A/N: Edited and sassy! Enjoy!

\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

The short skeleton was motionless on the carpet floor, staring up at the clip playing onscreen. Without much thought, sans started a soliloquy, regardless if the human was listening or not.

"i remember when mom had bought that old JVC VHS Camcorder from Gerson… she would always go out and buy more cassettes because i would always use it. on this particular tape…" sans trailed off, eyes closed as he immersed himself on fondly-remembered memories. "i mistook it for a blank one. that day was so fun…"

199X, Home of the Young Skeleton Brothers

A tall, female skeleton was sitting on a burgundy sofa, watching her oldest son playing with the camcorder. Her youngest son was barely learning how to walk, and the oldest wanted to capture all the moments of when he stood up.

"hey pap, look here! that's it!" A young sans perched a large camcorder on his shoulder, facing the lens towards his baby brother, Papyrus. The older child tried to get Papyrus to stand up and walk for the camera.

The baby on the rug hugged the tails of his large, red scarf. Tears formed on his tiny eye sockets, not understanding what his big brother was trying to do. sans moved the lens over to his mother, pouting.

She smiled and turned her head, smoothing her bright red dress and fixing her brown-colored wig in response to the camera being on her. "Yes, Dear?"

"he isn't doing anything, mom!" sans stamped the ground with his foot in a tantrum. The sudden noise made his younger brother burst into loud wails.

The mother rose from her seat to pick up her baby son off the ground. She held Papyrus tightly in her arms, whispering soothingly, "Oh, He Didn't Mean It, No He Didn't…" She nuzzled his large forehead and adjusted Papyrus' red scarf. The baby stopped crying and sniffed a little bit before staring at his mother.

She turned back to face the camera, giving a small smile to its owner. "sans, If Papyrus Doesn't Want To Stand Up, You Can't Make Him. He's Barely A Year Old. Why Don't You Go To Mr. Stovesky's House And See If Grillby Wants To Come Over? You Two Can Make A Film Together."

sans pouted a little more. "but, mooom, i wanna make sure that i don't miss it when pap walks! what if he does it when i'm gone?"

His mother set Papyrus down on the sofa gently. The baby reached arms out to be picked up again, uttering one of the few words he knew, "MAMA, UP! UP!" She gave him a wide smile, and sat down by her son, picking him up into her lap.

"Honey, I'll Make Sure To Give You A Shout If He Does. Now Go Along, And Make Sure To Turn Off The Camera So It Doesn't Run Out Of Film!" She bounced Papyrus in her lap, making the baby giggle.

sans clicked a button on the side of the camcorder. He kicked the ground lightly, a slight pout still present on his face, "okay, i guess." The young skeleton sulkily walked to the door and grabbed the handle to open it. Before he could turn the it, the handle turned by itself and pushed him out of the way. sans shielded the camera with his tiny frame.

"Gabriola, I'm home!" A short skeleton dressed in a white lab coat came inside the home, not noticing his son dangling off the door handle. He went to his wife on the sofa and bent down to look at his son, Papyrus. "Heya kid, have ya been good to mommy?" He touched his teeth to his son's forehead in a kiss. A tooth was missing from his smile.

Gabriola lightly bumped her forehead with her husband. "Hello, Tempus, How Was Work?" She asked her spouse, forgetting that her son was currently squished between the door and the wall.

Tempus shrugged. "Eh, it was okay. Where's my other son? I've got a surprise for 'im!" He was holding a black attaché case. He put it on the sofa beside his wife and opened it to reveal some documents inside.

Sitting atop the papers were two books. One was labeled, 'Comedy in Film', the other was labeled, 'MADD SCIENCE: A Junior's Guide to the World of Chemistry!'. Tempus took the two books out and gave them to his wife. They were a little worn, and water damage showed on the edges of the pages.

Gabriola opened the cover of the Comedy book. The script was intact and legible. She read over a few lines.

"Did You Find This At The Waterfall Garbage Dump? It's In Pretty Good Condition Still! But Why The Chemistry Book? Are You Hoping sans Would Be Interested In Medicine Like You?" The female skeleton looked over the other book, examining the contents. Papyrus cooed and reached for the pages, but his mother moved the book slightly out of reach.

Tempus removed his white coat, revealing a white collared shirt underneath. He threw the coat over the arm of the couch, but it ended up sliding off. He didn't bother to pick it up. "Yep, I got 'em over there. sans asked for a science book a while ago, so I thought the dump might have it. Sure enough, it was there! I don't know what the kid wants it for, but maybe you're right! He might wanna be like his old man!"

The father felt a tug on his black pants. He looked down to see his oldest son with a happy expression, "hi dad! you got me something? what is it?" The camcorder was still delicately balanced on his tiny shoulder. Tempus took the camcorder from his son to put it on the couch. He picked up the two books and presented them to sans.

"Look, son! I got you that science book you wanted, and with a bonus! This book will make your movies a little funnier!" Tempus' flat face lit up when his son took the two book with an exited expression.

The little skeleton's cyan eyes grew wide when he read the covers. He threw the books down and hugged his father, who was only a few feet taller than him, "thanks dad!" Tempus squeezed his son, lifting his tiny body off the ground.

Once sans was back on the ground, he grabbed the comedy and science book and snatched up the camcorder on the sofa. "imma go get grillbz! we're gonna make a funny movie with a crazy scientist!" The young skeleton yelled as he bolted out of the door.

Tempus put his hands in his pant pockets. "What a great kid."

The male skeleton turned to face his wife and child, reaching out to hold Papyrus. He held the baby in his arms, observing the red fleece onesie he had on. "You're a great kid too, huh Pap? Yeah you are!" He sat beside Gabriola, facing the old television. An old movie, Snow White if he remembered correctly, was playing on a VHS player.

\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

Young sans went across the street from his house. They lived in the urban portion of the Underground, so everyone was always close by, usually within walking distance.

The child skeleton went to knock on the door of Grillby's house. The smell of delicious food wafted forth when the door opened. A blue fire elemental being stood in the doorway, and had to look down in order to see the child in front of him.

Without saying a word, he stepped aside and pointed inside. sans scurried inside with a small "thanks," and walked up the cement stairs in the home. He arrived in a small hallway that led to three doors and took the first one on the right.

A young Grillby was on the hard ground, forming shapes with sand. The particles melted a little, and cooled off to a make-shift glass. The fire elemental looked up to see his friend come in and sit right by him.

In fact, sans had sat a tad too close, as flames singed the fibers on the skeleton's blue shirt. sans jumped back when he noticed the small trail of smoke coming from his top. "ah! grillbz, turn down your flame!"

Grillby shrugged and lowered his body temperature. "Sorry, I was making some stuff. Gotta melt the sand down, you know? Wanna see?"

The fire child held up a rough rendition of a kitchen knife. The handle was made with dark colored glass, and the blade was clear. Even though the knife itself looked bumpy and crooked, the edge was sharp, and shone brightly. "Dad always makes his own kitchen tools out of metal. I wanted to make some outta glass to see if they work better! …But my knife looks bad, doesn't it?"

sans observed the tool cautiously. "does he let you make stuff like that all the time? what if it breaks?" He didn't take the blade from Grillby, fearing he might get cut on the skewed edge.

Grillby nodded. "Well, yeah. I can't get cut." He passed the knife right through his arm, parting the fire of his body. It came back together like nothing had happened. "Let's go take this to my dad! He's making his burgers tonight, and that means he's gonna chop lettuce and tomatoes! He can use the knife I made!" Grillby got up and exited the room with sans following behind him. They descended the stairs and passed the living room area.

The kitchen smelled like cooked beef and grease. The smell of seasonings entered sans' nose, instantly making him hungry. Grillby's father, Kaftós Foúrnos Stovesky, was a cook in a restaurant at downtown New Home. At the moment he was washing some tomatoes under a slow running water. He was wearing thick, rubber gloves up to his arms, and a white canvas apron.

Grillby placed the glass knife on the counter next to his father. "Hey dad, I made this for you!" The young fire elemental looked up at his father. Kaftós set the tomatoes aside and took off the rubber gloves. He carefully lifted the glass blade close to his face. He grunted to himself and took out a bamboo cutting board. It was old, washed out from being used so many times. The center of the wood was sunk in.

Grillby elbowed sans. "He's gonna use it!" The young fire child watched with glee as his father grabbed one of the tomatoes and took the knife in one hand. The tool wasn't too thick or too thin, just the perfect width. Kaftós knew his child had worked hard on the blade. With a careful motion, he sliced the vegetable down the middle. It was a clean cut, but not straight. The father rose the blade to his eyes again.

"Cuts good, you need to make it straighter." He opened a drawer and pulled out another kitchen knife. It had the letters "KFS" engraved on the blade. Kaftós gave the tool to his child. Grillby took it carefully. "That's a guide. Make one like that." The father returned back to washing whatever tomatoes were left.

Grillby simply nodded and went out of the kitchen and into the living area. The fire child stared at the knife that his father gave him. sans looked at it, then at Grillby's face. The fire elemental pointed up, and his skeleton friend almost jumped for joy.

"alright, I love going on the roof!"

The pair ascended the stairs, and took one of the doors in hall. Another set of stairs led them to a hatch in the ceiling. Grillby opened it to let them out onto the roof of the home. sans carefully set aside his camcorder and books, and walked to the edge of the building. He looked down and saw his own house. The pale color of the paint stood out amongst the other grey buildings around it. The neighborhood wasn't the best, crime had always surfaced here and there. sans' mother always told him it was because of mass claustrophobia, but the skeleton had always thought otherwise. Still, it was home, and at least he had a friend next door.

Grillby was standing next to sans, looking down at the house below. The fire elemental poked his friend. "Hey, what's those books for? Are we gonna make a movie?"

sans still kept his gaze on his home. "yeah, dad got 'em for me." He turned to his friend with a widened smile. "you wanna make a movie about a mad scientist? i've got a book on funny stuff and chemistry!"

Grillby nodded, holding up the knife he still had in his hand. "Sure! I can be the assistant, and you'll be the crazy guy!" He carefully handed sans the knife. The skeleton delicately held the tool, shaking his head, "nah, we don't need this… imma cut myself with it like that."

The skeleton put the knife down carefully on the rooftop. He went over to the book of comedy and opened it up, motioning for Grillby to take a look. The two read a few tips on visual puns in movies.

They played the rest of the afternoon, making a film about a crazy scientist who blew up the world.

A few hours later, Kaftós opened the hatch to the roof. He waved sans over. "Your Mom's here. Grillby, come inside too."

sans picked up his equipment, and climbed down the stairs with his friend. His tall mother was waiting for him at the front door.

"Come On Dear, It's Dinnertime!" She helped sans with his books as they left the home. sans waved back at his friend, "see ya tomorrow, grillbz!" The fire child waved back silently.

Gabriola opened the door to let her son go in first. The smell of delicious tomato sauce filled the home. sans ran over to his little brother on the on the rug. Papyrus was playing with some wooden blocks, and the older skeleton turned the camcorder on right away. The film was rolling, but suddenly stopped with a click. A red light indicated that the film was already done.

"aw, mom! i finished another one again!" He clicked the cassette holder and took out the VHS. sans went into the kitchen where his mother was boiling pasta. She knelt down to his level, and sans handed the cassette to her. She examined it carefully. "I'm Sorry Dear, I'll Get You Some More. Now Go Put Away Your Camera, Dinner's Almost Ready!"

Her son did as he was told, heading to his room and carefully placing the camcorder on his bed. The room was a mess, with clothes thrown about the floor, and a few precariously stacked pillars of video tapes. sans smiled to himself as he thought of dinner. He loved his mother's spaghetti.

When the child came out of his room and into the kitchen, his mother was already putting Papyrus in a high chair. His father sat at the head of the small table, reading over some documents.

"Honey, I don't know why corporate makes me mix up these solutions! If I combine the chemicals on this page, I'll end up with a dead monster! This can't be the right recipe for the medicine…" Tempus pondered the list on the page.

"Put Down The Papers, Dinner Is Ready!" Gabriola served plates of spaghetti to her family. The noodles were cooked perfectly to al dente, and the sauce was her own recipe. The onions and garlic in the sauce were complemented perfectly with hints of basil and oregano. It was deliciously tangy, and the chunks of tomatoes added a perfect balance of sweetness.

sans dug into his food messily. His mother's spaghetti was the best…"

\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

Current Day

Frisk was listening to sans recite his memories of the past. They were still sitting on the couch, and sans was still on the floor, staring up at the TV with a blue screen that contained the word. "STOP." He spoke while the film played out some of the events in his memories, including the part where he and Grillby were filming a short movie.

The skeleton got up from the floor, and clicked the rewind button on the VHS player. The film blurred backwards, and he clicked pause when his mother was on the screen. "ya know… i made a wish yesterday. i guess in a way, it came true. wanna know what i wished for?"

Frisk stared silently at the skeleton's back. sans glued his eyes to the image of his mother on the screen. "i wished i could see her… one last time." His pupils bore into the television screen, unwavering.

The human's curiosity piqued. "What happened?" They asked quietly, hoping it wasn't too personal. The skeleton turned around to face the human with downcast eyes. He slowly looked up to see Frisk's face.

"they were murdered right in my face…"

\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

200X, Home of the Young Skeleton Brothers

Gabriola hugged her sons close to her body. Shouts were head through the house. Tempus was guarding the door to the room with a barrier of bones. Sounds of glass shattering, and doors being torn of their hinges were the noises of terror to the two children. A loud knock at the door startled the huddled family.

"Come out, Tempus! I know you killed that Pyrope, you sneaky bastard!" The door started to creak, and it exploded inwards in a series of splinters and chucks of wood. A wolf-like monster with outward fangs was revealed behind the broken clutter. Its black claws were outstretched and ready to kill.

Tempus charged his bone attacks and hurtled them at the wolf. "You've got the wrong guy, Smeak! I didn't kill them!"

The monster swung a massive arm at the bones, crushing them to powder. "Shut up, damn liar! You're the only doctor in the city! Who else would make those fucking pills?" The wolf sucked in some air, causing his chest cavity to swell to a grossly enormous size. He exhaled, unleashing a loud howl at the barrier of bones, shattering them with ear-piercing sound waves.

Tempus threw a barrage of bones defensively, but Smeak dodged all of the attacks with ease, slowly advancing forward towards the skeleton. The mass of silver fur lunged at Tempus, knocking them both to the ground. The wolf was atop of Tempus, and started to claw madly at the body beneath him.

Strings of cloth were ripped from Tempus' shirt, and soon spatters of blood speckled the ground. The father grit his teeth, feeling the claws grate against his chest bone. A sharpened bone from the skeleton stabbed its way into the thigh of the wolf, digging deep into muscle structures.

Smeak howled in pain, stopping his onslaught of claws. Tempus swirled the bone around inside of the wound, tangling the delicate tendons. The wolf hopped off of the skeleton, quickly ripping out the spear. He threw it to the ground angrily as Tempus staggered to get up. The front of his white collared shirt was ripped to pieces, revealing the shredded rib bones. Blood dripped downwards from rib to rib, and the vertebrae in the back were misaligned. Tempus couldn't take much more abuse.

An older sans and Papyrus struggled to see the battle beyond the body of their mother. Once the two siblings caught sight of their father, the older one squealed in horror, "dad! no, dad! RUN!"

Tempus took a glance to his son. It was a deadly mistake to take his eyes off of his enemy. The wolf took advantage and lurched once again at the skeleton, this time pinning his hands against the wall behind him. "You think you can get out of this, fucker? How about I kill your fucking family too? That's what that Pyrope was to me! Will was my best friend, you asshole!"

Smeak opened his jaws wide and bit Tempus' neck. He crunched down hard on the bones, splitting them apart. The father tried to desperately poke out the eyes of the wolf, but nothing phased the angry monster. He felt himself disconnecting from his body, and felt nauseating dizziness.

Blood seeped into the wolf's mouth, and the head finally detached from the body. The skeletal frame fell to the ground and dissolved into dust. The blood dripping from the wolf's mouth dissolved into pale grey flakes. Smeak held up the head of Tempus in his massive jaws. The head disappeared into smoke, and the grey soul remained. The wolf grasped it and crushed the soul before it could shatter on its own.

Papyrus screamed and sans lost his voice out of fear. Gabriola turned her back to her children, shielding them from the intruder. A bead of sweat dripped from her skull. "Don't, Please! They're Just Kids!"

The wolf convulsed in dark laughter. "So what? I couldn't give two shits." He swayed his sharp claws at the tall skeleton, reaching for her ribcage.

Gabriola held up her arms in defense. "Don't Ever Hurt My KIDS!" Bright orbs of light materialized on her sides. She took them into her hands and threw them into Smeak's face, burning the fur and flesh before he could land a hit on her. The nasty smell of burnt skin filled the wolf's sensitive nose, and he wiped away the charred fur off his cheek, completely ignoring her attack. He growled and boldly grabbed Gabriola by the arms, catapulting her against the opposite wall of the dark room. Sickening cracks of bone resounded echoed, and the wolf tackled her body on the ground, holding her steady with a palm on her sternum.

"Fucking bitch, you think you can help your little brats?" Smeak took hold of Gabriola's left femur bone in his mouth, and briskly twitched his head to the right, dislocating the bone from its socket. She threw her head back in pain and screamed. The wolf crunched down on the bone in his mouth, breaking it into two. Blood dribbled out from the cracks, and blue magic escaped from within.

The monster turned back to see the kids huddled in the corner of the room, watching in horror as their mother was dismembered. "I'm getting you next, little fucks!" Smeak turned his attention back to the screaming skeleton. She flailed her fists at his face, but he opened his maw to snap at her wrists, successfully capturing her right wrist. With another twitch he tore her right arm off at the elbow. More crimson and blue oozed out from the wound.

Smeak grabbed her head in his large jaw and pulled upwards, stretching the vertebrae until they popped out. Her screaming head was held up in front of the children with his free arm. The body dissolved in smoke. The severed head screeched out final words to her children.

"RUN! RUN!"

But they couldn't move, paralyzed in fear. Tears spilled from their eyes as they watched the wolf chomp down on their mother's skull, breaking it into pieces. The soul that came out from the remaining blue smoke was also crushed with black, clawed hands.

Smeak slowly glared at the two children, intimidating them with his massive size. "I don't care if you're kids," he growled, slowly walking towards the two young monsters. "The cops are coming to kill me, and I might as well bring you two down with me. Maybe that way we can escape the Underground together, even if it's in death." He cackled, brandishing his claws at the two.

Suddenly a shot of blue fire slammed onto his back. Kaftós came in, blazing hot and ready to protect sans and Papyrus. He rammed into the wolf, shoving the monster to the wall. The fire elemental's heat radiated in the room, burning hot all over the wolf's fur. He grunted, squeezing the other monster's throat with all his strength. "Get out of here!" he yelled to the two siblings in the corner.

The savior had snapped sans out of his paralysis, and he grabbed Papyrus' hand. "come on, let's go!"

He ran out with his little brother, hopping past the broken debris of wood from the door. The house was tattered, glass lay everywhere, and the furniture was smashed. The two exited from the wide open front door, running out into the street. They stared back at the home with frightened expressions.

"Hey, come over here and get inside!" Grillby shouted from the door at his home. The brothers ran the front door and went inside. Grillby slammed the door and shot the bolt home. He pointed upstairs. "Let's go up there. We'll be safer if that monster comes over here."

The trio went up the stairs and onto the roof. Grillby had a few sandbags waiting on the top. Once they were all together, Grillby closed the hatch and placed the sandbags on the opening. sans and Papyrus ran over to the edge, looking at their home. A group of police monsters were already closing into the abode, with long distance magic ready to shoot. One that looked like the chief went in first, followed by the others.

The children were watching expectantly. The sound of a firing magic beam hit their ears. An explosion went off in the home, and some of the police officers were knocked back outside. The wolf came out, roaring at the attackers. His flesh was burned severely around the neck area, and almost all of his fur was singed. An officer that resembled a black dragon ran out with Kaftós' body. His flames were low, and his blue body burned weakly. The officer tried to run past the wolf, but was stopped when he body slammed him.

Smeak grabbed both of their bodies, lifting and slamming them into the ground repeatedly with burned hands. Grillby yelled for his father, but Kaftós couldn't respond. His flames started to fizzle out slowly. The other officers were now shooting beams of light and spears at the wolf, while a few came together and tackled him down. A female dog officer produced a small radio from her uniform. "Code 8, code 30, we need backup!"

The wolf snarled as the other officers dragged him to the ground, they tried shoving a spear into his side, but Smeak threw the fire elemental in the way. The spear didn't go through. Instead, it hit Kaftó's soul. He yelled in pain before quickly dissolving into dust.

Grillby screamed as loud as he could muster, seeing his father die right before his eyes. The dust powdered the wolf, and he took a handful of it to throw in the officers' faces.

Smeak used the distraction to get up and run. A cloaked police person ran after the wolf with a magic sword in hand. They caught up to the injured monster, yelling as they thrust the sword into the wolf's back.

The criminal growled with pain, sword sticking out of his chest. Black blood coated the glistening blade thickly. The cloaked police person heaved upwards, slicing the wolf's upper body in half. Smeak fell lifelessly to the ground, both halves of his body split apart. The body dissolved unceremoniously after a few seconds.

The female police officer started relaying information over the radio. sans' eyes stared blankly at the dust left behind by the wolf. Papyrus was sobbing, and Grillby was gripping the cement wall of the roof's edge.

"This was the worst day of my life…"

\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

Current Day

The skeleton was staring blankly at the carpet, like he had stared at the wolf's dust. His grin drooped. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "after that, me, pap, and grillbz moved to the orphanage in the city. that place was the worst."

Frisk shivered in their own memories, balling their fists. The human shoved the memories aside and looked at the skeleton just standing in front of the television. The screen was still a picture of sans' mother.

They got off the couch and walked over to sans. Frisk wrapped their arms around the still skeleton, hugging him tightly, showing their compassion in the only way they knew how. sans let his head fall on Frisk's shoulder.

"thanks, frisk. i guess now you know why i'm so protective of pap. he's all i got left." sans put his arms around Frisk and hugged the human back. They parted and sans' grin returned. "it's alright now. we get to live out of this hole in the ground, away from the city of new home. pap and i can start a new life up there, just like we did here in snowdin."

Frisk smiled and nodded. A thought rushed to their mind, and they looked at their phone. It was already late. Toriel must have cooked dinner a long time ago. "I have to go. Toriel said she was going to make dinner. Sorry."

sans shook his head. "nah, don't worry 'bout it. pap will be home soon. well, at least he better be, or imma drag his ass here. see ya tomorrow then?"

The human smiled. "Of course." They opened the door to the cabin. "Goodnight!" The skeleton waved in goodbye as Frisk left the house.

It was dark outside of the home. Not unusual, since at night the Underground shut off their magic lamps, and all that was left was the luminescence of the cave ceiling. Frisk started to head off in the direction of the ruins. It was going to be a long walk, but they didn't mind.

Grillby's was still alight with commotion. Cheering and celebratory shouting could be heard from the windows. Frisk smiled and walked on ahead, passing the inn and shop. They crossed the long bridge as it swayed slowly. The dark chasm below didn't deter the human one bit.

After a while of walking through the dense snow, passing the dog's station, they arrived at the first place they had met Papyrus. The conveniently-shaped lamp was still there. It had developed frost on the lampshade. Frisk hugged themselves. Why was it colder than usual?

The snow crunched delightfully beneath their feet. Now the long stretch of woods was ahead of them. The entrance to the Ruins was so close. They picked up the pace.

Crunch.

Frisk heard snow rustling behind them. The human stopped dead in their tracks. The darkness swallowed them. Frisk held their breath to focus on the noise behind them.

Swish.

Someone was behind Frisk. The creeping sense of lurking eyes tickled Frisk's spine. It was as if the human felt ghost fingers stroking their back. They decided to start running through the snow, away from whatever was following them.

Sure enough, the swooshing sounds got faster. The human struggled to run in the deep snow, having to pick their knees up higher to get along. Frisk lost their footing and tumbled face-first into the white powder.

'Just like before.' Frisk thought as their body was covered in snow. They felt a sense of Deja-Vu, as if something like this had happened before. The human quickly got to their feet, dusting the snow off. They faced the ruins and their blood pumped hard. 'This is the part… Where I turn around.'

Frisk slowly turned their head to look in the opposite direction. A shadow of a flower was in the distance. The human almost sighed in relief, it was just Flowey! …but then they looked beyond the flower.

A familiar silhouette of a man was further back from the first figure. A dark cloak and white, smiling face shone in whatever light was available. Frisk's heart skipped a beat. Swirling images of blood and guts spilling from their body came to their mind. Familiar, dark, maniacal laughter rang in the human's head, sounding like it came from all directions.

The human doubled over, grasping their stomach. Nausea flashed in waves along their flesh. They cringed and shakily looked back up at the two figures. The flower silhouette had suddenly vanished and left the haunting figure of the man. He was hovering towards Frisk slowly.

Frisk tried to ignore the discomfort from their insides. They staggered in the snow, stomach reeling. The Ruins seemed so far away at the moment, and the everlasting pain kept growing stronger. After achieving a few feet of distance Frisk desperately looked back to see where the man was.

A black, crooked smile appeared inches from Frisk's face. The human flinched into the cold, wet snow, yelling in surprise. The man cackled amusingly, his white, cracked face glinting in the weak light.

"Oh dear, Frisk. I see you've managed to keep your little mouth shut," His smooth voice purred. "Good. Now, listen up, human. I only came because I'm looking for Flowey." He smiled wider, as if in frustration. "Tell that stupid flower to come meet me. He knows where to find me. I've been chasing him for a while, but he keeps running away. Such a pain, really." He looked away for a moment, almost expecting to find Flowey on the ground right beside him.

Frisk started to back away slowly, getting up from the freezing ground. The cloaked man held up a white hand. "Wait just a moment, Frisky. Remember what I said about telling someone about me? If you do… I'll make sure to pull those gorgeous little red streamers from your body." The man took a step back, and vanished.

Frisk ran all the way to the entrance of the Ruins, forcing their legs to go through the powder, mind empty and focused. The snow gave way underneath their feet, leaving cold trenches behind them. Once Frisk passed the stone arches of the Ruins, they began to slow down. The human jogged through the open doors and to the basement steps of Toriel's home. Frisk put their arms behind their head, panting heavily. They felt an odd pang of worry inside. "Why… Why was I running?"

"That guy is creepy." A voice behind Frisk stated. "I don't like him."

The human turned to see Flowey in the cold, paved ground.

The flower looked up at Frisk. "I don't know what he wants from me."

"What… What guy?" Frisk asked with a confused expression. Why were they so tired? Were they running? It felt like they missed something important. When did they end up in the Ruins?

Flowey narrowed his eyes, searching the human's eyes. "That creep. He's coated you with memory magic. But I think it's better this way." He smiled delightfully, almost taunting.

Frisk rose and eyebrow. "What? What happened, Asriel?" They didn't like that smile of his.

The flower stared back blankly. "Don't call me that. Toriel could hear you."

Frisk knelt down to Flowey's level. "But I think of you as Asriel now… Anyways, tell me what happened?"

"No. If I do, that guy will probably kill you if you told someone. Just forget about it."

Frisk furrowed their brows, "This is important, Asrie-"

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT," The flower hissed. "Really, you should go. That creep won't show up if you're with Toriel." Flowey burrowed back into the ground, settling the pavement cracks in a way that made it seem as if the flower were never there.

Frisk sulked a little before standing up. Someone wanted them dead? 'And Flowey isn't malicious like he usually is.'

The human absentmindedly walked up the stairs. The salty smell of food hit their nose right away. They went into the living room where Toriel sat in a large chair, reading her book about snails. She was almost finished with it.

Toriel looked up from her book to see Frisk walk in. She quickly put it to the side of the armchair and folded her glasses to put them in her pocket. "Hello my dear child! I thought you might spend a little time over with sans, so I made the dinner a little later. Sit down at the table so we can eat together!" The goat rose from her seat right away to step into the kitchen.

Frisk went to sit in one of the wooden chairs. The wood creaked softly underneath them. They admired the quaint floral decoration on it. Daisies and Camelia blossoms. The human stared at the red color of the petals, and lost themselves in thought for a moment. "What happened after I left sans' house…" They assured themselves that what had transpired wasn't good. Flowey's explanation was vague, and left the human with worry and a tinge of fear.

They didn't notice the giant bowl of soup being set down in front of their face. Toriel tilted her head to look into Frisk's blank eyes. "Are you alright, my child? Is there something wrong?"

Frisk gasped and whipped their head to Toriel's worried expression. They shook their head and shined a faux smile. "No, I'm fine! Just looking at the pretty flowers!" What a bad liar they were!

The human's goat mother grinned fondly. "Anxious for the next week? I am as well!" She sat down at the chair to the right of Frisk, where she had set her own bowl down.

Frisk looked at the light red soup. Bubbles of fat formed at the top, and soft potatoes were floating in the warm broth. The spoon at the edge of the dish waited for the human to grab it.

"It is chunky tomato potato soup!" Toriel spoke up. "It certainly will not be like the food at the Mayor's house, but I am sure you will enjoy it!"

After her explanation, Frisk happily took their utensil in hand and savored the delicious meal. It was amazingly creamy, the celery and carrots it had in it were soft and flavorful. They finished the first bowl within minutes, asking for seconds right away.

Toriel smiled to herself in the kitchen, refilling both of their bowls. Things were looking bright in the Underground. Now for the next week of hell.

\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

Alphys' Lab

Alphys sat in front of her large monitor, clutching a spiral notebook in her clawed hands. She hit the replay button on the edge of her keyboard to watch the scene play out before her for the third time. Her hands shook wildly in anticipation as a stalky black figure whooshed on the monitor and loomed over her friend Frisk. The footage was a little fuzzy and out of focus, but a feature on the black man stood out that the scientist couldn't ignore. That white face! She knew it from somewhere.

The dinosaur turned to look back at her bathroom door to check if Undyne was still in there. She didn't need to alert the Ex-Royal Guard. Alphys looked back at the screen and paused it before the dark figure disappeared into thin air. She looked hard at the shining white face. A couple of cracks ran down along the cheeks, and dark, soulless eyes loomed out from the glass. A striking sense of fear triggered and traveled along her spine. She felt as if the eyes were staring directly at her.

The yellow creature whipped her head behind her. No one was there. She passed her gaze back at the bathroom door. Nothing.

She sighed in relief, slowly turning her head back to the monitor.

Alphys' eyes met two dark pits in front of her, paired with the same white face she had seen on the screen. Her blood drained from her face, and she felt a cold shiver encompass her body. The black, smiling face of the man who haunted Frisk breathed on her, cold puffs of air hitting her cheeks making her skin rile in goosebumps.

She couldn't find her voice; Alphys couldn't scream. She only sank desperately into her office chair, vainly trying to retreat from the stalky figure that only inched closer the more she moved away. Time was in slow motion, and the dinosaur could hear her ragged breaths accompanied by the breathing of the man. She wanted to turn around, look away, and escape! But she couldn't as the eye pits of the figure bore deep into her soul.

"Alphys," came the soothing, yet disturbing voice from black cracked lips. "Why don't you forget our little encounter? In fact, forget that your ever saw this video, and delete it from all your data files."

She couldn't believe it. Her mind swirled, and a drop of nausea fell into her stomach. Alphys shook in fear, trying to remember where she had seen a face like his.

"Trying to remember me, are we? There's no time for that at the moment. Just relax and delete that video." He moved aside to reveal the keyboard to the monitor, even though his thin frame hardly warranted the motion. Alphys only stared at the keys, unable to make a move to touch one. Then she scanned the letters, and mentally spelled out the man's name. 'That's it!' She found the answer.

"W. D. Gaster, the old Royal Scientist." Alphys spoke perfectly, almost dully as she remembered the creator of the CORE. She fearlessly stared into his face. "That's you, isn't it?"

The smile on Gaster's face twitched downwards, a scowl subtly showing on his shiny face. This encounter was not going as previously planned…

\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

Edited Lovingly by Miss Sleep