Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Every time Kris falls in battle, they hear a voice.

It whispers kind messages and encouraging words, telling them to get up and keep fighting. They weren't sure at first, but now they know that it must be the soul.

It strikes them as odd when they realize it, half because they're hardly ever the one fighting to begin with, and half because they never expected the soul to sound so… gentle. Young. It unnerves them enough that they feel a chill run up their spine when they slam the bathroom cabinet shut, watching the tiny, defenseless thing disappear behind the little door.

And then they move and remember that they've scarcely been able to all day, and suddenly the guilt feels a little farther away.

The first time it spoke to them, all the way back in the first Dark World, it had felt uncertain. Like they were repeating sentiments someone else had told them, and hoping they would somehow provide the same comfort here. There's something horrible about how human that makes the soul seem, less a disembodied source of distress, and more like something trapped in a body that isn't its own.

Thinking about it makes Kris feel nauseous, so they try hard not to as they play the game in the S Rank room.

That is, they try hard not to until the character suddenly stops moving as directed. They move the stick over and over again, trying to force some kind of motion, and wonder if this is how the soul feels in the split second before they're torn from Kris's chest. Blinding panic that something isn't happening as it should, that someone who shouldn't be is acting out. Except it's their body, their right to act out, and, honestly, they might say the same about the pixels on the screen.

They let go of the controller.

A pixelated version of them, squashed and small, turns towards the screen.

Nothing happens at first, and Kris begins to get impatient, scowling at the soul's stubbornness before a text box appears.

"Hello."

Kris blinks, imagining the gentle, quiet voice they've heard in their lowest moments uttering the word.

The text auto-plays.

"…Hello? Does this work?"

Reluctantly, Kris nods, eyes still glued to the screen.

The sprite doesn't change, but Kris can feel the relief when the text appears again. "It's good to see you as you're meant to be."

Kris doesn't know for sure what that means, coming from the usurper itself. It seems to pick up on that, because it hesitates for just a moment too long before the next box appears.

"There's so much I've wanted to say. But I don't think I have much time."

A door creaks down the hall.

"The most important is that I'm sorry."

Footsteps, Susie's. She won't knock before she comes in.

"I never asked for this either." The text feels like a bucket of ice dumped down the back of their shirt. Cold, unexpected, sobering. For a second, they feel the need to apologize too, for being cruel. The words taste like bile; they swallow it.

"I know how it feels, sharing your body with another. I wish I knew how to free you."

The door opens and the text box vanishes.

Kris tries not to think about it as they venture through the rest of the Dark World. They try not to think about it when the Roaring Knight appears, when they think Tenna is dead and find him again later in Castle Town, good as ever.

Kris tries not to think about it as they walk to church the next morning, legs suspiciously their own. Tries not to think about it as they stuff it into a box, as they're swinging a hockey stick at it in a blind rage, but the words keep ringing in their head over and over.

'I know how it feels, sharing your body with another.'

Body. It had a body, once. A life. It was alive, trapped in their body and unable to get out.

That night, as they try to sleep and the music keeps them awake, they think about it. The cage, with human soul and parts. It seems startlingly literal now, when they remember all of its words.

'I never asked for this either.'

Before they even know what they're doing, they're standing in the bathroom and staring at the mirror. Their face looks almost normal, like this. Tired, yes, but not more tired than usual. The soul tries to make sure they sleep most of the time, but they haven't slept well in a long time.

They feel a little less stupid at the thought, looking into their own eyes and trying to find some trace of the other in there.

"Are… you in there? Can we talk?"

They feel a brief twinge from in their chest, uncomfortable but not painful.

Their voice answers without their permission, but their fingers flex by their own will. It's weird. "Yes."

It doesn't elaborate, but then again, Kris doesn't expect it to. It's always clipped, succinct in its witty replies. Kris has never wondered why that is before, but now they suspect it has to do with a personality they've never bothered to learn.

They take a deep breath, eyebrows knitting together. "What are you?"

There's a tightening in their chest before it suddenly snaps, and they smother a yelp at the feeling. Or, they would've if not for the soul seizing control of their voice again.

"Determination."

It hesitates, as though regretting not having said something else.

"What else?"

It smiles when it takes control again. Small, private, and grateful. Kris turns their gaze from it, nose wrinkling.

"A human."

The control is loosed and Kris's chest begins to heave with something close to panic. This was a stupid idea, they never should've asked. The idea that someone else has been walking around in their skin unwillingly disgusts them more than if it had been a divine, unseen presence of some kind. A demon, an angel, something disembodied would've felt nicer, neater. There's another person in their skin, trying its best to live their life because it has no choice. It can't go anywhere else.

Kris had locked it in a bird cage. In the cabinet under the sink. Shoved it between the couch cushions like unwanted change. Beat it with a stick even though it couldn't have known about Dess. They'd just wanted their autonomy. The thought isn't as comforting when they know it doesn't have its own anymore.

"What did you mean, before? When you knew what it felt like?"

It doesn't take control right away, seeming to hesitate again.

"You can speak freely. Whatever is going on with you, you don't have to pick what to say to me."

They feel a little impatient waiting for it to speak, but they try not to say anything to indicate that.

"Before this, I had another soul attached to mine. They gave me the power to survive when I was on death's door, and with it guidance and the knowledge they had of the unfamiliar world I'd landed in. They were never as… invasive, as I am." It comes out in a rush of breath, the most words Kris has heard it say in one sitting. "I just wanted to be able to do the same for you, but I've never done this before. I'm not them. I'm not even half the person they were now that they're gone."

"Where are they now?"

"Gone." It repeats, and there's no mistaking the grief in its tone. It reminds them of saying the same words after Dess went missing, after Asriel left for school. "At rest, hopefully."

Kris opens their mouth to speak, closes it, opens it again. They're not sure what to ask next. Thankfully, the soul doesn't wait for long.

"I never wanted this." They've never heard their own voice this emotional. It sounds almost wounded, like it's certain they won't believe it. "When I got here, I was given a vessel to make in my own image. He took it from me, and gave me to you instead. I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

Given a vessel? What the hell does that mean? It says the words too casually, as though that isn't an absurd thing to say.

"What do you mean, a vessel? Something gave you a body?"

Their whole head shakes on its own, hair covering their face briefly before it speaks again. "Took it away. 'Discarded'."

"But it was a body?"

A nod this time. Kris swallows real bile this time.

"What if we found it? If you're here, it could be, too."

"Gone."

"You don't know that for sure. We might be able to find it."

They wait for it to argue, to say the body was blown to pieces right in front of its eyes. When it doesn't, Kris smiles, a little bit giddy.

"I'll go get Susie."

Once again, it doesn't reply, but Kris thinks of something important just as they're getting ready to leave.

"What's your name?"

"…Frisk."

Chapter Text

To their surprise, Susie is waiting outside of their house when they sneak out of the window, looking just as shocked that she's been caught. They file that away for later, deciding to just rip the band-aid off as fast as possible.

"I need you to help me find a body."

The wind whistles quietly as they say it, Susie's expression falling quiet for a second.

"…Do you mean hide?" Kris shakes their head, and her eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean you need to find a body?? What kind of body?? Dead???"

Kris hesitates, but their mouth opens anyway, voice spilling out before they can stop it.

"No. Not alive either. It needs me."

Kris must look just as surprised as Susie does, because her eyes widen even further in unease, a nervous smile flashing her teeth.

"Kris, you're starting to freak me out."

"I'm not Kris," it says, and Kris tries to cover their mouth to stop it, but their hands don't move, "I'm the person who needs the body."

It relinquishes all control then, and Kris almost falls forward at the abrupt movement they're suddenly allowed to make. Susie's hands are reaching out to catch them before they can blink, and she sets them upright, looking into their face in alarm.

"What do you mean by that? What's going on?"

Kris grimaces, but they can't fault it entirely. She was going to find out anyway, once it had the vessel and left their body, but they hadn't wanted to tell her.

"I have two souls. I think. Two souls in one."

Susie blinks. And then she blinks again, horror seeping into her expression.

"Like–Like you're possesed? There's a ghost in there? How long has there been a ghost in there?"

Kris swallows, looking away. "Since the day we were assigned the project."

Susie's grip slackens a bit, face falling into something like hurt. Kris doesn't want to see it, but they do out of the corner of their eye.

"It's what leads you in the Dark Worlds. You've spent more time with it than with me."

Susie purses her lips, eyes serious as she shakes them to get their eyes back on her. "But I've spent time with you?"

Hesitantly, they nod, cringing away from the obvious displeasure on her face.

"I wish you would've told me," she says, frowning, "I hate when people keep things from me."

They start to speak, but nothing comes out. This time, it has nothing to do with the soul's interference.

"I also understand why you'd be afraid to."

Their chin tucks, hiding their face behind their hair, but Susie brushes it away so she can look into their eyes when she speaks next.

"You're my best friend, Kris. And I guess… the ghost kind of is, too? Two best friends in one, that's pretty cool, actually." She smiles, eyes crinkling at the corners. It makes her gaze softer, warmer, sweeter. Their face warms at the reassurance, eyes stinging a little. "Point is, I think you're both cool. I'll make you fight over me later, or whatever. To pick who gets to be the best best friend."

She pauses for a second, mulling over her words. "Oh, and I'll help you. Obviously."

They exhale, slumping into her hold, and she pulls them into a quick hug before shoving them backwards awkwardly. Kris can't help but smile at her.

"What were you doing outside of my house?"

Susie freezes, gaze darting down the road and back. "I knew you'd need my help because we're–uh–psychically linked."

Kris stares at her. "You knew I'd need your help."

"Yup."

Kris waits for her to say the real reason, but she makes no indication that she plans to. Reluctantly, they decide to move on.

"I don't know where it's going to be," they say, and she gratefully accepts the topic change.

"Probably the cemetery, right? I mean, if it's not alive, I can't think of anywhere else it would be."

It's the best idea they've got, especially since they dont even know for sure if it still exists, so they resolve to start there.

There aren't many graves in Hometown, mostly because monsters don't often die of natural causes, and when they do, the family usually keeps their dust. Those that are there tend to be more sentimental than burial, or for those who didn't have anyone to keep them. That's why, when Susie and Kris find a grave with no headstone a little ways off from the cemetery, with what looks like pretty freshly dug dirt, it raises alarm bells immediately.

"This has gotta be it, right?" Susie turns to look at Kris, who nods, but neither of them make a move for the shovels they'd gotten from Kris's garage.

Digging up a grave feels wrong, for one, and for two, they're both thinking something they won't say out loud.

What if this isn't it, and they're about to dig up some innocent monster's ashes?

Kris grabs a shovel, and Susie looks at them for a second, uncertainty flickering in her face, before setting her jaw and grabbing the other.

The first heap of dirt with scant grass comes up easily, the soil loosely packed from its recent placement. It makes Kris a little uneasy, glancing over their shoulder at the cemetery gates to make sure no one's coming.

Once the two of them stop hesitating, it takes about twenty minutes. Kris's arms ache by the time the tip of their shovel hits a shoddy wooden box, and they both sigh in relief at the realization that it can't be a monster. If it was, they'd have found an urn.

Kris stoops and carefully clears the dirt from its top with a hand, cracking open the lid and bracing themself for the smell.

Only there isn't one.

Instead, there's a fully intact person laying in the uncomfortable little box that almost doesn't fit them inside. They look young, a little younger than Kris and Susie, and that makes Kris's stomach turn a little. Before they can rethink it, they're asking "how old were you?"

The soul doesn't answer.

"Brace yourself," it says instead, and before Kris can ask what they're bracing themself for, their soul pulses so hard that it knocks them down.

"Kris!" Susie yells, catching their arms, but Kris blindly shoves her off, reaching into their chest and prying the soul out like it clearly wants.

Susie lets out a noise of–shock? horror? terror?–but Kris pays her no mind, holding it out towards the vessel on the ground. It begins to shake in their hands, and suddenly, they know exactly what's happening. They can feel it, something tearing out of their soul. Vaguely, they hear someone screaming and have to gasp for breath, pressing their lips together to muffle the sound.

It's a pain words can't describe, the feeling of one's entire being having a piece torn from it. They shake so hard that they fall again, gasping once more as it ends just as suddenly as it began, and there's another soul in their hands. The other floats in front of them, seeming stronger than before. When they push theirs back into their chest, it feels whole again, beating solidly inside of them. Nothing else fighting not to be crushed within. Just them.

The soul wobbles a bit, unsteady, and Kris reaches out and takes it into their hands, gently this time, leaning over the vessel and pushing it into the space between their ribs. There's resistance at first, and then the vessel seems to embrace the soul, sucking it in so fast that Kris just barely is able to let go in time not to be dragged down with it.

It's silent for all of one second, before Susie steps closer, pulling Kris from the ground with trembling hands. "What the fuck was that? Did you just rip out your soul with your own two hands? I've never heard of anyone doing anything like–"

A loud, ragged inhale cuts her off, and they both look down at the body, watching as its face fills with color that begins to spread to its hair, and then even to its clothes, as it struggles to get in more breaths for a second. A spluttering cough follows, and it shoots up, clutching at its chest as Kris and Susie both drop down to pat its back.

Its hair is brown now, long and curly, skin a warm gold. It's wearing a striped sweater not unlike Kris's own, but instead in blue and purple.

Suddenly, Kris is looking into Frisk's eyes and it all feels more real than ever.

"I–" Their voice is hoarse, eyes wide and soft, and Kris is reminded that they look so much younger when those eyes fill with tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Wh–"

"I'm so sorry," they repeat, and they start to tremble from head-to-toe, "I'm sorry I don't know how to play the piano."

It's so out-of-nowhere that Kris laughs out loud, rushing to cover their mouth after Frisk's entire face turns red.

"It doesn't matter anymore."

Susie looks between them, eyes slowly lighting up with realization. "Is that why you looked so mad when I asked about it earlier??"

Kris laughs again, and this time, it doesn't end. The weight in their chest, crushing and cramped, is finally gone, and it feels so good that they can't stop laughing, smiling widely as they reach out and yank Frisk into a hug.

Frisk doesn't seem to know how to react first, arms limp at their sides for a few seconds before they twist their fingers into the back of Kris's sweater, pulling them in close and burying their face in Kris's shoulder.

For a second, it's completely silent, before Frisk starts to sniffle quietly, grip tightening until their knuckles pale.

"I'm sorry, too," Kris finally says, and Frisk lets out a wounded noise that sounds even more raw in someone else's voice. They're so much smaller than Kris expected, probably not even 14 years old yet. The thought makes Kris's chest hurt a little.

They consider asking, but then Susie sweeps them both up into her arms and they figure it can wait.

Chapter Text

Kris feels a little vindicated as they burst through the front door with Susie and Frisk in tow, all three of them covered in dirt. Frisk stumbles forward and runs into the table by the couch, knocking a stack of books to the floor and effectively startling Toriel and Sans out of their revelry.

Toriel takes one look at the three of them, and whatever she finds in their faces has her shutting off the music and giving Sans an apologetic look.

He shrugs in reply, eyes landing on Frisk for a second too long in confusion before he leaves the house.

"What is going on here?" She looks at Kris and Susie, expecting an explanation, but the two of them just glance at Frisk, used to them taking the lead when weird things happen. Frisk frowns, grabbing the hem of their sweater as Toriel looks at them. Kris notices they're avoiding eye contact with her as they get ready to speak.

"Hello, mo-ma'am." Toriel glances at the clock, and Frisk pales a bit. "I'm Susie's friend, from out of town. I called Susie for help because I, well, I'm really far from home. And I can't go back."

Susie nods vehemently, "I called Kris to come and walk with me to find them, because walking alone this time of night is dangerous in other places I've lived."

Toriel looks at Kris, who shrugs, "I snuck out because I didn't want to interrupt."

Between the three of them, the story seems completely impenetrable although they'd just made it up on the walk home. However, beneath Toriel's scrutinizing eyes, it feels as though they all must be terrible liars.

"I see," she says, finally, and dips her head to catch Frisk's eyes. Her efforts make their hands shake, and it worsens when they finally do look at her, their breathing beginning to pick up speed. "Well, in that case, you are welcome to stay here. Both of you."

She smiles warmly and Frisk suddenly crumbles right then and there, knees giving out beneath them so abruptly that no one can catch them before they hit the floor, catching themself with their palms.

All three of them look down at them in alarm, but they rasp "sorry. Tired."

Toriel hovers worriedly, looking up at Kris and Susie, who glance at each other before shaking their heads.

"Can the two of you take Frisk upstairs? I'll bring extra blankets up."

Kris and Susie help them up, guiding them up the stairs while they shake like a piece of paper on a windy day. They're totally silent the whole way up, even as Susie tries to ask what happened.

When Toriel brings up the blankets, she knocks and leaves them at the door, along with a glass of water.

"Do you not like my mom or something?" Kris asks, a little bit annoyed as they and Susie wrap Frisk in blankets.

Frisk looks up, with big, wet eyes, expression pained. "Please don't ask me that. I've only been alive for an hour."

Susie barks out a laugh and Kris glares at her lightheartedly. "If you're going to stay here, you have to like my mom."

"I do!" Frisk argues, pulling the blankets around themself tighter, "I promise I do. I just… I need some time to adjust."

Their voice is starting to sound clearer, and Kris passes them the water again at the thought. They drink it gladly as Susie flops down on the floor beside them.

"Adjust to what?"

Frisk hesitates, looking away, before carefully replying. "To not being her kid anymore."

Kris raises an eyebrow at how upset they sound, scowling. "You were never their kid. I was."

They let out a laugh, settling backwards. "I guess you're right. I'll be fine."

The rest of the night is more or less more normal than Kris is expecting. They talk to Susie over Frisk's head as Frisk nods off in a pile of blankets, looking more exhausted than Kris has ever been in their entire life, answering questions about how it felt to be possessed (bad), if they were the one who played the organ that got them out of the Dark World in the church after Frisk hesitated (yes), and what times which soul had been in charge.

It's weird and a little uncomfortable, being so candid with Susie. Especially with the Knight still hanging as a secret between them. Kris resolves to tell her that, too, because Susie has been nothing if not understanding so far.

In the morning, Toriel is off helping with preparations for the festival, but she leaves behind pancakes for breakfast. Kris and Susie both watch as Frisk polishes off four in a row all on their own, looking overwhelmed the entire time but refusing to slow down. It's sort of horrifying.

"We should go to Castle Town before the festival," Susie suggests, watching Frisk pause on their sixth pancake to look at her. "Ralsei will probably be thrilled to meet you."

Frisk frowns, pulling at their fingers. "Okay."

Susie gives Frisk an encouraging smile, standing up and pulling them along with her, "I'm serious, he's gonna love you."

A hum is the only reply she gets, but she just pats their back, pushing them towards the door.

"C'mon, Kris. I can't wait to watch Ralsei lose his shit."

The whole walk there, Frisk looks as though they're being marched to their own execution. Their shoulders draw further and further inwards, eyes on the floor when they get into the building. They start mumbling their responses, dragging their feet, and by the time they get to the closet door, they're hidden behind Susie, looking somehow even smaller than before.

When they jump in, Kris isn't surprised to see Frisk almost seems to match all of their colors. In fact, now that they think about it, Frisk looks uncannily similar to them in the Light World. It's a fact that makes them uncomfortable to dwell on, especially considering Frisk told them that it was made in the image of whoever they had been prior to… whatever happened to them.

Abruptly, they realize Frisk never explained how they ended up here, in Kris's body.

Their armor seems to be much lighter than Kris's, chain-mail rather than clunky steel, and with a looser shirt and shorts and little ankle boots. Kris doesn't realize why until they see the dagger hanging at Frisk's hip, which surprises them more than it should. They were expecting a sword.

Frisk breaks out into a cold sweat when they see it, making an aborted motion for it before they deliberately look away.

"Sick weapon, Frisk!" They give Susie a laugh, ducking their face.

"I never liked violence, but I guess it is."

Three more times, Frisk reaches for the hilt of the knife and squeezes, as if to check if it's soft. Each time, they recoil as if in disgust.

Kris thinks about the fact that they've only used their own blade in two fights since the first Dark World opened.

"I can take it from you," Kris says before they can think about it, watching Frisk's face carefully as they do. "I'll hold onto it until you need it."

Frisk nods slowly, going to pull it from their hip before shuddering, and Kris takes pity on them, unclipping the hilt and putting it around their own waist instead.

The way Frisk's shoulders sag with relief makes their chest warm a little with pride, before they turn to walk into Castle Town. Frisk seems to visibly deflate at the sight of the gates.

As the three of them walk through town, Susie stops to introduce Frisk to everyone, and they begin to perk up as they greet more and more people and are received with general kindness and understanding. A few comment on their familiarity as they speak and Frisk finds that hilarious before insisting there's no way they've ever met because Frisk has only been alive for 12 hours.

The joke doesn't land with a single person, yet Frisk continues to make it over and over again with increasing levity. By the eighth one, Susie and Kris are actually beginning to find it funny, which unfortunately only spurs them on further.

"Kris, Susie! I just passed Tenna, and he told me you were out here." Frisk stops short, and Kris rolls their eyes, pulling the other human up in front of them.

"Look what we dug up," they joke, and Susie snickers from behind them.

Ralsei is in front of them, seeming completely speechless. Frisk fidgets. "Hi, I'm-"

"-I know who you are. This is unexpected."

Frisk laughs a little, glancing away. As the moment stretches on and Ralsei doesn't speak again, Frisk begins to remind Kris of Tenna shrinking down smaller and smaller, their shoulders hunching.

"Ha, this is awkward, isn't it? I always got the feeling you didn't like me very much, to be honest, but I'd hoped I was wrong."

Ralsei continues staring at them quietly while they await a response of some kind, seeming to wilt under his gaze.

"…You're a lot younger than I expected you to be." Ralsei seems troubled as he studies and then re-studies their face. "How old are you?"

They hesitate, face turning a little red. "Next week would've been my 15th birthday. Is my 15th birthday."

Fingers start fidgeting even more, and they try to avoid looking at anyone at all. "It would've been my 3rd birthday with my mom."

Something seems to crack a little bit then, their entire face turning an even brighter shade of red.

"I know what you think of me. And I guess you're kind of right. But I didn't know this would happen. I didn't want it. I had a life."

Kris looks at Ralsei, finding him looking a little stricken as they stand there, looking off to the side.

"Do you want to tell us about it?" Ralsei asks gently, and Frisk flicks their gaze up to look at him, eyes red-rimmed. "Your life?"

Frisk looks back down, seeming reluctant. Ralsei tries his best to look encouraging.

"I almost died when I was 12. I fell down the center of a mountain, into the middle of hundreds of years of history that had been hidden from humans in my world. The monsters lived down there, because war had driven them underground and they couldn't get out."

They slump down to sit on the ground, and Ralsei sits down across from them, his entire face soft.

"I don't really know what happened exactly, but I know a lot of them died at the hands of the Humans. It left them resentful against us, so when I got down there, I wasn't welcomed with open arms. Everything was out to kill me, but I saw through it to who they were, and gave them all mercy one-by-one. And then, when they were giving their all to destroy me, I freed them." They don't sound all too proud of it. Pleased, yes, but not with themself.

"All of it was with the help of someone I didn't know was with me until the very end. If not for them, I wouldn't have known what to do. I would've died."

Frisk pauses, hands digging into the ground. "I would've done the same thing again if not for Kris finding the vessel for me. Like a parasite."

It's quiet for a second, before Frisk looks up. "Everyone in Hometown is someone I knew in another life. Toriel adopted me when we came up to the surface. I'm surrounded by my friends and family, the people I love most in my life, and I'm a stranger to them all. Not a single one knows who I am anymore. I probably died here because they didn't need me."

They laugh and it sounds more like a cough. "I've been a diplomat since I was 12 years old for the new Monster Nation. I didn't even know that word before I fell. But life was good. I was happy. Next week, I was going to have a huge party with all of my favorite people in the world, and now I have to save another world, and this time, I don't have anyone to tell me if I'm doing the right thing. I have no idea how I'm going to get home."

"You have us to tell you," Ralsei says, voice soft. "We're all in this together, you know."

Frisk cringes apologetically, "sorry, I meant– well, Kris knows what I meant."

Kris nods almost robotically, turning over all of their words.

"All those messages you'd give me. Every time I failed. Was that what they would do when it happened to you?"

"Every time. They always told me to stay determined."

Kris smiles. "I've never heard that one."

"I never claimed to be quoting them verbatim. It's because our soul color is the color of determination. They wanted me to remember that."

They didn't know that. They'd assumed every human soul was the same color, even if not the same shape. Frisk frowns a little, more thoughtful than upset.

"I've seen seven other colors, and each meant something different," they falter a bit, grief coloring their tone briefly, "they saved me so many times. I wish I could've helped them."

"I don't think you're a parasite, Frisk," Kris says, and it surprises them how much they mean it. "And neither do Ralsei or Susie."

Frisk hunches forward, pulling at their fingers none-too-gently, "everything I've ever done, I've done with someone else's sacrifice."

"But it was still you."

A small smile crosses their face at the words, eyes brightening. "Despite everything." They exhale slowly, finally meeting their eyes. "I'm gonna get home. I know it. But until then, I'm here with you guys."

"Hell yeah!" Susie crows, throwing her arms up, and Frisk follows suit, laughing brightly.

"Four heroes are better than three," Ralsei says, doing the same, and Kris does it too, grinning at the three of them.

Maybe it won't be so bad, having Frisk around. As long as they have their own body, of course.