So did you really stay in there the whole time? Frisk asked Flowey, conversing idly as they walked down the forest path.

"Being underground wasn't the point, you idiot. It was about social isolation. I can still spy on people if I want to."

Does that mean you've seen some cities? Frisk asked hopefully.

"Sorry, but I haven't. My roots can't burrow in cement."

That makes sense. Frisk acknowledged, though they were a little disappointed by his response.

The forest surrounding Mt. Ebbot was a quiet place, with most of the animals keeping to themselves. People didn't come around here very often, so it was likely to be just the two of them until they reached the town. However, this uneventful trip was actually good news for Frisk, since it gave them some time to quietly think their situation over. They thought about each of their friends, wondering where they were now that so much time had passed.

Almost immediately, Toriel came to mind. The thought of her having to lose another child was saddening - as far as she knew, they would never be coming back. They felt guilty for having put her through that, even though they weren't sure if it was actually their fault or not; they hoped they would be able to talk to her soon.

Sans's outward demeanour was probably the same as before. As Frisk had learned over the course of their adventure, Sans had more than a few dark secrets that he didn't openly discuss. Considering the way he already dealt with these problems - or rather, avoided doing so - any additional grief could be hidden in the exact same manner. It would be harder to maintain his laid-back attitude with more on his mind, but being able to live on the surface would hopefully even things out.

By contrast, Frisk was unsure of what to expect from Papyrus. Obviously, he would still be the same on most occasions, with his enthusiastic confidence and relentless optimism; it was the remaining few moments that had them worried. They had never seen the skeleton sad before, so there was no way to know for sure how he would deal with it.

Undyne was almost certainly still working hard to protect everyone, even after the official disbanding of the royal guard. Naturally, she would be saddened by the loss of a friend, but in the long run it would probably just make her even more determined to keep everyone safe - for Frisk's sake. After all, she was the heroine that never gave up - Frisk had observed that firsthand.

Alphys's situation was an interesting one. With her shyness and insecurity, one might expect her to take the loss quite hard. But she had a lot of experience dealing with death, so Frisk's absence would be an easier adjustment for her. They were more concerned with how she'd react when Frisk revealed themselves; given what had happened with the amalgamates, resurrection was probably not a happy subject for her.

Mettaton, at least, was probably still very happy. He could finally achieve he dream of becoming a real star, performing for humans on the surface. Like everyone else, he cared about Frisk, but he wasn't actually dependent on them. Considering how many people must have taken it very badly, it would probably be for the best if he had been able to move on.

Finally, there was Asgore. Although he was not responsible for Frisk's death, his history with the human souls and separate attempt to kill Frisk previously meant that in all likelihood, he felt guilty about it nonetheless. They pitied the king - and as with Toriel, they felt guilty themselves for inflicting this upon him through their death.

Between locating all their friends, sorting out the complex emotions therein, and figuring out the truth behind their resurrection, Frisk once again had a lot of responsibility hanging over them. In the past, this would have been the point where one thing or another filled them with determination. Now the feeling wouldn't come, and they weren't sure if they could ever get used to its absence. Nonetheless, they refused to give up, with the memories of all their friends driving them onward.

-

It was late afternoon by the time they arrived at the town's entrance; Frisk was exhausted, Flowey was bored, and both of them were very hungry. A small town would have been the perfect place to stop and rest, followed by an initial discussion of how to locate their companions. As a result, they were completely unprepared for what they found instead.

A large metal arch had been built over the path into town, formally marking the town's entry point. The words "Welcome to Woodvale" were written on it with neon green lights, alongside a neon pink "MTT" logo at the very top. A brightly-lit metal fence extended from either side of the arch, circling around and out of sight.

Beyond the fence, the street was lined with stores and advertisements on both sides; many of these were small and independent, but there were already several large MTT buildings visible from where they stood. Most of the advertisements prominently announced a performance by the MTT Acting Troupe, apparently scheduled for "tonight". The town's occupants were buzzing with activity, creating a sea of bodies as far as Frisk could see.

Flowey stared at the town in bewilderment. "Was it this flashy the first time you came here?"

Frisk shook their head, cringing away from the large crowd. No, it was mostly just average. I only stopped here because it was on the way.

"In that case, someone's clearly been pretty busy." Flowey remarked, still staring at the glamorous light show as they reluctantly walked through the gate.

The crowd before them consisted of both humans and monsters, though there were more of the former than the latter. Most of the monsters here were humanoids, and didn't seem to have any trouble fitting in. Despite their social anxiety, Frisk was proud - and more than a little relieved - to see that the monsterkind had been able to integrate successfully on its own. Now the only thing Frisk had to worry about getting discovered prematurely. They knew that the monsters would be relieved to find that they had returned, but they wanted a chance to sort everything out first.

As they walked down the street, they found that people were noticing them often enough, and humans regarded them with curiosity - presumably because skeletons weren't very common monsters. Flowey got his fair share of looks from both species, which he was ignoring with visible irritation. However, none of the monsters seemed to even bat an eye at Frisk, let alone recognize them as "the human". Under these particular circumstances, they were doubly grateful that this was the case.

Eventually, Frisk managed to duck into a fast food restaurant - it only felt marginally less crowded than the streets, but Frisk desperately needed something to eat. The aesthetic was very similar to what Frisk had observed in the original MTT Resort, with an expanded version of the burger emporium's menu: it now included items such as Fabfries, Blook Burgers, Madwiches and Shyren Shakes. After a brief period of consideration, Frisk decided to get two Fabfries and a Shyren Shake. The former turned out to be a set of multi-coloured French fries, while the latter was essentially a vanilla milkshake with pictures of Shyren on the cup. Both meals were magic, of course.

As soon as they had a seat, Frisk started signing to Flowey. I think we need to talk to Mettaton.

Flowey paused to munch on some fries before speaking. "I guess it could be a lot worse. At any rate, he might be able to help you find the rest of your friends."

But how are we going to find him? Frisk asked. We don't even know where he lives.

"We'll just look around these stores for a little while. Wherever his house is, it's probably a big tourist spot."

They sat in silence for a little while longer, and then left the restaurant upon finishing their meal. They hurried through the crowd and made their way to an MTT-Brand Souvenir Shop, feeling a little more confident about social activity now that they had eaten. The shop contained a huge variety of different collectible items - toys, trinkets, clothing, books and even teacups. Rather than featuring Mettaton alone, the products showed a multitude of characters, many of whom were unfamiliar to Frisk. Thankfully, Mettaton himself was still the star attraction.

Frisk made their way through the store, ignoring the toys and accessories in favour of the informative literary materials. There was no question that it would be biased, but hopefully it would contain useful trivia regarding the star's current status. There was a variety of Mettaton-themed diaries, a series of novels starring Mettaton, and multiple copies of an autobiography - with photographs - written by Mettaton.

They looked around for some kind of map, but nothing of the sort appeared to be present, so they decided to pick up a copy of the autobiography instead, It was pretty likely that he'd probably want to show off his glamorous home to the readers. Sure enough, after flipping through the pages, Frisk discovered an entire section devoted to Mettaton's house: its location, its appearance, and the state-of-the-art security that protects it.

Frisk almost went and bought the book immediately, but they stopped upon noticing some additional details in the text and pictures. The section regarding the mansion repeatedly mentioned the MTT Acting Troupe, of which Mettaton was evidently the leader. A trio of humanoids robots were prominently depicted alongside Mettaton: a diminutive light blue bot with short grey hair, a muscular orange bot with stringy blond hair, and a round green bot with fluffy white hair. Shyren and Lemon Bread were also visible, the former now operating what appeared to be a rocket-powered fishbowl. Finally, Burgerpants could be seen in the background, wearing a glittery tuxedo and making one of his usual dramatic faces.

"So, have you found anything?" Flowey asked Frisk impatiently.

Frisk turned the book over to a group photo of the Troupe, taken in front of the mansion.

Flowey studied the image with apparent interest. "So all four of them are robots now, huh? That's actually pretty cool."

It has the mansion's address too. Frisk explained.

"Wow, really?" Flowey blinked in surprise. "In that case, we could just go there right now."

The mansion has really high security.
Frisk pointed out.

Flowey smiled. "Don't worry about that. You've just gotta be yourself, silly."

-

Looking at photos of the mansion was one thing, but seeing it in person was an entirely difference matter. It was surrounded by an electrified fence, which consisted entirely of poles in the shape of Mettaton's legs. The mansion's gate was connected to a security station, itself designed in the image of Mettaton's old rectangular body. There was a huge yard beyond the fence, with a large garden decorated by artistic hedges. The mansion itself was huge, with four floors and length to match. It was lit up in various shades of pink, and had spotlights on the roof that lit up the sky with Mettaton's face.

Behind them, a short path led back to the rest of the city, from which loud noise could still be clearly heard. Despite the heavy focus on Mettaton, very few people were currently interested in the mansion - probably because they knew that they wouldn't be able to see him there today.

The security guard station was occupied by Aaron the Seahorse, currently wearing a cap and tank top labeled "security". He was resting his head in one hand and idly pressing keys with the other, a bored look on his face. The keyboard made an unusual clinking sound as he typed, suggesting that it was made of metal - presumably to prevent the burly seahorse from breaking any of the keys.

"Wow, that gross sweaty guy is actually doing something for once." Flowey remarked dryly.

Frisk walked up to the security booth, nervously tapping the glass to get his attention. Aaron jumped in surprise, looking around fearfully before realizing where the sound had come from. When he noticed Frisk, he calmed down somewhat, but still remained uneasy.

"H-hey, little skeleton kid. Aaron greeted them, winking nervously.

Could you please help me? I need to see Mettaton. Frisk signed.

Aaron gulped. "S-sorry, but Mettaton is busy getting ready for his show right now."

Frisk titled their head, staring up at Aaron in what they hoped was a cute manner. Could you at least tell him that I'm here?

Aaron's expression was one of unsettled confusion, like he wasn't sure if he should find this adorable or frightening. "U-uh, yeah, I can send him a message. I can't promise that he'll agree to see you, though."

Frisk nodded, now a little nervous themselves. Would Mettaton recognize them? And if he did, how would he react to their inexplicable revival? There was little doubt that it would be positive, but the details were mostly unpredictable, largely because they were dealing with Mettaton.

Aaron typed rapidly for several seconds, then stood back and twiddled his thumbs as a beeping sound played from the computer.

"What is it, Aaron?" Mettaton voice could be heard from the computer monitor, dripping with exaggerated annoyance.

"T-there's someone outside the mansion who says they need to see you." He explained. "It's a s-skeleton kid with a flower."

Mettaton paused before responding. "Give them a free coupon, maybe they'll like that."

Aaron glanced down at Frisk, who met him with a pleading cute face. Flowey decided to join in on it this time, causing the seahorse to sweat uncomfortably from the pressure.

"S-sir, could you please talk to them? T-they're making these really creepy cute faces."

Mettaton groaned. "It is part of your job to keep my desperate admirers sated. But since you clearly can't handle that, I'll take over for their sake." A rectangular camera emerged from the ground, lighting up and focusing on Frisk.

Hello. Frisk signed shyly at the camera.

From the computer monitor, they heard Mettaton gasp. The camera abruptly retracted into the ground, and rapid footsteps could be heard from the monitor. Moments later, Mettaton burst out of his mansion, opening the gate and sweeping Frisk up in a tight hug.

If they could, Frisk would have yelped in surprise. Instead, they just stared at Mettaton in startled confusion.

Mettaton squeezed them. "Frisky-darling, is it really you?"

Aaron yelped. "Frisk? Y-you mean..." He trailed off, staring at Frisk in fear as he hid behind his desk. Evidently, the supernatural implications of this were too much for him to handle.

I was worried you wouldn't recognize me. They signed at Mettaton shakily.

"You're wearing the exact same clothes." Mettaton noted, raising an eyebrow. He looked like he very much wanted to say something about their dirtiness.

Frisk shook their head. This isn't the only striped sweater in the world. Nobody else noticed anything strange about me, so I thought my appearance wouldn't be enough.

Mettaton smiled. "Well, not everyone got to see you for long. Most people didn't even know you were the human."

Frisk flinched, and then stared down at their hands.

Immediately, Mettaton realized what he had said. "Oh dear. Perhaps we should go somewhere more private."

Frisk nodded quickly. The sooner they could distance themselves from the crowded city, the better.

Mettaton walked back into the house, not waiting for Aaron to close the gate behind him, and immediately began moving. Compared to the outrageous displays on the outside of the mansion, its interior was very modest. The colours were soft and pleasant, the halls were wide enough to accommodate almost anyone, and the art was limited to framed paintings and photographs.

"To be honest, I expected the inside of this place to look just as crazy as the outside."

Mettaton chuckled, glancing down at the flower. "I'm not the only person living here, you know. A home needs to be comfortable for all of its occupants."

Now that their surroundings were quiet, Frisk had calmed down considerably. They leaned against Mettaton, curiously taking in the mansion's decor.

"Who are you, anyways? The last time I saw Frisk, they did not have a flower curled around their neck." Mettaton looked down at said flower with distaste.

Flowey just scoffed in response. "I'm Flowey the Flower. I'm Frisk's best friend, and I found them first after they came back, so I get to go with them!"

Mettaton glanced at Frisk. "Is this true, darling?"

Frisk nodded vigorously without a moment's thought. Even after everything that Asriel had done as Flowey, there was no question in the child's mind that he still deserved that title.

Mettaton seemed bemused at the sight of this, while Flowey seemed stunned. Neither said anything more, and they kept moving through the halls of the mansion.

Eventually, they came to a door labelled "Blooky's Room", from inside which the sound of soft ghostly music could be heard. Mettaton knocked on the door, still holding Frisk with his other arm.

"Oh, you can come in." Napstablook called out, his voice sound notably more mechanical than it used to.

The room had a wooden floor, with space wallpapers and a depiction of the solar system on the ceiling. Instead of a bed, the room contained a large couch, along with a television and computer. A locked chest was present in the room, along with a closet labelled "recharge".

Napstablook was seated in front of the computer, his swivel-chair turned to face them. His current form matched the grey-haired robot from the book; he had speakers on his chest, shoes instead of boots, and smaller shoulders than Mettaton's body.

When he saw who Mettaton was carrying, Napstablook's eyes widened in surprise. "U-um...I don't want to be rude, but are you F-Frisk? Y-you look a lot like them."

Frisk nodded, giving him a thumbs-up.

"O-oh, wow. I didn't know humans could turn into skeletons like that."

Mettaton placed Frisk gently on the couch, then sat down next to them. "I didn't think it was possible at all until just a few minutes ago. Frisk, would you mind telling us what you remember?"

I fell asleep after the barrier broke, and then I woke up in... Frisk trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud.

Mettaton frowned. "Oh dear. So you really don't know what happened, then?"

Frisk shook their head. Eventually, I want to talk to Alphys about it.

"If you're looking for someone, we could take you to them after the show." Napstablook offered, smiling meekly.

Mettaton cheered. "Blooky, that's a fantastic idea! While we're at it, since we have to leave for the show soon, how about I give the two of you free backstage passes?"

Flowey looked off to the side with a frown. "I don't think it would good if people noticed Frisk in the middle of your performance."

"Not a problem, little flower. You and Frisk will both get exclusive balcony seating."

Frisk wrapped Mettaton in a tight hug, then ran over to Napstablook and hugged them as well. Thank you. They signed once both hugs had been completed.

Napstablook blushed. "O-oh...you're welcome."

It had been a long day, and Frisk still had many unanswered questions, but they were very happy at the moment. They could easily reach any of their friends now, so they had hope that everything would turn out alright. A distraction was probably what they wanted most right now, and Mettaton was easily one of the most attention-grabbing individual Frisk had ever met; only Papyrus could ever hope to rival him in this regard.

With luck, they would be meeting the latter soon after the former.