Why… why was this happening to him?

Krashna's breathing was heavy and his movements slow, staggering his way past the surrounding shrubbery. After a run-in with a certain someone back at the base, he'd taken off, leaving Voxis City altogether and hoping that the nearby forest would prove to be a good hiding spot, but his encounter had left him with a burden. Falling to his knees and leaning his body against a tree, his golden SOUL emerged from his chest, but something about it was clearly wrong. It looked like someone had wrapped several feet of glimmering orange wire around it. This was bringing his SOUL great stress, and as a result, his physical form was suffering.

"That bitch…" he growled, a golden bolt manifesting in his hand, the edges serrated and gleaming. With all his might, he began to strike his own SOUL, hoping to tear away the wire that clenched down on the culmination of his very being… but it was no use.

"It's dangerous to attack your own SOUL like that," a voice called from deeper within the woods, making Krashna freeze up, cold sweat beading at his forehead. The sound of twigs snapping echoed around him as his pursuer grew closer, her shadow one with the treeline.

"Take these off of me right now, or I'll kill you," Krashna threatened, forcing himself to get to his feet, though his legs threatened to collapse beneath him- his battle with Frisk had already weakened him so much. "Who do you think you are? I told you once, I'll tell you a hundred times, you are not-"

"Interested in what you have to say? Precisely," the girl's arm rose, and the wires around Krashna's SOUL began to expand, slowly enveloping the golden heart. "Do you like my technique? It was first used by the Lightway Mages long ago. I appreciate you helping me test it. You've been misbehaving, Krashna. It's time for you to go away for a while."

Krashna's heart rate began to slow as his SOUL was completely sealed within a shell of orange magic, his consciousness fading as he could feel himself cut off from the physical world.

His body hit the ground, motionless, not even taking in any breath. However, his SOUL remained hovering in the air, indicating that he was still alive.

"You've done a lot of bad things. Hurt a lot of good people," the woman whispered, stepping out of the shadows. Her orange eyes gazed upon what she'd done with satisfaction. When she got near, she kneeled, scooping the boy up and carrying him over her shoulder.

"It would be best if you didn't exist in this world for a little while, brother," she added, plucking his SOUL out of the air with her free hand.

Her dreams were restless, as per usual. Like always, the green-like eyes gazed upon her, inflicting her with visions and fears. She was used to it by now, allowing the scenes to play out in tandem. She did notice how the nightmare began to subside as it failed to freak her out, and the eyes faded back into the darkness.

It left her alone now, leaving her stranded in a dark room with a single, grey door to catch her intrigue. This was a door she'd seen and opened many times before, at least in dreams. In reality, she'd opened it only once. Deep within Waterfall, Frisk had stumbled upon this mystery door, which had never before appeared. Obviously she'd been curious enough to enter, only to find the Melting Man. All he did was smile at her upon her approach, and disappeared the moment she tried to interact.

And that had been that.

It didn't feel very important, nor did it feel unimportant. Just a sort of limbo regarding the Melting Man. In the waking hours she would often forget it, but in her dreams, she would often find the door again. Inside, he always waited, but he left if she so much as uttered a word.

So, much like the nightmares, she ignored the door as well. Perhaps this allowed her to pass a threshold in her mind, or maybe Chara was just bored, as the girl appeared beside her, also staring at the door.

"Congratulations, partner," her voice lacked emotion. "You beat the Messiah without personally spilling blood. Nice little loophole in getting some killers to do your dirty work."

"It was their choice," Frisk replied, voice equally lacking. She should have felt more happy about this victory, yet it just left her... empty. "Just because I have a spirit whispering suggestions in my ear doesn't mean I'm whispering in theirs. Or are you going to blame Gerson's death on me, too?"

"It was your war," Chara replied with a shrug.

"We'd have been slaughtered like cattle otherwise," Frisk countered.

"Could have run," Chara continued.

"For how long? You know how expansive they are, I did the only right thing."

"I'm not saying you didn't," the Shaytan assured, "but there were ways more people could have survived."

Frisk wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You mean killing every-"

"No," Chara asserted. "I don't. You've impressed me by not doing just that, it would have been so easy, but the route you took was the hardest you could have taken. Instead you allowed Sans and Flowey to continue on their own journey. Doesn't that irk you? They didn't care if you and everyone else had been "slaughtered like cattle". All they seem to care about is finding whoever controls the timeline. Had you convinced them out of their sheer selfishness-"

"They could have died too," Frisk stated bluntly.

"Doubtful, considering you only lost an old turtle," Chara replied coyly.

The both of them stood there in silence for a while. Frisk would occasionally turn her head to glance at Chara, but it had always been almost impossible to get a good look at her Shaytan. Usually when she looked over her shoulder, there was either nothing there, or her body appeared transparent and almost faded, aside from that glowing red smile. Usually, Chara only appeared in a physical form when a timeline was collapsing. Right now in this dream, she seemed like a shadow given form.

"You shouldn't let those two off the hook so easily," Chara advised. "Sans, especially. Surely you haven't forgotten his habit of not stopping killers until there's nothing left to fight for. That being said… does it bother you? Not being in control of the timeline? You may have your priorities straight, but surely you're not pleased with it."

"It's uncomfortable," Frisk admitted, rolling her eyes at the mention of Sans' tendency. Okay, maybe Chara had a point there. "But the fact that we haven't been reset means that whoever's in control might know what they're doing."

"It's a dangerous power to have," Chara's smile widened slightly, her gaze still locked upon the door. "There's no way to know if you can trust them with such power. It also means that their Determination is at least as great as your own. What do you suppose Sans and Flowey will do if they can actually track that person down?"

"Sans? He'd try to wipe them out as quickly as possible," Frisk replied. "I think he's as active about this as he is because... too much has happened. It'd break him if there was another reset."

"And my brother?" Chara asked, the crimson grin seeming to stretch.

"I don't know," Frisk admitted. "He's... still unpredictable. He could be trying to do the right thing, or he could try and take the SOUL for himself. We won't know 'till we cross that bridge."

"Of course. Until then, what do you plan to do?" Chara's question stirred Frisk's mind. She looked toward the door, finally addressing its presence, and the Melted Man standing behind it, patiently waiting for her to step through.

What was she going to do now? The immediate thought was to join Sans and Flowey on their quest but... the Messiah was still a threat. No doubt the other sects would lash out once they learned about the fate of Obaseki.

"A little of this... a little of that..." Frisk stated, climbing to her feet.

"Cryptic," Chara replied. "You're starting to sound like me."

"Yeah, well, you're not all bad," Frisk shrugged, turning her back to the door. "I'm ready to wake up now."

The beeping of a heart monitor reached her ears. Frisk opened her eyes, feeling as though she'd barely rested at all. A white ceiling greeted her. It wasn't hard to deduce she was in a hospital despite the confusion just waking up often induces.

She could hear the scrawl of a pencil on paper, the hum of equipment, and of course the beeping... and nothing else.

Frisk tried to sit up, but found she couldn't. Her head was strapped down to the bed she was lying against. A little struggle revealed her arms, legs, chest, and waist were in much the same position.

She heard more pencil scratches.

"Who's there?" Frisk asked, trying to look to her left in the direction it was coming from. Out of her peripheral, she could barely make out a large figure seated in a chair, scrawling on a clipboard resting on their lap.

"What's going on?"

Her question received no answers from the figure. Annoyed, Frisk tried to summon her magic to sever the straps- only to find she couldn't summon her powers at all. Confused, she attempted to conjure her SOUL- but nothing happened.

What was going on?

The sound of a door opening to her right could be heard, and the clack of dress shoes on tile. It sounded like two or three people striding into the room. "Miss Dreemurr," a voice spoke. Deep, husky, and quite certainly masculine.

"What's happening?" Frisk asked, beginning to feel a little freaked out at not being able to conjure any of her magic.

"Relax," the man ordered, stepping into her line of sight. He was burly, with a thick goatee and bushy eyebrows. His gaunt face was covered in small scars, eyes hidden behind a pair of thick shades, his head shaved clean. He was wearing a black business suit, an earpiece wire extending from his ear to the collar of his dress jacket. "The physical straps and magical dampeners are a precaution. We need to be certain you're friend- not foe," his words felt rehearsed, almost robotic, yet he appeared human. His accent wasn't native, she could determine that much. American?

"Depends on who you are." Frisk replied, feigning confidence. The man gave no indication of emotion to her response, instead he seemed to stare blankly at her. "I need you to answer a few questions for me," he stated. "Cooperate, and we can answer questions for you. Deal?"

She had no idea what was going on, or how she'd gotten here... but she got the impression this was a guy to comply with, especially with her powers "dampened".

"Alright..." Frisk obliged after a moment, glaring at him.

"Are you able to breathe properly?"

"Yes."

"Can you see?"

"Yes."

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Four."

"What is your relationship with Jonathan Obaseki?" was the man's fourth question, and Frisk suppressed a groan. She'd been hoping that when she woke up, she would be surrounded by friends and family congratulating her on her victory. Something to eat and drink wouldn't hurt either, and confirmation that all her friends were okay. Instead she got this random guy to quiz her about how well she knew the Messiah.

"…he's in prison now, right?" Frisk asked, hoping he'd at least humor her with an answer to that. The man made no attempt to respond, and after a few seconds of the man in th corner scratching his pencil against a clipboard, the interviewer spoke.

"Honor our agreement and I will answer that question."

"Fine. Jonathan Obaseki… his organization killed my friends and my mother. My dad worked for Obatech before everything happened."

"And who is your father?"

"Asgore Dreemurr."

"Adoptive?"

"Clearly."

"And who are your biological parents? Are they alive?"

"Luthor and Candace Brewers. They died years ago."

"What personal information do you recall about yourself?"

"Uh… my name is Frisk Brewers-Dreemurr. I'm sixteen years old. I live in Voxis City."

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"I was watching an officer handcuff Obaseki."

"Which Officer?"

"Carl Stanton."

"Your relationship to Officer Stanton?"

"A... family friend?"

"SOUL Affinity?"

"Determination."

"Level of Aptitude?"

"... what?" That last one threw Frisk off. What did that mean? The guy was quick to elaborate in his emotionless voice. "An L.A. is the power of a SOUL. What is your Level of Aptitude?"

"Skilled... I guess?" she offered.

"When did the Messiah incursion occur?"

"I guess... a week or two ago? Maybe longer..."

"The whereabouts of Krashna Mylis?"

"I don't know. Fled somewhere."

"Last question. Did your adoptive father kill Mayor Dunsworth?"

"No."

With her solid and resounding conclusion, the man simply gave a nod. In her vision, two more faces appeared. Like the first man, they were bald, wearing shades and business suits, and looked as though they arm-wrestled gorillas.

In record time both men undid the straps holding her down before stepping back to the edges of the room. Frisk sat up, rubbing her wrists as she looked about. The room appeared like any old hospital room, just with four serious-looking Men In Black staring blankly at her.

"I can ask questions now, right?"

"Yes," the man replied. He was still the only to speak the entire time, the man with the clipboard in the corner continued to write.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"We are C.I.A. operatives from the States. We've been sent to investigate why Voxis City went dark."

"Why didn't you come sooner?"

"The Messiah exists in many places."

"Are my friends okay?"

"Any that survived until daybreak are being tended to."

"When can I see them?"

"When I've cleared you for on-site visitation."

"... where are we?"

"Voxis City Hospital, under C.I.A. jurisdiction until further notice."

Frisk let out a sigh. At least the others were okay, or alive. So they'd truly won, and now they had American suits pressing in with questions- better these guys than most alternatives, she supposed. If they'd arrived sooner maybe less lives could have been taken, but from the sounds of it, they must have been dealing with the Messiah in America, maybe. Magnum did mention they had a sect there.

"To answer your earlier question, Jonathan Obaseki has been contained in a high-security prison off the coast of Voxis City. To our knowledge, he has made no attempt to escape… for the time being."

That was a relief, at least. When Frisk had initially fallen unconscious, she recalled a vague feeling of urgency and fear that if the Messiah leader really wanted to, he likely could have broken those handcuffs and killed Stanton, and she wouldn't have been able to stop him at all. But the fact that things had worked out for the best made her very, very happy.

"What happens now?" Frisk asked.

"Change," the suit standing in the center replied with so little enthusiasm that he almost managed to bore Frisk despite the topic. "The police force, media outlets, political figures… many people in Germany have been paid off by the Messiah, and now that the German Sector has fallen, it's highly unlikely that those people will remain in power."

"Can you find them all?"

"Jonathan Obaseki might have a reputation, but he was an idiot. He failed to cleanse the Messiah's databases. We have all the intel we need," the man stated. Frisk stared down at this, looking blankly at the sheets beneath her. The way Obaseki surrendered, the way it all went down... somehow she felt he'd intentionally 'forgotten' to do that. His motives were still too hazy and vague to determine for certain.

The silence was becoming deafening, before the man nodded to his compatriots. "Leave us," he ordered. The man with the clipboard stood, and with the other two men, bodyguards, is what Frisk assumed them to be, exited the room in single-file, closing the door behind them.

"I've read the dossier concerning you," the man stated. Intrigued, Frisk returned her gaze to him. One of his hands rose to his face, and he removed the sunglasses, revealing piercing cyan eyes beneath. "I believe you would be excellent in my line of work. Legally that's not possible right now considering your age. Off the record, I need to know; do you plan to pursue them?"

"The Messiah?" Frisk asked. The man gave a simple nod. Frisk paused with her mouth open, uncertain. The next ideal step would be the French sect, wouldn't it? Still... would it be worth it? She wasn't keen on the idea of dragging her friends and family down that route. But to go it alone would be dangerous as hell...

Before she could give her answer, the man simply nodded. "Then we'll meet again, Miss Dreemurr," he slid the shades back on, and turned around.

"Wait," Frisk arched her brow. "What do I call you?"

"Mr. Black works. You're clear for on-site visitation. I'll let my colleagues know," with that, he exited the room, leaving Frisk to ponder over what had just taken place, but she preferred to think later and act now. She felt relatively fine, so she really wanted to go and see her friends, her family, anyone she could. In fact, she didn't even know who she wanted to visit first, probably the person whose room was closest to her own.

Upon stretching and sliding off of the not-so-comfortable bedding, Frisk felt her legs wobble beneath her as her sense of balance was off. Probably a side effect of being asleep for… well, she didn't know how long she'd been out, and there were no devices in this room to check. Not to mention how exhausted she'd felt at the time of passing out. If Frisk had to guess, she'd say that had been some of the greatest discomfort of her life, on top of the physical pain.

But her body hadn't given up on her yet, and for that she was grateful. After about half a minute of preparation, she rose up to her feet. Her clothes weren't anywhere in sight, and instead she was dressed in a hospital gown. Once the numbness in her legs subsided, she felt an intense growl deep in her stomach, her hunger catching up with her. After she was done here… Grillby's had never sounded better. It probably wasn't open, though.

Damn.

Managing to make her way out of her room, she found it was on the second floor of the Voxis Hospital, only two rooms down from where Asgore had been placed after he'd been shot.

A nurse was already bee-lining toward her, her cherry-red hair pulled back into a tight bun, face appearing round and youthful, her eyes equally so and a general brown in color. Usually an indication of not having a unique SOUL. "You shouldn't be leaving your room yet," she warned, gently grabbing Frisk's arm.

"I'm fine. Is Asgore Dreemurr here?" Frisk replied.

"He was let out yesterday, actually. If you come back here to your room and take a seat, I'll bring you some food and water and answer any questions you have, but we can't allow patients to wander around right now."

Frisk reluctantly allowed the woman to drag her back to the room, glancing about to see there were more nurses and doctors than usual running about. "How come?" Frisk asked.

"With the Messiah's presence gone, a lot of people are coming in with injuries related to the occupation," the nurse explained. "After the... the Messiah "shut down" the hospitals and we lost Doctor Brexin and Doctor Halladay, we've had to call doctors and nurses in from all over the country to compensate."

Man. It really had been pretty bad. With the twist of her gut, Frisk connected that Dr. Brexin was Sadie's mother, and considering all the bodies... that was another thing Frisk needed to seek out. Demon. He'd killed both Sadie's mom and Frisk's, and the guy was still running around without anyone to stop him.

"Alright, I'll stay here for now. You're not too busy to answer my questions?" Frisk asked as the nurse took her back to the bed, where Frisk sat. "I'm on my break right now, actually," she stated, "but I know who you are, and... what you've done. Suffice to say, I think you deserve to know what's been going on the last three days. I don't mind missing out on a break to tell you."

Frisk felt a little flattered, but she was paying more attention to the 'three days' bit. Has it really been that long?

"What's your name?" Frisk asked.

"Leah. Leah Hansen," the nurse smiled, before she departed to retrieve Frisk some food and water.

Frisk had to admit, she didn't like the Voxis City hospital at all. The whole setting just got under her skin, and she wasn't really sure why. Frisk knew it was a good place full of good people who did everything they could to help others, but… well, maybe she associated it with all the pain she'd felt after Asgore had gotten attacked and sent here. She'd spent quite a few nights here during that time, some of them sleepless. Frisk didn't mind sticking around for a while longer, though, especially with the promise of food, but even after she left, what exactly was her plan? She had no idea, the options were vast. She was still completely uncertain as to whether she wanted to go after the other sectors of the Messiah. At the same time, after everything that had happened, the thought of returning to school and living the way she had been for the past few years sounded a bit silly. Comforting, but silly.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of footsteps just outside her door. The fact that Frisk felt excited for a meal out of a busy hospital kitchen really said something about her hunger. Leah returned with a tray of food, piled almost comically full. The girl was blushing as she entered. "I didn't know what you'd like so... I got a little of everything," she admitted, a simple glass of water in her other hand. Frisk was halfway through standing to try and help the nurse, but she was quick to assure Frisk she had it covered.

In moments, the younger girl was eating. Despite the hospital food not being the greatest quality, it was certainly what she needed, and she was hungry enough to ignore the dulled flavors of the chicken and the blandness of the mashed potatoes.

After having her fill, Frisk realized Leah was still in the room. Watching. Probably grossed out at how Frisk had basically inhaled like, five pounds of food in less than ten minutes.

"Sorry," she mumbled, mouth still a bit full.

Leah laughed. "It's okay. Much better than cleaning up a mess when one of our residents can't make it to the toilet."

And like that, the hunger had dissipated. Frisk swallowed painfully, trying to get that mental image out of her head, and Leah clasped a delicate hand over her mouth. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to kill your appetite like that!"

"It's fine. I was full anyway," Frisk lied. Now that she had adequate sustenance, it was time to learn the whereabouts of her friends and family. Hopefully Leah knew where most would be, she seemed to be aware of the people in the hospital.

"Do you know where my friends are?" Frisk asked Leah, feeling a bit bad for putting her on the spot, but she really wanted, no, needed to know where everyone was. Since she wasn't allowed to be up and about yet, she could at least figure out who was situated where.

"Who are your friends?" Leah asked, a twinkle of curiosity in her eyes.

"Oh boy… it's a pretty long list…" Frisk admitted, glancing toward the window.

"I have a pretty good memory," Leah offered with a smile.

"Terrence Anoma, Gregory Favian, Fuku Fire, Grillby Fire, Trinity Obaseki, Papyrus, Joe Bob, Lesser Dog, a guy called Raptor with feathers on his-"

"On second thought… I should go see if I can get Greta to print something out for you," Leah quickly became overwhelmed by the rapidly given list of names. Poor girl didn't realize that wasn't even half of them.

"Sorry," Frisk smiled awkwardly. "I, uh… have a lot."

When Leah returned minutes later, she had a list of patients on several sheets of paper. "Terrence... Anoma you said?" she asked. Frisk gave a nod. "He's still here, and he's vivid. We can't do anything for his eyes, but he's looking to make a full recovery. Should be allowed out in a few more days.

Onto Gregory, who hadn't been admitted. He was hardly injured in the slightest, but his mom was in a bad state, having undergone multiple surgeries whilst being in a coma. She had yet to wake. Fuku and Grillby left the same day they came, apparently went back to the bar and grill to clean up. Papyrus and Truck seemed to be sticking around the hospital, offering to help where they could, much like they'd done for Alphys. The scientist hadn't been admitted, but Leah recalled that she'd escorted Asgore out. Lesser Dog, alongside a multitude of other monsters, came out okay. Due to most having magical injuries, they'd been quickly patched up and sent on their way. Sadie and Rian had been much the same, released quickly upon admission, though Rian had several burn scars on the left side of his face, apparently.

"The only names I can't find are ''Raptor" and Trinity... Obaseki, you said? Isn't that the name of the guy who was leading the Messiah? I saw him a few times at Obatech since my mom works there, but I never would have thought him to be such an evil man."

"No admission of a... Magnum, either?"

"None that I can see, and I'm sure I'd remember names like those."

"I see…" Frisk gulped. To be completely honest… she had no idea if those two were okay or not. The last time she'd seen Raptor was during that cave-in, but if Fuku had survived and Nikolai had been confirmed dead, that probably meant he'd made it… still, the fact that neither of them had gotten to the hospital was worrying.

"Has anyone come to see me?" Frisk asked, earning a little laugh from Leah.

"Your dad, a lot," she replied. "You also have a lot of gift baskets waiting for you when you're ready to leave. I guess that's the people of Voxis showing their appreciation."

"That, or it's just Papyrus," Frisk said, gifting herself a chuckle of her own. Sure, the world still probably sucked, and there was still a lot to do, but something big had been accomplished here. It was like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. They were still heavy, but notably lighter.

"Anyway, I feel better now," Frisk stated, standing up. "And that CIA guy, Mr. Black, said I was clear for "on-site visitation"."

Leah smiled. "Alright, I can see you're doing good. I guess you'd like to visit Terrence? He's been asking about you a lot. I can gather your clothes for you, too. Besides, I'd like you to at least remain for twenty more minutes, just so I can be certain you're in tip-top shape."

"Are the clothes clean?" Frisk asked.

"I wouldn't give you dirty clothes," Leah assured her.

"Then I'd like that," Frisk nodded. Not that the hospital gown wasn't lovely, but it definitely wasn't her style, and it didn't do much to keep her warm. Her usual sweater sounded great right now, especially when she looked out the window and saw that a thin blanket of white powder remained settled over the city.

Leah disappeared out of the room for a couple of minutes, leaving Frisk with not much to do aside from wait for time to pass. The TV in the corner of the room had about three channels, but it seemed like the News stations were out of service for now, bringing the total number of channels down to one. And currently, that channel was playing bad Christmas romance movies, the kind she'd only tolerate if she was seriously deep in the holiday spirit, which required at least two mugs of warm cocoa, and for the month to be December, not October.

When Leah returned once again, Frisk found it was her usual pair of clothes, freshly washed and smelling like lavender. There were cuts here or there, but for the most part, it was wearable.

Once she was dressed in more comfortable attire, Leah led Frisk down to the first floor, then to a separate room, where she left Frisk to meet with her boyfriend as the nurse got back on the clock, only after Frisk promised to call for her if anything came up.

Opening the door, Frisk walked into the room to find Terrence was sitting up, an empty food tray on his lap as he stared blankly forward. The television was playing one of the cheesy movies from before, and the boy was listening to it.

Frisk paused, staring at him for a moment.

His eyes might have been quite unusable, but... they looked sad. He'd been tortured for... what... two weeks? She wasn't certain on the time frame, but she knew he'd gone through Krashna's hell.

Closing the door softly behind her, Frisk walked further into the room. It was facing toward the morning sun, casting warm rays inside, bathing the room in orange light, a very fitting ambience for her boyfriend.

"Hey," she spoke. He blinked, seeming to come out of a trance, and turned his head in her direction.

"I saw you come in," he stated, his face splitting into a grin. A cracked one at that, he had a deep gash in his lower lip. The stretching of the skin made it start to bleed, and he quickly stopped smiling to cover the cut with a rag in his left hand. "Sorry..." he said. "Not at my best right now."

"Yeah, I noticed," Frisk gave a small smile as she took a seat at the edge of the bed. "You look pretty good considering what you went through, though."

"Yeah, it was pretty bad. I barely even remember most of it," Terrence admitted, his gaze drifting away from her. "… worst part is, everything he did to me wasn't even the part that hurts the most. It's what, uh… what happened to Gerson that really tore me up."

"So you already heard about that," Frisk's eyes were fixed on him. "I was afraid to tell you."

"I still haven't accepted it," Terrence admitted. "But I'm not completely sad about it. Part of me is actually happy."

"Why's that?" she asked, lowering the volume of the cheesy movie that was playing in the background of their conversation.

"Because… even though he's gone, I got to know what it's like to have a real parent for once. Even if it was just for a couple weeks, y'know? I reckon I'll keep the last name."

"Terrence Boom, huh? Has a bit of a ring to it," Frisk couldn't help herself from smiling.

"Yeah..." he nodded, forcing himself not to smile. There was a moment of somber silence, before he scoffed. "Worst part is, look at my face! Can't believe Krashna could mess up perfection."

"Yeah right. You were always that ugly," Frisk teased, folding her arms as she giggled. Terrence threw his pillow at her, which bounced off her arms and dropped to the ground.

"Stop, you're making me smile..." he chuckled. "Also give me that back, I need it."

Frisk handed her boyfriend his bedding back, which he positioned behind him. "He left me a letter, y'know. Can't even read it, but I guess Mosu wants to see me when I get cleared. Something Gerson told him about I guess."

"I was told you could see like a bat. How's that work?" Frisk asked. Terrence shrugged. "I mean, I don't use echolocation, but like... I guess I'm basically Daredevil now. I can see... uh... okay, it's really hard to explain, but I can feel vibrations, and I can imagine them pretty accurately. I feel like it's accurate at least. So I can kinda see through walls and shit, but it gets muddy that way."

"So you can't see, but you can imagine what everything around you looks like?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it. In a way, I can see you right now. Huh, were you always this pretty?"

His eye-roll worthy jokes never failed to brighten her mood, even in a hospital room. Obviously the two of them couldn't get too comfortable, and she didn't want to make him smile so much that he reopened that cut even more. She was fairly certain Krashna had mostly targeted his arms and legs, which were almost covered completely in fresh bandages.

"Hey, Frisk?" Terrence's voice suddenly got serious, his hand sliding over and resting atop hers. She looked down at it, then back up at him. "I didn't get to tell you this back after you saved me, but uh… I'm grateful that you did. Seriously, that kid's company was rough."

"You think I'd let my best fella rot in some prick's care?" Frisk asked, unable to stop herself from smiling as she sat on the edge of his bed, grasping his hand gently back. "Fat chance. Never got to have that second kiss, anyway."

He noticeably blushed at this. "Maybe once my lip heals up. Gotta work on my puckering game once I get outta here."

"That's fine," Frisk replied, leaning in and placing her lips against his cheek, planting a soft kiss before pulling back. "I'll settle for cute over romantic today."

He let out a giggle, blushing harder. "Fair enough."

She felt bad about that, considering what was coming, mentally kicking herself for it.

Several hours later, Frisk found herself knocking on the door to Alphys' lab. It truly hadn't been targeted all too much despite everything, leaving the reptilian monster very satisfied. Alphys herself appeared, sliding open the door for Frisk. "Hey," she grinned. A sad smile. Somehow, Frisk knew Alphys had been hoping it'd be Undyne at the door.

"Power still not on here?"

"Not yet. The generators the Messiah left active only powered mostly the center of town. They haven't restored power out here just yet. Come on in."

Despite the fact that Alphys had obviously been grieving, judging from the fact that there were even more half-eaten ramen cups around than usual, it seemed that she did at least have some company to keep herself occupied. As Frisk stepped in, she saw two familiar people in the darkness of the lab, and relief washed over her.

"Hey," she greeted the two of them. Magnum was standing, leaned up against the wall right beside the laboratory's currently inactive elevator. Not far away on an uncomfortable couch covered in a fine layer of manga books was Raptor, leaned forward as if ready to strike down some prey, but he was in casual conversation with Magnum. Probably just a force of habit.

"Hey sleepyhead," Magnum poked fun. "Turns out this big doofus was off dissecting a Russian while we were talking to my dumbass dad."

"Glad you didn't get buried in rubble," Frisk nodded toward the man.

"Yeah, guess that's fortunate. Think I'll be getting a discount at Grillby's now?" the man asked.

"Yeah, right. The day Grillby gives anyone a discount is the day he stops polishing that glass," Frisk shook her head with a smile. Even though those two weren't quite as acquainted with monsterkind as she was, they seemed to understand the joke. Maybe they'd even snuck in some meals at Grillby's during their time in the Messiah.

"Last thing I remember was passing out," Frisk admitted. "Did Carl and his cops drag me all the way back out?"

"Nah. I did," Raptor replied. "Cops cleared most of the rubble by the time Fuku and I got back to it, and Magnum's portals cleared the rest. That smug sumbitch Obaseki just smirked at me when they dragged him past. No offense," he added to Magnum, who only shrugged.

"Make as many offenses as you want," she offered.

"Anyway, they let us know you'd collapsed back there, so I carried you up and out," Raptor continued before Magnum interjected.

"Which is where those C.I.A. guys were waiting. Snatched us up real quick and held us for like, a day, just asking questions. Didn't let us go 'till we convinced them we were turncoats."

"I met them," Frisk nodded. "Guess they're Messiah Hunters or something."

"Better them than us. I'd like to try out normal life for a change," Raptor scoffed. "Let the professionals deal with the stragglers."

It really was good to see they were okay. Over just the course of one night, Frisk's respect for Raptor had increased quite a bit, and of course there was Magnum. She didn't appear as enthusiastic about Raptor's words as he did. Frisk could guess why.

"S-Speaking of normal life… you don't seem so scared of it anymore," Alphys mentioned, referring back to Raptor's time imprisoned below her lab. He'd gone on about how he'd never be accepted as a normal person in Voxis City, but… that was probably just another lie he'd been fed. And if he was still scared? Long-sleeved shirts would cover those feathers right up.

"Meh. Just doesn't seem so scary anymore. Wish I could go back in time and convince myself to join up with you guys sooner. Might not have had to listen to as many harmonica solos," he glanced over at Magnum, who stared him down, slowly reaching into her pocket for the harmonica. "…not that they weren't great."

"Nice save," Frisk commented.

"She's carrying it on her just to annoy me," Raptor shook his head. "Anyway, how are you holding up, Frisk? Seen your dad yet?"

"Not yet," the girl admitted. "I meant to, but he told me over the phone that those C.I.A. guys were calling him in for something."

"Yikes. Hope he's okay," Raptor blinked, to which Frisk shrugged her shoulders.

"They seem to be on our side. Probably just wanted to ask him more questions." Magnum shifted on her feet, staring past Frisk to the entrance, appearing to be lost in her thoughts at the moment. Both of these people were probably still struggling to grasp that they were free entirely. Even Frisk was having a hard time comprehending how "over" it all was, and this all had only started about two months ago. Nearly three.

"Hey Alphys, where's Mettaton?" Frisk asked, turning to the monster.

"He had me fix him up real quick," she replied. "Kept going on about retaining publicity and popularity, funding a world tour. He was pretty disappointed when Papyrus rejected the offer to go with him, though."

"He didn't?" Frisk frowned. Papyrus usually jumped at any chance to be around Mettaton. Alphys nodded curtly.

"Yeah, said he didn't want to stop helping at the hospital. I'm glad Mettaton hasn't influenced him badly, yet. Maybe some of that goodness will rub off on Mettaton. One day."

Despite their strong bond, Papyrus still put his usual good nature above spending time maintaining public image with Mettaton, and that was something Frisk figured would never change. She also supposed that meant Mettaton would be busy. Now that she knew Alphys, Raptor, and Magnum were alright, another small weight was lifted from her shoulders.

"I guess I should go see Papyrus and Truck," Frisk mentioned. While she was at the hospital again, checking in on Gregory and his mother would be a wise idea too. She'd been so eager to check and see if Alphys knew where Magnum and Raptor were that she'd neglected to see them while she'd been at the hospital earlier. "What'll you guys do now, though?"

"W-Work, I guess," was Alphys' simple but understandable reply. Surely her employers would be able to look past her lack of progress in light of recent events, though.

"Alphys said I could stick around here a while as long as I'm willing to fetch her a ramen cup every couple of hours," Raptor said. "Guess it's good training for having a job."

"I…" Magnum had a distant look on her face as she pondered her answer. "I don't know," she eventually shrugged. Somehow, Frisk didn't buy it. The girl clearly had something on her mind. Once again, Frisk's had a guess.

The journey back to the hospital, now with the assurance that Raptor and Magnum were well, allowed her to pay attention to the city. Voxis City might have claimed it was the "biggest city in the world", but Unitropolis had stolen that title years ago. Its age of prosperity had long since ended since its construction in the early 70's. As massive as the city was, it was strangely... homey. Simple people living simple lives, day by day. The city itself would turn in for the night, and yawn in the morning. Who could have guessed some massive cult had been living under their feet all this time?

Now the streets were messy. Broken cars, cracked sidewalks, and trash littered what the city usually took care of. It looked dreary. Bleak even. Frisk felt she often took this city for granted, but it had always been her home, overlooked by and shrouded in the shadow of Mt. Ebott.

So both Ebott and Voxis had contained secrets beneath them. Made her wonder how many more places around here had something similar about them.

It was just... funny to think about.

The saddest part about Voxis City right now was the fact that, just a few weeks ago, everything was completely normal. People had been going about their lives, none of them realizing what had been coming. And now, suddenly, people had lost their cars, jobs, money, family, friends… and yet, with time, the city would eventually become normal again, and most people would probably try to forget what had happened. They would never be able to, but they would certainly try. And with that mentality, surely another threat would eventually arise. As for Frisk, the night the Messiah fell would be ingrained deep in her mind forever.

Upon returning to the hospital, Frisk found Papyrus and Truck outside, helping to unload boxes from a van, setting them on dollys, which CNA's would wheel away into the building. She realized she hadn't really interacted with Truck much, even after he'd joined them. He was always helping out, and she'd been... focused on other things.

The pair simultaneously noticed her approach, set down their boxes with little grace, their eyes widening in unison, before they raised their arms in waves. "Hey!" Truck grinned brightly. "Red Heart Girl!"

Seems he'd forgotten her name.

"THAT'S NOT HER NAME!"

Papyrus to the rescue.

"IT'S ALWAYS BEEN "THE HUMAN", SILLY!"

Ah.

"Hey, The Human!" Truck waved enthusiastically, almost knocking out a nearby CNA just trying to do his job.

"Looks like you two turned out alright," Frisk commented, earning a shrill laugh from the tall skeletal monster, who took the opportunity to strike a pose, his cape blowing in the non-existent wind, which didn't match his attire of scrubs in the slightest, which both were wearing.

"NYEHEHEH! BUT OF COURSE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL NEVER BE TRULY DEFEATED!" he boasted. "I WAS VERY WORRIED ABOUT YOU, HUMAN! YOU SHOULD HAVE WOKEN UP MORE QUICKLY!"

"I did the best I could," Frisk shrugged, smiling, amused by Papyrus's sense of humor, or maybe he just didn't fully understand how humans worked yet. Either way, it was hard not to have her mood boosted by the good natured skeleton's antics, and seeing Truck helping out the community was also nice. Really one-eighty from where he'd been just a few weeks ago.

"Have you talked to Sans lately?" Frisk asked, to which the skeleton shook his head.

"HE'S BEEN WEIRDLY MOODY LATELY, ALWAYS KEEPING TO HIMSELF. I'M HONESTLY A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT HIM- BUT DON'T TELL HIM I SAID THAT! DON'T WANT HIM GETTING CRAZY IDEAS!"

"I won't," Frisk assured with a chuckle, though couldn't help but worry at least a little about Sans. He seemed fine for the most part last she'd seen, but Papyrus would probably know better. He might come off as a bit of a doofus but Papyrus was one of the best people Frisk knew at reading people.

"Have you see Mag and Rappy?" Truck asked, grinning. "I always never see them look so happy. 'Specially Rappy, he always look so sad, but not no more!"

"I just talked to them at Alphys' place," Frisk responded. Though Truck wasn't the brightest bulb in the box either, it was clear that he did really care about other people. The smile on his face as he talked about seeing his fellow ex-lieutenants so happy was heartwarming, to say the least, although she doubted Raptor would approve of that nickname, it made him sound like a bad musician.

"Pap say I get job moving boxes," Truck continued, "cuz I carry so many!"

"NYEH, THAT WASN'T WHAT I SAID! I SAID I CAN CARRY SO MANY AT ONCE!" Papyrus scoffed, strutting over with pride in his step as he picked up a box and lifted it high over his head with one hand. "LOOK AT THESE MUSCLES!"

Truck looked over at Papyrus' request, and quickly frowned. "Where the muscles?" He asked in an accusatory tone.

"WHA- RIGHT HERE!" Papyrus pointed to his humerus.

Truck squinted, leaning in. "In bone?" he asked.

"NO, IT'S METAPHORICAL!" Papyrus stated proudly. "I'M JUST REALLY STRONG!"

"Well, I wanna be meta four... uh... I want be that too!" Truck replied, pulling up his sleeve to flex his own bicep, at which Papyrus seemed to take as a competition.

"OH, YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN MY SNOW SCULPTURING YET!"

"Oh? Make one now!" Truck pointed at the snow on the ground, and Papyrus took it to heart, immediately dropping down to the ground and sliding a bunch of snow toward himself to begin his sculpture.

Everything seemed to always be changing around Frisk. It sure was nice to see that some things always stayed the same. "I'd love to judge the snow sculpture competition, but I have a few more people to go see," Frisk told the two of them. "Do either of you know where Ms. Favian's room is? Greg would probably be there."

"UHHH… WELL… I THINK I SAW THE GLASSES HUMAN GETTING INTO THE ELEVATOR!" Papyrus noted. Not the most helpful thing, but it was a start. She'd just have to ask the desk lady.

Upon returning, she was quick to be encountered by the now familiar face of Leah, who was all too happy to direct her to the third floor, room 306. So that's where Frisk headed, riding the elevator up a couple of floors and making it to the designated room.

Upon opening it, she was greeted with a different tone from the rooms she and Terrence had occupied separately. This one had the blinds drawn down on the shady side of the building, giving the room a rather closed-off and dark vibe. A total opposite from Terrence's room.

Gregory was seated in a chair, hands resting on the arms of it, staring forward with a dull expression. Karen Favian, or whatever her last name had returned to after the divorce, was lying on her bed, quite clearly unconscious.

"Hey," Frisk greeted.

"Hey," was the response she got as Greg didn't even look toward her, appearing ensnared in his own thoughts. Although the atmosphere was gloomy and Gregory's response didn't leave much room for conversation, Frisk didn't blame him at all. Greg had always preferred to be alone with his thoughts whenever he wasn't among friends, and considering school had been closed for the last few weeks, and presumably would be for some time following everything… it was unlikely Greg had much to do outside of the hospital.

"How is she?" Frisk asked. Obviously, she wasn't awake, but Frisk was hopeful that the woman would regain consciousness soon.

"Don't know," was Gregory's once again simple reply, no change in facial expression or tone. He didn't even sound particularly upset, just… distant.

"And how are you?" Frisk pressed, closing the door behind her. He finally blinked at this, though his eyes didn't so much as twitch in her direction.

"I'll live."

"I know this is rough, but you need to be strong, Greg," the girl stated, walking toward him. "There's people who care about you-"

"Like Sadie?" his voice was completely level as he finally turned his head to look at her. "I see how she still looks at me. Ready to pin all the blame on me. Maybe I am to blame but I've only ever done what I could... and people got hurt because of it."

"Greg, don't take that personally," Frisk shook her head. "You're smarter than that. She's just… confused, and she's hurting. Her mom… well, you know what happened."

"Yeah. Still, though. It makes me think about what I could have done differently. And then I keep thinking that I handled the situation as best I could in the moment."

"Yeah? That's cruddy, isn't it?" Frisk could sympathize with him, having felt this way often in the past, and sometimes in the present. Looking back at your actions, knowing you did your best, but always overanalyzing what could have been better.

"It could be worse. I have plenty of time to think lately," Greg slowly moved his head back to its original position. "Do you think Sadie will ever look at me normally again?"

"Some people... can't," Frisk admitted. "Not unless they forget."

"Fat chance then," Greg replied, voice still melancholy.

"But there are more that can," the girl added, reflecting back on Asgore and how he handled the knowledge of the timelines. How he'd thrown it all away by simply accepting who Frisk was in the present- and not anywhere else. Gregory closed his eyes, sighing inwardly.

"I need to train," he stated. "To understand how to use my SOUL. Otherwise I'm useless."

"You're not-"

"I am," the boy asserted firmly. "There's a reason Krashna was so interested in having me as his protégé, right? For my potential, I was told. When Terrence couldn't make a difference, he learned how to use his SOUL. So when I learn how to use mine?"

He paused, glancing toward his mother as he opened his eyes. "Nobody will ever hurt me, or my family again. Ever," those sounded like dangerous words, from a certain point of view. From a certain... place of experience.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to protect other people," Frisk told him. That was just fine, it was her overall goal to protect others. That was also the reason Terrence had been out learning that fighting style from Gerson.

"Yeah…" Greg didn't humor her with an enthusiastic answer, as per usual, but there was something about his expression that just bugged her. Like he wasn't just in it to protect people, but for something else. He confirmed her suspicion by unexpectedly continuing. "And what if I want to hurt someone who hurt me?" Greg asked.

"Like... revenge?"

He didn't respond. The silence spoke for him. Frisk found herself somewhat disturbed. Not fully by her friend, but really by the recognition. He was voicing some of her own thoughts that had led her down a dark path once upon a time.

She wasn't sure what to say to him. What made it worse was that she was probably one of the best people to try and coach him onto the right path before anything terrible ends up happening, but her mind was blank of responses. "Krashna?" Frisk finally asked, referring to who Greg would seek out for his revenge.

"He's pretty high on my shit list," Greg responded coldly. "I figured I'd ask you, since you're the one who's..."

Frisk blinked. "Asgore said that was just a ploy by the Messiah," She stated, catching on to the implication.

Greg's face clearly stated he wasn't buying it. "Yeah? You're not really good at lying. Those memories everyone had, those experiences, the properties of your SOUL, the way you shift your eyes when it's brought up, I can tell that it's true. I asked around, got the details from some monsters. So I want your honest opinion. From someone who's done worse than any of the guys we've fought in the Messiah. If you can go down that path and come out as you are now, is it possible I can get my cake and eat it, too?"

Maybe in the back of her mind, Frisk had always known that one day, someone would ask her a question like this, someone who wasn't Chara, Sans, or Flowey. That didn't make it any easier though, as Frisk felt like she'd been exposed, even more so than when the 'reveal' of all her past sins had initially happened. Gregory didn't seem angry nor disappointed, but the fact that he was even considering going down a similar route to the one she'd been down all those times… made Frisk sick to her stomach. "You shouldn't try and get stronger just to hurt people," she advised. "That kid- he's horrible, I know he is. I wanted to hurt him too, but… he doesn't pose a threat to you or your family now."

"You got stronger in order to hurt people, and you always got what you wanted," Greg pointed out. "Even after everything, you got to live a peaceful life with friends and family, at least until now."

"Only at the loss of that power."

"But not the knowledge of it, or how to use it," Gregory replied. "I've never known what it's like to stand up for myself until recently, and every time I do I'm treated like a punching bag. I can't live like that, Frisk," finally, there was emotion inflecting in his voice. A suppressed rage was the best way Frisk could describe it. "I've always been the nerd, the loser, the third wheel. I'm pathetic, and I accepted that- but now I know I can be more. I just need a yes or a no, Frisk. Is it worth it in the end?"

"Of course it's not," Frisk replied, her voice raising slightly at that. Despite Greg's growing volume and excitement at the topic, he flinched away at her voice- only further cementing the truth to his words. "It's not," she repeated, quieting down. "What happened then haunts me, every waking moment of every day. I can't imagine it'll ever go away, but I live with it. I do what I do to protect the people I love. That path I took before led me to destroy them. If you care at all about anyone, then don't use your power for gain. Use it to protect them above yourself."

"You don't get it…" Greg still didn't look very convinced. "Everything you say makes sense- it's what everyone always says. Hurting other people is bad. Protecting other people is good. But… it doesn't make these feelings go away. What they put me through, it was just… horrible. And they threatened my mom, Frisk. My whole family. If I hadn't gone with Krashna that day, he would have killed my little sister. I don't want him to be alive anymore, and no amount of pretty words can change that."

"Let me put it this way," Frisk leaned backwards a bit, taking a deep breath as the conversation grew heavier with each passing moment. "Between your hate for Krashna, and your love for your family, which is stronger?"

"My love for my family," Greg said without hesitation.

"Do you think they want to see you hunt someone down and kill them? Do you think they want to see you go down that path? If you want to get stronger for them, then do that. I'm not just saying this as someone who's been in your shoes, I'm saying it as your friend- please don't let your anger control you."

He looked at her for a long moment, before he sighed, turning his head slowly away. "My family can't really want me to go down any path if some prick like Krashna comes around and murders them."

Frisk felt like she was talking to a brick wall. He'd asked for her advice, she'd given it, but he'd been given the answer he didn't want. He was as stubborn as he was intellectual, but about this, she didn't feel he was thinking straight.

"I've said my piece," Frisk stated. "Take it or leave it, whatever decision you make is on you, consequences and all. Just know that there's people, myself included, who care about you. We'd rather see you pursue your passions than your vengeance."

He said nothing in reply, now staring out of the window, having quite clearly clammed up again. Frisk truly did care for her friend, but she found he annoyed her more often than not. His mom was fine, but in truth, neither she nor Greg knew if his father and kid sister were okay, still. Not to mention he had a brother he seemed to hate talking about.

It wasn't how Frisk would have preferred to leave things with Gregory, but there was just no talking sense into him right now. He'd used a terrible example of her to try and justify these new, violent desires. She wasn't angry at him, but… worried. The fact that her words couldn't fix it right now just made it worse, but she had another person to see today now that she was back on her feet. Asgore, of course, he'd been let out of the hospital just recently according to Leah. Frisk wondered how he'd react to seeing her- surely, he'd be proud of what she'd accomplished.

She'd intended to see him earlier, but there'd been that talk of him seeing Mr. Black. He was probably done by now. Plus, it'd just be really nice to see him. In the condition she'd left him in three days ago, not to mention that power she'd never known he'd had... there would be plenty to talk about outside of congratulations… and her plan moving forward. He was the first person she wanted to discuss with concerning that potential future.

Asgore's goofy grin greeted Frisk as she pulled his truck up alongside Obatech Industries. She hadn't expected to be here again so soon, but it's where Asgore had texted her he'd be. His fat fingers, however, made the text look more like "ill BE outsi at my boSS I Mean ex bos place U can dRIVE THE TRUCk" followed by a crying emoji, and a follow up "ooPSIEE WRng 1", then the correct emoji of a thumbs up.

"Frisk!"

His eyes seemed tired, but despite that, he looked happier than she'd seen him in a long time. He opened the door and wedged himself inside. This convertible truck had been a gift from Obaseki after Psycho had trashed Asgore's other one. That simple fact made Frisk wonder if the truck was bugged or something. According to the C.I.A. it was clean.

"Hey dad," Frisk greeted with a smile.

"My child… you have no idea how relieved I am that you're safe," Asgore's grin didn't falter in the slightest. "I apologize for having you come here of all places, but there were agents from America who wanted to ask me about the building. It would seem I've… been given a new career opportunity," he looked a bit nervous.

"Was one of them named Mr. Black? What job did they give you? Don't tell me you're gonna start speaking like a robot too," she inquired, causing Asgore to laugh.

"Yes, I believe he said that was his name. Said something about speaking with Officer Stanton afterwards… before I tell you what job they gave me, though, how do you feel, Frisk?"

"Best I've felt in weeks," she replied, even though that wasn't really saying much. Maybe physically it wasn't true, but mentally, she felt much more stable than she had before. It was all just so refreshing, knowing that Voxis City was safe, or at least a lot safer, thanks to her rebellion. "So, what's the job?" Frisk probed as she pulled away from Obatech, wind already beginning to whip her hair around considering the roof was down for the sake of Asgore and his remaining horn. She still hadn't driven a whole lot, and it had been a while, so this was already stressing her out a little bit.

"Well..." Asgore cleared his throat and straightened the collar on the purple flannel shirt he was wearing. "I've been offered to stand in as Acting Mayor of Voxis City. At least until a vote passes."

"Really?" Frisk asked, glancing at her father with a grin. He was reddening under his pearl-white fur. Asgore had been making preparations to run for mayor in the month of November before everything had gone down. Hopefully through this, he could lead a good example and get voted in as more than just the Acting Mayor.

"Yes," Asgore stated, straightening his collar again.

"Did you say yes?" she asked.

"Yes," Asgore repeated, appearing a little embarrassed and intimidated at the thought.

"You seem nervous about it," Frisk noticed.

"... yes." Asgore agreed, letting out a small chortle. "I know the truth is out there now, but I fear most of the city believed Obaseki's message when martial law was declared. The fact that I allegedly killed the Mayor, and now I'll be standing in as Acting Mayor..." his voice drifted off. "It's intimidating, is all."

"Once everyone knows the truth, it won't be so scary," Frisk replied.

"On the contrary, it's a great deal of responsibility. Not to mention this is the greatest opportunity monsterkind has ever had within Voxis City… the first ever Monster Mayor. With time people will come to understand that Obaseki was not the man they thought he was, but there will still be some who will not trust me."

"I'm glad you don't think of it as a demotion," Frisk decided to poke a bit of fun. "From a king to a mayor and all…"

"I can do both!" Asgore insisted with a good natured snort. "Another downside is the fact that I'll be an even busier man than I was before. After all that has happened, I'm rewarded by having too much on my plate to spend nearly enough time with my friends and daughter…" he sighed. "But it is necessary. People need a leader in times like these."

"Yeah, they do..." Frisk nodded, her mind focusing on the 'spending time' portion of that. It was a good enough segue into what she really wanted to discuss with him. Then they could discuss those crazy lightning powers he was tossing around like he was Thor or something.

"I've actually been thinking about something," Frisk brought up, slowing down to move the truck around a few empty cars parked haphazardly along the street.

"Mmhm," Asgore acknowledged her.

"I... don't know if I'll be all that available to spend time with soon," this grabbed her father's attention fully.

"How do you mean?" he asked, shifting in his seat.

"The Messiah's still out there," Frisk explained. "Krashna, Trickster, and the other sects. But most importantly; Demon."

Asgore hummed, a rumble in the back of his throat. "I see," he replied softly. "And you wish to do something about it." Frisk gave a nod, to which her father placed his great trash can lid of a paw on her shoulder, buckling her slightly and nearly causing them to swerve before she realigned the wheel. "You're a powerful young woman, Frisk Dreemurr," he stated. "I would prefer you remained here, but I know how much this means to you... you're very determined, after all." Asgore chuckled, patting her lightly. "I won't stop you... but I do request you not go alone. And pack plenty of clothes. And your toothbrush. Oh, and we can set up a bank account for me to transfer funds if you're ever in a squeeze. Make sure you pack plenty of your hygiene products as well. A car may be nice to have, but I really have none to spare at the moment..."

"I won't be leaving right away," Frisk assured him. "I'll have plenty of time to pack. I'm not exactly in a rush, considering I have no idea where I'd start looking for people like that," not entirely true, she assumed the French sect would be her start, but to find them in all of France...

"A good start would be to ask people who knew them," Asgore replied, simple and obvious, but still good advice. "Though considering his files, I'm uncertain that anyone we know would have any information on Demon…"

The name of that lieutenant seemed to foul Asgore's mood. Not a whole lot, he still retained his overall bright attitude, but bad memories from recently seemed to arise with the mention. Frisk figured it would be wise to change the topic to someone who hadn't snapped her father's horn off, killed Toriel, and attacked the both of them just a few weeks ago. "Magnum would probably know about Trickster. Krashna… I don't know where I'd start there, either."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Asgore smiled. "You're as smart and resourceful as you are powerful."

"Thanks, dad."

There was a silence as they grew nearer home, and Frisk finally couldn't hold off asking any more. "Dad, what was all that... power and stuff earlier?"

"Hm?" he asked.

"Like, the electricity. When you kicked Obaseki's ass," she elaborated.

"You may be going off to beat up a cult but we don't use that kind of language in my truck," Asgore pointed out matter-of-factly. "But... I myself don't really understand what it was, either. The power seemed to control my actions, or rather... influenced me to act a certain way. Obaseki seemed to know what it was, but I don't really feel like strolling in to ask him any time soon. Once I learn more, I'll let you know. Even if I have to kick his ass a second time," her father winked.

Obaseki wasn't exactly living the life of luxury. His arrest had been normal, for the most part, but at their first opportunity, the police force had taken the additional step of attaching magic dampeners around his neck and wrists. They were uncomfortable, but not inhumane. Besides, he understood they were necessary, many other people in his position would have attempted to escape already.

His cell also appeared ordinary at a first glance, but the guard that appeared several times throughout the day to check on him had mentioned something about magic dampeners being embedded in the walls as well, and the fact that this cell was deep underground and only accessible by elevator made hopes of escape non-existent. Obaseki wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the concept, actually, as this cell had been constructed by the police force in collaboration with the Messiah some years ago. Ironic.

The German sector of the Messiah had been destroyed, for the most part. Hardly any of the high-ranking members remained, and the most important one had already been sent out of the country for the time being. Now with an extraordinary amount of time to think, Obaseki almost found his containment peaceful, save for the brief visits from the guard.

Suddenly, the metallic whirring of the elevator filled the air between his cell and the elevator itself, the chamber echoing around him.

He had more company than usual, it seemed. When the guard stepped out of the elevator, Obaseki expected that to be it, but two more strangers stepped out after him. One of them wore a dark cloak that covered their whole body, wrapped tightly around them and cloaking their face in shadows. Standing an inch or two taller, the second stranger's clothing wasn't quite as strange. Over her dark suit she wore a warm-looking beige sweater, which was slowly removed and folded over her arm as she stepped out of the elevator. Her hair was a striking platinum, almost appearing white as snow, and judging from her face, she was a young adult, perhaps a few years older than Obaseki's daughter. The two strangers seemed to be whispering to each other, until the guard so rudely interrupted them.

"Ten minutes," he said gruffly. "I see anything funny, you're out."

Obaseki stared at their approach, feeling the temperature drop slightly thanks to the sensitivity of his newly-shaved head. The strangers still had snow shifting off their boots. The second individual, he could not determine. Their face was obscured, figure unrecognizable, no defining features to add in revealing their identity. But the girl? Her platinum hair, her reproachful yet ballistic gaze in spite of her calm and collected demeanor…

He knew her. He was the one who'd organized the kidnapping of her brother and the murder of her parents, after all. Her name escaped him, as did her purpose for being alive. She'd been assumed dead.

Clearly that was mistaken.

Placing his arms behind his back, Obaseki bowed his head slightly, gazing at the girl through the bars of his cell. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked. Neither of the two offered him a quick reply, the platinum-haired woman watching his polite greeting carefully. Jonathan had always been quite good at reading other people, so he tended to pick up small details even if he didn't intend to. Like right now, the subtle twitch of the girl's eye, the slight shaking in her fingertips, the clench of her jaw… signs of anger, and repressed anger at that. As to why she had such anger… well, Obaseki knew the answer.

After taking a quick glance back at the cloaked figure that accompanied her, the woman's eyes locked back onto Jonathan. Her brilliant orange eyes held a steely resolve that the man had only seen in one, perhaps two other people before in his lifetime.

"Jonathan Obaseki," her words were cold, her anger seeming to subside, being replaced with a composed but very stern attitude. "Are you happy?"

"Happy?" he repeated. "Happy with myself? Happy with this outcome? Happy with the living arrangements? I could be happy about anything, and I could be sad about anything," the man smiled under his spruce mustache. "I'm not happy, I suppose. More than anything... I'm pleased," he paused, studying her face. "But that's not why you're here. My happiness is not something you care for."

"The contrary, really. I just wonder what part of you is able to accept any feelings of pleasure after everything you've done," the girl responded simply, though her tone didn't quite indicate the venom her words intended. "Humor me, Jonathan. Why are you pleased?"

"Why? Well, I am at peace. The German Messiah has been destroyed, and my daughter was able to find her own path out of it. My defeat was something I accepted a long time ago. Surviving was not my expectation, however."

"Destroyed?" the girl raised an eyebrow, before a grin spread across her face. That smile… it was so familiar to Jonathan, but it lacked the darkness behind it that he'd grown used to. "Jonathan Obaseki, I'm surprised at you, that's shameful. Telling such a lie right to my face. Putting on this facade that you're some tragic, upstanding character… it's just dishonest. The German Messiah has not been destroyed. My informant tells me you even took the steps to ensure that personally."

Jonathan knew exactly what she was referring to, the fact that he'd sent Trickster off to France to begin a quest of uniting the sectors. When she returned, she would become the new leader of the Messiah as a whole. "You misunderstand," Obaseki elaborated. "This form of the Messiah is destroyed. Leader Bastette has her own journey to undergo- but I shouldn't expect you to understand. After all, you certainly have me pegged as a doddering old fool attempting to manipulate you, right? I have nothing to say to you that you want to hear…" he paused. "It was you, wasn't it? Krashna's not the type to run. Is that why you're here?"

"Krashna will no longer be causing problems for other people," the girl's smile faded into a neutral expression. "I've made sure of it. And like him, all other leaders of the Messiah will soon fall."

"All?" Jonathan's eyebrow raised slightly with intrigue. "You intend to cause the absolute downfall of the Messiah? You're an ambitious one."

"Jonathan Obaseki, the news will eventually reach you, even down here. Soon, the Messiah will be erased off the face of the earth. Nothing will remain. And I will live forever in the books as the one that finally ended their miserable existence," her lips curled back into a smile. "I am Katherine."

"Well, although I do commend such ambition… you may have fierce competition," Obaseki stroked his chin. "Surely you know of the girl who brought about my defeat, without your aid I might add. I believe she will soon be attempting to bring about the downfall of the Messiah as well."

"And speaking of her, for now I'll respect her decision not to kill you," Katherine responded. "And although your company has been lovely, Jonathan Obaseki, I have other things to attend to. Adieu," she turned away from him, ready to leave, but her cloaked friend didn't budge. Their gaze was still fixed upon Obaseki, at least he presumed so. The fabric was covering their eyes. After a couple of seconds, a hand rose up from beneath the cloak, pressing against the steel bars of the cell and dragging downwards, leaving behind a glowing red line.

And then… they turned away as well, leaving for the elevator.

Obaseki's unbroken and professional smile faltered at this, confusion flashing across his face momentarily. There were four ruby SOULs, but only one was quite as bright as that one.

Wordlessly, he looked back up at the cloaked figure as they climbed inside of the elevator with Katherine and the officer. The last thing either of them saw was the growing smile on the old man's face.

How interesting.

It felt like just about everywhere had memories now. Well, they usually did, but now the awful memories were overpowering the better ones. Originally, the exterior of the VCPD reminded her of the day she'd seen Undyne's massive grin as a badge was fastened to her dress suit by the Mayor, announcing the first monster in law enforcement.

Already thinking about her was pretty painful, but to top that off, some of the Chief's blood still stained the ground from when Layla had straight-up killed that guy. And to speak of the devil…

When Frisk entered the VCPD for the purpose of speaking with Chief Stanton, she found none other than Layla talking to him near the entrance to his new office. Frisk honestly hadn't been expecting to see the girl again so soon, and wondered what she could possibly be here for.

The station itself hadn't changed much, but it appeared officers had been brought in from other places to compensate for the fact that the ones associated with the Messiah had been fired, and most of them were awaiting trial. The lack of matching uniforms reinforced this idea, but one thing that remained the same was the new chief himself. With Asgore becoming Mayor, and Carl becoming chief of police… people she trusted, and knew other people could trust, were rising into positions of power. With people like them around, surely another last gasp of the Messiah would never be able to see fruition.

"Well, if it isn't the lady of the hour," Carl Stanton noticed Frisk out of the corner of his eye, giving her a nod as she walked in. Layla, too, redirected her attention to the new arrival, her emerald-green eyes sizing Frisk up.

"Hey, Chief," Frisk greeted back with a little less enthusiasm than she'd intended, considering she was sizing Layla up at the moment as well.

"Oh, please," the man waved his hand. "Carl's fine. Still not used to that title, anyway. What brings you here?"

"Just wanted to check up, see how things were going," Frisk replied. "Wasn't expecting you, though," she directed to Layla. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Miss Layla here was actually confessing to the murder of Chief Dowary," Carl replied. "But we... have come to the agreement that his death was a self-imposed accident until further proof sheds light on the truth."

Frisk blinked, glancing toward Layla, who winked back. "Yeah, I suppose that makes sense," she felt herself reply, reflecting back on the thoughts she'd just had. Carl's averting gaze gave the impression that... had he been bribed into giving Layla innocence? Intimidated? Frisk felt that this situation was... pretty sketchy.

"Really, it's just surprising somebody else didn't do the honors first," Layla shrugged. Frisk had a guess why, because there were so few people who could actually afford to take such a target out without risking serious consequences. Whether it could be considered right or wrong wasn't always what the law was interested in, after all.

"Anyways," Frisk chose to change the subject. "Chief- er, Carl, haven't you been overworked lately?"

"The force was really struggling until these officers from America showed up to help out about half a week ago… until we get some new recruits, they'll be sticking around. With their help, we might just be able to pull Voxis back together."

"Have you heard about Asgore's "promotion" yet?" Frisk asked, to which Carl raised a brow, still appearing miffed as Layla continued to lounge around.

"Can't say I have. He takin' over Obatech?"

"No," Frisk replied, though that did make her wonder what would happen to Obatech without its lone boss. "He's been offered to be Acting Mayor until elections are held," she paused, glancing toward Layla. "So hopefully there'll be less... "accidental deaths" going around with you two working together."

"Mhm… especially with our newfound support pushing me to bring in all the Messiah stragglers that are still hanging around. I'm afraid my new position as Chief won't last very long if vigilantes get their hands on those stragglers before I do," he let out a sigh.

"I'll try my best to leave those to you," Layla replied, though her tone indicated that she was either teasing or flat out lying. Frisk didn't know what exactly the girl's deal was, and as much as she knew that Chief Dowary had deserved a punishment, it didn't make Layla seem any less eerie. The way she just didn't care about someone dying, regardless of who it was, it felt wrong. And now getting out of the punishment in such a way…

"Where are you keeping Obaseki?" Frisk asked.

"In a cell the Messiah funded, funnily enough," Carl gestured toward the nearby elevator. "Way down, lots of magic dampeners in those walls."

Frisk did find that to be pretty ironic. Below her right now the man who'd caused so much heartache was being held, hopefully to rot forever. Frisk didn't really care if his intentions had been the downfall of the Messiah or whatever he'd been going for. The simple fact that he was the man extensively responsible for all the shit they'd suffered for so long now was enough to make her happy to let him rot his years away down there.

"Anyway, I'm off to gather some intel. Stragglers aren't gonna catch themselves, and everyone knows Americans can't be trusted to get a job done," Layla joked with a wink before she skipped away, at which Frisk watched her abrupt departure.

"Please don't tell anyone about her," Carl said to Frisk. "She's a good set of eyes to have on the street, better than any street camera, and she's working for me in order to make up for the blood on her hands."

"Catching criminals doesn't amount to someone's life," Frisk replied. "No matter how crappy of a person they were."

"But it'll be a start," Carl offered. "I feel bad about it too, feels like I'm letting murder go unpunished, but right now I need her for this. She'll still be punished down the line, but her work for me is going to ease her sentence, at least."

This didn't seem like the strongest start to Stanton's work as the new chief, but Frisk hadn't planned to rat him out for it anyways. Even if this wasn't a decision she could fully get behind, she knew why he was doing it. Voxis City was massive, and even if the police were operating at their best, monitoring it would be incredibly difficult. If Layla could prove helpful in that regard, allowing her to put her skills to use to work off a bit of her sentence wasn't the worst idea. "I won't tell anyone," Frisk assured Stanton, who nodded with appreciation. "Has Mr. Black come here yet?"

"The guy from the C.I.A. right?" Carl asked. "He may have stopped by once or twice. Said he was wanting to pay a visit to Obaseki himself sooner or later."

"He sure seems to get around," Frisk noticed.

"I swear I've been seeing him everywhere today. Out of the corner of my eye," Carl added with a shake of his head. "I've been too busy to do much, though, let alone talk to the guy and see if he's some kinda teleporter... Won't lie though, I always figured Undyne'd be in my place once Dowary was out of the way. It's... still hard to believe she's gone. She always seemed too determined to let a silly little thing like death keep her down."

"She would have loved to be the chief," Frisk nodded. "She was the captain of the Royal Guard back in the underground."

"She mentioned something about that once. Also means she had familiarity with leadership. Would've been a kick-ass chief."

Frisk had never really thought too hard about whether Carl and Undyne had been close or not. It didn't seem like they were best friends or anything, but there was certainly a lot of respect there. More respect than most of the force had bothered to show her before her death. "I think so too," Frisk exhaled, feeling a weight in her stomach as she thought about Undyne again. She'd never really seen the repercussions of a timeline without her before, but there was no doubt that the fish woman had been... extremely influential to the people she'd been around.

"Anyway, just wanted to check on how things were going," Frisk brushed off her momentary lapse into her mind, giving Chief Stanton a smile. "I won't keep you from your work any longer."

"Take care, Frisk," Carl smiled back, and nodded his head. "You ever need anything, feel free to ask."

After having checked up to see how Carl and the rest of the police were holding up during these trying times, Frisk had decided it was time to see how Rian and Sadie were doing. Just as she'd expected, the two of them happened to be at the same place; Rian's house. Rian told her over the phone that Fuku was also there- and Sadie's little sisters, which made sense, considering neither of Sadie's parents were around anymore…

Frisk knew Sadie was probably still hurting, she was all too familiar with the pain of having a mother die at the hands of the Messiah. And to also have confused, grieving siblings around as well… it was only natural that Rian had offered to take them in for a while.

Rian's house, or rather, his dad's house appeared almost untouched, as did just about every other building in this part of town. The suburban district. Middle class population and whatnot, the only difference was that the house looked brighter. The first and last time Frisk had been here was when she, Sadie, Fuku, and Skeeter had been in the limo and swung by to pick up their dates, or lack thereof in Sadie's case.

With a knock on the door, it was promptly opened by Rian's father, who was looking a little plumper than usual, though his eyes were bright. Heavy cologne hung around him, and his face was badly unshaven. "Hey! The Ambassador!" he greeted with the wide spread of his arms, though this was for show and not for a hug as he stepped aside and ushered her in. "They're all upstairs in Rian's room right now. I'm Rian's dad, by the way. Jerry works, too. Was just about to cook lunch, anything you want?"

"I'm alright, thank you for offering though," Frisk smiled.

"Gotcha. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything, make yourself at home!" Rian's dad said, before disappearing past the archway heading into the kitchen. Past the entrance hallway of the house was a nice living room, complete with a flatscreen TV currently displaying the news. As curious as Frisk was about what the reports lately looked like, she had other things to do.

Heading up the nearby staircase, she could hear voices from above, but was unable to make out just what they were saying. Following the sound led her to the first door on the right, and upon knocking, the room briefly went quiet. "Dad? There's no way lunch is already done," Rian's voice called from inside.

"It's Frisk, actually," she responded.

"Oh. Come in!"

Frisk tried the knob, and gently pushed open the door to reveal Rian's room. She'd been expecting sports merchandise, but his walls were covered in posters from movies made before the 90's and beyond. Mary Poppins, Rocky, Grease, Superman, Outsiders, Clue, Back to the Future, Big, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Top Gun, Kung Fu Kid, CyberCop, The Alien, Halloween, and those were just the movies she could see right away, as many were overlapping and some seemed covered by others.

His bed was queen-sized, and a lot nicer than she'd been expecting, completely made up with quilts and blankets, alongside plenty of fluffy pillows and a single stuffed animal of what looked like a sheepdog wearing a pair of thick, horn-rimmed glasses.

Rian was seated on a spinning chair, back to the desk it was positioned at where an Alien-themed lamp post sat, accompanied by a laptop that was currently closed. Sadie and Fuku were seated on the bed, and three small girls were sitting on the ground, the youngest of which was playing on what looked like an NES, her eyes glued to the plumber jumping on turtles on Rian's old school box television, situated on a coffee table, a VHS player beside the NES.

"Nice room," Frisk commented. It certainly went against everything she'd been expecting from a high-school football player's room, but the surprise was a pleasant one, even if she hadn't seen most of those movies… of course she'd seen Die Hard though. Everyone who was anyone had seen Die Hard starring Bruce Willis.

"Thanks, my digs are pretty sweet," Rian grinned. Frisk had been half expecting Sadie to be puffy-eyed and for several boxes of tissues to litter the ground, but she seemed relatively normal, all things considered. It looked like she and Fuku had even tried painting eachother's nails. Key word… tried. Fuku didn't have nails, and was also made of fire.

"What's going on?" Frisk asked, feeling like she'd been interrupting something.

"We were just discussing... something that Rian's dad proposed," Sadie replied, staring at her youngest sister. The kids themselves seemed to be pretty alright, much like Sadie. The oldest was watching her youngest sister play the video game while the middle child of the three was the only one that seemed to be paying attention to the conversation.

"He's offering to take them in," Rian continued for Sadie. "Which I'm all for, this place is a good environment and dad works from home a lot so he can spend time with everyone too."

Sadie shot a glare at her best friend at that, and Rian stuttered out his next words. "Not like... uh... they're not used to being left alone for uh... long periods of time... of course... was just... sayin', y'know..."

"…it's really nice of him," Sadie admitted, her expression softening. "Rian and his dad have always been really good to my family."

It did sound like a good deal to Frisk, and just when she'd thought Rian and Sadie couldn't possibly spend more time together. Frisk wanted to ask how they'd all been holding up, but everyone in the room seemed fairly calm and content. There wasn't much to gain from reminding them of what had happened, so Frisk decided it would be better to leave it be. Maybe even hang out with her friends for what felt like the first time in forever.

"Come over here and hold your hand out," Fuku waved Frisk over. "Turns out fire and nail polish don't really mix, so I'll settle for painting other people's nails," she was certainly in a better mood than when Frisk had last seen her.

"What, dropping the marine biology dream for nail care?" Frisk asked jokingly as she approached the bed and sat on the other side of Fuku that wasn't already Sadie-occupied, and extended her hand toward the fire monster palm-down.

"Har har," Fuku replied, looking through a small pile of nail polish between her and Sadie, before conjuring out a gold-looking color.

"Might compliment your style," Sadie winked as Fuku got to work.

"The other option would be sending them back to Savory City to live with Wammy," Rian continued, earning a confused look from Frisk. "Sadie's grandma," he elaborated, "she's great and all, but I don't think she's equipped enough to handle three kids and a Rian-less Sadie. This girl here would be lost without me," the boy joked, to which Sadie smirked.

"Trust me, I'm the one who holds you together."

"Are you guys going back to school soon?" Frisk asked, which all three of her friends seemed confused by.

"Yeah. Well, whenever they open back up," Sadie said as Fuku carefully continued applying light layers of nail polish to Frisk's hand. "They're super cautious about it after the dance, though. And with that room discovered under the elementary school... Even when they do open back up, I'm pretty sure at least half of Voxis City is shifting over to online classes. You're going back to school, right?"

"Well… I'm not sure," Frisk admitted. Although the title of 'dropout' didn't sound appealing to her in the slightest, Frisk figured she would be busy with other things by the time classes made a comeback.

"How do you mean?" Sadie inquired, to which Frisk bit her cheek.

"...Fuku, has your dad opened Grillby's back up?"

"No, not yet. Why?" Fuku asked.

"Frisk- why aren't you going to return to school?" Sadie repeated, her brow furrowing as her eyes studied Frisk's face, who responded quickly.

"I'll tell you over a meal once we get Greg and Terrence with us. Anywhere you guys know that is open?"

"We can still go to Grillby's," Fuku offered. "I'll cook the meal, it's on me. My dad's just been busy with clean-up but he's obviously not gonna reject us."

"Oh, sweet! We could go there whenever T gets out of the hospital," Rian suggested. "And, uh… how's Greg doing, by the way? I tried to stop by to check on him a couple days ago, but he didn't really seem up for conversation."

"I don't know. It's hard to tell what he's thinking," Frisk lied. She knew exactly what Greg was thinking, but telling all his friends what it was would just scare them, and probably lead to him alienating himself further. Maybe a nice outing with good food and friends was what that boy needed to snap himself out of this.

"Alright, well..." Rian leaned back. "How's Asgore doing?" he changed the topic. "I always thought he was a big fluffy push-over, with respect of course, but that dude can get scary."

That wasn't off the mark in the slightest. Frisk had grown to know Asgore as the soft and warm-hearted type unless he's been pushed to his edge. She always assumed he'd been holding back in the timelines she'd fought him, but up until recently, she never realized just how easy he'd gone on her. Thinking about taking him on without any restraints was a fairly terrifying thought. Maybe even more terrifying than Sans, or Omega Flowey... Asgore might have even been powerful enough to beat the monstrosity that was Omega Flowey. Would explain why Flowey needed her to weaken him in the first place.

Rattling herself out of her mind, Frisk gave Rian a nod. "Yeah, he's doing pretty good. He's actually probably going to be Acting Mayor until an election can be held."

"No shit?" Sadie raised her brows as Fuku finished Frisk's right hand and had her extend her left.

"No shit," Frisk confirmed.

"Man, good for him! Moving up in the world! Pretty soon he'll be Administrator of Germany. President of the United Countries Alliance. Right to the tippy top," Rian grinned.

"I don't know about that, we'll see how he does as Mayor first," Frisk let out a small laugh. Picturing Asgore as a President of the UCA was pretty funny though, but hey, he did have plenty of experience leading a large group of people.

"Since your dad's gonna be the mayor, do you think we'll be able to get away with as much delinquent behavior as we want?" Sadie asked, laying down on her back and staring up at Frisk, who couldn't keep herself from smiling.

"Totally. Now we can egg all the houses we want," she confirmed.

"I don't think I could egg a house," Fuku shook her head.

"Don't worry, I was just kidding. I'd never really egg a house either," Sadie assured her.

"No, I mean… usually when I handle eggs, they cook in the shell."

"Oh. Well, throwing boiled eggs at someone's house would be a power move," Sadie smiled.

"Perhaps I'll be exercising my right as the Mayor's daughter's friend after all," Fuku joked, finishing up the nail polish on Frisk's other hand. "Don't move your hands too much so they can dry."

"Wait- wait- how do the eggs cook?" Rian blinked, leaned back in his chair as he registered the conversation. "Your hands aren't usually that hot- right? Right?"

"No. I was just kidding. I can control my temperature, remember? That's how we hold hands."

Rian shook his head. "Right. Yeah," His gaze seemed distant for a moment before he lifted one of his hands to begin inspecting the palm.

"Seriously, it was a joke," Fuku laughed as he peered at her from behind the fist.

"I know, I know," he replied. "It's only just registering that I've held fire and not been burned, that's all."

Frisk smiled, feeling a calmness at the moment. It was nice to be seeing this kind of stuff again... felt like it'd been a lifetime. She'd probably wind up missing it again, considering her up-and-coming plans... so she was going to relish this.

"Has Terrence given you the Daredevil rant yet?" Sadie spoke up, turning to look at Frisk as Fuku had her blow on her nails lightly for a moment.

"I mean, he mentioned Daredevil," Frisk replied. "Why, does he plan to become a part time lawyer, part time vigilante, full time blind guy?"

"I'm cringing from that burn for my man," Rian winced with a grin.

"Don't worry, he roasts himself enough with it," Sadie replied.

"What's the Daredevil rant?" Frisk asked, now curious. Both Rian and Sadie glanced at each other, clearly unsure of how to go about saying it.

"I'd try and recreate it, but there's no way I could do it as well as he did," Rian said. "You should totally ask him about it though next time you visit."

"It'll be on my list," Frisk nodded. "He doesn't seem too sad about losing his vision. Actually, he sort of seems proud that he can just… accurately picture how everything looks now."

"It's pretty badass. You ever heard about how losing your vision heightens all your other senses? Bet the dude becomes some kind of martial arts master by the end of the year," Rian said, completely serious.

"That's..." Frisk frowned, before she halted herself. Terrence was a quick learner, and considering his new obsession with the Marvel hero he would probably start spending his time trying to learn martial arts. It wasn't too out of character for him, and it would be really healthy for him anyway. "Yeah, I could see that," Frisk agreed before she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She reached for it- before halting herself. "Uh... can somebody grab my phone for me?" Frisk asked. "My nails still aren't dry."

Fuku came to the rescue, sliding the phone out with relative ease, which Frisk accepted with thanks. Upon opening her outdated flip phone, sporting plenty of new cracks, Frisk found she had a message from an unknown number. Opening the text, it simply said;

"Head back to the VCPD. -Black"

Great. Frisk had been wanting to spend a couple more hours here with her friends, at least, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. Black's text didn't sound like a request, either, so she didn't have much choice other than to head back. How'd he get her number, anyways?

Oh. Right. C.I.A.

"…looks like I gotta go," Frisk sighed, much to the dissatisfaction of all three of her friends.

"But your nails," Fuku complained.

"I know, I know, but it's important," Frisk had a halfhearted smile on her face. "Let's go for that meal at Grillby's soon so we can all hang out again, alright?"

"Just message the group chat when it's time." Rian pointed out. "We're just gonna... hang around here for now, I guess. See ya, Frisk!"

After saying goodbye to her friends, and passing Rian's dad as he was bringing food up to the room (grilled cheese and ramen noodles), she was on her way back to the VCPD, feeling as though she were some kind of errand girl right now. Of course, Black didn't seem like the kind of guy to disobey in the slightest, and that was without his authority as a C.I.A. operative. Did MIB's usually interact with civilians this much? She could also recall Carl mentioning how Black intended to speak with Obaseki, so that could be what this was about.

It had been maybe... two or three hours since she'd been here? Frisk found herself climbing the steps up to the VCPD office for the second time that day, feeling a little anxious about what Black might want from her. Upon entering, she found that nobody was inside, the interior completely devoid of people- save for Mr. Black himself standing inside, a phone up to his ear. As she approached, Frisk managed to catch the end of his call.

"Yes, sir. I will. She'll do it. I know," with that, he hung up, turning his head to look at her, face as expressionless as ever behind the dark shades he wore. "Good. You're here. Come with me, we're going to pay Obaseki a visit."

"Uh... okay," Frisk gulped as Black immediately strode toward the elevator pointed out by Carl earlier, the girl following behind. "What for?" She chanced to ask as Black pressed the call button.

"Consider this a learning experience," he replied.

To be honest, Frisk didn't really want to pay a visit to Obaseki, regardless of who she was accompanying. A few days ago, she'd made the decision to spare the Messiah leader's life, but that didn't mean she wished to see him at all after that. Maybe she should have expected that nothing was ever that simple, though. Without much choice, she waited as the elevator went down… and down… and down…

This jail was definitely way below ground, taking its sweet time to descend. Frisk remembered what Chief Stanton had said about the Messiah having funded this cell, and it made her wonder just who it had originally been for. The fact that Obaseki had ended up occupying it was ironic and almost kind of amusing in a way.

It took Frisk a moment to realize it, but during the tense silence of the long descent, she realized she couldn't smell any kind of scent from Black. It was like he just smelled exactly like whatever room he walked into. Vastly different from the heavy cologne of Rian's dad. The agent was stiff as he stood at the back of the elevator, staring forward for the entire duration. Frisk didn't think he'd be up for small talk, so she made no attempt at it.

Finally, the doors dinged open, and a large room was revealed. A ceiling that extended maybe twenty feet into the air, where she noticed a window in the wall near the top. Yellow light streamed out, and she could make out a woman inside, seated at a computer, typing away. Some kind of guard? There was a chair on the right side of the room, and directly ahead were the bars separating them from Obaseki. They didn't extend the twenty feet up, as there was a wall that met halfway down to separate the room in two. Inside stood Obaseki, staring back at Frisk with a calm, relaxed expression, face registering intrigue as he recognized her.

Seeing Obaseki was just as Frisk had imagined it would be; not great. It was hard to see him as anything aside from the man responsible for all that hurt everyone had suffered through. Every time Frisk looked at him, she was reminded of just who was responsible- indirectly or not- for killing her mother. It if weren't for him, life on the surface would have been so much better, not just for her, but for everyone. But... this was necessary… at least, Frisk assumed it was. Mr. Black had never bothered to explain to her why exactly he'd brought her along. An interrogation, maybe? Whatever he was attempting to teach her, Frisk felt it might be more effective if she knew what the hell was happening.

As she and Black stepped out, the elevator doors closed behind her. There was a moment of silence as Frisk took in everything, trying not to look at Obaseki.

"Lower the dampening field," Black spoke calmly. "Open the gate."

Frisk tensed up as an ambient hum she hadn't noticed until now suddenly died out, and the bars of the cell quickly rose upward, disappearing into the wall. One look at Obaseki confirmed he was surprised at this as well, his brow furrowing.

"Relax, Frisk," Black told her. "He still has dampeners attached to him. He's powerless against you."

"What is this?" Frisk asked, now unable to take her eyes off of Obaseki as he patiently observed the interaction.

"Make him talk," Black replied simply. "He's withholding key information about Bastette Amour, you know her as Trickster. It's one of the few things not left in the database, and he isn't breaking to our methods. So... I want to see what you can do."

Trickster… the closest friend of Magnum and the reason she'd been distant back at the lab. In the end, Frisk had managed to turn a lot of those lieutenants over to her side. In fact, she'd only personally met two who didn't end up joining the rebellion… not counting Demon, who'd seemingly disappeared entirely. His loyalty to the Messiah had always been questionable anyways, to her knowledge. Witch and Trickster… Frisk hadn't seen the former ever since their clash back at that warehouse. She'd ended up leaving the pink-haired woman behind, head severely beaten with a warhammer made out of Determination. Whether or not she survived, Frisk actually wasn't sure.

Trickster, on the other hand, Frisk had never fought, and met only once. All she really knew about her was the closeness she'd shared with Magnum. If Magnum was still wanting to turn her to their side, surely that meant Trickster wasn't all bad… maybe. Her evident loyalty to the Messiah said otherwise, in Frisk's personal opinion.

"I didn't spare you so you could be difficult," Frisk told Obaseki sternly, finding that such a tone came naturally to her when she was talking to the man.

Black took a step back, as though giving Frisk space. His words had been "he isn't breaking to our methods". Our. So the C.I.A. had already been interrogating Obaseki... as Frisk stepped closer, she began to see it more clearly. Incisions along the old man's face, some blood staining his nostrils, his eye seeming to be in the process of swelling. He seemed to catch her investigative eyes, and pulled his hands out from behind his back in a casual manner, showing off broken fingers, alongside his middle finger on his right hand having been entirely removed.

She cringed at the sight, which seemed to amuse the man as he watched her slow approach. Poorly-cleaned blood stained the far wall, and blood seemed to be trickling from one of his ears. Obviously physical torture wouldn't break him if these spooks couldn't get him to speak. She'd need another method to get this information out of him... but why did Black choose her specifically?

"What are the whereabouts of Bastette Amour?" Frisk questioned, trying to keep her anger just from seeing the man under control. She did feel a bit bad for him after seeing the wounds he'd endured from the torture, but if he wasn't going to talk… well, maybe he considered Bastette's information to be more important than his own health.

Frisk didn't expect Obaseki to answer her question. She wasn't stupid, she knew it wasn't that easy, but she had to start somewhere. If she could just get him talking, things might get a bit easier. Maybe some sort of bribery? It was hard to think of things Obaseki might want.

Obaseki could practically see the gears turning in her head, she was sure, and these silences were making her feel like an idiot. She still wasn't about to rough him up, but man she felt like she needed to with Black watching her like a hawk.

"He is no longer held as the leader," the familiar voice whispered into Frisk's ear. That might have been true, but how was it helpful in the moment? What was it Chara was trying to get at...?

"So what makes Trickster more important than your own well-being?" Frisk decided to go with. Obaseki shrugged- but said nothing. "Does she have important intel? Carrying something? Plans to the Death Star?" that last one was more or less Frisk not having any idea what she was going with. Had she known she'd be interrogating this prick today she might have prepared a little… but maybe that was part of this "learning experience". Black wanted to see her operate under pressure, interrogate on-the-fly... for what? No way was he interested in bringing her into this top secret government agency bullshit... right?

She ground her mind gears into overdrive, pulling back the already hazy memories of her previous conversation with this man, and the words he spoke, noting Chara's hint...

"...Last time, you said... "What matters is that I am no longer held as the leader of this sect", right?" Frisk asked. Obaseki finally reacted, his collected demeanor seeming to crack ever so slightly. A twitch of the eye, a falter of the smirk. Almost impossible to notice if she hadn't been looking for exactly that. She'd just struck gold. With that, Frisk grew a bit more confident, now having a better understanding of just what kind of information she could get out of Obaseki. The fact that he'd reacted in such a way… and the way his words seemed to imply that someone else was leading the Messiah now. Certainly not the dead Nikolai, and Krashna… Frisk wasn't sure.

"Have you promoted someone else to become the leader of the German sect? Trickster's escorting them?" Frisk questioned, and watched as the color slowly drained from Obaseki's face, a shade a minute, and he was already looking pretty pale to begin with. "There's no point in staying quiet when you're already answering my questions anyways. You could just make this easier for both of us," Frisk offered.

Obaseki let out a brief scoff. "I've never been famous for my secrecy in a casual conversation," he admitted. "Pluck my fingers, my teeth, crush my toes, stick a needle in my ear," he glanced toward Black. "I am as tight-lipped as they come."

"Stop stalling," Frisk replied.

Obaseki shrugged. "If you hadn't already deduced it, I've named Bastette Amour as my successor. You could have gotten the information sooner, and much easier, if you'd asked my daughter, whom Leader Bastette informed upon her promotion. Alas, people lack civility and common sense. I've sent her away to carry the legacy of the Messiah, for her to shape it without myself, or the other leaders, to intervene in her way of thinking. She will forge a greater Messiah than anything I could have done."

"Okay, we're getting somewhere," Frisk replied. "Now just spill where she's headed."

"Who knows?" Obaseki smirked, placing his hands behind his back again. "I'm sure your accomplice is satiated with your performance. I've revealed all I can on the topic. Satisfied?"

She wasn't satisfied. The fact that Obaseki had chosen to let the Messiah continue existing in any capacity invalidated whatever positive opinions Frisk had had about him, and those were already very minimal. It just allowed the group to spread more hurt, more pain, more suffering. More broken families, more people left behind.

"I'm done talking to him," Frisk looked toward Black. She'd gotten him more information than any of his people's methods had, and hopefully it'd be enough to satisfy. Fortunately, Black gave her a nod, meaning the interrogation could be over.

"Frisk."

Obaseki's voice stopped her as she approached the elevator, Black pressing the call button. She grit her teeth, but did nothing. The man continued. "You may not understand my methods, but understand that Bastette is the key to destroying the Messiah."

As usual, he was being cryptic without even seeming like he was trying. She turned to look at him, biting the inside of her cheek to keep herself in check. She was just about done sharing a room with this guy. Seeing him ever again would be far too soon.

"She'll unite the remaining sects, Obaseki stated. "Under one banner. One order. She'll push it past its limits, and then?" He wasn't smiling as he said this, merely staring at her.

The elevator dinged open, and Frisk boarded it with Black as the bars shot back down to seal Obaseki in his room, the ambient hum returning, the magic dampeners activating once more. Frisk looked at the old man one last time. "Then is when you need to strike." He stated as the elevator doors closed. There was a moment of silence as she stewed on that, pondering on what his aim was. She wasn't at all convinced he was somehow against the Messiah. Black wasn't either, considering his next words; "He's playing us," he stated. "He didn't become the third richest man with the largest tech firm in the world by screwing around. He's trying to throw us off."

"…yeah, that's what I figured," Frisk nodded. Obviously she wasn't going to trust Obaseki's words at face value, he was still an enemy whether he was imprisoned or not. It was odd, though, sparing someone back in the underground usually meant friendship, or at least respect. However, for Obaseki, Frisk felt nothing but disdain.

"You did well. It's likely that our methods would have made him crack eventually, but thanks to you, we didn't have to go to such lengths," Black congratulated her.

"Yeah…" Frisk winced, knowing exactly what he meant. More… removal of body parts.

That made her uncomfortable.

"You know, I seem to recall both of you escorting me from the hospital last time we did this," Asgore's chuckle was contagious as Frisk had Terrence hold onto her arm despite him insisting he could move around perfectly fine.

"Yeah, but I don't think I want hot singles in my area sniping for my bootie, though," Terrence replied in reference to his comment about Asgore's change of clothes when he'd been let out of the hospital all those days ago.

Once again, Asgore snorted with laughter as Frisk shook her head, smiling. It'd been over a day since she'd been let out now, and the sun was getting ready to settle, the sky in the process of transforming into an array of pinks and oranges. She'd already texted the group chat to have everyone meet up at Grillby's. There... she'd be releasing her bombshell. To be honest, she wasn't sure if she'd even still be in Voxis when the sun rose tomorrow. It was leaving her feeling antsy and less engaged in the humor around her.

Grillby's wasn't too far from the hospital, and although Asgore had offered to give them a ride, Frisk had insisted that they walk there. This could be the last time she'd get to see Voxis City for some time, after all. Even if it wasn't at its best, she wanted to spend a little extra time just… seeing everything, having this familiarity with her surroundings. One last nice memory walking down the sidewalk with Asgore and Terrence, listening to their bizarre combination of dad jokes and high school humor. One last nice meal at Grillby's surrounded by the people she cared about. And then… she'd deliver her news. Not everyone would be thrilled, that she already knew. The thought of everyone's reactions were what made this difficult.

Regardless, this was something she wanted to do- no, needed to do. And nobody was better suited than her to track down Demon. She was the only one who'd managed to harm him, after all. As far as she was aware, nobody else had ever come close.

She'd filled in Asgore on her plan, of course, and he'd offered to see her out on her leave. Of the children Asgore had lost, she felt he desired to see one of his own out of the nest on his own terms. It wasn't like she'd deny him that.

As they walked, Terrence seemed to notice Frisk's silence. When asked, she merely replied that she was enjoying the peace. She doubted he bought it, but he didn't press. When they arrived at Grillby's, the windows were still busted and the place didn't look exactly optimal for business, but the others were waiting inside. Rian, Sadie, Fuku, Gregory- and even Magnum, whom Frisk hadn't been expecting.

"Ooo, hey," Asgore broke her thoughts, pointing toward a BBQ down the road. "Looks like Alistair's just opened back up! You kids have fun, I need some dad food," he gave Frisk a wink before he hurried off.

"That felt a lot like the time he left us on our unplanned date," Terrence commented, and Frisk smirked at the memory. "Well, we're not alone this time. Everyone's inside."

Terrence held the door open for her even though she'd planned on it being the other way around, and she gave him an appreciative smile, which he returned… admittedly, the fact that he was able to detect what she was doing despite a lack of vision was pretty cool. Probably superior to normal vision, really, because like Rian had said, T's other senses would become stronger over time.

Speaking of Rian, he was sitting nearby at a table in the center of the restaurant. The only occupied table, considering the restaurant had yet to re-open. Sadie was seated beside him, with Magnum and a quiet Gregory seated across from the pair. Fuku was presumably in the back cooking the food like she'd offered the other day.

"Frisk!" Rian beamed. "And my main man T!" he stood up, grinning as he extended a fist toward Terrence, which the boy promptly bumped his fist against. "Ha!" pumping his fist in the air, Rian turned to point at Sadie. "Told you he'd do it back! Daredevil all the way!"

Terrence settled into one of the three remaining seats, Frisk settling in beside him as greetings were exchanged between them. "Hey, Magnum," Frisk looked at her. "I wasn't expected to see you here."

The girl smiled back, though it appeared awkward as she started twirling one of her strands of hair on her finger. "I actually happened to be here at the right time, I came over to help Grillby and Fuku clean up a bit. Sorry if I'm intruding."

"Nah, you're good," Terrence stated, leaning back. "The more the merrier. I actually wasn't around for all the rough shit, so like, how'd you come to join our side anyway?"

"Let's just say I was given a really long time-out to think about my life," Magnum replied, referring to her time underneath Alphys' laboratory with Raptor. A 'time-out' was a pretty amusing way of putting it to Frisk.

"Hey Frisk. Hey Terrence," Greg greeted them, and it immediately became obvious that there was a bit of awkwardness leftover from Frisk's previous conversation with him. Luckily, Terrence came to the rescue. "Hey dude, new glasses? Very sharp, very shiny," the blonde commented, raising his arm for a fist bump, which Greg reciprocated.

"No, same glasses. I thought you lost your vision, though," Greg said, and word for word, Terrence began to repeat his Daredevil speech to him, as if it were an audio recording he could perfectly recite at any point in time. Rian seemed quite interested and listened in despite having already heard it before.

"Boys are so easily entertained," Sadie commented to Frisk and Magnum, amused by the antics of her friends.

A few minutes of this visiting passed, and even Greg engaged with them. It was good to see him acting like himself again, and Terrence was just as he ever was, regardless of his impairment (though it might have been the opposite). Rian and Sadie finished each other's sandwiches, and Magnum watched and listened to them. Frisk was struck with the thought that the ex-lieutenant may have never been around much stuff like this before.

Fuku soon returned with her father in tow, both carrying plates. It was just sandwiches and glasses of root beer, but nobody was complaining considering the state of things. Grillby appeared the same as ever, giving them a nod before he retreated back to the kitchen. Frisk did notice he wasn't wiping that empty shot glass for once.

"How's your dad doing?" she asked the fire girl.

"About the same as usual. He's a bit less comfortable around the refrigerator though," Fuku replied. Frisk was glad to know that Grillby hadn't gotten any long-term physical health problems from his torture… but then again, what health problems could a fire monster possibly develop? Monsters in general didn't seem to get sick very often, if ever. Their magic-based bodies probably had more powerful immune systems than humans.

"That's great! N-not the refrigerator part," Rian said with a blush as he stared at Fuku, getting all goofy as he usually did when she was their waitress. "Are you gonna eat with us?"

"Of course I am," Fuku nodded. "Assuming you're okay with me joining."

There were obviously no objections, and so Fuku was quickly seated on the side of Rian that Sadie wasn't occupying.

And so they ate. They talked. They laughed. It was quite a bit larger of a group than when it used to be just Frisk herself with Terrence and Gregory. A lot had happened that brought them all together like this. Frisk had always known Fuku, of course, but never actually spent much time with her. Rian and Sadie had been some of the easiest friends she'd ever made, and there was Magnum. Enemy turned friend.

Terrence suddenly stood, raising his glass of half-full root beer. "It's no wine, but I think I'd like to give a toast," he spoke, his voice an intentional cliché boom to match his intent. "Not just to Fuku and her dad for giving us the best gosh darn sandwiches I've ever had, but for those we've lost. They might be gone, but we live on for them. They'll never be forgotten, so long as we keep kicking. To those we lost! To Skeeter!"

Fuku stood at this, bringing up her own glass. "To Sadie's mom."

Sadie was next to stand. "To those some of us never even met. To Catty and Bratty."

"And that Burgerpants guy," Rian stood up. Greg was next, rising with more conviction than Frisk expected from him.

"To those we never knew. To those who could have been better than they were." Frisk knew he was referring to the Messiah members that had died, and it was here that Magnum rose to her feet, her eyes on Frisk.

"To Toriel," she said.

Frisk felt the burning bite of tears trying to well in her eyes, not having expected that, or this toast in the slightest. Clearing her throat, Frisk was the last to stand, giving Magnum a nod before she looked back toward Terrence. "To Gerson," she offered, placing a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.

He smiled back at her as he prompted them to clack their glasses together. "To the ones we miss. And to the people we become," he concluded. As touching as it was, when everyone sat back down there was a heavy silence that filled the air now, weighed by everyone's consciousness.

Now didn't exactly feel like the best time to bring up her plan, but she'd have to sooner opposed to later. Her mind was lingering on Magnum's words. It had hit Frisk a lot harder than she could have expected, and her thoughts drifted back to when this had all started.

For a moment, she could smell Toriel cooking her birthday breakfast the morning of that fateful day...

Food continued to be eaten, words continued to be exchanged, though in the back of Frisk's mind, memories of her mother kept on resurfacing. Now that the immediate threat wasn't around anymore, Frisk was seeming to subconsciously realize that she could afford to be emotional again. She didn't have to keep a strong face up for those she was leading into battle.

And so… the memories were rushing back, alongside the painful knowledge that those memories were just that- memories, and nothing more. Toriel could not come back without the power of a reset. But… even if she'd had the power to do so, Frisk felt confident that she wouldn't have reset anyways. Death, mourning, remembering… they were just part of life on the surface. The pain would never go away entirely, but Frisk had grown into accepting it.

"You okay?" Terrence's whisper snapped Frisk out of her thoughts, and she only just now realized her eyes were watery.

"Oh- y-yeah," Frisk nodded. "There's just… something I should probably say to you all."

"Right, yeah," Sadie nodded in remembrance, "about why you're not going back to school."

"You're not going back to school?" Terrence repeated, frowning as he turned to face Frisk.

"No," she replied. She'd thought about it, especially most of the day, and... she would follow through. "The Messiah is still out there," Frisk stated. "I'm going to finish what I started."

"No offense, but you never started this. It's not your responsibility," Terrence interjected.

"Fine, sure, but I have my own reasons and responsibility," Frisk clarified. "I'm hunting down Demon. The one who tore off Asgore's horn. The one who killed Toriel."

There was a silence as her friends absorbed this information, and Frisk couldn't help but notice the approving gaze of Gregory. It was here that Magnum spoke up. "I can help."

"No." Frisk repeated. "I have to do this alone and I don't want to put anyone else in harm's way."

"This is your choice, right?" Magnum asked. "You're making this of your own free will. Does Asgore know?" Frisk looked back, guessing where Magnum was taking this. She gave a nod.

"He does... he's offering to financially support my quest."

"Then of my own free will and my newfound freedom, I'm coming with you," Magnum asserted. "You have your reasons, and I have mine. If you're going out there to look for the Messiah, then I'm joining you. There's nothing to tie me down here and I'd much rather not exist in the same city as you-know-who."

Well… fair enough. Getting away from Obaseki was as good a reason as any to leave Voxis City behind for a while. Depending on whether Mr. Black was planning on having Frisk interrogate him further, that was an especially relatable reason for her.

"So, like… I can tell you're committed to doing this, so I'll be supportive of your decision and all that…" Terrence began, sounding hesitant. "But uh… you're gonna be careful, right? I mean, they're dangerous."

"I'll be careful," Frisk assured him. As expected, everyone seemed to have trouble processing it. The next to speak up was Sadie, who scoffed, but smiled. "Damn. Right when it looked like things are going back to normal, my gal pal is leaving," she sighed. "But that's just the way it's gotta be, right? When are you leavin'?"

"As soon as I can. Later tonight maybe. I was waiting until I let you all know," Frisk answered. "Started packing last night, I just have a little left to do."

"And you have a car?" Fuku asked.

"Er-" Frisk paused, in which Magnum spoke up again.

"Funny thing, actually. I inherited some wealth from dear old dad. Trixie took me to get my license a couple years back, and I have like, five sports cars available to me right now."

Well that was convenient. Frisk and Asgore had been discussing using his truck and he'd get a new one, but he'd be happy to know he would get to keep his company car.

"Man, this sucks." Rian huffed out. "But I get it."

"You ever catch up with that guy..." Sadie added without finishing her sentence, and Frisk caught her eye. They'd both lost their mother to him. What surprised Frisk the most was that nobody else was requesting- or demanding- to join her. She elected to voice this.

"Everyone good to stay here and help rebuild?"

"That was the plan Sadie and I decided on. Fuku too," Rian replied.

"Got a call from my brother," Greg added. "He's bringing my sister down for me to watch over while mom's in the hospital. So I'm sticking around too."

Frisk couldn't ignore how Greg's dad went unmentioned, making her gut twist a bit. Terrence was next. "Well, actually..." he began, scratching the back of his head. "I got Gerson's like, will or something. Some letter, but I can't read it. Mosu said he's going to take me to his clan over in China, and they'll teach me how to uh... read it or something."

Frisk had been so wrapped up in her own plans that she found herself surprised. Everyone else seemed to have something of their own going on. That did make her fairly happy, even if the knowledge that life in Voxis would be continuing on with or without her was a bit strange.

"Everything functions perfectly without you…"

The memory of something she'd assumed forgotten resurfaced at that moment, but it quickly faded away as she shook her head to clear it.

"Well, I know we already did the whole toast thing, but uh…" Frisk raised her root beer up again. "Here's to… rebuilding. Family. Getting back to school eventually. And reading."

"And sports cars," Rian grinned, causing everyone at the table to either laugh or have a smile tug at their lips. And with the support of her friends, Frisk felt so much stronger.

"I'll be sure to call you guys as often as I can," she promised.

"You'd better," Sadie raised her brows at Frisk. "Buy yourself a new phone while you're at it, yours is the equivalent of using MLA2 format to MLA9."

"Huh?" Rian furrowed his own brow, looking at his best friend, who replied simply with; "Writing joke."

One by one, as the night went on, people began to head home. First was Gregory, followed by Sadie, closely followed by Rian, then Fuku went to the kitchen to talk with her dad, and finally, Magnum stood. "I'll bring one of those cars to your place," she told Frisk. "I wanna get to it as soon as you're ready."

And that left Frisk and Terrence together in the ruined Grillby's. Fuku had already taken their dishes back, leaving their table to be the only empty and clean one in the bar & grill. "Guess we should probably reunite with Asgore," Terrence sighed, rubbing his hands. Fuku had been providing the group with body heat to counter the cold air breezing in, but now they had no shield against it.

"Yeah..." Frisk nodded. Now came the hard part, since she had him to herself at the moment. She couldn't do with the attachment right now, and their lives were headed in separate directions. He had his own journey to go on... and it would be better if they…

"You seem like you have something to say," Terrence noticed as they got up, both shivering.

"Is it that obvious?" Frisk asked, feeling the slightest bit of guilt when he spoke. She didn't really want to do this, but felt it was necessary. For both of them, not just her, it wouldn't be good for Terrence's new mission if the two were attached, he'd be distracted, just like she would be.

"T, you know how much I like you," Frisk began, making her boyfriend wince.

"Ooh. That does not sound like the start of anything good," he commented, making her smile, though it was mostly a sad one.

"We're both moving onto really important things. We'll be far apart, and stressed out with our own stuff…" she bit her lip, sighing. "You know where this is going, right?"

"Yeah… it's a little obvious," he admitted, a troubled expression on his face. "Shit. Really not how I was hoping the day would end, honestly."

"Sorry. I get it if you don't want to talk to me for a while. But I'd like it if we could stay friends," she suggested.

"Right, yeah," Terrence scratched the back of his head. "We've... said that before. But I do get it. You're going to fight the Messiah and hunt the devil and I'm off to China with a Japanese ninja."

It did seem pretty ridiculous when he put it like that. Normal lives just didn't seem to apply to Frisk... and that seemed to extend to the people she chose to be around. "We'll see each other again," she assured him.

"Sure we can't like... keep it going? I mean, long-distance is a thing," Terrence said. "There's just a lot less hand-holding and dates."

Frisk smiled, tempted by the offer. "Come on, T, you know what they say about long distance."

"I think we could make it work. We're not like other couples," Terrence persuaded, half joking.

"Yeah, that's also what everyone says about long distance. I just… I'd rather you and I cut it off now with less hurt feelings than if we tried to keep it going and possibly failed."

"Yeah…" Terrence sighed. "The hand-holding and dates are pretty important, I guess, anyways."

"No hard feelings, right?" Frisk asked.

"Not this time. The next time is gonna cost you, though," he joked, but Frisk could tell he was trying to mask his sadness. She wasn't fond of it either, but it was just for the best, even if it didn't feel like it right away.

"Then I guess I'll catch you on the flip-side."

Magnum still had yet to show. Frisk assumed it was due to talking with Raptor or something of the sort. She didn't really think he'd feel too comfortable being left without her in his transition to civilian life. Frisk had three bags packed at the moment. Two had changes of clothes, one had other things. Bathroom supplies, writing utensils and whatnot. Just the general stuff. She was debating on bringing some of her bedding along, but hadn't really decided yet.

Currently, she was waiting in her room, having been told by Magnum that she'd be picked up in a nice sports car. Soon enough, the girl would be pulling up, and their new adventure would begin, full of dangerous new enemies, new places to experience, all without the aid of the friends that'd been supporting her for so long. It was so frightening, but at the same time, it gave her knowing the true end of the Messiah was a step closer each step she took.

No more suffering. No more pain. Not at their hands. But there was also the excitement of going into the unknown. A whole world was out there, and for so long she'd been contained to Mt. Ebott and Voxis City. It was time to expand.

There was a knock at her door, one that she assumed was Asgore's, but the knocking seemed a little bit too light. Was it Magnum? "Come in," Frisk called.

The door opened, and standing there was not Magnum, but… a stranger. Frisk definitely would have remembered her considering the eyepatch covering the girl's right eye.

"Hey Frisk," the girl spoke to her, her voice chipper yet polite. Frisk took note of her warm-looking Christmas sweater, the aesthetic complete by a small wrapped gift in her hand.

"Your dad let me in," she explained.

"Alright… but who are you?" Frisk asked, raising one eyebrow. "We haven't met before, have we?"

"No, we haven't. But I'm, uh… I guess you could say I'm a friend of Layla's?" Frisk bit back a groan. "Not her biggest fan, huh?" the girl smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, she's a little intense, isn't she? Sorry about her. I just stopped by to bring you something. My name's Iris."

Frisk was put off by the mention of Layla, but the girl in front of her seemed friendly enough… and she wasn't one to turn down a gift.

"Thanks Iris, but… why?"

"I know about everything you've done for the city. This place is very special to me, so I just figured it was right to show some appreciation," Iris beamed.

"You know Christmas isn't for another couple months, right?" Frisk asked, though she accepted this gift nonetheless.

"Yeah, I know. It's Halloween night, tonight," Iris replied. "I'm dressed up as a Christmas elf."

It was only now did Frisk notice the wax elf ears poking out from under the Christmas hat. She was right, too. Frisk had completely forgotten about Halloween being a thing. She couldn't imagine too many people were out trick-or-treating at the moment anyway, but... it felt weird, thinking about celebrating holidays after the homecoming dance had been so miraculously interrupted.

"What... is it?" Frisk asked, staring at the hand-wrapped gift. Iris chuckled.

"Open it and find out, that's what presents are all about, right?"

True enough. Frisk still wasn't exactly comfortable having some stranger in her room handing her presents, but she proceeded to begin tearing away the wrapping paper anyway.

It felt wrong to open a wrapped present when it wasn't her birthday or Christmas, but hey, when an opportunity presents itself, why not take it? After tearing away the wrapping paper, she was greeted by a small cardboard box with a removable lid on top.

After sliding this piece of the box away, she could finally see what the actual present was. A thick black disc that fit comfortably in the palm of her hand, with a line down the middle indicating that she could open it up. On the inside, Frisk saw that the top half had a mirror attached, and the bottom half had a colored pencil drawing sealed beneath a glass disc. The drawing seemed to be professional quality and resembled her, red shield attached to her forearm.

"Ooh, and if you click the button, it lights up red," Iris said, excitedly clasping her hands together.

"You sure know a lot about me for someone I've never met," Frisk admitted. "Thanks, though. It's... thoughtful."

"Sorry if it's weird, I just happen to know a lot about everyone in this city," the girl offered another awkward smile. "I'll get out of your hair now. Just… one quick question."

"Go ahead," Frisk nodded.

"Are you aware that there are other people planning to destroy the Messiah soon?"

"Yes..." Frisk raised a brow. "The CIA are after them. And so am I." She frowned, taking in the appearance of Iris a little more. That drawing had looked pretty accurate, and Iris clearly had more knowledge than any regular person should. Had she been watching Frisk? "What's it to you?" She asked.

"Not exactly who I was referring to," Iris shook her head. "I think you ought to know what's going on before you embark on your quest, though, right?"

"I guess so? Just go ahead and tell me," Frisk waved her hand, signalling for Iris to continue, electing to ignore how Iris knew of Frisk's plans.

"There is a girl named Katherine who plans to destroy the Messiah very soon," Iris stated. "She's gathered a group of individuals who share her disdain for that organization. People who've been wronged, people who've been hurt, people who've become stronger because of it, and now want to bite back…"

"Katherine…?" the name rang a bell, and Frisk recalled a brief though not very verbal encounter with her during the early stages of the rebellion. And… wait. Wasn't the new timeline holder associated with Katherine?

"The one and only. And while you two may have a similar goal, I think your ideals might be different enough that if you're to cross paths during your endeavor… things might not go very well," Iris said.

That sounded vague and cryptic, probably intentionally so. Frisk was still doing her best to uphold her "no-kill" rule, even if she was pulling a Batman and brutalizing her enemies every so often. Did that mean Katherine had no qualms with murder? It wouldn't be too surprising, considering she wouldn't have the repercussions Frisk would.

"Why are you telling me this?" Frisk asked.

"It's because I don't want you to get hurt," Iris shrugged. "You've done wonderful things and helped a lot of people. You're practically the pride and joy of Voxis City. I'm not telling you what to do or what not to do or anything, but just keep what I said in mind. Ultimately, I think the downfall of the Messiah is good for everyone regardless of who brings them down," she smiled.

That, Frisk could partially agree with, at least. But she much preferred her own methods over whatever Katherine's were, assuming she was right about the woman being willing to kill to achieve her goals.

"Anyway, I better get going, I have a sugar high to catch and I'm not keen on missing out," Iris waved animatedly. "Good luck, Frisk Dreemurr!"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks again," Frisk nodded, her wave much less enthusiastic as Iris proceeded to skip out of the room. She looked down at the gift for a few more moments- before she slipped it inside of her essentials bag next to her plastic ziplock of dental hygiene and zipped it back up.

By the time Magnum swung by, Frisk had elected to bring a couple blankets and a few pillows. Magnum's packing was... minuscule compared to Frisk's. She had a half-filled bag containing a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, deodorant, perfume, and tampons. She was also sporting a flashy new crimson leather purse, which she showed off to Frisk at the front door.

"First thing's first, we need to get us both new phones," she informed Frisk. "We'll stop by Horizo-Call and snag a couple new Robos," Frisk noticed her spirits seemed a lot higher than before, especially with the casual wink Magnum tossed in.

All that was left was to say goodbye to her father.

Asgore was seated in the living room, obviously growing saddened now that his daughter was actually about to leave, possibly for a long time. His new responsibilities as Acting Mayor would likely keep him away from home anyways, but it didn't make the thought of parting any easier.

"Hey Dad," Frisk waved to him as she made her way down the stairs, lead by Magnum.

"I'll let you two say goodbye. Meet you in the car, Frisk," the pink-haired woman gave Asgore a little wave as she headed out the door, making her way out to a bright red car that was so expensive-looking, Frisk would've been surprised if there was no built in snack bar, or something wild like that.

"Frisk… it'll be strange coming home to an empty house until you return," Asgore admitted, letting out a deep breath. "This home, this city, they will not be the same with you gone. Even though it is difficult… I'd like you to know how proud I am of you, my daughter."

Frisk felt her cheeks redden as a smile pulled along her lips. "I'm proud of you too, dad." And she threw her arms around his burly shoulders for one more hug, probably the last for a long while. His massive arms wrapped around her to return it, holding her with the firm gentleness of a loving father.

When they finally parted, the acting mayor had tears welling in his eyes as he grasped her hand, patting it fondly. "I eagerly await your return."

"I'll let you know as soon as I'm coming back," Frisk assured.

"I already miss you," he smiled.

"I haven't left yet," she teased in response.

After yet another heart-felt hug, Frisk stepped outside, two bags slung around her shoulders, another in her hand, and her bedding tucked under her arm. The night air was still and cold, her breath coming out as vapor, drifting frigidly before her.

A sense of homesickness settled into her stomach as she looked down at the porch step, realizing she wouldn't be stepping off it for a while. But... this was all a part of growing up and moving on. Sure, this was a little unorthodox compared to the norm, but the parallels remained...

Taking a deep breath, Frisk extended her leg out... and took the first step on her new journey. The future was as uncertain as ever, a lot of unknowns on the horizon... but she was ready to tackle them all, with her new ally by her side.

As Frisk began to load her belongings into the car with the help of Magnum, they both failed to notice the hooded figure enveloped by shadow, staring at them from a distance, the only color being the faded yellow glint in their eyes...

Deep in the mountains, covered in snow, sat a massive structure, a bright warmth emanating out from it into the cold night. The muffled sound of conversation and laughter flowed from a parlor room within the mansion, the sound stirring a certain monster that was laying motionless in another room.

Her body laid out upon an uncomfortable hospital bed, something stirred within her being, an intense sense of dread looming over her, forcing her to shiver.

She had to wake up.

Everyone was counting on her, the fate of Voxis, the fate of Germany, the fate of the world was resting on her shoulders.

She had to wake up now.

…

The monster's golden eyes shot open.