Sans expected nothing less than full-fledged chaos when he and Fuku arrived on the western side of Snowdin, bringing a newly-awakened Toriel with them. To his relieve (and surprise), everything looked to be undamaged; there were monsters milling about, most either heading toward the Ruins with their families or heading to the Eastern Edge of town.
"I'll be with the children." Toriel said, quickly passing Sans and Fuku with her eyes on the Snowed Inn.
Once she was gone, Fuku commented, "Is it just me, or does she seem strangely calm about this?"
"It's not the first time the Foundation's attacked us, y'know." This came from 3177. Despite his words, Sans noticed that 3177 was walking toward them more quickly than Sans's standard pace. "Glad I was able to catch you two."
"Where's Artie?" Sans asked.
"Helping with the barricades near Waterfall." 3177 said, motioning for them to follow. Heading toward the eastern side of town, he continued, "We're looking at one squad, maybe two who got lucky. Still, a lotta people 'round here learned the hard way not to take even a little insurgent team for granted."
"Probably have their own share of toys." Fuku said, "I mean, if the Warehouse is any indication."
"You mean strange stuff?" 3177 shook his head. "Haven't seen too much of that kinda thing. From what I was able to glean during my little vacation with our SCP friends, I get the impression they're more about locking that kind of stuff away rather than using it. Still, given the stuff I've seen, I'd hate to be wrong about that. The Foundation's found some scary stuff; fortunately, Site 37's all about the Underground."
Sans shook his head. "I thought you said most of the ways were blocked off."
"They are." 3177 said, "Still, you know how it is. Sometimes even a blind monkey can find a banana. No worries; we'll plug the holes once we send the chumps packin'."
The bustle of the rest of Snowdin died considerably the closer they got to the entrance to Waterfall. There were fewer monsters around as well, though Sans noticed many in hiding, no doubt preparing to ambush the Foundation soldiers should they get that far.
Undyne knelt behind a barricade disguised as a snowdrift just outside the entrance to waterfall. She wore her full plate mail sans helmet, which lay beside her as she watched the entrance with one squinted eye.
"Sans." She said without looking around.
"That's me." Sans and 3177 said simultaneously.
Undyne glanced back at them in surprise, only to let out a laugh. "Forgot I have two of you numb-skulls to deal with now." To Sans, she said, "Look, I know this ain't your fight, but-"
"I know, I know." Sans said, not even surprised at that point that she could tell them apart so quickly. "S'okay. I wanna help. I guess you could say I don't have a problem working for scale."
Fuku gave him a light smack on the arm, though Sans could tell she was trying not to smile. 3177, on the other hand, had no trouble laughing despite the glare on Undyne's face.
Shaking her head, Undyne turned her attention to Fuku. "Typically, we've been having the non-fighting monsters take refuge in the ruins when the Foundation jerks make a run at us."
"And?" Fuku said, crossing her arms.
Undyne grinned at her. "Ha! Had a feelin' you were up for a scrap. All right, I'm guessin' you've got the same abilities as your parents, so why dontcha meet up with the Vulkins near Sans's place; heat won't bother you, and they could use some ranged support."
"Right." Fuku paused a moment before giving Sans a kiss. "Be careful, Sans."
"You too." Sans said, giving her a small kiss as well.
As she hurried away from the barricade, Sans realized both 3177 and Undyne were looking at him, both smiling.
Feeling his cheekbones grow warm, Sans said, "All right. So what are we gonna do?"
"We need to know just how many we're dealing with. Alphys picked up five soldiers, but there might be more."
"I'm on it." 3177 said.
Sans nodded as well. "We both are. Two skulls are better than one, right?"
3177 hesitated a moment before nodding. Undyne nodded as well. "All right, you two go on ahead and check it out. If you run into trouble, do what damage you can and get back here."
"Sure thing, Cap'n." 3177 gave Undyne a mocking salute before heading for the entrance to Waterfall.
Sans moved to follow, only for Undyne to grab his shoulder.
"Keep an eye on him." Undyne said, glancing at 3177's back.
"Uh, are you sure you grabbed the right Sans?" Sans said.
Undyne fixed him with a one-eyed glare. "It's not hard to tell you two apart, you know. Just keep an eye on him, okay? Somethin' about him's been different, and I ain't sure I like it."
With that, she let him go. Mystified and more than a little worried, Sans hurried to catch up with 3177.
Glen burst into Frisk's bedroom, startling Toriel and Sans.
"See, Tori? I told you Glen would-" Sans stopped, no doubt stunned by Glen's appearance. "Whoa, Glen, you look terrible."
"Right back at you, bone-head." Glen said with a chuckle. He was right, of course; her hair was wild, she had smudges of dirt all over her clothes and skin, and her right arm was in a makeshift sling torn from her beloved green and gray-striped shirt. She limped over to the table set up on the far side of the room.
Sans gave Toriel's hand a squeeze and paused a moment to rub the unconscious Frisk's shivering cheek before hurrying over to the Dreamer.
"I hope I set everything up right." Sans said as Glen emptied the contents of her bag onto an empty spot on the table. "Your instructions were a little vague on some points."
"It's cool." Glen said, setting each the ingredients she'd labored to find in a separate bowl. She cracked the ink-black egg first, trying not to remember the horde of screeching gargamells that chased her after her theft. She added a good measure of Faerie dust before juicing the star-shaped paopu fruit and quickly blending the mixture with an egg whisk.
"So," Sans asked. "You got everything."
Glen nodded, both at him and the bluish mist rising from the mixture. She glanced at the spidery writing of the instructions before using a tiny pair of tweezers to pluck three grains of sand from a small vial and add it to a clean bowl. Once the vial of sand from the Deadly Desert was sealed, she used a tea spoon to ladle out some of the brown goopy hen's teeth.
Alchemy wasn't that different from bartending really, Glen thought to herself. She'd taken lessons on both, once assuming a younger identity for seven years just for some classes on potion-making. It had been worth the trouble, though the hook-nosed potions master was a bit of a frump.
Her concentration was momentarily broken by a series of wheezing coughs from Frisk, her tiny lungs laboring to take in air.
"It's okay, sweetie." Toriel said, her lips brushing Frisk's forehead.
Glen nodded and turned her attention to her work. The recipe she'd found in her book was complex, but not beyond her. Still, it felt like hours passed while she carefully measured, mixed, and stirred various bowls of rare materials. It was amazing, really, how things reacted to each other. Who was the first to discover that vampire blood boiled when stirred with the crystalized spike of a durien's tail, given that the two creatures didn't even live on the same planet? Who would've guessed that just a few ounces of the original Coca-Cola formula was enough to completely nullify all the poison in a sendraught's spit gland? Who would've thought that humming certain notes could turn opaque mixtures containing dreamite translucent?
Frisk had two more coughing fits before Glen finally consolidated the contents of the last two bowls into a copper cauldron. After checking the instructions one more time, Glen pulled a tallow-wood wand from its protective case and ran the tip along the rim of the cauldron three times, saying each time she made a full circle, "Sed somnium est vita."
It was then she frowned. Sans noticed immediately, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I don't know." Glen said, glancing through the list again. "The whole mixture was supposed to glow.
Frisk was coughing again. Glen glanced back and was horrified to see small spatters of blood on the quilt nearest Frisk's mouth. Her tiny frame was wracked with pain, shuddering with each intake of breath.
Seeing Toriel's pleading gaze, Glen turned back to the cauldron. She traced the rim of the cauldron again, repeating the incantation, only for the mixture to remain as it was.
"What am I missing?" Glen said, eyes rushing down the list again. There were so many ingredients, so many instructions, but she was sure she'd one everything. She went over the ingredients she'd gathered, knocking bowls and vials over in her haste.
"Glen!' Toriel cried out. Glen glanced back to see Frisk's eyes roll back in her head. She fell limply against the mattress of the bed, a thin trail of blood falling from the corner of her mouth.
"Goddammit!" Glen said, slamming a fist down on the table, barely noticing the pain as glass fragments of a bowl shattered by her blow cut into her fist. "All of this can't have been for nothing!"
She raised her hand to hit the table again when she saw something that made her freeze. Some of the bowls had spilled their contents on the table top, partially soaking the parchment with the instructions. Between the incantation and the paragraph describing what should happen next were several words.
Glen pressed the paper against the table, soaking in the liquid until she could read the words, "Add three fragments of life's essence. This will trigger the final reaction as described below."
"Life's essence." Glen murmured as Toriel sobbed. "Does it mean crystallic? Maybe bits of a shattered soulstone?"
She felt Sans's hand on her shoulder. "She's not breathin, Glen." Sans said, his voice strangely thick. "Look, we knew this was a long shot."
Glen didn't respond; her eyes had fallen to her now bloody hand. Slowly she raised the hand and held it over the cauldron.
"It couldn't be that simple." Her mind told her even as she watched the first drop fall into the cauldron, then the second. Hope already dying, she watched as a third drop of her blood fell from her hand and hit the surface of the cauldron.
The contents of the cauldron erupted into a brilliant light, causing Glen to stagger back with an arm partially blocking it out. The light seemed to surge outward for a few moments before shrinking inward. It didn't die out, however; a faint light still shone from within the cauldron.
Glen peered inside to see a small vial of rough crystal, no bigger than her hand. Inside was a small amount of glowing liquid. Glen picked it up, and immediately felt a tickling sensation running across her hand as the cuts mended before her eyes.
Glen rushed over to Frisk. Toriel and Sans held hands, hope in both of their eyes.
"All right." Glen said, holding the little girl's head back. "Bottoms up, kid."
She poured the entire vial down Frisk's throat. The effect was immediate; Frisk's body seized, her eyes shooting open and exuding light similar to that of the mixture. Glen felt the hairs on her arms and legs stand on end at the outpouring of energy emanating from the little girl. She drew in a deep breath moments before the light faded.
Glen watched as the little girl took in several deep, healthy breaths before asking, "You okay, kid?"
Frisk looked at Glen slowly, her hand moving to her throat. She swallowed slowly, gave a few experimental coughs, and finally broke into a wide smile. Toriel, unable to contain herself anymore, hugged both Glen and Frisk in her massive arms. She laughed as tears fell down the white fur of her face.
Sans smiled as well. He paused a moment to wipe away a few tears of his own before he said, "Nice work, landlady."
"Thanks." Glen said, "I'm just glad …"
Frisk let out a yelp. Glen and Toriel released her both surprise. She wriggled her shoulders as though trying to scratch an itch she couldn't reach.
"Uh, Frisk?" Glen asked, worried. "Are you okay?"
She continued trying to reach her back before finally pulling off her shirt. The sight of something pushing against her back from the inside made Glen let out a gasp of surprise. Before she could respond further, however, the skin on Frisk's back split open, revealing two rumpled butterfly wings.
"Uh …" Glen said, eyes wide. "That wasn't in the instructions."
She winced as the scene faded around her, taking away Frisk, Sans, Toriel, and the rest of Frisk's bedroom and replacing them with the living room of the cabin on Cauldron Lake. Her mind was still racing when Barbara Jagger reappeared, an intrigued look on her face.
"Faerie dust." Glen blurted out.
"Excuse me?"
The bowl I broke was holding the Faerie dust. When I dripped my blood into the cauldron, she got extra Faerie dust."
"I fail to see your point."
"Well, there's fairy and Faerie; y'know, with an 'ie' instead of a 'y'. Y dust is just magical energy, just like crystallic, but 'ie' dust is literally dust from a Faerie tribe sentient. Wing flakes and the like, the sort of thing that still contains active DNA. It doesn't take much for Faerie DNA to dominate a template species like humanity, and she got an extra big dose."
Jagger's smile faded as Glen continued, "Still, it worked well enough. Besides, she looks adorable with those little wings, doesn't she? Plus she gets another shot at childhood while her body fully adapts."
"And you would consider this a great shame?"
"Well, it was a mistake. A good mistake, mind, but still a mistake." Glen said with a shrug as she rose to her feet.
Barbara was in her face in an instant. "You are toying with me."
Glen opened her mouth and assumed a thoughtful expression for a few moments before nodding. "Yup."
"Which means there's something to hide."
"Well, there is one thing I've always been a bit ashamed of."
This earned Glen a raised eyebrow from Barbara? "And that would be …?"
"Well … you know I have this reputation as a rough and tumble gal, but …"
"Yes?"
"I like wearing silk dresses. Y'know, like Jessica Rabbit. Say, you ever visit Toontown? You'd fit in well with the black and white parts"
Barbara Jagger was not amused. With a flick of her hand, Glen was thrown across the living room, breaking a rocking chair. Glen found herself chuckling despite the pain as she struggled to rise, only to get thrown into one of the kitchen cupboards, then into the railing along the stairwell.
Glen slid painfully down the stairs before coming to rest at Barbara Jagger's feet.
"I gave you a chance." Barbara snarled. "Do you think yourself the first to laugh at the darkness?"
"I dunno." Glen said, ignoring her numerous aches and pains. "Given all the time travel and dimensional shifting, I might've have been. What did I look like back then?"
With an annoyed grunt, Barbara send Glen flying across the room into a bookshelf. Glen hit the floor with a painful thud, a smile on her face despite the pain.
Jagger slowly approached, darkness gathering around her. "You leave me no choice. I will find your darkness, Soleil, and when I do, you will be mine."
"Already … married. Uh-oh." Glen said as the dark tendrils snapped around her arms and legs. "I've seen enough henagh-"
"Enough!" Jagger snapped as an inky tendril effectively gagged Glen. The darkness lifted Glen into the air before turning her to face their avatar.
"Show me your true shame, Dreamer." She whispered, her fingers probing Glen's temples. "Show me your selfishness, your unabated hatred. Show me that part of you that already knows us."
