The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, and a warm breeze came blowing in from the north over the mountains. Frisk reached up to move a piece of chocolate brown hair that had fluttered into her eyes by the playful wind. She stared at the rising sun with her warm hazel eyes with an overwhelming sense of peace. Off in the distance, she could make out the tiny speck of her home town.
She turned her gaze away from the speck when she heard a shout. Undyne was holding Papyrus in a head lock. They were discussing what they would do on the surface, though it was more like a shouting match. Frisk joined the laughter of the other monster who were standing around. Everyone was enjoying the feeling of the sun on their sun for the first time in centuries. Frisk felt a sense of contentedness wash over her at the sight of her friend's happiness. She could almost forget everything that had happened in the underground.
"What about you Frisk?" Alphys startled Frisk out of her thoughts, and the solitary human jumped. The drake was giving Frisk a curious look. "Now that we're out of the underground what will you do?" The cliff fell silent and everyone turned to look at Frisk with the same curiosity. Frisk fell silent as she thought about the question.
"I don't know," Frisk finally admitted, bringing up a hand to scratch at her head. "I guess I hadn't thought about it."
"You were pretty set on escaping for someone who didn't even know what they were going to do." Undyne pointed out. Frisk shrugged her shoulders, and Undyne let out a loud chuckle. "Someone who likes adventure in their life!" Toriel stepped forward and placed a large white paw on Frisk's shoulder, making the human child look up at her.
"Is there no one you wish to return to?" Toriel's voice was soft as usual, but it didn't stop Frisk heart from speeding up until it was thundering inside her.
Images flashed through Frisk's mind of a house littered with beer cans and a small dark room with no way out. A man loomed over her, his face pressed up against hers. Frisk could even smell the stale beer that lingered on his breath. She could only watch, her body frozen with fear as the man raised a hand, and brought it back down with force.
"My child?" Toriel's voice brought Frisk out of her thoughts and she shook off the lingering memories. "If you do not have anywhere to go, perhaps you could stay with me?" Frisk turned to look at Toriel, her heart filling with joy at the idea of being able to have a real family.
Frisk opened her mouth, ready to tell Toriel how she could like nothing better than to stay with her. Before she could get the words out, another memory appeared in Frisk's mind. This one even more horrifying than the memory of the man.
Toriel was before her, crouched on the ground and holding a gushing wound on her side. She looked at Frisk with her usually soft brown eyes, which were now narrowed in a seething glare.
"Y…you…really hate me that much? Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here. Not you…But them!"
Frisk's entire body went numb as she watched Toriel's body begin to dissolve into dust.
"HUMAN?" Frisk turned her eye away from Toriel until they landed on Papyrus. He was still standing next to Undyne, a look of concern on his skeletal face. "ARE YOU OKAY?"
The image changed once again, and Frisk found herself back in Snowden. Papyrus's body crumpled into a heap on the ground with his severed head resting on the ground in front of him.
"ST…STILL! I BELIEVE IN YOU! YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER! EVEN IF YOU, DON'T THINK SO!" Frisk watched as Papyrus began to disappear. The wind carried away his dust until there was nothing left but his bright red scarf.
"I can't," Frisk finally spoke. She pulled herself from Toriel's grasp until she was far enough away for the final remnants of the memory to fade. "I…I mean I can't stay with you, here. My parents are probably worried sick about me." Frisk looked over her shoulder at the rising sun once more. "Especially since I'm not sure how long I was in the underground." Frisk turned back to look at her friends and felt a stab in her heart at the saddened looks that crossed their faces. Especially Toriel, who had the strongest look of rejection of her face. Frisk could feel tears being to well up in her eyes, but she pushed them back down.
Even Sans looked disappointed from his spot leaning against a tree. Frisk had a feeling that was for a completely different reason though. She knew that Sans remember the different time lines, including the one that haunted her the most. In fact, she was pretty sure her ability to reset was the only thing keeping him from killing her right now. Frisk turned her attention back to the other and tried to give them the best smile she could manage.
"Hey, it's not like you guys will never see me again right? I'll definitely come to visit as much as I can!" Frisk said, allowing a smile to grace her lips. Papyrus ran over and wrapped his arms around Frisk and she had to repress a flinch.
"YOU MUST COME AND SEE US EVERYDAY HUMAN!" Papyrus exclaimed. "IT WON'T BE THE SAME WITHOUT YOU."
"Papyrus is right brat, you had better not be a stranger!" Undyne walked over and rubbed Frisk's head and she nodded.
"Of course," Frisk replied. This time she gave them an honest smile as she reached over and embraced the warrior fish as well. She turned to say goodbye to everyone else until there was only Sans left. Frisk couldn't tell what was going through the skeleton's head, but she was hesitant to approach him. Memories of him killing her over and over again was enough to make her knees go weak at the idea. She didn't have much of a choice when Sans finally spoke up.
"Hey kid, you mind walking with me for a minute, I'd like to talk to you in private." His voice was cheerful, and Frisk tried to relax. When she nodded her head though, she felt her heart sink into her stomach. she had to pull her hands into the sleeves of her favorite sweater to keep the others from seeing them shake.
Frisk had a feeling that she was in trouble.
