monsters if I started over."
"says the overworked human," he replied right back to her before his hands moved to her hips, resting on the towel, but slowly the tips of his bones rubbed the fluffy fabric against her skin. "well, i think you could afford to make it up to me."
"I… Sans, I'm going to be busy," she tried, though squeaked a little when he nibbled at her neck.
"no, i think i'm going to keep you here with me for a while. make sure you don't get naughty and reset again," he purred. She felt a puff of breath right against her ear and she shivered despite herself. It still amazed her how he could even do that without lungs, but she'd long since learned not to question the makeup of his body.
"I have no reason to reset," she informed him softly before the towel slipped off from her body as he slowly tugged it away. "I'm-"
"shhh. just come to bed," he urged as he gently pulled her along. "it's early, and we both know you know what's coming with your work anyway. can you honestly tell me you can't afford to waste a couple hours?"
"That long? Someone is feeling confident," she said with a roll of her eyes, even though she knew his stamina could more than handle it when he wanted to. Lazy as he was, it seemed certain things they did motivated him properly.
"keep mouthing off, and i'll make it last longer, just to waste your precious work time," he threatened with a grin. She sunk down onto the bed with him, finding it hard to resist, before she just decided to roll with it. He always could get her to agree after all.
Perhaps he was just distracting her. Both of them didn't really like arguing with one another, but this was far from the first time it had come up. He'd tried to persuade her to stop more times than she could count, which is why she preferred he not remember. Really, it was for the best in the long run, but he never saw it that way. It's why she tried to quit so often, assured him she'd let it go and only use it when she needed to. It… it never stuck, but she tried and he never seemed to hold it against her for long. This tactic seemed to be a favorite of his, to make the argument just go away and focus on something else.
He never did like to face any kind of situation head on but could she blame him? They both knew this would just be a stalemate again. It was in his nature anyway, to distract and dodge matters close to the heart.
As the bed creaked as he climbed on top of her, she decided she didn't want to fight it. If he didn't feel like arguing, she wasn't going to pursue the matter either. Instead she let herself go as he kissed her, her fingers sliding up to his ribs underneath of his shirt. How simple it was to let go, to just indulge. He made it so easy, and with him it was one of the few times she could just stop thinking about everything. The way he swept responsibilities away, discarded fate like it didn't even matter, his devil may care attitude in the face of everything… it was something she could never do herself and yet secretly yearned for. He seemed so easy going, able to accept the world as it was. She could never be that strong. Everyone depended on her, needed her.
"hey," he breathed to her as he slipped his clothing off, her watching him as if in rapture. "you're still thinking too much. i can tell."
"Sorry," she whispered. "I just..."
"shush."
"Just trying to be honest."
"don't be honest," he breathed as he leaned down over her and she felt her soul throb as he gently pulled at it with his own. "just be beautiful, and mine."
She could have to admit, such a tempting offer had never sounded so pleasant, and she let herself give into it. Sans had a way about him that made her ache, and she didn't really want to think right now anyway, not when she had him so close as he began to make love to her body and soul so intimately. With him, she could drop every defense and let him slip into her soul. Every time he could just sweep everything away, make it all disappear. It all became mirrors for the two of them as their souls mixed, reflecting their feelings and emotions to one another, running through them deeper and deeper until it blossomed into a moment so profound it made her forget who and why she was, only seeing herself through his love.
It was the only time in her life anymore when she could shut everything else out.
Frisk couldn't help but let herself be tempted to stay in bed for even longer than he threatened her with, feeling tired out but relaxed afterward. She'd fallen back asleep with him, curled up around each other and cuddling in their sleep. She didn't wake back up again until it was well past noon, her cell phone suddenly ringing loudly and jerking her awake.
She snatched it up off the bedside table and groaned when she saw the time. Shoot. Her husband sure knew how to throw off her time tables, the sexy jerk. Already the feeling of ease was gone, responsibilities worming their way back into her brain invasively. Inwardly she felt low for wasting time, the pleasantness of his actions clinging to her soul but with a weak grip. Guilt was not a strange sensation to Frisk and it had only grown over the years.
"Hello?" she asked on the phone, not even checking the number to see who it was. When no one answered, she felt confused. "Hello? Who's calling me, please?"
A dial tone suddenly sounded, as if someone had hung up, and she looked at the screen curiously. She'd hoped to see a number, maybe call back whoever it was, but it seemed to be a blocked one. Had someone dialed her on accident or had it been a prank call? Weird, had that happened last time? Four months ago was a bit of a ways to remember. Sadly it all kind of mixed together on her sometimes. She was only twenty-two years old, but she had memories that could have filled multiple lifetimes in her head, some memories faded away and some as clear as crystal to her. It could get confusing at times.
If she recalled correctly though, today she'd been on the phone already at noon with her secretary. She'd probably gotten the call before and the caller had just gotten a busy signal. No wonder she hadn't noticed.
"Speaking of which, I'd better escape before I lose even more of the day," she chuckled before she climbed out of bed. First things first, another shower was in order, as well as some brunch. She wasn't going to get anything done without something to eat first for some energy, that was for sure. Looking over at the snoring skeleton, she just shook her head and let him sleep. He'd just distract her again if she let him. He always seemed to get… well, frisky as he liked to put it, on the weekends.
Slipping on a robe and leaving for the kitchen after washing again, she rummaged in the cupboards for some of the instant coffee and began to make herself a pot. With a push of a button, it started to mix, pouring into the pot and she went to the fridge in order to grab something to eat. Ignoring the three containers of spaghetti that had been brought over courtesy of Papyrus, she simply pulled out the bread and threw it into the toaster. Seeing as she was usually too busy to cook and Sans' level of the culinary arts was just fine but most comprised of instant food, Papyrus saw it as his duty to come over to feed them both every few days but despite his years of cooking finally leading him to be able to make decent noodles, pasta got pretty old after so long. Toast was not the most filling meal but it was all she felt like bothering with right now.
"Better call Undyne first," she mused as she punched in the number. It rang for a second, a cheery little tune that sounded like an opening to an anime she hadn't watch herself but it still sounded familiar. Perhaps she'd overheard it while over at hers and Alphys' place. She frowned a bit when she didn't get an answer and dialed the number again. Still no answer. Was she busy? Well, she could just leave a message. "Undyne? Hello, it's Frisk. Look, the hearings over the policy chance in military enlistment is going to be starting soon, and I thought having a few material witnesses would be a good idea, to show as an example of monsters who were in a militaristic lifestyle already. If you could call me back when you get this message, I would really appreciate it. We can discuss if you want to be involved or if you know anyone else that might want to help out. Anyway, let me know whenever you can."
She was just about to hang up when static seemed to fill the speaker, loud and harsh in her ear. The sound was so sharp that it hurt to hear it and she dropped it on the floor in surprise. Confused, she leaned over to pick it up. The woman hesitated for a moment before her fingers slowly curled around the phone and held it to her ear. The static wasn't nearly as loud now, sounding more like an old television in the background than anything else.
"Hello?" she asked into the static. Maybe it was Undyne and the monster's phone was messing up. "Undyne, is that you? Can you hear me?"
For a moment there was nothing else to it, and she was just about to hang up when something else seemed to slip through the noise of the static. It was hard to make out, a soft sort of beeping and whining. It was almost like some stretched tape or scratched CD.
"Hello?" she tried again. The sound stopped suddenly, silence stretching on and on with even the static fading away. "Hello? Is anyone there?"
Finally the phone cut off, causing Frisk to stare at it in confusion.
"What in the world was that all about?" she asked aloud before putting her phone down on the counter. Odd, nothing was really going over well today. Maybe Sans was right. She had been working herself pretty hard lately. The hearing had been exhausting, even more so when she'd lost. Everyone had been so disappointed that she just knew she'd have to try again. Resetting wasn't always easy though. There were times that she could do it just fine and have no consequences whatsoever, but then there were times when it seemed to mess up slightly. Her memory would get sluggish, and sometimes Sans would realize things weren't matching up the way they should. Perhaps this was one of those times? It only became worse when she did large jumps like this, though it wasn't uncommon when she only went back an hour or two either. Somehow, Sans hated those even more. She couldn't count how many times he had told her that she shouldn't rely on this to do everything, that she was allowed to make mistakes and just live with them.
Easy for him to say though. Everyone just expected him to be lazy. She on the other hand had a reputation to keep. Everyone saw her as hard working and a sort of champion of justice and monster rights. To give up now would just be…
She sighed softly and ran her hand through her hair. It was just guilt that chewed on her, that was all. As important as her work was, she hated disappointing him. He always looked so laid back, but she knew the truth. This bothered him. It always had, and the fact she did it anyway couldn't possibly help. Perhaps he was hiding behind bad jokes and a lustful nature this morning, but that didn't mean he wasn't still upset. Years of marriage had made it easy to read him. Well, easier anyway. Back then it had been impossible to tell what he'd been thinking or when he was joking or serious. She hadn't known anything about him, how he just appeared anywhere he wanted to be or how he seemed to know when she'd reset, claiming to read her expression but knowing things that he just shouldn't.
Back then he'd clearly wanted to know more about her, and she him. He had easily been one of the biggest mysteries in the entire Underground. Even now, there were things about him she didn't really get. He never liked to talk much about his past or anything like that.
"i probably lived my life a million times, thanks to flowey. who knows what I have and haven't done? no sense to talk about it," he'd told her once when they'd still been dating, and that had been that. He hadn't sounded like he was angry for her asking but at the same time she hadn't had the heart to mention it again.
"Wow. I'm certainly feeling guilty now," she murmured. Okay, she didn't have to get any work done then. She would shoot an email to the woman, maybe send one to Alphys too just to be sure the message got to her girlfriend, but that was going to be it. She'd been preparing for this for a long time now after all, and the first few days were just going to be opening statements and the like. She was prepared enough to handle that without too much effort. Just like her husband had said; she could afford a single day off.
Buttering the toast and filling two cups with the steaming coffee, she put plenty of sugar into the second cup, along with a splash of cream, just like Sans liked it. With her own cup a nice black, she went back to the bedroom and placed the food and drinks on the bedside table before she shook the skeleton awake.
"Hey," she said softly. "Sans, come on."
"mmmm, five more minutes," he grumbled, burying his face into the pillow.
"Sans, it's noon," she informed him.
"one does not get up in this wretched world before three, at the earliest," he shot back playfully as he rolled over onto his back.
"Hey, I worked my butt to get everyone into this wretched world," she replied before she smiled and sat down next to him on the bed. "I was thinking, do you want to do something today?"
"hmmm? like what?" he asked her, his curiosity obviously piqued now.
"I was thinking that maybe you might like to go out, maybe to an amusement park or catch a movie. Something like that," she suggested. "We haven't been on a date in a while and I'd really like to go if you're up to it."
"what about work? don't you-"
She cut him off, pressing a finger to his teeth before leaning and kissing him softly.
"frisk?" he asked, sounding confused and maybe even a little uncertain. It only strengthened her resolve to want to do this.
"I want to be with you. Work can wait," she assured him. "I… I thought it might be nice, and… I want to promise you something. The resets, you are right about them. It's one thing to do it for this sort of thing. You might not agree, but I still want to try the hearing again. Still… I think I've been doing it too much. Maybe the stress is getting to me or something but I could take a break, and I think treating you would be a nice way for us to both relax. What do you say?"
"twist my arm, why don't you?" he replied before pulling her close into a hug. "yeah, that sounds really nice, hon."
"Great," the woman said before she smiled and picked up her coffee, giving it a sip. "Anywhere you want to go?"
"we could always hit grillby's for some lunch. no offense but just toast is not going to give me much energy," he suggested.
"There is some pasta in the fridge," she reminded him.
"yeah, I know that. why I'm suggesting grillby's," he chuckled. "i'll pay."
"This is supposed to be my treat to you, remember?" she pointed out to him but he just shrugged.
"eh, no big. i want to," he stated.
"Well, if you insist," Frisk answered before finishing off the rest of the hot drink. The heated liquid seemed to burn in a satisfying way as it was poured down her throat as she gulped it down, waking her up fully with more than just the caffeine. "I mean it about the resets. I shouldn't do it so much. I'm going to try to-"
"frisk, don't promise me you'll stop when we both know you won't," he sighed out.
"Well, maybe the smaller ones that aren't really important," she said hesitantly.
"should you even be doing it when it's not important anyway?" he asked her, to which her shoulders slumped. He kind of had a good point there. It really had become a habit for her. "look, i hate making promises myself anyway. i don't expect anything. if you want to stop and you do, then great. if not, then… ah, don't even worry about it, okay?"
Somehow the words made her feel worse, but she forced herself to smile and nod. It wasn't like he didn't have a reason to doubt her word. It wasn't the first time she'd promised to cut back on it. This time would be different though. She could stop. She would.
Honestly, if it was just her, she'd just put up with the side effects. A little headache once in a while or memories that got crossed over wasn't that big of a deal. It was certainly something that she could put up with, but she didn't enjoy him upset with her for any reason. They'd been together a long time, and while they were happy with each other and in love, there was just no shaking the fact that this issue had never really gone away.
The fact of the matter was that it was time to fix it, for real this time. Ditching work for a bit, since really she was just about as prepared as she could be anyway and now had the advantage that she knew what was going to happen, and spending some quality time with her husband sounded like the perfect way to start showing him how sincere she really was.
"so where you wanna go?" he asked her as the both got dressed. It was a rare move for her to slip on some jeans and a shirt, more often than not going for skirts or suits. "after lunch, i mean."
"There are some movies playing right now in the cinema," she suggested. "A couple romantic comedies look pretty nice."
"you mean the ones i love making fun of because how trite they always are? frisk, i could probably recite any plot they have in five minutes or less right here," he said, to which she smiled.
"Well, you could always just talk really loud and throw popcorn at the screen, only to teleport us out when someone complained," she reminded him.
"one time that happened."
"You left Papyrus."
"it was the best way to get out of the double date with mettaton, thank you very much," he replied, to which she could only giggle. Yeah, the ghost had been pretty peeved at that one, fuming about it for weeks afterward. He'd even gone to the movies without his robot body since he hadn't wanted to be recognized, a rare event for him, to spend time with Papyrus. It had bitten him pretty badly when they'd gotten kicked out before the third act and the employees of the place hadn't believed the little pink ghost when he'd been tossed out with the skeleton while yelling about how he deserved better because of who he was.
Publicly, Frisk has scolded her husband for being so mean by leaving the two of them there to catch the heat, but she couldn't help but snicker whenever Mettaton's back was turned. She liked him wonderfully as a friend but at the same time it had kind of been funny.
"maybe a sci-fi flick then?" he asked her. "i heard that one is on right now that's supposed to be about going into space and exploring the theory of relativity for the effect of time dilation in space."
"Okay, but you're going to have to tell me what's going on. You know that kind of thing flies right over my head."
"frisk, you did take science classes in college."
"political science is not the same thing as having three separate PhD's, Mr. Smarty Pants," she shot back playfully.
"well, ain't gonna dispute that."
She playfully slapped him on the shoulder before shaking her head. For being such a lazy, laid back guy, he sure could be full of himself at times. It was both endearing and annoying at the same time.
"Alright, ready. Let's go," she said with a smile, though she noticed him glance over at the bed. "What is it?"
"your phone," he pointed out as he jerked his skull in the direction of her cell still laying out on the sheets. "you're forgetting it."
"Honestly, I don't want to be interrupted," she admitted to him. "I'll send a fast email to try to get Undyne to contact me later, but that's it. She's probably out doing something anyway. Besides, I think I might have broken the phone on accident or something. There's nothing but static on the thing. I'll get it looked at later, and buy a replacement if I have to. It's no big deal."
"huh," he said before he smirked. "so just to be clear, i am in fact getting ambassador frisk dreemurr all to myself today?"
"Seems like you are."
"mmmm, well i guess all my 'dreemurrs' are coming true than."
Frisk laughed as she shooed him out of the bedroom, closing the door behind them as they left. She didn't hear the phone ringing again a few minutes later, sounding like a harsh scream in the room. It went on and on for several minutes, calling again and again, never seeming to die down. The repeated calls made the cell vibrate so strongly that it fell from the bed, bouncing on the floor as it hit the answer button for the static to once again fill the receiver, shrieking out as if calling for help.
But no one came.
End of Chapter 1
Well, there we go. First chapter down, more to come later. Thanks to each and every one of you who read this, and if you can spare a minute or two, reviews are greatly appreciated. Always nice to know when people enjoy your work after all. Thoughts, comments, suggestions, they're all welcome and I would love to see them. Even if it's just a comment that you can't wait for more, that's nice too. Thank you. Also, if you have an opinion on the font, let me know.
Last aside, this could use a beta reader. Things like Sans' lack of capitalization was making it very hard to write out, and I have a habit of skipping over mistakes when I read over it myself to try and make corrections. I need someone who can spot any possible errors and let me know, plus you get a preview of the story. Though, it does need to be someone who can read it and get it back to me quickly. If you think you would take longer than a day or two on average, then please don't offer. I like to post when I can, as quickly as I can since there are times I go weeks without writing due to work and the responsibility of running a household. I try my best to get my readers content as fast as I am able, and I wouldn't want to wait a week to get a chapter back when I do have time to write. But if you want, please let me know if you're interested in helping out. You'll get full credit and I'd love the help, plus the offer is always open to beta for you as well if you need one.