WHAT HAVE STAIRS DONE FOR ANYONE RECENTLY CHAPTER 17:
There was something sort of nice about a day stuck at home in the snow. Insulated, quiet, and cozy. The house was warm and smelled of fresh cake and lasagna, as Papyrus spent some time on speakerphone with Bratty and Catty, following along to some old cooking shows.
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Boxes shoved to the side and books sorted into stacks, the attic wasn't quite bedroom-worthy, but it was considerably better than the half-ruined maze and the treadmill sitting around as an under-utilized prank. With more lights installed and a few pieces of furniture dragged up there, it was starting to feel a little more hospitable.
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Snug in a ramshackle pillow fort, Asriel and Frisk played co-op on a game on their handheld consoles. The games were from the human world— one of the first things Asriel had gravitated to when they'd gone to check out one of the smaller cities in their first month outside. Sans stayed with them, bundled up in a sweatshirt and a blanket. He was groggy and heavy-headed, and hadn't slept much, but he was pretty content. None of them had dreamt. It was the first night in over a month that they hadn't.
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When Frisk began to doze by accident, Asriel smooched her on the head, dumped her in Sans's lap, and headed upstairs past the fort to get a game with more high-energy play for them to try.
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Papyrus was posing for a selfie in sunglasses and a big jacket when he got into the bedroom. The skeleton whirled on him with a grin and pulled him in under his arm and took another photo.
"Another great set for the Undernet! I'm sure to get at least two uplikes," he asserted proudly. He took off the sunglasses and tossed them on top of his computer. "There we go. I'll tag you, of course, CaptainChaos."
Asriel laughed. "Sorry to interrupt, I shouldda knocked."
"It's not a problem. Obviously." Papyrus stretched. He smelled like tomato sauce. "How are you doing? Are you here for a nap?"
"Naw." Asriel paused and looked up at skeleton, tilting his head to the side. "How 'bout you?"
"I'm perfectly fine! Why?" he asked.
"Well, like… How are you about your dad? I don't think I really asked you," he said apologetically.
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"Oh! Nyeh heh heh! I'm great! Really! It's so nice to have him back," he said. "I didn't really ask you, either, but you obviously know him."
Asriel nodded. He headed for the bookshelf where they stashed the games and began to skim the titles on the spines. "Yeah. Legit consider him my uncle." He smiled to himself. "Now that I remember, it's really obvious that you're his kid. I almost feel dumb for not realizing except, you know."
"I do know." He took off his jacket and hung it up in the closet. "I mean, of course it's a shame he wasn't here. But him not being here made Frisk, and I think we can all agree that was worth it. It's just…" He clenched his long fingers into the cloth for a moment before turning quickly and shutting the door. "Of course I retroactively missed him."
Asriel nodded. He picked out an action dragon game with big swords on the cover and put it in his pocket. Papyrus cautiously grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Would…? Would you mind telling me a little about when you knew him?" he asked bashfully. "I mean. It's sort of odd, isn't it? We were both tiny kids with him at completely different times."
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Asriel smiled and nodded. He sat on the computer chair and cracked his knuckles. "Sure. I mean, yeah, it's pretty weird to think about. I knew him my whole life, to be honest. He was good. Always there to teach stuff, and help with magic patterns, and… It was funny, he always said he was no good with kids, but I think maybe he thought that because he didn't talk to us like babies. He was, ah…" Asriel's throat tightened for a moment, but he smiled. "He and mom were really the ones who, uh, patched up Chara when she got hurt. And she was pretty… adventurous. So we saw him a ton for that on top of him just being Dad's best friend. He couldn't heal, but he was really good at stitches and other human medical stuff."
"Aah, yes, I see, I see," Papyrus said.
"I remember him being a great fighter, too," he said. "Before Chara fell in… I think she was the first kid. She was, like… five, I think? I was four. Grown human warriors actually came into the mountain on purpose. Our parents were the strongest monsters, so they had to deal with it. This was before we moved out of Home. I was super young when it happened, so I only remember a little, but he made these big constructs out of bones, and his patterns were totally nuts." He smirked to himself. "Now that I think about it… That explains you and Sans, right?"
"Does it?" Papyrus asked, wide-eyed.
"Well, Gaster's a boss monster," Asriel said. "Right? So you guys would have to be tough."
"I guess that's true. I mean, I am clearly fantastic and extremely tough. Sans, though…"
"He's strong enough," the kid said with a grin. "You know I fought him a ton, right? Back when I was a mess. He won a lot."
Papyrus raised a brow skeptically. "…Was your health incredibly low?"
Asriel barked out a loud laugh. He shook his head. "No, his magic is specifically tuned to wreck jerks like I was. It's not good against normies, but anyone with LV's gonna get dunked on, hard. It's really interesting, actually."
"I almost can't believe that, but I know you're not fibbing," he said, folding his arms tight. "Frisk told me, too, but I didn't realize…" He sighed. "Why doesn't he tell me anything?"
"Man, he just doesn't want you to worry," Asriel said.
The skeleton pouted.
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Asriel huffed and crossed the room to him, sitting at his side and grabbing his arm. "You're still not that old, you know."
"Older than you! And you know way more than me," he said.
"Not for good reasons, though," Asriel said. "Listen. Ask Gaster to teach you a little extra. That's another thing about him, you know? If you ask him about something he knows, he'll go totally over the top to help you understand."
"…Yes, that's true, I remember that," Papyrus said. He cracked a smile. "I remember definitely a hundred percent not having the patience for that much explanations as a little Papyrus."
"Same!" Asriel grinned. "Chara ate it up, though. She wouldda smacked me if I called her a nerd but… She was a huge nerd. Mightta been a human thing, now that I think about it. They're usually way more curious than we are."
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"Asrieeeelll…!" Papyrus grabbed him into a tight hug and glowed bright and warm.
"Ack! W-What?" the boy croaked.
"You actually mentioned your you-know-who for more than a second, I'm proud!" he said.
"Oh… Hah. Yeah. Guess so," he said. He let the skeleton snuggle him for a moment. It felt pretty nice. "I guess… You're the only one without the history, so… It doesn't feel as bad for about five seconds."
"Nyeh heh, lack of memories actually comes in handy, for once," he said with a wink. "So. Little brother. Back when you were… You know. Was I…? I mean. I hope I wasn't too rough on you."
"Naw, dude, you were nice. Too nice for your own good, huh?" He smiled up at him sympathetically. "Can I tell you something messed up?"
"Of course!"
"I tried to push you so hard to do something awful to me. Like, get revenge or something? You never did. You were always too good to me."
"That's not messed up at all," Papyrus said.
Asriel scoffed. He smiled at him fondly and patted him on the back. "I'm… I'm glad I'm with you guys. Didn't think I'd ever get a shot like this."
"I'm glad you're here, too," the skeleton assured him. "Aaaand. Actually. I'm glad you're up here as well. You wouldn't happen to mind helping me cut up some boxes before you go back downstairs, would you?"
"Boxes? What for?" Asriel asked.
"You'll see!" He grinned smugly and pulled out his small red utility knife. "I'm going to need an unusual amount of cardboard!"
xXxXx
At midnight, when the snow drifts receded, the town roared to life with lights, music, and market stalls. It was probably the last time this would happen in Snowdin before monsters began migrating upwards and out, and they were certainly treating it as such.
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There didn't seem to be a single monster from town missing from the festivities. The whole main street from the library onwards was lined with booths, most of them giving away their wears completely for free. Unbeknownst to anyone, even Papyrus had claimed a spot, setting up an elaborate cardboard booth near the great, festive tree, where he left bowls of piping hot spaghetti for anyone to take. Beside that were a stack of hotdogs and buns, along with some condiments. Others gave out hot chocolate, shaved ice desserts, cinnamon bunnies, slices of pie, among a dozen other things. A few older monster ladies were giving out jumbles and crossword puzzles. Big Dog and all their children served bone-shaped biscuits and mysterious dalmatian-spotted porridge.
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Kid met Frisk and Asriel near the tree, a big grin on his face. Frisk greeted him with a hug.
"Okay, you totally gotta get shaved ice with me," he told them. "I already had, like, two, they're great. My mom said I could go nuts tonight. Since, y'know, it's probably the last one down here before we go."
"You're not wrong," Asriel said. "I just kinda wanna stuff my face with everything, soooo…"
"Did they used to do this when…? You know, back then?" Kid asked.
"No clue!" he said.
The lizard grinned. "Then totally just follow me, then!" He took off at a run— Asriel caught him before he fell and hurried after him.
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Frisk trotted after them, slower but unfazed. She was more than satisfied to watch everyone enjoying themselves under the glow of the lights. She spotted Gaster and Toriel chatting under the volume of the crowd near the bright, festive tree. Toriel was giggling and the skeleton wore an expression of relaxed relief.
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The lights flickered, colours shifting and alternating between bulbs. It was so bright for a second that it hurt Frisk's head, and she was a little surprised nobody reacted once it stopped. She wondered if maybe someone had stepped on the plug or something.
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She caught Papyrus at his booth as he handed out plates of spaghetti to monsters walking by. That human family was still around in the crowd— she noticed them with the rabbits from the inn.
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She was jarred from her wandering as a paw seized her hand. She turned to find Asriel grinning at her. He offered her a dish of shaved ice, covered in pale purple syrup and whipped cream.
"I have no idea what flavour this is, but it's real good," he said.
Frisk took it and gave it a try. She didn't know what it was either, but she liked it. "Thanks."
He smiled fondly at her and then gave her a gentle nudge with his elbow. He levelled a finger across the crowd to see Kid bouncing around near his eldest sister.
"There is something weird about her," he said. "Not, like, in a bad way. I think you might be right." He snickered at the concerned expression on her face. "Hey! It's a good thing. If there were more missing monsters, stands to reason that they'd be back, now, too. So. One less thing for you to worry about."
"Y-Yeah. Yeah! You're right." She nodded quickly. "I'll try not to worry so much."
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He pulled her in, smooched her head, and then dashed off again, presumably to get more food. Frisk moved off to the side to eat her dessert out of the way of the crowds. She thought she spied a bit of blue from the corner of her eye. It occurred to her that she had hardly seen Sans all night. She could have sworn…
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She wasn't sure why she thought she'd find him at the river's edge, but she headed that way anyway. Sure enough, away from the crowds, she found Sans looking out over the water just a bit off main street. The river seemed to glow faintly, casting a bit of blue ripples over the white of his bones. He tilted his head over his shoulder slightly and shot her a tired grin.
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She offered him the remaining half of her shaved ice. He took it gratefully.
"Nice night," he said.
"Everyone's having a really good time," she said, nodding. "Your hotdogs seem to be doing well."
"Heh. Well. They're simple but I think there's a kinda appeal in that, y'know?" He groggily rubbed at his eye sockets. "Kinda late, huh?"
She nodded. He tried the purple dessert and looked pretty happy. "Oh. Taro. Nice."
"What's taro?" she asked.
"No clue. Purple, though," he said. He munched quietly, and the bowl disappeared into sparkles once he was done.
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"Think this'll be the last one?" she wondered. "Kid seemed to think so."
"Hm. Probably. Last one with everyone from town still in town, I guess," he said. "Inn's movin' soon. Grillby's too, probably." He cut his eyes at her. "You ever figure out was was up with Flora?"
She shook her head. "I think… I think maybe it's fine."
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Sans shrugged slightly. He turned and stretched his arms above his head, though when Frisk got a good look at his face, she had to hold back a yelp of shock. There was a gash of red broken into his brow ridge and into part of his socket.
"Oh my god, what happened?!" she squeaked, reaching up to grab his cheeks.
Her big brother blinked back at her in confusion. The red was gone. His bones were fine. Frisk's jaw dropped and she stared at him, a chill rushing down her spine.
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"Dude, what?" Sans asked, a hint of concern in his tone.
"Wh…? Um. N… Nothing?" Frisk didn't know what to say, pulling back awkwardly. "I th-thought… Nothing. Nothing. Never mind."
Sans grabbed her hands. He raised a brow. The kid winced.
"Somethin' on my face?" he asked.
"…Not anymore," she said quietly.
The skeleton tilted his head slightly. "What do you see?"
"Nothing," she squeaked.
He rolled his eyes. "What did you think you saw?"
Frisk flinched. She tapped her fingertips together. "…Red on you."
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"Hm." He drew back slightly and tapped his teeth. "That's new."
"S-Sorry, I… I must just be tired," she said quietly. "I think the tree lights are kinda messing with me a little bit."
"Yeah, no." He looked at her knowingly. "Anything bigger than that, you tell me, alright?"
Frisk gulped, but she nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah. Okay. I will. I promise."
He smiled, relieved, and he ruffled her hair. "C'mon, we gotta be the ones to keep each other sane."
"You're right." She rubbed her eye with the heel of her hand. "I'm sorry. Ugh! I… You're right. I should know better by now. I just… I just wanted you to be able to take a day off, y'know?"
"Chill." He nodded his head back towards the bright, exuberant commotion of the main street. "What d'ya say, get more junk?"
Frisk was too on edge to feel hungry, but she had no intentions of letting her brother out of her sight. She followed him back towards the lights.
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The night livened up once they'd reunited with the others. Though Frisk couldn't forget what she'd seen, hanging out with her brothers put her at ease. The energy in the air was sparkling. And, there was a lot of weird foods to try.
xXxXx
Even though it was very late when they got home, Frisk spent some extra time with Sans as they read through the final chapters of their third Trident of Vengeance book. A magical clone of Sylph's own father was the main antagonist of this particular story. Things weren't resolved by the end, which was a first for the series. Frisk understood now why Kid had been waiting so insistently for the fourth book. Apparently, number five was coming out sometime soon. They just kind of appeared out of nowhere, though, and no one was sure who the author was.
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Words were getting more clear to the kid as they went, but she'd take as much time huddled up with a book and her brother as she could get anyway. She hoped he wouldn't get tired of it. She didn't think she would.
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Sans fell asleep in a heap. Frisk wished she had, too. Everyone else was still awake, though. She could hear Toriel through the walls as she headed upstairs and into the attic. The kid sat and watched Sans for a while, wondering what exactly she'd seen.
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An odd bristle of magic from upstairs made the hair on the back of the kid's neck stand on end. Curiously, she slipped off into into the attic.
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Toriel stood there, hands on her hips as she surveyed a new wall that split the room in half. It already almost looked like a comfortable place to sit in, with a lamp and a reading chair. She turned and shot Frisk a smile.
"Hello, my child," she said. "Trouble sleeping?"
"Um. I guess." She shrugged. "So you're setting the rooms up?"
"Yes. I think… I will take this side. Gaster's such a light sleeper, he would probably prefer to not have someone walking through his room at night, hm?"
"You'd know better than me," Frisk said bashfully.
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Toriel smiled fondly. She lifted Frisk up and sat with her on the reading chair. She brushed a thumb under the kid's tired eyes and cooed softly. "Just look at you. Goodness. To think of all that's happened the last few days…"
"I know, right?" Frisk said with a tired laugh.
"Something on your mind?" she asked.
The kid shrugged. She looked up at Toriel and tilted her head slightly. "You?"
"Oh. Honey. So much," she said with a chuckle. "You, Gaster, the house, the state of things; what you've just done…! I feel like the whole world is moving a mile a minute. And I just keep wondering how you're doing, exactly."
"Me?" Frisk grimaced. "Aw, mom, c'mon, you don't have to worry so much, I'll be okay."
"Hm. That's funny," she said. "You sound just like him when you say that."
"Oh no, really?!" she yelped. "Ugh, but that's so frustrating, though!"
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Toriel stared at her, wide-eyed for a moment, and then burst out laughing. Frisk rubbed her brow.
"I'm sorry, am I really annoying with that?" she asked worriedly.
"Goodness no," the woman assured her. "I understand. You're a very self-sufficient child. And maybe a little too concerned with how others feel about you, hm?"
"I just hate making people worry," she said with a sigh. "And everyone always worries about me. I love you guys so much, the last thing I want is people to feel like that around me."
"Replace the word worry in your mind with care, sweetie," Toriel said. She grinned. "And besides. This is what family means, is it not?"
"Y-Yeah. Yeah. I guess so." She smiled sheepishly. "I… I mean. I guess it all is still kinda new to me sometimes."
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Toriel cuddled the kid. She let out a small sigh. "I sometimes forget it has not actually been that long."
"Not me," Frisk said with a quiet laugh.
Toriel smiled sympathetically. She kissed Frisk gently on the head. "The world is a cruel place sometimes. I'm sorry."
"Nah. S'just how things are," she said. "I guess maybe I wouldn't be me without having gone through all that, right?"
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Toriel bit her lip. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, sure," Frisk said.
"This power you have… Did you always have it?"
Frisk looked thoughtful. She folded her arms. "I'm not sure. I… Maybe? But I couldn't control it until I got underground."
"That must've been a shock," Toriel said.
"Oh man, was it ever," Frisk said. "I'm just really glad. Knowing everything I know now and stuff." She shrugged. "It feels weird to be, like… the person, I guess. But, I mean, Sans knows the most about it and he thinks I'm good at it, so that makes me feel pretty okay. I sometimes kinda think that it's not great for one person to actually even have this power but I'm gonna try my best."
"Why do you think that, may I ask?" her mother said gently. "Most people don't even recall."
"Well, like… For the people that do, it's weird," she said. "And I sometimes get kinda ex… existential about it."
"That's a good word," Toriel said.
"Thanks! I just learned it like a week ago," Frisk said. "But, like, what if something big and bad happens somewhere in the world. I can turn it back, but only to a save, and then even if that's kinda enough time, how do I help those people all the way wherever? Or like, what if someone got turned to dust in town but I just saved and there's no time to… I dunno. If I could chose, I'd help everyone, but I don't… I mean. I can't know everything, right?"
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"Sweetie. That is a lot to think about," Toriel said. "Do you worry about that often?"
"Oh, jeez, all the dang time," Frisk said.
"Would learning to… I'm not sure this is possible. Maybe ask your father. But, would it helped if you focused more into learning to operate without these save things so much?" she wondered.
"Dunno! Not sure if I even can," she said. "Sans said they're important. They're like, um… What did he call them? A… A p-preservation adaptation?"
"And he… went through the same thing, did he?" she asked. "And Asriel, as well."
Frisk nodded. "Yup! I mean. It wasn't very good at the time, I think, especially when Az had it, but I'm kinda glad they did just 'cause then I'm not alone with it, y'know? Even if that's a little selfish."
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Toriel shook her head. She snuggled the kid close again and frowned off at nothing. There were more questions on the tip of her tongue, but she neglected to ask them. Frisk was starting to doze off. There were still so many heavy thoughts in her head. Still a lot of work to do, Toriel mused.
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Footsteps broke her thought pattern, and Gaster cautiously emerged into the attic. He was about to greet her, but he didn't as his eyes caught on Frisk. He slipped over quietly and clasped his hands together, staring at the kid. He looked at Toriel questioningly. She smiled weakly.
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Frisk stirred. She blinked and yawned. "Oof. Um. Sorry. Guess I should go to bed." As she straightened up, she froze at the sight of Gaster. Her eyes glistened.
"Oh!" He bent and gently held her face. "Kiddo, what's wrong?"
She sniffled and grinned, quickly wiping her eyes on the back of her arm. She grabbed his hand, and then looked up at Toriel. Her cheeks flushed. "Sorry! It's just, I… I actually have parents, it's weird! It's so nice."
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As Toriel cooed softly, Gaster's eyes flickered. He held the kid's face in both hands and bumped his brow on hers, mumbling something softly in his own language. He pulled back and smiled at her fondly.
"You will always have us," he said.
She smiled sheepishly and tented her fingers. "Thanks, you guys, for… y'know, for taking me."
"I was about to say the same to you," Toriel said.
Frisk looked up at her with big eyes. Her mother grinned.
"For as long as I live, I'll never forget the first time you called me mom."
The kid smiled sheepishly. She brushed her eyes with her knuckles again. She sat up to smooch her mom on the cheek and slipped down onto the floor. She gave Gaster a hug and then stretched sleepily. "Guess I'll go."
"Would you like someone to tuck you in?" Toriel asked.
"Ah, nah, it's okay," she said. "Good night."
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She slipped off and the monsters could hear Papyrus greet her enthusiastically downstairs. Gaster straightened up, a fond smile on his face, his arms folded tight to his chest.
"Something's bothering her." Toriel stood up from her cozy chair and she put a hand on the skeleton's shoulder. "Maybe you could help her."
"Do you think so?" he asked, surprised. "What's bothering her, exactly?"
"I don't know," she said. "But… Something I suspect might help would be a little more practice with her powers. I'm not sure that that's the source of any of her troubles, but anything to make her more confident might settle her mind a little. What do you think, old friend?"
"Anything to help," he said. His eyes seemed to sparkle. "Oh! Perhaps I can try to re-inject her with the HAARM-blocker, and if I could test her ability to move things backwards, perhaps we could work on strengthening it so it has less lasting effects on her. Do you think that might be useful?"
"Ah. Probably?" She smiled sideways. "But what on earth is a harm-blocker?"
"Oh! Sorry. It's an acronym. Hazardous Attack And Resonating Magic blocker. It's a shield, basically." He rubbed his hand across the top of his skull. "I hope I can help."
"I'm sure you can," Toriel said.
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He tapped his teeth. His eyes lit up and he grinned. "Ah! I know!" He turned towards the light but then retracted his hand and put it on Toriel's shoulder. "I'll be out for a while."
"Do what you have to do," she assured him.
He bolted. Toriel snorted and shook her head with a fond smile on her face. With a small tug of magic and a wave of her hand, she pulled shelves straight from the wood of the wall. Just a little more.
xXxXx
A nervous tapping of bone on wood roused Frisk, who stared blearily through the dark of the bedroom. A little light was glowing past the skull of a tall someone at the computer desk. Papyrus's gentle, nyehing snores from somewhere said it wasn't him.
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She snuck out from under Asriel's arm and slid up beside the skeleton on the computer. As she reached up to tug on his sleeve, the colour of the room shifted. The form of the skeleton vanished. Frisk recoiled, blinked, and rubbed her eyes. The screen still glowed, low brightness still enough to make her squint. She turned and nervously surveyed the room.
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Slipping out, she ran into Gaster as he marched quickly up the stairs.
"Ah! Good morning, Frisky, how did you…?" He paused, his brow furrowing. He knelt and put his hand to her cheek. "You looked spooked, a stór. Are you alright?"
"I, uh… I'm okay. Weird dream," she said quietly. "Um. Isn't it pretty early?"
"I suppose so. But, actually, I was coming to get you." He grinned bashfully. "I was preparing something for you with Alphys. Would you like to come to the lab with me?"
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Anything to get out of the house. Frisk nodded. Before he could straighten up, she grabbed him around his shoulders and pressed in close. He made a small noise in surprise, but was more than happy to hug her.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"Not anymore, don't worry about it," she said.
xXxXx
Undyne greeted Frisk with a crushing hug inside the lab. "Hey, squirt, heard you guys were kinda having a bad time," the big monster said.
"It's been super weird," Frisk said.
"Wanna come with me and drag Sans to Waterfall tomorrow?" she asked.
"That would be so great."
"If you can get him to participate," Gaster said.
"I bet I can," Frisk said as Undyne let her down onto the tiles.
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Alphys emerged from behind some out of place filing cabinets and gave Frisk a quick, warm hug too. "Hey! I'm s-so glad you came!" She grabbed her shoulders. "We s-set up something p-pretty cool for you, I think!"
"What for?" she asked.
"Well, it's just, everyone was kinda thinkin' maybe you'd feel better after all that weird stuff if you could get a little stronger before we all head up, y'know?" Undyne said. "Come on, it's downstairs."
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They took the puzzled kid down a few levels to the room that had once been used to facilitate determination transfers. Some new walls had been put up, separating the large, skull-like apparatus from what was inside.
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Beyond a repurposed office door was a room that was mostly white, but with a few splashes of colour in the large, plush sections of the wall. The floor was soft, too, and there was another small chamber in a corner with clear outer walls and room enough for two chairs and a bunch of metallic computer panels built in. There was also a tear in time glowing in the opposite corner, though the colour was pale.
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Frisk looked around in confusion, and then back at the monsters. "What is this?"
"It's a safe place for you to practice t-time reversal," Alphys said, grinning. "See? If y-you were to train with Undyne or something, turning b-back an attack, the walls and floor are all soft so nobody w-would get hurt! Nice, right?"
"I would really like to train with you, by the way," Undyne said. "I figured, like, you could do kinda like a blue magic grab, right? Except you use red and just chuck me backwards. I mean, if you can figure that out."
"Chuck you backwards?" Frisk repeated, brows raised.
"Yeah! Like, if you can freeze an attack and make it go backwards, and if you can turn someone back to heal 'em, if someone were jumping right at you, I bet you can grab 'em and throw 'em backwards," she explained.
"A-And! If you like this, we'll d-definitely build you another, even better room on the surface," Alphys said with a big smile. "Okay?"
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The kid looked between the cheerful monsters. Her father was smiling hopefully. She laughed and rubbed her eye with her knuckle.
"You guys stayed up all night on this?" she asked.
"It o-only took a couple hours, honestly," Alphys said quickly. "Um. Is th-there something wrong w-with it?"
"No! No. It's pretty cool! Thank you guys," Frisk said. "I just… Undyne, I've never tried something like that."
"Well, duh. That's the whole point of this, right?" she asked with a wide grin.
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The big monster plopped down onto the floor and patted the spot in front of her. Curiously, Frisk sat and Undyne beamed.
"Listen! I was thinkin'. From what these nerds said. You'd probably be less nervous and more confident with stronger magic, right?" she said.
Frisk peered over Undyne's shoulder at Gaster and Alphys. "Was that what this is about?"
"Well, ah…" The skeleton's face flushed. "Your mother thought that perhaps—"
"But you do wanna build some confidence, right?" Undyne pushed.
"I…" Frisk gulped. She clenched her little fists. "I just wanna protect Sans."
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Alphys cooed and snuck in on the floor and pulled Frisk into a hug. "Y-You're so g-good, you know that?"
"Come on, kid, let's brainstorm," Undyne insisted. "Time travel is one thing. But you can effect little space pockets, too, yeah? So. Like. What else might you be able to do that with? We can test all kinds of weird crap, right?"
"I… I guess so?" she said. "Um. Dad probably knows more than I do."
"Uh. Not exactly," he admitted. "Though. What I would like to know is, what are your perceptions of what you can do? Remind us?" He had a notebook out and ready, carried by his magic hands.
"That's a good start," Undyne said with a laugh.
.
Frisk looked puzzled. She folded her arms. Alphys quickly pulled out her phone to take notes, too.
"Well, um. I guess. I can't die? I mean. I can. But I don't stay that way. I do the jump backwards thing, so that's… something. I can… travel through rips. And, um, do that memory sharing thing and the super hugs, which are kinda similar I guess? I can… Um. Do glowing bubbles. I can turn someone else backwards to fix something that's hurt, and I can turn back magic that gets shot at me."
"You've missed something," Gaster said. "…Perhaps you've never used it?"
The kid merely stared back at him blankly. He pointed to the tear in time off in the corner before he took a seat on the floor with the rest of them. He held her hand and, gently, pulled it through the air in the same shape. A pale yellow along with her usual red began to spark from her fingertips.
"What the heck?!" she squeaked.
"You can open a rift, and close them as well," he said.
"Since when?!"
"Since always," he said with a laugh.
.
"W-Wow, Frisk, that's really u-useful!" Alphys said. She grinned at her. "Aw! Y-You look so shocked."
"I had no idea." She pulled her hand back and looked at it intently. "Dang, if I had known that…" Her eyes darted up to focus on Gaster's. "How did you know?"
"A stór, anything I can do, you can do," he said. "In regards to time, anyway."
"O-Oh." She smiled sheepishly, only to giggle when Undyne roughly mussed up her hair.
"Jeez, look at you. You're doin' great," she said. "Okay, what else you got?"
Frisk could only shrug in reply.
"Don't forget," Gaster said gently, "you were able to sense the past of a few objects with a strong magical imprint on them."
"O-Oh! Yeah. Right, that's a thing," Frisk said. "I… Yeah. That was super weird."
.
Alphys tapped her chin. Her eyes brightened and she fished around in her pocket. She passed Frisk a phone case with cartoon sushi on it and a big crack down the side. "I-If you can do things with o-objects, maybe you could repair something s-simple, like this? I just broke it y-yesterday and I didn't g-get to patching it up yet."
"Oh! Um. Maybe?" She rested her fingers around the crack and set her fingers ablaze. A sense of vertigo warped her mind and she thought she could see the case compress and then break, and then shift colours and fuse itself back together. She was nauseous. She grimaced and rubbed her eyes quickly, but when she looked up, all the monsters were beaming at her. The phone case in her hand was fixed.
.
"AAAH YEAH! That's GREAT!" Undyne grabbed her shoulders and shook her enthusiastically; the phone case clattered onto the floor. "Do you know what this means?!"
"N-No?" Frisk said.
"You can just fix stuff! Oh w-wow! That's so useful!" Alphys beamed. She grabbed the plastic case and flipped it over in her hands. "Amazing."
"Yeah, sure, but that's not even the best part!" Undyne grinned her huge fangs.
"What is?" the kid asked, puzzled.
"You can do on all kinds of stuff, then, I bet! I mean, that phone case, Alph got it from a human market, it's not even magic yet!"
"Oh… Oh!" Frisk's eyes went wide. "O-Okay! Wow. That's… That is something. Wait, so…" She frowned slightly and tilted her head. She drummed her fingers together as the possibilities rushed through her head. Turning even objects backwards… There was something more than just repair that that might work for. "Hey, um. Do you think I could, um…?" She pointed at the door. "Does that door lock?"
"Only from the inside," Gaster said. He stared her down inquisitively before a little spark of light lit in his eyes. "Ah! I think I see what… Come."
.
He ushered her back outside of the room and then quickly shut the door. She could hear the click of a lock on the other side and Undyne's confused exclamation. Frisk rubbed her fingers together. If she could just get this… She reached out with a spark of red and touched the doorknob. It was only a few seconds ago. She became starkly aware of the coolness of the metal; the little turning pieces inside. She heard it click and her heart jumped. This one didn't even hurt her head.
.
Eagerly, she pushed the door open. The monsters were at the other end of the room, and Gaster had a hand on a shoulder each of the others. He began to beam with pride and Frisk breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, wait, uh, wasn't that locked?" Undyne said.
"O-Oh! Oh my g-gosh!" Alphys scampered over to Frisk and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Ahh! That's so useful! Look a-at you!"
Frisk grinned bashfully and Undyne seemed to finally catch on.
"WHOA! Wait. WAIT. So! Jeez, kid!" Undyne rubbed her fingers through her hair. "Could you always do that?!" She turned to Gaster. "Could she always do that?"
"Possibly, that ability is probably a relatively simple one, in fact." He smiled at Frisk. "That's a nice reassurance, don't you think?"
"Can't get locked in anything, I guess," the kid joked.
Alphys giggled and snuggled her, grinning proudly. "I b-bet that makes you feel a little better, right? Would you, um, like t-to practice with Undyne or me for some turning backwards?"
"With you?" Frisk's eyes went wide and she beamed. "Yes!"
"Too early?" Undyne joked.
"I've never heard her battle song," the kid said excitedly.
The big monster guffawed. "Fair enough!"
"Wait, m-my…?!" Alphys went red. "W-We're not doing THAT, are we?!"
"Could we? Please," Frisk's eyes seemed to glitter.
.
Alphys bit her lip. Undyne grinned wide and stuck both thumbs up. The lizard sighed and, though her hand trembled, she rolled her sleeves up.
"O-Okay. But, um, g-go easy on me, okay?" she said.
"Aaaah, thank you!" Frisk squeaked, grabbing the blushing scientist into a tight hug.
.
Frisk got up and dragged her to her feet, and then bounded across the room. Undyne and Gaster both stepped back towards the wall. Frisk braced herself. Alphys drew in a deep, shaking breath. She shook out her hands, yellow sparks shimmering through her fingers.
"I-I haven't done this in a l-long time," she said.
The air carried a whiff of static. Her soul lit up lemon yellow and a sharp electronic beat picked up. Frisk grinned and let her soul brighten up right along with it, the music shaping itself into something bright and new. Alphys grinned nervously. Frisk beckoned to her and she pointed to herself.
"M-Me first?" Alphys squeaked.
"Always," Frisk said with a grin. "Let's go!"
xXxXx
Sans kept falling down stairs in his dream. An endless series of tumbling down a staircase that didn't make sense. Didn't hurt that bad, though, but even when he woke, kind of sweaty in the dark, his ribs felt a little bruised.
.
He wanted something. He wasn't sure what. He felt strangely alone and heavy. He saw a red light in the room and he sat up on his elbow curiously. "Kid?"
"Hm?" It was Asriel's voice. Not the kid he meant, but that wasn't really a problem. "You okay?"
He stuck a thumb up. Asriel came a bit closer and plunked himself onto the mattress where he could see him a little better. He grabbed the skeleton's shoulders with strong paws, tilting his head, his brow furrowed.
"You don't look good," he said.
"S'alright," Sans said.
.
The kid hugged him tightly. He was a little surprised, but he appreciated it. He slumped and returned the favour.
"You should see Paps," Asriel said. "I'd, uh… heal you, but…"
"I know. 'Preciate the thought," he said.
He nodded and pulled away. "I'm going to see my dad again today, you need anything from New Home?"
"Nah." Sans rubbed the back of his skull. "Where's, uh…?"
"She's with Gaster at the lab," he said. "They left really early."
Sans wasn't sure why, but that worried him. He nodded. Before he'd even asked, Asriel passed him his phone. He stuck his thumb up and headed out of the room with a backpack over one shoulder. A thin stream of light made everything a bit easier to see.
.
Sans stared at his phone for a second. He sighed and flopped onto his back, then dialled his sister. When she answered, she sounded a little out of breath.
"Wow, you're actually calling me? Good morning!" she said brightly.
He smiled. "Hey. Uh. What's goin' on?"
"Totally battled Alphys," she said. She had to have been beaming. "It was fun! I've never heard her song like that before! "
"Huh. So. Whatcha doin' there?"
"Oh, uh… Just had a rough night. Dad and Alphys and Undyne, they all kinda set me up this, like, soft battle room in the basement? Of the lab, I mean. Not our basement. So I can practice my time magic stuff," she said. "It's pretty cool. They thought it would make me feel better. Kinda does! Wanna see it?"
"Bit later," he said.
"Kay. And I practiced turning some stuff back. I did some short times. Alphys had a really old broken Mew Mew though and I got dizzy trying that one, so I guess maybe I have a time limit? Dad thinks I'll be able to push it more as I get older."
"Mhm."
"Um! Dad also said he wanted to, um, take some of my blood soon?" She lowered her voice. "That's okay, right? That's not a terrible idea, is it?"
Sans rubbed his eye sockets. "He say what he wanted it for?"
"Yeah, something like the timeline should have my magic, um, signature or something? And that having a sample should make it easier to study or something like that," she said. "Is that okay?"
"You don't have to ask me," he said.
"…But I wanna ask you," she said quietly.
"Kid, c'mon, it's not like you need my say so."
"But you know more about this stuff than me," she said. "And I trust you."
He flinched. His bones flushed. Something muddled his mind so thoroughly that his skull ached.
"Sans? Are, um…? Are you still there? Are you okay?" Frisk asked sheepishly.
"Sure," he said. "Blood thing's probably fine."
"Okay," she said. "I, um… Bye. I love you."
"Pff. Love you, too, kiddo."
.
He dozed off, clutching the phone loosely against his chest. When he awoke again, he was on the couch downstairs. He didn't remember going there. He stared up at the ceiling with mild puzzlement, ignoring a faint clamour around him. Before long, Papyrus was in his field of view, glowering down at him. He grinned fondly.
"Hey, bro," he said groggily.
"Are you going to just sleep all day?" Papyrus asked.
"Sounds great," Sans said.
"Nyeh! That's not… UGH. Fine. Do you want breakfast?"
The short skeleton stuck his thumb down and then folded his arms behind his head. Papyrus huffed out a sigh.
"That's not like you. You should eat anyway," he said.
.
He bounced away to the kitchen, sneaking around a very groggy Toriel. She was at the side table, holding a mug of coffee and staring off into it like it contained a story. He patted her gently on the shoulder and peeked into the fridge. He pouted. It was pretty empty except the cinnamon bunnies.
"I gueeesss I'll just have to go to the store," Papyrus said. "Ugh, I wish we had a big grocery place, like in the city. Do you think I should go to Waterfall?"
"Wherever you like." Toriel smiled tepidly. She stirred her coffee slowly.
Papyrus bounced over to her and hugged her around the shoulders, a flicker of gold in his fingertips. "Okay! I. Will. Be. Back! Do you want anything specifically or…?"
"Whatever you think is best," she said.
"Are you quite tired?" he asked.
"Stayed up a little too late, I'm afraid," she said with a laugh.
"You are not the only one!" He cut his eyes at the couch and put his hands on his hips. "And maybe a certain someone should know better."
.
In a heap on the couch, Sans smiled sideways and shrugged weakly. Papyrus loomed over him and narrowed his eyes.
"Brother, you look exceptionally lump-like today," he said. "You should come with me. It'd be good for you to get out of the house, don't you think? I think so!"
"Probably just slow you down," he said with an apologetic smile.
"Nyeh! As if!" he said. He tapped on his teeth. "Though. I guess the whole source of whatever that is, is that you stayed out too long last night."
"Guess so," he said.
"Okay! I have decided! You should stay home," he announced.
"Good idea, bro," Sans said.
"I know! Nyeh heh heh!"
.
Papyrus raced outside as if somehow it was urgent. The air hung quiet and calm behind him. The gentle ting of Toriel's spoon against the side of her mug was the only sound for a while. Eventually, she raised up and stretched, and then turned back to look at the pile of bones on the couch.
.
"You don't look well, sweetie," she said.
"What else is new?" Sans asked with a hoarse chuckle.
She sighed quietly and made her way to the couch. She sat gently beside him and, carefully, scooped him up in her arms and held him close. He scoffed but, if he were honest, the warmth of her soul humming nearby was welcome. He felt a shiver coming on.
"I can make you some breakfast," she suggested. "Some tea?"
"Tea," he agreed.
She kissed his head and sat him back down where he'd been. Stretching again, she stood and headed for the kitchen. "Would you do me a favour and go get the mail? When you're ready," she suggested. "A little air might do you good."
"Sure," he said.
.
He didn't get up for a long while anyway. The bones in his ribcage hurt. When he managed to force his eyes open, he was met with blinding orange. He wasn't sure if it was a dream or not, but the stark heat and the thrum of magic in the air made him think not. He took a deep breath and stumbled, grasping to the hot metal console in front of a streaming pillar of energy. His eyes hurt. Didn't make sense. Gaster was back. So why was he here?
xXxXx
The Tem Village deep in the heart of Waterfall was almost empty, now. The cat-and-doglike Tems had mostly fled for the surface as soon as the barrier had fallen, but a handful had stuck around, mostly for shopping and tourists. The shop had a lot of interesting things now— the little creatures were fascinated with bartering for whatever was in someone's pockets.
.
Papyrus was excited with what he'd found. Many were foods he'd never even heard of, and there was some fruit, for Frisk. It struck him, as he was perusing, that he wasn't exactly sure what his father liked, aside from greasy burgers and coffee. Pasta, surely? He found something called a tortellini that he'd never seen before, but it seemed to be a pasta, so he was eager to cook it for everyone.
.
Despite the good haul, the skeleton had a weird sense of anxiety perked inside him. Maybe because he hadn't seen his sister today. Maybe because he hadn't done any training with Undyne.
.
He'd almost reached home when he noticed an odd heap of something on the front steps of the house. He squinted through the falling snow and his soul, for some reason, did an uncomfortable flip. He walked faster. Sans was slumped awkwardly down the stairs, his body limp. That was exceptionally odd.
.
"Um. Brother?" Papyrus leaned over him. "This is no place for a nap, you know." He grabbed him to lift him up, but red caught his eye and he froze. A pained squeak came out of him and, groceries long since forgotten, he flipped Sans over in his arms.
The short skeleton's eyes were closed, his cheekbone cracked, and the ridge above one of his eyes chipped, where red magic oozed from him. Papyrus opened and closed his mouth silently for a moment, shock freezing him into the centre of his bones.
"S-S-Sans?" he croaked. "SANS?! Sans! What are you doing?! Wake up!" He clapped his hand to his brother's face, magic glowing bright. "Come on. Don't fool around like this, this is a terrible joke, even for you!"
.
The oozing began to slow, but apart from that, nothing changed. Not even the edges of the cracks would stitch. Papyrus felt sick.
"This isn't funny, Sans," he said. "You have to get up now."
Still nothing. Not even a flicker. He ran his finger through the magic and looked at the red on the tip of his finger. He drew it up towards his nasal cavity just to be sure it wasn't ketchup. It was not.
.
Hefting Sans up into his arms, he barged into the house and raced up the stairs. By the time he was gently laying his brother down in a bed, Toriel had followed him up. She took one look at the scene and then grabbed Papyrus into a tight hug. He wilted and hid himself against her for only a moment before turning back to Sans and putting his hand against his forehead.
"Do you know what happened?" she asked quietly.
"N-No. No I… I don't know," he said. "He was on the steps. It's s-so weird, it feels like healing isn't working. So. Um. I… I don't know what to do. But I'm sure I can figure it out! S-Somehow! Nyeh heh… heh."
"I'll c—" Toriel looked up as something clunked above them. "Oh, thank goodness."
.
Within seconds, the door was flung open and Frisk barrelled in, breathing hard, a thin stream of blood flowing down her arm. Her eyes went wide. "Oh my god." She got on the bed and grasped her brother's shoulders. "No. No no no no, he can't…" She put her hand over the cracks in his skull. "Oh my god, bro."
"Sweetheart, do you have any idea what happened?" Toriel asked, putting her hand on her back.
"I d-don't know, I just felt… I felt…" She put a hand to her soul spot and choked. "No, Sans, you can't…"
"He didn't fall, did he?" Papyrus asked shrilly. "He… I thought he couldn't. After everything, I mean, he's had a horrible time, you'd think he would have done it sooner if he was going to fall down at all, right? Things are going well now, aren't they?"
"I… I dunno, I'm not sure, but maybe I can…" Frisk rolled up her sleeves. Her hands flared with red magic and she put one to his temple and the other on his chest.
.
Something was desperately wrong with her brother. His soul was there. It didn't feel like the hollow sound of a fallen monster, but it still felt wrong. Cold. Burnt out. The remnants of a small bonfire left to turn to ash, long since abandoned and frozen to the touch. She tried to pull him back, but she saw only blackness in reply. Then, starlight, in little pinpricks. She felt the echo of his soul, the song and the abrupt stop, over and over again until it made her head hurt.
.
She fell back away from him, watery and wide-eyed, and stared. Her hands shook and she put them to her head. Toriel and Papyrus looked at her, their expressions questioning, concerned, and confused. She gulped. She felt like there was sand in her throat. Then, Sans stirred. Everyone zeroed in on him and he opened one eye. Frisk beamed and grabbed his hand.
"Oh, thank god," Papyrus said.
"Sans! How you feeling?" Frisk demanded.
"Oof. Uh. Awful." He grinned sideways. "I… Uh. Oh. I'm, uh… Think I'm gonna faint."
"What?! No, no no no, wait, hang on," Frisk insisted, eyes wide. She cupped his face. "Wait, please, try to stay just a little longer. What's wrong with you?"
"What isn't wrong with me?" His voice was weakening. "Hey. You look real worried, huh? …Don't, uh… Don't worry."
"But Sans?!" Papyrus insisted. "You're not allowed to fall! You can't."
"Not fallin'." He closed his eyes again as Papyrus grabbed his hand. "Heh. Sorry for spookin' you guys… Head kinda hurts, though. Think I need a nap." He was gone again.
.
Before Frisk could say another word, Gaster arrived. Toriel grabbed his shoulder. He looked like he might faint himself.
"But… He can't fall," he said hoarsely.
"I thought so! I really thought so," Papyrus said. "What's going on? Frisk?"
.
She gulped and put her hand to his chest again. Her magic thrummed through him and she began to sweat. It couldn't latch and turn— he was locked up. She dropped back with ice in her stomach and a horrified shiver overtaking her small frame.
"I c-can't turn him backwards right, i-it didn't work," she said. "It… It feels like…" She gulped. "Feels like he just… shut down or something." Tears began to run down her cheeks and she looked up at the others, her heart sinking. "I… I didn't do it good enough. I couldn't fix it."
.
"What are you talking about?" Toriel bent in to hold the girl gently. "This isn't your fault."
"No, no, it…" Her voice went tight and she choked. She buckled and her shoulders shook as her chest heaved, sucking air, unable to catch her breath or force a word out.
Toriel pulled Frisk in close, cooing and rocking her back and forth gently. "Honey! Honey, it's okay. It's okay."
Papyrus and Gaster shared a heartbroken look and the younger skeleton slipped in close to Toriel. He reached in for his sobbing sister held her head, lighting gentle magic up in his palm.
"Come on, sister. Breathe. Deep breaths. In and out. You can do it," he said quietly.
.
She tried. Her heart was pounding and her jaw hurt. Her vision blurred and a dry, hot headache set in fast. Toriel kissed her brow softly.
"Is that better?" she asked. "My child, try to calm down. We will help him. You know that."
She shook her head vehemently. "The universe, I… I didn't close it enough, maybe? He wasn't feeling good and we saw all these weird things and I was supposed to shut it and I couldn't shut it and I thought it was good enough but it wasn't and—"
.
"Frisk! Frisk, stop!" Gaster reached in and put a hand on her head, drawing her in, eyes glowing. "Kiddo, it's not your fault, you can't just—"
"I d-don't understand why it didn't work, I… I gotta go back, I gotta go back," she mumbled.
"Wait. Wait, wait wait." He cupped her face and pulled her up to lock eyes with her. "Okay? Please. We need some time."
"I c-can't leave him like this!" she said shrilly.
"I know. I know. But this… This isn't normal. Alright? He just fainted again, didn't he? If you reverse it, it'll just happen again."
Frisk looked aghast. She put her face in her hands and choked. Papyrus shoved himself between the adults and scooped her up, holding her tight. She whimpered and clung to him.
.
Gaster sighed and rubbed a hand over his skull. He got up and paced. "We'll take him to the lab. Run some tests," he said quietly.
"I… I need to… I need to talk to him, though," Frisk squeaked. "I… Oh my god."
"Okay. Okay. Breathe, honey. Breathe," Toriel said softly. "It's okay. We will figure this out together."
"I screwed up." Her voice was barely even a whisper. "I gotta fix him. I…"
"Why do you keep saying this was you?" Papyrus asked worriedly. "You didn't do this."
"I w-was supposed to close everything outside of here but I… I didn't do it right. I saw there were other v-versions of everything and… And I thought—"
"You have to stop," Gaster said, his voice stern. "It's not your fault. I was there. You repaired what you could. Nothing you did will have caused this to happen to him, or else you and Asriel would be feeling the effects as well, don't you think?"
Frisk was at a loss. She gulped and tried to find her words. "B-B-But there were so many other lights out there, I—"
"There always will be," Gaster said. "I believe it's a separate issue. It may be true that something made him sick, but we will need to examine him. There is a way to heal him, I'm certain."
Toriel's brow furrowed and she gently kissed the girl on the head. "He's right," she said quietly. "Please, my child, calm yourself. Think of what your brother would say."
Frisk pouted. She rubbed her eyes. She breathed deep despite the snag in her throat.
.
"O-Okay. You're right." She wiped her eyes again. "We should take him to the lab. We'll… We'll do some tests and… Does anyone know when he fainted?"
"He'd just stepped out to check the mail," Toriel said. "So, I suppose, not too long ago."
Frisk flinched. "I just s-saved like ten minutes ago. So… That might be…" She was nauseous. She'd accidentally bottled the consciousness of her brother into only a couple minutes. She tried to push that away for now. "Okay. L-Let's… Let's test his energy a bit with Dad's stuff and then… Then I'll jump back and… and we'll try to grab him before he faints. Then at least he won't, um, b-break his face. Does, um…? Does that work for everyone?"
"That's perfect," Gaster said. He gently scooped Sans up into his arms. "I'll meet you there."
.
He was gone in an instant. Frisk curled up on herself and folded her arms tight. Her brother cuddled her gently and blew out a rough sigh. Toriel held them and gently kissed each of their heads.
"Don't worry," she said. "Frisk. Your plan is good. I know you'll figure it out. What can I do?"
The kid flinched. She thought hard about it. What would Sans say? He'd probably find all this panic and crying a waste of energy. She took a deep breath.
"Dunno. Come with me to the lab? We'll get Alphys and we'll get some stuff ready."
"I'm not sure we can get ahead of your father," she said.
"Oh. Hah… I got it covered." She forced herself to her feet. "Follow me."
xXxXx
It was pretty obvious that something was wrong when the two monsters and the human kid plopped into the second lower floor of the lab in Hotland with Frisk in particular looking red and puffy. The most simple of explanations sent Alphys into a tizzy. Luckily, Undyne was there to help lift and gather the arcane equipment they might need, most of which was quite large. They set up a bed close to the tear in time in the largest basement room on the first level below and waited.
.
When Gaster arrived, the lab became a whirlwind of electronics and cables. They took Sans's shirt off but the wires attached to his arms and then inside of his ribcage soon made up for it.
.
Frisk felt like the world around her was going too fast, and she was sluggish and stiff. Their father was operating like a robot, calculated and efficient in every move he made. Computers and medical monitors were set up like a protective fortress. Extra hands in blue and black magic flitted around like helpful birds, but they just made the kid dizzy.
.
She didn't move from her spot until she was grabbed by soft paws with strong fingers around her shoulders. She jerked to the side to find herself looking into Asriel's pale green eyes. She pulled him into a tight hug and he held her close.
"It's gonna be okay," he said.
"It's bad though. I-It's bad," she said softly.
"Mom told me," he said. "He's gonna be okay. We'll fix him."
"Right. Right right…" Her posture went slack. She let him cradle her as she tried not to let a ragged, heavy breath get caught in her throat. "I… I don't know what I did to him."
"I don't think you did anything," he said.
"Then why…?" She hid against him and her voice went high and weak. "Why?"
"Don't know yet," he said.
"It's not fair," she said. "I-It's just not fair. He's been through so much and he did so much good but no matter what I do, the bad stuff still all happens to him!"
"I know. It's garbage," he said gently. "But. I mean. On the bright side. At least while he's out he won't be hurtin' or dreaming anything stupid, probably. Right?"
.
Frisk drew back, wiping her eyes. She nodded stiffly, drew in a timid sniffle, and sighed heavily. Papyrus's long, boney hand rested on her back as he sat beside her with a heavy sigh. She jerked upright, her eyes glistening.
"I'm so sorry," she said.
"What for?" he asked. "Look! Dad and Alphys both know nerdy science stuff, and they're both working very hard! So. Don't worry."
She grimaced. Asriel held her hand.
"Did you feel it?" she asked.
"Felt you," he said.
.
Frisk put a hand to her brow and she tried to catch her breath again. She stood up on wobbly legs and grabbed onto Papyrus. "I'm sorry."
"Nyeh! Frisk." He held her. "Please. Don't. Okay?"
Her voice was barely a whisper. "I took him away from you."
"Hm? What? Frisk, come on," he insisted gently.
"I screwed up," she said.
"Nyeeehhh, little sister, please." He held her face and then lit his fingers up against her temples. "Relax. Reeeelax. You couldn't have known this would happen."
.
Frisk flinched. She gritted her teeth, then kissed his cheek and ran from the room.
"Frisk?! Frisk, hey…!" Papyrus's voice faltered and he got to his feet. "Oh no."
"Wh-Where's she going?" Alphys asked worriedly.
The skeleton was on his way out before she'd even finished her question. Asriel picked up and went, too.
.
Frisk wasn't in the hall ahead of them, nor was she near either elevator or in the room, or anywhere else in the lab, in fact.
"How is she so fast?!" Papyrus demanded.
Asriel bit his lip. He paced the hall until the sight of light near the large elevator that went downwards caught his attention. His soul warbled. "I think I know." He grabbed Papyrus. "Look, uh. I'll find her."
"Did I… say something bad?" he wondered. "I didn't, did I? I hope not."
"No. No, it's not you," Asriel said swiftly. "It's… Don't worry. I think I know where she might have gone."
.
With a lump in his throat, the boy touched the light. His mind swam. It ached deep cold all through him, and he thought, maybe the flower patch. The first place she'd seen here. He dropped out onto crunchy leaves and had to take a moment to reorient himself.
.
A headache heavy in his head, he rushed through the Ruins and down deeper into the mountain. However, the field of glittering gold flowers was vacant. The smell turned his stomach. He raced back to try again.
.
She wasn't on the mountain top, nor Grillby's, nor back home. When he finally found her, she was sitting in the dark, feet dangling into the bioluminescent streams of water right near Undyne's house.
"Hey. I was looking for you," he said quietly.
The air in the cave was still and cool, and her sniffles echoed with the dripping of water.
"Sorry," she said.
.
He took a seat with her, dunking his paws into the pleasantly cool stream. "Needed some air?"
"I'm so mad," she said.
"That's new," he said.
"Not really." She curled up on herself and hugged her knee. "…I'm a mess. I… I can't believe I—"
"You didn't do anything wrong," he said.
"They're not supposed to be apart. I broke it. I broke them. This isn't supposed to happen." Her eyes looked glazed. The tears on her cheeks reflected that same blue light from below them. "How could I? It's like, I'm just a mess, I'm just evil; I made them love me and then just destroyed… everything."
"Whoa. Dude, that's not… That doesn't make any sense," he said.
"If I'm a time god, I'm one who… Who just… ruins things," she said. "I gotta be bad. I just break time and my b-brother and… everything."
Asriel bit his lip. His ears drooped bashfully. "…You fixed me," he said.
.
Frisk jerked back, wide-eyed, and stared at him like he'd dumped ice on her. She quickly pulled him into her arms and choked. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know… I know I— Oh my god, I'm so s-selfish, I can't believe I… I should just shut up, I'm so stupid, you're so important a-and I—"
"Frisk. Frisk, stop. Breathe." He held her and kissed her forehead. He looked at her sturdily in the eyes. "Never say that about yourself again. Any of that."
"I'm sorry."
"No, don't apologize to me, either," he said, laughing weakly. "Jeez, what happened to you?"
She wilted into him. "I feel like I'm gonna die," she hiccuped.
"You're not gonna die," he said. "You're gonna be fine. And so is he. Just give your dad and Alphys a bit of time. And then, well… if that's not gonna work, it'll be up to you and me. And that's okay." He held out his hand to her, offering her his pinkie. "We're a team. Forever. Like, literally. Okay?"
.
The kid gulped. She hiccuped again and wiped her eyes, and then locked her pinkie with his. "Okay. Y-Yeah. Team."
"The most OP team you ever seen," he said, grinning his fangs. "And. Listen. You can't be evil, okay? That's my job."
"You're not," she scolded. She sniffled and ran her fingers through her bangs. "You don't think… So if I'm some weird time god and I break something and it just puts someone— anyone— out on their butt, like… isn't that…?"
"Kinda wish he never put that in your head," Asriel said. "I mean. Don't get me wrong. It's true. But that word implies stuff that isn't true for you. If that's what you are, you're still a human, too. You're still only ten—"
"Eleven."
"Ten and a half." He winked. "You don't have a ton of experience or even just… the mental tools to deal with stuff, if that makes sense? You're putting way too much pressure on yourself." He patted her hand. "Even if we pretend it's all your fault and you just did a crap job, you didn't do anything we can't fix. And you didn't do anything to hurt anyone on purpose. It's new territory. Sans would never blame you in a million years."
"But… we don't know that we can fix it," she said quietly.
"Of course we can," he assured her. "Look, you can't lose it on me, alright? Isn't determination your thing?"
"I guess so," she said.
"You already did the impossible." He winked. "Now's just time for the difficult. Right?"
.
"Uhhhh. Am I interuptin' something?" Undyne had somehow crept up behind them. Judging by the bundle of grass and the box in her arms, she'd come from her house. "Whoa. Uh. You guys okay?"
"Not really," Asriel said, though he cut his eyes at Frisk.
Undyne put her stuff on the ground and she plopped down heavily beside Frisk and wrapped her arm around her. "Hey. S'okay. He's gonna be just fine. He always is."
The kid nodded. She leaned up against the big monster. "I just hate this."
"I know." She ruffled the kid's hair, though her shoulders sagged. "…Ah, I shouldda made him come here sooner."
"There was no way to know," Frisk assured her swiftly.
"See?!" Asriel said.
Frisk blushed. He smiled sympathetically.
.
Undyne raised her brows. After a moment, a light of understanding flickered in her eye. She groaned, smacked her forehead, and laughed tiredly. "Aw, jeez, kid!" She pulled her up into her arms and hugged her close. "C'mon. Jeez. Don't gimme that."
"I d-didn't even whine yet, though," she squeaked.
"You don't have to!" Undyne said. She got up and plunked Frisk onto her feet. "C'mon, let's go the long way back, huh? You could use a breather, I can tell."
"I dunno," Frisk said sheepishly, "shouldn't I—?"
"Hey. There's no should right now, alright?" Undyne said. She clenched her fist and grinned bright, striking a defiant pose. "Kiddo. Listen. Every time you think that stuff, just think of me PUNCHIN' IT RIGHT INTO SPACE! Okay?"
"O-Okay," she said.
.
Normally the sounds of Waterfall, bubbling and flowing and the white noise of distant, falling water was calming— allowed the mind to drift along. Undyne wasn't having it. She didn't stop talking the whole way back to the lab. Frisk had trouble focusing, but if one thing was certain, she couldn't focus on the troubled thoughts whirling in her skull either.
.
Papyrus was pacing downstairs, waiting, when the three of them returned. He crushed Frisk into a hug, soul sparking.
"Sorry," she said softly.
"No, don't be," he said.
"Can I help with anything?" she asked.
"You can keep me company!" he said. "And I can keep you company! Good, right? I think so!"
Frisk had to force her eyes away from the tangle of wires and stacks of cold equipment behind him. She nodded and gritted her teeth. Wanted to apologize over and over anyway.
.
Darting around the room, Gaster was quiet and quick, working on ten things at once. The sharp sound of his bones clacking against a keyboard was inescapable. As Papyrus took a spot beside Sans's bed again, Frisk hung back nervously. Asriel thumped her heavily on the shoulder and joined the skeleton, staring down into the mess of blankets on the bed.
.
Female voices murmured on the other side of the room, pulling Frisk away for only a second. Toriel had come to join them, bearing a tray of hot drinks, and Undyne huddled close to her, arms folded tight. They whispered in concerned urgency. A sneak of the eye and a glance her way filled with pity put a pit in Frisk's stomach. She made a beeline for one of the monitors hooked up to her brother.
.
The waveform of Sans's soul was running blue over a black background, though it was displayed next to an older version. The intensity had clearly decreased. She felt a pressure behind her eyes and she huffed quietly. Maybe Gaster was right.
"What do I do, what do I do?" she muttered.
.
The sound of feet sent a shiver up her spine and she darted out of the way as Gaster stormed in towards a computer that was hooked up to the monitor. His eyes were so cold and determined that all Frisk could do was try to stay out of his way. He summoned data to the screen that rushed by so quickly she couldn't understand a word of it, but he nodded to himself, jotted something down on his own arm bone with a felt-tip marker, and was leaving without another word.
.
"D-Dad, um—?" She felt awkward even talking to him. "Dad?"
He stopped dead and looked at her blankly.
"Can I, um…? Can I help?" she asked.
"Hm? Oh. I doubt it," he said.
Frisk gulped and nodded. He hated her, she bet. Had to. "A-Are you sure?"
"Very." He cracked a weak smile. "I have everything under control. Why don't you get off your feet for a little while? I'm sure Papyrus would appreciate the company."
She nodded again, and he went right back to work.
.
Stiff and nervous, Frisk curled up with Papyrus and Asriel against Sans's bed. Someone had wrapped bandages around his broken brow and eye socket. There was metal curled around his wrist, tethered to more cables. In her mind, his voice echoed with a playful tone: lookin' kinda like a cyborg, huh? She grabbed his cold hand, sighed, and slumped forward onto the covers.
.
She tried to think of what he would do. Where would he look for answers? He'd have to wait for test results, she guessed. And Alphys and Gaster were already doing those. She had nothing to reach for.