Waking up was a process of drifting in and out of consciousness. The only thing she remembered clearly was that her head kept throbbing constantly. But by the time she had finally sat herself up in complete awareness, she had already taken in her surroundings. This was the skeleton brothers' home. She recognized the couch she had been sleeping on, the living room, the kitchen, the stairs, and the one sock Sans never picked up. Nostalgic. This blanket too was familiar. It seemed Sans had finally unrolled it from the unusable ball it was before. She hoped he'd thrown it in the washer at the very least.

"'Sup, kid?"

She jerked her head back around quickly to see Sans on the couch too, just across from her.

"So you're finally up." He'd popped out of nowhere, like he always did. "It's been about two hours… maybe?"

He sat, hands in his pockets like usual and shoulders relaxed in that blue jacket he never took off. No doubt her sudden appearance was a big surprise to him, but if it were, he didn't show it. If anything, she knew he would have questions. But even she didn't know exactly what was going on. For better or worse, she couldn't even feel the other presence in her head.

Sans watched her intently for a moment – no doubt noticing her zoning out – before speaking up again.

"So. Uh. You're a human, right? That's hilarious."

Those words pulled her back into the present. Frisk knew what he would say, down to the last word.

He continued. "I'm–"

"Sans."

She spoke quietly, but it was enough to stop his words completely.

"You're Sans." She spoke again. "Sans the skeleton."

The brief silence was enough to tell her he wouldn't just let it slide this time. She already called him by name before she passed out. When he reintroduced himself, he was giving her a fresh start.

That was how Sans was. Willingly oblivious. Completely passive. He gave up a long time ago.

She wouldn't let him do that anymore.

When he didn't pick back up on his introduction, she did so for him, stating every one of his lines as if it were a script before her eyes.

"You were supposed to be on watch for humans, but you don't really care about capturing anybody..." The old memory brought a sense of warm comfort reminiscent of the first time she felt his now familiar sense of humor. "Now, your brother Papyrus. He's a human-hunting fanatic."

If someone who was already still could freeze, Sans did exactly that in that moment. He didn't need to hear more.

Frisk jolted at the sharp snicker inside her head

What are you going to do, Sans?

Chara.

The fallen child knew Frisk could tell she was there, but rather than attempt to seize control again, she seemed content to sit back and watch the show. There was no need to jump right back in and pull the reins. She was thoroughly intrigued by the turn of events. Her voice entered Frisk's thoughts once again.

Oh, this is getting good. Repeating his words back to him directly? You're a genius, Frisk.

The incorruptible, never ever to-be-shaken Sans was at a loss for words.

Wow, look at him. You're completely throwing him off his game. Ha, I wonder what he's going to say.

Frisk threw aside Chara's malicious intrusion to focus on Sans' words. To say that was a rare sight was an understatement.

"Who are you, kid?"

This could go either way at this point. Now, Frisk had made it clear she knew something substantially big that he didn't. His curiosity was peaked, and by that monotone voice, she knew that he was in the process of deciding whether or not that fact was a good or bad thing.

She took in a slow breath, before looking into the sockets of the monster with whom she had grown to be friends – timelines ago.

"I'm..."

With the straightest face she could manage, she spoke.

"I'm the legendary fartmaster."

Silence.

Neither she nor he broke eye contact. Her nerves were on edge. This was the best she could come up with. What could he possibly be thinking?

"What?" He asked in that same monotone voice. "Can you say that a little louder?"

Frisk bit back her anxiety. She didn't want to show it in front of the observant skeleton. Not now. She opened her mouth once again, willing her voice not to crack.

"I'm the legendary fartmaster."

He closed his eyes. "...Wow. Can't believe you would say that. Not only is it infantile... but it's also my secret-secret triple-secret codeword."

Even Chara was anticipating.

Sans' right eye opened to look at her. "I wonder who could have told you that."

No other than him. Frisk knew that he knew that. She stared hopefully, still awaiting his judgment.

"So tell me, kid. Who are you?"

She hesitated. Where could she even begin?

"I mean your name this time, buddy."

Oh. There was no hiding her relief as felt the change in the way he addressed her. Open. Inviting. Friendly. Humorous.

"Don't get all rattled now, kid."

Sans' grin was genuine this time. "By the way you look at me, it seems like we really must have been something good. Besides, I can't say I've met a time traveler before. Now, that's exciting."

Her relief turned into a laugh as she jumped forward to hug the skeleton. It would be such an immature, childish thing if she started bawling now.

But she really wanted to.

That happiness was infectious, even though Sans still had absolutely idea who she was. He returned the embrace, along with a comforting pat on the head.

"Alright, kid. Better start filling me in on this. Don't leave me in the dark here. Tell me what's up."

Frisk nodded. Then she was hit hard with a wave of nearly physical emotion, a mixture of guilt and pain as compensation for feeling the cold skeleton's warm invitation. No doubt Chara's sadistic doing, vivid memories flooded her head.

"C'mere, pal."

Her body was no longer shaking, no longer off-balance. Her painfully remorseful eyes relaxed into an expression of genuine happiness, and she was laughing in relief. She ran forward into his arms. And for a moment, she breathed in the forgiveness of an old friend's embrace.

In the next moment, her small body was cleaved straight through, held several feet into the air. If there had been room for anything besides bone in her body, her nerves would have been screaming beyond the first half-second of agony. A choked, incomprehensible cry left her as the magic appeared to retreat back into the ground, dropping her down with it.

She could barely feel the temperature of the tile floor seeping through mutilated body as she lay there, no longer able to move. Snowdin's cold was incomparable to what she felt now.

"Huh."

Sans stood before her, with that same unchanging expression, his head tilted downwards to examine his work. No trace of pity. And he had no reason to feel any. He knew no other version of her than this murderous monstrosity.

Just like he knows no other you than the stranger he sees now. Chara teased.

She didn't want to hear this now.

I'm just telling you the straight truth, Frisk.

Chara was speaking truth. She knew.

Now, imagine if he knew everything. It's just so convenient everyone forgets after a simple reset, isn't it?

A laugh only Frisk could hear resounded within her body.

He would never forgive you if he knew.

Frisk shrunk, physically reacting to Chara's attacks. But she wouldn't just cry like a little kid and give up control of her body for this timeline. Not for any timeline. Not just for the sake of the monsters' lives in the underground but also for herself. It felt selfish… but she wouldn't be able to live looking through Chara's eyes.

"Kid?"

He must have noticed her silence and tenseness. Ever so observant.

"Sans. I'm so sorry." She tightened her embrace and repeated it, emphasizing her apology. "I'm so sorry."

Instead of leaving him in the dark, she resolved to ignore her aversion to verbosity. Time to start from the beginning.

"My name is Frisk. And you're Sans. You have a brother named Papyrus who loves puzzles and spaghetti." She let go of the embrace to look him eye-to-eye and properly tell him the entire story.

"Napstablook, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Toriel, Asgore…" She listed off the first few names that came to mind before deciding it was enough show-and-tell.

"We're not just friends, Sans..." Frisk spoke, letting a smile pull at the corners of her mouth. "We're family."

Sans was remained thoughtfully quiet for a moment.

"…Toriel?"

Oh, wait. He didn't know who she was yet.

"You'll meet her later." She assured.

He shrugged without hesitation. "Alright, kid. I trust you."

Then he closed his left eye in a playful wink. "You and I must've been pretty tight if I told you my secret-secret triple-secret code word. Still got a lot of questions for you though, kid."

A quiet hum pained her head. Chara wasn't saying anything, but she never let Frisk forget her for too long. Frisk only nodded in response to Sans' words, bearing the fallen child's pressure for control, his words barely ringing through the ever growing fog in her mind.

"It's like I'm a time traveler." She cracked a joke. "You said so yourself… that if you ever met one…"

Hey, hey, Frisk! I want to talk to him now!

Frisk continued. "… That surely they would know your secret code."

"I guess, for one... how'd we meet? The first time I mean." He asked. "Knowing the Underground... it must've pretty puzzling the first time you got here. Pap can get pretty invested into making 'em."

At the mention of Papyrus, Frisk's pained smile faltered.

This didn't go unnoticed by Sans.

Now, the pressure in her head was growing unbearable. Chara was slowly choking her out, constricting her control over her own body. At the same time, pushing doubts onto the forefront of her thoughts. Weakening her will once again.

Frisk held onto her head, shutting her eyes, grinding her jaw, fighting it.

"Kid?"

Sans' voice was a mile away.

She swallowed, knowing it would be best to tell him everything. But it was scary. She knew what he was capable of, and she dreaded it. She dreaded seeing his old friendly demeanor change, after knowing her as who she really was, for what she had done.

"Sans." She managed to force out, curling her body up even more. "I... have a lot to say."

"Throw it at me, kid."

Okay then.

The last thing Frisk heard before her body went numb was the fallen child's excited laugh.

The quiet atmosphere was the patience Sans offered, an expectancy of an explanation.

The kid's body relaxed, and slowly, she looked up, a wide grin now plastered on her face.

"You know, Sans."

Her smiling eyes lifted to meet his.

"My favorite part out of all the timelines was killing that annoying, uncool embodiment of stupidity, Papyrus."

Frisk sat in a nightmare, caged in her own mind, only able to listen to the fallen child's will.

He sure changes his tune real quick, doesn't he, Frisk~?

Two giant skulls stared straight at the center of her small body. But her eyes never left Sans' empty sockets.

"Go ahead and kill me. I dare you." She mocked. "We'll just start this timeline over again, and you won't remember a single fucking thing."