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Chapter Text

I don't even know how long I've been down here for. All I know is that a long time ago I fell through the large gaping hole somewhere on Mt. Ebott, a large mountain located next to the town I used to live in. There was this really scary urban legend around that place: that whoever went through the hole on Mt. Ebott never came back. Rumor has it that monsters dwell in the hole leading to under the surface where they reside.

And let me tell you that those rumors are true.

I didn't look for the portal to the monsters' realm because of horrible parents or unbearable lifestyles like the previous victims. It was all a stupid bet. One of my so-called friends at school bet a few bullies at school that I had the guts to find the portal on the mountain, but why would she bet my life instead of her own? Well, one thing's for certain, if I do make it out of here she and I will officially be ex-friends.

Now I'm trapped in some sort of ruins with a hole in the ceiling providing the only source of light, at least during the daytime. There was a small patch of dirt, and everywhere the light touched grew beautiful golden flowers. I have never in my life seen flowers so beautiful, not even in pictures on the Internet. Their stems were short, so the heads practically lay on the green, grassy hill, its radiant bright golden petals splayed out and overlapping one another as they competed for sunlight.

But there was one flower in particular that stood out from the rest, and for obvious reasons besides its stem raising high up from all the other flowers: he was a monster. When I first found him, he was completely wilted and gray-brown, near death it seemed. There was a few small waterfalls a few rooms away from the room Flowey resides in, and since he couldn't reach it I had to scoop up some water in my hands and water him at least ten times a day. At first, the monster seemed like he was trying to intimidate or even scare me, but it didn't work; he looked far too feeble to pose any real threat against me anyway. Over time, we both became friends, and now we live here in the Ruins together. The monster told me his name is Flowey.

As for myself, my name is Tabitha. At least, that's my real name. My nickname is Frisk. Mom would always comment on my playful and energetic nature as being frisky, so that's where the nickname came from. Now everyone calls me Frisk because that's what I had everyone call me, and only rarely do my parents refer to me as Tabitha - only when I'm in deep trouble. I was also born a female, but I prefer the they/them pronouns, which Dad didn't agree on. He'd still refer to me as a female, but at least Mom was kind enough to respect my decision. No, my dad's not a jerk or anything like that, he just forgets to call me "they" or "them". I'm surprised he remembered to call me Frisk instead of Tabitha to be frank, and I'm happy enough with that.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll ever see Mom or Dad again, or anyone else on the surface for that matter. There's no way for me to escape the Underground, unless I went through a castle to a barrier that prevented monsters from leaving; Flowey told me that only a human soul with great determination could push through to the surface.

As easy as that sounds, however, I'll never be able to reach it.

Flowey told me of a tragic tale that happened a few years ago, where his father King Asgore accidentally killed him in a fit of rage. He was transformed into a soulless flower, who I know as Flowey. He told me he was once the Prince of the Underground, a young goat-like monster who went by the name Asriel. I still feel bad for poor Flowey to this day. I'm just thankful I somehow became friends with him despite him lacking a soul, for I wouldn't really want him as an enemy. I mean, who'd want enemies when you could have friends anyway, right?

Flowey also told me that his mother, Queen Toriel, became absolutely furious in King Asgore. She had always been ambitious and lividly jealous of her husband's power, so she took the chance while King Asgore was distracted by grief to dethrone him and lock him in the dungeon. Now Queen Toriel ruled the Underground outside of the Ruins, and the power got to her head. She became more like a dictator rather than a queen, and every monster in the Underground lived in fear and anger. Flowey said he was lucky to have been killed here on this small flowerbed rather than somewhere out there so he wouldn't have to live in the same fear.

Queen Toriel used to come and water him, but about a month ago she stopped coming, and that's how Flowey got to the point he's in now: permanently wilted with an eternal rasp in his small voice, his beady black eyes dull and shrunken.

I already knew right away that I despised both King Asgore and Queen Toriel.

Now I can't leave the Ruins or else Queen Toriel will send her Royal Guard after me and kill me right on the spot before I could get very far; she had trained its members to be brutal and merciless so they can slaughter anyone right on the spot should they try to oppose her. And even if I did make it past them somehow, the barrier is located in Queen Toriel's castle, and there's no way I'd be able to make it past her, I can already tell from everything I've heard.

But I feel there's still one way I can make it out alive.

"I'm going outside," I suddenly spoke my thoughts aloud.

Flowey didn't look up at me as he hung his head down, but I heard him sigh heavily before rasping, "Frisk, we've been over this, you can't go outside. Queen Toriel's out there."

"I don't care!" I shouted, sounding much angrier than I actually felt. "I have to get home, Flowey! Mom and Dad and everyone else probably think I'm dead!"

"Well, you will be dead if you leave the Ruins. Besides, wouldn't it be the best to let them keep believing you're dead?"

"I can't stay here forever, Flowey. I need fresh air, I need food! I haven't had a decent meal that isn't the flowers' dried-up nectar in who even knows how long!"

"Do you wanna stay alive or don't you?" Flowey raised his head to glare weakly at me. He looked so very pitiful and desperate, and I could feel the urge to give in to his pleas bubbling up my throat like bile.

But I forced myself to swallow it down. "I'm sorry, Flowey, but there's no other way. I have to go."

"But Frisk... You'll die... I don't want to see that happen to you..." Flowey's voice was no more than a raspy whine at this point.

"I won't die," I tried to persuade the wilted flower. "As you said, I'm a human with determination, a chemical that's stronger than monster souls. I refuse to let myself die. In fact..." A new idea sprouted in my head. "I'll use my determination to dethrone Queen Toriel and end her reign of terror!"

"Frisk, no one's been able to get past the Royal Guard to get to her," Flowey argued weakly. "They'd slaughter you before you had the chance to blink. And even if by some miracle you did get past them, Queen Toriel won't back down; she'll kill you herself!"

"But has a human ever tried?" I retorted. Flowey fell silent, and I knew that I made a valid point right away. I kneeled down to his level and stroked the fragile petals on his head comfortingly. "Don't worry, Flowey, I promise I'll be okay. I'll make friends of all the monsters here and help them get rid of Queen Toriel, maybe even get King Asgore back to the throne. Then you won't have to hang out in these Ruins anymore."

"That... That would be nice," the little monster confessed. He looked up at me, still looking quite sorrowful. "Well... I understand that you do have a life up on the surface and that you need to get home. I just wish you didn't so I could keep you safe. I'll miss you, Frisk, and I wish you the best of luck on your journey."

"Wait, you're not coming?" My eyes widened under my sealed eyelids; I was born with my eyelids over my eyes so I was never able to see what the world looked like, but my other senses were so powerful they acted as my eyes.

"I can't go. I'll die out there, the town beyond the Ruins is far too intense for me. I'd shrivel and die in an instant."

"I see." I stood up slowly and walked to a corner of the room before scraping loose some soil and gathering it in my arms.

"What are you doing?" Flowey asked.

"You have the ability to move your roots at will, right?"

"Um, yes?"

"Perfect."

I smiled as I worked, creating a rather thick path of soil leading through the rooms and up the stairs to the room with the water. I ended the path at the edge of the stone floor next to the pool of water before calling out, "Try sifting your roots through the dirt, Flowey!" I didn't hear a response, but I did see the dirt shift a bit, and I knew that he had heard me. I heard a plop as the roots fell into the water, and I smiled. Now Flowey would always stay hydrated.

I walked back to Flowey, and I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was smiling for the first time, albeit weakly. "Frisk, that was so nice of you. Thank you very much."

"Anything for a friend," I grinned back. I knelt down to the little monster and stroked his petals again; I could've sworn I felt them grow a tad bit soft and silky as he regained a bit of his strength. "You take care, Flowey, and I'll make sure to make this world a place you can live happily in again. I promise."

"Thank you, Frisk," Flowey croaked. "You are by far the nicest human I have ever met. I'll miss you a lot. Good luck on your quest, my friend."

"Thanks, Flowey." I'll need it...

Bidding farewell to Flowey for the last time, I begin my descend through the catacombs of the Ruins. There were quite a few puzzles that needed to be solved before I could proceed, but I was pretty good at solving puzzles in class so I got past them with little difficulty. I then entered a large room that felt almost homey and walked down the flight of stairs to a long hallway.

Once I made it through the hallway, I came up to a giant pair of doors, and I just knew that beyond these doors lay the outside of the Underground. I pushed as hard as I could on one of the doors, having to use up a lot of my energy as it was very heavy. Eventually, it began to open, so I gave one last push to swing it open.

Immediately I was greeted by a sudden gust of hot air, causing me to yelp. I could hear the crackling of flames all around me, and I saw my eyelids become bright orange at the light.

It was with a sudden jolt of realization that I knew the town was engulfed in flames.

Chapter Text

I hesitated before stepping out of the comfort and safety of the Ruins and onto the scorched ground. It felt warm beneath my black shoes. Gulping down as much fear as I could, I began to walk forward. I make sure to click my tongue so that I could hear the sound bounce off of anything nearby, and I found there was a line of dead trees on either side of me, making this quite a large path I was walking on.

I continued my walk until I approached what seemed to be a town. Here, the crackling of flames was much louder, and the stench of smoke made me cough. I located a sign and hovered my hand over it to make sure it wasn't too hot to touch. Confirming it was just really warm, I quickly glided my hand across the sign, trying to make out the letters. Luckily, I could still feel the bumps of the paint, but they had nearly sunken into the sign so it took longer for me to identify what the sign said.

"'Welcome to Snowdin,'" I confirmed when I finished. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "But this place doesn't have any snow around, just fire. Perhaps this place used to have snow until Queen Toriel came into power."

I continued to walk through the town as I clicked my tongue, and I identified a few large buildings that were still somewhat in tact. I couldn't hear anything other than the flames, so I assumed the town had evacuated.

However, when I approached a building in particular, I could just barely hear the sound of breathing coming from inside. It wasn't wheezing or anything, so they weren't choking on the smoke or anything. In fact, it sounded a bit peaceful. That is until a soft pained groan was heard instead. I flinched, knowing that whoever was inside was in severe agony.

Before I could do anything, the groaning ended as quickly as it started and the peaceful breathing resumed.

I detected a pair of mailboxes next to the front door and I gently glided my hand along the sides. The first mailbox had the word "Sans" on it, and the other "Papyrus".

I approached the door slowly, gulping down a lump of fear in my throat, and knocked on the door gently. "Hello? Is anyone home? Mr. or Ms. Sans and Papyrus?"

No one answered, so I knocked a bit louder, raising my voice. "Hello? Is anybody home? Mr. or Ms. Sans and Papy-"

The door squealed as it opened, and I gasped and backed away. I felt someone was watching me from the opened crack. A low, irritated voice replied; he wasn't friendly, that's for sure. "What is it?"

"Um... A-Are you Mr. Sans?" My voice trembled. Never mind that, my entire body was trembling.

"Depends on who's looking for him."

"I am. My name is Frisk and I've been in the Ruins with a monster friend for a while now. But after he told me about what happened with Queen Toriel-" I could sense the monster stiffen at the name, but I continued, "-I decided I wanted to help you monsters."

I got no response for a while, and at first I thought the monster had closed the door so subtly that I somehow didn't hear it. My heart jerked as I was startled by a sudden, "Go away."

"B-But I wanna help you dethrone Queen Toriel-"

"Shut up!" the monster growled quickly. I felt him grab onto my arm tightly - his fingers felt very bony - and he yanked me inside before closing the door. I cried out as I struggled to regain my balance from the sudden action, and my blood turned to ice as the monster snarled coldly, "Don't talk about the queen in public, kid! You never know if the Royal Guard is lurking about!"

"S-Sorry..." I whimpered. "I-I just wanna help you."

"What the hell can you do?" the monster challenged. "No one's been able to take on the queen, and whoever tried was slaughtered by the Royal Guard! You that desperate to die or something?"

"Well, my friend in the Ruins said that humans have something called determination that allows them to-"

"I know what that is!" the monster snapped, cutting me off. "I'm not stupid, you know!"

I forced my knees to stop trembling. I knew the monsters would act hostile out of fear for their lives or anger that they live under the rule of a dictator, but this monster was rude and violent as well, and frankly I wasn't prepared for that. "I'm sorry... But I just want to help you all. Please just give me a chance."

The monster didn't speak for several heartbeats. Finally, he growled lowly, "Listen, kid. It's dangerous outside. I'll let you stay here for one night, but then you have to go and never come back; I don't need the Royal Guard tearing down my door looking for a human."

"Will you let me help-"

"Shut up, I wasn't finished! Don't touch anything while you're here without my permission. You can sleep on the floor - I'll give you my old blanket and pillow to use. And whatever you do, do not talk to my brother, or else you're going to have one fuck of a bad time. Do I make myself clear?"

I knew better than to disagree.

The monster sighed heavily, sounding relieved. "I'm off to pick up a few things. I shouldn't trust you to stay here all alone, but I don't want anyone to catch you with me; I'm not keen on getting in trouble. Stay out of my brother's room." With that, he walked away, the patting sound of his slippers thumping against the hard wooden floor.

I listened as he walked up a flight of stairs and knock gently on another door before opening it. I listened as closely as I could to his voice. "Hey, Papyrus, I'm off to pick up a few things. ...It'll be okay, Papyrus. P-Papyrus, don't panic, I'll be right ba- No, I won't get caught by the Royal Guard. ...Yes, Papy, I am making a brother promise to you that I won't get caught. I never break a brother promise, right? ...Atta boy. Just stay in here and don't come out until I'm back. I love you, little brother." The door closed and the monster - who I know now goes by the name Sans - walked back down the stairs and towards the front door.

"Remember what I said, kid," Sans growled to me before leaving the comfort of his home.

I stood there, my head facing the front door, and I couldn't stop trembling. These poor monsters were living in so much fear and pain of Queen Toriel. I mean, I'm staying in a house with an overly protective and violent monster whose brother seemed to be having a nervous break down just by having to stay home alone! No one, monster nor human, deserves to live like that!

I gulped nervously, knowing exactly what I had to do. Well, not what I had to do, but more like what I wanted: I wanted to check on Papyrus and make sure he's okay. I knew how horrible of an idea it was, and I was already praying to God as I readied to perish in the furious hands of Sans, but in order to help these monsters I had to gain their trust and befriend them.

Taking a deep breath and preparing myself for the worst, I slowly walked up the stairs, my hand gliding along the wooden railing. I walked until I reached the top, and I stopped to listen for any signs of life past the bedroom door. I could hear soft weeping and squeaky muttering, and my heart broke immediately for the poor monster.

I slowly approached the door until I was mere inches from it, then I lifted a trembling hand and balled it up softly. Finally, I found the courage to gently knock on the door, and I heard the monster's breathing stop as if he were frozen in place.

Knowing I couldn't turn back now, I slowly turned the doorknob and opened the door a crack. I heard a faint, "S-Sans?" coming from inside, and once I revealed myself to be not his brother but a human his jaw nearly dropped to the ground in an ear-piercing shriek of true terror.

"A HUMAN! A HUMAN! GET AWAY FROM ME, PLEASE, I DON'T WANNA DIE!" I flinched at the screams of the hysterical monster, and I heard him leaping out of his bed in the side of the room and stumbling over a table of action figures as he tried to flee to the end of the room.

"W-Wait, please, I don't wanna hurt you!" I began desperately, holding up my hands in an effort to calm him down.

"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! SANS! SANS, HELP ME!" Papyrus wailed, beginning to sob uncontrollably.

Oh, I am so boned...

I began to slowly approach him as I held out a hand, as if I were trying to confront a stray cat. "Shhh... It's okay, I won't hurt you..." Unsurprisingly, that didn't seem to help the monster's condition; if anything, it only scared him more. So I decided to switch to drastic measures. I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around his torso in a hug.

The monster only screamed bloody murder even louder and he tried to push me away, but I held onto him as I stroked his spiny back. I could feel all his ribs, almost as if he didn't have skin. What confirmed that he was some sort of skeletal monster was the sound of his bones rattling through his shrieks.

"It's okay, please don't be afraid," I comforted in the softest voice I could muster in my own panicked state. "Please calm down. Everything's okay. I just wanted to know how you were doing. Sans knows I'm here."

The mention of his older brother almost immediately calmed Papyrus down a little bit until he only whimpered loudly. I felt the warm drops of tears falling on my back, and I rubbed the monster's back a bit more, constantly repeating, "Shhh... It's okay... I won't hurt you..."

After what felt like forever of rattling bones and high-pitched whines, the dramatic episode came to a close. Papyrus was still trembling a bit, but not nearly as much now, and he was breathing almost calmly.

Knowing he was calmed down now, I slowly broke away from the hug and tilted my head up to the direction of his face. I smiled sweetly, hoping to convince him further that I wasn't a threat.

Finally, the monster spoke squeakily in a trembling voice, "Wh-Who are you? Why are you h-here?"

"My name is Frisk, and I'm a human. But I don't wanna hurt you. I just wanna help." I proceeded in telling him how I fell into the Underground and stayed in the Ruins with Flowey for a long while before finally leaving for Snowdin, where I met his brother. "I just wanna help you all dethrone Queen Toriel so that you can stop living in fear."

Papyrus didn't speak, and at first I thought I scared him into silence. I gulped nervously as I waited for another scream of terror - or worse, for Sans to barge in and obliterate me - but instead the monster spoke again, "Why do you wanna help us?"

"I can't stand to see anyone suffer," I admitted, looking down. "I'd rather help everyone I can than help myself. That's just who I am. My parents think that's a bit of a curse because you should make yourself happy above all else, but I see it as a blessing because that means I have the determination to help others and do the right thing."

"D-Does Sans know you're in here?" Papyrus asked.

I shook my head, having been reminded once again what awaits me once the older brother knows I have gone against his word. "He... He told me not to come... But I just couldn't stand seeing you so upset... I know Sans will kill me once he finds out what I've done, but it's worth it to know you're okay."

"You... You risked your life to make sure I was okay...?" Papyrus echoed. He began to whimper and weep softly. "No one's ever been that nice to me before other than my brother..."

The sudden sound of the front door closing from downstairs caused me to yelp and jump, and my blood ran cold when I heard, "Papyrus, I'm back!" from Sans.

Oh, God, I am so dead...

"Well, guess you'll just have to stick with Sans since I'll be dead in a matter of seconds," I grinned pathetically at Papyrus, feeling tears forming at the corners of my eyes. I couldn't keep myself from weeping when I heard Sans shout angrily, "Kid, where are you? YOU'D BETTER NOT BE IN MY BROTHER'S ROOM!"

Over my soft crying I heard Papyrus gulp, as if he were scared about something else, before he grunted as if a decision had been made.

The bedroom door slammed open and I screamed as I practically touched the ceiling, I jumped so much. I turned to Sans, who I could feel was glaring at me as if I had committed so many sins. His bones rattled with rage and he grinded his teeth together lividly.

"I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!" he roared before lunging at me. I screamed and braced myself for a death blow before a sudden, "STOP!" seemed to make time itself slow down. I lowered my arms from my defensive stance over my face, and I gasped when I realized Papyrus had thrown himself in front of me.

He was defending me against his own brother!

"Papyrus, I'm gonna need you to move," Sans growled, trying not to let his rage flow freely and lash out at his brother.

"But I don't want you to," Papyrus' voice trembled. I knew it must be taking a lot of courage to stand up against the monster who protected him. "The human just wanted to check on me and make sure I was okay."

"I don't care about that, Papyrus, that 'friend' of yours didn't listen to me."

"But they're good and they won't hurt me."

"How do you know that?"

"They told me."

"What did you do to my brother, you little rat?" Sans suddenly snarled at me, and I only cried harder. I have never been so terrified in my entire life.

"Sans, please-" Papyrus tried to argue.

"You are so dead! I am going to kill you! Do you hear me, you son of a bitch!"

"SANS!" I heard Sans gasp loudly as Papyrus screamed his name and stomped his foot against the ground. "The human has done nothing bad to me! They are the first friend I have made not counting you and I'm not going to let you hurt them just because they did something you don't approve of! The human is a child, Sans, and I won't let you hurt a child regardless of its species! If you want to hurt my friend, you'll have to go through me first!"

Sans didn't speak for a long while, and I could tell he was completely stunned by Papyrus' tone of voice. Finally, he walked past his brother and towards me slowly, and I whimpered as he closed in.

"S-Sans, don't you dare..." Papyrus muttered nervously as he watched.

Sans was now standing a few inches in front of me and I recoiled under his gaze. Before I could attempt to flee, he grabbed my arm and I cried out. He then yanked me into his chest and I felt him wrap his arms around me tightly in a hug. His shoulders quivered as he weeped softly over my shoulder.

I was really confused to say the least.

"Th-Thank you..." the monster finally spoke, and my eyes widened beneath my eyelids. Having someone as brutal as Sans thanking me was the last thing I expected to hear. "Thank you so m-much..."

"Wh-What did I do?" I stammered, unsure of what I was supposed to do.

"You rekindled that old spark of the Papyrus I've known my entire life..." Sans replied shakily. "His confidence, his beliefs, his voice... My brother's not truly dead inside... There's still a chance for him to go back to the way he was before, and you showed me that... Thank you so much..."

Now I understood why the monster was so violent before: he was upset because his brother was the exact opposite of his true self. He was scared for his safety and angry that he couldn't do anything to help his brother.

Queen Toriel truly was a horrible monster to do such a thing to these poor innocent monsters.

I decided to take the risk in moving as I wrapped my arms around the distraught being, who surprisingly accepted the embrace. He hugged me closer to his chest and continued to weep and sniffle, and I found myself smiling comfortingly as I stroked his back, just as I had done with Papyrus.

"Shh... It's okay, Sans... I'll find a way to free you all from Queen Toriel's wrath..." I soothed with a sweet whisper. "I'm determined to keep this promise..."

Chapter Text

My inner alarm clock woke me up the next morning. There was no extra light other than what was emitting from the small flames outside in Snowdin, and I could tell neither Sans nor Papyrus were awake yet according to the sound of snoring from their separate bedrooms on the second floor of the house.

I yawned and stretched as I sat up on the couch. Sans had been generous enough to let me sleep on the couch rather than on the floor after last night's event, and even though the couch was a lot less comfy than it looked it surely did beat sleeping on the hard, cold floor. Moaning as I rose to my feet and neatly folded my blanket, I walked into the kitchen for a glass of water; my throat was dry as a desert which produced a horrible taste in my mouth.

By the time I finished guzzling down the warm water - which was as cold as the water could get in the heated town - the sound of a door opening and closing on the second floor was heard, and moments later I detected the sound of bony footsteps growing louder and louder as Sans entered the kitchen.

"Mornin' kid," the skeletal monster yawned as he reached his arms into the air, his bones rattling slightly as he enjoyed such a delicious stretch. He made his way to the fridge and retrieved something, and by the smell I immediately detected it to be ketchup.

"Your breakfast isn't gonna be ketchup, right?" I asked, trying not to sound too judgmental of the monster's morning routine.

"It's ketchup every morning," Sans replied before gulping down some of the condiment straight from the bottle. "Ketchup every afternoon and evening, too."

"What? That's unhealthy!"

"Eh, you learn to live with it. So, what do humans usually eat?"

"I guess cereal or pancakes or eggs. Whatever I'm in the mood to make in the morning."

"You cook?" Sans sounded fairly surprised.

"Yep!" I grinned. "Mom said I should learn how to do adult things like cook and do laundry early so I can get in enough practice for when I'm older. So, do you have any eggs or anything I could make?"

"'Fraid not," the monster answered with another gulp of ketchup. "Papyrus hardly eats anything and I'm just fine with ketchup."

"Oh, I see."

I was hesitant in asking how his brother Papyrus was doing; I learned very quickly how protective the older brother was over him. Sans said Papyrus barely ate anything, and that really concerned me. I didn't know exactly how monsters worked as far as how often they ate or anything, but I just knew that this wasn't healthy for the taller skeletal monster to refrain from eating - nor was it healthy for the shorter to drink nothing but ketchup day and night.

"Hey, Sans?" I began, finally deciding it would be better to learn of Papyrus' condition. "When does Papyrus usually wake up?"

"He'd usually wake up around this time, but he doesn't like to come out of his room," Sans replied, sounding less protective or hostile than I thought. "He doesn't like leaving the comfort of his room for too long."

"M-Mind if I go check on him?"

"Look, kid, just because you helped him out last night that doesn't give you the right to just barge into my brother's room."

There was the over-protectiveness I was expecting.

"I know that, but I don't like seeing anyone upset, especially people - or monsters - who don't deserve to live in this kind of world."

I heard Sans sigh heavily, and he hesitated for a few moments. "Look, I know that you wanna help us out, but..."

The skeletal monster trailed off. I figured that he didn't have a real reason for why I couldn't check on Papyrus. He was just worried something bad would happen.

I took a few steps back and held out my hands. "Look, Sans. I have no weapons on me or anything. How's a child supposed to hurt a magical full-grown skeleton with no weapons?"

Sans didn't reply, but I did hear yet another heavy sigh. Finally, after what felt like forever of waiting, he replied slowly, "Fine. But I'm coming with you."

"Fair enough."

I walked up the stairs to Papyrus' room, knowing Sans was just a few feet behind me. I knew it would take a long while before I could gain his full trust, especially with his little brother. Fortunately, I had a plan for gaining his trust and making Papyrus happy with a simple activity.

I walked up to the door and softly knocked my knuckles against the wood. "Papyrus, are you awake?"

"Human?" The skeletal monster on the other side sounded very surprised, and within seconds the door opened. "Um, good morning, tiny human."

"Morning. Are you hungry?"

I sensed both brothers tense at the question, and at first I thought I had said something wrong. Sans didn't say anything, however, and Papyrus eventually replied while struggling to choke back a sob, "Starving..."

"How about we cook something, then? You and me?" I offered with a warm smile.

"You... want to cook something with me?'

"Sure, it'd be fun! I'm good at cooking. Please, Papyrus?"

"No pressure, buddy," Sans finally chimed in; I heard the warning tone in his voice that was directed at me despite addressing his brother. "If you don't want to, you don't have to."

"But I want to," Papyrus objected; I could feel the excitement radiating off of him in waves. "I... I want to make spaghetti again, Sans."

The older skeletal monster stayed silent for a few moments, and I could hear him sniffling a bit as if he were silently weeping, though it was tears of joy that ran down his bony cheeks. "Okay. Go right on ahead, bro."

"I'm really good at making spaghetti actually," I pointed out. "In fact, I used to make spaghetti for my family every Friday night. Let's go get started!"

I could just tell it had been a long time since Papyrus even set foot in the kitchen by the way he scattered all over the kitchen cautiously, unsure of where he left the ingredients needed to make his favorite dish. I could tell the taller monster was very passionate about making spaghetti just by the way he had spoken earlier, and it just broke my heart into millions of pieces to know he had gone so long without doing something he enjoys very much.

We finally located all the ingredients with Sans' help, and we gathered the foods onto the counter next to the stove. Sans had excused himself to the living room to watch TV and drink his ketchup as Papyrus and I worked. I was glad that the older brother had a little more trust in me now to leave me alone with his pride and joy of a younger brother, and the ecstatic feeling that I could be trusted really did fill me with determination.

"Do you remember how to make spaghetti?" I asked after the pot of water had heated up to a boil on the stove's eye.

"Vaguely," Papyrus admitted. "I haven't made spaghetti ever since... um... e-ever since..." The monster began to tremble, his bones rattling, and he whimpered a bit. I concluded he was remembering something awful from his past, and I quickly acted.

"Hey, hey, don't think about it if it hurts you that much," I spoke quickly, patting his hands comfortingly. "It doesn't matter. I can teach you how I make spaghetti if you want."

"O-Okay, thank you."

I smiled brightly before grabbing a box of spaghetti and opening it. I then gently slid the box's contents into the boiling water and used a spoon to gently stir the noodles.

"Why aren't you stirring it hard?" Papyrus suddenly asked in confusion. "I think I remember that spaghetti was supposed to be stirred fiercely."

"Well, I don't really believe that helps. If anything, it makes the spaghetti cook slower because it gives it less time to settle in and properly soften. Also, if you stir hard it'll break the noodle strands apart."

"Oh, wowie, really? I always wondered why my spaghetti had ended up shorter than when I first put them in."

I couldn't help but giggle at the monster's innocence. It was fun teaching someone how to make spaghetti, especially someone as passionate about it as Papyrus.

"Let's let the spaghetti cook for a bit while we get the sauce prepared," I suggested. I opened a tub of tomato sauce and poured some of it into a separate pot resting on a heated stove eye and I used a separate spoon to stir it a bit. "Do you have any spices?"

"Yes, we do," Papyrus replied. "But I don't normally use them. It's not very nice to eat food you're going to serve someone else."

"Not with the stirring spoon, no, but with another spoon it is. You need to know what your food tastes like before serving it to people - or rather monsters. Can you get me these spices?"

I proceeded to list off a variety of ingredients, such as salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaves, basil, and sugar. At one point I noticed Papyrus was ready to dump in a heaping cup of sugar into the sauce, and thankfully I stopped him in time; I explained to him that sauce can't be too sweet otherwise all the other spices and the sauce itself would make it taste bad. I could tell the skeletal monster was fascinated by my methods of preparing sauce, and it filled me with determination.

Once the spaghetti finished cooking, I showed him the technique of flinging a strand at the wall. If it stuck, that meant the pasta was ready. I taught him the method of "al dente", which is to cook the noodles so they're a bit firm to the bite. They'd still be quite hot, so they'd have a chance to finish cooking all the way and not overcook. I then proceeded to toss the spaghetti in olive oil in a bowl to keep the starchy noodles from sticking to each other.

"It's time to taste the sauce now," I announced. Tasting the sauce was no doubt my favorite part of making spaghetti. Not only did it help me decide what other spices I needed to add to perfect it, but it also gave me an excuse to eat a few extra spoonfuls of it before serving it. I grabbed two teaspoons and scooped up half a spoonful of sauce before blowing on it gently and placing it into my mouth.

Yep, the sauce was absolutely perfect all right!

I watched as Papyrus consumed his spoonful as well. By the sound of it, he didn't have a tongue or anything, so how he could even eat anything was beyond me. I suppose skeleton monsters have some kind of magic that lets them eat without the food going right through them.

Papyrus suddenly gasped loudly, which caused my smile to grow wider, and he shouted, "THIS IS THE BEST SPAGHETTI SAUCE I HAVE EVER TASTED!" He grabbed another spoonful and consumed it, squealing happily as the flavors hit... whatever it was that allowed skeletons to taste. I let out a laugh.

"Is everything okay in here?" Sans suddenly exclaimed as he rushed in. "I heard Papyrus shout! Are you okay, bro?"

"I'm more than okay, dear brother!" the younger brother exclaimed. "Frisk has prepared the greatest sauce I have ever tasted! They are so very good at cooking! Try some!"

I listened to bony fingers clanking against aluminum as Papyrus passed the spoonful of sauce to his brother, and after consuming it Sans couldn't hold back a gasp of surprise. "Whoa, that's actually really good."

"Isn't it? Frisk is so good at making food! They're so cool!"

I immediately felt my cheeks grow hot in a blush and I grinned sheepishly. I wasn't really used to all this praise, especially coming from a pair of skeletons I haven't even known for twenty-four hours yet. Deciding to embrace the feeling of pride, I said, "Who's ready to eat, then?"

"I know I am!" Papyrus announced enthusiastically. I let him gather his serving of spaghetti and sauce on a plate before twirling it around on a fork and taking a bit out of it. I laughed as the tall monster let out a sob of joy before going full out on the dish, scarfing it down rapidly.

"Careful, buddy, or else you'll end up having a bad thyme," Sans suddenly joked. He froze up and gulped nervously, and I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion to this before Papyrus let out what sounded like a mix of a groan and a laugh through a mouthful of spaghetti.

"Sans!" he grunted in a playful manner. "Don't you dare get saucy with me!"

I heard Sans snort as he struggled to choke back a laugh. "Aw, c'mon, bro, make like a bay and leaf me to my puns."

"SANS!" Papyrus shouted, his voice cracking with laughter. I found I couldn't stifle a laugh myself, not only at the horrible puns but also at how happy the once depressed and reclusive brothers finally were.

"Okay, okay, I angel hair ya! I'll spa-get-tti going then!"

"NYAAAAAHAHAHA!"

The brothers burst out laughing, and I couldn't help but join in the merriment. I felt so very happy that these two monsters were finally enjoying themselves for once ever since Queen Toriel's rule over the Underground, the seeing these two so happy and carefree felt me with more determination than I ever thought I could feel.

Chapter Text

This was it. This was the day I had to move on out of Snowdin and continue my trek to Queen Toriel's castle. No doubt I was utterly terrified, but I knew I had to do this anyway if I ever wanted to fulfill my promise to the monsters of the Underground of freeing them from her wrath.

I awoke to my third day in Snowdin, which was still alive with fire. I could hear the flames crackling and popping throughout the night, and strangely it calmed my nerves and lulled me to sleep, and its warmth comforted me as well.

I sat up on the couch and rubbed my eyes before yawning. After I rubbed sleep out of my eyes, I stood up and made my way to the kitchen, where a wonderful scent of bacon and eggs hit my nostrils. I haven't had a decent meal ever since the spaghetti I made with Papyrus the day before, so this made my mouth water a lot.

"Morning, kid," I heard Sans greet. "You like B&E? Not breaking and entering, but bacon and eggs."

I giggled at the joke. "Yeah, I do. Thanks for making breakfast, Sans."

"No problem, I'm happy to do it. You're gonna need to keep your strength up if we're going to want to get through Waterfall and Hotland."

"'We'?"

"What, did you really expect to make this journey alone after everything you've done for Papyrus and myself?" Sans placed a supportive hand on my shoulder. "Well, then, I guess you're duller than I thought, kid, 'cuz that isn't happening. We're with you all the way."

My heart warmed right up at that, filling my entire being with determination. I smiled brightly and hugged the skeletal monster tightly. "Thank you so much, Sans. You two are the best."

"Don't mention it," Sans replied as he hugged back. He broke the hug quickly to turn back to the food and said, "Okay, breakfast is ready. Can you go get Papyrus?"

"Sure thing!" Feeling light as a feather with joy, I rushed up the stairs and knocked on Papyrus' bedroom door. "Papyrus, breakfast is ready!"

"I'll be down in a minute, Frisk," came the reply of the younger brother. "I just need to get ready for the day."

"Okay. See you in a bit." I walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen. "He'll be down in a moment."

"Great. Here you go." The strong scent of bacon and eggs told me Sans was holding a plate of breakfast out for me to take. "I haven't cooked in a while, so I'm bacon you not to get edgy with me."

I giggled as I took the plate and fork. After taking in a forkful of eggs I grinned brightly. The eggs were scrambled had cheese in it, and that was my absolute favorite way to eat eggs. "I think it's egg-cellent, Sans!"

Sans snorted with laughter as he ruffled my hair. "Man, that joke sure left me scrambled. You really do crack me up."

"Okay, you can stop now," I laughed.

"You kiddin'? I got a dozen of 'em!"

We both shared a good laugh before we heard the door to Papyrus' room opening and closing. Sans turned back to the breakfast and gathered some bacon and eggs on a new plate to serve to his brother just as he walked in.

"Good morning, Sans! Good morning, Frisk!" the younger brother greeted confidently. At this point he was absolutely nothing like the fragile and scared skeletal monster I met a few days ago, and knowing I was the reason for his grand change of persona filled me withdetermination. There was even a different sound that accompanied his movements, which sounded like fabric rubbing against each other. I heard the soft fluttering of some sort of cloth as he walked, and the thumping of boots against the floor was quite loud.

"Morning, Papyru-" Sans was cut off as he turned around. I narrowed my eyes in confusion at the abrupt halt of his greeting. Confusion quickly turned into concern as Sans began to silently weep, and I rushed to his side quickly, nearly dropping my plate.

"S-Sans, are you okay?" I fretted.

Sans didn't answer right away. He took a few moments trying to calm his crying with a few sniffles. "Pap... You're..."

"That's right, brother," Papyrus replied, his voice soft with affection. "I decided that if I should act like the Great Papyrus, I should dress like him, too. I'm so happy I can still fit into my battle body; I haven't worn this thing in ages. Perhaps not drinking milk at Grillby's every day is what kept me from growing out of it."

So that must be why his movements differed from the usual scraping of bones and thin cloth: Papyrus changed out of his tarnished shirt and shorts and replaced it with his signature attire. I grinned brightly as I heard Sans place the plate down on the counter and rush to his younger brother to hug him. Papyrus let out a grunt from the gesture before chuckling and hugging him back.

"Y-You have no idea, Pap..." Sans choked out softly as he cried softly into his brother's chest. "You have no idea... how happy this makes me. Thanks to Frisk, I finally have my brother back. Oh, Pap, I missed you so much."

"I missed me, too," Papyrus confessed gingerly. "But worry not, dear brother, for I, the Great Papyrus, will never fall back into that depressive shell of my true self ever again."

I smiled as I wiped away tear buds from my eyes. Seeing how happy the two brothers were now gave me much more hope anddetermination that I could fulfill my promise to all the other monsters I would meet in the future. If I could help a pair of previously hostile and reclusive skeletal monsters regain their happiness, I could do anything I set my heart to.

I heard the brothers sniffling a bit as they regained their posture, and moments later I felt two pairs of bony arms wrap around me in a hug. I grinned and hugged the brothers back.

"Thank you so much, Frisk, for helping us," Sans murmured. "You're living proof that there's still hope in the world, and thanks to you Papyrus recovered back to his true self. I know I've thanked you twenty-some times ever since you came here, but I just can't stop telling you just how grateful I am."

"I concur, tiny human," Papyrus added with his usual confident tone. "You have helped me in my darkest hour, and in return I shall offer my service to you as a body guard! Or rather a skeleton guard. No one will dare lay a hand on you while I'm around, I can assure that!"

I laughed at the skeletal monster's spry. "That sounds perfectly fair to me! Thanks, Papyrus."

"Worry not, my cool - yet not nearly as cool as me - friend! Now let us finish breakfast and get a move on!"

Breakfast was quickly finished, and soon enough I was on my way to Waterfall, the area past Snowdin. I was pretty scared of what lay ahead of me, but knowing Sans and Papyrus would be by my side through it all gave me the courage to push through.

We walked into the area and almost immediately I felt the temperature drop. Despite the name of the region, I heard no thunder of waterfalls; Sans commented that the blazing heat from Snowdin and Hotland caused all the water to completely dry up until there was nothing left. Miraculously, these magical flowers called Echo Flowers were still alive, albeit just barely. From what I heard about the flowers, I found myself unable to contain my eagerness to listen to them.

We continued our trek through Waterfall; it was fairly difficult and eerily quiet due to the lack of water, and any banks we came across that would require water to cross would have had to be crossed by Papyrus leaping over the gaps as he held onto me and Sans. Once he jumped a bit too short and it took a lot of time and effort to climb out of the gap and onto the other side. My muscles were screaming for rest by the end of it all, but I pushed onward anyway.

"Do you have magic?" I asked, the question popping up in my mind from nowhere. "My friend in the Ruins told me that all monsters have special kinds of magic that humans don't."

"Well..." Sans trailed off, sounding very uncomfortable.

Papyrus piped in. "We do have the ability to use magic; however, ever since Queen Toriel's reign of terror we haven't been using much of it at all. We can use the same kind of magic: we both can make a SOUL prone to gravity - making it glow blue to boot - and we can summon bones for attack and defense! Sans can also levitate things and summon these skull things called Gaster Blasters and fire cool beams from them! I haven't figured out how to tap into my magic so I can perform such a cool trick, though."

"Y-Yeah..." Sans agreed hesitantly.

"I see. Do you think I could see it?" I asked hopefully.

"Well, I don't see why not!" Papyrus replied excitably.

I heard a little spark as the taller skeletal monster activated his powers, and suddenly I felt my SOUL grow very heavy. I gasped as I collapsed to the ground, and I struggled to stand back up. Almost as soon as my SOUL dragged me down the weight was lifted and I stood back up, brushing dirt off my shirt and pants.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Papyrus fretted.

"No, you didn't, but it did feel kind of uncomfortable. Was that your gravity trick?"

"Yep! With this power, Sans and I both can move SOULs around at free will if we want to. Do you wish to see Sans' Gaster Blaster attack?"

"H-Hold on, Pap," Sans interrupted his eager brother. "We shouldn't be distracting ourselves with this kind of stuff. We can show off our powers later, for now we have to get through Waterfall."

"Oh, very well," Papyrus huffed before adding teasingly, "I swear, this is probably just another one of your excuses for being lazy."

Sans chuckled halfheartedly as we walked on. I noticed the older brother walking a bit slower than Papyrus, and soon enough I felt his cold bony hand grab onto mine gently.

"Hey, Pap, I gotta tell the kid something," Sans called to his brother. "You go on, we'll catch up."

"Very well. Don't get lost!" came Papyrus' reply.

I turned to Sans, my brows furrowed in confusion and concern. "Sans? Are you okay?"

The skeletal monster hesitated for a long while before speaking, "I know you're trustworthy, Frisk; you've proved that. So can I tell you something? And you have to promise to me never to tell Papyrus."

"You have my word," I replied.

Sans grew silent for a few more moments before he spoke again, "Pap... he doesn't know this, but... I don't have magic. Not anymore, anyway."

"You don't?" I gasped. "What happened to it?"

"It... It was taken from me by Queen Toriel."

I felt my eyes widen under my eyelids. Queen Toriel took away Sans' magic? How was that even possible?

"You up for a little storytelling?" Sans chuckled sadly. "I'm not. I hate thinking about it. But... I kinda owe you something for helping me and my bro out.

"A few years back, when the former king killed his son, Queen Toriel was thrown into a deep rage and overthrew him, taking the throne all for herself. I'm sure you heard of all that from your little friend in the Ruins. Queen Toriel and I have been... knock-knock buddies for the longest time. I'd always travel to her castle door and tell jokes, and she'd tell me jokes. It was really great. Aside from being around Papyrus, this was something that made me extremely happy.

"We had exchanged phone numbers, and one day she invited me via phone call to her castle for some pie. I was ecstatic to finally meet her in person, and boy was she gorgeous. She was wearing this regal cape and hold this giant trident and she just looked so magnificent. But... that look she gave me. It was not gentle or kind like her voice was. In fact, even her voice changed from loving to menacing. She was no longer the monster I had though I knew.

"It was all a trap from the very beginning. Queen Toriel knew of my strong powers and she wanted to claim it as her own. She attacked, giving me awful wounds that no healing magic can fix. After I was weakened, she used her trident to steal my magic. To do this, she had to shove the point into my eye socket and drain it out that way. It was... so painful. My right pupil wouldn't come back, so I've only been able to see out of my left eye. After she stole my magic, she kicked me out and told me that if she ever saw me again, she would not hesitate to kill me."

My mouth fell wide open the entire time Sans told the story. I just couldn't believe how cruel and heartless Queen Toriel was! No wonder Sans had a hard time trusting me the first day we met.

"S-Sans..." I muttered, trying to find words that were caught in my throat. "I... I'm so sorry..."

"Yeah, well... Sometimes shit happens and there isn't anything you can do about it."

"How bad are the damages?"

I heard fabric scraping against bone, and I guessed that Sans was taking off his hoodie attached to his jacket. I felt him gently guide my hand to his skull, and I felt countless cracks all over it. I glided my hand across the shattered bone gently, and with every second I kept my hand there I felt the urge to scream in despair and fury grow larger.

"S-Sans..." I choked out, feeling tears squeeze through my eyelids and roll down my cheeks.

"It's okay, kiddo," Sans hushed gently, shooing my hand away so he could cover his head with his hoodie again. "That's just one of the many markings Queen Toriel made. I didn't tell Papyrus before I didn't need him worrying about me and going off and doing something stupid like confront Queen Toriel himself. He would've gotten killed if he did that. I played it off saying I was just cold despite the flames in Snowdin, but in reality I'm just hiding my wounds from him. You promise never to tell Papyrus this, Frisk?"

"I-I do," I replied softly. "I promise I won't tell him."

Sans let out a bit of a chuckle as he ruffled my hair a hand; I felt the lack of a middle finger on his hand as he brushed it against by scalp. "Thanks, kid. Okay, c'mon, let's go catch up to Papyrus."

Chapter Text

"Knock-knock."

"Who's there?"

"Juno."

"Juno who?"

"Juno any other good jokes?"

I giggled loudly at the joke. We finally reached the Echo Flowers and we have spent about fifteen minutes now listening to all the little messages they each had to say. Almost half of them contained terrible puns and knock-knock jokes told off by some random monster to mess with people who wanted to listen to the flowers.

And by random monster I of course mean Sans.

"Sans!" Papyrus exclaimed after we listened to the seventh joke, sounding very agitated.

The flowers around him echoed, "Sans!", causing me and Sans both to laugh out loud. Papyrus turned on the flowers and began to shout at them.

"Don't copy me!"

"Don't copy me!"

"Stop it!"

"Stop it!"

"I'm a stupid-head!"

"I know you are!"

"NYEH?!"

If it weren't for Sans' lack of lungs, he would have died laughing right then and there.

I struggled to regain my breath and swallow the continuous giggles that bubbled in my chest. "I really love these flowers! They're so amazing and interesting!"

"Well, most times they are," Papyrus grunted. "They also look very beautiful, like blue sapphires with water trapped in them."

"Sounds really pretty," I smiled. I heard Papyrus yelp and I giggled.

"Oh, no, I'm so sorry, I completely forgot you can't see! I did not intend to tease you!"

"That's okay, Papyrus, I think I can see what they may look like in my head." I walked over to a lone echo flower, which didn't have a message told by another passerby. smiled and began to softly speak.

"For anyone who happens to hear this message, I promise you all that I'll help everyone in the Underground. Rest assured that Queen Toriel's dictatorship will not last forever."

The flower echoed my message, and I smiled as it was set for everyone to hear.

"Aww, that was so sweet and meaningful!" Papyrus cooed happily.

"And a bit risky," Sans added. "What if someone we don't need them to hear hears it?"

"Well, I didn't say what my name was," I shrugged. "And I didn't say whether I was a monster or human."

"I suppose you got a point there."

"We should probably get moving now," I suggested. "As much as I love this place, we can't stay forever."

Spending just a few more seconds with the Echo Flowers, the three of us made our way through the region once again. We kept pushing on until a choking scent caught my attention. I sniffed the air and coughed, and I immediately detected it to be smoke.

"Guys, what's that smoke coming from?" I asked the brothers, who paused to sniff the air and cough a bit as well. "Is something on fire?"

"I think it's coming from the Temmie Village," Sans replied.

"Temmie Village?"

"It's a secluded village in Waterfall, and it's home to these little weird monsters called Temmies," the skeletal monster explained. "Something must have happened to their village after Queen Toriel came to power."

"Let's find it and make sure they're okay," I suggested boldly.

"But all the Temmies have fled the village," Papyrus pointed out. "There may not be any left."

"I'm still gonna check. My promise was to make sure every monster is okay, and I won't leave any monster behind!"

"Very well," Sans chuckled. "Follow me, I know where it's hidden."

The monster led me and Papyrus down a path south from the Echo Flowers. The path took a few minutes to walk down until finally we came to a turn. I heard the occasional dripping of water nearby, and I felt the presence of a cave before us.

"Ooo, a spooky cave!" Papyrus exclaimed excitedly. He bounded towards the entrance before shouting out, "HELLO!" The sound bounced off the walls of the cave, making it echo. "It's like an Echo Flower, only in a scary dark cave form!"

"The entrance is usually hidden by a big waterfall," Sans commented. "C'mon, let's go. It's pretty dark, though, so be careful not to trip."

The three of us made our way into the cave, our footsteps echoing throughout the dark void. Everything was quiet save for the footsteps, occasional drips of water, and the heavy breathing of a frightened Papyrus. He suddenly let out a scream, causing Sans and myself to jump with a startled yelp.

"SOMETHING IS TOUCHING ME!" Papyrus wailed, leaping around frantically. He stopped abruptly before giggling sheepishly. "Er... False alarm. It was only my scarf. I'm still not used to wearing this thing yet."

"Oh, Papyrus," I laughed affectionately.

We finally reached the end of the cave, and almost immediately we were thrown into little coughing fits. The smell of smoke was much stronger here in the village, although it wasn't completely intolerable. There were no flames, yet smoke still drifted from the burned areas of the small village.

"How terrible," Papyrus sympathized. "All the houses have been burned down."

"It doesn't look like there are any Temmies around, though," Sans observed. "See, kid? They all escaped."

"Well, at least they weren't injured," I sighed. "Though I do wish I could've met one of them."

I turned with the brothers to exit through the cave before a new sound caught my attention. I heard a soft pitter-patter of paws walking along the singed ground, and I turned around. "Guys, wait, I hear something!"

Sans and Papyrus stopped as well and looked over the village until finally Sans took a step forward. "Hey, what do you know? There's one left."

"Let's go see if she's okay!" I followed Sans and Papyrus as they approached the little monster. I didn't know what Temmie looked like, but according to the pitter-patter of her paws she was probably a mammalian monster.

"Hey, I think I know this Temmie," Papyrus commented thoughtfully.

"Don't all Temmies look alike?" Sans argued.

"Well, yes, but this one's slightly bigger than the others. She wanted me to buy these shredded pieces of construction paper from her."

"Hello, there," I greeted Temmie gently. I could feel as her gaze rested on me, and I backed away startled when she gasped.

"HOOMAN! HOI! I'M TEMMIE!"

"Hi, there, Temmie," I giggled. "My name is Frisk, and these are my friends: Sans and Papyrus."

"TEMMIE KNOW PAPERUS!" Temmie squeaked excitably. "TEMMIE ASKED PAPERUS FOR MUN! BUY TEMMIE FLAKES!"

"Uh, it's Papyrus," the taller skeletal monster corrected, making sure to emphasize the 'Y' in his name.

"Are you alone here, Temmie?" I asked.

Temmie's voice fell, indicating they were saddened. "TEMMIE ALL ALONE... TEMMIE FRIENDS LEFT VILLAG... TEMMIE SELL TEMMIE FLAKES NOW AT TEM SHOP. NO MORE COOLEG. MAKE MUN TO BUILD."

"You're trying to sell Temmie Flakes so you can rebuild your village?" I clarified. It was right then and there I felt my heart break for the poor monster.

"TEMMIE HAZ NO MUN. TEMMIE NEED MUN. BAD."

"Well... What if I bought some Temmie Flakes from you?"

Temmie gasped loudly, perking right back up. "HOOMAN BUY TEMMIE FLAKES?"

"Sure!"

"TEMMIE LOVE HOOMAN! TEMMIE GET TEMMIE FLAKES FOR HOOMAN! TEMMIE FLAKES FOR SAND AND PAPERUS!" With that, the monster bounded off.

"It's still Papyrus," Papyrus groaned.

"That's really sweet of you, kiddo," Sans chuckled, patting my back gently. "Though I recommend you don't eat those things; they're just construction paper after all."

"Have you ever tried them?" I asked.

"Well... No," the older brother stammered. "But I've heard that's what monsters say."

"If monsters told you Papyrus' scarf was ugly would you agree with them?"

"Point taken."

"My scarf isn't ugly..." Papyrus whined.

"I know it isn't, I was using it as an example," I reassured the monster with a smile.

"TEMMIE BACK!" Temmie exclaimed as she bounded back up to us. I reached down and grabbed a small plastic bag full of little flakes that felt as fragile as dried leaves. "20 MUN!"

"Here you go, kid," Sans said, handing me a small fabric pouch he pulled out of his pocket. I had earned Gold when encountering many other monsters prior before helping them out in one way or another. I kept all the Gold I earned in a pouch, but the pouch itself was too large to fit in my pants pocket so Sans offered to carry it for me.

I opened the pouch up and counted out 20G before giving it to Temmie. "Here you go."

"TANKS!" Temmie squeaked, taking the pieces.

"I'm gonna try one." I opened the bag and took out a random flake before popping it into my mouth. It melted almost instantly in my mouth like cotton candy and it was so incredibly sweet. Having a sweet tooth, I absolutely adored it! "It's delicious! They're so sweet!"

"Really?" Papyrus reached a hand into the bag and took out a flake. I heard Sans shrug before taking one as well. I waited as the brothers consumed the flakes, but their reactions were the opposite of mine: Sans let out a strained moan of disgust as Papyrus coughed with a choked cry.

"W-Well, if you like s-sour..." Sans rasped.

"SOUR? THAT WASN'T SOUR! THAT WAS SO SPICY!" Papyrus retorted loudly before coughing again.

"What?" I replied. "But it tasted sweet to me."

"TEMMIE FLAKES HAZ DIFFERENT FLAVORS!" Temmie declared proudly. "RED IZ HOT! BLUE IZ SALTY! GREEN IZ BITTER! PINK IZ SWEET! YELLOW IZ SOUR!"

"Well, that makes sense I guess..." Sans grunted. He and Papyrus searched through the bag of Temmie Flakes until they pulled out another one - pink ones I was guessing - and ate them. Their reactions changed, but it wasn't one that accompanied any sweetness.

"Now mine is sour!" Papyrus cried.

"Not mine," Sans hissed. "Mine's salty. Way too salty."

"What colors did you take?" I asked the brothers.

"Pink," they both replied in unison.

"TEMMIE MESSED UP..." Temmie whimpered.

"It's okay, Temmie, don't worry about it. In fact, how about this? I'll buy another bag of Temmie Flakes." I bent down to Temmie's level and handed the Gold pouch to her. "You can keep the change."

Temmie gasped loudly. "THAT A LOT OF MUNS. HOOMAN SURE?"

"Sure, I'm sure! I hope this'll make rebuilding Temmie Village a bit easier."

I yelped as Temmie suddenly flung herself into me, hugging me tightly. The little monster was vibrating intensely. "TANK U! HOOMAN IZ BEST!"

"No problem," I giggled, hugging the fluffy monster back. She leaped off of me and, after returning with another bag of Temmie Flakes, bid farewell to us.

"BOI HOOMAN! BOI SAND! BOI PAPERUS!"

"It's- Oh, forget it," Papyrus grunted, giving up on trying to correct the monster.

"Bye, Temmie!" I called back, waving to her. "Good luck on rebuilding the village!"

"That sure was considerate of you, helping Temmie out the way you did," Sans commented as we entered the tunnel. "Just hope we won't need more Gold for where we're going."

"I'm sure we don't," I assured the skeletal monster. "Besides, it was still worth it. I made a vow and I'm more than happy to give up some Gold to do it."

"It's a shame none of these are actually good," Papyrus grunted, sifting his hand through the bag of Temmie Flakes.

"Maybe we can find someone who really needs a good meal and give them to them?" I suggested. "After all, when you're hungry you'd be willing to eat anything."

"Sounds like a plan, kiddo," Sans chuckled.

"By the way, is Temmie some sort of cat monster? She felt really soft and it felt like she was purring."

"Well, she's kinda like a cat but kinda like a dog, too. And she was vibrating, not purring; it's a weird thing Temmies do."

I nodded in understanding. A joke suddenly flashed through my mind and I smirked. "Speaking of which, if I were an animal I'd probably be a cat."

"Oh?" Papyrus sounded very confused. "And why's that?"

"Because I'm really frisky!" I grinned brightly as Sans snorted and Papyrus groaned.

"Man, that was pretty good," Sans snickered, "no kitten."

"Sans!" Papyrus snapped.

"What's up, bro? You knead something?"

"STOP!"'

"Don't be such a downer, Papyrus," I laughed. "These jokes are absolutely purr-fect!"

"FRISK, PLEASE!" Papyrus begged.

"Okay, okay, we'll stop," I giggled, trailing off.

"Thank you."

I shot a smirk at Sans before finishing, "...Paw-pyrus!"

"NYEEEEEH! I AM SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS!"

I laughed loudly as Sans burst into hysterics and Papyrus practically screamed his head off. Needless to say, I was having a total blast even if a certain skeleton wasn't. It was at times like this where I just had a feeling nothing could go wrong.

...But it did.

"Sans. Papyrus. We meet again."

Chapter Text

"Sans. Papyrus. We meet again."

The being who spoke had the voice of a female, and her voice echoed as if she were wearing some sort of helmet over her head. I heard the heavy clanging of metal grow louder and louder as the mystery monster walked up to us slowly. I could hear the brothers' bones rattling loudly, accompanied by a low, angry growl from Sans and a small, scared squeak from Papyrus.

"Quick, get behind us!" Sans hissed urgently, shoving me back. I let out a gasp of alarm, but I knew better than to object. I heard Sans and Papyrus stand in front of me as the monster stopped walking once she was a few feet away from the skeletons.

"U-Um... H-Hello, Undyne..." Papyrus greeted feebly. "H-How has life been treating you?"

"I'm not here for small talk, skeleton," Undyne growled. "I heard you have a human in your possession. As captain of the Royal Guard, I demand you hand it over immediately."

"Why don'tcha crawl on back into the hellhole you come from?" Sans retorted, fury lacing his voice.

"Queen Toriel has ordered for all humans found to be delivered to her," Undyne began. "We have six souls. We need seven to break the barrier and escape the Underground in case you've forgotten. Give me the human and I won't kill the both of you right on the spot. Well, maybe I'll kill Sans. Queen's orders; you're forbidden to be seen around here, skeleton."

"Yeah, good luck with that, you dirty brother hurter," Sans snarled lowly.

I felt myself begin to tremble, and I struggled not to whimper. This was all really beginning to scare me; what if Sans and Undyne broke out into a fight? From the sound of it, Sans wouldn't last one second against the captain of the Royal Guard without his magic.

I remembered what Undyne said: Queen Toriel had six souls, presumably human souls, and they needed seven to break the barrier trapping all monsters in the Underground. Perhaps...

"Don't fight," I whispered softly. I pushed my way past the skeletal monsters, who both hissed at me to get back, and stood in front of Undyne. Now that I was standing in front of her, I really began to regret making my debut to her. "I... I just want to help you..."

"I knew it! You do have a human with you!" Undyne snapped. I heard a whooshing noise, and I saw a small tint of blue through my eyelids; she must be using some kind of magical attack. I heard her grunt as she thrust whatever it was in her hands at me, but I was suddenly dragged back before I was hit by a new magical force, one that made my SOUL heavy.

"D-Don't hurt them!" Papyrus cried as he placed me in Sans' hold. "Please! They're a good human, Undyne, don't kill them!"

"Stay out of this, you pathetic excuse for a monster!" the female monster roared with fury. "You're too soft and weak to fight anyone, aren't you? And you wonder why I'm not going to let you into the Royal Guard."

I heard Sans growl loudly as his grasp on me tightened in a reflex of lividity. I heard something cut through the air with a swish before Undyne let out a battle cry and launched herself at Papyrus.

Another whooshing noise was heard, and the sound of metal clanking against bone was heard. I had no idea what was going on, but I had a feeling Papyrus was using his own magic to block Undyne's.

"Watch out for his spears, bro!" Sans warned, his voice raised a bit with panic.

I listened in horror as the spar between Papyrus and Undyne began. There were cracking sounds in the earth as Papyrus launched bone attacks, as well as swishing noises as Undyne fire spears at her opponent. Both were shouting as they attacked and blocked each other's attacks, and after a while they began to pant heavily. I felt my heart skip a beat as Papyrus let out a sudden yelp before he collapsed to the ground, followed by a strained groan as Undyne placed a foot on his chest to hold him down.

"Give me the human," Undyne demanded coldly. "Or else I will finish you and your brother."

"P-Please, Undyne..." Papyrus choked out. "I-I don't want to h-hurt you..."

"Weak fool. Give me the human. Now."

There was a few moments worth of silence as Papyrus struggled not to give in to his old friend's demands. I heard Sans breathe heavily with anticipation and worry for his brother; he lost his brother as far as personality went, and I knew he'd be devastated if he lost him for real. However, I happened to take notice that Undyne wasn't finishing him off like she said he would.

A sudden idea flashed through my head. It was extremely risky and it could turn out badly, but there didn't seem to be any other way out of this. I took in a shaky breath before speaking lowly.

"Kill him."

"What?!" Sans and Papyrus both cried out in unison. Even Undyne herself stiffened in surprise.

"Kid, what the hell is wrong with you?" Sans snapped. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"Trust me, Sans, I have a plan," I quickly whispered to him, hoping Undyne wouldn't hear. "Please, you have to trust me. Please."

Sans hesitated for a long time. I was absolutely terrified that the monster would take me down for setting his brother up to die, or at the very least not agree to the plan. But at long last, after a heavy sigh, he replied softly, "...Okay. I... I trust you. But if Undyne hurts Papyrus..."

"That's not gonna happen," I tried to assure him. In all honesty, I was trying to convince myself just as much as I was him, if not more.

Undyne hesitated for a long while, breathing deeply. Papyrus began to whimper as time went on, dreading the final blow.

But it never came.

I listened as a softer swooshing sound was heard, and I figured that her magic spear disintegrated. She stepped off of Papyrus, allowing him to take in a deep breath, and she backed away a few feet without a word.

"What are you waiting for?" I pushed on. "Kill him! Slice his head off!" I felt Sans tense up at my words, but I ignored it. I was getting through to Undyne.

"I... I..." the female monster stuttered.

"Kill him, you coward! Kill him! Kill him now!"

"NO, I WON'T KILL MY FRIEND!"

Sans and Papyrus both gasped and Undyne immediately tried to backtrack what she had said. "I-I mean...! Uh..."

"Undyne...?" Papyrus breathed, sitting up slowly. "Do... Do you mean that?"

"I... I don't..." I could tell by the tone of her voice that Undyne was beginning to panic.

"Are you scared of Queen Toriel?" I asked. Undyne tensed up a bit at the mention of the queen's name. "I'm going to help you. I'm going to end her reign of terror so that you and all the other monsters of the Underground can live happily and peacefully. You don't need to be scared of what she'll do to you, Undyne. I won't let anything happen."

"Yeah, right," the captain of the Royal Guard growled hesitantly. "No one can take down the queen. A-And I won't let anyone take her down, either!"

"Why?" I pressed on.

"B-Because she commanded me to do it."

"Why follow her command?"

"Because... B-Because... I..."

I nodded in understanding. Undyne was just like Sans when I first met him: she was vicious and violent because she was scared. She was scared of what Queen Toriel would do to her - maybe even her friends that she pushed herself away from as well - if she disobeyed her.

"Undyne," I spoke softly. I pulled myself away from Sans and walked up to her slowly, trying not to tremble in fear. "I won't let Queen Toriel hurt you or your friends. I made a promise to help everyone in the Underground, and I've managed to help Sans, Papyrus, and Temmie. I can help you, too."

"It's true," Papyrus spoke up, his voice quivering a bit. "Frisk brought Sans out of his personal pit of despair."

"And they rekindled Papyrus' old spark," Sans added. "If they could do that, they can most definitely help you, too. They can help you get back with Alphys."

Undyne gasped softly in surprise at the mention of who I assumed to be one of her closest friends. She stayed silent for a long while, until the sound of metal sliding across scales was heard. When Undyne spoke again, her voice was clear; she had taken off her helmet. "I... I... I'm sorry."

I smiled sympathetically as I reached out to hug the monster. I hugged around her armored waist and squeezed a bit, and my smile grew wider as she bent down on one knee to meet my level.

Undyne hesitated before speaking again. "I... I always thought humans were awful. Well, they are awful. But... not you. I can't believe I'm trusting you this quickly, but... If Papyrus trusts you, then I guess I could give it a shot, too." She gave my scalp a rough noogie and chuckled a bit as I grunted. "You're... not bad for a human, punk."

"Thanks," I giggled lightly. "Um... Do you have someone you need to apologize to?"

"Yeah, I do." Undyne stood back up and turned to Papyrus. "Papyrus. I... I'm really sorry about everything I've done to you and Sans. I'll be honest... When Queen Toriel told me to stop training you because she thought you were too weak... it broke my heart thinking about how it was going to hurt you. It did, and I was never able to forgive myself for hurting one of my closest friends. I hope you can forgive me, and I hope we can be pals again."

I heard bone clang against metal almost immediately as Papyrus threw his arms around Undyne in a hug. He began to sniffle and his body shook as he wept. "Of course I'll forgive you, Undyne! What kind of monster would I be if I didn't? I... I missed you."

"I missed you, too," Undyne spoke softly as she hugged back.

I smiled and sighed happily as I wiped away the beginning of tears from my eyes. It felt so good to be able to help monsters, especially if it includes reuniting them with old friends. Not meaning to brag, but I felt I was doing a pretty good job fulfilling my promise thus far.

The hug finally broke, and both monsters wiped at their eyes to remove any tears budding up. Undyne walked over to Sans next. "Hey, Sans... I'm really sorry about what I did to you, and especially what I did to Papyrus. I don't expect you to forgive me nearly as easily as Papyrus did, but I still wanted you to know I'm sorry."

Sans grunted in response, and Papyrus chimed in to defend his friend. "Sans, you know she wouldn't have treated me this way if it weren't for Queen Toriel. You must understand."

Sans stayed silent, and I held my breath, hoping he would forgive the captain of the Royal Guard. Finally, he chuckled a bit and shrugged. "Eh. Sure, why not? Just so long as you never do anything like this again."

"You know I won't," Undyne replied sincerely.

I smiled and sighed in relief. Another monster was helped, and knowing that Undyne was friends with Sans and Papyrus again filled me withdetermination to complete my quest.

"Hey, Undyne!" Papyrus exclaimed, regaining his euphoric composure. "Frisk, Sans, and I are all on a quest to take down Queen Toriel! Will you join us?"

"Eh, I dunno..." she replied nervously. "What if... What if the queen..."

"You can come or go as you please," I jumped in. "But just know that if you choose to come, we'll all make sure Queen Toriel doesn't hurt you or anything. Promise."

Undyne took a few moments to think it over. She let out a quick breath once her decision had been made, and I felt her ruffle my hair roughly. "Well... Guess I owe ya for helping me out. Besides, I wanna give her a piece of my mind. She's been forcing me to keep away from my friends for far too long, and I'm not about to just let it slide like it's no big deal. You can bet I'll be there to help out in any way I can, punk."

"In that case, would you mind doing me a favor?"

"Uhh... Sure? Depends on what it is, though."

"Will you let me help you get back with Alphys? I hear she's another close friend."

Undyne stiffened at the mention of her former friend's name. "U-Uhh... Um... Well, I dunno if she'll take me back..."

"We won't know unless we try, right?" I smiled up at her, who let out a shaky sigh.

"Well... Okay, I guess. But to get to her lab, we gotta go through Hotland, and it's pretty damn steamy there. Like, before it was too hot for me to get through, but now that everything's drying up and stuff it's just completely unbearable."

"Isn't there still a water cooler in Hotland?" Papyrus piped in. "That shall keep you hydrated! Not me and Sans, though, for we do not feel the hot or the cold!"

"Er... Okay, then," Undyne stammered unsurely. "Okay, let's go see Alphys."