Chapter 28 is Somewhere Else
Frisk's eyes snapped open at the touch of familiar blue magic against her soul, despite the heavy lethargy weighing down her skull. Her eyes were out of focus, but in the warm, orange-tinted light amongst stark shadows, she thought she saw a boney leg wearing a fuzzy pink slipper.
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She shot upright, a blanket falling away from her shoulders. It took her brain a moment to process her surroundings. A small cabin, maybe. There was a low table off to her right, and some flat pillows around it. Across from her, sitting on a pillow himself, was a skeleton in a cozy, blue and black sleep robe, with a shining blue iris, sipping tea.
"Sans?!" she yelped.
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The second he readjusted himself, she realized she wasn't seeing who she thought she was. He looked almost identical to her brother in some ways, but he was a little bigger, had a healed crack in the right side of his skull, and pointed teeth in his grin. Even the blue in his eye wasn't quite the same. Frisk's heart faltered and her eyes blurred with tears.
"I'm…" This wasn't home. This was a stranger. She buckled forward and held her face in hands. "I-I'm sorry," she rasped out. "I'm s-so sorry."
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It was hard to hear past the thumping in her ears, but the skeleton shuffled and let out a soft sigh.
"Jeez, kid," he said quietly. He sounded just like him. "S'alright. Hey." One of his hands, big and clawed, rested on her shoulder and then consolingly patted her back. "Cry it out. S'okay."
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She choked. What had she done? Her mind shot back to the attack out in the void. A headache pressed in and she felt like she was going to be sick. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "I… I didn't mean to come here, I'm so sorry."
He tutted gently. She sniffled and tried to force herself not to cry, but it didn't quite work. She had trouble catching her breath. It took her a moment to look up. The skeleton that sounded like her brother peered at her with sympathy in his grin, brows bent slightly. She gulped heavily, her throat rough and strained.
"S-Sorry," she said quietly.
"Pretty far from home, huh?" he said gently.
"Y… Yeah."
"And I look a bit like someone you know pretty well, right?" he said.
She nodded.
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He got a little closer and offered her a bone-patterned handkerchief from his pocket. She reached for it but then noticed a blue stripe around her wrist. She paused, confused. The skeleton smiled and put the cloth into her hand. She carefully wiped her eyes with it.
"Keep it," he said. "Gonna be okay?"
"I h-hope so," she said softly.
"So. Whatcha doin' here?" he asked.
"It… was an accident. I think," she said quietly. "I got attacked and I… I fell, I think. Was I, um…? Was I out for a long time?"
"Long enough," he said. "Few hours."
"I'm sorry," she said.
He laughed. "Jeez. Relax. You're okay."
She sniffled again, tying to get a hold of herself. "So, um…" She looked at her wrists. "Is, uh…? Am I, like… under arrest?"
The skeleton laughed. "Only if you're into stabbin'. Which I doubt." He grinned and the shining blue in his left eye dimmed down to reveal his white pupils. The one in his right was dimmer than the one in his left, though. "Think of it like a guest pass. There aren't a lot of humans around here. Marks ya as a safe one. Unless it goes over red."
"Oh. But my magic is red. Is that bad?"
He looked taken aback. He tapped his teeth. "Hm. Not sure. Never happened before." He shrugged. "Welp, it goes weird, just let a guard take ya, be cool, and then ask for me. Shouldn't be a big deal."
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Frisk ran her fingers over the blue stripe on her left. She could feel a faint hum of magic under her touch. "You're Sans, right?" Her voice came out weaker than she wanted.
"Sure am," he said. He pointed at the side of her face. "Sorry. You, uh, mind if I…?"
She shook her head. With careful hands, he held her cheeks, his eyes inquisitive and inspecting. Was far from the first time a monster had done this. She patiently let him until she noticed he was missing a finger on his right hand. Her heart thunked and her mouth went dry.
"Wait. Wait wait." She grabbed both of his hands tight in hers. "I… I know you?"
He smiled sideways and his left eye lit up again with his bright, sky blue. "Think I know you, too." His claw lightly traced the scar on her face. "Welp. I mean. Least I heard a pretty detailed description."
"I-Is this the place where everything was cursed and stuff?" she asked. "A-And you… got hurt protecting a human? And Undyne's the Queen now?"
He grinned. "Nailed it. You met my brother."
"Yeah!" A spark lit in the kid's eyes. "Yeah, in a dream! My brother looked like you because—"
"Same guy. Kinda." He chuckled. "Welp. Sorry to freak y'out, but it's nice t'meet ya."
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Frisk laughed and shook her head, wiping her eyes again. "You didn't freak me out."
"Couldda fooled me," he teased.
She shook her head again. "No no, it's… It's just, I kinda hoped maybe I'd be home. And he'd be…" She sighed.
"Somethin' happen?" he asked.
"He's sick. My brother, Sans, I mean. From the time stuff," she said. "I'm trying to fix it. I thought maybe I did but now I'm… here." She looked at him worriedly. "I didn't mess anything up on the way in, did I?"
"No," he said. He got settled where he was and floated over an old, ceramic kettle and a tea cup in a stream of blue magic. He poured some tea and passed it to her. "Tell me about this time stuff."
Frisk gladly accepted and sipped the drink. It wasn't anything like back home. It was a bit toasty. It was nice, though.
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"Well, um, I time travel. Because my soul is made of only determination. My world, it basically has this big huge magic thing in it that accidentally blew up and screwed up time. And that happened in a bunch of other worlds, also? It let a bunch of other… um. Time kids? We call them anomalies. Ones with red souls, I guess? It let them pass in and out, messing stuff up, until I came and stopped them. My brother called me an anchor because of that," she said. "Does that… sound familiar?"
"In parts. Yeah. Hm. Anchor, huh?" His eyes seemed to glitter. "Good word for it. What else?"
"Okay, so, um, in my timeline, stuff was just starting to get settled but then my brother got sick because… Well, there was a guy in another timeline screwing with stuff, but also I think because I went out into the space outside of time to try to fix something else that was wrong with his head, but I messed it up somehow."
"How?" he pressed.
"I'm not sure. I was… trying to seal out the other ones, because my brother started seeing into other times while he was awake. And then my dad said bad versions of him were trying to creep in, and that I needed to make sure they didn't get in. But when we went out there, I… I guess I went too far, and I passed out. My dad had to save me, but another him from another world sensed him and made another rip; I think that made a huge pressure in my brother's head and it just totally wrecked him," she said. "I… thought I figured it out. We went to that world and we stopped the energy flow that was going right into Sans's head, but now I'm here and…" Her voice caught for a second of sheer panic. "Asriel."
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"Asriel?" The skeleton's eyes went wide. "The Prince?"
"Oh my god, he was with me," she said shrilly. "We got attacked! I… I think I got knocked out. Y-You didn't see anyone else out there, did you?! Like, a guy with big skeleton blaster things?!" She wilted when Sans shook his head. "Asriel… He has the same soul as me, basically, you didn't hear another one, did you?"
"Oh. Weird. Okay." He tapped his teeth. "I did. But far away. I thought it was just echoin' weird, but… He followin' you?"
"I think so, yeah, I mean. It takes him longer to get through the outside place than I do, so…"
"So he's probably on your tail," he said. "I'll leave him a note when we go."
"Go? Go where?" Frisk said shrilly.
"Well, can't just leave ya." He smiled sideways. "S'nice hut, but there's not much here but tea, huh? Take you back to my place. Papy'll be real glad to see you again, and he can patch y'up better than I can. Plus. We kinda got an anchor, too. Think you'd get along."
Frisk's jaw dropped. "Y-You… have a…?"
"Yup. Little human kid. Red soul. Think you might recognize her. " He winked. "Weird, huh?"
"S-Super weird," she stammered.
He grinned at her. "Don't worry too much. We'll take care of ya while you're here. Owe ya for helpin' my little bro anyway."
"I, um…! Thank you," she said bashfully.
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Sans gave her a little time to get her feet under her before leading her outside of the little cottage. The place around them was completely foreign to her. Though it was clearly a cavern, they were surrounded by trees with black, twisted trunks and bright, shiny silver and pink leaves. At the edge of their small forest, the rock walls around them had a shape like a bundt tin— right at the centre, the ceiling, carved with some sort of geometric patterns, dipped low into a funnel shape. There was a hole in the floor and, between it and the lowest part of the dip, was a huge orb of light that shifted softly in colours like a blown-out, pastel lava lamp trapped in a star. Trails of energy streamed upwards into a gap in the rock above it and below through the hole in earth.
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"That's what we call the Soul of the World," Sans said.
"Oh… Wow. N-Nothing back home looks like this," Frisk said. She wondered if it could be their version of the CORE. She pointed towards the light. "Can I… see it?"
"Sure. Don't touch, though." He smiled apologetically and tapped the side of his skull. "Can kinda mess with ya."
"Got it."
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Frisk crept closer, peering up at the encroaching cavern curiously. There were crystals jutting from the stone, roundish and shining with the light of the magic.
"You fell outta there." Sans joined her, dragging a wooden chair and scribbling something on a notepad. He plunked it upright on the chair, and then put a small crystal down with it. "Alright. If your, uh, Asriel shoots out any time before next check-in, I'll know about it."
Frisk didn't really get it, but she nodded. "Thank you."
The skeleton put a hand on her head and mussed up her hair gently. "Don't stress too much. You'll be safe here."
"I'm more worried about him," she said. "So I… can't get back out this way?"
"You can. But it'll take a bit of doin'," he said apologetically. He nodded his head away from the light. "C'mon.
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Frisk cautiously followed him. Once they'd reached the trees again, he snapped his fingers and a swirling, blue portal appeared in front of him. The kid froze. He beckoned to it and, with a gulp, Frisk stepped through.
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Sunlight blinded her and she had to shield her eyes for a second. A breeze whipped by and she brushed her hair out of her face, blinking heavily. Laid out before her was a massive, vibrant green field that seemed to stretch onwards forever. The grass rippled in the wind. She could see trees far in the distance, and when she looked up, the sky was bright and blue, with cottonpuff clouds drifting at speed high above.
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She whirled around, eyes wide, and looked up at a massive, rocky spire that climbed up behind them. A rainbow aurora of magic wafted out of its peak and there was the faintest hum of a melody in the air.
"Wh…? Oh wow. You guys are out?" Frisk squeaked.
"Yup," Sans said. "Once our kiddo broke the curse, the old King blew the top off the mountain. S'been pretty nice, honestly."
"Y-Yeah?" Frisk looked out over the grass and took a deep breath of fresh air. "Yeah. This is really nice."
"How's it at yours?" he asked. "You out?"
"Y-Yeah. It's… It's good," she said. "It's really good."
"But?" Sans gave her a knowing look.
Frisk's cheeks flushed. She folded her arms. "I guess I get anxious thinking about it a little bit."
"Oh yeah? Why?" he asked.
"Humans, um… They weren't very nice to me, and out there was kinda their space, you know?" she said. "And, um… My first time back up there after coming down got undone, and it, uh… kinda messed me up a little."
"Give yourself some time," he said. He tilted his head. "C'mon. Gotta walk a little ways away before I can get us to the house."
"O-Oh. Okay." She followed him as he started across the field. "Do you teleport?"
"Yeah. Magic in there goofs it up a bit, though."
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Though the kid couldn't get her family out of her mind, she had to admit, the brightness of this place was refreshing. She watched Sans curiously. He had a steady, lazy gait with a little stiffness on his right, and he looked oddly strong in his shoulders. He was a little taller than she was used to, too. Despite his sharklike grin, his face wasn't all that different from her brother's. His eyes seemed heavier, but the same otherwise, aside from the healed damage to his skull. She wondered what Papyrus would look like since the curse seemed to have faded. Or that other human— another "Frisk". Her stomach did a flip. She hoped it wouldn't be like looking in a mirror.
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"So. You been to many other worlds before?" Sans asked. "That your thing?"
"Um. Well. N-No. And, I hope not," Frisk said. "I'm… not so good at being away from home. I've just been to… I guess, two other places? One I did a reset for a Sans who was stuck at the end of the world. I didn't see much of that place, just part near where the King lives. The other one was the one where the other version of my dad did that thing I mentioned. It looked a lot like home, to be honest. Your place looks super different so far. Except the part of your house I saw in the dream, I guess."
"Right. So, just dire situation stuff except this place," he said. "Lucky ya came here."
"Yeah. That's a weird c-coincidence, actually," she said.
"Might not be. Might be that your soul recognized us without you noticin'," he said. He grinned. "All speculation, mind ya, I actually got no clue. I've seen the outside; never been there."
"Yeah, well, don't go if you can help it," she said. She cleared her throat. "My thing is more… small fixes, you know? A-And not dying, I guess. This is all pretty new for me."
"Hm." The skeleton paused, holding his hand above his eyes and squinting into the distance. He turned around and then took three steps backwards. "Alright." He offered his hand. "It's a little less accurate with a number two, but I think I got it."
"Thanks." Frisk grabbed onto him.
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The wide field of green was replaced in an instant with frosty wind, snow, and a house she had seen once before. It looked like a squat little fort, but she recalled it being ashen black last time. Now, it looked like it was made of normal, grey stone. Festive lights flickering in red, green, and white hung from the windowsills.
"Huh, just a few feet off, not too bad," Sans said. He winked. "Lucky it wasn't the other side or we might be wringin' our shoes out, huh?"
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An indigo, devilish looking monster in a long purple scarf that had been walking down the street jumped upon seeing them. "Mr. Sans…?! Is that a human there?!" she yelped.
He grabbed Frisk's arm and held it out. The monster's expression quickly shifted into a smile.
"Oh! I see! Enjoy your visit!" she said, waving as she headed on her way.
Frisk bashfully waved back.
"See?" Sans said. He took her by the shoulder. "Come on."
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Inside the house was like déjà vu for the kid. It was warm and smelled of spaghetti, and looked just like she remembered from the dream, which was also very much like her own. She noticed now that the big TV on a cabinet was attached to a hunk of what looked to be rose quartz, and there was a tall shelf near one of the windows stacked high with books and knickknacks.
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Frisk stood awkwardly near the door as Sans wandered in after her. He tapped his teeth thoughtfully and then headed for the kitchen. "I'll make you somethin' warm, you like chai?"
"I dunno what that is," she admitted.
"Welp, give it a chai," he said. He laughed at himself. "That was bad. Hey. Make yourself at home."
"Th-Thanks." She took off her shoes and sat quietly on the couch. "Um, just… let me know if you want me outta here, okay?"
"Won't be an issue," he said.
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Frisk took a deep breath and nodded to herself. She'd gotten lucky. She checked her wrists again and rubbed her thumb over the blue line. Cautiously, she lit up a sparkle of red in her hand, and the stripes flashed over the same colour. She squeaked and dimmed it, though it took an extra few seconds for the blue to return. She sighed with relief, but pulled her sleeves over them anyway.
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As she settled, she felt a sharp prodding against her leg. She shifted and saw the spine of a thin book poking up between cushions. She pulled it out and gave it a curious look. The title was in script she couldn't read, and the image on the front was a spooky, shadowy figure in stark black, red, and white. She flipped it open and saw that it was a horror comic, with twisted monsters and buildings that looked like they could put your eye out, all in that very stark style. It looked a lot like the dream she'd seen of this place. It kind of gave her chills.
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"Hey, um. Sans?" she asked.
"Sup, bud?" he replied.
"What was with the colours and everything before? In the dream, I mean," she asked. "Your eye was red when I saw it there, I think, right? And the outside was all kinda dark and pointy, wasn't it? But now it looks really nice out there."
"Oh." He laughed. "Was it real over-the-top spooksville?"
"Yeah," she said.
He sighed and tutted, but he sounded amused. "When Papy controls it, it sometimes looks like that. No idea why." He said it like he knew exactly why.
"So it… wasn't really like that?" she asked.
"Don't get me wrong, it was kinda messed up, but… You get a rundown from my brother?"
"Yeah, a bit," she said.
"Phew. So, basically, King's magic went void black and then red with, uh, determination and did some big super curse on all magic stuff. Since we're in a place ruled by a monster who kinda binds their magic to it, it messed up all the nature stuff, too. Make sense?"
"And it made everything look all full of spikes, too?" she asked.
He chuckled to himself. "Naw, not around here. My brother is, uh, pretty impressionable, y'know?"
"But…" She frowned. "You guys were cursed too, right?"
"Sure were," he said.
"And you did all have red eyes, right?"
"Different shades, but yeah," he said. "Messed up our magic colours, too."
"Okay." She nodded to herself. "Sorry, just kinda… trying to figure out what's real."
"No worries," he said.
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She jumped at the sound of a door creaking upstairs, but it was just Sans again, poking his head out of the last of three doors.
"Yo, where ya wanna sleep?"
"Um… Wherever?" she said.
"Hm… That's not exactly a room…" He smiled sideways. "Guess we'll see how ya jive with the others."
"I-I don't need a room," she said. "I don't wanna be a trouble."
"Look, kid." He was right in front of her now, grinning wide with amusement. "Told ya. I owe ya one. So, just chill out. Think of this like… a little vacation. Ever had a vacation before?"
"Maybe one," she said.
"You probably already gathered. But you're stuck here for a little bit. S'okay with me, we'll do our best to get ya out, but in the meanwhile, just take a deep breath." He held her shoulder. "You're gonna be fine."
"R-Right." She couldn't help the knot in her stomach. She hoped time wasn't passing too much back home. She clenched her fingers. "Hey, um, Sans? There's… this thing I can do? Opening tears in time. D-Do you think that would work here? For me to get home? I-If I can't use that Soul of the World place?"
Sans tilted his head. "Y'haven't done it before?"
"No," she said. "I'm pretty sure I know how, but I just don't wanna go ripping a hole in your universe since it's… Y'know, not mine. Unless it's safe for you guys."
"Welp." He touched her temples with gentle fingertips. "Close you eyes and think real hard about doin' it. Make it your plan."
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Frisk did as he asked, shutting her eyes; taking a breath. Told herself she would cut the world open with her fingers. She pictured drawing that star shape and the golden light shining back at her. The homesick ache hit her hard. She wondered how everyone doing. She wondered if Sans was conscious.
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Sans drew back and she opened her watering eyes. He looked worried; his left eye flaring blue.
"Can you read my mind?" she asked, quickly brushing her eyes with her knuckles. "…No. You saw that future, right?"
He dipped his head. "Wanna know the truth?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Please. It's no good, huh?"
Sans hesitated. He folded his arms. "You can get out. You can leave. But it won't take you to your brother. You might be able to find him. I dunno where your world is from here, but I guess there's a chance you could find it, too. But the Soul of the World will leak into it," he said. "…It'll cause a build up and a second Soul wherever ya rip. By the time ya turn and shut it, it's too late. It, uh… It's a bit explosive."
Frisk winced. "And that's no good for anyone." She sighed. "Okay. That's out."
Sans looked surprised. "That was fast."
"Well, yeah, duh," she said. "Sucks to have to wait, but I could never…" She shook her head, but she cracked a tired smile. "I'm glad you could check. Thanks."
The skeleton's grin widened with relief and he patted her head. The glow in his eye faded out. "Hey, you really ain't bad, huh?" He plucked up the comic at her side and leafed through it. "You, uh, weren't readin' this, were ya?"
"Can't," she said.
"Phew." He winked. "Don't want y'gettin' nightmares, too, your first night here."
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Sans returned to the kitchen and came back with a mug of frothy something. He handed it to her and patted her on the head. "Okay. I'm out. You got the run of the place."
"W-Wait, what?" she squeaked.
"Gotta go find the other nerds," he explained. He pulled a blue blanket with snowflake patterns as if from nowhere and draped it around her shoulders. "Someone'll be back soon." He vanished.
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Frisk was left in stark silence. Her ears hurt. She looked around cautiously, almost afraid to move. She took a deep breath and then sipped the drink the skeleton had given her. It was like the spiced milk she'd gotten back home but much stronger and sweeter. Nostalgia hit her and she had to clench her jaw.
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Cautiously, she scooted down the side of the couch towards the bookshelf. She reached for the closest book and flipped it open. The text was perfectly clear. She slid it back in its place and rubbed her forehead.
"Okay… Okay. No, it's fine. It's fine." She slumped back and drank deeply from her mug. Her stomach hurt. She hoped Asriel was okay. She still couldn't wrap her head around what had set Gaster off again, or why he was so much stronger than before. Maybe it wasn't him? But who else would come after her like that?
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Frisk nursed her drink for a while longer, trying not to let anxiety well up too much inside her. When she was done, she walked, stiff-legged, to the kitchen to return the mug. The room hadn't changed since she'd flopped out from a cupboard in the dream. It made her mind tumble to think that all of this was stuff she'd seen before.
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As she curled up back on the couch with the blanket, she pulled out her phone and saw it struggling to find a signal. Her dad's phone, too, was useless. She sighed. His opera cakes were still in there. She hoped he'd remember to get more.
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Everything was a mess. Frisk's heart was beating too hard. It wasn't a bad place, but feeling so viscerally like she didn't belong was odd and uncomfortable. She folded her arms, clutching her phone tight, and shut her eyes to try to calm down. Meeting another kid like her, though… Her stomach was in knots.
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When the front door creaked, Frisk sat bolt upright from the edges of a nap, topping awkwardly off the couch. She righted herself as fast as she could. A girl stood in the doorway, hurrying in from the cold. She wore a cozy blue jacket with green and pink stripes on the sleeves. When she pushed the hood down and Frisk could see her features, she felt her heart stop for a second. Human. Her skin was very pale, and her cheeks were dotted with freckles and a bit flush from the cold. Her hair was reddish brown, down past her shoulders, though not quite as dark as Frisk's, and her eyes were the colour of honey. Frisk couldn't even articulate how glad she was that this other kid didn't look just like her, but there was an uncanny familiarity about her even so.
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As she ditched her coat, brushing her hair from her face, the girl noticed Frisk and froze completely where she stood. Frisk nervously raised a hand in greetings.
"Um. Hi," she said.
"Oh my god," the girl breathed. "You're her." Her eyes lit right up and she began to beam. She rushed to her and threw her arms around her, squeezing her tight. "Frisk, right?! I'm so glad to see you!"
"Y-You are?" she squeaked.
"Yeah of course!" The girl grinned wide. "Oh my gosh, let me look at you!"
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Frisk stiffened as the taller kid ran around her in a circle. "Ooh, you're small and cute!" Then, she held her by the shoulders. "How old are you?"
"Um, e-eleven, but I went back a year so…"
"Ooh! I'm thirteen. And a half," she said. "Oh! Um. And, you can call me Pidge, okay? If, y'know, the name thing is too weird for you."
"Pidge?" Frisk repeated.
"Yeah. Sans calls me that. Short for pigeon. Because of this thing my mom gave me." She pulled up a little medallion she wore around her neck: it was in the shape of a dove. She grinned. "Monsters all kinda gave me a million nicknames, anyway. That one just kinda stuck. I think it's cute."
"Y-Yeah, I guess it is pretty cute," Frisk agreed. "They did that to me, too."
"Ooh, yeah?! Hah! Course they did. "
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The freckled kid kicked off her boots and pushed them beside the door. "Sans brought you in, right?"
"Yeah," Frisk said. "He sorta said to just hang out here. I hope you don't mind."
"Pfff, no, of course not!" She grinned brightly. "I'm glad you're here."
"You are?" Frisk asked. "J-Jeez, I'd be so scared if another time kid fell into my world."
"Normally, me too!" Pidge laughed. "Well, I mean, someone came in all bad, I'd fight 'em off. But you…" She grinned slyly. "You don't fight at all, do ya?"
"Um, not really. I kinda… dodge. And I can block, now," she said.
"Yeah, I bet!" There was a glimmer in her eye. "That's okay. You don't need to be a good fighter. You leave that to me if you need help, yeah?"
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Frisk wasn't sure if she was teasing or not. She nodded cautiously and the girl grinned and patted her on the back.
"Don't worry too much, it's pretty decent here," she said. "Hey, can I ask? How'd you get that scar?" She pointed to Frisk's cheek.
"Oh, um, it's a magic burn," she said. "My brother did it when he was kinda saving my life."
"Oh! Really? That's interesting. Wait, was that when you turned into a giant weird thing made of light?!" she demanded.
"Wh… What?" Frisk stared back at her blankly.
"I saw it in a dream," Pidge insisted. "I… Okay. Listen. This is creepy. But once Papy saw you, I sorta… Okay, I have these time dreams, right? But I sorta focussed them to try to see you because that's something I can do to other red-souls. Kinda like, focus in and see when they used a lot of energy. And I saw a bit of you. That's why you don't make me nervous at all. Sorry if that's weird. It's pretty weird, huh?"
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Frisk's mouth went dry. She tried not to gawk. "Wh-What else did you see?"
"Oh, all kinds of stuff! I saw you go into this big volcano building and make it not explode, and I saw you doing a fake battle with Papy against a metal guy, and I saw you when Toriel forced Asgore to stop fighting you, and I saw the weird light monster thing, and—"
"Nothing with Sans?" Frisk asked worriedly.
"Ah, he always hides from me," she said with a laugh. "Not that I blame him. I think it's because a lot of other red-souls are bad? They let their power go to their head. Not me! At least not much." She grinned bashfully. "I'm pretty good at what I do now, if I do say so myself. You too, right? You're a time bender?"
"Time… bender?" she repeated.
"Hah! Sorry. I know, I'm totally going a mile a minute," the girl said. "Like, you can do time stuff aside from just the backwards jumps. Right? Like reversing other people's attacks and stuff like that?"
"Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I can," she said.
"Time bender!" She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I totally stole that from a TV show. Anyway! That's actually really rare. I mean. I think I've only seen one other red-soul with it? But they were like, half a jerk. They got it through LV, but then realized they were being awful and reset to not be awful. But, like, I can't imagine!" Her expression darkened with worry for a moment. "You… You gotta come from a pretty messed up world to just come in and start hurting people, right?"
"I guess so," Frisk said softly. "So. Um. What's your… power?"
Pidge tapped her temple. "Seer. I see stuff. Like Sans does. He taught me."
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Frisk folded her arms, her brow furrowed as she tried to take it all in. She nodded to herself. "He's a… seer, too?"
"He's kinda an oracle. Knows weird universe secrets. I mean, he's a seer too, obviously. Most of them are like that, even if they don't use those words," Pidge said. "Just, my brother actually trained for it, so I think he's maybe more focussed. Is your Sans like that?"
That explained that future prediction, then, Frisk thought. "Um. Mine's…" Her voice faltered. She took a deep breath. "He sees in his dreams. He can't control it, but it's been useful before. And he can kinda sense stuff that's gonna happen in real life right before it does."
The girl's face fell. She put a hand on Frisk's shoulder. "He's why you're here, right? I'm sorry. Somehow, they're sturdy bags of bones. I know you'll be able to help him."
"Y-Yeah. Yeah. Thanks," the kid said.
.
Pidge smiled sympathetically and nodded. She shot a quick glance around the room. "Anyone else here?"
"Sans went to go find Papyrus, or you, I think," she said.
"Ah! Good! Papy's gonna love to meet you for real," the girl said as she bounded into the kitchen. "Just a warning: he might cry. He talked about you and your Sans for like, at least a week non-stopped. Hey, you like dumplings? I'm gonna make you some stuff so just, like, sit down, okay?"
.
Frisk awkwardly sat on the couch, folding her arms in close against her chest. She blew out a sigh. "Hey, um… Where's mom—? I mean, Toriel? Is she… your mom?"
"Ah. Um. She is. Yeah. She's kinda… gone though. For now," the girl said. "It's been a while. After we broke the curse on the kingdom and stuff, d… Asgore went into exile. Mom left a little while after to go find him. Said she wanted answers about something? Sorry you won't get to meet her, I'm sure she'd like you. Undyne's Queen instead. Do you have an Undyne?"
"Oh, yeah. She's great," Frisk said. "Kinda my big sister. S'good."
"Oh! Cool! That's cool."
.
Something sizzled in the kitchen and a savoury scent hit the kid's nose. She hadn't realized she was so hungry. Pidge came out, twirling a wooden spoon between her fingers. She leaned up on the doorframe.
"And Alphys?" she asked.
"She's great. The, um, main problem we had to deal with in my world, I guess? Was a big barrier blocking monsters under the mountain," she said. "And also that, um, the Prince was a soulless flower thing? And that was actually part of solving the first problem. And it was thanks to Alphys that all of that stuff got solved."
"Oh! Okay, that's really awesome," the girl said, "but are she and Undyne gonna get married?"
"Married? Uh. Maybe? I dunno!" Frisk said. "They love each other a lot."
"Oh, good, that's good, I hate when they're not together," she said. "Anyway! If you need any really big help, we can go see Undyne. She's kinda rough but she's really good at getting stuff done." She darted back into the kitchen. "That's cool that at least a bunch of the people we know are similar, right?"
"Yeah, um…" She couldn't sit still any longer. She snuck into the kitchen to watch. "Is it… okay if I…?"
"Hm?!" Pidge turned to look at her and smiled, waving her towards the stove. "Sure, come look, if you want!"
.
The freckled kid was tall enough to use the stove on her own without a boost, but there was a small stool in the corner anyway. She pulled it over for Frisk to get some height with. She had some pale dumplings arranged around a frying pan in the shape of a sun.
"We buy these frozen from a shop in town, it's pretty great," she explained. "Sorta like the town speciality. You have anything like that back home?"
"Um. Cinnamon bunnies, I guess," she said. "It's a pun."
"Oh, cute."
"And burgers from a place called Grillby's."
Pidge laughed. "He's a famous chef here, he works in the Inner Circle, near the castle. We can never get in unless Sans cheats the lines."
Frisk cracked a smile. She watched as the other kid lifted one of the dumplings to check the underside. It was getting golden. She bounced over to the sink for a small glass of water, then dumped it into the pan and covered it with a pot lid.
"There we go. Just a bit longer," she said. "I hope you'll like them."
"Honestly, just, thanks for giving me food," Frisk said quickly, getting own from the stool. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
.
Pidge smiled sympathetically, a sense of knowing in her eyes. "No way, ya doof, you're the guest." She patted the kid on the shoulder and gently pushed her to sit down. "Look, I know this is all… weird and freaky. I bet, especially for you, after… Well. We're gonna take care of you until you can get home. Promise. Owe you for Papy, y'know?"
"Was it that big a deal?" Frisk asked worriedly.
"Oh, jeez, yeah," she said. "There's a bit of backstory, I guess? After the, um, King broke the mountain, everything was good but there was all this extra magic energy in the air and anybody who had any sort of relation to time magic got stronger. But, it also made the side effects way stronger, too. Sans and I, we managed to break the loops in our dreams, but Papy couldn't do it, no matter what we tried. It was getting so that he was getting basically no sleep at all. So, when you broke it for him, it was a pretty big deal, actually."
"O-Oh!" The kid blushed. "I'm glad I helped, then!" She couldn't help but cringe. "…I know what that's like. S-So if I could stop that stuff happening to someone else, I'm really glad."
Pidge's eyes went wide. She nodded. She turned back to her cooking and absently tapped the back of the spoon on the metal lid. "So I guess it's just a thing time travel does to your head, huh?"
"Yeah. Guess so," she said. "You do it too?"
"I can, yeah," she said. "Papy doesn't remember but he knows when it happens, so we try to not do it too much or else it gets kinda annoying."
.
Pidge peeked under the lid and a plume of steam puffed out. She seemed pleased and clunked it across the stove as more steam rose into the air. "Almost done," she said. "Just gotta wait for the water to dry up." She shifted aside and leaned back against the counter. "Sorry, guess this must be weird to be on the back foot, huh?"
Frisk's brow furrowed a little. "Um…"
"I mean, that I know a lot more about you than you do about me, or any of this stuff," she said. She tilted her head. "You seem nervous."
"Oh, n-no, I mean… I guess I'm just thinking about my family, is all," she said. "Most of them are back home and I hope they're okay, and my brother's trying to follow me out of the time void but time moves slow in there for him when he's alone."
Pidge looked puzzled. She counted on her fingers for a second before her eyes went wide. "…Wait, who's in the time void?! Not Papyrus, right?!"
"No, um. Asriel." She was met with a wide-eyed, confused stare. "The, um, Prince? He's Toriel's first kid, um…"
The girl looked extra pale all of a sudden. "Wh…?! Oh. Okay! That's… That's interesting," she said. She smiled. "C-Can't wait to meet him."
"Yeah, hope it's soon," Frisk said quietly.
.
The door cracked open and the kid jumped. Pidge perked up and whipped around. She ran for the front of the house.
"Hey! Welcome home! Come on! Or… Hang on." She ran back and grabbed Frisk's hand to pull her out into the living room.
.
Standing there was a skeleton that was clearly Papyrus. He was just slightly younger and an inch or two shorter, but otherwise looked almost identical to Frisk's own brother. He even had a similar clothing style to his casual-wear: a cozy, orange turtleneck, skinny jeans, and a red scarf. Almost every inch of edge the curse had carved into him was softened. The only big differences were that he had a mostly smooth, healed crack on the left side of his skull, claws on his fingers, and short fangs.
.
He gawked. Frisk raised a hand to greet him, but before she'd said a word, he bent down and pulled her into his arms. He was warm and felt like home, and his soul buzzed happily. Frisk buckled and grabbed onto him, too.
"I'm so glad to see you," he said.
"Same." Her voice cracked.
He laughed warmly and gave her an affectionate squish. He pulled back, eye sockets glistening. She almost didn't want to let him go.
"When my brother told me you were here, I thought he was joking, but…!" He put a hand on her head and smiled warmly. "You remember me? The great Papyrus? You do, right?"
"Yeah, of course," she said. Her eyes were watering. "I-I'm glad you're okay."
He beamed and gently mussed up her hair. "Are you?"
"Y-Yeah," she said. "It's just been a l-long couple days, y'know?"
Though he looked confused, he nodded. "You travelled a lot?"
"From a whole other universe," Pidge interjected, laughing. "Food's done, you wanna sit with us?"
"Ooooh, yes," Papyrus said instantly. "Come, little human, let's get you something to eat!"
.
He hopped up and pulled their table over to the couch, and then bounced around, placing down three plates with dumplings and little bowls with a dark sauce in them before picking Frisk up and plunking her into the farthest seat. He handed her some chopsticks and then sat beside her. Pidge clambered over the arm of the couch to join them.
"Hope you like them," she said. She dipped one of her own in the sauce and then ate it in one bite. She gulped heavily. "Nngh, watch out, it's hot!"
Papyrus laughed. "Every time, little sister."
"I'm hongry!" she whined.
.
Frisk cracked a smile. She mimicked her, dipping the dumpling in the sauce, but she blew on it before taking a bite. It was crunchy on one side and soft on the other. Inside was like a lump savoury stew. She really liked it. She was on her second one before it struck her how downright weird everything was. She sat back and rubbed her head. The others were wolfing their food. She was suddenly painfully homesick again.
.
"Whatcha think, you like it?" Pidge asked, leaning around Papyrus to look at her. "What's wrong?"
"Oh! N-Nothing, they're really good," Frisk said swiftly, picking up another one. "Thanks. Just, um… Just kinda tired, I guess."
"You must've come a very long way," Papyrus said. "Sans told me a little. So. I'm sorry you're lost. But I'm happy you're here." He smiled. "Don't worry too much, our brother is very good at all this weird time and magic stuff so I'm sure he'll be able to get you home."
"Right. Thank you," Frisk said. "Yeah, I'm sure it'll… It'll be fine." She cast a curious look at the other kid. "Pidge, do you guys have any, like… saves?" Frisk asked.
They both replied with blank stares.
"Like, um… A spot where you can sorta stick to time and go back to?"
"Umm… Not really, I can go back to midnight whenever, though," Pidge explained.
"Hm…" Frisk folded her arms and frowned thoughtfully. "And I can't really use this Soul of the World thingy, right?"
"Sans will definitely need to help you with that," Papyrus said. "He's the only one who can touch it without fainting."
"So… So what do I do, then?"
"Wait?" Pidge suggested. "Sorry, I know that's not useful."
.
From nowhere, Sans stepped out of the kitchen. He was dressed differently, in some black slacks and a blue t-shirt with no sleeves. It was easy to see how busted up his right arm had once been. "I dunno, pigeon, I think this kid needs somethin' like that. Looks kinda exhausted, huh?"
"Ah! You're back!" The freckled kid hopped off the couch and ran to him to give him a tight hug.
He snorted and lifted her up under her arms even though she was almost as tall as he was, snuggling her before plopping her back down. Frisk was ashamed by how jealous she felt for a second.
.
"Did you find anything out for her yet?" Pidge asked.
Sans laughed and gently mussed up her hair. "She's hardly even been here half a day yet, kiddo."
"I know, but…" She shot a look at Frisk over her shoulder. "It can't be easy, huh?"
"I-I'll be okay," Frisk said, though her voice cracked a little.
Papyrus put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "There has to be more than just feeding her dumplings, right? Brother? Do you have any ideas?"
The shorter skeleton shrugged widely. "Could show her around town? C'mon, dude, you know how to be a good host, right?"
Papyrus puffed out his chest and thumped his fist over his soul spot. It made a small chime. "Of course I do! What a silly question."
"Well, then…" Sans grinned and gestured to him as if to summon an answer.
.
"Oh!" Papyrus perked up and turned to Frisk with a big smile. "Hey, new friend, how would you like to see around town?"
"It'd be a good way to kill some time," Pidge added.
"Need you to do some work with me, though, kiddo," Sans said apologetically.
"Oh! That's fine! But, what d'ya say, Frisk? Let Papy take you around the place?"
To be honest, the kid was exhausted. But, she was adrift, and these strangers who seemed like friends were willing to put up with her. She couldn't imagine saying no.
xXxXx
Though the town went by the name Snowdin, aside from the river and the location of the blocks of houses around it, it was a totally different place than what Frisk was used to. For one, it wasn't on the plateau of some cliffs. Instead, it stretched out in lumpy fields along the river with much more space in between the buildings. It was a lot brighter, too, with fresh air blowing in, though above them was cloudy and speckles of snow still fell, powdering the frosty earth. Frisk wondered, then, how far the Soul of the World was from here.
.
The main street was long, lined on both sides with strange shops, ranging from armour and weapons, to fanciful baubles, to baked goods, and a soup shop decorated with a giant pot. Everything seemed a little more rustic than what she was used to.
.
Papyrus was enthusiastic, explaining every one as they passed. Frisk was having a hard time paying attention, but she nodded along anyway. Truthfully, she just liked listening to him even though her head was still foggy after everything else that had happened.
.
The monsters here were different than Frisk had seen in the dream, though they weren't like the types she'd seen back home, either. Many of them looked more rugged or had stranger, sharper body shapes, and even the average citizen wore more stuff that looked like armour. Papyrus caught her eyes wandering and he smiled.
"Have you seen many monsters before? I mean, besides skeletons, of course."
"Oh, yeah, a skele-ton of 'em," she assured him.
"NyeeEEEH!" He rubbed his face and shot her a teasing glare. "I see your Sans is also a corrupting influence of bad jokes. And yet, why do I find that reassuring?"
Frisk snickered. She shrugged. "But yeah, where I live is all monsters, basically."
"Oh! Well, that's good! A lot of the humans even from around here are still scared of monsters, so I'm glad you're not," he said.
"Do they give you a lot of trouble?" Frisk asked worriedly.
"No, not really anymore, we all just mostly mind our own business," he said. "Even though the top of the mountain is gone, it still gives us a huge wall around the whole country, so I think that makes everyone feel a little safer. Everyone likes my sister, though."
"Huh." Frisk tilted her head up, wondering if a sky above her Snowdin would be much like this. Maybe with magic. "It's kinda hard to imagine."
"Oh! I can show you later, if you'd like!" he said. He frowned thoughtfully. "Hey, um, Frisk? Would you like to sit down?"
"Huh?" She shot him a questioning look.
"It's just, your legs are a little shaky."
.
She hadn't noticed until he'd said something. She did feel a bit wobbly, now that he mentioned it. Even so, she shook her head. "It's okay, let's keep looking around."
"Are you sure?" he asked, tilting his head. "Oh! I know! Come with me!" He took her by the hand and, after a quick glance around, pulled her into a shop with a sign that was only squiggles.
.
The wooden door opened with the ding of a bell, taking them from bright whites and greys to a warm-toned brown. The inside smelled of cinnamon and grass clippings. A bunch of shelves were arranged in an odd pattern around the edges of the shop, leaving space for a bubbling cauldron in the centre, which was being stirred by a purple snake-like creature with a giant spoon.
.
Papyrus ran around the store, peering at shelves that were lined in little wooden bins, while the monster the centre of the room seemed not to notice in the slightest. Frisk cautiously followed him, but he was off and away to the other side of the shop quicker than she could keep up. He plucked up some chunks of pink moss and a gemstone, peering at them intently before putting them back into their compartments.
"Hey, human?" Papyrus asked. "Is it a general wobblies, a tired ache, or were you wounded by something?"
As Frisk caught up with him, the snake finally raised her head up to look at her customers as she tried a bit of her brew on her giant spoon.
"Um… Kinda all of those, I guess," Frisk said as she joined him.
He ran his fingers along the fronts of little bins, labeled with scribbles on white stickers. "And what injured you? You must be very honest and specific," he said. "And where?"
"Oh, um, here." She pulled the leg of her shorts up just above her knee, where there was a big circle of a scar now. "A skeleton stabbed me."
"What?!" Papyrus demanded as the snake behind him did a spit-take. "Who?! What skeleton in the world would—?!"
"Last world," Frisk said, shrugging. "It was, ah, like… a bad alternate-dimension version of my dad, it was a whole thing."
"WHAT?! Oh, human!" Papyrus grabbed her into a tight hug that pulled her off her feet. "Nyooo, oh, your poor leg and that big mark! And that's…! That's inexcusable!"
"I-It's not that bad," she said.
.
Papyrus pouted. He carried the kid over to the snake monster. "Excuse me, what do you think would be good for a human with a big stab wound, a potion or a poultice?"
"Hmmm… A poultiiisss, I think?" she suggested. "Tosssss the ingredientssss into my pot."
The skeleton nodded and gently put Frisk down and hurried back to the shelves. The kid tapped her fingers together and the snake monster eyed her up and down. She tried to be casual, rolling her sleeves up to her elbows and crossing her arms. The snake relaxed and leaned a bit closer, ice-white eyes staring into her curiously.
"You are new?" she asked.
"Um. Yeah. Pretty new," Frisk said with a tepid smile.
"Funny you've come to our little town," she said. "Mosssst tourisssstsss like the Inner Ssssircle."
"Ah! I'm, um, visiting friends, actually," Frisk said.
"Ooh. I ssssee. Do you know the Ssssoulbonder?"
Frisk couldn't help but look puzzled. Papyrus laughed as he came back and plunked some rocks and spices into the pot, and a couple gold pieces as well. The stuff in the pot turned blue.
"You don't have to be so formal about her, you know," he said. "She's just my little sister."
"Sssshe'sss earned it," the snake said with a chuckle.
"Soulbonder?" Frisk asked. "Sorry, what's that?"
"A great hero'ssss title," the snake said. "Sssometimes also called the Red Ghossst. Sssshe's a helpful child, grabssss me herbsss ssssometimesss."
.
The monster pulled out a small glass bottle on the tip of her tail, and then filled it with the bubbling liquid. She popped a cork in the top and passed it to Papyrus. "Sssoak a cloth in—"
"It's alright, I know how to apply a poultice!" he assured her. "Thank you very much! Come on, human!"
.
Outside the shop, the skeleton hopped just off the side of the path and stomped down on a small lump protruding from the show. A wooden bench flipped out of the ground. He beckoned to it with a smile. The kid took a seat and he joined her.
"Are you warm enough, friend?" he asked.
"I guess so," she said.
"Do you have any spare cloth?"
"Um, yeah, Sans gave me this?" She pulled out the handkerchief.
Papyrus smiled. He took it from her and patted a handful of snow onto it. Then, he uncorked the bottle and dumped half the goo onto it before handing the cloth and frosty slop back to her.
"Just hold that on your wound for a little," he said. "It should heal it."
"Oh! Okay." She did like he said. Her leg felt better as soon as the stuff touched her skin. "Oh, wow, that's strong, huh?"
"Mhm! I'd like to learn to brew some myself someday! Alchemy is a lot like cooking, but with weird non-food things involved." He smiled bashfully. "Healing magic still isn't working, so…"
"It's not?" she asked.
"Oh! No, it was part of the curse and such. Sorry, I keep forgetting you don't know! It kind of turned healing off for all monsters for a long time," he explained. "There's a few people who live near the Mirror Lakes who can, but… Oh! Sorry, nyeh heh heh, that won't mean anything to you. Well, I guess it's enough to say, alchemist shops are still doing very well! I'm hoping I'll be able to heal with magic someday soon."
.
Something about all that felt fundamentally wrong to Frisk. She nodded, but her brow furrowed and she grabbed his hand. His cheekbones flushed sorbet orange.
"It's alright," he said. "Over in your world, can I… I mean, can he…?" He laughed at himself and shook his head. "Sorry, it's weird to talk about! Can your… brother, the Papyrus you know, can he heal?"
"He's the best," Frisk said. "I'm sure once it works again, you will be, too."
"Wowie, you think?! I mean! I'm sure!" He grinned but he bashfully folded his arms. "That's good to hear, thank you, friend. I guess that wasn't a problem in your world, hm?"
"N-No, um, I think all monsters can heal unless their soul gets hurt," she said. "It, um, can take a bit of time to get better."
"Mysterious," Papyrus mused. "So maybe the curse hurt everyone's souls… I mean, that would actually make a lot of sense! I wonder if anyone knows…?"
"Do you have a Royal Scientist?" Frisk asked.
"Scien-tist." Papyrus repeated the word like he'd never heard it. "What does that do?"
"…Science?" She received a blank stare. "Um. I guess they, like, study the world and use math and stuff to predict things, and do experiments to learn more about stuff."
"Oh! The Archwizard! She does that," he said. "I think it's the same thing but a different word."
.
"Man, this is confusing," Frisk said. She cracked a smile. "Her name wouldn't happen to be Alphys, would it?"
"It would, in fact!" Papyrus said.
The kid snickered. She shook her head. "This is a lot, dude."
"Must be," he said, nodding quickly. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't you worry, though! Things are going to be just fine! Now, let's let that sit for another few minutes and then what do you think, head to the Ruins? Our new mom used to live in there, it's really something else!"
.
Once the ache in Frisk's leg was gone— though it was stained with a blue splotch or two— Papyrus took her out of town to the edge of a forest of dark, leafless trees. A winding path marked by torches lit with silver flames twisted between the trunks. Frisk peered through the shadows curiously and then put her hands in her pockets and started on into the woods. Papyrus walked beside her with a bounce in his step.
.
"You're pretty brave, aren't you?" he asked, sounding pleasantly surprised.
"Hm? Why d'you say that?" she wondered.
He looked upwards as the barren branches intertwined above them. They creaked and knocked in the cool breeze. There wasn't much sound but that and their footsteps. He smiled.
"I mean! It's not that even I used to be scared of this place, certainly not! But. Nobody would blame you."
Frisk smiled. "I mean, I'm careful. Sorta. But scared, nah."
"Ooh! I see! So you've definitely seen much scarier places than this, then!"
"Sure, guess so," she said. "It's a forest, y'know?"
"Maybe it's just me then. Or, us, I mean!" he said. "We were brought up saying this path leads only to danger, so even when I had to patrol it, I was extra cautious, of course. Though, nothing much happened, actually. Except my sister appearing!"
"Had to… Oh, right, you were a guard?" Frisk asked. "…How old are you, though?"
"Seventeen, why?" he asked. "Though I was fifteen back then."
Frisk frowned to herself. "They made kids be guards?"
"Well, I mean…! Yes. I guess so. I feel I'm quite mature, though!" He put a hand against his chest proudly. "Though… I think I might like it better nowadays."
.
The trees were pressed closer to each other now. Parts of the path were a tunnel of trunks and tangled branches. Silvery snow still flitted down like dust, sparkling softly where the light peeked through.
"How old are you, by the way?" Papyrus asked. "You're quite small, for a human."
"Eleven."
"Oh! I see! My sister was around the same age when she first showed up, actually," he said. "Though she lived with mom for a bit and we didn't know she was here until later."
"Same," Frisk said. "Came in through the Ruins in my world."
"Ooooh, I see! Were you pretty startled? By monsters, I mean, when you first got in. You seem pretty unfazed now, though!"
"I got used to it pretty quick. The first guy I met threw me for a bit of a loop, but then I met my mom, and that went well," she said.
"Ooh!" Papyrus's eyes glittered. "Can you tell me about it? Um! If you don't mind? Coming to a whole other place like that… It's really interesting to me."
Frisk smiled to herself. It was a bit nostalgic for her. It felt like forever ago, but it had really been hardly any time at all.
xXxXx
It had all started after Frisk had thrown herself down into the mountain without chance of return. Everything went black and she heard a faint song and the mumble of a voice in the back of her head. Then, red sparked behind her eyelids.
.
The first thing she noticed about the cavern she'd landed in was the smell. Before she'd even opened her eyes and was sure if she was alive or not, the soft, floral scent wafted around her and raised her up.
.
She pushed herself upright with her hands, not much more sore than when she'd jumped, actually. She squinted around. The edges of the wide cavern were dark, but she sat in a field of golden flowers that seemed to glisten despite the low light.
.
She plopped back onto her bum and rested there for a little while to catch her breath. She was surprised nothing was broken.
.
She flopped backwards into the flowers. Maybe all this was nuts, she thought. She clasped her grimy hands and then tightened the grubby bandage on one of them. She could see the smudged ink of her notes to herself just barely peeking out above it. Maybe there wasn't even anything here worth finding. Maybe she'd just trapped herself alone in a mountain forever. Honestly, though, that didn't sound too bad.
.
She got to her feet, grabbed hold of a sturdy stick that was within arm's reach, and took a deep breath. A quick look around and she saw a path in dark, smooth rock leading from the flowers and away into shadows. Something told her it was the way farther into the mountain. She felt the cold of the stone through her tattered, ill-fitting sneakers.
.
There was an opening in the wall farther up, hidden in shadows, just like she'd thought. She wasn't sure why she'd thought that. Frisk gulped and edged closer. Not just an opening. An archway with columns and a worn symbol of a circle and wings on the top. A flicker of a smile crossed her face.
.
She'd thought about this for a long time. She'd heard the legends, spied as other kids read storybooks in the parks; looked at sculptures left outside a museum dedicated to that ancient era where humans and monsters had existed together. She often went to sleep staring at that faded shape of a mountain far on the horizon, or the trail cutting through clouds that it left in the sky. No matter where she'd travelled, she couldn't get it out of her mind. It was desperation, really, and a childish wish. Now, seeing that someone had really been here; built this archway, she felt a spring of hope in her chest. The stories could be true.
.
She didn't expect to be accepted. She didn't expect a home. She'd heard that monsters were supposedly the opposite of humans. She wasn't sure what that meant, but it sounded like just what she needed. Maybe she had a chance not to feel like a worthless ghost.
.
She snuck through the large threshold, eyes up and alert. A wider cavern opened up, though it was dark, too, except where faint beams of light snuck through rock far above. Those spots, though, were growing bright, green grass. It was thriving. However, in the patch at the centre, sat a flower with a face. Frisk froze. She'd never seen anything like it. He bobbed up and down, and his eyes looked at her curiously as he smiled. Was this a monster? Frisk edged closer despite a heavy heartbeat. He spoke.
.
"Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" His voice was bright and saccharine. "Hmm…" He tilted his head, observing her. "You're new to the underground, aren'tcha?"
The kid's mind was reeling. A flower with a face was talking to her. Okay. She'd expected something a lot bigger and scarier than that. Maybe it was a dream. She clutched tight to the branch she held and nodded hesitantly.
"Golly, you must be so confused! Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do! Ready? Here we go!"
.
The flower smiled at her. A sensation unlike anything she'd felt before seeped out from her chest. An energizing tingle ran through her body and a faint melody brushed the air around her ears. Then, a light, through her shirt, in the shape of a red heart. Bright, beaming, and warm. She cautiously put a hand over it, wide-eyed.
"See that heart?" Flowey asked. "That is your soul, the very culmination of your being!"
Frisk didn't know the word culmination. A wayward thought told her it meant something like the highest, best point of a thing. She wasn't sure where that came from.
"Your soul starts off weak, but can grow to be strong if you gain a lot of LV," he said.
Her soul…? Frisk looked at it curiously, felt the red energy beneath her fingertips. What did it matter if a soul was weak or strong, though? She wasn't sure. But whatever this feeling was, she liked it.
"What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course!" Flowey seemed quite proud of himself. "You want some LOVE, don't you? Don't worry, I'll share some with you." He winked jovially.
.
Frisk was baffled. This creature was going a mile a minute and she didn't know what to make of him. Were all monsters so friendly like this? He had to be one, right? And she still didn't understand what he was telling her all this for. Love, to make her soul stronger? She wasn't sure why she should want that.
.
Small white seeds floated into the air and hovered around him, glittering softly. "Down here, LOVE is shared through… little white… friendliness pellets," he explained.
That sounded fake, she thought. Frisk was hesitant. But what if this was important? The seeds began to drift towards her.
"Move around! Get as many as you can!" he suggested eagerly.
She was on the back foot. They were strangely pretty, though. Curiosity overtook her cautiousness and she reached out a hand to a drifting, sparkling seed. The second it touched her palm, though, pain shot through her whole body. She yelped and dropped backwards to the ground, her breath getting short. She was no stranger to pain, but this was something else.
.
The flower's face twisted from a goofy smile into a toothy, maniacal grin. "You idiot." The sweet tone was gone, replaced by something sharper and darker. "In this world it's kill or BE killed. Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this?!"
Frisk gulped heavily, chilled to the bone; tears coming to her eyes. It'd all been a mistake. Why would she think monsters would really be better? Nothing was better. She was an idiot.
.
She forced herself back onto her feet. Wasn't about to die on the ground, at least. The flower's eyes blackened and his seeds surrounded her in an impenetrable ring, spinning swiftly. He stared at her cooly and his maw twisted upwards.
"Die." He began to laugh, a harsh, raspy cackle. His seeds slowly moved in towards her, deliberately, drawing it out.
Wasn't fair. She'd never had a chance
.
Before they made contact, a rush of energy wiped them from existence. A burst of magic glimmered and Frisk suddenly wasn't sore at all anymore. The flower paused, his face incredulous, only for him to be blasted by a ball of fire that knocked him from his place in the earth and sent him tumbling away into the shadows with an awkward yelp.
.
What loomed out of the dark now made Frisk light-headed. A giant woman, in a blueish purple robe with billowy, white sleeves, adorned with the same symbol that had been on the archway. She had paws and claws, and shiny white fur, and a head like that of both a goat and a dragon. She had short horns and long, floppy ears, and she wore a concerned look on her brow. Her violet eyes were bright and warm. Frisk could hardly believe what she was seeing, and yet here she was. A monster. She was so tall Frisk toppled back onto the ground again as she looked up, dazed. She clenched her fingers into the stick she held so hard that they hurt.
"What a terrible creature, torturing a poor, innocent youth…" she said, more to herself than to the stunned kid before her. Even so, her voice and tone were instantly reassuring.
The kid's eyes glittered. She'd seen pictures in books that looked a lot like her. A white dragon king and queen under the mountain. She hadn't expected someone so fluffy, though. She looked extremely soft. Frisk's fear began to fade.
.
The huge woman bent down slightly and tilted her head, offering Frisk a gentle smile. "Ah, do not be afraid, my child." She put a hand to her chest. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time."
Frisk's eyes went wide. She wasn't the first in general, then. She hurriedly wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "A-Are they… still here?" she asked softly.
Toriel looked surprised. "No. They have not been for a long while, little one."
Frisk nodded, relieved. The monster smiled faintly
"Come. I will guide you through the catacombs," she said. She offered a hand.
.
Frisk hesitated for a second. Her heart beat hard in her chest. The flower had said this place was kill or be killed. So, if this was a trick, too… The kid gulped. No, maybe that didn't make sense. He'd lied to her about the world to begin with, hadn't he? So why would that part be true? Something in the back of her mind said, trust her. She wanted to. She reached up for the outstretched hand. Her own was tiny inside it. The fur was as soft as it looked.
.
The huge monster gently helped her back to her feet and beckoned her onwards with a smile. "This way." She walked on ahead. Her fur seemed to shine, even in the dark.
Frisk cast a look behind her. She couldn't see that weird flower anywhere. She gulped and scampered to keep up with Toriel as she passed through another crafted doorway, leaving the branch behind in the grass. The Ruins proper laid ahead.
.
Things quickly shifted from cautious hesitation to pleasant puzzlement and overwhelming curiosity for Frisk. Flowey the flower seemed to be an outlier. She met white frogs as big as she was, and strange pixie knights, blobby flans, and talking vegetables. All of them were alarmed by her at first, but eager to be friendly once she'd proved herself to be as well. She met a nice weepy ghost and did some puzzles. She bought a donut from some spiders. It was all so strange, and yet oddly fun all at once.
.
Toriel had given her a room in a warm little cottage home tucked into the mountain. Patted her hair and told her she could stay. Though the room had remnants of other occupants long since vanished, it felt safe, somehow. Frisk couldn't quite believe it. Had to be a dream, right? She touched the walls and carpet and the bed. The bed was the best. She'd never had one before. Just sitting on it was more comfortable than she could have imagined. She fell asleep before she knew it.
.
She woke up warm and snug, tucked in under the blankets, dazed and unsure of what time or day it was. Took her a moment to figure out why, since she hadn't done that herself. The feeling that was totally foreign to the kid. It was a shock to have even woken up, to be honest. She was sure it had been a dream, or maybe even she was dead. She lay there, looking up at the ceiling for a while, arms folded behind her head, trying to steady her breath. Was this really real? She sat up and pinched herself, hard. It hurt, and the world remained steady.
.
Then, she found the slice of pie left for her. She squirrelled it away onto the bed and inspected it curiously. Still just barely warm and gooey. Set out on a plate just for her, with her own fork and everything. She'd never had pie before. The fork slid through the caramelized filling smoothly. She was overwhelmed at the first bite. Butterscotch flavoured with a touch of cinnamon, both things Frisk had never had before and couldn't even have named at the time. It was sweet and comforting, and Frisk felt her eyes begin to water. Her stomach ached for more food, but her throat tightened and she choked as tears began to stream down her face.
.
Light hit her face as the door opened and there was Toriel again. Her eyes were wide, ears raised slightly, and she sat on the bed beside the kid quickly. Huge and warm and very much real.
"My child, I heard you, what's the matter?" she asked worriedly.
Frisk's eyes blurred so much all she could see of the monster were her colours, and she began to cry in earnest, taking another shaking forkful of pie. It was delicious. Best thing she'd had in her whole life.
.
"Oh, sweetheart," Toriel said shrilly. "What's wrong?"
Frisk shook her head. The monster looked puzzled.
"Oh, my. I see… You must be homesick, is that it?" she asked softly.
Again, Frisk could only shake her head. Toriel put a gentle hand on her and rubbed her back, up and down, and the kid choked and began to sob uncontrollably. She cried through that whole slice of pie, and for a while afterwards, too, and then cried even harder when Toriel scooped her into her arms and began to rock her back and forth, humming a soft lullaby. The world really did become opposite after that.
xXxXx
Up the path, beyond the tunnel of blackened trees, a purple-hued cliffside loomed, silvery vines with white, crystallized flowers blooming along it draped down the rocks like fancy jewelry. It was still a ways away. Must've been massive.
.
Frisk scuffed her toes in the frosted dirt. "So, yeah, I was a mess for like a week after that," she said, smiling bashfully. "I never wanted to leave! But… I mean, I'm glad I did, or I never wouldda met the rest of my family."
"Wowie," Papyrus breathed. "So what made you leave?"
"A weird ghost gave me some advice," Frisk said with a faint smile. "She, uh… She lived in my head for a little bit. Long story. Human ghost, not a monster ghost."
"Human ghost? Really?"
"Ah, yeah, Chara," she said with a nod.
"C… Chara?" Papyrus repeated, eyes wide.
"Yeah, she was… Toriel's daughter," Frisk said. "But she died a long time ago and became a really angry ghost who, um, caused a lot of trouble. She… sometimes would make other time kids go bad and then take over their bodies."
"R-Really?" His voice went high and shrill.
"Yeah. With me, she sometimes tried to get me to do bad things, but she also helped me read some stuff I couldn't and helped me when I needed to save my new brother, who, um, used to be her brother. She wasn't too bad to me, to be honest, but to Sans and everyone else…"
"Oh. Okay. I think I understand," Papyrus said with a nod.
"You do?" Frisk asked, raising her brows.
"Y-Yes, I mean… I mean, if she took over other time kids, that would be… bad," he said, nodding hurriedly. He brightened with a smile. "I'm glad for you, though! Finding a family like that! It's similar to my sister's story, to be honest! Whatever happened to that mean flower?"
"Oh!" Frisk laughed. "He turned out to not be that mean. Or a flower."
.
The entrance to the Ruins of this world was pretty small compared to the massive cliff it stuck out from. It was a peaked archway framed in silvery runes all the way to the ground. Papyrus hopped over to it and stood in the threshold backing onto shadow. He struck a pose and put a hand to his chest.
"And there we have it! The Ruins! Just as I said, I've brought you right here! Ready to go home?"
"You don't wanna go in?" Frisk asked.
"G-Go in?! I mean…! Really?" He jerked his thumb back over his shoulder. "You want to go in there?!"
Frisk recognized that wide-eyed look. She smiled and reached out her hand. "Yeah, c'mon, bet there's some neat stuff."
"Well…" Papyrus stood up straight and puffed himself up, and he took her hand tightly. "Yes, alright! Never fear, human, the great Papyrus is here with you!"
.
Beyond the opening was a dim, stone hallway with large pictures carved in square panels along the walls. They showed monsters of many kinds, farming and fishing, heart-shaped souls, and a symbol very similar to the Delta Rune, though theirs had four wings and a crown above the circle.
.
Papyrus's eyes skimmed the place around them. He gulped. Frisk squeezed his hand and he squeezed back, his cheekbones flushing.
"Never been down here?" she asked.
"Ah… No. Not exactly," he said. "There was a barrier over the door for a very long time. Mom said she came out of here, but she didn't want to go back since she was stuck before, so we stayed away. Was it like that in your home?"
"Kinda. My mom lived in the Ruins, too. But she… locked herself in, she wasn't technically stuck," she said. "What got her stuck?"
"The King," he said sadly. He stopped at the next entrance, then took a deep breath and stepped onwards inside.
.
Upon entering, the dark was lifted as a silvery glow sparked along the ceiling. Trees with shining leaves like what Frisk had seen back near the Soul of the World filled the cavern and framed a pathway leading to a cabin made of stone.
"Oooooh." Papyrus's eyes glittered. His courage renewed, he picked up the pace until they hit a crossroads a bit before the cabin. "Nyeh! Even more this way!"
"Should we go see?" she asked.
"What, really?!" he yelped.
"Is there something weird down here or something?" she asked.
"Well, I… I'm not sure, honestly," he said. "There may be hidden puzzles or traps or something, I can't quite be sure."
She shot him a smile. "If you're worried, just so you know, I got a small future sense and I can freeze stuff in time, kinda, so if something gets chucked at us, we're safe, at least."
"OH! Well. That's useful. Hm." He tapped his toes thoughtfully. "Okay. Just a bit."
.
The Ruins of this world were deep, but calm and quiet. The remnants of old puzzles— statues meant to be turned, rocks meant to be pushed; pictures meant to be unscrambled— were definitely there, but all the doors were open and nothing seemed to be gained by finding the answer except personal satisfaction. What else was needed, really?
.
A river flowed downhill deeper into stone and shadows, though the rocks glimmered with magic as they passed. A faint hum in the air made the tunnels feel comfortable, somehow. Frisk and Papyrus followed the river as, at his request, she told him about her own world's version of this place.
.
The water passed through a gate and divided a path into two, but it ultimately came out onto the same place: a balcony with two sets of stairs that lead down into a room with one big, red-leafed tree in its centre. The water poured over into a small waterfall and made a shallow moat around the tree, and golden flowers bloomed all around it. There was no other path to follow besides that. The cavern was a dead end.
.
"Oh, wow," Frisk said softly. "This is super pretty."
"Oh my gosh." Papyrus hopped down the stairs and beckoned for Frisk to follow him. "I've heard of this place!"
"Yeah?" She followed him, stepping carefully through the flowers as he strode confidently past the tree.
"Mhm! My sister told me all about it!" he said brightly. "This must be where she came to our world."
Frisk tilted her head up. There was no gap in the ceiling here. She raised her brows. "Did she say how?" she asked curiously.
"She said, she was on a mountain. Then, there was a lot of dark. Then, she woke up here, when mom was watering these flowers," he said. "I think the river wasn't here, then. I think it comes from the snow back in the Snowpoff Plains."
"N…ice. That's cool," Frisk said.
"Yes, I assume the water would be very…" His eyes went wide and his face drooped. "OH NO. AGAIN?!"
Frisk grinned sideways and shrugged.
"Baaaaaah! Well. You will fit in well with Sans, at least," he said. He bounced along and turned to look up at the tree, but then let out a loud gasp. "GASP."
.
"What?" Frisk jogged over.
Papyrus gestured widely to the roots. Sitting there, glittering brightly, was a small, white and red shifting, star-shaped something that looked quite familiar. Frisk's eyes went wide. She hopped the moat and snuck up to it, kneeling down.
"…I thought there weren't any here," she said softly.
"Any what?" Papyrus leapt to her side and knelt down as well. "What is it?"
"It… looks like how a rip in the universe looks in my world," she said.
"Is it one?! Nyeh! That's weird!" Papyrus said. "Hey, do you think that could help you get home?"
"M… Maybe?" Frisk's heart picked up a beat. She cautiously extended her hand to it. "I might be able to… at least give it a check, you know?"
Papyrus grabbed onto her arm tightly. "B-Be careful, human."
.
The feeling of Papyrus's boney hands clenched onto her reassured her, somehow. She cautiously reached out to the light. It didn't feel like a hole, but like a scar. Her soul hummed a little louder and the light reciprocated. Papyrus drew in a sharp breath.
"Did you hear that?!" he demanded.
"Yeah." Frisk's brow furrowed. "But that's… mine."
"Yours?" he said, voice hushed and shrill.
She tapped on her soul. The song got a little louder. Papyrus leaned his head in and then jerked back.
"Your hum!" he said loudly. "It's so…! It's so clear!" His eyes glittered. "Wow, that's amazing!"
"But how did it get here?" she wondered.
.
The red in the starlight pulled out onto her fingers, glowing softly in her palm for a moment before seeping into her skin. It left the light white.
"Nyeh! Is it supposed to do that?" Papyrus asked.
"I… think so?" Frisk said cautiously. "If it's mine, then… Oh man, maybe I made it when I fell in?"
The skeleton could only shrug. Frisk felt much the same. She touched the white star gently but it didn't feel like anything anymore. Frisk sat back on the roots and folded her arms, frowning thoughtfully. Papyrus yelped and grabbed her hands. The magic bands on her wrists had gone red.
"Aah! Why'd it…?! Oh no." Frisk grimaced. "I guess that energy… Ah, I'm sorry."
"Nyeh! But you didn't do anything!" Papyrus protested shrilly.
"M-Maybe give it a second?" Frisk suggested.
.
Papyrus stared at her wrists intently for a few seconds, but when the glow stayed stark red, he let out a shrill breath. He held her carefully, forcing his magic up orange-gold in his fingertips. "Maaaaaybe…?"
"Aw, jeez, I'm in trouble, huh?" she said.
"Nnnno, no, it'll be fine!" he said. He straightened up and helped her to her feet, gently pulling her sleeves out over her hands. "You're with me, I know you didn't do anything wrong, so! It'll be fine! We'll just, um, sneak out of here very quickly! I'm sure it'll be perfectly okay!"
Frisk nodded, but braced herself for the opposite.
.
They crept out of the Ruins as quickly as possible. It was windy outside. Papyrus clung to the kid's hand tightly, but he still peeked ahead first from the threshold out into the snowy world. He scanned the path cautiously.
"So, um. What's supposed to happen?" she asked.
"Hm?! Oh! Nothing! Nothing will happen." He strode out into the world and took her along. "Because! We will get you back to the house and Sans will just give your bands a tap and things will be perfectly fine and okay."
"Okay, if you—" A blue flicker inside her head demanded she stop where she stood. She pulled Papyrus back. "Wait!"
.
A tornado in pale green burst from the ground before them and Papyrus yelped and recoiled, grabbing Frisk up into his arms tightly. Something slammed heavily into the ground behind the spiral of wind and then a huge, armoured figure in silver and pistachio green burst out through it, towering before them. The knight had the Delta Rune of this world on their breastplate and tassets on their belt that resembled wings. The shoulder plates had a matching design and three small spikes on each one, big horns on their dragon's-maw-shaped helmet, and a spear on their back. A light green glow shone from the eye slits in two unblinking dots.
.
"Oh n-no," Papyrus stammered. "Wait wait wait, it's not what it felt like!"
"Papyrus, is that you again?!" The knight spoke loudly, with a small flourish of a fancy accent. "How many times is someone going to find you like this?" She shook her head before holding out a hand commandingly. "You know the rules. Give me that human."
"Oh jeez," Frisk squeaked.
"No, wait, you can't!" Papyrus said. "This is a misunderstanding, I promise, I was there the whole time!"
"If it was a misunderstanding, I'll work it out. That's my job." She snatched Frisk from him with strong hands, snapped her fingers, and strode through a green portal that appeared in an instant, and vanished just as quickly behind her.
.
Papyrus was left alone, gawking. He stammered nothing in particular and put his hands against his head. "Oh no no no no, not again, oh my god, I…!" He sprinted frantically down the road back towards home. "DON'T WORRY, I WILL GET YOU BACK! SANS?! SAANNS! SAAAAAANNNNSSSS!"