Silence. Deafening silence was all Frisk was left with. That…and the sound of her own pounding heart and unsteady breathing. She took a step back from the door, then another, as she shook her head vigorously in disbelief. Tears streaming down her face, she quickly spun around on her heel and took off down the corridor. In her panic, she forgot the rock she used to trip on as a child and it caught her foot, causing her to fall forward and skid along the stoney floor - scraping her palms in an attempt to catch her fall. The pain barely registered, however, as she was in such a state of panic that the adrenaline got her back on her feet and running again almost immediately.

She was back in her room in seconds, slamming the door shut and sinking to the floor, gripping her knees and sobbing quietly - her hands shaking from the sheer panic as well as the pain from the fall. She slowly held them up to look at them, only now noticing that they were bleeding slightly. She gingerly tried to wipe them off on her sweater, smearing some blood on it but not really caring too much about that right now.

Her head was spinning, bouncing from question to question. She was astronomically confused and equally as scared and she had no one to confide in about it. No one except -

CLACK

The front door of her and Toriel’s house could be heard opening and shutting. Her head jerked around to look at her closed bedroom door, eyes wide. Should she tell her mom? COULD she? Before she could really think about whether she should or not, her body had already moved. She was standing in the doorway of her room, staring at her mother with an expression that could only be described as pure fear.

Toriel blinked at her daughter a couple times, rather confused by Frisk’s expression at first, before she noticed the blood on her sweater. She gasped and quickly set the water she retrieved down on the floor and approached her, examining her more closely for signs of injury.

“Frisk, dear, what happened!? Are you alright!?”

She carefully put her large hands on Frisk’s face, looking her over, before gently taking her arm and lifting her hand up to examine her scraped palms.

“What on earth!?”

Without another moment's hesitation, she ushered Frisk to the kitchen sink where she immediately began carefully rinsing the blood off her palms. After which, she gently laid her hand on Frisk’s and a soft green light began to glow. After a few moments, she removed her hand, revealing Frisk’s palm nearly fully healed. She quickly took Frisk’s other palm into her hand and began to do the same. Frisk was silent the entire time, so Toriel spoke again.

“Frisk…Please…Tell me what happened.”

Frisk’s hands were still trembling slightly. She stared vacantly at her mother’s hands as they healed her own, still unsure of what to say or if she even should say anything - but she was desperate for someone to talk to. Considering her one source of solace was currently unavailable to her (and partially the reason she was in such a state in the first place), she felt completely helpless right now and her heart ached for some form of comfort. Her lip quivered as she fought back tears again - ultimately failing to keep them, and her voice contained.

“M-Mom I-...I’m s-so sorry I…I l-lied to you. I’ve been l-lying to you for a long time and I’m s-sorry!”
Frisk was all out sobbing now.

“I’m s-scared, Mom! I-I don’t know what to do! I think I m-messed up and now I think my f-friend might be in t-trouble and-”

Toriel interrupted her tangent.

“Frisk, child, whatever are you talking about?”

She finished healing Frisk’s other hand and quickly, but gently held her face to wipe her tears, her eyes filled with concern for her daughter.

“Please, calm down. Start from the beginning. I promise I will not be upset.”

As much as Toriel didn’t like lies, Frisk was clearly very shaken up about something - and right now, reassuring her seemed more important than reprimanding her for lying about whatever it was she lied about.

Frisk sniffed and took a few unsteady breaths, trying to calm herself down as her mother continued to wipe her tears away. She tried again, shakily speaking in between broken sobs.

“I…I’ve been…m-meeting someone. At the door in the b-basement.”
She sniffed again, watching her mother closely for signs of outrage. There was a flicker of disapproval in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything, allowing Frisk to continue. Frisk swallowed.

“I-I met him…seven years ago…w-when we were only kids…a-and we’ve been…m-meeting up ever since to t-talk. H-He’s my b-best f-friend and…a-and…”

Frisk could feel tears begin to well up in her eyes again as she finished the last sentence. She was genuinely worried sick about him. She tried to steady her breathing again to continue.

“...S-Something’s wrong…something’s wrong out there. I-I don’t know what’s g-goin on but I-I’m scared. H-He…he t-told me…”

She had to stop herself. She didn’t want to tell her mother the full story…about Sans being a Royal Guard or how the rest of the Guard found out about her…or god forbid what he said about…killing his brother…it was already bad enough what she was saying right now. Besides…Sans did say he would take care of it, didn’t he? Why should she worry her mother about it, too?

Toriel gently wiped her tears some more.

“What is it, dear. What did he tell you…?”

Frisk slowly shook her head, leaning in to rest it against her mother’s chest.

“H-He just…didn’t sound right. H-He’s not acting like himself a-and…and I just know something is w-wrong but there’s nothing I c-can do. He’s w-worrying me. Scaring me. I…I think…I think h-he might…be in a lot of t-trouble…b-because of m-me."

Toriel slowly embraced Frisk in a comforting hug, but still needed to ask an important question.

“...He knows you are a human?”

Frisk doesn’t move for a moment, then squeezes her eyes shut tight and nods slowly.

“He…he’s known for roughly a year now…”

She gripped her mother’s robes tightly, already preparing a defense in case Toriel got angry about that.

“B-But he promised he wouldn’t tell anyone! A-And he hasn’t! A-And that’s why I’m scared he’s in trouble!”

But to Frisk’s surprise, Toriel didn’t get angry at all - or at least she didn’t show it. She simply continued to hug Frisk comfortingly for a few moments more, before she let out a soft sigh and gently pulled her daughter away to look at her directly.

“Though this does concern me greatly, I told you I would not get upset. As long as you are safe, I cannot be mad.”
She paused for a moment.

“I suppose…given the circumstances…it isn’t exactly easy to tell you to never return to your friend again. But…”
She sighed again. No…this isn’t the time to administer a punishment or tell Frisk to forget about someone she so clearly is worried sick over. That obviously won’t work. Perhaps an alternative approach would be best…

“Would it…ease your mind…if I were to go out there myself to check on things for you…?”

Toriel offered Frisk a genuine look of sympathy. She hasn’t left the Ruins in…well, she even lost count of how long it had been. But for her daughter’s sake…she would go out there again if it meant putting Frisk’s mind at ease and keeping her safe in the long run. But to Toriel’s surprise -

“N-No!”

Frisk practically shouted - her eyes wide with worry. It took her a moment to realize her outburst, but when she did, she dialed it back.

“I…you don’t have to do that…please.”

The only thing Frisk could think of right now…was the last thing Sans had told her. He killed his own brother. She was still trying to process that, not entirely certain what that meant about Sans and what he’s capable of. Hell, she still wasn’t entirely sure what Sans meant when he said he would “fix it” - and now that she was actually properly thinking about it…she wondered if he was implying that he would kill more. Frisk hated that the thought of Sans being someone dangerous like that even crossed her mind - it made her sick to her stomach - but she couldn’t rule it out at this point, so the last thing she would want is to put her own mother in possible danger. It just wasn’t worth the risk.

Toriel’s expression shifted from one of concern to slight confusion for a brief moment, before she let out another sigh and spoke firmly, but gently.

“I will be blunt, child. Going myself is the only option I will allow. I am aware this may sound harsh…but I do not want you returning to that door.”

Her expression suddenly softened with the dejected look that Frisk gave her upon saying that, and she placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, adding on -

“...Please allow yourself some time to think about it. You know I only want to keep you safe.”

There was silence between the two for several seconds before Frisk finally responded simply while looking down at the floor.

“Okay.”

Toriel sighed, she did truly feel horrible about restricting her daughter so. Especially from someone that seemed so incredibly important to her…but she knew in her heart she was only doing what she felt she had to in order to protect her.

“The offer will always remain open…so take as much time as you need to think about it…alright?”

She tried to reassure her.

Frisk simply nodded without saying anything else before turning to leave the kitchen and head back to her room, feeling disheartened and unsure if telling her mom was a mistake or not. She peered back from over her shoulder before making a full exit.

“...Thank you, Mother…”

At least she wasn’t panicking anymore…but now she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to go down to the basement to see Sans again…

Toriel nodded at Frisk sympathetically, trying her best to still remain a comforting presence regardless of having just been so stern.

“Of course, my dear. Please…get some rest. Perhaps I’ll make some pie to help you feel better?”

She was trying so hard.

Frisk just nodded again, trying to force a smile, before she walked off to her room to lay down - her heart rife with worry and her mind drowning in questions and speculations on what might be happening with Sans on the other side of the door. Hypotheticals that would follow her into her nightmares.