A/N:Okay so totally a filler chapter here, and this is why:

...I love the dummy.
Oh god, I love the dummy.
He's so funny!

I hope this chapter is acceptable, and that you all enjoy it!

P.S. If you haven't checked out the short story I wrote for Valentine's Day, you should go there ;) It's titled...Valentine's Day. Because originality. ;D Sans and Evelynne universe!

She had been so comfortable. It was a weightlessness accompanied by silence and darkness. There was no pain or fear, no cold or rain. She wanted to stay there forever, safe and calm. She wanted to sleep. But consciousness pulled at her, alerting her of sobbing in the distance. It was so far away….but why was someone crying? Who was it? She tried her best to ignore it, but it seemed to get louder, and irritation nagged at her. How could she sleep when someone was making so much noise? She just wanted to rest! The hysterical voice called her name. Evelynne. Oh. That's who she was. She hadn't even realized she'd forgotten. But why was someone sobbing and mumbling? Why was she sleeping? Hadn't she been...doing something? Evelynne suddenly felt her heart skip a beat, and a rush of consciousness hit her. The sobbing became louder, and she felt her body being shaken frantically. This, of course, was accompanied by a wave of pain throughout her body, and the splitting headache that seemed to be cracking her skull in two. Her eyes fluttered open as she groaned, bringing a hand up to her head and wincing. What had happened? Where was she? Why did her head hurt so bad, and….what the hell was she lying in? Desperate to stop the crying and mumbling beside her, she turned her head to glare at a familiar patch of brown hair...

Frisk!

Evelynne forced herself up, much to the surprise of the child, and wrapped an arm around her small form.

"Frisk! Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?" Evelynne asked frantically, eyes wandering over the child's body to check for injuries. Her throat burned painfully and her voice was rough, causing her to wince as she examined Frisk carefully. She seemed fine, however, and Evelynne stared at her in confusion, observing the fat tears rolling down her face like two rivers, even though she stared at Evelynne in shock.

What had she been saying? 'I can't do it.' What couldn't she do? "Frisk? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Instead of answering, a slow smile broke through the tears, and suddenly Evelynne felt herself wrapped in an embrace. Frisk pressed her body against Evelynne, nuzzling her face into Evelynne's shoulder as she sniffled. The woman wrapped an arm tightly around the child, unsure of what was happening. Why would Frisk be crying if she wasn't injured? She tried to remember what happened….they were walking and reading plaques, climbing ledges, listening to the kid….There was a bridge….

Evelynne felt her heart drop. Undyne. They had been chased and...pushed? No, not pushed. She didn't remember feeling pressure. She had been so frantic, though. It wouldn't be a surprise if she just hadn't noticed, in her panic. She grimaced at the thought. She had let her fear take her over every single time. What if she had died? How would Frisk stand a chance? What if Frisk had been injured, or...or….She squeezed Frisk a little, attempting to comfort her.

That couldn't happen again. No more running.

"Shh. We're okay. Don't cry anymore." She rubbed Frisk's back, unsure of how else to comfort the child. "I'm okay. We just need to keep going, okay?" She pushed Frisk back gently, smiling up at the child despite the pain in her head and body. "What were you saying, Frisk? You can't do what?" Instantly the smile was gone, and she was shaking her head frantically, clinging to the hoodie desperately as if Evelynne would disappear. "Whoa, okay, don't answer. It's fine. We're fine. Come on." Evelynne pushed her back just the slightest bit before taking a breath. She had no idea how bad her injuries were, or how long she'd been out. But Undyne was after their souls. There was no chance that she'd leave them alone for long. The slightest movement sent dull waves of pain through her back, and she carefully shifted to sit on her knees before groaning. "Frisk, do we have any food?"

"No...my bag…" Evelynne looked up at the sad, apologetic look on Frisk's face. Oh. The bag must have fallen somewhere else. Panic slammed into Evelynne's chest as her hands flew down to her pockets. Empty, save for that damned key!

"The phone! Do you have the phone?" There was a slight pause before Frisk shook her head. Evelynne groaned loudly at this news, slouching slightly despite the pain it caused. Now they had no way to contact Papyrus. If they really needed his help, they were screwed. Evelynne groaned, looking around. She had no clue where they were. Piles of what looked like garbage surrounded them, sticking up out of the water around their little patch of mud and...flowers? She furrowed her brows, one hand caressing a few of the golden petals. What was with these golden flowers? They were...everywhere.

"What can I do?" Evelynne looked up at Frisk, still sniffling, but looking more determined now. She had stopped shaking, at least. Evelynne braced herself for pain before pushing herself up slowly. She was prepared for more than she felt. In fact, the pain in her back and the dull throb of her legs felt more like muscle strain than anything. No, the real pain came from the throbbing in her skull. She stood at full height, bringing her hands up and gritting her teeth. It felt like her head was going to explode at any second, and she squeezed her eyes shut in hopes to dull the feeling. A few moments later it lessened slightly, and she slowly cracked her eyes open, looking down into the worried eyes of Frisk. She held a hand out, waiting patiently when Frisk hesitated until finally taking her hand.

"I'll be okay, but we need to move. Do you have any idea where to go?" Evelynne asked, voice strained slightly. Frisk shook her head, and had Evelynne not been plagued with the headache, she may have noticed the unconvincing look in Frisk's eyes. But, as it was, she simply looked forward and squinted into the darkness before slowly moving.

It was a slow, aggravating trek. They waded through thigh-high water lined with trash for much longer than Evelynne cared to remember. The end of San's hoodie soaked up water, weighing her down as she pushed forward. She hoped he wouldn't be too mad at her. Then again, he likely didn't care. As the end of the area loomed ahead, a dark and silent corridor leading out of the water, Evelynne was suddenly pulled to a stop by Frisk. She looked back with confusion, a wave of dizziness hitting her at the speed with which she turned. Frisk was opening an old cooler floating in the water, digging around and pulling out a bag. It was quickly shoved into her hand, and she brought the brightly colored package up to her face with curiosity.

"Freeze-dried space food bar?" She read, squinting at the item.

"Eat it," Frisk demanded, looking up at her expectantly.

"What? You want me to eat something that's been sitting in that cooler for who knows how long? Something called freeze-dried space food?" She asked, scrunching up her face in disgust.

"Please?" Frisk looked up at her pleadingly, and Evelynne sighed. She couldn't say no to those eyes….she was only worried about her health. Evelynne scowled down at the little package in her hand before sighing.

"Okay, fine," she muttered, tearing open the food and observing it. It looked like a bar of different colored raisins, the majority of it dark with spots of white and yellow. It was sticky against her skin, and she had to swallow her nausea before taking a bite. She chewed it hesitantly, bursts of undescribable flavor exploding in her mouth. Regardless of her reluctance, her headache began ebbing away along with the dull throbbing pain in her back and legs the moment the food was swallowed. She quickly took another bite, forcing herself to eat the rest of the bar as the pain became manageable. Frisk watched her with a strange smile, but the relief was evident in her eyes. Soon, the bar was gone, and Evelynne was left with only a small throbbing in her head. She wiggled a little in place to test her muscles, feeling only fatigue in her limbs. "Forgetting that I just ate some forgotten trash food, I feel great," she said, smiling down at the giggling girl beside her. A strange aftertaste sat on her tongue, but she decided it was tolerable. "At least I'll be in good enough shape to run again, right?" Evelynne sighed, looking forward at the dark path ahead of them. She was eager to get out of the trash water, but if Undyne was up ahead…

She wouldn't be running again.

They were almost on dry land when a splash sounded behind them. Evelynne turned, eyes scanning the area frantically before another splash in front of them stole her attention, and suddenly she was staring at...a very angry looking dummy. He looked just like the training dummy from the ruins, but it had animated eyes and a mouth that shook as it laughed. It's body seemed to sway slightly, and it's voice was manic, at best, with it's high tones and scratchy quality.

"Too intimidated to fight me, huh?" Evelynne raised a brow, confusion on her face. "I am a ghost that lives inside a dummy. My cousin used to live inside a dummy, until you came along!" It shouted, and Evelynne pushed Frisk behind her. This dummy was definitely mad, in both forms. She opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off again. "When you talked to them, they thought they were in for a nice chat, but the things you said...Horrible. Shocking! Unbelievable!" Evelynne shook her head, trying to defend herself. What had she even said to the dummy in the ruins? She could only remember awkwardly asking it about the weather to appease Toriel. Had Frisk said something mean? She doubted it. Toriel had listened to every word, and looked happy. Perhaps the dummy was confusing them with someone else? "It spooked them right out of their dummy! Humans, I'll scare your soul out of your bodies!" Evelynne gasped, surprised that he knew they were humans. Suddenly, Evelynne felt her soul being pulled out of her chest, and she was locked in an encounter with the dummy. Behind her, Frisk began to move forward, but Evelynne quickly held an arm out to block the child.

"Frisk! Go hide behind that pile of trash, okay? I'll take care of the dummy." She whispered, trying to push Frisk away. The child refused, however, pushing forward and looking up at her with a determined gaze before widening her eyes.

"Your soul…" She responded, and Evelynne looked down in confusion before gasping. Her soul had two dark lines running through it. They looked like...two tiny cracks? Evelynne frowned, but looked back down to push Frisk away.

"Just get out of the way! I'll be okay, but I don't want to worry about you getting hurt!"

"Hey! Turn around and fight me!"

"Go!" She gave Frisk one last push before turning toward the dummy, frowning. "Hey, listen, I'm not sure you have the right, uh, humans. I didn't say anything bad to your cousin-"

"Lies, lies, lies!" Evelynne gasped as what looked like tiny dummies appeared around him, and in a matter of seconds, magic bullets that looked like cotton was aimed at her. She managed to jumped out of the way just in time before being met with a row of dummies in front of her face. Yelping, she lurched forward, hands coming up to cradle her soul. She didn't want a repeat of the last time her soul had been hit directly. "Pitiful, pitiful, pitiful!" More dummies appeared, and Evelynne huffed as she rushed farther forward and to the side to avoid the attacks. However, a yelp from the dummy caught her attention. "Ow! You dummies! Watch where you're aiming your magic attacks!" Evelynne stopped, raising a brow. It...hurt him? How could that…

She gaped, nearly slapping a hand to her forehead. Of course! Ghost monsters must not be impervious to magic like they naturally were to physical attacks! She smirked. All she had to do was turn his attacks against him. Easy, right? She hoped so.

"Hey! Can't we talk about this?" She pleaded, but the dummy growled at her.

"I'll defeat you and take your soul! I'll use it to cross the barrier!" More attacks were sent her way, and she managed to dodge, but none hit him. He was bouncing around in some sort of excited manner, shimmying in his form and laughing as he yelled. "I'll stand in the window of a fancy store! Then everything I want will be mine!" Evelynne dodged more attacks, trying to ignore his rambling. He was actually insane. Evelynne suddenly felt better about her own mental health. Yet...maybe she would go insane too, if she had to live under a mountain and inside a dummy for who knows how long. He began talking about his cousin, and even asked what their name was before getting hit once again, and Evelynne grinned in triumph through her panting. She was already tired, her muscles tense and chest burning. She prayed she wouldn't start coughing again. She had to finish this and make sure Frisk was safe. The dummy screamed out angrily, glaring. "Hey dummies!" A bunch of dummies appeared out of thin air, looking at him like a tiny imaginary army. Evelynne took the chance to lean against the wall and catch her breath. He could insanely ramble at his own magic for as long as he wanted, as far as she was concerned. "Remember how I said not to shoot at me? Failures! You're fired! You're all being replaced!" Evelynne pushed away her confusion. Afterall, magic was an extension of the monster, so shouldn't his own magic not hurt him? Shouldn't he be able to control it? Whatever. He turned towards her, glaring. She'd never get to ask her questions. He wasn't interested in conversation. "Now you'll get to see my true power!"

Of course, his true power involved more dummies shooting toward her, and missiles appearing out of thin air and following after her. She nearly got hit several times, but she found that ducking under the attacks were more effective than moving to the side. It seemed his attacks worked on a single plane, and Evelynne used this to her advantage, ducking and turning. It might have been graceful, if she weren't fighting against the water. The dummy was hit by his own attacks several more times before the attacks stopped, leaving Evelynne panting and choking on oxygen as she held a hand to her mouth to avoid a fit. She forced her eyes to stay on him, watching for his next move. Was Frisk still behind the trash pile? Her heart was pounding…

"No way. These guys are even worse than the other guys. Who cares, who cares, who cares!" Evelynne flinched as the dummy began convulsing erratically, pieces of cotton flying from his form. "I don't need friends! I've got knives!" For some reason, the real knife flying out of the water was more intimidating than the magic, and Evelynne screamed as it flew toward her. She shifted just barely out of the way, her heart skipping as it flew past her. She looked back, expecting there to be more, but the dummy was looking at her with narrowed eyes. "I'm...out of knives." If she wasn't so tired and focused on controlling her breathing, her jaw would have dropped. Instead, she took in a ragged breath, resting her hands on her knees as she leaned down in exhaustion. "It doesn't matter! You can't hurt me, and I can't hurt you! You'll be stuck fighting me...forever. Forever! Forever!" Maniacal laughter came from the dummy, and Evelynne groaned. She just wanted to curl up in a corner and sleep. Just for a little while…

"What the heck is this?" Evelynne looked up, squinting at him through her slightly blurred vision. Was that...rain? "Acid rain? Oh, forget it! I'm outta here!" The dummy hopped away, leaving Evelynne alone. Her soul slowly returned to her body, and Frisk was by her side in seconds, looking up at her worriedly.

"I'm...fine," she assured, still panting ever so slightly. Looking forward, she spotted a very familiar ghost in front of them.

"Sorry…" he whined, his low timid voice shaking. "I interrupted you, didn't I? As soon as I came over, your friend immediately left…"

"Napstablook! We're so glad to see you!" She forced out, hoping to sound sincere. Nevermind that the dummy wasn't their friend. Thank god this ghost was here!

"Oh no, you guys looked like you were having fun...Oh no, I just wanted to say hi…Oh no…"

"Nap, hey, it's okay, really," Evelynne assured, finally regaining control of her body. She still felt exhausted, but she forced a smile on her face. "I'm glad you came."

"Oh...Well, I'm going to head home now...ummm...feel free to 'come with' if you want...but no pressure. I understand if you're busy. It's fine, no worries. Just thought I'd offer." Before Evelynne could respond, he disappeared, leaving the way ahead clear. She looked down at Frisk, shaking her head and sighing before pulling her forward. A house with a friend sounded too good to pass up, anyway.

Walking up on dry land felt wonderful, and though her pants stuck to her legs and her boots squished as she walked, she was just happy to no longer fight for each step. She felt sticky and gross, and wondered if a ghost would have use for a shower, but decided not to get her hopes up. He would at least have a bed, right? Eventually, the hallway they had entered open up to a rectangular clearing, Napstablook floating over a giant rectangular waterhole in the center. "Hey...my house is up here, in case you want to see, or...in case you don't." He disappeared, and Evelynne fought the urge to roll her eyes. The monsters here were really sweet, but exhausting. Still, she led Frisk around the water in the direction of the house up ahead. In fact, there were three. One was in a lane to the left, leading up to what looked like a small round house decorated like...a fish? She wasn't sure….but there were fins. Directly ahead of them sat two houses; one blue and one brown. They were both tall and within feet of one another, bending outward in a weird bulb shape that seemed almost...malleable. The roofs looked like tiny triangular hats sitting precariously atop the structures, and there was a single window on each. Despite looking strange, they were almost...cute.

The door to the blue house on the left was just slightly ajar, and Evelynne carefully approached it, Frisk walking just behind her. She hesitantly reached a hand out, but the door swung open before she made contact. Napstablook floated there, a surprised look on his face. He was wearing what looked to be a pair of black headphones, a wire hanging down to nothing.

"Oh! You really came.." His timid voice barely conveyed his surprise. Evelynne was getting the impression that no matter his emotion, he would sound depressed. "Sorry, I..wasn't expecting that." Evelynne frowned for only a moment before quickly placing a kind smile on her face. What had happened to this poor ghost to make him so timid, anyway?

"Of course we came! It would be rude to ignore an invitation from a friend," she said, trying to look as sincere as possible. Honestly, she just wanted to go inside and get warm. Maybe she could sleep, too. She didn't care if she slept on a bed or on the floor, but her muscles were screaming at her for rest, her eyes blurring with the need to close.

"Oh...gee...thanks. It's not much, but make yourself at home." He floated away, and Evelynne looked down at Frisk with a questioning gaze. She hadn't asked her if she was comfortable with this. However, Frisk simply smiled up and let go of her hand, moving inside. It didn't take long for Evelynne to follow.

The inside of the house was fairly small and empty, the perfect size for one small ghost. The ceiling was high up and littered with cobwebs, but lacked any decorations or art like the brother's had, leaving it devoid of any personality. The floor was pretty clean, but the room lacked furniture, and Evelynne inwardly sobbed at the lack of bed. The only things in the tiny room was a desk holding a computer, a TV, and a refrigerator. Lining one of the walls sat three separate devices that looked like cassette players.

"Uh, do you wanna listen to some tunes...or something?" Napstablook was floating in front of his computer awkwardly, watching them with uncertainty.

"Actually, Napstablook….do you mind if we rest? We're really tired…" Evelynne threw him a pleading gaze, hoping he wouldn't be offended. He seemed to like music very much, but Evelynne was certain that if she sat and listened to anything for more than a minute, she'd pass out.

"Oh...well, you're welcome to lay on the floor. I like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage after a good meal...oh! Are you hungry? I can get you something to eat…" Frisk nodded frantically, though Evelynne waved off the question.

"I'm fine...but I will definitely take your offer for the floor." She smiled at him and Frisk before moving over to the far side of the room, hoping to stay out of the way. Unzipping Sans hoodie, she began to fold it in an attempt to create a pillow before she froze, scowling. Right. It was covered in mud. She reached a hand up to her hair, feeling the crusted dirt. Breathing out a frustrated sigh, Evelynne dropped the hoodie on the ground and sat next to it, looking at it sadly before pushing it away. She'd worry about that, and a shower, later. She had just moved to lay on the ground when a hand tapped on her shoulder, prompting her to turn. Frisk stood behind her, holding out Evelynne's hoodie with a smile on her face. The woman shook her head, sitting back up. "No, I couldn't. What will you use to lay on? Besides, I'll get it all dirty." Frisk frowned, shoving the hoodie into her face. Evelynne couldn't help but laugh. She may not talk often, but Frisk definitely had some sass in her. "Frisk, please. I'll be okay!" She said through giggles. After a moment of blankly staring forward, Frisk simply dropped the hoodie and walked away, moving back toward the fridge where Napstablook floated, bobbing his head to whatever music he was listening to. With a sigh, Evelynne balled up the hoodie, knowing better than to disobey Frisk. Either way, she'd wake up with the hoodie under her head. Accepting defeat, she laid down with the hoodie acting as her thin pillow, eyes closing almost immediately.

They'd be safe here. She could feel it. Napstablook liked them, for being so nice in the ruins. When she woke up, they'd head out in search for a place to clean up. Frisk seemed to have been lucky, most likely saved from the mud bath by Evelynne. But...there was no way she could travel while caked in mud. She'd ask Napstablook later. For now…

Evelynne tuned out the ghost's quiet words behind her as he spoke to Frisk. She missed the couch. How were the brothers? When would she see Sans again? She hoped it would be soon. She'd have to find their bag and give Papyrus a call. She smiled, thinking about the excitable skeleton. She missed his spaghetti. It wasn't great, but it was warm and…

"Oh...sorry...It's a ghost sandwhich…"

...edible.

Evelynne breathed deeply, feeling her muscles relax. She'd have to make the best of these arrangements, just for now. Just a few hours. Surprisingly, her mind quieted quickly, and the world around her darkened, until finally she was wrapped back up in that warm, comfortable silence.

"I'm...out of knives." Yes. Yes yes yes. Forever. That part of the battle forever.

Shout outs to these lovelies: WandererRaen, Angel of Randomosity, Dragon of Yin and Yang, AmbiguousTardigrade, longagonever, and LainaFantasyGirl.

Jeez, this fic is getting long. I've been getting a lot of comments recently about how people are glad the romance isn't in your face, and is slow building. I have a very specific response.

The story isn't in the romance. It's in the adventure. The journey is more important than the result. This story isn't so much about the love Evelynne will eventually share with Sans. We'll see more of that in the sequel, anyway. This story is about Evelynne, and the build up of the relationship. Sans doesn't hand out his trust. He has baggage. We all know that. I want to stay as true to that as possible. That's why I always ask for feedback, and it means so much when you all tell me it's organic. Because that's my goal. Evelynne is this real person, going through this real event, that just so happens to exist because Toby Fox is amazing. You all have come along to join her in this wonderful adventure...I want you to love her before you love them. Make sense? I hope so! And, by all means, let me know how you feel about that in the reviews, or pm me and we can have a discussion (especially if you want to talk game theory. Oh man, I love Undertale theories.)

I hope the dummy fight wasn't disappointing! I love his character to bits. And his theme. Yes. Ska. Indeed.

Evelyn's magic is a part of her, but it doesn't define her. It's not a possessive ghost. I've gotten some questions about this on AO3, as well. Everyone wants to see more of her struggle, but I like it as is. Her magic has manifested enough that she hasn't had a problem with it taking over. I'm not going to make an excuse to write it in. To be perfectly honest, Evelynne is having her adventure, and I'm just documenting it. If it happens, it happens. ;) And when it does. ya'll will be the first to know!

Okay! Enough answers and talk and blahblah, THANK YOU all for reading. If you enjoyed it, why not leave a review? You'll get a shout out in return ;) ILYA, and SYANU!