Chapter 29 Oh no I can't believe things didn't go perfectly okay
Totally dazed, light and colour changing more swiftly than she could keep up, Frisk was suddenly plunked into a dining chair at a small stone table in a square, grey room. As the light from the green portal faded, the knight stuck her foot up on another chair and leaned over, pulling a bright white bulb on a vine to shine in her face. Frisk winced and recoiled, shielding her eyes, and her soul lit up in green, sticking her in place to her seat.
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"Okay, human," the knight said, reaching forward and grabbing one of her hands. She peered at the red band on her wrist. "What happened? Throw a punch? A rock?"
"What?" Frisk asked blankly.
"You're small, yes? A kid, yes? So maybe you didn't know," the knight continued, backing off slightly and taking the light with her. She waved her hand and was suddenly holding a stack of papers. She dropped them down onto the table. "You have any weapons on you?"
"Weapons…?" The kid tilted her head. "I mean, I'm a human, right? Couldn't that technically be anything?"
"Ah, so someone told you that much, at least." The monster strolled around the table, standing over her. "So what have you got?"
Frisk frowned thoughtfully. She fished inside her pockets and pulled out her dad's phone, her red pen, and Papyrus's multitool, then plunked them on the table. Her own phone, though, she didn't touch at all, just in case.
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The knight didn't pay much attention to the pen, but she zeroed in on the other things. She picked up the phone, turning it in her hands and peering at it closely. "What's this?"
"Oh, it's a phone," Frisk said.
The knight raised her head away from the object and looked at her quizzically.
"Um, it's like… Do you have radios here?" she asked.
"Yes, of course."
"Okay, cool, so it's sorta like that, except you can talk to a person through it and they can hear you," Frisk said. "And it can take pictures and stuff."
"Uh-huh…" The knight sounded mildly confused. "Who do you talk to on this?"
"Nobody right now, it doesn't work here," Frisk said with a tepid smile. "Mostly just my family and some friends, though, I guess."
"Hm." She traded items and peered at the red multitool curiously. "And this?"
"I think it's mostly for opening cans," Frisk said.
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The knight put the things back on the table and shoved them to the side. She sat down and folded her arms, leaning back in her chair confidently. "Okay. Let's go over this. You'll tell me, or do we have to do this the hard way?"
"Wait, what do you want to know?" Frisk asked sheepishly.
"What made those bands go red?" the knight asked.
"Oh, um, that's a… long story," the kid said. "I mean, I can show you, sort of?"
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The monster was out of her chair in an instant, her back to the wall, spear out and pointed right at the kid. Frisk's eyes went wide and she put her hands up.
"Oh, no no no, sorry, it's not… It's not an attack or anything, it's just my magic!" she said quickly.
"That's nonsense! Humans don't have magic," she growled.
"Oh! Well, um… I… I can show you," Frisk insisted. She held out her hands on the table. Her palms began to glow red. "Just, um, gimme a second."
The knight didn't lower her spear, but she did sneak a tiny step forward in her big clunking boots. The magic in Frisk's hands glimmered and, much more smoothly than normal, a red bubble formed and floated up, glowing gently. She looked expectantly up at the knight.
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"What in the world?" the knight said under her breath. "How are you doing that?"
"The way my soul is, it lets me do magic," Frisk said. "I, um, don't really know much more than that. Sorry."
The knight raised her spear up a little and edged closer. She shifted her weapon to one hand, rolling the fingers of the other, and then cautiously reached out to graze the bubble with her fingertip. She recoiled swiftly and stared at her hand. Frisk's heart thumped.
"It didn't hurt, did it?" she asked worriedly.
"N… No." Her grip tightened on her spear. Cautiously, she leaned it back into the corner of the room, and then sat down again. She grabbed the stack of papers, clunked their bottoms against the table, and then laid them flat again, producing a pen as if from nowhere and began to fill out the top form. "Okay. What's your name, kid?"
Frisk shifted hesitantly. She let her magic fade into sparkles. She hoped this wouldn't cause extra trouble. "Um. It's Frisk."
The knight froze mid-letter. She looked up at her swiftly. "What?"
"Oh, um, sorry, is that—?"
"It's Frisk, really?" She reached up and grabbed her helmet, and then pulled it off to drop it on the table beside her.
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Frisk's eyes lit up, glittering with stars. The knight was a skeleton. She had a long, elegant skull shape, almond-shaped eye sockets, and an intricate diamond pattern carved on her forehead with an oval cut green gemstone socketed into it. She looked a little frazzled, and she wiped her brow on the back of her gauntleted mitt.
"Oh my gosh, you're a skeleton?!" Frisk said, unable to hide an ounce of excitement. "No way, there's skeletons here?!"
"You were galavanting around with Papyrus, weren't you?" the knight asked, frowning.
"Oh, I mean, yeah, but I've never met any except, like, three, so—"
"Then why do you have a skeleton name?" the knight wondered.
"My dad," Frisk said quickly. "I was, um… raised by skeletons. A skeleton. A long way from here."
The knight raised her brows. She jotted something down on the paper. "Outside the Kingdom?"
"Y-Yeah. Way outside," Frisk said.
"Well. Frisk. You're a strange one. That magic…" She shook her head. "Well, we'll check you in at the Dungeon, I guess, and then we'll see if—"
"Oh! Um. Sorry, wait," Frisk said shrilly. "Um, I'm supposed to ask for Sans. Is that okay? He told me to say that."
"Sans?" The skeleton took on a look on disbelief. "Really?"
Frisk nodded readily. "Do you know him?"
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Of course he'd… Yes. Fine. But you must come with me to the Queen. If that's true, he will find you there."
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She stood again, waved her finger in the air, and the green shine faded from Frisk's soul. The kid slumped, and slid off the chair when the skeleton beckoned. The Queen was Undyne, right? Hopefully not too mad an Undyne. She hoped she wasn't sweating.
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The knight took her spear and sheathed it across her back, and then grabbed Frisk's hand. Her grip was tight but not overly harsh despite the metal. Frisk took a deep breath.
"No running away, alright?" The skeleton snapped her fingers and a green portal appeared in midair. She stepped through, taking the kid with her.
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Again, Frisk was left disoriented in a new place. A wide hallway. The floors were smooth, polished light marble, and there was a purple and gold carpet draped down the whole length of the place and up some stairs towards a giant set of stone doors. Fluffy guard dogs with dragony helmets stood at either side of it, armed with spears and shields emblazoned with a crest that looked like this world's Delta Rune, but with the addition of a fish scale on either side of the circle.
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Frisk rubbed her head and looked up at the vaulted ceiling, and then around at the space. The spot where they'd warped in had a circle of runes on the floor and a large white crystal on either side of it.
"Is this the castle?" she asked.
The skeleton said nothing and began on her way up the steps, then beckoned Frisk to follow. The kid guessed that the answer was yes. The stairs were built for creatures a lot bigger than she was, though. As she fumbled half a dozen behind, the skeleton backtracked and lifted her up in one arm and carried her through the huge doors that opened smoothy before her.
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Beyond, there was an absurdly long hallway, framed in colourful tapestries, and yet another large staircase and set of doors under a massive arch at their peak. Frisk looked up at the skeleton as she marched. There was a hint of pale green on her cheekbones.
"Um, thank you," Frisk said.
"Your legs are tiny, you would be too slow," she said.
"Kinda true." The kid looked around curiously. No other guards here. She wondered why the hallway was so long, then. "Was the old King really huge or something?"
"He has only been gone a few years, surely you must know…? No, I suppose you wouldn't have asked if you did. Yes, he was quite a large monster," she said.
"Did you work for him, too?" Frisk wondered.
"For a time." A cloud seemed to settle over the skeleton.
Frisk frowned worriedly. She gently touched her arm. "Hey, um. Sorry. What's your name?"
The knight perked up. "I am Mistral." She said it somewhat proudly.
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When Fisk answered with a blank stare and a friendly smile, the skeleton raised her brows.
"You haven't heard of me?" she asked. "Mistral, the Swift Wind, the Tempest of the South?"
"Um, no, sorry," she said. "I'm not from nearby, really."
"Oh." Mistral looked a little disappointed for a moment before she puffed out her chest and quickened her pace. "Well, little human! I am one of only two remaining Elemental Dragonguards in the whole kingdom! We're legendary warriors, you know!"
"Oh, really? That's cool," Frisk said brightly.
Brows raised, the skeleton stared at her for a moment. She cracked a sly smile. "I know."
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She seemed very proud. Frisk was happy to indulge her. "So do you use a special magic or something? Do you have, like, one element you do, or can you use a bunch? Oh! I guess you do wind, right? 'Cause you made that tornado. I guess you defend the Queen and stuff?" Her eyes were glittering.
"My, you're not concerned at all, are you?" Mistral asked. She laughed. "You're very strange. If I were your size, being carried by an enemy, I would be much more guarded than you are."
"Are we enemies?" Frisk asked, tilting her head.
The skeleton looked taken aback. She snorted and smiled faintly. "That's for the Queen to decide."
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The throne room lay ahead. It was a great chamber lit by magic sconces in the walls and beaming light cast down from a dizzyingly high ceiling. There was art painted up there, but it was cracked and patchwork now, with shafts of sunlight pouring through in a way that looked somewhat intentional. The purple carpet continued up even more stairs at the end of the room, crowned with a throne too large for the creature in dark armour that sat up there. Frisk strained to see, her heart thumping. Must've been Undyne, right? Nerves hit her, but she felt a prickle of excitement as well.
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Finally, they reached the base of the staircase and Mistral put Frisk back on the floor, centred before the throne. The kid edged forward and strained to look up. She couldn't actually see much of the throne nor the monster in it from there. The skeleton thumped a fist over her chest, making a big, hollow clunking sound.
"Your Majesty," she said.
There was no reply. Frisk looked at Mistral curiously. The skeleton tapped her foot on the plush carpet. There was a weird snorting noise from up on the throne.
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"Your Majesty?" Mistral frowned and took a deep breath. "Undyne!"
"Huhwha?!" Somewhere up on her throne, Undyne snorted. "Whossat? Mist?" She peered over the stairs, groggy-eyed, flowing red hair falling into her face. She huffed and brushed it away. "What's that you got there?"
Mistral grabbed Frisk's shoulder and pulled her back a few feet on the carpet. "A human."
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Finally, Frisk could see this world's Undyne better. She was a bit different than back home, but, strangely, wasn't extra sharp like Papyrus and Sans were. Her scales were a little darker, but she had a v-shaped silver stripe on her forehead and some on her cheeks. The ends of the spines on her ear-fins were adorned with small, glowing blue bulbs. The dark circlet-like crown on her head drew back into glittering black horns like that of a dragon, and she had an eyepatch over her left eye. She was kind of beautiful to the kid, even as her big, yellow eye focussed hard on her as she squinted down with a sleep-deprived glare.
"Okay, a human, so what?" Undyne said.
"She has red on her," Mistral said. She grabbed Frisk's hand and exposed the band glowing red on her wrist.
"WHAT?!" Undyne barked.
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Frisk flinched and recoiled slightly, especially as Queen Undyne rose to her feet. The black armour with purple and gold accents and a heart shape on the front of the breastplate was sleek and graceful, and her crimson hair streaked behind her as she stood, towering above them.
"However," Mistral continued, "this human has magic, that is also red."
"What?! You're screwin' with me," she barked.
"Also, she has asked for Sans. So. I'll have to go tell him," she said.
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Undyne tilted her head slightly, looking Frisk up and down. The kid awkwardly stuck her hand up to wave. The big monster grinned from one side of her mouth, showing big, knife-like teeth.
"I see," she said. "Human!" Her voice boomed around the whole room. "What the hell brings you to our Kingdom, huh?"
"Um, visiting friends?" Frisk suggested with a tepid shrug. "I'm really sorry to have caused trouble, but—"
"Oh, you are? That's good." She pointed at Mistral. Her eyes glimmered. "My guard here says you got magic, yeah?"
"Um. Yeah?" Frisk wasn't sure she liked the tone. "I know it's kinda weird, but—"
"Damn right it's weird." She took one heavy step down the stairs and a faint, blue magical aura shimmered from her body. The ends of her red hair shone that same colour. "Magic. That shouldn't be possible." She stretched out her hand and magic beaded like droplets of water, until they burst into a cyan spear. "I'd like to see it for myself."
Frisk gulped and stepped back. "Um, I can do a little bubble thing, maybe?"
Undyne grinned wide, eyes flashing. "Mist. Arm her."
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Frisk took a deep breath. Mistral looked between the two of them, wide-eyed. She drew up bones from nowhere in the shapes of swords, spears; axes.
"Um! I don't need a weapon," Frisk said quickly, and the skeleton looked rather disappointed.
"HAH! Confident, ain't ya?" Undyne clunked onto the main floor, grinning wide. She grasped her spear in two hands. "Fine. Your choice. Let's go."
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Her song burst to life, bombastic, heroic; a heralding of horns. Frisk's soul brightened, her hum joining in as best it could. Okay. So she had to fight a Queen. Wasn't the first time. She readied herself and rolled up her sleeves.
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Frisk sensed the first spear incoming before she saw it. She sprang backwards, bouncing on her toes, just out of the way of a cyan, shimmering attack stabbing up through the floor, reaching up taller than she was. Undyne smirked. She twirled her weapon smugly as the magic spears vanished and launched straight at her.
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The tilt of the blade veered left, so Frisk juked right. Undyne repositioned, her boots skidding on the carpet, and struck again, straight ahead. The kid leaned back, the point slicing air overhead, and she bounced away, turning quickly to keep the wall from penning her in.
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With a chuckle, Undyne twirled her spear like a baton, jumping forward to strike with the back end and spinning the blade forward again in an arc. It was fast, but Frisk was just barely faster. She heard the hum of magic above and a blue light flashed in her eye. She tumbled away from the spear in Undyne's hand, and then flipped backwards as an arc of pointed magic dropped in from above. They crashed to the ground and stuck out like porcupine quills, glittering for a moment before shattering.
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"HAH! Nimble little freak, ain't ya?" Undyne grinned wide. "Let's change that." Her aura pulsed green and solid.
Frisk felt her body go stiff as the magic bound her soul. She pulsed in return, the song played backwards, and red took back over.
"Sorry, but nah," Frisk said, bouncing backwards on her toes.
"Oh?!" The big monster dropped her poise and got low, swaying back and forth like a serpent. "Fine, then, let's crank it up a notch."
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She charged Frisk, launching her spear downwards. The kid took a sharp breath inwards and flitted away to the right. The blade nicked her arm before plunging into the carpet and the sting was instant. Undyne grinned and swung it at her feet, and she jumped over it, landing a foot on the top as Undyne thrust it forward. Frisk launched herself off and back to gain some space. The Queen actually looked pleased, but with a wave of her arm, magic in a tidal wave rushed from midair and struck the kid head-on, sweeping her away down the hall.
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Frisk tumbled, dazed, her forward warning triggering from every angle. Not good enough, not her enough. The wave dragged her along the floor and left her in a sopping heap at the other end of the hallway. She coughed out water and heaved herself to her feet, squinting through blurry eyes at the huge dark shape and vibrant spear guiding her.
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She tried to bring up Sans's memories. The way that second sight was the same as his normal one. If only she could—
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Another wave came at her and she stuck her hand up before she'd even processed it. Red at her fingertips; red in her irises, she caught the water and spiralled it backwards on itself. Undyne roared. Her form was a shadow through her homemade depths, and the cyan glow shone even through that. She breached like a shark and Frisk ducked under her. The monster surged overhead and jammed her spear into the floor, using it to spin and charge at the kid again. Frisk squeaked and hopped back, letting the water collapse into sparkling magic on the floor behind her while freezing the monster still instead.
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"Undyne?!" Mistral shouted shrilly.
Frisk quickly let her go, but Undyne's momentum was stolen and she dropped heavily to the ground with a big, metal clunk. She grunted and cursed under her breath, but propped herself up on her spear and was on her feet again in an instant. Her yellow eye was glittering and there was a big, maniacal grin on her face.
"Ooh, kid, that's really somethin'," she said. She raised her weapon and an arc of spiked magic glittered in the air. "Cool. Cool cool. Up tempo again, huh?"
"Oh no," Frisk breathed.
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The spears rained down and Frisk rolled to dodge some, but others followed. She just barely caught them in her magic before Undyne dove back in, swiping in wide, glowing arcs. Frisk was still on the back foot down the hall the way they'd come. She didn't need to look to know the stairs were catching up with her. She tried to slide right, but Undyne caught her, blocking her with magic shot up from the ground. She had to back up. There wasn't a way out except beneath the big monster. Frisk stopped an inch from her heel banging on the steps. The sharp spike of energy behind her and a quick check from the corner of her eye told her the way was blocked.
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Undyne sneered and raised her arms. The floor all around them began to glow, a big light walkway between the two of them. Frisk took a deep breath; flexed her fingers. Dying here was not an option. She focussed hard, her temples throbbing. The pattern showed itself in the echoes of what hadn't happened yet. She exhaled.
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Frisk ran straight at the Queen. Spears rose up from the ground, as did water, and she raced them in the trail they hadn't made. The song they played betrayed them as more jerked in from beside her. She ducked and passed by with a scratch on her neck as their only victory.
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Her socks were getting wet. Her steps fumbled and she dropped back on purpose, slipping right out of the way of the attack. Another came from under her. Too wide to scramble away from. A geyser shot her into the air, and another erupted above it to blast her to the floor.
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She was submerged and lost direction again, choking until she was sent spluttering out onto the swampy carpet. She had to take a breath but she didn't have time. She skittered backwards as Undyne plunged her spear into where her feet had been. As another aimed straight at her chest, Frisk threw her hand out and caught it in red as she scrambled to get up again.
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She had to get her bearings; her eyes darted frantically. She was across from the stairs again, but couldn't see them for long as Undyne charged at her with a roar. She huffed, wiped her mouth, and then ran right back at her. At a spear's length, Frisk stuck her in time for just a moment, enough to slide under her and made a break for the higher ground.
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As she raced to get out of the water, Undyne whirled, throwing her spear like a javelin. Frisk ducked. It hit the steps above her and stuck. The kid hurriedly grabbed it, though it froze her palms, and backed up towards the throne, but a thrum of magic made her flinch. She braced herself and took a deep breath as a sphere of spears formed around her, pointing inwards in a wall she could hardly see through. She grimaced. Her soul shone bright. She didn't have much more of an idea than this, but she hoped it would work. It had before.
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She felt the tingle in the air; sensed the drop before she saw it. Her soul let out a loud, red pulse, catching the magic as it plunged towards her. The spears shuddered and cycled, pressing in and reversing over and over. Frisk grasped the one that she held tight and stared at the shape of Undyne through everything. She ran. The pressure shattered the attack in a blizzard of magic sparkles and the kid stabbed her spear down and used it to vault straight at the chest of the Queen.
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Undyne was close, one foot on the lowest step. The monster caught her against her breastplate with a grunt and slipped, toppling back into the water, grasping the kid tight. Somewhere, Mistral gasped loudly and shrilly.
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Dazed, Frisk tried to get up and slid off Undyne, straight into the water again. She groaned, but before she could even try to sit up, the battle resonances faded down. She stayed on her back, staring up at the light shafts coming through that cracked ceiling and drew in a long, deep breath and let it out as a sigh. "Oh my god."
"Dude, I know, right?!" Undyne said. She huffed and shot the kid a wide grin. She folded her arms behind her head. "Nice."
"Nice?!" Frisk repeated. She scoffed and giggled, the sound weak, exhausted, and full of relief. "Nice. Okay."
"Yeah. Your magic. Strong stuff. I thought you were kinda full of it, but, nope. That was cool."
"M-Maybe next time, let me show you without trying to kill me?" Frisk suggested.
"HAH! If I were trying to kill you, you'd be dead, kid," Undyne said with a laugh. "Well. Probably. I mean. That freeze, though, oof. Felt weird."
"Sorry."
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Undyne rolled forward and up out of the water and stretched her arms high above her head. She reached down and grabbed the kid to pull her upright. The magic-made shallows that drowned the carpet began to recede.
"Yo, Mist, can you grab a heat towel or something?" Undyne called.
"I am a Dragonguard, not a towel girl!" Mistral grumbled. Nonetheless, she waved a hand in the air and strolled towards the giant doors. "I'll be back."
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Undyne rolled her eye, but she grinned. "She acts like a proud grump, but she's a real softie once you get to know her." She sat down on the steps and patted the spot beside her. "C'mon, come sit with ol' Queen Undyne," she said playfully. "And tell me about that weird magic. Humans ain't supposed to have that at all. So how'd you get it?"
"Ah…It's just, my soul is weird like that, I guess," Frisk said, plunking herself beside her.
"What kind is it? Like, element or whatever? Didn't feel like fire or somethin'."
"Time."
"Time? Huh. Weird. Who taught you that?"
"Mostly no one, I'm just kinda making it up as I go. But also kinda my brother and my dad, they helped," Frisk said.
"Huh. Who's your dad?" Undyne asked, frowning slightly.
"You won't know him. We're from far away. And he's a skeleton." She took off a sneaker and poured it out. "You know, this is the second time I've had to do this junk today?"
"Pfff! Why you pickin' fights, though?" she asked.
"I'm not!" Frisk pouted. "I don't even like real fights."
"You're more of a dancer, then, huh?" the big monster joked. "Even that stuff you did, it didn't do any damage. You should work on that."
"N-No, that's okay, I don't want it to," Frisk said quickly.
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Undyne's ears lifted. She smiled, though she looked a little puzzled. She grabbed the kid's small hand and looked at her wrist. "So… The red, it's because of that, right? I'll be honest, we didn't design 'em with magic in mind, let alone that kinda thing."
"No other humans have magic at all?" she wondered.
"I'm like two hundred and I never seen it before," she said.
Frisk tried not to look surprised. She nodded.
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Mistral returned with a big towel over her arm. She dropped it onto the kid and sat down beside her. "What a brazen display."
"Um, thank you?" Frisk said cautiously. She pulled the towel close. It was toasty warm, and it drew the moisture out of her clothes and away from her skin and hair. Magic.
"It was good, huh? Gotta respect an enemy that'll full-body tackle you even when she's like three feet tall," Undyne said.
"Hm." The skeleton grabbed the kid's hands and rubbed the ice burns gently. "You are lucky the Queen was not going all out."
"Guess so," Frisk said. She sighed. "Sorry to cause trouble."
"Eh, I had fun," Undyne said.
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Mistral frowned. She reached into a satchel at her waist and pulled out a small flask. She unscrewed the cap and poured a drop onto each of Frisk's palms. The ice burns stopped hurting and the raw skin began to soften.
"Ooh, thanks," Frisk said.
The skeleton shrugged and nodded. "How old are you, kid?"
"Elevenish." She smiled bashfully when the monsters both looked at her skeptically. "I don't really know my birthday."
"Yeesh, young," Undyne said. "How'd you end up with Sans watchin' out for you? He just pickin' up orphans again?"
"Hah! N-No. He's kinda like my, um… cousin," Frisk said.
"And I guess I will have to deal with him soon," Mistral said.
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As if it'd been planned ahead of time, the doors at the end of the hallway were kicked in by a skeleton with a blazing blue eye who seemed to loom despite his short stature. His form was dark and magic bristled around him, his shoulders bolstered by the fluff on the hood of his jacket. However, after a second, he slumped, wheezing out a sigh, and held his knees, panting to catch his breath.
"Oh thank god," he said.
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"Sans!" Frisk got to her feet— the towel had siphoned most of the water away from her like a sponge. She handed it back to Mistral with a grateful nod.
He hurried to her and grabbed her into a relieved hug. She froze for a second, but relaxed just as quickly. He jerked back and held her shoulders.
"You good?!"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "…Did you actually run?"
"No way, I got a bum knee," he joked, winking, his voice a little hoarse.
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"Waaaah, who I gotta fight?!" Pidge sprinted into the room after them, holding a blunt sword in two hands. She skidded to a halt on the squelchy carpet and looked down. "Eww… Frisk?! Are you okay?!"
"Jeez," Frisk said, wide-eyed. "Y-Yeah! Don't worry."
"Treason again, huh, Sans?" Undyne joked. "You seem to do that a lot."
"I came in to a waterfall down the damn stairs, Undyne. And you." His eye flashed and he looked at Mistral. "Couldn't give my bro the benefit of the doubt? Not even a second?"
"Those are the rules. You know why," Mistral said, folding her arms. "Anyway, she's fine."
"Oh really? Looks like she's bleedin', bonehead," Sans said. "Does that constitute fine?"
"Yes. It does. You got here fast."
"Yeah, well…" He huffed and rubbed his face with his palm. "Listen. This kid?" He grabbed her shoulders. "She's mine until she goes home, alright? She ain't gonna cause trouble, her magic's just weird."
"I saw!" Undyne grinned.
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She raised her hand to greet Pidge as the kid sprinted up, dropping the sword she'd brought, and pulled Frisk into a tight hug. "Undyne, you probably scared her half to death! She's not a fighter!"
"Maybe you should teach her," she suggested, getting up and stretching. "You're pretty good for a kid, y'know? And you two are almost the same size."
Pidge blushed bright red. Frisk shot her a curious look. She pouted and shook her head, pulling Frisk a little closer protectively.
"No way, she's not like that," she insisted.
"What, all humans haven't studied the blade?" She said the last bit dramatically and laughed loudly. "Okay, okay, shortie, I gotcha. I'll be honest, pretty good way to break up the day, though." She headed back up towards the throne. "Guess I should get back to work, huh?"
"Yes. Work." Mistral made quotes in the air with her fingers and then shot a scowl towards Sans. "You've been a bad influence on her, you know that?"
"Hey, who am I ever a good influence on?" he said, shrugging.
Pidge stuck her hand up. He snorted out a laugh.
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Mistral sighed and rubbed her temples tenderly as if she had a bad headache. "You're very frustrating sometimes."
"Whoops. Too bad I'm the Royal Oracle. Guess ya still gotta deal with it," he teased.
"Your attitude is not very becoming of a Dragonguard." She glared at him as he shrugged widely. "Even an ex-Dragonguard."
"Give him a break, Mist, we were worried!" Pidge protested as she grabbed her sword to sheath it on her back.
"Oh really? What's his usual excuse?" Mistral asked, folding her arms.
He flicked her chestplate and grinned. "It winds y'up so quick." He nodded towards the door and grabbed Frisk's arm gently, leading her out. He turned to shoot Mistral a wink over his shoulder as Pidge scampered to join them. "Funny to get under your skin when ya ain't got any, huh?"
"Oh stop," she called after him, rolling her eyes. However, she raised her hand tepidly when Frisk waved goodbye. She quickly turned her glare back on the short skeleton. "That's old and it wasn't funny the first time, either!"
He laughed. "For you."
"SANS."
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Sans walked the kids back to the spot where Mistral had brought Frisk in. He flicked one of the crystals and a blue portal opened up like a whirlpool. He grabbed Pidge by the shoulder.
"Get back to Paps, huh? I got a few more things I gotta do," he said.
"But, um…" Frisk raised her arm, showing off her wrist.
"Oh! Good catch, kiddo." He grabbed her hand and locked his fingertips against the stripe of red. His soul thrummed, his eye glowed, and the chill of his magic poured through her skin.
Though the red flickered and fought for a moment, it was overtaken in cool blue after a few seconds. Frisk and Pidge both wilted with relief. The freckled girl grabbed Frisk's hand and headed for the portal.
"Meet you back home," she told the skeleton.
.
A flash of blue and the two kids stepped out into a small, stone hut lit by glowing white magic on either side, floating in orbs atop stone torches. Frisk was dazed but Pidge wasn't bothered at all, and simply guided her out into an open world of snow.
.
Judging from the distance of the buildings and the river, and the lumpy, frosted fields, it looked to be the edge of Snowdin. Frisk stood on her toes to look around. She could see the forest towards the Ruins relatively close by. She felt the smallest sense of security knowing she at least knew the way back to the house.
.
"So, you sure you're okay?" Pidge asked, leading them on their way, cutting through a low path through one of the fields towards the main path into town. "Fighting Undyne isn't easy."
"Nope, it's not," Frisk said with a laugh. She brushed a hand through her hair and took a deep breath of the cold, refreshing air. "Y-Yeah. I think I'm fine."
"Good. Papy was freaking out so bad," she said. "He's… He's really nice, you know? He worries about everything. I told him the best thing to do was to set up a place for you because you'd be tired when you got back so, uh, act it, okay?"
"I don't have to," the kid assured her.
Pidge thumped her back approvingly. She took a moment to wave at a hodag in a tuque who was harvesting poffs of snow into a big cart from the field. "I do kind of wish I had seen your fight, though. I bet it's pretty impressive in person."
"Impressive?" Frisk laughed. "I dunno about that."
"But you're really acrobatic, right?" she asked. "How'd you learn that, anyway?"
"A-Acro…? Oh! Had to."
.
Pidge's expression begged for elaboration. Frisk smiled sideways.
"Well, before I… went to where the monsters lived, I kinda had to do a lot of sneaking or running or climbing," she explained. "So, I guess with a bit of practice and, um… You know, learning patterns and stuff, I got okay enough that I don't just die all the time anymore."
Pidge's brow furrowed. Her gaze seemed to drift away. "What garbage."
Frisk's heart thumped heavily, her eyes wide. She almost tripped in the snow. "Wh—?"
"I can't believe they did that to you." Pidge's tone was dark and quiet. She lifted her eyes to meet Frisk's and her cheeks flushed. "I just mean… The humans, they… couldn't even look out for one tiny kid. You had to steal, right? Run away all the time? I can't believe they forced you to do that."
"Forced me?" she said, unable to quell a nervous laugh. "I did what I had to."
"Everyone does, yeah," Pidge agreed. "I'm sorry. It just…! It really gets me sometimes." She gulped and shook her head quickly. "Anyway! I guess I'm glad! I know people like us, we don't die for good anyway, but it's still not much fun. I was half expecting Mistral to have joined in by the time we got there, and that would've been a real mess."
.
Frisk nodded. It was still a little jarring, that Pidge knew so much about her on her own. "So, what's the deal with her? Your brother seemed to know her, right?"
"Oh, yeah. They were in training together years ago," Pidge said. "Back when the King was bad, monsters got conscripted at, like… fifteen, I think?"
"Conscripted?" Frisk repeated.
"Forced to join the Guard," the girl explained. "He told me he knew her from back then. She was really competitive and was always mad at him for napping or like, ignoring rules and stuff like that. But they were also posted together 'cause they're both from here. They're friends, mostly, they just really annoy each other." She hopped a wooden fence to get onto the main path and beckoned for Frisk to do the same. "She's pretty fair. Not a bad person to get arrested by."
"For sure." Frisk was careful pulling herself up on the wooden planks, but she was far too small for them to even creak much under her weight.
.
Back on the path, they made their way into town.
"Oh right, I was meaning to ask," Pidge said, "what made your magic go weird? Papy was kinda incoherent when he got to us."
"Oh! Um, there was a light that looked like one of my save thingies in the Ruins. It had some red in it and I kinda absorbed it," Frisk said. "It made the stripes go red, too."
Pidge stared at her, wide-eyed. She shoved her hands into her pockets and her brow furrowed. "…A save, huh?"
"I don't think it was one," she said. "But… it was weird. It looked like one. They're rips into time, but it felt… I dunno, shallow? It's hard to explain. The magic in it was mine. So, I was thinking, maybe I made it when I fell in. I hope I didn't mess anything up."
"Uh…" The other girl twisted her mouth in a confused pout. "Maybe, but… No. No, I'm sure it's fine."
.
Her walk sped just a little, but Frisk lagged, limbs tired and feet cold. It brought back memories of when her father, stuck to her soul from the void, had found her out in the snow. It'd been scary at the time, and now she almost longed for him to show up, creeping out of the shadows, even if it was just for a hug. She missed him a lot more than she expected. She held one hand with the other, rubbing her fingers where those lines used to shine on her skin.
.
"Hey, Frisk, what're you…?" Pidge turned to look back at her, then paused to let her catch up. "What's wrong?"
"Ah… N-Nothing really," Frisk said sheepishly. "Just kinda homesick, I guess."
"Oh. How long have you been away, again?"
"I'm not sure," Frisk admitted. "It's… It's probably only been a day or something. I'm probably just being a baby, never mind."
Pidge's brow furrowed. "But you're in a totally different universe, I don't think anyone would think you're a baby for finding that a sorta lonely feeling, you know?"
"I guess," she said.
"I know how that feels," she said. She blushed. "Ah, I mean, you know… Coming to a whole different place and everything. So, um, if you wanna talk about anything…"
"Yeah. Thank you," Frisk said.
Pidge took her by the hand. She had strong fingers and a smile on her face. "It's gonna be fine. Promise. C'mon, we're almost home."
xXxXx
The second the kids stepped foot inside the skeleton house, Frisk was yanked off her feet into a hug by a babbling, incoherent Papyrus. He was apologizing through his tears, but the words were too fast to catch. She was happy to hug him in return.
"It's okay, it's okay, everything's fine," she cooed quietly. "Deep breaths, dude, it's okay."
The skeleton sucked in a long breath of air. He let it out, deflating as he sat back on the arm of the couch, holding Frisk on his knee and hurriedly wiping his eyes. "This is all my fault. Were you hurt? You're hurt, aren't you?!"
"Nah, barely scratched me!" she assured him with a smile. "I'm totally used to dodging spears and stuff, Paps, don't worry!"
Though the skeleton pouted, he nodded. Pidge scooted up onto the couch beside him and stood on her toes to kiss him on the cheek.
"Crybaby," she teased gently, plunking back to sit cross-legged on the cushion. "Everything's fine."
.
Papyrus snorted and laughed weakly. "I know, I know. I really am sorry, though, friend. That was the last thing you needed on a day like today."
Frisk shrugged. "I'm used to things kinda going sideways, it's okay."
"But I want to be a better babysitter-and-slash-or-host than that!" Papyrus said.
"Then let's maybe go upstairs and you can show her all the work you did," Pidge suggested. "And those scrapes aren't gonna treat themselves, right?"
"AH! Right you are, sister!" Papyrus hopped to his feet, dragging Frisk with him. He grinned at her brightly— the turnaround was lightning fast. "I'm sure you'll be very comfortable here!"
.
Upstairs was, indeed, very comfortable. The bedroom— the first of three doors— was, like much of the rest of the house: strangely the same as back home, but Papyrus's bed frame was made out of an old wagon painted red, and the walls were decorated with a lot of mystical-looking weapons and drawings from a talented, but childish hand. Some were even things Frisk recognized from back home, stuff Pidge must've seen in her dreams. There was one of the Undyne she knew, hands glowing blue in a river in the crystal caverns of Waterfall. Another was an odd beast in the shape of a bone dragon, but made of light with bright red eyes. Frisk knew what that must be, even though she hadn't seen it herself. Among a bunch of Pidge herself and other monsters, the skeletons, or fantastical locations, Frisk noticed one more that she recognized. A field of golden flowers with a taller one right in its centre, looking forward with a cute, smiling face.
.
The place Papyrus set up for her— and he proudly showed off— was where Frisk would have expected the second bed to be back home. There was tent for privacy pitched over a fully prepared mattress and pillows, with a little extra standing room and a nightlight in the form of a glowing, gold crystal inside a glass lantern casing. It was cozy, yet still more space than she needed.
.
As she peered in, the skeleton squatted behind her, watching eagerly.
"It's great, right? Nice and cozy, right? You like it, right?" he said.
"Papy," Pidge said with a laugh.
"Yeah, it's really nice," Frisk said. "Thanks a million. Looks like it was a lot of work."
"What? Pffff, nooo, it was no trouble at all, very easy!" Papyrus assured her.
"Pretty good for not being able to see at all, huh?" Pidge teased.
"Stooop, stop, I could, my tear flow rate was not that high!" he protested before turning his attention back on Frisk. "But! I figure you two could do a sleepover, if you want. And if you don't want, that's okay! I hope you don't mind sleeping in this room, it's just that Sans's is a complete disaster area and—"
"And mine doesn't have much space," Pidge said, smiling bashfully. "He doesn't snore. Much."
"Oh, jeez, don't worry about me," Frisk assured them quickly. "It's great. Thank you."
xXxXx
Despite how hospitable her new friends were, as the dark of night started to settle in, Frisk found loneliness and worry for Asriel weighing in every movement she made. Sans returned with her stuff from the interrogation room and brought pastries filled with a magical approximation of spiced meat, potatoes, and cheese.
.
Pidge was a lot like she was, in the way that she didn't have any toys, though she did have a lot of books. She lent one about a monster that had to journey through a giant magical castle, but Frisk fell asleep trying to read the first chapter.
.
When she woke up, disoriented in the dark, it took her a minute of pawing around sightlessly to realize she was tucked into the little tent. She could hear the nyehs of a snoring Papyrus somewhere else in the room. Her eyes welled up and her breath hitched in her throat. It sounded like home; so much like her brother. It felt like she'd been gone a month. Had no way to know how long it'd been back there. No clue if Sans was okay, no idea how long Asriel would be stuck out of time, no way to get a message back to her family at all. She gripped one hand tight with the other and felt a hot tear roll down her face.
.
She grabbed her blanket and slipped out of the room. There was a light on in the third room, and so she snuck away as quietly as she could and bundled herself up on the couch. She gritted her teeth and, as her heart pounded, she tried to keep quiet and regain herself, but every intake of breath choked her. She wept softly into her blankets.
.
She could hear the rhythm and tone of Sans's voice upstairs. Couldn't make out the words. She covered her ears and curled up into a ball and, after a while, allowed herself to flop onto her side. She sniffled and wrapped her arms around herself, squishing into the cushion beneath her. What she wouldn't give for the warmth of her mother, or the boney arms of a skeleton to grab her. She wished for that light on her hand to connect her to her father; the old marks on her face to play her brothers' songs. She wished she could dip her fingers into the lights hidden in her soul and feel the magic of everyone back home. She rested her hand against the scar on her cheek and tried to steady her breath.
.
When she peeked out of her cocoon, the light from the room upstairs was too much for her. The door was open now and the voices were clearer.
"You're lucky." Sans said it teasingly.
Pidge laughed, though her voice was low and tired. "I know."
"Couldda been anyone."
"Not really."
"Ah." He sounded more serious now. "You triggered the nightmare on purpose, huh?"
"What?!" the girl yelped.
"New kid found a certain comic I'm pretty sure I got rid of. Inside the couch. So."
Pidge sighed heavily. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just wanted… I won't do it again, I promise."
"Was he at least in on it?"
"Of course he was, I'm not a total butt. Come on, you can't ground us now, she just got here!"
"Oh, for… You're not grounded." Sans let out an exhausted laugh. "Welp. Listen. All this, s'important. I won't say. But you should."
"I knooow. I know. I will." She crept out to the doorframe and leaned on the wall. "You should talk to her more."
"Y'think?" he asked. "She's messed up enough about all this."
"But… You helped me." She turned her head and squinted over the banister. "Aw… Look."
.
Pidge headed for the stairs. Before Frisk could even pretend to be asleep, the other kid joined her and sat on her knees on the floor. She put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, you awake?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to listen in," Frisk said quietly. Her voice was rough, and she coughed quietly to clear her throat.
"Aw, you were crying, huh?" Pidge said, tilting her head. "Rough night?"
Frisk sniffled. She hesitantly sat up, rubbing her eyes, and the other kid sat on the couch with her and took her hand out of the blankets. Though it was dark, somehow Pidge seemed to know exactly where the scar on the side of Frisk's hand was, and absently rubbed her cold fingers over it.
.
"You've had a hard time. I know," she said gently. "And none of this is fair. Is it?"
"I-It's… It's not about being fair, I… I just gotta do it," Frisk said, wiping her eyes again. "It's just… I'm not good at it."
"But you're still doing it." Pidge smiled. "Why'd you come down here?"
"Didn't wanna wake Paps up," she said. "H-He already feels guilty enough 'cause of me. Who needs some crying stranger in their room being a weirdo?"
"You're not a stranger. Not to us," she said. "Weirdo, that's debatable." She winked.
Frisk snorted and Pidge shot her a grin.
.
"Sorry, um, if this is private, but…?" Frisk sniffled. "What was that about… Papyrus's nightmare?"
"Oh." Pidge blushed. "Well, it's just… So, you know how he kinda… found you guys, right? He's way better at that when he has bad nightmares. So. I just thought… I'd always kinda thought, if we couldn't break his loops, maybe… You know, someone else could? Does that make sense?"
"I… I think I get it?" Frisk said.
The girl looked overwhelmingly relieved. "I'm so glad it was you. Hey. Why don't you try to go back to sleep? It'll kill some time, at least."
Frisk shook her head. "I… I just can't stop thinking about everyone. And I'm so worried about Asriel."
.
"Hey." Sans appeared on the arm of the couch and offered her a sympathetic smile. He put a careful hand on her head. "Maybe you'd like to, uh, have a bit of a camp out, back at the Soul? Since you're real worried about your bro. Would that help?"
Frisk's heart thumped. Her eyes lit up. "Would that be okay?"
"He might not come through tonight, but…" The skeleton nodded.
"Yes please," Frisk said instantly.
Sans grinned. Pidge snickered. She hugged Frisk tightly, her grip warm and strong.
"I'll get Papyrus," she asserted. "We're gonna have fun no matter what!"