Bottle it all up Chapter 51

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe all this!" Papyrus was pacing frantically. He'd already worn a shallow groove in the grass. "Nyeehhh, this is such…! I mean! Oh noooo…" He whirled on Frisk with a wide-eyed, apologetic expression. "I really am so sorry, Frisk, I thought she'd already told you what happened!"

.

Frisk was sitting on the ground, watching him in a daze. She felt numb. Still dizzy; still sick. It was about the dozenth time Papyrus had apologized. She nodded and shrugged slightly, and the tall skeleton cawed to the wind and rubbed his brow as he began to pace again.

"SANS. Did you know she didn't know?!" he asked.

"Yeah." Sans dropped down beside Frisk, sprawled out on the grass, and he put a careful hand on her shoulder. "Kid, I'm sorry, I thought it was up to her to fill ya in."

"…No, you're right. Gosh, imagine?" Frisk said quietly. She did as good an impression of him as her childish voice could muster: "Hey, kiddo, here's this human, she's Chara from your world somehow, hope that's fine and stuff." She laughed and shook her head. "I… I might have just run away."

"But I thought you were friends," Papyrus said worriedly.

"I… I think we are?" Frisk's brow furrowed. "I… I mean, that was really her before, right?"

"I'm not sure I understand," the skeleton said apologetically.

"It wasn't an act." Sans grinned sideways. "Well. She toned down the cursin' a bit for ya. And the self-depricatin'."

Frisk nodded. "I'm not mad or anything. But I totally thought she was dead. She was dead, actually. She was super dead; she was a ghost even when I knew her. And Asriel…" She felt sick for her brother. There was no use hoping this wouldn't set him back. Of course it would. But, she thought, at least he could actually talk to her for real now, instead of just seeing her echo speaking cruel words in a dream. "Man, this is super crazy, huh?"

.

"A-Are…? Are we still friends?" Papyrus asked hesitantly.

"Jeez, Paps, of course!" Frisk said, wide-eyed. "This just all kinda threw me. But…" She looked at Sans. "If you trust her. If she's your sister. I trust that."

Sans grinned and patted her head. "Won't regret it."

She nodded. Her posture slumped and she let out a deep breath. She leaned weakly against the skeleton and, though he hesitated for a moment, he put an arm around her.

"I know it was bad," he said quietly. "I ain't gonna make any excuse for that. But, here, she's somethin' new. I know that probably doesn't help—"

"It helps," Frisk said.

"Oh yeah?" He chuckled. "…Ah, you're a good kid."

.

She smiled weakly. Her eyelids were getting heavy. A speckle of unusual colour glimmered before her. She rubbed her forehead.

"Hey, y'okay?" Sans asked.

"I'm… I dunno. Guess this all kinda drained me a bit." She also sort of felt like throwing up. "Um, if I faint, sorry. I-It's not her fault."

He put a hand against her brow. Papyrus finally skidded to a halt and plunked himself down in front of her, holding her face in both hands. His touch was warm and welcome, even if a shard of light that passed over his face made his eye look blazing orange-red.

"Nyooo, friend, you're…? Oh my gosh, we don't even know what happened out there!"

"It was kinda hectic, huh?" Sans leaned around to look her in the face. "Whoa, there's those raccoon eyes again. Kid, y'alright?"

"I, uh…" She felt dizzy. She grabbed onto his jacket. Static grey encroached on the edges of her vision. She couldn't keep her eyes open and slumped into him. "M'just n-not feeling too great."

.

Papyrus and Sans shared a worried look. The older skeleton pulled her into his arms and rocked her gently.

"There she goes again," he said in jest.

"I'm… I'm okay," she said softly. "I'm, um… seeing weird time stuff again."

"Are you?! Does that mean something?! Is it bad?!" Papyrus yelped.

"I dunno, I… I just need a minute."

"Shhh, y'nerd, take a nap," Sans said.

"But I… Asriel and…" She rubbed her eye with the heel of her hand, but still couldn't seem to get them open. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, just rest, I'll wake y'up if somethin' happens," he said.

"…Thanks, Sans…" She went limp and mumbled into his coat, "Love you."

.

Sans's face flushed. Papyrus cooed.

"That was for her brother," Sans said quietly. "Poor kid."

"She must be exhausted," Papyrus said. "She said it was three whole days on her end."

"That's… more than I expected. Hey. Did ya notice her clothes? Under the hoodie."

"Her clothes?" Papyrus looked her up and down. His eyes went wide. "Th-They're different!"

"Got shot outta a pond," she mumbled softly.

"What happened?" he asked gently. He tilted his head and gently lifted up the ocarina hanging around her neck. "And… wait, is this what I think it is?"

"Sure looks like…" Sans paused. He frowned. "Hey, uh. Check your agate, will ya?"

Though he looked puzzled, Papyrus patted down his pockets and pulled out a flat, rounded crystal. He opened his mouth, but before he could ask a thing, the agate began to pulse with red and let out a low, unnerving hum.

.

"Nyooo, that's…" His eyes traced down to Frisk. He quickly tapped on the crystal to silence it's urgent alert. "That is not good at all."

"Yuuuup, that'll be callin' the Guard," Sans said, frowning. "Shit." He smiled sideways. "So. This goes better or worse for us if I lock down portals?"

"Brother! Youuuuu promised Queen Undyne you wouldn't do that anymore," he said.

"Didn't promise, exactly," Sans said. He raised one hand towards the light of the Soul and his fingertips glowed blindingly white. His left eye shimmered along with it for just a few seconds before dimming as he snapped his fingers. "There. Not gettin' stormed, at least."

"Oooh, they're going to be so mad, though," Papyrus said nervously. "What do we do?!"

"Dunno. I figure, I walk out like usual and just say it's Oracle stuff; I'll probably get yelled but, hey, ain't the first time."

"And what if it's worse that that?!"

Sans shrugged. "More paperwork I won't do. No big deal."

.

Papyrus grumbled under his breath and pouted. "But what about Frisk?" He gently took one of the kid's hands. He brushed his fingers between hers and down her wrist, where the red magic still shone. He winced at the feeling. "Ugh. After all this. We should never have marked her." His eye sockets began to water. "She doesn't deserve all that extra stress."

"It would have been worse if we hadn't," Sans said quietly.

"Would it, though?!"

"I-It's okay. It's okay," Frisk said drowsily. "Ugh. I'm s-so sorry to—"

"Stooop. Stop. Stop," Sans said, chuckling. "Gotcha, okay? Y'gonna faint?"

"N-Not if I don't move," she muttered.

"Then please don't move!" Papyrus sighed and turned to his brother, hurriedly brushing his hand across his eyes. "But we could have painted her blue or something! No one would know," he insisted. "B-Because the second we take her out of here, some Guard is going to arrest her again and we're going to have to go get her back, and I don't know if they'll just let her out this time if the bands are—"

.

"What about a Decept?" Sans wondered.

"What?! What do you mean?!" Papyrus yelped. "Would that even work?!"

"Dunno. But she has a soul connection who's actually here now, right?" Sans tapped his teeth thoughtfully. "Deceptive Cadence might work. Can't see why it wouldn't."

"Has that ever even been done on a human before?!" Papyrus asked under his breath.

"She's tuned different." Sans tapped on her soul spot and it lit up for him instantly. He smiled fondly. "…And she responds to mine, easy peasy. I can probably cast it."

Papyrus pouted. He nodded nonetheless. "Nyeeh… O-Okay. But… Frisk, is it okay? We won't do it if you're not okay with it, okay?!"

.

"Do it," Frisk mumbled. She still looked completely asleep.

"Y'even know what it is, kiddo?" Sans teased.

"Nuh-uh."

He snickered. "It's a disguise. Might not work. If it does, though, we can probably keep ya outta trouble."

"Dooo it," she said again, more softly and sleepily this time.

"Do my best," he said with a laugh. "Means we'll have to hang out here a little longer, though."

"Buuhhhh… What a pain." Papyrus's gaze turned to the cabin and he sighed. "I hope they're okay in there. Should I check in?"

.

Sans's left eye flared blue. "Maybe let's, uh… give 'em a little time on their own, bro."

"Aw." Papyrus settled back down with them and heaved out a sigh. "I guess you're right." He huffed worriedly and folded his arms.

"Chill. It's gonna be fine."

"I knooww. It's just…" He tapped his fingers on his arm. "I wish I could be there for her right now." He turned to Frisk. "Is there anything I can give you, small friend? A potion, maybe?"

"G-Got anything for dizzies?" she asked quietly.

"Ummmm…" Papyrus searched his pockets. "Hang on." He got up quickly and darted away, only to return with a brown shoulder bag. He sat down again and rifled around inside until he pulled out a vial of dark green. "Fortitude? Sturdy, specifically."

"Oh. Hey. Might work," Sans agreed.

.

Papyrus popped the top for her and made sure she held it tight. "Drink the whole thing, okay?"

Frisk carefully downed the potion. It tasted like avocado, pine, and stubbornness. Her limbs felt heavier, like she had a weighted blanket draped over her, but her head stopped spinning. She let out a sigh of relief and tried to open her eyes again. The grey was gone, as were most of the shards of other times. The ones that were left were small and glittering, drifting in the air like small, angular snowflakes. She was pretty sure she could deal with that.

"Thanks, Paps. You're great."

He grinned and took the vial back from her. "Nyeh heh, I am the master of unorthodox solutions!"

"Eyy," Sans said, shooting him a wink.

Papyrus scoffed and snickered, rolling his eyes in jest. Frisk grinned. She tilted her head back to look up at Sans.

"You're cozy and I appreciate you."

"Oh, uh." He chuckled. "Thanks."

"You said you loved him," Papyrus teased gently.

Sans's bones flushed and he shook his head quickly. Frisk snickered.

"Kinda do. Both of you," she said. "You're… not my brothers. But you still kinda feel like family. And you've both been so nice to me." She grinned sideways. "Plus, gotta admit, you gimme a hug and something to eat, you pretty much got me."

"Aww!" Papyrus cooed, eyes filling with stars.

Sans scoffed and mussed up her hair. "You're basically just a weird puppy, ain'tcha?"

Papyrus gently bonked him on the head. "Don't make fun of her, you're exactly the same," he said. "Add in a blanket and you would never leave. You might as well be a bear."

Sans grinned his big, pointy teeth. "Hibernation doesn't sound too bad about now, t'be honest." He slumped around Frisk's shoulders, resting his chin on her head. "S'gonna be a long one, huh? Did ya at least get a nap or somethin' while y'were gone?"

"Yeah," she said. "It… It was a whole thing. I'll tell you 'bout it later, okay?"

"Fair." His soul glowed against hers reassuringly and they both slipped into purple. "Lotta stuff, huh? …Hey, uh. I know this thing with pigeon's a bit of a mess, but I appreciate y'givin' her a chance. I know she does, too."

"Mhm." Her eyes turned on the cabin with a worried frown weighing on her brow. "I just hope they're okay."

"Me toooo," Papyrus said with a heavy sigh.

xXxXx

Sans had fully dozed off and Frisk's limbs were still rather leaden from the sturdy potion by the time the door of the cabin cracked open and the two kids snuck back out into the cavern. It couldn't have been too long, but to Frisk it felt like it'd been hours. Papyrus was up on his feet in an instant and sprinted over to them, lifting Chara up to squish her and then flinging an arm around Asriel, too. He dragged them back towards the others' spot in the grass.

.

"Hey. Look. You survived," Sans said groggily.

"I literally didn't survive though," Chara said.

"Pff." He waved a hand dismissively. "Details."

"You did great, I know it!" Papyrus said confidently. "Nobody's screaming or fighting so I think that's excellent, in fact!"

"Not for now, anyway," she said.

.

"Az." Frisk stiffly lifted her hand. "You okay?"

He flopped down to join her and instantly gave up even attempting to keep composure and slumped face-first onto the ground and groaned.

"Azzy, you're so dramatic," Chara teased.

He rolled over squished his cheek against the earth and looked up at Frisk through bleary eyes. His fur was plastered flat with the residue of tears. "I'm losing my mind," he grumbled.

Frisk leaned forward to hold his big face in her hands and smooched the end of his snout. He sighed heavily and propped himself back up to sit. He gently took the stiff kid from Sans and pulled her into his lap.

"You're real, right?" he asked at a whisper. "This is real?"

"Yeah, of course," she said. "C… Chara, what about you, you okay?"

Chara went stiff. Her eyes glimmered. She smiled tepidly. "…I am. Thank you, Frisk."

Frisk reached out her hand. Though she hesitated a moment, Chara took it.

"Thanks for telling us," Frisk said.

The freckled girl snorted quietly. "You wouldn't have been happier not knowing?"

Frisk wasn't sure, but she shook her head nonetheless. Papyrus insistently shook his head, too.

"Nah. S'weird, but good, I think," she said.

"Mhm, definitely weird!" Chara tilted her head. "But you okay? You look exhausted."

"Hm." Asriel nodded thoughtfully. "She's right."

"Sorry." She rubbed her eyes. "Yeah. Just got the grey eyes and the wrong time bits."

"Ugh, same. Did you do your breathing?"

"Nooo…"

He sighed and put a hand against her head. "Okay, just focus on me and do your breathing."

"Okay, okay." Frisk began to quietly take very deep, deliberate breaths and Asriel glowed gently, pulsing in time with her.

.

Chara watched on worriedly. Papyrus snuck over to her and gave her a hug. She grabbed him tightly in return.

"So… You're sure you're alright?" he asked.

"Kinda," Chara said with a weak smile. "We yelled at each other a bit, I think it was good."

"The last time we saw each other for real, we both died," Asriel said.

"That's rough, buddy," Sans said. He got to his feet and stretched before meandering over to Chara. He plunked himself down on her other side and ruffled her hair. "Bad as you thought?"

"I was the worst." She pointed at Asriel. "They were better. I thought she would run the hell away and I half expected you to throw me through a wall."

"When have I ever done that?!" Asriel barked.

"You're big now, though, I dunno." She shrugged. "And maybe I'd deserve it."

"Noooo, no no no," Papyrus said quickly. "Listen. I think. What would be best. Is if we all relax. Because yes there's a lot of complicated backstory, and yes there's a lot of heavy feelings, but really, we all care about each other and I think that's a really great first step!"

.

As Chara's pale cheeks flushed, Sans chuckled and thumped her on the shoulder.

"Told ya."

"Shut up, I know," she said. "I guess I just… hyped it up a lot in my head."

"S'okay, I wouldda been super nervous too if I had to meet you without you knowing," Frisk said. "I mean, I'm glad it's you, though."

"…What, why?!" Chara laughed. "You're a sucker for trauma bonding, is that it?"

"What?! No! I dunno what that is," Frisk said. "No, I mean… There's… a lot? Y'know? But if you weren't you, this would be way harder for Az."

"That's…" Asriel sighed. "That's true."

"Yeesh." Chara grinned wryly. "Good thing I didn't fake amnesia, then. That was a serious consideration."

"Oh, god, that'd be awful," Asriel grumbled.

She nudged Sans in the ribs. "Thank this bonehead, he vetoed that before I even said it out loud."

"You wouldn't have lasted twenty-four hours anyway," Sans said with a wink.

"Don't tell them that!" the girl said shrilly. She shook her head quickly. "Anyway! Forget it. Did you guys get the alert, too?"

.

Papyrus couldn't keep the troubled frown from his face. "Yes, it's… not good."

"What isn't? What's going on?" Asriel said.

"Guards are comin' for the kid," Sans said, pointing a claw straight at Frisk.

"What?! What guards?! Why?" Asriel yelped.

"Sorry," Frisk said in a small voice.

"Welp. Thing is,they can't actually get in," the skeleton continued. "Though, uh, we can't leave either until we sort somethin' out."

Asriel frowned. He clutched Frisk close. "I'm not letting her get taken anywhere," he said, snorting a small, hot flame out of his nose.

"Chill. We already got a plan." Sans slowly heaved himself onto his feet. "I got some prep I gotta do."

"What kind?" Chara asked worriedly.

"A Cadence. Shouldn't take long."He winked and headed back towards the glowing Soul.

"Do you need me?" she called after him.

"Nah, think I can manage. Thanks anyway, pigeon."

.

"A Cadence? Wait, like the magic kind?" Asriel asked. "I thought those were mute spells now."

"They didn't lose how to do them, here," Chara said. She leaned forward and lowered her voice, her eyes glittering. "Azzy, they didn't even have the war like we did."

"What?! Seriously?!" Asriel's eyes got big and round.

She nodded enthusiastically. "There's a lot of cool magic stuff here that we totally missed out on."

"Th-That's true." Frisk tried to steady herself and rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. "There's so much stuff. Like whole stores of magic books. And all these cool crystal thingies. And magic potions. Oh. And, um, dogs are super special sun beasts, I think. Not that they're not back home, but they have statues and stuff here."

Asriel's brows lifted in surprise.

.

Chara scooted closer and peeked at Frisk. "Jeez, you're a wreck, huh?" She put her hand on the kid's forehead. "Ah, little bit of a fever."

"Yeah, she falls hard when it happens," Asriel grumbled.

"Sorry…" Frisk said. "And sorry about all this… junk."

"You definitely don't need to apologize for not feeling well," Papyrus said.

"But this stuff with the guards—!"

"That is also definitely not your fault since you did not actually do anything bad," he insisted.

"To be honest, I still don't understand what the heck is goin' on," Asriel said, wide-eyed.

.

"Basically…" Chara reached out and took Frisk's hand, and tapped on the red band around her wrist. "These are like a safety check for humans in the kingdom."

"Yeah, Frisk told me, but how'd she get noticed?" Asriel asked.

"They're basically a magic warning siren right this second," Chara said. "It was getting worse the more magic she used since, um, in this world, normal humans don't use magic at all. It ends up reading like she's just been kinda on a murder spree."

"What?!" Frisk squeaked. "B-But I—!"

"I know. It's a malfunction," the girl interjected.

Frisk pouted. "Ugh, sorry," she said for the umpteenth time.

"Ooh, that's… probably from you pulling me outta the void. And kickin' those guys butts earlier," Asriel said.

Chara put on a dry expression. "Azzy, come on, I may have been outta my mind when I was in hers, but we both know Frisk doesn't butt-kick."

"No, dude, it was great," he said, eyes brightening. "The way the guy she saved told it, she basically reversed a bunch of knight dudes so they all threw up and pooped their pants."

"WHAT?!" Chara's eyes glimmered and she started to cackled. "Oh my god, really?!"

"I d-didn't really mean to," Frisk protested. "I got really scared. Th-They were kinda smashing my friend's bones up so—"

"So you made them POOP their PANTS?!" She was howling now. "Frrriiissssk! You're a riot!"

Papyrus held his hands over his mouth, shaking his head, but clearly trying not to crack up.

"I…" Frisk couldn't help but catch the laugh like a cough. "I—! I guess…! I guess it is a little funny."

.

Asriel snickered and cozied Frisk closer. His gaze turned back to Chara and Papyrus. "So, uh… A-Anyway! What kind of Cadence?"

"Deceptive," Papyrus said. "It can be used for a disguise. So she looks like a monster, and so she doesn't get arrested again."

"Wait, I get to look like a monster?" Frisk asked, perking up. "Can I pick?!"

"I am not entirely sure how it works," Papyrus said apologetically. "But! It should let us protect you better."

Chara caught her breath and slumped. "Oh. Damn. That's not a bad idea." She wiped the corner of her eye with her knuckle. "Monsters here see humans kinda a lot," she explained, mostly to Asriel. "So they all recognize one right away. I'm the only one that's not gonna be given trouble without those bands." She shot Papyrus a curious look. "I didn't think a Decept would work on a human, though."

"Sans thinks it will," he said with a shrug. "Maybe? Because of you, new friend." He smiled at Asriel.

"Oh yeah? I…! Really? I don't get it." He looked down at Frisk with confusion.

.

"I can explain!" Papyrus volunteered. "Technically, how these things are supposed to work is that you can disguise anything that you are connected to by your soul. I have never actually done this spell. But! From what I understand, if I make a bone, but I for some reason needed to disguise it as something else— maybe a stick— I could do that."

"I don't wanna be a stick," Frisk said shrilly.

"Nooo, no no no, you would not be a stick," Papyrus said quickly. "I have heard that, for example, a parent monster could cast one on their kid, too. As a disguise or… a fun costume? I think?" He rubbed his head. "Nyehh, sorry, it's… It's not a super common spell, to be honest! I've heard of monsters using it to really amp up their mazes, though! Switching common objects into something very fantastical! It's apparently very impressive!"

"He's sure though, right?" Chara asked as she frowned thoughtfully, folding her arms.

"I certainly hope so!" he said. "We could wipe the bands, if so. As long as Sans tells Undyne, I think we'll be okay. Probably. Hopefully?"

"Well. Whatever you think is best," she said quietly.

.

Papyrus reached over to her and checked her forehead. She scoffed and batted him away, but couldn't help a smile. Undaunted, the skeleton cackled and gently ruffled her hair, glowing a pleasant orange for her. Asriel stared at the skeleton blankly for a few seconds. He tried to realign the family structure in his mind. He shook it off as quickly as he could.

"Oh, uh, right. Sorry. Got kinda overwhelmed," he said. "I'm Asriel, by the way."

Papyrus snickered. "I know. And hopefully you already know me as the great Papyrus! You don't mind that we're Chara's family now, too, do you?"

"Papy, c'mon," Chara said worriedly.

"Listen. Anyone who'll love her, I'm happy," Asriel said, shooting her a teasing smile.

.

Chara blushed again despite her clumsy attempt to conceal it by hiding her face in her hands. Papyrus beamed and thew an arm around her shoulders. For some reason, Asriel felt nice seeing that. He was a little surprised they seemed to mesh well but, then again, the Papyrus he knew had an uncanny ability to win people over if they could endure his initial onslaught of loudness, pasta, and posturing. He was also unflappable in the face of rudeness and sass. Maybe this guy was similar.

.

A strange hum warbled in the air, drawing the kids' eyes back towards the centre light of the chamber. Sans had both hands out, his bones glittering iridescent white. A gentle pulse from the Soul sent out magic like a fluffy smoke ring all the way to the edges where the black trees grew, gently buffeting their silver and pink leaves.

"Okay, think I'm good." Sans said. He wandered back over and sat down in front of Frisk and Asriel. "Now. Gotta warn ya. No idea what's gonna happen, 'cept that it's not actually dangerous."

"It's fine," Frisk assured him quickly.

"Is there really no way to control what she comes out as?" Chara asked worriedly. "What if it's a weird squid or something?"

"I could live with that," Frisk said.

"But all those arms!"

"I can deal with at least four arms, I think," Frisk said. "Or two and wings, I've done that before."

"I don't think she'd come out as a squid." Asriel winked. "Maybe a dog, though."

"Ooh, maybe a skeleton!" Papyrus said excitedly.

"You think?!" Frisk squeaked.

"I dunno if it can make you look hollow like that," Chara said.

"Aw."

"Okay, okay." Sans's smile was wide and amused. "Might as well just find out instead, don'tcha think?"

"Right! I'm ready!" Frisk assured him.

Sans nodded and looked at Asriel. "How 'bout you, big guy?"

"Uh. Sure?" he said.

"Perfect."

.

The skeleton reached forward and touched Asriel lightly. The boy's soul pinged. Then, the skeleton pulled out the light in Frisk's soul. The red beamed for a second and its white marks glowed. A note of magic chimed in the air and Frisk promptly passed out.

.

Asriel yelped and Chara rushed over to grab the limp kid's hands. Sans looked at his fingers and raised his brows.

"Huh. Weird."

"Frisk?!" Asriel demanded shrilly.

"SANS!" Papyrus squawked.

"I did give a disclaimer," he said.

His brother folded his arms and pouted. Chara put a hand on Frisk's forehead.

"The magic's running through her like crazy," she said.

"Welp. Guess we're started, then." Sans got up and rubbed his bad knee for a moment before he nodded towards the cabin. "C'mon, easier to do a circle in there."

"Wait, we gotta do a circle?" Asriel asked. "How strong is this spell?"

"Eh. Decently tough, I guess," Sans said. He wandered off, waving for them to follow.

.

Papyrus did so in a hurry, but Asriel was left stunned with his unconscious sister in his arms. Chara put a hand on his shoulder as she got up.

"I know it's weird but, please trust him," she said. "He's… He's good."

The boy wanted to say that was a funny assessment, coming from her of all people, but he held it in. She seemed to know exactly what was on his mind anyway and frowned at him, giving his back a gentle whack.

"Come on," she insisted.

"Okay, okay."

.

Inside the hut, Papyrus picked up the table and moved it off to the side and Sans got to work, drawing a circle on the wooden floor in salt poured from a metal dispenser he had in his pocket. He marked out a moon and stars, and the dots of notes forming a melody. Asriel stood, adrift, unsure of where to go or what to do. Chara hurried past him, grabbing up some tools and magic appliances to shove into the corner and out of the way. The boy stared after her blankly. He looked down at Frisk and his head spun. He bent and touched his snout to her forehead, and then lifted her, tilting his head to rest his ear against her soul spot. He could feel the extra magic churning around it, but it sounded normal otherwise.

.

Papyrus put his hand on Asriel's shoulder. The goat boy jolted with surprise, fur bristling.

"Don't worry, new friend," the skeleton said. He patted Frisk's head gently. "I'm sure this won't take long. Sans, don't take long, okay? Our new friend is extremely worried. And I am also extremely worried."

Sans's didn't reply, his focus firmly on his drawing. Large skeleton runes marked an inner circle between sharp, geometric patterns. His dim right eye was flitting all over the place, as if following a bug.

"Uh. He okay?" Asriel asked Papyrus at a whisper.

The skeleton nodded. "Yes, why?"

"His eye's freakin' out."

"His… Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot you didn't know," Papyrus said. "It doesn't see normal things, it just sees moving magic."

"Uh… huh."

.

"Okay," Sans said as he got to his feet, "plop 'er in the circle."

"What, just like that?" Asriel asked.

"Yup," Sans said without an ounce more of explanation.

The boy gulped. He gently laid Frisk in the centre of the magic runes scrawled on the floor, though she floated rather than touching them. His hackles raised and his ears pinned back. Chara cautiously prowled up to him and grabbed onto his hand. She squeezed his fingers.

"She's gonna be fine." She sounded more like she was talking to herself than to him, but he nodded anyway.

.

Sans's hands glimmered. He rested them in the air overtop of the kid. The circle he'd drawn began to glow blue and the light in the cabin dimmed around them. The skeleton's soul flared up and a pleasantly chill whirl of energy spun around him, then moved to Asriel as a light tune began to twirl in the air. Frisk's soul lit, as did Asriel's. Sans closed his eyes. The magic knit between the three of them. White, shimmering pinpricks of light glimmered in Frisk's red soul and from the claw-mark scars on the back of her hand. Again, her brother's echoed. The song grew brighter, the three souls playing a round.

.

Frisk slowly floated upwards until she was around eye-level for the two taller monsters. Chara clung tighter to Asriel's fingers and he squeezed back. Melodic magic wove itself through the air and the threads lightly spooled themselves around the kid into a cocoon. The glow in the salt shifted from blue to purple, and then to a bright, shimmering red. Sans let out a long, slow breath. He opened his eyes. The magic in his left iris was spiralling with colour and the moon mark on his hand glistened with icy light. He backed up a step and put his index fingers and thumbs together in a triangle shape. The music burst into a cacophonous beat, just for a moment, before dropping to silence.

.

With a flash of light and a shimmer of sparkles, the shell of magic shot inwards, and the kid's body was instantly changed. She was small and goat-like and thoroughly adorable. However, she wasn't Asriel's smaller form's mirror image, despite having a snout and ears a lot like his. She had short, lyre horns like she'd grown back when her soul was recombining, and a tail that was quite a bit longer and smoother than his. The shape of her bangs was still replicated in the fur on her head.

.

When the red magic faded away, Asriel caught Frisk out of the air. He couldn't help but burst out laughing. She was blue again. A soft, steel blue, like a clear winter sky. Her hair was a bit darker than the rest of her fur, but was also blue. Her horns were white, as were the tips of her ears, tail, and fingers, as well as little stripes that marked any of her most prominent scars, especially the one on her left cheek and the side of her hand.

.

"Huh. Didn't quite expect that," Sans said.

"She's cute!" Papyrus said.

"Why's she blue?" Chara asked, wide-eyed.

"Ah. That's from Undyne," Asriel said, grinning slightly. "Our, uh, older sister. A big blue fish. Frisk was sorta the human version of this for a few days while her soul was— Ah, I'll tell you about it later." He cradled her in his arms and stroked the top of her snout and her forehead carefully, then leaned his head close to her chest to listen to her soul. "She sounds fine."

.

"So can we sneak her outside now?" Chara asked.

"One sec." Sans gently grabbed Frisk's hands and brushed his thumbs over the red stripes on her wrists; the magic fell away. "There. Safe."

Chara wilted with relief. Asriel lifted Frisk up against his shoulder and held her carefully.

"Thanks," he said, shooting Sans a grateful smile. "No offence, but I wouldn't normally expect a guy called Sans to pull something like that off."

The skeleton shrugged. "You ain't wrong. Outside o' here, wouldn't have much luck, but I can channel the Soul as long as we're in the chamber."

"Makes him super strong," Chara added. "Come on, let's go."

"One sec, kiddo," Sans said apologetically. "Need you for somethin'."

"What?! But…!" She looked between him and Asriel, and she pouted. "But I want to—"

"I know. But we should probably smooth things out with the Guard," he said. "They can sneak out while we got 'em preoccupied."

"Right. You're right." She sighed and looked back at Papyrus and Asriel. "We'll catch up really soon, yeah?"

"Yes, of course! Don't worry about a thing," Papyrus assured them. "I, the great Papyrus, will definitely keep these two safe while you do the sneaky sneaky things."

.

Sans offered Chara a hug. She took it gladly. Asriel blinked blankly. His mind tripped up for a moment. A grip on his arm pulled him out of it and he whipped around to see Papyrus smiling at him.

"Relax, new friend! How about you sit down for a little?"

"Oh! Yeah. Papy, I'll send you a signal when it's safe to come out," Chara said.

He stuck his thumb up and grinned. "Perfect!"

Sans headed out, but the girl lingered an extra second, her eyes fixed on Asriel, before she cracked a smile, saluted, and ran off after the skeleton.

.

Asriel let out a long sigh and his knees got weak. He sat on the floor, cradling fuzzy Frisk in one arm while exhaustedly rubbing his face with his other hand. "This is nuts," he muttered. "I'm nuts."

Papyrus smiled sympathetically. He grabbed a broom out of the corner and began to sweep up the salt.

"I know, this is all pretty surreal, right?" he said. "Were you in my dream? My sister thinks you were, but I'm not sure I recognize you."

"Your…" Asriel's eyes went wide. "Oh! Right, it was your dream."

"Mhm!" he said brightly. "Did Frisk tell you about that?"

Asriel gulped. He looked down at the sleeping kid and he nodded stiffly. "She… She did. Right. Y-Yeah. I was there. I was a plant thing, though."

"Oh! That was you!" Papyrus grinned. "I'm glad your curse is broken, too, new friend."

Asriel cracked a smile. "Same. But, uh…" A shiver ran down his back all the way to the tip of his tail. He looked down at his sister— at her cute, blue, goat-like face— and found the whole thing to be utterly baffling. "This… This is all real. Right? I know I keep asking, but…"

"Yes, it is very much real, though I know it is very strange!" He finished brushing the salt into a pile and lifted it up in blue magic, and then whisked it away to nowhere. "I mean, the whole travelling between dimensions thing is exceptionally weird!"

.

Papyrus's expression shifted to one of sympathy and he knelt down with Asriel. "I know… this thing with Chara, it's probably very hard to deal with in some ways. But I'm so glad you could see each other again! She had mentioned you before, but when she got all her memories back, you were all she would talk about for a little while." His face flushed. "To be honest, for a second I thought I could never live up to you."

"Live up to… me?" he asked.

"Mhm! Well. I mean. Having such a nice brother as you, that sets the standard very high!" he said.

"Dude, you don't have to…! You're Papyrus," Asriel said. "If you're anything like ours, you're great."

The skeleton snickered. "Thank you. I know. But that's very nice of you to say. So, are you very good friends with a skeleton named Papyrus back in your home?"

"Oh. Yeah. Absolutely," Asriel said. "Did, um…? Did Chara tell you about how I was a huge mess?"

"More like a small and flower-like mess, but yes," Papyrus said sympathetically.

"A-Ah. Well. He was one of the only people who put up with me while I was like that, so… So I'm really grateful to him," Asriel said. "We're, um, brothers now, so that's pretty cool."

Papyrus's eyes lit right up. "Nyeh heh heh! That is pretty cool."

.

The skeleton straightened up and pulled out his little round crystal. It was pulsing gentle red in a rhythm of threes.

"That was fast!" he said. He hopped to his feet. "Come on, new friend. And keep Frisk close, okay?"

.

Still in more of a daze than not, Asriel held Frisk tight to his chest and followed Papyrus out of the cabin to a stone platform amongst the strange black-barked trees that lined the edge of the cavern. The skeleton opened a shining orange portal that plopped them in a small, rocky alcove. It overlooked a fresh, green field for as far as the eye could see. Clear, blue sky stretched out endlessly above them. A cool breeze ran through his fur, gently buffeting his ears. Behind them loomed a spire of stone with wafts of magic drifting, aurora-like, from its peak. Asriel was stunned. Frisk's description of this place hadn't done it justice.

.

Papyrus grabbed Asriel's sleeve to draw his attention and then put a raised finger up to his teeth. He tilted his head to the side and the boy followed his gesture. Asriel gulped. A huge group of heavily armed and armoured monsters marred the scenery, gathered up in a grumpy, huddled mass. That was where Sans and Chara were? Asriel mouthed the question to Papyrus, but the skeleton merely stared back at him blankly, then grabbed his shoulder and pulled him gently to get him to follow.

.

They tiptoed past the guards and wide around to try to stay out of view. Papyrus put up a hand to get Asriel to wait and then stuck a foot out onto the field proper. When whatever the skeleton was expecting to happen did not, he turned to Asriel with a big grin and waved him onwards.

"Phew! I think we're alright!" he said brightly, his normally ten-volume voice at a conservative eight-and-a-half. He strode ahead briskly. "Buuuut, just in case, let's hurry."

.

Asriel stepped out cautiously as well, just in case. Nothing alarming happened, though the blades of grass right around his paws seemed to lengthen just a tiny bit and reach up towards him. He had to stop himself from calling out to Papyrus to ask if that was normal, and hurried to catch up.

.

He cast a cautious glance over his shoulder. The guards' backs were adjusted to still be fully to them. He could see the edge of Sans's black jacket now— he was leading them back towards a portal that would take them inside the Soul's chamber. When a flare of blue flashed and the first one of the group vanished, Asriel let out a sigh of relief and sped up. He let his sister slump over his shoulder comfortably and patted her back with an anxious hand.

.

Papyrus lead them at a diagonal towards an impenetrable line of trees that slowly loomed up, a wall around the grand, green pasture. When they'd made it about halfway, Frisk stirred, much to Asriel's relief. She smacked her lips a few times and stuck her tongue out. Her eyes cracked open, just barely a sliver.

"…A… Az?" Her voice was raspy. She blinked heavily and sunk in against his shoulder. "…We okay? S'my nose swollen?"

"We're good, don't worry," he assured her. "Feelin' okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm…" Her eyes— now bright red with black sclera— shot wide open as she was greeted by the sight of her own fuzzy blue arm. She yelped loudly. "Ahh! I'm blue?!" Frisk stretched out her paw-like hands, starting wide-eyed at the claws on the tips of her fingers. "Oh my god, was Blueberry a werewolf?! Am I a blue werewolf?!"

.

"What?!" Asriel burst out laughing. "No!" He pulled her back under her arms to grin into her puzzled face. "It's that spell, you dope! You're like me."

"Wait what?!" she asked. "R-Really?!"

"That is what the spell chose for you," Papyrus said. "Also welcome back, Frisk! Did you have a nice nap?"

"Oh! Papyrus! Uh. Y-Yeah, I…!" She patted her hands over her face and squeaked when she booped her own snoot. "Oh wow, that's full-on a goat face, isn't it?"

"How's it feel?" Asriel asked.

"Hm…" She put her hands under her ears and flopped them up and down. "It's… not bad, actually, I been weirder." She stuck a finger in her mouth and then made a face at the fuzzy feeling of her fur touching her tongue. "Sharp teef."

"Let's see?"

Frisk grinned big. Her gleaming teeth were sort of canine, like his, but there were more of them, and they were much sharper. Asriel laughed.

"Guess that's sorta from Undyne, too."

.

Frisk reached out for his face and grabbed him to bump the tip of her snout against his. He snickered and she grinned brightly.

"I kinda like it!" she decided. "Oooh, did it…?" She patted herself down. She peeked down her shirt, and then twisted to see her tail. "Alphys." She reached up and felt her horns. "Okay. Mostly goat. Kinda skele."

"Your eyes are more like theirs," Asriel said. "Black with red."

"Is it spooky?" she asked.

"I think it's quite pretty," Papyrus assured her.

.

Frisk huffed and laughed tiredly, and leaned into Asriel's shoulder. "Welp. This's been a ride."

"Yeah, tell me about it," he said, readjusting her to cradle her comfortably in the crook of his arm. "You look good."

"Hah! Thanks," she said. She put her hands against her cheeks. "But… This is kinda weird, but I don't feel that weird?"

"How it works, I think— judging by how it looked, anyway— is it's like kinda a magic shell," Asriel said. He looked at Papyrus. "Right?"

"Basically yes, it doesn't actually change your shape, just gives you a magic layer of other shapes," Papyrus said.

"Ooh." Frisk traced the scar line marked white in her fur on the side of her hand. "Okay. I kinda dig it, actually." She perked up and looked around. "Oh heck, where's Chara?!"

"With Sans," Papyrus said. "They're distracting the guards as we just sliiiip by."

"They're back inside that big cave or whatever," Asriel said.

.

Frisk flinched and looked up at Asriel worriedly. "S-So, how're you doing, after…? I mean, you okay?"

"Kinda? I'm still not convinced I'm not hallucinating, though," Asriel joked. He rubbed the back of his head. "It… I mean, don't get me wrong, it was bad. Not how she was, just… reliving it all. We laughed about how friggin' horrible we are, though, so that's something, I guess." He managed a sheepish grin. "It was, uh… Y'know, not the worst. Kinda… nice, I guess. To be able to talk for real without me being a total freak and her being a murder ghost."

Frisk's ears perked a little and her eyes brightened. "Yeah?! That's really good, though!"

He nodded. "It… definitely wasn't anything like I imagined," he said.

"What did you imagine?" Papyrus asked curiously.

"Well…" Asriel blushed. "Either a fight to the death or something really dramatic in a field of flowers or something. With crying and hugging and stuff. I mean, we did that. After the shouting. I didn't really count on needing to do that part, but it felt better afterwards."

"Gasp! So did you think somehow you'd find her again?" the skeleton wondered.

"N-No! No. Not even close. I was like a hundred percent positive that it'd never happen ever," Asriel said quickly. He turned to Frisk. "But how 'bout you? You okay? That… couldn't have been the easiest for you, either."

"I… Um." Frisk still wasn't sure. She felt about fifteen different ways, but at least scared wasn't one of them anymore. She shook her head. "Don't worry about me. I'm super glad we talked. It's weird that she's the same person that—" Her breath seized for a second at the remembrance of blade slicing bone and she put a hand against her chest. "Th-That was in my head for a while, but… But I'm glad to see the real her. B-Because I…! I do like her. It was really good when we hung out. This whole thing's just kinda weird still."

"Tell me about it," Asriel agreed.

.

"I'm sorry that this history is so bad," Papyrus said sympathetically. "It was hard to believe at first. That my new little sister had been through things like that. That she was a ghost who ended a world so many times and stole souls and fought so many people. But, I always believed that even the worst people could change and be good! And, I mean, she was an angry ghost, which is quite different from a normal ghost. Now she's just a normal sort-of-ghost kid, and I think she's very good!"

"Does she still count as a ghost?" Frisk asked.

"Well, she is technically not actually alive and is just powered by determination," Papyrus said. "So. I guess? She does not have a pulse! Which I have been told is very strange for humans."

"Yeah, that's pretty weird," Asriel agreed.

.

Frisk tilted her head, flopping her long ears. She supposed that could be why she'd always found the other kid's skin so chilly. "So her… red sword thing, is that ghost magic?"

"We thiiiink so," Papyrus said. "I guess it's different where you're from, but humans can't cast magic. Even if they have some in their soul."

"Why not?" Frisk asked.

"Oh! It's the shells, obviously."

"The… shells," Asriel repeated with a bemused look on his face.

"What?! Humans don't have have shells where you come from?!" the skeleton demanded.

Frisk and Asriel both shook their heads.

"Okay, that is odd," Papyrus said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He stuck a finger into the air. "So! Humans have a hard shell around their souls. It's not all fun and breezy like ours, you see? So the magic— if they have it— can't get out past the shell. When a human soul falls out of a human, a monster has until the shell breaks to grab it. But! When it breaks on its own, all kinds of strange things can happen. Including that human becoming a ghost. So! Ghosts that were human once can do magic. And regular ghosts can, too, obviously. What my sister does is really similar to what big old ghost warriors like Kabooto or Ghoulgamesh can do. Have you ever heard of them?"

"Nnnno," Asriel admitted. "But, I think I know what you mean. Like, weird phantom blades, right? Magic edges on broken old weapons especially."

"Yes! Exactly that! Nyeh heh, I should have said that part first, it would have saved some time."

.

"But so she's… Chara, she's in someone else's body?" Asriel asked, and he and Frisk shared a worried look. "This world's… anomaly. She looks just like her."

"She thinks that. I don't really think that," Papyrus said. "Humans have come into our world from another one before. Not… Not the humans who live here but just not in the Kingdom, but humans from somewhere else. But normally, their soul just plops in. Usually, it cracks and vanishes, or becomes a ghost before anyone finds it. It's really rare that an other-world human comes here with their whole body. So, I think when she came in she grabbed that red soul that was basically abandoned, somehow made a body that she liked, and hopped inside! But… she still likes to think the worst of herself." He smiled. "I'm working on that!"

"Sounds familiar," Asriel said quietly.

"I could say the same," Frisk teased.

He stuck his tongue out at her and she replied in kind. Papyrus looked at them both blankly and then copied them with a snake-like, orange-magic tongue. The kids yelped and Papyrus yelped too, only for them all to burst out laughing.

.

Just a little farther and they checked behind them once more. There wasn't a hint of guards left anywhere. Asriel put Frisk down to walk on her own, though she stumbled for a moment. She looked down at her feet. Her oversized boots weren't so oversized anymore. She pulled them off and had paws with four, white-tipped toes each, a little more talon-shaped than Asriel's. She tested them in the grass and looked thoughtful, tilting her head.

"We can get you paw-shaped shoes if you like," Papyrus said.

"I think this is fine, probably," Frisk said. She stashed her boots away in her phone. "We'll see how bad it is in Snowdin, I guess." She stretched. "Dang. This is nuts, huh?"

"I'm just glad it worked, to be honest." Papyrus ducked down on one knee and extended a hand towards her face. "Do you mind?"

"Nope!" she said.

He carefully grabbed her cheeks and squeezed them, and then gently squished her floppy ears. "Ooh. Wowie, that feels real."

"I know, right?" she said.

"Does it feel real for you?" he asked. "Or does it feel like a costume?"

"No, it just kinda feels like me," she said.

"I guess it's lucky that my brother's strange plan actually worked!" A melancholy frown settled on his face. "Sigh." The skeleton sighed out heavily with the word and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry it came to this, though. I wish it hadn't."

"Don't worry about it," Frisk said gently, her tail wagging on its own accord.

"But if Asriel hadn't shown up it'd be—!"

"But he did. So it's okay," she said steadily. She gave him a squish. "C'mon, Paps, don't worry."

"I like to have more backup plans than that," the skeleton said, pouting.

"Eh, wouldn't we all?" Asriel said with a shrug.

.

When Papyrus straightened up, the boy gave him a hug, too.

"Don't feel guilty, okay?" he said.

The skeleton was stunned stiff for a moment but his eyes quickly lit up and he gave Asriel a tight squeeze. "I do appreciate that. Thank you."

"Good!" Frisk said. She turned back towards the mountainous stone that held the Soul of the World and shielded her eyes with her hand. "So, um, should we wait for them or—?"

"I think it's probably better to keep up a brisk pace, just in case of any nonsense," Papyrus said. "But I'll definitely protect you if anything happens!"

"Snowdin, then," Frisk said, shooting Asriel a smile as they continued onwards. "It's kinda different from ours, but I think you'll like it!"

.

Once they hit the edge of the woods, they backtracked for just a minute or so. Papyrus guided them to a little, stone alcove in the trees that contained another warping portal. This one landed them in a hut on the road leading to Snowdin town. Frisk had been there several times, now.

.

A light dusting of snow was falling from deep grey clouds above. Asriel took a moment to gaze over the fields that stretched out on either side of the path that lead to town. A childlike wonder overcame the big monster as they reached the village itself. He seized Frisk by the hand and dragged her between shop windows, looking at mysterious crystal apparatuses, magic weapons, and colourful concoctions.

.

He pressed his face up against the window of a store displaying big, shiny orbs holding glittering elemental magic— lightning sparks crackling, fire writhing, and water flowing in a twisting circle. His short tail wagged excitedly. Frisk looked up and stood on her toes. She caught the first glimpse of herself in the sheen of the glass. Her jaw dropped and she squished her ears.

"Ooh, I'm cute," she said under her breath. She ran her hands up over her horns and her red eyes glimmered.

"Lookit this, Frisk!" Asriel's voice was shrill with excitement. "Oh man, I haven't seen stuff like this since I was a kid!"

"Aren't you a kid?" Papyrus asked, peering over his shoulder.

Asriel's face flushed and he laughed bashfully. "Well, kinda. But, uh, I was technically born like, a couple hundred years ago. When I came back, most things like this were totally gone."

"That must've been confusing," the skeleton said.

"Eh, I had plenty of time to catch up," the boy said, waving a hand dismissively. "But, uh…" He shot Frisk a cautious smile. "If we have time, what d'you think, could we…?"

"Yeah, for sure!" she agreed.

"We could start now," Papyrus suggested. "I have a few potions to refill."

"Ooh." Asriel's eyes brightened. "Potions, okay!"

.

Papyrus brought them to the apothecary shop, where the purple serpent still hovered over her cauldron with a giant wooden spoon. The store looked no different than the first time Frisk had seen it. As Asriel bounced around, pouring over the magical ingredients, Frisk joined up with Papyrus near the back of the place. He was mulling thoughtfully over a few glass potion bottles in eccentric shapes. She fished the round one she had out of her phone and offered it to him, quelling the eerie feeling she had upon seeing her hand with blue fur and claws. She was pretty sure that wasn't going away for a little while.

"I'm sorry, the other one got lost in another dimension," she said.

"Not to worry, Frisk, I have plenty," he said, taking the bottle from her with a grateful smile. "Were they helpful?"

"Oh! So helpful!" she assured him. "Saved our butts."

Papyrus's eyes brightened and he beamed.

.

"Guys, look at this stuff!" Asriel poked around from behind a nearby shelf, a big smile on his face as he showed off pawfuls of colourful crystals that looked like many-sided dice. "I can't believe it, I haven't seen these since I was, like, a tiny guy!"
"Boosters?" Papyrus asked with mild bemusement on his boney brow.

"Yeah! They take gold here?"

When Papyrus nodded, Asriel beamed and ducked back around where he'd come from.

"That's it, I'm gettin' a bunch. Ah! Friiiisk, they have alchemy books!" He peeked over the shelf. "Dude. We're saving our culture. Mom and Dad and your dad are gonna be so psyched, you don't even know."

Frisk shot finger guns and a glimmering red star his way. He shot one back, sticking his tongue out, and vanished again, except for his horns peeking over the top of the shelf.

.

"My, that one issss exsssitable, hmm?" the snake at her cauldron said, shooting Papyrus a smile. "New friendssss again, I sssee?"

"Nnnn….yehhh—es!" Papyrus grinned bashfully. "Yes! New friends! Again! I am very popular, you know!"

"It's true, he is," Frisk agreed with a steady nod.

The snake smiled slightly but her pale eyes lingered for an extra moment on the fuzzy blue kid. Frisk felt a nervous chill coming on and she grinned bashfully with her big, pointy teeth. The monster's posture loosened and she returned to her brew.

.

Frisk wilted with a quiet, relieved sigh. She scooted around to join her excited brother. He prowled the shelves with eyes gleaming like a beast stalking its prey. He had a wicker basket over his arm, now, and it was already weighed down with stuff. There were three large alchemy books peeking out from the top.

"Wow, you're super into this, huh?" she said.

"Yeah. I mean, look at all this!" He gestured over the little containers.

Frisk had to stand on her toes, but he kept moving before she got a good look and she hurried to keep up. "You know what these are for?" she asked.

"Well…! Not many. Just a couple of the pre-made, uhh…" He grinned smugly. "You don't know anything about any of this, do you?"

"Nope," she said.

"Ah!" Any sense of superiority he held fell and he rubbed his head bashfully. "W-Well, these rocks and plants and stuff, I'm not sure, but I do know about boosters! They're kinda like a shortcut to a decent potion as long as you don't go nuts with it."

"Ooh, useful," she said.

.

Dried flowers laid in stacks filled the next shelf. Asriel wrinkled his nose and grabbed Frisk's hand to pull her past them to the other side of the shop. They stopped at small boxes packed with leaves and colourful pebbles sorted by type. Asriel lowered his voice and pointed into his basket.

"When I was little, we were at the end of our supply of a bunch of stuff like this. The monsters who knew how to make them died way before I was even born. But they must not've died here. Crazy, right?!" He paused, taking on an air of melancholy. "…Frisk, seriously, this is real, right?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Okay." He nodded. "Okay. Okay!" He took a deep breath. "Sorry, s'just—"

"I know, don't worry," she said. She smiled sideways and shrugged. "Dude, I'm literally a blue goat right now."

"Pffff, true." He ruffled her hair. "Okay. I shoooould go before I grab too much." He headed over to the serpent. "'Scuse me, where do I pay?"

She pointed her tail tip into the cauldron. Asriel counted out what he had and tried to figure out the math.

.

Frisk's ears perked— a very strange sensation for her— to the sound of tapping on glass. She turned around. Chara was peeking in through the window. The freckled girl waved and beckoned outside. Frisk pointed at herself, and Chara nodded.

.

Out in the snow, Chara moved to greet Frisk but froze before touching her, clasping her hands tight together instead.

"G-Good thing your fur is kind of bright, hah…" She paused awkwardly. "Um. I'm glad you're up! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, thanks," Frisk said. She held out her hands as if to show them off. "Didn't expect this, though!"

"Right, absolutely not." Chara's eyes darted around the kid. "Azzy having fun in there?"

"He's buying so much. He's really excited," Frisk said with a smile. "It's weird. This alchemy thing with potions seems like it could be so useful, but we just totally don't even have it."

"Yeah. It's strange. I never noticed it was missing," Chara admitted. "But then, I… I usually didn't notice much outside of what the, um…" She wilted. "Frisk. Listen. I… I know this is… unbelievably weird. If… If you want me to give you space. For any reason. At any point. Just tell me, yeah?"

Frisk's ears pinned back slightly. "I…! I don't think you gotta do that."

"But you'll let me know," the girl pressed.

"Um. Sure?"

.

Chara nodded. Her posture was stiff and her gaze dropped off to the side. She dug her nails into her hands. Frisk reached out and carefully grabbed her, gently loosening her death-grip on herself. The blue kid grinned innocently.

"Fur's not bad, right?" she said.

"Ah! It's…" Chara cracked a smile. "Soft."

Frisk nodded. She tilted her head back towards the shop. "Anyway, um, so when does Paps get one of those big magic pots? I bet it'd be nice to have one at your house, too."

"Oh! That's a cauldron," Chara said, slumping with relief. "When he's eighteen, I think. They don't let you get your alchemy licence until then."

"Licence?" Frisk frowned with confusion. "Why?"

"Because if you get it wrong you can blow up a house."

"Oh."

.

Heralded by the pleasant ding of a bell, the door to the shop swung open behind them, but Asriel froze in his tracks as he came outside. A big, bashful smile spread across his face and he stuttered on a consonant that was probably the start of Chara's name before taking a big gulp of air to steady himself.

"Howdy," he said.

Chara raised a hand to greet him. "Good time?"

"Y-Yeah! Um. This place is really something else, huh?" His face flushed faintly. "Wh-What would you think about, um, giving m— us a tour a little later?"

A sideways smile spread on the freckled kid's face. "Sure."

"Cool." Asriel folded his arms and leaned up on the wall, trying to look casual despite the thin, nervous line of his mouth. "So. Um. Alchemy, huh?"

"Yep. Alchemy," she said with an amused lilt to her voice.

.

Papyrus bursting from the shop broke the awkward chill in the air. "Ah! Sister!" The skeleton grinned brightly, but his eyes quickly darted around the street as well. "Nyeh, where's Sans?"

"They made him go back to the castle," Chara said. "He might be there a while."

"What?!" Frisk yelped.

"Do we have to go bust him out?!" Asriel demanded.

Chara chuckled and shook her head. "No, he's okay, he just needs to sort some stuff out with Undyne."

Frisk's ears and tail drooped and she folded her arms, her big red eyes getting misty. "He got in trouble, didn't he?"

"He's the Royal Oracle, he'll be fine," Chara assured her. She winced. "Oh no, don't make that face."

"S-Sorry!"

Asriel tutted and squatted down, but the second he looked Frisk in the eye, his whole expression pulled downwards, too. "O-Oh no."

"Oh no!" she squeaked shrilly.

"Aaaah, sis, you're killin' me!" He quickly rubbed his eyes. "It's like seeing a puppy dog cry, I can't deal."

"Sorry!" She buried her face in her hands.

"Oh stop," Asriel said with a laugh. He ruffled her hair and his smile widened when he caught sight of her tail wagging. "S'okay."

"Let's just get home for now," Papyrus said with a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, Frisk. It isn't the first time."

"Kay," she said sheepishly.

.

Just before they could leave, the door behind them opened once more and the long, purple serpent poked her head out. She squinted in the brightness of the day and the snow, and then extended her neck out. She was much larger than she'd appeared wrapped around her cauldron, and her long, thin, droopy ears flared out very deliberately to form a visor over her eyes against the gleaming light.

"Exssscussse me," she said.

"Oh! Sorry, did I do the math wrong?" Asriel asked.

"No, no, nothing like that." She coiled and moved her tail forward. In its grasp was a purple blossom that looked almost like cotton candy and a silvery leaf. "You ssssoul ssssang thisss to me." She held them out to him. "A gift. For a firssst time cussstomer."

Asriel began to sweat. He gulped hard and took the gifts carefully in a shaking hand. "Th-Thanks."

"Hyasssinth. And sssssilver maple. Good ingredientssss." The snake nodded and smiled. She receded back into her shop like an eel into its hole. "Oh. And hello Sssssoulbonder." She waved with an ear before laying them flat against her neck again. "Come again, won't you?"

.

The second the snake vanished and the door was fully shut, Asriel handed the flower off to Frisk and let out a breath he'd been holding in. The kid peered at it curiously. It was actually many star-shaped flowers clustered together, and in a purple very similar to the colour of Asriel's hoodie. The smell was strong and sweet.

"Wowie, new friend, are you alright?" Papyrus asked.

"Y-Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine!" Asriel said. "C-C'mon!" He strode away quickly up the street.

"Azzy, that's the wrong way," Chara said.

"I-I'm just stretching my legs!" He whirled and marched back in the other direction, towards where the house was— the same as back home.

Chara chuckled and shook her head, and then jogged after him.

.

Frisk quickly stored the flower away for him— in Gaster's phone, since hers was getting close to full. She took just a moment to check her texts. Still nothing. But, her father's name tugged on her memories. Her stomach dropped. She completely forgotten she'd dreamt of him just before coming back to this world. She gulped and forced herself steady. She'd talk about it with Asriel later.

.

When she looked up from the screen, she noticed Papyrus still hadn't budged. He had a thoughtful scowl on his brow as he stared at the snow, rubbing his chin.

"Something up?" she asked.

"…Maple and… hyacinth?" he said under his breath.

"Is that weird? You look like you think that's weird," she said.

"I…! Well… Nyeh." He relaxed a little. "Maple is not that weird. It's good for protection potions or for inks that change on the paper, things like that. But purple hyacinth… That is a very strange thing to give to someone. Especially a presumable first-timer!"

"Why?" she asked.

"I am an expert on potions at this point and I have never ever not even once had a potion call for that," he said. "I guess I will have to check my books again! Let's go, friend!"

.

He marched off into the snow in a hurry after the two kids, leaving Frisk behind in his powdery wake. The kid's ears drooped and she looked back at the shop. She wished they hadn't left so quickly. As she went to put her phone away, vertigo made her fingers slip and the device plunked into the snow. She huffed and knelt down to grab it, only for shards of light to shift tones before her eyes once again.

.

She drew in a sharp, quiet gasp, and scooped the phone up quickly, holding it to her chest. As she straightened up, her head spun and more fragments of odd colours spiked in the air around her. She forced herself to take deep breaths to calm down.

.

A shard of pitch black appeared, hovering before her, different from what she'd seen before. Ooze of the void seeped from it. Frisk gulped, heart thumping and head aching. She reached out cautiously and pleaded with herself to not faint.

"Dad?" she asked in a small voice.

.

The darkness shattered at her touch, leaving her fingertips pressed against the glass window of the apothecary shop. Nothing more unusual was to be seen. Inside, past the gleam of her own unfamiliar reflection, the serpent caught Frisk's eye and waved pleasantly at her with the tip of her tail. The kid's face flushed with embarrassment and she bashfully waved back before turning on her heel and scampering off as fast as she could through the frosty snow.