IT'S MORE LIKELY THAN YOU THINK CHAPTER 9:
Frisk set herself up on the couch with a book just a hair below her reading level and waited anxiously. Papyrus looked as nervous as she felt. When he couldn't find another thing he could possibly clean, he edged onto the couch with Frisk and squished her close. He was pouting at much as a skeleton was able to. It struck her rather abruptly that her older brother wasn't actually that much older than she was, and she'd never seen him look quite so uncertain as he did right this second. She hugged him.
"Of all the things to have happen…" he grumbled.
"I know, it's the worst," she said.
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A heavy fist banged on their door. Frisk jumped and Papyrus got up, straightening out his Delta Rune sweater and his scarf. The kid found herself siting beside Sans very abruptly, and he gently took the book away from her and held a page open as if they'd been in the middle of something. Papyrus counted down on his fingers, and then threw the door open. It was Undyne who stood there, in full armour, her yellow eye gleaming intensely through the slit in her helmet. She moved aside before Papyrus could greet her and she firmly guided a woman forward. The Ambassador, in fact. She looked sheepish and a little underdressed for the cold. Papyrus extended a hand to her and beckoned her inside.
"Hello, human! Come inside," he said.
"Ah. Th-Thank you." She was shivering. "I'm June Ya—"
"I have orders to protect the kid," Undyne said cooly, her focus on Papyrus as her words trampled over the Ambassador.
"Yes! Of course, thank you, Captain," he said.
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Papyrus beckoned them in, then shut the door tightly and gestured widely to the room. "Welcome to our house! I am the great Papyrus! Naturally. And over there is Sans, and—"
The woman sneezed. She blushed instantly and raised her hands. "Ah! I'm sorry, excuse me," she said swiftly.
"Oh! You must be cold!" Papyrus said. "Let me get you some tea."
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He raced away and Sans finally got up. Frisk slunk down in her seat and tried to stay behind her brother. She waved tepidly to Undyne, who had positioned herself like a sentinel beside the doorway. Sans turned to her and put a hand on her head.
"Alright, sweetheart, you wanna wait upstairs for a few minutes?" he asked.
Frisk had to stop herself from laughing out loud. She nodded and he knelt down.
"Keep your phone on," he whispered.
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Hurriedly, the kid ran away and closed herself in the bedroom. The Ambassador watched with interest, and then smiled politely at Sans. He flicked through the phone in his pocket and dialled the kid.
"Hello. Nice to meet you in person, finally," the woman said. "I'm sorry to burst into your home like this. I'll be sure to get out of you hair… um… a-as soon as possible."
Sans shrugged. "Welp. Be good to get this sorted. Kinda freaks the kid out."
"There's nothing to be afraid of," she said quickly.
"Yeah but, gotta admit, it's pretty weird," he said. "Plus, y'know, the kid doesn't have a lot of experience with humans. We're kinda the only family she's known, so…"
The Ambassador tilted her head slightly. "And what is your relation to her?"
"Brother." He shrugged. "Primary caregiver. Mom's a teacher, dad's a scientist; I'm the adult that's home the most."
"And you?" she asked Papyrus as he returned with a cup of tea. "Oh, thank you."
"You're very welcome," he said. "I am also her big brother! Though. Sans is older than I am. Even though he is considerably smaller." He tapped his fingertips together. "You're… not here to try to take her away, are you?"
"Oh, no no no, nothing like that," the woman said quickly.
Papyrus deflated instantly with a huge sigh, and then straightened up tall and wiped his brow. "Well THAT'S a relief! Honestly. So, um. What are you here for?"
"Well, I'd like to talk to her, for one," she said. "Assess the situation."
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Sans folded his arms. "I don't think you're gonna find what you're lookin' for."
"Mostly, we're a little concerned with how this happened at all, to be honest," she said. "I understand that your King had essentially claimed her as a citizen, which is fine, but I guess what I'd like for you to understand is how concerning it is that a girl that young even arrived here to begin with. There aren't any towns around here for miles."
"Yeah, she, uh, apparently didn't have a great time out there on her own," Sans said.
"And that's also a very serious case of neglect," she said. "So. If she is declared missing from somewhere, but you're telling me she didn't have a family before you, we'd be looking into whoever it was who let a little girl just live on the streets like that."
"Don't think you'll find that either," Sans said; this time his tone was a little apologetic. "But you're welcome to talk with her."
"Thank you." June sounded relieved. She hesitantly sipped the tea and her eyes went wide. "Oh! This is… really good. Thank you."
"You're welcome! But just… be nice to her, okay?" Papyrus said. "We were—I mean, she was very nervous about all this."
"I'm sure I can put her at ease," the woman said reassuringly. "Would it be alright if I talk to her now? We'll need some privacy, though, if that's okay."
"I have orders to stay with her," Undyne growled.
Sans put his hand up to stall her and shot her a knowing look. "As long as she can have her phone with her, I got no problem."
"That's just fine," the woman said. She looked between Undyne and Sans cautiously. "Is… that alright with you?"
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Undyne didn't move. Sans nodded. He tilted his head towards the stairs. "Hey, kiddo, you wanna come back down here?" he called.
Frisk opened the door and peeked out shyly. She came down the stairs hesitantly and snuck mostly behind Sans, clinging tight to his hand.
"Hey, so, this human lady'd like to talk to you for a little," he said gently. "That okay with you, sweetheart?"
Frisk clung a little tighter, concealing the twitch of a smile. She pressed into his side, but she nodded. June smiled sweetly and knelt down to Frisk's eye level.
"Hi there," she said, her voice high and pleasant. She offered her hand. "My name's June, what's yours?"
Frisk hesitated, quite deliberately, and widened her eyes. She grasped the human's hand lightly and let her shake it. "I-I'm Frisk," she said quietly, trying to speak with an even higher tone than usual.
"That's a nice name," she said. "How would you like to show me your room, Frisk? I'd love to talk to you for a little. Would that be most comfortable? Or would you like to sit somewhere else?"
"Um…" She squeezed her fingers onto Sans's sleeve and tried to exude nerves.
He rubbed her head reassuringly and she looked up at him with big eyes.
"Hey. Don't worry. We'll be right out front. And the Cap's gonna be a second away," he said with an uncommon gentleness in his voice. "Call us for anything, alright?"
She nodded before slowly releasing him, and then turned her attention on the woman. "Okay. My room is fine," she said.
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Frisk took the human up to the bedroom. Boots clunked up the stairs behind them and stalled just outside the door. Though the Ambassador looked faintly cautious, she took a deep breath and her eyes shot around the room quickly. She seemed satisfied.
"Wow, look at all nice stuff," June said. "Is this yours or your brother's?"
"Um, m-mine. Um. Some of it," Frisk said. "We share, though."
"Does he share everything?" she asked.
"Not everything. A-All the toys and books and he lets me use his computer, even," she said. "But he says I can't wear his boots because I'm too small and I'll just fall over."
"Ah." The woman smiled and gestured to the closest. "Can I take a look?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Frisk said. She wasn't sure what this woman was looking for. She tried not to look too suspicious of her.
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The Ambassador wandered around, peeking in at little things. Frisk kept an eye on her but didn't follow. She hopped up on the bed and waited. She thought she heard Undyne's boots again outside.
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"This is a nice room," the woman said, finally. "Frisk, sweetie, do you know why I'm here?"
"Ummm… Some humans wanted you to come visit?" she asked. "You talk to the King a lot, right? Do you work for a human King?"
"Well, not a King, but close. And I also work for social services," she said. She smiled gently. "Do you know what that is?"
"Nope. Not really," she said.
"I help kids who need help," she said. "Do you need any help?"
Frisk preempted a scowl. Played dumb. "Um, nope! Sometimes I need help with my homework, but my brothers are good at that."
"That's good," she said. "And, how many siblings do you have?"
"Four," she said.
"And they're all here, or…?"
"Well, I mean, they all live here except my big sister," she said.
"And, how old are you, Frisk?" the woman asked.
"Seven," Frisk said. "I'm the littlest."
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June smiled, but Frisk could see a question in her eyes. She didn't ask it. She prowled the bedroom and then pointed at the slightly more normal looking bed.
"This is yours?" she asked.
"Yeah," Frisk said.
"Where are the other bedrooms?" she asked.
Frisk froze for a second. She gulped. "We, um, we sometimes move them around. With magic and stuff. Um. I usually share with my brother, Papyrus, though. B-Because I have, um, panic attacks. So."
"Oh. Honey. What gives you panic attacks?" June asked, kneeling to take her hands.
"I have a lot of bad dreams," she said.
"About what?" The woman tilted her head slightly.
"Um. Well. M-Mostly about being alone, I guess?" she said. "I, um… On the surface I didn't have any people, so I remember that a lot and it was scary and stuff, and it sometimes still gives me bad dreams."
"So. Where were you for all that time?" she asked gently. "Were you in a house? A room? Anywhere you could recognize?"
"I was outside," she said.
"Could you tell me where?" she asked.
Frisk shrugged and shook her head. The woman paused to consider her words. Frisk felt a little bad. It must have been frustrating. She did seem to want to help, even if she wasn't needed. And, to be fair, Frisk really wasn't entirely sure where she'd been. A photo of landmarks might do it, but she couldn't point to exactly where on a map.
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"And how is it exactly that you ended up with monsters?" June asked.
"Well, I kinda got lost on the mountain," she said. "And I fell in a big hole. When I woke up, my mom found me."
"And how long ago was that?"
"I dunno, a few years I guess," Frisk said.
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The Ambassador seemed almost disappointed for a moment, but she smiled. "Is it alright if I ask you some more questions?" she said. "I was wondering, that mark on your face… And, I'm sorry, but I saw some on your hands as well. How did you get those?"
Frisk feigned confusion for a moment. She looked at her hands, front and back. "Oh! Um. The forest, probably!"
"The forest?" June repeated gently.
Frisk nodded. "Yeeeeah, me and my brother, Asriel, we sometimes play in the woods, and it's super easy to scratch yourself on all the trees and stuff."
"Is it? What kind of games do you play?"
"Um. Tag, sometimes. Magic battle. That's really fun." Frisk shrugged. "I dunno, we just make stuff up and run around, I guess."
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The woman nodded. "Could I ask a little more about your family? And how you like living here."
Now, Frisk was starting to feel a little anxious. She put on a big grin, though. She knew exactly who to channel for this. "My family? Sure! They're so great! Oh! Let me tell you all about them, okay? Like Papyrus! He's the greatest!"
xXxXx
Papyrus was pacing anxiously back and forth. He'd already worn a path in the snow down in front of the house. "Can't we go back? I want to hear what's going on."
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The group had bunched up together near the steps where Undyne had chucked her helmet down. Sans had dragged her outside with them, and she had a deep scowl on her face. Gaster rejoined them, looking trepidatious but a lot less sick.
"Yeah, I don't like this either," Undyne growled. "I was literally ordered to stay with her, dude."
"Not much to it." Sans shrugged. "Human'll get suspicious if we all crowd in. Might think we're influencin' her. Or that the kid is hidin' somethin'."
"But she totally is though," Undyne said.
"I suppose we should just try not to get in the way," Gaster said reluctantly.
"But she looked so scared," Papyrus said quietly, chewing his knuckle. "And she sounded so scared. I'm really worried."
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Sans clunked his back against the wall. "It was an act."
"What?!" Papyrus yelped.
"Well, I mean, you heard how she was talkin' real different, right?"
"Oh." Papyrus tapped his chin. "I… I guess you're right, actually, now that I think about. But why would she…?"
"Unassuming little kid. That'll probably get that human out of her hair faster," Undyne suggested.
"Do you really think that'll work?" Gaster asked worriedly.
"Sure." Sans shrugged. "She's good at readin' people; learnin' what they expect. This lady expects a normal seven-year-old, that's what she's gonna get, more or less."
"And she can pull that off convincingly?"
"People do always mistake her for younger because she's so small," Papyrus said.
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"Ugh, this sucks though, I gotta be in there," Undyne grumbled. "I want to be in there."
"Me too," Papyrus said.
Gaster tapped his chin. He looked between the three other monsters curiously. "Undyne," he said, "your determination is quite high, isn't it?"
"Hm? Oh, uh. Yeah, I guess so," she said.
"Hmm. Then… I wonder…" He started down the road and then waved for them to follow. "Come, you three, I have an idea."
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Undyne shot a confused look at Sans and Papyrus. The former shrugged. The latter perked up and quickly scampered after his father.
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They followed him to the shining tear in time near the inn. He looked at it curiously, pulled off a glove in his teeth, and then stuck his hand straight into it.
"Is that a safe thing?" Papyrus whispered loudly to Sans.
"I think… I think this should work," Gaster said. He took off his other glove and then beckoned to the others. "Now, if everyone would just hold onto me for a moment."
"Uh, why?" Undyne asked.
"Well, I can get us back into the house without the whole sneaking around nonsense," the skeleton said. "As long as we're quiet, we can probably listen in through the ceiling."
"What?! How?" Papyrus grabbed his shoulders. "How how how?!"
"Just hold on." He offered a hand to his son. "I'll show you."
"I'll meet you," Sans said. He vanished.
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Undyne looked skeptical, but she grabbed the skeleton's shoulder. All of a sudden, the white of the snow was overtaken by oppressive black, only to have them all tumble into a stack of boxes in a dark, enclosed space. They could hear Sans snicker.
"Nice," he said at a whisper.
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Papyrus groaned and Undyne heaved herself off him and pulled him up, where he clung to her tightly, looking a little sick. She was pretty light headed herself. Gaster got up last, silently choking out a thick, black sludge. He wiped his mouth on his arm and Sans squatted to hold his shoulder. He stole his father's phone and got him one of the small, medicinal cakes. The tall skeleton nodded appreciatively and ate it in a hurry.
"What the hell was that?!" Undyne hissed.
"Kinda like what I do, but through the time tears," Sans said. "S'okay. Now…"
They went quiet. They could hear the mumble of voices through the ceiling. Papyrus instantly perked up.
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He jumped upright, but Sans held him back with blue magic and held up one finger. He shifted himself across the floor, arriving again in complete silence. He pointed at Undyne. She looked confused. Papyrus frowned slightly, but then quickly perked up again and sat back down with her.
"He needs a spear," he said quietly.
"Oh." She held out her hand and her magic flashed bright until a cyan spear dropped into her palm. She tossed it over to Sans.
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He stuck his thumb up and used the blade to gently slice a circle in the floorboards. He caught the leftover plank in his own magic and drew it back up, letting in the light from the bedroom below. The voices suddenly came through a lot more clearly. All the monsters hunkered down, silent, to listen closely.
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Having talked the Ambassador's ear off about Papyrus, Frisk's mood was genuinely lifted. The woman listened and nodded along, smiling politely. She ducked in when the kid stopped to take a breath.
"You sound like you're very close to your brother. Do you get along well with the other members of your family?"
"Oh, yeah, for sure!" she said brightly. "Sans is really really nice. He maybe sounds all low and gruff but he tells the best jokes and he reads to me and he's just great. And he always helps me with school all the time! And me and Az always play together and it's super nice. And Undyne's so big and tough and she's really good at sports and stuff, she's so cool. And mom and dad are really great, too. They're all really smart and I wanna be just like them when I grow up."
"And how do you feel about living here?" the woman asked.
"It's really nice," she said. "There's all kinds of fun places. And so many monsters, they're all so different and nice."
"Do you ever feel like maybe a monster treats you differently because you're a human?" she asked.
"Oh. Well. Not really, not anymore," she said. "I think everyone here was probably pretty scared of humans a while ago, but when they learned I was actually a human, they got a lot less scared."
June chuckled. She nodded. "I see. I bet it was a big surprise to see a human for them, right?"
"I guess so, but a lot of them didn't know," she said. "They mostly thought I was a dog."
"A dog? Really?" June asked. "Why would they think you were a dog?"
"I dunno, but once the dogs decide you're a dog, everyone pretty much just thinks you are one," Frisk said with a smile and a shrug.
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June gestured to the bed as if asking to sit. Frisk scooted over. The woman placed her bag to the side and reached in. She pulled out a little rectangular device, white and blue with a plastic cover over top, with a hole in the front.
"There's a small test I'd like to do, if that's okay," she said. "All you have to do is put your finger in this hole."
"Okay." Frisk couldn't keep the suspicion from her tone.
The woman smiled. "It'll just see if there's anyone out there looking for you."
Frisk chewed her cheek. "I don't think there is." She extended a finger anyway. "Does it hurt?"
"Just like a tiny pinch," she said.
Frisk nodded. The woman held the device closer to her. The kid put her finger into the hole and, after a second, felt the smallest of stinging sensations. It wasn't even enough to make her jump. The Ambassador smiled and then took the thing back and flipped up the cover. There was a screen in there. Frisk leaned around to look.
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"It'll just take a couple minutes," June said. "If there is someone—"
"Tell them to go away and that they stink," Frisk said certainly. "I don't even really want to know, can you just tell my mom or dad or someone instead of me if you find something?"
The woman was taken aback. She tilted her head and smiled sympathetically. "That bad, huh?" she said gently.
"Really bad!" Frisk said shrilly.
"I'm sorry that happened to you," June said. "Don't worry. We're… I mean, I'm not here to try make you meet them or anything like that. Your mother was very clear about that."
"Good," Frisk said.
"But you may change your mind as you get older."
"Nope," Frisk said, pouting.
The woman chuckled. "It seems like you have a family that cares about you a lot."
"Yeah, they're the best," she said, instantly perking up.
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The device in the woman's hand let out a quiet ding. She looked surprised and she took a look at the screen. Her mouth tightened for just a moment, but when she looked back at Frisk, she couldn't seem to help a smile.
"Well. That was fast… Good news, if you can call it that," she said. "No results. See?" She held the screen out and raised her brows.
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Frisk leaned over and took a look. The screen assured her that there were no matches to her blood, however that worked. It wasn't a surprise, but she felt lighter anyway — they must be almost done. She smiled and clapped her hands.
"Knew it," she said.
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There was a little confusion on the woman's face. Couldn't seem to comprehend why Frisk wouldn't be interested in some mysterious human relatives. After yesterday, though, the kid was mostly just sorry this lady was wasting her time. Leaning back towards her bag, June pulled out a cellphone. It looked pretty similar to the monster ones in some ways, but it was a lot more screen and much flatter— less colourful on the casing. She pressed on the screen and moved some images around, and then held it out to Frisk.
"Maybe you can help me," she said. "Do you think you could look at some pictures for me?"
"Um. Sure?" the kid said.
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Frisk took the phone in both hands and was surprised to see the photo of a child. Young— maybe younger than her— with pale skin, freckles, and curly red hair, and a big grin missing a tooth in the front. Frisk's brow furrowed and she looked at the Ambassador with confusion.
"What is this?" she asked.
"If you wouldn't mind, would you look through these pictures for me, sweetie?" she said. "These are other kids that got lost. Maybe you could tell me if you've seen any of them?"
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Frisk suddenly understood why this lady had come all the way here. A pang of guilt knotted her stomach. There was no good answer going to come from this. She nodded and slowly began to swipe through pictures of missing children. A little blonde girl, a fluffy-haired teenage boy; an infant in a grainy picture. No, of course, she didn't recognize any of these.
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June watched her intently. She kept going. Then, there was a photo that hit her with a chill down to her bones. A teenaged girl with dark eyes and dark hair, long and in a braid over her shoulder. Barely smiling. She knew that one. Hadn't seen her herself, but knew many who had. She gulped and kept looking, and, once she reached the end, returned to the photo that had instantly set her heart beating.
"Does that one look familiar? Have you seen her?!" June asked shrilly. "She came here? She'd be an adult by now, but—"
"No. No, she just… reminded me of a girl they told me about," she said quietly. "I… never saw her for real."
"What happened?" she asked.
"She hurt a lot of monsters" Frisk said.
"Wh… What?" June looked thoroughly taken aback. "Pardon?"
"The girl hurt a lot of monsters," Frisk said. "More than ten. Maybe twenty? The girl who's the Guard Captain now? My big sister. Both her parents."
"Oh…" The woman cupped her chin and she frowned to herself. "No wonder she was so hostile…"
Frisk pretended like she didn't understand the word. She stared at June blankly for a while. "You could ask the King," she said. "I'm sure he'd help you."
"Well, the King is very kind, but—"
"I know, right? He's super nice! And really fluffy and stuff," she said. "He's great. He'll help you for sure."
June smiled gently. She nodded, and then reached into her bag again. She pulled out a photo on a faintly wrinkled sheet, protected inside a plastic case. "What about this girl?"
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When Frisk took it, the sight confused her. It was a picture of a young girl playing on a swing. Her dark hair was cut in the same style as Frisk's, and her features were faintly similar, though her skin tone was lighter and her eyes looked blue. Frisk frowned slightly and looked up at the woman.
"No, sorry. Why?" she said.
"Ah… We just thought, maybe, since you made it here, other kids who nobody can find might have, too," June said.
"Oh. No. No other humans, not for a long time," Frisk said. "Sorry. It's just me."
"I understand," she said. "Frisk. Thank you so much." She smiled and held the kid's hand. "I know this must've been a little scary for you, huh? But I think you're just great for giving me this time to talk to you. You were very brave."
"Um! Thank you!" she said.
"I guess I should talk to your parents for a minute before I go, um… Oh! Your mom and dad, do you know where they are?"
"Dad should be around. He was on his way home from work." Frisk paused and held in a laugh as she heard what could only be bones on wood just above them somewhere— June didn't seem to notice. "Mom's at a teacher's conference."
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Frisk followed the woman out of the room, only to be met by Gaster thumping in through the front door in a tizzy, his warm clothes for enduring the constant chills replaced by a black turtleneck under a lab coat. She had no idea how he'd changed so quickly.
"Frisk, sweetie, there you are," he said quickly. "Alright?"
"Mhm! Hi, dad!" she said brightly.
Gaster instantly froze up, colours tinting his cheekbones. The kid had to resist laughing and rolling her eyes. He gathered himself up in a hurry and strode to meet the woman at the bottom of the stairs.
"I hope you weren't too hard on her," he said. "She's a good kid. She's not in any trouble, is she?"
"Trouble? Oh, no no, sir, absolutely not," the woman said quickly. "It's not about that at all. I can explain it all to you if you like."
"That, uh… That would be good." He nodded and then gently patted Frisk on her head as she snuck around from behind June. "Honey, why don't you go outside and play with your brothers, okay?"
"Okay!" She hugged him around the legs and then rushed for the door.
"And don't forget to dress warmly," he said.
"Okay!"
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Frisk deflated with exhaustion the second the door clunked closed behind her. She laughed and rubbed her fingers through her hair, and then immediately booked it towards the inn. She caught Papyrus's eye before she'd even passed the celebration tree. He sprinted for her and bent to hug her tight, and she relaxed in his arms and clung to his shoulders.
"You did SO well!" he exclaimed.
"Thanks. Oh man. I was so tired of talking like that," she said. "Ugghh, done! Done. Super done."
"You weren't too scared, were you?" he asked.
"No. I'm okay," she assured him.
"What a relief!" he said. He bumped his brow against hers. "Nyeh, what a strange day."
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"So, that wasn't so bad, huh?" Sans turned up out of nowhere and patted Frisk on the shoulder. "Hey, uh, good job, sweetheart."
She laughed and hugged him. "Oh my god, you're such a goof."
He snickered and squished her. "Did good, sweet pea. Sweetheart. Sweetie pie."
Frisk giggled and beamed. "You sound like an old timey gangster movie guy when you say that."
That cracked him up, and he ruffled her hair affectionately. He tilted his head towards Grillby's. "C'mon, Cap's holdin' our seats."
"And yet we have milkshakes at hooooome," Papyrus scolded lightly.
"And there's still a weird human in our house," Sans said. "Who wants to wait?"
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Inside Grillby's, Frisk was greeted instantly with a bone crushing hug against a heavy metal breastplate. "Hi Undyne," she choked.
"Ah, squirt, you're real good, y'know?" she said. She plopped her down in a booth that was already filled with food, and shoved a burger into the kid's hands. "Oof. Think Gaster's done yet? I didn't want to go without seein' you, though."
"Thank you," she said.
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The big monster clunked herself onto the bench and wolfed down a half-burg, and then chugged a stein of some mysterious, amber liquid. She scooted over to make room for Papyrus as the skeletons joined them. The kid flopped up against Sans, drained, and was more than happy when he put his arm around her and slumped quite lazily himself.
"You guys were upstairs, right?" Frisk said quietly. "You heard all the stuff?"
"Sure did," Undyne said. "Had to stick around, y'know?"
"Phew!" She stretched her back and grabbed her phone. She texted Asriel and Toriel that it was done. "Gotta admit, though, Undyne, I kinda like calling you my big sister."
"HAH! Well. Maybe I kinda like hearin' it." She stuck her tongue out.
The kid lit right up. Papyrus cackled and nudged Undyne gently in the ribs.
"So do we, honestly!" he said brightly.
"Countin' on a little nepotism, bro?" Sans joked.
"Pfffft, no, as if I'd need that!" he said brightly. "But. I mean. If it would heeellppp…?"
"I dunno, Paps, if you're like my new little brother, I kinda wanna keep you even further from fightin' anybody," Undyne said.
"Aw." Papyrus pouted.
"But, I mean… That medic division is still not totally outta the question," she said with a shrug. "Maybe we can do something more official this time around, who knows?"
"Trade the Royal Guard for the Royal Guard Medic Division and a new sister… Hmmm… Well, that does sound pretty promising," he admitted. "Oooh, will there be cool uniforms?!"
Undyne barked out a laugh and thumped him heavily on the back.
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"Hey. So." The big monster turned her attention back on Frisk. "Weird that that lady was just lookin' for missing kids, though, right?"
"You'd think they could maybe do that without scaring the heck out of a not-missing kid," Papyrus grumbled. "But why would they think there would be even more humans down here?"
"Yeah, s'not really a coincidence that there was usually, like, a decade or more between humans showing up here when the barrier was up," she said. "It's just really out of the way. Heck, Frisk, I think you're probably the only person who ended up here on purpose."
"I guess maybe some of them were gone a long time. They must be desperate," Frisk said quietly. "One was, um… number six. If you heard that."
"Mhm." Sans squeezed her, just a little. "You did good."
"Thanks," she said. "I—" Her phone buzzed. She checked it— Gaster, though it was gibberish. "Uh… I think they're done already."
"Okay! Gotta go!" Undyne leapt over Papyrus and shoved her helmet on. She stuck her thumb up. "I'll be back tonight. Chill out for the rest of the day, okay?"
"We will do our best," Papyrus said.
.
Almost as soon as Undyne stomped out, Gaster slumped back in. He slipped into the booth and flopped against the backrest.
"That was strangely exhausting," he said. "Everyone alright?"
"Very relieved," Papyrus said.
Gaster reached across the table and held out his hands for Frisk. She grabbed him and he smiled brightly at her.
"I am so proud of you," he said.
"Did you run to Alphys's super fast?" she asked.
"That'd be me," Sans said. He winked. "Always wondered why we had so many lab coats that didn't fit us."
xXxXx
Asgore was a tremendous host: making pots of tea, serving plates of cookies, letting music play, and answering any question the human man left in his house had. Even so, that man was still agitated. Paced when he thought no one was watching. Asriel was always watching, though.
.
When a heavy knock on the door announced Undyne's return with the Ambassador, Asriel was more than relieved. The woman looked less shellshocked than last time. He watched with feigned shyness as Asgore welcomed her back into the house and invited her to sit down for tea. The man, Boyd, looked pleased to see her.
.
When the time came for them to leave, it was quite a bit of effort for Asriel to conceal how excited he was to see the tail end of them. However, the way out of the mountain was uncommonly dark for this time of day. Asriel squinted ahead suspiciously. His father hadn't noticed. He seemed to be having a good time chatting it up with the Ambassador. Asriel, however, felt cold water on his paws. He looked down and saw it was running down the stone from up the path.
.
Asriel dashed ahead and realized very quickly that rainclouds were smothering the sky just beyond the cavern. His heart sunk, but his ears lifted to the distant rumble of thunder. Cursing inside his head, the drone of heavy rain hit him. He didn't dare poke his head out, but he could see the crisp arcs of light slicing the clouds in the distance.
"Shit," he said at a whisper. He whipped around and looked at the others. He bit his lip— there was no way the humans could make it down the mountain in a storm like this. He gulped. "Um! It's raining really hard over here!"
.
The humans shared a worried look. Asgore put a hand on June's shoulder, and then pulled ahead to join Asriel. He peeked his head out and was immediately drenched. He spluttered and laughed, and then brushed back his shiny gold mane from his eyes.
"Wow, that sure is a storm, huh?" he said. He looked back at the humans and smiled apologetically. "It looks like we might be spending a little more time together."
June picked up the pace and snuck in close to him to peek out as well. "Oh. Wow. Y-Yeah. I think you're right. Is that okay?"
"Of course it is, Ambassador!" Asgore assured her quickly. "It's getting late. You and your friend can stay with me."
Despite the circumstances, the woman looked a little bit excited by the prospect. "Are you sure?"
"Yes! Don't you worry at all," Asgore put a hand on her back and walked with her towards the house again. "Come on, all of you! Let me show you around the city to pass the time. I can assure you, you won't be disappointed."
"I'll speed up the first gate, then," Asriel said.
"Hm?! Oh! Yes. Of course. The gate," his father said. "Go on ahead, son."
.
Asriel raised a paw in a wave and he booked it. He ran back up through the house and out onto the grey roads. He stopped quickly to phone Frisk. He half-expected her not to answer— napping, maybe— so he was overwhelmingly relieved when he heard her end of the line buzz to life.
"Az! Oh my god, what a weird day," she said.
He laughed. "Doin' okay, then?"
"Mhm! Oh man. And you wouldn't believe these guys. They've been kinda spoiling me." She snickered. "And jeez, dad is really cool. And… And it's so nice, I don't have to pretend to not be a weirdo around him because he knows everything already. It's… It's good."
Asriel couldn't help a fond smile. "That's great. I'm happy. I have, uh… not great news, though? Sorry."
"No, no, that's okay," she said quickly.
"The humans are staying for another day. The weather's crap. Can't get down the mountain," he said. "But I'll stop the guy from going to Snowdin. Don't worry."
"Thanks so much," she said. "That's fine. Everything bad I saw in the dream happened in Snowdin, so as long as he stays away, that should be fine."
"Yeah, but mom's still gonna be pissed, though." He leaned up on the wall. "There's something weird about all this. But I can't figure it out."
"Well, thanks for looking out for me," she said bashfully.
"Hey. Always." His ears perked slightly to the sound of footsteps slapping down the distant path behind him— far too light to be Asgore. "Think I gotta go, but maybe I can pop in later if Sans doesn't pass out."
"Thank you!" she said brightly.
He hung up and turned slightly. He could already see the human Ambassador jogging to catch up with him.
.
"Prince!" She raised her hand. "Hi!"
"Um. Howdy," he said. "What's up?"
"Your dad said we'd be heading out soon, so I thought I'd see if you can use a hand." She smiled brightly. "Is there anything I can do with this gate?"
"Oh. Um. Not really. But… I think it should be almost fine now," he said quickly. "Let me, uhh… Hang on one second." He fumbled with his phone and quickly phoned Alphys and waited a painful few seconds to see if she'd answer.
.
"Hey, Asriel," the lizard said as soon as she picked up. "H-How are things g-going?"
"Hey, Doctor Alphys," he said. "How's it going with the gate?"
"G-Gate? What gate? Oh no, did I miss a text?!"
"Yeah, the security gate? Retuning it for the new human and everything?" he said.
"Wh…? Oh. OH! I get it. Am I, um, on s-speakerphone?"
"Nope!"
"Okay, so w-we were pretending. That's fine. D-Don't worry. Do you want m-me to come up there and pretend to do a science th-thing?"
"That'd be so great! Thank you, Doctor Alphys!" he said brightly.
.
He clutched his phone close and stood in an awkward silence with the Ambassador for a few moments. He edged down the road and waved for her to follow.
"Is it very far?" she asked curiously.
"Nnnoo, not really, we just gotta wait for the Royal Scientist," he said.
The woman nodded. Her eyes drifted off to the side and she sighed and folded her arms. She smiled. "I never imagined this place would look like this."
Asriel watched her for a moment before continuing on. She hurried to keep up.
"Monsters are fascinating," she said. "Oh! Sorry. I mean, everything's just so different here."
"Yeah, guess it would be," Asriel said with a nod.
"I'm excited to learn more about all of this," she said. "Your father's been telling me the progress on the outside is going well. I'm looking forward to joining you. He said something about making a spot near the city centre." She smiled. "I'm excited to help, where I can. It's going to be a big change. For your people and for ours, too."
"…So you're sticking around? For a long time?" he asked.
"That's the plan," she said. "After Starhome is a bit more finished, anyway."
Well, not the worst thing in the world, Asriel thought. At least she seemed enthusiastic. "Uh! I'm sure you'll like it. Just, um… Once you start eating monster food for a while, don't switch back."
"Oh really? Why?" she asked.
"Trust me, your butt will thank me," he said.
.
It didn't take long for the elevator at the end of the path to make indications that it was occupied. When Alphys came out, she was wearing a lab coat with seemingly as little stains as she could find, clutching a medical bag and a tuning fork tightly. She adjusted her glasses quickly and, though her expression was taut with nerves, she smiled slightly and bowed to Asriel.
"Your H-Highness," she said.
He held in a laugh. "Doctor Alphys! So. Um. This is the human Ambassador." He gestured to the woman. "Um. So…?"
"Oh! Right! Um." Alphys straightened up and pulled out some seemingly random objects and her phone from the bag and fumbled with them for a second. "It's, um! A-Almost done! But I can s-speed it along for you, Prince."
"Thanks," he said.
.
The little lizard's face got all sweaty under the gaze of the curious human who hung back a little behind Asriel. She fiddled with her objects and typed things into her phone, holding it up as if trying to get a signal from somewhere. June watched her curiously, her eyes lighting up.
"Um, excuse me? I don't mean to interrupt," she said, "but are you a scientist?"
"Uhhh… Y-Yes?" Alphys said.
"Do you work with Doctor Gaster?" she said. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."
"Mmno. J-Just, um, this," Alphys said.
"So where is this gate, exactly?"
"Hm? G-Gate? Oh, it's uhh… It's everywhere!" Alphys said. "It's, um… i-invisible. In this, um… area. Ummm… Sort of like a f-force field? We just, um, call it a gate." She tapped her tuning fork against the wall and listened to it. After a second, she nodded as if she had gleaned some secret information from it. She shot Asriel a questioning look.
"It worked, right?" he asked.
"Ah! Y-Yes! Yes. It should be fine now! Um…" She backed up a couple steps and awkwardly raised a hand. "B-Bye!" She ran away quickly, back into the elevator, and shot away downwards as quick as she could.
.
Asriel took June back home and gave his father the go ahead and, enthusiastically, Asgore herded the humans out of the house. The kid hung back, however. He would much rather be back home. He texted Sans where he was and, before he even laid eyes on the skeleton, Asriel was whisked away back to the house in Snowdin.
.
Sans patted him on the head before flopping back into the corner of the couch with Papyrus and Frisk, the latter of which was wrapped in a blanket, half-asleep on her brother's chest as he, too, lay back drowsily.
"Hello, Asriel, welcome back!" Papyrus said.
"Hey." He squished in snugly with Sans and rubbed his face. "Oh man, what a weird day."
Groggily, Frisk slipped off Papyrus and he moved his legs to give her more room as she went to give the boy a hug. He hadn't realized how anxious he'd been until he caved and clutched her close, burying his snout against the crook of her neck. He was so tired.
"Glad you're here," she said.
"Thanks. Think I got an hour or two."
.
Sans patted his head and the kid smiled bashfully.
"You're doin' real good," he said.
"Thanks." Asriel let Frisk go and yawned into his paws. "Jeez. Did I mention how much I hate pretending I'm like a child stereotype?"
"I know, it's exhausting, right?" She laughed.
Papyrus smiled groggily. "Oh, Frisk, you're going to be fine. And mom will be home soon and everything will be even better. I'm excited to see what happens, I bet she's going to be happy. And, also—!"
.
He lost his train of thought when the front door burst open loudly and Undyne heaved herself and a backpack into the house.
"HEY, PUNKS," she said loudly. She flopped down onto the floor and let out an exhausted sigh. "Shit, what a day."
"They're still here," Asriel said.
Undyne groaned and put her arm over her eye. Frisk slipped down to sit with her and plopped onto her back, too.
"When are they leaving?" Undyne asked.
"When the weather isn't crap," Asriel said.
"I hate that," she said. "Okay. Uh. I brought some vidya and anime, anyone want?"
"Heck yeah I want." Frisk sat up and rubbed the back of her head. "Anything's better than just lying around worrying, right?"
"That's the spirit." Undyne stuck her thumb up. "Just… gimme me a minute to lie here and worry."
xXxXx
There was a box filled to the top with clothes sitting on the bed. It felt so strangely normal for Gaster to pull through them— these old shirts and such that had been his a long time ago. Papyrus had dragged them all from the closet for him. The young skeleton had always wondered where all these clothes had come from, since most of them were a bit too monochrome or dark for his tastes, and were clearly too large for Sans. Gaster liked the plain, mostly black and grey outfits, though. It meant he didn't have to think about what he was wearing at all.
.
He could hear the voices of everyone downstairs lifting a little. He felt his fingers quiver and he took a deep breath and held his hands against his chest. His soul still sounded like a discordant mess. That was okay, though.
.
He changed into the coziest sweater he had— one that had been knitted by Toriel, in fact, eons ago. Grey with white geometric patterns and stars on it, and a high collar to keep his boney neck warm.
.
He snuck down the stairs and watched for a while as everyone gathered around the TV. They were playing some sort of game pretty enthusiastically. Frisk was cozied in the lap of that big, blue fish monster as she seemed to focus pretty hard on whatever they were playing. He almost choked when he saw Asriel was there as well, lazing on the couch in between Sans and Papyrus. The kid noticed him, too, and turned and waved with a big grin.
"Ah! There you are!" Papyrus hopped from his seat and grabbed Gaster by the shoulders, whisking him over to the couch. "Take my spot! Go on."
.
The skeleton didn't have time to protest, especially as his son gave him a hug, then leapt away to settle in comfortably beside Undyne and Frisk. He felt almost faint from the warmth. Asriel scooted up beside him and smiled brightly.
"You still have that, huh?" He pointed at the sweater. "That's kinda amazing. Feeling okay?"
"Not bad," Gaster said quietly. "Can I, uh…? Sorry." He turned in his seat and cupped the boy's face. "Hm… These stripes…"
"Got a few more on my back and stuff. And the horns, too, huh?" He smiled sideways and held Gaster's hands. "It's because I'm always fused with a little of Frisk's soul, now."
"Is that how that worked?" he asked with surprise.
"Yup! I mean. It's funny because… Her soul is normal now. Well. Normalish," he said.
"You can still see the white points sometimes," Frisk said— her eyes didn't leave the screen as she concentrated intently on the breakneck platformer she was fighting through.
"We're still figurin' it out ourselves," Sans said when Gaster's brow furrowed with confusion. "Seems like her infinity determination number didn't change. And it's not like she has monster magic now. But we've found strangers are able to heal her better than before, at least."
"Hm…" Gaster held in his desire to run some tests as soon as possible. "Interesting."
"It did some crazy stuff for a bit, though." Asriel grinned slyly. "Frisk was basically a blue goat for a while."
"True," she said. "Not so fuzzy though!"
"I thought it was pretty cool," Undyne laughed.
"And I was huge for a few weeks," he said. "But. I also kinda looked like a weird giant beast with gorilla arms, so I'm pretty happy where I am now."
"I'm very glad," Gaster said.
.
To be honest, though, the skeleton was having trouble not just hugging everyone here. It was seriously exacerbated when the kid kicked back and leaned against him. He wanted to say something but couldn't think of it. There was too much. He froze. Asriel tilted his head back and grinned at him.
"It's still so weird seeing you again," he said. "But I bet it's even weirder for you, right? I'm glad you're back, though."
That was enough for him. He hugged the kid again and squished him quite tight. Asriel snickered.
.
"This is going to be really nice when everything gets settled," Papyrus said brightly. "Ooh, I can't wait until mom gets home and your little vacation is over, Asriel!"
"Yeah. Probably gonna take another one, though. Next weekend, maybe." He pouted. "These freakin' humans are stealing all my dad-time. HEY. Fishface."
"Sup, scrublord?" Undyne said.
"Come over for dinner more, dad loves that shit," he said, leaning over the edge of the couch.
"Hah. Yeah. I should," she said.
"Someone else take this, I can't beat these freakin' jumping cat things," Frisk said, sticking the controller in the air.
"Gimme that, I got super reflexes," Asriel joked, rolling onto the floor.
.
He switched places with Frisk, and the kid plopped onto her back on the floor for a few seconds before heaving herself up and stretching her arms high above her head until her back cracked.
"…What is this super reflexes?" Gaster asked, puzzled.
"That soul fuse thing again," Asriel said.
"Oh." He stared blankly, but didn't ask more despite the curiosity perked in his eyes. He cautiously extended a hand to Frisk. "Um. Frisky? May I…?"
"Hm? Oh!" She plopped down beside him and put a hand over her soul spot. "Yeah, of course."
.
The red lit beneath her fingers and the shape of a heart glowed forth. She frowned, focussing hard, and her irises shifted red as the white constellation points in her soul shone through.
"Ah, there we go!" she said. "They don't always show."
"…And your eyes have gone red," Gaster said softly.
"Oh yeah? Weird!"
"What, again?!" Undyne turned to look. "Did we figure that out yet?"
"Not really," Frisk said.
"Maybe she's flaring up like skeletons do," Papyrus suggested. "Only. She has human eyes. So it's odd and isn't as bright or anything."
Gaster carefully rested his fingertips against her soul's light, a shimmer of red glowing within the gap in his hand. "I… I don't feel them."
"My theory's she doesn't actually need 'em at all and just keeps 'em for sentimental value," Sans joked, shooting her a grin.
"That's silly though!" Frisk leaned back into Sans's shoulder and tilted her head to look up at him. She let the glow die and the red in her eyes began to fade, too. "I bet they're important."
"Honest answer is, we have no clue," Sans said.
Gaster tilted his head. The short skeleton and the kid both shrugged. He smiled fondly and patted Frisk's head.
xXxXx
Far too soon for anyone's taste, Asriel got a message from his father that they were almost home, and so Sans dropped the kid back off in his bedroom at the other house. He pretended like he'd been taking a nap, yawning and stretching as he left a little while after hearing the others come back in and giant paws heading for the door. His father greeted him with a big smile and a take-out bag.
"We got some dinner," he said. "Sorry you didn't come with us! We had some nice conversations."
"Sure. Um. Thanks, dad," he said.
.
The big monster knelt down to get to his son's level and smiled slightly, tilting his head. "How were the others?"
"Tired. But okay," he said.
"Frisk wasn't too frightened, was she?" he asked gently.
Asriel shook his head. His father smiled and gently patted his shoulder.
"What do you think, join us for some after-dinner tea? Or. During-dinner tea, in your case?"
Asriel held in a sigh. He nodded. The way his father's face lit up like the sun silenced most of his annoyance.
.
The humans were waiting in the living room, which seemed oddly surreal to Asriel. They were accompanied by a few shopping bags, piled up near the armchair and the computer desk. The man was at the table, looking a little less grim than before. Tired, though. He'd finally taken off his sunglasses. The Ambassador was squatting down, looking through Asgore's bookshelf curiously. She stood up and bowed the moment she noticed him approaching the table. He smiled sideways.
"You don't gotta bow every single time you see me," he said.
"Oh! Thank you." She bowed again and then hurriedly straightened up. "Did you have a good night so far, Prince?"
"S'okay," he said. "My sister told me you were pretty nice to her. Thanks. She was scared."
"Scared? What for?" June asked shrilly.
"Well, I mean," Asriel said as he clambered up into a seat and pulled out his food: macaroni and cheese, and some hushpuppies, "she was always scared of humans. Nobody took care of her on the surface. Only we did down here. She was really scared you might try to make her go with you."
"Oh, no no, we couldn't… We wouldn't do that, " June said quickly.
"Good!" he said brightly.
.
June carefully grabbed a book off the shelf and sat beside him at the table as Asgore walked by and put his big paw on Boyd's shoulder.
"Don't worry so much, my friend, I'm sure you will be on your way soon," he said.
"Something wrong?" Asriel asked.
"Ah. Yes. Their phones don't work from here, I'm afraid," Asgore said, his brow tilted apologetically.
"We were supposed to report back in," June explained. "I'm sure it'll be okay. It's just because of the storm, I'm sure they'll understand."
"Oh." Asriel patted down his pockets and then slid his phone across the table to her. "Use mine. It might work a little better."
"Can I? Thank you!" she said brightly.
"Ah, yes, his is a lot newer than mine," Asgore said with a smile. "Why didn't I think of that?"
.
June curled up with the phone, her eyes skimming it with interest. Asriel scooted closer and peered over as her fingers traced the screen. His father gently nudged the man and held out a paw, gesturing to the kitchen.
"Would you mind helping me prepare the tea?" he asked.
Boyd shook his head and joined him, leaving June fawning over the monster-tech phone.
.
"It's a bit different than ours," she said quietly. "But not too different! I guess these are apps, too?"
"Yup." Asriel pointed out the little smooth icons on the screen. "There's a camera, the radio, the phone, some games, the item box—"
"Item box?" she repeated.
"Oh! You guys don't have those?" He grinned. "Oh man. They're useful. Watch this." He tapped the app and ran hit finger along a basic list of some stuff that he had in there. With one tap on the name, a book he'd been reading materialized on the table.
June stared at the book blankly for a few seconds. She extended a cautious finger and touched the cover, only to recoil as if she expected it to be hot. She scrambled to pick the thing up and flipped through it, eyes skimming the pages. "Oh my god. Oh. My. God."
"You guys really don't have that yet, huh?" he said.
"H-How much does this hold?!" she demanded shrilly, picking up the phone and moving it up and down as if to check if the weight had changed. "How on earth did…?! To compress matter like that—"
"Not matter. It's magic," he said. "It's a monster book, it's made of magic."
The woman put a hand to her mouth. Her eyes glimmered. "That's funny, that's one of the most amazing things I've seen here."
Asriel snickered. "Flashy stuff doesn't do it for you, huh?"
The Ambassador looked at him with a glazed expression. He smiled sideways.
"Oh, you haven't actually seen anything flashy, huh?" He turned his hand palm-up on the table and effortlessly conjured a red flame, flickering harmlessly in his fur.
.
June's eyes became orb-like and glossy. She leaned in over the fire, gawking. Asriel laughed.
"Guess not." He let it sputter out in a display of sparks and grinned at the human. "You know, I could set the whole room on fire and not burn a single thing. Neat, huh?"
"That's amazing," she said, her voice hoarse. "Wow. Um. C-Can, um…? Can all monsters do that?"
"No. All monsters use magic, though. Not everyone uses fire magic," he said.
.
"Ah! Were you showing our guest your magic?" Asgore walked back in with a smile on his face. He knelt near the fireplace and gently blew into it, setting it ablaze with a warm, crackling magic flame, with little embers that carried an undertone of gentle green. "Ambassador, you should come study in the Archives or in the lab once you're all settled in! I'm sure there's much more to see if you're interested in magic."
"Thanks, your Highness." She stood up and pointed at the phone. "Is it okay if I—?"
Asriel nodded and pointed out of the room and back down the hallway. She excused herself swiftly and hurried away with Asriel's phone in hand.
xXxXx
It felt like it took forever for the adults to decide to go to bed. Asriel put up with a few more rounds of questioning beforehand, and then gladly surrendered his room for them to use to sleep. They had refused taking two rooms, though, so Asgore dragged out an old mattress and quilts, and then let the humans get comfortable inside. He left them with a warning, though, to not eat any human food they might have brought with them, since the lack of bathrooms in the kingdom could turn out to be rather problematic.
.
Though his dad had offered him a spot on his massive bed, Asriel had declined for the time being. He spent some time reading through the humans' papers again, searching out anything suspect that he had missed. It didn't really seem like it, but he still didn't trust the man.
.
After Asgore turned in and the boy huddled up in the living room chair, he heard slightly raised voices from the bedroom the humans were staying in. Flinching, he slipped over to the door on soft paws and raised his ears.
The Ambassador was talking. "Listen. There… I mean, there was a little resemblance, but—"
"So was it her or not?" he insisted.
"I don't think so, Boyd. I really don't," she said. "She said she was seven. And her skin wasn't the same colour. Most of all, the DNA profile didn't match. Not to anyone. I'm sorry."
"But what…? What if…? I dunno, what if the magic here changed her somehow," he pushed. "Please, June, I gotta… I gotta see her myself. I need to know."
"You'll have to ask the King," June said with a sigh. "Lady Toriel won't be happy."
"If it was her kid—"
"That is her kid," she said.
The man went quiet. The air was tense and silent for a while. June sighed.
"I'll do what I can," she said. "But I can't guarantee…"
"That's all I'm askin'," the man said. "I don't want to leave without… Thank you."
.
Asriel had to quell a groan of annoyance. He stayed still where he was for a while, but the humans didn't say much after that. They might have gone to sleep. He sure hoped so, anyway, he was getting tired of playing the spy.
.
He retreated to his chair and texted Frisk, though he hoped she wouldn't get it yet. Hoped she was asleep. After half an hour of nothing from anybody, Asriel slipped away to his father's room. He collapsed on the foot of the giant bed and put his arm over his eyes. Worry sped his soul, but exhaustion weighed his eyelids. He rolled over and stashed his phone half under his arm and went to the alarm clock. There was a motion sensor option for whatever reason, but he activated it on a five minute timer and then chucked his phone across the room like a low-flung discus. It slid under the door and he heard it clunk against the wall. Perfect.
.
"Asriel…?" Asgore's voice was sluggish and craggy.
"Hey, dad, sorry, I wake you up?" he asked.
"Mmno, no…"
Asriel could feel his father shift and he was lazily scooped up into a warm, sleepy hug. The kid sighed and allowed himself to be held and rocked gently. There was a familiarity about this that was comforting, in a way. Maybe he could actually get a little sleep like this.