PHEW! Chapter 82
The tiniest star, pulsing an iridescent, blinding white, hovered at the heart of a torrent of time. Magic spun outwards from its centre, carried in the arms of a nebula, dragging trees back to seed and stitching together shattered earth.
.
Mouth agape, Asriel stammered something that turned into an agonized wail. He raced for the light that was his sister, arm outstretched. "FRISK?! FRISK, NO—!"
The rapid expansion of the magic pushed him back, stumbling over the roots of the forest they'd created before the vortex siphoned them away.
.
"Get down."
Asriel whipped around. Gaster stood behind him, the long blaster propped up over his shoulder and aimed straight for the star. All the boy could see was red.
.
Flame bubbling from his mouth, Asriel launched at the skeleton like a frenzied beast. He crashed into him and slammed him to the ground. The boy spewed fire, and Gaster raised the blaster to protect his face.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Asriel yowled. He sunk the claws of one hand deep into the man's coat and the other into the weapon to try to wrest it away. His wristband of vines grew and wrapped it, too, entangling the elongated maw as best he could.
"You are not supposed to remember. It… must not be finished," Gaster said, his voice strained and softly apologetic. He clung to the blaster with all his might. "Let me… Nnh… Let me end this." He pushed against Asriel's paw, trying to aim the jaws of the weapon back towards the starlight.
Asriel lunged forward and sunk his teeth into the skeleton's shoulder. Gaster grunted, flinching— it was just enough for his fingers to slacken. The boy ripped the blaster away and flung it haphazardly with the momentum it already carried. It ripped his vines away and crashed somewhere amongst the tangled roots.
.
Asriel's soul seized in blue and he was tossed back just enough for Gaster's form to flicker and vanish. The skeleton was on his feet in the blink of an eye and Asriel mirrored him, vision blurring as he oozed heat and rage. The man's eyes widened and he rushed forward, blue magic helping as he grabbed Asriel by the collar of his hoodie and yanked him back, just as the spiral tendrils rippled closer. The boy jerked away, turning to stare into the light.
.
The magic around where Frisk had been was coalescing into glittery void, a strange pocket of space suspended between the rapidly shrinking trees. Asriel stumbled towards it, only for the skeleton to grab him again and pull him aside.
"Son, please, don't," he said breathlessly.
Asriel grabbed onto Gaster and headbutted him as hard as he could against the nearest tree. Bone cracked. Even so, the man did not release him. He grabbed the boy tight to his body, all but embracing him, his blue magic weighing Asriel's limbs down.
"You can't touch it," Gaster insisted. "It's out of control, everything will be reversed unless I—"
"That's your fault!" Asriel barked. "You're the one who shot her, you're the one who—!"
"You don't understand."
"I don't CARE!" He snarled. His throat tightened and he twisted, trying to get a better look at the light. "Unless you want me to bite your neck," he said through gritted teeth, "let me go right now."
"…Bite me all you want, Prince Asriel, if it'll make you feel better," Gaster said gently.
.
Asriel froze, back stiff. Flame boiled at the back of his throat, and his eyes got hot with tears. It made him sick, how much like his uncle this man sounded. He growled and stretched his magic down through the ground— felt the roots of the tree, and thrust them upwards as fast as he could.
.
Gaster shifted away reflexively and Asriel yanked back, whirled, and sprinted to the growing void.
"FRISK!"
Again, his soul caught in the skeleton's gravity magic and he was tossed back and away. The cool, blue weight seeped across every inch of him and dropped him forward like a stone.
"I am sorry," Gaster said. He shifted into view, ignoring Asriel's growls as he looked down with a sympathetic tilt to his brow. "As I said. I did not wish to cause you grief. This… anomalous god should be forgotten. I'm not sure, exactly, why it is not."
Asriel felt so heavy he could hardly pry his jaws apart. He snarled, struggling to get an arm under himself, his eyes focussed solely on that light.
"The process is painless," Gaster continued. "As I told you. I'm not sure if this is of any consolation to you. But let me explain." He turned and squinted in the direction of the warping star. "My Temporal Blaster severs the entity from time and shatters its sense of self. It will not return to cause trouble because it cannot. It will have no desire to."
.
Asriel's mind raced with panic. Did that mean Frisk was going through the same thing he had when he'd been struck in the void? That emptiness; confusion… His soul felt like a pit and his eyes filled with tears. If Frisk got stuck, did that mean…?
.
Mom. Dad. Their siblings. Their family. Their friends. Everyone they'd ever met. Everything they'd ever seen. Could any of it survive without Frisk?
.
Embers and iridescent sparks coursing along his bright fur, Asriel growled, struggling with all his might to lift himself up.
"Prince, please," Gaster said quickly, raising his hands as if to calm the boy. "I am trying to help you. If you touch that space, you may be turned backwards until you do not exist. I will finish this. Please—"
"NYAAAAAH!"
.
Gaster vanished as a comet of orange energy slammed to the ground where he'd been. Papyrara straightened up, scarf a streamer of flame as they yanked their spear out of the earth. Orange streaked down their face— across their blazing eyes— like warpaint.
.
The heaviness whisked away from Asriel's soul. He scrambled upright again and raced to Papyrara with a wheeze in his breath. "G-Guys—!"
"Frisk?" the large skeleton asked him.
Asriel pointed to the light in the vortex of void. Papyrara twisted and their jaw dropped.
"No. No!" They jolted forward, but one hand reached up and clamped tight against their upper shoulder, stalling them. "Stop him instead," they said under their breath before they turned to Asriel. "Get her, okay?!" Their face turned hard and their eyes glinted. "We'll deal with Gaster."
.
They blazed away and Asriel wasted no time sprinting back to the void. Sunlight streamed down as the canopy rapidly receded under its influence, and the edge of it billowed wind like a hurricane.
"FRISK!" Asriel shouted. He shielded his eyes from debris with his arm and pushed in through the wind. "SIS?! COME ON, COME BACK! YOU GOTTA FIGHT IT!" His soul blazed in his chest and he reached out to the void. "COME BACK! YOU'RE TOO STRONG FOR THIS! DON'T LET HIM—!"
.
The tips of his claws brushed the dark. A strong puff of wind, and he stumbled backwards onto his tail. The void let out a glittering pulse, a sonic wave that vibrated magic down through every inch of Asriel's body. The trees and vines receded into fresh grass, leaving a gaggle of monsters out in the open field. The autocatchers dimmed, and their massive, purple dome flickered out of existence, letting the beaming sun in. Papyrara shimmered and split apart into a heap. Gaster's Temporal Blaster— with its one, gleaming red charge in the chamber— sat, plain as day, shining in the light. It vibrated and a second charge in orange returned to it.
.
The void's spiral arms wrapped around itself, cocooning into an egg of space. The star within swelled, so bright that the boy had to shield his eyes again. Squinting, he watched as the light before him morphed. It was like some liquid beast, almost draconic, with bizarrely-shaped wings and large, lyre horns piercing upwards from its skull. His mouth dried.
"…Frisk?"
.
Commotion erupted. Gaster shouted. So did Chara. Asriel hardly processed either, staggering upright and racing to the void, every thought focused on his glowing sister.
.
As soon as he breached the dark, time slowed. The world around looked all but normal, save for crystalline motes of black and white that drifted lazily upwards and the foggy, desaturated shimmer where the shell was. A slow, faintly shifting note of a melody drifted like a breeze.
.
The beast of light awaited, unmoving.
.
Asriel gulped. With a step forward, he realized his body wasn't the same as before. He'd returned to normal— not the illusion of a tough, teenaged monster any longer. Small. Big-eyed. Much shorter horns. He quickly checked his hands, back and front. Gaster had been wrong. He wasn't receding out of existence. He hadn't even grown any flower petals.
.
A chill ran down his neck and to the tip of his tail, and he quickly checked behind him to see how close Gaster was. The skeleton's arm was outstretched towards his Temporal Blaster, caught in mid-step, but he was moving so slowly he might as well have not been moving at all. The same could be said for everyone else outside shell, it seemed.
.
Asriel let out a little sigh of relief. He turned back to look at the huge form before him and he rubbed his knuckles across his eyes quickly. "Oh god, sis, what'd he do to you?"
With a strange, stiff motion, the light's head tilted towards him. Twin red spots like blazing flame lit up to stare straight at him. He jolted, gritting his teeth. It was just Frisk, he reminded himself. He took a deep breath and headed towards her.
"Frisk?"
No reply.
"Frisk, c'mon, it's me," Asriel said. "Asriel. Your… Your best friend." He stretched out his hand. "Can you hear me?"
.
Stupid question, he thought, wincing. She'd looked right at him. Now, though, there was no more reaction from her. He braced himself; fought back the heartbreak.
"Sis, can you hear me? I… I don't know what you're seeing right now. But listen to me, okay? You gotta fight it." His mouth was parched and his tongue almost hurt as the nerves made his insides churn and his soul stutter. "I know exactly what you're going through. But you gotta remember, you're Frisk. You're my sister. You're…! You're a time god, there's no way this can stop you, right?" His ears drooped and he reached out with both hands, but, somehow, whatever Frisk had become was too tall. "P-Please. We need you. I-I need you. Our whole world needs you, remember?"
.
The melody around him shifted. Slowed. It seemed melancholy, now. Lonely. Reluctant. Asriel held up his hands insistently.
"It's true! Y-You… You're…!" He tried to catch his breath. "When you saved me, you said you'd protect me, and I should have done the same. I-I'm older, right?" His voice cracked and he rubbed his hand through the scruff of fur between his horns. "God, I'm pathetic." He cleared his throat and tried again. "I-I… I know you gotta be scared, right? And that skeleton, he… He said some dumb fake crap to you again and I know it freaked you out, but you…! You gotta be tough, okay?! Because I know you're tough, I…! I…" He wilted, his eyes welling up. "I… I don't know what to say."
The beast stood, unmoved. Hot tears dribbled down the boy's cheeks. He straightened up and locked eyes with it.
"Remember…! Remember mom! You remember mom, right?" he said. "And w-what about Papyrus? Sans? You love them more th-than anything, right?"
Still no response. His voice warbled.
"R-Remember me? I… I'm your brother! Y-You… You gotta be okay. You can't… His stupid laser can't have…" He felt like his soul might just plunk to the ground. "Please…"
.
The beast of light shifted. Asriel jumped. It lowered its snout towards him as if in slow motion. He drew in a sharp breath and, with shaking hands, touched it. It was hot, and the magic churning under his fingertips was turbulent and confused.
"Frisk?"
Still nothing, but its feelings roiled. It brushed against his soul and he was struck with what was going through its barely coherent mind. It felt lost. Wrong. Like it wasn't supposed to be, at all. As if it had ruined everything.
.
Asriel held the blazing light's snout and pressed his brow against it, breathing deeply as heat seeped through him like steaming water. "Frisk, come on. Come on. You're okay, right? Snap out of it. You gotta come back."
Red eyes beamed down at him, unblinking. He huffed and wrapped his arms around its head, shoving himself as close as he could get. He winced and shut his eyes tight against the glow, but that red still shone through his eyelids.
"What Gaster said: he was wrong. You're not a thief. You're not bad! Everyone gave you those parts for your soul because they love you. I-If I had anything to give t-to… To help, I…" His soul pulsed heavily. He gritted his teeth. His determination wasn't really his, was it? He raised a hand to his chest.
.
"No." The voice was a whisper in the magic, so soft he hadn't heard it in his ears, but even so it thundered resolutely in his soul.
He drew back, eyes teary and wide. The beast of light stared back at him.
"That was a gift," it said. "I…" It emanated confusion. The song of its soul sped up. "I feel… Hm. What happened to us?"
"That guy hit you with some stupid time gun, the same one that he got me with, I don't—"
It seemed surprised. It looked at its massive, flowing talon. "…I don't understand."
.
Asriel's jaw dropped. He gulped hard. "D-Do you know who you are? Do you know who I am?!"
"I love you," it said quietly.
"Okay, I love you, too, but you gotta think, right?!" he insisted. "Do you know who you are?!"
The beast froze. It wavered. It turned its eyes on the world outside their space. Asriel followed its gaze. It was looking at the weapon.
"Stay behind me." The voice was more Frisk's, now.
.
The light beast turned around and stepped back into time, its void lair shattered. Asriel yelped, almost tripping over his own feet as he returned to the height this world allowed him. Their friends were still trying to right themselves. Gaster staggered, grasping his blaster. The light reared up, towering before him, wings spread out wide. It headed straight for the skeleton and held its arms out.
.
Gritting his teeth, eyes flaring, the skeleton dropped to one knee, aimed, and fired. Asriel covered his ears. Chara screamed. The beast took the rainbow hit to the chest and its whole form staggered, glowing with the spectrum of colours so brightly it made the world look dark around it. It tilted its head back and the light washed over it, then seared the sky from its horns.
.
The skeleton stumbled back onto his tailbone. The light looked at him, eyes absorbing the spectrum and beaming out red in its place. He recoiled, but couldn't seem to get his feet under him. His weapon dropped heavily; impotently onto the grass.
.
The whole beast washed over red and began to shrink. With each step towards him, it got smaller and smaller, losing wings and tail until the form of a small, human girl emerged, magic horns lingering; dyed in red light beaming straight from her soul. A radiant star shone against it, white burning with a rainbow of colours.
.
"F-Frisk," Asriel breathed.
Chara had reached him; grabbed his hand tight, eyes wide. Papyrus snatched them both, squeezing them in a panic.
.
Finally, Frisk stood before the skeleton on the ground. Her eyes opened, horns receding, and the red across her body faded. The colour of her irises kept it, warming her usual chestnut brown. She smiled slightly.
"Whew. Jeez, dude. Gaster, right?" she said. "That was kinda a lot, huh? I think we got off on the wrong foot." She offered him her hand. "Oh! Sorry you wasted your laser."
The skeleton's jaw dropped. "That… That was supposed to…"
"Yeah. I know. It's just, ah… This is gonna sound super smug, but I'm kinda too strong for that?" She smiled sheepishly and rubbed her head.
He stared at her. "You're… too strong for—"
"Yeah, see, you built it out of time magic," she said. "And, I mean, it did kinda throw me for a loop for a second, there. But I'm, like… made of that stuff? So…"
"So." He put his palm to his skull. "Bain mo cloigeann."
She offered her hand to him again. Her magic shone faintly along her fingers. "Truce?"
He looked her up and down, squinting as if to somehow discern any malice. His bones rattled faintly. "You're going to kill me."
"No way, never," she said gently. "…You've been through a lot out there, too, huh?"
.
A heavy moment; a deep breath. His eye sockets watered. He huffed out a sigh and, as he looked at her, a tear slid down the side of his face. "God, it's… really hopeless, isn't it?"
"…Is it?" Frisk asked worriedly.
The skeleton gritted his teeth. "…I can't stop you. N… Nobody can stop you."
Frisk's eyes went wide. "What do you want me to stop doing?"
.
The skeleton buckled, face in his hands, and began to weep, shoulders shaking as he huffed out low, rasping wheezes. Frisk froze.
"H-Hey," she said. "A-Are you hurt? What's…? What's wrong?"
He didn't answer her, but after a few seconds began to whisper frantically. Frisk edged closer to listen.
"We will never be safe," he muttered to himself. "We can never be safe. I can't… I can't save us. I can't…"
"Hey. Come on," she said gently. "I-I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."
.
A chorus of voices cut any other negotiations short. Frisk and Gaster were both mobbed— the large form of Leirak plowed into the skeleton, with Alphys and some other soldiers not far behind.
"Wait, be careful—!" Frisk protested. "D-Don't hurt him, okay? He gave up!"
.
"And would you look at this! Dear viewers!"
A marble bird with gleaming, gemstone eyes was suddenly in Frisk's face, as was the big, grinning visage of Mettaton as he leaned forward, blocking her view of the commotion before her.
"Our champion emerges! Shorter and less blue than before, and a human to boot! Who would have thought?! This is a twist even I didn't predict!"
"This sure has been a shakeup of a battle, that's for sure!" Mettaton's stork compatriot leaned down, putting a crystal mic up Frisk's face. "Tell us, Mysterious Human, how does it feel to have stopped the dreaded Interloper?"
"Uh. I guess I'm glad that he didn't—"
"More importantly!" Mettaton swooped in front of the Spybird— beyond him, Frisk still couldn't tell what was going on with Gaster, but she didn't see anyone beating him up, at least. "Here is a question every single one our viewers wants answered! All of our audience, from all over the Kingdom, lent you their hopes and dreams with their voices! How much did all our cheering help on your path to victory?"
Frisk blinked, without a single clue what he was talking about. She steadied herself and stuck her thumb up. "It helped a ton. Thank you so much, everyone."
"I knew it!" He beamed. "My gold was on you the whole time, darling!"
.
"FRISK!" Chara pushed in, shoving her elbow between the monsters to get in close. She wrapped her arms around the other kid tight and pulled her in. "Are you okay?!"
"Y-Yeah, I'm, um—"
"Ah! What a pleasant surprise!" said the stork. "If it isn't local hero-of-another-battle, Princess Chara Dreemurr the second!"
"Darling!" Mettaton said brightly as the Spybird focussed in on Chara. "Re-introducing! The Soulbonder! The Red Ghost! Chara Dreemurr! So good to see you again! What do you have to say about the fight?"
"I'm glad this is finally over," she said. "Otherwise, no comment."
"What? Not even a favourite moment?"
"No comment," Chara repeated.
"The viewers have so many questions, I'm sure," the stork said. "For one, who exactly is our hero of the day? And where did she come from?"
"Did I hear the name Frisk?" Mettaton asked.
"She's uh… My half-sister," Chara said swiftly, her brow furrowing. "And this was a really long fight. She needs to rest. We're leaving now." She stuck her hand up to the marble bird. "Interview over."
.
As Chara pulled Frisk away, Mettaton struck a pose before his Spybird.
"And there we have it, folks, a short post-battle update with Princess Chara Dreemurr, and her half-sister, Frisk Dreemurr, from who knows where?!"
"Did we jump the shark? Almost certainly!" The stork said. "Is it a welcome twist? Considering the circumstances, absolutely!"
"We will catch up with them later, for now we'll—!"
.
Leaving them behind as fast as they could, Chara pulled Frisk back and away from the crowd, to where Asriel and Papyrus waited. The goat boy was shaking and wide-eyed, and Papyrus's hands were clasped tight together hopefully. Frisk reached out and Asriel buckled, dropping to his knees and wrapping her in a desperate hug. Papyrus bent down, too, and squeezed them both, letting out a high-pitched sigh.
"Oh my god," Asriel muttered.
"Thanks for your help," Frisk said quietly. "I heard you, like, almost the whole time. Sorry it took a bit to find you."
The boy huffed out a little wheeze and smooshed his snout against her head. Her eyes shimmered and she squeezed him with one arm, reaching out to hold Papyrus as well.
"What the heck happened?!" Papyrus asked. "Why did you…?! How did you…?! Nyeh, I have so many questions!"
"I'm gonna puke," Asriel said.
"Please don't," Chara said with the mildest hint of a tease. She dropped down onto the grass with a huff and wiped her brow.
.
The soldiers— keeping Mettaton and the stork at a polite distance— had Gaster surrounded. The man looked dead in the eyes; dismal, yet mostly unexpressive. One of his wrists was clasped in a silver manacle, though the other end of its chain was linked to Alphys. She was gesticulating quite a bit as she gave directions to the others, the metal clinking almost melodically. One of the knights, a reptile with a small, pointy snout and large, buggy eyes, held the Temporal Blaster carefully in both hands, frowning resolutely. Another soldier, a hyena, moved in, standing on her toes to blindfold the skeleton with a length of dark cloth.
"If he has holes in his hands, he can see through those, too," Chara called.
The soldier stuck her thumb up and went to wrap Gaster's palms, as well. He willingly offered them up, even though one was already bandaged.
.
Asriel scowled, squeezing Frisk tighter. The fur on his neck was still on end and the ache in his soul was practically radiating from him. Frisk snuggled against him and their souls hummed together. He almost choked and buried his snout into her hair, scrunching his eyes shut.
"Deep breaths," Chara said quietly. "We're okay. We did it. He's caught."
"Not happy until he's in super jail," Asriel growled.
.
"Aaaand, signing off!" Mettaton called loudly. "Whew! Broadcast complete. That really was something else."
"Haven't had a special like that since the coup," crooned the stork.
"W-We still have work to do," Alphys said. "I'll, um…" She put a hand to her head. "Oh, stars, what a-about…?" Her eyes turned on the grey mass that still encapsulated a large portion of the soldiers. "What d-do we…?" She whirled on Gaster. "Interloper, a-as Archwizard, I demand that you free the others that you trapped."
"…I would if I could," the man said quietly.
"Eh?!" Alphys gawked and the eyes of every solider turned on the skeleton. "W-What do you m-mean by that?!"
"They will not be injured. In fact, they won't feel a moment of time that has passed," Gaster said. "It will release naturally when… If I leave this world. Or if my device is recharged, it can be used to break it." He raised his chin towards the dome. "If it's still intact, it will be over there somewhere. It's fairly straightforward, the only caveat being that you will need someone with a slightly above average power level to trigger it."
"I'll go search," Leirak suggested.
Alphys nodded, and the leafy monster bounded off. She winced. "B-But… But that means—"
"Sounds like a certain little lizard is in charge, for the time being," Mettaton said.
Alphys bit her lip nervously. Her breath inwards dragged. "I… I s-suppose so." She raised her voice. "W-We move out, for now!" She reached up to take Gaster by the forearm. "I'll, umm…! I'll come back after the Interloper is all settled."
"You're not hurting him, though, right?!" Frisk called.
"H-His fate is y-yet to be decided," Alphys said sternly as she and the soldiers lead the skeleton away, while at the same time shooting the kid a look, shaking her head, and mouthing no way.
.
Frisk wilted with relief. Asriel's grip on her tightened and Chara scoffed quietly.
"He shot you, you know," she said.
"I-I… Yeah. I know," Frisk said. "But there's…" She shook her head. "There's something wrong."
Asriel growled quietly. "Only thing wrong is I only bit him one time."
"You bit him?!"
Chara laughed. "I've never met a monster that fought like such a barbarian."
"Yeah, well…" Asriel pouted. "He… Ugh. The stuff he was saying really freaked me out. I thought he might… I dunno." He grumbled low in his throat and dropped his chin down on top of Frisk's head. "He sounded so sure and I… I just kinda went nuts, I guess."
.
"But what happened?" Papyrus asked again. He reached out to gently take Frisk's hand and his eyes glowed softly. "You became some extremely large light creature, and I have no idea what that was about."
"Dang, did I do that again?" Frisk asked shrilly.
"Again?!" Papyrus squawked.
"She did it when her family gave her some soul fragments," Chara said. She frowned. "Did something…?"
"Oh god, don't tell me your soul's messed up now because of him," Asriel said shrilly.
"I-It feels okay," Frisk said. She got to her feet. "Don't worry 'bout me. We gotta free the other guys, right? And then… check on Sans?" She looked at the others. "Is there anything else? Sorry, I'm… I dunno, I feel like I just woke up from a nap? My head's kinda…" She tapped on her temple and blew a raspberry.
"Oh! I think I…" Papyrus patted himself down, then pulled a blue flower and some herbs from inside his coat. He shoved it all into his pockets together. "I can have something ready for you in just a minute!"
"Thanks," she said.
"I got Sans," Chara said, pulling out a little crystal and tapping on it until it flickered blue. "He should get that if he's not passed out. But…" She got up and took Frisk by the arm. "Are you sure you're okay to…? This is a lot bigger than last time."
Frisk nodded. "Yeah, pretty sure I still just gotta pull them out." She started, but then turned back and beckoned to the others. "Come on, or Leirak's gonna just waste a ton of time."
.
The kids hurried far across the field to where Undyne and the majority of her soldiers were stalled in their tracks. There were still a few people left at the edge on the outside, huddled together. Leirak was near them, pacing, and a small rabbit with fancy pauldrons stepped aside from the rest of the knights and ignited a signal flare and held it up above his head. A shot of bright green smoke streamed upwards into the sky and, after a few seconds, a corresponding one popped up from far afield, the source uncertain at such a distance with a backdrop of trees. Even so, Chara lit up.
.
"That should be mom's group," she said, pointing after it.
"What do we tell her?" Papyrus asked.
"I'm… not sure yet," she said.
"Why, what's wrong?" Asriel said.
"Well. She wanted us to wait for her. Obviously. But, uh…" She gave a lop-sided smile. "That ended up not being an option."
"Just tell her it was my fault," Frisk said. She jogged forward and stuck her hand up to wave. "Hey! Leirak!"
.
The large, planty monster turned quickly to look at her, and his dark eyes widened. He almost faltered, but then visibly puffed himself up and trotted over to join them.
"Frisk!" He stalled and nodded to the others. "We saw what you did. Good job."
"Oh! Um. Thanks?" The kid smiled politely. "So, um, about the, um, Interloper's thing—"
"I found it," Leirak said, though he winced. "It's… still within the dome, though, and I'm not sure what—"
"Ah! No, no, don't worry, I was just about to tell you that you don't have to look for it," Frisk said quickly. "I got it."
"You… Huh?" He blinked. "You got it?"
Frisk nodded. "Yeah, one sec."
.
The kid pushed down her growing sense of confusion and made her way to the trapped soldiers. Such a huge section of colourless, frozen monsters was surreal, especially as she stood just a few inches from it. Her hand passed through the dome like it was nothing, just like the timeless bubbles she pulled monsters out of before. But, grabbing each person and dragging them out seemed like it might take a long time. She lit up magic in her fingers, a glimmer of red to disrupt the otherwise monochrome tableau. The tiniest surge of determination, and that was enough.
.
An instant ruckus erupted as soldiers, thrown back into time and colour, tried to block an attack that was no longer coming. Some of them bumped into each other and stumbled. Undyne, who had been trying to shield a few of those closest to her with her own body, shot up straight and looked around, her golden eye wide with bafflement. Her voice rang out loud and clear over the commotion:
"WHAT THE F—?!"
"OH! Amazing! What a fantastic conclusion to the Interloper arc!" Mettaton sailed in with his Spybird, beaming. "And just when we thought we would be without our Royal leader for an indeterminant amount of time, hero-of-the-day Frisk Dreemurr does it again!"
"Frisk what?!"
"Well, Queen Undyne, what do you think of—?"
"Get that bird outta my face, man!"
.
"Undyne!" Papyrus, aglow, gave Frisk's hair an affectionate ruffle before rushing past and into the group of baffled soldiers. "UN. DYNE. WE WON!"
"WHAT?!" she shouted.
"WE WON!"
"REALLY?! WHEN?!"
.
As the monsters erupted again and any single voice besides a squawk from Papyrus was hard to parse, Frisk drew back with a smile, relief letting her shoulders sag. Chara jumped her and gave her an affectionate squeeze.
"Look what you did," she said, her voice steeped in pride. "Now you can finally rest, yeah?"
Frisk looked up at her and caught a look in Chara's eye that reminded her of how Sans had looked when she'd come back after sharing a piece of her soul with Asriel. Her cheeks flushed and she smiled sheepishly. "Y-Yeah. Soon." She glanced around. "Where's…? Um." She rubbed her head. "Guess we can't just sneak down that tree again, huh?"
"No, you un-grew it, remember?" Asriel said.
Frisk turned to give him a quizzical look. His brows raised, then he waved a hand dismissively.
"We'll, um, talk about it all after we find Sans, I guess." he said. He folded his arms to quell a little tremor. "Man, I hope that's it. I'm so sick of this Gaster stuff."
"Don't let your guard down all the way," Chara said. "But… I think Alphys knows what she's doing."
He nodded stiffly.
.
"I… I really don't think he's gonna do much," Frisk said quietly.
"Hm?" Chara raised her brows. "Oh. Right, he really freaked out, didn't he?"
"Did you hear what he said to me?"
The freckled girl shook her head.
"He sounded… I dunno, I almost never heard anyone sound as sad as that," Frisk said.
"What, don't tell me you feel sorry for the guy," Asriel teased.
"I mean, kinda?" Frisk's eyes went wide. "There's something really weird going on with him."
"Duh," Asriel said. "Everything about him is weird. He actually thought I'd agree with him. Like he was protecting me or some crap." He scoffed. "As if."
Chara nodded, grimacing. "He talks like he knows us. We mentioned that, right?"
"Saw it," Frisk said. "…Maybe he did?"
"From his world, sure," the girl agreed.
"Okay, but it's not just that, though," Frisk said. "I'm pretty sure I saw—"
.
"FRISK DREEMURR, OVER HERE!" Mettaton yelled from the side of the crowd, waving wildly.
One of his Spybirds seemed to be doing an interview with an unamused-looking Mistral, but the other was pointed straight at the kid.
"Dreemurr?" Asriel wondered quietly.
"I said she was my half-sister," Chara said with a strained smile.
"CAN WE DO AN INTERVIEW NOW?!" Mettaton asked.
"NO!" Chara yelled. "I TOLD YOU, SHE NEEDS TO REST; DIDN'T YOU SEE WHAT SHE JUST DID?!"
"OKAY! FINE!" He relented for but a moment before crossing a huge distance with an extending, mechanical leg and leaning in towards Frisk with his Spybird swooping in close. "Frisk Dreemurr, anything else to say to your new fans out there in the Kingdom?!"
Frisk froze for only a moment before crossing her thumb and index finger and then giving a snap, sending a little red heart of magic glittering out as she flashed a bright grin. "Thanks for your support!"
Mettaton's eyes gleamed over with stars and his Spybird flushed pink.
.
Chara quickly grabbed Frisk and hurried her away. Asriel followed, stifling a laugh.
"Funny how some people don't change, huh?" he said.
"Yeah, it's…" Frisk froze, wide eyes. "Uh. Uh-oh." She turned to the others with a nervous smile. "Did they… see everything?"
"Oh, probably," Chara said.
Frisk put a hand to her cheek. "I…" She sighed and laughed, running her hand through her hair. She shrugged widely. "Welp. Guess the whole Kingdom knows I'm human now, huh?"
"We'll deal with that later," Chara said. "How long do you have before you pass out, d'you figure?"
"Why, do I look sick?" Frisk asked.
"You're clearly running on adrenaline," Chara said with a laugh. "It's not every day you get shot with a time laser and turn into a transcendent light beast."
Frisk snorted.
"Yeah. Honestly," Asriel said, his voice softening. "I… I was really worried."
"I wasn't. She's a time god, I knew she'd be fine," Chara said.
Asriel smiled sideways. "So what was the screaming all about?"
"Shut up." She elbowed him in the hip and he burst out laughing.
.
Frisk snickered and gave a tepid smile. "Sorry, guys." She tented her fingers. "I… I guess I just panicked." She looked at her brother. "We mightta still been faster if we stuck together, but I—"
"Listen, don't even think about it," Asriel said. "We both kinda freaked out, but…" He couldn't help a grin. "We… still did it, huh?"
"Yeah." Frisk's heart swelled and her smile brightened. "Okay. Wanna see if I can unmake that hole Gaster dug?"
"And then you rest," Chara said sternly.
"Okay okay, then rest," Frisk said.
.
It was a bit of a walk back to where Gaster had been shooting beams of magic into the mountain-shell over the Soul of the World. When she touched it, Frisk could feel the powerful energy coursing through the stone. Her mind was filled with images of the blasters firing into it— catching faint glimpses of Gaster through its eye sockets, and then back through the skeleton himself, looking at the scene in a strange feedback loop. It made her dizzy when her eyes were her own again, but the mountain was just as it had been a few hours ago.
.
Papyrus's voice called to them and, when they turned, he waved at them and grinned. Walking with him was Toriel, a warm, tired smile on her face. Undyne was a bit behind them, but had been caught up with a Mettaton-and-crew news ambush once again, much to her chagrin.
.
The skeleton bounded up to them and proudly presented Frisk a little flask of blue liquid from his Potion Pockets. She thanked him with a hug and he gladly reciprocated.
"Children," Toriel said, her voice oozing relief. "I have heard— and seen— extraordinary things. Are you alright? Why did you not wait for us?"
"Mom," Chara began, but Frisk quickly pulled from Papyrus and stepped forward.
"It was me, I couldn't wait," she said. "Sans was getting really sick and I got scared."
"We were worried this Gaster guy would break all the way into the Soul before you got here," Chara said.
Frisk flinched, drumming her fingers against the cork of the flask. "Sorry we… Sorry I wasted your energy for nothing. Twice."
.
Toriel's eyes widened. She stared blankly at the kid for a few seconds. She dropped down to a knee and reached out to hold Frisk's shoulder. "My, my…" she said gently. She locked eyes with Frisk and the kid almost melted.
Somehow, she felt transparent before this huge monster.
.
Toriel leaned forward and touched the the tip of her snout to Frisk's head. "Relax, child." She pulled back with a fond smile on her face and gently lifted both of the kid's hands, running her massive thumbs over the backs of them. "There is no fault to be had. We did what was prudent, did we not?"
Something gave her pause, though, and she looked down curiously. Her ears lifted ever so slightly and her brows raised. A tired chuckle passed her lips and she grabbed Chara, as well as Papyrus, and pulled them into an affectionate embrace.
"I am so relieved no harm came to any of you."
.
When she let them go and straightened up, it was immediately apparent that Asriel had long since been quietly sneaking away towards Undyne. Toriel looked at him curiously.
"Have I frightened you, boy?" she asked.
He froze up, a shiver running from the top of his head and all the way down his tail. He whirled around with a strained, embarrassed grin on his face. "Uh! N-No! No, M— Uh… Your Majesty, I just… I know it's gotta be weird, huh?" He pointed at himself.
"Ah." The corners of her eyes crinkled. "Do not be concerned. Stay with your siblings." She dipped her head. "We… observed the battle. On a Vision Crystal, as we approached. You fought bravely. You have my gratitude."
Asriel flushed and he nodded quickly, though before he could say more, Undyne finally got free of Mettaton and jogged up, thumping the boy hard on the back.
.
"WHEW! DAMN!" the fish monster said loudly. "Well! That was a mess! We all good over here?"
"It seems so," Toriel said with a smile.
Undyne looked at the kids with an exasperated frown. "Man, wish you guys didn't have to keep endin' up with the brunt of this crap. Kinda the exact opposite of what I was goin' for. Sorry."
"It's definitely not your fault, though!" Papyrus said quickly. "He was using extremely shady tactics."
Undyne shrugged. "Welp. I'll make it up to you somehow. I heard right, yeah? Alphys took the guy away? He put up a fight or anythin'?"
"No, he pretty much gave up after he shot Frisk again and she just kinda… absorbed it," Asriel said, looking at Frisk. "That's what you did, right?"
"Think so," Frisk said.
The blue monster's face stretched in a sharp-toothed smile. "Hm. Cool. Can't wait to have a nice, long chat."
.
"On a more positive note," Toriel cut in, clapping her hands together softly to punctuate. "There seems to be a cause for celebration aside from all that." She paused for emphasis and a brighter smile spread on her face. "The little one has received her mark."
"What?!" Undyne blurted.
Frisk looked to Chara, but everyone else looked at her. Toriel bent again and gently plucked up the kid's right hand and lifted it out before the others, framed in her massive, silvery palm.
.
The scars that had been left by Sans's claws and the Soul of the World days ago had taken up the vertices a four-pointed star, a little darker than Frisk's regular skin tone, that covered almost the whole back of her right hand. Papyrus gasped shrilly and Frisk's eyes bugged out.
"Yooo, what?" she asked under her breath.
"Pfffft, damn, squirt, that's gotta be a big story, huh?" Undyne said, mussing up Frisk's hair with a heavy, gauntleted hand. Her ear fins perked up and she grinned. "Y'know what? Everyone worked real hard. I got a great idea. Catch up with you back home?" She had already turned and began jogging away. "MIST, WE'RE DOING A PARTY, I NEED HELP!"
.
Toriel chuckled and shook her head. She beckoned to the kids to follow, but a few steps forwards and she almost swooned. Chara drew in a breath sharply and Papyrus rushed forwards to grab her.
"Mom, are you alright?!" he demanded.
"Just tired, my dear," she assured him gently. "Thank you."
"O-Oh! Wait!" Frisk said. "I can fix it now, if you want. My magic can—"
Toriel shot her a fond look. "Dear, I appreciate it. But you have also been through a great deal. Save your energy." She laughed. "I can simply sleep it off! Truly. I have not had a rest in a few days, let me have the excuse."
Frisk was about to protest, but Chara shot her a look that said it wasn't worth it. Instead, the kid nodded. Toriel looked pleased, and she continued onwards with Papyrus.
.
"We might go get Sans!" Chara called after them.
As Papyrus replied with a thumbs up, Frisk perked up.
"Can we?"
Chara pulled up her dove medallion. "We can go wherever I want."
.
The three of them went as fast as they could to the nearest portal, which was in a little burrow just beyond the the edge of the open field. Frisk tried to keep from just staring at the back of her hand in bewilderment. Somehow, she recalled something like that lighting on their hand when she and Asriel had become one large monster. She wondered if he'd gotten one as well, but resolved to check later, when they had time to sit down.
.
Back underground, they found Sans right where they'd left him: near a cozy fireplace, completely dozed off. Chara roused him with a shake and he awoke with a stretch and a wide yawn.
"Mornin'," he said, opening one eye. "Lemme guess. Breakfast?"
Chara groaned and whacked him gently before giving him a hug. "Pain's gone?"
"Uh." He patted himself down. "Huh. Yup."
Frisk drooped with relief and Asriel let out a huff.
"Finally," he said.
.
"So," Sans said, hefting himself to his feet. "Y'gottem?"
"Alphys is taking him to super jail," Frisk said, reaching out for his hand. "Man, I'm so glad you're alright."
"Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. Knew ya'd figure it out. But, uh…" Sans's grin twitched a little wider. "What happened to your eyes, bucko?"
Frisk blinked. She pointed at herself. "Mine?"
"Yeah."
"I dunno, what's wrong with them?"
He shrugged. "Nothin', they're just red."
"Wh…?!" Frisk burst out laughing and looked around at her friends, her hands out pleadingly. "Do I have anything else on me?" She cupped the sides of her head. "Weird ears? A tail?"
"You're good," Chara said, thumping her on the back.
"They just kinda get like that, sometimes," Asriel said sheepishly. "But… I guess it does normally fade kinda quick." He shrugged. "I dunno."
Frisk put a hand to her head. "Man, I need a nap."
"Same," Asriel said.
"Same," Sans agreed.
"You just got up," Chara said.
The skeleton shrugged. He looked between them curiously. "…Now, do I risk takin' three, or do we just—?"
"There's a portal just a few minutes away," Chara said, jerking her thumb back over her shoulder.
"Oh, right, meet you at the castle, then." Sans vanished.
Frisk snorted loudly.
"Oh my god," Chara grumbled. "That big lazy—!"
"Just teasin'." Sans had reappeared behind them with a big grin on his face. "Think I can probably chuck us somewhere in the courtyard, at least."
.
As soon as they touched him, the dim light shifted to green and bright, warm sunlight. Frisk and Chara both had to roll themselves out of a hedge. Asriel was up a tree. Sans lay sprawled in a fountain below him.
.
The castle grounds were unusually quiet, with barely a guard in sight. The fortress was in an odd state— windows positioned unevenly and towers at inconsistent spacings and heights. Even so, there was a relaxing air about the place, despite the uncanniness of it all.
.
Though the inside was a maze, Chara's medallion could still get them around as long as she had some goal in mind, so they took some time to head up to the set of guest rooms they'd been staying in earlier. The one that had been Asriel and Chara's was easy to spot: even with the Mirror Mod, its door was still wrecked. They grabbed the stuff they'd brought from home and moved it to the other room they'd borrowed, once they'd found it again.
.
The sight of a bed in the quiet, cozy room made Frisk's knees a little weak, but she said nothing. Instead she helped carefully unpacking some of Chara's books as the other kids shifted stuff around for more room and Sans vanished somewhere to change clothes.
.
Frisk didn't catch it, but Chara's eyes followed her like a hawk's. She grabbed Asriel's sleeve and pulled him close, standing on her toes to whisper in his ear.
"Take care of her for a bit. Let me give you some space," she said, and then raised her voice again. "Whew. You know. I'm starving. Gonna go grab us something. Frisk, you want anything in particular from downstairs?"
"Um. I dunno, whatever you're getting is fine," Frisk said.
"Got it. Hot chocolate and snacks coming up." She gave Asriel a pointed look. "And take a break, this isn't important."
.
As Chara left, Frisk stared blankly after her for a moment. She looked around the room and Asriel gestured to one of the beds.
"It's, um… It's been a really long day," he said. "You could take that nap now, if you want. I can finish up. Did you drink that blue potion?"
"O-Oh! No. I, um. I forgot." Frisk took a seat on the cushy bed and the comfort of it almost overwhelmed her. Her eyelids got heavy. She pulled the flask out of her pocket and tried to uncork it, but her hands began to shake. "Ah, dang."
.
Asriel bent and cupped his hands around hers to steady her. She snickered.
"Thanks, I'm a mess." She managed to get it open and took a swig of the soothing liquid, but when she looked her brother in the face, she was taken aback to see his eyes were glossy with tears. "Whoa, Az, what's wrong?"
"Nothing!" He pulled back quickly and brushed his hand over his eyes. "N-Nothing."
"Dude, seriously," Frisk said. She put the potion aside and reached out for his shoulders.
.
As soon as she made contact, he buckled, wrapping her in a tight hug and hiding his snout against the crook of her neck. Her heart began to pound.
"What happened?!" she squeaked.
"I-I…! I was… Ugh. I'm s-sorry, I…" He huffed. "Crap, I was so scared," he said, the words flowing out of him in a torrent. "H-He said…! He said you'd… You'd forget and you wouldn't…! You wouldn't even know to come back, and I remembered how I-I was when I got hit and I…! I thought he'd… I thought I'd lost you and then our whole family and the world and I thought—"
"Whoa, whoa whoa whoa, it's okay," Frisk said gently. "It's okay." She snuck her arms around his head and stroked his fluffy ears. "It's okay, bro, I'm fine. I promise, I'm okay." She shifted and held his big, weepy face, and then gently smooched him on the tip of the snout. "We're okay. You got me. I listened to you and I was okay."
.
He yanked backwards, wide-eyed, and held her shoulders tight. "It happened to you, right? You…? You got sent to the weird grey version of home or something?"
She nodded.
"How long were you gone?!"
Frisk scrunched up her face. "It's… sorta murky," she admitted. "I think it felt like just a few hours? I kept getting lost in the lake." She smiled bashfully. "Was it… long here?"
He shook his head. "T-Technically… no." He grimaced. "But it felt like it."
"Sorry I scared you," she said gently. She leaned forward and wiped the damp fur beneath his eyes with her hands. "I'm…" She almost laughed. "I'm actually okay. Seriously."
Asriel sniffled again and he cracked a small smile. He carefully mussed up her hair. "T-Time god stuff payed off, I guess."
.
Frisk nodded. "When I was there, I don't really know how it happened, but there was a kid who could see me. Suzy. She helped a ton. Do you know who that is? She kinda looked like a little dinosaur or something. Or maybe a crocodile?"
"I…" He had to clear his throat. "I… don't, actually." He sat back on the floor and sniffed, quickly wiping his snout before he crinkled it up in confusion. "Huh. But I know—"
"Everybody," she finished. "I think she… She said she was like dad? Like Flora, too, I guess?" She let out a dismayed squeak. "Oh, crap, I shouldda found dad! You found him, right?!"
"Yeah, he helped me wake back up," Asriel said. "I mean, I don't blame you, if it was like when I was there, everything was just super confusing."
Frisk nodded.
"Did you see anyone else?"
"Almost everyone," Frisk said. "Dang. Wish I couldda been thinking straight."
"It's okay, it's like…" Asriel flinched. "For me, anyway, it's like I didn't even know who I was for a bit and as soon as I remembered, I had to get out of there."
"Same," Frisk said. She sighed. "I… I did see Sans and Paps and mom, for sure. Oh! And Asgore, I think." She frowned thoughtfully. "…And there were some humans there."
"Humans? What for?" Asriel asked worriedly.
"No clue, but they seemed to just be hanging out," Frisk said. "Maybe it was tourists again?"
"Weird."
She shook her head. "But, anyway, it was kinda crazy. Home was going nuts with like, rocks falling and water all over. Suzy told me it was because time was messed up, right? And it made the CORE freak out. So I had to put it in like, a bubble." She rubbed her head. "I really hope that helps them until we can get back."
.
Asriel's eyes bugged out. He folded his arms to his chest and his gaze dropped to the floor. He drew in a deep breath and then puffed it out. Frisk offered him the rest of her blue potion. He raised his brows and she shoved it closer to him. He took it and downed what was left.
.
Frisk looked pleased. She plopped herself on the floor with him and scootched into his lap. He slumped and, in the quiet, both of them began to nod off almost instantly.
"Az?" Frisk said groggily.
"Hm?"
"S'okay to… I dunno. Just flop for a bit, y'know?" she said quietly. "You don't gotta pretend like you're a grown-up just 'cause the time thing made you taller."
He snorted quietly, but a smile crossed his tired face. "…Thanks."
.
She took one of his hands and ran her fingers through his fur, searching carefully despite her heavily lidded eyes.
"What're you doin'?" he asked sleepily.
"Hang on." She checked the other.
On his left, she found exactly what she'd been looking for. A star, identical to hers, in just the faintest shade darker than his regular fur colour. She smiled and held it out, showing hers beside it.
"Twins," she joked.
Asriel squinted. "Yo. Wait. I did…? I got one?" He put his hand up to his face to look. "What'd I do?"
"Something super cool, I bet."
"That's…" He laughed quietly. "Welp. I'll take it."
.
The kids snuggled up and any further conversation was soon relegated to the realm of groggy half-thoughts and mumbled acknowledgements. The two of them dozed off, and didn't awaken again until a gentle tapping at the door broke through the quiet.
.
They found themselves in a heap on the floor, a cozy blanket draped over them. The scent of cocoa was in the air and a soft scratching sound was the only noise besides a gentle breeze blowing in through the window. Chara sat cross-legged on the bed closest to them, sketching in a journal, and Sans was flopped over on the other side of the mattress. The girl smiled as Frisk and Asriel groggily roused themselves.
"I leave you two on your own for ten minutes," she joked quietly. "Your hot chocolate might as well be chocolate milk. Still good, though." She gently blew on her page and then closed the book, setting it aside before raising her voice. "Come in."
.
The door creaked open and Papyrus peeked in. His eyes lit right up and he bounded inside, followed closely by Undyne.
"Hello, everyone!" The skeleton kept his bombastic tone a little quieter than usual, but it was still enough to rouse his brother. "Sans! Are you surviving yet?"
"Yup." Sans stuck his thumb up.
"Ah! Fantastic!" He looked around at the others. "Things are going really well downstairs! How are you guys doing?"
"Tired," Asriel mumbled, rubbing his eye with his knuckle. He held out his hand. "Look. Star."
"HM?!" Papyrus leapt forward and knelt down, grabbing the other boy's hand. His eyes began to gleam. "HE'S RIGHT! CONGRATULATIONS!" He pulled Asriel into a tight hug.
Undyne chuckled. "Good job," she said. "More reasons to party."
"Is that a thing here?" Asriel asked, trying to blink himself awake.
"Course it is! Why the hell not?" Undyne said with a grin. "Think of it like a graduation, yeah?" She crossed her arms. "Alright. Pause on the fun stuff for just a minute, though. Summary time. Lessgo."
"Wait for Alphys," Sans said, waving his hand dismissively
"Uh. Nope." Undyne sat down on the other bed and stared at them insistently. "She's busy. I'm afraid you punks are gonna have to just repeat yourselves, 'cause I need to know what the hell went down. Uh. Y'know, without Mettaton and Tothke just shoutin' over the whole thing."
"I got it," Chara said.
.
Chara passed around the mugs of cold chocolate and they settled in with croissants and pain au chocolat. The freckled girl began— very matter-of-factly— back when they all saw the grey, timeless blast erupt on the VC. She told of their plans and what they'd done below ground, and continued all the way up to the soldiers were freed again.
.
The blast that connected with Frisk was still a mystery, though. The kid did her best to explain what it had done to her: how she'd been left disoriented and identityless in some bizarre, out-of-body state and then returned thanks to Asriel and her strange new friend. Her soul seemed to have processed and absorbed the time magic from the Temporal Blaster, rendering it useless on the second strike.
.
She was a tiny time god with an anchor to the universe in Asriel, after all.
.
"There is one more thing," Frisk said as she got to the end of the story. "Right when I got hit, I saw something really weird. I'm pretty sure it was, um, Gaster's memories."
"Oh yeah?" Undyne perked up in her seat. "Find any motive?"
"What I saw was… grey," she said. "Like… Kinda like where I ended up. But different. Not our universe." She frowned thoughtfully. "I think… that might have happened to his whole world, instead of to him. Like, he was the normal one."
"Yeesh," Asriel muttered.
"That's no excuse for whatever he's doing," Chara said.
"No no, I know," Frisk said, "but… I dunno. He was stuck in some loop. Or, his family was. All the people around him. It was… really sad, actually. Maybe he thought somehow…? I was connected? Maybe something did that to him."
.
Asriel grimaced. "Hate to say it, but that kinda lines up with some stuff he said about… anomalous gods."
"But what does that have to do with Frisk?" Papyrus asked, grabbing onto the kid somewhat protectively.
"She's an anomalous god?" Undyne wondered.
"She's… I mean, she is, but she isn't," Asriel said. "Technically, she's the right fit in our universe. She's supposed to be there. That's what Sans— our Sans said. Someone else coming in would be an actual anomaly. Those are the ones that cause trouble."
.
"Man." Undyne folded her arms and frowned. "Time gods, other universes, frozen time— it all just sounds like a buncha crazy garbage, doesn't it?" She shook her head. "I dunno what to make of it. But whatever he did, it messed with way too many people. Even if they weren't hurt. And he did actually injure the kid a couple times, so…" She looked around between the kids and the still mostly flopped Sans. "Guess we'll let him sweat in a cell for the night, at least. Whatcha thinkin', Sans, keep him in at least until these kids get home?"
"Have to, regardless," Sans said.
Undyne nodded. She smacked her knees as she got to her feet. "Alright, then. Deal with him tomorrow."
.
"…Can I talk to him?" Frisk asked curiously.
"NO!" Came just about every voice in the room.
Frisk covered her ears and almost laughed. "Jeez!"
"No way!" Asriel blurted.
"Who's to say he won't just try to break out and hurt you with his bare hands?!" Chara demanded.
"Why?" Sans asked curiously.
"Yeah, why the heck—?!"
"No. Seriously," Sans said, holding a hand up to ask his sister to wait. "Why, kiddo?"
Frisk shrugged tepidly. "I dunno. I just thought… Maybe if… I dunno, what I saw, it's… really awful, and—"
"You can't just help everyone out 'cause they're sad," Asriel said.
"I know, I know, it's not that," she said. "…There's a lot of people where he came from that might be messed up, too, though."
.
An uncertain silence settled on the room. Sans sat up a bit with a thoughtful look on his face. He cut his eyes at Undyne.
"We'll make some choices tomorrow," he said. "Sound good?"
Undyne nodded. "Yeah." She shot Frisk a smile. "Don't worry, it's not like we're gonna chuck him into the ocean or somethin' so you'd lose your shot." She headed for the door. "So, uh. Party's gonna go in maybe an hour or whatever. If you're not too tired, we'd love to have you."
"It is looking extremely cool and fun," Papyrus put in hopefully.
"We'll be there," Chara said.
Frisk nodded. Undyne grinned. She stuck a thumb up and then headed out.
.
Sans got up from his spot and stretched. "Welp." He turned his eyes on Chara. "I just got a couple things to, uh, finish up before all that. Wanna gimme a hand, pigeon?"
Chara raised her brows, but she nodded. Sans grinned. He looked at Papyrus.
"Keep 'em safe, huh?"
"As if you have to ask!" Papyrus said.
Sans snickered. "You're the best, bro, thanks." He shot a wink at the others. "Don't go fightin' criminals while I'm gone this time."
.
He put a hand on Chara's shoulder and, quick as a blink, the two of them were gone.