#asgore and toriel vines for real

[k-chips]

Guys oh my god

I'm obsessed with that Clavell comic

I want to draw something about it SO BAD T.T

[v-134]

How strong is Papyrus….REALLY?

Anyone else notice how many vines Flowey uses to hold Papyrus? Some may argue it's because of how tall he is...then again, look at Asgore! He's bigger than Papyrus! Everyone else is only held by 2 vines! Think about it! Papyrus is capable of controlling his attack power, making it so you can't loose to him, only so your health is low enough so he can capture you and send you to his "Garage". And Papyrus and Flowey are friends, so flowey would probably be aware of how strong he is, all I'm saying is! What is Papyrus's REAL power, and WHY does he have so many vines to hold him! He’s one of the few people how can actually control your SOUL. Undyne has stated already that he's pretty strong, and he already probably wasn't fighting his hardest, since Undyne is a friend. Sans only does so much harm to us because of our LOVE and karma stats. We have no idea what Flowey's LOVE is, because he kept resetting. Either way, Papyrus is at least as strong as Asgore, who is already stated to be way more powerful than Undyne, and is capable of dodge mechanics. This means Asgore could be as powerful as Sans, if not more powerful, and Papyrus is more powerful than that!

A semi popular theory surrounding papyrus actually revolved around battle animation.

You see, characters like Sans, Mettaton, Undyne, Asgore, etc have idle battle animations and they also move when attacking. Toriel doesn’t really move her body but her facial expression changes depending on how you proceed in the battle. But Papyrus has no idle animation. He just stands there, with no facial expression changes or anything. And a lot of people theorize that idle animation = power.

We know that Sans only has 1 HP in canon, but because of how much he sleeps, it builds up over time. But he still dodges and moves around a lot.

Asgore is more stoic, standing relatively still except for what I can only assume is him breathing. When he attacks, he doesn’t usually move unless he’s attacking with his trident. As stated before, Toriel won’t move much but she will change her facial expressions and she will cover her mouth in shock when she kills you.

But Papyrus doesn’t do anything.

Oh, and you want strong? Remember his "really cool regular attack?" That's one of the hardest attacks in the Neutral/Pacifist routes to dodge.Think about that. That was a TASTE of what Papyrus is capable of.

Better yet, Papyrus is in such good control over his magic during his fight. Even though he's being SUPER casual about it. There's a said theory that movement in the battle sprites in Undertale represents how concentrated they are, with high movement being highly concentrated, and low movement being not concentrated. And Papyrus? Still as a statue. Even the text boxes support this. He's so out of focus, he can accidentally prepare the wrong attack, causing him to spend a minute fixing his mistake. It's even worse if you flirt with him, as he's more focused on preparing for the date then preparing his attacks. MIDBATTLE. And he even forgets he doesn't have ears. Think about how hard the fight would be if Papyrus was focused.

All in all, it’d be super funny if he was like, crazy powerful :P

GUYS DONT COME AT ME IM RUNNING ON LOW SLEEP AND RANTING, BUT!! Am i wrong?

[randomsloredrops]

Random's Lore Drops - Papaya the Grate.

(I said I wouldn't post today, BUT I LIED) Alright Nyehers, Hehers, and people that only see Papyrus as the type of guy to never say a single mean thing, here is...

Papay- I mean, Papyrus, the Great Papyrus. So anyways, I usually see Papyrus depicted as this guy that'd never even so much as insult someone, let alone say something is bad. But, uh... He outright tells you that you're a 'freaking weirdo' in the Genocide route, and he also tells Undyne, RIGHT at her face...

Although, there are a few 'childish' things about him, like how his favorite food is Dino Egg Oatmeal, calling swear words "CURSED WORDS", and also being read childrens books to sleep by Sans. But then again, he's also a master of psychological manipulation (/j). He uses reverse psychology against Undyne, as well as using a psychhological technique found in "Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive" (yes this is a real book. I found out about this book through this post.) against YOU, the player, in the genocide route. Not only that, but he's MUCH stronger than he's made out to be, as well as a slight confirmation to having blasters (not specified to be Gaster Blasters though) through aborted genocide, where, during the "date", he says...

There's also the fact that, in the pacifist pre-boss cutscene, where Flowey arrives, everybody has 2 vines around them... Everybody except for MOTHERFUCKING PAPAYA BENEATHSTORY

WITH A WHOPPING FOUR FUCKING VINES AROUND HIM! Now, would this be because he's tall? Nah, explain Asgore, Undyne, and Toriel with their 2 vines? EXACTLY. Now, note that it is canon that Papyrus is "friends" with Flowey, and presumably has been for many MANY resets, so Flowey knows Papyrus' true strength. Not just that, but Undyne calls him "Pretty freakin' tough!" And it's just because he's so much of a BITCH (pacifist) that she won't let him join the guard. After all, it'd be too dangerous... (WOMP-FUCKING-WOMP, he still joins in post-pacifist as the last guard (because it's not the royal guard anymore)). So yeah, he's brutally fucking honest, he's most definitely not some weakling, he's just a bit childish and naive in his interests. He also canonically tries to avoid sleeping, or sleeps an unhealthily small amount based on the phone call of "room-fire-1", or the first hotland room, where you get to see Sans as Undyne hunts you down. He also, uh... Within "room-fire-rpuzzle", or that weird wacky vent room where each jump puts you on a pressure plate and changes the places that you can jump to, and you have to find the right pattern to head forward, if you call him (after hanging out with Undyne), Papyrus first tries to hand Undyne the phone, before telling you to call Alphys, who made the puzzle, with the exact dialogue: "WELL, ALPHYS MADE THE PUZZLE, RIGHT? YOU SHOULD JUST CALL HER UP... AND SAY IN A HOT VOICE... ALPHYS... I NEED HELP WITH A... (AUDIBLE WINK) PUZZLE..." before Undyne basically goes "wtf no????", and Papyrus offers to do it himself, with another resounding "NO????". Anyways I did this despite needing to do hw because lmao idk I just, uhh...... procrastination lmao. Anyways, I'm not scheduling this for shit. BUHBYE.

[the-white-soul]

*Flowey freezes for a moment just staring at Frisk’s hand with wide eyes as the last of his popsicle begins to melt. He seems to have forgotten about it as he was watching the performance, but just hands it off to Noelle when he realizes it instead of finishing.*

*He slowly slides a vine over and around Frisk’s palm and studies its form. He never thought their hand could be so gentle. So soft. He at first resists the urge to give a kiss on the back of their hand, but he decides it’d be okay. After all, it is meant to be a formality, so he turns over their hand and brings it briefly to his lips. He then pretends to scoff at them.*

Don’t get cocky or anything. It’s just a formality.

*A few more vines sprout up and place themselves along Frisk’s body, guiding their feet and arms in gentle movements. He mutters instructions to himself*

The leader’s left “hand” connects to follower’s right hand, and held at follower’s eye level. The leader’s right “hand” is placed just underneath the follower’s left shoulder blade area.

*He then guides their feet just as much as Frisk needs, if at all. It’s just as much of an odd thought that Flowey can be so soft, and it’s easy to let their guard down. At least until Flowey drops them backwards and “forgets” to catch them on purpose. He giggles mischievously.*

Whoops~ I guess I’m rusty! The golden flowers can’t always catch your fall.

*he teases and lends a vine to lift them back to their feet to continue the calm rhythm.*

You know, sometimes I wish I had a real body. It’s great and all that I have vines, but… *He spins Frisk around smoothly.* some things just aren’t the same. I can’t hold someone’s hand properly, I can’t hug someone right, I can’t walk or dance like you… *He laughs a bit.* The first step to dance is having legs and feet. All I can do is watch as these things do the “hand” work.

*He boops Frisk’s nose with a vine.* You’re luckier than me, so take advantage of having a real body and dance, okay?

*He grins and makes a slightly spooky voice.* You never know when you’ll be turned into a frog by an evil witch! Or worse, a flower.

(Frisk) "Heh, guess that would suck, wouldn't it. Continues dancing Though I kind of deserve it. Definitely more than you. Although, what if I could, picks Flowey up and puts him in a pot"

(Noelle) "What are you planning on doing?"

(Frisk) "I shouldn't be the only one who dances. Spun around the pot I hope you know what this means to me. flipped Flowey in the air and caught him You know, I can't love anyone. But why do I feel a connection? I guess for me, platonic is the closest anyone can get. Jumped and spun I hope you're also enjoying this."

(Noelle) "Where'd you find the pot?"

(Frisk) "Chara needs to be put down a peg every once in a while. Look *Shows diamonds* I even made it fancy!"

(Noelle) "We should get going soon. I don't know what's going through the other's head. I'll text them though. *Texts, 'sorry I couldn't get to you for so long. I'm here with Flowey and Frisk. They're getting along surprisingly well right now. See you soon.'* That should be fine for them."

Meanwhile

(Kara) "So that's what's going on. Phew, for a second I thought she was in danger."

(Chara) "You know, I don't know when I'll get to say this again, how were your parents?"

(Kara) "That came out of nowhere."

(Chara) "Well, I'd like to hear about good parents. I'm guessing they were divorced though."

(Kara) "Yes."

(Chara) "Those two are so wrong for each other. I don't know why they got married. Asgore barely likes puns!"

(Kara) "I was told that custody for me was given to Toriel. I pleaded with the judge to let me spend time with both of them equally. Asgore said, 'son, I can't support you. Let Toriel. She knows what she is doing.' He never had any self-confidence."

(Chara) "I hated my first parents of course but Asgore and Toriel were so accepting. They didn't even care I was a human. It couldn't get worse than Jack."

(Kara) "They died in front of me though. My player made it cinematic. I was just as bad as you starting out. I guess we both improved."

(Chara) "Yeah, let's go to Noelle, now."

(Kara) "I hope she had a good time."

[ask-deltarune-and-undertale]

*dragon flowey lightly pats real flowey on the head with his paw* huh, you're tiny. Anywho, is this like...another underground or something? I notice that the skelebros are humanoid, gaster isn't dripping with a inky substance, toriel and asgore aren't ice-based, and, obviously, no one is a dragon.... Im VERY confused. *his vine-tangeled tail, with tiny golden flowers blooming all over the vines, flicks back and forth as he says all of this.*

[wswe-autism-fic]

I have the urge to tell everyone about my absolutely deranged sonic and undertale headcanons, ships etc from when I was like 10 or 11.

I would like to preface this with the fact that I did not know what pedophilia was until I was 12 (it does go down that path, unfortunately).

SONIC

there are a lot of things to say and I'm scared to say all of them. I was and still am a multishipper, so here are a few of the things I shipped:

Amy x Cream

Cream x Tails

Tails x Sonic

Sonic x Knuckles (easily the least devious one on the list)

for Amy x Cream, I could only imagine them being aged up, tbh. I made them cottagecore lesbians before I even knew that was a thing.

Cream x Tails was only because they were my 2 favourite characters at the time. Tails has always been my favourite and Amy my second favourite, however, at this time, I prefered Cream. why? because in sonic dash, when you do the weird swiping animation, Cream had confetti. that's literally it. sidenote: the first time I saw fetish art on the internet, it was either with this ship or with undertale, I can't remember which came first.

I don't wanna talk about Tails x Sonic, but if I must, I will. ok, so, I headcanoned Tails as trans simply so that he could be pregnant and I could have my OC Kate the Fox be Tails and Sonic's daughter. she looked exactly like tails if you couldn't draw very well and gave him long eyelashes.

I have nothing to say for Sonic x Knuckles, that one's honestly still ok in my eyes.

UNDERTALE

undertale is something that will always haunt me in everything that I do. don't get me wrong, I love undertale, it's one of my favourite games, but this is why I say that it haunts me. also, I'd like to note that everything I knew about undertale at this point was from comic dubs and those 'undertale as vines' compilations.

here are just a few of my ships (easily way more tame than my sonic ships):

Pafriskus (Papyrus x Frisk).

Sans x hotdog (joke)

Alphys x anime poster (completely genuine and real)

Undyne x Alphys

One sided Asgore x Toriel

Papyrus x spaghetti (another joke)

this is why I'm pretty sure my undertale phase came after the sonic phase where I shipped all of those... questionable ships. those are very clearly way more fandom-like, so I was probably actually a frequent user of the internet by that point.

I don't think I need to get into the ins and outs of every ship, most of them are either canon or crackship, but I will explain pafriskus and alphanime poster.

pafriskus is probably only because I had a crush on Papyrus and saw myself through Frisk. I don't think I would have shipped it if Frisk was your friend or something. as for alphanime poster, I have no idea.

[terrietont]

Undertale: A life for a life

When Toriel accidently kills Frisk mid-battle, a devious flower takes control unwarely creating hope among monster-kind for all except one.

Chapter 1: Murder

Shaking, she washed the blood off her paws,It’s crimson red staining her fur. Tears ran down her face endlessly. She couldn’t stop them. There were too many. Her eyes fogged up, barely a blur left in her vision.

Her whole body felt numb as a lump caught in her throat.

‘This isn’t real...’ She thought. ‘This can’t be real!’

Her lips quivered as her breathing quickened. Short inhalations and exhalations, in and out moving at the speed of sound. Her heart was burning against her chest, as if it were about to burrow through her entire body and escape. The numb feeling enveloped her entire body but at the same time the pure and agonizing pain of her heart pulsed against her very soul.

She had done this.

Her mind wandered into dark corners as the water from the faucet continued to flow. Memories flooding back into the dark abyss of her now empty heart. Horrible memories of what she had done.

The boss monster held her breath as the she turned off the tap. She leaned her hands agains the sink, looking down at the floor. Her chest moving up and down slowly. The disbelief of the situation made her dizzy. A bellowing cry escaped the former queen’s snout. She held her wet paws across her face, sobbing uncontrollably.

Toriel kneeled down onto the floor, holding her face tightly, a deep pained frown. Tears ran onto the floor. Sobs accompanied with hiccups escaped.

She realized something horrific as she held her breath.

“I really am no better than him after all” she smiled almost feeling like she was losing her mind. A another wail of horror escaped.

The grief. The tragedy. The horror of what she had done.

It was all true. She had killed the child. The one child that had trusted her enough to call her “mother” and now they had to be buried next to the first human.

A red glowing heart. An aura of red enveloped it. She could barely keep her eyes adjusted to the blinding beams.

The soul was still in tact for now, soon it would crack and disappear. What choice did she have now?

Her paws merely lay under the soul as it hovered above them.

She placed the soul inside a basket-like container, it’s visual presence undetected.

The only proof she had to be seen were the tear stains across her cheeks and the shaking of her limbs.

“I’m a murderer...” she uttered. Toriel leaned her head in her hands, hiding her face.

Flashbacks of her battle with the child enveloped her brain. She couldn’t fathom what she really had done. All the emotional distress was beating her physical form into pieces. She thought she would turn to dust any minute now.

“Hee hee Hee” a voice cackled. Startled, she looked towards the origin of the laughter. It was a flower. A white buttercup with yellow petals and a wide sinister grin. The flower top sat, resting on a thin green stem.

“You really think no one would find out about this?” Flowey laughed with an evil smirk.

Toriel hurriedly got up from her chair and put her hands out in a desperate gesture. “No please it was an accident!” She cried. Flowey’s grin widened.

“Accident? Haha! I KNOW you did it on purpose to try and “protect” the child.” Flowey leaned closer towards the former queen. His eyes going black with white pupils.

“Now look what’s happened...” He began, his voice echoing with poison.

“They’re dead.” Horrifyingly, Flowey’s face managed to mimick a human skull shape.

Toriel tripped backwards, chair falling behind her. Tears began running down her face again.

“Spare me your self pity!” Flowey seethed.

“YOU did this. This is all your fault!” He teased. “And after you tried not to be like him...” Flowey cocked his head to the side with a mocking tone from his mouth.

The reality finally set in. Toriel fell to her knees. “You are right. I am like him.” She wept.

“What are you going to do now huh?” Flowey asked mockingly. “Are you going to continue crying until you dry out into a sobbing excuse of a queen?” His voice was laced with venom as he spoke.

“Or are you going to go to the Asgore and tell him you’re just the same as him and expect forgiveness?”

“Or what if I take the soul instead? You won’t have to worry about it at all!” Flowey laughed. At this point Toriel was holding her head in anguish.

Thoughts, grieving, worries, all of it was swimming around her brain. Her body felt numb.

“No no no no no no no no!” She repeated hysterically. “No NO NO NO NO!” Her tone began to darken, her eyes going almost pure white.

Flowey began to feel uneasy, whether it was the absolute state of Toriel or the fact that the temperature was begining to pick up in the room, he didn’t know. “Shut up already!” He barked at her angrily.

Memories came flooding back for the Queen. A son, a child... a tragedy. “No!” She cried, fire surrounding her this time.

“Asriel... I’m sorry...” She shuddered looking at Flowey. Flowey frowned, his eyes growing with anger. “Shut up! Don’t you dare use that name!” He barked angrily.

Toriel let out a light chuckle, tears running down her cheeks, her eyes now looking bloodshot.

“My child, do not worry”

Flowey growled, gnashing his teeth. “Shut up! Just shut up!”

The Flowey looked towards the basket where the human’s soul was kept in. Vines burst out from the ground as they grabbed hold of the basket, taking the red soul inside.

“Haha!” Flowey cackled evilly. He took hold of the soul in his vines. He smiled deviously.

However without anyone’s knowledge, the soul began to glow brighter, moving closer to the flower. Flowey looked confusedly at it before feeling a sudden burst of energy rush through him. As if it still had the child’s sentience from before, the soul itself had chosen Flowey as it’s host without him even trying.

The power of this determination, the most powerful soul Flowey had ever felt. It rushed through his non existent body so fast and strong he felt almost overwhelmed.

The flower collapsed, dangling from his stem.

This soul was amazing. A power unlike any other. This child was stronger than anyone he had ever seen.

Asriel Dreemurr’s emerald eyes lit up.

A paw reached out to the grieving mother who was on her knees, unable to focus on anything.

“Mom?” The sad voice called out. Toriel turned slowly. What she saw caused the flames to die out.

“Asriel...?” The words were dry on her tongue, as if she didn’t know what she was actually saying.

Asriel looked down at his paws in shock. “I-I- I’m-“ before he could finish he felt a hard squeeze around his entire body. The shuddering mess that was his mother embraced him tightly. The warmth and relief of the hug filled the prince’s eyes with tears.

“Mama...” he cried out soflty. “Mama!” Another cry as he held her tighter. “My baby!” Toriel cried with exasperation.

As he embraced his mother, he felt a warmth in his soul and heard a voice, soft and echoing yet strange.

“Hello” the voice spoke. “I’m sorry” they said soflty. Asriel didn’t know how to respond, especially with the grief of his mother holding him tightly.

“Where’s dad?” Asriel’s tone was more upbeat, but his mother’s reaction was rather downcast. “In the castle.” She replied, hiding her disgust.

“Can we please see him?...” Asriel asked soflty.

Toriel hesitated. She really did not want to see Asgore again, but for the sake of their child, she would swallow her pride and anger for now.

“If you wish, my child.”

Without being spotted, Toriel and Asriel made their way through the underground and towards the capital. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes were watching them from a camera view.

Alphys’s eyes widened. She nearly spat out her noodles all over the computer monitor. “O-oh my god! There’s THREE of them?!” She bellowed.

Asgore was busy minding his own buisiness, watering flowers.

“Dum dee dum” he sang.

Toriel entered the throne room, dreading the voice in front of her, whilst squeezing Asriel’s hand.

Asgore turned around surprised after hearing someone clear their throat to get his attention. “Oh? Is someone there?”

“Howdy! How can I-“ The king backed away a few steps. “Oh my...” he saw his son’s face, his Ex Wife’s patient smile. It all came flooding out.

“M-my boy...” Asgore weeped with a smile. Asriel ran straight to him, beaming with relief. “Dad!” The two embraced longingly. “Tori... you-“ Asgore began looking at the Ex Queen who was frowning worriedly. “Please do not Tori me Dreemurr!” She groaned exasperated.

“Mom please!” Asriel begged, holding tightly onto his father.

“I-I am sorry I just- how did-“ Asgore was at a loss for words, he didn’t know how his son came back, but he did. He was here and that’s all that mattered.

The horror stricken reality sunk into her. She tried to be angry, she tried to be dismissive and show no emotion but she fell to her knees yet again. Her sins were weighing her down heavily.

“I-I cannot take this any longer!” She cried. Asgore looked towards her, stunned and worried. “Toriel...” he uttered soflty.

“I have- I am-“ She hiccuped, feeling completely nauseated by the very words that she would have to say.

Asriel looked horrified as he realized what she was scared of. His soul. This soul... how did he get this in the first place?

He couldn’t remember and yet it was all about to be revealed.

“I have murdered...” Toriel uttered breathlessly. “

The king was taken aback. He couldn’t quite believe what she was saying. She had done something that he had done in the past to make her leave him? If he was unreasonable, he would’ve called her out, he would’ve been angry as to see she had taken the same path as him. But he stood there in shock, concern, fear. He loved her too much to let her feel the pain he had felt once.

“It is going to be okay...” He tried inching closer to her. Her eyes snapped away from him, pushing him back. “Get away from me!” She screamed. Unlike her usual anger towards him, this anger was a mask. A mask hiding pain and grief. This was an obvious mask it wasn’t to keep him away from her... it was to keep her away from anyone.

“I do not deserve your pity...” She seethed, her eyes turned away from him. Her fangs showed, angry and depressed. “After what I did” She began.

Asgore was confused now. She had said she was a murderer, but how so? Who had she killed? How was Asriel alive again? All of these questions plagued his brain.

“Please. You need to tell me.” He urged sternly, paws out in front of him.

“Take care of Asriel. I- I am going home” Her voice was meek and low. She had walked out of the throne room. Asgore desperately wanted to run after her, but he knew that would do more harm than good.

Asriel however was not going to give up so easily. “Mom!” He shouted.

He ran to her as her pace continued ever faster.

“Mom please!”

“Go away!” She yelled back, running away faster. Asriel was able to keep up, getting closer but remaining at a distance. “They know it wasn’t your fault!” He yelled.

Toriel stopped running and stood still, her face hidden from view. By now the two were by the caste hall, an eerie silence washing over them.

“I can feel their soul talking to me.” Asriel continued.

No response. “They say that... you have always been a good mother despite what you did today. They say they love you still”

Slowly, Toriel’s head began to turn back around. “Asriel.” She began.

“Asriel!” Asgore’s voice echoed towards the hallway. He rushed over to his son. “My son?” Asriel looked up at Asgore, glossy eyed. “Dad.” He murmured.

Toriel inhaled sharply and then turned and continued running. “Mom!” Asriel yelled out, a large white paw grabbing his arm, his other arm reaching outwards. “You must let her go, son...” Asgore sighed sadly.

“I’m sorry” he looked down at his child. Asriel’s breathing quickened. All he wanted was to have the family back together again, as happy as before. He was so tired of being a flower, he was so tired of being conflicted between two worlds.

Word got out that the prince of the underground was alive once more. The absolute shock and confusion swept over the citizens. How was this possible? Only Asriel truly knew.

“I hope the bed is as comfy as you remember” Asgore smiled down at Asriel who had himself tucked into his old bed. New home was less silent than it had once been.

“Thank you dad” he smiled in response. Asgore sighed deeply, smiling warmly. “If you need anything, let me know, alright?” The king looked over at his son who was making himself more comfortable in bed. “Will do” and with that, Asgore left the room quietly. His footsteps fading from earshot. Asriel stared up at the ceiling, his breathing slow.

“What do we do now?” He asked. A voice responded. “Are you awake?” A child’s voice asked in an echod trance. Asriel rolled his eyes. “Obviously.” He replied sarcastically. The child chuckled a little, the voice sounding less like a bad thought and more like some kind of weird guardian Angel.

“I just wanted to let you know... I’m okay like this.” The child’s soul admit. Asriel paused in thought for a moment. He couldn’t imagine a world in which living inside someone else’s body as a soul was a good outcome.

“Really, I am.” The soul spoke almost immediately after Asriel thought about it. The young monster’s eyes widened. “A-are you reading my thoughts?” He asked nervously. The soul chuckled almost in a naughty manner. “Maybe...”

Asriel groaned and lay on his side, ear squishing against the pillow. “Great... now I can’t even think without having my privacy invaded.”. “I promise I won’t look into anything personal!” The soul replied almost frantically. “You better not okay? I’m trusting you on this!” Asriel bit his lips.

“You can trust me, friend!” The voice replied, it sounded as if they were smiling as well. “Are we a team?” Asriel asked impatiently. “We’re a team!” The soul answered enthusiastically. Asriel couldn’t help but smile. This soul was warm and comforting. Although being invasive, he knew he was grateful for this soul, the soul that willingly gave itself to him. Why? He would never know.

[jorisjurgen]

For the ask game, perhaps Flowey/Asriel?

Please pretend I hadn't said all of this in your dms already and that any of this is a surprise and that you didn't help me come up with some of this. Mostly post-game because him being happy and getting better as a concept lives rent free in my head.

[ask game]

1. Headcanon A:  realistic

I spend a normal amount of time thinking how Being him even works, and I have to say, I have 20-30 different thoughts on the topic at any given moment. First of all while he could be sustained through sunlight and just being in the ground, I think he probably has a shitty metabolism and moving around while being a plant and shapeshifting probably takes a lot of energy so not to feel fatigued and sick all the time he has to actually eat stuff, to make up for all the calories he burns through. Though, even if he didn’t have to eat, he’d still do that because Food Tastes Good.

Gentle reminder that This Guy has stopped an Actual Elevator and kind of crushed it like a soda can using his vines, just so Frisk can’t go back and avoid the battle with Asgore. Without any souls on him too. He digs through solid rock and wood and metal and snow at multiple points in the underground just to stalk Frisk jfgsdfl. Basically he is a strong little guy, and doesn’t seem too bothered with hot or cold temperatures, at least for a short while? Not sure if this is just analysis or a headcanon. Either way this leads into the fact that while living on the surface he could very well just... Boar through wooden planks and bricks of a house, and while this isn’t something he would necessarily do, this is something he can physically do and bring up as a threat. Also I like to think he scuttles along the floor like an octopus when he’s indoors, because the imagery is funny. Honestly a lot of his movement in my head is inspired by octopuses because they too, have many limbs.

Another headcanon is one I talk about all the time, that being: He simply decided for himself that the way he feels is due to not having a soul. Think about it, there aren’t any really solid studies on the topic in the underground that we could find, a lot of them being “we suspect all humans are really weird and were bad to us because unlike monsters, they simply don’t have love and compassion and magic in their hearts <3” which is. Wow such unbiased science so true and real. It’s more likely to me that he’s severely mentally ill, and doesn’t know that, simply explaining his feelings away in the only way he figured he could. That, and he expresses emotions in the game ALL the time. Just... Negative ones, mostly. His monologue on his life after he was resurrected and not feeling anything at all really reminded me of my own experience with having severe depression after a traumatic experience in the past, so I’m not just making things up here dghsghg. I think he has PTSD and depression and just... Doesn’t Know. He lacks critical information.

2. Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

The first part of this is realistic, the second? I have no idea.

When he first moves with Frisk and Toriel, Frisk and him still really into the idea of literary just... Not telling anybody about his identity, they mostly fail miserably at concealing a lot of things like that fact that uh... He’s like 10 years old. Though his actual identity isn’t learned as soon, as him being a child is (I’d give it like 3 months to a year at best before the jig is up hsfgjdfg. Toriel would be probably quite torn between feeling mad and crying from happiness because... god??)

Toriel is mad and they start a whole web of lies of making shit up about his tragic backstory and why this random flower boy who is like 10 not with his parents.

Either way, Toriel gets him into her school, because obviously he has to learn things, despite his and Frisk’s protests because this is actually one of the worst ideas ever. This results in “The Knife Incident” maybe a week or a month later, and he is then on home-schooled. This is also when Toriel decides that maybe, maybe she should look into therapy for Mr. mystery flower child with no parents and emotional issues, not yet knowing the sheer extent of how right she is hdfgjfdg.

3. Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

This one’s a bit of a slow burner.

Obviously, it’s pretty much canon that he’s really into stars and lights and rainbows at this point. I like to think that after the ending of UT, when Frisk eventually persuades him to move in with them and Toriel, he gets a lot of various light sources as decorations in his room. Fairy lights around the window or the walls, glow in the dark stars on his walls and ceiling, night lights, maybe he even gets a star projector as a gift (and it’s one of the best gifts he ever got, not that he’d say that out loud!).

I think that while all of this obviously how he’d decorate his room considering the kind of person he is, this is much more... Over the top than his DR counterpart, because he gets antsy. He doesn’t want to be in the dark. It’s not the type of fear of dark where it feels like there’s something that can hurt you that you can’t see. He’s fine with dimly lit rooms and especially with outdoors as long as there’s something he can see. It’s just that... He really doesn’t want to be in pitch darkness, at least without Something he could see.

I think that once, he could have a bout of sleep paralysis while waking up from a nightmare in the middle of the night in his dark room. It’s like that time all over again. He can’t even say something, no matter how much he tries to, or move a limb. His throat tightens, he feels hot and cold all over, and it feels like he’s going crazy, until it passes. He doesn’t sleep well for a while, after that. This is when he decides to start decorating his room in that sort of way.

4. Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

I think that after canon, he should get into stuff like rainbow star god ocs, edgy trauma music, edgy rpg maker games, and online dragon pet games. It'd be good for him. Not for the wallet of his parents in case with online pet games, but good for him at least. He’s just that type of kid I think sdfghsdfg. I am an “Arcane Flight Fan” Asriel truther.

Also I like to think he could get into making music. This coupled with the fact that he can change his voice and mimic sounds could be really cool, as well as a good outlet of some sort for him.

[franstastic-ideas]

Reali-tea Is the Most Difficult Blend to Swallow

Yandere Altertale AU -  Frisk was so lucky to have been found by Sans during her time of need, at least, that’s what she had thought at first. The skeleton has been so kind, opening up his home to her, cooking meals for just the two of them, brewing her tea… and all that he asks for in return is the joy of her company. She was happy to oblige him that much, as Sans seemed to give off the impression to her of being lonely for some reason. But little did Frisk know and was soon to discover, he’s far more emotionally needy than she ever could have imagined…

Word Count: 22,220

Warnings: Several instances of yandere behavior. Pretty self-explanatory.

Also, my interpretation of the Altertale universe is probably extremely different than what’s been established in the original creator’s canon. For instance, even though they don’t appear in this story, Asgore and Toriel are apparently supposed to be siblings, but should they ever appear in Yandere Altertale, they’ll be an unrelated happily married couple.

Some of the other changes I’ve made are spoilers until the reader has finished this fic, and thus can’t be mentioned.

The creator of Yandere Altertale is @semisolidmind, so if you like this story, then make sure to send semi some appreciation and love!

And finally, Happy Early Birthday @lostmypotatoes! I was gonna wait until the 10th, but since you insisted that I post it now, you and everybody else are getting this fic six days early! Enjoy!

Frisk didn’t know how long it had been since she fell, nor how deep underground she had fallen, but what she was aware of was – she couldn’t move.

Her unintentional descent into the cavern beneath the mountain had been a long one, and it was honestly a strange sort of miracle in itself that she managed to somehow survive the impact. The bed of buttercups beneath her had cushioned her fall, but she couldn’t move. Frisk attempted to push herself up into a sitting position before a sharp pain coursed through her right leg as well as her left arm, returning the girl to her previous arrangement of lying with her back pressed against the flowers.

Both limbs were broken, she acknowledged, and that was when the panic truly began to set in.

Frisk was down here, alone in an empty cavern, injured and immobile, and this place was going to be her grave.

Nobody knew where she was, currently.

Not that anyone would come for her if her location was made known, she thought to herself with a grief-laden sigh.

“Howdy!” A cheery voice suddenly called out to her from somewhere beyond her vision, catching Frisk’s attention immediately.

“H-Hello…?” She replied weakly, trying to turn her body in the direction she had heard the greeting come from.

Just as she succeeded in turning her head, out of the corner of her eye, Frisk saw a flower similar in appearance to yet significantly larger than the others that she was absolutely certain wasn’t there before looming over her.

And even more concerning was; this particular flower had a face.

The talking flower stared down at her with beady black eyes and a cartoonishly wide dimpled smile. Frisk immediately came to the conclusion that she must have also hit her head when she had fallen, and this happy little plant was an adorable hallucination that manifested from her damaged mind, aiming to bring her comfort and security in what was to be her final moments. However, the flower then leaned even closer towards her, and that was when she felt the texture of his leaves brush over her skin when the motile plant apparently decided to poke her nose, proving that he was made of solid matter.

“Stop staring at me like that – didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s rude to stare?”

“I-I’m sorry! I wasn’t trying to be rude! I thought you were a hallucination…”

“Nope. I’m definitely real.” He winked and stuck out his tongue, an organ that he did in fact prove to possess through this little gesture. “I’m Flowey. Flowey the Flower! And it seems to me that you took quite the fall there! You look like you could use some help.”

“Yes, I would really appreciate it!” She pushed aside the shock of discovering a talking flower living in a remote cavern underground for the moment; she tried to move once more, even just a short distance, but her efforts once again proved to be unsuccessful. “I’m sure I’ve broken a few bones; in one leg and one arm. I’m completely immobile…”

“Oh, that’s too bad…” Flowey began to look around the surrounding area, holding both of his leafy appendages up to his squinting eyes as if they were binoculars. “And it looks like the smiley trashbag is nowhere to be found too.”

“Smiley… trashbag…?” Her eyebrows furrowed with confusion. Was there someone else that lived in this cavern as well? What did they look like? Were they a talking flower too, or something else entirely? Either way, it seemed her photosynthesizing pal wasn’t too fond of this other person, if the designated nickname was all she had to go by. Even so, Flowey still spoke of them in a continued cheery tone and the smile on his face hadn’t slipped by even the smallest of degrees.

“He could help you if he were here, but the worthless pile of bones is probably somewhere sleeping; dead to the world. Your bad luck just keeps multiplying like garden weeds, doesn’t it?” He continued with a sigh, shaking his head. “Oh well… I guess little ‘ol me will have to do…”

Before Frisk could go about questioning him of how he might possibly do that, she felt the ground around her begin to suddenly shift and tear. It seemed her petaled friend could also control the vines that bound him to the earth, because soon they were wrapping around her body, far bigger than she would have imagined them to be and lifting her into the air with ease.

She was about to ask Flowey what his plan was from here – did he intend to deliver her to this other person he previously mentioned? Or was he going to extend his vines that seemed to have no visible end upwards and return her to the surface? But Frisk didn’t get to ponder Flowey’s available options for too long before she was abruptly released from his hold and sent hurtling towards the ground again. She fell with a loud thud, but this time there wasn’t anything below her to soften the impact.

At her collision she heard the sound of something snapping coming from her own body, and an entirely new wave of pain flooded her senses.

“Oopsie! How clumsy of me!” Flowey announced, his numerous vines immediately swarming her once again before she could say anything, their grip on her being far less gentle than they had been previously. “I won’t drop you again – I promise.”

She wiggled in the vines’ hold futilely, her fight or flight instincts beginning to kick in as they grew tighter and tighter around her limbs and the rest of her body in an almost crushing hold. Frisk found herself being jerked towards Flowey until she was dangling upside down in front of his smiling face, which now looked nothing but ominous when it had just moments ago seemed friendly and helpful.

“What’s the matter, human? Don’t you trust me?” He didn’t allow her the opportunity to answer before his expression turned nightmarish, his mouth morphing into a malevolent grin that sported far too many teeth than the normal maw. “You shouldn’t… not me, or anyone else down here for that matter. Especially not me. And do you know why…?”

His whispery voice deepened to a demonic growl.

“Because in this world, i t ‘ s  k i l l  o r  b e  k i l l e d...”

He then flung Frisk against the wall of the cavern by her ankle. She barely had time to let out a wild scream of fright and agony before he slammed her face first into the ground once again, but he still wouldn’t release her, his vines still tightly wrapped around her body and placing a needless amount of pressure on her broken limbs.

“See, I kept my promise!” He cackled, his voice having returned to that higher pitched disarmingly cutesy one he had used to lure her in previously, nearly singing as he proclaimed, “I said I wouldn’t drop you, and I didn’t~!”

Frisk twitched and trembled on the cave floor, suffering and writhing. She was about to die, that much she was certain of. If not from the injuries she had already sustained, then from whatever it was Flowey intended to do with her next. She had already resigned herself to her fate before she had encountered this vile sentient plant, but this wasn’t at all how she had expected her life to end. The terror of it all coming to an abrupt yet drawn-out end at the hands of an unforeseen aggressor had paralyzed her further than before, despair welling up within her SOUL.

But before she could let this despair swallow her up completely, before Flowey could snatch her up once more and continue his abuse, she heard a loud, grotesque shriek. It echoed and bounced along the walls of the cave long after the actual scream had ended, sounding more horrendous than anything Frisk could recall ever having heard before in her life. Frisk couldn’t turn around to see just who had screamed, but she didn’t need to – it wasn’t necessary.

It was Flowey, and it sounded as though he were being put through as much pain and agony as she had been forced to endure.

She then heard another voice.

“i told you before - if i ever caught you here again, weed, you’d be in for a bad time.”

It was deep, dark, and dangerous; unlike anything she had ever heard before. Not even the raging waters of the ocean during a storm or the tempestuous winds of a cyclone could hold a candle to the pure unbridled fury she could sense lying beneath his tone, which was struggling to seem casual and relaxed but instead sounded perfervidly strained.

“the fact that you’re here must mean you were ready for what was going to happen. you only have yourself to blame for this.”

Frisk braced herself for another hideous scream from Flowey; she would have covered her ears in preparation, if only she could move her arms – she was certain that they were now both rendered immovable.

“Ah, ah, ah, trash bag.” Flowey tutted, but his labored breathing indicated that speaking was an incredibly strenuous task for him at the moment. “Aren’t you worried about the safety of the human…? Start a fight with me and there’s no telling what’ll happen! And you… you can’t kill me. You don’t have the guts for it, haha! It’s against your nature…”

Flowey was right – fighting and killing was against his nature, and he wasn’t certain if he could ever bring himself to terminate someone even as vile to the core as Flowey, even if it was for the sake of another.

And he was also correct in stating his prioritized interest in the wellbeing of the human; he cared far more about seeing that she was taken care of and her injuries tended to than settling a score with this loathsome creature without a soul that preyed on the naïveté of the fallen.

“……leave. now.”

“I was about to anyway, even if you hadn’t come along.” He sneered. “Toys aren’t any fun to play with when they’re broken, and this one’s juuuust about fallen apart. If you’d come just one minute later…”

This other person seemed to be ignoring Flowey’s commentary, or at the very least was trying to. Frisk felt herself being turned over so she was no longer lying face down, and the first thing that came into her immediate vision was Flowey lingering a short distance away; a pointed bone was stabbed through the middle of his stem like a skewer, and a thin translucent green liquid, chlorophyll she surmised, oozed out of the gaping wound it had created.

But the second thing she became conscious of was, the person now holding her was a skeleton. He was staring down at her with pitch black eye sockets and a wide unsettling grin, and the little amount of light that fluttered down from the surface above the two only enhanced the ominousness of his features in her eyes.

She let out an alarmed cry and instantly began twisting and turning as much as her weakened body would allow to escape his hold, which he struggled to maintain.

“Hahahaha! Look at her! She’s horrified by you!” Flowey cawed as he began his retreat, his vines and stem slowly sinking into the earth. “You fool… Humans will always despise monsters. You remember that when you’re at the mercy of this one and it has none to spare…”

The robed skeleton payed him no mind, his focus centering on convincing the human girl in front of him that he meant her no harm. But Flowey had already left a ghastly first impression on Frisk that wouldn’t be easily reversed; she had seen his hostile behavior as a preview for what the rest of the inhabitants of the Underground must be like, and the nasty little buttercup had only damaged this view further with the use of the word ‘monster’, the robed skeleton deduced.

Still, he refused to give up and abandon her, even if she insisted upon it.

“No… No! Get away from me!” She shrunk away from him, beginning to sob hysterically. “Just leave me alone! Please!”

“human, i need you to listen – i know you’re scared and in a lot of pain, but i’m just trying to help yo-”

“I’ve had enough ‘help’! Just go back to wherever it was you came from! Please… Please don’t hurt me…”

He inhaled sharply through his nasal cavity. He ceased any and all efforts in explaining himself or his actions. Any attempts at clarification would only be wasting precious time at this rate – if he didn’t act soon, then her condition would only worsen.

He retrieved a vial from a well concealed pocket in his robe, the liquid inside being a reddish-brown color in the light. Removing the cork, he then tilted it towards her mouth, tapping the lid against her lips and silently urging her to drink from it.

She resisted him, fighting through the pain of using both broken arms to push and smack against his chest in protest. The repeated pounding of her fists at his ribcage did little but illicit a short, stilted grunt from him, unperturbed entirely by the onslaught. When she continued to struggle despite his attempts at remaining pleasant and civil, his patience with her began to thin.

“h u m a n.” His voice abruptly deepened further to a stern growl, causing her to immediately still.

Frisk let out a surprised, uncontrollable whimper, her mouth opening just slightly as she did so. He took this opportunity to slip the vialed liquid past her lips, then swiftly tipped her head backwards so she swallowed it.

The effect was almost immediate. Her eyelids began to droop and every sensation in her body began to fade. The only thing that was left remaining was the fear she felt towards the robed skeleton. He lifted her up into his arms, gently and without a word, then began walking to somewhere further in the cavern.

“That vial… was that poison…?” Frisk was struggling to remain conscious. “…Am I dying?”

“no, pumpkin. you’re not dying.” He cooed softly, leaning down to nuzzle the top of her head. “if anything, i’m trying to keep that from happening.”

She grew quiet and still, and for a moment he thought that she must have succumbed to what was in the vial he had given her. But a minute later, he heard her weakly question,

“Where… where are you taking me?”

Her voice sounded so small, so scared…

“somewhere safe, where i can take care of you. get you the help you need.” He felt her flinch at the word ‘help’.

 That awful, wretched flower…

 “Please don’t hurt me…” She shuddered in his arms.

 “i won’t.” He asserted, his voice low.

 “Promise me you won’t.” She said with such desperation that it made his SOUL ache with fierce pangs of pity for her current condition.

 He hesitated.

 But only for a second before he solemnly replied, “i promise.”

 His oath sounded so sincere.

 “now get some sleep, human. i know you’ve gotta be tired.” The skeleton cradled her closer to his sturdy build with large, strong arms in a manner that Frisk would almost consider to be protective.

 Frisk wanted to take his words at face value, to earnestly believe that he held no ill will towards her - but if he did indeed intend to harm her, then there was little she could do about it now.

 Her heavy eyelids shut, and she fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

 ~~~~~~~~~~

 When Frisk finally awoke, she once again was unaware of how much time had passed since blacking out, but she did know that her body felt immeasurably heavy – almost certainly an aftereffect of whatever was in that liquid the skeleton had fed her. She could barely even lift her head, the properties of that concoction were so strong. She was every bit as immobile as when she first fell into the cavern, the only difference being that thankfully, Frisk wasn’t in any pain.

 Her limbs were wrapped up in bandages, she discovered, when she finally accomplished the simple task of turning her head to the side. They seemed professional, as expertly done as the work from any doctor found in a hospital. Oddly, her dressings were tied together with little white bows in several places – there was no practical or particular cause for her caretaker to have arrayed them this way, if only to amuse her when she awoke.

 Frisk spent the next few minutes taking in her new surroundings; she was laying on a soft, cushy single bed that was coincidentally just her size, not too big or too small for her height. The sheets were crisp and clean, and atop them was a quilt that appeared to be hand-knitted, with white and light blue hearts and bones scattered across the fabric’s design displayed in an elaborate pattern. She didn’t know much about knitting, but it must have taken a great amount of patience and skill from its weaver to have created such an ornate duvet. Every stitch that went into the needlework was without flaw; precise in its arrangement and absolutely beautiful.

 Laying next to her was… a stuffed animal, of some sort. Frisk wouldn’t be sure how to recount the thing’s appearance if someone asked her to. Its body was vaguely humanoid and without color, a pale white, but that was as far as she could get in her mental description of the toy. Those big black button eyes bore into her relentlessly, and even though it appeared to be just a child’s plaything in every single way, she couldn’t deny that its constant gaze unnerved her just slightly. Once again, there was no other conceivable reason why it would be present at her bedside other than to bring her some comfort or cheer.

 To the left and on the floor was a toy chest a short distance away, as well as a cabinet for clothes. That was as much as Frisk could make out of the rest of the room – there was a lamp in the corner of the room, but it had been turned off out of concern of it disturbing her sleep had it been left on. The remainder of the room was plunged into darkness, but Frisk did catch a small sliver of light slipping through the door, which was opened just a crack.

 Just as she turned her attention towards it, the door began to slowly creak open and the golden light outside from the hallway flooded into the small room. A skull then popped into her view, belonging to the skeleton that had carried her off earlier. His white eyelights were focused on her bedridden form, seeming concerned, or perhaps that was a trick from the combination of light and shadow playing with her eyes?

 But as he stepped towards her, there was something about him that did make the skeleton seem far less sinister to her compared to before. Maybe it was the small surprised gasp that fell from his mouth, or the way his eye sockets widened and the white spheres within them shrunk, or even how the grin on his face slipped as a faint blue blush spread over his cheekbones when he saw Frisk’s head suddenly turn to face his direction.

 The two stared at each other in silence for several moments before he managed to find his voice.

 “i… thought you were still asleep.” He tugged nervously at the ends of his sleeves. “…how long have you been awake for?”

 “Not long. Just a few minutes, I think.” Frisk answered cautiously, still wary of him and his intentions. “…How long have I been asleep?”

 “about twenty-four hours? i think?” His phalanges scratched at the back of his skull. “i didn’t really pay any attention to the clock when i got back. i was too preoccupied with getting you to bed and seeing that your broken limbs were wrapped up to think about the passage of time.”

 “If I slept for that long, then why do I still feel tired?” She questioned irritably. He laughed at her sour expression.

 “that’s all thanks to the medicine i gave you earlier. it does what its supposed to well, but the stuff will really leave you out of commission if you aren’t already. that’s why i save it for emergencies like yours.”

 “That stuff in the vial was medicine?” The girl pondered aloud – it hadn’t tasted like medicine. Thinking back on it, the liquid had tasted rather pleasant…

 “yeah, but it was also tea. chamomile and honey, actually. i blended the two together and made the medicine practically flavorless on the tongue so it’d be easier on the person that had to drink it. why would anybody want to swallow something that tastes bad? even adults don’t wanna do that, am i right?”

 Yet again, another allegedly kindhearted gesture that served no other viable purpose unless the purpose was kindheartedness in itself.

 Frisk frowned, studying the lumbering skeleton closely. “…Why?”

 “why what…?” He rubbed the back of his neck, his expression showing blatant confusion.

 “Why did you bring me here?”

 “because you needed to get those broken limbs of yours wrapped up, and this was the only place i could take you to do that safely-”

 “No, I mean… why help me at all? Aren’t you a monster?”

 He recoiled at her harshened tone and averted his gaze, smiling sheepishly at nothing in particular. “yeah… i can understand why you’d have some doubts about me. in your human fairytales and legends, monsters are the bad guys. they do horrible, unspeakable things to men, women, and children alike without remorse. …but i’m not that kind of monster. i… i want to help and protect any humans that fall into the underground that i come across. that’s why i’m here.”

 Frisk bit her bottom lip. Guilt began to bubble away in her stomach and gradually rose up to her chest, her heart giving a dull aching thump at his appearance – yes, he was still smiling, but it was incredibly strained, undeniably forced. His shoulders were slumped heavily as well. Her insensitive remark had definitely hurt him.

 “I… I’m sorry. A lot has happened, and I’m still very, very confused. About a lot of things.” She made an effort to explain, his large droopy eye sockets and enlarged white pupils appearing less and less menacing to her and increasingly more melancholy as the seconds ticked by. “But that still isn’t an excuse for treating someone badly for something that’s beyond their control; their race, what they are. Especially when they’re just trying their best to help someone that’s hurt. It’s just… I thought for sure that you were going to…”

 “no, no, i… i understand completely. i get it; why you’d react this way.” Even now, he, the offended, was speaking out in defense of her actions. “if you weren’t at least a little bit suspicious of me after what happened back there, then i’d be more concerned than i am already. but… maybe i could clear up some of that confusion, if you’d let me? i’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions right now that need some answering.”

 “I would like that very much.” She replied, having come to the quiet conclusion that if he held any interest in bringing harm to her, then he likely would have done so while she was unconscious.

 …Unless he wanted her awake whenever the robed skeleton chose to unveil and carry out his diabolical plot - for the sole purpose of the cruel thrill that came from it. After all, following her falling into the underground, she didn’t know how long that deceivingly friendly talking flower had been there either. Right next to her unconscious body. Staring at her in silence. Just waiting for her to wake up…

 Frisk decided she would at least allow the skeleton the opportunity to explain himself and answer her questions, but he still hasn’t earned her trust.

 Not yet.

 The stranger walked over towards and reached into the darkness of the lower left corner of the area and pulled out a chair, a chair that curiously seemed to have been built just right for her size, then dragged it to the center of the room and a few feet away from the bed. He eased into it carefully, perhaps out of concern for its thin legs possibly breaking underneath the weight of his heavyset build; the skeleton looked like a giant while seated in the much too tiny and undoubtedly uncomfortable wooden chair. He then folded his hands across his lap and flashed her a sheepish grin.

 He was making an honest attempt to seem relaxed, but his blatant nervous ticks; the occasional twitch perceptible at the corner of his mouth, slightly shrunken and quivering eye lights in his sockets, and him idly drumming his phalanges against his patella with a sort of skittishness that was difficult to describe wordlessly broke any charade of calmness that he may have been trying to convey.

 Just what reason would he have to be nervous in this situation? She was the one currently incapacitated, bed-ridden, and completely at the mercy of another. There was nothing she could do to him under these circumstances, even if her life depended on it.

 Frisk chose to ignore his tense state for the time being.

 “well, uh…” He twiddled the tips of his phalanges against each other, and for some reason, he was refusing to look at her in the face. “this is… kinda the part where you start asking questions…”

 “Alright… Telling me where I am right now might be a good place to start.”

 “you’re at my house. and this is the… guest bedroom.” His voice sounded oddly pained when he uttered those last few words, but he quickly continued onward before his discomfort became too apparent. “if you want me to be more specific, you’re in the ruins. not all that far from where you fell down. this part of the underground isn’t that spacious, at least, not compared to the rest.”

 From that snippet of conversation alone, Frisk was already made aware that the cavern stretched on much further than she initially thought, and that there was something more to this room than he was telling her. Those were details she could ponder later. Back to pressing the skeleton for more information.

 “You’re a monster, right? So is the rest of this cavern filled with monsters too? Are they all skeletons like you?”

 He actually laughed. It was a low, breathy chuckle. “in order: yes, for the third time, i am a monster. yes, there are other monsters besides me living down here. and no, the whole cavern isn’t occupied entirely by skeletons. there’s slime monsters, fire elemental monsters, spider monsters... and some that can’t even be classified. the word ‘monster’ is more like an umbrella term, i think - there’s a whole lot of variety in our race.”

 “Okay… Next line of business. Who are you? What’s your name? Or do you even have one?”

 He chuckled again, his shoulders bouncing up and down just slightly. “no, i have a name. it’s sans. sans the skeleton. but you probably already knew that last part. …why did you wanna know?”

 Rather than answer his own question, she responded with, “So, your name isn’t ‘smiley trashbag’?”

 “no. it’s not now, and it never was.” His tone flattened, as well as the usually ever-present grin on his face.

 “Well, I thought I might as well ask...” Frisk mumbled. “Flowey the flower isn’t a really creative name, either... I wondered if the only other living being I’ve come across since I fell down here was a victim of unfortunate naming too.”

 “no, that was just him being awful. as per usual.” Sans crossed his arms with a sigh and a soft scowl adorning his features. “nothing too out of the ordinary there...”

 ...Nothing out of the ordinary?

 “Another question; would you mind telling me what was up with that flower monster in the first place?”

 “tibia honest with ya... i don’t really know all that much about him myself.” He scratched the back of his skull with another self-conscious grin when she showed no visible reaction to his pun. “right, right... probably not the best time for jokes. anyway, that flower, he isn’t a monster; that’s as much as i know about him. he just... showed up one day in the ruins. he started bullying monsters, making threats, eating all the candy out of the candy bowl... and generally just making a complete nuisance of himself every time he showed up.”

 “He seemed like much more than a nuisance when it was me he was around...” Frisk recalled, the torturous sensation of being slung against the floor and wall of the cave in rapid succession still fresh in her mind and limbs, despite the numbing medicine she had been given – she suspected it was beginning to wear off now, but she couldn’t let her boney caretaker become conscious of this.

 If he knew she was in pain, he might send her to sleep again. And Frisk felt she couldn’t rest until all her present questions have been answered.

 “he didn’t stay just an annoying weed for long. after a while of being content with tormenting others, one day, he started trying to kill monsters. i was on my way back from checking for any fallen humans, like i do every day, when i caught him cornering a whimsun. whimsuns, they’re small, winged, fairy-like monsters. incredibly shy, and they never bother anybody because they’re afraid of being engaged in conflict. so even without knowing what kind of person he was already, i would have known right there that the attack was entirely unprovoked. that was... quite a while ago, when that happened, and i thought what i said to him then was enough to scare him out of the ruins for good.”

 If even a fraction of the anger in Sans’s voice had been present at that time compared to when he came to rescue her earlier, then Frisk wasn’t certain how Flowey hadn’t spontaneously wilted right then and there during either confrontation. He was either incredibly determined, or incredibly stupid to have come back again after that warning.

 “...but i couldn’t have been more wrong.” Sans appeared shamefaced, silently acknowledging that it was only by mere coincidence and sheer luck that he’d arrived in time to save her at all. “i guess he was just hiding this whole time, and biding his own time, waiting for when a human finally showed up...”

 “...Are humans supposed to be the enemies of monsters here, like you’re supposed to be for us on the surface?” She inquired a touch fearfully, still unsure of what intentions this skeleton may hold for her. “In this world, in the Underground, is it really kill or be killed?”

 “no. no, no, no, no... no.” He spoke quickly, his hands fluttering about anxiously, but the firm tone he spoke with didn’t match his frantic movements. “don’t let that insignificant weed be put in the position of the mouthpiece for the rest of the underground. what he wants is senseless violence, to see the world around him burn. i’d like you to forget as much as you can about him and anything he may have said to you, if at all possible.”

 “Being nearly mauled to death by a talking flower that first was pretending to help you is kind of a hard thing to push out of your memory entirely.”

 “i know... and i’m sorry. i should’ve got there sooner. then maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as it is now.” He stood up and was suddenly at her side in one fluid motion; he gently rested one hand on her broken and bandaged leg, the contact and sudden unexpected pressure against her injuries causing her entire body to flinch.

 He immediately removed his hand – at first, Sans thought that she just didn’t want him touching her, but the way her eyes clenched shut and her lips twisted into a grimace made him think differently.

 “...did-did that hurt? are you in pain right now?” When she wouldn’t answer, he gave her leg another experimental brush, the tips of his phalanges featherlight against her wounds as if to soothe them.

 As cautious as he was with his ministrations, even the slightest of touches was enough to make her cringe.

 “...and so i see the medicine i gave you has worn off.” He gazed at her sternly, his tone scolding. “and just how long were you planning on keeping this from me?”

 “For as long as I could.” She answered without any hesitation or shame.

 At hearing her bold and defiant response, he frowned in that way that managed to somehow tug at her heartstrings for the second instance without fail.

 “you still don’t trust me, do you...?”

 “No.” She didn’t know why admitting this to his face hurt as much as it did. “I don’t.”

 To her surprise, he didn’t appear frustrated or angry. He breathed a heavy sigh, though, and smiled wearily at her.

 “i guess i’ll just have to earn it, then. prove my word’s worth. gradually.”

 “G-Gradually?” That last word brought to her a sudden and harsh realization, a question that must be asked, and she did so with a sense of urgency. “How... how long will it be until my limbs have healed?”

 “even with my magic helping the healing process along, it’s gonna be a while until you’re back on your feet. the damage you sustained from your fall into the underground must have been bad enough, but that awful weed did a real number on ya. if i were to estimate, i’d say it’ll probably be anywhere from two months at the least to three and a half at the most until you’ve made a complete recovery.”

 “Three... and a half months...” She repeated brokenly, the full extent of his diagnosis not having sunk in quite just yet.

 She didn’t even notice his mentioning of the term ‘magic’, she was so distressed.

 “so that’ll give us plenty of time to get to know one another.” He chuckled mirthfully, before his grin turned tight. “...surely you won’t still hate me three months from now, will you...?”

 “I don’t hate you! I’m just... scared. And I’m still so confused...”

 “over what...?”

 “Several more things. Too many to count, and too many issues to cover in a single conversation, probably.”

 “no, that wasn’t what i... i already knew that much; it’s obvious you would still have plenty of questions left in need of answering, but that will have to wait until later. what i was referring to was what you said before that... what is it that you’re scared of?”

 “...I can’t really explain it.”

 That was all Frisk could reply with after a lengthy pause.

 “...is it me? if it is, it’s... alright. i understand. completely.”

 “I didn’t say that.” She insisted halfheartedly.

 “you didn’t have to.”

 It was written all over her face, expressed in her movements, heard within the inflections of her voice...

 He walked towards the door, not even turning around as he said,

 “...wait right here. i have to get your medicine.”

 “As if I could go anywhere else...” She frowned to herself, but acknowledged that his words had sounded incredibly strained, as though he thought if the girl did have the choice available to her, she would have bolted for the nearest exit as soon as his back was turned.

 Frisk couldn’t deny that the thought hadn’t crossed her mind, of escaping this house, if only her broken body would allow her to do so. But so far, it appeared Sans the skeleton had done everything within his power to help her and absolutely nothing to warrant her distrust.

 But then again, the same could be said of Flowey, who had appeared amiable and offered what was supposed to have been some kindhearted assistance to a helpless and wounded surface dweller, only to purposefully injure her further.

 It was true that every indication had been made that the two couldn’t stand one another, but that didn’t have to mean that Sans was her friend; no matter how the saying went about what the enemy of your enemy was to you. He could hold the very same animosity towards humans that Flowey fostered, and Frisk felt it was safest to keep her guard up, search for any signs of existing hostility, detect even the slightest traces of deceit that could be hiding behind that seemingly friendly smile...

 Sans, however, was inwardly distraught.

 He was thankful that an opportunity had presented itself for him to excuse himself from the presence of the human girl in his company. He couldn’t withstand it a second longer, being subjected to her harsh judging gaze.

 This wasn’t his first time caring for a human, particularly a stubborn one. Some of them had accepted his help and embraced him with open arms, overjoyed to find a friendly face. Others needed some coaxing, some convincing that he wasn’t going to hurt them, and it wasn’t long at all until they believed his claims and found them to be true.

 But they had all been children.

 This was an adult human, a woman with perpetual scorn in her gaze despite his best efforts. And he didn’t know how to handle that.

 “none of them ever hated me before...”

 He returned a few minutes later, carefully carrying a tea cup in hand with wisps of steam wafting from its rim. It was made of creamy white porcelain, which was crafted into the shape of an oversimplified skull. Even the artistry of the handle abided to the skeleton theme present, looking as though it were made from a trio of assembled milky colored bones.

 Frisk sat up in the bed, wincing as she did so. Yes, the medicine she ingested yesterday had most definitely worn off, but she was also delighted to discover that her limbs had in fact unexpectedly, almost unbelievably regained some of their former mobility.

 Even so, she wasn’t exactly looking forward to taking more, though it would numb the pain burdening her and Sans had mentioned that it didn’t taste bitter when mixed in with the tea. The flavor wasn’t her concern, however. Waking up after swallowing whatever was in that concoction had left her feeling as though she had been hit by a truck. Her entire body had felt heavy as lead, as if some unseen pressure were weighing her down.

 Somehow sensing Frisk’s apprehension and correctly deducing the cause, he spoke,

 “this isn’t the same medicine as before. it’ll make you sleepy in a little while and you’ll probably need a nap after, but it won’t knock you out for hours.”

 That was... somewhat reassuring, she thought.

 If he was telling the truth, that is.

 Instead of handing her the cup or forcing it into her hands, Sans set it on the nightstand Frisk had just noticed was there, most likely because she couldn’t move her head towards that angle earlier. The cup would be out of sight should she lay down again, just like the piece of furniture it rested atop, but it would still easily be within her reach should her hands search for it.

 “...do you want to eat now or later?”

 “later.” She answered, both out of wariness and a genuine lack of appetite.

 “ok.”

 Several moments passed with not another word from either of them. Sans was still there, he hadn’t made a single move that suggested he was going to leave, but he wasn’t looking at her like he was earlier, or even at all.

 He wouldn’t look at her.

 Frisk eventually decided to break the silence herself.

 “Don’t you want me to drink it?”

 “yes, i do. but i’m not going to force you.”

 “That didn’t stop you before.”

 “that was an emergency.” He was swift in delivering his rebuttal. “whether you were aware of it or not, you were dying back there. i had to get you somewhere else quick so i could take care of you, and i couldn’t let you suffer for no reason the entire way when there was a safe and ready alternative available. so i’m sorry i fed you something strange to knock you unconscious and brought you here against your will, but if i had to do it over again, i’d still make the same choice. over and over again, without hesitation.”

 He was speaking to her in a serious, stern, nearly scolding tone, but something about the manner in which he spoke managed to prick at her heartstrings, almost as effectively as when the skeleton had expressed his vulnerability earlier. Even while cross, there was a caring, almost loving impression discernible underneath.

 Slowly, and with some amount of delay, Frisk took the tea cup off the night stand and brought the warm liquid to her lips, sipping it quietly.

 Just as Sans had said earlier, the tea disguised the taste of the medicine. In fact, she couldn’t detect it at all on her taste buds.

 “...It’s good.” Frisk muttered at last.

 “i’m glad.” Her drinking the tea made the corners of his mouth quirk upwards, but the expression soon vanished as quickly as it had come. “...i get that you aren’t too keen on the idea of putting any of your trust in me, what with flowey abusing it and all... but i really do want to help you. and i can’t do that if you won’t let me.”

 “...Sans, can you come closer?”

 He complied, albeit confusedly, blatant bewilderment written across his features as he made his approach. Frisk didn’t say anything else until the skeleton was positioned exactly where she wanted him to be, continuing to motion him forward until he was standing directly in front of her bedside.

 “Now what I need you to do is look me in the eyes - not at the floor, the wall, your hands, or anything else you’ve been staring at that isn’t me.”

 “a-alright...” He stuttered unsurely, wondering why she had become so commanding so suddenly and what it was she was going to ask of him next. “i’m looking at you. just you and only you.”

 “One last thing, Sans. ...I need you to tell me, no, promise me that you’re not planning to do anything sinister or rotten to me like Flowey was. I need you to give me your word right here and now. And depending on how you do that, how you respond to this demand of mine, you just might earn my trust.”

 He frowned down at her, and she could tell that he wasn’t exactly happy with being compared to and lumped in with the likes of Flowey, who so far seemed to be more or less his arch nemesis.

 However, Sans maintained eye contact with her, as she had requested, and took a breath,

 “i don’t have anything awful in store for you – all i want is to see that you get better and are well taken care of, regardless of the fact that we’re of different races that are usually perceived to be deeply prejudiced against one another and are all but demanded rather than advised to remain bitter enemies. that’s it. honest. i swear on my SOUL, if that means anything to you.”

 He had hesitated just a moment before answering, just like when Frisk had asked him to make a promise before - something that shouldn’t have boded well for him with her currently playing the role of his judge.

 But the sincerity she found in his voice, the sheer conviction with which he stated his intentions, the sparks of gentle warmth she saw within the lights of his sockets... that was enough to sway her thoughts and opinions on this monster.

 They gazed into each other’s eyes for the longest of times, neither having moved a muscle or a joint since his declaration. Sans was obviously anxious; beads of sweat decorated his skull, and the grin he wore was incredibly forced in a feeble attempt to mask his dread and unease.

 Finally, Frisk was prepared to announce the results of her assessment.

 “...You pass.”

 “...what?” He inquired, breathlessly.

 “You pass.” She repeated plainly. “I’ve decided that I’m going to trust you. You’ve managed to convince me. From this point onward, I’ll go along with your suggestions and your efforts in helping me to heal.”

 Although, to him, she sounded mostly unimpressed with his heartfelt response... But Sans wasn’t so skeptical that he was about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

 He exhaled, patent relief blossoming over his skull. “thank you... i... i promise i won’t do anything to have this honor that was bestowed on me revoked.”

 “But if you do, you’re gonna be wishing that Flowey had succeeded in killing me.” She retorted, half-jokingly and halfway serious.

 “never.” Came his swift reply in that chiding yet close to loving tone.

 Whether Sans meant that he was never going to betray her trust now that he had it or that he wasn’t even going to entertain the notion of the alternate outcome where Flowey killed her, she wasn’t sure.

 But what she was made aware of was, Sans had a nice smile. This one was genuine; unlike the others he had previously displayed with tight grins that didn’t reach his eye sockets. It was sincere, welcoming. Perhaps even sweet.

 And seeing him like this, it made the corners of her own mouth curve upwards.

 Frisk took the tea from where it rested on the nightstand again, intending to drink every drop of it. Her grip wasn’t steady however, and she nearly spilled the entirety of its contents on herself and the bedsheets. Seeing her struggle, Sans kneeled by the bed and curled his phalanges around the cup and consequently her own hands, his large palms engulfing them. He gently eased the tea cup towards her lips.

 She felt heat surrounding the skin of her hands like a warm, comforting blanket, and Frisk believed it wasn’t emanating solely from the beverage she held. How could a skeleton, a being without blood, feel warm?

 The texture of his bones wasn’t how she thought it would be either; they felt smooth to the touch, as expected, but weren’t entirely rigid. There was some suppleness to them. How could a skeleton be soft?

 But he was. Sans was warm and soft; something Frisk likely never would have learned, paid attention to, or cared for at all if she still harbored the same mistrust towards him as she had earlier.

 His low hesitant voice next to her ear caught her notice. “is this okay...? i’m not making you uncomfortable?”

 “No, not at all.” She answered with a chuckle, internally somewhat taken aback by her own reply and the instantaneousness of it.

 He was only assisting her with holding the cup so it didn’t spill, Frisk tried to reason with herself, but still she continued her mental debate with herself; wasn’t what they were doing now a bit too much of a jump compared to before, a bit too cuddly, considering this was the same skeleton monster who she had only began to place some amount of her trust in no more than five minutes ago?

 Even if this was so, she found herself enjoying this unexpected warmth, this sweet and sincere gesture. So much so, Frisk could practically feel the lingering disbelief that remained slowly melting away around her like snow that desperately clung to one’s clothes while in front of a crackling fireplace.

 Sans kept his hands wrapped around hers until the cup was completely empty. He then plucked it from her grasp and set it back on the nightstand before turning around again to face her.

 “you’ve got about an hour, give or take, until the medicine kicks in. that should be enough time to eat something if you’re hungry, unless you really do have no appetite.” When she nodded at the end of his statement, he frowned at her in that distraught way that inexplicably pulled at her heartstrings. “but it’s been a day, a whole twenty-four hours since I found you. even if you ate a big meal directly before falling down here, that’s still a long time to go without putting any food in your body.”

 “You’re awfully insistent about getting me to eat something.” She stated, raising an eyebrow just slightly then continued in a clearly joking manner, “...You’re aren’t trying to fatten me up, are you, Sans?”

 He threw back his head and laughed, barely stifling a snort as he replied, “noooo, i’m just worried about your health is all.” Sans took her response as a sign to proceed, moving towards the door and preparing to go to the kitchen to make something; something that wouldn’t consume too much time and would be light enough on her stomach that it shouldn’t upset her if she truly didn’t have much of an appetite. But not before poking his head back into the room immediately after he left it to cheekily add, “...even if you are cute enough to eat.”

 It was just him teasing her in the same manner as she had seconds prior, she told herself, but still Frisk blushed at the boldness of his words that one could misread as being flirtatious in nature. ...Surely it wasn’t. Just some silly banter between new pals; that’s what it was, right?

 She shook this thought away, as one she deemed more important entered her mind. She narrowly suppressed the excitement in her voice as she called out to him,

 “Sans!”

 Almost instantly, she heard the approaching sound of his slipper-clad feet thundering against the floor of the hallway outside. The door then swung open and there he stood, demanding to know what was wrong with worry gracing his skull.

 It vanished at once after her next sentence, his concerned expression being replaced with one of immeasurable joy.

 “My name isn’t ‘you’, Sans. It’s Frisk.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~

 Whatever remained of Frisk’s suspicions towards Sans, they completely dissipated by her fourth day under his care.

 Even throughout the first day, after the robed skeleton returned to her room with a steaming hot bowl of stew in hand and insistences that he feed her so as not to further aggravate the injuries of her arms, Frisk found it exceedingly difficult to continue regarding him with doubt.

 He was astonishingly, profoundly considerate, she concluded.

 Having to be fed by him was embarrassing, even if he had stated that there was no reason for her to feel this way when she voiced her sentiments aloud. He was more than happy to do so since she couldn’t. Perhaps he was simply the type that enjoyed caring for and doting on others, Frisk mused.

 Whenever she wasn’t asleep, Sans was almost constantly at her bedside; at her every beck and call. The girl couldn’t recall having ever received such attentiveness before in her entire life, not even from her mother and father. It made her feel a twinge of guilt to place this monster, who was more or less a stranger to her though an incredibly kindhearted one on a higher pedestal than her own parents, but Frisk couldn’t deny that during their so far brief period of knowing one another, Sans has possibly shown more consideration towards her than anyone aboveground ever had.

 Something else that Frisk had learned during her stay is that, when Sans claimed he would provide answers to all her inquiries, he had really meant it.

 Every single question that fell from her lips, no matter how abrupt or bizarre it may have been, the skeleton would never fail to supply her with an answer or an explanation. He never seemed to tire of responding to her endless plethora of questions, strangely; in fact, Sans appeared to find some amount of delight in her never-ending curiosity. Frisk had always been someone who possessed a boundless thirst for knowledge, eternally seeking clarifications in subjects others cared little for, and taking intrigue in forming and uncovering solutions to mysteries that most preferred to remain unknown.

 “Hey, Sans? Why is it that you’re a skeleton, but you’re able to eat? I didn’t think skeletons would need to, or even could eat. Shouldn’t it pass directly through you? Where does it all go?” She had asked one evening when Sans had decided to join her for supper, even after Frisk’s hands had healed enough that him assisting her was no longer necessary – ‘so she wouldn’t be alone’, he had stated somewhat shyly.

 “magic.” Came his simple reply, accompanied by a grin and a wink.

 “Well fine! All right, then! Keep your secrets...”

 “no, i was being entirely literal. magic really is how and why i eat.” He chuckled at what must have been her disbelieving stare. “the bodies of monsters are made of magic, condensed into a solid form. the food down here is made from our concentrated magic, so anything we eat is absorbed directly by our bodies, and the same goes for any humans that consume monster food. ...that’s why the majority of us down here don’t have toilets.”

 “...That explains so much.” So that’s why she hadn’t felt the need to use the restroom since her untimely arrival here... And from there, Frisk’s mind then drifted to the thought of whether skeletons could also gain weight if they could eat. “And yet, I feel this also opens up an entirely new area of discussion that demands to be explored.”

 “i’ll tell you just about anything you want to know about monsters and the underground, but... from where this conversation seems to be headed, is this really a topic that you wanna discuss over dinner?”

 “What? No, noooo - that wasn’t what I was thinking of talking about at all. You were the one that brought up toilets in the first place, so who’s the gross one here?” She laughed freely, the sound causing shivers of delight to run down his spine.

 “if that wasn’t it, then what were you wanting to talk about?”

 “About you.” Frisk answered with just a hint of bashful hesitance, resulting in his SOUL skipping a beat.

 “what... what about me...?” Sans nearly croaked as he pointed to himself, his throat suddenly going dry.

 “Anything and everything you’re willing to share.” She confessed, not quite looking him in the eye socket. “I think you’re really interesting Sans, and I... I want to know more about you. I feel like I could spend years questioning you, all day every day, and I would still never get bored of what you have to say.”

 He must have gaped at her for a good solid minute at the very least, concerning her slightly and making her wonder if she had said something alarming or offensive.

 But then a beautiful grin graced his skull and he shakily replied,

 “ha... ahaha...... hoo boy.” He rubbed the back of his head with a nervous chuckle, unable to look at her while aware that his zygomas were flushed and glowing a bright, near blinding blue. “i... i can’t say anyone’s ever said anything like that to me before... uh, you... you said you’ve still got questions, wasn’t that right, frisk? keep ‘em rollin’.”

 Sans was different – he entertained her inquisitiveness, encouraged it. She would even go so far as to say he almost appeared flattered by it instead of finding her and her various interests annoying.

 Frisk wondered if he was lonely.

 That was the only conceivable reason why he would tolerate her oddities as much as he had, she thought.

 After Frisk decided that he had earned her trust and that she enjoyed his company, she began to notice the little things about him. How, even when he was smiling brightly, there was something sad about those pale white spheres of light within his sockets. Beneath them were dark circles present, like how humans would develop dark circles under their eyes due to stress or loss of sleep.

 She had commented at least once that he appeared to be exhausted, not directly mentioning the easily visible marks beneath his sockets, but Sans had brushed her off with a smile. He assured her that he slept plenty, perhaps too much, the skeleton added with a quiet chuckle. Still, it concerned her – the thought of him taking an uncaring approach to his own health when he had put so much effort into bettering hers was a saddening one.

 But the longer she stayed in his company, the lighter the markings underneath his sockets became.

 It didn’t make much sense to her – if anything, Frisk would have thought that tending to the needs of another as exceedingly as he had for her the past few weeks would have only exhausted him further. Instead, every morning when he came to her room to greet her, Sans seemed just a little bit more perky than the previous day.

 Did he really enjoy her presence that much?

 As the days passed on, one after the other, the more sure she became that this was the truth.

 Another peculiar habit of his was how shy he seemed to be around her. Frisk wasn’t certain if he acted this way around everyone or if she was some sort of exception, since the only person she had seen him interact with so far other than herself was Flowey and as far as she was concerned that nasty little buttercup had no relevance in this private mental discourse of hers - but one day she became confident enough to ask him.

 Apparently, the answer was a little of both.

 Ever since he was small, Sans has felt somewhat uncomfortable conversing and spending an extended period of time with those he wasn’t familiar with. However, he then stated that Frisk was a special case to him and further affected his shyness. So much so, Sans admitted to the girl that he felt as though he had been dangerously close to fainting himself when speaking to her for the first time; the sole reason why he hadn’t was there had been the more important and pressing task of tending to her injuries to focus on at the moment.

  When she questioned him as to why he would feel that way towards her, this was what he had to say,

 “you... you’re really pretty.” He professed, a blue blush beginning to creep over his cheeks. “i’ve never met anyone as pretty before, and when i first saw you, that actually scared me just a little. i... i got nervous.”

 Sans couldn’t be as shy as he claimed to be if he was willing to admit that to her face, even if he couldn’t quite muster up the courage to look at it as he said that.

 But as their time together gradually increased, his timidity gradually began to wane.

 He would still mumble and stutter when he spoke to her, but his actions and words became undeniably more bold.

 It had all began one late evening while Sans was at her bedside, sitting in that same wooden chair that was much too little for his build as he responded to her vast quantities of questions, as per usual. The tiny chair could support his weight no longer; the legs collapsed underneath him with an oddly thunderous crackling, dumping the skeleton out onto the floor on his back.

 Frisk knew she shouldn’t have, but she laughed.

 She hadn’t meant to, but it was beyond her impulse control! To begin with, the small uncharacteristically high-pitched yelp that he let out when he was sent tumbling backwards was nothing short of hysterical, but the expression on his face as it happened was something that deserved not to be ignored. His eye sockets had gone impossibly wide and the spheres inside them had shrunken down to tiny pinpricks. But after he crashed against the floor, his eyelights had enlarged to the point they looked like twin moons.

 The entire scene was too humorous, or humerus as Sans would call it, to keep her face straight and her mouth shut.

 But when Sans didn’t move after longer than a few seconds had passed of him silently staring up at the ceiling just blinking his sockets, that was when the giggles died down and concern began to take over.

 Frisk’s body moved on its own accord, rolling out of bed and landing on her feet before limping over to him.

 “Sans? Sans! Are you alright? You’re not hurt, are you?!” She took his face in her hands, practically yelling directly in it. The sheer panic in her voice made him snap out of whatever trance he was in.

 “i... i’m fine. i think.” His eyelights still looked a bit wonky to her; they had returned to their normal size, but the white orbs were facing different directions and they were spinning round and around...

 He sat up a bit straighter, willing the spheres in his eyes to go back to normal. Only then did she begin to relax, releasing her frightened grip on his skull and arms returning to her sides.

 “everything’s fine, frisk; it’ll take just a little more than that to do anything serious to these old bones.”

 “Are you sure? You’re not just saying that so I won’t worry, are you?”

 “‘m sure.”

 She still wasn’t totally convinced he was telling the truth, but she would let him off the hook for now – if he really was hurt, it would be made apparent to her soon enough.

 “I’m so sorry that I laughed...” She apologized as she lowered her gaze, deeply ashamed.

 “don’t be.” One phalange found its way under her chin, gently lifting her head up. “it was kind of funny, wasn’t it?”

 “If it had been me that fell instead, you wouldn’t have been laughing.” Frisk stated bluntly, knowing that what she said was true.

 “frisk, i wasn’t hurt, so it’s fine.” He replied with a tone of finality, then smiled at her. “but it’s nice to know that you chair about me so much.”

 Once she had processed the pun, Frisk’s eyes automatically narrowed and her nose wrinkled in mock disgust. He laughed at her petulant expression, and the sound was enough for the disgruntled look on her face to slip just slightly. It vanished entirely when the phalange that had been under her chin shifted, the hand it belonged to reaching up to cup her cheek.

 Sans’s own expression had softened as well; a warm smile elevating the corners of his mouth coupled with a tender gaze meant solely for her. His other hand rose to brush the stray and uneven strands of hair away from the girl’s eyes as his thumb traced smooth circles against the skin of her cheek.

 Anything she had to say to him prior had died on her lips.

 His actions had rendered her entirely speechless.

 Sans spent the next few minutes gently running his boney fingers through her hair and stroking her face, appreciating the different types of softness from both. His eye sockets were lidded from sheer bliss, he was enjoying this moment that much.

 However, he returned to his senses not too long afterward, his sockets snapping open with a gasp of sudden realization. He immediately removed his hands and scrambled backwards, nearly on all fours, until his back hit the wall.

 Frisk stared at him with even more confusion evident than when he had been affectionately pawing at her.

 “i... i can explain, i...” Sans stuttered, hands fluttering about as if on the defensive and anticipating her to attack him for his behavior. “no, no i can’t explain anything this time... not at all. oh stars, frisk, i... i’m so sorry. i don’t know what came over me.”

 “No, no... It’s... it’s alright! I’m not mad at you, Sans, so there’s no reason at all for you to act like I am.” She shuffled towards him once more, but only made it a few steps across the room before her legs gave out on her – they were still far too weak due to a combination of several consecutive weeks of bedrest and the injuries she sustained when she first fell into the Underground and encountered Flowey.

 Sans pushed his previous thought process to the side and moved to assist her. He was at her side in an instant, hoisting Frisk into his arms before she could begin to question him of his objective. He carried her back to the bed, placing her gently underneath the covers then pulling the sheets up to her chest, all the while struggling to aim an admonishing look at his patient.

 He was immensely flattered by how quickly she had rose to her feet, for the first time in weeks, just to make certain that he hadn’t injured himself despite the pain she must have felt in doing so. However, as much as this gesture of hers touched the very depths of his SOUL, he also wished that she hadn’t left the bed in the first place. She was still recuperating, and if he hadn’t carelessly broken the chair he had been sitting on, then Frisk wouldn’t have had a reason to exert herself.

 Sans had no one to blame but himself for this... and perhaps Flowey. He too was responsible, in a roundabout sort of way, but Sans knew he couldn’t pin every single thing that went wrong during the process of Frisk’s recovery on him, as tempting as the thought was. That was just escaping responsibility.

 “What’s with the sour face, Mr. Grumpybones?” She took notice of his bitter expression and was swift in pointing it out.

 “i would think the answer to that question is obvious – you got out of bed when i specifically told you just this morning not to.”

 “But what was I supposed to do then? Just... lay here and watch you have a staring contest with the ceiling when it was totally possible and reasonable for me to think that you might have split the back of your skull open because you didn’t pop right back up after that fall you took?”

 “i was in a minor case of shock from the impact.” Sans struggled to remain firm with her. “i would have gotten up, eventually.”

 “Well, even if what you’re saying is true...,” He momentarily scowled at her, but not for long until it too evaporated. “...Eventually just wasn’t good enough for me.”

 His mouth opened and closed in rapid succession, but eventually, he just smiled down at her with all the warmth and quiet intensity that had been present before. Again, he carded his phalanges through her bangs, then said quietly, almost inaudibly,

 “get some rest, pumpkin.”

 He was trying to escape the conversation, Frisk surmised, but her thoughts were cut short when she felt a soft pressure against her forehead. Sans quickly turned off the lamp and shuffled out of the room as if embarrassed, almost ashamed. What reason would he have to be embarrassed? Frisk was fairly certain the lingering sensation she felt on her forehead was from a kiss.

 How that could even possible she wasn’t entirely certain, but Frisk had previously witnessed him drinking from a straw on some occasions during their mealtimes together, so perhaps him being capable of kissing wasn’t too much of a stretch. At any rate, Sans had fled the scene before she had the chance to question him about it, and perhaps that was exactly the point.

 However, Sans didn’t remain bashful concerning his gestures of affection. The next morning, he greeted Frisk with another hesitant kiss to the cheek, just like the night before, but instead of apologizing and stumbling over his words, his bright eyelights studied her closely, gauging her reaction for any signs of discomfort or disgust. Finding none, he grinned widely, and from there, the adoration he felt and actively expressed towards her only increased.

 He gave her kisses sparingly, and gave plenty of warning beforehand from that point onward, just in case... She allowed him at each occasion, even turning her cheek towards him and tapping it with her index finger feigning impatience sometimes when it seemed to her he wanted to press his mouth against her skin, but refrained from it for whatever reason; perhaps it was that timidity of his creeping back every so often to remind him of its existence and to make itself known.

 During one instance when he leaned down to give her a peck on the forehead, he hesitated, much longer than usual and too long in her opinion. So to remedy the situation, Frisk leaned upwards slightly... and placed a peck of her own on the tip of his nasal ridge. He leapt backwards as if she had slung cold water on him instead, and yes, during her stay here, Frisk had learned that magical skeleton monsters could be affected by changes in temperatures and experience sensations similar to a human’s nerve endings. His spine was pressed up against the closed door – she wasn’t entirely certain how he had managed to scurry that distance, and in reverse so quickly; Frisk was halfway convinced that he had somehow teleported.

 He blinked owlishly at her for several extended, drawn out seconds, then broke out into a wide grin and laughed.

 Afterward, Sans gave her a kiss at the beginning and conclusion of each day they spent in one another’s company.

 It wasn’t long after until Frisk found the strength to walk again, on the condition that she was under constant supervision as a precaution in case her legs collapsed underneath her again. The first few days, Sans held her hand in a strong but gentle grip, leading the girl around his home wherever it was she wanted to go. He would chide her on pushing her limits, but he could only surmise how liberating it must have felt to be able to move around again and stretch her legs after so long of being confined to a single room, and unable to even leave bed at that.

 Her first time leaving the bedroom was almost exciting, to finally see what lied beyond the walls of that child-sized, enclosed room. The hallway outside seemed so wide, and seemed to stretch further than it really did. Aside from the door to Frisk’s room, there were two others visible – one led to Sans’s bedroom, and the other was a mystery. When Sans caught her staring at it and the sign dangling from the doorframe, which politely deterred any would-be trespassers from entering, he led her away and guided her attentions towards the living area. She was still curious about it, but pushed any thoughts pertaining to the prohibited door to the side to ponder later.

 Sans’s house was a bit on the small side and simple in design, but also cozy and comforting; the very epitome of a cottage dwelling. The living room was her favorite place to be – often she and Sans would sit and make themselves comfy in that giant armchair of his and read by the fireplace together. There was no danger of this one breaking under their combined weight, he insisted, but Frisk was still cautious about sitting on the arm of the chair, no matter how well-built and sturdy it looked.

 When she voiced this concern aloud, he then offered her a place by his side. If she took him up on this suggestion, then she would practically be sitting in his lap. Perhaps not, and while Frisk would admit that she was growing more and more fond of him with each passing day in a certain sense, going so far as allowing him to kiss her face and finding herself often returning the gesture, the girl still couldn’t quite say she was comfortable to that extent with cozying up to Sans.

 And yet, Frisk found herself inching closer and closer to him anyway, unconsciously moving more towards his immediate vicinity each time they sat together in that armchair suitable for a king. Not to the degree that she was ever settled in his lap, but she had definitely brushed shoulders with him, even leaned against him a time or two. He welcomed the dwindling proximity between them, occasionally wrapping an arm around her own shoulders if she was enough within his reach to do so.

 How this routine of theirs even began was when Frisk had spotted a bookshelf next to the armchair, each row filled with titles unfamiliar to her. They were all authored by the monsters inhabiting the Underground, he informed her, and she then wanted to view their contents for herself. She was astounded to find that the words on the pages inside were written in her language and not one unfamiliar to her, but Sans spoke English as well, so it really shouldn’t have surprised her as much as it did.

 Some of them were children’s books and fairytales, stories that Sans had owned since he was small – they were in excellent condition for their estimated age, which briefly made her wonder how old Sans actually was. Others were of the nonfictional variety, like biographies containing tales and accounts of humans and monsters having once lived in harmony many, many years ago. She learned this period of peace between the races came to an abrupt end when humanity waged war against the monsters; the humans emerged victorious, rounded up the monster population, and sealed them away in a deep cavern under Mount Ebott behind a magical barrier.

 If it weren’t for the fact that Frisk was brutally assaulted by a talking flower and was currently sitting next to a giant living animate skeleton, she wouldn’t have believed it.

 “...They didn’t tell us about this in history class at school on the surface.”

 “ha! i can believe that. it seems like the vast majority of humanity has forgotten that we even exist, much less ever lived alongside them. now monsters have been relegated to malignant figures in your stories that terrorize children and other innocents...”

 “I can’t even begin to imagine how insulting that must be to you.” She frowned, eying him with sympathy in her gaze. “...Are you the only monster that feels this way about humans, wanting to put what happened in the past behind you, or are the rest all like Flowey and think we’re evil?”

 He instantly looked discomforted by her question. Sans was visibly squirming in his seat, seeming more nervous than she ever could recall having seen him. He almost appeared pained, he was so unsettled.

 But before she could retract her inquiry, apologize, or attempt to comfort him, he at last answered her. “opinions are... varied, among monsterkind.”

 “......Oh.” She said quietly, taking as long with her own reply as he had.

 An uncomfortable silence followed.

 Neither of them would look at one another. Both could only writhe uncomfortably where they sat, both consumed with regret for the things that were said. The warm, domestic mood around them had been spoiled, and Frisk felt it was her fault for bringing up such a serious, not to mention grim topic in the first place.

 But now that the topic had surfaced, it made her begin to consider something, and this wasn’t the first time that this particular something had plagued her thoughts before.

 From his actions and his behavior towards her, Frisk could deduce that Sans obviously held a great deal of compassion towards humanity. He didn’t have to help her at all when he did, and neither would a human if she were being honest, but especially not him when her own kind had imprisoned his entire race. He had no obligation to assist her and would gain nothing from doing so, nothing that she could think of at any rate, and yet he had without a second thought. Not even for his own safety, as Sans had faced Flowey in order to get to her.

 Flowey’s last words of parting to the skeleton had been haunting her lately.

 “You fool… Humans will always despise monsters. You remember that when you’re at the mercy of this one and it has none to spare…”

 Was Sans an outcast among the rest of his kind because of his stance towards humans? Is that why he lived alone in this little house, and never brought home any company?

 Sans wasn’t entirely without companionship, at least this was what Frisk tried to convince herself of; he seemed to have at least one friend in the spider lady that had taught him how to sew the beautiful blue blanket with the bones stitched in the fabric that currently sat atop her bed, who he mentioned when she had once asked him where it came from. However, Sans had spoken as though that had been some time ago. Perhaps he truly didn’t have anyone else in his life aside from herself.

 Dwelling on that thought as she did suddenly made her unbearably sad, feeling as though the blame lied solely on her shoulders that such a wonderful, patient, and kind monster would spend the remainder of his life alone as long as she was here.

 So much so, that Frisk wasn’t even aware she was crying until she felt Sans begin to wipe the tears that cascaded down her cheeks with his thumb.

 “please... please don’t cry, pumpkin.” She wasn’t sure why, perhaps it was his mournful tone or the just as saddened expression on his face that was rendered slightly blurry through her tearstained vision, but she only wailed all the more, which was the exact opposite of what Sans wanted. He then reached out for her, to envelop her in his arms in a comforting embrace, the history book that he had held loosely in his hands tumbling to the floor, forgotten. “pumpkin, why are you crying...?”

 “Sans, am I... not supposed to be here...?” She sniffled, struggling to extricate herself from his gentle grasp, feeling as though she didn’t deserve it or him. “Am I the reason why you’re alone?”

 She heard him let out a quiet gasp before holding her even closer to himself, against his chest. In the small space of time prior to him speaking again, she heard something else, a pulsing, thumping sound emanating from somewhere deep within his ribcage. It was almost like a heartbeat... If she wasn’t so wrapped up in her own sorrow, Frisk might have contemplated why she would be hearing something that was so similar to a heartbeat coming from Sans when skeleton monsters shouldn’t have hearts.

 “...why would you think something like that?” He was running his phalanges through her hair, barely nuzzling the top of head as he urged her to speak. “why are you blaming yourself for that? why? tell me.”

 Frisk didn’t want to mention what Flowey had said, or what was written in the book for that matter. She wasn’t sure why he even bothered asking her, if only to hear her say it in that awful, croaky, hiccup-laden voice of hers - they both knew exactly why. She didn’t want to talk about this at all, even though the two of them having arrived at this point was entirely through her doing.

 She couldn’t think of anything to say, so the girl only let out a sob and shook her head, refusing to reply.

 He sighed, squeezing her tighter, but not so much that it would be discomforting or painful, then moved his mouth next to her ear, so he could ascertain that what he had to say would be heard.

 “frisk, i need you to calm down, pumpkin. i need you to breathe. it’s not your fault. none of this is.” When she weakly attempted to argue, he shushed her, his voice little above a whisper. “yes, it’s true you’re not supposed to be down here, according to the law of monsterkind, but it’s not because of you that i’m alone – that has nothing to do with you. i made my choice a long time ago, long before you ever fell down here. and i have no regrets about that. none at all.”

 “But... But it’s not fair!” She clutched onto his robe and bawled into his shoulder, the cloth becoming damp with her tears, but he didn’t care.

 “i know it’s not fair, it’s not fair at all, but that’s just how things are down here, pumpkin. it’s not your fault.”

 “Why does it feel like it is, though?” The question escaped her lips before she could stop it; it was probably the only one she has asked him that he didn’t have an answer for.

 “i don’t know. but if i’ve said or done anything to make you feel this way, then i’m sorry. i won’t ever do it again.” The smoothness that was his cheek rubbed against her wet one as he again asked of her, his request sounding more like a plea, “just please, please stop crying... i can’t take it. it hurts too much.”

 “I... I don’t know if I can...” She choked out, and his hands shifted from their place tangled in her hair to rubbing slow, soothing circles into her back.

 “...then i’ll hold you for as long as it takes. if you’ll allow me to.”

 Frisk responded by clinging to him desperately, her fingers grabbing at his broad shoulders for grounding. Again, she heard the sound of the strange inexplicable pulsing within his chest; it was even louder than before, almost as if demanding its existence to be known. The curious thumping against his bones calmed her, and it wasn’t long after that she felt her own heartbeat slowing down, the flow of her tears beginning to slow, and with that the mysterious palpitations next to her other ear began to fade as well.

 By the time her tearful fit had reached its conclusion, Frisk was left feeling embarrassed and ashamed over that spontaneous emotional outburst. She had put Sans in an uncomfortable position, she was sure, both figuratively and literally – when he had reached out to embrace her, she had been maneuvered until she was more or less in his lap. Not quite there, but close enough that it would be undoubtedly awkward should he notice and decide to bring attention towards it.

 But when she mustered the courage to look him in the eye sockets again, she found nothing but sympathy and concern in his gaze.

 “you alright now, pumpkin?” He inquired softly with the tiniest frown.

 “Yeah, I’m all cried out. My eyes are entirely bone dry now.” She replied with a laugh that was just as dry as she claimed her eyes currently were.

 Sans quietly chuckled at the pun before his expression turned serious. “i’m so sorry, frisk. i didn’t mean to make you cry. that was all my fault – i shouldn’t have been so insensitive when there were so many other ways i could’ve gone about telling you.”

 “No, no, you’ve got it wrong, Sans. You weren’t being insensitive; I was being too sensitive and couldn’t handle what you said in a mature manner. It was entirely my fault Sans, all mine.” Before he could protest, she continued, “I guess that what you said just surprised me... I mean, I knew that things must be bad between our races, considering what happened in the past, but... hearing that so many monsters hate me already even though I’ve never met them... I suppose that just got to me is all.”

 “they don’t hate you, pumpkin. i don’t think anyone could.”

 Sans didn’t know how wrong he was, she thought.

 “the problem is that they just don’t know you. they don’t know you like i do.” He smiled tenderly at her. “i think that if the rest of the monsters here that feel the way they do about humans got to know you, if they gave you a fair chance, every single one of them would inevitably fall in love with you. ......like i did.”

 She almost gaped at him once Frisk processed what it was he had said.

 Sans had most definitely said that he loved her, and he had said it with a glowing deep blue blush coating the majority of his cheekbones area. What he had said was unquestionably sweet, but she was left wondering in what sense was he referring to when he professed his love. Surely, it must be of the platonic sort, or possibly even the familial. As implausibly tolerant as he was towards her kind, surely he, a monster, wouldn’t develop feelings for a human...

 She gathered what was left of her wits and asked him for clarification.

 “...What do you mean, ‘like you did’? What does that mean?”

 “whatever you want it to.” He replied simply, punctuating his statement with a swift peck against the crown of her head.

 Her face screwed into a look of irritation and confusion – that answered nothing at all. If anything, it only left her with more questions.

 What did she want it to mean? This wasn’t the first time that she pondered the state of their relationship, especially once Sans had began kissing her as often as he did. These thoughts only multiplied once she began anticipating his affectionate gestures and eventually returning them.

 She didn’t know what she wanted it to be; she was still confused over her exact feelings towards him, but what Frisk did know was, she liked Sans. In what way, she wasn’t completely certain – but she liked him.

 “...why don’t we talk about something else, something lighter.” He suggested, snapping Frisk out of her reverie.

 “Wait. I have one other question about this humans and monsters subject. One more.”

 “alright...” He responded cautiously, at least willing to hear her out.

 “What makes you different from them?” Noticing signs of perplexity surfacing on his skull, she elaborated, “Why do you feel the way you do about humans, showing them mercy, when the other monsters apparently don’t? Why are you different?”

 Sans appeared to hesitate before replying, but when he did, he wore a grin that was different than the other ones she had seem from him; beaming, almost proud.

 “the reason why i’m like i am is because of my older brother.” His sockets closed, seeming to reminisce. “he was obsessed with humans, despite everything he had always been told about them growing up. the rest of the underground thought that he was an oddball, but he was determined to show everyone down here that humans weren’t as bad as all the stories from the war made them out to be.”

 Frisk smiled at the fondness he clearly showed for his brother, but then a certain detail she discerned in his speech commanded her attention – Sans spoke of him in past tense.

 “...Sans? Did... Did something happen? ...To your brother?”

 His grin then turned into a grimace. “he’s... he’s no longer with us. he passed away. and i’d... really rather not talk about what happened.”

 “That’s okay! You’ve told me enough now; we can talk about something else, if you’d like.”

 “...but what about you, though?” He questioned, his voice sounding strained to her for some reason. “what about your family on the surface?”

 “Oh, them...” Now it was her turn to frown. “I have a mother and a younger sister. I doubt either of them has noticed I’m gone. Or anyone I know, for that matter.”

 “that can’t be true. i refuse to believe that could ever be true. ...what kind of relationship do you have with your sister?”

 “She hates my guts.” Frisk stated none too delicately.

 “...oh.” Sans looked at her with all the consolation that he could summon, as if it was the most tragic thing he had ever heard. “i’m sorry... ...i have a younger sibling myself. another brother. we... we haven’t spoken for some time. ...he did something. something terrible. something so horrible that perhaps it’s even unforgiveable, and i haven’t been able to look at him the same way ever since. ...so i left, and moved here, into our old childhood home. the one place in the underground i know he’ll never think to look for me.”

 “So you sort of understand how it is, to feel this way about a sibling. I don’t hate my sister, but I... I really can’t say I like her either.”

 “i as well wouldn’t say i hate him, for what he did. ...i don’t think i could ever say that i hate my brother, but i’m not sure if i can ever bring myself to forgive him for what he did, much less allow him to reenter my life when i’m reasonably sure he isn’t sorry for what happened between us that caused the rift in the first place.”

 “...And it just got worse after the dispute that caused you to leave. Everyone takes the side of your younger brother over yours.”

 “you know us so well, it’s as if you were actually there to experience everything there is that exists between the two of us.”

 “Like I said, I kind of understand where you’re coming from, maybe.”

 “...but you don’t deserve to know what that’s like.” He cupped her cheek with one of his large palms, staring deeply into her eyes. “you deserve the best life has to offer, frisk. not... whatever it was that you went through on the surface. not whatever it was that caused you to come to this stars forsaken mountain, of all places.”

 “You might be the only one to think so, Sans.”

 “...then i’ll love you enough for all of them.” Sans murmured as he rested one of his large palms over hers, cradling her hand as if it were something irreplaceably precious.

 Another lengthy moment of silence passed between them, far longer but also far more peaceful than the one before. It held the sense of calmness that followed after a harsh and heavy storm, a reminder that the terror had passed and those who weathered through it were permitted to relax and put their qualms at ease.

 Sans wrapped his free arm around Frisk’s shoulders, bringing her closer to him than she had ever been, but still not quite to the extent that she was sitting in his lap. He gently urged her to rest her head against his shoulder, and she did, feeling exhausted from her crying episode earlier. He then rested his own atop hers, his eye sockets closing contentedly with a soft pleased hum.

 Before she slipped into a state of slumber, Frisk thought she heard him repeat in a hushed whisper that he loved her, as if to remind her in case this detail had somehow been forgotten.

 How could she forget? It was the first time someone had said something like that to her with so much emotion and sincerity.

 Sans did love her, she realized, more than anyone in her life ever had. Perhaps that was why she found herself accepting his kisses and tender touches so easily, and even reciprocating them. Now that she had learned what real affection was from him, Frisk was almost constantly starved for it, though she never once voiced this aloud, far to embarrassed and more than enough ashamed for thinking and feeling such things.

 Thankfully, she never had to. Sans was more than enough willing to provide her with the attention she so secretly craved, as long as his shyness didn’t interfere - and even then, that aspect of him was swiftly vanishing.

 ...So why was it that Frisk at times longed for what was found elsewhere, on the surface?

 As lovely as Sans’s house was, after a few weeks had passed of her having regained her ability to walk, the girl was beginning to get a little stir crazy. The need to move her legs and explore what lied beyond was becoming unbearable, and the walls of the tiny cottage were feeling smaller and smaller every day, to the point it was near suffocating.

 She needed fresh air. She needed to breathe.

 “and just where do you think you’re going?”

 Sans had caught her attempting to exit through the door in the hallway; not the one with the descending stairs – he was adamant about not letting her go down there. He insisted it was a basement, but he would have a reaction that was close to a panic attack whenever she would venture too close to it. Perhaps he was afraid she would stumble down them and injure herself further?

 Anyway, it wasn’t quite accurate to say he had caught her – Frisk wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that she was heading outside, but judging from the tone the skeleton used when he noticed her, it was clearly no different than if she had.

 “I was going outside?”

 “absolutely out of the question.” He responded swiftly and sternly.

 “But Sans! I... I’m feeling a bit cramped here!” She spoke over his objections. “I’ve tried walking back and forth from the living room to the end of the hallway to get rid of this feeling, but it’s just not working anymore!”

 “no.” He nearly growled, surprising her slightly, but there was a distinct fear in his eye sockets.

 “...Are you afraid that a monster is gonna see me, realize I’m human, and then attack me or something?” Frisk inquired, the possibility of such a thing occurring having now just dawned upon her.

 “that... that’s not the only thing i’m worried about. most of the monsters that live here would accept and adore you if they got to know you, i’m absolutely sure of this, but... it’s not really them you and i should be so concerned with here – it’s flowey.”

 “...Oh yeah. Him...” She had honestly almost forgotten about him, fortunately.

 “if he found you again, if he decided to come back here despite what happened then... i’m afraid that he might try to, ah..., ‘finish the job’ from last time...”

 “If he wanted to do that, then why hasn’t he tried to after all this time since he almost killed me? Is it because of you?”

 “i think that might be a possible explanation as to why he’s never tried ambushing this place.” He gestured to the space around them, the little cottage that he called home, “even when he’d have to know that i’m sleeping, and as much as he obviously detests me, he’s never tried to sneak inside and attack me during the night. ...i believe it might be because... he’s afraid of me.”

 After hearing the voice Sans spoke to him with and witnessing what he had done to the evil flower, Frisk could understand why he would now.

 “Well, if you’re so afraid that he’d attack me and so sure that he’s scared of you, then why not go with me?”

 “...pardon?”

 “Go. With. Me. On a walk through the Ruins.” She bounced eagerly on her heels, stretching out her hand for him to take. “Everything should be fine then, right? As long as you’re with me.”

 He was so quiet and for so long that she was afraid Sans was attempting to sort out the easiest way to deny her in his head. However, a bright blue blush eventually found its way on and covered his cheeks, and slowly, he took her hand in his.

 “...at the first sign of trouble, we’re coming back. immediately.”

 “Understood.” She happily agreed, then gave their conjoined hands a tug forward. “Come on, old man! Let’s get those feet moving!”

 “i’ve already told you before – i’m not that old.”

 “Then you should start acting your age – prove you’re not by shaking a leg and getting a move on!”

 And so walks around the Ruins became a part of their daily routine. At first Sans was insistent that they remain restricted to his front yard and the area around it, but as their days together outside increased, he gradually became more lenient and they would travel a little further than the previous day. Eventually, the pair reached the beginning of the cavern, where Frisk had fallen down some time ago.

 And there awaiting them was a sharp bone stabbed into the ground, the marrow thickly coated in a light green colored fluid.

 Though the vile flower was nowhere to be found, this spiteful act was enough for both to be made aware that he had indeed survived being stabbed in the stem by Sans. He highly doubted that Flowey would feel up to trying anything gutsy while he was here, but the arm he had wrapped around Frisk to steady her tightened protectively, in preparation should his assumption turn out to be wrong.

 Frisk’s attention eventually strayed from the spear made of bone to the bed of flowers that had broken her fall.

 “Y’know, it’s kind of funny in a really surreal way. I was almost killed by a literally living flower right at this spot, but if it weren’t for those flowers, I might not have even survived the fall down here.”

 An oddly morose look crossed Sans’s face as he stared down at the bed of buttercups, feeling his sockets moisten.

 “oh gaster... even after everything that happened back then, even while in the grave, you’re still doing everything within your power to help humankind... that’s just like something you would do...”

 When his older brother had died, crumbled away to dust right before him, Sans remembered his request, in his final breaths, that he be given a human burial. Humans buried their dead underneath the earth, and while he certainly didn’t understand it or even try to, Sans honored this, as it was the last thing he could do for him. His younger brother had staunchly protested this, demanding that his dust be scattered in front of the barrier, closest to the surface that most monsters longed to one day see and experience, but Sans fulfilled their dear departed brother’s final desire anyway, despite the anger he had outwardly expressed.

 Sans had felt just as furious at the time, but he respected Gaster enough to not argue against his dying wishes.

 And as he carried the sleeping Frisk home due to her having valiantly struggled but failed to remain awake about one third of the way back, Sans was more grateful than ever that he had heeded his older brother’s parting words of wisdom. If he hadn’t, then he was absolutely certain that he never would have met and fallen so deeply and hopelessly in love with the woman he held in his arms.

 The mere thought brought a cold chill of pure terror down his spine, but he managed to will it away by focusing on the weight and warmth present of the adorable human he held so closely to his SOUL in the most literal and figurative definition imaginable.

 She was here. She was safe.

 Here and safe, with him.

 And she always would be, if he had any say in it.

 ~~~~~~~~~~

 “i beg your pardon?!”

 Sans had all but yelped that one fateful morning at breakfast, having spat out his tea all over the tablecloth in his shock. Frisk didn’t think that what she had to say would have surprised him as much as it did, but he had immediately proven her wrong.

 “Sans, are you alright?!” She rose up from her chair, scampered over to his side, and began rapidly patting his back even though she wasn’t certain if choking worked the same for skeleton monsters as it did for humans.

 “yes... i’m fine...” His voice still sounded hoarse from all his sputtering. “you just... surprised me. that’s all.”

 It had been well over four months since she had found herself in his care. Her injuries had healed entirely, and as much as she enjoyed Sans’s companionship, Frisk understood that she was overstaying her welcome and it was time for her to leave. He spent basically every single waking moment by her side, only going outside when they took their walks through the Ruins – this was not the sort of life that he should live. She couldn’t keep imposing on him like this, no matter how much he insisted that she wasn’t. He was just too kind for his own good.

 Telling him of her plans to go was more painful for her than he would ever know, if she could help it – she had to be firm with him, make her intentions clear and show no indication of hesitation or doubt, otherwise he might just convince her to stay. She had held off on bringing up this subject for long enough, and Frisk felt this was something that had to be done.

 Sans appeared utterly miserable at the revelation that she was indeed leaving, and this almost made her retract her previous statement. However, he managed to muster a smile for her before she could and asked,

 “but before you go, would you at least have one last cup of tea with me?”

 How could she turn away such an innocent request, especially accompanied with a face like that?

 Sans had asked her to wait in the living room for him; they would also read one more book together – again, she couldn’t find it within her to say no, even though it would undoubtedly make it all the more difficult for her to leave.

 It was halfway through his narration of the adventures starring a fluffy bunny and after she had finished her cup that it happened – Frisk was struck with a sudden and overpowering sensation of drowsiness. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and Sans’s voice was beginning to sound far away even though she was right next to him.

 She reached out to weakly clutch onto his sleeve, and he stopped mid-sentence.

 “frisk?”

 “Sans... I... I can’t...” She mumbled, her words sounding slurred to her own ears.

 “can’t what? what’s wrong?” He questioned, setting the storybook to the side just in time for her to collapse onto his lap. “frisk!”

 “I’m sorry... I can’t anymore... I can’t...” She fought against the darkness of sleep that threatened to overtake her, but it was all in vain, she realized. “I can’t... stay awake... anymore...”

 Then everything. Went. Black.

 When she finally awoke from what had felt like a thousand-year sleep, the first thing that came into Frisk’s steadily returning vision was the familiar walls of the guest room and Sans’s worried face hovering over her, his eyelights having been reduced to tiny trembling pinpricks. The relief that washed over his expression was instantaneous, letting out a sigh of repose as he reached out to tenderly cradle her cheek.

 “pumpkin, how are you feeling? ...speak to me, baby girl.”

 “Sans...” She whimpered, still feeling lightheaded and weak. “...I feel like I’m made of stone and I’m falling. ...It’s horrible. I’m scared.”

 “frisk... i’m sorry... i’m so, so sorry...” Sans looked to be on the verge of tears; she wasn’t sure why he would be saying he was sorry – he had nothing to apologize for, no reason to blame himself. “...that unpleasant sensation of yours might go away in a few minutes. i hope... but frisk...? i think it might be best if you stay with me for a while longer, until you recover from this. maybe a few more days? on the chance that this might happen again?”

 “I... I think you might be right about that.” She groaned, her body feeling heavy as lead. “Because I can’t go anywhere like this. I can barely even move my head from side to side, much less my arms and legs. ...I’m the one that should really be sorry, Sans. You were finally going to be free of me, haha... And now you’re stuck with the burden of taking care of me again.”

 “hush. that’s enough of that.” He placed a bony finger against her lips. “i... i’ve never for a single instance seen you as a burden, frisk. and right now is no different. i’ll watch over and take care of you for as long as need be. because i love you...”

 She certainly believed him; there were no lingering doubts in her heart that he did, but Frisk still felt as though she didn’t deserve his love.

 The next few days passed by in a hazy blur. Frisk had once again regained mobility, late into the day after she had abruptly lost consciousness, but her motions and steps were still unpredictable and wobbly. Sans would take her by the hand and gently lead her wherever it was she needed to go, just like when she was relearning to walk when the bones in her legs had healed. She would outwardly bemoan how helpless she had become, but Sans persisted with his assertions that he didn’t mind offering her his assistance in the slightest.

 Sans rarely ever left her side since she arrived here, but today was one of those extremely rare occasions where he was forced to.

 Her skeletal pal had to run errands and leave her all alone for several hours – the supply of food in the house was running dreadfully low, so much so that the cabinets and fridge were practically empty. This was a task that must be done, Sans bitterly lamented, and he resolved to get it done and over with as quickly as possible so he could return to his dearly beloved human.

 Frisk did enjoy his presence, immensely so, but she also had to admit to herself that it was nice to finally have some alone time. The girl decided to take this opportunity to further explore the house in ways she couldn’t before. Like the basement that he was so determined to keep her out of. Every time she asked about it, he always gave her a different excuse as to why she shouldn’t wander down there when she pressed him enough. It was dirty down there, it was cold, it was dusty, she could get hurt...

 But something was calling her to it.

 She waited at least half an hour after Sans had left to begin her private research – just in case he forgot something and came back. She couldn’t have that. This felt so childish, a part of her argued, and perhaps it was. But as much as she adored him, Frisk was more than a bit put off with the way that he would sometimes treat her like an incompetent clumsy child that needed to constantly be looked after. Sans knew she wasn’t one and he had let her know on more than one occasion that he acknowledged this, but that didn’t stop him from babying her far more than necessary. Sometimes, she genuinely enjoyed it. And other times, it became annoying. And the past few days, it had been annoying.

 This was her tiny little slice of revenge! And Sans would never have to know, because it’s not like she would ever see him again after all this was over anyway...

 Frisk had previously pondered just how she was going to escape the Underground and return to the surface when she finally got around to doing it, and just where the rest of the Underground even was... and now she knew where to begin.

 At the end of the long, empty, hallway that Sans had frequently claimed was a basement, was a massive set of doors.

 There was a chilling air emanating around and from beyond them, so he hadn’t been completely misleading her about that. Everything else, though? Frisk now acknowledged that he had been more or less lying to her - and the worst part about that was, there was absolutely no reason for him to, as far as she understood.

 This discovery shouldn’t have been anything to obsess over, but she couldn’t help but feel a slight sting of betrayal.

 With nothing else to gawk at down here, she spun on her heel and headed back upstairs to continue her investigation.

 The next item on her list was to traverse the other room that was branded taboo for her to enter. Not Sans’s room, no; she was almost always welcome there. The room at the very end of the hallway next to the mirror with the sign hanging on it that said ‘room under renovations’. It was entirely possible and believable that it truly was being reconditioned, but she’s had a hunch ever since she first laid eyes on it that there was something more to what lied beyond that door, something mysterious that the normally kindly skeleton didn’t want her seeing or bearing knowledge of.

 Well, Frisk was never one to follow directions to the exact letter.

 And it wasn’t like the sign placed on the door was telling her not to enter. The very same could be said of her visiting the lower level of the house. Sans had never once directly instructed her not to enter either, so there was no fault to be found in doing so.

 At least, this is what she tried to convince herself of as she twisted the knob, the guilt for merely touching it flooding her system. She could make all the excuses she wanted, bring forth all the technicalities that existed surrounding what she was doing, but deep inside her heart and SOUL, Frisk knew that this was wrong, that she was invading a space that Sans didn’t want her to step foot into.

 ...But that still didn’t stop her from doing it.

 The people that frequented her life in the past had often told Frisk while growing up that her curiosity would one day bring about her undoing. Perhaps they were right about that – she wouldn’t have gotten herself into this entire situation in the first place were it not for her inquisitive nature. Curiosity may indeed kill the cat, but the latter half of the saying was so often forgotten or dismissed.

 And right at this moment in time, Frisk was once again treading into dangerous territory in her never-ending quest for satisfaction.

 The door let out a slow creak that echoed horribly throughout the hallway, causing her to jolt and search for any sign of her caretaker while simultaneously struggling to formulate a believable justification for what she was doing before regaining her bearings and reminding herself that Sans was nowhere inside the house.

 Tentatively, she tiptoed into the dark room.

 The light that was cast from the hallway provided some much-needed illumination; she could see a wooden trunk of some sort next to a small child-sized bed, no two. One was decorated in blue sheets, and the other orange. Stepping closer, Frisk spotted something carved into the headboards of each. She inspected the blue one first – ‘Sans’ was chiseled in pretty cursive writing, accompanied by little artistic whittlings of bones.

 This must have been his old bed from when he was a babybones, she thought with delight – after constantly being dwarfed the big guy for so long, it was almost impossible for her to imagine that he had ever been that small!

 The second bed must have been his brother’s, then. Where his name had been on the first, the name ‘Papyrus’ was scrawled.

 She wondered what had caused the two brothers to separate. She hadn’t asked Sans about it, hadn’t even mentioned his brother again after that one time, since the subject seemed to deeply depress him.

 She doubted that this tiny bedroom would provide her with any answers, but Frisk wanted to look over everything that was present regardless.

 The girl then turned her attention towards the chest that was situated between the two beds; there was a lock on it, she noticed despairingly. Was the key somewhere in this room? Or was it hidden in Sans’s? Or perhaps elsewhere in the house? After a swift but thorough search, she decided that it couldn’t be anywhere here.

 It was time to search Sans’s room.

 Meticulously, she poked through his belongings, making certain that everything was in its exact place prior to her tampering with it before moving onto another area. She peeked under the king-sized bed, in the compartments of his desk, even his sock drawer (scandalous!), and caught not a single glimpse of the key she was seeking. Just as she was considering giving up on her curious quest, sitting on the bed with an irritated huff and a pout, a sudden thought, or rather a heightened sense of intuition came to her. And with it followed a burst of determination to finish what she had began.

 She then stood up and immediately thrust her hand beneath the mattress, groping the space between the fabric case and the rest of the bed until her fingers touched something cool and metallic. Frisk clasped her fingers around it and withdrew her arm from the cushiony confine and found that the object was indeed a key. Perhaps not the one she was looking for, but a key nonetheless.

 She sprinted back to the chest and jammed the key into the lock; it fit perfectly, and when she twisted it, the latch came undone with a satisfying click. Setting both to the side, Frisk then lifted the lid to the trunk.

 Inside it was... clothes. A lot of clothes. Specifically children’s clothes. Nothing too surprising, seeing as she was currently standing in what for all intents and purposes appeared to be the brothers’ childhood bedroom, but something felt... strangely off to her about them.

 She pushed the garments out of the way, rummaging through the contents of the trunk for anything else of interest; she uncovered one other thing – a book.

 Opening the cover revealed it to be a photo album. Frisk flipped through the pages, barely stifling the squeal that threatened to escape at the adorable sight of Sans as a small chubby child – she would swear her heart skipped a beat. The photographs in front of her were so precious that they almost hurt her heart!

 Taking the album, Frisk sat down on the floor to get more comfortable as she witnessed more scenes from his life. One that particularly stood out was little Sans grinning as he was being held by a much taller and older skeleton with one arm, while another one with small beady eyes was slung over his other shoulder, giggling. Underneath the photo was written in that same exquisite cursive writing, ‘I take a day off to spend with Sans and Papyrus! It’s obvious they’ve missed me a lot, even though I’ve been right there with them this entire time...’.

 Frisk felt her heart throb a bit again, this time out of sadness – this family was so happy in the past. She may not know their entire story, but whatever happened to them wasn’t fair at all.

 More and more photos of the two young brothers and this other skeleton appeared. In many of them, the adult brother was wearing a robe and crown, with the boys wearing similar regal finery. It was only when she saw a picture of the three, all sitting on extravagant thrones in the backdrop of what most definitely seemed to be a castle that the ball dropped.

 If this man was indeed the kind of monsters... then that made Sans a prince.

 At once, a pathway to a possible answer, though still foggy in places, had been revealed to her; a reasoning as to why Sans had chosen to live here after he fought with his younger brother. Sans had previously mentioned that his older brother adored humans. After he passed away, the two must have had a disagreement involving this. Sans clearly loved them as well, and though he should have been next in line for the throne, it was entirely plausible that monsterkind rejected his rule because of this.

 However, what she next discovered on the following pages caused her blood to run cold.

 There were photos of Sans, now an adult, posed alongside children. Human children. She counted six different ones, three boys and three girls, with none ever appearing in the same picture together. But perhaps the most startling thing of all that she became aware of was that the clothes they wore were identical to the ones stowed away in the trunk where she had found the album.

 ...What happened to all these children?

 They escaped the Underground, Frisk attempted to convince herself so she wouldn’t lose her mind. But a terrible ache in the pit of her stomach argued otherwise. If they had successfully returned to the surface, then why would their belongings be here? Something had happened to them, that much her heightened intuition was certain of.

 ...But surely Sans didn’t have anything to do with it.

 ......Did he?

 She didn’t have to ponder over this for long, because the sudden creaking of the door behind her alerted Frisk to the presence of another. There he was, the very monster she had just begun to doubt, standing there at the doorframe, having caught her rummaging through his personal belongings in a room that he had all but explicitly stated through thinly veiled hints that he wanted her to stay out of and away from.

 His expression was unreadable to her. He gazed at her with wide, empty sockets, his usual grin entirely absent on his face – his mouth was set in a firm line that conveyed no emotion whatsoever. Sans didn’t say a word, didn’t move a single bone that composed his skeletal body. He just stared at her with those giant vacant black holes in the front of his skull.

 And Frisk then knew that what she had done, had utterly broken him.

 “Sans... I...” She spoke, her voice near unintelligibly faint, but after a few more seconds of silence, Frisk gave up on any attempt to explain herself – there was nothing to say, nothing she could say to make this situation she had created any better.

 He took one step towards her and she flinched. At this, the round white lights in his sockets returned, their appearance comparable to twin full moons in a starless night sky. They were large and gave off the impression of being unbearably sad, and the thin line of his mouth had morphed into a deep frown that dragged down the corners of his mouth further than she’d ever seen them before.

 “...it’s not what you think.” He whispered, his voice sounding unnatural and croaky, as if holding back a sob. “i swear, it’s not. i didn’t do anything to them, frisk.”

 She clutched the photo album closer, wrapping her arms around its cover and pressing it against her chest as if it were a lifeline. She didn’t move, aside from her trembling. She was firmly locked into place while being subjected to his probing gaze.

 “...What happened to them then, Sans?” She fearfully questioned, her inquiry leaving her lips as nothing more than a murmur. “Who are these children?”

 “...they were mine.” He said at last, taking a shuddering breath. “they were like you – they fell down here and i took care of them. they stayed a while, and then they left me. ...and then i never saw any of them again.”

 “...Where are they now?” She asked, as if she didn’t already know.

 He mumbled something unintelligible.

 “I can’t hear you, Sans. You’re... you’re going to have to speak up if you want me to understand what it is that you’re saying...”

 His shoulders were shaking, violently so. His tightly closed fists were clenching the fabric of his robe so roughly that it threatened to tear.

 “Sans...?”

 “for the love of god, frisk! don’t make me say it!”

 His sudden shout caused her to cry out in alarm, letting out a short shriek of fright as she looked into those usually gentle, sleepy, and loving sockets that now displayed nothing but indescribable anguish, boundless sorrow, and unbridled fury.

 Frisk didn’t push him further for an answer, but he gave her one regardless.

 “you want to know where they are now, what happened to them?!” He hissed, his expression contorting to a hateful grimace as he thundered towards her. “they’re dead, frisk. they died... and he was the one that killed them!”

 “Who?!” She inadvertently yelped, shambling backwards to put some distance between them until her back inevitably hit the wall.

 “the king of monsters! the ruler of the underground! papyrus! my brother!” He howled in agony, his head tipping backwards with his scream while hot tears poured endlessly down his cheeks. “he killed every single one of them! one after the other! he made it law for any human discovered in the underground to be executed! and he didn’t show any of them the slightest shred of mercy, even though they were just children and he knew they were mine!”

 At the end of his outburst, Sans then collapsed onto his knees, pounding the wooden flooring underneath him with his fists as though doing this would lessen the pain he felt inside by even the smallest of amounts.

 He wouldn’t look at her, his head hung low as he glared at the floor with as much hatred as he could muster.

 “before our older brother passed, all he asked of us in his final moments was to love them, the humans. to grant them mercy despite everything... despite what the humans had done to him...” He said with a wet sob. “papyrus was angry... and i was too. but i respected him enough to obey his last request. it’s what he would have wanted. not... not this! he never would have wanted humans to die and another war to be declared in his name! i knew that, so i don’t know why papyrus would think that senseless violence and bloodshed was what he would have wanted as a direct result of his own death, when what he requested was the exact opposite!”

 Somewhere during Sans’s speech, Frisk had begun wailing herself, filled with remorse and regret.

 She had wanted answers... but not like this.

 She hadn’t expected her baneful curiosity would eventually lead to him becoming so upset that he would be reduced to a bawling puddle of bones before her very eyes.

 “I’m sorry...! I’m so, so sorry, Sans!” She sniveled, shamefully burying her face into her hands.

 She would have fully understood if he slapped her for betraying his trust the instant his back had been turned and causing him to relive such unpleasant, traumatic memories. What she didn’t understand was him weakly crawling towards her before gathering her trembling form in his arms, holding her close to him as if she were the most important thing in the world.

 “...you know what this means, don’t you, frisk?” He mumbled throatily as he nuzzled the top of her head with his nasal ridge. When she didn’t respond, he continued, “you can’t ever leave this place, frisk. you can’t ever leave me... because the moment you do, the moment the other monsters find you, they’ll kill you.”

 “...I can’t ever go to the surface again?”

 “no, pumpkin. i’m sorry...”

 “But...” Any protests that she may have had instantly died on her lips.

 “i know this is a lot to take in, pumpkin. i said so before, that i really do believe if the rest of the monsters got to know you, if they would only give you the chance, they would grow to love you. ...but i thought the exact same of them, the children...”

 “You... You told me that it would be three and a half months...” She recalled aloud, eyes wide. “You said it would be three months and a half months until I could move. Until I could leave-”

 “i never said then that you could leave!” He cut her off, his expression and tone severe. “i said that’s how long it would take for you to make a complete recovery. ...i never once mentioned the possibility of you leaving the ruins.”

 “But you led me to believe that I could.” She argued, a hint of accusation in her own tone. “...Just when were you planning on telling me the truth? About all of this?”

 “i... i was going to, believe me, i was!” His front teeth bit down on the bottom of his mouth, a trait of his that manifested when under extreme stress. “it’s just... it seemed as if you enjoyed being with me. i thought... why bring up such a grim topic when you appeared perfectly happy?”

 “I was happy... Being with you, Sans... every day felt like something to look forward to. You’ve given me perhaps some of the happiest moments of my life so far.”

 “so naturally, you would want to leave me.” He bitterly spat, aiming a spurned pointed glare at her as he sarcastically added, “oh, i understand. i understand perfectly why you would want to leave now, frisk.”

 “Sans-”

 He abruptly grabbed her face, cradling her cheeks with his big skeletal hands, forcing her to look at him.

 “would staying here really be as horrible as you obviously think it will be? because... because your only other option here... is death! would you really rather die a senseless death than stay here with me? is that the point that you’re trying to get across?!”

 “Sans, you know that’s not-”

 “then what?! what have i done wrong?!”

 He was getting hysterical again, Frisk realized. She needed to say or do something that would settle him down.

 “Sans, you’ve done nothing wrong.” She calmly lied, patting his still quaking shoulders consolingly. “This is... This is just a lot to take in at once, like you said. I think I might just need some time for it all to sink in. Can you give me that? Some time?”

 “......ok.” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “if time is all you need, i can give you that. i’ll... i’ll give you anything you want, frisk. anything within my power and the bounds of reason. just... please don’t leave me!”

 She didn’t say anything else; she just continued to soothingly stroke his bones until he regained his composure. By the time he did, it was late. And after all of that crying, both agreed that it was almost time for bed. Sans had cooked dinner for them, but Frisk told him that she had lost her appetite. He believed her excuse, but then told her that she was eating double portions at the breakfast table to make up for the lost meal.

 For a long while after having headed back to the guest room, Frisk just laid back on the bed, arms held behind her head, staring up at the ceiling.

 Waiting.

 After no less than two hours had passed, this was when she decided to make her move. She climbed off the bed and took one last look at her surroundings that had become so familiar to her these past few months... then carefully crept down the hallway.

 When she reached Sans’s room, she pressed her ear against the door and stilled her breath, listening. He didn’t snore when he slept, she had learned that some time ago, but he did audibly mumble. About what, she wasn’t entirely sure. Sometimes his murmuring made some amount of sense and on other occasions it was utter nonsense, but the meaning of his unconscious soliloquies wasn’t what she needed to dwell on.

 No, what she couldn’t forget, the single thought that wouldn’t leave her mind and likely wouldn’t for some time was – Sans had drugged her.

 It was the tea that he had fed her immediately after she had mentioned leaving several days ago, this she was sure of. She had become weak and lost consciousness shortly after swallowing it. It had seemed like a mere coincidence then, but now, after having witnessed firsthand his desperation to keep her here...

 He may have had the best of intentions in doing so, but she couldn’t be around someone that would drug her, no matter how remorseful he was about it.

 Now certain that he was deep in sleep, Frisk then made her way towards the descending staircase. Her heart hammered inside her chest with every step she took, but she had managed to make it down into the hallway underneath the house without making any noise.

 As she rounded the corner, Frisk let out a long, soft sigh she hadn’t been aware she was holding. It was only a matter of time before she left this place behind, forever, and then it would be a fight for her own survival.

 But despite how terrifying Sans had made it sound...

 Frisk felt determined. Determined that she could survive the trials that awaited her in the Underground and reach the surface.

 But this sudden spark of determination was immediately snuffed out when she saw who was waiting for her at the end of the hallway.

 “this is the second time today that you’ve broken my trust, pumpkin.” Sans’s voice was unsettlingly calm considering the situation. “we’ve still got some time left until midnight – want to try and make it a third?”

 ...Where had he come from? How could he have made it to the doors before her when he would have had to of passed her in order to do so?

 “...I thought you were asleep.”

 “i could say the same for you.”

 “How did you know? Were you awake the whole time and heard me in the hallway upstairs? Did you know the exact moment when I got out of bed?”

 “no, i was definitely asleep. i didn’t hear a thing. but i felt it. i could feel you getting further and further away from me...” Sans’s left hand rose up to clutch at the fabric of his robe directly atop where his heart would be, if he had one. “...you’re really doing a number on my SOUL tonight, you know that, right?”

 “Sans, let me go.”

 “no! i’ll never let you go! i can’t! what part of certain death lying beyond this door are you not comprehending?!”

 “I think I can make it to the surface, Sans.” She tried to remain firm with her resolution, standing her ground against him. “Those other humans did die before me, but they were children-”

 “yes! you’re absolutely correct! they most certainly were children!” Came his dry, barking laughter. “and if monsterkind wouldn’t show mercy towards an innocent child, what makes you believe they would towards a stubborn adult woman?”

 “I... I don’t know! I just think I can-”

 “they all said the exact same thing! they all believed they were unstoppable...” He scowled at her, one of his pupils disappearing and the other turning a brightly glowing blue. “and i was convinced that this was true. all of their deaths were the result of my negligence. their demises are entirely my mistakes. ...but i won’t be making that same mistake again.”

 Sans then raised his hand and a red heart, cartoonish in shape, burst from her chest. Its color then changed to a deep blue, and an unanticipated weight fell over her, not unlike the one that came when she consumed his drugged tea. She found it incredibly difficult to move, but not impossible.

 Frisk took a few staggering steps towards him, towards the door. However, the girl was stopped in her tracks when she was magically lifted up into the air. She struggled to shake off the invisible grip his mysterious power had over her, but it was no use.

 “Sans, put me down!” She hissed, narrowing her eyes at him in warning, but he wasn’t even looking at her.

 He was looking down the hallway, where both of them had come from. He then began walking in that direction, with her still dangling in midair.

 “Are you... Are you seriously going to leave me here like this?!” She yelped.

 “of course not. it’s cold here.” He huffed, motioning her body forward with her having no choice but to obey his command.

 “What... What are you going to do to me, then?” She fearfully inquired, causing his hardened gaze to soften just slightly.

 “the first thing i’m going to do is put you to bed for the night. ...i’m not going to hurt you, pumpkin, if that’s what you’re thinking. never.” He assured her in his usual low and gentle tone. “...but if you insist on acting like a child, then i’m going to treat you like one until you can behave like the grown woman you actually are.”

  As she was being dragged away, Frisk took one last look at the door that separated the Ruins from the rest of the Underground, knowing that she wouldn’t be seeing it again for a long, long time, if ever.

[sunninja2002]

Autumn winds chapter fifteen: finally breathing.

Sunlight shone down onto the grassy plane where the caretaker lay, as he opened his eyes, his vision set upon 8 others, each were waking up, taking in their surroundings, autumn held her head as she woke, her mismatched eyes glancing around the cave. [*...guys..? Everyone is...your all here..] it was true, each child autumn had revived was there, in the flesh, the group looked at autumn, their eyes were no longer grey, they had... colour, life. "We're... we're alive! We didn't die!" Bandy looked at his hands, he heard a cough and noticed chara, chara stood as a shadow loomed over his eyes. "you, you ruined everything!!" Chara lunged for frisk and held her against the wall, autumn stood and kicked the back of chara's leg, making him fall back, he thrusted his knife only for autumn to grab it, he waited for her to stab him, she looks at the blade and stared at her reflection, she closes her eyes, a slash was heard, then a gasp from frisk, chara opened his eyes and saw two cut pieces of braided hair on the grass, chara looked up at autumn in disbelief and confusion. [*it's time to let go, chara] autumn dropped the knife at chara's feet and opened her eyes. she held frisks hand and stood over him, the others stood nearby. [*We aren't gonna kill you. And you won't be abusing this world anymore.] Frisk gripped autumn's hand as she looked at autumn's discarded braids, then to chara, waiting for an answer. "Why...i-I wouldn't have shown you- any of you, the same mercy!" Autumn was unphased, [*I know.] she walked around him, still holding frisks hand. The others followed, glancing at chara, autumn stopped and turned to look at chara one last time [*and that's why you've failed.] Autumn led the others through the hall as chara sat there, silently. Autumn's words ring in his head. As time went on for the 8 humans, frisk became the child of the dreemur family and became their greatest joy, while the other six besides autumn were constantly visiting the barrier, the king and queen were curious as to why they did this despite being told they were trapped here, autumn then came clean about her promise to them and how they miss their families. Asgore and Toriel looked at eachother in sorrow and decided to invest more time into the barrier.

Some time later.

The 8 humans stand in the laboratory as the royal scientist showed them a white vial. The scientist was a scaly pink dinosaur monster with hearing aids, she looked about 26 and next to her was her five year old daughter.

"ok, in this vile is the essence of a monster...that has passed away in the hospital, do not worry! The patients have willingly accepted giving their soul's for this cause before their passing. No need to feel guilt, as I was saying, with one drop of this in each of your souls, you should be able to pass through the barrier and back anytime you wish! So you can visit anytime. This has taken about 4 years to perfection. Alright. Who's first?" The children looked at eachother. Autumn stepped up. [*I'll go first.] The scientist had autumn reveal her soul and poured a drop of the white fluid onto the aburn orange heart, it swirled and created a white outline around her soul, autumn shivered at this feeling, each of the children were given the same treatment and they walked towards the barrier, autumn walked towards the light and touched it, she then fell through it as if it were water and landed on the other side. The head scientist looked on in amazement "it does work!" The other kids went through the barrier and back to test it, the head scientist was right. They could come back. They each looked around and took in a deep breath, for the first time in years, they could breathe. Autumn stood and smiled at the others. [*Cmon guys, let's get you home!] The children walked down the mountain, they entered the cave where it all started, frisk spotted her bike and picked it up, autumn spotted hers and got on it. Katt and Jodie spotted their old tent and camping area, vines and moss had claimed the metal and worn fabric over time. They looked at eachother as memories flooded back slowly, Finally, they embraced eachother in a tight hold, whispering apologies and 'i love you' to eachother, they broke the hug and walked back to the others, hand in hand, they reached the end of the mountain and reached the road, they walked the streets and followed direction given by each child, however, each home they found, noone was there. The six looked dejected and hopeless, autumn gave them a sorrowful look [*I...I'm sorry guys, let's head to my place, you can stay the night if you want.] The others looked at eachother before nodding sadly, the journey back to the cul De sac was long, however, on the way, autumn noticed the police station was open at a time it wasn't supposed to be, she stopped and looked, she parked her bike at the bus stop she was standing near, only stop as she spots a phone in the garbage can, she picked it up and saw frisks name on the phone case, she looked at frisk. [*Frisk, why is your phone in the trash?] Frisk took her phone and checked it, she looks at autumn with guilt. "I....I threw it away when I ran away..." She admitted. Autumn pet frisks head and ruffled her hair. [*Its ok, I'm not angry] Nona looked into the police station window "mana there's people in there, in a circle" said Nona, autumn looks in [*what is this? Looks like a therapy circle.] They walk into the police station and noticed a few flyers on the walls, one read: "group closure therapy today at 10:39pm for victims of the "Ebott's missing children" tragedies.

Children's first names, in order: chara, poppy, Brandon, Ivan, Kleo, Annie Jane, Polly, Francis, autumn.

Today's session: closure for grief."

The children looked at the poster in surprise, it was their names, true names, "that means our parents are here.." Said said irro. Bandy noticed a ginger haired man sitting with his head in his hands, bandy walked up to him and was able to hear him whispering things "so stupid.... such a stupid, stupid idea... little brother I'm sorry..." Bandy reached out to him. "... Terrance..?" He recognised the man's voice as the eldest of his siblings, the man looked up, seeing his youngest brother, who hadn't aged a day passed 11. "Brandon...? N-no...I'm going insane...your not here..." The 21 year old reached out and put a hand on bandy's shoulder, his eyes widened as he came in contact with physical mass, this meant he wasn't insane, that his brother was here. "..Terrence your not dreaming, I'm real- hey! cmon! don't pretend I'm invisible again! you bully." said Bandy with a teary, pouty look, Terrance pulled bandy into a tight hug, repeating apologies over and over. Autumn smiled warmly at the sight, the two talked about what happened and were able to reconcile. Autumn noticed the others besides her, Nona and frisk were gone, they walked through the station and noticed the room with the circled chairs, Katt, Jodie, Ivan and Polly were all there with adults and even other kids, they all had emotional expressions, Nona looked up at autumn. "Mana, can we go home now? I'm hungry.." autumn picked her up so she could ride on her shoulders. Then realised something. If her parents weren't here, she knew exactly where they would be.

Autumn parked her bike at the gate, there stood an old house made of wood and bricks, frisk looks at it in awe. "Autumn, what is this place?" Asked frisk. Nona butted in and got off of autumn, she ran to the door. "Mama! I'm home! Mana brought me home!" Said Nona. Autumn walked up to the door and opened it, Nona Ran inside only to notice the decor had changed a bit, there was more furniture and the walls were painted. Nona looked at autumn in confusion. Autumn held her hand [*cmon Nona, I wanna show you something.] Autumn held a sorrowful look as she led Nona to the garden, there was a wooden cross headstone with the word POPPY engraved into it, it was decorated with red flowers and there was a small, plastic, flowery teapot, it was old and dirty. Nona picked it up. "My teapot..." Autumn put a hand on Nona's shoulder, ready to tell her something when they heard the sound of breaking glass behind them.

To be continued....

[*knowing that your fulfilling your promise, fills you with COURAGE 🧡]

[heemi]

HEDGETALE

An Undertale AU  by Heemi

Basic Information: -Monsters are located in a separate dimension called “The Hedge”, which lacks many resources other than abundant plant life, such as wood. Metal and stone are exceedingly rare, gemstones unheard of. -All the Monsters have evolved to be more plantlike to better fit into their environment.

Flowey: -Is now a Gemstone. The only one in the entire kingdom. Their name is Gemmy. Gemmy the Gemstone. -Gemmy, before becoming animate, was originally brought back from beyond the hedge by Asriel when he fled from the humans who were attacking him.  -Imitations of Gemmy Exist, similar to the Echo Flowers. They’re called Echo Crystals, and they’re made of glass and magic. Toriel: -Is now a Deer-based Boss Monster. She does not have antlers, nor actual fawn-dappling, but does have age spots that resemble such. -Fire Powers are replaced with very bright light--the kind that burns you when you touch it due to the UV Radiation.  Sans: -Is still a skeleton, but is animated by vines that are covered in Forget-me-not flowers. His “Good” eye has a large patch of them growing out of the socket. -Is the only one who even remotely remembers Timelines besides Gemmy. -Is also the only person to remember Gaster. Seeing a pattern? -Blue and Gravity Powers Intact and Blasters unchanged, barring the flowers that grow on them...

Papyrus: -Is still a skeleton. His animating vines are covered in Marigolds. -Like Sans, he still uses gravity powers, but it’s implied he has blasters too. Very vaguely.

Undyne: -Is a Kelpie/Nixie hybrid; one parent of each species. Digitigrade legs, not a Centaur.  -Intense Spear powers, activate. The technique she uses to call them is called the Caladbolg Force, and it’s something only very brave or foolish monsters can learn. -Armor is made of shaped and enchanted wood, not metal.

Alphys: -Is now a frilled lizard with palm fronds instead of frills.  -Loves technology. Can’t get much due to how rare it is in the Hedge. -Mangaaaa. -CALI-FORNIA GIRLS ARE KINDA MAGICAL

Mettaton: -Is a Wooden puppet inside a chest that everyone thinks is a mimic.  -Is actually just a ghost possessing the puppet. Puppet hands pop out through the “Mouth” of the chest, no visible legs.  -Flipping his switch is pulling out the secret compartment on the bottom of the chest, which releases his real form.

Asgore: -Deer Boss 2 Electric Boogaloo. -Nice Rack! Of Antlers. -Trident is a scythe. He’s very poetic, but still bad at names.

Omega Flowey Gemmy: -Giant Gemstone amalgamation. Has a bear, deer, and raven skull triad instead of a TV Monitor face. -Each one of the souls is within an eye of the skulls. -Attacks with crystals, etc., instead of bees and vines.

Asriel: -Baby deer.  -Dead Baby Deer. -Oh Deer.

Chara: -You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?

Frisk: -Just a normal human who was on a left-ambiguous trip to the woods and wandered into the Hedge on accident somehow. -Probably has a family. Definitely has friends. -Still a tremendous flirt.

[nsschaintale]

LINE 9: FLORAL APOTHEOSIS

UNDERTALE

LINEAR TEMPORAL

LINE 9: FLORAL APOTHEOSIS

Everyone knows the old legend. The Legend of the War Between Monsters and Humans. Or, The Monster-Human War, as it was easier to call. To think humans and monsters used to live in harmony, only to end up

DISAPPEARING WITHOUT A TRACE.

Hiro (jolts awake, screaming and in tears): …...Asgore....... (gets angry) Flowey...he killed Asgore! (looks around; becomes confused) Uuuh, where am I..? Wait, what's that? (sees a black screen with the following display)

                                    Flowey   LV9999    9999:99

                                                 My World

                                      Continue          Restart

Hiro (walks up to it): “My World”? Flowey? I'm in Flowey's world...? (presses continue; is in complete darkness and gets a strange chill running down his spine) I'm cold...? Ah, a light? (walks to it and finds the Save Star, a panel pops up, showing his save file info) My save file! Yes! (about to touch it) Now I can- (sees it crack 3 times; the second time displayed “File erased” before shattering on the third crack) AAAAH!! No, what!?

Hiro was horrified as he watched his SAVE file crack into pieces. His terror soon escalated when he sees Flowey appearing above him, looking larger and flickering with static.

Flowey: Howdy! It's me, FLOWEY. (blep winks) Flowey the Flower! I owe you a HUGE thanks. You really did a number on that old fool. Without you, I NEVER could have gotten past him. (has Asgore's face) But now, with YOUR help... (eyes black out, face melted) He's DEAD... (grins) and I've got the human souls.

Hiro (terrified): Ah...

Flowey (laughs): Boy! I've been empty for so long... It feels great to have a soul inside me again. (blep winks) Mmmm, I can feel them wriggling.... (pity look) Aww, you're feeling left out, aren't you? (blep winks) Well, that's just perfect. After all, I only have six souls. (blep winks) I still need one more... (creepy smirk) Before I become GOD. (grins) And then, with my newfound powers.... (Toriel face) Monsters. (Hiro's face) Humans. (rotating blinking circle face) Everyone. (black face with  white eyes and mouth) I'll show them all the REAL meaning of this world. (vanishes while laughing)

Hiro: You.... If I only had my save file, I can-  

Flowey (reappears): Oh, and forget about escaping to your old save file. (creepy smirk) It's gone forever.

Hiro: N-No....

Flowey (adverts eyes): But don't worry. Your old friend Flowey... (blep winks) ...has worked out a replacement for you! (demonic face) I'll SAVE over your own death. So you can watch me tear you to bloody pieces... Over, and over, and over...

Hiro (steps forward): Th-That won't happen! I-I gonna stop you!

Flowey: ….What? Do you really think you can stop ME? (smirks) Hee hee hee.... You really are an idiot.

Flowey disappeared into the darkness as Hiro's soul was displayed before him. What's strange is that the area remained dark instead of turning gray like normal. The 6 souls that were inside Asgore's containers appeared in a circle, spreading out before vanishing. Suddenly, the area started flashing red as a strange large shadow descended from above. Hiro was uncertain of what was coming, but at least he still had his determination!

Or...he did.

A square light soon shined from the shadow, a smiling face that grinned, eyes that split open to gaze with red sclera and green irises, the red flashing faded, revealing a monstrous creature. The creature is made out of vines, cactus-like arms, thick plant stalks with red thorns, 6 main metal pipes shaped like a flower with 2 “petals” flanking the CRT TV head, 2 around a pair of human eyes, and 2 connected to the mouth of the lower flesh-colored head that has another set of eyes and its nostrils under the TV. This monster looked like it was suspended from the ceiling with the multitude of pipes behind it. It laughed a shrill demonic laugh as its eyes on the TV face flickered between red and green. It was hard to tell if the laugh came from the TV or the normal head. Either way, it terrified Hiro. But that wasn't the only thing he has to worry about. The battle itself-

It's pure chaos!!! Hiro had to dodge the + bullets shot out from the middle now-reddened flickering black eyes as the TV had a white glitchy face looking like it was  screaming, mocking, and trying to escape its prison. Hiro was unable to access his menu to see what the creature is called as he dodged the vines, so he figured that he had met Flowey before this, he called this form “Omega Flowey”. He had to avoid flamethrowers blasting at him from both sides before the Fight button appeared on the field. He managed to hit it, launching his knife at Omega Flowey and landing a weak strike on him. Unfortunately, it didn't look like his attack did anything. Omega Flowey sent out double waves of + bullets from his lower eyes before jutting out vines again. Hiro had to speed away from several rings of his so-called “friendly” pellets, but he knows they're not so friendly anymore. He weaved his way through more + bullets again before seeing the lower left metal petal flashing light blue and the TV displaying the light blue soul with the red light and yellow WARNING flashing behind it. Hiro had managed to survive the first onslaught but not without sustaining injuries as Omega Flowey disappeared except for the TV and the soul in it. Soon, the area was filled with enormous white knives, save for the space he was in. He was hit a few times while dodging the blades until he saw the Act button. He made a beeline for the button and slammed his hand on it.

Hiro: Some...Someone HELP ME!!

As soon as he called out, the knives transformed into green bandages, healing most of his wounds. He noticed that the soul is now orange before Omega Flowey resurfaced, bringing his chaos in for a second round. All of a sudden, giant atomic bombs with Flowey's winking face on them drops towards Hiro. He desperately dodges the explosions as several spiky cactus ball worms with human teeth bounced all over the area. Hiro had to dodge the vines again, but before he managed to get to the Fight button again, the vines stuck him and he perished. As he was floating in the darkness, he was expecting the same voice to tell him not to give up, but this time, a different one came along.

???: It's all just a dream, and you're never waking up!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

(laugh is interrupted by a glitchy sound as if a program has glitched before falling into silence)

???: Hee hee hee. Did you really think I was gonna be satisfied.... killing you only one time?

Hiro (jolts awake): Wh-What was... (finds himself before Omega Flowey as he laughs) Uh oh...

The battle resumed with the atomic bombs as Hiro frantically tried to dodge them and the vines. In Omega Flowey's left hand, he held a Venus Fly Trap that drew in a swarm of massive flies while Hiro tried to swat them away and dodge. The same happened as the flower monster pulled another fly trap plant in his right hand, causing the boy to nearly get swamped by flies. As Omega Flowey put the plants away, more atomic bombs dropped. Hiro tried to hide under Omega Flowey's body but to no avail, getting killed in the process and falling into the darkness. That high-pitched shrill laughter rang out around Hiro as he tried to block it by covering his ears.

???: Pathetic... Now you're really gonna die!

Again, Hiro had to return to the battlefield. This time, though, he was able to survive the stages, despite sustaining injuries. He encountered the orange soul with its rings of white gloves that has a black circle with a pair of interlocked rings on them. He had to weave his way between them before touching the Act button. Once he called out for help, he was greeted with the gloves that turned green and has a heart in the circle, giving a thumb's up as he healed himself and spotted the blue soul. Hiro entered the third stage where his sense of the world felt out of control. He constantly felt himself teleporting in random places as he tried to dodge the vines. That was when he noticed the words “FILE 2 SAVED” and “FILE 2 LOADED” pop up several times.

Hiro: File 2 saved...? (dodges + bullets; sees the blue soul appear)

Hiro found himself trapped under a river of stars as a line of ballet shoes tiptoed towards him. He had to avoid and slip past the shoes until the Act button arrived, causing the shoes to lift up and the stars became green music notes, allowing Hiro to heal himself with them before facing Omega Flowey again as he saw the purple soul appear on the screen. Omega Flowey used a fly trap plant again before sending out wave blasts of + bullets and dropping atomic bombs at Hiro. He sent out more blasts of + bullets as Hiro managed to hit the Fight button and sending a knife at the beast. The spiky worms ricocheted all over the area as the ring of pellets followed Hiro while he flew around. Suddenly, red lines aimed at Hiro as several plant stalks with human hands pop up and shoot the index and middle fingers as daisy-tipped bullets while Hiro hit the Fight button again. He had to avoid the flamethrowers, the + bullet waves, and the vines. Soon, the TV screen showed the purple soul, but Hiro didn't notice it as the mouth had light glowing in it. Hiro managed to save himself from being blasted by Omega Flowey's beam. Hiro was taken to a new area where columns of white notebooks scrolled up and down on the sides, trapping the boy between them. Multitudes of words flew out of the pages, many of them being negative ones like “Cruelty”, “Sadness”, “Hatred”, and the like, and Hiro had to dodge them. Eventually, the Act button showed up and he made a beeline for it, dodging “Trapped” as he did. Soon, positive words such as “Hope”, “Happiness”, “Success”, and others like them healed Hiro. As Hiro watched the green soul vanish in the TV screen, Omega Flowey went on the assault again. He sent out more vines and + bullets and disorienting the boy with his constant reloads. After a while, Hiro saw the green soul appear on the screen as the left pipe by the TV glowed with it. Hiro soon found himself before three large flying pans that has flames leaping out of them. Hiro has dealt with fire before and was able to get by them, despite a few burns here and there. He was able to catch up the Act button that got flipped out of one of the pans, and was greeted by what looked like green eggs, healing up the wounds he got before seeing the yellow soul and tossed back into the fray with the flower beast. More + bullets flew at him while he dodged the flies being drawn to the fly trap plant, flying around to avoid the bullet rings and hitting the Fight button before the spiny worms ricocheted around the area again. Hiro felt he was getting exhausted, but managed to dodge the finger guns shooting at him before seeing the yellow soul. Speaking of shooting, Hiro was soon facing a giant revolver.

Hiro: Aaah!

He had to dodge the cross-hairs to avoid the bullets being shot at him. He was hit a few times, but he got through it after hitting the Act button, albeit still weary from fighting. He did get hit again, but by four-leafed clovers being shot out from the revolver. Hiro feared for what may come next, but was surprised that the six souls surrounded him.

Hiro: Huh? What's going on? (watches the souls send their healing items to him, healing the wounds) They're...helping me? Cool! (fully healed; watches the souls float away) Thanks!

Once he returned before Omega Flowey, Hiro saw an indicator by him showing “Flowey's DEFENSE dropped to 0!” That gave him all the confidence he needed to lash out at Flowey. Maybe a little too much confidence. He struggled through bullets, bombs, flames, and everything Flowey threw at him, but with the help of the hidden souls sending him their healing items, Hiro was able to keep slashing at him. This time, he can see a health bar appearing before Omega Flowey. Hiro felt he can finally defeat the giant beast! At least until he misses a bandage while his health was low and dies to a flamethrower.

???: Hee hee hee. Do you even realize what will happen if you defeat me...?

Hiro: Um....

Hiro hadn't actually thought about what would happen if he beat Flowey. All he cared about right now was getting away from the battle. Before he could think more on it, he came face to face with Omega Flowey again. Again, Hiro flew around, dodging Flowey's chaotic onslaught of various attacks as he continuously slashed and slung his dagger, getting the flower's health down. It felt like there was no end in sight, but Hiro kept going, he kept fighting. He kept slashing as much as his little body could handle until the last hit, managing to land a killing slash to Omega Flowey at last.

OFlowey: No...NO!! This CAN'T be happening!!!

Hiro: Yes! I did it!

OFlowey: You...You.... (green bar appears, completely healed; teasing grin) You IDIOT.

Hiro: Eh?

Before Hiro could even register the “FILE 3 LOADED” notification appearing, he suddenly gets blasted by the powerful beam he dodged earlier before getting impaled by vines.

Hiro: Aaaagh...?!

Hiro had to go through this several times, bleeding and healing only to get blasted and stabbed. Out of everything he went through, this was the most painful. He barely had time to scream at the actions as it's cut off by Omega Flowey's repeat loading of his own file. As quickly as it started, the torment ended with Hiro on the ground, low on health and surrounded with the flower's bullets.

OFlowey: Hee heee hee. Did you REALLY think...you could defeat ME!? (TV had Flowey's real face shown) I am the god of this world. And YOU? (white face with hollow eyes fading) You're HOPELESS. Hopeless and alone. (real face) Golly, that's right. (Toriel face) Your worthless friends...(creepy Toriel face)...can't save you now. (smirk) Call for help. I dare you. (creepy grin) Cry into the darkness. (creepy Toriel face)“Mommy! Daddy!” “Somebody help!” (creepy grin) See what good it does you!

Hiro (inwardly panicking as he bumps into the Act button, startling him): AH! H-Help....Help! Please help! Aaaah... HELP!!

(silence except for the sounds of vines and metal)

OFlowey (smiles): But nobody came. (blep winks) Boy! What a shame! (Toriel face) Nobody else.... (Omega face) ...is gonna get to see you DIE!!!

Hiro watched as the bullets drew closer to him. He was so close to leaving...So close... When the bullets hit him, he had expected to die there. Instead, he was healed. This action confused the two greatly.

OFlowey: …..What? How'd you...?

Hiro (looking at himself confused): I dunno!

OFlowey: Well, I'll just-

Hiro (flinches back when seeing the LOAD FAILED pop up; realizes nothing happened): ….Uh..?

OFlowey (sweats): Wh...Where are my powers!?

(the six souls appear around Omega Flowey)

Hiro: Ah!

OFlowey (shaking): The souls....? What are they doing? (gets attacked) NO!! NO!!!

Hiro (covers his face with his arms as the area and Flowey are getting blasted by the souls; peeks between them a few times): Yikes!

OFlowey: YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO OBEY ME!! STOP! STOP IT!! STOOOOOP!!!

The amount of power used by the souls was so immense that the area became flooded with light until it went dark.

Silence.

Just silence coupled by the wind within the darkness. Hiro lowered his arms, finding himself sitting before Flowey. Flowey is back in his normal flower form, but he doesn't look at the boy, his petals blocking his face from him. Again, Hiro finds himself between his Fight and Mercy buttons, and again, he chose one option.

Hiro (chooses Mercy): …...

Flowey (barely looks at Hiro): … What are you doing? Do you really think I've learn from this? No. (looks away)

Hiro (Mercy): You can try...

Flowey (barely stares at Hiro): ….Sparing me won't change anything. Killing me is the way to end this.

Hiro (Mercy): I won't do it.

Flowey (face has scratches): If you let me live... (straightens up) I'll come back.

Hiro (furrows his brows while pressing Mercy): …..

Flowey: I'll kill you.

Hiro (Mercy): …...

Flowey (crazed smile): I'll kill everyone.

Hiro (hesitates, then presses Mercy): ….

Flowey (crazed look worsens): I'll kill everyone you love.

Hiro (hesitates again, then presses Mercy): ….

Flowey: …

Hiro (keeps pressing Mercy, confusing Flowey): ….

Flowey (glares): ….Why?

Hiro (Mercy): ….

Flowey: Why are you being.. (concerned)..so nice to me?

Hiro (Mercy): Because... I want to....

Flowey: I can't understand.

Hiro (Mercy): …..

Flowey: I can't understand!

Hiro (Mercy): ….

Flowey (teary-eyed): I just can't understand. (runs away)

Hiro finds himself before a sunlit grass patch where Flowey was. Hiro sat on his spot for a while since the battle wore him out, glancing around until he saw a path up ahead. He pushed himself to his feet and ambled his way up the path. This was the exit, he finally managed to reach the way out of the underground. Despite this though, he felt bad for leaving his monster friends behind. As much as he wanted to stay, he had to leave. After taking one last look, Hiro departed past the door, watching it close forever.

It had been a few days since Hiro left the underground. The sense of time was lost on him when he was found emerging from the forest by some hikers. He was missing for two weeks and he remembered why he fell into the underground in the first place. Hiro lost his parents to a drunk driver and ended up in foster care. He didn't really like the place he stayed at and decided to “explore” the area near the orphanage. He didn't intend to get too far until he heard voices beckoning him towards the foot of Mt. Ebott. That was how he ended up in the underground. He still wondered about that voice and those visions he had during his travels underground, but most of all, he wondered how his new friends were. Undyne, Papyrus, Sans, Toriel, everyone. He felt guilty for having to fight Asgore. He did like Asgore's proposal of staying with him and his wife, but that was impossible now. That night while he was sleeping, Hiro gets a phone call. He didn't set up a voicemail with his info, but the person on the other end left a message anyway. Hiro did notice the single message on his phone, so once he finished everything he was supposed to do that day, he managed to find time to listen to the voicemail.

Hiro: Whoa, this voicemail's that long? Who...? (plays it; recognizes Sans's voice)

Sans: Heya. Is anyone there?

Hiro: Ah, it's Sans!

Sans: Hmm, guess not. Well, I'll just leave a message. (sighs) So... It's been a while. The queen returned, and is now ruling over the underground.

Hiro: She did?

Sans: She's instated a new policy. All humans who fall here will be treated not as enemies...but as friends. It's probably for the best, anyway.

Hiro: Oh, that's good.

Sans: The human souls the king gathered seem to have disappeared. So, uh, that plan ain't happening anytime soon.

Hiro: Oh...They musta left after they helped me...

Sans: But even though people are heartbroken over the king... (strained voice) ...and...things are looking grim for our freedom....

Hiro: ? His voice...?

Sans (voice is normal): The queen's trying her best not to let us give up hope. So, uh, hey, if we're not giving up down here... (silent) ...Don't give up wherever you are, okay? Who knows how long it will take, but we will get out of here. Sooner or later...

Hiro: …..I wanna-

Papyrus: SANS!!!

Hiro (jolts): Ah!

Papyrus: WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO??

Sans: Oh, nobody.

Papyrus: WHAT?! NOBODY!? CAN I TALK TO THEM, TOO?

Sans: Here, knock yourself out.

Papyrus: WAIT A SECOND...I RECOGNIZE THIS NUMBER!!! ATTENTION, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM NOW CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD! IT'S EVERYTHING I EVER DREAMED OF... EXCEPT INSTEAD OF FIGHTING, WE JUST WATER FLOWERS. SO THAT'S EVER-SO-SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.

Hiro: Oh, cool!

Papyrus: AND, WE'RE HELPING DR. ALPHYS WITH HER RESEARCH! SHE'S GONNA FIND A WAY TO GET US OUT OF HERE. UNDYNE IS HELPING HER TOO! THOUGH, HER METHOD OF HELPING SEEMS KIND OF EXPLOSION-INCLUDING. BUT I THINK ALPHYS LIKES HAVING HER AROUND. UH OH!!! ( gets the phone taken from him)

Hiro (holds the phone from his ear): Uh oh.

Undyne: Hey! What are you up to, punk!? (sounds of something grinding on the speaker) Ngahhhhh!

Papyrus: PLEASE DON'T NOOGIE THE PHONE.

Undyne: Hey! Who's in charge here!?

Papyrus: ME.

Undyne: Oh... Yeah, that's right! I quit my job as leader of the Royal Guard. Actually, since we won't be fighting anyone... The Royal Guard totally disbanded. There's, uh, only one member now.

Papyrus: BUT HE'S EXTREMELY GOOD.

Undyne: Yeah!! He is! C'mere!!! (sounds of a scuffle and a slight chuckle is heard)

Papyrus: PLEASE DON'T NOOGIE THE SKELETON.

Undyne: Anyway, now I'm working as Alphys's lab assistant. We're gonna find a way out of this dump once and for all! Oh, yeah, and I'm a gym teacher at the queen's new school. Did you know I can bench-press seven children!? Awesome, right?

Hiro: I wanna see that...

Undyne: …. Hey. I'm sorry about what happened with Asgore. You were just doing what you had to. It's not your fault he....

Hiro (sad): Hmn...

Undyne: ..Ah, darn it. I miss the big guy. (loud smacks) ..Come on, Undyne! Snap out of it! Uh, I guess I'll tell you how Alphys is doing. Well, she's the same as ever. Maybe a little more reclusive than ever. Seems like something's really bothering her. But she can get through it! I'm there supporting her!! That's what friends are for, right?

Hiro: Something's up with Alphys?

Undyne: … Hey, wherever you are, I hope it's better than here.

Hiro: Sort of...

Undyne: It took a lot of sacrifice to for you to get there. So wherever you are, you have to try to be happy, okay!? For our sakes! We'll feel better knowing our trouble was worth it. We're all with you! Everyone is! Even the queen! … Hey! Wait a second! Toriel! Toriel! Do you wanna....? (Toriel's voice is faintly heard) ….Heh, she says she's busy.

Hiro: Eh? Toriel? Is Toriel-

Papyrus: BUT IF SHE KNEW WHO WE WERE TALKING TO...

Sans: We wouldn't get the phone back for at least a few hours.

Hiro: Ah, but I wanna-

Papyrus: WE HAVE THE MERCY TO SPARE YOU FROM HER!!

Undyne: But call back any time, okay! She'd love to talk!

Sans: Oh, whoops. This thing's almost outta batteries. So, hate to cut this short, but....be seeing you, okay, buddy?

Papyrus: BYE BYE FOR NOW!

Undyne: See ya, punk! (hangs up)

Hiro sat on his bed, staring at his phone with tears nearly pouring out of his eyes. Hearing their voices made him miss them so much. He wished that there was a way for him to return to the mountain and see them again. Like Sans said, there's no way of knowing how long it will take them to find a way out. He decided to take a short idle walk in the orphanage's garden while following his assigned caretaker and some of the other kids. It's sunset by the time everyone was about to get ready to turn in for the night, yet Hiro was lagging behind, thinking about the voicemail. He was about to enter the house when he sees Flowey again, hiding among the yellow flowers under the window.

Hiro: Flowey? How did you-

Flowey (concerned): Why...? Why did you let me go?

Hiro: Um...I just didn't wanna hurt you.

Flowey: You're just too nice... Don't you realize that being nice...just makes you get hurt?

Hiro: Really...?

Flowey (doubtful):Yes. Just look at yourself. You made all these great friends... But now, you'll probably never seen them again. Not to mention how much they've been set back by you.

Hiro: Ah... (worried) I...held them back....? (realizes) The souls...

Flowey: Hurts, doesn't it? All that progress... If you had just gone through without caring about anyone, you wouldn't have to feel bad now. So, I don't get it.

Hiro: …..

Flowey: If you really did everything the right way... Why did things end up like this?

Hiro (lowers his head): I...I dunno....why....

Flowey: Why...? (looks away) Is life really that unfair?

Hiro: Hmn....

Flowey: … Say. (glances at Hiro) What if I told you...I knew a way to get you a better ending?

Hiro (looks at Flowey curiously): A...better ending?

Flowey (nods): You'll have to load your SAVE file, and...

Hiro: And?

Flowey: Well, in the meantime, why don't you go see Dr. Alphys? It seems like you could have been better friends.

Hiro: Really?

Flowey: Who knows... Maybe she's got the key to your happiness...? (hears the door open; smiles) See you soon. (goes into the ground)

Female Caretaker (spots Hiro): There you are! Hurry and come inside. It'll get late soon.

Hiro: O-Okay... (follows the woman inside)

Hiro mulled over his conversation with Flowey as he went inside the foster home. That night, he couldn't sleep with the message and Flowey's words hanging in his head. Hiro wanted to help the monsters out of the underground, but is Flowey's suggestion the right one? What if something happens? Undyne did mention that Alphys was bothered by something, maybe he can see if he could help her? Is it even possible to go back there? Can he even access his SAVE file without being in the underground? So many questions ran through his head, but he ultimately decided to try it out. It took him the whole night, but he somehow managed to conjure up a save star.

Hiro (shocked): It.....It worked..? (touches it; brings up the SAVE file; sees the last place saved was The End) The End.... This is before my fight with Asgore...

Could he turn back time...? He saw that he was able to redo things down there whenever he “died”, but what about on the surface? He was unsure of what would happen, but once Hiro pressed Continue, the star's light engulfed him. Time seemed to have begun to reverse. While the action seems to have gone unnoticed by many, only one person had definitely caught on to the reversal of time.

Tether (jolts; scratches the page he's writing on): This reverse feeling.... No.... (watches everything going backwards) Hiro... (glares) What are you thinkin', kid...?

TO BE CONTINUED

[small-sketch]

Undertale x TPOH Crossover pt 2

More!!!

Assock and Flowey…. do not mix….

Flowey: We are NOT friends

Assock:

Assock: Friends!

Flowey: N O

Hero and Frisk sometimes get into danger because people are jerks and don’t like that Frisk freed the monsters and is their ambassador. Hero probably becomes a sort of ambassador of her own world, so she is also a target

Negative can go mega dad mode to protect them

Madras and Sans be kinda vibin’ tho- Catch them chilling at Grillby’s. Once they’re friends, she asks him if she can try to take some magic from him and harness it

Toriel and Asgore have RGB over, and they are so soft and welcoming and warm that he just starts crying. He just needs someone to tell him he’s a good dad. And to give him a blanket. Maybe some tea...

Melody and Julienne go on a double date with Alphys and Undyne

Mettaton likes RGB because he’s just a screen

RGB does NOT like Mettaton

RBG is just hiding in a corner while MTT hunts him down to get him to try on his newest line of clothes

Toriel asks RGB about Magnus. Everyone is curious about them and it embarrasses him

RGB tries to tell them that it isn’t going to work because they broke up. They were worried about one of them ceasing to exist one way or another. However, everyone realizes that line of logic doesn’t work here; since their worlds are merged, everyone is real and not just a concept

RGB and Magnus finally get to be together

Until

People start wondering when they will be going back to their own worlds

Sans and Alphys were probably working on a machine to help them get back, but since no one really wants to anymore, they stop, but that doesn’t stop the fear that going back is out of their control. They got here against their will, and that could be how they leave

RGB freaks out and goes through an arc of realizing that even though things are uncertain, that just means he has to cherish the people around him even more

RGB and Magnus become co-dads.

Sans makes Hero float with his powers which never fails to scare RGB, who would much prefer it if she kept her feet on the ground

Flowey and Hero play a cruel prank with Flowey putting a vine through the gap in Hero’s stomach to scare RGB

Undyne trains with the kiddos and accidentally throws a spear into the gap as well, pinning her to a wall; she freaks out and thinks she killed her

She’s all good

[kryptsune]

🌼Good morning! Happy Tuesday! I wanted to share the second part of this Fellfdritch drabble. It is kind of a side thing I have been just enjoying. I am still unsure if this is going to be exactly how this story is going to go but it’s a general idea. If it becomes a proper fic then I will elaborate more. Hope you enjoy it C: Tell me what you think and if you would like to see more.

PART 1 <-- The Madhouse

DO NOT REPOST MY WORK WITHOUT MY PERMISSION IT IS NOT FOR YOUR USE. IF YOU LIKE MY WORK PLEASE REBLOG INSTEAD! It helps me so much! It makes such a difference.💙If you want more of these just let me know! It’s the only way I can gauge interest!

FELLDRITCH DRABBLE {2/3}: OFF

Frisk’s eyes remained closed feeling that familiar bed of flowers that had caught her fall. She never questioned why her body did not lay broken amongst the flora. A little sore, but that was all. How far was the fall? That detail didn’t matter. Instead, she rose from her place, eyes fluttering open to stare at the flood of light that encased her. Nothing had changed from before. She knew, however, that she would be alone in her trek to Snowdin. 

The bruises she sustained were nothing compared to the horrors of the place of her escape. They were almost non-existent. Her feet were a little sore, but that was from running at such a fast pace to get here. A soft sigh of relief passed her lips, followed by a small smile, “Welcome home Frisk,” she replied softly as if in a dream. She was finally free. Home. Safe. 

The Ruins were just a series of black stone walls mortared with ashen grey cement. It felt cold and uninviting as various vines weaved through the walls like veins. All leading to a dying heart. They threaded through cracks and alcoves, taking over what was left of what lay before. There seemed to not be a soul among the ruins. There may have been once, but all she could see was the twisting catacombs of puzzles and traps that she remembered. 

They stretched forever, all with varying shades of obsidian. Some were easy enough to solve and others were more trial and error. It was nice to see that the spike puzzle that Toriel had kindly escorted her through was still deactivated. This place felt like darkness and ice had formed. It was not warm before, but now as she made her way through empty hallways and barren rooms,  she realized how stifling the air was. How her skin was bitten by the bitter cold. How the darkness never seemed to end, but she was almost there. 

There had to be at least one living soul around here, just one. She would settle for a Froggit or a Vegitoid. Anything to break the grave silence this place was suffocated by. Not a soul. Not a sound. It was unnerving. Even before there would have been the chatter of some of the shy monsters that lived in The Ruins. Now all she heard were her own footsteps eerily echoing through the halls one crunch at a time

… crunch ...crunch ...crunch…

Stop. The memories came flooding back, painting over the dismal landscape she was now forcing herself through. A chill unlike anything she had ever felt in her life shot up her spine, freezing over her bones and skin. Her mind must have been playing tricks on her. That creepy feeling, as though she was being watched, was settling into her soul. In her mind's eye, she almost could see the scraggly shadow limbs reaching for her. A corridor infested with pitch-black as sketchy eyes filled the darkness. 

She whirled around, expecting to see the horror of her imagination, but what lay beyond was simply the path which she had come from. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Her mind was messing with her, of course. Being in an asylum for over seven years would do that to a person. It would cause them to begin to question what was really going on around them. How does one even begin to justify all she had seen? All of it was completely outside the realm of anything normal. The very idea that monsters were real and trapped by some kind of ancient magic was difficult enough to believe. That she was their friend and part of their family even more so. 

Frisk shook her head from side to side in an effort to clear her mind as she continued forward. She was now close enough to reach the room where she first learned of monster candy and spider bake sales. Maybe she could get a donut from one of Muffet’s little stands. The spiders had been so helpful before. 

Thinking she may be able to get a spider-themed treat, she made her way toward the doorway she remembered.  It was all so clear. Dr. Ruttledge was as crazy as his patients if such vivid memories were nothing more than flights of fantasy. Her breath could be seen as she huffed in annoyance just thinking about the man. Monsters were real. She was living proof as she stood there checking her surroundings. 

She had to wonder if any of the lesser monsters would remember her. Maybe they were no longer in The Ruins after she had gone through the entire Underworld. There was no reason they had to live cowering amongst the rubble any longer. A life of fear and refuge. When she had made it to the end her foster father, King Asgore, promised her that much. 

Her eyes scanned the area only to stop before the doorway. At first she thought it was just dark, but instead, she was greeted by a blockage of rubble. It must have happened long ago as the vines continued to wrap and invade whatever places they could. The large column of some unknown puzzle lay broken in pieces at her feet. 

But why did that matter?

Dainty fingers brushed over the stone gingerly. What had happened? All she could think of was that these ruins were truly abandoned now unlike before, “I guess no spider bake sale for me…” Why was everything like this? Why did this place feel so cold and lifeless? The sooner she made it to Snowdin the better.

Just as her hand slipped from the stone a soft scraping of something caught her attention. It was growing closer, only to stop. At first, the noise just reverberated off the stone walls but then it became frantic. It grew in violent intensity before it once again fell silent. 

It was coming from one of the corners.

Her only choice of action would be to run, but what was the point? The monsters here wouldn’t hurt her. Would they? Her voice slipped from her mouth in a whisper at first. Only growing in volume so that it could be heard properly, “Hello? Who's there?” Cautiously she removed herself from the wall, slipping into the adjacent hall. In one of the corners, she could just make out a small shape as it wiggled in the darkness.

Its body was scrunched against the ebony brick as if it was trying to hide in such an open space. The dull grey sheet of a body shone within the darkness, its long black feelers twitching periodically. Its wings were tucked away, fluttering only when she moved closer. 

It was a monster she remembered quite clearly. A whimsun. They had always been timid, shy little creatures that would make soft whimpering sounds; it was as if they thought you were going to kick them. The closer she drew to the creature the more things she noticed. The lower corner of its once shimmering wings was clawed. A feeler was broken, laying limply and causing it to be 'L' shaped. Parts of its back had been clawed at and were beginning to goop over. It looked like it was melting?

 Its small body convulsed as if it were about to fall apart the moment it heard her voice.

 The poor thing...

Once again she made her presence known in the most soothing voice she could muster, “Hello there. Are you alright?” She made no action to move closer as to not frighten the petrified monster. Sure, they had been scared before, but this felt like a whole new level of dread. A feeling that was slowly beginning to seep into her soul. Something was horribly off. 

She knew them for their soft whimpering, but this one was eerily silent save for the fingers it was now desperately digging into the brick, tearing at it like a feral animal. Her voice made the reaction all the worse as it's fervor grew. 

Scrape

"I won't hurt you I promise." 

Scrape       Scrape       Scrape      Scrape

The gaunt limbs of the bug-like creature tore desperately at its corner, creating that horrible scraping sound once more. It was the kind of sound one would react to on a visceral level as it dug into your ears gnawing at your skull. The kind that caused your stomach to nearly retch and ears to bleed. One might have compared it to digging your nails into the lid of a coffin. Once again, that feeling of dread bit into her soul. It slithered around her lungs, constricting what little breath she could muster. This was more than a feeling of dread.

Scrape Scrape Scrape Scrape Scrape

She reached for it, trying to calm it’s animalistic clawing, only for it to turn and stare at her. Every bone in her body froze, causing shudders of pure horror to shake her small frame. The whimsun could no longer make those soft noises as its mouth was grotesquely stitched shut with ruby thread. She couldn’t keep her hand from shakily landing on her mouth and her blue eyes swam with trepidation. It was a monstrous sight. 

Her legs quaked as she took shaky steps back using the walls as support. Her body slumped against it, just staring aghast. She could feel the rough brick against her pale flesh and forced her eyes to close. That scraping began again, clawing at her skull like someone using a spoon against the stone. Over and over and over again. It was maddening.

Heart pounding and limbs shaking, she fled the place as quickly as she could. Toriel’s old home was not that far away from where she was. No time to think. No time to act. All she wanted to do was escape. 'She needed to get out', she thought, running down the halls stumbling amidst broken columns and dust. She didn’t bother to take in her surroundings and she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. 

When she was a fair distance away from the horrifying scene that she had been subjected to, she paused, turning to look behind her. The darkness spilled from the corners, shrouding the hallways beyond in a sinister tarry cloak. Wait. It… it was slowly devouring where she had come from. Moving. Writhing. Squirming. A tarry goop like substance and its pace was increasing. 

What in stars…?

From the ceilings it began to rain down in thick black globs, landing just in front of her. It seeped through the walls, forming clawed limbs and crimson eyes. It was everywhere. In a panic, she ran. Her chest was starting to burn with every labored breath; every passing moment her legs throbbed. All she could do was try to make it to Toriel's. It was but a feeling. She would be safe there. 

It tore through the silence like a knife. An ear-splitting, howling, squishing, hissing, thundering, crackling, rasping, guttural abomination of a shriek. She could picture a tongue lolling from a cursed mouth as it made chase. A creature, unlike anything she had ever encountered. A darkness willing to swallow her whole. It’s unholy screeches and crackled gibberish forced her legs into submission without abandon.

Everything was skewed. Even her vision was beginning to warp ruined doorways and random leaves. All she could hear was her heart thundering in her eardrums. She didn’t want it to catch her. The scenery passed by, conjuring demons from another realm. The realm of her mind. This creature chasing her made the room grow darker, forcing true monsters from their crypts. She had not been blessed with night vision. Shadowy hands tried to veil her eyes, creeping closer to blind her. Soon everything would go black.

Her tears streamed down her cheeks, flying into the air. Just before the veil of darkness fell she collapsed into the door of Toriel’s home, slamming it and hearing the wood splinter. She could barely feel her legs or her lungs. Everything was on fire as she dropped to the ground. The beast was silent until it’s mass beat against the frame screeching in ungodly rage. Her fatigued body rested against the door as her soft cries mixed with its masticated words. Surely it couldn’t speak, but she knew it was.

 G͆l̾̑͑̍͑ͮ҉Ȅ͋҉aͬ̐n̷̍̅ ́ͯ̐ͮ͐͞fͩ͐̌ͯ̓̿ͪơ̏ ̸̄̂͛͛͐͆̚hͮĀ̀̏̋͞E͆̂͛̂t̵D͑̿̐

͊̓̄̾̉ͫͪ

ͧ̃͑O̵͂̋̄͆ͦuYͫ̚͟ ̎r̷Ũͬ̽̂̈ͦẼ̂r̃̋̉̌̇̚nͬͪ͝T

̔͗̈ͤ͗ͭ

͆͘Ē͋ͥ̇Ẽ̛͆ͥ͂š̽̎ͧ

̏̅̀̏̆͑̄̕

͆͛͑̄͊͂̅̀E̛͗̈́͊Rͦ̿̓̍̅͒̚A̅͒̆̽̑̽͢hͦ̿̐̑́

ͣ̇̑̈́̔̂

ͥͯ̋͑̈S̆̀K̋̽ͭe̷̒̓́̒a͂̾͌̀̔p̈͂͒̀̏͏

̡̄͂

̧̐̉̏͛́̔̚E͌̒̀iͧl̛ͣ̊̅̈́̈́̚V̷ͫͯͮ̚

It was right next to her ear, whispering its guttural broken tongue in huffing rasps and then. It was gone. Frisk couldn’t even breathe as she lay there helpless with her back pressed against the frigid wood. Was she safe? All she wanted to do was sit here to calm her shaking. Her eyes fell to her shivering hands. She was unable to hold them still. The feeling of being watched never left her. When her eyes slid closed she saw that symbol one again in the darkness appearing like a mist. It glowed a deep crimson like that of freshly spilled blood. 

A giant. All-seeing. Eye.

Soft sobs added to her hyperventilating as her red orbs flew open. The vision was gone but the symbol was not. Shakily she rose to her feet hearing her own struggles as her hand gripped the frame for support. A few moments of quiet breathing would calm her. In and out. In and out.  It was all she could do to repeat those words over and over till she was able to see, to hear, to speak clearly. She had made it to Toriel's. The first step in her journey was over. It would not be long now before she would welcome that frosted air. Those seas of deep cherry wood.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, only adding to her disheveled look. Her hands were still shaking from the whole ordeal as she cupped them within one another to step further into the room. It was just as she remembered it. Not a single speck of dust. Not a frame or carpet out of place. She couldn’t stay, she already knew that, but maybe in her old room, she would find something more suitable to wear.

Her hand reached for the golden knob, pushing the door open with a soft creak of its hinges. She rummaged through various drawers to find something more fitting. A simple black shirt and a pair of pants. She even found a white zip-up hoodie among her old things, and she was grateful that Toriel kept them. Her promise held that much value to them. She would return to help them, terrifying goop beasts aside. Where had that thing come from anyway, and why did it want her head?

She reveled in the black hoodie fluff for a moment before heading back into the hall. It was normal. Clean. Pretty and warm. Everything she remembered was here. Safe and in its proper place, but it was time to go. Soon she would truly be with her family. She could picture the scene as she strode toward the landing. A small smile painted on her lips feeling a warm spark within her soul. Home. That’s all she wanted. She wanted to be with them. 

The lights flickered suddenly, casting sinister dancing shadows on the walls stretching upward to consume the space. No. She did not want to be left alone in the dark, and she was so fatigued from before. She just could not seem to get a break as she made her way forward. The lights went out, leaving her in stifling darkness. Her only sense was hearing and she slid her hands over the walls to keep her bearings. 

The ringing rattled her brain and an explosion of wood and glass reached her ears. Another hissing howl tore through the silence, breaking everything in its path. At first, it was in front of her, and she could hear the wooden planks groan in protest under the creature's weight. A vase shattered as if it had been thrown violently against the wall. She did not know what was causing all of this. All she could do was listen. It mangled the room, tearing into carpets with sickening rips. 

A soft warm puff of air tickled her cheek. A breath. A huff. The rumble that reverberated from its chest rose and fell. She only prayed it wouldn’t cause her to lose the one sense she still had. It's lumbering form moved past her in the dark, but she could hear that disgusting squelch and dripping of saliva right beside her. Then the lights returned. Nothing was there. 

The once pristine home was ransacked and its walls were covered in claw marks. Shelves hung precariously from a single nail. Vases were shattered and strewn about the floor. Broken glass. Dead plants. This place was not pristine. It was in shambles. All the signs of decay infected the place. The vines had started to curl around the banister to the lower floor. The same one she was now making her way toward. That is until she looked up. 

The roof had caved in, exposing the rotting bones of the structure as it spilled more debris from high above. It landed on top of her now, dust gathering in her hair, but that was not what had her attention. No. It was the horrifying image that lay painted on the wall of the main foyer. The symbol in her vision. 

It dripped down the wall freshly painted in blood red. The monsters did not bleed, so where did it come from? The image of an eye with its pupil crossed out. It was framed by a half-circle with spires jutting out along the line. Just below the symbol were words she could just understand. Very simplistic depictions of a mouth, an eye, and an ear. The way it was sketchily painted made her shiver. 

No more. She had to leave this place.

 Get out. 

Those were her thoughts but they did not come from her lips. A whispering, crackly, and breathy voice echoed it as she descended the steps. It only grew more frequent the closer she drew to the door. The door that represented her freedom now even more than before.

GET OUT

The same unnerving symbol greeted her, sloppily painted where the Delta Rune used to rest in all its metallic glory. She remembered how beautiful and intricate metalwork was as it wove in and out of itself. It had been crafted with care. Now all that was left were the two empty recesses where it once proudly lay, replaced by something she knew nothing of. Had so much changed in less than a decade? Had it really been the amount of time she was told? 

GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT.

Her hand rested on the door only to hear the voice again, but it began to pierce her ears as it rose in volume and intensity, forcing her to cover her ears. The ringing. The screaming. The distorted voices and whispers. It hurt. She felt as though her head would explode from the inside out, “No… stop… please.” A pathetic whimper followed by her cries filled the room. In a panic and frenzy, she clawed at the door forcing it open, “STOP! PLEASE STOP!”

GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. 

She shoved her way through those deep purple double doors and just before they fell closed the screaming stopped. Only a soft whisper remained.

listen

It slammed shut behind her, sealing away what she felt the monsters had been trying to keep inside. The beast that had been stalking her. She leaned against the door panting and doubling over to regain her breath. All was silent. A palette of frosty blues, whites, and deep cherry spanned her vision. Snowdin Forest. Tired eyes fluttered closed as she panted feeling that familiar burn of ice within her lungs. She could just smell the crisp evergreens, the fresh snow, and earth.

Snowdin was her hope. She placed a hand over her chest finally ready to once again continue her journey home. The soft crunch of snow under her shoes was inviting and though she was not well dressed for the weather, it was the kind of cold to which she had once grown accustomed. She was sure Boss would warm her up with some of his cooking. A hot meal on a cold day. 

The trees felt neverending, stretching high above her. If one looked up it could have made them dizzy. She was just lost in the environment. The dark bark of the trees were such a stark contrast from the pure white of the snow that lay at their feet. Their strange carmine leaves were scattered here and there. It was truly a unique place. 

Her attention stayed on the winding path ahead. She knew Sans's sentry station would be up ahead, but There was no rest. Its crack rang into the open air. The snap of a branch. Something was watching her. She didn’t have the energy to run. Her exhaustion was too great. The combination of running and mental terror. All the things she had seen. It was all unbelievable. Grotesque. Horrifying. It was all wrong. So horribly wrong. 

It shook her soul to its core, and she ended up at a dead end. All she could do was stare up at the wooden barrier, placing her hands weakly on the wood. She could hear something scuffling toward her. Her heart once again beat harder than it should, nearly lodging in her throat. Helpless. That was how she felt as she turned to face the beast, eyes screwed shut and unable to keep the tears from her cheeks. 

Even back then she had never felt this level of fear. It had been hard, but never did she fear for her life at such an intensity. Her lips quivered as its shadow fell over her. She felt like a cornered animal. One that had no means to defend itself. An easy kill, “Please… I don’t know what happened here. Please…” A pathetic plea was choked by her soft cries. 

Its hand fell on her, pulling her from the wooden barrier she had been backed into. She could picture it tearing her throat out and ripping her to shreds. How her blood would stain the snow a deep red. What would be left of her would decorate the snow like a sick ornament. 

Her eyes reluctantly forced themselves open. The creature towered over her with a skeletal mouth gaping open showing off sets of sharp, flesh-eating teeth. Its eyes were lifeless black pits and two sets of bark-like antlers protruded from its skull. That same symbol she had seen on the door sat at the crest of its skull along with a pentagram etched into the bone. It’s long billowing robes just fluttered in the wind and its face was framed by deep charcoal fluff. A single ruby thread appeared to glow where it had been used around the jaw and antlers. 

All she could do was force her eyes closed once more as her body grew cold. Its shadow was sucking all the warmth from her body as she shook her head. She was desperate. Her desire was to return, but now she may not even see them ever again. The tears that stained her cheeks left icy trails on her porcelain skin. Please. Her lungs burned and she was unable to speak; it felt like acid had been poured down her throat to spread like poison throughout her body. 

The voice that broke the silence was not her own.

“Frisk?”    

[for-a-flower]

Part Four: Hopes and Dreams

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           Frisk stirred and slowly opened his eyes.  He was laying on his back among yellow flowers, peering into a stream of sunlight that shone down from above.  He sat up with an excited grin.  "It worked!"  He ran both hands through dark fluffy hair.  Frisk stood, picked up a nearby stick, then started down a dark tunnel ahead.  He had a long journey if he was going to make it all the way to Asgore again, but if all went well, this one would be better than the last.  As the child approached a patch of sunlight, he slowed his pace expecting Flowey to show up.  Sure enough, a yellow flower pushed up from the ground.  Frisk gave him a little smile.

           Flowey didn't smile back.  "Hey . . . remember not to kill anything this time," he said.  "I can't believe this is a real thing I have to remind you."  That wasn’t what had happened last time.

           "You remember?" said Frisk.

           Flowey glanced away and grumbled.  "I could save too.  That's how I kept bringing you back.  I just . . . really failed at it during the whole killing you and all," he said.  Flowey turned his gaze back at Frisk and laughed halfheartedly.  "Of course I remember."

           "Don't worry.  I won't kill anything this time," said Frisk.

           Flowey smiled.  "Good luck."  He burrowed to get out of sight.

           Frisk glanced toward the gate into the Ruins ahead of him.  A female monster with white fur and a purple robe rushed through the open gate.  Frisk stared.  She approached with a concerned look on her face.  "Hello.  Are you alright?" she asked.  "Do not be afraid, my child.  I will not hurt you.  I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins."

           Frisk's face lit up with a smile.  He ran to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.  “I’m so glad to see you!”

           Toriel was surprised at first but smiled and gave him a comforting pat on the back.  "There, there.  It is okay, my child.  You are safe now," she said.  "I promise I will do my best to protect you during your time here."

           Frisk reluctantly let go then looked up with a smile and happy tears.  “I thought you were gone.”

           Toriel gave him a confused stare.  “What ever are you talking about?”  She glanced further into the dark cave.  “I hope you have not been hurt.  A fall like that can be very dangerous.  You must be so lost and confused.”

           Frisk scratched his head.  Toriel didn’t remember.  That was probably a good thing.  “Yeah, kind of,” he told her.  “But I’m not hurt.”

           She smiled and motioned him to follow her.  "Then come!  I shall guide you through the Ruins," she said.  She walked through the gate and continued into the area beyond.

           Frisk stayed behind and grinned.  "Yes," he said.  "Yes!"  He peeked through the gate to make sure Toriel was still on the other side.  He tried to hide his squeal of excitement, but due to the confused look that came to the Queen's face, it was clear she managed to hear it anyway.  He rushed to follow her, skipping on the way.

           She giggled.  "Welcome to your new home, my child.  You seem very happy to be here.”

           "I am!  I'm glad I ran into you," said Frisk.

           "I am glad I found you too.  Come.  We have quite a ways ahead of us."  Toriel led the way and Frisk followed close by.

           As Frisk and Toriel continued down a hall overgrown with vines and weeds, Flowey emerged from the dirt behind.  He frowned.  "Look at them . . . happy as ever."  Flowey grinned and snickered to himself.  "The human has no idea . . . no idea at all."  He watched Frisk and Toriel exit the hall.  His smile faded.  "Still . . . Chara has to be around here somewhere.  And since I haven't had any luck finding her, I guess I just gotta show her.  But . . . I still need seven human souls to do it."  Flowey sighed.  "Oh well, I've still got a plan . . . and it's bound to work this time."

           About half way through the Ruins, Toriel left Frisk behind for a head start to her home.  This time Frisk didn’t wait around.  He started his way through the Ruins and encountered a few Froggits.  They prepared to attack but the child smiled and complimented them.  They hopped away and let him pass without harm.  Toriel called the cell phone she had just left with the child minutes earlier.

           Frisk answered.  "Hello?"

           "This is Toriel," she said.  "For no reason in particular, which do you prefer, cinnamon or butterscotch?"  Frisk opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted.  "Wait.  Don't tell me.  Is it butterscotch?"

           Frisk’s pace slowed.  "Uh . . . yeah.  How did you know?"

           Toriel laughed.  "I had a feeling.  Every time a human falls down here, I almost feel like I already know them.  And truthfully, when I first saw you, I felt . . . like I was seeing an old friend for the first time.  Strange, is it not?"

           Frisk nodded.  "Yeah."

           "Well, thank you for your selection," said Toriel.  "Bye."  She hung up.  Frisk lowered the phone.  Did she remember something from before or not?  Was it just a feeling she had?  Like deja-vu?  Frisk shrugged and kept moving.  He had no trouble remembering how to solve the puzzles.  Toriel called a few minutes later.

           Frisk answered the cell phone.  "Hello?"

           "This is Toriel.  You do not have any allergies, do you?" she said.

           “Uh, no.  Why do you ask?"

           "No reason . . ." she replied.  "No reason at all.  Sorry for bothering you."

           "It's no bother.  Call any time you want."

           "Aw, you're so sweet.  Good bye for now."  Toriel hung up.  Frisk continued down a hall where he found Napstablook.  He did his best to cheer up the ghost like last time.  During his journey Frisk picked up the red ribbon from a pile of leaves.  Several minutes later, he reached the balcony on which he had found a toy knife before.  Even though he didn't want to fight anything, having to protect himself with just a stick was a bad idea.  Frisk sighed, picked up the toy knife, then rushed toward Toriel's house.  He rounded a corner and skidded to a stop by the large, dark tree in the front yard.

            Toriel stepped out the front door, mumbling to herself.  "Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would.”  She lifted her phone to call Frisk but stopped when she noticed him standing by the tree a few yards away.  She slipped the phone in a pocket and rushed to him.  "How did you get here, my child?"

           "I went through the Ruins," said Frisk.

           Toriel looked over him.  "I told you to wait for me.  Are you hurt?"  Frisk shook his head.  She let out a sigh of relief.  "Oh thank goodness.  I am sorry.  I should not have left you alone for so long.  It was irresponsible to try to surprise you like this."  Frisk smirked.  Toriel gasped.  "Or . . ."  She smirked at the child.  "Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer.  Come, small one!"  She turned and led him to her home.  On the way to the door Frisk took a moment to glance over the front of Toriel’s cozy home.  He had finally saved her . . . brought her back.  It gave him determination.  He could do this.  A yellow light flickered behind him, marking a save in this new timeline so that it would never be lost.  Frisk stepped through red leaves and into the open door of a cozy, little house.  Frisk stopped beside Toriel to take a deep breath as the smell of butterscotch pie drifted by.

           "Do you smell that?" said Toriel.  Frisk nodded.  She gave him a kind smile.  "Surprise!  It is a butterscotch cinnamon pie.  I thought we might celebrate your arrival.  I want you to have a nice time living here, so I will hold off on snail pie for tonight."

           "Thanks!  It smells good."

           "Oh, and here, I have another surprise for you."  She took Frisk’s hand and led him into the hall on the right.  She stopped in front of an open door on the left.  "A room of your own.  I hope you like it!"

           As Frisk glanced over the familiar room with red painted walls, he held back tears but smiled.  "It's perfect.”

           Toriel rubbed his head with a hand, messing up his brown hair.  She paused to sniff the air.  "Is something burning?"  She glanced toward the kitchen.  "Um, make yourself at home!"  She hurried out of the hall.

           Frisk entered the room to look around.  The king's son, Asriel, had lived here.  He owned all of these stuffed toys while he was growing up.  Frisk emptied his pockets of things he had collected so far.  He had bought a couple doughnuts from the spider bake sale and found some monster candy Toriel had set out in the Ruins.  Frisk set the food on a dresser in the room then took out the toy knife, red ribbon, and stick, which he set on the bed's blanket.  Frisk smirked then turned to leave the room and rushed to the living room.  He found Toriel sitting on a large recliner with a book in her hands.

           She looked up as the human joined her.  "Hello there, little one!" she said.  "The pie has not cooled down yet.  But if you want to rest, it should be done when you wake up."

           Frisk nodded.  "I will, but I want to ask you something."

           "You'd rather stay up and chat with me?"

           "Yeah.  You're really nice like my mom."

           Toriel glanced away.  "Um . . .”  She set down the book.  “I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here."  Her gaze shifted back to Frisk and she continued with a smile.  "I have so many old books I want to share and . . . I even prepared a curriculum for your education.  I mean, this may come as a surprise to you but . . . I've always wanted to be a teacher.”

           “You would be a cool teacher.  I know it,” said Frisk.

           Toriel cleared her throat.  “I'm sorry.  You wanted to ask me something, did you not?"

           Frisk sighed, his focus drifting down the wood floor.  "Well . . . my mom is a lot like you.  She’s kind and makes pies . . . and does a lot of things with me."  Frisk glanced up at Toriel, who seemed surprised.  "You're a lot like her.  The room you gave me has a lot of kid’s things in it.  You had a family once . . . but now you're all alone.  What . . . happened to them?"

           "Uhm . . ."  Toriel blinked a few times and took a deep breath.  "That was such a long time ago, my child.  I do not remember everything so well anymore."

           Frisk could tell that the question had opened an old wound, so he smiled and shook his head.  "Never mind."  He inched closer to her.  "I wanna see some of the books.  Can you read some to me?"

           Toriel smiled.  "Oh, of course."  She motioned the human child to come sit on her lap.  Once he had, she lifted the book again.  "This one is called 72 Uses for Snails," she said.  "There are a lot of interesting facts in here.  Like this one.”  She pointed to a statement on the page.  “Did you know that snails sometimes flip their digestive systems as they mature?"

           Frisk giggled.  "That’s weird.  How do they do that?"

           Toriel rubbed her chin.  "Hm . . . I am not sure."

           Frisk wiggled impatiently on her lap.  "Read another."

           Toriel turned the page.  "Alright, let me find another good one."  Toriel continued reading to the human child for a good ten to fifteen minutes by a warm fireplace.  Eventually Frisk told a joke and the two started making puns with each other.  They laughed together and enjoyed each other’s company until Frisk grew tired.  He yawned.  "You must be exhausted," said Toriel.

           "Yeah."

           "Go and rest.  I will still be here when you wake up.  And so will the pie."

           Frisk slid off her lap.  "Good night!"

           Toriel smiled.  "Good night, my child."  The child yawned again as he walked down the hall into his new room.  He closed the door and switched off the light.  He moved the items off the bed then let himself collapse on the soft mattress.  He pulled the blanket over him and closed his eyes.  He sighed.  This was how it should have been.  This is how it was meant to be.  He felt like he belonged now instead of like he was out of place down here.

           Frisk planned to spend the next day with Toriel to get to know her.  But in the back of his mind, he knew he'd still have to leave.  He didn't want to.  He wanted to stay but . . . he still had to find a way to make it all different.  Frisk tried not to think about it.  As he started to drift off, another thought slowly came to him.  Chara.  She hadn't said anything to him since she ordered him to kill Flowey in the last timeline.  He wondered if she was still around and if she was okay.  In a way he was glad he hadn’t heard from her yet but he was also concerned.  As far as he could tell, it seemed that both Flowey and Chara had been misunderstood.  There had to be more going on with them and he wanted to know what.  It wasn't possible to go back and prevent Chara from dying, but maybe he could make things better in the present somehow.

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[sephythespooky]

Okay more on Showdown Bandit AU

Sans and Papyrus are the undertakers. Sans digs the holes, Papyrus keeps them down. A cheery undertaker is an odd sight, but leave it to Papy to just be mildly irritated about wandering dead.

Alphys is the Banker, mild mannered, shaky, more than a little scared about what’s happening. Mettaton is the fixer upper, even though he admits he only knows how to do ‘doctoring’ thanks to Alphys. She’s just too anxious to practice medicine anymore so he does it for her.

You need to be careful adventuring, because the only real protection the town’s had so far is Undyne fighting off the stringless and the violent puppets, but there’s only so much you can do against...well...THEM.

The town’s a little bigger, including Miss Toriel’s schoolhouse and Asgore’s Town Hall (he’s the mayor don’tcha know), but neither of them leave their buildings much. After all, both their children are...well...not doing so well. One’s become a faceless menace and the other is missing.

Of course, Chara is the menace, with their scythe, going after squishy things like you and cutting the strings of random citizens, and Asriel is taking the path of Penny with rambling to himself about ‘kill or be killed��� and saying he’s ‘lost his soul’ and things. Nobody’s sure what happened to make either of them go off the deep end like this, and it’s more than scary.

Not to mention the rumors of an Araknit queen out in the graveyard and a terrifying creature in the mines, possibly responsible for the choking vines that have blocked entry to the place lately.

Most folks just gather at the saloon and try to figure out what to do, or comisserate in the creeping terror as their world crumbles and vanishes without a trace piece by piece.