As soft footsteps walked up the pale hallway, a telephone's ring peeled out. Accompanying this was the insistent tapping of Alphys's claws on the marble floors. The scientist stuck close to the side of the queen, both of them following a doctor to the room. Said doctor glanced over his shoulder at the both of them as they approached one of the rooms.

"Remember, keep your voices quiet, and try not to do anything sudden. He's just a kid. I know what he's been saying but, well, you know by now."

Toriel nodded. "Of course, Doctor." After giving them one more suspicious glance, the doctor opened one of the doors, stepping inside. From the hall they could hear the short conversation.

"Hey, kiddo, got a couple people that want to see you. They say they're friends."

"Alright...not like I've got much else to do."

The queen managed to stifle her chuckle as the doctor reemerged, nodding at the two monsters before stepping aside to let them in. They walked into the room, just in time to see Frisk turn his wheelchair around from the window. A tired smile was upon the boy's face.

"Hey Toriel, Alphys."

Toriel gave a polite nod while Alphys waved shyly. Frisk leaned back in the chair, settling himself.

"Soooo...what's up today? Would have thought you two'd be pretty busy, what with what's going on over there…"

Toriel blinked. "There is a time and a place for everything. Right now, we just wanted to speak."

Frisk looked around the room, then shrugged. "Well, we're here now. What did you want to talk about?" Alphys sat on the edge of the bed while Toriel pulled up one of the other chairs in the room. She turned to Alphys, who piped up.

"W-Well, we were a-actually c-curious about what l-life was like! B-Before all of this th-that is. Where y-you came from!"

Frisk blinked in surprise, folding his hands in his lap. "Well...let's see here...Toriel. After you were freed, I was taken back to the orphanage that I lived in. I had wanted to stay with you. In the time I was from, you actually took care of me underground. You were the closest thing I had to a mother. You fought really hard for it, and finally you were allowed to adopt me. I lived with you until I moved out to go to university. While I lived with you, you started your own school, for both humans, and monsters. It was slow at first, but it quickly became very popular within the first five years.

"Alphys-" The scientist perked at her name. "-when you emerged, human scientists were fascinated with every piece of monster technology they could find. Including the CORE. You were more than happy to share your research. You became well-regarded in the science community. It was your work that helped bring about plasma technology, and you even utilized the CORE to power cities on the surface! There were even talks of constructing more models, before the war that is." He couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the broad smile spreading across Alphys's glowing face.

"What about you?" Toriel asked.

"What about me?"

"Yes. What did you do?"

Frisk took a deep breath. "Well, as I stated, I went to live with you. When I grew older, I went to university to study politics. I ended up becoming an ambassador and representative for his majesty. When the war began, word of my reset ability escaped. Minister Hemmingway put me under house arrest. He claimed it was for my own protection. He moved me to a safehouse in the middle of nowhere. There I stayed until the war was nearly at a climax. Then, I became a soldier..." His voice trailed away, and Toriel's gaze slowly turned to the floor. There was an awkward silence in the room, before Alphys squeaked again.

"F-Frisk...for d-doing what you've done...th-that makes you one of the b-bravest people I know. Wh-Which isn't saying much, I kn-know I'm an introvert, I don't g-get out much and-"

"Alph. It's fine." Frisk chuckled again. "Thank you." Toriel shook her head.

"This is wrong. All of this is wrong. Nobody should ever have to bear the responsibility that you have to bear."

Frisk exhaled. "Somebody has to do it though." More silence. Frisk's eyes looked to the door.

"You know...I always wonder. Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be me? I mean, I wasn't anybody special...I was some random kid. You would never have thought that I'd be the one to have to...I don't know, save the world? I guess? Can't see how I would do that anyway, seeing as I'm stuck in this stupid thing."

Toriel leaned forward, putting one of her hands on Frisk's. "You do not need to bear those responsibilities anymore my child. You have done very well. The military will handle the rest. I know they will."

"I know they will too...they will more than likely win with my extra knowledge, and they will be able to establish a new form of world order. One that is fair. Free…" He slowly looked to Toriel again. "But how many...monsters and humans alike...will needlessly die before it happens?"

O-o-o-o-o

A huff of air ruffled the pages of the old journal. The blue hooded skeleton remained hunched over in the armchair in his home, gazing down at the symbols messily scrawled across the yellowing pages. Sans let out a yawn, feeling his eyesockets grow heavy. The strain of reading the same pages, over and over again, was taking its toll. There had to be something missing. He knew it. Everything made so much sense, but at the same time, none of it made any sense at all.

He started at a soft rapping at the door. Setting the journal down on the coffee table, he wandered to the window, glancing outside. After seeing who it was, he moved to the door, letting Alphys inside.

"how'd it go?"

Alphys shrugged as she ducked inside. She was shivering. "F-Fine. Had an i-interesting talk. Wh-Why did you insist on l-living all the way out here in Snowdin? I-It's freezing!"

"i like the quiet."

Her gaze panned to the table, spying the journal. She walked past Sans, slowly picking it up.

"G-Gaster's journal!"

Sans nodded, following her into the living room. "mhm. brought it with me when we moved away from new iome. I thought maybe i'd be able to find some use for it."

She stared at the open pages, trailing one of her claws over the symbols before looking back up at him.

"These were his notes from...his project! You were trying to replicate them?"

"eh, i thought maybe i could bring him back. you know? didn't ever work out...i didn't know you read the language."

Alphys closed the book. "I'm not v-very good, I just st-studied some of his older n-notes in my spare time. Wh-What are you doing l-looking at them again?"

The skeleton flopped back down on the couch. "this whole business with resets...it's just got me thinking again. about soul creation, this, prophecy, everything else. i don't even know what to think anymore."

"Well...why don't we put our heads together o-on this? Maybe w-with help we could...get some form o-of cl-clarity."

Sans looked over to her. She could tell he was skeptical at first, but in the end, he sat up. "welp...what do we have to lose?"

O-o-o-o-o

The phone only rang once, before a click on the other end signalled that somebody was listening. The man glanced over his shoulder in the dark, keeping his voice low.

"First Sergeant Reese has been incarcerated. I think they might be on to us."

"Who leads the company?"

"One of theirs. Some weird fish lady. Sergeant Vernilot or something."

The voice on the other end chuckled, "Mmmmhmhmhmhm...this...this could play very well into our hands. Watch her close. Keep your cover. You remember your mission. Get close to the targets...and then eliminate them. I do not need to remind you what is at stake."

"No, sir, you do not."

"For the greater good," the voice barked.

"For the greater good." With this, he clicked the phone shut, stuffing it into his pocket. The soldier turned around, walking back to the encampment. The patch with the embroidered raven's skull glimmered in the moonlight on his uniform.