Core Issues: Season Five
By Nicolle

Fair Warning: Work has really put me behind on writing. So you may see a longer delay than two weeks for Episode 7.

Special Note: In the last season, a guest commenter asked for more White. Here you go!

Episode 6: Snow White
(White is our narrator!)

I sat on the edge of a several ton block of stone up near the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza, waiting for the sun to rise over the city of Cairo. Frisk sat with Steam's kiddos, enjoying the warm breeze. Though calling them kiddos wasn't all that fair anymore. They'd both grown into young men when I wasn't looking. An airship occasionally floated by overhead, the kind they had here matching the style of the Ancient Egyptian boats of old. They cast long shadows across the Nile and sands of the west bank, slowly reaching up to the Sphinx.

Sitting just above them were Cephas and Stephen, the twins' Gentlemen of the Bedchamber and welcome confidants. And just below the boys sat Asriel with her ladies, Anna, Mary, and Meritamen. This was a rare trip for Asriel and the girls as they rarely left the confines of the Empire. As the Imperial Princess, Grand Duchess of Canard, heir to the throne, and Minister of Homeland Security, there just weren't opportunities for her, Anne, Mary, and Meritamen to just up and leave. Sitting next to me was Wilson, a member of the Dreemurr Imperial Guard, keeping a watchful eye on a crew he knew could handle themselves.

Frisk wanted a vacation that didn't involve secret service members watching him 24/7. And for that kind of vacation to happen, it had to happen on another timeline. And Steam is always happy to host. Not to mention that the twins were always happy to have any of their doubles around. Frisk was relaxed, his arm around his steampunk counterpart's shoulders in that way that Frisk's were with each other.

It wasn't the same with Charas. Well, I take that back. For some, it was. Steam Chara and Fell Chara would hang all over each other when given the chance. C and Chara Provost were happy to pal around under the guise of letting their Frisks have time to canoodle. And the only time you could ever accuse 01 of goofing off is when Error Chara or King Chara checked in at Site Alpha. As soon as the check in was finished, they'd shoot the breeze for several hours.

Asriel and her ladies were looking especially lovely this morning, the soft glow of sunrise lighting their faces. A golden locket glittered brightly on Asriel's chest. It was the subject of several rumors and I'd been asked repeatedly by several members of staff and a few diplomats about it when visiting the Summer Palace. Everyone wanted to know who had captured her heart so completely. I'm still trying to figure out why anyone would have thought I knew. I didn't even belong on this timeline!

Maybe my expression was giving it away because it was pretty easy to figure out that Chara gave it to her.

Meritamen stood. Unlike the rest of the girls, she didn't dress in the empire's fashion, but wore a dress typical of the Coptic Christians who were the true, biological descendants of the Ancient Egyptians; a long salmon pink skirt under a pale blue tunic and heavily embroidered vest. She lifted her arms and began to sing, greeting the sun as it rose over the Cairo.

Steam's Frisk had told me that the first time he and Chara brought Meritamen back to Egypt, she'd stared at her homeland in dismay. The temples that had once been brightly painted and beautiful were now broken and some lost. When she saw the pyramids on the Giza plateau, she fell on her knees and wept. Not for the state of the pyramids themselves, but for a fourth one that was completely missing; the massive structure torn down to build the city across the river.

Once the sun had crested the city, her song ended and she sat down again, smiling a little sadly. Everything she'd ever known and loved was long gone and any part of the past she grasped at seemed to slip through her fingers. The only thing she'd managed thus far was singing the sun up everyday. Asriel had revealed that it didn't matter where Meritamen was or how hard pressed in the empire's service she'd been the night before, she would sing and greet the Sun Bark of Ra.

After a few more minutes, we started climbing back down the pyramid on the side away from the sun to avoid baking in the soon to be harsh light. Miss Luxon, another member of the Imperial Guard, waited on the sand for us with a group of camels to take us back to Dr. Gaster's archeological dig. Steam's kiddos saw her waiting there and Frisk smiled widely while Chara gave a happy if somewhat subdued smile. Like he wasn't sure how to greet the woman and yet wanted to be able to do so as freely as Frisk. While neither of the twins resembled her in the traditional fashion, Miss Luxon was very obviously their biological mother.

I elbowed Chara. "You okay, kiddo?"

He sighed. "Yeah." He pointed to Frisk and Frisk. "Your brother seems to be having a good time."

I nodded as I pulled up my hood to hide from the sun. The super pale skin was cute, but damn was it not good at taking anything that looked like a UV ray. "It's the most relaxed I've seen him in a while. When I've seen him. He tends to be everywhere and anywhere now a days."

Chara mounted one of the camel's. "Target on his back?"

I sighed deeply and climbed up behind Chara in the saddle. "He accessed his save three times in one day, six months ago, after a multi-layered assassination attempt. Since then, the secret service has been all over him and Flowey has been physically attached to him every day since. He was only willing to let go when I said we'd be going to another timeline."

"Well, Asriels can be that way about their Frisks." Chara patted his camel's neck and it stood. I swayed with it, putting a hand back to steady myself, as Chara urged the camel across the sand.

Dr. Gaster's dig site was in Saqqarah, just south of Djoser's step pyramid. Several white tents were arrayed around the area, monsters and humans working the site. While we referred to it as the Doctor's dig, he was just the financial backer and not really made out for archeology. Still, he'd caught the 'Egypt Bug' after meeting Meritamen, and Ethel Grace, Wing Ding's wife, was happy to travel outside of the empire for a bit.

Speaking of whom, Mrs. Gaster waved to us as we approached. "Hello, boys! Breakfast is waiting in the tents."

Ethel was a pleasantly plump, human woman of significant station. I'm not sure how she and Dr. Gaster met, or even how they courted at all seeing as how monster-human romances weren't exactly looked on kindly in this timeline. I had a sneaking suspicion that Ethel had decided that she was going to marry the good doctor whether anyone liked it or not, including him. Not that Dr. Gaster seemed to mind. The two would cuddle like love birds if left alone.

After the camel had comfortably knelt, Chara and I dismounted. The camel's long neck turned, sniffing and poking at Chara's jacket.

"Oh you smell that, huh?" He pulled the apple in his pocket out, holding it while the camel noshed. Once he'd finished, Chara patted the tuft of hair at the top of his head. "Thanks for the ride."

Turning to the tents, we went over to the wash station to clean up before heading in for breakfast. Laid out on the tables were fuul medames with flatbread, falafel, and, my favorite, beid bel basterma, or eggs cooked in lots and lots of ghee with dried beef. Dr. Gaster joined us, sitting with Ethel after kissing her hand. Which was an odd thing to see as he didn't actually have lips.

The doctor looked over at Frisk and Frisk. "So what will you be up to this afternoon? More sightseeing?"

Steam's kiddo nodded. "We're going down the Nile to Deir el-Bahari. Merit wants to see Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple."

Meritamen smiled at her breakfast. She'd been very happy that 'god's brothers' referred to her by a nickname. She was aware that Asriel was not a god by any measure of the imagination. Well, not on this timeline anyway. But she was convinced that the Dreemurrs were descended in some way from Khnum, the Divine Potter.

There was a commotion outside and Wilson, sitting closest to the front, pushed the flap aside to have a look.

And immediately dropped to avoid getting a sword in his chest. He rolled backward and up to his feet, pulling the raygun hidden under his uniform jacket. Miss Luxon and Mary were up in a flash, taking positions around Asriel and Anne. Stephen was up next to Chara just as quickly. I snapped my fingers, turning the sword holder blue and shoving them back.

Rushing out of the tent so as not to be pinned, we saw Dragoon Sans, in a long, black with gold trim, military coat over black pants, finding his feet after my toss. A white Delta Rune was embroidered on the upper left of the coat over his chest.

Stephen readied for a fight. "Is this the Sans you were telling us about earlier?"

I nodded. "This is the first time he's gone after a steam timeline though. I wasn't aware there'd be something here he wanted."

Dragoon twirled his sword around in his hand. "I'm not here for anything specific to this timeline."

"Then why, exactly, are you here?"

Steam's kiddo gasped and immediately shoved my brother behind him. "He's after Frisk!"

Chara glared. "You idiot! You can't replace one Frisk with another!"

Dragoon said nothing, he only fell into stance, sword ready. Meritamen waved for Ethel and Dr. Gaster to follow her, leading them both away from the fight.

Cephas shook his head. "There's a mob of us, many of whom can use magic. Do you really want this fight?"

Dragoon said nothing. He rushed Mary first, which made sense based on previous reports. This guy really saw women as less than capable combatants, but at the same time, didn't feel the need to go easy on them either. Mary ducked low, underneath his sword swing, revealing Miss Luxon and Anne right behind her, and Asriel at the back. Their rayguns were set to a fire array which combined with Asriel's magic. A huge spout of flame shot toward Dragoon, looking like a dragon ready to spear him through.

Having not expected the combined attack, Dragoon hit the ground to avoid it. And then scrambled to get away as Asriel pulled the fire back around to strafe the sand, glassing it. Dragoon managed to get away from the fire only to stumble over a set of tent pegs. Stephen, Chara, and I didn't give him a chance to recover, rushing him as soon as the fire flew by and the skeleton attempted to rise from the sand. Stephen kicked his sword away from him while Chara and I grabbed his arms, wrenching them back to be bound.

He disappeared out of our hands and reappeared before Frisk and Frisk. He flung Steam's kiddo aside, tossing him into Wilson and Cephas. My brother immediately ducked down, away from Dragoon's attempt to grab him, only to change course and jump up, slamming his right shoulder into the skeleton's jaw bone with a sharp crack. Not phased in the least, Dragoon grabbed Frisk's arm, locking the elbow while pulling out a knife with a blade similar to his sword.

The knife pierced Frisk's chest as Dragoon turned him blue, drawing out his soul. The magic on his body cut and he fell to his knees, gasping, pressing hard against the wound. Frisk and Mary were immediately next to him, quickly working to stem the gush of blood. The rest of us froze. The wrong move would hurt his soul.

Dragoon frowned, his magic pulling at the red soul turned blue, until there was a sound like a thousand threads straining before snapping. Frisk screamed in pain and passed out as Dragoon let go of his soul. I quickly snatched it, using magic to shove it back in my brother's body.

Another red soul rested in Dragoon's phalanges, quivering.

Chara. He'd been after Chara.

A complicated set of golden, glowing rings surrounded Dragoon, creating a barrier between us and him. His voice sank deep into a hypnotic chant, working a spell in the old style, the kind of thing you'd see Mage Frisk do. Symbols inside the rings began to glow and pulse, providing energy and components to the working. The energy twisted and moved around the soul, encasing it in a white and gold cocoon that grew larger and larger. The cocoon suddenly cracked and disappeared, revealing an adult woman with milky pale skin and long, curly, black hair. Dragoon snapped his phalanges and a gray and black dress appeared around her before he took her in his arms.

I froze in place for a moment. That wasn't the child Toriel would tearfully speak of. That was a full grown, adult woman. What the hell was going on?!

She groaned, one hand coming up to hold her head while a set of cognac-amber eyes looked up at Dragoon. Her face became a mask of fury and she shoved at him. Dragoon, unprepared for the assault, dropped her. She hit the ground and immediately reached out to the nearest of the glowing rings, shoving her hand through it, and breaking the barrier. Stephen, Wilson, and Chara were immediately on Dragoon, driving him back, forcing him away.

Dragoon screamed in rage. "NO! NO! I WILL NOT LEAVE HER BEHIND!" He bull rushed them, knocking Stephen to the ground before grabbing Chara by her hair, jerking her up so that she hung in the air.

She screamed and kicked at him before her eyes began to glow a bright red. A ring of gold and sigils appeared between them and she punched through it, coating her fist in magic before it connected with Dragoon's skull. The resounding crack of bone shattering filled the air and Dragoon dropped her, holding his shattered mandible against his skull.

His skeletal horse galloped to him and both disappeared.

"Frisk!" She turned, looking at everyone before spotting him, and attempting to run to him, only to hit the sand with a groan, arms wrapped around her stomach. Chara ran for her, quickly scooping her up. She grasped at his shirt, barely conscious and whimpering in pain.

Mary gasped. "I can't heal this! Whatever Sans did, it's beyond my power."

I reached down and picked my brother up bridal style. "We need to get him to Epsilon."

Chara came over, cradling the woman against his chest.

Wilson tapped Chara's shoulder. "Don't take too long."

Chara smiled. "Time moves slower here. I'll be back before you know it."

Stephen stepped up to him, hand on his shoulder. "I'm going with you."

He smirked. "Can't let me out of your sight for a minute, huh?"

Careful not to drop the Chara in his arms, Chara grabbed my hoodie and we stepped into the void. We set down outside Asriel's lab at Site Epsilon and rushed in. Asriel was in the office in the back, Alphys tapped away at a computer, and Shooting Star leaned over a stack of papers, working on a report.

I put Frisk on the nearest empty hospital bed. "Frisk was cut by one of Dragoon's weapons!"

"Twice in one day?!" Star immediately dropped the pen she was holding and washed her hands. She came over, pulling on a pair of gloves. Frisk was pale, his shirt stained a dark red. The woman whimpered against Chara's chest, shaking.

"C, pull up Frisk Gaster's medical record and toss it on the monitor." Star leaned over. "He's got some blood loss and is pale enough that he may need a transfusion. He's O negative, right?"

I nodded. "Yes."

She turned to Alphys. "Toss me a stent kit!"

Alphys shook her scaly head as she pulled open a fridge full of blood bags, the long talons on her toes clicking nervously against the tiled floor. "Just tell me which hand to put it in."

"The right. Frisk is left handed."

Chara smiled. "How do you remember things like that?"

Star smiled at him as her hands worked to get Frisk's pulse and blood pressure measured. "Because it's important. You and your brother are left handed too."

Asriel came out of his office. He pointed to the woman in my arms. "Is that his Chara?"

Chara nodded. "Yes."

I shook my head. "No."

Stephen jerked a thumb at Chara. "I know him when I see him. This is your Chara."

I shook my head again. "My Chara was a child at death. And that woman doesn't even match the basics of my Chara's description. She maybe a Chara, but she can't be the one from my timeline. I have no idea who she is."

Asriel pulled on a pair of gloves and inspected Frisk's wound. "We can figure it out later." He looked to Star. "Frisk, get me a suture kit and then move to taking care of Chara."

She nodded and turned to a cabinet, pulling out a kit and prepping it for Asriel before motioning Chara to follow her into a room off to the side. I reached over and grasped my brother's hand, careful to stay out of Asriel's way as he checked the deepness of the wound and stitched my brother up. I gently petted Frisk's head. He looked so pale.

"Thankfully, the cut isn't deep. It didn't even reach his sternum." Asriel hummed a little. "That's suspicious. Dragoon isn't usually so 'gentle.'"

I frowned. "He stabbed Frisk to release his soul instead of just using blue magic to pull it out. Maybe he can't remove a soul the same way other Sanses can. If that's the case, the last thing he'd want to do is stab too deep. It'd kill Frisk and he'd just go back to his last save." I looked to the room the others had gone in. "He was desperate for Chara."

Asriel finished the sutures and attached a bag of fluids to the IV. "Help me roll him in."

I released the wheel break with my foot and pushed while Asriel maneuvered. We carefully wheeled past a room with what looked like Frisk Lyall sleeping behind a long curtain to the second room in the lab. A very beautiful Undyne sat in a chair next to the bed, holding Lyall's little brother while he slept against her chest.

"Is that Lyall?"

Asriel nodded. "Dragoon was on his timeline earlier today and I have multiple reports of other attacks as well. He's picking up the pace."

"I wonder what the rush is?"

We rolled into the next room. Star had the second bed in the room pushed all the way over to make room for my brother. She stood over Chara, the latter's face a mask of pain.

Star inserted a needle into the stent and set a hydration drip. "How do you feel on a scale of one to ten. Ten being the worst pain ever."

"Seven," she hissed.

"Does your head hurt too?"

Chara nodded, long, black hair shaking around a pale and beautiful face.

"Are you hungry for sweets?"

Her eyes rolled up at Star. "Chocolate."

Stephen snorted. Chara covered his mouth to keep from laughing. Well. I guess they were all bad like that.

Star took Chara's hand in hers and pinched the skin. "You're dehydrated. The fluids will help. Also, the medicine I dumped in your stent will kill the pain in about a minute, but it's going to knock you out for about an hour."

Chara nodded, trying to relax. "Thank... you."

I pushed Frisk's bed from my side so that the two met. Chara immediately reached over, her hand almost touching Frisk's. She caught sight of me and pulled back. Her eyes closed completely and she fell asleep. I reached over, putting Chara's hand in my brother's, before sitting down in the chair next to the beds.

Chara flinched at the stitches in Frisk's too pale skin. "Will he be all right?"

Asriel nodded. "Dragoon's weapons cause injuries that magic will not heal. Frisk will have to heal the slow way. He hasn't lost more blood than you'd expect from a typical blood donation. I'll keep him under observation for the next two hours. After that, he'll be fine to be up and about." He nodded to Chara. "How is she?"

"Dehydrated," Star answered. "She said a spell she used took too much out of her. What spell was that?"

I held up my hands, making a circle. "You know the magic D uses? Where he can coat himself with the circular sigil work? She did the same thing and punched Dragoon hard enough to shatter his mandible."

Alphys grimaced. "Ouch!"

Chara tapped my shoulder. "Hey. We didn't finish breakfast. Want to get something to eat?"

I sighed, watching my brother sleep. "I thought that a vacation off timeline would be safer."

Chara patted my shoulder. "This is a fluke. Stuff happens. The important thing is that he'll be okay." Chara grabbed my arm, Stephen taking the other, and they pulled me up. "Come on. I could use a bite."

Star followed us out of the room. She pulled off her gloves, tossing them in the biohazard box before hugging me and Chara. "I've missed you!"

We hugged her back.

"I missed you too, Star." Chara flashed her big smile. "Any chance you and your partner will be visiting?"

She sighed. "Unless it's a mission, not anytime soon, I'm afraid."

As Star pulled back, a radiant shine on one of her fingers caught my attention and I snatched her hand. I turned her hand back and forth to watch the light catch in the diamond and rose gold ring on her finger. "That is a legitimately beautiful engagement ring."

Star giggled, "Stop! We haven't made an announcement yet!" She batted at me gently. "Pretend you didn't see anything!"

Chara put an arm around her shoulders. "Pretend? No deal. I'm totally telling everyone I see, starting with your partner."

Stephen groaned at Chara, rolling his eyes. He gave his second a wide grin.

Star pushed at him. "He already knows! Chara talked to him before proposing." She turned from Chara to tug on my arm. "Cheer up! Frisk will be fine…"

She trailed off, sighing. "Okay, having seen this before with my Chara, he's going to need time to adjust. This is pretty huge." She smiled. "On the other hand, this is also significant. This is not the first Chara Dragoon has attempted to rip out of a Frisk and kidnap. If I can get some decent historical information from Chara we will be light years ahead in figuring out the profile and being able to stop Dragoon from grabbing anyone else with it."

I nodded and sighed, looking back over my shoulder. "I just don't get it. She's obviously a Chara, but that isn't the girl Tori talks about endlessly while Asgore goes dark."

Chara pulled me along, taking me out of the lab. "Cafeteria. Now."

Walking down the hall we found the cafeteria on the empty side, but Chiko was happy to make some chocolate chip pancakes for Chara, a hot roast beef sandwich for Stephen, and some liquid cheese covered nachos for me. I ate quietly, not being much for conversation. Several onsite staff came in for coffee and joined us as soon as they saw us, chatting up Chara and Stephen.

Something was wrong here. Anytime Frisk did a mission, it was with me. He was an auxiliary agent, so he wasn't seeing other timelines or situations that would bond him to another soul. Chara has always been there, a red shadow in his eyes when he was angry or upset, especially when magic was involved. She looked to be somewhere around twenty years old. What if she grew up with him?

No. That still didn't make sense. The little girl Toriel would talk about, and show off paintings of, had light brown hair in life and a warm, brown skin. This Chara was as pale skinned and dark haired as Snow White. And she knew a kind of magic I'm familiar with but have never taught Frisk. The sigil work she produced is the product of a decade and more of study.

Chara, Stephen, and I went back to the lab an hour later to find Frisk and Chara awake and eating. Star worked around them, checking Frisk's vitals. Frisk was no longer hooked up to blood and another bag with a clear liquid, the label on which I couldn't make heads or tails of, was in its place. He'd kicked off his shoes and his bare foot touched Chara's, maintaining a physical contact that Chara had withdrawn from earlier despite obviously wanting it.

Chara was no longer hooked to anything, though the stent was still in her hand. She poked at the food on her plate slowly, gently separating parts from wholes, and carefully sniffing each piece and touching it lightly to her tongue before actually eating it. A small pile of food was pushed to one side of the plate, like she was too suspicious of it to even test it.

Having done a lot of missions with my surfing buddy, I knew exactly what I was seeing. It was the kind of thing you did when you feared being poisoned. She'd recognized Star and hadn't fought her care. Why was she suddenly afraid now? Or was it simply a habit? I frowned.

Frisk gave us a smile when he saw us, looking tired, but otherwise all right. "Hey guys. Thanks for the rescue."

Stephen shook his head. "It wasn't much of a rescue."

Chara pulled her foot away from Frisk's, tucking her feet under the skirt of her long dress, looking guilty. Frisk frowned at her and shook his head before giving me a smile.

I pulled over a chair and flipped it around to sit down, resting my arms on the back. "How are you feeling?"

Frisk gently poked the bandage on his chest. "Tender, but okay."

I tilted my head a little to see Chara better. "How about you?"

Chara opened her mouth to answer and then stopped, looking down at her plate, where she moved the food around to make it look like she was eating it. She shook her head. "I don't know." She looked over at Steam's Chara. "Thank you."

He raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"Helping me. Most people have a low opinion of Charas in general, so I'm lucky to have not been left on the sand to die."

I opened my mouth to protest and shut it tight. She had a point. It was why most Charas who did anything with Seraph tended to lay low behind whoever their partner was, often letting credit for things slide by them. Any Chara attempting to do good in the world was looked on suspiciously and that included fell Charas, who where, in general, good people in bad situations, and swap Charas, who were the equivalent of a Frisk. It was a no win.

Hell, it was the excuse Site Alpha agents would sometimes hem and haw around when they didn't want to follow 01's orders. Of course, he was in a position to do something about that attitude. Being fired was the least of your worries when the man you pissed off could strip you of your abilities on the most basic level.

Stephen saved the moment. "There is no way we were going to leave you."

I sighed heavily, not wanting to jump to it, but needing to know. "Who are you?"

She continued to push the food around on her plate. "I'm Chara Ravenbrooke."

"Ravenbrooke? Then that would make you-"

"A descendant of the wizard who locked monsters in the Underground. Yes." She put her fork down. "I was-"

I held up a hand. "Stop." I pointed to Frisk. "You get to explain."

My brother's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Her soul has been living with yours, so don't try to sell me you have no idea what's going on. I've walked in on the two of you having conversations, making you the one hiding the truth. Start talking, Frisk."

"Busted," Chara whispered under her breath.

Frisk let out a long breath. "Flowey left me with you so I wouldn't end up like the other fallen children."

Star and Steam's Chara looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Frisk. "There aren't any fallen children on your timeline besides you and Chara."

Stephen eyed them. "What? Your brother isn't here, so she steps in to do the talk at the same time thing?"

Star waved him off. "Husha your mouth." She frowned deeply. "There's something wrong with Toriel, isn't there?"

Frisk looked at me. "The story Toriel gives? The paintings? They're all fakes. Chara wasn't a child when she died. She was 21."

And there was a lot not being said here. I understood why. Toriel is well loved and I haven't said the nicest things about Chara based on things Toriel has told me. But it wasn't hard to put two and two together.

"Toriel murdered you."

Chara's head shot up, looking at me a little wide eyed, and nodded.

I nodded to her plate. "Did she poison you?"

Chara stared down at her plate. "No. Asgore drugged me and while I was passed out, Toriel smothered me."

Frisk reached over and took her hand. "Go on."

"After I fell, I was taken into the Dreemurr home. I recognized the spellwork of the barrier and set about finding a spell that would break it open. It took me three years to figure it out. When I did, I told Asgore, who gave me a drugged cup of tea to celebrate."

Chara picked up her fork and continued to push the food around on her plate. "Asriel found my body and, hoping that maybe the humans on the other side of the barrier could revive me, sucked up my soul and tried to go through. He never made it through the barrier. It was designed to keep monsters inside even if they were fused with a human soul. Because that's what started it. Asgore's great great grandfather had fused with a human soul. I tried repeatedly to get him to stop and by the time he listened, it was too late."

I looked at Frisk. "Is Toriel hoarding the souls of six other humans in the Ruins?"

My brother shook his head. "Flowey stole them and gave them to Asgore. They're hidden in the throne room."

I frowned, shaking my head. "I don't get it. Why would Asgore and Toriel murder the savior of all monsters?"

Chara shook her head. "I don't know."

Star pulled out her phone and hit the speed dial. And none of us had to ask who she was calling. She put the phone on speaker and Fase's cheery voice filled the room.

"Hello, Frisk! How may I be of assistance to you?"

Star smiled, closing her eyes. "I've got a history question about White's timeline. How did his Chara die?"

"Oh! That's easy. She was murdered by Queen Toriel and King Asgore."

I shook my head. "We got that part, Fase. I want to know why."

"They feared that opening the barrier would mean a renewal of the war between humans and monsters."

I groaned. "But by that point, it'd literally been hundreds of years! I was the only human left in the Underground when the 'war' was renewed…" I trailed off, frowning deeply. "Something else is going on in the Dreemurr household."

Frisk and Chara looked at each other for a moment before Frisk turned back to me and Chara went back to staring at her plate.

Star sighed. "Anybody else have any questions?"

We shook are heads.

Star nodded. "Thanks, Frisk."

Fase's smile was evident in her voice. "You're welcome!"

Star disconnected the call and stuffed her phone back in her pocket. "Something's rotten on your timeline, White, and it isn't the laundry you haven't done." She turned to Frisk. "You knew about this?"

He nodded. "When I was old enough to face Asgore, Chara kept trying to dissuade me, fearing that I'd end up dead too. Because of our bond, I knew the spell to open the barrier and went anyway."

I thought that over and looked to Chara. "Then why all the attempted possessions when Frisk got angry?"

She glanced at me for a moment before staring at her plate again. "You taught a child blue magic, Sans. Someone needed to help him control it until he was old enough to do so himself. It gets to be a pretty big storm in there when he's angry."

Frisk shrugged. "I am filled with Determination."

I looked at the floor for a moment before looking back at her. "I am heartily sorry for all the awful things I've said about you."

She blinked and looked away, the sunlight from the window catching her face and setting her skin alight. "Thank you."

Star came around the bed to stand near Chara with an expression I'd only ever seen on her face when she was on mission. "Did you attempt suicide the first time you fell?"

Chara shook her head. "I didn't. I was thrown down the hole for being a witch."

Stephen raised an eyebrow. "How'd they determine you were a witch?"

She gave him a wry smile. "I weighed the same as a duck. Obviously."

We all snorted, not a single one of us able to help ourselves.

She looked out the window again, eyes on the garden beyond. "The Ravenbrooke's are a family of wizards. The story goes that my great, great, great, great grandfather was the wizard who sealed monsters away after one of Asgore's ancestors sucked up a human soul and went on a rampage."

Star frowned. "I need to talk to dirty laundry Sans."

All of us looked at her. "Who?"

She waved us off. "A Sans in a Hawaiian shirt who needed help finding his Frisk. Her story is the suck."

Steam's Chara raised an eyebrow. "What kind of suck?"

"She thought Asgore and Toriel were kicking her out when she turned eighteen, and… yeah. You don't want to know the rest." Star fished out her phone and dialed. "Hey, Sans! This is Agent Lucida. Are you adjacent to your Asriel? I need to speak to Chara."

"*uh, yeah. just a sec." There was the sound of some shuffling. "*she wants to speak to chara."

Another sound of the phone being handed over and then a young woman's voice filled the air. "Yes, Frisk?"

"Dragoon attacked a friend of mine, going after his Chara. I have a couple questions for you to see what the two of you have in common. It will help Seraph figure out what to look for on other timelines. Do you mind?"

There was a soft chuckle. "Not at all."

Star smiled widely. "Great!" she waved her hand to calm herself a bit. "Okay, some of them might be really personal so feel free to tell me to go to hell if you need too."

Chara chuckled softly. "I don't typically feel the need to curse at people."

"Okay. How old were you when you fell?"

"Eighteen."

Star looked at Chara, asking without saying a word. Chara nodded.

Star gave her a thumbs up and went back to the phone. "Are you related in anyway to the wizard or wizards who sealed monsters underground."

"I am a descendant of one of the seven."

Star grabbed onto the arm of the hospital bed, suddenly excited. "When you fell into the Underground was it an accident, an intentional jump, or were you pushed?"

There was a bit of strain with the answer, a memory that she didn't want to think about. "I was pushed."

"Where you pushed in for being a witch or magic user?"

The strain let out with a sigh. "Yes."

Star let out a breath. "Okay, one last question. How did you die?"

There was silence for a moment and then Asriel answered, and I wondered if he and Chara shared a body. "After Chara discovered a spell to open the barrier, she was murdered by the Captain of the Royal Guard to keep the barrier shut. He felt it was a trap meant to lead monsters to slaughter on the surface."

Star looked at me, caught between a smile and frown. "Oh my God. That's a match."

Chara's voice was suddenly there. "Someone shares my story?"

"Yeah. This Chara was murdered by a different person, but, it all matches."

"May I talk to that Chara?"

Star sighed and smiled. "Of course." She handed Chara the phone and then hooked her arm in mine. "Come on. They need some private time." She steered me toward the door.

"Frisk…"

"Nope. No arguments! Besides, since she has my phone, I'm going to need yours to call Fase with the profile… Wait. That means- oh no."

I quickly took her hand. "What?"

"The Asgore at Sigma! He murdered his Chara! It's why he's at Sigma. He was completely broken by the act. I-" She pulled away from me to wave her hands in front of herself. "Getting too far ahead of myself. I need to talk to Fase."

I dug into the pocket of my hoodie and handed her my phone. "Speed dial #4."

Star turned away with the phone.

I eyed Steam's kiddo. "Don't you have a phone?"

"Of course I do!" Chara put his hands in the pockets of his pants. "It's an emergency sort of thing though. We don't have tech like that on my timeline."

Stephen eyed him. "I'm still not sure that that thing isn't magic."

He shrugged. "You know? It might actually be, so maybe?"

I nodded to him. "Fish it out and call Steam for a teleport. I'll be here for a bit."

Chara shook his head, smiling. "I can get Stephen and myself home. I know the equation and I have one of the tiny slivers of void from the old MC badges hidden in my locket." He looked to Stephen. "If you're itching to head back, we'll go, but I'm happy to stay for a bit. It's been a while since I've seen this world's Papyrus and I'll take the chance to visit. And I heard a rumor that Princess and Dead Sass where here. I promised them a story a bit ago."

Stephen nodded for Chara to lead the way.

We stepped out of the lab to find Frisk Church's office door open. It wasn't often I'd seen her in her pale, lacy dresses. Baby Marigold rested in a sling adjusted so Frisk could periodically lean her head down to kiss the baby's face. She was looking over several sets of files in front of her.

Chara leaned against the office door. "I thought you were on maternity leave."

Frisk chuckled. "Just because I'm off missions right now doesn't mean that I'm not available for people who need my less martial skills." She stood and gave him a hug with one arm, the other holding the baby. He leaned over to give Marigold a gentle kiss on the head and got a small yawn in response. Stephen leaned over, gently booping the baby's nose.

Frisk caught sight of me, and her smile evaporated. "White? What happened?!" She stepped around Stephen to put a hand on my shoulder. I turned and hugged her from the side to avoid smooshing Marigold, resting my forehead on her shoulder.

Chara provided the information. "Dragoon attacked Frisk and pulled Chara out of him. They're both under observation in the lab right now."

Frisk patted my shoulder with one hand. "I know you're thinking about the assassination attempt and how some R&R was supposed to get him away from that. It's okay. It's not your fault. Stuff happens. This is just a random coincidence and you know your brother is going to laugh his butt off about it later."

I sighed. "It's not that. The little punk is already up and looking okay." I frowned, looking away for a moment, before looking back. "Can we talk?"

"Certainly." Church looked at Chara. He gave her a smile and a salute before taking a walk down the hall, Stephen on his heels. Frisk nodded for me to follow her and we went up the stairs to the second floor and the apartments that made up living space for on site staff.

Piano music from Cross' apartment floated down the hall, filling the length of it with a warm and welcoming sound. Frisk pushed the door to her apartment open and I smiled when the smell of freshly baked bread hit my nose. I'd expected that, after so many years of being married to Bones that I'd see this soft and very feminine oasis transform into something that matched what I knew of them. Something more vintage and less floral. Instead, I've realized that their personal styles meshed so well that there wasn't a need for a transition at all. Bones never seemed out of place here anymore than Frisk seemed out of place in his garage.

The apartment was quiet but for the three of us and we sat at the small breakfast table in the kitchen. Well, four of us if you counted C. Even if he wasn't saying anything, he was always there. I stared out the window over the sink while Frisk put on the kettle.

"I just found out that my Tori not only murdered Chara, but all of the fallen. It's the reason why my timeline doesn't have 'fallen children.' I…" I continued to stare out the window, waiting to see something that made sense.

Frisk set a big mug of liquid cheese in front of me before sitting down with a cup of golden flower tea. "That's not what you're upset about. Whether or not you want to admit it, you always thought your Toriel was off. That something was completely and utterly amiss in your timeline. You're upset because Frisk knew and didn't tell you. You're upset with yourself that he never saw you as someone he could trust in the telling. And you're upset that you've said things about Chara that she didn't deserve."

I stopped myself before asking her how she could know that. I was sitting at the table of one of my best friends. You'd almost think I didn't know the woman who put up with my antics, knowing all the time that I needed the kind of friend who'd let me be that kind of ass around her. And that wasn't even touching on her being the best investigator in the cosmos.

"Some very awful things." I sighed staring into the yellow-orange evil in my mug. "I bought the line. The standard story. Chara the murderous and suicidal kid! And the awful part is, the majority of them are good people trying to make the best of bad circumstances. Many of them fighting through differing levels of abuse and mental illness, often without support. And when one of them does make it through, the victory that isn't stolen is often bitter."

Frisk stirred her tea. "So what are you going to do about it?"

I frowned. "I honestly have no idea what I am going to do about Tori. If the souls of the fallen are still trapped, I'll have to find them and release them-"

"I meant about Chara."

I waved it off. "She'll come home with Frisk and I. It's not like the punk lives at home anymore so Paps and I have plenty of space for her..." I trailed off, blinking.

Why wasn't I placing her? Each Sans fit each Frisk into the most appropriate place in their lives. We just naturally do the same with Charas if we let it happen. I naturally place Fell Frisk or Star as nieces. The same way I place Fell Chara and Steam Chara as nephews.

Why wasn't I placing her? I didn't want to call her my sister. The very idea put me off. Were all of the lies holding me that tightly? That I didn't want to name her any sort of family?

I need to talk to Blue.

An amused smile tugged on Frisk's lips, so my facial expressions had to be top notch with my current thoughts.

I swallowed the rest of the liquid cheese and looked at the inside of the mug. "I know you don't eat this stuff and you certainly don't let your children near it."

Frisk chuckled. "I keep it on hand just for you. Better?"

I thought about it, putting the mug down. "Do you think of C as your brother?"

Frisk raised an eyebrow. "He is my brother." She gathered my mug. "Want more?"

I shook my head. "I need to get my phone off of Star. She should be done talking to Fase by now. Thank you."

"Anytime, White."

I heard the front door open and leaned back in my chair to see the Alpha Male Sans coming in. "Hey, Bones."

He took his boots off, placing them on the mat by the door. "Aren't you supposed to be visiting Steam's timeline right now?"

"I was. Dragoon interrupted."

Bones frowned. "Frisk okay?"

"Besides a few stitches and Chara having been forcibly separated from him, the punk's okay. Chara's dehydrated, but should be on her feet soon." I stood and stretched. "I'm heading back downstairs. Thanks for the mug of cheese."

Frisk smiled. "Always."

Bones opened the door for me. On the other side stood Star and a Frisk I'd never seen before. The new Frisk was on the short side and abnormally thin with pale green scales on her face; long, brilliantly red hair tied back at the base of her neck. She wore tight silver pants with a similar top made of an insulating material. Like it was meant to keep her warm in the vacuum of space. A puffy, orange vest made her look even skinnier than she already was. A silver delta rune embroidered over a many pointed, golden star badge was sewn over the left shoulder of the vest. Star caught sight of me out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh no!" She grabbed the door, pulling it out of Bone's phalanges, and slamming it shut.

A very timid voice, someone worried that she would say the wrong thing, came through the door. "Star? What are you hiding?"

"A Sans that matches the description of the one you hallucinate."

The voice stammered, "Can I… Can I see him? Is that okay?"

"I don't know." Star sounded lost.

I looked up at Bones. "What's going on?"

"Frisk Tamanna lived in severe social isolation for several years. We thought her Sans didn't exist and found out that he's one of her hallucinations. It's one of the things that held her mind together."

I knocked on the door. "Hey, Star. It's okay."

Star groaned. "I spent the last two years cramming psych for grad school and I don't have any clue if it's okay!"

I opened my mouth and closed it. Star was a full agent, worked as Asriel's research assistant, had degrees in two medical fields and multiple certifications, skated competitively with Papyrus, and she'd done grad school in the middle of all of that? When does she sleep? Wait. I forgot add the part about her spending time on Prime learning void manipulation. Seriously. When did she sleep?

I shook off the thought. "Do you think you can handle it if it turns out bad?"

The voice came through again, pleading. "Please?"

Star sighed audibly and opened the door.

Frisk Tamanna looked up at me and I noticed a smudge of paint on her cheek. She reached out very slowly, hesitating just before paint stained fingers reached my hoodie.

I took her hands in mine. "It's okay. You can touch."

Her eyes flicked to the right and back to my chest, fixating hard on my shirt.

"He's there, huh?"

She nodded fast, concentrating hard on the white of my shirt.

"One eye all glowy and threatening?"

She shook her head. "No. He's just worried you might hurt me."

I put an arm around her, turning her so that her peripheral vision on the right was blocked. "A Sans' job is to care for their Frisk. Does he take good care of you?"

She grasped my hoodie, anchoring herself as she nodded. "Yes." She hugged me, holding on for a little bit, before looking up at my face. "Thank you." Stepping back she turned to Star. "I'm going to the cafeteria to have dinner with Charlotte."

Star nodded, watching as Frisk walked down the hall, conversing with someone who wasn't there, before sitting up on the banister, and sliding down the stairs.

"I'm not sure what I expected, but it sure as heck wasn't that." Star gave me a smile. "I was looking for you! Frisk and Chara are up and about. Asriel says the stitches need to stay in for a week. I'll stop by to remove them when it's time. Chara will need to be drinking sugar-salt water for the next two days. You are cleared to head home or back to Steam's timeline."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out my phone. "Before I forget." She handed me the phone with a smile.

After giving Bones and Frisk a wave, I followed Star down the stairs and back to the lab. The stents now pulled, Alphys applied bandages to Chara's and Frisk's hands. The large, yellow, veloci-woman used her tail to point while she spoke.

"Clean the stitches once a day with a little water and a mild soap. Keep a bandage on over the stitches while in the shower or wearing a shirt. Star will come by to remove them in a week." She handed Chara a piece of paper. "Six teaspoons of sugar to half a teaspoon of salt in four cups of warm water. Stir until dissolved and drink. Make sure to drink two of these a day, for the next three days."

Chara frowned at the paper, but said nothing.

Frisk stepped up to me with a smile. "Shall we head back? It's only a been an hour at most for Steam's timeline since it runs behind everyone else's."

I leaned over a bit to look at Chara. "Do you want to head there or home?"

She looked between Frisk and I, unsure. Frisk took her left hand, putting his arm around her shoulders, while I took her right hand, slipping my arm around her waist. She shivered, eyes watering as she stared at the floor.

I leaned my head against hers, breathing in the soft scent of her hair. "How about home until you feel a little more sorted?"

Chara shook her head, her long hair swaying with the motion. "Just drop me off in Snowdin. I can head back from there. There's no reason to cut your vacation short."

I froze, chilled through. She wasn't going to head back anywhere, let alone the house. She was giving us an easy way to abandon her. She was giving Frisk and I an 'out.' I wasn't going to ask why. I looked over Chara's head at Frisk. By the look on my brother's face, he'd caught it too. And there was something else there. Something he knew and hadn't told me. I bit down the need to know; the need to ask. Now was not the time.

Frisk made a careful, counter offer. "How about we all go back to the house together?"

"It's not necessary-"

I stepped us into the void. "It's our pleasure."

Suddenly in the darkness, she gripped our hands tightly, trembling, eyes squeezed shut. I put us down just outside the cabin my brothers and I have long called home. The one that would soon become her home in more than just name.

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, looking up at the cabin and its twinkling Christmas lights with a sad sort of longing. I let go of Chara to open the door, Frisk still holding her tightly, like he was afraid she would bolt.

Dragoon appeared next to Frisk, the cracks in his mandible looking less than secure after a hasty healing. He grabbing my brother by the shoulder, tossing him aside. Several glowing blue bones burst from the ground, surrounding Chara, trapping her in a blue magic prison.

Dragoon turned to Chara. "You have no future here. Come with me willingly."

Chara shoved at the bones. "Go to hell!"

"There you are, you Smiley Trashbag!" Flowey erupted from snow, wrapping Dragoon in thick, thorny vines, squeezing him viciously.

Dragoon teleported out of the vines as I cut the magic holding Chara. Frisk scrambled to his feet and grabbed Chara's hand, pulling her away and back toward the cabin. When Dragoon reappeared near Chara, I threw up a bone barrier between them. Flowey slammed into Dragoon, pinning him to my barrier.

I summoned my gaster blasters. "Flowey! Down!"

The flower hit the snow as my blasters let loose on Dragoon. Unable to move fast enough, he was hit by most of the blue-white blast. He slumped back against my barrier, groaning. The cracks in his mandible widened, snapping again. One skeletal hand came up, cradling his jaw listlessly before he disappeared completely.

I dropped the barrier and ran to Flowey, brushing the snow off of his petals. "What happened while we were gone?"

His eyes turned black, mouth sprouting fangs. "He came here looking Chara and attacked me when I told him to piss off! I've been all over the Underground waiting for him to pop up again. But, seriously! Why would he come here looking for Chara?" He looked over at Frisk and then back at me. "Chara died…" He trailed off, turning back to Frisk. "Ch-Chara?"

Chara knelt down next to him. "Oh, Asriel." She gently cupped his head in her hands, fingers gently brushing his yellow petals.

Flowey's vines sprouted out of the ground around her, wrapping her up in a hug. "You're here! You're alive! How? How?"

Chara shook her head. "Not important." She closed her eyes and the snow below them began to glow forming golden rings within golden rings, sigils etching their way in and through the open spaces of the circles.

Frisk grabbed her shoulder. "Hold up! We've talked about this! The spell you used to knock Dragoon was nowhere near as complicated as this and it hurt you badly! Just wait until you're properly healed up at least!"

"I've spent the last 25 years working on this one spell," she murmured. She looked up at him eyes glowing a bright red. "I won't stop even if it kills me." Her head fell forward to her chest, black liquid leaking from her eyes and flowing down her face.

The golden circles made a wall around her and Flowey, pushing Frisk back.

I shook Frisk. "What's going on?"

"She's going to give Asriel his life back."

My jaw dropped. "What?!"

I moved toward the circle only to have Frisk grab my shoulder. "Just let her do this. It's all she's thought about since she first saw him stuck in that flower."

Flowey shuddered, the vines retracting as he floated up and out of her hands. A glow cocooned him, cradling him as the flower stretched and grew, becoming that of a full grown, adult goat monster. Chara's left hand seemed to act of its own accord, lifting languidly, and reaching out into the air. A thin, black line appeared and her fingers parted it, reaching into some space that wasn't the void.

I felt a ripple across the timeline. Something being moved from the past to the present. Chara's hand came out of the tiny rift with a white, boss monster's soul. She'd pulled Asriel's soul from the past, saving it just before the moment it'd broken. The soul floated toward its body, eager to reunite. It disappeared within Asriel and the goat monster breathed deeply, eyes opening.

As soon as the light died away, I quick slid over to catch Chara before she hit the ground, cradling her unconscious body against my chest. The black liquid disappeared from her face. I checked her pulse and found it, weak but there. Her breathing slow.

Too slow.

She didn't exactly have motivation to stick around.

Frisk reached over, gently petting her hair. "Come on, Chara…"

I gently brushed her cheek with a finger. "Hey there, Snow White. Don't clock out on us yet. At least stick around long enough for Asriel to talk to you."

Chara's eyes opened a little and she managed a ghost of a nod.

Frisk sighed deeply and stood with a shudder. He reached down to help Asriel up. Asriel, for his part, was busy staring at his hands. When he noticed the offered hand, he let Frisk pull him up only to wobble a little. Frisk put an arm around the goat prince's waist to help steady him.

Papyrus came out of the cabin. "WHAT IS ALL THIS RACKET!" He spotted me. "SANS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK SO SOON? FRISK SHOULD BE RESTING AND ENJOYING- oh." He reached out, his phalanges gently brushing Chara's hair from her sleeping face. "Welcome home, little sister."