These people are gonna give my complex a complex Chapter 73

"Approximately half an hour ago, the prisoner sealed within the ice dome escaped."

.

In the dead of night, while the white, frosty streets were abandoned, the skeleton knight, Mistral, rushed her five charges and their belongings through Snowdin town. She was armed, alert; the light of her eyes shining bright. They headed for the outskirts, and the shelter that held the closest portal.

.

"Judging by the point of exit, he melted his way out, which we were unprepared for, as Archwizard Alphys's analysis showed no flame magic capabilities inherent to him. We aren't certain how he did it. We also aren't certain of what his reasons for waiting this long were. The number of guards had not changed and the patrolling was consistent. It could be that he was waiting for the cover of darkness, or whatever his methods of heat production took some time to build up."

.

Wide-eyed, heart thumping, Frisk stalled in the snow, her fur standing on end. "Wait."

"No wait," Chara said, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her forward. "Walk and talk."

"But, I…! I saw—"

"Anythin' on where the guy was headed?" Sans asked.

"South," Mistral said.

"South?! But we're south!" Papyrus grimaced. "Do you think it's a coincidence, or—?"

"We really have no way to tell at the moment. Our people are on alert."

"Wait! Oh, shit!" Asriel squeaked. "I—! I forgot to have Pasithea look at my soul after Frisk, I—! Could he be aiming at me?!" He looked at the others. "I should split off from you guys."

"No!" Chara said.

Papyrus grabbed his arm. "Absolutely not."

"Guys…!" Frisk squeaked.

"I don't wanna risk leading him to you!" Asriel said.

"We aren't doing this, this is stupid," Chara said. "If we're going to the castle, we're staying together, end of story. Right, Frisk?"

"Well yeah, obviously, but—"

"Okay, fine!" Asriel turned to Mistral with big, worried eyes. "But what…?! I mean, was there a fight? What happened?"

The skeleton frowned, gritting her teeth for a moment before answering with a weak warble in her voice. "He… used some strange magic. It… reduced our forces significantly, but I can't—"

"GUYS!" Frisk barked, digging her heels into the ground, causing Chara to stumble as the two of them stopped. "I think I just saw this! Are they in grey bubbles?"

.

Mistral froze in place and the others finally paused too, all attention turning on the small, blue kid. The knight's eyelights shrunk to pinpricks.

"How… did you know that?" she breathed.

"I dreamt it right before you busted the door in," Frisk said quickly. "He put some metal thing on his blaster— that's what melted the ice, I think. And he used some… uh. Science wand or something? To trap everyone."

"Wait, what?! How'd you do that?!" Chara said.

"I… dreamt. But I think I… saw things like he did?"

"Since when can you do that?!" the girl said shrilly.

"I dunno, it just happens sometimes!"

.

"…Well, damn," Sans said, the edge of his grin twitching upwards. "Looks like we got lucky."

"Did we?" Mistral asked sharply, whirling on him with wide eyes.

"I can't see the guy," he said, tapping on the side of his head. "She can."

"J-Just a little!" Frisk said.

"Do you know where he headed?" Mistral asked quickly.

"I… I'm not totally sure, he grabbed his blaster to kinda fly off on it and then I woke up."

"So he'll be travelling at some speed, but via his own magic." The skeleton nodded. She started off again at a brisk pace. "Come."

.

Chara thumped Frisk on the back as they picked up the pace.

"But what about the other guards?" Papyrus asked.

"Yeah, what happened to them? Are they okay?" Asriel asked.

"We… don't know," Mistral said. "They are in bubbles, as the little one said. But we… can't free them."

"WHAT?!" Papyrus yelped.

"Oh, god, that's bad," Chara said shrilly. "Are…? I mean, they're alive, right?!"

The knight couldn't hide her dismay despite her best attempts. "We can't properly assess them, it's too cold to touch."

.

"Bring me to them, then," Frisk said quickly.

"Excuse me?!" Mistral whipped around to peer down at her, causing Papyrus to smack into her shoulder and slump there.

"It just happened, right? Like not that long ago?" the kid insisted.

"Well… Yes. Around half an hour, like I said."

"Then I can definitely do something."

"What if it's a trap?" Chara asked.

"I dunno, but it doesn't matter. I can help," Frisk said. She looked up at Mistral with wide eyes. "Please. You gotta let me."

"Then we have to go together," Chara said. "Just in case."

"Out of the question," Mistral said. "We don't know where this villain is. Whether he's lying in wait or not. You will all go to the castle until further notice. You will be safe there."

"And what if he tracks me?!" Asriel bleated. "He'll just head right for us! Hell, he's a huge super genius; he might just do that anyway!"

Mistral scoffed. "This skeleton is a fool if he thinks he can siege a castle on his own, battalion of blaster skulls or no."

"So he… won't go to the castle, then?!" Papyrus asked shrilly.

"Then Asriel has to stay back," Chara said.

"What?!" he yelped. "I thought you just said—"

"If you are being tracked, you should be away from Frisk, just for this," she said. "We can meet you back at the castle as soon as we're done, when it won't matter."

"But why do you get to go?!"

"Because I'm not afraid to bonk a guy in the head, Azzy!"

"Neither am I!" he insisted. "Hell, I'll bite 'em if I have to!"

"Hold it a sec, Chompers," Sans said. "You and Papy go to the castle. I'll bring the shorties." He patted Asriel's shoulder. "We should play it smart, if we can." His smile widened. "I think she's gettin' kinda impatient."

.

Asriel's ears raised and he shot a glance at Frisk— or at least, where Frisk had been. The little blue kid wasn't with the group anymore. A panicked chill shot through his body.

"Guys, come on!" Frisk called— she was way down the road, almost beyond the town limits already. "If you dooooon't, I'm gonna figure it out on my oooown!"

"Welp." Sans grinned. "You heard 'er." He nudged Mistral. "Hey. Chill. We got this." He took Chara's hand and looked at the boys. "Meet you at the castle?"

Asriel nodded reluctantly. He shot Frisk a thumbs up and she reciprocated by crossing her thumb and index fingers into a heart.

"Be careful, siblings," Papyrus said, then called down the street, "BE CAREFUL, FRISK!"

"Okay!" she called back.

"Don't do anything foolish," Mistral said.

Sans winked. He and Chara vanished, only reappear near Frisk before disappearing again.

.

The skeleton and the two kids stumbled out of the frozen air and into a pleasantly cool breeze beneath a clear, starry sky. They were at edge of the field that surrounded the Soul of the World, having narrowly missed landing in the river that cut it and rushed through the forest at their backs. The huge ice dome still stood, gleaming like a small moon in the light of the real one. Chara shielded her eyes and stood on her toes to peer into the distance.

"I don't see much from here," she said.

"Maybe it was the other side," Frisk said. "I didn't see the river."

Sans grabbed them both again. "Good to know."

.

In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the woodland's edge on the other side of the dome. In the distance was quiet chaos. The space around the base of the ice looked as if it were covered in perfectly smooth boulders, but the baffled and despondent soldiers around them marked them as anything but. Flares of magic shone in bright, colourful bursts as some monsters, out of sight behind the mess, attempted to free their comrades.

.

"Oh crap," Frisk said under her breath. Her focus was stolen by the sight of some poor monster down on their knees before one of the bleak, colourless orbs. She took off at a sprint, reluctantly ignoring Chara calling out behind her. She didn't slow until her friend's grip on her shoulder forced her to. She skidded to a halt and whirled, wide-eyed. "What?!"

"Sh-Shit." Chara panted, leaning forward to hold her knees. "You're a fast little dork, huh?"

"What's wrong, why'd y-you…?" Frisk's heavy heartbeat distracted her. She gulped. "What's up?"

"Y-You're just some kid to them." The girl took a deep breath and straightened up. "A-And that's way farther than it looks."

Frisk's brow furrowed. She grabbed Chara's hand and started to run again. "Then come with me."

"I am, I am! Ugh!"

.

They raced across the field until they reached the closest monster— the guard who was kneeling on the ground. He was a white dog in thick silver armour, head down, ears drooped; whimpering quietly. Chara froze up with a grimace on her face and immediately wiped her eyes. Frisk took a deep breath and hurried to his side. From there, she could see into the deep grey orb. There was another dog soldier within: a shepherd, monochrome grey; petrified mid-lunge.

.

Chara slid up beside them. "Hey," she said gently, resting her hand on the dog's shoulder and bending over. "…You close?"

The dog looked up at her with a miserable pout and huge, watery, dark eyes that made both kids tear up on sight.

"M-My husband," he said.

Frisk nodded. She rubbed her eyes, then reached out for the orb. Chara swiftly intercepted her and leaned close.

"…Your disguise might get messed up," she whispered into her ear. "Some of these guys… might not react too well to that."

"It doesn't matter, I have to try," Frisk said.

"Okay. Don't say I didn't warn ya," Chara said, giving her a solid pat on the back.

.

The blue kid extended her hand to the grey orb. Her white fingertips dipped into it without resistance, but the blue of her fur looked grey once she reached farther in. It was bone-chillingly cold, but otherwise felt like nothing at all— not even liquid. Chara's eyes went wide. She leaned in to mimic Frisk, but the second her fingers touched orb's surface, she pulled back, hissing.

"T-Too cold!" she whined.

"You okay?" Frisk asked.

Chara stuck her fingertips in her mouth. "Mmhm." She waved them around in the air and then folded her arms, squishing her hands under her armpits. "Ugh. Garbage. So. Uh. What're you doing? …You're still blue."

"I didn't do anything yet," Frisk said. Her fur bristled up and down her neck.

.

"What's going on here?" Another guard approached them— a large monster in silver armour, covered in red and black scales, with a face much like a seahorse save for the fact that her long snout split into a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. "…Soulbonder? A blue kid? …O-Oracle? What are ya'll doin' here?"

"Sup, Lieutenant?" Sans had snuck up on silent feet and was standing near the bereft dog, patting him on the head.

"We're here to help," Chara said. "Or. Uh. My friend is."

The Lieutenant shook her head. "I'm sorry, ya'll, this is a very delicate situation, I'm afraid I have to—" Her white eyes focussed on Frisk, whose arm was now elbow-deep in the orb. "What the h—?! How in the helfen are ya—?!"

"Ah! Um! One sec!" Frisk reached up and grabbed the frozen dog's paw. "Maybe if I…?" She held on tight and pulled back.

.

The bubble popped. The dog launched forwards, his fur instantly shifting to silver and black. Frisk toppled onto her tail and the others froze as the free monster stumbled to a halt and cast around with bright pink eyes.

"Where'd he go? Grrr, where'd he go?!" the shepherd barked.

The white dog howled and leapt to his feet, throwing his arms around his husband and whining loudly, his tail whipping back and forth so hard it made a drumming noise as it struck his armoured flanks. With a baffled look on his face, the shepherd held him close, ears wilting.

"Wait, did something happen?" he asked blankly.

.

As the white dog babbled an answer almost too quickly to be understood, Sans grinned wide. He pulled Frisk to her feet and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"No way. No. Way." Chara let out an incredulous laugh. "That worked?!"

"I…! Yeah! Guess so!" Frisk's eyes glimmered.

"Wait. Wait a damn second!" the Lieutenant said shrilly. "How'd ya do that?! We can't even touch these things!"

"She's, uh… She's got some special magic," Chara said swiftly. "It's, um, meant for countering other magic. Right?"

"R-Right!" Frisk said.

"Could ya do it again?!" the red monster demanded.

"That's what I'm here for!" the kid assured her.

.

Though she didn't really need the guidance, Frisk let the Lieutenant take her hand and pull her to the next bubble. The kid reached into the cold centre of the thing and grabbed the lizard-like monster within by the arm. Just as before, as soon as she gave the monster a little tug, he surged back out into the world only to stall, startled and confused, time lost but completely uninjured. His jaw dropped with a question, only to be immediately set upon by the anxious Lieutenant before he could ask it.

.

Frisk couldn't help but grin. Chara squeezed her arm.

"You're good," she said. "It's not tiring, is it?"

"No, it's super easy," the kid said brightly. "It's not even really taking magic."

"Then let's keep going."

.

Frisk wasted no time, darting between the strange, grey orbs and pulling the monsters from within. They drew a crowd very quickly as the baffled soldiers came back to life, ready for a fight that they'd already lost.

.

By the time the last monster was freed, the atmosphere was jubilant and raucous. Frisk could have melted with relief. Chara thumped her on the back and tried to steer her back the way they'd come, only for them to be intercepted by the Lieutenant. The big monster dropped down to one knee and bent her head.

"Thank you," she said.

"Oh! Ah, it's okay!" Frisk said quickly, raising her hands. "P-Please get up, I'm just doing my job!"

"How in the…?" The monster straightened her neck, but leaned a little closer as if to get a better look at the kids. "Who sent ya? The Queen?"

"…Yes?" Frisk asked cautiously.

"Yep! Queeeeen Undyne, we work with her in special situations sometimes, y'know," Chara said.

"Hey, wait a sec," a stalk-eyed monster asked cautiously. "Isn't that the kid who was running from the prisoner way before?"

Frisk wilted. "Uh…"

"Wait, are ya?" The red-and-black monster asked. "I wasn't here for that."

"Yes, we got caught up in it," Chara said quickly. "Welp. We were happy to help, but we have to g—"

"What kind of magic did ya'll do?" the Lieutenant pressed as she straightened up. "Like I said, none of us could even lay a hand on those prisons without freezin' our fingers off. And how did ya'll know that would even work?"

"Um, it's kinda a long story," Frisk said sheepishly.

"Well, we gotta debrief ya, for one thing, and then we gotta—"

"We can't stay," Chara said.

"Course ya can, Princess."

"Nope. It's way past their bedtime." Sans slid in as if from nowhere, shooting the Lieutenant a wink. "Just, uh, trust me on this one, alright?"

.

The crowd of guards erupted with protests— they wanted answers, and maybe a party. Frisk winced at the noise, her mind scrambling for some plausible story. The baying of hounds added to the noise. The white dog and his husband tumbled through the gathered monsters and stood before the Lieutenant, thumping their fists over their chests.

"Request for everyone to leave the weird blue puppy alone to take a break, ma'am!" the white dog said, dark eyes huge and glistening.

"Uh." The Lieutenant looked baffled. "What?"

"She's a little tiny puppy," the shepherd said worriedly. "And we're all big grown-up not-puppies. Debrief can wait, can't it? She did us a big favour out here."

"…What's a debrief?" Frisk asked Chara at a whisper.

"Questioning," she said.

"I say it waits 'til mornin'," Sans said.

"No offence, Oracle," the Lieutenant said, "but you always say—"

Sans yawned loudly, his beartrap-like jaws parting unnervingly as he failed to mask it behind his hand. The Lieutenant froze up. She sighed.

"Fine. Mornin'," she said. Her face softened. "Thanks again, kiddo."

"Yeah, no problem," Frisk said quickly. "Happy to help."

.

Sans grabbed Frisk and hurried her away, walking more briskly than she'd ever seen him. Chara rushed to keep up.

"Nervous?" Frisk asked quietly.

"Yup." Sans chuckled.

"Last thing we need is them getting jumped and put in stupid bubbles again," Chara grumbled.

The skeleton nodded. He turned his good eye on Frisk. "Hate to ask, but, uh… See anythin'?"

"I usually only see something ahead of time if it's literally already on the way to smack me," the kid said. "It's like, based on… action? I think?"

"Ah."

"I don't remember you being able to do that," Chara said. "You couldn't when I was around, right?"

"Nope. It's kinda new. Sans lent it to me." Frisk put her hand against her face. "It used to light up with a big mark here and stuff when it started."

"Huh." Chara's mouth pulled into a thin line. "…Sorry, is that creepy to bring up?"

"Probably," Sans teased.

"It's okay," Frisk assured her quickly. "I, um…" Thinking about it, she did wonder why it didn't bother her all that much. She suspected that maybe it was because her brother had already seen so many of her memories— and that she'd seen snippets of both Chara and Asriel's. She shot the girl a sideways smile. "It's sorta like we accidentally did a soulbond thing, right?"

Chara blinked. She rubbed her head, her eyes brightening a little. "…Guess it is."

.

Despite a nervous chill in the air, the three made it to the edge of the woods without incident. Sans whisked them into the castle's entranceway, where they crash-landed straight on top of Papyrus. They skeleton let out an alarmed nyeh, but squeezed them all into his arms as Asriel rushed over from across the hall.

"Oh thank the stars," Papyrus said.

"Are you guys okay?!" the goat boy demanded. "That was really quick; what happened?!"

Frisk stuck her thumb up. "Went perfect."

"What?! Really?!" He bent and plucked her up under her arms. "It…? Nothing went wrong?"

Frisk grinned. "Nope."

Asriel blew out a sigh of relief and he pulled her into a hug.

"So that means everyone was okay, right?" Papyrus asked, sitting up with wide eyes. "The guards, I mean, were they—?"

"Kiddo fixed it," Sans said. "Funny. Nobody was actually hurt, huh?"

"Nooope, he's only out to hurt meeee, I think," Frisk said. "Which I guess is kinda good in this situation, right?"

Asriel pushed his snout against her head and grumbled quietly.

"That's still pretty terrible, honestly," Papyrus said.

"She's right, though." Chara got to her feet and put her hands on her hips as she peered around.

.

They were alone in the corridor. Even at the top of the stairs that lead to large, heavy double doors, the places where guards usually stood were vacant. The girl's eyebrow raised quizzically.

"…Where's Mistral?"

"Some other guard grabbed her right after we got here," Asriel said, finally letting his hold on his sister go slack and letting her stand on her own feet. "They told us to stay here. I dunno, I feel like something's wrong; my fur's been tingling this whole time."

"I'm sure they're not too happy about that guy busting out," Chara said. She flinched. "Miiiiight not be too happy with us, in that case."

"That ain't anyone's fault," Sans said.

Frisk's ears drooped. "Yeah, but if he wasn't chasing me, then—"

"Frisk, you need to stop that right now," Papyrus said sternly.

"He's a psycho," Sans said with a shrug.

"Right, exactly! He's really rude, and it's not like you forced him to be like that. It's completely his choice," the tall skeleton continued. "I still sort of think this all has to be some terrible mistake, but while he's behaving like a violent jerk, you absolutely should not feel like you in any way had anything to do with it."

Frisk's brow furrowed, but she nodded. "Yeah, I… I guess so."

.

Sans's spine went rigid. His eyes darted to the large doors. "Hey. Kiddo." He looked to Frisk, and then Asriel. "Just be cool, alright?"

"Why, what's happening?" Asriel demanded.

Sans held up his hand. "Someone's comin'. Take it easy and everythin's gonna be fine."

"What's going on, Sans?" Chara asked.

"Some… sorta meetin'. We'll see." He counted down slowly on his fingers.

.

As soon as the last boney digit curled, the double doors creaked and pushed open by one massive monster. Standing at about Asgore's height, with broad shoulders and muscular arms, the newcomer was ceratopsian, with a sharp horn on the end of her beaked snout and one on each brow. Her scales were teal, blotched with black and dandelion yellow. A boney frill in a crescent shape rose up behind her head, making her look even larger. She wore a high-collared magus robe in black and gold, with a gold cloak around her shoulders and a similar sash around her waist. She held her hands out as if beckoning.

"Frisk from the Outside," she said, her voice low and smooth. "You are summoned."

.

Frisk's jaw dropped. Papyrus quickly positioned himself between her and the large monster, as did Chara folding her arms and frowning.

"Summoned by who?" she asked.

"A special council, Soulbonder," the large monster said.

"This isn't her fault—!"

The ceratopsian raised her hand as if to pause her. "We can discuss this afterwards."

"I want to sit in."

"I know you do." The monster was unyielding. "You may come in right afterwards."

Chara all but growled.

"You gotta let me come, too," Asriel said quickly. "I dunno what the hell's going on, but I'm not letter her go alone."

The monster raised her brow. "…And who are you?"

"He's her brother," Sans said. "Might be best."

A pause to consider, and the ceratopsian dipped her head in a nod. "As you say, Oracle. Nice to see you again."

"Is it?" He winked. "Same, Archon. See ya again in a bit." He turned to Frisk. "Chill, alright? S'gonna be fine."

.

Frisk's heart was beating up into her ears, but she gulped and nodded. Papyrus squeezed her shoulder with a reassuring shimmer of magic and Chara shot her a serious look and a nod. The kid took a deep breath.

"O-Okay," she said.

The Archon cracked a small smile, and held out a hand to shepherd them forward. Frisk steadied herself and looked up at Asriel. He nodded, clenching his fist, and they went to join the monster.

"We'll come as soon as we can!" Chara called after them.

"Please go easy on them, they've had a really difficult few days!" Papyrus chimed in.

.

The Archon lead the siblings into a quiet, massive hallway, lit softly by crystals. As soon as the way behind them shut, the place was silent as a tomb. Frisk tried to steady herself. Asriel's fur was standing on end. He held her hand. The ceratopsian began to walk, turning off to the right and heading for a large set of double doors. They weren't there the last time Frisk was here.

"Be sure to be honest," the huge monster said, "and you will have nothing to worry about."

"Can you tell us what this summons thing even is?" Asriel asked.

"Be patient, child." She pushed the doors open and golden light beamed through from the next room.

.

The chamber before them was bright, lit with gold and white crystals from wall sconces between reliefs of dragons carved into the polished, curved walls. Lording over the room was a massive crescent of stone, that, judging by the monsters seated behind it, served as a court bench. Queen Undyne was there, closest to the doors. She was dressed in a baggy t-shirt and her long, red and cyan hair was down and loose. There were dark circles beneath her eyes, a heavy frown on her brow, and a suppressed snarl on her lips.

.

As Frisk and Asriel were brought to a smaller, crescent-like table cupped in the curve of the larger one, they could see there were quite a few monsters seated alongside the Queen, most of them wearing magus coats similar to the Archon. Though there was a gap beside Undyne, the next seat was filled by Arnbjörn, looking stoic and imposing, arms crossed on the bench. Beside him was another bird-like monster, long-necked and inky-feathered, with a thin, sharp beak and crest that flared upwards like a beehive hairdo. There were also two froggish goblins in boosted seats, a grey one with heavy-lidded eyes in a plaid night cap and a larger, rounder, green one who was dressed quite regally. The centre seat was vacant, and on its right side was a tall leaf-nosed bat with spruce-coloured fur and large ears covered in silver jewelry, already scratching notes into a thick, well-worn journal. Farther along sat a sleek black unicorn with a horn like a rapier's blade, a many-tentacled purple monster that had tiny eyes and a shark's mouth, a wiry, nervous-looking whippet in sun robes, and finally, a skeleton with a sharp face, unamused eyes, and a dark headdress that resembled the flopped ears of a rabbit.

.

Under the eyes of all these monsters, looming so high above her, Frisk couldn't help but feel miniscule. Even Asriel was dwarfed by their imposing setup.

.

The Archon gestured to a high seat placed behind the crescent table, so Frisk carefully clambered up onto it. The eyes above seared into her. She took a quiet, deep breath. It was fine. She'd talked her way out of worse things. Probably. And at least she didn't think they'd all jump to battle her at once. Except, maybe Undyne would. Frisk's heart hurt. The Queen looked so mad. She didn't blame her— some strange kid had come to her Kingdom and put her citizens in danger in a fight that had nothing to do with them.

.

Mistral came around from behind them with an extra chair, shorter than the one Frisk had. Asriel gratefully took it, but he positioned himself to stand beside his sister instead of sitting, the fur on the back of his neck bristling out like a short, spiky mane.

.

Finally, the massive ceratopsian took her seat in the centre of the bench, looking down upon the kids with a calm, steady gaze. "Is the record keeper here?"

"They are, Archon," Mistral answered, taking a stance beside the kids' table. She gestured to her left, where a pale blue ghost with a notepad materialized and gave a wave.

The Archon nodded. "Then I believe everything is now in order. Shall we begin?"

Most of the monsters at the bench stuck their hands up and responded affirmatively. Undyne, however, remained silent. She looked like smoke was about to shoot out of her ears.

.

"For the records," the Archon stated. "This is an emergency session of the Crescent Court. I am Archon Marama. Seated with me are representatives of the New Delta Council, the Safety Corps of the Inner Circle, as well as the Queen. Before us is Frisk from the Outside. A human, in the guise of a monster."

Frisk clenched her fingers into the desk. Asriel's hackles raised— even more so when Marama turned her eyes on him.

"And you. State your name for the record, if you will."

He looked at Frisk, pale eyes widening. She nodded.

"Asriel," he said. "…A-Also from… the outside."

A few of the monsters at the bench leaned forward quizzically. The bat wrote furiously. The Archon, though, simply nodded.

"Now, Frisk from the Outside," she said. "As you are aware, a small-scale but nonetheless dangerous attack has been launched against our Kingdom by an unknown interloper. The Council understands that you have some intimate knowledge of these events. Now—"

"Hey!" Asriel barked, baring his fangs. "She had nothing to do with those; that guy's trying to k—"

"Asriel from the Outside, please be advised," Marama said in a commanding, steady tone, "interruptions will only make this process take longer and create more work for the record keeper."

"I-It's okay," Frisk whispered. She didn't know if that were true— she felt like she might be sick, but she smiled weakly anyway.

Asriel stalled. He frowned, but he reluctantly shut his mouth, resting his fists on the top of their crescent table. "Sorry," he grumbled.

"Thank you," the Archon said. "The purpose of this meeting is to expand our knowledge regarding the attacker, and pertains to the safety of our Kingdom. Now, please tell us what you know about this interloper. And about any relation you have to him."

.

"Oh. Um." Frisk nodded. "Do… you wanna know about the battle too, or—?"

"Already told 'em, lass," Arnbjörn assured her gently.

The sound of a friendly voice almost made her eyes water. "Okay. Cool. Then, um, what I know is, the guy is a skeleton. His name is Gaster." The name didn't seem to elicit any reaction from them, to her relief. "He is, um, a boss monster? He's like…" She looked at Asriel. "A thousand, right?"

He nodded.

"Yeah," she continued. "About a thousand years old, probably. Aaannnd he's trying to kill me. Just me. On purpose. He tries not to hurt anyone else."

"But a lot of our guards are now trapped in… weird rocks, or something," the unicorn said, ears drooping.

"Oh! Not anymore. They're okay," Frisk said. "I let them out before we came here."

.

The unicorn perked up, pale blue eyes wide, and the other Council members murmured. The green goblin smacked a little webbed hand against the bench.

"How in the name of mishmarsh did you do that?!" he squeaked.

"I… just reached into the… bubble things?" Frisk said.

"Can someone confirm this, please?" the Archon asked.

Mistral saluted. She headed for the door, giving Frisk's shoulder a reassuring squeeze on her way out.

.

"Do you have any idea why this, ah, charming fellow wants to kill you?" the long-neck bird asked.

"I… don't, really," Frisk said. "He didn't seem like he wanted to talk. Not to me, anyway."

She tapped her beak thoughtfully. "Could it simply be because you are human?"

Frisk gulped. "Th-That's kinda going pretty outta his way, though, right?"

"Wait, she's h-human?" the scrawny dog asked.

"Yes, Barkley, we established that at the start," the Archon said.

"Oh?! I..." He put a paw to his mouth. "I could've sworn she was a puppy…"

.

The double doors creaked, drawing the eyes of the group— those that were mostly awake, at least. Alphys arrived in a tizzy, with a big, heavy book clutched in her arms. She rushed to her seat and let out a wheeze.

"S-Sorry I'm l-late, everyone," she said. She shot Frisk and Asriel a smile, letting the book plop loudly onto the bench. "Hi, Frisk! And hi, A-Asriel!"

"Uh. Hi?" he said.

"Hi, Alphys," Frisk said.

"Oof, you guys s-sound so nervous!" the lizard said, smiling sympathetically. "N-Not… that I really blame you, honestly. I-If that were me, I'd b-be sweating like crazy! OH! Not th-that you two have anything to s-sweat about! You're going to d-do great."

"Archwizard, we've already started," Marama said gently.

"OH! Stars, sorry." Alphys laughed nervously, finally getting a small smirk out of Undyne. "Th-Then I can put this on the, um… On the record. I r-really do have to apologize to e-everyone here. S-Somehow my, um, analysis of our interloper's m-magic wasn't accurate. It… might be that, where he's from, magic operates differently, or—" She stalled as Frisk's hand shot up into the air. "Oh? Yes, Frisk?"

"You didn't goof up," the kid said quickly. "He used science stuff to melt out."

.

All the monsters stared back at her blankly.

"…Is that a type of magic?" the groggy goblin asked the other, receiving only a wide shrug in reply.

"…You guys don't know what science is?" Asriel asked.

"He used a machine," Frisk insisted. When she still didn't receive much reaction, her face crinkled up in thought. "Ummm… Oh! Okay. So. He has some metal. And inside are parts that move and do different things, kind of like… a spell that tells a thing to do something when certain things happen. And it's powered by something apart from his body. Like… the way crystals work, right? How you can fill them with magic and then let other things pull magic from them later. The machine can get power on its own like that, or maybe by him charging it up. And if it's built to shoot fire, then it doesn't matter if he has fire magic or not, it can shoot fire as long as the parts aren't broken." She paused and scratched her head. "Does that… make sense?"

"Oooooh," the unicorn said quietly.

"Aaaah," the octopus beast agreed.

"Th-That makes perfect sense," Alphys assured her with a smile. "Like the way we use totems o-or automata." She snickered. "I g-guess it's just that we have, um, different words for similar things. That's good to know, though. That a… machine that isn't activated d-doesn't show up, the way I was looking."

.

"Question," the purple monster asked, sticking some tentacles into the air. "How does Frisk from the Outside know about this?"

"True. You sound very confident in your statement," the Archon said.

"I… I saw it," Frisk said.

Marama frowned slightly. "I didn't realize you were out in the field at the time he escaped."

The kid froze and her stomach twisted. Doubt hit her hard— the answer was outlandish, and she suspected it would be especially strange to a bunch of adults who didn't know her.

"She dreamt it," Asriel said quickly, his voice making her jump as she was ripped from her thoughts. "She's like, uh… She's like our home's version of an Oracle. In training. So she can see stuff, she just can't control when or anything."

Frisk nodded quickly.

.

Again, the doors groaned as Mistral pushed them open. Her cheekbones were flushed faintly with light green.

"Frisk's words are confirmed," she said quickly, coming in to take her place beside the table again. "The soldiers are all free and unharmed. Lieutenant Saffron was there; she repeated the story unprompted."

Marama smiled faintly. "Good. The Council accepts this fact into the records. Thank you for your aid, Frisk from the Outside."

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

.

"But how is she doing these things?" the green goblin asked. "Humans don't have magic."

"She does," Asriel said.

"How?"

"Does it matter?! She just does, okay?"

"Then perhaps is that why she's being hunted? For being some sort of… aberration?"

Frisk winced and Asriel growled.

"Aberration?!" he echoed.

"In a technical sense only, dear," the tall bird said. "Though, I suppose, it is a little freakish, isn' t it? Is that why Outside kicked you out?"

Frisk shrunk in her seat. "Wh—?"

"Ey, go easy on 'er, alright?" Arnbjörn said swiftly.

"What? For a human to be here, in our Kingdom, they must be desperate indeed, wouldn't you say?"

"We didn't come here on purpose," Asriel snapped.

.

The purple monster stuck his tentacles up again. "Motion to see the human's soul, please."

"What's the point o' this?" Arnbjörn asked. "This wee'un bein' a whatever and lookin' at her soul doesn't have a thing to do with how t'stop this bloody skeleton."

"Discovering why she is a target may help," the Archon said.

"Aye, but she doesn't know, and her brother doesn't know, and the ol' villain's in the wind, so we can't exactly just stroll up and ask 'im, can we?"

"Councillor Arnbjörn, please."

He shrugged widely.

"All those in favour of seeing the human's soul?"

All the monsters save for Undyne, Arnbjörn, and the grey goblin raised their arms. Alphys quickly lowered hers and hid her hands beneath the bench. The Archon gestured to Frisk.

"If you would not mind," she said.

"Oh. Um. Sure?" Frisk put a hand to her chest and brought up the red glow of her soul.

The Archon stood and extended her hand, her magic brushing through Frisk's. After a moment, the hidden little pinpricks of iridescent white light gathered and gleamed.

.

The monsters froze. For a moment, none of them even breathed.

.

Then, the unicorn's lips curled back in a snarl. Wincing, the skeleton clenched her hands together, and the dog pulled back from the bench. The bat wrote even faster. The bird looked like she might faint. Eyes narrowing, the green goblin leaned towards Frisk.

"What have you done?" he croaked.

"Uh." Frisk began to sweat. "I… I don't—"

"Queen! Archon! This…! This is obscene, it's—!"

"Oi, quit it!" Arnbjörn barked.

"A human should not have segments of MONSTER within their soul!" The goblin retorted, yellow eyes wide with panic. "What have you done?! Whose are they?!"

"Who'd you take those from?!" the unicorn brayed. "Is that where you took your magic from?!"

"Councillors, please," Marama said.

"I…" Frisk's voice caught. She clenched her fingers over her soul spot. "I d-didn't—"

"Guys, d-don't be so mean to h-her!" Alphys said shrilly. "I know sh-she's not a thief."

"Then…? A… killer?" the skeleton asked nervously. "Those bands… did have so many alerts, didn't they?"

"What?!" Frisk yelped, her eyes welling up. "I n-never hurt anyone, I—! Ask Sans, he'll tell you, I—!"

"What kind of stupid court is this?!" Asriel demanded, snorting a puff of flame from his snout. "You people are just throwing out wild crap! She only has those points in there because she saved my life." He put a hand to his chest. "I was the one who was messed up! She gave me part of herself and our family had to patch her up like that so she wouldn't…! Ugh, just look!" The boy let his soul beam out too, red first, then let the echos of the old fractured lines shine through. "See?! She was missing pieces because of me! Our family chose to give her some of themselves! And it's none of your damn business, anyway!"

"That's enough, Asriel from the Outside. Thank you," the Archon said quickly, turning her gaze down the bench. "Councillors, that kind of speculation is inappropriate. She is not on trial."

.

"How scary," Barkley the dog murmured.

"Then… This could be the reason," the skeleton said quietly. "If… it is perturbing for us, it might be that… you are an abomination. To this man. One that must be des… Oh my."

Frisk's throat dried. "M… Maybe?" She hadn't considered something like that. Could he hate her because she was so weird? Some strange time being that, outside of her own world, shouldn't exist at all? Could he really want to kill her because of that?

"Then she has to go!" the green goblin said.

"Wh-What?! G-Go where?!" Alphys said shrilly.

"From her own words, the villain is hunting her, and only her," the goblin continued. "Plus, she is a human with an uncertain and possibly suspicious history. We can't ask our soldiers to risk themselves for a stranger! She may even be safer out in the wilds!"

"Councillor Swampum, please," the Archon said, eyes widening.

"She might… be harder to find, perhaps," the skeleton said quietly.

Frisk's ears drooped low and she wanted to melt into her seat. Her watery eyes began to leak and she quickly wiped them. "Y-You… wanna send me out into the woods…?"

"And among your own people!" Swampum said. "Surely a whole civilization of those brutes can defend against one single monster!"

"What? Y-You guys, this…! This is crazy, right?!" Alphys demanded. "W-We can't…! I…! I'm not g-going to let—!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Asriel demanded. "You're kicking us out?! We didn't even do anything!"

"I see no problem with you staying," the goblin said. "For the safety of Kingdom, it sounds as if it would be best to—"

.

"SHUT UP." Undyne stood up quickly, slamming her hands into the stone bench so hard that it cracked. "SHUT. UP. DAMN!"

Frisk jolted and Asriel instantly shifted over to hold her around the shoulders. Most of the monsters shrunk down in their seats. The sleeping goblin snapped awake and tumbled backwards onto the floor, and the purple monster threw all his tentacles above his head before sliding away and out of sight.

"Queen Undyne," the Archon said, eyes widening.

"NO! Nope. Stop, right now. We've sat through enough of this shit. Are you guys outta your damn minds?!" Her teeth were bared and her ears flared out, the glowing baubles on the end of the finspines shining intensely. "I only agreed to this stupid session at this hour because it was an emergency, not so you could take this literal tiny kid and rake her over the coals when she should be in bed!"

"We… still need to find out what our next steps are," Marama said solemnly.

"No shit we do, Mar; this is a huge problem!" Undyne said. "But another real problem is we have some maniac out here is hunting down a child and some of you wanna chuck her out past the walls?! Are you insane?!"

"I don't think I agree with… any banishment, but— Wait. H-How… old is she?" the skeleton asked.

"Around t-ten, I think?" Alphys said.

The skeleton's face flushed faintly with purple and she sunk down in her seat. "O-Oh."

"It maybe, perhaps, feels a little hard to justify risking so many of our beloved soldiers," the long-necked bird said, "for… You know. A human. Even a…" She hesitated and sighed. "Even for such a small one."

"And what if he attacks the castle to get to her?" the unicorn asked. "A ton of our big weaponry had to be be decommissioned to rebuild stuff once the Soulbonder freed everyone. I know it's just one guy, but his power levels are crazy high."

"Hey. I'm still the head of the Guard, yeah?! This is the crap I signed up for. So did you!" Undyne glared at the unicorn, and then leaned over the table to shoot at scowl down at the skeleton. "And you, too, Desyrel!"

"And what about the citizens?" Swampum asked. "They didn't sign up for this."

"Man, you are really pissing me off," Undyne said. "No wonder you guys didn't call the Oracle in, he wouldn'ta put up with this for even half as long."

"He does sometimes commit treason if he's displeased, your Majesty," the bird pointed out. "Earlier this week, even."

"I-I think that one was a misunderstanding," Alphys said.

"Yeah, that," Undyne said. "And don't forget, without him committing treason, most of you'd still be trapped in the dungeons!"

"We do appreciate your patience, your Highness," Marama said. "…I, too, did not intend for this."

"I know, seriously! Since when do we get mad at a kid for being hunted by some piece of crap, huh?! We protect people from psychos in this kingdom!"

The goblin puffed out his cheeks. "But she's not one of us! Even with some illusion, you can see that, can't you?"

.

Undyne leapt up onto the table and yanked the fancy little goblin up by his lapels and then stuck him in a headlock, pointing him straight at Frisk and Asriel.

"You look at that kid and you say that again," she said.

Frisk shivered. "U-Undyne, it's… it's okay, I don't want anyone to get hurt, I—"

"Quiet, punk!" she said. She looked at Swampum, her eye narrowed. "Well?"

The goblin blinked his big, glossy eyes in Frisk's direction. The kid hardly knew what to do, but Asriel glared at him.

"A tiny tyke. Far from home," Arnbjörn said. "No parents; no nothin'. Y'really wanna just send her out to a buncha strangers while some guy's tryin' to kill 'er?"

"H-Humans would… They'd c-call her a demon; she'd n-never stand a chance there, either," Alphys said softly.

Swampum gulped. He slumped in Undyne's grip and sighed. "Then. Perhaps. If she… is in danger no matter what. It would be prudent to evacuate the immediate area around the castle. And keep her hidden within. Until the time comes that we can defeat or trap this… Gaster."

"NOW YOU GOT IT, PUNK!" Undyne spiked the little green monster at the ground, where he let out an oomf as he bounced hard off the floor and almost up to the ceiling before tumbling down behind the bench. "Anyone else got anything to say?!"

"Yeah." The unicorn stuck her hand up. "Why'd you gotta put me on blast?"

"Because you were being an IDIOT, Sabre!" Undyne barked, stomping her foot hard into the bench— it cracked.

"…Well. Fair, I guess."

"Your Highness, would you mind?" the Archon said.

Undyne huffed. She sat down on top of the crack she'd made and peered at Frisk and Asriel. "Holy shit, kiddos, I'm real sorry about this."

.

Frisk was shaking. Her eyes had long since glazed. She nodded, but she could hardly swallow. Undyne frowned and she sighed heavily.

"Damn. Sans is gonna kill me," she grumbled. "Look, ah… Can we just, like… finish with something actually important? What d'you guys say? Are you up to it?"

"Does she look up to it?!" Asriel snarled. "You shouldda interrupted sooner."

"…Yeah. It… got pretty outta hand, huh?" She leaned forward. "Frisk? I'm sorry. You ain't gettin' the boot, I promise."

"I… I know. Thanks," Frisk said quietly. She took a long, deep breath to try to steady herself, but her stomach was doing flips and her body felt cold. She clenched her fists and looked up at what was left of the Council. "Just… J-Just tell me what to do."

"What, seriously?" Asriel asked. "After all that?"

"…That green guy and the bird lady are right, though," she said softly. "I… don't want anyone to get hurt 'cause of me."

.

Asriel's ears drooped. Before he could say any more, Undyne clapped her hands together.

"Okay! My turn, yeah? Here's my idea. We gotta deal with one guy who can move at high speed and off the ground. So! Spider scouts. High up. And some purple autoc—"

"If you got anything else, that'd work better," Asriel said. "Gaster's good at countering anything he's been hit with."

"Oh! Right, yeah, okay. Good," she said. "Different autocatchers, then. Something new, even. Double guard, but half in plain clothes so it doesn't look like we did that."

"I… could put up a discreet barrier," Desyrel said. "A… scent one. So whoever passes through against the rules might carry an unusual smell. Perhaps… mint and sesame."

"Now you're thinking," Undyne said.

"What about his teleport?" Asriel asked.

"Uhh…" Undyne looked back at Alphys. "We're working on something, right, babe?"

"Um! Y-Yes!" She opened her book. "Y-Yeah, we are, should I go into the c-composition?"

"Please show it to the record keeper at the end of the session," the Archon said.

"Oh. Hah. Right, that, um… That m-makes sense. A-And—"

.

"Hey." A small, scruffy white dog poked her head up between the two tables. Old Grumf, from the large, messy temple in New Home. She'd slipped in without anyone noticing.

Barkley, who had been flattened back against his chair as if trying to seem invisible up until now, perked up, hopped down from his seat, and took her hand. "High Cleric!"

"Hi."

"W-We started a little while ago; I saved your spot."

"Welcome, High Cleric," the Archon said.

.

Grumf nodded, her dark eyes under heavy, fuzzy brows skimming over all the others. She turned to Frisk and headed straight for her, climbing up onto Asriel's unused chair beside her and holding her arms out. Frisk froze up for a moment, her ears drooping. Electing not to wait, the dog grabbed her and hugged her tight. Frisk's whole body went limp. Her heart ached and tears ran down her face before she could stop herself. She buried her snout against the dog and was given gentle pats on the head between her horns.

"Are you guys done bullying this puppy yet?" Grumf asked with a frown.

"B-Bullying?!" Sabre repeated.

"Yep."

"Oh…" The skeleton drooped. "…Oh no."

"High Cleric, that's… a human," Swampum said from around the side of the bench.

"Yeah. And a puppy," Grumf said. "She needs to go to bed."

"We still have several things to address," the Archon said.

"Yeeeah, no. I don't think so." Grumf rubbed the kid's back. "Bed time."

.

The dog was tiny, and in pyjamas, but nobody pushed. Undyne drooped. She rubbed her fingers through her hair.

"She's right. Let's stop this crap," she said.

Marama nodded. "We can finish with written statements from them another day, if need be. The children can be excused." She looked to the bat by her side, who had been silent up until this point. "Councillor Myotis, anything to add before we move on to strategy?"

The bat straightened up. He held up his notepad. The paper was covered in a detailed, cute sketch of Frisk and Asriel.

"Ah. Understandable," the Archon said. "Add that to the records." She looked at the kids and gave them a small, sympathetic smile. "I apologize for the line of questioning. It was… not intended. Please, get some rest. Mistral, will you escort them out?"

Mistral saluted. She put a hand on Frisk's back and Asriel's shoulder. As soon as old Grumf released the kid, she hurried them back out into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

.

The second those doors shut, Frisk all but collapsed. Asriel wrapped her in his arms and growled at nothing.

"I'll burn the whole damn place down next time."

"Nnooo, nooo, don't say that," she squeaked.

"I didn't hear anything," Mistral said. "But maybe say those things that I didn't hear a little more quietly next time."

"Ugh, I'm sorry, I'm just…!" Asriel straightened up and gestured broadly to the sealed doors. "That was awful!"

"Yeeeeeah." Frisk sniffled. "…Grumf was nice." She blew out a deep sigh. "Whew. I… I thought they were literally just gonna dump us outside or something"

"No, the Queen would not allow that," Mistral assured her. "I also would not allow that." She looked like she wanted to say more but, instead, she patted the little blue kid on the head and nodded down the hallway. "It's late. Come."

.

Their friends were waiting back in the entry hall, but any happiness on their faces vanished the moment they saw the way the two goatish kids looked.

"…What happened?" Chara asked.

"They nearly kicked us out into the wilds is what happened," Asriel grunted.

"What?!"

"Excuse me?!" Papyrus yelped.

Sans's eyelights dimmed. "…Welp."

.

Chara raced to Frisk and pulled her into her arms. "Who was it?! Undyne would never, right?! Was it Councillor Reddeer? That guy gave me such a hard time—"

"It's fine," Frisk squeaked.

"No it's not!"

"It's absolutely not fine!" Papyrus joined them, pulling them both into a hug. "Ugh, I'm so sorry, friend."

"It was mostly some goblin and a bird," Asriel said, "but there were a few others that really didn't seem too happy hiding a human here."

"What, they made it about that?!" Chara snapped. "I thought it was supposed to be about Gaster!"

"It… sorta was?" Frisk said weakly.

Chara gave her a squeeze and then ran out into the hallway. From a distance, her voice echoed back, "HEY! YOU GUYS DIDN'T HAVE SUCH A PROBLEM WITH HUMANS WHEN IT WAS ONE THAT WAS SAVING YOU!"

Papyrus clutched Frisk tight, glowing warm. Sans let out a hoarse laugh, rubbing his head.

"Kiddo, I'm s—"

"You didn't know," she said.

"Yeah." He reached out to ruffle her hair before turning to Asriel. "You okay?"

"I'm really mad," he said, his ears pinning back. "I… probably yelled a lot. They thought she did something bad to get those marks in her soul."

Sans sighed. He patted the kid on the shoulder. "I'll go talk to 'em."

"Rooms are already set up," Mistral said. "I can bring you."

"Meet ya there." Sans vanished. He reappeared for just an instant, depositing a very grouchy-looking Chara back into the hallway before disappearing again.

.

"Welcome back," Mistral said.

Chara pouted. "I can't believe these people."

"I can," Frisk said quietly.

"What?! Why?!" Papyrus said.

"I… I'm a human." She looked at the blue fur of her hands and slumped. "Even if I look like one of you. We're… scary, right?"

The skeleton dragged her closer and she let out a squeak in surprise.

"NO!" he said sternly.

Chara muttered darkly under her breath. She stormed over to Frisk and held her cheeks. "I'm scary. You? You aren't scary at all."

"…Guess I'm glad we didn't try to explain the time stuff to them, then," she joked with a warble in her voice, "or they'd mightta just thrown me right out the window."

"Nyoooo, we'd never let that happen, you know that," Papyrus said.

"The whole thing got a little out of hand. Even my interrogation was a lot gentler than that," Mistral said.

"Oh, yeah, yours was easy," Frisk said.

Chara groaned. "Okay. Enough of this. It's too much. I wanna go back to bed."

"There are rooms prepared," Mistral said. "And there's scones and tea. If you like."

"Let's get the heck outta here, then," Asriel said. "I could sleep for a week."

.

Mistral guided them through the portal, where they emerged into a long, dim, stoney hallway lined with blue carpets and crystals that pulsed softly along the walls. Finally, Chara perked up.

"We get the fancy rooms?" she asked.

"All but the first room beside the tower are open," Mistral said. "Arnbjörn is staying there. I'm sure, once he's done downstairs, if you need help in the night, he would be more than willing." She gestured to the hall. "It's two beds per room, but feel free to arrange yourselves however you wish. I'll bring some tea."

"That's really nice of you," Frisk said.

"Yeah, thank you," Asriel said.

Mistral nodded. "Get some rest," she said.

.

As the skeleton turned to leave, Chara had already started towards the end of the hallway. The others followed her and she opened farthest door within view. Inside was a large circular room, decked out with big, cushy beds, a small table and chairs, stacks of books, and also stacks of fruit in cube shapes. There was a huge window that was ajar, letting refreshing night air drift in past some flowers a chunk of yellow pale crystal that served as a lamp.

.

Asriel headed for the window and Papyrus put his backpack full of their stuff down on the floor. Chara flopped comfortably on one of the beds, sighing as she sunk snugly into the blue and silver duvet. Frisk, however, froze at the doorway. She took in the room, searching it for nooks and little hidden places. The window was pretty big. She wasn't so sure about that.

.

"Frisk, come on, sit down," Chara said, thumping her arm on the bed beside her.

"You look exhausted, friend," Papyrus said. He plucked one of the fruits out of the pile. "Would you like a square blueberry?"

"I, uh…" Her stomach hurt. She shook her head. "Guys, I'm… sorry."

"Why?" Chara asked.

Frisk tented her fingers. "We can't stay in your house 'cause of me."

"No way, idiot," Chara said, sitting upright. "It's because of Gaster, not you." She gestured widely to the room. "And look at this: castle vacation, yeah? Make the most of it!"

"It's really, seriously okay," Papyrus assured her.

"Sis." Asriel beckoned her over. "Come take a look."

.

Frisk cautiously joined him, and he scooped her up to sit on the window ledge. From there, they could see darkened city spread out below them under an endless, starry sky. New Home stretched for miles in a massive circle. Large, protective walls divided districts and big crystals sat positioned on the battlements. A crackle of magic sparked high above them and slowly tumbled downwards as if rolling down the outside of a glassy orb, but after a moment, it left no trace.

"Whoa," she said.

"Maybe that's the smell barrier." He smiled slightly and rubbed her head. "Hey? We're gonna be fine."

"…Maybe not me in this room, though," she said.

"That…! Makes sense," he said reluctantly. "Are you guys sure you want me to stay so close?"

"You're not going off on your own," Frisk said shrilly. "We gotta stay together!"

"Maybe just not together in the same room," Chara said. "Frisk, take the one beside Arnbjörn. Azzy, stay in here? Just in case."

His brow furrowed, but he nodded. "Yeah." He leaned around Frisk and slumped. "If he's gotta figure out we're at the castle, might as well go to the wrong room, right?"

"Oh, crap, you don't really think he's gonna do that, do you?" Frisk asked.

"Oh. Y'know. Probably." Asriel sighed. "Since we have the worst luck in the universe." He looked back at the others. "One of you two gonna stay with her?"

"I will, gladly," Papyrus assured them. "Though…" He put his hands on his hipbones and took a step back to stare at the large window. "Nyeh heh! I think I have an extremely smart idea." He pointed his finger straight ahead. "Booby trap the window!"

"Ooh!" Chara grinned. "Papy! Very devious!"

"It's good to be devious if it's to protect your friends," the skeleton asserted. "Plus, a very fast-acting puzzle is, in essence, a trap, and, as you know, I am excellent at crafting puzzles of all speeds."

.

Chara's eyes gleamed. "And, hey, Frisk? Last time he saw you, you looked human, yeah? If he doesn't know he can't find you any more, seeing me might trick him for just long enough to make him think he's got the right place. Then. WHAM!" She punched one fist into the other. "We smack 'im and make an idiot bonemeal. Right? Should I cut my hair shorter?"

"N-No, I think you're okay!" Frisk said quickly.

The girl grinned. She got up and stood on her toes beside the windowsill, reaching up to squish the blue kid's floppy ears. "We got this. I mean, this is all assuming he'll get past the guards and stuff. Which… could be true. But you're tough, yeah? We're tough. Demon gang." She smooched Frisk on the tip of her snout.

Asriel froze, eyes bugging out. Frisk finally cracked a smile.

"Y-Yeah. Demon gang." She slipped down onto the floor and gave Chara a hug. "Thanks. Anyone wanna come to the other room and check it for hiding spots with me?"

"Me," Asriel said instantly.

"Then I will start to set up here," Papyrus said brightly. "We'll switch when I'm done. See you soon!"

.

The room two doors over was almost identical to the one they had left, but it didn't have any window at all, and it was square. The kids didn't have many things; there wasn't much to do. Then again, that wasn't really the point.

.

Frisk sat heavily on the bed and she wilted, putting her face in her hands. "Crap."

"I know." Asriel sat beside her. "You wanna talk about it?"

"I know I keep sayin' it and I know you guys keep telling me not to say it, but I'm so sorry," Frisk said.

"If you know I'm gonna tell you not to, why'd you say it again?" he teased gently.

"Because this is all so dumb!" she said shrilly. "It's awful!" She grimaced. "Why'd…? Ugh."

"What?" Asriel asked.

"You know. I-If… If I wasn't human, none of this would be happening," she grumbled. "They… They wouldn't have been so scared."

"You can't help that you're a human!" Asriel said. "And you gotta be one."

"Yeah. I know." She frowned. "But even when I look like this. It doesn't matter. I'm still just…" She groaned and rubbed her hands through her hair. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to… It's just…!" She sighed heavily. "It's kinda hard sometimes, I dunno."

.

Asriel frowned sympathetically. He grabbed her hand. "Listen. I… I actually thought about this a lot. Ever since you said… you didn't know why you're human. I know why, though."

"…You do?" she asked.

"Yeah. Except. It doesn't matter," he said. "It doesn't matter even a little bit."

"How can it not matter?" Frisk asked shrilly.

"Because it doesn't," he said. "I love you. Our family loves you. What matters is how you are, not what you are, get it?" He put a hand on his head. "You worrying about that, it's like…" He frowned. "Imagine I just got so caught up and I judged myself based on the shape of my horns, right? Or the colour of my fur. That'd be nuts, wouldn't it?"

"I-I guess?" she said.

"Right! And how much value do you, Frisk, my sister, have because of the colour of your eyes? Or your hair? Or how long your ears are?" He tilted his head. "It doesn't matter, right?"

"No, I guess not," she said.

"And I know you'd never judge someone else based on that, because it doesn't make sense," Asriel said certainly. "So none of that matters. Like I told you, before anything else in the whole world, you're Frisk. Just like, before I'm the cool prince, I'm Asriel. Get it? What we are? What we were born as? Who cares. It's what you do and how you act, that's what's important."

.

Frisk's heart thumped. She put a hand to her chest. "But what if… some people never see that? What if they're scared anyway?"

"Then that's their problem. Nothing to do with you. You got that back when you helped Zapf, right? They said you're a demon, and you said, heck yeah I am, deal with it! Right?!"

"I…" Frisk let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I kinda did."

Asriel held her face and squished her cheeks. "Hey, doofus," he said. "Love you." He smooched her on the end of her snout.

She snickered and quickly wiped her eyes on her fingertips. "Love you, too."

He smiled sideways and mussed up her hair. "Anyway. Try not to worry about it too much, even if a bunch of grown-ups act like freaks about it. I'm really glad you're you. And, um. I mean. Don't get me wrong, I think you look great like a monster, but your normal face is still my favourite."

She stared at him blankly. "It is?"

"Well, duh. That's the real face of my best friend." His cheeks flushed and he laughed at himself. "Okay. That was lame. But. It's true."

"Buhhh." She reached out and hugged him tight. "You're a dork; thank you."

.

They sat and chilled out for a little while until there was a knock at the door. Asriel sniffed and his ears perked.

"Come in," he said.

Mistral entered with a tray of tea and scones. As she put them down on the table, Queen Undyne slid in behind her. She still looked a little grouchy— and she was wearing her armour and horned crown. She stomped over and sat on the other bed.

"Well. Shit," she said. She spread her arms out. "That was absolute garbage and I'm real sorry."

"O-Oh! It's…!" Frisk had to stop herself from reflexively saying that everything was fine. "Actually. Yeah. It… It really sucked."

"I shouldda known the second they said no Oracle that it was gonna be a shitshow eventually. Totally my fault," she said. "I hope you kids can forgive me."

"Yeah, of course," Frisk said quickly.

Asriel nodded. "You smashing that rock desk thing was almost worth it."

"Heh. Yeeeah. I gotta fix that," she said.

"Honestly, I'm just pretty happy you weren't mad at me," Frisk said.

Undyne shook her head. "Nah. Not you; not at all. Mad at myself, mostly."

"The interloper's escape was not your fault, either," Mistral said.

"Yeah. Super wasn't. That guy's… something else," Asriel said. "Even if you're an adult, the guy's over a thousand years old. He's not gonna be easy to deal with."

"Yeesh, that's kinda like the old royals," Undyne said. "I'm still like a kid to them, and I'm old as heck." She sighed, slapped her knees, and then got to her feet. "Welp. I'm goin' out to deal with some defence stuff. You guys okay? Where's Chara and Papy?"

"Tower room," Asriel said.

"Pff. Shouldda guessed."

"And Papyrus is putting traps up on the windows," Frisk added.

"Oh yeah?!" Undyne grinned. "That's a good idea, I gotta see that."

"…I do, as well," Mistral said; she looked a little perturbed. "Good night."

"Thanks for the stuff," Asriel said.

The skeleton nodded. She headed out quickly. Undyne puffed herself up, patted Frisk on the head, and then headed out after her, slamming the door behind her. She called an apology back through the wall. They could hear her boots stomping almost all the way down the hall.

.

Mistral's scones and the warm tea were extremely welcome. Frisk's nerves finally started to settle a little bit. She huddled up with Asriel and spent some time sending some recap texts to Papyrus back home. For once, she was kind of glad that he probably wasn't getting them yet. Everything was such a mess, but it was good to vent a little.

.

When their friendly fanged Papyrus joined them, Asriel mussed up Frisk's hair and excused himself to go stalk around the tower room instead. Papyrus took a look around and let out a pleased hmm. He sat on the same bed that Undyne had.

"I think you'll be happy to know, I put up traps at every window on this floor," he said. "I did ask if I could use the castle cauldron for some extra potions but they said nooo, which is very annoying since it's special circumstances, but I do still have quite a few, so I think we'll be fine. I'm pretty confident we'll be safe if anything happens tonight.

"Thanks, Paps," Frisk said.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like trash." She laughed. "It's okay."

"Do you need a Patented and Patient Papyrus Peptalk?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I just wish…" She sighed. "I sometimes wish I was a little stronger. Then maybe stuff like this wouldn't happen."

"Um. Frisk. Small friend. Did you forget, you had bad brain bump the last time we ran into this particular villain?" Papyrus asked.

"Yeah, sure, but I goofed up the first time, too."

"But we all did, none of us expected to just start getting attacked out of nowhere," he said. "Not even Sans did!"

"Yeah. I… I guess that's true," she said.

.

Papyrus tilted his head. He began to grin. "I have an idea."

"What?"

"Nyeh heh! It's a surprise! But! For now, you should go to sleep. It's been a very dumb and long night."

Frisk smiled sideways. "Um. I… don't think that's gonna be a thing for me tonight."

"Oh?! HmmmMMM…" He tapped his teeth thoughtfully. "I know!" He pulled his lyra and bow from nowhere. "Then, I will play until you fall asleep. It's pretty relaxing, right?"

The kid cautiously grabbed her ocarina from its place around her neck. "Maybe I could play with you, instead?"

Papyrus grinned. "You absolutely can!" He began to tap his foot on the floor, setting the beat. He drew the bow across the strings, conjuring the start of a soothing tune with only a few strokes.

Frisk watched him, listening closely. She tapped her foot with him and carefully whistled some notes alongside his.

.

They'd play for quite a while that night, the tune drifting down the halls— even reaching the tower room where Asriel and Chara prepared for danger. It was much better than Frisk huddling up with her gaze locked on the door from off in a corner, red eyes beaming in the dark like a frightened beast.

.

Arnbjörn would be the only one to sleep well at all that night.