The puzzles were still the same as Frisk remembered them. This time the familiarity was comforting rather than frustrating, but it wasn't enough to shake the lingering feeling of dread. All it took was a glance at the subtle tension in Toriel's face to remind her of what had just happened. Even though Toriel had used magic to heal the injuries completely, even fix the tear in the her regal purple robes, the attack had still left a mark behind that Frisk could see only too clearly in her eyes.
It was in the exceedingly long room that Frisk knew that the incident had rattled Toriel down to the core. Instead of testing her ability to take care of herself on her own by walking the length of such a large empty room, her mother kept a firm grip on her hand and walked her the entire way.
Frisk unthinkingly squeezed Toriel's hand a little tighter, wanting so desperately to reassure her mother while knowing that they'd be parting sooner than either of them wanted. "Mom… it's okay. You don't have to hold my hand the whole way."
Toriel paused beside the large stone pillar near the exit of the room and wore her best smile as she turned back to Frisk. "I know, my child, but it's just that… I just realized I needed to go shopping in the city for a few things, and we need to hurry before the stores close for the day."
"We?" Frisk asked, surprised.
In all the untold times Frisk had been to the Ruins, not once had she ever visited the original city, Home, proper. She had seen Home from high above at the edge of a large stone balcony, and knew that it and New Home shared many visual similarities, at least from a distance, but she had never gotten a chance to see Home for herself. Another thing that always remained a mystery was how Toriel reached the city from such a high balcony without some way of climbing down.
The answer should have been obvious, Frisk thought as Toriel carried her through the air, flying over the city with a casual ease while surrounded by beautiful wisps of magic that reminded Frisk of her many confrontations with Asriel. She had always assumed that his abilities and appearance were the result of absorbing so many souls, but now she wondered just how much of it was just what would have come naturally, just greatly amplified.
It was a thrilling experience, and Frisk couldn't help but laugh from the sheer joy of flight. Seated on Toriel's shoulder with her mother holding firmly onto her legs, she was free to spread her arms wide and pretend that she was flying unaided over what what was still a massive majestic city in spite of its age.
Home had far less modern touches than New Home, and had many aspects of the Ruins in its architecture. While far from empty, there were only a handful of monsters Frisk could see meandering through the countless streets and tall buildings. Many stopped whatever they were doing to stare at Toriel as the queen swooped down then up again, eliciting a whoop of joy from Frisk, before finally landing delicately outside of a market with an animated neon picture of a smiling rabbit girl winking the third eye on her forehead.
Breathless from her laughter, Frisk continued to giggle as Toriel set her down onto the sidewalk and took a good look around. Though there were many signs of repair and some modern additions to the ancient structures, the city was a pale shadow of its former glory, and lacked the pristine glossy appearance of New Home. Despite the obvious age and wear, Home still was a sight to behold, and she couldn't help but feel a thrill at discovering someplace new that she had never been to before in all the times she had traveled through the Underground.
The inside of the market was nothing striking, at least not when compared to the more modern designed shops above ground, but it had a wide array of food, including a special shelf behind the counter full of brands Frisk recognized as being human-made. This had some unfortunate implications that they were salvaged from the dump after being thrown out, which made her relieved that Toriel liked making food from scratch.
"My child," Toriel said as she looked fondly down at the wide-eyed little girl whose hand she held. "How about we make tonight's dinner special. You can pick anything you like, and I'll bake a tasty pie for dessert. Do you prefer cinnamon or butterscotch?"
"Both!" Frisk replied with a bright grin. "Butterscotch-cinnamon pie is my favorite."
Toriel's eyes widened in surprise before she fairly beamed. "That's my favorite pie as well… well, next to snail pie, but I think we can wait to have that another night."
Frisk nodded quickly, feeling relieved. Although she had grown to appreciate the taste of snails, spiders, and even water dogs over time, she still had a preference for more 'human' cuisine, and nothing filled her with as much comfort and pleasant nostalgia as Toriel's butterscotch-cinnamon pie.
With Frisk helping Toriel, it took almost no time at all before they brought a basket brimming with groceries to a cheerful rabbit lady who matched the sign outside behind the counter. As Toriel paid and a cat man with four arms and an eye patch packed their groceries into bags, Frisk paused to consider that why she felt the nagging sensation that something amiss with the entire situation. There was nothing unusual about the shop as far as she could see - it had shelves, products, and customers like any other store - but something about that made her feel as though she was forgetting a crucial detail.
The only notable thing Frisk remembered happening during Toriel's shopping excursion was when a little white dog stole her mother's cell phone. The fact that Toriel hadn't given her a cell phone of her own yet was a problem, but one she could rectify later. There was no sign of any little annoying dogs either, just the occasional monster dog. The closest thing to an animal of the four-legged variety that she could see were a pair of black cats - one with rainbow stripes and the other with rainbow wings - napping in the store window. Though unusual, they weren't anything like the little white dog that kept popping up at random moments to steal things or somehow get involved in absurd death traps.
Frisk shook the feeling off for now, making sure to smile when Toriel looked her way for a moment to keep her paranoid thoughts from her mother. She needed to keep focused on the present, and not get bogged down on little details that weren't as important as rebuilding her relationship with her mother and saving all her friends.
"I hope you aren't too bored by these errands, my child," Toriel said as she collected the grocery bags. "I would've let you stay and play in the ruins while I went shopping, but it's been so long since I've had company."
Frisk shook her head as she tried to take one of the bags of groceries from Toriel, who kept both out of her short reach. "It's okay, Mom. I want to help you. Let me carry that for you."
Toriel marveled at the small human child beside her, and after a moment's hesitation, reluctantly gave the lighter bag to Frisk, though she took a couple more items out and placed them into the bag she would carry. "You're such a thoughtful child, Frisk. Thank you."
Frisk felt a happy flutter in her chest as her mother used her name. The freedom to say whatever she wished while underground, to do something as simple as tell others her name, filled her with determination.
The cold, crisp air in the winter biome of the underground did little to warm Sans' bones as he stood among the snowy trees that surrounded the ruins. Thick woods fanned out in all directions, their branches bare as snow cast a white blanket across the subterranean world. The skeleton had his doubts that the trees ever had leaves on them in that past, or ever would in the future. Living in Snowdin for as long as he had, not once had Sans ever seen spring - or any other season - come to the sleepy town or the areas immediately surrounding it. Evergreens could survive in the climate just fine, but the skeleton imagined all the other trees were just empty husks that had long since given up hope.
It was actually a rather creepy thought, even to someone that was literally magic dust in the shape of reanimated bones.
The door to the ruins stood before Sans like a sentry just like him - cold and grim with the weight of its duty. This was the earliest point in time for the human to appear, if the data was at all accurate, which it usually was. While Papyrus was ecstatic for what it could mean, Sans could only think of the countless readouts and projections detailing potential futures of an empty underground coated in dust that led to the end of absolutely everything.
The human was at the very heart of the potential salvation and damnation that the future held in store for them; Sans and Papyrus were certain of that much at least. Something affected the human's actions for great good, absolute evil, and everything in between. A minute from now was the absolute earliest that the human would arrive with whatever force drove them to do such wildly unpredictable acts. That meant that even the time of arrival was subject to flux, which meant anywhere from a minute to a month from now until they met their fate.
The only question on Sans' mind was which potential timeline was their true future.
For a moment, Sans was tempted to knock on the door to see if the woman on the other side would answer, but his bony hand hesitated only an inch from away from the rigid surface. Finally, he tucked both hands firmly back into his pockets and walked off into the shadows of the trees.
You better not kill her, human, Sans thought as the darkness surrounded him, hiding him completely from the path and the entrance to the ruins. He wanted to get a good look at the person who would either be their savior or executioner before they saw him.
A childish giggle interrupted Sans' thoughts. It echoed through the air, seemingly coming from everywhere and yet nowhere. It drifted through the trees on the frosty breeze, with its own kind of chill that made his bones rattle.
Already on edge, Sans jerked, one eye socket darkening while the other flickered blue for a split-second as he looked around for the source of the sound. There were shadows everywhere, dancing and moving on their own unnaturally, leaving him disoriented with the terrible dread that he was completely surrounded. In spite of his unease, he tried to keep his easygoing persona. "Okay, kid, you pranked me good. You can come out already."
The giggle echoed again, growing louder. Despite the rise in volume, it still sounded dispersed all around him. There was no motion, no crunch of snow, or a snap of a twig to signify movement - only a child's laughter.
No matter where Sans looked, there was nothing to indicate where the laughter was coming from, or why the shadows were moving on their own with nothing to cast them but the still trees around him. He forced a convincingly casual shrug despite feeling his nerves on edge. "Look, kid, I know my jokes are hilarious, but you've got to wait until I make them before you start laughing. Come on out here, and I'll tell you some really good knock-knock jokes I've been saving."
The giggle sounded again, before words finally formed, sweet and slow. "Kn-o-ck. Kn-o-ck~!"
The voice, though sounding sweet and innocent, only made Sans more uneasy. He knew that he was being taunted, but he couldn't do anything if he had no knowledge of who or what he was dealing with. "Okay, I'll bite," he finally muttered, more to himself than the shadows. "Who's there?"
A loud explosion was Sans' answer as the door to the ruins - the door he had guarded for so long, sealed with both powerful materials and magic - exploded with a spray of shrapnel. Wood and metal went flying in all directions, embedding into the surrounding rocks and trees, as the magic completely gave way, obliterating what had kept the denizens within trapped for ages - and those already out at bay.
Though caught off-guard, Sans managed to move quickly enough to avoid the shrapnel and dark flames that erupted from what was left of the door. Heavy breaths hissed through his teeth as fear beaded sweat on his forehead. "Shit!"
At that moment, a soft whisper of icy breath caressed the back of Sans' skull, as if someone was standing directly behind him. "I'm a stupid doodoo butt."
Sans whipped around, his left eye flickering with light for a moment as he lunged back from a blur of motion that nearly tore through his torso. Something sharp that glinted in the light peeking past the dead trees cut his shirt and hoodie, just barely missing his all too vulnerable body. He readied to dodge the next attack, summoning bones with his magic as a protective shield only to find that there was no one behind him, not even footprints.
When the giggle came again, it was from a single source, and Sans turned quickly, his eyes focusing on a far cluster of shadows. Framed by the skeletal branches of the bare, dead trees was a shadow shaped like a child. He focused on every detail he could, such as hints of neatly cropped brown hair, a sweater and pants, but the shadows left hid most of the figure before him. What was impossibly clear was a pair of blazing blood red eyes above a far too wide smile, curved sharp like a scythe, the two features so visible even in shade that they practically glowed in the darkness.
There was a flicker of blackness across Sans' vision, as though he blinked even while his eyes remained wide open the entire time, and then his attacker was gone without a trace.
Despite the cold, Sans was drenched in sweat as he fled the wooded area for the path to leave empty space around him to help him dodge and retaliate against his attacker. His wild eyes darted about for any sign of movement, but the second he stepped onto the path, the shadows that danced in the woods disappeared, leaving the woods as dreary and ordinary as always. There was no hint of the figure that had taunted him or destroyed the door, the forest now utterly still.
Whatever this creature was - human, demon, or something else - it was far more powerful than anything they could have predicted.
"Nyehehyaah!?"
The terrified cry of his brother stabbed Sans' heart like a knife. "Papyrus!"