Frisk and Chara were the unlikely pair, but somehow it worked. Frisk managed to sneak onto the train and hide under the seats when the ticket collector came around. Chara smiled, as if in pride as Frisk scrambled to sit on their seat, glancing around for the collector.

"This is like one of my stories." Chara said, snickering as Frisk sank down into the chair. Chara glanced out the window, which was depicting snow and a heavy storm to come. "How you doing?"

Frisk paused, then shook their head after a moment or two. My HP dropped for some reason. It's only on 20/20, but I could've sworn I slept.

Chara gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it." They waved their hand flippantly. "It's probably stress…"

Frisk didn't really like the way Chara said that, but the only other option was that Chara had somehow knocked a little health from their bar… But that didn't seem to stick in Frisk's mind. Chara wanted to help them and if Frisk died, they died. Chara was a ghost in the back of their head. The storm was picking up and there was a very bitter cold in the air. As the train groaned and lurched, Frisk felt oddly tired. They rubbed their eyes and Chara noticed.

"Why don't you sleep some more? Get that HP up?"

Can't.

Chara's red eyes seemed to flare, but Frisk didn't really noticed. "Why?"

Nightmares.

Chara gave a smile that quickly disappeared when Frisk glanced at them. "Don't be such a baby. Dreams can't hurt you."

Frisk wasn't so sure about that. Chara looked quite complacent, tapping their fingers on their knees in a quiet beat that only they seemed to hear. The train was picking up speed now, rumbling heartedly and throwing snow up in all directions, causing a fan of it to obstruct the windows. Daylight was just beginning to break, causing the snow to take on a warm, golden light. It was very soothing, but Frisk glanced over at Chara.

Are you sad?

Chara blinked at the question. "Sad? Me?"

About Asriel.

Now Chara looked slightly dumbfounded. They tilted their head to one side, then slowly to the other, as if deep in thought. "… I don't know. We knew we were going to die. It's our own fault."

Frisk glanced out the window. Then, What was it like to die?

"What does this have to do with anything?!" Chara hissed, more in surprise than anger.

Frisk shrugged. I just wanted to know if it hurt.

Chara blinked slowly. The poison that had killed then had been buttercup flowers, the very same ones that Frisk had landed on when they'd fallen. It had not been a pleasant experience. But they felt as if they'd done it to free all of monster kind; they needed more souls. Chara closed their eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah… It hurt." Chara's voice was indifferent, strong. "But I had to do it. Just like you had to jump."

Frisk winced, the glanced out the window again, tears pricking their eyes. To Chara's surprise, they were crying. Chara hesitated, then with a sigh and roll of their blood-red eyes, they reached out and patted Frisk on the back. Frisk leaned on Chara's shoulder and the dead child stiffened at the contact. Chara watched as Frisk cried, their eyes shut tightly and their breath coming out of their mouth in raspy gasps.

"Stop crying you big baby-"

Asriel was crying again. He'd scratched his knee badly when they went to play in the buttercup patch. He was always crying. Such a big cry baby that Chara was not sure how he could ever be a king.

"Stop crying, you big baby." Chara chided him, looking at the young princeling.

"But Chara, it hurts!" Asriel wept, tears staining his fur. "Look at my knee!"

It was cut and Chara knew it was sore, but they glowered at Asriel. "Let's go, dummy. Mom will have something for it."

They passed corridors and the smell of home was close. Butterscotch and cinnamon, all rolled into one warm scent. Chara barely remembered the days when they'd felt happy. The laughter. The smiles. The complete love that the Dreemurrs felt for their adoptive child.

And the buttercups…

Chara shoved Frisk away. "Get off me." They muttered sourly.

Frisk sniffled, then shuffled away. Chara glowered at them, baring their teeth in a cold sneer. "Stupid… crybaby-"

"Chara, it hurts… I can't feel anything…"

"KILL THEM."

"But why…? I can't feel anything… mommy… daddy… it hurts…"

"KILL THEM!"

"N-no…"

"I'll do it myself, you stupid crybaby-"

"Chara, no!"

"Get off me!"

Chara jerked out of the memory, shivering. Frisk was shivering, too. Chara lifted their hands to their face, feeling their cheeks and finding them wet with tears. What? They didn't cry. They didn't cry. It burned their cheeks and they tore at their hair, glancing at Frisk. They were sleeping. Their HP was creeping up. A sadistic smile crossed their tear-stained face.

"Stupid idiot." They snarled, bringing up Frisk's HP.

19/20.

18/20.

15/20.

Sans couldn't reattach his arm. It wasn't sticking anymore and he bumped it uselessly against his socket. Normally, it would just pop right back on, but he had also used too much magic, not mention he was tired.

Zhèngyì was sitting, bundled up in a blanket at the dining room table whilst Merida shakily made a pot of tea. Her house was very, very small. There was only one bedroom, a small bathroom and the kitchen. No wonder Zhèngyì crept out during the night; it was just too small.

"Hey, mister," the kid suddenly piped up, eyes on Sans' arm. "How does that work?"

"Magic." Sans said, shrugging his shoulders. "It's pretty handy."

Merida laughed. It was nervous and fraught with shakiness, but she laughed. Sans rubbed his socket and tried to reattach his arm again. It gave a small pop and for a second he thought it had stuck, but as soon as he let it go it popped right back out. Zhèngyì watched as he stooped to grab it, grumbling under his breath.

"D'ya want some tape?" the kid asked.

Sans frowned. "Uh… it don't work like that, kid. See? I can still move it."

Sans wriggled the fingers on his detached arm and the kid laughed as Merida finally got to the table, her hands shaking so hard that the tea she had in the pot was spilling over. Sans felt embarrassed, sitting without an arm and watching as a woman who'd insulted Frisk serve him.

"Uh, thanks." He said as she handed him a cracked cup.

She nodded wordlessly, then sat down. She was terribly shaken after nearly running over her own child and Sans felt nothing but sympathy for her. He reached for the cup with his intact hand and brought it up to his mouth.

"But you don't have a stomach!"

"Well, that just means I don't get a tummy ache." Sans winked and Zhèngyì giggled shyly, burrowing in his jacket. Merida smiled, but so tiredly that Sans knew she was just doing it to be polite. He watched the human closely, drinking his tea and placing it on the table.

"Look, Merida, I'm sorry about this whole thing…" Sans said awkwardly, setting his dislocated arm on the table. "I didn't know you lost a chi-"

"It's fine." She said quietly, the small kitchen seeming even colder than it already was. "She died a while ago. It's alright…" Her voice shook, but she glanced over at Zhèngyì, who was sipping at his tea. "Baby, why don't you go and play with your toys?"

"I don't have toys anymore." He said, kicking his feet out and banging his ankles against the legs of the chair.

"Oh… yes, that's right." Merida said, blushing a deep scarlet. Sans could see her discomfort and glanced at Zhèngyì.

"Hey, kiddo, wanna help me get my arm back?"

Zhèngyì looked up, his eyes wide. "Yeah!"

"Good. I need ya to go and find one of my fingers. I think I dropped it when we came in." Sans smirked as the kid bounced in his seat. It was always a game he played with Frisk, 'Find the Finger.' He made sure they couldn't find it, though.

"Wow, really?!" Zhèngyì asked, his voice excited.

"Yeah, it moves around and OH MY GOD THERE IT GOES!"

Sans snickered with laughter as Zhèngyì squeaked and fell off his chair. He watched as his finger, detached and on the run, scuttled around the kitchen floor.

"I'll get it!" Zhèngyì squealed as Sans urged his finger to run into the bedrooms. He sniggered as the kid disappeared and turned sheepishly to Merida.

"Sorry 'bout that-"

"Am I bad person?"

Sans blinked at the question. "Uh… come again?"

Merida looked down at the teacups, broken and cracked near the edges. "I sold his toys. I insulted a child for being mute. I hate monsters…" Her eyes were sad as she glanced up, her face pale. "I hated you."

Sans glanced around, then focused on her; a sad, sad woman with a very sad house, but with a happy kid. She'd insulted Frisk, but that had been out of anger, out of pain.

God knows he'd done so much worse out of anger.

"I think you just need a cup of tea." Sans said, standing and walking around the table to the kettle. He poured some more hot water into the teapot, watching as Merida listened to the sound of Zhèngyì laughing in the other room. Sans winced as he stepped on his finger and he made it dive under the bed.

"You said Frisk ran away?"

Sans nodded his skull, rubbing his temple as he sat down. "Yes… Zhèngyì said that Frisk was taking books from the library?"

Merida nodded, sipping at her tea. "But… I don't even know why they'd do something like that. They weren't really books; more of old scrolls."

"Scrolls?"

"The school library was funded by the museum. They gave some old parchment paper that they didn't need. It was just junk, really."

"What was it?" Sans asked, leaning forward.

Merida frowned slightly, her face screwing up with concentration. "They were old maps… of Ebott."

Sans felt as if someone had just thrown him a bone. Literally. He sat up straight and stared at Merida, tapping his fingers on the table. "Do you remember what they look like? What they showed?"

Merida nodded. "I draw in my spare time; I copied them down when they first came in." She stood and moved to the corridor that led to the bedrooms. Sans waited for a while, then dug his phone out of his pocket. It was hard with just one hand, but he managed to scroll to Papyrus' number.

"Hey, Pap-

"SANS WHERE ARE YOU?!" His brother screamed from the other end of the line. Sans held the phone away from his skull for a minute or two before he brought it back to his head.

"Yeah, bro, I'm fine." Sans said idly. "Listen, I'm at this little house on Berklin Street. You know that lady that insulted Frisk? Well, she might know where they are."

"I'M ON MY WAY! DON'T MOVE!"

"Kinda hard to, with only one arm." He mumbled.

"WHAT?!"

"Bye, bro." Sans hurriedly hung up, snickering. Papyrus was known to overreact whenever Sans' arm detached. It took little over a few minutes before Merida returned with her sketchbook and the door was suddenly hailed with a series of abrupt knocks.

"SANS OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT THIS INSTANT! OH MY GOD YOU'RE SO IRRESPONSIBLE! DID YOU ARM COME OFF AGAIN?!"

Sans hit his skull against the table, groaning before making his way to the door whilst Merida looked very confused. He yanked open the door and before he could even move he was grabbed by Papyrus.

"BROTHER!" Papyrus roared, holding him at arm's length. "YOU'VE BROKEN YOUR ARM AGAIN!"

"Chill, bro." Sans said, shrugging. "I'm just unarmed."

"SANS!"

"Please, Papyrus, dear," Toriel said from behind Papyrus. "It's a little chilly out here-"

"OF COURSE, MISS ASGORE!" Papyrus said, slinging Sans over his shoulder and striding into the room. Flowey, Toriel, Undyne and Grillby all entered the small house. Merida looked slightly shocked at the sudden influx of monsters and Sans looked over at Flowey, shrugging.

"Isn't she that woman who insulted Frisk?" Flowey snarled, his mouth twisting. "Oh, I want to have a word or two with her." His face twisted into a cold sneer and bullets appeared, bouncing around his pot. "Or maybe twenty."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, petals." Sans said, grinning as his eye flared to life. "I'll mince ya."

Flowey snarled, and folded his leaves over his stem, grumbling and snarling to himself as his bullets disappeared. Sans would've liked more than anything to have the spray bottle that Frisk kept at the side of her bed. They sprayed Flowey with water whenever Flowey did something undesirable. It was hilarious to watch.

"I-is he supposed to be on fire?" Merida suddenly stuttered.

Grillby looked slightly offended and removed his glasses, polishing them on his shirt. He replaced them and glanced at Merida. "My dear lady, I am fire."

"He's too hot to handle." Sans sniggered on Papyrus' shoulder.

"BROTHER I DISOWN YOU!" Papyrus snapped, placing Sans on the chair and waving his dislocated arm around. "AND YOUR ARM ISN'T STICKING! WHY IS IT NOT STICKING?"

Sans was just as puzzled as he was. His arm was not sticking and Papyrus bumped it uselessly against the socket.

"Oh, dear." Toriel said, setting Flowey on the table. "Let me look."

Undyne sniggered from behind Grillby. "You really messed up, didn't ya, skeleboy?"

Sans shrugged as Papyrus bumped the bone against the socket, nearly screaming in frustration. Grillby glanced at Sans and Papyrus, a frown on his face. "Uh… I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to… not stick?"

Merida glanced around, apparently at a loss. At that moment, however, streaked into the kitchen, dodging the monsters who had invaded his kitchen. "I got it, mister!"

He proudly held up Sans' struggling finger and Sans smiled. "Hey, great work, kiddo." He reached forward and grabbed his struggling finger, sticking it on his hand. "Look at that, good as new!"

"BUT IT'S STILL NOT STICKING!" Papyrus screamed as Toriel giggled and examined Sans' broken arm.

"Uh… sorry to b-bother, but…" Merida said, her voice shaky. "I… I know where Frisk might be going…"

The monsters all turned and stared at Merida before Toriel let out a little laugh. "Of course! Please, sit down. I'll get some tea ready."

Sans watched as Merida sat down, Zhèngyì on her lap. Grillby and Papyrus sat on the counters whilst Undyne yanked out a chair and sat, rocking on the back legs. Toriel made more tea, fished out some more cups and eventually all the monsters and humans were sitting comfortably around the table, Merida blushing.

"So, please, Merida," Toriel said, reaching across the table and clasping Merida's hand. "Where is Frisk?"

Merida swallowed, then flipped open her sketchbook. Sans stared; there were so many sketches that the page looked utterly crowded. Merida cleared her throat and glanced around the table, bouncing a very tired Zhèngyì on her lap.

"Uh… well, you know where… Ebott is." She cleared her throat. "Ebott is one of the only entry point into the Underground, where monsters were trapped. The humans that sealed the monsters underground lived in a village close enough to the mountain to watch for any wavers in the barrier. But… The seal wasn't all that effective. One monster got out, somehow, and the humans panicked. They began sending criminals to the mountain's seal, then used their souls to strengthen it." Merida swallowed. "And they… used too many. The town became abandoned; no one lived there except for some people who wanted to make sure that the seal never broke ever again. They sent a single child and they… well, they were killed by the monsters and one crossed the barrier again-"

"You're wrong."

Silence. Sans glanced over at Flowey, who had just spoken. "Uh, come again?"

The flower looked sickly; the petals were sagging and it seemed as if he was on the verge of wilting right there. He was shaking.

"The monsters didn't kill them. They killed themselves." Flowey shook. "They wanted to free everyone… but they failed. The stupid idiot failed."

Sans blinked and Toriel looked as if she were going to cry. "Oh, Asriel." She sniffled, drawing the flower closer to her and hugging him tightly. "It's alright."

"I'm n-not crying, you s-silly woman." He stuttered. "I'm n-not c-crying."

Merida looked confused, but Sans shook his head slowly. She blinked several times before glancing down at her sketchbook. "Uh… That's the only village that's remotely close to Mount Ebott. I suggest we- I mean you- I mean…" She blushed deeply, her face blood-red. "The village is a ten-minute walk from Mount Ebott. But… there's nothing there. It's deserted. The other, more well-known village burned down during the war and this one was wiped from the maps after the war. It'll be hard to find, but that must be where they're going. There's old magic there that not even I know about."

Toriel raised a delicate eyebrow and all the monsters gave odd looks, staring at the human. Sans cocked his head to one side.

"Wait, wait, wait." He waved his hand in a time-out gesture. "You… know magic?"

Merida blushed deeply, but Zhèngyì answered for her. "Momma's the best! Momma, do your thing! The thing!"

"Hush, Zhèngyì." She said, her cheeks completely red with embarrassment. "Mommy doesn't want to-"

"Merida, can you do magic?" Undyne suddenly asked, head cocked to one side and her remaining eye wide. "I've heard only magicians can do that."

Merida swallowed. "I… I…" Her eyes welled with tears and she clutched Zhèngyì tightly to her. "Oh God… please don't tell anyone. They'll take Zhèngyì away. They'll take my other baby away…"

She sniffed and Toriel suddenly stood and embraced Merida and Zhèngyì, the woman crying. Sans stared at the odd little scene, then back to Undyne.

"How soon can you get that car?"