#i never draw mettaton ever but i tried my best
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Undertale Month Day 17: Mettaton
(Disclaimer: Technically it's not Undertale month anymore but I'm still using my prompts Because I Can.)
#i never draw mettaton ever but i tried my best#but basically i didn't know what to draw so I'm going back to finish some of the undertale month prompts i didn't get to#my art#undertale#safeutdr#mettaton#mettaton ex#sketches#utmonth2023#ut month 2023#undertale month
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AuraFell InfoDump
Hello! As some of you may already know, I have created my own AU called AuraFell! It doesn't have any Tale/Swap/Swapfell/etc counterparts yet, so this is completely new!
I'm going to dump everything I have to start with this AU below the cut. If you want to wrote or draw this AU please ask, it's still in New AU stages so I want it to be done right! But I'm very easygoing and I would love for more content to me made so don't be afraid (:
More info below the cut, it's a mess of about 7k words so bear with me!
AuraFell:
Let's start with the magic system. Most monsters have the same type of magic as regular AUs, nothing special. If they have an aura, it's weak or hard to use.
Boss Monsters, though, have Auras that are strong and super effective.
Boss monsters in this AU (that ive developed) are:
-Papyrus (Mockingbird)
-Sans (Terror)
-Asgore (Dad)
-Toriel (Auntie)
-Undyne (Shrill)
-Alphys (Professor)
-Mettaton (Signal)
-Grillby (Ozone)
-Frisk (Kiddo)
And the deceased ones with powers thus far:
-Gaster (Doctor...deceased)
-Asriel (Giver...deceased...?)
-Chara (Pal....deceased)
Nicknames! So nicknames are actually given to Boss monsters by the ones their aura effects. They all for some reason call them that name.
Aura powers fall under two categories, with subcategories. If your aura is in the same category, you're resistant to the other's power. If you have the same category AND subcategory, you're immune.
Ambient Auras: These are Auras that are area of effect, sort of. They are focused in one way or another but generally present at all times.
-Visual: This means the Ambient Aura is focused with a visual effect (flashing colors, a friendly smile, the written word)
-Audial: This means the Ambient Aura is focused with sound (humming, singing, spoken word)
Given Aura: This aura type must be administered physically somehow. It is not ever-present but can be "stowed" or "kept". The effect is imbued to an object or physically given somehow.
-Present: This means the Given Effect must be given through an item (a baked good laced with the effect, a gift, etc)
-Physical: This means the given effect must be administered through physical contact (a bite, a kiss, skin to skin contact)
Let's start with the skeleton Brothers' powers
Papyrus, AKA Mockingbird
-His Aura is called Lullaby. He makes people fall asleep. He usually does this by humming or singing. It can effect one person immediately or multiple with a delay.
-His favorite lullaby to hum is "Hush little baby" (you know. The one where Mama is gonna buy you a Mockingbird...) and perhaps that's why everyone calls him Mockingbird
-He used to think he had no powers because he didn't know how to focus it, and his Category/Subcategory is the same as Sans AND Undyne (whom he spent the most time with) so neither were ever affected
- Category/Sub is Ambient (Audial)
Sans (Terror)
-His aura is called Modify Memory, but nobody knows that. He can speak to a sleeping person and influence their dreams, or speak a story to an woken person and they will legitimately remember that it happened that way. Again, it's most effective when focused on one person, and the details fuzz or change if he tries to stretch it to more people
-He pretends to be affected by Mock's lullaby. He's incredibly fast, agile, and strong, and he pretends he's only a good fighter when he's unconscious. This way nobody will risk a surprise knockout and they'll cooperate with him when Mock threatens to put him to sleep. He modifies people's memories so they will spread by word of mouth that the unconscious fighting is his power, not modify memory
-Category/Sub: Ambient (Audial)
Speed run through the others:
-Toriel (Auntie) makes pies or any baked good that are more addictive than any drug. Category/sub: Given (Present)
-Asgore (Dad) has Big Dad Energy and everyone wants to impress him, to an extreme. He's so strong he affects most of the Underground without knowing it, and to his horror most of the Underground seems to think that murdering others and getting stronger is the way to impress him. He focuses with spoken word but it's mostly unnecessary at this point. Ambient (Audial)
-Grillby (Ozone). Hypnosis. Pretty flame colors. Leaves his victims open to suggestion. Ambient (Visual)
-Muffet (? Nickname tbd) makes a paralyzing poison. She has figured out how to put it in her pastries but it's best delivered by bite. Given (Physical)
-Undyne (Shrill) has the command power. People follow a command from her. Longer instructions if focused on one, one simple instruction if aimed at multiples. Ambient (Audial)
-Alphys (Professor). People take whatever she says as fact as long as it's written in her handwriting. Ambient (Visual)
-Mettaton (Signal). His TV programs are brainwashing propaganda. He can convince people to buy or sell anything if they are watching him through a screen. Ambient (Visual)
-Frisk (Kiddo) radiates friendship with a smile. Ambient (visual)
-Gaster (Doctor) used to be able to say anything and people would believe him. Ambient (Audial)
-Chara (Pal) was able to convince anyone to be friendly to them no matter what they'd done. Ambient (Audial)
-Asriel (Giver) could give you a rock and you'd well up with grateful feelings. Given (Present)
So
yeah that's the basics, that's the big peeps in that world. Basically it isn't really Asgore's fault the place is so fucked up he's just very old and powerful and the violence is mostly people trying to impress him (poorly).
Gaster is Terror and Mock's Dad but he died when they were young, 8 and barely 2. He died trying to save Asriel and Chara when he accidentally dropped a barrier-breaking theory that Asriel then took as fact because of Gaster's aura.
Toriel moved almost immediately after the children's deaths, and Asgore did his best to raise Terror and Mock until Terror was old enough to take Mock to live in their house in Snowdin (about 14 and 8 years old)
Snowdin is a really bad place now though bc Toriel (Auntie) has been giving away her pies at the ruins gates, and people are killing and hurting each other for enough G or whatever they think she wants to get the next fix. She's kinda lost it at this point, she keeps feeding them out of some twisted need to be needed
Terror was old enough and smart enough to know "yeah, let's not eat that". They're immune to Asgore's power bc they are the same types, but they still want to impress him the normal kid-wants-to-impress-dad amount so they never tell him when they need more support out of some sense of pride.
Mock was a bit of a runt well into teenage years. His magic was very slow to grow. He got picked on a lot, kids stole his lunch money and roughed him up and such. He would hum his favorite lullabies to himself to calm his anxiety, and wouldn't you know it, but one day it put everyone to sleep!
So sometimes he doesn't even realize he's humming, he does it to calm his nerves, he a nervous bean, but he also knows from the one time someone injured his socket that earplugs are good enough to slow his effects
He also learns pretty quickly that junkies don't sleep for long and they are way stronger than he anticipated so, he racks up some of his LV for stuff like that.
He also likes tea because his powers depend on him being able to hum/sing
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Alrighty how about 14 with Mettaton and 9 with Toriel?
This is a long ass post, so buckle up buttercups >:)
So, if you really think about it, Mettaton IS a robot now. He fused with his body, considering he can die in Stabby Stabby/Nuetral routes. Robots can’t absorb alcohol, therefore they can’t get drunk.
Now, the argument could be made that he just absorbs the magic that makes up the drink then sends it to his power core, like an organic body. The that funky drunky flow intoxicates him.... But that also contradicts my personal head cannons on how Metta’s body works.
I’ll make this brief (if that’s possible in a post of this length lMAO), but how I think that MTT gets his power is either through electricity or, in a worst case scenario, gasoline mixed with magic. While I believe he can eat and drink monster food, it’s stored in an internal compartment before being broken down into manageable magic chunks over a series of several days. So, alcoholic beverages would give him at most a buzz over the course of like a couple of days.
That being said, there’s hope!!!
Remember when I said that I headcannon Metta runs on gasoline if he can’t get any electricity? Well, the means he can switch between which tank he’s drawing from. And, there is a type of gasoline made with a base of Ethanol! Which is the compound used to make drinks alcoholic! Therefore, the alcohol would be going to his core at the rate needed to actually get drunk.
Which means, if he wants to be drunk he can just switch into gasoline mode and slip into whatever tipsy needs he has! As long as he’s filled up on ethanol!
Now I’m not saying that this was found out by complete accident with Alphys testing out a new fuel type but.....
That’s exactly what I’m saying.
But!!! Yall didn’t come here to hear about Mettaton’s autonomy, so let’s talk about his drunken habits!!
I like to think he doesn’t drink often, mostly because of the aforementioned not actually realizing he could till he was on the surface. But, some of the best examples of how he is in a drunken state would probably be back when he was a ghost.
It was probably some rough times back then. Shyren’s sister had just fallen down, and it’s inplied the cousins are rather close with the family. Add in a healthy dose of dysphoria and yearning for a greater audience- no, purpose... It must’ve been rough for Metta.
Mabey to cope, the cousins invested in some ghost ale?
I like to think when buzzed, Mettaton is just a (somehow) more confident and showy version of himself. Just with less motor control and a higher chance of making impulsive decisions.
Once we pass into drunk territory... things start getting more emotional. There will be tears. Probably a lot of them. He’s very emotional and can and will state his mind. Heartfelt confessions might happen, rivalries may happen, or he may just tell you what you already know.
If the cousins cracked open a cold one.... Well.... That may of been the first indications (aside from behavior they’d picked up but not said anything about) of what was really on Metta’s mind. About how desperate he was.
Metta didn’t remember it in the morning. Blookie never told him what they talked about. It was never spoken of again.
Ok!! On a slightly higher note: Toriel!
I’ve always seen Toriel as having a very smooth sounding, mezzo soprano voice. It’s nothing remarkable. She doesn’t belt often, she doesn’t have much of a verbrato, she just sounds like your normal 50ish woman who sings abit too much in the car. But, her voice is warm and soft and perfect to fall asleep too, especially when a smile gets in the way of her vowels.
She sings fairly often, probably the most in the main cast (aside Mettaton and MABEY Papyrus). Be it in the car, or when she has too much to drink, or when singing a lullaby to her kids.
I’ll start with lullabies since I believe they’d be the most personal to her.
We don’t know exactly when the monster human war happened, but I’m of the belief that it happened sometime in the Middle Ages, which would place Toriel’s childhood in medieval times. While she wasn’t born there, I also think both Toriel and Asgore’s families hail from Ireland. Her mother would sing to her every night, sometimes mixing in ancient tales of wild beasts and faeries.
It’s a sentiment she’s passed down to her own children.
Albeit, she changed a few lyrics or scenes in the stories to make them less terrifying, besides when she was caring for some of the older souls. There may also be a touch more happy endings than there were in the older days, and mabey a couple more injuries instead of deaths. But for the most part, they stay the same.
The pieces she dare not change though, are the ones she sings in Gaelic.
Frisk hasn’t learned the language (yet), so Toriel finds no need to change any details to such relics. Plus, they have a lot more of an emotional connection than most of her other songs or stories. Her eldest two children were incredibly fond of them
(Also the song I used for these doodles is called Bó na leath-adhairce (One Horned Cow). The woman who sings it (Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh) sounds a lot like how I imagine Toriel sounding. But like. With a lot more vocal training. She still sounds like she’s singing through a smile and I love it)
On a much more fun note, let’s talk about Toriel’s drinking songs!
So, this doesn’t happen often, but if the moods right and Toriel’s had JUST enough to drink.... She might attempt to start up a drinking song with whatever crowd she’s got around her. She doesn’t know many songs, and she only half remembers the rest, but goddamn it if she’s not gonna try it.
It’s awful. Any recognizable lyrics are either slurred, butchered, or in a language no one else can understand.
But she looks like she’s having so much fun, no one ever tries to stop her.
Hell, some people might even join in, if there’s been enough to drink in the house. If that happens, and if she’s feeling confident enough, Tori might even get up and dance a little bit, dragging whomever she pleases in as well. If she’s drunk enough to start singing like this in public, then she’s definitely drunk enough to do some dances.
Mostly though, she just sticks to lullabies.
As for the second part of this prompt, it’s a lot simpler than all of the rest of this post. Toriel enjoys most music, especially the choral verity. She’ll let anything on the radio, so long as it’s appropriate when Frisk’s in the car.
Her favorite genres though, are Classical, Folk, and Celtic. They were the styles she grew up with and remains fond of to this day. They bring back a feeling of Nostalgia without too many memories, just how she likes it. She also quite enjoys Operas, and plans on taking Frisk to see one once she gets the hang of the internet.
She used to adore ballroom music and waltzes but....
Now they just bring back Memories she’d rather not have.
#Undertale#Mettaton#Toriel#Sorry this took so long#It deleted and I had to retype the entire thing lMAO#Also these challenges and analysis are making me grow even more of a fasination with mechanics#First it was trying to figure out how the ruins puzzles functioned#Now it’s MTTs autonomy#Y’all are gonna make me become an engineer instead of a biologist#Anyway#you can rip the head cannon that Toriel (and Asgore) speaks Irish Gaelic from my cold dead hands#askbox
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So I’m doing this thing because I thought it’d be a cute idea and I felt like doing some Poth stuff. Okay? Okay XD
I’ll be drawing a Poth picture and writing a short scenario for each day of this challenge ^^ Also I’m on holiday at the moment so I have a lot of spare time lol
Have it!
I was sitting in the living room watching a Mettaton show with my brother Raven when I heard a ‘ping’ resound from my phone. I tried my best not to smile as I picked the small device up, knowing Raven was watching me.
“You still set up with that weirdo?” Raven said giving me a filthy look as I opened the message. I rolled my eye, typing a quick reply before getting up.
“What’s your deal with him Rae? He’s a good guy,” I countered as I walked towards the coat rack, taking the cloak my dad’s brother had made for me and slipping it on.
“Well the last ‘good guy’ you were with ran off to who-knows-where!”
I groaned at my brother’s complaints. I knew Raven didn’t particularly like Palette but c’mon - he was my boyfriend! Can’t he just lay off for once?
My mood instantly brightened as I heard the chime of our homes doorbell.
‘That’s him!’ I thought excitedly, making my way over to the door and opening it to reveal Palette smiling at me, his cheekbones tinted with his gradient blush.
“Hey Gothy, ready time go?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I grabbed my keys from the cabinet by the door and stepped out. “Tell mum I’m gonna be out for the rest of the day!” I called back to Raven as I turned to close the door. Said skeleton gave me an unamused look but nodded to let me know he would. I smiled despite his sourness and closed the door, quickly turning round to hug Palette.
I could tell the artistic skeleton was surprised at my spontaneous affection as he took a few seconds to hug me back. He chuckled and happily nuzzled the fabric of my cloak.
“What’s this for huh?” he said teasingly, making me pull back so I could give him a shy smile.
“Just a thank you for getting me out the house.” He smiled at my words and began to walk in the direction of the park.
“Well you’re in luck cuz not only am I getting you some much needed Vitamin D but you also get to enjoy some of the best nice cream I bet you’ll ever have tasted, all while being in the company of a charming date,” Palette said dramatically, presenting our planned outing with obviously rehearsed gusto. I couldn’t help but laugh at his performance, playfully looking around before smirking at him.
“Oh yeah, where’s this date then? I don’t see any Prince Charming.” I laughed again as Palette shoved my shoulder, chuckling lightly himself.
“You are relentless!”
We fell into idle small talk as we walked the rest of the way to the nice cream shop. It was located just outside the park so it was a perfect place to take a small break before we spent the rest of the day together.
Palette smiled as he held the door open for me, gesturing me in with his hand.
“After you, my love,” he said making me roll my eye, though I still pecked his cheekbone in thanks as I walked past. He followed me in and we found a nice quiet booth in the corner that we could sit down in.
We ordered and waited for our nice cream to arrive; we had ordered one to share, two scoops of our favourite flavours. Plain vanilla for me and bubblegum for Palette. They were brought over and I couldn’t help but grin. It wasn’t often that I was allowed nice cream so this was an especially special treat for me. I scooped some of the bubblegum nice cream onto my spoon and held it up to Palette with a smirk.
“Open up~” I said tauntingly, making him blush before he smirked back and opened his mouth. I placed the spoon into the opening and he ate it with a smile.
“It’s nice to see you getting more confident Gothy,” Palette said, propping his skull up on his hand. I chuckled, scooping up some vanilla nice cream for myself.
“What’s the note say?” I asked as I placed the spoon in my mouth.
Palette scoffed as I changed the subject and picked up the little slip of paper that had come with our treat. He scanned the message on it, letting out a snort before folding it up and placing it beside him.
“What’d it say?” I tilted my head at his reaction, pouting as he shrugged in reply. “C’mon Pally, tell meeeee,” I whined reaching my arms out to make grabby hands at the piece of paper. Palette laughed at my actions and took ahold of both of my hands, holding them gently.
He traced his thumbs around the holes in each of my hands, all while maintaining eye contact. I blushed at the affection, which made Palette smile triumphantly.
“Your hand looks heavy. Let me hold it for you,” Palette said and this time it was my turn to snort as I pulled my hands back to stifle my laughter.
Palette blinked at me in confusion, which only served to make me laugh more. I eventually calmed down and smiled at him, my face flushed after my little episode. Palette was pouting at me, clearly not as amused as I had been.
“Goth, that’s seriously what the note said,” he told me, handing me the piece of paper. I read it and my eye sockets widened before I laughed again.
“Oh God Pally, I’m so sorry,” I said apologetically, smiling as he huffed and crossed his arms. “It’s just... you say stuff like that normally!”
“I’m never that bad!”
Pfffft- I can’t draw people (let alone skeletons) holding hands for the life of me so I hope hand touching specifies XD It looks so sketchy ahhhh I sorry XC
Goth belongs to @nekophy
Palette belongs to angexci
Raven belongs to idk sorry ;-;
Geno belongs to @loverofpiggies
Reaper belongs to @renrink
Many apologies for probably screwing up the characters XD
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Hello... I wanna know... Do you still write Mettaton/reader fic ? And, if you do, can you write one with a nonbinary person (or a man), who want to wear some "woman" clothes, and Mettaton help him/them because sometimes he also wear dresses ? Thank you very much
I can try… I’m a cis woman, so I don’t know how well I’ll be able to handle this topic, but I’ll try to be as careful as possible. (If I slip up, please let me know, so I can fix it accordingly.)
PS: sorry this took me five-ever to write. Aside from having writer’s block, I’ve also had school to worry about, and one of my classes is especially difficult.
Below the cut: In Which a Killer Robot Helps You Express Yourself!
Mettaton, you’ve noticed, has always seemed to be a rebel of sorts.
There are some societal rules that he’s always accepted - everyone has to draw the line somewhere, after all - but there are also some rules that have made him openly question, even to the presses, why they are considered rules in the first place.
Someone criticizes him for making “artificial, soulless” synthpop instead of a more down-to-earth style of music? “Well, darling, doesn’t everyone have comfort food? I think a similar thing applies to music - and if I have to be told not to make synthpop, is it really soulless?”
Someone thinks he makes too many jokes on his shows, and that the overall tone of the shows is a little too surreal? “There are already a lot of serious shows on television; I’m filling a niche, sweetheart.”
And, of course, one of the biggest things that people question about him is his choice in fashion.
Despite making it clear that he’s a man in his heart and soul, Mettaton has always presented himself in ways that many people don’t associate with “traditional” masculinity. He wears pink high-heeled boots (and pink things in general) on a regular basis, he sometimes puts on makeup for fancy occasions, he doesn’t mind being seen doing his nails…
There have even been some times where he’s worn dresses and skirts. And not just in private, either; he’s shown up for public interviews and appeared in music videos wearing ballgowns. Of course, he’s been questioned about this more than a few times; his answers tend to range from “monsters don’t approach gender in the same way humans do” to “I just think it looks good on me” and several others depending on his mood - including at least one time where he simply said “because I can”.
You’re not sure if you’ll ever understand how he manages to be so nonchalant about it… especially since you wish you could be as bold as him.
On an otherwise uneventful day, he catches you sitting on the couch and watching some of his music videos, staring wistfully at the screen. It doesn’t take long for him to join you, slipping an arm around you.
“Captivated by my beauty, are we?” he asks; you simply nod in response. If only you knew…
This particular music video is one of the ones where he’s wearing a dress; just watching him makes it clear that he doesn’t consider this to be uncomfortable at all. To him, it’s just another piece of clothing that he will wear as he pleases, like a shirt or a hat or a pair of pants.
But that’s not what the rest of the world typically says about those kinds of clothes. Dresses, skirts, and gowns, according to them, were meant to be worn by women only - and yet Mettaton, who decidedly isn’t a woman, is so casual about wearing them.
And just like him, you also yearn to try wearing clothes like those despite not being a woman. But Mettaton makes it look so easy; maybe it’s just the stigma that’s been ingrained in your head for so long. If there weren’t as much of a stigma, and if you weren’t so worried about what other people thought of you, then maybe…?
“What’s wrong, my love?”
“Huh?” It’s only just now that you noticed you’ve tensed up - but he noticed it first, and is giving you a concerned look. “Oh… I just have stuff on my mind.”
“Is that so?” He gently takes your hand. “Would you like to talk about it?”
At first, you’re not sure if you want to, but given that Mettaton is probably the person who is least likely to judge you for your wishes, you decide it’s best to tell him.
“I don’t know how you do it… you wear dresses and skirts like it’s the easiest thing in the world. And, well… between you and me, I wish I had the courage to pull it off like you do.” Even now, you’re still not sure how he manages to feel so comfortable wearing whatever he wants – is it just a product of his usual boldness?
He has a thoughtful look on his face as he nods; despite his nonchalance about the whole thing, he definitely seems to know that his wardrobe is a bit of an outlier as far as men’s wardrobes go. Stroking your hand with his thumb, he looks into your eyes. “Perhaps someday, everyone will see that it’s just clothes. But I can assure you, you’re not the first fan of mine who’s felt encouraged to try them on after seeing me do it.”
“Really?”
He smiles and nods. “There have been a few humans and monsters who have tried wearing dresses and skirts after watching me. Of course, we still have a ways to go before it’s universally accepted, but it’s still a start.” Just then, his face settles into contemplation. “Hmm…”
You tilt your head. “What?”
“What if I were to purchase some skirts, and maybe even a dress or two, so you could try them on?”
Your heart starts beating a little more quickly. “You… you’d really do that for me?”
He quirks an eyebrow, still smiling. “Who said I wouldn’t?” With a giggle, he leans in closely so he can whisper in your ear. “Tell me their names so I can give them a talking-to.”
You can’t help but smile, imagining him standing up for you if it ever came to that point. As much as Mettaton loves to showboat, he really does care about those he loves.
And despite your nerves, you feel just a little more sure of yourself.
Standing before the full-length mirror (adorned with pink on the edges), you study your appearance. You have one of your favorite shirts on, and below it, a new black skirt that’s long enough to cover your knees.
So far, it actually feels kind of good. You walk around in a circle; it certainly feels different from pants or shorts, but not in the bad way that makes you want to immediately take it off and put some of your old clothes back on. In fact, you find that you wouldn’t mind trying on one of the dresses that Mettaton bought for you. (He washed this skirt first so you could have something to try on while the other clothes he bought for you were in the wash.)
Knowing that Mettaton is waiting outside the bedroom and wondering about your thoughts, you decide to pay him a visit. As soon as you open the door, he lays eyes on you, and his expression soon goes from neutral to a smile.
Seeing this smile definitely fills you with a sense of relief. “…So, do you like it?”
“I think you look quite lovely as usual, darling.” He gently takes your hand. “But my main concern is, do you like it?”
Something about it feels more than a little empowering; is it the clothes themselves, or the sense of rebellion, or even something else? Despite not knowing where it comes from, you look at him and nod. “Yeah… I think I could really get used to this. Thank you so much.”
His smile only gets bigger, and he soon pulls you into a huge hug. “That’s so wonderful, darling! As long as those clothes make you feel good, go right ahead and wear them.” He kisses your forehead before looking deeply into your eyes. “And I personally think you look beautiful in them.”
Your heart feels warm inside as you return the hug…
…and he soon picks you up and sets you back down on the bed before climbing on himself so he can give you some more cuddles. You cuddle up close to him and close your eyes, both looking and feeling beautiful on the outside and inside.
You still don’t feel ready to take this out in public quite yet, but it’s still a great start – and with Mettaton by your side, you know you’ll never have to be afraid.
#Thanks for asking!#anonymous#undertale#mettaton#mettaton x reader#x reader#if i messed up somehow please let me know#i mean no harm#and i'm willing to listen if i get something wrong
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Edgeberry’s Second Chance - Chapter 23 - Battle Front
MTT has shown that he is more than willing to fight his ex-lover and sweet Berry. The question is not if Edge will spare him, but will he survive the encounter?
- I also went through and updated Chapter 22 -
If you like what I do, please leave me a kudos/like and a comment, or buy me a ko-fi!
Undeterred at the weapons, his fans cheered. Finally MTT was showing them new tricks. He wasn’t just up there on the stage, dancing and singing horribly, nor was he trying to tell his off-colour jokes. Here was the real entertainment. He was a Human Killer after all, what could two skeletons do to him?
“STAY BEHIND ME,” Edge ordered Berry. One of his swords came up to guard the little skeleton. “I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE IS NOW CAPABLE OF. STAY BEHIND ME AND, AT THE FIRST CHANCE, RUN AND HIDE. I WILL FIND YOU LATER.”
“But Edge… I…”
Edge looked over at him. “I WON’T LOSE YOU AGAIN, BERRY…. NOT TO HIM.” There was a sincere light to his eyes. Gone was the madman and the wild Fell warrior, the one who would dust or kill anyone at the chance of raising his LV. Here was the monster that Berry had seen deep inside, the calm warrior, the one who only wanted to do what is right.
There was a sound of chainsaws and Edge had just enough time to raise and cross his swords in time to catch MTT’s blow. In his hands were two chainsaws, both smoothly purring, silver glinting in the spotlight. The chainsaws sang and whirled desperately against the red bones as Edge’s shaking arms tried to push him back.
* * * * *
“What’s wrong Papy~” MTT asked, “seems like you were a little distracted there. Perhaps a little dust in the old eye socket?” he taunted, pushing forward with the machines. Edge lost a little ground with the chainsaws, boots gauging the floor, gritting his teeth as he struggled to push the robot back. The crowd was cheering, like a horde of hounds desperate for blood. This was the best performance that MTT had put on in a long time.
“BERRY…” Edge whispered, his eye lights leaving the robot’s and risking a quick glance around. The little skeleton was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he had taken Edge’s advice and had been able to hide. He hated asking the little skeleton to do that, yet Berry was obviously untrained in this kind of fighting. Berry would be more likely to survive if he hid himself away. Edge was trained in this act of war, he knew how to act and what to do.
He hoped so… worst comes to worst, he didn’t want Berry to see him die.
Things were bad. He could see that MTT’s LV and stats were higher than when they had last seen each other. They had always been high though not as high as his. But now… now those numbers even higher than Edge’s. He was a huge, deadly threat. And now the robot had his arms trapped by his chainsaws. If he even moved one of the swords he risked having the metal teeth cut into him and his armour. He briefly debated allowing it to happen, if only to give Berry time to escape, but he threw the idea away.
No. He was Edge, Captain of the Royal Guards, and beloved mate to Berry. His mate tattoo still glowed with fresh magic, his bones still warm from Berry’s heat.
He wouldn’t give up so easily.
He was Determined.
His hands and arms may be trapped, but when had that ever stopped him? He had been named captain for a reason. Taking a step forward, he angled his toes behind the robot’s. Fixing the angle of his bone attacks, he pressed himself forward. First MTT took a small, almost tiny, step back, and then another, stumbling over Edge’s feet and causing him to let off some of the pressure of his weapons. The crowd began to get excited. This wasn’t going to be such a one-sided match after all. Papyrus was fighting back.
With a great shove, Edge pushed MTT back, causing him to wobble backwards and release him. Now, with adequate distance between them, now he could show MTT exactly what he was holding back.
Taking a charging step forward Edge cut down on MTT on an angle, nicking one of his prized chainsaws. The blow, although looked useless and merely cosmetic in nature, gave the motor a small hiccup. Luckily the other monsters, as well as MTT, seemed to be unaware of this. They jeered and cheered, hands clapping and feet stamping. Exactly what go MTT riled up. As he and MTT began to dance with his chainsaws and blows, red sparks began to fly and sizzle around them. Metal teeth met bone, time and time again. Their feet moved effortlessly over the floor, crossing and coming close, retreating and teasing.
There was a slight change to their routine. Their blows echoed louder in the hall, and they became closer to their targets, only for MTT to move out of the way in the nick of time. He began to see it in MTT’s eyes. The robot was now showboating, gladly showing off what moves that they could pull off together and building the crowd’s excitement…
Or was it for a more sinister reason…?
Faster and faster they danced. Arms and legs were a blur of sweat and sparks. They were equal titans in this field. Neither one of them seemed willing to give up so easily, each of them had something that they were fighting for. Something that, to them, meant something.
MTT’s chainsaw, the one that Edge had damaged, was beginning to blow white smoke. There was a stutter in its engine, its speed uneven. MTT was looking at it puzzled, the previous blow still not computing with him. Edge flipped his sword in his hands, preparing to slice through the glass stomach that housed his borrowed soul.
“Edge!” A voice cried out from the crowd, drawing Edge’s attention away from the fight. Blue! His eyes fell to the audience, looking for him…
Realizing his mistake a second too late.
MTT kicked him in the chance, sending him off of his feet and onto his spine. As he grunted in pain his bones disappeared,
And a red and yellow stiletto boot came down on his armoured chest.
“Typical voice recording, darling. Hopefully you don’t mind me using it. Figured that you would at least like to hear his voice one last time before the end.” MTT smirked evilly at him, single chainsaw in his many hands now. The crowd was frantic in its cheering, screaming for the robot to kill him.
As MTT raised the chainsaw in triumph, Edge closed his eyes. He thought of Berry’s open arms and large smile, complete with the hearts in his eyes…
“BERRY…” he whispered as the chainsaw began to scream towards his soul.
There was a thunking sound, but no pain.
Edge’s eyes flew open and he saw the long, blue bone impaling the chainsaw into the stage, jamming the mechanisms. MTT had looked away from Edge and four more bones shot towards him. These bones cut through his elbows and knees, lacing through the metal like water, and skewering him to the wall behind them. It reminded Edge of those insects that were put on display for humans to look over…
But who…
“That was a dirty trick Mettaton. And Edge was going to beat you fair and square.” Berry’s voice came from beside Edge, his left eye still shimmering with magic. For a moment he resembled Cherry… “Luckily, he has me to even up the odds.”
The robot tried to pull himself from the wall but the bones stuck him fast, even damaging his HP when he tried to move. Instead, he settled to scowl at Berry. “So what is it that you intend to have me do? Write lines? Send me into the corner or in my bedroom for a time out? Spank me? Because I’ve been a very naughty boy, Berry. I could use some punishment.”
The double meanings were not lost on Berry. A small flush had come to his cheeks but he did not respond to them. “And have risk you entering the land of Swap again? I don’t think so. How did you enter to drop off that letter?” he demanded.
MTT only chuckled as a long, metallic tongue wiped at some loose oil. “It was simple really. I had long since figured out how and where Papyrus goes to visit you… it was only a matter of turning it on.”
Edge wanted to growl. Of course… he couldn’t blame Cherry for his mistake. He had felt eyes occasionally when he had booted up the teleporter before but had dismissed it as his own feelings of paranoia. But rule number one…
You can never be too careful in UnderFell.
Berry helped Edge stand, refusing to look at the robot. “Let’s go home.” he said, suddenly looking tired. “I… my brother…”
Would probably be worried sick about him now, especially if he realized that Edge himself was with him, Edge thought. Picking up Berry, he grabbed the blanket that he had used to wrap him in to come to UnderFell and began to carry him out.
“And what about me, I ask again?” MTT’s voice broke the little bubble between the two skeletons.
Edge turned to him, scrutinising him with his clear eye lights. It was a tempting thought to dismantle the ego-mantic but, at the same time.
“You’re not worth it. The EXP, the LV, none of it.” Berry said, looking to him. “There are other, more pressing and important things to worry about.”
The crowd was becoming restless again. Loud whispers to one another, and sinister chuckles could be heard. “BESIDES METTA, YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN ACT BECOMES OBSOLETE… THEY GET THE HOOK.” Edge said before walking out the door again. Walking quickly, he and Berry had exited the hotel and were well on their way to the teleporter. Edge didn’t dare look back or look at the faces of the audience.
“The hook?” Berry asked, looking up at him. “Is… is that a pun?”
Edge shook his head just as there was a loud, glitching scream from behind them. Walking faster he pressed Berry’s skull closer to his chest, not allowing him to look back, not even once. “It’s a torturous procedure that was once only used in traitors of war…” he said simply. “HE MAY HAVE BEEN SOLD OFF TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, OR THEY MAY HAVE ALL RUSHED HIM. BUT I DON’T WANT TO FIND OUT.”
Berry looked slightly pale, his mouth posed for another question before Edge made it to the little house in UnderFell. So many memories… memories of him and Sans as baby bones, some foggy ones of their father, Gaster. Countless memories of watching TV or goofing off or cooking. Good and bad, young and old, the house had been with them every step of the way. And yet, when he looked to the little, sweet, blue skeleton in his arms, he knew that he had all that he needed.
Without looking back at his hometown, Edge strode through the machine, holding tight to Berry. As they walked through the glowing portal, Edge magically turned it off behind them, removing a single screw and tossing it into the universe behind him. That would be enough to prevent any further access.
Now no one could access the sweet world of UnderSwap… and he could no longer return to where he was now a traitor, to where his life was in ruins… he had murdered a famous celebrity, probably defied the orders of the king…
It seemed like a fair trade.
#edgeberry#papyton#us!sans#uf!papyrus#uf!mettaton#fighting#canon-ish mtt fight#underswap sans#underfell papyrus#Underfell mettaton#character death#torture#weapons
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LINE 7: GLAMOROUS TO THE CORE
UNDERTALE
LINEAR TEMPORAL
LINE 7: GLAMOROUS TO THE CORE
Hiro had started to explore the lobby of the hotel. Other than the bright floor and the statue, Hiro met a small pink and blue origami monster who says that MTT Resort is Hotland's biggest apartment building-turned-hotel. It prides itself in providing a good stay, whether someone stays there for a night or already lived there, even when it's passed through. The front desk is manned by a blue monster with a hand for a head, and he spotted three monsters loitering before an elevator. One is a worried green dragon on the phone telling someone that he might not get home, a white feline monster wearing red shoes on her front paws, glasses, black hair, and has a black briefcase by her, and a black one-eyed slime monster who's outraged at the situation. The elevator before them was apparently in use, but from the sound of the complaints from them, it was like this for a good while. Down the right hall are a set of four doors. One asked for Sea Tea, one asked for a Cinnamon Bun, one didn't specify anything, and one was locked from the inside. Hiro wasn't able to provide the items as he used most of them previously, so he moved on as a green janitor monster was mopping up his own dripping slime in vain. As he was about to head out the doors with the CORE sign above them, he heard a cough ring out from the shop on the right of the Core entrance. There's a sign that showed a burger next to the letters MTT above the double doors. He walked inside to see a standard burger shop with the only employee smoking behind the counter. The employee was an orange cat person wearing a red and yellow uniform with a paper hat of the same colors, and the name tag showing “Burgerpants” on it. He was leaning on the counter, smoking his cigarette and looking bored as usual. On the menu, there was a Starfait, a Glamburger, a Legendary Hero, and a Steak Shaped Like Mettaton's Face (yes, that's what it's called). Hiro only had enough for 3 Starfaits, so he bought those, getting inwardly startled by Burgerpants's “joyful” reaction.
Burgerpants (has a pained smile): Thanksy! Have a FABU-FUL day!!!
Hiro decided to try and ask about the hotel, but ended up getting various pieces of advice, from not ending up like him to never interacting with attractive people. Case in point: the two girls who asked him to sneak some Glamburgers for them. He was caught by his boss on his way to meet them, leading him to drop the burgers and his pants, earning him the nickname. Burgerpants dreamed of working with Mettaton, but not in this manner. He wanted to be an actor, but ended up working at the restaurant. Even though he had some troubles with the robot, Hiro asked why Mettaton was bad, and Burgerpants called this place a labyrinth of bad choices. Even when the staff tries to change something to work better, Mettaton rejects the idea, citing that it's not how it worked on the surface. This confused Hiro as he knows the monsters hadn't been on the surface, so how would Mettaton know? Hiro certainly didn't know. He's just a kid. When the cat mentioned how humans were always eating hamburgers made of sequins and glue, Hiro felt disgusted at the thought. Burgerpants questioned how people find the robot attractive, when he's literally a rectangle. He did at one point buy a kit online that makes people more rectangular, but it didn't work. Hiro was curious about what Burgerpants would do if he was freed. The cat told him he was probably going to be stuck at this job forever, but the one thing that keeps him going is that if Asgore gets one more Soul, everyone can leave for the surface and he'll find a second chance for himself.
That worried Hiro.
He's still not sure of what to think of Asgore. After that enlightening conversation, Hiro was curious about the two chicks Burgerpants mentioned. He didn't go down the alley before when he met Sans, so he headed back out. There, he met two monsters; an alligator with blonde hair, pink eyes, and wearing a pink longsleeved top with blue and yellow stripes, and a purple cat with black hair that has blue tips, a gold earring on her left ear, and wearing blue overalls that have yellow fur lined on the straps. Their wares were interesting. Junk food, a gun, a cowboy hat, and a key. Again, Hiro only had enough for some stuff, so he only bought the junk food. When asked about Burgerpants, the girls called him a creep, even though Catty thought he was kind of cute. She didn't have any real standards. They thought he'd be okay if he treated them with respect. He seemed to blame them for the way he acts, especially when they asked him for the Glamburgers. Bratty was going to share them, but Catty wasn't planning to. Bratty and Catty were their names, and they're best friends for-EVER! Looking over the items, Hiro had asked where they got their stuff.
Catty: We got them from the garbage!
(awkward pause)
Bratty: It's GOOD garbage.
Catty: It's like, really good garbage.
Hiro was not so sure about the junk food now. They apparently got their garbage from the garbage store, but mostly from Waterfall. Catty exclaimed that she found a gun in a dumpster. Hiro wondered if it belonged to anyone who came before him, which is possible since he did see some trash fall into the area. When he asked about Mettaton, the girls were crazy about him. They both claim that he's their robot husband, either being already married to him or planning to do so. He just doesn't know yet. Hiro wasn't sure if Mettaton is husband material considering the few run-ins he had with the robot, but the girls mentioned that they heard rumors about him being made by Dr. Alphys was his idea. Afterwards, he acted like she was an old friend. They weren't friends anymore, unlike these two. About Alphys, she used to live on their street and was like a big sister to them, if she takes you on trips to the dump. She showed them the coolest places and always collecting some weird cartoons. Then she became the Royal Scientist and they haven't seen her in forever. They mentioned Alphys had always thought Asgore was a super cutie, so they thought she made Mettaton to impress him. A robot with a Soul was something that was possibly relevant to his hobbies. Soon after, Asgore made her do the science stuff, but apart from Hiro, nobody's seen anything from her. She likely just stays in her lab all day. When asked about Asgore, Bratty called him a total goober and Catty says he's a big, fuzzy, goofball.
More descriptions of Asgore that confused Hiro.
They mentioned how he was nice and they love him. So much so, they're both hyped for the destruction of humanity. Disturbed, Hiro left them with that thought and mulled over what happened. The more Hiro hears about Asgore, the more he wonders why Toriel made him out to be so bad. It's clear that everyone but her loves him. Did the king do something to draw Toriel's hatred to him? He'll find out soon, he feels. For now, Hiro decided to talk to Burgerpants about Bratty and Catty. Hiro told him the girls talked about him and that he should stop acting like they owed him, and if he wanted to be friends with them, he should see through their perspective. Burgerpants felt pity for Hiro, thinking he got brainwashed. Friendship was a hot person's way of making someone their slave, according to him. He then wanted to know what time they wanted to hang out. Hiro went back to ask them and Catty said he should go look for junk with them. Bratty was worried, but Catty thinks it'll be fun. She felt that that kind of person would want to hang out all the time once they join up. Catty wondered if she felt bad for him, and thought about how cool they are compared to him. They'd be saving his life with their friendship. Bratty was still unsure, but once Catty mentioned Glamburgers, Bratty asked if he was free after work. Hiro soon realized he's being a messenger between Burgerpants, Bratty, and Catty. He told Burgerpants that they want to hang out after work, and the cat got excited, thanking him and asking Hiro where they wanted to go.
Hiro: To the garbage dump.
Burgerpants eventually accepted it. After playing messenger for the trio, Hiro found that the relaxing atmosphere of the hotel filled him with determination. He looked past the front desk towards the doors with a flashing sign saying “CORE” above. With some resolve, Hiro pushed forward. Once he stepped out, he spotted two shadow figures heading into an opening ahead on the opposite end of the bridge. Before moving past the flanking bushes, his phone rings.
Hiro: Hello? I just saw two shadows ahead of me.
Alphys: Huh? Who are they? N-Nobody else is s-supposed to be here. Oh well! We can't worry about that now! (hangs up)
Hiro entered the area and it looked far more advanced than any other area he went through. The floor is mainly blue with some glowing circuitry lines in intricate designs in different areas. Two paths flanking the elevators led to a different exit, and before he picked one, his phone soon rang again.
Hiro: Alphys, I'm here.
Alphys: I see you! Ready? This is it! Take the elevator up to the top of the CORE!
Hiro (goes up to the elevator, but finds it's not working; answers his ringing phone): Ah, the elevator's not working.
Alphys: What?
Hiro: I'm pressing the buttons, but it's not opening.
Alphys: ….The elevator should be working... W-Well then! Go to the right and keep heading up!
Hiro: Okay! (follows her instructions, but ends up in a dark room with blazing fire below) Uhhh....
Alphys: Now just keep heading up!
Hiro: I can't! There's fire here!
Alphys: ... That pit...isn't on my map. Forget it! Let's try the left side!
Hiro left the room and went up the left path. He saw three red-tipped blue columns flanking the path.
Alphys: Okay, you should be able to make it through here!
Hiro: All right.
As he headed up, the two shadow figures he saw before quickly approached him.
Hiro: Ah!
Alphys: W-Watch out!
The area went grayscale and a battle ensued. Hiro soon faced against a magician type monster that popped out of its hat along with two floating spheres. Its hat covered its eyes, didn't look like it had arms as its coat bellowed and its boots floated underneath it. His options were Talk, Stare, and Clear Mind. Hiro decided to clear his mind and thought of pollen and sunshine. Hiro soon had to dodge flying crosses, but got hit once. The Madjick, as it was called, flaunted its orbs menacingly. Hiro then tried talking to it, but was interrupted as it chattered to itself. Hiro managed to dodge the orbs, then Madjick whispered arcane swear words at the boy. Hiro soon spared it, clearing the room of gray and answering his phone.
Alphys: Th-That was close... Wh...Why are there so many monsters here?
Hiro: Maybe they work here?
Alphys: Ah... I mean... It's no problem, r-r-right? W-w-we've just got to keep moving forward! (becomes silent then hangs up)
Hiro: …?
Hiro soon enter the next area and ahead of him is a barrier and a long glass-floored bridge lined with the laser nodes. Three sets of three light bulbs with three different colors are seen on the light-stripped wall before the switch. He noticed that he could see the various inner parts of the bridge as the lights flickered in various patterns and some spots have a sort of wear with some gray panels and purple insulation worn or broken off, exposing the wires underneath.
Hiro: It's that barrier... (answers his phone)
Alphys: Looks like you can't proceed until you hit the switch. B-But, those lasers will activate when you do. Um, looks like they'll come in this order. Orange, orange, blue. Got it, move until the third one!
Hiro: Okay. (hits the switch, then moves forward) Oran- (sees the colors being blue, blue, then orange) BLUE?! (gets hit by the blue laser, dodges the lasers that followed, stopped on the second blue one and dashing through the orange one) I.. (picks up the call) Alphys!?
Alphys: Oh my god... Are you hurt? I...I'm sorry, I.... I gave you the wrong order. (slight panic) E-Everything's fine, okay? Just keep going to the right.
Hiro: Okay... Is she all right...?
Hiro made his way through the corridor, spotting even more panels broken off and the triple set light bulbs on the wall, passing them by before he arrives at a T road with the bottom pointing north. Seeing the state of the area made Hiro think that the Core hasn't been fixed up for some time.
Alphys: A crossroads... (clicking and papers shifting are heard) Uuuh....uhhh.... Tr...Try heading to the right!
Hiro: Okay. (moves ahead; his phone rings) Hello?
Alphys: W-Wait! No, I think you should h-head up!
Hiro: Ah, I guess?
Hiro moves up into another area. He soon runs into a shadow figure again, and meets a monster called Knight Knight as the area went gray. She was a giant kneeling monster with a face that occupies most of its torso and is occasionally tapping her large mace on the ground. Checking his options, all Hiro could do is Talk and Sing to her. He remembered singing with Shyren, so he tried that, noticing the monster getting sleepy. The monster looked drowsy, but she managed to rain meteors and Hiro got hit by one. Hiro dodges them this time after singing again, lulling the monster into a deep sleep. Once she did, he took the chance to spare her.
Hiro (answers the call): I ran into more monsters...
Alphys: Sorry, I...I...I thought that... Let's try the right.
Hiro: Okay... (returns to the crossroad and heads to the right; sees a long corridor with the laser nodes moving their blue and orange lasers across the way) Ack, it's lasers again.
Alphys: M... More lasers... Okay, I...I won't mess around this time. I'll just deactivate the lasers and let you through. (clicking and tapping is heard, then stops)
Hiro: …..? Alphys?
Alphys: They're... They're not turning off... I can't turn them off, I....
Hiro (worried): What are we gonna do?
Alphys: I-I-It's okay! I have this under control! I'm going to turn off the p-power for that whole node. Then you can walk across. (turns power off in node) Okay, go!
Hiro: I'm moving now! (moves across)
Alphys: W-WAIT! STOP!
Hiro (sees the lights flickering and stops as the corridor gets filled with blue lasers; a blue laser appears and points at his side): Aaaah....Alphys...
Alphys: Th-The power... (heavy tapping is heard) It's turning itself back on. D-Damn it... Th-This isn't supposed to...
Hiro: I can't move...
Alphys: I...I'm gonna turn it off again. When it turns off, move a little then STOP. Okay? Y-You won't get h-h-hurt.
Hiro: All right.
It was an excruciating trek across the bridge as Hiro was guided by the lights to stop and move. He did take a chance to hang up as he needed to focus on the path ahead. Once he made it, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and answered Alphys's call.
Hiro: I made it!
Alphys (slightly more panicked): Yes! S-See? I've got everything under control. Everything's under control! (hangs up)
Hiro (stares at his phone before hanging up): Uh….? Hm. (leaves the area)
He makes it to a crossroads where a Save Star is waiting. The area was more lit up from the light below. Hiro look down to see flowing glowing liquid that he was unsure of what it was made of, so he moved on to the star, answering his phone as he approached it.
Hiro: Ah, I'm at another place with more roads. Where should I go next?
Alphys: Okay! Y-You should... (rustling sounds) You should.... I don't know? (rustling stops) This doesn't look like my map at all..
Hiro: Ah, uh... (looks around) Um, there's a star and four paths and-
Alphys: I'm sorry... I...I...I have to go.
Hiro: Alph- (gets hung up on; stares at his phone) …..I hope she's okay....
After pocketing his phone, he touched the star. He could smell something in the air. He's heard of the ozone layer in one of his classes, and this scent made him think of it for some reason. Either way, it filled him with determination. Two signs with green light lettering are seen on the wall flanking the northern path. The left sign shows “North, the warrior's path. West, the sage's path. Any path leads to The End.” The right one shows “East... The End.”
Hiro: Wow, that's easy! I'm gonna go this way!
Hiro departed down the eastern path. The path led through a large area of liquid and past several mechanical chrome pillars that have several red lights flashing on them. He soon came to another crossroads with two signs and an electrical barrier. These signs show “To the East! This is The End.” and “ I cannot fight. I cannot think. But, with patience, I will make my way through.”
Hiro: Hmn, I don't think I can wait. I'll go up more. (leaves, doesn't notice the barrier vanishing)
He kept going north to find a T-road, so he kept going to see what's up there. He found himself in a room with just a trash can inside. He decided to look inside and found 100G in it, digging it out and leaving. He went to the left this time, coming across a sign showing “Traverse the northern room, and The End will open.” Hiro was curious about the other end, so he went left to find another T-road and went north. Another room with a trash can present had a Glamburger in it. Hiro was unsure of it, but it's wrapped up, so he felt that it should be okay. Hiro went back to where he was and made his way on the long bridge, only to be ambushed by what looks like an armored Whimsun called a Whimsalot and a spikier Froggit with a small crown called a Final Froggit. The options for Whimsalot were Terrorize, Console, and Pray, and the ones for Final Froggit were Threaten, Compliment, and Mystify. Hiro decided to compliment the Froggit.
Hiro: I like your crown!
The Froggit understood him perfectly and lowered its ATTACK. Despite that, Hiro didn't do well in the fight, flailing around and getting hit by flies and butterflies. There was a strange smell lingering around that was like nightshade and bleach. Hiro turned to Whimsalot and used Console.
Hiro: Um....I think what you're doing is all right?
Whimsalot: Ah...I've made my peace.
Hiro got surrounded by butterflies and couldn't really dodge the flies, leaving his health at 1. He quickly ate a Starfait, healing himself back to 19. Against, he got surrounded and took hits. Afterwards, he noticed the Whimsalot locking eyes with his, so he prayed. This caused the monster to remember its conscience, leading it to not want to fight any longer. Hiro spared the monster and focused his attention to the frog. With only Final Froggit left, Hiro was able to dodge the flies easily. He saw a look on the monster's face like it knew why it's here. Hiro decided to try mystifying it and did something mysterious. Upon seeing this, Final Froggit recognized that it had more to learn from this world. Suddenly, a small white frog appeared, hitting Hiro at first, but he was able to avoid it. Hiro soon spared it and the battle ended. He noticed he was running out of items to use, so he went back to the hotel and Snowdin to buy more, dropping by Sans and Papyrus's place and seeing Undyne and the tall skeleton hanging out by the mailboxes. Hiro waved at them as he went back to return to the Core to continue onward. Again, he was ambushed by a Madjick, but also a Knight Knight. He knew what to do with them. Shocking to Hiro, he managed to dodge the spheres and crosses that appeared. He sung Shyren's song again until the knight fell asleep. While she slept, Hiro dodged Madjick's sphere, sparing Knight Knight in the process. This time, Hiro messed up and ran into the crosses. Hiro glared at both orbs, causing them to freeze, and thus giving him an opportunity to spare Madjick and leave the battle. Not a few more steps ahead, and he ran into Final Froggit, Whimsalot, and a new monster that similar to Loox called Astigmatism. Astigmatism's options were Don't Pick On, Pick On, and Challenge. Hiro didn't want to challenge nor pick on it. Hiro realized too late that he forgot to heal and died in the battle, surrounded by butterflies and running into a bubble stream. Hiro woke up at the Save Star and realized he had to fight Knight Knight and Madjick again.
Hiro: Agh....
This time, he was bombarded by meteors which threw him off from his last attempt. After sparing them, he went back and saved before facing the three monsters that he lost to. Hiro remembered Astigmatism saying to pick on it, so he did, sparing it afterwards. He did the same methods on the frog and bug monsters, but did horribly worse, dying again. It really was a nightmare. He even noticed the eye monster saying not too pick on it, and died again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Until finally, Hiro managed to beat them. Ahead of him was a switch on the wall. He figured it was for the exit and clicked it. After that, he went back to the star, saved, and moved on. He went down the path that mentioned the east being the end and followed it, leading to a bridge where he ran into an Astigmatism. He picked on and spared it with ease. Hiro reached an area where the elevator and an entrance similar to the one he went through before the first set of lasers is seen.
Hiro (saves then stands before the winged entrance): This gotta be the way to get to the castle. (nods) Right, I'm getting determined!
Once he went through, he was confronted by none other than Mettaton.
Hiro: Not you again...
Mettaton: OH YES. THERE YOU ARE, DARLING.
Hiro: What's it this time?
Mettaton: IT'S TIME TO HAVE OUR LITTLE SHOWDOWN. IT'S TIME TO FINALLY STOP THE “MALFUNCTIONING” ROBOT. …..NOT!!! MALFUNCTION? REPROGRAMMING? GET REAL. THIS WAS ALL JUST A BIG SHOW. AN ACT. ALPHYS HAS BEEN PLAYING YOU FOR A FOOL THE WHOLE TIME.
Hiro: Eh? Really...?
Mettaton: YES. AS SHE WATCHED YOU ON THE SCREEN, SHE GREW ATTACHED TO YOUR ADVENTURE. SHE DESPERATELY WANTED TO BE A PART OF IT. SO SHE DECIDED TO INSERT HERSELF INTO YOUR STORY. SHE REACTIVATED PUZZLES. SHE DISABLED ELEVATORS. SHE ENLISTED ME TO TORMENT YOU. ALL SO SHE COULD SAVE YOU FROM DANGERS THAT DIDN'T EXIST. ALL SO YOU WOULD THINK SHE'S THE GREAT PERSON...THAT SHE'S NOT. AND NOW, IT'S TIME FOR HER FINEST HOUR. AT THIS VERY MOMENT, ALPHYS IS WAITING OUTSIDE THE ROOM. DURING OUR “BATTLE,” SHE WILL INTERRUPT. SHE WILL PRETEND TO DEACTIVATE ME, “SAVING” YOU ONE FINAL TIME. FINALLY, SHE'LL BE THE HEROINE OF YOUR ADVENTURE. YOU'LL REGARD HER SO HIGHLY, SHE'LL EVEN BE ABLE TO CONVINCE YOU NOT TO LEAVE....OR NOT. YOU SEE, I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS PREDICTABLE CHARADE. I HAVE NO DESIRE TO HARM HUMANS. FAR FROM IT, ACTUALLY. MY ONLY DESIRE IS TO ENTERTAIN. AFTER ALL, THE AUDIENCE DESERVES A GOOD SHOW, DON'T THEY? AND WHAT'S A GOOD SHOW...WITHOUT A PLOT TWIST?
(door shuts behind Hiro; knocking is heard)
Alphys: H-Hey!!! Wh-Wh-What's going on!? Th-Th-The door just locked itself!
Hiro (looks back): Alphys!?
(the area lights up in red with five red spotlights surrounding Mettaton with one white spotlight focused on him)
Mettaton (holding a microphone): SORRY, FOLKS! THE PROGRAM'S BEEN CANCELLED!!! BUT WE'VE GOT A FINALE THAT WILL DRIVE YOU WILD!!
(the floor raises up, then rises higher as Hiro falls to his knees)
Mettaton: REAL DRAMA!! REAL ACTION!! REAL BLOODSHED!! ON OUR NEW SHOW...”ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT!”
Hiro was thrown into a battle with Mettaton, his soul becoming yellow again. His only option was Burn, so he tried that. Considering how he often runs into fire recently, he felt that it was what he'll do if it continues in this manner.
Mettaton: YES, I WAS THE ONE THAT REARRANGED THE CORE! I WAS THE ONE THAT HIRED EVERYONE TO KILL YOU! THAT, HOWEVER, WAS A SHORT-SIGHTED PLAN. YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE A HUNDRED TIMES BETTER? KILLING YOU MYSELF!!
Hiro: Then that person Muffet mentioned was him... (waits for the attacks to come, but nothing happened)
Mettaton: LISTEN, DARLING. I'VE SEEN YOU FIGHT. YOU'RE WEAK. IF YOU CONTINUE FORWARD, ASGORE WILL TAKE YOUR SOUL, AND WITH YOUR SOUL, ASGORE WILL DESTROY HUMANITY.
Hiro was caught off guard with some falling blocks, which he started blasting away. Hiro decided to try and spare the robot, but Mettaton ignored his attempt.
Mettaton: BUT IF I GET YOUR SOUL, I CAN STOP ASGORE'S PLAN! I CAN SAVE HUMANITY FROM DESTRUCTION!
Hiro spotted some robotic arms descending and shot at them, forcing them to pull back from him.
Mettaton: THEN, USING YOUR SOUL, I'LL CROSS THROUGH THE BARRIER...AND BECOME THE STAR I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF BEING! HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS...NO! MILLIONS OF HUMANS WILL WATCH ME!
Two arms and a line of blocks with a bomb in the middle fell. Hiro shot the arms and a block, but he runs into one by accident.
Hiro: Ah!
Mettaton: GLITZ! GLAMOUR! I'LL FINALLY HAVE IT ALL! SO WHAT IF A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE? THAT'S SHOW BUSINESS, BABY!
Hiro (gets a call from Alphys): Alphys, help!
Alphys: U...Uh.... I can't see what's going on in there, but.... D-D-Don't give up, okay!? Th...There's o-one l-l-last way to beat Mettaton...It's...um...it's... This is a work-in-progress, so don't judge it too hard...But you know Mettaton always faces f-f-forward?
Hiro: Yeah!
Alphys: That's because there's a switch on his backside. S-S-So if y-y-you c-c-can turn him around... um... And, umm... press th-th-th-the switch... He'll be... um.... He'll be... Vulnerable. Well, g-g-gotta go!
Hiro: Ah. I guess it's my chance to make him move. But how? (notices the Burn option changed to Turn in yellow; selects it) Uuh, hey, there's a mirror behind you!
Mettaton: OH??? A MIRROR??? RIGHT, I HAVE TO LOOK PERFECT FOR OUR GRAND FINALE! (turns around and exposes his switch) HMMM... I DON'T SEE IT... WHERE IS IT....?
Hiro (flips the switch): Got ya!
Mettaton: DID YOU. JUST FLIP. MY SWITCH?
Suddenly, Mettaton was shaking violently as Hiro backed far away, worrying the robot would soon explode. Light bursts from the metal body until the whole area was engulfed in it, yet the only sound that was heard was....
OH~ YES~
Hiro: Oh...whoa...?
A pair of spotlights descended and focused their light within a cloud of smoke, a humanoid figure stood among it. Its voice had a familiar robotic tone in it, but it seemed more...human..?
???: Ohhh my. If you flipped my switch, that can only mean one thing. You're desperate for the premiere of my new body. How rude... Lucky for you, I've been aching to show this off for a long time. So... as thanks, I'll give you a handsome reward. I'll make your last living moments.... (a flash of light reveals a male android) ABSOLUTELY beautiful!
Hiro was stunned in seeing this android, even more so when he finds out it's Mettaton, but with an EX on the end of his name. Mettaton had taken the shape of a man with short black hair, most of it covering his right eye, a metallic section on his left cheek, large shoulder guards, arms similar to the ones he had as a robot, holes on the right side of his chest that may be the speaker, a dial on the left side, a chassis containing a white soul, black skintight pants, and high-heeled boots. The boy watched as the android made various poses in place and noticed a line graph on the upper left corner that shows a yellow line, a cyan line, and fluctuating purple line, and the words “Ratings 3001”. His options are Pose, Boast, and Heel Turn. Hiro had watched the android doing many poses, so he tried one out dramatically, raising the ratings to 3101.
Mettaton EX: Lights! Camera! Action!
Hiro saw six legs appear, descending towards him. Hiro shot two grey ones to move them and went between moving ones, hitting on the right. He saw green words pop up and the ratings had 50 more points. Hiro posed again, raising the score 3311.
Me. EX: Drama! Romance! Bloodshed!
Bombs appearing between little umbrella-carrying Mettatons threw Hiro off as he shot the ones on the right side. A bomb explodes, catching him off guard. Hiro ate a Starfait, which the audience loves and received 300 points, the score being at 3756 now.
Me. EX: I'm the idol everyone craves!
Six legs and some boxes appeared, drawing Hiro's attention as he shoots the legs and boxes. Hiro didn't notice a leg and it hits him, making the score bump up to 3826. Hiro decided to do a boast.
Hiro: Your attacks won't get me! I won't get hit at all!
Me. EX: Well then! Smile for the camera!
Hiro saw the ratings gradually rise as two arms and four Minitons (as Hiro decided to call them) descend. He managed to survive, and the ratings hit 4151. Hiro dramatically poses again, bringing the score to 4251.
Me. EX: Oooh, it's time for a pop quiz! Have fun with that on-screen keyboard... This one's an essay question!
To Hiro's surprise, a blank screen and grey keyboard popped up in front of him with the Essay Prompt: What do you love most about Mettaton? Hiro was unsure before putting his answer: His style and legs. Hiro threw in the legs part because he's been seeing them a lot in this battle, not because he liked them. Apparently, the mention of legs raised the number to 4601.
Me. EX: That's right. Legs was the correct answer! (saves the answer for future use)
Hiro (confused): Oh...I guess?? That was right?? (strikes a pose again, seeing the number bump to 4701)
Me. EX: Your essay really showed everyone your heart. Why don't I show you mine?
The door of the chassis opens and Mettaton's soul came out. Several pulses of electricity sparked out along with some Minitons blowing heart kisses at Hiro. Hiro tries his best to dodge the onslaught, but still gets hit by them. Even the violence contributed to the score as it rises to 4856. Seeing his health running low, Hiro eats a Glamburger. Because it was on brand, it jumped the score to 5356.
Me. EX: Ooooh, I'm just warming up!
Hiro manages to dodge all of the Minitons and their hearts. The score rose to 5416 now. Hiro hadn't noticed before, but the area had a peculiar smell wafting in the air. He soon realized it was coming from Mettaton. Hiro made another dramatic pose, making the score hit 5516.
Me. EX: You got some pretty lovely poses! But how are you on the dance floor!?
Hiro: Not that great...
A spotlight focused on Hiro as a disco ball hangs above him. Hiro shoots at it, noticing it changing the lights from white to blue. He keeps going as he noticed Mettaton's poses seem to be a little faster than before. The impromptu dance-off brought the score to 5526, with Hiro ending it in a pose, raising the score again to 5626.
Me. EX: Fabulous! Can you keep up the pace?
Hiro: Yeah!
The disco ball descends again, but the lights move faster. Hiro messes up his shot once, but he quickly regains control, ending the dance with 5666 points while posing again.
Me. EX: Lights! Camera! Bombs!
Hiro: Not again!
Hiro sees his battle field become thinner and four bombs and blocks appear. In his attempt to shoot them, one set hits Hiro while he was caught in the explosion. The violence bumped the ratings to 5856 before Hiro's pose made it 6006.
Me. EX: Things are blowing up!
To Hiro's dismay, more bomb blocks fall. He somehow only got hit once, bringing the score to 6136. He eats a part of a Bisicle, which he noticed it didn't bring the descending score up.
Me. EX: Time for our union-regulated break!
The words “Happy Break Time” flashes on Hiro's field.
Hiro: Just like Napstablook... (notices Mettaton posing at a rapid rate) I'm gonna pose, too! (poses with style)
Me. EX: We've grown so distant, darling... How about another heart-to-heart?
Hiro sees the soul coming out again and shoots at it. 4 waves of boxes pulsing in and out from the android's soul along with sparks, and Hiro manages to dodge everything surprisingly well while shoot the dancing bot's soul, raising the score to 6496. This caused Mettaton's arms to fall off, startling Hiro as he poses to bring the score to 6596.
Hiro (panicking): M-Mettaton, your arms fell off!!
Me. EX: A..Arms? Wh...Who needs arms with legs like these? I'm still going to win!
Hiro didn't do well this round. He was hit by several blocks and bombs, and just when he thought it was over, there was a strange feeling in the air. Like time was being rewound. Suddenly, the blocks and bombs that went by him came back up, causing him to jump between the spaces he shot out. The ratings sat at 6816 because of this.
Hiro: That was close! What was that feeling..? It feels...
Me. EX: Come on...!
Again, the record/rewind stage appeared before Hiro. He did a little better this time, now that he got the gist of this stage. His score rose to 6996, but this is where things took a heel turn for the worse. He's run out of items.
Me.EX: The show...must go on!
Many blocks and bombs fall, causing Hiro to try and shoot at them. Hiro was hit a few times blasting the bombs away, his score hitting 7136 and jumping to 7286 after he poses.
Me.EX: Dr...Drama! A...Action!
The blocks and bombs fall again faster, and Hiro was hit a few times again. The ratings were at 7446 when he poses again.
Me. EX: L...Lights... C..Camera... Enough of this! Do you really want humanity to perish!? ….Or do you just believe in yourself that much?
Hiro: I don't want that, but I do believe in myself!
Hiro was becoming weary, which caused him to mess up the bomb block section. The score rises to 7576.
Me. EX: Haha, how inspiring! Well. Darling! It's either me or you! But I think we both already know who's going to win. Witness the true power of humanity's star!
Mettaton's soul comes out again. Hiro had to dodge more sparks as he shot away at the soul and the two bombs that revolved around it. Once done, Hiro saw half of his field flashing with a warning.
Hiro: What's that- (sees a row of legs jutt out at him; dodges away) AH! (hears the warning behind him and moves away as more legs appear) Gah! This is crazy!
Hiro had to deal with the soul sparks and kicking legs twice more before he saw Mettaton's legs fall off and the ratings hitting 7696. He poses in front of the limbless android, adding 100 more points and making it 7796.
Me. EX: ….then.... Are YOU the star? Can you really protect humanity!?
Hiro: I don't know. Maybe if I tried hard enough?
In his thoughts, Hiro is caught off guard with the soul shooting sparks at him while he shoots at it. Mettaton remained silent during the exchange. Hiro was so worn out from the battle that he didn't realize the disco ball came out and he panics. Some sparks and Minitons came out and hit Hiro as he desperately tries to shoot and dodge them. With no more items left to use, he was left at 2 Hp. With the last of his power, Hiro poses with all his might. The audience screams in adoration, but it wasn't enough. He was completely worn out to the point where he couldn't see the bombs nor recognize that it was the rewind stage. He shot at one, causing it to explode on him and making him literally go out with a bang. He soon wakes back up at the save star outside of the elevator. Even though he usually gets healed and refreshed at these points, Hiro still felt the remnants of exhaustion from that battle and lays in his spot for a while. It was during that rest when he remembers that feeling from being rewound in the fight.
Hiro: That was weird. It was like.....a tape rewinding? Oh... Is that what happens when I die? I redo stuff? ….. (puts his hands on his head) My head hurts....
Deciding to not think more on it, Hiro rested a little while longer before getting up and reentering the room where Mettaton is waiting. Hiro was not much in the mood to hear Mettaton's monologue and tells him about the mirror again.
Me. EX: CLEVER. VERY CLEVER.
The battle ensues again. Poses, bombs, and bolts fly as Hiro danced and fought his way against Mettaton. He stopped caring about the ratings as he needed to concentrate. Despite doing much better this time around, he ran out of items and was back on his last two HP again. And once again, with feeling this time, Hiro poses with his might. The battle was soon cut off as Mettaton sees the ratings skyrocket past 10000.
Mettaton (excitedly): OOH, LOOK AT THESE RATINGS!!! THIS IS THE MOST VIEWERS I'VE HAD!!! WE'VE REACHED THE VIEWER CALL-IN MILESTONE! ONE LUCKY VIEWER WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO TALK TO ME...BEFORE I LEAVE THE UNDERGROUND FOREVER!! LET'S SEE WHO WHO CALLS IN FIRST! (phone rings) HI, YOU'RE ON TV! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ON THIS, OUR LAST SHOW???
???: …..oh.......hi....mettaton....
Hiro: Huh? This voice...
???: ….i really liked watching your show...my life is really boring....but...seeing you on the screen...brought excitement to my life...vicariously. i can't tell, but...i guess this is the last episode...? i'll miss you...mettaton......oh.....i didn't mean to talk so long....oh......
Mettaton: NO, WAIT! (tries calling back) WAIT, BL.. (hears a click) ..H....THEY ALREADY HUNG UP. …. I'LL TAKE ANOTHER CALLER!!!
As soon as he opened the phone lines, calls started pouring in as the viewers voiced their joy in watching Mettaton on TV and the sorrow they felt at the thought of losing him.
“Mettaton, your show made us so happy!”
“Mettaton, I don't know what I'll watch without you.”
“Mettaton, there's a Mettaton-shaped hole in my Mettaton-shaped heart....”
Mettaton (saddened): AH... I...I SEE...(grins solemnly)...EVERYONE... THANK YOU SO MUCH. … DARLING.
Hiro: Yes?
Mettaton: PERHAPS.... IT MIGHT BE BETTER IF I STAY HERE FOR A WHILE. HUMANS ALREADY HAVE STARS AND IDOLS, BUT MONSTERS...THEY ONLY HAVE ME. IF I LEFT....THE UNDERGROUND WOULD LOSE ITS SPARK. I'D LEAVE AN ACHING VOID THAT CAN NEVER BE FILLED. SO... I THINK I'LL HAVE TO DELAY MY DEBUT. BESIDES. YOU'VE PROVEN TO BE VERY STRONG. PERHAPS...EVEN STRONG ENOUGH TO GET PAST ASGORE.
Hiro: …
Mettaton: I'M SURE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PROTECT HUMANITY. HA, HA... IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST, ANYWAY. THE TRUTH IS, THIS FORM'S ENERGY CONSUMPTION IS....INEFFICIENT. IN A FEW MOMENTS, I'LL RUN OUT OF BATTERY POWER, AND...WELL.
Hiro: Oh no! Will you be okay?
Mettaton: I'LL BE ALRIGHT. KNOCK 'EM DEAD, DARLING. AND EVERYONE.... THANK YOU. YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT AUDIENCE!
With Mettaton's parting smile, a bright light flashes in the area then fades. Once Hiro lowered his arms to look around, he saw the stage had return to normal and Mettaton's resting form on the ground before him. Before he could make a move, he hears the door opening behind him.
Alphys: I...I managed to open the lock! Are you two... (runs in; stops in shock) Oh my god. (rushes over to Mettaton) Mettaton! Mettaton, are you.... (checks him over, sighs in relief) Thank GOD, it's just the batteries. Mettaton, if you were gone, I would have.... (trembling) I would have.... (silent, then shakes her head) I m-mean, h-hey, it's n-no problem, you know? He's just a robot, if you messed it up, I could always...j-just build another. (becomes silent again)
Hiro: Alphys?
Alphys: Ah....I'm...fine. Why don't you go on ahead? I....I just need a moment.
Hiro: Okay....
Hiro took a look at Mettaton's broken body, and got a quick vision of a more deadly version of him. Strangely, despite this towering version with its flowing cape, laser eye, and deadly gun arm, that Mettaton was shot down in one hit. Hiro shook that vision away, and departed the room exhaustively. As Hiro made his way down the corridor, he was caught up by Alphys as she apologized for before.
Alphys: L-Let's k-keep going!
(silence)
Alphys: S-So you're about to meet Asgore, h-huh? You must be...Y-You must be... Pr... pretty excited about all that, huh?
Hiro (frowns): Not really.
Alphys: Oh.. (twiddles her thumbs) A-At least you'll f-f-finally... You'll finally get to go home!
Hiro (smiles): I'm more excited about that! (arrives at the elevator; pushes the button and is about to enter) Here I go.
Alphys: W... Wait!
Hiro (notices Alphys standing some distance from him): Yeah?
Alphys (smiles nervously): I mean, um... I... I was just going to..….um...say goodbye, and.. (her smile slowly drops; faces away from him)
Hiro: Alphys?
Alphys: ...I can't take this anymore. (turns away) I...I lied to you.
Hiro: About what?
Alphys: About....A-About how to l-leave here. R-Remember wh-when I said that with y-your human soul, you c-can pass through the b-barrier...?
Hiro: Yep.
Alphys: A....A human soul isn't strong enough to cross the barrier alone.
Hiro: It isn't?
Alphys: N-No.... (looks down at her feet) It takes at least a human soul...and a monster soul. (silent; turns to him) If you want to go home.... You'll have to take his soul. You'll have to kill Asgore. (walks away then stops) I'm sorry.
As Alphys ran off, Hiro stood before the open elevator in shock. He has to...kill Asgore? He had no intention of killing anyone in the Underground, nor anyone ever anywhere. Besides, Hiro's never killed anyone before in his life.
…...
Right...?
TO BE CONTINUED
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Underswap Headcanons
So I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Underswap and how I differentiate it from Undertale. I’ve never really had the words to it before, but something I’ve come to understand is that I think while the characters maintain the external personality and appearance of the person they’ve been swapped with, their dark side, their insecurities, the lines they’ll cross, the parts only close friends and family know...they are retained from their Tale selves. This underside, however, expresses itself through the lens of the externals, creating a fusion that at times can resemble both but allows the personality to become its own. I’ll be writing some basic profiles of the major characters, including some of those that I don’t write for often. I will be leaving out Chara and Frisk though. Not because I don’t have headcanons for them, but because in order to understand my swaps for them, you’d have to understand my Tale headcanons for them, which is a post in its own right.
(may do this for Swapfell, but then I’d have to get into the whole Fellswap Swapfell thing and that’s a whoooole can of worms)
Asgore: Alright, in fairness, Asgore and Toriel have always been pretty similar. Maybe its because they spent so much time as a couple. Still, there are some differences. In Underswap, Asgore has UT!Toriel’s caretaking instincts for lost souls as well as her more stringent ethics (there is right and wrong and very little in between). He also inherits the love of puns. From his original self, however, he gained a certain unacknowledged resignation. While he has a stronger sense of right and wrong than his Tale self, he shares a similar sense of doom, and that no matter what he desires, in the end, what will happen is what will happen. He will not fight as hard to keep the human there, nor does he connect as strongly, because he seems burdened by an understanding that he cannot save them. All of his children leave, and rather than trying to cloister them, as Tale!Toriel did, he in the end builds more walls around himself, tries to provide for them without getting his heart broken. He returns in the True Pacifist ending ultimately because he decides he is tired of trying to protect himself. That this is not what his son and Frisk would’ve wanted. He also resents Toriel less than Tale!Toriel resents her ex. While he still finds her actions despicable, there is a subconscious part of him that envies the fact that she still had the strength to care for their people while he shut down.
Sans: (special thanks to @nighttimepixels for putting my thinking on this track)Externally, he’s identical to Tale!Papyrus almost to the point of caricature. Bouncy, enthusiastic, optimistic, the Underground’s ray of sunshine who seems like he’s never had a bad thought in his life.....but the truth is, no one’s that perfect. Blue is pretty naturally upbeat. He prefers to see the best in people and though he’s often let down he finds that when that trust is rewarded its worth it. But in many cases his reputation outpaces his actuality. Still, the largest thing he inherited his Tale!Sans? The desire to keep secrets. To protect himself, to avoid problems by just hiding it all under a more digestible front. Even Papyrus doesn’t totally know how low he can get. How garbage his self-esteem can be. How isolated he can feel from others. Because the lower he gets the higher in gear he kicks it. More bounce! More pizazz! More magnificence! He’s Sans the Skeleton, everyone’s support system! He...he doesn’t get low days. Honest! From a more positive perspective, Blue is a little less dependent on the opinion’s of others than Papyrus. As long as they aren’t upset, then honestly they can have whatever opinion of him that they want. To clarify, he of course wants to be seen as impressive, kind, and a force to be reckoned with, but he copes a bit better with his lack of popularity that Tale!Papyrus, and is less desperate to please. While both have a strong code of ethics, Blue is more likely to burn a bridge over a violation of it (though of course hoping they will come around), while Papyrus has a harder time doing that.
Papyrus: The first time he meets Tale Sans, Sans can’t help but feel a strange rush of envy. Stretch is lazy, sure, lives like garbage and can’t commit to much. But he’s so damn charming. He seems to have retained Original Papyrus’ showmanship instincts just enough to talk his way into anything, leave just as much of an impression as he wants, or go ignored if that’s what he desired. And while in general he’s as directionless as Tale, when he wants something he rarely has trouble getting it. Motivation isn’t his default but it is a reservoir he has immense capacity to draw on. Still, there’s a lot (a LOT) Stretch doesn’t show. That dependency on people’s opinion that Blue missed? Guess who inherited it. Because yeah, he walks around like he doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks of him, like he’s got it all figured out and could talk circles around you if he wanted. But Stretch is CONSTANTLY assessing himself and other people’s perception of him. Even if he doesn’t want to be adored, he wants to be remembered, thought of as funny, clever, or hell, even annoying, just as long as its the impression he wants to give off. He walks a fine line of wanting no one to see the real him while wanting someone to just see him for who he is and VALIDATE it. His self-confidence struggles are tangentially related to Tale Sans, but while Tale tends to just shrug and write himself off as a lost cause, Stretch can’t stop himself from trying to micromanage his own personality. He has a fixation on controlling himself. In light of the RESETs, its one of the last things he can control. Even the smoking habit was intentional. He wanted a coping mechanism, as well as a good reason to be alone when he wanted to be. It sounds cliche, but if Stretch really wanted to quit he could’ve done it no problem years ago. He struggles with anxiety as opposed to Tale’s depression, and is quite a bit more extroverted.
Muffet: Muffet’s similarities to her Tale self largely relate to motivations. She works her bakery/bar to provide money for her spider family members in Hotland. As the strongest of her kind only she could bear Snowdin’s cold, and it allowed her a business opportunity (given that Swap Grillby has a stranglehold on the Hotland food market only barely broken by Napstaton’s resort) to provide for her family. Outwardly, she is near identical to Tale Grillby. Quiet, responsible, with an unexpected humor only a select few regulars are privy to. Still, she kept her Tale self’s cutthroat side. While she’s a decent person and generally is willing to help others, if the choice came between an innocent and any member of her family, she would give up the innocent practically instantaneously. She’s also a tightfist and can be extremely unreasonable about money. Stretch doesn’t talk about it much but there was an incident where she came to him about his tab and he treated the matter a little too light-heartedly.....she apologized afterwards but he’s never let the bill stand that long since. To her, nothing is more important than her ability to provide and protect for her people.
Alphys: She’s got all of Tale Undyne’s rough and tumble, “FIGHT ME” intensity, as well as her softer, gentler desire to help all monsterkind. But this dinosaur doesn’t have nearly the same confidence. Not that she’d ever admit to it. But Alph struggles with her belief in herself. She believes in Blue, in Toriel, in Undyne, in all of her friends, really. But rarely in herself. Toriel never needed to correct her during training, Alphys berated herself, often way past what was necessary. She can do a hundred perfect moves, trip once, and that’s the only thing she’ll remember. Still, she covers that lack of confidence with quite a bit of aggression. Though Tale!Undyne had her angry moments, Alphys can come off as downright cranky. She also retained a tactical brilliance from Tale!Alphys, and a secret nerd side that she represses. No one is allowed in her room because that’s where she keeps all the....*whispers* books. Part of what drew her to Undyne was that she’s allowed to openly love what Alphys feels she must keep to herself. After all, warriors don’t READ! Right?!?!?!
Undyne: Awkward, shy, nerdy, stammering......and full of PASSION! Seriously, she keeps it on the DL, but she is almost as intense as her Tale self. Pencils she chews on end up bitten in half before she knows what she’s doing. She’s thrown laptops across the room in her excitement over new breakthroughs. And that’s not counting all the broken mugs. She definitely does not know her own strength. She also has Tale!Undyne’s tendency to make swift judgments (like with Frisk and Papyrus to an extent) and stick to them until she has no choice but to reassess. A prime example? Mettablook. Once she determined that their cousin was a better candidate for the robotics project....well, she wasn’t exactly rude, but she could be a bit callous. Frankly, she didn’t have much use for them, and could be unreasonable about their requests for her to make them a body, saying curtly that she didn’t have the resources to spare for such a secondary project. On the more positive side, while she’s definitely awkward, she doesn’t struggle as much with confidence as Tale!Alphys. Her isolation is more incidental to her focus on her job (and, well, the internet). Socializing isn’t nearly as agonizing for her. She keeps in touch with Stretch despite them not working together. She simply doesn’t let people get too close so they don’t find out about the little surprise in her basement....
And speaking of Mettablook....
Mettablook (Hapstablook?): (sidenote, I’ll be using he/him pronouns since that’s what Mettaton uses in-game) When it comes to Napsta and Metta, I see their Swap being more role than personality focused. Like, Metta definitely got more of Napstablook’s shyness, but in general he is very close to how I imagine pre-robo Mettaton. He has a flair for performance, a love for anything that sparkles, and a fierce loyalty to his circle of friends. With one major difference. He wasn’t the one who met Undyne first. That was his cousin. As a result, Napsta was the one chosen for the robot program. While Metta....was stuck with the farm. As opposed to Napstablook’s crushed self-esteem, though, his route to coping with being....well, abandoned by one of the few people he thought would stick around for ever, is active denial that it hurt even a little. No, really, he’s very happy for his cousin. No big that they never call or write or visit....really, he’s sure they’re busy or something. He honestly can’t be bothered to think about it with all his responsibilities. Really. Its total bullshit and everyone knows it, but he’ll hold fast to that exterior. And while his confidence isn’t quite as shattered, he’s not nearly the performer he used to be when Chara finds him. He’s trying to rationalize why his cousin wouldn’t take him with them. Was....was this their way of letting them down easy? Are they trying to tell him that he was never as good as he thought? He still practices, but he’s far more private about it. The way you would know he’s ready for MERCY is if he shows you one of his poses, actually.
Napstaton (they/them pronouns) There’s two sides to this DJ. Their on stage persona is actually very laid back, something of a very optimistic surfer dude. They’re go-with-the flow, has tousled robo hair (okay, its been engineered to look tousled) and in general just happy to meet you. While Tale Mettaton’s emphasis is on performance, Napstaton’s first and foremost concern is the music they play and write. They don’t do television shows, but concerts and music specials. Underneath the cool exterior, though, this bot is a HOT MESS. All Napstas, regardless of universe, struggle with low self-esteem and the fear that everyone secretly hates them. When they got their chance at celebrity they had hoped this would be less of an issue. But its not. If anything, its worse, because they’re worried every minute that they’ll mess it up, that the penny will drop and everyone will see them for the garbage heap that they are. They can’t let that happen. So they focus on everything to do with their career. They hole up for days agonizing over their music. They spend hours choosing outfits carefully so they don’t look like they took hours to choose. They never see their cousin anymore, and visits with Undyne are rare and usually as short as they can make them. It makes them something of a selfish person, focused entirely on their image and how they interact with the world. Still, they have a very sweet nature that comes out especially after Chara gives them their wake up call, and they really do love their friends.
Toriel: Gracious, wise, powerful, and in charge. She has all the qualities the Underground seems to require. Along with Tale!Toriel’s impressive dedication to those she cares about and her maternal instincts she combines UT!Asgore’s utter devotion to their people. The killing of children is not something she takes any pleasure in. But she tries to bury her it in the hope of her people. With each SOUL they get closer and closer to freedom. Surely that has to be enough. She also commands a lot more respect than UT!Asgore does, and you are not likely to hear her referred to as “Queen Fluffybuns” anytime soon. Still, she didnt just carry over Toriel’s good qualities. While UT!Asgore mostly wrestled with his own guilt, Swap Toriel is overwhelmingly lonely. Which seems odd. After all, she’s surrounded by people. But there is a certain distance that she has to maintain as a ruler, that prevents many from getting close. With Asgore’s desparture, she’s lost the last person that she felt she could emotionally connect with. Its turned her....a little desperate. And a lot overprotective. Alphys had to fight for years to get her permission to join the Guard, simply because she didn’t want her hurt. Undyne has a tough time of it keeping the Amalgams hidden because Toriel is always visiting and sticking her snout in every direction. Even when they hit the Surface she has a tendency to hover over Chara’s activites and make up reasons to show up at Asgore’s house. Someone give this woman a hug and let her know everyone’s gonna be okay.
#you have no fucking clue#how long this took#its been in my drafts forEVER#i just have too many underswap thoughts#and will probably want to edit this like fifteen more times after publishing#underswap#us!asgore#us!sans#us!papyrus#us!muffet#us!alphys#us!undyne#us!toriel#us!mettablook#us!hapstablook#us!napstaton#headcanon#sort of
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RANDOM FACTS ABOUT THE MUN.
Repost, not reblog! Tag 6 muns you would like to get to know better when done!
Name: Kaitlyn! Please, for the love of god, never use it.
Nickname: Katy, Kat, variations; (Katydid, Katybug, Kitkat, etc.) But if you wanna call me something else, that’s fine too!
Age: 22! Simultaneously too old and a wee bab, lmao
Faceclaim: Not something I do! I could never pick just one, besides maybe my own face! (I’d thought about using Shuu Iwamine or Rize Kamishiro before, if that says anything haha)
Pronouns: Your highness/My liege She/Her! But “they/them” is good too.
Height: ~5’6”-5’7”; I can’t remember the last time I checked.
Birthday: Poppin’, obviously March 30th.
Aesthetic: Purple and black?? EGNautilus scientists tittering excitedly over adorable or exciting sea creatures. Omnipresent Mountain Dew cans, fast food and colorful kneesocks. 2AM adventures on clear nights in summer that last until dawn starts sending it’s first beams into the sky. Spacey FPS games and cutesy RPG and Pokemon games interspersed throughout. Weathered frames and tired eyes. ROBOTS… I have no idea, man. A lot of things!
Last song you listened to: “The Thief and the Moon” by Shawn James!
Favourite muse(s) you’ve written: kfkjdf. Sixes definitely counts,,
Uhh. My first was a canon-divergent Eridan, who I’d played before Act 6 was even close to being a thing! And he was a lot of fun. Accidentally made a “do not that” meme that still sometimes plagues me to this day ldkfdk
A dream-bubble/dead Karkat who’d been murdered in his timeline’s Gamzee’s rampage and only had one eye, he was a biiiig favorite. I loved having enough energy for that all; typing that much shittalk??? Was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in roleplay, holy shit. Entire fucking PAGES of just these absolutely USELESS rants because that nubby little shit had so much passion for it. Fuck. I loved Karkat.
A bloodswapped, cobalt-blooded Karkat who was also post-game for a pre-established timeline where trolls and humans co-existed on the same planet(s). He was a Thief of Blood and a massive asshole; at his worst, he was manipulative, isolative, vengeful, restless… But also, he was a really big dork??? He LOOOOOVED spy movies and probably popped boners regularly for Black Widow and James Bond or the Kingsmen. Fucking nerd. He fancied himself a spy; his best friend was a badass hacker, and they’d (F)LARP together as a stereotypical “you hack, I’ll infiltrate” team. Before Earth, he never cared about Christmas, but one year his richass neighbourhood started putting up flashy decorations and he got jealous, so he stole a shitton of them to make his own house look the best. He’s so… So stupid. I love him so much.
And of course, jumping off the Homestuck bandwagon; I have Lv/Hadz! My dorky, sadsack pun machine. A (sort of, mostly) secret post-genocide Sans; the Bad Run™ had been reset after completion, but something went wrong, so he remembers it. Still, he’s been running for like, two years now! So he’s had a lot of time to go and bury all that as deeply as monsterly possible lmaooo. He’s distrusting, paranoid, and isolative himself; but he’s probably the most all-around good guy on this list. He just wants to get on with his life and never have to fight anyone ever again, lmfao.
I… I also have a few OCs, but you’ll have to pry those out of my cold, dead hands. … Carefully. With lots of reassurance. (I’m very shy…)
What inspired you to take on your current muse (that you are posting this on): I like… Undertale. And I like Underfell enough that once the idea was presented to me, my mind kinda ran away with it, haha. It started with Hopper, my weird UF Sans! But it feels like every time I approach the AU I have slightly different ideas for it, pfft.
I guess with Sixes, I wanted to step away from the skeletons for awhile! I was really excited about messing with Mettaton for it, because I… Really liked listening to the radio for awhile, haha. I thought it’d be kind of cool if instead of being really excited to be seen flaunting himself across a television set, he wasn’t so happy with how he turned out physically, and made his influence a little less directly visible. It fit in well with the seemingly common theme of conflict in Underfell, and things just really exploded from there! It’s hard to summarize in just a few short words.
That said, Sixes probably wouldn’t have a blog at all if it wasn’t for tumblr user wibler’s- Sixes’ Sans!- mun coaxing me into giving it a shot! She has a lot of faith in my creative abilities. I dunno what I’d do without her support through the past few years, heheh. She’s neat.
What are your favourite aspects of your current muse: LOUD ANGRY ROBOT LMFAO
Shit though, I dunno! I like writing a character who goes through the bipolar disorder motions, the manics and the depressives. I love watching him go hot and cold on characters as he flipflops through his impulses and subsequent regrets. I love that in his timeline, everyone knows him while he himself actually… Hardly knows anyone at all. He’s made himself untrustworthy, and in turn doesn’t trust anyone, either, so he hardly ever opens up beyond… You know. Angry screaming, or shameless flirting and flattery, ignoring personal space bubbles…
I love that his Sans being absent kind of smacked him on the nose, because that was someone he was actually making a connection with, but tried to play it off like Sans was just another moment in his life so he kind of treated him like a dick lmao. Deadass knew the poor little dude had anxiety issues and scared him on purpose, made joking death threats, joked about flirting with his shittyass brother… Sixes was such a prick. Fuck. And he realizes that! And after ditching his family just to have a cataclysmic fallout with his other BFF, Alphys, Sans disappearing… It’s something he blames himself for. It kind of sobered him up a little to the way his actions affect people.
AND DESPITE EVERYTHING, HE STILL USES HIS CAMERAS (THAT HE STOLE FROM ALPHYS IN A PETTY FIT) SCATTERED ACROSS THE UNDERGROUND AND HIS SHITTY TRAP ROOMS IN HOTLAND TO PUBLICALLY HUMILIATE RANDOM CITIZENS IN A WIPEOUT-ESQUE PODCAST ON THE UNDERNET. At least that assholitude earns him money, though! Fuck.
I also reaaallly love how different AUs bring out different aspects of his character, but that’s a rant for another time or place! Hoo.
I dunno, man. I could go on about Sixes for like, ever. He’s a really fun muse.
What’s your biggest inspiration when it comes to writing: I’m… I’m not even gonna lie, a lot of it is the positive feedback lmao. I don’t, uh. Do much these days, creatively or recreationally speaking, and I don’t really have a lot of friends IRL… Er, any, actually, if you’re only counting closehand. All my friends live hundreds of miles away, and it sucks.
But this is… Simultaneously social and creative. I get to talk to people, and make friends, and toss creativity back and forth with people, and it’s really fulfilling. I love to be a part of other people’s creative processes! I love seeing what other people do with THEIR characters, and when we all??? Interact??? Mother of God, it’s such a treat! Everyone’s so creative and impressive and inspiring…
And hearing/seeing us all go back and forth about what we admire in each other… I’m pretty happy with just being a part of writing, and telling other people that I love what they do! But every now and then it comes back around to me in little ways, and it feels really special. It’s hard to imagine anyone liking my stuff past a “they’re pretty cool I guess, yeah” sentiment, despite my glittering impression of a lot of the writers in the community; so when someone DOES say they like my stuff, even just by saying they like a drawing, or like the way I described something, I go OFF THE WALL LMAO. Straight up dissolve and slip through the floorboards a la Gaster style with how lovely it feels. Shucks…
And, you know. Watching characters develop in general- whether they be mine or not- is really fulfilling and inspiring. A good cycle.
Favourite types of threads: Anything that feels meaningful! I love it when two characters make any kind of connection, despite the context.
That said, typically “angst” and “fluff” style threads are a big favorite, but there has to be, like… you know. Meaning to it. It feels really… I dunno, cardboardy to just throw a muse into a woodchipper for no particular reason just to have them drag themselves to another muse begging for help or to have a chance to explain some kind of deep, edgy feeling or story.
Baseless fluff has a lot more wiggle room lmao, but that can get really monotonous really quick if something more significant fails to spark somewhere along the line.
Just so long as something’s getting achieved somehow, I guess! If it feels like nothing’s changed between the two at the end of the thread, it feels really unfulfilling and hollow.
Biggest struggle in regards to your current muse: URRRGH. IMPLEMENTING THE RADIO SHOW/PODCAST THING… On one hand, Sixes has kind of collected the idea that the multiverse is a very indifferent place towards the goings-on within his timeline! And, he supposes, that that suits him fine. Hurts his pride a little, but it’s something he’s just going to curl up and lick his wounds for, pfft. But still! I wish I knew how to make it a little more obvious and prominent- The same could go for his growing industry, too! I guess I’ve just been jobless too long to really have a feel for it like I should, oof…
Additionally, drawing him is reALLY HARD… He’s in his classic box form most of the time because he’s really insecure about his EX form, and yet I draw his EX form more than anything because the box is frustrating to draw??? And despite it all, I’m still not sure I’m terribly happy with how his EX form looks!!! He’s supposed to be a little closer to a NEO design than initially planned, as Alphys fully intended him to be a KILLING MACHINE from the start without telling him! But he caught on early on, and they kind of bullied each other into compromising a bunch of things until he was just this “hideous” mess that neither of them were terribly happy with… So, you know. The indecision carried over to me too, evidently! Ugh.
Tagged by: nah! Just stole it was all. (from slobbyseconds/coolskeletonsdontcry forever ago, but just got around to now. kfjf)
Tagging: Anyone who wants to! @ me back if you do it, though; I love reading these things!
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God, I think I finally got this little blurb written after initially having the idea in like May? >_< This is based on @thebananafrappe and @azulandrojo‘s horrifyingly beautiful creation, Axetale along with @mercy-monster‘s fantastic drawings crossed over with Repo! the Genetic Opera’s song, Legal Assassin.
I shared the idea with Banana and she wrote her take on it, which is fantastic btw, go read it. She beat me to the punch with some details, so if you see similarties, creative minds think alike sometimes? I tried to keep to the lore the creators made for this world, so if there’s something that doesn’t jive, write it off as creative liberties.
Enjoy part 1!
Assassin…. Butcher….
Murderer....
Monster….
sans… Demon….
Assassin…. Monster…. Butcher...
Murderer…. sans….
Monster…. Demon….
MURDERERASSASSINDEMONBUTCHERKILLER….sans….
sans.
sans.
DAD!
The snow blew in from the open door haphazardly, the wind fierce enough to chill someone, even a skeleton, down to the bone.
Sans hadn’t moved from in front of the entryway since Aliza ran out the door. He hadn’t meant to lash out at her, his own daughter. She didn’t know the simple locket she held in her hand was so precious to him. No one, not even Papyrus was allowed to hold it. It was his and his alone.
He slowly walked over to where she dropped it and cradled it in his cracked and worn fingers. He clicked it open and the fractured image of his beloved filled his two toned vision. The ever present smile he wore on his face stretched a little wider, comforted by her loving gaze. In a moment of clarity he looked towards the open door to see the bones he sent shooting wildly still embedded in it and the surrounding wall. A splash of blood covered one of them and silently dripped to the floor.
“Aliza…”
Where did our daughter go?
It's me she must escape.
My burdens I can't erase.
The mother I might have saved.
He stared at the dark, snowy landscape just beyond the door for some time more before snapping the locket shut. His Frisk was gone...and now Aliza had fled. He couldn’t lose her, not when she was the only thing that kept him tethered to the real world. What was real anyway now? The Hunger had taken everyone and there was very little hope that the Underground would ever recover from such a disease.
Assassin...Murderer...Monster...
The whispers never left him be. Always in the back of his mind, they tormented him relentlessly.
Sans turned back and crept to the fireplace and moved one of the items on the mantelpiece to the side and an audible click sounded. Slowly, the fireplace moved to the side, the rusty gears grinding loudly. He placed the locket around his neck where it belonged and began a slow descent into the darkness.
At the bottom, he palmed an orb shaped indention on the wall and one by one, sickly lights began to manifest. What was once a place of knowledge and science and the odd ketchup bottle littering the floor, was now a dusty crypt of distant memories. Little knick knacks and photographs lined the countertops in mad disarray along with a single portrait of his beloved Frisk on the wall at the end.
A small striped sweater dress was carefully folded at its base and sans delicately ran his fingertips over the soft material. He gripped the material gently and brought it to his face, her faint scent filling his nasal cavity. He placed the dress back in its spot and smoothed it out, keeping it like it was never touched to begin with.
His gaze slowly moved over to a dust covered floor length mirror. It was cracked from when he slammed his fist in a bout of anger and sadness when Frisk first left. Glass shards were permanently embedded into his hand because of it. He looked at his fractured self and for a split second he saw the ghostly image of Frisk behind him and he placed a hand on its cold exterior in sullen silence.
Frisk, I need you now.
Look what I've become.
The nightmare that she should fear
Is the father you left alo~ne!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, out in the forest...
Aliza’s lungs burned with exhaustion, but she couldn’t stop running. She had no idea the locket she found out by the dilapidated sentry station was her father’s, but was even more surprised to find her own mother and father from obviously better times staring at her as she clicked it open. Her fingers ran across the photo, tears stinging her eyes.
It was obvious this was her mother, and to see her father, whole and happy in her embrace was comforting. When she went to ask sans about it, he was adding logs to the small fire. She mentioned the locket and he stiffened and turned, his hand going to his chest, frantically grabbing for something.
His gaze landed on her hand that held the locket and his calm demeanor suddenly twisted into unbridled rage. The right eye extinguished as his golden pupil crackled with energy as jagged bones manifested out of thin air and shot towards her. In a panic, she dropped the locket to shield herself as a bone grazed her cheek and she instantly felt pain. She saw no recognition in his glare as he stalked towards her and her fight or flight instinct was triggered. She wasn't about to fight the only kin she had left and chose to tear open the door and fled into the snowy forest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The years roll by without you, Frisk.
15 years have come and gone.
I’m raising our Aliza with the best intentions.
But there is something I can't tell her.
I am lost without you here!
I am only living out a lie!
His hand slid from the mirror and he turned and paced the room, staring down at all of the trinkets and photos that held so much memory in them. A lone, dusty box was on the end of the tables and he brushed the dust gently away and lifted the lid. Inside were homemade gifts from some of the Underground residents to him and Frisk. Many of the items were baby themed as Frisk’s pregnancy was much anticipated before she was forced above ground.
There were tiny cooking gloves from Papyrus, a small recipe book from Queen Toriel, a small toy spear from Undyne who was more than ready to train a small baby right out the womb much to his and Frisk’s uneasiness. Alphys had chipped in one of her fantasy mangas, Napstablook quietly left a pair of headphones, and Mettaton had so graciously given the two of them TONS of baby clothing, with his brand name all over them, of course. And lastly, from his dearest friend, Grillby, a beautiful glass baby bottle handcrafted from his own fire with a faded sticky note that still read, “free of charge”
Tears formed in his one good eye as he rummaged through to the bottom where he found his own gift to Frisk, the tiny pink slippers that matched his own set he once wore. He held them close as the tears flowed and dripped silently onto them as he mourned the birth of his child he was unable to see.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He was so close to finally having his happy ending, free from the turmoils of the resets, the countless deaths, and was relieved to finally be starting a family. Then it all went to Hell when that damned flower tore his entire world apart. He placed the slippers back into the box and replaced the lid, once again taking careful note to set it exactly where it had been before. He crept back to the portrait of his beloved and collapsed to the ground, grasping his head in his clawed hands, crying loudly.
After a few minutes of letting out the grief that had been steadily building, he whispered to himself, “it’s so hard, Frisk. It’s so hard not to just give up and waste away like the others. You’ve gone, Papyrus is…” He smiled weakly, “Papyrus is so good to Aliza. You’d be so happy to see how they get along. He treats her just like his own baby sister...but now I’ve frightened her away. What will happen to her? To us? ….I’m the monster I always knew myself to be…” He gazed back up to the portrait and his eyes went wide as a familiar voice whispered back to him.
“I love you, sans, but sometimes you are the biggest bonehead”
Sans smiled a little as he sniffed and wiped away some of his tears. Somewhere in what was left of his rational mind, he knew these whispers were not real, but just an evil aspect of the Hunger that ravaged his magic. But, still he continued to talk to it, as it gave him the only comfort he could find. “Yeah, yeah Frisk, I know you must find this humerus, but…” His smile fell again,
“...you’re not real.”
He needed to get a grip and start coming to terms with Frisk’s death, no matter how big the hurt it put him through. The air was silent before a tiny whisper echoed through his skull, “I may not be anymore, but our daughter is real and she loves you very much.”
He got to his feet, eyes blazing as he angrily pointed a finger at the portrait, “she doesn’t even know what happened! What I’ve done, the blood I’ve shed! I just...I just want what’s best for her. I don’t want her to suffer the same fate as us..as you did!” The portrait remained unmoved and he started to cry again, his eyes dimming till nothing remained the but the deep, dark sockets and he clutched his locket. “I can’t do it, Frisk. It hurts too much to see you in her face, her voice, hell, she’s even got your same stubborn streak.” He sniffed and rubbed the dirty tears from his face.
Aliza can never leave.
She is my everything.
Nothing can bring you back
Aliza is all I have!
“Heh, tibia honest, maybe it’s my stubborness that she has. She doesn’t take to the puns like you did and tells me to stop with all the dad jokes. I can’t help it, she’s my last line holding me together...without her, I’m nothing”
A cold, comforting veil wrapped around him almost like a hug. He swore he could feel Frisk’s arms around him once more, her warmth seeking the chill of his bones. He returned the ghostly hug as best as he could as he heard her faint whispers disappearing into the thin air. “She will not hate you, sans. She is your daughter as you are her father. Tell her everything and guide her as she grows with magic. When you see her, know that I’ll always be with you. That means forever, bonehead.”
He felt a phantom kiss press against his teeth and then the voice faded away, “Go now, Aliza needs you…”
Aliza’s screams pierced the silence and sans slowly came to his feet. His left hand outstretched as both pupils blazed to life to bring a weathered, but razor sharp axe into being. He flew up the stairs and as he dimmed the lights, he gave the portrait of his smiling Frisk one last look.
“See ya around, kid.”
#Axetale#sans#Aliza#i tried writing again#meh. it's not great but I'm happy with all that I got down
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Ruins 1
-There ain’t much, but we’re living fine here, said the bunny-lady. Well at least, it’s quiet. I’ll let you explore this place, if you don’t mind. There’s nothing really dangerous in here, anyway. While you’re out playing, I’ll gather some good food for a nice meal to celebrate your coming here!
The child shook their head, looking happy. The tall lady show them the puzzles, and explained them a bit about the FIGHT and how to ACT your way out of it with an old dummy, and introduced the froggits and the whimsuns. The had a brusque tone when she spoke, almost gruff, but she was in fact very friendly, nice and patient. And more than everything, she didn’t take Frisk for a complete idiot unable to do anything by themselves, even if they were just a kid.
She gave them an old cellphone, there was only one number registered in the contact list.
-There, take this, if you ever loose your way, or get stuck on a puzzle, just give me a call and I’ll help you. But it’s not complicated at all to get to my home, you just have to follow the main road.
And she quickly left after she stroke Frisk’s hair a little. Her touch was a bit tough, but the child appreciated the gesture, as clumsy as it was.
Frisk is left alone, in the dark ruins. They don’t know where the light comes from, but it’s not pitch black. Just dark. Dusky. Like a shadow veil in front of their eyes, and little by little, they get used to it, and in the end, they can see very well. There is no trace of the sun down there, but light comes from the inside. There are some kind of stars on the roof here and there, but they are not really a source of light.
The child continues on the road (after taking a candy from the collective pot), jumps along the froggits, avoids the moldsmals’ pollen, tries to comfort the whimsuns, walks in the leafs on the ground (or not)... and for some reason, their pockets are getting filled with some kind of money pieces. They don’t really understand how or why. It’s not like they’re forcing anyone, they’re not the kind to make threats or to extort anyone!
Maybe money is not so important here. Or maybe it has a different value than it has on the surface. But they keep the change. One never knows when it might be of use.
The child gets used to the contact of magic just like they got used to the darkness. It’s so strange how a simple cluster of pollen can hurt so much, here! No one looks like they want to hurt them, but still, accidentally or not, hits are done, and when it happens it hurts, and Frisk would almost be tempted so hit back. Just a little. But hey, they’re not of a violent nature, they don’t want to disappoint the nice bunny-lady, and, really, they know it’s not their fault. And just look at them, I mean, you could kill them by hitting once with your stick. Not even fair. They just have to be careful with their SOUL, that’s all!
One can never know what to expect in a magic world. For example, Frisk never expected to have to negociate with a rock to have it move to the right place. Rocks are beings that are way more complex than they appear!
And there are dinly shining stars on the ground… Frisk doesn’t know why, but their determination just gets stronger by touching them. Their health also gets better from it, which is actually pretty cool and reassuring. And… it may sound strange… but they know from touching these stars that the tale progresses, step by step.
-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
Frisk just came into a room that was large at the entrance, than smaller in the middle, and looked larger after that. Probably because of the structure of the rocks in the mountain. There was a passage, yes… but it was obstructed by some dead leaves… and on this bed of red leaves was a sleeping ghost. A true, authentic ghost, just like a white-ish translucent bed sheet with a face. And this ghost was sleeping in the middle of the way, there was no way to just get around it. Frisk tried to touch it - well if it was possible, it was a ghost after all!
-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!
Well it was pretending so hard to sleep, you know, it’s not like people really do that kind of sound when they sleep, right? Also, does a ghost need sleep? And if they do: do the snore? Do they breathe? The author of this fanfiction will let the readers answer these very important questions, because Frisk was trying to touch the ghost.
-NO REALLY!!! Can’t you see I’m trying to nap?
The ghost opened big, oval eyes and stood up, floating a bit above the ground. It looked very unhappy, angry, even, while Frisk just stood there, surprised and awkward, their hand still stretched. Ok, maybe it was not the best idea to try to touch it. They didn’t even know if they touched it or phased through. But they have to continue… right? The child quickly said that they were sorry they disturbed the ghost’s sleep. But it was so angry that it was shooting some lightning bolts!
-I’m not in the mood for such pathetic excuses!
More bolt appears from the furious ghost, harder and harder to dodge. Frisk was panicking a little, not knowing how to manage this kind of situation. It was the first time someone down there tried to attack them, to hurt them for real! They took their courage and their walking stick with both hands, and tried to FIGHT…
-Are you a complete IDIOT, kid? I’m a GHOST! Physical attacks don’t work on me. Do you really think I’ll just lower my HP for your fun?
And it was raining lightning bolts. Frisk was doing their best to dodge them, but some damage was unavoidable. They stood up after the attack, and reapplied the bandage from the bunny-lady. It was a bit gluey, but it did its job, and healed the wounds. But Frisk still didn’t know what they could do against such a monster…
Suddenly very inspired, Frisk told the ghost that they couldn’t help want to touch it, because it was looking so gorgeous, sleeping there in the middle of these leaves, just like a nymph. The ghost’s complexion got a bit pink.
-Oh please, darling. I’m just a floating bedsheet.
And the lightning bolts appeared again, but there were notably less of them. They were on the right way! Frisk continued to flirt with the ghost, telling that it should have more self-confidence, that it was superb, looking super soft, that they really would have loved to hug them. The bolts were less and less menacing, and the ghost didn’t look very angry anymore.
-I didn’t know that my style was so popular with humans! Hey, I like you my darling, so I’m going to show you a little trick.
And a few lightning bolts appeared… but instead of attacking the human child, they swarmed in front of the ghost to form a glittering bow tie under its face.
-Not bad, don’t you think? I call it: Eleganttaton!
The child clapped their hands, a smile on their face. The two spared each other, and Mettaton the ghost did a little bow and smiled before disappearing into thin air. The way was finally free.
The tale could continue.
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
Crappy drawing by yours truly. Don’t worry I asked better artists for other characters. XD
Next chapter: https://sellerstale.tumblr.com/post/165154521863/ruins-2
Previous chapter: https://sellerstale.tumblr.com/post/165154356103/prologue-en
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If someone posted Papyrus’ actual address on the internet in today’s world, i have the feeling his letterbox wouldn’t be so empty anymore... :D
In fact, he’d probably need to hire a secretary to filter through all the fan mail lol.
He’d also get sick of receiving letters secretly directed to his brother that they’re trying to get to him through him. “IT’S NOT MY FAULT SANS DOESN’T BOTHER TO READ THROUGH HIS OWN FAN MAIL! HE REALLY SHOULD BE MORE INTERACTIVE WITH HIS FANBASE THAT LAZY BONES... I’LL ADD IT TO THE STACK.” He places letters onto a neatly piled stack of paper just like it with thousands of post-it notes attached prompting Sans to read them. Eventually he gets sick of Sans not doing anything and replies to them himself instead.
DEAR HUMAN. I AM SINCERELY SORRY, BUT SANS IS CURRENTLY TOO BUSY DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING USEFUL WITH HIS TIME TO REPLY TO YOUR LETTER. DON’T GIVE UP! I’M SURE YOUR LETTERS WILL REACH HIM SOMEDAY!!! I BELIEVE IN YOU!
NYEH. HEH. HEH.
PAPYRUS (SANS’ BROTHER)
Of course the real reason Sans doesn’t read it is because no one is sensitive at all about his trauma from the resets. Some people even tried to send him fanart of that hellish thing. Thousands and thousands of drawings of him, but at the same time not him, with this look of inhuman fury and violent intent on his face. Most of the time about to or halfway through the process of murder. That is not who he is. In that moment, he was a desperate man with no alternatives left- someone who couldn’t afford not to care anymore. He’d lost Papyrus. He’d lost everyone. He refuses to see how people can let that one nightmarish moment, those desperate decisions, define who he is. And to be frank, he doesn’t appreciate being reminded about it in general. Thus, fan mail laziness.
Oh! And some people would start stalking him. (I mean, come on, Papyrus is one of the most loveable characters in the game. There’d definitely be some...)
When Papyrus realises what’s happening, he cooks them spaghetti and offers them a plate while they’re crouching in the bushes. They blush and try to hide away but Papyrus just smiles at them and invites them in. Inside, they try and hoard his possessions. He just blames the annoying dog.
But one day he catches them hoarding stuff. They tense, worried that Papyrus will finally report them to the police or something. Instead, he gives them a speech about how sorry he feels that they need to resort to a life of crime and offers to be their mentor towards a brighter future as an upstanding citizen, leaving them confused but self-confident leaving his house.
They start taking photos of him from concealed locations and he just stops what he’s doing and poses. Mettaton (even though it’s not technically possible) senses the use of cameras focussed not on him and rushes over to Pap’s house. After that point none of their photos can work, with Mettaton blocking out Papyrus completely in every single one.
One of them breaks into his room and watches Papyrus while he sleeps. Sans has a nightmare and Papyrus wakes up instantly to console him, then realises someone else is in his room. He simply drags them with him and encourages them to join in hugging Sans while he twitches and sobs, the room glowing a dim blue from the light in his eye. The next day they don’t really know what to say. Papyrus offers to make them pasta breakfast and when he leaves, Sans goes full bad time mode on them telling them to stop stalking his brother.
Hoards of fangirls knock on his door, begging him to marry them each day. He enjoys bathing in their showers of kisses, of course. But... he is afterall the best heartbreaker the underground has ever seen. Who else could completely shut down and friend-zone Frisk the infamous flirt?!
At the end of the day, he hosts a pity pasta party for the crushed souls, comforting them and assuring them that one day they’ll find the one (JUST... NOT AS GREAT AS ME!!! BUT MAYBE A CLOSE SECOND PERHAPS!)
He still holds regular events pairing the heart-broken lovers together and acting as the greatest wingman in the history of wing manning (it also helps he’s a wingman for both sides...).
Papyrus would take every piece of hate mail in his stride. He’d be able to see the good in anything.
If the letters contain any sort of death threats or such things, Papyrus dedicatedly writes out pages and pages of response about how he trusts that even if they don’t think so, they can still choose not to do a violence and be a little better. Even if they don’t think so!
Ones that say they hate him so much they want to die warrant him taking the time to actually track them down and give them a speech in person about why their life still matters.
It becomes so bad that wherever he goes, Papyrus has to hire Undyne to be his body guard. (not that he isn’t of course capable of managing attacks on his own aswell. But with Undyne around to glare at people, he finds there’s less incidents to begin with)
Unlike Sans, Papyrus loves fanart of himself and has an entire room dedicated to hanging up every framed piece in one place. And when all the walls are full he starts hanging them from the floor and the ceiling as well.
He does find it mildly disturbing to see the pictures of him losing his head and turning to dust for some strange reason though... Sans tells him it’s just interpretative modern art that’s supposed to look that way.
Papyrus... is unsure how to react to the shipping that begins occurring. He receives a large deal of submissions about him becoming... very familiar with certain monsters. Even his own brother in some!!! Finally he decides that this side of the fanbase is better left to their own devices and don’t require his support to thrive and be the best humans that they can be. So he just leaves them alone and lets his secretary sort out all the sin.
btw did i forget to mention that Alphys is the secretary? ;3
...some of those submissions become the inspiration for a looooooot of fanfiction that CoolSkeleton95 will never get to read.
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You Monster Chpt. 28
Click Here to Read on AO3!
Chapters: [First][Previous][Next]
Notes: It’s finally here. I’ve done it. This chapter is 16 thousand words long. I can’t even.
Somewhere else entirely, several hours ago…
Alphys sat at her computer screen with her chin on her claws as she watched the curious little creature on the monitor before her. She had put down her pen and paper ages ago, no longer frantic to scribble down notes and observations every time they blinked or sneezed. After a couple hours of simply following the human through her screen she no longer felt like she was making brilliant scientific breakthroughs for all of monsterkind, but rather… keeping an eye on a small companion, checking up on an old friend.
Funny how just watching someone struggle through all sorts of obstacles could make root for them, or feel like a guardian angel.
Alphys blinks a couple of times. Huh, where was this protective feeling coming from all of the sudden? She shakes herself out of it and tries to refocus. They were a human and she was a scientist who needed to study them to help her people. She didn’t need to guard them. She wasn’t supposed to feel attached to them. She had only promised to make sure they didn’t get hurt in Waterfall was all, nothing more than that.
Her eyes drift up to the screen where the human jumps in puddles alongside her brother like every other monster child had done at their age.
And yet… she couldn’t help but think.
An alarm on her wristwatch chimes a reminder- it’s twelve o’clock. Lunchtime.
The royal scientist sighs and reluctantly leaves her computer. She knows she promised Sans to keep tabs on the human, but now they were busy conducting music with Shyren by the old statue in front of a gathering crowd. Surely they’d be fine a few minutes alone without her eyes on them when there were so many others there to do it for her.
Roughly an hour later, Alphys hefts the half-empty bag of dog chow over her shoulder as the elevator ascends. She realizes she’d have to go to the local pet store either today or tomorrow to get more. Oh, why did that amalgamutt- pardon, -amalgamate- have to eat so much? Well, if she could call it eating. The conglomerate of canines more or less inhaled its food through the sole orifice on its head, bowl and all. She’s glad the employees at the pet store don’t question how much kibble she buys on a weekly basis, but she’d rather not have to go to the store every other day and risk suspicion when she never once showed evidence that she owned a dog.
The elevator dings! and the royal scientist steps out onto the main floor of her laboratory, in a hurry to get back to her computer screen. She hadn’t been gone long, but she didn’t want Sans to think her indolent for having left them unattended longer than she had planned.
Her lab is dim, the lights usually turn off on their own when she’s not there to save on electricity, but when something goes bump in the gloom her scales instantly stand on end.
She’s not alone.
“H-hello?” She tentatively calls out in the murky hallway, but no one responds. Gingerly, the scientist tiptoes to her computer and waves a hand in front of a motion sensor to get the lights to come back on. None of her papers look disturbed and all her dirty dishes are in the exact place she’d left them. Nothing had changed.
‘Scaredy scales,’ Alphys chastises herself. ‘Jumping at shadows and getting worked up over nothing. Nobody’s here. The lights would have come on if there were, remember?’
And then, creeping into her field of vision, just out of the corner of her eye, something long and slithering coils around her sides, and-
“ALPHYS! DARLING!”
Alphys screams so loud, she’s pretty sure the King could have heard her. She jumps a mile in the air, choking the bag of dog food so tight that kibble goes flying out its open end.
“M-M-Mettaton?! W-w-what are you doing in here?!” the yellow lizard stutters as the rectangular robot embraces her in his long, slinky arms.
“Oh, just the usual, darling! I just wanted to drop by and get a quick status update on how my new body is doing! I know my fans are just dying for a little more pizazz in my show! (Not to mention I already promised my producers a new look for the new season to pull in the ratings!) So has any progress been made since my last visit?”
“Oh, uh, y-yes! Lots,” Alphys lies, wriggling free of Mettaton’s strangle hold to go back to her computer screen. “But, uh, I-I-I’ve had to put it on hold for the moment. Something more urgent h-has come up, regrettably.” Her monitor shows the same live feed in Waterfall of the statue in the rain tunnel, but now the scene is completely bare, no human or Undyne in sight.
Frowning, she begins to rotate through her other cameras. They couldn’t have gone far.
“Wonderful news! So do you think you can give me an ETA on that, or…?”
“Yeah, yeah, sure Mettaton…” Alphys mumbles as she changes through the channels. She finds her brother back in the Glowing Water Room struggling to carry something, and then Undyne on the bridges, but the human isn’t with her.
Alphys’ soul feels like it’s doing frantic back flips. Undyne without the human… That was disconcerting to say the least. She’d promised Sans she’d keep an eye on her! But Undyne didn’t seem to be carrying anything soul shaped, so maybe everything was alright? Oh, who was she kidding. She shouldn’t have let her eyes off them for a second! Fine guardian angel- er, some vigilant scientist she turned out to be!
Just as she starts going through all the absolute worst case scenarios in her head, Alphys flips to her cameras in the land fill sector and she finally gets lucky.
Ah! There they are! Walking through the junk yard (and following a ghost? Whatever it is, it’s making the live feed fuzzy, so it’s hard to tell). How did they get down there? Well, no time to worry about that now. They look a bit dazed for some reason, but at least they’re alive and unhurt.
Just then the human turns a bit, angling their body a bit more towards the camera, and now she can see that they’ve got one arm drawn up funny, which they hold close with their other hand. They’re doing their best not to bump into anything, but still their face goes tense when they accidentally jar their side against some obstructing pile of trash.
Uh-oh. Maybe they weren’t unhurt after all.
“My my, darling! What new show of yours is this?” Mettaton asks rolling up to her side. “Hm, that little human doesn’t look animated. Is this a movie, or an episode of some obscure reality TV series the humans watch? It has no audio. Is silent film finally making a comeback?”
“No, it’s live,” Alphys admits, too concentrated on the monitor to watch her tongue.
“LLLIIIVVVEEE?” Mettaton gasps overdramatically, drawing out the word with exaggerated phonation. “Good gracious, Alphys! But then that would mean there is a human in the Underground right this very moment! Stars above, somebody pinch me! I must be dreaming! This is exactly the kind of show stopping news my network has been looking for! I must call my producer immediately-!”
“WHAT?NO!DON’T!YOUCAN’T!” Alphys says without pause between the words. “I-I mean, they’re not coming to Hotland! Wait, no, I mean, uhh wh-what human? Pssh, that’s n-not a human, Mettaton! Don’t be silly!”
“Alphys. Darling.” Mettaton says frankly. “Do you think my robotic eyes were installed yesterday?”
“Um, yes? It says so right here in your hardware updates?”
“Irrelevant!” Mettaton wheels close to the scientist to drape one arm around her and pull her in close. “Alphys, for the first time in decades there is a human in the Underground and I simply must meet them and have them on my show! Think of the masses we could be informing! Think of the history we could be making! The people we could be inspiring! The demographics we could be exploiting! Oh where is the phone number for my entourage? I must get them escorted to my hotel this minute!”
“No, Mettaton! You can’t!” Alphys argues, pushing herself free. “It’s vital that the human doesn’t come to Hotland! For their safety and ours!”
Mettaton beeps displeasingly and crosses his arms. “My, my, Alphys. You seem rather protective of this human and keeping them a secret. Are they a friend of yours?”
“What?” Alphys replies, taken aback. She wasn’t trying to cover for them! Was she? “N-no, of course not!” She answers her own question. “I-in fact, I wanted to study them, but-”
“Then why are we even arguing, darling? I’ll call my valet and have them dropped off here, and then when you’re done with them, I can bring them on my show for all of monsterkind to meet!”
“Mettaton! For once in your life will you just listen to me and trust when I say it would be a very bad idea to show the human to the entire Underground?”
“And why ever not, darling?”
“Because-! Because the human doesn’t know that they’re human, Mettaton!”
“A human… who does not know they are human.” Mettaton repeats skeptically. “Alphys, as someone who is rather intimate with the realm entertainment, I must inform you that your take on comedy leaves a lot to be desired.”
“My take on-? I’m not joking, Mettaton.” Groaning, Alphys drags her claws down her cheeks, snagging some flaking scales in the process. Oh, great. Now she’s stress shedding. If Mettaton kept this up she’d start developing bald spots. “They think they’re a boss monster like Asgore, and Sans and I agree that telling them has the slightest chance of being a VERY catastrophic idea if they found out!”
“Oh, that doesn’t sound so bad! Our audience could use a little more excitement of the calamitous variety in their life, don’t you think?”
Alphys stares at him blankly. This robot sometimes, she swears. When it’s clear to her that there’s no changing Mettaton’s mind, she decides to switch angles. “Then how about this for thought; You show the human to the Underground and Asgore catches wind of it, then he demands you hand the human over? What will your show do then?”
“I-!” Mettaton starts, raising a finger in defiance before tapping his chassis thoughtfully the way one would tap their chin. Alphys could hear his hard drive whirring as he simulated the scenario in is processer.
“Oh. I do see how that could lead to a premature cancelation. I guess I’ll just have to brainstorm a work around...”
The screens on Mettaton’s front flash red and yellow in a checkerboard pattern before lighting up in the shape of an exclamation mark. A sound clip of a desk bell dings! from his speaker ports.
“I’ve got it! We’ll make it a candid camera reality sitcom!”
“What… are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about make a show in the format of one of those double-blind science-y things you do! We’ll play along with this little boss monster and introduce them to the life as a celebrity! But only those of us who are in the know will really see what’s going on! It will be the greatest inside joke of all history! Now that’s comedy!”
“I… d-don’t think that’s very wise, Mettaton-“
“But Alphys! Imagine the possibilities! While I interview them about their life as a boss monster, you could be gaining valuable research! You could disguise your questionnaires as quizzes, and your experiments as challenges on my game show! The audience at home won’t dare say a word. That would be cheating! And the human would be none the wiser!”
Alphys dares to exhale. It did sound plausible, and as long as she could keep Mettaton quiet with the secret, things would work out fine. Everything would be okay. She wouldn’t be messing up again.
“And who knows? Maybe once we’ve exhausted our ideas, we could have a special identity reveal at the end of the season!”
“Mettaton…” Alphys says lowly, her tone warning.
“Temper, darling! Watch your temper!” Mettaton teases, and begins rolling backwards towards the exit. “Anyway, I must be off now! I just had the most brilliant idea for the pilot and need to get the directors on board post haste! Do keep me posted on the progress of my new form, and call me when our little boss monster decides to visit Hotland, will you? Toodles!”
With that, the rectangular robot disappears through the automatic doors. Alphys feels like her knees have turned to jelly and she barely reaches her computer chair before she collapses into it.
Oh boy. It seemed like the human was destined to come to Hotland now whether they wanted to or not. Mettaton would make sure of that. Why did ensuring the safety of one living being have to be so hard?
Grabbing the edge of her desk, Alphys swivels back around to face her monitor. Her claws brush one of her earlier notebooks on her human observations in the process. Idly, she flips through it, rereading all her potential experiments and questions she wanted to ask them on the off chance they ever got to meet, which now she realized, was about to become reality. She felt a bit differently on some of the experiments now. Reading them again, they did sound the tiniest bit unethical, even if they were performed on a human.
Her eyes flick up to the screen. The human and Undyne and Kid have all rejoined now, and it looks like they’re racing snails at the local snail farm, like any other three friends would.
It’s a struggle, but Alphys forces herself to look away. She’s already too attached to them as it is, and that would only make it harder for her to study them when they finally met in person and harder to let go before she would inevitably send them to Asgore.
“Do your job as the Royal Scientist first, Alphys,” she sighs, opening up a fresh note book and turning to a clean page to resume taking notes like she should have been doing from the start. “Then we’ll talk about part time jobs as a guardian angel.”
You sleep, and the vision unfolds and you find yourself back on the highway of bridges over the dump. Premonition tickles the back of your mind. The scenery around you feels too clear, too real. That’s when you realize this is isn’t a dream.
It’s a memory.
The memory plays out against your will and your heart thumps in trepidation as your body begins to walk on autopilot. You need to get off these bridges. Something bad is about to happen. You know something bad is about to happen, but you can’t stop yourself from moving forward. The sense of already having lived this disorients you as the future overlays the present, not giving you enough space for warning as it plays out. The end of the bridge is coming up. You’re going to walk right off of it. You need to stop, but you can’t control your feet. They move on their own volition.
You try to yell, to shout, or order your body to obey with a voice that’s not there, but nothing works. The edge is inches away and you’re steadily getting closer. You strain, you flail, you fight with the tangibility you don’t have, knowing it’s futile but trying anyway because you must. But nothing happens, and the bottomless drop off yawns wider, ready to receive you. You brace for the worst.
But… then you come to a stop. You’re puzzled, relieved, heart filling with dread. You managed to not walk right off the edge, but that can only mean something even worse is going to happen. You can feel it. Something is warning you not to turn around.
You have to. You can’t help it. This is a memory and it’s already happened.
You turn, only just enough time to recognize the silhouette of the warrior and her wicked smile before her spears rain down and sever the wooden boards between you. Everything moves in slow motion as the world tilts and the ground rushes to the sky, leaving you behind. A stray spear hits your left shoulder which quickly brings you back to normal speed, and for a second you don’t know which feeling is stronger- the pain or the sensation of falling.
And you’re falling, falling, falling into something deeper than dreams.
You have to wake up! Wake up before you hit the ground! Wake up, your arm is being torn to shreds!
You jerk awake, and the feeling of falling quickly leaves you, but the pain in your shoulder screams louder than ever. You’ve fallen over in your sleep, right onto your bad arm. You thrash, blinded by pain as you roll over as fast as you can to get off your shoulder and end up spilling onto the floor.
The worst of the stinging goes away when your own weight is no longer pressing down on your arm. Hissing, you sit up and pull your collar to the side and try to look at it, only to find that even that’s now a challenge. The soreness of it all has started to spread up your neck and around your ribs. It hurts to move your whole left side but you manage to get a peek. The skin is angry and red and swollen. It’s hot to the touch, but your finger tips are cold and pale.
It hurts like hell, but you take small comfort in the fact that there is no puncture wound. At least that part of the memory was wrong.
Wait-
You freeze when you realize your own thoughts, and a bit of frenzied laughter escapes your lips, startling yourself when you put two and two together.
Ha ha, that’s right. That wasn’t a dream, it was a memory. Your eyes water, but you can’t tell if it’s from elation or shock. Ha ha, you can’t believe it. You remembered something. Ha, ha! This meant that you hadn’t forgotten again! This meant that-
Undyne cut the bridge.
The brief flame of joy in your heart is extinguished at once and your blood goes cold.
Why would she…? No. No, that had to be a mistake. You had to be misremembering, like with the spear-
You can’t help but recall your “sparring” session with Undyne yesterday, and how she wouldn’t stop attacking no matter how much you pleaded. Your stomach churns and you try to swallow a lump in your throat but it’s gone dry.
Oh God, she had wanted to- she was trying to-!
Geez, when did it get so stuffy in this room? Was it always this hot, or is it just you? It’s borderline suffocating. You… you need to get out of here, get some air, clear your head. Just… just for a minute. Just to think.
You cast one last glance over your shoulder at Kid still asleep on the couch. You won’t be long, you delude yourself.
As quietly as you can, you find your way to Gerson’s store front and slip outside to take a few deep breaths on the street. The air here is no cooler than the house. God, it feels so hard to breathe.
But why? The unanswerable question keeps jumping to the forefront of your mind as you try to calm yourself down. What did you do that would make Undyne want to… Was it something you said? Something you did? You thought you two were getting along at first. Where did it go so wrong?
You loiter outside the store awhile, massaging your sore arm and coming up with no good explanation. Still not ready to head back inside, you take stock of your surroundings since you didn’t have a good chance yesterday. The caves here are large and smooth and the floor is well-trodden. This must be a major road. Glowing runes catch your eye to the East. There are more plaques on the wall just further down the street. They look just like the ones you saw yesterday over the lake.
Maybe going for a short walk will help calm your nerves and get you tired again, you decide. You won’t go far, just to the plaques and back. Just to stretch your legs and take your mind of things.
“The Power to take their souls,” the first plaque reads when you got close enough to make out the words. “This is the power the humans feared.”
You walk as slowly as possible to give yourself a chance to read each word and to chew up time, following the line of inscriptions on the wall.
“This power has no counter. Indeed a human cannot take a monster’s soul. When a monster dies, its soul disappears. An incredible power would be needed to take the soul of a living monster.
“There is only one exception. The soul of a special species of monster called a “Boss Monster”. A Boss Monster’s soul is strong enough to persist after death, if only for a few moments. A human could absorb this soul, in theory, but this has never happened, and now it never will.
“The humans, afraid of our power, declared war on us. They attacked suddenly and without mercy.
“In the end, it could hardly be called a war. United, the humans were too powerful, and us monsters, too weak. Not a single soul was taken, and countless monsters were turned to dust.”
The road begins to grow unruly underfoot as weeds and grass crop up and snake into your path. You glance up and take in the entrance to a forest with trees twice as tall and twice as thick as the marble pillars that you have back in the ruins. The lowest branches of even the shortest tree are still far out of reach for even the tallest monster. They glow a weak bioluminescent blue on their undersides, and they’re so high you can’t see their tops. You wonder if they’re holding up the ceiling. After a moment of staring you turn back to the plaques.
“Hurt, beaten, and fearful for our lives, we surrendered to the humans. Seven of their greatest magicians sealed us underground with a magic spell. Anything can enter through the seal, but only beings with a powerful soul can leave.
“There is only one way to reverse this spell; if a huge power, equivalent to seven human souls, attacks the barrier, it will be destroyed.
“But this cursed place has no entrances or exits. There is no way a human could come here. We will remain trapped down here forever.
“However… there is a prophecy; The Angel, The One Who Has Seen The Surface, they will return and the Underground will go empty.”
The story ends here as far as you can tell, but your thoughts are still buzzing and impossible to order, and you can’t help but fidget and pace as you try to set them straight. The perpetual darkness of Waterfall gives you no way to tell the time like you could in the Ruins or in Snowdin, but the streets are noticeably empty and quiet, so you guess it’s a pretty safe bet it’s still the middle of the “night”.
What were supposed to do now? You can’t keep staying here; not out in the open or back there with Kid. Not if Undyne would keep trying to…
Perhaps you can just find the rest of the way on your own? That had been your plan from the start, after all. But it would be rude to just leave Kid behind and run off without thanking Gerson for his hospitality. Maybe you can just get Kid to just take you the rest of the way. The two of you made it so far together. But he looks up to Undyne so much… You doubt you’ll be able to convince him that she wants your dust.
Hm, maybe you could just keep standing outside in the middle of the street doing nothing. You’ve already got a great head start. You groan and shake your head. No, that wouldn’t work. Someone would find you here eventually. You had to make a choice here and now, despite all your bad options.
You guess you could go back to Snowdin. You know without a doubt Papyrus would welcome you back with open arms and you could stay with him and Sans for as long as you wanted. But you couldn’t stay with them forever, waiting each day by the door for someone who wasn’t going to answer. Heck, you don’t even know if you can find the way back to Snowdin at this point. You have to get to the capital one way or another. It’s your best choice. It’s your only choice.
You sigh and about-face, not looking forward to the walk back, but you only take two steps when you catch movement out of the corner of your eye.
A familiar gelatinous form inches past like a carefree accordion. You don’t believe your eyes. Is… is that who you think it is?
“Moldsmal?” you ask out loud. The gummy-like monster does not falter or stop and keeps squelching on its way. In a spilt second decision, you choose to pad after it, keenly aware that you are straying from the main road and into the forest.
“Moldsmal, wait! How did you get out of the ruins?”
The smaller monster pays you no heed as it slips over rocks and roots and fallen logs, around crystal outgrowths and mushroom clusters, deeper into the forest filled with the phosphorescent trees.
“Moldsmal, please! Is there a way to get back in past the doors?” You put on a burst of energy and sprint to close the distance between you and the other monster.
“Why are you running away? It’s me! I just need your help-” At last you catch up and reach out to it. It shutters and stiffens at the touch of your fingers- then rears back until it is twice your height and utters a deep, guttural sound. Spores of magic burst out like a halo around its body and it fixes you with a piercing stare from the one eye in the center of its jelly-like face.
And of all the things to think, your brain comes up with a brilliant deduction as you’re stumbling back in shock; This isn’t Moldsmal.
You trip over a rock and land hard on your bad arm. White spots flash across your eyes as you let out one short bark of pain.
The monster towers over you, its spores of magic closing in.
“I-I’m sorry,” you whisper between terrified huffs. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I-I thought you were someone else.”
The monster-who-is-not-Moldsmal leans in, its thistle-like magic creeping dangerously close as it studies you, apparently at a loss to what to do now that you’ve frozen in horror. It gurgles deep in its throat.
“P-please,” you beg, mouth dry, though you’re sweating. “I mean you no harm.” You still haven’t moved from your horizontal position on the ground, afraid the slightest movement might upset your adversary and wanting to appear as least-threatening as possible. For the second time since passing through the doors, all the warnings your mother had given you rush through your mind. All the dangers, all the threats, and here was one cornering you now, wearing the face of someone you thought you knew.
The monster’s eye is dangerously close to yours. It’s so close you could push it away if you really tried, if you fought back, defended yourself. Maybe stun it long enough to get away. You could. You could, but you can’t move. Terror locks you in place. This is how you’re going to die, scared stiff because of your stupid mistake.
Moldbygg inspects you for a long time, gurgling deep in its throat as it decides whether or not you are friend or foe. After a minute of motionlessness, it seems to understand you are no threat. The spores of magic dissipate, and Moldbygg slowly retracts, collapsing back into its jelly-like form.
You swear you hear it let out an annoyed snort as it inch-worms away. It’s only after you can’t hear its squelching sounds anymore, do you sit up and wipe the tears of panic from your eyes. It was foolish to come out this far at all. How could you possibly make it to the King all on your own when you can’t even walk down the street without screwing up? That’s it, you’re going to head back and try your hardest to sway Kid to show you the rest of the way through Waterfall.
You push yourself up on trembling knees, turn around, and start trudging North, back the way you came… or was it West? Wait, are you even facing North? You can’t tell in this extreme darkness.
You walk blindly, bumping into tree trunks and tripping over roots every-other step. You nearly jump out of your skin when your foot snaps a twig, but the noise gives you an idea.
Shuffling your feet, you kick up the dead pine needles until your foot catches on something stiff and you reach down for it, hopeful.
Ah, yes! You’ve found a branch, just like you were hoping. Holding the stick in your right hand, you attempt to snap your fingers with your left, but the sharp movement feels like bee-stings up your arm. You do a bit of juggling and pass the stick off to the other hand, squeezing it tight hurts your left shoulder, and you snap your right fingers as quick as you can with heated urgency.
Sparks fly and hit the leafless twigs, but the bark refuses to ignite. You snap frantically, feeling your grip tremble as your shoulder muscles cry out in torture.
Finally, a twig catches and you release your hold like you’re dropping a venomous snake, letting the branch fall into your hand on your good arm.
Carefully, you bring the smoldering end up to your face and breathe a bit of life onto it. The kindling brightens and dims with each puff until at last a tiny flame appears. It isn’t much, and it certainly doesn’t light up the whole forest, but the little light does help to chase away the immediate darkness and allows you to watch where you’re walking.
You hold the stick high, that way the flames have to work against gravity, eating their way down the branch and giving you more time to take advantage of the light before it burns at your fingertips. Not that you could get burned with your gloves on, anyway, but the slower the branch burns, the easier the fire will be to manage and the longer you could go without finding a new one.
You try to retrace your steps by searching for the Moldbygg’s slime trail, but all the grass here is naturally glossy, making it impossible for you to be able to tell what is a monster’s residue and what isn’t.
You debate calling for help, but decide against it, not wanting to be caught somewhere you shouldn’t be. Again.
Refusing to admit you’re lost, you march on, hoping with all your heart that you’ll somehow find the way back out and not end up walking in circles, but after passing a rather familiar crystal growth for what you think is the twentieth time, you have to admit you’re hopelessly turned around. Your stick has burned down to embers in your palm and you’re feet are sore from walking. Leaning back against the tree, you slump down and sigh.
Well… at least you managed to make yourself tired again. You might as well wait here until someone finds you and suffer the consequences that come.
Hugging your knees, you place your forehead on your arm and take a moment to reflect on your situation. Your throat starts getting tight and your eyes start to well as you think about the mess you’re in. You can feel another round of tears coming on and you don’t try very hard to hold them back.
You’re right in the middle of feeling sorry for yourself when you hear a rustling in the grass. Your sniffing is stopped at once; the fear of danger is enough to silence your crying as you hold your breath and wait for whatever aid or enemy to emerge from the shadows. The grass rustles again, and from it pops out the most curious monster you’ve seen yet.
At first you think it’s the small white dog again. The creature is the same height and color, but upon closer inspection its face is too flat and more cat-like than canine. It’s got dark grey hair on its head in addition to the white fur, and… four ears? You can’t tell if those are floppy ears on the side of its head or just growths of skin. Two more pointed ears peak out from the top of her head. She’s wearing a blue shirt.
“hOi!” she yips. “I’m Temmie!”
The tiny monster extends one foot and it stretches toward you, kinking at sharp right angles, giving the leg more joints than any limb should legally be allowed to have. Magical, extending legs? Maybe this thing is a dog after all.
It dawns on you that she’s expecting a handshake, and tentatively you reach your own arm out to grasp it. She seems friendly enough and you don’t get any threatening vibes from her. You open your mouth to greet her in turn, but your nose starts to tickle half way through the first word.
“Heh-aa-AA-ACHOO!” you sneeze, barely covering your mouth on time. “Hello. I-I’m Chara. Sorry for sneezing.”
Snuffling, you wipe your nose on your sleeve, then wipe your eyes, and then your eyes some more. (Why are they suddenly so itchy?)
“Is k.” Temmie says, brushing off your faux paus. “Temmie herd nother Tem crying and came as fast as she could! Tem always help other Tem in need!”
“Other tem- I’m not a, uh, Temmie,” you guess. It’s not unusual for groups of similar monsters to go by an all-encompassing name, like Froggit or Vegetoid do, and this one did speak in the third person… you think.
Temmie tips her head, bemused.
“Not a Tem? But you ware blue shirt!” she says poking you in the stomach.
“Well, yeah, but-”
“You hav white furr!” She says pointing at your gloves.
“Well, technically, but-”
“You have four ears!” she says lifting up one of the sides of your hat.
“Th-that’s true in a way, but-”
“You are a Tem!” Temmie nods triumphantly. Case closed.
You open your mouth to say something, but get seized by another sneeze.
Ugh. Now your nose is all blocked up and your ears feel like they’re being stuffed with cotton. Head spinning, you decide not to argue anymore.
“Okay, okay, I am a Tem,” you forfeit when an idea suddenly strikes you. “And if Temmies always help other Temmies in need, then can you show me the way back to the main road?”
“Yeah, Yah!! Follow Temmie!” the small dog… cat… thing skips off and you obediently follow, trekking deeper into the pitch black forest.
Keeping Temmie in your sight is hard when it’s so dark you can barely see your own hand an arm’s length from your face, and you don’t think you’d be able to keep track of her if her fur wasn’t so startlingly white. Not to mention that your eyes are watering, and you find yourself constantly stumbling over hidden rocks and roots in your path. Temmie expertly jumps over each invisible obstacle as she prances through the trees. Her pace is not slow, but you still can’t help but wonder why it’s taking so long to get back to the main road. Surely you hadn’t deviated that far from it?
“Hear!” Temmie announces when the trees suddenly break away to a bare rock face. You stop short. This is definitely not the main road. Have you been heading the wrong way the whole time?
“Where are we?” You ask, stupefied. “This isn’t the main street.”
“This is TEM VILLAGE, duh!” Temmie snorts. “It’s a home for all tems!” And with a sharp turn to the right, she disappears from sight. You gasp in astonishment when Temmie vanishes into thin air and hurry over to where she winked away only to find a crack in the wall well hidden from your previous point of view.
Not wanting to be alone in the open, you squeeze through the fissure after her. The walls get uncomfortably tight pressing against your bad shoulder as the corridor gets narrower and narrower. Just when you begin to panic that you’re permanently stuck, the crack widens and you pop out into a large hollow cave.
You trip and stagger, but manage not to fall, and you can’t believe what you see when you look up.
The cavern is fairly large. Dozens of identical Temmies stroll about, chatting with friends or lounging on the floor. The air is filled with joyous greetings of “hOis!” whenever two Temmies happen to collide, and cheerful “bOis!” when they part ways again. A giant stone statue of a Temmie stands proudly in the center of town, and smaller tunnels branch off in the walls leading off to hidden homes and hideaways. The air is happy and peaceful and it brings a tear to your eye.
Wait. No, your eyes and nose are running like the rivers in the glowing water room but you don’t think it’s because you’re being overwhelmed with emotion. Now that you think about it, this is exactly what happens when it’s pollen season in the ruins, or when you go too long not sweeping the dander build up out of your room; you’re having an allergic reaction.
Oh no.
You need to get out of here. Oh geez, you can already feel a migraine coming on. You spin on your heels, ready to crawl back through the crack when you suddenly remember- you still not know the way back to Gerson’s shop.
For a minute you just stand there, head hanging in defeat as you reflect on all your life’s choices that have led you to this moment, sneezing and suffering. Of all the decisions you make, how is it that you keep picking the wrong ones?
You’re stuck at an impasse; Dare you chance finding the way back on your own, completely blind and lost and risk running into more monsters like Moldbygg (or worse, Undyne), or will you suck up your allergies and endure the Temmies who are helpful and nice since they think you are one of their own? Sure, your Temmie had led you astray, but maybe it was a mistake?
Groaning, you turn back around. The Temmie that brought you here has vanished into the sea of other Temmies, but you don’t think she would have been much help anyway. Picking a Temmie at random, you start asking around.
“Um, excuse me.”
“hOi! I’m Temmie!” Greets the Temmie nearest you.
“Uh, hello. Do you know the way to Gerson or Hotland by any chance?”
“Hmmmm… Nop! Try asking my friend!”
“hOi!” Says the Temmie next to Temmie. “I’m Temmie! And this is my friend Temmie!”
“Hi there,” you nod patiently although your sinuses are pounding. “Do you know who Gerson is, and how to get to him?”
“Nu…” Temmie frowns, her ears sagging. Then she perks up again. “But my friend mite! Ask her!”
“hOi!” Says the first Temmie, apparently having already forgotten the two of you have met. “I’m Temmie!”
“And I’m leaving!” you say sarcastically before breaking away from the madness.
None of the other Temmies are any more help as you work your way through the entire town, and only stop when you reach the back of the cavern. You’ve got a throbbing headache and you’re not sure if it’s solely because of your allergies.
Rubbing your temples, you lean against a sign and try to clear your head. When the pounding stops you can take in the lettering more clearly. Once you get past the grammatical errors, you find that you can actually read the words written on it;
“hOi! U shud check out… TEM SHOP!”
A shop? Hope flutters in your chest. Shops might sell maps, or at the very least be run by a capable store owner who should know some basic directions to the other stores in the Underground. It was your best bet, and really, at this point what else did you have to lose? Taking a chance, you head down the corridor.
Like most of the other establishments you’ve encountered in the Waterfall, the store has no door- just a short tunnel to the counter. The room is dimly lit and curiously decorated with odd mismatched trinkets and doodads and worthless bits of trash on the shelves around you that look less like wares for sale and more like the hoard of a packrat. The register sits in the middle of the room (or, uh, cardboard box in this case?) but no one seems to be manning it. Curious, you approach the box, only to step on something round and rubbery, and you practically jump out of your skin when it lets out a shill shriek.
Looking down, you find a squeaky dog toy taped to the floor. Several, in fact, all placed in front of the cardboard counter top, as if they were intentionally put there to be stepped on like a replacement for a desk bell.
The box in front of you rustles, and a head pops up, flinging foam peanuts into the air. It’s, unsurprisingly, another Temmie.
“Hoi! Welcom to… da TEM SHOP!” she greets you. “How kan i help u?”
“Hi, do you by any chance have a map of the Underground, or at least of Waterfall?” You ask quickly, feeling a familiar tickle in your nose that indicated you were about to sneeze.
“Yeah, yeah!!! Tem has… lots a maps! Tems R excellent cartographers!”
“Thank you so much. I’ve been walking in circles for ages. You don’t know how much I need this,” you sigh in relief, and reach into your pocket for your spare change. “Can I have one?”
“Yeah, yeha!¡!” The Temmie dives back down in the box, leaving only her little bobbed tail sticking out. You watch it circle around in the packing peanuts like a periscope for a while until the Temmie pops up again with a piece of folded paper in her mouth. “One map is... one thousand gold!!!”
Your jaw drops. A thousand gold?!
“B-but I’ve only got a hundred forty-five!” you stammer.
“Sry!” Temmie says firmly, keeping her paw on the folded piece of paper. “Tem has to save for colleg. Tuition… not cheap!” She turns up her nose.
Despair threatens to overwhelm you. You can’t tell if you’re crying or if your eyes are just watering so bad from being in close contact with all these Temmies.
“W-wait, are you willing to barter?” You ask desperately.
Temmie opens one eye a tiny sliver. You dig into your pockets, searching for anything of value you could trade, but all you come up with is rocks. You angrily pull one out and place it on the counter to get it out of your way while you look for something better.
Temmie’s eyes go wide as saucers when you present the geode.
“WOAH!” She gasps. “U hav… ROCKS? Tem’s always wanted rocks, but tem has to save for col leg. Hnng! But Tem really gotta have dat rock! Temmie will pay u… a hundred g!”
You pause.
“Really? But Kid told me these things were-” you cut yourself off, a realization dawning on you as something about Temmie behavior suddenly makes a lot more sense. This could be your only way to buy the map, but a hundred gold for each rock wasn’t going to cut it. You only had eight.
“Hmm, I dunno…” you play along as you tap your chin, considering the offer. “This rock wasn’t easy to come by. It has a lot of sentimental value too.”
“P… plz!!!” Temmie sweats. “One-fifty g! Final offers!!”
“Well… I guess I can bear to part with this rock for a hundred-fifty. Deal.”
You pass the rock to Temmie and she dips into the glass jar, which you guess is her till, to fishes out a handful of gold coins to match her price.
“Thanks u!” Temmie sings, proudly placing the stone on a shelf of the knick-knacks and dryer lint behind her.
“My pleasure. I sure will miss that rock, but I’m glad to see it will go to a good home.”
“Yea, Yeah! Tem will take good care of it!”
“Say Temmie…” You trail off and pull out another rock from your pocket. Temmie’s eyes bug as she shifts her pupils from the rock to you. She’s sweating profusely. “Would you like another?”
--
Six more rocks sold later and you have enough money for the map and still have one rock left over. Temmie seemed absolutely shocked when you placed the grand of gold on the counter and rejoiced that she would now be able to go to “cool leg”. You congratulated her, deciding to refrain from telling her that all the money was hers to begin with, and that you’re walking away with more gold than when you entered.
You grab the map and leave, ready to put this whole ordeal behind you.
Back in the main square, you take a moment to kneel on the ground and unfold the piece of paper. It’s harder to do than you think with only one arm, and when you finally smooth out all the edges, you behold the map to find…
Crayon scribbles.
The paper is covered in crisscrossing lines with no order or direction. There are no land marks, or compass or key, and half the paper is taken up by a huge, crudely drawn self portrait of Temmie.
You flip the paper over, thinking maybe the real map is on the other side and this is just a doodle, a mistake. The other side is blank.
“No… no, no, no, no!” You moan. Two minutes ago you thought you were being crafty in swindling a salesman. Oh how badly you have been played.
Frustrated, you crumple up the map and throw the ball as far as you can. It goes an unsatisfying distance of a couple of feet, but you don’t care as you storm off towards the entrance. Guess you’ll just have to wing it after all.
“Pardon me,” A voice, deep and eloquent, interrupts before you can leave. “I do believe you’ve dropped this.”
You spin around in alarm at the authority of the tone, only to look down in surprise. It’s… another Temmie?
“This belongs to you, does it not?” The Tem holds up the paper ball of your crumpled “map” in one limb that’s thrice as long as the others to reach your height. You swallow and nod, taking the trash from its paw. The leg contracts like a tape measure.
“Ah, good. It is nice to see children taking responsibility for their items. We do not approve of littering here in Temmie Village, but seeing as you are clearly a visitor, I will let you off with a gentle reminder. No sense in punishing those who never learned the rules.”
You stare at the Temmie completely dumbfounded. It smiles up at you, humming mirthfully with a twinkle in its eye.
“Cat got your tongue, young one?”
“You talk… really good,” you say stupidly.
The Temmie’s eyes crinkle as it tries to hide its amusement. “The correct phrasing would be ‘Talk very well’, but adverbs and adjectives can be tricky even for the most fluent speakers. Thank you, young one. I do pride myself on my, shall I say, above average linguistic achievements for my species. Though flaunting such talent is unbecoming of one’s personal image. Dignity and grace are best appreciated when expressed silently.”
Your mouth opens and closes without any sound coming out. You aren’t sure how to respond to that.
“Where are my manners?” The Temmie continues. “I have been conversing with you all this time without even introducing myself. I am Bob.”
“C-Chara,” you reply, crouching down to shake Bob’s tiny paw, despite your better judgement. You sneeze.
“Gesundheit,” Bob says. “And a pleasure to meet you. Though I must ask, what brings you to Temmie Village, young one?”
“I got… lost,” you confess. “I’ve been trying to get directions back to the main road but… no one’s been particularly… helpful.”
“Say no more, young one,” Bob nods knowingly. “I can assist you.”
“You can show me the way?” you ask, your spirits soaring.
“Oh yes. Though I as much as I wish to guide you, I assume being in my presence will just cause you physical discomfort, will it not?”
You reluctantly nod and hand your head in shame. “Sorry.”
“No need to apologize, young one. We cannot control what we are allergic to. Listen close and I will describe to you the route you need.
“When you leave this place, take the first left you come across and follow it as far as you can go. The turn should be about twenty paces from our cavern entrance. Then turn right and head straight until you reach a dead end. Take one more right followed by two immediate lefts, and you’ll be back amongst civilization. Understood?”
“I think so,” you nod, your eyes burning from all the fur in the air. Left, straight, right, straight, right, left, left. It shouldn’t be too hard to memorize.
“Then you’d best be off, small one! Quick before your eyes and nose permanently turn against you!” Bob says, turning to go on his way. “I wish you luck, and may we both see the day our paths cross again!”
You wave farewell and make for the exit, ready to put this nightmare of a detour behind you. Your eyes and nostrils start to un-swell almost immediately when you squeeze back out through the fissure and you breathe deep, never more thankful in your life to have clear sinuses.
Right. Now to get back on track. You don’t see any other useful sticks on the ground that you could use as a torch. Guess you’re going in blind like the first time.
The first step in Bob’s directions was to take twenty steps and turn left. You start walking, straining your eyes as hard as you can to look for pathways in the pitch-black darkness. When you’ve mentally counted to twenty, you turn and began to feel around for the trail. With a hand sticking straight out in front of you, all you come across is more underbrush, too thick to push through, and your anxiety begins to resurface.
You didn’t mess up Bob’s directions, had you? Maybe you were supposed to turn right instead of left? You spin around a hundred and eighty degrees and poke about the other side of the road to see if you come across the correct path, but this side is just as dense a tangle of grass and bushes as the left side. You try not to double guess yourself. No, Bob had definitely said to go left first, and then straight. Right? Right. Twenty paces. Oh wait, what if those paces had been in Temmie proportions? You would have passed the turn ages ago if that were the case.
You remind yourself not to panic and start to back track. There was no need to get worked up. You walked in a straight line, so you could easily find your way back to Temmie Village and start over if you needed to. You could even go back in, find Bob again and have them repeat the directions to you. No need to freak out yet.
You walk blindly in the dark with your arm stretched out, waiting to hit the rock wall that marked your starting point. You mentally count back from twenty to recount your steps, but when you start getting into the negative numbers, alarm bells start to ring.
This isn’t right. You should have hit the wall by now. There were no other paths to take or accidentally turn down. How could you mess up something as simple as just walking in a straight line? Wait, did you remember to turn left or right when you started to back track? You had been facing the right side of the road instead of the left, so that meant you should have turned right one more time to make sure you had correctly lined yourself up again. Had you turned left and walked even further from Temmie Village?
Completely turned around, you keep walking in a vain attempt to stop yourself from having a break down. If you froze now, you would just completely shut down again and put yourself back at square one. Just keep walking until you hit something and you could orient yourself from there.
The path ends when you run smack dab into a tree, shaking loose a few barely-glowing pine needles that rain down on your head. Okay. A tree. You’ll use this as a starting point. The path here bends sharply right and it looks like the only way to go. You decide to follow it and stay right at every turn until you either stumble out of the forest or reach another dead end. It seemed as full-proof a plan as any.
You turn right and walk, and before long you find yourself at another bend that turns right again. That’s good. Bob’s directions said you’d have to make two right turns in a row. Maybe you accidentally found the right path after all.
You walk as far as you can, keeping an eye out for any signs of the foliage thinning or any hints of life beyond the trees, but find none. At least this path only seems one way. It would be very hard to get turned around on a road so narrow. When the path bends right for a third time, though, you start to get worried that you’re walking in a circle, or box rather. Aw geez, you weren’t going to end up back where you started at the tree, were you?
The trail is short and turns sharply left before you could find out. You keep following it as it’s the only way to go, and your hopes rise when you think you see light building around the next corner and hear a faint hum of quiet conversation. Could it be? People and magic? You pick your pace and round the curve in excitement, only to stop short in awe.
Before you lays a field of echo flowers, each as tall as you, glowing a bright cyan blue, and whispering softly to one another. Standing on top of a slight ridge, you can see they all grow so tightly packed together that they look more like an ocean than a meadow. You think you’d be disappointed you’re still lost if you weren’t so captivated by the surreal beauty of it all.
It occurs to you that this is far from the correct way back to Gerson’s shop, but it’s simultaneously further into Waterfall than you’ve been yet. And from your slight vantage point you think you spy the slightest trace of a warm red glow at the other end of the field reflecting off the tiny waterfalls flowing around the cavern’s edges.
It could just be your eyes playing tricks on you, you remind yourself. Your brain desperately looking for something it wants to see. Or maybe, just maybe, it was a beacon to light the way out.
Once again you find yourself at a crossroads. Literally. Still standing on your little ridge, you debate which path to take. Turn back now and figure out the way back to Gerson’s shop? Or bumble along blindly through the echo flowers to what might be Hotland. You weight the pros and cons of both options. Going forward you can’t get lost; you could just leave an audible trail for you to follow back through the flowers. But if that dim light at the other end of the tunnel isn’t Hotland, what would you do then? Wonder around even longer, getting even MORE off track? Your other choice was to turn back now, find your way back to the main road and have Kid guide you. It would definitely guarantee you wouldn’t get lost again, and assure you had a trusted guide to Hotland, but it would also mean having to be in close proximity to Undyne…
On reflection you don’t know why you thought this would be a hard choice.
You forge head into the flowers without even glancing back.
Undyne wakes up early out of sheer force of habit. Normally the first thing she does in the morning is go for one or two or twenty laps around Waterfall, maybe do twelve dozen pushups or perhaps a couple hundred chin up and a few thousand crunches just to get herself warmed up.
Not today, though. Today she was stuck with babysitting duty.
Sleeping in her armor was uncomfortable, but she had no other choice having worn nothing casual or appropriate to compensate for the heat she generated in her suit underneath the metal exterior.
Groaning, Undyne stretches and yawns. If she acted quickly, she could sprint back home and change into something more suitable for Hotland’s extreme temperatures before she took the punk to their doctor’s appointment. Hell, she’d pretty much have to if she didn’t want to faint from heat stroke as soon as she crossed over into the volcanic region.
Hmm, while she was at home, she might as well grab breakfast. No doubt Gerson would offer to feed her, but she couldn’t impose-
“Undyne!” Kid shouts and frantically raps on her door. “Undyne get up quick! It’s an emergency!”
Undyne is out of bed in less than a second at the sound of Kid’s panicked tone. She opens the door so fast she almost rips it off the hinges.
“What’s wrong? Where’s the danger? Did someone fall down?”
“M-my friend!” Kid hyperventilates, close to tears. “Th-they’re gone!”
“Gone?” Undyne echoes in confusion.
“I-I woke up because I h-had to go to the bathroom, a-and noticed they w-weren’t on the couch!” Kid stammers. “I ch-checked the whole house, b-but they’re not here!”
Shit. Fuck. The ONE time she lets her guard down and looks the other way, the brat goes AWOL on her. After all those crocodile tears they shed last night? She should have known it was all a ruse! She should have guessed it was all a trick!
“Undyne,” Kid says solemnly as she searches for her helmet. “They were really upset yesterday after Napstablook told them their mom wasn’t coming. They became completely detached, a-and I couldn’t help but think of my sister because she gets that way sometimes too when she’s really upset.”
He looks at her, serious, worried. Undyne’s anger drains away to actual dread.
“Wh-what if they ran away to-”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Undyne orders. “We’ll find them, okay? They don’t know their way around Waterfall. They can’t have gone far.”
“But they could have been gone for hours by now! A-and it’s not really hard to find a way to… disappear in Waterfall…”
Kid had a point. The punk may not know Waterfall very well but they did know how to get to the dump where bottomless drop offs could sweep you away without a trace. Kid drawing a parallel to Alphys hits too close to home for her, and for a moment she put her in their shoes. Nobody, human or monster, should ever be forced to conclude the only solution to a problem like that is to remove themselves from the equation.
“Kid, go wake Gerson,” Undyne orders as she adjusts the fit of her boots. “Tell him what you told me. I’m gonna call your sister to check if she’s seen anything then I’ll go check the dump.”
“Got it!” Kid nods and runs off down the hall.
Alphys almost doesn’t pick up when Undyne calls her from Gerson’s phone. It was an unholy hour in the morning to be calling someone, so she should have figured, but on her fourth redial Undyne finally gets through.
“Hello?” the lizard answers groggily, her voice slurring like a drunk.
“Alphys! It’s me!”
“Oh, Undyne!” Alphys perks up, suddenly sounding a lot more sober. “What a surprise! I n-never expected you to call so early.”
“Yeah, I kinda figured. But that’s not important right now! The punk ran away again last night! I need your help to find them.”
“W-w-what?! They’re gone!? But why? D-do you think it was a ploy? Do you think they sleep walk? Gosh, I decide to take one little nap and I miss something big! Oh why did I think resting my eyes was a good idea!”
“Alphys, focus! I need you to look back through your security tapes to tell me which way they could have gone.”
“C-can do, Undyne! B-but it might take me a while-”
“That’s okay. I’m gonna circle the dump a couple of times then come back to Gerson’s to check again, but if you find out anything, call back here right away, got it?”
“Uh, o-okay? I don’t see what good it will do calling back if you’re not here, b-but will do, Undyne! Bye!”
The line goes dead and Undyne hangs up the receiver just as Kid makes his way back into the room.
“Yo! I told Gerson like you asked! He said he’d go check the neighborhood.”
“Good job, Kid. I’m heading out now. I’ll be back in a few.”
“Wait!” Kid interrupts her before she could leave. “What about me? What am I supposed to do?”
“You ,” Undyne says, lightly poking him in the chest. “Are gonna wait here and listen for any phone calls. I asked your sister to look through the security footage of last night. If she finds any clues that can tell us where the punk went, she’s gonna call back here and I need someone here to answer her.”
“But-! They’re my friend, Undyne! I can’t just sit around here waiting! I should be out there searching with you! I want to help too!”
“You will be helping, Kid! When your sister calls back here, come find me and tell me immediately, okay? In the meantime, I can’t have two children getting lost on my watch. Got it?”
Frowning, Kid averts his eyes, but stays silent. It was clear to Undyne he didn’t like being left behind, but he reluctantly did what he was told.
“Kid, I’ll probably be back before your sister even gets a chance to call me. And when I do come back, we can go look for them together, alright?”
Kid nods halfheartedly and stays put. Undyne watches him for a second before turning out the door. She didn’t have time to linger. She had a human to find.
Kid watches Undyne hurry out the door. Gerson wasn’t far behind, though his pace was much less urgent. He hobbled like he had all the time in the world, wearing lazy smile on his face like he was going for an early morning stroll instead of looking for a lost person.
Kid wouldn’t deny he was the least bit annoyed. His friend was lost and maybe scared and definitely hurting in more ways than one, and yet the old tortoise was moving like a… well, like a tortoise!
Kid pouts. He couldn’t stay here tapping his tail and waiting for news to come to him! He had to be out there! Searching like the others! Not all monsters in Waterfall were as friendly as Gerson or Undyne. He had to find them before they got hurt! Or worse, before they hurt themselves.
The phone rings. Kid jumps to his feet immediately and answers before the first chime even finishes.
“Sis?”
“K-kid? W-what are you doing at Gerson’s shop? Do Mom and Dad know you’re there?”
“I spent the night here! But that’s not important. Did you find my friend?”
“I… Yes-! Well, yes and no-, I mean- I know which way they went but I don’t know where they are n-now.”
“Well tell me what you do know,” Kid asks, his tail thumping in irritation. “Undyne told me to relay any news to her so we can find them as fast as we can!”
“My tapes s-say they left the shop around three a.m. this morning, and they went East into E-echo Flower Forest. They still must be in there, though. I don’t have any cameras in the forest bec-cause it’s too dark, but they didn’t come back out and I haven’t seen them cross over into Hotland yet.”
Kid goes silent on the line. Echo Flower Forest was just down the road! He could catch up to them within minutes!
“Kid? You still there?”
“I’m still here,” Kid answers distantly. “Thanks for all your help, sis. I’m gonna go after them.”
“Kid! No! Stay where you are! Let Undyne take care of it!”
“I can’t, Alphys! They’re my friend and they need me! And I’m gonna be there for them!” Kid argues fervently before calming his temper. “Don’t worry, sis. I know Waterfall inside and out! I’ll be okay, and we’ll both be in Hotland before you know it! Alright?”
“Kid! Don’t-!” But Kid never heard his sister finish her sentence as he put the phone on the receiver and scampered out the door.
Two laps around the junk yard and Undyne returns to Gerson’s shop with nothing to show for it.
The fact that she didn’t have any proof that the punk had gone to the garbage dump should have been reassuring for her, but sadly it wasn’t. Just because she didn’t find anything, didn’t prove that the kid hadn’t gone that way. If anything, it only proved that they had left no trace behind.
The phone is ringing when she steps into the back room and Undyne is quick to answer.
”-pick up this time, please pick up this time, please pick up this time, please-”
“Alphys?” Undyne speaks up over the scientist’s nervous mantra.
“Undyne! Oh thank God you answered! I feel like I’ve been trying to get through for ages!”
“Sorry about that,” Undyne apologizes. Where the hell was Kid? She thought he’d agree to answer the phone for her. Ugh! She knew she should have made him promise to stay out!
”Undyne, listen, I know which way the human went, but you need to catch up to them quick!”
“Why? Which way did they go?”
”East. Very deliberately it seems, but they haven’t reached your arena yet. My brother ran after them.”
East. Undyne mentally exhales in relief. That was towards Hotland, and the exact opposite direction of the dump and it’s many bottomless drop offs.
“We did tell them they have a doctor’s appointment with you today. You think they’re on their way to you?”
”I… well, I don’t know about that, but Mettaton knows there in the Underground now, and if the human does get as far as Hotland without you, things are probably going to go south real quick. I told him not to tell the rest of the Underground, but you know how he can’t keep a secret!”
“Right. I’m on it. I’ll catch up to them and keep that robotic nuisance at bay.”
The warrior hangs up the receiver, retreats from the shop, and jogs into the forest.
Echo flowers, as it turns out, do not make good trail markers.
The flowers grow so close together, that if you tried to whisper a message in one, it wasn’t long before the little plant shared its tidbit with the twenty flowers around it. How would you be able to follow your path back if every flower in the marsh said the same thing?
You tried to find a work around; whispering extra softly, speaking to only the most secluded flowers, but each blossom turned out to be a terrible gossip, swaying and bending as if weighed down by the secret spoken to it and just itching to pass it on.
You give up rather quickly when you realize this won’t work and instead try to focus on memorizing the snippets of conversation the flowers already carried. And while you’re positive that the flowers must have distorted some of the dialog over time, you can’t help but feel like some of their messages are a bit… ominous.
“Be… ware…” Whispers one flower, bowing to your ear.
Your hair stands on end. Beware of what? Pssh, no, there’s nothing to beware of here. There’s only flowers around you as far as you can see.
”Watch… out…” Another flower sighs.
A shiver runs down your spine, and your palms start to sweat. You remind yourself it’s just old, repeated words the plants are saying, nothing to be afraid of. Still, you find yourself glancing over your shoulder. You swear you saw something move out of the corner of your eye…
”It’s… coming!” A third flower warns and you think you hear a twig snap. You spin around, slapping yourself in the face with the ears of your hat in the process. The grass rustles up ahead. Your heart is pounding. Something’s out there.
“H-hello?” You call out, your voice shockingly loud compared to the muted voices of the flowers.
”Hello?”
“Hello?”
“Hello?” the flowers echo back.
The shifting grass stops. Maybe it was just a breeze. Or maybe the other person heard you and doesn’t want you to know that they’re there.
Swallowing the lump in your throat, you begin to back away… as slowly… as carefully… as you can, never taking your eyes off the last place you saw the flower stalks bend and sway. All around you, the flowers feel like they’ve gone silent.
You take a step… and then another… and then another… and then your back hits something solid.
You scream and jump. The solid thing screams and jumps. You whip around and find-!
“Kid?” you blurt out, gasping as the startled lizard picks himself up off the floor. He blinks at you a bit, his pupils wide in surprise.
“Y-yo! Hey! I found you!” His face breaks out into an enormous grin. “Dude, you’re alright! Oh, man, we were so worried!” He head-butts you on your good side. “I thought-! I thought you snuck out do go do something stupid… Why’d you run away, bro?”
“I… I didn’t mean to,” you say. “I had a… bad dream and went for a walk to take my mind off it, and ended up getting lost. Sorry for making you worry.”
“It’s alright, dude! I’m just glad to know you’re safe. C’mon, we can head back to Undyne and-“
“No!” you shout reflexively. “I… I can’t go back to Undyne, Kid. She’s dangerous.”
“Well, of course she’s dangerous. She’s the Captain of the Royal Guard! That’s why we should stick with her through the rest of Waterfall, and-“
“No, Kid,” you try to explain. “She’s dangerous to me. Yesterday on the bridges… and when we were sparring… I don’t know why, but I think she was trying to hurt me. I know she was.”
Kid’s face goes from curious to concerned.
“But… why would she want to do that? You’re a kid like me, not a criminal. In fact, she’s out looking for you right now!”
You can feel your face visibly blanch at the thought of Undyne hunting you down. Kid sees it too.
“I dunno, but… do you think you could just show me the rest of the way to Hotland? We’re already pretty far, right? We can do it without Undyne’s help, can’t we?”
“Y-yeah…” Kid says slowly. “It’s just two more rooms after this. Follow me.”
“Thank you,” you say, relieved, and fall in line with Kid as he guides you through the flowers.
Undyne summons a spear to light her way. The glowing green javelin casts long shadows in the forest and illuminates the eyes of the night creatures hidden in the thicket, watching her with care.
She combs the woods but comes up with neither the human nor the royal scientist’s little brother. After deeming the area clear, she turns towards the meadow, home to the namesake of Echo Flower Forest.
Standing on the rise, she scans over the flowers’ tops, searching for any sign of movement. Even from up here she can hear the eerie sounds of the flowers’ chatter.
Ugh. She hated this room. She always had. Detached voices talking to no one wasn’t cool, it was creepy. The flowers sounded more like wailing spirits who failed to pass on rather than recordings of people she knew. She could never understand the other kids’ fascination with them.
Cautiously, the warrior begins to pick her way down into marsh. Her feet sink into the bog, swamp water sucking at her heavy metal boots like drowning hands trying to drag her down with them. When she steps into a particularly soggy patch of bog, Undyne has to stop to yank her foot free, all the while the flowers whine and moan around her.
”Where are you? Where are you?” a flower asks on repeat when she lurches her foot free. Sweat beads on her brow. The voice sounded like a kid, but warped by time, the words sounded haunting.
”I’m over here,” another flower responds, as Undyne tries to circumvent the plants and their spooky game of telephone.
”Come find me!” a third flower teases a ways off. Undyne makes a point not head towards it, and instead approaches a quieter patch to calm her rapid pulse.
”Ssshhhhh!” several flowers hiss at her at once when she bumps into them. Startled, the warrior flinches and staggers back, right into a cluster that explodes with laughter when she stumbles.
Panting, Undyne’s one eye darted around. Throat dry and scales clammy, she found she couldn’t calm her nerves. This was starting to be a bit too much. These freaky flowers needed to shut up quick before she decided to some weed whacking with her lance.
There’s a scream off in the distance and Undyne almost launches clean out of her armor. That scream wasn’t from a flower, though. It was real, it was close, and it sounded familiar.
Straining her ears, Undyne pin points the source. It’s half way across the field. Putting her feelings about the unsettling flowers aside, Undyne charges fourth towards the noise, summoning a spear at the ready. When she catches a flash of Kid’s yellow scales, she puts on a burst of speed and practically explodes from the flowers before him.
“Kid!” She shouts, her voice quaking with alarm. She quickly toughens her tone to hide her fear, not wanting to look weak in front of anybody, especially him. “I thought I told you to wait at Gerson’s for me! Don’t you know how dangerous it is to wonder off!”
“U-undyne!” Kid startles, tripping over himself as he turns around. It’s then Undyne notices the human cowering by his side, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible. “I-I’m sorry, but I couldn’t stand waiting around doing nothing! I had to-!”
“YOU!” the royal guard interrupts and turns on the human. “What were you thinking running away last night?!”
“I-I wasn’t-“
“Damn right you weren’t!” Undyne cuts them off. “Do you know how dangerous that was? How worried you made everyone?”
“I’m sorry,” they whimper. “I didn’t mean to.”
“So why’dja do it then?!”
“I-“
Undyne catches the punk’s eyes flick from hers to her spear and she notices something that wasn’t there a before; a new sort of wariness, a new type of caution. Now why would that be there if the punk had accidentally got lost?
“I had a nightmare and accidentally wandered into the woods,” they say, not looking at her. Undyne narrows her eye suspiciously.
They’re lying.
“Well your little stunt certainly wasted most of my morning.” Undyne scoffs. “Might as well keep going to Hotland since we’re already eighty percent there.”
“Sorry,” the brat apologizes again, and starts to move to the back of the line.
“Oh, no you don’t, punk. You should walk in front. That way I can make sure you don’t get lost again.”
The human swallows, the apprehension clear on their face, but they move to the front without arguing. Kid joins them to lead the way.
The air is tense between the three of them as they march in silence, fueled by the glares Undyne sends out that boar into the back of the human’s skull. She doesn’t notice her own blatant staring, though, too lost in her thoughts trying to puzzle together the punk’s behavior.
They were lying about having a nightmare and roaming off. So did that mean she was initially right? Had they intentionally tried to sneak away? Was it all a big act? Undyne grinds her teeth together. There still wasn’t enough proof, but her misgivings were growing. She needed to expose them once and for all, and she needed to do it quick.
Kid tries to make conversation to lighten the mood.
“Oh man! I can’t wait for you to meet my sister! She’s the smartest monster in the Underground and a doctor! I bet she’ll be able to make you better in ten seconds flat!” he boasts, puffing out his chest with pride.
“Do you really think your sister can fix my shoulder?” the brat asks.
“Of course she can, squirt!” Undyne pipes up from her daze, insulted that anyone would dare doubt Alphys and ready to defend her honor. “Alphys can do anything she sets her mind to! That’s why she’s the royal scientist! She’s the best!”
Kid smirks and gives the punk a “can you believe this?” kind of look.
“Yeah, you and my sister are really close, aren’t you Undyne?” he asks. “What else is she good at?”
“Everything!” Undyne answers definitively. “Alphys is, like, the third most knowledgeable person on humans in all the Underground, plus she’s responsible for bring us the UnderNet connection and hooking up every monster with cell phone by building them out the spare parts she finds in the dump! She’s taught me everything I need to know when encountering humans.”
“Sounds like you really like her,” the brat says carefully, testing the waters for safe places to tread.
“Well, DUH! Who wouldn’t like Alphys? She’s wicked smart and passionate about her work! She has dedication and drive! I’m surprised she’s not constantly having to step over monsters who come to bask in her glory!”
“Wow, have you told her any of this?” Kid says. “Imagine how cool it would be to see the captain of the Royal Guard date my sister! You’d be like, my in-law! That would be SO COOL!”
At that, Undyne blushes and falters. “Ha, ha! Y-yeah, Kid. Wouldn’t that be something. Unfortunately I’m probably not what Alphys is looking for.”
“What makes you say that?” the brat asks, genuinely curious.
“Alphys is just so…! Out of my league! She probably wants to date someone who has a quadruple digit IQ like her, or someone who can reverse engineer a particle accelerator or something. She’s probably looking for someone more her speed if she’s looking at all.”
“Well, let’s just ask her what she’s looking for when we get to Hotland.” Kid suggests, skipping ahead a few paces as the forest thins back into bare caverns. “I bet you two have some common interests.”
“Yeah, of course we do!” Undyne exclaims indignantly as the trio exit the field of flowers and onto a rickety old bridge spanning across a chasm.
“Really? Like what?”
“Like anime!” The warrior scoffs and raises her head high. “It’s the epitome of human behavior and Alphys has all the best kinds! She’s let me watch them all and everything I’ve learned about human culture I’ve learned from those documentaries!”
“Oh, that’s neat,” The punk says as Undyne’s training arena comes into view. Hotland isn’t even visible yet she already feels like she’s being cooked alive. “I’ve never heard of anime before. Maybe you can show me one before I go back home with the King?”
“Right!”
Wait. The King? That’s right, this punk was on their way to infiltrate the King’s castle and she had almost lead them right to the front door! RAUGH! How could she have been so stupid?! Yet again this human found a way to weasel past her defenses and mess with her mind! And by getting her to go on about Alphys of all things!
This was the third time they’ve gotten into her head! There was no way she could let this thing go to Hotland where she couldn’t follow! She couldn’t let them reach Asgore!
“No.”
Kid and the brat are half way across the bridge when she utters the word, low and cold.
Kid stops first when he notices Undyne has stopped following.
“Undyne?” he cocks his head. “Is something the matter?”
Instead of a response, Undyne charges, calling forth a long spear to catapult over Kid and onto the bridge. The wooden planks buck and shudder and the human and Kid are knocked off their feet.
The punk instinctively throws out their arms to catch themselves and yelp when they hit their bad side. Tears prick the corners of their eyes.
“You’ve distracted me for the last time, punk.”
“U-Undyne?”
“Don’t move. I’m not letting you progress any farther, especially not to Asgore.”
Behind her, Kid blinks in a daze and rolls over to push himself up. Unaware of his surroundings, one foot slips off the edge of the bridge. He inhales sharply and lets out a strangled cry as his lower half slides off the edge, his feet kicking but finding no purchase.
“H-help! Dude! Undyne! I-I’m slipping!”
The brat’s head snaps down to Kid and their face goes white as snow.
“Undyne. Kid’s falling. Quick, you’re closer; you’ve got to help him!”
“Like I’d turn my back on you!” Undyne growls. “You can’t trick me anymore! We settle this here and now!”
“Undyne, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” They plead, desperate and angry.
Kid’s struggling becomes more frantic as his torso gives away, leaving him hanging on his chin.
“D-dudes! Help! I can’t hold on much longer!”
“I’ll be with you in a second, Kid! I have to deal with them first!” Undyne calls over her shoulder, without taking her eye off her target. She readies her stance. “So what’s it gonna be, punk? Fight or flee?”
“Neither!” The human shouts at her. “Undyne what are you doing!? Kid’s going to fall!”
Undyne narrows her eye, calculating her opponent. Now that she’s separated them from their living shield the brat had only two options; fight here or run away. And judging by their posture they looked ready to sprint. Undyne bites back a smile. The second they’d move, she’d let their spear fly.
“I-I’m losing my grip!” Kid cries.
The punk meets her gaze one final time, and just like she predicted, the kid bolts, and Undyne unleashes her spear.
Except, the brat didn’t run away like she hoped. They ran toward her.
The miscalculation means Undyne’s spear completely misses its mark and harmlessly sails over the human’s head as they dive between her legs like a base runner.
“HEEELP!”
Without thinking, they lurch their left arm forward and manage to snag Kid’s sweater just as his hold on the edge gives away.
All of his weight drops down on their bad arm at once. There’s a sickening pop! heard by all three, and the human shouts, short and sharp before biting down on their tongue and their pupils shrink to pin points.
Tears running down their cheeks, the punk grabs a fist full of Kid’s shirt with their other hand, braces their left foot against the wood, and reels themselves backwards, hauling kid back up in the process.
For several heartbeats nobody moves or says anything. Undyne stares in shock as the two kids take a moment to do nothing but breathe.
“You… saved my skin,” Kid pants, still trembling form the ordeal. “That sound your shoulder made wasn’t pretty. You okay, dude?”
The human nods, not looking up from their hands and knees. After what feels like an eternity, they manage to raise their head and look over at Undyne. Their expression makes her freeze.
Undyne is used to monsters looking upon her like she’s the sun itself. She’s also used to monsters looking at her with hatred or fear.
But she can’t recall someone ever looking at her completely disgusted.
The punk seethes and stands up to their full height, not breaking eye contact with her for a second. Was it finally happening? The battle the brat had strived to avoid? Where they now finally going to give in and fight? Finally done running away and hiding behind shields were they?
Raw magic crackled at the warrior’s finger tips, waiting to be shaped. The human inhaled.
“Undyne,” The human says clear and commanding, no longer a trace of fear in their voice. The magic thickened in Undyne’s palm. Here it comes.
“I’m sorry, alright?”
Wait- what.
“Whatever I did to make you hate me, I apologize, okay?”
What? No, this isn’t what was supposed to happen. They were supposed to charger her, lash out, and fight her with their true strength. What are they doing? Another ruse? Another scheme?
“I know I can’t make everyone like me,” the punk goes on, their fingers curling into fists. “I kept trying to get on your good side, but I can see now you’re not gonna let that happen no matter what I do. So, fine! Go ahead and hate me then! But don’t let other people get hurt because of whatever you have against me!”
They stare each other down for a bit, but as hard as Undyne searches, she can’t find even the smallest hint of an ulterior motive in their gaze. The punk was exposing themselves here and now with all they had, completely honest for all to see.
Their hands are shaking when they finish their speech, and they clench and unclench their fingers in distress. Kid tiptoes up to their side and tentatively nudges their arm. The touch is enough to make the tension leave their shoulders and they exhale, bushed.
“Undyne, thank you for getting me this far to Hotland, but I think Kid and I can make it from here. C’mon, Kid. Let’s go.”
The human passes Undyne without so much as a second glance while Kid looks over his shoulder with a mixture of pity and disbelief. He turns away when he catches her staring and hangs his head.
She can’t understand. Why wouldn’t they retaliate? The punk had the perfect time to strike, but instead they’re acting like… like...!
Like how a monster would act…
And all the while she kept attacking first the way the humans had.
“Punk… wait,” Undyne calls after them, reaching out a hand to grab them by the shoulder. The human stops, eyeing her skeptically. They don’t say anything, waiting for her to speak.
“I’m… I’m sorry too,” Undyne admits. “All this time I thought you were lying about who you were… pretending to be someone else. I can see now that was never the case and I misjudged you. Can you… can you forgive me?”
The punk looks away, their lips drawn into a thin line, as their fists curl and uncurl, and Undyne realizes that they have to actually think about their answer.
“How about… a truce instead?” they offer after the silence dragged on to uncomfortable levels. “I’ll stay out of your way if you stay out of mine. I’ll go to the King and back to the Ruins and you’ll never have to see or hear from me again. Would that make you happy?”
Undyne looks down, crestfallen. They weren’t exactly forgiving her, but she guessed she deserved it.
“Deal,” she sighs halfheartedly.
“Thank you… for the apology.” They tell her. “And I’m sorry we couldn’t be better friends. Maybe we’ll get it right next time.”
“Yeah…” Undyne exhales and gets to her feet. Geez, even from here she can feel the heat from Hotland. She can’t go any farther than this without roasting alive in this tin can she calls armor. She’d better start heading back home before she became an actual fish stick.
Undyne lingers back as the two friends head off through her arena and into the next district. Sans should be waiting at his station to meet them like he said he would, but knowing him Undyne figures she’d better call ahead just in case.
Gerson is there to greet her when she returns to his shop.
“So! Any luck?” he asks, not particularly waiting on the edge of his seat.
“Yeah…” Undyne says.
“Well you could have fooled me! That’s not exactly the tone of someone who successfully found a lost person. How’d it go?”
“I… They’re on their way to Hotland.”
“What’s that?” Gerson teases, cupping his hand to his ear. “Did you say that you, the renowned Undyne, let her quarry get away?”
“No, I intentionally let them go. Sans was right.” Undyne says moving closer to the phone. She takes the receiver but hesitates to call the number. “Gerson, do you think I made the right choice?” She asks her old mentor.
“Hm, let me answer your question with another question,” Gerson says. “What makes you doubt you made a wrong one?”
“Well, for starters I watched them risk their life save another monster that they barely knew for two days, and then, even though I know they were scared, they stood up to me for not doing anything.” She gives the old tortoise a sheepish look. “They were more upset that someone else almost got hurt than they were worried about themselves getting hurt. How many other monsters do you know who are like that?”
The warrior sighs and rubs her neck. “The way they looked at me after they saved Kid… They knew I was out to get them in the end. They may not have known why, but they knew I was, and in the end when they had the choice fight they decided to speak. When they had the option to run, they chose to stay and help… When they looked at me, for a second I didn’t know who the real bad guy was.”
“Well, it sounds like to me you made the right choice then,” Gerson says sympathetically.
“But Gerson, they’re the last piece we need to set all of monsterkind free! Is it right to deny the emancipation of thousands solely because one human turns out to be good? Did I just damn us all to be trapped in the Underground even longer because I saw something that resonated with me in the eyes of one child?”
“Do you feel damned, Undyne?”
“What? No... I don’t think so.”
“Well, then neither will anyone else once they all get to know this kid, so you needn’t worry.”
“I do feel guilty, though,” Undyne confesses.
“What for?”
“For almost killing someone who’s a better monster than I am.”
The old tortoise nods knowingly and lets the conversation drop. Undyne turns towards the wall and dials her sentry’s number.
Sans almost didn’t hear his phone ring underneath all the barking. Struggling to get out of the five leads, he frees up his hand and pulls out his cell from his coat pocket. The phone almost falls up into the snow but he manages to catch it in time. Once free of the muffling fabric, the ringtone sang loud and clear.
♫A turtle lives in water, a tortoise lives on land, a turtle's not tortoise, it’s not hard to understand♪
Oh that’s weird. Why is Gerson calling?
Bringing the phone up to his skull, Sans thumbs the screen and hits “accept call”.
“Yeah?”
”I couldn’t do it.”
Sans isn’t sure if it’s the fact that Undyne answered or if it’s her word choice that makes him say; “Come again?”
”The kid. The human. You were right. They don’t have a clue about who they are. You won.”
“That’s what Paps and I have been trying to say this whole time,” Sans says, following up with a muffled (“Hey! You! Cut it out! Leave the mail carrier alone!”) If Undyne had heard she didn’t say so.
”Anyway, Kid and the punk are headed to your station. You should see them in a couple of minutes. Make sure they get to Alphys in one piece, okay?”
“Gee, I’d love to Undyne, really, but -ngfh!- I’m not at my post right now.”
”What? What do you mean you’re not at your post?! Being a sentry is your fucking job!”
“I know, I know, but I, uh, really screwed the pooch yesterday when I forgot I made a certain promise and then got some visitors at my station. And instead of letting sleeping dogs lie, they made me hightail it back to Snowdin and now I’m a little tied up compensating with some overdue quality time with the canine guard unit.”
”SANS, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT, BUT I CAN TELL WHEN YOU’RE MAKING PUNS, SO YOU’D BETTER CUT IT OUT RIGHT NOW OR YOU’RE FIRED!” Undyne rages. “Just… when do you think you’ll be able to return to your station?”
“That depends. How long does it take to walk five dogs? That’s not a set up for a joke, by the way. I’ve been on this walk for hours. Please, send help.” Sans can practically hear Undyne rubbing her temples as she exhales into the receiver.
“I’ll be over there in a few. Just give me a minute to grab some squeaky toys.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be… hanging around.”
”That better have not been a visual gag. I can’t even see you right now.”
“…”
”Oh my God, it was, wasn’t it?”
“Maybe.”
”Sans! If I arrive in Snowdin and find you LITERALLY TIED UP, I will terminate you on the spot!”
“Oh, come on, Undyne. Haven’t you barked up the wrong tree enough for one day?”
“YOU’RE THREATENING TO MAKE PAPYRUS AN ONLY CHILD, SANS!”
“I kid, I kid,” Sans chuckles. “See you in a few, Undyne.”
With that, Sans ends the call. He turns his head to focus on the five dogs intently circling the base of a tree, upside down in his field of view. Their leashes have tangled into one giant knot, with Sans hanging off one of the low branches, wrapped up tight like one of Muffet’s customers. It’s a good thing he doesn’t have any blood that could have rushed to his head, or else he would have a major headache from hanging upside down so long in this tether-cocoon the dogs have twisted him up into. The events leading up to this moment had not been quite as funny as the final outcome, but he had tried to make light of it anyway.
“Hey, guys,” Sans whistles to get their attention. “I think that squirrel you all went after is long gone. Mind helping me down now?”
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Can I ask for all of the OTP questions that you haven't done so far?
Y-you can, but they’re not in as much detail as they would be if they were asked individually. But... I’ve finished them!
- Who loves breakfast foods? Papyrus. Mettaton says he’s too busy for breakfast.- Who washes the dishes while the other dries? Mettaton dries them just to look like he’s helping out for once. Papyrus likes cleaning anyway ^^.- Who likes to drive? Papyrus. Gives him a chance to show off his cool sportscar. And that way he can be on time. Mettaton always likes to be fashionably late.- Who is more organized? Papyrus. Mettaton throws his stuff everywhere dramatically. Papyrus happily tidies up after him. It’s win-win.- Who likes to go outside and who is the hermit? Judging by “I’ll have to take you someplace really special… a place to I like to spend a lot of my time!!! … My house!!!” Papyrus is more of the hermit than Mettaton. Also, doesn’t he say something like “I’d never go on vacation for any reason” ? So that’s that.- Who gets super excited about everything? Both of them do. But Mettaton more so.- Who likes to eat spicy food? Mettaton does. Papyrus only ‘likes spicy food’ when Undyne asks. He’s gotta look cool in front of Undyne. And he looks especially cool when he’s running frantically for water, I’m sure. - Who loves to cook? They like cooking together. Though, whether or not the meal actually gets made, depends on how distracted they get while making it. (Feeding each other the ingredients is much more fun).- Who is the one who gets the other to try new things? Mettaton.- Who would go and do something stupid for 20.00$? Papyrus- if Undyne is betting him. I’m sure Mettaton would do something stupid for free just to prove Undyne wrong, though.- Who is the one who eats too much? Surprisingly, Mettaton. Keep him away from anything sweet. He will have it.- Who is the one who lies awake at night if they don’t have the other’s arms around them? Both.- Who would be the one to cry at their wedding? Both. It’s a sobbing mess.- Who buys all the parenting books? Papyrus. - Who is the one that tries to cook but can’t? Papyrus.- Who would cheer on the other in an act of stupidity? Both.- Who would get the tattoo of their lover’s name? Well, one’s made of metal and the other of bone. But if they could – both of them would.- Who would wear the other’s clothes in public? I can see Mettaton wearing one of Papyrus’ crop-tops.- Who is the caring one who would do anything for you in an instant? Papyrus.- Who constantly laughs at themselves? Mettaton. Laughs at his own jokes like they’re the best thing he’s ever heard. Papyrus agrees with him.- Who takes forever in the bathroom? Both.- Who bounces their leg up and down constantly? Mettaton. But it’s mostly to draw attention to his legs. He’ll shake his legs in front of you. Look at his legs, dammit.- Who is the one who doesn’t study and aces their exams? Erm. Mettaton?- Who is the one who can’t stop laughing when they are tired? Both of them. If they’re both tired they’ll just be laughing at stupid stuff all night.
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AfterGone - Part 3/3
Part 1 - http://scarredlove.tumblr.com/post/158033060124/aftergone-part-13
Part 2 - http://scarredlove.tumblr.com/post/158033367624/aftergone-part-23
The Origins of AG
Swap > (Can’t remember)
Fell > (Don’t know)
Ink - @comyet
Geno, Error > @loverofpiggies
Mute > @sori4rt
—CONTINUE—
According to Blueberry it’s been a lil over a month since I was first brought here to the Omega Timeline and believe me, it has been quite joyful. I enjoy hanging out with the other AUs and it’s funny to tease them, especially UnderFell since we tend to FIGHT a lot. They’d throw me a bone or I’d make one comment and then everyone stands back, at least it keeps me in shape.
Right now? I was drifting in and out of sleep one of the many love-seats, having one of my own now (or one I prefer to use at least). I’ve been sleeping a lot more, slowly trusting the others and losing the bags under my eyes, the nightmares have also been vanishing also or at least not been as terrifying as they used to be.
During my time here, I’ve gotten to know quite a bit of each AU whilst also gaining information from Blueberry. Turns out I’m the only Sans who has a claw instead of telekinesis like the rest, well, for now anyway. The main people I tend to speak more to, however, are probably UnderSwap Papyrus, Ink Sans and Mute Sans, each are quite unique to hang out with and I talk to them about different stuff.
With US Paps, we discuss my sister and my friends -and yes, it still is a touchy subject for me and I think it always will be.I do get emotional whilst talking about it, who wouldn’t? But it has kept me sane, lifting a weight off my shoulders which I never knew was there. Pap is the only one who truly knows about my AU, everyone else only knows that Chara killed everyone, they tricked me and killed themself to stop RESETS.
Ink makes me laugh, he’s been teaching me how to draw so I can put all my negativity and depression into something that isn’t self-loathing. I have to say I’m doing pretty good if I do say so myself although Ink is a master at art, welp, can’t control that. But when we’re not drawing, he talks about how he doesn’t have an AU like Error and Geno and how he’s kept himself sane. I look up to him for his humanity (although we’re the same height, heh).
Mute is a different case, since he doesn’t talk, Ink provided him with a pen and some paper, allowing him to communicate. It’s a slow conversation but I enjoy it, its rather peaceful to sit back and take a breather with a nice cup of either tea or ketchup. We talk about the other AUs and what ifs really, it’s kinda funny.
CRASH
I jolted up from my seat and scouted around, seeing SwapFell Sans and UnderSwap Pap in fighting stances with Blueberry looking upset. I groaned and rolled my eyes. This is getting ridiculous, I can already guess what was going on. Blueberry and Sourberry (yes, that’s his nickname) bumped into each other and Blueberry’s tacos had gotten all over Sour’s ‘battle body’, I could see the sause running down his armour and onto the floor with the rest.
I stood up and walked off, heading back to the corridor full of grey doors, to my AU. I basically spend half my time here in the Omega Timeline now, it keeps me from going mad and trust me, there have been several times when I’ve gone off the bend…
Thanks to a certain child…
—
I bet some of you are wondering:
“Hey, what’ja do with the souls?” “Hey, why haven’t you left the Underground?”
Welp, first of all, I never left because I don’t deserve it, everyone’s dream was to go to the Human world and make peace and live among with them, I didn’t really care back then since I didn’t really care much about the humans in the first place. If we came up it was a 50-50 chance of making peace or another war would occur.
So now, with everyone dead and unable to come back when it’s now possible? I don’t think I should be allowed to go and live with them, besides, time has frozen down here so why should it be any different up there? This whole universe is basically dead now.
As for the souls… That’s much more complicated. During the…’incident’, the human and I found the souls. Since humans couldn’t absorb other human souls, they figured they’d destroy them instead rather than hand them to me. They were smarter than that because if I did have them? They’d either RESET or I’d kill them before they do anything. I would’ve been a god, or close enough to one.
But there is one question I know you’re wanting to ask… “What happened to Chara’s soul?” …Fun fact: They’re still alive and kicking.
Just not in the way you think…
—PAUSE—
I shook the body of the human, screaming and begging them to RESET the timeline. To bring all the monsters back. To bring my friends back. My sister back.
After my voice had become a whisper and my movements became slow, I stopped and saw everything flash before my eyes, haunting me, taunting me. My thoughts only repeated one thing: what have I done?
I closed my eyes and covered my blood-coated hands over my jaw-hinges, trying to block out the image and sounds of the monsters, begging for their lives. Tears slithered and slipped over my cheekbones, my face hot from anger but my chest cold with sadness. I never should’ve gave the human what they wanted. I should’ve been more DETERMINED.
Instead I was weak. A coward.
I opened my eyes and gasped, falling off my knees and backing away in fear. The human I didn’t know, wearing blue, magenta and brown, their neck red with blood, was glowing.
I didn’t get what was going on until the light grew smaller and smaller, ending up being a circle in the middle of their chest. Their soul. A red heart came into view and floated up slowly, peacefully. I was shaking and I couldn’t stop. As soon as I saw the soul I had to make a quick decision: Capture it and lock it away somewhere or….
My movements however were quicker, I teleported to it and grabbed it, my own soul glowing weakly. I didn’t know what to do, I had the soul in my literal grip and all I could do was stare. I pulled the collar of my T-shirt lowere so my white, upside-down heart was in view and hesitantly brought it closer to my own soul, my skull sweaty with nervousness.
CRACK
I fell completely onto my back and screamed, louder then I ever had and thought that my own jaw was going to break off. It felt like my chest was burning, being scolded by the lava at Hotland. I couldn’t breathe and during my agony I couldn’t think clearly but I may or may not have screamed for my sister and everyone’s forgiveness.
The pain was something I deserved though, I’d killed everyone, believing it was for the best of everyone so the human would stop. I was wrong of course but I couldn’t turn back time. Then suddenly it all stopped, the pain quickly faded and left me gasping for air although I had no lungs like humans or some monsters.
My skull was wet with tears and sweat, my whole body was twitching and unsure if I should move, risking the chance of going through the pain again. I sat up slowly after what seemed like ten minutes, happy to discover the pain really was gone. Groaning with the achy feeling, I rubbed in between my eye-sockets and scratched my skull, yelping in pain.
What the…?
I ran my hand over the left side of my skull and felt it, a crack going around my entire head. I was unsure of why it was still in place and hadn’t fallen to the ground but I was glad it was still in it’s rightful position, I took a peak at my soul too and was again shocked.
It still had the shape of a regular monster soul but it was now red with a crack that looks similar to the one on my face on the left side of it. Tears rose up again but after closing my eyes for a minute, they were gone. I stood up and looked back at where I came from… deciding I needed to clean this whole place up from its filth.
I bet Papyrus would be proud of my cleaning.
—
It’s been a week or something since that dreadful day. I hated thinking about it but what else was there to do now? All I could do was pace the whole
UnderGround, watch replays and old videos of Mettaton’s shows, Alphys’ anime collection and read his manga or train with Undyne’s non-magical weapons.
I felt awful to even touch any of that stuff but I might as well make myself suffer some more. Who am I without my guilt and hatred? I can’t even remember what I was like when I was cheerful anymore.
After a few episodes of the MTT Quiz Show, my soul started to beat rapidly and before I realised it, I was on the floor, curled into a ball of pain and struggling to breathe. I heard imaginary laughter, toying with me and my sanity, I knew who it belonged to and tried to see if the human was here, my eyes landed on a being but it wasn’t a human.
It was myself.
Their cheekbones were blushing pink, their eye-sockets completely soulless and had black tear-marks running down their face and their grin… It was the scariest thing I ever saw.
My reflection giggled and crouched down to me, I scrambled to sit up and moved away, hitting the wall with a bump, they laughed harder. “This is a great show! I never thought I’d see a more pathetic look of you Sans but you proved me wrong! Congrats!” They started to clap and winked at me, I growled in anger.
“Chara.”
“Heya par’ner! See, I do keep my promises, unlike a certain someone!” They stood straight and walked toward the window. “It’s so quiet down here, so boring.
“If it’s boring, why end it?”
“Because!” They glanced at me and winked again, “it’s hilarious to see you in such a state!” They walked up to me and knelt, I pressed against the wall as much as I could. “How did it feel Sans? Killing everyone you loved? Killing everyone who depended on you to get their revenge in the previous resets?”
Those words… They were the ones that made me go off the edge… I was going mad, all my guilt and shame was making me insane. I couldn’t live on like this, I just couldn’t. What was the point anymore? I had nothing left and my life has no meaning…
Using my weakest moment to their advantage, they fully possessed me, taking over my body for an entire…. month? I had no clue how long, it seemed live forever. They sliced down the trees of the forest, they destroyed every puzzle, they tore up all the plants, wrecked Hotland and the Core and made the castle crumble to the ground, the barrier vanishing from sight.
I couldn’t wake up, didn’t wanna, what could I do to stop them? They were stronger than me and I’d always fall for their tricks.. but then we came across the Graveyard, they took pleasure at looking over the reminders of all the monsters that were slain. Then they looked at Papyrus’ grave… and their own.
I felt them weaken, like some small part of them acknowledges the fact that they are no longer alive. They never were. They materialized my claw and were ready to slice this place to nothing but rubble and splinters. It was then when I woke up, somewhere in the back of my skull, I kept telling myself to stay alive.
That I had to be DETERMINED to defeat the human.
Stay determined to defeat the human… The one thing I never did….
It felt like I was drowning, the human’s hatred was as thick and black as tar. I struggled to escape, I had to protect Papyrus and everyone! Even if it’s only their graves, their spirits must live on!
“WhAT arE YoU DoInG?” No way was I ever letting them control me again! Not after everything that had happened. We split apart, both gasping for air and balance, when I looked back at them they were staring at me with daggers. I sensed magic in use so I made sure I was quicker than them. I summoned a Gaster Blaster
I only had to hit them once.
—CONTINUE—
From then one, they never came back, sure I’d have my moments of anxiety and what not but that day was one I could never forget. They’re now one with me, their soul and mine are now finally in sync,and that’s why I’m happy with deciding to come back to the Omega Timeline, because they help me stay in control of my emotions, not the human.
After going to Alphys’ Lab, I’d accidentally hit a button or something and turned on his old monitor that showed footage from the cameras. I ended up watching them and found out that they were never there, it was my own mind screwing with me, meaning I’d basically went on a rampage in my own despair.
Time makes fools out of us all.
I stopped in front of Papyrus’ grave and knelt down, lifting her scarf up and over her tombstone. Whilst turning around and going back to the grey door to the Omega Timeline, I slipped on the blood-red scarf and opened the door, taking in the scene one last time. As soon as I returned, Error stood there looking both annoyed and arrogant whilst Ink looked unsure.
“AG, are you sure you wanna do this? You can’t ever-”
“Shut up, she’s letting me do my thing! Don’t spoil it for me!” Error glared at Ink.
I sighed. “I’m sure Ink, I’ve thought about this for a while and this is the best solution I can think of, staying in my AU is making me ill and not to mention that it’s basically dead already.”
He groaned out of frustration. “Fine…” he leaned toward me and whispered. “Hey, how’d you even persuade Error to do this for free?”
I giggled and placed a finger over my mouth. “I don’t know what you mean!”
Error’s blue threads wrapped around the door to my world, I lost my smiled instantly and watched it all unfold before me. Error looked like a child at a sweet shop, taking pleasure at destroying things.
The door shattered at the pressure of his threads, leaving a blank wall behind, he immediately walked off with a grin on his face and humming something. Ink rolled his eyes and the both of us cleaned up the mess he’d left.
I had tears going down my face, but this time it was tears of joy. I was at peace, I was finally able to move on, I shall live on for everyone. For Papyrus.
—GAME OVER—
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Winter Break (Redone) Chapter 11 (Friskriel Fanfic)
Notes: Oh hey look. Angst. Huh, that was a thing the original fic was definitely missing. No wonder it was a shitty story. Also fair warning, the word f** is used uncensored in this chapter. Thanks to @thunders29 for proofreading and being supportive!
Chapter Summary: Asriel makes his way back to school after the winter break, but trouble soon rears its ugly head for him. The fiasco at the party has already been spread, and Asriel is more than upset about it. 2543 Words.
Chapter 11 Then We Wouldn’t Have to Deal With You Moggers
Asriel groaned as his alarm clock blared in his ears. If there was a thing all teens his age could agree on, it would be that the alarm on the first day back to school after a long break is both the loudest and most annoying one yet. It didn’t help him either that he could barely sleep thinking about what may happen when he gets back to school, especially after the New Year’s Party fiasco. Granted, Asriel didn’t see any of the school gossipers there at the party ironically, so there was a chance he was safe.
As Asriel slowly sat up and turned off his alarm, he heard a small noise being emitted next to him. He turned his head to find that Frisk was actually laying next to him still asleep. Two questions popped into his head: Why was Frisk here, and how did they sleep through the alarm? No matter the answer, Asriel gently made his way out of bed without waking them up, collected his clothes for the day, and went downstairs for breakfast.
It wasn’t until Asriel had breakfast and showered that he saw Frisk again that morning. He was laying in the loft, drawing on his sketchbook, when he heard his door open. Sure enough, Frisk appeared from behind it, one of Asriel’s blankets wrapped around them.
“You’re up early.” Asriel remarked, peeking above his sketchbook.
Frisk didn’t respond, but instead made their way over to the boss monster. They gently took the sketchbook out of his hands, placed it on the coffee table, and flopped themselves on top of him. He let out a surprised puff as he got most of the air knocked out of him, but it was shortly followed by giggles.
“Mmm, warm…” Frisk murmured.
“Even being wrapped in that thing, you’re still cold?” Asriel chuckled. “By the way, why were you in my bed this morning?”
Frisk rubbed their head deeper into Asriel’s chest. “Room… Too cold. Wanted warmth.”
Asriel never did understand why humans got so cold so easily, even when they had on garments that practically simulated fur on their body. Maybe it was because humans didn’t have magic within them to keep them warm? Definitely a question to ask Alphys today in class. Speaking of which, Asriel fished his phone from his pocket and saw it was time for him to leave. As much as he didn’t want to leave the comforting embrace of his lover, school called, and Toriel was going to be even more pissed if he didn’t go. Asriel gently kissed Frisk on their head and guided them back to their feet, Frisk letting out a groan in protest.
“Asriel…” They started. “Please be careful today. I’m worried what may happen to you.”
“S-same, honestly.” He replied. “Maybe with luck, everyone has forgotten about it?”
Frisk gave him a face.
“Hey I’m just trying to be optimistic.”
Frisk just chuckled and shook their head. They then walked up to Asriel and gave him a kiss. They stayed together for a while, their tongues twisting with each other, until they broke off and Asriel made his way to school.
---
When Asriel first came to middle school, he remembered people constantly whispering around him. He knew the whispers then were about him, some good, some bad, all leaving him with soul-shaking anxiety. Now in high school, the whispering had become somewhat less, and any whispering that did occur didn’t affect Asriel quite as much as it did before. However, it seemed the whispering was especially loud today, and the Anxiety that Asriel had first felt four years ago came back.
Trying to avoid the gazes of the students around him, Asriel made it to his Chinese class. He was glad to see John and Dave already there, though part of him was also a little disgusted by them. Maybe it was the memory of the two of them going off somewhere during the party to bang, but he didn’t give it much attention. Instead, he put on his best cheery facade and walked up to them.
“John! Dave!” Asriel greeted. “Howdy, how’s it going?”
John jumped at his voice and gave Asriel a nervous look. When Dave turned around and faced the boss monster, even through his shades, his eyes looked worrying. It was rare to see Dave have any sort of emotion, so this led to Asriel to instantly lose what positivity he had.
“Um… Asriel,” John said nervously. “You… May want to read this.”
He handed Asriel over a paper. It was the school’s newspaper, the “What’s News” newspaper. Seems even Toriel had gotten her hands on naming this, but that wasn’t what caught Asriel’s eye and the boys’ attention. No, what made them act so anxious was the headline”
BREAKING NEWS: IS THE HUMAN-MONSTER AMBASSADOR AN INCESTUAL TETRAPHILE?
On the night of December 31st, 2020, a majority of the town, Ebott, had been invited over to the Mettamansion for the ever popular Mettaton’s annual New Year’s Party. It was a very exciting event, especially since this was the first time ever that the human-monster ambassador, Frisk Dreemurr, had been able to attend one of these parties. There was plenty of enjoyment to be had, listening to their story of how they made it through the underground first-hand. However, it was only shortly after they finished their story that we got a shock of a lifetime. Around 11:05, Frisk had begun searching for their brother, Asriel Dreemurr. Nobody thought anything of it at first, until Asriel suddenly appeared in front of them, more drunk than a JRPG character. The 16-year old boss monster must have been drinking out of loneliness, as shortly after he had begun to what seemed to be sexually advancing onto Frisk. They showed resistance, that is until Asriel had begun to try to kiss them! He had blacked out during it, but it was very obvious what he was trying to do. This leads many questions to the public: are Frisk and Asriel in a relationship? Does the ambassador have more personal reasons for their ambassadorship? How long has this been going on? How will this affect Frisk personally? We will find answers soon.
When Asriel finished reading the article, he was so enraged that he burned the paper into ashes within seconds, and tossed them into the trash. John and Dave looked at him with fear and surprise.
“Hey!” John whined. “I paid a dollar for that!”
Asriel shot him back a glare that made John cower. Asriel seemed to be a lot scarier than he normally was. Dave had assumed that Asriel would begin to freak out like his usual anxious self, but he did not foresee this. In a low voice, Asriel growled something.
“Who wrote this!?”
The boys looked at each other.
“I-I think Marco Linder.” Dave responded. “He is the director of the press. Go to Mrs. Lalonde, she may be able to tell you more.”
In an instant, Asriel stormed out of the classroom, leaving the boys and any other bystanders stunned. John and Dave gave each other a look, and they made their way to Mrs. Lalonde’s room. There was no telling what Asriel would do at this state.
---
Rage didn’t even define what Asriel was feeling right now. He expected an attack on himself, especially with how much he knew there was a lot people in the school that didn’t like him, and he would’ve taken it passively as per usual. But frisk? No, that was crossing the fucking line, and Marco was about to learn that. It would be a miracle if Asriel didn’t get suspended from burning him to a crisp.
Mrs. Lalonde’s room was directly below Mr. Walsh’s class, so the trip wasn’t too long. However, no matter the distance, it seemed someone beat Asriel to the punch. Someone who, just like the teen, was a white, furred monster of large, threatening size. There was no mistaking the loud, lecturing voice. Even if it seemed way more malicious than usual, Asriel knew exactly who was already chewing out his target.
“Do you realize just how much damage you have dealt to so many reputations?” Toriel asked in a surprisingly restrained voice. “And you just let this story slide? Without thinking just how badly it would affect the world? This school was not built on rumors and dishonesty!”
“He claims that he was just going to report on something about the party.” Mrs. Lalonde tried to explain. “I didn’t go so I wasn’t aware that what he was reporting was this.”
“But didn’t you look at the final print before it was published?”
“N-no… I just thought, since he’s been doing so well, I had confidence in Marco that it was perfect.”
Toriel scoffed at the teacher’s ignorance. She then turned to Marco, fire almost literally burning in her eyes.
“Listen up, young man. This school is built on patience, bravery, integrity, perseverance, kindness, justice, and determination. This school was not built on childish rumors that are to be reported in the school news!”
“But it isn’t a rumor!” Marco talked back, no hint of regret or restrain in his voice. “Besides, you’re just biased cause these are your kids!”
“Well I am a mother to my children first, so as their mother I demand you tell me why you did it.”
Marco huffed in frustration. “We were short in stories and we needed something good. Unlucky for you, someone managed to hand us this gem of a story.”
“Who?” Toriel demanded, but Marco just laughed.
“You think I would tell you? A news reporter never reveals their sources.”
“Is that so? Well, I’m sure you’d be happy to tell the same thing to your parents once you are suspended on the grounds of bad attitude, failure to comply to the school rules, and threatening the life of a student. Not to mention if I don’t hear who told you right now, the Newspaper Club will be disbanded, and Mrs. Lalonde loses some of her paycheck.”
A whine came from the teacher, but she refused to speak. Marco also seemed to not want to talk, but there was no fear in his eyes, only challenge. Toriel could not believe this. She had never met such an ignorant, stubborn person in her life. It’s hard to believe that she used to think that Marco was actually once a good student when he first came to the school two years ago. What has this world turned into?
The stare off between Toriel and Marco was cut short as some called out “Excuse me,” from the audience that had formed behind Asriel. Everyone turned towards the bunny monster who spoke up. She shrank back when she suddenly realized everyone was looking at her, then mumbled something barely audible.
“Speak up child.” Toriel commanded, a little softer than she has been.
“I-it was a g-girl named Gillian.” The bunny explained. At the word Gillian, Asriel gasped, and all his rage suddenly melted into disbelief. “Gillian Tynnclear from B-Black Hills High Sch-school. We got the info f-from her.”
Toriel sighed at that news. Black Hills has not been a very friendly school with Tutoriel High, so she wasn’t too surprised it was a student from that anti-monster school. She recomposed herself and looked around the room. Her eyes then landed back on Mrs. Lalonde and Marco.
“Well, it seems at least someone can show a little integrity.” She remarked. “Mrs. Lalonde, the Newspaper club is to not release any more issues until we see some justice. Mr. Linder, I will see you in my office after school with your parents. The rest of you, please go to your first periods, the bell is about to ring.”
The audience parted like the Red Sea as Toriel walked out of the room, a small shake in her stride. The students soon dispersed, chatting about what just happened, some praising the bunny, some throwing tetraphobic jokes her and Toriel’s way. Mrs. Lalonde even left the room, looking like she was about to pass out in fear. This just left Asriel and Marco. One look at the rather short human, and Asriel’s rage reignited.
Asriel advanced over to him. Fireballs had begun to form in his hands, the flames shaking without much restraint. Determination and anger were plastered on the boss monster’s face as he spoke to the senior.
“Why?” He growled. “Why would you ruin all we worked for? All the PEACE we worked for!?”
The second Asriel got the last word out, Marco became a blur, and Asriel felt something smack him right in the cheek, knocking him to the ground in pain and snuffing out the flames in his palms. The world blurred, and Asriel began to feel dizzy. His cheek began to go numb as he saw a pair of shoes walk up to him, kicking him in the stomach and knocking the air out of him as he curled up in pain.
“Peace? Bullshit. All you monsters are nothing but trouble.” Marco spewed. “You all come here with your magical bullshit, suddenly claiming everyone is connected by their ‘souls’ and then we find out you can actually MAKE lives? You all have played god long enough.”
He kicked Asriel again.
“If only Trump actually became president. Then we wouldn’t have to deal with you moggers.”
Moggers was the worst insult one could call any monster. It was an old phrase from before the war, often used more to describe the more corrupt monsters. However, today it was used as a slur, much like fag and the n-word. It was the nail in the coffin to make tears finally stream from Asriel.
“Go back to the Underground, and then go to hell.” Marco spat, leaving Asriel to squirm on the floor in pain. When the door closed, Asriel let out a sob that he had been holding in. He wasn’t crying over being attacked, or being insulted, or even at meeting possibly the worst human ever. No, what made him cry was that he broke the promise he made to Frisk that morning. He blamed himself, as per usual, and was afraid to see Frisk after this. At the same time, he wanted them now more than ever. They would heal him, make him feel better, just make him forget about this only for a little while. But instead, Asriel just laid on the cold, tiled floor, crying.
A short minute later, Asriel heard a loud zap, followed by a pair of arms picking him up. He tried to look through the tears and dizziness to see exactly who it was. All he saw was a round, bone white head, and something blue underneath it.
“C’mon kid, let’s get you home.” The character said. Asriel felt a rush of wind and the background suddenly changed. He finally saw the character to be Sans, which made sense to him now that he thought about it. Sans laid the boss teen down on his bed, taking off his shoes and pulling the covers over him. He gave one last scratch to the back of Asriel’s ear before walking off.
“Rest up,” He whispered. “I’ll go get Frisk.”
#undertale#pfreaks PPUTAU#undertale winter break redone#gender-neutral fisk#non-binary frisk#transgender frisk#asriel#asriel dreemurr#frisk#frisk (undertale)#toriel#toriel (undertale)#sans#sans (undertale)#writing#friskriel#asrisk#ocs#original characters#tw: homophobic slur#homophobic slur
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