Core Issues: Season Two

by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans, our lovely narrator, belongs to Borurou. Shipworks is one of my AUs. This story is copyright to me.

1. Let's see if I can pull off a sequel as good as the original! I will post just like last time. When the first draft of episode three is done, ep 2 will go online. Yes. That means the second episode is already written.

2. Rated T for language, sexual themes/jokes, and violence.

3. If you've just happened upon this fic, please go back and read the original Core Issues. Otherwise, this is not going to make any sense. Just click my name and scroll to my stories.

Ep. 1 - Night in Cairo

Both Frisks dashed just ahead of me, running full bore down the narrow hallway as the massive stone ball rolled after us. We leaped a spike pit and rounded a corner to see our exit closing. A stone door was slowly sliding down to meet the floor. The three of us hit the dirt, sliding underneath just in time to avoid being crushed. We lay there on the ground attempting to catch our breathes as the stone ball crashed against the door, sending sand and dust in a puff around us.

"That *gasp* was *gasp* AWESOME!"

"I told you *gasp* this place *gasp* was great," Frisk managed.

"I will never *gasp* doubt you again, Church."

It was still strange to hear someone call my girl by her last name. But if there was one thing that Frisk Ethan Cross did not do, it was call Frisk Emily Church by her name. It'd been six months since the removal of the A.I. from his head, and with each passing day he acted more and more like his alternate universe twin.

Cross sat up and pulled out the map Steam had given us back at the Shipworks. "According to this, we should be directly under Pharaoh Amenophis III's mortuary temple in the Necropolis."

Frisk leaned over to look at the map. "That means we only have a little further until we reach the treasure room."

"Do you think Steam and the kids are okay?" he asked.

Frisk waved off the question. "They're fine. They do stuff like this all the time." She stood and dusted off her pants. "Anyone need a hit of water?"

I shook my head. Cross held out his hand for his line to the water pack on Frisk's back, taking a couple long sips before handing it back. He stood and looked around at the open gallery of statues, each as brightly painted as the hieroglyphs on the walls.

"You two ready?" I asked.

They both nodded and we crossed the gallery between two rows of statues of some pharaoh or other, watching carefully for traps. Half way through the gallery, the ground began to shake. Dozens of mummies in rotten wrappings crawled out of the earth and shambled toward us.

Frisk grabbed Cross' hand and my phalanges, pulling us into a run. "Here we go again!"

We ran across the gallery, dodging skeletal hands only to stop dead as the ground really started to shake. The gallery floor cracked open and a colossal mummy crawled out of the fissure.

"I call shenanigans! There is no way a mummy that big is possible," Cross said as he dodged the mummy's swing.

"This is the boss fight! It doesn't have to make sense!" Frisk responded.

I whistled. "How about you two take care of him while I keep all the minions off our backs?"

"Got it!" they both answered.

I drew up a bone barrier between us and the army of mummies advancing from behind, giving me the ability to pick off the ones climbing up one by one.

Frisk ducked under the mummy's swing. Cross jumped, catching its wrist and climbed up the arm. Frisk shoved the weaker of the two legs and it fell to one knee. She jumped on it's hip and started climbing. Cross got up to the neck and grabbed a piece of cloth wrapping. Frisk grabbed one from the back. They both jumped and rolled when they hit the ground, coming to their feet and pulling on the wrappings with all their might. The mummy spun like a top, it's wrappings coming loose and hitting the floor. The giant inside the wrappings squeaked in embarrassment, covering itself with its hands before tripping, and falling back into the fissure. The room shook again and the Frisks had to grab a hold of each other not to fall as the fissure closed.

The mummies surrounding us pushed on my barrier and I pushed back scattering them across the room. We ran through the doorway at the end of the gallery, making for the hallway that lead to the treasure room. The mummies gave chase, running en mass after us. I put a bone barrier up behind us, blocking the hallway as we came into a massive room filled cartoonishly full of gold, things covered in gold, and jewels.

Steam sat on a pile of treasure in the middle of the room in his debonair suit and top hat, the twins standing on either side of him. "*what took you so long?"

"No way. How did he beat us here?" Cross asked. Frisk shrugged at him.

Chara tossed a pink gem in one hand before holding it out to show us. "One Eye of Horus!"

"*if you hurry, you might be able to beat the Papyrus-es to the other room."

"That's a load of bull and you know it," I grumbled. "Those two puzzle masters are very likely back at the hotel, sipping tea, with Isis' diadem sitting on the table in front of them."

Steam shrugged. "very likely."

"Anything else on Gaster's list?" Steam's Frisk asked.

"Nope," my girl answered. "We're done. We can crash for the night at the hotel and head back to St. Canard in the morning."

"Sweet!" Chara grabbed his brother's arm. "Let's hit the market. We can find some cool stuff for Mom and Az."

"And by cool stuff for Mom and Az, you mean mostly Az."

Chara glared at his brother and punched him in the arm. "Shut up!"

"You just make it really obvious when you do stuff like that," Cross chuckled.

Chara huffed, shoulders drooping. "Let's just go back."

Steam put a hand on either of the twins shoulders while I collared both Frisks in front of me and we short cut back to the hotel on the other side of the Nile. As predicted, we found my brother and Steam's drinking tea with the diadem sitting on the table in front of them.

Frisk leaned over to kiss my brother's left temporal bone, earning a warm smile, before disappearing into her room. The twins quickly headed back out for the market. Cross picked up the diadem, looking it over.

"So why exactly does Dr. Gaster want this and the Eye of Horus? Do they have magical properties?"

Steam shrugged. "*who knows? neither item has any sort of magic. i bet he doesn't want to pay someone to supply the gems for a new invention."

"And sending you to another hemisphere is a better option?"

"HE'S ASKED US TO COLLECT WEIRDER THINGS FOR STRANGER REASONS," Steam's brother supplied.

"So you two aren't related to the doctor at all?"

"*nope. not even distantly. just two of his employees."

Cross looked at me. "Why are all the stories so different?"

I shrugged. "That's a question for Blue the next time you see him. I'm pretty sure the Prime Frisk knows the answer."

Cross gently set the diadem down before disappearing into the room he, Paps, and I shared.

"HE IS... NOT WHAT I EXPECTED," Steam's brother commented.

"*i expected him to act more like chara. instead, he is very much like other frisks: curious, quiet, and a touch of sarcasm to his politeness."

"Yeah, but that sarcasm is always a Sans-es fault," I commented.

"AND LIKE OTHERS OF HIS VARIATION, VERY COMPETITIVE. EACH DAY THAT PASSES, HE IS MORE LIKE OUR FRISK," Paps said.

"*two sides of the same coin?"

Paps shook his head. "TWO DIFFERENT COINS STRUCK FROM THE SAME METAL."

I snorted. "It's good way to describe all Frisks. The same metal, but different coins."

"I hear you talking about me," both Frisks said at the same time.

I chuckled. "And?"

"Jerk," my Frisk grumbled.

"What? No response, Cross?"

"Sorry. You just can't see me shrugging through the door." His head popped out. "Do you need a longer illusion of privacy or are you done?"

I smirked. "We're good."

Both Frisk's came out in their off duty clothing, and settled in chairs facing the balcony and the view of the river. Frisk started knitting and Cross worked in his sketchbook.

"Have you decided?" she asked softly.

"No." His reply was just as soft.

The twins showed up just as dinner was brought to the room and the evening was spent with the two telling stories of their exploits all over the globe fetching this or that item for Dr. Gaster. They passed out on top of each other, mid story. Steam and his brother tucked them in before excusing themselves for the night. Frisk kissed me on the mandible before going to her room.

Cross looked over at me. "Why don't you share the room with Church?"

I shook my head. "I'm all bones, Cross. That's not exactly comfortable for cuddling." I shifted a little, getting a bit more comfortable in the chair.

"Translation: neither of you sleep when you share a bed."

Paps chuckled and I glared at both of them. "No bed time story for you tonight."

Papyrus gave me a little pout.

"No worries, Papyrus. I've got you covered," Cross said. "I've got the bunny one you like in my bag. So long as you don't mind it being in French, I don't mind reading to you."

Paps smiled at him and stood. "I SHALL TAKE YOU UP ON YOUR GENEROUS OFFER." He laid his boney hand on top of my shoulder. "TRY NOT TO FALL ASLEEP OUT HERE."

I patted his phalanges. "I'll only be out here for a little while longer. I'm almost finished with the new issue of Communications in Mathematical Physics. Have a good night." I pulled my kindle out of the little Flying Ace Snoopy case Frisk had sewn for it. I snuffed the room's lamp and read by the light of the e-reader. It wasn't long before my eye sockets closed.

The nagging feeling of being watched pulled me from sleep. There was movement in the room. I sat up and doing so bumped the power button on the kindle, casting light directly in my face.

A man screamed. "HE IS THE VERY VISION OF DEATH!"

I short cut across the room, shoving the speaker against the wall. My eye flared to life as I summoned an array of blue bones to light the room. Two others were in the room, covered head to toe in black. One had the box with the Diadem and the Eye in it under his arm. The other had Steam's Frisk tied up and thrown over his shoulder, limp. They both leaped from the balcony. I knocked out the man I had pinned and ran for the window. The one with the box was running street level for the interior of Cairo. The one with Frisk had taken to the rooftops running along the river front. I short cut to the roof ahead of him.

The kidnapper bounced off my rib cage, but his surprise was only momentary. He threw Frisk at me and I caught the kid only to have my legs swept from under me. I summoned a circle of blue bones to surround the kidnapper and trap him while I set Frisk down. The kidnapper ran through the barrier, shaking off the damage from moving through blue. I turned the kidnapper blue, holding him still. I nudged the kiddo while I untied him.

"Wake up, Frisk."

"Frisk?" The kidnapper whispered, a distinctly feminine voice.

The kid sat up, rubbing his head. "Where am I? Where's Chara?"

"Chara?" another whisper.

"Back at the hotel." I pulled him to his feet. "Our kidnapper here tried to make off with you."

Frisk looked up at the kidnapper. "Why did you try to kidnap me?"

The kidnapper said nothing.

"Likely to distract us from the Diadem and the Eye being stolen," I answered. "The other guy grabbed them and went in the opposite direction."

Frisk groaned. "Just great. Every time I want to get home and work my projects."

"Well, I'm sure we can get a lead on where to go from our 'friend' here." I offered Frisk my hand before grabbing a hold of the kidnapper and short cutting us back to the hotel. The shared living room was brightly lit when we landed. The man I'd knocked out was awake and sitting very nervously between my Frisk and Steam, whose eye glowed a bright green as he sipped his orange marmalade from a tea cup.

"*oh look. my frisk seems to be in order." Steam smiled at his seat mate. "*how fortunate for you."

The man squeaked.

Chara punched his brother's arm. "What is it with you and the heavy sleeping?"

"Shut up, Chara! We were running around all day! I was tired!"

Cross was watching the kidnapper, still held by my magic. "Both of you back to bed," he said. "No worries. We won't leave you out of hunting the artifacts again."

"Oh come on!" Chara complained.

Steam gave Cross a confused look but shooed the twins along. When the door shut, Cross pulled the dark mask off of the kidnapper's face, revealing a woman in her thirties.

"*why did you kidnap frisk?"

"I have a better question. So did you think you'd ever see them again when you dropped them at the orphanage?" Cross asked.

Steam rushed over to the woman, looking at her. "*what makes you think she's the twins' mother?"

"She looked at Frisk and Chara with the same horrified expression a parent has when they realize they've unwittingly endangered their own children, and..." He pulled out his phone, scrolled quickly to a specific picture, and held it up next to her face. "She's a dead ringer for my mother."

"Show off," Frisk smiled.

Cross shrugged and turned back to the woman. "The question stands."

She looked away, refusing to answer.

"Let's let that simmer on the back burner for a bit." Frisk put her arm around the man next to her. "So, my new friend, who are you working for?"

He smiled nervously and looked at the woman. Receiving no help, he shrugged. "No one? Just stealing the gems?"

"Oh wow. You are so bad at this," Cross groaned. "Try again. But this time, stop acting like an idiot."

"I don't know why the Vampire Illuminati wants them!"

"Wait. What?"

Frisk cackled. "Those idiots again!"

"Again?!" Cross stared at her. "You're serious? Actual vampires and actual Illuminati?"

She nodded. "One of them even managed to bite me. C messed the guy up pretty bad before Bones killed him."

The man looked back and forth between Frisk and Cross. "You've killed a vampire? But, that's impossible!"

The woman looked at Frisk, suddenly interested.

"Stake the lesser ones, cut the heads off the big guys." Frisk nodded toward me. "Bones' GBs took them out no problem."

Our two captives looked at each other.

"You make it sound easy," the man grumbled.

Cross pointed at the two. "Remember, Church. Normal people."

She shrugged. "All right. You two want away from the vampires, right?"

They both nodded.

"Help us get the Diadem and the Eye back and we'll get rid of the vampires plaguing you. Deal?"

The man nodded emphatically. The woman looked suspicious, but assented.

"Great!" Frisk looked at the woman. "Are the twins your children?"

She looked away. "No."

Steam stood so to squarely have her attention. "Are you related to them?"

"No."

"Leave it," I said. "We need to sort out the Diadem and the Eye. Where have they been taken?"

"The Heliopolis Palace Hotel," the man said.

Frisk stood. "Wake your brothers and grab the boys. The Papyrus' can keep an eye on our guests while the rest of us head out."

"What?!" The woman finally spoke. "You'd take the children into danger?!"

Frisk smiled at Cross. He rolled his eyes at her. Great. Just great. They were competing again.

"I'm not leaving them behind just to have them show up unannounced later in a dangerous situation. In any case, they're both seasoned adventurers and we did promise to bring them along," Frisk said. She knocked on the door to the twins' room. "Come on out, boys. It's time to go."

When no answer came, Frisk opened the door and looked inside. She gasped and ran into the room. She came back out with a snarl on her face and a paper crushed in her hand. "It seems the New Order of Vampire Illuminati have kidnapped the twins and will hand them over in exchange for the Diadem and the Eye."

"Two Vampire Illuminatis?" Cross groaned. "Seriously?" He huffed and shouldered his bag. "Let's go get the twins." He looked over at the woman. Her head hung from her neck, tears silently rolling down her face. Cross sighed. "We'll get them back. They'll be fine."

Steam smiled. "*provided they haven't gotten themselves out already. my frisk and chara are crafty." He banged on the door to his room. "*up and at 'em, papyrus! i need you to keep an eye socket on our guests." He opened the door to the room he shared with his brother. "*huh. he's gone."

"Likely after the twins." I looked in my shared room. "My Paps is gone as well." I checked my phone and saw that a text had come across while I had it on silent. "He took off after the Diadem and the Eye." I put my hands in my pockets. "It's your lucky day, Sans. You get to be lazy and baby sit."

Steam sat down next to the man and put his slippered feet up on the coffee table. "*sounds good to me."

"Where are we supposed to find the New Order of Vampire - I can't even say that with a straight face," Cross started.

"In front of the Sphinx. Give me a minute to change." Frisk hopped in her room and quick changed out of her bed clothes into the dark blue version of her uniform. "Let's go."

I withdrew my magic, letting go of the woman. I put an arm around my girl and Cross put his hand on my shoulder. I short cut us back across the Nile to the Giza plateau and up a bit on the Great Pyramid.

Frisk pulled out her binoculars and had a look. "I see four people standing with the twins. It looks like they're both just about out of their bonds." She handed the binoculars to Cross.

He looked around. "There are two more hidden on the Sphinx itself and they're armed. I don't see anyone else. The full moon means we won't be able to approach without them seeing unless we teleport right on top of them."

Frisk shook her head. "They're all facing the river and expecting us to come from that direction. We can land directly behind the Sphinx and sneak up that way. If we can quietly take out the two look outs on the Sphinx, we'll be in a better position." She looked at him. "Knock out the one on the right. I'll get the one on the left."

"Are they vampires or normal people?" Cross asked.

"They're wearing scarves. That's a good indication that they're bitten humans. We can knock them out." She looked to me. "If either of us messes up, just grab the twins, and get them back to the hotel. We'll meet you back there."

"Got it. Are you both ready?"

They nodded and I short cut us to the shadows behind the Sphinx. Frisk and Cross snuck up on their targets. In the same swift motion, they clamped hands over mouths and put chloroform soaked handkerchiefs against noses. Both knelt on their left knees, gently bringing their targets to the ground. Leaning over in unison, they both pulled the magazines from the guns, and stuffed them into pockets on their jackets.

As they made their way back to me, Frisk and Chara completely freed themselves. I could see them both counting under their breath.

One.

Frisk got his feet underneath him in a crouch.

Two.

Chara pulled out a knife hidden in his sleeve.

Three!

Frisk jumped up and backward into his captor, slamming the top of his head into the man's chin. Chara turned and ran the knife against his captor's legs, hamstringing him. Frisk's captor bit the tip of his own tongue off from the impact, falling backwards. Chara's victim screamed, blood spraying across the sand as he fell.

The ground shifted and several vampires rose out of the sand.

The two that my girl and Cross had knocked out, stood up, turning into werewolves as they did.

"Grab the boys and go!" Cross yelled as a werewolf grabbed him.

I short cut to the boys, collared them, and got them back to the hotel. Steam was having a cup of orange marmalade while his guests sat quietly. On seeing the boys, the relief in the woman's eyes was evident, but she did not move to touch them. I gave Steam a salute before heading back.

Everyone was gone.

"C? You awake?"

C burst to life on my shoulder. "Of course I am!"

"What happened?"

"Frisk and Cross managed to take down one of the werewolves and three vampires before they were overwhelmed."

"Can you get me to them?"

C snorted. "Of course! Hold out your hand."

I held out my hand and C projected a hologram of the Sphinx with a glowing concealed door.

"They entered there and proceeded underground."

The hologram expanded, displaying a massive tomb complex.

C jumped over to my hand. "They went through this hallway, but if you go up here, there is a ventilation shaft you'll be able to fit through that will put in right above where they're being held."

"Great. Let's go." I found the secret entrance and followed C's directions to the shaft. It was bigger than I though it would be. I looked into the room. Frisk and Cross were chained to one wall.

"They don't have the Diadem or the Eye!" one of the human pawns whined.

"A minor set back. And one that won't matter tonight. A virgin sacrifice has presented herself for my great and illustrious master."

Frisk snorted. "Virgin? Really? Sorry. That's not gonna work for you."

"Church!" Cross mock chided.

"Okay, the details of my days as a Viper aside, it's not like Bones and I are completely celibate."

C giggled in my ear. "Just mostly."

"The third wheel can hush!" I hissed at him.

"Oh don't use me as an excuse!"

The vampire looked amused. "Well, I had assumed based on your attire that you were a lady. But then, you are the only woman roomed with several men. I suppose that should have been obvious that you were a whore."

Wait. What did he just say? My eye started glowing.

"Calm down, Sans," C whispered.

Cross looked more offended than Frisk. "That's completely out of line."

The vampire smirked. "Even if she isn't a virgin, she'll still make a nice meal for my ancient master when we awaken him from his centuries of slumber. He's rather fond of women in their prime."

Frisk rolled her eyes as the vampire and his pawn left. Once they were out of sight, both Frisks counted to ten...

And let themselves out of the chains holding them to the wall.

"You two okay?" I asked.

They looked up. "We're good," they both replied.

I dropped down into the room. "And will you two please stop doing the creepy twin thing?"

"S/He's copying me," they both said, pointing at each other.

I rubbed my nasal bone while C laughed. He transferred back over to Frisk. She held up one hand and got a high five from the hologram.

"Okay. They have some ancient and probably really powerful vampire somewhere around here. Let's take care of it before it gets up and snacks on Cairo," Cross said.

"C? Can you give us a layout of this place?" Frisk asked.

"Yeah."

Frisk held out her hand and the tomb complex hologram appeared on it.

"The vampires are using the room over here as a base of operations." C lit up the room in question. "Beyond that room is a large chamber with a pretty big sarcophagus. I'm betting the big fangs is in there."

"So what do they need the Eye and the Diadem for?" I asked. "Did they say at all?"

"Something about them being items of power for the vampire they want to wake up," Cross answered.

"But neither have any magic to them, right?" Frisk looked at me.

I shook my skull. "Nothing. And I would know."

"You know," Cross began, "I haven't seen a single one of these guys actually use magic."

Frisk laughed. "That's actually funny!"

"What have we got for hostiles in this place, C?" I asked.

"Well, the vampires ate the two humans that the twins hurt and the werewolf Cross managed to take down. So that plus the vampires you iced earlier leaves you with one werewolf, two humans, and four vampires, not counting the big guy in the tomb."

"The vampires are fast," Cross said. "and the werewolf is super strong." He scratched the back of his head and then leaned in close to get a good look at the hologram. "The room they're all in only has two exits. The one to the sarcophagus and the one to the hall." He smiled at Frisk.

She smiled back. "We can flash bang them!"

"We can totally flash bang them!"

Frisk pulled a flash grenade out of her jacket pocket.

"And you jut had that on you?" I asked.

She smiled at me. "You know I'm always prepared." She looked at C. "Do any of them have any weapons on them?"

"None."

"Excellent. Here's the plan. Flash bang. While they're confused, Bones blasts the vampires. Cross gets the werewolf, and I'll take the two humans."

Cross and I both nodded.

Before we could even get to the door, a large group of people went screaming down the hall for the target room. We watched as a vampire on vampire fight broke out.

"What am I even looking at?" C asked.

"WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT IS THE VAMPIRE ILLUMINATI FIGHTING THE NEW ORDER VAMPIRE ILLUMINATI," Paps answered. He and Steam's brother leaned against the wall outside the room. "PAPYRUS AND I CONVINCED THE ILLUMINATI THAT TONIGHT WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO ATTACK THE NEW ORDER 'HERETICS,' AS THEY CALL THEM."

I looked between the two of them. "Convinced them? You both went after the Diadem and the Eye?" I pointed at Papyrus. "I thought you went after the twins."

"I COULD NOT SLEEP AND WAS OUT FOR A WALK WHEN I RAN INTO YOUR BROTHER CHASING DOWN THE VAMPIRE ILLUMINATI THIEF. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TWINS?"

"They were kidnapped by the New Order," Cross answered. "They're both back at the hotel now."

Frisk looked between the Papyrus-es. "So what about the Diadem and the Eye?"

"AH YES. IT SEEMS THAT CHARA AND FRISK SWITCHED THE ORIGINALS WITH FAKES JUST AFTER DINNER. SO THEY ARE BACK AT THE HOTEL, SAFE AND SOUND," Steam's brother replied.

"SO NOW WE WAIT FOR THE DUST TO SETTLE AND STOP THE EVIL PLAN TO RESURRECT THE ANCIENT EVIL VAMPIRE," Paps said.

The dust settled pretty quickly with a lot of staked vampires, the werewolf in pieces, and the two humans completely missing. The three remaining members of the Vampire Illuminati congratulated each other for surviving.

The first one whooped excitedly. "Now we can raise our ancient master and get all the credit!"

"If only we had a virgin to sacrifice to him," the second one moaned.

"Didn't the heretics say they found a virgin?" the third one asked.

Frisk facepalmed, and I patted her shoulder before sending bone strikes to stake all three, turning them to dust.

We headed into the room with the sarcophagus and pushed the heavy lid off. The interior was completely empty. There wasn't even dust inside, indicating that anything had ever been there.

"Well. How about that?" Cross muttered. "They were fighting over nothing."

Paps put his arm around Papyrus' shoulders, both of them chuckling as they short cut back to the hotel. I sighed, putting an arm around Frisk while Cross put his hand on my shoulder for the short cut.

Back at the hotel, the twins were sleeping on top of each other on the love seat. The woman watched them over her tea cup.

"Well," I began, "Neither of you have to worry about the Vampire Illuminati or the New Order of Vampire Illuminati. They took care of each other tonight."

The man looked lost. "Really? They're gone?"

"THE ONES IN THIS CITY ARE. SO LONG AS YOU DON'T GO NEAR OTHER VAMPIRES UNTIL THEIR BITE HEALS, YOU WILL BE FINE," Steam's brother informed them. "THE INFLUENCE ONLY LASTS SO LONG AS THE BITE DOES."

"Thank you!" The man stood and emphatically shook everyone's hand before running out the door.

Frisk turned to the woman. "Well?"

She glanced up at Frisk and back to the boys. "What kind of life do they have? Are they well cared for?"

Steam shrugged. "They are the adopted sons of the Dreemurr Royal Family, and they are both apprenticed to the genius who created the flying ships that now litter the skies. They are well loved and cared for by their adoptive parents and older sister." Steam looked into his cup of orange marmalade. "All monsters from the Underground owe those boys a huge debt of gratitude. They opened the barrier that sealed us beneath the earth. And for this, we monsters will always see that they have a very good life filled with a lot of friends and a lot of love."

The woman put down her tea cup. "Then I was never here." She stood, took one last look at the boys, and disappeared out the door.

Frisk leaned against me and I put an arm around her.

"Do you think she'll come back?" she asked.

I shook my skull. "I don't know."

She sighed. "I'm going back to bed. Try not to fall asleep out here again."

"But sleeping anywhere I am comes so naturally to me! I can do it with my eye sockets closed."

Cross tossed a pillow from the couch to Frisk, who smacked me in the face with it.