Author's Note: Between 3 presentations, papers, and exams this week, I'm glad I could pump out this chapter for ya'll. Not particularly happy with it, but enjoy nonetheless!

Chapter 13: Overwhelmed

After Frisk finished with her story, she leaned back in her chair and gave a weak smile to Sans and Alphys before scratching the back of her head awkwardly. Even though she's given extensive speeches before as monster ambassador, this conversation felt even more intimidating under Sans' gaze. She couldn't help but feel flustered with how he looked at her, his features twisted along with her explanation of Chara's tale. Alphys on the other hand took notes as she spoke but didn't interrupt Frisk at any point. Now that it was all out on the table, the silence hung heavy under the fluorescent lights.

Sans sighed as he removed himself from his chair to stand in front of Frisk. She looked curious as to what he was doing as he placed both of his hands on her shoulders, giving her a slight squeeze. Sans took a moment to feel the sweater's fabric clinging to the girl's small frame. When he looked down into Frisk's eyes, he rose back into reality.

"are you sure about this kid…" Sans' eye sockets darkened as he loomed over the girl, who shivered under his gaze. "are you sure we can trust chara?"

Frisk looked down at Sans' torso, she could see his shirt held deeper wrinkles than it usually did. She wondered how long it's been since the skeleton has had a chance to change clothes, she also wondered if she made him worry about her.

But she looked up into his eyes and placed a hand over her heart, "I do Sans. Saving Asriel should have been my top priority for years… This is why Chara plagues my dreams. It's my fault I didn't realize it sooner…"

Sans removed his hands and Frisk instantly missed his reassuring touch. They both however became distracted by Alphys mumbling as she shuffled through her notes.

"F-Frisk, I think I need to run a few tests on you… You and Sans told me about this form of magick you seem to possess… Or I guess, Determination. D-do you think you can explain to me exactly how you felt?" Alphys jumped out her chair and hobbled over to Frisk excitedly.

Frisk laughed a little, amused that despite everything Frisk shared, of course Alphys would be most interested in the dealings of her experiment the most. She couldn't blame her, after all, Frisk was just as curious.

Frisk looked over at Sans, feeling a little more confident noticing that he looked to be just as interested in fact. Frisk couldn't help but shiver, she was reminded of how he looked at her when she preformed the magick. He looked at her just as he had when she made dealings with powerful politicians or when she did something out of character to surprise him. His face was always a mixture of shock and pride.

"Well," Frisk cleared her throat, "It sorta just happened. I wasn't sure what I was doing to be honest. I saw Chara was about to use their strongest attack on Sans, I tried to stop them by pushing my arms out to knock them over but instead I somehow was in front of Sans and my soul produced some sort of shield. Whenever Chara's knives hit the shield they'd disintegrate into dust."

"you teleported." Sans interjected. Frisk raised her eyebrows.

Alphys looked back and fourth briefly between them over her glasses. She scribbled down a few more notes.

"Frisk, what did your soul feel like as you did this?" Alphys asked, pushing up her glasses.

Frisk gave a small shrug but pursed her lips. "Like I said, I'm not sure what I was doing. It all felt very automatic, very natural. My body was telling me what to do before I would have the chance to change my mind.

"My soul however… It have never felt stronger. That Determination you injected me with… It's changed my soul a little. I feel like I, myself, have changed… When I used that shield, all I could think about was…" Frisk turned away, intertwining her fingers together in her lap.

Alphys looked up from her notes, "Was what Frisk?"

Frisk looked over at Alphys, feeling very aware of Sans' eyes on her face as she blushed a light red as she replied, "…of protecting Sans…"

Alphys gasped a little through her nostrils and looked schemingly between the two, she noticed Sans' own face cheeks had a light blue twinge as he fiddle around in his pockets.

Sans' wasn't expecting that answer. He decided that counting the tiles on the floor for a moment would help calm him down. He couldn't help but laugh at himself in his head, when did i get so bashful? especially when frisk acts like i'm a high school crush?

Sans' caught Alphy's all-knowing smirk and he stopped playing with the box in his pocket. As he tightly held the small box, he wondered if he even told anyone about it. does alphys know? would papyrus know?

Alphys set her notes aside and reached over to the nearby table, picking up a large tome. As Alphys handed the book to Frisk, the girl felt her nose tickle from all the dust.

"I think you should read this Frisk, it might help explain."

Frisk raised an eyebrow before delicately flipping through some of the pages Alphys dog-eared. As Frisk followed along the marked paragraphs and diagrams, she felt the blood leave her extremities, almost as if they were falling asleep. She looked up and down from the pages to Alphys and Sans who waited for her with bated breath.

"I… I don't understand. What does mean?"

Alphys suppressed a small squeal of delight as the whole puzzle began to fall into place. "F-Frisk, I think having that extra Determination trigger some sort of sleeping magick in your soul… Humans used to have great and powerful magicians, much more powerful than monsters obviously… You have the same magick as the mages who created the barrier."

Sans watched as Frisk's face twisted with confusion, concern, and excitement. Sans himself allowed the thought to sink further than it did the first time he and Alphys read parts of this book. He felt a tug in his chest; there it was again. That emotion that was more than just pride… Sans tried again to label the emotion: admiration maybe?

"But it's past down through blood…" Frisk murmured, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Alphys didn't hear the girl as she began grinning and walking around the lab, unable to contain her excitement any longer.

"I wonder if you'll be able to control it outside of your dreams… Th-think of all the potential you have now Frisk! We need to tell Toriel ASAP." Alphys announced, starting to skim over her numerous book shelves. "You should start training right away, it-it may help you save Asriel…"

Sans looked down at the girl's knuckles turning white from gripping the book so hard. Frisk had her head hang low and locked her jaw.

"alph." Sans called out to the scientist. Alphys spun around, still talking about Frisk's newfound ability, but was quickly cut off as Sans shook his head and made a motion with his hand to get her to stop. "i think the kid is hungry, i'm going to take her to grillby's."

Alphys slowly set down the books she collected in her arms and nodded, flustered as she realized how caught up she acted. "O-ok then. Please don't start any training without me though! I want to d-document this thoroughly."

Sans reach his hand down over Frisk's own, causing the girl to suck in a sudden breath of air. The two met immediate eye contact, Sans quickly removed his hand and stood up straight, clearing his throat. "sorry, i'm a bit of a handful…"

Frisk looked up and a light blush crept over her cheeks, she giggled and stood up next to the skeleton. "You're in good hands Sans." She even wiggled her eyebrows at him, suddenly feeling better after being broken out of her trance.

"i have to hand it to you, you're puns have improved over the years." Sans had a large grin smeared on his face as the two started to leave the facility.

"I guess I played into your hands too often." Frisk laughed, involuntarily wrapping her arm around Sans'.

"whoa there, someone's getting handsy." Sans blushed but didn't try to remove Frisk's arm. it's normal to just do this right? it doesn't mean anything…right?

But Frisk swallowed and spoke "This is getting out of hand."

Sans noticed the change in Frisk's mood again, knowing he was the cause of it he felt he owed it to her to pull her in closer as they walked down the street towards Grillby's.

As they approached the bar, Frisk carefully slipped her arm out from under Sans' and placed a fair distance between them. Sans didn't know whether or not to miss her touch.

The two sauntered over to their usual spot at the counter, Sans took a moment to appreciate how much larger the bar became since moving to the surface. Frisk and him waved to several monsters they knew and then Frisk even said hi to a few humans who were there and seemed to know her. Sans penned this information in the back of his mind.

"The usual please!" Frisk beamed up at Grillby after they sat down. Grillby looked at them, a small crackle popped off the top of his head and he went back into the kitchen.

Frisk and Sans sat in a small bubble of silence as they waited for their meal. Sans reached over to a ketchup bottle on the counter and popped the lid open, taking a slow drink from it.

"…I'm sorry." Frisk spoke softly. Sans raised an eyebrow.

"why would you need to be sorry?"

Frisk bit her lip and picked at the edge of wooden countertop, avoiding eye contact with Sans.

"If things had been different… If I was different. Chara would be satisfied with me. You'd still have your memories. You would have never went in my dreams…"

"kiddo…"

She shook her head. "You almost died Sans. I almost lost you twice now… What if, what if this is how it should be? What if we're just meant to be friends and nothing more? What if this is a reset in its own way?"

"frisk." Sans interrupted the girl's train of thoughts, speaking in a serious tone Frisk only heard a few times in her life. "you can't believe that. you know if that monster took away my memories, it must just show that…"

we must have been pretty happy, huh?

Sans tried to give the girl a smile, he knew she could see right through him by now, but Frisk appreciated the gesture. Their food was brought before them, two burgs and some fries. The girl sighed before picking up one of the fries.

"…It's really hard Sans." Frisk swallowed. "I…I really miss you. I really miss us… I don't want you to feel obligated to me Sans."

Sans held his hands up defensively. "hey now, i'm still here. i'm still me. i don't feel… obligated." He lied.

"Sans," the girl finally turned to him, locking eyes, "just promise me you won't ever do anything for me because you feel bad about this. I only want you to act how you would if you didn't know what we… had."

Sans sighed and slumped over the counted. He didn't know how to feel about this. He knew he cared about Frisk and he knew that at one point he was crazy about her. Most importantly, he knew it wasn't fair to her if he lead her on in any fashion. So, Sans reached over, pinky out towards the girl and she relaxed her shoulders, taking his pinky in hers. "i promise."

After they turned back to their food, Sans saw in the corner of his eye the girl smiling to herself as she tucked her hair behind her ear. After few moments of silence, Sans gave a lazy shrug and spoke "who knows kid, after all, if i fell for you once, who's to say i won't again, with or without my memories."

To that, Frisk gave a slight nod, feeling her pulse increase at the thought. The two shortly there after finished their meal and left the bar, heading back to the house.

"so… how does it feel to have magick of your own?" Sans started the conversation.

"I honestly don't know. I don't know if I even can produce it outside of my dreams…"

Sans rubbed his chin. "well, you could try when we get home."

"I'm worried, to tell you the truth…" Frisk whispered, hugging herself.

"about what? not being able to?"

"No it's not that… I'm worried that I will be able to." She bit her lip, they entered the neighborhood where the house was.

Sans raised an eyebrow at her, "does this have to do with the bloodlines?"

Frisk sped up her pace as the house came into view. "Yes."

Sans met her pace after a few long strides. "what are you worried about? …is there something i should know?"

Once the reached the gate near the mailbox Frisk stopped and look at Sans. "If…If it's passed through blood, that would mean my family, my real family, possessed this ability."

"and…?"

"That means… I'm a descendent of those who created that damn barrier. My linage will just be another reminder…" Frisk's hands tightened into fists and she closed her eyes, holding back any tears threatening to escape.

Sans swallowed, he wasn't sure what to say. The barrier had been put up in place centuries ago, before he even existed. It's not like anyone would remember who those mages were in this day and age, let alone care. But for whatever reason, Frisk used this knowledge as another way to beat herself up.

By the time Sans made the decision to reach out to the girl, it was too late. She hid her face in her sleeve and ran inside the house. Sans pursed his mouth and trudged inside after her. He looked at the clock in the hallway, it was only 11:30 in the morning. No one would be home right now.

Sans climbed the stairs, going straight into his room. He wasn't ready to deal with Frisk's emotions. He wondered if this was new or did he have a way of comforting in the past? So much was happening all at once. His memories being taken, Frisk having magick, Chara offering his memories in return of Asriel having a happy ending…

It's all too much. Sans just wanted to lay in bed all day. He thought back to what Alphys had said about him changing ever since Frisk became an important aspect of his life. He worked harder? Sans couldn't help but laugh at that notion. But, how would he know?

Sans looked over at the desk and boxes. He remembered Frisk getting him those boxes. ah, that's right… Sans did remember that. Somehow, he was able to remember that. Maybe it was just a slip that Chara somehow missed. can't get too optimistic now, don't wanna get your hopes up.

Looking over the box of letters he didn't read earlier, he decided opening one of the envelopes wouldn't hurt. He kept them for a reason after all.

Delicately peeling open the flap and slide the folded letter, he took a deep breath before proceeding.

As his eyes soaked in Frisk's sweet nothings she wrote to him, he felt another tug in his chest. His face darkened to an unexpected shade of blue. His soul popped out of his chest and hovered over the letter when he finished reading it. Sans stared down into his soul, his entire being right in front of him.

As he stared, he remembered the times his soul appeared in the presence of Frisk and how hers reacted to him as well. He gulped back the thoughts bubbling in the back of his mind, not prepared for the fact they had appeared to be more than intimate together, at least by monster standards.

He gently pinched the soul between his thumb and fingers, tweaking the very bottom tip of it subconsciously. As he did, realized the blue soul unraveled a hairline thin string in his fingers. His eyes widened, this is new?

He dropped the letter and rubbed his fingers down further and further past the soul, focusing intently on the light feeling of this newfound string. Gingerly, he picked up the line in both hands, following it. As he left his room and turned the corner, he slowed his excitement and his jaw dropped.

In his hands, he could see the faint glimmer that was this string and his eyes traveled from his hands down to the floor. From the floor, he backed up as he realized the string continued its path under Frisk's door.

oh.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading! Big big big thank you for all that have been leaving reviews, they mean the world to me!