Frisk shuffled into the cave-looking room feeling like her feet had been replaced by bricks of lead. She'd been awake for at least eighteen hours by now, which wasn't exactly a normality for the five-year-old. Her eyelids were feeling heavy.

Sans leaned against the wall ahead of her, his eye sockets about halfway open. When he saw Frisk, his lazy grin widened a little bit. "hey kid. you're lookin' bone tired." Frisk grinned. She loved puns. "y'know, the nice cream man is back there. you look like you could use some grub." Sans motioned to a wooden doorway a little behind him and the girl smiled gratefully. She padded through the doorway and up to the Nice Cream man's stand. Standing on her tip-toes, Frisk looked over the counter. The Nice Cream man smiled.

"Hello little one. Would you like a Nice Cream? It's the frozen treat that melts your heart!" The Nice Cream man cheered, and Frisk held up two fingers. He nodded, then fished around in his cooler for a few seconds. He pulled out two Nice Creams and handed them to the child.

"Thanks." Frisk murmured. The Nice Cream man dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"Your punch card's in the box." he reminded, motioning to the wooden box near the door. Frisk nodded and waved goodbye. He waved back.

She put one of the Nice Creams in her pocket and nibbled on the other. The food instantly made her feel better, and Frisk was suddenly had the urge to bounce on the balls of her feet. She giggled. Hope would probably be smiling at her silliness, gently scolding her about eating too much sugar. Frisk stopped.

Hope?

She suddenly remembered Hope, the game, the climbing the mountain, falling down it. Hearing Flowey, meeting Toriel, seeing Sans. Papyrus. Undyne. But where was Hope?

Frisk shivered. Hope wasn't with her. Hope was somewhere else. But where?

Oh no, where could she be? Was she looking for Frisk? Could she even find her? Was she lost?

Frisk stood in the doorway to the cavern, trying to figure out what to do. Was Hope Determined too? Maybe she could also Save. Then, when she died, she would come back, right?

Yeah, she would come back. She would come back and find Frisk, just like she always came to pick her up from school. She was just a little lete this time.

Yeah. She was just late.


Hope shivered. As feeling in body slowly returned, she felt a horrible burning sensation. She was so hot, almost feeling like she was baking, but so cold at the same time. Her fingers and toes were submerged in something weird and warm, and they started to burn. She recoiled her arms and shivered. In response, a monster made some flustered noises and placed her hands back in the water, telling Hope something she couldn't understand.

Where... are we? the voice asked, sounding groggy.

Hope's eyes fluttered open for a moment, revealing a blurry image of two monsters crouched next to her. One wore a blue sweatshirt and a worried smile, while the other looked like a yellow dinosaur. Her eyes closed again, and the burning in her limbs intensified. Hope felt her eyebrows furrow.

Then a tight, gravelly voice asked something, to which an awkward female voice replied. Hope listened, trying to piece together any sounds. The only words she was able to decipher were 'food' and 'injuries.' Thoughts of food immediately filled Hope's mind, and her stomach suddenly felt empty. What she would give for a ham sandwich right about now... The voice, however, was affected most by a different word.

Injuries?! they squeaked, Oh no! You were in the cold. It feels like you're burning, so... frostbite! they sounded panicked, No, not frostbite! Symptoms include burning, swelling, tissue damage, redness... Hope started tuning her out after that.

The gravelly said something else before Hope heard a whooshing sound.

Wait.

Whooshing sound. Gravelly voice. Blue sweatshirt. That was Sans. The voice silenced.

Sans? they questioned, sounded shocking

The girl thought back to where she was before now. It was cold, freezing cold. All feeling in her limbs had gone, and she was so tired. So, so tired. She saw the blurry figure of Sans and tried to call out. Then everything went black.

Realization settled on Hope's mind. Sans... saved her. Somehow, he saw her in the snow and took her here, wherever here was. She shivered again, but less violently this time. The skeleton, who she had been so untrusting of, had saved her life.

The burning in her arms and legs subsided into a dull ache, while shooting paints riffled her fingers and toes. Hope's eyelids fluttered open, and she forced them to stay open this time.

Everything was blurry, and she heard the female voice again. Hope sluggishly rolled her head toward it, seeing the dinosaur lady again. The monster asked her something, but Hope couldn't hear her. She feebly shrugged her shoulders.

Who's she? the presence questioned, I never met her...

As her vision cleared, a more defined picture of her surroundings formed. The ground was maroon, for some reason, and the place had an odd fiery glow. The yellow dinosaur woman crouched over her. She was still talking, but all Hope's ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton, so she just stared blankly. The woman pushed her glasses farther up her nose. Then, with no warning, she stood up and raced into a metal building.

Hope wanted to call after her, yell at her to come back, but couldn't force her lips to part.

Wait, where's she going? the voice asked, Make her come back! You can't do anything if a monster attacks you in this state! Fear sparked inside Hope. She parted her lips to call out but made no sound.

Thankfully, the dinosaur returned about a minute later with what appeared to be a bowl of instant noodles in her claws. She motioned for Hope to try to sit up. The girl groaned and slowly pulled herself into sitting position. A teeny smile formed on the monster's face.

"H-Hey," she stuttered, "good job. I k-know it hurts right now, but it won't s-soon, I promise." Hope nodded. The monster's voice sounded like she was speaking through a tube, but she wasn't complaining. Bad hearing was better than no hearing.

"What's your name?" Hope asked. She hated how hoarse her voice was. Alphys looked up from her claws.

"Oh, I'm A-Alphys." she stammered, "What's y-your name?" Hope swallowed, both her and the presence wincing at the painful action.

"Hope." she croaked. Alphys's smile widened just a little. She seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before snapping back into reality.

"O-Oh," she stuttered, blushing, "this is for you." Alphys handed Hope the bowl of noodles. They smelled heavenly. She lifted her hands out of the water to grab it and winced.

Seriously? Did she seriously just try to hand a person with frostbitten hands a bowl? the voice scoffed. Alphys' scales flushed a bright fuchsia as she yanked the bowl away, almost spilling some in her lap. "O-Oh. Sorry about that..." Hope smiled sympathetically and placed her hands back in the water, trying not to flinch at the burning sensation that broke out along her skin.

Alphys held up a spoonful of instant noodles. "I-I know it isn't ideal, but you need t-to eat." Hope nodded and opened her mouth and accepted the food. She immediately felt better, the warmth of the noodles erasing all the lingering chill from her body. An odd tingling started in her fingers, toes, and ears. Glancing down, Hope's eyes widened. The blueness that had been there before dissipated, turning her skin to a waxy white color. Her eyes flicked between Alphys and her fingers, disbelieving. Alphys giggled.

Amazing. the voice seemed taken aback, How did it do that? It obviously has different properties than human food. I wonder what's in it...

'Would you please just be quiet? My head hurts.' I thought, and the voice ceased.

"Didn't you know? Monster food has magic healing p-properties." Alphys informed.

"First I've heard." Hope replied, her voice less hoarse than before. Alphys spooned up some more noodles for Hope.

By the time the instant noodles were finished, Hope was feeling completely normal. Hope smiled and removed her hands from the water.

"Thank you so much." she breathed, staring gratefully at the dinosaur, "For everything. I-I... that was miracle work." Alphys' scales tinged pink.

No, it wasn't miracle work. There is a scientific explanation for everything and-

'You're not helping.'

"Aw, it was n-nothing..." she countered humbly, and Hope's smile widened. The girl laughed softly and stared down at her toes. Her smile quickly faded, however, and her thoughts drifted back to Sans.

"Did... did Sans... bring me here?" Hope questioned, glancing at Alphys for a moment before looking back at the ground. Alphys frowned.

"Y-Yeah, he did." she replied, then hesitated, "How did you know?"

Oh, you know, common sense. the voice replied sarcastically. Hope ignored them.

"I saw a glimpse of him before he left, and it made sense that he was the one to take me here, seeing what he can do." Hope answered honestly, and Alphys paled.

"Y-You... you know?" she whispered, and Hope nodded. Alphys stared at the ground. Hope's eyebrows furrowed, and she started to think about her circumstances.

"I was such an idiot..." Hope whispered, tears starting to well in her eyes, "How could I have possibly have been stupid enough to think we could pull this off." Alphys stared, dumbfounded, and Hope squeezed her eyes closed.

Hope...

"I-I just wanted to protect her. That's all I wanted." her eyes squeezed tighter.

Hope, stop.

"And I was stupid enough to... to..." Hope's lips trembled, and she pulled her knees to her chest. A teeny laugh escaped her, sounding more like a gasp.

"H-Hope?" Alphys questioned uncertainly, still sitting next to Hope. She reached out a hand then thought better of it, wringing her claws in her lap. Hope hid her face in her arms. She took a shuddering breath.

Hope climbed to her feet and Alphys watched nervously. "You're n-not-"

"I'm leaving." Hope cut her off, turning to walk away.

"No, don't! I p-promised Sans I'd stay with you." Alphys protested, hurriedly gaining her footing.

Hope, stop. the voice pleaded, Please, think this through-

"No! I don't care what Sans wants!" Hope yelled, whirling around, and Alphys shrunk back. Hope stopped and her expression slackened. She shook her head and looked away.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, briefly closing her eyes, "but you're not going to change my mind. And nothing short of death will stop me from finding my sister." Alphys gasped, and Hope turned and ran.

"W-Wait! Hope, s-stop!" Alphys called desperately after her, but she didn't slow. She raced into another area with a star in the middle. There were two monsters wearing heavy black armor blocking the path to her right, so she decided to dodge left.

"Hey! Like, wait!" one of the guards called after her.

"Yeah! Like, wait!" the other responded.

Hope, really. She was just trying to help you-

"Stop it!" she yelled out loud, "Stop talking to me! I don't want your voice in my head!" She shoved the presence as far back into her subconscious as she could and continued to run.

She skidded to a stop in front of a river. A hooded figure on a wooden boat waited near the shore.

"Tra la la. I'm the riverman. Or am I the riverwoman...? It doesn't really matter. I love to ride in my boat. Would you care to join me?" the cloaked figure asked, and Hope quickly nodded. She clambered on hurriedly and the boat raced off at a surprising speed. Hope shakily sat herself down, wiping tears from her face.

"Is pushing others away really the best solution?" the River Person questioned, and Hope froze.

"What?" she whispered, and the River Person started to hum, leaving her to her own thoughts. What did they mean? Were they trying to tell her something? She waited in silence, hoping the River Person might repeat their words. No such luck.

They stopped in a dark cave area, and Hope could hear the sound of rushing water. It brought back good memories.

"Come again some time. Tra la la." the River Person sang, and Hope climbed off the boat.


"S-Sans, I have s-some concerns." Alphys stuttered through the phone, her voice uneasy. Sans felt his eyes narrow in concern. That was never a great start to a conversation.

"what is it alph?" he questioned, not wanting to tip-toe around the subject. He heard a nervous sigh on the other end.

"The h-human, Hope..." her voice trailed off, and she cleared her throat, "She left." Sans felt his magic eye ignite.

"they're gone?"

"Y-Yeah." Sans pinched the bridge of his nose. Great. Looks like he'd be playing another crazy game of hide-and-seek. His perpetual grin stretched tight from stress.

"why?"

"W-Well, she woke up shortly a-after you left." Alphys started, "She w-was in a lot of pain, and I-I got her some f-food. It healed h-her up really w-well, and all the damage s-seemed to have b-been erased. She was r-really grateful, b-but then she a-asked i-i-if it was you w-who brought her here." Sans remained silent, listening. Alphys was quiet for a moment.

"O-Of course I t-told her y-yes. I m-mean, it w-was the t-truth." her stuttering began to get worse, and Sans listened closer, "She... she knows, Sans. She knows about your p-power. S-She s-started t-talking about s-something I didn't u-understand. S-Something about h-her being s-stupid t-to think s-she could p-pull something o-off. T-Then she we-went on a-about just w-wanting t-to p-protect someone. P-Protect 'her'." Sans felt himself tense. What was the kid talking about?

"I-I-I tried t-to s-stop her, b-but s-she w-wouldn't listen. S-She s-started c-crying, and s-she t-told me s-she needed t-to f-find her s-sister." Sans felt his eye sockets go dark. Sister? "T-Then she j-just r-ran a-away." The scientist finished, and Sans let all this new information sink in.

The kid had seemed awfully nervous when he first met her, but now he knew there must be more to the story than that. This kid was emotionally unstable. The way she acted... she wasn't just nervous. Sans suspected there was something else in her life influencing her actions, judging by how she talked and what she did. And her sister... that must've been Frisk. It made sense, from how she appeared to know a bit about the little girl.

Sans sighed, trying to decide what to do. There was only one thing he could think of, but he didn't really want to go on another wild goose chase. But if it was the only way, Sans didn't really have a choice.

"alright alph," Sans addressed the monster on the other end of the line, "get all your cameras online. i'm gonna need to find the kid again."


(A/N Alright, so quick recap. Hope is on the run, Frisk remains determined, Alphys doesn't know what to do anymore, and poor Sans is going to have to find Hope again. I'm thinking I have to add Papyrus in somewhere, but I'm not sure where exactly. Decisions, decisions.

Oh, also, today is a super special milestone for me, and I am extremely excited about it. I got my very first review *squeals*! Thank you Minerva Arhedes for placing that milestone for me! And, as always, I'm still up for any suggestions. I have my ideas, but I would love to see what you guys want to happen. Who knows? It might alter the whole path of the story.

Anyways, thank you all for reading this, and happy reading!)