Back Inside Chuckney's . . .

"Oh, Sans, I already ordered some food for you and Papyrus," Undyne said as she called him over to the bigger booth they'd been at. Frisk had been at the edge. Sans held his hand out though and everyone had been scooted slightly to the right by him. Sans sat right beside her.

Papyrus sat on the other edge.

"First of all, I didn't plan on busting everyone out," Amanda admitted. "Undyne, Alphys, and Papyrus. Sans wanted you to come, and considering the way things went? Sort of figured I owed him. So, we've got some decisions. There are two cars and everyone can drive now." Krisp E. Cream meowed from his kennel. "Except the pets. Whoever has been driving has to take a break. Agreed?"

Undyne scoffed. "Fine."

Sans nodded his skull. "Yeah, I need a break."

"I imagine," Amanda said. "Great. So. We shouldn't hang out too long. You guys were in the barrier a long time, and even though that magic is fading, I don't know how far they can reach out to you with it. We should probably go at least another three hours before taking a longer break. Then, maybe switching cars might be a good idea."

"Sounds good," Alphys agreed. "Uh. Everyone is going to need a last name. They use last names here, and you can't get anywhere without a last name and identification numbers," Alphys said. "So, we should probably start with that. Sans, did you ever fix a name for your account?

"Yep."

"Okay." Alphys drug out a small tablet. "Um. What was it?"

"S-H-O-R-T-E-N-S-W-E-E-T," he spelled. "Shortensweet."

Frisk couldn't help herself. She covered her mouth as she started to laugh. He did not? He did? "Are you serious?"

Sans pulled out his phone and showed it to her. "Sans Shortensweet. No one will forget me."

"Oh, only you, Sans," Papyrus groaned.

"Okay. Papyrus?" Alphys asked. "Are you the Shortensweet Brothers or do you want a different name?"

"My chance to skip relation?" Papyrus asked. "No, no. Shortensweet is fine."

"Okay." Alphys wrote it down in her small computer. "Undyne?"

"Where," Sans said. "That would be a good name."

Undyne gave him a funny look. "Where? Undyne Where?" She covered her face. "Sans, knock it off."

After everyone took a name for themselves, they all started eating their food.

As Frisk ate though, she was beginning to figure out what her memories were, compared to Chara's that they had filled in on her mind. And it wasn't . . . a good feeling. She scooted away slightly from Asriel on her side. I stole Chara's memories. That life wasn't mine. It was all Chara. Most of everything, it was Chara. I only hung out a couple of times as a kid with Asriel. It was all Chara.

Not only were they Chara's memories, but they were also leaving her just as fast. Her head started to spin and she couldn't even see her food. She remembered going out to find an art class, and Sans catching her and Asriel. Then, she remembered trying it again without Sans catching them. And then . . . and then . . . a couple days here and a couple of days there, sharing time with Toriel and Asgore and Asriel. Laughing and enjoying her life like it had been wonderful, when she hardly even . . .

"Ladykid, you doing okay?" Sans asked from beside her.

My life wasn't mine, and now all those memories are gone. I am far from okay. I just want to turn around, go back to my house, take a long bath and go to bed like I had a hard day at work. And, I can't. I don't even have work. Everything is going, everything is going so fast . . .

Sans felt Frisk collapse against him. Yeah, I knew you weren't doing well. She looked paler than usual. He reached his arm around her to take her outside, but Asriel stopped that action.

"My sister. My duty," Asriel said. "Take your bony fingers off of her."

"She's carrying my monster," Sans reminded him. "So, she's my responsibility too. Let go, she needs fresh air outside."

"Likely excuse. You've always had your eye socket on my sister, ever since she started to stay awake," Asriel countered him. "You had kept your distance, which is good. You knew your place. But, her having your monster might be giving you some ideas."

"It's not giving me any ideas," Sans said before changing to monster. This conversation was about to get awkward for humans. ". . . that I don't have the right to have."

Papyrus got up from the other side and also spoke monster. "Sans and I will go with her to get her fresh air," he said, trying to help. "So, please let go, Prince Asriel."

"This is the surface," Asriel sneered, also speaking monster. "So, you had better watch that comment."

"Royalty is here," Undyne interrupted, but her voice was of a different tone, although she seemed to understand the need to speak monster too. "Prince Asriel, you are here, by the laws of monsters, so it now extends up here. Only King Asgore could break the law your presence has triggered, and I doubt he would."

"What?" Asriel looked shocked at Undyne. "Who do you think you are, speaking up for him? Do you remember him?"

"Yeah." Undyne put her burger down. "I actually remember him real well, from further back then I used to know when that barrier held me, Prince Asriel."

"I do too," Alphys spoke up. "A-a-and he's better than you think, young monster."

"Did you just address me as a young monster?" Prince Asriel said in surprise as he looked toward Alphys.

While he did that, Sans tried to scoot Frisk away, but Asriel grabbed Frisk's hand, catching it. "Stop it," Sans warned him.

"My sister's child is only yours by accident," Asriel insisted, "so stop trying to lay claim to her."

"You know? I haven't had a very easy twenty-four hours," Sans said. "Been driving most of the night, dealing with a sick wife, and now she's unconscious and needs fresh air, so why not cut me a break here?"

"Wife, you called her your wife?!" Asriel shouted. "I knew you were trying to lay claim to her."

"Hey, it's not like I snuck a lick in a no-no spot and now I say I claim her," Sans said. "She's carrying my monster."

"When a monster is created, a ceremony for joining is not needed," Alphys added. "Sans is within his rights."

"Says you."

"Says royal tradition," Papyrus backed him up. "It was that way even before the ceremonial weddings existed."

"Look, just cool off," Sans said. "I only said that so you can't claim something later against me. I don't fully trust you." He didn't. Asriel should be putting Frisk's safety first. He should care more about getting her checked as soon as possible, not this.

"Oh, I knew this would happen," Amanda groaned. "Monsters are monsters." She looked toward Frisk's mom who still clearly had a headache. "You don't want to know what they are saying."

"It doesn't matter, I call unfit anyway," Asriel said, this time in human. "I thought you unfit even to save the barrier, why do you think I wanted you up here? You are a lazy sentry that never bettered yourself or your life until I tried to help. You still didn't change, even when I did that for you. You've got little to no manners with my sister whether she was a princess or not, and I doubt you'll change as a father either. Plus, if any of them weren't bad enough, you still wear the same pathetic coat day after day so you smell dreadful."

"Uh?" Frisk seemed to snap out of it a little. "Sans doesn't smell dreadful, meanie" she slurred strangely as she leaned against Sans. "Sans smells like my Sans. Comfy Sans." She rubbed up against his coat and then went back out.

"Frisk?" That wasn't right. "Hey, do pregnant women get delirious?"

"They get cold, hot, dizzy, nauseous, and emotional," Undyne said. "I don't think they get delirious? Could be a human thing."

"Yeah, I don't know. I'm taking her outside to check her soul. I can't do it in here," Sans said, knowing it wasn't proper for humans to show their souls just out of nowhere.

"No, you aren't taking her anywhere," Prince Asriel said.

This . . . wasn't right. Prince Asriel was a pain in the butt, but, this wasn't him. He could see it. He could feel it. They can reach out this far still? He couldn't break character though, he didn't want anyone to get jumpy. Maybe they were just on the verge of control. "Oh, you stupid little monster, you aren't even 50 years old, and you don't understand anything," Sans warned him. "I'm over 1500 years old, with a memory going back three hundred years and journals going back even farther! And you know what? I wasn't always the monster you see before you now." His eye sockets went dark. "So stop trying to tangle with me. You don't want to see the monster I used to be."

Asriel didn't sneer as hard, but he didn't give in. "That a fact?"

"Yeah." A strange blue flame lit up one of San's eye sockets for a moment. "There's a reason everyone at this table survived the biggest war in history. And I think everyone's getting tired of you too."

Asriel looked taken back for a second by that. He looked around and noticed heavy looks coming from Alphys, Undyne, and Papyrus too.

"Asriel, you don't know which way is up right now," Amanda said, "so cool off and let Sans take care of her. I don't think you are getting a choice."

"I may be a young monster, but I have a lot more power than I have ever shared," Asriel warned him. "I could take you on. I could challenge and kill you, and find someone suitable for her."

Yeah, he would never have said that either. Sans pulled Frisk upward, tired of the prince already. "I'll be back. You want a challenge, you'll just have to wait." Asriel was extremely possessive.

None of this was right, and he had a bad feeling about what was wrong with Frisk too.

He took her outside and moved on the side of the little tourist restaurant, before he exposed her soul.

He moved quickly back inside with her. "Uh so? Papyrus, it's time for you to drive," Sans said. "Been great chatting with everybody, but uh, we gotta go now."

"Why?" Undyne asked curiously.

"Oh, 'cause our little addition has apparently gotten maybe two weeks older in two hours?"

"Oh shit!" Amanda said, starting to scoot everyone out. "Man, that is some power they have. Age magic. We need to keep moving everyone before they decide to turn us into outright kids."

"Yeah, fountain of youth," Sans joked. "Oh, I mean boo. Come on, Pap, grab the kennels, were off."

All the monsters came out along with the humans in a hurry.

Sans opened the door, held Frisk with his magic a second as he got her in and buckled her up.

"Wait, wait," Frisk woke up and slurred again as Sans got on the other side. "Krisp E. Cream?" She unbuckled herself and opened the door.

Sans moved back around again toward her. "Come on, Frisk. In the car, this is too close to the mountain, they are still reaching you."

"Keys," Frisk said unsteadily holding out her hand. "I need to get their seat belts. They don't like to ride in the kennels. I need into my-"

"Not for you, Frisk. Whoa, a little unsteady there? No drinking a brewski anymore for you," Sans teased as he tossed the keys to Papyrus. "Get it started." He helped her into the back seat and checked her soul again. The age magic was still affecting her. They needed to move. "I'll get your pets out of the kennels, okay? Just be good and stay in here so we can go riding off into the sunset? Actually, sunrise I guess."

"Oh, wow," Papyrus said looking in the rear view mirror. "You are right, Sans. I can even see that from up here. What does that mean? Three weeks? Four weeks?"

"They can't move too fast, they know she's human," Sans said as Amanda came toward them.

"Hey, we are getting ready to move," Amanda confirmed. "Any help?"

"Missy, Missy, Krisp E. Cream, you poor thing. You missed momma, didn't you?"

"Can you take these kennel things?" Sans asked as he went over to the other side and let out her dog Papyrus from the other kennel. She'd already busted out her cat. He handed the kennels to Amanda.

"You think you are just going to ride with Frisk again?" Asriel said as he came over to the car.

"Yep, 'cause it's your fault she got this bad. I wanted to check her a long time ago," Sans complained to him. "Bye bye, enjoy the van. Papyrus, let's go!"

"Such a pain," Papyrus complained as he started the car. "Didn't change much, did he?"

"Don't worry about him," Sans said watching Papyrus sit between him and Frisk. "Come on, boy, other way." He lifted Pappy with magic, ignoring his little growl, and scooted over toward Frisk. "Let's move, as far away as we can." Even though it was slow, age magic on a full human was dangerous. At least when Frisk had some of his monster inside her soul, she was safer. He looked back toward her soul before he made it go away and they moved down the road.

Behind them, the other van was also tagging along. How far would the magic reach? Sans knew they were breaking from its control, but how much were they still under it?

"Are we there yet?" Sans teased Papyrus as he made Frisk's soul appear again. He was feeling much better, she wasn't changing anymore. "Yeah, good news. Won't have to pull over for birth anytime soon."

"Oh, don't even tease about that," Papyrus said. "She's doing better?"

"Yeah, much better." Sans touched her cheek. "Age magic knocked her out cold though." He yawned. He'd taken a nap for a little while, but he had to check on Frisk again. Age magic had a harder time working when the one getting aged moved around. A car was much faster, and it was moving away. The mountain was finally starting to lose it's height when he looked out the back window. "Look how far we're finally getting away from it, Papyrus."

"Yes, I know, It's exciting," Papyrus said. "Get some more rest, Sans."

Papyrus also woofed.

"I meant the skeleton Papyrus, but you can be happy too," Sans teased her dog. He yawned and just leaned his skull back. Now he could finally get some real rest.

He should have been able to rest longer, but after everything happening that day, he just couldn't seem to go more than half an hour or so before . . . wait. This isn't the right direction! "Uh, Papyrus?"

"Good morning, Sans," Papyrus said from the front. "You should have slept longer brother. I have been talking with the others. I started to remember more, and we've come up with a great plan to open the barrier without risking your new little one! Do you remember what we were working on with Gaster? At one time, every magic was down in the Underground. We have that magic gathered, and we were making a device to use all of it to counter the barrier. Remember?"

Oh, yeah, he was starting to remember. "Yeah, except, Frisk is not in a position to go back, and the barrier manipulates us," Sans pointed out.

"Yes, but, we can write notes to ourselves. Reminders of what needs to be done," Papyrus said. "We'll be fine, and once Frisk is back Underground, then they will see they don't have to manipulate her, then everything will be peachy keen, Sans!"

No. No, it wasn't. Sans need to protect Frisk wasn't just mind, it was instinct. The natural instinct to protect his unborn young, which apparently didn't make him as vulnerable. But the others . . . "Sounds great, Papyrus," he said, trying to sound genuine. He looked around, seeing they were already moving into the next town in the mountains. Papyrus had practically been speeding to get back. "Hey, can you stop a second? That human food is going through me, and I have to do that weird bathroom thing again. Also, I need food. Plus, I want to see if I can stir Frisk. She hardly ate a thing."

"Aw, you are right," Papyrus said. He watched the road a few minutes before pulling in somewhere. "A break is always nice."

"Yeah, the car could probably use some gas," Sans said. "Can you get some gas while I goof off for a while?" He joked, making it more genuine.

"You bet," Papyrus answered, getting out of the car. Sans moved from his side, over toward Frisk. Papyrus moved over toward the pump. "I remember this very well from Amanda. Ah? Oh. I need a card and don't have one. Let's see, Alphys made me an account . . ." He started putting numbers in. "There we go, and-"

Sans drove off as quickly as possible. Sorry, Papyrus! Those humans were not getting their hands on Frisk. Even though they had been off the mountain, and even remembering things, they were still reachable. Sans heard his phone beep. He stopped a second, when he was far enough away to be out of danger. He had to say goodbye.

Papyrus: Sans! What are you doing?

Sans: They can reach you, Papyrus. All of you. Sorry, bro. I'm taking Frisk as far away as possible.

Papyrus: But I am bringing down the barrier!

Sans: Hope so. Wish you well. Hey, I remember that thing now too. It was almost done, you're right. Maybe the note thing will work. Maybe Alphys can help you with it. But I can't take that chance. Hope I see you in 9 months. If not, hope I see you one day. You're the coolest bro, don't ever forget that! Sans.

Sans started to drive again, ignoring the text messaging sounds he heard on his phone. They weren't going to manipulate him. Frisk wasn't safe back there, and each of them knew it. It sounded like the magic even reached Frisk's mom. "Sorry, Papyrus, but." Inner instinct. "I just don't have a choice."

Papyrus waited at the pump. He stopped the texting, seeing Sans wouldn't answer anymore. Then, he texted Amanda.

Papyrus: Sans bought it.

Amanda: Good. Asriel's driving me crazy. He's still blubbering on my lap about what happened.

Papyrus put his phone back away. As much as he wanted to be there for Sans, this was the way he really needed to be there. If Sans little monster was a skeleton, he would have to make a deadly decision. Save the monsters Underground, or risk his little monster's life.

And if he could save his brother that burden, he would risk it. At one time, they may have plagued Papyrus' mind so bad he could not even make spaghetti, but as he moved further, his mind cleared more and more, including his intellectual side again.

Undyne and Asriel would be watching them from afar, staying discreet, but making sure no physical humans were trying to come after them. Papyrus was using the information from Amanda and Jeanine to make a code blocker with Alphys. Since the magic worked with technology, having a block on Amanda, Alphys, and him should prevent the use of magic on them.

Alphys was brilliant enough that with her help, Papyrus should be able to work on the machine again. Amanda would take her role as Frisk Dreemur, and not knowing what to do with that, Toriel and Asgore's mind should fall for it since she was once their daughter.

And with some of them heading back towards the mountain, some in the middle, and some out front, the manipulation to find them would be harder. "I will see you around, Brother. One day," Papyrus said toward the sky. One day. For now? It was time for Sans to learn what he just couldn't understand last time he took the tests.

Frisk had accomplished a lot. As a mere child, she had done more things than any monster could. Faced every foe. Befriended those who fought to destroy her. Even gave her father King Asgore forgiveness for what the queen could not. So, perhaps? Perhaps she could do one more impossible thing.

Give Sans something to live for.

End of Chapter

RECAP! I don't want to throw out a recap on each chapter, but the story is big, so I'll throw one of these out every once in awhile. So if you are fine, that's great. If not here is just a brief recap of what has happened. (Not including all events, just the basics.)

After having the first barrier come down, the monsters were pushed back in and they were forced to deal with a second barrier, which was a test for an ambassador. Frisk at eight years old, had rejected being the ambassador (not even knowing what it is.) She moved on Mt. Ebott, hoping she'd find out what had happened to the monsters. When Toriel finds a hole that leads outside, she has Frisk come down and takes her to the tests. Meanwhile, Sans and Papyrus remember their timeline machine, and how Frisk lost it in every other parallel.

While Frisk is down there, they learn the hard way that Frisk had something in her brain that made her go crazy at eight years old, but she was fine now. Wanting to even help, the monsters eventually come to Toriel, but find out Toriel had forbidden her from coming back down, because it was too dangerous. A part of her soul was missing.

However, Sans wants to have a human-monster exchange. Small at first for language, but a bigger one that would allow him to take the tests too. When he goes up, Frisk agrees, wanting some monster too. The trust though isn't there, so they go Underground and cheat by using the battle system only available down there to open up her soul to his. The exchange is rough, and when Toriel comes around insisting on having So Sorry check on him, Sans knows it's too dangerous. He pretends to die by red dust, a painful way to go for a skeleton.

Once they are back on the surface with Frisk, they heal better and he takes the reckoning tests. He does fine, until a sort of earthquake jolts him. They are tricked into believing everything is fine. Amanda makes a terrifying wish, believing that she sent Frisk back eighteen years. Frisk ends up as a Princess with the majority of her memories being Amanda's, and the rest of her time manipulated by Age magic and sleeping.

During this time, Papyrus and Asriel realize Sans will have to be with Frisk, and make preparations to trap them up on the surface. Alphys fixes this problem with her feels magic, and instead Asriel admits the truth to Sans and Frisk, and lets Sans be a Royal Translator to keep Frisk happy. And give him a job. And hopefully not to be so mad. After several courters though, Sans realizes the truth about time thanks to Amanda. He takes Frisk back to the surface again (the first time they met a strange Caleb, Frisk's former boyfriend.) and finds out Frisk is pregnant thanks to manipulation and Alphys magic. They also find out that anyone Underground can be manipulated through the barrier.

Finding out a 50/50 human monster, what they now have will break the barrier, Sans hightails it off the mountain. Papyrus, Alphys, Undyne, Amanda, and Jeanine meet up with them at the restaurant. While Frisk is trying to deal with her rocky emotions (her past is a lie, she's pregnant, she's the only hope for the Underground, if Sans will want to help with the children, etc.), Sans goes and talks to his brother. Away from the mountain they can now remember so many more things, including Skeleton girls they once chased.

However then Papyrus appears to still be possessed and is slowly taking them back towards the mountain. Sans doesn't trust him, and takes off with Frisk, which is what Papyrus wanted the whole time.