PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM Chapter 72: Take a deep breath and don't choke, an undertale fanfic

Take a deep breath and don't choke Chapter 72

The warm scent of vanilla evoked cozy, nostalgic comfort. Lavender was known to relax and soothe. Even though both permeated the air like the sweet wafts of a floral bakery, Asriel still paced the floor of Pasithea's shop, the fur on his neck bristling as if he was chilled to the soul. He paused only to peek down as his sister, who slumbered soundly on the couch, her soul glowing bright through her shirt.

"Do you want another cup of tea?" Pasithea stood beside the table where Chara and Papyrus sat, gesturing to an old kettle she had out on a block of wood and crystal that served as a hotplate.

"I'm good," Asriel said stiffly.

"Azzy, it's only been like, twenty minutes. Relax," Chara said.

"I know. I know, I know, it's just…" He rubbed his head. "My soul feels all wonky, I dunno."

"I believe that means it's working," Pasithea said. Her ears pinned back and she smiled sheepishly. "Or, something's happening, at least."

"Right, ah…"

The kid on the couch shivered a little. Asriel's eyes bugged out and he leaned over her.

"Is that normal?!" he demanded.

Pasithea got up and returned to the couch, peering at Frisk curiously. "I… I'm sure it is. I shiver a little sometimes with regular dreams." She took her cloak off and tucked the kid in gently under it. "There we go."

Frisk stopped shaking and Asriel relaxed just enough for the raised fur on his shoulders to flatten.

"New friend, I think you could risk worrying just a little less," Papyrus said with a sympathetic smile. He patted the chair next to him around the table. "Come on, sit down for a little."

"It's not like pacing is gonna help her," Chara said.

"It helps me, though," Asriel grumbled.

"Which skeleton'd you pick that up from?" she teased.

The boy sighed. He reluctantly joined them at the table again and Pasithea poured him another cup of black vanilla tea. "Thanks."

The pesanta cracked a smile. "Please don't worry. This is perfectly safe. Induced dreams usually last for maybe half an hour? Hour at most. You can wait here, or take a walk and come back, or—"

"We'll stay," Chara said.

"Knowing our luck, if I leave for even a second she's gonna be spewing void goo all over the floor," Asriel said. "Um. If she does that, don't worry, it doesn't stain."

"Oh. Um. That's… good to know," Pasithea said.

Asriel puffed out a long, heavy sigh, slumping on the table. Papyrus patted his back. With a small, smug smile on her face, Chara sipped her tea. She reached for a dish of sugar cubes and put three into her cup, dropping each into the liquid from a height with a satisfying plop.

"So, let's get this out of the way," Chara said. "How much is all this?"

"That, my friend, has a lot to do with whether it works or not," Pasithea said. She pulled a small compartment out of the wall and plucked out a couple sheets of paper. She dunked her claws in a pot of ink she had off to the side and scrawled her signature on it and handed it over to Asriel. "Discounted rate for unsatisfactory results, of course. And you could pay it over a couple weeks, if that's better for you!"

The monsters and Chara leaned in to look at the price. Though still more than the overpriced cup of tea at Spider's Dreamcatcher, even the non-discounted rate was much lower than any of the other places they'd checked.

"Oh!" Papyrus looked pleased. "That's—!"

"Super reasonable," Asriel finished, nodding. "But, uh, don't worry, we'll pay it all at once."

"You still have enough after that spending spree, Mister Moneybags?" Chara teased.

"M-Me and Frisk together do, don't even!" he said. "…We could maybe throw in an enchanted dagger as a tip?"

Chara snickered. Asriel wrinkled his snout and rubbed the back of his head.

"Anyway, since, y'know, that uh, trouble's been taken care of, I actually don't… know how long we're going to be here."

"Oh. Right." The faintest hint of a pout crossed her face. "That."

Asriel gestured to Pasithea. "And you've been really cool about this and I don't wanna stiff you by accident."

"It wouldn't be the end of the world," the pesanta said.

"I feel very half-a-mind on all this," Papyrus admitted. His eyes darted to Frisk. "On one hand, I really want for you to be able to get back to your home very quickly. But on the other hand, I would really like you to be able to stay a little longer. But both things can't be true at once, so it's sort of a conundrum, I guess."

"I get it," Asriel said. "I… feel pretty much the same." He sighed heavily, slumping on the table. "Man… I dunno."

"We can take it one day at a time," Chara said. "I still don't know how long it's going to take Sans and I to find the way for you dorks."

"…Sans?" Pasithea's ears perked a little. "That was the name that came to my mind from your friend. It's sort of familiar."

"It's our brother," Papyrus said brightly. "He's also the Royal Oracle, which would probably ring a couple more bells."

"The…?! OH!" The pesanta's eyes went wide. "No wonder, it…! Wait. Then why would she need to—?"

"It's a different guy," Chara explained. "Same name. It's not really important."

"Though they are both shortish skeletons," Papyrus said. "And! They're both actually pretty nice once you get to know them."

Chara tapped the table, a faint frown creasing her brow. She tilted her head, eyes darting to the pesanta. "Hey. In front. Your sign said something about crystals?"

Pasithea perked up. "Oh! Yes! What do you need?" She smiled brightly. "Crystal work is also one of my specialities. Slightly less special a specialty than the dream magic, but I'd give myself a solid eight and a half out of ten, and my prices are a lot better than what you'd get in the Inner Circle!"

The girl pulled a long, hexagonally-cut crystal from her pocket. "I… need this attuned to me."

Pasithea gently plucked it from her and turned it over, her sharp talons tinking against it smooth surface. "Having trouble with it?"

"It might be fine, but I don't want to risk it not working if I don't have the time. And I need something duplicated."

"What for?" Asriel asked.

"It's… just a project, I—"

"Hey, didn't you almost stab that Gaster with that?"

"Azzy!" Chara sighed and Papyrus subdued a loud snicker. "Listen. It's important, okay?"

"Whhhhyyyy?" Asriel pressed.

"I'm also very curious about that," Papyrus said. "Come on, sister, you can trust us."

Chara threw her hands up. "Ugh. Fine. I'm trying to see if a communication crystal will work between dimensions. Happy?"

"You WHAT?!" Asriel yelped.

"Can you do that?!" Papyrus demanded, eyes wide.

"I dunno! It's up to Frisk, probably," she said. "I figured if we had one attuned to me and one to her, but with her magic inside it, it might… work? It's all up in the air. I don't really know."

"So you've… I guess you've been thinking about this a lot, huh?" Asriel asked, his ears drooping.

"Of course I have," Chara said. She rubbed her head. "You really wanna do this now?"

"Why not?"

The girl gestured broadly to their surroundings.

"I can go to the front," Pasithea said quickly.

Chara sighed. "It's fine."

"I'll just check on your friend, then." The pesanta smiled awkwardly and slid away towards Frisk.

Chara crossed her arms and grunted. "Hmph. I… Damn. Maybe it's just me, but I… I don't wanna lose… all this."

"It's definitely not just you," Asriel said.

"It would be completely terrible to never even talk to each other again," Papyrus said quietly, tapping his fingertips together. "If there was some way to, I don't know…"

"That's why I'm working on it." Chara sighed quietly. "Maybe we could even use this dream thing, but… Whatever. I'm… I'm sure we'll figure it out. Has… Frisk mentioned much about this?"

"A little," Asriel said.

"We had a bit of a discussion," Papyrus volunteered. "She was quite worried about you, actually."

"Ah." Chara smiled ruefully and drummed her fingers on the table. "Of course. You can let her know she doesn't have to worry, I can't go back, so—"

"Oh! Sorry, sister, I meant Asriel," the skeleton said quickly.

Chara's head shot up and her eyes widened. "What?"

"I mean, she was definitely worried about either of you being upset about this whole thing. It… does seem extremely difficult," Papyrus said. "She was upset, too. But, mostly, I think she was worried that Asriel might like to stay here."

"Wh-What?!" Asriel barked. "I can't—! I wouldn't leave—?!" He groaned loudly, squeezing his ears to his head. "Friiiiiiiskkkk… Why didn't she tell me that?!"

"I think it's probably because she loves you and didn't want to influence your choice," Papyrus said apologetically. "Whiiiiich I may have just done. Nyeh. Sorry."

"No, no, it's just…!"

"It's not like he has a choice," Chara said. "He's going back with her. He has to." She frowned at her fluffy brother. "If you ever even thought I was going to let you give that up—"

Asriel put his face in his hands and groaned loudly. "C-Can we talk about this later?"

"I thought you wanted to talk about it now!" she said.

"But it's haaaard…"

"Little bahbee," Chara teased, patting him on the head.

The boy grumbled quietly under his breath. He sat up a little and looked towards Frisk and Pasithea. "Sorry."

The pesanta shook her head. "I guess, the way you're talking, visiting is out of the question?"

"It is for me," Chara said quietly.

"We'll work on your crystal, then."

"…Thanks." She sighed. "I guess I—"

Frisk shifted. The room froze. Pasithea quickly grabbed the kid by the hand, her magic flaring deep purple on the undersides of her feathers. Asriel leapt to his feet, but she shot him a look that stalled him where he stood.

"Just a minute," she said, turning back to Frisk. "Sometimes people are a little disoriented coming out of it. And— Eek!"

Some dark ooze started to seep from beneath the kid's fluttering eyelids to run down her cheek like pitch ink.

"What!?" Asriel demanded, unwittingly sniffling as a similar fluid dribbled from his snout. "Is she okay?!"

"Uhh, I…" Pasithea hesitantly reached out for the kid's cheek, the liquid vanished completely, leaving no trace. "Oh! Um. Yes. I thiiink so." She leaned in, energy gathering in her claws and gently brushed them over the kid's head. "Come back. Come back to the waking world, little friend."

Frisk winced. She smacked her lips. Her face screwed up for a moment and her eyes opened to red slivers. The pesanta's ears perked a little bit and she leaned forward. Frisk winced and blinked heavily. Suddenly, she shot upright with a gasp like she'd just burst from water. She looked up at Pasithea and began to beam, her eyes wide and glossy. She threw her arms around the monster's neck and squeezed her into a tight hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" she squeaked. Her voice choked and her shoulders began to shake. "Oh my god thank you so much holy crap thank you thank you thank you."

Pasithea's eyes grew round and wide as she froze, her face a picture of shock and bafflement. Cautiously, she put an arm across the kid's shoulders.

Frisk's friends erupted.

"Oh my god, did it work?!" Asriel yelped.

"You serious?!" Chara barked.

"Are you okay?!" Papyrus asked.

Frisk giggled and snorted through the tears, nodding as she hiccuped. She buried her face against the pesanta's shoulder for a moment and then heaved herself away, wiping her face with her palms. Her eyes were bright but her grin was brighter. Asriel bounded over to her and grabbed onto her arm. She hugged him as tight as she could.

"H-He's okay! He's okay, he's dreaming; I got t-to see him!"

"You did?!" Asriel wheezed out a laugh and snuggled her up. "Goooood good good."

Papyrus grabbed Chara's hand and hurried them over to join the others. He offered Frisk a hug and she gladly took it.

"So you're sure it was him?" Chara asked. "You're positive?"

"Yeah!" Frisk said, sitting back comfortably. "It was kinda nuts. He was in like, this blue… place? Like it was… glass or something, I dunno. But it just sounded like his soul. And it felt like it, too, when I touched it."

"So what'd he say?" Asriel asked. "How is it back home? How'd he sound? Anything 'bout parents or Paps?"

Frisk frowned thoughtfully. "Ah. Jeez. Hope I remember, I kinda started crying like, right away, so…"

Papyrus squeezed her. Chara cracked a smile.

"That's just like you," she said. "Don't worry. Whatever you got."

"R-Right! Um. Well, I couldn't… hear him, exactly, through the wall or whatever it was, so we just wrote," she said. "He said some weird, stuff, though. Like… different times were happening at once? I guess that's what dad meant when…" She froze and, despite her worry, she smiled. "Az." She gripped his hand. "Th-That's gotta mean he woke up at least a little, right?"

Asriel's eyes glimmered. "Yeah. Yeah! That's…! That's good, but why would home be such a mess?"

"Sans said it'd fix when we came back, so…" She grimaced. "Oh, dang, that's gotta be some of that anchor stuff, right?"

"It's not your fault," Chara said.

"Nobody gave us any option here," Asriel said quickly. "If this is on anyone, it's that stupid scientist from that first place we went."

"But, like, how can the world just… start doing weird time stuff like that?" she asked worriedly.

"Not. Your. Fault," Chara repeated sternly, her eyes hard.

Frisk frowned with worry, clenching her fingers into her pants. A thought— a distant memory that belonged to Sans— sent a chill down her spine. The more he'd lost in the Judgement Hall, the more the world was set adrift, playing out scenarios in the next timeline that were distinct from what was normal until he'd managed to turn it around. That had to mean whatever Chara and her anomalous partner had done at the end of the world had something to do with it. The look in Chara's eyes told Frisk that the girl suspected as much. Frisk's ears drooped. Papyrus glowed gently against her.

"You're doing really well, friend," he assured her.

"Sorry. Um." Asriel suddenly looked a little sheepish. "Did he… mention me at all?"

"Oh! Yeah, of course he did!" Frisk said, perking up. "He asked about you. He wanted to make sure we were safe. And he tried to warn me about that Gaster that's here."

"So that weirdo went back home?!" Asriel yelped. "I hope they kicked his butt! Did Sans say?!"

"He didn't even know that guy was a monster. So I dunno what happened, but he was more worried about us than about that."

"Of course he was, that guy'd care more about you scraping your knee than his own leg snapping off."

"You didn't happen to bring me up, did you?" Chara asked.

"No, sorry, it was all kinda fast," Frisk said, ears drooping. "I said we had help but I didn't have time for more."

"No, no, that's… That's good." The girl folded her arms. "Don't wanna open that can of worms like that."

"What do you mean, sister?" Papyrus asked worriedly.

"He's the one I… You know." She drew her thumb sharply in a diagonal line across her chest.

"Oh. OH!" Papyrus reached out and held her shoulders. "Sister, you know that wasn't your—"

"It was," she said

"But if that other person didn't start it, I know for a solid fact that you never would have—"

"It doesn't matter."

Frisk leaned forward and took Chara's face in her hands, gently clunking their foreheads together. "Bonk."

Chara sighed. She mussed up Frisk's hair. "It's fine."

"He forgave me," Asriel said quietly. "So…" He raised his brows.

Chara flinched. She shook her head and turned her attention back on Frisk. "Hey. Do you still have that crystal I asked you to hold?"

Frisk tilted her head. "The…? Oh! Yeah. Of course." She fished it out of her pocket, though she was taken aback by its bright, red shine. "Oh! Is that normal?"

"Yep!" Chara carefully plucked it from her claws and turned to Pasithea. "Can you work with this?"

The pesanta hadn't moved from her spot for a while, but her eyes were wide and shimmering with stars. Chara waved her hand in front of her face, and the monster sat back on her knees like she was sinking into the carpet.

"I… I can't believe it… worked," she said. "And i-it really worked that well. I… Wow."

Frisk hopped off the couch and sat down before her, eyes alight. She grabbed the monster's talon.

"Thank you so much. I won't forget this," she said.

Pasithea snapped from her daze and broke into a grin. "Me neither!"

Frisk hugged her again, and the pesanta's ears pressed back. She let out a little sound of surprise and held the kid snug, too.

The jingle of the front door's chime cut the quiet mood. Chara perked up, bristling, and Pasithea carefully pulled back and got to her feet, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.

"Yo. This the right place?" a familiar, deep voice asked from behind the curtain.

"We're in the back, brother!" Papyrus called.

Sans pushed through the curtain with an amused smile on his face. He skimmed the backroom setup inquisitively. "Nice shop ya got here."

"Oh! Uh. Thank you very much," Pasithea said.

"Sans!" Frisk got to her feet to greet him with a big smile on her face. She grabbed his arm. "She did it! It worked!" I saw him!"

"Oh yeah?" His grin widened and he patted her on the head. "Congrats, kiddo. Big relief, huh?"

"Oh my god, you don't even know."

"How'd your devious scheme go?" Papyrus asked.

"Pretty good." There was a gleam in the skeleton's eye and he winked. "Wish I couldda stuck around to see the aftermath, but I guess a preview's gotta be good enough."

"I simultaneously don't want to know, and yet want to know everything," Papyrus said.

"Did he scream?" Chara asked.

"Only five percent chance he didn't."

"Nice."

Chara headed for Pasithea and offered her the red crystal again. "Well? What do you think?"

The pesanta carefully accepted it, her feathers bristling as she held it tight in her palm. "Would you mind talking it through with me?"

The girl shook her head. She gestured for the others to go. "Won't be long." She looked at Frisk. "Go get some air and a snack or something, okay?"

Sans's hand closed tight on Frisk's shoulder. He grinned down at her. "And maybe gimme the run-down on what happened, yeah?"

"Oh! Yeah! Sure," she said.

Frisk and Asriel pooled some coins together for the payment and tipped a frosty magic knife from the boy's collection, too. Outside, as they waited for Chara, Frisk huddled with her brother and the skeletons, repeating what she'd seen. Even though she was still so far, the memory made her heart swell. He'd been right there— even if things weren't perfect, it was more than she'd ever dared to hope for.

Sans nodded along thoughtfully to everything she said, and once she was done, he offered her a hug. She gladly accepted. This stocky bear of a skeleton had a reassuring grip and a soul enough like her brother's that its coolness soothed her brain.

"Gettin' there," he assured her.

"Mhm." She drew back and smiled. "Thanks a million."

"Frisk, um… I was thinkin'," Asriel said, "about what Foredog said."

"Oh yeah?" she asked.

"You didn't hear him, did you?"

Frisk's ears drooped. "No. Not yet."

"What does that mean?" Papyrus asked worriedly.

"When we were, like, in the… past, I guess? Frisk asked a dog oracle about our brother," Asriel said. "She said he'd be okay when we heard him. So I… guess we gotta wait for that."

"We still have work to do," Sans said. He turned his good eye on Frisk. "Don't stress about it. It's bad for ya."

"It's hard," Frisk said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll hear him soon," Papyrus said. "Did this psychic dog say anything else that might help?"

Frisk frowned thoughtfully, reaching back through her memories. She wasn't sure that Foredog had, but there was something else. That mysterious time entity— the one that seemed, somehow, to be some fragment of herself, peeking through layers of the universe. He'd shown her something. She wished she'd understood more of what had gone on out in that grey place she'd met the colourless version of her brother in. She guessed maybe she wasn't supposed to get it yet. What had he said? Something like, he was there to stop her from going bonkers? She hoped that wasn't literal.

"Not her, but I saw something else. Or I guess, someone showed me something," Frisk said. "I saw, like, the void, I think? And a red sun. And a weird magic cube. I think it was supposed to be really important." She tapped her chin. "Pretty sure I dealt with all three, right?"

"I remember you telling me about the sun and the void stuff," Asriel said. "But what was the cube for?"

"Uh." Frisk blinked. "Actually. I dunno. I have it, though."

"Ooh." Papyrus's eyes glimmered. "So you sort of received a prophecy, then? Which. Really. Is just a big riddle, isn't it?" He held his hand out. "Is it okay if I see it?"

"Yeah, for sure." Frisk plucked her magic cube from from its spot in her phone and passed it over to him.

The skeleton grinned, turning the object around in his hands a few times. "It feels… good. Very solid! But, at the same time, almost as if there's some complex something on going on deep inside it. Where'd you get it?"

"From my grandma. Avenir," Frisk said. "She said she invented it."

Sans's shoulders went rigid. He carefully took the cube from his brother, a faint magic in his fingers turning the runed squares blue at his touch.

"Did you know her?" Asriel asked.

"Nnnnope. Not me," Papyrus said.

"Maybe when I was a little kid," Sans admitted. "Before Papy was born." He shook his head. "So, uh, guess y'don't know what ya need it for."

"Nnnnno," Frisk said.

"Oh! I have an idea!" Papyrus said. "Maybe it's like a key! Or an energy detector of some kind. It seems to like to absorb magic, right?" He brought an orange glow to the tip of his claw and zigzagged it across the surface of the cube.

Again, the runes lit up, eager to take the magic from his touch and shine it back out.

"So… So maybe if it touches the right thing, it'll do something?" she wondered.

"Could be!" Papyrus agreed. "Ooooor! Maybe it'll light up if it's close to something important."

"Guess you should carry it around with you, then," Asriel said.

"Aaaah, jeez, why didn't I think of that?" Frisk gulped, eyes wide. "Oh no, what if I already missed what it's supposed to react to?!"

"I-It's not like we've been to any place we can't go back to," Asriel said quickly. "And, I mean, I haven't noticed any weird, like… mystical prophecy spots or anything."

"But how would we know?" she asked. "Couldn't it be anything?"

"Do you think a mystical prophecy something would be really impressive and obvious?" Papyrus wondered. "Or extremely small and unassuming. I think I'd do medium-sized and with some little clues on it or something, if I had to make one.."

"I'd say usually they're about four-foot-somethin' and eat a lotta chocolate," Sans said with a wink.

Papyrus snickered. He took the cube back from Sans and casually spun it on his fingertip. The magic on it blurred into solid lines of blue and orange.

"Do you mind if I hang onto this for a little?" he asked. "I think I have a good idea of how to make it more convenient for you."

"Oh! Sure. No problem," Frisk said.

The door chime announced Chara as she came outside to join them, Sans grinned wide and spread his arms.

"Ah. The prophesied child returns," he said.

"What? Pfff." She shoved her shoulder into him gently. "Shut it, knucklehead!"

Sans chuckled and mussed up her hair. "C'mon. Lunch."

"Pastries," she said. "We've been through a lot."

"Fair." He tapped his teeth thoughtfully. "Think I know a spot."

"I think I know the one that you're thinking of," Papyrus teased as they headed down the street. "Come on."

Chara grinned. She gave Frisk a nudge before she followed the skeletons. "We're gonna get you guys some chocolate croissants, you're gonna love it."

Frisk tilted her head. "What's a cr—?" Sans's memories filled in the blanks for her. Her stomach rumbled. "Ooh."

Just as the kid began to follow, Asriel reached down and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, um. Could we talk a minute?" he asked.

"Yeah, always." Frisk slowed her pace. "What's up?"

"Um. Is it, uh…" He rubbed the back of his head and lowered his voice. "Is it… true, you were worried about me wanting to stay here?"

Frisk's face flushed hot under her fur and her cheeks followed suit, tinting softly with purple. She spluttered for a moment, her voice coming out shrill. "I-It's not that, it's…! W-Well… I mean, it's… It's all different now that it's her, y'know? I just… know how much you love her."

"I'm not staying," he said. "I can't. Couldn't do that to you. Or parents. Or our family. Not after everything."

The kid's ears perked a little, but she frowned in thought, her mouth pressing into a thin line. "Then… what do we do?"

"What d'you mean?"

"With you guys."

"I, um…" He sighed. "I still don't know. I… I wanna figure something out. E-Even… Even if it has to be from back home."

"We can't just never see her again," Frisk said. "That'd be awful for you. A-And I don't wanna never see her again. That'd really suck. I'm sure she… I mean, I hope she feels kinda the same, even though—"

Asriel snorted out a laugh. "Frisk, c'mon. Course she does." He shot her a sly smile and dropped his tone down to a whisper. "Before she got her memories back, she thought you guys were sisters, y'know?"

Frisk's jaw dropped and her heart thumped hard in her chest. "R-Really?" she squeaked. "She thought…?" Her eyes gleamed.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing!"

Frisk quickly scampered up to join the group ahead of them and grabbed onto Chara's hand. The girl's eyes went wide. She peeked back at Asriel, raising a brow as her eyes darted back and forth between him and the little blue kid. Asriel grinned and shrugged. Chara squinted at him, but she was quickly drawn back into Papyrus's chatter. Asriel snickered and upped his speed to keep pace.

Sans lead the way at a leisurely pace. Past a busy market street, there was a bakery tucked away down a little side road, lined by well-tended herbs in pots up and down the front of it. The sweet scent of baking wafted over them the second the door cracked open. Chara rushed inside and straight to the pastry case at the back of the shop. Before long, she'd procured an assortment of pastries— croissants, mostly. Flakey, buttery pastries shaped like the crescent moon. Some with chocolate drizzled overtop, some with chocolate inside; some with cocoa dyeing the pastry itself a rich brown. The few that were circular were filled with chocolate and orange cream.

The group sat on the curb outside to snack, but the second Chara took a bite out of one of the chocolate-filled croissants, her eyes seemed to grow in size twofold and she shot up to run back into the shop. Papyrus was about to follow her when she raced back out again, forcing another pastry into his hands.

"You all gotta try this," she announced, giving one to everyone before she sat down again. She dug into hers again and sighed. "So good."

Frisk took a big bite of the one she'd been handed. The chocolate inside was dark and sweet, and not quite like any that she'd ever had before. "S'good."

"I know, right?! Ughhhh, Sans, how long has this place been here?" Chara asked.

"Uh. I dunno. Forever," he said.

"I'm coming here all the time," she said quietly. Her eyes glimmered. "This is the closest one I've ever had to the surface stuff."

"Oh yeah?" Asriel perked up. He shoved his entire croissant into his mouth.

"Savour it, you barbarian!"

Asriel covered his mouth and snickered.

"So what makes it different?" Papyrus asked curiously.

"I'm not sure," Chara admitted. "Maybe I need to learn how to make it myself. That could be interesting."

"…You can make chocolate?" Frisk asked curiously. "I thought it was just… chocolate?"

"I think it's a plant? If you're doing it from the start. Right?" Papyrus said. "Isn't it a fruit?"

"It's a fruit?!"

Chara nodded. "Kinda. It's the seeds from inside a fruit, I think. What I know is that it's made from a plant that grows to the south. Er. The south, back at the old place. And then they… cook it, I think? Over fire. And grind it up and add things to it." She formed a circle with her thumbs and index fingers. "They'd take these disks of it about this big and put them in this metal foil. Gold or silver only. And they'd put 'em on the shrines, sometimes." She smiled smugly to herself. "I'd take 'em sometimes. Got in so much trouble. Kinda worth it, though."

"Chara…" Asriel's eyes glimmered.

"…What?" she asked suspiciously, clutching her croissant a little tighter.

He grinned and put his arms around her, making her grunt.

"What?!" she demanded.

"Just… Just glad to hear about it," he said quietly.

"Oh." The girl's cheeks flushed. "Y-Yeah. Sure. No problem."

xXxXx

After what felt like a century away, the group finally returned to the cozy house in Snowdin. Even though it wasn't home for her, it felt so nice to be back that Frisk flopped into a heap on the couch and sunk in. For just a moment, as she closed her eyes, it was as if everything was normal.

She could still see her brother on the backs of her eyelids. Anxiety beat in her heart, but she took a deep breath and tried to calm down. They'd be home soon, she told herself. She just had to be patient. She hoped they could hold on back home a little longer.

She listened to Papyrus as he bustled around the room. He put on some music and paused to give her a little brush of warm magic across her forehead before slipping off. Chara and Asriel chattered just far enough away that the rhythm of their voices was more clear than their words. Her mind slipped off to nothing in particular. Her palms felt the sting of frost.

The couch depressed slightly with Sans's weight, forcing the kid's thoughts back into focus. His claw found the new mark that cut across her right brow and lingered there for a moment. He patted her head and drew back, letting out a tired sigh.

"Kid, you awake?"

"Yeah." She opened one eye to peer at him upside down. "What's up?"

The skeleton was silent for a few seconds, his eyes staring vacantly across the room. "Y'wanna, uh… come upstairs for a sec?"

"Sure?"

He nodded, then vanished. Frisk rolled upright and rubbed her head, then followed him up to his room.

Sans was already lounging casually on the floor of his room near his bedroll. He gestured for Frisk to shut the door, so she did before joining him, giving him a confused look.

"Got some questions," he said. "'Bout this, uh, Gaster guy."

"Sure," she said.

"For whatever reason, he looks like your dad, yeah?"

Frisk nodded. She pulled out her phone and scrolled back to one of the few photos she had of him— his own accidental selfie. She felt a little déjà vu as she passed it over to Sans. "See?" she said. "Pretty much the same. Except dad has that extra crack in his head."

Sans held the screen up to his good eye. "Looked a lot gooier last time."

"Yeah, that's the void doing weird stuff. I think it doesn't like him very much." She scrunched up her face. "And I'm supposed to tell him to stop touching it, actually."

"Hm." The skeleton frowned."This is… real interestin'." He leaned back a little and returned her phone to her. "Somethin's buggin' me, though. There's… a resemblance, I guess, to the guy I knew. But I'd almost say more like, uh, cousins or somethin'. Even before the changes from the curse. The guy who attacked us— if I didn't know better, I'd wonder if he was your dad's twin."

Frisk grimaced. "Y-Yeah. It was… weird. In the place that was screwing us up before we came here, the Gaster there looked a lot like dad, too. But his eyes glowed green." She folded her arms uncomfortably. "The guy who came here has the same colours as my dad. I… don't know what that means."

"Me neither," he said.

Frisk sighed heavily and pouted. "I just wanna know why he hates me. Aaaand why he went all the way to my house, I guess?! It's so creepy."

"Heh. That's a word for it." He rubbed the back of his skull. "Guess I can push 'im for some answers later."

The kid's eyes widened. "Wh…? Y-You're gonna talk to him?!"

"Yup," he said. "Gonna have to send him back out the way he came in. Hopefully."

"Oh. Right. That's good," she said. "Ugh. I really hope I didn't mess something up."

The skeleton smiled from the side of his mouth. "Like what?"

"I dunno! This whole thing just makes me feel like I'm going nuts," she said.

"What part?"

Frisk gestured pointedly at the air as if some lurking skeleton loomed there. "All of it?! I just met my dad and then right after that, I meet a bunch of super mean versions of him in a row! Like, how the heck does that even happen?!"

Sans shrugged. "Got me."

"And even the one here was bad, right?"

"Very."

"Right?! And now this guy super hates me and I still don't even know what I did wrong!"

Sans tilted his head. "Hey. Had a thought."

"What?" she asked.

"Okay. Bad question. Try not t'hate me," he said. "Could it be him? Your dad."

"Wh-What?!" Frisk yelped. "No! No, how could it…?!" She gulped, hard. Her heart ached. "I… I don't think… I don't think he'd ever hurt me."

"What if there were extenuatin' circumstances?" he pushed. "Like if he thought y'weren't… you." He winced. "Hate to say it, but whatever Chara became, back where you're from… If somethin' went bad and some o' that real heavy ghost shit went down… A different time. A different kid that looks like you. A different Gaster from, like… a similar timeline. Possible?"

"I…" She winced. "I guess? Timelines are… like branches, right? That's what my brother said. So many branches, like, forever. It… kinda makes my head hurt."

"Hm. So this guy might really be after some ghost," he suggested. "If I'm rememberin' right, there was a sec where he asked your bro to hand y'over, yeah? Rather than just dunkin' on the both of you."

"That's true, but… That mightta just been him not wanting to hurt Az, so…" Frisk grabbed her cheeks. "Ugh, that's scary, I dunno."

Sans's smile sunk a little and his brow bent sympathetically. "Sorry." He patted her on the shoulder. "T'be honest, I still can't see much about the guy. This ain't a prediction or special insight. I'm just tryin' to make any sense of this crap at all." He winked. "So, uh, take it with a grain of salt, alright?"

"Yeah. I know." Frisk frowned and a chill ran up her spine, the fur on her neck standing on end. "But… I mean. Maybe my memory is a bit goofed up? B-But didn't… Chara and Asriel say he was fighting like how my dad does?"

"…Yeah," the skeleton said. "They did."

The kid let out a long sigh, wilting low where she sat. "What's going on?" she grumbled. "How could it be…?" She shook her head. "Th-There's gotta be some explanation. He… He wouldn't. I know he wouldn't."

A heavy knock on the door announced Chara as she pushed her way in without waiting for an answer. "Hey, Sans, you wanna start…? Oh. Hey. Something going on?"

"Just talkin' through some crap," Sans said.

"We're trying to figure out who the heck this weird Gaster guy even is. And what he wanted," Frisk said, ears drooping. "It's sorta freaking me out."

"What's there to figure out?" she asked. "He's a cretin. And he's in ice now, so who cares?"

"Gonna have to deal with 'im sooner or later," Sans said.

"Later."

"And he's got a real weird resemblance to kiddo's dad," he continued.

"So what? He's clearly not him. Even if he… Oh." Chara's face paled. She clenched her fists, then sat down beside Frisk, her brow set in a heavy frown. "Actually…"

"What?" Frisk asked swiftly.

Chara folded her arms, her eyes narrowing. "We… Uh. You know what? We should go sparring again."

"Sparring?" Frisk repeated. "Right now?"

"Yes. Right now," Chara said, grabbing the kid's hand. "It'll make you feel better. Safer."

"Chara, I dunno—"

"Didn't it help the first time?"

"Well. Yeah, but—"

"So, let's go. This train of thought isn't going anywhere good. So. We'll… train out in a field somewhere," she said, then turned to Sans. "We can work later, right? Tonight maybe?"

"Uh." He smiled sideways. "Sure."

"Perfect." She got to her feet, pulling Frisk up with her, and then hurried her towards the door. "Go get Asriel, and see if Papy wants to come, okay? I'll be right there."

"Are you sure?" Frisk asked.

"Absolutely!" She put on a big smile. "Just a second. I left something in the back."

As soon as Frisk was out of the room, Chara quickly closed the door again and rushed back to Sans. Her golden eyes turned hard and cold.

"Did you figure it out?"

"Can't see 'im," he said. "Told her the same thing."

"What'd she say?"

"Same as we thought. We put a couple pieces together, like you heard." He frowned. "Scared the shit outta her, though."

"Damn it. Of course it would." She pushed her fingers through her bangs and growled. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet and towards the shadowy doorframe at the back of the room.

It unfurled into their workspace the second she stepped into it.

"I just remembered. There was something creepy. You can't tell her." Chara lowered her voice. "When I fought that skeleton on my own. He… talked like he recognized me. He knew my name. And he called me a thing Gaster always used to call me and Azzy. In… his first language, I think? Like a… A term of endearment."

Sans frowned. "Oh. Shit. D'ya actually think it could be the same guy?"

"I…! I don't know. God, I hope not." She paced the room back and forth a few times, folding her arms and digging her fingers into them, hard. "It… It can't be. Maybe it's some split in a timeline somewhere. Maybe it's… Ugh. Shit. I don't know."

"Same," the skeleton said apologetically. "Won't know 'til he talks, I guess." He stepped in front of her and grabbed her hands. "You did good."

"Not good enough," she said.

"Incorrect, bucko."

Chara scoffed quietly. He scooped her up under her arms and squeezed her close. She flopped over his shoulders and let out a sigh.

When he let her down, she headed for the hall and ran straight into Frisk. She yelped and the kid squeaked and grabbed her snout where she'd bumped it into her.

"Aah, sorry!" Chara said.

Frisk laughed. "My bad."

"You weren't just waiting there, were you?"

She shook her head. "I was coming to get you. Everyone's into it."

"Oh. Okay! Good!" She lowered her voice. "Um. Hey. Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah?"

"Your dad has… two cracks in his skull, right?" Chara put a finger above her right eye and below the left. "Here and…" She paused as her eyes traced Frisk's face. "Huh."

"Yeah, both of those," she said.

"Right. He didn't really have either when I knew him," the girl continued. "He had a little gauge around here." She tapped underneath her left eye. "I can assume some injury or experiment elongated it. But do you know how he got the other one? Stands to reason—to me, anyway— that if that's the big difference visually between the new jerk and him, it might be important."

"It was the CORE!" Asriel called up from downstairs.

"Oh?" Chara peeked over the railing. "You sure?"

"Yeah, when he blew up," he said.

"It seemed like a huge mess," Frisk said. "After seeing him all melty and stuff, I'm just happy he came back with bones, to be honest."

"So…" Chara's eyes glimmered. She grinned and grabbed Frisk by the shoulders. "It's impossible!"

"What is?"

"He can't be your dad," she said. She turned back and called into the bedroom. "It can't be a Gaster that knows her, the timeframe wouldn't line up!" She sighed with relief and laughed at herself. "Look at me, getting all worried over nothing. Stupid."

"Wait," Frisk said, "so you don't think it's—?"

"It can't be," Chara insisted. "If he'd made you— or someone like you— he'd have that injury."

The blue kid's eyes widened."Yeah. Yeah! You're right." She nodded to herself. "Y-Yeah, there's no way. Still doesn't explain all that stuff that's the same, though."

"Let's… forget about it, for now," she said.

"Yoooou know I'm not gonna," Frisk said with a sideways smile.

Chara frowned. "Okay then, at least try to relax," she insisted. "There's nothing to do with the guy now, anyway. We're going to get you home, and then you leave us to deal with him."

"Man, but I can't leave you guys with my mess, I—"

"It's not your mess, it's his," Chara said. "Besides. You don't have a choice. You guys get priority."

"Ah." Frisk didn't look so sure, but she nodded. "We'll see."

The girl's face dropped into an unamused pout. "You always been too stubborn for your own good?"

"Um. Yes." Frisk stuck out her tongue. "Kinda my thing."

Chara grabbed the kid's face and squished her ears. "Between the goats and the skeletons, who would've guessed the biggest hardhead'd be some weird tiny kid, huh?"

xXxXx

Even with the interloping Gaster sealed within a frozen orb, Chara decided staying far away from the plains around the Soul of the World would be prudent, so she used her medallion and a portal to bring them to the shores of a massive, black lake. The sand there was soft and glimmering, and the realm above was dark and shining, the chunks of crystal dangling like stalactites the only thing to differentiate what was a giant cavern from an inky night.

The portal's housing here was a rickety old shack, but despite its disrepair, there was a table in the corner with jugs of water and bottles of elixir stacked up neatly on top of it, with some clean towels and a couple floaty toys in a box by its side.

"Is this Waterfall?" Asriel asked as they headed out.

"Exactly that!" Papyrus said with a grin. "I used to train with Undyne here. Is your place similar?"

The goat boy bent and brushed his fingers through the grass at the edge of the beach. It lit under his touch and, gently, he tugged it just a little longer beneath his claws.

"Yeah, kinda," he said. "Maybe a bit smaller, though."

"Definitely smaller," Chara said. "But there's less actually under the water here." She ducked around behind the building and emerged with a wooden navy blue umbrella patterned with stars. She tossed it to Frisk. "Good enough for a sword?"

"Perfect," the kid assured her.

"You know I have like ten in my bag," Asriel said.

"This is safer," Frisk said.

"And I promised you a shield, right?" Chara said. "I'm sure I can find something."

"I think I'm good," she said.

Chara smiled. She pulled out her blunt sword and spun it casually. "Same as last time?"

Frisk grinned. "Hope I remember!"

Chara backed up onto the sand.

"Ooh. A handicap?" Papyrus wondered.

"It's good to practice on crappy ground, too," Chara said.

"Okay." Frisk hopped onto the sand, too— it felt cool on the bottom of her feet. She stepped back and forth, testing the way it sunk under her weight. "I've done fights on gravel before, but not sand, I don't think."

"When was that?" Asriel asked.

"Way back," she said. "Oh. And, uh, I guess in that past world, when I fought those bandits? That was on a riverbank. It sucked."

"Let's ease into it, then," Chara said. She held her blade out, her grip solid and confident. "Ready?"

Frisk clasped the handle of the umbrella in both hands. "Yeah."

Chara rushed forward first and Frisk slid from the path of the blade, catching and turning the tip as the girl pivoted and redirected towards her.

"Good! You remembered." She grinned. "Let's keep it up."

They darted around, Chara striking; Frisk dipping and blocking where she could, her movements quick and careful, but definitely hindered by the sand.

"Try hitting back!" Asriel called.

Frisk almost slipped. He squeaked, holding his ears. She jabbed the umbrella down for balance and shoved herself out of the way of Chara's next blow.

"Sorrrryyyy!" he called.

"It's…!" She hurriedly raised her makeshift weapon up and braced it with both hands to block Chara's swing. "It's fine!"

Chara grinned. She sped up, pressing forward as Frisk did her best to keep juking out of the sword's path. At a wide sweep of the girl's blade, Frisk slipped in the sand again, landing awkwardly on one knee. Asriel yelped and Papyrus winced, but Chara's blade slowed and gently bonked the kid in the side of the head.

"When that happens," Chara said. "In a real fight? Grab the sand and chuck it at the guy."

Frisk rubbed her head. "Oh yeah?"

"A little bit unsportsmonly," Papyrus said.

"Better rude than dead," Chara said.

"Trrrrrue," the skeleton conceded. His eyes brightened. "Hey! I have an idea that I think is very cool and good. If you'd like to try something new?"

"What is it?" Chara asked.

"Well. I am a skeleton. And. Our new villain, he's also a skeleton," he said. "What if I mimicked some of his patterns, and you three try to dodge it?"

Frisk and Chara looked at each other. Asriel fur bristled and he began to grin.

"I'm in," he said.

"Sounds kinda fun," Frisk said quietly.

Chara grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet and thumped her approvingly on the back. "Looks like you get to play the villain, Papy."

Papyrus beamed, his eyes starting to blaze. He raised his arms, magic shining in his claws. Rows of bones shot up from the ground behind him like looming soldiers.

"Nyeh heh heh heh!" he cackled, deliberately lowering his voice. "Prepare yourself, friends and siblings, because here we go! Unofficial battle START!"

He pointed straight at them and the bones rushed forward, cutting through the ground in tight spiral patterns. Frisk ran and slid between the first bone and its chaser to get a bit of space between the arms of the spiral. Chara ran forward instead, smashing her blunt blade through the attacks; shattering them to dust. Asriel reached for the grass and shot it upwards to break his own path through, only for another, tighter row to spin towards him. He growled and blew fire from his mouth, turning bone to ash as it cut through in front of his sisters, too.

"More coming," Frisk warned them.

Just as she said it, more spinning bones whirled out from the flames. The kid tumbled out of the way and Asriel raised the grass into a wall before him. The others, though, were still on the sand.

"Keep going!" Papyrus said. "Or else! Nyeh heh heh."

"Don't forget Frisk can't do magic right now!" Chara called as she backed out of the line of fire and crushed the closest bone with a blow from above.

"Nyeh heh! All the better for me!" He snickered, dropping the fake voice for a moment. "Don't worry, sister, I have perfect control!"

"I know, I know!"

"And now! For the next move!" Papyrus called up bones like knives in the air and tossed them forward.

Chara yelped as one grazed by her face, and she swung hard at the air, hitting nothing. Frisk raced to her and tackled her to the ground as another barrage sailed by above them. Asriel grimaced. He tried pushing his wall forward— the speed, he wasn't totally sure of, but Papyrus had to take a step back.

"Ah! That's a good idea, Asriel!" he called. "If you keep doing that, I might be forced to use my special attack!" He grinned. "But! Also! Don't get too confident!"

More sharpened bones filled the air around him and shot forward with such speed that they shredded the wall and sailed through him, too. He didn't feel anything but a little tickle.

"Okay," Asriel grumbled. "Two walls, next time."

"Two walls, at least!" Papyrus said. "And keep them moving, because I'm sure he won't stay still like I'm doing!"

"Then move around, goofball!" Chara said.

The skeleton smiled even wider. "If you insist!"

Papyrus took off and his assault became a chaotic storm of bone shards and ground disruption. Asriel gave chase, shooting balls of flame at the skeleton's heels as he raced by, cackling. The kids ran around like their lives depended on it, sand churning beneath their feet. Frisk stumbled again, and one of the ground bones sent her tumbling.

"Throw it!" Chara called.

Frisk grabbed a pawful of sand and chucked it blindly into the air. Chara was close enough to shove her hand through it. The grains turned red and shot out like tiny, glittering shrapnel, busting enough bones to dust that she had enough time to haul Frisk to her feet. She beamed.

"Never done that before!" Her eyes glimmered. She grabbed Frisk's umbrella and shoved her sword into her hands. "Cover us."

"Wha…?!"

The blade was much heavier than Frisk expected, but she hefted it up and swung at the nearest bone. It broke easily, but the next one was coming. Frisk found herself running around, chasing attacks to smack them before they ever reached Chara.

"Okay, trade back." Chara chucked the umbrella back.

Frisk caught it one-handed and returned the sword. The freckled girl pressed close to her.

"Open it," she said. "And stand still."

Frisk unfurled the umbrella and its canopy shone with a sparkle of red. Chara pushed it down to cover them from the front. The next wave of bones smashed into it and disintegrated.

"Yooooo!" Frisk said, eyes wide.

Chara grinned. "I owed you a shield."

"That's the coolest!"

"Nyeh heh! Then I can change it up, too!" Papyrus announced. He skidded to a halt and slammed his hands downwards.

Bones erupted around him like a shockwave of an earthquake, raising up and down. Asriel was forced back, but he sucked in a deep breath and blew fire out across the field again, taking out enough of the attack that Frisk and Chara could just sidestep to avoid it.

Through the sheet of flame a line of strange shapes rose, obscured by the magic. Frisk gulped. She changed her grip on the umbrella to grasp it closer to the wooded rods holding it open. Chara pressed close and held her blade upwards and straight forward, lining the point up with the newest aspiration. Asriel raced to join them.

"Papy, what're you doin'?" she asked.

"Is it his special attack?" Frisk wondered.

"Not…! Oomf! Heh." Papyrus sounded a tiny bit winded. "N-Not quite! But!"

Bones pushed through— several stacked together to form a rather goofy approximation of a blaster skull, like the skeletal version of a dog hand-puppet with little dots for eye sockets. What was less goofy, however, was that there was about a dozen of them unfurling into a firing line.

"A good stand-in, I think!"

Asriel held out his hand and whisked out one of his iridescent magic swords. He looked at the smaller kids and tilted his head towards the hidden skeleton. "Charge 'im," he said.

Chara grinned. Frisk nodded and steadied herself.

The false blasters opened to charge a beam and Asriel darted forward, slicing a swath of magic through them before they could fire. It erased his flames, too, revealing a second line that fired on them immediately— not lasers but so many small bones that they might as well have been. Asriel took the blow and was knocked way back with a grunt.

"Go, go!" he yelled.

Chara grabbed Frisk's hand. Frisk gulped and they started to run against the pressure of the beams.

The faux-blasters circled, but flame ripped through the ones on their right before they could do any harm. The grass at the edge of the beach punctured into the others, and Frisk rammed the one before them as hard as she could. Chara rushed out and slammed her blade into it, breaking it. Papyrus stood right behind it and the two of them crashed into him, knocking him to the ground in a tangle. He burst out laughing and wrapped his arms around both of them.

"I guess it would be better if I could teleport, too, hm?!" He beamed. "Great job, you three!"

Frisk snickered and flopped onto her back, pushing her umbrella aside. Its crimson sheen flickered out. Chara sighed, laying her sword down and rolling off her brother to sit up a little. Asriel bounded up to join them and she grabbed his hand as he plopped down with them.

"You're brave but you're an idiot," she said with a fond smile.

"Pff. I can take it," he said.

"You did get hit the most, friend," Papyrus said. "If I were the real villain, it would have done a decent amount of damage, I think."

Asriel shook his head. "Don't worry. Doesn't matter."

"You did real good with those plants, though," Frisk said.

"Well, you did real good with a friggin' umbrella," he said with a laugh.

"Thanks to Chara." She booped Papyrus's cheek with her snout— he blushed furiously— and then sat up. "Man, that's the kinda battles I like."

"It was fun to be on the offence for once," the skeleton joked as he sat up, too. "What did you think of my fake blasters?!"

"Weren't they just this?" Chara raised her index and pinkie fingers and touched her middle and ring fingers to her thumb to make the dog shape.

"Yeeeees, yes they were."

She snickered. "Welp."

"I think that's kinda smart," Frisk said. "I mean, if you can't do like twenty-four blasters at once, might as well do what you can instead to fake 'em out, right?"

"Exactly!" Papyrus said brightly.

"Maybe do that against him for real if there's a next time," Asriel said with a smile.

"Oh. OH! Nyeh heh heh!" The skeleton blushed and rubbed the back of his skull. "I will! I just thought of it now!"

"Maybe a few less, though, you sounded a little tired," Chara said.

"Tired?! Me?! Of course not! But… a few less is definitely more manageable," he admitted.

Chara snickered. She patted him affectionately on the shoulder and got up, stretching. She cut her eyes at Frisk.

"Okay, you need more of a breather than that or you wanna go again now?"

"What?! Again?" Frisk squeaked.

"Yeah. More the better," she said.

The kid rubbed her head. She reached out for the umbrella again and closed it tight, wrapping its chord around it. "Okay. Again."

xXxXx

The kids returned to the house a few hours later, exhausted but in high spirits. Sans was napping on the couch with some faint, jazzy music playing. He'd taken the time to prepare a few sandwiches for them and left them on the counter beforehand with a note that simply said, "take food u welcome"

As they munched, Chara wolfed hers down and woke the skeleton, herding him upstairs quickly. A strange burst of magic shot through the air, and though Papyrus didn't react, Frisk's fur stood on end. Asriel's did, too. His brow furrowed, staring up at the door they'd vanished behind. He shot a look at Frisk.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Oh. They might be doing some looking for home for us," she said.

"Probably," Papyrus agreed. "Oh! Speaking of. Frisk, I think I made a thing for you before we left. Do you mind if we just check the size?"

Frisk's ears perked. "Sure."

He grinned. "Feel free to come, too, Asriel."

"Hm." He got up. He brought his plate to the kitchen and then, as the two disappeared into Papyrus's room, he quietly slipped into Sans's.

Inside, he found the odd door frame open into a room like a messy library, but when he peeked inside, he was taken aback to find neither his sister nor Sans, but a four-armed skeleton, taller than he was, with a bladed tail and three purple eyes in their place. He stared blankly, blinking with surprise. The skeleton smiled sideways.

"Ah. Azzy," he said, voice layered in two; sounding mostly like Sans. "We're, uh, about to start workin'. You need somethin'?"

The kid's mind flipped over as he realized what he was looking at. "Uh… N-No. Um. I just felt…" He pointed his thumb back over his shoulder as his words failed him; the skeleton waited patiently. "I was just… checking, um… Uh. Man. That's crazy."

The skeleton's sharp-toothed grin widened and he snickered. "Yeah, we had a similar reaction the first time, t'be honest."

"Do…? Uh. What do I call you?" Asriel asked.

"Whatever. Doesn't matter." He headed for the other end of the room towards a large pedestal with a black, crystal orb on top of it, tail swishing casually. "We tried a mashup name but they all kinda sucked. Cans. Sara. Not great." The upper two arms shrugged. "I was okay bein' called three-eyes, but— it's kinda lame, though, Sans." He snickered again. "So, uh, just whatever, we don't care."

"Okay." Asriel held back the urge to call them Cans for the simple fact that he knew Chara would use that long tail to bonk him on the noggin if he did. "I guess Papyrara is easier."

"That or Papaya," the skeleton joked.

"Like the fruit?"

"Yeah. It's kinda funny. Papyrus likes it."

Asriel smiled. "…Nice. Um. So… you're…?"

"Workin'," he said. "Checkin' for a sign of your way home."

"Oh! That's good. Can I help?"

"Thanks, but nah," he said. "We got it." He shot the goat boy a smile. "Why don'tcha go chill with the others? We'll be a while."

"Right. Okay." He took a step back towards the door. Paused. "Um. Chara?"

"Hm?"

"We, um… Frisk and I… We talked. We really wanna be able to see you guys again," he said. "So. If there's anything else we can do. Tell us, okay?"

The skeleton froze. His purple irises flickered and his smile strained. "…Thanks, Azzy. Definitely will."

He nodded. Again, he began to leave, but froze up. "…Can I watch?"

With a swish of the tail, the skeleton chuckled. "It'll be 'bout as interestin' as watchin' paint dry, but if you really wanna—"

"I do," he said.

"Suit yourself."

xXxXx

Night came with a soft, powdery blizzard blustering past the windows. The coziness of the room-wide blanket fort was implemented once again as the tired group settled in for the night. Chara was dead on her feet and Sans was asleep before he'd even completely tipped himself over into a heap of pillows.

Frisk curled up in a bunch of blankets with Asriel, her cube magic faintly glowing on the floor beside them. Papyrus had crafted a little harness and a shoulder strap to hold the thing, so she could carry it around in the open— just in case it reacted to something, he'd said. It seemed like a good idea to her.

Papyrus began to play his bowed lyra in a gentle, drowsy tune for them. Asriel was already asleep and snorting softly. He had the snores of a sleeping dog, though, so it didn't bother Frisk, even with the little puffs of fire that drifted from his snout every once in a while. She yawned. She ran her tongue over her sharp teeth. Then, she closed her eyes, letting Papyrus's music carry her mind away. She hoped maybe, since Pasithea had guided her, maybe she'd see Sans on her own this time. Her palms felt cold.

A dream dropped her mind down a hole into darkness. Her eyes refocussed to a glassy, frosted cyan blotting the sky. Her fingers ran over the frozen surface. She frowned. Her eyes traced the pacing shapes of cautious patrollers. It wasn't their fault. They didn't know.

She let out a long, deep breath, heated magic making the ice below her hands slick. A tired smile lifted her face. It was just enough. As soon as the shapes had gone, she stepped back and patted the side of a massive, steady blaster with mechanical torches stuck to either side of its jaws. With a gentle spark from her finger, they lit, and it shot laser and flame straight ahead.

She pressed as close to the ice as she could bear and sunk in as it did. Farther and farther and— the whoosh of chilly, fresh air and deeper darkness out in the world.

A shout. She cursed under her breath and grappled with a short device of welded silver crystal and metal buried deep in her jacket. Her eyes quickly ran over a little bar on the side and then the oncoming, armoured monsters. A dozen of them. Just barely a dozen charges. She gulped, then straightened up. Turned off the eyes. Turned up the senses. Every soul leaving a bright echo of its form. Much easier to see.

No strike could land. Space meant nothing. A shift one way or the other covered feet at a time. Each brush of that device froze the attacker, utterly.

Eyes back. Grey bubbles floated gently in the field, like a peaceful, timeless ocean. She could hear shouting, but she paid it no mind. The big, mechanized blaster sailed up behind her and she reached a skeletal hand out to grasp its nearest horn and pull herself up off the ground. They took off together so fast that—

Frisk jarred awake, chest heaving. Asriel did, too, shooting up so quickly he almost knocked her over. Someone was banging up the stairs.

The bedroom door flung open so hard the wall cracked. A tall skeleton loomed before them, peering into the dim room.

"You're all here?!" Mistral demanded.

"…Mist, what…?" Chara asked groggily, blinking hard.

"Sure, just barge in why don'tcha…" Sans said groggily.

"You need to leave. All of you," the skeleton knight announced. She did her best to steady herself, her brow deeply furrowed, her eyes flaring green. "The interloper has escaped."