At least there's elevators...
Unware of how long she had been walking or where she was even going, Frisk eventually found herself in the lobby of the MTT Hotel. It was here that Frisk learned of Sans past relationship with Toriel, or rather, in the restaurant nearby, when she was asked to dinner by Sans. Sans had confessed everything at that point, why he was following Frisk, the promise he made to Toriel to watch over any human in the Underground. She always wondered why he never attacked her at any moment on her journey. He probably wouldn't have attacked her anyway even without the promise, knowing Sans, but it meant a lot to Frisk that Toriel cared so much, even after Frisk had hurt her feelings, wanting to leave the Ruins instead of staying with her, to more or less be a guardian angel, watching over Frisk through it all.
Everything seemed as if it was drawing to a close. Asriel had been redeemed and forgiven. The barrier was broken and all the monsters in the Underground were free to leave at any time. All of Frisks friends were alive and well, waiting for her to return so they could go to the surface together and feel the sunlight of the overworld for the first time. It was almost time for the curtain to rise on this show and only the last leg of the journey remained. However...
How many times have I done this now?
This was not the first time Frisk found herself in this situation. Unsure of why she had this ability, the power to SAVE and RESET the timeline, she made use of it time and time again, saving and resetting, erasing everyones memories and doing everything all over again. She did everything the exact same way, each time, not changing anything. She spared, saved, and befriended everyone countless times, again and again.
Why did she do this so many times? It was not because she wanted to relive all those precious memories again and again (although she made it a point to cherish every moment of it while she could). It was not some twisted form of curiosity to see what would happen if she took a different approach, because she never chose the easy or violent path. She never resorted to violence, except in the confrontation with Asgore, and only because her hand was forced. She firmly believed violence was only ever to be used as a last resort, when there was absolutely no other way.
No, the real reason she kept resetting the timeline was because she was looking for something. Something she thought she missed in every reliving of her adventure underneath the mountain. Something that she thought she would find if she looked just a little harder on the next run.
She was looking for a way to save someone. Someone she cared about dearly. Someone whom, from his own perspective, had only known him for a few moments and didn't think deserved forgiveness or was worth her friendship because of what he had done to her and those she cared about.
But that wasn't true at all. Because through each reset and each reliving of the story, she got to spend a little more time with him. She got to know him a little better each time, and every visit only reaffirmed what she already knew. Behind the facade of hate and anger and lies that 'Flowey' had projected before, there was a person underneath who was full of love and sincerity, and she knew that the real Asriel, having at least temporarily regained his compassion, was utterly incapable of the horrible deeds that 'Flowey' had committed in the past.
And after countless resets, reliving her adventure over and over again, she finally found the answer she was looking for. But the answer she sought was a frightening one, and it left her with even more questions to ponder.
Will it work? Will it even be enough to save him?
Will he let me go through with it?
And when the time comes...will I even have the courage to go through with it myself?
More than anything, it left her afraid, terrified even. Certainly what she was contemplating flirted with the borders of insanity. And honestly, any rational mind would feel that way as well. She knew, going through with it would be, for lack of a better word, suicide. She was mortally terrified, and the fear only served to magnify her confusion.
I don't know what to do...
She thought to herself as she walked past the empty tables of the hotel restaurant.
The restaurant was already closed in preparation for the departure to the surface, and almost all of the patrons had vacated by this point. Not even the waiters, bus boys, or chefs were present anymore. That was fine, she wasn't hungry anyway. She sat down at one of the tables in the back, surprised that the place was so empty already.
Wow. Word travels fast here. Must be the spiders.
"Or maybe even Sans..."
That thought she spoke aloud to herself, laughing at the idea. Sans was unique among the monsters for his ability to use 'shortcuts'. Somehow he could always get a leg up on everybody and anybody, being somewhere that shouldn't even be physically possible at times. It was all the more amazing to her because Sans didn't even look or seem like the kind of person that could do something like that, much less even care to bother. Looks can be deceiving and all, but there was more to it then that.
And she dismissed that idea immediately, based on the one simple fact that she knew about Sans.
"Nah...he's too lazy to bother doing something like that."
A familiar voice from behind.
"i heard that."
Oh no...
Frisk sighed to herself and looked down.
Now I'm gonna get it.
And she looked up.
He was right in front of her now.
She reeled back in surprise.
"How are you always 'THERE!?'"
She put a lot of emphasis on the word 'there.' It drove her nuts, not understanding why he was able to move around in such away and none of the other monsters were.
"when you understand physics, a lot of things become possible."
"Oh, cool. A science lecture from Professor Sans."
Frisk chided with a not so subtle tone of sarcasm. Sans giggled in response.
"no, nothing quite so cool, i'm afraid."
He sat down across from Frisk at the same table. It looked like something was bothering him, which was rare to see from someone like Sans, who was laid back and carefree most of the time.
"hey, frisk..."
Why does he do that? He even says names without emphasis on capital letters?
"Hmm? What's wrong, Sans?"
"we're...we're friends, right?"
Frisk looked a little concerned now, mainly because this sort of question was a bit unusual for Sans. It probably wouldn't have bothered her so much if it was Alphys or any of the others, but for Sans to be asking something like this, something was going on. Where was this coming from?
"i mean...it's hard to imagine that you think of any of us as friends after what we tried to do to you, but..."
What the hell?
The concern had turned into confusion, and Frisk was too dumbfounded to make sense of any of it. This sort of question was completely unlike Sans to even think about, let alone ask.
But Frisk reassured him with a smile.
"Yeah, Sans. Of course we're friends."
Sans paused for a moment, and then nodded at Frisk. But he still had a look of genuine concern on his face.
"so if...if something was going on, if something was bothering you, for example, you would tell me, right?"
Sans was making Frisk very uncomfortable now. Of course, something WAS bothering her and Sans seemed to know it, but she couldn't tell him what it was. She couldn't tell anybody. He was definitely more observant than the others though, so if anyone were to notice Frisks unusual mood, it would be him. Knowing it probably wouldn't work, she tried to play it cool, as if she had no idea what was on his mind.
"Sans, what's up with you?"
"well..."
Sans seemed reluctant to say what was really bothering him. Normally he didn't really care what was going on with other people. That's not to say that he didn't care about people at all, especially his friends, but he usually just minded his own business and didn't burden anyone with his own problems. But now...
"...come on frisk. be straight with me. i know something is eating away at you. your face said it all, right before you left. you were clearly upset, and everyone else saw it too."
Frisk had trouble maintaining eye contact with Sans after hearing that. He was right, after all. But EVERYONE else? Maybe she wasn't giving her friends enough credit.
"...was it really that obvious?"
Now sans leaned forward towards Frisk.
"yeah, it was. look, frisk, normally i wouldn't pry like this, but you've done so much for everyone and...well, i'm just really concerned. if it's something i can help with..."
Frisk was still looking away. She was ashamed to hide something like this from her friends, but she knew it would only cause more pain if she said what was really on her mind.
"...if you did something bad, i won't judge you, at least not this time. i just want to help..."
Now Frisk was looking down.
"No, it's nothing like that, Sans. I just..."
There was a moment of awkward silence between the two.
"if you don't want to say anything, i understand."
Frisk hesitated for a few seconds before looking at Sans again.
"...I can't go to the surface with you guys. Not yet."
The look on Sans face made it clear, that was the very last thing he expected to hear coming from Frisk.
"what do you mean?"
Frisk didn't want to say anything more, it might put everything in jeopardy and worry the others even more, and she knew Sans wouldn't press the matter if she told him to drop it. But it's because she knew Sans and the kind of person he was that she told him. Frisk had a lot of trust in Sans.
"There's still something I have to take care of first. Someone I have to see."
"someone?"
"Yes. A friend."
"does this...'friend' have a name?"
Frisk was even more uncomfortable now.
"Well...yes he does, but I can't tell you what it is. I really can't say anything more, Sans. I'm sorry..."
"so...you can't come with us to the surface yet because you have to go see this friend that none of us know about or have even heard of, that only you know where he is, and you can't tell us who he is, and you don't want anyone else to know or follow you to see him...am i on the right track so far?"
Frisk looked away from Sans now, knowing that he was right, but at the same time that she couldn't say anything more than that.
"...yes, that's right."
Sans looked visibly worried now. Frisk was having a lot of trouble keeping her true feelings in check and Sans picked up on it pretty easily.
"i don't really understand the secret agent nonsense, but...
He stared right into her squinted eyes now.
"frisk...you're not planning anything crazy, are you? there's been enough insanity today already. you almost died earlier, don't forget."
Frisk tried to hold up her hands to reassure him that she wasn't planning anymore crazy nonsense, but it was an immense struggle for her, because what she was now considering WAS crazy, from every logical perspective. But she couldn't let him know that. So she faked her reassuring gesture. She'd take that, if nothing else.
"Of course not. But it's something I need to do and I cannot leave until it's done."
Sans seemed like he wanted to inquire further, he must have been able to tell that she was faking, but as she had assumed and with a huge feeling of relief, he decided not to press the matter. He could tell, this was important to her, whatever it was, and he didn't want to get in the way.
"...alright, frisk. if that's how you feel, i won't ask any more. go and do whatever it is you need to do. go and see this 'friend' of yours."
Frisk looked at Sans again with a smile and a nod.
"but...you might want to go and talk to the others first before you do, just to let them know you're okay. they were pretty concerned when you left. i know toriel would appreciate that, at least. you have no idea how worried she has been ever since you left the ruins."
"Yeah, I think I will do that. I wanted to talk to her about something anyway. Something important."
Frisk stood and started walking towards the lobby of the MTT. Sans nodded in approval.
"well, see you soon then."
And started walking the other way, towards a dead end. Frisk turned around to wave goodbye, and...
He was already gone.
How the HELL does he do that!?
Frisk shrugged, and a few seconds later found herself walking back towards the lobby of the MTT. Her feelings and the decision she was still faced with had not changed from before. She knew there was still time to make the decision, but only so much before fate would eventually decide for her. Sure, she could reset and do everything all over again if she really needed more time to think, but by this point the emotional turmoil of reliving every moment over and over again was too much for her to bear anymore. Not that she didn't cherish every happy memory she made on this journey, but the painful ones were still there and they sank in more and more each time she ran the gauntlet.
No, she knew, if she was going to go through with it, it had to be this time, and it had to be soon.
Frisk decided to take Sans advice and go see her friends again. Maybe it would help her gather her thoughts and make a decision. Maybe it would just make things harder for her, and everyone else. She didn't know. But regardless, she felt like she had to see one other person before doing anything, at least.
The one who silently watched over her all this time.
The one she now called "Mom."