Manuela's plan had been simple; a surprise birthday party at the Sanchez home. Her whole family had supported her, and wanted Francine to feel welcomed…

Chapter 16: Operation Birthday (Phase 2)

A simple, unassuming box had been left in the middle of The Plaza, in New Home. Most of the people walking by wouldn't have paid it any attention under normal circumstances. But, according to the Undernet, their princess posted a picture of herself holding it. People reading the discussions on her blog learned that the wishing box was special, and so they paid more attention to it.

Many stuffed little notes inside, following tradition. Others found bullet-shaped cards that would fit through the slot and put those in. Some thought that a box sitting in the middle of the city when it should've been outside the princess' home was strange. But then someone posted a new opinion on matter, albeit in a goofy font.

Although they'd welcomed Frisk to their kingdom when she was adopted, they hadn't welcomed her home. Perhaps someone was trying to tell them they needed to let her know she was right where she belonged. And what better place to do that than in the middle of their biggest city?

Like a stone thrown into a puddle the sentiment rippled throughout the Underground, making its way to the Surface. As it did the box overflowed with notes and cards. When it could fit no more people started piling cards beside it. Some left gifts tied to their cards. Prettily polished rocks, small stuffed animals, single flowers and even bouquets were all piled together. Although nobody knew what occasion the box was originally supposed to celebrate, it didn't matter. All of it was all for their princess, their savior… the little angel that freed them all.

What more did they need to know?

Frisk sat on her sleeping bag, borrowing her mother's sewing kit to make a little scarf for Flowey. He sat beside her and said he didn't need or want one, but she was still worried about him having to live through winter on the surface. He reminded her that he was completely fine burrowing around Snowdin (confirming an old suspicion of Frisk's that he'd been following her throughout her journey in the Underground.) But she remained determined to finish her project.

She almost had to. She'd never done well with crafts involving sewing needles, and she could only finish things through intense focus and stubbornness if it was to be done properly. As a consequence she didn't hear the beginning of the knock-knock joke at her door. Not until a certain someone knocked on Greater Dog's armor, making it ring.

"knock knock, kiddo!"

Frisk jumped, accidentally poking herself as she was jolted from her trance-like state. She hissed, but didn't cry out in pain. It wasn't the first time she'd stuck herself on a needle, after all. "Sorry! Who's there?" Frisk sucked on her finger to stop the bleeding as the joke continued.

"cumin."

"Cumin who?"

"may i cumin?"

"Of course you may." As the tent flap moved to let Sans in, Frisk said, "Are you sure you should have told me that joke? It seems a bit spicy for my age."

"heh heh! nah, that one was pretty mild. i've still got too much zest for life to teach you those kinds of jokes. i'm not ready to be roasted by your mom." He saw the way Frisk was holding her finger and his smile evaporated. "you okay there, kid?"

"I was sewing and the needle bit me," said Frisk, holding up the culprit before putting it safely back in the sewing box. "I'll be fine."

"lemme see." As Sans said that he was already kneeling and reaching into his coat pocket. A drop of blood welled up from the tiny puncture on her fingertip, making an almost perfect sphere of red at the site. "does it hurt?"

"Some." Sans gave her a look, and she expanded on her answer. "While it's hardly debilitating it is rather uncomfortable, but I'll live."

He sighed at how stoic she was being, even for a teenager. "why do i get the feeling your folks weren't the type to kiss your boo-boos better, when you were little?"

Frisk's stone-faced silence on the matter spoke volumes. Sans shook his head and pulled a little bottle and a handkerchief out of his pocket. He gave Frisk the hankie to clean the blood off as he unscrewed the lid, revealing a dropper. After taking in a pinch of whatever medicine was in the bottle, Frisk held her finger out for treatment, Sans using his free hand to steady hers.

A single drop of green-tinged, slightly viscous fluid fell onto her finger. For a second it simply sat there, then it glowed faintly as its magic was absorbed. Sans put his things away and Frisk watched in fascination as her puncture wound closed up, a soothingly cool sensation replacing the jagged pain.

Frisk looked at him with an expression of squinted wonder. "What was that?"

Sans chuckled, saying, "just a little somethin' i whipped up in my alchemy days."

"You made it? That's amazing! But… couldn't you just use green magic?"

"i could have… but i'm not the best at healing. so i had to think of other ways to soothe chemical burns when the good healers weren't around."

Frisk tilted her head. "But Alphys told me you were just an apprentice, before you left alchemy. They let apprentices around dangerous experiments?"

Sans rubbed the back of his neck. "yeah, well… i didn't exactly make it for myself. some of the senior alchemists could be kinda scatterbrained, and clumsy. some more than others." He grinned and winked. "let's just say i got a lot of practice on how to do first aid without green magic."

Frisk chuckled. "It sounds like a lively time. Do you miss it?"

"you mean do i miss the all-nighters, the endless gofer runs, dragging half-conscious alchemists to the bed room and tyin' 'em down, just so they'd get a little shut-eye? heck no!" He laughed, but it ended with a sigh. "i might not miss the work, but i do miss the people i worked with. sometimes."

Especially the people that never existed. No matter how many times Sans told everyone they'd lived, they were always forgotten. Even Papyrus forgot, eventually. He was the only one who remembered…

"Sans? Are you alright?"

He blinked, and checked himself. His grin was still in place, and he whipped out his usual phrase, adding a wink for good measure. "sure, kiddo. i'm just sans-sational."

Frisk's face didn't even twitch at the pun. She just opened her eyes and looked at him. Only decades of practice kept his expression and body relaxed enough that he didn't start sweating. Eventually she sighed softly, dropping whatever thought had been going through her head. She squinted as she changed the subject.

"So, what brings you here today? I doubt you're here just to share knock-knock jokes."

Sans internally sighed with relief, feeling like he dodged a bullet. Externally, he shrugged with hands and shoulders. "oh, i don't know about that. i mean, it's what i did with your mom all the time. she always thought my jokes were a-door-able." That one got a little smile out of her. "but you're right. i'm actually here to take you on a little field trip."

Frisk tilted her head. Her expression was innocent enough, but the tone of her voice was more pointed. "Oh? This wouldn't have anything to do with that strange little box that was mysteriously bestowed upon me, then later stolen, was it?"

Sans grinned. "maybe. you're gonna have to come with me to find out." As he said that he stood, offering his left hand to help her off the ground. She took it, but a strange expression crossed her face as she stood, making Sans ask, "what's with the face?"

After blinking, Frisk said, "Your hand. It feels… different."

Remembering the one time he'd held her hand, he raised a brow ridge at her. "different how?"

"I'm… not sure, exactly. Warmer? Fuzzier? It's like touching a beekeeper's hive and feeling all the bees buzzing. My hand is almost humming."

"oh, that! that's just my aura, kiddo. its the thin layer of magic right against my bones. it must be reacting to yours." After another second of hand-holding, he said, "huh… your aura feels kinda faint, though…" He squeezed her hand, gently squishing to get closer to her bones until he could feel it. "ah, that's why. your stuff is in the way."

Frisk's brow knit in confusion. "…my stuff?"

Sans waved his free hand, gesturing to her entirety as he said, "yeah! you know, your… physicality. what's holdin' you together. your stuff."

Frisk took her hand back and tilted her head. "I see… Is that the proper alchemical term for it?"

Sans shoved his own hands into his pockets. "heheh, yup! it's just one of the many arcane terminologies alchemists have employed over the centuries in their pursuit of knowledge. it's right up there with 'thingy', 'whats-it' and 'doo-dad.'"

Frisk suspected that he was lying, but she couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous Sans was being. He laughed along with her, for a moment, before continuing the conversation.

"well, it makes sense that you've got an aura, since you've got magic in your bones. anything made of magic is gonna react to it and make little vibrations. if it ever gets too uncomfortable you should tell your mom so you can go see talia, okay?" He shuddered, a bit. "oof. can't imagine what it's like to have so much stuff hangin' off your bones. i'd probably suffocate."

"How can you suffocate without lungs?"

"beats me. but i would, anyway." In fact, Sans knew it was his soul that needed to breathe, not so much his body. But they didn't have time for him to go into the intricacies of skeletonkind's physiology. Half of them were The Great Mysteries, anyway (which'd never had any satisfactory answers. Ever.) Besides, they'd already wasted enough time. It was almost naptime, and Sans didn't feel like sleeping somewhere too obvious.

Sans took a hand out of his pocket, making a sweeping gesture toward the door as he stood to one side, bowing with his usual wink. "princesses first."

Frisk nodded and thanked him, chuckling a little. But once she was past him Sans suddenly grabbed both her shoulders, staying behind her as he turned her around to face the back of the tent. Only it wasn't the back of the tent, anymore. At some point during his antics he used a shortcut to take them… somewhere. She turned her head and gave him an old-fashioned look, making him chuckle as he removed his hands.

"Was that really necessary?" asked Frisk.

"to see the look on your face? yes, yes it was."

She didn't want to dignify that with an answer so Frisk looked around, trying to get her bearings. They'd appeared in an alley of some sort. She didn't recognize where they were, but she recognized the architecture of the buildings surrounding them. "So what you want to show me is in New Home?"

"got it in one." He grinned as he tilted his head over his shoulder, already moving away to lead Frisk to… wherever-it-was he was taking her.

They wound their way through the maze-like streets of New Home. Frisk found Sans' lazy pace easy to follow, although the occasional puzzle tried to trip them up. They eventually made it to a main street, but they didn't step onto it. Sans kept them in the mouth of the alley, half-hidden behind a trash can as he looked down the street at… something. He encouraged her to look at whatever-it-was with a grin.

Frisk didn't know what to make of it, at first. It was just a pile of random things sitting in the middle of The Plaza, in her eyes. Stuffed animals, flowers, and rocks were all tied to brightly colored pieces of paper. The pile had been built around something…

She gasped softly, not wanting to raise her voice to startle any of the monsters passing by. Equally softly she asked, "Is that where the wishing box went?" Sans only smiled as her thoughts continued. "Are all those things wishes? And gifts?" She swallowed, feeling a little bit ill. "Who… who are the gifts for?"

"i think you already know, kiddo."

Frisk thought the well-wishes of Grillby and his customers had been enough. It'd been a quaint little custom that was almost fun to participate in, but this? This was too much. She wanted to protest. She wanted to say this wasn't funny. She wanted to scream that she didn't deserve any of it! But all Frisk managed to do was open and close her mouth like a fish out of water. Something about her expression must have concerned Sans, because his grin was fading and his pupils looked worried.

"you ok-"

"Dude, look! Here it is!"

Frisk panicked, crouching behind the trash can as she heard Sorrel's familiar voice. Sans slowly followed suit, pulling his hood over his head. She didn't hear clanking, but somebody was running down the street while being followed more sedately by someone with claws on their toes that clacked on the cobblestone pavement. She peeked cautiously from behind the trashcan, finding her two bodyguards in street clothes as they stood before the wishing box. Their backs were turned to her, Sorrel standing to Rochester's left. They were just barely close enough for their conversation to be overheard.

Sorrel bounced on his toes, and sounded happy. "Dude, the princess is gonna be SO stoked to hear her box is okay! And look at all this stuff! Guess my sister wasn't exaggerating about how popular Her Highness is today."

Rochester could barely be heard, but his voice still reached Frisk's ears. "…Clover really came through. …should thank her."

"Totally! And-! Wait." Sorrel turned to Rochester, letting Frisk see his astonished expression. "Dude, you remember my sister's name?"

"…'course I do. …told me."

"Yeah! Like, once!"

"…so? …still told me. …makes it important."

Frisk could see Sorrel's blush from her hiding place, and his pleased smile. "Awww, c'mon, man! How're you so sweet?" He laughed as he said, "Oh my god, I can't deal!" Without his helmet's visor to hide behind Sorrel grabbed his long ears and covered his face with them, though it couldn't quite hide the way his mouth was stretched into the happiest smile Frisk had ever seen. His blush spread to his ears, anyway, rendering the point of hiding moot.

She couldn't see Rochester's face, but the hand that released one of Sorrel's ears from its prison was gentle. He laced the fingers of their hands together before glancing at the box again, probably taking in the mess surrounding it. It put a more thoughtful expression on Sorrel's face as he gave it a sideways glance. Looking back at Rochester, he said, "Dude… are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"…should leave it here." He turned his face back to Sorrel. "…don't think so?"

The rabbit shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, man. It's cool people wanna let Her Highness know we care, but the box was in her home. Someone stole it, so we gotta return it."

The dragon was adamant. "…don't know who gave it to her in the first place. …maybe they were lending it? …maybe they're still lending it. …but it's theirs. …they move it when they want, where they want."

"I can get that… it's just." Sorrel sighed. "That prank wasn't cool. That popper was loud, and I can still hear her scream, dude. I thought she was hurt! If you hadn't been there, I would've totally freaked out." He smiled shyly. "Thanks, by the way. For being there. For being… you."

Rochester squeezed the hand he held. "…any time." Staring at the box for another moment, he said, "…should tell the Captain, let her know it's here. …before we do…"

Sorrel smiled. "You wanna leave a thank-you card, too?" At a nod from his partner, Sorrel raised their entwined hands. "I mean, this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for her, y'know? If she didn't tell me to be honest with my feelings… I probably never would've told you."

"…me neither." It almost seemed like that was all Rochester was going to say, but then he ducked his head shyly. "…was happy as just friends. …hoped for more, but…"

"I know, right?! Hoping there was something there, but not wanting to screw up our team attack by asking awkward questions, y'know? Then you go busting out of your armor like that and…" Sorrel laughed a little, covering his face with a palm. "Dude, I still can't believe you did that!"

The scales on the back of Rochester's neck started changing color. Was he blushing? "…was roasting alive in there."

"I know, I know!" Sorrel swung his arm happily, taking Rochester's with it. "I think I saw a greeting card shop still open, a couple blocks back."

"…let's go."

Still holding hands they turned back the way they came. Frisk ducked behind the trash can, curling into herself and hugging her knees as she waited for her guards to leave. She was waiting for everyone to leave, really. She didn't want people to see her trying to run from them and their misplaced generosity and consideration.

Sans was looking at her with an unreadable expression, white pupils shining from the shadow of his hood to look through her eyelashes and down into her soul. Or at least, that's what it felt like. He didn't make his iris glow, so he wasn't really doing so. She still hid her face and curled into herself a little tighter, hoping the lazybones would eventually give up on her and leave if she stayed quiet enough. Or that he'd fall asleep so she could run. She hoped he did something besides what he was doing now!

Their silent stalemate lasted for a long moment before Sans sighed. He made himself comfortable, lowering his hood and sitting on the ground near Frisk, resting his spine against the wall of the alley. After staring at the motionless princess for another moment he softly asked, "is it really so hard to believe people wish you well, kiddo? that they wanna thank you for everything you've done?"

Frisk wanted to tell him she'd done nothing, but she couldn't. Not without telling him about Flowey. About Asriel. About dying and returning only to die again and again. She couldn't tell him it wasn't her power that broke the barrier. The monsters had freed themselves alongside the six human souls, all of them guided by the hand of a little boy whom she doomed to soullessness for the rest of his days. If anything, the wishes and gifts beside the box should be for him…!

She'd been trying not to think about it, but as the days went by it became clear the monsters saw her as their angel. They all thought she was the one that freed them, and she could never tell them the truth. She couldn't say she did nothing to deserve any of their gratitude, but she had to smile and accept it all, anyway. It was worse than accepting the false condolences of her human parents' "friends" after they died, because the monsters were being sincere.

Frisk wasn't used to sincerity from so many people at once. Not at all.

"kid… frisk, you know i'm still all ears, right? why don't you tell me what's buggin' you so bad? what's wrong with people doin' somethin' nice for ya?"

"…too much." Muffled by her face being pressed into her knees, Sans almost didn't hear what Frisk said. But it managed to reach him, anyway. He was still confused.

"what's too much, kiddo?"

"…everything."

"i still don't get it…"

Frisk said no more, shaking her head while still curled into the smallest ball she could manage. Sans eventually sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Phase Two was officially a bust. Instead of making Frisk feel like she belonged, he'd gone and overwhelmed her, somehow. But they couldn't stay in the alley all night, waiting for her to get over what was going through her head.

Sans made himself smile, speaking softly but cheerfully. "c'mon. let's make like trees and leaf. this isn't the best place fo-rest." He stood, waiting for Frisk to get up on her own and follow him further down the alley… but she didn't move. A little more firmly, he said, "up and at 'em, kiddo. we gotta go."

Frisk flinched. She started shivering, but still didn't unfurl herself. She said nothing, but he heard her teeth chattering. Sans took off his coat and threw it over Frisk's head, covering her the way he did after she passed out Fighting Papyrus. If she was shivering that meant she was cold, right? He knelt beside her, rubbing her back as she eventually stopped shivering. Dread filled his soul.

"frisk… is this what always you do when you're overwhelmed? hide how upset you are, keepin' it inside?" She gave him a tiny, nearly imperceptible nod that was almost swallowed by his coat. He shook his head and asked, "why? kiddo, you gotta talk to me. tell me how i can help."

A tiny voice answered him from the depths of his coat. "…hide. I have… t-to hide…"

"okay." That was all Sans said before using a shortcut.