Chapter Text

What does one do when practically everything one knew and held dear is gone? Patta had no idea. That was why for the moment all they did was close their eyes and sigh, feeling drained. They didn’t even dare to look at Toriel, although she had shown kindness so far. Toriel got a little closer, sitting on the couch too. “How are you feeling?”

Patta waved their hand around, trying to think of the right word to express how they felt. “Numb. Stunned. Tired. Take your pick”

“Asriel told me about everything you did for him. Not only you treated him with kindness, you also worked hard to help him get here safe and sound” Toriel smiled warmly “Thank you so much for that”

That got Patta to open their eyes to look at her. “I did it gladly. He is a nice child”

“I’m very proud of him! Did you know that…” Toriel started lavishing some praise onto Asriel, much to her son’s dismay. Verbal affection in the form of praising and telling stuff about Asriel was another thing Toriel didn’t refrain from doing, especially towards those who knew him very well.

“M-Mom!” Asriel hid behind his ears, blushing. That got Toriel to stop, laughing a bit. It was kind of comforting to know that, after everything that had happened, Asriel was definitely still the same in many ways.

“Fine! I’ll stop. But now that you are awake, human, we should talk about a few matters” Toriel stopped smiling. It wasn’t time to talk as a mother, it was time to talk as the Queen of All Monsters. “What is your name?”

It did feel a bit embarrassing being called ‘human’. Had Asriel felt that when they had called him a kid during the first couple days? “My name is Patta, Your Majesty”

“Oh, please don’t call me Your Majesty. You are safe, there is no need to be so formal” Toriel shrugged, but Patta noted she hadn’t invited them to call her by her name “It seems you’ll be living in the Underground for the foreseeable future. How do you feel about that?”

“Not good, that is for sure” Patta hurried to add something else “I-I don’t mean it as an offense, it is just that…I don’t feel I belong here. One of the reasons I brought Asriel all the way here was because a monster living alone among humans sounded so sad and unfitting. It must be the same for me, living alone among monsters” That was just one of the reason why they were feeling so miserable right now, but they didn’t feel like giving Toriel too many details about themselves. She may be Asriel’s mother, but to them she was a stranger for now “If there were at least another human here with me it’d be different, but there isn’t. I’m…I’m all alone”

Toriel wasn’t sure what to reply to that. Stuff like ‘you’re not alone’ sounded empty, and anything she could think that could console them didn’t seem like it’d help much. At a loss of words, she decided to continue with the reason she started to talk with them in the first place. “You’ll need a place to live in for as long as you are here. Don’t worry, monsters won’t hurt you” Toriel pointed her hand to the window in the room, inviting Patta to look outside. Not having anything better to do, they went there, peeking outside.

It was the gray city Patta had gotten a glimpse of in their memories, back when they had seen Asriel’s drawing. Eye-catching domes and austere buildings formed blocks and blocks, as far as their eyes could see in the dim light of the Underground at the evening. Winding through the city and raised over it there was a long passageway, connecting what looked like the edge of New Home with the castle. “This is the capital, where most monsters live. Beyond this place there are other smaller villages, placed in many other places of the Underground, but for your safety and comfort I suggest you live here in New Home”

“I don’t have any money” Patta said. How were they supposed to live in a new place if they had no money at all? They needed a job, some way to survive, everything they had back at home. It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t because they had no idea where to start.

“We can help you at the start of your life here. Would two weeks be enough?”

“I don’t know” Two weeks seemed too little time to get their life in order, but they didn’t say that. It couldn’t be that easy. Besides they felt too discouraged to think much about all that. Toriel shook her head, a bit annoyed by Patta’s lack of drive.

“I know the thought of living in the Underground may seem daunting, but you are not alone. You have our full support. It’s our way to thank you for taking care of Asriel during the past few days” That actually did get Patta to cheer up a bit, at least enough to smile faintly. They nodded and stepped away from the window.

“Thank you. I’ll…I’ll manage to live. I don’t know how yet, but I will live. Everyone is going to find out sooner or later that I’m not a monster, though” Once another problem that didn’t have much solution. Humans had accepted monsters, but that was not that much of a surprise for Patta. After all, they did believe humanity was good. How would monsters react? Asriel had been steadfast most of the time about monsterkind’s kind nature, but it was one thing to hear about it and a completely different one to have to rely on it for the rest of their life, especially since the Barrier could only be broken with human SOULs. It was like having a target on their back, that is the impression they had.

Toriel sensed the worries Patta had and tried to make them look less heavy that they were. “You don’t have anything to worry about. You’ll be presented to everyone in the monthly address! And from that moment on you’ll be under our protection. There is nothing to be afraid of. I promise”

That seemed okay. Toriel and Patta talked for a while more about Patta’s new life. It’d be necessary for them to spend the night in an inn while everything else was arranged. The monthly address was going to be at the end of the week, so all they had to do was stay there until then. Toriel would pay for the expenses, but Patta was asked not to leave the inn if possible. During the discussion Asriel could only watch, wondering if Frisk would have received the same attentions. He believed Toriel and Asgore would have been much more affectionate and overwhelming since Frisk was a kid, but it didn’t really matter much now. “I don’t think they’ll enjoy being here”

“I’ll help” Asriel said, making sure neither Toriel or Patta heard him “I brought them here, so wouldn’t it be my responsibility to make sure they’ll be okay? They tried to take care of me, I think I owe them for that”

“Will you tell them about the other you and about the time travel?”

Asriel hesitated for a moment. Should he? It may not be a good idea. Patta had too many things in their mind, adding one conundrum more could overwhelm them further. “No. I can deal with this by myself. Dad and Dr. Gaster will help! It will be okay” Leaving that aside, what was he supposed to do about that, either way? There wasn’t much he could do. By telling his parents and encourage Asgore to get Gaster’s help he had already done his part to ensure his past self would be sent to the past, the loop in the timeline was going to be complete. At first glance it seemed like that was all he needed, and although he had already thought about it all, he couldn’t think of anything else he could do.

-ooooo-

It was to be expected living in the Underground would need a certain dose of planning, but Patta hadn’t expected Toriel to give everything so much thought. She was trying her best to solve any problems that could arise, with less inconveniences for both Patta and the monsters. It was no surprise she was the Queen, she had a way to pinpoint potential problems and look for ways to solve it all. Most of the time Patta had given short answers to all her questions, feeling a bit at a loss. There were so many things they didn’t understand yet Toriel saw as clear, but at least they trusted her to take the best decisions.

It took a while but the arrangements for Patta’s life were finished. They’d indeed live in New Home, Toriel would start looking for a small house for Patta to live in. Either she or Asgore would check on them regularly to make sure everything was okay and solve any problems that could happen. Regarding money, the royal family would support Patta’s needs for the first month, and during that time Patta would acquire a job and form bonds with the community. All in all, it didn’t sound different from what life over the surface was, leaving aside the part about the Dreemurrs supporting them.

So why were they still feeling so glum about everything? It was starting to cross the line, going from understandable gloom and turning into unhealthy amounts of self-pity. Toriel had been patient with Patta, but even her patience had limits. She didn’t shout or scold Patta, but when she spoke at the end her tone showed she hoped Patta would change their mindset soon. “You can’t keep dragging yourself down. What happened to Frisk was a tragedy, and living in the Underground may look overwhelming, but you need to be strong. I hope you understand it”

“I do, really!” Patta said, muttering ‘geeeez’ under their breath.

“I’m glad to hear that” Toriel smiled but her eyes stayed stern. She picked up all the documents and work she had done while Patta was asleep and prepared to leave “I’ll now arrange that child’s burial. Are you sure you don’t want to do anything special, Asriel?”

“I…” Asriel fidgeted. One couldn’t just ask a child what to do for their friend’s burial, although he knew Toriel had the best of intentions. In a way he was thankful for that “I think I do. Mom, can we-“ he approached Toriel and started whispering to her. There really was something he wanted to do, now that he thought about it. Toriel listened to everything Asriel had thought, nodding.

“We can do that! We’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll prepare everything for that” Toriel hugged Asriel for a moment before leaving the room. Patta and Asriel were left, standing there in awkward silence. Neither knew very well what to say to the other.

Still, Asriel felt it was necessary to try to be a bit more positive despite everything that had happened that day. He approached Patta, doing the biggest grin he could muster. “I’m happy you are here, Patta. You’ll like the Underground. It is, uh…it is nice, and everyone will want to meet you”. Patta turned their head around for a moment, just for a couple seconds before averting their eyes.

“That is, um, that is great” Patta replied. That sounded so disinterested and distant Asriel felt immensely discouraged, instead slinking away to the other side of the room. They both stayed in silence, too deep in their own individual misery to bother trying to snap out of it.

After a while Asgore returned. The king looked very tired, but still took the time to greet Asriel and waving politely at Patta. “Howdy, you two. Are you feeling okay?” The murmurs of ‘I’m fine’ didn’t exactly help to warm up the atmosphere. Asgore awkwardly scratched his mane of hair, looking around “Golly, it sure feels heavy in here…do you two want anything? Asriel?”

“Can I go outside, Dad?” Asriel asked, hurrying to get to the door and going out without even waiting for an affirmative answer. He was sure it would all be okay as long as stayed away from where people tended to gather, and far from his house. He just wanted to be alone for a moment.

Asgore tried to stop Asriel, but his son went away so fast he didn’t have more time than to raise his hand. The king sighed. “How did this day turn into this mess…?” he murmured before focusing on Patta. They were eyeing him warily, a bit intimidated by Asgore’s size and title. “Don’t be afraid, human. Do you mind telling me what happened here?”

The human stood straighter, feeling a bit calmer now that Asriel was not in the room. “Not much. We didn’t even say a word to each other”

“Oh” Asgore felt like there was something much deeper going on, and that getting Patta to say exactly what it was would take a good deal of effort. He knew that letting it continue was only going to hurt Patta further. The sooner it was dealt with the better. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Tea?”

“At times like these a cup of tea will do wonders for one’s soul. It’ll make you feel better”

That actually did sound nice. Patta stepped forward, muttering a thank you. Anything to stop feeling like they were suffocating. Asgore lead Patta out, gently pushing them in direction of the throne room, including the golden hall that Patta recognized. Now that he thought about it, Asgore had been in their memories too, hadn’t he?

Not too long after that Asgore had set a couple teacups in a small table in the throne room, filling them with steaming tea. It all really was helping Patta unwind a little, they were trying to make some conversation now. After the necessary introductions were made Asgore judged it was time to prod at Patta’s feelings.

“Are you nervous about living here in the Underground?” he asked, leaving the teapot aside.

“Kinda. I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I’m not really in mood to talk about that” that was kind of a blunt answer, and Patta immediately opened their mouth to apologize, but Asgore nodded, indulgent.

“Please, call me Asgore, and I understand. Do you feel compelled to talk about anything in particular?”

“Not really” Patta sipped the tea. It was warm, and they felt they were starting to relax immediately “This is some good tea. Thank you”

“It is my specialty, I thought it’d help you feel better. You do look healthier than you did before” he smiled “Asriel told us a lot about you. Thank you for bringing my son back. IF there’s anything we could offer to you as thanks you just need to-“

“A way out” Patta had left the teacup on the table, some of the content spilling. This could be their chance! Unfortunately, Asgore seemed uncomfortable and didn’t give the positive answer Patta had hoped for.

“I’m afraid that’s one thing we can’t help you with. No one can cross the Barrier, at least to leave the mountain. Entering seems to be possible, but that wasn’t something we knew about”

“Then maybe it IS possible for a human to cross the Barrier! It is worth a try. Let’s give it a try” Clinging to their hopes until the very end was not a good thing to do, but they had to. Patta stood up, looking around as if the Barrier was right there in the throne room. Asgore thought it for a moment, staring at his tea for a second before standing up too.

“Very well. Follow me”

The king walked to the cave that led to the Barrier, mulling how he’d deal with Patta after they got their last hopes shattered. If they got worse than they were now chances are the rest of their life would be miserable, if only because Patta would refuse to accept anything. As far as he could see, this was the pivotal moment in the human’s existence.

As soon as the iridescent surface of the Barrier was in sight Patta ran towards it, extending their good arm, just in case. It turned out to be a good precaution. Their hand collided against the Barrier, stopping Patta right on their tracks. “…oh god. C-Come on, open up, stupid…” they hit the Barrier with their fist a few times, achieving absolutely nothing “Damn it! Nononono! I can’t be trapped in here! I can’t…be trapped…” there was no more use on holding onto any hopes of getting out. Patta stopped hitting the Barrier, resigned.

“…I’m sorry to say ‘I told you so’, but…I told you so” Asgore said from behind them, grabbing their shoulders and leading them away of the Barrier “There is no way out. The best you can do is live as happily as you can”

Patta didn’t reply to that, just letting themselves be taken back to the throne room, where they and Asgore continued drinking their teas. The king was glad to see Patta hadn’t completely broken down when they were told it was impossible to leave, but it didn’t mean it was all okay. Besides, from their actual emotional state, telling them there was a way to cross the Barrier didn’t seem like a good idea. All Asgore could do for now was to offer some support, even though it was done through silence and hot beverages.

The impromptu tea party was almost over when Patta couldn’t contain anymore the mix of harmful emotions they were feeling. “Maybe I do deserve to be trapped in here”

“What do you mean?”

“…how could I continue living out there as if nothing happened, when I did something unforgivable?” That was…a bit too dramatic, but it was what they felt. Asgore silently refilled Patta’s cup, the human taking it all in one gulp and continuing to vent about their guilt. “…did Asriel tell you about Frisk? They were his best friend. Both Frisk and Asriel were under my care…during these few days” Asgore refrained from saying just how much Asriel had said about them, interested in seeing just where Patta was going now “They were my responsibility, and I promised that I’d protect them both. I wasn’t the best guardian, but the three of us got along and…I grew to consider Frisk a friend. Hard not to.

They wanted to be with Asriel until it was time for your son to return here, and I had no problem with that. They…they insisted on climbing Mt. Ebott with me. I was an idiot. I knew it was dangerous! But I let them come with us, even though it would have been better for them to stay behind. I should have insisted more, make them stay in the city!”

“Children can be surprisingly stubborn” Asgore said “Asriel can be like that sometimes, too”

“So we started to climb the mountain and…” remembering all the details about the Hermit and the pursuit made Patta practically shrink in their seat “…w-we got followed by someone up there. They tried to kill us, and…they got Frisk. I let Frisk get killed! I promised them it’d all be okay, and instead I let that happen to them! What kind of person lets something like that happen?!” Patta had started shouting, standing from their seat and pacing around the throne room frantically. Asgore couldn’t say he fully understood what Patta must be feeling, but he could sympathize with the guilt that gnawed at Patta’s soul. Patta continued talking, not caring if someone other than Asgore could hear them.

“I let Asriel’s best friend get murdered! N-Not only I let that kid get killed, I also made Asriel have to see Frisk’s corpse! Don’t you get it?! I saw Asriel crying, clinging to Frisk and begging for them to not be dead!” Patta had stopped pacing around, shaking with barely suppressed anger towards themselves. Asgore approached, extending their hand to touch Patta, but they suddenly turned around and glared at Asgore “Do you think Asriel is going to forgive me for letting that happen?! Who would forgive anyone for that?! It was my fault that happened, and he knows it. I-I can’t…I can’t just pretend nothing of that happened!”

“Have you talked with Asriel about this?” So that was why the atmosphere was so tense back then. Asriel had already said he felt Patta would hate him, and Patta seemed to think the same about Asriel. Both had their own reasons and were restraining themselves from speaking about it, which was a stupid yet understandable behavior. The sooner they got that out of the way, the better. Patta stood in silence for a moment before shaking their head vehemently.

“I don’t dare to. It’d be better to not to see him again, I suppose. I disappointed him, saying I’m sorry won’t solve anyt-“

Asgore had enough. Patta was too deep in their own delusion, it would only hurt them if they kept thinking that was true. “My son doesn’t hate you. He is very worried about you, and thinks you hate him for bringing you here. Talk with him”

“…really?” Patta felt very conflicted. They wanted to believe that Asgore was right, but their fears and immaturity were holding them back “I don’t hate him. It’s true I’m upset because I’m here, but Asriel saved my life. I can’t be angry with him for that”

“Tell him that”

“…I’ll think about it” they conceded. Whether they’d really try to talk to Asriel or not remained to be seen. Besides, that wasn’t the only thing that bothered them, Frisk’s death itself was a big part of their recent frustration, and that was one they couldn’t solve as easily “Thank you, Asgore”

“You’re welcome” now that Patta calmed down, Asgore took out an object, passing it to them “Take this. It’s a cellphone. Everything that was in your other phone is stored here.”

“Huh. Thank you, I guess” Patta immediately tried to make a call to the outside, but although the phone worked, it was still impossible. They kept the phone, though.

“And I have an offer for you. It’ll not only allow you to sustain yourself, you’ll also have the gratitude of all monsterkind” Asgore wasn’t sure if Patta was going to accept, but it was worth a try “I mentioned you to our Royal Scientist, and he is greatly interested in meeting you. He didn’t tell me all the details, but he wants you and your SOUL to help him. He’s even willing to pay a considerable amount of gold for your help. It’d be worth talking to him about that”

“I’ll think about it too” Patta said dully. That was all, no sense on continuing the tea party. The king hoped that had been enough to make Patta snap out of their self-inflicted despair, even if it didn’t happen right in that moment.

Nothing else to do but wait.

-ooooo-

Asriel had wandered around the castle, but soon that wasn’t enough. He felt trapped, and wanted to have something to do other than stand around and hope for the best. Maybe going to see Gaster was a good idea? He had to, sooner or later. After returning to the room Patta had been resting in, picking up one of the cloaks Toriel had brought and making sure the hood did cover his face well enough, Asriel exited the castle.

He didn’t even get five feet away of the castle before he stumbled onto Toriel. She grabbed the cloak and brought Asriel back inside. “Where were you going, Asriel?” she inquired, letting go of the cloak.

“I, uh, I wanted to…to walk around” he said, looking at the ground. Toriel sighed, taking off the hood of the cloak.

“I know you’re feeling restless, but you’ll have to endure it for a bit longer. You’ll have to stay with Patta until…” Toriel tilted her head in thought. How was she supposed to call the son that’d go back in time the next day? Past Asriel? Present Asriel? “…until Asriel completes the time loop you talked about”

“Oh!” That made sense, it wasn’t like the actual Asriel could stroll into the New Home house and go sleep in his bedroom.

Toriel had returned to the castle to take Asriel and Patta to the inn where they’d rest for the night. Nobody said a word while donning the cloaks, Toriel being the only one to not to do that. Leaving the castle made Patta greatly nervous, as if they expected any random monster to approach and reveal them as a human, but it seemed Toriel’s presence was enough to deter anyone from approaching. All the monsters greeted Toriel, who waved back and exchanged some words with some of the citizens, but everyone kept their distance.

The human shyly peeked from under the hood, looking at everyone around. It was nothing like they had expected. It was true that monsterkind was the potential to be vast and unexpected, but there were so many different sizes and forms they felt almost overwhelmed from that. “It’s rude to stare, dear” Toriel murmured when Patta spent way too long looking at one of the bystanders. Patta averted their eyes immediately.

“Mom, wait!” Asriel suddenly said at some point, making Toriel look at where he was pointing. There was a monster selling a few objects of dubious precedence, most likely from garbage humans threw somewhere and somehow ended in the Underground. Among the wares there was something Asriel didn’t think he’d see again: a suitcase that looked familiar. It took a bit of begging for Toriel to buy the suitcase, but when Asriel looked at the contents he knew he had been right. The suitcase Patta had taken for the trip and Asriel had accidentally thrown down a fissure days ago had somehow been found. The suitcase and everything inside was soggy, most likely from water from Waterfall, and although the money and everything that wasn’t clothes was useless now, the clothes should give Patta some solace. “Look, Patta, it’s your stuff!” Asriel gave Patta the suitcase, beaming with joy, but Patta didn’t react with the happiness he had expected. They just took it, mumbling an awkward ‘thank you’.

Toriel’s presence was enough for the innkeepers to accept giving Asriel and Patta a room despite being clad in obviously suspicious cloaks. The two-bed room was small, but it was nicely furnished. After wishing them a good night Toriel left, it was late and the next day was going to be the end of it all: the time loop would have been completed and Patta would decide what to do with their life from the on. Besides there was also the matter of Frisk’s burial. Toriel had told Asriel the preparations were ready, all that remained was to do the funeral, following Asriel’s request.

Once both had changed and put away the bloodied clothes they had arrived with, both stayed in silence, too nervous to talk with each other. The awkward silence needed to be broken. Asriel sat on his bed, bouncing while trying to think how to bring up conversation. Small talk didn’t seem fitting, not when there were certain matters hanging on the air and weighing down their hearts. It was better to deal with that as soon as possible “Sorry for bringing you here, Patta. I wanted to save you, and this was all I could do to do that”

That got Patta to actually look at Asriel. Somehow he reminded them of a kicked puppy, which didn’t fit at all the image of the almost grown monster body he currently had. A deep sense of compassion filled them, enough for them to approach and sit nearby. “I’m not angry with you. Asriel, you saved my life! That is something I’ll be always grateful for”

“But I did it by dragging you here! You won’t be outside ever again…”

“And there is nothing anyone can do about that. Yeah, I get it. I’ll have to endure it; I suppose…” Patta felt bile rising to their throat. They loathed their situation, but they weren’t going to kick Asriel while he was down, so to say “I’ll deal with it”

That had been easier than Asriel thought. While it was pretty obvious Patta wanted nothing more than to leave the Underground, at least he wasn’t being directly blamed for that. He felt much more relaxed now, although when Patta spoke again he tensed once again:

“Why are you here, by the way? I thought you’d be in your house by now”

“Oh! I, uh…Mom thought you’d like some company while you get used to the Underground” that was the first excuse he could think. Thankfully it seemed Patta believed it, although they didn’t look happy at all.

“Fantastic. Since you are here I think I should, I will, I-you know what, nevermind” Patta stood up and practically ran to their bed, getting into it without caring their clothes were wet. They had been about to talk to Asriel about Frisk and apologize for that, but suddenly they had lost all courage. It was a very familiar feeling, one they thought they had forgotten, the very same feeling they had nine years before. “Good night”

“Wait! Did I say something wrong?” Patta’s sudden and ridiculous behavior had caught Asriel off-guard, but although he reviewed what he had said he didn’t find anything particularly upsetting. The human ignored him, turning around on their bed.

“They’re upset. Let them be” Frisk advised, although Asriel could feel worry from their SOUL too. There wasn’t really anything to do if Patta didn’t want to talk.

I was a coward, there’s no discussion about that. When I see how I behaved during this time I want to throttle the idiot I was. It’s hard to believe I was a twenty-six-year-old grown-up; don’t you think? I had the emotional maturity of a child of Asriel’s age.

Maybe I’m still a coward, but at least I’m not like that anymore.

-ooooo-

Ananas was pacing around the lobby of Graham’s inn, looking at the clock with nervousness. She had arrived two hours before to greet Patta and Frisk after their return, but they hadn’t arrived yet. Byssa had been pretty nonchalant about everything, being the only one in the building without a personal attachment to either Patta or Frisk, but Celia was very anxious. She had even gone to the abandoned house to see if Frisk had returned there, not finding any change in that building from how she had left it. Ciruel had been notified already that neither Patta nor Frisk hadn’t arrived yet, and it seemed the scholar had told Cohen. Everyone was waiting for any of them for their own reasons, and the way was starting to take its toll.

“Gosh darn it to heck! It’s almost midnight and there’s no sign of them yet! Who do they think they are?” Ananas shouted in frustration, throwing her hat aside. Byssa took it to return it to her.

“Try calling to your friend’s cellphone again” she suggested, Ananas obeying immediately before leaving her own cellphone on the counter, frustrated.

“Useless. It must be turned off or somethin’”

“Do you think something happened to them?” Celia whispered to Byssa for the eleventh time that night.

“Don’t think about that, they must be okay” Byssa replied for the eleventh time. That got Graham to finally say something, though.

“Aren’t we lying to ourselves? It’s over, those two vanished just like everyone else before them did. It’s useless to think otherwise”

“Frisk and Patta went missing?!” Celia shrieked immediately, Byssa grabbing her cousin’s shoulders immediately and glaring at Graham. The innkeeper understood the message, though. He approached to Celia.

“I’m sorry for not thinking before talking. They may be okay”

“May?” Ananas growled

“They are okay” Graham corrected, frowning. He still considered all this senseless clinging to hopes that were likely to be wrong. Still, as long as Celia was there he needed to watch his words. He returned to the counter, thinking before talking “So now what?”

“We can’t keep waiting forever” Byssa said carefully, it was her way of saying she agreed with Graham. Ananas suddenly stopped, having taken a decision. It wasn’t something that made her happy, but she didn’t think there were other options:

“Well I don’ know about you guys but I won’ stand around and hope for the best. I’ll go look for them”

“What?!” Graham looked at her with an expression of disbelief that showed how insane that was “Are you listening to yourself, Annie?”

“I won’t let you change my mind. Patta is my friend, and I’m not going to stand around while they’re in danger of going missing. The sooner I go; the more chances I’ll have of finding them”

“But it is Mt. Ebott! You know what happens to the people that go there!”

“I have a gun” Ananas showed it, as if that was enough to convince everyone this wasn’t insane “I can take care of myself”

“…can I go too?” Celia asked meekly asked before Graham or Byssa could protest further. Byssa immediately demanded an explanation “I-I want to see Frisk before I leave…I don’t want them to get lost on that mountain. If I go I think I could find them”

“There’s no way I’m letting you go there!” Byssa almost reminded Celia about all the people who had disappeared there, including her brother, Celia’s parents and a considerate amount of people, but the girl had covered her ears, having expected someone to say something like that.

“I know what happens there! I-I don’t want Frisk or that guy to get lost too, I want to find them!”

“Pardon me, young girl, but I can’t let you come with me” Ananas said, but Celia wasn’t willing to take that ‘no’ as an answer. She immediately started arguing very loudly, on the verge of tears, until Byssa practically grabbed her and pulled her aside, forcibly restraining her.

“Okay, okay! I know how you feel, but change your mind!” Byssa pleaded, Celia struggling to escape.

“I don’t want to wait anymore for everything! I want to go!”

Bargaining with Celia was impossible, as Byssa found out after ten minutes of constant arguing, pleading and shouting at her. She wasn’t willing to let go of their friend until she had seen them one last time, and it all only stopped when Byssa relented, with one condition:

“I’ll accompany you” she said to Ananas “If Celia is going then I’ll have to go too”

“Are you sure? That mountain is no place for a tyke-“

“I’m not staying here!” Celia yelled.

Byssa sighed. “You heard her”. Ananas still seemed to be very reluctant, but it was obvious by now Celia wasn’t going to change her mind. Ananas turned around to face Graham, who had been observing everything with grim expression.

“You coming too? The more people the more chances we’ll have to return with Patta and Frisk safe and sound”

“…I want to go, but-“

“Are you going to leave our friends stranded there?”

“That isn’t what I’m concerned about! I don’t know if I’ll be useful in any way, that is all”

Ananas crossed her arms. “You’ll be. I’m sure you will. Start making provisions and pack everything you think we’ll need”

“Are you going to tell your family about this? What if you don’t return?” Graham asked pointedly, guessing that was going to be the one thing to make Ananas reconsider the almost suicidal mission of going to Mt. Ebott for a rescue mission. Effectively, Ananas did stop, hesitation finally coming over her.

“…you’re playing dirty and you know it” she mumbled. That was her way of saying she definitely didn’t know what to think. She wanted to make sure two people who did nothing to deserve something happening to them would return safely, but her family was more important than them. She couldn’t invite them to go to the mountain, either. Putting them at risk was out of question.

“I know how you feel but you’re jumping the gun here” Graham added, knowing referencing a gun would amuse her and help bring her down to earth “Let me talk with Ciruel. He knows more about the mountain than us, he’ll know what to do”

“You do that. Let me tell you this: we can’t let another day pass. We need to go tomorrow…if we’re going”

“I know. Let me deal with all this problem” Graham took his phone; it was to be expected Ciruel would still be awake.

“I’ll return home now. Call me as soon as possible” Ananas requested, and after saying goodbye to Byssa and Celia she left the inn. Having nothing else to discuss, Byssa took Celia to the inn room. Once the girl was asleep, Byssa returned to the lobby, where Graham was still waiting.

“I didn’t think she’d flip out like that. She seemed reasonable enough not to go into this kind of mission” she commented, leaning on the counter. Graham shrugged.

“I understand how she feels. She just wants her friends to be okay. Anyone would, she is just…willing to go the extra mile, I suppose. That is how she is” Graham traced with his finger the contours of the phone “I can’t let her go alone. She’ll need all the help she can have. Being a friend is all about supporting each other in moments like this, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know. What do you think happened to the monster kid?” That was what Byssa was more concerned with, besides Celia’s happiness. She has no idea who the Patta person is, and she hasn’t really met Frisk very well.

“I’m sure he’s back at home, under the mountain. Perhaps Patta and Frisk went with him?”

“How inconsiderate of them to not to call us” She preferred to think that than entertain the thought of Asriel unwillingly locking his human friends in the Underground. She wanted to believe he was the kind monster he had seemed to be.

Graham got out from behind the counter, making sure the entrance door was locked and starting to turn off the lights. “My friend Ciruel wants to look for Patta and Frisk, too. He even says he’ll get help from some teenager he knows. The six of us should be able to find them, but it’d be better if Celia didn’t come”

“I can’t stop her! Even if I leave her behind I’m sure she’ll somehow get to the mountain and follow us. She is stubborn like that” Byssa sighed “I suppose she’s fed up with being passive”

“Let’s hope for the best, then” There was nothing to be done other than seeing how things would go the next day.

-ooooo-

W.D. Gaster, the Royal Scientist, stared at the golden thread in middle of the infinite void.

The representation of the timeline wasn’t hard to understand. It was no more than a completely straight golden line, pulsing with light and a certain aura of majesty that always got him to stare in awe, extending into the distance. That thread, no thicker than a cable, contained everything in the timeline. What was more notable was that only that single thread existed in the emptiness, without branching or dividing into other possibilities.

“Let’s see what’s there to see…” Gaster murmured, willing himself to reach the thread. It was strange to be able to move in any direction in the void, but that was one of the strange properties of the infinite space outside of the universe. With scientific excitement he placed a hand on the timeline, localizing the present moment. Indeed, just like he had ascertained dozens of times before, he was completely absent in the future beyond the point he had entered his creation in the CORE. That was not strange, after all, he had literally left the known universe and entered the cracks between the worlds. His personal theory was that the void was another layer of existence, which allowed to interact from an outside perspective with the utmost workings of the universe.

There wasn’t much to do, though. As there was one single timeline, Gaster didn’t dare to try to modify it in any way, nor see the extent of the possibilities modifying the timeline entailed.

The reason he had come to the void was because of Asgore’s tale. The prince had gone back in time five days! Gaster moved his hand no more than a millimeter, focusing on Asriel among the billions of lives recorded in the timeline. There he was, five days ago. “What?” One second, there was a single one, currently sleeping in his house, and in the next second, another one existed in a house somewhere over the surface. The second Asriel had literally appeared out of thin air.

Intrigued, Gaster sped up through the timeline without bothering to stop to see much of what exactly Asriel did over the surface, approaching to the present day. There! In the moment he entered the void one Asriel was at his home, the other – the one who had absorbed a human SOUL, apparently – was sleeping in an inn. With some curiosity, Gaster took a peek into the future. Indeed, the child Asriel was going to vanish from the timeline, presumably sent to the past, while the changed Asriel would continue living in the Underground, at least from what he saw from the year after that day. It all made sense, the timeline was intact. He noted with some curiosity that just when the child Asriel disappeared from the timeline, the actual transformed Asriel was in the CORE laboratory, right in the room where the portal to the void was placed in. “That is unusual…I shouldn’t be able to see him if he’s going to be there” he mused. Gaster saw the transformed Asriel entering the portal, and at the same time appearing in middle of the throne room, which was even stranger.

There was something going on, and he wasn’t sure what it was. To find out more, Gaster decided to take a look at the adult human’s future. The scientist smiled at his findings. It was all normal until sometime after noon. At that point the human’s future didn’t exist at all. “I see. So that’s what is going to happen” he said, letting go the golden thread. The human’s inexistent future wasn’t a cause to be alarmed.

From past experiences Gaster had concluded that while he was outside of the universe the timeline needed to “repair” itself to take in account his absence. It wasn’t a quick process, so he had quite some time to return, but during that time the futures of anyone who would be majorly influenced by him or his actions were completely absent. It could only mean he’d interact with the human in some important way and that, if he didn’t return to the universe before the timeline finished “healing”, it’d mean a complete overhaul of the future.

There was one single conclusion he could get from this, and to test it, he focused on the timeline once again, grabbing the point he needed: right the moment he left. Gaster envisioned the surface of Mt. Ebott and tried to open a gateway to that place, but he was incapable of doing it. Nodding, he changed the location to envision, this time seeing the hallways of the CORE laboratory. A gateway opened without requiring any effort. “So to send Asriel back to five days ago I’ll need someone who can create a breach into that human’s house, someone with a connection to that place. If it isn’t Asriel then that leaves only one other option, doesn’t it?” So that was how he’d interact with the human the next day. Gaster let go the timeline and crossed the gateway.

Leaving the void that way felt like he was submerging in water. One moment he was in the void, the other he had returned to the universe. Gaster had never seen it directly, but he supposed that now his future existed once again. After taking a moment to compose himself, he entered the room where the portal to the void was in, finding one of his assistants. “Thank you for staying this late”

“You are welcome, boss. Did you find the answers you needed?”

“I did! We’ll discuss it tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be an important day in more ways than one!”