PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM

by TakaiWolf

DIRECT SEQUEL TO "PATCHWORK SOUL" — A few months later. A family of monsters and their little human kid try to start life anew beyond the confines of a giant mountain. Maybe they find something. Maybe they lose something. Time flows ever onwards, but sometimes it goes sideways, and it's heavier than they thought.

8. HUMANS? IN MY UNDERGROUND?

HUMANS? IN MY UNDERGROUND? CHAPTER 8:

---

The wee hours of the morning were encroaching. Undyne had long since left and even so — and in spite of the grey around his eye sockets — Gaster had still not even attempted to sleep. Frisk couldn't be sure, but she suspected his reasoning might be similar to when she or Sans pushed themselves to keep awake. She wondered why. He was so quiet, though. A combination of feeling ill and exhaustion, probably.

.

Despite that, the old skeleton looked content. Even if the chills came back a few times and his soul played its song in reverse, he had become relatively stable after two slices of pie.

.

The solidarity play— now titled "The Dark Prince and the Time Travel Princess", for whatever Mettaton's reasons were— was still playing on the MTT channel. It was an edited version, though, cut with extra special effects and close-ups from cameras Frisk didn't even realize had been filming from certain angles. Her father seemed fascinated despite his obvious exhaustion. She was watching him a lot more than the show as she lazed with her back against one of the armrests.

.

Frisk tried not to doze. It was hard, though, and her eyelids were getting heavy. She could see a shadow around Gaster when she squinted. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and that jarred her upright a little. It was Asriel.

"u ok?" he asked.

"yup" she said.

"lol so I guess u kno i saw ur dad" he said. "thats gotta be the weirdest thing thats ever happened like ever so…."

"I know right?" Frisk said. She couldn't help but smile. "i'm super happy tho"

"me too. for u and dad" he said. "they were like bffs, i mean, he's basically my uncle so this is pretty cool. how are the boneheads btw?"

"paps is like T_T but also ^_^" Frisk said. "and sans is just sans"

"lmao ok" Asriel said. "good?"

"he was so chill it was really good" Frisk said. "hes so nice to me when weird stuff happens, seriusly. think i'd kinda go nuts without him"

"lo super weird but i'm happy for u" he said. "hey its really late, go 2 bed ok? i got your back tomorro."

Frisk smiled fondly. She was glad to have him, too. "ok ok i'll go soon. gotta babysit this giant skeleton tho i think he's trying to do the antinitemare strat lol"

"pffffff guess u really r related =P" Asriel said. "goodnight love u"

"(heart) love u too!" she said.

.

She looked up from the screen as she dulled it and checked Gaster. His eyes were glowing faintly.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Hm? Oh. Just fine," he said. "Who is this playing the piano?"

"Undyne," she said.

"So she… knows your song," he said softly. "It was playing. Before. And yet…"

"Oh. Yeah." She smiled. "It kinda mashes with Asriel's. We dunno why. Something probably to do with weird time stuff. Kinda cool, right? She was the first one that noticed that they went together."

The skeleton smiled slightly. He nodded and brushed his fingers across his eyes.

.

Frisk watched him silently for a few seconds. She grabbed up one of the blankets she'd dragged down earlier and pulled it up over herself before scooting right up against his side. He froze for a moment and looked down at her with wide eyes, seeming to forget the show entirely.

"Going to bed after this?" she asked. "I might pass out so, like, just move me or whatever. I think there's only a bit left. Hey, watch the ending fight though, Papyrus was so cool, it was nuts."

"Alright." His voice warbled. He hesitantly put an arm around her. "Frisky?"

"Mhm?" she said drowsily.

"I… I think you did a very good job," he said quietly.

"Thanks," she said. "We only had to do it one time, even, no resets or anything. It was pretty good for something we kinda did in a week or whatever, right?"

"And this… worked?"

"It worked really well, actually," the kid said with a laugh.

.

He went quiet again. Cautiously and quietly, she made her red magic build and let the warmth of it waft gently like the scent of fresh cookies. After a while, he lethargically began to run his fingers over her head. Frisk didn't mind in the least. Somewhere around the start of the credits, the drowsy kid noticed he had gone limp.

.

Gaster had fallen asleep, his chin dropped down onto his chest. He looked peaceful. Comfortable, despite sitting up. He must've been exhausted. It occurred to Frisk that this was a big deal for him. He hadn't slept in ten years.

.

She stood up on the couch beside him and gently grabbed his shoulders. It took her a moment, but she was able to guide him down to lay back across the squishy green cushions. She pulled down one of the back pillows to put under his head; dragged a blanket over him to make sure he was cozy. She took off his glasses and put them on the arm of the sofa where they'd be easy to find.

.

Satisfied and quite proud of herself, she turned off the TV and headed upstairs to the bedroom. Sans was clocked out on the bed and Papyrus still was up, some clothes laid out in a pile as he sat with his back to the wall, stitching the sleeve of a black turtleneck. He smiled at her warmly.

"Hello, little sister! Going to bed?" he asked.

"Soon," she said. "Dad passed the heck out. He looks like he really needed it."

"Oh! I'm glad he's managing to get some rest," he said. "All that time stuff must've taken a lot out of him. It was very good of you to spend so much time with him today, I'm sure he really appreciated it. So, what do you think of him?"

"He's really nice, actually. And huggy! Like you," she said with a smile. She sat down beside him. "It's so weird, it's like… I mean, I did know him for a long time, kinda, but it's sort of like he just fits right in, you know?"

"Nyeh heh heh! That's fantastic, I'm so happy to hear that," he said.

"Hey, maybe you could tell me a bit more?" she asked hopefully. "Maybe something you remember from when you were a kid?"

.

"Oh! Well, let me think…" He put down the shirt he was working on and folded his arms. "Well! You know we had that apartment in New Home, but really, we spent most of our time in the lab. Dad was always doing experiments and building things, and I remember Sans did a lot of that with him, too. We sort of joked that we were a bit like lab-rats!"

"He did experiments on you guys?" Frisk asked with a furrow in her brow.

"Yes, of course! Nothing bad, obviously! It was just that we were the first monsters of our kind. Not skeletons, I mean, but made out of one monster like we were. There was a lot of tests to go through to make sure we were healthy and that our magic was working right," he said. "When I say we, I mostly mean Sans."

Her eyes flitted to her brother, oblivious dozed off sideways across the car-shaped bed. "Right, right, because he was always really weak, huh?"

"Mhm! Exactly right! But he also always had those strange powers," Papyrus said. "Anyway, basically, we did weird experiments, he taught us a lot of things, we did magic together, and puzzles: basically all the things a good dad would do! Except in a lab mostly instead of not in a lab."

"That's good," Frisk said. "I… I wish I couldda been there."

"Me too!" Papyrus said. "At the same time, though, now that you are here, it feels like you always were. I hope that helps a little."

"It does," she said.

"You should get some rest," he said. "Today was a good day, but so emotionally draining! Even for me. I'd actually say I'm exhausted. How about you?"

"Y… Yeah. Yeah. For sure," she said.

.

"Hey. Kid. Whatcha still doin' awake?"

She looked up to see Sans groggily peering at them over the edge of the bed, grinning slightly. His voice was low and rough, a lot more so than usual, and the grey around his eye sockets was heavy. He forced himself up on his elbow and Frisk scampered over to happily snuggle up in his arms. He snickered and she could feel a cool relief from the song in his soul.

"Stuck again, huh?" she said. "Bad?"

"Neutral," he said. "No worries."

"Was it super weird again?" she asked.

He laughed. "Pretty weird. Hey. You eat enough?"

"As if I wouldn't make sure she was eating enough!" Papyrus cawed.

"I had pie with dad and Undyne," she said.

"Good." He flopped back and folded his arms behind his head. "Go to bed."

"Ugh, how could I sleep?" she asked. "After everything today. Seriously. My head's goin' nuts."

"Just close your eyes, silly," Papyrus said.

.

Sans stuck his hand up. "Okay. Listen up. Lie down."

Frisk raised her brows, but she dropped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. "Okay."

"Alright. So. Do me a favour?" he said. "Close your eyes."

"That won't make me fall asleep," she said with a smile.

"Dude. I know. Just do it," he said.

Frisk let out an exaggerated sigh, but she let her eyes close. The bed did suddenly feel a lot comfier. "Now what?" She felt what little light there was bouncing on her eyelids fade off.

"I've got, uh… a new book, actually," he said. "By the same human guy who did the space book."

Frisk opened her eyes but couldn't see much but a faint glow of Papyrus's amber magic. "Oh really? Where?"

"Actually, it was in dad's stuff." He laughed. "Go figure, huh? So. Sit back. I'll read it."

"Okay okay." Frisk closed her eyes again. "…Thanks." She rested her arms behind her head and tried to get comfy.

He shuffled and plunked himself against the backboard. He began softly flipping pages and making thoughtful sounds. The rustling of the pages was somehow soothing to her. He started to read, but she didn't catch much of it at all.

xXxXx

Morning broke with a start for Frisk as Papyrus picked her up under her arms.

"See?!" he said brightly to— presumably— Sans. "She's up. Right? You're up?"

"Um…" She rubbed her head as she tried to get her eyes to focus. "Yeah…?"

"Soooo you should go save and then we're ready? Right?"

"Ready?" she asked groggily.

"For the humans." Papyrus tilted his head. "You didn't forget, did you?"

"Mmno… No. I…" She blinked. "Um. Was yesterday real?"

The skeleton looked puzzled and tilted his head the other way. Sans, though, burst out laughing.

"Yup. Still got a dad," he said.

The kid puffed out a sigh and grabbed Papyrus in a hug. He cackled quietly and reciprocated without hesitation.

"Things are going to be just fine," he said brightly.

.

With Papyrus trailing close behind, Frisk touched the light in the attic and then sent Toriel a text to say what she'd done. She felt weird not mentioning Gaster. It wasn't like it was a secret, but it was strange. She guessed it was something that shouldn't really be said over text.

.

Downstairs, Sans was clunking mugs of tea out onto the side table, along with plates of cinnamon bunnies and some microwaved hotdogs. Papyrus beelined into the kitchen.

"Well, look at you, being proactive for once!" he said.

"Kid's gotta eat," he said. "Plus. We got an extra broken nerd. Gotta keep an eye socket out for him, too, huh?" He jerked his thumb at a long lump of patchwork quilt on the couch.

Papyrus peeked out again with a bowl of pasta in one hand. Gaster was still keeled over, blankets drawn up tight over his shoulders, his face pressed up against the back cushions. Frisk crept a little closer to him and looked over him curiously.

"Aw, jeez," she said quietly. "He's kinda shaky, huh?"

.

She snuck her way onto the couch and rubbed her hands together, building a gentle charge of red magic in her palms. She snuck his hand out of his blankets and held the gently rattling skeleton, injecting her warm magic through him. She could see it coalescing strangely in the hole in his palm, then vanishing into the bone. She drew back with a proud smile on her face.

.

Almost as soon as she got up, though, the skeleton shot upright, wide-eyed, glowing faintly in his sockets— that blue and gold tinged with the little sparks of red he'd absorbed. His gaze cast across the room as he recoiled like a cornered animal. He put a hand to his chest.

"Good morning, dad!" Papyrus said brightly. "Did you sleep well?"

Gaster looked stunned. His voice came out at a croak. "I-Is this real?"

"Yup," Sans said, leaning his elbow on the table. He waved him over. "C'mon, get a thing in your face."

Gaster didn't seem to process it. Frisk smiled sympathetically and reached out for his hands.

"Sorry to wake you up," she said. "You were shaking pretty hard, though. Are you okay?"

He stared at her for a silent couple seconds. Then, defrosting, he hurriedly scooped her up into a hug and let out a deep, relieved sigh. She snickered and squished against him. The big skeleton shuddered. As Papyrus walked over, blue magic seized on his soul and he squeaked as his father pulled him in and hugged him tight, too. He muttered something low in a language Frisk didn't understand, but it made Papyrus laugh and his cheekbones flushed with amber.

"Daaaad!" he whined, but he snickered. "Honestly. Everything will be just fine."

"I thought it was a dream," he muttered.

"Me too," Frisk joked.

.

Gaster let out a hoarse, disbelieving laugh and cupped the kid's face gently in both hands. "Just look at you."

"She is strangely adorable, isn't she?" Papyrus said.

Frisk scoffed and waved her hands at them. "Aw, c'mon. But. Seriously. Dad, are you feeling any better?"

Gaster froze up again. He gulped. "Ah… I'm just fine."

"Well, that's a relief! Come here." Papyrus grabbed him and guided him over to the side table. He handed him his glasses. "Breakfast! Keep your energy up! Don't you worry for a second, we'll get you feeling more than fine again in no time!"

.

Gaster was stiff. He grabbed Sans into a quick, affectionate hug before allowing Papyrus to lead him to the breakfast table. The normalcy almost did him in again. He slumped forward and put his face in his hands. Sans gently patted him on the shoulder and then gestured to the others to give him space. Frisk looked at her brother worriedly.

"S'okay," he said. "Just… give him a minute or five." He patted her head as he strolled over with her breakfast. "Here."

"Sans, what do we do, though?" she asked at a whisper.

"Welp. You should eat," he said. "And get ready for that trash that's goin' on later."

"Um. Right. Okay." She took a bite of the cinnamon bunny and looked up at him worriedly. "It's okay if I, um, lie a little, right?"

"Listen. Kiddo." Sans took her shoulders and grinned. "You lie as well as you can. I got your back. Obviously."

"Thanks," she said.

.

Gaster finally heaved himself upright and Papyrus rubbed his back gently. He dragged over a chair to sit down with him and pushed a plate and teacup towards him.

"I'm sorry," Gaster muttered gruffly, his voice cracking slightly.

"Stop that apologetic nonsense," Papyrus said. "It's all okay! Everyone's an emotional mess right now. Well, I mean, I'm not. But Frisk is! And Sans— Well, Sans probably isn't, either, but Alphys was! So. You're not alone."

"Thank you, Paps," he said quietly. He sighed and then turned in his seat with his tea clutched close, looking back at Frisk and Sans. "Tell me. What do I need to do?"

.

"Well. Mostly. Stay outta the way," Sans said. "It's what we're all gonna have to do. Let them talk to Frisk, she'll pretend she's normal, and hopefully that'll be the end of it."

"That's it?" Gaster sounded skeptical.

"Just don't mention the, um, time travel stuff," Frisk said.

"No time travel, no Frisk breakin' the barrier, keep it quiet that she's your actual kid," Sans said, counting on his fingers. "No deaths, time void, memory magic… Actually, kid, don't show them any magic at all."

"Really? You don't think her magic could convince them everything is okay?" Papyrus wondered. He tented his fingers. "It just feels so friendly."

"Gotcha, but we gotta have just a really, painfully average kid today," Sans said. "Humans, uh, don't really use any magic anymore, right, kiddo?"

"Not that I've ever heard of except in movies and stuff," she admitted. "Right. No drawing attention at all."

"I hate to make more of this than it might be," Gaster said quietly. "But… What about those scars?"

"Oh!" Frisk put her hand to her cheek. "Like the one here? It faded a bunch, you think it matters?"

"I wanted to know about it right away," he said.

"Oh. Um…" The kid tilted her head. "I guess I'll make something up." She shrugged.

.

Sans looked at her silently for a few seconds. His brow furrowed slightly. He held out his hand. "Come with me."

Without question, she took his hand, and he brought her upstairs to his old bedroom. With a shot of blue magic, he plunked her up on Toriel's bed and then sat opposite her. She looked at him inquisitively.

"Let's practice," he said.

"Practice?" she repeated.

"Mhm. So you don't end up flounderin'," he said. "Since I'm assumin' that save this morning is your last one for a bit."

"O-Oh. Yeah. Mom asked me to give her some time to get home if things go really sideways," she said. "Okay. So, um…"

"Just pretend I'm the human. I'll ask you somethin'," he said. He folded his arms. "How old are you?"

"Ten," she said.

"Gee, kiddo, you look awfully small for bein' a ten year old."

Frisk pitched her voice up, just a little. "I'm six!"

"Not bad. I'd buy six more than ten if I didn't know you," he said. "Do you go to school? Do you like it?"

"Oh! Yeah! My mom's a teacher, and she teaches all the classes!" she said enthusiastically. "School's okay. Sometimes I don't like homework. But I like playing with all my friends!" She tilted her head. "…How was that?"

"Sounds like a little kid," he said, nodding. "Should be fine. Okay. Where'd you get that scar?"

"Which scar?" She tried to ask it with genuine confusion.

"The one on your face," he said.

"Oh! I smacked myself playing in the trees," she said. "It really scared my mom though so I don't go over there anymore."

"Who are all these weirdos livin' with you?" he asked.

Frisk couldn't help a laugh. "Do you really think they'll call you guys weirdos?"

"Maybe. Who knows?" Sans grinned sideways.

"Okay. So." She cleared her throat. "Well! There's my brothers. I have three. And my mom and dad. And I have a big sister, too, but she has her own house."

"And… how did you meet your, uh, parents?" he asked.

"Oh. Um. I dunno. What should I say?" she said worriedly. "Should I say I fell? Should…? What about dad? What do you think?"

.

"Hmm." He tapped his chin. "Well. Okay. You… have no parents."

"Right," she said.

"You never met them. Homeless."

"Right." She nodded.

"You fell asleep in a truck. You didn't realize it had moved. And when you did, you were in the middle of nowhere," he said.

"The truck drove away and it started to rain," Frisk said. "And I went to find somewhere dry. I went into a cave and mom found me. Oh! And dad. Mom and dad."

"And then?" Sans asked.

Frisk sighed. She flopped onto her back and stretched out her arms, staring up at the ceiling. "And then… I had a family. I dunno what else to say."

"How long you lived here?" he said.

"Since I was four," she said. "Heh. I wish."

"You and me both," Sans said quietly.

.

She sat up again and rubbed her head, only to find her big brother looking troubled. "What? Do you think that's good enough?"

"Yeah. For sure," he said.

"What's wrong, are your eyes gonna go black?" she asked worriedly, leaning forward with a frown on her face.

"Ah. Don't worry about it," he said.

"Come on," she prodded.

"Heh. I'm losin' my touch." He rubbed his eye socket with his palm. "Just… wish it'd been different. But at the same time…" He patted her on the head. "Sounds sappy, but I wouldn't change you for anything, y'know?"

Frisk felt her eyes tear up. She latched onto him and he chuckled and held her close.

"Jeez, kid," he said.

"You're so nice." She huffed out a sigh and snickered. "I'm gonna be fine."

"I know," he said.

xXxXx

Hackles raised and paws tapping, Asriel curled in his chair like a gargoyle, waiting. He could hear his father's tidying in the kitchen and the simple tune he was humming. He envied that. He hadn't been able to relax since he'd woken up. He'd texted Frisk— she'd reassured him. He'd texted Papyrus only to receive a verbal hug and a babbling text of "worry nots". It almost made him feel better but, even so, he wished just for a moment that he was still an eight foot knuckle-walking dragon goat beast. He might have fangs, but otherwise, he was a furball. Maybe he could use that to his advantage, but if push came to shove, he sort of missed the extra size.

.

"Asriel?" Asgore returned from the kitchen, a sympathetic frown on his brow. "Are you almost ready?"

"Yeah," he said quietly.

"Don't be scared," he said. "I'm sure the humans will be more than reasonable."

"Right." He pouted and checked his phone. "It's almost noon. Shouldn't she be here soon? They can't just draw this out all day."

"Don't worry." The big monster gently patted him between the horns. "I'm sure this won't be nearly so bad as we're all building it up to be."

"Yeah, well, I don't trust them," he grumbled.

"My boy," Asgore said gently, squatting down and holding his shoulders, "you've known more humans than most. If I recall, they weren't so bad, were they?"

"It's not that. I just…" He bit back what he was really thinking. It was angrier than he wanted out there. "I'm kinda scared."

"Oh." His father scooped him up off his seat and hugged him warmly. "Don't be scared. I'm sure that—"

.

The computer near the fireplace let out a loud, digital jingling sound. Asgore hopped up in a hurry, but Asriel couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly relieved. Had to be the human. Time to get started.

"Asriel," Asgore said quickly, "I'm sorry, I need to get—"

"Yeah, get it, hurry," he said, eyes wide.

.

Asgore plunked down in his seat and turned on the monitor and Asriel snuck in close to watch with intensely scrutinizing eyes. The screen filled with the face of the Ambassador, smiling and yet a little out of breath. She was slightly flushed and the sun was beaming down overhead.

"Hello, your Highness!" she said. "Sorry I didn't get in contact sooner, I was on my way and the service just wouldn't connect to you."

"That's fine," he assured her. "Did the lifts work alright? Are you on the plateau?"

"Yes! It was fine. Um. We're at the one with the "Howdy" sign," she said. "Is this the right place?"

"It sure is!" he said. He paused and his brows raised when he saw a little movement behind her. "Is there something there with you?"

"Hm? Oh." She looked nervous all of a sudden. "It's just… I'm sorry. My agency insisted on an escort."

.

She moved her camera to show that there was a human man standing with her. Pale skin, no hair, eyes hidden behind black sunglasses and a hardened face with an expression of pointed neutrality. He wore an outfit of black, thick material on his chest and green camouflage print elsewhere. Asriel felt himself bristle instantly, but his father smiled and raised a paw.

"Howdy, friend! Luckily, your job will be very easy today," he said.

"I hope so, sir," the man replied; the woman nudged him with her foot. "Your Majesty."

Asriel frowned. He tugged on his father's sleeve.

"Ah! Just one moment, my son needs me, I'll be with you again in just a minute," he said. He muted the call and pushed his chair back. "What is it, my boy?"

"Hang on. It was supposed to be just one human," he said.

"Yes, I suppose so, but you can hardly blame them for wanting to keep their Ambassador safe," Asgore said with an apologetic tilt in his brow.

"Mom will kill you," Asriel said worriedly.

"Ah… Well…" He rubbed his beard. "I'll think of something. But I'm sure he'd be no harm."

"Hang on," Asriel said.

.

The kid took out his phone and filmed a quick clip of the man as he prowled in the background. He sent it to Frisk and dialled her number and waited for the click. "Frisk?"

"Hey, hi!" she said.

"Sent you a video," he said. "Did you get it?"

"Um, let me… Oh. Yeah," she said.

"Watch it."

"Kay." She went quiet for a little while. Longer than the clip.

.

Asriel could imagine the look on her face. She let out a small, shaky breath. He grimaced.

"Is it him?" he asked.

"I… I'm n-not sure, it was b-blurry, but…" There was a warble in her voice.

"It looks like 'im?" he said.

"Yeah. Yeah. Maybe, um… D-Don't…?"

"Gotcha," he said. "Hey. I got you. Okay?"

"Okay. O-Okay." She took a deep breath. "Love you, bro."

"Love you, too," he said.

.

He hung and looked up at Asgore with raised brows. "Dad, we're not letting that guy into the mountain. Not past this house."

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand," he said, eyes wide.

Asriel sighed. "Frisk had a dream. Human that looked like that one, panicked in Snowdin for some reason; took some monsters out. She could undo it, but, um, some of them might remember it."

"Oh, little one, that sounds awful, but it's just a dream," he said gently, holding the boy's shoulder.

Asriel frowned. "No. Dad. It's not like that. Frisk's got time powers. It's not just a dream. You have to take this seriously. If she says this might be who she saw, he has to stay out."

"Asriel…" Agore stared at him, taken aback.

.

The kid winced. He'd dropped the act. He bit his lip and his ears drooped slightly, but the determination never left his eyes. "Trust me. Please?"

Asgore paused in a heavy silence for a long few seconds. He wilted and hugged Asriel tightly and kissed him on his brow. "Okay. I'll keep him here."

"Thank you," he said.

.

Asgore puffed himself up and returned to the call. "Howdy again! Sorry about that! I'll come get you. And we'll discuss what's going on. And, Ambassador, you can meet our little human."

"Excellent. Thank you, your Highness," she said.

.

Asgore donned his royal purple cloak and put his crown on his head. Asriel stuck close by his father as they traveled through the tunnel out of the house and towards the garden. The sun was shining bright on the outside when they emerged, and the humans were right there. Though the man stayed somewhat stiff, the woman bowed quickly and straightened up with a smile. There was an awed glimmer in her eye as she looked up at the King, but when she noticed Asriel, her jaw dropped and she couldn't help but beam. Hurriedly, she gathered herself, straightened her jacket, and extended her hand to Asgore. He smiled warmly and her hand was fully engulfed in his when he shook it.

.

"It's good to finally meet you in person," she said.

"The same to you," he said. "June, right? And your friend is…?" He tilted his head.

"He's, um, more of a bodyguard," she admitted. "This is Boyd. I have our papers, um…" She was carrying a bag over her shoulder, and she pulled open the cover and produced two small stacks of paper, clipped together with laminated ID cards at the top.

Asgore took them with a puzzled smile on his face and held them close. "Well! Okay. Thank you."

"And who is this?" June squatted down and smiled at Asriel. "Hey there. It's good to meet you. The Prince, I presume?"

"Yeah. I'm Asriel," he said.

"You know, I've never met a Prince," she said.

Asriel saw her eyes darting over his fur and he sighed, cracked a smile, and tilted his head. "You wanna touch my ears?"

"Wh… Uh…?" She looked confused, but also hopeful. "C-Could I?"

"Knew it." He pointed to his head. "Go ahead."

.

The woman grinned and gently cupped his head and squished his floppy ears. "Aren't you just the cutest little…"

Asgore chuckled quietly. "Would you like to come in?" He gestured for them to head into the cave, past the welcome sign.

.

The Ambassador perked up, cheeks flushing slightly, and hurried into the dark, while her escort followed close behind. Asgore smiled and followed along, but Asriel hesitated outside. He watched those humans with a frown on his face. He trailed along behind them, bristling.

.

The woman had to pause in the garden. With Asgore's eager go-ahead, she whirled around the room, taking photos and inspecting the flowers, the walls, and the throne. Asgore was happy to show her around and answer all her questions. The kid, still, stood back. So, too, did the human man. Asriel could see he was a little tense. So, if this really was the guy, what had set him off? He didn't want to have to find out.

.

"Don't like humans, huh?" Boyd asked. His voice was rough and his tone was cynical.

Asriel cut his eyes at him. A few feet apart, their mutual trepidation gave the air around them a heavy awkwardness. The man cleared his throat.

"Never seen one, I guess."

"My sister's a human," Asriel said cooly. "So."

He noticed the man raise his brows, though he tried not to look too surprised. "Your sister."

"Yeah. That human you guys are here to, uh, talk to? That's my sister. So." His ears pinned back.

"Not your real sister," he said gruffly.

"Gee, mister, don't you know it's rude to just come out and tell a kid their sister's adopted?"

He cut his eyes at him. "That's funny that you try to sound like you know what you're talking about. You humans never cared about her until she lived with us, and now you guys were almost willing to risk an international incident over her. That's really weird to me." He smirked slightly. "But. I mean. You're just a hired gun, right? That's not really your fault. Not really any of your business, either."

.

He scampered over to his father, leaving the man puzzled behind him. He reached up and tugged on Asgore's sleeve, and then nodded towards the door. "Dad, c'mon, there's so much stuff for her to see out there, too, right?"

"Oh! Yes! Sorry," Asgore said with a laugh. "We shouldn't keep everybody waiting, now, should we?" He beckoned to the humans and smiled. "Come, now, my home is just up ahead."

June followed eagerly, but Boyd hesitated before taking long strides to keep up with them. Asriel narrowed his eyes. What was up with this guy?

.

Inside, Asgore invited both of them to sit at the dinner table. Asriel hung back slightly and texted Undyne. As the King settled in and put aside their pile of credentials, he smiled at the humans and folded his hands on the table.

"Well!" he said. "Is there anything you'd like before you get started? Tea?"

"Actually, your Highness, if it's alright, I'd like to talk a bit about the human that lives here," she said. "Before I meet her."

"Oh! Well. Absolutely. My son can definitely speak to that," he said. "They're very close."

"Yup." Asriel jerked away from his phone and hopped up onto a chair. He tried to keep his expression light. "She's my sister! What do you want to know?"

"Your sister?" June repeated. "So, is she…? Is she here?"

"No, she lives at the other house," Asriel said. "She comes here sometimes, though! Most of the time we're with our mom and my step-dad." He caught Asgore put a paw to his snout, trying not to laugh out loud, and he smiled. "We all get along really well, it's super nice."

"And your mother is Lady Toriel, right?" the Ambassador asked. "And your… step-dad?"

"He's a scientist! He's super cool and nice," Asriel said. "His name is Gaster, he's a skeleton."

.

There was a little trepidation on the woman's face now. She shifted slightly in her seat. "I guess she's been here a while, then?"

"Oh, yes, several years," Asgore said, nodding quickly.

"She looked very young when I saw her the first time, how old is she?"

"Oh! Um, she's… Goodness, how old is she now?" Asgore said. He looked at Asriel uncertainly, his brow raised. "Six? Seven?"

Asriel kept his expression steady. "Seven, but her birthday's really soon."

"Is it?!" Asgore sounded completely genuine. He put a hand to his brow. "My goodness, how times flies. Speaking of! The afternoon is gaining on us, isn't it?"

June and Boyd shared a silent look. The woman smiled slightly.

"I guess there's nothing more until we meet her in person," she said. She got up and dipped in a polite bow. "Thank you, your Highness. We'll be on our way, if our escort is here?"

.

Asriel's senses all hooked on the word, "we". His mind scrambled. His eyes went wide and he tugged on his father's sleeve. "Oh no, dad, what about the gate?"

"The gate?" Asgore looked confused.

"Yeah, you know, the gate." Asriel raised his brows.

His father simply stared back at him. Asriel huffed and smacked both paws on the table. He looked up at the human man, his ears pinning back.

"We have this gate. For safety stuff, just a bit out front? We need your hum for it to let you through. But we didn't know you were coming, so—" He winced as a loud, metallic bang smacked against the front door. "S-So. You… You can go." He looked and the Ambassador but then shot the man as apologetic a look as he could muster. "But you gotta stay here."

Boyd frowned slightly. He looked incredulous for a moment and he and the Ambassador shared a concerned look. Asgore put his paws to his snout.

"Oh. Goodness, you're right," he said quickly. "I'm terribly sorry."

"What do you mean it needs his hum?" June asked.

"Ah, you see, our souls all make a sound," Asgore said. "We'd, um… We would certainly use a human voice as a replacement, but since we were not, um, actually aware you would be here…"

.

The man stiffened. June put a hand on his arm for just a second.

"How long would it take to fix?" she asked.

"At least the rest of the day, right, dad?" Asriel said.

"Hm, that sounds about right." The King nodded. He stood up and he extended a hand to the man, clapping it onto his shoulder— it made the human look very small. "Don't worry, my friend! I have some tea and books to spend the time. Besides, Ambassador, you said this wouldn't take very long, right?"

"R-Right," she agreed.

.

Asgore smiled. He took her by the shoulder and lead her towards the door, only to look back at Asriel and wink. Asriel tried not to react. He caught the human man shooting him a dark look, but he didn't care in the least.

.

Behind the door stood Undyne, decked out in full armour, glaring with light shining from one of the eyeholes in her helmet. June recoiled into the King, who gently guided her forward.

"This is Undyne, my eldest, and our Captain of the Royal Guard," he said brightly. "She will make sure you get to Snowdin and back safely!"

"R-Right," she said again. "Um! Hello."

Undyne dipped her head slightly. June gulped. Asgore leaned around her and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry! You're not even our first human guests after our little friend, I'm sure nobody will give you trouble."

"Right. Yes. Of course. Thank you, your Highness." With caution in her steps, she followed Undyne out, and then disappeared down the corridor without another word.

.

As Asgore closed the door and returned to them, he smiled warmly at the human man and invited him into the kitchen for his pick of cookies to pair with the tea. The human seemed reluctant, but he went along with it. In their absence, Asriel hopped up on the table and quickly skimmed the man's papers. He was a little confused. He was listed as a protective escort, sure, but he'd assumed the guy was human military, or their government, or something. He wasn't. He was a security guard, from the harbour city that was relatively close to their borders. He wasn't sure how all of this worked, but that seemed unusual.

.

Looking at the Ambassador's records didn't really answer any of that. She was with the human government of the closest country, clearly. She was picked because of some of her historical research into monsters at a university far to the east, and her social work, whatever that meant. She came highly recommended. The humans wanted this to work, apparently.

.

Asriel quickly withdrew to the bedroom and dialled for Frisk. She picked up right away.

"Hey, so, the lady just left with Undyne," Asriel said before she could say a word. "Maybe dumb it down just a litttttleee?"

"How much is a little?" Frisk asked.

"She treated me like I was pretty young and I think dad panicked when she mentioned how small you looked and we told her you were seven, so… I dunno, like, a bit, I guess?"

"Okay. Okay, I think I can do that," she said.

"Hey," he said, "it's gonna be fine."

"I know. I know! For sure," she said. "Sans was totally right. You're right. It's fine."

"Yeah. And I stopped the guy, by the way."

"I know." She laughed. "Of course you did. Thank you."

"No worries. Soooo… call me?" he said.

"Mhm. Yeah. I will," she said. "Thanks, bro, love you."

"You're gonna be fine!" he insisted. "Love you, too. Good luck."

.

He hung up and clenched the phone tight in his paws. She'd be fine, he told himself. Still, something about this wasn't right. There was something under this that he couldn't quite grasp. He'd put on a smile and keep an eye on everything.

xXxXx

Papyrus was a hurricane of feather dusters and blue magic, cleaning up the whole house around his siblings and father. Frisk was just trying to keep out of the way. Her nerves were stinging, but it wasn't so much about the lady coming to talk with her. That man that had come with her was what bothered her. Plus, when Toriel found out they'd sent two people instead of her sternly expressed one, she didn't envy the chewing out she expected the humans to endure. Asgore either, come to think of it.

.

"SANS." Papyrus dragged the shorter skeleton up off the couch by the soul. "SANS, PLEASE. I need to straighten! They're going to be here any minute!"

"Huh. Good sprinters," he asked groggily.

"I mean not literally. I mean. Nyeh!" He gently tossed him onto the floor and levelled a finger at the door. "Go. Go on. Go get some, I don't know, milkshakes or something. Just get out of the waaaaay, please."

"Alright, alright," Sans said with a laugh. "I'm goin'. Kiddo?"

"Noooo, she must stay here!" Papyrus said, grabbing her shoulder. "What if that human shows up and she's not here and they think that we did something or hid her or already went on the run or—?!"

"Paps, relax, everything's going to be okay," Gaster assured him gently.

"Nyeh! They why does it feel so…?" Papyrus crossed his arms tightly. He shook his head and frowned. "Ugh! I just…! I need to clean."

.

He brushed his father off and went back to tidying up the room, and Sans shrugged and vanished. Frisk sighed. She edged over to Papyrus and plunked herself in his path, forcing him to stop. Before he could protest, she hugged him tight. He wilted and reciprocated.

"We'll get outta your way," she said.

"Thank you," he said.

.

She headed up to the bedroom and, cautiously, Gaster followed.

"Is there really nothing we can do to help?" he asked.

"Not really, Paps gets really, um, single-minded when he's worried like this," Frisk said, sitting on the bed. "He'll be okay. Once this is done. Ugh, what a dumb thing, right?"

"I'm sorry you have to go through this," he said, placing himself at her side and resting his hand reassuringly on her shoulder. "We will protect you,"

"Thanks." She laughed. "I… It's not that, it's just… Confusing. I dunno. I wonder if Undyne…" She pulled out her phone and swiped through the screens. "Oh… Wait, she's probably in her armour."

"Is that bad?" he asked.

"No, it's just, the fingers on her gloves are thick and pointy and she can't really text well in them." She sighed. "Guess we'll just have to wait."

.

Gaster stared at her silently for a few seconds. He flinched and then stood up and headed for the bookshelf. He ran his pointy fingertips quickly along the spines of many novels.

"You lookin' for something?" Frisk asked.

"Ah! Not, um… Not really. I just thought maybe we could read to pass the time," he said.

"I'll probably just fall asleep, then," she said with a laugh.

"Ah. Alright. Maybe not the best plan." He returned to her side and back on the mattress. "Is there anything I can do to help? To make you more comfortable?"

"Naw, it's okay, just gotta get through it," she said.

"You're not nervous?" he asked.

"Sure I am, but I just gotta kinda play up that I'm a little kid and the lady should go home." She shrugged. "And Az stopped the other guy from coming here, so if he really was the one I dreamt about, the stuff I saw can't happen."

"You've been thinking a lot about this, haven't you?" he said.

She shrugged and nodded. Gaster smiled with a hint of pride. His soul made a distorted, warbling sound just a little too loudly. He hurried pulled out one of the small opera cakes and chucked it into his mouth. He sighed.

.

"Is it feeling any better today?" Frisk asked.

"I-It is, actually," he said. "The rest was very beneficial."

"I bet!" She grinned. "So let me know if anything else weird happens, okay?"

"Kiddo, you don't have to worry so much about me," he said bashfully. "Come on, now. Isn't there anything I can do to help you?"

"Just go along with whatever dumb stuff I say." She winked. "And I'm seven, according to Asgore."

"Oh." He chuckled. "And you are… comfortable with this? With…"

"Lying? Yeah." She folded her arms. "I know it's not a good thing to do, but—"

"Don't," he said quickly, raising his hands. "Far be it from me to… You do what keeps you safe."

.

He looked troubled. He knitted his fingers and his brow furrowed with concern.

"Hey, dad?" Frisk asked.

"Hm? Oh! Oh, you're…" His cheekbones flushed. "You're still calling me dad."

"Yeeeeah?" Frisk smiled sideways. "Why? Do you want me to not do that?"

"It's not that at all! Call me whatever you like, it's just I… Never mind." He shook his head, but he glowed nonetheless. "What do you need?"

"Well, it's just, I've been thinking about stuff a lot since yesterday," she said. "Like… about you, and Sans and Paps, and where I fit, I guess. It's been nice. But confusing. And I guess I was just wondering if I could ask about some stuff? Kinda about our family, or about you?"

"Oh! Of course," he assured her. "Anything at all."

.

Frisk's face lit right up. "Thanks! Um. Sans had in his head that you guys were the last skeletons. Is it true?"

"Unfortunately," he said. "We lost the rest in the war."

"Sorry," she said quietly.

He shook his head. "You know, for a long time, it was rather sobering to realize that I was the last, and there was nothing to be done about it. Then, years and years later, sheerly by accident, I made Sans." A smile crept over him and a faint glow of magic shimmered in his eyes. "And suddenly I wasn't alone anymore. Maybe we were only two, but it was absolutely amazing. Then, when I made Papyrus… I can't describe to you how elated I was. Though it may be true that Sans can never have children, and it might be that Papyrus won't either, as long as we're here, there will always be three skeletons."

She nodded. He smiled and winked.

"Well, maybe three and a half, right?" he said.

Frisk smiled bashfully. "It's okay, I know, I'm not a monster, but—"

"That doesn't matter," he said.

.

Frisk's heart swelled. She coughed to clear her throat quickly before her eyes started to water. "Um. Also. Can I ask? Why's your magic two different colours like that? I've never seen it before."

"Ah. That is an interesting question," he said. "It comes, mostly, from my mother. Her whole line had what we call a magic split. It allowed our family to be born able to use more than one kind of magic at a time."

"So that's kinda unique?" she asked.

"I am the last one to have it," he said. "It was a special boss monster trait."

"Boss monster? Are you a boss monster?" she asked with surprise.

"Oh! You don't know… You aren't aware of much monster history, are you?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Would you be interested in some context, then?" he asked.

"Sure," she said.

.

"Well, to answer your question, I am a boss monster, in fact," he said. "I wasn't born one, but very close. My mother was the last in the line of skeleton boss monsters. My father was, apparently, quite normal, though I never knew him."

"So you…? You can become a boss monster?" she asked. "How?"

"My circumstances were unfortunate," he admitted. "I… Hmm… How to say this…?"

"It was in the war, right?" Frisk asked hesitantly.

Gaster froze. He ran a hand over his skull. "I… Hah. Frisky. You are very much like Sans, have I told you that?" He smiled ruefully. "That's right. I ascended during the war, if you can even call it that."

"So you fought in it, then," she said worriedly.

"I did," Gaster said, a sense of melancholy settling about him. "The damage it did to my soul was tremendous, though. I could hardly muster a healing spell for decades. Even now— before the CORE, I mean, it was…"

"It's okay. You don't have to say more. I understand," she said. "Sorry."

"Don't be," he said. "You know. For the longest time, I wondered, would it be better if I hadn't…? So many monsters didn't make it. I sometimes sunk into a hole, wondering why I survived and so many others didn't. Did I have a right to live, having done something so horrible, when those who hadn't had turned to dust? But after I made Sans and I couldn't bear to regret it any longer."

"Wow," Frisk said. "That's really interesting. And sad. And nice, too."

.

Gaster chuckled. "Sorry, that was a tangent."

"That's okay," Frisk assured him. "I like hearing about past stuff. And about Sans. I didn't know there were more boss monsters other than mom and Asgore, though."

"Oh! There used to be many," he said. "There used to be several lines of… Well, at the time, they were called monster lords, rather than bosses. Asgore made the change. He never liked being called a "lord". Thought it was too domineering. Anyway. There were several family lines of monster lords per type of monster. For example, there were fish monster lords, elemental lords; my mother was the last of the skeleton lords. Toriel was the last of her line, as far as I know, and Asgore was the son of the strongest of all of the monster lords. Their kind had always been the most powerful, naturally, of all the monsters. Which is why he was absolutely uncontested as King, aside from the fact that he was always so good at taking care of others."

"Ooh. Okay. But, what happened to the monster lords?" she asked, frowning worriedly. "Humans got them, huh?"

"By the time we were at the edge of war, humans had killed all but Asgore, Toriel, and a dragon called Yrra. She didn't survive," he said, grimacing. "Humans used to send out what they'd call raid parties to confront the strongest of monsters. And we… didn't last."

.

Frisk gulped. She could imagine the halls of a castle, once lively, dimmed and silent, and filled with dust. "Crap," she muttered, her voice cracking. "Your mom, too?"

"…Yes," he said. "Humans and monsters have always had such a horrible, mutually parasitic relationship with one another. When one kills the other, the power to be gained is substantial; enough to be addicting. Our people did not take that route intentionally. Most humans didn't, either, but the ones that did grew strong enough to rule their people. And so…" He shrugged slightly, his expression taut and sad.

"Jeez, that's terrible," Frisk grumbled. "And doesn't it totally mess your soul up, too? That happened to you, right?"

"It does. The change is permanent. Though some damage can heal," he said. "Most humans didn't feel the adverse effects, though. Or, didn't see those as enough of a reason to stop."

"Did you hate them?" she asked.

"For a while," he said. "I was young and I'd seen… more than I'd ever wish on anyone. But, eventually, I met some humans that were different than the raiders or the lords or knights. I came to understand things are more shades of grey. Everything that happened was such a shame. Your grandmother would've loved to have met you. She was an adamant believer in peace between humans and skeletons."

"Grandmother…" Frisk folded her arms and looked up at him with wide eyes. "What was her name?"

"Avenir," he said.

Frisk repeated the name in her head. Filling out a strange family tree she hadn't even been aware of. A grandmother. Avenir.

.

"What was she like?" she asked.

"Wonderful. Very caring. And a terrible cook." He laughed. "She was always writing something. She got me interested in books. And trying to figure out how things in our world worked. She was very tall, it seemed, at the time. I always found she looked very… queenly. Softer in skull structure than I am. And lyre horns, of course."

"Did a lot of skeletons have horns?" Frisk asked.

"Some of us," he said. "She did. A small number of us had tails, too. I believe it may have been a regional thing."

"And Avenir had the magic split thing, too?"

"She did. Blue and red, in fact." Gaster smiled fondly. "Her red was almost exactly the same as yours is now."

"Wow, okay. Did… Did we have a big family?" she asked.

"Quite small, actually," he said. "I had no siblings, nor aunts, or uncles. I didn't know my father, unfortunately. And my mother was taken from me when I was very young."

.

Frisk looked troubled. She hugged her knees. "Was that in the war?"

"Earlier," he said. His expression glazed for a moment. He shook his head. "It was a long, long time ago. And I was far from the only orphan left around at the time."

"So what did you do?" Frisk squeaked, eyes wide.

"I ran. I met Asgore." He smiled slightly. "We were all but inseparable after that."

.

Frisk tilted her head. "So I guess it must've been cool to see Asriel again, huh?"

"Oh. God. Absolutely," he said.

"You knew him pretty well, I bet," she said.

"I did! Since he was born, in fact," Gaster said with a nod.

"So you must've known Chara," she said, raising her brows.

"I did," he said. "Poor girl. You know the story? About how she got sick and…"

"Uh…" Frisk looked puzzled. "Sick? Um. Dad. What d'you mean? She—"

"That's how she passed away," he said. "We didn't have the knowledge to heal her, it was—"

"No. No no, dad, I mean, she didn't… She didn't catch a bug. She didn't get sick," Frisk said. "She poisoned herself. She did it on purpose."

"…Wh-What? Frisky, what are you saying?" he asked.

.

The look of genuine shock on his face gave her pause. "Oh. Jeez, I'm sorry. I guess you missed this part, huh?" Frisk said sheepishly. "Sorry to… Never mind, it's okay."

"Please. What were you…?" He looked perturbed. "It was intentional?"

"Um. Yeah. She, um… She died to give her soul to Az," Frisk said. "She wanted to kill all humans, as revenge for what they did to monsters, but Az changed his mind when they actually got to where they were gonna start and… Well, you know the rest. She turned into a weird ghost after the CORE blew up on you. She'd try to possess the anomalies who came in when everything was going weird. She was actually in the back of my head for a bit."

"Wait. What? Are you serious?" His eyes went wide. "Little Chara?! How could that be?"

"Oh, wow, you really didn't know," Frisk said, unable to hide her surprise. "Did you…? Did Sans tell you what happened to him?"

"He didn't need to, I'd seen it in dreams," he admitted. "Why?"

"The, um, anomalies that he fought? Those were Chara. Or, kids Chara'd taken over," she said. "You didn't see her?"

.

Gaster froze with shock. He stared at her blankly— silently— for a while. He put a hand to his mouth.

"Sorry," Frisk said again.

"Y-You can't tell Asgore," he said quickly. "Oh, god, he'd never forgive himself, he'd never—"

"Dad," Frisk said gently, "Asriel already told him and mom everything. They know."

"Nimhneach m'anam…" He rubbed his brow. "And?"

"It was hard. But they're doing okay," she said. "They know it wasn't their fault. It was just… when she was a ghost, and I think it's a human thing? But she was basically only bad emotions, and she used that to mess with people. I know she wasn't evil, when she was alive? But as a ghost she was, um… She wasn't so good until near the end of my time knowing her."

.

He let out a long, deep breath. He frowned at the floor. Frisk tilted her head. It seemed like the implications of what she'd said were running through his mind. She felt bad for that.

"She… She was inside your head?" he asked softly.

"Yeah. She, um. She tried to convince me to hurt people, sometimes," she admitted. "But by the end, because I was trying to help her brother, she, um… wasn't so bad to me. Then she left. I, um, never really understood why she didn't come back at the reset, but once she said she was gone, she just kinda was. I never heard from her again."

Gaster's frown deepened. He quickly wrapped her in his arms. "I didn't know," he muttered.

"I know! I know, it's okay," she said. "I'm sorry, I'm sure the kid you knew was really nice, it's just… what happened really messed her up. I hope I didn't… ruin your image of her or anything, sorry."

"Don't apologize, sweetheart," he said quietly. "When it comes to something like this, you are my first priority. Always."

Frisk's face flushed, and she clung to him gently. It was kind of nice. She felt very safe there, a lot like she felt with Toriel. "Thanks," she said.

.

He was silent for a while, his hard fingertips gently running through her hair. "The world is a strange place," he said, finally. "Funny. Since I left, things have changed a great deal. But the people are much the same. I'm grateful. And. Frisky?"

"Mhm?" she asked.

"You're wonderful." He pulled back and smiled at her. He cupped her cheek with his broken hand. "I'm sorry. So many things have happened to you and I… I just…"

"I'm okay," she assured him.

"Will you let me know if you need anything? Anything at all?" he said.

"You just got here," Frisk said with a laugh. "Don't worry so much about me, okay? I'm fine. You should just relax. I can feel in your soul that you're still achey all over."

"Oh." His cheekbones became tinted with the pale gradient of blue and gold. "I… I suppose I am." He looked embarrassed for a few seconds, but then his expression lightened. He smiled. "Hey. I have an idea. A little less heavy than all that. How would you like to see your grandmother?"

.

Frisk was floored. She stared back at him blankly. "See her?"

"Well, see through my memories," he said. "It's a very basic power related to determination, an ability to look through memories while being directed. I am able to do it, so it stands to reason that you would be able to do it as well."

"Wh…? Could I?" She couldn't help her eyes from going wide. "C-Could I always do that?"

"Of course," he said. "Would you like to try?"

"Um! Okay! Y-Yeah!" The thought hit her with nerves and excitement. "How do I do it?"

"Use your magic. Look to reverse. And touch here and here." He put one hand on his temple and the other to where his soul would be glowing. "I will show you where to go, you just have to peek inwards. It's very simple."

She nodded and concentrated to bring red to her fingertips. She reached up and put a hand on his head and then on his chest, too. She closed her eyes.

"O-Okay. Show me?" she asked.

.

Her mind's eye guided her through a fog of white over black. It swirled ever so slightly.

"Force it to let you through," Gaster said.

Frisk wasn't sure how, but she focussed in on what she wanted to see. She silently asked to be let in. Her red stained the centre of the fog and, all of a sudden, the mist painted images, like revealing an old and grainy film.

.

She saw a figure from a low angle that started to build up out of shadows. A skeleton woman. Her skull shape was slender and graceful, and her eye sockets were large with white pupils, just like Sans. She had slightly pointed eyeteeth and horns, like Gaster had said. She could only see her torso aside from that as they bounced — took a moment to discern that they were riding on a soft horse the colour of storm clouds with faint white speckles in its fur. The skeleton wore a brown muffler around her neck and shoulders, and a basic plate mail armour, grey in colour and well worn. She was smiling back at her— no, at Gaster, she thought— and her eye flared slightly with blue.

.

"That's a good one," she said fondly. She was speaking a language that Frisk didn't hear— the memories translated it instantly. She had a pleasant, silvery voice. "I'm glad you wanted to come. The road is a lot nicer with you around."

"Oh, good!" A young boy's voice, in that same language. Gaster. "It's a pretty nice trip. And we'll really get to meet the King and Queen at the end?"

The woman's expression went tight, but she forced a smile and turned back to look ahead.

"We will meet the King," she assured him.

"I'm excited!" he said.

.

The memory shifted and the colours around her changed to gold; became warm like fire. Bundled in a blanket, Frisk could see little skeleton hands cling to the plush surface and snuggle in under the arm of the woman. She read aloud, claw-tipped finger tracing under the words on the page of an old, tatty book, the parchment worn on the edges from frequent use. The words were muddled and the text shifted between words she didn't understand in letters she could read to just the symbols she'd come to recognize as that old skeleton language.

.

Frisk blinked her eyes open and she was looking at her father again. She felt a little heavy in her head and almost couldn't believe it. That had been so easy. Gaster smiled at her fondly.

"It came through, didn't it?"

"Y-Yeah! Wow. That was her?" She rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. They felt a little fuzzy. "She looked really cool."

"She was," he said.

"Sans looks a little like her," she said.

Gaster chuckled. "He has her eyes. That was a very nice surprise."

"Where did you live?" she said. "I saw… a room? Sort of?"

"We had a castle," he said. "A small one. I wonder if any of it is still there…"

"A castle?! And you guys had a horse?" she asked.

"We did," he said. "Nimbus. She was with me for a long time."

"Wow." Frisk smiled. "Thanks for showing me that."

"You're very welcome," he said.

"Was that really far away? Maybe we could go see where you used to live, out on the surface," she suggested.

"Well… It is quite far, but I can't see why not." There was a warm glow about him as he said this. "It would be long trip, but…" He put a hand to his mouth for a moment. He snickered. Losing his composure, he grabbed the kid and hugged her close, grinning wide. "A stór, tá tú an-chróga. Tapadh leat. I would be more than happy to show you some day. We have all the time in the world."

"Y-Yeah?" she asked.

"Of course!" he assured her. "Ah. I never thought there'd come a time where I could ever take you kids there, but now…" He ruffled her hair. "Thank you."

"It was a group effort," she said brightly.

.

"Hey." Sans appeared from nowhere and shot them a smile. "Good chat?"

"Hey!" Frisk hopped up to give him a hug as hello. "Dad told me about the surface, and about boss monsters, and about his mom, and the war, and his horse. He said he'd take us to go see the castle where he used to live sometime."

"Hey, not a bad idea," Sans said. "Feelin' alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said.

"Good." He jerked his thumb back over his shoulder. "They're like four minutes away."

"Oof!" Frisk laughed and rubbed her head as her stomach did a backflip and a chill ran under her skin. "Okay. That's fine. I'm fine."

.

"What can I do?" Gaster asked, standing up. "Is there anything I can—?" He started coughing and his bones rattled.

"Gonna be sick?" Sans asked.

He froze up. Probably yes. Sans grabbed his arm and nodded towards the door.

"Okay. Get outta here? Meet us by the inn?"

Gaster nodded. He gently grabbed Frisk and bumped his brow on hers and hurried away, holding himself tightly. The kid looked up at her brother worriedly.

"He'll be okay," he said.

"I know, but it still kinda sucks," she said.

"Yeah. C'mon. Let's go pretend to be normal, huh?"