Toby Fox owns Undertale and all associated characters.
Frisk bent down to finish tying up his shoelaces, then straightened and stretched his back, letting out a wide smile as he did so. He loved the summer months, and this summer had been the best one yet. One of the biggest reasons for that was currently in the kitchen, baking something delicious.
"Frisk, dear." Toriel called out. "You'll make sure to be back here in an hour, right? And don't let Sans feed you any junk while you're out there! You want plenty of room for the pie, yes?"
"Yes, Mom!" Frisk replied happily. It still felt so good to be able to call someone that, especially someone as nice as Toriel. Just thinking about it made him run back into the kitchen and throw his arms around the furry boss monster, tackling her about the waist as she let out a surprised "Ooof" and stumbled backwards.
Laughing, Toriel returned the hug, lifting the twelve-year-old up so that he could rest his head gently on her shoulder. They stayed like that for a few moments before Toriel lowered him back to the ground, smiling at him while he wiped off the flour that had been smeared across his favourite blue and red striped shirt upon his initial tackle.
"Well, maybe you should be more careful about hugging me while I'm baking!" Toriel brushed some of the powder off her apron, frowning at the bits that got stuck in her white fur.
"Now go on; I'm sure Sans is waiting for you. You don't want to keep him, do you?"
Frisk shook his head, but still wrapped his arms around Toriel's leg one last time before darting out the door and into the outside, Toriel smiling fondly after him.
I thought you were in a hurry to get to Sans. What's with the long goodbyes? Chara's voice echoed in Frisk's head.
I gave her an extra hug for you. Frisk replied, walking briskly down the sidewalk. There were few cars going down the road, as they were still in the Monster segment of the city. While Humans and Monsters were getting accustomed to living with each other, they still lived in separate districts for now. Still, Frisk hoped that soon that would no longer be necessary.
Hmpf.
Frisk just smiled at Chara's dismissive tone. As far as he was concerned, it was just her way of saying thanks. The fact that she wasn't trying to kill everyone anymore and seemed content remaining as an observer in the background most of the time spoke volumes to how far she had come.
They remained silent for the rest of the way to the park, though Frisk would wave to every Monster he saw on the street, giving out bright smiles like they were going out of style. He liked the Monsters. Each and every one of them returned his wave and smile as soon as they saw him.
It was a little harder to keep his good mood as he left the Monster district and entered the rest of the city. There were a lot more people here, and most of them weren't nearly as friendly. He had to dodge out of the way of taller people hurrying down the sidewalks, hunched over with their faces pressed so near to their phones or Ipads that Frisk had to wonder if any of them ever accidentally walked into a wall. He giggled at the thought, ducking in between a pair of legs as he did so. There might be a lot of people here, but after the many fights in the Underground he could easily avoid being trampled.
As he reached a crosswalk and waited for the lights to turn from red to green, Frisk felt Chara's presence move to the forefront of his mind. He had a sudden mental image of her watching the scene around them, her hands balled into fists, looking like she might attack at any moment. Her eyes darted from person to person, probably trying to gauge whether or not they were a threat. Frisk was both comforted and a bit annoyed at her reaction, though it wasn't unexpected. She was always like this around other Humans.
They're not gonna attack us you know. Frisk told Chara gently, sprinting onto the crosswalk as soon as the light turned.
Well, of course you'd think that, you always see the best in everybody. I have to share this body, and I'm not letting it get wrecked because you think everyone can be reasoned with.
I reasoned with you. Frisk pointed out. Chara folded her arms and huffed in annoyance.
Took a lot of Resets though, didn't it? She countered. We've already died enough times, and I'm not too keen on doing it again. Besides, ever since we left the Underground, between the two of us we can barely make a Save File.
She did have a point there. Since leaving the Underground it had become harder and harder to Save, even with Chara and Frisk working together. He wasn't even sure they could Load anymore, and wasn't too keen on trying. Even if it worked, Sans would be really mad that they'd sent the timeline back just for a test.
An image flashed through Frisk's mind of Sans standing in a golden hallway, his eye glowing blue and four massive dog skulls forming behind him, energy charging in their mouths. He shuddered. No, he definitely didn't want to see Sans angry again.
Hey! Watch out!
Frisk shook his head and looked up in surprise, not realizing he had zoned out. His gaze focussed on a streetlight pole that he had been about to walk into. He smiled.
Thanks, Chara.
Pay more attention, idiot! I've already got to listen to you in here; I don't need another headache on top of that!
The boy's grin only widened at Chara's insult. He walked around the pole and stepped onto grass, realizing with a start that they were already at the park. He must really have zoned out for a while. He cast his gaze around for any sign of Sans.
There weren't a lot of people at the park, just about anyone who was outside this time of day would be down at the beach. But that suited Frisk just fine, especially since it meant Chara wouldn't be so jumpy. There was a main paved walkway that traversed the length of the park, and several side paths that sprung away from it, disappearing into the foliage. Frisk had been surprised to learn that this city basically had an entire forest in its park, where he had come from there had only been…
But that wasn't important. Frisk started walking determinedly down the main walkway. If he knew Sans, he would be down here somewhere. Or he would suddenly appear behind him using his "shortcuts". Regardless, Sans had promised to be here, so there was no doubt in Frisk's mind that he would be.
It wasn't long at all until he saw Sans up ahead, leaning against a yellow hot-dog cart that had the word "dog" crossed out in red paint and the word "cat" painted below it. Despite the heat, he was still wearing his favourite blue hoodie. Come to think of it, Frisk couldn't remember a time he had seen Sans without it, no matter the weather. Glaringly clashing with the hoodie were the bright yellow shorts that barely reached his knees. The skeleton's eyes were half closed, and he didn't appear to have noticed Frisk yet.
I can't believe that all the monsters still work. They've all got enough money to last for centuries! Why bother?
It was true. When they had first come to the surface, it had quickly become apparent that the gold that monsters used as currency was actually a hybrid material, a combination of mineral and pure magical energy. While this was common enough Underground, magic had completely disappeared on the surface before the Monsters returned. Frisk remembered Toriel saying that made the Monster's gold incredibly valuable on the surface. It had certainly helped smooth the integration process. If there was one thing Humans liked, it was an opportunity for more material gain.
However, despite the fact that most Monsters found themselves to be very wealthy, the truth was that most Monsters enjoyed working. Not only did it give them something to do, but it allowed them to interact with their Human neighbors. So most of their currency from the Underground was set aside as backup funding for emergencies and such.
Unfortunately, Chara still had trouble grasping the idea that they should tolerate other Humans, let alone befriend them, so Frisks' only reply to her question was a shrug as he caught the short skeleton's gaze and gave a cheerful wave.
Sans straightened and opened his eyes fully, the twin pinpricks of light in his sockets gently locking onto him as his bare feet clattered against the pavement.
"Hey buddy. Glad you could make it, I was beginning to worry you'd been caught in a traffic marmalade."
Frisk let out a snort at Sans's joke. Chara groaned.
"It's a real nice day out isn't it? Whaddya say, feel like taking a walk before your mom throws her little dinner party?"
Frisk nodded eagerly and stood off to the side while Sans locked up the stand before walking down the main pathway. Frisk quickly caught up and walked side-by-side with the skeleton.
Frisk had a lot of friends among the monsters, more than he ever thought he would be capable of. But Sans was special. He looked up to the laid-back skeleton. He remembered how scared he had been when he exited the Ruins for the first time. Sans had been his friend when he needed one most. And if it wasn't for him…
Frisk blinked as he realized that Sans had stopped walking and was looking at him with concern in his eyes.
"Uh, Frisk? You okay there, buddy?"
Frisk nodded before tapping his head with a finger. He didn't like talking unless he really needed to, and most of the Monsters had picked up on at least a little of his non-verbal communication.
"Lost in thought, eh? What's got you thinking so hard on a day like this?"
Frisk just pointed at him, smiling brightly.
Sans stood still for a moment, then shook his head and resumed walking.
"Ya know I'm right here, right kid? You don't have to be thinking about me when I'm right in front of you, ya know. Little weirdo."
Sans reached out a hand and ruffled Frisk's hair. The boy giggled and caught the hand before Sans could pull it away. He gripped the bony digits with his own and sighed contentedly at the feel of the smooth bone beneath his skin. Sans let out a chuckle.
"Bit clingy there, aren't you? Don't let my brother see you doing that, or else we're gonna have to re-attach his jaw when we find it. He still thinks you haven't gotten over him."
Frisk would have laughed, but the sudden image of Papyrus' head falling clean off it's shoulders and into the snow suddenly pierced his mind. He tried to shove the thoughts away, but they took some time to fade. He vaguely realized that he had tightened his grip on Sans's hand and loosened it a little.
"You alright, Frisk?"
Frisk nodded slowly, and Sans didn't say anything more about it. But Frisk got the feeling he knew exactly what had flashed through his mind just then. He was a lot smarter than he let on. The boy was grateful he didn't let go of his hand.
They walked on in silence, though Frisk continued to wave at passersby, Human and Monster alike. He always found people were more friendly in the park. Maybe more friendly people came to places like this? Or they became more friendly here? It was something he'd have to think about later.
"So, Frisk." Sans asked, breaking the child out of his reverie. Frisk turned a questioning gaze up to the skeleton, who scratched the back of his head before looking down at him.
"Hate to ask this, but how's your… passenger?"
He said "passenger" with the same vehemence that someone else might have said "vermin." Frisk was silent for a few moments, so Sans continued.
"I know you said that she doesn't want to hurt anyone anymore but… I remember those other timelines. It might be a bit blurry, but I remember what she did. And last time… I wasn't even sure you were still in there anymore. It's hard to think that after that, everything settles down to be… this, you know?"
Chara was silent, leaving it up to Frisk to answer. He understood Sans's view. Frisk and Chara had been fighting for control so long, the last timeline Chara had simply overpowered him. She'd brought them through the Underground slaughtering everything in her path and hunting down those that weren't. And with every kill she got stronger. Frisk had watched helplessly as they had all fallen to her knife, and his feeble cries of protest were drowned out by her laughter.
But that was before. Chara was better now! She was still a little rude, and maybe she still wasn't the best person, but she wasn't nearly as angry as she had been before.
Frisk tightened his grip on the skeleton's hand.
"She won't hurt anyone, Sans." He declared quietly. "It's going to be okay."
"I trust you kid. Not so sure about the other one in there. Just… let me know if it looks like she's gonna try to take over, alright?"
Frisk nodded. Sans looked at him again before peering up at the sun, shading his eyes to protect them from the glare.
"Well, judging by that thing I 'd say it's about time to get back to your mom's place. Let's go, kid; I know a shortcut."
True to his word, they were back at Toriel's house in a matter of seconds. Frisk giggled as the tingling sensation that always accosted him after using one of Sans' shortcuts tickled him all the way down.
Frisk could already smell the dinner that Toriel was preparing and eagerly rushed to the house as he and Sans exited from the shortcut. The scent only got stronger as he opened the door, overpowering his other senses as he was hit with an array of delicious aromas. Sans caught up to him as he took off his shoes at the door. The skeleton gave Frisk an exaggerated wink and shuffled off into the dining room. From the sounds coming from there, it seemed like some of the guests had already arrived.
Frisk knew that Toriel didn't like people in the kitchen just before a meal, so he followed the skeleton's example and entered the dining room himself.
The large rectangular table was already set, a task that Frisk and Toriel had accomplished earlier. Papyrus, Sans and Asgore were already seated at the table. Mettaton was back in town for a while after touring across the country so he was supposed to be here too. He was often late, however, so it didn't surprise him that he wasn't here yet.
"Human! You've arrived just in time!" Papyrus exclaimed. "Did you see Mettaton on your way back?
Frisk shook his head as he took his own seat beside Asgore, who gave him a quiet smile.
"Don't worry, Paps. I'm sure he'll be here. He probably just met a ton of fans on the way."
Papyrus let out an enraged shriek while the other occupants of the table chuckled. Toriel walked into the room holding platters of food in her arms.
"Did I miss something?" She inquired, a smile gracing her lips.
"Just another skelepun." Asgore quipped, earning another laugh while Papyrus began beating his head against the table.
"Well, perhaps we should stop before Papyrus cracks up." Toriel grinned, placing platters of spaghetti, salad and snail pie on the table and sitting down. As soon as she settled into the chair however, there was a loud farting noise that lasted far longer than it should have before trailing away.
Toriel's gaze instantly shot to Sans, her expression grim as she locked eyes with the skeleton. Everyone had gone silent, and the tension was quickly rising.
Hah! Dumb skeleton went too far this time. Chara gloated.
Seconds ticked by and still not a single word had been said. Toriel and Sans remained locked in a staring contest. Frisk could see his mother shaking.
Toriel slowly reached down behind her, and pulled out a deflated whoopee cushion from underneath her. She let it dangle in clear view of everyone before letting it fall to the floor.
Finally, she broke, letting out a loud laugh that momentarily startled everyone. She put her head in her hand and propped her elbows up on the table.
"How do you do that?" She asked as she finally began to settle down. "I was watching the chair! There wasn't anything there when I went to sit down!"
"It's a gift."
The atmosphere in the room relaxed and Frisk let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in.
I don't get it. Chara mumbled. I thought she was gonna tear him apart for that.
That's because you don't have a sense of humor. Frisk informed her, heaping their mother's cooking onto his plate. He ignored Chara's image sticking her tongue out at him.
Just as he was about to take a bite, he thought he heard a door opening somewhere in the house. Was someone else here, or…
"Hello, darlings!" Suddenly there was Mettaton, already seated across from Frisk like he'd been there the whole time. The boy had hardly seen him move.
"Apologies for being late, I got held up in traffic." He huffed dramatically. "Apparently I cannot go anywhere these days without being swarmed by fans."
"You know you love it." Sans grinned.
Mettaton heaved a sigh.
"I do. But it does make appointments much more difficult to keep up with. I'd get Blooky to keep their attention, but, well, you know how he is. Oh! Before I forget, Alphys and Undyne send their apologies for not being here, they got caught up with work."
"Are they alright?" Toriel asked worriedly.
Mettaon waved a hand vaguely as he helped himself to the pie.
"Apparently Alphys is working on some special project with the Human/Monster science team. You should have seen her ordering people around." He chuckled. "I think Undyne's been a good influence on her. Speaking of, apparently our beloved fish-lady is wrapping up the final parts of that rather nasty case from last week. Something along those lines anyway, she was yelling a lot when I spoke with her."
"I don't know about you all, but I certainly feel safer knowing Undyne is chief of police around here." Asgore supplemented.
There was a consensus of nods from around the table. Apparently, the crime rate in the city had gone way down since Undyne had taken charge. Frisk was not surprised.
"So Papyrus, darling," Mettaton turned his attention to the skeleton who was shoveling away spaghetti like it was his last meal. "How have things been around here since I've been away? If I recall, you were looking into bar-tending, how did that work out for you?"
"It was an incredible success!" Papyrus gushed. He was always so excited when his idol paid attention to him. "Of course it was; the Great Papyrus never fails at anything! There was an empty building just wasting space a few blocks outside of the Monster district, so I decided to set up my own pub! And I'm happy to say it's completely grease-free." He shot a glare at Sans, who had produced a bottle of ketchup from beneath his hoodie and was proceeding to drink it.
"And despite that, it's still not terrible."
"So, you run your own place now?" Mettaton asked, clearly impressed.
"Of course! And it's been a great success! We even made it an… er.. all-access pub, I think? So that Frisk can come visit me! He's only allowed to drink apple juice, though."
Frisk gave the skeleton a thumbs up.
"You really put a lot of effort into setting the place up. We're all very proud of you, Papyrus." Asgore rumbled.
Papyrus blushed and hunched over in an attempt to hide it.
"Wowie! Thank you, your majesty!"
"Technically I'm-"
"What's it called, Papyrus dear?" Mettaton interrupted. "I'll have to come pay a visit before I go back on tour."
Papyrus stared at Mettaton for a moment.
"R-really? Mettaton inside The Great Papyrus? Wowie!"
Frisk looked around curiously as the other adults went silent and was surprised to see that almost every one of them had a blush coloring their cheeks. Sans was the only one who seemed immune to whatever was going on, his only reaction seemed to be a slightly wider grin. Finally, Toriel cleared her throat.
"He named his pub "The Great Papyrus", Mettaton."
"Oh. Oh! Oh, of course, how silly of me to think otherwise." Mettaton quickly got his cool back, though there was still a hint of a blush on his cheeks. Papyrus seemed to be oblivious to the whole awkward moment that had been shared around the room.
Grown-ups are weird.
You said it.
After dinner, Frisk went into the living room and began quietly playing in the corner near the TV. Asgore was busy helping Toriel clean up after the meal and Papyrus had left early. Sans was slumped on the couch, his eyes half-closed as he stared at the blank television. He looked like he was about to pass out.
That is, until Mettaton made an appearance.
"So, Sans, darling." He drawled, plopping himself onto the other side of the couch and startling the Skeleton's eyesockets open. "A little bird told me you were looking into Alphys's research?"
"Heh. Musta been a heron, cause that's one tall tale you're telling over there."
"Ah-ah-ah!" Mettaton admonished, waggling a finger at him. "You can't get rid of me that easily, darling. I had a few scuffs after my tour from some of the more… rambunctious fans, and I had Alphys patch me up before I came over here. She told me all about it." The ghost-turned-robot let out a huff and stood up.
"But, if you don't want to hear it, then I guess-"
"Wait!" Sans called out. Then he slapped his hands over his mouth as Mettaton gave him a triumphant smirk before seating himself again. Sans sighed.
"Alright, you win. So I'm interested. What does it matter?"
"Well, since Alphys seems insistent on remaining in her hidey-hole," the glamourous robot huffed in annoyance. "I thought it would be neighborly to pass on her findings to you, since you were interested. I don't understand why though, it's so utterly boring."
"Well, Human souls are so much different than they were when Monsters were sealed underground. Figured it'd be handy to know why."
"Well then, I'm assuming that you know that Human souls are much weaker than they used to be, correct?" Sans nodded. "Well, Alphys and her team did some research to discover just how much Human souls had waned. She even brought in Asgore and Gerson, since they remember the time before Monsters were locked away. And what they found…"
Mettaton paused for dramatic effect. Frisk had stopped playing and was listening intently to the conversation. He could tell that Chara was paying close attention too.
As the pause lengthened, Sans spoke up, leaning forwards.
"Mettaton, I swear to god-"
Another huff.
"No sense of drama, I tell you! Fine. We knew that Human souls had weakened, but just how much so was another matter entirely. It appears… that they are now comparable to Monster souls."
Sans sat bolt upright.
"Wha- how is that possible?"
Mettaton waved a hand vaguely.
"Oh, Alphys has a few theories. She seems to think it's somehow connected with the absence of magic on the surface. Well, at least until we brought it back. Apparently, human souls are still slightly stronger than ours, mostly because of something Alphys referred to as Determination, but apparently even that's much weaker than it once was. Seems the balance has shifted since we were away, eh?"
Sans had his skull in his hands, and Frisk thought he could see flashes of blue from behind the bony digits. He was about to head over to him when the skeleton's head snapped up and he locked his gaze on Mettaton.
"Wait, if Human souls are so much weaker now, how did the barrier get shattered? And with only six souls, since Frisk didn't use his?"
"Well, I don't remember any more of that battle than you do, but Alphys wondered the same thing. Apparently, when a Human is born, that is when their soul is at it's strongest. As they age, the soul gets progressively weaker. by the time they've become an adult, it's been completely reduced."
"And all of the souls Asgore collected were… children." Sans realized, slumping back onto the couch.
"Precisely!" The robot beamed. Then he turned his attention to Frisk. "And our little hero here saved the day somehow. You really are an exceptional boy, aren't you my little star?"
Frisk shrugged, but couldn't help from grinning at the compliment.
Asriel was the real hero.
Frisk nodded in silent agreement. If it wasn't for his sacrifice, the barrier would never have been broken. But he had made them promise not to tell anyone about his contribution. And Frisk… had to accept that.