PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM Chapter 105: The part with the hugs and the wahwahwah, an undertale fanfic

The part with the hugs and the wahwahwah Chapter 105

As Frisk barrelled into the unfinished attic, Sans met her with open arms and they clunked onto the floor together. She hugged him as tight as she could, her small form wilting with relief. He huffed out a laugh and clutched her to his chest.

"Jeez, kiddo," he said quietly.

A tingle shot right up her spine at the sound of his voice. "Aah, there you are!" she said, all but melting. She felt light-headed. "Oh my god, I missed you so much."

"Same. I, uh…" He laughed, the sound rough and exhausted. "I missed you, too."

Frisk's throat tightened and she almost cracked right there. "You're really okay now, right?" She propped herself up and held his shoulders, looking up at him with big eyes. "Your head doesn't feel heavy anymore? And your soul, it's—" She felt it and leaned her ear in against his chest.

It wasn't off-key, but it was low. So, so low. She looked at him worriedly, but he merely grinned in reply.

"Nah, it's fine."

"Are you sure?" she insisted.

"Course I am."

She sighed, long and loud. He snickered. As he plunked his hand on top of her head, the kid's eyes glimmered with stars. His grin softened.

"Eyes changed colour, huh?"

"Oh. Yeah. I keep forgetting," she said with a sheepish smile. "Is it weird?"

"Kinda suits you," he said. He brushed his hand under her bangs, easily finding the new scar that cut above and through her eyebrow. "You look like you been through a lot."

Frisk couldn't help the big smile that crept over her. She felt so much at home looking into his pale, familiar face.

"What?" he asked.

"Ah—! Um. N-Nothing." She cleared her throat. "But, um, y-yeah, it was super crazy. We went to, like, a few different worlds. Like, totally weird, outside of ours."

Sans blinked. "Worlds, huh?" The way his brows bent, Frisk knew his soul had just about turned to ice.

"Yeah!" She scrambled to find the words. "D-Don't worry, though! The first one was the one that was kinda goofin' us up, the other one… Oh! It was that one with the weird curse? I fell in there because there was kinda this issue with another guy named Gaster, but they helped us get home." She grinned. "They were super nice, and they all said they hope you're okay. And then there was another one, way back in the past, and I learned some magic stuff. But it was, like… I mean, it was so stressful, too, and then when I heard what was happening here— Ugh. And it was so hard to figure out how the heck to even get back, and… and I'm so glad to be home."

Sans stared back at her blankly for a few seconds. His grin widened. He snuggled her and slumped in a heap, limp as a skeleton could get. "Tell me all about it later, alright?"

Frisk curled up. Any tension left in her drained from her small frame as she let it out in a long, deep sigh. Her brother's hum thrummed gently, betraying him more than anything he'd said as his hard fingers clenched into her sweatshirt.

"We were gone too long, huh?" she asked.

"Nah, no time at all," he said quietly.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be."

His voice cracked just a little at the end of his sentence and the kid looked up at him with wide, worried eyes. He was beaming at her despite the big shiny tears running down his smooth cheeks.

"You really are somethin' else, huh?"

"Aw, bro!" Frisk couldn't help but reach out to hold his face. "Sorry for makin' you cry. Again."

"Pffff. Nah. Needed to, I think." He puffed out a deep, satisfied sigh. "Aaaaah shit."

"I'll show you everything later, okay? I have so much to tell you."

"Can't wait." He slumped and bumped his forehead on hers. "…Maybe I can."

Their souls shifted over to purple and Frisk understood why her brother had been holding back. He was absolutely aching, through every note in his soul. She gawked at him and his cheekbones flushed purple, too. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and her throat caught.

"What a friggin' bunch of trash, huh?" she said, smiling weakly.

"Oh yeah." He laughed again and ruffled her hair. "Hate to put you through all that."

"I was gonna s-say the same thing to you." She snickered and knuckled at her eyes. "…You're worth it."

"Kiddo, c'mon—"

"I'm serious," she said. "Plus you've done crazy things to save me, too. Or even just… normal things."

He held her cheek carefully, brushing his thumb over the scar near the corner of her eye. "And look how that went, huh?"

"I really love that scar," she said.

He looked perplexed for a moment, but she just smiled wider and held his hand. His eye brightened purple and his expression twisted downwards. Tears bubbled up in his eye sockets again. She cooed sympathetically at him and pulled him in to gently smooch his forehead, then bonked her brow lightly against his. He huffed and crushed her into a hug again. She sunk right in.

"Crap," he said quietly. He snickered, his voice hoarse. "You, uh, really mess me up sometimes, you know that?"

"I know," she said.

xXxXx

When the reset hit, Asriel only had an instant to consider that he couldn't remember what he'd been doing around the time trouble started before he found himself mid-step in his father's home. He bleated despite himself and stuck a hand out to catch the wall.

"Damn," the boy mumbled, clapping his opposite palm to his head and huffing out a sigh. "Okay. Oookay. Uh." He glanced around quickly to ground himself. He was in a hallway. He gave the nearest door a light shove and caught sight of the edge of a dresser. "Okay. Bedroom. Right."

He looked down at his paws. His pants were a little short, but he certainly wasn't almost six-foot-or-more off the ground. Nor was he made of any bark or wood, he assured himself as he checked over his arms and legs. He reached up and felt his horns, gently prodding the pads of his thumbs with their tips. He couldn't really tell if they were longer or not. Having been through so many different forms since he left home, he couldn't recall what state he'd left in.

A quick shake of his head, his ears flopping back and forth, and he took a moment to gather himself. He drew in a long, deep breath, blowing it out in a sigh of flame. For some reason, that soothed his nerves a little. He rubbed his palms over his eyes. They already ached.

"Dad?" he called. He couldn't remember where Asgore had been, either. "Hey, dad?"

An earthquake of pawsteps shook the house and the King of monsters filled the hall. For a second, they gawked at each other. Asriel was sure he looked a little different and, somehow, the huge man's left eye was crimson.

Before either of them could say a word, Asgore blurted out some noise in between shock, fear, and laughter, and the boy already knew that his father knew too much. He smiled apologetically, only for the grand monster to launch forward, drop to his knees, and wrap him up in his massive arms. Asriel's soul just about dropped to his feet. A sharp gasp rushed between his teeth before he could help it.

Asgore cooed and nuzzled his big, soft snout against his son's head, and Asriel wilted and clung to him.

"H-Hi, dad," he said quietly. "Sorry."

"No. No no no, no, son, don't…" Asgore breathed out a long sigh before he pulled back, holding the boy by the shoulders, his face twisted with pain. "Are you alright? Is your sister alright?"

"Yeah, but what about you?" Asriel asked.

Asgore's lip almost quivered before his grimace pulled back into a tired, fangy smile. He dragged the boy in against his chest again before taking a deep, steadying breath. "Oh… I'm fine. I'm… I'm just fine, son."

"Are you sure? You sound like you're about to cry."

The old monster huffed out a tired laugh, his shoulders sinking. He stroked Asriel's head, preening the boy's fur with his claws. "Don't you worry about your old man," he said. "Everything… Everything is just fine."

"Okay, sure, but… your eye is different."

Asgore paused. He pulled back with a deer-in-the-headlights expression on his face. He cautiously pointed up at his left side. Asriel nodded. Asgore snorted in amusement and gently wiped at the fur beneath his eyes with his fingertips.

"I may have to ask Frisk about that." He paused. His flopped ears lifted just a smidge and he smiled. With a fond laugh, he pulled the boy into his arms again. "Aah, we have a lot to talk about, don't we?"

"Oooh, my god, so much," Asriel said. "Do you, uh, remember the whole time we were gone?"

"I think I do. But. Asriel. How…? Where in the world were you?"

"Uuuuh. That's… probably about five different answers, kinda?" The boy grimaced. "Okay. Uh." He took a deep breath and leaned back to look at his father apologetically. "There's so much."

Asgore settled onto the floor more comfortably and patted Asriel's back. "Take your time."

The boy nodded. His thoughts fumbled. He was starting to feel an ache in his soul that he knew wasn't his.

"Okay. Uh, First. We're fine. Me and Frisk, I mean. We're both fine," he said. "And… And there's…" Chara flashed through his head and he suddenly didn't know what to say anymore. "There's… uh…"

"Oh, my boy… Is it hard to talk about?" Asgore asked, rubbing his son's back. "It must've been so scary."

"No, not that. It was… stressful, but it wasn't…" Asriel shook his head. "Hell, I've been scarier than anything I saw out there," he muttered.

When Asgore's eyes bugged out, Asriel stumbled for anything else to say.

"I-It's just… I'm tryin' to figure out what to even start with. Uh." He gulped. "Okay. We, uh, brought stuff back."

Asgore's brow wrinkled with puzzlement. "…Brought what back?"

"Books. Crystals. Magic." Asriel grabbed his father's arm. "Dad. W-Where we went, they didn't… They didn't lose everything. There wasn't a war, at least not like what completely wrecked us here. "

Asgore's eyes widened. He clicked his tongue as if it had suddenly gone as dry as sand. "I… I'm not sure I understand," he said, his voice a little hoarse.

"I know, it's a lot. A lot," Asriel said swiftly. "But we… If we wanted. Everything can change. Your Kingdom, it could be… It could be so…" He shook his head. "Bah, Frisk is much better at this crap."

"Asriel, what do you m—?"

"We weren't just gone. We weren't in the void, we were in other worlds," The boy continued. "There was one we got stuck in; that's why it took so long to get back."

"Stuck… in…" The huge monster put a hand to his brow. "You… were trapped?!"

"Not trapped, like, on purpose, it's just their way to the void was…" Asriel shook his head again. "Look, we gotta get everyone together and… and explain everything, okay? There's so much stuff. Sorry, I just barely even know what to say. But Frisk has like, all the pictures and—"

"The pictures?!"

"Yeah." Asriel got to his feet. "Look. I… I need to go check on Sans. And mom. We… Me and Frisk, we have so much to tell you, but I gotta—"

Asgore's eyes bugged out. "Oh, god, I almost forgot." He nodded swiftly. "Don't worry. Go. I can meet you in Snowdin, soon."

Asriel opened his mouth as if to protest, but he swiftly thought better of it. "O-Okay, just… we might need a few hours to, like… get our heads on right, I guess? Before we… you know, go into everything."

"I understand," Asgore said. He gave the boy another big, cozy hug. "You're so brave."

The hall was suddenly very warm. Asriel's knees weakened. His fingers gripped tight into his father's shirt.

"Ah… crap. Thanks," he whispered. He felt like he weighed as much as the mountain. He just wanted to sink into the floor.

"You… sound tired, son," Asgore said quietly. "You seem as if… you've grown a bit, since your adventure."

"Y-Yeah, I, uh… I think I'm a little taller?"

A deep chuckle rumbled in his father's chest. "That's… true, but it's not what I meant."

Asriel's mind did a little flip of confusion before he thought back to before he'd left. A chill ran through his body, down to the very ends of his fur. He grimaced. Another thing that had completely slipped past his notice. He'd forgotten his false voice; he'd neglected to choose his words carefully.

"Dad, I… Uh…" He grimaced. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

Asriel drew back, ears drooped. "I-I… Uh. This is… This is… normal. For me."

Asgore cocked his head to the side. The boy's pale eyes darted away and he sighed and cursed under his breath.

"I, uh… I'm sorry," he muttered. "I… I was… tryin' to make it so you wouldn't worry, y'know?"

"I'm not sure I understand," Asgore said.

"Wh…? What's not to understand? I'm… Ugh. I was lying. About… y'know." The boy crossed his arms tight against his chest. "Being… how I was. Being like a really… naïve kid, like I was."

"Why—?"

"It doesn't have anything to do with what just happened. I'm not the same as I was. Before I… You know. Before I died," Asriel said. "Ever since I got my body and a soul back, I was never going to be the same. So… So I… I wanted to… I just didn't… want you to think you really… lost the me you knew for good, y'know?"

Asgore's face softened. He looked at the floor for a few long moments, his brows growing heavy. Finally, he reached out to pat Asriel on the shoulder gently.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"…Huh?!" Asriel bleated. "What for?! I'm the one apologizing!"

His father cracked a warm, sad smile. "I'm sorry that you ever felt like you had to hide a part of who you are around me, son."

"Wh…?! No, no, it's not like that!" Asriel yelped. "You didn't do anything wrong! I just… I thought…" He sighed heavily, staring off at the wall. Meeting his father's eyes felt far too intense. He muttered, "I… thought if you… if you knew you couldn't fix me, after all this crap, that… that it'd break your heart."

Asgore's eyes widened and he couldn't help a little chuckle. He brushed a hand across one of his son's soft, floppy ears. "Who ever said anything about you needing fixing?"

Asriel jolted, whipping around to look at his father, wide-eyed. Asgore simply smiled at him. The boy's eyes misted before he could help it and he quickly wiped them, laughing hoarsely at himself.

"C-Crap," he said.

"Oh…" Asgore cooed fondly and pulled Asriel in for yet another hug. "Asriel… I'm so glad you're home."

Asriel sniffled despite himself, but he smiled. "Y-Yeah. Me too."

xXxXx

It took a bit of time before Frisk and Sans were able to drag themselves out of the attic. If it were up to the skeleton, he would have just flopped there in a heap for the rest of the day— maybe the rest of the week. To see his sister's face and not have the uncomfortable impermanence lingering in his head was more of a relief than he could articulate. He kind of wanted to keep squishing her cheeks or toting her around to just to make sure she was still there, but he refrained. There was still a lot more things she had to do before they could all just fall over and veg out.

Stepping down into what had become Toriel's room again, the kid paused. She tested her feet on the carpet as if it was a foreign feeling, and she looked around, eyes skimming every detail. Sans, though, was still watching her. It was hard for him not to. Against all logic, he had this feeling as if she might just blink away before his eyes.

"So, uh. Frisk." Sans halted her with a hand on her shoulder before she made it to the door. He couldn't help a grin at the sense of the kid's name reverberating around his his skull. "Friskit. Friskabob. Friskeroni."

Frisk giggled, shooting him a bright-eyed smile. "What?"

"Pff. Sorry."

She looked up at him inquisitively and he rubbed the back of his skull.

"Time crap. Couldn't, uh… Couldn't hold your name in my head right for a while."

"O-Oh, heck, it was that bad?" Frisk asked.

He shrugged. "Eh."

"I'm sorry," she said. Her eyes bugged out. "Yo, why didn't you ask me what my name was?!"

He smiled sideways. "What, that wouldn'ta made you feel like crap?"

"Who cares?! This was more important."

Sans couldn't help a little light in his eyes. He shook his head. "S'okay. Gotcha a couple nicknames."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhm. Paps was callin' you Crabapple Kid for a bit 'cause I guess he saw ya with one in some… memory thing."

Frisk smiled bashfully. "That's cute. But, like. Dang, though, it was crazy here, huh?"

"We'll, uh… We'll talk it all out."

She gave him a puzzled, skeptical look and he fondly ruffled her hair. She sighed and held her arms out to hug him again. He certainly wasn't going to say no to it.

"S'okay. You're alright, huh?" he said.

"I'm fine; I want you to be fine!" she insisted.

Sans blinked. After a few seconds, he couldn't help a snicker. He patted her head as she drew back look up up at him quizzically. "Heh. Don't worry 'bout it too much, yet," he said. "But, uh. There's a reason I stopped you."

"Are we gonna jump Papyrus?" she asked, her eyes taking on a starry sheen. "Oooh, my god, Papyrus— I'm gonna cry so hard when I see him, you don't even know."

"You'll be alright," he said.

"Nuh-uh, I'm gonna be a mess," she said. "Sorry, wait, so, what's up?"

"Uh." Sans winced. "Thing is. Actually, kinda worried. 'Bout Tori."

"What about her?" Frisk asked swiftly. "Is she okay?"

"Course she is. But she… Her grasp on… Y'know. Resets has never been as good as ours."

"It hasn't?" Frisk's brow furrowed and she thought back. "…But I did a couple short ones, right? And those were okay?"

"Yeah, but, uh… Sometimes, the longer it's been, it's not… perfect for her."

"Oh." Frisk's eyes widened. "Oooooh."

"Yeah."

"Dang." Frisk let out a little huff. "That… explains some stuff."

"Yeeeeah."

The kid pouted. She crossed her arms as her heart thumped hard in her chest. She looked up at her brother. All she wanted to do was cling to him. With a scrunched up face, she grabbed his hand. Her finger traced over an unfamiliar gap in its side and, with a jolt in her soul, she swiftly turned it to look. There was a thin, red scar in the bone.

"Bro, what?!" she squeaked.

"Oh. Heh." He lifted his hand to look at the gouge. "Guess it stuck."

"But—!" She grabbed at his other hand and ran her fingers over the spot his third digit was missing from. "Dude! You get in a fight with, like, a time guy or something?!"

"Why, are there a lot of time guys out there?" Sans asked, grinning.

"Way more than I want!" Her eyes were wide with worry and exasperation. "I can fix them."

"Nah."

"Nah?!"

"Give it a feel," he said. "Kinda doubt there's any time threads to even yank back, if it ain't back after reset."

"But…!" Frisk clenched his hand tight and focussed on the finger. She squeezed her eyes shut tight. It only took her the briefest of seconds to realize he was right. "…Oh. Heck. It's… Dang, it's like it was never even there."

"Thought so," he said. He winked. "Guess I gotta hi-four with that hand, but it's a sacrifice I'm willin' to make. Oh. And check this out." He held up his scarred hand and lit his eye up with blue. The scar copied it.

"Ooh." She perked up with a spark of hope in her eyes. "So… it doesn't hurt?"

"Nah."

The kid's shoulders drooped and she blew out a little sigh. "W-Well… That's good. But, still, that's kinda—"

A thud from upstairs jarred her from her thoughts and she spun around just in time to see Asriel stumble down into the room from the attic.

"Howdy," he blurted.

"Az!" Frisk squeaked.

Sans raised his hand. "Hey, kid."

"You—!" Asriel sprinted over and and grabbed the skeleton's shoulders. "Are you staying alive this time?!"

"Think so," Sans said.

"Oh!" Frisk quickly pulled out her phone and checked the clock. There were some unread texts alerts there as well, but she let herself get distracted by that, yet. "It's…! It's super close to the time!"

"How d'you feel?" Asriel demanded.

"Dunno. Kinda smooth, I guess," the skeleton said. "Little bit cold?" He tilted his head. "You been cryin'?"

"Shut it." Asriel frowned as he shoved his ear against Sans's chest. "So you're sure you're not feeling sick?"

"Not any more than usual," Sans said, holding in a laugh.

Frisk stared at him intently. "For real, though?"

A big, warm smile spread across the skeleton's face. There was a little flicker of blue in his eye. He plunked his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "Honestly, feelin' better than I have in months."

"…We weren't gone for months, right?" she asked, her voice cracking a little.

The skeleton snorted out a laugh. "No. No, not, uh… Not that long."

"Sheesh," she muttered. "Good."

"He sounds… okay," Asriel finally decided. "But—"

"Low, right?" Frisk said. She bit her lip and stared intently at her phone screen; the seconds seemed to be racing by.

"Yeah. Real low." The boy pulled back and looked at Sans with a questioning frown. "You back down to one again?"

"Probably," Sans said.

"Ah, crap, sorry," Asriel said. "We tried to get back as fast as we could, but—"

"I know y'did, don't sweat it."

"Ummm, I… I think the time passed?" Frisk's eyes shot up to her eldest brother. "S-So?"

He shrugged. Asriel reached up and grabbed the skeleton's head and shook him back and forth a little.

"How's it feel? Heavy?"

"Uh. Nope."

Asriel scrunched up his snout. "I don't hear any sloshing."

"It was like silent void goo before, though, remember?" Frisk said.

"Oh, crap."

"Do you remember how bad it felt before?" Frisk asked Sans. "You seemed to kinda not when I grabbed you on the second try."

"Guys." He was trying not to laugh as he straightened up and gave Asriel a pat on the head. "Look. 'Preciate it. But I'm pretty sure I'm—"

A loud thump and the clatter of metal stalled Sans and made the kids jump. The skeleton's brows raised and he put a hand on Frisk's shoulder to pull her back a pace from the doorway. A flurry of footsteps and the door all but smashing off its hinges a moment later proved that to be the correct choice.

Toriel surged into the room in a blaze, eyes burning red with magic, loudly demanding, "Sans, what happ—?!" She faltered, the panicked fluffing of the fur on her neck slowly smoothing at the sight before her. Her jaw dropped.

Frisk, however, had the startled thunk of her heart switch on dime to a deep, longing ache. Her face stretched in a grin and her eyes welled up. "Mom!" her voice cracked and she sprinted straight to Toriel.

Toriel wheezed out a sigh as she fell to her knees. She wrapped the kid tight in her arms, burying her snout into her daughter's hair for just a moment before she reached out and yanked the boys in against her, kissing them all over their faces.

"Oh, dear, oh dear," she muttered. A laugh bubbled up from her throat. "Oooh, you're home. You're home… Ahh… You are… Oh, my god." She drew back, absolutely beaming. "Look at you."

"H-Hi, mom," Asriel said sheepishly.

"Hi yourself, you silly boy," she cooed, cupping his cheeks. "Ah…" She turned to Sans, who looked a little stunned. "Oh. Sans. You look so much better. Thank god."

"I…?" The skeleton blinked. "Tori, wait," he said. "…Everythin' that happened since the kids left, do you—?"

"Every second of it," she said. "I felt as if I was in a daze for a few minutes, but—"

The skeleton stood up and threw his arms around her shoulders, crushing her into a hug. She buckled and embraced him tightly.

"I… Hah. I promised, did I not?" she said softly.

"…D-Don't gimme that, Tori, I'm gonna lose it," Sans croaked.

She laughed and kissed him on the head. He melted.

Frisk grinned. She grabbed tight to Asriel as tears streamed down her face. Her throat hurt and she was afraid if she said a word, she'd burst into sobs. The boy caught on; gave her a squish and nuzzled her head.

Toriel carefully released Sans. She bumped her snout against his brow, then let him take a moment of space before she rounded on the kids and, gently tutting, cupped Frisk's face in her huge, soft hands.

"Oh, sweetheart." she said softly.

"Missed you," Frisk managed to force out.

"I missed you too," Toriel said. "We all missed you both, so much."

"I-I'm sorry all this—"

"No. No, my child, no."

"We are, though," Asriel said quietly. "We heard j-just a little, y'know? Of how it was getting bad. We didn't mean to take so long."

"Of course you didn't, sweetie," Toriel said. She kissed him on the forehead. "Do not worry for even a moment more about it, alright? Everything… Everything is fine." She took a quiet, deep breath. "Have…? Have you both talked to your fathers?"

Frisk nodded.

"Y-Yeah. Was with him at reset," Asriel said. "I think he's heading here."

"Can't imagine the old man's not bookin' it back this way, too," Sans said.

Frisk nodded again. She sniffled hard and rubbed at her eyes. Sans plopped down onto the floor behind her and let her slump against him. She gulped but her throat ached.

"Wh-Where's Papyrus?" she asked.

Sans looked puzzled. He turned to Toriel. Her brow furrowed in thought for a moment before she perked up.

"If I'm remembering correctly, he was out for groceries around this time," she said.

"Oh. Yeah. True. I remember him comin' up the steps after I passed out," Sans said.

"Uh. Huh?!" Asriel said.

"Time machine crap, don't worry 'bout it," the skeleton said dismissively. He scooted to the side and leaned around his sister, hooked his thumb onto his sleeve, and gently brushed the tears from her face. "Hey. Betcha could catch 'im comin' outta Waterfall real soon."

Frisk perked. "Y-Yeah?"

He nodded. The kid quickly wiped her eyes and jumped to her feet.

"I-I'm gonna!"

Sans grinned. "Go get 'im."

Frisk was up and out of the room in an instant, rushing down through the home she had missed so much and throwing the front door open to a flurry of snow. Even that bluster carried a familiar sound of home.

She ran through the falling snow and sharp wind, heart pounding so hard in her ears that she could hardly hear anything else. It felt like it'd been forever since she'd seen her brother.

As she neared the cavern's maw, she saw a streak of red through the white and she shielded her eyes with her hand and squinted. Hope sparked in her chest. "Paps?" she called.

Just a few more steps forward and the snow broke enough that she could see him up the road. His eyes were glowing and he froze in place the second he saw her. Frisk's eyes watered, she grinned, and she broke into a sprint to meet him. He dropped to his knees and opened his arms wide.

She jumped him, grabbing him around the neck and he pulled her in tightly, resting his head against hers. His bones were rattling and, much to her shock, he started to sniffle.

"P-Papyrus?" she squeaked.

"…I missed you," he said quietly. "Wow, gosh, I missed you so much."

Frisk's heart thunked. She squeezed him and let her soul connect to his in a warming, orange burst. It ached just as much as Sans's had. The kid gulped heavily and she held her big brother as steady as she could.

"S-Sorry," she said. "I missed you, too."

Papyrus laughed quietly and the sound of it lit Frisk's heart.

"I-It was such a mess without you and Asriel," he said. "I'm so g-glad you're home. Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's… Paps, what happened?" she asked. "Everyone's all freaked out, too, and—"

"It's fine. You're home and you're safe and it's fine." He snickered and pulled back with a big grin on his face. "…I just got your texts and I dropped allllll the things back in Waterfall."

Frisk snorted and laughed. "Sorry. I'll help you pick 'em up."

He cupped her cheek and sat, staring at her as if in disbelief for a few moments. He bumped his brow against her head. He tried to say something, but his voice caught and he huffed. Tears ran down his face as he slumped around her. "I-I might need a minute."

"Take all the minutes." She patted his back. "Love you, Paps. Love you a million times."

Any semblance of composure he'd retained flowed away as he began to cry in earnest. She couldn't hold it together either, but she could hold him as they wept out in the blizzard, shielded by the warmth of their souls.

Asriel caught up to them quickly. He paused when he saw them, though, and awkwardly waited in the snow, unsure of what to do or say. He almost turned back to the house, but his soul was seized in blue and he sailed over and into Papyrus's arms, squished into a warm embrace beside his sister. He grunted, but couldn't help a laugh as he gave the skeleton a hug, too.

"H-Hey, Paps," he said quietly.

"Little brother, it's…! Ah!" The skeleton sniffled hard and wiped his face, but he was quickly beaming despite his watery eye sockets. "It's so good to see you!"

"Yeah! You, too!" He reached up, grasping Papyrus's head so he could gently pull him down to bump their brows together. "Shit, it's… It feels like it's been a year."

"Right?!" Frisk said shrilly, wiping her face. The kid's cheeks were all flushed and the skin around her eyes looked dark and puffy. She smooshed the heels of her hands against her temples and dragged them down her cheeks. "Ugh, I'm a mess. Didn't I say I'd be a huge mess?"

"You're okay," Asriel assured her.

"You do look cold and exhausted, though, little sister," Papyrus said sympathetically. "Why don't you go home and warm up?"

"No way!" She sniffled again and grabbed Papyrus's hand. "L-Let's go to Waterfall together, okay?"

The skeleton's eyes gleamed. "I… I would really like that, actually, if you don't mind." He grinned sheepishly. "But, can you tell mom and Sans we'll be a bit late? I maaaay have sort of dropped my phone somewhere at the same time as I dropped all the groceries."

"Who could blame ya? She's been using you as a diary since we left," Asriel teased gently, nudging his sister in the side with his elbow.

She snickered quietly, blushing a little, and gave a shrug. "…It was helpful."

Papyrus cooed and swooped the small kid up into his arms and she instantly flopped over his shoulders.

There was that feeling again. Frisk clung tight to him and she was suddenly so cozy she could have fallen straight to sleep. Her brother rubbed her back and turned right around to face Waterfall.

"Come on, you two, lets get out of here before our tears freeze us straight to the ground," he joked.

"You're too warm, they could never," Frisk mumbled.

Papyrus cackled, a big, fond smile spreading on his face. He beckoned to Asriel. "Would you like a lift, too? I have two arms, after all!"

"I'm good," Asriel said with a smile. "Just focus on Frisk, she's been a wreck."

"It's truuuee," Frisk sighed.

"That's alright!" Papyrus assured them as he headed back to the darker cavern. "As you should know, dealing with wrecks and messes of all kinds is one of my many specialities!"

Just a few paces into Waterfall, out of the wind and the snow, Frisk realized her phone was buzzing. From her spot over her brother's shoulder, she checked it. The text alerts she'd neglected earlier had more than quadrupled. She awkwardly wiped her eyes and opened them up.

Messages from Sans were stacked high, but they weren't increasing. Ones from Undyne and Alphys were, however.

"Uuuuuh. Guys," she said. "I'm getting messages like crazy."

"So I guess the memory thing is… mostly okay, then?" Asriel said hopefully.

"I hope so."

"I think it will be! But! It might be confusing for a couple people. Especially for Alphys, I think. Oh!" Papyrus turned his eyes on Asriel and squished Frisk a little tighter. "You didn't happen to talk to mom at all, did you?"

"She's good," Asriel said. "She remembers. Sans, too."

"That's a given," Papyrus said. "That's great about mom, though!" He couldn't help his smile from widening as one hand traced to his chest. "Nyeh heh, it's so nice to not be worried about Sans just becoming a heap of dust on the ground, let me tell you."

"Dang it, I knew it was bad!" Frisk said shrilly.

Papyrus's brows shot up. "What, he didn't—?" He frowned and his expression dropped to a pout. "Oh. Of course he didn't," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"He said he was fine," Asriel said. He paused and stuck his thumb over his shoulder. "Should I go back?"

"Nooo, no no, don't worry," Papyrus assured him. "If there was something wrong, I'd feel it. Or I'd apparently start spacing out completely and one of you would notice it for sure."

"But he was really just gonna become a dust pile?!" Frisk asked.

"Wellllllll…"

"Papyrus," she whined. "Please?"

"Iiiiiit was slightly countdown-timery," he admitted. "But inconsistent? Because of the time jumping all over the place thing. You… knew about that, right?"

"Dad kinda said something about it when he came through where I was." Frisk could already feel her chest tightening with anxiety. "Okay. Okay okay. It's… Ohmigod, I'm so sorry, Paps."

"Shush, you silly Frisk," he said. "I know… Whatever happened. Whatever you did. It was to save Sans. And you did! If I could have come with you, I would have." He smiled sheepishly. "But I kind of ended up being needed here quite a bit so maybe it's better that I stayed."

"Oh, crap, if all three of us were gone, Sans's head probably wouldda just exploded," Asriel said.

"Oh, yes, it absolutely would have," Papyrus agreed.

"Buhhhh…" Frisk grumbled.

As Papyrus snickered and patted her back, she turned her attention back to her phone. She tapped on Sans's messages first.

There was a lot. Words. Photos. Videos. Frisk felt sick. He'd been using her phone the same way she'd been using Papyrus's. Though she didn't have time to read all of it yet, she did see that, at least, the hearts she'd sent had gone through sometime recently. She texted him first, just a quick message to relay what they were doing like Papyrus had asked. Before she had a chance to tap to the next set of messages, he replied.

"hey" he said. "sorry 4 all the othr notes if u just got those"

"no! dont be sorry its ok i did that 2 paps too" Frisk assured him swiftly. "wuld hav also sent 2 u but i didnt think u were awake"

"lol fair" A pause. "its weirdly nic reply pop up"

"i know right?"

"lol"

She sent him a few more text hearts. He replied with one, and she couldn't help a grin. Then, she moved on to Alphys's messages.

uh?

UHHHHHH?

omg frisk?

That was a reset, right?

DID THINGS GET FIXED?

OMG

やった !

sweeeetiieee you did so good!

LOL sorry i guess you're right about the worry thing. 3

do you know if your dad is still here?

My memories feel itchy again LMAO

please answer if you can

Frisk's heart thunked. She hurriedly sent Alphys a message back. "HI WE R HOME! sorry sorry sorry things should be ok now i hope" She hit send, and then hurriedly continued. "every1 is meeting at our house"

A moment passed and she received a message of hearts and sparkles and smiling text cat faces in reply. She blew out a sigh of relief.

"Alphys is okay," she said. "I still gotta text Undyne. Uhh… Is there anyone else?"

"I dunno, not that I can think of," Asriel said.

"Suzy?" Papyrus suggested.

Frisk's eyes widened. "Suzy!"

"That kid that helped you out?" Asriel wondered.

"She actually helped out several of us!" Papyrus said with a smile. "You'll like her. For sure."

"I-I don't have her number," Frisk said. "Does she live around here?"

"Uhh… Oh! I think she was in New Home, actually," Papyrus said. "Nyooo, shoot, I actually have no idea where her house is. I'm sorry."

"Dang. Uh." Frisk pouted, but she moved on to Undyne's messages. "We'll find her, right?"

"Of course we will!"

"Wait, tell me about this stuff," Asriel said with a confused frown.

"Oh! Well, okay, so, Sans was accidentally shifting through time and space at one point and this mysterious little purple girl helped pull him out of a river and—!"

Frisk quickly turned back to the phone as her brothers continued. Undyne's texts were even more frantic than Alphys's had been.

KIDDO

HOLY SHIT

SORRY FOR SWEARING! dont tell your mom

i think we're okay? are YOU OKAY?

HEY

FRISK

HEY CAN YOU ANSWER PLEASE?

ARE YOUR BROTHERS OKAY?

COME ON YOU LITTLE PUNK YOU GOTTA REPLY

NOBODYS ANSWERING TEXTS?

NOT EVEN PAPYRUS?

IM GONNA LOSE IT

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

DID YOU SEE THAT ONE?

AFLKJLAFJLSAKJFALKJLKJFFALK

listen ok im coming to your house

wait i gotta get alphys

wait ok im checkin on sans first i can't remember if he's alive or not

call me?

CALL ME ASAP

Frisk's heart just about dropped to her feet. She smushed the call button near Undyne's name as hard as she could and shoved her phone against her ear. It only rang once.

"WHAT?!" Undyne's voice was so loud that it made Frisk's ear ring and Papyrus and Asriel stop dead in their tracks.

It wasn't only that, though. Her voice was bouncing off walls deep in the darkness of the cave, too.

"Undyne?!" Frisk squirmed to turn and Papyrus instinctively facilitated her. "I can hear you somewhere, I think?!"

A plethora of muffled swears spluttered from the phone's speaker and the line went dead.

"Captain? Is that you?!" Papyrus called as Asriel caught a laugh behind his hand.

A swift pounding on stone erupted from the tunnel and, like a typhoon, Undyne was upon them. She seized Papyrus and Frisk in her strong arms, lifting the mildly alarmed skeleton off his feet and giving him a spin. As soon as his boots hit the ground, she snatched the kid from him and hugged her tight. Frisk squeaked, but she gladly wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulders.

"Ooooh my god," Undyne grumbled. She yanked Asriel right off the ground and crushed him against her chest. "You guys—!"

"H-Hi—!"

"Hi yourself, fuzzball!" She blew out a rough sigh and let him back down, but Frisk already had a tight, koala-like hold on her. She shifted the kid to the crook of her arm and mussed up her hair. "Aaah, there you are!"

"It's super good to see you," Frisk said.

"Yeah?! You, too! But why did nobody pick up their damn phones?!"

"Sorrrrry, I was like, busy crying a lot?" the kid said with a bashful smile.

"Yeah, I can see that!"

"Unfortunately, I'm fairly sure I dropped mine in a big pile of foodstuffs in some cave somewhere," Papyrus said.

"I left my phone in another universe," Asriel added with a shrug.

"You WHAT?!" Undyne barked.

"Wait, Az. Reset," Frisk said. "You might have it again."

The boy's eyes widened. "Oh, shit, maybe." He began to pat down the pockets on his sweatshirt.

Undyne gawked. She shook her head. "Wh…? Okay, whatever, deal with it later. Uh." She looked between the three with a raised brow. "Seein' as… you two aren't complete wrecks and…" She levelled a claw at Papyrus. "…you aren't catatonic, that must mean Sans is alright, yeah?"

"He's fine," Frisk said, her words already oozing relief. "He's… He's good. I mean, he's not good good, he's down to the one health point thingy again, but he's… normal."

"Status quo again, it seems!" Papyrus said, perking right up. "Which is more than good enough for me! As long as that's the spot, we can work through anything. He's been there for a long time, and I'm sure a little sunlight can start to drag him back up again after a while."

The fish monster's eye glimmered and she bared her sharp teeth in a bright, wide grin. "That's great!" She focused on the skeleton again. "So, uh. Did my plan work?"

"Oh, my gosh, absolutely!" he said. "It was perfect! I've never seen him so… Well! You did him a lot of good! Which seems to sort of be a trend at this point, actually."

"Wait, what's that mean?" Frisk asked.

"Ah!" Asriel finally yanked a phone from the pockets of his pants. "You were right! Oh. It was off, though."

"Prepare for like twenty texts from me," Undyne said.

"What was your plan, though?" Frisk insisted.

Undyne's brows lifted, as did her ear fins. She looked at Papyrus with a quizzical frown. "Uh. Does…? Does she know…?"

"I don't think so," he said.

"Know what?" Frisk couldn't help the exasperated look on her face. "Guys!"

"How much d'you know about what went down here?" the fish monster asked. "Your bro give you the rundown?"

"All I know is there was a big mess of time moving all chaos-y and there was a helpful purple kid and now a… a health point countdown or something, and my dad almost turned to goo for a minute and he has a weird arm now and Sans is missing a finger," Frisk said.

"Uh." Undyne scratched her head. "Wasn't he always missing a finger?"

"No, that's new," Asriel said.

"It's time stuff," Frisk said. "But, the plan!"

"Look. Frisk. Don't sweat it, okay?" Undyne said. "We'll… Y'know. I'm sure we can tell you guys all about everything, soon. Hell, I missed some chunks of stuff, too, so we'll be in the same boat for that part."

Frisk's eyes widened. Papyrus slid a bit closer and smiled reassuringly.

"It was all fine!" he said. "It was all completely and totally fine."

"Paps, that makes it super obvious that it wasn't," Asriel said.

"What?! No it doesn't! And besides! It's true! There was just…" His grin cricked ever so slightly to the side. "You know. A little bit of trials, a little bit of tribulations; a little bit of time shenanigans. But of course, you knew that, right?"

"We're kinda still doing the hug circuit, there wasn't time to go into many details yet."

"Hm. Frisk's favourite part, I bet," Undyne joked, giving the kid a little squish.

"Yeeeeah, kinda," Frisk said. She looked up at the big monster curiously. "Hey, um, you wouldn't know how to find Suzy, would you?"

Undyne's face scrunched for a second, but then her ears perked. "Oh! Suzy, right! Ah. Uh…" She scratched her chin. "Hmm."

"Can she wait until tomorrow?" Asriel asked.

"She kinda helped save my life, though," Frisk said.

"Yeah, I know, but we gotta go over so much junk with everyone."

"And I actually have no idea where she lives. I don't think we ever found it," Undyne said. "Well. Don't worry. I'll get someone on it."

"Thanks," Frisk said.

"We ever find her sister, Paps?"

"We diiiiid, but I don't remember if I actually caught her name," he said.

"Ah." Undyne chuckled. "Back to square one, I guess. Oh well."

With a final pat on the head, Undyne put Frisk down on the ground and she looked around. "So, uh, what were you guys doing out here, anyway?"

"We were just taking a little breather to go get all the stuff I dropped," Papyrus said as he began to stroll again. "It… feels strangely normal, don't you think?"

"Not really, you don't usually drop stuff," she teased, giving him a nudge in the side.

"Nyeh heh, that is true!"

The two monsters headed onwards, chatting and laughing, but Frisk stalled. Her legs were shaking a little. Asriel took her by the hand.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I kinda feel like I'm dreaming," she said quietly. She shook her head. "Never mind. I think I'm fine."

"Well. You're definitely not dreaming. If that helps," he said. "But it's… kinda weird, right?"

"So weird," she said. "…If they all, like, decide they're not telling us what really happened, though, I'm gonna go nuts."

Asriel's eyes bugged out. "Y'think…? No. No way, they wouldn't. Would they?"

Frisk grimaced. "I dunno."

"If nobody else wants to talk, Papyrus'll tell us," he said. "Don't worry. Just give him the big eyes and he's all yours. Easy peasy."

"Y-Yeah. You're probably right." Frisk's fingers clutched nervously into her brother's hand. Her face drooped in a pout and he snickered quietly.

"We're good," he assured her.

"I know, I know."

They strolled quietly for a while, the sounds of water droplets soothing a their nerves a little. There was something a little cramped about Waterfall now, though. The glitter in the cave was still beautiful, but for the first time in a very long while, Frisk yearned for the feeling of wind and daylight, and the grass underfoot.

A sudden commotion farther into the cavern made both kids jump. Ahead of them, Undyne took off. Frisk and Asriel rushed to catch up. Any worry was swiftly assuaged by the squeak of a voice and a glint of yellow in the shadows. Alphys had found them.

As soon as Undyne reached the lizard, she hefted her into her arms and held her aloft for just a second, absolutely beaming, before letting her drop down against her shoulders. Alphys giggled so loud that she snorted, which only served to set the both of them off laughing even harder. The lizard smiled warmly, her dark eyes misty, as she cupped Undyne's cheek and ran her thumb across the deep blue scales.

"Undyne, I'm s-so sorry a-about—"

"Heeey, hey, no. Don't apologize," Undyne said. "Wasn't your fault. Not even a little."

"But I w-was cringey trash most of the t-time!" She blushed. "I-I mean, I still a-am, but I was, too, and—!"

"Hah! You think I care about that?!" Her face softened. "I'm just glad to have you back."

Alphys's smile wobbled. She looked like she might melt. She reached up and Undyne leaned down to give her a quick, warm kiss. When they parted, the lizard giggled and threw her arms around her girlfriend's shoulders again, her tail swishing back and forth contentedly.

"I don't think I've ever seen Doctor Alphys move that fast," Papyrus commented quietly. "Phew. What a relief."

"I guess her memories got messed up, huh?" Frisk asked him.

Papyrus nodded before he jolted, wide-eyed, and spluttered, "I-I mean, it was fine, it wasn't so bad, she coped with it very well!"

"Told you," Asriel whispered to his sister.

Frisk smiled apologetically at Papyrus and reached up to give him a pat. He sighed and drooped a little. He knelt down and took her hand in both of his.

"We'll all go over everything. But, it's so soon. I just want… What was it called? The hug circuit? I just want it to be that right now," he said. "But! I think Sans was texting you, right? While you were gone. So there will definitely be some details in there."

"Yeah, didn't have time to read them yet, though," she said. "I just got everything."

"Well! Then you have a lot to look forward to." He grinned proudly. "I was in a movie! And I am fairly certain Sans sent it to you."

"Yo, what?!" Asriel bleated.

"A movie?! You guys had time to make a movie?!" Frisk squeaked. She couldn't help but imagine having to do some big Mettaton movie production to save some part of the CORE, somehow. "Was it any good?! And, like, why?!"

"It was solidly okay! At least a six-and-half out of ten. And! I didn't, actually, it happened in an alternate timeline that overlapped with ours and we got left with it," he said. His eyes widened and he quickly rolled up one of his sleeves and stared at the bare bone of his arm. He let out a little sigh of relief and readjusted himself.

"Did something happen to your arm, too?" Frisk asked.

"Nothing permanent!" he assured her with a grin.

"Guess that's part of what your dad meant," Asriel said.

"Must've been confusing," Frisk muttered.

Papyrus gently patted her on the head, but before he could say more, the sound of Gaster's voice turned their attention up the path again.

He'd joined them, too, carrying all of Papyrus's dropped things, which were currently hovering suspended in magic as he grasped to Undyne's shoulders and looked at her like a proud father would. She seemed a little bashful about it, grinning and cheeks flushed a little darker than usual. Asriel's pupils narrowed and he couldn't help a bristle of fur up his neck. He'd gripped onto Frisk's arm before he'd even thought about it.

Alphys took the moment to slip over to them. "Ohayooo!"

"Alphys! Hiiii!" Frisk said brightly.

"Hey, Alphys," Asriel said.

"Hiiii! And Papyyrrussss! How a-are you?!"

"I'm just fine, don't worry!" he said.

Alphys gave him a quick squish and then reached out to throw her arms around both of the smaller kids. "You g-guys—! Aaah, w-wow, th-that sure was something, huh?"

"Were you okay?" Frisk asked swiftly.

"Me?" Alphys blinked. "O-Of course I was! But, a f-few minutes ago was really st-strange, for sure," the lizard said. She ruffled Frisk's hair with one hand and Asriel's fur with the other. "It's really good t-to see you two."

"Sorry about all the crap," Asriel said.

She shook her head. "You s-saved Sans, right? That's what's important."

"It seems like things are basically back to normal," Papyrus said proudly.

Alphys looked up at the roof of the cavern, hands on her hips, and sighed. "Y-You know, it's strange to say, but it's sort of nice to, um, b-be back in here f-for a bit." She smiled. "A-Anyway! How d-did it work out there for you guys? Was it v-very long, or…? I mean, w-we found out you were somewhere, w-weren't you?"

"A couple somewheres," Frisk said bashfully.

Alphys's jaw dropped. "Wh…? Huh? A c-couple?"

Asriel leaned forward towards the side of her head. "We got tech," he whispered.

"You did what?!" she squeaked.

"You'll see," he said brightly. "It's gonna be hype."

Frisk nodded swiftly. Alphys fumbled for words.

"Huh?!" she blurted.

"Alph, whatchu doin'?" Undyne said with a laugh.

"Aah! Um! Sorry, j-just…!" She whipped around and smiled bashfully. "G-Gaster, come see your kids, will you?"

Gaster chuckled. He gave Undyne an affectionate thump on the shoulder, then turned to the aforementioned kids with a big smile on his face.

"Hellloooo, dad!" Papyrus said. He grinned and pointed to the top of his head. "No horns!"

"I see that!" Gaster said as he beelined for them. "Kids!"

"H-Hey, Uncle G," Asriel said with a crooked smile.

"Hey!" Frisk said with a wave. "I saw mom and Sans, and stuff is good!"

The old skeleton's eyes gleamed. "I'm very glad to hear that." He paused to give Papyrus a tight hug, then rested his hand against the boy's chest. "How's this? Healed up?"

Papyrus nodded and shot him a wink. "It was never even there."

His father patted him warmly on the back, and then he took a moment to dip down on a knee to get closer to Frisk and Asriel. Frisk couldn't help but jump him again. He pulled her close with one arm and then reached out for Asriel. The boy hesitated for just a second before he moved in to give the skeleton a hug. As soon as Gaster had his arms around the both of them, though, his discordant soul buzzing happily, Asriel's stiff posture relaxed a little and he held onto his uncle— maybe a little too tightly.

"Welcome home," Gaster said quietly.

Asriel tried to say something, but his throat hitched. He choked before he could stop it, a wavering huff wheezed out of his mouth. He jerked back, clapping his hands over his snout as his eyes shone with tears. Frisk turned to him with surprise all over her face and she reached out for him, but he shook his head.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he muttered. A little hiccup scratched his throat and he gritted his teeth, staring at the ground as he rubbed his eyes.

"Oh, Asriel," Gaster said worriedly, extending a hand. "What's wrong?"

"C-Crap," the boy said softly, jolting a little as Papyrus dipped down, too, to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Little brother, it's okay," he said.

"Ugh. God. Sorry," Asriel grumbled through a sniffle. "…Embarrassing."

"C'mere," Frisk said, dragging him into her arms. She rested her face against his ear and whispered, "…Is it too tough?"

He grimaced and risked a look upwards. The eyes of three very worried-looking adults and Papyrus were all locked on him. His cheeks flushed hot and he took a deep breath. He gave Frisk a little squeeze before he pushed himself away, shaking his head.

"S'okay," he said quickly. "Sorry. It's just… It's been… a lot."

Gaster cautiously reached out and, though Asriel felt his soul stutter, he let his uncle gently pat him on the head. He forced his shoulders to go slack.

"Let's get you home," Gaster said.

Asriel nodded. He held Frisk's hand again. He knew he was squeezing a little too tight, but she didn't mind at all.

A deep anxiety roiled through both kids as they headed back. They excused themselves to zip through one of the stars carved into the air and plopped into the attic again to prepare, and take a little breather.

As soon as they hit the floor, Frisk held her brother tight.

"Did you get scared?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I dunno why," he grumbled. "Sorry."

She shook her head. She was pretty sure she knew.

"Asriel? Frisk? Is that you?" Toriel's voice called up through the floor.

"Oh. Um! Yeah! We're back! Everyone's coming!" Asriel replied. He sniffled and wiped his eyes again. "Ugh. Shit."

"You wanna do the deep breaths?" Frisk asked.

The boy shook his head. "I'm okay." He ran his fingers through the scruffy fur on his head and sighed. "It's real, though, right?" he asked. "It's… all real? We're… here?"

She nodded. "It… feels kinda crazy, right?"

"Yeah." After a moment, a grin spread across Asriel's snout, even though his pale eyes welled up again. He grabbed her shoulders. "Frisk. We did it."

"Uh-huh," she said.

"We actually—! We… We went there, we came back, we're alive, she's alive; Sans is alive! It's…! Heh. I kinda feel like puking."

"Same," Frisk said with a snicker. She ran her fingertips over the floor. "There's part of me that's like… I dunno. I feel kinda like I'm going nuts."

Asriel nodded readily. "I'm all over the place."

The boy settled heavily onto the floor and rubbed at his eyes again. "Okay." He sighed. "I… guess this is as good a time as any to come up with a game plan."

"Oh! Right." Frisk nodded. "Um. So we… tell them everything, right?"

"Everything everything?" Asriel scrunched up his snout. He looked at the mark on the back of his hand. "Right, we'll… have to tell them about these, somehow."

"Kinda happy nobody noticed so far," she said. "But Sans noticed the scar up here." She pointed to her eyebrow.

"Oh. Right. Crap. You have a bunch of new ones." His brows bent with sympathy. "What d'you wanna do?"

"I…" Frisk folded her arms. "I dunno."

"You gonna tell them?" he said.

"They're gonna freak," she said.

"Yeah, but, you're not gonna just never wear shorts ever again," he said. "Uh. Are you?"

"…I was hoping maybe I could just, like, pretend to forget how they happened?" she said with an apologetic smile.

"Frisk." Asriel folded his arms. "You technically have six of those marks, and they're not small."

"Buuhhhh…" She grumbled, rubbing her face. "I dunno. I… I guess I could just…" She shook her head. "Ech, whatever, I'll just say it."

Asriel nodded. "Good." He grinned tiredly. "Undyne'll think you're a badass."

'Pffff, I dunno," Frisk said, cheeks flushing a little. "Okay, uh. Anything else?" She lowered her voice. "Chara?"

"Hold off on Chara," he said. "But. Yep."

"But we gotta tell them," she said. "Sans might know, I think he was still there when she came and grabbed me after I fell over. I don't know if he recognized her but I wouldn't be surprised."

"Oh. Uh. Crap. Uh—"

"Someone wonderin' 'bout me?" Sans appeared, leaning against the wall casually.

"Ah! Shit!" Asriel spluttered.

"Sans!" Frisk held out her arms. "Come sit with meee."

"You're such a kid," the boy teased.

"Yeah, so?"

Sans chuckled. He blinked over to them and plopped down onto the floor. Frisk immediately scooted into his lap and slumped comfortably.

"Jeez, kiddo," he said, though he was grinning fondly.

"I need it," she said.

A quiet flare of her soul shifted them both to purple without the shine even showing. Sans sighed and tiredly flopped around her shoulders.

"…Fair," he conceded. "So, uh… I heard what I thought I did, huh?"

"We, um… We gotta keep it quiet," Asriel said. "For just a little bit. If that's… I mean. You won't tell, right?"

"Not totally clear on what I'm not tellin'," Sans said.

"About Chara," the boy said, lowering his voice to a whisper.

Sans's brow furrowed slightly. "Welp. Whatever you want," he said. "But I ain't exactly clear on… what it was, exactly, I saw. Or how it'd even be possible." He tepidly shrugged one shoulder. "But I guess that'll be part of the big thing, huh?"

"After," Asriel said quickly. "I… I mean, I gotta drag mom and dad aside and… she made them a video and—"

"So what I'm hearin' is, there wasn't any strife between you two and this… kid. Yeah?" Sans said.

Asriel bristled a little. He tented his fingers and shook his head. Sans peeked down at Frisk. She smiled sheepishly in reply.

"It… all actually went really well," she said. "I'll tell you everything about her after, okay? I… I think you deserve it. I… I can show you whatever you want in general, like, with the memory magic stuff, if you, um, feel like it."

"Hm." He settled again, but there was a tangible, tiny warble of apprehension in his soul that he smothered almost instantly. His face carried no message whatsoever. "Eventually."

"There's no threat or danger or anything, if that's what you're worried about," Asriel said swiftly.

"It's true, there's not," Frisk added.

"Gotcha." The skeleton cracked a tired smile. "Gotta admit, gave me a bit of a shock."

"I bet," Frisk said. "Me, too!"

"Same," Asriel said. "How could she not, right?"

"Question, though," Sans said. "It was… her? Somehow? Or just, like… in the dream, it was—"

"It was her," Asriel said.

"And what big ol' cosmic coincidence had her end up where you two went?"

"Other way around," Frisk said. "We got there when I fell through a thing 'cause she was there. And there was the dream link stuff and everything. That was part of it."

"Dude, I totally forgot about that," Asriel said, wide-eyed. "…Think we can force it? Now that we're home and not, like, losin' it?"

"Maybe," Frisk said. "But, like…" She looked at up Sans. "What happened, we're pretty sure is, she let go of me once we thought we were done here, with the time loop."

"End of round three," Sans said.

Frisk nodded. "But then, the reset a few months ago—"

"After the Floweypocalypse," Asriel joked darkly.

"It woke her up but she couldn't come back, so she fell somewhere else and… she could just be normal again, kinda."

"Normal but still kinda a ghost," the boy added. "But not the… you know, the angry kind."

"Huh." The skeleton looked a little troubled, but he chuckled and raised a hand to rub it across his face. "T'be honest, I ain't got the energy to try to make sense o' that yet."

"S'okay," Frisk said. "Don't blame you." She shot Asriel a sideways smile. "We gonna have to get energy, though."

"I'm still buzzed," he said. "I think I can do it. You?"

"I think so," she agreed. She really was not keen on getting up, though. She sighed and stiffly did so anyway. "Set up?"

Asriel nodded. He grabbed Sans's hand and pulled the lethargic skeleton to his feet. "There's a lot more than that," he said.

"Figured," Sans said. He gestured for them to lead the way.

Asriel left first, but Frisk lingered. She looked at her brother with probing eyes. He didn't say anything more, but he mussed up her hair affectionately and strolled on out. The kid frowned to herself and crossed her arms.

She wasn't sure if it was just that she'd been gone for so long, but something felt funny to her. Not bad, though. Not exactly. Though, it was as if there was a tension in the air. Some thread that was suspended rather precariously. She couldn't quite place it.

There was an odd, hollow pit in her chest. Maybe it was just the lack of answers. She sighed to herself, and she took out the jacket that the Sans from the other world had sent for her brother. He, at least, already knew he had alternate doppelgängers. She'd start with that. Hopefully, it would get easier as they went.