Disclaimer: I don't own Undertale.

"Speaking"

Thinking

Chara speaking


Andi did not instinctively scream when she woke up this time, what she had seen still fresh in her mind. She had done enough of that in the dream world, that her throat managed to feel sore. Does... that mean I was screaming in my sleep? However... waking up and find two large, unblinking sockets hovering inches over her face did not help her cause. "AH!" Reflexes getting the best of her, the woman's head snapped upward, and cracked into Sans' awaiting forehead.

"ah!" Rubbing her head, she popped an eye open to see the skeleton standing next to her, rubbing his own skull as he pulled himself back. "err... evenin'," he greeted, giving a small grimace from the hit.

"Sorry. You... probably shouldn't have been that close." Hope that doesn't bruise. Andi looked back at him, her pained look melting to one of... she wasn't sure. Disappointment? Sadness? Pity? After all she had seen and learned, after Sans almost... blasted her into the next timeline... how was she supposed to react around him? Why didn't you tell me before? Should she yell at him? Scream out all of what he and Frisk had been hiding from her? Should she grab his hoodie and shake him? I'm just... tired. I'm just really tired.

Lowering his own hand, he finally picked up on her expression, as she had with her own. "you okay, ands?"

"I..." where should she even start with that? "I'm... thank you, Sans," Andi said, settling on her choice of words. "For..."

"flowey." She nodded, thankful that he said it. "you're welcome. and, um..." Sans looked to the side, avoiding making eye contact. "sorry, 'bout..."

"About threatening me with your dragon skull?" He winced at the reminder. "You are... such a mystery, you know that?" She continued. "I can't figure you out."

"and you never will." He walked around and sat down on the couch, pausing for her to move her legs. A single pillow and blanket were around her, her bag and hiking pole resting over by the television. Figure him out. Well... he'd be surprised then. "are you... sure you're okay? you were pretty hurt when i found you."

Physically, it was hard to say. Overall... she was a mess. "I am... confused. Tired, and... lost." She should say something. Secrets... she couldn't do secrets anymore. She couldn't handle them. Patience is one thing, this... this is something else. "I think I... got the full picture, Sans. I'm just... not happy with the end result, that got us here." Was it possible for a skeleton to pale? Sans seemed to be doing a really good job at it. His slouching form straightened up, eye lights shrinking. Sorry, Sans, but I'm not going to stop. Not this time. "... sh... she showed me the truth. Those... bad timelines... I-I know what happened, and... what happened for Frisk to come and get me."

His sockets had blacked out, and she forced herself not to shuffle away from him. No change in his smile, it was just... blank. I think I broke him. "Sans." The eye lights returned just as quickly as they vanished. "You... I-I saw everything. You don't need to go into detail."

"see. how did you...?" His sockets widened, and he leaned in. "chara?" There it is. That was the reaction she was waiting for. A confirmation. A name, to prove what she had seen was real.

"Chara," she repeated. "Frisk's little ghost buddy, who I believe is the reason you found me before Flowey could take my soul." He sighed again, looking away from her towards the kitchen as he leaned back. "Sans, when... when you saw me back there in Waterfall... you thought I was Frisk. When I... had that knife."

"... hard to get that outta your mind." He turned back to her. "why'd you have that, anyway?" The question wasn't angry sounding, but it wasn't just curiosity Andi could detect.

"Flowey kept putting it back while we stayed in the Ruins, every time I tried getting rid of it. I took it only because I was... well, scared. I didn't want to him doing something to harm Frisk. When we saw the knife the first time, she broke down in tears, Sans. She's really scarred from what she'd done." She looked down at her boots, rocking her feet back and forth against the floor. "I was going to toss it when I was certain he wouldn't get it... I should've tossed it back in Hotland into the lava."

"glad to see that concern was for nothing." What, did he think she was actually going to betray him? "i'm... i really should've said something before." Sans rubbed the back of his head, sighing. "oh, boy..." a pause. "... you, uh... scared of me?"

"I'm pretty sure Frisk is more scared of you than I am. I was... horrified during the first load, and I was even worse you first murdered Chara by-" Sans grimaced again, and Andi's mouth snapped shut. He knew exactly what she meant. She only entered during load three, but the attack on Chara was one he must've remembered all too well. "... you... do you really think having me here will be enough to bring Asriel back?"

"havin' you here-no offence-is still a bit of a mystery to me. any idea what she meant by saving you?" Andi shook her head, and he groaned, head falling back and resting against the couch. "figures."

"But... Sans, with what happened before and... can we not tell Frisk that I'm aware of genocide timeline? She does not need this on her mind." Perhaps in the future, she would tell Frisk, but at the moment, it was something that wasn't worth being brought up.

"heh. don't worry, ands. i didn't plan on tellin' her anyway." His smile brightened a little, and for the first time since waking up, Andi felt relieved.

"Thanks. Uh, by the way, Sans? You said I was banged up when you found me. How exactly am I healed?" She felt sore, and examining her clothes, she could see the tiny cuts in her sweater and jeans. She could feel the phantom stings lining her skin, but other than that, she was... fine. "I know the only food in the house is spaghetti..." Andi's face paled, and Sans chuckled at the action.

"we're tryin' to fix you, not make you worse. i had to scavenge around, but that was all i could find." His eyes drifted to the side, and she followed his direction over to the dining table. Resting beside his pet rock was an onion on a plate, with a section carved out of it. "... yeah, sorry 'bout that."

"You fed me an onion in my sleep," Andi stated. That's... gross. "That was the only option?"

"don't have healing magic like papyrus does. it was all i could think of. and technically, it's a stoic onion." A stoic-how was an onion stoic? Onions didn't have feelings.

Stoic Onion. Even eating it raw, the tears just won't come.

Andi held back a jump, not expecting the explanation nor the voice. You? "well... speakin' of chara, i told her to go and let frisk know that everything's fine. if she got through her last area, she'll be waiting in the hall for us to arrive." He stood up, stretching his back. "i'm gonna head upstairs for a moment. we'll head out in a few." With a wink, and she took note that it was with the left eye, he headed towards the stairs.

She waited, watching the fuzzy slippers reach the second floor, and turn the corner down the hall. And... I'm alone. "... okay, where are you?" Andi stood up, legs shaking a little at the sudden movement. "I know you're here."

... are you angry?

"Well, let's see... you've thrown me twice into memories of a genocide timeline, where I've found out Frisk had killed every one of our friends. I got to watch Sans kill her over and over again, making me question everything that my friends, old and new, have done. What do you think, Chara?" Saying the magic word, she spotted the movement by the entrance to the kitchen. Her form was faint, but she could not mistake the red eyes staring back. So that's why Sans looked that way.

No one would tell you, Chara answered with a shrug. Frisk certainly wouldn't.

"I'm just... I really don't know if I should be thankful for what you've done for her, or try and slap your partially invisible head for possessing Frisk." Was Chara good? Bad? Looking at her interactions with Frisk and Sans, Andi couldn't tell.

I did not do it as often as you might think. Ignoring the one time you saw, some of the other few times were when I wanted to sleep properly, or... Chara's eyes shifted to the side. When I... wanted chocolate.

... neutral, it is then. "... hehe. You... seem like an interesting kid, Chara." Though I can't tell if I trust you yet or not. The older and still living human walked over to her, giving a quick but hopefully friendly smile before checking the fridge. "Still nothing." She only had one or two granola bars left in the bag, maybe one more bottle of water. Helpful, but nothing to improve any healing. And I really don't want to eat the onion. "Know where any decent food is?"

Hmmm... check the sink cupboard? Chara floated over next to her as she opened the door. At the base was several short white hairs, at the top was a shelf lined with bones. Around the cupboard itself was the piping for the sink.

"Nothing. Oh, well." Grabbing the door, she only got to close it halfway before Chara zoomed in front of her, body partially through the door. "Ah!"

There's something back there. Behind the pipes. Her hand let go of the door, opening back up to where she had left it. Behind the... pipes? Holding onto the frame, she leaned inwards and swung her hand around. She's right. There's no back wall.

"Hang on." Bringing herself up onto the base of the cupboard, Andi began to crawl around the pipes to reach the over side. From looking in, the back was black, which could've been thought of as a wall due to how dark it was inside. However, once she passed through the pipes, she and Chara, who floated a few feet behind her, emerged into a large cave. "Did... are we under the house?"

Perhaps. The ghost glanced around the area, curling her nose. Blueprints, frayed rope, a deflated inflatable decoration rotting with age, a rotting dumpling, and a radio encased in green crystal were just some of what random and destroyed items were found in the hidden room. This is disgusting. She looked down at the broken shards of a CD. Why is this even here?

"A lot of this place doesn't make sense. At this point, I've stopped questioning it." It's made my head feel loads better. She moved towards the gap in the destroyed shrine. Stone pillars had fallen over, taking out the red shingled roof. Behind the ruins was a red and blue door, its paint job and construction fairing far better than the rest of the area. "Do you think something back there?"

Most likely. Would you like me to open it? Chara bobbed past her, poking her head through the door. Wait a moment. The rest of her body passed through, and after a few seconds, the doors slid open with a bang that echoed throughout the small space. She turned around, and waved down the narrowing decline behind her. After you.

"Heh. Thanks." Keeping a steady hand on the wall, Andi moved past Chara and shuffled down towards the new area. The ceiling was close, forcing her to duck until she reached the bottom. The room opened up, despite the awkward entrance, and she stood face-to-face with... "Mew Mew Kissy Cutie?"

The anime Alphys loved? What was something like that doing underneath Sans and Papyrus' house? "Hmmm..." she drifted closer to it, looking it over. The pink and white dress was clean, the bells on its ears shining in the tiny bit of light that came through the entrance behind her. The fur did not look fake, and she reached up to its ear to check. It's really soft.

"ENOUGH! ENOUGH! ENOUGH!"

"Whoa!" Jumping back, Andi stared at the enraged expression that had replaced the once sweet and cheerful one. "You're alive?"

"FOOL! DON'T YOU KNOW NOT TO TOUCH PEOPLE YOU DON'T KNOW!?" The anime statue asked, eyes narrowed.

"I-I'm sorry," Andi stammered. "I didn't think a ghost was occupying it."

"Ho ho... at least you're somewhat familiar with me then. Even if I'm not in that miserable dummy suit." Oh... it's the mad dummy. This... wasn't going to end well. "Once I fuse with this PERFECT new body, mew... a brand new, WONDERFUL life is going to begin!"

"... and fusing with the body requires you to hide out in the skeletons' kitchen?"

"Shut up!" She hissed. "But as much as I try to fuse... it's. Not. WORKING! My emotions aren't pure enough! I need tension! Conflict! Something to bring out my ANGER!" Okay... time to start backing out now. "Wait. That's it! YOU!"

"Me?" Andi's soul was dragged out into view, and Mew Mew giggled at the sight.

"Perfect! Human! Fight with me! Combat! Bloodlust! Destruction! It's the perfect emotional cocktail... to fuse with my new body, mew!"

"andi? are you okay?" She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Sans' slippers at the top of the incline. Sans!

"We don't need any interference." Mew Mew waved her paw, and the cave's entrance shimmered. Rushing towards it, Andi's hands were met with a transparent wall, sparkling faintly in pink.

"Sans! I can't get out!" She smacked a palm against the barrier, finding a magic almost exactly like that from the memory. "Sans!"

"And, with my new special ability..." she spun around, hearing Sans reach the bottom behind her. "This battle will be truly interesting!"

She could hear the thumps on the other side of the barrier, his hands banging on it to see if there was a weak spot. The mad Mew Mew doll giggled, and with another wave of her paw another barrier went up between the two of them. "Why are you separating... oh no." Her soul... her soul was on the other side. "Oh, no. No." Andi jumped side to side, and to her disbelief, the red and blue heart did not follow her. "How did y-?"

"Never met magic that did that before?" She asked, voice sweetly mocking her. "Let's begin!"

"Sans?" This was not going to end well. She had to get out, or find a way to pacify Mew Mew, or-or something.

"can you move your soul around at all?" Andi did not bother turning around to answer, watching three swirling white orbs rush the rectangular box her soul was trapped in. It wouldn't budge. No matter how much she willed it, all her earnings delivered her was a small twitch.

"Arrgh!" She held her chest, feeling the hits make contact with her soul. "Err... no. No, I can't." She held her hand there, a mix of her soul, and her heart, beating under her palm. "Why... won't it move?"

"Wondering where I got this body?" Mew Mew asked, not focusing on her successful attack. If it was the dummy from before, it was not surprising. Personality was pretty much exactly the same. "Wouldn't you like to know!? Ha ha ha ha!" She paused, and gave a playful wink. "Sure, I'll tell you."

She kept her hand there, and watched as another flood of magic attacks came at the box. "... they're spaced out." She shifted at Sans' voice before hunching over as another hit was made. "enough space to... ands, this is gonna sound stupid, but does your soul do anything special?"

"What... do you mean by special?" She felt a trick of blood run down from her mouth, and wiped at it with the back of the hand not holding her chest.

"every human that has a specific trait usually plays by the same magic rules. a green soul can't move and uses shields. purple can only move up and down. what does a blue and red soul do?" What... did a dual colored soul do? "can you divide the soul in half?"

"I-I'm sorry?" Divide-did he want her to cut her soul in half!? Sans, we are trying to save me here, not kill me!

"just see if you can split the colors apart." His suggestion was urgent, and she looked from the rapidly beating soul, to a maliciously grinning Mew Mew, to the soul again. Split it... how? "try and feel it like it's right in front of you, and make the colors separate."

Another barrage of spheres rammed the soul, and her knees buckled. Feel... my soul. What... did it feel like? She... felt pain, paralyzing pain. And... sadness. Happiness, and treachery. It was buried deep, deep down, but the dam of feelings that were built up over the course of her journey was not as stable as she thought it was. Bits and pieces flowed over the top, rising to the surface. Feel... another hand rested over her chest, the beating of her heart a slow and steady thump, thump, thump. Feel... and... split.

She moved her hands apart, and she could hear a small surprised inhale come from behind her. Her eyes opened, and as the barrage of magic attacks passed by, a red soul and blue soul floated on either side, spared from being struck again. Mew Mew gave an enraged shout, stomping her foot down, and Sans gave a chuckle behind her. "knew it."

Andi smiled, unfolding from the hunched position she stood in and stood tall. Her hands felt warm, like they were wrapped in an electric blanket. She brought her hands together, and sure enough, the red and blue souls fused together again, wisps of blue and red entangling together. "Now... let's play."

"Hmm!" Mew Mew humphed, and soon the entire cavern was filled with magic attacks. "I found it in... a strange place. A... sciencey place." Of course it was Alphys. To an invisible beat, the woman moved her hands to avoid the attacks on her soul. Left, center, apart, right. At the tail end, seeing the spheres on the left were blue and right were red, a wall of white down the middle, she hurried to put the right colors on either side. "No I idea what was going on there, but... as soon as I saw this body, I just knew-IT WAS ME! ME! ME!"

"incoming." Blue in the center, red on the right. There was definitely a beat to it, moving and dodging the attacks. With how she was throwing her arms around, Andi knew she looked rather ridiculous. Also... a little tired. Even with the second wind from her revelation, Andi was still very much in pain.

"So I TOOK it! You can't blame me! Why does a scientist need a life-sized girl statue anyway!?" Mew Mew muttered, confused at the question. "I probably saved it from EXPERIMENTS! I'm a HERO, and I rescued MYSELF!" Apart, together, apart together. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Could this get any more exhausting?

"And now, with this new body, I've got a BRAND NEW life ahead of me!" Mew Mew swung a staff, a pink kitty head at the end with a long wavy ribbon tied beneath it, and a storm of mewing cat heads rushed the rejoined heart. "New life! Cool life!"

"Aah!" She threw her arms to the side, dodging the cutesy attacks. The sound of snickering made her throw a hasty, but annoyed, look at the skeleton, who only smiled and shrugged in reply.

"And NOW, I'll finally be able to... I'll... finally be able to... uhh, continue being Undyne's training dummy. BUT BETTER!" It's the same dummy? The spheres were picking up speed, and the red half of her soul collided with a white target in the middle lane, not reaching the right side in time. Once the wall had passed, she stepped back as the glowing box her soul was trapped in gave a shimmer.

"It changed shape!" She hurried to throw one arm behind her and the other forward, filling in the new gaps and watching two spheres rush at the soul from the sides. If she was not in the middle of a fight, Andi would've compared her actions to a stroke. Except there was no water... and there was cats involved.

"Ah, Undyne... sweet, violent, Undyne. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees me!" She could hear the skeleton's noise of discomfort as a red orb struck her blue half. The white went through the middle, and she swung her hands around forwards, backwards, left, and right to keep up with the direction change, as well as the color change. "She'll blast me with a storm of spears! I'll be the world's greatest pin cushion!" Two white spheres, moving side by side, forcing her to throw her arms around in a circle, before rocking back and forth as red and blue alternated from the sides.

"I feel silly!" She shouted, feet moving in time with her arms and kicking up the dirt around her, leaving marks along the ground around her.

"you look silly," Sans commented. "hang in there, okay? it should almost be over." And how would you know that? Chara never saw the dummy before, so Frisk hadn't either!

Because, and I am guessing, Frisk would not have been able to last in a fight like this. The entire time, Chara was watching from the sidelines, keeping silent. Though the red soul does adapt to fighting styles, a purple soul is stuck using its specific magic unless acted upon. Like Undyne with green magic. However, Mew Mew is not using any magic besides the barriers. Had it not been for your unique dual soul, you would have certainly died quickly.

"Gee, that makes me feel loads better!" Did that mean that there were others with dual souls? Maybe even other soul traits that the monsters were not aware of-gah! "Don't distract me!"

"H-huh...!? That look on your face-she's already got... somebody else?" I never gave any look. Perhaps she did. It sounded like the ghost was a little infatuated with the Royal Guard captain, and since it was clear Undyne and Alphys must have had some interest in each other... Alphys definitely. Undyne, I don't have much proof. "Hehehe... hehe... well, if she's got somebody else... THEN YOU KNOW WHAT I'M GONNA DO TO THEM!?"

"Hopefully not kill them?" Andi asked. Alphys would not last against the living doll, and the Royal Scientist might have a mental breakdown at the sight of her.

"Duh! I'll respect them! I'll respect their relationship!" The cat heads returned full force, as well as the shrinking of the soul box. "Ha ha ha! Happy for her! Nothing but the best! Best of luck!" She put the staff away, and stomped her heeled foot on the ground. "Enough. ENOUGH. ENOUGH! WHY haven't I FUSED yet!? Do I have to use my full power!? COME ON! IS THIS ENOUGH FOR YOU!?"

It was, yes. Though she was thankful for the smaller box, the speed was still difficult to keep up with, either having the wrong colored soul hit the wrong marker, or not reach it in time only to get hit with a white orb. "WHY ISN'T IT WORKING!?" Then, to her relief... the soul wall disappeared.

"Finally." She fell back against the barrier up behind her, panting. "Finally."

"NO MATTER HOW MAD I GET, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I FIGHT, I JUST CAN'T FUSE WITH THIS BODY! WHAT AM I DOING WRONG!?" Mew Mew's head dipped, arms shaking at her side. "What am I doing wrong...?"

You told Mad Mew Mew that anger might not be the only way. Andi threw a look at Chara, but pulled herself upwards anyway.

"Have you ever... tried other emotions?" She suggested, panting. "Anger is strong, yeah, but there's others."

"Other... emotions? You mean something like... love?" I-that's not what I meant. She was going for happiness, or sadness. But... love could work too, she guessed. "Then, I... human! Go ahead! Show me what LOVE is!"

How will you show your LOVE...? Something about how Chara phrased it, and the feeling of Sans' eyes on her back, threw her through a small loop. What was about it love that made them... that? Well, I don't have a weapon to dispose of to show sparing that way, but saying it should be enough.

"If that's the case... then end the fight. That's it. After all, there's no reason why we should attack each other, right? And, um... lower the barrier, if you could."

"Huh...? Such... such kindness...! It's... making me FEEL something! It may be a while before I can truly fuse with this body. But, I think this is a start...! Heh, to think that even though I hid here to be alone... I somehow made a friend!" Mew Mew swung her arms around Andi's neck, hugging her. "Thank you. Thank you! THANK YOU!"

"Ack! N-no problem!" The arms retracted, and she put a hand on her neck, feeling the weight still hanging there. Still smiling, Mew Mew raced past, the barrier breaking down as she neared it, and she took off back up the slope. Sans, standing off to the side, watched her go before walking up to the exhausted human.

"so... havin' fun?"

"Sans, shut up."

The trio clambered out of the cupboard, Sans coming out first before giving a hand to Andi. Chara flew around them, hovering over his shoulder. "feelin' okay?"

Andi rose a brow, silently walking past the two and moved to the table. Snatching the Stoic Onion up, she spun around, looked them hard in the eyes, and took a bite out of it. Even eating it raw, the tears just won't come. Sans shook his head as she continued biting into the food. Did it taste bad? Not as terrible as the pasta, but she was kicking herself for resorting to eating an onion. Magical or not. "well, um... now that that's... outta the way, you ready to go?"

"Go... Frisk?" He nodded, and threw a look at Chara.

"can you go tell her we'll be right there?" Chara smirked, and offered a small salute.

See you in a few minutes. Her form vanished, and the two were left alone in the house. Time to grab my gear then. Teeth clenched, holding the onion in her mouth, she bent down to throw the bag and hiking pole onto her back. Spitting the food out into an open hand, she went to toss it into the bin beside Sans.

"i'd hang onto that, if i were you," he said, making her pause. "if you don't have any monster food on you, any bit will help."

"Monster food... can we stop at one of those boxes before we go?" He was right. They were going to need any assistance they could get. A quiche was helpful, but they needed to pull out all of the stops. There was no use delaying it. They were at the end now. It was time... for the pie.

"no need. there's one of them in the hall." He rested a hand on her shoulder, giving a quick comforting pat. "you're still nervous."

"... I have no idea how Frisk's managed all of this. All of this... trauma." She took a deep breath, trying to collect herself. "Sans, when this is... over, can we talk about it? About... everything?" The bony fingers tightened on her sweater, enough for her to frown from the discomfort.

"... i'll... think 'bout it." It was... better than saying no, she supposed. "keep still." Teleporting away, world swirling around her; Andi's feet made rough contact with the floor and collapsed against Sans. "whoops."

"Yeah, still not perfectly healed." She worked her legs back under her, using the offered arm to pull herself back up. The hall... it was weird being in it, and not being forced to stand in an invisible box the entire time. "It's... really huge. What exactly is the point of this place?"

"judgment, i suppose. that's another of the things i do. y'see, i'm the king's judge." Judge? "though it isn't a position i had for very long, only gettin' it weeks before the kid fell. i judge people-monsters, or humans-on the actions they've made. specifically, their lv and exp." The phrase judge, jury, and ex... executioner rang through her head, making Andi pale.

"LV and EXP... LV isn't love, is it?" She asked, pushing the idea to the side. If it was something Flowey liked, then it must have been a bad thing. But what is it?

"lv means love, but yeah, not the kind you're thinkin' of," he agreed. "it stands for level of violence. exp, too, is an acronym. execution points, a number that would increase the more you inflict pain on others. whenever you gain enough exp, that's when the lv goes up."

"It's why Sans is like that." The two looked down at the end of the hall. There sat Frisk, a bag of chips in her hands, holding one of the salty snacks between her fingers. Off to the side, barely visible to her eyes, floated Chara. "Knowing what he knows... makes it..."

"it's hard to keep yourself happy," he finished. "sort of why i crack jokes, you know?" No. She didn't know. She had honestly thought that was just his personality. Or does he do it more often, because of the timelines?

"You... didn't care anymore, did you?" He shrugged, and the nonchalant action only backed up her question. "... what changed?"

"i suppose... you did." Frisk had rolled up the opening of the chip bag, sticking it carefully into her shorts pocket, and headed over to them. "this entire timeline's different. a few bad things here and there, but... i'm glad the kid took the risk to get you down here. i've watched you." He directed the words to Frisk, finally standing across from them. "i've watched you do a lot of stuff, kid. good, bad... but you never earned any love. and after this, i'd like to think you won't ever again. though, that could just be wishful thinking."

"... do you forgive me?" He quirked an eye at the quiet question, stepping away from Andi and moved over to Frisk. The girl's head was bowed, not looking him in the eye. "After... everything I've done... I wouldn't blame you for hating me."

"frisk..." he stopped a foot away from her. Eye lights trailed over to Frisk's side, giving an almost mute chuckle. "... c'mere, pal." For a second, Andi had to wonder if Frisk had even heard him, having not said or moved from her spot. Or perhaps she was still scared of him, and she thought her own question was just being hopeful.

It took a moment for him to get any reaction. A small sniffle, and soon, the young human closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around his skeletal form. Her face was buried in the white shirt, a silent but strong stream rushing from her sealed eyes. "heh..." Sans hugged her, rubbing the back of her head as Frisk released the emotions she had suppressed over so many timelines. Anger, fear, betrayal; many emotions, in such a small amount of time. "let it out, kid." Frisk did, hands clenching the back of his hoodie, crying out every secret that was held behind that wall.

Her guardian stood at the back, watching silently. Andi... she felt like she was intruding. As much as she loved the girl, and their was definitely a friendship between herself and Sans, after he had helped her out throughout her time in the Underground... she wasn't part of this. Even though she saw the memories, she was not in them. She had gone through everything once, and befriended everyone once. What Andi had, was nothing in comparison to Frisk. N-nothing.

"... Andrea?" From around the short skeleton, Frisk poked her head out. Eyes were red and puffy from crying so hard, and Andi felt her own heart churn at the sound of her full name come from the child. "... hug?"

Y... yeah. Yeah, hugs... hugs were... good.

The three of them stood there, longer than they probably should have. Frisk still clung to Sans, while Andi's arms were wrapped around the two of them. Her chin was resting atop his skull, doing her own best to not begin tearing up. "I... need this." She needed that so, so badly.

"hehe... a-alright, girls. let's... wrap this up." He shifted, and Andi let the monster go. Sans dropped his arms from around Frisk and, after taking a moment to swipe at her eyes with her arm, smiled wearily at the two of them. "so... are you ready? we're all counting on you two here." He's counting on us here.

It took several deep breaths for Frisk to answer. "... y-yeah. Andi?"

"I'm ready, Frisk." Let's go save Asriel... however that's supposed to work. She looked at Sans, the exit of the hall in the corner of her eye. Almost there. "See you soon, Sans... and thank you, for upholding your promise."

"don't thank me..." he closed his sockets, and slowly opened the right one in a wink, a silent 'good luck' passing between them. "thank frisk for upholding hers." Andi blinked, and the skeleton was gone, leaving the two alone in the castle's corridor, drenched in the golden glow of the glass windows.

"Andi." She turned around. Frisk was a few steps ahead, her own smile bittersweet. "... heh." She never said another word. Frisk didn't need to. Forward then.

Gold shifted to grey, and far too quickly for her tastes, the girls faced down a large door at the end of a small turn. Through the walk, Frisk's sweater made its way back onto her bruised body, covering the injuries collected over her journey. Falling in the Underground... it was fate. Fate for Frisk, and fate for her too, her strand now intertwined with her young friend. Though her arrival was late, Andrea had came there for a reason. Whatever it was, whatever Frisk wanted to 'save her' from, she might never know, but it did not matter. For now...

In the room with a ceiling just as high as the outside hall's, where stone walls and pillars were entangled with overgrown ivy, stained glass windows let in the Surface's precious sunlight over a carpet of golden flowers, stood a towering figure. A person far taller than almost every monster they had encountered. Large white horns curled upwards, and long golden hair flowed to his shoulders under a royal purple cape. The ruler of the Underground, they stood before. The one who sought their souls to break the barrier.

The Monster King.


Until next time!

Angel