Give Him An Excuse

Sans' and Papyrus' House . . .

Okay. He was comforting her. Sans the Skeleton was holding her close, lying his skull next to her forehead. Either he cared for her like his best bestie ever, or . . . holy smokes, he does like me. And even though a Frisk shouldn't unless it was helpful in an ACT, she selfishly took that hug. She needed it for her determination. This would be a rough one, and she would need back up. Not a Frisk back up.

"Stop thinking so hard," Sans insisted as he pulled away. "If need be, we'll figure a way out, but I think we'll be fine. Right, Papyrus?"

"Right. Yes." Papyrus moved toward the window . "I suppose I better go and get everything I can for baby Skeletons in the morning. The Underground doesn't have anything, and if King Asgore makes the decision to entrap us all down here forever . . ." He chuckled nervously as he looked at Frisky. "Then that would be the peachy keeniest?"

Chara was one thing, but there was no way the entire Underground would just go with Solo District. They were all bent on getting FRISK before. Would letting them have the truth and their skies be enough to endure being stuck forever again? "Mettaton was designed to destroy humans."

"By Alphys," Sans reminded her.

"Which didn't matter with FRISK farther in the timeline," she reminded him. Then again. "He mentioned getting his full body back. Oh, I'm such a clutz. FRISK didn't do anything yet." She looked toward Sans. "Why did he say that?" Oh no. "Did you fight?"

"I ACTed," Sans said. "Like I haven't seen that one a million times. He got the hint. What? I've got a human wife and kid and a human killer that doesn't always like to follow Alphys."

"An innocent soul."

"An innocent soul that doesn't mind being a killer robot. No big deal. Worth the ratings boost."

Well, that encounter had been over and done with. Sans felt he had to do it apparently at some point. Still. I am FRISK. I did not need him to do that. I could handle Mettaton. I even handled Undyne. "King Asgore seems torn. He hasn't made the decision yet in his head."

"Yeah. Every Monster near and far is going to be trying to convince him one way or the other," Sans agreed. "He'll pick the right one though. A lot of Monsters are probably going to leave the Underground. But." Sans shrugged. "That's life."

"You are awfully confident that Chara will make him choose Solo," Frisky said. "My determination in that matter is not so high. To depend strictly upon her without more input is not the right ACT for this."

"Maybe we should listen to her?" Papyrus said to Sans. "She was with her for ten years or so. You barely know her." Sans gave him a strained look. "Oh. Nevermind. It will all be fine."

Yes. Frisky thought so. Sans was just ACTing himself. He didn't know any better than she.

"In order to open up as much as he needs for the other options, King Asgore is going to have to take down the barrier. Chara isn't going to allow that," Sans tried to convince her again. "and, if she does? Then we'll all leave Snowdin and find somewhere safe."

"Leave Snowdin? Leave home?" Papyrus scoffed. "Sans, we can't do that! What would we do? Where would we go? And then, there is Chance, a new baby Skeleton. We couldn't risk him out there."

"Papyrus, Chance's soul is grey with blue. Whether he can or will be jumped in in the future, we don't really know. And neither do Balancers. I guarantee one of the sacrifices. Is him." Sans met his own gaze against him. "No one's taking him."

"Oh. Yes." Papyrus spoke so softly, it was barely heard. "Trapped in Underground is our best option again. I suppose. I'm going to bed." He waved at each of them with barely a care. "We'll just see what happens tomorrow."

Hearing he had the chance to be trapped back Underground wasn't easy. And he was only one. So many Monsters would leave. No one wants to be trapped here anymore. "I need to see Chara." Frisky headed over toward Chance. "I need him too."

"Okay." Sans undid Chance's strange belt in the crib. "Let's go."

"No. Just me," she insisted.

"No. Not with him 'just you'," Sans said back. "If you want to see Chara, we'll go with him."

Tough. She could not think of an ACT that would break him. He was too concerned about Chance. "Okay. I guess you should come." She gestured to the door. "Out we go. She'll find us."

"It's cold outside."

"I'll be fine. Let's go," Frisky said as she opened the door.

"So, there's snow telling when she'll come out, huh?" Sans joked as he held Chance, tagging along behind Frisky.

"I don't know if she will come out as easily while you are here," Frisky said back to him, ignoring the joke. They were out aways from the backyard, about to hit the side of the barrier she could no longer cross. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted for her.

"I told you. I don't want to deal with the next big thing." Chara appeared in front of Frisky with her eyes closed. "Hey, Frisky."

"I know," Frisky said, "but can you accomplish what you want as easily by staying out of it?"

"I protect the Monsters and those inside the barrier." Chara opened one eye toward Sans. "Is that my Itty Bitty?"

"For now," Sans said. "Of course, if you let your dad pick Compromise, he'll just be a pile of broken bones, won't he?"

"Sans, not that way," Frisky warned him as Chara approached Chance.

"Ah, my Itty Bitty is now Bony Itty Bitty." Chara leaned over and looked at him. "Hey, Kiddo! It's Aunt Chara!" She laughed. "What a cute little bonehead he is now. Monster is always better to be than human."

"I can agree with you there," Frisky said as she moved back toward Sans and Chara. "I am not asking you to get involved. I know you do not want to get involved. Neither choice is appealing. One will hunt humans down, kill them, and kill Chance. The other will entrap everyone down here again, unable to leave."

Chara sighed. "Fine, okay. You know there's no way he'll pick Solo. Every Monster would just leave his Kingdom. No one wants to be stuck here anymore. Even if they never felt compelled to leave before, the fact that it was an option?" She looked toward Sans. "You know how much everyone wanted freedom. They won't go down for a few humans. They didn't in the past. They won't now. Neither will Daddy Asgore. He's just got too big of a heart to make that decision as easy. But, it'll be made. But. It won't be that . . . bad."

"How?" Frisky asked. "What can be done?"

"Not many humans got trapped down here. Ipecacci Spaghetti took out most of the ones that did. Only the ones I've been protecting are still alive. The Frisks. Conner. And one other human. I didn't have the heart to not help her," Chara admitted. "She's carrying right now." She floated off the ground a little. "Itty Bitty's protected, he's half Monster. They might try to come after him, but they can't go too far. They know it. Cause . . ." She looked toward Sans sideways. "Even though he's yours, he was 04823's. That's why no one has actually messed with him. They expect him to get him back."

Sans pulled Chance closer.

"Just letting you know. But, uh. Sans?" She batted her eyelashes at him comically. "How are you feeling with the Frisks?"

"Whyyy?" Sans questioned her.

"If you enslave them, and Conner, and the other human, and your wife, you'll be good to go," Chara said. "Do you mind?"

"What?" Sans shook his head. "No way. I won't enslave anyone."

"But, you could have them help you guard? It's what the Frisks are made for anyway. They were raised to ACT and FIGHT. And if you don't?" Chara shook her head. "You know everyone in the Underground knows you married a human. They'll come after her, and they'll get my Frisks, and they'll get my Conner. And a poor little pregnant human that still hasn't quite achieved being good at ACTing yet." She glared at him. "I trust you with the humans. Everyone else that has ever encountered them has always fought. Even your brother wanted to capture. Everyone. Everything. Even the tiniest froggit would encounter FRISK. Even my own mom forced FRISK to fight to get out. You never did anything when FRISK was a good human."

"What does that have to do with it?" Sans asked.

"Because. Enslavement is . . . tempting. I am trusting you with the few humans I protect. That's. Not. Easy."

"Isn't there anything else?" Frisky asked. "A different option? A different ACT that we are unaware of?"

"Can't you convince your dad to go Solo?" Sans asked. "I don't think he'd listen to Tori, but you're his daughter. He cared a great deal for you. Right?"

"Even if I came down and went 'Yo, pops, remember me! Hey, I want you to go ahead and trap everyone in the Underground back down here forever again! Would you do that for me, pllleeease?' Pfft." Chara stuck her tongue out. "Besides, enslave humans or trap Monsters. Neither is the best option, but if you have them, Sans, you'll take care of them. Convince my dad to let you have them."

Sans shook his head. "I barely made enough to get considered for commitment or marriage. How could I handle that? Where would everyone stay? I don't have that kind of room."

"You don't have to support them, just enslave them. And Frisky? Well . . ." Chara wiggled her fingers. "You might want to enslave her under Concubine."

"What's a concubine?"

Concubine? "Chara?" Frisky asked. "Are you sure?"

"If he wants you to keep living with him, he'll have to," Chara said. "I. I don't want to get involved in Balancers. I mean it, Frisky." She growled. "But, fine. I'll do this one thing. I'll see my dad and I'll tell him to give ownership to Sans. He can do the procedures tomorrow, and then dad can pick Compromise. It'll make Daddy Asgore feel better too."

"How . . ." Sans shrugged. "How can I enslave my own wife?"

"Marriage with humans isn't possible in Compromise. Concubine means she, ya know, makes ya happy-happy in a physical way," Chara said. "Usually not by her own will, but let's not get picky. Once dad officially chooses Compromise, then your marriage would have been invalid."

"But that's . . . marriage is forever," Sans said, looking down at Chance. "It's forever to Monsters."

"Not in the legal way. Not anymore."

"Marriage is forever," Sans said firmly.

"To you. Which is good. Keep remembering that." Chara looked toward Frisky. "I didn't expect this move until I was ready to leave. They didn't wait long enough to give the Crossing territory option."

"What's Crossing territory?" Sans asked.

"It takes four months to get approved. Daddy Asgore will have to have enough guards, and he'll need to expand to allow everyone, including humans, to pass if they meet approval. In other words. No barrier." Chara kicked her feet up and laid comfortably in the air. "I figured after that I would take off, and I'd have gotten all I wanted taken care of. This cramps my style, but it's still a little thing. Enslave the humans a few months, and then you can be a Crossing territory. Deslave everyone and marry Frisky again, if you want. Things are way looser. She could also just live with you now without committing or marriage or anything in Crossing territory. No more problems."

"Solo. Territory."

"Sans." Frisky looked toward Chara. "Enslaved for a few months?"

"Then trapped Monsters for a few months," Sans countered. "Being trapped a few months more is not a big deal."

"That is true," Chara reasoned, "However, King Asgore never fulfilled his promise to release everyone from the Underground. That was you and Alphys, Sans. And if he goes up to Monsters and says 'we'll become a Crossing territory in a few months, but until then, you're going to be entrapped here because I don't feel like murdering a few measly humans for you all.' Well, it doesn't made Daddy Asgore look good either. He's the King. There's like seven humans that need dealt with. A really low number, and not one of them a cute kid. Plus, he already got rid of some with Ipeccaci Spaghetti. So, seriously? That's no King! If I were a Monster, I'd march out bitterly to Snowdout and go 'screw it all, bite my butt'."

"King Asgore would appear weak," Frisky agreed. "That would lead to more trouble. Maybe someone even overtaking the throne?" Hint, hint.

"Oh, they couldn't. He's got the papers and everything. Balancers got their legal ways which protect him. Still, a lot of Monsters will lose faith," Chara agreed. "Honestly, unless another Monster is in danger, they don't care." Chara looked over toward Frisky. "Unless another Monster was in danger . . . hey Frisky, how far have you gotten with hub-hub?"

"What do you mean?" Frisky asked.

"Hey, Sans?" Chara gestured toward Frisky. "You ever get close to your second Chance yet?"

"Huh? Oh no." Sans shook his head and looked at Chance a bit. "We don't have to worry about that anymore."

"I bet no one wanted to leave Itty Bitty alone, huh?"

"Nope."

"All the Monsters thought he was the cutest. A new little Skeleton Monster."

"Yeah. Pretty rare. As in non-existent."

"I understand," Frisky said. "Monsters would do about anything for a baby Monster. So if mommy was already carrying another baby Skeleton Monster?" Frisky looked toward Chara. "Sympathetic ACT."

"Bingo."

"But we already have Chance, and you know they would try and kill him." Sans sounded unconvinced.

"Yeah, but not Daddy Asgore. I know him better. I know his soft spots. This whole thing actually is a soft spot and Chance is about the only reason he hasn't gone Compromise yet. Monster human baby murder. Ouch. You just need to give him the right cover that a lot of Monsters would fall for. Plus, the only a few month thing instead of forever. He'll go Solo like creamy butter."

"One rare baby Monster is tough, but another on the way is too much," Frisky reasoned. "It makes sense. It hits all the buttons."

"King Asgore just needs a great excuse, and he'll be a fuzzy pushover." Sans nodded. "Yeah, now I get it."

"Right, 'cause Monsters are very loving." Chara nodded her head. "They've gone like a thousand years, what's a few more months to save two cute babybones? Actually, one might have done it when dad found out it was only a few months, but it was pushing it. Two is just perfect. Plus, Frisky's ACT is a bonus. She'll convince them all that humans and Monsters can not only get along, but can actually love each other. Now, can I cook or can I cook, Frisky?" She winked and gave her an okay sign. "When the Crossing territory comes, then you can just ACT again. After all, a Monster human baby might be tough to come to term just being natural?" She chuckled over at Sans. "Right?"

"Yeah. If we get you and Chance on Mettaton's show, they'll all fall for it." Sans readjusted Chance and gave Chara a thumbs up. "It doesn't even have to be real pleading. Mettaton begged to have you on before. This could work. Word about his show spreads like a virus. Good job, kid. I definitely owe you one."

"Nah. You gave a lot of GOLD for a lot of Grillby's over the years. Just take care of my Itty Bitty, and watch out for my Frisks." With that, Chara disappeared.

Sans and Papyrus' House . . .

"Hang on," Sans said as he knocked at Papyrus' door. "Hey, you still up?"

"Whaaaat?" Papyrus whined through the door.

"Me and Frisky just saved the day again. We'll be fine. No entrapment or losing Frisky and Chance."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, now knock back a few Z's again." Sans went over and opened their bedroom door. "After you."

Huh. Frisky went through and grabbed a set of pajamas. Purple. She was getting much more used to her new home. Sans waited by the door. "Don't even think about it."

"I'll be outside four minutes. Or for a minute. One or the other." He took off and left her to get dressed.

Now. ACTing like she was pregnant, and then losing it. Cruel. She'd gone through both things. She had done a very good ACT of 'It's no big deal' for it. It would save Monsters loyalty to King Asgore, and it would save the humans from being enslaved. There wasn't much choice in the ACT. Not all ACTs were easy, but they were necessary to reach the solution. She went and opened the door back for Sans again. He wasn't there though. Did he take a shortcut back to the room? She turned around and looked.

"Hiya."

She jumped. Of course, Sans was always good at sneaking up on people. He was holding Chance in one hand and the special tiny crib in the other.

"Give Flowey a show?"

"I don't have a human lust drive," Flowey reminded him. "Never understood it. Humans just got humps with tips and flesh bodies with-"

"Okay, time for bed." Frisky took the small tiny crib from Sans hand and placed it beside the bed. It was a strange little thing, much different than a human crib. Almost like a changing table. Since baby Skeletons couldn't move all that much, there weren't many safeguards needed. It was all about soft protection. The bed underneath was fit to almost Chance's size. Not very big. It was filled with some kind of plasma, and it felt like a bed made of water. The sides also had the same strange plasma filled bedding. There was no need for a pillow. The whole body needed the same amount of protection.

"Here ya go, My Kid. Get some more sleep. Maybe you'll get the hang of your other hand tomorrow." Sans laid him down on it. "Speaking of rest, you know the drill."

Frisky crawled into bed while Sans came over.

"Okay Frisky," he said. "Close your eyes and open your mouth."

It wasn't the first time she'd done that, but it was the first time since he said he liked her this morning. He would probably enjoy it more. She didn't know if she liked that or not. Still, she did as she was told.

"Ready for something blue?"

Oh great. He was real into it. "I guess so."

"Nah, nah, leave your mouth open while you say that."

Enjoying it way too much. "Ahguetho."

"Gesundheit."

"What?" She didn't sneeze. She felt him starting to lean over . . . and felt something in her mouth. She closed her mouth and started to chew. "Monster Candy?"

"The blue edition." Sans held up the candy in front of her. "Tasty and blue, huh?"

Why. That.

"Awww, what? Did you want a kiss? Ask for one and I'll give one to you."

"Actually, can I have more of the Monster Candy?" She asked. "That is pretty good."

"Yeah, I thought it would have more of a blueberry taste. Here ya go, Faithful Frisky."

Frisky had more of it. Well. "You got me." She looked at him sideways. "Do I need to kiss your cheekbone still?"

"Geez, aren't you eager for me?" Sans teased her.

"I'm not eager for you." She could feel herself getting warm again. No, stop that. This is not the time.Sans was feeling jokey again. Probably from intercepting the disaster that was coming. If he didn't want to kiss her, were they still supposed to cuddle? And how come he didn't want to kiss her? Did she have bad breath? Stop that. It's not like I wanted to be kissed.

"What's purple and pink and supposed to be all over on me?" Sans winked at her.

Mm? Maybe he did want to cuddle. I have purple pajamas tonight but I'm not . . . dang. She was blushing. She didn't comment as she came over to him. And heard his whoopie cushion go off. No . . . no . . . no . . .

"Not into long and silent nights, are you?"

Frisky couldn't help herself as she started laughing on top of him. "Sans! Quit doing that!"

"Are you kidding? Fart jokes are my number one thing with you. I am your Legendary Fart Master. Say it."

"No, I refuse."

"Say iiiiiit."

"No, I refuse."

"Aww, come on? It's not a waste of time, so stop recycling the same line."

No, I absolutely refuse, I won't, and I can't. And I am not doing that?

"Frisky Faith, I didn't know you could growl?" He winked. "Sounds like I'm barking up the right tree."

She scoffed. "Sans!" She made a whining sound. He kept causing her to react before thinking her actions out. No, that just encouraged him! Why can't I think of the right ACT to do? How can I recover from this? And why does he just got this look like he is enjoying this more than anything in the world?

"I usually prefer a brewski over a whine, but I'll make an exception. As long as your refrigerator is running."

"You're a dork." Frisky covered her mouth, unable to believe she just said that. Sans just kept making her lose her inhibition. "I am sorry, I didn't mean that."

"Yes, you did. I am a dork, but that's okay." Sans sat up and pulled her up closer to him, forehead to skull again. "'Cause you've got the hots for dorks and I'm burning my way through you faster than a nerd does calculus."

Frisky couldn't even say anything as he just laid back down with her, cuddled closer to her, and fell asleep. No way. He's not right, is he? There's a different reason I can't control my ACTs around him. Right? Her cheeks were burning so hot, if anyone touched them, they would think she was running a fever. He's a Monster. Humans don't like Monsters. Her heart was beating awfully fast too. Could he actually feel that? No. I have to get these ACTs under control. After all I have to pretend that . . . that . . . that she willingly loved him so much, they already had another baby inside of her.

And he was going to eat up her ACT tomorrow, like it was actually her. And that could break his heart. No, of course he won't. He knows ACTs very well. I do what it takes to win. He knows exactly what I have to do.

At least she didn't have to worry about his own ACTing skill. He clearly had that down to an art.