PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM Chapter 53: Feelin Blue, an undertale fanfic

Feelin Blue Chapter 53:

A Royal Token was a large coin, glimmering gold, about the size of a sand dollar. The four winged Delta Rune marked both sides, the sun's circle represented by a perfectly round and polished cut of amethyst on the top side. It had a ridged edge that would play a tune when inserted into a toll booth or a slot on a music player. Tossed into a portal's pedestal, they would make an easy path straight to one of the public courtyards of the palace, opened when Toriel— and then Undyne— had taken over. The coins were not exactly hard to come by: for a small price, they could be had by the dozen, though palace workers and families thereof were usually provided with a surplus. For all of that, it was a wonder that the great Papyrus, the very perceptive expert finder-of-all things, could not locate a single one in the entire house.

Frisk had already been alarmed by something from Asriel once, and a text to him remained unanswered despite the fading sense of danger deep in her soul. She paced the house anxiously as Papyrus dug through one of Sans's strange, phantom rooms beyond his blank doorframe. Chara sat on the arm of the couch in the living room, watching the fuzzy blue kid wear a groove in the carpet. She bit her lip and folded her arms.

"Papy, d'you want me to just go to Waterfall and buy some?" she shouted.

"Nyyooooo, I'm sure I can find them!" he called back. "It's just such a mess!"

"H-How far is the castle? Maybe we can walk?" Frisk asked.

"Uh…" Chara gave a slanted smile. "To be honest. That'd take weeks."

"Weeks?!" Frisk squeaked.

"By train, though? Three days."

Frisk's eyes went wide and she squeezed her floppy ears in dismay. Chara tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Of course, we could just warp to the New Home," she said.

"Oh yeah?!" Frisk's ears perked.

"But. Most public portals are still pretty far from the castle. Security stuff," she continued. "So that's still a decent amount of walking we gotta do to even get to the Inner Circle."

"O-Okay," Frisk said. "How far is far?"

"Well, if Papy carries you, I think he could cover that ground in under an hour. Hm. I wonder if I gave them to Kid, actually." Chara hopped back to the floor and called up to her brother, "Forget it, I'll go see if I can borrow some."

She headed for the door, grabbing her blue, pink, and green jacket on the way. She had one foot in a boot as she opened the door, only for Mistral to almost bonk her on the head with a fist, knock interrupted. Frisk darted around the other side of the couch and ducked down behind it, her heart pounding.

Chara looked up at the armoured skeleton with big eyes. "Oh no, what now?"

"Hello to you, too, Soulbonder," Mistral said. "Nobody's in trouble, if that's what you're wondering. Your brother asked that I pay you a visit."

"He did?" Chara tilted her head, and then waved the skeleton inside. She quickly kicked her one boot off again. "Why, what's going on?"

"He was slightly unclear. He was in a hurry with a goatish sort of boy." She tilted her head. "…Which is a little suspicious, now that I think about it."

"Having to use the word hurry applied to our brother is incredibly suspicious," Papyrus joked as he emerged from upstairs.

"Ah. Papyrus. Astute as always," Mistral said.

"That goat's Azzy. He's… He's family. Was everything okay?" Chara asked.

"Seemed so. There was a minor fight, but according to our Queen, it was based in misunderstanding. No harm done."

Frisk drooped with relief. Mistral folded her arms.

"In any case, I'm here about a Deceptive Cadence. Used on a human."

Chara's brow furrowed, one eyebrow raised, and she rubbed the back of her head. "Why?"

"Well. It's unprecedented, isn't that right?"

"It definitely is that," Papyrus agreed.

"Right, I guess." Chara turned back to the couch and was instantly smiling wide with amusement. "Frisk. We can see your horns."

"O-Oh!" Frisk straightened up from her hiding place, cheeks darkening with embarrassment. "S-Sorry. Um, hi, Mistral."

Mistral blinked. Green flickered up into her eyes and she clenched a fist and pressed it against her mouth. "Oh no, she's adorable," she mumbled under her breath. She coughed as if to clear her throat and then straightened up. "That's… all but foolproof, human. I'm impressed."

"It was thanks to Sans," Frisk said.

The coloured glow of the skeleton's eyes dimmed. "Ah."

"But, um, you said you saw Az?" she said. "He was okay, right?"

"Yes, of course, why would he not be?" Mistral wondered. "The castle is incredibly safe."

"Okay." Frisk nodded. "Right. Cool." She pulled her phone from her pocket and texted Asriel again, just in case, before stashing it away again. "So, uh, what did you want to see? Just…" She held out her hands. "This?"

Mistral strode across the room and picked up the small kid under her arms, eyeing her over curiously. She plunked her onto the couch. "May I take a chair?"

"I'll get you one!" Papyrus said, heading for the kitchen. "Oh! And some freshly made spaghetti, while you're here!"

"Th-That won't be necessary!" she said shrilly.

Chara smiled smugly, and the skeleton began to look sweaty.

"Oh, don't you worry, it's no trouble at all. You'll love it! The new creation of Master Chef Papyrus and my great assistant, Frisk!" He returned with a chair balanced on one hand and a bowl of liberally sauced pasta in the other. He gave them both over to the other skeleton. "Feel free to take off your armour, if you like."

Mistral accepted the noodles with the same level of caution as if they were on fire and put them aside as she sat down in front of Frisk. She took off her gauntlets, leaving bare bone up to her elbows. She extended a hand to the kid, who grasped to her carefully. The skeleton had fingertips that ended in claw-like points— more defined than the skeletons back home had, but seemed to be par for the course for the ones here. Unlike any Frisk had seen before, however, Mistral had a pale green, oval gemstone imbedded into the back of each hand. The stones were almost identical to the one on her forehead.

The skeleton carefully felt through Frisk's sleek blue and white fur, letting out a small contemplative sound. Chara and Papyrus leaned in around her with curious eyes.

"So, um, you know a lot about this kind of spell?" Frisk asked,

Mistral nodded. "Yes, in fact, it's one of my specialties. Yours feels… interesting. Very lifelike."

"He couldn't have just sent you here to look at this for curiosity's sake, though, could he?" Chara asked.

"Technically. The Queen sent me," Mistral said. "She asked that I give any assistance you need. Sans was vague, as always, but he did seem fairly purposeful." She focused her attention on Frisk. "May I feel your soul?"

Frisk nodded and set her soul glowing brightly, though it made her fur tingle down to its ends— the most intense goosebumps she'd ever felt. Mistral laid her fingers on the red shining through the kid's t-shirt and her eyes brightened.

"Ah! I see!"

"See what?" Chara asked.

"There's an instability when the resonances interact. That must've been it," she said, and then let out a sigh. "Why could he not have just said that?"

"It's Sans," Papyrus and Chara said almost in tandem, with unequal levels of resignation.

Mistral touched the back of her hand to Frisk's forehead. "Something stronger, if you don't mind."

Frisk took a deep breath and let the red energy pulse from her soul out into a glowing light that hovered from her hands. In an instant, the magic shell hugging her body flashed over blue and disappeared, leaving her appearing as normal as ever. Her friends yelped and Frisk's heart sunk at the sight of her bare skin.

"Aw man," she whined, putting a hand to her head. She already missed the floppy goat ears. "I can't believe I screwed it up so fast!"

"Not to worry, human. That was fully intentional." Mistral tapped the crystal on her hand, which now swirled with cool blue and flecks of purple amongst the pistachio green. "The spell is stored here. I can return it soon. I understand, now."

"Y-You do?" she asked.

"Aah. Sans probably thought that the Decept wouldn't hold if she used magic like that," Chara said. "Guess he was right. At least… Outside of the Soul, yeah?"

"I wonder if there's a potion of magic stability I can brew up," Papyrus pondered.

"There may be, but I think this is why he asked me to come," Mistral said. "Since you seem to be so prone to using your magic, human."

"O-Oh." Frisk blushed. "Right. I… I guess it would've happened eventually, huh?"

"Exactly." Mistral reached into a green, cloth pouch attached to the belt around her hipbones and pulled out a Royal Token, some bits of metal, and a few shimmery chunks of crystal in different colours. "Let's seeee…"

"Let me get my book!" Papyrus suggested, bounding away upstairs. "Don't forget to try that spaghetti, it is extremely good!"

Mistral's bones flushed and she gave the bowl of pasta the side-eye. She ignored it, placing her things aside on the couch, and then picked up Frisk's hand, her claw-tips gently feeling out her fingers. "Such an unusual feeling. I still have trouble understanding how human magic is even a possibility."

Frisk shrugged. "I'm just kinda weird like that, I guess."

The skeleton drew back and picked up the token. She plucked out the amethyst and stuck her finger through the metal, stretching it out like clay and spinning it to make the hole larger. Frisk's eyes went wide and she leaned a little closer to watch. The magic in Mistral's fingers dimmed the gold of the metal as she formed it into a ring. She slipped it on to Frisk's index finger, though it was much too large. With a squeeze, she shrunk it down so it fit. Then, she took it off again.

"Alright. I will tinker with this a little. Go about your business," Mistral said.

The two kids looked at each other. Chara folded her arms and Frisk timidly looked away, rubbing her head. She crossed her legs on the couch and leaned towards the skeleton.

"Um, could you…? I mean, could I watch?" she asked. "That's crafting magic, right?"

"Mhm." Mistral nodded, her eyes locked in focus on the metal as she refined its shape with careful fingers. "Are you very familiar with it? Are humans able to do things like that?"

"I… Hm." Frisk tilted her head. "I'm not sure. I have friends who can, but they're all monsters."

"It must be odd," the skeleton mused. "To be a magic human amongst monsters."

"U-Um. I guess," Frisk said quietly. She couldn't help but pout.

"I'm that, though," Chara pointed out.

"You are a unique case, though," Mistral said. "You are more akin to a spirit than a true human. This kid, though…" She looked up at Frisk and she couldn't help a surprised look on her face. "Oh! I'm sorry, did I upset you?"

Frisk shrugged sheepishly. "N-No, it's… I guess it's just…" She shook her head. "Nah, I… I was just… thinking about my dad, never mind."

Though Mistral looked confused, Chara scooted closer ever so slightly.

"Miss him, huh?" she said.

"Yeeeeah," Frisk said quietly.

Papyrus emerged from his room upstairs, his face buried in a thick, well-worn tome. "I am still searching, friends!"

"Don't bother with it, I have it handled," Mistral said.

"Oh." He looked over the pages and raised his brows. "Did you try the spaghetti?"

"Uhh…"

"Did you find what you thought was weird about the h… hi-ya-sinth?" Frisk asked.

"Oh! Right! You have it with you, don't you?" he asked, bounding down to join her. "Can I borrow it?"

Frisk nodded and pulled the purple bloom from her phone to hand it to him, much to Mistral's surprise. Papyrus held the flower tenderly by the stem and examined it small, star-shaped flowers curiously. He flipped through his book, letting out a contemplative hmm.

"Azzy didn't want it?" Chara asked.

Frisk shook her head. "He, um… kinda has a thing about flowers. Picked flowers, mostly. Or ones in pots. Or dry ones."

Chara's cheeks flushed faintly. "O-Oh."

"That's a shame, they're really nice," Papyrus said. He thumbed through his book. "Purple… hyacinth. Ah! Here we goooo…" He blinked and frowned at the pages, then looked between them and the flower curiously. "Huh."

"What?" Chara asked. "What's it for?"

"Not too much," Papyrus said, "but it is able to evoke deep feelings of guilt and regret, apparently. Well. That's a massive downer, isn't it? I wonder why the heck she would give him that, of all things."

Chara reached over to take the flower from her brother. She gently brushed her fingers along the petals and gave the blooms a gentle sniff. "…Maybe it's not that deep." She passed it back to Frisk. "Maybe she just thought it matched his sweatshirt."

Papyrus didn't look convinced. "Maaaaaybe."

Frisk carefully stashed the hyacinth away. Mistral took her hand again and slipped the readjusted metal band onto the kid's finger. She nodded to herself and put it aside, reaching instead to gather up the crystals. She opened her hands, each one laid out in her bone palms: glittering hunks of red, purple, foggy white, and several different shades of green.

"Do any of these resonate well with you?" she asked.

Frisk blinked. She wasn't sure exactly what that meant. She liked the look of a chunk of amethyst, though, so she pointed that one out. The colour reminded her of her mother. Mistral nodded and stashed the others away in the pouch on her hip. She rolled the gemstone between her hands and the rough edges smoothed out.

"Whoa. Does that take a lot of magic to do?" Frisk asked.

"Not for me, it doesn't," Mistral said with the hints of a prideful smile on her face.

"She made the ones on herself, too," Chara volunteered. "When I first met you, you only had the one on your forehead, right?"

"That's true," Mistral said. "They're useful. I do recommend them."

"As long as you don't mind having them embedded into your body, yeah?" Chara teased, winking.

The twinge of a shiver ran all the way up Frisk's spine to the base of her neck at the thought of it.

"It's really no trouble at all," Mistral said. "Well. I mean, once they're attached. The actual attaching itself can come with some complications. Still, I feel the use far outweighs temporary discomfort."

"I think we're okay sticking to enchanted jewellery for now," Chara said with a sideways smile. "Right, Papy?"

"Mhhhmmm." Papyrus wasn't actually listening. He was still buried deep in his book, frowning at it with a sense of confused incredulity.

Mistral shrugged. "Your loss."

The skeleton's fingers were quick and deft. The hum of her soul drifted around the room, slow and melodic. She worked the amethyst like plasticine, pulling off strips and bending them with only the faintest of pressure and a glitter of magic in her fingertips. She socketed them around the metal band until the gemstone made up most of its surface, aside from a rim at the top and bottom and a thin line between each stone— five in total. She fit the ring onto Frisk's finger and then tapped the green gem on the back of her hand against the kid's forehead. Instantly, Frisk was blue and monster-like again. She yelped with surprise and sneezed, clapping a hand to her snout. Chara burst out laughing.

"Jeez! W-Warn me, will ya?" Frisk squeaked.

"You're fine," Mistral said dismissively. "Now. Burst once more."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Very." She pointed to the little ocarina around Frisk's neck. "Is that bound?"

"Oh! Um. Yeah," Frisk said.

"Try with that this time, let's see if the results are different."

Frisk gulped. She grasped her ocarina. She'd played the hovering nightlight spell enough times that it was still clear in her mind. She ran her fingers over the holes in sequence first, then lifted the instrument to her mouth and blew out the notes slowly and clearly. Red magic gathered from her fingers and her eyes gleamed with it. The second the pale orb of light manifested, the disguise on her body shattered. This time, though, the magic glow focussed itself into the stones on her ring, colours swirling along the band as they had in the stone on Mistral's hand.

"O-Oh!" Frisk's eyes went wide and she lifted the ring to get a better look at it.

"Hey, wouldya look at that," Chara said, leaning in. "That's not so bad, right?"

Mistral smiled proudly. "And with your little flute, it seems to give you at least until the spell is done, which is certainly useful." She took Frisk's hand and pressed her finger against one of the purple gems. "Press there and focus to recall it. You should be able to do this four times, after this one."

Frisk nodded. She did as the skeleton said and, again, her magic form covered her body. Her teeth itched. She flicked her tongue out, smacking her lips. "Whew, that's weird."

"Now, not all spells will be able to sustain five charges," Mistral explained. "But. Five is a good, steady number. Four corners and a centre pillar, if you follow me." She stuck a finger in the air, pontificating. "You will not know this, human, but let me elucidate on the importance. We use five for many things in symbolic magic! It is more stable than six and four, and allows for more leeway for error. It also easily represents the five elements— air, water, fire, earth, and celestial— and therefore summons to you energy and good luck as well! Plus, a quintuple measure is very strong, used in many traditional Hymns— this magic that I've used is a cousin of Hymns, to be sure! So, I feel this is the most appropriate and useful vessel ring I could gift you with."

"Uh." Frisk's eyes had glazed. She looked to Chara, who seemed to be about to fall asleep. She shook off her confusion and smiled gratefully. "Thanks a million. I'm sure it'll come in handy. How much do I owe you?"

"Hm? Oh! Nothing at all, human. The Queen already covered everything, anyway." The skeleton rubbed her chin. "Though, why she is consistently sticking her neck out for you does confuse me a bit."

"She owes us," Chara said, blinking hard to force herself awake. "And maybe stop calling Frisk human, yeah? The whole point is that she's not supposed to be one right now."

"Oh. Yes, of course." Mistral rubbed her head bashfully. "That makes sense."

"It'd be nice, maybe, to not be human for a little," Frisk said under her breath.

"Aw, don't say that, friend," Papyrus said. "You are a wonderful human!"

"It's hard to be the only one, sometimes, though," Chara said. She reached for Frisk's hand, but quickly withdrew with embarrassment all over her face.

Redirecting herself as quick as she could, Chara got to her feet and stretched. She tilted her head to the side and her neck cracked loudly. "Well. That ring should work as a Token, too, right? Wanna head to the palace, still? Make it like a trip or something. Y'know, touristy junk, if you want?"

Frisk looked back at her with confusion, and Chara's face flushed. She absently rubbed her cheek.

"We don't need to rush. But we could grab Azzy. Since we know he's okay. And just… chill out for a little. Maybe…? Maybe look at the stars?" She tilted her head. "Or are you too tired?"

"N-No, I can go," Frisk said quickly.

Papyrus slammed his book shut with a loud snap, startling the kids. "Nyeh. Then let's definitely go. I have some questions for our new friend, too." He hopped to his feet. "Let me just pack us a pasta snack!" He pointed to Mistral's bowl and stuck his thumb up. "And don't forget yours, Captain!"

Mistral froze. Chara grinned slyly.

"I'll try it if you do," she whispered.

xXxXx

Asriel was warm. Cozy. A bleary world shifted and dark faded with heavy blinks. A huge yawn. Asriel smacked his lips sleepily and his tongue flicked over his big, sharp fangs. The low light cooled the living room as gentle white puffs of snow brushed past the grey windows.

Flexing his fingers, the boy stared at his long claws, hit over and over by just how surreal it was; how wonderful it was.

Day two. He was still alive.

His mother leaned around him, cradling him in her arms as she snoozed. They'd dozed off talking about the past again. He was sure they'd do that for weeks.

Toriel was soft and warm. His sense of smell was something he'd really been lacking, though he hadn't realized it at the time. The way sweet spices always seemed to cling to his mother's pristine fur was so comfortable and nostalgic. Of course she'd have let him do this as a flower, but he wouldn't have allowed himself such a luxury. There was still guilt. Probably always would be. But, for the time being, he let himself have these quiet, peaceful moments, even if he didn't deserve it.

Asgore not being there with them was hard, even though he wasn't really so far away. But, Asriel conceded, it was mostly his fault his parents weren't together any longer. He wasn't about to whine or cry about it, and it certainly wasn't even remotely a surprise, but what was a surprise was how much his new soul ached over it. He cupped his hand over his chest and felt the soft, telltale hum of it beneath his fingertips as the heartache deepened it. He wasn't sure that he'd ever get used to that. Despite that, there was comfort in that red surging inside him. There was a strange joy in being able to feel so upset.

He yawned. What time was it? Alphys was making him a new phone, but it wasn't ready yet. His mother's wasn't within reach. With a little lift of his ears, he could hear the click-clacking of bone fingers on keyboard. That didn't tell him much. Either way, he wasn't sure about going back to sleep. He carefully slipped himself from his mother's arms and kissed her softly on the side of her snout before heading upstairs.

Papyrus spent a lot of time on the UnderNet while everyone else slept. Maybe too much. But, when Asriel joined him, the skeleton instantly disengaged from the computer and gave him a big smile. Papyrus's eye sockets always had this starry sheen about them when he caught sight of the goat boy. Asriel instantly relaxed.

"Good morning, little brother!" Papyrus said brightly. His grin grew wider and brighter. "Gosh, I really like saying that. I hope you enjoy hearing it at least half as much as I enjoy saying it."

Asriel chuckled, and tilted his head to the side. "Course I do."

"Nyeh heh! So! What can I do for you?"

"I, um…" Asriel wasn't sure. What did he want, actually? "Nothing, I… I guess I just… kinda wanted…" To check the time? To make sure he still existed? "To say hi?"

Papyrus snickered, a knowing look in his eye. "Hello to you, too!" He tilted his head. "Your claws look a little longer today, don't they?"

"Uh. Yeah. I think so." He rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "I might have to file them a bit, if it keeps going. Kinda wish I knew."

"I know. It's all very strange. You've become a weird super-unique-red-soul Prince, but that makes it kind of exciting, doesn't it?!"

"I guess." Asriel cracked a smile. "I guess anything new's kinda cool, huh? It's… It's nice."

"You are absolutely right!" Papyrus jumped from his seat and grabbed the kid's hands. "Speaking of which, you are just going to love what we do out there! Do you remember the town?!"

"Um." Asriel's face flushed. "N-Not so much."

"Then this is even more exciting! You! Get to see! Everything! For the first time, fresh and new!" He stood up, waving a hand in the air, making a grand gesture to an even grander invisible display of the place in his memories. "And the town! It's going to be even better this time, I know it!"

"You sure? Dad won't just do it exactly the same?" Asriel joked.

"Of course not! There were some little things we learned here and there that could definitely be improved upon. But! It'll be nice to see it again." He rubbed his chin. "It's so strange to think that it technically never even existed, hm?"

"I'm, uh…" Asriel grimaced. "I'm sorry." He sighed. "About all of that."

"Oh! No no, don't be!" Papyrus said swiftly. "Besides, this time is infinitely better already!"

Asriel raised a brow. "It's not even there yet."

"Yes. That's true. But you are. If you had never destroyed the town, we would never have become a family!" Papyrus grinned. "So. As I said. Infinitely better." He winked.

Asriel's soul buzzed and his ears pinned back. He couldn't help a smile. "…Thanks, Paps."

"You are very welcome, little brother!" Papyrus offered him a hug, and the boy gladly accepted it. The skeleton gave him an affectionate squish, then released him with a playful ruffling of his fur. "Now, I know it is maybe a tiiiiiny bit early for you, but how would you like to see some of my plans for very elaborate and adventurous mazes? I'd love to set them up all over town. I've already plan-crafted about a dozen. If you're planning to stay up, that is."

"Sounds great," he said. His ears perked. "Oh! Lemme check if Frisk is up, she'd be into it."

"Okay, but don't wake her," Papyrus said as Asriel headed for the door. "I will be more than happy to go through them more than once!"

Frisk was pretty inconsistent about where she'd sleep. She was a lot like Sans, in that way. She obviously wasn't in the room with Papyrus, and she hadn't been on the couch either. Sans's room was the next best guess. Asriel knocked and quietly peeked inside.

Surprisingly, Sans was awake but Frisk was not. The kid had fallen asleep on him at some point, but he was sitting up, reading a book by the light of his blue eye.

"Sup?" he asked quietly.

"Ah, nothin', I was just checking…" Asriel raised his hand. "G'night."

"Hey." Sans put his book down and beckoned to him. "C'mere a sec?"

Curiously, Asriel snuck in and, as Sans gestured to it, sat down on the mattress. The skeleton put his hand on Frisk's head and very carefully parted her hair. There was a little, pale bump on her head.

"So, uh, she bang her head real even-like or is she growin' horns?" Sans asked, the grin on his face strained as he tried to hold in a laugh.

"Wh—?!" Asriel tried to quiet himself. He carefully touched Frisk's head— definitely horns. "How the heck…? Y-Yeah, that's… Damn."

"Guess it's that soul stuff, huh? We don't really know what it'll do to 'er." Sans said.

Asriel's fur bristled. He gulped heavily. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Sans's brow furrowed, then quickly took on an apologetic tilt. "That ain't a dig, kid."

"I… I know this scared the shit outta you," he said quietly, drooping where he sat. "It's my fault."

Sans shrugged. "You two are safe. S'all we could really ask for." He gently poked the kid in the forehead. "Hey. Dingus. Listen up. The whole plan was for you to be here. Nobody expected it to go super smooth. But this… it ain't bad, alright?" His eyes flitted down to Frisk and he smiled fondly. "You know me, I'm expectin' catastrophic failure about a hundred percent of the time. But this? This is good."

Asriel perked up despite himself. His tail gave a little wag. "Horns aren't so bad. I mean, who knows, maybe that means she's… kinda part goat now?"

"Just hope she's not gonna start full-on headbuttin' me when she goes for the headbonk," he joked.

"Eh, just when you deserve it," Asriel said, sticking his tongue out.

Sans sighed. He shrugged and winked. "Welp. That's fine. I'll invest in hard hats."

Asriel snickered. He rubbed his eyes sleepily. A strange ringing started in his ears. He shook his head and stuck his hands under them, blinking heavily. When he looked again, Frisk was gone. He frowned in confusion and looked around. "…Hey. Where'd she go?"

"Hm?" Sans looked puzzled. "Who?"

"Frisk." Asriel got up. "Wasn't she just here?"

Sans's eyes went wide. The blue in the left flickered. He drew back with confusion all over his face. "She was just here?"

A headache instantly chilled Asriel's mind and he got to his feet, an alarmed nausea aching deep through him. "Frisk?!" he called. "Bro, don't tell me she learned to tele…"

Sans was hardly listening. His hand was covering his eye as it flickered, the blue iris shivering unnervingly in its socket. Asriel gulped and he knelt down again, holding the skeleton's shoulders.

"Dude, you okay?!"

He was frozen. Muttering. Barely audible, but repeating the question over and over again. "Where is she?"

Asriel's ears pinned back. That wasn't like Sans at all. "S-Sans, what…?!" He squeezed him. "I'll… I'll find her. I-I'll get Papyrus for you!"

Asriel rushed out of the room, but the house around him was all the wrong colours. He blinked hard. Papyrus stuck his head out of his bedroom.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Sans isn't feeling well. I-Is Frisk with you?" Asriel asked.

The skeleton frowned. "Frisk? Who's Frisk?"

Asriel staggered like he'd been punched in the gut. His mind was spinning. "Who's…?!" He rubbed his head. "Something's wrong, I… Hang on."

Before he knew it, he was outside in the snow with no idea how he got there. He stumbled over his paws, eyes skimming over a world drained of colour. Grey. He backed into someone and spun to see one burst of yellow in a lizard monster with a soul beaming pale green and black.

"Man, your Highness, you have to get home," she insisted quickly. "Your parents were looking for you and your sister. They were super worried."

"Wha…? Um." Déjà-vu struck him. "R-Right. Thanks." He turned away in the grey world, trying to reposition himself.

Every angle of the main street looked identical. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. In and out. Again. Once more. Focus.

His mind felt like a key clicking into a lock. It was a dream. Of course. He let out a sigh of relief. It was an amalgam of days, in way. He'd almost forgotten about this strange, grey version of home. Had he been here today? A day ago? He was exhausted. He wanted to rest. But why didn't Papyrus recognize Frisk's name?

Dark, heavy dread crawled up his back. A strange burning sensation gripped him, and a chill ran through every inch of his body, from the tips of his horns to his toes; down every strand of fur. White hands flickered in the dark. The edge of a four pointed star seared his mind.

With a gasp of breath, Asriel's eyes shot open. Blue magic shimmered near his head and he frantically tried to assess where he was. Rough crystal walls. Pillows beneath him.

"Whoa, kid, chill out." Sans's voice.

Asriel looked up. The skeleton— not his brother, but very similar— shot him a consoling smile. Sans had a hand on the boy's head, gently cooling him with a reassuring ebb of blue.

"Wh…? What happened?" Asriel asked, his voice croaking.

"Finished attunement and y'dozed right off," the skeleton said with amusement. "Felt your soul goin' nuts, figured y'needed the snooze. Y'alright?"

"Y-Yeah." Asriel sat up, rubbing his head. "Thanks. Sorry."

"See anythin'?" Sans asked.

The kid blinked. "…Yeah. Why?"

"Heightened magic. Sometimes dreams go wonky. And I figure," he said with a wink, "yours might be wonkier than most."

Asriel nodded. "I saw… the morning of the second day with my body back. Just… normal stuff. But then… Frisk went missing and the world turned grey. I-I saw that before, when…" He sighed. "It's a long story."

Sans gestured for him to continue. "Abridged version?"

"I got attacked by a weird skeleton that I'm pretty sure is a guy named Gaster," Asriel said. "He shot me outta myself into like, a weird timeless state? Back home but barely any colour. But I snapped out of it. And I think this guy wants to fight me?" His hackles stood on end. "You don't have any save stars here, do you? Like, weird rips in time?"

"Not really," Sans said. "So, uh. If y'see one, that probably ain't good."

"R-Right. Um. A-Anyway, that's what… my dream was, really," Asriel said. He rubbed his head. "I hope that's not a future sight one or I'm gonna be real mad."

"Same," the skeleton said with a laugh. "So this… Gaster. He's not yours?"

"No no no, definitely not," Asriel said. He lowered his voice. "…Uh. Chara said… the one here, he was bad? And also he's dead?"

Sans nodded. "Yup, and, uh… also kinda memory-wiped from most people, so if y'wouldn't mind…"

"Right. Sure. Don't worry," the boy said. "But it couldn't be him, could it?"

"Anythin's possible… 'Cept that," Sans said with a sideways smile. "Weird that they're just consistently such creeps, huh?"

"Ours isn't," Asriel said.

"Y'sure?" Sans teased.

Asriel nodded. The skeleton chuckled.

"You're lucky, then," he said. "Seems like he's usually a big smartypants, huh? Put that to use in a bad way and we end up in a pretty rough spot."

Asriel couldn't even imagine what this guy had done, but he wasn't eager to find out either.

The boy blew out a sigh and rubbed his head, then reached for his phone. He meant to let Frisk know he was done, but quickly found she'd texted him several times. He hurriedly answered with what he'd been up to, and almost instantly received a text heart in reply.

"we were lookin for u lol" Frisk said. "we're at some fancy room in the casstle. gonna go to the cortyard" She paused. "chara says hi"

"hi" Asriel smiled to himself. "ok i'll meet u guys there soon i think" He turned to Sans with a questioning look. "Are we anywhere near the castle?"

"Yes and no," he said. "Why?"

"Frisk said we should meet them over there. In, uh, a courtyard?"

"Hm." Sans looked pleased. He put a hand on his bad knee and forced himself to his feet. "Sounds good. Got one more thing, before we go. That okay?"

"S'not like I have any other choice," Asriel said teasingly. "I have no idea where I am. Or where anything is."

"Heh. Fair enough." The skeleton winked. "Won't take too long, it's just outside."

Just outside was up the stairs, through an empty, open foyer, behind a locked door on their right, and down a long, arched corridor. The ceiling was high and formed a peak, and every few paces alternated between a stripe of clear and gold stained glass on their left and a dog carved into the wall on either side, like lines of small, peaceful guards with balls of sun or crescent moons clutched in their paws.

Asriel paused to look at the sunset outside. Warm rays of light dyed a grassy yard that stretched out as the building they were in cradled it in the curve of its stone walls. Scattered monsters of all shapes wandered the grounds. Some clutched books or staves, chatting with friends and mulling about, though most of them were heading away from the building. They were all in coats or robes with wide sleeves and stand-up collars, each one marked by thin-lined patterns in light colours on the hems or back. Many of them were suns or moons with little flourishes, and what looked a lot like the geometric patterns of simplified magic circles. One goblin-like monster with his back to the window had a lily pad on the back of his moss green robes.

"Somethin' interestin'?" Sans asked.

"Enchanted robes, right? I haven't seen stuff like this in a long time." Asriel looked at Sans curiously. "I know when I was little, my teachers usually had… Wait, is this a school?"

"Sure is. Alphys's Arcane Academy." He winked and continued onwards. "Kinda a mouthful, huh?"

"Alphys has a school?" Asriel hopped to keep up. "Those are all guys that go here? Where'd you get that many of those things? Don't tell me you got a ton of magic weavers, too?" His eyes got big. "Wait, no war, so you must, right?!"

"You guys got real messed up, huh?" Sans said. "If you're that excited 'bout coats."

Asriel nodded quickly. The skeleton smiled sympathetically.

"Alphys makes 'em all herself. No idea where she gets the energy. Magus robes, I think she called 'em. Kinda cool, right?"

"Yeah," the boy said quickly.

"Pigeon's got one in the works for herself. Just decided she liked how they look and started goin' at it. Said she'd make one for Papy, too, if she gets it right. You know she's a real wiz at sewin', huh?"

"I'm totally not surprised," Asriel said. "She learned how to knit in like one afternoon. And I still can't get it."

Sans chuckled. "So. Uh. Hate to ask. Don't have to answer. How long's it been on your end? Since she'd been, uh… gone."

Asriel tilted his head. It took him a minute trying to reorganize timelines in his head. "Well. Time got rewound like a year-ish? Almost a year. I think. So that'd be…" His brow furrowed. "I guess it's been more than a year. But I last saw… I mean. The last time she, y'know…" The words caught in his throat. "Stabbed me? That was… almost three months ago for me. I think." A wry smile strained his face. "Sorry, that's a little confusing, right? It feels like forever." He laughed bashfully. "Today feels like forever."

"Oh yeah?" Sans said.

"I kinda stretched like a day and a half out by a lot," he said. "I was home, then somewhere else, then home but like a ghost, then back in time, then here. Sheesh."

"Back in time, huh?" The skeleton raised his brows.

"Did Frisk not tell you about that?" Asriel asked.

"Heh. We only had a couple minutes with 'er before y'dropped in."

"Oh! Right. Right right." The boy rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. I'm all…" He mimed like there was an explosion coming from his head, emphasized by tiny, harmless flames from his fingertips as he made a sound to match.

Sans snickered. "Welp. Don't really blame ya." He winked. "I'll give ya a break. We can recap later." His brows raised. "You're surprisingly chill 'bout bein' knifed, though."

"Oh, ah…" Asriel's face flushed. "Y-Yeah, I guess. I mean. It, um, happened a lot, and not just 'cause of what happened to her, so, ah… Y'know how it is."

"Not really," Sans said.

"Oh!" Asriel's ears perked. "You didn't…? You didn't do the time loop crap?! With the time kids and the murder and the—"

"Nnnnope."

"Th-That's…! That's good! That's great!" Asriel said shrilly, his eyes brightening. He coughed and lowered his voice. "S-So you didn't… die, like a million times?"

"Welp. Not quite that many." Sans winked. "Did hit a few rough spots here and there, though. Just, uh, don't mention it to my brother, huh? Pigeon's done real well keepin' the both of us bitin' it on the down low."

"R-Right! Yeah. Of course." Asriel nodded quickly. "Won't say a thing, I promise."

The skeleton nodded approvingly.

The end of the hall opened into a large chamber where students were wandering around or hanging out on a set of large steps that lead up to the second floor. Sans took Asriel to a small but heavy looking wooden door to their left, leading out into the grassy yard.

The school was massive. Turrets like those of a castle peered down over them from the main bulk of the building, a veritable fortress around them. Asriel paused, shielding his eyes against the sun as he tried to take it all in. When he looked back for Sans, somehow the skeleton had made it almost all the way across the yard without him. He stood in front of a large, crystalline structure that was hard to look at with the setting sun beaming down on it.

Asriel hurried to catch up. As he got closer, a strange, claustrophobic anxiety sprung up deep inside him the second he realized the place was a greenhouse. Big, green fronds and glistening flowers of all kinds pressed up against the glass. He gulped.

"Here?"

"Yup," Sans said.

"Wh-What, um, d'you need me for?" Asriel asked.

"Nothin'. I just gotta pick up some stuff for Papy. Figured, since we were here…" Sans shrugged, and then gave the boy a curious look. "Y'nervous?"

"What?! N-No, I—!"

The skeleton pulled the door open. The sweet scent of flowers wafted out around him. Asriel wrinkled his snout.

"Y'can wait here if y'like," Sans assured him as he wandered inside. "Won't be long."

Hot embarrassment burned under Asriel's fur. His ears drooped. He folded his arms tight and leaned his back up against the greenhouse wall. It was such a simple thing, but all those plants gathered together like that— the thought made him itchy. It was like he could feel them staring at the back of his head. He gripped his claws gently into his arms and drew in a deep breath. That was nonsense, of course. He didn't want to be such a wimp.

A faint giggling caught his attention. His eyes darted up and he noticed a group of students giving him the once-over, looking mostly amused and slightly starry-eyed. He gulped. The second one of them took a step in his direction, he rushed inside the greenhouse.

The stench of the flowers was instantly overwhelming— a mix of strong perfume, sickly sweetness, and faint, dark spices. Asriel coughed and put a hand over his nose, but breathing through his mouth just left a floral taste on his tongue. He rushed through the condensed jungle after Sans, at the other end of the greenhouse. A few tables and shelves there were split into sections with nameplates stuck to them. The one Sans stood near was labelled PapyChara. The skeleton had a shoulder bag now, and he was plucking root vegetables from a few of the pots and stashing them inside it.

"Eyy, decided to brave it, huh?" Sans said.

"I think some guys noticed I wasn't dressed right," Asriel said. "I didn't wanna get kicked out."

"Fair." Drawing his claw in short lines near an herbal plant, the skeleton sliced a few leaves away and bundled them together before putting them in his bag, too. "Can y'hold it? Almost done."

"Yeah." Asriel sniffled and wiped his snout. "Ugh. Can I help speed things up?"

"If you're willin' to grab somethin'." Sans pointed to a larger bush with red berries growing from it. "Handful of the berries a couple sprigs."

Berries. Easy. Asriel nodded. He hurried to the bush, trying his best to avoid the sunflowers growing from the pots behind him. The berries were round and smooth, and came off easily. He used his claws to carefully take a few small branches from the bush, too. The leaves shifted slightly towards him, but he didn't feel a breeze. He sneezed.

Something soft and solid brushed into his back, and Asriel turned only to be confronted by a wall of sunflowers, leaning in as if to glare down at him accusingly. He couldn't help a bleat of alarm, staggering back into the bush and toppling over awkwardly. Were the heads of the flowers following him? Was he going crazy? The feel of the stiff leaves repulsed him and he struggled upright, only to see stark red all over his hand. His head spun with bafflement and panic for a second before it occurred to him that it was the juice of the berries. He cursed under his breath and wiped his palm on his pants.

His soul flashed over blue and he was helped up to his feet by a careful lifting of magic. The flowers shifted slowly to follow his movement. He cast a look at Sans, who was clearly trying very hard not to laugh. The skeleton's finger was raised up, blue shining off the tip for just a moment longer. Asriel snorted out a small flame and turned back to the bush, wiping his hand again. The fur of his palm was still stained pink.

"You set me up for that or what?" he grumbled.

"For what?" Sans asked. "Y'alright?"

The genuine confusion in his tone gave Asriel pause. He pouted.

"Never mind. Why're the plants here so weird?" he asked.

The skeleton bent to pick up a few of the berries that hadn't been squished, along with the sprigs from the bush that Asriel had dropped. "Dunno, what's so weird about them?"

Asriel looked over his shoulder and squinted at the sunflowers suspiciously. "It's like they're following me."

"Uh." Sans grinned sideways. "I thought you were doin' that."

"Heck no," the boy said.

"Hm. Maybe they like ya."

"Ugh." Asriel went back to gathering fruit, moving quickly and trying to ignore more foliage leaning towards him. "I wish they'd l—"

"Leaf you alone?" Sans interjected with a grin.

The boy let out an involuntary, amused snort. "Sh-Shuddup," he said. "Hey, d-don't make me, um, back-petal on the helping you out thing."

Sans's eyes lit right up and he chortled loudly. He thumped him on the back. "Thanks for stick-in around."

Asriel snorted again. He could hardly beleaf how much this skeleton was like his brother, even though it made sense— he had the same name and almost the same face. He winced at his internal monologue and rolled his eyes at himself. If he wasn't careful, he was going to become unberryable. He stuck his tongue out and plucked fruit faster, dreading that it was already too late.

xXxXx

It had slipped Frisk's mind completely, but this excursion was technically her third time at the castle that day, though it was the first time she'd been there at all without having been arrested first. She'd only really seen the throne room and the halls leading up to it up until now. Queen Undyne had left for the evening, much to Mistral's chagrin. As the skeleton knight left to do her rounds, Chara showed Frisk around regardless. She knew the names of every guard, of every piece of art on display, and even knew about a secret door hidden on the steps up to the throne itself.

Outside, the setting sun cast a cozy orange glow over an airy, open courtyard sheltered between castle walls. Polished stone walkways were broken up by gardens of silver-tipped tea bushes. Blue and white flowers much like the hyacinth bloomed in patches reminiscent of a pointillist painter's ocean. There were monsters here, but most of them were heading home through a set of portals between five-foot obelisks made of foggy white crystal.

As it emptied, Chara strode about like she'd been to this place a thousand times. Her gait was smooth and easy as she perused the garden, checking the leaves of bushes and carefully shifting pebbles away from the base of flower stems. Papyrus, too, seemed very comfortable. He took a seat next to a small fountain close to the main building, once again buried deep in a large tome of alchemy. Frisk was left adrift at the edge of the grass, feeling suddenly awkward with a snout and tail, unsure of what to do with herself; her ribs still aching.

"Frriiiiiisk?" Papyrus called to her and waved her over. "I have something for you!"

Puzzled, Frisk headed for the skeleton and hopped up on the bench beside him. He grinned, putting his book aside.

"Here." He scooped her up and hugged her tight, glowing warmly for her. "I think you need this."

The kid's shoulder's slumped. "Could you tell from all the way over here?" she joked.

"Of course I could!" He petted her head gently. "It has been a very strange day. Are you uncomfortable? You looked uncomfortable."

Frisk couldn't help but laugh. "I guess I just feel a little bruised is all."

"From the spell?!"

She shook her head. He sighed.

"Sigh. I wish I could heal you properly."

"Nah." She settled in with him. "Hugs are like feeling healing, though, so this is good."

Papyrus snickered and squished her a little tighter. "Was it… hard? Where you were?" he asked. "I mean, before you came back."

Frisk was confused for a moment, but she nodded. "It was pretty crazy," she said. "There was a lot of super dangerous junk." She sighed. "And I had to say bye to some new friends, so that kinda sucked." She grimaced. "I-It… It was way in the past. O-Of my world, somehow, I think? So… So, I'm pretty sure they're dead."

"Dead?! But…! Couldn't they… not be dead?" Papyrus asked shrilly.

"Not… Not one of them. The others, I dunno, but it was like a thousand years ago and there was a war of humans against monsters and almost all the monsters died."

"O-Oh." Papyrus frowned, staring thoughtfully into the distance for a moment. He gave Frisk another squish. "Well! You never know, I guess." He sighed. "I'm sorry, friend. This… None of this is normal for you, is it?"

"Oh gosh, not even a little bit." She scratched her chin. "I mean, unless you mean crazy weird stuff going on and freaking me out, then that's totally normal. That happens to me all the time."

"Booo. Well. I know it's probably strange to be blue and goat-like at the moment, but I hope that you can finally start to have a relaxing time here. You know, now that you don't have to worry about getting arrested."

Frisk nodded and smiled tepidly. Her mind was on too many things to really relax, but maybe she could at least rest her body for a while. That'd be nice.

She sat with Papyrus a little while longer before getting up to wander the garden. The scent was pleasant, like tea on a sea breeze. Frisk tried to relax. She picked out Chara from a few bushes down and watched her as she busied herself tending to one of the bushes that's leaves were a little twisted on one side. Frisk couldn't help but contrast her to the Chara in her memories, and tried her best to force a replacement. She was nice. She was normal. She wasn't the same as the angry ghost she'd once been.

Logically, Frisk was fine. She understood. She wasn't upset. But her body was tense, and her soul buzzed in tandem with her heartbeat. Her thoughts were on Sans. He, Chara, and the anomalies had been so locked together for so long… She took a moment to breathe. From the corner of her eye, noticed she'd caught Chara's attention. The girl cracked a little smile and looked like she was about to say something before hurriedly busying herself, brushing her hair out of her face with an uncertain hand. Frisk's ears drooped. She waved and Chara perked up, sticking her hand into the air, too.

"I'm just getting us some fresh tea leaves," Chara called. "We can dry them out and they'll be really nice, what do you think?"

Frisk headed closer. "Do you make a lot of tea like, straight from the plant like that?"

"Just started to get into it, to be honest," Chara said.

Frisk nodded. "Do you do sun or shade? I don't really get the difference but Undyne… Undyne back home, she's been trying to see the differences between all kinds of drying places since the barrier came down. Something about the flavour?" She rubbed her head. "She keeps getting me and… well, everyone, really, to do like, taste tests? But she doesn't tell us which is which."

Chara snickered. "Sounds just like our Undyne. Didn't she just have you doing that, too?"

"Oh! Heh. Yeah. Guess so," Frisk said.

"To answer, we do sun, usually." She smiled and patted the bush fondly. "You take the news buds and leaves, right? Leave 'em out for a bit. They seem to grow year round at the castle."

As Frisk rounded the hedge, she saw Chara delicately shearing some leaves from the bush with the curved blade of a pruning knife. She gulped heavily and her head began to ache.

"You, um…" Her throat was dry. "Do a lotta garden stuff?"

"Yeah. I find it relaxing," she said. She smiled to herself. "And… it always reminds me of my d… dad. It's nice to have that connection." She shot Frisk a sympathetic look. "Hey. Is there… anything you'd like to do like that? To make you feel more at home? I mean, besides spaghetti."

"Um." Frisk's first thought was of honey and herb soda bread. Her second was of a large, sweet pie. Then, the thought of being curled up in a certain skeleton's lap, listening to his calm, low voice as he read a wordy story aloud, clobbered her in the head and her eyes welled up. She quickly wiped them on the back of her hand. "M-Maybe we could do some baking?"

Chara smiled. "Sure." She tilted her head. "Something wrong?"

Frisk shook her head quickly, her ears flopping. She squished them against her head with her palms and puffed out a sigh. Chara snickered. The sound sent the fur on the back of Frisk's neck on end. She took a deep breath.

"Th-Think I'm gonna look around a little bit," she said.

"Sure," Chara said, a faint, worried tilt to her brow. "You sure you're okay?"

Frisk turned and hurriedly marched away towards some of the buildings "Yup!" she said.

Frisk waited until she was behind another bush before putting her face in her hands and letting out a long, whining sigh. She felt like such a jerk. Her chest was tight and breaths in hitched in her throat. She rubbed her temples.

"Oookaaay. Okay. It's fine. It's fine. I'm fine," she muttered.

She clenched her hands together. Her fingers were shaking. The glint of a knife flashed in her memories and the echoes of an unsettling laugh stung her ears. She drew in a deep breath to try to steady herself.

She wandered the perimeter of the courtyard, trying to catch her breath and hoping Asriel would join them soon. All the way at the end opposite the portal entrances, there was an arch and a tunnel that lead to a small, stone alcove. A gleaming dog statue within caught her eye. It stood guard between two small, expertly pruned trees with purple and silver leaves that shielded it like umbrellas. Frisk's eyes lit up. She turned and waved to Papyrus and then pointed down the hallway. He replied with a thumbs up.

Though there was roof between the courtyard and the alcove, the latter was just as open to the sky as the former. The light gleaming inside didn't come from the sun— as it set, it would have left the place quite dim if not for a cool, shifting glow that seemed to come from within the statue itself, like moonlight shining off water. The dog was huge, with a curled tail and three eyes marked with white gemstones. Frisk took a photo of it. There was something comforting about having big, cute dogs seemingly watching over everything.

Frisk made the mistake of looking back at the pictures she had. Vera, Zapf, and Avenir, all added to that well of heartache. Even those dogs from the flying dog fortress joined it. This big statue looked a lot like Foredog. She wondered how far she'd made it. She hoped they'd all had nice lives.

A tearful mess once again, Frisk wandered onwards, vision blurry, as she clutched her phone close to her heart. She stumbled into a wide hallway lit gold by the sunset pouring through its windows and curled up in the corner closest to her, sniffling. Her breath hitched in her throat and came out shaking. She rubbed her hands over her face, wishing desperately that she could stop being so upset. She opened up her list of texts to Papyrus and began to type. It was weird, staring at her white and blue fingers as they hovered over the keys.

hey. im not doin so great

Her claw stalled over the send button. She deleted the text. If he got it, he'd only worry. She sighed and rested her cheek on her fist and drew in a deep sniff. She opened up her messages to Sans instead. She didn't know what to say. She sent another heart.

She wiped her eyes again and took some deep breaths before she got up to take in her surroundings. Where she'd parked herself was behind a column, but beyond it was a place that stopped her heart. A golden hallway, stretching out to join more of the castle beyond. Its walls were lined with stained glass marked with the Delta Rune and the floors were amber tiles.

Frisk gulped. She felt like she'd been here a million times. Her heart began to thump and her ribs ached. She put her hand to her chest and her memories flashed a strike of red cut through a white t-shirt. Not hers. Her brother's. She gulped heavily and tried to shake it off despite the blood rushing in her ears. Just a coincidence, she told herself. It was a castle; stained glass was normal, right? And it was the position of the sun that was matching the colour. Sunset was perfectly normal. It happened every day. She couldn't let herself be triggered to panic by something like that.

She closed her eyes and breathed in and out, deeply and slowly. She imagined Sans's voice; his words reassuring her.

It's okay. You're fine. Breathe deep, okay? In and out. Count it. Nothin' wrong with you, alright?

Frisk tried. Without his soul synching to hers, it was harder than she'd like to admit. Even so, her tears began to dry.

Just when she began to catch hold of herself, a hand on her shoulder startled her and she spun around to Chara looking her in the face. Frisk's eyes went wide and anything the other girl was saying was lost as all Frisk's senses were overpowered with the sight of a red eyed girl slicing a knife through her ribs.

Frisk yelped loudly and topped back onto her tail and fell over, the clunking of her horns against the floor rattling her brain. She sat up, rubbing her head. Chara looked down at her, hands up, eyes wide and concerned.

"Holy shit, are you alright?" she demanded.

"I-I… I'm…" Frisk gulped. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay."

Chara didn't look the least bit convinced. "You don't look okay."

"Um, d-don't worry about me," Frisk said quickly. She pushed herself back onto her feet. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, you did sort of wander off," she said. "It'd been a little while. I was worried."

"Oh. Sorry." Frisk's ears drooped. "I just, um… N-Never mind. I'm okay."

Chara folded her arms and she frowned. "Frisk."

"Yeah?" Frisk asked shrilly.

"Don't lie, okay?" she said. "I know you're not alright at all."

Frisk's ears drooped. She shook her head. "I'm fine! R-Really! It's just…! It's just stuff in my head, it's not a big deal."

"No. Stop. I don't wanna hear it," Chara insisted. "I can tell. You're scared. Of me."

"I'm not!" Frisk said.

"You are. I'm sorry," she said.

"I-I'm not, really!" the kid insisted. "It's just…" She flinched. "It's just memories, it's okay, it's not a big deal."

Chara's expression softened. She sighed and rubbed a hand through her hair. "Okay. Look. Let's get it all out, okay?"

Frisk looked confused. "Get what out?"

"I killed your brother. I killed all of them. I know it's messing you up. I could see it in the garden; I can see it now." She frowned. "Anything you want to say to me, say it. Seriously. I mean it. Yell at me."

"I don't—"

"Scream at me. Call me garbage."

"Chara, I don't—"

"What is it you want, then?" Chara demanded. "Frisk, I…! Whatever you want to say, I deserve it, okay?! You can just say it. I can take it!"

Frisk's ears drooped and she bit her lip. All her thoughts were on Sans. She clenched her hand into her shirt and she gulped. Chara's eyes took on an almost frantic glint.

"There. You figured it out," she said. "Well?"

"I can't j-just lay everything on you, it's n-not fair," Frisk squeaked.

"It's a hundred percent fair," the freckled girl insisted, frowning deeply. "It's my fault. It had nothing to do with you. And you're still stuck with it. Just tell me what you really think."

The blue kid stalled. She grasped her hands together. She didn't want to. She almost said nothing, but Chara's gazed was intense and insistent. Frisk sighed.

"I… I dunno, maybe just… one thing?"

"Anything," Chara urged her. "D'you need to scream at me?"

"I-It's not like that, but…" Her throat caught. Her voice was a lot weaker than she wished it would be. "C-Can I… ask you something?"

"Yes! Of course," she said. "Hell, if anyone deserves answers…"

"It's a… bad question, maybe," she said. She gulped, hard. Her eyes had already started to tear up. "Why…?" She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Why did you torture Sans?"

"Direct, at least." Chara put a hand to the side of her head. "But you know there's no good answer for that."

"It's just, he's… He's… good, you know? I know you weren't all there, but… But how could you have… just left him there. Alone. F-For so long, you just…" She clenched her fists. "I felt… so many times that you and one of those other time kids stabbed him. I…" Tears started to stream down her cheeks. She wiped them quickly. "I just… I… I'm sorry, I just… I can't stop thinking about it."

Chara's gaze was steady, but sympathetic. "I was evil. Bored. Sick of him ruining my plans. Any one of those. All of them at once." After a moment's hesitation, she reached out for Frisk's hands and the kid let her take them. "Of course he didn't deserve it. You either, y'know?" She tsked gently and held Frisk's fluffy cheeks. "Aw, look at you… You really love him, huh?"

Frisk nodded and hiccoughed, tears catching her off guard. She couldn't get a word out without buckling. Chara held her and stroked her hair.

"S-So much. I… I… l-let him take my soul, I f-felt every… Every time he… I j-just want him to be safe. A-And happy. After everything." The kid's stomach flipped. She was suddenly sick with grief and roiling with such contradictory feelings about the girl cradling her that she began to weep, her voice catching in her throat. "Y-You killed mom and P-Papyrus and everyone, and s-s-sometimes when I dream I st-still feel their dust on my h-hands like I d-did it and I c-can't… I c-c-can't…"

Chara flinched. She stroked Frisk between her horns with a soft, careful hand. "I know. You never wanted to hurt anyone, and you're still stuck with… that."

"I j-just l-love them so much and I can't understand… I c-can't understand."

"I know. I know. It's not fair," she said softly. "Nothing's ever fair. I just… I just wanted to save monsters and I turned into that. I saddled you with everything. I… became everything I hated, y'know?"

"I-I'm sor—"

"Don't feel sorry for me," she said. "It was my fault. I poisoned my own soul."

Frisk grimaced and clenched her hands into the other kid's shirt. "You r-really… thought that would work?"

"I really did," she said softly. "Hey. You big crybaby." She lifted Frisk's face in her hands. "It's thanks to you I got any of myself back. You broke the cycle, or the time loop, whatever. I owe you everything for that. Me and Asriel and Sans do. And it doesn't make anything better to say it, I know, but I am sorry. For what I did to you, to them; to Sans." She smiled weakly. "I have one, now, too, so I get that being protective thing. Kinda thought you were nuts, how much you liked him on our rounds, but now I can't do without the ol' bonehead. Guess that's not fair either, huh?"

"I-It's… It's good, though." Frisk sniffled. "It's good you g-guys are happy. I-It's not about f-fairness. Nothing's fair. I d-don't think I d-deserve anything because of fair."

"Well. Too bad. You do," Chara said. "Hey. We're going to fix this. And get you home. Okay? Back to your family." She leaned forward and kissed Frisk on the tip of her snout.

The kid squeaked with surprise and put her hand to her nose. Chara laughed loudly.

"Hah! Sorry. Used to always do that to Azzy when he wasn't paying attention," she said. "He'd make a noise like that, too."

"Th-That's okay!" Frisk huffed and she wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't. Nothing to be sorry for," she said. "You deserve my answer, even though it's garbage and not really good for anything." She sighed. "I didn't want you to get so messed up. This is my fault."

Frisk shook her head. "I… g-guess I was just feeling… a little blue."

The girl stared at her. Frisk grinned sideways sheepishly. Chara snorted and barked out a loud laugh. She mussed up Frisk's fur and flopped her ears up and down.

"You nerds deserve each other," she teased.

"I… I hope so," she said.

"You do. After all this… Yeah. I think so." Her face fell. "You… really have killing him and dying as him at the same time?"

"Y… Yeah," she said.

"Yeesh, how do you even get through the day?!"

Frisk laughed tiredly. "I just… do, I guess. It's… easier when I'm with them. It's, um… It's hard. To not know if he's even okay."

Chara nodded with a downcast look on her face. "There has to be something we can do."

Frisk shrugged tiredly. She wiped her eyes again on her sleeve.

Chara sighed. "Really hopin' that oneiromancer thing comes through right about now." She rubbed her head. "Hey. I'm… gonna stick with you through this. But you don't have to like me. You can hate me. Don't feel bad about hating me."

"I don't hate you!" Frisk huffed out a laugh. "Th-That's what's confusing. I don't hate you at all."

"That is confusing," the girl agreed, grinning faintly.

"I mean… I guess I don't like past you that much," Frisk said.

"Same." Chara nodded.

Frisk scoffed. She grabbed Chara's hand. "But you, right now? I… I like you. And I-I've… never had much chance to like humans before."

"What?" Chara blinked. "You're… saying I'm your gateway into humans?! But you're my gateway into humans! Yeesh, I don't think you couldda picked someone worse, I still hate 'em!"

The kids both broke into laughter. Chara flopped Frisk's ears again and smiled.

"You do look good as a weird goat, though," she said.

"Thanks." She sniffled and rubbed her nose. "I-I'm sorry I was so stand-offish before, I—"

"No. Shut up. Don't apologize," Chara said. "It was a hundred percent reasonable. It's… only been a couple hours. I shouldn't have pushed. Even… Even if after this, you don't wanna like, hang out, or—"

"I do wanna hang out, though," Frisk said, eyes wide.

"Eh?" Chara blinked. "Y…? You do?"

Frisk nodded. "I mean, if… I-If you do." She tented her fingers and smiled bashfully. "Maybe, if you feel like it, w-we could even do sword training again? W-With Asriel this time, maybe?"

"Yeah?!" The freckled girl's eyes lit right up and she couldn't help a grin. "That'd be nice."

Frisk's eyes brightened, her heart lifting. She held out her arms, but Chara put her hands up.

"Wait," she said. "Before that. I think you owe me something."

Frisk tilted her head. The other girl stepped back and pointed at her cheek.

"Hit me."

"What? C'mon, that's nuts," Frisk said. "I'm not hittin' you."

"If we're gonna be friends, you have to," she said. "It won't make us even, but it's only fair." She scrunched her eyes closed tight. "Just one good punch! Do it for Sans."

The blue kid titled her head. She couldn't help an amused smile from crossing her lips. "For Sans, huh?"

"Yeah." Chara nodded resolutely. "It's not even close to justice but I want you to take it."

Frisk tried not to laugh. Chara was pretty stubborn, wasn't she? She guessed determination was sort of her thing, too. She sighed. "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

"No."

"I could just sneak out."

"Don't you dare!"

Frisk tilted her head the other way, her ears flopping. She took a step towards the other kid and stared at her thoughtfully for a few seconds. Then, very quickly and gently, she tapped both Chara's cheeks with her fingers three times. "Okay. Done. You feel all beat up yet?"

"Wh…?" Chara opened her eyes; there was a faint sheen of red in them. "What d'you mean, that wasn't anything."

"Nuh-uh, that was six whole smacks," Frisk said.

"Frisk." Chara pouted. "Come on. That was lame."

The kid grinned and shrugged, shooting her a wink. "Welp. Guess I'm just actually super weak. So. We good?"

Chara stared back at her incredulously. Frisk merely smiled in return, unwavering. Chara sighed, but she chuckled and rubbed her fingers through her hair.

"Okay. Okay, if you're good, we're good."

Frisk beamed. She crushed Chara into a hug with strong arms and the girl wheezed and laughed. She clung to Frisk's shoulders and patted her back gently.

"I don't think I'll ever understand you," she said softly.

"That's okay," Frisk said. When she pulled back, her face was flushed and she wore a sheepish smile. "Th-Thanks for talking to me about, y'know, the bad stuff. Believe it or not, it really helps."

Chara blinked. "Yeah?"

Frisk nodded.

She wasn't sure what words to use to explain what was going on in her head. Her body felt drained; like the aftermath of an endorphin hit rather than stressed and grief-stricken. The memories were still there, lifelike and terrifying. The pain of Sans's wounds still ached in her bones. But, there was more going on here now. Chara didn't scare her at all. She wondered what Sans would think. Maybe it would be hard, but her brother wasn't much for holding grudges, was he?

"It's… not something that I can forget," Frisk said. "But… knowing you now, it… makes it easier in here." She gently tapped on her temple. "Like, I'm kinda a mess most of the time, but it's kinda crazy how much not being totally scared of you helps."

"Really?" Chara's honey-coloured eyes shimmered brightly.

Frisk nodded. She grinned bashfully. "B-But I might have to cover my eyes if you're chopping something."

"You…? Oooh." Chara smacked herself in the forehead. "The pruning knife! How could I be so stupid? I should have hidden it."

"I-It's okay!" Frisk said quickly.

"But… swords are okay?" she asked, tilting her head.

"It's more the shape. And the size," Frisk said. "The closer it matches to… you know. That. That's where my brain starts doing stupid stuff."

"Damn." Chara patted the kid's shoulder gently. "Sorry to make cooking so hard for you."

Frisk snickered. "I get an excuse for someone else to cook with me, I guess."

"Sister?! Frrrriissskk?" Papyrus voice bounced down the hallway, drawing the attention of the two kids.

Chara nodded back towards him. Frisk hurriedly used her sleeves to dry her eyes. Together, they headed back to the room with the dog statue, and Papyrus met them with a relieved, crushing hug.

"Is everything okay?!" he demanded.

"Yeah, s'good," Frisk said.

"But you were clearly crying again!" he yelped.

"Better get used to it, I cry all the time," she said, sticking her tongue out playfully.

Papyrus huffed, but Chara chuckled.

"It's… okay. We worked out some stuff,' she said. "I… I think we'll be okay."

Frisk nodded.

"Oh good!" Papyrus's eyes glimmered. "Speaking of being okay! Sans and your Asriel are back!"

Frisk perked right up and Chara cut her eyes at her, giving her a sly grin. She thumped her on the shoulder.

"Go get 'im, then," she said.

Chara didn't have to tell her twice.

Asriel was waiting in the garden with a puzzled look on his face, but he grinned when he caught sight of Frisk. She ran to him and he bent down to pull her into his arms. He snickered.

"Your tail is going like crazy," he teased.

"Huh?!" Frisk twisted to look at it and scoffed at the sight of it. "W-Well, I'm glad you're back!" She leaned around him and waved at Sans, who was chilling on the bench Papyrus had been sitting on. "You okay?"

"Sure," Sans said. "Mist found ya, right?"

Frisk held up her hand to show the ring. Sans grinned and stuck his thumbs up.

When Frisk pulled back, Asriel squished her ears and let out a sigh.

"You look kinda rough, sis," he said.

"Breakdown as usual," she said, rolling her eyes at herself. "I'm okay. Me and Chara had a good talk."

"Oh yeah?" His ears perked up. "I… I'm really glad about that. Seriously. I…" His brow furrowed as he considered his words. "That you two… can get along at all, I'm… kinda blown away. I'm really happy."

"Hey, Azzy!" Chara called from near the archway, putting a hand in the air and waving.

He waved back.

"What happened to your hand?!"

"Oh, uh." He looked at his palm and snorted. "Berries."

"Oh." She jogged closer, gave him a quick, affectionate squish, and then ran to Sans and grasped him so tight she nearly yanked him off his feet. "You're a jerk!"

"Nice to see you, too, pigeon," he said with a laugh. "Miss anything?"

Chara nodded. She turned away and beckoned towards the portal. "C'mon, let's get outta here. I know a place."

xXxXx

Chara's place was out on a hill in the middle of nowhere, a half-hour walk in the dark from the nearest portal hub and through a forest of willowy trees. It was quiet except for the birds and the wind, and they all took the time to get everyone caught up with what happened while they were apart. Sans received a solid bonk on the head from his brother for his part in it, but he didn't seem to mind at all.

The crescent moon was bright tonight, more than enough to see by once they'd cleared the tree line. The view from the hill was forest for miles, with the small, flickering glow of lights from a walled town so far that not a single building was clearly discernible. Beyond that was the gargantuan wall that surrounded the whole kingdom. It was far enough to not impede the view of the starry sky, but the towers and huge trees and roots wrapping its surface could still be seen.

With Asriel's help, they lit a fire and had a hodgepodge dinner of pasta and dumplings out under the stars. Frisk finally took the time to explain exactly what had happened in the time she had been gone. She got emotional, of course, but the intense fascination from the others surprised her and kept her going until the end of it. Sans and Papyrus were especially intrigued by what she could tell them of Avenir. That was the name of their grandmother as well, though they had never met her. Frisk could even show them photos of her.

As the night grew long, Papyrus summoned a small, bowed lute and sat it on his knee, playing a low, relaxing song that seemed to stem from his own hum. The tune carried clearly on the night air, and Sans was almost instantly asleep, his arms folded behind his head as he laid out near the fire.

Chara clunked a log into the flames and then sat down with Asriel and Frisk, who were huddled together, staring up at the stars. Frisk held her ocarina in her hands, her fingers moving over the holes in notes equivalent to the ones Papyrus played.

"So you got that out there?" Chara asked quietly.

Frisk nodded. "Yeah. From my grandma."

"That must've been cool," she said.

"Yeah. I… I wish I couldda… I mean. I wish she'd got to meet real skeletons, though," Frisk said quietly. "I still can't imagine how weird it was for her. Heck, it was weird for me to know that… Like. Dang."

Chara chuckled. "I'm sure she was happy." She shifted over and leaned back against Asriel's shoulder, looking up at the pinpricks of light dotting the blackness spread out above them. "You notice how different they are?"

"Right away," Frisk said. "It's so weird, 'cause I always—"

"Used them as a compass?" Chara asked.

"Yeah! Exactly," Frisk said. "…You, too?"

Chara nodded. "I'm used to it now, though." She pointed at a small cluster of five stars. "That guides you to north. If you can remember that, you're good."

Asriel looked between them. His tail wagged and he couldn't help a grin. He scooped Frisk into his lap and then flopped his arm around Chara's shoulders. She snorted and settled in.

"For getting stuck," he said quietly. "This is… actually kinda good."

Frisk cracked a smile. "Definitely not bad."

"Hey." Chara reached over to Frisk and gently tapped her little, fang-shaped flute. "Why don't you try playing?"

"Oh! I dunno, I don't wanna use a charge if I don't—"

"No, you dope, just normally," the girl teased.

Frisk raised her ocarina and gently blew into it, the note harmonizing well with that of the skeleton's lyra. Papyrus's eyes glowed bright and he beamed, slowing down his song but never missing a beat. He beckoned towards himself with a gesture of his head. The kid got up from Asriel's legs and moved over to sit with the skeleton. She watched the way he tapped his feet and drummed her own paw along with him.

"Go on," he said with a confident smile. "I can make it sound nice, whatever you do."

The kid snickered. Cautiously, she played, the tone as clear as she could get it, matching the notes in his simplified melody or playing an accidental harmony. It meshed with the whistle of the wind and the crackling of the fire. Papyrus was absolutely aglow. He summoned a flat slab of bone under his boot for percussion and, keeping the same tempo, added a little complexity in the strings he played as Frisk's notes stayed the same.

Asriel watched with a big grin spreading on his face. He pulled out his phone to film the two, and Chara leaned around to watch the screen curiously. After a few moments, she carefully held his free hand. He snorted, pulled it away, and crushed her into a one-armed, vice-like hug. She wheezed and stifled a laugh under her hand, nudging him the hard in the ribs with her elbow. He snickered and released her, and she settled back against his shoulder. Asriel's soul was warmed to the core. It was strange to him, to have her shorter than him now, but when he jokingly rested his elbow on her and she swatted him away, he figured it might be worth it.

"…Maybe… this might actually go okay," Chara said quietly.

"I think so," Asriel said. "Shh."

"Shh yourself." She folded her arms and smiled to herself, a tiny, warm flicker of red lighting her eyes like the fire nearby. Tears welled up, but she let them dribble down her cheeks.

Asriel's ears drooped. "…C-Chara—"

"Shh," she said again. She gulped and her voice dropped down to a whisper. "The music's nice."

"But you're—"

"Shuuush."

The boy stared at her blankly as tears moistened her face. She didn't even move to wipe them. He sighed and put the phone down gently in the grass. As it continued to film the stars above, he pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on her head.

"…Yeah," he said softly. "Yeah, it's nice."