PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM

by Spark the Barkivist

DIRECT SEQUEL TO "PATCHWORK SOUL" — A few months later. A family of monsters and their little human kid try to start life anew beyond the confines of a giant mountain. Maybe they find something. Maybe they lose something. Time flows ever onwards, but sometimes it goes sideways, and it's heavier than they thought.

100. Settling some stuff

Settling some stuff Chapter 100

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Gaster sped away into the dark mist. He felt like he'd lost his mind.

.

He was careful of his footing, dancing between tiny, earthen bridges between vast stretches of still water. The moment his vision was so obscured that he couldn't see anything ahead, he put his focus into calling a huge blaster skull to him. It appeared with only the slightest of strain and he skidded to a halt. He could hear the distant calls of the ghosts, searching. He pushed the blaster's mouth open and, very carefully, laid the kid inside with the bag and then closed it up. He jumped onto its head and sped away, gripping tight to the horns.

.

His thoughts spiralled and his soul ached. What on earth was he doing? He clenched his fingers into his blaster. It was for Asriel and Chara, he told himself. For Papyrus. The look on that boy's face when he'd seen what had happened to the time child wouldn't leave him any time soon.

.

All at once, moonlight struck them and the mist split. Before him lay a lake so smooth and clear that it looked as if the ground simply gave way to more night sky, breaking away from the glittery sand at the edge of a beach. A capsule— a black and silver tram— sat tilted in the sand as if it hadn't moved in a decade. The shuttle Sans mentioned, maybe. There was nothing else there.

.

Gaster considered simply speeding across the water as he was. But, then, he considered that Sans's instructions had been extremely specific. Perhaps he wouldn't be able to find them again if that wasn't the path they took.

.

As he reached the beach, Gaster hopped off his mount and retrieved the kid and the bag from inside before waving his hand to shoo the draconic skull away into motes of magic. He hauled everything to the shuttle and found a sealed door waiting for him. He caught his reflection in the polished, dark metal and his fingers traced above his right eye, where the bone had fractured in a small line of black. Maybe he should have dunked his head in one of the pools while he was near them, he thought.

.

There was a small slot in the door, but no handle. Gaster awkwardly shifted the kid to rest against his shoulder and patted down his pockets. He pulled out what Sans had snuck him— a small chunk of silver with a squiggly shape carved into one side. He plopped it into the slot and the door folded away like an accordion.

.

Glowing crystals stuck out of the ceiling of the relatively normal-looking train car as if they'd grown there, bathing the interior in a cool, blueish light. There was a row of azure seats along either side and a plush, black carpet running down the length of the shuttle. Gaster carefully lay the kid down on the seat bench and, as soon as he'd straightened up, the compartment shifted and began to slide smoothly forward.

.

Quick as he could, the skeleton opened the bag and found that Sans had snuck the flask inside it. It glimmered like moonlight. He took a dab of the liquid on his fingers and brushed it over the kid's eyes, then propped her up a little and poured the rest of the contents into her mouth. When he let her settle again, he checked the rest of the bag. There looked to be a whole bedspread set in there. He pulled out one of the pillows to slide it under her head, then spread a blanket over her before he took a seat on the opposite side of the shuttle.

.

Only when his bones sunk into the cushions did he realize just how exhausted and aching every inch of him was. He rubbed his face and leaned his head back. When he closed his eyes, he heard his mother's voice in the back of his mind. He grimaced and pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead.

.

It was just as he began to nod off when a small sound jarred him to straighten up again. The kid had shifted. He froze.

.

Suddenly, she sprung up, eyes wide. "Wait, wh—?! Aah." She hissed and put a hand to her shoulder. "Dang, what…?" Her red eyes skimmed around. "Wh…? Gaster?"

The man's posture wilted. "Welcome back."

"Wait, where are we?" she demanded. "Are you okay?"

He blinked. "…You're asking… me."

"Yeah, you were all messed up and your fingers were—! Are you okay?!"

.

The old skeleton stared at her blankly for a few seconds. A weak chortle heaved out of him like a cough. He tried to hide it behind a hand, but laughter burst from him and he couldn't stop. He struggled to get a hold of himself, wiping tears of mirth from his eye sockets.

.

One look at the kid's bemused face almost set him off again but, when she met his eyes, she smiled sheepishly.

"Well, um, I guess you're not hurt," she said.

"I'm fine," he said, trying to catch his breath and waving a hand dismissively.

.

Frisk couldn't help the fog of confusion, but she nodded, a spark of relief lightening her when she noticed that his fingers looked totally fine. She, on the other hand, felt like she'd endured some punching super-combo over every inch of her body.

"Do you recall much?" Gaster asked.

"Uh…" Frisk's brow furrowed. "…I think… I was asleep? I think I dreamt I was back home, I dunno."

"I see."

.

She scrunched up her face and racked her mind. Everything was a dizzy void, until starlight and a mess of bones and ooze broke through into her memories. "Oh right! You touched the Soul! I was gonna say, you can't, y'know? It puts all this energy through you and it can be really bad, even Sans just putting it through me as safe as possible made these scars, see?" She held up the hand that was marked faintly with the four-pointed star.

"I'm aware," he said. "…Thank you."

"Oh!" She grinned. "You're welcome!"

"You touched it, just after," he said.

"I…? HUH?!" She squeaked in alarm. "Is that why everything hurts?! Why'd I do that?!"

"You tripped," he said. "My fault. I apologize."

"You… Wait, really?!"

He nodded. Frisk couldn't help but begin to beam, and the skeleton's eyes shifted away awkwardly.

"Alright, alright," he said quietly.

The kid held in a laugh. She leaned forward a little and tilted her head curiously. "So, like, Sans had to yank me out?"

"I did. He joined us afterwards," Gaster said, almost under his breath. "We had to bring you to a place he called the Mirror Lakes. I believe we might be on the run now, though. We're in a shuttle across a large body of water right now. I don't know where we'll end up."

.

Frisk blinked. That explained the damp clothes. "Dude, wait," she said. She leaned forward. "…You saved me?"

The skeleton shrugged limply. "…I did what Papyrus and Sans asked of me."

"Dude." She gawked. "You. Saved. Me?!"

.

Gaster didn't answer. It was almost as if he couldn't. Frisk's eyes grew wide and shined with stars.

"…S-So. Wait. Does this mean you don't hate me anymore?" she demanded.

The skeleton went stiff. He rubbed the back of his skull. "I…" He gritted his teeth. "I never hated you."

"Really?" The kid raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Because it felt like you super hated me."

"It wasn't… I didn't…" He scowled at nothing and rubbed his face, then tented his fingers. "It was never… It's what you are. Not who you…" His brow furrowed even more deeply. "That still sounds horrific."

Frisk couldn't help a little snicker. He heaved out a heavy sigh.

"Just, don't… worry about it. Forget what I said," he said. "Let's just get you back to your siblings."

.

A strike in Frisk's soul suddenly rammed her like a truck. "A-Asriel!"

"Asriel?" Gaster repeated.

"Aaaah heck." Frisk patted herself down for her phone. "Last time I passed out real bad, he did at the same time, too. Lemme just…" She found the device, but the anti-water lock screen was active. She grimaced and shook it out, then squeezed at the button at the side to override, but the phone informed her that it was simply too waterlogged for the time being. "Ah, great, that's gonna take a sec. Uh…"

.

A clunk on the roof made her jump and she looked up, wide-eyed. Gaster stood up, indigo magic glimmering in his fingertips.

"Yo." Sans appeared at the other end of the shuttle, a tired grin on his face. He was dripping wet. "That took a few jumps."

"Sans!" Frisk grinned as Gaster flopped back down on the seat. "Heya!"

"Aah, there she is." He strode to her and offered her a hug, which she gladly accepted. He patted her on the back of the head and then pulled away, brushing his fingers across the much more raw-looking scar on her brow. "Sore?"

"A bit," she said. "I'm okay."

"Well, that's what ya get for slippin' all over and tossin' yourself into the Soul, goofball," he said, mussing up her damp hair.

She snickered. "Yeeeeah, I'm sorry. You go in the pond again?"

"Somethin' like that."

.

The skeleton leaned back to give her a little space, but he kept a hand resting on the top of Frisk's head "Okay, pal, how're the eyes?"

"My eyes? Uh." She squinted. "I think they're fine? S'kind dark, though."

"Fair," he said.

"Why, did they change colour again?"

"Nnnno, still red," he said. "Just, uh, heard they were like, beamin'."

"Ooh, spooky," she said. "Nah, feels fine." She smiled sheepishly. "Hey, um, d'you think you could do me a favour?"

"Sup?"

"Can you check on Asriel? He might still be at the castle and stuff," she said. "He, um, kinda faints when I do, sometimes, so…"

"Oh. Okay. Gotcha," Sans said.

"A-And, maybe on Chara, too? Oh! And definitely Papyrus, I think he was in the cave so he's probably worried, and—"

"Kid. Relax," Sans said with a grin. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Feel safe?" He cut his eyes towards Gaster.

Frisk nodded. The skeleton smiled and gave her an affectionate pat on the head. "Kay. Then, don't sweat it. I'll, uh, take care of it." He took a step back and vanished before her eyes.

.

Frisk puffed out a relieved sigh and slumped against the seat. She absently rubbed at her shoulder again, though it definitely wasn't lost on her that a bunch of the other week-or-so-old wounds she had were a lot more tender than they had been.

.

"What stabbed you?" Gaster asked.

Frisk almost jumped. She straightened up swiftly and looked at him with big eyes. His gaze was laser-focussed on her shoulder.

"Oh, um." She smiled bashfully. "Long story."

He gestured to the cabin around them and raised his brows. Frisk gulped.

"Well. Uh." She rubbed her head. "Remember I mentioned, um, Greenworld?"

"…I do."

"Right, um. There was a guy there, he really wanted my soul, so he stabbed me like… three times, I think?" She tilted her head. "Oh! No, wait, four, just the first time didn't work that good for him."

Gaster crossed his arms. He was silent for a while, interrupted only by a slow tapping of his foot. He didn't seem like he had much more to say, so Frisk relaxed again.

.

She turned to peek out the window and was dazzled by the visions of stars and dappled clouds of deep blue and purple reflected out in the water and across the dark sky. She watched as the lights danced by, mesmerized. She rested her elbow on the windowsill, then her cheek in her hand. Her eyelids quickly started to get heavy.

.

"It was me, wasn't it?" Gaster asked.

"Huh?" Frisk looked at him, blinking hard.

"It was… the same person who caused the explosion you mentioned, right?" he said. "The one who attacked you. And, it was me. Or, should I say, some other skeleton named Gaster. Am I right?"

Frisk gulped. She smiled awkwardly. "Wellll… Uh."

"So am I a disaster in every universe, or—?"

"Oh! Um! I don't think so," she said. She scratched her cheek absently. "I mean, t'be honest, you're… actually kinda nicer than the guy from Greenworld. And the Gaster from back home is pretty great."

The old skeleton went stiff. "You know him."

"Well, yeah, duh," Frisk said. "Just, um, kinda happened recently, though. It was a whole time thing, with him grabbing onto my soul from the void or something; I don't super get it, but I'm glad it happened." She smiled sheepishly. "…He's, um, really important to me, y'know?"

.

Gaster's soul buzzed palpably, but he did his best to quash it, squeezing his arms tight against his chest. He opened his mouth and the words failed. He tried again. "That's why you held back."

"Oh, um. I… I mean, I guess, part of it," Frisk said. "I also just kinda hate fighting people when it's not, like, a for-fun battle."

"I see." He sighed hoarsely and raised a hand to pinch his brow. "Bloody fool," he muttered towards his chest. "Absolute idiot."

Frisk cocked her head. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure I would ever have the words to convey it," he said. He leaned his head back and rubbed his hand across the top of his skull. "Tell me again what happened. With this… Greenworld."

"Did you forget?" she asked.

"Humour me."

"Well, this guy did this explosion and—"

"Gaster did," he corrected.

"Right, uh. Greenworld Gaster," she said. "He did the explosion. And he was doing all this kinda, like… Well, I mean, I know he was definitely doing the magic science to help break the barrier and stuff, so I know he wasn't, like, evil evil, he was just super nasty." Her face scrunched up. "Seems like you guys kinda do a lot of crazy stuff a lot, huh?"

"…Do we?" he wondered.

The kid nodded. "My, uh… The Gaster I know, he's really good, but he said he messed with time too much and when someone does that, it can attract people with, like, the same soul or whatever," she said. "And so this other guy from Greenworld, like a different super rude version of him, was doing a time experiment because his machines picked up my Gaster's soul, right? And that's what blew up in Sans's head, like I said. So we had to go fix that. But then you showed up and, no offence, but you were like, super super rude." She folded her arms. "Oh! And then apparently there's like, a secret other Gaster that was in this place before? But he was super evil and he's gone now and almost everyone forgets he existed. So that's, like, three outta four so far with pretty high rudeness levels. Not a great ratio." Her eyes brightened a little. "But I'm glad we can talk now. I hope you are, too. And I, um, hope that… you really don't super hate me. Because, I mean, aside from the trying to chuck me outta time thing, I think you're pretty okay."

.

Gaster stared at her blankly for a few seconds. He drooped and let out a quiet sigh. "You are a strange kid, aren't you?"

Frisk shrugged. "Guess so."

"…To be honest," he said quietly, "this has all been… baffling, for me."

"Same." She smiled sheepishly. "Like, you probably just couldda let me blow up and you didn't, so that's really cool of you, actually."

The old skeleton stared at the floor in silence. Frisk's heart sunk and she bit her lip.

"Oh. Um… I guess you… wish maybe you did, huh?"

Gaster shifted uncomfortably. His brow furrowed and, slowly, he shook his head. "I… I don't, in fact."

The kid's eyes widened and she fumbled for a second. "R-Really?"

"What good would that do anyone at this point?" he wondered quietly. "…No matter my feelings on… all of this. On time gods. It's… It's clear that you aren't my enemy."

"Aah!" Frisk's eyes lit up and she almost jumped right out of her seat. She clasped her hands together. "I-I'm…! I'm really glad. Because I… I don't wanna be enemies with you."

"I know."

"And that you're so much like my, um, Gaster, it was really hard, you know?" she said.

"I… I know."

"Like, when I saw you at first, I legit thought you were him, but then you sorta tried to shoot me and it was not so great and—"

"Frisk. I know."

.

Frisk's eyes glittered with stars, but the old skeleton didn't catch it as he leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

"Bain mo cloigeann."

"You okay?" the kid asked.

"I haven't had a headache this bad in a while, I think."

"Is it the eye?" Frisk asked, pointing at her own eyelid. "Do you want me to—?"

He put a hand up to stall her. "That's hardly anything. Don't bother with it. You're tired enough as it is."

Frisk froze up, eyes wide. She tilted her head. "Wait, you…? I'm confused."

"So am I," he said quietly. He cracked a small, tired smile and rubbed his forehead with the heels of his hands. "Ah, what's wrong with me?"

"Maybe you need a nap?" she suggested.

"I might," he said.

.

The old skeleton went quiet. Frisk's soul was all abuzz and warm in her chest despite the chill setting in all over her damp body. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she turned her gaze out the window again.

.

She'd almost dozed off when she heard Gaster's voice. She rubbed her eyes and turned back to look at him.

"Mhm?"

"Ah. Nothing," he said quietly. "Just thinking aloud. Though…" He drummed his fingertips against the seat. "Would you mind if I ask you something else?"

"Sure, what's up?" she said.

"I think… I'm starting to understand, more or less," he said. "Except that, you've taken a human form. I assume this is due to necessity."

"I didn't get to pick, but I think so, yeah," Frisk said. "All the determination and whatever."

"So why is it, exactly, that you've… Well, maybe sided is the wrong word," he mused. "But I've heard you describe many monsters as family, while Chara is the only other human you've mentioned."

"S'cause she's the only human I really know," Frisk admitted. "Monsters, I dunno, I… I think I wouldda always wanted to help them. And, um, life was, uh, kinda messy, before I got underground."

"Oh?" A quirk of puzzlement creased his brow. "So, you… weren't created there?"

"I think I was, but I got shot out, or something, I dunno, you'd have to ask my dad." Frisk seized up and put a hand to her mouth. She felt like she'd just tossed her soul into a bucket of ice water.

Gaster barely winced. She gulped.

"I-I mean, I just… Uh. I just dunno really how it worked," she stuttered quickly. "Then there was the whole, um, other anomaly thing, and it was almost like, the normal underground and everything else was kinda disconnected from me, I dunno how to explain it. Sans was the one who dealt with most of that stuff. He said it was like, uh… spinning roulette, I think it's called? But with one picture locked. And I'm the, um, matching picture, or something." She shrugged. "Sorry, does that help?"

"…Actually, it does, a bit," he said.

.

Frisk let out a sigh of relief. "Cool. Um." She smiled sheepishly. "W-Would, um, it be okay if I ask you a question, too?"

"Go ahead," he said.

"Sorry if this is, like… not good," she said, "but how long ago did you meet that anomaly that told you the stuff?"

Gaster crossed his arms again, brow furrowed.

"Ah! Sorry," Frisk said quickly, "you don't have to—"

"It's fine, it's just been so long," he said. "I'm trying to calculate."

"Um, just normal time is okay," she said swiftly. "Not like, timeloop-time."

"Oh. That's much easier," he said. "Seven years."

"Oh yeah?" Frisk perked up. "Okay. Like, exactly, or…?"

"Not to the day," he said with a tired chuckle. "It was… Hm. Would have been winter, on the surface, anyway."

Frisk nodded. She filed the date away. If she could, she'd give him seven and a half.

.

"Why?" Gaster asked.

"Oh, um. You know…" Frisk drummed her fingertips against each other. "I just thought, like… I wanna find a way to help you."

"Still on that, hm?"

"Duh," she said. "I have, like, a couple ideas. You don't gotta do anything, but maybe…" She smiled bashfully. "I'll let you know, kay? But, um, don't—"

"Don't get my hopes up? Don't worry, they're firmly in the planet's core," he joked. "Not to doubt the powers of a time entity that can withstand my Temporal Blaster, I just mean it to emphasize the sorry state of things back there."

"I was gonna say, don't worry too much about it," Frisk said. "I'm gonna do whatever I can."

"…Ah." He snorted and leaned back again, slumping tiredly against the seat. "…I wish I shared your optimism."

.

The old skeleton plopped back and closed his eyes. Frisk settled, too. She grabbed the blanket from a farther down the bench of seats and bundled up, staring sleepily out the window again. She checked her phone. The water lock was still on, but was overridable now. She did exactly that and quickly texted Asriel to ask if he was awake. She waited a while, but she dozed off before she got an answer.

.

The sound of the device was what roused her again, but when she checked it, it wasn't at all what she'd expected.

"ilpokpksdcscsc"

"?" she replied with a puzzled frown.

"azzysnothere" A pause. "whyisthissuchamesswhydoesyourslookbetter"

Frisk blinked. "chara?"

"yes"

Frisk winced. She'd forgotten Asriel had given over his phone already. "sorry! also you need spaces" she said, doing her best to suppress a giggle. "its the long bar"

"o h okay i think i get it sans told me something happened. Are you okay? Going to get Papy and come get you" Another pause. "oh it sometimes does grammar for me that's interesting"

The kid snorted into her hand and smiled tiredly, rubbing her eyes. "yeah im fine, thanks :3"

" :3 ?"

"its a smiley"

" Oh ! :3"

.

Frisk snickered. For someone from a world without phones, Chara hadn't done all that bad, she thought.

.

Knowing Sans had been by helped a little, even if it couldn't put her fully at ease. She was sure that, if he was with Asriel now, there was nothing to worry about. She couldn't feel any distress in her soul from her link to her brother, so it was more likely than not that he was perfectly safe. Even so, it would have been nice to know for sure.

.

Eventually, the smooth movement of the shuttle slowed. The walls rattled faintly as its speed dropped to a crawl and, soon after, it stopped completely. The doors slid open on their own. Curiously, Frisk slipped off the seat and went to check outside.

.

A vast beach stretched out before her beneath an inky black ceiling dotted with crystals like distant stars. They were probably somewhere in this world's Waterfall, she thought.

.

Frisk heard her name and turned to see Papyrus and Chara sprinting across the sand towards her. She stuck her hand up to wave as she hopped out and was quickly swept up in the arms of the tearful skeleton.

"Nyoooo, oh god, okay, okay, you're okay," he muttered. His soul was radiant, burning with a heartsick ache.

Frisk squeezed him tight and buried her face against him. "Sorry to scare you."

He snuggled her and breathed out a sigh of relief. He lightly bonked his brow against her head and drew back, holding her by the shoulders. "Are you still hurt? Are you still oozing?!" he demanded.

"Oozing? Uh—"

"Oh my god, Frisk," Chara said as she caught up. Her bright eyes were wide and she wore a disturbed grimace on her face. "You're completely red, what the hell…?!"

"I told you!" Papyrus whined.

"Yeah, but I didn't expect it to be—!"

"Wait, what?" Frisk asked.

"You said you were fine!" Chara said shrilly.

"I am fine!"

"Impossible." Chara cautiously put a hand on her shoulder and pointed down at Frisk's clothes. "Ugh, and you're damp, too."

.

Outside of the blue light for the first time in a while, Frisk looked at herself and let out a surprised squeak. "Eck, gross! Sorry!"

Chara huffed out a sigh and pulled the kid in for a hug anyway, planting a kiss on her forehead and cuddling her close. "What the hell happened? Was it the sleepwalking?"

"She tripped." Gaster emerged from the shuttle as well, carrying the large bag.

Chara immediately grasped Frisk tighter, glaring defiantly up at the skeleton, and Papyrus put a hand on her shoulder.

"You—?!" the girl snapped.

"It's true," Frisk said quickly.

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah."

Gaster pointed his thumb back into the cabin as he stepped out onto the beach. "I noticed, as I was packing, that there's a change of clothes in that bag. My apologies that I didn't see it sooner."

"Oh!" Frisk perked up. "Okay, thanks!"

"That's…" Chara sighed. "That's good, okay, d'you need any help?"

"I should be okay," Frisk said, hopping back inside. "Juuuust a second!"

.

As Frisk vanished, Papyrus blew out a sigh and wiped his eyes gingerly.

"Phew," he muttered. "That was… something."

"She'll be alright," Gaster assured him. "Your brother made sure of it." He tilted his head. "I assume he came to get you."

Papyrus nodded.

"Did he happen to mention," the old skeleton continued, "if we need to be in hiding, or…?"

"Hiding? What for?" Chara asked.

"The ghosts were fairly agitated on our way out of their healing ponds," he said. "They wanted to keep Frisk there to recover. We ran off, instead."

"Oh! Well! Sans didn't mention anything like that," Papyrus said. "Though he was kind of in a hurry."

"Did you just call her Frisk?" Chara asked.

Gaster blinked. "…That is her name, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but…" The girl shook her head. "Never mind." She pushed past him and towards the shuttle. "Are you sure you don't need anything?"

"It's fiiiine, Chara, it's just pyjamas!" the kid called back.

.

Gaster came a little closer to Papyrus and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Me?! Oh! I'm completely, perfectly fine!" the boy said swiftly. "Why? Do I look un-fine?"

"Her blood was burning you before," Gaster said in a hushed tone.

"That's truuuuue, but…" He shook his head. "Nyeh, it's alright, I just had to rinse it off."

"Good." Gaster thumped him on the back.

.

With Chara's help shifting the bulky bag, Frisk popped back out of the shuttle in slightly oversized, white pyjamas, the long-sleeved shirt marked with silver moons and stars.

"What a disaster," Chara muttered. "We'll have to do laundry, for sure."

"I can go!" Papyrus said.

"H-How 'bout in the morning?" Frisk said swiftly. "It's really late, right?"

Chara nodded. "Extremely." She rubbed her head. "Oh, right, do you happen to know where Azzy is, by the way?"

"Sans didn't tell you?" Frisk wondered.

"Nnnno." Chara frowned. "Why?"

"Oh, uh. Okay. Don't freak out, but it's just, when I faint, he kinda does too," the kid said sheepishly. "But Sans went to go find him and I don't feel anything freaky, so I'm pretty sure it's okay."

"Ah, great." Chara laughed tiredly. "Okay. Castle. Get him; get you cleaned up. We'll do laundry tomorrow back home?"

"Oh, right, and the Snowdin tour!" Papyrus looked at Gaster. "We could do that, too, if you'd still like to."

"I would. Thank you," the old skeleton said.

"Excellent!" Papyrus laughed bashfully. "It's sort of nice to do; reminds me of when Frisk got here. Except you won't get arrested by Mistral out of nowhere, hopefully!"

"Hopefully," he agreed.

.

"Okay," Chara said with a sigh. "Great. So." She looked at Frisk. "Castle?"

Frisk nodded. Chara clapped her on the shoulder and looked at the skeletons.

"You guys?"

"Back to the Soul for me, I think," Gaster said. He cracked a tired smile. "I'm hoping not to cause any more problems." He cut his eyes at Frisk. "At least for tonight."

Chara squinted suspiciously but Frisk absolutely glowed.

"I'll take him," Papyrus assured them. "But!" He bent down and hugged Frisk again. "Just one more of these, first."

The kid snickered and squeezed him tight. There was a little warble in the touch of his soul, still. A flicker of guilt.

"S'all okay, right?" she said.

"Of course it is!" he said.

"So you can stop worrying, right?"

"Worrying?! Nyeh, I'm not…!" He sighed. "Okay, maybe just a little tiny bit."

She gave him a quick smooch on the cheek and he snickered, gently bonking his brow against hers again.

"Love you," she said.

"Nyeeeeh, love you, too," he cooed.

.

The group headed out along the beach until they came to a little, wooden shack hidden in seaweed that drifted as if it were underwater. Chara lent Papyrus her medallion while she and Frisk used the amethyst ring to whisk them away to the sleep-calmed castle.

.

"I'm gonna guess," Chara said, voice hushed, as they wandered the dimly lit, echoey halls, "that he's either somewhere near my mom's tower, or on that floor where we hid out. It's also possible he was taken to one of the medical rooms."

Frisk nodded. "Yeah, hopefully someone can tell us. Or, uh… Sans is probably still here, right?"

"True." Chara paused and pulled a rounded crystal out of her pocket and tapped on it until it flickered blue. "There." She stood off to the side and leaned her back against the wall. "Might as well wait until he finds us."

"Cool." Frisk plunked herself against the wall, too and did a big, satisfying stretch of her arms before settling and shooting Chara a smile. "So how was your night?"

"Me?!" The freckled girl balked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"After almost blowing up and bleeding through every bit of clothes you had, you want to know about my night?"

"Yeah!"

.

Chara let out a little, amused snort. "Well. It was fine. I saw Kid, his parents; his siblings. Went to a nice restaurant. It was good to catch up. Annnnd I don't think I've ever seen any monster eat so much bread at once." She shrugged a little. "But… I can't help but think I should have put someone on sleepwalking watch, though. Maybe left a note?"

"Oh! No, no, it's okay," Frisk said swiftly. "I woke up when I fell down the hill, it wasn't 'cause of that that anything happened."

"…Huh. Really? I thought Gaster said you tripped."

"I did! But, like, over him, I think," she said. "It's kinda blurry. I think I, like, bonked my head into the Soul or something. But, actually! If I hadn't done the sleepwalking, I probably wouldda missed him touching the thing, and he'd either be super exploded or just dust, so I think it wasn't all that bad."

"So. He touched it." The girl frowned. "And… You got him out?"

Frisk nodded. "Yeah, but then we both fell over, and then I fell over again."

Chara couldn't help an exhausted laugh. She mussed up Frisk's hair. "Figures."

.

"Yo." Sans had materialized just a few paces down the hall. "Hope y'weren't waitin' long."

Frisk perked right up and Chara raised a hand to greet him.

"Did you find him?" Frisk asked.

"Yeah," the skeleton said. He tilted his head and offered his hand. "C'mon."

.

The round chamber they stumbled into at the other end of Sans's teleport was cozy in the glow of embers smouldering in a stone fireplace. The room, undoubtedly inside a tower, was set up like a homey apartment. There was a large bed with rumpled blankets on the right and a queen-sized table, chairs, and a cozy couch on the left. Toriel and another large monster chatted in hushed voices, partially obscured in shadows behind a half-wall draped in viny plants.

.

Asriel stood at the foot of the bed, looking quite sheepish as the squid-like nurse monster who had been tending to guards the other day inspected him carefully through a magic monocle. He caught sight of his siblings and his ears perked, but he stayed right where he was.

"Hey!" Frisk said brightly. She bounded over to him. "Doing good?"

"I'm fine," he assured her, bending to give her a tight hug the moment he could reach.

"I'll be the judge of that, mister," the nurse said, half-in-jest. "Stay still, please."

"A-Ah, sorry." Asriel straightened up, patting Frisk on the head. "Uh, why're you damp?"

"It was a whole thing," she said, "but what about you?"

"I fell down the stairs," he explained.

Both of the other kids winced in sympathy.

"Aah, I'm sorry," Frisk said swiftly.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Chara asked.

"I don't think so, it was mostly just the fainting that was the weird part." He shook his head and looked at Frisk. "Were you okay?"

"Yeah, but it was kinda crazy," the kid said.

.

"She accidentally touched the Soul," Chara said.

"What?!" the squiddy nurse squeaked, turning her eyes on the kid.

"Uh, aren't we not supposed to do that?" Asriel said.

"It was fine!" Frisk said swiftly. "I just tripped."

"And were bleedin' everywhere," Sans teased.

"What?!" Asriel bleated.

"Hold still, hold still," the nurse said gently, putting a tentacle on his shoulder to keep him in one spot. She shot Frisk a curious glance. "Want me to take a look at you, too, hun?"

"It's okay, they dumped me in a magic pond or something, I'm fine," Frisk insisted.

"Mirror Lakes, took care of it," Sans said, mostly addressing the nurse. "Problem was, the energy started, uh, burnin' outta her almost anywhere the skin was a bit… damaged, I guess?" He chuckled. "Sorry, I don't got skin, so it's hard to say, but that's what it seemed like."

"I was out for that part," the kid said swiftly.

Asriel rubbed his temples and laughed quietly. "Maybe I don't pass out 'cause of the magic overloads or whatever, maybe I pass out because if I saw what you were doing, you'd scare me to death."

"I'm sooorryyy!" Frisk said shrilly.

"You two are a mess," Chara teased, but the smile on her face was soft.

"A perfectly healthy mess," the nurse added with a smile. She patted Asriel on the shoulder. "Your soul's a different one, hun, but everything seems just fine."

"Thanks," Asriel said.

.

As the nurse left with a friendly goodbye to Toriel as well, Asriel plopped down to sit on the edge of the bed. He reached back for his sweatshirt and dragged it towards him.

"Got this," he said, grasping the wooden case from underneath the fabric and offering it to Chara.

"Wh…? Oh!" She took the box in both hands, almost reverently. She sat beside him and opened it up. Her eyes gleamed. "A-Ah! It's…" She smiled. "It's perfect."

"Can I…?" Frisk snuck around to the side and stood on her toes, peeking in at the crystals housed safely in the case. "Oh, wow! They look cool." She turned to Asriel. "So you found Leirak, too!"

"Yeeeah. Uh." He grinned bashfully. "We, uh… We had the talk." He nodded at Chara. "With your mom."

Chara froze and she whipped around to face him, wide-eyed. "Wh…? Oh. My god. Okay. How did that go?"

"Actually…" He smiled and tilted his head towards the partially obscured forms at the other side of the room. "Pretty good."

.

Frisk let out a little, pleased gasp and Chara chuckled hoarsely. She gave the boy a little nudge with her elbow.

"Nice work," she said.

"Eh, nah, I fumbled all over the place," he said. "But…" He smiled bashfully and tapped his fingertips together. "I know what it's like, so…"

"Yooo, that's so exciting, though!" Frisk said brightly.

"It's definitely going to be interesting," Chara said, cracking a smile. "And maybe it'll keep her around a little longer before she's off chasing the King to the End of the World again."

"And if not, hey, bonus goat either way," Asriel joked.

"Nothing wrong with a bonus goat," she agreed as she plucked the letter out of the crystal's case. "Now, just give me a second."

"What's that?" Frisk asked.

"Hopefully some instructions," she said. "And not a warning or— Welp. Bit of both. Okay."

.

"Ah. That reminds me," Sans said. He fished inside his jacket and dragged a shiny object, flat on the top and bottom, in the shape of a four-pointed star. He offered it to Frisk.

"You're still wet," Chara said, wrinkling her nose.

"Eh, that's how it goes sometimes," he said as Frisk took the crystal from him.

It was a container— weighty and large enough to be a little cumbersome. Each corner shimmered a colour through the facets— two in indigo, and one each in deep green and purple. She curiously turned it over in her hands, her fingertips finding the tiniest of grooves that marked the lid.

"It's cool, what is it?" Frisk asked.

"S'what I talked to Mist about," the skeleton said. "See, in there? Integrity, fortitude, and perseverance, get it?" He tapped on the centre with a claw. "And, right there? Slot for determination."

"Oh yeah?" The kid's eyes widened. "Like, as a base, right? For the seed?"

Sans nodded. Frisk grinned.

"Aah, thank you!" She gave him a quick hug even as Chara let out a little noise as if to stop her.

The girl was right, though: Sans was still quite cold and damp.

"That's great. It's for Asriel's right?" Frisk turned to look at her brother and showed him the container. "Right there. We stick your crystal there and then the seed shouldn't break up, I think! At least, until we want it to."

"Oh yeah?" Asriel's ears perked. He took the case and pressed the pads of his fingers against the top. "Oh. Yeah. That's really good. Thanks, dude."

Sans shrugged. "Not a problem." He shot a teasing grin at Frisk. "Kid's real invested in a certain bag o' bones not sufferin' in grey hellspace, for whatever reason, so."

.

"Hey, um, about him," Frisk said quickly. Her eyes glimmered. "We talked. On the, uh, train thingy?"

"Oh, right, why were you alone on there with him anyway?" Chara asked.

"He helped me a lot," the kid said brightly.

"…Wait, what? Really?" Asriel said.

"Yeah, but! Guess what?!" She couldn't help but beam. "Heeee said he didn't hate me!"

"What?!" Chara yelped.

"Seriously?!" Asriel asked.

"Interestin'," Sans said.

"Yeah!" Frisk clasped her hands together. "And he even joked around me and he said that I'm not his enemy and everything!"

"Holy shit," Asriel breathed. "What'd you do, you mind meld or something?"

"No way!" Frisk shook her head quickly. "I don't really know what super changed but, I guess… I dunno, but I'm really happy. Also!" She grinned and stuck a finger into the air. "I got our timing from him."

"Huh." Chara crossed her arms. "It's like a whole new guy," she said, shooting Sans a worried look.

"Hm. I'd be suspicious," the skeleton said, "but he, uh, had plenty of chances to be straight up evil with her tonight and didn't take 'em."

"Oh yeah, he even said he didn't wish he left me to blow up, I thought that was really good," Frisk said with a nod.

"You sure you weren't dreaming?" Asriel joked.

"Yeah, duh!" the kid said, pouting. "Bro, please."

"I'm just teasing; I know," he said. "Still, though, that's crazy." He reached out and mussed up her hair. "Guess you finally wore him down a bit."

"I guess. I'm just… I dunno, I'm really glad," she said. "But! Anyway. Timing. Seven and a half years."

"That's a long time," Chara said, wincing.

"He said that's just normal time, time-loop time he had to do math for."

"Sheeeesh."

.

"Are you sure you can handle that long a rewind?" Asriel asked. "Like… Seemed like you could do a few days with the Chrono Shift, right?"

"Yeah, but this is a big reset thing," Frisk said. "That's, like, way easier. I think 'cause you just sorta throw everything back instead of a little thing you gotta hold and make sure it's right and… Yeah, I dunno. But a big reset has never been a problem, so I think that'll be fine."

"That has to be right," Chara said. "A couple of the, uh, anomalies I was riding along with… Well, one of them left for a few years, then reset after that. I think more than one, actually."

"…Wait, didn't you tell me you couldn't leave the mountain?" Frisk asked, wide-eyed.

"Ahh. Well. I lied," the girl said with a sideways smile. "I, uh… I told you I got weak outside the mountain, too, yeah? That was true. But, I thought you deserved to get rid of me. I knew you'd try to talk me into staying, sooo, yeah, I lied."

"Chaaaaraaa!" Frisk whined. She jumped up onto the bed and pulled the girl into a tight hug. "Ugh, that's no good."

Chara snickered and squeezed her back. "Sorry. But, you know I'm right."

"You're a bum."

The freckled girl full-on laughed and ruffled Frisk's hair. "I know, I know."

.

Sans put a hand on Chara's head and her cheeks flushed. She stuck her tongue out at him and his grin widened.

"Get outta here," she said. "You're freezing; go change!"

"Sheesh," he said with a laugh. "Fine, meet ya later?"

"Yes! Please." Her gaze softened. "Get warm."

"Alright, alright." He vanished.

.

"Chara?" Toriel had come out into the light of the fire. She glanced around and, as Chara put the letter down, patted Frisk on the head, and hopped off the bed to meet her, the old monster's eyes lit up. She reached the girl in just a few strides and dipped to give her a hug. "Oh, my dear. My child. Something incredible has— ah, you must have heard it from your brother, have you not?"

"I did." Chara grinned and hugged Toriel tightly. "I'm so happy for you."

Toriel smiled. Though she looked tired, there was an uncommon spark of energy around her. "I would like to speak to you a little about… everything, if you do not mind," she said.

"Of course I don't mind." She turned quickly to close the crystals' case and then left to join her mother.

.

The other monster stepped out of the shadows to offer them space— giving Chara pause for just a moment— before she continued onwards. He rubbed the back of his head and looked at Frisk and Asriel, eyes widening. Frisk blinked. This hadn't been what she was expecting at all, but it was undoubtedly their new friend, though he was standing upright and looking a lot more like Asriel than he had before. Now with flopped ears, he looked considerably more familiar— a little more like a big-eyed, friendlier version of Asriel's Hyper Goner.

.

"H-Howdy, there," he said— his voice a bit different and more Asriel-like than she was used to. "I, um… It's me, your, uh, friend, Leirach."

A little shock plunked in Frisk's head. "Oh, heck, was I saying your name wrong this whole time?"

Asriel snorted laughing and Leirach raised his hands and shook his head quickly.

"No, no no, I… I lied. I'm sorry. It was… sort of a layer of my disguise, I guess?" He tented his fingers and smiled bashfully. "I… couldn't think of another name I liked that really felt like me, but I thought maybe that harsher ak sound might throw people off, but…" He laughed. "You found me out right away anyway."

"It might just be 'cause I know Az and Chara. But, you think that helped hide you?" Frisk wondered.

"Well, I mean, that's not how you say the a in Chara," Asriel said. "Logic makes sense to me."

"But, like, it was already scrambled and he was shaped like a horse," Frisk said.

"…I might have been overcautious," Leirach said bashfully. "I wasn't expecting to meet someone from another world, after all."

.

"Okay, here's what you do," Frisk said. "Pick a name that's not even like your name."

"…Like… Togore?" he wondered. "Oh. That would've been better."

"No, that's still just like, the parents naming thing but backwards," Frisk said.

"Yeah, you needed something like Leafy or whatever," Asriel said.

"I still wouldda guessed that," Frisk said with a laugh.

"What, really?"

Frisk cut her eyes at him. "Bro."

"What?!"

She counted on her fingers. "Flowey. Goaty. Leafy. It's a pattern."

"Bah," he grumbled. "Okay, smart guy, what would you do for a fake name?"

"I dunno, like, the name of a star or something? Or a name from a book? And definitely not a name from a book of someone who was hiding who they were. Just, like, a normal name."

"I mean, if you… really don't want to be found, something really different might be better," Leirach conceded.

"Baaah." Asriel scoffed and waved a hand. "Doesn't matter, it's better you guessed who he was anyway, right?"

"That's true," Frisk said with a laugh.

"I'm sorry for being so secretive about it," Leirach said. "I mean, I really don't mind that other form, too, but I think if I was walking around like this, I probably would've gotten a lot more questions. Even with this face."

.

Frisk shot Leirach a smile. "It's really not a big deal. I hope you don't worry about it. And, you look cool like that."

The big monster's eyes bugged out and his pale cheeks flushed a little. "You think so?"

"Yeah!" Frisk brightened. "Oh! Can I take a selfie with you?"

"Uh…?"

She pulled out her phone. "C'mere!"

The huge, puzzled monster dipped down to a squat and Frisk turned to stand with him, grinning as she took a selfie with him. She proudly showed it off and Leirach couldn't help a smile.

"…I guess it isn't really so bad," he said.

Frisk held out her arms. "Can I hug you?"

"If you like—" The monster grunted as she latched onto him tightly. His face softened and he patted her head with his large talon of a hand.

"I'm super happy for you," she said.

"Thanks." His ears pinned back. "It's been a bit of a whirlwind, but I'm happy, too."

.

"You got really lucky," Asriel said with a smile. "I'm kinda jealous. Your shapeshifting was really good."

"Mhm, once the curse was broken, I found it worked pretty well, actually," he said. "It's sort of a strange state to be in. But. I don't mind it."

"All I could do was the face," Asriel said. "Oh, and the voice. It was kinda creepy."

"Oh? Really? Why?"

Asriel smiled sideways. "Beeecause I used it to be creepy on purpose." He shook his head. "I was an ass, forget it."

Leirach looked puzzled, but he nodded. Frisk scoffed and hopped to her feet, bouncing back a few steps and taking a photo of both monsters in the same frame. They looked a little confused in the photo, but Frisk liked it anyway. For some reason, it already made her a little nostalgic. If he was joining Chara's family here in some way, though, at least they might still be able to say hi now and then, assuming everything worked out.

.

"Does this all mean you're gonna come back and be Prince again?" Frisk wondered.

"Oh, no, absolutely not," Leirach said quickly. "It seems like Undyne is doing just fine."

"Are you gonna tell her you're you?" Asriel asked. "You knew her back then, right? She seemed to miss you."

"I… Hm. Yeah. I'd like to. I'll try to, soon. Before I leave."

"So you're still gonna head north again?" Frisk asked.

"Eventually. I did sign up, after all. " Leirach cracked a sheepish smile. "But it's nice to have a couple more reasons to come back this way."

"You'll, uh…" Asriel lowered his voice. "You'll… kinda look out for Chara sometimes, when you're around, right?"

The plantish monster nodded. "Of course. I'd be happy to." He chuckled quietly and put a hand against his soul spot. "I mean, I'm sure it's not a surprise, but she reminds me of myself at that age."

"Thanks," Asriel said. "Seriously."

.

After a few minutes, Chara and Toriel returned to the group, a light and relaxed energy coming along with them.

"Greetings, children," the large monster said. "Goodness, it is late, is it not?" She looked at Chara and raised her brows. "…Pardon, dear, I did not think to ask, why is it that you are all still even awake?"

"Oh, you know, normal nightly Frisk exploding," Chara said.

Frisk shrugged and smiled. "Kinda true."

"Speaking of, I still need to get you a good bath," the freckled girl said.

"Pardon?" Toriel blinked.

"Never mind. We should head out."

"But, dear, I—"

Chara smiled up at her mother. "Mom, it's barely been any time, you can't have caught up already," she said. "We'll see you tomorrow." She patted Leirach on the shoulder. "You'll be alright."

"Thanks, Chara." The wooden monster offered his hand, and Chara took it. He gave her a squeeze. "…Thanks for looking after mom."

The freckled girl's cheeks flushed. "O-Of course," she said. She waved to her siblings, still blushing a little. "Come on; don't forget any of your stuff."

xXxXx

There were a few bathing rooms in the castle, according to Chara. Some for getting cleaned up after the wear and tears of training, and others designed for the use of monsters that were more accustomed to aquatic settings. Those were more like indoor pools, however, with water that reached deep below ground and even tunnelled beneath other rooms of the castle. Chara picked one of the more conventional baths.

.

Once making sure it was unoccupied, she hurried Frisk into a chamber of stone and wood, with six large, circular stone tubs of steaming water. They left her alone in there to clean up a little and, once that was done, Chara slipped inside to help wash the kid's hair. It was nice, Frisk thought. She'd been thrown into the water quite a few times since the start of the adventure, but a proper bath was surprisingly welcome.

.

Frisk was asleep in a fluff of bubbly water by the time Chara was done with her hair, but, even through the suds, the blue glow that shone from some of her scars was just visible.

.

After rousing her and giving her a moment to change back into the moon-and-stars pyjamas, the three increasingly sleepy kids headed back to the Soul. They found Sans waiting for them at the portal in, dozed off against the mountain, and pulled him with them as well.

.

Papyrus greeted them exuberantly, though he looked exhausted. Sans spent some time giving him a recap while the others all headed straight for bed in the tent hidden in the trees. However, it wasn't long at all before Frisk, shivering, and clearly still asleep, stumbled out from between the black trunks and nearly tripped straight down the hill towards the Soul again. This time, though, Papyrus was swift on his feet and grabbed her tight before she could fall.

.

The kid blinked awake quickly, staring into the faces of both concerned skeletons.

"Are you okay?!" Papyrus asked.

"I, uh…" She blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Dang it, I did it again, huh?"

"This is new, huh?" Sans asked. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Wonder if—?"

.

The world before Frisk's eyes blasted away into snow. She froze, staring in shock, as a distorted fog cut her vision down to one thing before her. Sans. Her brother. Standing before a blurry brick wall in the midst of a blizzard, looking down at her with a calm certainty and sadness in his eyes, despite the faint crease of a smile below them. His hand was on her cheek, the blue glow of his magic cool and comforting against her skin despite how utterly freezing she was.

"Hey, kiddo," he said. "Don't worry. We already love you, right?"

"S-Sans," she stuttered. "S-S-Sans, I—"

He smiled at her. "Go get 'em, fartmaster, I'm rootin' for you."

.

Frisk jerked back so swiftly that she almost tripped again. Papyrus squeaked and held her steady. She buckled forwards and clapped a hand against her head, drawing in quick, rattling breaths.

"Shit, kiddo, y'okay?" Sans asked.

Her eyes jerked up to look him in the face. Sharp-toothed; scarred skull. Not hers, but reassuring nonetheless.

"I aaaam seeing fake stuff," she croaked.

"That's new," he said.

"Oooh nooo, that doesn't sound gooood," Papyrus said.

.

"HEY!" Asriel called from somewhere. "WHERE'S FRISK?!"

"SHE'S OVER HEEEEREEE!" Papyrus replied.

Frisk couldn't help but wince at the volume.

.

"What'd ya see?" Sans asked.

"M-My, um." Frisk had to gulp to wet her dry tongue. "My brother. S'okay. Whew. Sorry."

"Hm." The skeleton cautiously extended a hand to her, but then seemed to think better of it. "Maybe you, uh, should sleep somewhere else tonight?"

"Y'think so?" she wondered.

"Yeah, I mean, sleepwalkin's new. And y'shiver a lot more in here recently."

"What, it's not just cold?" she asked.

"Not particularly," Papyrus said.

.

"Hey, what the heck?" Asriel bounded up; Chara groggily followed him. "Did you sleepwalk again?!"

"Yeeeeeah, sorry," Frisk said.

"Well… It's a nice night out, outside," Papyrus said. "Maybe you could just set the tent up there."

"That's fine with me, if you think it'd help," the kid said.

"Yeah. Do that," Sans said. "Sorry, kiddo."

She shook her head. "No worries, you're probably right." She looked at Asriel. "Is that okay?"

He shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Ugh," Chara groaned, rubbing at her eyes as she caught up. "Seriously?"

"Sorry," Frisk said.

The girl shook her head. "No, it's just… I'm tired, ugh, never mind; it's fine."

"You can stay," Asriel said.

"As if," she said. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. "Ooookay, caaaamping."

"I'll make the grass real soft or something," Asriel said.

"That'd be niiiice."

xXxXx

What little was left of the rest of the night passed smoothly and comfortably once the kids were snug outside in their blanket-filled tent. This time, though, Asriel curled himself around his sleep-walking sister like a guard dog, so if she were to get up again, he would certainly feel it. Thankfully, she did not.

.

When the sun rose, everyone slept in late— with the exception of Papyrus— and then settled in for a lazy breakfast in the cabin. Despite the exhaustion, the mood was a little lighter than it had been. Gaster even asked Frisk how she was feeling, which was a shock to just about everybody. She was still a little sore, if she were honest, but other than that, things seemed to be going just fine.

.

Snowdin was still the destination of the day, and Sans urged them to pick up the pace on their way out the door. Mistral was on her way again, and it was certain that there would be some sort of lockdown the moment she felt that the dampener on Gaster's bones had been nullified.

.

As they were cleaning up before they left, Gaster pulled Frisk aside. Before she could ask him if something was wrong, he produced the strange cube Avenir had made and offered it to her.

"You said you still needed it, didn't you?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, thanks," she said, taking it carefully. "Don't worry, I won't do anything dumb with it unless I really really really have to."

"Don't concern yourself with that," he said. "It's yours."

"Uh." She cocked her head to the side. "Nnnno, it's yours, I'm giving it to you, remember?"

"I do," he said. "But… I realize, that isn't quite fair, is it? She made it for you."

"But—"

He shook his head. "Keep it, Frisk." He turned back to get his coat. "It's what she would want."

.

The kid pouted. That wasn't part of the plan. She'd sneak it into his pocket on her way out of the world, if she had to.

xXxXx

The snowy chill of the quaint little wintery town was very welcome to Frisk, despite how the rest of her felt. It still felt like home, somehow, despite being so different.

.

Though Papyrus started with dropping the laundry off, when the tour began in earnest, there seemed to be so much to see. Gaster was enthralled, once again. Just seeing the monsters, the buildings; the little market, was more than enough for him. Papyrus even showed them their house, which fascinated the old skeleton to no end.

.

Chara was just happy to be back there. So was Frisk. When Papyrus brought Gaster back out, they and Asriel stayed behind, snug on the couch, doing some art and watching old recordings on the VC.

.

After yet another ad for Mettaton's oneiromancer business, a rerun of the fight recorded near the Soul of the World began to play again, but this time with a lot of extra commentators, as if it were some sort of sports event. Asriel turned the volume down a little.

"Hey, Chara," he said. "I was thinkin'. You still wanna do that video for parents?"

"Well, yeah, obviously," she said.

He stared at her. She frowned.

"What, you mean now?"

"I mean, we got time," he said.

"Give me a day where I don't look like I haven't slept in a week, at least," she said.

"I think you look fine," Frisk said.

"This is how our parents are going to see me for the first time in hundreds of years," Chara said. "I'd like to make a decent impression."

"I think they'd think it was a good impression even if you were covered in mud and you drew marker all over yourself," the kid said.

"That's true," Asriel said.

.

Chara scoffed loudly, and waved a hand at them, shaking her head. Somehow, though, she looked a little pleased. She settled back solidly against the couch cushions and rubbed her head. "I… don't even know how to go about it, to be honest."

"That's okay, we can do it!" Frisk said.

Asriel nodded. "Yeah, just pick a time and a spot and we'll do it."

"Fine, fine," Chara said. "I'll think about it. Tomorrow."

"Okay, well you should definitely—"

.

The door kicked right in, causing all but Chara to jump. It was about an hour past noon, and Papyrus burst into the living room, a big, bright grin on his face.

"Friends! Sister!" he announced. "How about some lunch! And then things are sort of up in the air!"

"You saw everything already?" Chara asked.

"I think so!"

"Went out to the fields and stuff?"

"Yes!"

"Did you go see all the cool weapon stores, that's what I liked to see," Asriel said. "Ooh, or the potion store."

"Double yes," Papyrus assured them.

"What about the Ruins?" Frisk suggested.

"Nyeh! We did not do that, actually," he said. "But, I have only been there the one time, so I'm not sure I would be the best guide for that."

"I guess I could, if everyone wants to see it," Chara said.

"Hey, Gaster, wanna see the Ruins?" Frisk called out the door.

"…I wouldn't mind!" he replied.

"Cool," she said.

"This is so weird, he's too close to normal, now," Asriel joked.

"He's a weird guy," Chara said. She slipped off the couch and put her sketchbook aside. "The dumpling place?"

"As always!" Papyrus said brightly.

.

"Uh oh, Frisk," Asriel said. He tapped her on the shoulder. "Glowing again."

"Huh?" Frisk twisted her head and could just barely see the blue glow shining over her shoulder. "Man, that's weird." She grabbed up the cube from the table and held it tight. She twisted to try to put it against the scar.

Asriel snorted and took it from her. Nothing happened. He shrugged and passed it back.

"Dang, I thought, maybe," she said.

"Your plan isn't to just touch it to random glowing stuff, is it?" Chara joked.

"No, I dunno," Frisk said with a laugh. "I'm hoping it'll just like, glow or rumble or something at some point. Oh. I hope it wasn't at the Mirror Lakes, actually, I didn't have it then."

"What are the chances of that?" Asriel asked. "Low I bet. Super low."

"It's probably some mystical emotional connection, or something along those lines, rather than a physical place," Papyrus suggested. "Ooh, maybe you have to attain some sort of… extreme determination, or something. Enlightened determination."

"Determination 2, the Sequel," the goat boy said, sticking his tongue out.

"Man, I dunno," Frisk said with a laugh. "Oh." She perked up and jumped to her feet, hurrying to the door. "Hey, Gaster, can I ask something?"

"You can." He came up the steps and peeked inside. "Is something wrong?"

"This cube thingy," she said, holding it up. "I had a vision about it, I think. Something about it had to do with me and Az going home. But. I dunno what to do with it."

"…Well, it's… not really a remarkable device," he said. "It can store the signature of a soul or certain melodies or colours, but it's not as though it's deeply magically potent."

"Right, right, Avenir said something kinda like that," she said. She scrunched up her face. "What if it was just giving it to you, though?"

"I told you," he said. "She made it for you. Don't concern yourself with me."

Frisk sighed. "You're stubborn."

"I've been told this many times," he said. "Anyway. I don't really have a good answer for you, unfortunately."

"Aw."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, friend," Papyrus said. He clapped his hands together. "In the meanwhile! Let's go get some dumplings!"