Demon Gang (3-2-1) Chapter 104
Deep into the night, while the Soul of the World reached out far beyond the extents of its own universe, an old skeleton, shuttered away, had his focus firmly settled on something much more grounded. The seedpod, settled carefully in the centre of the table lest it get bumped, that let seep a faint, warm light.
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He'd studied every facet of its exterior as it smouldered like embers in a hearth. The spirals on the outside; the stars like polished opal imbedded in it, beaming with magic. He'd even risked a little of his own powers interacting with it despite the discomfort the dampener caused him when he pushed through it.
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There was no sense of deception from the thing. No lingering tint of trickery or impurities in its melody that might indicate a half-formed spell or a trigger hiding something else. Not that it seemed in this particular time god's character to do such a thing on purpose, he conceded.
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Gaster was left in an uncomfortable state of confusion. This World Seed, glowing with warmth and a steady flow of power, wasn't something he'd ever conceived of. Could never have considered in his wildest, most desperate dreams. All previous requests for help had resulted in abject failure.
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He ran his sharp fingertips carefully across the seed's surface for the umpteenth time and wondered if she'd ask for some exchange. Some promise he'd never return or pursue her again, should she destroy something— a promise he could never agree to, even if his time roaming between worlds was likely coming to an end.
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Surely she'd understand? If he were in her shoes, he would welcome the notion that someone would try to stop him if he became a nightmare.
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The skeleton grasped the side of his skull and huffed quietly. He thought he'd prepared for just about anything, but this whole ordeal was completely beyond anything he'd expected. The tiny time god not simply snuffing him out was high on the list of shocks for him. Then again, Frisk didn't just wear the mask of a child, like so many of the others he'd encountered did. Her lack of synchronicity only amounted to a single year, not hundreds of them.
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Not some ruthless entity driven by power, narcissism, and boredom, using real people as playthings. A anomaly in many senses, but not like he'd found before.
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His bones ached. He rested his face in his hands, rubbing his broken palms across his eyes and blowing out a sigh that turned into a hiss. A dangerous glint of hope burned in his soul. It was almost nauseating.
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A sharp tap on the door forced him alert again. A strong sound, fairly high off the ground. He straightened up where he sat.
"Come in, Paps."
The door popped open and, sure enough, the tall skeleton boy hurried inside. "Oh! You're awake! That's good." He cocked his head to the side. "Are you studying that seed?"
"In a way," he said. "Do you need something?"
"I just wanted to double-check what we have in here," he said, heading for the tiny kitchen and opening up one of the cupboards. "Party's on for later today, by the way! Well, I guess when the day starts, which it only has by a technicality and not by measure of the average monster actually being awake."
"…A party?" Gaster repeated curiously.
"Yep, exactly!" He dug through jars and some bags of ingredients, then shot up from his bent position so swiftly it was a wonder his head didn't fly off. "Oh! Didn't I mention…?"
"I assumed you were working on something important yesterday," the old skeleton said with a smile.
"It is! Extremely important," Papyrus said, turning back to his scrounging. "It's a going-away party for Asriel and Frisk."
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Gaster's soul jolted, as if he'd been splashed with ice water, though he wasn't sure why. "So, their… home was found, then?" he wondered.
"Just now! Or, I guess, just finally locked onto now. It's all ready. Most of them are crying and hugging a little bit, though, and—!" Papyrus shot up again and smacked his palms on the counter. "I should be making hot drinks, actually! Would you like—?"
"I'm fine, Paps." Gaster carefully got to his feet. "That means… their home world, it'll be saved?"
"Yep, that is exactly what that means," the younger skeleton said as he topped a kettle up with water.
"That's good. So, they'll be gone later, then."
"Yep! They won't be spending another night here, at least!" Papyrus froze mid-motion, then gently put the kettle down. "Ah… That's… Hm."
"What?" Gaster asked.
"Thaaaaat's even less comfortable to say than I thought it'd be," the boy admitted. "Not that I expect anything— or for it to make sense to you, of course, since this whole thing was pretty antagonistic at times— but I'm really going to miss them, a lot."
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Gaster nodded and cracked a tired smile. "Actually. I… was quite taken with the idea of meeting and learning from beings from other… times. Or, worlds. A long time ago," he said. "And, even in normal circumstances, being away from people you care about is not the easiest thing."
"That's true," Papyrus said. "You know, I really do wish you didn't just come in shooting like you did."
Gaster winced. "I know."
"Because it was all a big misunderstanding, right? And Frisk was definitely not killing her world and—"
"There was no misunderstanding there," the old skeleton said simply. "Her absence is absolutely killing her world. If she hadn't managed to absorb my temporal magic, it… would likely be fixed by now, as much as the other worlds I've visited were. Though, I assume Asriel would have burnt me to dust, if that had been the case."
Papyrus cawed out an awkward laugh and gripped his hand hard into the counter. "Well, I'm very glad things didn't turn out that way!"
"…So am I," Gaster said, to the boy's visible relief. "If she w… The fact that she wants to return home is a suitable solution. Frisk is… different, than some of the others. Far more dangerous, in some ways, but…" He crossed his arms. "For now, at least, she's not malicious."
"Of course she's not, we could have told you that!"
The old skeleton chuckled. "You have to admit, you're very biased."
"That's what it's like when you have friends," Papyrus said with a bit of a pout. "And you'd have to admit that you are, too!"
"Of course," Gaster said. "I'm… thankful, actually. That things turned out as they did. This wasn't something I ever wanted, I… I hope you know that."
"I mean, you're clearly not actually evil, so of course you didn't want this," Papyrus said. "But, I mean, obviously, your actions were not so good. But, you know that, we don't have to get stuck in a conversational time loop about it, hm? Now." He turned to the old skeleton. "Are you sure you don't want a drink because I have all the things and it really wouldn't be any trouble."
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Gaster hesitated. Partially because his soul was swelling with pride. Of course, Papyrus wouldn't be Papyrus without pushing back on this issue. He took a little breath. "A coffee, then, if you wouldn't mind."
"Alright! Not a problem!" Papyrus assured him
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As the young skeleton got to work, Gaster took a moment to peek out of the cabin and into the chamber. The kids were at the edge of that slope, clinging to each other. Asriel had both the humans crushed in his arms. Sans was sitting close to them, looking exhausted, but the smile on his face and the way his cool, reassuring magic could be felt even from where Gaster was standing, it seemed that things had gone well for everyone.
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He shut the door again as quietly as he could. A little relief lightened his chest. As he turned back, his eyes traced to the World Seed smouldering on the table. "Papyrus?" he said. "Could I ask you a question?"
"Nyeesssss, what do you need?" the boy asked.
"I know your loyalty is to her, so feel free not to answer," Gaster said. "If there's something secret, I won't ask you to break any confidence, but otherwise, but has Frisk mentioned… any exchange?"
"An exchange?" Papyrus echoed. "I'm actually not sure what you mean by that."
"The World Seed is… an extremely precious thing to give." Gaster crossed his arms. "Has there been any talk of a… trade? Or… anything like that?"
"Ummmmm." Papyrus had to pause in the middle of adding sugar to one of the mugs. "A trade? Nnnnno, no, I haven't heard anything about that at all. As far as I know, they made it especially for you! So! I think you just taking it with you when you go home is more than enough for her,"
The old skeleton hummed thoughtfully. "So, no conditions, then,"
"Knowing her, I can all but guarantee the only condition would be to take it without worrying about conditions, or worrying about how much you don't like time gods, or anything like that," Papyrus said with a teasing grin.
"I suppose that's fair," Gaster conceded.
"You could really afford to be less suspicious, you know!"
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Gaster huffed out a quiet laugh and sat down again. He carefully plucked the seed pod up and cradled it in both hands. Its warmth oozed through his bones. His mind's eye painted the faintest picture of a massive creature in Asriel's shape, made up of stars. It lingered too long and too clearly for it to be imagination.
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The smoky, chocolatey aroma of the coffee began to waft through the cabin. Of course, that smell was not the same in every place— certainly wasn't the same as his home, but it still always felt a little nostalgic to him. He closed his eyes and imaged home. An apartment, cozy and filled with books, where puzzles were scattered through every room and small tinkerings of human technology were left out to be fiddled with at leisure. It had been so long, it was hard to picture it with any colour. Though, the warmth in his hands drew in the tiniest spark; the faintest of gold. And, maybe that old couch in the sitting room still had a touch of green to it, after all.
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Gaster opened his eyes, a little more aware of the new, thin crack beneath his socket. He still had a lot of thinking to do, and time was running very short indeed.
xXxXx
Energy made the air prickle in the Soul of the World. Palpable nerves, and dread, and excitement. Despite that, most of all was hope. It was like a breeze around the chamber, a cooling force amongst the anxious energy.
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As Papyrus returned, carrying a precarious number of mugs in his hands, all but Frisk were together near the light, discussing something. The small kid, however, was still at the makeshift low table, writing frantically. As soon as the skeleton sat down beside her, she squeaked, just about jumping out of her skin, and flailed to cover her work.
"H-Hi!" she blurted, awkwardly leaning across the papers.
"What's with the suspicious pose, friend?" the skeleton said as he slid a mug of lightly spiced cocoa towards her.
"What? Nothing! Um! Thanks!"
Papyrus leaned a bit closer to peek at her scrappy pages and she made a quick attempt to conceal things before sighing and slumping a little.
"Sooorrryy," Frisk said. She smiled sheepishly and pushed the papers towards him. "It's, um. It's a present for you. S-Since we're, um, going home and stuff."
"For me?! Wowie!" The skeleton's eyes glittered as he scooped up the papers and held them close. "That's so kind! They're very nice papers!"
Frisk snickered and couldn't help a fond smile. "It's, um, recipes. I'm almost done."
"Recipes?!" Papyrus held the papers up to his face and drew in a sharp, pleased gasp. "Oh! You wrote a lot, actually!"
"Y-Yeah! I thought… I mean. I… don't really have a lot to give, but—"
"You don't have to give a single thing! Not that I don't appreciate this, though!"
"I know." The kid gently tapped her fingertips together. "I just thought, like… We tried a lot of pasta recipes back home, and I thought I could just, like, give them to you in case you wanna try them sometime."
"Aah, because we both like cooking pasta so much!" he said brightly.
Frisk nodded swiftly.
"Wowie," Papyrus said again, peering close at the recipes. "Thank you!"
"Sorry I'm not, um, really the best speller," she said.
"Don't you worry for even a second, I'm sure I'll be able to figure out what you mean," he said.
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Frisk lit up and grinned. She reached out to give him a hug and he leaned down a little to let her get her arms around his shoulders. As she clutched tight to him, her heart began to ache. She blew out a little sigh as she slumped. The heat of her soul seeped from her little body and the skeleton reciprocated with a reassuring, sunshiny warmth.
"…I'm really gonna miss you," she said softly.
"I'll miss you, too," he said. "But, don't worry, we'll see each other again. I know we will."
"I—! I know!" Her voice cracked and softened and she clung tighter to him as her eyes welled up. She buried her face against him. "I know…"
Papyrus cooed. He gently patted the back of her head. "Hey. Everything is going to work out, okay? Even if you don't trust magic, or luck, trust me, okay?"
"Uh-huh." She took a deep breath and rested her chin on his shoulder, a pout on her face. "You'll be okay, too, right?"
"Of course! I don't want you to worry about me for even a second," he said. "Not even for a fraction of a second! Okay?"
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That wasn't going to work, but Frisk smiled anyway. She carefully released him and sat back in her spot, brushing her knuckles across her eyes. She carefully slid one of the papers back from him and started in on her unfinished lasagna instructions, even though she wasn't sure how to actually spell lasagna.
"I-I'm almost done," she said.
"It'll be great," he said with a grin. He gently tapped her mug with a claw. "Don't forget about this."
"Ah!" She rushed to grab it and took a deep swig. "Thanks!"
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Papyrus snickered. He looked over the other papers Frisk had been working on and saw the messy. but thoughtfully drawn sketches all over them. He smiled apologetically. "So, it turns out we don't actually have any macaroni, by the way. I'm sure I could find some when I go out, though, if you really need it."
"Heh, that's okay," she said, wiping her nose quickly. "Grown-ups will maybe kinda like them even without it, right?"
"Nyeh heh heh, I know they will!"
"Even though they're, uh, not really that good, though."
"Honestly, they're cute. And it really is the thought that counts," Papyrus assured her.
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The skeleton slipped half a torn sheet and an unused pen away from her. "Anyway, I'm going to head to the castle once the sun comes up. I have a feeeew ideas, but is there anything I should pick up? Anyone in particular I should invite— or, definitely not invite?"
"Um! Well. I dunno," Frisk said. "Whatever you do, I know it'll be perfect though, so… I dunno." She paused and absently tapped her pen on her drawing a few times before she caught herself. "I definitely wanna see Alphys and Undyne before we leave, though. I mean, that's pretty obvious."
"Of course! They wouldn't miss it."
"A-And, I mean, your mom'll be there, right? And Leirach would be nice."
Papyrus was already writing. "Mmmmhm!"
"And I wouldn't mind if Arnbjörn or… or some of the dogs, or you know, whoever… wanted to show up," she said. "Not like I think they have time or anything, but—"
"But you definitely would not be upset!" the skeleton concluded as he swiftly jotted names down. "Pasithea, maybe?"
"If you think she'd wanna," Frisk said.
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"Hey, Friiiiisk?" Asriel called. "Are you done yet? D'you wanna see this thing?"
"Ah! Um! J-Just a minute," she replied. "I'm almost done!"
"Come up here and get your drinks, you ragamuffins!" Papyrus said.
"Ooh!" Chara was up with them again as if from nowhere. She swooped up a mug of exceptionally thick cocoa and took a sip. "Thanks, Papy."
"What is this thing you're looking at?"
"We noticed that some of the crystals that were shining made some interesting patters, that's all," she said.
"One kinda looks like dad!" Asriel said.
"You mean looks like you, fuzzball," Chara teased.
"My horns aren't like that!" he huffed.
"They are when you're big!" She took another swig. "Plus, it doesn't have a mane. Can't be dad without a mane."
Asriel's fur fluffed a little and he ran his fingers across the back of his neck. "D'you think I'll grow a mane like his?" His eyes widened. "Oh, d'you think I'm gonna get gold streaks or something?"
"I dunno, maybe if you want to?" Chara shrugged. "But I feel like, if it's not showing up when you're that big, you're probably all-white like mom."
"Huh." The boy scratched at his ear. "I never really thought about it before."
The girl grinned. "Of course not."
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Asriel snorted and crossed his arms, and Frisk couldn't help a little laugh. Chara smiled and put a hand on Frisk's head, leaning over her curiously.
"How much more do you have to do?" the girl asked.
"Dunno," Frisk said.
"Why don't you get some sleep? You still have some time."
The kid looked up and her with a raised brow. Chara chuckled and shrugged.
"Well, it was worth a shot."
"Just come see the thing so I can sit down again," Asriel said.
"Okay, okay," Frisk snickered. She got up and stretched. "Lemme see."
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Asriel perked right up and took Frisk down the slope to where Sans was lazing, gazing up at the crystals. He pointed a lethargic finger up to the patterns the shifting light and dots of crystals had made. Amongst some constellation-like shapes that didn't mean much to Frisk, she could clearly make out a simplified Delta Rune, the shape of a soul, a four pointed star, an eye, and a very basic, goat-like head with large horns.
"Ooh," she said quietly. "What's it mean?"
"Dunno," Sans said. He shot her a grin. "Never done this before. Guessin' it's all somehow related to your world. Maybe symbols Chara remembers or somethin'."
"Do they do anything?" Frisk wondered.
"Not exactly sure o' that either," the skeleton said. "I seen it do symbols before but it usually ain't so organized."
"S'got big mystery energy," Asriel said. "Or… Actually, it kinda reminds me of like, a… What's it called? These codes on really old video games."
"I dunno if I ever saw that," Frisk said.
"Oh, right. This'll be from way before you were even alive. Probably by like, a hundred years or more," the boy said with a wave of his hand. "I found some in the dump. I think Alphys has a collection, too. I'll show you sometime. But, in some of the oldest ones— maybe some of the first ones humans ever made— there wasn't any way to actually save where you were in your playthrough."
"Why not?" Frisk wondered.
"Dunno, guess the tech just wasn't there yet. You had to manually type a code in that the game would give you when you stopped. Huge pain in the ass but there was something kinda… I dunno, arcane about it." He tilted his head back and scrunched up his snout. "So, I just thought, maybe it's sorta a code? For our world, somehow?"
"Huh." Frisk blinked. "Is that a thing?"
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"Welp. Guess I should grab a crystal or somethin', huh?" Sans said.
The kids both shot him a puzzled look.
"See if I can record that pattern in a way that's a bit more permanent," he said. "So if, uh, this happens again somehow, sendin' ya home'll take like two days instead o' however long this whole thing was."
"Oh!" Frisk's eyes glimmered for just a moment before her face fell and she folded her arms. "I… I dunno if I could ever actually come back if it's not just a dream or something. Since, y'know, our world just starts freaking the heck out if I leave. Asriel, though… Maybe you could—?"
"No clue, honestly," the boy said, ears drooping a little. "Not sure I can do all the void stuff totally on my own."
"Oh. Right." Frisk grimaced. "It's a nice thought, but—"
"Hey, y'never know," Sans said. "Things could change. Y'might find some extra anchor thing in your world someday." He got to his feet stiffly and rubbed at his bad knee. "Anyway. Better to be over-prepared, yeah?" He winked. "Not countin' ya out just yet, kiddo."
"R-Right." She smiled despite herself.
"I mean… So much changed even just over the past couple months," Asriel said. "So… Who knows. Right?" He looked at Frisk with a little spark of hope in his eyes.
The kid suppressed a nervous gulp and she nodded. "Right," she said again.
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Frisk took a moment to snap some photos of the symbols glimmering in the rock before she and Asriel returned to the bone table. Papyrus pushed a mug towards the boy, who grabbed it and chugged it the moment he sat down. Frisk, on the other hand, went right back to writing recipes.
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After a moment, the boy nestled up beside Frisk and lazily leaned over her with his chin on her head as he often did. She could feel the ache in his soul, just from that.
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Chara stood aside, nursing her drink until Papyrus leapt upright again with an announcement of his departure. She quickly slid in to fill his space beside Frisk and rested an elbow on the table. She pulled one of Frisk's gift sketches towards her— one of Undyne leaping with a big spear out of a wave of water. A small, tired smile crossed her face and she leaned into the kid.
"Sign your name on them, huh?"
"Huh? Who else is gonna give them bad drawings of themselves, though," Frisk said.
"Just do it, will ya?"
Frisk shot her a confused look. The freckled girl's face strangely serious. With a little nod, Frisk scribbled her name in red ink and, after a moment, followed it with her star.
xXxXx
The sun was just rising over the monster Kingdom when Papyrus arrived at Undyne's castle by way of his sister's medallion. He strode up the polished stone stairways and past dog guards without a hitch, down the huge, long hallway beyond there, and burst into the throne room loud enough to startle the groggy Queen off her throne.
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"NYEH!" The skeleton pointed at her. "You're here!"
"Of course I'm here!" she barked, bounding down the steps to greet him.
"I was coming here to wait!" he said.
"SO WAS I!" Undyne thumped him heartily on the back with such force that he stumbled. "I thought you'd show up early!"
"I thought YOU would show up late!"
The fish monster beamed her big, sharp teeth and began to guffaw with laughter. Papyrus cackled and rubbed his head.
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"Well! I'm glad you're here!" the skeleton said. "Because that means I can get right to inviting you to the going-away party for Frisk and Asriel! Planned by yours truly, of course. Though I didn't actually have time to make real, fancy invitations or anything like that." His eyes brightened. "I might have time to send out some engraved bones instead though, what do you think?!"
"Nah, nah, kid, don't bother," Undyne said, waving a hand dismissively. "When's it at? Lunch? Tonight?!"
"Honestly, whenever you'd like to show up, I'm sure they'd be really happy to see you! Frisk even has something for you!" He drew in a sharp gasp. "Oops, maybe that was a surprise. Um. Well, pretend to be surprised, okay? And, just to be sure, a hypothetical pasta frame is by no means a dealbreaker, right?"
"Uhhhhhh." Undyne's grin was still wide but there was the smallest of puzzled creases in her brow. "Y'know, never mind that. What d'you guys need? A big band; a ton of snacks? Where we doin' this?"
"I figured, we can just keep it in the Soul chamber, or maybe right outside if the weather's nice," Papyrus said. "About the other things, I'm not exactly sure. Normally I'd say we should go all out, but none of those goofy creatures have had a good nights' sleep in a while and I think they're all pretty tired, and I definitely don't want to send them home with head-ache, like my sister gets sometimes."
"You say that like you don't get headaches," Undyne teased.
"I don't usually! I thought it was just a turn of phrase for a long time!"
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Undyne hummed thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. "Wellll… Okay. If we're goin' kinda low-key, I'm sure I can scrape somethin' together."
"Thank you!" Papyrus said brightly. He pulled out his list. "Okay, one thing down and—!"
"Yo, that's a long list," the big monster said with a frown.
"It sure is! I have to find a few more people, and then I was going to do some shopping, and then cooking and—"
"Whaaaat?! No way!" Undyne barked. "Unless you're doin' it for fun with those guys, just hang out with them for today! You don't wanna get yourself all busy with some other crap too much, right?"
"I…" The skeleton paused and tapped his teeth thoughtfully. "I guess I hadn't thought of it that way."
"What, don't tell me y'were gonna just work the whole time?!"
"My plan is going full-effort all day, if that's what you mean!" Papyrus said.
"Yeah, absolutely! But like, do full-effort chill time with your pals," she said.
"Nyeh?!" The skeleton's dark eyes widened. "But what about making the day really special?!"
"It'll be way more special if you're actually there to hang out." She took him by the shoulder and shot him a knowing smile. "Just trust me, alright, kid?"
"Well!" Papyrus took a deep breath and ripped the bottom part of his list off and crumpled it up. "Okay then! We will subsist on frozen dumplings and sandwiches!"
"Just let me handle the food," she said with a laugh. She leaned over and tapped his list. "Mist's invited? I know she's gotta have some baking around."
"We couldn't impose like that!" the boy protested.
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Undyne grinned wide again. She cupped a hand to her mouth and bellowed, "MISTRAL?! YO, MIST, YOU HERE YET?" She raised her ear fins up to listen for a reply.
Summoned from somewhere, right on time, Mistral kicked the large doors open. "Stars, you're loud!" she replied, only to stall in her tracks. "Oh. Papyrus. Hi."
"Hello!" Papyrus said brightly.
"What, you're not even gonna say anything about me being early this time?" Undyne asked.
"I don't need you to be early. Just on time to catch the morning meetings you agreed to," Mistral said, crossing her arms.
"Guh…" Undyne grumbled. "It's not like I'm sleepin' in, you know!"
"ANYWAY!" Papyrus said loudly. "Party! Today! For the time kids! Would you like to come?"
Mistral's stern expression brightened. "Oh. I would, thanks."
"Oh, right! That's what I was gonna ask about. Think you could bring some stuff?" Undyne asked.
The gem-marked skeleton smiled. "After what Frisk said, I already planned ahead for this situation. Don't worry."
"Knew I could count on you!" Undyne said with a grin and a thumbs up. She leaned over to Papyrus, ears flaring. "Actually. Y'know, Alph's been planning something for this moment basically since the shortie showed up."
"What, really?!" Papyrus cawed.
She nodded. "We could go check on her. Check a few more people off your list, too, whatcha think?"
The skeleton all but glowed. "You're coming along?!"
Again, she thumped him so hard on the shoulder she almost knocked him over. "Yeah, that's why I said we, punk!"
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Together, Papyrus and Undyne went to the castle proper. Despite how early it was, there were already a decent number of monsters mulling about. Among those, much the the skeleton's surprise, was his brother.
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As he and Undyne moved through the halls, he caught the unmistakable feeling of Sans's magic and paused, doubling back to peek through an open doorway into what appeared to be a laundry room, and uniform storage. A monster, like a large and spiky praying mantis, bustling about, passed the sharp-toothed skeleton a bundle before swiftly getting back to work. It was a cozy, Snowdin scout's jacket.
"Sans? What are you doing here?" Papyrus asked.
"Oh. Hey," Sans said. "Same to you."
"I'm organizing everything for the saying-see-you-later-to-Frisk-and-Asriel party," Papyrus said. "If I knew you were coming here, we could have just come together, you know?"
"Nah. I'd slow ya down," Sans said with a wink.
"You still didn't answer me." Papyrus pointed at the coat. "Don't tell me you tore your jacket up again?"
"Hm? Ah. Nah. S'not mine."
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Papyrus was about to protest, but with a second's more of observation, he realized the dark scout's jacket was more of a navy colour than his brother's usual black, and the space for a patch on the arm was blank.
"Are you sure? You're not becoming just slightly more colour-coordinated?" he asked.
Sans snickered. "Nah. S'for the other guy."
"The other…?" Papyrus blinked. "…Oh! Wait, do you mean Frisk's brother?"
"Yeah." Sans shrugged. "Y'know Chara kinda had a track on that whole dream y'met those guys in, yeah?"
"I was vaguely aware, sure."
"She mentioned he was sorta fond o' the thing. So, I just figured…" He cracked a crooked smile. "Guy's been through a lot over there, huh? This ain't much but, if he's like me, a little bit o' foreign tech'll be welcome. Hopefully he'll consider it an apology for takin' so long with his kiddos. Even if it's, uh, the weakest apology of all time."
"I don't think you actually have anything to apologize for," Papyrus said. "Except for being so down on yourself!" He patted his brother's shoulder. "But, I mean, who doesn't like a warm new coat? I'm sure it'll go over well. I'm not sure you can exactly call it tech, though, can you? Except maybe the pockets?"
Sans grinned. Papyrus squinted suspiciously.
"Saaaaans, what did you do to it?"
"I didn't do a thing," he said with a smile.
The boy rolled his eyes. "What did you have done to it, then?"
Sans snickered. "Just a couple little enhancements that might help a guy with a health ratin' of one, no big deal. Anyway." He slipped the entire new jacket away into his pocket and waved to the praying mantis as he began to stroll out, and Papyrus scrambled to follow him. "Gotta get goin'. Still got a crystal to grab. Y'alright?"
"Me? Of course I am!" the younger skeleton assured him. "I aaam… uh." He peered down the hallway, which was now vacant aside from them. "Just going to have to catch up with Queen Undyne."
"Better run, bro, she got long legs," Sans said.
"I will!" Papyrus rushed off, only to turn. "See you back there soon?!"
"Course."
Papyrus grinned and stuck both thumbs up before whirling around and rushing off again.
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Sans smiled. Wished he had that kind of energy. The teleport, for that reason alone, was a blessing. One that he gladly used to whisk himself away and out of the castle again.
xXxXx
Asriel had hoped that, once Frisk was finally done writing out recipes and drawing a stack of pictures, she would settle down and take a little rest. Maybe even a nap that she desperately needed, though he was sure he wasn't going to be able to. Instead, she'd become antsy. Restless. Began pacing the rim of the hill that surrounded the light of the Soul.
.
"Friiiisk, why don't you come back?" he called.
"I'm just walkin'!" she replied from across the chamber.
"Yeah but why don't you rest?!"
"I dunno, later!"
He settled back on his hands and sighed. Chara laughed fondly.
"You never learn, huh?" she asked.
"But she's got raccoon eyes real bad again," he said. "And! Also! Tell that to her, she's the one who should be sleeping!"
"Us, too," the girl pointed out.
Asriel scoffed quietly. "As if."
"Well. She feels the same."
"Yeah but she's smaller though!"
Chara chuckled. "Ah. You two are gonna be fine."
.
Asriel's fur prickled. He turned to her with wide eyes. "…You will be, too. Right?"
"Oh. I'm going to hide in bed for about a week after you leave and only get up to throw up, probably."
"Chara…" Asriel's ears drooped. "Sorry."
She laughed, taking him off-guard. "Don't be. It's good." She thumped a fist lightly against her chest. "It means something in here's workin', at least."
The boy couldn't help a little laugh. "I guess." He sighed. "We're gonna have a ton of explaining to do, so…"
"I mean. They know you left, right?" Chara said, brows raised. "Uncle G even got through before you got here."
"Yeah, sure, but so much happened," he said. "And… I dunno. Guess I'm just glad we got all those books, too. And the pictures. Because it's all kinda hard to believe, huh?"
"Mhm."
.
Chara got to her feet and stretched, then strolled over to where Frisk was pacing, intercepting her. "Frisk." She held out her arms.
The kid gave her a big hug without hesitation. Chara squeezed her and then gently held her by the shoulders.
"Come sit."
"I'm good," Frisk said. "Why?"
"I would really like you to."
"…Oh." The kid glanced back at Asriel, who quickly stuck his hand up to wave. She smiled sheepishly. "Okay, for a bit."
.
"You still freakin' out?" the boy asked.
"I-I'm not freaking out," Frisk said swiftly.
"You've been walking in circles for like half an hour."
"I'm just… thinking," the kid said as she settled in beside him. "I mean, um…" She paused as a spiral of blue magic set a section of the dark trees aglow, a portal opening to announce Sans's return. Her train of thought was completely shot off the tracks when he strolled towards them.
.
"Hey, you find a thing?" Chara asked.
"Yup." He pulled out a large, round amethyst stone and lightly tossed it up to catch it again. "Would ya mind?"
The girl held her hand out and a glint of blue magic overcame the crystal and tossed it perfectly into her palm. "Think it'll let me?"
"Oh, sure," he said. "Bring the fuzzball in case you need some height, though."
"Wait, what are we doing?" Asriel asked.
"The code thing, remember?" Chara said with a little roll of her eyes.
"Oh right."
.
Asriel got up, and Frisk was about to follow him, but Sans beckoned to her.
"Got a minute?" he asked.
"Me?" Frisk blinked. "Sure."
"Cool. Ah…" The skeleton looked around, then his eyes settled on the cabin and he wandered that way before tilting his head to settle his bad eye on her. "Come on."
.
Sans opened the door to the cabin without so much as a pause. Frisk was a little surprised, but followed him inside anyway. Gaster was not there, but the World Seed was. The sharp-toothed skeleton didn't seem bothered at all. He closed the door behind her.
"So," he said, "how ya holdin' up?"
"Oh. Um. Okay, I guess," Frisk said with a tepid shrug.
"It's been a lotta stuff, huh?"
The kid nodded. Her stomach was starting to hurt. "Oh yeah, a ton."
"Y'wanna talk about it?"
Frisk was taken aback, eyes widening a little. Sans shrugged.
"Just thought, y'been dealin' with this a lot on your own, yeah? You and your bro. You're both still just kids."
"I guess so," Frisk said. "But what else are we s'posed to do, y'know? Isn't that what people…?" Her words got lost on the way out as the skeleton's expression fell to one of sympathy. "…Is that a weird thing to do?"
"It's… what you're used to, hm?"
"Well, yeah, but, is that…? Is it like…? Wrong or something?"
.
Sans puffed out a little sigh. "Oh boy." He came closer and dropped down to one knee, taking her by the shoulder with a solid, steady grip. "I told ya, if you needed somethin', I'd—"
"But you already did so much!" Frisk insisted. "You took care of us and you did the spell that made me a goat for a bit and you did all that work finding home and—"
"Small potatoes," he said.
"Wh…? No, it's not." She pouted.
The skeleton snickered. He gave her a gentle squeeze and winked his bad eye. "Might be a bit busted, but I still see a lot. You been watchin' over Chara, Papy, your brother; even the ol' Gas-bag. I know you're the type of kid who doesn't wanna put your stuff on someone else, but I'm a grown-up, y'know? If you wanna talk, I'm here."
"I… I know." Her voice warbled, coming out a bit weaker than she'd intended.
"You're a strong kid," he continued, "but, let yourself relax for like, these last couple hours, yeah? Ya need somethin', just lemme know."
.
Frisk's heart thumped and her throat felt a little tight, though she wasn't sure why. She tented her fingers, hesitating for just a moment before she could voice a thought. "Could I…? Maybe, could I have a hug?"
"Kiddo." The skeleton laughed and pulled her in close. "Course ya can."
A little warmth surged through the kid and she quickly put her arms around his neck and settled in comfortably. She huffed out a quiet sigh and, as he gave her back a gentle pat, her posture slackened and her eyes misted.
"I… I'm kinda tired," she admitted.
"Mhm."
"And… And I'm worried about, like, everything?"
"Uh-huh."
"A-And I… I dunno if everyone's gonna be okay," she said quietly. "I dunno if I'm gonna be okay."
"S'okay to have a hard time, y'know."
"I-I know, I just… Buhhh…" She hid her face against his shoulder and grumbled quietly.
Sans chuckled and rested his hand on the back of her head. She couldn't help but melt, feeling like her soul was going to just drop out of her body and onto the ground.
"I dunno," she muttered. "Kinda wanna puke."
.
The skeleton pulled back to hold her by the shoulders, a fond grin on his face. He gave her a light bonk on the forehead and she couldn't help a little laugh.
"Thanks," she said.
"Mhm."
"So, um, what'd you want?" she asked.
"This, basically," Sans said as he straightened up. He grinned sideways. "Knew you'd get stuck in an 'I'm Fine' loop with the others around."
"Man, sneaky," she joked.
"Not really," he said. "Know a lotta people like that. Myself included. Just kinda recognize it."
"Oh."
"But, uh. There was somethin' else," he said. "Two things, actually."
Frisk cocked her head to the side. "Sup?"
.
From nowhere, the skeleton pulled out a deep blue bundle and offered it to Frisk. "For your big bro."
"Oh?!" Frisk eagerly took it and realized right away that it was a jacket. "Oh! Cozy! He'll love that, thanks so much!"
"Figure you can't have too many coats," he said. "Also, uh. Second thing. You got a notebook or somethin', yeah?"
"Uh-huh. S'just outside."
"Mind if I borrow it?"
The kid shook her head. She scampered out and quickly returned with it and her red pen.
.
Sans sat at the low table and flipped to a page behind all of the notes and began to write with slow, deliberate strokes. Frisk leaned in to watch. It looked to be music. Every line he made shimmered with energy for a split second before dimming to look normal on the paper.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Told ya a while back," he said, "but it's the Deceptive Cadence. Kinda doubt what I did to ya is in any o' the books you and Asriel picked up."
"Oh yeah?!" Frisk squeaked. "That's cool! It's a really big thing, though, right?"
"One of your parents should be able t'cast it," he assured her. "If not, do it in a round and they got it. Y'know. In case y'ever need a blue goat disguise again. I'll stick all the extra deets in here, too."
"Thank you so much!" Frisk said. She smiled sheepishly. "I-I have something for you, too." She held out a sheet of paper, upside down. "No macaronis, though."
Sans paused his writing and snickered. He took the paper from her. "That's fine, I'm more of a cavatappi guy myself."
.
As he turned it over, he paused. It was a cartoony picture of one of his blaster skulls flying through space, surrounded by shooting stars. Frisk bounced nervously on her toes.
"Ah." The skeleton grinned. "That looks real good, kiddo."
"It does?!" She grinned bashfully. "I dunno, but I hope you like it."
"Definitely like it," he said. "Thanks."
Frisk breathed a sigh of relief.
"Y'don't gotta be so nervous," he teased, gingerly putting the picture aside as he began to write again.
"I'm just super grateful," she said. "For… Well, for everything. And I don't know what I could ever really do to—"
"Guess ya forgot," he joked, "but I was the one owin' ya a favour from the start."
"Barely. And like, just letting me stay in your house was more than enough."
Sans snickered. "Think we could go 'round in circles 'bout this 'til ya gotta go," he said. "But. It doesn't matter. Things are cool. And." He looked up at her from the ink on the page. "Y'know, if crap like this ever goes down again, or y'do figure out how to manage stuff without a big nightmare scenario, our door's always open to ya. Y'know that, yeah?"
Frisk's heart skipped a beat. "Yeah. Thanks." She took a seat beside him and leaned up to look at the notes curiously.
"Y'can go hang out again," he said. "This'll take a while."
"That's okay!" she said. "Magic stuff is interesting."
The skeleton snorted and gave her a pat on the head, then went back to work.
.
After a while, Chara and Asriel returned with all Frisk's pictures and the amethyst orb, light inside inscribed with a code of constellations. A bit of time after that, Gaster came back as well. He had been strolling the perimeter of the cavern, he explained. He went back to his books while the others lazed about the room.
.
It was a little later than usual when Mistral arrived for her routine check-in on Gaster, but this time, she had brought a plethora of homemade baking along as well. This was extremely well-received, especially by the kids who had been too distracted and stressed to remember to eat earlier.
.
Chara explained everything that was going on to the generous Dragonguard. The skeleton nodded along with minimal interruptions, and when the girl was finished, Mistral gave her a tight hug, much to her surprise.
"It will be a good day," Mistral decided. She looked at Asriel and Frisk. "Is there anywhere else you'd like to see before everything?"
"I wanna see this whole entire place," Frisk said with a laugh. "But… I think we're just gonna stay here until… You know."
"Yeah, never know if I'm just gonna freak out and hide in the woods somewhere," Asriel said.
"You wouldn't," Chara said.
"You never know!" he insisted.
Mistral chuckled. "I have a feeling you're more responsible than that."
"I'm not," he said.
"Asriel, you're going to be just fine," Gaster said gently. "Trust yourself a little more than that."
Asriel huffed, crossing his arms and scrunching up his snout bashfully. "Yeah, yeah…" he muttered.
.
"Um," Frisk interjected. "Sorry. Uh. Mistral? I… have a thing for you?" She handed her one of the sketches. "It's not much, but it's… I dunno. But, thanks. For all the help."
"What's…?" Mistral took one look at the drawing of a skeleton— clearly herself by the spiky line of the mouth and the gemstone on the forehead— riding around on a tornado. She put a hand to her mouth. "Oh." She huffed into her fist as her cheekbones flushed and tenderly rolled the drawing up to stash it in the pouch at her hip. "…Thanks, kid. That's… really sweet."
"You're blushing," Chara teased.
"I-I've never received a picture of myself before," the skeleton said with an uncharacteristic warble in her voice. She patted Frisk on the head. "I appreciate it."
"I'm glad you're the one who ended up arresting me," Frisk joked.
Mistral laughed. "The world is a strange place sometimes, hm?"
.
"Ruckus incomin'," Sans said without looking up from his writing.
"Ah. Papyrus," Mistral said. She got to her feet just as the sound of boots in the grass made its way to them through the door.
As expected, Papyrus kicked the door in, a shout of announcement about to leave his mouth until he caught sight of Mistral there. He beamed.
"Ah! Hello! Perfect timing! From me!" He grabbed Mistral's hand. "Come help me with something, will you?!"
"Of course," she said, holding in a laugh.
"Hi and bye the rest of you!" Papyrus called as he raced out. He closed the door hard behind them. "Pretend I'm locking you in until I come to get you, okay?! No peeking!"
.
Chara rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway. She shuffled over to lean up on Asriel. He simply huffed and flopped onto his back on the floor. She scoffed and gave him a playful whack on the arm, only for him to snatched her up and squish her to his chest.
"You big hairball!" she protested.
"You started it!" He sat up very suddenly and she squeaked and latched onto him. His ears perked.
"Watch it!"
"Do you hear dogs?" he asked.
They all went quiet. There was indeed a soft, distant sound of woofing somewhere outside. Frisk's eyes lit up.
"D'you think he found Grumf?" she asked.
"I bet he did," Chara said. "That… sounds like a lot of dogs, though."
"You know him," Sans said absently. "He went above and beyond to retrieve 'em. Poodles and oodles, I bet."
Frisk perked right up as the other kids groaned, but Gaster blurted out a laugh before he quickly coughed into his hand.
"Sorry," he said.
"Ey, two outta four ain't bad," Sans said.
"Jeez, dude," Asriel teased.
"Still a fail," Chara said.
Sans's sharp-toothed grin widened. "Hey, if you came for good jokes, you're barkin' up the wrong tree, Charhuahua."
That got a snort out of Asriel this time and Chara cringed.
"My face is going to invert if you keep going," she said.
Sans laughed. "Eesh, can't have that. How would I explain that to mom?"
The freckled girl balked. "Oh, god, don't even bother, she'll be worse."
xXxXx
By the time Papyrus came to fetch the group, music was already reaching through the door, as were the smells of cinnamon and tea. Sans was done his work and was asleep on the floor, but the kids were anxious enough that two of them were quickly out the door. Frisk hung back a moment, wondering whether to rouse the dozing skeleton right away or not.
.
"Frisk."
The kid turned around and found Gaster looking at her intently over his book.
"Yeah?" she said.
"If I may. I'd like to ask you something."
"Oh. Sure. What's up?" she said.
"…Who is Gaster, to you?"
Frisk froze. She bristled, and an awkward smile quirked across her face. "Pretty sure you already know, huh? Sorry."
.
The skeleton's eyes narrowed just a little. He put the book aside. "Is… that why…?"
"No," she said. She pointed at the World Seed. "You needed it. Your kids need it. That's all."
Tenting his fingers, Gaster sat quietly for a moment. He nodded and got to his feet. "Sans?"
"Huh?" Sans opened one eye groggily and sat up a little. "Uh. Hi?"
"Sorry to wake you. But. The Temporal Blaster," he said. "Give it to her."
Sans stared back at him, startled, and Frisk let out an alarmed squeak.
"Wh-What?! Your blaster?!" she repeated. "Why?!"
"It's not mine any more," Gaster said. "I traded it for… Well, for you, I suppose. And, if by some chance I need another, I can make it. In my own lab." He shrugged. "Eight years may not be a long time, but a lot of things can still change, don't you think?"
.
Frisk's jaw dropped. Sans's brow furrowed and he stared at the old skeleton as if probing for even the slightest tinge of deception. Then, his expression smoothed into an easy smile and he shrugged.
"Welp. Lightens my load a bit."
In an instant, the Temporal Blaster was in his hands. He tossed it to Frisk, who stumbled a little to grasp it tight to her chest.
"Wh-What am I supposed to do with it?" she asked.
"Use it. Scrap it. Give it to your brothers. Toss it into a volcano for some catharsis," Gaster said. "Whatever you like. It's not my concern."
"I—! Um! Th-Thanks?!" Frisk awkwardly put the weapon down on the table. She yanked her phone from her pocket and checked the boxes with shaking fingers. "I-I gotta really organize all my phone stuff, oh man…"
.
Sans chuckled. His dark eyes shot back to Gaster, but the old skeleton had gone back to his book. He seemed a little lighter, somehow.
.
"Hey," Asriel said, peeking his head back into the room, "are you guys coming or wh—aaaaaaat?!" He jabbed his finger at the blaster on the table. "What's that doin' out?!"
"He gave it to me?!" Frisk squeaked. She was already also surrounded by some clunky bags of weapons and books as she tried to figure out
"WHAT?!" Asriel whirled on Gaster with wide eyes. "Whatchu givin' her that for?!"
The old skeleton shrugged. "It's not mine."
"What?!"
"Old guy's makin' questionable choices again," Sans said. "I'm sure it's fine."
"Really?!" Asriel was flummoxed. "Uh. Okay? Well." He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "You guys should come out here."
"I-In a second," Frisk said. "I gotta like, put stuff in other stuff and—"
"Consolidate," Sans suggested.
"Yeah that."
"You want some help?" Asriel asked.
Frisk shook her head. "I-I think if I just, like…" She squished her notebook into the bag with the mass of other books they'd bought a while back. "I only know I can keep the pen and, like, probably the pocket knife? Or… M-Maybe that'll just be back with Paps if I gotta do a reset, or—?"
"I think you're stressing way too much," the boy said. "Just shove stuff in the clothes bag to clear some slots, that one's pretty empty."
"Oh! Y-Yeah!"
.
Asriel couldn't help a tired grin. He couldn't help the confusion on his face when he looked at Gaster, though. Sans yawned and sauntered out into the chamber, but Asriel lingered for a moment until Frisk had ferreted everything back away into her phone. As she grabbed her pile of drawings and went to join her brother, she paused and turned to Gaster.
"Hey," she said, "come out and get some snacks or something, if you want, okay?"
"It's alright," the skeleton said. "I can't imagine I'd be very welcome. I'd rather not be a… what's the phrase, a buzzkill? Party crasher?"
"But…" Frisk scrunched up her face. She let out a little sigh. "Kay."
Asriel folded his arms. "There's pie," he said.
Gaster chuckled. "…We'll see."
.
"Well." Frisk walked up to the old skeleton and offered her hand, her fingertips sparkling with red.
Gaster froze. His dark eyes widened. The kid stepped closer and held her hand up insistently. Her heart was beating a little harder than she'd like, and her brow fixed into a determined frown.
.
Cautiously, Gaster leaned a little closer. His eyes flickered. He grasped her little hand loosely in his. The kid couldn't help a smile. Her crimson irises flared with a brighter flicker of red.
"Good luck," she said.
The old skeleton's soul fluttered palpably. A tiny bit of the tension in his shoulders slackened. "…Maybe… we can both drag our worlds back from the brink."
Frisk grinned. "Yeah. We definitely can." She patted his hand and then released him, bouncing over to join her brother. "Hope we see you out there!"
Asriel gave him a curt nod and Gaster smile tepidly, raising a hand to see them off.
.
Frisk drew in a deep breath and puffed it out as a satisfied sigh. Asriel patted her approvingly on the back, and they went out into the chamber of the Soul.
.
Papyrus had transformed the place. Glowing pillars of bone dangling with paper lanterns gave the place gold and crimson light, and spirals of magic swirled in the air like an illustrated breeze. Tables laden with snacks and drinks were spread out all across the area just outside the cabin and Asriel's new trees were covered in motes of magic. The place was also full of monsters, all familiar faces with the exception of a ton of friendly-looking dogs.
.
Frisk's eyes glimmered with stars, but before she could say a single thing, she was whisked into a warm hug by a silvery giant.
"Oh, dear, what a day it must be," Toriel said. She drew back, cupping Frisk's face in one massive hand, a warm smile on her face. "How are you feeling, child? A little nervous?"
"Y-Yeah, kinda," Frisk said.
"That is to be expected, I am sure. But. I know it will be a lovely day," she said. Her eyes twinkled and she straightened up. "Come. I have made some pie."
The kid brightened up. "Oh! Wow." She perked up a bit and quickly sifted through her drawings, and then offered one to Toriel. "I made this for you."
"For me?" The huge monster looked a little puzzled, but she accepted the paper and smiled when she saw the drawing of herself upon it. "Ah. That is very sweet, dear, thank you."
"Thanks for all the help," Frisk said.
"No need. I was very pleased by the outcome here." Toriel turned to the somewhat awkward-looking Asriel and wrapped him in a hug as well, as much to Frisk's surprise as it was to his. "Thank you for what you have done," she whispered into his ear.
"A-Ah. Um. N-No problem," he said with a sheepish grin. "Happy to help."
.
"Frisk and Asriel!" Papyrus called to them from one of the tables. He waved to them and grinned as, beside him, Chara was already tucking into a palm-sized chocolate tart. "Over here!"
Toriel gently pointed them on their way, so the two hurried over. Almost immediately, though, they were set upon by a mob of excited dogs. For just a moment, Frisk's worries were blown out of her head by the energy of the greeting, and she found herself petting and being pet.
"I found a whole choir!" Papyrus said proudly.
"They'll sing for food," Grumf teased as she made her way through the group. "Hi, pupperoni."
"Thanks for inviting us!" one of the dogs said.
"Thaaaanks!" the rest of them bayed.
.
Frisk gladly accepted a hug from the little, white dog. As soon as they parted, she hurriedly pulled out the drawing she'd done of her and passed it over. Grumf stared at it with her dark eyes for a solid, silent ten seconds, and then gave it a lick. Her ears tilted from side to side and, seeming pleased, she nodded and stashed the picture into her sleeve. She patted Frisk on the head. There was a little magic injected into the gesture and Frisk felt a tinge of her exhaustion leaving her limbs.
.
As Asriel was still in a dog pile, Frisk also caught Soleil in the group. She had a picture for her, too, and hurried to her to offer it as a thanks for helping out. The dog seemed a bit perplexed, but she gratefully accepted the gift and licked it, just as Grumf had. Frisk wasn't exactly sure what the reason for that was, but Soleil seemed happy, too, so she guessed it was fine.
.
When Frisk finally made it to the table, Papyrus greeted her with a hug and a slice from one of three massive butterscotch-and-cinnamon pies. Chara was absolutely cracking up, and gave her an affectionate thump on the back. The freckled girl tried to say something about Asriel, presumably, but couldn't quite get it out through the wheezing.
.
Finally, Frisk got a taste of the pie. She almost couldn't believe the flavour. It was perfectly identical to her mother's recipe and preparation in every way. It filled her with nostalgia and glee all at once.
.
Beside them, Leirach, in his large, quadrupedal form, slipped in to grab a slice as well. "I heard you're off," he said.
"Yeah! Thanks for coming," Frisk said. "We wanted to say bye. And thanks for all the help." She handed him a drawing of him. "Sorry, it's not super good, but I made this for you."
"Oh?" He plucked it up in an extra vine. "Hah. Thank you. What is it?"
Frisk snorted and rubbed her face. "It's supposed to be you!"
"Me…? Oh! Oh, when I'm tall and…!" Leirach laughed. "Sorry, I've hardly seen myself." He tucked it into his mane. "You didn't have to make me something."
"Wanted to," she said.
.
"She was very insistent," Papyrus said with a fond smile. "Frisk, do you have a few more, still?"
"Yeah." Frisk fanned them out. "Undyne and Alphys and Pasithea."
"Ah. About her," the skeleton said with an apologetic crease in his brow. "Her… store was closed and I couldn't find her in town. I'm sorry."
"Ah." The kid tried to mask her disappointment behind a smile. "Well. S'okay, we kinda said bye a little bit before. Guess I don't need that picture, then."
"I could give it to her, if you like," Chara said.
"Ah, I dunno, none of these are that good, it's just—"
The freckled girl snatched the picture of the pesanta out of her hand. "I'll mail it."
"Th-Thanks," Frisk said.
.
Once the dogs had had their fill of petting Asriel, the festivities really took off, with howling and music permeating the chamber, flares of magic commingling with the lights and the spirals already drifting.
.
Undyne finally made an appearance as well. She was dressed completely casually for once, but announced herself in a grandiose tsunami of water that not only was not wet, but burst into a show of glitter so fine it might as well have been snow before it reformed into tiny sharks that swam like an animated loop all over the cavern.
.
"Hey, y'little punks!" she said with a big grin as she raced to join the kids. "Papy, this stuff is nice! Great work so quick!"
"Thank you very much!" he said.
"And! You kids!" She mussed up both Frisk and Asriel's hair. "Man! What a trip, huh?!"
"Tell us about it," Asriel said. "Have some pie."
"I'm gonna!" She glanced around. "Oh, Tori's here? I gotta talk to her actually."
"Wait! Here!" Frisk chucked Undyne the picture of herself.
"Huh?!" The huge monster caught it squinted at it. She jabbed her claw into it. "Yo, is this me surfing?"
"Uh. I guess?" Frisk said.
"NICE! Thanks!" Undyne said. She bounded off. "I'll be BACK!"
"She's in more of a rush than I was," Papyrus mused.
"I'm hugging her when she comes back," Frisk asserted. She looked around. "Is…? Where's Alphys? 'Cause if she doesn't show up, I'm going to her school again."
"She's coming," the skeleton assured her.
.
Just as she'd promised, Undyne returned soon after, and Frisk gave her a huge hug and thanked her profusely for everything. The Queen just laughed. All part of the job, she assured them. She asked what they expected to find when they got home. Frisk was a little surprised by the question; she hadn't really thought about it too much. Asriel answered quite simply with abject panic and definitely a weepy King. Frisk was sure that it wouldn't be good. All she knew was, once they could talk to Sans, everything would be okay again.
.
Sans of this world hadn't really been participating in the party very much, though he drifted in and out, plucking up a scone, a piece of pie, or a cup of tea here and there. He was lingering near the light of the Soul, sometimes with Mistral, and often with Toriel. For some reason, that made Frisk a little nervous. She hoped that didn't mean there was some last minute instability or anything like that.
.
Still, the Soul seemed solid. The magic in the chamber felt smooth and unbothered. Frisk shook her head at herself. She was probably just being paranoid.
.
Alphys finally arrived to the party after about an hour more, racing in through a portal and breathing hard, only to be greeted with an embrace and a smooch from Undyne. She found the kids sitting at the edge of the slope, snuggling and chatting, surrounded by many empty tea cups.
.
"K-Kids!" she squeaked. "I'm so sorry I'm late! H-Have you been having a good time?"
"It's the most stressful party I've ever been to," Asriel joked. "But yeah, it's nice."
"Aww." Alphys clasped her hands together and looked at Frisk and Chara as well. "I… I can imagine."
"We've been drowning our sorrows in tea and pie," Chara said.
"I'm just glad we can say bye to people," Frisk said. She looked down at the light. "…I… don't know when to go."
"We're gonna have to pump ourselves up," Asriel said.
"You do that. I'm gonna puke," Chara joked.
"Don't you do it, sister," Papyrus said. "But. I have to admit. I'm feeling… a bit strange as well."
"Well, who c-could really blame you?" Alphys said. She carefully sat down with them. "But, I… I, um, I just wanna say. Frisk. A-Asriel. I'm really glad we all got to meet. Knowing someone f-from another world… I mean, h-how many monsters can really say that they've done that?!"
"It's surreal as heck," Asriel agreed. "But, uh. Y'know. Nice, in this case."
Frisk nodded eagerly. She grabbed her final drawing from its spot on the grass beside her and handed it to Alphys. "Your turn!"
.
"My… Huh?" Alphys looked at the drawing of herself, fingers crossed into a heart. Her eyes widened and she readjusted her glasses. Her claws locked into the page and her hand started to shake. "M-M-M—?"
"Uh oh, is it really bad?" Frisk asked worriedly.
The lizard monster's glasses fogged. Her grip crumpled the sides of the page.
"Uh, Alphys, you okay?" Asriel asked.
.
With a shrillwheeze, Alphys yanked Frisk into a tight hug. She smooched the kid on the forehead and snuggled her up. "Y-You're soooo cuuuuute!" she wailed.
"A-Ah! Um! I j-just wanted to say th-thanks!" Frisk squeaked.
Asriel nodded quickly, wide-eyed. "Yeah, thank you!" he said.
The lizard sniffled loudly and she grabbed Asriel and embraced him, too. "Y-You two…! I—! I w-was h-honoured to help! Ah!" She pulled back quickly and her jaw dropped at the sight of the crumpled, tear-stained picture. "Oh… I… I wr-wrecked it, I'm s-so sorry."
"That's okay!" Frisk said. "I can do a different one if you w—"
"No! No." Alphys wiped her eyes. "I-I'll… flatten it in a book." She laughed. "Whew, I'm sorry, I d-didn't expect to lose it like that. But! Um!" She grabbed her shoulder bag and shifted it onto her lap. "I… I have something for you two, too."
"…Us?" Asriel repeated with a puzzled frown.
The lizard nodded. "Th-That's why I was late."
.
From inside her things, Alphys pulled out two magus coats in very similar colours to Asriel's hoodie— one a bit darker, and one a bit lighter. As Papyrus cawed with surprise, she passed them to the kids from another world.
"They, un, c-can change a little as time passes," she explained. "But I, um, sort of… felt out the, um, designs like I d-do for my students." She smiled sheepishly. "I know i-it's, um, maybe a little s-silly, but they're kind of like a… a symbol of skill, here? And I figured, a p-pair of time kids, that's… probably worth a coat, right? Even i-if you're a bit too young for it normally."
"Wh…? Yo." Frisk held up hers— the one in the lighter lavender colour.
It was marked on each sleeve with a ring, and a solar symbol on one and lunar on the other. The back was emblazoned with a four-pointed star. Asriel's was similar, but the design was marked with a vine-like spiral up each of the sleeves, and the Delta Rune from their home on the back.
"Dude, that's… Wow. That's really nice of you," Asriel said.
"Fancy magic coats from a fancy magic school," Frisk squeaked. "Ohmigosh, Alphys, that's so nice!" She grabbed her tight into a hug. "Thank you!"
"Well! Papyrus has his," she said with a laugh. "And… And Chara, s-sorry to spoil the surprise, but I have one in the w-works for you, too. I just… had to rush these ones."
"Wh…? Me, too?" Chara's cheeks flushed. "Well, that's kind of you. I was just going to make one."
Alphys snickered. She patted Frisk's head. "Ah, I'm s-so glad you like them."
"That's really cool of you, thanks," Asriel said. He looked at Frisk as she pulled back from the lizard. "More for the bag."
"Man, I wanna wear it but I don't wanna lose it somewhere," Frisk said.
"Yeah, you better not lose it," Chara teased.
xXxXx
Eventually, the dogs had to depart, and those who were left curled up to chat above the slope of the Soul. Papyrus played on his lyra and Undyne periodically passed out different teas. Sans came back to them for a while and napped as, at Alphys's request, Frisk and Asriel told some stories about their home.
.
When all the tea was gone and the stories were used up, there wasn't much more to say. Frisk felt absolutely sick with dread and anticipation. She caught Asriel's eye. His fur bristled on his neck, but he dipped his head in a quick nod. Chara reached out and squeezed his hand.
"Time?" she asked quietly.
Asriel gulped. He looked at Frisk. She crossed her arms against her chest and stared at the grass. She took a deep breath. Her brother was the first to get up.
"Alright," Asriel said with a little warble in his voice. He looked at Frisk. "We got everything?"
Stiffly, she nodded.
"Then…" He huffed out a little sigh and forced a smile. "We should go, I guess." He dipped his head. "Thanks so much, again, everyone"
Papyrus leapt to his feet and wrapped the boy in a tight, warm hug. "We were so happy to have you!"
Asriel gritted his teeth and squeezed the skeleton. "Thanks," he said.
.
Frisk stiffly got to her feet. Chara rose with her swiftly, and Sans sat up and rubbed his head
"Everyone 'cept Chara, get your hugs out now," he said. "Dunno if bein' close to the Soul when it shoots 'em out is safe or not."
Toriel was the first to embrace Frisk again. "Have a safe trip home, dear one."
"Thanks," Frisk said, trying to swallow back the rasp in her voice.
.
The kid got a hug from each of her new friends, and then, lastly, from Papyrus, who picked her right up off her feet. His eye sockets were a little watery. She cozied against him and gave him a smooch on the cheek.
"You're the best," she said quietly.
"No, you!" He snickered despite sniffling a little. "We'll miss you."
"Miss you already," she joked.
He bonked his brow against hers and she held it for a moment before he put her back on the ground. Sans put a hand on her shoulder and nodded down the hill towards that pale light. Frisk gulped, but she forced a smile and waved at the monsters they were leaving behind. She thought she caught a tall, skeleton man drifting around far off behind them and, for some reason, she felt a tiny bit better.
.
Carefully, Frisk, Asriel, and Chara went down the hill to stand at the light. Right away, Chara grasped to Frisk's hand.
"I… I need to say something, first," she said quietly. "…Frisk?"
"Yeah?" Frisk said cautiously.
"Thank you." Chara sighed and smiled, but her eyes were sad. "This was… nice. It was… It was really good to feel like family."
"We are family," Frisk said.
"Hm." The freckled girl's eyes sparked a little. "I… I know, but… Look. You… If, after this, you ever change your mind about the whole… you know, sister thing—"
"Hey," Frisk said, reaching up to grab Chara's arms. "We're sisters. That's it."
"Ah…" Chara gulped, but she smiled, her eyes gleaming. "…Okay."
"Demon Gang," Frisk said resolutely.
"Demon Gang," Asriel agreed.
Chara rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help a smile. "Demon Gang."
"There ya go," Sans said with a grin.
.
Chara laughed weakly. She reached forward and crushed Frisk into a hug. "Protect them, okay?" she whispered. "Or I'm gonna haunt the heck outta you."
Frisk snickered. She clung to the girl tight and closed her eyes as she felt hot tears welling up. "I will. That's… That's all I ever wanna do." She blew out a sigh that trembled in her breath. "Love you, Chara. I'm so glad I got to meet you like this."
"Me too." She pulled back, her honey-coloured eyes glittering and wet. She smiled and carefully wiped Frisk's face with her sleeve. "C'mon, Frisk. Be tough, okay? I know you can do it."
"I… Y-Yeah. Yeah. I will," Frisk said.
A fond smile warmed Chara's pale face. She gently brushed a little hair from Frisk's cheeks. "Of course you will." She turned to Asriel, holding out her arms, and he bent to wrap himself around her. A little huff of a laugh escaped her and she buried her face in the fur of his neck.
"Chara." His voice cracked. "I—"
"I know. I know." She gently held his fuzzy cheeks and gave him a kiss on the end of his nose. Her gaze darted over to Frisk and she drew in a deep, steadying breath. "Love you, nerds. Be safe, yeah?"
"Yeah." Asriel straightened up coughed. "Yeah. Love you, too, sis." He took Frisk's hand. "We better get goin' before I try to drag you back with us." He laughed at himself and shook his head. "Ready?"
Frisk nodded, and she raised a hand to wave once more at Papyrus and the others. "Thank you guys, for everything!"
"Of course! Have a good trip!" Papyrus said, his voice cutting clearly through the other farewells. He crossed his fingers into a heart. "Love you!"
Frisk grinned and replied in kind, shooting out a little red bubble along with it. "Love you, too!"
.
Sans shot the kids a tired grin. He put a hand on Frisk's shoulder. "Y'ready?"
She took a deep breath. "Yeah." She reached up and wrapped him in a hug. "Thanks, Sans."
The sharp-toothed skeleton's face softened. He bent down and gave her a squeeze. "You did good," he said. He lowered his voice. "Thanks for my sis, huh?"
Frisk nodded. She carefully grabbed his face and lightly bonked her brow against his. He snickered and ruffled her hair before he straightened up again.
"Alright, big guy?" he asked.
"Y-Yeah. Thanks," Asriel said.
Sans nodded. He pointed at Frisk. "Alright. Moment o' truth, huh?"
She nodded and lit her soul bright, burning red. "We got this."
"Hang on tight to each other," the skeleton said.
"Count on it," Asriel said as his soul flared in tandem. "Hey. We'll see each other again."
"We will," Chara agreed.
"I'm looking forward to it!" Papyrus said. "Have a safe trip!"
Sans's hands began to glow with radiant light. "See ya, kiddos." He touched each of them on their souls and gave them the gentlest of shoves.
.
Into the Soul of the World they fell, and a rainbow of prismatic magic whisked them away. They rocketed through the void of space, an arrow at breakneck speed, the two of them clinging to each other as tight as they could. It was almost impossible to see past the light until they broke through layers of black, plunging deeper and darker into the void.
.
A sunspot shone behind them, blazing heat into their backs like a staring, watchful eye. Their souls washed them over red and their transport shattered into fireworks as it jettisoned them out through a star, and straight out into a mostly-finished attic bedroom.
.
Frisk tumbled hard out onto the wooden floor, dragging a much shorter Asriel with her as they crashed at the base of an armchair. As the kids stumbled upright, they found themselves face to face with Sans— their Sans— sitting huddled in its cushions. He'd clearly been almost asleep and looked as startled as they did. Frisk gawked for a moment; her eyes welled up and she grinned.
.
The skeleton stared blankly at her. He reached out, his fingertips lightly grazing her cheek. Stars filled his dark eyes. Yanking her forward, he crushed her into a hug in one arm and then pulled Asriel in with the other. Frisk choked out a loud laugh and squished against him. She'd never felt so much strength in his grip. He smelled like home.
.
"Aaaah, I'm so glad you're here!" she said. "Are you feeling better?"
He dipped his head in a nod and then lifted her face, eyes skimming her over as he grinned even wider. He put his hand to his soul spot and it warbled, weak, distorted, but overwhelmingly pleased. Their souls flickered purple, even if for only a second, but the heartache and relief she felt in that instant made her eyes water.
"Aw, Sans…!"
.
"Oh! Damn, the offkeys got you, too, huh?" Asriel said, pressing a hand to Sans's chest. His eyes went wide. "Wait, are you missing a finger?!"
"Are you okay?!" Frisk squeaked.
He shrugged and nodded. He patted the kid's head and bumped his brow on hers, holding it much longer than usual. Then, he pulled Asriel in to hold his face. His eyes skimmed him quickly. Somehow, he smiled even wider and squished the boy's cheeks.
"What, don't tell me you actually missed me?" Asriel teased.
Sans laughed, albeit silently, and he nodded. The kid smiled sheepishly. He grabbed the skeleton tight, too.
"Ah, same, y'old bonehead."
.
Sans's soul hummed happily. He wrapped his arms around both kids and slumped, cuddling them close. Frisk would have been content to just sit there for hours, but she knew things still weren't right. She sat up a little and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Okay, w-we gotta get things back to normal, right?" she said. "What do I gotta do?"
Sans stared, wide-eyed, for just a moment, almost as if he'd completely forgotten about the rest of the world.
"Reset, right?" she asked. "To before you passed out?"
He smiled fondly and rubbed her head. Shifting in his seat, he awkwardly grappled inside his pocket until he managed to grab phone. He hit redial, passed it to her, then held his hand out flat, drawing a circle on the palm with his finger.
"Oh! Yeah, okay, gotcha," She laughed at herself, quickly wiping her eyes. "Duh, that makes sense." She put it on speaker and leaned comfortably into Sans as it rang.
.
The phone clicked.
"Hi, dad," she said quickly.
"Hey, Uncle G, we're back!" Asriel called.
Silence. Some sort of vibration, but no answer to be heard.
"Uh." Frisk looked at Sans with a quizzical frown. "Crap, did it get him, too?"
Sans could only shrug.
"Dad?" Frisk asked.
"…Sweetheart." Gaster's voice was low and stiff. "I… Hah. Welcome home."
"I'm gonna reset to fix things, okay?" she said. "That's what we need, right?"
"It…It is, but—"
"Cool, so I'll see you in a sec?"
"…Three minutes? Just… Just give me three minutes?"
"Oh! Yeah! Sure, of course."
"Put it on a timer. I'll… I'll see you soon. I love you both."
.
The line went dead and Frisk set the timer on her phone. She smiled and Asriel reached out for her hands.
"Almost done," he said.
"I dunno why I feel so anxious!" she said with a laugh. She looked at Sans. "You can make it three minutes, right?"
He snorted and stuck a thumb up. Frisk grinned.
"You're not even gonna believe all the stuff that happened, it was totally nuts," she said.
"Good thing we took a buttload of photos," Asriel said. "Oh, and movies!" He whirled on Sans with a big grin. "Dude. We got magic books. A bunch of 'em."
Sans's eyes went wide.
"Oh, yeah!" Frisk said. "Really old ones and really new ones, too! You're gonna love it."
"Inter-dimensional snacks, too," Asriel said. "And coats."
"OH! We got you a coat. Or, well, we didn't get you a coat, some friends we met sent it for you. There's like a million things," Frisk said. "Okay, so—"
.
Sans held up a hand to pause her. His brows tilted and he brushed his hand across her head. She frowned in puzzlement.
"What?" she asked gently. "You're worried."
He scooped her hand up and wrote in her palm lightly with his sharp fingertip: "its a lot"
Frisk nodded. Sans's phone buzzed with a text from Gaster— he was faster than he'd thought he'd be, and was ready to go.
"He's good," she said. "You guys ready?"
"Yup," Asriel said. "I'll be at dad's, I think."
"Right, and I'll… Dang, I guess I'll be at the lab," she said. She sat up on her knees and hugged Sans around the shoulders, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be right back, okay? Meet you here?"
He dipped his head. She grinned, crossed her fingers into a heart, and then—
.
Frisk stumbled over herself, back in the bright lights and pale walls of the lab, only to meet Gaster's eyes as he stared at her with shock. The kid's stomach did a flip as she looked up into her father's familiar, cracked face. It felt so uncanny now, after everything. She couldn't help but beam.
"Hiya! I hope that wasn't too sudd—"
.
Gaster dropped to his knees and scooped her up. She squeaked in response as he trapped her in a hug. He buried his face against her and mumbled something low in Creatlach. His spiky soul pulsed a discordant sound across the room.
"Oomf, dad, y-you okay?" she asked.
"Oh, my little girl, a stór, mo leanbh, are you alright?!" he demanded frantically. He held her by the shoulders, staring into her face. His eyes were wide and flickering with purple and golden orange.
.
"Are your eyes okay?" she asked.
"They are, don't worry," he said swiftly. "Don't concern yourself with me for one second." His shoulders slumped and he squeezed her arms. "Please, are you alright?"
"Well, y-yeah! I mean, things went pretty crazy b-but I'm not, like, hurt or anything," she said.
The panicked lines on his brow softened. He cupped her face gently and then brushed both hands over her head before pulling her in to gently bump his brow against hers, gritting his teeth. Frisk's throat tightened a little and she reached up to touch his face.
"Dad, I'm okay," she said gently. "Asriel's okay."
"How long were you out there?"
"Oh. Uh. Maybe two… weeks? Little more? N-Not like a million years or anything."
"Oh thank god."
.
Gaster plopped back onto the floor, heaving out a long, tired sigh, and rubbed a hand over his face. Frisk's eyes bugged out.
"Dad, your hand!"
He blinked and looked at his hand. His bones were still dyed charcoal black. He shook his head quickly. "Don't worry about that. It's nothing."
"Yeah right!" She grabbed it from him and clasped her fingers tight around his.
A chill ebbed from those dark bones and she looked at him worriedly. He cracked an exhausted smile and ruffled her hair in reply.
"You're very kind. Don't worry. I promise, it's… It's alright.
"What happened? Stuff doesn't just change like—" Her eyes bugged out. "Oh crap, did I change history?!"
He laughed. "You did not. It's… leftover. From the time you reversed."
"How? Oooh no, you didn't do some weird determination experiments on yourself again, did you?!"
He shrugged lightly. "Well…"
"Dad!" she said shrilly. "You're okay, though? You're not gonna melt?!"
"Frisk, it's alright," he said with a quiet laugh. A glimmer of a tear came to his eye. "I'm… Hah. I'm just fine."
.
Frisk stared at him for a moment. She sighed softly and rushed to him, wrapping her arms around him. Her chest tightened. She felt safe there, especially as he held her again. Heart pounding, she gripped onto his shoulders with her strong little fingers.
"Dad?" Her voice cracked. "Missed you."
"You did?" There was a hint of genuine surprise in his voice.
"Yeah, duh."
He glowed softly and his grip tightened. "Oh, kiddo."
"Sorry I had to go do a big dumb thing right after you got here," she muttered.
He shook his head quickly. "Doubtless it's my fault."
She hated that he was right. "Aw, c'mon," she said.
"Frisk." He drew back a little to look at her very seriously. "I know it was an echo of myself that caused all of this. I'm a hundred percent sure of it."
Frisk cringed. "Um… Well…"
"It's alright. We can talk about it later, if you'd prefer."
"Yeeeeeah, I just… kinda wanna…" She sighed and gave him an apologetic smile. "Never mind, it's a mess. Love you, dude."
.
The skeleton's cheekbones flushed with a faint gradient of purple and orange. He smiled sympathetically and brushed her hair from her face. "You must've accomplished your goal, at least. You helped your brother."
Frisk nodded. "Yeah. Did a bunch of other junk, too." She smiled brightly and wiped her eyes. "I think it'll help a lot!"
.
Gaster stared back at her blankly. He gritted his teeth and touched his brow gently to hers again. "You two scared us half to death. I'm so glad you're okay."
"I know, I'm so sorry. Did things work out from what you said? Weird stuff happened here, right? You were okay after melting in the void goo?"
"Completely fine," he assured her. "Please don't worry yourself about me."
"And Sans had the offkeys, too, or something?" she asked.
"Ah. W-Well, um. We'll talk about that later," he said, letting her back on her feet. "Go see your brother."
"Okay. Y-Yeah. Makes sense." She backed up towards the tear in time. "Meet you back home! Oh! Found your phone out there, by the way. Is it okay if I borrow it just a bit more?"
"Wh…? Oh! Of course," he said.
She grinned. "Thanks!"
.
The kid grasped the light and was gone. Gaster stared after her, stunned; shivering, for a few long seconds. He would push himself into a corner and sob for ten minutes, but he would never tell anyone else that.