Chara: Lazy.

Me: But-

Chara: Slow.

Me: I-

Chara: Pathetic.

Me:...well excuse me for focusing on college work...jerk. Sorry that it isn't too good, it's been like...a week or so?

Chapter Start!

(The Next Day)

It's been an entire day since the sudden and random attack against the Royal Guard, which was fortunately foiled with the groups quick intervention. The only one who managed to escape mostly unscathed was Parvos. This puts some of them, especially Sans, at unease. It meant that he was still out there, and seemed more than capable of dealing major damage in the future. However, since he disappeared in a shroud of shadows, which meant that his magic wasn't so easily traced. Chasing shadows is more difficult than it looks,, and Sans couldn't sense it the normal way, even if he went back to the spot that Parvos disappeared from. Wherever he was, he was long gone with no way of following him. But he could at least keep a sharp eye out, now that he knew that the Surface wasn't as safe as he hoped it would be. But in a way he wasn't totally comfortable with, he was glad. He has a justified reason to be cautious now, though he didn't allow this to show around Papyrus. It was very much possible that the lanky skeleton already knows, but his very close demise at Shamir's paws has left him unable to take too many chances.

That wasn't the only issue that needed addressing, however. There was also the matter of Red properly adjusting into this new world. It was not going to be easy, since she can't even remember how her old world used to work, which was likely to be at some time in the distant past. Alphys was still working on figuring out what this means, how she came to the trapped within the Artifact. She was completely unaware of how she came to be trapped within it, nor who might have been responsible. There was no way she trapped herself within it. Geno Alphys has been taking a guess that there might be some sort of significance to this, as the Annoying Dog has never failed to keep the Artifact out of Frisk's reach. Though it seems he has chosen to leave it be, for whatever reason they can't currently come up with right now.

However, that was hardly Asriel Dreemurr's true main concern right now. There was plenty of time for everyone to figure this out and help her regain her memory. But for now, they would have to help her adjust to the Surface as best as they could. Red stayed over at the Dreemurr Residence for the night since they didn't really have enough time to truly set things up and properly organize things. It was a rather abrupt setup, but not one they couldn't improve overtime.

Asriel slowly opens his eyes as the morning slowly and quietly came. He sits up on his bed and looks over to where Red was currently sleeping. There was a bit of awkwardness surrounding the concept of a girl sleeping in his room. She didn't want to sleep alone on the couch, and she declined sleeping alongside Toriel or Asgore. Asriel couldn't really fathom the reason she made such a decision. And to be perfectly honest, she didn't know either. Maybe he could ask Alphys about it when he gets the chance to. Or his parents. Maybe he could simply ask the Canine Unit in general for some clues. But they've been through a bad time without really remembering it, yet the feeling was still there. He found it best to simply leave them be, at least for the time being.

Guess he'll just have to wing it for now and see what happens.

Golly.

He briefly took another look at her as she slept on the floor, softly breathing. Her noise and ears occasionally twitched a little, and her tail unconsciously moves across the ground. Her pink curled hair was still the most significant thing about her aside from her crimson cloak. The latter seemed to be highly important to her, given that it's the same color as her name. Though given her current mindset, she probably doesn't remember how important it was to her. That was another thing that might require much patience. Luckily for Asriel, he considered himself a very patient person when he wishes to be. He isn't usually in a hurry for anything unless it's very important. Not to say this wasn't important, it would just take time. However long that may take, he was unsure. Though he was sure she was much less patient than he was. Intuition gave him that feeling.

"So...you're gonna keep watching her sleep?" Chara mumbled as he peaked one eye open as he too began to sit up, leaving Frisk to be the only one of the trio still in slumber.

Asriel looked toward shim for a couple moments, then back towards Red with a sigh. "You make that sound like I'm doing something wrong."

"It was a totally innocent question!"

"Your delivery didn't make that sound innocent."

"Hmph." Chara rolled his eyes and simply kicked his feet back and forth, also silently watching the canine sleep for a moment. "Do you think she's gonna do okay? Ya know...the whole 'adjusting to a new world with amnesia right on top of it. So she can't even remember the past she used to be a part of. That sucks, because it means we currently have no clues as to who she is." He folded his arms with another sigh. "What makes this even more annoying and mysterious is that blasted Annoying Dog. He's the one who always absorbs the Artifact at some point, so we can be sure that he knows something. But that must does whatever the hell he wants, whenever the hell he wants. We won't be getting answers from him unless he comes directly to us, and who knows when he'll decide to do that..."

"That's true..."

"But I suppose that doesn't really matter, does it? You're gonna try and help her anyway, however you can. Right?" Chara chuckled as he grabbed Asriel in a choke hold and noogied his head. "Am I right?!"

"G-Gah! Chara, stop it...!" Asriel gasped as he tried to escape his brother's hold, to no avail.

Red slowly opened her eyes at the two siblings playfully rolling around in her bed. She yawned slightly before sitting up and stretching her arms out a bit. "Nnnngh...I slept great last night!"

"I can imagine." Chara casually rolls his eyes as he finally releases Asriel from his hold, giving him some time to regain his breath. "So, Red. It's your first official day on the Surface."

Red blinked a bit as she stood up and lightly scratched her head. "Eh? So you're saying that yesterday didn't count?"

"Red. Yesterday was a freaking disaster. That didn't count in the very slightest. We're gonna have to start over and try to do even better."

"Yeah, Red. We have to do better than yesterday and make your true first day on the Surface an enjoyable one." Asriel said as he yawned and rubbed his cheek, which was something Red found to be slightly cute. "Soooo...do we have any idea on what we're going to do?"

"You mean you don't have a plan on how to go about this? Are you serious?" Chara said while absently shaking his head. "I know you aren't very keen with planning skills Azzy, but come on."

"I might have a couple ideas..." Frisk was finally waking up, sitting upwards with a soft yawn. "How about we simply get her outside, first. Might be a lot easier to figure some things out while we have plenty of fresh air to help us think."

"That's not a bad idea. I mean, it beats being cramped up in our room thinking about what to do. Might as well go somewhere that has plenty of space." Chara shrugged as he hopped off the bed completely, moving on to grab his poncho. "But once we get outside, Azzy will have to come up with ways to get Red more comfortable with this world we live in."

"Just me...?" Asriel sighed while rubbing his forehead.

"Nope! She'll also have my help!" Chara and Asriel gasped as they both turned towards the window. Muffet smoothly slides the window open and climbed inside, smiling brightly. "Hello hello helllloooo!"

"Muffet...you let yourself in...again." Chara deadpanned. She didn't seem to acknowledge his deadpan expression and just continued smiling. "What do you mean that you'll help Red get comfortable within this world?"

Muffet sighed while shrugging. "Chara-Dearie...what naivete you showed just now...it's quite embarrassing!~" Chara's eye twitched in aggravation. Yet again, she either didn't notice or didn't acknowledge it. Muffet smoothly moved towards Red and wraps her middle arms around her while lightly tapping the side of her head. "As we already know, Red's first day awake from a most likely long-term slumber didn't go so well. Today is a time for us to rectify that. And who better to lead the operation than a gal her age!~"

Red raised an eyebrow. "You could tell that I was fifteen?"

"I have my ways...ahuhuhu~" That laugh was too mischievous for Chara to be comfortable with. "Anyway, yes indeed. You and I are both fifteen. That already makes us a year or two older than the Dreemurr Trio. Such youngins~" Asriel and Frisk laughed a bit at the truth, while Chara groaned in slight annoyance. "Yep! Not to mention I'm a fellow gal, so of course I'm offering my hands to help you out! All eight of them!~"

Red blinked a bit as her ears twitched curiously. "Really? You're really willing to help me through this?"

"You underestimate me, Dearie! As I said before, your first day doesn't count due to all the fighting. This day is going to be your true first day on the Surface, and we're going to make it quite enjoyable for you!" Muffet clapped happily. "Now then...meet me outside in a couple hours, as i'm sure you still got a bit of morning stuff to get out of the way~" Muffet stands up and climbs back out the window. "Don't take too long, though! Or I'll come back, web you up, and carry you out myself!~" She then hops out of the room, leaving the other four behind for the time being.

Red turned towards the Dreemurr Trio curiously. "...What...is she usually like this? I don't really understand her that well yet...though she seems to be...I dunno..."

"A handful? Yeah. Muffet fits that category awfully well. Tell that from someone who has experience with her." Chara said with a sigh. "But in any case, She seems to be really interested in becoming friends with you. And as she said, it might be easier for you to connect with another girl. I don't pretend to know exactly what she means like that, though she sounds so confident in it that I'll trust her judgement anyway."

"You'll trust her judgement? Hm...you seem to really believe in her. Yeah, you have a lot of confidence in her."

Chara blinked and swiftly looked away, his usual pink blush brightening. "Hmph...she doesn't need any confidence from me...she has plenty of that on her own. Did you even see how she was acting or how she spoke? She's got plenty of self-confidence without my assistance."

"Yeah, I kinda got that much on my own." Red said. She then turned towards Asriel. "I'm all for hanging out with her and all of that, but are you guys still going to join us?"

"Of course we are."

"That's good. I'm all for new experiences...but I'm guessing that they'd be much better in a group than on our own."

Chara nodded in agreement. It was a rather fair deal for her new experiences to be spent with some of the one's that have first seen her. But because Muffet was so mischievous and sneaky, this was also to make sue that she didn't do anything too ridiculous. Or something...well...Chara is simply deciding not to take any chances.

(Later)

"Alrighty!~ I believe I know just the thing to get you started on Surface life!" Muffet beamed as her lower arms were clasped and her upper arms playfully patted Red's head. The two girls walked alongside one another while the Dreemurr Trio walked behind them, as well as being accompanied Toriel and Asgore. The two of them were smiling a bit sheepishly as Muffet was petting Red relentlessly at the moment. The pink-haired canine did her best to not look like she enjoyed the attention, but they all knew better.

"Right...where exactly are we going, Muffet? Where do you intend to take me?" They've been walking for a long time now, since Toriel didn't permit the Dreemurr Trio to use teleportation since humans were still trying to get used to all of their magic abilities. Sans seems to be the one who usually defies this recommendation, mostly because he's usually too lazy. Either he's tteleporting, or he's riding his tricycle. And he usually rides the tricycle when he's low on magic...or he just feels like being silly. "Asriel told me that you do something for a living, despite how young you are..."

"Aha! Good thing he told you! It's true, I'm the sole owner of a rather successful parlor where I offer a huge assortment of sweets, treats, and desserts!~" Muffet beamed while looking incredibly proud of herself. "A couple human officials considered me a bit too young to be in charge of my own business, but I proved to them that I'm more than capable of handling it." She sheepishly rubbed her cheek a bit. "Well...I did have some help from my friendly business rival, Grillby. He and Miss Toriel helped vouch for me! That was incredibly nice of them." SHe then turned towards Chara and smiled brightly. "And ever since then, and even before we officially left the Underground, Chara-Dearie has been my number-one visitor!"

"Chara has a reputation of being the biggest sweet-tooth of the family. Especially when it comes to chocolate. It's only rivaled by Asriel's complete adoration for Cinnamon." Toriel smiles. "I'm more adept in the ways of Cinnamon, I tend to let Muffet handle our chocolate-craving cutie~" She cooed as she affectionately rubs his hair.

"You're making me sound like having chocolate on me is the only way I can function. That is absolutely NOT true." Chara huffed, completely disregarding the fact that he had chocolate waffles this morning, and a bit of chocolate-chip was left on his pink cheeks.

Red blinked slightly as she turned towards Muffet curiously. "You're taking me to your...pastry parlor? I'm not sure what you mean by that...and I'm not sure I remember what chocolate or cinnamon is..."

Asriel gasped and nearly stopped walking, as well as nearly tripping over himelf. He swiftly turns towards Red and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Whaaaaaaat?! Your loss of memory included not knowing what cinnamon?! That will not stand! We have to introduce you to cinnamin right away! You can just go on not knowing the absolute amazingness that is cinnamon! We have to get to the parlor soon!" Asriel said as if the subject was of utmost urgency, letting Red go after brushing off her shoulders. "Sorry for being so abrupt...it's just that...not knowing what cinnamon is or how it tastes...? I just can't allow that to go on!"

"Uh...okay?" Red blinked owlishly once again. The Prince seems to have a pretty strong passion for cinnamon, doesn't he...?

Muffet clasped her hands. "I'm afraid I'll have to agree with the Prince, Dearie. Forgetting about the sweet taste of cinnamon is simply something I can't allow to continue. Not knowing what it tastes like...why...it's unfathomable to think about!"

"As you can see, we have quite a strong standing when it came to the taste of cinnamon. Cinnamon Bunnies, Cinnamon Pie, Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie. We're quite favorable of all of those things." Asgore yawned a little bit, managing a smile down to Red. "Asriel gets a bit excited when it comes to cinnamon, and to a lesser degree, so does me and my wife." Asgore looks upward, realizing that they were quickly approaching Muffet's Parlor. Though he blinked in surprise as they all stop in place, seeing someone pressing their faces against the window. He managed a slightly small smile as he realized who this was. "Oh! Will you look at this..."

It was Helen. Helen's face was very close to the glass, as she was gazing intently at many of the magic sweets and treats being on display. She was slightly unnerved by the spiders. Though since they were simply cleaning up and preparing to open to the day, he didn't mind too much. She wasn't with Gloria, Diana, or even Linda. She was on her own for today, her interest in the sweets could now be explored without any of them being there to criticize her or call her out on it. Asgore could see that she really wanted to sample a few of them, and was eagerly waiting for the parlor to be open. Muffet looked glad that she left such a lasting impression on her.

She looked like she was mentally debating whther it was a good idea for her to be there or not.

"...I really shouldn't...but I really want to..." She mumbled to herself, gazing at the ground. "If the other girls find out that I went here, they're not going to let me hear the end of it...but..." She rose her head again, eyes sparkling. 'But it all looks so yummy..."

Asgore smiled as he made his way towards her. "Howdy, Helen!"

"GAH!" Helen jumped away from the glass at the sound of Asgore's voice. She clumsily tried to compose herself while fighting off her bright blush. "Oh! A-Asgore! I was just...um...I was..." She was stuttering enough to give Alphys-before she increased her overall self-esteem-a run for her money. "I-I mean...hello! Hi ! Howdy do! Salutations!" Stupid, Helen! You're making yoursel look like a complete idiot! Get your mind straight and act natural! "Wonderful weather we're having!~" ...Linda was right. I'm an embarassment...such a waste of space...

Luckily for her, Asgore either didn't notice her immense blunder or just chose to ignore it, and he continued to mile as Muffet had her spiders opened shop and were followed inside, by the Dreemurr Trio and Red. "It seems you were waiting here for a while, just for the parlor to open. I suppose that Muffet's baking as claimed it's hold over you?"

"I..I guess you could say that...I really didn't want the others to find me here. They would really get on my case about it and I wouldn't hear the end of it." She said with a slight blush, twiddling her fingers. "S-So...I decided to just come here on my own...b-but you're much more relaxed about this than they are. C-Can you not tell them that I went here? They're still not...you know...used to you yet." Helen was trying her hardest to not make this even more awkward, but apparently she was not doing too well in that regard either. Luckily, Asgore didn't seem to acknowledge it like he probably should have.

"Why, we were already heading here, Helen. Of course we would like to join you." Toriel smiles as she entered the parlor alongside Frisk.

As Red herself entered the spider-themed parlor, she was slightly overtaken by the amount of spiders crawling about, as well as the smells of the pastries-whether they were chocolate, cinnamon, or anything in between-filling the shop. Though the scent that mostly caught her attention was the cinnamon. She wasn't the only one, as Asriel removed his scarf so that it wouldn't become wet from his sudden drooling. She didn't blame him, as she herself was now beginning to drool, due to the delicious scent and she was sort of following his lead.

Muffet beamed at the reaction that that she managed to invoke from Red. She turned towards Helen for a few moments. "Feel free to make a few selections, Helen-Dear. My precious spider-dearies are more than willing to help you along." Then she turned towards Chara, who was casually nibbling on chocolate bars. "Goodness gracious, Chara-Dearie. You're already nibbling on that chocolate! At least let me get it for you!"

"I know my chocolate rights." Chara deadpanned, nonchalantly nibbling his chocolate.

"Hmph! Chocolate rights. You know you just made that up..." Muffet said with puffed cheeks.

Asriel wasn't distracted by their banter, nor was he distracted by Helen's ever-growing nervousness around Asgore. Instead, his main concern was for Red knowing the taste that is cinnamon. There was no need for them to rush anything, though. It was best that they start off small and simple. And he knew just the thing for such a category. Asriel quickly picked one of the many treats gathered around them. The Cinnamon Bunny. Excellent.

"Here Red. Try a Cinnamon Bunny! It's like a Cinnamon Bun...but in the form of a Bunny! It's a Cinnamon Pun!" Toriel and Frisk snickered mischievously at the slight pun.

Cinnamon Bunny...? Red asked as she held it in her paws, head tilted to the side. She sniffed the treat slightly, her ears twitching and flicking curiously. Muffet and Asriel seemed extra insistent on her trying it, nearly bouncing in place. Frisk and Toriel were giving gentle smiles of encouragement. Chara didn't look like he cared too much about it, simply focusing on his chocolate. Asgore was busy sipping tea with Helen, who managed to calm down and relax a little. With nothing to lose, Red took a tentative bite out of the Cinnamon Bunny.

Her silver eyes immediately brightened. The treat warmed her from within, the magic certainly giving her a bit of an energy boost since she was still a bit sleepy from waking up. Plus the cinnamon itself was effortlessly drawing her in, alongside it's incredibly soft texture, easy for her canine teeth to bite into. Her nose continued to sniff the cinnamon while biting into it, her tail wagging with much glee.

Asriel smiled. "I think we won her over with Cinnamon Bunnies."

"We have ourselves a fellow lover of Cinnamon. Excellent~" Muffet grinned.

Red soon finished her first Cinnamon Bunny, and had eagerly grabbed onto another one that a spider was carrying for her. She wasted no time biting into this one as well, her tail wagging even faster. "Monch Monch!~" She looked up to them with cinnamon on her fuzzy cheeks. "This is cinnamon?! It's absolutely delicious! How can I not remember what this amazing smell and taste is?!" She beamed while gazing at said treat with widened eyes. "Well, whatever! As long as I don't ever forget it again, I'll be totally fine!"

"Indeed. Surrender yourself to the sweet goodness that is cinnamon. You have no choice in the matter! Ahuhuhu!~" Muffet giggled cheerfully. She then takes a seat in front of her and gazed into her eyes. "How about this, Red? You and I get to know each other better as I also lend all of my hands to help you get used to the surface, and I'll be sure to always get you a steady supply of Cinnamon Bunnies. Does that tickle your fancy?~"

The cloaked canine thought over the offer while still munching on her snack. It would be rude of her to deny the spider girl's offer when she's gone out of her way to introduce her to cinnamon. Asriel also played a major role in that, being a fellow cinnamon lover heself. She looked up to see Muffets eyes were pleading with her with her upper hands put together. Chara was easily able to tell that Muffet was playing up her cuteness to get her way...so he had no idea why he was blushing harder when it wasn't even directed at him. Red rolled her eyes and sighed, before putting on a small smile for Muffet. "Alright. I can't just deny you after you did something so nice for me. I guess we're official friends too."

"Yay!~" Muffet said excitedly as she wrapped all of her arms around Red and pulled her into a warm hug, nuzzling her cheek with her own as all five of her eyes closed, yet emphasized her delight with Red's acceptance. "I can see it now! We're going to be best friends! Ahuhuhu!~"

"H-Hey! Muffet! That's a bit too close, I'm still eating!" Red stuttered slightly, blushing as Muffet continued to cuddle her.

The adults in the room saw this scene for themselves, and couldn't help but laugh. Especially since Asriel looked very proud of himself for helping introduce Red to cinnamon. Helen smiled as she sheepishly sipped some tea with a bagel in hand. "Wow...they befriended each other so quickly...I wish it was always that easy..." As much as she genuinely liked Gloria, Diana and Linda...it was really difficult for her to get them all to spend some genuine time together nowadays. They've been denying each other bonding time ever since...she sighed just from thinking about it.

"Helen. I sense something troubling you." Asgore said gently, placing his own cup of tea down.

Helen blushed while shaking her head. "N-No! It's...well...I usually don't just relax like this with the other girls. We used to but...something happened. Something that left all of their hearts-and I guess their souls?-much more bitter in the aftermath. I'm the only one who's trying to pull us out of it...but so far I haven't had any luck..." She sighed as she looked down in her lap. "I don't think we'll ever be able to move on at this rate..."

"This event that happened...is it something you don't feel like talking about at the moment?" Toriel asked softly, concern beginning to grace her face. Helen slowly shook her head. Toriel pondered this. Mayor Alvina most likely knew why Linda, Gloria, and Diana were so bitter, while Helen is just sad. She had heard that Helen was once married, but was divorced not too long before the monsters came to the Surface. Whatever happened, Helen really didn't want to talk about it, and Alvina respected her wishes enough to not even mention it. Toriel will have to respect her wishes as well, though she would still be worried about all of them.

Asgore gently placed his paw on Helen's shoulder. "Helen...neither of us can make you speak of your troubles in deep detail if you don't wish to. But you must know that we are your friends. You can always come to us whenever you feel comfortable. You realize this, do you?"

Once again, Helen blushed slightly. She then placed her hand on top of his paw and smiled softly at both Royal Dreemurrs. "Yes...I do."

Toriel: Based on Helen's reluctance and brief confession...it seems Linda and the others have a reason to be so bitter. While she's just sad that they're not as close anymore because of it. And it's apparently been like this for a long time now.

Asgore: Maybe when the time is right, she can talk to us about it...

Muffet: On a much brighter note, me and Red are friends now! Yay~

Asriel: And she loves cinnamon! Yay~

Chara: Hmph. More chocolate for me.