A/N- Me: *Wanders into the Undertale section of my writing again*

Muse kitty: *Purrs*

Disclaimer- I don't own Undertale

Chapter 3

Frisk paced the room, and Alphys watched her path with worry in her eyes. Frisk reached one wall, swiveled on her heel and headed for the other one for the hundredth time that hour. The bandages on Frisk's arms stood out against her green cloak and were slowly staining pink. Chara had locked Frisk in Alphys's lab after they had gotten back from the latest hunt, as was the custom.

Alphys had taken Frisk's arm and steered her to the cot, carefully bandaging Frisk's nicks and cuts, and shakily washing the dust off of Frisk's arms. As soon as the scientist had given the all clear, Frisk hsd started to pace while she thought and waited for Master to come back.

"U-uh F-frisk?" Alphys asked, stepping into the young woman's path. "Are y-you alright?"

Frisk blinked at her, and signed her confusion over Sans, explaining that she had barely met him a couple days ago and then he had offered to take her out to lunch.

Alphys's eyes widened, and she blushed, her hands coming up to her face in surprised glee. "O-oh! It's l-like that one sh-show-! H-he's here to s-save you Frisk! Your one t-true love!"

Frisk blinked again, and giggled at her friend's enthusiasm, even though mentally she doubted those words. Even if she managed to break away from her suppression enchantments, and even if she managed to escape Chara, the government would never let her go.

"Wh-what did you tell h-him?" Alphys asked, and Frisk shrugged uncomfortably. As much as Frisk would like to get to know Sans better, there was only one day a month she could reliably do anything without Master's interference, and that had only been a couple days ago.

Frisk signed that she had told him the truth, that she was busy except for that one day and the occasional exceptions.

Alphys sighed, "I-it's too bad. Y-you deserve someone n-nice in your life."

Frisk grinned at her, and sat down on Alphys's bed, crossing her legs, and signing that so did Alphys. Alphys deserved the best person in the world in Frisk's opinion. The scientist deserved someone who would shower her with unconditional love, who would be able to protect her, who would watch all the different shows with her. Someone who wouldn't let Alphys's guilt and anxiety hold the scientist back from living life anymore.

(If anyone had been around to ask Frisk at that moment, she would have said that, based off of what she had heard of Undyne from MK, she thought Undyne was perfect for Alphys.)

Alphys sat down next to Frisk and nudged her gently, grinning at her. "A-at least tell me about him. What's s-so great about this g-guy?"

Frisk blushed, and signed that it wasn't like that, they had just met. Alphys gave her a look that just screamed that she disagreed, and stared at Frisk. Eventually, Frisk sighed and started to tell the scientist everything that she knew about Sans.

They sat there talking and giggling with each other until they heard a click of the lock being turned, and Frisk was scrambling to get off the bed and Alphys tripped over her chain in her haste to look like she was working. Master glanced at her as he walked in and scoffed, causing Alphys to blush in shame. Frisk had to work at not clenching her fists in anger.

"Are you done fixing it?" Master snapped.

"U-um, y-yes s-sir," Alphys replied, "I-I-I- Sh-she's a-all d-d-done."

Master glared at her, the scientist cringing away from the look. "How many times will it take to get it through your dumb empty brain? It," he pointed sharply at Frisk, "is not an actual person. It can't feel anything. Everything about it is a pale imitation." Alphys's eyes were glued to the ground as she quivered in her spot, and Chara scoffed again. "I don't know why I bothered to pay so much for you. The only thing that you're useful for is machines and even then you mess up."

The scientist looked like she was on the verge of tears as Master turned away from her and snapped his fingers at Frisk. She fell into step behind him again, sending Alphys an apologetic glance as she followed Master out.

"After your spectacular failure earlier today, I need more supplies," Master said without looking at Frisk, "Since it's your fault that I had to use up all of that enchanted rope, you will be getting some while I look for another job."

Frisk didn't bother to nod, Master would have her run the errand whether she agreed to or not. Their steps echoed on the cobblestones through the empty courtyard, and Chara shoved a basket at Frisk. She didn't wonder where he had gotten it from, the first and last time she had asked, he had broken a leg.

The marketplace was rather empty as the two of them walked through it purposely. Frisk didn't think she had ever seen Master without purpose. But since it was so empty, it was easy for Frisk to catch sight of the increasingly familiar white hair. She fought to keep her eyes from widening, and ducked her head to avoid making eye contact. Her grip on the basket tightened, turning her knuckles white.

"Stay here," Master ordered which made Frisk jump. She glanced up at him with wide eyes, and he scoffed. "Can't even pay attention to something right next to you. You really are useless as well as defective."

Frisk bit back the urge to insist that she was the only reason that Chara was as successful as he was as Master walked away. She hesitated, wondering if stay there, meant to go get the rope and come right back, or to wait to do that until Master had come back. She hated when he gave unclear orders. It left her feeling unsettled and a little upset because he would inevitably blame her when he came back.

She shifted her feet, and glanced around as she tried to make up her mind, only to lock eyes with startling blue. Sans grinned at her while she blinked and gave her a jaunty wave.

"hey there," he greeted teasingly, "don't ya know how to greet a pal?"

Frisk glanced around for Master again, before smiling and waving back, which made his ever present grin grow.

"that's better," he said, coming up the last couple of steps to stand next to her. "you free right now?"

Frisk shook her head, signing to him that Master had only left for a second and could be back any second to continue the errands that they were on.

Sans's eyes darkened for a second at the reminder of her Master, before lightening again. "welp, that sounds like plenty of time to grab lunch with me at grillby's. i even know a shortcut."

Frisk wanted to protest, knowing exactly what would happen if she wandered off without Master's permission, but something stopped her. Maybe it was the hopeful look in the man's eyes, or maybe it was what she and Alphys had been talking about earlier, or maybe it was the subconscious reminder that her only friend only got to experience the world vicariously through Frisk. Or maybe it was the fact that she would deviate from routine any way to find the scientist who was necessary for Alphys's escape.

She tightened her grip on the basket even more and gathered as much Bravery as she could before nodding at Sans, who relaxed at her acceptance. Frisk hadn't even noticed that he was tense until she watched his shoulders drop a fraction of an inch, and she made a mental note to work on observing the mysterious man.

He gestured at her to follow him, and she fell in step behind him like she did with the Master out of habit. He frowned briefly before his expression turned back into its normal grin as he tugged her forward so they were walking side by side. Frisk blinked at the action, because even Alphys had given up on correcting all of the habits that she had picked up from working with Master.

Something warm curled around her chest and Frisk suddenly found herself fighting back tears. She struggled to keep them from falling, wondering what was wrong with her. She never cried, it just didn't happen, regardless of what she had been through. Beaten, insulted, and forced into a job that she had never wanted, yet it was a single act of kindness from a near stranger that made her cry.

If Frisk could laugh, she would.

Sans turned down a darkened alleyway and glanced at her to make sure that she was keeping up, and Frisk really wanted to laugh at the look of panic that flashed across his face.

"if you don't want to come you don't have to!" he insisted quickly, and her shoulders shook with her silent breathy laugh. She shook her head, trying to clarify that it wasn't going with him that caused the problem.

Her laughter must have helped to reassure him, because he grinned slightly larger and said, "well come on then, water you crying about?"

Frisk giggled at the pun, and he kept talking, a teasing note entering his tone again, "no, seriously, if my comforting is going to water-work, then i have to know what's the matter."

She couldn't contain her giggles as he proceeded to bombard her with puns about water, tears and crying. Her cheeks hurt from the grin that she had sported the whole way over, and when she glanced up, she was surprised to find that after only a couple of minutes of walking they were at their destination.

Frisk studied the area, startled to see that they had somehow made it all the way to the outskirts of the city. The building they stood in front of was worn, but well loved, with a simple red sign reading Grillby's on the front. The red brick had long since faded to brown, but the wide windows in front were brand new. Sans comfortably pushed open the doors to the box shaped building as if he did it every day, and Frisk trailed along behind him.

The cheerful music was the first thing she registered, and she found her head bobbing to the beat almost immediately. There were only a few tables in the small building and a bar along the far end, but Frisk didn't quite notice anything after she started to look around.

At one end of the bar, a dog monster was in a heated debate with a human mage, and at the bar two bird monsters toasted about something with a female human. Everywhere Frisk looked, she saw humans and monsters co-existing peacefully, as if the devastating war hadn't been only a couple years ago. As if humans didn't enslave every monster they got their hands on and monsters in turn didn't kill every human they saw.

"not everyone wants to fight," she heard Sans say, and she couldn't help but beam up at him, because this place was exactly what she wanted for the world.