:-The journey begins...-:

Quietly, Thing moves over to Frisk's bedside and sits on the edge.

With care, she gently brushes Frisk's hair and rubs along their back while whispering,
"Time to wake up, Frisk. There is a lot that needs to be done this morning."

Frisk wakes up in a good mood, "good morning, Thing…"

Thing goes downstairs, while Frisk yawns and gets ready for the day.

Frisk checks their phone: 7:30 A.M. March 31st, 2045|4Messages

… And decides to read the messages later, they're hungry right now.

After returning to their room to change, Frisk asks Chara, "do you want me to take you downstairs so you can be around everyone, or do you just want to stay here?"

A brief pause is followed by … nothing. Frisk realizes that they have to be closer, so they approach.

When they are close, they find a nob that says "volume" and decide to turn it to "max."

"Sorry, can you say that again?"

Another brief pause, followed by a familiar robotic voice, "I would like to stay up here, for now."

Frisk nods, "Kay, I'll be back after breakfast."

As Frisk leaves, their shadow stays behind.

"Hello Chara, I figured I'd stay and keep you company. Wanna chat?"

:-:

Breakfast today is oatmeal, with French toast. Conrad and Marceline are not at the table, because they are spending time together before Frisk and Marceline's departure to the Sanctum.

Frisk's good mood fades as they recall recent events, and events soon to come… Though happy to be able to finally see the Sanctum, Frisk isn't very enthused to leave their monster friends behind, or leave their home… As a result, they eat slowly and seem distracted.

Thing notices, and comments, "Frisk darling, if you're worried about your responsibilities as the ambassador for monsters, don't be. Your father and I will take care of everything here while you are gone."

Prodding at their food dispassionately, Frisk replies, "that isn't the problem… well, not all of the problem… I can still do monster ambassador stuff in the Sanctum, but… none of my friends will be there."

Sans finishes off his food and says, "don't worry kiddo, we'll visit as soon as we can."

Alphys adds on, "Yea! The Aircraft doesn't need the Artifact to-"

Frisk interrupts, saying "OH! You just reminded me! I got the Artifact back" and then pulls out the white crystal sphere from their Dimensional box.

Alphys quickly runs over and grabs the Artifact to inspect it, "h-how… How did you get this?!"

Sheepishly, Frisk replies, "I uh… remember when I went missing at the party? I… followed some shadowy version of CU-270 that calls himself 'The Player.' It was just… sitting outside the barrier."

Curious, with of a hint of fear, Sans asks, "wait, cu-270 got out of the barrier?"

Frisk shakes their head, replying,
"No, he was from… an alternate timeline, I think. Said he's 'one of the failures.'"

Sans contemplates that information…

Alphys comments, "well, the Artifact is useless as it is. It has no magic in it at all. I… d-don't remember how to charge it… so, unless you find some way to charge it while at the Sanctum, it's just a pretty crystal ball."

Continuing to examine it, Alphys continues,
"I'm curious as to what it is made out of, but I'm too scared to try any tests…"

As Alphys lapses back into thought, Frisk asks, "so, am I going to take it to the Sanctum, or are you going to make another thingy so that we can text each other while I'm at the Sanctum?"

Alphys considers the options before saying, "I'm going to make another antenna… I know the humans here may not trust us that much… but surely the humans in the Sanctum do. I'll probably send it over with Mettaton, if he's willing to take it."

Curious, Frisk asks, "Why Mettaton?"

Nervously, Alphys replies, "Well uh… he… h-has a mode… that lets him fly? B-but… it was primarily made to… k-kill humans? Aheh… I-it doesn't have to be used that way though!"

Alphys pauses, expecting backlash of some sort, but none comes. She continues. "A-anyway… I was thinking… maybe Mettaton c-could fly to the Sanctum with it. I just have to… ask-."

Excited, Frisk says, "oh oh! Let me go ask! I wanna say hi to Riverperson before I leave!"

Alphys hands the Artifact back to Frisk and says, "Uh… sure, I have stuff I need to do anyway," then goes back to eating.

Taking on a more mischievous tone and face, Frisk asks,
"Sans, would it be too much to ask for another magic lesson before I leave?"

Undyne goes wide eyed and spits out her drink, Alphys accidentally inhales food in surprise and starts coughing, and Papyrus stops mid-bite to look at Sans in surprise.

Sans chuckles at their responses, "sure kiddo. when you come back, i can teach you a really cool trick."

While she helps Alphys dislodge the food that she inhaled, Undyne asks,
"you're going to teach Frisk magic?! I thought that was just a joke?!"

Papyrus isn't as scared of the prospect, but with an expressionless face he turns his head down and says, "OH MY GOODNESS, SANS, I CANT BELIEVE YOU… YOU…"

After brief pause for drama, Papyrus stands and puts one foot on the table, points into the sky with his spoon in hand, and looks upwards with a gleeful expression shouting "YOU ARE ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING! ! I AM SO PROUD! ! ! ! YOU HAVE FINALLY DECIDED TO FREE YOURSELF FROM THE SHACKLES OF LAZINESS! !"

With his usual smirk, Sans replies, "i figured that, if i teach frisk how to use magic, i could have them 'practice' by doing stuff for me… so i wouldn't have to. you know, like in that one movie where the old man teaches that kid karate by having him do all his chores."

Pride gone. Papyrus sits back down with his patented "I can't believe you" face and starts eating again.

Undyne and Alphys are also more at ease now, though a little disappointed in themselves for not seeing through it.

Alphys is also internally relieved. Sans being serous about teaching Frisk magic doesn't sit well with her…

With everything calmer now, Sans stands up and says, "welp, i'm done eating and i have some stuff i need to go sleep on. knock on my door when you're ready, bud" then leaves.

After Sans' departure, everyone returns to finishing their meals before cleaning the dishes and preparing for the day.

:-:

Frisk, already being packed and ready to go, decides to play games with Papyrus for a while.

They make all sorts little puzzles, but eventually Frisk pulls out some old puzzle books and they read through them. Papyrus is intrigued by all the human-made puzzles, and becomes completely enthralled with trying to figure them out.

With Papyrus being occupied, Frisk decides that it's the perfect time to go to the monster camp… then they remember about Chara. 'Gosh darn it! ! I can't believe I forgot!'

Frisk runs back to their room and, subconsciously, uses magic to go faster… they are not very good at it though, so it actually makes them trip up and go a little slower… but it feels like they went faster.

Once in their room, Frisk walks up to Chara's container and says,
"Sorry Chara, I got caught up making puzzles with Papyrus…"

Chara moves around quickly in their container, only making small movements instead of the slower longer ones. They are starting to get more familiar with talking through the SOCDev.

"It's OK. Gave me time to talk to that shadow guy… You'd never believe some of the stuff he's done! …some of it was not cool, but the rest is awesome! Also, he doesn't think of himself as a demon… so he isn't trying to steal my pretend-self."

With a smirk, Frisk comments, "I thought you were shy."

"I AM! Besides, it was mostly him talking. I didn't start talking until he mentioned something about those Last Dreams you have tucked away in the nightstand."

Upon hearing that, Frisk becomes concerned, "how does he know about the Last Dreams…? No… maybe the real question I should ask is 'how long has he been watching…?' Pretty creepy…"

Chara seems to hesitate to answer, but does eventually.
"I don't know how long he's been here… He wouldn't say."

Frisk is concerned… They don't know if they can trust this version of CU-270… They can't even trust the one that locked himself in the barrier, even though he is supposedly trying to help…

As they contemplate if they can trust him, an idea forms in their mind…

Frisk equips the SOCDev, then curiously, but hesitantly, Frisk asks in a whisper,
"Do you think he can help save Asriel?"

Far less quietly, Chara responds,
"MAYBE. I DO NOT ENTIRELY-"

Frisk winces and knocks the headset off their head part way through, having forgotten to turn the volume down… They correct that issue before putting the headset back on.

Apologetically, Frisk says, "Sorry, I didn't get all of that… I forgot to turn the volume down…"

Chara responds, seemingly amused.
"Ha ha. Well, as I was saying, I do not entirely trust him, but asking wouldn't hurt."

Contemplating their decision, Frisk grabs their cell from the nightstand and remembers about those four messages; they decide to wait until after they've spoken to Sans before talking to "the player."

Frisk checks their messages: 8:15 A.M. March 31st, 2045|4 Messages

From: Goat mom:
Hello Frisk, this is Toriel! Sans
showed me how to send "text
messages!" I talked Alphys too
and she showed me what a
"smiley" is! Please look at this!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

From: Goat mom:
(Please pretend there is a smiley
here that looks like a goat.
You can thank FFN.)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

From: Goat mom:
Now turn your head to the left,
and you will see that it is a
picture of me smiling at you!
Can you see it?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

From: Goat mom:
At any rate, Asgore and I will be
coming to the manor at 9AM
to say goodbye… So don't forget!
Love, " Goat mom" Toriel.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Frisk contemplates replying, but decides to surprise her.

Hoping to get to the monster camp before they leave, Frisk leaves the manor quickly.

Everyone else in the village is busy with early morning chores, like farming, feeding livestock, and general maintenance; which makes it easier for Frisk to get by without being noticed.

Not that they're worried about being caught, but it's fun to sneak around nonetheless.

Frisk makes it all the way to the eastern gate before being noticed.

A guard approaches, "Hey Frisk, you look like you're up to no good… I want in. Who're we pranking?"

Though taken by surprise, Frisk replies calmly,
"Sorry Kevin, I'm just sneaking out to the monster camp to say goodbye to my monster friends."

Slightly disappointed, Kevin sighs, puts a hand on his hip and lifts his metal visor before saying,
"Well, let me accompany you at least. I'd hate to get in trouble for letting you sneak around alone."

Frisk shrugs and says, "fine, but I'm almost where I want to be. Gonna get a ride from Riverperson."

The two walk through the gate and to the river in silence.

Upon arrival, Kevin pats Frisk on the head and says,
"See ya later, trouble maker. Don't forget to say goodbye to everyone else."

Frisk gives a slight smile, and nods.

After Kevin leaves, Frisk approaches the Riverperson.

"Tra la la. Long time no see. Care for a ride?"

With a slight smile, Frisk replies, "yea, to the monster camp."

"Then we're off…"

Frisk clambers onto Riverperson's boat and they set off down the river towards the monster camp.

Along the way, Frisk decides to chat a little. "So… how are you feeling?"

As silly as ever, Riverperson answers,
"Tra la la. Hmm… like I should have worn a few million more pairs of pants today."

The rest of the boat ride is calm and quiet. If It were not for possible danger lurking in the shadows, and the danger trapped within the barrier, Frisk would be at peace.

A few minutes later and they are at their destination.

Frisk hops off and says, "I'm gonna be going to the Sanctum, so… Goodbye Riverperson. Thanks for letting me ride on your boat… and for all the advice."

"Goodbye Frisk… or is it? Do you really know if you'll never see someone again? After all, even your new brother is home now. Tra la la."

Frisk is confused… "Are you talking about Chara?"

Riverperson shakes their head negatively, but doesn't say anything.

Frisk contemplates that for a moment, then waves goodbye and walks towards the camp…

A couple monster guards greet Frisk and, after a brief exchange, point them to where Toriel and Asgore are.

As stealthily a manner as they can in an almost completely open space, Frisk looks for the two fluffy targets.

When they round the corner of a green magic wall, they see a fluffy boss monster overseeing the construction of roads, houses, and what appears to be a school. Toriel seems to be trying to wrap it up though… Probably because she's about to leave for the manor.

Frisk sneakily approaches Toriel from behind, manifests a handful of green bandaid bullets, then tugs on her dress briefly to get her attention.

As their unwitting victim turns around, Frisk pushes the bullets towards where they predict her face will be…

A held-in sneeze and a giggle sound out as fruits of their accuracy, followed by large arms picking them up and mercilessly tickling them until they start squirming.

"Heheheh! I can't take more of your tickling! Hehehehe! ! You've bested me! ! Aheheheheh! !"

Not relenting her assault, Toriel giggles and says, "what is this? Surrender so soon?"

Frisk replies, "Never! It is merely a bluff to gain your confidence so I may strike and gain my revenge!"

Being well versed in tickle warfare, Frisk manages to focus enough to make a couple green bullets and fling them at Toriel's snout… but she turns her head and closes an eye as they approach, so they only hit her cheek.

So Frisk takes drastic measures… they go completely limp and try to make themself fall out of Toriel's grasp. It works, sorta.

Toriel frantically tries to keep them from falling, and in so doing ends up falling backwards… leaving herself wide open for little fingers to find their ways under her arms and on her sides, tickling with no more mercy than she showed them.

Giggling and laughing uncontrollably, Toriel says,
"I give! Hehehehehe! ! I give! ! Show- Heheheh! ! -mercy!"

With that declaration, Frisk relents in their onslaught… Their foe vanquished.

Frisk stands with a visible smile, mimics Papyrus' stance, and says,
"I, Frisk Addams, 'the greatest tickler,' have claimed another victim! !"

After proclaiming that, they are yet again swept up… but, instead of being tickled, they merely get a poke on the nose. "You silly little one, coming all the way out here; and alone no less! Did you get my text messages?"

Frisk nods and says,
"Yea, but I want to say goodbye to my other friends too… and I need to ask Mettaton for a favour."

Toriel sets Frisk down, and brushes off her dress as best as she can before responding. "Well, I am sure they will be glad to see you before you go. Mettaton is currently helping set up the school. If you go now you might catch him before he goes to get more supplies."

Frisk nods and runs off to find Mettaton, and Toriel watches as they depart… she does her best to keep herself from tearing up.

:-:

In a dark featureless room, Sans works tirelessly on several strange devices.

If he had skin, it would betray how little sleep he has been getting.

Fortunately he doesn't, which allows him to keep up the facade.

Despite his lack of sleep, he has been working at a relatively leisurely pace.

With the Artifact out of the Barrier, Sans has decided to work unceasingly on his project… now only taking breaks to eat and occasionally appear briefly so no one wonders where he is.

Papyrus is working at another bench, silently.

If he had flesh, he too would have bags under his eyes… but Papyrus rarely sleeps even under normal circumstances.

The two brothers have been working tirelessly ever since they heard that CU-270 could raise the barrier without having access… which means the Artifact is not quite the perfect defence the others think it is. What will happen if it fails?

What will emerge from the barrier?

Will the Gibbering Horror remain, with the body of CU-270 merged into it, or will CU-270 stand alone?

Alone… and dangerous.

Neither option is very good at this point. CU-270 would no doubt be out of control once released from within the barrier, but if the Gibbering Horror wins and absorbs CU-270…

Well, his red SOUL would give it the means to devour everything.

Papyrus pauses for a moment to look at his brother, "SANS, I WILL ADMIT THAT YOU WORKING SO MUCH HAS LIFTED MY SPIRITS… BUT I AM VERY WORRIED ABOUT YOU. HOW ARE WE GOING TO EXPLAIN ALL OF THIS?"

Without looking away from his work, Sans replies, "don't worry, Papyrus. I will explain everything in due time. For now, we need to prepare for whatever comes out of that barrier."

Papyrus sighs. When his brother is serious and set on a task, there is no altering his course; no rest either… not unless Papyrus makes him rest.

Something he never thought he'd have to do again. Not since the incident in the Underground lab…

Papyrus returns to work, but his brother says something unexpected. "paps… you ever think about why the monsters in the underground are the same? almost two millennia, but everyone's the same… am I the only one who noticed?"

Shaking his head, Papyrus replies, "I THINK YOU ARE WORRYING OVER SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T MATTER, BROTHER. BUT IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE A BREAK, YOU HAVE MY BLESSING!"

Sans chuckles and says, "thanks," but doesn't stop working.

:-:

Alphys is working in her lab, trying to get the Aircraft as operational as possible. She hopes to spare the two from having to take a horse drawn carriage to the Sanctum.

So far, her efforts are bearing no fruit. Without the Artifact her progress is slower, since she's second guessing herself and has nowhere to turn for information.

She begins to feel the weight of her other failures on her shoulders… the Amalgamates, who are currently with their families in the monster camp, the "robot with an artificial SOUL" that is really just a ghost monster that has fully attached to a corporeal object and is controlling it… and a failure so devastating she dares not think of it… not now. Hopefully never again.

She has work to do.

Alphys brushes aside her thoughts and worries, and immerses herself in work so she can forget.

Her work, however, is interrupted but a loud noise… no, a voice.

Undyne is trying to get her out of the lab again.

With a sigh, Alphys leaves her work to spend time with her beloved.

But insists, "I need to get this working, so we can't goof off for too long! Frisk and Marceline need me to get the Aircraft working."

To which Undyne retorts,
"Alphys, babe, they didn't even ask you to. It'd be nice, but you need to relax. Everything will be OK."

Alphys doesn't relent, "I know, but I also need to make a second antenna… would you help me?"

Undyne sighs and puts a hand on her hip… but smiles and says, "alright, I'll help… if you promise to take a break when you're done."

:-:

Frisk manages to get to Mettaton right before they head off to get more supplies for the school.

Hopeful, and excitedly, Frisk asks, "hey Mettaton! I have a question for you."

Currently in their energy saving box form, Mettaton strikes a dramatic pose and replies, "OH MY, YOU STARTLED ME! I AM A BIT BUSY RIGHT NOW, BUT FOR YOU DARLING I'LL PUT SOME TIME ASIDE. WHAT CAN FABULOUS OL' ME DO FOR BEAUTIFUL LITTLE YOU?"

Frisk strikes their own dramatic pose, one that says "woe is me," then says, in a forlorn tone with their eyes closed, "I leave today, and woe! Woe! I have no means to talk to my friends, or watch the fabulous Mettaton…!"

They strike another dramatic pose, "But hope! Hope! You, my fabulous friend! You can carry an antenna to the Sanctum upon your strong back, so I can speak to my friends…! And watch your shows full of drama, action, and bloodshed!"

They open one eye, and continue in a normal voice, but don't leave their pose, "From what my parents told me, the Sanctum has a lot of pre-war tech-no-lodge-y… but none of the humans know how to fix it. We also need help setting the antenna up."

Continuing in their overly-dramatic voice, Frisk asks, "will you do this for me, Mettaton?"

Mettaton strikes a thoughtful pose, then points to the sky and declares, "NO!"

Frisk stops posing and starts to feel really sad because of Mettaton's response…

But he continues after a brief, dramatic, pause, "IF WHAT YOU SAY IS TRUE, THE HUMANS… THEY SOUND LIKE THEY ARE IN DIRE NEED OF A STAR! SOMEONE TO WATCH AND LOOK UP TO! SOMEONE THAT WOULD BRING QUALITY, FAMILY-FRIENDLY, BLOODSHED INTO THEIR LIVES! I WILL NOT DO THIS FOR YOU DARLING! I WILL DO IT… FOR EVERYONE! FOR ALL MY SOON-TO-BE FANS!"

Frisk smiles slightly, "you had me worried there for a bit… Thanks Mettaton, I'll go let Alphys know after I've said all my good-byes."

With a wave, Frisk departs and tries to find Asgore… but he's not where the monster-guards said he would be.

Deciding that Asgore would probably leave the monster camp at the same time as Toriel, and therefore be near her, Frisk decides to run back to where Toriel last was.

Fortunately she is still there giving instructions to the monster builders.

Frisk almost immediately asks where Asgore is, but then remembers that they're not on good terms… so they hesitantly ask, "Toriel? Do you… know where Asgore is?"

Toriel sighs, and replies calmly, "Asgore is at the gate, getting ready to leave for the manor. I told him you are here, so he should be waiting. I am almost done, so, if you want, you may wait here with me… Unless you would rather go see Asgore."

Concerned, Frisk says, "Toriel, you know I care about both of you… right? So… I'm gonna go see Asgore, but it isn't because I would rather spend time with him than with you; it's because I want to spend time with both of you."

After another sigh, Toriel kneels down and gives Frisk a brief hug,
"I am sorry Frisk, that was unfair of me."

Toriel returns to her work, and Frisk leaves for the gate to see Asgore… after looking for the Monster children.

It isn't hard to find them, they are in the same field as yesterday.

Monk approaches, "yo! I heard something about you leaving today? Is that… true?"

Frisk nods, and the other monster kids approach.

Caprice pips up, "hey, if you don't keep in touch, I'm gonna… get a bigger hat so you are forced to pay attention to me, no matter how far away you are!"

Drake responds to Caprice,
"Pff, I'm sure it'll be snow problem! Frisk can talk to us on the UnderNet!"

Monk retorts, "I don't think it works like that, dude. Alphys says you gotta be near an Antenna."

Before Frisk can respond, Robert replies, "yea, and Frisk said the Sanctum is really far away…"

Frisk squeezes into the conversation, "uhm… yea, but Alphys is working on another antenna so I can talk to everyone! She's gonna hook it up to the one here."

Happy, Monk replies, "yo that's awesome! You've gotta promise to keep in touch, Frisk!"

Not really thinking about it at first, Frisk holds out their pinky for Monk to take.

…No one moves, and Frisk suddenly feels very rude.

Frisk retracts their hand slowly… "sorry… I normally make promises with a pinky swear."

Monk isn't phased by it, "yo that's sad… a pinky swear? Pinkies are so weak! Here, I've got a better thing we can do! A promise headbutt!"

Though Frisk wants to make a promise, they're not sure they should… do that.

Monk sees their hesitation. "don't worry dude, it won't hurt at all!"

The other monster kinds nod in agreement.

So… Frisk braces… lowers their head with Monk… and runs forward.

A loud thunk is heard as their heads connect, followed by two thuds as the two fall away from each other…

Monk, laying on his back, starts laughing,
"Nyeh heh heh heh! Yo, dude, that hurt! Is that what you think a promise headbutt is?"

Frisk sits up and rubs the top of their head… "well… it's a headbutt… so…?"

After rolling over and standing back up, Monk continues, "heh, a promise headbutt is more like a tap. It's okay though! Just means it's a stronger promise, right?"

Frisk nods, "yea, I guess so… Well, I should probably go now. I didn't tell my parents where I went."

The monster children wave in various forms and all try to say alterations of "see you later" over each other… it makes a lot of noise, and is hard to understand for anyone not intended to be the recipient."

With their head still aching, from the accidentally real headbutt, Frisk makes their way to where Toriel said Asgore would be.

It doesn't take long, and they are rewarded with the sight of a large fluffy boss monster.

His cape has seen better days, but it's nothing that can't be fixed.

Frisk walks up and tugs on his cape…

Asgore turns around and looks down. For a moment he looks sad, but then he smiles.

Cheerily, he says, "howdy Frisk! I would say the same for your friend there, but I… do not know their name. Toriel said you were here, did you let your parents know where you were going?"

Chara remarks, "yea… He knows it's me. Why-… Well, he never was one for confrontation I suppose."

Frisk shakes their head, then conjures a fireball.

Asgore chuckles and says, "you're quite a trouble maker. I suppose a brief game of catch wouldn't hurt," then steps back so he and Frisk can play catch.

After a few minutes of their game, Toriel arrives.

Frisk can tell without turning around because Asgore starts looking sad.

It makes Frisk sad…

Toriel speaks up first, "we were planning on going to the manor to say our goodbyes, but I am glad… I am glad that we have been able to spend more time with you. We should not dally though, let us leave now."

Frisk nods, but Asgore doesn't respond; he pats Frisk on the head and begins walking.

Chara tells Frisk, "hey… sorry I've been so quite. I've just been… thinking… I think we should do it. We should ask that shadow guy if he can bring Asriel back."

Not quite so sure, Frisk responds, "I dunno, I don't trust them…"

To which Toriel says, "pardon, are you talking to one of us? You do not trust… who?"

Frisk shakes their head and says,
"no I… was talking to the SOUL. They were talking about some guy in the village."

With relief, Toriel says, "ah… pardon me. I did not hear them speak, so I assumed you were talking to us. I was worried for a moment that… well, never mind; it is not a problem."

The remainder of the walk back to the village is almost uncomfortably silent.

Once the party of three, and a SOUL, get near the gate, a group of armoured guards approaches.

One of them steps forward and says,
"from here on we'll have to stick with you. I hope you understand."

Asgore nods and speaks before Toriel can,
"we understand. Please, lead the way. We're going to the Addams' manor."

The guard nods, gestures with a hand, and the others surround the party.

Once everyone is in position, the group of humans and monsters begin making their way through the village.

Beyond a few nasty looks, none of the humans along the way start trouble…

Asgore smells something in the air, and asks, "is there a sickness in the village?"

The lead guard replies, "yes, several people have gotten sick lately… we're not sure what it is… It seems that young children are the most at risk, the elderly are usually fine. Our doctors think it's measles, hence why there are no kids playing outside. Without medication to stop it from spreading, the only thing we can do is keep people away from each other. The strangest part is how it seemingly showed up over night…"

Saddened, Asgore contemplates how monsters could help. 'healing magic will only ease the pain of the symptoms, but it wont kill the virus…'

Toriel speaks, "I have seen and helped many sick humans, perhaps I could help identify it?"

The guard sighs, "as much as we appreciate your willingness to help, I don't think anyone here will let you. You're a monster, after all."

Upset, Toriel retorts,
"well, if you would rather keep your pride and let children die than seek aid; so be it."

The guard opts not to reply.

No one in the group says anything else for the rest of the small trip.

After they get past the gate for the manor, the guards depart.

Toriel pats Frisk on the head and says,
"I am going to speak with your parents, Frisk. I'll make you a treat afterwards."

Frisk smiles subtly and nods, "alright, I'll do gardening stuff with Asgore…"

They pause and look up with hopeful eyes, "maybe even… another magic fire lesson?"

Asgore chuckles and says, "if you would like that, yes; we can have another magic lesson."

Frisk and Asgore go to the greenhouse on the side of the manor while Toriel goes into the manor looking for Frisk's parents.

When they enter the greenhouse, Frisk catches the sight of something… but it's gone. Based on the way some of wood panelling looks, it's probably Flowey.

After getting the gardening tools, the two get to work.

:-:

Walking at a steady pace, Toriel makes her way to Marceline's study since the Addamses are… preoccupied.

Toriel selects one of the many interesting books by the fireplace and sits in the recliner to read. The faint light in the room, however, does not help, so she lights the fireplace with magic.

'Let's see… Today we're reading… Ah, this will be interesting. An art book named "Fifty shades of beige."'

After a moment of reading the summary, Toriel realises her mistake,
'Oh d-dear… this is not art! Perhaps another book would be best.'

Toriel places the not-art book on a high shelf where Frisk is less likely to get it, and looks for a more familiar book instead.

'Ah, here we go… "102 things to do with frog's legs."'

She peruses the knowledge held within the froggy book, and time passes without notice.

A sound alerts her to the presence of someone else in the room, so she turns and sees Marceline.

Marceline curtsies, and says, "greetings, Toriel… and sorry. My husband and I will be a-… Well, I am sure you understand. Is there something I can help you with?"

Toriel closes the book and sets it aside before standing, "yes, Marceline, there is. I… I know the SOUL that Frisk carries with them, but they do not seem to want me to know and I suppose I am looking for advice."

Marceline walks over, pulls a chair opposite of Toriel and sits down. Toriel also sits back down.

With a sly smile, Marceline says, "well, if you've come for advice, that is the one thing I have in abundance. So, tell me your troubles."

Hesitantly, and with her hands clutching her dress, Toriel responds, "well, as I have stated, Chara does not seem to want me to know that they are the SOUL Frisk is carrying with them, and I do not know how to approach the situation. If I try to talk to them, they may feel like I am ambushing them. Chara did not have a happy life here in the village, and I am worried they may… reject me."

Gently, Marceline grabs hold of one of Toriel's paws, and asks, "Is Chara a good child? Are they kind? Did they love you?"

For a few moments, Toriel hesitates to reply as she thinks back to ages past. "Chara was a… troubled child. They were not bad, per se, but I could tell that someone hurt them; someone they loved. They were kind, but… they could also be cruel to those they cared about."

Tears build up in Toriel's eyes as she continues, "I think Chara loves me, but I am not sure… I am not sure of anything any more. If they love me, why do they not want to talk to me? Would they not want to spend time with me? Was I not a good mother?"

Marceline gently squeezes Toriel's paw, and says, "perhaps they just need time. Maybe they are scared of how you will react? Perhaps you should talk to them. If not directly, then at least do so subtly. Let them know that you love them no matter what. And Toriel…"

Now crouching by Toriel's chair, Marceline uses one hand to direct Toriel's eyes to her own, and says, "even if you did make a few mistakes, all that matters is if you tried to improve yourself. The only bad mother is the one that fails to teach their children love, and fails to protect them; whether that is from someone else, or herself."

She couldn't have known about what happened in the Underground, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. Toriel stands quickly, tears escaping from her eyes despite her best efforts, and leaves the room without responding.

Marceline tries to follow her, but decides that it might be best for her to give Toriel space.

:-:

With the gardening all done, Frisk confirms that it was Flowey they saw; there are a few places where the wood floor looks like it has been moved.

Now that the mystery is solved, and the plants are fed/watered, Frisk looks to Asgore with small eager eyes, "time for the super cool magic fire lesson of awesomeness?!"

Asgore chuckles and pats Frisk on the head, "yes, let's go to the backyard."

Frisk nods and the two go through the manor to the backyard, on their way, Toriel briskly walks past them… she looks upset.

Chara stops Frisk from trying to talk with her, "do not worry, Frisk… I think she just needs some alone time. I am sure she will talk to us before we leave."

After grabbing Asgore's paw, the two of them continue out to the backyard.

Once there, they continued out until they were far enough away from the house to not damage it.

Frisk notices a significantly charred area… it must be where they burnt that terrible book.

At a safe distance away from the house, Asgore stops and says, "now, Frisk, what I'm going to teach you must only be used in self defence. Do you understand?"

Nodding, Frisk replies,
"I wouldn't be here talking to you if I wanted to go out of my way to hurt people."

Asgore frowns slightly for a brief moment, before smiling, "very good. Now, I'm going to teach you how to sheathe yourself in flame. It will keep people from being able to grab you without hurting themselves. You must be careful, however, because if you do not maintain focus you can hurt yourself too."

Frisk nods, and tries to calm themself down. They close their eyes, and focus.

Without closing his eyes, Asgore focuses as well and gently says, "now… reach outward with your SOUL and feel the warmth of your skin."

Doing as instructed is not particularly easy. Frisk didn't even know they could feel things with their SOUL other than magic.

After a few minutes pass, Asgore asks, "Can you feel it, little one?"

Frisk shakes their head, "no… I don't feel anything with my SOUL."

Asgore chuckles, "I am terribly sorry, perhaps I should have been a bit more clear. You are not supposed to try feeling the warmth of your skin with your SOUL, you do that with your body. You must reach out with your SOUL for other reasons. For now, reach out with your SOUL and… focus on the warmth of your skin."

A few moments pass, and Frisk comments, "It feels different when I focus like this. It feels…"

Asgore offers the answer, "Alive?"

Frisk nods, "yea…"

After taking a long and deep breath, Asgore continues, "yes… that is because heat is just like us. We are all alive, and we are all energy… heat is also energy. Therefore energy, and thus heat, is alive too. Now, to make sure we do not end up walking around without clothes… we need to extend our focus out further. Feel the warmth provided by your clothing. Once you feel similar to how you feel now, but can feel the warmth of your clothing, draw Bravery from yourself and imagine the heat you feel now increasing around you."

Frisk mimics Asgore and takes a deep breath. They focus as much as they can.

After a few minutes, Frisk can feel the warmth provided by their clothing… It feels weird, and makes them more aware of how tickly and chaffing their clothing is.

When Frisk starts to draw Bravery from themself, they begin to recall what happened in the Underground when they used the purple magic… their Bravery wavers for a moment.

Calmly, Asgore responds to the look of unease on their face, "do not fear, Frisk. When you draw Bravery from yourself you must cast aside all worries, all fears. If you do, you will not be harmed by your own magic… If you do not, you will burn yourself. You need not fear your own power. To be Brave, you must not have fear."

Frisk takes another slow breath and clears their mind…

They begin to draw Bravery from within themself again and focus on the heat surrounding them, imagining it getting hotter.

But nothing happens for several minutes… Frisk opens their eyes and says,
"I don't think I'm ready for this yet… Maybe I could try making a fire circle instead?"

Asgore scratches his chin as he thinks, "hmm, well, I believe we did start working on a wall of fire already. Alright, that may prove safer. It's also, admittedly, easier. Now, instead of focusing on yourself, imagine a ring around you at your feet and focus on it. And as a reminder, once you have that set in your mind, draw Bravery from yourself and set the ring on fire. Imagine it as if you were going to make a fireball, but all around you."

Frisk focuses and tries as directed… to no avail. They get some small little fires going, but nothing that could protect them from harm. Far from it.

Asgore chuckles briefly and says, "I think I see the problem. You are not drawing enough Bravery… For us monsters we can draw from ourselves perpetually, but humans have a limited reserve and tend to only pull what they need. Perhaps that is the issue? Instead of trying to draw a limited amount, draw Bravery from yourself at a slow, but steady, rate."

After contemplating that, Frisk focuses again and tries to pull Bravery from themself continuously…

Their efforts are rewarded with a small, but steady, ring of fire… then the dry grass catches on fire, and Asgore has to put it out quickly.

The two laugh and Asgore comments, "perhaps we should have practised on gravel."

Frisk has an idea, "maybe it would be easier if we were in the Underground? There is a lot more magic there. Right now I'm starting to run low… Can we get Sans and go to the Underground for a bit?"

Asgore is not certain, Frisk and Marceline are going to leave for the Sanctum soon… "perhaps we should ask your parents, little one."

Nodding and taking his hand, the two walk back to the manor to seek out Frisk's parents.

They run into Sans first. "hey, sup? you all ready for our 'lesson?'"

Frisk shakes their head, and mimics Sans, "no, I'm runnin' low on the 'good stuff.' Gotta go to the Underground and charge up first."

Sans smirks, "heh, well i've got something that'll help with that. i've been getting papyrus to help work on it. guess what it is."

Asgore scruffs up Frisks hair and says,
"while you chat with Sans, I'm going to find your parents; be back soon."

Frisk nods and lets Asgore's hand go, and replies to Sans, "is it… a chair that walks around for you?"

"nope… but good idea. i should get someone to make that for me."

Striking a contemplative pose, Frisk thinks more before trying another guess…
"is it… a spell that casts itself so you don't have to?"

Sans says, "heh, no. that's too dangerous… i've tried that before," then winks and asks, "want a clue?"

Frisk nods.

Sans grins a little wider and says, "what is it called when a door takes you to the wrong place, but it's where you actually wanted to go?"

Grinning slightly, Frisk says, "a shortcut! I don't get how that's something you've been… wait… Did you make a door that will act like a shortcut?!"

Sans replies, "close enough. wanna try it out?"

Frisk almost immediately says yes, but then remembers Asgore, "maybe we should wait for Asgore to come back? I wouldn't want to run off without him… I'm supposed to be spending time with him and Toriel."

Back to his normal grin, Sans asks, "speaking of, where's toriel?"

Sadly, Frisk replies, "I don't know… I think she went back to the monster camp. She looked upset."

His grin wavers ever so slightly, "well, how 'bout we visit her after the lesson?"

Frisk nods.

Asgore returns, "your father says that you may go to the Underground with us… but it must be quick. You and Marceline need to leave for the Sanctum in an hour and a half. That would give us… 30 minutes in the Underground."

Sans pipes up, "actually, i got papyrus to work on something pretty special for us. I just have to hook it up. It'll save us a lot of time."

After pulling a few strange devices from seemingly nowhere, Sans walks to the front door and waves for the others to follow.

Once there, he holds three of the weird devices out for Asgore to take, "I need these two round ones on the top corners, and this crescent one between both doors. Just have to place it against the wall and they'll stick. The round ones will mark the door, the crescent one is gonna tell us which door is trying to connect to this one. I'm gonna set up the other three parts."

Asgore nods and takes the parts, then Sans pulls out three more devices from.. somewhere. The two circular devices, upon closer examination, have magic runes within them. The crescent device does as well, but it also has a light in it.

Carefully, Asgore places the devices as instructed. Light whirring and a few clicks indicate that they have activated.

Sans places two more circular devices near the bottom corners of the door, and one that looks more like an oval on the right side of the double doors. It appears to be some sort of multi coloured dial with a light on it.

Before Frisk can ask anything, Sans says, "the oval dial with the light is a selector. select a color and it'll link this door to the door that's marked with that color. pretty neat huh? i found that old movie you got the inspiration from. it'll also tell us if someone's trying to open the door from the other side."

Very happy, Frisk runs up to Sans and gives him a hug, "thanks Sans! This is the best thing ever!"

Hesitantly, Sans wraps his arms around Frisk and returns the hug. "heh, no worries kiddo."

That comment just makes Frisk hug him tighter before letting go, "pff!"

Sans walks over and sets the dial to light blue, then opens the door.

When nothing happens, he explains, "we've gotta link it to another door. I'll be right back," and closes the door.

A few minutes later and the front door opens again, but this time they see Snowden on the other side.

Asgore mutters, "Sans, you and your brother never cease to amaze. It's a shame-… well, perhaps it's for the best. Let us not dally, you have 'awesome fire magic' to learn before leaving."

Sans cuts in before they continue forward, "one last thing. the snowden door won't go out, since it's surrounded by magic, but the other doors will. unlike a fart, ambient magic won't pass through the doors. we can use the doors four times before they have to be charged, which'll take a few days"

Though disappointed that they wont be able to stay in the manor, Frisk snickers at Sans' childish fart joke, Asgore covers his face with his hand in exasperation.

When the two step through the door, they can feel the sudden change in temperature. Fortunately Asgore is a large fluffy boss monster, and Frisk is wearing Sans' jacket.

Frisk turns around and sees that Sans connected the manor's door to his house's front door… They're not sure how that works, since the manor doors are much larger.

They decide not to think too hard about it.

Sans waves for the two to follow, "c'mon, let's go to Waterfall, more magic there."

Asgore and Frisk follow.

Sans stops right in the entrance of Waterfall, "this should be far enough. i'll be over at my old station, let me know when you're ready for our lesson."

Frisk can feel the magic flowing into them. It's still a new and strange sensation to them.

Asgore speaks up, "alright, Frisk. Let's try that wall of fire again, yes? This time, try to draw magic from around you, and not just from yourself."

Nodding and closing their eyes, Frisk focuses again. They reach out with their SOUL and try to draw Bravery from around them… it doesn't go very well, but they can feel it.

After several minutes of failing they say,
"I can't do it… I should just draw from myself and let the magic flow back in on its own."

Asgore responds, "perhaps you are right, you may not be ready for that yet… no matter."

Frisk opens their eyes and imagines a ring around themself, then begins to draw Bravery from themself and wills it to catch fire.

The ring of fire is much larger now… instead of candle flames they are up to Frisk's knees.

Asgore claps, "very good! I see you're getting the hang of it, little one. No doubt if you practice more you will be able to master it."

Frisk smiles slightly, before returning to their normal neutral face and says,
"I won't be able to do a lot of magic while at the Sanctum, there isn't any magic there yet…"

While pondering the dilemma, Asgore paces and scratches his chin.

After a few minutes he stops and kneels in front of Frisk,
"I know how to help with that, but you must promise me something."

Frisk nods.

Asgore takes a deep breath, "you must never show this to anyone, do you understand?"

Frisk nods more vigorously than before, and Asgore reaches to his neck and undoes a hidden pendant.

When he pulls it out from under his shirt, the silver chain magically shrinks to a more suitable size for a human. Hanging from the thin chain is a small crystal disk with intricate patterns, held to the chain with a different kind of silvery metal.

Asgore holds it out for Frisk to take, and explains, "this pendant was given to me as a peace offering from the Magi, before the great war. I have kept it with me ever since. Being a monster, I have no need of it… but I can see their wisdom now. This little necklace will provide you with magic when you have none of your own left."

Frisk looks up curiously, "how does it work?"

A bitter sweet smile finds itself across Asgore's face, and he explains, "the platinum that surrounds this diamond disk, as well as these patterns etched in the diamond itself, prevents the magic from leaking out into the world. As you use magic, the pendant will replace what you used. You must take care, though, because it's not an infinite supply. In fact, do not wear this until you leave for the sanctum. The journey is going to be long…"

Frisk nods, and Asgore hugs them gently.

Pockets: SnowPiece, MPendant.

Chara advises, "you should call it MaPendent, heh."

Frisk obliges.

Pockets: SnowPiece, MaPendant.

Asgore stands and says, "I should return and make sure that… Toriel is OK."

With a worried look, Frisk says, "OK, just promise that you wont get into a fight…"

Asgore smiles sadly and says "of course," then walks back to Snowden to return to the manor.

Frisk walks up to Sans' old station and sees that he's napping…

They wait for a few minutes before getting his attention, "hey Sans, water you gonna teach me?"

Having not actually been asleep, but grateful for the moment of peace, Sans replies mysteriously, "heh, good one. well… i'm gonna teach you a really old trick. something someone else taught me. it's been passed down for… well this'll be the third time, i guess."

Taking on a more serious demeanour and closing his eyes, Sans continues,
"it will be tough, and there is no turning back. Are you ready, Frisk?"

Frisk nods… then realizes he can't see them and says, "yea… I'm ready."

Sans' opens his eyes. His left eye is blue and yellow, while the other is blacked out…

It frightens Frisk, but only for a moment.

:-:

The door to the manor swings open. Proudly, Frisk walks through with Sans in tow… Frisk is covered in soot like they've just leapt through several walls of fire, but the smile on their face is easily noticeable.

Scoffing playfully as Sans enters, Frisk says,
"Tch! I thought you said it was gonna be tough? I only died once!"

Chara makes a note only Frisk can hear,
"You died twelve times, Frisk… That was crazy. Remind me to never p-… tick Sans off."

Sans replies with knowing wink, "sure, kiddo, if you say so; but the look on your face was the look of someone who's died at least twelve times. anyway, seems like we're just in time…"

Another note from the robot voiced hollow SOUL,
"How does he…? You know what, never mind; just another reason to not tick him off."

Sure enough, Asgore and Toriel walk down the stairwell carrying luggage; Conrad and Marceline are following behind with more.

Marceline catches sight of Frisk and says, "Frisk, dearest child, please fetch your luggage for the trip."

Sans sets the dial back to normal so they don't unexpectedly walk out into Snowden…

He contemplates adding an auto-reset mechanism so that won't happen in the future.

Frisk walks upstairs to their room, reluctantly, but decides to say goodbye to Alphys and Undyne first.

Alphys, as expected, is in the manor's lab.

Walking in to the lab feels different than usual. Alphys has really made it her own. She is working on something, but Frisk can't tell what.

Instead of bothering her, Frisk waits for a few moments… and then bothers her, since she doesn't stop working.

Startled, Alphys drops something on the floor, "Oh! S-sorry! You startled me."

Frisk picks up the weird gadget Alphys dropped and hands it to her, "no worries, just came by to say goodbye. It'll probably be a while till we talk again."

Still on edge, Alphys replies, "Oh, that is today? I c-can't believe I forgot! I am sorry Frisk… I have been trying to get the Aircraft ready before you left. I… I guess I failed."

Alphys turns around on the seat and hops down. Frisk can tell she didn't get any sleep last night.

Worried, Frisk says,
"no need to apologize, Alphys. You should get some sleep, It isn't healthy to stay up all night."

Exasperated, Alphys complains, "you sound like Sans and Undyne. I'll be f-fine! Just a little longer… Anyway… I guess this is goodbye for now, at least until I can get the antenna over. Speaking of, did you talk to Mettaton?"

Frisk nods triumphantly, "yes, and Mettaton said he would gladly help… also, I think he is gonna set up his broadcast in the Sanctum so that humans have something to watch too."

Not surprised, though not paying much attention, Alphys mutters, "uhuh… ok… thanks…" as she slowly falls asleep standing.

Giving her a gentle nudge, Frisk attempts to wake her up… it doesn't work. Frisk decides to have Undyne wake her instead.

Leaving Alphys' lab, Frisk looks for Undyne… around this time, she should be in the play room exercising.

Sure enough, Undyne is in there doing all sorts of painful looking exercises.

Frisk waits for a while, knowing that she will have to take a break eventually.

Unfortunately, they cannot wait for long, since they hear their mother call for them after a couple minutes. "(Frisk, please hurry, we don't want to leave too late.)"

In order to get Undyne's attention… Frisk is going to have to join her. When Undyne starts exercising, almost nothing can get her attention.

Frisk has a better idea though, they shout in a concerned voice "hey Undyne, Alphys needs your help!"

Technically not a lie. Undyne gets up from her "super ultra deluxe push-ups" and sprints out without asking where Alphys is.

Frisk goes to the lab, hoping to catch her before she starts exercising again.

Fortunately Undyne went the wrong way, so when Frisk arrives Undyne is just arriving too; she looks pretty tired.

Huffing, Undyne says, "hhhuff, You hfff… shoulda told me… huhhff… where she hufff… was…"

While Undyne starts to walk in to the lab, Frisk comments, "oh, well she's just really tired and needs to be taken to bed."

Slightly annoyed, Undyne comments, "I swear… hhuuff… her bad sleeping habits hhfff… are gonna bite her in the butt… huuff… Thanks for letting me know Frisk."

After Undyne picks up Alphys and puts her over one shoulder, Frisk gets her attention again and says, "well, there is another reason I wanted you to get Alphys… I'm leaving for the Sanctum now, so… goodbye for now."

Undyne pats Frisk on the head, "good luck Frisk, teach 'em how REAL magic is done! Fuhuhuhuhu! You'd better message me as soon as the antenna is up!"

Frisk smiles slightly, "I will, Undyne. Oh, and, let Alphys know I said good bye too? And also that Mettaton is willing to take the antenna. I don't know if she got any of that."

Replies, "will do! See ya, punk!" And proceeds to walk down the hallway with Alphys.

With those goodbyes all done, Frisk runs to their room to get their bags… but someone already took them.

Walking back downstairs, Frisk sees Papyrus and Thing holding them.
"Oh! Thank you… Sorry I took so long."

High spirited as ever, Papyrus responds, "ACTUALLY, THING AND I TOOK YOUR BAGS BEFORE YOU GOT BACK WITH SANS. WE DIDN'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE WITHOUT SAYING GOOD BYE! SO… GOOD… BYE? THAT SOUNDS WEIRD, I TAKE IT BACK! HOW CAN SAYING BYE BE GOOD? INSTEAD, I AM GOING TO SAY 'SEE YOU LATER!' SEE YOU LATER, FRISK!"

More reserved, Thing pats Frisk's head with one of her free fingers, "It has been been pleasure, Frisk. No doubt you will find time to visit again. I know I haven't been around enough for any of you to get to know me, but I hope you remember me fondly."

Cheerily, Frisk replies,
"Of course I will! And Papyrus, you owe me some spaghetti when I come to visit!"

Thing and Papyrus walk with Frisk through the double doors leading outside, and a few of the guards are waiting for them.

Papyrus and Thing take Frisk's bag to the cart waiting outside the gate while Deborah and Kevin approach. Deborah is the one to speak up first, "Hey Frisky, I'm gonna be going with to provide protection, same with Kevin, Anthony, Bernard, and a few of the other scouts…"

Continuing teasingly, Kevin says, "really though, me and Deb are going because we know you're gonna get into trouble if we don't… and we can't let you get in trouble alone!"

Frisk sticks their tongue out at Kevin playfully.

Chara ponders, "I wonder… is Flowey going to follow along?"

Before Frisk can respond, Alphys runs out of the manor in a panic, "Frisk! Oh thank goodness you haven't left yet! Let me see the SOCDev for a moment…"

Frisk, though confused, complies and Alphys takes out the batteries to replace them with something else.

Explaining, Alphys says, "I uh… didn't expect you to leave so soon, so I was going to just change them later, but… w-well they are rechargeable batteries now. And here, plug this in to the back and turn this crank to charge it. When the bar is full it's done charging and you can stop. You'll have to remember to charge it every night… but at least it won't d-die at an inconvenient time."

Alphys hands the SOCDev back, and Frisk equips it, then gives Alphys a hug.

Surprised, Alphys almost steps back… but she decides to hug Frisk back, "O-oh! Uh… Thanks Frisk! I hope you… have a good trip! And… Take plenty of pictures? Are we… d-done?"

Frisk lets go and nods.

The carriage that is going to take them to the Sanctum looks well fortified, but is also classy. There looks to be just enough room for all the belongings and food that will be needed on the trip.

Having not been able to pay a visit to the stables like they normally do, Frisk takes a moment to pet each of the four horses that will be pulling the carriage, and thanks them for their hard work.

With their task done, Frisk clambers into the carriage; followed by their parents, Kevin, and Deborah.

Frisk takes a moment to sort through the things in their dimensional boxes and pull stuff out, then remembers about the Seven Last Dreams… in their night stand.

Slightly panicked, Frisk says, "I forgot something super important!"

Sans expectedly-unexpectedly shows up, and says, "let me guess, you forgot your marbles? i could go get 'em for you, if you make me a deal."

Crossing their arms contemplatively, Frisk says, "perhaps, what do you have in mind?"

Holding out his hand, Sans says, "gimmie that quiche you haven't eaten yet."

Without hesitation, Frisk pulls the quiche out and hands it to Sans.

Sans chuckles, "you know, this could be a golden quiche and you're just givin' it away… you sure?"

Frisk nods and holds their hands out expectantly.

Shrugging, Sans says, "alright, a deal's a deal… here ya go, don't loose 'em. oh, i put 'em in a bag because I'm too lazy to hand them to you individually."

Mischievously holding the quiche, Sans continues, "see ya around, kiddo. quiche, " then holds up two of his fingers in a V and starts to depart, but stops.

Sounding somewhat concerned, Sans says, "hey, buddy, take care of yourself… and my jacket. ok?"

Frisk nods, and Sans departs.

Pockets: SnowPiece, MaPendant, Hot Dog…?, Stained Apron, Ribbon, Frying pan, Artifact, BLDreams.
Box A:
Box B:

Equipped:
Sa Jacket
Stick

'Not having access to the dimensional box network isn't going to be fun… at least it's temporary.'

Chara recommends, "name the bag of last dreams, BLastDreams."

Frisk contemplates this… then agrees.

Pockets: SnowPiece, MaPendant, Hot Dog…?, Stained Apron, Ribbon, Frying pan, Artifact, BLastDreams,

With goodbyes completed as much as they could be, the carriage begins to move and leave the village. As they leave, they are joined with a second carriage, and a few horses.

Bernard is on one of the horses following the carriages…

Frisk feels terrible, they didn't even think about saying goodbye Bernard! At least now they won't have to, for a while at least.

Once joined by the second carriage and the other horses, the group departs the village.

The path is rocky and not used frequently, and thus bumpy, but it is nice nonetheless.

They follow the river for several minutes until it crosses to the west, after which the group slowly crosses a large log bridge.

Frisk catches a look at a map Deborah is holding, which prompts her to show Frisk more clearly.

She points to several places and says, "here, where this mountain is drawn, is … and there, is the Sanctum. We are going to follow the river as far as we can, even though it'll make the trip a little longer. Having the river on our left will lower the chances of those nasty beasties attacking us."

Curious, Frisk asks, "I thought they all scattered when the barrier went up?"

Deborah shakes her head, "nope, they just changed their course… they ran away from the barrier at first, but our latest scouting party says they are actually headed to the barrier now."

:-:

At first, the forest and river were entrancing… but, after several hours, Frisk becomes bored.

The occasional golden flowers taunt them, since Frisk hopes that Flowey is coming along with, but they also serve as a reminder that humans are not the only things that kill wälder beasts.

No one in the village talks about any of the other creatures except for them… so Frisk is curious to see what other things lurk in the shadows; hopefully from a distance.

Chara has been quite the entire trip. The batteries say they are still charged, so it isn't that.

Frisk thinks to themself, 'Maybe Chara fell asleep?'

Not wanting to wake them to confirm, Frisk opts to leave them be.

When night comes around, the group stops moving and sets up camp to eat and sleep.

Frisk can hear the crickets again, which enlightens them to something… they never knew they missed the sound of crickets until now.

Combined with the gentle gurgling of the nearby river, and the breeze in the trees, Frisk is lulled to sleep easily.

:-:

"Can you hear me, Player…? It's Chara."

"Yes. I can hear you. And… you can call me Sigmund. Just don't give my name away. Not yet."

"Sure, whatever. Anyway… Frisk never talked to Sans about this, which pisses me off quite a bit…"

"So… I'm just gonna ask anyway. Can you… Can you give Asriel a body?"

"No… but I know how you can get him a new one."

"I thought you were 'all powerful' and could do whatever you want?"

"Everything has a price, and magic has additional requirements; I'm not infinitely powerful…"
"I've just been around the block enough to know how to get what I want."

"Alright… So, how do I do it? I'm just a SOUL."

"Ask Frisk to help. What you need is pretty simple."
"You need to find someone with a Green SOUL, and a diamond shaped like a SOUL."
"Frisk already has the seven Last Dreams that need to be used for the ritual. "
"The diamond will replace his lost SOUL, and give him form."

"Great… so I just have to figure out how to discern what SOUL colour someone has…"
"And get a diamond about the size of Frisk's head, but shaped like a heart."

"Shouldn't be too hard."

"Right… well… Here's to hoping that the Sanctum has a giant diamond laying around."
"Can you give me any clues?"

"The diamond you need may be even closer than you think…"
"As for the person… Green is Kindness."
"When paired with Red, it leaks into their personality; making them unusually kind."
"Sometimes too kind. Without good friends, they can often get dragged into trouble."
"So be a good friend."
"I have to go. Farewell, Chara."

"Thanks… Sigmund."

:-:

Chara contemplates the tasks set before them… but can't come up with any answers.

They turn their view to the night sky and think.

Though they won't admit it… Chara is also upset that Toriel and Asgore didn't show up.

Before long, they find themself in the usual trance that takes place of sleep…