The ZZZ Arc Chapter 37:
Alphys couldn't sleep. Even wrapped in Undyne's arms, feeling the warm puff of her breath against her scales, she couldn't do it. Guilt made her insides feel like ice. Her mind was racing over itself.
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She had brooded for a few hours, running the numbers, adding or subtracting pieces from the machine— nothing seemed to help, yet. Could it be that Frisk's levels of determination were just too high? Maybe nothing she could do would get her a proper reading. Her machines couldn't handle it. But she needed to get this done. She had to solve this puzzle. There were more lives at stake than just Asriel's.
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It occurred to her suddenly that she could check the levels at which both computers had stopped functioning. She felt a little jolt of excitement. She tilted her head over her shoulder to look at Undyne. She was sleeping quite soundly, content to be the big spoon as they snuggled. Alphys had always thought Undyne was beautiful, but she was kind of cute when she was asleep, too. Even that huge scar that was what remained of her left eye was kind of wonderful.
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A little reluctantly, but with hope in her, she slipped out of bed. She hesitated, but then planted a gentle kiss on Undyne's cheek. Fumbling around in the dark and finding her glasses, she made her way to her closet and pulled on a cozy robe to wear over her baggy t-shirt and slacks, and then stood, yawning, on the slow escalator downstairs.
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She checked her phone, squinting into the light that stung at her eyes. Mettaton had texted her some time after he left. Something about an Under Ground Hearts revival special. She groaned. Definitely wasn't ready to deal with that, yet. She posted a quick status about working late and headed for her computer.
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She loaded up the data from the new machine in the basement, and then went through the crash log on the computer to check if the numbers were comparable. They weren't, really. The computer had crashed almost instantly when exposed to Frisk's levels of determination. The new machine had been trying to calculate it and overloaded. The number it had reached, however, was astronomical. She would have been sure it was a mistake if she didn't know that Frisk was able to travel through time. And yet, from what she knew about Sans's powers, not even close to Frisk's amount was needed to start the process of manipulating time, judging by how he had explained holding onto a timeline and the fact that he had once been able to do it. The data was a little daunting to look at, even though it wasn't a full read. How powerful was Frisk, really? How had this even happened?
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Alphys rubbed her eyes. It was better than nothing. Guilt jabbed her to her core, but she wanted to try maybe one or two more times. Get an average. Because even if this was lowballing what Frisk was capable of, and with the addition of the extra shell of determination around her soul, she could probably use that number in her equations. She was sure it would be more than enough. The risk, now, was keeping the new soul solid while also doing the same to Frisk. Human souls, as far as she knew, didn't split like monsters' did. Solidarity wasn't present. The human composition of determination made it so it wasn't needed, even in the much less saturated souls Asgore had collected and Alphys had studied.
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Alphys sighed and kneaded at her brow. She thought about answering Mettaton, but didn't. She thought about calling Asgore, just to talk, but she didn't do that either. She thought about texting Frisk another apology. She typed just the first few letters of a message before taking it back entirely. She turned her phone over on her desk and sighed to herself. Maybe they were rushing. Frisk said there was no deadline as long as everyone was safe. And that little kid, she'd been through a lot in the short time she'd been there. And at the same time, the call she'd gotten weighed heavily in her thoughts. She couldn't risk another monster falling. Not when they were so close.
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Sometimes, though Alphys hated to admit it, she forgot how young Frisk was. The way she and the skeletons were, it was like she just fit in like a piece of a puzzle; like she'd always been around. But even a grown-up would have problems with this. She was sure of it. She knew Frisk must have been exhausted. She knew she certainly was, even with that shadow of worry gnawing at the back of her neck. She grumbled to herself, took her phone, and trundled back off to bed.
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She snuck herself back into Undyne's arms and closed her eyes. She loved feeling that soft, magic thrum so close. Her mind drifted, and it seemed like she might have been asleep for only a second when she felt her phone buzz and heard a soft chime. It was unfamiliar. An alert she had set up a long while back that had never sounded before. With groggy, bleary eyes, she looked at her phone. What did that say? The CORE?
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Alphys's eyes went wide and her insides turned to ice. She rolled out of bed and clunked to the floor, rubbing her eyes to clear them. It was blurry without her glasses, but what she could make out made her mouth go dry. She scrambled to her feet and grabbed Undyne by the shoulder, shaking her hard. Her hands were trembling. Undyne opened her eye and frowned with confusion, but the look on Alphys's face told her enough that she sat bolt upright.
"What is it?" she said.
"B-Bad. Bad," Alphys stammered.
"Bad bad?" Undyne repeated.
"Really, r-really bad."
xXxXx
A low, buzzing hum prodded Sans's mind with a sense of pre-programmed urgency. It stopped shortly, but he was awake now, it was too late. He opened his eyes slightly. The room was lit only by the faint, pale glow of what was probably a phone somewhere on the floor beside his mattress.
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He felt cozy and strangely safe, though. Wasn't keen on getting up at all. He felt a little movement; saw a glow of red and blue. He almost laughed. Of course. Frisk. No wonder. He could feel her skinny arms and their surprisingly tight grip around his ribcage.
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His kid had smushed herself against him and passed out at some point. She brought that book— it was on the floor. Probably came to ask to read but had found him already out like a light.
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It was a surprise to see her here, but not an unwelcome one. She was usually with Papyrus. That was better, he thought. He actually had a bed. And his room was cleaner. Mattress on the floor in a mess of socks and whatever the hell else he had— that was no place for a kid to doze off. Then again, for Frisk, this junk might as well have been a luxury suite compared to where she came from. He knew she didn't mind. She just wanted to be close to someone. What he knew now made it so he absolutely couldn't blame her.
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There was a bustle of movement downstairs. Papyrus must've still been up. Exhausting. That explained a lot.
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Sans settled down again and, when Frisk squished in just a little closer, he gently hugged her. His tired little dope. He felt a hit of warm nostalgia and his soul's hum speed up, just a little. He brushed his fingers lazily across the back of her head. They hadn't dreamt last night. It was a nice change. Getting a bit of real rest was always good. Little sis really needed it, huh?
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He fell asleep. But there was that buzz again. It didn't feel long enough. He opened his eyes reluctantly and saw Frisk blinking heavily. She sat up out of their messy blanket nest and then slid off the mattress onto the floor. She reached for the phone. It buzzed again.
"Shhhh," she told it. "Shh."
"Doesn't have ears, kiddo," he said with a grin.
She turned quickly and then gave him an embarrassed smile. "Sorry. I thought you were still asleep."
He sat up a little and rubbed his skull. "Paps stayed up all night, huh?"
Frisk nodded. She rubbed her face sleepily and lifted the phone, blinking hard. She checked the texts and suddenly looked much more alert despite the dark circles under her eyes.
"S… Sans? I think Alphys needs us," she said. "Or, you."
"Oh. Great. What's she sayin'?"
"She got an alert about the CORE?" she said uncertainly.
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Sans felt a chill through his bones so strong that he audibly shivered. Frisk's eyes went wide. She hurried back to sit with him and took his hands.
"Big bro, what is it?" she asked.
He looked down. The light in his eye sockets went out. He was silent for a few, long seconds. At the very least, he wasn't rattling anymore.
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"I, uh… I should go, huh?" he said.
"Me too," she insisted.
"Dunno, kiddo. You're kinda exhausted, huh?" he said.
"If you go without me I'm gonna just follow anyway," she insisted.
He looked up to meet her eyes, his brow furrowed just a little. Frisk pouted and sat up on her knees to hug him around his neck, putting a hand on the back of his skull and gently glowing. His shoulder blades fell just a little and he wrapped his arms around her. He sighed.
"You're right. We should go together. Safer, huh?" he said.
"Right!" she said. "I'll get Papyrus?"
"…Yeah. Meet you there?"
"Okay!" she said.
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She kissed his cheek quickly and then scrambled off the mattress, scooping up her sweatshirt from the floor. She tossed her phone at him and scampered off, calling for Papyrus. Sans sighed and flopped back on the mattress and put his arm over his eyes. A chill took him. The CORE. He'd have to go back there, wouldn't he? He sighed. Had to suck it up. We do what we have to, don't we?
xXxXx
Sans met Frisk and Papyrus outside the lab, leaning up casually against the wall with a drowsy look on his face. Papyrus frowned a little and dashed up to meet him.
"SANS. What is this all about? Why didn't you just teleport with Frisk?!" he demanded. "What were you even doing? Oh my god, you didn't go back to bed, did you?!"
Sans shrugged and Papyrus scowled. Frisk caught up and nudged him with her elbow. He looked at her quickly and she raised her eyebrows. He stared at her for a moment before his brows raised, too, and he whirled on Sans and picked him up into a hug.
"You are actually worried, aren't you?" he asked. "Never fear! The great Papyrus! Your coolest brother! The greatest puzzle solver in the whole underground! Will help you through whatever problem you come across. You know that, don't you?"
"I do." Sans grinned and patted his should. "Thanks, bro. Pretty obvious why you're the great Papyrus, huh?"
"It better be! Nyeh heh heh!" He plopped him back down on the ground.
Frisk quickly clung to Sans, hugging him close. She wanted to protect him. "S'gonna be okay," she said quietly.
"Course it is," he said. He jerked his thumb towards the door and they went inside.
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Undyne was brooding near the computer and Alphys frantically typed at her keyboard. The fish monster noticed them first. Her ear-fins lifted and she turned towards Alphys and gave her a nudge. The lizard almost fell out of her chair, sending it rolling across the room in the process, and stumbled over. She made a beeline for Sans and grabbed his hands.
"I need you," she said. "You need t-to see this."
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She dragged him across the room without so much as a hello to the the others, and showed him to her computer.
"What's all the alarm about?" Papyrus asked.
"There's something up with the CORE," Undyne said.
Papyrus tilted his head. He looked at Frisk, but she shrugged. They came closer to the monitor. Sans folded his arms.
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There were a lot of graphs and charts, with numbers and lines and colours that seemed to be fluctuating rapidly.
"I… I got a t-text. This morning," Alphys said, hopping back onto the chair and typing something again, "that something w-was detected in the CORE. An, um… An alarm, I s-set up, a b-bit after you left, Sans. J-Just in case, b-but, it's never, umm… I p-p-panicked. I c-came here to ch-check and at first everything looked normal, and then th-this!" She gestured broadly to the screens. Her eyes were wide.
Everyone looked at Sans. He seemed sort of calm despite it.
"Yeah, doesn't look great," he said.
Alphys gulped. "I w-was a-a-afraid of that. S-So… So, I'm n-not crazy, it's…" She took a deep breath as if to steady herself.
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Watching them all look so worried, Frisk felt a hit of apprehension as well. The CORE going wrong again, that didn't seem good. And Sans was nervous. That was definitely not good. Alphys began to explain something to Sans, but her words were whispered, rushed, and stuttering. Undyne leaned in, but Frisk and Papyrus were left a little on the edges. Frisk looked up at him and held his hand. He furrowed his brow just a little and then picked her up. He grabbed the rolling chair and placed her on it.
"You look like you're about to fall over," he said gently.
"It's not so bad," she said.
He nodded. He put his hands on his hipbones. "We will figure this out," he said. "We always do."
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As if for the sole point of dissension, Alphys's computer bleeped out an alarm that made most of them jump. Alphys squealed. Papyrus dashed over to get a closer look.
"What's going on?!" he demanded.
"The… Oh… Oh, no." Alphys looked gaunt and she quickly turned to Sans. "S-Sans. Sans, y-you know—?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Th-That's it, isn't it…?" Alphys asked. "The r-red…?"
"Yup, sure seems like it," Sans said.
"I j-j-just don't know what t-to do! It's n-never done this before!"
"Actually…" Sans raised his brows slightly.
Alphys frowned, but her scales paled rather suddenly and a look of horror spread over her face. "You're n-not saying… t-ten years ago, it was this?!"
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"Guys, slow down a sec?" Undyne said.
"W-We don't have t-time to slow down!" Alphys said quickly. "I-If this gets bad, i-it could blow th-the top off the m-mountain and t-take most of us w-with it! Look!" She pointed at a pale red line jerking and climbing higher slowly on something like a seismogram. "That's d-determination. The levels are…" She simply shook her head. "S-Something went r-really wrong, we n-need to reset s-some of the switches, b-but—"
"Wait, that means there's no way any of us can go in there, right?" Undyne said.
Alphys nodded. Undyne's ear-fins pinned back and she folded her arms.
"Sans, tell us what you know," she said sternly.
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He shrugged. "Could get bad."
"What happened last time?" she insisted.
"Not exactly sure," he said. "But. After that is when all the time crap started for me. That flower kid popped in a few years later. Then the anomalies like Frisk."
Alphys gulped heavily. "Wh-What d-d-do we do? S-Sans, wh-what did you d-do back then to f-f-fix it?"
He shrugged again. "Dunno."
"What do you mean, dunno?" Undyne said.
"Lost two days worth of memories," he said. "Can't remember."
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Alphys rubbed her face and cursed under her breath. She paced anxiously. Undyne scowled at nothing and Papyrus looked between her and Sans, ringing his hands nervously. Frisk looked at all those grim faces, sat back in her chair and stretched her arms.
"Easy fix," she said.
That seemed to catch everyone's attention.
"Wh-What?" Alphys asked
"Well, I'll go in, duh," Frisk said, and she pointed at herself. "Um, pure determination over here. Right?"
"WHAT?!" Papyrus barked.
"B-But we don't know what it'll d-do to you," Alphys said shrilly. "And… And l-look at you! You l-look dead on your f-feet! And it's p-probably really dangerous!"
"Right. But we know what it'd do to you guys, so…" Frisk pointed out.
"B-But it's just throwing determination around l-like it's nothing!" Alphys said. "It c-could effect you, but j-just differently than us!"
"Then I'll go back in time and we'll figure something else out," Frisk insisted. "C'mon. We can do this."
"This could split time again," Sans pointed out.
"Could it?! That's bad, right?!" Papyrus said.
Sans nodded. Alphys looked nervous. Frisk looked around the room and then sighed. She slowly got out of her chair and stretched.
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"Okay, guys, listen," she said, "I'm going."
"WHAT?! Just like that?!" Papyrus demanded. "But, Frisk—!"
"I'm thinking it's Asriel. It's gotta be," she said.
"Oh." Sans suddenly looked a little grumpy. "You're probably right."
"Seriously? How would that little punk do that?" Undyne asked.
"He can go underground and he's pretty sneaky," Frisk said. "But I'm not sure why he'd do something like this. I'm pretty sure it's him, though, it's kinda too weird not to be. So. I'll go. It's gotta be me, I'm the only human here, right? I can do this. I mean, I'd love for you guys to come with, but—"
"Of course we will! Of course!" Papyrus said, looking at the others as if for validation. "Right?!"
"Yup," Sans said.
"Yeah, of course!" Undyne said. "Right now? Now, right?"
Alphys looked nervous. Frisk nodded.
"OKAY!" Undyne grabbed Alphys under her arm and raced out the west door. "OUT OUT OUT!"
"My keys!" Alphys yelled.
Papyrus snatched her handbag from under her desk, slung it over his shoulder, and rushed out after them.
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Frisk sighed with relief. She was about to follow, but Sans put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him.
"Hey," he said. "Look. This might go bad."
"You think?" she asked worriedly.
"You know what happened last time someone screwed with the CORE. Right?" he said.
"Yeah." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Didn't look like the readings were as bad as that time, though."
"Good catch. They're not." His brow furrowed a little. "I've… never seen this. I don't know what'll happen to you."
"Yeah, me neither, but it's important," she said. "Must be, right?"
"Maybe. Not as important as you, though," he said.
"Hey, it'll be fine!" she said brightly. "Even if something does kinda go wrong, I can out-determination everything! Even if time cracks or something, no one's stealing this timeline. No way!"
Sans smiled. "Good attitude. But that's not what I meant. You're my sister, you dweeb."
"Oh. Oh!" She grinned bashfully. "Aw, Sans, thanks. Don't worry."
"Can't help it," he said.
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He rubbed the back of his skull. He took her by the shoulder. "Listen. I don't trust this. Don't even think about dyin' in there, understand?" he said. "It starts to go wrong? At all. Go back. I don't care how far. Full reset if you have to, just don't die."
"Wow, s-serious, huh?" she asked. "Okay. Count on it."
He sighed and tilted his head a little. "Be careful," he said. "Love you, alright?"
She nodded and gave him a hug. "Love you, too."
xXxXx
The building of the CORE raised up high into the mountain, coated with mists of steam and the sharp smell of ozone, like the air before a storm. The topmost reaches, though, were mostly regulatory in function. The main, technical aspects and chambers of energy channeling worked tirelessly deep below. The actual problem, however, was in a control room at the lowest reaches of the CORE.
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Generally, all it had ever been used for was to power it up or shut it down. There were more sophisticated controls farther up, and some things that could even be done remotely. This particular room, however, hadn't been accessed in about ten years. There hadn't been a need. That is, until now.
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Frisk latched onto the starlight out in the hotel in front of the CORE, and they headed inside and down a hallway towards the right side of the building. She had never seen this before, but Sans had; it gave her a strange sense of nostalgia that wasn't her own. Alphys hurried to show them the way back into the tower.
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There was a ramp that went downwards in a square spiral, and they followed it to what looked almost like a meeting room, with plastic plants in each corner and old sofas lined up against one of the walls. There were two elevators in the north wall, but Alphys took them past them and to a small, grungy door, unremarkable except for that it was locked with a card reader.
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Alphys had the key in her handbag, and let them in and brought them down a hallway to a smaller, slightly rusty, elevator. They all piled in and Alphys went to the number keys. Rather than picking a floor, she entered what seemed to be a code. The elevator creaked and lights on the walls brightened. There was a soft, pleasant dinging sound, and the door closed. The floor rumbled and they began to head down at a somewhat leisurely pace.
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It began to get hot quickly. Undyne grumbled. Frisk felt a little sweat at her brow and she took her hoodie off. Papyrus make a shrill yelping sound behind her.
"Frisk! Your shoulder!" he said shrilly.
"What?" she asked.
"Whoa, shit, that circle is glowing," Undyne said. "Sans, what the heck are you doing?"
"Nothin'," he said.
"It's blue!" she protested.
"Not me," he said.
"She's m-maybe just reacting to the C-CORE," Alphys said.
"It's fine," Frisk assured them. "Doesn't hurt, no worries."
"Y-Yes! Yes, right, okay, we can focus on Frisk's weird glowing skin strangeness once this is all fixed," Papyrus said quickly.
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The farther down they went, the hotter it got. Even Alphys began to huff a little. Soon, the elevator clunked onto solid ground and the doors slid open. Before them stretched a hallway, emergency lights lining the edges of the ceiling, making a path straight for an old metal door.
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"Ah!" Undyne made a beeline for it. "Here, right?"
"Y-Yeah, but b-be really careful!" Alphys said. "You can't g-go in there, okay?"
"Right." Undyne grabbed the handle.
It jammed when she pushed it down. She frowned and tried again. Didn't budge. She pushed down on it with both hands and then took a step back, ear-fins drooping and a scowl on her face. Frisk passed Sans the hoodie and scampered up and jiggled the handle, too.
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"Yup. It's locked," she said.
"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Undyne joked.
"Wh-What?! Uhh…" Alphys got out her keys and fumbled with them quickly. "I…! I dunno if I have one, I've n-never had to go in here!"
Undyne grabbed Frisk and moved her aside, and then clenched her fists. She grabbed the door handle, pushed down, and rammed her shoulder into it all at once. The door looked flimsy, but it didn't give even a little. Undyne growled and rammed it again, but this time, Alphys grabbed her and pulled her back.
"W-Wait, wait!" she said shrilly. "W-With those readings, I d-don't want you to accidentally f-fall in there, okay?"
"So what do we do?!" she said. "GAH, I'LL JUST SMASH IT!"
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Her magic exploded out of her in vibrant spears, pummelling the door to little effect. Papyrus rolled up his sleeves.
"I, too, will smash it!" he said. "No door can stand up against the great Papyrus!" His magic bones slammed the door, but it didn't seem to budge.
"It's sealed," Sans said.
"What was that, brother?!" Papyrus called.
Sans grabbed Papyrus's arm. His magic faded and he looked at his brother curiously. He poked Undyne. She scoffed, roared in frustration, and kicked the door, hard.
"Stupid door," she growled.
Sans shoved in between them and ran his hands over the metal. "Mhm. Sealed. Magic. Nobody left a puzzle, so we'll need a key."
"A key?!" Undyne demanded. "We don't have time for this! Where the hell are we going to find a key?!"
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The ground trembled beneath them and there was a low grumbling noise through the door.
"Okay, we SUPER don't have time!" Undyne yelled. She bared her teeth and punched the door, over and over. "NGAAAAAAH! GET. OUT. OF. MY. WAY!" She dented it a little with her fists, but mostly, all she was accomplishing was giving the others a headache.
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Frisk flinched. She felt a tingling through her shoulder. Her eyes went wide. She scooted over to Sans and stuck her hand into one of her pockets and patted around.
"Kid, what're you doin'?" Sans asked.
"Just a sec," she said. She felt some blunt points made of metal. Small. Strangely cold. Her heart thumped and she pulled it out. The dusty grey key. She looked at it silently for a few seconds. It was like she heard a voice in her head, telling her she'd need it. She gulped. "G-Guys?" she said. "Guys!"
Undyne stopped midpunch. Everyone turned to look at her and she held up the key.
"Wh-What's that?" Alphys's eyes went wide. "Where'd you g-get that?"
Sans recognized it. His eyes went wide. "Oh, no way. If that works, that is some messed up junk, kid."
"Yeah, basically," she agreed.
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She hurried over and her fingers shook as she tried to slot the key into the old keyhole. It fit with a faint click. She gulped. She twisted it. It moved without effort and clunked into a horizontal position. She took a deep breath and smiled.
"O-Okay. There we go," she said. "Guess it's some messed up junk."
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When she turned back to her friends, they were all gawking, with the exception of Sans, who wore only a faint frown on his brow.
"Okay, I guess I'll go?" she said. "Anything I should know, Alphys?"
"I… I, uhh… I think y-you… umm… You'll p-probably just n-need to um… ummm…" She couldn't quite finish. She grabbed Frisk and hugged her tight. "C-C-Careful," she said softly. "B-Be careful."
"I will!" she assured her.
"Y-You should just h-have to balance it," she said quickly. "Th-There should be a switch, or a l-lever, you'll… you'll j-just have to l-level it out."
"Okay!" she said.
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The kid patted her shoulder and pulled back. She took a deep breath, but smiled despite her nerves. "Don't worry, guys, I'll be just fine!" she said.
"Of course you will, Frisk! But please watch yourself!" Papyrus said. He gave her a hug and she snickered and smooched his cheek.
"I'll be okay, promise," she assured him.
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"…Doc? Hey. You, uh…? You sure it's not safe for us?" Sans asked. "I, uh, couldn't go with her?"
"Oh, n-no, no, Sans, don't," Alphys said quickly. "J-Just d-don't, okay?!"
"Don't worry, bro," Frisk said. "And I super don't want you to come if the determination might mess you up."
"Right. Right." He gave her a knowing look. "Watch it."
She stuck her thumbs up.
"Hey, no worries! You can do it, squirt!" Undyne said brightly.
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Frisk saluted, snickered, and then went to the door. She tried to ignore the heavy thump of her heart and the lump in her throat. She grabbed the handle and then waved at everyone to get back.
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The door cracked open with a blast of hot wind and orange light. Frisk gulped, shielded her eyes, and pushed it all the way open. She hurried inside and pulled the door closed behind her.
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She was left standing on a long walkway of red stone in a massive cave lit bright and hot by magma flowing below. There had once been railings, but some were broken and twisted by magic impacts, and at the end of the walkway, there was what looked like a console up against a massive pillar that plunged down into the magma, as well as reached up through the ceiling. Magic swirled around it in a spiral: churning, coloured wind, with the energy letting out an occasional, disconcerting crackle and spark.
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Frisk took a few cautious steps and the magic travelling up the pillar let out a loud crack, like the sound of a quick burst of lightning. The room rumbled and her stomach dropped. The sharp clatter of rocks made her jump. She clenched her fists.
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Nerves speeding her steps, Frisk hurried towards the pillar and console, but she stalled in her tracks when she saw a familiar little flower poke his head up near the controls. She wasn't surprised in the least, but he seemed to be. He glared daggers at her.
"Oh for god's sake," he said.
"Az," she said, "you gotta get away from there."
"Oh, let me think. No," he said.
"But you're gonna mess everything up," she said.
"Yeah. I know. Great, right? Call it a failsafe," he said with a grin. "If you really want to stop me, fight me."
Frisk shook her head emphatically. His grin widened and his eyes turned black.
"Well," he said, "actually, this is pretty great for me. Because now no one can help you, sooo…"
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He shot seed bullets at her with a smug grin. Frisk hopped back, but before they hit, her energy pulsed and her red shield took the attack. Asriel gawked.
"Wh… What?!" he yelled. He coiled his body with fury and zoomed back down to the ground. More of his magic jumped up around him and he shot it at her.
She backed up, quickly, cautiously, minding the narrow path.
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The place shook again; Frisk stumbled. There was a metal clunking sound. Asriel cast a cautious look behind him. The wind picked up abruptly, the magic along the pillar churning faster.
"Oh, dude, what'd you do?" Frisk asked.
"Shut up!" Asriel shot at her again, his magic like blades.
She dodged. Stumbled when the ground shook. More stones clanged down off the broken railings. The air began to crackle. Felt like static. Energy brightened around them.
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Frisk's heart began to pound. Her soul brightened; her energy began to seep red into the air, unbidden. She grimaced.
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His attacks were fast, small; relentless, and she didn't have much room. The ground shook again, and there was a grinding, cracking sound. The wind picked up, and Frisk covered her face with her arm for a moment and then looked at the pillar. It was starting to look a lot like a tornado. As Asriel winced in the wind; he snarled and attacked violently. Frisk brought the shield up as strong as she could, but for some reason, this time, it hurt. It held up, but just barely.
"Okay, fine, neither of us can get anywhere," he growled. "Just. Go. Get out."
"I c-can't, Az," she said.
"JUST LEAVE!" he yelled. "JUST LET ME DO THIS!"
"Are you nuts?!" she demanded.
The place shook again and the wind began to roar. Spikes of stalactites began to tumble— Frisk dodged right as a huge chunk crashed down near her, knocking what looked like a bite out of the path and toppling down into magma.
.
She ran at Asriel. She jumped, dove— caught herself on her hands and flipped back onto her feet, and whirled to face him to block more bullet seeds. The shield shattered like glass. Frisk grimaced, but then turned on her heel and raced for the controls.
"No no no, you're not stopping me, you're not—!" Asriel was forced to flinch and cover his head as the place rumbled with a sound so deep it made their ears itch.
Frisk covered her head. Her body was starting to hurt, and wisps of red were pulled away from her like smoke on the wind.
.
Asriel rushed to catch up. The core sparked and lashed out with beams like lightning, and Frisk ducked, then slammed into the control panel. There were dozens of buttons and levers. It was an immediate mess.
"Asriel, what did you do?!" she shouted.
"Just leave it and get the hell out of here!" he yelled. "You aren't supposed to be here. You're never supposed to be here!"
"It's too late for that," she said. "You can't just destabilize this thing, don't you know what happened last time?!"
"All I know, is that it'll give me determination once it goes," he said with a snarl. "I'm not telling you how to stop it."
"You're going to break time again!" Frisk yelled. "We need to stop it!"
Asriel frowned. He watched more red energy pull away from her. The magic of the CORE arced again, and he winced, and was about to say something before a concussive blast inside the chamber knocked them both back, completely uprooting him in the process.
.
He shrieked and tumbled in the wind, but there was nothing he could do. He cursed and tried to reach out his vines. It was too far, too fast, too chaotic. Couldn't even see straight. He fell.
.
Frisk sprinted for him and jumped to catch him in both hands, but the rumbling shook the room and more rocks fell. She put herself over him and tried the shield one more time. It popped up like a turtle shell over them as she held him and curled up. He stared back up at her with shock.
"F… Frisk…?" he said.
"If you get us killed I'm gonna be so mad," she joked, but her eyes were watering. She winced with every impact against the shield.
.
When Asriel looked at her, he could see the energy still draining away, torn by the CORE and taken into that tornado of magic. He cringed. "Can you hold it?"
"N-Not… Not for much longer," she said. "Crap. Sans is gonna kill me."
Asriel frowned. He hesitated for a moment, but then gently patted her chest with his leaves. "Just get out of here," he said. "We'll fight some other time."
"Not happening," she said. "You know about…? About those other anomalies, right? You know what they did here?"
"Of course I do," he said with a frown.
"We can't risk anything like that happening ever again," she said. "You know it, right? C'mon, Az, we gotta stop this thing."
.
He frowned deeply. She squeaked in pain as a heavy chunk of rock smashed down on the shield. She couldn't hold it a moment longer. It shattered, too, and more red energy left her. She cringed and gently put him down, then got to her feet.
"I'll figure it out," she muttered. She raced back to the controls before he could say a word.
He grimaced; rooted himself and hurried after her.
.
She put her hands on the console. Almost as soon as she made contact, there was another energy burst. It hit her hard, felt like the wind was sucked from her lungs. She gasped and held tight to try to keep upright, but she couldn't do it. She dropped to her knees. She heard a weird yelp behind her, and, as she panted for air, she whirled to see some of that red energy gravitating for Asriel. Her eyes went wide. The CORE pulsed again and her energy shot into him like arrows.
.
He winced and lurched over, and his little form shuddered. Her eyes went wide.
"A… Az?" she demanded.
He took a deep, shaking breath and then looked up at her. She expected a snarl, but he looked shocked instead. It was like the world around them froze for a moment. He raised a leaf to his stem and out shone a tiny red point of light. A minuscule fleck of soul. Frisk gawked. Didn't even know what to say. He gritted his teeth.
"Come on, Frisk!" he said. "You're right! We gotta shut this crap down!"
.
He rushed over and used his vines to climb one of her arms, and then smacked her face lightly with a leaf. "Come on!" he shouted. "At this point, we're screwed if we don't! Let's go!"
"R-Right!" She stood up and rushed back to the console— it was still overwhelming. "What do we do?"
"Honestly?" he said, and he pointed to one of the heavy levers on the left of the apparatus. "All I did was pull that down a little and press a few things. I guess it fell down a bit on its own. It wasn't supposed to go like this."
"I'm gonna kick your butt," Frisk said, grasping the handle tightly.
"Later! L-Later! Okay?!" he yelled. "Do it!"
.
She tried to push it up, but it was like it was weighted with an elephant. She grunted and used both hands. Asriel hurriedly moved off her and grasped the console as tightly as he could. He grabbed the handle with his vines and tried to push up, too.
"This… This was a terrible idea," he said. "I'm sorry."
"R-Really?" she panted.
"Yeah. Really. Surprised, right?" He smiled tiredly and that red spark in his chest began to glow. "I thought… I thought if it went, I could absorb its determination, get stronger in a couple months, but… Screw it, that doesn't matter now, right?!"
"Right!" Frisk said. She pushed it up as hard as she could.
He did his best to help, wrapping his vines around her hand.
.
Together, they moved the lever, a little at a time, even as Frisk's energy leached away. Her eyelids started to get heavy.
"Stay with me, Frisk," Asriel insisted.
"Y… Yeah. We're okay." She put a foot up on the console and got her shoulder under the lever. "We got this."
.
She was dizzy. Had to squint to focus her eyes. Black dots plagued her vision. She was pretty sure she was hallucinating Papyrus standing behind the machine. Skeleton hand on hers, reassuring her. Wasn't real, but it gave her hope anyway. They pushed up until there was a heavy, settling thunk. The rumbling, roaring sound around them began to die down, and the ground started to settle. Hurriedly, Asriel pushed a few of the flashing buttons with his leaves in a very specific order.
.
Frisk collapsed onto her knees, breathing hard. She started to laugh quietly. Asriel slunk down beside her and hesitantly put a leaf on her knee.
"You…? You okay?" he asked.
She nodded, but, to his shock, her eyes rolled back and she toppled onto her side.
"Frisk?!" he yelped. He leaned over her face.
She looked like she was asleep. He grimaced and put his head against her chest. He could still hear her heart Cautiously, he put a leaf against her and touched another against his stem. That little speck lit up inside him, and her soul reciprocated the glow. The shell around it was all but gone. It just felt very, very tired.
"No no no, Frisk, come on!" he shouted. His eyes teared up. "You said we were friends and… and I believe you now! You idiot! Come on, you gotta get up!"
She didn't move an inch.
.
He did his best to wrap his vines around her and he looked over at the station door. It seemed so far away. He gulped. Cautiously, he pulled her forward. Still, flecks of stone dropped down from the ceiling, disrupting what was now a peaceful hum of magic. It felt like an eternity before they even reached midway through the path.
"H-Hey!" he shouted. "Someone! Help!"
.
It was an excruciating few seconds before the door swung open, and the monsters waiting behind gawked back at him.
"Help me, you idiots!" he wailed.
Undyne snapped free first, and she barrelled down the pathway and scooped Frisk up. The flower let out a long, deep breath and wilted, exhausted.
"Shit," he said. "Shit, shit, shit."
"SANS!" Undyne yelled. "SANS, FRISK NEEDS HELP, YOU READY TO GET HER OUT OF HERE?!" She sprinted back towards the inside, ignoring the drooping flower.
.
"What happened?!" Papyrus watched her go with wide eyes, and then ran forward to Asriel. "Asriel?! You didn't—?!"
"OF COURSE I DIDN'T!" he shrieked.
Papyrus froze. They locked eyes and the flower bent his head and started crying. Right away, the tall skeleton knelt down and, very gently, cupped his hands around him.
"It's alright. It's… It's okay," Papyrus said quietly. "Come on. Latch onto me."
"Wh…? What?" he asked.
"You can't stay here," Papyrus said. "What kind of friend would I be if I left you?"
"We… We aren't friends," Asriel said quietly.
"Maybe not yet." Papyrus grinned tiredly. "Come on. I, the great Papyrus, will keep you totally safe!"
.
Asriel grimaced, and Papyrus rolled up his sleeve up to the shoulder. and offered his arm. The flower stared for a minute and then, hesitantly, reached out his roots. He was careful when he entwined himself with the radius and ulna, and then curled around Papyrus's upper arm so he was essentially sitting on his shoulder.
"D… Does that… hurt you?" Asriel asked.
"Nyeh heh! Thank you for asking," Papyrus said, straightening up. "No. Not at all."
"Okay. Just… Just help Frisk," he said.
.
When Papyrus returned, Undyne and Sans were gone. Alphys waited alone, shaking, wiping tears from her eyes. She looked surprised to see them.
"What? That's… B-But that's…!"
"He tried to help, Doctor," Papyrus said.
"I also caused the problem," Asriel grumbled.
"Shush. As soon as you helped Frisk, you went from horrible to not horrible," Papyrus said sternly.
"O-Okay. Okay. It's gonna be fine," she said, taking a deep breath. "What happened in there?"
"I… I was… trying to destabilize the CORE. No one would notice at first, but it would overload in a few months, maybe, and I w-would… take the extra determination and… I messed up and it…" The flower shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Frisk put it back to normal anyway."
Alphys stared at him blankly. Papyrus's eyes lit up with amber and his consoling magic pulsed under where Asriel sat, and he slumped.
.
"I… I don't deserve that," he muttered. "If… If she hadn't…" He took a deep breath and looked up at Papyrus.
That skeleton's expression was all sympathy.
"If she hadn't had that extra determination, that might have…" Asriel gulped. "Sh-She might not've been able to… Shit."
"Um… Uh… Th-This is going to sound b-bad, but… wh-why do you c-care?" Alphys asked. "Th-They… They told us y-you, um… That you c-couldn't feel?"
Asriel frowned to himself. He used a leaf to wipe his eyes and grimaced. After a second, a glow came from his stem. Just a tiny little pinprick of red, like someone had rested a laser-pointer on him.
"Y-You got some of the extra?!" she demanded.
He nodded.
"W-We n-need to get out of here, right now," Alphys said quickly. "Oh my god. Papyrus, let's—!" She squealed as he picked her up.
"Right. Out. Right now," he said. "Don't worry about a thing, you two!"
xXxXx
"Out of the way, out of the way!" Undyne shouldered through curious, wide-eyed amalgams as soon as she entered the lab, having made a beeline back from the CORE, as fast as she could run.
.
A few had made their way upstairs, but she had to race for a level downstairs, in the room where all the beds were. That's where Sans had said he would be right before he vanished.
.
The elevator down felt painfully slow, and as soon as it opened, Undyne was sprinting again until she screeched to a stop on the smooth tile floors. The mash of dogs and the lanky bird were watching, seeming worried, from a distance, as a cold silence fell over the room. Sans sat on a stool, hunched over one of the large, pink-quilted beds. Undyne gulped and raced over, her ear-fins drooping.
.
"Hey! Hey." She put a hand on the skeleton's shoulder. "What's up? Is she okay?"
He shrugged. "Dunno. She's out," he said. His voice was lower than usual. He wiped his eyes.
"Dude, you…? You need a minute?" Undyne asked.
He shook his head. "I'll be fine. Heh. Sorry. Screwed up again." He reached out a tentative hand and brushed some of the kid's hair away from her face. "I mean… she's my kid, I'm supposed to look out for her, y'know? Never shouldda let her go. Shouldda been me."
.
"Dude, it's not your fault," Undyne said quickly. "Not even close. You know what would happened to you if you went in there? You'd end up like one of those melty guys, or worse! Then your family's down one skeleton and then who the hell do we have to drive us nuts with puns and crap?!"
He chuckled and took a moment to wipe his eyes again before straightening up. He winked. "Glad you have your priorities straight."
Undyne huffed out a tired laugh and rubbed her claws through her hair. "But I mean, she's… alive though, right? She's breathing."
"Guess it's better than nothin'," he said.
.
He leaned forward to rest his elbows on the bed and he tented his fingers. Undyne sighed and sat on the floor, her back to the bed, her hand to her brow.
"This is heavy," she muttered.
"Yup." He grimaced. "I really hope skeletons can't secretly throw up. Because I'm, uh, really feelin' it."
"I'm sorry," Undyne said. "B-But, I mean… Okay, this isn't like monster falling down, right? Humans don't do that. They get up. Don't they?"
"I don't know, everything I know about human medical stuff comes from her head, and she's, uh, eleven. But, I…" He frowned. He looked thoughtful for a moment.
Undyne raised her eyebrows. "Sup?"
"I… don't think they fall down like us," he said. "Sorry. Was just trying to check her memories. I think she was surprised when she heard about monsters doing it. Okay. That means its weird. Humans probably don't."
"That's good news," Undyne said. "Right? I mean, it's reversible. Isn't it?"
"I'm just hopin' like crazy that I'm overreactin' and she's just gonna wake up in an hour like it was nothin'," he admitted. He rubbed the back of his skull. "Shit, what am I gonna tell mom?"
"We'll think of something," Undyne assured him. "Hey. C'mon. You gotta get out of that headspace, dude."
.
Undyne sighed and got up, then sat on the edge of the bed to look at Frisk. She put her hand on the girl's chest and used just a little healing magic. It didn't seem to make much of a difference, but she kept on it anyway. She grimaced and her ear-fins drooped, but she turned back to Sans.
"Talk to me," she said.
"Uh… About what?" he said.
"I dunno, anything," she said. "C'mon. The more you sit in the quiet the more you're gonna think this is your fault."
"Huh. You know me better than I thought," he said.
"I know, right?" Undyne laughed. "I guess it's that missing year. Must be, right? I'm into it."
Sans nodded. Undyne grinned, but then her eye went wide.
"Hey, wait a sec, you have it back now, right?!" she demanded. "You can see that year, right? Through Frisk? There we go! Tell me about that! What's it like?"
.
Sans smiled tiredly. He didn't really see the point, but he acquiesced. "It's… good. New town. Starhome, I think."
"Asgore," Undyne laughed, shaking her head. "What, was Newest New Home taken?"
"I bet," Sans said. "It's all the monsters, and then some new humans, too. Everyone seemed okay. Nice place. I hope we build it like that again, actually."
"And I bet people stop falling down," Undyne said.
Sans nodded. "Nobody falls," he said. "But it seems like we had to be careful coming back, you know? Humans could still mess us up if they wanted, but it looks like Frisk would help talk to the new guys, let them in on the rules, and if they… oh. Heh. There was a hug test. Accept a friendship hug from Papyrus and you're cool. Actually, that's not bad: humans usually freak out around skeletons, so if they could understand Paps is super nice, they'd suddenly kinda get what we were doin' there. Not a bad idea."
"So no accidents, then?" she asked.
"None," he said.
"Okay, awesome! Tell me… Um… Tell me your favourite thing you've seen so far?"
"My favourite?" he repeated. "What, other than everyone actually being happy?"
"Yeah. I mean, I know it's from Frisk's point of view," she said, "but you two hang out a lot, right? There must be something in there."
.
Sans looked thoughtful for a few seconds. He rubbed his head. "Well, I think one of my favourite memories is something kinda boring, actually," he said. "I, uh… I guess I would go teach at a human university. Physics. And Frisk, she'd always wanna come with. Even if she had normal school that day, she'd always be really excited to come with me and just sit there with a bunch of college kids, listen to me talk about crap she barely understood, even if she started falling asleep. I don't know why but that's, like, top three for me."
Undyne grinned. "You are such a nerd."
"Professor Nerd," he corrected.
.
She laughed and rubbed her head. His posture sagged a little. She lightly punched him on the shoulder.
"There, that's a bit better, huh?" she said. "Get out of your freaked out head for a bit. Feeling a little better, right?"
He stared back at her with surprise. "Y… Yeah, actually. Huh. How did you—?"
"Well, I just figured, you know, after you and Frisk stopped looking like a heavy metal album cover, you looked really happy, actually," she said. "I thought maybe her memories cheered you up a bit. Right?"
"Somethin' like that," he said. "Thanks."
She nodded. She hesitated for a moment, but then grabbed him into a hug. He wilted; tried not to shake, and he hugged her in return. His fingers gripped tight into her shoulders. She gently held the back of his skull.
"We both know humans don't die easy," she said.
xXxXx
When Papyrus burst back into the lab with Alphys in his arms and Asriel on his shoulder, they were met with the sight of Undyne rifling through the fridge.
"Um… Undyne, wh-what's going on?" Alphys asked as Papyrus put her down.
She stepped back, some cans of soda in one arm and an ice pack in the other. "Thought something cool might help the kid and…" Her eye focussed on Asriel. "The hell?!"
Asriel wilted immediately, tears in his eyes. Undyne stomped over, rolling up her sleeve, but Papyrus raised his hands defensively.
"Undyne, wait, he's not bad!" he said.
"What do you mean?! He did all this!" she roared. "Why'd you bring him back here?!"
"I'm sorry she got hurt," Asriel said softly.
"Yeah, you better be!" Undyne bared her teeth, but her expression softened as the flower began to cry quietly. "What's he doing?"
"What does it look like, you freaky overgrown oarfish?!" Asriel barked. "I just… I just want her… to be okay."
"The hell is this?" Undyne asked, genuine curiosity in her tone.
"He… I think he got some of Frisk's soul or her energy or something in the CORE," Papyrus said quickly. "He's not all bad now!"
.
Undyne looked at Alphys. She shrugged and shook her head.
"If there w-were ever any notes d-detailing the CORE malfunction before, w-we lost them s-somewhere along the way," she said. "I h-have no idea what it does wh-when destabilized. No one does. How is F-Frisk, anyway?"
"Totally unconscious," Undyne said.
Papyrus looked worried, and Asriel immediately hid his face in his leaves and hiccoughed quietly. Alphys put a hand to her mouth. She nodded.
"Okay… O-Okay. L-Let me, uh…"
"Gonna need some medical equipment to monitor her soul." Sans showed up behind them. "Careful with her, huh?"
Alphys whirled, took one look at him, and then gave him a tight hug. "Okay," she said. She raced away, muttering her herself, and Undyne passed off the stuff she was holding to Papyrus and followed her.
.
Asriel hesitantly looked up to meet Sans's eyes, squinting through tears. Their look was long, quiet, and uncomfortable.
"So," Sans said, "what changed?"
Asriel winced. Sans looked him down; the flower shrunk against Papyrus's shoulder like gravity was crushing him.
"This your plan?" Sans asked.
Asriel emphatically shook his head. "Th-This totally ruined my plan!" he protested. "You think I wanted to suddenly care about Frisk?! I needed power, but now I—"
"At least you're honest," he said. "Now what the hell do we do with you?"
"We can't kick him out!" Papyrus said hurriedly. "He's so worried!"
Sans shrugged.
"I have to see her," Asriel said.
"Gee, that'd be great, but for some reason she's unconscious," Sans said.
"Don't make me beg," the flower growled. "B-Because… Because I'm gonna get frickin' pathetic. You need to let me see her."
Sans's expression stayed static; unreadable. "Welp. Okay. Get off my brother."
"I don't mind carrying him," Papyrus said. "Brother, he's…! He's, well, I mean he's a bit rude, but I think he's telling the truth!"
Sans didn't move an inch, just kept his eyes locked on Asriel. The flower nodded.
.
They moved him into one of Alphys's clean, but chipped, teacups and Papyrus carried him. They were slow going downstairs to the room full of beds. There were a few of the amalgamates hovering curiously and Alphys and Undyne were already there. They were setting up an energy monitor next to Frisk's bed. Sans took the ice pack to put on the girl's forehead, but Papyrus froze up, staring at the scene in shock. Asriel looked up at him worriedly.
.
"F… Frisk?" His voice was soft. He pushed through, handing Asriel off to Alphys unceremoniously and peering down at the unconscious girl with wide eyes. "Oh! Oh. She's… She's just sleeping, though, isn't she?" he said hopefully.
"Um… Not quite, Paps," Undyne said with an awkward smile. "But…! But I'm sure she'll be okay."
"She didn't fall down, did she?" he yelped.
"Humans don't do that, bro, don't worry," Sans said.
Papyrus stared for a little longer. He put a hand to his mouth and squatted down to look at her. "B-But… I don't understand. She promised she'd be okay…" He reached out a hesitant hand to touch her face. His magic began to shine against her skin and the monitor reacted.
Everyone turned their eyes on it and Alphys smiled.
"Papyrus," she said, "th-think you can do that for her for little bits at a t-time? I th-think it'll help."
"Of course! Of course I will, absolutely," he said.
"L-Let me get you a chair," she said hurriedly— she passed off Asriel to Undyne, who looked down at him with surprise.
.
The flower was still crying— didn't seem to have stopped this whole time. "Shit," he muttered. "Y… You guys gotta know, I n-never meant for this."
"Well. Better than nothing," Undyne said. She cut her eye at Sans.
His expression was all but unreadable. He went to Papyrus's side and put a hand on his shoulder and then gave Undyne a look that, this time, was loud and clear. She dipped her head. When Alphys came back with a chair, she took her hand.
"Meet you upstairs," she said. She walked off briskly and Alphys stuttered out something inaudible as she was pulled away.
.
The brothers were silent for a little while, until Papyrus let out a quiet sigh.
"Sans?" he asked.
"Yeah, bro?" Sans said.
"…What do I do?" he asked softly.
"Whatever you think is right," he said.
"She's going to be okay, isn't she?" he asked.
"Yeah, of course she is," Sans said.
"Should I have—?" Papyrus muttered.
"Nope."
"But what if I could've—?"
"Nope."
.
Papyrus looked up at his brother with faint amber tears in the corners of his eyes. It broke Sans's heart. He wrapped him in his arms, resting his head against his and glowing as bright as he could. Papyrus huffed and clung close.
"Heh… Nyeh… Sans, it's… it's okay, don't strain, it's—"
"Nah, bro, no problem," he assured him. "S'all good, right? What the hell's it for if not for this?"
Papyrus squeezed a little tighter and wilted as Sans gently rubbed his skull. "We… We need to stay together. Like always. Like before. When we were little," he said quietly. "But now we're three. We can't not be three. Right?"
"Right," Sans said.
"She knows, right? So… So she has to wake up," he said softly. "She's definitely going to wake up."
"Yeah. Of course she will." Sans nodded. "Paps, there's no way Frisk'd ever leave you."
"Heh. I know. But I think you meant us, brother," Papyrus said with a smile. He wiped is eye sockets and took a deep breath. "I… I'll stay. I'll stay with her. It's okay. I'll just stay. And make sure she's comfy. And warm. It'll… It'll be just fine!"
"Yeah, bro, for sure," Sans said. "You're a great big brother, huh?"
"…Heh. Thank you, Sans. You are, too," he said. "You're right, she'll… she'll be okay."
"Mhm. Goin' upstairs for a minute, you okay here?" he said.
"Absolutely," he said.
.
On the top floor, the others were waiting for him. Alphys was pacing, Undyne had her back to the wall, arms folded and a frown on her face, and Asriel was relegated to sitting on the computer desk. Undyne's ear-fins lifted when she caught sight of Sans.
"Bad?" she asked.
He shrugged. She huffed.
"O-Oh my g-g-god," Alphys mumbled.
"So, this is a pretty big hitch, huh?" she said. "This ever happened before, Sans? At all?"
"Not even close," he said. He turned to Asriel. "Hey."
"Y… Yeah?" he asked hesitantly, frowning.
"So you were settin' it up for later, right?" he said. "Wasn't supposed to get interrupted."
He nodded. Sans looked thoughtful and folded his arms.
"Because usually, Mettaton's goons wrecked the CORE's sensors by now," Sans said. "So no one would notice the imbalance, because the barrier'd come down usually a day or so later."
Asriel grimaced and nodded again.
"So, what's the point?" the skeleton said.
"Power. That's all," he muttered. "B-But… But you don't understand, I… I feel."
"Feel what?" Undyne asked, frowning.
Sans raised his brows. "Hey, uh, give us a minute, huh? I'd like to talk to this guy for a sec."
.
Asriel frowned worriedly, but held back from protesting as Alphys and Undyne wandered off to give them some privacy. The skeleton shoved his hands in his pocket and came in closer. Asriel recoiled a little, and Sans grinned.
"Don't worry. Not yet," he said. "Not gonna blast you."
"No? Really? Kinda looks like you want to," Asriel said.
"Heh." Sans's left eye flared with magic. "That obvious?"
Asriel gulped.
"But," Sans said, "you're not threatenin' me. In fact, you haven't threatened anyone. Haven't done much but cry like a baby, actually. So, either you're playin' some garbage game or my brother is right." He blinked his magic out. "I'd like to believe my brother is right. But I think you'll understand I gotta reserve judgement until I talk to Frisk, huh?"
"Y-Yeah, I get it," Asriel said, wilting where he sat. "I do. Really. But… But you'll let me stay, right? I… I just wanna make sure she's okay."
.
Sans looked thoughtful. "Okay, uh, let's get one thing straight. She doesn't wake up, and you're done, got it? Nothin' personal. Gonna need that bit of soul or whatever it is back."
"I…" He grimaced. "I understand."
"Good. And if she wakes up and says you did this to her, well… let's just say, you better be long gone, because if I see you again after that, you're gonna have a pretty bad time."
"Okay. I'm… I'm not worried about that," he said. "I didn't hurt her."
.
The sad look on his face caught Sans off-guard. He shrugged. "Well, then you'll have nothin' to worry about. Didn't think you'd care."
"I… I have enough of her that I do," he said. "About her. Not sure about the rest of you weirdos."
"Heh. Fair enough," Sans said. "Just try not to wreck anything, alright?"
Asriel nodded, and Sans sauntered out. The flower let out a deep, shaking sigh, and put his head down on the table.