Little Frisk dug their furry toes into the sand just out of the water's reach, their oversized shirt going down to their knees. "Sans!" they called out to the waters. "It's past noon! Hurry, hurry! You promised!"
"I dunno kiddo," the skeleton called from his floating tube. "I'm pretty comfy over here…"
"Saaaannnns!" The orange eye flared as they raised themselves on tiptoes. "You can be a lazybones later!"
"I dunno, bud," The skeleton mused. "There's always time to be a lazybones now..."
Suddenly, the water below him burst upwards, pushing his inflatable tube towards the shore, and making it spin around. Undyne had burst from the water and was grinning widely at him. Her wet hair fell over her shoulders, almost the same colour as the one-piece swimsuit she wore.
"You heard the punk!" she called, splashing the skeleton with a wave of water. "Get a move on!"
Sans sighed theatrically as the water pushed him gently to the shore.
"All out to get me today, aren't you?" he asked the world in general.
The fusion leaned over him, giving a wide toothy grin, and then placing their hands on him. "And we all got you!"
Sans looked up at them, a mischievous twinkle in his socket.
"Can't do much unless you let me up though…"
"We're not even pinning you down," the fusion complained as they drew back, folding their arms.
"Eh, close enough."
The short skeleton stood up, the waves slapping at his slippers, but when he walked out, they were completely dry.
"Alright, alright, I'm here…"
"Bout time," Undyne chortled, striding out of the water behind him. "Let's do this thing!"
The child squealed their excitement. "Yay~" Then they turned, bouncing off in the sand, tail swishing. " Toriiiieelll!" they called excitedly.
"Coming, child!" Toriel appeared at the edge of the beach, with Alphys following closely behind. The reptile held a wiggling Alexander in her grasp.
Frisk beamed at that, their eyes sparking with magic as they started to bounce in excited circles. While the souls in them were enthusiastic-it only seemed to fuel their currently boundless energy.
"Ever excited to see your friend, aren't you?" Toriel asked fondly, coming to stand next to Sans and Undyne.
"Yes~" Frisk exclaimed. "We were too busy with the festival last summer to do anything with the beach! Now she gets to see the beach and get a Recital Flower!"
The child's bouncing oddly slowed as the blue eye began to glow. "Might wanna hurry before our Buddy collapses from spending all their energy jumping around you three."
"Alright, calm down kiddo," Sans chuckled, reaching his hand out, Toriel and Undyne laying theirs upon his. "We're getting there."
They stood together, and spoke the ritual. There was a pillar of light, and then Judgement knelt before the child.
The huge fusion looked up, noting the child's happy face and smiling in return.
"Shall I assume this is another social call then?"
The little fusion squealed and practically plowed into her, trying to hug the larger fusion. "Judgement~"
Judgement laughed merrily, drawing her arms around Frisk and patting their head with one of her skeletal limbs.
"It cannot be comfortable, plowing into me like that."
Even as she spoke, Alexander wiggled his way free from Alphys and toddled over to Judgement as fast as his little legs would carry him.
"Big Momma's back!" he cried, latching onto her free leg.
Frisk looked up, blue eye glowing as they snickered. "I don't think 'comfortable' is a concern. They just want the happy reception."
Another boney hand went to rest on Alexander's crest and the little boy hummed, pressing his head into the affection.
"Quite the wondrous child, to be sure," Judgement murmured. "So, what is it you wish to show me this time?"
There seemed to be a sparkle of mischief in the blue eye, but it was the child who spoke. "The beach~! And then a surprise later." Already, the little fusion wiggled away, bouncing in excitement yet again, sending up bits of sand with every jump.
Judgement raised her head, three eyes blinking as she took everything in. The waves crashing against the shore, the sounds of people laughing, talking and playing. There was a warm breeze that picked up through the summer air, and her eyes locked on a distant island in the middle of the lake.
"It is lovely," she murmured, standing fully to follow after Frisk.
The child entered the water, tugging down on the hem of their shirt until they were waist deep. They turned, beckoning to Judgement with a wide smile, their eyes shining bright as they looked to her in anticipation.
Judgement watched the water carefully as she stepped in it, noting the way it lapped at her armoured boots. She began to wade in, dipping a gauntleted hand into the water with a quiet smile. She shook her head a little, causing her long, red hair to tumble wildly about her shoulders.
Frisk grinned. "The water's nice in the summer~" The little fusion was stepping back, continuing to go deeper.
Judgement watched the child curiously as she followed.
"What is it you have in mind, little one?"
"Whatever happens really," Frisk replied, before the blue eye glowed. "We'd say swim, but we're not sure how well that'll fare with that armor of yours-but there are certainly other things to do."
"I am afraid I am a little heavy for swimming," Judgement replied. "Though I can stand deeper than you in the waters." She ran her hand through the warm water, her three eyes glowing softly.
"Go ahead~ We can swim well...not that drowning is really a concern for us."
"Oh?" Judgement looked to the child curiously.
Frisk turned, pulling their hair back where faint lines played along their neck. "We've got Undyne's gills," they explained.
"Found out about them at a last minute though," was an amused reply, the ear fins twitching.
"That sounds like a tale," Judgment mentioned, feeling the side of her own neck. "I do not seem to have the same benefit, though such things are not a great concern for me."
"A little," they admitted, before tilting their head with a hum of confusion.
"I have plenty of magical power to spare," Judgement told the smaller fusion. "I am not required to breathe, like other Monsters do."
Frisk clapped their hands. "You could explore the whole floor of the lake then!"
Judgement paused, considering.
"That is… a good point." She smiled at the little one. "Would you care to join me?"
They nodded eagerly, their left eye flooding with magic. "But of course, we're happy to finally get to the bottom-" The orange eye flared. "Of that predicament." The child rubbed at their head, grumbling half heartedly before moving deeper in.
"Excellent." With that, Judgement offered Frisk a hand, smiling warmly at them.
Their eyes sparked and they took her hand, moving back excitedly, finally sinking down beneath the surface, their gills opening as they did.
Judgement brought them deeper into the water, pulling the child close to her as she did so, using herself as a weight to keep Frisk from simply floating up to the surface. She kept walking until her head vanished below the waves.
Frisk blinked several times against the water, but grinned at Judgement as they cleared it, their short hair rising up, as if reaching for the surface.
Judgement looked around, taking in the marvel of the underwater sights around her. Her motions were slow, ponderous as the water licked around her.
"This is strange…" she murmured, her words vibrating and bubbles emerged from her mouth to float towards the surface.
The fusion's ear fins twitched, and then they laughed, the sound odd in the water as they moved, gently nuzzling her head.
"Fishies!"
Alexander released Judgement's leg and began swimming through the water, heading after the fish that glittered in the sunlight that dappled through the water from above.
"Careful now, little one," Judgement laughed.
"Catch fishies for Pyro!" Alexander proclaimed, swimming away, hunting the shining fish, his legs kicking the water madly.
The little fusion shuddered with amusement, and then gently pushed themself down, hitting the murky bottom, their hands seeking until they found a rock. A part of them mused to show Judgement a seashell at some point as they floated back up, grabbing onto her shoulder.
The larger being began walking along the lake's bottom, each step sending a cloud of silt up into the water. She kept an eye on Undyne's son, who was going after the shining fish with reckless abandon.
"It is as if he was flying," she mused. "Would that my form did not require this heavy armour."
They gave a toothy grin. "Has its advantages at least."
Frisk wondered if there was a way around that issue…
"We cannot have everything, I suppose." Judgement looked at Frisk fondly. "And you have already given me so much more than I could have asked for…"
The child attempted to cover their face bashfully in response, their feet clasping her shoulder guard to prevent them from going to the surface.
"Such modesty, even from you," Judgement rubbed the child's hair fondly. "You have given me life, child. That is not some mean accomplishment."
There were bubbles to signal that the child was making sounds-
Whether they were coherent was another matter entirely.
Judgement just laughed again, continuing to stroll past the underwater plants, watching everything around her with quiet glee.
Eventually the little one settled, changing their position so that their hands clung to the shoulder guard so that they were along for the ride, smiling as they watched Judgement enjoy herself.
Judgement's head finally broke the surface of the water, and she breathed deep, before letting the air out into a joyful laugh. She shook her head, scattering drops of water from her fur and into the warm air around them.
Glancing about, she realized they had not returned to the beach, but instead stood on a small, grassy island a good ways away from where the others were. She smiled broadly and nudged Frisk's shoulder with one of her skeletal hands.
"Enjoying the view from up there?" she teased.
They giggled, and the blue eye lit up.
"The benefit of being doomed to be short...there's always a perch for us with all of you walking skyscrapers."
"Most people are short compared to me," Judgement noted wryly. "We seem to be stuck on opposite sides of the spectrum."
"Donate some of your height to us?" the fusion asked.
"Frisk is technically an adult now-but no one believes it."
There was a laugh, a soft voice coming forth. "Well, they have an innocence to them that makes it even harder to believe."
"A precious innocence," Judgement murmured. "One that should be cherished above all else."
Slowly, she seated herself on the shore, her sabatoned feet dipping into the water so that it lapped against the cool black metal.
Frisk pressed their face against the side of her head with a low mumble of embarrassment.
"Honestly, Frisk…" Judgement petted their head gently with a boney hand, while another moved to hug them awkwardly. "You are as bad as that ghost with compliments."
They shook their head, but anyone's response was muffled into her fur.
Judgement knew they would calm down eventually. So instead, she raised her head up to look at the cloudless sky, her gaze resting on a flock of seagulls that soared overhead.
Eventually took its sweet time, but at long last, the child spoke.
"We've got something for you."
Judgement blinked slowly in confusion, her hand on the child's head stilling momentarily, while the four arms not tending to them lowered to the ground.
"What do you mean?"
The child grinned, their eyes alit with magic.
"Remember the Echo Flowers in Waterfall?" they asked as they pulled out their cellphone from their shirt pocket, inwardly happy that Alphys made the it durable.
"How could I forget?" Judgement's eyes crinkled with delight. "They were beautiful."
"There's another flower. You might of saw them, they were red…like this one." An instant later, Frisk was holding a Recital Flower in their hands. "They're special like the Echo Flowers."
"Oh?" Judgement murmured, looking closely at the flower. "It is lovely…"
"If you say something to this one, it'll keep it forever. It's why it's called a Recital Flower."
"A quote, immortalized," Judgement realized, lifting the child off her and placing them on the ground next to her. "What are you going to tell it?"
"Not me," they insisted. "I already have one. This one's for you!"
Judgement's brow creased, her eyes narrowing in confusion.
"For… me?" she asked, her tone suggesting she couldn't comprehend the gesture.
Frisk nodded. "There's no rush. When you have something to say, I'll show you how to do it," they insisted. "This is your flower. Your quote, all yours."
The huge Monster stared down at the little flower in silence. While her voice made no sound, a quiet clanking began to emanate from her, and Frisk realized with a start that her shoulders were shaking.
The little child paused. "Judgement?"
No reply, only the shaking became more prominent, and magic slowly began leaking from the powerful fusion's eyes. A different colour from each eye, and they trailed down her face like...
Frisk stared wide-eyed-a bit awestruck, but they hugged her in an instance, making cute soothing noises as they did.
"I don't… understand…" Judgement managed hoarsely, her gaze never leaving the flower.
"It's okay," Frisk assured. "I know...this kinda stuff is new to you."
Judgement shook her head, her floppy ears swaying as she did so.
"Do you understand the significance of what you are giving me?" Her voice was quiet and tight, she barely managed to get the words out at all.
"Kinda sorta?"
"You would let a part of me live on, even when I can't. You give the…. Oppourtunity…"
Her voice started giving out again as a fresh wave of tears began to flow from her.
Frisk hugged her firmly. "You only get to be around for a short time...but you always make a big impact when you do. You should have every right."
Judgement shook her head in wonder, attempting to blink the multicolored tears away.
"I… would be remembered…"
"As you should be," the fusion stated-their tone rising and falling as they spoke, every soul emphasizing it.
"But I… I am just a tool," she protested weakly, two skeletal arms slowly wrapping about the child. "A weapon… I do not deserve…"
"No!" the fusion protested. "Not just. You think, you feel. You're not just a fusion, you're your own person! You have emotions, you have a personality. You have wishes and dreams, and so even if you are powerful, and are summoned for that purpose-
"You are, always have, and always will be more than that!"
"Child…" the woman choked on the words and she clutched Frisk to her, weeping freely now, completely in awe of this beautiful, merciful soul who believed in her.
The tones had-and still fluctuated as the child continued to soothe, each soul weighing in on the matter, trying to calm her, and have her at peace.
They stayed like that for some time, as the larger fusion slowly began to accept what the child was telling her. The red heart in the centre of her armour began pulsing gently, bathing Frisk in a red light.
Frisk smiled, patting her armor. "Better?" they asked.
"I… I think so." Judgement raised her head, her eyes glowing gently down on the child. "Frisk…"
The child nuzzled her, despite the armor. "It's gonna be okay," they promised.
"You'll get to see us again and again. Even if we have to drag the lazybones over." They hugged her tighter. "My friend."
A sharp intake of breath, and the glowing eyes widened. Then, the rest of Judgment's arms found the child, crushing them to her.
"My friend…" she echoed, tinges of disbelief still in her voice.
Frisk squeaked, but reached up, petting her muzzle, and trying to reach in order to nuzzle her.
Judgement's eyes closed, and a shudder ran through her. Frisk felt the huge Monster relax fully as the sun beat down overhead. For the first time in her life… Judgement felt like she belonged.
Frisk grinned, putting the flower away for now.
It'll be there when she was ready for it.