The longer this goes on, the higher the odds of throwing up Chapter 103

The night did not pass so easily for Asriel.

.

He shuffled from one side to the other. The temperature was perfect, and yet there was still an uncomfortable prickle beneath his fur.

.

He lay on his left. His ears felt squished. How on earth could it be that he was squashing his own ears?

.

He lay on his right. One of his horns was touching the ground. Why was that bothering him for the first time in his life?

.

Rolling onto his back, he stared up at the roof of their little tent in the cavern of the Soul. Small lights from crystals far above, barely peeking through the foliage, pulsed softly and faded, like the light of fireflies. He hadn't noticed that on any other night. Maybe it was new.

.

His snout wrinkled as he stretched his back and sunk farther down against the ground. No matter where he settled, his shoulders hurt. He felt like his whole body might cramp up. He tapped his foot restlessly.

.

Huffing out a sigh, he looked to his left. Frisk was snoozing comfortably, buried deep in the blankets. She hadn't moved since he'd tucked her in, except to rest her fingertips on the World Seed, softly smouldering in a nest of blanket beside her. On his right, Chara was also sleeping soundly, eyelids faintly fluttering.

.

He interlaced his fingers and settled his hands on his chest. Scrunched his eyes shut tight, then tried to let the tension leave his face. Drawing in slow, deep breaths, he tried to tell himself to relax. Relax. R-E-L-A-X.

.

The word repeated until it had no meaning and he was wondering why each syllable sounded like gibberish.

.

His insides twisted and turned, the notes in his hum flitting like a ill-processed remix. It was like waiting for someone to shove him off a cliff and into freezing cold water.

.

He sucked his tongue. "Chara?" he asked, his voice hardly a whisper. "…You awake?"

The softest of hums was his reply, but when he turned to look, Chara had not stirred, nor were her eyes open. He sighed and lay back, staring up at the roof of the tent again.

.

Every second dragged like an hour. Despite the blankets, and the pillows, and the warmth of place, and the presence of his sisters, Asriel couldn't get comfortable at all.

.

Finally, the goat boy resigned himself to failure and very carefully, and very slowly, slipped out of the comforters and back into the dark-trunked cluster of trees. Exhaustion hit him like a train. His eyelids were heavy and, somehow, ached. He rubbed at them with his knuckles as he began to wander.

.

True to his word, Gaster had stayed up until the three kids had returned from Alphys's, but now he was gone, presumably to bed. The only sound to be heard was the magic from the Soul permeating the air, so soft it was barely perceptible. It made Asriel's ears itch.

.

He paused before the light of the Soul. Sans's blue magic had swirled into it, twisting and flowing like water beneath ice.

.

Asriel crossed his arms over his chest. He could only imagine how the skeleton had been handling their absence for however long he'd been conscious, especially after what had happened with the whole reset debacle a few months back. Asriel hoped that knowing that he was with Frisk might have put Sans's mind at ease, at least a little bit. Anyway, it'd be over soon.

.

The boy's soul thunked heavily. He took a deep breath in through his teeth and blew it out slowly in a cool flame. His head already hurt, tinges of vertigo swirling at the edges of his mind.

.

After this, what would they do without Chara? How was he supposed to go back to not seeing her every day? He'd done it for so long when he hadn't had a soul— for time loop after time loop, however many years that had been. Now, it was such a daunting prospect. Like trying to escape a cave-in, but his legs were numb and wouldn't budge.

.

He took another deep breath and told himself the same thing he'd been saying since they'd reunited. It would all be fine. She was alive. She wasn't trapped somewhere horrific. She had people around her who loved her. He just wished it could have been everyone from back home, too.

.

"You're up pretty early." Papyrus slid up beside him on quiet feet, shooting him a smile."Or, is it more like, you're up way too late, actually?"

"Second one," Asriel said.

"I thought so!" He stretched his arms high above his head, then relaxed. "You sound nervous."

"Ugh, pretty obvious, huh?" The goat boy's ears drooped. "Head's kinda buzzing, I guess. How 'bout you, you finally get any sleep?"

"Nyeeh, what do you mean, finally?"

Asriel's brows raised. The skeleton snickered.

"Ah! I guess I'm pretty obvious, too," he said, rubbing the back of his skull. "I'm maybe just a little embarrassed to say I dozed off at the table."

"Why're you embarrassed? You needed it. You've needed it for days."

Papyrus's cheekbones flushed lightly with orange. "Nyeeh!" He grinned bashfully. "Maybe you're right. But I'm a little disappointed I didn't get the chance to camp out with you guys."

"You still can," Asriel said. "It's still night. And they're just in the tent. It's not like they'd mind."

.

Papyrus smiled and nodded thoughtfully, but he didn't move from his spot. Turning his eyes on the Soul again, he hooked his thumbs into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "If I had to guess, there's a pretty specific reason that you're standing right here, hm?"

"Yeah," Asriel said.

"Aaaaand that reason is the impending home-going."

"Yeeeeah."

"It's all going to work out. Absolutely," Papyrus said.

"Hm." Asriel scrunched up his snout. "Hope so."

"I know so! A hundred, hundred percent! It's… going to be sort of weird, though. Having you and Frisk gone. But, I'm extremely glad you came." The skeleton's smile quirked to the side. "Well, more like, I'm glad that she fell here and that we could all make the best of a huge, massive mess and an extremely persistent and laser-shooty time kid hunter."

Asriel huffed out a quiet laugh. "Mhm. Same. It's, uh… It's been really good."

"I know you're really going to miss Chara. But. I hope you at least won't worry about her too much."

"With you watchin' out for her? What would I have to worry about?"

Blushing again, the skeleton let out a pleased snicker. "Nyeh heh! You're right. You don't have to worry about a thing, not even for a second! And. Besides." He shot the boy a knowing look. "We'll all see each other again. Everything's going to work out. I know it."

.

Asriel wasn't so sure, but he nodded anyway. It wasn't that doubted Chara and all the work she'd done with Frisk, nor Papyrus's intuition, but everything was so complicated, and it wasn't as if he'd historically had the best luck. Maybe it wasn't logical, but he couldn't help the dread that left a cold well inside him.

.

"I'm glad things have sort of worked out with this Gaster man, too," Papyrus continued. "Back when he was being so nasty to her, it was… hard to keep up the more hospitable demeanour sometimes, you know?"

"Wait, you were faking that?" Asriel bleated.

"Well, it was definitely a conscious choice for the first little bit," the skeleton said. "It's not like it's the first instinct to be very nice to someone who tried to kill your friend, you know! Even though it was definitely a good idea. But, once she was comfortable and he was less rude, it was all a lot better."

"You're good," Asriel said. "I don't think you snapped even once. I… I was just seething almost the whole time."

"I was half-surprised you didn't set the whole cabin on fire!" Papyrus grinned. "But, you did really well, friend." He folded his arms. "In fact, I… I almost don't like to admit it, but he kind of felt like… a sort of odd uncle to me, after a while. Which is a bit conflicting but also not entirely bad, I don't think?" He raised his brows. "Does that sound completely out there?"

"No, not really. I think that's totally normal, for something so weird." Asriel shrugged. "Of course he would gravitate to you. You're, like… good vibes but a guy, y'know?"

"Oh!" The skeleton glowed. "Well, thank you!"

"Plus, like we said, he's… I mean, he has a son with the same name as you, so…"

"Aaah, right, that'd probably do it." Papyrus nodded. "I'm not… sure if we really changed his mind all that much, though. Maybe a little. Since he has been less full of hate and more full of depression."

"And, uh, hard to change it when he's mostly right," Asriel muttered.

.

Papyrus's dark eyes got big in his head. "W—? Right?! But Frisk is—!"

"Not about Frisk," Asriel said swiftly. "But about how… dangerous all this is. I mean, she could be. If she wanted. And that's… That can be hard to handle, I guess."

"…How the heck could Frisk be dangerous?!" Papyrus yelped. "She's just a tiny and nice little magic kid."

"Yeah, but if she wasn't nice, the point is, she can do some stuff that, in the wrong hands, would be, like, the scariest thing ever. She can freeze parts of people's bodies. Or their whole bodies. Turn them back in time. And that's just the targeted stuff."

"…Oh." The skeleton blinked. "But it's still Frisk. She would never—"

"Yeah, of course she would never," Asriel said, absently resting a hand against his chest. "I've felt her soul. I know how it all goes. But. The point is, there's a whole lot of people with powers like hers in different versions of different worlds that totally would, though. And that's who he met before us." He couldn't help a smile. "But, I mean, he kinda proved me wrong."

"Oh?! About what?" Papyrus wondered.

"He did change his mind, at least a little. He didn't let her just fry in the Soul. Aaand he showed her his kids' baby pics. So. That's gotta mean something. I think."

The skeleton's eyes brightened. "That actually makes me feel a lot better, to be honest. Uuuunless it's all a big jape and chicanery where we all let our guards down and he tried to toss Frisk back into the Soul like a borkball when we least expect it."

"I don't think so," Asriel said, silently wondering what a borkball was. "Last time would have been perfect. It knocked me out, Sans and Chara and your mom weren't here, and it wouldda been just you versus him. There wasn't a better time than right then if he was gonna do it." He rolled his eyes, half-way in jest. "Got me defendin' Gaster out here."

Papyrus snickered. "I know. I agree with you, actually. I prefer to plan for the best case scenario, but I always keep a couple of the worsts ones in my skull, too, just in case." He stuck a finger into the air. "Always be ready with at least four plans for each, I always say."

"Since when d'you say that?" Asriel teased.

"Since right this second." He winked. "I might augment the numbers as time goes on."

.

Asriel turned back towards the woods and nodded his head. "By the way, wanna see what we've been up to? It's—"

Papyrus perked right up. "Absolutely I do."

"I didn't even tell you what it was," the goat boy said with a laugh.

"It would not, in any way, change my answer!" Papyrus assured him.

.

They slipped in between the black-barked tress to the cozy camp out. Reaching in, Asriel patted his smallest sister on the head and carefully pulled the World Seed from its seat. It was still as warm to the touch as when they'd first enchanted it. He turned to Papyrus, only to find the skeleton's eyes glittering brightly. When Asriel offered it, Papyrus held out his hands and tenderly cradled the seed as if it were as fragile as a sheet of ice. He drew in a high, sharp breath through his teeth.

"Wowie," he said as quietly as he could manage. "Where did you get this?"

"We made it."

The skeleton pulled it closer to his chest. "It's… tingly. There has to be a ton of magic in here."

"Yeah, enough to throw a whole universe back in time about eight years," Asriel said.

.

Papyrus stood stock-still. His grip tightened a little and he stared at the seed, his jaw slowly falling open. "Should I be holding it, then?!"

"It's safe," Asriel assured him. "Gotta be triggered. It's for Gaster."

"Oooooh." The skeleton's dark eyes gleamed. "For his weird, broken world, right?"

Asriel nodded. "Yeah. We, uh…" He glanced back into the tent. "We figured that… if we send him back before everything happened to him, he could be more prepared or something. Maybe… Maybe make some different choices. Save his kids. That kinda thing." His ears pinned back. "There's no way to know for sure if it works, but Frisk insisted."

"That's so funny." With the utmost care, Papyrus passed the World Seed back to his friend and gave it a little pat. "Especially since she was the one he was most insistent on blasting out of reality. Or, blasting in general, really."

"Eh, wouldn't be her first time making weird choices about questionable people," Asriel joked.

.

Asriel leaned into the tent and placed the seed pod back where it had been. He hesitated for a moment— he was still pretty sure he wouldn't get any sleep, but he couldn't think of much else he wanted to do, either. Beckoning to Papyrus, he snuck a foot back inside and, when neither of the humans were disturbed, sat back down. The skeleton snuck in behind him, settling in between him and Chara. He rested a hand on the girl's head, held it for a moment, and then gently pulled her up to hold her against his chest. A gentle, orange light and toasty warmth glowed from between his ribs.

.

Asriel couldn't help but relax a little, even if his mind was still whirring. Though the company was welcome, he knew he wasn't about to get any sleep. Morning couldn't come quickly enough.

.

After an excruciating few hours— unable to even read or zone out as his mind sprinted off in doomed directions— Asriel was thrilled when Chara rose early, seeming relatively well-rested. Together, they slipped off on their own. Papyrus stayed with Frisk, playing some soothing tunes on his lyra. The small kid slept like a rock as the relaxing melodies followed the others out and lightly echoed around the cavern.

.

Sagging in his thick, dark coat, Sans was lounging on the slope that led down to the light of the Soul. He greeted them with a lethargic lift of his hand.

"Why're you up?" Chara asked. Her brows lifted high. "Is it done?"

"Nah." Sans took a swig from a glass bottle of ketchup. "Maybe, uhhh…" He squinted. "Tonight?"

A chill ran from Asriel's tail to the tips of his horns. He looked at Chara with wide eyes. She gulped.

"Alright," she said. "Then we should—"

"Relax, pigeon. You're gonna have a little breathin' room."

"Right. Yeah." She sighed and rubbed her hand through her hair. "So what should we do?"

"I dunno. Chill? What else ya gotta do?" He tilted his head to the side. "…That weird plan, or—?"

"We did it last night," Asriel said.

"Oh? How'd it go?"

"Seems to have worked," Chara said. "Thankfully. Alphys gave us a hand."

"Smart, goin' to her." Sans took another swig of the sweet-smelling condiment. He waved a hand at them. "Why don'tcha go out, do somethin' fun for a bit?"

"Fun. Uh…" Asriel looked at his sister skeptically. "…I dunno what to, uh…"

"Did your fuzzy mind shut off?" she asked with a gentle, teasing smile.

"Chaaraa!" he whined. "Bah, I dunno, what d'you wanna do?"

"Funny that when it's down to the wire, we're both just sort of… dumb. Hm?"

"That's normal for me," he said, sticking his tongue out. "So what happened to you?"

She jabbed her elbow into his side and he snickered. Sans grinned. He leaned back and limply masked a yawn behind his hand. It didn't really work. He stiffly got to his feet and stretched.

"Where's it at?"

Chara pointed back into the trees. Sans stuck a thumb up and wandered off with a lazy gait and his hands in his pockets.

.

Chara cracked her knuckles and paused to look at the light, while Asriel yawned a little, too, and headed for the cabin.

"Where're you off to?" she asked.

"I spent like half the night here," he said. "I wanna eat."

Chara rolled her eyes. She looked back at blue swirl twisting into the Soul for a moment more before following him.

.

Inside, Gaster was awake, sitting comfortably on his bed. Books were stacked beside him in two piles, and he was holding yet another, enraptured by its pages. He tore his eyes away from it as the kids brushed through the light.

"You're up early," he said. He cocked his head to the side. "No time god?"

"Time god's gotta sleep," Asriel said.

"Well." The skeleton pointed towards the tiny kitchen. "I put the kettle on just a little while ago; help yourselves."

"Mhm." Asriel yawned wide, showing quite a lot of sharp teeth, as he ambled towards it.

.

Gaster turned back to his book. Chara paused. Like many of the others, the novel the skeleton was reading was a fantasy story. This one had a heroic-looking bird monster holding a trident on the cover. She frowned thoughtfully.

"How's the book?" she asked.

"Hm? Oh." Gaster smiled. "Decent for what it is. Simplistic prose but enjoyable enough." A faint frown creased his brow. Carefully slipping a card key between pages, he closed the book and put it aside. "Are you alright?"

Chara bristled. "Why?"

"You look a little disturbed."

Chara opened her mouth to protest but then thought better of it. She crossed her arms and sighed. "I'm fine. Just… a little nerves from anticipation, I guess."

"Ugh, tell me about it," Asriel grumbled. "Yo, want some tea?"

"Hot chocolate," she said. "There should be a mix in a jar somewhere."

Asriel sniffed. "Gotcha."

.

Chara took a seat on one of the floor cushions beside the low table and leaned her cheek on her fist. "…Do we have anything to froth it?"

"No clue."

"If you can find a little whisk," Gaster suggested.

"Oh." Asriel pulled open a drawer and rummaged around. "Is that how that works?"

"You should cook more," Chara said.

"Look, I'm workin' on it, okay? I've only had hands for a few months, gimme a break."

"What happened to your hands?" Gaster asked worriedly.

"Ah, theeyyy were, uh, leaves. And vines. Y'know, plant… stuff. Ah!" Asriel pulled a whisk out into the light with a triumphant grin; the metal tines shone. "There we go."

.

"…You've both been through so much," Gaster said quietly.

The kids stiffened. Asriel and Chara shared a quick look from the corner of their eyes and the goat boy snorted.

"Look, we don't need pity, okay?" he said.

"Not at all," Chara said swiftly.

"All the bad stuff, we did it to ourselves."

"Mostly I did it to both of us," Chara said.

"Wait, no you didn't—"

"I did, but, yes, it's entirely on us." The girl shook her head. "We don't need sympathy. Or pity. It's just what happens when you're a…" She faltered. "…I guess demon isn't the right word, anymore, hm? If we… took it for something else."

"I think we could just go with idiot, right?" Asriel said.

Chara scoffed. "…I guess that's fine."

.

The old skeleton flinched. He got to his feet and then knelt before Chara. She looked back at him with confusion but, when she didn't recoil, he gently held her by the shoulders.

"Princess Chara Dreemurr. All I would like you to know," he said quietly, "is that you're the smartest little girl I've ever met."

Chara's eyes widened. "Wh—?"

"And, I know what you said, but… I always wished, for so many years, that we'd more clearly seen the signs that you were in such pain. You deserved that from us."

The freckled girl gulped heavily. Asriel froze. He stared at his sister as if to ask if he should yank her out of it, but she didn't see. She let out a hoarse sigh.

"…I appreciate the thought, Uncle, but you couldn't have helped me. If Asriel couldn't, nobody could have." A wry smile twisted her lips. "Determination and justice, like my mother said, can be a pretty potent combination, apparently."

"I'm sorry, a stór," the skeleton said.

She shook her head. He gave her shoulders a careful squeeze and straightened up.

"I apologize for that gloomy note," he said as he sat back down. He smiled tiredly. "I'll do my best not to bring it up again."

.

"Look," Asriel said with a sigh as he turned back to trying to make Chara's hot chocolate. "It's… It's whatever, okay? Don't… worry. A-About that. Or us. At all."

"I know," the skeleton said, "it's not my place, but—"

"It's not that!" the boy barked. The mug he'd grabbed clunked solidly against the counter. "Ugh. Okay, whatever, you can feel how you want, but there was nothing you couldda done, and also! I'm like…" He turned around and pointed an accusing whisk at the skeleton. "I hated you so much just a few days ago, you know?!"

"Understandable," Gaster said.

"Yeah, but…!" He growled. "…Ugh, what am I even saying?!" He turned around again, his short tail swishing sharply in irritation. "Just… stop worrying, we're fine, okay? Things'll turn out… however they do, and… And. Us, we're okay. Got it?"

"I got it, Prince Dreemurr," Gaster said.

"Asriel," the boy corrected. "Prince Dreemurr sounds… so formal sometimes, it's weird."

The old skeleton couldn't help a little chuckle. "If that's what you'd like, Asriel."

"It is!" He scoffed and began to whisk, so hard the cocoa mixture splashed out and into his face. "Bah!"

Chara couldn't help the snort of a laugh that shot out of her. Asriel grumbled quietly under his breath.

"Do you need help?" she asked.

"No, I got it, I got it," he muttered.

.

Just a little while after Asriel went to the table, victorious in his pursuit of two mugs of frothy hot chocolates, Gaster finished his book and stepped out to take a walk. The two kids were still pretty quiet in his absence. Chara wiped a splotch of cocoa from her brother's floppy ear. They leaned into each other. Chara sipped slowly, then rested. She cradled the mug in both hands and sat quietly.

.

"Is it, uh… Is it okay?" Asriel asked quietly.

"Of course it is," she said. "Why?"

"Oh, um. Nothin'. S'cool." He tipped the rest of his drink down his throat and smacked his lips. "D'you like the cinnamon?"

"Yeah, it's a nice touch," she said.

"That's how Sans makes it for us back home." He sighed and slumped a little before cracking a tired smile. "Y'know, next time we see each other, I'll probably be shorter than you."

Chara couldn't help a snicker. "You were always shorter than me."

"What?!" he bleated. "No I wasn't!"

The girl snickered. "Not to mention, I'm short for my age right now. How tall did you come back as?"

"Ehh, little bigger than Frisk."

"Oh." Chara's eyes gleamed. "Just a little cutie, then."

"Chara!" He grinned bashfully. "…Yeah, actually, I'm pretty cute."

.

The freckled girl snickered quietly. She reached for his hand. His big, white paw dwarfed hers. She carefully put her cocoa aside and cradled his hand in both of hers. She traced a finger across his palm.

"Could I have some fire?" she asked.

"Uh. Sure?"

A flame, sparkling crimson and tinted with magenta, swirled into reality, gently warming their hands. Chara brushed her fingertips through it and smiled.

"It's nice when it's not being blown in my face," she joked. The tiniest flicker of red gleamed through the skin of her palms and she gently lifted the flame up, cradling it carefully. "Do you remember, when we were little, how dad would make it dance for us?"

"Kinda," Asriel said. "Remember us trying to breathe it out ourselves?"

"Your first one almost burned my eyebrows off," she said. "I've actually been pretty impressed by how good you got at it since then."

"You?! Impressed?!" He couldn't help a grin. "Guess I did something right."

.

Chara smiled fondly. She shifted the flame to one hand and picked up her mug again to take a sip. Asriel yawned.

"Do you remember what mom used to tell us about fire?" Chara asked as she leaned against him.

"Uh…" The boy smiled sideways. "…Like, in the magic lessons? Something about… life and… uh. Death. Or something? I don't think I retained it that much."

"That's alright," she said. "I just remembered her talking about how… fire is an embodiment of duality, you know? Life and death. Hurting and healing. Comfort and fury. Creation and destruction. She said it was bound into the type of monsters you were. That it was really important."

"Damn, you remember all that?" He smiled bashfully. "I don't think I was paying as much attention as you were."

"Figures." She laughed. "She said, with a soul as red as mine was, it was in me, too. I don't think I believed her at the time, but I think I do, now."

"Oh. Heh. That's good." Asriel's fur lightly fluffed and he put an arm around her "Of course it's in you. You're my sister."

Chara lifted the flame up and let it drift off, burning down to ember motes. "Sorry, I… haven't thought about that in a while. I don't know where that came from."

"I think I do," he said, his ears perking a little. "Y'know, I always thought you'd make a really good boss… goatphomet or whatever we are."

The freckled girl snickered. "Thanks." She finished her drink and then got to her feet. "I'm gonna make more. And… what d'you think, dumplings for breakfast?"

"I miiiight be kinda dumpling-ed out," Asriel admitted.

"Hm. Alright." She beckoned to him. "We'll figure something out."

.

From what ingredients they still had, to Chara, chocolate pancakes seemed like an obvious breakfast solution. Asriel, though, was leaning towards some kind of sandwich toasted in the frying pan. They compromised with several different sandwiches made in the style of a grilled cheese, a few of which were filled with chocolate.

.

They were just about done when the door opened up and Frisk wandered in, rubbing her eye sleepily.

"Heeeey, Frisk!" Chara said.

"Hey, good morning," Asriel said almost at the same time.

Frisk smiled. "Hiiii."

"You sleep okay?" her brother asked.

"Yeeeaah, mostly, I think. You guys?"

"We're fine," he said swiftly. "Made sandwiches."

"Oooh, sammiches," she said through a yawn.

"Sit down," Chara said. "I'll get you one."

The kid looked a little puzzled but she plopped onto a pillow anyway.

"So, what d'you want?" Asriel asked. "We got—"

"Chocolate. You want chocolate, right, Frisk?" Chara asked. She already had a plate in her hand.

Frisk stuck her thumb up. With a grin, the older girl loaded up two plates and then joined Frisk at the low table.

.

"So," Chara said. "How, uh…? Are you… feeling alright and everything?"

"I'm kinda anxious, I guess," Frisk said. "It's weird."

"Then, let's just have fun today," she said. "Sans said things probably won't be solid until tonight, and so… So, tomorrow, maybe…" Her fingertips clenched a little too hard into her sandwich. "Anyway. We can go out to do some sparring, if you like. Or, just travel around. Or, we could ride the train again. Or—"

"As long as it's with you, I'm happy," the kid assured her.

Chara's cheeks flushed. She smiled to herself. "…Alright."

.

Asriel plopped down with them, all but draping himself over Frisk. He let out a big, wide yawn. "Seed thing's still good, by the way."

"Sheesh, I'd hope so," Frisk said with a laugh. "So, when do we give it to him?"

"I dunno, whenever you want, I guess," Asriel said.

Chara nodded. "Yeah. The rest is up to him. So, no point in a secret anymore."

"Cool." Frisk blew on her sandwich and then took a big bite of it. "Ooh."

"Good?" Chara asked.

"Yeah!" She looked up at Asriel and the end of his chin clunked onto her forehead. "…Hey, but what if he doesn't trust it, coming from me?"

"Then he's an idiot," Asriel said.

"We can be there when you hand it over," Chara said. "But. Yes. If he doesn't want it, even then, he is definitely an idiot."

Frisk shrugged a little. "Maybe I'll—"

.

The door smashed open, making all the sleepy kids jump and forcing whatever Frisk had been about to say completely from her brain. Papyrus rushed into the room with a big, bright grin on his face.

"Sister! Friends! There's thunder outside."

Chara's eyes widened. She seized Frisk's hand and jumped to her feet, dragging her bamboozled sister up with her. "You guys'll love this."

.

For the first time since the kids from another world had arrived, there were dark clouds in the sky outside the Soul of the World. The air carried the sharp scent of ozone. The sky grumbled with thunder. Asriel stared up at the sky and felt a sort of unpleasant melancholy. The gloom and the prickle of static put his fur on end.

.

Completely unbothered, Papyrus gleefully lead them away from the mountain. Asriel, still yawning, was a little ways behind the other, unable to keep the confusion off his face. When the skeleton finally stopped them far enough to get a good look at the mountain's peak, Asriel cleared his throat.

"Uh, aren't we just gonna get soaked out here?" he said.

"Absolutely," Papyrus said.

"I got that umbrella, still," Frisk said.

"You won't need it," Chara assured her.

.

Clouds above churned like a thick, wind-borne smoke. Light from the Soul's aurora gave them the iridescence of gemstones. Sparks of lightning broke through darkness in bright spurts, as if some massive, magic duel was happening within.

.

A little movement from a ways down the field caught Papyrus's eye. There was a group of large, spider monsters accumulating near the edge of the woods. He waved at them and received many, many arms flailing back at him. Beyond them, there was another group, too, too far to make out much in the way of details.

"Wait, what's going on?" Asriel asked, brow furrowing.

"Just waiting for the rain," Chara said.

"Yeah, I got that, but why?"

"You're so impatient!" she said with a laugh. "Just wait a second."

"Here it comes!" Papyrus announced.

.

Despite his warning, the crack of lightning and the kaboom that followed made the others jump and all the fur on the back of Asriel's neck stand on end. Frisk clapped her hands over her ears, but Chara laughed and thumped her heartily on the back. Then came the water, a fierce spray as if some valve had been cranked to make it so. The droplets gleamed with a spectrum of colours as they passed through the ripples of magic high above before hitting the ground. The rhythmic tap of the rain drummed up a melody in the air all its own.

.

Frisk squeaked with surprise and held out her hands. The water, swiftly pooling in her palms, echoed the shifting colours of the aurora. The droplets were warm to the touch and absolutely energizing.

"Ooh!" she squeaked.

"Yo, that's pretty cool," Asriel admitted.

"I knew you'd like it!" Papyrus beamed. He pointed up the top of the mountain. "Look up there in about five seconds!"

.

Just as he said, up at the top of the mountain, lightning spiked down from the clouds— white, iridescent spears, not unlike some of the magic Asriel could do. A crash of thunder followed. Frisk jumped to cover her ears again.

"That's nuts!" she said.

"So, what is this?" Asriel asked. "Some big magic thing? Or more potion stuff?"

"Oh, no, not at all, the magic just fades away after a few minutes!" Papyrus said. "Absolutely useless for potions! If anyone tries to sell you a Soul Rain potion, by the way, they are completely full of nonsense and should not be trusted!"

"Oh. Uh." The goat boy's pale eyes darted to the faraway monsters that looked to be racing around under the deluge. "So… What's it for?"

"…For fun, Azzy," Chara said with a teasing grin. She waved her arm through the water and the trail it left suspended in the air for just an instant was as if she'd conjured a rainbow from her fingertips.

"Whoa!" Frisk's eyes were alight. She stuck her arms out and waved them around. It was as if she'd drawn herself wings before they fell away beneath the rain. "Ooooh!"

"See?" The freckled girl's eyes gleamed. "Hey. While we're here. What about… sparring?"

"Rain sparring?!" Papyrus grinned. He held out his hand and a spear of bone appeared. He held it up and twirled it deftly, making a phantom disk from the water's spray.

Frisk's eyes filled with stars. "Wait, I wanna do that!" she said.

The skeleton cackled and conjured a second spear, just like the first, and dropped it into Frisk's hands, though it was much too big for her. "Then! My little friend! I'll show you how to do that!"

.

The skeleton and the kid took off, galavanting through the downpour, and Chara went right after them. Asriel turned his snout up into the rain and watched as lightning cracked again. He quickly ran the back of his hand over his eyes and followed the others.

.

What was meant to be cool tricks devolved into slipping and splashing within minutes. Solid footing was nowhere to be found, and Frisk's bone-spinning resulted in more whacked legs than full rotations. Nonetheless, she and Papyrus were laughing, making big arcs of colourful waves in the rain, even if there was a lot of flapping about on the little kid's part.

.

"Shouldda got her a smaller stick," Asriel commented, leaning towards Chara.

"Just let them have their fun," the girl said. She grinned. "…How about you and I spar in the meanwhile?"

"Us?" Asriel's eyes widened. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. We haven't done much of that, have we?"

The boy grinned. "Sounds fun." He lit fire in his palm and let it blaze.

The rain that met it vaporized, casting a subtle, rainbow mist around it. Chara took a few steps back and, somehow, her old, battered sword was in her grasp. She held the grip tight in two hands and widened her stance in preparation.

"Just don't light my hair on fire," she said.

"Me? Never!" he said.

"Alright." She took a deep breath. "No damage. First to five taps wins, yeah? On one?"

"Sure," he said. He braced his paws in the slippery grass and, despite himself, his insides fluttered.

"Three. Two. One. Go."

.

The siblings launched forwards, but the battle was over before a single blow landed. Asriel's heel slipped and his legs splayed awkwardly, bringing him skidding to a knee. Chara yelped and tried to stop mid-sprint, only for her own steps to falter. She careened headlong into him and they crashed to the ground, spluttering and laughing.

"You—!" She gently whacked his shoulder as she tried to catch her breath through a wheeze. "You hairball, did you do that on purpose?"

"What, no!" He shook his head quickly, his wet ears flopping all around and smacking her in the forehead.

"Asriel!" she barked.

He just shook harder.

.

In trying to grab his head, they both flopped down into the grass again. The boy was lost to hysterics and Chara was not much better.

"Are you two ooookay over there?!" Papyrus called.

Chara's voice cracked when she called back, "We're fine, Papy!"

"I'm dead!" Asriel shouted.

"Oh no, not again!" Frisk pretended to look shocked.

"I know, right?!" The boy wiped a tear of mirth from his eye and carefully sat up, clinging to Chara to get her straightened out as well. "Heh. Sorry. Wanna try again?"

"No, I think that's enough." She pushed her sopping hair from her face. "I should have known that would happen. What do you think? Draw?"

"If you say so," he teased.

She gently bonked him again and he snickered loudly.

.

By the time the two of them managed to right themselves, a familiar monster arrived to greet the group, coming up from one of the shelter that housed a portal: Mistral, beneath a silver and green parasol, the colours matched very close to that of her armour.

"Hi, kids," she said with a small smile. "Enjoying the weather, I see."

"Hello, Captain!" Papyrus said brightly. "We are definitely doing that!"

"I never seen anything like this, like, ever," Frisk said.

"Same," Asriel agreed as his sister threw her hands in the air with a quiet wah sound, scattering droplets into the air like little fireworks. He snickered.

"Do you happen to know if my mother's at the castle again?" Chara asked.

"Sorry, Soulbonder, I haven't seen her today, so I couldn't say." Mistral cast her gaze towards the mountain. "As you probably know, I'm headed in for the daily check. Anything I need to look into when I go inside?"

"Nnnnnnot that I can think of," Papyrus said, looking questioningly at the others.

"Nah, the ol' guy's just been reading a bunch of junk," Asriel said.

"He was a librarian, he loves books," Frisk volunteered.

"Alright. Glad to hear there hasn't been any repeat of the previous chaos." Her focus turned on Frisk. "Have you had any side effects from any of that?"

"Nnnno, I don't think so," the kid said.

"Hm. Glad to hear it. Have fun, you four." Mistral continued on her way to the mountain, spinning her parasol as she went.

"Byeeeeee, Captain!" Papyrus called.

"Grab a sandwich if you want!" Asriel added.

.

"I guess we could start heading back soon, too," Chara said, looking up at the sky. "Looks like this might be over in a few minutes."

"How can you tell?" Asriel asked.

"There." She pointed at the top of the Soul's mountain.

Following her fingertip, they could see a tiny spot of blue peeking through the mass of clouds.

"Ah! Good eye, sister!" Papyrus said. He held out his hand to take the spear back from Frisk and let it dissolve into motes of his golden-orange magic. "What do you think, about the time it takes to walk back, or—?"

"If we walk slow," she said.

"Fair enough!"

.

The group took their time getting themselves back together as the rainfall dropped to a drizzle. The thunder, distant now, was barely a growl. They were a little more than halfway back when, as if hit by some disruptive pulse, the clouds burst apart above the mountain. Frisk yelped with shock and clung to Asriel, and the darkness whooshed away and vanished, a blast of warm wind shooting out along with it as if jettisoned from an explosion. All of the glimmering water was blasted into a crystal mist, somehow leaving the kids just as dry as when they'd stepped foot into the field.

.

Frisk gawked, flapping her previously sodden sleeve. "Whoa."

"I guess that's what you meant, huh?" Asriel asked, looking to Chara as he scratched his ear.

"Exactly," she said.

"Aah, I love that!" Frisk said brightly.

.

Inside, it was time to finish eating sandwiches. Gaster was undergoing his check from Mistral, while Sans was lazing around on the couch again. A casual ask about where they'd been set Frisk into a full-blown, extremely exuberant explanation that lasted longer than it took the others to finish eating. Sans looked as if he'd heard the exact same expressions of awe and excitement before; seemed a bit nostalgic about it.

.

After Mistral was gone and Frisk had gotten a chance to finish a sandwich that, now cooled, was essentially slices of toast with a slab of chocolate sticking them together, the kid pulled her siblings aside outside the cabin.

"D'you think now is good?" she asked them in a hushed voice.

"Uh. Now for what?" Asriel said.

"To give him the thing!"

"I don't see why not," Chara said. "We… might have to hide it from Mistral after you leave."

"Just say it's yours," Asriel said. "No big deal, right?"

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Oh." She patted her pockets. "That reminds me." She pulled out the wooden case that held the crystals from Aethra.

"How'd you keep doin' that?" Asriel asked.

"You get a thing with every piece of clothing. Obviously," she said.

.

Chara knelt down, placing the case on the ground, and opened it up. Frisk bent over to look at it with wide eyes. The crystals gleamed red back, with that same, odd glow like she'd seen in the extracted determination back in the world with the green-eyed Gaster.

.

"Here," Chara said, pulling out one of the crystals and offering it to her. "You keep this one. Okay?"

"Right." Frisk nodded resolutely and took it carefully. It already felt precious in her hands. "I'll… Yeah. I'll keep it safe."

"Take this, too." Chara handed over the sheet of paper that had been inside as well. "I already read it. So. You have it. And…" She took a deep breath. "And if it works. Merge the crystal with your soul, like your little flute, okay? I'll do the same."

"Y-Yeah. I will." Frisk clenched her fingers around the crystal. Her throat suddenly felt parched. She gulped, hard, and then reached out to hug Chara tightly.

"Wh…? Oh…" The older girl gently wrapped her arms around Frisk and patted her head. "Hey. You'll do fine."

.

Frisk had to grit her teeth. Her throat and jaw ached. When Asriel knelt down to put a hand on her back, her eyes watered and she let out a quiet, pained wheeze.

"D-Do you know how long…?"

"It'll take a little while for it to attune to your world," Chara said softly. "But. You'll know. You'll feel it. Don't worry." She pulled back and tutted gently at Frisk, brushing some stray strands of from the kid's face. "Relax."

"Frisk, it'll… It'll be fine," Asriel said.

"I know, I know I know, sorry," Frisk muttered.

.

Chara chuckled quietly. "If it helps, I feel sick, too."

"That doesn't help, I don't want you to feel bad!" the kid squeaked.

Chara burst out laughing. She ruffled Frisk's hair and smiled at her fondly. "We also have to figure out a spot to meet."

"We do?" Asriel asked, wide-eyed.

Chara nodded. "Aethra's note mentioned to get a place that lines up on both sides. And. I'm sure I know where." She looked at her siblings and smiled. "The spot where we all ended up meeting each other. Yeah?"

.

Now was Asriel's turn to get misty-eyed. He grimaced and cursed softly under his breath and pulled both of human kids into his arms, squeezing them tightly.

"Those d-damn flowers," he joked.

"Ah, if that doesn't work for you—"

"No. No, it's… It's perfect," he said. He sniffled and drew back to rub at his snout. "Crap."

"It's… I mean… It's probably where the most reset stuff happened, too," Frisk said a little. "So. Like. Time magic. Maybe that helps?"

"That's what I was thinking, too," Chara said with a proud glint in her eye. "Anyway. It's… hard. We all know that. But. Maybe it won't be the worst thing in the universe."

Asriel nodded readily.

.

Frisk flinched. She knew they were playing it cool for her sake; could feel it through Asriel's soul. But, there was hope there, too. She'd meant what she'd said before, too: if she had to learn to to crystal magic herself, she'd make sure they'd see Chara again. She took a deep breath in and puffed it out slowly.

"Yeah," she said. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, then safely stashed the crystal away in a vacant slot in her father's phone— she was running low on those, though. "Sorry, I don't mean to be such a crybaby."

"Eh, we're used to it," Asriel joked with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Chara elbowed him, but Frisk snorted out a quiet laugh and gave him a quick hug before running off.

.

She returned carrying the World Seed in her arms. Chara pulled out the trigger crystal and spun it between her fingers as they headed back inside.

.

Papyrus and Sans were chatting and Gaster was back to his books. When the youngest of the skeletons saw what the kids had, however, he stopped mid-sentence and began to lightly shake his brother back and forth as if to draw attention to the very obvious, glowing seed pod.

.

"Hey, um, Gaster?" Frisk said.

Gaster looked up from his book and froze. He blinked. "Uh."

"Take this?" She held the seed out to him. "It's a present."

"A…? Wh…? I have many questions." He shifted forward on the bed and put a hand out to touch it. As soon as he made contact, the lights in his eyes shrunk to almost nothing and he hissed. "What is this?" he breathed.

"O-Oh! Um! I-I'm sorry, did it hurt?!" Frisk squeaked.

"Oh, crap, did we do too strong?" Asriel asked.

"It… It's fine. I apologize," Gaster said. Very carefully, he grasped the seed and held it in both hands. "This… plant? Is… It's exceedingly powerful."

.

Frisk wilted with a sigh of relief and Asriel rubbed his head.

"Crap, you scared us, old man," he said.

"I was about to get very annoyed," Chara admitted with a sideways smile. She passed him the sharp crystal. "This goes with it, by the way. Don't… I mean, I have no idea what would make you do this unprompted, but don't stab it until later, yeah?"

Gaster looked flummoxed. "I'm sorry, but… why give this to me? What is it?"

.

"Okay, uh. Info dump, here we go," Frisk said. "We called it a World Seed. We, um, just invented it."

"…A world seed," the old skeleton repeated.

"Yeah. Um! It's… It's liiiiike…" She grinned sheepishly. "A reset bomb? Kinda?"

Gaster stared back at her blankly. It was as if the words had to echo a few times inside his skull before he comprehended them. "A… reset—?"

"Y-Yeah!" Frisk said. "See, what it does, right? Is you bring it home with you! A-And, then, when you're there and everything, you stab it in the top with that crystal Chara gave you. Okay? And then it should reset."

"You're… Wait, how is that even p—?"

"We're both really strong with weird magic on our own," Asriel explained. "When we… When I borrow her soul, we become the God of Hypertime. It's pretty cool. We figured out how to trap one of her resets in a bubble of no-time."

"It's in a rock," Frisk said proudly.

"An opal," Chara said. "Crystals here hold spells. And, though a reset is too powerful for any crystal to really hold, if it's in a timeless space, that doesn't matter."

"Yeah!" Frisk hopped up onto the bed beside Gaster and pointed out the little, ember-lit gap in the top of the seed pod. "So, in there, right? The thing Chara gave breaks the time bubble, and that breaks the opal I put in there, and that makes a reset go!" She tapped her fingertips together. "We set it for eight years back. I hope that's okay."

.

Gaster stared silently at the World Seed in his hands. His sharp fingertips lightly clenched into it. Frisk watched him with worried anticipation. She was starting to sweat.

"I-I… I know this is kinda a lot," she said a little shrilly. "Sorry for like, the big surprise, but we weren't sure if we could do it and we didn't want it to be like, a huge awful thing for you if we couldn't and… And, um… Y-Yeah."

.

Finally, the old skeleton's voice creaked. "…Why would you… give me this?"

"Because your world is busted," Frisk said.

"…What kind of creature are you?" he asked hoarsely. "That I try to kill you. And you give me this."

"Uh." Frisk blinked. "I dunno, but you need it, right? We're pretty sure it'll work! But, um, it's not like we can test it or—"

"You'll take it, right?" Asriel interjected. "We put a lot of work into that thing, y'know."

"Alphys helped with the final spell on the trigger," Chara added, "so that'll be fully stable, knowing her. You don't have to worry about it doing something it isn't supposed to."

.

Drawing in a hoarse breath, the Gaster finally tore his eyes away from the World Seed and looked at the kids. "…Eight years?"

Frisk nodded quickly. "Yeah. We… We, um, hope that gives you enough time to… figure something out, I guess."

"That… That should be just fine." He gulped. "I don't know what to say."

"Thanks would be a good start," Sans said, only to receive a light bonk on the head from Papyrus.

"You don't gotta say anything," Frisk said swiftly. "Just… y'know. Save your home."

The old skeleton still looked as if he might just collapse from shock. He nodded again. "…Thank you three."

"Oh!" Frisk brightened. "You're super welcome!"

"See, he said it no problem, Sans, you don't have to be rude," Papyrus hissed at his brother.

Chara hid a snort of a laugh behind her hand as Sans shrugged widely. He caught Frisk's eye and shot her a knowing look. She smiled bashfully, but her heart swelled.

.

One more thing settled, she thought. She just hoped it really would work for him once he got it home. It made her stomach sink to think that they'd probably never know how all that turned out, but, at the same time, at least now he had a chance.

xXxXx

The rest of the day was spent mostly— at Chara's insistence— on a relaxing train ride on tracks high above the countryside. Sans accompanied the kids this time while Papyrus stayed back to work on his party plans, but the sharp-toothed skeleton slept through almost the whole trip. Not a single person was surprised.

.

Frisk and Asriel just chatted and watched the scenery. Chara sketched a little. They stayed out until the sky was full of stars.

.

The Soul of the World was quiet when they returned with snacks they bought at the last train station and Asriel lugging Sans on his back. Papyrus had a nice little camp-out already going between the hill and the trees, complete with tea, comfy sleeping spots, and a table made of bones waiting for them. Gaster had asked for a little privacy, he explained, which they all agreed was understandable.

.

The anxiety that had stung Asriel the night prior had now caught up to all but Sans. The skeleton was calm as ever, keeping watch on the shifting of the Soul. Chara stayed up to paint a bit more and Frisk watched her intently. Their goaty brother was in a fuzzy heap, listening to Papyrus chat his big, fluffy ears off about everything from the going-away party, to potions, to dumpling crimping.

.

"I wish I had stuff to give you guys," Frisk mumbled from her slumped spot.

"Huh?" Chara cut her eyes at her. "Where did that come from?"

"Like… You guys, your mom, and Leirach, and Undyne and Alphys, and Mistral, and those dogs, and Pasithea and her grandma: everyone was so helpful and nice and I wish I could… do something nice back?" She grimaced. "Ugh, maybe it's too late. It's not too late, is it? I shouldda thought about it earlier…"

"I already have a picture from you. And you gave that pesanta a ten million star rating on her shop, I think that's more than enough, " Chara said. "And none of that matters, anyway, everyone was happy to help."

"I dunno, were they? I just made a big mess, basically." She pouted. "I dunno."

"You're overtired and saying silly things."

"Buhh…" Frisk grumbled, folding her arms on the table and resting her chin on them.

.

Chara sighed. She drummed her fingers, then pushed some paper and a pen over to Frisk. "Then, draw them some pictures, too."

"What, really?" The kid perked up a little before confusion creased her brow. "Do grown-ups want that kind of thing?"

"Sure they do," Sans said over his shoulder. "Then give it a macaroni frame. Grown-ups love that crap."

"Oh yeah?" Frisk tilted her head. "What's up with grown-ups and macaroni frames?" she wondered.

"Pff. That's a silly concept to start with," Papyrus said. "Because, clearly, a spaghetti frame works much better. Much more malleable. And better for complex shapes! And it stacks well!"

"It wouldn't be wet pasta, Papy," Chara said.

"Of course it would be, how else would it stick to the page? Those little elbow pasta would definitely not stick right, plus you'd have to find some way to interlink them into a chain to make the frame."

"…Or just glue them to the paper like a normal monster," Asriel said groggily.

"Nyeh! And compromise the integrity of the pasta?! That defeats the whole point! No offence to the macaroni art from your world, friend."

The goat boy huffed out a tired laugh. "Don't worry, dude, I literally couldn't care less."

"Oh good!"

.

Frisk couldn't help a little giggle. She took the pen Chara gave her and pulled out her red one as well. "I… guess it's better than nothing, right?"

"Don't even worry about it," the freckled girl assured her. "But, if it'll make you feel better."

"I think so." She uncapped the borrowed pen and tried a few lines.

.

A sudden pulse of magic, low and inaudible, but rumbling like the purr of a cat, struck everyone in the chamber. They froze. Frisk's line was now a zigzag.

.

Sans got to his feet and every eye was on him. Frisk's mouth dried. Chara's eyes bugged out and she carefully grabbed the kid's arm.

.

After a few long, icy seconds, Sans turned.

"That's it," he said.

"…Crap," Asriel breathed.

Frisk's eyes widened and she looked at her brother. "…S-So… So tomorrow, then?"

He nodded stiffly. "Gotta."

"Then, that's it," Chara said quietly. "Okay." She stood up and walked up to Sans. "We solidify it now; does that hurt anything?"

"Nope. That's, uh, kinda preferable, actually," he said.

She nodded and offered him her hand as red swelled beneath her skin. "Then, let's get it done."

Sans smiled fondly at her. Before taking her hand, he gently held her face and gave her a light bonk on the forehead with his own. Then, they erupted into a whirlwind of energy together.

.

The icy, three-eyed skeleton emerged and immediately stretched out all four of his arms. "Alright," he said. "Might take a couple hours at most. Don't mind us."

"Thank you guys. So much," Frisk said.

The skeleton smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "Ey, said we would. No worries." They dug their heel into the grass and slid down the slope effortlessly. As soon as they locked their four hands onto the light of the Soul, they froze up.

.

Frisk crept over to Asriel and snuggled up with him. He drew in a sharp, tired breath and wrapped his arms around her. Papyrus cuddled them both, his soul beaming bright and warm.

"It's going to be fine," he said gently. "I know it."

"Yeah, I know," Asriel said. "S'just gonna hurt."

"It already hurts," Frisk grumbled.

"That's good, in a strange way," the skeleton said. "Caring is much better than not caring."

.

It was undeniably true, but that didn't make Frisk nor Asriel feel much better in the moment.