SUPER PRINCE CHAPTER 12:
Rough nights lead to lazy, sluggish mornings. Even the drifting of the snow seemed more lethargic than usual. Technically, school was on today. Frisk wasn't going. Sans probably wasn't teaching. They moved like snails.
.
Papyrus was just as bouncy as usual, if not a little cautious. He stepped outside with Undyne to begin their training routine as Toriel shuffled groggily around the kitchen, making breakfast. Coffee was brewing, bubbling dark and hot, and she laid out mugs with one hand as she gently shook pancakes on the stovetop with the other. Beside her, Gaster squatted in front of the open fridge, yawning and peering through the shelves.
"Ah… I should go shopping," he said quietly.
"Is it still quite empty?" she asked.
"Quite full. Of pastries. And ketchup." He laughed and rubbed the back of his skull. He straightened up and peeked out of the kitchen. "Some ginger soda might be nice…"
.
Sans and Frisk were on the couch, curled up together under some blankets. They had a book with them, but both of them looked far too tired to even lift it.
"Hey. You two? Do…? Do you need anything?" he asked gently.
Sans's eyes flitted up. He poked the kid in his arms. She rubbed her eyes with her palm and shook her head.
"Breakfast is almost ready," he said.
"Thanks." Frisk's voice was sleepy and soft.
.
Gaster gnawed his fingertips as he retreated. Toriel passed him a mug of coffee and he held it close and tight.
"I'm worried about them," she said quietly.
"I am as well." He drummed his fingertips against the mug. "Have they told you much about their dreams?"
"Yes. It's… almost unbelievable. But, Asriel has them as well, and even Papyrus gets drawn in, but to a lesser extent, so I'm told." She sipped from her mug and her brow furrowed. "Is this something you're familiar with?"
"I am. Maybe a little too familiar," he said.
"I just don't understand why these dreams are so… I don't know." She shook her head.
"Honestly? Calling them dreams is… Well. It's a deliberate oversimplification," Gaster said. "These things have happened. Or, will happen. And they feel very real as they are experienced. Which is why they're so exhausting."
"I can't even imagine," Toriel said. "So, what exactly are they supposed to do? Not sleep?"
"That would make it worse, in fact," he said. "It shouldn't always be like this, though."
"Seems like it's been every night for a while," she said, her fur bristling.
.
"Almost." Frisk slipped into the room and she shot them a tired smile. "We'll, um… We'll be okay."
Toriel's mouth went taut. She placed her coffee aside and bent down to embrace the kid, touching her big, soft snout against her head. "How do we help you?"
"Dunno." Frisk rubbed her head bashfully when her mother pulled back. "See, um, a stressful thing always makes it worse. And then it might take a day or two after for it to not be like that anymore. But… I mean… I dunno, they have been kinda weirder than usual recently."
"Sans mentioned," Gaster said. "You… may be seeing farther. Right?"
"Um. Maybe? I mean… That might make sense." She shrugged. "It's fine. I'm okay. I just…" She stole a glance back over her shoulder. She laughed tiredly and then raised her voice as she leaned outta the kitchen. "I'm just a weird time god thingy and I wanna protect my goofy big brother, is all!"
Sans snorted and laughed. Frisk grinned.
"Hey. Lemme make you some coffee you actually like, okay?" she said.
"You can try," he said.
.
She dragged a chair in and stood up near the counter, grabbing ahold of the carafe tightly and carefully in her small hands. As she poured some coffee into a mug, Gaster crept in close and peered over her shoulder to watch her. She only filled the mug halfway and then dragged over a container of sugar to pour a bunch in. She stirred, then jumped down from her chair and moved it over to another part of the counter— her father sidestepped to stay out of her way. She fetched the cinnamon, and then the milk and ketchup from the fridge. A chair-move back, and she was stirring all of it together in a mug. Gaster leaned in again as she tried some on the tip of her finger and winced.
"Not good?" he asked.
"It's perfect," she said with a laugh.
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As she carried it back to Sans, the front door pushed open and a tired-eyed Asriel wandered inside, yawning.
"Oh hi!" Frisk said.
"Hey, nerds," he said. "Uncle G. Mom."
Gaster froze up, but he raised his hand, and Toriel greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the head.
"Good morning, sweetheart," she said. "I'm glad you're home. Would you like some breakfast?"
"It's fine, dad fed me," he said. He flopped over the couch onto Sans and held onto him tightly. "You're a goddamn mess."
"What else is new?" he asked, patting the kid's head.
Asriel hugged him and settled in. The skeleton raised his brows.
"Shut up, I'll pay you back when I'm big and furry," Asriel said.
"Welp. Can't complain about that," he said.
The kid sighed. "I guess maybe Frisk's stuff wore off on me," he said. "Because, like, I'm really pissed that all this messes you up so bad and I kinda wanna protect your dumb bones, bro."
"Brotect." Frisk nodded solemnly.
.
Sans grinned big, snorted, and cracked right up. He pulled both kids in under his arms and squished them. Frisk giggled. Toriel smiled at them fondly.
"Asriel, what do you think, are you up to getting ready for school this morning?"
"Oh. Ah. Hah… About that." He sat up and smiled sideways. "I'm, uh. Suspended. So."
Frisk's stomach dropped. "Oh no, I forgot about that."
"Suspended?! Again?!" Toriel barked. "When?! What?! What on earth…?! Asriel!"
"I know, I know, I'm sorry." He raised his paws. "In my defence… It was worth it."
"Oh, for god's sake. What did he do?" Toriel turned that question on Sans.
Sans merely pointed back at the kid. Frisk quickly stood up, looking apologetic.
"I-It's all my fault, mom, I'm really sorry," she said.
"Honey, no offence intended, but I don't believe that for a second," Toriel said.
"Okay, look, Frisk got punched in the head by some dork who was trying to punch someone else in the head, so she got sent out for fighting," Asriel said. "That didn't seem fair to me. So. I just chucked a guy in the river and melted someone's hat. That's it."
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Toriel raised a finger; opened her mouth, scowling and incredulous for an instant. She drooped slightly, sighed, and rubbed her brow. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Please d-don't be too mad," Frisk said. "He… I mean. He was trying to help."
Toriel sighed. "How long?"
"I dunno, probably like… a day? Or two?" Asriel said. "Oh, and Frisk is, too. I mean, not like she goes anyway, but…"
"I am?! Oh… Y-Yeah. I… I got so caught up in everything else and… I'm really sorry, mom," she said sheepishly.
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Toriel's lip curled but her anger now seemed to be directed at something beyond the front door. "I'm going to have a talk with… Ah…" She sighed and rubbed her head. "You are not in trouble, Frisk. But, Asriel… No video games while you're out. And you take your lessons with S…? Oh. No, Sans, you're far too tired for this, I'm sure. Take your lessons with Gaster, okay?"
"Okay." He threw his hands up and rested them behind his head, grinning. "No problem."
"Don't look so smug," she said, thought she couldn't help but crack a smile. "Listen. My child, I understand, you meant to help your sister. But please, try not to get into any more fights this season?"
"I'll try," he said.
"Asriel."
"Okay, okay, I promise I won't," he said.
"Thank you." Toriel smiled warmly. She knelt down to the worried kid standing before her and smooched her on the forehead. "Oh, sweetie, relax, you're not in trouble."
"O-Okay," she said.
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Toriel raised up and cast her gaze on Gaster, who was peeking cautiously out of the kitchen. "Is that alright with you, my friend?"
"It is. Uh. Asriel, just… tell me what you need to study and I'll do my best," he said.
"Thanks, Uncle G," he said. "Jeez, Frisk, you gonna cry?"
"N-No!" she squeaked indignantly. She wiped her eyes anyway.
xXxXx
Asriel was surprisingly eager to sit with Gaster to go over the school notes his mother had left behind. As they sat at the side table with some books and paper, Frisk flopped beside them, watching them silently, exhausted, her cheek squished against the wood as she zoned out between plates of pancakes.
.
When Asriel got to work, Gaster rested his hand on her head.
"A stór, you can go back to bed, if you like," he said gently. "Not… Not that you need my permission, of course."
She stuck her thumb up. Her father patted her hair absently. She could have gone to sleep right there instead.
.
When Asriel finished one of his homework sheets and put it aside, she leaned forward and picked it up to give it a read. Some history worksheet. He'd finished it very quickly, with overly long answers. Flexing. A little sassy. She smiled faintly and put it aside.
"Hey, dad? You gonna go with Undyne today?" she asked.
"What for?" he asked.
"Attunement thing," she said.
"Oh! Oh. I forgot about that. I will, if she has time," he said.
"Definitely do it," Asriel said. "It's funny, she looks like just a big tough dope, but she's got probably the best soul fix in the underground. It even helped me when I was giant and weird for a while."
Gaster nodded. Frisk smiled sympathetically.
"Bring Papyrus," she said.
He patted her head gently in reply. "I will."
.
The kid sat up a bit and stretched her back, and then peeked over at Sans. She sighed and heaved herself out of her chair and wandered over to him, where he was slumped halfway off the couch. She pushed him back up and chucked his blanket over him, lighting the magic in her hand and holding the side of his head gently.
"Has he been like this all weekend?" Asriel asked.
"Yeah, it's been… Yeah."
"Poor guy," he said.
Sans stuck one hand up slightly. "I'm fine." His voice was low and soft. He opened one eye slightly and poked Frisk on her forehead. "Quit worryin' so much."
"Nope!" She grinned.
He laughed and then drowsily rolled over.
.
Frisk returned to the table, laid her head down on her arms, and dozed off. When she came to, her face kind of hurt, and the house was still and greyish save for some rambling dialogue and white light coming from the TV. Blinking groggily, she sat up, a patchwork blanket falling away from her shoulders. She grabbed it and held it close like a cape. It seemed like everyone was gone, except Asriel, who was parked on the couch with a book of sudoku and a stack of old tapes. The Mettaton voice Frisk recognized from the television was the one from Circuit Super Investigator.
.
Stiff-legged, Frisk ambled over and flopped heavily beside Asriel. He shot her a sympathetic smile.
"Feelin' any better?" he asked.
She shrugged.
"Undyne dragged the guys to Waterfall," he said. "Paps even made Sans go. But, who knows, it might be good for him. I told them to let you sleep."
"…I hope they all feel better," Frisk said.
"Think it could help you?" he asked.
She shrugged again. He sighed and chucked his book away like a discus, and then grabbed her and held her close.
"Okay, serious, what the hell do we do you with you guys?" he asked.
"Aren't you feeling weird?" she asked, puzzled. "It… It does even worse stuff to you."
"Sure, but it… I dunno. I think… I really think it's Sans," he said. "He's been going through this for how long? I mean. The bad ones. Years, right? And then your energy hangs onto his and won't let go. The worse he feels, the worse you feel. And me, I dunno, I was across the Kingdom from it. I'm not… I'm not the same as you guys. We're connected, but I'm not stuck as close to him, if that makes sense."
"Yeah, I guess," she said. She gave him a hug and smooched his cheek before letting herself fall back and lie on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. Her stomach hurt.
.
"I, um… I talked a little with him last night after we woke up," she said. "He kinda thinks that the Papyrus we saw last night might be a real guy. From somewhere else."
"Is that possible?" Asriel asked.
"I guess?"
"I guess that would make sense with how he was talking," he said. "Does that freak you out?"
"Little bit. But he was nice so… It's not too bad," she said. "It's more… I don't know why time stuff is breaking so hard."
"Could it be me?" Asriel wondered. "Since like… my soul shouldn't exist?"
"I don't know," Frisk said.
"Or maybe your dad, since he was in the void place so long?" he said.
"I really don't know." The kid sighed and rubbed her forehead with the heels of her hands. "Should I be doing something about it?"
"I dunno," he said. "Sorry."
.
She rolled onto the floor and went to the kitchen. There was a bag in there that looked out of place and when she peeked inside, it was her mother's lunch. She grabbed it.
"Az, mom forgot her lunch," she said. "I'm gonna bring it to her, okay? Wanna come?"
"Love to. Can't," he said. "I'm banished, remember?"
.
Grabbing her heavy black hoodie, scarf, and some boots, Frisk headed out into town towards the river. The streets were a little busier than average today; more kids about. That didn't make much sense to her. As she turned towards the river, she was stopped by someone calling her name. She turned, puzzled, to see a rabbit boy coming towards her. She recognized him.
"You're Frisk, right?" he said. "Hey. Uh. Sorry about punchin' you right in the face the other day. I didn't really mean to."
"Oh. Um. That's okay," she said.
"Well, I mean, I saw you weren't in school, so… I mean, nobody's in school now, but…" His ears drooped. "I, um… I mean, it's not really fair that you got in trouble."
"That's nice of you, but maybe punch people less," she joked.
He laughed, but his ears wilted, embarrassed. "Your brother kinda beat me up and I told my dad about what happened and he said I was acting like a jerk. So, um. I guess I probably was acting like a jerk. Sorry, y'know?"
"Oh jeez." Frisk rubbed her head and laughed. "It's okay. Um. Why isn't anybody in school?"
"The principal got really mad at one of the substitutes and lit some of the rooms on fire." He shrugged. "She sent everyone home."
.
Frisk burst out laughing. The rabbit cocked his head. She waved at him dismissively.
"Oh. Man. Sorry. That's just…" She couldn't help a grin. "That's really funny. Thanks."
He nodded and then looked past her, up towards the river. "You're not going over there, are you?"
"Yeah, gotta," she said. "Thanks for the warning, though."
He stuck his thumbs up and, at the sound of another few young, male voices calling him, he waved and stepped away to join more monsters on main street.
.
Frisk kept on ahead, taking the short boat trip down a little cave passage and to the other side of the river. The school was past a few little burbs of houses and through a field dotted with pine trees decorated with sparkling, festive lights. The field was even brighter now because the old-fashioned schoolhouse was indeed on fire. Frisk snorted and shook her head.
.
She elbowed the door open and the heat was noticeable as sparks danced through the cracks in the stone on the walls. She wandered the halls until she found where the blaze was strongest, through the principal's office, a dark brown door with a frosted glass window.
.
Beyond that sat Toriel at her desk, frowning and dour, as she wrote something with intense concentration. She snorted and flame came from her nostrils.
"Hey, uh, mom?" Frisk said.
Toriel jerked up instantly, eyes wide, and the fire in the walls cooled. "Frisk?! What are you doing here, my child?"
"You, um…" She tried not to laugh. She grinned and lifted up the neatly folded bag. "You forgot your lunch."
"Oh." Toriel sighed out the word and put her face in her hands. She laughed roughly. "Thank you." When she lifted her head, her smile was apologetic. "I just have to do an hour or so more of work and then I will be home, alright?"
"Sure." She eyed the flames licking the ceiling as she put the bag on her mother's desk. "So, um…"
"Ah, never mind that," she said quickly. "I will see you at home. And, um. Tell your brother that he may play some video games, if he wishes."
Frisk smiled. "Will do."
.
On her way home, despite the walk being nothing out of the usual, the half-expected tightness in Frisk's chest returned. She paused to take a breather near the crossroads between the burbs and main street. She considered calling Papyrus— squeezed her phone in her pocket and did nothing instead. They were doing the attunement now, she thought. She shouldn't interrupt. It was hard, but she caught her breath and continued on her way.
.
Before she'd gotten very far, she heard footsteps rushing up behind her and, after a moment a yellow lizard monster in a pink and green poncho dodged in front of her. She was quite a bit taller than her, maybe a teenager, with short little arms and spines running along her head and down her neck.
"Hey, Frisk," the monster said brightly.
"Oh, hi," she said.
"Glad I caught you," she said. "You guys moving out soon? For the surface and stuff?"
Puzzled, Frisk nodded. "Um. Next month, I think?"
"Oh, cool, do you know whereabouts?" she asked. "Dad was asking."
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The kid was baffled. She couldn't say she knew who this monster was or who her dad was, either. "Um. Well," Frisk said. "There's like a valley, right? That's where the main town is. We're, um…" She tried to mime the dip of the valley with her hands, rising up into the surrounding area. "We're just kinda south? On the flat bit, still near the mountain. Kinda near where the King is?"
"Oh! Wow, okay, that's perfect," the monster said brightly. "Dad'll be happy. He wanted to set up kinda near you. He thinks that's the safest, y'know, since you're a human, you can keep other humans away. Plus, y'know, my brother'll be really happy."
"Your brother," Frisk repeated.
"I'm really glad you two became such good friends. Means I have to worry about him less," she said with a sideways smile. She turned her head and her brows raised. "Ah! Right on cue."
.
Frisk leaned around her to look and saw Kid bounding up to see them with a big grin on his face.
"Yo, Flora," he said brightly. "Oh! You found her!"
"Sure did, shortie," she said with a smile. "Got the answer, too."
"Aw man, you win," he said.
"Well, I have longer legs." She patted his head and then turned to wave at Frisk as she left. "Thanks again, Frisk!"
.
Frisk waved and smiled, but her mind tripped over itself. Flora. She'd never seen Flora before.
"We were racing," Kid said. "Kinda silly, I know, but—"
"She's your big sister," Frisk said quietly.
"Well. Yeah," he said brightly.
"And we've… met before," she said.
Kid raised his brows. "Uh, yeah, of course! She picks me up from your place all the time," he said. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Um! Y-Yeah, I'm, uh…" Her brow furrowed. "But. Um. The first time we met…?"
"Was at the play. You know. When my whole family showed up after?" he said.
.
Frisk folded her arms and thought hard about it. She could picture it as if she'd seen it, though it came with a sort of warbling song of energy that made her uncomfortable. Kid looked worried.
"Seriously. Are you okay?" he asked.
"Oh! Yeah," she said. "I'm fine. Sorry. I just… uh… Sorry, it's been a weird few days, I guess."
.
Kid snickered and smiled fondly. "When isn't it for you? More time stuff? Did I miss anything?"
"Kinda, but not like that," Frisk said. "Um. I… I met my dad?"
"Your dad?!" Kid's eyes went wide. "Dude! You…? Oh. Jeez. You… aren't going away with him, are you?"
"No, no no, he's staying with us," Frisk said. "Even if he was the leaving kind, I'd stay."
"That's good," Kid said. "But that's so weird, though, how did he find you all the way down here?"
"It's, um, kinda complicated." Frisk smiled sheepishly. "Also he's, um, not a human, by the way."
"What? Wait, WHAT?!" Kid yelped. "Are you not a human?!"
"I'm a human," she said. "He, uh… Well, he's like, a super good monster scientist. And he made me by sorta blowing himself up into time and space."
"Okaaay," he said, raising his brows.
"Also he's a skeleton," she said.
"A… skeleton?" Kid's eyes seemed to bug out of his head. "You don't mean Doctor Gaster, do you?!"
"You know him?" she asked.
"Oh my god." His jaw dropped. "Yeah, dude, of course! Who doesn't? He's advises the King on like, everything ever. He's, like, such a huge nerd. And everyone knows he built the CORE for us and stuff. He's kind of a hero. Jeez, if anyone couldn't make a… a human out of nothing, of course it'd be him! So, wait, did he, like, make you to save us?!"
"Um, I think I was an accident," she said bashfully.
"Best accident ever!" he said with a grin. "Hey. I'm super happy for you. I bet he was really happy to see you, too."
"Y-Yeah. Yeah. He was."
"Were you happy?" he asked.
"Yeah. Really happy," she said.
.
Kid beamed. He bounced on his toes. "Jeez, dude. Hey. You busy right now?"
"No," she said.
"Wanna grab Asriel or, like, any of your brothers, and go check out the Ruins with me?" he asked. "My parents said I could go as long as it was with you guys. Since your mom was from there and everything. And… Y'know, since school is out due to fire. You can tell me all about your dad!"
"Ooh. Okay. That sounds nice," Frisk said. A good distraction. Finally. "Az is at home." She waved for him to follow and they continued on down the street.
.
"I still sometimes super can't believe that the old Prince is your brother now," he said, bouncing along beside her. "And, like, that he was that flower, too, and that I'd totally met him earlier. Isn't that weird? I mean, maybe it's just weird for me."
"No, it was weird for everyone." Frisk laughed. "I think we were all just happy we finally got him his body back."
"Yeah, I bet," he said. He grinned and nudged her gently. "I still think it's, like, super funny that you just ended up knowing all the most important people in the Kingdom because of your weird adventure. Annnnnd that also your secret dad was the dude who made the CORE. Like. Seriously. Hey! Actually. That's really kinda, what's the word? Appropriate?"
"Oh yeah? Why?" she asked.
"Well, that means your family totally saved all monsters twice," he said. "Without the CORE, we'd be screwed. With the barrier, we were screwed. So." He shot her a big, bright smile. "Good job."
Frisk laughed. "I had a lot of help."
"Sure, but…" He shrugged and promptly faceplanted into the snow.
Frisk ducked to help him up, and he just grinned brighter.
"Race ya," he said.
She was happy to take him up on the challenge.
xXxXx
The rush of luminescent waterfalls easily drowned out everything else. The constant rhythm, despite the volume, was enough to be a narcoleptic. Even if that lukewarm water was constantly pouring into one's skull.
.
With heavily lidded eyes, Sans watched the flow of cyan and amber magic glimmering off the moving water and sleek black rocks. Undyne guided the other skeletons through a set of fluid movements, almost too graceful for her usual demeanour. Gaster wasn't using magic yet. His eyes might have still carried blue and gold, but it seemed like almost anything coming from his fingers was sheer and black.
.
Alphys observed from the bank, gently kicking her feet in the water, trying to hide that she was blushing stark red behind checking her phone every once in a while. It wasn't working.
"H-Hey, um. So. Is it helping yet?" she asked sheepishly.
"I'm feeling very energized!" Papyrus said. He cradled an amber orb in between his hands and then twirled it around his palm, lifting it to spin it on his fingertip. "Nyeh heh! Pretty cool, right?"
"Yeah, Paps, that's great." Undyne grinned and let her own magic drift off into sparks. She eyed Gaster up and down. "How you doin', Doc?"
"I'm… not sure," he said.
"Okay. Ditch the shirt." She waved her hand at it. "Let me see it."
Alphys squeaked and hid behind her hands as Gaster quickly pulled his t-shirt off. The collective wincing of the other monsters made him smile awkwardly and shrug.
"Dad, oh my god!" Papyrus said shrilly.
.
The skeleton's soul was all but invisible for a second, before brightening with white as a burr that was barely soul-shaped at all. Blue and gold flickered within, only to be absorbed back into the blackness.
"It's awful, hm?" he said laughingly. He rubbed his skull. "Chuaigh cos…"
"Yes, that's absolutely for sure the worst soul I've ever seen!" Papyrus said shrilly.
"…Aah, g-god, I guess I should have actually looked at it with, um, my eyes before, huh?" Alphys said, leaning forward. "D-Does it hurt?"
"It's cold," he said.
.
She got up and carefully waded through the water to him and stared up at his broken soul. Cautiously, she reached up and laid her hands against his bones, squinting with focus. She sighed softly and rubbed her head spines.
"W-Well. The, um, sound's pretty bad," she said. "But it's n-not quite as bad as yesterday."
"Still a wee bit of a mess," he joked as he pulled his shirt back on.
"You can say that again." Undyne cupped her chin. "Okay. Well. We'll go a little longer. And then sleep on this. We'll probably go again another time."
"Sounds good to me," he said.
.
"So, um, what m-magic do you have that's actually working?" Alphys said.
"Well. Let me think." His false hands hovered around him, shrugging as he cupped his chin with his real one. "Those. My HAARM-Blocker, in theory. And…" He stuck out his hand hand drew his fingers upwards as they began to glitter.
The bones that rose out of the water were black and twisted, pockmarked with holes and bristling with spikes along the shafts. Papyrus recoiled.
"Ummm. Oh. W-Well. Those are. Um. Not weird or frightening at all. Um! Nyeh heh! I'm glad that works," he said.
"Don't worry, Paps, working is an overstatement." He laughed, punctuated them with a flash of gold and one of blue, and let them collapse into black sparkles that scattered across the surface of the water. "I can't imagine that healing would be working."
"That's okay! I already heal for the whole family!" Papyrus volunteered quickly, grinning. "And Frisk is getting good at it too!"
"And I bet Sans is, as well." Gaster turned to look at Sans and smiled. "Are you asleep over there?"
.
Sans raised his hand slightly and then rubbed the back of his skull. Gaster waded over to him and squatted down, holding a hand against the side of his head.
"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to join us?"
"I'm fine," Sans said quietly.
"Sans, come on, why don't you push some magic around with us? It'll do you good!" Papyrus said.
"Nah," he said.
"It could be fun?" he suggested, lowering is voice. "Papyrus would love to bounce some magic off you, I'm sure."
Sans grinned slightly. "S'got you now, doesn't he?"
Gaster's eyes went wide.
"Don't be embarrassed," Alphys said. "I'll d-do it, too, would that help?"
"You go ahead," he said. He still hadn't even opened his eyes.
.
He definitely dozed off and away from the water, because when roused himself, he saw snow. His cheek was on his fist as he slumped at the sentry station on the border of Snowdin. He sighed. He put his hand over his soul to check for anyone else, and felt something, but not what he'd expected. No Frisk or Asriel. Something else that he couldn't quite place. The trees around him were obsidian, thorny, and twisted like warped antlers. He held out his right hand; it was missing a finger.
.
He wasn't really surprised that it had happened again. So soon, though? It hadn't even been a full day. He stretched his arms high above his head and popped his neck. Did he have enough energy to seek out any info about this place? See if someone else was in there with him? Did he even really want to know? His skull felt heavy; like something was leaking in. Monsters with proper noses has a word for it. Congested.
.
His soul drummed uncomfortably. He rested his cheek on his fist and closed his eyes. Maybe when he opened them again, he'd be awake for real.
.
He wasn't. He saw himself working in the lab in a memory he didn't recall, looking at machines that seemed familiar but he didn't recognize. Feeling frustrated. Looking at a concentrating, scowling Gaster at another desk with such bitter resentment that he knew it couldn't have been his own thoughts. Another blink of his eyes and everything was white and chilly.
.
He was standing down the street towards home, looking at the back of his sister as she stood out in the snow without a coat on. Sans could sense he was away from the other place, and also that that wasn't really Frisk. It was an uncanny sensation. Always was. Especially with her, though.
.
The kid was shaking. Sans frowned sympathetically. He got a little closer and then stepped around her as she slumped forward with her face in her hands. Sans's first reaction was to reach out to her, but when his hands met her shoulder, she didn't react in the least.
"Kiddo?" he asked.
Nothing. He looked at his fingers. They were a little blue. That was weird. Maybe he wasn't here, then?
.
He didn't know where this fit. Past? No, not in her memories. She straightened up, blowing out a sigh and running her hands through her hair. She had such dark circles under her eyes, and she looked gaunt and ashy despite her dark skin. She looked like she'd been crying. He could still see the faint scar on her cheek. Future. Good to know. She couldn't see him for whatever reason.
"Jeez, kiddo," he said quietly.
.
Quickly, she perked up and whipped around as if a sound had caught her attention. He leaned around her and tried to follow her gaze. He saw nothing instead.
"Sans?" she asked. She looked spooked. She sighed and rubbed her head. "Okay. Okay okay. Get it together. Jeez." She took another deep breath. "Okay, okay, stop crying, stop freaking out. Oh my god." She wiped her eyes and then sat down heavily on the steps. "He's fine. He's gonna be fine. It's gonna be okay."
.
Sans tilted his head. He squatted before her, trying to read the pain on her face. "Who's hurt, kiddo?" he wondered. Hoped it wasn't Papyrus. Maybe it was dad. That made the most sense. He reached out for her and gently patted her head.
.
She wiped her eyes again. She suddenly lifted her head and looked off to the left. He followed her gaze to see Asriel booking it towards them from down the road. He skidded to a halt and sat down beside her, rubbing his hands over his face.
"I missed him, huh?" he said. "Sorry. It takes me a bit to get through one of the rips."
Weird, Sans thought. Could he do that on his own? That was interesting.
"That's okay," she said.
"Did he say anything?" he asked.
.
The dream faded to fog and smoke and blustering snow. Sans awoke to Papyrus smiling into his face through sparkling, black water.
"Aaaah, Sans! That was so cool, did you see that?!" he demanded.
"Uh. Sorry, bro. Must've missed it," he said.
"Aw. But my special attack!" He threw his arms up in the air. "It came through really well, though!"
"Did for sure," Undyne said, grinning and sticking her thumbs up.
Sans smiled. He could see their father— he looked so proud he might cry. He forced himself up and out of the waterfall, stretching it arms and shoulders. "Show me again, sometime, huh?"
"Yes, of course! Nyeh heh heh! It was very impressive, if I do say so myself. Which I do," Papyrus said, jabbing his thumb pointedly against his own chest.
.
They had dry clothes at Undyne's place, which was probably good because everyone was a soggy mess by the time they dragged themselves out of the water. Gaster clearly felt better, though. His soul was still off key, but it didn't sound quite as grating on the ears anymore. It was a good first step.
.
Sans kept an extra eye socket on him, though. He didn't know who his dream had been about, but the only guy he could really rule out was Asriel. Alphys paid extra attention to him, too, giving him even more of those opera cakes even though she had just done so a little while ago. She was like a watchful mother hen. She had always been like that, though, Sans thought, observing from the piano bench with amusement as she fretted over him. Making sure he ate and drank enough, giving him some of his old gloves she'd fixed up to expose his fingers but also to cover the holes in his palms; slipping some mostly unnecessary healing goo into the cracks in his head. It was just like old times.
.
Sans let Papyrus carry him home, happy to sleepily listen to him chattering with their father on the way. The kids weren't there when they got back, though. Instead, there was a note saying they'd gone to the Ruins. Normally, Sans could wait, but today he wasn't willing.
.
He poked his head around the Ruins in a few spots and found Frisk sitting with Asriel and Kid, dangling their feet in the water and laughing about something as they munched on some donuts. That sense of normalcy was so nice to see but, for some reason, he was cold. He wanted… He wasn't sure what he wanted. He was about to leave, but Frisk let out a subtle ping in her energy that felt like his and she whipped around. She grinned big and bright.
.
The kid stumbled upright and ran to him, greeting him with a hug as she always did. He squished her a little tighter than usual.
"Hey, hi! How was Waterfall?" she asked.
"Wet," he said.
"Yeah, you're all chilly!" She patted his face and grinned. "Kid wanted to explore. His parents said not too far this time, but maybe next time we'll go down into the old city parts. Wanna come?"
Sans tilted his head. "You don't wanna just spend time with your pals?"
"You're my pal," she said, her brow furrowing slightly.
"Yeah, Sans, we'd love for you to come," Kid said brightly. "Plus, uh, my parents would feel a lot better if we went with a grown-up."
"Even though I'm the one who knows the way around," Asriel said teasingly.
"Well, you know, they're pretty overprotective," he said bashfully. "And we're not like you guys. I mean, Flora's a good sister and everything but it's not like we always wanna hang out together."
"Weird," Asriel joked. He waved his hand. "Nah. I know. We're the weird ones. We're all codependent, we got PTSD and crap. It's fine."
"Peaty…?" Frisk repeated, puzzled.
Sans patted her head in reply and cut his eyes at Asriel. The goat kid grinned and shrugged.
.
On their way home, out of the Ruins and through the woods, Sans hung back a little. It seemed like Kid and Asriel were getting along pretty well. The innocent little yellow lizard seemed to get a kick out of how occasionally blunt and vulgar the Prince could be. They seemed to laugh a lot.
.
Frisk dropped back to join before he realized, smiling up at him. He raised his brows at her.
"So how'd it go?" she said.
"Dad's still trash," he said. "Paps is the opposite."
"And you?" she said.
"Also trash," he said.
"Did you do the energy whooshing thing?" she said.
"Nah. Waterfall stuff," he said. "I, uh…" He frowned. Overrode his instinct to shut up about it. "Had a weird dream. Future stuff."
"What?! Really?! Oh wow," she said. "What did you see?"
"Not sure," he said. "…Think someone got kinda sick. You looked upset."
"Me?" Frisk frowned. "So… Anything I should watch out for?"
"Nah. Sorry. Not enough info," he said. "But, uh… Asriel…"
"What? Did something happen to him?" she asked.
"Star hoppin'." Sans shrugged. "Like you. Like dad."
"What?!" She said it so loud that the others in front of them stopped.
"What?" Asriel asked.
She grinned. "Az, we gotta try a cool thing later."
"Well, okay," he said, raising his brows.
.
After they dropped Kid off, Frisk dragged Asriel back towards the inn and the shining starlight that sat outside it. She touched it quickly to lock the timeline.
"Okay, so, like, I can go through them, right? Sans said he had a dream where you could, too, and that makes a ton of sense, actually. So, wanna try?" She grinned brightly.
"What?! Um. Really?" He looked at Sans with wide eyes.
The skeleton replied with a shrug and a nod. Asriel's ears perked a little.
"Hey. Cool. Useful paradox, then. I dig it." He stuck his hand into the light and his eyes glazed. "Oh. Hey. Okay. Been meaning to go to the tree, actually. Gimme a minute." His soul pulsed bright red and then he vanished.
Frisk yelped, eyes wide, but she quickly grinned and clapped her hands together. "It actually worked!"
.
Sans plopped them both into the Ruins, out front of Toriel's old house. Amongst the purple stone, starlight glittered in a patch of stark, red leaves. No Asriel, though.
"Um, where is he?" Frisk asked.
"Give him a few," Sans suggested.
The kid nodded. She stretched and wandered down the path a little ways towards the tall, blackened tree surrounded by more of its fallen leaves. Sans sighed tiredly and slumped against the stone wall to their left. When she came back, dry foliage crunching under her sneakers, she slid up beside him and smiled sympathetically.
"You feelin' a little low, bro?" she asked.
"That's the nature of bein' under five foot, kiddo," he said with a wink.
She snickered and gave him a hug. "Well. Okay. But, like, let me know if you're feelin' weird, okay?"
"Why, I lookin' weirder than usual?" he asked.
"I dunno, you just feel…" She looked up at him with a puzzled tilt in her brow. "Heavy? Does that… make sense?"
"Eh, s'not so bad, just a few rough nights pilin' up in here." He tapped the side of his head. "No big deal."
"Hmmm…" Frisk looked at him skeptically. She stretched, cracked her knuckles, and then shot him a tired smile. "Well. Okay." She jerked her thumb at the starlight. "This is super cool. I hope it works. Hey, if it doesn't, think I can just hop in there and drag him out?"
"Who knows?"
.
Frisk stared at the light curiously. She leaned back and folded her arms. "Hey Sans? Can I tell you something really really weird?"
"Mhm."
"So, um. Uhh…" She rubbed her head. "It's… Do, um…? Do you think maybe time stuff happened to monsters other than dad? Because, uh, turned out Kid had a sister I'm pretty sure didn't exist like a day ago. An older sister."
"Uh. Huh." Sans raised his brows. "You sure?"
"Yeah, before he always said his family was his mom, dad, him, and Daisy. And today I met Flora and she… like… talked like she knew me and stuff?" She shrugged. "And Kid said that she picks him up from over here all the time, and that I met her at the play. I kinda think maybe a time thing happened. Whaaat, um…? What do you think?"
Sans tapped his teeth thoughtfully. "Huh. Well. You know, it could be."
"Could be? That's it?" she asked, her brow furrowed. "Do you remember her?"
"Kinda. A little," he said. "I mean. In passin', y'know? But I see what you mean. There's a haze."
"Right?!" she said.
.
Sans took a step back, grabbed Frisk, and moved her with him. A second later, the tear in time flashed and Asriel dropped heavily into the leaves, sending some upwards in a pomf. He sputtered and laughed disbelievingly, and stuck his fists up and cheered.
"Aaaah, oh wow. Shit. I love that." He tried to heave himself upright and fell heavily. "Ah. Never mind. I hate that."
"Oh wow, you okay?" Frisk asked. She knelt to grab his arm.
He laughed, his breath rasping, and he coughed and sneezed, his fur bristling. He wiped his snout and draped himself around Frisk. "Yeah. I'm fine. Wow. What a trip. I kinda didn't expect that to work."
Sans knelt down and patted the kid's head. "Hey. One step closer to havin' to, uh, take less steps."
"Pffft. Guess you're right. Unlocked fast-travel, fantastic. " He staggered to his feet with Frisk's help. He had to grab her shoulders to keep himself upright. "Jeez."
"You sure you're okay?" she asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine." He laughed and wrapped her in a hug. "Thanks."
.
When he pulled back, he turned his head towards the tree. A faint, tired smile crossed his face. "You guys can leave, if you want."
"I don't mind," Frisk assured him.
His ears perked, and he looked quickly at Sans. The skeleton had plunked down into the leaves and taken to supporting the outside of Toriel's house. He'd dozed off. Asriel smirked.
"Can't leave him alone for a second, huh?" he said, shaking his head.
.
He prowled around the barren tree to the other side. Someone had left fresh flowers in a small, glass vase up against the trunk. He took a deep breath and walked up towards the gnarled old roots. Frisk followed quietly. She darted ahead and picked up the vase carefully. She moved it around to the other side of the tree, just out of sight.
.
Asriel patted her gratefully on the shoulder when she joined him again. He sat on his knees and brushed some of the red away to reveal a small, wooden box nestled at the base of the trunk. The top was carved with the Delta Rune and polished so it shone. Frisk sat down beside him and he scooted a little closer to her. He flipped open the lid and his own hum, played on the tuned, metal lamellae inside, began to ting out slowly. He sighed.
"Wish we'd heard hers," he said quietly.
.
Inside the box rested a golden locket shaped like a heart and nothing more. Asriel fished in his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. Human make, with a foil and red wrapper. He lifted the locket and laid down the candy before replacing it gently. He closed the lid and the tune stopped abruptly
.
Replacing the music box right where he'd got it, he carefully covered it with the bright red leaves and then leaned back, looking up at the dark branches that reached for the roof of the cave in vain. He grabbed Frisk's hand and squeezed it.
"Thanks," he said.
"Yeah, of course," she assured him. "It's been a little bit, feels like."
"Month and a half." He laughed dryly at himself. "Dunno why I bother."
"I do," Frisk said.
Asriel flinched. He gulped hard. His grip tightened and his voice rasped a little. "It's just us, now."
She offered him a hug. He took it eagerly. He sighed and rested his chin on her shoulder.
"I'll come with you as many times as you want," she said.
"I know."
.
He drew away, huffed, and then flopped back in the leaves. Frisk copied him, resting her arms behind her head. He stared up at the branches and settled in, folding his hands on his chest. It was strangely comfortable.
"Hey. Look." Frisk pointed up to one of the spindly twigs that stretched out above them. "Is it actually trying to grow something?"
Asriel squinted. Looked like she was right. A tiny speck of a red leaf budding from way up there.
"Hasn't done that in a while," he said. "Funny."
"I guess it doesn't do so good without sunlight, huh?" she mused.
"It's supposed to be dead," he said with a laugh. "So I guess this is better than I thought."
.
They stayed a while, though Asriel poked Frisk up before she could fall asleep. After she replaced the flowers, they grabbed Sans and, as one more test, zoomed home through the tear in time and landed in the attic. Again, it took Asriel just a few minutes longer, but he plunked out of the light onto the wood floor with a laugh and a groan without any incident more than the fall itself.
.
As Frisk helped him up, hurried, thumping steps ran beneath them and the ladder up to the attic was yanked down by magic hands. Gaster heaved himself up with a worried look on his face.
"Did something happen?" he asked.
"Az can go through the time things, too," Frisk said brightly.
Gaster gawked. He put a hand to his soul. "R… Really?"
"Yup. Stole your kid's soul, so…" Asriel thumped Frisk affectionately on the shoulder. "You're just really dedicated to making me OP as hell, huh?"
"I don't mind," she said.
"Wait, so… because a note of Frisk's soul is in yours…?" Gaster tilted his head and carefully reached out to the boy to touch on his soul. "Oh. Ohh. I… I see."
"What?" Frisk asked curiously.
"His soul is made up of many, right? It's interesting. You don't hear the others. The energy—"
"Fused through solidarity, the determination took over, and my hum came back but better," Asriel said with a grin. "We know. Alph was really into studying it. Could you tell all that just by touching it?"
"Ah… I could." He grinned sheepishly. "Do you happen to know if she recorded it all or—?"
"Who d'you think you're talkin' about?" Sans said with a laugh. "Just ask, she'll tell you everything. For hours. And. Hours."
Gaster snickered and massaged around his eye sockets with his fingertips. "I should have guessed." He reached for Asriel's shoulder and tilted his head. "And how do you feel?"
"Great. Like I got hit by a train," he said with a laugh. "Don't worry."
"Lemme make you something. We can dump you on Paps," Frisk said.
"That's a good idea," he said.
.
They left down the ladder. Sans didn't look like he had any intention of following. The grey around his eye sockets seemed to darken. He rubbed his brow lethargically. His father stood and held up his hands as if asking him to pause.
"Sans. If it's alright? I'd like to talk to you," he said.
"Hm? Uh. Sure," Sans said. "What about?"
"Well. It's… something you said earlier," he said. "I'm… I'm a little worried about you."
"Uh." Sans grinned sideways. "Why?"
Gaster tented his fingers, the tips resting lightly against each other as his brows adopted a cautious tilt. "I can almost hear it. But I know you'd never ask. They need you. You are what I could never be, do you understand?"
"Nnnno?" Sans said.
.
Gaster sighed. He sat down on a box and interlocked his fingers, grimacing thoughtfully. "Let me tell you something. Do… Do you remember…? Maybe you were too young. But, when you were a baby, I… I had no idea what to do with you. You came from out of the blue. And after what happened when you were born, I hated being separated from you. I didn't even leave you with Asgore so much. But I was a mess. I had never even imagined being a parent myself, and yet, there you were. This tiny, perfect little being that I…" He had to cough. "Anyway, it took you quite a long time before you began to talk. I think it was mostly because you felt like you didn't have to. And, to be fair, you weren't wrong, but… Your first sentence… Do you recall?"
"Can't say I do," he said, raising one brow inquisitively.
"I was keeping you with me as I worked. Up late nights, as you do. And you'd sit up on my counter, and watch, and I could swear you were starting to understand, even then. And that's where you said your first sentence, too. At one in the morning, you grabbed me as I was working on some project for the fifth night in a row, and you told me to go to bed."
"Sounds like me," Sans said.
Gaster smiled fondly. "You were better at keeping track of how I was feeling than I was." His shoulders slumped and his expression turned melancholy. "I should've been a better father. I know I wasn't the greatest."
"Eh, you were fine," Sans said with a shrug.
"But it shouldn't have been an infant telling me to go to bed. It shouldn't have been a five year old patching up my broken bones, a seven year old teaching himself algebra; a thirteen year old raising his brother."
Sans frowned. "It's not like you weren't there. What're you gettin' at?"
"What I'm getting at is that you are not only necessary, but very much wanted," he said. "I've seen you taking small steps back. And your dreams— you're worried about the feedback loops. I understand. But, please, you have to ignore that feeling."
An uncertainty flickered across Sans's face. He shrugged. "You're their dad."
"But I was never the one that taught Papyrus everything he knows. I was not the one that did the same for Frisk. I could not be there for them. That was you. I may be their father, but it was you who guided them through so much. So. Please. Don't change a thing."
.
Sans stared at his father blankly for a few long, heavy seconds. He smiled slightly and scratched his cheek. "Whew."
"Whew?" Gaster laughed. "I thought that that was very heartfelt! Was that too much?"
"Guess maybe you're a little better than you gave yourself credit for." Sans winked. "I'm, uh… Nah. I gotcha. Don't worry about me. You're not wrong."
"Thank god." He gave Sans a hug and blew out a long sigh. "Because I'm a bloody wreck."
"What else is new?" Sans thumped him on the shoulder. "S'all good."
.
Downstairs, Asriel was loudly cracking up as Toriel, sitting on the side table, looked amused but embarrassed.
"Alright, alright," she said. "I see your point."
Asriel grinned. He was sitting with Papyrus, clutching a mug of spiced cocoa and having his ears brushed, and trying not to look overwhelmingly smug. Toriel sighed.
"What am I going to do with you?" she said.
"Iunno." He shrugged in an exaggerated sort of way. His eyes darted to the incoming skeletons and he smiled. "Hey. Un-grounded."
Gaster froze up for a moment. Sans didn't even bother with the stairs and went to the kitchen. Frisk was there and, though she jumped, she grinned when she saw him.
.
He put a hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "Hey. Uh. Didn't mention. But I saw the other place again. Just for a sec. So. I figure we'll probably be doin' that dumb adventure a few more times."
"Oh weird! Okay." She tilted her head. "Does it freak you out? Is that why you didn't…?"
"Yeah. Sorry."
"That's okay, me too," she said.
.
He grinned fondly. It hurt a bit. Always did to hear about something scaring his kid sister. But, he reminded himself, it was okay for them to work together on this. It was okay for them to be a team, like she always said. He'd keep repeating that to himself until he passed out.