Chapter 10: Finding the Future, Losing the Past

#include disclaimer.h

==oo00**00oo==

Read, recite silently, close eyes, recite silently, ask questions, answer questions, breathe. Turn page, repeat. Repeat, repeat repeat. When the last page is done, ask more questions, answer more questions, breathe. Flip over, open again, page one. This was the tenth iteration this morning, the document itself short, yes, but dense. What was important here was context, clarity of purpose. The people that were going to be in the meeting this evening were, mostly, sympathetic, however many of them, far too many, were clearly more interested in politics than in the safety and security of the Underground coalition. This was why review was necessary. This was why the last week had been nothing but reviewing and reviewing, note taking, memorizing faces and dossiers from photos and preparing impassioned talking points. This was, more so than nearly anything else since arriving above ground, the lynchpin for true freedom for the monsters. For the time being, until this was done, nothing else could really matter.

And this was why MK had walked away from you nearly in tears.

Frisk sighed, thoughts radiating self betrayal, and admittedly a decent amount of guilt. It wasn't like raising their voice was the end of the world, it wasn't even really a fight. It certainly didn't even start as much. In the first weeks and months after arriving on the surface, Frisk tried to spend as much time as possible divided between trying to help the monsters adjust to the outside world, and doing what Toriel affectionately dubbed "normal human child things." Hanging out with the adults had been decidedly easier. When Toriel first started a trial version of her school, Frisk was able to spend time getting to know the young monsters, some of which they hadn't seen in their original trek through the underground Unfortunately, the interactions were often... not what Frisk had expected. Some monsters were subtly, or overtly, hostile, apparently still tainted by the old policies and teachings of King Asgore. Over the months, this had been somewhat mitigated, however that just ended up putting many monsters in the second category. Those monsters, along with the majority of the others, had been nothing but polite and kind to Frisk, but generally were unable to understand how to act around Frisk or how to treat them.

A lot of them were still learning about humans, of course, however it was clear that many of them were confused because in many ways, Frisk was far from the sort of humans they were studying from their varied learning sources. On more than one occasion Frisk ended up having to answer for their own... peculiarities, which often dug up old wounds. Contrary to some monsters apparent opinion, for example, Frisk was certainly not mute. In fact, Frisk was rather proud of both the level of eloquence and the rather high vocabulary skills they possessed, it was perhaps their second greatest gift, but one used sparingly. Words have power, a power in so many ways greater and more subtle than any destructive tool wielded by monster or human alike. Frisk learned very early on in their life, thanks to a rather peculiar gift of the mind, that they were capable of retaining a strong understanding of words, and how they could be used and subsequently abused. They remembered their father, a cruel man who, while very intelligent, was far from wise when dealing with his wife or their child. Frisk's mother was little better, turning her frustration at her husband exponentially onto Frisk, heaping on criticisms and abuse for years, even after separating from her husband. Frisk found solace and shelter in books, and found that a gift for both quick reading and a almost perfect retention of the written word meant their own frustration could be vented towards academics. Frisk could easily boast a high school reading level not long after entering grade school, and a vocabulary to rival most college students by the time their mother effectively abandoned them in the woods at the foothills of Mt Ebott. It was this learned nature that had so far given Frisk the ability to navigate through both the pitfalls of the underground, and the pitfalls of human politics, making them perhaps the youngest diplomat recognized by any national authority ever. Whether or not that action was justified, would be determined in the next few days, which was precisely why so much time going over the details of the evening's meeting as much as possible was crucial, and why there was enough justification in sending MK away for the time being.

Even though he was only trying to help. He's been doing nothing but helping since the beginning, and you just simply dismissed him. You used words to dismiss him.

Frisk sighed and closed the book again, standing up and shaking the dust off their pants. Clearly no new research was going to be done until this was resolved in their mind, so it was best just to get it taken care of. Pacing in a circle around the clearing, an internal monologue began to work itself through.

So the first thing to understand is what happened. Remember what words were used, and both their direct implications and indirect ones...

We told him that he wasn't being effective any longer in assisting us, that his understanding of the material was insufficient, and that his physical presence was becoming distracting to our work.

Okay, that first answer was honest, and a bit blunt admittedly, but no less true. MK's drills were extremely useful, especially when Frisk was working on memorizing names and faces with basic information, but at this stage the words and information were too dense for MK to sometimes even read correctly, let alone properly communicate their meaning.

But we love teaching him these things. And he loves learning from us!

Frisk smiled despite the situation. MK was probably one of the fastest learners in the underground, soaking up new information with a level of excitement that nearly matched theirs, it was one of the reasons why Frisk liked spending so much time with MK. Indeed, in any other circumstance Frisk would love to have spent the time to go over all the little idiosyncrasies of the treaty with him, but there just wasn't enough time now, and as frustrating as it was, he needed to let enough alone.

But he was, in his own way. He spent at least three hours yesterday just sitting there with us while we recited the treaty over and over, completely silent. Not to mention this morning. And we spoke to him, just because he wanted to support us.

Okay, perhaps there was some overreaction there.

Some? You told him to go away when he put his tail on our shoulder when we got frustrated!

Okay, a non-trivial amount of overreaction yes. Normally, Frisk was completely okay with MK's occasional physical contact, though he did appear to be shy with it, for probably the same reason why it affected Frisk as much as it did. Like that time during movie night when they ended up leaning on each other's shoulders, arm and tail intertwined for hours. Or that other time during Undyne's early phys. ed. classes when his tail ended up brushing up accidentally against-

Frisk stopped that train of thought rather quickly, before it led to the... interesting yet contextually inappropriate conclusion it was going to. Now was not the time for fantasizing, now was the time for understanding and realism.

Okay, so conclusions? MK has been nothing but helpful and fantastic to us over the last few weeks. Obviously we overreacted, and need to apologize, but let's be clear. What are we going to do to make it up to him?

Frisk's internal monologue was interrupted by a rustling through outside the clearing. Snapping out of their dialogue, Frisk looked up to find Toriel heading through the small trail that led to what Frisk had internally dubbed their clearing. gathering up the folio, Frisk looked at Toriel with a questioning smile.

"Hello my dear child. I wanted to come and fetch you a bit early this time, to make sure you are properly cleaned and dressed for the meeting" Frisk's smile became a little more teasing, and Toriel only lasted a moment before laughing a bit. "Alright, I was also worried you would be a bit stressed, so I wanted to give you a bit of a treat as well, so I made some pie again for you." Frisk giggled. Toriel's pies were renown throughout the camp for their particular deliciousness, though they were very rarely made, usually for special occasions. Frisk was glad in this case for the early start to the evenings preparations. "I should let you know MK was the one who told me where you were. He was kind enough to show me where..." Toriel had turned around, and Frisk leaned over to find that Toriel was looking at nothing in particular. "...well he was here at least." Frisk sighed. Of course he wouldn't want to stick around after being treated so terribly. Damn the stress of all this making it difficult to keep a clear head. Toriel obviously noted Frisk's frustration, as she placed a paw on their shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about him, dear. He knows very well how difficult this is for you, and wants to help you however he can. He is young, though. From what I have seen, it appears that males of that age, human or monster can be... difficult to deal with at times." she scowled and muttered to herself "males of any age, really". She blushed when Frisk snickered at her aside, but quickly shook herself out of it with a rueful grin. "Under any circumstance, I know he understands why you sent him away, so I wouldn't fret too much about it. In any case, let's be off so we can prepare for tonight."

==oo00**00oo==

A few hours later a freshly fed, watered, and washed Frisk stood in front of a mirror in their bedroom checking their outfit in the reflection. Toriel had done wonders on the outfit, managing to put together a graceful suit like uniform incorporating the royal insignia without appearing to militaristic or stiff, and had a unique cut tailored to suit Frisk's particular style. In short, it was perfect, and it fit beautifully. Smiling for a moment, Frisk straightened their shoulders and stood tall, looking every part the diplomat, before nodding at mirror-Frisk and walking out into the living room.

When first arriving on the surface, it became clear that the immediate area around the exit to the ruins would not necessarily be suitable for any sort of long term settlement, as the terrain was too rough, and as it was still on the mountainside, they would be too exposed. Instead, after some scouting, it was decided that a relatively sparse patch of forest on the edge of a rather secluded lake about an hour's journey from the entrance would be a suitable place for long term settlement, and thus construction of the city known as 'Wahrenheimat' began. In deference to their saviour, one of the first 'real' dwellings to be built was the home that Frisk, and by extension Toriel, would be staying in, a ranch style cabin within viewing distance of both the lake, and the central square of the town. Over the following months, the home had gained a character that was indicative of both Toriel and Frisk. The two had foregone taking most of the items from Toriel's old home (Toriel because she felt it would be a fresh start for her, Frisk because of the knowledge that Asriel would still find use of the place.) and instead had been able to create a new, unique home together as mother and child. However, Frisk still felt there was something missing from the place, as if it wasn't yet complete, but they could never quite put their finger on it. Toriel actually agreed with that sentiment, though had no insight on the issue either. In the end, they had still named it their home, and kept on the lookout for things that would help solve the riddle. The sight of the home that Frisk and Toriel had begun to build together, and the promise of a future in which that home can become complete, filled Frisk with Determination, and, pace steady, Frisk took a breath.

"Mother, I am prepared."

Toriel looked up from her book and smiled at her well dressed child. "And you look wonderful, my dear. The perfect example of what can be done when you are determined to succeed." She stood and walked over to Frisk. "Now, Sans should be here in a few minutes to take you and Papyrus, but before you go, there is something I want to say." She then stood in front of Frisk, and for a moment it was clear exactly why Toriel was known as a queen at one point.

"You, Frisk Dreemurr, emissary of monsterkind to humanity, hold in your hands this evening the keys to, not only our freedom, but our future." Frisk shuddered internally, but remained outwardly at attention, focused on Toriel's words as she continued. "This future is one that, without your help... we never would have had the chance to achieve. And for that alone, you have our eternal gratitude. Your decisions have time and time again, proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that our trust in you has never been misplaced. I want you to know that, regardless of the results of this evening, we all as monsters will always accept you as one of our own." and with that she kneeled in front of Frisk and wrapped her arms around them in a hug "and that we as a whole, and I specifically, love you. As a friend, as a child, as a savior. We all know that you will do your best for us. And however that ends up, we thank you for it." Frisk froze for a moment, then did the only thing they could do, and returned the hug with a fierceness born of the love of a child for their mother. After a moment, the both drew away, Toriel wiping a tear from her eye, and Frisk with shining eyes and smile suspiciously bright.

"Now, let's head on out to the porch, I believe that your ride is here." Taking Frisk's hand, Toriel led the way out the front door, and found that there were a few more monsters there than she had originally anticipated. Sans and Papyrus were there of course, Sans greeting both Frisk and Toriel as cheerfully as always, and Papyrus clearly attempting (and failing) to not be nervous. Undyne and Alphys were there as well, along with a few other monsters, and even the human children. Frisk looked out as subtly as possible around the crowd looking for one smile in particular, but came up short. Frisk resolved right then that the first thing that would be done that evening would be to go find MK and apologize. But for the time being, it was important to address the group that was present.

"Thank you all. You have all been wonderful. I will do my best to return the favor." Frisk's voice, clear and concise, was greeted with cheers from the small crowd, as they walked down the porch and towards the skeleton brothers. Toriel walked over to Sans while Frisk went over to Papyrus and handed him a few more notes that had come up in the last review of the material.

"Sans, thank you again for volunteering to take Frisk and Papyrus again this evening." Sans' grin grew just a bit wider as Toriel spoke.

"Heh, nothing to worry about Tori. more than willing to lend a helping hand. Though i probably shouldn't, it might spook them a bit more than necessary" Toriel laughed, which caused Sans' smile to widen further for a moment but both smiles faded quickly.

"Seriously though, you know the kid is more able to get themselves out of pretty much any trouble they could get into without help. That bein' said, i'll keep an eye socket out until they go into the meeting." Toriel nodded

"I know you will." Sans hesitated for a moment, then nodded and turned back to Frisk and his brother.

"Hey, paps, you two ready to go?"

"CERTAINLY BROTHER, WE ONLY AWAIT YOUR ACTIVATION OF THE SHORTCUT AND WE CAN BE ON OUR WAY!" Papyrus said, practically bouncing with excitement, while Frisk merely nodded, a slight smile on their face.

"Well then, let's get ou-"

"WAIT! WAAAAAIT!" a voice called from behind the throng. Frisk held out a hand to the two skeletons, stepping towards the crowd. That voice was quite familiar...

"Waaai-woah! Sorry! Scuse me!" Frisk couldn't help but snicker as MK, always one to do things in the most interesting way possible, stumbled directly through the crowd towards Frisk, nearly falling over, but managing to catch himself, he came to a halt just a few paces ahead of Frisk. After catching his breath, and still looking down, he started to speak again.

"I... um... well I wanted to-I just wanted to say. Yo... Um... I... Jeeze I'm bad at this. Look, I... I just wanted you to know." Suddenly he looked up, and Frisk could see the tears in his eyes.

"IjustwantedyoutoknowthatIthinkyou'reawesomefordoingallthisandIjustknowyouregonnasaveusallandithinkthatssocool!" He took a deep breath, paused and just laughed softly. "I... sorry, sometimes I'm just not that good with words and-"

"Hey." MK stopped as Frisk took a few steps closing the distance between them, expression serious. Frisk had though a few times about what should be done the next time MK would show up, however, at that moment, looking at him, Frisk could really only think of one possible choice. For a moment, they just looked into each others' eyes, before Frisk took a deep breath, and MK looked away. He shouldn't have come. He was just being a distraction, he should just...

"Thank you." MK looked up in surprise to find a smile on Frisk's face. Before he could respond however, Frisk leaned in, and, to nearly everyone's surprise, softly and quickly kissed him. Stepping back Frisk smiled again, blushing slightly. "Stargazing again tonight?" MK could only nod dumbly and Frisk turned back to the group. Toriel had covered her mouth with her paws, but it was clear she was smiling, Undyne was giving a rather excited thumbs up, while Alphys looked nearly as gobsmacked as MK. Papyrus' excitement had increased exponentially, and Sans merely gave a knowing wink and beckoned Frisk forward. Rolling their eyes, Frisk approached the skeletons and stood beside them, giving a final salute to the monsters as Sans snapped his fingers and the three of them shortcutted away. Undyne was the first to move after they left, heading straight over to MK.

"So punk, you think that went well?"

MK simply sat down on the ground, eyes locked on where Frisk had just left and a rather goofy smile on his face.

"Yo..."

==oo00**00oo==

Sans breathed out a heavy sigh after arriving with his two passengers in a secluded alcove outside of buckingham Palace. Shortcutting like that usually wasn't much of a drain, but between the distance which was an order of magnitude further than any of his normal shortcuts, combined with taking two passengers along with him, it usually left him just a bit strained. He thought to himself that it may be time to start improving his stamina, before laughing to himself. Standing up straight, he found himself, along with his brother and Frisk, at gunpoint, though at least this time is was decided less hostile than the first time they arrived in this method. One of the officers approached the three of them, and at a nod from Frisk, all three of them presented the ID badges the palace had provided them for this trip. After receiving confirmation, the armed ones lowered their weapons, and Sans found himself relaxing just a bit more. While Frisk and the palace liaison, a Mr White, if he remembered correctly, he took a moment to collect himself and look over the guards that had returned to their positions. Mostly they had generally returned to their stoic guard poses around the grounds, a few remained with the group as they were quietly escorted towards the palace itself. As they continued to walk, Papyrus sidled up next to him and asked, as quietly as Papyrus was capable of at least, "BROTHER, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO DO ME A FAVOR AFTER WE ENTER THE MEETING ROOM?"

"sure bro, you know i'm always willing to be helpful, as long as i'm not on break at least"

Papyrus did not rise to the bait, which made Sans both proud of what his brother was becoming, and a touch nostalgic. "WELL, IN CELEBRATION OF THE SUCCESS OF THE TREATY, I WAS PLANNING ON COOKING A RATHER SPECIAL RECIPE FOR THE CELEBRATION TOMORROW, BUT IN ORDER TO PROPERLY PREPARE IT, I WILL NEED SOME OF THE MUSHROOMS THAT GROW ALONGSIDE THE GLOWING MUSHROOMS IN WATERFALL. I WAS WONDERING IF YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO PICK SOME UP ON YOUR WAY BACK?"

"sure paps, don't see why i couldn't swing by the underground for a bit tonight. Easier to slack off when nobody's around anyway"

"*SIGH* OF COURSE, DEAR LAZY BROTHER. BUT BE SURE NOT TO SNOOZE TOO LONG, OR ELSE I WON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO PREPARE MY RECIPE!" the two skeletons grinned at each other, before Frisk waved Papyrus over towards the door of the conference room. "WELL BROTHER, IT SEEMS DUTY CALLS. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR TAKING US THIS EVENING. I SHOULD HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO TAKE FRISK HOME MYSELF, HOWEVER I WILL CALL YOU IF I SHOULD REQUIRE ASSISTANCE."

"You got it bro. See you tonight!" and with that, the best hope of monsterkind, and Papyrus, were off to their work. Smiling and nodding to the guards, Sans walked around a corner and took a shortcut to the entrance to the ruins. Stepping through the entranceway, he strolled through the caves to the throne room and his next shortcut. Typically Sans could take shortcuts at any time, however after the barrier went down, there did seem to be some residual effects. For example, though Sans could shortcut anywhere through the underground, and as far as he was aware anywhere above ground permitting he had been there at least once, he couldn't transit between the two places, it just wasn't possible. Aside from that, though, Sans had noticed that anytime he spent in the underground he would feel... odd. Like a tingling in the back of his skull, a feeling like something was wrong, though he could never put his finger on what it was. He had typically just dismissed it as the lingering sense of wrongness he would often feel after timelines had been disturbed. This time, however, something seemed more off than before. At first he wondered if the kid had reset again, but a quick check of his memory didn't show any of the odd jumps and gaps he usually felt when that happened. He sighed to himself, he really needed to start giving the kid more credit than that. He knew the kid had committed to no longer changing the timeline, to let things come as they fell, and honestly he believed them. But still, he had to break a promise before, who said the kid wouldn't have to do it either? Walking past the barrier room into the throne room he prepared himself to shortcut his way through, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Taped to the back of the throne was a large envelope, 'Frisk and/or Sans' written on it. Speaking of kids, the skeleton thought to himself, reaching out and snatching the envelope. Figuring this would be a likely apology to Frisk, again, and a long string of mostly well natured insults for him, he decided to open it in the light of the throne room before heading out. Taking a seat on the throne, he slid one bony finger under the envelope's seal and took out the paper. He had to smile, as the first few lines had clearly been written and erased several times, apparently the flower had some trouble forming words... or at least that was what he thought until he started reading through the letter.

Dear Frisk,

I apologize for the directness of this letter, however it has been very difficult to figure out exactly how to tell you this in a letter, it would be a lot easier to do in person, however neither of us actually know where you monsters settled after leaving the underground. My name is Harry Potter, and I am writing you this letter, as our mutual friend currently is no longer in a position to write letters, or even really hold a pencil properly. I wanted to let you know that he has decided to accompany me, though he vehemently insists that it really wasn't his decision, and I am also supposed to tell you that I can be almost as convincing as you when I want to be. I am actually going to be going to visit some friends before I head back to my boarding school in Scotland for the next school year, and I am going to be taking Asriel (who I refuse to call flowey, regardless of what he says) with me to see if I can find a cure for his little transformation. Our people are no stranger to odd maladies and strange magics, and I am hoping that we may be able to find some sort of solution to his particular issue while I am at school this year. Hopefully I will be in a position in a few days to be able to contact you directly, however Asriel thought it best to leave a note here just in case you arrived before we were able to. I will keep you updated on any information as to our attempts to fix his sunny disposition, and hopefully around the winter holiday we can make some sort of plans to formally meet in person, I know Asriel would certainly enjoy catching up with you and seeing your new home.

I know it seems odd to ask this in a letter, but I want you to know that I fully intend to find a solution to Asriel's problems. He saved my life when I fell in the ruins, and I owe him that much at least.

HJP

Sans was honestly surprised. Over the last year, he had occasionally run into the kid while helping the occasional monster who had yet to leave the underground, and had struck up a sort of acquaintanceship with him. After learning who exactly he was, he was surprised to say the least. While he had known about the doc's experiments with determination, he had been distracted with his own personal project at the time, and hadn't put the pieces together until Asriel made some mentions about the timelines exactly who had started the whole mess. In the end, while he didn't necessarily blame the ex-prince for everything, he had been the catalyst for...

The Saves.

Eye sockets going blank, Sans froze for a moment. It couldn't be that simple could it? This feeling of strangeness, the sense something was odd, the strange flashes of... something he had noted a while back. He hadn't put the pieces together until just now. Glancing back down at the note, he found a postscript. The note fell out of his shaking fingers, as he slowly stood up turned around and leaned over, looking behind the throne. He saw the flowers. He saw the light streaming through the windows. He didn't see...

And then Sans was gone.

==oo00**00oo==

P.S.: Asriel also wanted me to add, his words, not mine: Smiley Trashbag, when you notice what's missing, check the lab. You may want to get the doc involved too. Not sure what that means, but you've been informed.

==oo00**00oo==

Okay, so lots of things to talk about. First, skipped a week there, partly because we went on a short vacation to see old friends (and go to Disneyland cause Disneyland), and partly because this chapter was surprisingly hard to put together. I knew all the whos and whats, but the English just wasn't there for like several hours of revisions. Writing will proceed according to as normal a schedule as I can create though, so keep an eye for updates.

Second note, wow I've been so excited for the response to this story. I expected a few people to maybe read this thing, but thousands of hits, and over a hundred follows? Wow. I just want to say thanks to you all for that, you all are awesome. As a 100 follow thanks, I created a cover image. I've got another thing planned for the 100 fave mark, so there's that to wait for as well. Thanks again to all for your reviews as well!

Next time: Half the characters in the chapter go all Captain Picard on the chapter, whereas the other half go all Captain Kirk.