Hey Everyone!

Interference in bold, puns and in italics, magic is underlined.

-text- indicates either texts, or mental "talking".

All Undertale stuff owned by Toby Fox, else me.

Sorry it's been so long! Midterms plus sick plus a very ill family equals no time.

Another reference or two lie within, and the title itself makes a third. This is getting to be a habit. Let me know if you manage to place any of these.

Toriel takes your hand, and leads you carefully out of the room. You turn to look, but the door has vanished behind you. You pretend not to notice.

Toriel

It was not long after my son exited the highway and we have reached the edge of the snowstorm that I notice Silver stirring. She seems so fragile, wrapped in blankets and tucked against my shoulder. Her head is barely the width of my arm. Her eyes are still shadowed, and her face far too thin. I do hope that she will enjoy my soup.

I notice that, upon waking, she first goes very still, turning her head to listen to her surroundings, rather than opening her eyes. It is not until several moments have past that she opened them, blinking in the light reflected from the snow around us.

"Hello, my child. Did you sleep well?" She turns to me, blinks, then nods, "Ah, that is good. How are you feeling?" She tilts her head, then blinks several times.

"...okay," Her voice is quiet. She turns back to the window. We drive through the fresh snow for some time before we reach one of the residential neighborhoods. The snow here appears to have fallen some time ago; there are paths already trodden deep into the snow leading toward the playground.

With so many children of both species living in Ebott, building a park was a necessity. Monsters did not build playgrounds in the Underground, but our long tradition of puzzles shows itself in the red and orange equipment now topped with snow. A maze large enough for Asgore himself lies to the north, with pit traps, resettable switches, and sliding puzzles scattered amongst the human-style equipment. All of the platforms, swings, and slides are different sizes, so that no Monster or human may feel left out. It is one of my favorite places aboveground.

Today, the equipment is abandoned in favor of the grassy field, where children of all sizes are busy enjoying the snow. Snowmen are scattered among igloos and snow forts. Children are running everywhere. The only place of stillness is a bench far to the side of the games, where my new Royal Secretary is sitting with her son. She has been telling me that he is finding it hard to adjust to the energy and noise of other children, that he spends most of his time indoors reading or with her, and if the tension I can see in the little body under her arm is any kind of measure to judge by, she is correct.

Silver will be facing the same problems, will she not? I will need to investigate the best ways to help. Perhaps Sans will know of a good place to start? I look over at him, and I notice that he and Silver are sharing a look I...cannot place. It is sad, and solemn, and perhaps...guilty? Sans seems to notice my stare, and his usual smile once more covers his face. Yes, I will need to talk to Sans about this.

Asriel

Golly, things sure are quiet back there, aren't they? Feels kinda weird. What could I talk about that doesn't sound like creepy flower? Hmm…

"Howdy Silver, you awake back there?" I catch Mom's nod reflecting in the rearview mirror, "Do you wanna hear a bit about this little town of ours?" Silence, then Mom nods again, "Kay. We're in Ebott. It was a pretty small town, didn't even really exist before the Barrier broke. Used to be a ranger station and an old general store. You can still see them over there!"

The buildings are newly painted, roofs covered in the fresh snow. They show their age, although the general store added a new wing in 4AR with monster supplies and souvenirs. Gerson sold his old shop and went into partnership with the owners, and he's usually behind the counter in there, telling stories and selling crabapples. Seems the humans there are descendants of a few he knew back before the war. The painted sign they had was the same one he'd helped hang up all those years ago.

We pass the new development site. They got all the utilities dug in last week, and they just finished laying the roadways yesterday. It's so cool that Alphys and Mom managed to convince the state to let them put in those new solar roadways! I can't wait to drive on them. "Ebott's gotten so big we're spilling over into the next county. Seems like every year there's a new construction project going up," We finally reach the entrance to our neighborhood, "Lot of monsters live around here, since they still like to visit the Underground. There are a lot of big monster communities now, here and in almost every country in the world! This place is pretty special to us, though. It-"

"LOOK TINY HUMAN! IT IS SCENIC MY HOUSE! SEE, THAT IS WHERE SANS AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, LIVE WHEN WE ARE IN TOWN. ISN'T IT COOL?" Uncle Pappy is so cute!

"...okay," Silver sounds pretty doubtful, or maybe just tired. Good thing we're almost home.

"SANS! WE MUST HAVE THE TINY HUMAN OVER FOR ONE OF OUR FAMOUS PUZZLE NIGHTS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN MAKE THEM MY BEST FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI, AND YOU… WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'LL DO, BUT I AM SURE IT WILL BE NEARLY AS GOOD AS MY SPAGHETTI!"

"sounds great bro. i can already think of some great pastabilities," Frisk' giggle is so adorable.

"SANS!"

"i'll wrack my noodle for ideas. you're a much better sauce, though, i'm just trying to ketchup," Papyrus groans dramatically.

Mom chimes in, "Papyrus, I believe your nerves are getting a triffle too strained," I notice Frisk looking back at Silver, her expression a little worried.

"yeah, pap, can't you take the heat?" Pappy explodes, overcome by the power of puns.

Frisk's face is filled with determination, "Look over there, sis! That's mom's school," I hadn't realised we'd gotten this far. I turn to look at the odd jumble of buildings, slowing the van for maximum effect.

The grounds are always beautiful, but the buildings themselves are so different it's hard to see any kinda theme. Some are brick and mortar, others glass and concrete. The art building is all different kinds of wood, carved, stained, and painted with murals. The science building looks like a cross between Alphys' old lab and a pyramid. The gym looks suspiciously like Undyne's house in the underground.

"The School's a really neat place. It works more like a college than anything else, with different levels and sections of classes at different times. People can take whatever they want, and students can be any age, so sometimes you get a class with 3rd graders, Phd students, and grandparents, all in the same room! Everyone up in the Aboveground thought it was a horrible idea at first, but now it's considered one of the best schools in the world."

"...big," Golly, her voice is so tiny. Maybe it's just too-much-Papyrus syndrome. Everyone gets that, once in awhile, even Uncle Sans.

"Yes, my child. There are a lot of people who come here, and we also ask that anyone who is capable helps to teach a class or two. It is not perfect, but it is coming along."

"...okay," Another awkward silence fills the van. It lasts for a couple blocks, then we turn the corner and, "...what's that?"

The building in front of us has the outline of a cruise ship. It's prow is all windows above a giant amphitheatre of cushioned seats, rows bigger the higher up you go, the highest large enough for Asgore himself. The ship's decks are filled with puzzles, potted echo flowers, and telescopes. Monsters never seemed to get tired of looking at the stars. Inside the teal-tinted windows you can just make out the rows of shelves and desks on every level.

"THAT IS THE LIBRARBY! THE BAD SPELLING IS A MONSTER TRADITION. THIS ONE IS MUCH LARGER THAN THE ONE IN SNOWDIN, BUT THAT JUST MEANS MORE ROOM FOR BOOKS!"

"...books?" Her voice sounds awfully unsure.

"speeches. facts. stories. all kinds of stuff, written down on paper. they're bound to help you get a good read on a situation."

My lovely Frisk interrupts the growing silence, "We'll take you there sometime, Silver. Libraries like this one are nice places, quiet...I think you'll like it there. All kinds of stories to read."

Another long silence, then Pappy speaks, but is quickly interrupted by Uncle Sans.

"TINY HUM-"

"tori'll show you how to read, kid. we'll help," Oh, golly, she can't read? Well, she won't hafta worry 'bout that for long.

"...okay," We drive in silence through the trees, along the winding drive that leads up to Newer Home and the entrance to the Underground. Finally, we round the last corner and can see the house. It's big, and when you figure out how far it goes into the side of the mountain that gets upgraded to huge. The walls are stucco, with vines of golden flowers trained up the side. Dad spent years getting them to look just right.

The first few years, everyone of Frisk's friends was living in this house, but as more homes were finished, people started moving out. There's still three bedrooms for guests, though, since foreign dignitaries, uprooted monsters, and sleepover guests alike are always welcome to stay the night. Mom and Dad's rooms are on the top floor, and they have their own deck, with a staircase onto the side of the mountain. Me and Frisk have rooms downstairs, and I know Mom plans to build another just for Silver.

The main entrance is on the second floor, with a huge staircase cutting up through the first. There's a big two-mouthed fireplace on the front deck, and the same chimney feeds another fireplace upstairs. There are so many windows, and another door opens from the far western side of the first floor. It should look like a jumbled mess, but somehow, it looks cozy. Maybe it's the color scheme, yellows, tans, and golden browns, with bright blue shutters on all the windows, occasional bricks in the staircases and chimney of similar shades, and a slightly darker shade of blue on the door. Dad wanted it purple, but Mom refused.

She couldn't keep him from filling the flower boxes with lavender, sage, and columbines, though. Everywhere in the gardens are purple, blue, and yellow blooms - at least, during the summer. Right now everything is covered in a layer of snow, and the whole effect is of peaceful slumber. I pull up near the staircase in the circular drive, and everyone piles out. Frisk sets up the wheelchair Alphys made while Sans lifts Silver and her blankets out of the car. Once everyone's out, I get back in and drive the car over to the garage. In the rearview, I see Uncle Pappy taking the handles of the wheelchair and pushing Silver over to the stairs. Alphys' wheel attachments kick in, and he starts pushing her up to the front door.

Sans

His amazingly cool brother had, as usual, taken over the situation. Pap had pulled Silver from room to room, loudly narrating about everything they looked at, from the giant couches in the living room, to the shrine in the hallway with it's heart-shaped locket, to the MTT brand stove in the kitchen, to the trash tornado by the door. Everything. Toriel had given up on steering him and remained in the kitchen, so similar to the ones in Old Home and New Home. Asriel had been shanghaied into operating the wheelchair when they'd gone back through the entrance room on their way upstairs.

Pap hadn't seemed to notice the kid's growing tension, but Frisk and he had. Anytime something unfamiliar was seen, which to his growing fury meant every few seconds, the kid got a little bit tenser, curled a little bit tighter, shrunk a little bit more. Frisk had pulled out their phone and had begun typing furiously...probably making a list of things to explain. Good plan - Papyrus could be the most patient monster in the universe, but when he got an idea in his skull it could be quite hard to get it out. Usually, this was good, since he would stop at nothing to help someone in need, even if they weren't so sure about it. Then, though, it meant an in depth exploration of every room in the house not locked and bolted.

Finally, they'd made their way down to the ground floor, the only floor in the house not eerily similar to someone's home in the Underground. There was the game station, a huge tv cabinet stuffed with puzzles, videogames, and anime. There wasn't a huge variety of everything, but each thing in that cabinet was loved by someone, and everyone had their own beanbag for sleepovers. His star-speckled blue one had been the only one not piled against the wall, since he was always too lazy to put it away.

Next, there were Frisk's and Asriel's bedrooms. What had, at first, been Pap's and his room had been taken over by Azzy, who'd expanded the bookshelves and stuffed every spare inch of space with pictures, gifts, and sticky notes. The furball had forbidden anyone but Frisk from reading them long ago, but the horrible handwriting did as much to keep them private as any order. Sans knew most of them were reminders of what it meant not to be Flowey, and he had surreptitiously added another as he trailed the group out.

Frisk's room was...odd. He'd been in there a few times, back when they still had night terrors bad enough to need him, but mostly, the only ones who went in there in recent years were Frisk and, more and more frequently, Azzy. Sans hadn't worry about it, since Frisk hadn't asked him to be 'protective skelly' and scare the kid off as they'd asked with a few numbskulls back in high school. Papyrus had gone to open the door, only to find it locked. He'd 'nyeh'ed a bit in frustration, but had quickly gone back to his cheerful monologue. Frisk had flashed him a relieved smile, and he'd winked.

They had passed through the first guest room, done up like the Snowdin Inn and usually occupied by human guests, and on to the second, which had come dangerously close to looking like the MTT Resort's old decor. Frisk had intervened, and instead it ended up with echo flower wallpaper and dark blue carpet, the bed covered in one of Toriel's quilts. The ceiling was covered in crystals patterned like the Wishing Room 'sky'. This was the room Toriel lent out to monsters who, for one reason or another, were temporarily without a home. Sad as our time down there was, some find the reminder comforting. Sans refused to sleep there, afraid he'd wake up and forget he was free.

Quickly passing through the fifth bathroom (something that used to be optional Underground, but, thanks to human guests and Frisk, was now a necessity in every Monster home), they had arrived in the third guest room. It had been hastily converted from it's previous Hotland decor into a child's bedroom. Pastel curtains had been hung over the lava wallpaper on every wall. Toys overflowed from a chest in one corner, the bookcase sagged under the weight of so many colorful spines, and the bed was overloaded with stuffed plushies and pillows.

"THIS IS GOING TO BE YOUR ROOM UNTIL THE NEW ONE HER MAJESTY HAS ORDERED CONSTRUCTED FOR YOU IS FINISHED. ISN'T IT COOL?" Papyrus had turned to look at the kiddo and had finally seemed to notice how tense she looked.

Asriel had missed his and Frisk's frantic signals and added, "Everyone wanted to get you toys and books and things, but we didn't know what you would like. A lot of stuff already came, but if there's anything else you'd like for the -oof!" Frisk had elbowed him in the stomach, shutting him up, but the damage was done. Silver had curled into as tight a ball as she could manage, and was sobbing quietly. Pap had tentatively reached out a hand, and it had hurt him to see the pain on his cool brother's face when the kid shrugged him off. Frisk panicked, eyes darting around the room to try and find what could possibly have scared their sister; then it dawned on them. Sans had nodded back at the horrified college student, and they'd lept into action, figuratively speaking.

Frisk jumped over to Pap and hung on his arm until he bent down to their level, then whispered in his ear. Sans had taken advantage of the distraction to nuzzle up next to the curled up child's face, "hey, kiddo, what's up?" He saw her lips frame the words 'too much, too new', and leaned in sympathetically. He'd thought as much, now he just needed a way to get her out of the room. Oh! "smells like whatever tori's been cooking is almost done. why don't you three," he flicked his eyes at the prince and his brother, "go get ready? frisk and i will be there in no thyme," he'd winked, although the pun had gone right over her head. She sniffed, then noded.

Frisk had hastily shoved Pap out the door, then jumped up and wrapped her arms around the prince's neck while she whispered in his ear. He nodded, then carefully wheeled the kid away, bending over to whisper to her as Frisk closed the door. They looked at him with determination, "Okay, Uncle Sans. How do we make this room less-" they gesture wildly at the bed, the bookcase, the toy box, in a way they picked up from Mettaton, "Just less!"

He chuckled, "well, a few less of everything outta be a good start," He quickly packed most of the plushies into a pillowcase, and another was filled with books. He filled his arms with colorful pillows, then looked wildly about for a place to hide everything. The bed was too low, the closet full of clothes - another area to declutter - and the desk drawers were filled with art supplies.

Frisk had filled another pillowcase with plushies from the bed, and had picked up the first two he'd filled. He saw them looking at him with determination, "The caves. Plenty of room back there, even if Uncle Pap keeps giving us his bone presents," Sans followed her, relieved.

They made several trips to and from the storage caves carved into the back of the house. The room emptied. Only a few books were left on the bookshelf, all Papyrus' favorites. Three toys remained in the toybox - a robotic cat from Alphys, a flexible octopus Undyne had fervently denied buying, and a box of legos that had spontaneously generated. The only plush to remain was odd, a brown dog with a horn coming out of its forehead. He'd played around with it a few times, and it seemed to be some kind of puzzle, although he'd be pulled away before he'd managed to solve the thing. It lay atop a mound of white pillows, because Frisk believed pillows to be the greatest invention of all time, and they were the simplest ones they'd found.

Frisk weeded out of the closet every outfit too fancy, colorful, or complicated for their injured sister to manage, leaving two dresses, two nightgowns, a giant pair of skeleton sweats he was quite proud to have supplied, pants, a skirt, and two sweaters. Everything was in muted tones, and warm enough for the winter weather; hopefully by the time spring rolled around, the kid would have blossomed out of their fear.

They stood in the newly simplified room and looked around for anything else that might be too much for the kid, "Think this will be enough to not overwhelm her?" Frisk worried at their hands until he reached over and grabbed them.

"yeah. tibia honest, this should be enough for the present," Frisk giggled.

"Better get a move on then, eh, lazybones?" He grinned

"all this work's left me bone tired."

"You use that one too much, Sans," he shrugged.

His brother's voice boomed down the stairs, "SANS, YOUR LAZINESS IS RUBBING OFF ON THE HUMAN! THE FOOD IS READY, AND NEITHER OF YOU ARE UP HERE TO EAT IT!" Frisk took one last look around the room, squeezed his phalanges, and raced out the door. He grinned, and pulled the picture frame he'd gotten this morning out of a time pocket, carefully setting it up on the desk. In the frame was a picture from Frisk's and Asriel's high school graduation party, when everyone had gotten together at the entrance to Mt. Ebott where everyone had watched that first sunset so long ago. Asriel was squeezing Frisk tight in the foreground, their caps tilted backwards. Toriel and Asgore were watching off to the left, holding hands without realising it. Undyne had his brother trapped in a noogie, and Alphys was reaching for her girlfriend's elbow to rescue him. Sans was leaning against a tree on the right, one eyesocket closed as he winked into the camera.

"SANS!" He wiped a smudge off the glass, then took a shortcut up to the kitchen, leaving the room to its quiet silence.