Ahhh I'm so late with this update, I'm so sorry I was so busy these past few days and even weeks (idk) I'm really really sorry :( Also I found myself rather slow in writing this chapter because I wasn't so used to writing... Yeah sorry about that...

Mettaton: THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN DELAY MY APPEARANCE

Papyrus: M-Mettaton?!

Sans:

Enjoy this chapter, guys!


Chapter 8 - Just In Time

Asriel heard someone snap his fingers deftly and clearly. Somehow the house changed into a disco within a split second. Asriel heard the clanking of metal footsteps and the light switches turning off and on repeatedly. He looked around in the flashing darkness and found the faces of his friends and family in absolute wonder. Frisk seemed to be doing the same as well.

"Oh hello, my beauties!" A distinctly high-pitched voice boomed, and Asriel tried not to panic. He felt a palm rest on his head, reassuring him. He lifted the hand and looked at Sans who smirked at him.

"Ah, I see a new face today!" The voice continued on, and Asriel flinched as he felt a cold metal touch. "Oh dear, quite the jumpy one, aren't you?" He felt slightly irritated by then.

"About time you showed up, Mettaton," Undyne grumbled out, and the voice laughed out. The lights came back on and Asriel finally saw who this Mettaton was. A robot?! Asriel thought excitedly. He jumped from his seat and looked at Mettaton, who was right beside him. Clad in maroon and grey, he smiled (if robots could truly smile) and winked at Asriel. Everyone sat still, and Papyrus stared at the robot. Sans groaned a little.

"Y-You're a robot?! Th-That's-" Asriel was cut off by Mettaton's somewhat metallic and high-pitched voice.

"Magnificent! Yes, that, I am!" Mettaton placed a hand on Asriel's head and ruffled his fur. "Asriel Dreemurr, such a dazzling beauty you are, looking just like his majesty and her highness. Ah, where are my manners?!" Mettaton straightened himself and let go of Asriel. He arranged his "hair" and saluted Asriel.

"I, Mettaton, am honored to meet you, my prince," Mettaton's voice sounded much grander and deeper for some reason. He held out his hand. Asriel grabbed it, shaking it. Frisk seemed to be trying his best not to laugh. Asgore and Toriel simply smiled in joy.

"Uhh- I-I hope we can be great friends, Mettaton," Asriel stated, looking into the eyes of the robot. Something clicked within Mettaton. Mettaton's face froze and he tilted his head.

"Friends?" Mettaton's voice had turned icy cold. Everyone stood up from their seats. Alphys held a remote control in her hand, perhaps to switch the robot off; but Undyne held her back. Asriel gazed into Mettaton's eyes, dark pools of shining metal.

"Yes, friends! That's exactly what we need to be!" Mettaton declared warmly, and the tension vanished with that. Asriel grinned weakly and sat back down in his seat.

"This, my darlings, calls for a grand party!" Mettaton exclaimed and started throwing confetti in the air. The laughter and chatter continued, the party had started officially.

Within ten minutes, Undyne and Papyrus held a contest to see who could devour the most amount of Starfait without throwing up. Frisk held his nose up at the stuff, but Asriel found the dessert absolutely heavenly. He didn't remember eating anything as good as his own mother's pie. Toriel and Asgore shared their Starfait, taking turns eating with one spoon. It seemed as if they had started their way back to being one of the most lovey-dovey couples in the universe.

"NGAHHH! Papyrus! You'll never win!" Undyne growled fiercely between each bite of the food. Papyrus continued to chow down glass after glass of Starfait. Mettaton had kindly provided the party with all the food he had at the MTT Resort; thus allowing all of this to happen.

"isn't my brother the coolest?" Sans muttered, watching his older brother still ravenously munching the starfaits. Frisk played around with a strand of stray spaghetti on his plate, slightly bored. Asriel stood up slowly, trying not to get any attention.

Frisk, do you want to get out of here? Asriel thought out to Frisk. He turned swiftly at him and nodded. They walked silently out of the dining room, taking one last look at the contest that still went on and the family that sat around, happy and merry.


"So this is Snowdin, huh?" Asriel asked Frisk, the two of them walking through the colorful streets, "I've never really been here, to be honest." Hand in hand, the two walked past monsters laughing and smiling, all in the same holiday spirit. The two stopped in front of Grillby's, trying to peer through the grease-stained windows.

"What is this place?" Asriel asked Frisk. Frisk dragged Asriel through the front doors of Grillby's. The place was dark. Lights were all out. No one was in there. Not a soul was in there.

"W-what?!" Frisk stammered out, evidently shocked at what lay in front of him. Both of them knew this place wasn't supposed to be like this. The door shut silently behind them, engulfing the two of them in absolute darkness. Asriel grabbed onto Frisk and tried to keep calm.

"My, my, my, how on earth did you two manage to get here?" A familiar voice rang out from the darkness. A light switched on. Mettaton stood in front of them in his shiny robot self, posing in a way that showed off his legs most. Frisk quickly stood in front of Asriel, spreading his arms out to shield Asriel.

"Why are you here?!" Frisk shouted angrily at Mettaton, and he backed off a little bit with Asriel. Asriel stood behind Frisk, his hands atop Frisk's shoulders. Both of them trembled in fear.

"And the human stands up for the monster," Mettaton declared, "Truly a tragic story worth a thousand tears, is it not?" He held his arms up gracefully and snapped his fingers. He winked once at Asriel.

"Hit it!" Mettaton shouted, and the lights momentarily went out. Frisk and Asriel froze up, standing still as statues. Suddenly the lights came back.

Around them, monsters had circled them, all of them with warm smiles and party hats atop their heads. Monsters from all over the Underground had been there the entire time, waiting in the darkness to surprise them.

"WELCOME BACK, PRINCE ASRIEL!" Everyone chanted in unison, and Asriel couldn't believe what was happening. He looked at Frisk, who was making the biggest smile ever. Asriel pointed at Frisk and at the crowd of monsters, wondering if this had all been a plan the entire time. Frisk nodded and laughed. Asriel looked around and smiled at every monster.

"Uh- I…" Asriel tried to continue, but he just smiled at everyone and held Frisk closer to him. "Th-Thank you, everyone, but today, I think we should be happy about more than just me. I'm back thanks to Frisk here." Frisk flustered and looked down on the floor.

"If it weren't for Frisk, I wouldn't be here. I'm so happy that I have him as my brother and friend. And that's why I'm here with everyone," Asriel finished, his hands still on Frisk's shoulders. Asgore and Toriel seemed to be sniffling, their eyes wet with tears. Undyne and Alphys only looked on at them with a slight smile, party hats askew atop their heads. Papyrus was with Mettaton among the crowds. Sans walked out of the circle and stood with them. He held up a hot dog.

"so… party?" Sans asked with a smirk, and the entire crowd erupted into shouts and screams of joy and excitement. And so the night continued with the lights in the town of Snowdin.


In the outskirts of Snowdin, a tall figure stood beneath the moonlight, looking down at the illuminated buildings. He gazed into the lights, and seemed to be remembering something. The monster stood still in the cold. He grinned maliciously.

"I wonder if my little nephews are still here…" The monster muttered to himself, "And of course, my two little dreamers." The monster started laughing softly, and he faded back into the shadows.


Back in Grillby's, where all the monsters lay asleep on the floor and tables and chairs, only one monster sat awake. Rather, a robot was awake.

"Papyrus, you're no fun at all," Mettaton whispered, he doted upon this particular skeleton. He pressed his finger on Papyrus's cheekbone, and Papyrus groaned a little in annoyance. He also somehow managed to make a slight "Nyeh" while doing so. Mettaton chuckled. He didn't notice the shadow looming over him while he continued to poke at Papyrus.

"mettaton, hey," Sans leaned over from behind Mettaton and whispered, "who do you think you're poking?" Mettaton flinched in fright, and slowly turned to face Sans.

"H-Hello Sans! I didn't quite see you there," Mettaton replied, trying his best not to look into Sans's eye sockets that glowed blue with fury. "I was j-just trying to see if Papyrus would wake up, you know?" Sans made a sinister smile.

"oh? is that so?" Sans asked, his smile continuing to widen. Mettaton couldn't do anything. He fell silent and simply stared down into his hands. He hoped Sans wouldn't do anything to him.

"take care of my brother, okay?" Sans finally muttered, standing up silently. Mettaton could only look at him with wonder and awe. He nodded slowly.

Sans walked on to where Asriel and Frisk were. He smiled at the two. They had remembered to save him a spot to sleep. Amidst all the monsters that slept and partied Grillby's that day, a human was among them. Sans wondered if that would happen even in the Overworld, now that the barrier was gone. He sat down slowly between his nephews and dreamed of all the things they would do in the Overworld.


When morning came, Asriel was still asleep. Frisk too. Besides them, almost every other monster had gone back to their homes. The restaurant was empty save for the two children and their parents. Toriel and Asgore sat together with cups of tea in their hands

"And that was how Sans and I first met, through a door," Toriel concluded her story. Asgore grinned at her, as if hearing one of the most delightful tales ever.

"Doesn't everyone appreciate your bad jokes, Tori?" Asgore asked, and Toriel nudged him sharply in the side with her elbow. Asgore laughed loudly, and Asriel started waking up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Toriel quickly hushed Asgore and went to her son's side.

"Hey Mom," Asriel yawned and stretched, looking around him. "We're still in Grillby's?" Toriel nodded. Asgore stood up quickly and walked off to the kitchen. Both Toriel and Asriel looked at him with curiosity.

"I'm making breakfast," Asgore announced grandly, brandishing the pots and pans like a solemn warrior. Toriel couldn't help but laugh. Asriel looked on with a child-like wonder at his father.

"Mmh- Breakfast? I want some too, you know…" Frisk mumbled groggily, while trying to sit up slowly. He leaned on Toriel and yawned.

"Well, Asgore? You heard the kids," Toriel called out, ruffling up Frisk's bed hair. Frisk giggled and looked at Toriel.

"Morning, Mama," He chirped out, "Hey Dad! You're making breakfast?!" Asgore turned back and smiled, holding up a thumbs-up. Asriel and Frisk crawled up to Toriel and laid their heads on her lap, and they looked up at her with content looks on their faces. Toriel didn't think anything could surpass this level of cuteness. She looked at her husband who was furiously using fire magic to cook up something. When Asgore looked back at her, she only smiled and waved back, assuring him that he'd do everything right. She hoped he was.

Asgore placed a great big bowl on top of the counter and hit the bell, sounding a clear, high note through the building. He had a great big smile on his face.

"Breakfast is served," Asgore announced in his deep voice. Asriel and Frisk dashed for the counter and seated themselves. Asriel was famished, he couldn't wait any longer to eat. He looked expectantly at the bowl and its contents. Frisk did the same. As Toriel stood beside Asgore behind the counter, her face tightened as she saw the bowl.

"Gorey dear, um, what is that?" Toriel asked kindly, and Asgore looked at her with widened eyes. Asriel didn't know what was really in the bowl too. Frisk seemed to be thinking something out.

"Why, it's a bowl of snail stew, Tori!" Asgore exclaimed and Asriel thought he saw Frisk turn slightly green. The bowl contained a lumpy mass of dark, black things that didn't quite remind him of anything snail-like.

"W-Wow, it looks amazing, Gorey!" Toriel forced a smile and held up a spoon. Asgore's eyes glinted with absolute happiness. Toriel swallowed hard, and Frisk and Asriel looked at her with pleading eyes, as if asking her to not do it. Toriel nodded slowly, as if accepting death. She pushed the spoon into the globular mass with a sickening plop and held it up. Was the thing moving on her spoon?

Toriel snapped the spoon up before she could hesitate and quickly munched on the food. Asriel prayed for his mother's safety. Frisk had already shut his eyes. Toriel continued munching and her expression softened.

"I-It's actually really good…?" Toriel admitted and took another spoonful. Both Frisk and Asriel looked at their mother in horror. Asgore looked proudly at his wife and his creation. He looked at his children this time, holding out a spoon for each of them. Asriel and Frisk slowly took a spoon for themselves and poked at the black, lumpy mass in the bowl. Without hesitation, Asriel gobbled the black stew up, and hoped that he wouldn't die. Frisk, seeing his brother do so, tried a little bit of the stew. Asriel decided the stew was actually good. He nodded and Frisk and Frisk's eyes widened.

"So? How is it?" Asgore asked them with a large smile on his face. His children grinned at him and nodded in agreement, spooning up more and more bites of the stew. Asgore's face brightened up as he continued to watch his family eat up the stew enthusiastically.

Satisfied with the meal, the four of them tidied up the place for Grillby. In everything they did, the Dreemurr family laughed and joked, always elated to be together. Perhaps out of all these years living, this was when they were most cheerful. Their lives had only just begun.


In the forests near Snowdin, the mysterious figure cradled the human soul in his hand. He cradled it carefully, just like a mother would a baby. He breathed deeply and looked around him. He smiled sinisterly. He hated this world so much. The world that forgot about him. The world that left him behind. And the monsters who abandoned him. He would get his revenge. He would, and there was no one that was going to stop him, or so he thought. Everyone would be powerless before him. He will no longer be out of existence. He would be a part of the world that buried him, a part of the world that destroyed his very existence.

"And it's just. In. Time," Gaster whispered into shadows.


Oh my. Sounds ominous. I hope you stay with me for the next chapter... I'm sorry for the late update. I hope you liked this chapter!