Chapter 33: Welcome Back

"Frisk?" A tremulous voice called out.

"… M-mom?"

I instinctively moved closer to the other Sans, red sweater Sans. My mother took no notice of my behavior, and lunged for me, embracing me in a tight hug.

I immediately stiffened, fighting the urge to throw her off of me and to the ground. Red sweater Sans was the one who took action though, grabbing my mother by the arms and getting her away from me. "Sans no, wait!"

Red sweater Sans shoved my mother up against a wall, practically growling when he spoke. "just why should i wait? you told me about this bitch, and what her and your father put you through."

I ran over to him, throwing him off of her with my magic, getting gasps from the entire establishment. "Alternate universe! That's why! I don't belong here, remember?!"

I turned my attention towards my other mother, putting gentle hands on her arms, looking for injuries. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I found bruises on her arms where Red had grabbed her, and I waved a hand over the bruises, my healing magic quick and efficient. At least that's one good thing to come from my training at the compound. "Are you okay…. mom?"

I helped the other Alexandra up, noting how she even looked gentler and warmer than my Alexandra. Her dark chocolate brown hair was not up in a tight bun, but instead framing her face. Her butterscotch yellow eyes were no longer full of venom and hate, but a certain sadness that was now hidden behind happiness. And her voice was soothing and motherly as she spoke, "Oh Frisk…. I'm so glad I've finally found you." A questioning look came onto my face, but before I could say anything, my other mother's tone went from warm and friendly, to deadly. "Where have you been?! After you ran away, I kicked that deadbeat alcoholic father of yours out of the house, and came searching for you. You never returned any of my calls or texts, I had authorities searching for you for months! When I got the call today about you being sighted near a monster's establishment, I almost didn't come, I could hardly believe it since it had been over two years since you ran away! Where have you been."

I couldn't believe my eyes; my mother, Alexandra, actually… cared about me. "Oh, um…." My other mother gave me the look that said she wanted answers, and she wanted them now. "Alexan- Mom, I mean. How about we go somewhere private to… discuss the situation. Okay?"

My other mother took my hand and nodded, "Fine. But we are going to be having a very long discussion about where you've been, and how worried you've made me." Alexandra's hand tightened around mine, as if she were afraid I were going to disappear at any moment. "…I'm just so glad I've found you…."

I gave my other mother a smile before turning to Red and lowering my voice, "We'll figure out all of this back at your place, okay? Until then, please refrain from getting physical with her again." Red gave me a stiff nod, and I softened when I saw how protective he was over me. "Hey, you don't need to worry. Everything will be alright…. And I'm sorry. About throwing you off of her with my magic.. I should have handled that situation better."

Red took my hand and gave it a small squeeze, but he seemed… distant. "it's fine. now c'mon, let's clear this situation up."

The other Alexandra's hands were shaking in her lap, her voice strained. "So you're saying that…. my Frisk, is still out there somewhere? And you're just from… an alternate universe."

I nodded, my voice gentle. "I know how much it is to take in, it's a lot, isn't it?" My other mother nodded her head slowly, and I continued. "I'm sorry. I wish I were the Frisk you were looking for. But hey, let's remain optimistic. If she really ran away two years ago, and if she's anything like me, then she is smart enough to have made a living. She's out there somewhere. And I'm guessing she's still here in Ebott City, because if she is like me in even the slightest way, she wouldn't want to go far from the only family she has. She knows you care, she knows you love her, she knows that the only problem with her home was her father. She knows you. So she shouldn't be far. We'll find her, okay?"

Alexandra gave a feeble smile, "Okay…. Thank you, Frisk- er, other Frisk? Gee, this is confusing."

I gave my other mother an understanding smile, and left her to finish up her peppermint tea.

I crossed over to Red, giving him a small smile. "She took that in a lot better than I thought she would. Anyways, since I know for a fact that alternate me would never leave behind someone who cared for me, the other Frisk should be here somewhere in Ebott City. I'll probably need your help to find her, and I'll probably need Flowey to scout out an area ahead from us to-"

"you, won't be going out looking for frisk," Red said as he began to walk away.

Confusion took over my features as I turned to follow him into the kitchen, "You mean the other Frisk. And what do you mean I won't be going out and looking for her?"

Red wouldn't look at me as he spoke. "no, you are the other frisk. and you won't be going out looking for her, because you're going home. right now."

"Excuse me?" I exclaimed. "I am not going home right now, you guys need me to help-"

"no, we don't. we don't need you here at all. just go home, frisk," I could feel my heart thud painfully as Red spoke.

My lip began to tremble, and I clenched my fists closed. "What has gotten into you, Red? Why would you even say-"

Red's voice was harsh as it came out, "because it's true. you don't even belong here, and we do not need you here."

"Just a few hours earlier, you were talking about how you loved me and all of that shit. And now… just what are you trying to say, Red?" I knew what he was going to say.

"i don't want to be with you. i don't love you. you don't belong here, and you shouldn't even be here, not if you're just going to leave us all again. so do us all a favor, and just leave already." Red still wasn't looking at me.

I took a breath, "And just when did you decide that you don't love me anymore? When did you suddenly change your mind?"

Red finally looked up, his eyes distant, but still holding a certain pain and sadness. "i didn't change my mind… i just realized that we could never work out. that you don't belong here. that you're just going to leave sooner or later, so… why not sooner."

My eyes stung, "Are you absolutely sure about this?" Red nodded, starting to walk away from me and to the other Alexandra. My voice was barely a whisper as I turned to leave.

"Okay."

….

Ow…. My head was killing me, it felt as if someone were pounding on it with a mallet….

I slowly opened my eyes, squinting as I took in the bright light. I turned my head to the side, trying to avoid the light glaring down at me, and I saw three figures seated at a circular table. Everything was blurry though, so I couldn't make out who the figures were. But… I thought I saw a flash of blue over there.

My throat was scratchy, and my mouth felt like it had dried up. I tried to swallow a few times before I spoke, "…..Sans?"

I saw a shorter figure jump, before the figure ran over to me. "Liam! Aaron! She's awake!"

My eyes focused on the figure, who I could now make out as Selena. I smiled as she took my hand, "Hey girly…. how have you been?"

Selena laughed, and I swear I saw some tears shimmering in those hazel eyes. "You're asking me, how I've been?" I nodded, and Selena gave me a soft smile. "I've been okay. How are you feeling though? Do you need some water?" I nodded, and Selena immediately walked over to the sink, getting some water as Aaron and Liam stood back watching the scene.

I winced as I reached for the cup of water, feeling a painful pulsing all across my back. "Thank you, Selena." I took a few gulps of water, feeling much better now that I had something to drink. "So…. I've probably been out of it for a few days. How long has it been?"

Selena responded before the other two had a chance to say anything. "You've only been unconscious for about four and a half days." Selena turned to look at Liam, a certain…. smile, on her face. "You would usually need two or four weeks to heal, but…. Thanks to this kid, you're making a speedy recovery."

Liam playfully glared, and I swear I saw the corner of his mouth twitch. His voice was laid-back like any fifteen year olds, but he had a playful tone with Selena. "Hey, Blue, I thought I told you not to call me a kid anymore. I'm older than you, remember?"

Selena scoffed, smiling, "I thought I told you not to call me Blue anymore; I am not Blue from Blue's Clues! And you're only older than me by a year, ya doofus."

The corner of Liam's mouth twitched upward more than before as his eyes lingered on Selena for a moment, before he turned to me. Instead of looking like any carefree fifteen year old, he now looked exhausted. "I managed to heal your wounds completely, although it took quite a few hours since your injuries were extensive." I waited for Liam to continue, but he looked guilty. "And, um…. I'm sorry, but there will be scarring. I was able to completely heal some of the smaller, shallow lacerations, so it's like those ones don't even exist. But as for the deeper ones…. I am really sorry."

I gave Liam an understanding and forgiving smile, "Liam, sweetheart, it's okay. Honestly, the scarring won't bother me, I'm used to having scars."

A questioning look came over Liam's face, but before he could say anything, Aaron stepped in. "Frisk, I'm so relieved you're awake, welcome back…. I wish I could give you the time you need to recover, but we have a situation." My eyebrows furrowed while Aaron went on, "Gabriel came in for his session shortly after we found you. He was told that you would be there to help him with some of his abilities, but when you didn't show up, and when I didn't tell him what had actually happened to you…. he assumed the worst."

"Okay, so, what does that mean?" I did not like the feeling that I was getting from what Aaron said.

Aaron hesitated, "Well, he did a bit of damage, but nothing too serious."

My voice was hard, "What do you mean he did a bit of damage? Just what exactly happened, Aaron?" When Aaron didn't answer, I forced myself to sit straight up, throwing my legs over the side of the bed I was on. "If you don't tell me exactly what happened with Gabe, I swear to God Aaron, I will jump off this bed and go to Alexandra myself to-"

"Alexandra doesn't know," My eyes widened as I gaped at Aaron. "I've been, uh, trying to keep the incident under wraps. So, Alexandra doesn't know that anything has happened at all."

I jumped off the bed, heading to the door of the room we were in. "Where is he?"

Aaron ran over, blocking me from exiting the room. "Frisk, you can't leave right now, your injuries-"

I snapped my fingers, watching as Aaron instantaneously flinched and cowered away from me. "Aaron, you either tell me exactly where Gabriel is and how to get to him, or I will be forced to use violence. Tell me where Gabriel is. Right. Now." The gaster blaster above me growled threateningly, the rose pink magic in it's jaws begging to glow brighter.

Aaron hesitated, but slowly opened the door and stepped outside, waiting for me. I gave him an innocent smile, snapping my fingers once more so my gaster blaster would disappear. "Fantastic Aaron, now, let's get a move on.

As Aaron led the way to Gabe, I could hear Liam whisper to Selena behind us. "Dude, she's psycho. Just why exactly is she flipping out?"

Selena whispered back quickly, "Frisk knows that Gabe is in danger. She just wants to get to him, and get him out of here in time, before Alexandra finds out about what he's done."

Liam was quiet for a moment, before quietly saying, "But the kid deserves it, he may be the weakest out of us, but he did some serious damage. He seriously injured some people, he hurt yo- us, he deserves anything Alexandra throws at him."

I heard Selena gasp, and heard the sound of fist meeting flesh as she punched him in the arm. She was talking openly now, "God! You're so insensitive! I can't believe you."

Before Liam could say anything in response, we were already in front of a door, about to enter a room. Aaron looked over at me, as if to ask me if I really wanted to go in there. I only nodded, before bracing myself for whatever was waiting. Aaron pushed open the door, letting me walk in first.

"Gabr-" Before I could get a word out, a certain someone had thrown magic at me, knocking me off of my feet. I groaned, feeling some of my HP lower. I rolled over and pushed myself up and looked up to see Gabriel's emerald green magic hurtling towards me. I snapped my fingers, a gaster blaster appearing to block the magic. As I got up, I peeked out from behind the gaster blaster to see Gabe standing there, breathing hard with a murderous look on his face. "Gabriel, you need to calm down, right now."

Gabe practically growled, "What did you do to her. What did you do to Frisk!" It unsettled me to see Gabriel so angry… but it also kind of warmed my heart, because he really cared about me.

I smiled, slowly coming out from behind the gaster blaster. "I'm right here, Gabe," Gabriel looked wary of me, almost as if he didn't think I was real. "The night I had promised to come to the facility permanently, you contacted me about Melody. I was there within seconds, and you were upset that I'd come for Melody, but not you or the others. I told you I'd explain when I saw you next….. Remember?"

Gabriel slowly relaxed, looking relieved when he realized that it was actually me. "Oh Frisk," Gabe quickly crossed over to me, hugging me tightly. "When you didn't show up, I thought they had done something horrible to you…. I thought they might have killed you."

I inhaled sharply when Gabe hugged me, I was still pretty sore from both his attack and Alexandra. "Why would you think that?"

Gabe let go of me, shrugging as he looked to the ground. "When I was here, when people wouldn't tell me where someone had gone, that usually meant that they were either dead, or had been driven to insanity."

This time I hugged Gabriel tightly, "You know I'll always be here for you guys. Just with a snap of the fingers and bam, I'll be there." I turned my head to face the doorway, making eye contact with Aaron and nodding. "C'mon Gabe, we need to get you out of here before Alexandra finds out what's happened…. Speaking of that, what did happen?"

Gabe winced and shifted uncomfortably, "You're very important to me and the others. We all need you, we all love you. And since no one was telling me about where you were, I…. freaked out. I lost control of my emotions and my magic, and I hurt people. But Frisk, I swear, I didn't mean to!"

I gave Gabriel an empathetic smile, "I understand. Come on, let's get you out of here."

I gave Gabe a gentle push in front of me, quickly exiting the containment area and rushing back to the room I had been in when I woke up. When we entered the room, we shut and locked the door behind us, each of us breathing a sigh of relief now that we were in a somewhat safe place. Instantly, Liam was standing protectively in front of Selena, glaring at Gabriel, who was looking sheepishly back.

"What's going on? Is everything alright?" I inquired as I saw the position everyone was in.

Selena stepped out from behind Liam, despite his protests. "Everything is fine. When Gabriel thought the worst had happened to you, he attacked, and when he did, he may have hit me once or twice." Selena gave Gabe a small smile, "I'm alright though, no harm done."

Liam crossed his arms, "You had no defense at all, and his magic hit you completely. So yes, there was harm done."

Selena gave an exasperated sigh, "Liam-"

"Oh don't, don't Liam me. Just- forget it. If you want to keep the kid, you can. Just don't expect me to be your bodyguard or healer the next time he flips out." Liam said those last things, and left the room.

I looked to Selena questioningly, eyebrows raised. She ran a hand through her hair, "It's… a long story, Frisk."

I nodded in understanding, before turning to Aaron. "We need to get Gabe out of here as quickly as we can. Because not only is he going to be found if he stays here, but he needs to get back home before the others start to panic even more than they probably already are. He has already been missing for four and a half days, our family has definitely noticed his disappearance. And not only that, but we also need to be able to communicate with Gabe and the others, so I can figure out what's going on with the human's and monster's relations and act accordingly. And we also-"

Aaron put a hand on my shoulder, leading me to a chair. "Frisk, you should slow down. You really need to take it easy so you don't stress yourself, and you need to rest. There's no doubt you're sore from what happened."

Gabriel looked over when Aaron said that, "What do you mean 'sore from what happened'? What happened?"

I waved him off, giving him the look that meant I'd explain later. I turned back to Aaron, "I am fine. And even if I wasn't, getting Gabe home and being able to take care of monster/human relations from in the facility, takes precedence over me. So, Aaron, do you have any ideas on how we can get Gabe home and be able to communicate?"

Aaron looked like he wanted to say more about me and my injuries, but he let it go. "I can sneak Gabe out when I leave the facility for the night. All I need to do is be quick and make sure he's not seen. I'll also have to be sure that no one has reported the incident to Alexandra, I'll have to tell them soon that I took care of the situation so they don't even think to report it to Alexandra. As for the communication… I can see if I can convince Alexandra to give you privileges to leave the facility. Of course, she would have strict rules and such if she were to give you privileges."

I nodded in agreement with what Aaron had said, "You gave that answer readily and easily. You seem to have thought this out before."

"Yes, well, that's another story for another time. It only seems so easy because I've left out a majority of details. We'll have to avoid security and cameras, we'll need access to certain codes, if something goes wrong we'll need several escape routes, and so on and so forth. We should be able to get out quickly though, I've already memorized and gone over everything to do and everywhere to go before this. You know, just in case," Aaron concluded.

I nodded once more, "Okay. And I'm assuming you'll leave around the time you're done and finished up with everything you need to do today, so around midnight, correct?" Aaron nodded and confirmed that I was correct. "Okay. Now if you'll excuse me, Aaron, I need to go speak with Gabriel."

I quickly crossed over to Gabe, who was having a conversation with Selena. I sat down in between the two, and faced Gabriel. "How is everyone back at home so far? I know I've only been gone for a few days, but I still want to check in."

Gabe gave me a small smile, "Well, we're already struggling with money a bit, since there are still a majority of humans who won't take monster currency. And Toriel and the others have been helping the monsters who have been struggling a lot with getting jobs and everything."

I ran a hand through my hair, letting out small frustrated sigh. "They should know that giving away all their money won't help the other monsters, it's only a temporary fix. And I'm not saying they shouldn't help the others, I know they just want to help out since the other monsters don't have a lot of options. Just…. Oh I don't know. Why would they even- This would all be so much more easier if I could be there."

Gabe gave me a confused look, "Are you trying to say that they should just… stop helping the other monsters?" I shrugged, avoiding his gaze. "'Cause you know that they're helping everyone else because they think it's what you would do. And they seemed pretty adamant about that, they think they know you that well."

I rubbed my face tiredly, "Okay, okay…. Is there anything else that I need to know? Any big events that need to be addressed?"

"….Well, there may be one thing…." Gabriel's voice trailed off. When Gabe met my gaze, he took a deep breath, "The Ambassadors of the Humans are questioning your whereabouts. You and Asgore were supposed to have a meeting yesterday with them. When you weren't there, they began to question your whereabouts, and are now concerned about you. Since no one else knows where you are, they've started a search for you. And since the humans now know that you're missing, the anti-monster activists are beginning to accuse the monsters of either kidnapping or murdering you."

My eyes had widened as Gabe had went on, and my voice was shaky as I spoke, "Surely the humans don't believe that?"

Gabriel gave me an uneasy smile, "I think, because Asgore has been saying that he doesn't know of your whereabouts, the Human Ambassadors are starting to believe that the anti-monster activists are correct."

A strangled gasp escaped my throat, "What about Chara? Hasn't she taken over as the Monster's Ambassador? Can't she convince them that they haven't done anything of the sort?" Things were starting to go very very wrong.

"Chara has tried! Nothing has been working, nothing!" Gabriel burst out frustratedly.

I felt guilty as I looked over Gabe. He was tired, he was frustrated, he was trying, but most importantly: he was a sixteen year old kid who was terrified, when he should be out with friends and messing around. "Okay. Let's take a moment to collect ourselves, and to forget about what's going on right now…. How have they been?"

Gabe smiled a little, relaxing into his seat now that we were talking about something else. "Everyone's been driving themselves crazy about finding you, but they trust you. The think you have a plan, so they're just… waiting. They've been keeping their hopes up though, they've been trying to stay optimistic. Papyrus and Melody, of course, are an enormous help."

I smiled, "Good. I want everyone to remain optimistic and hopeful, even though things aren't going so well right now. How is everyone individually though?"

"Toriel has been baking a lot, so I think that's her sort of coping. But she's been fine so far, nothing too serious. She's been extra attentive to everyone too, making sure everyone's okay, and making sure that everyone keeps in contact with each other no matter what. Asgore is exhausted, you can tell. But he's been encouraging everyone, telling them to stay determined, to not give up, that everything was going to be okay. Undyne came to a consensus with everyone that the people who can't defend themselves so well, will have to train with her to be able to defend themselves. She's been gentle of course, but she's also pushing everyone to get better. I think she's just worried about someone else disappearing. Alphys has been hanging out with Sans, talking more about scientific stuff. But she's been good, she's also come out of her shell a bit more and talked with others a lot more. I think she's making sure everyone is okay mentally, and that no one else is taking damage to their soul over your disappearance," Gabriel ended.

I nodded, taking everything in. "Okay. And the others? How have they been?"

Gabriel began where he left off, "Mettaton has been putting together fun game nights and karaoke nights to distract everyone. He's also been going out and putting on shows, of course, and helping keep everyone's hopes up. Asriel and Chara have been helping the police and searchers look for you, and they've been helping brainstorm places you could possibly be. I don't think what they're doing is healthy, they haven't been home much heart since you disappeared, but it seems to help them too. Of course, Chara showed up to that meeting with the Ambassadors, and she tried to convince them that we didn't know where you were. And then Sans seems a lot more tired than he usually is. I think he's working several jobs to help with money, since he knows we're struggling already. But he's also been cracking a lot more jokes and puns than usual, probably to try and get people to laugh more. He won't talk to anyone about you though, so I don't think he's doing so well." Gabe paused to see if I gave any reaction to Sans, and continued when I didn't. "Pandora has been just absolutely dreadful though. She's always so miserable all the time, and I feel bad for her, but she's not even helping out around the household or anything. Because of that, her and Sans' relationship has been…. struggling." Gabe checked for a reaction once again, before continuing. "And of course, Melody and Papyrus, or heroes. They've been hanging out a lot and messing around, acting like kids and having fun. They've also been keeping our hopes and optimism up, as I said earlier…. But they miss you terribly. We all do."

I gave Gabe a small smile, taking his hand and squeezing it comfortingly. "I know. And you know that I'll get out of here as soon as I can, so I can be with you guys." After a moment, I released Gabe's hand and got more serious again. "Aaron spoke to me about getting you out of here tonight. It should be quick and easy, so when you're out, you'll have to get home straight away. And as for the communication thing we spoke about? Aaron's going to try and persuade Alexandra to give me privileges to leave the facility. But we don't have everything 100% on that yet, so we still have to figure that out. Okay?"

Gabe nodded, "Okay. So when am I leaving exactly?"

I looked over at Aaron, getting a confirmative nod from him. I turned back to Gabe, a sad smile on my lips. "Now, it seems." Gabriel frowned at that, and I quickly continued. "But hey, it'll be okay. You'll be okay. I'll be okay. Besides, the sooner you get out of here, the better."

Gabe looked a little relieved when I said I'd be okay, and nodded. Then Aaron led Gabe to the door, and exited the room, leaving me and Selena.

"See you soon, Gabe."

Yes, yes, I know. An update has been long over due.

But guess what? … No, seriously, guess. …. Kidding, kidding. Anyways, I'm actually planning on writing a lot because I have many, many, many ideas and possibilities in my head right now. And I may or may not be inspired again.

So, with that being said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Until Next Time Lovelies~~