Chapter Text
Once Asriel had his bags packed, he and Frisk headed off towards New Home, deciding to take a walk the long way through Waterfall. Sans couldn't blame the kid. She was doing a lot to get this thing tomorrow out of her mind. He half regretted not going with them, though. The silence was creeping in on him and he wasn't really a fan.
He dragged out his coat and shuffled off outside. He wandered the streets and caught sight of those humans again. Grillby's green-flamed daughter was talking to them, trying to explain how it was that she was made of flame and yet didn't burn the things around her. They seemed so earnestly interested.
Now that he saw them again, he recognized the man. History professor, worked at the university Sans had in another time, though they hadn't spoken much. Funny coincidence, but he supposed the place wasn't actually all that far away. Figured that a teacher who studied the past would find all this stuff interesting.
He stuck a hand up to greet Grillby's kid and then slipped inside the place and took a spot at the counter. Grillby met him with raised eyebrows.
"I'm moving," the elemental said.
"Oh. When?" Sans asked.
"End of the month." He slid the skeleton a bottle of ketchup. "End of main street."
"Cool," Sans said. "New building, or—?"
"I'm taking it," he said.
Sans snorted and laughed. He grinned and stuck his thumb up. "Good. S'better that way."
Grillby nodded steadily.
"We'll still be in, like, every day," Sans assured him. "Not really like distance is an obstacle, huh?"
"You don't sound like you're being sarcastic," he said.
"I'm not," Sans said with a laugh.
Cold air hit the back of his head and Grillby looked up curiously. The voices that blustered in were those of the small human family again. Grillby shot Sans a look, and then disappeared somewhere behind the counter. Sniffling and shivering, the human man walked up to the counter with cautious optimism on his face.
"Excuse me, is this, uh…? Is this where we order?" he asked.
"Usually," Sans said. He leaned over the counter to look down, but Grillby was gone. "Someone should be back soon, I guess."
The man eyed him over curiously. He carefully slid onto the seat beside him. "You're a skeleton, right?"
"No bones about it," Sans said.
"Could I ask—?"
"Honey!" The human woman waved to her husband from across the restaurant, and then gestured to one of the booths. "Over here!"
"Would you mind sitting with us?" the man asked curiously.
Sans was a little puzzled, but he supposed it didn't really hurt to be a novelty.
The humans looked surprisingly excited to see him. Especially the kid. They stared closely at his hands as he sat down.
"Thank you for joining us," the woman said. "All these monster things are a bit new to us! But, at the same time, this isn't so different from back home, is it?"
"A little more rustic." The man nodded anyway. "So, uh. How does this work, exactly?"
"When the dude made of fire shows up, just go over and tell him what you want," Sans said.
"Oh, not that," the man said quickly. "I mean. Humans. Eating magic. Your, uh… That little girl? You were at the same house, right?"
"My sister," he confirmed.
"Right, she mentioned that a human can just eat magic. Is that… I mean…?"
"Yeah, you just put it in your face, I guess," Sans said. "Don't think too hard about it."
"Does it do anything weird to you? Does it turn you green?" the kid asked, wide-eyed.
"Uh. Usually not," Sans said. "Just makes you feel better." He shrugged when the humans looked back at him with confusion. "With monsters, only real cure if you're hurt or feelin' sick other than healin' magic is just eatin' and gettin' some rest."
"So, like, how do you do that?" the kid asked.
"Do what?" Sans asked.
"You know. Eat. And… talk?" He tilted his head. "Your mouth doesn't open even though it kinda moves and stuff, I don't get it."
"Oh." Sans laughed. "Yeah, don't think too much about that, either. Monsters kinda come in all kinds of weird shapes. We're made of magic, huh? Don't need to really make sense. Guy who owns this place's technically got no eyes, but he can see you just fine."
"That's amazing," the woman said. "I hope you don't find these questions intrusive."
"Wouldn't answer if I didn't want to," he said with a shrug.
"In that case. Would you mind if I pick your brain for a moment?" the man asked.
"Don't actually have one of those, but I get your meanin'," Sans said with a wink.
"You don't have a brain?!" the kid yelped.
His mother nudged him, but Sans simply laughed again.
"Course not." He tapped the side of his skull. "Kinda a bonehead, y'know."
The woman's eyes seemed to glitter. "We were talking to a girl made of fire, earlier. And one that looked like a small airplane, somehow. And so many rabbits!"
"I was mostly wondering, though," the man said, "how the barrier came down. I mean, honestly, we weren't even sure your people were still down here. How did all that work?"
"Kinda complicated," he said. "King's kid did a thing. My sister did a thing. It's, uh, probably best you ask the King about that, actually. You meet him yet?"
"First thing!" the man said. "I mean, I've never even met our Prime Minister, but, first minute here and the King comes out to say howdy."
"He's huge!" the kid said, raising his arms. "I never ever seen someone so big before."
"We didn't really expect to be so welcomed here," the woman said with a shy smile. "Not after all this time. But then it turns out there was a human living here the whole time."
Sans caught sight of Grillby coming out of the kitchen door with an armful of clean mugs. He raised his hand and the skeleton slipped out of the booth. "C'mon, let's get you somethin'," he said. "I'd recommend the burgs."
"Do they count as vegetarian?" the woman wondered.
"Well, they sure ain't made of meat," Sans said with a laugh. He tilted his head back towards the counter.
The human man scrambled to follow him as he returned to Grillby. He nodded politely.
"Whatcha think?" Sans asked the human. "Burgs and fries? They're good."
"Yeah. Alright. Three of those. Please," the man said quickly. He sounded a little nervous.
Grillby slid off silently. Sans took a seat again and leaned his back up on the counter.
"Don't worry so much, human, you're not doin' bad," Sans said.
"Thanks. It's… Maybe this'll sound weird, but it's always been a dream of mine to come here," he said. "I've been studying artefacts from the war for years."
"Huh. Much left from our side?" Sans asked.
"A few books. Some art. Some old ruins." The man sounded apologetic. "It wasn't right, you know? What happened."
Sans shrugged. "Wasn't there. Hey, you wanna learn more about it, some of us still remember it."
"Remember it?" The man looked baffled.
"Yeah. King was there, even. I'm sure he'd tell you stories if you asked. Retired Captain of the Guard's a big history buff; he's up on the surface now. Old wrinkly turtle, hard to miss. Or you could borrow a book. Check out the Archives in New Home, I'm pretty sure they didn't start movin' stuff yet."
The human didn't respond verbally, but his eyes looked like full moons and his jaw dropped. Sans groped around behind the counter and pulled up a napkin. He scribbled a small map of the section of New Home they'd need, trying to write slow and large so he was sure it was legible. He handed it over. The man took it with shaking fingers. He stared for a while, gulped heavily, and looked into Sans's eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Okay," Sans said.
"It was a genocide," he said softly.
"Sure was," Sans agreed.
The man gulped again. Sans snickered; the human looked baffled.
"Chill. No one blames you new humans," he said. "You weren't there. Just, uh, let's not do any cyclical history this time, huh?"
"That'd be good," the man said, laughing dryly and rubbing his hair. "God. That's… Monsters live that long?"
"Guess you guys forgot about that," he said. "Yeah. Long time."
The man was at a loss for a little while. He sat beside Sans again and put his chin on his fist. "I have so many questions."
"Okay," Sans said.
"Can I start with that girl? Your sister, you said," he said. "How did she get here? How does a human that young end up down here?"
"Ah." Sans grinned. "Funny story. She dropped from the sky."
"From the sky?" he repeated.
"Sure. One day, just, plop, kid falls outta the ceilin'," he said, grinning slightly. "Lemme tell you about it, it's a riot."
- - -
Sans went back home to the empty house having seemingly made the day of a strange human family with his monster lore and odd stories. He didn't mind one bit, to be honest. Humans were much more curious than the average monster. It was sort of invigorating.
The house was far too quiet. He figured maybe he could sleep the silence off. It didn't last long, however. He was almost grateful to be woken up by his phone playing a song from between sofa cushions. When he fished it out, he pressed a button and clunked it against the side of his head.
"Brother! Hello!" Papyrus said. "It is you, right? You didn't drop your phone and have it get taken by an annoying dog, did you?"
"Uh. Bark," Sans said.
"SANS! You definitely can't fool me with that lacklustre performance!" he said.
Sans snickered. "Whatcha need, bro?" he asked.
"I'm at Alphys's! She has a weird science thing for you to look at," he said. "Aaaaaand you know Frisk and Asriel came through here, right?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Did she have another thing? You know? Those panic things? At school?" Papyrus asked. "She said she got whacked in the face but she wasn't bruised so…"
"Oh. Yeah. Healed that," he said. "She's fine."
"Oh good! I'm glad it wasn't… OH! Hey! Nyeh heh heh! Congratulations!" Papyrus said loudly. "How many times?!"
"Took two," he said.
"Oh. My. God. That's fantastic!" he said. "Good job, brother. I'm glad she wasn't sick, though. So. Are you coming?"
"Right now?"
"Yes, Sans, right now!" Papyrus said shrilly. "The Doctor said it was really important."
Sans pocketed the phone, rolled onto the floor, and shifted himself to the lab. He caught Papyrus glaring into his phone.
"Yo," he said.
"Ah! Well. At least you're punctual," Papyrus said.
"Sans!" Alphys surprised him from behind. She gave him a hug when he turned around. "G-Good to see you!"
"Hey, Doc, good trip?" he asked.
"Y-Yeah! Um. It was… p-pretty strenuous." She smiled bashfully. "But it was good! But, you know m-my luck, come b-back from vacation a-and the CORE is acting up. Of course."
"Ah. Great. CORE stuff. Love it," he said.
"I know. I'm sorry," she said. "B-But you know it b-better than anyone."
Alphys went to her computer and gestured for him to follow her. He took a moment to brace himself. Papyrus put a hand on his shoulder and walked past to stand behind the scientist with a curious look on his face. Sans was sure his eyes had gone dark, but he tagged along.
"So, is it, uh, a pretty bad problem, or what?" he asked.
"It's just… w-weird. That's all," she said. She rubbed her hands together with nerves, running her fingers habitually over the orange scarring on her right hand that looked almost like streaks of paint.
"What, like Az weird, or something else?" Sans asked.
"Not quite as weird as that, b-but… I d-dunno, see for yourself," she said.
She waved him closer to the monitor and switched to one of several running analytics tabs, showing a bright graph of the current energy fluctuations of the CORE. Sans's brows raised slightly.
"Oh. Yeah, alright, I see it," he said.
"What? What?! I don't get it," Papyrus asked worriedly. "Is it bad? Is it going to break again? Oh, no no no, we can't—! We're not sending Frisk in there again, are we?!"
"No. N-No, no, it's not that bad again, it's not h-having weird determination bursts this time, see?" Alphys guided Papyrus closer and pointed out one of the moving graphs, one that was relatively level. "S-See? Not much change."
"Hm." Sans rubbed the back of his head. He knew what she must want. "Should I go check or something?"
"W-Would you?" Alphys asked hopefully. "Y-You know h-how it works in the chamber a bit better than I do."
Sans shrugged and nodded. "Sure. Guess I could go now."
"Oh! Sans! Are you sure?!" Papyrus demanded. "You don't need to prepare at all?"
"Nah," he said. "I'll just throw myself at it for a bit, no big deal."
"Oh." Papyrus looked skeptical and started rubbing his thumb along the back of his opposite hand. "Do you want me to come? I mean, I am by far the strongest of the two of us, so—"
"No offence, bro, but absolutely not," he said.
"So it IS dangerous, then?!" he yelped.
"Dunno. Probably not bad but, uh, I'd rather not have you remember bein' blown to dust if somethin' goes nuts, y'know?" he said.
"And what about you?!" he demanded.
"Eh, I already remember bein' blown to dust, no big deal," he said.
"AAAH SANS!" Papyrus pouted and grabbed him into his arms just a little too tightly. "Stop doing that immediately!"
Sans snickered. His brother puffed and bonked his brow on his lightly before letting him go and giving him a thumbs-up filled with determination.
"Good luck, brother, please don't do anything too dangerous."
"I'll get the kiddo to do a save for me, no biggie," he said.
"Good. Good good, no need to worry at all, then!" Papyrus said. "But I would still greatly prefer if you don't explode, okay?"
"Sure thing. Just sit around here or somethin'. I'll be back soon," Sans said. "Or we'll reset, that'll be fine."
"P-Please be careful, okay?" Alphys said.
Sans stuck his thumb up and then shifted himself deep underground. There he was again, in front of that old door. Last time he'd been here, they'd hauled his sister out, unconscious. Wasn't really a fan.
He put his hand against it and was startled to feel it respond in a rather friendly way. Like it was inviting. It was definitely unlocked.
He could feel the prickle of unruly magic in the air. Stronger than he anticipated. Frowning, thoughtful, Sans drew back and supported the wall. He pulled out his phone and turned the screen back on. Seemed to have missed quite a few texts, but that didn't concern him much this second. He immediately went to Frisk's number. For some reason, he felt a sting of nerves. He took a deep breath. It was fine. Didn't matter how dangerous it might be. The kid had his back. Always did.
"kiddo do me a favr?" he texted. He didn't have to wait long.
"sure what do you need?" she said.
"save n check back in 15?"
"oh! ok, comin up on one in just a minute!"
"k"
Sans waited. He could feel that magic swelling. He rested against the wall and tried to keep his nerves in check. It would be okay. Didn't matter if he didn't make it. He could stand being dead for a few minutes if it came to that.
It wasn't too long before he felt the phone buzz again.
"ok, got it! be careful ok? we'll wait for you. love you <3"
"love u 2"
Sans pocketed his phone, braced himself, and then pushed the door open. The magic inside the room was roiling like the swelling of a thunderstorm. Most jarring, though, had nothing to do with the building tempest of energy, nor the crackle of colourful magic swirling around the pillar. There was someone at the console. Human-shaped. Heavy brown leather jacket, a hood up from a black sweatshirt underneath. A dark scarf around their neck. Sans felt a strike of shock. Couldn't be, could it? How could anyone get in here?
When the person turned, startled at the sound of the door, Sans froze up. Felt like he might collapse. It wasn't some human— some saboteur. It was a skeleton. A tall man with two defined cracks in his skull, eyes glowing blue and gold.
Sans knew him— would recognize him anywhere. This man filled in his memories instantly, seamlessly integrating into almost every day of the first twenty years of Sans's life. The skeleton that had vanished. Torn away from everything when the CORE erupted on top of him ten years ago. Gaster. His father. It hit him like a truck and he almost lost his breath.
The world went silent for a moment as they locked eyes. The man standing along that stoney path felt it too. He looked stunned. It took them both a few seconds to pull themselves back together.
"I… I could use an extra set of hands over here!" the skeleton called.
Sans was over at the console in an instant. "What do you need?" he asked.
"Hold this steady." He looked at his hand on a lever on the console. "We're going to push it a little farther in just a moment."
Sans raised a brow, but grabbed tight to the lever and the man moved his hand and patted him gently on the shoulder. He turned his eyes upon the crackling magic on the ceiling.
"Thank you, Sans," he said. "Trust me?"
"Mhm."
"Just a little more."
Sans pulled the lever downwards and pressed a few buttons around the left side of the machine to keep things steady, but the wind of magic began to whip around them faster and faster. Gaster took a deep breath. He pulled off one glove with his teeth and then the other as he rolled up his sleeves, and put the gloves in his pocket.
"I'll explain everything soon," he said. "I'll meet you upstairs when this is done. At the closest starlight. Do you understand?"
"Gotcha," Sans said.
His father smiled fondly. "I love you."
Sans felt a strange pang through his bones, but he grinned nonetheless. "Love you, too," he said. "Crankin' it?"
"Hm." The mismatched glow in his eye sockets brightened. "Alright. Here we go."
He raised up his right arm, straight at the ceiling, his middle and index finger extended. Magic in his palm pulsed gold and drew down energy, vibrant and crackling, from the torrent above them— a lightning rod. It twisted around through his bones and he braced himself, wincing. Sans watched, eyes wide, and he quickly steadied the reactor. The magic pulsed through the other skeleton, arching off his body erratically, and his legs almost gave out. Sans grimaced and grabbed Gaster's soul tightly. His father grinned and put his other hand fondly over the glow.
He closed his eyes and his left hand glittered with blue, and he reached out in front of him. His fingertips cut through the air like a bad movie backdrop, revealing a space of dark and starlight shining behind. Then, it pulsed white-blue, overcoming the entire room. When the light faded, he was gone.
Sans stared at empty space for a second, and then hurriedly pressed some buttons and gently pushed the lever back up. The storm of magic slowly dissipated, and then settled back into the calm, regular whirling spectrum up the centre pillar. Sans let out a deep sigh of relief and slumped, hand on his brow. He was trying not to reel. He leaned his back against the console and turned his gaze on the ceiling. The magic above was like an aurora against the red-tinted stone. It was surreal. The whole world was surreal. He wiped his eyes and then shifted.
He went to the tear in time a bit farther up the tower and, to his relief, Gaster was there. He was rattling, and he looked exhausted as he leaned against a wall. But he was there. Not some illusion in the magic, not some hallucination or a dream. Real, magic and bone, standing there, and somehow it all seemed painfully normal.
Gaster's eyes welled up the second he noticed Sans. He closed the distance and hugged him tight against his chest. Sans slumped and snickered. His eye shone bright with blue and he clung close. Gaster took a deep, shaking breath. He cupped Sans's face in both hands and gently touched their brows together. He tried to speak. Couldn't manage it. Gritted his teeth and let the tears flow down his face. Sans sparked with blue and put his hand on his.
"It's okay," he said.
The man huffed. Fought to regain his breath. He started to laugh. He wrapped his arms around him and snuggled him close. The glow of his eyes shone bright. "I missed you so much."
"I know," Sans said.
Gaster's whole frame trembled. All of Sans's magic ached with sympathy, and his father made a faint choking sound and reciprocated brightly with energy it seemed Sans had never really forgotten the feeling of. His eyes watered and he smiled.
"God, this is weird," he said.
Gaster wheezed out a laugh and had to gasp for air. He spent a few long moments taking deep breaths before starting to snicker. "I-I'm still not used to breathing again."
"You gonna be alright?" Sans asked.
He nodded. He pulled back and puffed out a deep sigh, rubbing his hands over his skull. He coughed a little. Sans's smile was sympathetic.
"You kinda look like crap, you wanna sit down for a bit?"
"I do. Definitely," he said.
He settled his back against the nearest wall and Sans followed to drop down beside him. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Gaster absently rubbed his hands together and then kneaded at his eye sockets with the heels of his palms.
"Oh my god," he muttered.
"Tell me about it," Sans said.
Gaster let out a quiet, hoarse laugh. "You, uh… You look well," he said.
"Pffft. Yeah. Guess I am," Sans said.
"And… A-And, how's Papyrus?" he asked.
"He's great," Sans assured him.
Gaster breathed a sigh of relief.
Sans couldn't help but stare at him for a few long moments. It was so strange to see him again. Aside from the crack on the right side of his face that ran up from his eye, he really didn't look any different than the day he'd vanished. Actually, now that Sans thought about it, he remembered seeing that line form. His father, absorbing all that energy from the CORE— he could still see the split crackling with colour in there in his mind's eye. The whole ordeal had been so utterly loud. He could recall the deep, tingling chill that had overtaken him then as if it were yesterday.
"I'm so glad you showed up," Gaster said. "I was starting to think I was in a wee bit over my head."
"Hey, what else is new?" Sans said with a wink. "Next time call or somethin', huh?"
"I didn't exactly have your phone number. Or a phone." The skeleton laughed. "I'm sorry."
"Nah." Sans waved a hand at him. "Glad you're back, though. Ten years, huh?"
"Is that all it's been?" Gaster laughed, the sound laboured and weak, and rubbed his eye sockets again. "When did you remember?"
"Second I saw you," Sans said. "Weird shit."
Gaster smiled. He took a deep breath. He rolled his fingers over his thumbs and then held out his hands before him, just a few inches apart. He concentrated, eyes lighting up blue and gold along with his finger bones. After just a few seconds, a pair of oval-rimmed glasses crackled into existence. Sort of rough, but the lenses looked good. He put them on. Squinted. Took them off; wiped his eyes before trying them again.
"Oh, for god's sake," he muttered. He squeezed on each lens and then tried once more.
"Could you not see that whole time?" Sans asked, trying not to laugh.
"Somehow, my eyes are much better than they were before I went in," he said, bemused. "I guess it was just the tears. Hah."
"For real?" Sans said. "Weren't you almost blind in the right one?"
"Absolutely I was, but…" He chuckled tiredly. "I'm glad for the improvement."
"Congrats," Sans said.
His phone buzzed in his jacket. He pulled it out and Gaster leaned over curiously to look. Frisk had sent him a text. Just like he had asked.
"yo bro did you explode?"
"nah" he replied. "thx 4 waitin"
"np! <3" she answered. "was the save ok? didn't need it?"
"yup no probs"
"whatre you doin anyway?" Frisk asked.
"supr secrt dnger mssion" he replied.
"omg wow thats even more secret then normal!"
"yup" he typed. "dont wrry its all gud"
"ok! <3 glad to hear it. see you at home later? you can tell me all about it!"
"k" He paused for a moment and his cheekbones flushed faintly blue. He typed a heart; she responded with three. He had a dopey smile on his face almost instantly.
"Is…? Is that Frisky?" Gaster's voice was hopeful. "It is, isn't it?"
"You guessed it," Sans said.
The tall skeleton's face lit up. "So… So I didn't imagine it. You really found each other."
"Yeah, she made kind of a stir when she showed up, actually." Sans winked. "No idea why."
Gaster laughed quietly and folded his arms to his chest. "That's good. So do you…? So you know who she is?"
"Course I do," Sans said. "Not that you made it easy to figure out."
He looked relieved. "Does she?"
"Not in so many words. It never made sense to try to explain without you around and only half-answers." Sans smiled. "Not that it changes anything, anyway."
"You wouldn't believe how happy I am to hear that you feel like that," Gaster said.
"Welp. I figure, you know, bein' big brother's one thing I've been consistently okay at," he said. "Goin' for round two? I'm into it."
Gaster grinned. "You aren't just okay," he said with a quiet chuckle. "If how you handled Papyrus was any indicator, I'd say you're perfect."
Sans snickered. Gaster yawned. He tented his fingers.
"S-So. Do you think…? Do you think he'll remember me?" he said. "He was only, what, ten?"
"Eight," Sans said.
"Eight!" Gaster took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Only eight… My god."
"He'll remember," Sans said. "Don't worry. He's not so different, y'know."
Gaster went quiet. His fingers traced those cracks in his skull near his eyes. He sighed and folded his arms, and put his head down on his knee. "I… I'm sorry, Sans."
"Hm? What for?" he said, shifting a little closer.
"It… It was all my fault. Everything," he said. He looked up, but his gaze was a million miles away. "Sans, I… I had the dreams. Going back to when you were just a child. I knew… I knew what you'd go through. And even so. I had to make it happen like that anyway. You were so brave, and you… you should never have had to be. I'm so sorry."
"Oh. You… know all about it, huh?" Sans grinned a little and his father gave him a worried, confused frown. "Good."
"Good?" he repeated.
"Then I don't have to tell you about it," Sans said.
"You're not mad," he said with a frown.
Sans shrugged. "Nah."
"Nah?! That's it? No dad, you're an idiot? Gaster for Worst Father in the Universe award?" he demanded. "Idiot skeleton creates life, accidentally condemns said life to fighting in a never-ending time loop against invincible time anomalies by his own sheer incompetence? Nothing?"
"That doesn't sound like me at all," Sans said with a laugh.
Gaster smiled a little. "I suppose it doesn't," he said. "Hah… You're too forgiving."
"Grudges are exhaustin', dude. Besides. It worked out. Time loop broke. And… it's good that it was me."
"Why?" Gaster asked with a frown.
Sans shrugged again. "Didn't have to be anyone else."
Gaster stared at him in silence for a long while. His eye sockets welled up again and he put his glasses down before pulling Sans into his arms. "That's a-always been just like you," he said quietly. "Sans, I… I never gave you the idea that you were… expendable, did I?" Gaster spat that word out, like it left a bad taste.
Sans looked up at his father and felt suddenly very snug. Safe. It was strange and comfortable. He felt kind of like a kid again. It definitely wasn't the worst feeling in the world. "No." He laughed. "No. Don't worry."
"Good. Because you're not." He shook his head. "God, the mental fortitude that must've taken—"
"It's alright. It's done," Sans said. "We do what we have to. Just like always."
"You have to be happy," Gaster said, pouting a little. "You… are happy?" He looked very much like Papyrus in that moment.
Sans almost laughed again. "…I'm real happy," he said.
The relief in his father's energy was overwhelming for a second. He gripped onto him sleepily and Gaster snuggled him close.
"I… I should… I should tell you everything," he said.
"Eh. Later," Sans said. "I'm gonna pass out."
"…Me too." Gaster sighed.
"Then forget it for a bit," Sans said. "We can just chill."
"But I…"
"Hey. You're back. That's good enough for me right now," Sans said.
He felt his father's hand on the back of his skull, pulling him in, and the affectionate pulse of magic he gave made Sans grin. This was alright. Maybe even the final puzzle piece.
- - -
The lights in New Home were becoming speckled when watched from above. Some monsters had begun to move out for good. The stores were starting to close, but there was still more than enough activity below to make it fun to watch from the high pathways on the way to Asgore's.
"It's gonna be weird," Asriel said.
"Hm?" Frisk asked.
"When it's empty," he said.
"Guess so," she agreed. "But, you know, eventually it'll be kinda the same outside."
"That's kinda nuts that you've seen it all, huh?" he said.
Frisk shrugged, and she smiled. "Yeah, but who knows what'll happen, huh?" she said. "Hey! We should go back to the Archives sometime before they move it and look at more movies or something, what d'you think?"
"Sounds cool to me."
Asriel pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. Frisk turned and they continued up the path together.
"So was Sans alright?" he asked.
"Yup," she said.
"Didn't say what he wanted?"
"Nah. He hates typing," she said.
"Hah. Typical."
"Mhm. I'll text you later when I know, okay?"
They reached Asgore's house within a few minutes. Frisk lagged.
"What? Aren't you comin' in?" Asriel asked.
"Um! Oh, yeah. Sure," she said. "S-Sorry."
"What? You're not already traumatized, are you?" he asked worriedly.
She shook her head quickly. The boy raised his brows at her skeptically.
"It's not about the memory thing, is it?" he asked.
"Um… Well…"
"Ah, jeez, Frisk, don't worry about that. He doesn't care," he said. "He really cares about you, though, y'know."
"I know," she said sheepishly.
Asriel thumped her on the shoulder. "If you wouldn't mind the flowers…?"
"I remembered, don't worry," she said.
He pushed down some of the spikier fur between his horns and shoved the door open for them. "Dad?" he asked loudly, raising the pitch of his voice slightly. "Dad, you here?"
Asgore emerged from the kitchen with a big smile on his face. "Kids! Howdy! So good to see you!" He hugged Asriel tightly, and then scooped Frisk up, too. "Hope you didn't have any trouble getting here. Did you have a good walk?"
"Totally," Asriel said. "We went up the CORE and everything. It was pretty cool."
Asgore grinned. He put the kids down and clapped his big paws together. "How would you two like a nice cup of tea?"
"Yes please!" Asriel said; he cast a look at Frisk. "You can spare a few minutes, right?"
"Absolutely," Frisk said. "We brought you something."
The King looked surprised, and Asriel quickly went to the big dining table and pulled the white rabbit tea set from his dimension box and then took a step back and stood rather rigidly. Asgore looked like he could squeal with glee.
"Those are adorable," he said, inspecting the little cups. "Such wonderful designs. Thank you! I love it! It's from Snowdin?"
"Yup! The family that runs the inn was selling it," Asriel said. "Pretty neat, right?!"
"I will treasure it," Asgore assured them. "Thank you both. How perfect, three cups and three of us! Let's try them out." He tenderly scooped up the tea set and carried it to the kitchen.
Before following him, Frisk hurriedly moved the flowers off the table and onto a shelf, just behind a picture frame.
As he filled his huge kettle from the tap, he looked down at Frisk with a sympathetic smile. "I hope you're feeling a little better, honey," he said. "I'm really so sorry about all this, but—"
"Don't worry," Frisk said. "I can handle it."
"If you want me to be there when—"
Frisk giggled and Asriel nudged her in the ribs.
"Everyone keeps saying that," Asriel said. "She doesn't want any extra help."
"No? There's no shame in it," Asgore assured her.
"It's not that. It's… I'll be okay. Don't worry," she said. "You guys should just have a nice weekend."
"And you should not?" Asgore knelt down and rested a giant paw on her head gently. "Don't worry. I'm the King. I'll protect you."
"By sending Undyne to protect you," Asriel suggested.
"Sans's already asking her," Frisk said.
"Good! We are family, after all. I'll make sure it all goes to plan," Asgore ruffled her hair and then straightened up. "Okay! Onto something more pleasant. Would you two like some cookies?"
"Heck yeah I would," Asriel said brightly.
Frisk was grateful when they dropped all talk of the meeting tomorrow. She gladly sat quietly and sipped her sweet, milky tea, dunking in barely overdone shortbread biscuits as Asriel told his dad all about the events of the previous night and how school had gone during the week. He didn't drink a sip.
It was always nice to see how Asgore lit up when Asriel was around. It was unlike his reaction to any other monster. And, Frisk thought, it was good how Sans's ability to drag them through space effortlessly made any distance between their houses irrelevant. Asriel could stop in to hang out with his dad at a moment's notice. It was a sort of strange family dynamic with Toriel still being so chilly around the King, but it worked as well as it could, at least in Frisk's opinion.
"Oh! So, dad? Papyrus has been working on magic a lot with me recently. I think I'm gettin' real good at some new forms," Asriel said.
"Oh ho! That's excellent." Asgore beamed. "And Papyrus will be a great guide for you, he was always so good at those."
"Totally! I've been working on some new patterns with the fire. Can I show you?"
"Of course you can!" he said.
Asriel grinned. "Wait here." He dashed for the door and held up a paw. "Gotta set up."
He closed the door with a loud bang that shook the walls, and they could hear him call a bashful apology back from outside. Asgore chuckled faintly.
"Still doesn't know his own strength…" He looked at Frisk from the corner of his eye with a little trepidation. Like he wanted to say something but couldn't quite find it.
The air was suddenly heavy. It was strange. Frisk realized it was the first time they'd been alone together since the barrier had gone down. His big, soft face wore a sort of grim gloominess all of a sudden. His smile was cautious; a little sad. His ears drooped back.
"Frisk. Um." He looked like he didn't know what to say.
She didn't either. She knew what she wanted to say, but she wasn't sure how to start.
"Frisk," he began again, "I'm—"
"Sorry," Frisk said quickly. It came involuntarily, like a cough.
His eyes went wide. She smiled a little.
"I'm, um… I'm sorry," she said.
"Oh. Oh, no, Frisk, I'm the one who should be apologizing," he said quickly. "After what I did, I—"
"Nuh-uh, Asgore, no way. I'm sorry," she said. "And… And I'm sorry we didn't talk about this before. What I did, it got you killed. I never meant for that."
The great monster's eyes welled up. He pulled his chair over to sit beside her and put a gentle, hesitant hand on her shoulder. "Little one… You've been carrying that guilt for far too long. It was never your fault. And me, I'm…" He puffed out a sigh. "I… really am a wretched creature, aren't I? I… killed you. I fully intended to kill you."
"You thought it was the only way," Frisk said.
"Even if it was, it's… It wasn't right. It was never—! And I was wrong," he said. "I… was wrong about all of it. I can't ever expect your forgiveness, but—"
"Asgore," Frisk said quickly, taking his giant paw in both hands. "Anything I can, I do. For real."
He stared at her in silence for a long while.
"Look, I, um…" She sighed. "I… I wanted to talk to you about it, but… mom was always there, you know? And she wouldn't really understand. She still gets mad, sometimes, you know? At you."
"I know. And rightfully so," he said.
Frisk shrugged. "I could have come earlier. Sorry."
"Honey, don't," he said gently. "This was never your burden. Honestly."
"But it shouldn't be yours, either!" she said insistently. "I tried to die. Do you remember that? I tried to give you my soul."
Asgore grimaced. He nodded. She smiled tiredly and rubbed her eyes.
"It was a mistake," she said. "But I meant it back then. I… I didn't know I had a family to go back to. I didn't realize for way too long."
"You were a child— You are a child, and you should never have felt like you had to make that choice," Asgore said. "Why on earth…? No. I'm sure your reasons felt like good ones at the time."
"Hey, wh-what's my reason for doing, like, anything, right?" she joked, though her eyes welled up slightly. "Thought it would make Paps happy. Turned out it was like, the worst possible thing I couldda done, you know? Jeez."
"Oh, Frisk…" Asgore said.
She laughed and rubbed her eyes again. She stood up on her chair and hugged him. He gently held her close and patted her hair.
"I'm just so sorry you know what it's like, now," she muttered.
"What?" he asked.
"…To die. It's my fault."
"Oh. Sweetheart." Asgore pulled back with wide eyes. "Was that really what this is all about?"
"Well, yeah, of course," she said. She grimaced. "I thought you'd… I thought I'd remind you of…"
"Oh, no no no," he assured her. "That's… That's nothing. Honestly. That's why you stopped coming around so much?"
She nodded sheepishly.
He blew out a relieved sigh. "I was… worried you feared me."
"What?! No, of course not," Frisk said quickly. "N-No, I just… I felt bad for what happened that first time and… a-and I don' want you to feel bad, either."
He chuckled quietly. "Maybe, together, we can try to let go of those worries," he suggested.
"Hah! Alright, I'll try," she said. "Both of us, right?"
"Yes, little one. Both of us," he agreed.
He pulled back and his big hands cupped her face. "You're very wise for your years, aren't you?" he said. "I admit. I don't understand everything that's happened. Alphys tried to explain it to me. And Undyne did. And Asriel. But…" He shrugged.
Frisk laughed. "Yeah. It was a big mess."
"I… don't mean to pry," he said, "but… No. Never mind. Stupid question."
"What?" Frisk asked.
"It's just that… Frisk, I'm sure that if you had explained to me what was happening, I would have helped you," he said. "I… I'm not sure that you'll believe me, but I… I-I never wanted to hurt anyone. But I thought that, if… if someone had to, it—"
"I know. We do what we have to. Sometimes it's really tough to see another way," she assured him gently. "Honestly? I was going to. You remember how I came to give you that tea one time, but then undid it? I… I saw all that guilt on your face. I couldn't do that to you when everything was still not totally set in stone, you know?"
"Frisk…"
"And then I couldn't tell you about Asriel, because what if it didn't work? I couldn't break your heart like that, dude," she said. "Not after everything else."
Asgore's brow furrowed slightly, but his expression gave way to a tired smile. "You know it all, don't you?" he asked. "Asriel. Chara. All about them. And what happened after? What I…?"
"Yeah," she said. "I'm… sorry about Chara. She was… I don't think there was any way I could help her."
"No. I suppose not." His smile was sad. "The poor child. But… Thank you, Frisk. I know there is no replacing her. But you have stepped up for Asriel. That he calls you "sister" is a miracle to me. Let alone that he's here. I owe you everything for that."
"Oh." Frisk blushed. "D-Don't play me up too big, huh?"
He laughed and gently ruffled her hair.
Asgore looked like he had a little more on his mind, but the front door cracked open before he could get a word out.
"Okay!" Asriel said as he bounded back in. "Think I got it! Ready? It's pretty cool!"
"I'm very excited, son," Asgore said with a big smile.
The little monster beamed and he grabbed his dad's hand and pulled him towards the door. He shot Frisk a knowing wink over his shoulder. She followed, though she took a moment to wipe her eyes. She couldn't help the smile on her face, though. A cloud had started to drift away.