Chapter 13

"NO!"

That shout startled the group and Volcano, who turned his head in time to get punched in the face by someone everyone was surprised to see.

It was Underswap Frisk.

The child had tears in her eyes as she looked at Volcano, who had fallen on his behind after the surprise punch and looked shocked that a child had managed to knock him down. "If you destroy her, we all die!" Underswap Frisk sobbed out. "I don't want to die! She gave me a second chance!"

Charlotte, stunned by the child's words, looked in her book and after a moment, she looked up and shut the book. "My love?" Ink said.

"I think her words hold truth," she said. "I can't find anything in my book, but not only that, if Frisk is destroyed, then her whole timeline will collapse and...fall into utter ruin."

Caramel's face fell as he realized what she was saying. "Frisk is the key to the freedom of the monsters," he said. "If she's not there...all our work would become undone."

"And we'd lose our loved ones," Stretch said.

Refract bit his lip as he lowered his head. "This is what I was trying to avoid," he said, making them look at him. "I knew if I gave Frisk powers and they backfired, everything would disappear or vanish. There'd be no one left."

Underswap Frisk looked at Volcano. "You can't destroy her," she said. "I just got my happy ending. I don't want to be what I was before."

Frisk hugged her counterpart, who hugged her back tightly. "I can't lose you, Frisk," the once-ghost girl said, still sobbing.

"You won't lose me," Frisk reassured her before looking at Volcano, who tried to stand up, but he was weakened from having used so much of his power. He looked at her as she came up to him.

"Well, guess you have the upper hand now," he grunted, his eyes closing as he waited for her to strike the final blow.

Nothing happened for a bit before Frisk reached her hand out to Volcano, but with her palm face up to the sky. He opened his eyes and looked at her before noticing her hand. He glared at her, but noticed she didn't flinch. "Your move," she said, closing her eyes.

He reared his fist back, his magic weakly gathering, but though he tried, he couldn't bring himself to strike the child in front of him. She was weaponless and offering a hand in friendship. "Why?" He asked her, making her open her eyes. "You have the advantage, child, yet you give it to me. Why?"

She looked at him. "Because I understand," she replied. "My trust was shattered too."

The group looked stunned and Frisk took a deep breath. "I ran away from a bad foster home when I fell into the Underground," she said. "I was very wary to even trust someone for a moment, always treating their words with suspicion."

She looked away. "It was like that until I met Uncle Grillby," she continued. "I had been in the Underground for a week, keeping on my toes in case Uncle Papyrus tried to capture me for Aunt Undyne, or for Uncle Sans to betray me to his brother or Aunt Undyne. I even expected Mom to betray me. That's how bad I didn't trust anyone."

"How did your unc-uncle Gril-Grillby chan-change your mind?" Error asked.

"I wandered into his restaurant by accident near closing time," she said. "I had been running and hadn't had anything to eat all day, though I had food in my bag. I was barely able to get myself in the door before I collapsed on the floor. My clothes were soaked from the snow and I was freezing cold. I had closed my eyes, but I saw something become bright and when I opened my eyes, Uncle Grillby was kneeling down near me. He picked me up and held me as if I was his own child, helping me out of my soaked jacket and wrapping me up in a blanket. He held me until I stopped feeling cold and then he fed me."

A small smile tugged the corners of her mouth. "I was so hungry that I think I ate half the things on the restaurant's menu before I was ready to fall asleep. Uncle Grillby locked up the store and picked me up, carrying me to his office where he set me on one of the couches to sleep on. He slept on the other one and when we woke up in the morning, I asked him why he helped me. He said he wasn't heartless and couldn't let a child starve. Plus, Uncle Sans had asked him to keep an eye on me if I took refuge at the restaurant."

"He helped you see that you could trust the monsters?" Lullaby Grillby asked.

"Yes," she said. "And I gained a family better than I had ever dreamed of."

She turned to Volcano and moved closer before she hugged him, her head resting against his shoulder. "I'm sparing you, Volcano," she said. "You deserve a happy ending too."

He went stiff when she hugged him, looking at the child as her words sank in. She not only sympathized with him, but she understood where he was coming from. He slowly moved his arms so that he was hugging her back and she snuggled into his hug trustingly. "I forgive you," she said.

Underswap Frisk watched this with teary eyes, hugging Stretch, who picked her up and rubbed her back comfortingly. Charlotte smiled and stepped up to Volcano and Frisk, the former looking up at her as she offered her hand to help him up. He looked surprised, but then took it before noticing something and he took a deep breath. "Cinnamon," he said softly as he stood up.

Charlotte looked confused before she blinked. "Cinnamon?" She repeated curiously.

"Your magic," he clarified. "It has a cinnamon scent to it."

Ink's eyes widened. "I wasn't imagining that?" He asked.

Volcano shook his head. "I can sense it too," he said.

Charlotte chuckled. "That explains how I can calm my mate and our friend down when they are upset," she said.

Ink and Error looked a little embarrassed, but chuckled a bit. "How do you feel, Vol-Volcano?" The latter asked.

He looked down at Frisk in his arms before looking away. "I...I did so much damage and yet...she forgave me," he said. "Do...Do I really deserve her forgiveness?"

"If she's willing to forgive you wholeheartedly, then yes," Refract said, smiling.

Frisk smiled before looking worriedly over where the portal to her home was and took a deep breath. "Volcano?" She asked.

"Yes?" He replied.

"Can you...remove the chains and spell off the portal to my world? Please?" She asked politely.

He looked ashamed of himself and hugged her. "I owe your family a big apology," he said.

"I'll explain things to them," she promised. "Plus, your world is healed too."

He looked at her in surprise. "You...You healed my timeline?" He asked.

She nodded and he smiled at her. "You really are an angel," he said before going up to the portal to the classic timeline. Taking a deep breath, he removed the chains and spell on it, stepping back when it was done. "It's ready," he said to her.

She reached up and took his hand before motioning everyone else to follow her. They did and they found themselves in Sans' lab.

Both he and Gaster were sound asleep on the two couches as the lab shared space with the theater room. Frisk went up to Sans and gently shook his shoulder. "Uncle Sans," she said softly.

He jumped awake and blinked for a moment before seeing Frisk standing there and he sat up, turning to look at her as he woke up more. "Frisk?" He asked softly, hoping she was truly there.

She nodded. "What did the tree say to the lumberjack?" She asked before waiting a beat and then answering. "Just leaf me alone!"

Sans' eyes widened as Frisk giggled and he got to his feet, scooping her up into a hug. "Frisk!" He said, hugging her tightly as tears fell from his eyes.

Gaster woke up with a start, but when he saw Frisk was back, he quickly got up and ran over to his brother and niece, hugging them both. "Frisk!" The taller skeleton said, kissing her forehead in affection. "Oh, little one, you're alright!"

Sans looked up to see Volcano and his eye lit up blue, but the fire elemental stepped back and put his head down. "Sans, it's okay," Charlotte said as she stepped forward. "He's a friend."

"He nearly hurt my baby bones," the skeleton said tensely.

"We know," Error said softly. "But Ink and I mana-managed to save Fr-Frisk in time. She's be-been with us this whole time."

"She healed all the alternate timelines," Stretch said, smiling. "You've got one determined kid, Classic."

Gaster noticed Underswap Frisk, who hid behind Refract, who smiled gently. "It's alright, little one," he soothed her. "My counterpart won't hurt you."

"I feel like we've missed a few things," Gaster admitted.

"How about I get everyone to their homes and Charlotte, Error, Refract, and I will return?" Ink said.

"Sounds good," Sans said.

The others said goodbye to Frisk, thanking her for healing their timelines. Volcano hugged her and kissed her forehead gently. "I'm sorry for everything, Frisk," he said. "Thank you for giving me a second chance."

She smiled. "I'll be there if anyone needs me," she said.

As they headed out, Frisk hugged her uncles again as they brought her into the house and everyone hugged her, relieved she was okay. "What happened, punk?" Undyne asked.

"A lot," Frisk said before she yawned and her head rested against her father's shoulder. A moment later, she was out like a light. A portal opened and Charlotte, Refract, Ink, and Error came out, the latter smiling at the young girl that was sound asleep in Asgore's arms.

"Glad she's get-getting some sleep," he said. "She didn't sl-sleep much last night."

"With Volcano hunting her and the last two timelines needing help, I think we all didn't get much sleep last night," Charlotte said.

"Okay, how about we start at the beginning after this 'Volcano' guy cut us off from Frisk?" Sans said.

Ink nodded. "Okay," he said.

"Gather in the living room while Toriel and I put Frisk to bed," Asgore said.

They all did so and Refract looked at Sans. "Sans, I'm so sorry," he said. "It's my fault Frisk was in danger. I didn't realize that someone would be after her when I granted her the powers to heal the timelines."

The skeleton nodded. "Where was she after the portal went down?" He asked.

"Error and I pulled her into the Doodlesphere, where we live along with my mate, Charlotte," Ink said, gesturing to his friend and his mate.

"She's been safe with us in the Doodlesphere," Charlotte said. "And we had many allies come to protect her when they learned of her quest to heal the timelines. They agreed to help even before she healed their timelines."

"But she has been with you all this whole time?" Gaster said. "She's not been wandering around with no place to sleep or rest?"

"Yes, she's been with Ink, Error, and Charlotte the entire time," Refract said. "The rest of us joined a bit later on after hearing about Frisk and how she healed the timelines."

Asgore and Toriel came back. "Alright, I want to hear everything from the beginning," the latter said, her face intense and firm.

"Of course, Your Majesty," Charlotte said, bowing her head in respect. "Refract, will you start us off?"

He nodded and took a deep breath, facing everyone as he began the story.


Frisk is home safe and Volcano sees that she is a good person. :) Next up: Frisk uses her powers to heal her own timeline. :)

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GoldGuardian2418