[[ Alriiiight here we go. A look into everyone's thoughts and feelings about the whole ordeal. (I may or may not write the actual conversation as a separate drabble, but I don't know for sure yet. It will be heavily hinted toward later on, but still, I know a lot of you were looking forward to seeing it in actual words.

Anyway, hope you enjoy! ]]

"I-I'll just go and, uh, g-get the tea ready!" Alphys very eagerly pushed her girlfriend toward the living room as she, herself, waddled off down the hall to the kitchen. The rough sound of something scooting noisily across the floor signaled that Alphys had moved the step stool so she could reach the box of tea in the very top cabinet over the sink, something that Undyne could have reached easily. Her blue scaled hands were gripping a DVD case so tightly between them that she heard the plastic cracking slightly beneath her grip. If she weren't careful she'd end up busting the disk, and then there'd be no way for them to watch the rest of Black Butler! (Well, that wasn't totally true. Frisk showed them the glory of torrenting websites, so they could always watch it that way, if they really wanted.)

It was wrong, though. There were little announcements made at the beginning of nearly every movie that talked about how copyrighting was wrong, and that you weren't supposed to redistribute works for your own personal use. But isn't that what torrenting websites were doing? It really wasn't that much of a surprise, now, after hearing what Frisk had done-

The flimsy plastic of the case snapped beneath her fingers and she flinched, glancing her one good eye down to inspect the disk. With a heavy sigh she forced her feet to move her forward, stomping across the carpet around the couch toward the television. They'd just managed to upgrade to an even bigger one, the screen perfectly flat (and delicate, Alphys was sure to remind her) and far too large for people who were just watching anime…but they got it anyway because, to quote herself at the time, "Why the fuck NOT?" She squat down in front of the console and jammed the power button for the DVD player, impatiently waiting for the disk tray to spit out so she could insert their DVD. It had been a pain in the ass to find Black Butler to rent, and dammit, even with the hours-long talk they'd just had to sit through, they were going to watch it, and they were going to enjoy it!'

Pushing the disk drive in a little too forcibly, Undyne shot up to her feet and stepped easily over the coffee table to plop onto the couch. Her leg bounced as a way to try and work off a little of her agitated energy, but it did little to help. 'There's no way it's true,' she told herself firmly, just as she'd told Sans when they were all still gathered at Toriel's. She was the Captain of the Royal Guard, in charge of the brigade that protected all of the Underground! There's no way that a mere child could possibly kill her. Even more than her pride feeling hurt, she felt her soul was hurt. The very idea that Frisk would ever try to kill them…

'I wouldn't have let that happen!'

Her claws ripped into the plush fabric covering the arm of the couch, small tears breaking through the cream-colored leather and allowing the smallest tufts of white fluff to poke through. She raised her hand and growled a curse under her breath, quickly grabbing the fleece throw blanket and tossing it over the arm of the sofa to cover up the damage. It was small. She could fix it later, no problem. It isn't anything to worry about. None of this was, because it didn't happen, but her mind kept circling violently around and around, like her brain was stuck inside the goddamned washing machine stuck on the spin cycle, and it made her head ache and her magic swell violently within her and-

"H-hey, sorry I took so long."

The tension eased slowly, like steam being let out from a boiling kettle, and Undyne's tightly hunched shoulders gradually lowered. Alphys stood uneasily by the coffee table, her yellow clawed feet scratching against the plush beige carpet as she shuffled from foot to foot. The small royal scientist seemed to deliberate within herself for a moment before she finally set down the tray of teacups on the table- one shaped like a blue fish, the other a yellow lizard-like creature. Undyne immediately reached out and grabbed her cup, feeling the soothing heat sink in through the ceramic as she raised it to her lips to take a drink. The liquid was hot, and she only winched the smallest bit as she felt her tongue get burned, but she pushed through it. "It's not that hot! Just drink it!" The golden flower tea that she was drinking was the very same she'd made for Frisk when Papyrus had brought them to her house for a 'play date'. She remembered just how hotly her anger had burned, even hotter than the tea, and she'd wanted nothing more than to throw Papyrus out of her house so she could do what she needed to…even if it was wrong.

She exhaled a sharp, aggravated breath through her nostrils and gulped down the rest of her tea, the searing warmth down her throat distracting her just enough from her thoughts and memories to finally take notice of the monster now sitting next to her. Alphys was tapping her claws rhythmically against the yellow-glazed ceramic of her own mug, staring into her reflection on the surface of the golden flower tea with a contemplative expression. Leaning forward, she set her mug on the tray again with a definitive clink, startling Alphys from her reverie enough that a bit of tea sloshed out and spilled on her shirt.

"What's on your mind, babe?" The familiar theme song from the anime they'd picked out played as background noise for the conversation they were sure to hold. Undyne was sure because every time she asked her mate that question, she was answered. Over the years of building up trust, Alphys had learned to talk things out with Undyne, and the ex-Royal Guard was never happier to listen to someone ramble on and on about things, even if she didn't understand.

"I…I was just thinking…about earlier," the lizard-monster began tentatively, pausing to blow across the steam rising from the cup held tightly in her clawed hands before taking a small sip. "It…isn't entirely impossible. Wh-what I mean is, I believe him- er, them. Both Sans and Frisk. There were so many instances where Frisk seemed to just…know things that they shouldn't have known. Like they already knew what I was going to say, before I could even say it. It makes sense, if you look at it that way, though I didn't think time travel was even really possible like this…" A frown pulled down at the corners of her lips, brows furrowed as she stared even more deeply into her cup, as if it held all the answers she sought. "But it makes me question other things, too… Like why I found an empty lab with all of this technology already running, this research already done, with no scientists there to show me the ropes when I joined…"

"Y'mean there weren't any other nerds around?" Undyne piped up, thoroughly confused. Why would there not be any scientists working under the Royal Scientist? …Or, for that matter-

"No Royal Scientist before me except the one everyone talks about… The one who built the Core and redefined magic and energy for the entire Underground. Nobody knows who they were, what their name was, if they had any family…nothing." Alphys looked deeply troubled by this idea, and Undyne was quick to drape an arm across her shoulders to pull her against her side in a hug. "There's a lot that we don't know, and… w-well, I think… I think that we should be more afraid of the things we don't know."

Undyne shook her head, fiery red hair falling in front of her face. "You don't have anything to be afraid of with me around, babe."

"N-no, I mean… Mhh… I don't know. I just…have a bad feeling, that's all- eep!" She flailed slightly and tightened her hold on her teacup as she suddenly found herself being lifted off of the couch cushion, arms sliding around her middle as Undyne lowered her onto her lap. The scales around Alphys' cheeks flushed a deep marmalade color with her blush, but she eased back into the embrace.

"I mean it. You have nothing to fear, Alphys. No matter what comes our way, or who, when or where, I'll be here to protect you." Her single amber eye shone brightly with a determination she didn't think she was capable of feeling, and Alphys shivered under the intensity of her gaze. It softened after a few seconds, Undyhe's white fangs showing off in a smile as she leaned down to nuzzle against the lizard monster's cheek. "Now c'mon, let's re-start this anime so we can see it from the beginning." She grabbed the remote and did just that, settling down with her girlfriend firmly in her arms and in her lap. "Aishiteru, babe."

"A-aishiteru…"

[ Scan of Internal Memory 0014622… Complete ]

An airy yet oddly robotic sigh barely manged to break through the sound of bustling humans on the busy city sidewalk. Ah, Manhattan! A city of light and life and so much beauty! It was somewhere he'd always seen himself going and, now that he was finally here, he…

…he wasn't really able to focus as much on it as he'd hoped.

[ Scan of Internal Memory 0014623… In Progress… ]

Something was stuck in his mind- not the servers that served as a robotic enhancement, but in his actual, spiritual memory. Despite all of his attempts to find solid proof that what he remembered actually was something that happened, something to refute the nonsensical blabbering of a skeleton and a child…he came up empty-handed. All of the memories saved through his sensors and the feedback he got from his hard drive told him that there had been anomalous behavior exhibited by the human child. For someone who had never been through the Core before, they certainly did know their way around well enough. He tried to pin that on Alphys helping them, but they went in ways opposite to those her directions stated, almost like they knew something Alphys didn't.

Frisk wasn't at all surprised by his attacks on their person, and they even hummed along to the songs he sang.

Try and try though he might to find hard evidence against it all, he had yet to find anything. The feeling in his very Soul was that something was amiss, something was going on that was bigger than himself, than all of the Underground…and he wanted so, so badly to be able to say with certainty that it wasn't true. But the evidence was piling up, and it was all in favor of time travel and Resets and Loads and Saves and spirits of dead children and soulless flowers. It was…ridiculous! It was all so dramatic, like something you'd expect to see in a novel, something of fantasy. Things like this didn't happen in real life, right?

…Says the person made up of literal magic and metal, right?

Another sigh, this one far more dramatic, and Mettaton threw an arm across his face, leaning back more heavily against the side of the building he was standing in front of. A talent agency. They were apparently looking to recruit some monsters as models to promote a new line of clothing. It was something good for all of monsterkind, and it involved fashion, so he was naturally quick to get involved. It was something he could stand to gain from, but it also meant that he'd get to go and talk to the tall drink of water back in Taobh that ran the tailor shop (something he was ALWAYS eager to do, if he were to be completely honest with himself), and that would mean more positive exposure for monsters. It suited his own goals, but it also gave a little signal boost to the rest of his species… Win-win!

[ Scan of Internal Memory 0014623… Complete ]

"What a surprise, another fruitless search…" he hummed under his breath, brows furrowing just slightly as he closed his eyes and booted up another memory file, hoping to search through it-

"Oh just kiss already!" he'd cried out, the romantic tension all but breaking the room under its buckling weight, and he can remember as clear as day the shades of orange and violet Alphys and Undyne had both turned. He remembered thinking about how gorgeous those two colors in particular would be in an outfit, maybe an accent of gold- ah, but he was losing himself in his thoughts again. The Queen stopped the kiss before it could happen. He wanted to cry out! The drama! The romance! The action!

… The bloodshed.

Like the crack of a whip, vines snapped tightly around their bodies. Bone began to crack beneath its tension, air being pushed from lungs and pained cries creating a symphony in the empty spaces the air left. And above it all, the lilting, lyrical sound of a child-like laugh. Cackling madness, he got knocked to the side. His ocular sensors were fuzzy, static filling his flickering vision every now and again. In the space that had been turned an ugly black and white, there was a tiny golden glow at Frisk's feet. They scrambled backward, hands moving in a blur of movement that Mettaton couldn't have understood even if he could see properly.

"YOU IDIOTS."

He felt his soul being pulled from him, and he ended up leaving his robotic body in his real, ghostly form, struggling to part with the body he was still trying to become fully corporeal with. He pursued his soul, only for it, along with everything else, to vanish before his very eyes-

"Mettaton, sir?" The robotic humanoid glanced up from where he'd been staring off into space, meeting the pointed gaze of a petite human, her jet black hair pulled back into a tight bun and her chocolate-brown eyes as sharp as the pressed and ironed charcoal grey pantsuit she wore. "If you're ready, we'd like for you to come in so we can begin our appointment. Mr. Lauren doesn't like to be kept waiting." He huffed a small sigh and smiled, running cool, metallic fingers through the ebony bangs covering his forehead.

"Yes, of course, darling! I'd hate to keep such a beautiful specimen of a human waiting!" he cooed, and the human simply pushed up the rims of her glasses further up her pointed nose and walked into the building, muttering a short 'this way'.

"...If I were a dog, what breed of dog would I be?"

"Hmmm... I don't know, honey. What kind of dog would you be?"

He could already hear the laughter in her voice, even though she had yet to answer him.

"I would be… a momeranian!" Even without video, he can tell that she's smiling ear to ear in that way that leaves her eyes sparkling and the fur on her cheeks practically aglow. Her eyes were much more burgundy when she was pregnant, like the color of red wine in the light of a late sunset. He always got lost in them then, back when they focused on him with so much loving adoration, with respect and reverence. Even now, he still hasn't forgotten what it felt like to be in love with her.

His own booming laughter met his ears and Asgore glanced up from his teacup, brows furrowing deeply as a smile tugged up at the corners of his lips. "You sure are excited to have this child." She was, had been so inexplicably in love with their son before she even met him. "You know, if you keep making jokes like this…" There was conspiracy in his deep yet younger voice, and he snorted as the memory came back to him before it could even replay itself on the screen. "…One day, you could be…" He remembered the way her face had been so adorably curious, even in the dark of their bedroom. "…a famous momedian!"

"...Well, I am going to bed." Her voice deadpanned, but even with that, he could still hear the faintest wisps of laughter trying to escape through her tone.

Things had been better lately…better than they had been in a long, long while. Years. Decades. Centuries, even. Through plenty of patience and understanding, they'd become friends again, and…had begun to rekindle whatever it was they had managed to grasp before.

…before it was snatched violently from them, leaving them with bruised and bloodied empty hands and even emptier hearts.

"I will be back in a few day's time. I… I need for you to take Frisk for me." He didn't know where she'd been intent on going, and he didn't ask, too afraid to break what little fragile repair they'd managed to build between them. She was a strong monster, one with emotional fortitude. If Toriel needed his help, then she would surely ask for it, eventually. He couldn't help himself from wondering, though. He wondered what she was feeling, where she'd gone. He wondered if she had forgiven him any for the horrid way he'd behaved, or if she blamed him for their children's deaths.

But most of all, he found himself wondering if she had returned there.

"A beautiful bed of golden flowers, just beneath an opening in the cave ceiling. That is where Frisk said they fell from. It is amazing that they were not hurt from the long fall… surely the flowers must have broken their fall."

Asgore raised a paw to wipe heavily at the damp fur beneath his eyes, huffing a shuddery sigh, teacup perched carefully on the arm of the recliner he sat in. It was not home, but Toriel always did know how to pick out the best armchairs… That much hadn't changed, even after their departure. That's where he'd settled himself, cup of tea in hand, as he finally forced himself to go through the videotapes that Alphys had in a dusty old box of things from the Lab.

'Asriel…my son. You and Frisk would have gotten along quite well, I think…' He chuckled and glanced down into his teacup, blowing on the steam that rose from its amber-colored liquid contents and watching it disperse into fine mist before fading completely. 'Chara…' A deep pang of hurt swelled from within his soul, and he raised his free paw to rest heavily over his chest, scowling slightly against the pain. '…I wish we could have done more for you.'

It was strange, being back Underground after so long living on the Surface. Even though there was no real difference, it was almost as though Toriel could feel the weight, the pressure of hundreds upon hundreds of tons of rock and dirth and earth above her head. It made the air feel just a bit heavier, harder to breathe, if only a little. She barely paid it any mind as she strode through the frigid forests of Snowdin, the snow crunching noisily and yet soundlessly beneath her feet. When she looked back, she saw paw-like impressions left in the smooth clean white blanket of snow beneath her. When she looked forward, she saw a 'blank slate', an empty page that was begging for someone to write something on it. She stared into the vast whiteness only broken up by dark tall pine trees until her eye was caught by something else. It was familiar, stone and cold and covered with ice.

She stepped forward and almost tentatively laid a paw against the large stone doors to the Ruins, feeling out of place and also completely at home all at once.

This was the place she met her best friend. This was where he had stood when she'd asked for him to promise not to kill any humans that made it through. If it weren't for that promise, would Frisk be…? She shook her head. But…but no, they were able to just Reset when they died, right? Was that how Sans had explained it? She was having trouble remembering. There had just been so much…and, admittedly, there were certain bits of information that stuck out far more than the others. Her claws grazed across the smooth stone surface as she padded out of the snow and onto the cold cave floor that signified her very first step back into the Ruins. A chill ran through her that had very little to do with the frigid temperatures she was only just leaving behind, but she still forced herself to keep going forward.

She remembered her encounter with Frisk there. How they had pleaded with her to let them go, and she…she hadn't wanted to. She had been afraid, and lonely, and seeing a child that looked so much like- that reminded her so much of…of them… A part of her wanted to hold onto Frisk forever, as if protecting one could make up for the loss of the other.

It didn't.

The damp and musky smell of the abandoned Ruins filled her nostrils, the air thick in her lungs compared to the air she'd grown accustomed to breathing on the surface. Mold clung to the crevasses and cracks in the stone walls, and moss grew along the floor in places. It was plush beneath her feet, almost like it were a green carpet, and it silenced her footfalls through the empty corridor. Without the liveliness of monsters roaming about, the flittering whispers of Whimsun and the soft squelching sounds from Moldsmals, the place was incredibly vacant…and lonely. Knowing that she was the only soul left down beneath the Earth's crust was sobering, and despite her strong desire to leave, to return to the sunlight and warmth and fresh air, she felt a purpose in her steps that led her onward.

Frisks hands moved carefully despite the tremors running through them, their sign language coming across as steadily as their shaking hands would allow. They all understood well enough and, when they couldn't continue, Sans stepped in and spoke for them. There was a sort of unspoken bond there that she was…quite honestly, jealous of. There were things about her child that she did not know, parts of her child's past that she did not get to see. She knew that, just as with them, she had not been around for Frisk's birth, their growing into the child they were. She didn't know what sort of forces were at play all their life that turned them into the person they were.

…But Sans knew more than even she did, and she hated it. "What the kid's trying to say is that-"

Stop it…

"- and they're not the kind of person who'd just-"

Stop.

"But despite all of that, they were still them."

Stop talking like you know them so perfectly.

They're my child.

My child. I should be the one who knows them best. Why do you know so much more than I do?

What kind of mother doesn't even know their own child…?

You killed them! Why are they so close to someone who killed them?

Why do you two have secrets that I don't know…?

Why do you two have memories that I can't understand…?

Why does it feel like Frisk is slipping away from me, just like-

The regal monster gave a forceful shake of her head, ears flopping about and hitting her snout gently as she forced the thoughts aside. Those ugly, horrible thoughts… 'Sans only did what he had to do. If… If I had been in his place, would I have done the same…?' She thought, tried to imagine what it must have been like. Seeing everyone you know and love die. Watching as the most important people in your life dissolved into dust before your very eyes. Trying so, so hard to keep a promise to someone you didn't even know… 'No. I wouldn't have been able to do what he did… I wouldn't have been able to kill them. Not them…'

A glance up showed her that she was standing at the head of the stairs, and as she ran a paw over the railing, she watched as the accumulated dust scattered into the air before settling harmlessly onto the ground. 'From the dust we came…and to the dust we shall return.' The once welcoming home had remained, for the most part, untouched. Her arm chair was still sitting by the uncleaned fireplace, her dishes from the last meal she'd had before rushing to the castle setting on the table. A strange urge to walk them to the sink and wash them came to her mind, but she pushed it gently aside and instead walked straight out of the house. The large old tree was still there, looking more gnarled and bare than ever before. The leaves that had been at their base were gone, swept away by some unseen force and scattered across the yard. Perhaps it was the mass of monsters rushing to leave the Ruins once word of freedom had spread. The leaves crunched satisfyingly beneath her feet as she continued to walk onward, the chill in the air lessening but still clinging to her shoulders as she moved through the catacombs silently. Her eyes roamed across every single thing and even here, she realized, she did not know what Frisk experienced. She'd been in her home, foolishly making pie for a child who had a destiny bigger than they could ever grow into, so much Determination that it could change their very world, alter time itself.

When she really stopped to think, she wondered if she maybe knew the least about Frisk and their journey through the Underground. It was a thought that made her soul ache and her heart hurt.

Eventually she found herself in a dark cave that, standing alone in the very center, held a small bed of grass with a small clearing. Light seemed to shine specifically over it, as if it held some sort of secretive purpose. The troublesome little flower that she had found here attacking Frisk was nowhere to be seen. 'There's no way that creature is Asriel. There is no kindness or compassion or love in that little deviant… Asriel had all of those things and more. Hope. So much hope…all of mine, as well…' Her eyes stung fiercely and she closed them, letting the memory of her first meeting with Frisk enter her mind. Though…it really wasn't the first meeting at all, was it? They had met her so many times before, gone through the same things, over and over again… She had always thought that they seemed far too wise for someone their age. Perhaps that was why.

"In this world, it's kill or be killed!"

'Asriel would never subscribe to such a hateful way of thinking…' Though, again, she had to stop and try to think. If she were a soulless being with the power to change things, without the capacity for love, for kindness, for compassion, for anything, could she really be so sure that she wouldn't eventually do the same? After year after year of repeated time, of centuries of playing with it as though it were a toy, stuck in a body that had no soul and with a mind that was childlike in its emotional stability and lack of empathy, anyone would surely go mad. She didn't blame Flowey for winding up the way he did…but she did blame him for killing Frisk, for attacking them and doing whatever else, only the stars knew.

A doorway was passed and she found herself standing before a bed of golden flowers. They'd spread wide and far, nearly filling the cavern they were growing in. The sunlight struggling to filter through from above kept them growing, the dampness in the soil and the secret buried beneath nourishing them to grow, healthy and strong. Toriel knelt down on her knees and sat back, hands folded carefully in her lap.

"Hello Chara…" She swallowed, her throat already feeling tight and dry, despite the overwhelming humidity of the air beneath the surface. "It has been a long while, I know. I hope that you can forgive me for not having come to visit sooner." The silence responded, and she sighed. "I did not bring pie this time, but perhaps the next time I come, Frisk and I can bring you some, and…we…" Her voice felt raw despite the lack of use, and she felt her claws digging into the fabric of her robes as she tried to find purchase on something, something to keep her from slipping into emotional turmoil. "I have learned a lot as of late, it would seem. …I know that you were far more acquainted with Frisk than I could have thought. Your souls are so similar, but their actions were so different…"

A soft rustling sound came from the patch of flowers just in front of her, but she paid it no mind. A trick of the wind, surely.

"You know, I was almost certain for the longest time that Flowey must have been you reborn as the very flower you loved so much. It's a silly notion, is it not? But apparently Flowey is what became of Asriel once their dust settled…" The tears that escaped her eyes immediately soaked into the fur on her face, and though her lower jaw quivered, her voice was steady and strong. "Frisk reminds me so much of Asriel at times. They are very kind-hearted, even for a human… I wonder if perhaps you would despise them, for being able to do what you could not."

"I know that you and Asriel had planned to save us all yourselves, and I… Heavens above, I wish I had been able to stop you. I wish I had known." She stared down at her lap, tears blurring her vision as a rueful smile tugged up at the corners of her lips. "It seems that I know so little, despite how much I care for people… I wonder why you did not trust me with this knowledge. You know that I surely would have stopped you. I still wish I understood why you wanted to leave this world so badly…"

"... I wanted to say that…that it's okay if you hate me for moving on. I mourned you for so long, both you and Asriel. I lost both of my children in a single night. It made me try so hard to keep the other humans that fell from leaving here, but I could not. I failed to protect even a single child…" A bitter laugh left her, watery and broken-sounding, but a resolute undercurrent kept her going. "I do not blame you, Chara. You were just trying to do what you could to save us…but that is in the past, and it must be left there. You're…you're not who you used to be, just as I am not who I once was. We are all changing, all so different, yet still so much the same. I've moved on, living with Frisk on the Surface that you wanted so badly to leave. I get to see the stars and the moon, and I can taste the saltwater on the air when we are near the sea. It is even more beautiful than I remember it. …I wish Asriel could have seen it, too. More than just the village and these damned golden flowers that he's now trapped within."

"I hope that you can forgive me…for moving on. I will do whatever I must to protect my child, and I will not let anything bring them harm."

"...even if it means having to betray you."

The sound of quiet rustling pulled her attention from inside herself and she glanced up, raising a paw to wipe at her eyes to clear her vision from the thick of tears so that she could see. There was no one. She was alone knelt before the golden flowers, all of them so bright, their scent so thick and cloying and sweet…all except for one. Just there, in the very center of the small field of flowers, was one that stood alone, it stem drooped and a sickly shade of green. The once vibrant petals were pale and wilted, and it moved every so often. The smallest little shiver of movement, a twitch of its leaves that she wanted to blame on a breeze that didn't exist.

'...He is not my Asriel. He never will be. …but…'

Standing, she stepped carefully through the thick of blooming flowers and squat down just before the solitary flower, holding a paw out to it as if asking to take its hand. The flower's face turned upward to look at her, and she saw that its eyes were wide, mouth set into a pained grimace. The ugly brown wilted edges of its petals crinkled like wrapping paper when they brushed against one another, and she knew without having to look any closer that it was dying.

She smiled and moved her hand closer, but a sharp snapping motion of its stem had it flinching away from her. Her eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed in a painful understanding. She slowly withdrew her hand and simply sat next to it, not too close, but not far away.

"...Hello, little one," she said softly, and the little flower looked up at her with a look that held a cross between disbelief and suspicion.

"...Hello."

"HERE WE ARE, HUMAN FRISK! ONE DOUBLE-DECKER CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM FOR YOU, AND A VANILLA MILKSHAKE FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH-HEH!" Papyrus' expression was almost victorious as he slid into the driver's seat of his red convertible (the top up due to the cool weather, of course, and nice and shiny from the loving detailing he gave it), ice cream treats in hand. He held out the massive chocolate cone to Frisk, who looked up with a slight smile and took it with a thankful nod, and the skeleton took the opportunity of having one hand free to switch his styrofoam cup to his other hand so he could close the car door. "HERE WE ARE! NOW WE CAN SIT IN PEACE AND QUIET WHILE WE EAT!" He gave a quick glance into the rear-view and side mirrors to make sure he was parked safely within the lines before catching the straw between his teeth and taking a hearty sip. The mild sweetness wasn't too overpowering and, though he didn't feel the cold the same way humans did, it sent a pleasant chill through his skull…that quickly became a very unpleasant chill. Was his skull going to freeze and break apart? That's what it felt like. "AGH! HOW CAN I GET A BRAINFREEZE IF I DO NOT PHYSICALLY HAVE A BRAIN?"

Through his squinted eye sockets, he glanced over into the passenger seat, a smile tugging up at the corners of his mouth as he awaited what would surely be a stream of breathless laughter and the smiling face of a very effectively cheered-up Frisk. What he got, however, was the small human staring at their ice cream cone, chocolate brown eyes unfocused as they gazed onward, even though their mind was clearly somewhere else. He couldn't blame them, necessarily. The morning had been rather, er…'eventful', to say the least.

Learning so much in such a short span of time was rather startling, especially given the nature of the knowledge they'd had thrust upon them. His skull was still buzzing with thoughts about it all, but he didn't dare question it.

His brother wouldn't lie about something like that. About drinking out of the milk jug? Of course. Eating ice cream straight from the tub? Naturally. But this…?

Maybe it was just because it was his thing, but he believed his brother and Frisk, and he believed in them, too. He'd watched how Undyne had gotten moody, chest puffing out proudly as she proclaimed that there was no way Frisk could have killed her, let alone any human, and, though he had felt the smallest semblances of doubt, he'd not spoken out on them. If that was what happened, then that was just how things were. Being upset about the past wouldn't change their present or their future.

A small hand tapped on the long expanse of his humerus, effectively pulling his attention from his 'brainless freeze'. The tiny, almost unnoticeable pin-pricks of light in his sockets flitted over to Frisk, brows furrowing slightly in concern as he saw the still untouched ice cream dripping onto the child's sweater. 'I have napkins in the glove compartment. Perhaps I should get them out an-'

"Papyrus?" The movement of their hands and fingers made him fall still, watching closely so he didn't miss out on what they had to say. "Now that you know, do you…" They faltered slightly, fingers curling into fists before they shook them out, beginning again. "Do you hate me?" His eye sockets widened and he threw himself across the center console of his car, the gear shift grinding painfully into his hip, but he ignored it, pulling the child against his chest in a hug. He heard the sound of Frisk's cone hitting the floor of his car and didn't even think about how messy it would be to clean.

"Of course not, Frisk. You are my dear friend now, and now is what matters." Shaking hands fisted in his scarf and pulled them even closer, a soft, hiccuping breath being the only thing breaking the silence. 'They are absurd to think that I would give up on them so easily. I am The Great Papyrus! Best of friends and biggest believer in things and people!' After staying like that for a few moments they pulled apart, a small smile curving upward on Frisk's lips in an expression that was equal parts apologetic and grateful.

"Thank you."

"Nyeh, think nothing of it…" He returned the smile easily, glancing from Frisk to the car floor, where the melted goop of brown ice cream was beginning to spread. "NOW… PERHAPS WE SHOULD TRY TO CLEAN UP THIS MESS, AND WE CAN GET YOU A NEW NICE CREAM, ALRIGHT?" It was a small gesture, but the way the child's face lit up, like their old house in Snowdin, made it worthwhile.

"Welp, I better be heading out." The door to the apartment had barely closed before Brit was already pulling on her coat, crossing the room in a few long-legged strides to gather Lena up in a tight hug. The shorter woman frowned and tried to protest, but Brit just laughed and smiled and waved her off. "Nah, you know I can't leave those kids alone for too long. They go nuts without me." She blew a few stray strands of brown hair from in front of her forehead, giving a short wave before she left.

Maybe it was the suddenness of it, or maybe the way she refused to look at or speak to Sans the entire time, but Lena knew that she was bothered by something…and she had a good idea of what it was. Not that she could blame her, really; Lena would have been upset, too- was upset, rather. It was wrong, and horrible, and awful…but she understood the emotions behind those actions. She'd gotten the tiniest glimpse into that, the smallest peek at Sans' feelings, and it had been terrible.

With a sigh she turned and made her way to the kitchen, stopping only when she saw Sans staring pensively at the front door. A small wave of concern washed over her as she stepped closer to him, resting a hand on one of his coat-covered scapula. "Don't worry about her. She'll come around. She just needs her space sometimes…" The skeleton monster seemed surprised that she'd even said anything, but the sheepish expression he made made it easy to recognize that he realized he'd been caught thinking negatively. "It's… She's got kids, so things like this…" Lena groped blindly in her mind for something comforting and reassuring to say, but she came up empty handed.

"Heh, I know. It's snow big deal, babe. I'm not bothered too bad by it." Lies, but she just nodded and gave a small roll of her eyes. "…Right, sorry. I just- …augh, this sucks?" He walked across the living room to collapse into a dining room chair, hands lightly gripping his skull. "I should have weighed out the positives with the negatives, y'know? I didn't even factor her into this mess. She wasn't supposed to even be here, but-" Sighing, he cut himself off and raised a hand, halting Lena from speaking as well. "I know, I know, she's important to you, so she's here. Not saying anything against that, just… I dunno. I guess It was another unexpected variable. I feel like shit for everything I've done already, but this-"

"Sans. She can't help reacting that way, just like you can't help that you had to do what you had to do… She's not doing this to make you feel guilty." He peeked up at her through his fingers, eye-lights dilating slightly as he released a long sigh.

"I know… Sorry babe. Here, c'mere." He stood up and held his arms out in an invitation that she quickly accepted, resting her chin on top of his skull as her arms draped around his shoulders. She could feel his bony fingertips tracing the soft flesh along her sides, grabbing onto the meat of her hips and giving a small squeeze. "Olive you, babe, so much that I feel like my soul doesn't have mushroom for anyone else but you."

"Are you serious?"

"Hehe, I know these jokes are pretty cheesy."

"Is this your way of asking for pizza for dinner?"

"I dunno, your cooking is pretty great. You always know how to deliver a good, balanced meal…but eating out can be slice sometimes, too." She rolled her eyes at him playfully, a smile flitting across her lips in that way he loved, the one that made her nose crinkle up slightly. His soul gave a steady thump in his chest.

"Alright, you win. Go ahead and order pizza." He had his phone out before she could even say he officially won, tapping out the number to the closest pizza joint before hitting the 'call' button. Just as the call connected, there was a soft, rhythmic knock at the front door. Sans raised a brow at it questioningly but Lena waved him off toward the balcony, going to the door to answer it so it didn't interrupt the phone call. She'd only just barely gotten the door open when a sight of familiar silver hair and a kind smile took her by surprise, her lips parting in an expression of shock.

"...Gran?"

[[ DUN-DUN-DUNNNNNNN, THE INTRODUCTION OF A NEW CHARACTER THAT'S ALREADY BEEN TALKED ABOUT A BIT: LENA'S GRANDMOTHER, AKA GRAN! What's she doing here? What's going to happen with Toriel and Flowey? Will Undyne and Alphys ever actually get to watching Black Butler? Will Sans order his pizza with pineapple?

THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW!

...or they'll find out next chapter, as things are wrapped up, along with the end of ACT 1 of the fanfiction With and Without. Thank you guys so much for reading, really. Leave me a comment to let me know what you thought, or send me a PM. Better yet, follow this fic on Tumblr (life-sans-sin dot tumblr dot com) for fanart, art, drabbles, announcements, and more. And hey, writing isn't something I get paid for, but I put a lot of time and effort toward. I've gotten asked about it, but if you wanna donate, then there's a link up on my Tumblr for that- no pressure, though! It took me a lot to get this chapter out finally, so I hope you all enjoy it. And again, I'm sorry it took me so long...and that I had to upload it incomplete first. But I didn't want to make you all wait.

Love you guys so so much, you're all the greatest, sweetest, kindest people, and you're all awesome! ]]