Chapter 11: The 4th Mage

"hey kid, what have you been workin' on."

Glancing up from my book, I met Sans' steady gaze, before returning my attention to the book and mumbling, "What do you mean?"

Sans sat down on the couch next to me, shrugging as he switched on the TV, "you've just been out and about more and more lately. you must be working on somethin'."

I bookmarked Fahrenheit 451, glancing over at Sans as he glanced over at me as well, "Yeah, I've been working on something with Mettaton. Why do you ask?"

Sans let a lazy smile cross his face, returning his gaze to the TV with old I Love Lucy episodes, "dunno, guess i'm just curious about where you're spendin' all your time when you could be spendin' time with your favorite skeleton."

I playfully punched the skeleton in the arm, "Who said you were my favorite?"

Sans feigned hurt, looking offended, "wow frisk, am i just not good enough to be your favorite ol' bag of bones?"

I turned my body, throwing my legs up and over the back of the couch so I could sit upside down, "Calm down dummy, I never said that! Besides, you can't be my favorite 'cause I love you and Papyrus equally."

When Sans was quiet for several moments, I sat up a little bit, looking at him. When I sat up, I was met with a wide grin on the face of a very happy skeleton, who had completely lost interest in the TV.

Realizing what I had said, I could feel myself start to turn a bit red, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I had—"

Sans shushed me, still grinning, "kid, no need for apologies. but man, you couldn't wait to say something like that when paps was around? he would've tackled you by now and smothered ya with hugs."

I threw my legs back up over the back of the couch, trying to ignore my burning cheeks, "Yeah, well, I just kind of blurted it out, I guess."

Sans chuckled, but didn't say anything else, and instead went back to watching the show.

The comfortable silence between Sans and I didn't last though, because my phone started to ring.

Startled by the sudden ringing, I threw my legs around to sit up, accidentally hitting Sans.

Wincing, I gently placed a hand on the side of Sans' face where I had kicked him, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Sans looked almost dumbfounded, not processing that I had kicked him, but shook his head, "i'm fine kid, i'm fine. who's calling you?"

Looking at my phone, I found that Toriel was the one calling, and I immediately answered, "Hi mom. Why are you calling so late?"

Toriel's voice came out hurried and tense, her words not making much sense as she spoke.

I bit my lip anxiously, before interrupting Toriel as kindly as possible, "Okay mom, can you calm down? I didn't understand much of what you said. But since you're in so much of a panic, I'm just going to come over. Okay?"

I hung up before I could get an answer, my nerves getting the best of me as I thought about everything bad that could have happened.

As I pulled my shoes on and opened the door, I felt a gentle hand on my back, and turned to see Sans up and ready to go as well.

Giving him a small smile, I took his hand and pulled him out the door with me, walking quickly, almost running.

Sans tried slowing down as I held tightly onto his hand, "kid, c'mon, do this bag of bones a favor and slow down some."

My teeth sunk into my bottom lip even more so than they already had, my voice tight with worry, "Toriel was scared, I could hear it in her voice. What if something happened while we stopped to get out shoes on? What if we're not going fast enough and something happens to her? What if she gets hurt? What if she's already hurt? What if—"

Sans picked up his pace, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze, "okay kid, okay, we'll go faster. you can't think like that though, 'kay?"

I took a deeper breath as I ran, my feet pounding into the ground and sending jolts up my legs. Trying to keep my breathing even, I could only whisper breathlessly, "Okay."

When we got to the Ruins, I knocked on the door as loudly as I could, trying to remain calm and control my breathing from running so much at once. When Toriel didn't answer after a minute, I pounded even harder, feeling fear claw it's way up my throat.

Sans gave my hand one more comforting squeeze, before letting go and using his magic to try and open the Ruins doors.

Feeling my breathing begin to pick up even more than when I was running, I tapped Sans on the shoulder, tears of panic pricking at my eyes, "Teleport. Please Sans, trying to open the doors will take longer."

Sans nodded, taking my hand in his again, and a feeling (familiar only through my memories) of warmth washed over us, the faint blue light casting on the ground.

As soon as our feet met with the solid ground inside of the Ruins, I was knocked to my back, the air leaving my in a hoarse exhale as I collided with the ground with someone on top of me.

Before I could take a breath, hands found their way around my throat, clamping down tightly and harshly.

After what seemed like hours, but was really only about thirty seconds, Sans tackled whoever was choking me, allowing me to sputter out a harsh cough as I tried to breathe correctly again.

Rolling over onto my hands and knees, I took in several heaving breaths, looking up through strands of my hair to find Sans restraining the attacker.

Sans looked over at me, softening his hardened features as he held the person down, "kid, are you okay? can you breathe? do you need help?"

I shook my head, "Don't—I'm okay." Taking a breath, I pushed myself to my feet, turning towards the hall leading to Toriel's house, "I need to find Toriel. Can you handle them?"

Sans looked down to the kid bucking under him, trying to get free, "yeah, i got this. be careful though kid, we don't know if anyone else is down here."

I nodded, and made my way down through the halls leading Toriel's, running fast even as I quickly lost my breath.

When I rounded the last corner of the hallway and sprinted up the stairs, my heart dropped to my stomach, and my feet slowed to a complete stop.

Dust.

A pile of dust.

Toriel's reading glasses off to the side, showing me who this pile of dust was. Had once been.

I felt my legs give out from under me as I lifted a hand to my mouth, wanting to keep the sob in.

I should have spent more time with her.

Toriel helped me. Cared for me.

Did a lot for me. Would have done more.

But I never cared to visit. I never thought about how lonely she must be without me. Without anyone else there.

Feeling hot tears go down my cheeks, I apologized profusely, to a person who was no longer here. And after several moments of my apologies, I forced myself to my feet, and turned back into the hallways below, making my way back to Sans.

My voice came out thickly, and I swiped at my eyes to stop the tears from falling.

"Sans, I found her."

Sitting upside down on the couch, I jolted back upward, my eyes widening as I realized what had happened.

I leaped off the couch, throwing on my shoes as I turned to Sans, "Teleport. To the Ruins."

Sans was confused for a moment, before realization dawned, and he hopped up, "shit, you reset, didn't you?"

I nodded, taking his hand in mine, "But I don't remember how it happened. All I know, is that if we don't get to Toriel right now, she could die."

Sans kind of froze for a moment, before shaking it off and using his magic to get us into the Ruins.

As soon as our feet touched the dirt, I took off running, darting through the halls and up the stairs in record time, leaving a very confused and concerned Sans behind.

When I was near the top of the stairs, I could hear Toriel's voice coming from the living room and kitchen area, "Child, please, I mean you no harm. Just put down the knife, okay?"

I made my way through the living area and to the kitchen, finding Toriel slowly backing out of the kitchen with her hands up as a boy held up the knife towards her, seeming as if he were ready to use it.

Inserting myself between the two, I could feel my stomach twist uncomfortably as I realized how stupid my action was. I kept my voice soft and steady, even as I could feel the hot and cold flushes begin, "Hey, hey, you seem a little upset right now, so let's start off small. What's your name?"

The boy glared back at me with stormy gray eyes, "Why? So you can use it against me? So you can turn me in?"

I stood my ground, even as he advanced, "No, no, I don't want to do anything like that. Here, I'll tell you my name first. My name is Frisk, and I am a Human who lives down here in the Underground." I took a small breath, feeling my nerves shoot up when the boy seemed to relax, but really it was like he was trying to throw me off, "I just want to help you, okay? So how about we take a walk? Or maybe you want to go to another room and talk?"

The boy's grip loosened on the knife fractionally, but he was still very much on guard, "Frisk? Saunders?"

My hands, which had been held up in a way to show I was unarmed, slowly fell to my sides, "How do you know my last name?"

The boy let his hands fall to his sides too, but the knife wasn't going anywhere, "You were all over the news. You went missing almost six months ago. Your mother looked for you, but Saunders said you were probably dead."

I crossed my arms, holding them tight against my chest as my voice shook, "Yeah, well he was wrong. I am very much alive." Clearing my throat, I took a quick breath, "So, how are we going to do this?"

The boy took a breath as well, his grip tightening on the knife, "We can take a walk. But after that I'm leaving, or someone's getting hurt."

I nodded, before turning to Toriel, and Sans who had only just arrived, "We'll walk around the Ruins. We won't go far, okay?"

Toriel managed a nod, along with Sans whose grin seemed painfully tight.

I motioned for the boy to follow me, and we silently made our way out of the house and into the Ruins, walking slowly in silence.

"Liam," the boy paused, and cleared his throat, "is my name. Liam Stewart."

.

Liam gently pushed me back down onto my bed, "Stop lying. Just tell me how bad it hurts, where, and how long it's been hurting. I can find out what's causing the pain and then fix you up."

I slowly lay back down on the bed, exhausted, "I want to collapse all the time, because I've been ignoring the pain and hiding it from everyone because I don't want them to worry. It's so fucking tiring. It always hurts around my abdomen area, never anywhere else. And it's been hurting since we escaped from the compound."

Liam gently placed his hands on my stomach, starting to probe for answers with his magic, "First off... language. Now, why didn't you just come to me sooner? If it's been hurting this badly, for this long, it could have fatal results."

.

With a shake of my head, the memory left, leaving me a bit disoriented.

I took a small breath, taking a prod at his memory, "Liam, huh? It's weird. I feel like I've known you for quite some time."

Liam looked over at me, almost analyzing me, "You feel it too? I don't trust you. But I feel like I can."

I slowed to a stop, looking over the boy, seeing traces of the Liam residing within my memories, "Yeah. And I know how confusing it is when you meet someone, but you feel some sort of way about them, like you've known them forever." It was quiet for a few moments, before I spoke up again, "So, um, why don't you trust me? Well, actually, I get why you wouldn't, but I guess I was just kinda wondering why. I don't know, I don't make sense."

Liam looked down at the knife in his left hand, before shakily placing it into my hand, "I've been running from some bad people. Everyone's the same. They become your friends, they lie, they use you, and then they throw you away when they're done with you. But you... you're different. I think."

I pocketed the knife, letting out a small sigh, "Thank you for giving me the knife. Now, what do you want to do? If you want to get out of here, keep running, you can. But you'll have to kill someone for that. Or, if you want, you can stay here."

Liam looked down at his hands for a moment, contemplating, before looking back up at me with desperate gray eyes, "I won't be found down here?"

I shook my head, a small smile playing on my lips, "No, you won't be found down here... which sounds kind of creepy if it's taken out of context, but no, you'll be safe here."

Liam seemed to let out a breath that he had been holding, and made his way to the closest wall, sinking down onto his bottom.

I sat with him, making no comment about the tears welling up in his eyes and spilling over, only offering a comforting hug. When Liam accepted my hug, I fully put my arms around him, giving him a small squeeze.

"I think I'll stay," his voice seemed so young and crushed; the complete opposite of the Liam that had come forth in my memories.

Slowly, I pushed myself up, helping Liam up as well.

Walking back to Toriel's, the silence wasn't uncomfortable for me, but I didn't know this Liam as well as I did the other, so I spoke up.

My tone was gentle, like one would speak with an animal they were trying to calm, "There are a lot of Monsters in the Underground, but none of them are actually mean or cruel in any way. It's the opposite of all the stories we were told; the Monsters are really just peaceful people, who want to live their lives. Toriel's become a sort of mother to me, and Sans has become one of my best friends. But, um, but you don't have to trust them, it's okay not to trust them."

Liam managed a small nod, his face showing me just how exhausted and drained he must have felt.

Keeping that small distance between us, I just tried to make Liam feel a little more comfortable around me, "If you want, we can stay with Toriel tonight, and I can help you slowly adjust to the Underground."

Liam was still very much tense, pinching his forearms every so often, but slowly began to relax, "Yeah, okay, yeah, that's good. That'd be good."

As Toriel's home came into sight, I stopped Liam, my voice quiet, "Hey, remember what I said? It's okay not to trust them. But also be ready for some of them to not trust you right away either. And if you ever need a moment to think, or a break, just tell me—well, you don't have to tell me because you don't have to trust me but—okay, I'm just trying to say that if you need anything, just ask."

Liam pinched his forearm again, the action not getting past me, and gave me a small smile, "Thanks."

I gave Liam a small smile back, "Okay. Now, are you hungry? 'Cause Toriel and I can get started on some dinner, if you want."

Liam gave me a small nod, trying to find something to do with his hands, "Yeah. That'd be nice."

I pulled Liam into the warm home, giving Toriel and Sans a dismissive wave when they jumped up from the dining table. With my hand hovering an inch from Liam's back, I led him down the hall and into the room that I had slept in when I had arrived in the Underground.

I gave Liam what I hoped was a comforting smile, "I'll be in the kitchen with the other two." Looking Liam up and down, I realized that his clothes weren't in the best condition; his health overall didn't seem to be the best. I bit my lip, before speaking up again, "There should be some better clothes in the wardrobe. They might not be your style, but they'll work for now. When you're ready, you can come out and sit with us, if you'd like."

Leaving Liam on his own, I gently shut the door behind me, but not before bumping into Sans.

I bit my lip, holding down a yelp that had worked it's way into my throat, "Sans! You can't do that, you scared me half to death!"

Sans ignored me, his eyes scanning over me, "that kid didn't hurt you, did he?"

My breath caught in my throat, as I felt the love from my last self surge forward. Whether the love was only from memory or if I actually loved him, I didn't know. Maybe it was a little bit of both.

Clearing my throat, I shook my head, gently taking his hand off of my cheek; I don't know when it ended up there. "No, no, Liam's a good kid," I bit my lip after forming my sentence, trying to control my heartbeat.

Sans frowned, leading me to the living room where Toriel was, "yeah, that's why the brat was ready to use the knife for some not so fun purposes."

I chewed on my lips, trying to think of what I could say, "Well, he's a good kid, Sans."

Sans pulled out a chair for me to sit, before sitting down at the table himself, "look kid, maybe you think he is, but we can't just put that blind faith in him." Sans lowered his voice, while Toriel pretended to not hear, "remember what happened last run, kid? probably not so fun."

Crossing my arms, I huffed, "Oh yeah? Well I know for a fact that he's a good kid."

Sans sighed, leaning back in his seat, "okay kid, then tell me how you know that for a fact."

"Timelines," I said simply.

Sans frowned, thinking of something to say, before giving up and leaning back in his chair, "that's kinda unfair, kid." After a moment, Sans straightened up again, "actually, timelines aren't reliable. everything that's happened in this timeline, isn't at all the same as what happened in the last one. right, kid?"

I bit my lip, realizing that he was right, "But—Wait, no, you don't know that."

Sans put a gentle hand on my shoulder, forming a small smile when he noticed that I didn't flinch, "look kid, i know you want to see the best in people, but sometimes you just have to let that go. we can give the kid a chance though. sound good?"

I nodded in response, before getting up and smoothing out my sweater, "Yeah, okay. I'm gonna help Toriel in the kitchen. Just, be nice to the kid, Sans. Don't push for information. I think he's... I think he was in a similar situation as me."

Digging my nails into my thumb, I shuffled up to Toriel, "Hey mom, what can I help with?"

Toriel looked down at me, smiling warmly, "Oh, my child! Here, you can work on the mashed potatoes while I prepare the pie."

I grabbed a pot, filling it with salted water and waiting for it to boil, before throwing the potatoes in. As I waited for the potatoes to cook, I glanced over at Toriel, who seemed perfectly content with her preparing of the butterscotch cinnamon pie.

As I prepared to mash the potatoes, I blurted out, "Mom, do you miss your kids?"

Toriel dropped teaspoon of cinnamon in her paw, somehow seeming to pale, "What—What did you say?"

While Toriel stood in silence, Chara made a snap appearance for the first time in a while, frowning.

I quickly began speaking again, not knowing why I had asked what I'd asked, "I asked if you missed your kids. I don't know why I asked, I was just—I don't know. I don't know why I would ask something like that."

Toriel stood still for a moment longer, before slowly relaxing, getting back to work on the pie, "If you mean Chara and Asriel... then yes, I do."

I slowly began to mash the potatoes, my mind going over a million different things inside, "What about Asgore?"

Toriel was quiet for several more moments, her voice shaking slightly, "That man's name is not welcome in this home. It would be best for you to forget him, my child. Do you understand?"

Chara's voice was quiet in my ear, but still very forceful, "Frisk, stop it! Leave mom alone."

I bit my lip, before quietly finishing up the mashed potatoes, "He regrets what he did. He wants to make up for it. If you'll let him."

Carefully, I set the bowl of potatoes down and crossed into the dining/living room, sitting down at the table. I felt like I had crossed a line, but I also wanted to fix something. Something other than me, that is.

And suddenly, I felt like I had to race to do things.

I didn't want to sit and eat dinner, I didn't want to waste time doing nothing. I wanted to get to the lab with Mettaton and work on getting Gaster back, and I wanted to find a way to bring Chara and Asriel, both of whom I missed from my last timeline. I felt like I had to get up and work and keep my hands busy and just do something. I suddenly couldn't just sit still, because I felt like I had to do something to change things.

But I sat down anyways, and I gave Sans a weak smile, "Sorry for the eventful day... Dinner's almost done though, so we can relax a bit."

Sans was quiet momentarily, before getting a grin on his face, "well, you and i both know that we're not gonna relax during dinner. what do ya say we get out and do somethin' fun afterwards?"

Arching an eyebrow, I leaned forward a little bit, "Fun? Like what?"

Sans' grin widened as he realized that he had my attention, "oh, i dunno kid, i can't really tell ya, since it's a surprise."

I tried to pout, but a smile couldn't help but work it's way onto my face, "Fine, don't tell me. I'll find out on my own."

Sans chuckled, shaking his head, "no kid, i don't think you'll be able to figure this one out."

I crossed my arms, trying not to smile, "Even with the timelines?"

Sans kept his grin on his face, "even with the timelines."

Before I could prod any more, Toriel brought dinner out and set it on the table before sitting down herself. And Liam cautiously stepped into the room, before very slowly taking a seat next to me at the table.

I gave Sans a look, telling him to be civil, before smiling at Liam, "So, this is Sans and Toriel. The people I told you about earlier."

Liam gave them each a small nod of acknowledgment, before stiffly picking up his silverware and slowly beginning to eat.

But the way Liam was trying very hard to make a better impression, and the way he had to deliberately slow down while eating, and I knew. He was starving. But he was trying to savor the meal, and trying to make it last. And I knew that, because I did the exact same thing in my own household.

Biting my lip, I picked up my fork and set it back down again, my appetite gone.

Clearing my throat, I smiled and pushed my plate closer to Liam, "Here, you can have mine if you want."

Liam froze, looking up at me with questioning eyes, almost as if he was asking, 'Are you sure?'.

I put my elbow onto the table, leaning into my hand as I looked at Liam with the smile still placed on my lips, "Really, I'm not hungry. I actually ate earlier, and I know I won't be able to even start on this plate. So, dig in."

Liam hesitated at first, but then he gave what resembled a smile, and began to eat more enthusiastically than before.

With a small, genuine smile on my face, I sat up straighter, "Okay. I wanna tell you the plan, but you can keep eating." Digging my nails into my thumb, I ran through everything in my head quick, before saying it all out loud, "You want to stay down here, so I think you can live here, with Toriel, if you want. And I'll stay with you here, for however long you want, until you're comfortable. But I'll probably be going out during the day, to help a friend with something. Is that okay?"

Liam nodded, swallowing his food, his voice coming out scratchy, "I want—You can stay tonight, and tomorrow. But I think... I think I'll be okay. You don't have to stay long. I can take care of myself. And Toriel's here to keep an eye on me."

I fought the fond smile that was trying to make it's way onto my face, because even though this Liam was younger and more timid, he still had that fight in him. That spark that made him, him.

Nodding in understanding, Liam took my nods as his cue to start eating again, while I spoke. My voice soft, I pushed my seat backwards and got up, "Okay. Well, Sans and I are gonna head out for a bit. I'll be back later, okay?"

Liam nodded, before pausing, and turning in his seat to look at me and Sans, as we walked to the stairs, "Hey, Napoleon Bone-apart, is she your girlfriend?"

Sans seemed to choke on air, while I turned about fifty-seven shades of red.

Recovering quickly though, I could hear Sans' deep, laid-back voice from beside me while I hid behind my hands, "that was a great pun kid, seem like a bone-afied pun master, but you can't really get under my skin. you're what, ten?"

Liam smirked, "Almost thirteen, actually."

Sans grinned, "okay, so you're a baby-bones, just like frisk here; you're three years apart from each other."

While Toriel hid her smile in the back, Liam frowned a little, "We're not babies. Besides, you can't be much older."

Sans chuckled, placing his hand on the small of my back to get me to start going down the stairs, "kid, i'm a skeleton, i'm positively ancient."

When we were alone in the halls leading to the rest of the Underground, I just pretended to laugh the whole situation off, to try and ease back into a more comfortable atmosphere.

Digging my nails into my thumb, I smiled, "Well, Liam may be a bit different, but he really hasn't changed much."

Sans chuckled, his hands stuffed into his sweater pockets, "was that kid always like that in your timeline?"

Fully smiling this time, I shrugged, "I don't know about before I met him, but for the time that I knew him, yeah, he was always kind of fiery. He still has that spark to him. The spark that makes him, well, him... It's weird. I know all of these things about people that even they don't know, and I know completely different versions of people I know than now. You know, Liam was—" The fourth mage. "Well, it actually doesn't matter. He's a new person now. So yeah, it's just weird."

Sans chuckled, before sighing, "okay kid, time to cover your eyes."

I bit my lip, digging my nails into my thumbs, "Why?"

Seeing how anxious I was, Sans gave me a reassuring smile, "that secret, magical place that you don't know about. i told ya, it's a surprise. just close your eyes, you can trust me."

Taking a small breath, I listened to Sans and closed my eyes, feeling his cool, bony hand take my small, warm one and led me forward.

Clearing my throat, I tried to stifle the emotions from the past timeline, "So how old are you really? Earlier you told Liam that you were positively ancient, but you didn't give a specific number."

Sans chuckled, still leading me to the area in the Underground that I apparently hadn't been to, "i'm twenty-two, but that's still pretty ancient."

"Cool. Are we almost there?" I asked, still overly anxious about falling or something.

His hand still on the small of my back, Sans' deep voice sounded from the right of me, "almost there kid, just a few more steps."

The 'few' steps were walked in comfortable silence, with Sans guiding me through whatever section of the Underground we were in. I had been trying to pay attention to the feel of the path underneath my feet, but that wasn't helping. The only thing different was that the temperature had increased to a warm atmosphere with a cool breeze. And the only place in the Underground like that, that I knew of was Waterfall.

Our feet soon slowed to a stop, and I kept my eyes closed, anxious and wondering whether it was the right time to open them or not.

His voice quiet, Sans said, "okay, now you can open them."

I opened my eyes, disoriented at first, seeing different colored polka dots, before I was able to really focus.

When I did focus, I could barely form words, "I—Is—Wow."

We were standing in the middle of what looked like it could be the night sky. The cave walls were covered in brilliantly glowing azure specks, making me unsure if the water in front of our feet was just a reflection of the cave walls or if those blue specks were in the water as well. And standing in the middle of it all, the darkness pierced through with glows of blue, just took my breath away.

Chuckling, Sans put his hands in his pockets, almost shyly, "told ya that it was somewhere only i knew. do you like it?"

Turning to him, I caught Sans off guard with my wide smile, "Like it? I love it!" I turned my gaze back to the caves walls, before squatting down and dipping a finger in the water, "What is this? The blue stuff, what is it? Can I touch it?"

Squatting down with me, Sans glanced over at me, before to the water as well, "they're glowworms. the adults are about the size of those one insects, the little vampire ones."

My lips twitched up into a smile, "Mosquitoes?"

Sans snapped his fingers, grinning, "yeah, that's the name. and if i'm right, there's also small underground lakes that were created by freshwater creeks or brooks. oh, and the walls are also covered with a variety of fungi including a cave flower that is actually a mushroom-like fungus. it's all pretty interesting."

Transition from squatting to sitting, I looked up at the ceiling of the cave, looking at the glowworms that seemed like twinkling stars, "So, why'd you bring me here? N—Not to be rude, but I'm curious. Humans are notorious for ruining all things good."

Sans didn't even hesitate, "well, humans didn't ruin you. but i thought... i thought maybe, if you just wanted a break from everything, and you just wanted to be somewhere where no one could find you, then you could come here."

My deep amber eyes flitted up to Sans' white pinpricks, before I couldn't stifle my laugh, "But—I couldn't—You had me close my eyes the entire way here!"

Sans grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his skull, "yeah, well, you can look on the way back. it's actually very easy to find once you see where it is for the first time. speaking of on the way back, do you wanna get going? i know you care about that kid and wanna make sure he's okay."

I stared at Sans' outstretched hand as he offered to help me up, and I did take his hand, but I pulled him back down to sit beside me, earning a small yelp from the skeleton as he was seated next to me again.

Smiling I looked back over the water and the cave, feeling content, "No, we can stay for a little while longer. It's... It's peaceful here, with you."

I was careful not to wake Liam, my footsteps nearly mute if it weren't for the padding of my skin against the hardwood floor.

Slipping into the bed on the opposite side of the room, I had to keep in my content but exhausted sigh, so I wouldn't wake the equally or more-so exhausted kid in the bed opposite of me.

As I turned onto my side, I froze, hearing a voice behind me, "I miss her, Frisk."

I turned my head to face Liam, who was in his bed, turned onto his side to face me. My voice came out quietly, almost scratchily, "Who? Your mom? Is that who? It'll be fine, Liam. Maybe we can find a way to—"

Liam turned onto his back, "No. That's not who. Forget it, Saunders."

I was quiet for a moment, biting my lip, "Liam, if you talk to me, you'll feel a lot better. You—Not that you have to, because like I said, you don't have to trust me or anyone else right away with things. But, I think maybe it'll be worth it. I know how it feels to carry a lot on your shoulders, and I know that it's hard to stay strong."

When Liam just lay there and didn't say anything, I thought maybe he went back to sleep. Or maybe he was ignoring me, which was more likely. So I turned onto my right side again, facing the wall as I shut my eyes and tried to get to sleep.

Liam's brittle voice startled me, just a small shot of panic going through my veins.

"Blue."

Hello my lovelies, I am back!

I know I went a little bit over the 20th, and I'm sorry, its just been kind of hectic. Finals are coming up, they actually start tomorrow, so yeah, not really fun.

But I finally finished this chapter, and I think it's a pretty decent chapter for you guys since I haven't been posting.

Now I'm planning to get back on a schedule, so I think I'll plan on either doing a chapter every Sunday like last time, or maybe every other Sunday, to give me some more creative planning. I'm still figuring it out, but I'll let you guys know what the plan is.

Until Next Time~