:):

Thank you for the awesome reviews!

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I've been delayed for a few days due to company, and I'm still trying to get back into my groove lol.

Hopefully now that things are quieter I can start writing again.

Fingers Crossed!

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WingDings

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Patiently, Frisk stared up at her mentor/babysitter as he raised his hollow hands.

*Acceptable.* The skeletal monster nodded in approval. *Now, I think it's time we move on to the next stage.*

Not showing whether she was happy about this or not, the little girl's face remained carefully neutral as she followed the stoic scientist. The cheeping of a baby chick caught the child's attention as they approached a small cage sitting on a lowered lab table. The sight of it caused instant anxiety to flare up inside of her. Why had he brought this tiny creature here? What was it for?

*This bird just hatched this morning.* The man explained calmly as he removed the top of the cage, giving the child access. *For your new assignment, I want you to put it back inside its shell.*

Frisk felt her insides squirm a little as she stared at the oblivious chick. She didn't want to do this; it felt cruel and unnatural. With a subtle frown, the little girl furrowed her brow slightly before lifting her hazel eyes up to her teacher. "Do I have to?" She asked, unable to hide the displeasure in her delicate voice. "I don't want to hurt it..."

*There has not yet been enough evidence collected to determine whether the process causes physical pain.* The monster replied truthfully. *However, if this truly bothers you, then I can offer an alternative.*

Beside the birdcage, a potted flower was placed. With its cerulean petals open wide, the beautiful flower was in full bloom.

*This flower opened two days ago.* The scientist began as his eye lights drew back to the small child. *Though this might be a bit more difficult, I'd like for you to try and close the petals back into an unopened bud.*

Turning her focus towards the flower, Frisk nodded slowly as she tried to estimate how much magic she would need. Two days? That was a lot!

*Know this,* The skeletal monster warned. *If you are unsuccessful, we'll return to the original test.*

"I won't failed." The little girl replied with a look of determination. Even though she also felt bad for the flower, she would feel even worse if she had to do this to a baby chick. So, whatever it took, she couldn't allow herself to fail.

...

Scrunching up her brows, Frisk closed a hand around the soft furry material that was currently covering her and pulled it a little closer, unconsciously trying to hide from the unpleasant memory. She had tried! She really had... Tears slowly began to leak from her closed eyes as the bad dream started to fade into obscurity.

Feeling a warm tongue slide across her cheek, Frisk awoke with a start. Opening her eyes, the teenager was greeted by an overly enthusiastic white fluffball. Bewildered, she turned her head slightly, only to get an even more thorough face washing from a new angle. Unable to defend herself against the tiny monster's adorable assault, an awkward smile appeared on her face as she reached up to pet the cute creature. Try as she might, she was never able to resist dogs.

Hearing the unusual but familiar sound of breathy laughter, Sans stilled his pencil before looking over to his bed. A slow grin spread across his skull as he witnessed the mute girl pampering the spoiled mutt with affection. "heh, you too, huh?" he chuckled in amusement. "pap's gonna love this."

Easily recognizing the lazy tone, Frisk turned to see her new friend leaning back in his chair. He had his usual grin plastered to his skull, but she could tell that he was still tired. Even so, he looked much more relaxed now and for that, she was glad.

After giving the skeleton a small smile, the mute girl reluctantly pulled herself up from the warm dent she and her little sister had made on the soft mattress. Falling to her lap, she discovered a beat up insulated coat with a fur-lined hood. This poor jacket had definitely seen better days she thought to herself as she unconsciously ran her fingers over a long tear in the pale blue fabric.

"eh, sorry about that." Sans said as he looked away sheepishly. "i know it's a bit dirty, but i didn't want you two to get cold. you know," he started, his grin turning slightly mischievous. "i've heard it's actually warmer to sleep under the covers. maybe you should try that next time."

Sarcastic skeleton, Frisk thought privately as she shot the monster a subtle smirk. Even though she knew he was only teasing, he was right, of course. She had just been too tired at the time to consider it.

Turing her attention to her little sister, Frisk leaned over the sleeping child and felt her temperature. Fearia was toasty warm right now and everything else appeared to be normal. She hadn't started to decline at all yet, which was a relief because the teen had no idea how long she had been asleep. It could have been hours! But since her new friend was still here and hadn't left yet, she suspected it really hadn't been all that long.

Still feeling a little tired, Frisk tried to muffle a yawn before stretching. Afterwards, she carefully scooted over to the edge and got out of bed. Gathering her baby sister into her arms, the mute girl then pulled back the covers and gently placed the small child back where she had first found her. Tucking her in with care, Frisk brushed some of the messy auburn hair out of Fearia's face before leaning over and kissing her on the forehead.

Feeling a little like he was somehow intruding on a moment, Sans forced his eye lights back to the map he was working on. He'd spent nearly two hours now constructing a plan for how he was going to get the kid's Soul back from inside the Ruins. Truthfully, it wasn't the best plan, but there was no way he could create a perfect plan that involved zero risk - not with those vines. But, if he could somehow know where he was going once he was inside, it would give him a greater advantage and improve his chances for success.

Now that Frisk was finally awake, maybe she could help him out on this part. She already had firsthand knowledge of the layout of the Ruins, and it was probably pretty extensive for how long she had been down there. He just needed to know where things were and what to avoid; he couldn't risk another cave in. This was a vital part of his plan, so hopefully she'll be able to fill him in on the gray areas. After that, he should be ready to head out.

"hey, uh," Sans started, gaining the teenager's attention. "mind lending me a hand for a moment?"

Lifting an eyebrow bone, Sans watched in slight amusement as Frisk gave him a small smile before lifting her hand. She then proceeded to use the universal hand gesture for "OK". heh. Looks like he did know a little sign language after all. That was a bit of a no-brainer though, he grinned in humor.

Joining the skeleton, Frisk curiously peered down at what he was working on. Was he drawing a map? A feeling of unease tightened in her stomach as she recognized the rudimentary layout of the exit to the Ruins. Why was he making a map of that horrible place...?

"i need to know what's down there. think you can remember where things are?" Sans asked as he set a pencil down onto the paper, an obvious invitation for her assistance. "i don't need to know every nook and cranny, just the general layout."

Noticing her hesitance, Sans felt his smile slip a little. She looked really nervous. He should have realized that this might make her uncomfortable. Of course she wouldn't want to remember the place that she had been trapped in. After all the resets, who knows how long she had really been down there. So, it was completely understandable if she didn't want to think about it. "don't worry," he tried to reassure her. "you don't ever have to go back there, i can do this solo, but it'd just be safer if i knew where things were beforehand."

Feeling her sense of unease grow, Frisk turned to look at her friend before mouthing out her confusion. *Why go back?*

"ah, guess i forgot to tell you." Sans said guiltily as he realized his own mistake. "the original reason why i was outside that door was because i was searching for your sister's soul. i've been looking for nearly a week now and i've got a pretty strong suspicion that it's in those ruins somewhere."

An anxious frown appeared on Frisk's face as she took in this information. If this was really true, then she knew she couldn't object. For her little sister's sake, going back into those crumbling ruins was now an unavoidable necessity. Giving her friend a small nod, the mute girl nervously accepted the task.

"great. this'll make things easier." Sans said as he let out an improbable breath. She had him worried there for a second. "alright, so i've gotten as far as the house." he explained as he tapped a phalange to an area he had already filled in. "can you show me what's after that? i need to know how far down the ruins go."

Frisk's eyes roamed the blank space on the large sheet of graph paper. Would there be enough room? She might have to scale back the size a little bit, but she'd do her best.

Let's see... She thought to herself as she tried to remember. Before she got to the house, there was a large room with a burnt tree. For some reason, the vines had always seemed to ignore that tree. Maybe it was because it was already dead. After that area, there was a path that led in two different directions. One of them was always blocked off by vines and the other was the way she had come.

Leaning over the wobbly desk, Frisk picked up the pencil and attempted to recreate what she remembered.

Giving the human a side glance, Sans belatedly realized the unspoken dilemma. This small desk was never meant for two people and if he wanted Frisk to help him out then she should at least have a place to sit. "here, you can have my chair." he offered as he politely vacated his seat. "don't worry, it's fine. i can go get another one from the kitchen."

Sending the skeleton a grateful smile, Frisk accepted his generosity. And here she thought chivalry was dead, she privately mused. Sitting down at the old beat up desk, she carefully slid the large graph paper closer to herself. Once she was settled in, she turned to thank her friend properly, but to her surprise, she found that he was already gone.

Giving a small shrug, the mute girl turned back to the map only to be startled a second later when another chair was placed next to the desk. Flinching in surprise, she accidentally dropped the pencil to the paper where it promptly rolled off the slightly slanted surface.

"heh. sorry about that." Sans apologized with a smirk as he bent down to retrieve the fallen writing tool. "it's kind of a bad habit. i'll try to warn ya next time."

Shaking her head, Frisk laughed good naturedly at her own expense. She really should have expected it. Teleportation was in his nature after all so she couldn't fault him for it.

Smile widening a little at her reaction, Sans took a seat next to her at the corner of the small desk. For some reason, he couldn't seem to get enough at that weird laugh of hers. Maybe once things got back to normal, he'd try telling her a joke or two sometime.

...

Staring down at the partially finished map, Sans was met with a brand new conundrum. Inside each new area, Frisk had helpfully written a few words describing the room. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to read it. Ironically, he now understood how confused Fearia must have felt trying to read that dumb etiquette book. Still, he knew he had to say something, but how was he going to tell her?

Oblivious to the skeleton's troubles, Frisk tried to write as legibly as she could. Making a small note inside a certain hallway, she warned her friend of pitfalls. It was important that he knew of them beforehand. Hopefully she wasn't making too many notes, but the more she thought of that horrible place, the more worried she became. Those ruins were dangerous! Truthfully, she was starting to have second thoughts about making this map at all. She didn't want Sans to go back in there all by himself...

Letting her concerns get the best of her, the mute girl stopped working for a moment in order to jot something down on a small piece of scratch paper she found laying neglected on the desk. She was already fairly sure of the answer, but she still wanted to ask. Once finished, she slid the paper over to her friend.

aw crap. Sans thought as he looked down at the foreign symbols. He'd waited too long to say anything, and now he was just going to look stupid trying to explain his problem. Staring hard at the neatly written note, the skeleton tried in futility to somehow spontaneously decipher the hidden message.

It wasn't working.

Sighing, Sans reluctantly admitted defeat as he gave the mute girl an awkward smile. "eh, sorry, hun. probably shoulda said this sooner, but... i can't read your writing. it's not your handwriting," he tried to clarify "that's fine. it's the actual language. we use something a little different in the underground."

A small frown appeared on Frisk's face as she listened. Had the written language for monsters truly changed this much in such a short amount of time? She would think that such a change might take centuries, not a decade. Even so... Looking over to all of the notes she had already written, her expression turned to subtle annoyance. Why had he waited so long to say anything?

Sans felt himself sweat a little when the mute girl gave a slight huff of irritation as she reclaimed the piece of paper. After scrutinizing him for a brief moment, she carefully wrote something else down, before sliding it back.

Okay... Sans thought as his smile wavered a little. What part of 'I can't read your writing.' didn't she understand? Lowering his eye lights back down to her note, the skeleton stared dumbly at the familiar font.

*Can you understand WingDings?*

"...h-how do you know this language...?" The lazy skeleton was completely thrown for a loop as he tried to process this bizarre turn of events.

*My teacher taught it to me a long time ago, back when I was just a small child.*

Reading the new message, Sans felt his curiosity grow. Had WingDings been a common language back in ancient times? Or perhaps it was something unique that came from the Kingdom of Magic. He already knew that she had lived there as a little kid, so maybe she had learned it there as well. "was everyone taught this language when they were young? i mean, was it normal?"

Giving her friend a small smile, Frisk shook her head before retrieving the quickly cluttering piece of scratch paper. This time, she took a bit longer writing her reply, but when she was done, she slid it back to him.

*No... It was only me. My mother was often busy, so she left me in the care of her most trusted friend. He's a skeletal monster, like you, and he's also a very talented scientist. Sometimes, when my mother had to leave on long trips, I spent days down in the Royal Laboratory. Whenever Mr. Gaster had time to spare, he'd teach me things.*

"gaster...?" For some reason, Sans couldn't quite comprehend why that name bothered him so much. It was both familiar and unknown. Wincing, the skeleton felt a twinge in his damaged skull before his headache began to resurface.

Flipping the paper over, Frisk looked a little happy as she wrote more.

*You kind of remind me of him, so I figured maybe you would also know his language. It's good to know that I was right! This makes talking with you much easier.*

"heh." Sans grinned in humor as he gave a small shrug of his boney shoulders. "guess this means i don't gotta read your lips anymore, huh?"

Smirking, Frisk made a show of pointing to her lips before mouthing out a silent retort.

*Only if you want to.*

Sans felt his grin waver slightly as he interpreted her words. "uh..." What the hell was he supposed to say to that? No? Would she find that rude? Was there a right answer? Eye lights drifting away all on their own, the skeleton mentally floundered.

Seeing the bewildered expression on her friend's skull, Frisk felt laughter bubble up from inside of her. She had only been teasing! Now she felt kinda bad. Still... his reaction was priceless she thought with a giggle as she jotted something down.

Hearing the mute girl's distinctive laughter, the skeleton's eye lights were drawn back as the piece of paper was placed in front of him yet again.

*It was a joke. I was only teasing.*

Reading her note, Sans felt slightly chagrined as he gave a chuckle in spite of himself. He just got played. For such an innocent face, this human had a devious side. To hell with jokes, he thought as a passive-aggressive grin spread across his skull, now he just wanted to prank her. "heh. good one, ya got me." he replied good naturedly.

yeah, laugh it up, sweetheart. Sans thought privately behind a pleasant smile.

With a voiceless giggle, Frisk took a minute to enjoy this period of levity. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had laughed like this. It felt good not to be scared to joke around for once. Back in Fauna, she sometimes found it difficult to even crack a smile, so this was truly a welcomed change.

Sooner than she would have liked, however, the gleeful moment came to an end as the gravity of their current situation came back to settle heavily down onto her shoulders. Now, more than ever, the thought of Sans returning to those crumbling ruins all by himself troubled her greatly. She wanted her sister to have her Soul back, but she also didn't want her new friend to be injured or worse. If only there was a way to ensure his safety...

For now, the best thing she could do was make sure he could read her notes. Turning the pencil around, she carefully began to erase what she had written so that she could rewrite them in WingDings. After that, she needed to get this map done as quickly and legibly as she could.

Letting her work in peace, Sans sat back and studied the piece of paper now littered with her side of the conversation. Who was this Gaster person? And why did his name sound so familiar? Frisk had said that he had also been a skeletal monster. That was interesting all on its own, since well... as far as he could tell, he and his bro were the only two left. He vaguely wondered if this Gaster guy had also been able to teleport. heh. It would've been kind of neat to talk to another skeleton.

xxx

Frisk used *FLIRT*

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In the next chapter, Frisk makes an unlikely friend.

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Sheii Bae~