Core Issues
by Nicolle
Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans and Gaster!Papyrus are the creations of Borurou. Underfell is a community built AU. Fase is from Technoletale. The story is copyright to me.
1. This is a full on Underfell episode. While I've stuck to much of the canon, I have filled in my own work and that stuff should not influence how ever you headcanon Underfell. It's just what makes sense in the context of this particular series.
2. This story is rated T for language, suggestive jokes/themes, alcohol use, and serious nightmare fuel. Underfell!Sans has a serious mouth on him and drops f-bombs liberally throughout his dialogue.
Ep. 5 - Red Letter Day
Red's Frisk bounced excitedly next to me on the balcony of her tree house, watching her brother's prep to spar against my Frisk.
"So when are they gonna start?"
I put my boney hand on her head, stilling her. "In a minute. They're almost ready."
Agent Franklin groaned. "Does the nausea ever go away?" he asked between dry heaves.
"Yeah. Most people acclimate after their fifth or sixth jump," I said.
"But Frisk was good the first time round, right?" Franklin huffed.
I laughed. "Oh hell no! It was a solid year and a half before she stopped puking! And it didn't matter how much ginger candy she ate, the nausea was always bad."
"You jerk! Don't make fun of her! She's not here to defend herself!" Frisk said, swatting my arm.
I ruffled her hair. "No worries, kiddo. You can rat me out later."
Franklin sat up properly and washed his mouth out with some water. "Ugh." He looked over the edge. "Are we going to be okay up here?"
Frisk pointed down the tree. "See that glow around the tree? Its a barrier. It will keep anything that might hit the tree from damaging it."
"Will Frisk be okay? I mean, that Sans and Papyrus look like mean customers."
Frisk giggled. "My brothers are pretty bad ass, but I've seen her beat them up pretty hard core." She made a face. "I'm pretty sure that's how they met."
Franklin stood and leaned over the railing to get a better view of the forest floor. "It's February here, isn't it? Shouldn't you be in school right now?"
"Like every other monster kid, I'm home schooled. Monsters only go to a school-school for the equivalent of human high school and college."
He looked incredulous and pointed at the skelebros. "And they teach you?"
"Sans teaches math and science. Papyrus teaches history and language arts. I get music lessons and phys. ed. from Undyne. And there's a Sans who's a great artist. He comes by once a week. They're all really good teachers." She smiled.
He pointed at Sans. "He teaches you math and science."
Frisk rolled her eyes. "He is the Royal Scientist."
I snorted. "So he decided to take Asgore's offer, huh? How's Alphys enjoying her new job?"
"She said working at the human university was less demanding, but way more political. She doesn't mind it though because it means she has more to work with for her research."
"How's Papyrus handling it?"
"Hates it. He liked it better when he could yell at Sans all day." She shivered and put up her hood.
Franklin yanked on her hood. "This thing is way too big for you, kid. Don't you have clothes that fit?"
"Huh?" She lifted her arms. "My clothes fit just fine. This is Sans' jacket. He says it's good luck if I wear it." She smiled through the fur lining.
"But what about your parents? Why don't you live with them?"
"Who do you mean? King Asgore and Queen Toriel? That's not a good idea. I mean, Toriel's most of the way toward normal and Asgore is way better than he used to be. But it's still not a good idea."
Flowey popped up next to her foot and climbed up to her shoulder. "Totally not a good idea."
"And dad... well, Dr. Gaster, is too wrapped up in his research to raise another kid."
"I meant your-"
Flowey and I quickly motioned for Franklin to stop. He fell silent and frowned.
Korn's "Freak on a Leash" blared from Frisk's pocket. She pulled out a phone and turned it off before waving at her brothers. "Sans! Your alarm went off!"
Red looked up. "That was for dinner. Go back over to the house and check on it. If it's done, just turn it to low. It if isn't, stir it and throw in another cup of broth."
"Can do!" She took a step backward and disappeared.
"What the hell?! Where did she go?!"
"Chill, James. She teleported."
He moved to stand next to me. "So what's the deal with her human parents?"
"You've got kids. Tell me, just by looking, not hearing her talk, how old she is."
"Seven. Eight at the most."
"She's twelve. Her growth is severely stunted. She's prone to serious infections and hypoglycemia on her worst days. And still needs to deal with anemia and tremors on her best. Sans puts his hoodie on her not because it's good luck but because there's fire magic in it. Her entire wardrobe is fire magic treated to keep hypothermia away. Those are all caused by severe malnutrition. That's why she doesn't live with her human parents."
"Shit."
"Yeah." I leaned on the railing. "You wanna know what really sucks? She's brilliant. A legitimate genius. Teleporting requires the ability to handle complicated math and she does it with ease." I sighed. "Red didn't intend to teach her to teleport. She just asked and he showed her the equations figuring she wouldn't be able to figure them out. Joke's on him."
Frisk reappeared and bumped into Franklin. "Hey! You're standing in my spot."
"Sorry." He moved.
She smiled at him and sat down on the edge, arms hanging over the bottom rail.
"You feelin' all right, kid?"
She nodded. "Just tired."
"She's okay," Flowey said.
"You sure about that?" he asked.
"Of course. I'm her early warning detection system."
Frisk mumbled something.
"What was that?" I asked.
She looked up a me, a red shadow in her eyes. "Huh? Oh, sorry. Wasn't talking to you." She smiled and the red faded.
On the forest floor, they were ready.
Frisk smiled the 'Undyne Smile.' She threw the first punch, taking Papyrus completely by surprise and flattening him in the snow. Sans snickered and short cut behind her. She turned and kicked. He dodged and she followed, continuing to strike even as he moved just out of reach, hands in his pockets. He lifted his left hand and she dived to the ground to avoid the bone attack. He turned the bones red and stood still, letting the attack fly through him. She swept his feet out from under him.
Papyrus grabbed her from behind and tossed her. She flipped in mid-air, keeping her feet behind her as she hit a tree and used it to springboard back at him. She slammed into his chest, sending him back to the ground. Papyrus gave off a strange howl that sounded like delight more than pain.
The familiar shing of Red's magic filled the air, lifting Frisk from his brother and tossing her to the left. She rolled in the snow and dived behind a tree to hide. Both brothers sent a bone strike at the tree and immediately stepped back to back when she didn't appear from behind it.
I searched the ground, looking for Frisk. Where had she gone?
The brothers waited, eyes wary. A tree branch full of snow hit the ground and both of them threw volleys at the branch. Before they realized their mistake, Frisk shot Sans with four foam core rounds, locking his arms and legs. Papyrus turned and swung at her with a large bone like it was a sword. She ducked the first swing, dropping her gun, and dodged the next before reaching to her belt and pulling a self extending staff to defend herself.
Papyrus' eyes gleamed brightly, his smile wide with a delirious kind of happiness. He had height and strength on her, but lacked her finesse and speed. He made up for it by making his strikes count and every time one connected, it rattled her and cracked at the armor in her uniform. It was a tactic meant to tire out an opponent and wear down their defenses. Frisk was running out of options.
She threw her staff at him and ducked under his swing when he knocked it away, tackling him. Before he could recover, she rolled to her gun and came up firing, locking his arms and legs in hard foam. She stood and popped a fist full of Monster Candy.
"*done already?" Red asked.
She turned to him, gun level.
He tossed a broken piece of hard foam to the side and smiled. "*we both know you don't have any ammo left."
She put up the gun and flicked her wrist, springing a knife into her hand. She rushed him and he dodged, hands still in his pockets.
"Here comes the singing," Frisk whispered.
"Only when fighting your brother," I said.
"Our drill sergeant hated when she did that," Franklin muttered.
"This is where is gets really cool," the kiddo said. She was gripping the railing hard now, eyes locked on her brother and her other self.
Red stopped dodging and started hitting back, matching her blow for block, block for blow. He followed the beat of her song, singing along with her. It was starting to look less like a fight and more like a dance. But I knew how this dance ended. Red grabbed Frisk's wrist and pulled her toward him, eye glowing a blood red. He was rewarded with a quick knee to the sternum, doubling him over. He let go of her wrist and she put an elbow into the back of his neck. Red hit the ground with a groan.
"*man, she beats the shit out of me every time," Red said from where he stood next to me.
"What the-?"
Franklin looked from were Red lay on the ground and where he stood next to me on the balcony. Sans smiled, all sharp teeth, gold tooth gleaming.
"He can bi-locate," I said. "You know, you might actually beat her one day if you stay completely in the moment."
He looked at me, smile suddenly gone. "*impossible." He looked back down at himself laughing with Frisk over Papyrus' complaining as she helped him out of the foam. "*and i suspect that if c didn't limit her lv, blue wouldn't even have a shot."
"But isn't the Prime Sans super powerful?" Franklin asked.
"Yeah," the Frisk at my feet said. "But he calls Red his 'equal opposite.'" She looked up, one eye red. "If Red can't beat her, Blue likely can't either."
Sans' eyes narrowed and he held two fingers up to his eye sockets then pointed at her. "*i'm watching you, chara."
The red faded away and Frisk looked beyond tired, eyes heavy-lidded.
Red sighed and extricated her from the railing to pick her up. "*dammit, kiddo. stop entertaining him. you don't have enough energy as it is." He glared at Flowey. "*i know you miss him, asriel, but letting chara possess her even a little steals more than she has to give."
"She's fine!" Flowey barked. He nuzzled Frisk's cheek and wrapped more vines around her. "She just needs a nap. She had lessons with Undyne this morning and she hasn't napped yet."
"Please don't yell at him, Sans. Chara just wanted to talk," Frisk said sleepily. He said nothing and short cut away with her and Flowey. The second him with my Frisk disappeared.
"Everything he's got in there really isn't printed on the label is it?" Franklin asked.
I shook my head. "No. No it isn't. I think that's why he and my Frisk get along so well. Just don't go mistaking him for an edgy fluff ball. He's deeply caring in unexpected ways to those he's given his loyalty and that's it. Everyone else is garbage at best."
Frisk looked up at the tree house. "You guys ready for some dinner?"
"Oh God, no," Franklin looked green.
I chuckled. "I could go for whatever Red's cookin,' but I think James will pass." I looked at him. "Ready to head into town?" I got a nod and we climbed down from the tree house to take a snowy walk into Snowdin. Inside the cabin, Frisk was sleeping on the couch, Flowey sitting on her legs playing a game on a handheld. Papyrus stopped and watched her sleep for a moment before disappearing into his room.
Sans poked his head out of the kitchen. "*who's eatin'?"
Frisk and I raised our hands. Franklin waved him off.
Sans snickered. "*noob." He looked at Frisk. "*hey, babe? there are extra chairs in the shed. would you mind bringing them in?"
"Sure," Frisk said. Sans tossed her the keys and she went out the front door as Papyrus came back down stairs in civvies.
He leaned over his little sister and tapped her shoulder. "WAKE UP, FRISK. IT IS DINNER TIME."
She rubbed her eyes and sleepily trudged to the table to climb into a chair. My Frisk came in the door with three extra chairs and we sat down while Sans brought in bowls of beef stew.
"How's the new job treating you? Happy to be back at the lab?" my Frisk asked between bites.
"*yeah. i forgot how much i missed it. the only thing i don't like is dad randomly appearing to check my work."
"You are lazy," I said.
He pointed a spoon at me. "*look who's calling the kettle black. i'm lazy about things i don't care about, bud."
"SUCH AS CLEANING. YOU STILL HAVEN'T PICKED UP THAT SOCK."
"*i picked it up yesterday."
"AND THEN PUT IT BACK DOWN. PUT IT IN THE LAUNDRY BASKET."
He shrugged. "*welp. if that's what you wanted you could have just said so." The sock floated through the air and landed on the floor next to the basket outside the bathroom door.
Papyrus stiffened and inhaled noisily. Sans gave Papyrus his patented Infuriating Smile(TM). They looked at each other, tension building.
"Hey," the kiddo said between sleepy bites. "If you're going to start arguing this soon into dinner, you might as well just hit the bedroom now."
I snorted, Franklin choked, and Frisk put her head down on the table to laugh. Papyrus had the grace to look embarrassed. His older brother chortled like a maniac.
Papyrus glared at him. "I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE HAPPY TO BE BACK AT THE LAB," he gritted out.
Sans smile turned predatory. "*thanks, paps! i appreciate it."
The kiddo pointed her spoon at Sans. "Stop being a pain." She looked around the table. "Pass my medicine organizer, please."
Papyrus handed it to her and she popped three pills at the same time with a big gulp of water. She looked down at the organizer, tapping the individual boxes.
"I'm going to need refills on my vitamins and iron supplements."
Sans pulled a notebook out of his back pocket, jotted something down, and stuffed it back in. "*i'll take you tomorrow. did you drink enough water today?"
She nodded.
"*good."
The door crashed open and Undyne strode in. "Hey, Nerds!" She swatted Papyrus on the shoulder. "Meeting tonight."
"I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN."
"Can I come?" Frisk asked.
Undyne ruffled her her. "Sorry, Punk. Not today."
"*is that anyway to talk to her royal highness?"
She looked at Sans. "Watch it, ass-wipe. It's been six years and I'm still mad at you. What smells good?"
"*beef stew. want a bowl?"
"Yeah."
He stood. "*anyone want seconds?"
My Frisk handed him her bowl with a smile. He winked at her and disappeared into the kitchen.
Undyne stole his chair. "What's with the visit?" She looked at Agent Franklin. "And who's this guy?"
"The usual and this is James. He's a new recruit to the facility, but I've known him since high school," my Frisk answered.
Undyne raised an eyebrow. "You any good?"
"My version of you hasn't managed to kill me yet during training," Franklin answered.
"Pfft. She's a pussy."
Sans handed her a bowl of stew and she tipped it up, chugging it in one go. "Not bad. I should stop by more often." She stood and ruffled the kiddo's hair again. "See you later, brat." She headed out the door.
Papyrus sighed. "EXCUSE ME. I HAVE A MEETING TO ATTEND." He followed Undyne.
"What's with the six year grudge?" Franklin asked.
"*i royally fucked up politics in the undergound six years ago." He pulled a bottle of mustard out of no where and took a swig. "*the dreemurr family has held kingship among monsters through brutality and fear for hundreds of years. everyone kneels to asgore because he's the biggest baddest guy here. i wiped the floor with his ass and the only reason i didn't kill him is because the kiddo here begged me not too. in the span of three minutes i went from being papyrus' lazy ass brother to the scariest mother fucker in the underground. that large portions of the monsters down here were swayed by frisk's kindness to be loyal to her didn't help."
"Declaring me his daughter and giving me a title was a political move made to consolidate power," Frisk said. She pushed her bowl away. "I'm officially 'Her Royal Highness, the Princess Frisk Lucida Gaster ap Dreemurr.'"
"Gaster?"
"*frisk's official records here in the underground list my mom and dad, lucida and wing dings gaster, as her parents."
"And named her after your mother."
He frowned. "*yeah. that was meant to be a dig." He took another swig of mustard. "*she died during an argument that got violent. dad resigned from being the royal scientist after her funeral and locked himself away in his research. i left the lab and took up working as a sentry." He looked pointedly at Agent Franklin. "*we don't talk about it, so don't mention it in front of my brother."
"Understood."
"*good. let's move on to why i invited you here." He sat up and put his clasped hands on the table. "*someone or something has been stalking frisk. we've caught glimpses of it where ever we go above or underground with the exception of the house and the lab. even so, we have an alarmed dummy in her bed and she sleeps with paps or i at night and in the lab she is always with me or dad. the royal guard is discussing how best to capture it tonight."
Flowey climbed up on Frisk's shoulder. "It's a bipedal humanoid and it knows how our defenses in the Underground work."
"*alphys cameras have caught nothing but blurs at best. whatever it is knows camera placement and how to avoid being seen."
A terrible thought occurred to me. "What if we're dealing with a monster from a universe similar to this one?"
"*it would have to be a boss monster and one with either intimate knowledge of the royal guard and/or the camera placement."
My Frisk sat back in her chair. "That narrows it down a bit. Does it show up in any specific places?"
*we catch glimpses of it most often in town when there are lots of people about. and it doesn't matter which town: snowdin, the ruins, the core, new home."
"Has it tried to kidnap you?" my Frisk asked.
The kiddo nodded. "It grabbed me from behind in New Home when I was grocery shopping and again while with Toriel in the Ruins. Flowey and I didn't get a good look at it either time. It was as tall as Papyrus or Undyne, very fast, and dropped me when others came to help."
"*we've been trying to find a way to lure it out without using frisk as bait and so far we've been unsuccessful."
"So just use me as bait already."
"*no can do, sweetheart."
"Dad said my heart is fine now and passes stress tests without any problems."
"*your heart condition being fixed is no reason to put you on the chopping block. i got real tired, real fast, of you dying on a regular basis from a bad ticker. i'm not intentionally putting you in harm's way."
I put my hand on the kiddo's head. "Just because it's a easy option doesn't mean it's a good idea."
"We could call the great fem-puter and ask for an anomaly sweep," Franklin said.
"Oh please don't call it that," I said. "But yeah. Calling Fase is a good idea."
My Frisk pulled out her phone. "Hello, Fase. Can you sweep Red's universe for anomalies? Yes. I can wait." She sucked on the inside of her cheek. "C? Hook in. Fase is transferring data to you."
"Got it."
A hologram map of the Underground appeared on the table with a glowing dots in several places.
"The anomaly is currently on the move," C said. "So Fase can't track it without being more fully here. All of the lighted spaces on the map are points of interest or locations of potential hide outs."
"That's a lot of hidey-holes to check," Franklin said. "There's no way to do it before night fall. If we dismantle the ones around Snowdin we can force the stalker into a smaller area or even force it to strike before it wants too."
"Show it's hand," I said.
"Exactly."
Red pointed at Franklin. "*i like you. james was it?"
"Yeah."
"*welcome aboard."
James smiled, but it didn't look happy. "Let's get rid of these three tonight." He indicated the three closest to Snowdin.
"*bones? take this info to the meeting. it's over at undyne's place."
I nodded.
"James and I will handle the the three points of interest," my Frisk said. She stood. "Just hang with your brother, okay? We'll all be back soon."
I short cut over to Undyne's place and knocked on the door.
"We're BUSY!"
"Fase has pinpointed all the hidey-holes the stalker is using."
Undyne threw open the door. "That creepy bitch has a bead on this? Why didn't you say so? Get in here!" She grabbed the front of my jacket to pull me in and I raised a brow bone. She snorted, let go, and I walked in the door.
"Give us the map again, C."
The hologram burst to life on my shoulder before laying down a hologram map across the table. "All of the lit points are places with anomalous materials, either stashes or hiding places. My Frisk and Agent Franklin are taking out the three closest to Snowdin right now."
"CAN FASE PINPOINT THE STALKER?"
"Fase needs a physical presence here to do that. All it said was that the anomaly was on the move," C answered.
Undyne looked over the map. "Here's the plan. Since there are only a few in the Core, RG and RG take those."
"Got it." RG01 said.
"Since there are a ton in Waterfall, the dogs take those." The dog guards nodded.
"That leaves Hotland for Papyrus and I." She sneered. "I HATE Hotland." She frowned menacingly at the assembled. "I'm not looking to capture here. If you find the stalker and it puts up a fight, eliminate it. Only take it into custody if it surrenders first. After you have cleared your assigned area, come back here for debrief. Get going."
"YES MA'AM!" The guard headed out, Papyrus staying behind with Undyne.
"Thanks for the assist," Undyne said.
"You're welcome. Are you going to be okay in Hotland?" I asked.
"OF COURSE! I've got Papyrus with me. He can handle all the work!"
Papyrus rolled his eyes and smiled. "I'LL BE BACK AFTER WE FINISH. TELL MY SISTER TO HAVE SOME TEA WAITING FOR ME."
"Sure thing." I short cut back to the house. The table was clean and the kiddo was surrounded by textbooks.
Red sat in front of her, holding up four fingers and pointing to one. "*plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter and has properties unlike those of the other states. it is the most abundant form of matter in the universe that we currently know to exist."
"What about dark matter? Wouldn't that be more abundant than plasma?"
He shook his head. "*it's still a hypothetical." He smiled. "*we won't be covering dark matter for a long while yet. reading ahead are we?"
"Yeah." She shoved a pile of books to the side and grabbed one from the middle of another pile. "The book on gravity you got me last month was really good and it talked a lot about gravitational lensing to detect dark matter."
I put my hand on her head. "You're twelve, kiddo. Slow down."
"*she's hard to stop when she gets interested in something." He pointed at her. "*it's why i haven't taught you magic yet."
She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Paps said he'd like you to make him a cup of tea for when he get's home."
"Okay!" She jumped up and ran into the kitchen.
I smiled at Red. "You're working on dark matter?"
"*yeah. the kid sniffed that out pretty quick when she over heard me discussing the construction of a particle collider with asgore. she's rushing it so she can help in the lab. when it's up and running, i'll call all sans-es over for a look." He took a drink of mustard. "*the guard taking care of the rest of the hidey-holes?"
"Yeah."
"*good. maybe that will get the stalker out of hiding."
My Frisk and Agent Franklin came in the door. She handed me a bag. "We cleaned out all three spots and we found this. Look familiar?"
I opened the bag and pulled out a robotic arm. There was a blaster symbol similar to the badges Frisk, Franklin, and I wore stamped on it. "This is from Verdana's and Ravie's collapsed timeline."
"*verdana and ravie?"
"Two baby-bones. Their mother stuck them and their grandmother in the time machine and told them to stay there until she or Sans came back. Neither did. Frisk and I got them out just before their universe disappeared. It was complete luck that we found them at all." I held up the robotic arm. "The Gaster of that world was heavily into robotics and cybernetic modifications. Every pile of dust we found had at least one cybernetic part sticking out of it."
Sans took the arm from me and looked it over. "*dad would want to see this."
"Papyrus still not back yet?" James asked.
"*nah."
Frisk leaned over Sans and dug in his pockets. He lifted his arms, surprised.
"*hey, sugar plum! gettin' a bit handsy?"
She pulled out his phone and started texting. "No. Just texting your brother terrible puns."
"*that's right. give me a bad time tonight."
She hit send and handed him the phone. He looked at it for a minute before snickering. The kiddo came out of the kitchen with a cup of tea just as Papyrus came in the door.
"Ohh! Perfect timing again!"
He sat down and she put the cup in front of him.
"THANK YOU. GET READY FOR BED. IT IS GETTING LATE."
She kissed the top of his skull, earning a soft smile from her sharp toothed brother, and ran upstairs. She stopped at her door and looked down at us. "Frisk? Will you stay with me tonight?"
"Sure." She looked at Sans. "Do you want us in your room?"
"*yeah. i figured she'd ask so i've already cleaned."
"YOU WILL CLEAN FOR HER, BUT NOT FOR ME? I SEE WHERE I STAND IN YOUR PRIORITIES."
"*same place i stand in your's, paps. right under frisk." He gave me his best lecherous smile. "*i call dibs on the bean bag chair in my room."
"Are you ever going to stop pretending that you have a thing for my girl?"
"*not as long as she thinks it's funny, bud." He winked at Frisk and she rolled her eyes at him before heading up stairs.
It wasn't long before the house quieted. Both Frisks went into Sans room while Papyrus arranged the pullout on the couch for James. Sans and I sat at the table with our condiments of choice.
I sipped my hot sauce. "So am I going to hear you and Paps going at it over Frisk's text tonight?"
"*she didn't text paps. she texted-"
A heavy thump came from upstairs followed by glass shattering. Sans short cut up the stairs to his room. James, Papyrus, and I headed out the back door. Frisk was struggling to keep her attacker pinned to the ground in the dark. It shoved her aside and rolled to it's feet. Black tentacles shot through the trees behind the house, grabbing it and holding it immobile. A tall, slender skeleton in a long lab coat stepped out of the woods, hands clasped behind his back, red eyes flickering.
Sans leaned out of the broken window, his Frisk peaking out while being careful not to touch the glass.
"*she texted dad."
My Frisk stood, cradling one arm. "You're a little late to the party, Dings."
"Really?" Gaster raised a brow bone. "I'd say I'm right on time."
"You okay, Babe?" I asked.
"I think my arm is broken. My shoulder is definitely dislocated from the fall. Would you give me a hand with that?"
"Sure." I pushed her arm back into the socket with a wet pop. She gritted her teeth, but didn't make a sound. I ran my phalanges down her arm, feeling for a break. "Your arm is fine. You've got a couple nasty gashes from the glass. Why didn't you have your jacket on?"
"I wasn't expecting to go through a window tonight."
"If you would disinfect and bandage the wounds, I will care for them back at the Lab. I'm eager to work with my new specimen," Gaster said.
James tapped my shoulder while Papyrus wrapped Frisk's arm. "What's Slenderman over there saying?"
I snorted. "Slenderman?" I thought about it. "Yeah. He does a good impression of Slendy. The best way to describe it is that he's speaking the same language you and I are, but using a different typeface to do it. Kind of like trying to read cursive when all you've ever seen is print. Your brain will make sense of it, but only after conversing with him for long periods of time."
"So his being here means you won't turn into him in the Core?"
"Yeah. I'm only affected by a Gaster's influence if I'm in a world were he was spread across time and space."
"Let's get a good look at you, shall we?" Gaster hummed. The tentacles moved the stalker into the light coming from the house. A monstrosity of metal, wires, and blue scales came into view. Frisk and Papyrus both stepped back.
"Oh my God," she whispered, hand covering her mouth.
The left half of Undyne's face and both eyes were gone. In their place was a complex system of machinery and whirling yellow orbs. A grate took the place of her mouth. Both legs were gone, replaced with metal prosthesis made to to give her speed and lift. The left arm from the elbow down was replaced with a strange multi-tool appendage.
I looked up at Red. He had a hand over the kiddo's eyes, her face held against his shirt. "*don't look. just don't look," he whispered. Her hand fisted his shirt.
"Fascinating," Gaster said. He walked around the stalker. "Oh I will be up late tonight, won't I? You are quite the specimen." The tentacles covered her completely and she was gone. Gaster turned to Frisk holding out a hand. "Shall we take care of your wounds?"
She stepped forward.
"I want to go!" the kiddo yelled. She short cut right next to Frisk and grabbed a hold of her shirt. "Please?"
Gaster crossed his arms over his chest. "You are in your night gown, child. Your bed is in the house." When she didn't back down from the intensity of his gaze, he sighed. "Very well. Get dressed. I would rather not have to go through capturing my specimen again simply because you caught your death of cold."
She brightened and disappeared.
Gaster looked up at Sans. They stared at each other, silent.
"You're both doing well with her."
The brothers eyed him suspiciously. Sans short cut down to his father. "*it's not like you to offer praise."
"I praise you well enough when you earn it."
The kiddo reappeared, properly dressed, a bag over her shoulder. "Ready."
Gaster nodded. He stepped up to both Frisks and put his arms around them. They were covered in a mass of black tentacles and disappeared. I held out my arm to Franklin and short cut the two of us over to inside the upper part of the Lab.
"Well James. You wondered before we got here if we were going to see some crazy shit in this universe."
"This whole place is crazy shit. The worst part is not knowing the details that connect all the dots. What's with the brothers?"
"They're siblings."
"Do they hate each other?"
"They're siblings."
"Why are they so suspicious of their father?"
"They're family."
"What's up with the constant sexual harassment of our Frisk?"
"Red is terrible at telling jokes."
"Why is she putting up with it?"
"Because she knows that she's one of the few people he gives a shit about."
Sans and Papyrus appeared behind him.
"Why would someone like Red even keep his Frisk around let alone be responsible for her well being?"
"BECAUSE IN THIS WORLD, LOYALTY IS EVERYTHING. IT COLORS EVERY PART OF OUR LIVES. WHO YOU DECLARE YOUR LOYALTIES TO AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO ACT ON THEM COMMANDS GREATER RESPECT HERE THAN SIMPLY BEING BRUTAL. FRISK HAS EARNED THE LOYALTY OF THE UNDERGROUND THROUGH KINDNESS AND GREAT PERSONAL SACRIFICE. AND SANS OWES HER ALL OF HIS LOYALTY."
Red looked at his brother, but remained silent.
Papyrus pulled out his phone. "WE HAVE CAUGHT THE STALKER. YOU MAY... NOT WANT TO SEE IT. I WISH THAT I HAD NOT." He was silent for a moment, listening. "WE ARE AT THE LAB. I WILL WAIT FOR YOU."
"You sure it's a good idea for Undyne to see..." James trailed off.
"NO. NO I DO NOT. BUT SHE IS MY SUPERIOR OFFICER. I AM UNABLE TO STOP HER."
"*come on. time's a wasting." Red hit the button for the elevator and down he, James, and I went. The True Lab in this universe was massive. Gaster expanded the original floor plan one hundred percent. The Fell Alphys made multiple expansions during her tenure including two sub basements. Red was in the process of installing a particle collider. The entire place was brightly lit, clean, and smelled heavily of disinfectant.
"It looks like a cross between a science lab and a hospital," James said.
"It kind of is."
We found Frisk, Frisk, and Gaster in a medical bay. The kiddo was holding a tray covered in broken bits of glass and blood while Gaster worked on Frisk's left arm. Flowey was perched on the kiddo's shoulder, flinching as the doctor worked.
"*what? no complaints about your work being interrupted?" Red prodded while he washed and sterilized his hands.
"Treating the wounds of someone who received them in the act of protecting my daughter is not an interruption, Sans." He cast a side long glance at his son. "I would appreciate a hand."
"*already washing up."
I leaned against the wall, staying out of the way. "How ya feeling, babe?"
"The anesthetic killed the pain a little bit ago."
"Good."
Red pulled on a pair of gloves and began work on the other arm. "*where's the stalker?"
"In containment." Tentacles slithered out from underneath Gaster's coat making a seat for the kiddo. She sat down, still holding the tray.
"My list of things I didn't expect to see today keeps growing," Franklin said.
"*hey bones? could you grab a jar of spider cider out of the fridge and pour a glass for sugar puss? the kitchen's through that door." He nodded to the door next to me.
"That's a new one," Frisk said.
"*i'm expanding my repertoire."
I shook my head and grabbed the cider. Gaster dropped his tweezers on the tray his daughter held. Sans gave the other arm one more sweep and motioned for Frisk to drink the cider. The wounds closed as Papyrus came in with Undyne.
Gaster took the tray from Frisk and dumped the contents into a bio-hazard box followed by his gloves and washed his hands, Sans following suit. The tentacles lifted Frisk so that she was eye to eye with her father. "It is in your best interest not to see the specimen. It is now very late. Go into my bedroom and get some sleep."
She hugged him around the neck. "Good night."
He smiled and hugged her back. "Good night, Frisk." He set her down and shooed her off. When the door to his apartment clicked shut, his smile turned dark, eyes flickering brightly. "Come along!"
The stalker was suspended in a green liquid filled chamber, appendages chained to the top and bottom of the inside. It constantly tested the restraints, pulling and struggling in them. Several monsters were working around it, whispering excitedly about their observations. They lined up when Gaster strode in, each face filled with a red eagerness.
Undyne glared at the mechanized version of herself in utter disgust.
When it saw her, it screeched, voice echoing loudly inside the chamber. The containment unit vibrated fiercely.
"Though it is good to know you can vocalize, do be quiet," Gaster said, voice like silken death.
The stalker shrieked louder and Gaster's eyes narrowed. "Prepare for containment breach."
The lab workers scattered, some hiding, some taking up positions to fight.
"Containment breach is right." A grown female Chara with red eyes walked around the side of the tube. On her jacket was the black and green badge. "She's quite something isn't she? One of my favorite creations. I've always wanted to see how she'd fair against such devastating company. Shall we?" She slammed the side of the tube with a small pointed device in her fist, causing a fracture. The stalker shrieked again and the unit breached completely, chains breaking as it leaped free.
"But one on seven isn't anywhere close to a fair fight. So I brought a few more of my creations. Have fun!"
Insane cybernetic versions of Papyrus, Sans, Gaster, and Frisk ported into the room. Chara ran out of the containment area toward Gaster's apartment.
C burst to life on Frisk's shoulder. "I've got this! James and Dings! When you can, make a break for the apartment and secure the kiddo. Bones, take mecha-Frisk. Red, take metal-Papyrus. Frisk, take cyborg-Gaster. Papyrus, take robo-Sans. And Undyne... just go for yourself. You were going to anyway."
Gaster stepped back to James and covered them both in tentacles. They disappeared.
Papyrus moved first, summoning a large bone and slamming robo-Sans up the head hard enough to send him flying. A volley of bones came from the ceiling to hit the monstrosity in mid-air pinning it the ground and turning it to dust.
"*geez, paps! i didn't think you were that mad at me!"
Undyne tackled her mechanized twin, bowling it into the ground. She ripped the mechanized her apart, piece by piece until only dust fell through her fingers.
"Gaster Blasters! At six!" C yelled. Papyrus, Frisk, and I hit the ground. Red short cut to behind metal-Papyrus and shoved him into the beams, dusting him. Frisk rolled across the floor to cyborg-Gaster, grabbed him by his ankles and pulled. Before he could react, she pulled her utility knife from her pocket, reached up under his rib cage, and struck his soul directly. He was dust before she even pulled away.
The mecha-Frisk in front of me was shaking violently. The metal parts of his head sparking as he held it between what was left of his hands. It twitched and fell.
A robotic moan came from between metal teeth. "Sssssaaaaaaaaaans. Hhhhhhhheeelp-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p. Can't. Can't. Can't. Can't. Can't. Reset. Reset. Reset."
Undyne stood over it, arms crossed on her chest. "Is it a trick?"
"It's not a trick," C said. "It's legit. And a distraction."
"We don't know what Chara has done to him," I said.
Red motioned a few of the lab workers over. "*put this one in containment. we'll see what we can do for him later." He turned to head out the door, stopped, and looked back at them. "*observation only. hands to yourselves."
Frisk headed toward the apartment. "Come on!"
The apartment was empty with no sign of a struggle.
Frisk checked the bedroom. "The sheets are missing. Chara probably wrapped Frisk up in them while she was asleep and made off with her bound like that."
"Where are James and Gaster?" I asked. "C?"
"I'm not picking James up, so he's out of comm range. Let me get on the wi-fi." C made a face. "Nothing. Sans? Where is there no wi-fi in the Underground."
"*the only place you can't pick up a signal around here is the furthest edge of the ruins at our chara's grave."
"Let's head there."
"Everyone ready to short cut?" I asked. Frisk grabbed my arm. Undyne grabbed hers while Papyrus put his hand on his brother's shoulder. We cut to just the outer edge of the ruins. Frisk carefully peeked around the the portcullis at the flower covered grave. The kiddo was laying in the flowers. Gaster was unconscious to one side, James protecting him from a cyborg Muffet and her pet. Flowey was no where to be seen. I grabbed a hold of the mechanized Muffet and her pet, holding them with blue magic long enough for James to finish them.
Chara stood there, back to the action. "Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Those idiots need to hurry up. I can't finish this ritual without Sans."
Red stepped into the area. "*what ritual?"
Chara spun, twirling playfully. "Oh I knew you'd make it! None of my toys are really good enough to do more than distract. So how did it feel to kill Frisk again? Lovely I bet."
"*we didn't kill him."
She stopped and looked at him, confused. Like her perfectly scripted plan was suddenly scrapped. She shook herself, smile returning. "Oh well." She stepped over to the kiddo but there was a hitch in it.
"He's your Frisk isn't he?" I asked.
She giggled a little. "Well, yes. But I'm the one with the most Determination, so his existence doesn't mean that much." She dropped down next to Frisk's head. "She's pretty. You know how she would be prettier? If she was truly healthy!" She raised her arms and a magic circle glowed around them. "I can make that happen."
Red stepped forward and Papyrus grabbed his shoulder.
Her smile widened. "This is a True Reset. It would take her all the way back to her birth. And it would guarantee a loving family. A happy home. A healthy body." She pointed at Red. "All you need to do is give up your soul."
Red fell to his knees, and stared at the ground, slumped over. My Frisk knelt next to him and held his hand. He grasped it tightly, trembling.
"So what will it be? A happy, healthy Frisk in a world where monsters never see the light of day? Or do monsters go free at the expense of a broken little girl?"
Sans looked up. "*No."
Chara blinked. "What?"
"*I said, NO." He stood. "*she stays with me."
She threw her arms out dramatically. "So the needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few?"
He snorted. "*oh, i could say that. make it sound good. but i honestly don't give a shit about other people. i'm a selfish bastard and i'm not giving up a member of my family. i don't care how great her life would be. Frisk STAYS."
Her face went ugly with hate. "Well then." She pulled out a knife.
Flowey's vines ripped through the ground grabbing Chara's arms and locking her to the ground. Frisk's hand shot up and grabbed her throat, eyes red.
"Hello, me." The grip tightened. "I suggest someone kill this little bitch before I inadvertently raise Frisk's LV."
"DONE." A bone slammed through her back and came out of her chest, dripping blood on Frisk's head.
"Ugh. If Frisk didn't need a bath before, she certainly needs one now."
Sans rushed over to her and those red eyes turned on him.
"Thank God you're a complete asshole. You're going to have to wake her up and get food in her. I really drained a lot of her energy." The red eyes looked away and then back. "Sorry."
The red faded from her eyes and Frisk fell into Red's chest. He gathered her up in his arms and held her close.
"Could someone give me a hand with the Doctor over here? I don't know enough about monsters to help him," James said.
Papyrus went to his father and roused him with a smart crack to the face.
Gaster glared at his son, but did not retaliate. He stood brushing off his clothing. "Are you all right, James?"
"I'm fine."
"Muffett's attacks were always... problematic. I apologize for being so careless."
"We're good."
Gaster smiled, red eyes flickering. "I believe you have earned the record for being the fastest to understand me."
"Um. Thanks."
Gaster and Papyrus walked over to Red and knelt next to him, both gently petting Frisk's head. Flowey crawled into her lap, laying his head on her chest.
James hurried over to Frisk and I. "Now what?"
"Now we wrap up loose ends," Frisk said. She yawned. "And get some sleep."
He looked over at the Gaster family. "They really love her, huh?"
"Yeah," Frisk answered. "And if I hadn't been here, Sans would have given up his soul."
"You think so?"
Frisk smiled. "I know so. Even though he knew it was a trick. That accepting such an offer would, if it were true, completely collapse this universe, he'd take it." She looked over at them, still cuddled together. "She went through a hell of his own devising to save him. He would do anything to make that up to her." She sighed and patted James on the shoulder. "Keep that under your hat, Agent Franklin."
"What a strange place."
I nodded. "Hey guys! She needs to wake up and eat. And we could all use some sleep."
Gaster and the brothers stood. Sans nudged the kiddo awake. "*hey. wake up, sweetheart. you need to eat."
Frisk grumbled something.
"*grillby's? yeah. grillby's is still open." He looked over at us. "*meet you there. you coming, undyne?"
"Yeah." She trudged over.
"*what's the matter?"
"I'm just having trouble dealing the biggest bad ass around also being the biggest pussy."
Red rolled his eyes. Papyrus and Undyne put their hands on Red's shoulders and they disappeared. Gaster knelt next to Chara's body. He ripped the badge from her jacket before consuming her body whole in a smokeless, black flame. He held the badge out toward me.
"There's a piece of the void in this."
"It's how they travel around."
"They?"
"We don't have any specifics on 'them.' This is only the second encounter that we know of, but the cybernetic tech she was using came from a collapsed universe we saw just before collapse. I think there's a group out there trying to kill timelines."
Gaster frowned and strode up to us. "Do you know how they got a piece of the void in here?"
"I believe they killed a Frisk and used the Determination in their soul to do it."
His eyes narrowed. "You tried to replicate it before you knew what would happen, didn't you?"
I shrugged. "Didn't realize I was that transparent."
Gaster smiled. "You are a skeleton."
We both snorted in the exact same way.
"Dorks," Frisk said. "What are we going to do with the cyborg me?"
Gaster tapped his phalanges against the side of his skull. "I am very interested in studying this technology. If I promise not to harm him, will you let me study him while Fase isolates his universe and returns his reset?"
I let out a breath in a whoosh. "Only if the kiddo is there when you do it. You're less likely to traumatize someone when she's around."
"I agree to those terms." He put his hands behind his back and his tentacles crawled up around him. "I'll be keeping this badge. Sans will find it very useful. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lab to put back in order." He disappeared.
"Let's get something to eat," Frisk said.
"Is the Grillby's here as good as the one back home?"
"I've yet to meet a Grillby who couldn't cook," I said. I put my arm around Frisk and held out my hand to James before short cutting us back to Snowdin.
The kiddo was sleepily eating a burger while Dogamy and Dogaressa petted her. Red was sitting at the bar, leaning back against it, watching the dog marriage snuggle their 'princess puppy.' He handed me a bottle of hot sauce.
"What? Nothing stronger?"
He snorted. "*you're still on duty." He winked at Frisk. "*i saved you a seat, sugar blossom."
Frisk hopped onto the stool next to him and ordered. I sat next to her and drank my hot sauce while James sat on the other side of Red.
"Your brother doesn't like Grillby's?" James asked.
"*nope! i've learned that that's a thing with all papyrus-es."
"How did you guys meet? Was it arranged by Blue?"
*that's one way to put it. i'd dealt with blue on several occasions way back in the day. he came by a lot looking to recruit me. i didn't want to hear it. i was miserable and i was happy about it. after the kiddo was a permanent part of our lives he showed up again. he asked if i would feel better if frisk could beat the shit out of me for all i'd done to her. and i laughed. what a fuckin' joke! he pushed the door open and there she was." He winked at my Frisk.
He took a swig of mustard. "*after she'd beaten me within an inch of my life i felt like a huge weight had been lifted. we talked for hours about living with ourselves after doing awful things." He stared at the mustard bottle in his hand for a minute. "*blue asked me to join up and i told him that, so long as no one expected me to be anything other than the asshole i was, i'd help." He leaned back.
"So what did you do to her?"
"*i'd tell you to fuck off right now, but everyone here knows so i won't leave you hanging. i killed her over and over." He turned back to the bar. "*hey grillz. give me something strong."
"What made you stop?"
He watched the kiddo slowly eat her midnight snack, Flowey asleep on her head. "*she didn't stop. she wouldn't give up. she kept coming back, over and over. thirty-two fucking times. and on one lucky break, she got up to me. i expected an attack. i thought i was done. what i got was a hug and her whispering that she would never give up on me."
Grillby handed him a shot and he knocked it back. He looked at the empty shot glass.
"*no one had ever said that to me let alone demonstrated it so thoroughly. i hugged her back and held her until i noticed her breathing was all wrong. she said she had to sit down, that she was tired. flowey panicked, yelling at her to stay awake."
He put the glass down and looked at James. "*she died in my arms. her heart just gave out."
"*i asked flowey what had happened. he said he didn't know, that something was wrong with her and that she needed help. that she'd died like this multiple times before. i'd thought it was some monster getting the best of her every time things reset. but no, it was her heart. in an entire underground filled with the most god awful assholes the universe had ever managed to create and i was the only one who'd actually done her in. when things reset after her save she came in, ready to fight her way to me again, expecting me to have forgotten. i just took her hand and said that i would handle it from there."
He waved for another shot and downed it. "*when the barrier broke and we all saw real sunlight for the first time, i took her hand and said she could go home now. and her face fell. she looked more terrified than she had the entire time she was in the underground. she cried and begged us not to send her away. alphys got her full name out of her and used it to steal her medical record. that was something i never should have read. because if i ever see her parents, i will send them straight to hell." He put the glass down. "*are all the pieces in place now?"
"Yeah. Here." James asked Grillby for a glass with absinthe and overproof rum. He pour a bottle of mustard in the glass, stirred it, and handed it to Red.
Sans looked at it appreciatively before drinking it. "*that's not too shabby. thank you." He finished it and put the glass down. "*you finished, sugar plum?"
My Frisk nodded and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"*go for a walk?"
"Sure." They both headed for the door.
James leaned over. "And you're okay with them just heading off alone?"
"Of course. With all the food he eats here, he needs to work off those spare ribs."
A snowball hit me square in the face from the door.
Author's Note:
There was a song I listened to on repeat while writing the beginning fight. The reason I neglect to mention what song Frisk and Sans are rocking out too while fighting is because I wanted the reader to be able to insert the song they imagined it to be. It's the reason I don't describe a lot of stuff while writing. I know that fanfic readers have their head canons and I want them to be able to see their version of things rather than just what's in my head.
The Sans who is the great artist is a reference to Inktale. That Sans will not make an appearance in this series, but he's awesome, so I'm giving him a mention.