*I don't own Undertale or any of its characters; they all belong to Toby Fox, please support the original release*

Chapter 10: Soul

Frisk was still staring at her clothing with sorrowful eyes, she felt… helpless. She knew what was going to happen…it was like she was seeing him right now… posing, and posing, and posing. Some time ago, when she had been visiting the TV Studios where Mettaton worked, he had showed her his dressing room. The robot had then rushed to make his famous TV program. That night it would be "Cooking with a killer robot".

When they first got to the surface Mettaton did a quick research about what humans liked to watch on TV. By his investigation he found out many interesting things… and he noticed that, although there were thousands of cooking programs, none of them had the word "killer" in their title. Humans seemed to love that kind of "killing drama" on TV, so why not mix it with some cooking? The ratings of his programme were astronomic. People loved to see how he cooked a beef with blazing columns of fire, how he prepared salad cutting it with giant swords or how cut the shape of some cookies with a chainsaw… and that had been only the first episode.

There was Frisk, standing alone in the middle of the gigantic dressing room of her glamorous friend. Needless to say, the room was filled floor to ceiling with clothes, makeup and other fashionable things. Mettaton had told her that she could do whatever she wanted…he had only one condition:

"DO-NOT touch my replacement legs. I always have a spare pair of legs after what happened back at the Undergrond. I can broadcast a show without arms, but these legs!? There's no way I can go on air without them, my fans love them! Did you understand darling, are you going to be a good girl while I'm out?"

The girl had nodded vigorously, she was certainly going to be a good girl…well she would certainly try… The graceful replacement legs were resting on what looked like an altar made with pillows. Now that she saw where they were she was going to stay as far away from them as she could, just in case. The first half an hour had been great, she had tried lots of flamboyant clothing, hats, wigs, boots and she had tried to paint her face like Mettaton's with makeup to give him a surprise. But it was then when she saw it. On the upper shelf of the right wall of the room there was a bright and colourful microphone covered with flashing lights. Frisk had no idea that microphones like that existed, or which was the utility of all those lights, but she could assure one thing… she wanted it. The girl looked up at the shelf and stood on her tip-toes, outstretching her arms as much as she could, but she wasn't even close to reach it. She sighed, letting her arms drop by her sides. In cases like this one she grumbled about being that short.

Frisk stared intently at the microphone. She was going to reach it, she was going to turn all its lights on and she was going to surprise Mettaton more than ever when he arrived at his dressing room. The problem was…how she was going to reach it. She had already tried jumping, throwing things to make it fall, talking with it, yelling at it and, contrary to what many could believe… it didn't work. She looked frustrated at the microphone that seemed to be mocking her with all its colours and lights from up there.

She felt determination filling her as she struggled to find a way to get there. She studied carefully her surroundings, maybe if she managed to make a pile with all those dresses, coats, boots and whoever knows what else, she could make it high enough for standing at the top of it and reaching the flashy item. After a few minutes the pile had grown significantly and Frisk decided to start climbing it. As soon as she started to make her way up she understood that her plan wasn't perfect… the higher she climbed the more the pile wobbled. By the time she got to the top it was very difficult for her not to fall: clothes, boots and other fashionable items slipped down the pile every time she moved, which made it even less stable. Frisk slowly stood up, stretching her tiny arm to grab the microphone. If she only managed to give a little step closer! But when she did… the pile collapsed. She desperately held on the shelf on the last second, avoiding a long fall that would have certainly hurt.

There she was, hanging out a shelf without being able to help herself. She couldn't move her arms. She had managed to hold herself placing her entire forearms on the shelf and she was putting her very effort in keeping her head at the same height of them, but if she changed her position, even a little bit, she would fall. She couldn't just climb on the shelf, because it was too narrow, even for her tiny figure. She couldn't reach the floor with her feet, it was too far away. She couldn't call for help, she knew that Mettaton's dressing room was exceptionally VIP, nobody was going to be walking nearby to hear her. The only thing she could do was stare at the goddamn microphone that was now a few millimetres away from her face.

"You must feel sooooo cool with all those colours and lights of yours, huh?"- She muttered angrily at the instrument- "I'm soooo cool here on the top of this stupid shelf looking at this pathetic human that can't even manage to grab me"- The girl huffed- "You know what? Now that I can have a closer look, you aren't as glamorous as I thought"

Frisk felt even more frustrated a she realized that she was talking with an inanimate object, but she decided to stick her tongue at it all the same. It was right at that moment when she heard a loud crack, and the shelf dangled slightly.

"No…"- It cracked again - "Nononononono"- It dangled even more - "No please! I'm sorry! You're the most beautiful and fashionable microphone I have ever seen!"- The cracking stopped.

The girl sighed in relief, that had been close… it was then when she saw a bright pink bowling ball slowly rolling down a few shelves below her.(Why on Earth did Mettaton had a bowling ball in his dressing room?!) It started to roll more and more quickly and making whatever it found in its way to fall. Frisk held her breath when she saw hats, gloves, flowers, and a little plush dog being thrown away by the ball. It was quickly getting closer to where a big radio with silver spikes was (Why would you want spikes on a radio?!) Right under the radio… were Mettaton's replacement legs.

She squealed when the flashy ball hit the radio and made it fall right over one of the legs. That was surely going to leave a mark… maybe with some polishing she could fix it, yes, she was going to fix it, Mettaton would never notice what happened and… Frisk felt the least of her face colour drain when the ball felled on the ground with a very hard "BUM" and kept rolling… directly to where the shelves with the "Cooking with a killer robot" props were. She heard herself whine when she understood that if something felled down from those shelves it would certainly land over Mettaton's precious legs. The ball hit the bottom of the shelves hardy, making all its contents shake and vibrate as they got close to the edges of the shelves. Frisk shut her eyes, waiting for the crashing sound of things collapsing…but that didn't happen.

She slowly opened her eyes again and sighed. This time it did had been close… well, that's what she thought until she heard the first "CRASH", she helplessly turned to look as countless sharp and pointy dangerous weapons felled over the glamorous legs. First a bludgeon, she remembered seeing Mettaton mash potatoes with it in one of his programmes; then a spare, the robot had used it to cut some meat; a pair of brass knuckles, he had knead dough with them to make bread; an axe, which he used to cut a pizza into slices; a giant kitchen knife… which he had bought just for decoration; and the weapons kept falling and falling. Leaving scratches and dents all over Mettaton's legs.

The girl closed her eyes, and waited till she couldn't hear the crashing of the weapons anymore. She looked back again to see the last blade falling and getting stuck point first in one of the legs. The tiny human moaned hopelessly still hanging on the shelf. A few minutes had passed when she finally heard Mettaton's decided and strong footsteps. Frisk cringed when she heard the door opening and whined:

"I tried! I swear that I did! I'm so sooooooooooooorryy!"

She listened at Mettaton's hurriedly approaching footsteps in silence. The robot lengthened his arms with a buzzing sound and gently held Frisk by her waist, allowing her to finally let go her desperate grasp on the shelf. He softly put her down and examined her carefully with his watchful, bright-pink eyes.

"Are you OK darling?"- He sounded extremely concerned.

"Yes…"

"Are you hurt?"

"No…"

"Not a single injury, bruise, scratch?"- Toriel would feel proud if she heard Mettaton's motherly questioning.

"No, no I'm fine. Really"- When she saw that the robot still looked concerned she spun around slowly, to assure her words. Mettaton drew a hand to his chest and sighed in relief.

"Do not scare me like that again! Understood?"

"Yes…"

The monster gestured at a nearby chair for her sit down. Frisk obeyed. Mettaton's expression was now serious. The girl internally moaned, now that he knew that she was perfectly fine and wasn't worried about that anymore he had remembered that he had to scold her for her actions.

"Which was the only thing that I asked you not to do?"

"…touch your legs"

"And what did you do?"

"…Uh, well I didn't literally touch them"

"Then what did you do?"

"I… buried them under a mountain of sharp, pointy and dangerous weapons…"

"Frisk!"- The monster placed his hands on his hips, frowning- "I trusted you my most precious possession!"- Mettaton posed dramatically- "And look what happened!"- He exaggeratedly gestured towards the pile of weapons that were covering is replacement legs completely- "Oh! How could you?"- He placed the back of his hand against his forehead as he threw his head back.

"It was an accident, Mettaton I…"

But the robot wasn't listening. He was walking from one side to another in front of her. He was now on the "posing zone". She knew that the only thing she could do now was wait till he had posed as much as he considered necessary. Alphys had once told her that one day, when she didn't let Mettaton go to a disco he had been on the "posing zone" for at least three days. She desperately hoped that this time it wouldn't take so long for him to vent his discontent… but it seemed that he was going to take his time. She patiently listened to his complains. She thought that they could have sounded more serious if the robot hadn't posed every time he said a single word.

It was like: "You"-pose-"could"-pose-"have"-pose-"buried"- pose-"anything"-pose-"else!" or "And"-pose- "I"- pose- "was"- pose- "planning"-pose- "to"- pose-" gift"- pose-"you"-pose-"a"-pose-"new"-pose-"sweater"-pose- "for"- pose- "being"-pose- "a"-pose-"good"-pose- "girl". After what felt like an eternity the robot finally leaned on a wall, all that posing had left him exhausted. Frisk hurried to tell Mettaton what she had been trying to do for the last hundred of poses. If she didn't take this opportunity the monster would start posing again, and that was more than she could bear.

"I didn't mean it, I swear! I just wanted to reach that flashy microphone that is over there and it was too high and I tried to climb, but then the pile fell and I grabbed the shelf and the bowling ball rolled and then everything started to fall down and I couldn't do anything and then your legs were there and…"

"There, there"- The robot soothed her, slightly confused- "I think that I understood… most of what happened. Listen, it may not have been your intention, it was an accident and that happens sometimes. But climbing up there was something very dangerous! What if the shelf had fallen, with you included?"- Frisk lowered her gaze as a little scolded child.

"I just…wanted to surprise you…"- Her soft ashamed tone made Mettaton's expression soften.

"Well, if you ask me, that makeup of yours is very beautiful"- Frisk looked at him with bright eyes.

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course I do! I love it!"- The girl beamed with happiness- "And about the microphone…"- The robot stretched his arm again and grabbed it, putting at the same height of Frisk's eyes to let her have a closer look- "It isn't a real microphone it's just decoration, gorgeous"

The tiny human's smile vanished. She stared intently at the "microphone" as she boiled with anger. All what she had done, all her effort, all the consequences she had to face… had been just to reach ….a goddamn decoration?

"Don't make that face sweetie! I know you must be worried about my legs, but thanks to you I´m now free from a very tedious job!"- The girl stared at him dumbfounded – "You see, I noticed that humans love those dumb, slow and bloody things they call "zombies". Soooo, I'm planning to make a new TV programme in which I play the role of a glamorous and sexy survivor of a zombie apocalypse.

I'll call it "Surviving with glamour", do you like it? Of course you do, just look at that expression. Well, as I was saying I would like to make the special effects as realistic as possible. Everybody knows that in an apocalypse the characters are hurt, dirty and unkempt. If I, the star of the show, am perfectly clean, without a single scratch on my beautiful metallic body, it wouldn't be realistic! But now, I have the perfect pair of legs to use! And it's all thanks to you, Frisk!"- The girl stared at him blankly for a few seconds before being able to talk again.

"Aren't you angry with me?"

"No! Of course not darling! Not at all!"- The robot assured cheerfully.

"Do you mean…that I have been watching you pose…all this time…for nothing?" - The girl stared at Mettaton so intently that the robot gulped.

"Oh, hey! Look at the time! I bet Toriel is waiting outside for you! We shouldn't make her wait, shall we?"- The monster left the angry human with her goat mum and disappeared in his dressing room again in the blink of an eye.

"Is everything fine, my child?"- Toriel asked, confused at Mettaton's behaviour.

"Yeah… maybe he is a bit worried about me telling Alphys that he got on the "posing zone" again.

"P…posing zone?"

"Ohh, don't worry, it just implies nonstop dramatic posing"- Frisk giggled at her mother's expression- "Yeah, it's as bad as you imagine".

"frisk? frisk! friiiiisk! hey is anybody there?"- The girl had blinked a few times before she realized that Sans was talking to her- "is mettaton's posing torture that bad? you have been staring straight forward with that wretched expression for a few minutes now"

She sighed-"It's even worse than you could even imagine"

"hum… then i suppose that you'll have plenty of time to suffer when his posing starts. don't ya think? why start suffering now?"

"What can I say?" -She sighed- "You are certainly right. I'll have time for that later. Now let's get down to our business now. Close your eyes"

"what?!"

"Oh, my bad. Do you prefer "close your eye-sockets"?"

"that's not what i was referring t…well yeah, i would say that's a better use of the term, but that's not the point!"

"Don't get that fussy! I told you that I wanted to show you something"

"in case you ignore the fact, usually, when you show somebody something they have to have their eyes, or eye-sockets open"- His voice was full of amused sarcasm and Frisk burst laughing.

"Of course I know that! But I want it to be a surprise. And usually, when you try to surprise someone they don't have to know what the surprise is. That's why I need you to close your eyes"

"i don't like surprises very much, ya' know?"

"Sans, come on! I'll guide you all the way to where I would like to take you! We have to go up the ladder of Mt. Ebbot, but this side isn't steep at all, we won't need to climb. There's no need to worry!"

"wait, let me see if i got this right. you're planning to make me walk, through the forest, up the ladder of a mountain, to some mysterious place, with my eyes closed?"

"Yes"

"nope"- He turned to walk away towards New Snowdin again.

"Sans, please!"- She grabbed his arm, trying to stop him- "I'll guide you carefully! I won't let you trip or get hurt with any branch, rock or whatever! I promise!"- The skeleton stopped walking, but his eyes were still fixed in the ground- "Trust me, this is indeed worth it"- Sans looked slightly up- "Trust me"- He finally looked at her- "Pleaseeeeeeeeeee?"- She pleaded with her most adorable puppy face.

"ugh, not the puppy face…"- The skeleton looked away, he could have never say "no" to that face… and lately that expression had an even stronger effect on him. But he had to stick to his decision… he had to be strong…he had to…

"Can't you do this for me?"- Sans' sturdiness vanished at those words, he had left him completely disarmed.

"uuuuuugh"- He moaned and closed his eyes- "i can't believe i'm actually doing this"- And that was true. When he took a decision it was difficult to make him change his mind about it… and somehow the girl had changed his "no" to a "yes" in the blink of an eye, which was something…. new.

"Yeeeeees! I know you'll love it! But no peeking OK?"

"and what if i do?"- Sans teased her playfully. She had already made him close his eye-sockets. He wouldn't obey that easily now.

"If you do I'll tell Papyrus that you were the one who ate the last cookie in our last sleepover"- Sans gasped, eye-sockets still closed.

"you wouldn't dare…"

"Oooh, wouldn't I?"- It was Frisk's turn to tease him. It seemed like the girl had managed to make him close his eye-sockets and made him obey very easily, after all. "C'mon, don't make that face, let's go"

Sans expression softened when he was surprised by the soft touch of Frisk's tiny hand against his. She gently pulled his bony hand, encouraging him to move. The skeleton gave a tentative step forward.

"I'll guide you, don't worry"- Her sweet voice made San's steps more confident.

He had to acknowledge that Frisk hadn't lied at him about the slope of that side of Mt. Ebbot, he could barely notice that they were going up. With his eyes now closed his other senses became more accurate. He could clearly hear the crunching of the snow under his slippers and Frisk's soft footsteps very close in front of him. The light rustling of the leaves above and around them made him feel a strange but peaceful calmness. The warmth of the girl's hand against his felt even more heart-warming than before, her soft skin gently brushing his bones.

"Watch out over here, we'll have to bend slightly to pass under the branches of this tree"- Frisk gently held both of Sans' hands to give him more stability. They both stooped to get to the other side of the tree and the human let go one of her friend's hand to resume their walking-"Oops, there are some big rocks here, let's go around them"

" ya'know… if i could see right now, this would be a lot easier"- Sans tried to convince her while they had to deviate significantly from their original course.

"If you could see right now it will spoil the surprise, it may take a bit more of time to arrive like this…but its way funnier"- The girl giggled at the last words.

" you do are having fun aren't ya?"

"Yeah! I find this hilarious"- The skeleton huffed as he heard her leaping laughter- "C'mon Sans! You're acting like the skeleton of the feast!"- Her friend burst laughing in spite of himself.

"that's not true! let's make this clear, first you "forcefully" drag me away of the party, then you give me the most perverted look i have ever seen and now you make me walk, with my eye-sockets closed,to the depths of a forest where my screams could not be heard because you want to show me who knows what. if you were me, what would you do?"

He felt how Frisk let his hand go as she cracked up with laughter. Just by listening to her guffaws he knew that she was hunched down on the floor, hugging her belly and blushing madly. He also knew that if he hadn't had his eye-sockets closed she would have been hiding her face behind her hands again, in a desperate attempt to hide her deep blushing.

"Oh my, that didn't sound good at all!"- The girl was still shaking with laughter.

"but it's all true isn't it?"- He was trying his best to hold back his chuckles.

"O-of course not!"- She managed to say between giggles- "You said it that way on purpose!"

"maybe… but it's still nonetheless true"- Frisk gently bumped his chest before holding his hand again and resumed their walking.

"You are exaggerating! And what you said about your screams, why would you start screaming on the first place?"

"i dunno', but if i decided to do so i'm sure that nobody would listen. do you want me to try?"

"What?"- She turned to look at her friend. His eye-sockets were still closed and he was taking a deep breath. She suddenly understood what he was going to do- "Noo! Nonononon-"

"knock-knock!"- He shouted from the top of his lungs.

"Sans, please shut up!"

"that's not how to reply to a knock-knock joke kiddo'! furthermore you know that when i start telling a pun there's no way to stop me!"- The skeleton replied still shouting.

"Oh for God's… who's there?"

"i can't hear you!"

"WHO'S THERE?!"- Frisk huffed as he saw Sans' smile widening, she understood the only way to make him shut up was playing along with his pun and shouting as much as he did.

"a broken pencil!"

"A broken pencil who?!"

"never mind, this joke is pointless!"- Frisk laughed cheerfully and he soon followed.

"I've got no idea how that's supposed to prove that nobody could hear your screams"- Although she was trying to sound serious and annoyed by Sans' attitude, her giggles were kind of ruining the "effect".

"isn't it obvious? if somebody had been listening they would have certainly cracked up with laughter"- His voice tone indicated that he took it for granted, but Frisk burst laughing again.

"Are you serious? We may love this kind of jokes, but we have to be realistic. I really don't think that would happen"

"do ya' think so? then i suppose i'll have to try another one"- He took another deep breath.

"NOOOOO!"-Frisk clasped her free hand over the skeleton's mouth- "What I was referring to is that if somebody had listened…they…they would have probably cursed or yelled at us…don't you think so? Most of people react like that towards this kind of jokes! "

"ok, ok chill kiddo'.there's no need to shout"

He noticed how Frisk came to a sudden stop and he could barely hold back his laughter.

"You have to be kidding me! You are telling me that there's no need to shout?!"

"…and you're still shouting"- The silence that followed his words was too much for Sans to bare, who cracked up with laughter.

"Oooh, what's so funny now?"- She tried to keep a straight face, but with the skeleton laughing out loud in front of her she was failing completely. The girl felt glad that the skeleton couldn't see her.

"y-your face"- Sans answered between chuckles.

"How can you be laughing because of my face if you can't see it? Are you peeking?! I told you not to…"

"i see absolutely nothing! you could try to directly poke my eye and i wouldn't see it coming!"- The skeleton giggled

"And then how could you…?"

"i don't have to look to know which was your expression. when i tease you to the point you don't even know how to react you always stay silent for a few seconds, staring at me and making that face"-Another silence followed- "yeah! exactly that face!"- He started laughing again, knowing that Frisk was indeed staring at him.

"You're impossible!"- His laughter intensified and Frisk sighed in defeat- "Ok, laugh all what you want, I'll keep guiding you meanwhile"

Frisk walked decidedly, still holding the giggling skeleton's hand. They had almost reached their destination and it was starting to get late. If they didn't hurry they wouldn't be able to stay there very long. Sans finally calmed down. Now that he was paying attention again, trying to figure out where the tiny human was taking him, he noticed something different. He didn't listen to the sound of crunching snow as he walked. It had been now replaced with the soft whisper of grass under his feet.

"there isn't any snow over here?"- He asked tilting his head slightly, confused.

"Nope, no snow at all"

"why?"

"I think that you already know that answer"- The girl teased him amused.

"do i?"

The skeleton unconsciously frowned. He felt something familiar but he couldn't say exactly what it was. It was like hearing somebody you know very well, but in a place you would never expect to find them. He felt that known sensation brushing the soles of his feet, surrounding him… he felt…

"magic…"- He whispered.

"I knew you would notice! But wait a bit more! We are nearly there"

Sans followed her, but he was indeed tempted to open his eye-sockets and have a quick look around. Magic? How could it be? Although Mt. Ebott had sheltered monsters for a very long time he had never heard that the magic of the Underground had managed to reach the surface. Could it be that the barrier kept the magic inside and now that it was gone the magic had leaked out and reached the outside? He was still wondering about that when Frisk stopped walking.

"Here we are. But before you open your eyes, you have to throw back your head"

"huh? why?"

"Did I spin around the matter so much when you asked me to climb to the roof of a house?"

"no…"

"Then just do it lazybones!"-She said giggling-"You were dying to open your eyes, why don't you do it now?"

Sans tilted his head back and slowly opened his eye-sockets. He felt how his eyes grew large with surprise and amazement. He couldn't do anything else than stare. They were standing in the middle of a clearing, the deep blue sky hovering over their heads. But what had left the skeleton speechless were the stars. He had never seen so many in his life. They sprinkled the night sky and made it look more captivating than ever.

"The lights of the towns and cities don't let us see most of the stars that appear on the sky every night"- She explained- "That's why, if you want to see a real starry sky, you have to go to a place where electric light cannot ruin the fun"- She looked at her friend's astonished expression with deep fondness- "I told you that you would like it"

The skeleton finally blinked few times, but his eyes were still fixed in the sky when he muttered:

"thank you…"

Frisk decided to let him take his time. She had been able to look at the stars all her life, but the monsters hadn't. Back at the Underground, nearly every single monster had dreamed with being able to look at the stars, to see the sun, to breathe fresh air… it had been something very shocking for her to hear that. The things that she took for granted, the ones that you usually don't pay attention to because you're "too busy"… these monsters would have given everything they had to look at the stars just for a couple of seconds. It made her realize how lucky she had been…how lucky she was… and she had taken the decision to help every single monster till their dreams of returning at the surface came true. And she had succeeded.

Every single time she saw a monster's hopeful smile as they looked up at the sky, she knew that everything was worth it. And now that she could see San's expression as he stared at the sky… she felt the warmth of tears of joy as they gathered in her eyes. She was filled with determination.

The girl let herself drop on the grass, and laid down. She crossed her hands over her chest as she stared at the stars sparkling over them. After a few seconds Sans silently laid down on the grass by her side. They stayed like that for a few minutes, so close to each other that they nearly touched.

"how did you find this place?"- Sans asked, breaking the silence.

"Well… I'm not very sure. I have always loved walking through the forest, it helps me relax and think more clearly. But although I walked very frequently through it, I had never found "that place". You know, where you feel that kind of connection with your surroundings, where your thoughts seem to be clearer, where you feel like you are at home… do you get what I mean?"

The skeleton nodded and Frisk continued- "Needless to say, I was determined to find it. One day, I walked further away than usual and I thought that I got lost. But it was then when I noticed that part of the forest was different, it had something I couldn't explain, something…magical. I kept walking like me feet knew where I was going and I reached this place, "my place". Now I can always find it when I walk into the forest, and I always know the way back too. I come here very often, when I need to be alone or when I try not to think about…"- She suddenly got silent. Sans sat up slightly to look at her, she was frowning gloomily.

"about what?"

"…Nothing"- She answered weakly.

"frisk"- Sans sat up a bit more, staring at her.

"It…doesn't matter, really"- She avoided looking at his eyes.

"kiddo' i have a little question for ya"

"Y-yes?"

"when you say that you know i'm lying to you, do i look as utterly obvious as you right now?"- Frisk's expression softened when a shy smile curled her lips a little.

"Don't worry. I don't think you're as obvious as me. It's just that I know your expressions too well"

"i think that makes me feel a bit better. but, talking seriously now…. about what you said before… if something is making you worried then it matters… at least it matters to me"- The girl felt her heart sink with those words.

"Sans…"- She sat down too and slowly lifted her gaze to look at him. She had to tell him. But when her eyes finally met his… her confidence vanished and she looked away again- "Thank you, but it doesn't matter. I'm not worried"- She gave him a slightly forced smile.

The skeleton looked at her with concern and frustration. He thought that he might know what could be worrying her… what she was trying not to think about... he wanted to ask her... to have the answer of the question that had been tormenting him since that early morning back at the Underground. Two weeks had passed since he had gotten up screaming in his bedroom when the girl had finally arrived at the Underground… and since then, he had wanted to ask her… to tell him the truth. It didn't matter how harsh it could be.

But every time he had taken the decision to act…when he had to face her… he had looked at her sweet eyes, he had looked at her kind smile, he had heard her leaping laughter … he hadn't dared to ask… he was too scared of the answer…

"You are the first person who I show you this place…and I don't think I will show it to anyone else"- The sudden revelation took Sans by surprise and made his musings stop.

"really?"- The girl nodded and looked at him, her expression was now as sweet and kind as usual- "why? i mean, why me and why nobody else?"

"I don't know… I knew you would love this place, that's why I wanted to show it to you… I don't really feel like showing it to anyone else. It's kind of… too personal. Like when you took me to the roof of that house. That is "your place", isn't it? Why did you want to show it to me?"- The skeleton looked at her slightly confused.

"uhh, i guess i did because i knew you would like it"

"Have you showed that place to anyone else?"

"no…"

"And would you like to do so?"- Sans frowned thoughtfully.

"no, i don't think so"

"Why?"

"i dunno'"- He absently scratched the back of his head- "it's... yeah i would describe it as something too personal"

"Well, it seems that now we both know each other's "places", right?"- She smiled brightly at her friend.

"yeah, it looks like it"- He chuckled as he gently ruffled her silky hair. The girl giggled at the soft caress.

They both laid down on the grass again, shoulder to shoulder, staring at the sky and their surroundings. That area of the forest was absolutely beautiful, not only because the clearing allowed you to see the breath-taking night sky, but also because it was indeed magical. There was no snow covering the area, even the leaves of the trees hadn't a single snowflake on them.

At first sight the grass seemed to be black, but when you took a closer look you realized that it was a dark shade of purple. The trees weren't too tall and their bark was a dark shade of brown that looked like it had been polished slightly. But what looked astonishing were the leaves of those trees. They glowed slightly with vibrant colours, and every time a gust of wind made them shake their glow intensified, which made them look iridescent. Each tree had leaves of different colours. Some of them were a soft pink, others a bright green, some trees even had purple ones. But most of the trees had their leaves cyan. Scattered over the grass there were many fruits, their colour respecting the one of the leaves of the tree they had fallen from. The grass was also covered by very little flowers that shyly peeked here and there, bathing their surroundings with their soft light.

"this place remembers me of…"

"Waterfall?"- Frisk asked completing her sentence.

"yeah, because of the contrast of dark and bright colours and that soft light the plants produce. this place has more varieties of colours though, in waterfall everything was either black, light-blue or cyan"

"You're right"- Frisk looked around thoughtfully- "Now that you mention it… most of the trees here have cyan leaves, do you think it's a coincidence?"

"i was thinking about that too, and i don't think it's just a coincidence. waterfall must be right below us. when you first climbed mount ebott you didn't see this place, right?"

"No, but I had to climb a steep side. I didn't walk through here. Still, I don't think this place was like this back then. When I first found this place the magic was hardly noticeable. The grass was slightly purple and the trees' glow was very faint. But every time I come here it looks like the colours are brighter, as though the magic sort of… intensifies"

"mhh… "- The skeleton brought his left hand to his chin thoughtfully- "the barrier must have kept the magic of the underground on edge, but now that it is destroyed the magic is starting to leak out to the surface. waterfall is one of the most magical places in the underground, that's why even the colour of the water is affected by it. it would be something logical, that magic managed to reach the surface and made the grass and trees look like this. they are slowly getting filled with magic, that's why they are changing their colour and they started to glow"

"But… if the magic starts to emerge from the Underground, wouldn't it end up changing all the forest? Wouldn't it spread around?"

"no, i don't think that's how it works. the magic affects just the area that surrounds it, it isn't something that could start spreading non-stop. which means that, although the magic in this portion of the forest becomes as strong as it is in waterfall, it wouldn't affect the rest of the forest. in the future this mountain may have some other areas of its landscape that are changed because of magic, in different degrees. the place that is above hotland may develop plants that can survive in the lava and a hot temperature. meanwhile in the area that is above snowdin it could start to snow and the temperatures may drop"

He noticed that Frisk started to look concerned- "oh, don't worry kiddo'. the changes the magic produce are very slow and gradual, which allows every living being around them to adapt very easily. this won't hurt any of the creatures that live in those places, they may change a bit, but nothing bad will happen to them. i can assure you that"- The girl stared at him with admiration and smiled brightly.

"I knew I should have asked you about this before. When it comes to these things you always give this kind of answers"- The skeleton sighed.

"sorry, i didn't want to bother you with that nerdy explanation"

"What?!" Frisk suddenly sat up and stared at him. She couldn't believe what she saw. By her friend's expression there was no doubt that he had been serious-"That was awesome! What are you apologising about?!"

"what do you mean?"- The skeleton, that was still lying on the grass, looked at her in confusion.

"What do I…? Sans, come on! I have been wondering what could have happened to make this place look like this for months! I though "hey maybe it's like this because it's near to waterfall, could that be possible?" or "could it be that because the barrier was broken and now the magic kind of goes out?" I spent hours here, wondering if those could be the answers! And now, I bring you here, you look around for a few minutes and you have exactly the answer of what happened!"

"You didn't say "it could be" you say "the barrier must have kept the magic of the underground on edge" You didn't hesitate, you were sure of what you were saying, and it was right! Now that I've heard your answer I have no doubt that's how this happened! When you talk about these things, about magic, you always sound so confident, you always find the answers! Like when I told you that my heart didn't buzz! You figured out the reason in a blink of an eye! That's why I love asking this kind of questions to you!"

"do you really mean it?"- Sans slightly tilted his head in disbelief.

"Of course I do!"- She gave him such a delightful smile that made him understand that she was being completely honest- "I know that you love making puns and telling bad jokes to make others laugh… or annoy them. But that doesn't mean that you can't give "nerdy explanations" too, or that you would bore others when you do so"- She lowered her gaze a bit, her cheeks blushing slightly- "Personally… I really like when you talk in that way…"

Sans blinked a few times at her words and felt his own cheekbones blushing lightly too. How many times had the girl taken him off-guard in the past hours? Three? Four?Five? This had never happened to him before. He wasn't a shy person, he had never been shy. That's why he wondered again… Why the hell was he suddenly blushing so much!? Why did all the words seem to have vanished from his mind, preventing him from speaking?! He put his very effort in answering her:

"thank you very much, kiddo´"- Those were the only words that left his mouth. He didn't consider that enough, but it looked like it had been enough for Frisk, who smiled warmly at him.

"Have you thought of using those "nerdy skills" of yours for anything in particular?"

Sans' smile widened slightly when he noticed that the girl talked about his "nerdy side" with great fondness. He knew that she had use the word "nerdy" on purpose. As he had firstly used the word in a negative way she had emphasized in it to show him that there was nothing wrong with it.

"i've never thought about it…"

"You could do many things with that! Maybe help with some research, or write a book about what you know about magic? Or invent things? Be a scientist?"

Sans expression suddenly darkened with that last word. Frisk got silent. She knew very well that was the expression he did when she mentioned something he would prefer not to talk about. She decided to change the subject. A furry and little white dog had appeared in the clearing and she gently patted the ground to draw its attention. The dog had raised its ears and was now staring at her carefully. She had always been curious about something, and she had finally decided to ask Sans her question.

"Sans, back in the Underground nearly every monster that faced me somehow made my soul appear right in front of me. How did they do that?"

The skeleton froze as a cold shiver ran down his spine. He slowly sat and turned to look at the girl. She was facing away from him. He could only see her back. She was sitting just a few inches away. Sans understood that she was focused on the little dog that had walked into the clearing.

"what do you mean?"- He tried to sound as natural as possible.

"When I was in the Underground most of the times I found a new monster they kind of… stared at me…and then everything seemed to flicker before my eyes. I heard a soft jingle and then my soul appeared in front of my chest. When that happened they would start attacking me, mostly aiming at my soul. But what I have always wondered about is how do monsters do that? I mean, how can they face others that way? How can they act that directly on my soul?"

"why… do you want to know?"- Sans bones were completely tense in anticipation.

"I dunno'… I'm curious of how they can do that, I mean…"- She turned around to look at her friend- "Do you just look at someone and that's it? Everything flickers and their soul pops up? Or do you have to stare at them in a specific way? Like, with a fierce expression? -She frowned deeply, wrinkling her nose and showing her teeth in a threatening way.

As soon as the girl had turned to look at him he had recognized her expression. It was the same she had every time she asked him something; every time she was curious about something… she gave him such an innocent look that he felt kind of guilty because of having thought what he did. But deep inside he was still suspicious. It was when she made her "fierce expression" that Sans had finally relaxed and burst laughing.

"I'm making a serious question over here! What are you laughing about!?"

"that's your fierce expression?"- The skeleton asked, crackling with laughter.

"Yes, what's about it?"- Frisk asked, getting defensive.

"don't take this wrong kid…but even a bunny would look more fierce than that"- The girl's cheeks got slightly puffed as she saw her friend so blatantly laughing.

"Well, excuuuuuuse me, I'm just trying to figure out how that thingy about the flickering and the soul works!"

"ok, ok don't get impatient"- Sans said chuckling, recovering his composure- "let's start from the beginning. there's no need to make any specific facial expression to do that thingy"

"Really?"

"yeah, didn't you say that monsters seemed just to stare at you?"

"Yes…"

"that's because making eye contact is the only thing you have to do"- Frisk opened her mouth to reply but Sans gestured her to wait. She reluctantly stayed silent-"when you already locked your eyes with someone you have to think of what you want to happen, not only with your mind, but with your whole body. you have to feel what you want to do, to focus in the thingy, and make it happen"

The girl stared at the skeleton, trying to understand what he had just told her. She turned around again, facing the little white dog and tried to concentrate. She stared intently at it, coping to follow her friend's instructions. She clearly pictured the rectangles with orange borders in her mind, with its words, her soul appearing, the flickering… an odd tickling went over her body… she stared deeply into the dog's eyes. Suddenly everything flickered and her soul blinked into existence before her. The dog stepped closer, facing her directly.

Sans held his breath, he stared at the rectangles that had suddenly appeared in front of the girl. The words "FIGHT", "ACT", "ITEM" and "MERCY" glowed bright orange. He had seen those "buttons" with his own eye-sockets a long time ago, but in that moment he had been too worried about something else. He hadn't got time to pay attention to them, or to the girl's bright red soul that had been suspended before her chest. But now the skeleton's eyes were fixed only in one of those buttons… the "FIGHT" one. Frisk told him that she had never used violence, and he knew that she had told him the truth, but still…

He helplessly waited. He couldn't do anything else. He waited to see what would be the girl's next movement. Frisk stood up, closed her hand in a tight fist and smashed… the "ACT" button. Sans let out a relieved sigh as he saw the girl sweetly encouraging the dog to get closer. The little fluffy dog drew slightly near and then started to jump, trying to catch the girl's soul with its tiny paws. The human giggled as she ran in circles around the clearing, the fluffy annoying dog ran after her, clinging on her heels and barking cheerfully.

When it finally stopped chasing her, Frisk tapped the "ACT" button again, now that the dog was close enough she could pet it easily. When she stopped petting him the fluffy creature started barking directly at her soul. The girl stepped back, avoiding getting hurt and then petted the dog repeated that process till the little ball of fur got tired and rested on her lap. Sans noticed that although she could have already spared the dog, she decided to keep cuddling it. The puppy seemed to be in the seventh heaven, with his tongue hanging out of its mouth and its eyes closed. Frisk kept pressing the "ACT" button and rubbing the pup's belly, then she asked: "Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?"- The dog jolted to look at her, its ears rose- "You're a good boy!"- She giggled as the dog licked her face and waved its tail happily.

"I have always dreamed of having a little, beautiful dog like you!"- She hugged the little ball of fur- "But mum doesn't let me because one day a little beautiful dog like you caused her lots of problems, it even ate her cell phone. She says that she doesn't want to take the risk again. It doesn't matter how many times I ask her, she always answers "No"… and I have to admit that I am very persistent"- She sighed.

"Ok little buddy, time to go home "- She patted its head for the last time and tapped the MERCY button, sparing him. The dog looked at her for a few seconds, with huge puppy eyes, refusing to leave her lap- "Don't look at me like that! Your friends must be worried about you, don't you think? It's getting pretty late!"- The puppy stared at her a bit more and then walked away whining slightly. Frisk watched him go, heart-broken- "Oh my, hear a dog whine is way too much for me to bear"

"don't worry kiddo', he'll be all right"- Sans said chuckling slightly, by the girl's expression it looked like it was the end of the word.

"I hope so…"

Frisk stared at Sans for a few seconds, a tiny frown forming between her eyebrows. Suddenly everything flickered around them and the girl's soul appeared with a soft jingle. The skeleton froze, his eyes locked in the buttons that had appeared before his very eye-sockets. He felt his magic flowing strongly through his body, ready to be used if he wanted to. The tiny human stood right before the ITEM button and let herself drop on the grass, sitting down a few inches away from Sans. Sans noticed that in her position she had the ACT and MERCY buttons within her reach, but even if she stretched her left arm as much as she could she couldn't reach the FIGHT button. Moreover, she didn't even give that button a single glance. She acted like it wasn't even there. Frisk carelessly tapped the ITEM button and pulled up a cinnamon bunny and cut it in half as carefully as she could with her hands.

"Do you want some?"- Her friend stared at her, unable to speak for a moment. He had finally understood what had been purpose of making the buttons appear. She had just wanted to share a cinnamon bunny with him.

"s-sure"- He took the half cinna bun the girl was handing him and gave it a bite. Frisk quickly finished eating hers and Sans remembered that the girl had been very hungry before they left the party-"kiddo, is this your last cinnamon bunny?"

"Yes"-Frisk answered turning to look at him.

" and did you ate anything back at the party?"

" No, I grabbed your ketchup and then I heard all the yelling and ran to the source of it. Why do you ask?"

"i remember you said that you were starving, you can't say that you are feeling full just by eating half of a pastry! here, eat my half too"

"Wha-? No, no! I'm full, really! That's your half, don't worry about me, eat it. I'm not feeling hungry anymore…"- But in that moment her stomach growled. Sans laughed and handed her the cinnamon bunny.

"c'mon, i'm not hungry"

"Nuh-uh"- Frisk said shaking her head decidedly- "It's for you!"- Sans smiled with fondness at the tiny stubborn human. Although she was starving she was determined in sharing her only insufficient meal with him.

"frisk, i don't want you to feel hungry"- She tried looking away , but her stomach growled again- "i'd be happier if you were the one who ate it"- The human looked sidelong at him.

"Really?"- Her face was tainted with distrust.

"yeah! i know how much you love these things"- He gestured at the half cinnamon bunny in his left hand- "stop spinning around the matter so much and eat it!"

The girl looked from the little pastry to the skeleton's smiling face several times. She looked like she was having an inner struggle between her hunger and her kindness. Finally, her hunger and Sans' encouraging face won and she snatched the cinnamon bun of his bony hand with a defeated grunt. The skeleton allowed himself to relax, now that he knew which were the girl's intentions he could look around more.

Her name had appeared out of nowhere, it was written in white letters by her left. Next to it, it was her LV. Sans had to supress a relieved sigh when he saw that it was "1". Her HP was a bit more to her right, a bright yellow bar with the numbers 20/20 on its right. Sans slowly lifted his gaze and peeked at the human's soul, a bright read heart that floated a few inches away from her chest. He quickly looked away. Frisk finished eating the last bite of the pastry and looked back at her friend. She frowned lightly as she realized something.

"Sans, why don't you have all this thingies in front of you?"- She pointed at the orange buttons in front of her.

"monsters don't have those"- He shrugged- "it's something that only humans have"- The girl's frown deepened. She studied the skeleton carefully before finally noticing what was missing.

"Hey, wait a minute! Why does my soul appear but yours doesn't?"- She pointed confused at his chest.

"uh? what do you mean? … have you ever seen a monster's soul when they did the thingy to you?"

"No, I though the one who made the thingy was the one that made the other one's soul appear"

"what? no, no"- The skeleton shook his head slightly- "even if you're the one who does the thingy you would never make a monster's soul appear before them. there are only two ways of seeing a monster's soul: right before their death, in a few occasions, if the monster is powerful, it appears for a few seconds after they die and then shatters. but it's something very unusual. the other way is if the monster decides to show you their soul. i would say that's something even more unusual than the first option"

"Why?"

"why? because your soul is the very culmination of your being! it's the most personal thing you have, you can't just go around showing it to everybody!"

"Wait, what?! I didn't know that! Nearly every monster in the Underground has seen my soul!"- She hurried to cup her hands over the bright red heart before her, hiding it- "Does that mean that I had been a sort of soul exhibitionist or something?!"- Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"noo"- Sans frame shook with laughter- "those were some exceptions"

"Ex-exceptions?"- The girl's hands were firmly clasped over her soul, just a little of its bright red glow managed to seep form her hands.

"yes, nobody thinks that you're a "soul exhibitionist""- The skeleton chuckled at the last words- "let me explain this more clearly. every time a monster challenged you in the underground they probably thought that they were in great danger, or realized how important you were, being the seventh human and all. that's why they tried to do something to stop you"

"why did they made your soul appear?, you wonder. well, that's because when a human is challenged by a monster because of very important reason, or they are challenged to a fight to death, their souls appear. it's like human's souls notice the importance of what's going to happen, and they get corporeal. some monsters admire that quality of humans. as we keep our souls so mistrustfully hidden, when a human shows his or her soul to us it is seen as a great sign of respect and bravery. that's why there's nothing wrong about showing your soul to other monsters in those challenges. on the contrary, it was a sign of respect towards them"- Frisk listened carefully at his words, her eyes wide open.

"Mhh… I think I understand that. But if you say that monsters don't show their souls in challenges, then when do they do so?"

"that's when we get to the "personal thing". if you show someone your soul when you're not being challenged because of something of great importance or if your life isn´t at risk then it's considered as something completely different. showing someone your soul knowingly in other circumstances implies deep fondness"

"your soul is your most private possession, it contains your character, your thoughts, your emotions, if you let someone stare at your soul it would allow them to look into the very depths of your being. it is said that when you show your soul to someone a kind of special "connection" forms between you and the one you chose. a connection that lasts forever, and allows the other to understand you better. he or she had stared at all what you are, after all"- Frisk stayed silent for a while, digesting what she had been told.

"You said that monsters usually don't do that, right?"

"yes"

"Have you even showed your soul to someone?"- The skeleton blinked a few times, surprised by her sudden question- "Oh sorry! That has to be something very personal too, right? It wasn't my intention!"- She desperately apologised.

"don't worry kiddo'"- Sans smiled soothingly at her- "i prefer you to ask me now and not to have problems because of not knowing later"

"Could I have troubles?"- She asked concerned.

"well… if you ask that to any other monster i'm sure he or she would probably slap you nearly as hard as you slapped nick"

"What?!Really?!"- She unconsciously brought up her cupped hands, which still held her soul, to cover her mouth.

"yeah, it's the most private question you can ask to somebody"- He smiled amused at the girl's horrified expression- "calm down, frisk. there's no need to sweat it. by the way, yeah"

"Y-yeah what?"- She asked confused.

"i have shown my soul to someone"- Frisk's eyes opened wide at the sudden revelation and her expression got filled with intrigue.

"B-but wasn't that the most private question you can ask to somebody? Why are you telling me this?"

"i would like you to understand the concept of the soul clearly, that's why"- The girl tilted her head confused- "if you decide to let someone see your soul, then you have to be completely sure of what you're doing. i wouldn't like you to show your soul to somebody and then regret it because i didn't explain this well enough. that's why i wanted to give you an example: i have shown my soul to a single monster, in all my life. in my case, it isn't very difficult to know who that monster is, right?"- The human nodded, she had no doubt of who the skeleton had chosen.

"a long time ago, i showed my soul to papyrus. i knew that i wouldn't regret it. he is my brother, after all. we were having a rough time and he was starting to get worried about me. he thought that i wasn't telling him something, that i didn't trust him…that he was a bad brother. i couldn't let him think that. i needed him to understand that, no matter what happened, he would always be my cool and beloved brother, the best i could have ever imagined to have. i decided to tell him that with the most sincere way that exists, without excuses, without hesitating, i decided to show him the truth, i decided to show him my soul. i have done that only a single time in my life, and i don't think i would do that again. do ya' understand what i'm trying to say?"- Frisk nodded slowly.

"Now I understand why you said that most of the monsters never show their soul to anybody in their whole lives… finding someone who you trust that much is nearly impossible"- The girl's voice was tainted with sadness.

"i know that it doesn't sound very optimistic, but sadly, that's the truth. deciding to show your soul to somebody implies that you know that you wouldn't regret it later, no matter what happens. it has to be someone who is extremely important in your life, that you even feel as a part of your being. someone you would trust even your deepest secrets and you would be ready to listen to theirs, it doesn't matter how bad they could be, and still stay by their side. someone that makes you feel that you can do anything, that cheers you up when you're feeling down and that you know you would do the same for them…someone you would trust your very life, someone you wouldn't doubt giving your life for"

They got into a contemplative silence. The significance of Sans' words hanging in the air. Frisk stared intently at her friend's eye-sockets. Her expression was serious, as she thought carefully what she was going to do. She slowly lowered her gaze, staring at the vibrant trails of red light of her soul, which bathed the outline of her fingers as she kept it hidden between her hands. After another moment of deep consideration she lifted her gaze again, locking her eyes into Sans' again.

The tiny human slowly loosened her hands, allowing the red glow to leak from them. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and drew a deep breath. When she opened them again, she looked confident… and filled with determination.

With her eyes still fixed on the skeleton she gently relaxed her fingers and slightly took away her hands from the bright read heart, now partially visible. Sans finally understood what she was pretending to do and his eye-sockets grew wide. The girl gave him the sweetest smile he had ever seen, there was no doubt she was absolutely confident with her decision. The skeleton watched speechless as the girl softly drew her hands away from her soul, showing it to him.

The bright red heart beamed calmly in front of Frisk's chest, its soft glow outlining her delicate features. The girl's soul suddenly appeared to notice Sans' presence and floated slightly forward, shyly getting closer to him. The skeleton felt his smile widening; the girl's soul showed how shy she was. The meaning of being shown her soul… he had never felt like that before. A mixture of feelings overwhelmed him…happiness, gratification, endearment, doubt…

Sans was sure that he had been very clear with his explanation of what showing your soul to someone implied, and he knew the girl had certainly understood that. It hadn't been an accident this time. She had decided to show him the most precious thing she had, she thought that he was worthy enough to be trust her soul. The skeleton stared fascinated at the beautiful read heart before him. What looked like bright red, steamy ribbons slowly swirled and twisted under its surface as tendrils of soft light blazed here and there. The red light that emanated from the little heart appeared to pulse lightly, being nearly unnoticeable.

Frisk's soul seemed to react at Sans' curious gaze because it shyly recoiled a little. Sans gave one of his traditional smiles, one of those Frisk loved and knew so well. The tiny heart drew slightly near, gaining a bit more of confidence, but still hesitated. The skeleton weighed his options, what he could do to make Frisk's soul feel confident with his presence? Being the very culmination of the girl's being it represented the main characteristics of her personality, her feelings and her way of being. Although the little human was extremely shy, she always tried to fight back that feeling. She chatted, joked and made new friends even if that implied having to blush like there was no tomorrow. Her soul, on the other hand, showed her shyness as pure and sincere as it was, without any filters or fighting back. Having the skeleton staring into its very depths did obviously make it appear absolutely embarrassed.

The skeleton blinked a few times, realization finally striking him. He was interacting with the girl's soul. The girl he knew better than anybody else (excluding Papyrus). He knew nearly all her reactions, all her expressions, all her moods. He knew exactly what to do to cheer her up, to make her calm down or to make her burst to tears because of laughing out loud for several minutes… And he did also know what to do to make her feel confident, to let her know that she could trust him, that there was no need to be ashamed when she was with him. His smile got tainted with deep endearment and encouragement.

The little heart's light intensified lightly at this. Sans looked at the bright red heart before him, finally understanding what to do. He gave the shining soul one of his most playful and amused winks. As if by magic the heart suddenly recognized him. It approached merrily and its light beamed strongly. The skeleton heard a subtle whisper that softly echoed in his mind. Frisk's soul was whispering his name, glowing even stronger every time it did so. Sans felt the deep endearment the little heart had towards him, its red light starting to dazzle him. It felt like it was trying to thank him, showing him how much the girl appreciated every single thing he did for her.

He was suddenly filled with emotions, thoughts, memories...but they weren't his, they belonged to Frisk. He felt a deep warmth filling his ribcage as the girl's feelings rushed over him. The way she cared for everyone, the great fondness and loving endearment for her family and friends, that overwhelming desire to help others... to see them smile... to make them happy. Sans had never felt like that before, the girl's feelings were extremely powerful. She didn't take anything lightly; she felt every single thing with all her strength, with all her heart, with all her soul. She was full of life. Her determination to do whatever she could to make the ones she loved happy was stronger than he could have ever imagined.

He didn't dare to move, he didn't want to interrupt the flow of feelings, he knew how important this was, for both of them. The little heart´s light pounded happily, in a more noticeable way. Sans could feel the girl´s happiness. It seemed that his mere presence was what was causing Frisk's soul so much delight. He suddenly started to feel what the girl felt towards him. He felt her fondness, her loving care, her gratitude for everything he had done for her… but then the tiny heart seemed to start panicking when its glow grew even stronger. He noticed that it was desperately trying to deflect his attention from the new sudden wave of emotions. But its attempts weren´t enough, those feelings were too strong…

Sans started to notice how much Frisk liked his smile; how much she enjoyed his laughter; that she could spend hours listening to his puns and still laugh with every single one; that she loved his company, she did indeed love it; that he made her feel something odd, something special… and he was the only one that could do that to her. He felt a deep embarrassment flushing over the bright red soul, which even appeared to be blushing. Was that possible?

The skeleton felt something else… something at the very depths of Frisk's soul, something she wanted to tell him. That she had wanted to tell him for a long time… but she didn't dare. She thought that she should keep it to herself, that it didn´t matter. Telling him was pointless; she knew that there was no way he could feel the same. Sans suddenly felt his heart pounding in his chest… what was she referring to? Could that mean… that weird feeling that had grew stronger and stronger inside him lately… did the girl knew what it was? Did she feel the same? For some reason the mere idea made him walk on air.

But that feeling didn´t last long. The shyness and sweetness of Frisk's soul abruptly vanished, immeasurable fear taking its place. The heart quivered, dark red stains started to appear all over it. It's bright and cheerful red colour violently being replaced with a dark and gloomy burgundy tint. Black trials cracked under its surface. Sans was suddenly shaken with a fierce feeling of anger, fury… revenge. A horrible high pitched, malevolent laugh pierced his head. He knew that laughter…he had heard it before. His magic suddenly came to life and filled every single inch of his body, flooding it uncontrollably. A sudden flash of silver and crimson appeared before his eyes… his left eye burned with the savage fire of his magic and blind fury took over him as he unleashed his power.

I guess I'll leave this little chapter over here…

Ok, I definitely have to apologize, this chapter took too much time to write. I always try as hard as I can to update as soon as possible. My goal is to write at least one chapter in two weeks, this is the first one that took me a bit more. I'll do what I can to avoid this from happening again, I promise! My holidays finished, I got back to school, my computer broke and decided to turn off every five minutes and I lost all what I wrote of the Fic and had to start from the beginning again and again. Now I have to use a very slow and tiny computer to write. I feel so frustrated that I would like to go and cry on a corner :D But don't worry! I don´t know how but I will manage to make my way through this! Because your reviews, favs, PMs and follows fill me with DETERMINATION! Well, I finally started to introduce a bit of the plot here…don't ya think?

Updating soon!