Disclaimer: Not much else to say, except thanks for reading Multiplayer!

I don't own Undertale!

"Speaking"

Thinking

Chara speaking

It was quite... tiring, compared to the past timelines, due to the changes in how everyone moved out of the Underground. After the first few pacifist runs, Frisk had settled into her role as ambassador without a hitch. She knew what to say-though most of it was pre-written speeches-and Asgore and Toriel were more than ready to give her a hand. This time, however, was different. There were no tears this time. No breakdowns, crying out into the night. No, for once, Frisk... the kid could sleep in peace.

Just as he had predicted, they had enough money to purchase their house. That didn't mean that Toriel didn't buy a house that was too big for her and Frisk though. They had plenty of extra rooms for when any of them wanted to come over, and a special room for Andi when she wasn't staying at her apartment. For if she wanted to crash at her newly adoptive mother's home.

Andi. Sans chuckled, adjusting his grip on the bag in his hand. How she was handling things was far different than Frisk's methods. From her cautious explanation to government officials, trying her best not to lead them on to how determination functioned, and instead focusing on the timeline they were currently in. Frisk piped up when she got stuck, guiding her along, and managed to slow their anger at the truth of the fallen children. Of course, he knew they'd be angry. They always were, and it was a fact that would stick in the humans' minds for quite some time.

Mostly for curiosity's sake, he had accompanied Toriel to the kid's school, as the elder human had to pass in her resignation to take her new job as ambassador on full-time. Watching about sixteen fourth graders rush them, nearly tackling Frisk and Andi to the ground was definitely a sight. A few odd looks were all he received, but most of it was a combination of questions about how life was like in the Underground and how they managed to escape. Which, to Frisk's enthusiasm, had them stuck in the classroom for the rest of the afternoon retelling their story. The edited version, of course, that she, Andi, and himself had decided on. still have to finish that, kid. you only made just made it to waterfall. The edited version, that lacked multiple timelines, specifically one genocide timeline, and the knowledge of future events. The version that, with a few extra pieces of information, was delivered to the others.

They, of course, had trouble believing them at first. It was only until Frisk discussed information that no one had ever told her, did they come around. Alphys was stunned, scared, and amazed. Undyne felt guilty, and kept giving Andi looks when the Waterfall incident was brought up. Frisk never mentioned how many resets had been done, nor what had happened in every one. She only decided to talk about the first run-the neutral run that only brought her to the Surface, and then the pacifist timeline where Andi had joined them. Explaining to Papyrus how he could recall timelines... he wished he could've avoided that one. But if they wanted the mostly-clear image, then he had to say something... really wish i could've skipped that.

He came to a rest at the front door, setting the bag down and rapped his knuckles against it. "knock knock," he recited. Faint shuffles came from the other side, and the door swung open to the rest of the house. "you're, uh, not very good at this game, are you, kid?"

Terrence shrugged, scooping up the bag with both of his arms, rather than grabbing the handles. "They're in the living room," he explained, backing up to let the skeleton enter the small home. "Cold food?"

"just sit it on the counter." Making sure he wasn't trudging any mud in, he followed the noise to his right, pink slippers leaving quiet thumps on the wooden floor. "heh... hey, everyone."

"Hello, Sans." Toriel smiled from her spot on the couch, Frisk's foster mother sitting beside her. On the former queen's other side, Asgore sat, a cup of tea in his hands. Undyne and Alphys sat together on the loveseat opposite of them and the coffee table, the former having an arm wrapped around the Royal Scientist. "Where is Papyrus?"

"right behind me." He may have teleported ahead, but that was only because he wanted to deliver the food sooner rather than later. "give him a few minutes. is the barbecue set up?"

"Charles is busy with-" Lois' voice was cut short, hearing an excited and loud shout from outside. "He's got it working." Footsteps echoed outside of the door, and the group turned to see Asriel and Frisk run in. Their faces were stained with smoke, fur and skin grey from the machine's startup. The young prince gave a small sneeze, wiping at the black and having the ash stain his paw. "Having fun?"

"It needs to heat up," Frisk explained, smiling at the tiny sound Asriel made. She turned to him, face brightening. "Did you bring the buns?"

"yep. hotdogs and burgs." He was ready to bring condiments over, but Frisk had assured him that they already had some. "brought somethin' else too."

"AHA!" The monsters and humans turned towards the kitchen, and the blond rushed towards them, a plastic bag tucked under his arm. Skidding to a stop, he looped an arm around him with a laugh. "See? He knows!" Letting go, Terrence took off towards the staircase, disappearing as fast as he appeared.

"... you bought him caramel, didn't you?" Sans shrugged at Frisk's nearly deadpanned question, and ruffled the top of her hair.

"ands said he'd get a kick out of it." can see what she means by that. He chuckled, eye lights straining from her to Asriel. "might wanna go clean up, bud. you look a little singed."

"Bathroom's down the hall." Asriel nodded, walking back past Frisk towards the room, before throwing a quick look back at Sans. Yeah, he figured he'd catch onto the pun.

"Hey, punk. Where's your sister, anyway?" Undyne unwrapped her arm from Alphys, reaching forward for her own cup of tea. "Thought she'd be here by now."

"I dunno." Frisk moved to the couch, climbing up onto the armrest next to Asgore. "She said she had to buy something, but she... left with her boots on."

"Sh-she went up Mount Ebott?" Alphys asked, surprised. Frisk didn't say it out loud, but why else would the woman leave with her hiking boots? It was the obvious conclusion. "Why would she do that?" He closed his sockets, his grin dipping a little. He knew why. A little surprised, but he knew.

"Sans?" He didn't answer Toriel, turning back around and heading towards the door of the small house. "Is everything okay?"

"we'll be back in a bit. don't wait on our account." He winked, and looked back at Frisk. The child pouted unhappily, and he motioned for her to come along. "just make sure pap doesn't hide the ketchup." The front door swung open with a bang, the force almost having the knob break the wall on the other side.

"I HAVE BROUGHT THE SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus waltzed up to them, a large Tupperware container filled with pasta. "THOUGH, I AM CONFUSED AS TO WHY IT WAS TO BE SERVED COLD, AND WITH SUCH A LACK OF SAUCE."

"Pasta salad is usually a cold dish, Papyrus." Charles hurried in behind the taller skeleton, heading straight to the kitchen. He retreated as fast as he appeared, an armful of the buns Sans had just brought in with him. "Asriel, Terrence, I'll need your help again."

"Okay, Mr. Jennings." Asriel and Terrence followed suit, the monster's face free of blackened soot and back to its normal white complexion. Asriel stopped, the older boy going past him. "Frisk, aren't you coming?"

"I-I'll be with you in a moment." Sans rested a hand on her shoulder, and he could feel her tense under her sweater. Asriel didn't appear pleased with her answer, but went along with the elder child anyway. Papyrus looked from the door to him, confused as to what was unfolding.

"BROTHER, DID I MISS SOMETHING?" He did, but it wasn't anything huge.

"nah, just us goin' out and gettin' andi. decided to take a quick hiking trip without tellin' us. we'll be back soon, bro." Lois stood up, and took the container from Papyrus. "save some for us." Fingers tightening, he teleported away from the house, leaving a possibly surprised human behind. Hehe... yeah, he'd have some explaining to do when he got back. whoops.

Returning to reality, their vision cleared to meet the towering Ebott trees. Frisk nearly fell on her face when they made contact with the dirt, the lack of proper footwear having slipped his mind. "oops." again. He pulled her backwards by the back of her sweater, and she winced at the tiny rocks digging into her soles. "you wanna run back and get them?"

"N-no, I'll be... fine." Her face said otherwise. He sighed, and looked up the hill. His shortcuts had a range, and reaching the mountain was only possible due to the fact the kid's foster parents lived so close to it. All of their houses were around the base of the mountain too, but nowhere near the trail like the Jennings were. They were about two-thirds up the path, not far off from where the hole to the Ruins was located.

"alright." guess we're goin' this route. He moved to the front of Frisk, and knelt down. "hop on, kiddo." He hadn't given his brother a piggyback ride in years, not since the taller skeleton was shorter than him. "we're goin' on a trip."

Frisk blinked, and a happy smile and giddy laugh left her. Climbing onto the back of the skeleton, she wrapped her arms around his neck as he hoisted her up. "oof. heh, you comfy?" He looked up at her, and she grinned, nodding viciously. "okay. hang on, then."

The ground was still soft, not having dried from the rainfall from a few days ago. Frisk was quite light too, which was a blessing to how awkward it was to ascend the rest of the way. The faint chirps of birds overhead, and buzzing of insects echoed around the treeline, as the faint sight of a setting sun shone down behind their backs, warming the skeleton through his hood. Or could that be the kid's body heat...? "Hey... Sans?"

"yeah?" He adjusted his grip, and felt her tighten her hold around his neck. A little uncomfortable, but he could manage.

"Do you... still think I'm going to reset? That I'm unhappy with what I did?" His grin slipped, and eye lights dimmed at the word. Reset. Was he... afraid? Well, he certainly had said he'd forgiven her. Completely forgiven... it wasn't entirely set in stone. Not perfect, just what they had before was slowly mending. Afraid though...

"... would ya blame me if i said i was?" He asked, baritone voice surprisingly quiet.

"... no. I wouldn't blame you." They were almost at the top of the trail, the ground almost leveling out above their heads. "I'd never blame you, Sans."

"kid, you... really shouldn't say that." As much as he hated it, he had messed up too. Perhaps, if he'd spoken to her more, got her to open up, they could have figured out the right method to get the right ending sooner. Avoid the genocide timeline altogether. And even if they did end up at that point, he shouldn't have watched from the sidelines, not acting until he had to. He should have done something before she reached Snowdin. if i did though... would she have forgiven me then? Who knows. There were a lot of ifs, that he had stuck floating around in his head. But now, after everything, he wanted that to remain there. In the other timelines.

Frisk exhaled softly, and he felt her head thump against the back of his skull. "I know... can I come down now?" He didn't answer, but let his arms slacken, letting the kid slide off his back and land back onto the mountain. Socks hitting the dirt, she moved up alongside him, giving a rather forced smile. "Heh..."

"Well, well. We were wondering when you would show up?" We? okay, that's not andi. The two looked ahead, and sitting on a fallen log, staring out over the town below, Andi grinned back at them. A chocolate bar in her hand, and red eyes shining brightly. "Did we miss the meal?"

"... was this your idea or hers?" The two wandered over to Chara, who took another bite out of her treat. Munching away, the possessed woman only shrugged. "no, you didn't miss it." The log, possibly due to the altitude they were at, was dryer than a majority of the trees in the area. Sitting down alongside her, and Frisk on his other side, the three stared off down the mountain. "... nice view."

Chara struggled not to laugh, giving him an amused smirk instead. Frisk smiled at the skeleton, turning her own attention to the orange, red, and yellow scenery. "It's... a lot like the beginning," she murmured. "When we reset to the beginning, I... forgot, what it looked like."

"given the amount of resets, you'd have missed the sunlight too." He fell silent for a moment, debating on his next choice of words. "... ghosty?" The auburn hummed in response, taking a final bite of her chocolate bar. "you know a lot 'bout... what happened in the resets, right?"

"I have been joined with Frisk for so many timelines, I've lost count. What of it?" His sockets closed, and he sighed. He... was wondering, ever since Andi had brought it up in his house, before they went to meet Frisk in the hall. He wanted to know, and he knew for a fact she wanted to too. "Comedian?"

"... you wanted to save her, didn't you?" Frisk's breathing took a sudden sharp inhale, but he didn't turn to look at her. "kid, you know i know a lot about the timelines. i know when things are suppose to happen or not." He didn't remember everything, but after meeting Andi, hearing her story... something was not adding up. How was it, that after the true pacifist timelines, living on the surface for either days, weeks, or months... did he never hear of her before? "frisk, i want you to tell us the truth..." us; him, and the woman trapped within her own mind by the deceased child. "... she never got to see monsters on the surface, did she?"

Chara's own breathing quieted, her candy wrapper falling to the ground at her feet as her grip slackened. Frisk, he still didn't look at her. He couldn't, because adding that pressure to her was not what she needed. kid? "... S-Sans..." he didn't look at her. That didn't mean that he didn't put his hand over her own, as some form of comfort. "... sh-she... it was..."

"... early morning." Chara picked up the wrapper, shoving it into her jacket's pocket. "Frisk was missing for... a few hours. It was raining, and Mount Ebott, as you have seen is... known for its soft soil." Soft soil. Raining. Immediately, the status of the mountain's surface when they descended, having broken the barrier, made sense... he felt sick. kid, you don't mean...? "They didn't find her until they found out about the landslide. She mentioned to Lois and Charles that she was... going to look for Frisk. She never said where though."

Because, as the rumors have shown, whoever climbed the mountain never... "never returned." Andi... died. She died, possibly as early as Frisk entering Snowdin through the Ruins' door. Heck, maybe even earlier. "she never got to meet any of us." That's why none of Frisk's resets or loads affected her. That's why, regardless of Frisk's decisions, "nothing she did changed anything." It... made sense. It all made sense.

"Get the picture, skeleton?" Chara turned towards him, red eyes narrowed, and taking in his understanding, shock, and... horror. He-she died. She died, over, and over again, and she never even knew it. She was killed searching for Frisk, unaware she was stuck in an endless loop trying to get the best ending for them; for Asriel, for... herself. "Are you satisfied?"

"... was she listening?" Oh, god, how was she reacting to that?

"..." Chara didn't reply, only having her hands grip her jeans, nails digging into her knees. He turned to Frisk, who was staring at the ground with tears rising at the corners of her eyes. Neither of them spoke, giving him the silent treatment. mmm... his free hand dug into the bark of the tree under him. Should he not have said anything? She should have known at some point. Was it too soon? idiot. "... An-"

"Why?" The soft voice, and suddenly slumping posture, drew both his and the kid's attention to the possessed woman. Soft, and after a quick thought, was clearly not the fallen human's. "Why... did I...?"

"an-oomph!" Eyes glazed in borderline unshed tears, and he was almost knocked off the trunk as she threw her arms around him. She wasn't sobbing, no, but the emotion behind the trembling hug was very much like when she had experienced her first load from being run through by Undyne. Frisk whimpered next to him, watching her guardian struggle to not come undone from the revelation.

"Wh... why did I... I didn't... h-how...?" He couldn't easily turn his head, and take in the young girl's expression. All he could do, was bring an arm up and awkwardly hug the woman, slowly patting her back as she tried to make sense of it all. "S-Sans, I... sorry." She struggled to let go, but it was clear a part of her was fighting that. Part of her was wanting to stay there, hug something-someone for dear life. "S-sorry."

Apologizing. She was-what was she apologizing for? She didn't do anything wrong. "it's okay, ands." He wasn't blaming her. He understood her reaction, and how she was attempting to comprehend that she... she died. She died so... so many times, and never knew it. Buried under trees and rocks and mud, with bones snapped and dirt filling her lungs, suffocating her. It wasn't like Undyne, where it was quick and over. How she had died... she suffered. It was long, and... there was nobody around to hear any cries for help.

"... I... I think I knew..." she mumbled into the fur of his hood, the few tears that fell sliding down the coat and hitting his bones underneath. "I... think I knew, that... that something was wrong. Frisk, her breakdown, saving she needed to-to save me... I knew something bad happened to me." She knew. Did that mean she already figured it out, and Chara's admission was putting the nail in the coffin? Was that why her reaction wasn't as tearful as it could have been? "It wasn't just... Frisk wanting me there, to... to be with her after such an awful experience... to be with her in her final moments before she gave Asriel her soul." Her fingers curled in on his hoodie, and her tone went flat. "... one life for another."

Neither one could survive, should the other live. That was what Frisk had planned.

How the girl had managed to keep that secret, he had no idea. "wanna... stay there?" She shook her head, and after a few seconds, slowly released him. His hoodie was crumpled, but that was an easy fix. This, on the other hand... "guess this is 'nother thing we won't be tellin' tori, huh?" Andi didn't answer, only giving a tiny nod and sniff. gonna take some time to move past this one. Another silence crept around them, and he mentally kicked himself for bringing it up. Sooner rather than later? Who knows, but whenever it would've been, the reaction would have been the same.

"... what happens next?" Andi's voice was still quiet, avoiding her usual volume. "What do we do now? Do we... ignore what happened before?"

That's all we can do. The three turned to Chara, seeing her take a seat next to Andi. It's not as though you three can discuss this mess with anyone freely, correct? The resets are over. What happened before, we can't change. All we can do is look forward... right? The fallen child was confused at her words, but he offered her a smile at her attempt. She was right, and she saw the same thing he did. Everything was behind them. They were through with the deaths; the dust, and the blood. It was a new timeline. A new chance for all of them.

"you're right there, ghosty." He chuckled, and to his surprise, it turned into a full laugh. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the last few days blurring together, but he couldn't help himself. Or he finally lost his mind. That could've been an option too. "ha ha!" It was a rush of events since he left the Underground, but there, sitting under the night sky, the truth had managed to finally settled in. "we're out!" He was free. He had broken out of the loop.

Frisk and Andi stared at him, and the younger of the two giggled in spite of herself, her higher pitch melding with his deeper one. I think I said the wrong thing, Chara muttered, but smiled none-the-less. What do you think?

Sans and Frisk paused in their laugh-fest, turning to the recipient of the question. Andi bowed her head, blocking them from spotting her expression, until she brought it up to reveal a shy smile. Compared to when he usually saw her, it was a far cry from her normal happy appearance. But, it was a start. time will heal that too. "I think, Chara, that the future is looking quite bright for the four of us." Time would heal all of them.

CONTINUE.