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Chapter Text

He lunged forward as he woke, banging his head on the rather low ceiling. It was natural, automatic because the triton is coming down on his head-
No, he was in the dark at the moment.
"Where am I?"
He didn't have to reach far, his hands touched the ceiling and walls easily; In fact, he could barely move his arms- he had to wiggle to put them forward.
Was he in a box? Is that what that amorphic furry was trying to do? Trying to put kids in boxes and steal their souls?
Oh.
"I died." He whispered to himself. "The triton- it... I lost. This isn't a box, it's a coffin."
He stayed still for a moment with no motivation to move. He had survived past everything else in the Underground- the freezing tundras of Snowdin, winding rivers in Waterfall, the heat in Hotland, only to meet his fate by the hands of a oversized goat.
His plan to stop the king failed. He was a failure. He just wanted to keep his sister safe, so she didn't have to live in fear- that's why he had left her in the Ruins- so she didn't have to face it.
And he, once again, made the wrong move.
"Damn it!" He shouted at nothing. "Damn it all!"
He pounded against the coffin, hitting it with all his might. Every hit a punch in that giant, stupid goat's face-
Crack!
He barely realized that he had broken the top off the wooden coffin until his hand was sticking through the hole he'd made. Cool air rushed in and he sucked in from the bottom of his lungs. The light blinded him for a moment before becoming bareable again.
If he was to look into a mirror at that moment, he would see his face emancipated from his time Underground, due to the fact that he was mostly running and fighting, burning off more calories than he could take in. He would see puffy red eyes from his moment of weakness, and a giant bump at the top of his head. He'd see his shirt torn in multiple places along with muddied shorts that he'd worn the entire week since he left Toriel.
"Toriel." He'd left her all alone, with only a note for goodbye. He didn't know the lady long, but he still felt bad. He wasn't always the nicest to her.
He broke pieces off from the opening, trying to make the hole wider so he could fit through. Once he felt that he'd created enough room, he lifted himself up from his position laying down to sitting. He would have done more but he already felt light headed and weak from those actions.
How long has it been? He asked himself. It could have been weeks, maybe even months since he'd died.
He shuttered. "I hope it wasn't too long."
It was long enough for there to be five more coffins placed to his left. Earlier- before he died- he had came down there just to see what the room was. Now that he knew, he kinda just wanted to curl up in a ball as far away from the room as possible- China was good this time of year, right? But no, he stayed firm and took a breath in through his nose, and stood up on shaky knees.
He didn't want to give Asgore the satisfaction. He couldn't wait to give him round two to call it even. To wipe the smug grin off that cheeky monsters face as he took Asgore down.
Yeah, this time, I can't lose. He could barely walk straight to the door, before catching his breath. I'm strong enough.
He held himself up using the wall and a whole load of grit.
"Maybe I can... get up... the stairs..." He said to himself.
He only made it halfway before deciding even that was too difficult. "Why am I so tired?"
Maybe it came from the fact that he hasn't had real food in three weeks and however long he had been dead. Maybe it was from the battle. Maybe it was the mental exhaustion that came from wanting to survive. In all honesty, the specifics didn't really matter.
He slumped down on the floor, his face in his hands. He didn't take the moment to cry because he didn't think he would stop. His shaky legs were slowly starting to relax. His body finally being his to control.
He stayed there for ten minutes, letting his energy come back to him before standing up and making it up the rest of the stairs.
As soon as he turned, he ran into someone. "Ack!" He jumped back as quickly as possible for someone who could barely hold their own body weight.
It was another human. They were tan, with short hair, and wearing a blue and magenta striped shirt. He couldn't tell their gender. He approached them cautiously; they were obviously much smaller and younger than him and terrified. And he really didn't want to make a child cry because they probably been through enough.
"Hey now, you okay?" He said slowly. "I'm Angelo, I'm human too, okay? Can you tell me your name?"
The child shook their head and pointed to their mouth.
"You can't speak?"
They shook their head.
"It's alright, I know the ASL alphabet. Can you spell your name?" It was an overstatement of his abilities- he could barely make out what each one was. He could only hope he got it right.
"Frisk?" He questioned, only to continue when they nodded. "That's a nice name. Do you want to find an exit from this place with me?"

Chapter Text

Angelo and Frisk ended up in the king's throne room. At least, that is what the room use to be.

The flowers that were once spread across the ground were trampled. The stems bent, and the petals ripped away. The throne was also gone leaving the room emptier than usual.

What happened? Angelo had no clue. He only looked at Frisk and they too were tilting their head at the scene. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought a stamped of elephants came through.

They didn't stay in the room for long; Angelo remembered quite well what happened last time in the room, and he'd rather not feel like bees were buzzing inside of him waiting to sting.

"Do you think they're gone?" He asked Frisk. He knew quite well that there was the Barrier trapping the monsters Underground but the place was quieter than the one he had left.

Frisk just shrugged.

They walked further, away from the throne room, away from the coffins, away from the Underground. The place was uninhabited, grass springing up in small corners, and broken floor tiles were the only indication of civilization. Desolate, he thought to himself, This place is desolate.

There was a long tunnel ahead of them, leading to a patch of light in the distance.

"This must be the way out."

Frisk shook their head.

"'Need a monster soul?' What are you talking about, Frisk?"

They waved him off, and so he continued walking forward. Obviously, he ended up proving his point because nothing was holding him back from leaving. "Only monsters need souls, dummy."

Frisk rolled their eyes, yet they still seemed uneasy.

"'Alphys?' Who's she?" He asked. "'Royal scientist?' Didn't know they had one."

They continued to spring their hands up quickly, too fast for him to truly comprehend what they were telling him. So he, as any impatient child would do, nodded along. "Cool, yeah, mmmh."

He felt like he was being sort of mean, but all his attention was focused forward. Light was blinding him, as they got closer and closer to the exit, he could just make out a horizon line, the first in quite possibly weeks. He smiled. This was it.

Frisk broke him out of his trance by "gently" smacking him in the arm. "Hey!"

They handed him a chocolate bar. "Uh, thanks." He blushed lightly at the kind gesture before realizing what they were signing. "My blushing is not cute! It's my natural skintone- tomatoe is not a skintone!"

He just put his head down, and increased his pace, quietly munching on his chocolate bar. It tasted old? Like it's been in a fridge for a very long time? Either way, he could feel himself getting better by the second. The magic of monster food. The first time he met Toriel, she had given him monster food and it amazed him.

Monster food was like cotton candy in the sense that it dissolved when it entered his mouth, but different because monster food disappeared without having to be swallowed.

His head was clearer after the food. It wasn't good by any means, but he was now just sluggish instead of being like a zombie who just finished a marathon. With the clear head came questions that he didn't want to answer.

So he started with some for Frisk. "So, uh, you were in the Underground?"

Yes.

"And you made it to..." Giant, fat turd that sits on a throne. "Asgore."

Another yes.

"Did you die?"

They didn't answer, only hung their head in shame.

"It was too much for me too, bud. It's alright. I didn't make it either." Obviously.

He took a quick look at their face; they didn't seem close to a breakdown, but he was suprised to see something resembling disappointment. He didn't want to think this, but he was suprised they got out of Snowdin. They were so tiny and thin that they must have been freezing in that harsh winter hellscape. Not to mention constantly fighting the locals and the dogs. They were the worst. They had weird swords that he could never dodge! No matter which way he moved, the blue light would throw him on his butt. Angelo barely escaped with his life.

"So, what's your tragic backstory?" He asked them. They gave him a funny look. It was quite simple really. "Why would a kid jump into a mountain otherwise? I don't think you trip, stumble, and fell into a cave on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, which just so happens to have legends of people never returning. That just doesn't really make any sense."

Frisk doesn't answer.

"Well, you don't have to tell me, I guess." He says. "But you don't get to know mine either, then." Frisk looked curious, but held fast to their decision.

The exit was within feet now, he could see outside to a beach, the sun just starting to rise over the horizon. His eyes filled with tears he would swear till the day he died -again- never happened. The vibrant colors of the sky was a start contrast to the muted colors of the Ruins and New Home. It was a light blue that naturally spread over the sky, only to make way to oranges and pinks that were only disrupted by clouds and dark blues from the ocean. Waterfall may have been beautiful, but this scene was magnificent, filled with more than just deep tones of blues. This was the place he belonged. This was his home.

He stepped out of the cave, fresh air hitting him like a semi truck. There was no more walls surrounding him, no more ugly brown colors smacking him wherever he went, and no more fantastical creatures chasing after him for his soul.

He turned to his left to look at the mountains. Then he looked to the right at a city in the distance. Buildings taller than he could even image.

Buildings that didn't use to be there. He knew what his city looked like, and that wasn't it.

"Frisk, what's the last year you could remember?"

Chapter Text

2017.

His head spun at the numbers they said to him. No it was wrong, repeat again, please.

2017.

This couldn't be real. No they were a liar. Tell me the truth. Their expression read, 'I'm sorry.'

2017.

He put his head between his knees. No, time couldn't have gone that fast. He couldn't have woken up in a coffin thirty years later.

His stomach heaved; nothing came out except any sort of joy that had managed to last for thirty year.

The thought sickened him. What could even happen in that amount of time? War? Death? Graduating highschool?

If he didn't make such idiotic choices, he would be forty-two years old. He could have gone into highschool. Finish highschool. Gone to college. Get a job. Marry. Have kids. Anything but this.

He never did have many friends- what are even the chances that anyone remembered him? Anyone even thought of him?

Sure, he knew some kids who moved away, but could he remember their names? Passions? Hobbies? Of course not, they were a momentary glance in a passing day of his life. He wouldn't remember himself if he was another person. He was so minor, so ignorable.

And now he was dry heaving once again, a small child he barely knew was rubbing his back, and thrusted thirty years into the future.

"I have stepped onto an emotional rollercoaster ever since I woke up, and I haven't gotten off." He stated. "I am suing whatever amusement park that is finding this torment funny for emotional distress."

He chuckled at his own self-deprication. Today was just not his sort of day.

Frisk had to sign to him at least ten times before he registered what they were telling him.

'I'm sorry.'

He shook his head, "Frisk, whatever idiotic guilt you're feeling, you should knock it off. It was my choice to do things in the first place, and I bare that responsibility alone." And my sister bares it too.

He had caused his sister enough pain so far. Going up a mountain wasn't her choice, and he took her their without her permission. She suffered because I was selfish. He didn't even know if she was dead or alive by whatever magic brought him and Frisk back to life. He didn't know which was worse.

Frisk snapped their fingers, a determined expression written on their face.

"'Stop.' Why?" He asked. "People don't care- that doesn't make it any better."

The young child tugged him by the hand with a surprisingly strong grip. Not enough to move him, of course, but a valient effort nonetheless.

Nevertheless, he got up off the ground because of them. They were, after all, a very persuasive person with hella good puppy dog eyes and words of encouragement.

Every argument he came up with, they replied tenfold on why it was invalid.

He found their spirit amusing enough with the way they jabbed their hands in quick motions as they signed- passionate and unrelenting- with signs he didn't understand because they forgot that he only knew the alphabet.

"Frisk, as much as I would hate to cut you off," he said, "I really can't understand you with all that motion- much less since I'm pretty sure that isn't letters. Remember?"

They stopped for a moment with a completely perplexed face until realization set in. They stomped their foot with all their tiny might, hitting the poor grass with distress.

"'Whoops'- yeah, whoops alright." He chuckled. "You were giving a whole speech over their."

They both laughed quietly for a moment. "Thanks," He told them. "You really are a good friend, you know? I don't think I've known someone as nice as you in a long time."

Frisk moved their hands quickly, barely letting him be able to catch what they said. 'You haven't seen anyone in a long time.' They stuck their tongue out jokingly.

"Hey, fuuuu....." He took himself a minute to compose himself, this was a child. He couldn't be the one to teach them bad words. "nnnyy joke. I'm laughing my socks off, you little rat. Now, let's get going."

They slowly make their way down the mountain, Angelo nudging them lightly to stay on the path and to not fall down the side-

Angelo understood that kids as young as Frisk liked to explore- he still does as well- but they were quite the handful. The very obvious path did not seem to entice them. They enjoyed looking at every crack, and under every rock- even speaking to a few of them. None responded back, of course. Rocks don't speak silly.

He had to come up with ways to keep them moving forward- wow, a butterfly! Such a shiny rock ahead! Right now, they became less interested in that, and more interested in watching ants swarm a small spot on the ground. Right next to the edge of the steap part of the mountain. With his parenting skills all older siblings possess, he did what anyone would do.

"Hey look, Frisk! It's a talking flower!" He pointed to a random patch of flowers, hoping that they would back away from the cliff.

He was wrong. The child sprung up like a rabbit, darting around with pure terror scrawled on their face. They didn't back away, in fact, they got closer to the edge. Before Angelo could fully comprehend what was happening, Frisk's foot slipped. They fell face first onto the dirty ground, wanting to stay there than get any closer to where that patch of flowers was.

"Frisk, I was just kidding!" He told them quickly when his brain decided to work again. "You were just- so I just- please, just stay away from the edge?" He closed the distance between them, and pulled them to safety. "Why were you so scared? You looked down right terrified."

They nodded to him. They refused to answer their questions, but they were safe at the very least.

For the rest of the journey down the mountain, Frisk answered with short, snappish answers. Angelo felt bad, but didn't know what he did wrong. Whenever he even got close to the subject, Frisk completely shut down, not talking for at least ten minutes.

What Angelo really wondered was why did flowers upset them so much?

Chapter Text

They finally came up to a road. Frisk was leading the way, since they were the most up-to-date. They walked in silence.

They both listened to the birds as they chirped. It truly was a beautiful day outside. The grass couldn't have been greener, the path was paved well, trees grew thick and tall all around them.

Angelo could only stare in awe at the world above ground; before going Underground, he never really cared for the natural beauty of the world. But after being away from it, he couldn't help but stare and smile.

For a moment, he felt bad for the monsters. They were trapped for much longer than him. They were so desperate for freedom.

Then he realized, oh wait, they had killed him. His guilt was instantly lifted.

"Do you think the monsters deserved to be trapped in the Underground?" He asked.

They shook their head.

"I don't either." He said. "But, they tried to kill us, and if it came down to us versus them, I choose us." He didn't care what it sounded like because he knew what it meant. Yeah, it was harsh. Yeah, it was cruel, but he had someone he cared about, someone he would give anything to help them. He wasn't going to let pity get in the way.

Frisk, however, didn't share the same sentiment. This shocked expression said enough.

"'But' what, Frisk? It's mean? Yeah. But didn't they do the exact same?"

Frisk tried to defend the monsters' actions as self defense. "Monsters were attacking children as self-defense- Frisk, don't fool yourself- I don't think people as young as us ought to have fought just to stay alive. Now, save your breath, I'm not listening to that flimsy excuse."

Frisk wanted to say more, but Angelo put his finger to his lip and no more could be said to change his mind. Sometimes words weren't the key to solving problems.

'Do you think the majority of monsters are bad?'

Yes. "No." If Asgore was anything to go by, he would keep monsters trapped Underground forever. But Toriel... He sighed. Decisions were never easy. He kept walking.

Along the path split in two. Frisk knew left led to the city, and the right was a path out to the country side.

They were about to take a left, but...

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

A shadow of a figure appeared ahead.

"Frisk?!" Frisk chose the only sane option: Investigating. Angelo pulled them back into a bush to their right.

'What was that for?' Frisk crossed their arms and pouted their lip.

"News flash: I'm your babysitter now, and guess what? You aren't getting killed- again. Honestly, Frisk, do you even think before you leap?"

STOMP. STOMP, STOMP, STOMP-

It kept coming closer. Frisk and Angelo stilled, their breathing came close to a halt in an attempt to make as little noise as possible.

And then as suddenly as it came, it left.

Frisk and Angelo jumped out of the bushes.

'Should we follow?'

"Frisk stay here, I'll follow it. Just stay close to the bushes and hide if anyone sees you, okay?"

Frisk nodded, clearly annoyed at him bossing them around, but relented. Now was not the time.

Angelo took off down the road on his left. He wasn't the most secretive person for the job of following the person. Leaves and twigs alike snapped under his heavy feet. Nonetheless, nobody came to check out the abundance of noise he was making. He couldn't make out the person ahead of him. They were concealed by the twists and turns that were on the path. The person was much taller than him, and covered head to toe in armor.

They were not human.

Their voice, though muffled by the distance between them, was loud. Their movement much more erratic that what a human would choose. Oh, and they were covered head to toe in armor, unlike most humans, and were holding a blue spear in their right hand.

"Monsters in the city?" He whispered to himself. "But..."

He didn't have anything to retort it, with the evidence right up ahead. It explained why the throne room was so empty and lifeless, why the flowers were all crushed. The monsters had gone free. There was no doubt about it.

And then a spear was lodged in the ground right next to him. One look at the monsters toothy grin, and he turned faster than he thought he was capable of and hightailed his way back to where Frisk was, a crazed monster at his back. It let out a battle cry, trying to close the distance between them.

His lungs burned with each breath but he wouldn't slow down. The spears were still too close for his liking, and he did not wish to be a human kabob.

He raced towards Frisk, and by the time Frisk even realized he was there, they were his human cushion in a bush, away from the monster.

Angelo waited until the stomping and spears subsided. Frisk, dizzy with being hit head on by Angelo, stayed in their position on the floor even when he got up.

"Okay... So, uh, let's not go left. We'll go right."

Was the first thing that they said. 'And then I'm going to a hospital for a concussion, and suing.'

Chapter Text

They both headed down the path as quickly and as quietly as they could. It didn't help that they were surrounded by animals that didn't understand the meaning of silence; a bunny ran across the street, making Frisk jump. Frisk decided that Angelo was the best at leading, and that they would do great in front of them.

"Very courageous of you, Frisk." He chuckled shakily. "No doubt, you would be able to face off thousands of these killer bunnies." In truth, he was frightened too, and glad that Frisk had a sense of self-preservation.

They nodded along, of course, 'I am quite the hero the world needs.'

He nods sagely, stroking his imaginary beard. "Indeed."

Soon enough they were both able to breath again, and walked quicker with bolder steps despite the noise it might have made.

'Was that Undyne?' Frisk asked.

"Who?"

Frisk frowned. 'Armoured fish anime warrior.'

Angelo stared blankly. "Anime?"

Frisk clutched their heart dramatically, before falling onto Angelo. They looked directly into his eyes, clutching his shirt.

"Why do I even ask?" He muttered to himself as Frisk goes into a long spiel about anime. By the end, they must have walked at least a month, and Angelo was thinking about committing murder.

"So... Japanese animation?"

'Yes.'

Now he just made up his mind. Frisk was going to be his next victim. "You could have just said that."

Frisk nodded thoughtfully. 'Yes, I could have. But then you wouldn't have known about Mew Mew.'

"I hate you."

'Love you, too.'

"You know what I'm going to do next time you go monologue like that?" He asked them.

Frisk shook their head.

He covered his eyes. "Can't see, can't read." Frisk stomped their foot and hit him playfully on the shoulder. When he opened his eyes, they were crossing their arms across their chest, looking away from him. 'Meanie' was all they would sign to him.

"Glad you realized." He said as if he was the happiest person on Earth. "Took you a while, but you found out. Congratulations."

'Congratulations, you've invented a new kind of stupid...' Frisk was grinning madly at them waiting for him to realize where it was from, but ended up smacking themselves on the forehead. 'Sorry, you wouldn't understand. It's a reference.'

Frisk suddenly came to a halt. 'Wait, do you even know what a phone is?!'

"Yes? We had one at our house."

'You poor unfortunate soul. You've known not the sweet feel of a touch screen.'

"I'm not even going to ask." Angelo had no idea what Frisk was blabbing on about but he didn't care.

"Look Frisk- a box!" He said.

Frisk punched him. 'Didn't you learn from last time?'

Angelo shrugged. "Just trying to tell you there is a box. It's probably for box-lovers, and you seem like the type."

Frisk looked ahead, and, oh, there was a box. Like the one Underground, that had all the-

'FOOD.' Frisk jumped with excitement. 'I had food in my box! It's probably still there!'

Frisk hightailed ahead like a kid in the candy store. Angelo felt kinda bad; they probably gave their last chocolate bar to him and they must have been hungry. Nope, the guilt was gone; he had been starving and on the verge of death. Yup, the kid could wait.

Frisk came back with a handful of stuff: a spider-donut, two bisicle, junk food, and a sea tea.

Then something else caught his eye. "Frisk, why do you have my gloves? And my bandana?" They were buried beneath the food items. "And a tutu with matching shoes?"

'I just liked to collect them. Do you want your gloves and bandana back?'

Angelo nodded. "Thanks, I guess." He looked at the small abs that he had scribbled on the front of his bandana before tying it loosely onto his head. His gloves were well worn, faded to a light pink. 'For five fingered folk.'

"I guess so." He couldn't held but look at his hands with giddy excitement bubbling in his chest. He just liked the feeling of having his hands covered despite them being a bit dirty. He would have to wash it soon.

"Howdy, partner." A high-pitched voice said to their right. He could see a flash of green and gold out of the corner of his eye.

Frisk silently screamed, huddling behind Angelo.

"Golly, it seems you really messed things up this time, haven't you?" He said chuckling. "Don't worry! Your old friend Flowey will fix it for you."

The flower's smile turned from one of sweet innocence, to demonic in seconds. Angelo backed away for Frisk's sake. The poor kid was shaking violently but unable to move from their spot without guidance.

"I should make tea out of you!" He spat at the flower. He wasn't sure where the comment came from, but he only hope it sounded as cool as it did in his head.

It snarled back, "Why don't you just die like you were suppose to?"

Angelo's soul was thrusted into battle. He wasted no time already trying to tackle the flower as a wave of bullets came towards him. He made sure to be aware of his movements, his soul bursting with energy.

It was a blessing and a curse to have a soul like his. On one hand, he moved with remarkable speed, able to swiftly move to and from one spot to another. On the other, his erratic movements were tiring and required constant vigilance, lest he smack straight into a bullet.

Like right there. Ouch. He was sent sprawling into the dirt, his body hitting the pavement at full speed.

In seconds, he was back up and ready to move out of the way of the next set of bullets.

"So, Flowey, huh? Whoever named you had about as much creativity as one would expect from a rock."

And now he was surrounded by the tiny white bullets. They started to close in on them, and Angelo had to fight his soul to stay still; it didn't work well, since he had to shift back and forth every few seconds.

Flower studied him over with distaste. "Will you QUIT shaking?! It's annoying."

"I really wish I could, flower." Angelo said.

"Oh well, at least I get to watch you squirm." He shot a glance at Frisk. "And you will have to watch him die."

Frisk too was surrounded by their own batch of pellets, held back after they had snapped out of their panic so they could save him. It was a valient effort, if nothing else, but Angelo knew a losing battle when he saw one. Even so, he stared Flowey right in the eye, his fists clenched, and head held high. If he was going to die again, he was to stick his head up this time.

Right before the bullets made contact with his soul, a fireball came out of nowhere, knocking into Flowey.

Chapter Text

Toriel.

She came out of the brush, eyes frantically searching for the two of them. Then, her eyes met Frisk's gaze, and he could already see the tears welling up. She walked over to them in a rush, her face perfectly composed if one wasn't looking for the emotions that came underneath.

But Angelo was. She was a mother at heart, and he knew that. The week or two he spent with her point blank told him that.

And he had still left. He hid his face from hers, turning away to spare himself from shame for a little longer.

But after her speedy reunion with Frisk, her eyes found him as if a neon sign was pointing at him, "Suppose-To-Be-A-Dead-Child-Alert!"

He turned fully to her, mustering up the courage to face the woman who took care of him, yet he had foolishly shied away from many years ago.

And once again, he saw her heart break all over again. She sagged for a moment, renewed tears coming to her eyes once more. But he also knew, she was a powerful and strong woman. Her sagging lasting for a moment at most, and the tears never fell once down her face.

"Good evening, Toriel." He croaked.

She responded quickly, "Hello, Angelo." She knew he didn't like the 'My child' bit she always pulled even after all these years.

"I survived." More or less.

"I can see." She wasn't sure what to make up it, so she settled for indifference.

She healed Frisk first, seeing as they were the youngest and looked like they were on edge.

Angelo stood quietly a little bit away, waiting for his turn. His body and soul was a bit bruised from that encounter with Flowey. He has never seen a monster quite like him before. He had seen vegetoids, but a golden flower monster? He never knew those types existed, much less as violent as that one.

When Toriel did get to him, he tried to strike up a conversation.

"How is Surface life treating you?" It was the dream of many monsters to see the "Surface" as they had often called it; Willing to kill for it even. But Toriel was an odd monster whose kindness and respect for human life would never allow such if she got her way. So, the only thing he could draw from that was she didn't. Monsters got seven souls, Barrier broken, and war must have been waged. He grit his teeth at the thought.

"It is well." She had a thin lipped smile plastered on her face. The one she used with Danielle in the room whenever he asked to leave the Ruins. The "grownups are talking" expression whenever his parents had guests over. The one he used when he told Danielle that he was going to come back to the Ruins soon.

He frowned. "May we talk later?"

"Of course, Angelo." She told him. "But first, you two must come over to my house and have dinner with me. It's a quaint place just a mile or so up the road."

He nodded along. Toriel took Frisk's hand as they crossed the road, as if out of all this time, now rush hour would come zooming out of nowhere and take the child's life just for kicks.

He couldn't blame her, especially since that is what life decided to do to Frisk and him. Fate was a sadist.

So Toriel decided to catch up with Frisk, telling stories and trying to keep them occupied. It worked, not just on Frisk, but him as well. He learnt of old monster folk tales, monster food recipes, and many snail facts. So many snail facts.

Whenever Frisk tried to even add a comment about present day issues, or what has been happening, she steered them off into another direction of thought, completely derailing their efforts.

Angelo saw the fruitlessness of it and didn't add any comments, but Frisk didn't relent. Soon enough, they reached Toriel's home.

"I am sorry to tell you so late- I hope you don't mind, but my home is a tad bit messy. Kryst did not clean up-"

'Kryst?'

Toriel responded hastily, "Yes, Kryst. He was another child who had came back and- well I do not want to bore you with adult stuff, Frisk-"

'-Oh, please do-' Frisk crossed their arms.

Toriel ignored them, getting a set of keys out of her pocket. "Anyways, you will just have to share with him, and Angelo can take the spare bedroom. I hope that is alright."

Frisk wrinkled their nose at the thought of having to share, but perked up when they could smell the pie being baked inside. Angelo chuckled lightly as Frisk bounced up and down, ready to sprint inside the moment Toriel got out of the way.

"Now now, my child... You wouldn't want to spoil dinner, now would you? We're only midday!"

Frisk looked up at her with pleading eyes, and Angelo could see the clear winner in this argument.

"Alright, we'll have the pie for lunch.  It's not too late in the evening anyway, but none for after dinner, okay?"

Frisk nodded hastily, and bolted through the door, already finding the dining room.

With Frisk gone, he took the moment to chat with Toriel.

"Did Danielle die?" He was going to be blunt about it. He just had to hear it, plainly.

"Yes."

He nodded grimly. "Do you think she could have came back, by whatever magic brought me, Frisk, and this Kyrst kid back?"

"Possibly."

He smiled despite it. "A chance is all I need, Toriel."

Chapter Text

Angelo found Frisk again, after taking a moment to wander through the house. He brushed along the ridges of Toriel's wooden desk, her notebook opened with various puns scattered throughout; They didn't seem to have any rhyme or rhythm. He dug around the kitchen, looking at all the pots and pans, noting the large pie sitting out, one piece cut out that Frisk must have took.

Frisk stood in one of the bedrooms- presumably the one that Toriel had assigned them- already trying to find anything to captivate their interest.

In the corner of the room was another bed, occupied by a small boy, curled under a thousand blankets.

Angelo groaned. "Great, another 4 year old."

'I'm 8,' Frisk pouted.

Kyrst simply shrugged, going back to playing with his teddy bear. One of the eyes were missing.

Frisk came closer to the small boy, taking another teddy bear- this one green with a bow tie- and waving it around. Kyrst responds by smiling, and waving his.

"Hi." His voice was a high pitched squeak. "I'm Kyrst."

'Frisk.'

Kyrst smiled, signing back at them with complex characters Angelo couldn't decipher.

"How do you know how to sign?" Angelo asked.

'Jealous?' Frisk smirked.

"No!"

Kyrst giggled. "Grandma is deaf."

The two started messaging between one another, keeping Angelo out of the conversation. He ended up leaning against a wall for a few minutes until he couldn't take it anymore.

"So, how did you end up here, Kyrst?"

Kyrst blew out through his mouth. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Okay then, do you like it here?"

Kyrst nodded. "It's real nice; Toriel give me pies. I miss Ma and grandma and grandpa though."

Angelo leaned forward, grabbing a blanket off the unoccupied bed. "Where are they right now?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, that sucks." He winces at his word choice, forgetting the two children literally sitting before him.

"Are you going to stay tonight?" He asked quietly. "It's been a while since anyone came. Just me and Tori, and she is always baking or reading. I don't got anybody else."

Frisk responded back quickly, 'Sure! But tommorow, we're going.'

"We are?" Angelo raised an eyebrow.

'Yes. I got flowers to deliver.' Frisk looked at him with the most determined expression he'd ever seen on anybody's face before.

Angelo shrugged. He didn't mind; he had to find his sister some way, and travelling into town was as good a plan as any. He wasn't sure where his sister would be or what to do when he found her- it was when because she couldn't be dead, she had to have survived- maybe they would try to come back, but he didn't plan that far ahead. Or plan ahead, at all.

"May I come?" Kyrst asked.

Angelo wasn't sure about that, since he was the one having to take care of two children, but Frisk answered for him. Great, Kyrst joined the party.

"Yay!" Angelo muttered under his breath.

Some time passed, chatting about nothing in particular- favorite colors, best albums, random snail facts- before it was already time for dinner.

Toriel had set the table up and everything- Angelo felt embarrassed, knowing he should have helped clear the table instead of hiding in his room without regards to her efforts. If Toriel was peeved, she didn't show it.

She had chosen lasagna for the meal. It tasted like heaven in his mouth.

"So, Kyrst, did you make new friends today?" Toriel asked, looking delighted at how easily Kyrst and Frisk got along with one another. It was more of a statement more than anything.

Kyrst nodded, a beaming smile lit up across his face. "Yup!"

"That's wonderful." Toriel mused slightly. "I wonder what your level of education is, Angelo- I can start planning a curriculum as soon as dinner ends!"

Angelo hid his face from view behind a glass of water. His lack of response must have been taken for uncertainty.

"Well, I can figure it out as we go on. It doesn't have to be all at once- pace is good, and you don't want to be overwhelmed."

He nodded, feeling a bit uneased at the thought of education. It had been quite a while since he had been in school, and he never did well when he had.

Coming home to a family that made offhanded remarks about his less than stellar grades was the norm. He wasn't sure he even wanted to go back to school.

"So when did you get Kyrst?"

Kyrst pouted, "I don't wanna talk about it. I told you already."

"I asked when, not how." He raised his eyebrows. "And you weren't talking about it- I was asking Toriel."

Kyrst resigned himself to silence, deciding he'd rather sign to Frisk.

That wasn't very nice, Angelo."

He shrugged. "Well? When did you find him."

"About a year ago. A couple months after the Barrier broke..." And that was the end of that conversation, Angelo already knew. He could already see the hatred in her eyes, her hands gripping her fork with intensity.

Angelo smiled sadly. He had the same look before, hatred burning his eyes, acting as if it was him against the world. It still was, but in a completely different way.

By the time the conversation was over, Kyrst and Frisk were already done, hopping up from their seats as Frisk dragging Kyrst into their room.

Angelo took another bite of the half-eaten lasagna. "So, the talk?"

Chapter Text

Toriel shook her head, her eyes facing downwards as she spoke. "A lot has happened since you fell, Angelo. It's... not a happy tale."

Angelo snorted. "Obviously."

"After my children died, and Asgore declared war, every child who fell down after you... They came, they left, they died."

His stomach scrunched as he thought of his younger sister. She was one of them. She use to be so happy and carefree, and a monster had taken that away. She always did the right thing, never once laid a hand on a monster, complimented everyone she met, and yet she was slaughtered like an animal. She was six, for crying out loud!

"You were the first soul taken. Your sister was next- Angelo I tried, I swear-"

"Just get on with it." He spat out, a bitterness sweeping through his body. How dare she try to be sorry. Failure is never an option.

"She... She stayed with me the longest." Toriel smiled. "She left though, telling me moments before walking out one night- in retrospect, I should have noticed: she'd been growing increasingly unhappy, and I couldn't figure out why. It doesn't matter... She left. I heard later that week in hushed whispers from a Froggit that the next soul had been collected."

Angelo found himself growing more and more agitated as she spoke. A hunger burned inside him, which had been dampened by the sudden thrust into the future; a hunger for one final stand against Asgore. Him and the beast, a fight to the death.

Toriel had stopped, "Are-are you alright, Angelo? We can..." A pause. "Let's just continue."

He gave a stiff nod.

"Then Kyrst fell. He stayed a few months or so, I don't quite remember. I thought if I could keep him occupied, he'd be satisfied. So, I thrusted him into an educational curriculum... he seemed to enjoy it. He's very smart for his age, probably more than most monsters his age. But he left, without notice in the middle of the night. I'm not sure if he truly understood what was at stake to be quite honest. If he did maybe he would have stayed. He had since regressed, barely talking, when I... found him again. I do not understand what exactly happened to him, he won't say."

If she was any other adult, Angelo would have taken the momentary glance at him for her to assess if he knew anything about the gap between Kyrst leaving, and Kyrst's death. But Angelo understood that she wasn't one to pry.

Of course, she wanted to protect and understand the full story so she could consult Kyrst, but she would never demand for them to spill all their secrets. It was just for him to be gentle around the boy. Angelo's stomach twisted slightly, thinking about his brashness at dinner. He could have been more supportive, but instead he came off as rude on his first day.

Before he could dwell any further on the thought, Toriel started up once again. "Then came Harper. She was very, very sick, Angelo. She stayed maybe as long as you, a week, before she started getting worse. She left, and I couldn't refuse a dying girl's wish. I gave her supplies, and a note for the Royal Scientist, hoping that they would take pity on her. It was foolish, I know, but I was desperate. It was a while since anyone fell, and I hoped someone would have a change of heart."

Angelo handed Toriel a tissue box that was across the room. She silently thanked him, wiping her eyes.

"Whether they did not or could not, I couldn't say- I can't say alot of things." She let out a sad chuckle. "The fourth soul was taken after she passed naturally, I hope. Studious girl too, probably smarter than Kyrst was at her age. She was dealt a bad set of cards, and that was her downfall."

Angelo nodded thoughtfully. He would have been scared, knowing that his days were numbered. Harper must have had a lot of courage.

"Then came Ben..." She took a moment to gather her thoughts, clearly struggling not to show any more tears. "He was- without any better words- a good kid. He always helped me out around the house, but, I think- no, I knew- he was never going to stay. He always talked about his siblings- four, there were four- talking about going back to them. When he left, it wasn't a surprise. I couldn't watch him go, I just stayed in my room as he left."

Angelo watched uncomfortably as Toriel shifted from her position, trying not to look him in the eyes. He hoped she wouldn't; he didn't think he could stand any more emotions except anger, which bubbled underneath the surface of his skin. Sadness got in the way of the anger, and sadness was weak, and he was not weak. He was strong.

"Sarah came next. I knew what she came to do the moment she came into the Ruins. She was a fighter, like you, Angelo. She was searching for the missing children, and so I guided her home and we talked for a while. She stayed for three days total, only enough to restock her backpack and energy. I thought she would be the one to defeat Asgore; she wasn't."

Toriel rubbed her eyes, Angelo took the moment to add his two cents. "Would you have approved of her killing him?"

"At that point, yes. I lost faith in my ex long ago, and being that deep in grief, I was... broken." Then she looked him in the eye, as if she knew what he was thinking. "Now, no, I wouldn't. I'm just disappointed."

"Frisk was last. They left the quickest. I tried to stop them... but that didn't work out. I had shaky faith in them as well, but I couldn't deal with another tragedy; I was right, sadly. They came, they left, they died.

"The Barrier was broken, and now we are at war. We have been, for a year or so. The monsters have the city surrounded; nobody can enter, and nobody can leave. The humans there are fighting a losing battle... but even so, I know we'll lose the war. Humans outnumber us, Angelo. It's a million to one."

Angelo felt satisfaction with that; Asgore was going to pay for what he's done tenfold. So what if others had to die for it? Danielle had to, and no one else was crying for her. Even if he wasn't the one to best the beast, it was better than nothing.

"I'm afraid my home will not be safe for long." Toriel got up to peer out the window. "Humans from outside the town have been contacted by a human who fled early on. There was call for a truce, but Asgore has ignored it. I do believe we are running out of time, Angelo."

Angelo watched her look him up and down, words were left unsaid that wanted to be spoken.

He decided to speak his own, cutting her off before she could add anything else. "So how can I find my sister?" If she survived.

"If she's anywhere, she's in town with the remaining humans. Angelo, I should say, you wouldn't recognize her if you saw her. She was only six when she came, and she stayed a long time; she'd be older than you by now."

He waved Toriel off. "Even if I lost my right eye, and her face was scarred, I'd recognize her hair from anywhere."

Toriel smiled wryly. "She always had the nicest hair, didn't she?"

"The nicest."

Chapter Text

Angelo laid in the guest bedroom, his body sprawled against the large mattress. Unlike what Frisk and Kyrst got, his room was bland, with light blue walls, and an ancient looking dresser.

"Looks like the 'room under reservations' is finally complete." He said entirely to himself.

He remembered looking at the room the first time meeting Toriel; a mysterious door probably filled with answers. He wasn't inclined to open the door- he was a house guest for crying out loud- but it looked like it held something. Now, meeting it's Surface life counterpart, he felt a bit unfulfilled. Shouldn't there be more? Isn't there something special?

But alas, it was just a room with a singular resident.

Angelo felt grateful for Toriel's kindness for the time he knew her. She had been nothing but a generous hostess, but he has been repaying her with nothing but spite. She could have kicked him to the curb instead of taking him in for dinner and it would have been just as valid. He had no right to be here.

"I don't understand." He said. "Why?"

His mind wandered back to his youthful years- he separated the Before and After into two distinct categories- to the time when he first learnt he was having a sister. 'The miracle child', his parents use to say.

They had tossed him aside before for less grief than what Toriel had to bare, why was she so kind? He could tell she was kind because of her eyes. People say a lot, but the way their eyes widen with change, and scrunch with happiness tell stories. People who have things to hide try to suppress the flares in them, but they don't escape him.

Wrapping his head around these foreign concepts made his dizzy. He never had the mental capacity for such difficult things. He decided to curl up into one corner of the bed- yes, his body could fit in one corner since it was so large- and put the cover over his lower half.

He tried not to think too much; for some reason night always wired him up to be more alert and expressive than in the morning.

When not thinking didn't work, he turned to focusing all his energy on one topic: Asgore. He could deal with this one; he knew how to defeat the beast, watching the man who harmed his sister turn to dust. He replayed the thought over and over in his mind. He didn't know why but, it helped lull him to sleep. His mind shutting down so he could go into a nice, deep sleep.

Yet, even in sleep he wasn't relieved. He could hear a voice in the back of his mind, terrorizing him.

"You're coming back?"

"You gotta promise or it doesn't count."

"Good."

"I will, I promise."

He wondered when he grew so soft.

Frisk laid in their bed, watching Kryst fall to sleep. His chest moving up and down in slow waves; it reminded them of the waves of the lake near Ebott City. They were blue rolled across the water with ease most days. Unless, of course, it was thundering. The oceans flipped and pounded the sand with rage, seething, and quietly moving back in before another wave came to take it's place, the cycle repeated indefinitely.

"I feel it too, ocean." They would say, if, of course, they could. They were mute, remember?

They froze, Kryst mumbling and turning in his sleep. For a moment they thought he woke, but no, he did not. His chest lifted up and down once more.

Kryst was a good kid and Frisk liked them. This was the first time they met him, and it was exciting but scary.

They haven't seen anything new in ages, and it fascinated them. They also didn't have the small voice murmuring things in the back of their head- a sort of narrator.

This refueled their determination once more; it was nice, but they knew it wouldn't last. They felt resigned to the same fate as the waves. No, this wouldn't last. They would try to deliver the flowers once more, but it would lead back to them on the same patch of golden flowers.

But they still, despite themselves, would try.

Chapter Text

Hello, people of the internet.

I really, really like the idea of this story, but I feel like it has been poorly executed by myself. For this, I will be doing a rewritten version. I wish I could say when, but it may be a while, but it will happen. I've wanted to do this story since 2017 but didn't because I was too scared. I have to do this story.

Thank you for reading so far. I hope I'll see you again, when this story gets the proper attention and dedication it deserves.

And remember: stay determined.

Chapter Text

This is for everyone who liked the original story of This is Not the End. I'm posting a link to the new version: To Becoming a Better Human - Chapter 1 - Information_Overload - Undertale (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

You could also see that this is the second part in the series: A Fallen Child's Guide. You can click on that in the series tab, and on the first work in the series, you can click on To Becoming a Better Human to get to the story that way. Or, if you're parting ways with this story, I would like to remind you to stay determined, make every day count, and to remind you:

Only the Fearless may proceed.

Brave ones,

foolish ones,

both walk not the middle road.

Thank you for your time.