Today…. Today was a bad day.

Frisk sat up, rubbing their eyes as they glanced around uneasily. A carpet of bright, golden flowers lay crushed beneath their small body, and as Frisk tilted their head upwards they could see a dim circle of sunlight way, way up from where they had fell.

It wasn't the fact they had fallen from such a height that upset Frisk. The main issue here was that… Frisk had been here before.

But Frisk didn't remember hitting RESET.

So, what then, was Frisk doing back here? Everyone was happy. Everyone had made it out. Everyone had watched the sunrise together. Toriel had given Frisk a home. Frisk had a family that cared about them now. Everything had been as it should be. So why...?

Maybe Flowey will tell me, Frisk determined after another moment of silence. They stood, stretching as their limbs suddenly shrieked in protest. Ah. Right. They had fallen, hadn't they? That was what had started this entire adventure, after all. They had decided that it wasn't worth living with the humans anymore so… so…

Frisk shook their head, pushing these thoughts out of their mind. No. They had a place in the world now. Although they had been right back then… after all, they didn't fit in with people but monsters… monsters suited Frisk just fine. Monsters were nicer than humans anyways.

Frisk hesitatingly started feeling their way along the dark corridors, pausing every few moments to glance around. They paused at the arch entrance, peering into the pitch-black room where a single patch of grass sat, illuminated among the darkness. A solitary golden flower swayed there, almost as if it was a perfectly normal flower on a windy day. But this was the Underground. There was no wind here.

"Howdy kid… what are you doing there? Come on out, golly, I haven't seen anyone down here in ages!" The flower suddenly chirped in a sweet voice, turning it's face to look at Frisk as the flower gestured invitingly.

Frisk hesitated, then stepped into the darkness and approached the flower. "Gosh, it's so sad you're here all alone, kid, you must be terrified!" Flowey greeted. "I'm Flowey the Flower, and I guess it's up to little ol' me to show you the basics of the Underground, huh?"

"….Flowey." Frisk interjected. "Don't you remember me?"

"...remember?" Instantly the flower was on guard, eyeing Frisk with narrowed eyes before drawing up that cheerful façade again. "No… have we met somewhere?"

"?" Frisk stared at Flowey, unable to understand. What? Flowey was the only one that had ever seemed to remember when Frisk had died, and had revealed that he could use SAVE points as well at one point in time. If Flowey didn't remember… Frisk felt light headed all of a sudden, and they grasped their forehead as pain laced through their thoughts. "Ow," Frisk whispered. "ow, ow, ow…" They shivered for a moment, and then they made a decision. Cracking open one eye, Frisk offered a wobbly smile. "Sorry, Flowey… I got you confused with someone else. What… what were you saying?"

And the flower grinned again, all back to excitedly explaining about friendliness pellets. Frisk just smiled and braced themselves against the pain. It was okay. They were okay. They had done this once. Doing it all over again one time for the sakes of their new family and friends… that was ok. That was worth it.

.

After that, Frisk was careful to do everything exactly the same way they had done it the last time they had gotten through the Underground. They talked cheerfully with every monster, bought lots of food at the local bake sale, and tightly clutched Toriel's hand when she took the child through the ruins. Frisk could almost relax and have fun at this point, forgetting the problem at hand in the presence of their adopted mother.

It hurt when they said goodbye, although perhaps not as bad as the first time. If all went according to plan, they would see her in a few days' time.

It was ok. It was worth it.

.

The first anomaly came when Frisk met Sans again. They had watched, with a keen gaze no normal child should have at their age, every movement around them for any possible hint of what caused the RESET this round.

And Sans was… well. Frisk considered him and Papyrus like older brothers. But Sans was different in a way Frisk had somewhat been suspicious of from the start. See, sometimes Sans did things that seemed not to add up. He popped up a lot in places he shouldn't have gotten to so fast. He was the judge for any cruel deed humans did in the underground, and Frisk was wearily glad they had never seen what happened to whoever got the bad side of him. It probably wasn't very pretty.

But nevertheless, despite strange glances, quirky remarks, and peculiar choices in timing, Sans was fun to be around. He cared about Frisk, and could always make them laugh. Frisk was so glad when they heard the presence crunch through the snow to stop behind him, to hear Sans's voice again.

" …human."

Something about the voice made Frisk almost flinch. It wasn't quite the terror Frisk had felt when he first faced the unknown entity- it was more to the tone of… was that accusation? That Frisk could hear in the skeleton's voice.

"…don't you know how to greet a new pal? turn around and shake my hand."

Frisk turned, reaching out as they grasped for his friend's hand. The sound that emanated was unsurprising, considering Frisk had seen all of this before, but they couldn't stop the snicker that always followed when Frisk saw one of Sans's jokes, even if it was a joke as juvenile as using a whoopee cushion in tense situations.

Frisk, however, didn't miss the long examination Sans gave them while they were laughing. And they also didn't miss the murmured line that Sans whispered that they definitely did not remember. "...did you not like how things were where you came from, kid? …shame."

And then Sans laughed and continued talking like the comment was natural, but Frisk had already realized that Sans knew something.

Whatever it was, though, Frisk didn't ask. They could always ask later, after they escaped the Underground with everyone once again.

.

Asides from a few comments from Sans, Frisk followed their footsteps as exactly as possible and found little had changed. Their heart became bruised and battered once again, and Frisk fell more times than they cared to admit, but they always stood up more times than they fell. Call it stubbornness if you like, but Frisk knew they could do this. The second time should be easy in comparison, right?

And it was. Frisk managed to do it all over again. Frisk managed to hold their ground and not hurt anyone again and they were so, so happy when they finally reached the end again…

"Do you have anywhere to go?" Toriel asked softly, watching the sun as it slowly ended it's beautiful display.

"…can I… can I stay with you?" Frisk asked softly, reaching up again for their mother's hand.

"…of course, Frisk, you silly child."

.

CLICK.

.

Frisk stirred, slowly starting to wake up. They were home again… thank goodness. Frisk lay there, feeling tired from their trek through the Underground. Once was hard enough, two and Frisk was exhausted… but that was ok. Frisk had everyone back now. Today, maybe, Frisk would ask Sans what the strange behavior had been about.

They opened their eyes.

A view of a carpet of bright, golden flowers greeted them as they looked around.

…This wasn't their bedroom.

.

.

.

Upon finishing this chapter, you are filled with the DETERMINATION to leave a review.