PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM Chapter 14: DOUBLE TROUBLE, an undertale fanfic

DOUBLE TROUBLE CHAPTER 14:

Frisk fainted on her way down the stairs in the later hours of the morning. Nobody was home and, when she came to, she rolled over and lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling, legs propped up on the steps without the will to try to stand. Her whole body felt like a bruise.

She eventually slid away from the stairs and flipped over, though the second she was on her knees, she upchucked black liquid onto the carpet. It vanished almost instantly. She groaned and gave up on trying to stand again. She lay on her back and didn't bother with much else until she heard her phone ringing. She couldn't remember where she left it, but it sounded like it was on the couch.

It took a long few seconds before she'd gotten up again. She grabbed it off the arm of the sofa and answered it with a weak grunt.

"Uh. Kiddo?" Sans's voice. "You okay?"

"No," she said. "You?"

"Nah. Sleepwalkin'. Sorry," he said. "I'm in the lab. Alphys's insistin' on givin' me a physical."

"Good." She laughed and rubbed her eyes. "I fainted."

"Oh. That's, uh, not good."

"Yeah, and I fell down the stairs."

"Oh for f— Jeez, kid, can't catch a break, huh? Or, uh, did you?"

"Nah, I'm just bruised," she said with a laugh. "I'm okay. You hurt yourself?"

"Nah."

"Phew!" She rubbed her forehead. "Guess you don't happen to know where anyone is, do you?"

"Didn't catch 'em." He sounded thoughtful. "Look. I'll come home real soon and—"

Alphys interrupted him. Frisk couldn't hear what she was saying, but he laughed.

"Okay. I'm bringin' the Doc. Won't be too long. Just, uh. Hang in there? Don't do anything weird."

"Won't." She flopped forward onto the couch. "Byeeee, bro. Love you."

She let the phone drop from her hand and rested her head on her arms. She guessed maybe she'd been using that way of travelling through the tears in time and space too much too quickly. That'd make sense, right?

The house was too quiet. She felt a heavy loneliness, even though she was sure that nobody was actually that far away. Toriel was probably at school. Maybe Gaster was, too. Papyrus was probably with Undyne. Asriel, though, she wasn't sure. She wished Sans and Alphys wouldn't be too long. She turned on the TV so a recording of Mettaton could keep her company.

She dozed off, her dreams dragging her to a town where everyone she knew treated her like a stranger. When her phone rang again, she awoke, heartsick and nauseous. She struggled to pick it up and answered it with a soft sound of affirmation.

"Howdy! Frisk, is that you?" Asgore asked.

"Oh. Yeah. Hi, Asgore, how's it going?" she asked groggily. She felt an uneasy twang inside her. "Everything okay?"

"Oh! Yes, absolutely, my child," he said. "I just wanted to check in on you. Did I wake you?"

"Me? Oh. No. I'm okay," she said despite yawning quietly and trying to muffle it with her hand. "So nothing's wrong? Not with the humans or anything?"

"Oh, goodness no!" he said. "The Ambassador said it was a pleasure to meet you. She seemed quite taken with our home. I just know you have been through a lot recently. So I thought… I mean. I know it's… just me, but I thought maybe if the King were to tell you he was on your side…?"

"I know you're on my side," she said with a laugh.

"Oh! Oh, good! Excellent. I'm happy to hear that," he said. "I apologize that I have not been more active with what you've been going through—"

"Oh, jeez, that's okay, you have so much to do," she said.

"It's true, but even so. With all this… I know it can't have been easy at all. Have you been able to have a decent break since then?"

"Uh… Yeah. Yeah. Not bad," she said. "I'll be okay."

"It must've been so strange, with all that and with Gaster returning. I'm sure it was overwhelming, especially all at once."

"Eh. It's okay. I mean. After what I been through, this is pretty easy," she said. "And I got a dad now, so that's good."

Asgore chuckled warmly. "Frisk. Listen closely. I am very proud of you."

"You are?" she asked.

"Of course I am!" he said. "Once all this nasty paperwork is done, and everything is settled— and if it's alright with your mother— I think a nice, long family vacation is needed. For all of us. What do you think, does that sound nice?"

"Yeah. It does," she said. Her mind flitted off to Gaster's old castle. "I'd like that."

"Good." He sounded pleased. "I'll let you go for now. Take a nap, little one! Talk to you later!"

She dropped her phone on the floor again and turned to the TV. Mettaton was on live now, reporting the news and the weather out on the surface. She should probably get up, she thought. Take care of that headache. She didn't want to stand, though.

She didn't realize she'd fallen asleep again until she got gently flipped onto her back and felt a cool hand on her forehead.

"Yup, she is bruised as heck," Sans said.

She raised her hand to wave. She opened her eyes a crack to look up into her brother's face. "…You'll always remember me, right?"

"You delirious?" he asked with a laugh.

"Just tell me yes, will ya?" she said.

"You already know that," he said.

"Kay…" Her eyelids drooped closed. "Dreams are trash."

She was wrapped in the hug of warm, scaly arms and she felt a familiar, lemon-coloured magic flicker across her skin.

"Aw, sweetie, what happened?" Alphys said gently.

Frisk snickered. "You don't gotta worry so much." She blinked heavily and rubbed her eyes. "Thanks, Alphys."

"B-But…?" She looked at her, waiting on elaboration.

"Oh. I, um. You know. Fainted on the stairs. Guess I was worn out," she said.

"Mm, Sans mentioned." She affectionately patted Frisk's head. "S-So, um, how far did you go? I mean… N-Not down the stairs, obviously, but I mean, through the, um…? You know? The tear?"

"No clue. Ask dad. It was his house when he was a kid."

"Mhm! S-Sans told me you, um, showed him in your dream?" she said. "G-God. Hah. That must be so weird. To lucid dream like that all the time. Right?"

"For sure," she said with a laugh.

She looked around for her brother. She noticed a sound or two from the kitchen over the songs on the TV. She hugged Alphys gratefully. "Hey, you know what's really weird?"

"What?" she asked.

"Okay, like… So. We have a dad, right? I… have a dad," she said. "That means, like… there was a whole family and stuff. We had a grandma and everything. I mean. That makes sense, right? But it feels so weird to me that… I mean. It's weird. I still don't understand how I work if I'm not made of magic, but… Ummm… Hey, Sans?"

"Yeah?" he said.

"So, like… How related are we, actually?" she said. "I mean, like… physically"

"Dunno," he said. "Magic's related. But then, your magic's also related to Az's in some weird way. And then you got that whole extra body thing goin' on over there. Who the heck knows how that works."

Frisk's brow furrowed. "I am still a human, right?" she asked.

"Of course you are," Alphys assured her. "Aw. You're still a little c-confused, then, right?"

"I think I'll always be confused but I feel so much better now, you don't even know," Frisk said with a smile. "But… Wait. Hey Sans?"

"Yeeeah?"

"If my soul is just straight up made of dad's soul, how come he can still exist and stuff?" she said.

"Time magic? You probably reversed the heck outta him when you yanked him outta the time void hellzone," he suggested. "You're not just a clone or somethin', obviously."

"A clone," she repeated, frowning slightly.

"She is a little like a weird s-super opposite clone, though," Alphys said with a a laugh. "Ooh. That's… an, um, interesting thought."

"AU?" Frisk asked.

"W-W-Well, I mean…"

Sans scoffed. He brought Frisk a steaming mug of spiced hot chocolate and handed it off to her carefully, patting her head gently as he sat down. "Whatever you are. However this works? You're my sister. And dad'll always just say you're his kid. The rest of it, does it really matter? Also, jeez, you look like a frickin' racoon."

"I probably hit like four stairs on the way down, too," she said with an embarrassed smile. She sipped her cocoa. "Thanks."

"I know. Things are still kinda weird," he said. "I mean. I know what it's like. To not know. No answers. But, I had Paps so stuff didn't matter so much. But. You…" He shot her a sympathetic smile. "Sorry. Guess it'll always be weird."

"It's a super comfortable weird, though," she said. "But, it's still kinda confusing to think about. To be made by a monster and stuff—"

"If we wanna get technical about it, he wouldn't have actually made you," Sans said.

"Um, what?" Frisk asked blankly.

"Your soul made itself out of his energy and every time thing that was explodin' through him all at once," Sans said. "So, you're more like… time shovin' itself into a soul through a skeleton that was smashin' into time. Theory goes that all that determination and time magic could only really exist inside a human, and accordin' to the Dark Model, you gotta exist no matter what, kiddo. We know, up there, you weren't, y'know… Exactly near anyone else, right? So, guess you kinda… formed yourself? Instead of, uh, comin' outta an egg or whatever humans normally do."

"Wish I picked a better spot to do that, though. " Frisk pouted. "But that's super weird! How does that even work?!"

"Who the heck knows, kid?" he said. "Got you. Don't really care much about the rest."

"Well, I guess if nobody really knows how it works, then we're all on the same page, right?" she suggested.

"That's a r-really good way to look at it," Alphys said fondly. "It's really okay to not understand, b-because, well… We don't either. A-All we know is that we… Sans was looking for you for a l-long time. Um. I mean. We a-all were, you know? We j-just didn't know. And e-even if you didn't hatch from a normal human egg, that's totally f-fine!"

"And you can headcanon it any way you like, right?" Sans said with a wink.

Alphys blushed. She waved her hand at him and tutted as if to shoo him away before she turned her attention back on Frisk. "A-Anyway! So h-how much did you see of your grandma, exactly? Her name was Avenir, right? What did you think?"

Frisk snickered. "Sheesh Alphys."

"What? Oh, come on! I do r-really want to know," she said quickly. "Gaster almost n-never talked about her. B-But he seemed happy whenever h-he let anything slip. But n-not many monsters who were around back then really wanted to talk about the Before the Mountain Ages. It's just… i-interesting, to hear anything from that far back, d-don't you think? Sans, aren't you curious?"

He shrugged. She scoffed and whacked his arm.

"I only saw a little," Frisk said. "Her voice was nice. And she had horns. And big dark eyes. Dad wasn't with her very long, I think. But she was really good to him."

"Sh-She was a seer, right?" Alphys asked.

"I dunno, what's a seer?" she asked.

"S-Someone who… Well! Actually! S-Someone kinda like you," Alphys said. "Someone who s-sees things in advance."

"Oh. So more like Sans, then," Frisk said.

"See-er," he joked.

The kid grinned. She tapped her fingertips together. "Dad said she had, um, what'd he call it? A magic split, I think. And part was red, like me. So. I guess maybe she saw stuff, too."

"We're a family of dumb time weirdos," Sans said. He tapped the mug in Frisk's hand. "Drink it, will ya?"

Frisk hurriedly tipped her cocoa into her mouth. She sighed happily. "I can show you guys the place. If you want."

"Another day, huh?" Sans put his hand on her forehead again and shifted her bangs. "Still rough."

"I'm w-working on it," Alphys said with a sideways smile. "But, um… I'd l-love to see it. Let's just g-give you a few days, okay? P-Pace yourself."

"Oookaaay," Frisk said.

xXxXx

An hour or so later, Gaster returned on his own, the chill and damp of water about him, a buzz in his soul that sounded faintly more melodic than it had yesterday. He had brought a large batch of crabapples back with him. He'd seen Gerson, he said. Caught up for a while. Got a bulk fruit discount.

The others decided to stay mostly out of his way as he dragged box after box of books and other old stuff from the attic down into the living room. It was all from the apartment at Dandelion Plaza, Sans explained. Frisk liked seeing all the books; liked picking up the old tomes that were bigger than her head. Alphys sat on the floor, dragging out the books and stacking them, unable to help herself from checking each one.

"What're you gonna d-do with all this, anyway?" she asked.

"Hopefully, we will be able to set up a room for it. And then I'll have to get to organizing," Gaster said. "I can't imagine you kept them in any order, Sans."

"Nope." He folded his arms behind his head and kicked back near the wall. "Wasn't even lookin', to be honest. We didn't really hang around."

"My goodness, you got spooked," Gaster said.

"H-He just walked out of w-work and never came back," Alphys said with a sympathetic smile on her face.

Sans shrugged in reply.

"You don't work in the lab anymore?" Gaster asked.

"Nope. Not for like ten years, dude," he said.

"He's a sentry," Frisk said proudly.

"Oh." Gaster raised his brows.

The short skeleton shrugged again, though his father's forehead bent with worry. Alphys laughed with an awkward lilt, a little sweat beading on her scales. She grabbed some books out of the boxes, fumbling with them as she tried to hold them up.

"Um! H-Hey, so h-how are you, um, going to sort all this?" she said.

"Oh! Well. There's so many options," Gaster said. "Sort by author. Or by subject. Or alphabetically by title. I'll often do subject, then author within the subject, and then book title, and if there's many first letters that are the same, I'll go by colour in a gradient."

Sans caught Frisk's eye and rolled his before covering his face with his arm. She snickered.

"I l-like to do by author, too, but then by how long ago th-they wrote the book," Alphys said.

"Oh, that is not a bad idea." Gaster tapped his chin. "How about—?"

Frisk never got to hear the end of the sentence. She was upstairs in the bedroom. She turned and saw Sans leaning up against the bed behind her.

"Oof. Bored me to tears," he said. "They always get like this about filin'."

"Really?" She scooted around to face him. "He was a librarian before all of this. Wasn't he?"

"How'd you figure?" he asked.

"I… Uh. I'm not sure," she said.

"Welp. You're right." He winked. "Once upon a time. A long time ago."

"I liked the big book room in his old castle house," she said. "We should do that."

"Sure we can figure somethin' out," he said.

"Then I can practice reading all day," she said.

"You could do that anyway," he said.

"Yeah, but in a big room all full of books with a cozy fireplace and big pillow chairs and everything?" She glowed and pushed over to sit beside him. "I dunno, I think that would just be super perfect. Right?"

Sans grinned. He ruffled her hair. "Takin' a leaf outta his book, huh?"

She snickered. Her brother looked at her fondly. His expression fell for just a second and he rubbed his eyes. Frisk tilted her head curiously. He leaned back and rested his arm across his knee.

"It's, uh… It's weird," he said. "Movin' forward, I guess."

"Yeah, I know, right? I mean…" She grabbed his hand in both of hers. "For you especially, I bet."

"Hm. But. We finally get a place, right? You… Heh. You get a home. A real one," he said. He rubbed his head, then settled, giving her a tired, knowing look. "You're gonna like havin' your own place for good. It's gonna help."

"Hope so," she said. She scooted around and plopped herself beside him. "I… I sometimes still get that really awful feeling, y'know? Of just… Y'know, of losing it again."

"Bet those dreams don't help." His eyes narrowed. "Doesn't feel predictive, does it?"

"No. Just… guess it just knows what I hate. Whether it's a reset or we're all somewhere new, it's just… when you guys don't remember me? Or never knew me at all? That messes me up. I know it doesn't make sense, but I kinda can't help it. I, um… I guess I'm still kinda scared of that. Um, d-don't tell the others?"

"No. I mean. I know. How could you not be? After all that crap."

She shrugged sheepishly. "I mean, I know it wouldn't happen again. Can't, right? But when it shows me you, and you don't… Ugh. It's just… Worse. Y'know?"

"Don't worry about crap like that," he said.

"I know, I know," she said. "S'just you're… Dude, sorry this is the sappiest thing ever, but you're, like… If you're there, I know everything'll be okay."

"That is the sappiest thing ever," he said.

She shrugged again and shot him a bashful smile. "I know, I can be kinda a weirdo sometimes, huh? Sorry."

He winked. "I'm used to it."

A hard, sharp knuckle tapped on the door, and it creaked open slowly.

"Ah… There you two are," Gaster said. "Is… everything okay?"

"Fine," Sans said.

Frisk nodded. Gaster smiled, relieved, and backed up a step. The kid raised a hand up to catch his attention.

"Um! Just a sec. Can I, um, ask you something?" she said.

"Absolutely." He was over in an instant, kneeling down. "What is it?"

"This is weird. But, uh… Do you, um…? Do you think that maybe anyone else could have been taken out of time like you were?" she asked.

He froze as still as a statue and stared at her silently. Her brother nudged her in the ribs.

"Think you broke 'im," he said.

"…Dad?" Frisk asked.

"What?" he said blankly. He shook his head. "I mean. Wha…? Who?"

"It's just, my friend's sister," she said sheepishly. "Flora. She just came up to me and talked to me like she knew me, and then Kid, he told me I met her back when we did this big play thing with Mettaton, but I'm sure she wasn't there."

Gaster frowned. He tapped his teeth with his fingertips. "You're positive?"

"It was always just him, his parents, and his sister, Daisy. She's just a bit older than him," Frisk said. "Flora looks a bunch older."

Gaster opened his mouth, then closed it again. He raised one finger, then tapped his chin, the faint sound of bone on bone only interrupted by his eventual, low, contemplative hmm-ing. "Where does this girl live?"

"You're the one that showed me their house," Frisk joked. "In the little section of houses behind the bar. Near the river. With the really low extra doorknob thing."

"You're right." He straightened up quickly and rushed out of the room. "Alphys! I have something for us to do."

"Don't creep them out!" Frisk called.

He thumped loudly down the stairs. "I won't!"

"He might," Sans said with a grin.

The door slammed shortly after. Sans chuckled quietly. He rubbed his brow.

"Well. At least that'll give him somethin' that's not endless sortin' hell."

Frisk laughed. "Sounds kinda like he likes it, though."

"Sure, until he loses like twelve hours to it." He grinned. "He's always been a bit, uh, overzealous."

"Kinda like Paps?" Frisk asked.

"A bit. But more of a dork." He winked. He got up and stretched his arms. "Hey, kiddo, you wanna…?" His voice caught. His vision blurred and his shoulders went stiff. Colours pulsed and scrambled, making his head ache instantly.

"Wanna what?" she asked.

He couldn't answer. His vision shifted. Overlaid a different room overtop of the one he saw. A faint image of Papyrus. Not his. He had fangs; a faint crack in his skull. He was sorting books.

Frisk edged into his line of sight with a worried look on her face. He wanted to tell her. He couldn't. Couldn't move. She grabbed his shoulder with one hand and cupped his cheek with the other. She talked to him but he couldn't understand. His vision tried to blot her out while he did all he could to focus on her. Her voice started to fade. Fear hit him. His soul bristled as her face stopped registering. He wanted to curse. Tell her to come closer; grab her up in his arms and collapse. It was as if his bones had petrified.

Then, he saw himself. Translucent, like Papyrus. Different, like Papyrus. Pointed teeth in his grin, broken lines in his skull. And, when he turned, his eyes caught on his— the other skeleton's expression shifted from a relaxed grin to a shocked, worried frown. He knew the sudden dark-eyed expression. The other guy saw him. Hesitantly, he came closer and Sans still couldn't move. The universe was an oppressive weight crushing him into his own bones. Dark crept in at the corners of his vision as the other cautiously approached and extended his broken hand. The air was gone and he was fossilized. He felt like he was about to die.

He was yanked to the ground, breaking him from stone. Frisk held him, hands clinging tight as she pulled him close, as if using her small frame as a shield. The purple warmth in their souls erased the grey and black, but the layers were still pushing in. Sans grabbed her as tight as he could and buried his face against her. He wished, in a second of dazed panic, that he didn't even have eye sockets.

"I got you. I g-got you." She sounded certain despite the warble in her words. "Holy c-crap."

He took a deep breath. His eyes began to water, stinging deep into his cranium. It was a strain to even vocalize. "Did…?" His voice snagged. He tried again. "Did you see it?"

"No," she said. "I felt… I felt you… going. I don't know."

"It's, uh… It's bleedin' real bad," he croaked.

She kissed his head and rubbed his back as he began to rattle. "How bad?"

"He saw me." He pressed the heel of his hand against his brow and puffed out a sigh. He laughed disbelievingly. "Oof. Sorry, kiddo, I am really frickin' broken."

Frisk held him tighter. "Got you." She bit her lip and a spark of red shone in her irises. "Got you."

xXxXx

Grass felt nice. Asriel used to hate it. Hated the smell, the feel, even the look of it close up. It was different out under an open sky, somehow. Everything felt new and refreshing. He liked the soft green blades under his paws. He pretended he could wave them back and forth with a lazy gesture of his hand.

"Asriel?"

He opened his eyes. His mother leaned over into his view of the cloudy, bright blue sky and then knelt down, smiling at him fondly.

"Were you napping, my child?"

"Nah. S'just nice out here," he said. He sat up and stretched. "Did you need me again?"

"No, no. We're done for now." She put her hands on her hips and looked off into the distance with a satisfied smile on her face. "I think, this time, I will place the school just at the base. There. Near the river." She looked down at the clipboard and notes that she brought. "Though… Not many people here to actually survey… I think this location will be much better."

"Oh yeah? Where was it last time?" he asked.

Toriel froze. Her hand dropped, and she quickly shook her head. "Somewhere much less scenic. And I think it would be nice. To have the children able to take lunch outside near the river. Maybe even go fishing on time off. You know, children who have time to sleep in in the mornings and that are able to take breaks during the day are able to learn much better than if you push and push."

"Makes sense," he said.

"Do you think I should ask Sans to teach?" she wondered. "He'd be so good at it."

"Only if you plan on letting Frisk stick around him all day," he said.

"True," she said. She tapped her chin. "Maybe later, then. Another year. When Frisk is better."

"If she gets better," Asriel said.

"I'm sure she will," she assured him. "It may take a long time. But that's alright. We'll take it as it comes, won't we?"

Asriel couldn't help a smile. He rubbed the back of his head. "Hey. Thanks for understanding."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, it's just, it'd be easy for you to not get it at all. I mean. Even if you don't. How could you, really?" He shrugged when his mother gave him a worried look. "Inside her head's all messed up. The stuff she's seen, or felt or…" He clenched his fists. "What I did to her. It's, uh, not easy sometimes."

Toriel tsked gently. She let herself down in the grass and grabbed him gently into her arms and booped his forehead with her big, soft snout.

Asriel smiled fondly. He'd missed this. When she let him go, she gently ruffled his ears. He'd missed that, too.

"I hope you've been enjoying things, at least," she said.

"What? Me?" He laughed. "Literally anything is better than before! But. Yeah." He smiled. "Yeah. It's been good."

"In spite of the nightmares, I hope," she said.

"Like I said. Literally anything." He folded his arms and leaned against her, tilting his head back to look at her. "…I haven't told dad."

"Really?" Her eyes went wide. "Why not?"

"Man, he's… He's just… He's so messed up inside on his own," Asriel muttered. "He doesn't need that on him, too. You know him, he blames himself for everything on the planet. Even if he's got nothin' to do with it, and knowing he can't fix me would tear him up so bad…"

Toriel gritted her teeth. She kissed his head. "You've seen it, haven't you?"

"Yeah, of course," he said. "You always dealt with it better."

"How many times did you tell me?" she wondered. "How many times didn't you?"

"Oh, god, I don't even know," he said with a laugh. "Sorry. I'm messed up, too, huh? I know it's not comfortable to hear about."

"No, it is not." She chuckled quietly. "Oh, you poor thing. You know, Asriel, of course, your father and I aren't exactly on the best terms, but… I think, when you're ready, you should open up to him more. It does no good to feel like you're hiding yourself in your own home. And his home is yours, you know that."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I know, it's just… I'm dumb, I dunno."

"You're not dumb," she assured him. "Stubborn, yes. Dumb, absolutely not."

"Hah! Wonder where I got that from?" he teased, sticking his tongue out at her.

She snorted and frowned, but couldn't help a smile sneaking across her face. She kissed his nose and he snickered and let her cuddle him a bit more. The breeze picked up, cool and refreshing. The scent of grass and fresh water was in the air.

"I'm so glad you're back," she said softly.

"Me too," he said.

"You've grown up quite a bit since we were last together."

"Had to, I think," he said. "Sorry. If I could've come back exactly the same as I was back then—"

"No, no, honey." She smiled. "You're perfect."

Asriel took a deep breath of fresh air. His eyes welled up a little and he blinked quickly. "So. Um. Hey. Is this where you guys were last time? Goin' for the same spot?" he asked.

"Mhm." She gestured to the rolling hills and trees around them, where the only interruption were loose dirt paths and some houses far in the distance. "We must try not to crowd the place. The nature of the surface is a little fragile, and very important. It seems to cope well with magic, though."

"So what're we thinkin'? Guess the plans'll change a bit since Gaster showed up," he said.

"Well, everything is so different now in general," Toriel said with a fond smile. "You're here, too."

"Right." He laughed. "Kinda excited to start aging again for a bit, if I'm honest."

"Excuse me if I'm a little pleased that you're still pick-up-able right now, though," she said.

He snickered and nudged her gently with his elbow. "I don't really mind."

Toriel smiled knowingly. She turned her snout into the wind and let it buffet her long ears gently. She got to her feet and strode over towards the trees. They were mostly pines, but there was a couple maples and other broad-leafed trees dotting their land.

"I think I would like to have a garden this time. Away from the house, of course," she said. "And perhaps even an apiary! A small one. Frisk is not allergic to bee stings, is she?"

"No, she's only allergic to Tems," he said.

"Oh. Yes. Right." She scratched her chin. "I should've… Ah. Never mind." She shook her head.

"What's wrong?" Asriel asked.

"Oh. Nothing, my child," she said swiftly. She held out her hand. "Shall we head home?"

He tilted his head, his brow furrowed, but he took her paw and let her pull him up. He tried to picture a house on that spot. Still, all he could really imagine was the inside of their place in Snowdin, but bigger. Wasn't the most exciting, but he liked the thought. Except, maybe having his own bedroom would be nice this time.

He shoved his paws into the pockets of his hoodie as he and Toriel began the walk to the lift to take them back up to the plateau. The sky felt so huge above them. Even months later, Asriel still wasn't used to it. Nice to not have to experience it from dirt-level, though.

The path up towards the mountain delved back into forest. Leafs bustled in the wind and birds called to each other in shrill, pleasant melodies and repeating patterns. The river, unseen through greenery, blurbled constantly through it all.

"Asriel?" Toriel's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "I was wondering. Did you have any thoughts for what you might do after school?"

"Take a nap?" he suggested.

"No, hun, I mean after all the classes are done," she said with a sideways smile. "In a few years."

"Dunno," he said. "Kinda figured I'd help Undyne out running stuff once dad retires. That might not be for a long time, though."

"Oh. Yes. Right. He… formally recognized her as his heir, didn't he?" Her mouth went thin. "Does that… bother you, my child?"

"Nah, not at all," he said. "He did that way before I came back. Undyne'll be a good Queen. She's kinda rough around the edges but so am I, and we all got a big family of smart people to chuck their opinions at us. I think we'll be okay."

"I'm glad to hear it." She paused and cupped her hand over her mouth to hide a laugh. "Oh my."

"What?" he said.

"I suppose that means we may eventually have a Queen Alphys, as well." She winked. "Won't that be something."

"Oh my god." Asriel snickered. "You're right. I don't think she even realized yet."

"The poor dear. Alright. You will definitely need to help them out, sweetheart," she said. "It's very stressful, ruling a kingdom."

"Yeah, I know, I…" His nose twitched. He sneezed heavily, and quickly wiped his snout. There was black on his hand, but it vanished. Before he could even vocalize how weird he thought it was, his soul shook. He put his hand against it, frowning deeply.

"What's wrong?" Toriel asked.

"I… I'm not sure." His energy pinged as if receiving a transmission. His head swam with music for a brief instant and he saw a flash of blue in his mind's eye. His ears lifted. "I… Oh. Shit. We gotta get home." He picked up the pace, but stalled when his mother put her hand on his shoulder.

"What on earth is wrong?" she asked, eyes wide.

"I'm not sure, I think…? I think it's Sans?" he said. "Uh. Should I run ahead? What should I…?"

"Go."

Asriel took off at a sprint towards the mountain. His mind rushed for the closest tear in time. There was one on the plateau, but was there one closer? He ground his heels into the dirt. Back in town. Near the river, where it dipped into a valley and widened out. He remembered Frisk latching to it a while back the first time Asgore had taken everyone fishing.

He bolted from the path and ran through the trees until water opened up before him. He took a deep breath and pulled his phone from his pocket. Calling Frisk didn't work. He couldn't tell if the signal was bad or she just wasn't picking up.

He braced himself. His fur bristled. The determination in his soul churned. He sprinted along the bank, his paws scraping over rocks and through mud. When the water sped, he knew gravity was guiding it down into the valley. He broke through the tree line and skid down the slope alongside the rushing river.

The golden light was back against a small, sheer cut from the higher ground above. He ran across the slippery, wet stones and shoved his hands into the light. He closed his eyes and focussed hard. Attic.

A chill resonated through every inch of his body, down to the tip of each strand of fur. Light and pitch darkness played on the backs of his eyelids, though he didn't dare open them. His muscles swelled. His fangs and horns itched and grew, or he imagined they did, at least. Intense vertigo rocked his head and the wind was punched from him.

He toppled with a thud onto the floor of the attic and sucked in a deep breath of air. His whole body hurt. He checked his phone with shaking fingers. He'd lost about five minutes. Whatever. He heaved himself to his feet and dropped straight down the ladder and into his mom's room. He rubbed his rump and grumbled before shoving himself up again and pushing through the door as if he had to break out.

"Guys?!" he called. "Sans?!" He peered over the banister but he wasn't on the couch— it was weird, though, had it always had those patches of blue? "Frisk?!"

Her voice answered from nearby. The other bedroom. He shoved his way in and his vision scrambled instantly. The colours were wrong and jerky in big, distinct squares, like broken pixels on a shattered monitor.

"What the hell?" he demanded.

"Oh no, do you see it, too?"

Frisk sat back near the closet. Sans was with her, drooped, with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up over his head and covering most of his face. Though an arm was around her, she looked much more like she was consoling him.

"Yeah, I see it, I… What is it?"

"I don't think it's real," Frisk said. "I mean. It might be reeeeal but the room's not actually changing, it's just we're… seeing weird stuff. Except Sans. He's not allowed."

"Fine by me," he said quietly.

Asriel frowned. He stepped cautiously through a rug of distortion and squatted down. The skeleton wasn't just hiding under his hood. There was some black cloth completely covering his eyes as well.

"Are you blindfolded?" he asked.

Sans bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "Ah. Yeah. Until the place stops lookin' like sunspots took over and the weird time ghosts go. Kinda gives me a headache."

"Don't blame you," he said. He put his hand against Sans's chest and felt his soul's upset beat through his fingers. "I felt something happen to you."

"Heh. Sorry." he said.

"Okay, one, shut up," Asriel said. "And two. What the hell, for real?"

"Something's messed up," Frisk said. "He saw… He saw another him. A real one. That saw him, too. While he was awake."

"Not that it was much better while I wasn't," Sans joked.

Asriel's jaw dropped. His brow furrowed. He gulped and looked at Frisk, grimacing. "What do we do? How do we help?"

"I, um… I'm not sure," she said. "Sans?"

"Can't really see a solution," he said.

"Pfff." She held his face and bumped her brow on his. "You're gonna be okay."

He drooped, but a bit of the bristling reduced. He cuddled her up in his arms.

Asriel sighed and plopped down beside him. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. The colours of sunspots was pretty accurate, now that he thought about it. "Hey. You guys call Gaster?"

"Yeah, didn't get anything," Frisk said. "He's already trying to figure out why I'm pretty sure Kid's sister didn't exist like a week ago."

"What, Daisy?" Asriel asked, raising his brows.

"No, Flora," she said.

"Flora…?" He frowned. "Flora…"

"Do you remember her?" she asked.

"I'm… not sure? Wow, that's weird," Asriel muttered. He rubbed his eyes and blinked. "So. Wait. Forget that. Why are the colours only bad in here?"

"Did you not see it outside?" Frisk asked.

"Nnnooo," he said. "Well, uh… maybe a little? I'm not sure."

Frisk's eyes went wide. She grabbed Sans's hands to pull him to his feet. "Let's try outside."

Out of the room, however, the fractured colours and images weren't much different. Frisk pouted.

"No good?" Sans asked.

"I guess it's just us," she said. "Wherever we were?"

"Great," he said with a tired laugh.

"Think your dad's gettin' it, too?" Asriel asked. "Oh. Should we, um…? I mean. If we split up for a little, do you think—?"

"But Sans can't see, I don't want to leave him," Frisk said.

"But maybe he could if you left him," Asriel said.

"Oh. Um." Frisk looked uncomfortable. She shot Sans a worried look. "We could… try?"

"Don't have to," Sans said.

"Better to test it," Asriel said.

He took Frisk and they waited outside the house. She paced, folding her arms tightly, worry all over her face. She could still see patches of the world shifting, but it didn't seem quite as bad as before. She bit her lip. If her staying with Sans had only made him worse…? Her heart sunk.

However, it didn't take Sans long to peek out the doorway again, though his hood was still low and his eyes were shrouded. He touched on Frisk's soul with his magic and smiled apologetically.

"Still bad?" she asked.

"Not as much," he said. "But. Yeah. You?"

"Not as much," she agreed.

"Hang on. Lemme check something." Asriel sprinted away down the road until he disappeared behind the festive tree. Then, he ran back, towards Waterfall. When he returned, he huffed and ran his hand through the fur on his brow. "Okay. It's not distance."

Frisk sighed with relief and Sans seemed to perk up a little.

"I think it's just time," Asriel said. "I mean. Time passing. Not… You know."

They went back inside and Sans flopped himself onto the couch and put his arms behind his head. "Actually. Don't hate this."

Asriel rolled his eyes. "So. What triggered this?"

"Standin' up too fast?" Sans grinned apologetically. "No idea."

"And why are you getting it the worst?" he pressed.

"He always gets it the worst," Frisk said dismally. "So… I guess we just have to wait it out?"

"Guess so," Asriel said, ears drooping.

"Just glad you nerds aren't seein' what I'm seein'," Sans said.

"Which is?"

"Lotta people," he said.

"And… Um… Did more of them see you?" Asriel asked.

"Don't think so." He shrugged.

"What's that like?"

Sans grimaced slightly. "…Wouldn't recommend it." He put the heel of his hand to his brow. "Tell me when you guys stop seein' stuff, huh?"

"Okay. Don't fall asleep though," Frisk said quickly. "It could make it way worse."

"Hate that you're right," he said.

Frisk felt helpless. They put the TV on, but she couldn't stop pacing. This seemed to amuse her brother, who kept track on her by his hold on her soul. It felt like hours before the colour splotches vanished, though it couldn't have been that long. She looked at Asriel.

"Well?" she asked.

"Uh. Maybe… okay?" he suggested.

"Sans?" Frisk asked.

He stuck his thumb under the cloth covering his eyes and pushed it up a bit. His left iris was vibrant blue. He blinked and squinted. He sat up, pulling what was a dark, folded scarf away from his face and looked around. "Welp. Could be worse."

"What do you see?" she asked worriedly.

"Room's a bit off-colour in bits, but that's a hell of a lot better," he said.

The kids let out a collective sigh of relief. Frisk grabbed him into tight, desperate hug and smooched him between his eyes. He laughed, finally releasing her soul, and ruffled her hair gently.

"S'okay. Quit worryin' so much," he said.

"But it's super freakin' weird though, bro," she said.

"She's not wrong." Asriel rested his hand on his chin. "What do we do if it happens again?"

"Still happenin' currently." Sans pointed at his glowing eye.

"You know what I mean," he said.

Frisk pouted and tried to call Gaster again. It didn't work. She tried Alphys and that didn't seem to work either. Papyrus, Toriel, Undyne, all the same. She groaned and rolled onto the floor.

"What do I do?" she asked.

"What d'you mean?" Asriel asked, leaning down over her.

"How do I fix this?"

"Probably can't," Sans said.

"No, no, there's gotta be something, right?" she said. "It… It just started, right? So something went wrong. Something changed. That makes sense, right?"

"I, um… I guess so?" Asriel said, his brow furrowing. "What weird time things happened?"

"Um. Dad came back. But… But I don't think that would be it." She sat up and folded her arms. She chewed the inside of her cheek. "Oh… The… The star travel thing."

"What?" Asriel asked.

"What else did I do different? Nothing, right?" she said shrilly. Her eyes went wide and glossy. "I-I must've been using it too much. Sans, I'm so sorry."

"Uh…" He grinned sideways. "Kiddo. C'mon. Why would it be that?"

"I dunno!" Her throat tightened and her voice cracked. "What else could it be?! Nothing else really changed before it got r-real bad and… I'm so sorry, it's probably all my fault."

Sans got on his knees and grabbed the kid's face in both hands. He brushed his thumbs under her eyes. "Jeez, kid. C'mon. Don't cry on me. Even if we pretend for a sec that it is your fault. I don't care. You know that."

She gulped and nodded stiffly.

"Why couldn't it be your dad coming back again?" Asriel said. "I mean. That's the biggest thing, isn't it?"

"It was getting worse before he got here," Sans said. "Just, uh… not like this."

"I'm so sorry," Frisk said quietly.

"Kid." Sans gave her a stern look.

She drooped and wiped her eyes. She shook her head quickly. "I'm gonna figure it out."

"Relax," Sans said. "I know I ain't the only one seein' stuff."

"It doesn't matter." She made as if to get up, but her brother seized on her soul and plunked her right back into place. "Saaaans."

"You wanna help, right?" he said. "Chill out."

They locked eyes— a strange, steady standoff. She gritted her teeth. She leaned into him and gripped him tightly around his ribcage. He sat cross-legged and scooped her up.

"Don't freak out on me, alright?" he said quietly.

She nodded. "I'll t-try not to. Isn't there anything I can do, though?"

"Well. Maybe one thing," he said.

"What?" she asked so quickly it came out like a bark.

"Tea."

"Tea? Tea!" She finally cracked a smile. She got up and rushed to the kitchen. "I can totally do that! Just a minute!"

When she was gone, Sans let out a quiet sigh, resting his back against the couch. Asriel slipped over and squatted beside him.

"Seriously," he said at a whisper.

"I'll be fine." His eyes looked heavy. He drummed his fingers on his leg. "Hey. Do me a favour?"

"What?"

"She's… She's gonna try to do somethin' stupid," he said. "Might work. Might not. Probably can't stop her, but… watch her back, okay?"

"Wh…? Uh." Asriel's eyes narrowed. "What do you know?"

Sans shrugged and he smiled sideways. "Just know her."

"Right." Asriel straightened up and shot him a smirk. "For the record. I don't believe you. Not about her. About you."

"Hey, whatcha gonna do?" the skeleton said. He sighed heavily. "Sheesh."

Asriel looked him up and down. He scooted a little closer, hesitated for a moment, and then grabbed him into a tight hug. The skeleton snorted.

"Kid, I'm okay," he said. "Uh. Actually. Are you? You been a little more…"

"I know, I know, I just…" He sighed and pouted, drawing back and and shaking his head. "After everything, we… Okay, not me. But you. You deserved a rest. A longer one, before you say, oh, I had a month, or some crap."

Sans laughed. He patted Asriel between his horns reassuringly. "Jeez, if you're sayin' that, guess you're real serious, huh?" he said.

"Shut up, of course I am," he said. "…You're my brother now. Even if that's… so weird."

Sans caught himself grinning a bit wider. He squished the kid's ears gently. "Yeah, guess it's pretty w-eared."

"Why did you…? Oh, come on!" Asriel protested, scrunching up his snout. "You just can't help it, can you?"

Sans's smile widened. "Oh, no, I can totally help it."

"I think that's worse," the kid said.

xXxXx

It didn't take too much longer for Toriel to arrive. She'd beaten out everyone else and instantly took Sans into her arms and squished him close, even before anyone had explained what had happened. Once they had, she flared her magic bright and held him, pulsing energy through his bones as strongly and as steadily as she could. He had to admit, it wasn't half-bad.

Frisk, on the other hand, was a roiling ball of nerves. Phones still weren't working to call with. She'd thought maybe it was just them, but Toriel's hadn't worked either. She wanted to talk to Gaster. More than almost anything. If anyone had answers, it had to be him, right? And maybe Papyrus was with him. She sure could use an amber-magic hug right about now. She had never wanted to leave her house so badly in her life.

When her mother pulled Sans aside to show him new floor plan drawings, Frisk stayed anxiously in the living room. She eyed the door. He'd try to stop her. Would probably know where she was headed, too. Maybe she could get a head start, but…?

She was jerked from her thoughts as Asriel pulled her into his arms.

"Hey. So. I noticed you're schemin'," he said.

"What? No!" Frisk said shrilly. "I'm not…"

"Yeeeeah, you super are," he said. He touched his snout gently against her cheek. "Listen. Just relax. He's gonna be okay."

"I need to do something," she said quietly.

"What can you do?"

"I need to talk to dad," she said. "He'll probably be in the lab by now. Right? So—"

"But, I mean, you don't look so good yourself." He grinned. "That was quick."

"Huh?" She stared at him blankly.

He snickered and tilted his head. "He knew you'd try something. Didn't think it'd be so soon."

"Oh…" Frisk wasn't even sure why she was surprised. "What if I just tell him?"

"What?" Asriel blinked.

"What if I just go tell Sans I'm gonna find dad and just… see what he says?"

"Oh. Well… I mean. Go ahead?" he said. "I'll come with you."

"You don't have to," she said.

"Want to," he said.

Frisk slipped upstairs to where Sans and Toriel were talking. They were in his old room. She tapped on the door and let herself in, where the two of them were sitting on the bed, surrounded by papers. Toriel smiled at her.

"Hello, hun," she said. She gestured to the mess. "We are going to need some proper desk space for future projects, I think!"

She nodded. She caught Sans counting down on his fingers and she pointed at him. "I see that!"

He grinned. She sighed and laughed.

"What is it, my child? Did you want to tell us something?" Toriel asked.

"Um. I'm gonna go to the lab," she said. "I wanna talk to dad about what happened and since phones are still stupid…"

"That urgent, huh?" Sans said.

"Cours it is! Jeez," she said, eyes wide. "Are you still seeing it?"

His hesitation gave her her answer. He smiled tiredly. "Can't talk you out of it?"

She shook her head. "I need… I need to at least see if we can think of something to help."

He sighed. "Want a lift?"

"No, no, you stay here, don't teleport or do anything timey that doesn't just happen in your head, okay?" Frisk said quickly, raising her hands. "Please? Just in case?"

"Oh, my, this really spooked you, didn't it?" Toriel asked gently. "But can it not wait until Gaster gets home? You look exhausted."

"I can't just do nothing," she muttered.

"Nothin's the easiest thing in the world," he joked.

Frisk got closer and grabbed his hands. "I just wanna talk it out. Okay? I'm gonna go? Az is gonna come with me."

Sans patted her head. "Hate to see you all torn up. Honestly. Chill. But, I mean, can't stop you."

"Right! Okay! Right." She grabbed him and hugged him tight. "I love you so much and I'm gonna fix this and it's gonna be fine."

"Jeez, kiddo," he said. "Relax, will ya?"

"Oh, sweetie, she just wants you to feel better," Toriel said, putting a caring hand on his shoulder and smiling. "Just as we all do, honestly. You of all monsters know you should let her help."

"Oof," he said with a laugh. "Nothin' too weird though, okay?"

"I'll do my best," she said brightly.

Frisk and Asriel left together and quickly headed into Waterfall. They checked Undyne's house on the way, but nobody was there.

When they reached the lab, they started hearing chattering voices as soon as they opened the door. Mettaton was inside with a camera and a microphone pointed directly at Alphys. Gaster hovered around behind her, trying to make himself inconspicuous as if he'd been trapped in the shot and was afraid to move. He noticed them and bashfully twiddled his fingers to wave.

"As you know, for almost all monsters— especially myself— phones are a necessity! What are you doing to fix this?" Mettaton asked.

"W-Well! Um." Alphys turned back to the monitor behind her. "H-Honestly, it's just a little power fluctuation. I, um, just will need to r-reboot a few of the systems attached to the CORE and then we should be o-okay!"

"And that will solve the power failures of the lifts from New Home and the Hotland puzzles, too, correct?" he said.

"It should." The lizard nodded and grinned nervously. "Um. Yeah! S-So, um, if you're stuck in a section, just, um, get some lunch? And it sh-should be fixed by the time you're done! If you, um, m-miss school and need a note, s-send me a text when this is all fixed and I'll make sure you don't get in trouble!"

"FANTASTIC!" Mettaton leapt in front of the camera, arm extending out to hold it exactly in place as he grinned into the lens. "Well, there you have it, beauties! Our dear Royal Scientist should have all this done in, oh, say, ten minutes?"

"M-Maybe more like a half hour or so," Alphys squeaked. "So, um, the power might g-go out for a few minutes in—"

"A half hour! Fantastic. Try not to bore yourselves to death in the meantime, my darlings! That is the end of Mettaton's Super Emergency Broadcast Special! You all have yourselves a wonderful day! Ta-taaaa~!"

Mettaton hit some buttons and put the camera down. Alphys slumped, but he grinned and grabbed her shoulders.

"Great job," he said. He whirled and grinned brightly at Frisk and then glided over like he had wheels in his feet. "HELLO my darling little Frisk! How are you doing?!" He lifted her up and squeezed her before she could answer. "I heard about that nonsense with those foreign humans, how are you holding up? They didn't cause too much trouble, did they? I can write a political hit piece if you need!"

"No, no no, it's fine," she grunted as he put her down. She took a breath. "It's good to see you. I watched your party thing on TV, it looked cool."

"Of course it did!" He posed proudly, and then shot a smile at Asriel. "And hello to you, too, Prince Dreemurr! You were a great help on that."

"Well, popcorn ain't gonna pop itself," he said.

"Exactly! And Papyrus was—! Oh, actually!" He gestured widely to Gaster, who had crept in close with a hopeful smile on his face. "Have you been introduced to Doctor Gaster yet?"

Frisk grinned. "Yeah, we mightta met a few times."

With a big smile on his face, Gaster knelt to give her a warm, relieved hug. "I'm glad to see you."

"Me too." She tried not to get too weak in the knees.

"Oh, s-so, you must've b-been calling," Alphys said, edging in. "Sorry, F-Frisk, it just went haywire at kind of a bad time, huh?" She looked around. "Where's…? Is Sans not with you?"

"Yeah," she said. "Um. Something… Um. Something didn't go so well back home."

That drew all the adults' attention completely. Frisk tented her fingers.

"Um." She took a deep breath. "Sans saw through time. It… wasn't good."

"Wait what?!" Alphys said shrilly.

Gaster's eyes went wide. He put a hand to his soul spot. "Was…? Was that what that was?"

"Did you see, too?" Asriel asked.

"No, but I…" He shook his head quickly. "How is he?"

"A little better. It was rough, though," she said. "He almost fainted. He couldn't look at anything for almost an hour."

"Wait, what does that mean?" Mettaton asked. "I don't understand what any of this is, by the way."

Alphys groaned and pushed him off to the side so that he rolled away. "Not now. S-So. What's happening? Why is i-it happening?"

"It's… been getting worse, hasn't it?" Gaster asked softly.

Frisk nodded. She grabbed his hand tightly in hers. "I… I need your help. I need to fix it. It shouldn't be this b-bad, right? There has to be something I can do. Right?"

Gaster tapped his teeth thoughtfully. He turned to Alphys. "Fix what you can? I need to help Frisk with this."

"R-Right. Um. Right!" She stuck her thumbs up. She grabbed Mettaton by the hand and pulled him towards her desk. She grabbed her laptop. "C-Come on. I'll need your help."

"What? Moi?" Mettaton put a hand to his chest, his eyes wide.

"You're so m-much taller than me!" she said with a laugh, shoving her computer into his arms. "And most of the old controls were designed by that guy over there." She jerked her thumb at Gaster.

"Fair enough."

"This doesn't…? Is this anything to do with Sans?" Frisk asked worriedly.

"Oh! Because of the…? N-No, no, it was just m-my fiddling with it while I w-was trying to, um, r-reverse engineer s-something. A small p-part, um, overloaded," Alphys said with an embarrassed laugh. Her cheeks flushed. "Um. Asriel, m-maybe could you come, too? I mean. In case there a d-determination flare up anywhere? Oh! Um. Unless you're needed here?"

Asriel raised his brows. He looked at Frisk. She shrugged.

"Gonna try to not do anything stupid," she said.

He grabbed her shoulders; stared deep into her eyes. "Don't mess up."

"Okay okay."

Asriel laughed and headed over to join Alphys and Mettaton. Alphys smiled fondly and patted him on the shoulder.

Mettaton leaned in close to her as he followed her towards the door and whispered, "It's okay to leave them alone, right? He's not going to do strange experiments on her, is he?"

"PFFT! No, no," Alphys laughed. "He's her father."

"Her WAITWHAT?!" He was dragged out before he could ask any more questions.

Gaster smiled bashfully despite the worry making his brow heavy. He put his hand on Frisk's head and tutted softly. "You look so worried, a stór. What can we do?"

"I dunno, that's why I came to you," she said. "I… I'm so freaked out I don't even want him to go to sleep like this. I don't know what'll happen. He keeps saying it's fine. He won't care unless it's happening to me." Her throat tightened and she grasped her hands. "I can't let it keep getting worse. But whatever I gotta do… I dunno. I gotta go into the void, right? I must have to. Right?"

Gaster tapped his teeth. He nodded. He offered his hand and she took it readily.

"Come," he said. "I think I know what to check, at least."