Toriel silently walked into Asriel's bedroom and closed the door behind her. She carefully made her way to his bed and checked if he were still sleeping. Seeing that he was, she let out a small sigh. It was difficult not to turn around and see Frisk's empty bed. She looked out the window at the falling snow and the snowman Asriel made earlier that day. She smiled before heading back out of the room.
"you took a bit." Sans said after Toriel closed the door. "the kid asleep?" He asked.
Toriel nodded. "Sorry I was in there for a while. I just got a little distracted." She said.
"don't worry about her. she's doing fine." Sans said, starting to walk downstairs.
"I know she is. But… I'm curious about what she will do tomorrow." Toriel said as she followed Sans.
"hey, the kid hasn't gotten herself into too much trouble yet, i don't think tomorrow will change that too much." Sans said. He knelt down by the tree in the living room.
Toriel handed him a present. "You're probably right. Hopefully they will give them the day off. The two of them might like to spend the day together." She said.
Sans took the present and put it under the tree. "and it's a good thing asriel got over her being gone, otherwise tomorrow wouldn't be fun for any of us." He said as he took another present from Toriel.
"Yes, I suppose you are right." Toriel said giving a small smile.
Toriel and Sans continued to talk to each other as they piled the rest of the presents under the tree. They silently crept back up the stairs.
"Goodnight Sans. See you in the morning." Toriel said as she hugged Sans.
"night tori. try to get some sleep." Sans said. He returned the hug before heading to his room.
Toriel waited for Sans to close his door before heading into her own room. She climbed onto her bed and pulled the covers over herself. Her phone started to ring, making her jump. She picked it up and looked at the number. She nearly dropped the phone as she hit the answer button. "Hello, my child." She said into the phone.
"Hi mom…" Frisk said.
"How are you?" Toriel asked.
"I'm… I had a bad dream…" Frisk said.
"Oh. Are you feeling okay?" Toriel asked.
"N-not really…" Frisk replied.
"Do you feel scared?" Toriel asked.
"No… it's just that Christmas is tomorrow…" Frisk replied.
Toriel sighed. "I was kind of hoping that you wouldn't realize." She said. "Don't worry, we'll make sure that Santa's gifts to you will remain safe and wrapped until you get back home." She added.
"That's not really what I'm upset about… they still haven't shared any dates for a vote. I don't know when… I don't know when I'll…" Frisk said. She started to break down and silently sobbed.
"Oh no… Don't cry my child…" Toriel said. "You don't need to worry about that. They can't keep you there for the rest of your life." She said in an attempt to convince Frisk.
"But I've already been gone for so long… A-and I'm so far behind in school…" Frisk said.
"I know. But I don't think Lyona will keep you there for an entire year." Toriel said.
"She said that she would give up by the first snowfall, but then the court made it seem like things were going to progress but they didn't really go anywhere so now she doesn't know." Frisk explained.
"I see…" Toriel sighed. "So she had planned to leave when the snow started to fall, but the court did something that changed her mind and now she wants to stick around to see if anything happens?" She asked to see if she understood correctly.
"Pretty much. I was really hoping that we were going to leave." Frisk said.
"I'm guessing she is asleep?" Toriel asked.
"Yeah." Frisk replied.
"Is this why you are calling so late?" Toriel asked.
"Kind of… I didn't really want her to hear this…" Frisk replied.
"Maybe you should try talking to her." Toriel said.
"No. It's okay…" Frisk said.
"This isn't okay!" Toriel said as she let her emotions take over her words. "They can't keep you there! Like you said, they are making you fall behind in class since I can't give you lessons and you don't have time to go to school while your away. And they have no idea how much stress it causes on us when you are brought out of our protection! We can't stop you from getting hurt or hurting others when you're so far away." She ranted.
"Mom…" Frisk said.
"I'm sorry, my child. I got carried away." Toriel said, clearing her throat.
"No… I'm sorry that I'm such a big problem for you." Frisk said.
"You don't need to be sorry. I'm happy that you chose to stick with us, really. But sometimes I think it was better underground and we didn't have to deal with these things, let alone force a child to do so." Toriel said.
Frisk was silent and hesitant on what else she wanted to say. She looked out the window at the falling snow. "Maybe it's worth a shot…" She sighed.
"Just try talking to her." Toriel said.
"Okay. I will give it a shot." Frisk said.
"Thank you. Now get to sleep, okay? You need your rest." Toriel said.
"Okay mom." Frisk said.
"Goodnight my child." Toriel said.
"Night mom …Love you." Frisk said.
"I love you too." Toriel said.
Frisk hung up and set her phone down. She climbed off her bed and walked over to the window. Though it was hard to see, the ground was covered with snow that dimly reflected the glow of Christmas lights surrounding the first floor. She closed the curtain and looked towards the small table-tree Lyona had bought. The batteries had died so none of the little lights were on. She climbed back onto her bed and climbed under the covers.
Lyona awoke Frisk in the morning. "Good morning Frisk!" She said cheerfully.
"good morning Lyona." Frisk said. She looked out the window then down.
"Don't worry, I didn't wake you up this early for a meeting." Lyona said. "I already told you that we weren't having one today, remember?" She asked.
Frisk nodded. "sorry… it's just that…" She hesitated.
Lyona sat down next to Frisk. "Don't worry. I heard your conversation with your mom last night." She said.
"…sorry…" Frisk said.
"It's okay. I know how hopeful you were for the first snowfall. And then I had to go and slaughter it." Lyona sighed. "If you want to go home, say the word." She said.
Frisk was hesitant on how to respond. "one… one more week… just in case." She said, even though she knew nothing would happen.
"All right." Lyona said. "There's going to be this light show thing at night if you're interested?" She asked.
Frisk nodded. They drove through a couple neighborhoods the previous night, but it was one of the ups in the trip. "do you have anything else planned?" She asked.
"Not really." Lyona said, laughing a little bit. "Is there anything in particular that you want to do?" She asked.
Frisk thought for a second. "do you think we can reach Mettaton's channel?" She asked.
"We can try." Lyona said. She stood up and grabbed the TV remote before turning it on. She switched to channel 132 and received static for a moment before Mettaton's pre-show screen appeared. "Looks like we're good." She said. "Does Mettaton do something special today?" She asked.
Frisk nodded. "he does this ballet thing and invites anyone in the audience to join him for a short bit from time to time." She explained.
"Ah. That's pretty neat." Lyona said. She looked out the window. "Hey, look. It's starting to snow again!" She pointed out.
Frisk looked out the window again. "do you think we could go to a park to play in it later?" She asked.
Lyona smiled a bit. "We'll have to wait and see. I didn't exactly get us proper outfits to play in the snow." She replied.
Frisk nodded. The pre-show sign disappeared and the show started, bringing Frisk's attention back to the television. The two of them watched Mettaton's show for a while before Lyona got up to make them a couple of cinnamon rolls for breakfast. She sat back down next to Frisk and handed her one of them. They continued to watch the show until it ended two hours later.
"That was interesting." Lyona said. "And wasn't that you're brother? The last one to be called up?" She asked.
Frisk nodded. "that was his first time doing that. I'm... happy for him." She said.
Lyona looked down. "Want to try calling him to see how it went?" She asked.
Frisk thought for a while before grabbing her phone. She put in Toriel's number and waited for an answer. The phone went to voicemail. It surprised her a little but figured that they may still be at the studio. "hey mom! sorry if this was a bad time. I was just calling to ask Asriel how it went. um… you can call me back when you get this. love you." She said before hanging up. She set her phone down on the nightstand and laid back.
"Didn't get a hold of them?" Lyona asked.
"no…" Frisk replied.
"Sorry." Lyona said.
"It's okay. They are probably just at the studio still." Frisk said.
"You may be right." Lyona said. "I'm going to head down to the pool shortly." She stated as she stood up to stretch. "Would you like to join me?" She asked.
"sure." Frisk replied. She slid off the bed and stretched as well. She waited for Lyona to finish changing before heading into the bathroom to change herself.
When Frisk finished changing, her and Lyona went down to the pool and started playing around in the water. Another family was there with them, but they stayed at the shallow end of the pool. Frisk didn't really pay much attention to the group but guessed that they had some really little kids with them. After some time, another family walked into the room. Frisk caught a glance of one of the kids and ducked under the water and swam to the wall in hopes she wouldn't be noticed.
"Are you okay?" Lyona asked after Frisk resurfaced for air. She grabbed onto her and kept her from going under again. "You shouldn't try to drown yourself." She said.
Frisk shook her head. "I wasn't trying to…" She said. "I just know… i remembered something that happened with my bullies and kind of just panicked…" She relied.
"Oh." Lyona sighed. "Are you sure you're okay? Why did you go so quiet?" She asked.
Frisk shrugged. "i don't know… kind of just feel a little scared i guess." She said.
"Do you want to head back up to our room?" Lyona asked.
Frisk shook her head again. "no, i'm okay." She said. 'Not like he'll recognize me… right?' She thought.
"I wouldn't count on it." Chara replied.
"If you're sure you're okay, then okay. Just remember to come back up for air." Lyona responded. She let go of Frisk and started making little splashes at her.
Frisk smiled and created a large wave in Lyona's direction.
"Oh? You want to play like that, do you?" Lyona asked. She brought her arms back as far as she could before launching them forward, creating a wave larger than Frisk's.
Frisk giggled after all the water passed her and sent over another one. After Frisk saw the water pass Lyoan, she swam further away in an attempt to escape the next splash, but was inevitably hit.
The commotion brought attention to the two and it didn't take long for the older kid of the new family to recognize Frisk. He left the rest of his family, who were still getting ready to swim. He jumped into the water and snuck up behind Frisk before trying to scare her. He was about to shout but hesitated. He silently sighed then tapped her shoulder. "Hey." He said.
Frisk jumped a bit when she felt the tap and turned around as quickly as she could. She went almost completely still and only moved enough to keep her above the water.
Lyona noticed Frisk's reaction and closely but silently observed what happened next.
"Hey… uh… Frisk, was it?" The bully asked.
Frisk only nodded in response.
"Cool …Look. I'm sorry about how me… and the others… treated you… I just… I wanted to look cool, you know? I wanted to feel like… like I was stronger and better and… Not a waste." The bully tried to explain.
This caught Frisk off guard. "are… are you actually apologizing? or is this just a trick to get me to trust you?" She asked.
Ouch. "Trust me, the others have nothing to do with this. I'm really sorry. About everything." The bully said.
"even stabbing me?" Frisk asked.
"That… wasn't me exactly… but, yeah." The bully replied. "My name is Jess." He said.
"Jess…? that's an interesting name…" Frisk said.
Jess rolled his eyes. "No it's not. It's a girls name…" He said.
"it can be a boys name too." Frisk said.
"If it wasn't short for Jessica." He said.
"oh…" Frisk replied. It was kind of funny, so she had to suppress a small giggle.
"My parents wanted a girl and got me instead. That's why I was named Jessica. Because they were too lazy to find any other name that wouldn't be so embarrassing." Jess said.
"Why didn't your friends attack you then?" Lyona asked.
Jess blushed at the notice of the adult. "U-uh… Hi! S-sorry I didn't know you were… right there…" He said.
"Relax I don't gossip." Lyona said. "But that was a real question. I was stuck on the trial so I'm interested in why they insisted picking on Frisk instead of you." She added.
"Because… They don't know. I never told them." Jess replied.
"Lyona." Frisk said.
"Weren't you curious?" Lyona asked.
Frisk hesitated. "Kind of… but it's not important. If they knew then they just would've done the same to him as they did to me." She stated.
"Wouldn't you like to see that though?" Lyona asked.
"Not if it never happened to me." Frisk replied.
Lyona smiled lightly. "You've grown up a bit since this trip started. Funny you started thinking more like an adult but also a little depressing if you have lost your childhood already." She said.
"It would be the end of the world." Chara teased.
Jess was a bit taken back by Frisk's comment. "You're a nice person… Glad I got to actually talk with you." He said before swimming back to his family.
"The bully repents for his sins and is forgiven. Maybe you're too nice sometimes, but that's not a bad trait. It did get you through the underground." Lyona said.
"do you think I did the right thing by forgiving him…?" Frisk asked.
"That's up for debate. Although, It's clearly not bad." Lyona replied. "At least now he has a more loyal friend than the ones from before." She said.
"can we really be friends though? just like that? after everything he and the others did to me?" Frisk asked.
"What happened to your certainty?" Lyona asked.
"I don't know… i feel so confused… I… I'm lost…" Frisk said.
Lyona pulled Frisk to the side of the pool so they could sit. "Would you like something to drink?" She asked.
Frisk shook her head. She tried to go into thought, but she felt a strong force of pain strike her head. It made her want to scream out but she didn't, just moved her hands to her forehead and started to squeeze.
"Are you okay?" Lyona asked.
Frisk shook her head. "my head hurts…" She said.
Lyona nodded. "Let's head back to the room so you can process everything? That's probably why it hurts." She suggested, helping Frisk stand up.
"okay…" Frisk said. She dried off with Lyona then followed her back to their room.
"Are you okay Asriel?" Toriel asked.
Asriel nodded. "Do you need help with something?" He asked.
Toriel shook her head. "Frisk called me while we were still at the studio and I didn't notice until now. She said she saw you on the show." She said.
"Really?" Asriel asked.
"Yeah. She didn't say much, since it was just a message, but I think she wanted to say you did a good job." Toriel said.
"Can't you call her and ask her?" Asriel asked.
"I tried to. She didn't pick up so she's probably busy with something." Toriel said.
"You think they made her do a court meeting today?" Asriel asked.
"No. I think she told me that there wasn't going to be anything like that today." Toriel replied. "She might have been at the pool with Lyona though." She stated.
"Pool?" Asriel asked, concern hinted in his voice.
"Don't worry. Lyona has kept a close eye on her while they are there." Torie said. "Besides, I doubt she would try to do a repeat of last time." She added.
"I know. You've said. But it wasn't really her fault. The other brats started it." Asriel said.
"Asriel." Toriel warned.
"Sorry…" Asriel sighed. "But it's true." He said.
"I'm aware that it's true. But it doesn't make it right." Toriel said.
"I know." Asriel sighed.
Toriel patted his head. "If you're interested, Sans accidentally let a dog in our house and it somehow ate all the cookies I made so I have to make more." She said. "Would you like to help me?" She asked.
"Sure." Asriel said. He stood up then followed Toriel down to the kitchen.
"Hey Frisk, I'm back with the food." Lyona said as she closed the door.
"welcome back." Frisk said. She was laying on her side on her bed.
"You're head still hurt?" Lyona asked as she sat down at the table and divided the food.
"Not as much as it did but I still can't think very well. It's like there's this annoying continuous scream in there." Frisk replied.
"Trust me, I know the feeling. It's very annoying." Lyona stated.
"I know." Frisk said. "what did you get?" She asked, finally sitting up.
"Just a couple cheeseburgers. Hope that's okay, I didn't want to go too far or be gone for too long." Lyona replied.
"It's fine." Frisk replied. She slid off the bed and joined Lyona at the table. "I… don't remember you leaving." She said.
"Probably because you were asleep when I left." Lyona said.
"I… was?" Frisk asked.
Lyona laughed a little. "Don't worry. You didn't miss anything special." She said.
"what time is it?" Frisk asked.
"This is dinner." Lyona said. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?" She asked growing a little concerned.
Frisk nodded. "sorry. I guess I just had a weird dream." She said.
Lyona nodded and relaxed a little. She let out a small sigh. "If it's alright with you, I'm kind of tired of waiting for something to happen." She sighed.
"what do you mean?" Frisk asked.
"I mean, I want to leave. Tomorrow morning to be precise." Lyona replied.
Frisk chose to stay silent.
"I know that's out the blue, but I can't stop thinking about it and the more I think about it, the more ridiculous it seems." Lyona tried to explain.
"okay." Frisk said. "we can leave." She decided to add. 'I'll just deal with the consequences later for you.' She thought.
"Pushing your luck again?" Chara asked.
'I'll take it.' Frisk replied.
"Are you sure?" Lyona asked. "You were a little hesitant yourself earlier." She stated.
"I know. but we have waited long enough at this point." Frisk said.
Lyona nodded. "It's settled then. We check out in the morning and then start our drive home." She said.
"You're really doing it?" Chara asked.
Frisk nodded in response to both of them. 'I want to go home.' She said. 'And I'm done playing their stupid games.' She added.
"Frisk?" Lyona asked.
Frisk looked up at her.
"Are you alright? You're hands are glowing!" Lyona asked.
Frisk looked down at her fists. They were in fact glowing red. Her eyes widened a little bit and the glow faded. She turned her head away and hid her hands. "sorry." She said.
"Has that ever happened?" Lyona asked.
"...once." Frisk replied.
"Does Toriel know about it?" Lyona asked.
Frisk shook her head. "I didn't mention it…" She said.
"You probably should." Lyona said.
"if I don't… will you just report it?" Frisk asked.
"Seeing how this really isn't a problem, no. But if it does become an issue, then I will be required to." Lyona replied.
Frisk looked down at her hands. 'It's not like I understand it. It only happened when I attacked that stupid kid but… What caused it?' Frisk asked.
"I'm not sure. I developed a theory after it happened the first time, now it seems that I can discard some of those and boost a couple others. It may just be your power and living amongst the monsters may have brought it to the surface." Chara tried to explain.
'But humans don't have magic.' Frisk said.
"Maybe not anymore. But, if I remember correctly, humans used magic to seal the monsters underground, so they at least had magic. Of course, it could also be that you emotions tied with you determination could be the cause of it at the same time. Maybe those two theories even cross paths or are the same." Chara explained.
'I guess you're right. But what happened to the humans magic?' Frisk asked.
"Don't know. Guess the use of it eventually died out after monsters were trapped in their pison." Chara replied. "I don't remember much from before I fell down so I'm not sure if humans from my time still used magic or not." She said.
"Are you alright?" Lyona asked.
Frisk nodded. "sorry. got lost in thought." She said.
"Does that mean your head is feeling better?" Lyona asked.
"I guess so." Frisk replied.
Lyona nodded. "Would you like to go back to the pool or are you done swimming today?" She asked.
"I think I can continue swimming." Frisk replied.
"Good. I was going to go back down with or without you anyway." Lyona said, laughing a little. "Go ahead and change, I'll be right behind you." She said.
Frisk finished her last bite then got up to change. She waited for Lyona to finish changing then they headed down to the pool to continue swimming. Jess was there again and though Frisk was a little hesitant and cautious about it, the two of them played together while Lyona got used to the water. When Lyona did get used to the water, she joined the other two and they played around until it was time for the pool to close.
"Will you be here tomorrow?" Jess asked.
Frisk looked down a bit. "actually, me and Lyona were going to leave in the morning.
"We could hold off for a little bit." Lyona said. "I did say that we could go to the park." She explained. "Would you like to wait another day?" She asked.
Frisk nodded. "What about the meeting tomorrow?" She asked.
"Sh…" Lyona said with her finger at her lips. "We'll already be gone for as far as they are concerned." She said.
"won't you get in trouble?" Frisk asked.
"They would have to prove that I was still in the city." Lyona said.
Frisk nodded. "Okay." She said.
"So… Are you going to be here tomorrow?" Jess asked again.
Frisk nodded.
"Only for a couple hours after the pool opens, then we gotta skedaddle." Lyona said.
"Cool! See you tomorrow!" Jess said before he followed his family out of the room.
"thank you." Frisk said.
"You're welcome." Lyona said. "Just don't let anyone know I'm doing this." She added.
"Zip!" Frisk said as she ran a couple fingers across her lips and nodded.
Lyona ruffled Frisk's hair then the two of them walked up to their room to change. They got into the usual clothing and threw on their jackets before leaving the building and entering the car. They drove to the light show Lyona mentioned earlier that morning. After they finished looking at all the lights, they returned to the hotel and got back to their room.
"Was that fun?" Lyona asked.
Frisk nodded. "Everything was really pretty!" She said.
"Which part was you favorite?" Lyona asked.
"probably the house with all the snowmen around it." Frisk replied.
"That one was cool." Lyona said. "Glad you enjoyed it." She said.
Frisk nodded. She laid down on her bed. "do you have a family?" Frisk asked.
"I don't talk to them much, but yeah." Lyona replied. "Why?" She asked.
"I was going to say that you should call them and tell them Merry Christmas since you are all the way over here and can't spend time with them." Frisk replied.
"They don't really celebrate anything." Lyona replied.
"why not?" Frisk asked.
Lyona shrugged. "They never really get into the spirit of decorating and spending time together. Always working." She said.
Frisk looked down.
"Don't worry about it." Lyona said.
Frisk nodded. "sorry." She said.
"You didn't do anything wrong." Lyona said.
Frisk nodded again. "I know. but I can tell you don't like talking about it." She said.
Lyona nodded. "Doesn't mean you did something wrong." She said. "Why don't you go ahead and get to sleep?" She suggested.
Frisk nodded then pulled the blankets on top of herself before turning onto her side. "goodnight Lyona." She said.
"Goodnight Frisk. Sleep well." Lyona said before turning off the lights and getting into bed herself.
In the morning, Lyona woke up Frisk so they could head down to the pool. Jess joined them after a little bit and the group played together for a couple hours before Lyona made Frisk dry off so they could head to the park. They played around in the snow for a while before they got back into the car and started the long drive back home.
"Did you have fun today?" Lyona asked.
Frisk nodded. "do you think the driver will tattle on us?" She asked.
Lyona shook her head. "He has no care about what we do. He was bored out of his mind in his room." She said.
"did he not do anything while we were there?" Frisk asked.
"Not really. We usually had the car and it got too cold to walk far so he didn't have much to do." Lyona replied.
"he could have gone down to the pool." Frisk said.
"Yeah. Maybe he did and we just didn't notice." Lyona said.
"I think I would have noticed." Frisk said.
"Why?" Lyona asked.
"because I always looked around the room when we got there and always checked who walked in or out." Frisk replied.
"Why?" Lyona asked again.
Frisk shrugged.
"Well, maybe he just went when we weren't there." Lyona said.
"why?" Frisk asked.
Lyona just gave a shrug. "Don't worry about it too much. It was his choice to stay, he could have asked me to drive him back." Lyona said.
"but that would have taken you forever. I can't be by myself for that many days." Frisk stated.
"Are you saying you can't take care of yourself for a few days?" Lyona asked.
"no… but I'm not wrong. it's against the rules." Frisk replied.
"Whose rules?" Lyona asked.
"mom's." Frisk replied.
"Ah." Lyona said giving a nod. "But she wasn't there, she wouldn't have known." Lyona said.
"...no, but that doesn't make it okay." Frisk said.
Lyona chuckled and ruffled Frisk's hair. "You're a good kid. Sorry you're stuck in this mess." She said.
"I kind of asked for it." Frisk said.
"Yes, but you couldn't have known that things like this would happen to you." Lyona said. "The governor is so stubborn he may as well be corrupt." She stated.
Frisk didn't get the statement but nodded.
"Sorry." Lyona said. "Did you call your mom and tell her that you were on your way home?" She asked, changing the subject.
Frisk shook her head. "I want to surprise them." She said.
Lyona nodded. "Sounds like a plan then." She said. "Maybe we can buy some wrapping paper and wrap you up before you get home." She laughed.
Frisk giggled at the thought. "that would be funny, but it would make more sense if it were actually on Christmas." She said.
"Some people have to travel between family members so their Christmas may last the whole week." Lyona stated.
"I will think about it." Frisk said.
Lyona nodded. "Would you like something to eat or drink when we have to stop for gas?" She asked.
"some doughnuts would be nice." Frisk replied.
Lyona nodded. "Then we shall get some doughnuts and juice." She said.
Frisk nodded. She looked out the window and watched as the wall of trees zoomed by. She took note of the storm clouds that seemed to be forming up ahead.
"Hey, we're going to be driving a little longer so it seems like we left earlier." Lyona stated. "If you need to lay down to sleep, then I can move up to the front seat for you." She offered.
"I think I will be fine. thank you though." Frisk said.
Lyona nodded. "Alright then." She said then looked out her window.
Frisk continued to look out the window for a while but eventually got bored and had to get comfortable again. She tried to rest her head on the door, but that proved to be very painful. "how much longer until we need to get gas?" She asked.
"We got another hour." Lyona replied.
Frisk nodded. She let out a small sigh.
"Bored?" Lyona asked.
Frisk nodded.
"Did you remember your stuffed animal?" Lyona asked.
Frisk shook her head. "I forgot to grab it before we left." She said.
"I'm guessing you were sleeping with it?" Lyona asked.
Frisk nodded again.
"Ah. You probably forgot to grab it because you were still asleep and didn't think about it at the time." Lyona said.
"yeah…" Frisk replied.
"Sorry I didn't ask until now. It didn't really come to mind." Lyona said. "I got some blank paper in my suitcase and there are crayons up front if you would like to color." She offered.
"it's fine." Frisk said. "sure." She replied.
"I'll grab the crayons if you can reach back and get the paper." Lyona said.
Frisk nodded then turned around enough to get her arms over the back of the seat and opened up Lyona's suitcase. She found and pulled out the paper then returned to her normal sitting position.
"Alright, here are the few colors available. Draw away." Lyona said after handing Frisk the crayons.
Frisk took the crayons and started to color. It definitely helped get rid of a lot of boredom and it seemed to have sped up time because they got to the gas station quicker than she expected to. She got out of the car with Lyona so they could pick out a couple doughnuts and get something to drink. They ate as they waited for the driver to fill the car and then they were back on the road again, this time until they made it to the hotel.
By the time they arrived, Frisk had fallen asleep on Lyona's lap and had to be carried into the room. Lyona got her into a bed and then got to sleep herself after changing. She got into the same bed as Frisk since the driver clearly claimed the other bed to himself as he was stretched out to every corner of it.
"Mom?" Asriel asked.
Toriel looked up from the book she was reading. "Hello, my child." She said. "What are you doing awake?" She asked.
"I… had a bad dream." Asriel said.
"Oh." Toriel sighed as she set down her book. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked.
Asriel nodded. "Just a little startled I guess…" He said. He walked over to her and rested his head on one of her arms.
Toriel picked him up and hugged him as she sat him on her lap. "Would you like to talk about it?" She asked.
Asriel shook his head. "Not really." He said.
Toriel sighed and nodded. "Would you like to do anything tomorrow?" She asked.
"Could we go to the park?" Asriel asked.
"If your stuff is dry." Toriel replied.
Asriel nodded. "Can I have some pie?" He asked.
"Isn't it a little late for pie?" Toriel asked.
Asriel shook his head.
Toriel sighed as she shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Not tonight." She said.
"Why not?" Asriel asked.
"Because it's past your bedtime." Toriel replied.
"I just had a bad dream…" Asriel said.
"I know. And that's okay." Toriel replied. "But it's still past your bedtime." She stated.
Asriel sighed in defeat. "Okay…" He said.
"Maybe you can have some in the morning, okay?" Toriel asked.
Asriel nodded.
"Alright." Toriel said.
"Could you… maybe… sing to me?" Asriel asked.
"Sing?" Toriel asked.
"Yeah." Asriel said, nodding a little.
"Any request?" Toriel asked.
Asriel shook his head.
"Let's see…" Toriel said. She thought for a moment before standing up, still holding Asriel in her arms, and began to sing. She sang as she brought Asriel back to his room and didn't stop until he fell asleep again. She let out a small sigh as she turned off the light and shut the door. She headed back downstairs and continued reading.
After another endless drive and night in a hotel, Frisk, Lyona, and their driver were finally on the last stretch home. Frisk was resting on Lyona's shoulder and Lyona was looking through Frisk's drawings. She glanced out the window for a moment when a dark cloud caught her eye.
"Looks like we finally caught up to the storm." Lyona stated. "We've been chasing these clouds since we left this morning." She said.
It didn't take too long before the rain started to hit the car. It wasn't enough to bother Frisk just yet, but Lyona worried about thunder and lightning becoming a problem shortly.
Though the rain wasn't bothering Frisk, she quickly awoke when a flash crossed her eyes. She lifted her head a bit and rubbed her eyes.
"It was just a car driving by us." Lyona said.
Frisk nodded. "how much longer?" She asked.
"Just a few more hours and we'll be in your town." Lyona replied.
Frisk nodded. "what time is it?" She asked.
"We are going onto three o'clock." Lyona replied.
"so is it going to be late when we get there?" Frisk asked.
"Depends on your kind of late." Lyona replied. "The sun will be down before we get there." She stated.
Frisk nodded lightly then looked out the window.
"It's raining a lot out there." Chara said.
'Yeah.' Frisk sighed.
"You scared?" Chara asked.
'Not really.' Frisk replied.
"Why not?" Chara asked. "You hate storms." She stated.
'I don't hear any thunder and I don't see any lightning.' Frisk replied. 'And I like rain when there are no flashes or bangs.' She said.
"Oh… That's right. You're weird." Chara said.
'Maybe. But I'm not a ghost.' Frisk said.
Chara rolled her eyes. "Not my fault." She said.
Something about the way that was sad made Frisk think for a moment. She still didn't really know why or how Chara died young, it just wasn't something she was very concerned about and felt like it was unnecessary to know. But now that she thought about it, it seemed like it was a problem but she couldn't figure out how to ask without sounding rude.
"We're coming up to a rest area." Lyona stated. "Would you like to stretch your legs a bit?" She asked.
"sure." Frisk replied, giving a small nod.
"Alright." Lyona said.
When they arrived, Frisk followed Lyona out of the car and to the safety of the building. They managed to catch a parking spot closer to the building so they were not completely drenched.
"I have to use the restroom real quick." Lyona said before heading into the ladies bathroom.
Frisk walked around the square of the building by herself. She staggered out of the way of some toddlers running around the room. After a while, she began to feel panicked but couldn't figure out why. She found an open bench and sat down so she could think.
"Hi!" A little boy shouted.
Frisk jumped. "u-uh… hi?" She said.
The little boy giggled then ran off.
Frisk let out of sigh and rubbed her head. 'Why do little kids always insist on scaring?' She asked.
"It's fun." Chara replied.
'Maybe for them.' Frisk said.
"Well, to be fair, they should only scare people they know." Chara said.
'Yeah, they might get hit if they scare some random person.' Frisk said.
"Won't learn any other way sometimes." Chara said. "Why don't you go teach him a lesson?" She suggested.
Frisk didn't respond.
Lyona left the bathroom and found where Frisk was sitting. She sat down next to her and patted her head.
Frisk was a little startled by Lyona's presence. She was so deep in thought she didn't realize her walking up or sitting down.
"Sorry for scaring you." Lyona said. "Driver still inside the bathroom?" She asked.
Frisk shrugged. She really wasn't paying any attention to the matter.
"Alright. Let me go check the car to see if he already went back to it." Lyona said before standing up.
"can i come with you?" Frisk asked.
"Sure. I won't stop you." Lyona said.
"thank you." Frisk said. She stood up then followed Lyona back into the rain.
As it turns out, the driver was already in the car. Lyona and Frisk climbed in and the drive continued.
"Sorry, I meant to ask you if you wanted anything from the vending machine." Lyona said a few minutes after they got back onto the highway.
"it's okay." Frisk said.
"Are you okay?" Lyona asked. "You got quiet again." She said.
"yeah, i'm fine." Frisk replied. "some kid just startled me before you got out of the bathroom." She sighed.
Lyona looked down at Frisk suspiciously. "How did you react?" She asked.
"i just said hi and he ran off." Frisk replied.
Lyona nodded. "Well at least you reacted better than last time." She said.
'Barely.' Frisk thought. She looked out the window and started poking every drop of water on it.
"Bored?" Lyona asked.
Frisk nodded.
"Well we got another hour to go. We should get you home in time for dinner, depending on when you're family usually eats." Lyona said.
Frisk nodded again. "would you like to stay and eat?" She asked. "I don't think mom would mind." She said.
Lyona shook her head. "Thank you, but i'd like to get back home." She said.
"okay." Frisk said. She rested her head on Lyona's shoulder again.
The sun began to set over the monster capital as they approached the first few buildings. Frisk fell asleep so Lyona gently shook her awake before they got far in. They pulled up to the front of her house then Lyona helped Frisk get her bag out of the back and up the steps.
Frisk stood by the car while Lyona got the bag. She was stuck looking up at the house and the decorations that surrounded it.
"You okay?" Lyona asked.
Frisk quickly nodded and ran up the steps to join her.
"Welcome home." Lyona said before knocking on the door.
Sans was the one to respond to the knock. "hey kiddo!" He said.
Frisk jumped into a hug when he answered the door. "Hi dad!" She said happily.
"i didn't hear tori mention you coming home." Sans said.
"I wanted to surprise her!" Frisk said.
"oh okay." Sans said. "but you're going to have to wait for a little bit, she brought asriel to the park." He explained.
"that's okay." Frisk said. "Are you sure you don't want to stick around?" She asked.
Lyona nodded. "Thanks for the offer, but as I said before, I want to get to my own home." She said.
Frisk nodded.
"do you need to tell tori anything?" Sans asked.
Lyona shook her head. "Frisk was very good during the trip, even when a kid scared her on our way back." She said.
Sans nodded. "so are you just going to head on back then?" He asked.
Lyona nodded. "I have to do some paperwork and explain to my bosses about our early departure." She explained.
"alright." Sans said. "thanks for taking care of the kid." He added.
"No problem." Lyona said. "See you next time!" She said before heading back to the car.
Frisk waved goodbye as Lyona got back into the car before it drove off. A certain smell caught her attention and she looked further into the house.
"already smell paps cooking?" Sans asked.
"Paps is here?" Frisk asked as she started walking towards the kitchen.
"yep. he came to visit me while the other two were out." Sans said. He picked Frisk up and put her on his shoulders before carrying her to the kitchen.
"HELLO TINY HUMAN!" Papyrus said when the two entered the room.
"Hi Paps!" Frisk said.
"DID YOU HAVE FUN ON YOUR TRIP?" Papyrus asked.
"it was okay. just really boring." Frisk replied.
"WELL I'M GLAD YOU ARE BACK!" Papyrus said.
"tori kept your bed nice and neat while you were away." Sans said.
"NOW IS NO TIME FOR A NAP!" Papyrus exclaimed. "HUMAN! PREPARE YOURSELF! I SHALL MAKE MY SPECIAL PASTA FOR YOU!" He said.
"what about the spaghetti already on the stove?" Sans asked.
"I WILL JUST HAVE TO MAKE EVEN MORE!" Papyrus replied.
"but there won't be room in the fridge for both of them." Sans said.
Papyrus opened up the fridge. "THERE IS AN ENTIRE OPEN SHELF TORIEL IS ALLOWING ME TO USE." He said.
"yeah, but one bowl of yours will take up the shelf." Sans explained.
"WILL IT?" Papyrus asked. He temporarily removed the pot from the stove and held it above the open shelf. The pot actually did take up the entire shelf.
"told ya." Sans said.
"OH VERY WELL. HUMAN, YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO BE SATISFIED WITH THIS NORMAL SPAGHETTI FOR NOW." Papyrus said as he returned the pot to the stove.
"it's okay Paps! I'm sure it will be just as special!" Frisk said.
"THANK YOU HUMAN." Papyrus replied. "WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP ME FINISH COOKING?" He asked.
"can I?!" Frisk asked.
"OF COURSE!" Papyrus said. He picked Frisk up off of Sans's shoulders and put her on his own.
"welp. looks like you two got things covered. i'm going back upstairs." Sans said before leaving the kitchen.
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING? YOU STILL HAVE WORK TO DO!" Papyrus said.
"he's gone Paps." Frisk said.
Papyrus sighed.
"don't worry. I'll make sure he gets his room cleaned for not helping you." Frisk said.
That made Papyrus chuckle a little bit. "THANK YOU HUMAN. BUT IT IS ALRIGHT." He said. He stirred the pot of noodles.
Frisk began to pat his skull rhythmically as she watched him cook. "will you be staying the night?" She asked.
"NOT TONIGHT. I GOT TO GET BACK HOME AND DO SOME CHORES." Papyrus replied.
Frisk nodded. "okay. thanks for coming over today." She said.
"IT'S NO PROBLEM. I LIKE SPENDING TIME WITH SANS DESPITE HIS LAZINESS AND… PUNS." Papyrus said.
"at least your time with him doesn't just… pasta-way!" Frisk said.
"HUMAN NO!" Papyrus groaned.
Frisk started giggling. "sorry Paps! I couldn't help it!" She said, still giggling.
"SANS YOU BROKE THE HUMAN!" Papyrus shouted.
Sans's only response was laughter from the living room.
Frisk patted Papyrus's skull again. He sighed and chuckled once again then went back to cooking. Once done with that, he removed the noodles from the stove and drained them before putting them back into the pot and adding the sauce. After stirring the two together, he brought the bowl to the table and placed it on a little mat. Frisk helped him get the plates and forks set up around the table.
"THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP HUMAN!" Papyrus said.
"no problem!" Frisk replied then gave him a hug.
Not too much longer later, Toriel and Asriel came home.
"Mom!" Frisk said as she ran out of the dining room and hugged her.
"My child?!" She asked, completely surprised. "What are you doing here?" She asked as she knelt down and returned the hug.
"Lyona got tired of being there so we decided to come back a little earlier than I planned." Frisk said.
Asriel had already made it upstairs before Frisk made it into the living room so he was confused by all the noise and had to walk down a couple steps to see what was happening. "Frisk?!" He asked before rushing the rest of the way down the stairs, almost tripping along the way. He got over and hugged her too. "Why didn't you call us and tell us you were coming home?" He asked.
"I wanted to surprise you!" Frisk giggled.
"So did you and Lyona talk?" Toriel asked.
"sort of… she heard me talking with you." Frisk replied.
Toriel nodded. "I'm glad you are back." She said. "Did she already leave?" She asked.
"yeah. she said that she wanted to get home." Frisk replied.
"That is understandable." Toriel said. "Did you already say hello to Papyrus?" She asked.
Frisk nodded. "he just finished making the spaghetti!" She said.
"Then do you think it's time we sit down and eat?" Toriel asked.
Frisk nodded then Toriel led her and Asriel to the table.
"WELCOME BACK!" Papyrus said from the kitchen doorway. "DID YOU ENJOY YOURSELVES?" He asked.
"Yes, it was nice to head to the park." Toriel said.
"We had a snowball fight!" Asriel said.
"who won?" Frisk asked.
"I did!" Asriel said then started laughing.
"It was… hard to build enough cover." Toriel said.
Frisk started giggling. "Lyona had the same problem! me and her had a snowball fight at one of the city's parks before we left and she couldn't go behind anything to hide!" She said.
"That's why you don't see a lot of adults joining in on the fights. We are easy targets amongst the children." Toriel said.
"seems like there was a lot of thrown snow recently." Sans said from the doorway.
"Hello Sans." Toriel said.
"you guys get started without me?" Sans asked as he walked over to the table.
"I TRIED CALLING YOU BACK DOWN BEFORE THEY EVEN GOT BACK!" Papyrus said.
"sorry paps. must've fallen asleep." Sans replied.
Papyrus sighed and rolled his eyes.
"oh! Sans has to clean his room for not helping Paps!" Frisk said.
"Good luck with that." Asriel said.
"Was this agreed on?" Toriel asked.
"me and Paps talked about it after Sans left." Frisk said.
"Okay then." Toriel said.
"i didn't agree to it." Sans said.
"you weren't in the room so we voted for you." Frisk said, giving him a professional look.
"and if i don't?" Sans asked.
Frisk thought for a moment. "then you have to go through Undyne's exercise routine!" She said.
"WE DON'T WANT TO KILL HIM!" Papyrus said.
Frisk giggled a little bit. "that or no ketchup for a week." She said.
"you are evil tonight." Sans said.
"Then it's decided." Toriel said.
"Can me and Frisk go out and play after dinner?" Asriel asked.
"Not tonight. Your stuff is too wet for another round." Toriel said.
"Please?" Asriel begged.
"Not tonight, Asriel. I don't want you to get sick." Frisk said.
Asriel began to pout.
"it's okay Azzy. we can play tomorrow." Frisk said.
"Okay…" Asriel sighed.
"Did you stay out of trouble?" Toriel asked.
Frisk nodded. "yeah. I stayed away from a lot of people so I didn't really have any problems with anyone." She said.
"so you just avoided people?" Sans asked.
"pretty much, yeah." Frisk said.
Toriel sighed. "Must have been really boring for you." She said.
Frisk shook her head. "Lyona played with me a lot." She said.
"Did anything really interesting happen since our call?" Toriel asked.
"I… one of my bullies were at the hotel the… day before we left…" Frisk admitted.
The room fell silent for a little bit after that.
"how did that go?" Sans asked.
"he… apologized to me." Frisk said.
The room went silent again.
"Really?" Toriel asked.
Frisk nodded. "we kind of got to know each other, he told me that his name was Jess." She explained.
That recieved a snort from Sans. "really?" He asked. "with that kind of name, you would think he would be the one they would have picked on, not you." He stated.
"that's why he never told them." Frisk said.
"he should have. maybe then you wouldn't have been picked on." Sans said.
"If he did then they would have done what they did to me to him! I don't want anyone to have to deal with what I had to!" Frisk said.
"But he deserves it!" Asriel said.
"if he told them his name, they would have just attacked him instead of me. if they never attacked me, why would he deserve it?" Frisk stated.
"it would be better than them picking on you." Sans said.
"How?" Frisk shouted.
"Frisk." Toriel said.
"sorry mom. but-" Frisk said.
"No." Toriel cut her off. "Listen. You are right. If it didn't happen to you, it would have just happened to someone else. And if it never happened to you, you couldn't say someone else deserves it." She explained.
"But it did happen! He does deserve it!" Asriel said.
"Maybe you're right, but that doesn't make it okay." Toriel said.
"Justice isn't a bad thing." Asriel stated.
Toriel went silent.
"whether it happened or not, I don't want it to happen to or anyone else." Frisk said. She looked down and finished eating before she left the room to go upstairs.
Asriel was about to follow but Toriel stopped him. "Let her be. You need to finish eating and I want to talk to you anyway." She said.
Frisk opened the door to her room then shut it behind her as she entered. Her bed was neatly made, making Asriel's bed look even messier than it was. She saw that her plush was on her pillow, having awaited her arrival since she left. She picked it up as she climbed onto her bed and laid down. "sorry i forgot about you…" She quietly said to the plush.
A little bit later, a knock came from the door before it was opened then shut. Someone walked over to and sat down beside her, making her turn and look up. It was just Sans.
"hey kiddo." He said.
"hi dad." She replied.
"that was an interesting decision you made. not wishing your bully what happened to you." Sans stated.
"i'm sorry if i made you mad. that is just how i feel about it." Frisk said.
"i know. i'm not mad. maybe surprised. only hear that from adults more often than from someone your age." Sans replied.
"it just feels right." Frisk said.
"to think that even though what he did to you, he doesn't deserve those things happening to him?" Sans asked.
"something like that i guess…" Frisk replied.
Sans patted her head. "personally, i would love to see what could happen if his friends knew." He said. "but you made the better decision i guess." He sighed.
Frisk sat up and rested her head on his chest. "did mom send you up?" She asked.
Sans chuckled. "she did… but i would have talked with you anyway." He replied.
"thank you." Frisk said.
"would you like to go to our spot tomorrow when you're done playing with asriel?" Sans asked.
"sure." Frisk replied. "don't forget, you have to clean your room for not helping Paps or you don't get any ketchup." She said.
The two of them started to laugh a little and Sans patted Frisk's head. "don't worry. i'll do you a favor and clean my room so you can make papyrus happy." He said.
"and because you want ketchup!" Frisk said, bapping his skull.
"haha…" Sans said. "do you really think you could keep me away from it?" He asked.
"i could throw it all away." Frisk stated.
"you really are evil, aren't you?" He asked.
Frisk just giggled.
Sans patted her head again before he stood up. "welp. i got to head to work now, i'll see you tomorrow." He said.
"you have a job now?" Frisk asked.
"yep. got it while you were away." Sans said.
Frisk rolled her eyes. "obviously." She stated. "where do you work?" She asked.
"i might tell you later." Sans said before heading out the door.
"have fun." Frisk said before the door closed all the way. She let out a sigh and laid back again. She looked out her window and watched as the rain turned into hail.
There. Finally finished another chapter. I'd say the next one will be out shortly after this one, but much like December, my life is soon to be swallowed by theater again and my time will be greatly shortened in February and December. If i don't get the next chapter out in those two months, you can expect one in the first two weeks of April.