AN- Me: Muse Kitty...
Muse Kitty: Meow?
Me: Don't give me that look! You know exactly what you did!
Muse Kitty: Purr
Me: I don't need another idea! We already have five! Plus the non-Undertale ones, and all of the original works! Do you want me to drown in plot bunnies?!
Muse Kitty: Meow.
Me: Me going insane is not a good thing, kitty!
Muse Kitty: Purr
Me: I hate you too.
Disclaimer- I don't own Undertale.
Chapter 2
Frisk staggered down the stairs, listening to the clock strike twice. She hadn't been able to sleep, her dreams filled with dust and glowing chains. So she went to one of the few people that could calm her down. Or more accurately, she went to one of the monsters that could calm her down. She knocked on the iron wrought door in the back corner of the basement, and listened to the shuffling that started.
"I- I'm sorry," the familiar stuttering voice said as the yellow lizard pulled open the door, "I- I d-didn't expect- Oh Frisk."
She smiled, and waved a greeting to Alphys, shifting back and forth on her feet. Alphys stepped to the side and waved her in, shutting the door behind her. Frisk glanced around the room, doing her best to ignore the heavy set enchanted chain that was wrapped around Alyphs's ankle. The bed in the corner had rumpled sheets, and the homemade video player next to it was shut off for once.
Pieces of the scientist's latest project lay scattered around the room, even coating a cot that Frisk was intimately familiar with. Alphys stuttered apologies and went to gather the mechanical parts off of it, but Frisk waved the apologies off. The monster often treated Frisk with more respect than she was used to since she was seen as even less than the enslaved monsters.
"Night-tmares again?" Alphys asked again sympathetically.
Frisk nodded, and gestured at Alphys's bed.
"W-what?" she asked confused before her face lit up in recognition. "O-oh that old thing. I gave up on getting it to work."
Frisk frowned heavily, going to pull the small machine from underneath the bed. It looked like a simple metallic box with a wire sticking out of it, but it was supposed to transmit a signal that other monster's could track. Alphys had been trying to make it work for months.
"I-it's not going to e-ever work," Alphys insisted, tapping at the chain on her leg, "S-something to do w-with the enchantments on me. It s-stops any attempts t-to let others know where I am."
Frisk signed a question, wondering if there was a chance Monster Kid knew the monster Alphys was trying to contact.
Alphys smiled sadly, poking her fingers together in a sheepish gesture. "I-I doubt it. M-Mettaton would be m-my best bet of getting out of here, and h-he's not very well known."
Frisk signed Undyne's name sharply, trying to insist that the monster that she had only heard about from Monster Kid's stories would definitely show up to break Alphys out. Frisk would do it herself, except the enchantments on her earrings kept her from even attempting to help. She would have passed notes for Alyphs if that was the case.
Frisk could donate money to the monsters' cause through a simple loophole. There was nothing in the enchantment that prevented her from accidentally dropping money in a bucket. As long as that was the thought passing through Frisk's head, she could get away with it, but it was harder to help a monster that was already enslaved.
Alphys shook her head. "Even i-if Undyne wanted to h-help, no one knows that Ch-Chara is the one that had me. He made sure of that. A-and maybe they w-would be better off without me."
Frisk's frown deepened, and she reached a hand out to Alphys, who took in her own clawed hand.
"S-sorry," Alphys muttered, "Y-you came down because of y-your own problems, but we always end up dealing with mine."
Frisk shook her head, signing that it was fine, her problems weren't that bad anyways. Alphys frowned at her, and ushered her towards the cot. The monster carefully took one of Frisk's earrings between her claw and turned it around to see it in a better light.
"The physical enchantments are holding up just fine," Alphys murmured, "As is the Determination transference. Have you been feeling any physical pain around your core?"
Frisk shook her head, and Alphys let go of that earring to grasp the other.
"The emotional suppression still has that crack in it, but the rest of it is holding steady. It's unlikely you'll feel extreme positive emotions, but," Alphys stepped back, "there is a small possibility that your core is simply rebelling against the magic and the crack will expand before the whole enchantment shatters."
Frisk nodded, ducking behind her bangs. Neither of them wanted to think about what would happen to Frisk if her core didn't expand enough before the enchantment broke.
"I-I don't see anythig wrong, so w-why are you still g-getting nightmares?" Alphys asked. "Unless…." Her eyes widened, "Frisk-! A-are they about th-things you've done?"
Frisk glanced away, nodding. Her eyes darted back to look at the scientist.
"That's great! It's a really good sign for your core and development," Alphys said excitedly. "You should be getting regular dreams next!"
Frisk gave her a weak grin, glad that at least one of them was excited about this. She hated to bring Alphys back down, but Frisk slowly signed a question that she knew needed to be asked.
How long until it becomes different enough that Master notices?
Alphys wilted, and Frisk felt a stab of guilt. The monster was the only person who had treated her the same after finding out what she was.
"I-It will probably only be a c-couple of months. Th-three at the m-most," Alphys whispered. "I-I'm sorry."
Frisk smiled at her, and laid a hand on her arm. Alphys had at least done everything she could, and Frisk was thankful for that. At least she would get to enjoy a few months of emotional freedom before everything got trashed.
Frisk froze and felt a mischievous grin crawl across her face.
"F-frisk?" Alphys asked.
Frisk asked if the transmitter Alphys had built would work if someone without an enchantment that sabotaged their work fixed it. Alphys nodded hesitantly, and Frisk's grin grew, a plan forming in her mind. If she could find someone who could fix it, and then just so happen to 'dump' or 'get rid' of the broken machine near them… Well what they did with it was out of her control, wasn't it?
Frisk signed this plan at Alphys, growing more excited the more that she thought about it. She could get her friend out of this horrid place! Alphys could be freed.
Alphys laid a gentle hand over Frisk's, stilling her frantic signing.
"W-what about w-when your enchantment breaks?" Alphys asked softly, "Th-there isn't anyone else s-skilled enough with m-magic and technology t-to be able to f-fix it."
Frisk insisted that she would be fine, she had been fine before Alphys had been brought in. Alphys stared at her, and pointedly didn't mention that Frisk had been falling apart at the seams, which had been why she had been brought in. Master may be the best monster hunter in the kingdom, but he wasn't careful with his tools, any of his tools.
Frisk shrugged as Alphys's look, and stood up from the cot. The room sat in a heavy silence as Frisk carefully returned the transmitter to its hiding place beneath Alphys' bed and turned towards the door.
It might be better for everyone if I broke.
Alphys flinched, and Frisk knelt down to hug the shorter monster. But she wouldn't take the sentence back. She stood and left the room before Alphys could say anything else to her. Her back straightened as she walked up the stairs from the basement. She had three months to find someone to fix Alphys's device and get her out. She had three months to help Monster Kid save as many monster as possible. She only had to make it three more months.
A noise echoed throughout the mansion and courtyard, causing Frisk to flinch. She had almost made it to the hallway to her room, and that was sure to have woken Master up. She turned to face the stairs that he would come down from, and wasn't disappointed when an angry but excited Master stormed down.
"I wonder who's stupid enough to be caught trespassing here," Chara said with a grin. Frisk fell into behind him, two steps back and one to the left. They left through the front door, Master doing nothing to hide the fact that he was coming. Frisk felt sick as she watched his grin grow wider and wider as they heard the frantic footsteps away from them into the gardens.
"Go left," Master ordered, turning to the right to search that side of the garden.
Frisk hurried in the direction he wanted her to go, relief etched in her face over the fact that he hadn't ordered her to catch the intruder. She stepped between some of the elm trees and ducking around the rose bushes, hoping that she found whoever it was before Master did. She pushed aside the leaves on a bush to check if the person was hiding in them, and jumped at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder.
Frisk whirled around, dropping into a defensive stance instinctively.
"wow, i didn't know you'd jump for joy when you saw me," Sans said with a wink as Frisk's jaw dropped open. She glanced around again, and grabbed his wrist dragging him through the gardens. Her head snapped around when she thought she heard Chara, and she shoved the white haired man behind her into the shadows of the bushes. She motioned for him to remain quiet, and turned around the corner to almost run into Master.
"Watch where you're going," he snapped at her. "Did you find anything?"
Frisk shook her head, and he scoffed.
"Useless. Of course. I don't know why I bothered to get you to help in the first place. They probably slipped past you while you were bumbling around." Frisk glanced down and didn't say anything, stiffening as Master drew closer. "Or maybe," he gripped her chin tightly and wrenched it up so they were looking eye to eye. "You let them slip past. I mean you are defective."
Frisk practically held her breath, willing herself not to give anything away, to focus on the pounding of her heart instead of the shadows just behind her. After an eternity, he let her go, and stepped away, scoffing. "I'll find a suitable punishment for you after work tomorrow. We set out at first light; there's a monster that someone wants dead enough that they put a bounty out on them. It should be amusing to fulfil."
He turned away, heading back inside, but Frisk didn't breathe easily until she was sure he had returned to his room. She spun around and found herself face to face with a frowning Sans.
"is that-?" She cut off his question, slamming her hand over his mouth, and glanced back at the mansion. She relaxed slightly when nothing stirred, and she waved for him to follow her. Carefully, she led him to a gap in the fence, and squeezed through into the alleyway behind it.
He studied the area after he followed her before turning to face her.
"can i talk now?" Sans asked in an amused tone, shoving his hand in his pockets. "is that allowed?"
Frisk blushed, but refused to regret keeping him quiet and nodded.
"alright," he said, rocking back on the balls of his feet, "first things first. is that how he normally treats you?"
Frisk shrugged, signing that Master had been particularly upset lately. Which was true, and meant more bruises for her, but didn't let Sans know that Master was always 'particularly upset.' It was better if no one was sticking their noses in her business.
"that doesn't mean that it's alright," he snapped. Frisk stared at him, confused on why he was reacting to this so badly. He blinked back at her, and then blushed, tugging at the collar of his clothes. He coughed, and Frisk bit back a giggle at the look on his face.
"anyways, the whole reason i was trees-passing," he said with a grin, which grew at the silent giggle that came from Frisk. "i wanted to know, you up to get lunch with me at grillby's?"
