The brawns of Team Papyrus hauled the dusty machinery out of their storage chamber. It was an object they never thought they’d use in such a short time, if ever again.
The DT-Extraction Machine.
After plenty of careful instructions from Alphys, Undyne and Mettaton placed the huge skull-like structure on the ground.
“Phew.” She wiped the sweat off her forehead. “It’s not that heavy, but man I had to be so cautious with it.”
Armed with a duster, Papyrus immediately started cleaning the long-neglected machine. “I GUESS IT MAKES SENSE THAT UNCLE GASTER CREATED THIS. SKULL MOTIFS AND ALL.”
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Doctor Gaster smiled.
“MORE LIKE ‘CREEPY-COOL’. WHICH IS JUST AS AWESOME!”
Alphys’ Surface work concentrated on robotics. It was a line that required quite a bit of electrical inputs, so there were no shortage of power sources for the Extraction Machine.
She unplugged all irrelevant equipment. Then, she tried to lift a monitor. But her small size and clumsy gait made the simple task more difficult than usual.
Undyne walked over and picked it up with one hand. Then she carried away a few other extras, not without granting Alphys a wink.
The lizard started to turn red from love.
Gaster raised a brow at the short exchange of romance, which made Alphys blush harder.
He had the expression of an elder commenting on the lines of ‘Ah, young love.’ However, he did not express his thoughts. All focus was poured into making preparations; there was much to draft and more to calculate.
“We’re so fortunate that the convenience store stocked olive oil and salt,” he said, “Not to mention that they’re quite refined. Lack of impurities will make the ritual so much more effective.”
Alphys shuffled over to Doctor Gaster’s side, filled with curiosity. She loved to learn and her idol had troves of hidden informations. “Why do we need them in the first place?”
“The Magi’s Exorcism techniques descended in part from the Seer’s Arcanagram Circuitry. My ancestors noted that by combining substances under a clause transmutes the raw magic power into unique effects.”
‘Arcanagram Circuitry’. Alphys had once read about them in her school library. If she recalled right, they were the earliest magic-based computers. They take the form of ‘Grams’: stars with lines crossing over each other at specific points.
The more complex the calculations, the more points they required. Whole systems could be built by combining separate grams into a single entity.
“Like ‘Bones’ with ‘Magic’?” she asked.
“Yes. The most basic combination contained a single catalyst and heavily relies on the Seer’s colours for their final effect.”
That explained how Papyrus’ pentagram could rebuild Gaster’s scattered body. It didn’t matter if the young skeleton had no inclination for math. All he needed to do was follow instructions: if the formula was correct, the numbers will align.
“The more catalyst you add, the less important the source will be. The final formula depends on its intended purpose.”
“Example: summoning a demon requires a source of ‘Life’ and a source of ‘Corruption’. Essentially, a corrupted lifeform. That’s why the most common combination was ‘Blood’ and ‘Mercury’. Mercury is a very toxic substance, it corrupts an otherwise fine vessel of life.”
“How toxic is ‘very’, you ask? Enough to be illegal on the Surface without a proper licence. As such, many substituted mercury with other toxins. Raw snake venom or wolfsbane extract, or even cyanide.”
“Salt and vegetable oil are both classified as ‘Purification’ substances. They’re common preservatives in human history, thus perfect to counter decay. The humans had some very complex combinations out there to compensate for their lack of magical variety. I’ve read one alchemical experiment that dealt with button mushrooms, cinnamon sticks, sage leaves, black peppercorn, and water from a calcite spring. It was for the purpose of land restoration, if I recall correctly.”
“Our Magus friend gave me the necessary instructions for some powerful binds.” he continued, “Simple, yet effective. We’re fortunate that we live in times of great material refinement. Pure sodium chloride was hard to come by in the olden days.”
Alphys was amazed. This man knew so much. How and when did he study all these?
Then, she had a thought. A question. It was a glaring spot that continued to nag on her, refusing to budge until it was satisfied.
“Doctor Gaster?” asked Alphys.
“Hm?” He flipped the paper for a fresh page to work on.
“C-can I a-ask you a s-somewhat personal question…?”
Gaster replied, “As long it doesn’t involve romance, I think I’d be willing to divulge. Not because I’ve anything to hide. I just have no inclination to that topic.”
That old skeleton was career-minded to the very end. Though her question was not of such nature in the first place. “You said you were scattered across time and space, right? Were you beyond the standard limitations?”
The skeleton nodded. “Correct. The boundaries of physicality became meaningless.”
“D-does that mean you… you could cross the Barrier?”
He halted his calculations. Alphys wondered if she had broken a taboo. Instead of getting a heated grilling, though, her senior just sighed.
“I suppose it’s rather obvious to a fellow peer,” said Gaster. “Yes. The Barrier no longer applied to me. In a sense, I gained omnipresence. Travel wherever I wanted. Study to my heart’s content. A true ghost, you could say.”
The young lizard knew he won’t be happy with her next line of questioning. “Then, why didn’t you come back with the final SOUL and break the Barrier?”
Gaster’s expression turned grim. The writing stopped.
The lizard decided to can the subject. “I-it’s okay. Please forget about my question.”
“Doctor Alphys,” he said, “I’m not angry with you. It’s just, I had to recompose myself for a moment.”
She noticed his fingers tightened their grip on his pen. Consciously or otherwise, he tapped its point at an unused corner on the paper. Each strike was fuelled with silent conflict.
“I… wanted to say that it was due to my lack of tangibility. Unable to influence the world around me. Being removed from reality had their complications after all.”
“But,” Gaster paused. “That would be a lie. In time, I might have found a way. Subtle influence. Suggestions. Mental manipulations. Many, many methods. The possibilities were endless.”
“Yet, I did nothing.”
Alphys stared back, shocked.
“You see, there’s a thin line between a fort and a prison. They’re both confined spaces, yet one is considered a form of protection over the other.”
“While we had our quiet lives for aeons in our own little world, human history continued to fluctuate with dynamic changes. One area would have peace, the other fell into conflict. Nations rebranded. Economies and technology shifting in years instead of decades.”
“Sans was right.” Gaster finished the final stroke of his pen. “We were not prepared to emerge in every possible sense. Not without a proper mediator. Another reason why that child is our ‘Golden Quiche’.”
Frisk.
The peace and privileges monsterkind enjoyed today became reality, all due to their efforts. It was too easy to take that for granted.
Alphys nodded with fire in her spirit. “That’s why we must help Frisk now! They had done so much for us.”
“Agreed,” said the senior.
“…I just wish we could've asked first.”
At that moment, someone rang the doorbell. Alphys answered it. Lo and behold, she stood right before ‘King Dreamy’ in his regal suit of armour.
More mental swooning. “O-oh! Your Majesty!”
“Howdy, Doctor Alphys,” Asgore smiled back. He still kept his sweet manners despite the weight of the situation. “How are preparations coming along?”
“Good! We just need to clear out the extra equipment and mount the DT-Extraction Machine to the wall sockets. Then we’ll need to position the steel table underneath it.”
Alphys guided the King to her lab. Half of the extra equipment was plunked down at any available space outside the lab. For now, the anime-themed living room looked more like a storage shed.
“This is a lot of moving on a short notice,” the king commented.
“That’s okay,” Alphys replied. “We have some strong muscle helping us out.”
“Please allow me to assist.”
“W-what?” she exclaimed. “W-we can’t have you do that. You’re the King!”
Asgore shook his head. “I’m only acting as King. Besides, Frisk is my child. Allowing a father to do a little lifting is not too much to ask for, I hope?”
Oh, how could she decline such big-hearted humility? It was why King Dreamy won her heart in the first place. “T-thank you. Um, let’s see what the other guys have done first.”
Alphys took a few steps forward before asking another question. “How are the flowers doing?”
All those flowers from the True Lab had to go somewhere. As much as Alphys liked them, working with machinery demanded a plant-free environment. Those notoriously sticky seeds would cause trouble if they got into the inner workings.
Asgore replied, “They’re growing well along with the others.”
“I’m glad they’ve found a new home with you. Those poor things were stuck in my lab for so long, I’m surprised they survived.”
Any plant in the King’s care will flourish: much like their kingdom. Times may be hard, but no one went hungry.
Alphys led the King Asgore in the room. Undyne and Gaster stopped whatever they were doing and bowed their heads upon his entry.
She noticed those two were the only ones who greeted the old way. Everyone knew Asgore was their King, but few had interacted with him at an official level.
More people talked to him as a friendly school gardener than as a monarch. As such, bowing was not part of their immediate etiquette.
“Alright, let's do this people. The fate of our dear child, friend and ambassador depends on this!”
After all the extra stuff was moved away, it’s time for the initial setup. First, connecting the hulk called the DT-Extraction Machine to its power source. Asgore and Undyne did the heavy lifting, while Alphys and Mettaton connected the necessary cables to the correct spot.
Papyrus helped his uncle to move the steel worktable with a bit of his gravity-defying magic. Alphys cautioned against using that on sensitive equipment, but a simple table would be fine.
Thanks to Asgore’s strength, the process went smoother than expected. Everyone thanked him for his efforts.
“It’s nothing,” he smiled back. “You all did a great job too.”
Alphys noticed another missing detail. “Doctor Gaster, where are we going to contain all the Determination?”
The elder scientist pointed to the corner where they dumped their shopping items. “We’ll infuse them into the twelve bottles of olive oil over there. We’re going to subdue the demon with the very same power they held hostage.”
“Won’t the bottles explode?” Undyne asked.
“No, no. They won’t. The Determination will be split and diluted between the dozen. But, since they are precious reagents I suppose it’s best to take extra precaution.” Gaster beckoned Papyrus, “Come here, my boy. Your double ‘Integrity’ is vital here.”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Papyrus placed the duster on the table and walked over. “HOW, UNCLE GASTER?”
“Have you heard of this technique called ‘Psychia Reinforcement’?”
“NOPE!”
“Well then, let me teach you.”
Doctor Gaster must have learned tons of new magic from observing the Magi. They couldn’t keep him out, or even realise that he was observing their arts.
Alphys wanted to drop everything and join the impromptu lessons. Alas, she couldn’t. She still had to tune the software and its output. Perhaps she could ask more about the new magic later.
“WOWIE! I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS EVEN POSSIBLE!”
Papyrus’ exclamations caught her attention. He’s holding a bottle of oil with ultramarine lines zig-zagged across. After a while, those seeped into the structure and lost their light.
“Reinforcing non-living objects is quite straightforward,” Gaster explained. “All you needed to do was to fill in the molecular weaknesses. On the other hand, reinforcing living beings requires specialized knowledge due to cellular regeneration and interference from the SOUL. Oh, please repeat this for the other eleven bottles.”
The young skeleton got straight to work and enchanted the rest of the oil they had brought.
Someone then repeatedly pressed the doorbell button. That must be Cenna.
“I’ll answer,” Gaster said. “Just concentrate on the tuning, Doctor Alphys.”
Alphys started to sweat some more. Being important to Doctor Gaster was both a huge honour and a huge responsibility. Her stomach started to knot from anxiety.
Can she really pull this off?
Will she cause a mistake and things to go haywire?
She had checked and double checked, but what if it went wrong where everyone would least expect it?
Alphys took a deep breath and patted her cheeks. “Calm down. You can do this…”
The Magus rushed in with a sleeping Frisk in their arms. Gaster followed right behind. The human woman also clutched a rolled up canvas scroll in her left hand, secured in place with a red silk ribbon.
“Ah snap, did I make it in time?” asked Cenna, “There’s still the Gram to set up.”
“We’re still preparing, so you’re fine,” replied Alphys. “Just put Frisk on the table for now.”
She watched the ultra-cool woman lay down her dear sedated friend.
Then, Cenna started searching the sleeping child’s body. She found a pairing knife in the pants pocket.
A weapon. Alphys gasped.
The Magus reached under her coat and pulled out a vial of golden mystery liquid. Emptying its contents revealed a sickly dark-red web that wrapped around the knife.
“Tsk. Just as I thought, it’s already EQUIPPED,” said Cenna. “I can’t throw this cursed weapon away without waking the DEMON. Anyone who guards this knife must stay close to Frisky until the extraction’s done.”
Mettaton scooted over. “I believe I’m the perfect person for the task, darling. My other form is the ultimate strongbox.”
“Great! Protect it with your life, yeah?” Cenna handed the knife over to the robot.
After flipping a mental switch, Mettaton puffed back into his simpler rectangular body. The knife was hidden somewhere inside, with its exact location known only to himself.
“Are you ready, Miss Cenna?” Gaster asked.
She answered: “More ready than ever, doc.”
The Magus untied the ribbon and opened the scroll, revealing a complex multi-layered Arcanagram. In other words she brought the mother computer of the procedure.
She positioned herself at the center point of the lab and faced the person she must save.
Gaster again called Papyrus to be his assistant. The youngster opened the bags of salt, while the elder drew a dodecagram in pure white grains.
Twelve points. One for every hour. The point of origin ran straight under the table.
At the centre of the clock stood Cenna, as if she served as the anchor of its invisible hands.
At last, Alphys finished her fine tuning. “Okay, it’s ready to go!”
The twelve bottles of oil were arranged in a canister. Alphys closed the lid, secured it, and then booted the DT-Extraction Machine.
Frisk’s brilliant Red SOUL floated to the maws of the skeletal mechanism. Its jaws snapped wide open to feast upon its meal. The machine began to consume the SOUL’s glow, sucking streams of red to fill their canister of reagents.
Alphys noticed that the red heart had segments running through it. “Huh? Why is their SOUL cut to pieces? I don’t think that’s part of the extraction procedure.”
The Magus clarified her concerns. “Don’t worry about that, Alphys. I did the partition work. Now Frisky’s a Magus like me. Lucky for us, their SOUL matured faster than their body. The partitions will heal themselves too soon otherwise.”
As proof of her words, Cenna brought out her Yellow SOUL. Hers had much clearer ridges compared to Frisk’s.
“It’s a defense mechanism,” she explained. “If any part of us got compromised, we could break that section off and blow it apart. It’ll grow back whole as long one piece remains. That’s the key to my plan.”
Moments of tensed silence passed as the machine continued to do its job. On a normal child, this procedure would take a minute at most…
But Frisk’s supply was akin to a reservoir. Five minutes passed and the machine was still not done.
This was the calm before the storm. Cenna took the opportunity for some final words. “Hey, quick a reminder. Exorcism is nasty business. There’s gonna be a ton of hateful screaming and maybe some other freaky accusations.”
“If any one of you get uncomfortable, feel free to leave. It’s for the best too. May never know if this bugger feeds on negativity.”
Despite the warnings, Frisk’s friends insisted on staying. Each of them had their own personal reasons.
For Alphys, it’s because she’s the one who knew how to operate the machine. Therefore it was her responsibility.
On the turn of the hour, the machine stopped it’s consumption.
Alphys checked the readings on her console. “I’ve confirmed that Frisk now has the same level of Determination as a normal human child. They’re no longer a superpower. …For the time being, anyway.”
With this Frisk’s time-travelling powers had become defunct, and thereby Chara also lost their power to RESET. Frisk will be able to refill their Determination reservoir, but doing so requires conscious effort; it’s not something that could be done in the duration of the ritual itself.
“Thanks,” Cenna nodded. She placed the scroll on the ground and stomped her right foot onto it. Power flowed from her body to the Arcanagram. From there, it spread across the salty circuitry.
The saline crystals shimmered in the golden aura of a Vanquisher.
“I’m primed,” she said. “Unlock the canister and let’s get this show on the road.”
Closer and closer they’re arriving at the big moment. Alphys couldn’t stop sweating from anxiety.
Still, she had a job to do.
Alphys unlocked the lid and lifted it up. Bottles of imbued oil floated out from the canister, pulled out by the pre-programmed magic of the Grams.
Each bottle came to rest on a point of the star. One had to go underneath the table itself. The blue lines that once reinforced it vanished, its magic overridden by the preset commands.
The glass was now brittle once more. It’s astonishing that they could still contain vast amounts of Determination.
Cenna held onto her hat. “Okay guys. Get behind me now.”
“Me too?” Mettaton asked.
“Yup. Otherwise you’re gonna get caught in the blast.”
The robot and his lizard friend hurried to the backlines with everyone else. Alphys looked at the Magus’ back. It reminded her of the intensely cool scenes in anime.
The pieces of Cenna’s SOUL parted from each other, rearranging into the main body of a bird. Its golden wings of light spread to their its fullest span.
Twelve feathers soon emerged overhead, each ready to pierce an hour on the face of time.
“Activate!”
Upon her command, they shattered the bottles of diluted Determination. Energy spilled forth and surged through the reagents. In moments these were no longer the common grocery store items they had bought off the shelves.
The mixture of glass, oil and salt transformed into chains of solid magic. An almost endless stream of bindings flew towards the possessed, entwining both body and SOUL in the blink of an eye. The ends anchored themselves into any hard surface they could, burrowing themselves into the walls, the ceilings, and the floor.
That entire section of the room got chained together with the target.
The DEMON was rudely awakened from their forced sleep. They had Frisk’s clothes, but their face was not theirs. A mirage with rosy cheeks and blood red eyes replaced that eternally stoic visage.
“W-what’s this? Chains?!” They struggled and writhed under the unyielding bonds, screaming in an ethereal, twisted voice. “What have you done?! Why can’t I RESET???”
Chara recognized Cenna.“You… YOU!!! I knew it! YOU’RE A DAMN FILTHY WITCH! I should have killed you the moment I saw your fucking face!”
A demon accusing another as a witch, how ironic.
“Eh, but you didn’t,” the Magus replied. “Or rather… you can’t. Frisky’s holding on strong, yeah? You’re powerless to do anything unless they surrendered to you. After all, you’re just running on borrowed ‘time’.”
Despite the twistedness, their dear father still recognized them. “…Chara?” Asgore muttered. He never thought he’d see that face again.
Alphys covered her mouth. Their target was none other than the first Fallen Human, the King’s adoptive child… And they had become a threat to existence itself.
Doctor Gaster confirmed the terrible news. “Unfortunately, it is indeed Chara. They had become corrupted after their tragic death. Apologies, Your Majesty. This must be difficult to watch.”
When Chara realised that they had just screamed threats in front of their adoptive father, they clammed up. They had just shown everyone their worst.
The child put on a pitiful face. “Dad,” they whimpered, “Dad, please save me! I didn’t do anything wrong. I-I just used some swearwords. I’m not going to hurt anyone, please.”
Asgore stared down on the ground, silent.
“Dad…? Dad, why won’t you look at me?”
“…Chara,” so said the father. “Please don’t struggle. Think of it as a dentist visit. The more you fight, the more you’ll hurt yourself.”
The King will not budge.
With one option down, the child moved on to the next softest person: “Papyrus? Are you going to abandon me now? That’s not you at all! C’mon, you’re The Great Papyrus! You always believed in me!”
The skeleton wanted to reach out to the kid, but Undyne held him back.
She shook her head and said: “That’s not Frisk, Paps. Remember what Doctor Gaster told us. They’re gonna try pull at your heartstrings before stabbing you in the back.”
“BUT…” Papyrus frowned.
“Who do you trust more? Me, or them?”
The skeleton struggled to make a decision. After a whole lot of thinking, Papyrus stepped away.
He chose Undyne over Chara.
The strongest fish glared at the DEMON. “Don’t even bother pleading to me, demon. I don’t know you. Just get outta my bestie and scram.”
“Alphys? Mettaton? Not you guys too!”
Mettaton crossed his arms and huffed. “Darling Undyne is right. None of us know you. All you’ve been doing is riding on Frisk’s coattails of success. That’s plagiarism and I can’t condone that!”
Alphys just looked away.
Frustration twisted the child’s face. Their facade had started to crack.
“You rather believe that goopy mad scientist and a witch over me…? You… YOU MONSTERS ARE NO DIFFERENT FROM THOSE HUMANS!”
Cenna’s magic intensified. “Playtime’s over, kiddo. It’s time for eternal sleep.”
Yellow, the colour of Justice. It exposes secrets, no matter how deep or subtle they are. Nothing can hide under its light.
Another golden feather went straight into Frisk’s SOUL. It seeped into the red substance and forced the globs of black out of hiding. The darkness coursed throughout its host, ebbing in and out against the brilliance of the living.
Cenna reached out her hand, channeling her power to pull all of Chara to a single fragment.
They knew. They understood. The demon screamed out of rage and pain, threatening all sorts of violent deeds as they continued to struggle.
But no matter how hard they tried, the chains stayed strong.
Chara’s illusionary face started to melt. Alphys shut her eyes. When that wasn’t enough, she closed her ears in an attempt to block out the hatred.
This scene reminded her of a show in which the protagonist was forced to watch innocent victims getting beaten to death. It was so horrible, she deleted the episode and put that title on her blacklist.
Undyne knelt by Alphys’ side and wrapped her strong scaly arms around her. “Hey, you wanna step outside?”
A part of her wanted to cower. To flee. To hide and pretend this night never existed.
…In the end, the lizard shook her head. Her resolve refused to quit. Unlike in a video, a friend’s life is on the line.
“No,” Alphys replied. “I must stay. I’m the… I’m the one in charge of the DT-Extraction Machine.”
From the corner of her eye, she noticed bones rattling in place. “Papyrus?” she asked.
The young skeleton trembled from top to bottom, clutching the right side of his skull. His orange Eye burned wild without control, like raw fuel fed the flames.
Doctor Gaster noticed the adverse reaction and hurried over to ask: “Papyrus, my boy, are you alright?”
“IT HURTS,” the younger replied. “I FEEL SICK. I DON’T EVEN HAVE GUTS BUT I FEEL SO SICK.”
“What did you see?” Gaster asked.
“NOTHING.”
“Then what's the problem?”
“NO! I MEAN I LITERALLY SAW NOTHINGNESS!”
As beings of emotion, negative hostility weakened monsters. It was their universal poison, and some of were more sensitive than others.
Papyrus had never faced such distilled hatred before. To add unto that, he was at the epicenter of a massive meltdown just mere hours ago.
He may be strong, but even ‘The Great Papyrus’ could only take so much psychical stress. This entire day was just too much on his sweet, innocent self.
King Asgore offered to help. His huge, gentle hands guided the young man out of the room, far away from the site of conflict.
Doctor Gaster meanwhile fiddled with his skeletal fingers in deep worry. The senior scientist muttered something under his breath, but Alphys couldn’t hear it above the demonic screams.
When the monarch returned, however, he stopped. Whatever it was, he wanted no one else to know, and least of all Asgore.
“That’s every last bit of you in there, kid!” said the Magus. Her statement caught everyone’s focus.
All the darkness now concentrated on the pointed bottom section of the SOUL, more magical chains forced that piece apart from the rest, dragging it away from the other cleansed pieces.
Then… the finale.
The Vanquisher’s sharpened armaments besieged the corrupted fragment from all sides, primed and ready for the sendoff. Each bit that pierced through exploded from the inside, causing crack after crack to burst from pressure.
No escape.
Alphys wondered if Chara could feel pain from each blast. If yes, it was a cruel and unusual way to die. One glance at Asgore and she knew that he had long stopped watching.
No one wanted this. Yet, the vanquishing must be done to protect their saviour.
The DEMON refused to stay quiet.
“I’ll kill you!” they screamed. “I will come back to kill you and you and YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND ALL OF YOU TRAITORS! I am the DEMON of Hyperdeath! THE BE ALL AND END ALL! ”
Cenna sighed. “It’s always everyone’s fault, huh? That’s the difference between Frisky and you. They’re all grown up, while you’re still a brat. Forever thinking the world owes you a favour.”
The final feather took the form of a sword, the human’s symbol of capital punishment.
“Goodbye.”
It sliced through the cracked remnants of the DEMON-possessed SOUL, shattering it into fine sand. It rained down in the still-aired room and slowly vanished into nothingness.
A pin-drop silence hung over them.
It seemed to last for eternity.
Vanquisher Cenna Caraway’s SOUL returned to its default shape, receding back into her chest. She then dropped on her knees: exhausted and out of breath.
Without their power source, the magical chains disintegrated into warm salt with some glass mixed inside. The oil had long been burned up together with the Determination.
Just as the expert had claimed, Frisk’s missing fragment of their SOUL began to grow back.
“Man,” said Cenna. “I’m so done for the night. Seriously. Like, give me a flat surface and I’m off to lalaland.”
Asgore whispered, “It’s over…?”
“It better be,” the Magus sighed. “That’s the toughest DEMON in my entire career! It ain’t surprising ‘cause they had leeched off Frisky for so long. I reckon it’s years and years worth of time-travelling right there.”
Uncertainty transitioned into relief. Monsterkind celebrated their new victory, although it was subdued with the knowledge that it was not a peaceful death.
Mettaton and Undyne were the first to check up on Frisk, followed by Asgore. Alphys needed to make sure that she properly powered down the machine before joining the team.
She noticed that Gaster existed the lab post-haste, no doubt to check up on Papyrus.
There was a clear frown on his face.
Undyne lightly patted the kid’s soft and slightly moist cheeks. “Yo kid! Punk! Wakey wakey! Are ya feeling alright?”
Frisk shuffled a bit on the cold, hard table. They rubbed their throat and uttered a hoarse reply: “Sore. Everywhere.”
“It doesn’t surprise me, my shining star,” Mettaton replied. “Your other you won’t shut up. But they’re gone now, at long last!”
Asgore helped Cenna up from the floor and towards the table. The father smiled down upon his child.
“Yo Frisky,” said the lady. “Sorry for all the trouble. Hope you could still trust me after whisking you away like that.”
Frisk’s borderline-kidnapping was about as grey as it could get. Alphys realised that it was a necessity though: their key to success was to catch Chara off guard. It wouldn’t work if they had asked Frisk for permission.
Would they get angry? Maybe miffed? Throw a tantrum of mistrust?
However, the sweet child paid no mind. They gave a thumbs-up, while grinning ear to ear.
Alphys and Cenna both sighed in relief. Frisk was a smart kid; they had figured out the plan long before Chara even noticed.
Happy beyond words, the ‘aunt’ rubbed the kid’s head. Goodbye neat hair, please make way for familial affection.
The lizard lady shared the joy. She chuckled at the sight, glad that the storm had finally passed.
At long last, all’s well in the world.