Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I woke up in the fall.

Air rushing past me as the world dimmed. I was first truely aware of the smell of fresh air, tainted with the smell of cold wet clay. Like someone had tried digging in the moutains and had gotten far enough down that it had begun to be be wet again.

I tightened my grip on the rough thin thing in my fist as the light above me seemed to quickly grow smaller. My stomach had taken up residence near my ribcage as my shirt blew up flapping against my wai-

THUMP.

“MOTHER FUCKER!”

Pain. Everything was pain for a few seconds before it narrowed down to just my tailbone, shoulders and the back of my head. “Jesus tit sucking christ. Shit biscuits! God that hurts, arrgh! Fuck, is anything broken? Goddamn fuck, HELP! Somebody help!” I rolled over onto my stomach, and planted my hands into the green blurr below me. I managed to lever myself up and sit on my sore ass. Rubbing did not help at all.

I tried to see where I was, but all that I could see were indistinct blurrs of yellow and muted brown. I slapped myself in the face. “Annnnd, I have lost my glasses. God damnit.” I started to crush the -Flowers?- below me as I assumed the Velma position, crawling on the ground until I hit something hopefully glasses shaped.

I muttered to myself, making bigger and bigger circles as I searched, but as the minutes went by, I got more and more panicked. I couldn’t find my glasses. “No, no no no no! Fuck, no, don’t do this to me!” I felt tears gather in my eyes, as I quickly lost my composure. I needed those! I’m half blind without them.

After crushing all of the flowers and covering my hands in a tie-dye of yellow and green colors, I sit down in the mess and take deep breaths, ignoring the hitch that’s coming in.

“It’s ok, It’ll be just fine. You won’t be able to drive back home, and that’s fine, you can just call- where’s my phone?” I start to slap my hips, my back pockets, everywhere that I would put my phone. “No, no no, this can’t be happening! It-” My hands were pressed to my chest, where I would sometimes put my phone in my cleavage. My hands were pressed flat. I looked down.

“ . . . where are my boobs?” A hand flew up to my head, “Where’s my hair!?! Did somebody cut it? Wh, whats?” I looked down, even though I counldn’t see well, even I could tell that my legs were too short. I was wearing some sort of purple and pink long sleeve shirt and blue shorts. This was wrong, I always wore pants. Always, I never shave my legs, I would never put shorts on if I was leaving the house. Wait, my legs?

“ . . . that’s not my skin color.” I muttered, the panic bubbling up behind my lungs as I gentle touched my calves. “This, this is like mexican? What, what happened to me?” My control broke. The tears came hot and heavy.

I lost some time there, my lungs working hard to choke me out, snot clogging up my nose as I double overed with loud sobs. But I can’t cry forever, and even though my loud curses and pleads didn’t draw the attention of any animals or anything, I eventually snapped out of it.

“Oh-h k-kay. Y-you can d-do this! You’re a b-big girl. Just find some p-people and T-try to get h-help.” I dragged my fatass off the destroyed flowerbed and wiped my snotty nose with my sleeve. I took a few tottering steps forward, befor nearly tripping over something long.

“Fucking Hell!” I stumbled a few steps before regaining my balance. I squinted down and looked at the long brown blurr. “Oh, a stick.”

I picked it up and, it was a little bit shorter than I was, but it was an even width all the way through, with a few knobs. One side had the bark picked off of it, making it easier to grip without being itchy. I contemplated it for a bit.
“Welp, if it works for the blind.” I put the stick’s tip on the ground infront of me and started to take careful steps forward out of the bright patch of sunlight shining down on the destryed bed of flowers.

I almost immedatly hit a wall. I carfully reached out and began to walk with the wall, until it dropped off and the brown tinted darkness was replaced with pure blackness.

“Come on, you are a boss ass bitch, You can do this.” I picked up the pace a little as the light began to get farther behind me. The walls were unusually smooth, less like marble and more like super old stone that had been rubbed a lot by other’s walking by. Maybe this place was well traveled? I should probably run into someone soon, right?

I got a few more feet in when my hands suddenly hit carved stone. There were groves in the rock now, and it curved outward like it was half of a circle? I squinted hard at where my hands were, and maybe I was imagining it but the stone might be a lighter color? Either way, I felt space the stone. It felt like this was the way out. Or in maybe? I’m sure that I didn’t come through the regular entrance for this place.

Through the door way was a little puddle of light, but in the middle of a huge room. Or at least I think that it was a huge room? My footsteps echoed through the room and it sure sounded large. I could see a purple outlined rectangle on the other side of the room, so I quickly crossed through the weirdly echoy room. My stick scraping the bare stone and catching a little on the tiny patch of grass as I power walked right through.

“Holy fuck that’s a lot of purple.” My eye’s were awash with the color as everything around me brightened quite suddenly. Despite the last room having next to no light, this room was actually bright enough that I could see some vauge outlines of . . . stairs? Whatever, I jogged a bit, picking my stick up higher, getting across the room and climbing the stairs, my hand out infront of me incase I fell. I stayed close to the wall, not seeing a railling and knowing that with my bad track record today, I probably would take a fall down the stairs. Probably break my leg too.

Through the door was more purple, but I just kept going, the even floor and the light making me feel safe enough to start to pick up speed.

“Uh, Hello? Is anyone there? Helllooo! I, uh fell down? I sorta messed up your flowers, Sorry!”

I entered a room with the sound of rushing water. I just followed the path, though I went a little more carefully over the bridges, the water didn’t seem like it would be deep but it was going really fast. I tripped a little going through the door way for that room, the ground was super uneven and I about face planted.

I saw a blurry white smear on the floor when I went through the next room. “The fuck? Is this a pile of sand? It doesn’t smell like smoke or nothing, why would there just be this little bit?” I bent to get a closer, look and there was a foot print! Someone had been here before! I don’t know how long ago but there was at least someone here before me! “Oh, thank god. Now as long as I don’t find any skeletons then I shuld be ok. It would suck to know that I could only die down here.”

“I’m going to fucking die down here.”

Spikes. There were spikes in the fucking floor. What is this some sort of dungon? Well, I guess it could be but all of the purple doesn’t really give off a doungeon air.
“How the fucking hell . . . no no. Calm down. there’s not a skeleton, so unless someone came by to clean it up, there is a way around this.”

The room was quiet but for the sound of rushing water.

I got on my knees and gently pushed my stick into the water, maybe if it wasn’t too deep I could swim? My stick clunked to the bottom after a few inches. I could just walk.

I snickered to myself as I removed my socks and shoes, “Holy shit, who just makes a freaking three inch moat? What good does that do?” I carfully walked on the slick bottom, hand firmly on the wall as I was suddenly thankful for the shorts, wet cloths would be a pain. I rounded the spikes and climbed back out. I started to walk with my shoes and socks in hand, I didn’t want to get them wet.

I walked for a long time before finally having a change of scenary from the purple everything, with a few vines randomly on the walls and some piles of leaves on the floor. Sometimes there were weird things in the rooms like rocks, or some really weak floor. But after falling the first time and climbing back up a ladder, cursing all the while, I put my shoes bakc on and used my stick to test the ground before I walked on it.

There was one room with a candy dish, but it had been knocked over and who could trust groung candy? Another room was lined with spider webs and I noped right out of there. As I went farther I had started to notice some wild life. Not a lot but I kept seeing white shapes flutter like moths and some noises that sounded like frogs. Most of them avoided me.

“Jesus christ, how many of the same rooms with pillars are there?” I had given up calling for help a while ago, and now just subjected the quiet air with my moaning and bitching as I truged through the cave systems. “I am so sick of rooms with pillars, they can all go burn in hell. Oh, Finally!”

The next room was more purple, but I didn’t see any long white shapes touching the ceiling, just some vines on the floor and-IS THAT A PERSON!?!?

“OH MY GOD! THERE’S SOMEONE ELSE HERE! You have no idea how happy I am to see you!” I rushed toward the blurry, but still person shapped blurr coming from the opposite end of the room. They had a light skin color and were wearing a green and yellow shirt, with a shaggy brown hair cut. They reared back as I got closer and brandished a grey blurry object toward me, but I still plowed into them, ignoring the jab with the plastic toy to my side.

“Oh, god, I fell down a hole and I didn’t get hurt but I was so worried about everytihng and I lost my phone and my boobs and my hair and I’m a whole lot shorter then I should be and there were spikes in the floor and I lost my glasses and I can’t see anytihng and-” The person pushed me away and started to wave their hands around.

With my face no long pressed into the neck of the unknown person, I suddenly realised that they had to be a child. They were my height and I couldn’t tell what gender they were even though they were so close. Not to mention that they still had that prepubesent smell, where their sweat wasn’t full of stinky hormones.

“Oh god, you’re a kid.”

The kid stopped waving their hands, and frowned at me before repeating the same movements over and over. Oh. Oh shit.

“Are you mute?! Oh, god, I don’t know any sign languge!” The kid seemed to frown harder before opening thier mouth and speaking like they were not sure how loud to be.

“I CANNOT hear. I CAN READ LIPS. MY NAME IS CHARA. WhAT IS yours?”

Oh no. The kid was deaf, this did not help anything. How am I going to take care of a deaf kid in this crazy purple place? I don’t even know how I’m going to take care of myself in this crazy place!

“Oh, uh. I’m Alex?”

Chapter Text

Chara wasn’t very good at talking. They went louder or quieter like a seesaw, mispronouncing numerous words and stuttering a few times, but Alex managed to figure out most of what they were trying to tell her with a few repeats and hand gestures. Apparently they had also fallen from the big ass hole onto a bed of flowers and had been making their way through the underground ruins.

“Wait ruins? Are you sure that no one is down here? That this place is abanondonded?” Chara shook her head.

“Not seEN ALL.” Oh, well, that’s something at least? At least Chara didn’t know for a fact that the place was totally abandonded, but she has seen it better than I had, and still choose the word Ruin. That does not bode well.

After a deep breath Alex clapped her hands together, Chara flinching at the movement and raising the toy knife in response. Alex spread her hands out and up like a surrender.

“Sorry, habit.” God, I hope they were looking at my face.

Alex held out her hand, waggling her fingers to draw attention. Chara seemed to regard it dubiously.

“Come on and take it, I need someone to lead me around.” When Chara didn’t move, Alex realised that they probably weren’t looking at her lips. She raised the hand holding the stick to tap her face, making Chara take a step back. Alex jumped back as she raised the toy knife again, and Chara started to blurr into an indistinct blob again. Alex dropped the stick and tapped her lips with one hand while the other was held palm out.

“Please take my hand. I cannot see well. I have been stumbling around. I do not wish to fall down again.” Alex smiled a little at her really moribid humor.

The Chara blurr was still for a moment, but the gray blurr was lowered and they took the steps closer and loosely gripped my hand. Alex squeezed her hand and gave her the biggest smile she could. “Come on, let’s find our way out of here.”

They began to walk together, but Chara, after keeping pace with Alex for a moment quickened her pace to lead, Alex let her. Alex would be able to get her attention if she wanted to and this way Chara could lead her away from obstacales.

Or directly into them, I don’t know what the kid is like yet. But her smile makes me think that she was the sort that liked to tease others. A bit of a bully, but I’m the adult here, I can make her respect me.

Chara lead them toward a red and brown blur that Alex thought might be a tree, and as they got closer Alex found that she was right.

“Well, that explains the leaves everywhere I guess, but Jesus how did they get EVERY where?”

They went around the tree and were headed toward another doorway but, “Are those windows?” There were two black squares on either side of the doorway and they were emiting a delicous smell. “Is that cinnamon? Is someone baking, OH MORE PEOPLE!”

Alex hurried ahead, managing to overtake Chara and dragged her to the door. Alex tried to turn the handle but it was lock, she beat the door with her knuckles a few times and then stepped back, “oh, god please don’t be a crazy person, please please please!” She whispered, tightening her grip on Chara’s hand.

The door started to open and Alex already began talking a mile a minute, “Hi, we could really use some help, we both fell down a hole in the ceiling and we’ve been trying to find a way out and you wouldn’t happen to have a phone cause i really need to call my family and possibly the pol- AHHHHHHHHHH!”

OH MY GOD IT’S A MONSTER.

It was tall, white and wearing a purple dress. It had black eyes, looked like a goat with fangs mixed with a polar bear and as Alex screamed, it screamed right back. Alex reflexivly threw herself backwards, dragging Chara with her, and then shoving Chara behind her as she raised the stick threateningly.

Alex already knew, even as the couple of steps backwards made the monster a blurry blob, that there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of her managing to fight this massive creature off, but maybe if she delayed it enough she could give Chara enough time to escape? Not that there was anywhere to go, but she had to try.

“DON’T COME ANY CLOSER. I’LL FIGHT YOU!”

“CH-CHARA?!!?”

What the fuck? They know Chara?

Alex looked over her shoulder to try and see Chara, but all she could see was the grey blurr up infront of Chara’s face. When Alex looked back at the monster, they had started to rush forward, but Alex threw herself into their path, her stick raised back up to point at the monster’s face.

“DON’T MOVE! I-I’LL GORE YOUR EYES OUT!”

The monster reared back a little at her threat, did it actually think I could do that?, before Alex began to see a lot of crazy hand waving all over it’s upper chest and face.

Ok, the goat monster knows sign language too.

Alex whipped her head around to try and see how Chara was reacting, but all she could see were their hands moving just as quickly.

“ . . . ok, umm, Mr. Goat monster? I can’t understand that, and I would like to join the converstion please.” Oh god, how is this my life?

“What? Oh, I am sorry child. It is just that your friend looks very familar to a child that had been here before. I . . . was startled. I apoligize.” Oh, it was a girl monster. Oops.

“Uhm, that’s ok? I guess, but do you mind telling me what you are?” Alex’s voice was starting to get a little strained. This was a little bit much for her. She had already had one break down and she seemed to be fast approaching another one. Alex wasn’t used to this much stress and shock jammed within such a small time period. A headache was already throbbing between her ears, and the heavily smell of cinnamon from moments ago was just making it worse now.

But hey, at least it looked like I wasn’t going to get mauled by a goat-bear?

“Oh, Yes! I am Toriel and I am the caretaker of the ruins. I am sorry that I have scared you child. It was not my intention, would you like to come inside? I could talk to you over some pie?” She had spread her hands, like she was offering to hug them both.

Alex’s stomach growled at the mention of food, but despite her wince, Alex backed up a few steps while staring at where the monster’s head probably was. Alex eventually bumped into Chara. She grabbed Chara’s shoulder, tapped her lips and asked them silently if they were willing to risk it.

Chara quickly nodded her head, grasped Alex’s hand not holding the stick and began to drag her toward the monster, toward Toriel, and speaking in their odd voice, for Alex’s benefit obviously. “MY name is JOHN. THis is ALEX.”

. . . well, ok then. Incognito it is then. 

Toriel led them into a warm little house, with a roaring fire and wooden floors. Alex hadn’t realized that she was cold until the house began to warm her up.

Chara dragged Alex to a little table and they both climbed into a chair, only letting go of their hands for a moment before reclasping them. Toriel went into a little hallway, promising to be right back with pie.

Alex waved her hands infront of Chara’s face and tapped her lips. “Do you think that she’s dangerous?”

Chara shook her (his??) head no.

“Can we trust her?”

Chara shook their head no.

“Here’s the pie!” Toriel walked back into the room and Alex flinched a bit as she had not heard her coming back. Toriel set a plate infront of both of them and then laided down two forks. Chara ignored it and reached for the pie with their bare hand.

Alex didn’t think, she just acted, smacking their hand with a, “No, gross. Were you raised in a barn? Use your fork!” Alex thrust the fork into Chara’s hand, and they glared a little at her before using their fork to take a bit of the pie.

Alex turned her attention back to Toriel, “How do we get out of the underground?”

“I am afraid that there is not a way. We monsters have been trapped down here for many years by a magical barriar that can only let things in, not out.” Toriel said this with the air of someone who had repeated the same lines for years.

“What the hell? Magic? Magic isn’t real!” I can accept a random monster as like, an evolutionary throwback or a science experiment, but not magic. That straight was not real.

“Alex, Languge! Do not use dirty words like that! And magic is real, have you not seen it being done by others in the ruins?” She was frowning at Alex, she may not have been able to see it but Alex could sense the motherly disapproval.

“What others? I’ve not seen a single living soul down here! I’ve yelled and called and everything and no one showed up at all! I just found this kid infront of your house a few minutes ago! I’ve been alone! I couldn’t see anything and -” Alex put her free hand on the table, levering herself up to glare Toriel in the eye, like it was her fault that Alex had been fallen doen here.

But sadly Alex had forgotten that she was not as tall as she had once been and fell out of her chair, banging her head on the edge of the table and nearly dragging Chara out of his(?) chair also. “God damnit!”

Alex felt a trickle of fluid come down from where her head had slammed into the table. A quick touch and a flinch away confirmed that yes, the day she had been having did infact just get worse. Before Alex could begin cursing, she was suddenly wrapped in soft purple clade arms and lifted off the ground. She squawked in suprise as she was suddenly treated to an up close sight of what Toriel looked like.

Toriel still looked like a white goat but with a much shorter muzzle that allowed for her to have cheeks. She had big floppy ears, like a loop eared rabbit. The short horns adorning her head were covered in velvet. Both of her eyes were large, cow like, facing forward, and filled with concern. Her fangs dipped out of the top of her mouth and had a slight curve to them. Everything about her was soft and white, she even smelled like clean animal and the flour that must have been used in the pie.

She seemed less like a monster and more like a life sized stuffed toy.

“Oh, child you are bleeding! Let me just . . .” She shifted Alex around in her arms so that one arm was under Alex’s thighs. Alex’s hands instinctivly gripping Toriel’s purple dress as she was gently leaned back and Toriel’s hand reached up to gently touch the wound on Alex’s forehead.

Toriel’s hand was right infront of Alex’s eyes, so when it started to dissolve Alex could see every detail. Alex went crosseyed staring at the way that Toriel’s fingers turned whispy. She felt the skin on her forehead tighten and then relax, like the skin around the wound had been pinched together and the skin reattched.

Toriel briskly rubbed the blood off of Alex’s skin, then placed her hand on Alex’s lowerback adding support to her the child. Alex released Toriel’s dress and rubbed the newly healed skin with a single hand, before dropping it back to the monster’s shoulder.

“ . . . magic huh?”

“Indeed child.”

“ . . . can you do more with that? Or is it just healing?”

“Well-”

Toriel was cut off by the sound of a chair turning over, Alex whipped around to see two struggling blurrs, one in green and yellow and the other in purple and blue.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” Alex dove out of Toriel’s arms, her grip loosened in her own shock at the two children fighting on the floor.

Alex landed on her knees but she managed to crawl over to the struggling children. The unknown child was sitting on top of Chara. Chara’s toy knife was in their hand as they pressed down on Chara’s back. Alex threw herself at the other child, knocking them off of Chara and struggling to pin them to the floor, which is hard to do when you are exactly the same size as your oponent.

As Alex and the unknown child wrestled on the floor Chara got their knife back and moved toward the struggling kids with a certain intent in their eyes. They jabbed their toy knife forward, aiming toward the face of the child pressed to the floor, but before they could make contact they were lifted up by the back of their shirt.

Alex was also lifted up, yelping in suprise as they left the ground for the second time in the past few minutes. She started to grab at the hand clenched in her shirt, but put them over her ears instead as a roar filled the room.

“ENOUGH. NO FIGHTING IN MY HOUSE!” Toriel’s voice was deep and brasses, the kind of roar that one would expect to come from the mouth of a monster. “What has gotten into you child! Why did you attack John? I have taught you better than that!”

The child got off the ground, dusting themselves off a bit before making some movements around their upper chest that Alex was beginging to become familiar with.

“Oh, you have got to be fucking me.” Does everyone here have some sort of disability? Am I gonna meet a kid that’s missing their legs or something next? Is Toriel diabetic? Am I going to go all the way blind just to make it official?!!?

“Alex! Languge! Do I need to wash your mouth out with soap?” Toriel shook Alex a little before turing back the to the child still on the ground. “What do you mean you thought that they were dangerous? They were eating pie! How did you come to this conclusion?”

More movements from the blurr on the ground. “They had a knife? Oh child, it is plastic! They could not have possibly done much damage with the little toy.” The blurry movements paused for a moment before starting up again. “Oh, this is Alex and this is John.” Toriel shook each kid when she said their name. “They tell me that they fell down the hole separately and just recently met up! I was giving them pie and explaining their situatin. I suppose that all of the noise that we made must have woken you up.”

Ok, I am done with being a rag doll. “Toriel can you please set me down?”

“Do you promise not to fight anymore?” Toriel said with a hum.

“I didn’t start the fight to begin with! I was just getting them off of Ch-Cheeky over here!”

“No excuses, I would like a promise please.”

“Fine, fine, I promise that I won’t fight with anyone. Can you put me down now?” She gently set Alex back on her feet. Alex immediatly began to tug her shirt back down from where it had been bunching up under her armpits.

“And you John?” Chara did a few quick hand waves, and was also set back onto their feet. They immedatly retreived the toy knife from where it had been on the floor and jammed it into their back pocket. Alex was becoming to realize that Chara was a whole lot more paranoid then usual for a kid their age.

Alex walked to the kid and held out their hand, “Hi, I’m Alex, what’s your name?”

The kid stared at Alex’s hand for a moment before decisivly taking it and giving it a firm shake. They quickly let go and began to flutter their hands around their chest.

“No, no, I ah. Can’t. Understand sign languge? Are you deaf or mute? Casue J-john over there is deaf.” Alex said jabbing toward Chara with their thumb. The kid frowned for a moment before reaching back for Alex’s hand and flattening the fingers and plam out with their hands and then drawing slowly on Alex’s palm.

F
R
I
S
K

“Oh, Frisk? Am I saying that right? Wow, you must hear ‘frisky’ jokes all the time don’t you?” Frisk nodded their head, their choppy cut hair flopping as they did.

Suddenly there was an arm around Alex’s shoulders. Chara had come up to Alex from behind and thrown their arm around her. Chara gave Frisk a cheeky grin as they signed a greeting, or what Alex assumed was a greeting, cause from the down turn to Frisk’s mouth it could have been an insult.

Or maybe a threat?

Chapter Text

At least there’s warm water here.

Alex was currently letting the shower warm up as she prepared to start stripping. After Chara and Frisk had glared at each other for a little bit they had begun to battle each other for Toriel’s attention. It’s not really suprising that they would latch onto the sweet monster momma. She was sweet, made pie, and was generally really nice to hug. It was only Alex’s own sensabilitys as an adult that kept her from joining the story time in the floor of the living room.

Alex had stayed at the table as Toriel had told them all about how there was a war between monsters and humans, about how humans had trapped them down here, and most frighteningly about how seven human souls were needed to release them to go and fight the humans again on the surface. Six had already been collected.

But Toriel promised that as long as they stayed with her, she would protect them and keep them safe. She assured them that no one could enter the ruins. That she would be their parent, teach them all that they could ever wish to learn, and make them snail pie.

Her offers were greeted with smiles and hugs from the two kids, but Alex was much more dubious about such an offer. There were to many questions that would have to be answered about the situation that she was in before she would just move in with some unknown lady.

Despite Alex’s concerns, she had to admit that it seemed like Toriel was honest about her offer to take care of all three of them. She practically glowed down at the two kids in her lap, and kept casting Alex glances as if asking her to join in. Alex might not trust all of the things that she had said, but she did trust her to not hurt the kids.

“Hey, do you have a bathroom here? I really want to get all of this dirt off of me.” Alex showed her hands, still discolored by the flowers she had crawled through. She could only assume that her knees and face were just as bad.

“Oh! Yes child. You do need to have a bath don’t you? There is a bathroom down the hall and too the right. I will bring you some clothes. Will you need help?” Toriel gently disslodged the kids as she stood up to lead Alex to the bathroom.

Ok, you’re a big girl. You can deal with what you find.

Alex took a deep breath before shucking her shirt, and throwing it to the ground. It was quickly followed by her little white sneakers, socks, pants and underwear. Alex quickly cupped her groin and heaved a sigh.

Oh, thank god I’m still a girl. I would assume that I would feel a penis when I walked, but it’s not like I would have known what that would feel like. A couple of rubbing motions. Lost my pubes though. I guess that comes with the down grade of age.

Alex took in her frog belly stomach, her now brown nipples. Her skin was stretched over her ribs, but not in an unhealthy way, but not like how it had been before. Her arms were soft without the hanging flab that were on them as an adult, and her thighs didn't touch when she stood comfortably. A few gropes showed that she had absolutely no butt and was made up of knees and elbows. Alex didn't know a whole lot about healthy children but she thought that everything seemed to be where it was supposed to be. It was a far cry from the over weight child she had been in her youth, but at least she didn't seem to be malnourished or sick.

Alex stepped on the little stool infront of the sink to get a better look at themselves in the mirror. This was definatly not their face. The hair was too dark of a brown, the skin was too dark and a little bit yellow. She couldn’t tell if she looked more hispanic or asian but it deafinatly wasn’t the color that she was used to. Her eyes were a flat black instead of the brown they once were, and her facial figures were too delicate. She was used to her pug nose, wide cheeks and chubby chin. The face in the mirror was too cute to have been her when she was a child.

Alex stopped staring at her reflection, the face in the mirror that wasn’t her, until the shower started to steam up the mirror and she stepped down to get under the water. Alex focused on her hands, and then her hair, as she scrubbed with the single bar of soap on the edge of the tub. She had to pick some short white hairs off of the bar, and the tub began to clog up from the hair, that she had bent over to see, in the drain. But all and all, it was an enjoyable shower that left her feeling much better about her situation.

She shut the water off once she was sure that all of the soap had gone down the drain. She pulled back the purple shower curtain to see that Toriel had slid a small folded pile of cloths through the door. Alex toweled off, before going to see the cloths avalible. It was an overly large purple shirt with a little design on the chest. The shirt would go down to her knees, maybe is was supposed to be a dress? There were also a pair of tidy whities and some very plush socks.

Alex got dressed, grabbing her dirty cloths and shoes. She left the bathroom and went looking for Toriel. She found her and the kids in the livingroom again, but this time it looked like Chara and Frisk had checked out and were sleeping next to each other, covered in a single blanket. Toriel was in the single chair infront of the fire, staring down at the children.

“Where should I put my dirty clothes?” Alex whispered.

“I’ll show you child.” Toriel stood up quitely and led Alex back down the hall. There was an open door that led into a little read room that was made for a child. Toriel put the cloths into a little woven basket, and turned to go back to the living room.

“Hold on, Toriel. There’s something that I have to ask you. You said that magic was a thing that is real right? What all can you do with it?”

“Oh, well child, there is not much one could not do with it. Usually a monster has a particular talent or a type of magic that they can do easier than others, sometimes they cannot do magic at all! But the gifts are incredably varied, though monsters that share species are often able to do the same sort of things.”

“ . . . is there a possibility that a monster’s magic could change the shape of another, or that go outside of the barriar?”

“Well, shape shifting is a possiblity, though usually it is only used on the monster themselves, but no magic should be able to breach the barriar. Child, why do you ask?” The blurr that was Toriel got a little closer and kneeled down to look Alex in the eye.

“Miss Toriel, I am not supposed to look like this. This is not my body. I am actully a five foot tall ,very pale, very chubby 22 year old woman. I don’t remember how I got here, I don’t remember much at all of my life. I keep getting, . . . assumptions? I assume that I should reach something, casue I think that I am tall. I assume that I know how to deal with the kids, because I think that I’ve dealt with young kids before. I keep haiving all of these reflexive reactions. Like when you offered to teach us, my first thought that I was already done with all of my schooling. When you offered to protect us, I thought that I don’t need it becasue I’ve taken self defense classes.”

Alex’s voice began to rise in pitch, “But I can’t actaully remember any of the details. I don’t know the name of my school, or what my parents look like, or my birthday, but I know that I am an adult and that I shouldn’t LOOK LIKE THIS.”

Alex once again found herself surrouned by the smell of clean animal and flour, her face pressed into the soft chest of Toriel as she once again lost her composuer and began to sob into the soft purple dress. Toriel cooed and rubbed Alex’s back as she rocked from side to side, giving Alex time to calm down and collect herself.

Alex eventally pushed away from Toriel, and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of the dress. “Sorry, I’ve been under a lot of stress. I didn’t mean to break down on you like that.”

“It is ok chil-young lady. If I were in a similar situation, I doubt that I would be able to keep from shedding a few tears too.” Toriel got to her feet, offered Alex a hand and they went to sit on the bed. “Do you think that you can tell me more Alex?”

“Oh, uh yeah. I woke up during the fall. And I didn’t notice anything was different for a while. I was too focused on finding my lost glasses. That’s another thing actually, I don’t think that my eyes were this bad.”

“Your eyes are bad?”

Oh, I guess that I hadn’t really gotten around to telling her had I?

“Uh, yeah, I was near sighted before, but I really can’t see anything else but some vague blurrs and color now. I don’t think that my eyes were near as bad as this when I was an adult. And when I was a kid my eye’s used to be a whole lot better. So I had a really hard time getting through the ruins before. If I hadn’t had my stick I would have run into a whole lot of walls.”

“Oh, dear.” Toriel sounded like she was in a great deal of shock.

“Yeah, that’s bad, but what I’m really worried about is my lack of memories. I don’t know how I got here, and I’m thinking that since the monsters are so close to reaching the goal number of human souls that maybe they found a way to . . . steal people? Can any of the monsters teleport? Maybe I was dragged through the barriar by some sorta of last ditch effort to hurry it along? Have you asked why Frisk is here? Maybe they have a simalar story?”

Alex was close enough to Toriel’s face to see the horror that was adorning her features. “I- I do not think that is possible, but I have been alone in the ruins for many years. There has to a have been advances to both magic and science that I am unaware of. Asgore has always been a coward, I do not think that he would be the one to order such a thing, but perhaps there are others that are impation?”

“Asgore?”

“Oh, the monster king. He is the one collecting the souls. But he does not NEED to. He could have gone through the barriar with just ONE. But he just stays in his castle hoping that another human does not come! He would not be the one that gave an order to lure more humans here.”

“Wait, so a monster could leave the barriar if they had a human soul? Why hasn’t anyone else done it?!?”

“Becasue they fear the humans. Asgore is a very strong boss monster, if he absorbed a human soul, his power would be a hundred times more powerful, he would be near godlike. But if a regualar monster absorbed the soul then while they would be stronger, it wouldn’t be enough to take on the entire human world alone.” Well, shit monsters have a god mode? I guess it might be a good thing that they’re all trapped down here. I guess Toriel must be rare down here if she has to hide away in the ruins.

“So there aren’t any other ‘Boss Monsters’ down here?”

Toriel paused, before admitting, “No, I am also of the same species, though I am not as strong as Asgore.”

Alex froze. Infront of her was a Boss Monster. But Toriel hadn’t done anything bad to her. And kept giving her hugs and making her feel better. It was unlikey that the woman could fake affection so well, as to not come across as false. Not to mention that Frisk was here alone for who knows how long, if she had wanted to kill them and take their soul then it would have definatly happened already. Not to mention that it was like Alex could actually fight her off or escape with the kids in the ruins that haven’t shown another exit.

But that still left the question . . .

“Why haven’t you taken a soul and gone through the barrier then? Even if you didn’t want to let the other monsters out into the world, then at least you would be able to escape and warn us about the threat that is below us? I don’t remember any mention of a war with monsters, so it must have happened so long ago that there aren’t any history accounts of it. Or at least none that they’re letting the general public know about. As long as you didn’t hurt anyone or weren’t threatening, and made sure that as many people as physically possible say you then you would probably be alright. I mean, you’re so sweet looking!”

Toriel looked so sad, “Oh Alex, that is a very good idea, but I would not have the strenght to take on of the souls away from Asgore. They are heavily guarded, and I would not feel right taking what was once a child’s life. And I do not think that the humans would be so happy to see a monster.”

“Wait, so you’re afraid?” You had just slammed the monster king for being afraid, and now you’re pulling the same card? I don’t think you have a leg to stand on to throw such shade Toriel.

“No child, I am wary. I think that we should find other ways to break the barrier. Killing should not be that way. Human’s would not want to peacfully deal with us if they knew about the innocent blood on monster hands.’

Alex decided to keep her mouth shut on human nature. Toriel seemed to have deluded herself into thinking that humans were some sort of peaceful species that could do not wrong unless they were forced to. Alex didn’t want to list off all of the wars that had happend while the monsters were stuck down here. She suspected that she may have all of the time in the world to inform Toriel about how bad humans had shown themselves to be.

Alex opened her mouth to respond to the statement that Toriel had made, maybe to change the topic of conversation, but ended up yawning instead. All of that crying had worn her out.

“Oh, you must be so tired after your trial today. How about you go ahead and go to sleep, and we can continue our conversation tomorrow at breakfast?” Toriel manhandled Alex into laying down and then tucked her into the bed quickly, probably wanting a repreave from the heavy topics that were being discussed.

Alex though about about arguing, but Toriel quickly moved away. She turned out the light and the room was plunged into a soft darkness. “Goodnight Alex. Please sleep well.”

“Goodnight Toriel.”

Alex was rudely awakened by the feeling of something in their chest being yanked on. Alex jack knifed up in the bed, gasping in shock. The room was still dark and there was one sound in the house, but Alex could still feel that tugging feeling in their chest. Something was horribly wrong.

Alex stumbled out of bed, tripping over the carpet and slaming the bedroom door open. “Toriel? Frisk? Cha-JOHN? Is anyone there?”

No one came.

Alex stumbled forward, the harsh tugging on their chest leading them back to the front door. Alex tried to fight against it, but it hurt too much not to follow. Alex was led from the front door toward some blurry brown lines. As she got closer, she saw that they were stairs. She gave a death grip to the bannister as the tugging got rougher and she was led down into the darkness.

Soon, the formerally cheerful tan and yellow walls, the smell of cinnamon and butterscotch pie were replaced by the smell of wet clay and purple halls. Alex picked up speed as the tugging in her chest began to feel like something was stretching out.

Alex smacked into a wall, being unable to tell the deference between it and the floor or ceiling. She mumbled curses, but soon picked herself up off of the ground she had fallen on and headed toward the flickering light to her left.

“TORIEL, FRISK! ARE YOU THERE! WHERE ARE YOU?!” Oh god, this is magic isn’t it? Some monster is trying to summon us or something, and the others are already captured. Asgore killed Toriel for keeping us, and he’s going to kill Sweet Frisk and Sassy Chara, and then he’s going to kill me for good measure.

Alex finally burst into the light, afraid but prepared to throw a few punches to insure that if she couldn’t save anyone then she could at least hurt the one’s hurting the people who had shown her kindness.

But all Alex saw were three blurrs, two short ones and one large white one. “Toriel? Frisk?”

Toriel was surrounded by floating orange lights that moved and flickered like flame. Her own body, while lacking detail to Alex was, was notably washed out. Alex though that she might be able to actually see through the monster. The green blurr was once again brandishing their blurry gray knife, and the blue blurr was holding what might have been Alex’s stick.

In front of the two children, there were a pair of matching red hearts, sharp and clear even in Alex’s blurry vision. They were surrounded by a square barrier made of white light that seemed to not allow them to move outside of it.

“What THE HELL?!”

“So you have come to leave the ruins also Alex. I was so hoping that you would be the one that would not make this mistake. It is dangerous beyond the door, and many monsters will wish to hurt you and take your soul. I will give you the same task that I have given John and Frisk. Show me that you will be able to survive.”

With that, Alex felt something in their chest rip loose. Something that should never have been separated from her was now out in the open air, where it should never have been. The pain of it was enough to make her vision go black for a few seconds. When she could see the blurry world again, her eyes were arrested by the sight of a glowing pink heart between the red.

It was immediately hit by a fire ball.

“OW, WHAT THE FUCK TORIEL?!?!”

Chapter Text

“WHAT IS THIS SHIT? IS THAT MY SOUL? ARE THOSE THE KIDS’ SOULS? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US!?!?”

Alex’s vision was turning black at the edges, the already blurry and dark world was narrowing down to just the children in front of her and Toriel across from her. Her soul pulsed in time with the words she spoke, regainng it’s shape from where it had dissolved a little at the hit, having let the last few fire balls go right through it.

Toriel paused, her hands pressed together. She shook her head, and started to slowly spread her hands. Between her furry palms there was a bright light. She was getting ready for another attack.

A green and yellow blur from my left jolted forward, grey blurr standing out in their pale grip. They made a harsh sliceing motion at Toriel and the red soul at the left suddenly transformed into a cresent and left the white light barriar. It hit Toriel across the chest, her already whispy form seemed to dissintagrate a bit more at the point of contact before regrouping and pulling itself together.

The red cresent rebounded and once more took it’s place to the pink heart's left.

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?

Alex’s question was ignored as Toriel’s hands left her arms, trailing fire as they seemed to trace the edges of the white barrier. Both red hearts immedatily dodged to the side, expertly circling the quick moving fire.

But the pink heart wobbled a bit before listing to the side a bit, running right into the fire. Alex gasped in pain.

It’s, its like when I first tried smoking pot! Its burning me from the inside out! But I just can’t cough the smoke out here, it’s not leaving!

“Toriel stop it! I don’t know what’s going on! Why are you trying to hurt us?!” Alex was coughing and gasping as her little pink soul was bombarded with fire. It had long since lost it’s form, only slowly reforming as the fire came to a stop and Toriel pressed her hands together once again.

Chara once again made a move to attack, bringing their knife up, but this time Frisk was faster, throwing themselves to the front and blocking Chara’s attack. Frisk held out their hands signing something infront of their chest. Toriel turned her head.

Fire was once more rushing toward the white barrier, Alex panicked a little.

Oh, shit shit shit! Move!

The pink heart flew across the square, slamming into the side, and then flying up into a corner where it appeared to get stuck. Alex was once more treated to the feeling of hot smoke in her lungs. It seemed to hurt more this time, and Alex stumbled to the side, hitting Chara.

“Tori-cough-, Toriel! Stop it! I don’t want -cough- to fight you!”

Though Alex’s eyes were too watery to see, Toriel looked at them with worry. Frisk had been trained by Toriel herself and knew what was happening, and John appeared to have run into some other weak monsters in the ruins, but Alex was obviously experianceing all of this for the first time. Their HP was already down to just 1 point, while the other two were still untouched. Toriel would have to be careful not to hit them anymore.

Alex was now on their knees, coughing and hacking despite there being nothing in her lungs. Chara stood infront of them seemingly trying to guard them, though it was useless. The danger was the magic hitting their soul, not their body. The fire passed through their bodies as if they weren’t there at all, not even making Alex’s skin tingle as it floated through her.

Alex saw the light brighten a bit more, before she closed her eyes and curled over, clutching her chest. There was more pain to come.

“please no.” Alex whimpered.

But it didn’t come.

Alex cracked her eyes open in time to see Chara jolt forward once again, to hear Toriel’s pained grunt and Frisk’s too slow lunge. This time she kept her eyes open, through the slowly fading pain to watch as Toriel releashed her magic, but as the two red hearts had to dodge around to escape the fire, the flames never went near her throbbing pink heart.

Toriel, what are you doing? Are you trying to kill us or not?

Alex struggled back to her feet, grabbing the back of Chara’s shirt as they raised themselves to their feet. Frisk once again managing to make it to the front and wave their hands around.

“What are you doing child? Either fight or flee!”

Running was an OPTION!? No, no. You can’t leave the kids here, you can’t let them get hurt like you are.

“Toriel, stop fighting. You don’t want to hurt us, you just need to stop and we can talk about this like rational adults. Just stop Fighting! We don’t have to be doing this!”

Toriel shook her head, fire brightening in her hands, “No Alex. I need to do this. I have let children leave before, and they have all died in the underground. I refuse to let more children die, even if I must become the enemy.”

More fire sprung from her hands, and once again the red hearts were dancing across the white barrier, while the pink heart stayed steady and unmoving. The fire flowed around it.

Alex decided that enough was enough. She took a step forward, her heart following the movement. She flinched when she saw one of the flames get dangerously close to it, but the flame verared off course to avoid it. Alex continued to take steps forward, their heart reaching the edge of the barriar, and then after an uncomfortable pressing sensation, going through it.

Toriel released her magic in shock. Souls were not supposed to be able to cross through the arena barrier, it is the first bit of magic that any monster is taught. How to trap an opponent's soul so that one can aim their magic, to make dodging harder. To cross through one is a power that would be studied extensively. It would be a step forward to breaking the Barrier that trapped them all!

Alex used Toriel’s shocked pause to get closer to her. She hadn’t tried to physically attack so it was unlikely that she would try and hit Alex. “Toriel, just stop. We can talk about this. We can make sense of it all, just let the magic go.”

Alex reached out with a hand, an offer to take it, and Alex’s little pink heart sank into Toriel’s stomach.

Both Alex’s and Toriel’s eyes rolled up and they fell to the floor at the same time. The sensation wasn’t painful, but neither was it pleasent. It was like something inside of them had been over stuffed, like something had been hastily glued onto their stomach. Like a new limb had been attached where a limb should not have been. It was suddenly becoming something more, something different.

Alex was suddenly aware of Toriel’s fear, of her loneliness, of her depression. Of the joy she felt upon seeing Frisk, of the shock she felt seeing Chara. But the void of her lonely years, how everything was gray and silent made Alex’s own memories rush to fill it with emotions. The freedom of a bike ride, the pleasure of a warm bath, the anger of an arguement, the joy of a beating game.

hey have you heard of Undertale?

But as suddenly as the connection came, it was severed. Alex was suddenly aware of hands under her arms, pulling her back away from Toriel. Her little pink heart floating easily out of Toriel’s body as Frisk and Chara dragged her away.

Frisk dropped her as soon as the heart left Toriel and ran over to the purple clad monster. He pressed his head to her chest, and their entire body relaxed. There was a heart beat, and her chest was rising and falling with breath.

Chara inspected Alex’s heaving body as the pink heart slowly floated back to the girl. It stopped, pulsed a few times and sank into the flesh of her chest. Alex’s eyes slowly closed and her shaking chest soon evened out into sleep.

Frisk pronounced Toriel as fine, and made their way back to Chara and Alex. They put themselves into Chara’s line of sight.

Is she ok?

Chara snorted and signed, As good as one can hope. I thought that she was going to die this early in the game. She’s too weak, getting in my way and not even trying to fight back. She kept distracting me from the attack.

Frisk frowned, I wouldn’t have let you kill Toriel.

Chara laughed at the determined look on the little sucker’s face. Like you could stop me, you’re just as weak as she is.

I was strong enough to get through then entire Underground without killing anyone, I was strong enough to reset you after you fought Sans.

Chara frowned, loosing their smile for a moment before grining with all their teeth on display, You were weak enough to let me kill everyone. You were weak enough that I was able to reset your every happy ending after you fought that damn flower. Face it Frisk, no matter how determined you are, I’m just as determined to see you loose.

The fight was knocked off corse by Alex groaning and rolling onto her side. Frisk and Chara stared down at her before beginning to sign again.

Do you think the game is broken? If we’re both in bodies, and she’s here, do you think that we broke it somehow?

I’m more inclined to suspect that the smiling garbage bag did something, maybe he got sick of watching his brother die and crawled away to try something different this time. He likes to break script every few play-throughs.

But what would adding another player do? Especially one so weak. And putting you in another body is an even worse idea.

Chara shrugged, Who know’s what’s going on in his skull. I’m more concerned at the lack of save points. They all disappear when she gets close to them.

But what about what she did. She moved through the arena and her soul went inside of Toriel. Shouldn’t that have made Toriel absorb her?

Nah, starting a fight doesn’t remove all of the soul from our bodies. There’s still some left inside of us. It’s only when the body dies that it all comes out. It’s probably sorta like swollowing some food with a string attached. You can eat it but it can be pulled back out.

Do you think that it’s her ability? Like our save?

I don’t know, probably. When she wakes up, I’ll ask her what she think she did. Chara stood up, slapping their hands togethe, as if to remove dust.

The noise caused Toriel to groan, making the two kids freeze before bursting into action. They quickly lifted Alex by her armpits and dragged her through the door that was no longer being kept closed by magic. They worked together, determined to get through without another fight with the woman that they both had called mother in past lives.

They dragged the heavy slumbering child between them as they went down the long purple hallway, but they paused at the door. Chara spoke, their arms full of the child. “DO YOU THink FLOowey knows ABouT US aLL?”

Frisk shook their head, and headed into the room, leading the group. And sure enough, there was Flowey. Silent and staring at the group.

“What have you done. Why are there so many of you? This has never happend before. What did you do Chara? WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Flowey’s face twisted as much as his face could, growing teeth and his eyes turning white and large. But he abruptly went back to his standard smiley face.

“Oh well, it doesn’t matter. No matter what you do, what you change, how much you struggle. You’ll always end up back down here with me, in this game of kill or be killed.” Flowey laughed as he disappeared back into the dirt, leaving his small pool of sunlight, and leaving the room echoing with his words.

“I HAte thAT FLOwer.” 

“Alex, get off your computer and come to dinner!”

“Ok mom, just wait a second, I have to figure out how to beat Undyne! I can’t figure out how to spare her, she just keeps repeating the same skript!”

“Alex you should be studying! Your finals are coming up soon! Don’t you have tests?”

“Naww, they’re all- goddamnt! I hate those reverese arrows! And there I go. Yeah yeah yeah. Don’t give up hope, everything depends on you. I get it!”

“Alex, come now!”

“I’m going, i’m going!”

“And don’t use that sort of languge!”

Alex woke up to a face full of snow.

“Fucking Shit! That’s cold!”

Alex scrambled up out of the snow drift, and looked around. She was nearly blinded by all of the white surrounding her. The air was crisp and cold, and she could already feel some wetness soaking into her dress.

“What, where the hell?” Her eyes widened. “Frisk! Chara! Toriel! Where-” She spun on her knees to see two familiar blurrs standing behind her. The purple and blue blurr was bending over me while the green and yellow one was walking toward a bush. Alex looked up at Frisk, squinting to be able to see them the slightest bit clearer.

“Chara dumped me into the snow didn’t they?” Frisk nodded, and Alex grimaced.

I knew that they were a stinker. You think that they would treat a passed out-

“Oh god, where’s Toriel? What happened to the fight? Did she knock me out?” Alex reached out, clutching Frisk’s hand worridly, “Did she hurt you all?”

Frisk shook their head, taking Alex’s palm and slowly writing on it.

WE R OK SHE SLEPT 2

Alex relaxed all at once, allowing Frisk to drag them to her feet. “Oh thank god. Do you know what happened back there? All I remember is trying to reason with her and then everything else is a blurr of emotion and dreams. She was really sad you know? She’d been alone a long time. I think it made her desperate.”

Frisk shook their head.

Alex sighed and glanced around again. There was snow everywhere, and it smelled like evergreen trees. “We’re not in the runins anymore, are we?”

Frisk nodded.

“You both dragged me through the door huh?”

Frisk nodded.

“Well, I suppose that we should get moving. If it was so easy to wake me up I guess that Toriel might be coming to also. Lets get Chara. I MEAN JOHN”

Oh god, I had forgotten that we were using a fake name!

Frsik snorted. They rolled their eyes andcrossing their arms. They seemed to be saying, You don’t really think I’m buying that load of bull do you?

“You know that they’re not named that huh? Did you have a talk while I was laided out?

Frisk nodded.

Frisk took Alex’s hand again and led her toward Chara. They were messing around in a bush. Alex and Frisk walked hand in hand over to them and Frisk tapped them on the shoulder.

Chara yanked their hand out of the bush and spun toward them, toy knife once again out and raised. But they quickly lowered it upon seeing who it was. Chara raised their eyebrows waiting for a reason for the interuption.

“We should start moving. I don’t know if Toriel will be waking up soon, but we should get some ground between us if she decides to follow.” Chara cocked their head, but then nodded and took Alex’s free hand. Soon they were all walking side by side down the snowy path, the snow crunching under the feet of the two children and slowly seeping into the thick white socks of the small adult.

Alex couldn’t take the silence. “So Frisk, I think that this is probably super impolite for me to ask, but I want to go ahead and get it out of the way. Are you a boy?”

Frisk looked over at Alex, before shaking their head. “Oh so you’re a girl then? I guess Frisk could be a girl’s name.”

Frisk shook their head again.

“ . . . no Frisk isn’t a girl’s name, or you aren’t a girl.”

Frisk put the stick that they had been carring in their elbow before bring up their clasped hands and writting on the back of Alex’s hand.

NEITHER

“Oh. Ok. Do you use They Them pronouns?”

Frisk nodded.

How is Frisk old enough to have an idea about their gender identity? No Alex, don’t be an asshole. You don’t know their life.

“Um, Chara!” Alex squeezed their hand a little to get their attention. Chara jerked their eyes toward Alex, frowing a little. “I’ve been meaning to ask, are you a boy or a girl?”

“BOTH.”

“ . . . . ok. What pronouns do you use?” Both of them really? I go my whole adult life not even meeting a bisexual and suddenly I’ve got two kids that are decisively not cis. And they’re not even the simpler transgender either! What is up with the underground? Does it collect the odd people? Was the spell that summoned us here looking for the people that are out of societies norm? Cause what does that say about me?!

“BoTH.”

“Which are you using right now?”

“He, HIM.”

There was silence for a bit, as Alex nearly tripped over a large tree branch across the path.

“I’m a girl if either of you were wondering.”

Both of the kids snickered at that, the little brats.

“Hey, don’t make fun of me. It’s an important question to be answered. You all should be respecting my wisdom I am you eld-”

Crack!

Alex and Frisk whipped around, Chara turing a heartbeat behind us. The large branch that we had just walked over was now shattered into a few pieces. The pieces spread far enough apart that even Alex could see them plainly.

Alex grabbed both Chara and Frisks hands and began to pelt forward, ignoring the fact that she could barely see more than a foot in front of her or the dark outlines of trees amongst all of the blinding snow. There was something dangerous behind them and she need to get the kids AWAY.

She heard the sound of something large crushing snow behind her, and she managed to go a little faster, not bothing to look behind her. It’s not like she would be able to see what it was.

Chara and Frisk seemed to get the idea and soon it was Alex being dragged by the children infront of her. They made it all the way to a large blurry structure that vaguely resembled bars when Alex felt it again.

Something was pulling at her chest. At her soul She manged another step forward, toward the other two frozen children when she heard the crunches of footsteps behind her. She literally couldn’t turn around. The grip on her soul not loosening up at all as it got closer. Alex dropped the kids hands.

Oh god, we’re going to die. Toriel told us that there were monsters out here that would want to kill us and we left anyway. But Toriel was too damaged to stay with, I don’t think that it would have been very safe without her getting some sort of counseling, but now we have to fight-

“Human.”

oh god.

“Don’t you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand.”

Suddenly the grip on their soul slackened and Alex had flash backs to a dozen differnt self-defense classes and advice.

-don’t put your thumb in your fist-

-keep your fist tight, but don’t cut off circulation-

-curl your thumb across the bottom of your fingers-

-aim with the first two knuckles-

-tilt your wrist down-

-go for the throat-

Alex spun, fist flying out, aiming for where the voice had been coming from. Her hand made impact, hitting something hard, that tore into the skin of her knuckles but knocked the monster down into the snow. Alex squared up and barred her teeth as she listened to the sputtering of the monster in the snow.

“Yeah, that’s right! YOU DON’T WANT ANY OF THIS YOU-” oh god i can’t see him, the clothes are empty NO ONE IS THERE, “INVISIBLE BASTARD!”

“-cough- -cough- In-invisible?”

“Get THE FUCK OUT OF HERE YOU SON OF A BITCH. I WILL WRECK YOUR SHIT!”

A blurr to my right had me flinching hard, but the colors were Frisk’s. They were headed toward a pink circle in the snow. It must have been in the monster’s hand when I had knocked it down.

“FRISK NO! THAT COULD BE-”

Phhhhrrrrt.

“A . . .whoopee cushion?”

Alex was quiet as the invisible monster on the ground continued to cough. As she stood in shock, Chara began to howl with laughter. They must have recognized what the thing in Frisk’s hand was. Alex felt her skin begin to burn.

“So . . . you weren’t attacking us?”

“No -cough- kid. I was just trying to make a joke to break the ice!”

. . . was that a pun?

"I’m. Sorry? I, uh, We! Were warned that monster’s might not be too nice? Not that you don’t seem nice, but ah. You were being really creepy with the whole following at a distance thing. And then you-” Frisk gently laided a hand over Alex’s mouth.

“Wow kid. You sure are high strung huh? I accept your apology, if you help me up.” One of the sleeves raised up toward Alex, and she offered the monster one of her hands, hoping that he’d grab it himself.

Something platic made contact with her palm and once again the air was split with the sound of flatulance.

Alex giggled, and heaved the monster to his feet. The clothes came up to about her neck. He must be really short, but maybe he was young?

Oh god. Did I just punch a kid in the throat?!

“Ahh, the whoopee cushion in the hand trick, almost always funny. So you all are humans huh?”

Alex made fists again, her hackles raising, “Yeah? What of it?”

“Ahh, that’s hilarous. I’m Sans. Sans the Skeleton.”

what.

“What.”

“Heh, yeah, I know that you can see right through me but I’m not exaclty see through!”

Be-dum Tish.

Alex, reached for Sans’ hand, yanking him toward her. She raised it close to her face, and sure enough, there was something there. And now that the plastic wasn’t in the way she could feel the vaugely wooden texture of the bones. Now that they were right infront of her face, she could see not only was there no joints either, but the bones seemed to be held together by faint blue mist. It reminded Alex of what Toriel looked like while she was casting magic.

“Well, fuck me. You are a skeleton. How does that even work? How can we hear you talk? How can you support your own weight?”

“Magic Kid. It can bridge any languge barrier and make any monster work. I know a sweet girl who’s head isn’t even attached to her body.” Sans sounded like her was laughing at her.

Alex suddenly remembered that she was fondling a person and dropped the skeleton’s hand and jumped back.

“Oh god, sorry. I just keep fucking up. Umm, I’m Alex, the kid laughing their ass off behind me is Chara and the kid over there is Frisk.” Frisk waved, but Chara continued to laugh behind Alex.

“Huh.”

Frisk stepped up to Sans and signed something. “Oh, yeah. I’m a sentry. I’m supposed to be looking out for humans.” Alex clenched her fist. “But I don’t really care about capturing anybody.” Relax. “My brother on the other hand is a human hunting FANATIC.” Clench. “Hey, actually. I think that’s him over there.” One of Alex’s knuckles popped.

“Don’t worry, he’s harmless. Just go hide next to my post and I’ll shoo him away.”

Frisk grabbed Alex’s hand and dragged them over the bridged, between two brown bars. Chara had gotten up to follow them, and let themselves be tugged along by Alex. Soon all three of them were pressed against the side of a little shack that smelled like ketchup.

Oh god. What if we were just led into an ambush? I did punch him in the throat, he probably wants revenge. There’s no reason to trust him. We trusted Toriel and she ended up being a little unhinged and with the way things have been going on down here, it’s going to turn out that Sans just has a split personality that he thinks is his brother or something.

“Sup bro?”

“YOU KNOW WHAT ‘SUP’ BROTHER!”

Well, it’s too late to run now.

Chapter Text

I honestly can’t tell if he’s full of himself of if he is the biggest nerd of all time.

The conversation was an enlightening experiance for Alex. Apparently there are Royal Guards that might be looking for humans and The Great Papyrus wants to be one. And the only way for him to be one is to capture a human.

“I WILL BATH IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING.”

. . . he’s possibly sexually repressed.

“Hm. Maybe this lamp will help you?”

what is with the lamp? that’s the second time he’s mentioned it! Just get your brother out of here!

“SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES!! ALL YOU DO IS IT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!”

“Hey, take it easy. I’ve gotten a ton of work done today. A skele-ton.”

“SNERK!”

Alex slapped a hand over her mouth and nose. Oh god.

She’d given their position away. Frisk, who had been signing the conversation to Chara, was looking at her in exasperation. Had she really just alerted the monster with a snort at a bad pun?

“SANS! WHAT WAS THAT?!? WAS THAT A HUMAN?!?”

The sound of snow being crushed under foot was quickly becoming louder as Alex’s eye’s widened. The back of her drass was grabbed and she was dragged around to the back of the sentry post. The kids all ended up in a pile, Frisk at the bottom, but with both of thier hands clapped over the mouths of Alex and Chara.

Chara put up a breif struggle, but Alex hugged him tight with her arms, keeping him pinned as the skeleton began talking again.

“THERE’S NO ONE HERE! CAN HUMANS TELEPORT?!? THEY ARE MUCH MORE POWERFUL THEN I THOUGHT. BUT NO ONE IS TOO POWERFULR FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!!!”

“Yeah bro. But if a human’s here, then you better go and check on your traps right?”

“YES, THERE IS NO TIME TO WASTE!!”

The sound of crunching snow faded off into the distance, and Alex let out a huge sigh. She delicatly removed Frisk’s hand from her mouth and said into the empty air.

“Well, it could have gone worse I suppose.”

Alex’s vision of the white sky was abscured by a blue hoodie. He hadn’t made any noise coming over.

“Are you kids going to get up at some point or are you planning to spend the night? I bet that there are more comfortable places to sleep back in town.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny Sans.” Alex struggled to her feet, dusting off the snow that hadn’t already melted into her dress. She was wet, cold, and her soaks were soggy. The kids were a bit better off. With their shoes and their long sleeze shirts, but it wouldn’t take too long for everyone here to get sick. They needed to get in out of the snow, and Alex in particualar needed to change. She was never a fan of dresses, but now she was determined to get pants or something.

“You ah, wouldn’t happen to know where we could go to get warm and dry would you? Preferably where there are no other monsters?”

“Oh, you can just go into town. The monsters here haven’t actually seen a human in their lives. They might be a little excited to see a new face, but if you don’t tell them that you’re a human then they won’t even question ya. Monster’s come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, you kids won’t be looked at twice.”

“Oh.” Well, that’s pretty differnent from what Toriel was afraid of. She made it seem like there would be an army ready and waiting for us. Maybe there was when she went into the ruins. But . . . how old is she? “Um, how do we get to town?”

“There’s only one way. Just follow the paths. You’ll have to go through some puzzels but you’ll get there.” Sans was starting to walk away, back toward the door in the woods.

“Uh, where are you going?”

“Oh, I know a short cut.”

A short cut? That would sure be useful right now! “Can we come?!?”

Silence, there wasn’t even the sound of footsteps.

“He’s already gone isn’t he?” The little bastard was pretty fast. Probably some monster magic thing.

Frisk dragged Chara over to Alex, and made the two hold hands. Frisk waved them to follow them, and soon Chara was dragging Alex through the snow. Alex was soon focusing only on trying to keep her feet underneath of her as she stumbled through the snow behind the two adventurous children.

“Well this won’t be too bad right? The monsters won’t recognize us as humans, so they shouldn’t bother us too much.” 

Alex was pressed face first into the snow after being flying tackled out of the way of the teenage’s magic attack. She wondered how this had become her life.

“Thank you, thank you. You all have been an ‘ice’ crowd.” The monster was flapping away. He had looked like a big blue turkey with weird boney ridges on his face. He had been waiting in the trees for them and had divebombed the kids when they had gotten close enough. As far as Alex could tell he did this to anybody that got close enough for him to catch.

“How is this normal, what kind of place is this!? We’ve been stalked by a skeleton, adopted by a woman who just met us, and now we’re getting bombarded with teen comedians?!? That’s it, the next monster who tries to fight us, I am going to give them a piece of my fucking mind. Come on Frisk, Chara take my hand.”

Alex resolutely stomped forward into the white abyess, snarling under her breath. She was so sick of this. She hadn’t been hurt in the last battle, but none on these monsters seemed to have any manners at all.

Alex managed to drag the kids all of ten feet before she tripped over a rock, and face planted into the snow once more, screaming into the slush in her fury.

“OH MY GOSH SANS, ARE THOSE HUMANS!!?!?”

And now we have this motherfucker!

“Yeah, I think it is Pap.”

Oh, and HE’S here too. This just could not get any better.

“OH MY GOD. I DID IT! I THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE FOUND A HUMAN. THREE HUMANS! I WILL BE SO POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!” The skeleton cleared his throat as Chara and Frisk dragged Alex out of the snow again. “HUMANS, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL STOP YOU. I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU. YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL. THEN . . . THEN! I’M NOT SURE WHATS NEXT. IN ANY CASE CONTINUE IF YOU DARE. NYEH, HEH HEH HEH!”

The sound of crunching snow hareled his parting and soon the kids were left alone with Sans.

“Heh. That must have made his entire week.”

“Sans, what is with this place! We just got attacked by a teen comedian? And I think he threw some money at Frisk! What is up with that? How is that allowable behavior!?” Alex was trying to find Sans in the white landscape, but couldn’t make him out. He was an allowable outlit for her rage, and she wanted to shake him to get rid of some of her stress.

“Oh, those are just teenagers. They finally got their magic and they’re going crazy with it. The teenagers are usually kicked out of town until they calm down.”

Alex stopped and rubbed her temples. You know what? Fuck it! Monster toss their kids out into the snow for who knows how long. Let’s just roll with the crazy bastards.

“OK. So . . . your brother. Is he going to be a problem.” The air seemed to get heavier. “Cause he seems like a sweetheart, but I am not in the condition to fight him. I can barely see more then a few feet infront of me, and if he’s trying to get in the royal guard then he has to be pretty strong right? Getting hit with magic hurts!”

The air lighten back up and Sans chuckled, “Yeah, my brother is pretty cool isn’t he?”

Not the word I would have chosen to describe him with, but to each his own.

“Don’t worry, my bro wouldn’t hurt a fly, but he is pretty strong. Hey, how about we make a deal. If you play along with him and solve his puzzels, then I’ll let you use my bathroom and borrow some clothes when you get to town.”

Alex didn’t even pause, “Deal.” She really wanted to get warm, her toes were starting to go numb.

“Heh, see you later then.” His footsteps faded off into the distance.

“Ok. Let’s hurry up and get to town. My feet are freezing and I know that I’ve got snow where snow should not be.”

Chara and Frisk once again took Alex’s hands, but this time she let them take the lead, slowly leading her along.

They passed a weird brown boxy looking thing, and Chara darted forward at one point and came back with some sort of weird pointy thing on top of their head that Frisk got pretty miffed about. They had immedialy taken it and put it on top of what looked like a large ice cube. Chara ended up having to hold Alex’s hand while Frisk took the lead to keep him out of trouble.

“Ha ha! You made Frisky mad Chara old boy, and now you have to be my guide dog.” Alex ruffled the top of Chara’s head, making them duck out of the way. “Oh, trying to deny my love huh! Don’t reject my love Chara!!”

Chara stuck his tongue out at Alex, “YOU arE weiRD.”

Alex gasped! “Oh, noooo! How could you say that! Calling me! The amazing and beautiful Alex Weird! Well, this is just an outrage! Frisk! Frisk, come here and tell Chara that I’m not weird!”

Frisk turned around and signed something to Chara. Chara made a face, “What? What did they say?!” oh, he’s not looking at me.

Alex yanked on Chara’s hand. “What did they say?”

“CaLLed US BOth weIRD.”

“Well, that just means war. GET’EM!”

Chara and Alex ran toward Frisk who had already taken off making a breathy laugh sound. Chara eventlly let go of Alex’s hand to grab Frisk and they went down into the snow with loud laugh’s from Chara and giggles from Frisk. Alex came to a stop standing over them, smiling at the pair of rough housing children.

“Who’s there?!?”

Oh shit.

“Oh, uh hi! We’re just passing through trying to get to town. Uh. Where are you?” Alex couldn’t see anything. There was another sentry station, but this one was empty. Or it was empty. A blurry shape rose up out from the floor.

“Where are you? I can only see moving things!”

“Oh, uh. I’m here?” Alex waved her hand. Alex walked toward the little building and the blurry shape sharpened to show that the monster looked like a dog. And they were apparently smoking dog treats?

Oh wow, I hope that he doesn’t catch his fur on fire. That could be a huge pain.

“Ahh! There you are!! Why are you here! I’m supposed to be watching for humans! Are you humans?!?”

“Nope! We are most definatly monsters, yep! That is what we are! You, ah, wouldn’t happen to know how much longer until we manage to get to town do you? Me and the kids need to warm up, we’re not built for cold weather.”

“Towns about an hour down the road. But I think that the tall Skeleton has activated all of the puzzels so it will probably be a whole lot longer.”

“Oh. Well, thank you for your help!”

The dog monster sunk back below the counter, his eyes turning every which way, and Frisk took Alex’s hand again. Chara was dusting his clothes off, blushing a little.

“Come on guys. We have a bit to go I guess. We should pick up the speed.”

Frisk lead Alex along, Chara following them, sometimes at Alex’s side, but remaining free for the time being. They soon came upon what seemed to be a frozen pond. Of course they found this becasue Chara slipped on it and fell on his ass. Making Alex and Frisk snicker as they went over to help them up. After some sliping and sliding, and some bruised asses, they continued with their travel, Chara and Frisk switching out who led Alex around every couple of minutes, but soon Alex heard some of the yelling that The Great Papyrus always seemed to be doing and came to a cliff that the two skeletons were occupying the far side of.

“OH THE HUMANS ARE HERE! IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES. I THINK THAT YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE. QUITE SHOCKING!!!”

Papyrus went on to explain that what Alex had formally thought was just some empty space was actually an electric maze.

ELECTRIC MAZE?!? we’re all soaking wet! This is the worst possible idea!

“Um, hold on! The Great Papyrus, surely we can talk about-” Bzzt!

While Alex had been worried about the electricity and the snow mixing, Chara had gone ahead into the clear area and had apparenly hit on of the walls. Shocking the Skeleton.

“SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?!?”

What? How did?

“Uh, bro? I think that the human has to hold the orb.”

“OH.” Papyrus came closer to the kids, going in a pattern. He was finally close enough for Alex to make out some details. She still couldn’t actually see him, but now she could see that he was wearing a whole lot of orange and some armor. He was signifigantly taller than both Alex and Sans, standing at about double her height. He bent down to hand Alex the orb, giving her a close up of his orange gloved hands.

Alex stared in bafflement as he ran back through the maze. Then she looked down at the greenish orb.

What the fuck do I do now?!?

“OK, YOU CAN GO NOW!”

Alex was at a stand still for a few seconds before the orb was plucked out of her hands by Frisk.

“Wait no! Frisk! Don’t! You’ll get hurt!”

Chara grabbed Alex before she could rush into the maze after Frisk, half wrestling her to the ground. Frisk was able to get through the maze without a single shock.

“AMAZING YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL! YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY. TOO EASILY! HOWEVER! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE SO EASY. IT HAS BEEN DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS. YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED. I KNOW I AM. COME ON SANS! LETS MAKE SURE IT’S READY!”

“Right behind you bro.”

The skeleton laughed as he ran off to the next puzzle with his brother following at a much more sedate pace. Alex finally managed to get loose from Chara and rushed to Frisk. Alex patted Frisk down, even though they didn’t hear any sort of zapping noise. They ended up wrapping Frisk in a hug and shivering, taking comfort in the fact that the body in their arms was whole and warm. After a moment they leaned back and looked Frisk in their eyes.

“Frisk. Please don’t do that again. I can’t do much in a fight, but if there’s something that I can do that will spare you some pain, let me do it ok? I’m the adult here, I should be taking care of you two.” Frisk frowned and started to write on one of Alex’s hands.

ADULT? U R OUR AGE

“Oh, I guess I never told you huh? No I was an adult before I fell into the underground. I can’t remember a whole lot, but I was in my twenties. I didn’t even look like this when I was a kid, so I don’t know why I’m not only a kid again but not even in my own body. I think that one of the monsters might have summoned me or something. But that doesn’t matter right now, what matters is that since I am the adult here I should be the one taking the risks.”

At some point during the talk Chara had seperated them, and gotten them walking again, Chara had led them both before letting go of Alex’s hands. He was soon back, shoving a little wrapped package into Alex and Frisk’s hand.

“Chara? What is this?”

“Thank you for your purchase!”

Alex whipped around, slinging Frisk behind her. There had been a blue monster behind them the whole time. He was standing next to a brightly colored push cart. He was partly hopping with how happy he was.

“MOTHERFUCKER! Jesus christ! Where did you come from!” Alex pressed the little packge to her chest, trying to slow her heart beat. “What is it with everyone sneaking up one me??”

“Oh, I’ve been here the whole time! This is my nice cream stand! Your friend there had bought some! I’m sorry for scaring you, but I hope you have a very nice day! Your friend there has bought enough nice cream for me to move my cart to greener pastures! I’ll remember you all!” The blue, bunny? Picked up his cart and started to roll it through the snow.

. . . Why do I even try anymore?

Frisk bumped into Alex and waved their ice-cream under her nose. “Oh, I guess it probably won’t kill us to have some ice-cream.” Alex unwrapped her and gave it a lick.

Chocolate. Oh, hey! There’s a little heart on the wrapper. It’s hand drawn. That’s so cute.

Chara half done with his ice-cream, hip check Alex to get her moving. Alex giggled around her full mouth and let herself be herded out into the snow once more. They took it slow, so that they could eat their ice-cream without chocking, and before they knew it they saw the skeletons again, with Alex still sucking on the little wooden stick of her ice-cream.

“HUMANS! I HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR- SANS WHERE IS THE PUZZLE?!?

“It’s right there. On the ground. Trust me. There’s no way they can get past this one.”

Alex looked around. She couldn’t see anything, not that this was new or anything but after the last puzzle she was a little worried about the safety of a seemingly empty area.

Chara looked at the fidgeing Alex, rolled his eyes, and easily dragged her through the empty space. Frisk lagged behind a bit to pick up the piece of paper that Alex barely missed stepping on.

“SANS! THAT DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!”

“Whoops. I knew I should have used today’s crossword instead.”

What? There was a crossword. Damn. Sans just don’t give a shit doesn’t he?

“WHAT? CROSSWORD??! I CAN’T BELIVE YOU SAID THAT! IN MY OPIONON THE JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST.”

Oh you have got to be kidding me.

“What? Really, dude? That easy-peasy word scramble. That’s for baby bones.”

There was a haughty gasp. “UN. BELIEVABLE. HUMAN SOLVE THIS DISPUTE.”

Silence.

“Oh, uh. Are you talking to me?” Shit, that’s right Frisk can’t talk, and I don’t think Chara could be made to care. “I um, think . . . Junior Jumble is harder?”

“HA HA YES! HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT IF THEY ALSO FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT.” And after that proclamation, Papyrus ran off once more.

“ . . . the real funny thing is that I usually get stumpted by the crosswords actually.”

“Heh, thanks for choosing Junior Jumble then. Yesterday he go stumped trying to ‘solve’ the horoscope.” Holy shit, I though Sans might have left already.

“It’s ah, no problem. He really is a sweet guy. If a little loud, and . . . excited. But! Remember, we do have a deal. You owe us your bathroom after all of this.”

“Heh, like to keep your eye on the prize do ya. You keep making him so happy and I’ll even through in some old clothes. You look like you need them. Go on ahead. I think my brother left something for you.”

Chara started to drag Alex forward again, and Frisk passed the paper back to Sans as they went by. Sans took it and chuckled, all of the words had been circled but the nonsense word he had altered had been crossed out.

Chara dragged Alex past some of what looked like a table with something on it and a microwave. But he didn’t stop to let Alex take a better look. Frisk jogged up and took Alex’s other hand, bloking her from the sudden dropp off that she couldn’t see. Both of the kid’s eyes lingered over an empty patch of snow, but they didn’t stop or slow down.

They had neve felt much of the cold when they had come through before, but it was obvious by how Alex kapt rubbing her arms and hopping in place that she felt it much more vividly than they did. They needed to get through this quickly so that she could warm up. They didn’t know waht would happen if she fell past a certain health threshhold. At least they both had saved in the ruins, but she might get sent all the way back to the fall. Or she might not have another play through at all.

I sorta feel like I’m involved in some sort of kinky swingers situation. Like, what is this? A five way?

Alex and the kids we all on their knees as two huge dogs decked out in armor kicked thier legs in the air. They all had their hands burried in dog fur and were rubbing the monsters as they questioned if dogs could pet other dogs and what it means to their married life.

I mean, I was scared out of my tits when they came bounding up out of nowhere after we had finally gotten those spikes to go down. But then they just jammed their nose into my and the kids’ sides and proclamied us weird puppies. Then Frisk just had to start petting them, and then I had to make Chara put away the toy knife that he had pulled from his pants. And now here were are, giving a married couple a rub down as they make sinfull noises. I swear to god, if I have to explain sex to these kids, then am going to need the biggest drink.

“Uh, mister and missus . . . Dog? We have to go, cause we need to get to town. Um, can you let us go please?”

“What? Oh, yes! We should get back to our posts! Come on Dogamy.”

They finally dragged themselves off the ground and Frisk seemed sad to watch them go, taking a step forward with their hand out. Alex grabbed it. “No. We have spent way too long already petting dogs. Don’t do to them what you did to that other dog. I still don’t know how he could have possibly supported his neck like that.” Frisk pouted, but took Alex’s hand and started to lead her away. Alex turned and waved Chara over.

They set off once again into the snow covered woods. They immedatly found Papyrus after Frisk left Alex in Chara’s care to go step on some X’s in the snow. Not that Alex saw that.

“AH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??! HOW DID YOU RESIST MY TRAP AND MORE IMPORTANTLY. DID YOU SAVE ANY FOR ME?”

Frisk fielded this question, signing that they had eaten it all. “WOWIE! NO ONE HAS EATEN ALL OF MY FOOD BEFORE. HUMANS MUST BE CONSEOURS OF FLAVOR. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL COOK YOU ALL OF THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER EAT!” And away Papyrus went.

But he didn’t go far, he was just around the corner. “UM, I HAD TRIED TO MAKE THIS PUZZLE BETTER, BY MAKING IT LOOK LIKE MY FACE! BUT NOW . . . I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SOLVE IT! MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE A TRY! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TURN THE X’S INTO O’S.”

Chara heaved a big sigh before dragging Alex up to the skeleton. “WaTCh heR. ALex caN’T SEE well.” Then Chara and Frisk left to go and solve the puzzle together.

Oh god. They left me with the skeleton. Shit, make conversation!

“Um, it’s really cold here isn’t it?” Oh god damnit.

“OH YES. IT IS ALWAYS SNOWING IN SNOWDIN. IT IS COLD ALL OF THE TIME. ME AND MY BROTHER HAVE GOTTEN USED TO IT, AND ALL OF THE OTHER MONSTERS HERE WEAR JACKETS AND HAVE THICK FUR. OR ARE MADE OF FIRE! BUT YOU DO NOT LOOK LIKE YOU ARE DRESSED FOR THE WEATHER OR HAVE FUR.”

“Uh, no. I would have worn a jacket, but I wasn’t expecting to suddenly be out in the cold! And, uh, humans aren’t usually that furry! In fact we’re generally considered to be furless! If you don’t count the hair on our head. So, uh. I like your . . . puzzles?”

“OH YOU DO! OF COURSE YOU DO. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS AM THE BEST AT PUZZLES! EXCEPT THIS ONE, BUT I’M SURE THAT IF GIVEN ENOUGH TIME I WOULD HAVE SOLVED IT, BUT IT WAS ORIGANLY FOR YOU HUMANS SO IT IS ONLY FAIR THAT YOU ALL HAVE A CHANCE BEFORE I FINISH IT OFF.”

“Wow, you sure are confident. That’s pretty awesome.” Alex really was impressed. Papyrus was near glowing with confidence and enthusiasm.

“THANK YOU HUMAN!”

“Oh, we haven’t really been introduced have we? My name is Alex. The kid in the purple shirt is Frisk and the one in the green shirt is Chara.”

“IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU!”

They got quiet again but now it wasn’t awkard like before. They both just watched the other two kids run around in the snow, trying to solve the puzzle around each other. They eventaully got it, Papyrus wished them goodbye before running off once again. But this time, instead of calling them humans called them by name.

Chara once again huff and started to drag Alex, “Hey, what did you expect for us to talk about when you left me with him! Oh, Hi Sans, were you there the entire time.”

“Heh, yeah. Good job on solving that puzzle, I didn’t even have to do anything.” God You can just hear the smirk in his voice.

“Yeah yeah, we get it. You’re the laziest bones. You’re a bone-fide slacker. We get it. How many more puzzles are there? My socks are soaked through, and as much as I like running around and playing with your brother, if I don’t get warm soon I’m going to pass out.”

“Just three more, then you’ll be in Snowdin. Just hang in there. I’m not ribbing”

“Oh ha, ha, ribbing, fibbing. I get it.” Chara dragged Alex past the skeleton and into the abyess of a cave.

Oh three he says like they’re not the most difficulte and agrivating puzzles ever. I about had a heart attack when I slide off the ice. I’m lucky that Chara can’t hear what I’m saying. I think I can trust Frisk not to repeat some of those swears but Chara would do it any chance that he got. And that dog, Where did it even come from?!?! It just rose out of the snow like some kind of horrifying monster. If Frisk hadn’t thrown that stick then I would have been destroyed. And what the hell were those noises while we were crossing that bridge. Chara and Frisk seemed calm but I could have sworn that I heard a dog? But I don’t think that Papyrus would have actually hurt us. I mean he even flubbed up that machine so that nothing would happen. But we’re finally here in Snowdin.

Snowdin was a cute little town with a humorously too big sign. It was chrismas themed with lights everywhere and an actually Christmas tree in the middle of the street. There were lots of furry monsters here, mostly bunnies but with a few bears wondering around also. Everyone so far had not questioned them at all and they had all been very friendly. Now all Alex needed was to find Sans and get herself warmed up. She had long since passed cold and was firmly in frozen. She was going to need to be careful when warming up or it was going to hurt. 

“Hey kid.” Alex jumped a foot.

“Fucking HELL Sans! Don’t do that you freaking ninja.”

“He, Heh heh. Just thought that you’d like to go and use my shower now.”

“Oh god yes please, come on kids, I need to get warmed up.”

Chapter Text

Chara and Frisk stood outside of the bathroom door staring at each other. Sans had already disappeared into his room after he had shown Alex to the bathroom, leaving Frisk and Chara to their own devices. 

Frisk began the conversation.

Why have you been protecting her. It had been bothering Frisk the entire journey through the outskirts of Snowdin. Not only did Chara actively push Alex out of harms way, but they had been putting themselves between the other monsters and Alex. Chara, who had turned the entire Underground into a tomb time and time again was going far out of their way to keep some human alive. Not only that, but they were being friendly, they were being warm, they were buying the girl Nice-cream. There were not the actions of a murderer. Not the actions of someone who would kill anyone who got in the way. Not the actions of the sociopathic child that Frisk was familiar with.

Are you really complaining? Don't you want to save everyone, you goody two shoes? Chara was smiling, but Chara was always smiling. It wasn't a good way of judging his mood. Not that he had many moods, he was always cold. Only one person could warm him up, and he had nearly forgotten everything about them with how long it had been since they had last met, even before the game. Being dead for centuries wasn't very good for memory.

You don't do anything if it can't help you along, you don't let anything slow you down, let anything get in your way. And Alex is not only a distraction, but they are also a serious handicap. Not that I would let you leave to go on your own. But you haven't even tried to leave. Frisk's face was set in stone, they were serious and thus, must look it too. They furrowed their brow and their hand began to make sharper movements not wasting a single flex of their fingers. WHY.

Chara sneered before going back to their beaming smile. We never win the game.

Frisk paused. What?

We never win the game, why do you think that is? Chara leaned forward into Frisk's space, but Frisk didn't move away.

You reset me and I reset you. That's how we always end up back in the ruins.

No, Do you remember the first run? Chara grimaced, hating the memories from so far back, when they had hope to finally getting out of the horrible Underground, to get away from the monsters that couldn't see them and the ghosts that ignored them. The run where you killed Toriel, where you killed Undyne? The run where you killed any monster that you couldn't run away from? I didn't reset that. I was just as happy as you to get out of here. But when we woke up in those flowers again, I was so angry that I took control. 

Frisk flinched, ashamed of what that did the first time they woke up in the Underground, of the friends that they killed in their desperate attempt to get back home, to the world that made sense to them. What about it?

I think we need her soul. Chara said, waving toward the door that had Alex on the other side of it. I think that she's the real Seventh Child. The one with the soul needed to break the barrier. If we can get her to the barrier then maybe we can finally get out of this hell. And that's why I'm keeping her alive, why I'm letting you save everyone. Don't you think that her soul would be worth the entire Underground?

No. Frisk was aghast at what Chara had planned, at what they were willing to do to the girl that they had met. No! I will not let you kill her! She's not even a kid! She says that she's an adult that woke up like that! Like some horrible mix between me and you!

Chara shrugged, leaning back out of Frisk's space. Doesn't matter, if anything it just underlines my point. The game is throwing us a bone, giving us an easy out! She's not even innocent! I know you've heard her filthy mouth. Hell, with how she tries to protect us, I bet she'll offer her soul up just to get us out of here, to get everyone out of here. All we need to do is get her there and let her make her choice. We won't have to kill Dad or anyone else to leave, we can just break the barrier and go our separate ways. We'll never have to see each other again. You can go and play with your little freak-show family and I can go and do whatever the hell I want.

Frisk glared down at their feet. They wanted to save everyone, they wanted to get out of here. They didn't want Alex to die, but they also didn't want to see Asgore die again. They didn't want to watch Flowey kill him at his weakest. They just wanted to get out of here, and they didn't want anyone to get hurt. Surely their had to be a way to save everyone? There had to be! They wouldn't let Chara kill their friends anymore!

But . . .

If Alex offered on her own?

. . . let's go fight Papyrus while she's in the bathroom. He would be too hard  for her to dodge.

Chara giggled a little, Ignoring the topic huh? Oh well. I agree with you on the idiot, he may be too soft hearted, but it wouldn't be good for her to get the fucking shit beat out of her three times.

Alex is a bad influence on you.

Oh like you're not going to take out your new words when Undyne shows up.

The kids walked the hall and down the stairs, the heavy atmosphere lightening up to the friendly bickering that they had been forced to achieve after being stuck with each other for hundreds of play-throughs. 

Neither noticed the single blue eye track them from the crack in Sans door. Once the front door slammed shut, the bedroom door eased closed as well. 

Chapter Text

Alex had now stepped out of the shower, she was warm and toasty and facing a new dillima. She did not want to put her soggy dress back on.

Putting that back on will chill me to the bone. Didn’t Sans say he was going to give me some clothes?

“Hey, Frisk! Can you go see if Sans has anytihng I can wear?” Alex grabbed a towl from the rack, it had probably been used before, but skeletons don’t really seem like they would sweat. The plush orange terry cloth engulfed her and she started to rub her hair dry, waiting for Frisk to get her somthing to wear.

But nobody came.

“Frisk? Are you there?” Alex wrapped the towel under her arms, the bottom of it dragging on the floor a little. She opened the door a crack. “Frisk?”

The hall, while blurry and out of focus, was void of the green and yellow shirt of Chara, and unless Frisk was laying on the striped floor, they were also gone.

They must have gone down stairs to wait on the couch or something.

Alex debated on wether or not to leave the bathroom in the towel, or to yell at them from the hall. It would probably be more polite to just go looking, instead of yelling through the house.

Alex left the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, telling herself that it didn’t matter, she was in the body of a seven year old anyway, and no one cared if they say her in a state of undress. She walked to the stairs and looked down at the sofa. It was empty. “Hey Frisk? Sans? I need some clothes over here!”

The house was silent.

“Did they fucking ditch me?”

“Heh, didn’t that shower clean out your dirty mouth?”

“MOTHER HUMPER!” Alex spun around, tripping on the end of her towel, falling on her ass, and only barely managing to cover her tits. She was uncomfortably close to the edge of the stairs. “What the fuck are you trying to do? Kill me!? Sans you asshole! I almost fell down the stairs!”

Sans rocked back on his feet from where he had leaned forward a little bit to whisper in her ear. She really was as weak as the kids said. Frisk would have sensed him coming and Chara would have already been able to stab him twice by the time she hit the floor.

Even if she did end up more bloody minded, she wouldn’t be hard to take out. But no reason to make rash decisions. The kids seemed to think that she was the way to end the game, there were easier ways to find out her intentions, to let her know the rules.

“So, I heard that you need some clothes?”

Alex grumbled as she lifted herself up off the floor, making sure that the towel was wrapped tightly around her, not wanting to flash the skeleton even if there wasn’t anything there. “ Yeah, I remember you promising me some clothes, and I’m going to need them. My dress is soaked through and will take hours to dry. You got anything in my size?”

“Yeah, I should have something, wait here.” Sans walked back down the hall, disappearing into his room.

Alex huff and started to tap her foot. I swear, that guy must think he’s the funnest thing since stand up comedy.

. . . But he is helping me and the kids. And he’s super sweet to his brother. Other than some harmless tricks he’s not done anything bad. I really just need to stop being such a bitch and calm down. Alex kicked the rug a litte, her guilt settling on her shoulders.

“Yeah, here we go. Something to keep you warm.” Alex lifted her head to see Sans holding out some blurry cloth. She grabbed it.

“Thanks, Sans. I’ll go change.”

Alex hurried back into the bathroom and checked out her new clothes. Sans had given her a white tank top, a blue jacket, some black gym shorts and a pair of rain boots. Not the most fashionable emsonbal but more than enough to get her through Snowdin.

She quickly changed, putting the towel back on the rack and stuck her head out of the bathroom. The clothes hung on her, but the strings on the shorts could be tightened enough to stay on her hips, and the jacket and tank top were comfortable.

Sans was waiting for her outside the door.

“Hey, You wanna get some food? I know a place.”

“You do know that I don’t have any money right?”

Sans led Alex through the snow with promies of hamburgers and fries. Alex had originally wanted to go find the kids, but Sans had assured her that they had gone out to play one last time with Papyrus.

“Don’t worry about it. It’ll be on me.” Sans pushed open the door to a bar and Alex’s senses were drowned in the sound of people cheerfully greeting Sans and the smell of hot food. Sans led her to the front, not holding her hand, but he was easy enough to see. They both took a seat at the counter and the heat pouring off of the fire monster was glorious to Alex who had gotten a little chilled with the trip over.

“Hey Grillby. So kid, what will it be?”

Alex was starving, the ice-cream from early had long since vacated her stomach. “A burger with a side of fries. And a glass of whatever you’ve got on tap.” Who cared what time it was, she needed something to make all of this crazy shit less horrible.

“Kid, you sure about that? You seem pretty young to be drinking.”

“Sans, stop calling me kid. I’m fucking twenty two and I need something to take the edge off of today.” Alex glared at Sans as Grillby came back and set the plate and foaming glass full of a pale blue liquid infront of her. She grabbed the glass and took a couple of good swallows, ignoring the bitter way it tasted on her tongue. She set the glass down an immedatly dove into her burger, jamming fries into her mouth between bites.

“Wow, it looks like you were only skin and bones huh?”

Alex snerked, nearly chocking on her fries, rushing to wash it down with her beer. She had already drunk more than half of it and it burned in her stomach.

“Is that all you’ve got? Skeleton puns? Cause I’ve got to tell you, I am not a-boozed.” She waved the glass for emphasis.

Sans reached over, stealing one of her fries, “Oh I’ve got way more than that. You’d be po-tazed.” He tossed the fry into his mouth.

Alex started laughing, “Oh god, you are so corny. Come on, you drink too! Don’t make me get drunk off my ass alone here!” She put her knees on her seat, “Hey! Barkeep! Can you get something for my friend here? He’s the one paying, so make sure it’s something he can stomach.” She turned back to her companion with a shit eating grin. “Despite the fact that he doesn’t have one. Strong or otherwise.”

Sans watched with his ever present grin as the little human settled back to her food triumpantly. She hadn’t even noticed that Sans had given Grillby the ok when she had ordered the beer. It hadn’t been his plan to get the human drunk, but if she was doing it herself, then how could he pass up the opportunity to get some information? She already seemed a little tipsy with what she had already drunk, Monster beer being absorbed much faster then what she must have been used to.

Grillby clunked Sans’ prefered Bloody beer in front of him. The red mixture foaming over the top of the glass. Sans took a pull before begining what he had come here to do.

“So, Alex. How did you end up in the Underground? That must be one hell of a story.”

Alex swallowed her bite of burger before answering, swiveling to face Sans. “No idea.”

There was a pause before Sans asked, “What? You don’t know?”

Alex took another drag of beer, finishing her glass, before slamming it down onto the wooden counter. “I have absolutly no fucking idea! I actually don’t remember much of anything at all!! Like I don’t remeber my last name, or what color my eyes originally were! I know I had a family, but I don’t know how many or what their names were. Isn’t that weird? Like I just woke up in the fall and suddenly smack into the ground.” Alex waved the bar tender over. “Hey, can I have another?”

Sans took a long drink from his glass. Both Chara and Frisk told him about their past lives. Chara had been abandoned on the moutain for being possed by demons, and Frisk had been dared by other kids in their orphange. They had remembered everything, but Alex? It seems like that had been brought her with a certain amount of intent.

“How do you think you got here?”

Alex pulled away from her second beer, “No idea, my first though was that a monster had like summoned me or something. But that doesn’t really explain why I don’t remember anything. Or why my boobs are gone.”

Sans snorted beer out of his nose, the red liquid bubbling out painfully as he coughed, the sight looking a bit gruesome. “-cough- cough- W-what?”

Alex looked mornfully down at her chest, the plate in front of her cleaned of food and the two empty glasses of beer joined by a third full one as Grillby passed by. “I used to have such nice boobs Sans! One was a little droopy, but they were D-cups and I would put my things in them. They could hold so much stuff!” Alex motioned with her hands how big her boobs had been, knocking into on of the empty glasses. “I could have been able to prop them on the bar no problem!”
Sans kept coughing as he tried to get the mental image of the seven yearold appearing girl in front of him having D-cup boobs. He drank big swollows of her beer to clear his throat. But Alex wasn’t done talking.

“I had really long hair too! I had been working on getting it all the way down to the floor, but it was only at mid back so far. And I was fat! Well, not really fat, but I was like 160 pounds and only 5’4. I usually tried get rid off it by taking the stair and drinking a whole lot of water, but I would kill for that fat right now! It’s so cold Sans! So cold.” Alex grabbed Sans’ hand, making him set his beer down so that he wouldn’t dump it on her.

Alex pressed the captive hand to her ribs. “Do you feel those? Those are my ribs! I’ve only ever even seen the barest hint of them when I was streching, but now they’re out in the open! I look like someone just put some skin on a skeleton! With a ballon in my stomach! Is this healthy for kids? Are they supposed to look like this? Am I dying? Are the kids dying?!? Oh god, I should go and make them eat! I don’t think that they’re have anytihng else other than ice-cream and pie! I am a terrible adult Sans!”

Sans was starting to regret letting the girl drink all that beer, she was obviously drunk now. And he nearly dove forward to stop her from drinking anymore. He lifted it up and away from her, and she struggled to get it back, actually climbing him. “Sans! No! That’s mine! You have your own,”

“I think it’s about time to cut you off, I should probably take you back to my place now.” Sans was trying to figure out some place to put the beer down, but any attempt he made just had her lunging forward.

“Fuck it.” He muttered and just downed the glass in one go.

“Noooo! Sans! That’s mean!” Alex continued to try and rescue her drink, but Sans had already chugged it down. He slammed the glass on the counter and made a face.

“Ugh, how can you drink that? It was disgusting.” He grabbed his own glass of much prefered tomato beer and sucked it down to get the taste out of his mouth. “What was that even made of?”

Alex, still splayed across the gap between the seats half of her body laying in Sans lap, said. “I don’t know, it sorta tasted like some ale that I had once that was made out of elderflowers. That shit laided me out and I only had half a bottle.”

Alex frowned. “Hey, wait a minute.”

She shakily lifted herself up out of Sans lap as he continued to sip his beer to get rid of the taste. But he was violently brought to attention when she shoved her hands past his jacket and between his ribs. “Where’s it all going?”

Sans yanked her hand out of his body cavity. “Whoa! Didn’t your parents ever tell you that it wasn’t poliet to put your hands where they don’t belong?” God that had felt weird. Monster’s knew better than to put their appendages into an empty space where a soul was. Even though nothing was there his aura still considered that a part of his body, and it wasn’t the most comfortable feeling.

“Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to take what’s not yours?” Alex grumbled as she sat herself on the edge of the bar, giving her swiveling seat up for a lost cause in her state. She quiet liked being up where she was. She still couldn’t see well, but she at least knew that she was taller then Sans like this and that was enough for her beer addled mind. “But you didn’t answer my question! Where does it go!”

Sans was begning to struggle to think, he didn’t have the best tolerance for alchol and the drink that she had was stronger then what he usually chose to drink. “It- it’s monster food. It’s made of magic and it gets directly absorbed into the soul. It desentagrates upon entering a monster’s aura and it’s effects begin to take place once it is fully absorbed.”

Alex though for a few moments, “So you all don’t def-deif-defikaugh- shit or piss at all? I guess this does explain why I haven’t seen any toilets or anything in either of your houses.”

Sans looked up from inspecting the dry bottom of his glass. “What? Who else’s house have you been in?”

“OH! Her name is Toriel! She lives in the ruins! She gave us pie, and gave me clothes, and she was really nice! And then she tried to fight us! What was up with that?” Alex waved her arms around, nearly hitting the monster beside her, she turned and gave a quick apology, But he had already turned back to his compainion.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You fought the lady behind the door? What the hell Alex?” Sans privatly thought that this kid, no matter how old she was, was a bad influence.

Alex crossed her arms with a ‘hmph’. “Well, it wasn’t my fault! I wake up, feeling like someone’s trying to rip my heart out and I have to run around the house, which isn’t easy with my eyesight you know! And when I finally get into like, her purple doungen, she’s already fighting the kids and throwing fire at me! I mean, what the hell right? So then Chara keeps attacking back, and Frisk keeps waving their hands around and I’m getting the shit burned out of me. But right when it starts to hurt the worst she stops trying to hit me. So then I try to talk to her, and just when I think that I’m gonna make her listen. Bang! I fucking passout and wake up when the sassy little brats dump me in the fucking snow! I don’t even know how the fight ended!” Alex grumped to herself whining as she crossed her legs on the counter.

Suddenly her back got really hot. She unzipped the jacket and started to flap her hand at her face. “Wow. Is it hot in here or is it just the bartender? Ha ha! Zing!”

A sound not unlike wood cracking in the fireplace sounded behind her. Alex tried to spin around to look behind her, but ended up falling ontop of Sans. Sans caught her and understood Grillbys pointed look.

“Come on Alex, you’re getting too rowdy for the bar. Let’s get you back to my place where you can sober up.” He nudged her too the floor, but once he got his feet underneath of him, his own skull spun. He wobbled for a moment, but then was proped up by a warm little body.

“Come on Sans! I’ve got lots of experiance getting home drunk people when I’m drunk!”

She wedged herself under his arm, wrapping it around her shoulders. Once situated she pointed forward with one hand and shouted “Tally Ho!” Dragging him through the bar and past the monsters that waved goodbye to the odd pair.

Alex almost dragged him past his house, but Sans was able to turn her towards the door. Once crossing the threshold they were set upon by a skeleton and two kids.

“SANS, ALEX!? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!”

Alex dropped Sans on the floor, who was unsteady enough to actually fall to his hands and knees. “We’ve been DRINKING! Hi kids! Did you have fun playing with Pap-papi- the skeleton? Cause I’ll have you know that I’ve had fun with mine!”

Alex leaned forward, engulfing both the befuddled Frisk and the laughing Chara into her arms. She pressed their heads to her chest before she once more began to lament her lack of breasts. “This isn’t nearly as effective of a cuddle when they’re nothing to smother you in. I really really miss my boobs. I had boobs, did I tell you that? And they were wonderous! But now I’ve lost everything, from the fat on my ribs to the hair on my vagi-AHHHH!!”

Sans had pulled Alex to the floor from his position, not wanting Alex to finish her statement. “Hey, Paps? I think that the kids are going to sleep over. Just until Alex sobers up, are you ok with that?”

“OH YES! THEN WE CAN HAVE AN OVER NIGHT DOUBLE DATE!!! FRISK, CHARA! COME INTO MY ROOM AND WE CAN START!!” Papyrus rushed to his room so that he could open the door for his dates, but Alex’s hands shot up and grabbed the two kids by their wrists.

She looked into each of their eyes every seriously. “Re-remenber. Don’t put out until the third date. Ev-even though, -snort- he’s t-taking you to his,” Alex gave a huge grin, trying to hold back her laughter, “BONE ZONE!!!”

Alex collapsed into giggles on top of Sans who seemed to have given up and excepted his new place as Alex’s seat. The two kids looked at each other and shrugged, before heading up to Papyrus’s room to start their date.

When they came back down a half hour later to get some water, they saw Sans and Alex in a pile on the couch, both passed out and cuddling each other.

Chapter Text

"Everyone wants to bone the skeletons"

"Well can you blame them? The makers of the game made them perfect! You have the sweet skeleton son and the sexy dangerous skeleton!"

"Come on! I can see wanting to tap Sans' bones, but not Papyrus! Sans has got this wounded solider thing going on, where he needs a reason to keep living, or he just doesn't give a fuck and will make your life hard where he can. Theres just something so nice about the whole wounded hero shtick. But not Papyrus! He's too sweet and innocent. He just wants everyone to be happy and thinks the best of literally everyone. He has to be protected."

"Oh he'll be protected all right. I'll keep him nice and safe in my arms."

"Bleh! I mean it could be really hot, but I saw him shipped with Mettaton and that just locked him up tight for me, you know?

"By that standard, shouldn't you keep Sans with sweet loving goat mom?"

"I really should, but I really really want her to get back with Ashore you know? They had a kid! And they were both just super sad and depressed, they needed counseling not a divorce."

"Alright, I'll give you that ship. But we both know which one is totally cannon right?"

"Oh hell yeah. Bara fish babe and nerdy lizard scientist for the win."

"It's like looking into a mirror for you isn't it Alex?"

"Oh shut up you bitch."

Alex woke up to the uncomfortable feeling of something digging into her pelvis, and her back complaining about being bent funny. She groaned and tried to wiggle herself into a more comfortable position, but that just made the hard thing she was sleeping on shift. She whined a little, but that just made something on her back start to scratch her in a comforting way. Alex gave up on getting away or shifting herself, and just snuggled deeper into the odd smelling cloth covered surface below her.

Yes, she was as comfortable as she was ever going to get.

But she sadly was not long for her comfort, as the green clade child standing beside the bed holding a pot and pan in each hand was a little shit.

CLANG!

“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!”

“WHA?!?”

Alex was nearly launched from the sofa by Sans sitting up as fast as he could. The only reason she wasn’t sent into the air is because of his arms around her, pressing her to his ribs. The groggy pair stared at the mischievous child as it ran shrieking back into the kitchen where steam was billowing from the doorway.

"AH! SANS, ALEX. YOU HAVE WOKEN UP! IT IS WAY PAST MORNING AND YOU SHOULD EAT SOME FOOD BEFORE GOING ON YOUR JOURNEY! FRISK AND CHARA ASSURE ME THAT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU ALL GET MOVING! I'M JUST GETTING DONE WITH THE SPAGHETTI." Papyrus was leaning out of the kitchen doorway, a chef hat nearly sliding off of his head. He ducked back into the kitchen after delivering his message.

Sans and Alex were still too tired and confused to really understand what was going on. But both of them perked up a bit at the mention of food. Alex made a move to get to the floor but soon found that she was being solidly restrained by the still befuddled skeleton. 

She knocked on his skull. "Hey, you gonna let me go lazy bones?"

Sans looked down at her, one of his eyes glowing bright blue in his skull before he very suddenly released her and she fell to the floor with a curse. "What the fuck was that for? Goddamn-it Sans, your floor is hard!" Alex got to her feet, giving Sans a glare as she made her way to the kitchen to see what was causing all of the steam. And the smell of burned tomatoes?

Sans was left on the couch, clutching the place on his chest where a heart would have resided. He had dreamed last night. And while this was not unusual, his dreams had been plagued by dust on snow, a long bright and shadowed hallway, the silence of a dust covered underground, the beaten and bruised face of a still smiling child holding a knife and still prepared to fight even as the internal bleeding made blood come from their mouth. These were what Sans dreamed about. He didn't always remember where these things were significant, but he always remembered the emotions. The crippling anguish at the dusted snow. The angry anticipation of standing in the hallway. The mourning at the dust sprinkled underground. The vindictive resignation in the face of the child. 

But he had never dreamed of sweltering hot nights where he had sweated through his clothes before. Of hair in his mouth. Of sitting for long hours at a desk, ignoring the monotone voice of the professor. Of the feeling of a cat walking over his back as he scrolled through the internet on his phone. Of the stress of driving a car during rainy nights. Of the spine numbing pleasure of a favorite toy inSIDE OF HIM-

Sans slapped a hand to his skull, his body being to sweat as began to dribble down his bones. Those were obviously not his own memories, nor were they sensations that he would have ever been able to experience himself. For MANY REASON. 

"It must have been her. But, she still had her soul inside of her? Maybe the close contact?" Sans mumbled to himself as he got off the couch and went to go and check on the kids and his brother, still mumbling about how it could have been possible. He was soon met with a plate of slightly burnt spaghetti in his face.

"COME ON BROTHER! WE SHALL DINE AND THEN SEE THE HUMANS OFF ON THEIR JOURNEY!!"

Sans took the plate and decided to put his questions off to another time. He should concentrate on what's most important. Making his brother happy.

Alex and the kids smiled at the skeletons as they walked away. Papyrus's happy cheering echoing over the snow until they were finally in the caves of waterfall. Once Alex was sure that Papyrus couldn't see them anymore, she collapsed to her knees and coughed a little, "Oh god. That was horrible. I thought that I was going to die! Frisk, Chara! How did you eat that stuff with a straight face?!?" 

Chara snickered at the girl on the ground, not catching what she was saying but not having to think very hard to guess that she had finally lost the battle with Papyrus's food. He had just put in into his inventory slowly, and Frisk had eaten enough over the expansive games that they could plow through any amount of horrible food and be straight faced. But Chara had watched in glee as Alex had turned gray at her first bite, saw that everyone else had no problem eating it and had shoved a few more bites into their own mouth before faking full and rushing the kids out the door.

Frisk sat on their haunches and rubbed Alex's back as she continued to gag and choke. But they had already spent too long in Snowdin so the soon began to tug on her shirt to get her moving.

Alex allowed herself to get dragged to her feet and she firmly took Frisk's hand as the surrounding area began to get darker and darker. "Frisk, grab on to Chara! I don't like how dark it is here." 

Frisk obeyed and soon they were a chain of kids walking hand in hand as they made their way into the claustrophobic caverns of Waterfall. Soon the air was filled with the sounds of rushing water, both from the river by their side and the water that seemed to fall from the caverns roof. They passed a few monsters and an empty sentry station. They made their way deeper until the sound of rushing water drowned out everything else. Alex let herself be led until she stepped into the water.

"Whoa! What the hell? Why are we going in the water?!? Is there not a way around!?" But not even Frisk could hear her now and she just got pulled along, tripping through the water as the kids rushed forward, paused and then rushed forward again.

When Alex felt solid ground under her feet again, no longer the muddy river bed of rushing water, she grumbled a bit. She trusted Frisk not to lead her through water for no reason but that didn't mean that she was happy about her water logged rain-boots. 

"Hey, wait! Give me a sec- hey! I said wait!" But she was dragged forward into a whole lot of tall grass. A hand was smacked over her mouth and she was shoved to the wall.

"Mph?!" What? What the hell? What is Frisk doing?!?

Alex was soon joined by Chara on the wall as Frisk pressed them both to the rough hard surface. Alex was about to start struggling but the air was split by a very distinct voice that managed to even cut through the overpowering sound of rushing water.

"H . . . HI, UNDYNE! I'M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT!"

"UH. REGARDING THOSE HUMAN I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER . . . HUH? DID I FIGHT THEM? Y-YES! OF COURSE I DID!  I FOUGHT THEM VALIANTLY!  . . . WHAT? DID I CAPTURE THEM? W-W-W-WELL. NO. I TRIED VERY HARD UNDYNE, BUT IN THE END. I FAILED. W-WHAT? YOUR GOING TO TAKE THE HUMAN'S SOUL YOURSELF? BUT UNDYNE! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DESTROY THEM! YOU SEE . . ."

Alex could feel the sharpness of the air as Papyrus tried to convince this "Undyne" that they didn't need to be destroyed. 

"I UNDERSTAND. I'LL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN." 

It was quiet for a second and Alex assumed that Papyrus had left. They wondered when it would be safe to leave. But then the grass in front of the kids rustled. The air felt like it was molasses as Alex could sense Undyne's attention being placed on their hiding place. Nothing moved. Nothing could! Alex actually felt her soul, the little pink thing inside of her, be paralyzed. But soon it loosened and the feeling in the air dissolved. Frisk stopped pressing them into the wall and they all slowly made their way out of the grass. 

"Oh my god. I thought that we were going to die right there. And is Papyrus going to double-FUCKING SHIT!"

After they had cleared the grass a little monster had come out behind them. Alex took a swing at him, but aborted the motion when she heard the high-pitched young voice come from them. 

"Yo! Did you see the way that she was staring at you all!?? That. WAS AWESOME! I'm soo jealous! What didja do to get her attention?!? C'mon! Lets go watch her beat up some bad guys!" He started to race away but, Alex lunged for him and grabbed him by the back of the shirt.

"Whoa! Hold up a second there buddy. Where are your parents?" Alex did not approve of a small child being around all of this rushing water. And it looked like this monster kid didn't even have any arms. What the hell was up with that? If he fell down he was screws sideways without the lube.

"I snuck out to see Undyne! I bet you did too!" The monster kid was close enough to Alex that she could see his reptilian face pouting at her. 

"ENT! Wrong kid.We came here cause we're going to the capital. And besides, I'm an adult. I'm these kid's chaperone and I can't just let you go and run around all of this water! You should go back home." Alex frowned down at him. He was a kid, she shouldn't be messing around with Undyne. They seemed like they were a dangerous person.

The kid's eyes got big and he started to struggle in her grip. She lost her hold on him, and he began to run away. "Wh- hey! Get back here!"

"You'll never catch me you old hag!" He cried over his shoulder, tripping and falling on his face, but quickly getting his legs back underneath of him. 

"Old hag? Oh that little! After him!" Alex grabbed the kids hands and ran after the little yellow monster, water sloshing out of her boots as she dragged the giggling kids behind her as she ran down hall into the darkness.

She got a couple of feet before the little bright yellow kid disappeared from her sight altogether and it was only by the combined power of both Frisk and Chara coming to a sudden stop with their heels dug into the rock that kept her from falling into the rushing water. 

"Holy fucking! Did he jump over that? Jesus Christ, the boy's got some legs on him." Well, I guess he's have to, to make up for his COMPLETE LACK OF ARMS! What is up with monster evolution?

"Soo, I guess that we just can't walk through this one, or else I suspect that you all would have let me run face first into it. Wait, what are you doing Chara?"

Chara had picked up all of the weird green blurry things that were in a dark little alcove in the cave wall. They had started to float them across the gap between the land, and despite the fast flowing water they had stayed on path. Once all four of them were in the water, they  unfolded to huge flowering plants that nearly glowed in the dim light. Ciara immediacy stepped on one and walked across before turning and waving Alex and Frisk over.

 Alex glared at the plants for a bit before grumbling 'magic' to herself and following the kids across. She quickly grabbed Frisk's hand, not trusting her ability to tell where the dark ground ended and where the drop began.

"Common, lets hurry up, I want to catch the little yellow brat."

They all went into the next room but when they got near the a little wooden bridge a monster heaved itself out of the water and their souls were suddenly, and painfully ripped out of their bodies. 

"Hey there. Do you wanna see my muscles?"  The horse appearing monster with the lower half of an eel flex his meaty arms toward them with a near audible wink.

Oh my god. We've been taken captive by a gym rat's fursona. 

Alex knew exactly how to handle this. "What muscles? I don't see anything there at all." Hey! I'm not even lying! He's not much more then a blur to me.

"Oh trust me babe, they're right here? Wanna touch?"

"Oh, ew. LikeI might be an adult, but I am literally undistinguishable from the kids here. Are you telling me that you like the fact that I look like a kid. Is that what you're saying?" The white barrier around the hearts shuddered a little at Alex's words.

"W-what? No! I was just saying that it good fun! I wasn't serious!"

Heh, got em' by the balls now. Or, whatever her has down there.  "Oh. So now you're saying that you didn't trap a child like woman and two actually children into a battle, and that you aren't encouraging us to touch you? Is that what you're really trying to fly by us right now? Get the FUCK. Out of my sight. Or I will us bits of you to bait my fishing hooks you sick son of a bitch."

"Y-yes!"

"What was that?!?"

"YES MA'AM!" The barrier around the hearts broke and the monster quickly made for the water struggling to get away from the aggressive girl.

Alex clapped her hands as her heart slowly made it's way back to her chest, she turned to address the gaping children. "And that kids, is how you get ride of a fuck boy. Now come on! We have to hurry."

Alex strode triumphantly across the bridge and most of the ground before coming to a sudden stop. There were more plant things. And with how the underground had been going so far for Alex, this probably meant that there was another puzzle. "Oh god dammit."

Frisk came up this time, grabbing the plants and bringing them to the water to the left of Alex. They seemed to be floating them up the river.

Once again Alex grumbled 'magic' and turned her face way. But then Chara grabbed Alex's hand and dragged her to the unfolding plants. She was led across the unsteady plants and toward a opening in the cave wall. They had almost gone through when a pound ringing noise sounded from behind them. It was coming from Frisk.

"What tha?"

Frisk dug into their pocket and flipped open an old monster of a phone, from the tiny speakers came the blaring voice of Papyrus. 

"HELLO! THIS IS PAPYRUS!" Frisk tilted their head a little to the side. "HOW DID I GET THIS NUMBER? IT WAS EASY!! I JUST DIALED EVERY NUMBER SEQUENTIALLY UNTIL I GOT YOURS" At this point the line dissolved into his trademark giggles.

How the fuck did he? No, no Alex. Remember. Magic.

"SO. . . WHAT ARE YOU WEARING."

OK WHAT THE FUCKING HELL??

"I'M ASKING FOR A FRIEND. SHE THOUGHT SHE SAW YOU WEARING STRIPPED SHIRTS AND A BLUE JACKET."

I honestly don't know if it's better or worse that he's asking so that someone can kill us.

"IS THAT TRUE? IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE WEARING?"

Alex frantically waved for Frisk to say no. Frisk shook her head.

"SO YOU AREN'T WEARING STRIPPED SHIRTS OR A JACKET. WINK WINK!!"

Did he just say 'wink wink'?

"HAVE A NICE DAY!!"

CLICK.

 . . . 

"Well, I guess we should keep going?" Alex took Frisk's hand and they all started to walk forward again, they entered a long dark room lit only by the bright blue flowers on the ground and the shining crystals in the ceiling. They walked near one of the flowers, and Alex paused to get a better look at the glowing thing.

"A long tim ago-"

"Jesus christ! What the hell?!? The flower just spoke!"

"Jesus christ! What the hell?!?! The flow-"

"Oh my god it did it again!"

"Oh my god it did-"

"Is this thing repeating everything I say??!"

"Is this thing repeating everything I say??!"

At that point both Frisk and Chara began to drag Alex away from the flower and Alex listened to the murmurs from all of the other flowers that they passed. I think that they're repeating all one conversation? Wow, that's pretty cool.

Frisk and Chara made their way down the hall, Chara glaring at the Wosha by the wall, scaring it enough that it decided that it was going to let the three wet kids by with out a fight. There was just something dark and dirty about that kid's eyes and they didn't think that there was enough soap in the underground.

Soon Alex's rain boots were making clonking noises as they walked on a wooden dock like structure. Alex was led by the kids to a little square raft, the kids piled onto it, and dragged Alex onto it despite her protests that it didn't look all that safe, or like it could hold them all. But the moment her feet left the dock the little wooden raft began to float without the slightest rock across the water without any kind of propelling motion.

fucking magic.

Alex didn't like being out in the middle of the water with only the tiny raft. The water was black as pitch and it could be hiding anything. Visions of unfriendly monsters swam through her mind as she clutched the children closer to her. She knew how to swim. But she wasn't sure that she's be able to find shore again. The blurry sight of a dock was glorious and she quickly pulled the kids off the raft and back onto the safe ground.

"God that was nerve wracking! The water was like ink!" Alex was so happy to be back on solid ground, but both Frisk and Chara were tense. They looked each other in the eye and nodded their heads. They both got strong grips on Alex's hands and prepared to drag her.

They walked slowly, waiting for the signal, and they didn't have to go far. A spear slammed into the wood in front of Alex before quickly dissolving. She screamed, for once not having the ability to curse. 

Both Frisk and Chara used their grasp on Alex's wrists to drag her forward. She stumbled a few times until a spear slammed into the dock behind her, breaking the wooden boards. After that she put all of her concentration into running.

we're gonna die, we're gonna die, WE ARE GOING TO DIE. No, no, the kids won't die, the kids won't die. YOU WILL NOT GET THE KIDS KILLED BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO SLOW!!!!

Alex began to run faster, and faster. Uping her speed every time she felt/heard a glowing green spear slam into the ground. She soon over took the kids and dragged them into the long grass that suddenly appeared.

Alex whipped around and slammed the kids to the wall, putting herself between the monster coming for them and the kids. She covered the kids mouthes and held her breath to keep from heaving. Some glowing arrows flew over head, landing both in the water and the grass, but they soon stopped. Alex heard the heavy clank of the monster's metal armor, just barely seeing the color red over the top of the grass as the monster made it's way toward them. It stopped barely a foot away. 

Alex felt her heart pulse in her chest and her lungs burn from the lack of air she was allowing herself, but she just pressed her back harding into the kids, her arms contorted to cover their mouths even as she stared at the monster before her.

It's hand suddenly shot down, and if there had been any air in her lungs, she would have shrieked. The monster slowly raised it's arm to show . . .

The little . . . yellow monster?

What the fresh fucking hell?

The large armor wearing monster seemed to be in just as much shock as Alex was. They put down the monster kid very quickly and then turned and marched away. Soon the sound of their clanking armor left the cave and all that was left was the gentle rustling of the grass. Frisk and Chara gently peeled Alex's hands off of their faces and slowly led her out of the grass.

Alex was breathing hard, she was so close to hyperventilating that her vision was going even darker around the corners. But she was knocked out of her encroaching panic attack by the excited monster kid running out of the grass. She wasn't really in the best state of mind to be hearing what he was saying but his comment about never washing his face again caused her too giggle a little. The slightly delirious noise made the monster kid pause.

"Hey . . . uh, is she ok?"

Frisk and Chara traded a glance.

She  does't like being chased.

"What? Undyne was chasing you?!? Why? What did you do?" Monster kid got really close to them, trying to see what secrets they were hiding.

We haven't done anything! Haven't you heard, a human was spotted in the Underground. And it was wearing a stripped shirt. I bet she chased us because of that, in fact I bet that's why she grabbed you.

"Yo! Do you think so? Man, I'm sorry that it freaked the old lady out so much, but if you just stopped and talked to her I bet she would have realized that you guys were monsters."

Yeah, but Alex got scared. She doesn't like anyone bigger than her, and Undyne is not only big but much stronger than her too. It's just instinct really.

"Huh, yeah, the old hag does look pretty weak doesn't she?" The monster kid bent over to get a better look at Alex who had been calming down on the ground. She flicked him in the nose.

"Who you calling an old hag ya brat?" 

The monster kid yelped and then took off running down the hall as Alex wobbled to her feet. "Yeah you better run you brat!"

Alex took a deep breath and turned to the two kids who were looking at her in concern. 

"Come on. We need to keep moving, that monster might come back."

They both each took a hand and they all began to walk deeper into the darkness.

Chapter Text

Chara and Frisked watched Alex make small talk with the nice cream guy. They seemed to be having a conversation about how to get people to but the nice cream and good locations. Alex was good at playing calm but her hands were still shaking and she had to lean on the nice cream stall to stay upright.

Chara turned to Frisk. She can't be allowed to fight Undyne. She shouldn't even be involved in Mettaton's fight either.

Frisk raised their eyebrow. How can we stop her? She can't be left behind, the other monsters would destroy her. Even if she could talk her way out of most battles I don't think she'd even be aware of her lowered HP.

There has to be a way. Chara frowned, glaring at the weak woman before them. She was reaching up to feel the Nice Cream vendor's ears. Could we leave her with him?

Frisk shook their head, She would follow us with no regard to her own safety. Besides, he's going to be moving to Hotland soon. 

Chara perked up, The other vender maybe? He would know a way to make her stay behind! He knows a lot of the tricks.

That . . . could work. We can try?

They both focused their attention of the girl laughing at the blushing blue rabbit monster. 

"TRY is ALl wE can DO."

When they finally left the alcove that the blue bunny was serving ice-cream in, Alex was in a much better mood. The blue bunny had served as a perfect distraction from her own panic, there was nothing quite like dealing with another's problems to forget about your own. She chattered to the kid as they gently led her away from the light in the room and down the dark path back to the main road to take them to Waterfall. 

"-turns out that he's had a crush on this one kid for the longest time and he had given an ice-cream with 'I think you're cute' written on the wrapper! But then he was so embarrassed that he backed out of it immediately so he made up some lie about wanting to sell nice cream and not only did the other kid buy that lie, but they remembered it and kept asking about it so he actually made the business instead of just owning up to it all!! He still totally has a huge honking crush on the other kid though. It's pretty adorable."

Alex had kept talking, mostly so that she wouldn't have time to think about the horror that had just happened to them, to the horror that they had been experiencing since the fall, but what she saw next truly made her silent.

The huge cavern was glowing from below. The sound of gently lapping water echoed throughout. The ground below her was no longer the stone of the ruins, the packed snow of Snowdin, or the gravel of the caves of Waterfall. It was soft ground and grass. The air was fragrant with the smell of plant life. It was a paradise, a mystical magical glowing paradise.

"Wow." Was the only word that Alex could breath out.

Chara and Frisk shared a glance. They could vaguely remember their first time exploring Waterfall. Even amongst Frisk's fear and Chara's wish to keep moving they had also be knocked speechless by Waterfalls beauty. It was really one of the really magical looking places in the underground.

But they didn't have time to let her gawk. They tightened their grips on her and began to lead her toward the darkening edges of the large cavern, she followed willingly but slowly, trying to take in as much as she could. 

"It's so pretty here."

As Alex followed the children slowly through the paths over small bridges and past glowing and whispering flowers she was amazed. Why would they want to leave this? Why would anyone not want to see things like these?

RING RING.

Alex was lost in her thoughts and missed most of the one sided conversation coming from the phone, but when she did turn her attention over, she caught that Papyrus had apparently assumed that they would have told him the truth, so since he knew that we weren't wearing striped shirts and a jacket then that's what he would tell Undyne we were wearing. 

Alex gently put her head in her hands and whimpered, "Oh my god Papyrus."

Soon the phone was hung up with a click and Alex gazed at the black void that was the ceiling. "Ok. Let's just . . . Hold on." Alex unzipped the jacket and stripped off her tank top, showing her naked upper body to the two kids and any surrounding monsters. She handed the tank top to Frisk and the jacket to Chara. "Frisk put on the tank top, and Chara, if you turn that jacket inside out then it looks like it's black. I'll just," Alex reached down and unrolled the basketball shorts up to her groin and then retied the cord when the top covered her nipples. "There. I won't win any fashion awards but at least we can look a bit different. Come one kids change." 

Chara, once getting over his shock, slide the inside out jacket on but Frisk paused. They needed to take off their shirt to change. They looked from the shirt in their hands to the kids watching them.

Chara got it first. He rolled his eyes and reached out to spin Alex around and move her so that she was a barrier for Frisk. 

"What are you- oh! Oh! Sorry Frisk, I forgot! Gosh, yeah, I'll just. Guard you from prying eyes!" Alex's ears were bright red, and Frisk gave a breathy laugh as they stripped off their stripped shirt and put on the tank top. They tapped their shoulder when they were done. Alex spun around, still blushing.

"Right!! Lets just . . . go."

Alex stared down at the faintly glowing grass as she was laughed at by both of the kids. Chara was the loudest. Alex gave them a pout, "Hey! You don't get to laugh, you had the easiest time of this young man!"

The accusation made Chara pause. Even though they didn't have the slippers or the tutu they had always felt different when they had gotten this far into their journey . . .

"NOT yoUNg Man. YOUng WOman." 

Alex stared for a moment before realization dawned, "Oh! Right! Well, you still don't need to laugh at me little missy! I give you the literal clothes off my back and all you can do is laugh at me, such a shame! What have your parents been doing about your manners!"

Chara laughed along with her, "MY parENTS have taUGHT me tHE beST MANners! EVEN though I WAS raiseD IN a BaRN!"

Frisk snorffled, catching the joke immediately, but Alex just frowned. "You were raised in a barn? What?"

Chara grinned, some true happiness coming into her expression. "Where ELSe wouLD yoU Keep the GOATS!!"

Frisk snorted as they laughed, panting from the lack of air, but Alex stayed befuddled. She was about to ask another question when formerly still water to the left of them suddenly was broken by a giant tentacle. Her concentration was focused only on cursing for a while after that.

As the three humans walked out of the large water room together Alex still couldn't truly believe what she had just seen. That is not how physics works. She shouldn't have been able to move so far out of the water as well as she does. I mean she has better leverage but how the fresh hell does a giant white squid like some sorta of squid Moby Dick manage to move so fast while holding her head out of the water?!!? And she's only sitting down??!?!?? HOW BIG DO MONSTERS GET!?

Alex took a deep breath and let it all out at once. 

Magic Alex, magic. At least she was nice? It would have been really hard if she had decided to attack. She was just  lonely. 

Alex paused. I guess that would be a really really good reason to want to get out of the Underground. I wander if they have enough room for what must be a whole lot of people after so many years, but I guess that from the way that them seem to live longer then humans it might not be so fast? 

Chara led her out of the long room as Frisk ran ahead. Alex was about to call out to them when a monster rose up out of the small pond in the floor and engaged Frisk in a battle. 

"What the FUCK-GRCK!" 

Alex had tried to run ahead, breaking out of Chara's grip to do . . . something, anything at all, not wanting Frisk to fight a monster on their own, even while knowing that they would be more of a hinderance than a help. But Chara had grabbed the back of their pulled up shorts. The shorts had been pulled down and had nearly ripped, causing Alex to fall on her face. Chara sat on her.

"Gasp! Chara what . . . are . . . you? . . . are they singing?"

Well, it wasn't really singing. The monster, a spiky mermaid appearing creature whose blowfish shaped head was not attached to her body, was making a noise like a toot. As if she were blowing on a wind instrument. And Frisk themselves were humming. They were both a little off key, but the longer that Frisk's souls dodged the little musical notes that was the monster's magic, the more on key the monster became. It went from discordant tooting to the sound of a true instrument, and it was beautiful. 

Her kind of monster must be where the legends of mermaids luring sailors to their deaths came from. It's so beautiful.

Soon Frisk broke off the humming as more monsters were drawn to the sound, easing away from the still singing monster as the white barrier disappeared and sunk back into their chest. They turned to look at their companions and promptly began laughing at the sight of Chara sitting on top of Alex.

Chara got off of her, seeing that the battle was over and offered a hand up. Alex grumbled but took it, her free hand being used to keep the shorts from sliding down and showing her nipples off to the hoard of monsters watching the mermaid sing. Frisk tucked their arm in with hers and away they went once again, away from the little concert that Frisk had gotten started. 

As they walked arm in arm with Chara dallying behind Alex asked the question that had been bothering her.

"Frisk? How did you know to do that?"

Frisk tensed for a moment before tilting their head in question.

But Alex wasn't done.

"Actually why aren't you afraid? Why aren't you asking questions? You're a kid but you are really good at dodging, you haven't seen any monsters in your life, but you're not shocked or scared at all. Intact," Alex turned around to face Chara, making sure that their attention was on her lips. "Chara why did Toriel know your name? You had said back in the ruins that you hadn't seen anyone, but you hadn't been surprised at her at all to see a giant goat lady. And you purposely used a fake name so . . . did you know her?"

Frisk and Chara froze. They didn't have any plan for this. Alex was never supposed to figure anything out about the play throughs, but it seems as though they hadn't been careful enough? What were they going to do? What could they tell her? What would even make sense to someone outside of the cycle? 

Rain started to fall around them as they traveled farther and farther into the underground. But none of the three noticed, they were entrenched in their own thoughts. Two minds panicking about what to tell the third, and the third being to realize that her companions my have been hiding things from her.

"Yo! You didn't get umbrella's either?"

All three directed their attention to the yellow monster who had broken into their private moment. Two with the utmost relief and one with exasperation. 

"Hey there you brat." Alex reached out to flick his nose again, and as he grumped about her being a hag, she turned toward the two others. Her look plainly said, This is not over.

Alex began to chat with the little monster who sung the praises of a woman named Undyne. They walked a long time, going through huge impossibly echoing rooms, and all the while Chara and Frisk frantically signed behind the backs of the two conversing people.

We can't tell her. Chara was sure of this. Alex must never know what Chara had done to the monsters of the underground. Frisk had come to except and deal with the horror through exposure, but for Alex the horror would be fresh. She might do something reckless if she knew.

But what if she understood? Frisk was sure that if they explained it as well as they could then Alex would except the explanation and continue the journey with them.

She would be fine if it were just you. Your actions, even when you killed could be  explained. But mine? She would never see it the way that I do.

That is your own fault! You are the one that held the knife and killed them!

Yes. But if you leave me behind the barrier then the cycle might just restart. If you killed me, I would restart from my last save, all the way back in the ruins. If you leave me behind, I will kill everyone, just because I know that you would care. Chara didn't even take pleasure in her words. They were simple fact. The anger, the anguish, would push them to impossible heights. She just wanted out. She just wanted to move forward. And If she couldn't do that then death would be a good runner up. But how can you kill what is already dead?

I will not let you! Frisk glared at Chara, moving toward them with fire in their eyes.

Chara held up her hands, Then do not tell her. Lie, run away, it does not matter. Just get her to the barrier, and if we are let free then you can tell her whatever you want. But if we are trapped still. Then it will not matter anyway.

Frisk was angry, and Chara was apathetic. The lives of the monsters once again hung in the balance, now with the added weight of the disappointment of Chara on them. If she could not get free, then the next dozens of cycles will make her dust the underground in her rage. Frisk knew from experience that it would take her many combined years to burn out of rage. They would not condemn the monsters to go through that suffering while they still had a possibility of saving the monsters torment. 

I won't tell.

That's all I want.

Alex and the monster kid, (who's name turned out to be Scrag) both glared at the ledge that was over their heads. 

"That's the only way isn't it?" 

"Yo, probably."

Alex glared a littler harder before nodding her head. She turned back to Chara and Frisk. "Ok you two, come over here I'll boost you up, then I'll boost Scrag up, and then all can pull me up ok?"

Chara and Frisk shared a look before stepping on her crossed hands. They each got to the top of the ledge, and then they both grabbed a fist full of Scrag's shirt and pulled him up. 

"Yo! You guys are pretty strong aren't you?"

"Hey watch it kid, one of them is a lady! Now help me up!" Alex raised her hands and Chara and Frisk grabbed them. She was hauled up quickly, though once again her shorts nearly went down and showed the world her nipples. She adjusted her shorts and squared her shoulders, "Alright lets get gone!"

They walked together for a few feet, Alex and Scrag chattering about school, the king, Undyne, and other trivial things, but Chara and Frisk were wound tight. They nudged their way to Alex's sides, and gently reached for her hands, dislodging Scrag's tail, who had been leading her. 

Alex didn't give a thought to their actions and continued the conversation, but then  she stepped on wooden planks and she froze. She could feel vertigo.

"Oh my god. Are we in the air?!?" Alex's voice had gotten quiet high pitched on the last word.

"Uh, Yeah? Yo, you ok Old Hag?" Scrag was a little worried for her. She had turned gray and seemed to be breathing a little harder.

"I-I'll be ok! I just. Don't like heights? Um, please don't let go of my hands, ok kids?"

Alex took very delicate steps forward, scared out of her mind of the fall. She did not want to fall again. She would rather be back on the tiny raft surrounded by black water then on a long wooden platform with no barriers to keep her from falling.

It'll be ok. We'll go slow and steady. There won't be a problem. Nothing at all will go wrong.

Alex continued to comfort herself with such promises, and they even got a dozen or so steps before hell broke loose.

As they had been walking, they had been leaving the light source, the ground growing dimmer and dimmer. But then a little pool of light spread on the wood before Alex. It was quickly joined by another, and then another, until the little group was surrounded.

"What the-"

SHINK!

Familiar glowing spears stabbed up out of the pools, uncomfortably close to the children. 

"RUN!"

Soon Alex, Chara, Frisk and Scrag were running for their lives. They dodged the arrows, and tried to stay together, activities that were hard to do together. Alex was pulled, dragged and slung away from the arrows, fear coating her entire mind as she rushed forward. The wooden planks seemed to go on forever, and the flashes of armor from below just spurred her on.

But as they got farther and farther without being hit, Alex actually thought that they might be able to get away. There had to be an end, and they had to be nearing it!

But then Scrag tripped. Scrag fell. 

He landed in a glowing pool of light. 

Alex didn't think. She didn't ponder, she only acted.

She ripped her hands from the kids sweaty tight grips and dove toward the monster kid. She managed to force him to roll by throwing her entire body at him. Soon they rolled across the planks, stopping just at the edge of them. 

The two kids paused for a moment, wandering at their good luck. Alex even managed a giggle.

She saw blue light illuminate the side of Scrag's face. 

She reached up and pushed as hard as she could, rolling Scrag once more out of the pool before tossing herself away as well. 

She felt empty space below her. 

She screamed as she fell, flailing her arms. She saw the armored monster make a lung at her, reaching out both with hand and spear toward her, their eyes flashing in what might have been fury. What might have been desperation. But she was too far away.

Alex fell and fell. Her mind too coated with panic to notice anything by the empty darkness.

When she finally enters the water below, the impact, the cold and the shock.

Fill her mind with darkness.

Have you heard of the cheat?

What cheat?

Somebody heard of an Undertale cheat where you can have multiplayers!

Oh my fucking god! We have to do that! Where can I find out how to do it?

Apparently you have to do a genocidal, a neutral and a pacifist run and never finish them. But you have to do it in quick succession.

Well shit! I got time to kill, I'll start that right up!

God Alex, You nerd. When you get it going call me and I'll come over, ok?

You got it!