Chapter 24: Found

And in the next instant,

I was gone.

I had been in the Underground for at least a week.

I know it may seem childish or silly to most, but what Sans said really affected me. Because what he said, showed me that he still felt as if I were a murderer. And yes, I was angry at both him and Chara at first, but that anger soon died out. I had no right to be angry at either of them. Sans had to live through the murder of his kind again and again, and to him, it had always looked like I was the one who did the killing. And Chara... well, I'm not sure. It felt as though she were being used, as though she was forced to kill. But it was all very confusing, and I didn't want to get into that right now.

I was currently sitting in the chair by the fireplace at Toriel's, on the phone with Grillby. "So you're doing better? That's good, I'm glad you're making progress!"

Grillby's tired voice came through the phone, "Yes, it is quite a bit of progress that I seem to have made." Grillby was silent for a moment, before saying what I knew was coming. "Frisk, you should come home. Everyone misses you greatly, and you know that Sans regrets what he said. Please, even a visit would do everyone a great deal."

I was silent for a moment, my voice stony when I spoke. "Sans probably doesn't even notice I'm gone, he's too caught up with Pandora."

When Grillby was hesitant in speaking, I knew that I was correct about Sans being with Pandora. "Well, Sans has noticed that you're gone. And he has been spending time with Pandora, but-"

I hung up on Grillby before he could continue. I inhaled sharply, it still hurt that he was still hanging out with her. But I'd have to get over that.

I still hadn't fully recovered from teleporting to the Underground, but you know, why not? They want me to come home so badly, why not just teleport? So that's what I did. When I arrived in my room at home, I could feel all of my energy and most of my health drain, but I was home, wasn't I?

I took a moment to try and recover a bit, before heading upstairs.

When I got upstairs Sans was sitting beside Grillby, looking perfectly fine. When he caught sight of me, he cut off his conversation at once and came to my side. "jesus frisk, have you not been takin care of yourself?"

I said nothing to Sans, and took his spot on the couch beside Grillby. I felt a smile reach my lips for the first time since I left, "Heya Grillbs, it's been a while." Grillby gave me a warm hug, making sure that I felt loved. The flame monster was still not giving off the healthy glow that he should have, but he seemed to really be getting better. When the hug ended, I asked the question that had been bothering me. "Grillby, who's been taking care of the restraunt since you've gone?"

Grillby's glow seemed to dull even more for a moment, "Well, Toriel was taking care of it, but she's been a bit busy with Melody and the rest of the citizens and such. So the restraunt's been closed for a few days."

And immediately, I said, "I'll go take care of the restraunt, Grillby." Grillby was about to tell me not to, but I made sure he didn't get the chance. "That place means a lot to you, and you know it means a lot to others as well. Grillby's is like a second home to everyone, so don't tell me not to take care of our home."

Grillby was hesitant, but then his flames glowed brighter than I had seen them in what seemed like forever. "Frisk, thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me, I'll have to repay you someday." My smile got bigger than it'd been in a long while as he continued. "I have the keys right here, and when you get there tomorrow, you can go get a uniform from the back, I should have your size. I would remind you to be kind to the customers, but you should have no problem with that. And if you need any help, just give me a call, I'll be able to pick up anytime. You shouldn't need to work for too long though, with you here, I feel like I'm getting better by the second."

My cheeks hurt so much from the smiling that I'd been doing today, "Okay, I'll do my best to keep the restraunt open and welcoming for you. You keep getting better, okay?"

Grillby was still glowing from the happiness that I'd give him, and I knew that he'd be up and running in no time. But now that my conversation was done with Grillby, I silently got up and went over to Sans, who had been standing quietly on the other side of the room staring at his feet, looking guilty and hurt.

Sans didn't look up when I went over to him, and only responded by putting his arms around me when I put my arms around him for a hug. My voice was quiet, barely a whisper. "I forgive you. But just know, Pandora isn't coming anywhere near Melody or anyone else." And I ended the hug, heading to my room.

It'd been a week since I got back home, and everything seemed to be going quite smoothly. Nothing drastic had happened, the only really eventful thing being the security installments and body guard for Melody as Ms. Grey and Mr. Jansen had previously mentioned.

Grillby was almost back to his old self, making immense progress in getting his flames back to normal and definitely made progress in being around cups and pitchers and such. Me and Sans hadn't really talked much since I got back, only exchanging small smiles here and there.

It hurt to know that we had had such a great friendship and maybe even some other feelings going on, and then it was traded away for some girl who was a threat to my family and friends. It actually took a much greater toll on my emotions and mental state than I had expected, and it was difficult for me to keep my emotions stable. In fact, Alphys was now constantly checking in on me and my health, knowing that I wasn't as okay as I said I was.

And right now, was one of her check-ins.

"Hey Frisk, how are you f-feeling today?"

I smiled at her, "You're stutter has gotten so much better, I'm proud of you, Alphys!"

Alphys got a red tint to her cheeks, "T-thanks Frisk, but that didn't answer my question."

I still smiled though, today was a better day than most. "Actually, I'm feeling pretty good today, it feels like nothing can bring me down."

Alphys smiled, being able to tell that I was being genuine. "That's good, I'm glad you're d-doing better. So listen, everyone was t-thinking of going out for a nice dinner tonight and s-spending time together since it's been a while since everyone's been in the same r-room together. Do you want to come?"

I felt a bit guilty when she said that, it had been a while since I'd spent time with everyone. "Sure, I'll tag along. Who's all going to be there?"

Alphys faltered for a moment, "W-well, everyone, including Sans a-and, and uh, and Pandora."

My smile fell, and my voice came out almost harshly. "Pandora? Why is Pandora coming?"

Alphys flinched at how drastically my voice had changed, but continued. "W-well, Sans thinks it'd, it'd be a good idea to have everyone s-start getting used- getting used to her being around."

My heart fell when the words came out of her mouth, and my voice was quiet, "Getting used to her being around? Please, please don't tell me..."

Alphys nodded sadly, she knew how I felt about Sans, she was the only one who knew for sure. "They're now officially together. He told me this morning, no one else knows."

I felt and heard something in me break, Alphys did as well, and I fell to my knees. I had my head down and my hands were crossed as I held my chest, trying to will the overwhelming pain and sorrow to stop. It didn't stop drowning me beneath the waves, but it did turn into something else. It turned into anger.

Alphys helped me up, even more concerned about me after what she had just witnessed. "Frisk, I need to check your soul. I need to make sure that it wasn't badly damaged after this incident."

I hesitated, but since Alphys knew everything else... why not? "Okay, just, don't freak out and go running to Toriel or anything, okay?"

Alphys nodded, and I gently coaxed my soul out. My soul was still the same vibrant red as it usually was, but now, not only was it fractured, but it seemed to have been drained of some of my determination. It was like someone poured some of my determination out, leaving a third of my soul devoid of any color.

Alphys immediately gasped and went to examining my soul. "Frisk, this is serious! Why- why haven't you come to me sooner?!"

I shrugged, "I dunno. I guess I just didn't really care anymore." When I said that, some more determination trinkled from my soul.

Alphys smacked my arm, "Frisk, don't say things like that, it makes it worse!" I only rubbed my arm where Alphys hit me, refraining from making another comment. It was then that Alphys saw the outline of my soul and the ever changing hues. "Frisk, what- w-what is this?"

I forgot that she didn't know, and my heart began to race. "Oh, uh, it's a long story." Alphys, now knowing about my soul, pressed for more. "Okay, how do I word this? Um, so, oh geez, you don't remember that either, okay, this is difficult." I took a deep breath, and spoke rapidly, "So I ended up being murdered last timeline and I went to this sort of alternate universe, and everything was different and strange and stuff. So at one point, my soul ended up starting to shatter while I was still alive, and so the monsters sort of helped me out? And now that I'm back and alive, it's been like this ever since."

Alphys gaped at me, and shrilly asked, "You died?!"

When Alphys started to hyperventilate, I stepped in to try and calm her. I rubbed calming circles on her back and spoke in a soft voice, "Hey, Alphys, it's okay. I'm fine, I'm alive, I'm here. Everything's fine, okay? Everything's fine."

When I got her to calm down, she spoke quietly. "Frisk, we'll need to talk later, okay? I'll need you to go in d-depth about what happened, starting from your de-" Alphys took a deep breath, "From your d-death, to now."

I nodded. "Okay. Now let's go get ready for our nice night out, okay?"

Alphys nodded, and we went our seperate ways until dinner.

For dinner, we weren't going anywhere fancy, so I only dressed in a black tank top with the other Sans' jacket and some dark blue jeans. My hair was up in a messy bun, and I wore a necklace that would stand out with my outfit. A necklace from Sans.

The necklace had a circular, beautiful cerulean blue background with the silhouette of a tree, with an intricately designed silver crescent moon around the circular charm.

It was one of my most prized possessions, and I loved it dearly. And I was planning on wearing it in plain view for anyone to see, specifically, Sans. I wanted to see what reaction I could get out of him, I wanted to see if he was really going to choose Pandora over me... Though, I don't think he ever saw me as an option. Did he?

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm the raging emotions inside.

When I heard the knock at my door, I opened my eyes and put on a smile, walking over to meet Alphys. Alphys was wearing her black and white polka dotted dress, and actually looked comfortable with herself for once.

Alphys' voice was gentle as she asked, "Ready?"

I nodded, stepping out of my room and closing my door. "Yep, I'm all good here. So, are we walking to the restraunt or are we teleporting?"

"Walking. The restraunt's only a couple miles away, we should get there within an hour at the most... Look, Frisk, are you s-sure you want to come with? You don't have to if you're not comfortable with it," Alphys told me quietly.

I started to make my way upstairs and out the door, where everyone else was waiting. "It's fine Alphys, I'll be fine. Let's just... have as much fun as we can tongiht, okay?"

Alphys gave me an 'm-hm' as we stepped out and locked the house. Outside, everyone was gathered on the sidewalk in front of the house. Sans immediately caught sight of my necklace as I made my way toward the group, a sad look taking place in his eyes.

I ignored him as Toriel did a head count, heading to stand with Chara and Asriel. "Okay, everyone's present, so we can start heading to the restraunt- Melody, please stay by my side, okay my child?"

I blocked out any conversation from anyone, instead being silent and not contributing to the discussion, which was currently where we'd go after dinner.

"Frisk, you okay?" Asriel's voice reached my ears.

Asriel and Chara looked concerned, yet suspicous at the same time. "Yeah, I'm fine, why?"

Chara grabbed my arm, her voice low. "You're not fine. You haven't been the same since whatever happened that day when you were missing for hours, and you've only gotten more distant since Pandora arrived. You are not fine. What's going on?"

I yanked my arm away and stuffed my hand into my jacket pocket. "It's nothing, I'm fine. Just mind you're own business and keep walking." My voice came out more harshly and threatening than I intended, and I immediately changed my tone. My voice was quieter and softer this time, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that so... rudely. Look, it's just... a lot to tell about, and if I told you, it'd be the third time telling the story." I pulled Chara and Asriel closer, making sure only they heard, since Pandora was straining to listen in. "Ask either Alphys or Grillby, they'll tell you. Now, let's not discuss things with Pandora around."

Asriel's features took on a sad look, "You've been distant because of Pandora, haven't you?" I remained quiet and kept walking. "Her being here is hurting you, isn't it?" I gave a small nod, and Asriel said quietly, "You like Sans, don't you."

I gave a harsh laugh, and my voice was pained as I spoke. "Like him? Azzy, I think I love him."

Now Chara and Asriel knew. They both spoke quietly between themselves for a moment, before turning back to me. Chara was the one to speak, "We're gonna leave you alone for a little while, we need to talk to everyone quick. We'll go up to two or three of them at a time, so we don't have to stop the whole group to speak with them. And we won't talk to Sans or Pandora, okay?" I nodded, and kept walking. "Okay. Just, don't ditch the group, stay here and we'll be back." I nodded again, letting them know to go ahead with whatever they were planning.

I watched as they made their way to Mettaton first, and walked even more slowly than I had been, lagging greatly behind the group.

By the time I realized my mistake of lagging behind, a hand was clamped around my mouth and my hands were bound behind my back.

My heart seemed to be sprinting in my chest and my breathing picked up as panic set in. I fought against who my captors were, trying to make some sound to let the others know of what was happening, but something was wrong; I couldn't make any sound come from my mouth. I fought for a minute more, before I went limp. I was going to try using that tactic where you go limp, let the captor drag you, and then suddenly fight back. I waited maybe two or three minutes as I was dragged backward toward a vehicle. Then, without warning, I tripped up whoever was dragging me, sent a hard kick to their stomach, and ran as they doubled over.

I didn't get very far before someone else stepped out and swung something hard at my head, sending shooting pains through my jaw as I fell to my knees. I stay on my hands and knees for a moment, before trying to get up again. But someone took what felt like the tip of a baseball bat, and roughly shoved me back down so that I was merely laying there.

I heard the click of heels against concrete, then a voice that made me flinch unvoluntarily. "Yeah, that's her, my pathetic excuse of a daughter." My mother. "Sedate her, then load her up in the van. Be quick though, we have somewhere to be right now." I felt something sharp pierce the skin on the side of my neck, and felt the burning sensation as something went in. My vision was getting blurry and darker by the second, but I saw my mother's familiar face as she lifted my head by my hair. She didn't look at all like I remembered. Her hair was kept in a tight bun, her face made up with makeup, her clothes not of rags but of a pristine business outfit.

Before I was consumed by the oncoming darkness, my mother cooed this words to me:

"We found you, Frisk. And you can't hide any longer."

Welp, that happened.

Anyways, I recently realized that I haven't really properly thanked everyone who reads this stuff right here. So:

Thank you guys so so so very much for choosing to read this story. When I first published this, I never thought that anyone would even enjoy my writing, let alone crave for more. So I wanted to thank you guys, for not only liking the story, but for keeping me motivated enough to type it. And thank you for all of the great reviews, it really makes me happy to read about what you guys thought, and it's really helpful whenever I get any suggestions for the story!

Okay, moving on from all of that sentimental crap and stuff.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Until Next Time~