Dead Giveaway

File Saved

The road. I thought it would be exciting and fresh and new. I thought it'd be like a giant sleepover all the time.

It's not. It's boring as shit. There's a bathroom on the trailer so we don't even get to check into any cool motels or dodgy truck stops. It's just long open road for days on end.

I flopped over on the table, having spent well over four hours doing tarot spreads. The cards were gorgeous and I was determined to learn them. But it's all I'd done for most of this trip. The drive was like a day and a half, almost two days. I honestly thought it wouldn't be this bad.

I looked up to the front, having seen Sans nudge Mom. They both unbuckled and Sans teleported into the passenger seat as Mom slid into the driver's. A basically flawless way to switch drivers without having to stop. I groaned and buried my face in the seat.

Sans turned around to look at my pathetic boredom. "Losin' your mind already? We still got a good 10 hours of driving left." He teased.

"I hate this" I mumbled into the seat.

My stepdad got up and joined me in the back, pulling my earbuds out of my pocket as he did so. He dangled them in front of my face and I snatched at them like a cat. Sans shoved into the seat next to me. Because of my position on the seat it put my head practically on his leg. I quickly sat up, embarrassed by the close proximity. I still wasn't used to anyone except my siblings being this physically close to me.

"You know it's about 3 AM right?" Sans asked, dropping his voice to a whisper now that he was closer to me. I nodded. "You're probably the only one who's awake that's not a driver right now" He said with a slight chuckle. He patted my shoulder. I could tell he wasn't the only one who found it awkward. Close contact is not my strong suit. "Why don't you plug in your phone, shove in your earbuds and try and sleep? We might be in New York by the time you wake up?" He suggested.

I plugged my earbuds into my phone and dug in my travel bag for my charger. "There's bunks towards the back right?"

"Yeah but they probably ain't comfy. You can try if you want." Sans let his eyes drift down to the table where I had just put up my cards. "You like your cards?"

I nodded, more eagerly than I meant to. "They're surprisingly easy to work with. Just still figuring out the meanings." Realizing how eager I sounded I quieted myself, prompting Sans to tilt his head at me.

"Kiddo can I talk to you?"

I paused. "What else do we have to do, we're on the open road"

"You know you're allowed to be happy, right?"

I went quiet. To say he had shocked me was an understatement. "Of course I know that. Why wouldn't I know that?"

"Kiddo I see the way you act. When something excites you, ya reign it in instead of letting yourself feel that excitement. Same with sadness. The only emotion I really see you show openly is anger. Is this just a result of your trauma?"

I shrugged. "I've never thought about that. Never realized I was doing it really."

Sans nodded. "Okay. Now remember, we gotta get you in with a therapist. Court orders. Is this something to work on with that therapist?"

Again, I shrugged. "Probably. I don't know."

"And that's okay. Why don't you get some sleep now? Long road ahead, literally and physically"

**************************

"So we had 'Home' and 'New Home', and then we called Ebottville 'Newer Home'. Should we honour Dad's horrible naming system and call New York City 'Newest Home'?" Azzy asked as the seven of us stood in a living room covered wall-to-wall in boxes. "I'm only half joking"

Mom laughed softly. "Asriel if you want to call it that you go right ahead"

As the rest of us joined in the laughter, something caught my eye. I turned my head to see a glowing yellow object in the corner. I squinted as I stepped closer to the thing, only for my eyes to widen as I processed what it was. It was something I'd never forget the sight of, even though I hadn't seen it since we were back in the Underground.

A Save Point.

Frisk noticed it at the same time I did. She caught my eye but I was already looking at her. Our grins matched. She squealed and reached for my hand. I held it out and she grabbed it and dragged to the corner of the room. Once in range she tapped the glowing, spinning yellow save point.

A text box appeared with a familiar looking message. Frisk bounced up and down as she looked at me with eager eyes. "Do the thing, do the thing!" She begged me.

I rolled my eyes and read over the text. "Knowing the worst is finally over fills you-"

"No" Frisk cut me off. "Us. Fills us. Always been us, Chara."

I hesitated, staring at my sister in confusion. "You're the one these text boxes are always for, Frisk" I reminded her.

"I'm not the only one who's got the red soul, Chara" Frisk said with a smirk I rarely saw grace her features.

I sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll do the thing" I said, exasperated. "Put her hand on yes but don't press it yet." Frisk released my hand and put hers over the 'Yes'.

I started over. "Knowing the worse is finally over fills us with..." I put my hand on top of Frisk's and pushed, so that we selected 'Yes' together. "Determination."

File Saved. Game Over.

AN: It's hard to believe that when I started this project I was finishing up my eighth grade year. Now I'm a senior.

I don't know why this makes me so emotional. It's a mess of my mental breakdowns, my good days and bad, and my swirling headcanons.

I can't even begin to describe how surprised and grateful I am that so many people enjoyed this story. I'm so excited to put out the sequel and I hope you guys will enjoy it just as much if not more. You guys are the reason I've kept at this despite everything I've been going through. Writing makes my stress go away and knowing that there are people who appreciate my content makes it worth it.

Thanks for sticking with me through the chaos that is this story. Keep an eye out for the sequel. This series isn't over yet.

Signing off,
Everett