Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Long ago, during a time that HUMANS no longer remember, a grand kingdom, populated by magical creatures known as MONSTERS, stood atop the highest of the world’s mountains. Its king, ASGORE, aimed to keep the world around his people under his dominion for absolute security and peace. But this lofty goal came at the cost of cooperation with humanity; monsters and humans waged a brutal war, with neither side able to push back hard enough to gain the upper hand. While humans were more resilient and numerous, monsters were more powerful spiritually, and could take human SOULS to empower themselves further. Even with casualties mounting higher and higher on both sides, neither exposed their weaknesses long enough for an end to ever come.

ASGORE, fed up with the lack of progress, commissioned an ambitious project: the CORE, a power center unlike anything dreamt up prior, capable of providing the entire Monster Kingdom with miraculous energy, in such high quantities that humanity wouldn’t have a hope of replenishing their own resources in tandem. However, the CORE triggered a series of catastrophic tremors, that opened the Earth under the kingdom, and dragged it far underground. Their oldest enemies having destroyed themselves, humanity placed a magical barrier over the land where the kingdom once stood, to ensure that the monsters would never return.

Monsterkind was forgotten over the course of a millennia…a distant myth that fewer and fewer humans believed each time the story was told…eventually being forgotten altogether.

Until two humans uncovered the bereaved race by accident…

“I have you now, Varik!”

A sorceress dressed in revealing mage’s armor, with a red ring on her left index finger, stands before you. Her name is Dela Delon, and she’s been chasing you across the world for years. She’s tailed you across continents, across the ocean, through a shipwreck, and now to this unexplored mountaintop. She has now cornered you on a ledge overlooking the side of the mountain.

“You murdered my master and ran like a coward! Now, I’ll have my satisfaction! Your life ends here!”

She raises her staff into the air, a brilliant orb of light manifesting above it. It crackles with arcane lightning, charging up for what must be an exceedingly powerful attack. With nowhere to run, you brandish your shield, and prepare for the worst.

“Take this!”

Dela pulls her arm back to cast her attack, but before she can, the orb of magic begins to vibrate wildly. It flashes multiple shades of yellow and orange, and begins making popping noises; Dela looks up in confusion at her own spell.

“What? What is this?!”

An ethereal wall, curved like a dome, begins flashing in and out of sight as the orb bounces off it over and over. Dela pulls the staff down away from the dome, but it continues flashing.

“A magic barrier? Here? We’ve crossed it…and now it’s overcharged!”

She turns back to face you, a mixture of confused fear and hatred in her eyes.

“Did you plan this, Varik?! Do you plan to take me with you?! Because this won’t stop me!”

Dela charges up her spell once more.

“Die!”

She thrusts the staff towards you, and the orb flies off its fixed position, traveling towards you. You raise your shield to block the projectile, but before it reaches you, it detonates, sending out a shockwave that pushes you back over the ledge. Instead of falling over, however, you rebound off the flashing dome, which has now materialized behind you as well. You bounce back onto the ledge, landing on your knees. Dela looks incredibly angry.

“Dammit!”

The world around you begins shaking violently. The flashing of the dome gets faster and faster, bolts of arcane lighting striking the ground intermittently around you. Dela loses her footing, and falls to her knees as well. Large cracks in the mountaintop begin to form between the points where the magic lightning touches down, sending chunks of the earth falling away. A massive bolt strikes a point between all of the cracks, and the ground fully opens beneath you and Dela. The light of the sunrise illuminating the sky is pulled out of view as you drop into the massive hole, your heavy armor pulling you down into a head-first freefall. Dela, also falling, is lost from your view as the darkness of the interior of the mountain envelops you; you grip your sword and your shield tightly, twisting your head around to find any point of reference. As you crane your neck to face what’s below you, something comes into view. You have barely a moment to process it before you hit the floor. A maze lined with tall stone walls that seems to stretch on forever, a tall structure in the distance that is quickly obfuscated, and the last thing you see before everything goes black once more: a bed of golden flowers.

You return to consciousness after an unknown amount of time, groggily sitting up to inspect what’s around you, and yourself. You don’t seem to have sustained any injuries; you lack bruises, fractures, or even any cuts under the armor. It appears you landed on this flowerbed, surrounded by green grass, in the middle of a room made of stone brick. It’s very rustic in appearance, with weeds and vines sprouting from the cracks between them. Looking up, you see an empty black void, lacking anything but the dim light of that Tower, which you can barely see in the distance. Despite the lack of candles or lamps in the room, it’s somehow illuminated well enough for you to see everything around you.

You stand up and check your possessions; you were traveling light when Dela found you. A short sword, steel armor, leather shield, and a single healing potion, along with a paltry 100 gold pieces. Had you known what would befall you this day, you would have scavenged more from the shipwreck. Nonetheless, this is what you’re working with. You pack everything back up in your knapsack, tighten your armor straps, ready your sword and shield, and take a deep breath. Ahead of you is a single reinforced wooden door that appears to be unlocked. You open it and step through.

The door leads out into more labyrinthine hallways, opposite the direction of the Tower. There is now a roof over the rooms and hallways, where you cannot see the dark void above you. You decide to make the Tower your goal. It’s the only major landmark you have to reference right now, and if anything will lead back above ground, it will be there. You begin traveling the labyrinth, looking to move in the direction of the Tower. Stepping in and out of rooms, you find that most of them lead to dead ends or more doorways. You travel to a few rooms, tracing back to the one you started in to explore as much of the area as you can. In one room, you find a chest; opening it reveals a silver key. You take the key and head back to the flower room once more to ponder where to go next. As you step into the doorway, you see someone kneeling over the flowerbed. Dressed in a purple robe with white sleeves, and a hood pulled up over their head, one detail indicates their non-human nature: the fluffy white paws at the end of their arms and legs. It appears they haven’t noticed you. You hear them mutter something under their breath, a feminine voice forming the words.

“Why would they be flattened like this? There’s no one else on this floor…”

You decide to quietly start walking away, past the door and down a hall you haven’t explored yet. As you do, however, you take a step onto a section of floor that suddenly gives way, revealing a pit hidden under the thin dirt layer. You fall in, pain shooting through your legs as you hit the bottom, and your armor clangs from the force of the drop. You ignore the discomfort and make yourself jump back up, grabbing onto the edge of the pit and pulling yourself out. As you do, your eyes meet somebody else’s; the figure from the flower room has stepped out, likely to investigate the noise you made. You pull yourself to your knees and look at the figure directly.

Under the hood, her face is that of a goat’s, with snow white fur, red irises, and two small horns adorning her cranium. On her robe, a mystic-looking rune is embroidered into the fabric: A small circle with wings, and three triangles beneath it, all kept inside the shape of a shield. One triangle is placed beneath the other two, and the triangle on the right in the top row is upright while the other two are inverted. Her eyes go wide, and she cups their hands over her mouth. A moment later, she takes off down another hallway, moving with urgency like that of a worried mother. You rise to your feet, not pursuing her. Reaching into your knapsack and taking out the health potion, you debate using it to treat the injures you sustained in the fall. You decide against it; you need to save it for a more critical time. You put it back and make your achy legs work as you jump across the pit.

You press on through another door, stepping into yet another room that looks like all the others: grassy floor, stone brick walls. In here, however, stands another mobile creature. It appears to be a skeleton, no life in its eyes, ambulating around in seemingly random directions, carrying a severely damaged sword in one hand despite having no muscles. As you step into the room, the skeleton suddenly begins stumbling towards you, raising its sword and bringing it down hard. You block the blow with your shield and swing your short sword twice. It connects both times, and the skeleton falls apart into a pile of bones. At the same time, a door to your left opens, and the goat-monster lady steps through. She has a nervous look on her face as she realizes you’re in the room, but her expression straightens as she looks at the skeleton before you. She purses her lips, then raises one of her paws, palm open and facing outward. A fireball appears in her grasp and flies forward, striking the pile of bones and incinerating it. The flames barely miss you, and the ash pile left behind scatters in the grass. You look back over at the goat lady, and she meets your gaze, looking a little friendlier than before.

“Greetings, human. Forgive my reaction earlier. It’s not often I find new people here in the RUINS, let alone…humans.”

“I am TORIEL, the caretaker of the RUINS. I suppose I’ve become accustomed to the presence of these soulless husks…My apologies for not warning you.”

Toriel walks over to you, keeping a few feet away from you at all times.

“Another thing I’m used to that you wouldn’t be are those pitfalls. I’m impressed by your ability to climb out of them unassisted. Are you a soldier?”

“…A bounty hunter. I see. Well, perhaps I can stop apologizing and act instead. Here.”

Toriel raises both of her paws and extends them towards you. You notice her hesitate as she does so. A gentle glow radiates from your body. You feel the pain in your ankles fade away completely, and all your other aches soothe over.

“I don’t think that the human kingdoms have placed any bounties down here. I doubt they remember us. What is your purpose here, bounty hunter?”

“…Fallen into the underground, like all my people before. I’m sorry for you, truly I am.”

“The RUINS are the deepest part of the underground as well. Your chances of returning to the surface are…slim.”

“But you seem stalwart…I am certain you will be okay if you press forward.”

“Don’t feel the need to repay me for the healing spell. I’m…happy to see you safe.”

Toriel stands there for a moment; neither of you say a word.

"Hmm."

Another moment passes.

“I have other business to attend to in the RUINS.”

“I like to keep it as clean as I can and remove the husks when they appear.”

“If you need anything then…come and find me.”

“Farewell.”

Toriel quickly walks out of the room, closing the door behind her. You look around a bit more before continuing. A metal sign hangs on ones of the walls. It reads:

“Testing something before committing to it is always a wise choice.”

You exit the room through the door Toriel went through; she’s nowhere to be found. You navigate the labyrinth of the Ruins, jumping over spots of the floor out of paranoia for more pits. You find a chest in one dead end of the labyrinth. Inside, you find a small bag full of steel balls. Going further into the Ruins, you come across a wide room, barren of any markings and with a single door on the other end. Suspicious, you reach into the bag of steel balls and toss a few out onto the floor in front of you. Nothing happens, and you retrieve the balls. You do the same thing with the next section of the floor. Instantly, the surface gives way, and the balls fall into the pit. You turn to the floor to your left and repeat the process; the floor does not give way. You keep this up as you find your path around the various pits, reaching the other end and continuing on.

More time passes as you push further into the Ruins. You’ve ascended a few floors, and the so-called “husks” have become more prevalent. In addition to mobile skeletons, you find yourself accosted by gelatinous slimes, rabid bats, and frighteningly large wasps. You sense a certain lack of lifelessness within all of them as you carve through them, the skeletons reconstituting themselves shortly after you strike them down, and everything else dropping limply onto the ground like ragdolls. However, your equipment does begin degrading, and as you run between rooms, dodging attacks and revealing and avoiding more pits, you feel the blade of your sword begin to loosen as you strike blow after blow against your adversaries. You spot an unusual door, marked with a red sign with a white symbol on it, and as you approach it, another wasp rounds the corner behind you and charges, stinger at the ready. You turn on your heel and block the blow, trapping the wasp’s stinger in your shield, then slash your sword across its abdomen. As the wasp perishes, your blade finally snaps, and you’re left holding what is little more than a slight pointy hilt.

You walk up to the door and inspect the red sign; the white symbol on it appears to be in the shape of an arachnid. You decide to investigate, despite lacking a proper weapon, opening the door and scanning all around you for threats as you step inside, and the door shuts behind you. You find yourself standing before a table like one you’d find in a marketplace, with a variety of goods stashed in a pile on a stool next to the wall behind it. You feel tempted to simply take what you need, but you feel you might not get away with it in this room. As you walk up to the table, a small spider hops up on it. It remains there, immobile, as if waiting for you. You look up and notice a sign, listing various items at different prices, hanging from the ceiling. Checking your coin bag, you find that you’ve accrued 2058 gold pieces from your escapade, along with more potions in your bag, and your bag of steel balls. Deciding to test this apparent center of capitalist interaction, you place 200 gold pieces on the counter, the listed price for a sledgehammer. The spider moves over to the little stack of gold and uses its tiny body to push it behind the table. Moments later, a sledgehammer falls handle-first against your leg; out of the corner of your eye, you catch the image of many tiny creatures scuttling around. You do more business with the spiders, trading and buying tools and weaponry. By the end of it, you’ve sold most of your potions to grab a new iron shield, traded your old shield in to buy two new short swords, and still have 1102 gold pieces left over, along with your one original health potion.

Exiting the spider shop, you continue wandering the Ruins and fighting creatures, one sword sticking out of your knapsack. All of the doors you can find don’t lead anywhere new, and you’re starting to run out of options. You come across a wall with a few cracks in the foundation; it appears much weaker than the other walls of the labyrinth. Hefting your new sledgehammer, you bring it down on the wall, causing it to crumble on impact, creating an opening to the other side. You pass through your new entrance, finding two more doors and a stairway leading further upward. One of the doors open, and Toriel steps through. You hear her mutter something under her breath.

“(How did he get here?)”

She looks stunned as her eyes fall on you and she realizes what you’ve done.

“T-that wall! Why did you-?!”

She seems genuinely frustrated.

“These RUINS are ancient! They must be treated with care!”

“To rebrick that wall is as much of an insult to its history as you destroying it!”

“You can’t simply…DO that!”

“You…human-!”

The sound of footsteps are heard somewhere on the floor above. Toriel turns to the stairwell, and peers up it.

“Another? Who else is here?!”

“Show yourself!”

The footsteps above move away from the stairwell. Toriel looks at you, pointing firmly.

“Remain here. I have choice words to give to you once I’ve dealt with this.”

“I am quite serious. Stay. Here.”

She narrows her eyes and points hard at the floor as she speaks, then takes off for the stairwell. You stand there for a bit, before going over to inspect the stairwell. Untrusting of the way Toriel has been acting, you grab some more steel balls and toss them past the base of the stairwell. As they land on the first step, a tiny rune appears beneath each of them, and the steel balls visibly heat up to their melting point. It seems Toriel trapped the stairs with magic as she ascended them to keep you here by force. You investigate the other doorways around the room, one leading to a dead end, and the one Toriel came through, which is locked. The wall next to this door, however, is visibly crumbling, with a massive crack running across it from the floor to the ceiling. Ignoring Toriel’s disapproval towards your first time breaking down a wall, you swing your sledgehammer and do it again. The wall falls even easier than before, and you sprint through the opening, not wanting to risk an even angrier goat woman catching up with you from the stairwell. The hallway before you is full of husks, and you push yourself through the horde, carving up the creatures with your blade.

You continue blitzing through the labyrinth, finding more treasure chests with varying contents from the useful to the diabolical. You open one and find yourself with an arrow lodged in the chest plate of your armor. Pulling it out, you use it to prop open the lid of the chest to prevent it from firing again; inspecting the contents, you find a pristine rapier lying within, wrapped in a velvet cloth. Your recently purchased short sword already beginning to wear, you eagerly take the blade out of the chest, cloth and all, and slide it into your scabbard, placing the cloth in your knapsack. You find another stairwell leading further upward into the Ruins; checking a small hand drawn map you’ve began keeping, you believe that this stairwell moves in the direction of the tower. Optimistic to your chances, you ascend.

As you reach the top of the stairwell, you find yourself in a large room with a cleanly wooden floor, and wallpaper instead of brick. As you step in past the doorway, a smell like that of a fresh-baked buttery pastry fills your nostrils. The interior of this area seems like that of a common home, complete with furniture, a fireplace, and what looks to be a kitchen from beyond one of the doors. You step lightly as you continue inside, walking down one of the hospitable hallways, which leads to a few doors, and a mirror placed between them. Inspecting the mirror, you see your reflection clearly, your eyes still hidden behind your long, dark auburn bangs, the contours of your face stained with dirt, and your armor bearing various scorch marks from the battles you’ve engaged in on your way up here. You move towards one of the doors, reaching out to open it, when you hear a familiar voice from the other side of the home.

“I know you’re here, bounty hunter. There’s no need to avoid me.”

“Come to the kitchen, please. You’ll have no difficulty finding it.”

You hold off on entering the room, and follow Toriel’s voice. Passing through a living room, and stepping into the kitchen, you find her standing over a stove, wearing glasses and with her hood dropped, revealing the extent of her goat-like features with two white, floppy ears. Up close, you see a scar running up the side of her face, stopping just underneath her eye. It looks like she was slashed with a weapon long ago, and the mark never faded. On the inert stove rests a pie, fresh out of the oven and cooling. She seems rather calm compared to the last time you saw her; you suspect premeditation, but you decide to play along for the time.

“It’s quite a perilous environment, is it not?”

“I’ve wandered these RUINS for so long, sometimes I make my rounds without opening my eyes.”

“It can become lonely at times, sure, but I’ve found security in the assurance that nothing surprising will upset the routine I have here. The few monsters who are here are company enough for me.”

“But I can’t control what fate throws my way.”

Toriel picks ups the pie with oven mitts, and places it on the counter next to the stove.

“It’s not your fault that you fell down here. I doubt any human would come here of their own volition.”

She uses a blunted knife to take a slice out of the pie, and places it on a plate. She turns to you.

“So, I apologize for being cold. You’ll be here for quite some time, and there’s no need to be hostile about it.”

Her eyes fall onto the rapier in your scabbard. You swear you see her eye twitch as she does so. She extends the plate towards you with a smile on her face.

“Let’s give it a fresh start, then. This is my own recipe. I’ve spent ages perfecting it, but I’ve never had a human try it before. Tell me what you think!”

You take the slice of pie. Warning bells are going off in your head as you examine the dish. While you are quite hungry, you can’t help but feel that Toriel’s attitude towards you has only worsened the longer you’ve remained in the Ruins, and this pie could be very much the thing that ends you. However, you also consider that if she truly intended to kill you, she would have done so with magic already. Even if this pie is detrimental, you do doubt it’ll be fatal. Steeling yourself with questionable bravery, you pick up the pie, and take a bite out of it. It’s quite sweet, with a mix of butterscotch and cinnamon flavoring. Toriel looks pleased as you continue to enjoy the delicacy. Then, all at once, your hesitancy is vindicated. You feel your tongue go numb, then your face, then your limbs, and you daintily fall over onto the floor. Before your tongue falls asleep, you recognize another taste, one resembling escargot, with an acidic tang to it. Toriel catches you by the arm before you hit the floor, and as you drift off, you see her expression. It’s not one of malice or even smug pride. Instead, she seems oddly concerned, despite her actions. You black out on the kitchen floor.

You awaken on the floor of another room in the Ruins, back to the same stone walls you’ve spent so much time trying to escape. You feel well rested, but sluggish, and you’re racked by a pang of anxiety when you realize all your possessions are gone, save for your armor. You’re resting on top of the velvet cloth you recovered with the rapier; it seems to be the one other thing Toriel left for you. There is a door on the opposite side of the room. Getting up to go open it, you find that it’s locked. You push against the walls of the room, looking for a way out, but have no luck in doing so. You pick up the cloth and wrap it up, trying to figure out what you’ll do next. A strange mannequin stands in the corner by the door; you can’t think of any way you’d use it to escape in your current situation. As you look around the room for any kind of weakness or method of escape, you spy a small hole in the wall, not big enough for you to reach any of your fingers in. You can’t decide what you would do with this opening, so you look elsewhere.

You see something scurrying along the wall. It’s another spider, flitting from spot to spot with no apparent destination. Looking at the pattern the spider is moving in, you recognize it as creating the shape of the letter “V”. You ponder on its meaning, until you correlate the letter with the material of your one possession, the velvet cloth. You extend the cloth towards the spider, who lands on it and begins picking at a loose thread. The spider begins unravelling the thread, and jumps down into the hole, taking the thread with it. Some time passes, and you suddenly feel a shift in the weight on the other end of the thread through the hole. You gently pull it back through to you, and find an absurdly small key tied to the end of the thread. Looking over at the door to your little cell, you spot an absurdly small keyhole right in the center of the door. Inserting the key and turning it, the door shoots open, rising so fast that it snaps the key in two as it enters the ceiling. You duck and roll out of the cell before the door is pulled back down by gravity, locking once more. In the process, you accidentally bump the mannequin, causing it to topple into the doorway. As the door slams shut, the mannequin is bisected by the force, cotton spreading all over the ground. You’ve escaped, but now you’re unarmed.

The paths before you in the Ruins don’t follow any of the routes you pushed through on your first time through, indicating that you’re in a new area. You don’t waste any time in opening more doors, determined to find your way back up to Toriel’s home to confront her properly. As soon as you step through a door, however, you once again fall into a pit. Sheepishly, you pull yourself out, only to flop onto another fake floor, falling into another pit. You pull yourself out again, this time landing on firm ground, and lie on your side, waiting for the pain to go away on its own as you rest. It seems like the time passes very quickly, and your ankles are in walking condition once again. With a newfound hatred of large holes, you slowly make your way across the room, and through another door. Standing before you is another hostile form: the voluptuous and deathly serious Dela Delon. She smirks as you walk through the door.

“Aha! I’ve found you, Varik, and without so much as a dagger in your grasp!”

“Truly, the heavens are no longer looking upon you with fortune.”

“Do not think our circumstances here have adjusted my intentions. Your life is still mine to take!”

She produces a spell book with the icon of a raging fire on the cover.

“I have you now!”

She takes a step towards you, opening the book and preparing to perform an incantation. However, the floor before her is yet another pit, and she falls in.

“Gah!”

The spell book falls out of her grasp and lands at the edge of the pit; you step forward and pick it up. The spell Dela intended to use seems remarkably simple in its instructions. While it’s been a while since you’ve used magic, you’re certain this is within your capabilities. Dela pulls herself out of the pit, and up onto the side of it she was standing on beforehand. You’ve seen her perform remarkable feats of acrobatic ability and strength like this before; she’s no enemy to underestimate. A blank look forms on her face as she realizes you’re holding the spell book, and she begins to back away. Looking at the instructions in the spell book, you extend your hand and mimic the diagrams within, aiming towards Dela’s feet. A fireball erupts from your hand, traveling forth and scorching the grass in from of her. She grits her teeth and runs away; you decide to go on the offensive, jumping over the pit and pursuing her.

While she’s swifter than yourself, Dela fails to close any of the doors behind her as she retreats, and you follow the path laid before you by her split-second decisions on where to go. You hear a few magical blasts ahead of you, and you charge forward through the next door. You see Dela looking back at you, daggers in her eyes, as she finally shuts a door behind her. You’re now standing in a room full of disassembled skeleton piles. You’re ready for what happens next; the skeletons reconstitute themselves, rusted and broken weapons at the ready, and assail you. Using your new spell book, you propel fiery projectiles at each of the skeletons, eradicating them permanently. As you turn to deal with the last skeleton, you feel an overwhelming sense of enervation as you repeat the incantation once again. It seems you’ve pushed the extent of your body’s ability to wield magic as far as it can go for a time, while the skeleton bares down on you. You toss the book at the skeleton, striking it in the chest to stumble it, then clench your fist and punch the creature, over and over again, your fingerless leather gloves ripping as shards of bone splinter off with each strike. The adrenaline takes over, and you ignore the pain as you indulge yourself in the bare-handed carnage; you keep striking the skeleton as it falls to the ground. You grow tired of it, however, and the adrenaline subsides, your now stinging, gloved hands bleeding as you stand over the shattered pile of bone and marrow. You walk over to the spell book, pick it up, and with a feeling of replenished magical energy, cast another fireball to finish of the husk completely. You take a moment to calm yourself, and continue onward.

With the spell book at your side, you gradually find your way back through the Ruins, reaching the staircase leading back up to Toriel’s home once again. You cautiously ascend the steps once more, scanning the domestic environment as you enter the home. A small frog creature, with what seems to be another, smaller creature clinging to its chest, stands beneath it. It speaks to you as you walk around the house.

“Ribbit. (Ah, another human. Truly, things are changing faster than any of us down here would expect them to.)”

“(It seems like you have a chip on your shoulder. Do you have a quarrel with the caretaker?)”

“(She’s not as cold as she may seem. On occasion, she even allows those like us to dwell in her home when the RUINS grow too cold.)”

“(Her home’s staircase is enchanted; husks cannot navigate it. She offers the most security to those who live here, and we all admire her for it.)”

“(But you seem…driven. I won’t stand in your way.) Ribbit.”

The frog monster has an aura of liveliness not expressed by the husks in the labyrinth. They’re distinct, like a person; they are most certainly the kind of company Toriel referred to before. While the frog keeps its eyes on you, it remains true to its word, not making any movements to impede you as you walk through the house. You return to the hallway with the mirror in it and go to enter the door you’d meant to on your first visit. The knob turns, and you step inside. You find yourself in a bedroom, constructed for a single person, with a single bed on which rests the rapier you recovered earlier. Your knapsack is propped up against the bed; inspecting the contents, your short swords and sledgehammer are gone, but your shield, scabbard, pouch of gold, remaining health potion and bag of steel balls are present. You wonder why Toriel would keep the rapier if she discarded the other weaponry. Picking up the blade and inspecting it, you notice an engraving on the guard you didn’t see before: a cursive “A”, colored green. You recover your scabbard from your belongings and sheathe the rapier once more.

Looking around the bedroom, you ascertain that in its current state, it likely hasn’t been used in quite some time. Books of varying size, covering topics from fantastical stories to do-it-yourself construction projects, line a bookshelf made of polished wood. A dark leather jacket, sleeves embroidered with yellow stripes and that same rune Toriel wears on her robe stitched on each shoulder, is draped over a chair in front of a desk. The desk is covered with old ink stains; opening a drawer built into the desk reveals piles of what appear to be design drawings for blades, with outlandishly exotic designs you’ve never seen in anything you’ve wielded. One drawing catches your eye, an image of a traditional longsword with an exotic guard and hilt, covered in bluish spikes with yellow decorations of dragons, and one massive spike on the pommel. Examining the drawing further, you find multiple references to the blade being depicted as the “Planet Buster” and what you can gleam from these notes indicates that it’s not a creation of the illustrator, but a preexisting weapon of human origin. Whoever created this seems to revere the weapon, in such a way that certainly doesn’t line up with what you’ve seen of Toriel.

You return your attention to the leather jacket. Despite its casual appearance, the leather is remarkably well tanned, almost impossibly so. Dragging your fingernail across its surface, pressing into it, not a single mark is left on the material, and it feels like your own nail has been worked down afterward. Inspecting your own dinged-up armor, it actually feels weaker in comparison. In a moment of ego, you take off your battered armor and put on the jacket; it fits you very well, and as you take a couple practice swings with the rapier, you find that it provides excellent maneuverability, and the remarkably tough leather makes you feel just as protected as before. You’ve decided you’ve spent long enough in here. Gathering your belongings, save for your abandoned armor, and heading for the door, you hear multiple footsteps running throughout the home and up a flight of stairs. You wait until they pass by completely before stepping out. Investigating where the footsteps trailed off to, you find a stairwell leading upwards towards an area above the home. You ready your shield and begin moving up the stairs, leaving the rest of the Ruins and Toriel’s home behind.

As you ascend the stairs, it becomes dimmer and dimmer as you leave the lighting of the home behind you. Only the occasional candle lights your way as you climb higher and higher. Eventually, the walls next to the stairs stop, and you find yourself with a clear view of the entirety of the Ruins. The massive complex of old, stone walls stretches as far as you can see in every direction, the darkness of the void above them resembling a starless night sky. No matter how hard you look, you can’t see any ceiling, but your do see the Tower, directly connected to the stairs you’re traveling up now. You feel determined to rise to the highest point these stairs will carry you, and then further beyond that. The amount of ground you’ve covered and retread to get here has built up your preparedness for whatever comes next; you march up the stairs, two steps at a time, as the Ruins becomes less and less distinct, far beneath you.

You reach the top the stairs and find yourself in a darkened chamber. Ahead of you, standing a massive archway made of carved marble, is Toriel. She faces away from you, hood down, breathing heavily, the digits on her paws clawed up with patches of fur seemingly singed away. An uncomfortable silence settles over the chamber as she steadies her breathing and she slowly turns around. Her irises fluctuate as she examines your new attire, and her expression is even more vicious than what you’ve seen before.

“That other human…she kept saying the name ‘Varik.’”

“That’s you, isn’t it?”

“Tell me, Varik.”

“What kind of person are you to take my possessions and approach me, wearing them as if you’ve always owned them?”

Toriel’s brow furrows and she clenches her fists.

“As awful as it may be to say, I did hope that you’d be lost to the RUINS.”

“That’d you give up and let the husks claim you, so I could return to my routine.”

“I didn’t hate you, but I was wary. I’d thought you didn’t deserve death.”

“There’s no way for you to get back to the surface. When you didn’t give up, I knew you’d try to escape. And your callous behavior in doing so has been unacceptable.”

“I never supported ASGORE’s foolish war against humanity. He was driven by ego and a misplaced sense of purpose."

“But I saw what humans did to us as well…his actions do not exonerate humanity for their cruelty to my people.”

“I know what people like you are capable of, Varik. I’ll already have to pursue that young woman and ascertain her nature. But you…”

“She called you a murderer. And I believe her.”

“Your lack of hesitation in destroying the RUINS. Your indifference to combat, even only against husks. This is just the beginning of what you’ll do. I’ve seen it before.”

Toriel extends her arms to her sides. Palms open, she creates two fireballs.

“If you get past me, you’ll start down a path to eradicate monsterkind for the sake of your own freedom. I won’t allow that.”

“Not again.”

Toriel attacks, sending a storm of fireballs towards you. You manage to block a few with your shield, but others reach you, scorching your skin and hair. You notice that the ones that strike the jacket seem to evaporate on impact, leaving no injury or marks behind. Lifting your shoulder along with your shield to block more of the attack, you lunge forward, drawing the rapier from your scabbard and swiping it at Toriel, slashing her robe and striking her. She winces and steps out of the way, your follow-up thrust whiffing as she creates another wall of fire to send at you. The struggle between you and Toriel is grand, as you dodge around her attacks, blocking what you can, trying to get in close and land as many precise strikes as you’re able to. You keep up the assault, intending to out-endure Toriel, your years of combat experience lending well to your efforts. You thrust your rapier once more, deliberately aiming for the area above Toriel’s right shoulder to fake her out. She falls for it, overcompensating her dodge, and moving close enough for you to follow up with a kick to her left hip, breaking her stance and making her balance uneven. You complete the combo with a thrust of your rapier, striking her in the chest, creating a tear not just in her clothing, but seemingly in her form itself, not so much a cut or gash as just a separation. It looks like she doesn’t bleed as you do. Toriel, at her limit, falls to her knees, gripping at her chest, wheezing with each breath.

“A .. ASR-"

“Varik.”

She keeps talking, her eyes closed, her movement becoming shakier.

“I’ve…failed.”

“Again, I’ve failed to protect my people.”

“Such a poor excuse for a queen.”

“Perhaps I deserve this.”

Toriel is at her weakest point. A single strike would be all it takes to finish her off completely. You stand above her, battered, but alive. You grip the rapier tight in your hand. A moment passes, neither of you moving, or saying anything. You take a step towards Toriel, then another. Then you take a step around her. Without looking back, you continue to the archway, passing through it into the darkness beyond. You hear the light shifting of clothing behind you as you continue on; you don’t look back to see if she’s okay or not. As you keep going, you’re never confronted by footsteps chasing after you; it seems you’ve “won” this fight.

In the darkness, you lose all sense of where you’re headed and where the walls are. Unfettered, you press forward, taking step after step in search of whatever comes next. Eventually, your eyes, now adjusted to the dark, pick up a faint outline of a half-circle directly ahead of you. You extend your hand outward as you approach it, reaching a solid surface with the texture of wood. You push forward and light rushes into the passageway, and you raise your hand to shield your eyes as you adjust to the illumination. You lower your hand, and gaze upon the new environment in front of you as you step through the door completely. You’re certainly in the Tower now, and it’s a lot snowier than you expected.

Chapter Text

Fluffy piles of white snow surround you on all sides as you look at the section of the Tower you’ve ended up in. Behind you, the door to the Ruins slams shut. The air is frigid; you take the velvet cloth out and wrap it around your neck and face like a scarf to try and warm yourself up just a bit more. The walls are composed of blue brick, with metal cornices decorating them. The floor is made of is smooth granite, and the ceiling above makes you wonder how any of this snow even got here. Putting it aside, you begin the process of exploring the Tower. You remain at the ready, peering around every corner and doorway you come across before moving ahead.

You have the uneasy sensation of someone watching you; You quickly turn on your heel to see if there’s anything behind you, finding nothing there. The crunch of snow being pressed under somebody’s foot meets your ears, and you snap your head back in the direction you were heading. In front of you, and slightly down, is another skeleton. This one’s wearing a wool-lined coat, trousers, and open-toed shoes. You raise your shield and reach for your spell book, when the skeleton puts up its hands and speaks to you.

“hey, bud. easy there. i’m not gonna hurt you.”

The skeleton has a very large grin on his face, and two white dots for eyes within hollow, black sockets that seem to blink like normal eyes. You can’t tell if he has gloves on, or has hands that look like gloves. You slowly lower your defensive stance, not taking your eyes off of him for a second.

“call me sans.”

“you seem like you’ve really been through the rough today.”

“i get that.”

“haven’t seen people come out of the RUINS in a really long time.”

“…especially not any humans.”

Sans winks.

“actually, that’s a complete lie.”

“there’s another human walking around here somewhere too.”

“she a friend of yours?”

“…”

“…guess not.”

“she fits in well here, though. she acted pretty icy."

You think you hear a snare drum from nowhere in particular.

“i’m not sure what your business is, but there’s a town a few floors up.”

“my bro’s always pacing outside the perimeter, looking for husks to bring in.”

“gotta say, I admire his work ethic.”

“even though there aren’t any husks in the tower, it doesn’t stop him from getting up every morning to do it.”

“so if you see him, just tell him you’re not a husk and you should be good.”

“see ya.”

Sans walks down the hall to his left. You peer around the corner, only to find he’s disappeared completely, even the though the hallway is way too long for him to have traversed it that quickly by walking. You ignore these odd, physic-bending antics and press onward.

True to Sans’ word, you find no husks roaming the first few floors of the tower. Aside from the occasional pitfall, you face no opposition in your ascent. You reach a floor that leads out into a short, dead-end hallway. Despite the apparent lack of a way to progress, you hear the crisp sound of footsteps echoing from beyond the wall opposite the stairwell. Looking to your left, you spot another sign with advice printed on it:

“There’s only an obstacle before you if you can’t accept its irreality.”

You approach the wall; the sound of footsteps beyond the wall continue to echo. You experiment by jabbing your rapier forward, into the wall. Instead of stopping against its surface, the rapier phases through the wall completely with no resistance. You draw back the rapier and stick your hand out to touch the wall. Again, it phases through. You take a step forward, and pass through the “wall.” You’re greeted by another skeleton, moving with a sense of purpose that indicates sapience. They are much taller than Sans, and appear to be dressed in some kind of ninja garb, complete with a bright red suit and hood, covered in blue wrappings, proper gloves, and a kerchief pulled up over its mouth. As it turns to face you, it makes an overexaggerated gestured, taking a bow-legged stance and throwing its arms out to its sides.

“AH-HAH!”

“A HUSK HAS SHOWN ITSELF!”

“I KNEW THAT TODAY’S NINTH EXTRA PATROL ROUND WOULD BE OF IMPORTANCE!”

“*AHEM*”

“HUSK! I WLL KNOCK YOU DOWN IN THE NAME OF I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND HIS HOME, THE SNOWCROFT!”

“NYEH!”

Papyrus gestures forward, and a bone, covered in blue flames, rockets towards you, at a remarkably slow pace. You watch it sputter through the air slowly, only raising your shield to block what meek damage it would have caused when you absolutely need to. The skeleton grasps his face and gasps loudly.

“GAH! WHAT IS THIS? A HUSK USING A SHIELD?! TRULY, THEY HAVE BECOME MORE FORMIDABLE THAN EVEN UNDYNE WARNED ME OF!”

“…WAIT.”

Papyrus walks up to you quickly, with no regard to the weapons you’re carrying. He has to jump over a crack in the floor as he moves directly in front of you. He is taller than you, leaning down to inspect you, poking you hard against the forehead with his gloved hand twice.

“I DON’T RECALL THE COMPLEXION OF HUSKS BEING DESCRIBED AS FLUSH.”

“MIGHT YOU…NOT BE A HUSK?”

You nod your head in confirmation.

“AH, THIS ANSWERS EVERYTHING!”

“…BY WHICH I MEAN IT ONLY OPENS MORE QUESTIONS!”

“WHAT OTHER THAN A HUSK WOULD BE WANDERING THIS AREA OF THE TOWER?”

“ASIDE FROM I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, OF COURSE!”

“WAIT. DOES THAT MAKE ME A HUSK?”

“NO, NO, I HAVE A SOUL! HUSKS DON’T HAVE THOSE!”

“…THOUGH, COME TO THINK OF IT, I’VE NEVER REALLY SEEN MY SOUL… BUT MAYBE THAT’S BECAUSE I HAVEN’T…”

As Papyrus continues rambling to himself, you quietly step past him, jumping over the same crack he did as you head for the bend at the end of the corridor. Papyrus jolts, and turns in your direction.

“HOLD ON A SECOND!”

“ARE YOU…ANOTHER ONE OF UNDYNE’S RECRUIT OF THE PRINCE'S GUARD?”

“OH, SPLENDID! I’VE BEEN SENT GUARDS OF MY OWN TO COMMAND!”

“LISTEN, SUBORDINATE!”

“AS OF…UH, NOW, I ASSUME COMPLETE CONTROL OVER YOUR ACTIVITES IN THE TOWER AND THE SNOWCROFT!”

“FOR MY FIRST ORDER, I COMMAND YOU TO COME TO THE SNOWCROFT SO WE CAN LAY OUT OUR PLANS ON PREVENTING HUSKS FROM ENTERING THE TOWER.”

“GOOD THING YOU TOTALLY KNOW WHERE THE SNOWCROFT IS!”

“ALRIGHT TEAM, BREAK!”

Papyrus steps forward onto the crack instead of jumping over it; the floor gives way and he falls into a pit. You hear the clambering of bones striking the floor in the darkness below.

“PERFECT!”

“MY INGENIOUS INTER-TOWER TUNNEL TRAVEL PITS ARE WORKING FLAWLESSLY!”

“SEE YOU UP AHEAD!”

Papyrus moves off somewhere down in the pit. Looking in, you see no trace of him. You turn around and continue onward. More empty hallways lie before you as you continue through, before you begin coming across more monsters, passing through the corridors carefree. One of them looks like a duck creature with features like that of a snowflake. You speak to it.

“Seems like the tower’s becoming more cramped with every passing day.”

“If more monsters move down here, who “snows” how long until we’re have to “freeze” all travel?”

“…I don’t even know if it’s daytime, man. What IS daytime?”

You move over to another monster. This one looks like a deer with an odd mouth and many small festive decorations atop its antlers.

“You seem like good people…I hope.”

“Would you mind taking a few of these awful, awful glass parasites off my cranium?”

“Every time I go to sleep, I just find more on me!”

“It’s probably… Jerry.”

You pull as many decorations as you can off the monster. Some seem fused into the antler’s themselves and cannot be removed. You’re left holding a large ball of fake pine branches, glass ornaments, and broken peppermint sticks.

“Ahh, that’s better. You can keep all that if you want.”

You awkwardly tuck the festive abomination into your knapsack. Pushing on further down the passage, you find another monster. This one looks like little more than a floating sphere with a face, and little icicles floating above it. It glares at you.

“Admire my awesome hat, weird traveler. Surely, it is more exotic than any…”

The monster recoils in surprise and frustration.

“S-such a magnificent scarf! The way it flows in the arcane wind…!”

“No! I will not be bested! If it’s a fash-off you want, I’m ready to spar!”

The monster begins concentrating really hard on you, trying to outfashion the torn velvet cloth you’ve reappropriated as a scarf. You stare at him, unwavering. He concentrates harder; you keep staring. He concentrates so hard you can practically hear the gears in his head stalling out, but you are unmoved. Finally, he collapses, utterly defeated by your superior attire.

“I…cannot compete…with such glory…”

“I am…undone.”

You stare at the monster for a beat longer before abruptly moving one without so much as a second glance.

You continue through the Tower, seeking out this “Snowcroft” Papyrus made mention of. You’ve relaxed your guard a little bit, simply enjoying what little you can of this entrapment underground, pondering on the circumstances that brough you here. Your thoughts are interrupted by a shrill screech, and a monster rounding the corner ahead of you, panicked. The monster is some kind of gliding fish-bird-stingray thing, with a broad smile that does not match its current emotional state. Behind it is, to your surprise, a husk, one resembling a massive reptile; a “dinosaur” you think they’re called. It roars loudly, stomping after the monster with its jaw wide open.

You spring into action, leaping past the monster and into the maw of the dinosaur using your shield to prop the mouth open. The husk tries to bite down, and it takes nearly all you’re your strength to push back. You lift your rapier and stab it upwards through the roof of the husk’s mouth. It loosens its bite strength, and you jump back onto the floor, before charging it again, stabbing it many times in the nape of the neck. The large creature struggles to fight back effectively within the confined passage, and with one final slash, it falls. You ignite the creature with your spell book, and it burns away to ash. The monster hovers towards you from behind, looking relieved.

“Ah heh heh…nice. Totally got you to get that husk.”

“I led this soulless beast to its end. I’m a hero!”

The monster’s expression looks shaken again. It whispers something quickly under its breath.

“(whyarethrerehusksuphereIdon’tunderstand)”

The monster examines you again.

“You’re a strange one. How about I take you back to the Snowcroft and we show off my excellent…lead…er…ship…”

The monster’s expression becomes panicked again.

“W-wait…”

It looks you over up and down multiple times, before exclaiming in fear.

“You! It’s YOU, you’re the murderer that lady spoke of!”

“GET AWAY FROM ME!”

The monster turns and flees down the passage. You’re left standing alone once again. Your adventures continue with a renewed sense of danger. The sturdy rapier, which has lasted much longer than you expected, has finally begun to show some wear. You’re entangled in another encounter with a series of husks, who keep spilling forth in seemingly endless amounts from a hole in the wall. Lifeless snakes, the ghosts of old warriors, soulless facsimiles of goblins; almost everything you’d seen in storybooks as a child is now accosting you. Your maneuvers are like a dance as you step between their attacks, swapping between magical attacks and strikes with your rapier as you take each one down. By the end of it, you’re sweating and breathing heavily, propping yourself up on your sword as you try to recover. What had made this fight in particular so difficult was the obvious pitfall that laid in the center of the chamber it took place in. You examine the various cracks: you wonder if it’s one of those tunnels Papyrus apparently built, and if they’re really distinct from the other pits. You also briefly think about why there are so many pits in the Tower, but then decide that’s not a question worth asking, because the answer is probably Papyrus.

You put some thought into what you’re going to do next, when a powerful blast at your back knocks you forward. Unable to stop yourself, you land feet first on the cracks; the floor opens and you fall into the pit. Landing hard on your rear, you’re certain you hear something crack as you hit the floor. Exasperated, you finally give in and chug the health potion. It tastes bitter, but you feel most of the pain subside. Looking up, you realize that this pit is way too deep to jump out of; you hear laughter from nearby. A form looms over the edge of the pet and peers down in. It’s Dela, the tricky sorceress, once again.

“Ah, if only this could have been where this ended on the mountaintop.”

“How’s it look down there, Varik? Hopeless, I’d wager.”

“It’s what you deserve, after what you DID.”

“Don’t bother with explanations or rationalizations, I don’t want to hear it.”

“I know what you did, the world outside knows what you did...”

“…And now the people down HERE know, too.”

“Which reminds me, what did you do to poor Toriel? I can only imagine the worst.”

“But don’t worry. Once you’re out of the picture, and I find my way out of here, I assure you that the world above won’t have to learn of what you’ve done down here.”

“This is where it ends, Varik.”

Dela, with a new spell book, hovers a hand over the pit; arcane lightning arcs between her fingertips. There’s nowhere to run; you feel the vibration of the spell in your ears, and close your eyes, expecting the end to finally meet you. You then realize that the vibration you feel is coming from the wall to your left; it gets closes, and becomes an audible noise. It sounds like a long, continuous “nyeh” being extended to seemingly no end. Suddenly, the wall to your left crumbles as Papyrus, sliding on his chest through a tunnel behind the wall, burst through. You slip over him as he slides underneath you and land on his back; this does nothing to impede his momentum. You’re left riding on Papyrus’ back like a sled, as he smashes through the opposite wall into another tunnel, whisking you away from Dela. You hear vulgar exclamations of anger and confusion, which become indistinct as you and Papyrus slide away into the tunnel.

“AH! HELLO, RECRUIT! DID YOU WANT TO TRY OUT THE TUNNELS?”

“THE UNDERGROUND HAS MANY PITFALLS, BUT I’M THE FIRST ONE TO COME UP WITH THE INCREDBILE IDEA OF CREATING EVEN MORE OF THEM!”

“AND BUILDING TUNNELS BETWEEN THEM FOR FAST, FUN TRAVEL!”

“THOUGH RESTORING THE WALLS EVERY TIME I SMASH THROUGH THEM CAN BECOME A BIT MUNDANE.”

You ride the Papyrus sled through the dark tunnel, trying your best to keep your balance as you meet turns and dives that seem to defy physics in how Papyrus travels along them. The ceiling of the tunnel begins to shrink down, and you feel your head scrape along it. You try to bend down but feel yourself begin to topple.

“REMAIN STEADY, RECRUIT! THE TUNNELS GET THIN, YES, BUT…”

“ACTUALLY, I NEVER DESGINED THEM FOR MORE THAN ONE PERSON TO TRAVEL IN AT ONCE.”

“OOPSIE.”

You’re forced to lean down further as the tunnel continues to narrow. Eventually, the angle at which you can bend your furthest is not enough, and you’re abruptly ripped off of Papyrus’ back, jammed in the tunnel. You contemplate how you’re going to get unstuck, when you feel the dirt of the tunnel around you begin to sag and drop; it looks like it can’t support this much weight in one place for very long. The tunnel collapses, and you plunged further down along all the dirt, before dropping out into another illuminated area. You brace yourself to hit the ground hard, when you feel yourself abruptly stop in midair, before being gently set down on the piles of dirt you fall along with. Before you stands Papyrus, who certainly has a beaming smile beneath his face cloth.

“EXCELLENT! YOU HAVEN’T DIED FROM TRAUMATIC BLUNT FORCE INJURY!”

“ALL THE NON-SKELETONS ALWAYS GET WORRIED ABOUT THAT WHENEVER I TRY TO SHOW THEM THE TUNNELS.”

“BUT I WAS ABLE TO MAKE SURE YOU GOT OUT OKAY!”

“ON MY OWN…”

“…WITHOUT HELP FROM SOMEONE!!!”

You lift your head up as you lie on the pile of dirt. You see Sans nonchalantly looking at both you and Papyrus.

“heya.”

“SANS! WERE I NOT HERE, WOULD YOU HAVE LET MY RECRUIT FALL ONTO THE HARD, PAINFUL FLOOR WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT?!”

“i mean, that dirt looks pretty soft.”

“really comfy, too. you done with that, yet, human?”

“HUMAN???”

Papyrus looks at you, overjoyed.

“OH, THAT EXPLAINS SO MUCH!”

“NOW HUMANS ARE HELPING US FIGHT AGAINST THE HUSKS!”

“JUST LIKE THE PRINCE WANTED!”

“SEE, SANS, THE HUMAN WANTS TO HELP! SURELY YOU WOULD BE MOTIVATED TO DO THE SAME!”

“i’ve tried, papyrus, but my hunting skills…”

“…are a husk of what they used to be.”

“YOU NEVER HAD ANY TO BEGIN WITH!!!”

Papyrus turns to face you again.

“RECRUIT HUMAN!”

“MEET ME UP AHEAD IN THE NEXT ROOM. WE’LL DICUSS DEVELOPMENTS AND OUR WAY TO THE SNOWCROFT.”

“YOU CAN JOIN US TOO, SANS, IF YOU FEEL LIKE CONTRIBUTING.”

“nah, i’m good.”

“I’M TRYING TO TOSS YOU A BONE HERE, SANS!”

Papyrus’s eyes go wide as he realizes what he just did. You’re not quite sure how he makes his eyes go wide.

“did you-”

“NO.”

“i think you did.”

“I DID NOT.”

“i knew you had a comedic side, papyrus.”

“if only you could marrow out.”

“I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS!!!”

Papyrus rushes ahead to the next room. You’re left alone with Sans. You stand up to face him.

“so…”

“your name’s varik, huh?”

“your wizard friend has been talking about you a lot.”

“she seems to really get along with the monsters. a lot of them trust her.”

“they trust what she says. and she’s been saying a lot of not great things about you, i guess.”

“i haven’t listened to her too much. i’m not too interested.”

“actions speak louder than words, right? That’s a human saying, i think.”

“so i’ll wait until you show me what kind of person you really are.”

“just don’t try anything shady with my brother.”

His eyes go hollow again.

“got it?”

You nod. His eyes go back to normal again.

“cool. thanks.”

Sans walks past you and leaps onto the pile of dirt, lying down. He instantly falls asleep. You suppress some darker, reactionary thoughts on what to do now and turn to continue after Papyrus.

After moving through some more passages and trick walls, cutting down husks and collecting treasure along the way, you’ve gathered 18487 more gold, for a total of 19589 gold. It seems the economy down here is either incredibly inflated, or you’ve just gotten lucky. You find yourself within a large room, covered in maps and diagrams. Miscellaneous paraphernalia is scattered around the room haphazardly, mixed in with the snow. Papyrus stands over a table in the center of the room, a large, complex map with many markings and tacks laid out on top of it.

“AH, RECRUIT!”

“I KNEW YOU WOULD BE EXPEDIENT IN YOUR ARRIVAL!”

“LET US GET TO WORK.”

You approach the table and inspect the map.

“NOW, YOU’VE NO DOUBT SEEN THE HUSKS THAT HAVE BEEN ROAMING THE TOWER.”

“I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THEY TOOK SO LONG TO GET HERE, BUT THEY’RE HERE NOW!”

“WHICH MEAN ALL MY PREPARATION WASN’T FOR NOTHING!”

“BUT IT ALSO MEANS THAT UNLESS WE DO SOMETHING, EVERYONE IS PROBABLY GOING TO GET HURT.”

“SO! WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN!”

“NOW, I KNOW YOU MIGHT BE NERVOUS RECRUIT, WITH SO MUCH RIDING ON YOU.”

“BUT DON’T WORRY. I’M ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED AS WELL!”

“AND I HAVE AN EXCELLENT PLAN ON HOW TO PUSH THE HUSKS BACK!”

“I CALL IT…”

Papyrus abruptly sweeps the map and everything else on the table off onto the floor. Ink goes spilling everywhere, and tacks are flung into the wall like throwing darts.

“WINGING IT!”

“NOW, LET US SEE WHAT KIND OF RECRUIT HUMAN I’VE BEEN SENT. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA AT ALL ON WHERE TO START?”

You look down at the destroyed map; the ink splotches have almost completely obfuscated the diagrams on it, but one section seems to have survived relatively intact. Unsure of what else to do, you point at that section of the map; Papyrus stares thoughtfully at the your choice.

“HMM.”

“AH, YES, OF COURSE!”

“THE ENTRANCE TO THE RUINS!”

“OF COURSE, THE HUSKS CAME FROM THERE!”

“GEE, IF SOMEONE OPENED THE DOOR, I BET THEY’D BE FEELING LIKE A REAL IDIOT RIGHT NOW.”

“JUST THE WORST KIND OF DUMMY! THE DUMBEST KIND OF IDIOT, REALLY!”

“…”

“(...I DIDN’T OPEN THE DOOR, DID I?...)”

“(YOU’D THINK I’D REMEMBER SOMETHING LIKE THAT.)”

Papyrus walks over to another door leading out of the planning room.

“NOW, WITH YOUR EXCELLENT SUGGESTION, WE CAN BEGIN ‘WINGING IT’ PROPERLY!”

“I’M GOING TO GO TO THE RUINS EXIT AND SEE IF THE DOOR NEEDS TO BE SHUT.”

“YOU GO TO THE SNOWCROFT AND TELL EVERYONE TO STAY AWAY FROM THE RUINS.”

“PROBABLY FOREVER.”

“HERE I GO, RUSHING OFF INTO DANGER AGAIN!”

Papyrus steps through the door and immediately plunges into a pit; you hear his “nyeh” echo as he slides away through another one of his tunnels. Taking some time to inspect the room, you discover an odd shipal shield sitting on the floor opposite the table. It appears to be made of bone; actually, it appears to be the kneecap from some massive creature with a couple of handles bolted to the back of it. Your iron shield does feel like it hasn’t been keeping up with the husks; perhaps you need something a bit more unorthodox. You mount your iron shield on the back of your knapsack and pick up the kneecap shipal.

Inspecting the rest of the room, you discover a few other strange things. A small device with many malleable buttons arranged in a 3x3 grid sits on one of the tables; on each button is a number from 1-9, and an extra tenth button sits below with the number 0 on it. You’re not quite sure what the function or purpose of this strange item is, and you opt to leave it alone. Looking further around you find a few remarkably detailed illustrations, created with some kind of inking process that fills in every detail on the paper to an insanely realistic degree. The illustrations have pictures of Papyrus and Sans in various locations; some of them look like spots you’ve passed in the Tower; others look like spots you haven’t seen before. In some of the drawings, an armored figure with a large red ponytail flowing out from underneath their helmet stands alongside Papyrus; on the back of this illustration is a handwritten message:

“Don’t ask her to take the helmet off for photos; only one I got developed. ~A.”

Some of these strange words you’ve never seen before or seen used in this manner. You brush it off and go to exit the room, leaping over the pit instead of going back down into the tunnels. You’re immediately confronted by another husk, a slime harassing another monster. You have no difficulty taking down the slimy aberration and face the monster before you. It’s a short, rotund one, with two eyes far apar from each other, and a mouth twisted into a frown. Stubby limbs emerge from its body; they’re really not pleasant to look at.

“Hey.”

Their nasally voice makes you unhappy just by the sound alone.

“That guy was weird, huh?”

“Where are you going?”

“Can I come?”

“You got a phone?”

Some part of you severely regrets saving this monster.

The next part of your trek as you try to find the Snowcroft is absolute agony. This nuisance, who you unwillingly learn is named Jerry, persists in following you around every corner, every hallway. He even jumps in after you when you fall in a pit. You feel your patience ebb away as you desperately search for an escape from the hell that is Jerry, and come up empty-handed again and again. Eventually, you pass through another door to find a group of young-looking monsters before your, playing with the snow in the Tower hallway. They turn and face you; they seem both terrified and disgusted. One of them, who resembles a bunny, cries out.

“EEEK! It’s that murderer Miss Delon told us about!”

“And he has JERRY with him!!”

Another monster, one who look likes an orange reptile with no arms, sneers at you.

“That’s low, dude!”

“You can’t threaten us with Jerry! We’re not scared of you!”

Jerry begins speaking to the group from behind you.

“Hey guys, why did you ditch me earlier?”

“I thought we were going to do that hiding game.”

“Which I’d win, but if you just want to say that, go ahead."

Another monster, who looks like a slime with a billed hat, vibrates intensely as it vocalizes discomfort.

“I can’t take it, it’s too much!”

“You win, mister murderer man, just…”

“…Don’t make it more painful than this.”

You look at the monster children, then back at Jerry; he’s pulled out one of those strange button-bricks and is mumbling irritating nonsense into it. Facing Jerry, you begin taking slow steps backwards, towards the group of children. You look over your shoulder; some of them back up in fear of you, while the dinosaur monster kid, looks at you, puzzled yet unmoving. You eventually get far enough away from Jerry that you can’t hear him anymore. You take your chance, turning on your heel and bolting past the kids down the hallway. You hear footsteps behind you; turning to look, you see the monster kid following close behind you, and the other children eventually doing the same. You see Jerry turn to face you all, and you look back in front of you and put all of your effort into running. You round as many corners and ascend as many stairs as you can find within a short time span, putting as much distance between Jerry and yourself as you can.

Eventually, you stop to catch your breath. You’ve lost track of the other monster children, but the reptile kid has stuck close by you. You dread that this will be a repeat of the Jerry situation as they open their mouth to speak to you.

“Wow!”

“I didn’t know murderers hated Jerry too!”

“The way you ditched him…awesome!”

The kid’s enthusiasm is far more palatable than Jerry’s…Jerryness.

“So, um…”

“Are you really a human, like Miss Delon?”

You nod. They seem awestruck.

“Cool…”

“Does that mean…you’re gonna find us a way out of here? With the prince? And Undyne?”

You have no idea what they’re talking about now. You shrug.

“Aw, that’s lame!”

“You don’t know the prophecy? Pffft.”

“I bet they teach cooler things in human schools, though, instead of just history all day.”

“Miss Delon doesn’t seem so bad, so it’s kind of lame that she’s trying to…”

The kid looks past you; their eyes light up at the sight of something coming down the hallway. You turn to follow their gaze; a group of three armed individuals is making their way toward you down the passage. Two of them are dressed in cloaks with massive axes in their hands, one is dressed in knights’ armor with a stone sword and shield in hand.

“It’s the Royal Guard! Cool!”

“…Wait, but, you’re the wanted murderer!”

“Ah, Jeez! What now?”

“You don’t seem like a bad guy…”

The Royal Guards draw closer. You stand up to face them. The monster kid jumps between you and the guards.

“Wait! I think you might have the wrong guy, dudes!”

The two hooded guards sniff at the air. Two massive, fuzzy snouts extend from under the hoods. On each of their cloaks is a little decoration of another dog’s face with a heart next to it. The two guards speak to each other.

“Do you smell that, Dogamy?”

“It smells like…a lost puppy.”

The other guard replies.

“Yes, Dogaressa…and an angry hunter, hounding it!”

The monster kid seems frustrated.

“What are you talking about? I’m not a puppy!”

Dogamy and Dogaressa put a paw up to their mouths under their hoods. Dogaressa speaks first.

“And now it’s making the puppy upset! This is certainly who Undyne spoke of!”

Dogamy seems confused.

“But, aren’t we supposed to follow the prince’s instructions?”

Dogaressa seems indignant.

“We can’t let a murderer harass a puppy, Dogamy! They might murder it!”

The armored guard behind them barks.

“I agree, Lesser Dog! We must save the puppy from the murderer!”

The monster kid stands their ground.

“I’m not going anywhere!”

Dogamy puts a paw up to his snout and calls up towards the ceiling.

“Doggo! There’s a puppy here. Take it away from danger!”

In a blur, another fuzzy, dog-like form apperates from above you, and scoops up the monster kid.

“Woah!”

In an instant, the monster kid is taken away. The Royal Guards ready their weapons and prepare to charge you. You do the same. You see Dogamy come in for the first strike. You raise the shipal and catch the axe, sending bone splinters flying in every direction. As you pull back, you stumble and lean forward; Dogamy’s axe has been trapped in your shield, and while you’ve ripped it out of his grasp, but the extra weight has upset your balance. Dogaressa goes to follow up with a decapitating blow, while Dogamy lunges and reaches for his axe. You dive backwards, out of the way of the attack, watching as Dogaressa’s axe narrowly misses Dogamy’s digits. It seems she was unprepared for you to dodge, as the force of her attack makes her lose her footing, and she stumbles forward onto her knees. Dogamy’s paws, previously poised for his axe, instead land on the top of Dogaressa’s hood. You watch as Dogaressa has an odd reaction to the inadvertent petting.

“Oh! Dogamy, is that you?”

Dogamy seems equally confused. He seems to realize what he’s doing, and continues scratching the top of Dogaressa’s head.

“Dogs…can pet other dogs?”

Dogamy and Dogaressa seem to forget about you instantly, instead opting to lightly pet each other on the head, enamored by their new discovery. Their compatriot Lesser Dog, however, is still hyper focused on you, and steps past them to jab at you with its stone sword. You drag Dogamy’s axe across the floor by your shipal, and use it to awkwardly parry the blow, freeing the axe from the shipal. You move to follow up with a stabbing motion, aiming your rapier at the eye gap in Lesser Dog’s helmet. At the last second, you will yourself to avoid the killing blow, moving the rapier to the side and letting it fly from your hand. It lands behind Lesser Dog, sticking out of the floor.

You are suddenly struck with an idea as you look at your now empty hand. Instead of pulling your arm back, you move your hand towards Lesser Dog, stuffing it under its helmet. You feel a coarse hide of fur under the armor, and begin scratching away. Lesser Dog respond positively; you hear happy panting behind the helmet, and you swear you see its neck stretch out a little bit. You continue scratching, moving your hand around under the helmet. You the then realize that your mind isn’t playing tricks on you; Lesser Dog’s neck IS extending. The longer you scratch, the longer it gets, at a faster and faster rate. Getting another idea, you stop scratching for just a moment, grab Lesser Dog by the shoulder, and spin it around to face away from you. Grabbing and sheathing your rapier, you jump up on Lesser Dog’s neck and resume scratching. As you scratch, Lesser Dog gets longer and longer, and you’re able to ride Lesser Dog away from the guards like the weirdest battle mount you could conceive of. Lesser Dog has no difficulty turning his neck at 90-degree corners as you get further and further away, and it shows no sign of discomfort or dissatisfaction. Eventually however, you reach Lesser Dog’s limit, and it rescinds from underneath you, sliding back along the passages of the tower to its body. You’re left standing there, a good distance away from the guard, and turn to continue on.

Before you’re able to do so, however, you’re confronted with another obstacle. Lesser Dog has dropped you off in front of another guard: another dog, in a massive suit of dog-faced armor that blinks, holding a dog-faced spear that blinks, towering over you. You wonder if this was a deliberate choice on Lesser Dog’s part, to drop you in front of this “Greater” Dog. The Greater Dog lunges at you, not using its spear, like an overexcited puppy. You narrowly dodge to one side as the Greater Dog’s massive frame rushes past you, barely small enough to fit in the hallway. It lands on the floor sliding, and turns to face you on all fours, wagging its tail happily; it seems like the Greater Dog is treating this more like a game than combat. Remembering your excellent dog handling techniques you used on the other guards, you drop your shield and ready your free hands for maximum pettitude. The Greater Dog charges you again, and you meet it head on, clasping your gloved hands against the dog’s cheeks, scratching as vigorously as you can. The Greater Dog is visibly delighted, bringing its massive paws down on the ground, slowing you both down. You slide right up to the end of the hallway as Greater Dog loses velocity, stopping just short of hitting your head, and continue petting the dog. Greater Dog happily accepts every scratch, scritch, and pet you offer it, rolling over onto its back and rolling about in the snow excitedly. You keep up the petting, indulging Greater Dog as it rolls around, until it finally stretches out and calms down, exhausted. You watch as the gentle giant falls asleep in the snow, a blissful grin on its snout. You take a breath in, air out your leather jacket, pick up the shipal, and turn to walk away.

You move down the passage calmly, when you heard another series of pants somewhere around you. You look all around, unable to pin down the source. Suddenly, a blurry figure somersaults over your head from above, landing behind you. Turning to look at it, it seems to be the “Doggo” guard who swiped up the monster kid earlier. He carries two knives and is dressed in lighter guard’s clothing that enable maximum maneuverability. He faces away from you, thrusting his daggers out around him.

“Murderer? Moving? Moving murder? Where’s the murder?!”

It seems that Doggo’s eyesight and spatial awareness leaves much to be desired.

“Hmm…They were moving here. Why aren’t they moving anymore? Where could they be?!”

You walk up behind Doggo nonchalantly and give him a single pet on the back of his head.

“PET? PAT? POT? PITS??? MURDER PET? AM I BEING MURDERED?!”

Doggo panickily spins in circles, desperately looking for you, but unable to find you two feet in front of him. You remain idle and wait for him to calm down.

“…I must find the source of the murder pets before anyone else is affected! Petting is movement! I will succeed!”

Doggo takes off the opposite way down the passage, towards the rest of the guards. You turn and resume your trek onward, picking dog hairs out of your fingerless leather gloves. Between the skeletons and the dog fur, they haven’t held up so well. You’ll need to find a tailor soon if you want to keep them intact.

You fight through more husks, and get to an odd room with a massive note painted on the wall:

“HELLO, RECRUIT! I WROTE THESE TO HELP YOU BYPASS MY SECURITY SYSTEM AND GET TO THE SNOWCROFT.”

“I’D TELL YOU WHAT TO DO, BUT WE NEED TO BE VIGILINT, CONGITIVE…SMART-LIKE!”

“SO HERE’S A PUZZLE FOR YOU! I’LL GIVE YOU ONE HINT:”

“BE SURE TO KEEP YOURSELF POINTED THE RIGHT WAY, LEST YOU LOSE YOUR WAY, AND NEED TO FIND YOUR WAY AGAIN.”

Beneath the note is another message.

“SANS, STOP STEALING MY THESAURUS!!!”

You turn away from the note and look to face the puzzle. a floor switch stands on a patch of floor surrounded by four pits; you figure some of Papyrus’s tunnels must be within them. You think you know what Papyrus’s hint means. You orient yourself so that you’re facing the pits as Papyrus would looking over his shoulder when writing the message. Looking at the pit that would be on the right from this perspective, you shift around to face it from across the opposite pit and jump across onto the switch. You head a click, followed by a loud thunk, and look down into the “right” pit. You can see the outline of a tunnel, and brace yourself as you tumble into it. The landing still hurts, but you lose focus on the pain as you slide along the tunnel network, going around the dirt passageways until it depots you onto an tuft of snow that leads out into a long path, surrounded by trees. The air feels moderately warmer. Just enough to be noticeable.

You walk along the path, snow crunching beneath your feet; ahead, you see an archway, with that same rune carved into it. Looking on the sides of the path, you see a few old signs, still legible under the snow and ice. You look at the first one.

“Note: Shops closed until further notice. To whoever uncovered that massive gold deposit and started minting gold pieces like crazy…I hope your worthless piggy bank is nice and full now. We’ve confiscated all the treasure in the Tower to compensate.”

You look at the next one.

“Happy Hour at Grillby’s! Come into for an every so slight discount on your favorite food and drink! No ice though; just go grab some snow or something.”

You look at the next one; it seems to be much older than the previous two.

“The first settled home of the new Monster Kingdom, the SNOWCROFT, lies ahead. We welcome all souls in need of a rest.”

The final sign seems similarly aged.

“Prince ASRIEL marks this land, the Snowcroft, as the first reprieve for monsters. In the memory of our great King ASGORE, he dedicates this site to our eventual return to the surface.”

You move up to and through the archway, laying your eyes on the Snowcroft. It appears to be an average village, with some buildings matching architecture you’ve seen before, others seeming to be of much more complex construction than you’d expect in a place of this size. Made of brick, mortar, and even metal, you wander through the streets, marveling at the design work on display. Large displays with words on them like “HOTEL” and “GRILLBY’S” seem to be incandescent, glowing in the perpetual dusk of the Snowcroft through means you can’t discern as anything other than magic. One of the signs has the typo “LIBRARBY” written on it. Of note is that the streets seem to be deserted; on every building you see, the windows are drawn shut. Occasionally, you see an eye peering at you from beyond them, only for them to shut rapidly as you make visual contact. You traipse through the strange town, eventually reaching a point that leads onto a wooden suspension bridge, leading away from the Snowcroft and through another archway with the rune decoration. In front of the bridge, Sans and Papyrus stand, Papyrus with his back turned away from you, speaking into one of the button bricks you saw Jerry using earlier. It ills you to think that he might be talking with Jerry on the other end.

“I DON’T KNOW, UNDYNE, EVERYONE SEEMS TO BE HIDING ALREADY. DID YOU TELL THEM ABOUT THE HUSKS FIRST?”

“…OH DON’T WORRY, WE’VE GOT EVERYTHING COVERED HERE.”

“NO, NOT JUST SANS AND I. I GOT A NEW RECRUIT WORKING UNDER ME NOW.”

“I THINK THEY’RE THE HUMAN THAT THE PRINCE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR!”

“ISN’T IT EXCITING? WITH THEM HERE, WE’LL GET THE HUSKS UNDER…”

“UNDYNE? UNDYNE, WHAT’S WRONG?”

“OF COURSE, I’LL STAY HERE. ARE YOU COMING TO MEET MY RECRUIT?”

“…UNDYNE?”

“SHE HUNG UP. HOW STRANGE.”

Papyrus lowers the brick and sighs.

“AS MUCH AS I LAMENT TO SAY IT, THANK YOU SANS, FOR LETTING ME BORROW YOUR PHONE.”

“so this means i’ve filled my quota for the month, right?”

“YOU’VE NEVER HAD A QUOTA! YOU DON’T DO ANYTHING!”

“so you’re saying i’ve exceeded expectations, then.”

“that sounds like a great justification for a vacation.”

“I SWEAR, SANS…”

Papyrus turns around to face you.

“AH! RECRUIT! YOU’VE FINALLY ARRIVED!”

“CAPTAIN UNDYNE WILL BE HERE SHORTLY. I CAN’T WAIT TO INTRODUCE YOU!”

“IF WE’RE LUCKY, MAYBE THE PRINCE WILL COME AND-"

“Varik!”

You hear an all too familiar voice accost you from behind. Turning to face it, you see Dela Delon, standing a few yards away, dressed in a fur winter coat, with a new staff in her hand.

“WHO’S THIS? WAIT…”

Papyrus turns to Sans.

“(SANS, IS THAT ANOTHER HUMAN?!)”

“(i believe it is, bro.)”

Papyrus faces you and Dela again.

“OH JOY! OUR SITUATION IMPROVES!”

“IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I ACTUALLY READ THE LEGEND OF THE DELTA RUNE, BUT I BELIEVE THIS IS ANOTHER GOOD OMEN!”

Dela smirks.

“You’re right about that, skeleton. Now that I’m here, I can get rid of this thug once and for all!”

Papyrus cocks his head.

“THUG? YOU MEAN MY RECRUIT?”

“OH, YOU SAID HIS NAME! I NEVER EVEN ASKED, HOW RUDE OF ME!”

“WHAT WAS IT? ERIC? VARMINT? ARES?”

Dela points her finger out at you.

“Varik! You’ve got nowhere to run this time. The people of Snowcroft know you’re a murderer!”

“OH, VARIK! WHAT A NICE…WAIT, WHAT?”

“Oh, did he not tell you…Papyrus, was it? He’s a murderer. He killed my master years ago and fled the scene like a coward!”

“KILLED YOUR…MASTER? IS THAT LIKE KILLING THE PRINCE?”

“THAT’S NOT A VERY GOOD THING TO SAY ABOUT SOMEONE, HUMAN LADY.”

“But it’s the truth. He might be a bounty hunter, it might be his job to take people down for pay, but my master had no bounty on his head. He didn’t have a single enemy in all the world. And Varik killed him anyway.”

You turn to face Papyrus. He looks nervous.

“BUT…THAT CAN’T BE TRUE. SHE’S LYING, RIGHT, VARIK?”

You say nothing.

“VARIK…?”

You say nothing, only looking back at Papyrus. He seems crushed, looking at the ground, before lurching as he looks at the shield in your hand.

“M-MY SHIELD!”

He runs up to you and rips it from your grasp.

“I WAS MAKING THIS FOR UNDYNE! I USED THE BEST BIT OF BONE I COULD FIND!”

“YOU JUST TOOK IT AND…IS THIS AN AXE MARK?”

“I DIDN’T EVEN VARNISH IT…WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?”

“THIS ISN’T HOW…A COMMANDER SHOULD BE TREATED BY HIS RECRUITS…”

Papyrus seems genuinely hurt. You feel a thousand unseen eyes watching you, judging you poorly. Again, you say nothing.

“Wow. Even when he’s not killing people, he’s making them cry.”

“I’M NOT CRYING!”

“Then what’s that liquid pouring out from your eye holes?”

“MELTED SNOW, I DON’T KNOW!”

You look over at Sans. He seems largely indifferent, at least on the surface. You turn back to face Dela.

“I, on the other hand, have been doing my best for the people of the underground, Varik.”

“My master taught me to use my powers for myself, but to respect and help others when they need it!”

“The people here are experiencing a bit of inflation from an influx of gold pieces, so I used my magic to remove a good chunk of the extraneous gold to drive the value back up!”

“Speaking of which…”

Dela points a finger at you. A little bit of weight in your belongings suddenly vanishes. You quickly open your backpack and retrieve your gold pouch; it’s completely empty.

“Sorry, Varik! But that gold is from the Monster Kingdom! It affects the economy, too!”

“Helping people, changes, these are the things that matter, Varik!”

“When I leave the underground, I’ll rip the Barrier open and let all the monsters out with me!”

“YOU’LL…OPEN THE BARRIER?”

“I THOUGHT VARIK WAS SUPPOSED TO HELP THE PRINCE-"

“I’m human too, aren’t I? Who says I’m not the person you’ve been waiting for?”

“All this heartless fool has done is open the door to the Ruins and let the husks into the Tower. Thankfully, I was here first to help keep it under control!”

Sans lifts a finger to make a point.

“but if you were the first one here, doesn’t that mean YOU opened the RUINS door first?”

Everyone goes silent and stares at Dela. A few of the monsters hiding in their houses poke their heads out for a brief moment, looking in her direction. Dela stand there with a blank expression on her face, which turns viciously sour.

“What are you looking at?! HE still opened the door after me and left it open for the husks to come through!”

“BUT…THE RUINS DOOR WAS CLOSED WHEN I WENT TO INSPECT IT.”

“That’s not the point!!”

“BUT THAT’S WHAT YOU JUST SAID-”

“Enough, Varik!”

Dela charges up her staff, dispersing the snow around her. All the townsfolk duck back inside as you brace yourself against the magical wind.

“Words are wasted on such a spiteful soul as yourself. Even if you press forward with intent to be better, it does not change your past actions! You will NEVER be forgiven! You’re a killer, a thief, the REAL monster here!”

She raises her staff above her head.

“And now, it’s FINALLY over!!”

Moving quickly, you reach back into your knapsack, scrambling for something you can use to stop Dela. You won’t be able to get your iron shield in time, and Papyrus has the shipal. Your hands brush against something itchy, covered with glass orbs and balled up in your backpack. You close your grip, and yank out the festive abomination. You throw it with as much force as you can at Dela, as fires her magical projectile. The arcane orb is shattered and dispersed by the lump of decoration, and the long strands of faux pine continue towards her. They wrap around her, binding her arms to her sides, twisting around her legs. She grunts, trips, and falls into the snow, wriggling about, spitting fake pine out of her mouth.

“Agh! Grah! Come on!”

The townspeople poke their heads out again, seemingly confused by this whole display. A few start slowly moving out towards Dela, keeping their eyes on you. You turn around to face Papyrus again; he still seems upset, but with a little bit of uncertain hopefulness mixed in.

“RECRUIT…VARIK…I’M QUITE DISSAPOINTED IN YOU, I MUST SAY.”

“BUT THAT WAS ADMIRABLE RESTRAINT. THAT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE SOMETHING A MURDERER WOULD DO.”

“STILL, YOUR BEHAVIOUR IS JUST NOT ACCEPTABLE, AND UPON REVIEWING YOUR BACKGROUND…”

“...I’M AFRAID I HAVE TO DISBAR YOU AS MY RECRUIT.”

Papyrus drops the damaged shipal and starts walking towards the bridge.

“I’LL SEE YOU OFF, BEFORE THE CRAZY MAGIC LADY IS FREED FROM THAT ITCHY MESS.”

You follow behind Papyrus to the bridge. As you pass Sans, he speaks to you.

“don’t feel too bad. everyone lets someone else down sometimes.”

“personally, I want to thank you for being as reserved as you have been.”

“…assuming you HAVE been that reserved.”

“but that’s for later. I think you’re doing well, all things considered.”

“well, good luck.”

You continue towards the bridge. Papyrus speaks you as you approach the first plank.

“I HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO DO WELL, VARIK, MAYBE ONE DAY, I CAN INVITE YOU BACK AS MY RECRUIT, IF YOU’RE EVER EXONERATED OF THIS MURDER ACCUSATION.”

“HMM...YOUR GLOVES.”

“THEY SEEM BADLY WORN. WOULD YOU MIND IF I TOOK THEM TO MEND MYSELF?”

“I’D LIKE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE TO YOU AS A PRESENT FOR THE EVENTUAL ‘I’M NOT SUCH A BAD PERSON’ CELEBRATION!”

You look at your gloves. They are pretty messed up. You take them off and hand them to Papyrus.

“THANKS! THIS WILL BE THE BEST WELCOME-BACK PRESENT EVER!”

“NOW GO MAKE A WELCOME-BACK WARRANTED!”

Papyrus seems to be in slightly better spirits. You start walking across the bridge. You make it about halfway across when you hear a loud noise like a thunderclap, and the bridge buckles underneath you. You think that Dela has gotten free of her restraints, and you move to begin running across. However, the bridge suddenly gives out completely, and falls beneath your feet. You grab onto one of the planks and hang on for dear life as the bridge swings into the other side of the chasm it’s spread across.

“UNDYNE, WAIT!!!”

You turn your head back to see what’s going on. Back at the bridge’s severed entry point, you see an armored figure, with that rune emblazoned on the chest plate, with a red ponytail flowing from under the helmet glaring down at you. They produce a blue spear made of magical energy and chucks it at you. You swing to the side, narrowly avoiding the spear, but as it crashes into the remains of the bridge, it incinerates the wood and the ropes holding it together. The plank you’re clinging to snaps, and the rope it is fastened to burns away rapidly, and you drop, falling down into the chasm as the Snowcroft disappears above into the void. You are reminded of how you first entered the underground and pray that you are as lucky as you were before. Your belongings fly off you as you fall, and your backpack spirals away into the darkness. You try to turn and face the ground so you at least know what comes next, but you feel the wind be knocked from your lungs before you can, and you black out.

Chapter Text

You awake to the sensation of water rushing into your mouth and down your throat. Sitting up rapidly, you heave and cough as you try to get it all out and replace your breath. You’re lying in a watery current, having landed on, and then slid off, a massive pile of refuse. Looking around, you can’t find your backpack or your belongings anywhere in the open. Standing and moving to the pile, you brave the awful stench and pull aside some of the waste to look further for anything you dropped. Lifting and placing aside a massive artificial container with bright coloration, you find your rapier, sticking straight up out of the water; your scabbard is nowhere to be found. You pull it out of the water and wave it back and forth as you try to dry it off. As you turn and step away, you feel yourself step on something under the water. You plunge your hand in and grab at what lies beneath. You discover it to be your velvet scarf, now thoroughly soaked like the rest of your clothing. You decide that you’re not going to find anything else here, and you move on, following the current to wherever it may lead.

More piles of waste surround you, forming high walls that guide you like a corridor as you wade through the water. Eventually, a shoreline comes into view, and you approach, eager to dry off. You pass an odd mannequin standing upright in the water; you pay it no mind. You step out of the water and onto the bank, shaking like a dog to try and dry off. You lay out the scarf on the ground, and go to take your jacket off, when you hear something whizzing through the air behind you. You quickly duck, and watch as a knife lands in front of you in the dirt. Turning to face the source, you find that same mannequin from before hovering three feet off the ground in front of you. It’s previously blank, emotionless expression is has been supplanted by one of startling anger.

Chapter Text

The darkness of the tunnel seems to stretch on forever; you can’t feel your feet anymore as you continue to press forward, holding yourself up by sheer willpower. You finally begin to slow down, reaching the limit of what your body is capable of, as the air gets hard and harder to breath. You wonder if you’ve lost enough blood to risk exsanguination. You drop to your knees, still trying to crawl along the tunnel, then onto your chest, feebly inching along with what strength you have left. Your muscles are like lead weights, and you find yourself unable to move another inch. As you dip out of consciousness once more, you hear and see something walk up to you. A low voice speaks to you, shaking a little bit.

"I-I KNEW you were who I was waiting for! You’re exactly what I need!”

“We’re almost there, Varik. Let me give you a hand.”

“In light of our…new partnership…”

Your senses return to you, and you find yourself lying on the ground, looking up into darkness. Your wounds feel as if they’ve been healed completely; as your eyes adjust to the darkness, you inspect your body to find no cuts or injuries of any kind. Your gloves are stained with smears of dust, and your scarf continues to dance around you. You find that you’ve been given a new set of armor, designed to fit someone with a frame like yours. It jostles around less than Undyne’s armor did; it’s colored a dark grey shape and seems to blend in with the darkness around you. Nearby on the ground is more dark equipment, a shield and a sword. The shield feels very sturdy, and the sword has an extravagant design with a thick, sharp blade that has been balanced near perfectly. All of the equipment has a very strange feeling to it, but you feel attuned to it all in this environment. You gather up the gear, stand up and turn to face out into the darkness. At various points along the wall and in the floor, the darkness is interrupted by slow-moving currents of magma, providing irregular lighting, and heating up the entire zone to a great degree. You don’t sweat in your armor despite the heat; it really does seem designed for this environment specifically.

You begin trekking into the zone, following along metallic walls and corridors; you begin finding spots where the metal meets with dirt, and the walls stop to reveal a wide, dark expanse filled with magma and piping that runs out into the darkness. Far off in the distance, you think you can barely see the moving forms of monsters going about, but the spotty visibility ensures that this conclusion remains uncertain. It isn’t long before you find your first husk of this area; it has no defined form, appearing as a mass of smokey darkness with you glowing orbs that approximate eyes. You put your new gear to the test; the sword makes quick work of the husk, dispatching it in two blows, and you can barely feel the sole attack you need to block with your shield. Your prospects for survival have gone up tremendously, if you consider the husks alone; the denizens of the underground may not be so forgiving now that you’ve definitively slaughtered one of their own.

Passing over platforms with rushing jets of air, you find yourself leaping between them, riding the currents to find your way around, taking down husks as you go. You enter a strange tube decorated with horns like that of a devil. A door embedded in it shuts behind you, and it begins rising upward. The mobile platform soon comes to a sudden stop, and the doors slide open once again. The “lift”, you suppose, deposits you at a higher platform, enabling you to keep going. Peering over the side, you see area’s you might have had to walk through that you’ve bypassed immediately. Just next to the lift stands a sign:

“Prince ASRIEL marks this land, the Hot Zone, as the third reprieve for monsters. In memory of our great King ASGORE, he dedicates this site to the eternal truth of the DELTA RUNE.”

You keep going; your pace is lightning quick; you cover large amounts of ground in no time, and ascend several floors within a matter of minutes. Exiting another lift, you meet your first monsters of the zone. Your presence seems to deeply unnerve them, and they physically cringe and recoil as you step into view. You begin walking towards them; all of them back up out of your way, scooting the edges of the path and giving you as wide a berth as possible. Two of the monsters, one with a head made of dancing green flame and the other with scarlet eyes, mutter something as you pass by. The flame monster goes first.

“(Why? Why would you do that?)”

The scarlet-eyed monster follows up.

“(On MTTV…I thought you were here to help us…)”

The other monsters refrain from speaking in your presence. You continue past the group, not looking directly at any of them. You move past them and continue down the trail towards the next lift. When you hear a voice behind you.

“Hey! Hey you!”

You turn and face the group of monsters once more. One of them, a short monster made of orange fire, has jumped out from the group and is point at you with an angry expression.

“Don’t think you can just walk past us and expect us to do nothing."

The scarlet eyed monster looks nervous, and speaks in a shaky voice.

“H-Hots, don’t do this. It’s too risky.”

The short, fire monster turns back to face the scarlet-eyes monster, shaking angrily.

“I TOLD you, my name is Heats Flamesman! And I’m going to make sure this killer doesn’t forget it either! This is OUR home!”

Heats turns to the rest of the group.

“Are you with me?!”

The rest of the monsters seem extremely hesitant. Heats burns hotter, turning a blue color, before turning around to face you and marching forward.

“FINE! I’LL DO IT!!”

“Listen up, murderer! We’re the people of the Monster Kingdom, and we don’t care what some dumb prophecy says!”

“If you think we’re going to let you walk around killing us without putting up a fight, you’re gonna-”

You take a single step towards Heats Flamesman. He stops burning as brightly and backs up; the rest of the monsters do the same, yelping and murmuring.

“O-O-Okay-y. Uh-h…bit o-of…a…setback…”

“Listen man, I-I wasn’t trying…to…”

Suddenly, a loud alarm far off in the distance begins to sound, wailing throughout the zone. The monster all freeze up and look around them; you keep your eyes on them. A distant voice joins the alarm; it sounds like a woman with a slightly nasally tone.

“A-Attention monsters of the Hot Zone!”

“This is a general evacuation order! Please, by any means available, make your way to the Wetlands!”

“The Royal Guard is on its way to assist you in any capacity needed. Be on the lookout for husks and a human with dark auburn hair and a scarf. Avoid both at all costs!”

Another voice chimes in. This one sounds androgynous, with an increased sense of bravado in its tone.

“THIS IS METTATON, AND I ENDORSE THIS EVACUATION WHOLEHEARTEDLY, DARLINGS!”

“MOVE QUICKLY! AND KEEP YOUR EYES ON ANY MTTV BROADCASTS YOU’RE ABLE TO FIND; YOURS TRULY WILL BE LENDING MY FULL SUPPORT TO ENDING THIS SITUATION!”

The alarm continues to wail. The monsters look at each other and begin talking amongst themselves. The words are indistinct; you can’t tell who says what.

“Mettaton! Maybe…maybe things will be okay.”

“I didn’t recognize that other voice…”

“Where’s the prince?! What’s he got to say?!”

The monsters turn back towards you; you stare at them, unmoving, and watch as they begin to back up, never taking their eyes off you. You see some of them begin to narrow their eyes, giving you full death glares as they back away. You experimentally take another step towards them. They immediately jump and bolt as fast as they can into the lift, taking them down and away from you. You choose not to pursue, turning around and continuing to make your way further into the Hot Zone.

You come across more husks and carve through them with ease. Blazing forth through the zone at speed, you occasionally come across more monsters, most of whom flee at the mere sight of you. The evacuation message repeats, echoing throughout the zone as you make your way further and further up. At one point, after getting off another lift, you peer over the side of the platform you’re on and stare at another one further below. On the platform, you see none other than Dela Delon, waving some monsters across a platform and into a lift. Her sorceress’s attire is more than likely a boon in a place as hot as this, but she still seems to be overheating a bit, if her heavy breaths as she ushers the last of the monsters into the lift are any indication. The lift speeds away, and Dela takes hold of a canteen she has slung over her shoulder.

As she goes to take a swig, she looks up and over in your direction. She almost drops the canteen, and stares you down, eyes twitching. She points at you; you notice the red ring on her left hand is now gone.

“VARIK! Just you wait, I’m almost there!”

She charges along the path she’s on, away from the lift; the path you’re on heads off in the same direction. You begin running as well; it’s an odd chase, with your pursuer below and ahead of you, but out of range for either of your to do anything to each other. Dela keeps looking back at you, and you do the same to her. There can’t be many layers left until you’re near the surface, and you’ll absolutely have to face her by then. You hear a whirring noise from somewhere behind you; turning to look, you see another floating device with a lens like from your fight with Undyne, if not the same one. It follows alongside you, tracking your movements. Down below, Dela jumps into another lift, carrying her upwards. Around the same time, you reach you own lift, and dash inside. The device tries to follow you in, but you raise your shield and bash it back, keeping it outside as the door slides shut and the lift rises upward.

The doors slide open, and you find yourself on yet another platform, another path running across the heights above the large pools of magma below you. Two armored individuals stand halfway down the path, standing to attention when you emerge and begin running towards them. Both had similar kinds of full guard’s armor, swords, and shields. One has ears like that of a rabbit poking out the top of their helmet, the other has scales like a lizard adorning two ear like spikes that stick out the side of their helmet. The one with the rabbit ears barks at you.

“Hey, that’s like, the one who got Undyne, bro!”

“You! Stop now or like, prepare to-”

You charge forward without listening to them, shield in front, sword behind you and ready to swing. With blinding speed, you run right up to the scale-eared guard; they’re a good foot and a half taller than you, but are completely caught off guard by your rushing attack. You bash them back with your shield, then bring your sword across their chest in an upward swing. The blade cuts right through the thin armor, splitting it and causing to fall off their body, revealing a muscular, scaly torso beneath. You kick up off their chest and jump into the air off them, at the same time breaking their stance completely. You finish off this combination assault by bringing the blunt side of the sword down on top of their helmet, denting it, then kicking off their head and bowling them over. They fall face first onto the ground, and you land with a slide behind them, turning to face the guards once more. The scaled guard wheezes.

“(a-guh…)”

The rabbit eared monster drops his sword and grabs his head anxiously.

“O2!!! BROOO!!!”

02 begins to crawl back onto his knees, the last few bits of his chest plate falling off.

“…that…really hurt.”

The rabbit-eared monster hurriedly picks up his weapon and moves in front of his fallen comrade. The manner in which he moves seems to be both frightened and flustered.

“I-I’ve got you, bro!”

“Back off! Go away!”

02 rolls onto his side, mumbling something indistinct. The rabbit eared monster takes his eyes off you, looking down at the other guard.

“02…please…don’t…”

02 huffs.

“…i’m okay.”

“…get out of here, 01.”

01 shakes his head.

“No, bro! Like, I’m not leaving you here!”

“We’re like, a team, bro! If we’re doing this…”

“We’re doing it together.”

02 looks up at 01.

“…okay.”

You take a step towards the duo. 01 puts his guard up.

“Together, bro…”

Before you’re able to get to the guards, a loud click and a bright light from above shines down on you. You shield your eyes and look upward. A figure in the darkness above, standing on a piece of piping, is shining an extraordinarily bright light in your direction. It doesn’t look like a flame or oil lamp; you have no idea what it’s powered by.

“OH, AMAZING DEDICATION FROM OUR HUMBLE GUARD! TRULY, WE ARE A FORTUNATE PEOPLE TO HAVE SUCH DEDICATED MEN AND WOMEN KEEPING US SAFE!”

You and 01 look at each other, then back at the figure.

“Are…you, like, mocking me, dude?”

“PERISH THE THOUGHT! I ASSURE YOU I AM BEING QUITE SINCERE. SO SINCERE, IN FACT…”

The figure leaps off the piping and does a pirouette through the air, landing between you and the guard. Their body is like that of a metal box, with a wheel attached to the bottom in place of legs via a segmented metal cylinder, and two wavy arms that end in gloved, four-digited hands. They have no face, instead a panel of yellow lights that flash intermittently, and several knobs below that panel that you barely recognize as such.

“…THAT I WANT TO JOIN THE EFFORT MYSELF!”

“YOU’VE SWAYED THIS HUMBLE BOT TO ENLIST, FAIR SOLDIER!”

01 seems starstruck.

“B-bro…look! It’s Mettaton!”

Mettaton continues to self-aggrandize.

“CORRECT, SIR GUARD! EVERYONE’S FAVORITE HOST, ENTERTAINER, REPORTER, SCRIBE, ACTOR, CHEF…”

“AND NOW, BOUNTY HUNTER, IS ON THE SCENE!”

“RESCUE YOUR COMRADE AND RETREAT, SOLDIER! YOU’VE HELD THE ENEMY OFF LONG ENOUGH FOR THE CAVALRY TO GET HERE!”

01 cocks his head.

“Retreat? But, like…we’re supposed to stop the murderer.”

“You sure you like, don’t want any help, brah?”

“I ASSURE YOU I DO NO NEED ASSISTANCE, ‘BRAH’. I AM QUITE CAPABLE.”

“SCOOP UP YOUR COMRADE AND SCAMPER.”

“Uh… ok.”

01 sheathes his sword and kneels down to lift 02 off of the ground. As he holds the bare-chested 02, you see 01 squirm a little bit, and hear his breath quicken.

“Y-yeah, like, later!”

01 takes off at speed, carrying 02 in his arms. They jump into the lift and ride away from the scene. Mettaton holds his arms out to his side and gesticulates dramatically as he speaks.

“SO, VARIK.”

“SURELY, YOU MUST BE ASHAMED.”

“TO BE SO RUTHLESS…SO BLOODTHIRSTY…”

“TO SLAY THE…’BELOVED’…CAPTAIN OF OUR ROYAL GUARD.”

“(SURE.)”

“THE WORLD DOWN HERE WATCHED AS YOU SHATTERED HER SOUL, AND I’VE MADE SURE THAT THEY’LL NEVER FORGET, THROUGH THE POWER OF SYNDICATED NEWS BROADCASTS!”

“BUT MOREOVER, I GET TO BE THE ONE TO REAP THE JUSTICE YOU’VE ESCAPED FOR SO LONG!”

“THEN, FOR MY PRIZE, I’LL TAKE YOUR SOUL, AND BUILD THE HOPE OF THE PEOPLE BACK UP TO AN EVEN GREATER HEIGHT THAN IT WAS AT BEFORE, AS I HELP TO BREAK THE BARRIER!”

“…WHAT? THE PRINCE? PFFFFFFFFFFT.”

“SORRY, I DON’T THINK ADULTS LET CHILDREN TELL THEM WHAT TO DO.”

Mettaton calms his gesturing and simply extends a hand out towards you.

“NOW, VARIK, LET US COMMENCE OUR GRAND BOUT OF COMBAT, ONE BOUNTY HUNTER VERSUS ANOTHER, AS I DEMONSTRATE MY SUPERIOR TECHNIQUE THAT WILL ENABLE A CASUAL VICTORY OVER YOU.”

“WATCH AS I SOLVE THIS CONFRONTATION WITH THE ONLY CORRECT ANSWER…”

Mettaton reaches behind him and pulls out two objects, which he begins spinning around his fingers so quickly that you can’t distinguish what they are. The lights on his front change color, forming the approximation of a heart.

“…WITH GUNS!!!”

Mettaton stops spinning the objects and points them at you. They look like odd composite devices you’ve never seen before, with triggers and handles that remind you of crossbows, but smooth metal cylinders that remind you of extremely small cannons. Each “gun” has half a dozen or so barrels welded to each other, attached to a rotating metal platform. The moment you realize that it’s a projectile weapon, you raise your shield and move your whole body behind it. As you do, Mettaton unleashes a volley of projectiles that spew forth from the “guns” with many loud popping noises. Small, bead-like projectiles bounce of your shield in all directions as Mettaton fires indiscriminately in your direction. The rapid force incrementally pushes you back step by step as you try to maintain your balance, until the assault finally stops. Mettaton appears to only have as many shots as he does barrels, and after about twenty-four, his guns go dry. You leap out from your defensive stance and charge him with your sword, bringing it down diagonally across his metal body as hard as you can; he makes no attempt to dodge. The impacts produce impressive clanging noises, but don’t affect Mettaton physically in the slightest. He elbows you with his right arm, knocking you back.

“SORRY, DEAR, BUT MY BODY IS IMPERVIOUS TO PHYSICAL ATTACK. I AM A ROBOT AFTER ALL.”

“…YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF ROBOTS?! WELL, THAT’S JUST INSULTING!"

“YOU STEAL OUR LIVES, YOU STEAL OUR BELONGINGS, BUT WORST OF ALL...”

Mettaton holds both of his hands to the area beneath his glowing panel. The panel lights create the image of a heart breaking.

“YOU STEAL MY PRIDE.”

An extended period of silence passes as either you nor Mettaton say anything. He perks back up suddenly.

“OH WELL! I CAN ALWAYS REDEEM MYSELF WITH MORE GUNS!”

Seven extra arms come out of Mettaton’s back, each one holding another gun, like the ones he used before. His wheel recedes into his body, and a plume of flame emerges from the same area; he begins to float into the air above you. Two of the floating lensed devices emerge from the darkness to join him, and he points every gun at you. You turn and run, dashing down the path as fast as you can as the popping noise of another salvo of gunfire erupts behind you. You don’t look back, feeling the shot plink against your armor. A few graze your skin, sending white hot pain like you’ve never felt before shooting across your nerves. You dive into another lift, watching the door close just in time for you to put some distance between Mettaton and yourself. You inspect your injuries; you’re bleeding a bit, but you got off extraordinarily lucky, with no shots embedded in your body or any fractured bones.

The lift opens and you rush out, trying to get further away before Mettaton catches up with you. A few husks line the path ahead; you eradicate them with ease. One husk, a massive four-armed creature wielding massive swords, roars as you approach and tries to crush you beneath its foot. You raise your sword upward and split the husk’s foot as it steps down, the jump off the side of its ankle and slash the sword upwards. Removing two of its arms. You kick off its chest, sending it stumbling over the side of the path, and land back on the ground, keeping the momentum up as you dash away. You hear the husk fall into the magma below, roaring the whole way, until it’s silenced by a splash and crispy burning noises. To your left, you see the lensed devices emerge from beneath the path, following you along, and to your right, you see the rectangular shape of Mettaton, soaring through the air on his jet of flame, guns at the ready. Another arm emerges from Mettaton’s back, this one carrying a massive metal tube with two open ends. A whooshing noise echoes through the air and a cloud of smoke emerges from the tube; something fast spews out of the tub and flies towards you. You move even faster, pushing your legs as far as they will go. Behind you, an explosion rings out, and you head the path begin to crumble. Looking back, you see it breaking apart and falling away into the magma far below; you’re not going to be able to outrun it before the falls out beneath your feet and sends you plummeting to your doom.

You look around for an answer, something to get away on, and your eyes fall back onto Mettaton, guns raised and pointed at you. You shrink down as low as you can go while still running and toss your shield into your right hand and your sword into your left. You raise the shield and begin moving over towards the right side of the path. Mettaton has already opened fire on you once again; a ridiculous number of projectiles pepper your shield. You feel a few searing shots of pain flare out from your legs, but you ignore it, getting the adrenaline flowing once again while focusing the energy into a more difficult maneuver. You’re running along the edge of the path now, mere feet from Mettaton, and that’s when you act. You leap off the path as the crumbling catches up with you, soaring through the air in Mettaton’s direction. You grab onto Mettaton, wrapping your arms and legs around him like a log in a current and ride him through the air, as he erratically swerves around, trying to throw you off.

“AH! BAD TOUCH! BAD TOUCH!”

“UNHAND ME AT ONCE, YOU HUMAN PEST!”

Mettaton rockets straight downward, towards the magma. He tries to try you off with his many arms, but your grip is too tight.

“I’LL PLUNGE US BOTH IN! LET GO!!”

You tighten your grip further, quashing the instinctive fear rising in your gut as you watch the magma grow closer and the heat increase. The surface of Mettaton’s body is becoming painful to hold on to, but you endure. At the last second, he chickens out, gliding along the surface of the magma, then veering away, back upwards.

“GAH! TOO HOT!”

“I CAN FEEL MY DIODES MELTING AWAY!”

It seems Mettaton may be immune to attack, but it seems like certain conditions still pose a risk. As you both rush upwards, you begin bashing against him with your fist, trying to throw off his navigation.

“STOP IT! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!”

“GET-”

Mettaton suddenly crashes into a metal panel above him; it seems you’ve reaches the highest point in the Hot Zone. Despite striking a “ceiling,” the void above is ever persistent. The force of the impact finally loosens your grip, and you fall away from Mettaton, who begins spiraling through the air like a brick, falling away from you into the Hot Zone.
Once again, you find yourself falling from a great height. Orienting yourself to look down, you see a massive, white building below you, standing on one of the highest points in the Hot Zone below the ceiling. You brace yourself for another hard crash, and you slam right through the roof, falling into the building’s interior.

You fall onto a pile of miscellaneous belongings, stacking high on a table, which you also break in half completely. You finally come to a stop on a hard tile floor, which you leave many small cracks in. Piles of paper scatter throughout the air and land on top of you, some getting stuck in the gaps in your armor. You appear to be in some kind of alchemist’s lab; beakers surround you and charts filled with numbers and equations you have no hope of understanding cover your eyes like a blindfold. You brush them aside and sit up, rubbing the back of your head, and find yourself face to face with another monster standing before you. This one is a short, yellow, lizard-like monster, with what looks like brass jeweler’s spectacles and a long, beige trench coat with various lensed instruments and writing implements stuffed into two kangaroo pockets on either side. The monster looks at you, stunned, before their countenance changes to one of fear and fury. They leap back, scurrying away from you as fast as they can while keeping their eyes on you. You stand up, dust yourself off, and cautiously watch their actions while searching for an exit. The monster flips open a chest on the side of the room, and scrambles inside for something. Past them, you see another sliding door that leads out in the direction you believe to be further into the Hot Zone. You charge for the door, only to be stopped by the monster pointing a large, vaguely “gun-like” device at you.

“I-I’ve got you! I’VE GOT YOU!”

Her grasp on the weapon is shaking and her aim is unsteady. Inspecting the weapon, it’s covered in lights and tubing. It pulses gently with an intermittent surge of light.

“I’ve just…I’ve just got to…pull the trigger…”

“This is it, Var…you.”

The monster seems to be straining from some kind of pressure. She sweats, shaking more and more, and her eyes are narrowing. You see her trigger finger twitch back and forth, never putting enough pressure on it to fire the weapon. You bring your sword up and swing it across the barrel of the weapon horizontally, cleaving it in two. The front end of the weapon falls to the ground, and the half that remains in the monster’s hands sparks uselessly. She seems shocked and mortified, deathly still as she tries to contemplate what’s happened, before dropping the broken device and slowly backing up away from you, pressing herself against the wall.

“Just…gah…”

“Dammit…why? Why even now couldn’t I…”

“Couldn’t do anything…”

She looks at the ground in shame; you continue past her and head towards the door. Just before it opens, a metal shutter falls over the door, and the entire building dims. The lighting within changes to a deep red hue; you turn back to face the yellow lizard monster, and find that she’s holding a small device with a single button on it.

“I might not be strong enough to FIGHT you unarmed…”

“But that doesn’t mean I don’t have the will to STOP you.”

She pulls herself off the wall and turns to face you, staring you in the eyes. She takes off the jeweler’s spectacles and puts on a traditional pair of glasses.

“There’s no way you’re getting back through that hole in the ceiling, and even a sword like that won’t break these walls or doors. “

“You’re not getting out of here unless I LET you out of here. And I WON’T do that.”

She stares you down, sweat pouring down the side of her face. A nervous smile creeps across her face, accompanied by stressed wrinkles.

“S-so…do your worst.”

“I’ll destroy the remote if it means this stops here.”

“Undyne...I hope this is what you’d want me to do.”

Alphys pulls up the tiny device and raises it above her head. You reach forward towards her.

“This is for us. Both of us. ALL of us.”

As Alphys is about to smash the device, the wall behind you explodes, mortar and steel flying through the air. You swivel around to find Mettaton, extra arms retracted but still armed to the teeth, facing you.

“OH, DON’T THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE FROM ME THAT EASILY, DARLING!”

A hail of projectiles flies towards you; you duck behind your shield and weather the assault. Alphys ducks as well, cowering in your shadow. Looking back at her, she looks appalled, and she starts yelling at Mettaton over the noise.

“M-Mettaton!”

“What have you done?!”

“OH? DEAR DOCTOR ALPHYS, WHAT DO YOU MEAN? DON’T TELL ME YOU NOW APPROVE OF WHAT THIS BRUTE DID TO YOUR CR-”

Your ears ring at the shrill screech Alphys gives in response. Mettaton’s guns run dry, and he holsters them to pull out another, fully loaded duo, resuming his fire before you have a chance to move. Alphys keeps talking at a near incomprehensible pace.

“N-NO! NEVER! IT’S HORRIBLE AND AWFUL AND I HAD TO TURN OFF THE TV BECAUSE I COULDN’T STAND TO WATCH HER MELT LIKE THAT HOW DID THAT EVEN HAPPEN WHY DID IT HAPPEN WHY WHY WHY WHAT DID I DO METT WHY DID YOU BREAK THE WALL IT WAS OVER IT WAS DONE”

Her massive, miserable rant continues as you keep defending against Mettaton. As this second volley ends, you jump to your feet and rush the robot; you feel more shots from more guns strike against the shield as you do so. Your eyes become slick as you feel a pellet graze across the slim of bit your forehead not covered by the shield, and a thin torrent of blood pours down across your face. You slam into Mettaton full force, pushing out of the lab and back out into the Hot Zone, then sheer off him and keep running, shield extended behind you in the hopes of blocking more gunshots. An inconsistent spray of gunfire lands at your feet and around you, as you charge across the Hot Zone. The gunfire tapers off after some time; you’re left running blindly through lift after lift, avoiding or eliminating husks as you come across them. It goes on for a while; you click back into a more aware state once you reach a change of scenery. The area ahead of you appears to be more urban, and much cooler in temperature. A tall, solitary building bearing the letters “MTT” lies ahead of you. You rush up to the entrance of the building, going to pull the door open, only to find it locked. You look around, spotting a cat-like monster with a rolled cigarette standing outside the door, adorned in a uniform that reminds you of a court jester in the colors of the fabric. He looks at you, an apathetic, glazed look in his eyes.

“Hey, buddy. Sorry the resort’s closed for the time. Some kind of evacuation order.”

“Doesn’t mean I get time to evacuate. Par for the course.”

You raise your sword to the glass-paneled door.

“Please don’t do that.”

“Any broken property is absolutely going to come out of the MINISCULE PAY I get for my full-time work here.”

“And I’d like to at least have something to THINK I can justify the amount of time I spend here.”

You stare at the cat-like monster, then point back in the direction opposite the building. Growing closer, you see a rectangular body flying through the air and a smaller, yellow body clinging to it. The sounds of popping noises and screaming grow closer, accompanying them. The cat-like monster reacts with panic.

“(OH GOD THAT’S THE BOSS AND HE’S ROCKETING AROUND AGAIN)”

“Fine! Go in. HURRY! Get the door open before he smashes through it!”

“It’s like the EIGHTH time this month he’s tried this!”

The monster tosses you a small key; you find the lock and jam it in, turning it and unlocking the door, you swing it open and charge inside. Inside the building is a luxurious scene: silk fabrics, marble decoration, with art framed and hung on the walls. Had it not been for the broken fountain in the center of the room, currently soaking half of it in water, you may have though that this place was a well-kept hub of luxury and relaxation. It seems like the kind of place royalty with low standards would flee to in times of emotional duress. You’re caught so off guard by the change in scenery that you come to a stop, and only realize that you need to keep moving when it’s already too late. You hear the roaring sound of a jet of flame rush up behind you, though no gunshots accompany it. You turn and raise your shield, only to be met with the air being knocked out of your chest as Mettaton rams you, his velocity keeping you affixed to his front. You speed along with him and Alphys, who is clinging on for dear life to Mettaton’s back, through the luxurious corridor.

“Mettaton, stop! We caught up! You can stop now!”

“I APPEAR TO BE HAVING TROUBLE SHUTTING DOWN THE PROPUSLION JET ALPHYS. I BELIEVED WHEN YOU SLAPPED ME FOR, QUOTE, ‘BEING A POMPUS JERK,’ YOU MAY HAVE MISALIGNED A CRUCIAL SHAFT.”

“O-oh dear…really?”

“NO. I BELIEVE THIS CLOWN DID WHEN HE SO CARELESSLY STRUCK ME WITH THAT OVERSIZED DINNER PLATE OF HIS.”

“KINDLY GET HIM OFF OF US, WILL YOU?”

Alphys meekly slaps at you, trying to push you off Mettaton. You can’t tell if she’s slapping as hard as she can or deliberately just shoving her hand into your face. You bite at the air one of the times she reaches for you, which quickly discourages her.

“Eek!”

You head a door down the passage open up; turning to look, you see none other than Dela Delon step out, staff at the ready.

“Varik! It’s ov-AH!”

Dela is rammed by Mettaton as well, going along for the ride next to you on the front. Alphys stares at her.

“Oh jeez!”

“Ah! What in all hells is this?! Where are we going?!”

“FOR GOODNESS’ SAKE, ALPHYS! CAN YOU JUMP OFF ALREADY SO I CAN JUST GO SLAM THESE IDIOTS INTO A WALL?”

“Not at this speed!”

“Who are you calling an idiot, you ugly metal man?!”

“UGLY?!”

Dela stares you down, mere inches from your face.

“This is the best chance I’ve had all day! You’re mine, Varik!”

Dela begins charging up her staff; Alphys begins panicking and pleading with her.

“Wait wait wait! Don’t-!”

Dela shoves the staff into your chest. You have no way to stop this; you feel arcane energy begin to heat up your armor, only for that energy to rapidly disperse without warning. Crackling energy begins to envelop Mettaton, which then expands to envelop all of you, the bluish-white glow of the magic zapping each of you with various small, static charges. Mettaton’s fire jet briefly flares out. For a moment, all four of you are left soaring through the air in silence.

“WELL, SH-”

The fire jet roars back to life, far more powerful than it was before. You soar up and through the wall of the luxurious building, the field of magic absorbing all of the damage of the impact. Mettaton uncontrollably shoots up high into the air; all three of them are screaming as your velocity picks up more and more, and you do loops throughout the sky. You briefly get a view of the entire Monster Kingdom; it seems the dark voids you’ve seen in the sky up to this point are like one-way mirrors, unable to be seen up through, but clear to see down through. This is the first angle you’ve had to notice this; even back at the Snowcroft, you supposed you were too low. You can see the Ruins, the Tower, the Snowcroft, the Wetlands, and the Hot Zone, almost in their entirety. Mettaton arches downward, uncontrollably rocketing towards a grand metallic structure with zero illumination coming from it. You wait until Mettaton passes within range that you feel comfortable tempting fate with another high landing, then awkwardly wedge your sword between your body and Mettaton, breaking free of the velocity and tumbling away from the rampaging, rocketing “robot” as it were. You tumble and roll right up to the entrance of this strange, darkened structure, watching the other three spiral off into the Hot Zone; you see Dela free herself shortly after you do, dropping off into an area further down in the core. You turn and charge ahead into the darkened structure, hoping that it’s the next step towards finding the way out of here.

The interior of the structure is the darkest part of the underground you’ve seen yet. The formless, blob-like husks return in droves, all falling before your sword relatively easily. As you ascend the structure, you can feel the structure sway and bend; the loud, harrowing noise of groaning metal permeates the air around you at all times. Whatever this place is, it hasn’t been used in a very, very long time. At one point, you’re walking across a bridge suspended high above a seemingly endless drop into nothingness, tubing running down along the walls into the unseen depths. A metal panel from the ceiling above detaches and comes flying down; you jump out of the way, but the loud clang and result vibrations makes your stomach twist and turn ad it feels like the whole structure may tip over. The higher you go, the less stable the structure feels.

You walk past an open gap in the wall of the structure, which allows some light in. You see rust lining the walls on almost every side of the structure’s interior, flaking off and filling the air with particles. In the light of the gap, you see and remember the presence of the paper stuck in your armor from Alphys’ strange laboratory. You take a short break from you climb and read over them, seeing what information lies within. There are two sheets; On the first sheet of paper, you find a report.

“I’ve finally made a breakthrough on Experiment 1991. The prince asked me to inspect his personal weapon, the “PLANET BUSTER” as he called it, and see what makes it tick. I asked him why the scientists in the millennia before me haven’t done so already, and he just said he didn’t need them too. I wanted to ask if he knew something I didn’t but…well, that never goes over well.”

“But even without any notes from those before me to build on, I’ve gotten some results! The PLANET BUSTER is indeed a powerful weapon, designed only to be wielded by humans, and it enforces this by requiring something only humans have. Some kind of energy other than magic is flowing through the sword, binding it together on a level deeper than just a physical one. I’ve isolated the reason why to one place: the SOUL.”

“Monsters are more in tune with their SOULs, but the archives show that human SOULs are innately stronger and more resilient. It’s why monster SOULs are unable to persist after death, save for the SOULs of monsters like the prince, but human SOULs do so easily. Some kind of force in a human’s SOUL enables it to hold on after death; that’s why the record of the war has monsters taking human SOULs in combat, but not the other way around. I’ve discovered WHY. This force, this will to hang on after death…I believe to wield a weapon like the PLANET BUSTER, you need an inordinate amount of it, and no monster SOUL possesses this prerequisite. So, the prince absolutely NEEDS a strong human to wield the sword, or a human SOUL to take for himself. That prophecy of his continues to ring eerily true.”

You flip the paper over and keep reading.

“I was only able to figure this out thanks to Undyne; she’s a bit of an anomaly. I was doing a check-up on her after I went over the sword and found a small deposit of that same energy embedded in her SOUL. I think she may be the only monster with even a smidgen of this energy; no other SOULs I’ve inspected, not even the prince’s, has something like this. When I say a small deposit, I mean like, less than half of one percent of what I saw in the PLANET BUSTER, but even then, it’s a considerable amount by monster standards for sure. She seemed ecstatic when I told her this, asked if there was a way I could enable her to tap into it. I wasn’t so sure it was safe, but she insisted, so I made an amplifier attuned to the energy and installed it in her armor. Hopefully, she never needs to use it, but if it does help her somewhere down the line, I’ll only be happier for it. Maybe I should look into other usages for it as well…with a source like the PLANET BUSTER, I might as well try.”

“This energy should be given a name for quicker, clearer reference. From this point on, I’m going to indulge the prince’s ego just a bit and pinch a name from that prophecy. The Hunted is described as a being of raw determination…so let’s call it that. The power to persist after death: DETERMINATION."

“But one thing is strange to me: Why does the prince need a human to wield the PLANET BUSTER? What does he intend to kill with it?”

You move onto the next piece of paper. The first section of this one is written in a less orderly manner, with punctuation mistakes and misspellings everywhere; you deduce that it was written in a hurry.

“EXIT FROM RUINS DISCOVERED 0800 HOURES. IDENTIFIED AS HUMAM, TWO INSTANCS”

"HUKSK PRESENCE INSTENSIFYING ACROSS UNDERGROUND. WHERE IS THE PRINCEE.”

The next section is more comprehensible.

“Mett and I have got cameras scanning the entire Monster Kingdom, looking to track every spot of where these humans end up. He’s more interested in the entertainment factor, of course, but that’s just Mettaton. Sometimes, I wonder if he’d still hang out with me if I wasn’t helping him get acclimated to his new body; what I don’t get is his insistence on acting like a pure robot. Maybe he just likes the character?”

“No, It’s not my place to judge. I just hope he’s happy, and if the robot thing is part of it, I embrace it fully.”

“Anyway, I’ve been trying to discover what I can about modern human society from these two humans; what they wear, how they behave, their level of technological advancement, etc. What baffles me is that, if these two are any indication, then humanity has made almost no progress since the war. Magic clearly still has a roll in their society, but neither of them has demonstrated knowledge of electric devices or communications tech, and the one in a leather jacket has been using the same fighting styles against the husks that human warriors of the prelapsarian monster era did. Surely, over a thousand years, there would have been some advancement, even some technological progress, but it’s like nothing has changed, or…something’s been lost. I’ll have to look into this further.”

A horizontal line is drawn through the paper, another paragraph beneath it.

“The prince is nowhere to be found, and now Undyne is in open revolt against him! She’s not answering her phone; I have no idea what’s happening. With every second, the chain of command is breaking down further, and ASRIEL has all but locked himself off in the Fortress above the Hot Zone and cut off the elevator to the Capital, meaning the only way up is through the CORE, and NOBODY wants to enter the CORE. But I think I might have to. I need to know what’s going on and what I need to do. These humans are not what I expected at all. The lady seems kind, but extremely self-absorbed, and the other one…he’s so creepy that I can barely stand looking at him through the cameras. And I think HE’S supposed to be the one who’s helping us? I need answers. I don’t care if the prince has cut himself off, I need to know.”

Another horizontal line is drawn in the paper, followed by more writing.

“I went up through the CORE. I wish I hadn’t. Everything is wrong.”

"The husks are pouring throughout the underground. I thought they came from the RUINS. They don’t. ASRIEL lied, about everything.”

“ASGORE’s alive. Sort of.”

“Undyne’s facing off against the Hunted. I think his name’s Varik? I’m watching through the camera.”

“They”

“She”

A long pencil line runs down the page, like Alphys lost concentration and let her hand shakily wander across the page. The line ends with a sudden boldness and little speckles of graphite that rub off on your finger. It’s like sudden pressure was applied to the page, and the pencil tip broke on it. You flip the paper; the back is an incomprehensible mess of the same crossed out equation over and over again and several bold expletives, and self-admonishments. You fold the papers up and tuck them away, under your scarf. You press on higher into the structure, which you believe to be the CORE, coming across more husks. It continues to sway as you get closer and closer to the top.

You reach a point where the CORE seems to stabilize; based on how the lower sections swayed, you guess that part of the structure is built into the ceiling, more secured than the middle areas. While you were never an architect, that’s your best guess, and at this point it largely doesn’t matter. Little streaks of arcane light shoot throughout the walls, going upward, leading to something up and ahead of you. You reach a corridor where the metal is cleaner, the walls look like they’ve seen less weathering, and the air isn’t as heavy with rust. A door lies ahead of you on the other end of a large, raised circular platform, the edges of which drop off into the depths of the structure. You step out onto the platform, various multicolored lights illuminating the space around you; it’s oddly calming, the aesthetic of the chamber carrying a minimalist design like something from another world. You traverse the platform, getting to the center before the door suddenly slides open. Alphys steps through, and the door slides shut behind her. In the dim light of the room, you cannot see her eyes behind her glasses.

“Surprised?”

“I’ve had to deal with the defunct, dark hallways of the CORE for a very long time, Varik.”

“As royal scientist, it’s just part of my job. Even with all the husks around, it’s something I have to do.”

“But having so much expected of you, whether it’s there or not…”

“It can paralyze you, stop you from acting when you need to. Or have you making terrible decisions…”

“Like that stupid amplifier…Maybe, if I’d said something, we could have worked out something else…”

She looks up at you.

“I don’t want to be haunted by stuff like that in what may be my final moments.”

“If I have to face you, I’m doing it with a clear head.”

Alphys pulls out a small object, which rapidly unfolds in her grip. It looks like another gun, similar to the one she had back in the lab. She takes a deep breath in; she looks like she’s trying to calm herself down.

“So, if it’s been left to me and Mettaton…I’m ready.”

“I can beat you!”

Behind you, you hear another door slam shut. Glancing behind you, you see Mettaton in your peripheral. Two “cameras” orbit him.

“IF YOU’RE CERTAIN, ALPHYS. IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO BACK OFF AND LET ME HANDLE THIS.”

Alphys shakes her head.

“We need to do it like this, Mettaton. It’s a risk, but you invulnerable body won’t be enough, as we’ve seen.”

“You ready?”

“ALWAYS, DARLING! I’VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING THIS OUT!”

“VIEWERS AT HOME, PREPARE TO FEAST YOUR EYES ON WHAT’S NEXT FOR METTATON! HIT IT, DOCTOR!”

Alphys pulls out another small device and presses a button. Behind you, Mettaton’s body begins to rapidly shift, as steam begins to shoot out from various vents across his metallic form. A shrill noise rings out, climbing louder and louder, as Mettaton shakes back and forth. A burst of light and an echoing noise of a nature you can’t put words to fills your ears. As your sight returns to you, you hear a brand-new voice.

“Ohhh, yessss…”

Before you stands Mettaton, his body changed to something much different. His body has changed to something more humanoid, bearing that same artificial edge, but with extra features. His body has broad, pointy shoulders and a metallic torso, colored pink and jet black at various points. Hair flows from the top of his head, a very dark black, enviously luxurious and covering half of his now human-like face. Metallic shutters open and close on his cheeks; a whip, with embers flaking off the end of it, swings in his hands. He catches the end of the whip and looks you in the eye.

"THIS is what I’ve been waiting to show you all, darlings~”

“The next age of Mettaton is here…”

He cracks the whip and strikes a pose.

“To sweep you all off your feet!”

The cameras swing around Mettaton, looking down at him from every angle. Behind you, a high noise, climbing in pitch, begins to emit from Alphys’ gun. She hypes herself up to fight you.

“Okay. We’re doing this!”

“CHARGE!!!”

In front of you, Mettaton cracks his whip, sending the long cord flying towards you at around neck height. Behind you, you hear the sound of a blast, with sparkling noises like that of a firecracker following shortly after. You react on instinct, ducking under where you predict the whip to land and turning to bring your shield head-on with Alphys’ attack. The force of the blast sends you sliding back in Mettaton’s direction, while the whip above narrowly misses you, but brushes against you as it returns. The surface of the whip feels prickly, and it leaves a cut in your skin as it’s pulled across you. Now in a defensive stance, you prepare for an arduous round of combat, with the numbers stacked against you.

What follows is a mixture of athletic display and split-second reactions, as you quickly learn and adapt to the style of the duo. Alphys seems to rely exclusively on her ranged weaponry, keeping her distance from the brunt of the combat. The few times you manage to get close enough to swing your sword at her, you find a boundary of magical armor infused with some type of current surrounding her being. Mettaton, on the other hand, continually gets in your face, swinging his whip around wildly and pulling out more guns to fire at you. You’re barely able to keep track of him as he uses his metallic body to jump and twist about in the air, and you take more than a few harsh blows from behind as he ambushes you from above. By keeping to a defensive style, you’re largely able to weather the assault, but you feel your energy ebbing away the longer the fight goes on. If you don’t go on the offensive, they’ll simply tire you out and strike you down the moment your focus drops.

Forcing yourself out of your turtling combat style, you lunge out at Mettaton, forcing him to jump back as you slam your sword into the floor in front of him with an overhand strike. You then turn to Alphys and dash along the floor, going for a jumping downward slash, only to be met with the glowing barrel of her gun. You quickly raise your shield and just narrowly manage to block the shot, sending you higher in the air in a cartwheel. As you spiral through the air above, you hear the two converse down below, Alphys voicing exasperation and Mettaton reciprocating.

“Gah, why won’t he go down?!”

“I don’t know what humans are made of, Doctor, but they are frustratingly hardy!”

Alphys takes another shot at you. It flies past, much to Alphys’ consternation.

“It’s…that DETERMINATION…the strength of the SOUL…”

From below, you hear another round of gunfire; you aim your shield down, and by luck, you block most of the projectiles, but a few graze you, the pain only mitigated by the adrenaline.

“No one human SOUL can stand up to the magnificence I bring to the table, doctor! I’ve got my viewers cheering me on at home; it’s time for us to end this!”

“Mettaton, I-I don’t think-”

“Just stay behind me, Alphys, and we’ll end this right now!”

An idea for how to go about putting up an offense pops into your head as you finally stop ascending and begin to fall back down to the platform. Mettaton goes up after you, soaring into the air for beyond what a jump would yield a human. As his whip cracks and flies towards you, you think you know what he’s going for; his whip is too far off to the right to hit you directly, but may be poised to hit your shield and take it out of your hand. Without a shield, your defensive strategy will be rendered moot, and Alphys will be able to finish you off easily. But Alphys also happens to be the crux of your plan to counterattack, and so you jump into action. You willingly release your shield, aim yourself at Alphys, then kick off the shield, sending you plummeting downwards at an accelerated rate. Mettaton’s whip wraps around the abandoned shield, and he flies up past you, looking confused.

Below you, Alphys seems similarly baffled, until her eyes widen as you raise your sword above your head, poised for a strike that would cleave her in half. She scrambles and tumbles out of the way just in time, your blade slicing through the tails of her coat. She tries to recover and aim her gun at you, but you keep swinging your blade haphazardly in her direction, landing it all around her and forcing her to fidget and squirm around to avoid being hit. Behind you, you hear Mettaton land, and the whip crack. You leap to the side, not turning around, feeling the whip smack against your leg, but pressing on through the soreness. Instead of turning to deal with Mettaton, you keep up your assault on Alphys, Bringing the sword down over her again and again, as she yelps and flops around like a fish, trying to get out of the way; the whole time, she keeps a grasp on her weapon. You put on the pressure by jabbing at her with your scarf, tiring her out even faster as she needs to avoid more and more of your attacks. Mettaton keeps attacking, getting more frustrated the longer this goes on.

“I’m over here, you barbarian! What, do you hate doctors that much?!”

Alphys takes a few unaimed potshots at you, but none of them find their mark. You’re ensuing that she has to spend every second she has getting out of danger. More than once, your sword strikes her directly, only for the magic armor to block the blow. However, you feel it give more and more with each strike, and you turn to using your sword two-handed to make each hit as impactful as possible. On one hit, you send Alphys skidding along the floor like a puck, spinning around as she desperately clings to her gun.

“Oh, my goodness, Doctor…”

Alphys responds with indignant rage.

“I’m SORRY, but he won’t STOP!”

As she finishes her sentence, you charge Alphys once more, ignoring Mettaton. You bring your sword down on her, and the magical armor blocks it once again. As the blow lands, however, a dozen tiny, glowing splinters break off around Alphys, dissipating into the air. You’ve broken her magical armor, and she’s now completely vulnerable. A look of paralyzed shock crosses her face as she realizes what’s happened; you raise your sword as if to strike her, and she unwittingly drops her gun, raising her hands defensively and looking away from you.

“H-hold on! WAIT!!!”

Instead of bisecting Alphys, you quickly duck down and scoop up her gun with your free hand, and at the same time behind you, you hear Mettaton’s whip crack once more.

“The star of the show is over HERE, jerk! Get off her!”

You turn to face Mettaton, sword in one hand, gun in the other, and extend your sword arm to block and catch the whip. It wraps around your arm with an excruciating tightness, but you bear the pain and execute your coup de gras on Mettaton. You ride the whip as it pulls you back towards Mettaton, as well as pulling on it with your bound arm. You’re yanked right up into Mettaton’s face, as you slide to a halt, you lift the gun to his midriff and press the barrel against him. A moment passes where everyone in the room realizes what’s about to happen and freezes up; you pull the trigger, and the recoil of the gun swings your arm back and sends it flying out of your hand. You think you feel something rip, but you can’t be sure through the adrenal haze. You get off easy compared to Mettaton, however; the massive shot of the gun cuts right through his metal body, ripping his torso off his legs and sending him falling to the floor in a heap.

The whip comes loose from his grasp; you take a hold of it with your free hand. Turning to face Alphys, she seems horrified, hands over her mouth, but then she looks over at the now freed gun, lying on the edge of the platform. She pulls herself along the floor on her knees, trying to get to it before you can, but you unwrap the whip from your arm and swing it out at the gun, striking it before Alphys can reach it and sending it over the edge of the platform. Alphys looks on in despair as the gun fades from view, then turns over and stands up, facing you, now fully defenseless. The cameras orbit around the platform; you’ve discerned that they allow the denizens of the Monster Kingdom to scry on you, meaning they’ve all just seen you trounce what sounded like their last line of defense. Behind you, Mettaton chuckles on the floor, dragging himself along with his hands as he looks up at you.

“Bravo, Varik. That was…”

“I can’t say I was expecting that.”

“My beautiful body…”

“…”

“Well, unlucky for you, I think the legs still look just fine!”

You approach Mettaton, sword and whip in hand.

“Ah…”

Behind you, Alphys tugs at her sleeves in despair.

“P-please, don’t…”

“You don’t have to…”

Mettaton looks up at you, his expression remarkably confident in contrast to the situation he is in. It seems he never drops the proud act, even during times like this.

“It might not matter, Alphys.”

“Remember how we were still working out the power consumption?”

“Well, with the batteries leaking like this…”

“I’ll just shut off anyway.”

Alphys starts freaking out.

“I-I CAN FIX IT!! VARIK! DON’T! I CAN CHARGE HIM BACK UP, I-I CAN FIX IT, JUST…”

“PLEASE DON’T!!!”

Mettaton starts slowing down.

“Whatever happens, it was great knowing you, Alphys.”

“You helped me live in a way I never thought I’d be able to. I’ll always be grateful for that.”

“Even if I never did the best job of showing it.”

“And to all my faithful viewers back at home…”

“Don’t worry. Hope yet remains for us all!”

“No matter what happens to me…I’ll always be thankful…for all of you.”

Mettaton’s eyes dim, and a low whirring noise pulsates throughout the platform. Tension fills the air as you stand over the robot’s defeated form. You look back at Alphys; it seemed at first like she was going to charge you, but then she flaked out. You know she’s not a match for you in the state she’s in, and you’re sure she knows it as well. You turn back to Mettaton; his inert, halved body is there, ready to be finished off with one swing of your sword. An oily black liquid seeps out from the bottom of his torso, staining your boots as it puddles around you. You contemplate for a few seconds, then turn to walk away, scraping your boots across the floor as you go to pick up your shield. Alphys drops onto the floor, looking like she’s about to pass out, as you pick up your shield and turn to face the exit.

The door is still locked, but you decide that it won’t stop you. You jam your sword into the door as far as it will go and forcibly pry it open, breaking all the pulleys and levers inside the sliding mechanism and severely bending your sword in the process. You wrap your scarf around the sword to aid you with forcing it open; the door finally gives, but your sword snaps apart, having already been damaged in the fight with Alphys and Mettaton. It falls uselessly to the floor; you take a few practice swings with the whip, then wrap it up and keep it at the ready in your hand.

“Why?”

You turn to face Alphys as she mutters on the edge of the platform.

“Why us and not her?”

“I don’t understand what’s going through your head.”

“There’s no method, no pattern of beliefs to what you do, just…”

“Violence. You just keep attacking things and people and SOMETIMES you kill them.”

“There’s no consistency to it at all!”

Alphys becomes angered and begins yelling at you.

“What is the motivation, Varik?! Why are you doing this?! You don’t have to listen to that stupid prophecy, so why work with the prince?! Why spare us and not-”

The door where you first entered the platform suddenly slides open. Two figures step through onto the platform. One is Dela Delon, still in her sorceress’s attire, with that same staff, and a new tome at her side. The other figure is not one you expected to see ever again. Dressed in a white gi with black steel-toed boots, blue-scaled skin, red hair pulled back into a ponytail, and an eyepatch over one eye, stands Undyne, captain of the Royal Guard, very much alive and walking. Alphys’ voice shakes as they enter the room.

“…Un...dyne…?”

Undyne surveys the room, appalled at the carnage on display. She looks over at Alphys with an urgent expression.

“Alphys, are you okay?! What did he do?”

Alphys starts shaking in place; it looks like she’s about to break completely, her mouth moving into a twitching smile and her eyes watering up as her speech patterns begin to warble.

“I…how…you…I-”

“Oh, oh thank GOD! I thou-I-I…you di-iie-I thought-”

Undyne gives you a wide berth and rushes over to Alphys, pulling her back from the ledge. She kneels down and places her hand on Alphys’ shoulder, reassuring her.

“I’m here, I’m okay. I’m not dead anymore.”

Alphys completely breaks down.

“A-ANYMOOORE?!?”

Alphys sobs into Undyne's shoulder, hugging her tightly. Undyne returns the hug, and looks over at you. The expression on her face is, surprisingly, not nearly as nasty as you would have expected. It’s certainly not pleasant, and very much a disparaging one, her eyes narrowing and a frown being pulled across her mouth, but you have the feeling that it’s not a venomous as it could be. Alphys calms down for a moment, gripping Undyne’s arm with both hands.

“W-what do you mean ‘anymore?’ How- What-?”

Undyne looks over at Dela, who’s patiently standing to one side, inspecting Mettaton. She looks over at Undyne and Alphys, and then over at you, a smug smirk on her face, as she raises her left hand, and flexes her fingers. You remember the absence of the ring you saw earlier in the Hot Zone.

“A Ring of Life. Extraordinarily rare magic artifacts that can snap a person back to life at the point of death. You’ve used one to thwart me before, haven’t you, Varik? Lucky bastard.”

Your straighten your posture. Dela keeps speaking.

“My master gave me that one, a keepsake to protect me if I ever found myself in trouble. I’d wish he’d held onto it…but here, I was able to stop another murderous act of yours!”

Undyne mutters something under her breath.

“(…murder…)”

Dela turns to speak to Undyne.

“You remember our deal, right? I doubt I’ll ever be able to find another one of those things, so I want us to be even. I think my offer was generous, don’t you think?”

Undyne stares at Dela, then solemnly nods. Alphys looks up at Undyne.

“D-deal? What kind of deal?”

Undyne looks back at you.

“A simple one. All we have to do is do nothing at all.”

Dela continues from where Undyne left off.

“No interruptions, no grandstanding acts in the name of justice from anyone other than myself.”

“It’s just me…and Varik.”

Alphys looks shocked at this.

“You’re…standing aside, Undyne? That’s not like…are you sure you’re okay?”

Undyne closes her eye and exhales.

“…Yeah, I’m fine.”

Dela points her staff at you.

“Then this is really it, Varik.”

“Enough of all this nonsense getting in our way; I have a lot I need to do now once I’ve dealt with you.”

“So take comfort in the fact that you won’t die with even MORE blood on your hands…although…”

“I’m still not so sure on what you did to the queen.”

Undyne and Alphys look surprised at this. Undyne speaks first.

“The queen?”

“But I’ve never…Alphys, have you seen her before?” Alphys responds.

“No…did…”

“Lady, did Varik-?”

Dela closes her eyes.

“He did-”

“He didn’t.”

From behind Dela, another figure steps onto the platform. The purple and white robe with the Delta Rune carved into it has a large, makeshift stich across it. It’s Toriel; initially, it looks like she’s walking with a bit of a hobble, but she straightens her stance and corrects it. Everyone in the room seems flabbergasted.

“…Hello, Varik.”

“You’ve been busy, I see.”

Undyne stares, mouth agape, at the queen.

“Woah…Alphys, it’s really her!”

“I always thought…wait.”

“Weren’t you about to say that Varik KILLED the queen, Delon? What is this?”

Dela seems genuinely surprised; it looks like she honestly thought you killed Toriel. She stands there, staring at the queen, scratching her head.

“Well…I thought…huh.”

As this is all going on, you start to gradually take steps back towards the open door. While you have a whip, your ability in combat is mostly keen with swords; a more esoteric weapon like this one might not aid you as well in a fight with a foe like Delon. You inch away, trying to get out of the room before anyone notices you. Dela keeps awkwardly walking back on what she was saying.

“I guess that…Well I didn’t SEE it, but…well, with what happened to you, Undyne, I guess it made sense that-”

As you take another step back, your foot lands on top of your broken sword. The weapons flies out from under your foot and skitters forward across the platform. Everyone turns to face the sword, and then you. You stare at them for a moment, before turning and launching into a dead sprint out of the platform and into the next corridor. It’s only a few seconds later that you hear a surge of magic and clambering footsteps chasing after you.

“GET THE HELL BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!!!”

Dela begins her chase once again, and you charge ahead without looking back, reaching the end of the corridor and jumping into a lift at the end of it. This one is energized, and the doors slide behind you as you step in. Outside, you hear Dela roaring in anger and pounding on the doors; the lift jostles, and you feel yourself ascend. You wonder what awaits you at the top; it feels like you’re finally in the last leg of your journey throughout the underground.

Chapter Text

After what feels like an eternity, the lift finally comes to a stop. The door slides open, and you step out into a corridor, walls lined with grey brick, and vines and weeds weaving in between the cracks. The moment you step out of the lift, you feel a great fatigue come over you; your shield hand seizes up, and you fingers begin to go numb; an intense heat settles across your body, emerging from your torso-region. You drop your shield and quickly doff your armor, tossing it onto the floor. Hovering your hand near the items, you feel a repulsive presence that wasn’t there in the Hot Zone, and you make the decision to abandon them. All you have left are your clothes, scarf, boots, whip, gloves and Alphys reports, the latter of which you remove from the armor and tuck into your pockets. You travel down the corridor, taking in the calmer atmosphere of this new environment.

You pass multiple balconies, overlooking large swathes of the underground from different vantage points. You see a completely new area that you haven’t passed through at all on your way here. It looks like a massive, sprawling city made of stone and marble, just as endless as the Ruins; you figure that this must be the Capital, the place where the majority of monsterkind resides. You walk over to a balcony for a moment and peer over the edge, hands on the railing. Below you, the massive shell of the Core lies, inert, like an unearthed corpse in a graveyard. A gentle, warm wind settles in around you, blowing your bangs back into your eyes.

“It’s certainly nothing to scoff at, right?”

“You’re looking over the Capital, where most of monsterkind lives.”

“It doesn’t amaze me like it once did. Perhaps I’ve just grown tired of the same sights.”

You turn to face the voice. Mere feet away from you stands Asriel, scabbard on his back, robes shining in the arcane light emanating from the kingdom below.

“Welcome to my Fortress.”

“Sorry I couldn’t just bring you here myself. I might be over a thousand years old, but I’m far from completely immortal…for now, anyway. Didn’t want to risk it.”

“Undyne could have had a real chance of trouncing me herself. For a while, I thought you’d taken care of that problem.”

“Then…that OTHER human stepped in.”

“Hmph. It matters not. It will be dealt with in just a little while.”

“Then this whole tiresome ordeal will finally…”

“FINALLY, be over, and my people will be free.”

Asriel has a look in his eyes like a child staring at the night sky. He closes his eyes thoughtfully, then calmly reaches for the scabbard on his back, pulling it off his shoulders.

“I’ve kept you in suspense long enough. Let’s get ready to bring the imminent freedom of my people to fruition.”

Asriel extends the scabbard towards you, hilt first. He smiles; you sense an eagerness hiding underneath the calm, regal exterior.

“This…is the PLANET BUSTER.”

“A human-made weapon from long before the war.”

“Like its name suggests, it is a blade of such power that, if used correctly by a skilled swordsman, could deliver a blow powerful enough to cleave the planet itself in two.”

“Obviously, it’s never done that, but I’ve had much time to research its power through analytical magic and science. I can attest that the name rings true.”

“But there’s a problem. The sword is only able to be wielded by a human. All monsters who’ve attempted to use it in the past…have crumbled to dust after merely touching it.”

“Only recently, I’ve discovered why. It can only be wielded by an immensely DETERMINED being, which…”

“…”

“…Ah, You already know of what I speak of.”

“You’ve been going over my royal scientist’s notes? Good, good. Then we’re all caught up.”

“Indeed, only a being with sufficient DETERMINATION can wield the PLANET BUSTER. Which means, as it stands, the task falls to you.”

“Go ahead, Varik.”

You reach out and grasp the Planet Buster’s handle. The guard’s various pointed ends come close to jabbing your skin, but don’t reach out quite far enough. Slowly, you draw the blade from its scabbard, a prolonged, blood-curdling rasp accompanying it. You unsheathe the sword completely and grasp it with both hands; it’s unlike any weapon you’ve held in your life, laden with such innate power that it throws you off a bit. The sword has a weight to it, not one of physical mass, but of destructive potential, like if you so much as tapped it against the ground, the entire Monster Kingdom would crumble. The sword demands reverence in its mere presence, and you remain still as you hold it upright. Asriel looks amused, keeping the scabbard extended out toward you.

“It’s impressive, isn’t it? Every day, for centuries, I’ve looked at it and been tempted to draw it, just for a second, but even a Boss Monster is incapable of handling it. So I relented.”

“Though, golly, I imagine it would have been quite a THRILLING way to go out.”

“I would sheathe it until you become more adjusted to it. Just a suggestion.”

You take the scabbard and carefully sheathe the sword, then sling the scabbard over your back. Asriel places his hands behind his back and takes on a more neutral expression.

“Walk with me. I’ll take you to the BARRIER, and then we’ll get to work.”

“I won’t waste time picking your mind for what you know already. I’ll just say what I feel I need to explain.”

“It’s only right. From this point on, we’re a team. Such is fate. And therefore, you should know what is going on here.”

Asriel turns around and begins walking away from the balcony, then further down the corridor. You follow after him, your footsteps echoing through the air. For a brief bit, you walk in silence, the wine covered walls of the corridor seemingly stretch on forever. Eventually, you arrive at a new location: a stairway that leads further upward. Ascending it behind Asriel, you exit in a fresh, yet familiar environment. You find yourself in what looks like another iteration of Toriel’s home, but with the walls deprived of any coloration. Asriel looks around the home; you keep your eyes on him.

“A thousand years ago, the Monster Kingdom was poised on the surface, aware of, and even connected to, human society.”

“There was a time before my own when monsters and humans were tolerant of each other, But from what I’ve studied of the time, there was never such a thing as true peace between the races.”

“By the time my father, King ASGORE, came to power, the relations had worsened from paranoia of our dominion over magic, and our ability to take human SOULS.”

Asriel walks ahead through the home, leading you to a door that mirrors the one you entered back in Toriel’s home. He looks at the door as he speaks to you. His posture slumps; gradually he’s starting to look and act more like an adolescent, seemingly calming down in your presence.

“But ASGORE had a gentle heart. Until…THAT day, he stood in defiance to calls from both his own people and oppositional humans who called for conflict. Pushing through the fear, he kept tensions as low as he could.”

“I thought he was the kindest man in the world, and maybe he was. It was so long ago…”

“He always said that the three of us were what drove him to stand against the current of hostility; his queen, his prince…and his royal.”

Asriel takes a breath in and opens the door. Musty air rushes out past the door; it smells stale, but clean. Asriel steps inside, and you follow, stopping at the doorway. Inside the room, there are two beds, as opposed to the one he saw back in Toriel’s home. Asriel stands between them, facing away from you.

“I had a sibling once. A HUMAN sibling. They were adopted by my parents a few years after I was born.”

“Even if they couldn’t be real royalty in the eyes of the monster people, we treated them like born family. As far as I was concerned, they were.”

He holds his arms out to his side.

“At times, I forgot they were human. They blended in well with the rest of my people. I spent the best days of my life with them, exploring friendly, or more often than not, neutral kingdoms on diplomatic trips, wandering the base of the mountains around our kingdom…”

“Watching the sun set and the moons rise. I remember, we kept a little book of the moon phases so we could…”

“Heh. I actually don’t remember why we kept that book. We just thought the moons were pretty, maybe.”

“I don’t remember…a lot of things from that time.”

Asriel walks over to a closet on one side of the room, and opens it. From it, he pulls out two items: A rapier, and a leather jacket. You recognize them as the ones he presumably destroyed when you first met him just before the caves. The rapier looks like its been repaired since you last saw it.

“When I said I didn’t approve, I meant to say, ‘I want them back.’ Sorry if it was an inconvenience. It was just…”

“It had been a while since I’d seen them. And I wasn’t so sure about just taking them from you.”

He chuckles.

“That sounds a little silly since that’s what I ended up doing, I know!”

His expression becomes a bit more dejected. He folds the jacket over his arm and carries the rapier in one hand, walking past you out of the room and further into the home. You follow, coming to a doored stairwell that goes further up, and keep following him. The Planet Buster sways on your back with each step as you move upward into darkness.

“For a little bit, it seemed like everything would be okay. Father had everything under control.”

“Then…the MAGE KINGDOMS came.”

“An old, power-hungry king named BEREBUS of Vittoria united the three most powerful human kingdoms under one banner, and the goal of overcoming monsterkind. Eventually, all of human civilization was brought under their control; they WERE humanity.”

“BEREBUS, along with his fellow kings, BADORRER of Bundevia and GAUA of Fiberia, accused my father of kidnapping a human, my sibling, and sent an armed battalion to take the kingdom by storm in retribution.”

“We were barely able to drive their attack back, but…”

Asriel reaches the top of the stairs and stops. You stop just short of catching up to him.

“They got my sibling, and took them away by force. Pried them out of my mother’s arms.”

Asriel looks off to one side; his expression gives away that he’s reliving some unpleasant feelings.

“I never saw them again after that.”

Asriel keeps walking, and you keep following him. The corridor at the top of the stairs is made of more brick, stripped clean of any vines. Runic language is inscribed on the walls, listing long diatribes that you can’t read a single letter off; Asriel looks between them as he walks.

“That was enough for my father to give up the pretense of peace. He launched an assault against the MAGE KINGDOMS and all who stood with them.”

“The war was long; Humans are strong, but we can take their SOULS, and so the conflict plateaued. I grew up waking to the sounds of swords clashing and magical strikes every day for a few years. I spent my days preparing for when I had to join my father at the front lines and fight for our people.”

“I wanted to see my sibling again, so I couldn’t wait until that day came.”

“My mother was…less enthused. Her calls for diplomatic interaction and finding human allies to right the wrongs done on us were ignored. Eventually, she left my father and I and retreated to the oldest parts of our kingdom.”

“That’s when my father commissioned the CORE to be built.”

Asriel moves out over to another balcony. This one has a better view of the structure of the Core, still shrouded in darkness. You walk up next to him and obverse the derelict structure, gently swaying in the dark void.

“It was supposed to be our ace in the hole, an unlimited source of magical energy that would power our supply lines, aid with new weaponry, defense of the kingdom…had it worked, victory would have been ours.”

“But BEREBUS caught wind of what was to happen. He led a massive charge into the heart of our kingdom, looking to take the CORE for himself.”

“Looking back, I can’t think of how he’d expected to do that and survive, but he tried anyway. Perhaps the greed had finally overtaken his reasoning.”

“All his forces fell in combat, but they took a good number of us with them. BEREBUS himself confronted my father at the CORE. He brought THAT weapon, the PLANET BUSTER, to bear against him. I watched their fight from a distance.”

Asriel looks out over the balcony.

“Father overdid it. He used too much magic during the fight, and the incomplete CORE couldn’t take it. One swing from BEREBUS with the PLANET BUSTER against my father’s strength, and it melted down, and BEREBUS and my father were sucked into it.”

“Then the tremors began. Whole parts of our kingdom and the land around it collapsed into the ground. The Tower, which one pierced the heavens higher than anywhere else in the world, slid into the depths of the Earth, and we were all dragged down along with it.”

“Then shortly after, the husks arrived, reducing our numbers further as they spread throughout the underground, infesting every part of our kingdom.”

“It was pandemonium. I suddenly found myself the ruler of an entire race that would quickly die if I didn’t take action. I led what soldiers we had left on a path to push through the husks, back up to the surface. But by the time we reached it…the BARRIER was there. Humanity had trapped us to rot underground.”

“I was…I was desperate, and scared. I had nowhere else to turn. I went to the last prophets of our people and asked if there was any hope left.”

Asriel turns to face you. His expressions seems a little bit more elated.

“And then I heard THAT prophecy for the first time. The one telling of YOUR arrival, and that lady’s pursuit of you.”

“And it was enough, for a long time, to get my spirits back up.”

“So I got to work, preparing everything for your arrival.”

Asriel smiles.

“And now you’re here.”

“You’re finally, FINALLY here.”

His joyful expression starts to straighten out a bit. It looks like something else is bothering him.

“And now things are NOT going to happen as that prophecy stated.”

“Not by choice. But...well, prophecies are never clear, are they?”

“I’m sure you’re wondering, ‘Why is this prince pouring his heart out to me?’ What else could there be beyond what’s been laid before you?"

“…”

“I’ll show you. And then you’ll understand why we’re doing things this way.”

“Meet me up ahead, at the BARRIER. I need to prepare something.”

Asriel speedily walks away from the balcony and away down the corridor. An uneasy air has settled in around you. It’s like you can feel eyes watching you from out down and below in the darkness of the underground. Looking to the sides of the balcony, this location, whatever it is, seems to be shrouded completely in darkness, the light from within barely reaching out into the void. You slowly back up away from the balcony and continue down the corridor. Asriel is long out of sight; you simply follow the walls wherever they take you. On your back, the Planet Buster continues to swing with your movements; you can almost feel the steel of the blade through the scabbard. It feels like its intimidating presence is overshadowing your own. You reach the end of the corridor, and step through a door into a bright new one. The hall before you is decorated with golden floors and marble pillars. Stained glass windows to one side of the hall reveal something you’ve missed; sunlight, warming your body as you step out of the shadows. It’s apparent that the light can pass through the Barrier at least here. By the color of the light, you determine that the sun outside is setting, a pinkish-orange hue spread across the golden hallway.

You walk down the hallway, your footsteps more apparent than ever before as you do so. Each thundering echo dominates the hall as you move into the shadow of the pillars, then back out into the waning sunlight. You pass through another pillar’s shadow, and blink as you do so. You open your eyes to find a short, stout figure standing before you in the sunlight, dressed in a wool-lined coat, trousers, and open-toed shoes.

“hey.”

“gotta admit, you gave me a scare back there. twice actually.”

“making me run to the RUINS after delon’s personal accusations and then again with undyne…so much work.”

“it hit papyrus hard too. not sure where he’s at right now.”

“i’d say you’ve gotten off pretty lucky. and now you look like you’re ready to get out of here.”

“…”

“though it sounds like things may not be that simple. and why should they be?”

“life never gives you an easy way out. you have to pick and choose how you get through it.”

“and what you choose to do reflects on who you are as a person. you ARE your choices.”

“so, you will be judged.”

“judged for your character and reactions to the hardships you’ve faced and will face.”

Sans closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them and resumes speaking.

“you are a violent man, varik. there’s no way around that.”

“your claimed profession, the skills you’ve displayed, the choices you’ve made and the path you’ve walked.”

“all of it can only be ascribed to a man who will live and die by the blade.”

Sans’ eyes go hollow.

“to someone who has KILLED before.”

“it’s just a fact of the matter. one you’ve clearly accepted.”

“Y O U. A R E. A K I L L E R.”

“…”

Sans’ eyes go back to normal.

“and yet…you can’t be written off as JUST a killer either, can you?”

“i’ve noticed it. how you’ve taken deliberate steps to try and avoid bloodshed the entire time you’ve been here.”

“even in the case of undyne, you didn’t go right for the kill. however vicious it was, you chose to walk away first.”

“you’re a man who is very capable of hurting others, has made it his profession, has taken lives…”

“…but, for whatever reason, you’ve walked away from most of the situations where you had the chance to strike someone down. where the colder and more pragmatic would see a chance to eradicate a threat permanently, you stayed your hand.”

“and when the one life you seriously threatened was saved…”

“…you simply walked away once more. you took that second chance and ran with it instead of staying to reinforce what you’d done.”

“and i wouldn’t chalk that up to cowardice; clearly no such thing defines you. no matter what delon says, you face all that stands before you with utmost bravery.”

“speaking of…”

“even against the person who’s been chasing you this whole time, explicitly so she can kill you, you’ve only ever raised your sword in defense, or found a way to evade her.”

Sans points at you. You momentarily become more aware of your Soul’s presence in your body.

“you’re a man with no credo, no code or allegiance to any nation, strict ethics, or morality, but you err on the side of caution, either out of mercifulness or apathy.”

“you’ll protect the people you come across if they follow behind you, solely because they happen to be there, behind your shield along with you.”

“a perfect force of neutrality…with just a slight edge in favor of, what i think at least…”

“…is good.”

Sans lowers his hand. Your Soul rests again. He shrugs.

“but, hey, that’s just what I think.”

“i can’t read minds. i have no clue what you plan to do once you get to the BARRIER, or if you even have a plan at all.”

“but i think that what you do end up doing will ultimately, even if inadvertently, be the correct decision.”

“i don’t know if that qualifies as ‘trust’ or not, but…”

“it’s a lot more to go off of than i’ve had for a very long time.”

“even if nobody’s rooting for you, varik, we’re all counting on you.”

“so, good luck.”

You hear footsteps approaching from behind.

“of course.”

“she’s really not easy to deter, huh? i think she and papyrus would get along famously.”

Sans winks.

“don’t go and turn me into a fool, varik. do only what you feel is necessary.”

“though i guess you’d never listen to me anyway.”

“see ya.”

You blink again and just like that, Sans vanishes. You turn to face the source of the footsteps. From where you came back down the hall, you see a feminine figure with a long cape and a staff run out after you. Behind her, you see another, taller figure in a hooded robe, running after her. You reach for the Planet Buster and draw it, feeling the mighty blade’s power surge through your muscles as you grip it tightly with both hands. A ball of magic energy flies out toward you; you raise the sword to block it. As it the blade meets the fireball, you don’t even feel the impact, but the world around you shakes violently as a thundering sound cascades throughout the hall. Both figures stop in their tracks and try to maintain their balance, until the shaking subsides. You back up away from them, and they follow you, stepping out into the sunlight. It’s Toriel and Dela, both with horrified looks on their faces as they stare at the weapon in your grasp.

“It’s really happening…Varik, please, you mustn’t do this!”

“How much has ASRIEL told you?”

“Easy, Tori. I can tell you that this is beyond conversation.”

“Do NOT call me ‘Tori,’ Delon.”

“Hmph.”

Dela takes another step toward you.

“She’s right, Varik. This is getting far out of hand.”

“You’re playing right into that prince’s hands. And I bet you KNOW that you are, too.”

“You don’t care. All you want is out of here, by any means necessary.”

“…Don’t give me that look. You know what my priorities are.”

“I said back in the Snowcroft that I would help free the monster people from the underground, and it wasn’t just something I spat out.”

“I haven’t been running around helping monsters just because I can get favors from them!”

“…‘Just’?”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“If you’re trying to suggest something, Toriel-”

You attempt to back away from the duo, but Dela raises her staff towards you before you can take a step.

“Do not.”

“I’m not letting you scamper off again.”

“But…Delon, that sword-”

“What about it? It’s some fancy blade, but it’s still a BLADE.”

“Listen, I came here to tell you to back away. This is beyond direct intervention.”

“We need to get Varik to stand down! If you keep going-”

“NEVER. Not while I still draw breath.”

“Delon…”

Dela faces towards you and takes another step.

“Varik, you’ve eluded me for five years. I chased you here, to the depths of the earth, on the other side of the world, just to bring you down.”

“And while I could ask a million questions about WHY you’ve slain Master Balcan…”

“Why you drew your blade against a man who was your FRIEND…”

“It does not matter.”

“The only thing that matters is fulfilling what I set out to do!”

“And you can have the fanciest, most powerful sword in the entire world, and it will not deter me!”

“No more running! Not a single step!”

“THIS. ENDS. NOW!!!”

Dela pulls out and cracks open her magic tome and begins charging up an especially powerful arcane blast. Toriel’s eyes widen throughout her entire speech, and she ducks off to the side, pressing herself against a pillar as Dela readies her attack. You raise the Planet Buster, ready for whatever comes next. You half expect some kind of diversion or distraction to leap out from somewhere and break up the fight, like it has so many times in the past, but as Dela raises her arm to cast her spell, nothing comes to stop her. A blue flash arcs out from her fingertips; lightning bolts surge through the air in many directions, all turning to converges on your position. You jump into action, charging forward at Dela, keeping your head on a swivel as each bolt flies towards you. You bring the blade up to block each one; even you’re unsure if the Planet Buster is capable of nullifying such a brutal attack. The first bolt strikes the blade, and you feel that massive quake across the hall once more; Dela and Toriel both struggle to keep their footing. The second bolt amplifies the effect; your feet leave the ground briefly without you having to jump even an inch. Each bolt similarly heightens the intensity of the quake, and soon, it feels like the hall might collapse around you. You continue to block the bolts, however, unwilling to risk taking one directly.

As you narrowly sheer the last bolt off the broad side of the blade, the quaking around you finally begins to have some catastrophic effects. The pillar Toriel clings you cracks at the foundation, and slips free of its base, beginning to topple over. Toriel dives out of the way; the pillar is moving to fall on top of Dela, and she’s in no position to dodge it, with one hand to the floor as the struggle to stand up as the hall quivers around her. Toriel leaps for her, almost tackling her and pushing them both narrowly out of the way of the pillar. Even after the bolt has disappeared from the air, the pillars in the hall continue to crack and crumble; the stained-glass windows shatter under the tensions placed on the walls. The entire hall is falling apart; you turn and bolt for the exit, ducking back out of the sunlight and into the shadows. You briefly pass through an area with flowers and ornate thrones, but you don’t stop to inspect the scenery in any great detail. You charge out through another door, and into the darkness beyond.

Your footsteps echo in the dark corridor. You can’t see the walls with the light that’s coming in, your only guide being a stone floor that turns abruptly at where corners would presumably bee. The liminal space that is the corridor disorients you; at once it feels formless, and yet when you slow down and try to concentrate on the environment around you, it almost feels normal, before the darkness captures your mind again and you’re left with uneven footing and impaired breath. It is simply not an inviting space, and you traipse through it awkwardly, keeping the Planet Buster gripped close to your chest. You lose sight of the stone floor beneath your feet, and you’re left wandering in darkness, no indication to where you came from or where you should go. You keep your eyes fixated on the floor in the hopes that the sight of your legs will keep you from falling into an aimless trance, and you keep stumbling around, hoping to feel your shoulders brush against a wall.

Your zombie-like wandering it interrupted when you abruptly bump into someone in the darkness. You feel your forehead press against a mass of thick fur, and warm breath like that from an animal creeps down your shirt collar. You step back and look up to find yourself face to face with Asriel, who looks quite confused. He has the rapier in a scabbard on his hip and the leather jacket on under his robe; you can see the collar sticking up out and around his neck. You relax your stance and look the Ruler of all Monsters dead in the eye.

“You okay, Varik?”

“I know this can be quite disorienting, but I really can’t have you falling over right now.”

“Look around. It took getting used to, but I adjusted quick the first time I came in here.”

You scan the environment around you. That dizzying darkness continues to spread out seemingly forever; only you and Asriel stand out. You cock your head backwards to inspect what’s above you; interrupting the darkness is an aurora of white light that spreads throughout the void above you in box-shaped waves. It’s rather mesmerizing; the pattern of the waves makes it look like they define a proper “ceiling” above you, yet also makes it look like they go upwards infinitely. Asriel raises both of his arms and gestures towards the aurora.

“This…is the BARRIER.”

“I bet it looks a bit different to what you saw on the way in.”

“I often come here to think and try to calm my nerves. I’ve spent entire days just looking up into it.”

“And now, I’ll finally be able to surpass it.”

Asriel looks at you.

“With just a little bit of a nudge…”

Asriel extends a handout toward you. A ball of rainbow magic appears in his hand. You back up; the ball launches forth from Asriel’s hand. It passes over your shoulder and keeps traveling behind you. You turn in time to see the ball strike its targets: Toriel and Dela, who have charged into the darkness behind you. The ball dissipates and reforms itself as hundreds of luminescent, rainbow strands, like vines that stretch between the ground and the Barrier, ensnaring the two completely. Toriel seems to accept her entrapment, while Dela continues to struggle against it. Asriel walks up to the two, a sneer crawling across his face.

“Perfect.”

Toriel struggles to speak as the vines constrict her breathing.

“ASRIEL…please…”

Dela growls angrily as she thrashes against the vines.

“Not even supposed to be here…you stupid old queen!”

Asriel chuckles.

“INFIGHTING, now?”

“You shouldn’t struggle so much, Delon. It’s not going to help.”

Dela looks over at you, rage in her eyes.

“Varik, what are you doing?!”

“Stop him! HELP US!”

Asriel seems genuinely surprised.

“Are you serious?”

“You spend all of your time here trying to kill him and NOW you appeal for help?”

You cautiously raise the Planet Buster. Asriel looks exasperated.

“You can’t be serious. This had better be preparatory for what’s to come.”

Toriel speaks again, her voice steadier than it was before.

“It doesn’t take much to recognize that this is WRONG, ASRIEL.”

“You haven’t told him…have you?”

“That your plan to save monsterkind…”

“Means KILLING THEM ALL.”

Asriel falls silent and closes his eyes. He looks more like a fed-up teenager than ever before. When he opens his eyes, his expression is far angrier than it was before.

“It’s not MURDER, mother. It’s the only way to move the monsters beyond the BARRIER.”

Toriel rebukes him.

“Did you ever look for another alternative, ASRIEL? Or did you succumb to this sorrowful gloom with the fervency of your FATHER?”

Asriel stamps his foot angrily.

“Father did NOT succumb to gloom, mother!!"

Dela laughs between each strained breath.

“A thousand years old…and he pouts like a child…”

“You really did never grow up, huh, AZZY?”

A flare of hot red magical energy surges across Asriel’s body; his countenance becomes extremely agitated, and his pupils dilate intensely.

“So…immature.”

Asriel huffs.

“If you like being such a smart-aleck, Delon, then I’m REALLY going to enjoy this next part.”

Asriel turns back to you.

“You want to see, Varik? You want to see how hopeless this situation is?”

“Here is the truth that few other monsters know of, the true extent of our misery down here!”

“The painful truth that I wish I could have died without knowing, but MUST face as a ruler!”

Asriel raises his hands and begins to weave magic throughout his entire body. The world around you begins to fade to white. You feel as if a great wave crashes against you, pulling the breath from your lungs. Your vision gradually returns to you; Asriel, Toriel, and Dela are nowhere to be seen. You’re standing in darkness once again; the shimmering of the Barrier still high above you. You move your feet around; no matter where you step, you don’t feel like you’re actually moving in any direction. Ahead of you, something starts to come into view, emerging from the darkness. A low noise, like groaning also makes itself apparent; you feel all the hairs on your neck, arms and legs stand up on end, and an uneasy feeling churns in your stomach.

The apparition appearing in front of you becomes more and more distinct; that queasy feeling only worsens as it does. What first appears to be a blurry blob of indeterminant make up suddenly takes the form of a massive creature, one you struggle to call “living.” Its “body” is enormous a mix of chitin, bone, skin and fur, all melting into each other in a gelatinous mass that stretch out as far as you can see in either direction. A thousand smaller faces dance within the mace, stretching and grimacing in what looks to be extreme pain constantly; some faces are distinctly human, other are more monster-like. The low groaning turnings into loud, incoherent moaning and screaming, like cries for death that have no language to accompany them. Waves like lightning currents surges though the veins of the horror’s body; with each flash, the faces cry out even harder. Then the front of the abomination comes into view, and you see that it has three primary heads, one human, one monster, and something that’s a little bit of, all massive in size.

The human head looks like that of an older man, with light-brown-and-grey hair running over his head and across his face in a full beard; the hair is unkempt, full of knots and drenched in both fresh and dried blood. The eyes of this face look sullen and hollow, perpetually aimed at the floor. His mouth is caked with dead flaking skin, and melting matter pools behind his lower lip, dripping out constantly. The next head looks like that of another boss monster. This one has the same white fur as Asriel and Toriel, and the same goat-like appearance, but with blond hair in a full beard similar to that of the appearance of the human head. The fur is messy and reveals many sores on the skin underneath; the teeth in the head’s mouth are jagged and unclean, and it doesn’t look like the head can close its mouth. A massive, festering scar runs down across its forehead, down to the jaw. One eye is forced shut by a melting mass dripping off the human head, while the other seems to be forced open by the flesh around the eye socket falling away. The final head is little more than a mound of flesh, covered in more faces from both monsters and humans. The faces all together form the approximation of another, larger face, made of writhing fleshy bits that “blink” and “chew.” All these large heads are conjoined by a rotten “neck” that connects them to the rest of the “body,” and they join in the anguished cries and screams of the rest of the abhorrent mass.

Gradually, the other three return to your view, the sight of the abomination still behind them. Asriel looks to be deeply uncomfortable, but calm; Dela seems extremely disturbed, and Toriel is absolutely petrified, her mouth shaking at the sight of the creature.

“…G…Gorey…?”

Asriel exhales; for a moment, he seems like he’s a bit sympathetic towards Toriel.

“Yeah…that’s father. And King BEREBUS. And God knows how many monsters and humans.”

Toriel starts freaking out. She tenses up and begins screaming at Asriel.

“WHAT IS THIS?!” WHAT HAPPENED?! WHAT DID YOU DO, ASRIEL?!!”

Asriel looks offended.

“You think I did this, mother?! You DARE?!”

Toriel is on the verge of tears, biting her lower lip from the stress.

“ASRIEL!!!”

Asriel glares at her. Then turns back to face you.

“When the CORE went critical, my father, his personal troop, and BEREBUS and his remaining forces were caught in the initial implosion. I’d thought they were killed instantly.”

“I recovered the PLANET BUSTER from the site where they vanished. I went about under that assumption for centuries and spread it among the rest of the underground.”

“But when I started investigating the BARRIER more closely…when my royal scientists created the tools to inspect what lies beyond it…we found THIS.”

“The CORE…FUSED father, BEREBUS, and their forces into this horrible, horrible…THING.”

“And it’s been lying there, in between the weaves of the BARRIER, ever since, deposited there by the CORE.”

“And then we discovered…”

Asriel and the others fade out of your view once more; you’re left looking at the Asgore-Berebus horror once again. Asgore’s mouth abruptly begins to open, his jaw cracking with each movement. Something falls out of the jaw, covered in viscous slime. You realize what it is as it falls to the floor; it’s a husk, a crab-like one, fidgeting and flailing about. It shimmers brightly with magic and vanishes leaving a puddle of slime where it emerged. Berebus’ mouth opens as well, a flood of melty, pinkish-white ooze pours out, and a spider-like husk along with it; the spider husk vanishes as well. The third head opens its “mouth” and vomits forth a storm of insect husks, which all vanish. Asriel and the others then return to your view. Dela vomits in her mouth and barely manages to swallow it, gasping for air with her eyes shut tight. Toriel is shaking, teeth chattering, pupils fully shrunken in her irises. It looks like she’s broken out in a cold sweat. Asriel resumes talking.

“Yes…this is where the husks come from. They’re… BIRTHED out of that THING, and then the magic of the BARRIER catapults them into the underground. They don’t come from the RUINS; that’s just the location I chose to siphon them off to once we figured out the magical wavelength they appeared from.”

“You remember that, don’t you, mother? It was after you came back. I said I found where the husks came from.”

“You said you were okay with it.”

Toriel completely melts down, losing what little self-control she had up until this point. She screams at the top of her lungs.

“EYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

“HOW COULD YOU, ASRIEL?!!”

“HOW COULD YOU HIDE THIS FROM ME?! LIE TO ME, FOR CENTURIES?!”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TRY TO SAVE HIM?!! SAVE THE MONSTERS?!!”

“YOU’VE LIED TO THE ENTIRE KINGDOM!!! YOU….YOU…-!!!”

Asriel snaps back angrily.

“WOULD YOU HAVE ACCEPTED THIS, MOTHER?! NO!”

“YOU WOULD HAVE SEWN PANIC WITH THE TRUTH, CRUSHED ALL THE HOPE I SPENT CENTURIES CULTIVATING IN THE HEARTS OF OUR PEOPLE!!!”

“What do you think would have happened if they learned that their king was lost within an abomination, creating the things that hunted them in their own homes?!”

“And he was FAR beyond saving, mother. Nothing…NOTHING can save someone from something like THIS!”

Toriel barks back at him.

“But why turn the husks loose now?!”

“Why would you beset them upon our people?!”

Asriel chuckles sheepishly.

“You think I WANTED to let this happen?”

“The siphoning of the husks to the RUINS required a massive portion of my own, personal magic well to be passively used to keep them isolated to one location. And I couldn’t have that type of strain when I needed the magic to defeat this abomination.”

“The only thing I could do was wait for Varik to get here.”

Ariel looks back at you. He seems shaken; he, too, is sweating profusely.

“Varik, this horror that has consumed my father is more powerful than anything I’ve seen in any historical record. It’s a mixture of the strongest of monster magic and the terrifying strength of DETERMINATION, and the pain and fear of a hundred lost SOULS…”

“It can’t be allowed to live. The moment that BARRIER opens, for even a second to let ONE person through, with this thing still within it, my people, the entire WORLD, would be DOOMED.”

“And even what we have here…it’s not enough to open the BARRIER forever.”

“My royal scientist before Alphys discovered that it would take the power of SEVEN human SOULS to destroy the BARRIER permanently. You and Delon are the only TWO humans who’ve come here in a thousand years.”

Dela and Toriel both look shocked by this statement.

“The BARRIER will NEVER be broken. The prophecy…”

“It’s WRONG. It’s IMPOSSIBLE.”

Asriel looks severely dejected as he says this.

“And I’ve used it, like an IDIOT, to prop up the hopes of an entire race.”

“I needed to find some other way to bring them to the surface, and to destroy that abomination.”

“So, I came up with a new plan. A new interpretation of the DELTA RUNE.”

“While the power to destroy the BARRIER forever requires seven human SOULS…”

“It would only take ONE human SOUL, and ONE monster SOUL, to simply pass through it.”

“And I thought, perhaps, that a monster with a human SOUL…and a human with a monster SOUL…together…”

“With a weapon like the PLANET BUSTER…maybe they could kill it.”

“The Hunted would still aid me, likely for the sake of their freedom. They could be spared the wrath of our people.”

“And then, with the abomination defeated…and a bond with a human SOUL, I could absorb the souls of all the monsters in the kingdom, and bring them into myself.”

“I’m the Ruler of all Monsters. I AM monsterkind.”

“And by absorbing their souls into me, I could finally bring them across the BARRIER. They would be free.”

“We would all be free.”

Asriel glares at Toriel.

“But you disapproved.”

Toriel composes herself. Her voice is still shaking, but she manages to speak with some calmness.

“You would be killing them.”

“Absorbing their souls, stripping them of who they are and leaving only the magical essence of their being…you would be KILLING them, ASRIEL.”

“YOU WOULD BE KILLING EVERY SINGLE MONSTER WHO’S PLACED THEIR FAITH IN YOU.”

Asriel shakes his head.

“There’s no other choice, mother. It’s either this, or the monsters languish in the underground forever, never to be free on the surface like I promised them a millennia ago!”

“I can’t walk back on that! I CAN’T!”

“You’ve felt it, the hopelessness spreading throughout our people. A thousand years of imprisonment, entire generations living and dying without seeing the blue sky!”

“I can’t fight that spread any longer.”

Asriel looks like he may start crying as well.

“I promised them the surface, and I NEED to bring them there.”

“And then we need to make the humans who still bask in the prosperity of the MAGE KINGDOMS pay for their betrayal. And after the dust is settled, and only the innocent remain, we can truly know peace. We can start our kingdom anew. A new world, under the flag of monsterkind.”

“This is all that matters.”

Toriel yells back at him. Dela purses her lips, still struggling against the vines.

“But by KILLING them, ASRIEL?!”

“You never once looked for another solution, or even CONSIDERED…”

“That the monsters may choose to live down here instead of dying to see the surface!”

“You never asked! You never checked! You hid the truth and imposed your own fear and bitterness over them! That’s cruelty!”

Asriel snaps back.

“I am the Ruler of all Monsters! My word is LAW! You gave up the right to denounce me when you fled to the RUINS like a coward!”

“Do you remember, mother? Do you remember when you called me a tyrant but couldn’t bring yourself to kill me? So you ran away into the RUINS?”

“Do you remember, mother?! Do you remember how hurt father looked when you abandoned us at the beginning of the war? How you couldn’t bring yourself to confront those who wronged us, and just basked in self-pity?!”

“DO YOU REMEMBER, MOTHER?! DO YOU REMEMBER HOW KRIS CRIED WHEN THEY WERE RIPPED FROM YOUR GRASP?! HOW YOU STOOD THERE AND REACHED FOR THEM, BUT DIDN’T TAKE YOUR OWN CHILD BACK BY FORCE?! CAN YOU STILL REMEMBER THEIR FACE?! BECAUSE I’VE FORGOTTEN IT OVER THIS LONG MILLENNIUM!!!”

Asriel has fully teared up. He speaks through gritted teeth, staring at the floor.

“My own sibling’s face…I can’t remember it anymore…because YOU were too scared to do anything. You were always too SCARED to do ANYTHING.”

“So it’s fallen to me.”

Toriel looks at the floor, crying. She seems ashamed and angry. You and Dela look at each other blankly. Your vision goes white again, and the sight of the abomination fades. Asriel begins speaking again as he, Toriel and Dela fade out of and then back into view. You’re able to move around again.

“I know you understand, Varik, why we must do this.”

“You’re clearly a man who has seen the worst the world has to offer from the side of humanity, and now you’ve seen OUR demons as well.”

“Let’s not waste another second in this God-forsaken place.”

Asriel walks over to Dela and puts his hand on the rapier’s hilt. Instead of pleading, Dela shoots him an icy cold stare.

“Get away from me, you bastard prince!”

“It will only be but a moment. It won’t even hurt.”

Toriel yells at Asriel.

“Do not do this, ASRIEL! You will only regret it!”

“This is not the way!”

Asriel doesn’t look back at her as he responds.

“Your demands stopped meaning anything LONG ago, mother.”

Asriel draws the rapier, the rasp of the blade echoing loud and far into the Barrier. He raises the rapier in a stabbing motion; it has clearly been repaired since you last used it. Toriel looks at you; Dela keeps her eyes to the ground.

“Varik! Are you going to let this happen?!”

“Why must you crave violence, even against your own?!”

“Hah.”

Dela lets out a single, confident laugh. Asriel and Toriel seem bewildered, Asriel freezing in his movements for just a brief second.

“You’re going to have to fight for my Soul, Azzy.”

“I will NEVER let you have it!”

A dark orange burst of magical energy bursts out from Dela, pushing you and Asriel back and shaking the vines that hold you and Toriel. You slide along the floor, trying to stop yourself with your feet and one hand, as you’re blown away from Dela and the rest. The orange wave almost knocks Asriel onto his back, but he resists it, pushing back through the magic towards Dela. You see that a large amount of magic is going through her staff, with little, yellowish bolts dancing around it within the vines. Asriel keeps pushing back against the bust, his eyes begging to glow completely white as he pushes harder and harder against the arcane force, and Dela in turn exerts more energy to keep him away. You yourself are almost completely immobile from Dela’s counterattack and can only watch what transpires.

Asriel pushes through Dela’s magic display, and Dela is unable to keep upping the output to hold him back. You see her begin to tire out and can feel the magical energy weaken. Asriel goes from struggling through the assault to taking firm steps, getting back in Dela’s face before long. He lifts the rapier once more and jabs it forward, aimed squarely at Dela’s heart. Just before the rapier hits, something changes in Dela’s magical output. The coloration shifts from a dark orange to a red hue, and Dela looks up at Asriel with a defiant smirk, before another large burst of energy sends you flying backwards once again. You’re knocked onto your back, eyes looking upward into the Barrier; the Planet Buster remains in your grasp, but you feel a slight tremor as its pommel bumps against the floor as you land.

You rub the back of your hand and sit up, looking at the site of the clash. Dela is nowhere to be seen, and Asriel seems furious. The prince has undergone some physical changes. He’s moving noticeable quicker than before, little afterimages of his form following his movements as he grasps at his chest and face. His horns seem a little bit longer, and the scar on the side of his snout has faded. His eyes have turned completely black, save for his pupils, which are now white. In front of his chest, hovering over the symbol of the Delta Rune, is what looks like a purple heart, gently bobbing back and forth on the robe. You realize that it’s Dela’s Soul. He grasps at it, only to find his hand passing through it; He turns, and the Soul remains in its fixed position, turning with him as it hovers in front of his chest. He grabs the side of his head with his free hand, and groans.

“That WITCH!”

“She’s LOCKED her SOUL! I can’t tap into its full power!”

“DAMMIT!”

Asriel throws his fist down; his hands are trembling. He takes a few breaths in, and turns around, eyes back, head tilted towards the top of the Barrier.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. It will only take a bit more time.”

Toriel laughs quietly. She seems very distraught, and the laugh sounds like it comes from such a state of emotion. A blank look crosses Asriel’s face as he hears her laugh.

“ASRIEL.”

“I only wish that things were different, so you had the chance to be someone else.”

“I just wanted you and Kris to be happy, to have a future.”

“But it can’t excuse this. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t reach out and help either of you.”

Asriel’s eyes look as if they’re masked in shadows; it’s a very uncomfortable expression, but it is soon replaced by a more apathetic one.

“If you’re trying to talk your way out of this, it won’t work, mother.”

He looks at you.

“Varik.”

“While there haven’t been any records of a human taking a monster’s SOUL, the years of research I’ve poured into all this have shown me that it is indeed possible.”

“But the average monster SOUL is too weak to linger long enough after death for a human to take it.”

“Only one kind of monster SOUL is powerful enough to last even a few seconds after death.”

“A monster that is…ABOVE the rest.”

Toriel’s eyes widen in horror as she realizes what Asriel means. Despite this, she’s barely able to bring her voice above a hoarse whisper.

“No…ASRIEL, please-”

Toriel is dropped from the ensnarement, a vine still wrapped tightly around her neck like a noose, suspending her just above the ground. Her neck does not break in the fall, but she begins to asphyxiate, grabbing at her throat desperately. Her expression contorts as she struggles to breathe, fearful and desperate, and her face turns blue. Asriel looks at the ground, trying to keep himself composed, but as the seconds crawl on, he tenses up and he begins tapping his foot anxiously. Finally, he snaps.

“GRRR! GAH!”

The vine disappears from around Toriel’s neck, and she drops to her knees, coughing, sucking in air, and swaying back and forth. Asriel seems exceedingly restless, looking off to one side with a grimace before looking back at Toriel. More vines erupt from the ground and grab her by the arms and legs, holding her in place. Asriel stares at you with a frenzied look in his eye.

“V A R I K.”

“YOU need to take her SOUL.”

“Then we can pass through the BARRIER, you help me kill my father…”

“…and we'll all be FREE.”

“I won’t even make you stick around if you don’t want to. I won’t come after you, no matter WHERE you hail from.”

“You have my word.”

“Just KILL her, and you’re all but home free.”

“So hurry up! End this!”

Toriel says nothing. Her eyes are bloodshot, and her expression is extremely stressed; she looks right at you, mouth straightened, twitching at every small move you make. You raise the Planet Buster, gripping it with both hands. Asriel speaks to you again.

“Please let my people go free.”

You remain still for a beat longer; Asriel becomes infuriated and bellows at you.

“DO IT!!!”

You pull the sword back behind your shoulder, winding up for a powerful swing. Toriel closes her eyes and freezes up; it looks like she’s accepting death. You charge forward, grit your teeth, and perform a leaping downward slash, trying to restrain yourself as to not exert too much of the Planet Buster’s power. The sword hits its target with a powerful, thundering crash, your ears are left ringing from the aftershock, as soundwaves shake everything around you. It feels like they’re strong enough to move the entire underground; you fear for a moment that you’ve gone deaf until you feel the ringing begin to subside, and can hear your own breathing settle back in. You look up to face what you’ve done.

Toriel is off to one side, knocked back by the force of the blow, grabbing at her ears. The vines that once ensnared her have evaporated. She seems like she’s in disbelief as she looks at you, then her body, only to find herself uninjured, save for the rope burn around her neck. She climbs to her feet, taking deep breaths in, and keeps looking at you with astonishment, before a realization comes to her, and she turns to face where Asriel once stood. You follow her gaze; the prince has been knocked away from both of you, and stands, bow-legged, further away in the darkness, rapier in one hand, and his other hand clawed and held out in front of him. He looks at the floor, hiding his face from you. He remains still for a moment, then moves his free hand across his chest. A gash has formed, not just in his clothing, but in his very being; it reminds you of the blow you dealt Toriel back in the Ruins. Toriel reaches a hand out toward him; it seems his attempted murder of her hasn’t shaken her motherly concern for him.

“ASRIEL…?”

Asriel snaps his head back up to face the two of you. The look he wearing is one of such disdain and anger that it makes your blood run cold just looking at it. In a flash, he suddenly lunges towards you, moving with such incredible speed that you’re unable to keep track of his position. You react by raising the Planet Buster, only to find something throwing you off; the scarf around your neck has wrapped itself around your wrists, preventing you from pulling the sword up all the way. It looks like your arms are simply tangled within it, but you can feel it holding you down. You try to will it out of the way, but have no success. A deep, painful burning arcs across your entire body, coming from your chest. Asriel is now up in your face, staring you down furiously, and grabbing you by the shoulder. He’s plunged the rapier deep into the left side of your unarmored chest; you’re not sure if he’s hit your heart, pierced your lung or both, but your chest tightens up and you feel a sickening sensation of blood clogging up your throat. Your face goes numb as you’re unable to suck any air in. Asriel grips your shoulder tightly; you hear the sounds of breaking bones as your nerves are overloaded with even more pain. The Planet Buster falls from your grasp as your hands convulse and open, and soon, you’re completely enervated. You fall back onto the floor, the rapier sliding out of you as you do. On the ground, as your vision begins to blur, you see him lean down and pick up the Planet Buster. He looks over it.

“I can pick it up…”

“Even with a locked SOUL, I can finally pick it up.”

He looks down at you, disgusted.

“I thought the Hunted would be different, able to understand my plight.”

“But I guess not. You’ll just have to die too, Varik.”

“And I’ll face the ghost of my father, and my future, ON MY OWN!!!”

He raises the Planet Buster over his head, preparing to bring it down on you. You begin to fade out of consciousness as he does so, hot blood bubbling in your throat. Your chest feels like it’s going to implode, and your lungs are completely barren of air. Suddenly, Asriel falls over to one side, as a storm of fireballs catch him off guard. Both the rapier and Planet Buster fall from his grip, followed by a small tremor. You feel the rapier land hard against your thigh; you can’t tell if it has stabbed you again or not through the pain you’re already dealing with. You see Toriel move in front of you, arms out to either side, with fireballs at the ready.

“I’ll confess, ASRIEL.”

“I only held off on stopping you for so long because you were my son. Deep down, I hoped, I prayed, that one day you’d renounce your plan.”

“I was a fool to wait so long.”

“You’re right. I was scared. Scared of losing you forever. So I avoided confronting it for as long as I could.”

“But I can’t stand back any longer. Even if it’s already too late, I need to step in.”

“You’re ALREADY lost, ASRIEL, and however much it hurts to say…”

“You’re NOT my son anymore.”

Asriel looks shocked by this statement. He becomes enraged and lunges at Toriel with an upward sweep of his arm, sending a wall of rainbow fire towards her. Toriel counters with a small wall of her own fire magic, shielding both you and her from Asriel’s attack. The two enter a grand bout, their emotions on full displays as they leap about the darkness beneath the Barrier. Bright magic pierces the unyielding void; the air feels as if it’s on fire. You’re beginning to slip out of the waking world, unable to get up, trying to keep focus on what’s in front of you to help yourself stay awake.

Toriel and Asriel’s battle of the magics is a colorful, violent display unlike anything you’ve seen before. Both of their robes are apparently fireproof, just like the leather jacket, but the impact of each strike is palpable, even from a distance. While Asriel’s attacks are more extravagant and cover a larger area, Toriel’s attacks are more concentrated and precise; time and time again, she peppers Asriel with volleys of fireballs, then deftly sidesteps or blocks what Asriel sends in return. She displays extraordinary experience and talent, leading you to believe she was holding back during your fight. Asriel roars angrily and claps his hands together, creating a rain of star-shaped projectiles that plummet towards Toriel. It’s almost like she dances between each one as they land and burst into more star-shaped pieces, which she avoids with similar precision. One final, massive star comes down from above, bursting in the air with a strobe of light and shooting thousands of smaller stars at her. With total serenity, she lifts her hands to the sky. Plumes of flame shoot out of her palms, spreading out into a fan shape. She begins swatting away the stars with blinding speed, a gap forming in the air at the height where she deflects them. Even as your consciousness continues to fade, you can still feel and hear the thousands of little shattering noises each projectile makes as Toriel eradicates them, and when the last star has been swatted away, she claps her own hands together. The two jets of flame converge, spiraling together into a large fireball, so hot that it begins to burn blue; the fireball shoot off and strikes Asriel square in the jaw, shooting him back and up into the air, and leaving a massive scorch mark on his snout. He comes crashing down with a grunt, sprawled out on the ground; Toriel lowers her hands and watches him.

You finally start to feel the fatigue overtake you; you’ve been letting blood pour out of your mouth to try and let some air in, but it isn’t helping. The world around you begins to rapidly blur. You’re barely able to see Toriel look at you and rush to your side. She says something, but you’re unable to make it out. Behind her, you see Asriel stand up. He rushes the two of you, scooping the Planet Buster off the ground and moving to slash Toriel.

The last thing you see is a flash of white light that appears just before Asriel reaches you, and then everything drifts away.

Chapter Text

A thick floral scent fills your nostrils as you reflexively take a breath in. You’re not sure how much time has passed; as you open your eyes, you find yourself staring back up into the dark nothingness that hangs above the underground. You are surrounded by rustic stone brick walls, covered in weeds and vines; you realize that you’re back in the Ruins. You sit up, grasping at your throat and tasting the inside of your mouth. No trace of blood remains, and you’re breathing just fine. Looking down, you find yourself on top of the same golden flowerbed you first woke up on when you fell into the Monster Kingdom. You only have your clothes, boots, scarf and gloves. You stand up and take a moment to do a few stretches. You remember the scarf’s defiance; you try to rip it off, only to find that it refuses to move off your neck. As much as you pull at it, it refuses to let go, and feels like it’s beginning to constrict the longer you mess with it. You give up and leave it alone, dancing around your body like it usually does. Off to the side of the room, you notice that a few items have been left for you. You see the armor you left behind the last time you were in the Ruins, the scabbard from the Planet Buster, the two short swords Toriel took from you, and the whip you took from Mettaton; your sledgehammer is still missing. The armor looks like it’s been repaired since you last used it. You strap it back on, enjoying the form-fit feeling, then strap the whip to your side, the scabbard to your back, and pick up the two swords, before heading off into the Ruins once more.

Compared to your first time around, the Ruins are considerably easier to navigate, your first trip through no doubt giving you a better sense of where to go. You come across familiar pitfalls and hallways, and even the same holes you bashed through the walls with your sledgehammer. The husks still infest the Ruins, coming at you from around every corner, but you’ve become so well accustomed to their behavior that you don’t even need a shield to properly fight them any longer. With your two swords, you quickly cut through all the husks that cross your path, racing through the Ruins as you leap over pit after pit and dodge traps with expert precision. You feel like you’re back in your element; it actually takes some restraint on your part to keep yourself from getting cocky and placing yourself in unfavorable situations. At one point, you find yourself in a prolonged sword fight with a skeleton husk; one of your short swords shatters as you match its blows. Regardless, you keep swinging with the broken sword, scraping the skeleton with the broken blade a few times before accepting the futility of such an action. The skeleton comes in close to stab you, only for you to raise your arm to allow the sword to pass under your arm, and then rush forward to bop the skeleton’s skull with your broken sword’s hilt. You then send out the scarf to wrap around the skull, holding it in place, and bring a knee up to bash it in; the skull crumbles and the husk collapses, though you’re certain that it will reconstitute itself shortly. You drop the broken sword and rush ahead through another door, shutting it behind you to keep the husk out. The scarf seems to be obeying just fine, for the time being.

You turn to find yourself in the same hallway with the spider store. On the front of the shop door, where the little arachnid icon once stood, there now is a sign that has the word “foreclosure” written on it. Curious, you open the door and peer inside. The vast inventory the spiders previously had available is all gone; even the table is no longer here. The only thing that remains in the store is a single large rucksack, surrounded by a large group of spiders. As you enter, all the spiders turn to face you. Most of them scuttle away from you in fear, climbing into the rucksack, but one remains out in the open. It moves towards you, tapping on your boot, and then moving its little legs back and forth in what looks like a dance. You get down on one knee, and the spider rushes back over to the rucksack, crawling all over it. You walk over to the rucksack and peer inside; it’s full of spiders and wool bound with cobwebs, acting as insulation. Looking a little closer, you see the spiders have various spider-sized furnishings and personal items organized within the rucksack, resembling a miniature inn.

The spider who stayed outside the bag runs around the edge of the rucksack, still doing its little dance. It seems like the spider wants you to carry the rucksack for them; the insulated interior clues you in that they intend to travel through the Tower and Snowcroft, two locations that would otherwise be inhospitable for spiders. You pick up the rucksack and sling it over your shoulders. Looking back in, the interior of the bag hasn’t shifted around too much; It is clear that the spiders are excellent architects, and you won’t have to worry about swinging them around on your travels. The dancing spider climbs up your leg, chest, and over your face, going down the back of your neck and climbing into the rucksack. You heard it snap shut behind you, indicating that your passengers are ready to go. You step out of the now abandoned spider shop and continue through the Ruins.

After more time spent ascending higher into the Ruins, you find yourself standing before the staircase that leads up into Toriel’s home. You pause for a moment before ascending the stairs slowly. No traps go off; you suppose it would make some sense for Toriel to not trap the entrance to her own home. You slowly climb to the top. You’re met with that same sweet smell of pie as you step into the home itself. You realize as you step inside just how exhausted you are; your legs feel they’re about to fall off, and the lethargy makes you yawn. You move over into the living room off the left side of the entrance and take a seat at a table decorated with handmade doilies. You set the spider rucksack, whip, and your remaining short sword down, leaning them against the chair. You lean back and take a deep breath in, embracing the calm, domestic environment for all its worth. You hear footsteps in the kitchen moving out into the living room, and look towards the kitchen to find yourself looking at a familiar face. Toriel stands in the doorway, surprised at your presence.

“Varik!”

She moves quickly towards you; it almost seems like she’s going to hug you. Gradually, however, she slows down and catches herself, an awkward look crossing her face as she stops just short of you.

“I, um…”

“Hmm.”

“Yes, I suppose that wasn’t the most…appropriate reaction, given our history thus far.”

“Things are a bit complicated right now.”

“Please, give me only a minute. I have a lot I want to discuss.”

Toriel turns and walks back into the kitchen. About a minute later, she emerges from the kitchen, carrying a freshly baked pie. She sets it down on the table, then quickly steps back in and out of the kitchen, this time carrying plates and utensils. She places a plate, butter knife, fork and napkin in front of you, then takes a seat on the other side of the table. She reaches over to the pie and cuts out two slices, taking one for herself and placing it on her plate. She patiently waits for you to do the same. You refrain from taking the piece; Toriel looks confused.

“What’s the matter? I…”

“OH.”

Toriel seems a bit embarrassed as she realizes that you have a good reason to be hesitant about eating a pie she’s baked.

“Of course, why didn’t I think of that?”

“I’m terribly sorry, Varik.”

“Here, watch me.”

Toriel takes a bite of the pie herself. You wait for a few moments after; no ill effects befall her. She smiles.

“See? No knockout pie this time. I promise.”

You eye the pie suspiciously, reaching over to take the piece out of the dish and putting it on your plate. You take your fork and bring a piece of the pie to your mouth. It still smells like butterscotch and cinnamon, the same flavor that conked you out last time. You bury your hesitation and put the bite of the pie in your mouth, chewing slowly. It still tastes quite delicious. You freeze up as that same taste of escargot reaches your taste buds, but instead of the acidic tinge and wave of delirium from before, you instead only feel the not at all unpleasant taste of snail seep in, melting over your tongue. You nod as you enjoy the bite and finally swallow it, before looking back up at Toriel. She seems pleased.

“I know I said that I was eager to have a human try this recipe before, but this time I genuinely am.”

“Just a little bit of snail butter this time, and from a snail that doesn’t make you so, well, sleepy.”

“It was underhanded, and I want to apologize, Varik.”

"I’m sorry that I assumed you were simply here to bring my people to an end. I suppose after centuries of mulling over ASRIEL’s prophecy, and his plans, I just became transfixed on the negative side of things.”

“Just like he did…”

Toriel looks like she’s ashamed. She sucks in her lips and looks down at her slice of pie. Your stomach growls. If you were hungry the first time you came here, now you’re absolutely starving. You eagerly take another bit of the pie; Toriel’s mood climbs back up. She giggles and eats her own slice.

“Sorry I only have pie ready. Maybe next time, I can make something more nutritious.”

You eat in silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying the pie and one another’s company. Toriel always seemed a little bit lonely; you wonder if the comfortable silence is better than an actual conversation or not. After a few bites, Toriel pulls out a few pieces of paper and a pair of small reading spectacles. You recognize the papers as the reports from Doctor Alphys you had on you before. She glances over them, then looks back up at you.

“I did say I had much that I wanted to discuss, and pretty much all of it relates to what’s going on in the rest of the Monster Kingdom.”

“I only caught a brief summary of what you’d been up to on my way up to the CORE. Between that and these notes from this ‘Doctor Alphys,’ I was hoping, if you didn’t mind, that you could fill me in on the rest.”

“After our fight…after you spared my life, you left the RUINS and went out into the Tower. What happened next? What happened between then and when I caught up with you?”

You decide that there is no harm in recounting events; perhaps it will bring some clarity on what you can do next. You finish another bite of the pie, clear your throat and begin explaining your adventure through the underground.

As you wrap up your explanation, Toriel blinks hard twice, astonished and bewildered by what you’ve done and endured. She lets out a single wry laugh, then looks down at the reports once again.

“Goodness. I didn’t know that one could be subject to so much havoc over the course of only one day. Nor could they black out so many times. Though, I guess I didn’t help that, did I?”

“I’ll admit, it’s a bit chilling to know that you haven’t been fighting JUST husks this whole time.”

“And that thing with the captain of the Royal Guard…”

“I guess it all worked out. Perhaps ostensibly, but nobody has stayed dead.”

“A Ring of Life…how quaint!”

“And, my, how talkative you get when you want to be!”

“…A question though. Are you sure you want to keep wearing that scarf?”

“It sounds like it proved quite the hindrance against ASRIEL…I didn’t even know it could move around like that.”

“…I see. Well, if anything changes, or you find a way to remove it, I’ll leave it to you.”

Toriel cleans off her now empty plate with her napkin and stands up. She continues to look over Alphys’ reports, thinking hard on something.

“Even with Delon’s SOUL locked away, it’s only a matter of time until ASRIEL is able to defeat her magic…and then he’ll use that power to absorb the SOULS of every monster in the underground.”

“(Sigh)”

“Is there anything that can be done?”

“knock-knock.”

You hear a deep, familiar voice from the stairwell leading out of Toriel’s home and up towards the Tower. Toriel smiles as she turns to face the source.

“Who’s there?”

“a herd.”

“A herd who?”

“a herd you were home…”

Sans steps into view from the stairwell, arms held out to either side and winking.

“…so i decided to come over.”

Toriel lets out a hearty laugh. It occupies her for a good couple seconds, trailing off into a snort and then a snicker before she speaks again.

“Hello, Sans.”

Sans causally walks into the living room; he waves a hand at you. You look at him and then at Toriel.

“hey, varik.”

“…what’s that look for?”

“I think he’s surprised that we know each other.”

“ah. well, it’s not that crazy of a story.”

“sometimes, when i’m on break, i like to come to the entrance of the RUINS and practice knock-knock jokes on the door.”

“and, one day, when i’m knocking them out one by one…”

“a voice spoke through the other side.”

“I’d never heard someone do that before. I was curious, so I asked ‘who’s there?’”

“and I said ‘water.’”

“‘Water who?’”

“'water you asking all these questions for? open the door!’”

Sans chuckles and Toriel howls with laughter.

“A-And then I said ‘knock-knock!’”

“‘who’s there?’”

“‘To.’”

“‘to who?’”

“‘It’s ‘to whom’ actually!’”

"a grammar check AND a joke. brutal. i loved it."

Both of them chuckle again.

“so it kinda became a thing. we started telling jokes through the door.”

“But we never actually opened it…never spoke to each other face to face…”

“Don’t know why…I guess the anonymity was kind of fun.”

“But then, today, this skeleton comes ripping the door open, calling for me.”

“well, hey, i tried to be more graceful than that.”

“You were pretty close to panicking!”

“But we found each other, then he told me about you, about how close you were to ASRIEL…”

“And I decided that I needed to follow out after you without delay, injuries or not.”

“And, well, you know the rest.”

Sans walks up to you and stares at you.

“Sans…”

“no, no, we’re good. we’re past that.”

“you look much better than when tori dragged you out of the fortress.”

“noticed that only the two of you came out of there. did delon not make it?”

“She…”

Toriel looks a bit somber as she explains Dela’s fate to Sans.

“ASRIEL took her SOUL. She locked it away before he did so, but he still has it.”

“As soon as he unlocks it-”

“we’re all dead, right?”

Toriel seems a bit taken aback by Sans’ bluntness. Sans simply shrugs and closes one eye.

“How do you…I haven’t told any of the monsters, yet.”

“well, he can’t be up to anything good. otherwise, things would be BETTER than they are right now, across the board.”

“What do you mean? What’s going on in the rest of the kingdom, now?”

“oh, you know, just a thousand husks pouring out of the walls, and no leadership or guard to hold them back.”

“The Royal Guard isn’t keeping the husks away from the civilians?!”

“oh, they’re trying to, but a lot of the civvies themselves are keeping them from doing so.”

“there’s a whole mob of monsters keeping the guards out of the more heavily infested areas because they think the prince is going to show up and stop them, or open the BARRIER any second now.”

Sans points at you.

“your first trip through the underground galvanized the population. not blaming you, of course, but a lot of monsters think the royal guards are nothing but a bunch of dirty traitors for attacking a figure from the DELTA RUNE prophecy.”

“some are even calling for captain undyne’s destruction. again.”

“But…the monsters I saw on my way up were all firmly rooted against Varik.”

“i think they’re just scared. everything’s coming to a head faster than they were prepared for and they’re clinging to quick, easy solutions to believe everything’s under control.”

“Oh…this isn’t good.”

Toriel cups her hand over her mouth as she tries to think of a plan of action.

“…Sans?”

“yeah, tori?”

“Do you think we still have a chance to stop ASRIEL?”

“woah, uh…not sure if i’m qualified to confirm a statement like that.”

“I don’t need you to be qualified. I just want to hear your thoughts.”

“Be honest, Sans. Please.”

“…”

Sans closes his eyes for a moment, then looks back up at you and Toriel.

“i mean, i dunno.”

“i doubt there’s anything I can do to improve our odds or help end this.”

“but, varik made it to the fortress almost on his own the first time around. he held off undyne, mettaton, and who even knows how many husks.”

“so i would say that as long as he’s still here, and on our side…”

“why not?”

“even if it ends up being pointless, we might as well try. what happens will happen.”

Toriel cocks her head and stares at Sans worriedly.

“Are you okay, Sans?”

“hmm?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk this fatalistically before.”

“Do you go about every day like this?”

“not sure. never noticed.”

“…”

Toriel turns to you; Sans does the same.

“Well, Varik? Are you still with us?”

“I’m sure that you have a thousand reasons not to, given what we’ve put you through already, but...”

Before Toriel finishes, you stand up and step out from your chair, moving between her and Sans. You’re as alert as ever, hands in fists at your sides, ready for whatever comes next. The only way out of here is back up through the underground once more, and through Asriel and the abomination in the Barrier.

“rarin’ to go, i see.”

“looks like we’re in business.”

Toriel smiles, outwardly pleased and hopeful at the prospect of stopping Asriel, but her eyes betray a different emotion entirely. You see a silent horror raging behind her red irises; for a moment, she stops breathing, only to immediately mask this sudden dip into panic as she speaks again.

“W-well, then. We don’t have any time to waste, do we?”

“I should return to the rest of the kingdom once more and address the truth of the situation.”

“Perhaps it won’t quell the panic, but it’s important the monsters know what the stakes are and where the lines have been drawn.”

“If they’ll even listen to an old queen like me…”

Sans walks over and places a reassuring hand on Toriel’s wrist; it’s as high as he can reach up to her.

“i’m sure they will. they could use a leader right now.”

Toriel gives a small nod and turns back to you. She talks a breath in, and begins speaking with what sounds like forced professionalism.

“Okay. Varik, here’s what we’re going to do. I need to go spread the truth of ASRIEL’s plan among my people, then prepare what resources we have left for an attack on the CORE and Fortress.”

“You need to get armed up and ready to lead that assault. ‘Help the Hunted and save yourself’; that’s the basic idea we’re going for.”

“When we’re-”

Toriel is interrupted by a massive quake that shakes the entire home. Sans reflexively clings to her leg, almost toppling them both. The quake subsides and all three of you are left staring at the walls and ceiling.

“What was that?!”

“Don’t tell me…is ASRIEL using the PLANET BUSTER?!”

“Are we too late?”

“…”

“…Sans.”

“oh.”

Sans lets go of Toriel’s leg. As this is going on, you hear something rapidly ascending the stairs leading into Toriel’s home. You grab your short sword and face the stairwell, ready for whatever comes through. Out of the stairwell comes not a husk, but a small, nervous-looking insect monster, frantically flying about. The monster sees your battle-ready stance and cowers before you.

“Aaah! Don’t hurt me! Please!”

Toriel steps between you and the monster. You lower your short sword as she addresses the monster. She is calm and clear compared to before; the aura of regality shines around her as she speaks.

“Fear not, young one.”

“My human compatriot will not turn his blade against you.”

“What is the matter?”

The insect monster moves its limbs back and forth rapidly as it tells Toriel of its troubles.

“T-there’s a REALLY big husk coming up through the RUINS! I don’t know if it’s gotten anyone, but we’re running out of places to hide! More and more of them keep showing up alongside the big one, and we don’t know where to go!”

Toriel looks up at the ceiling in frustration.

“There should be no such husk in the RUINS…but if ASRIEL has stopped all efforts to siphon them, then I suppose there must be.”

She turns to you.

“He didn’t mention it back in the Fortress, but part of ASRIEL’s obstruction of the husks was to reduce the magical energy that was deposited into the underground, meaning the husks would take less dangerous forms.”

“Whatever we face now is going to be more dangerous than any husk you’ve seen yet.”

Without hesitation, you walk over and pick up your whip, fastening it to your armor, then head for the stairwell. Toriel chuckles.

“I can see that’s no deterrent.”

“You go deal with the giant husk, while we work on getting the rest of the monsters in the RUINS out of here. Then we’ll head back up to the Tower and start heading towards the Fortress.”

Sans walks forward and pulls something out. It’s one of those button bricks you’ve seen the monsters speaking through before.

“do you have a cell phone, tori?”

“Oh! That’s a good idea, Sans!”

“Why, yes, I do.”

Sans extends the “cell phone” out towards you.

“here, take this. use it to talk to us if you need to.”

“Let me write down my number for you to use.”

Toriel pulls out a slip of paper, and walks over to a bookshelf in the living room. She reaches behind a book and pulls out an ink bottle and quill. She quickly jots something down on the paper, and hands it to you, careful not to smear the ink. On the paper is a random sequence of numbers. You take it and the cell phone; looking at both, you’re unsure of what to do now. Toriel notices that something is wrong.

“Is something amiss?”

“…have you ever used a phone before?”

You shake your head. Both of them seem surprised.

“wow, that’s…huh.”

“Humans don’t have cell phones? Even now…?”

“well, it’s not that hard to use.”

“just punch that number into the phone in the order on the paper, then hold it up to your ear. You’ll hear us and we’ll hear you.”

“press this button if we call to pick up the line.”

You nod and go to place the cell phone and paper in your rucksack. You remember that you still have the spiders in there. As you open it up, you’re greeted by a small troop of spiders who take the phone and pull it into the rucksack, along with the paper. One spider waves to you, before returning inside the bag. It looks like they don’t mind making space for your items. You close the bag and put it back on your shoulders; Toriel and Sans both seem a little weirded out; Toriel opens her mouth to ask something, pointing at the rucksack, but another quake shakes the homes around you. Toriel shakes her head and looks over at Sans.

“We have to deal with this now.”

“alrighty.”

“good luck, varik.”

“remember, we’re a call away.”

“Oh! And one more thing.”

Toriel returns to the bookshelf and reaches behind it. She pulls out Asriel’s rapier; you remember it landing on you during your encounter with him at the Barrier. She turns the handle towards you and offers it without a word. Looking up, her eyes speak volumes about her emotions towards the rapier and what it represents, but what bitterness is there is masked under a smile. You take the rapier from her grasp gently. She folds her hands.

“Be safe, Varik.”

You turn and head for the stairwell leading back down into the Ruins. As you rush down, past the insect monster and into the fray once more, you feel an itch at your neck. You look over to find a spider angrily waving its leg back up the stairs. As you reach the bottom of the stairwell, you’re immediately confronted by a slime husk, which tries to envelop you. You jump over the husk and slash it with your short sword. It instantly melts, and a monster with a single, large eye tumbles out of the blue mass. It looks very shaken.

“D-don’t pick on me!”

The monster runs away up the stairs. The spider lets out a tiny noise that you can only assume is a sigh, shrugs, and then retreats back inside the rucksack. With the rapier in one hand and a short sword in the other, you charge back down into the Ruins.

As you push further down into the Ruins, searching out the husk the little insect monster mentioned, you start coming across more monsters who have been living in the depths of the Ruins. There are more of the frog monsters like the one you saw the first time you were here, as well as more of the flying insect monsters and eye monsters. However, you also start finding monsters who look like little sapient piles of mold, flea-like monsters, and living vegetables; monsterkind is quite diverse in appearance, but their liveliness still sets them apart from the husk enough for you to avoid attacking them. You’re left feeling a sense of déjà vu to when you were in the Wetlands, running against a stream of monsters fleeing the husks as you carve your way through the soulless abominations. With a blade in either hand, you ram through the ranks of the husks, moving further into the heart of the Ruins, which have now become as familiar to you as the back of your own hand.

You reach a point down in the Ruins where you’re no longer coming across any monsters, and only the most basic husks stand in your way. Even so, your equipment has been worn from your assault, and you can feel the short sword finally about to give out as you mush another slime husk into the dirt with it. Another husk, one of the obnoxious wasp ones, speeds at you from down the corridor, buzzing. You throw the short sword by the handle, sending it spinning through the air; it cleaves the husk in two, sending both halves tumbling at your feet. The short sword then shatters as it collides with the wall. Just then, another husk, an imp-like one with a sword, charges you from around the corner, taking a wide, horizontal swing at you. You duck under the sword and send your scarf up to bash the imp husk in the chest. It stumbles, and you rise to your feet, jabbing your rapier forward. The rapier finds its mark perfectly, piercing the imp husk’s throat. It writhes around in its death throes for a moment before going limp; you pull the blade from its neck and look at it. Pinkish blood has started coming from the husks' wounds, perhaps an indicator of their growing strength. You clean the blood off with your hand. You slip it in the scabbard on your back; the rapier is considerably thinner than the Planet Buster, and wobbles around after you sheathe it.

On the thought of Toriel, a few questions pop into your mind. You think that some of the answers might help you better understand what’s going on down here or where to go. You go to take off your rucksack and retrieve the cell phone, but as you reach your hand back, you feel a weight being placed into your palm. Pulling your hand back, you find the cellphone in your hand; a little tickling sensation climbs up your arm as a spider brings up the paper with the number written on it to you. You take the paper and nod at the spider, who moves back up your arm and into the rucksack, closing it behind them. You attempt to operate the cell phone; placing it on the ground, you hold the number to the side and slowly punch in each number. The cell phone makes a strange little beeping noise that varies in pitch with each button pressed. You complete the sequence; a muffled noise that, to you, sounds like a frog croaking, play a couple of times, before you hear a muffled voice come out of the cell phone.

“Hello? This is TORIEL.”

“…Ah, Varik. Glad you were able to figure out the cell phone.”

“What is it that you needed?”

“…Why are there so many monsters in the RUINS?”

“A fair question. I’m sure you find it strange why so many monsters would choose to live in a place swarming with husks.”

“We’ve dealt with the husks for a very long time, Varik. Some monster families are more accustomed to living in their presence than others.”

“And for those families, the RUINS are a viable living space. It gives them more space to move around, and a change of scenery from the rest of the underground.”

“Though, they are only more accustomed to the regular husks. Whatever is causing those quakes, it’s not something they were ready for.”

“What floor are you on?”

You pick up the phone and begin walking around to find a landmark of some kind to indicate where you are. You can already think of one, based on the layout of the hallways. You take a short trip around a few corners, and find yourself looking into the room with the open top and golden flowers. You relay this to Toriel.

“Oh! You’re in the flower room? Then you have nothing to worry about.”

“The monsters don't reside on that level; they only visit from the floors above. Those monster who do travel there especially are adept at hiding from the husks. If they haven’t fled already, then I’m sure they’re somewhere safe.”

“There’s only one point lower than that in the RUINS; a sort of ‘basement level.’ As far as I know, no monsters live down there, and I’ve rarely gone there myself for my rounds.”

You hear another voice come through the cell phone.

“(yo, tori.)”

“Ah. Sans is here as well, Varik.”

“(he’s on the other end? mind if i…?)”

“Go right ahead.”

You hear some rattling noises. Sans’ voice suddenly becomes much more distinct.

“so, varik. i have a bit of a request to make, if you don’t mind.”

“once you’re finished up down there and get out of the RUINS, would you mind stopping by the snowcroft once more?”

“papyrus is a bit down in the dumps and i think you could help cheer him up.”

“(You said Papyrus was your brother?)”

“that’s right. i can introduce you when you’re ready to head out and tell the monsters what’s going on.”

“(That sounds delightful. From what you’ve told me of him, he sounds like a very charming fellow.)”

“yeah, he’s pretty cool.”

“anyway, if you could do that, varik, i’d really appreciate it.”

“here.”

Toriel’s voice becomes more distinct than Sans’ once again.

“We’re here if you need anything else, Varik.”

“Goodbye for now.”

You hear Toriel’s voice get further away, and a little noise like a thump on wood. You can barely make out the voices of Sans and Toriel talking to each other; you’re only able to pick up bits and pieces of what they say.

“So…re’d yo go…?”

“acro…derground…told…ou were comi…”

“That fas…?...ow coul…ver the whole…round that qui…?”

“trade secr…n’t tell you.”

“You are su…lown.”

You’re not quite sure what to do now. You hold onto the phone and continue to navigate the Ruins, searching for the entrance to this “basement level” Toriel mentioned in the hopes that it will lead you to the husk causing the quakes. You explore the entire floor, investigating areas you didn’t step foot into on either of your previous trips through here, only to turn up empty handed. All the while, you can still hear Sans and Toriel chatting away through the phone.

“you oka…?...eem bothe…omething.”

“It’s noth…eally. I’m just tir…”

“i kno…ired looks…hat’s on your mi…?”

You reach what looks to be a dead end. You walk up to the wall at the end of the corridor to see if there’s any secret passage, or if it’s perhaps a fake wall. As you step onto the section of floor just in front of the wall, you realize too little too late that the surface of the floor feels thin. Your foot breaks through the thin covering above another pit, and you fall in. You quickly tuck the rapier under your arm and reach for your whip, cracking it upwards to try and wrap it around something. This pit seems to be much deeper than any others you’ve fallen into up until this point, and you have the time to do all of this as you plunge downward. The whip catches something on the side of the pit’s wall; a large amount of dirt suddenly falls away, revealing a hole in the side of the pit that stretches down as far as you can see. Unable to control yourself, you tumble into the hole, rolling through the dirt as you try to regain your sense of balance.

“Even after all…RIEL’s done…aid I disown…an’t help but get…rrible sinking fee…y chest when I think…dying.”

“If Varik mean…eave the underground now, then…e’ll have to KILL…ake his SOUL.”

“and ev…fter all he’s don…uch he’s lied to…at thought just makes me…eel nothing but DESPAI…”

You finally stop rolling and come to a stop as you emerge from another hole in a wall, landing in a section of the Ruins you’ve never seen before. As you rise to your feet, replace your whip and return your rapier to your grasp a thundering roar and the smell of rancid breath suddenly accosts you. Directly across from you in this new section of the Ruins is a massive husk, a green one with the head of a bull and the body of a man, wielding a massive axe. It charges you with blinding speed, and you narrowly manage to dodge out of the way. The cell phone flies from your grasp and lands on a patch of grass near a stone pillar. The sound from the cellphone suddenly becomes much louder as it lands, and the sounds of Toriel and Sans’ voices fill the entire chamber.

“so ar…oing to stop hi…?”

“…No.”

The minotaur husk charges you again. You jump to the side and head back in, rapier at the ready. The husk blocks your blow with the massive handle of its axe. The rapier bends and bounces back off the handle; the minotaur bashes you with the handle, sending you flying into the wall. You feel the rucksack detach from your back before you slam into the stone; it rolls away on the grass safely. You try to reorient yourself, gripping the rapier with both hands and riling yourself up to attempt another attack. The minotaur moves forward and takes another swing at you. You step towards the minotaur, feeling the axe blade narrowly miss your cranium, and duck your head under the handle. With both hands, you thrust the rapier forward into the minotaur’s chest. Goopy, pink liquid pours from its body and dips down your blade. It roars in anger and attempts to grab with one hand; you try to move out of the way, only to have the blade of your rapier caught in its grasp. More liquid drips from its hand as it grips tight on the rapier’s blade, then pulls it out of its body and rams the handle into your chest. The wind is knocked out of your as the pommel pushes against your left lung with force, and the rapier is then tossed to the side by the minotaur, well out of reach.

“What am I…osed to do? He’s my…an’t make myself let go…fter he nearly killed me.”

“what?”

“…He put….und my neck…anging me from…”

“holy crap, tor…till feel sorry after tha…?”

“Of cour…do! He…y SON!”

“Was my…on’t even know anymo…”

The minotaur attempts to gore you with its horns. You try to shift your body so that the horns will strike the armor and not your exposed flesh. It works; while you still feel quite a bit of pain, the horns only dent your metal chest plate, and you’re flung into the air up and over the minotaur’s head, leaving on the ground behind it. It turns and slowly walks over to you, raising its axe over its head.

“I’m no more rea…the monsters who are rioting ou…underground! All…ime to think abou…till do nothing….n’t even make myself…on I knew is gone. Even now…till wear this robe…”

You leap to your feet and throw yourself against the wall opposite the minotaur; again, the axe narrowly misses your head as it comes to kill you. You bound off the wall and extend a foot to kick the minotaur. Your foot lands right at the base of its neck; putrid air escapes its mouth and makes your face wrinkle up as it meets your nostrils. The minotaur falls onto its back, landing hard on the ground, causing another small quake.

“Woah!”

You pick up the minotaur’s axe. It is very heavy, but you can just about lift it. You limp over to the prone minotaur and raise the axe over your shoulder.

“…you can’t fault your…ust being a mothe…onna suck no matter wha…”

“Heh…eal reassurin…”

“what I mean…eem committed to stoppi…that’s all you can do.”

Using your shoulder as a fulcrum, you bring the axe down on the minotaur’s neck; its head severs off cleanly, rolling away as a torrent of pink liquid spills out. The axe handle breaks as it slams into the ground, and the axe head becomes stuck in the ground. You release your grasp on the axe handle and lie back on the grass, trying to steady your breath.

“It doesn…eel that eas…”

“you’re doi…lot better…ou think.”

You sit up, scooting away from the encroaching pink puddle pouring forth from the minotaur’s neck stump. You then rise to your feet and begin listlessly wandering the space around you, looking for anything of note. Your eyes fall on a blue bottle in the corner of the room; a health potion is lying there, ready for the taking. You walk over to the bottle, lean down, and pick it up.

“and if yo…omeone to tal…i’m here for you.”

“…Thank you, Sans.”

You pop open the health potion and take a swig. A bitter, chalky, taste accompanied by a feeling that makes you tongue feel like its burning away overwhelms you. You begin choking; you spit out the rest of the potion and cough; what you swallowed sloshes around in your stomach uncomfortably. A feeling like vertigo overtakes you and you fall onto your side. You crawl around on the ground, moving towards your rapier and the cell phone.

“Oh…old on, I shou… Varik if the shaki…”

You gasp for air, breathing hard over the cell phone. You hear Toriel speak to you on the other end, now much clearer.

“…Um, Varik? Are you okay?”

“…Drink? What did you drink?”

“…”

“Varik, please tell me you didn’t just drink a health POISON thinking it was a health POTION.”

You hear Sans snicker.

“(oh, man.)”

“Hang on…the line was already open when I picked up the-”

“Varik, did you not hang up the phone?!”

“(hah hah. oh wow.)”

“(Sigh)”

“I didn’t even think of that. If you’ve never used a phone before, of COURSE you wouldn’t know…”

“(why didn’t YOU hang up, tori?)”

“I-I’m not used to being the one who hangs up! Don’t turn that on me!”

Toriel’s tone becomes much more serious.

“Varik, tell me, how much of the poison did you drink? Was it the entire bottle?”

“…No. Okay, good. It should be purged from your system on its own with time.”

“Did you take care of the big husk?”

“Excellent! Great job.”

“Just, try to climb back up to us if you can.”

“And don’t take another sip of that poison.”

“I have to say it…this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with this.”

You hear Sans snicker again, followed by a soft swatting noise.

“Oh, and Varik?”

“Press the little button on the bottom of the cell phone, when you’re done, please.”

“Goodbye.”

You follow Toriel’s instructions and press the bottommost button on the cell phone. All sound ceases to emerge from the device; you stumble around and pick up all of your equipment, hand the phone off to the spider and slipping the rucksack on your back once more. You struggle to move one leg in front of the other; you navigate by guiding yourself along the wall, until you find a stairwell that leads back up to the floors above. You climb up, clutching your stomach as you desperately try not to vomit.

You try to keep yourself upright as you wander through the hallways of the Ruins, but your ailing stomach is more of a hinderance than the considerably few husks you’re supposed to deal with. The nausea makes it difficult to stand upright, let alone walking around with any sense of direction. Your head is perpetually pointed at the floor, dreading the sudden upheaval of butterscotch and cinnamon flavored bile you feel stewing in your gut. Eventually, you cannot take it anymore; you fall to your knees and crawl through an open door off to the side of the corridor, collapse on your side and stew in your own misery, staying as still as you can as to not upset your stomach. Your eyes fall upon a familiar sight once again: the bed of golden flowers you keep coming back to. Looking up, the void above the room is as devoid of light as ever; from this angle, you can’t even see the Tower. Your scarf’s autonomous movements cease as you lie down, the tail ends of the cloth resting on the edge of the bed of flowers. You simply lie there for a time, convinced that you’ve finally met your end at the hands of your own impulsive actions.

In your peripheral vision, you see a figure step through the door. The purple robe they wear sways gently as they enter, white paws parting the grass as they move into the room; Toriel looks over at you and rushes to your side, carrying something in her hands. She presses the back of her left arm’s paw against your forehead.

“Oh, you’re really burning up.”

“It’s lucky that you were still around here.”

Toriel sets down the item she’s carrying and begins gently lifting you upright.

“Nice and slow. We’re going to prop you against the wall.”

Toriel helps you sit up, and leans you up against the stone brick wall. She then picks up the item and presents it to you. It’s a little mug of tea on a saucer, still steeping. You’re able to take the saucer and mug without shaking too much, doing your best to keep the tea from spilling on you. Toriel sits down next to you, tucking her legs into her chest.

“This herbal sea tea blend should make you feel better while the poison eases up.”

“Most of those poisons are derived from ground buttercups. I can’t even remember who made them in the first place.”

You carefully take a sip of the tea. It tastes a little bit sweet, but not sickeningly so. A comforting feeling ripples across your body, easing up your tension and settling the rumbling in your stomach just a bit. The relief is euphoric; never before have you enjoyed tea like this.

“Feel a bit better? I hope I brewed it right. It’s been…God, a thousand years since last I made that recipe.”

Toriel has a warm expression on her face; she looks to be recalling fond memories. You keep sipping the tea as she talks.

“My children, both of them, used to try to eat buttercup flowers when they were very young. They always thought that they would taste good because they and butterscotch both started with the word “butter.” And they always seemed ready to try again!”

“So, I ended up making that tea a lot until they grew up enough to realize that they shouldn’t keep doing that. Actually, ASGORE come up with the recipe! He was always better with tea than I was.”

“Buttercups can be dangerous, but I became ready for these incidents. I always knew when to go out and pull the rest of the flowers from their mouths, how much tea to make, which medicine and healing magic to use…”

“It’s strange, to be nostalgic for a time when your children kept poisoning themselves.”

Toriel rests her head on her knees. She looks at the flowerbed as she continues, her voice muffled through her robe. You’re about halfway finished with the tea.

“My other child, Kris…was human. Adopted, of course.”

“Kris was a lot like you, Varik.”

“Very stubborn, mostly quiet, and, well, after reading those reports…”

“I understand that they were quite DETERMINED as well.”

“When something…ha…“got their goat,” or caught their interest, nothing held them back.”

Toriel presses her entire face into her knees.

“I found that it doesn’t go both ways between parent and child.”

“It’s hard, thinking that they must be dead now. A thousand years…”

“I hope they lived a good life, that they got away from that bastard BADORRER.”

She looks over at you; you take another sip of the tea, finishing it off. You set the saucer and cup down to the side, then look back over at her.

“Looking back on it now, I don’t think there was much I could have done.”

“The most powerful army of soldiers and mages humanity had was there to take away my kingdom and family.”

“I may be a Boss Monster, but…”

Toriel doesn’t look like she’s convinced of the things she’s saying.

“Mmm.”

“I suppose I still have the memories, right?”

“Those never go away. You just have to be willing to accept that things can’t ever really go back to what they once were once something changes even slightly.”

“Sans said I should start thinking like that.”

“I think maybe he needs to take his own advice.”

Toriel suddenly catches herself; she seems embarrassed about something.

“Um…”

“Pretend I didn’t say that! It relates to something…”

“Private.”

You and Toriel look over at the golden flowerbed. You’re starting to feel a little bit sleepy, not from the tea, but from exhaustion.

“They’re pretty, aren’t they?”

“When I left the RUINS to return to ASRIEL, they weren’t here. I didn’t set foot back in the RUINS for nearly a century afterwards. When I returned, those flowers had bloomed.”

“And, that enchanted cloth you have around your neck was lying on top of it.”

“I think ASRIEL may have been wrong; I think another human fell here while I was away…and died on that spot. Their decomposing body must have accelerated the growth of the flowers.”

“There was no other clothing or skeletal remains, so I was never sure.”

“I often thought about who that person may have been, what it would have been like to meet them.”

“But, I never felt guilty for not being here for them. How was I to know? What could I have done?”

“I’ve spent too long here, stewing in my own misery and quiet hatreds.”

“Maybe…I need to start looking at other things that way.”

You are quite tired now; you feel your head become heavy keep listening to Toriel. Your eyes shut and your neck begins to list from side to side.

“Look at I can change, what I can still protect…and acknowledge my limits.”

“That’s all you can do. Right?”

“Varik?”

You’re barely listening anymore; you’re now falling asleep, the world around you barely distinct. Tired and unaware, you lean over placing your head on Toriel’s shoulder; even sitting down, she’s a head taller than you. Under the robe, her fur feels like a pillow. You begin to rapidly drift off. Toriel puts an arm around you and lays her own head against yours.

“And having a friend to bounce off of helps, too.”

You wake up in what feels like a bed; you’re unable to tell in the pitch-black room you’ve found yourself in. You’re still in your armor, with only what feels like a quilt for covers. You feel renewed with energy, and the nausea from the poison is gone. You stand up and guide yourself along in the darkness with your hands, eventually reaching a wall. As you move along, searching for a door, your hand flips a switch embedded in the wall upward; the room suddenly fills with light. You shut your eyes in response and slowly open them, adjusting to the light. You’re back in the bedroom you recovered your equipment from before you fought Toriel. Since your last time in here, it’s been cleaned and dusted; the homely wallpaper and that welcoming pastry scent complete the welcoming atmosphere. Looking up at the light and then over at the switch, you wonder about the method of activation. You flip the switch back down; the light turns off. Flipping it back up, the light turns back on. You repeat this process a few times until your curiosity is sated.

Turning to the left, you see that the pastry scent filling the air is coming from within the room itself. A slice of pie has been left for you on a plate on the desk, along with a fork. You pull out the chair and take a seat at the desk, taking a few bites of the pie. The delicious taste is still gratifying; you’re just hungry enough from you last piece to enjoy this one to its fullest. As you eat the pie, you remember the drawing of the Planet Buster in the desk from before. Opening the drawer and fishing around the various blade drawings, you find the Planet Buster sketch. It has all the details one could discern about the blade, from dimensions to weight to material components, though some of the latter are marked as “unknown.” You flip over the Planet Buster sketch, something you neglected to do the first time you examined it. On the back of the sketch, you find another one. This one is considerably messier than the Planet Buster drawing, depicting a crude sketch of another unusual sword. It appears to be a saber with a bar pattern stamped into the blade near the tip, and a curve just below that on the blunt side. The guard looks like it curls up past the base of the blade and is adorned with a few flared out points decorating either side. The blade is listed as the “Chaos Saber,” with “saber” crossed out and replaced with “blaster,” which is also crossed out and replaced once more with “buster.” It is described by supplementary notes as “pure magic” and “the perfect weapon.” You decide to take the Planet Buster/Chaos Saber sketch with you, in case it proves to be useful.

You finish the pie; the plate is free of any filling or crumbs. You stand up and go to exit the room. Subconsciously, you turn off the light as you leave. Stepping back out into the hall, you find all of your equipment outside the door. You gather it up, peering in to check in on the spiders. It looks like most of them are sleeping, with one night owl of an arachnid looking up and waving at you. You close the rucksack and put it on; soon, all of your equipment is in place and ready to go. You walk throughout the rest of the home. In the living room, you see Toriel and Sans, fast asleep. Toriel is sitting in a chair with brown upholstery and a pillow, while Sans is simply leaning against the chair on the floor. Both of them have peaceful looks on their faces; Toriel’s hand has slipped off of the armrest, laying on top of Sans’ head. You decide to leave them where they are and leave silently. You move towards the stairwell leading out of the home and up towards the Tower. Your climb is uneventful; eventually you reach the point where the walls stop, and you’re presented with the view of the entirety of the Ruins.

Previously, they were rather dim. You were able to see them in the darkness mostly because of the size of the structures near you and the limited illumination coming from the Tower. Now, however, the Ruins are completely lit up; lights stretch out to the horizon and beyond, revealing the true extent of the size of this part of the underground. To call it a city would be an understatement. It’s more like a country, and if placed next to many of the human kingdoms you’ve passed through, it would be easy to lose sight of them among the grandiosity of the Ruins. A gentle wind blows your scarf and hair around, as you briefly pause your ascent to take in this magnificent sight. Depending on what happens in the coming hours, it may be the last time you’ll ever have a chance to see it. Once you’ve had your fill, you resume climbing the stairs, reaching the archway where you and Toriel faced off previously. The wall is still stained with scorch marks from your encounter. You pay them no mind as you stride toward the door, resolve in each step. With one hand, you pull the door open, bearing the blast of cold air from the Tower that rushes in. You step through, letting the door to the Ruins close behind you, gently stopping it just short of the latch with your hand to ensure it doesn’t slam. It clicks shut, and you press on.

Chapter Text

Your trip throughout the Tower is a mad dash from corridor to corridor, trying to remember how you climbed to the Snowcroft on your first time through. A large variety of husks, far more vicious than what was here before, come at you from around every bend; by sheer number, they force you to backpedal and flank them instead of facing them all head on. You spend a considerable amount of time in the entrance hallway, quashing husk after husk, until your patience is drained and you storm past them, out into the rest of the Tower. You narrowly avoid a series of pitfalls that look like entrances to Papyrus’ tunnels, already tripped and exposed. You find no sign of Papyrus or any other monsters as you climb further up the Tower.

Reaching the top of a set of stairs, another one of the pits lies directly at the top; you jump over it, bounding off the last step to do so. You find yourself face to face with another massive crab husk. It completely blocks the hallway, scuttling towards you at an alarming speed. Behind you, you hear the horde of husks you’ve already agitated, climbing the staircase, no enchantment to hinder their ascent like at the entrance to Toriel’s home. You make a quick decision and leap backwards, directly into the pit, pressing your feet against the wall to control your descent. You feel a slant in the dirt and pull your feet back from the wall.

You instantly begin sliding along the dirt tunnel, dropping and sometimes ascending at random, unsure of what lies on the other side. You slip down another section of the tunnel; an iron sluice at the bottom of the tunnel slides open, and you drop out of the tunnel into a new section of the Tower. You can’t tell if you’re higher up in the Tower or lower than where you started. You inspect the new space around you. The temperature is still frigid, but there isn’t as much snow in this corridor. You begin walking down the passage, keeping your guard up to prepare for whatever confronts you next. You draw your rapier and keep it close and ready, peering around every corner before taking a step forward.

Eventually, you reach a large pair of sliding stone doors at the end of a passage. You step up to the door and place your fingers in the separation between them. The door gradually begins to slide open as you pull them apart; through the opening doors, you see another similar set of doors on the other side, gradually closing at the same rate you’re opening the first set of doors. Just before the other set of doors closes, you see some figures just beyond it, looking back at you. You recognize the two hooded dog guards, Dogamy and Dogaressa, and you believe you can see Lesser Dog just next to them. You march up to the other set of doors and begin pulling them open; behind you, the previous set of doors begin to close, as you expected. You pull the doors open, only to find nobody standing on the other side. You step out into the passage, only a few stray dog hairs on the ground indicating that the guards were ever there.

Your nose suddenly crinkles up involuntarily. Reaching up and grabbing at it, you pull a single dog hair off the bridge of your nose. You suddenly feel another one land on the top of your head, and you pull it off as well. You look up at the ceiling above you. All five of the dog guards, including Greater Dog and Doggo, are clinging to the ceiling looking down at you. They’re all held up by Lesser Dog’s extended neck; following the neck, you find its body standing behind you, next to the door, holding its stone sword up to your back threateningly.

Suddenly, you feel a pair of fluffy legs land on your shoulder, nearly toppling you. Two daggers are being held up to your throat as Doggo, having dropped onto you from the ceiling, begins barking.

“Is he moving?! Do I have him? Did I get him?”

The other dogs drop down and flourish their weapons. Greater Dog shakes the entire corridor as it lands. You’re completely surrounded by armed dogs, holding their weapons to your neck. Dogaressa addresses you.

“We have you now, petting-murderer!”

“It was pretty clever of to distract us with ancient knowledge of these mutual affection techniques, but we’re ready for you this time!”

Dogamy speaks next.

“All of us watched what you did to Captain Undyne on Mettaton’s video feed!”

“It was AWFUL...we think.”

“To be honest, none of us have the greatest eyesight, but it SOUNDED pretty bad!”

Doggo continues from where Dogamy left off.

“YEAH! And when we went to the Wetlands to see what was wrong, a bunch of blurry blobs shoved us back into the Snowcroft!”

“They sounded like the other monsters! Which means…”

“YOU tricked them as well!”

Lesser Dog retracts its neck and gives a single bark. Dogamy responds.

“Yeah!”

Greater Dog gives a massive “bork.” All the other dogs capable of speech respond.

“YEAH!”

Dogaressa challenges you.

“The Royal Guard is ready for you, murderer!”

“In the name of our people, we will-!”

A single bone, like one from a skeleton, arcs up over Greater Dog and lands behind you, next to the door. The dogs all freeze up and sniff at the air; they all dive off or over you and launch towards the bone.

“BOOONE!!!”

The dogs end up in a scuffle as they clamber for the bone,; you turn and watch them fly through the air, then land in a pile on the bone, pawing aggressively at each other in an attempt to get the bone.

“(SIGH)”

“SOMETIMES, EVEN I WONDER IF THE GUARD IS TRULY UP TO THE DUTIES IT’S PRESENTED WITH.”

You turn and face Papyrus, evidently the one who tossed the bone. He still in the same ninja garb, kerchief over his lower jaw. As you lock eyes, he suddenly looks pretty uncomfortable and morose.

“AH…HELLO, RECRUIT VARIK.”

“IT’S GOOD TO SEE THAT…”

“THAT YOU’RE…”

“…”

Papyrus turns and walks away without completing his sentence. You look back at the dog pile; it looks like they’ll be occupied for some time. You walk after Papyrus, as you feel the corridor become much colder.

The path you follow Papyrus down leads to an exit out onto the edge of a snowy cliff, looking out over a massive, underground forest. Looking up, you can see the bright lights of the Snowcroft at the top of a path leading up the cliff; Papyrus has long escaped your sight, and you presume he’s returned to the Snowcroft. You look out over the cliff, peering at the forested horizon. It goes as far as you can see, and to your best guess, even further out. Lights interspersed between the trees indicates the presence of homes, and monsters living down in the forest beneath the Snowcroft. You turn to climb up the path, snow slipping out from under your feet and over the edge of the cliff. You reach a plateau at the top of the cliff and walk up to the Snowcroft.

Compared to last time, the town is much livelier, with monsters in the streets, walking in and out of buildings, and looking out from their apartments and homes with the blinds open. The monsters don’t seem disturbed by your presence this time, and you walk down the street with little incident, getting the occasional odd glance, but nothing confrontational. You pass by a festive tree, decorated with what looks like the mass you entrapped Dela with previously. One of the monsters next to the tree speaks to you as you walk past them; they are a large bear, wearing a winter jacket.

“Weird times in the Snowcroft, isn’t it, friend?”

“I came back from a trip to the Wetlands to find everyone a little quieter than usual.”

“And after what I saw and heard in the Wetlands, I can’t blame ‘em.”

“But we’ve got an enthusiastic skeleton to talk to our undead fish captain of the Guard if anything happens, and then we get to sit to the side and wait some more.”

“Thaaaaaat’s…(sigh).”

“I don’t think I have the enthusiasm for this, anymore.”

The bear seems rather dejected. As you look around at the other citizens of the Snowcroft, you feel that same dreariness in the air. As you continue down the street, you find a tall, wooden house considerably taller than most of the other buildings in the town. Outside of it are two mailboxes, one overstuffed with mail and the other completely barren, door swinging open in the wind. The one stuffed with mail has “Sans” written on it. Checking the door of the other one, “Papyrus” is written on there. You walk over to the front door of the house and knock on the door. A few seconds later, it swings open to reveal Papyrus, looking somewhat surprised at your presence.

“OH! WELL…”

“HELLO.”

“I WASN’T EXPECTING YOU TO STOP BY. I FIGURED AFTER YOU GOT PAST THE GUARDS…”

Papyrus scratches the side of his head.

“I’M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT I WANT TO DO RIGHT NOW. I’M A BIT HESITANT TO SPEAK WITH YOU, VARIK.”

“I WAS HOPING THAT WHEN YOU GOT TO THE WETLANDS, YOU’D IMPROVE YOUR DISPOSITION TOWARDS OTHERS, AND…”

“THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN. I SAW THE T.V. FEED.”

“AND WHILE I’M GLAD CAPTAIN UNDYNE IS OKAY, I’M STILL VERY DISSAPOINTED.”

“SO…PLEASE JUST GIVE ME SOME TIME TO THINK.”

Papyrus abruptly closes the door. His friendly, energetic self appears to be completely absent in his speech and movement. You walk away from the door and over towards the end of the Snowcroft. The bridge, previously destroyed by Undyne, has been restored with rope securing it back to the edge of the cliff. As you inspect the integrity of the bridge, you feel a rumbling sensation in your rucksack. A spider briefly opens the sack and tosses out the cell phone; they seem reluctant to come out into the cold. The cell phone is now shaking and ringing. Taking a guess, you hit a button with green coloration. The ringing and shaking stops and you hear a voice come through.

“yo, varik.”

“remember what i said about papyrus?”

“…you’re there? what happened?”

“…ooh, that’s not good to hear. he’s further down in the dumps than i realized.”

“you just hang around town; i’ll be there soon to help out.”

“…hmm? of course i’ll put my all into it.”

“i’ve got a bit more motivation than usual.”

“stop by grillby’s, tell ‘em it’s on my tab.”

Sans hangs up the phone. You walk away from the house and go to explore the rest of the town. You pass by the tree once more; a shorter figure pops out from behind it. It’s the monster kid you met back in the Tower; they look surprised to see you.

“Woah, it’s you!”

“Your fight with Undyne was sick! I can’t believe you beat her!”

“It looked pretty bad there at the end…but Miss Delon made sure it was all okay!”

“It was so cool…do you think you guys will every have a rematch?”

“I wanna be there for that one!”

The monster kid continues to espouse excitedly about your fight with Undyne; at one point, it seems like they become unaware of your presence. Nonetheless, they follow you through the rest of town, still talking about their fascinations. You step into the building labeled “LIBRARBY.” Inside, it’s about what you’d expect to find in any human library, though it is considerably smaller than any library you’ve seen, more akin to a private collection in terms of book count. The monsters within don’t seem disturbed by your presence either. Walking between the shelves, you notice one book sticking out of the shelf almost halfway; you pull it off the shelf and inspect the cover. It reads “Human Mythology.” The monster kid hops up and looks at the cover.

“Ooh! I’ve read that one in school! All the stories are really cool!”

“…But they get a little dark sometimes.”

“I like the ones where the gods defeat the bad kings! The other ones aren’t so sweet.”

You crack open the mythology book and flip to a random page. You slide down the bookshelf onto the floor for a more comfortable reading position; the monster kid huddles up next to you, peering over your shoulder as you read. The book contains some standard human myths about the gods and their progeny. Most of it isn’t anything new, but the perspective of a monster author is unique.

“Humans worship a wide pantheon of gods. While some pledge their faith to a singular, nebulous being who is believed to be the creator of all things, a concept shared by many monsters, other follow a more defined set of deities, documenting their supposed exploits in myths and stories passed through oral and written tradition.”

“In this way, gods are used as more of a lesson-teaching tool than a thing of worship, though, as is true with humans on many things, outliers exist who truly worship these gods. The virtues and personalities of these gods are often tied to concepts and personality traits, enabling them to be more easily utilized in morality tales.”

“Bravery;Justice;Kindness;Patience;Integrity;Perseverance.”

“Traits like these were condensed into these singular figures, and humans hold them up as ideals of each quality with their own flaws and nuances. Even before the fall of monsterkind, many stories were codified by our scholars.”

You move a bit ahead in the book. Various myths from different gods are presented throughout the book, though some of them are explained differently than you remember learning about them. The monster kid eagerly eyes the pages of the book over your shoulder. You turn the page away from a myth about a conflict of tribute and find a short, one page myth about a war god.

“Ares, god of war and brutality, was entrapped during the battle atop Olympus, and carried off in a bronze jar. With no way out, the war god toiled and struggled, his prison placed in a cave leading down into the depths of the Earth. Only with the arrival of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, was Ares set free to return.”

The monster kid speaks up.

“Ooh! There’s a really cool one where Apollo fights a giant snake! That one is rad! Let’s find it!”

You begin flipping through the books, looking for said story.

“Maybe Miss Delon can come read some of these to the other kids here!”

“Do you know where she is? We haven’t been able to find her anywhere.”

You say nothing and keep flipping pages, until you become aware of the sound of a very loud voice outside. Everyone in the library turns towards the window. You close the book and take it with you as you walk towards the window with the other monsters. The monster kid is just a little bit too short and has to jump up and down to look out the window. Outside in the snow, you see a large crowd of monsters gathering around a single point. You see someone in a purple robe with the Delta Rune addressing the crowd; It’s Toriel.

“Hello, my people! It is very good to see you all again, well and safe from the husks for the moment.”

Murmurs and exclamations of shock, confusion and excitement ring throughout the crowd outside, coming from various monsters.

“Is that the queen?!”

“I thought you lied about seeing her!”

“Woah! She’s really here! Where’s the prince?!”

“What’s going on, is the BARRIER open?”

“Queen TORIEL! Queen TORIEL!”

“Oh, don’t listen to her, I’m sure it’s just more disappointment.”

“How can you say that…”

The monsters around you in the library begin muttering to themselves as well.

“I’d hoped to see her son with her. I’ve never seen either of them, actually!”

“Why is she in the Snowcroft?”

The monster kid chimes in.

“The queen?! Cool, cool, cool! Today’s been the most awesome day ever!”

The monsters keep going around, talking and exclaiming surprise at the queen’s presence. You say nothing and look at her through the window. She briefly glances over in the direction of the library and smiles warmly; it seems she’s noticed you. She returns her gaze to the crowd and continues addressing them.

“As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, things have been changing suddenly over the last day. Two humans have arrived from the surface, one of whom walks among you right now.”

All the monsters outside look back towards the library, and the monsters inside look at you as well. The casualness of it all is a little odd. The queen continues her speech.

“You might think that this means the prophecy of the DELTA RUNE is upon us; that shortly, with no action needed on your part, we will all be free.”

“…But I am afraid that is not what will happen.”

Confused murmurs spread throughout the crowd.

“ASRIEL has not shared everything about the circumstances we face. The two humans and what they’ve brought are not enough to open the BARRIER.”

“His plan involves taking your SOULS directly and passing through the BARRIER with them.”

“His actions have also caused the husks to leave the RUINS and spread throughout the underground; soon, they will come here if something is not done.”

The monsters seem appalled; audible friction surges through the crowd as they debate with each other, confused. The other monsters in the library, save the monster kid, run out into the street, joining in the cacophony.

“What? What does that mean?!”

“Are we going to die?”

“She’s lying, she has to be!”

“Calm down! You don’t know…”

Toriel continues.

“I’m afraid it’s true. But all is not lost!”

“Only the human who stands back there is available to us at the moment, but I can assure you, he is on our side.”

“But even if I feel strongly about this, I cannot impose that same choice on my people without knowing their thoughts. If monsterkind is unhappy with the change, then any efforts to keep order would be for naught.”

“So, tell me. Please tell me honestly, which you prefer.”

“Do you want to see the surface badly enough to relinquish your lives and SOULS, or are you content to wait longer and keep your lives?”

“If it’s the former…I won’t try to dissuade you.”

“I simply need to know.”

The crowd goes silent. Looking around outside, you see something hovering in the distance, high above Papyrus’s house. It looks like one of Mettaton’s cameras. Looking in the same direction, you see a figure in the house looking out into the street; the silhouette matches Papyrus’s body shape. The silence lingers among the crowd of monsters. You look down at the monster kid; they’ve stopped jumping, and look like they’re suddenly thinking hard about something. Without warning, they run behind you and toward the door, slamming into it. Everyone outside hears the crash and looks towards the library. The monster kid jumps up, trying to turn the knob with their mouth. You reach over and open the door for them; they rush outside, and you step out behind them. You watch the monster kid run up to the crowd.

“Um..!”

“I don’t know about everyone else! But…”

“I don’t wanna die.”

“I-I like the people here!”

“And…I’ve lived here my whole life.”

“I don’t…mind…”

Their voice tapers off; they’re becoming more unsure of themselves. The other monsters stare at the kid, then look between each other.

“It’s just one kid…”

“But I kinda agree, don’t you?”

“It can’t be…after all this time.”

“But what if she’s telling the truth?”

“And if she isn’t?”

The crowd has no consensus; Toriel seems a bit deflated. As the crowd continues speaking, you see the door to Papyrus’s home open, and he exits, looking at the crowd. He runs over and down another path leading away from the Snowcroft. You step out further from the library, trying to see where he’s running off to.

“hey there.”

You turn around; Sans is right behind you.

“i don’t want to extend a favor, but…”

“well, that’s what i’m doing.”

“mind tagging along with him, see what he’s doing?”

Without a word, you turn around and run down the same path after Papyrus, slipping the mythology book into your rucksack. In the distance you hear the roar of a husk. As the Snowcroft disappears behind you, you hear Toriel’s voice.

“Varik? Where are you going?”

You don’t stop to respond, following Papyrus’s footprints into the woods surrounding the town.

The woods beyond the Snowcroft are almost labyrinthine in layout. There’s no trail that leads between the trees, only the seemingly never-ending rows of wooden pillars and ever-present fallen pine branches that litter the snowy terrain. You wander betwixt the trees, looking for any indication of where Papyrus might have run off to, only to turn up empty handed. His footsteps have abruptly disappeared into the snow, no trace of where he’s sprinted off to. You look around for anything to help you pick up the trail once again, when in the distance, you hear the sound of snapping wood. Turning towards the direction of the sound, you spot another pine branch falling from the treetops into the snow. You hear another crack, followed by another falling branch; you look up towards the trees and listen while moving towards the branches. Up above you, footsteps thunder through the tree, running along the branches and leaves further into the forest. You follow the sound to see where it all leads.

Looking up as you run, you narrowly avoid the husk that suddenly appears in front of your from behind a tree. It’s an undead humanoid mass with a scimitar; it takes a swing at you, and you leap back, the blade scraping against your cuirass as it barely misses your head. You ready your rapier and engage the husk in a duel. You clash between each other, your fighting strategy revolving around going for jabs and parrying strikes, and theirs seemingly being the same series of wild swings performed by all the other sword-wielding husks you’ve come across. You exchange blows, this husk being another odd one not just in appearance, but in how it seems to dodge your strikes, until you begin gaining the upper hand. You drive your rapier through the husks’ head, pinning it to a tree. It goes limp and the scimitar falls from its grasp. The brittle weapon shatters upon hitting the ground, unusable like all the other weapons the husks carry.

You step away from the corpse, only to be caught off guard by another three-eyed husk that leaps out at you from behind another tree. You leap back, only to hear a screech behind you, and turn to find another similar husk standing there, then another, then another. Soon, you’re completely surrounded by the husks, at least a dozen of them on all sides, slowly closing in on you. Even if they aren’t too strong on their own, without a shield, your defensive options are severely limited. You need to think of something quick before they decide to attack you all at once. It becomes apparent that you may be too late, as one of the husk lets out a bone-chilling holler, and lunges at you.

The world around you suddenly becomes encased in shadows, as massive, bone white pillars suddenly erupt out of the ground around you in a circle. The pillars launch high into the sky, impaling the husks or launching them high into the trees in one fell swoop. Just as suddenly as they appeared, the pillars recede into the ground, and the husks sent fly crash back to the ground, now unmoving. From the trees above, a shadow jumps down and lands in front of you; at the same time, the snow and wind falling around you rapidly intensifies to the point of almost absolute blindness, and you’re unable to see who stands before you, save for the outline of their tall, thin figure.

“THE HUSKS ARE NOW HERE IN FORCE, RECRUIT.”

“THE TIME I’VE SPENT MY ENTIRE LIFE PREPARING FOR IS FINALLY HERE.”

“TODAY, I NEED TO ACT BEFITTING MY STATION AND DEFEND MY FRIENDS FROM THE HUSKS.”

“AND IT SOUNDS LIKE IT’S GOING TO BE TOUGHER THAN I THOUGHT.”

A moment of silence passes.

“BUT I HAVE STILL NOT BEEN CONVINCED OF YOU AS A PROBABLE ALLY, VARIK.”

“I’LL ADMIT, MY ENTHUSIASM GOT THE BEST OF ME WHEN I FIRST MET YOU. BUT NOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED.”

“IF YOU TRULY WANT TO PROVE TO ME THAT YOU’LL HELP US, THAT YOU ARE MAKING AN EFFORT TO SAVE LIVES, NOT TAKE THEM…”

“THEN…”

The sudden surge in the wind and snow dies down just as rapidly as it appeared. Papyrus stands before, you, looking at the ground. He slowly looks up at you, then, with a sudden burst of energy points as you in an exaggeratedly dramatic pose.

“MAYBE IT’S TIME FOR SOME INTENSE TRAINING!”

“WHAT SAY YOU, RECRUIT?”

Papyrus looks like he’s back at peak enthusiasm. You nod in response to his question and wait to see what he does and says next.

“EXCELLENT!”

“LET US BEGIN THIS MARVELOUS JOINT ESCAPADE AND PUT AN END TO OUR TROUBLES FROM BEFORE!”

“THE HUSKS HAVE MADE THEIR WAY TO THE FORESTS FROM THE RUINS; WE CAN BEGIN WORKING OUT OUR FRUSTRATIONS AND ENCOURAGE BETTER ATTITUDES TOWARDS OTHERS AS WE FIGHT THE HUSKS!”

“FOLLOW ME!”

Papyrus jumps straight back up into the trees; you hear him run off across the branches, deeper into the forest. You follow the sound, at the same time feeling a rumble in your rucksack. The cell phone, once more ringing, is quickly tossed out by the spiders, and flies into your grip. You press the answer button and raise the phone to your ear.

“Varik? It’s TORIEL.”

“Where did you run off to?”

“…Sans’ brother? What is he doing?”

“…Well, keep an eye on him. A few monsters from the Wetlands have arrived here and are making a fuss.”

“We don’t need extra chaos while we’re trying to get them organized. Let us know what happens.”

“…Sans wants to talk to you.”

You hear the phone fumble around.

“hey.”

“how’s he look now?”

“…cool. i knew he’d perk back up after we got here.”

“you don’t have to play up a nice side if you don’t want to. he’ll understand.”

“but, if you could help him in earnest i’d really appreciate it.”

“thanks. see ya.”

The phone hands up. You toss it back towards your rucksack; you hear the flap open and feel the weight of the phone being dragged inside. The branches keep falling from above as Papyrus rushes between the trees. More husks appear around the trees; you deal with some of them yourself, cutting them down as you run past, and Papyrus dispatches a few from the treetops with more pillars, which you recognize now as bones.

After some time running, you reach a clearing in the forest; through a gap in the trees, you can see the Snowcroft up high in the distance, a very large, bustling crowd of monsters running around, so massive that even from this distance, you can see the movement amongst the monsters involved. Behind you, you head a loud thump, and feel a thin cloud of unsettled snow strike your neck and back. Turning around, you find Papyrus has dislodged himself from the trees and is standing before you once again.

“NOW, RECRUIT VARIK, THIS NEW TRAINING PROGRAM WILL AIM TO HELP POINT YOU TOWARDS THE RIGHT DIRECTION OF TRYING TO HELP OTHERS COMPASSIONATELY BEFORE TURNING TO VIOLENCE.”

“I’M SURE IF SANS TRUSTS YOU, THAT YOU’VE ALREADY MADE SOME GRAND ATTEMPT AT SUCH AN ACTION…”

“AND THEN CAME BACK TO ME FOR GUIDANCE!”

Papyrus clasps his hands and holds them up to his face.

“AND I’M TRULY GRATEFUL THAT MY RECRUIT IS TRYING TO DO BETTER!”

“THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO DO IS UPDATE YOUR WARDROBE, MAKE IT CLEARER THAT THIS IS A NEW LEAF…”

“HMM…”

Papyrus puts a hand up over the cloth over his mouth as he tries to think of something, likely a way to “improve” your current garb. He snaps his fingers as he comes to a realization.

“AH! OF COURSE!"

Papyrus reaches behind his back, presumably into a pocket, and pulls out something translucent and red. Looking closer, you see that it is a pair of crimson-tinted goggles, with a black fabric strap holding them together.

“I’D BEEN MEANING TO WORK THIS INTO MY OWN COSTUME, BUT I CAN SEE NOW THAT IT WOULD WORK MUCH BETTER WITH THAT SCARF OF YOURS!”

Papyrus tosses the goggles to you; you catch them in one hand.

“GO AHEAD, TRY THEM ON!”

You pause for a moment before slipping the goggles on.

“OTHER WAY, THAT’S UPSIDE DOWN.”

You flip the goggles over; they were upside down, like Papyrus said. Slipping them in place, they fit surprisingly well, not pushing up on your nose nor digging into the area around your eyes. The world before you is now tinted slightly red; the greens of the trees turn into a blurry black coloration.

“AS I THOUGHT, YOU LOOK FANTASTIC! EVEN IF YOUR HAIR IS GETTING IN THE WAY A BIT.”

“NOW THAT THAT’S SETTLED, LET’S MOVE ONTO THE FIRST PROPER STEP!”

Papyrus trots a short distance over towards the edge of the clearing; you follow him. In the woods, you see a husk stumbling between the trees, making its way towards you two.

“FIRST, A QUICK REMINDER.”

“HUSKS ARE LIKE SQUISHY, SOULESS SOCK PUPPETS!”

“UNDYNE HAS ALWAYS EXPLAINSED THAT FIGHTING THEM IS LIKE FIGHTING YOUR PILLOW; YOU DON’T NEED TO HOLD BACK OR BE WORRIED ABOUT DESTROYING THEM!”

“SO, FEEL FREE TO GO WILD ON ANY HUSKS YOU COME ACROSS. I’M SURE YOU ALREADY DO!”

“BUT ISN’T IT BETTER TO SAVE THAT AGGRESSION FOR SOMETHING THAT CAN’T BE TRULY HURT BY IT?”

“GO AHEAD, VARIK!”

Papyrus gestures towards the husk as it moves into the clearing. With one swift motion, you lunge forward and pierce the husks’ skull, eradicating it instantly. It falls to the ground uselessly; Papyrus nods, but still seems a little unsettled by your effectiveness in combat, even against a husk.

“YES…OKAY THEN.”

“NOW, MONSTERS, AND HUMANS I’M SURE, ARE DIFFERENT FROM HUSKS. THEY HAVE SOULS, FEELINGS, GOALS…”

“TRYING TO HURT THEM IS MUCH MORE, WELL, BAD.”

“BUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOES NOT BACK DOWN FROM A TASK BECAUSE OF ANY PERSONAL ENDANGERMENT!”

“GO AHEAD, VARIK, ATTACK ME, IF YOU SO CHOOSE!”

“I WON’T RETALIATE.”

You stop and stare at Papyrus for a moment; he seems to be bracing himself, closing his eyes and puffing his chest out, as if trying to hide fear. Nonetheless, you wind up for a simple, quick jab at his chest, but as you pull your arm back, he flinches.

“W-WAIT! HOLD ON!”

“MMM…VARIK, ARE YOU SURE THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT TO DO?”

“OR WHAT WE SHOULD DO?”

“…”

“R-RIGHT, WE SHOULDN’T WORRY, IT’S LIKE…SPARRING.”

“JUST A FRIENDLY, UH, ROUND OF COMBAT BETWEEN FRIENDS!”

Papyrus seems extremely anxious. You can’t be certain, but you think there might be beads of sweat gathering on his forehead under the ninja garb.

“GO AHEAD!”

“…”

Papyrus closes his eyes sockets tightly, bracing for what comes next. You pause again at the odd situation, before raising your rapier for a jab once more, You thrust your arm forward, aiming the tip of the blade squarely as Papyrus’ chest; just before it hits, his eyes sockets open and his expression goes static.

Your blows lands, and the effect it has on Papyrus is negligible. It pushes him back slightly without even a scratch in his garb; it is more of a fencing hit than a killing blow. Papyrus exhales heavily, looking extremely frayed, yet relieved.

“H-HAAH…THERE!”

“S-SEE? WE’RE ALL GOOD! YOU…YOU DID WELL.”

“YOU…DIDN’T DO A VIOLENCE!”

“*AHEM*”

“OKAY…”

“UH…HEY, LOOK AT THAT TREE OVER THERE!”

Without waiting for you to look away, Papyrus rushes off further into the woods; it kind of feels like he’s running away from you. The situation is confusing, but you push on nonetheless. As you walk further into the woods, another branch falls from high above. Looking up, you see a stout, short skeleton looking down at you, reclining in the branches lazily.

“didn’t know what to make of that for a second, but it looks like you’ve gotten the gist of it.”

“though, i’ve never seen papyrus acting like this before. he’s usually so much cooler.”

“he used to do practice matches like that with undyne. but then he just stopped one day, no explanation.”

“he started wearing that cloth over his mouth around the same time as well.”

“let’s see where it goes from here.”

“just don’t overdo it.”

You blink, and Sans disappears from the branch. Mulling on what is going on, you press on further into the woods after Papyrus.

The snowy woods start to climb higher in altitude; eventually, you’re running up the side of a hill, pulling yourself up by each tree trunk when the ground gets too slippery. Eventually, you crawl up to the top of the hill, searching for solid footing as the snow climbs up around your ankles, and seeps into your boots. The goggles make it a little bit easier to see in the snowy haze; as the wind whips around you, your scarf flies up into your face, failing to resist the gradually building gale. You raise a hand above your eyes as you look around, trying to find any sign of Papyrus or anybody else. Unable to make anything out, you push further into the blurry wind, the sound of the air whipping around you, deafening all other noise.

Through the haze, you’re able to make out the edges of a few blurry shapes, mostly trees. You traipse aimlessly through the snow, having completely lost your sense of direction. Somewhere above you, the lights of the Snowcroft are still visible, barely piercing through the cloudiness to the ground in front of you. The terrain has leveled out in elevation, and the trees are beginning to become sparser. Through the fog, another light source becomes visible, this one on the same plane as yourself. You move towards this new beacon, the light dispersing over the ground in front of you. As you draw closer, the light is gradually split between two sources; two windows, in what is apparently a building. You orient yourself to travel in the shadow between the two lights, reaching out for a doorknob. Your hands brush against a cold, wooden surface, and you slip your hands downward to find a cold, metal cylinder that turns in your grasp.

The difference in temperature as the draft enters the building leaves your both split between front and back, hot and cold. You turn around and force the door shut behind you, pushing against it with your shoulder until you hear it click. Turning to look around the interior of the building, you find that the interior is very spartan, with little in the way of furnishings and even fewer utilities. Only one door lies on the other side of this single room space; the room is occupied by sheathed weaponry, shields, and armor hung on racks, on walls, and strewn across the floor, and a single fireplace, still roaring with an open flame.

The door on the opposite side of the room is open a crack; you begin walking towards it, eyeing the weaponry that lies around the room. A rapier scabbard hangs off a nail on the wall, and you pull it off, strapping it to your side and transferring the rapier into it from the longsword scabbard that once held the Planet Buster. Looking for something to fill the newfound space, you spot a massive, heavy claymore on a weapon rack, and slide it into the scabbard. Next to where it once was, a shield with flame decoration hangs; you take it as well, enthused to have a shield in your grasp once again. You resume your walk towards the door, and gently push it open, listening to it creak as it swings to the side.

Stepping through the door, you find Papyrus, kneeling on the floor, scribbling on some paper. Various items are scattered across the floor of the building; paper, pencils, charcoal, rope, twine, leather strips, hooks, string, and combinations thereof. On the paper, you see what look like designs for various, complex devices, and some of the other items appear to be small scale of some of these devices, jury-rigged, from what’s on hand. Papyrus hasn’t noticed that you’ve entered the room.

“HMM…”

“THAT’S A BIT TOO MUCH TORQUE.”

“MAYBE IF I…”

Papyrus looks over his shoulder, and spots you. He reacts with shock and quickly rises to his feet, turning to face you.

“A-AH! WOW!”

“I DIDN’T EXPECT YOU TO FIND THIS DOJO SO QUICKLY!”

“E-EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE!”

Papyrus seems extremely nervous. He tries to keep up a calm demeanor.

“UMM…RIGHT.”

“I GUESS WE SHOULD MOVE ONTO THE NEXT STEP.”

Papyrus picks up a few of his designs and organizes them, before showing them off to you.

“I USED TO TRAIN UNDER UNDYNE FOR COMBAT TRAINING AGAINST HUSKS, BUT I FOUND THAT I…”

“WASN’T SO ACCLIMATED TO IT. SO NOW, I BUILD TRAPS INSTEAD!”

Beneath the anxious tension, you can see a little bit of pride beaming through in Papyrus’ hollow eyes as he speaks about his trap designing and building.

“IT’S A MUCH SAFER, LESS DIRECT WAY TO DEAL WITH THE HUSKS, AND I’LL ADMIT, I MUCH PERFER IT.”

“THE HUSKS ARE GROSS, RIGHT?! WHO WANTS TO GET TOE TO TOE WITH THEM?”

You cock your head to the side; Papyrus’ attitude and preferences are a bit contradictory. You let him continue without interruption.

“SO, MAYBE WE CAN CUT VIOLENCE OUT OF THE EQUATION ENTIRELY! MAYBE I CAN TEACH YOU TO BUILD TRAPS!”

“…YOU’RE, UH, YOU’RE WEARING A LOT MORE WEAPONRY THAN I REMEMBER.”

“DID YOU PINCH ALL OF THAT FROM THE SPARRING ROOM?”

“STILL TAKING STUFF WITHOUT ASKING…ERMMM…”

“ANYWAY, HERE! TRY TO DESIGN A TRAP! LET’S SEE WHAT KIND OF EXCELLENT ENGINEER YOU ARE!”

Papyrus hands you a blank piece of paper and a piece of charcoal. You take it and absentmindedly begin scribbling on it, trying to make something that approximates what you’d imagine to be a trap of some kind. You finish up and hand it back to Papyrus; he seems less than impressed.

“AH-UM…RIGHT.”

“I’M NOT QUITE SURE…IS THAT A PULLEY OR DID YOU DRAW SOMETHING RUDE?”

“I-I MEAN, I GUESS SOME PEOPLE AREN’T THE MOST…ARTISTICALLY TALENTED, BUT THAT’S NO SET BACK!”

“MAYBE YOU’RE MORE OF A HANDS-ON LEARNER. HERE, TRY MAKING A TRAP; ALL THE EQUIPMENT I EVER USE IS RIGHT HERE!”

“GO AHEAD…DON’T BE SHY.”

Papyrus stands aside and motions for you to make something with the various pieces of material strewn across the floor. You kneel down and begin slamming bits of leather and twine together, combining things at points where it looks like they would go together without any consideration for what purpose they serve. You present the amalgam of stuff to Papyrus; he looks more confused than disappointed.

“HMM, RIGHT.”

“SO, HOW IS IT TRIGGERED? IS THERE LIKE, A LATCH OR…”

He pokes at the mixed ball of leather and string a few times, before abruptly striking an important point that holds it together. It bursts outwards, sending leather and rope flying around the room. A patch of hide lands in your hair, and a rope wraps around Papyrus’ torso.

“OH! SO…”

“IT’S LIKE A GRENADE? THAT LAUNCHES RANDOM THINGS AT PEOPLE?”

“THAT WAS INTENTIONAL, RIGHT?”

“RIGHT?”

You say nothing, pulling the hide off your head and dropping it on the ground.

“RIGHT.”

Papyrus unravels the rope and puts his hands on his hips, looking at the ground in thought.

“I GUESS I CAN’T PULL YOU AWAY FROM IT, CAN I?”

“YOU JUST WANT TO KEEP FIGHTING THINGS. IT’S WHAT YOU DO.”

“WELL…FINE!!”

Papyrus seems to be in a bit of a huff. He looks up at you, looking you dead in the eyes, hands out stretches and fingers, under the gloves, curling back to challenge you.

“I-I’M AN AMAZING FIGHTER AS WELL. I CAN WORK WITH THIS!”

“COME AT ME! IN SPARRING, OF COURSE!”

“JUST SPARRING!”

“W-WELL, HANG ON-”

Papyrus’ bravado falters as he speaks, betraying more anxiety and fear. Nonetheless, you meet his request without hesitation; you draw your rapier, raise your shield, and rush the skeleton with your arm pulled back, ready for a slashing attack. Dawning comprehension creeps across Papyrus’ face, every moment slowed down to a crawl as you draw closer, poised to strike. Just before you land your hit, Papyrus reacts, sticking out his arms. Two eyeballs, apparently recessed in his eye sockets and hidden away, appear in his head.

“WAIT!!!”

You stop your blade just short of Papyrus’ shoulder. His eyes recede once more, leaving him with the empty sockets. He’s almost hyperventilating, staring at you with a look of utter fear behind the cloth. His entire body is shaking; it looks like his legs might buckle if he tries to move Papyrus simply remains immobile, and you keep your blade stationary, next to his shoulder.

“PLEASE…P-PUT THAT THING DOWN.”

You slowly pull the rapier away and sheathe it. Papyrus gradually relaxes his stance, still breathing heavily.

“I’M SORRY, VARIK, I…”

“I JUST CAN’T DO THIS.”

“YOU SCARE ME TO DEATH. I CAN’T…”

Papyrus turns away shamefully.

“I CAN’T FACE THE HUSKS, OR YOU, OR UNDYNE ANYMORE, CAN I?”

“I’M JUST A DIRTY COWARD.”

“JUST…LEAVE.”

Papyrus says nothing else. You simply turn and walk out the door, then proceed towards the building’s exit. You take another look around the large room covered in weaponry before you leave; your eyes fall on a detail you didn’t notice before. You spot a decoration above the fireplace, a wooden plaque with two different icons carved into it. One looks like a simple carving of a bone, the other appears to be a single angel’s wing. The two icons overlap each other on the plaque; you look at it for a moment before deciding to travel back out into the cold.

Trying to find your way back through the snow to the Snowcroft is a daunting task. The visibility is practically nonexistent, and the wind threatens to topple you from sheer force alone. You clamber through the trees, scarf drawn up over your mouth, trying to navigate while hoping that a husk doesn’t catch you off guard. You find your way through the haze back to the clearing, where Papyrus initiated your first “lessons.” Without physical markers in the form of tree trunks to cling to, your aimless wandering becomes even more so, as you lose all track of where you’re facing, and all of your effort goes into making sure you don’t slip and fall into the snow.

The snow piles around your boots to such a height that each step becomes laborious, and your muscles begin to ache. You pause in the midst of your stride, breathing heavily through the scarf. The world around you has been reduced to a cold, unforgiving void, from which there is seemingly no escape, no matter how far you look or walk. Only the lights from the Snowcroft, still shining down from somewhere high above, lets you know that you haven’t left this world completely and departed for the next.

You awkwardly slide your hand back into your rucksack, pulling the flap open forcefully. You reach inside and grasp for the cell phone; you feel it get shoved into your hand and then feel your hand get shoved out of the rucksack angrily. With freezing fingers, you punch each part of Toriel’s number into the phone deliberately, raising it to your ear as it chimes. You hear her voice come through the other end, accompanied by noise of a more chaotic nature in the background.

“Varik, listen!”

“We need you to come back here! More husks have showed up at the Snowcroft in droves!”

“The Royal Guard is holding them off, and I’m doing what I can, but the sheer number of them…”

“People are going to get hurt! Please come back!”

“Where are you right-”

You feel your scarf suddenly swing at something behind you. A force at the back of your head sends you stumbling to your knees, and the cell phone flies out of your hand. It lands in the snow, slipping beneath the thick surface of white powder. You try to drag yourself to your feet, unable to feel your fingers in the mounds of snow, only to feel another forceful strike that shoves you along further into the clearing. You manage to get a knee up out of the snow as you come to a halt, and stand, still sore from both strikes, to turn and face your attacker. A husk, another headless one like the one you saw in the caves, stands before you, unaffected by the cold. You barely manage to raise your shield in time as it charges you once more, but it does littles to prevent you from being launched back once more. You land hard on your back, shield flying from your hand. You try to prop yourself up on your elbows and free either your claymore or rapier by shimming around as you stand back up.

The headless encroaches closer; the claymore slides loose, and your draw it, your sore muscles barely able to hold the sword at the ready. You’re unable to charge the headless properly in the snow, forcing you to take a defensive stance. In contrast, the headless continues to part the frigid tufts effortlessly. You hear a crunch as it steps on the cell phone. You take a swing at the headless with the claymore; the massive sword leaves a large gash running diagonally across the husk’s chest, and that pink liquid starts to seep out. The headless is undaunted, however, and as you go for a second swing, it grabs the sword by the blade with one hand. More pink ooze drips down the blade as it cuts into the husk’s palm, but you’re unable to severe the headless’ fingers. The blade begins to bend under the husk’s indomitable strength, and suddenly snaps like a twig. A meaty hand swoops down and grabs you by the throat, the shock making you drop the broken claymore and interrupting your breath as you’re raised into the air.

You strain under the headless’ grasp, helpless to free yourself as your own strength proved insufficient to break free. Unable to escape, you start desperately punching and kicking at the husk’s wounded chest, eschewing the option of your rapier in the sheer panic of the moment. The headless is unresponsive, continuing to tighten its grip. Your neck feels like it’s going to collapse, and your head like it’ll roll off your shoulders. You keep shoving your limbs into the headless, even as all measurable force is removed from each successive hit. Your head stirs and your eyes begin to dance with colors and indistinct shapes, and your swings begin to miss as you nearly asphyxiate.

Like a light in the dark, a rushing white blur suddenly uproots the headless’ stance, striking it in the side and knocking it over. You fall over as well, but the husk releases its grip, a wealth of cold, bitter air filling your lungs as your head rush continues. You crawl about on the ground, unable to perceive anything save for the vague sensation of inhalation and exhalation. Awareness returns to you gradually, and you spot a figure, clad in red ninja garb, fighting off the husk single-handedly. Pillars of bone erupt out of the ground, and smaller bones shower down from above, skewering the headless from every direction, pink ooze pouring out onto the snow and melting it down to the grass. The figure jogs over to you and extends a gloved hand.

“GEEZ, DO YOU NEED NEW LUNGS?! I DON’T KNOW HOW THIS WORKS, DO HUMANS REPLACE LUNGS WHEN THEY GET DAMAGED?!”

Papyrus seems genuinely concerned and in the moment, a one-hundred and eighty degree turn from when you last saw back at the building in the woods. You take his hand, and he pulls you to your feet. He reaches down into the snow and pulls something up, handing it to you; it’s your shield. He inspects your expression curiously.

“VARIK, YOUR FACE…”

“ARE…ARE YOU AFRAID? WERE YOU AFRAID?”

He seems genuinely surprised. He raises a hand over his clothed mouth quizzically, only to be interrupted by a stomping noise from the woods. Three more headless emerge, charging towards the two of you in the snow. Both of you freeze up for a second; your senses suddenly return to you, and you hastily draw your rapier, raising your shield, ready to defend and keep the husks at bay. Papyrus adopts a more aggressive stance, clenching both of his hands into fists and facing the husks head-on. The headless mindlessly swarm you; You block a blow from one that goes for you, already prepared for the overwhelming forces that sends you sliding backwards. You remain rooted, shield raised, and read your sword to strike as the headless rushes up to you. Papyrus runs off to the side, leading another headless away; compared to you, Papyrus has no trouble moving through the snow, deftly avoiding the husk’s attacks and peppering it with bones. The remaining headless goes for you as well. You utilize the movement you can muster to stab approaching headless while blocking another blow from the first. You slide back again, the force of the push dragging your rapier through the second headless’ body; your rapier does not snap, despite the extreme force, and leaves a great wound behind.

The snow beneath where you stop is near where the headless that strangled you, unsettled and is easier to walk on. You circle around the two headless as the sound of a massive crunch rings out behind you, followed by a storm of bone spiraling through the air towards the two remaining husks. Papyrus lands next to you and raises a few more bone pillars under the unwounded headless, skewering it and launching it upwards. At the same time, you feel the ground shift beneath your feet, and the texture of the terrain becomes more solid. You are suddenly launched upward on another one a Papyrus’ bone pillars, slowly, then quickly once you’re standing on the surface of the bone. You fly upwards, rocketing off the pillar as it reaches its maximum height, up towards the airborne headless.

As it begins to fall and you continue to fly up, you stab and drag the rapier across its torso vertically, bisecting it. Droplets of pink liquid fly upwards with you; back on the ground, a loud thump signals another attack by the remaining headless. Looking down, you see that Papyrus has been knocked back onto the ground like you once were. You pull your legs into your chest and place your shield beneath them, trying to put all of your weight downwards. You plummet towards the ground, squarely aimed at the headless. You crash into its back with your shield just before it attacks Papyrus again, at the same time piercing its neck with your rapier. The form of the husk goes prostrate beneath you, and you stand up, pulling out your rapier and sheathing it.

You walk over to Papyrus and extend a hand to help him off the ground; he takes it and stands up. Dusting himself off, he seems very excited.

“WOWIE! I NEVER THOUGHT I’D GET TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT! UNDYNE ALWAYS DID STUFF LIKE THAT, BUT I…”

“ARE YOU OKAY? WHAT’S WRONG?”

Papyrus looks at you odd as you stare at him. His mouth cloth has been torn away from the headless’ attack, revealing what’s underneath, or lack thereof. He has no lower jaw; his voice simply leaves his skull without any movement whatsoever. He realizes what you’re looking at.

“OH, MY JAW! DON’T WORRY, IT’S BEEN GONE FOR A VERY LONG TIME.”

“VARIK…I WANT TO APOLOGIZE.”

“FOR BEING SO QUICK TO GIVE UP BACK THERE.”

“I’VE NEVER REALLY FOUGHT LIKE THAT BEFORE. I WANTED TO, TO HELP OTHERS, BUT I WAS ALWAYS SO SCARED.”

“SCARED OF GETTING HURT.”

“…”

“BUT I SAW YOU BEING ATTACKED BY THAT HUSK, AND THAT FEAR JUST WENT AWAY. JUST LIKE THAT!”

“AND THEN YOU LOOKED SCARED AS WELL! AND, I THINK I UNDERSTAND NOW.”

“YOU FIGHT TO COMBAT YOUR FEARS, OF WHAT YOU FIGHT OF GETTING HURT. YOU TAKE THEM AND TURN THEM INTO WHAT DRIVES YOU TO FIGHT, RIGHT?”

“YOU ACT…BRAVELY.”

“I THINK I NEED TO BE BRAVE, TOO.”

“NO MATTER WHAT’S HAPPENED BEFORE, I CAN STILL FACE THOSE FEARS. IT CAN’T HOLD ME DOWN!”

“WHAT THAT LADY SAID, ABOUT OUR FREEDOM; IT’S TRUE, ISN’T IT?”

“I DON’T QUITE KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON, BUT WE’LL NEED SOMEONE LIKE YOU FOR WHATEVER PLAN WE HAVE, I’M SURE.”

“…HUH? THE SNOWCROFT IS IN DANGER?!”

“WELL, LETS KEEP BEING BRAVE! COME ON!”

Papyrus suddenly grabs you by the shoulders, and you find yourself launched diagonally upwards in the direction of the Snowcroft. Papyrus seems unfazed by the irregular method of transportation; you’re just along for the ride. You travel in an arc and land in front of the “GRILLBY’S” building with an earth-shaking thud. Husks blitz through the streets, banging on doors and windows. Papyrus announces his presence with swaggering pride.

“ATTENTION, HUSKS! WE, THE PEOPLE OF THE MONSTER KINGDOM, ARE NOT SCARED OF YOU!”

“WE WILL DRIVE YOU BACK INTO WHATEVER DIRTY HOLE YOU CRAWLED OUT OF!”

Every husk in the Snowcroft rushes for you, Papyrus’ knack for braggadocio never failing to draw attention. The two of you spring into action; you sprint towards a crab husk and storm over its shell, cracking it and crushing it under your foot, before ramming another husk with your shield, and skewering two more with your rapier. You feel yourself feel emboldened as, back-to-back, you and Papyrus eradicate the husks besieging the Snowcroft. Papyrus sends a crowd of husks blocking the entrance into the library; the Royal Guard, apparently stuck inside, move out into the streets, followed shortly by Toriel and a crowd of monsters. The guards and Toriel join in the effort; stone swords and daggers cleave through husks while a flurry of fireballs sends another group of them over the side of the cliff the Snowcroft is built on.

A grander battle ensues across the Snowcroft, with the most capable monsters stepping in to drive the husks back alongside you and the Royal Guards. The bear you spoke with earlier about the political nature of the underground picks an imp-like husk up over his shoulders, and tosses it off the cliff. A bespectacled man made of fire, who you haven’t seen up to this point incinerates some slime husks with his bare flame-stumps. The monster librarian smashes a skeleton husk’s head with a big, heavy book, then burns it with fire from a lamp hung next to the library door; Papyrus looks a bit weirded out by this. Doggo and Greater Dog deal with two crab husks, Doggo splitting the limbs off of one of them with his daggers and Greater Dog simply smashing it with its massive fist. Lesser knocks over an entire crowd of husks with its neck, and Dogamy and Dogaressa fend off a group of hooded, red-eyed husks with their axes, fighting in perfect synchronization.

A series of stronger husks arrive, storming up into the Snowcroft. A giant, floating eye, shooting lasers at the monsters rushes through the air, and a multi armed humanoid with swords in each hand rushes the larges crowd out in the open. You look up at the floating eye; you crouch down, looking over at Papyrus. Without a moment of hesitation, a bone pillar emerges from under you, and sends you flying towards the eye. As you soar upward, the humanoid husk takes multiple swings at Papyrus and Toriel, who both move out of the way just short of being cut. Papyrus conjures a swarm of light-blue colored bones and flings them at the husk. The bones seem to phase through its body; with each movement, it is torn up more and more, stumbling in place. Toriel finishes it off with a massive fireball, thrown overhand, directly into the husk’s face, incinerating its head.

All this happens while you travel upwards towards the eye, the last husk left; it whips look in your direction, firing a laser at you. You’re already prepared; your jerk your shield upwards, meeting the laser directly, and reflect it back at the husk. The laser strikes the eye directly in the cornea stunning it, and with the velocity you have left, you fly underneath it, sticking your rapier upward to slice right through it. pink liquid rains down over you and the monsters down below, and you plummet back towards the ground. Just before you land, you feel your Soul jostle around; your inertia suddenly stops, and you’re left suspended in the air. Turning to look behind you, you see Papyrus, thoroughly soaked in husk blood, holding a finger up, pointing at you. He sets you down gently; the husks have been repelled.

The monsters of the Snowcroft cheer and roar. Toriel, Papyrus, and the Royal Guards all look stunned. You walk up to them; all of them, save Papyrus, have a broad smile on their faces, even after being covered in pink sludge. Toriel walks up to you.

“Very impressive, Varik! Thank you for getting here so quick!”

You look over at Papyrus; Toriel does the same.

“But we certainly have you to thank as well, Papyrus.”

“It was very BRAVE, drawing the husks towards you to get them away from the people.”

Papyrus blushes in response to the compliment.

“AH, SHUCKS, MA’AM. YOU’RE TOO KIND.”

Dogamy reacts to this with incredulity.

“‘Ma’am?’ This is the queen, you boney cretin!”

“IS SHE? I MUST HAVE MISSED THAT PART. I JUST THOUGHT HER VOICE SOUNDED NICE!”

Toriel giggles at Papyrus’ earnest confusion.

“I don’t mind! It’s okay when it comes from Sans’ brother!”

“Where is he anyway?”

“where is who?”

Sans has apparated next to Papyrus without anyone noticing; everyone except for Papyrus reacts to his presence with surprise.

“SANS! I DIDN’T SEE YOU ANYWHERE IN THAT FIGHT, LAZY BONES! WHERE WERE YOU?!”

“you’re fighting again? that’s a surprise.”

“OF COURSE! I’M READY TO PULL MY WEIGHT FOR THE MONSTER KINGDOM!”

“UNLIKE YOU, APPARENTLY!”

“what? i was cheering you guys on from the sidelines, and you won. clearly, i’m the best emotional support you could ask for.”

Toriel snickers.

“Tibia honest, I agree, Sans.”

All the other monsters freeze up, then groan as they realize what the queen just did.

“see papyrus? I knew the queen would be hip with what I do.”

“I TAKE IT BACK, I WANT NO PART OF THIS.”

“Speaking of…”

Toriel turns to address the crowd of monsters once more.

“What about you, my people?”

“Have you made up your mind?”

Someone far back in the crowd immediately yells at Toriel in response to this.

“You’re still talking about going against the prince! No way-”

“Shut up, you.”

The bear monster interrupts the detractors and addresses the crowd of monsters itself.

“Those of you who came from the Wetlands, get back home until you’re ready to act like adults. Or at least more mature than you are now. This is the Snowcroft’s decision, not yours.”

A few monsters reluctantly split form the group and travel towards the bridge lead off to the Wetlands. Once they’ve left, the remaining monsters, Snowcroft citizens, turn to speak to the queen. Toriel awaits their response; the bear speaks for the group.

“We’re not accustomed to big changes like this, but it’s clear that our world isn’t going to keep on going as it did yesterday.”

“We have families, friends, here and across the underground. There’s no justification to letting this go on if we can stop it. We’re behind you, our queen, all the way!”

The rest of the monsters cheer in agreement; the monster kid rushes out from the excited crowd and runs up to speak to you.

“That was SO COOOOOL!”

“The way you flew up, and then BOOM! You got the eye, and they you were falling, but then you stopped and..”

Dogamy places a hand on the monster kid’s head.

“Easy, young puppy. Go back to your den for now.”

The monster kid is exasperated.

“I’m not a puppy!”

Dogaressa scorns Dogamy.

“You don’t need to yell at the poor puppy, Dogamy. Let’s go help it find its pack.”

The two guards walk off, dragging the monster kid with them.

“Wait, hold on, there’s so much cool stuff to talk about!”

Sans picks the conversation back up as the monster kid is dragged away.

“so we’ve got the snowcroft behind us for our little siege on the fortress.”

“THAT’S YOUR PLAN? A SEIGE?”

Toriel confirms Papyrus’ question.

“We need to get back to the Fortress and ASRIEL if we want to stop him. And with all the husks in the way, we’ll need an army to do it.”

“An army of civilians…it’s not ideal.”

“DON’T WORRY, YOUR MAJESTY!”

“WE’RE ALL EAGER TO THROW OURSELVES LIKE LEMMINGS AT WHATEVER THREAT THERE IS! THAT’S WHAT BRAVERY PROVIDES!”

“Thank you, Papyrus…I think.”

Doggo adds in.

“If you’re planning an assault, you’re gonna want Captain Undyne on board. Only she can get the rest of the guard organized for something like that.”

Greater Dog barks in agreement. Toriel places her hand on her head, concerned.

“The captain…I didn’t even think about what’s going on in the Wetlands.”

“We need to go help her out and get the guard ready.”

“Um, Varik, are you going to be okay with that? Since…”

Everyone looks at you; your history with Undyne is clearly in the minds of all present.

“WE SHOULD GET TO UNDYNE SO YOU CAN APOLOGIZE! THEN WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE FORTRESS!”

Toriel nods her head in agreement.

“That actually IS a good idea. You go on ahead and find Captain Undyne, Varik, and get everything straightened out.”

“I’LL HELP YOU FIND HER, VARIK! I NEED TO TALK TO HER MYSELF, TOO.”

“There’s another matter to deal with in the Wetlands that I’ll need you to look into.”

“I’ll call you when I have more information, Varik.”

“…What? A husk crushed the phone?”

“guess you gotta buy me a new one.”

“DON’T BE RUDE, SANS! YOU DIDN’T PAY FOR YOUR PHONE, DOCTOR ALPHYS BUILT IT FOR YOU!”

“I, ON THE OTHER HAND, RECENTLY LOCATED MY OWN PHONE!”

Papyrus produces a sleek looking device with leather lining the borders.

“SO YOU CAN CALL ME, AND I’LL RELAY WHAT YOU SAY TO VARIK!”

“All right, then. Problem solved.”

“Sans, would you happen to have Papyrus’ phone number? You are his brother, after all.”

“making me write stuff down? you’re working me to the bone, tori.”

Both Sans and Toriel laugh at the pun; Papyrus and the remaining Royal Guards look completely done.

“I ELECT THAT WE GET OUT OF HERE AND TO THE WETLANDS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, VARIK! TO GET AWAY FROM THESE JOKERS!"

“AND TO WASH THIS FILTHY, PUNGENT MESS OFF.”

“YOU TWO SHOULD CLEAN UP AS WELL; PINK LOOKS AWFUL ON YOU, SANS.”

“i kinda like it.”

“You are not keeping husk blood stains on that coat of yours, mister!”

“SEE? EVEN THE QUEEN AGREES! IT’S ALL OVER THE FRONT OF YOUR SHIRT!”

“You should listen to him, Sans.”

“YEAH!”

“It’s just a little light-hearted ribbing, after all!”

“WE’RE LEAVING!!!”

Papyrus shoves you across the bridge on your heels, away from Sans and Toriel as they keep chuckling incessantly. You slide along the bridge and through a tunnel, leading upwards. Through this new entrance into the Wetlands, you can hear the sound of rushing water in the distance. You begin climbing the tunnel stairs on your own, Papyrus in tow, ready to face what may be the most treacherous section of the underground socially. You think on the monsters who watched you kill Undyne, and what they’ll have to say to you when they see your face once again, or those who’ve fallen in line behind Prince Asriel. The repugnant smell of the coagulating husk blood in your hair wafts throughout the tunnel, and you drop these thoughts for the moment, trying to brace your nostrils for the long ascent.

Chapter Text

The sound of rushing water echoes from behind the walls of the cave as you ascend higher; the cold temperature of the Snowcroft gradually ebbs away, and a warm humidity settles in around you. You step through the opposite end of the cave leading up to the Wetlands, and the difference is like night and day. You are once more at the base of the grand vertical tunnel, this time able to surpass the detour through the lower caves you were forced to deal with on your first trip. The sound of a thousand voices all yelling over each other fills the massive chamber; looking up, you see that all the bridges running between the walls of the chamber are still filled to the brim with monster, though ramshackle barriers have now been erected to prevent them from falling over the side. Papyrus emerges behind you, surveying the Wetlands and looking up at the uproarious crowds.

“MY! LOOK AT ALL THE PEOPLE!”

“I’VE NEVER SEEN THE WETLAND BRIDGES SO CROWDED BEFORE! ALL THESE PEOPLE OUT IN THE OPEN!”

A moment passes before Papyrus realizes something and reacts with horror.

“O-OH GOODNESS! ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ARE OUT IN THE OPEN!”

“THE HUSKS WILL HAVE A FIELD DAY WITH THEM IF THEY DON’T MOVE OFF THE BRIDGES! WE NEED TO FIND UNDYNE NOW, VARIK!”

“ONLY THE ROYAL GUARD CAN CORRAL THE CIVILIANS BACK TO THE SAFTEY OF THEIR HOMES!”

Papyrus rushes forth alongside the bank of the lake.

“COME ON, VARIK! WE NEED TO FIND UNDYNE NOW!”

“FOLLOW ME!”

Papyrus speeds off into the grassy Wetlands. You start to run, trying to keep up with him, when something catches your eye in the water of the lake. You stop and turn to face the movement under the water’s surface; you peer closer, trying to make sense of the formless shape underneath as it draws closer. From under the water, the shape emerges, a large, light-yellow bulb-shape coming to the surface, to large eyes and a mouth looking at you, accompanied by various tentacles of a similar color. It looks at you, a large, goofy grin spread across its face.

“Hello…I’m Onionsan.”

“Saw that you were here.”

“And I wanted to talk to you!”

The strange water monster follows alongside you as you walk along the bank of the lake.

“Do you like it down here so far?”

“You’re one of the humans, right?”

“I hope it’s been okay for you; everyone’s been acting really weird, today.”

“They all seem…angry.”

“But you look pretty calm…and that armor is really cool!”

You continue walking along the bank, getting close to where it stops. Onion-San keeps talking.

“So, what are the oceans on the surface like?”

“Are they really big?”

“How many kinds of fish live in them?”

“…”

“You don’t know, do you? You don’t look like a sailor.”

“Sorry… I shouldn’t have asked.”

“You look like you have somewhere to be, anyway.”

“I’ll see you later, I guess?”

You reach the end of the bank; Onion-San slowly drops back underwater.

“If you ever want to talk again, I’ll be here!”

“By myself.”

“In this giant lake.”

“…Bye.”

Onion-San drops out of view completely. You keep moving past the lake and into a passage leading further upwards into the Wetlands. Above, you can hear the sounds of mobs chanting loudly and angry back and forth arguments. How many of those words are reserved for you, you cannot be certain.

You catch back up with Papyrus a few levels up; opposition on the way has so far only been a few small, less threatening husks. Papyrus is now overlooking a small gap in the passage, less than a meter, where the water is flowing into a pond. He is staring intently at the water, realizing your presence as you approach. He rises and turns to face you.

“THERE YOU ARE, VARIK!”

“I’D THOUGHT YOU’D LOST TRACK OF ME.”

“I WAS JUST OVERLOOKING THIS DISPROPORTIONATELY SMALL GAP THAT POSES NO IMMEDIATE CHALLENGE TO US!”

“IT IS WELL WITHIN OUR CAPABILITES, BOTH OF US BEING AS TALL AS WE ARE, TO JUMP OR SIMPLY STEP OVER THIS NON-OBSTACLE!”

“INDEED, IT IS NOT DIFFICULT AT ALL.”

“…”

“BUT I DON’T REALLY FEEL LIKE JUST WALKING OVER IT, DO YOU?”

“SOMETHING ABOUT IT…JUST MAKES ME WANT TO STAND HERE. UNABLE TO CROSS THIS SMALL, VERY SURMOUNTABLE GAP!”

“I FEEL LIKE MY BROTHER! GAAH, THIS IS AWFUL!”

“I’M BECOMING LAZY!!”

From behind you, a voice calls out to you and Papyrus.

“All that yellin’s coming from over here!”

You turn around; another mob of monsters, led by an older, mushroom-like monster. Some of them are armed with basic weaponry, tools, or random objects like sticks and bundles of parchment. All of them look quite on edge, shooting you and Papyrus death glares.

“What’re you two doin’?”

You and Papyrus look at each other. For a moment, it looks like Papyrus realizes how potentially dangerous the situation is, before addressing the crowd with his signature jubilance. You think you can see him sweating a bit as he speaks.

“AH! HELLO, FELLOW CITIZENS!”

“WE ARE SIMPLY ADMIRING THE TRULY CHALLENGING TERRAIN OF THE WETLANDS DURING OUR COOPERATIVE WALKING TIME!”

“LOOK AT THIS AMAZINGLY PASSABLE GAP THAT I CAN’T BRING MYSELF TO PASS!”

The lead monster glares at you both.

“Where you crossin’ to, hmm?”

“JUST…TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WETLANDS. I NEED TO GO VISIT MY FRIEND, MAKE SURE SHE’S OKAY-”

“Who’s your friend? I think I’ve seen you runnin’ ‘round here before…”

“UHH…”

The monster steps up to you and nudges both of you with its wide, limbless body.

“Oh! That’s right. Yer that goof in a samurai costume who’s always hanging around Captain Undyne!”

“Is that who yer going to meet, ya seditious bastard?”

“SEDITIOUS?”

“Don’t get all coy with me, youngster! You know what I mean.”

“You and yer fishy friend have been trying to overthrow the prince, and just when this youngster was about to put ‘er down and get everything back in order…”

“…That damned Hunter showed up and set everything back to zero!”

“Now all the good people of the underground are split between trusting our own prince and this guff about him trying to kill us! And you’re dragging this poor human along into it!”

“I bet he’s got you following him by force, doesn’t he, son? You don’t have to say it; we’re here to get you away from him.”

Papyrus holds his hands up defensively.

“I’VE ONLY HEARD BITS AND PIECES MYSELF, FRIEND, BUT FROM WHAT I’VE GATHERED, THE PRINCE DOES NOT HAVE YOUR BEST INTERESTS IN MIND.”

“WE’RE NOT TRYING TO OVERTHROW ANYTHING! WE JUST WANT YOU TO BE SAFE.”

“Don’t lie to me and expect to get away with it, bone-brain!”

“The prince has been taking care of us for generations! I don’t even know your name!”

“And besides, how can I trust someone who can’t even give me a warm smile?!”

“Everything about that jawless mug of yers screams ‘traitor!’”

The crowd jeers you both, chanting in opposition.

“PLENTY OF OTHER MONSTERS DON’T HAVE JAWS…”

“But YOU should! Whatcha hidin’?!”

“The prince has all he needs to get us outta here now!”

“But you’re keeping the human to yourself, to aid with your treachery!”

“We trust OUR prince! OUR prophecy!”

“We trust the DELTA RUNE!”

The entire crowd repeats the mushroom monster’s previous sentence; the many voices shouting the phrase at once sounds like a war cry. Papyrus backs up to the edge of the gap, and you do the same. The mob encroaches, angrily decrying Papyrus, Undyne, and the Royal Guard. One monster, the blue clam girl you ran into earlier on your first go through the Wetlands, steps out from the mob and reaches out towards you angrily with her stumpy, handless arm.

“Enough fooling around; get back over here!”

Before she touches you, you snap your hand upward and grab her by the arm. You then tighten your grip as hard as you can; she yelps in pain, and you toss her arm away. She grabs at it, glaring at you with a look like that of a wounded animal. The rest of the crowd responds extremely negatively; the mushroom monster yells at you.

“How far have the traitors dragged you down, boy?!”

Papyrus yanks you back.

“YOU DON’T NEED TO HURT THEM, VARIK!”

“Oh, I see! You PLANNED this! Make him hurt us! Ooh, we’ll get you!”

“THAT’S NOT-”

“GET ‘EM BOTH!!!”

The monsters bum rush you; many hands and hand adjacent limbs grab at you, trying to drag you along by your legs, arms, chest and face. Papyrus is under similar assault; the two of you struggle to break free of the swarm of fervent monster. You punch out at the air, only to have your arms grabbed and forced back down. You sink further and further into the mass of angry monsters, unable to move as you and Papyrus are dragged away helplessly. You prepare to have to cut through the mob; there’s no other way out.

Before you place your hand on your sword, you feel something grab at your head, taking your hair and scalp in its grip, before pulling upward. You think at first, that it is another monster trying to drag you down, but you realize that it is not; you are instead being dragged upward, into the air above the mob. Everyone stops clambering over each other and Papyrus and looks up at you. You tilt your eyes back as far as they will go. On the edges of your vision, you see the blur of flapping winds on either side of you. Below, the monsters begin grabbing at you again as you’re hoisted upward, tugging at your legs and boots. Whatever is lifting you up, however, maintains its hold on you, and you are tugged completely free, pulled out of reach of the mob. You watch the mob below as you’re slowly carried across the disproportionately small gap, bobbing up and down a little bit as the thing carrying you puts in more and more effort to keep you airborne.

You make it to the other side of the gap, and then you begin to slowly descend. Your feet touch the ground, and the thing that freed you from the mob and carried you a meter away releases its grip on you. You turn to face what saved you as it hops onto the ground; it’s a tiny, yellow bird, looking vigilant and proud as it stands before the gap. You look up at the mob; They seem uncertain on what to do next. Some look at the gap, but none attempt to cross. Papyrus, still in the now loose grip of the mob, suddenly breaks free and jumps into the water between the gaps.

“GET MOVING, VARIK! I’LL CATCH UP WITH YOU!”

“TAKE ME AWAY, RIVER!”

Papyrus floats away with the river, down and out of sight into the Wetlands. You turn and begin running down the new path leading away from the gap.

“HEY!”

You heard the mushroom monster yell at you from behind, followed by the clambering of many footsteps, which is then followed by a series of grunts and splashing noises. You keep moving, pushing further into the Wetlands with the mob far behind you.

Navigating the Wetlands with groups angry monsters swarming everywhere, and the occasional horde of husks dispersing them, you try to find your way back in the direction of Undyne’s home. Uncertain if the captain of the Royal Guard will even be there, you press on, following what little has been laid of this step of Toriel and Sans’ plan. You come across more and more monsters, some clambering after you, trying to hold you back or even stop you by force, while others cheer you one, urging you to find the captain, though the former group far exceeds the later in this region of the underground.

During one such encounter, you walk into the middle of a confrontation between Asriel’s believers and deniers on a ledge, overlooking the Core and the Fortress far in the distance. The dark void above you in this new area has been replaced with thousands of tiny rocks, twinkling like stars in the sky, though the lack of moons makes it a little unsettling. You’ve emerged on a part of the ledge that allows you to survey both groups without being spotted right away. The group of monsters on either side is quite diverse. You watch as they go back and forth, protesting and counter-protesting the other side in a cacophony of angry voices. A monster on the Anti-Asriel side, one that looks like another fish, colored orange, picks up a rock from the ground and tosses it at a blue-mushroom monster on the other side, who’s being carried in a pile of dirt by a small monster that appears to be made of gelatin. The rock bounces off of the mushroom’s cap, causing spores to fly everywhere, making the Pro-Asriel group cough. Angered, another gelatin monster, this one significantly taller and with a mass on top that moves like an eye, charges towards the offending fish monster and attempts to envelop it with its slimy body.

Before the tall gelatin monster is able to do so, however, someone on the Anti-Asriel side jumps out from the crowd and blocks the attack with the blunt end of a sword. You recognize the figure; it’s one of the Royal Guards you trounced before your encounter with Mettaton in the Hot Zone, 02, the one with the scaled ears. He’s gotten a new set of armor following your encounter with him. He shoves the tall gelatin monster back with his sword, then raises it to the Pro-Asriel crowd to keep them at bay. His partner guard, 01, is nowhere in sight; he stands alone, taking the brunt of the verbal abuse from the Pro-Asriel crowd as various monsters decry him.

“Traitor!”

“Go back to the Hot Zone! You don’t deserve the surface!”

“Someone get a sword and take this guy down!”

Ever stalwart, 02 doesn’t respond to them. The orange fish monster who threw the rock attempts to do so yet again, but 02 swats the rock out of the air with the back of his armored hand as it flies past. The Anti-Asriel group responds with similar scorn.

“Whose side are you on?!”

“Get these selfish jerks outta here already!”

“Why aren’t you doing anything?!”

Again, 02 doesn’t respond, only standing at the ready to defuse further violence from either side. His stance doesn’t waver once. You opt not to help him, using the distraction he’s provided to sneak along the ledge without being noticed; attention from either group doesn’t seem ideal, as even those against Asriel may prove to be too fervent. You sneak along the edge of the ledge, keeping an eye on the group as you attempt to circle around quietly. As your about halfway to the other side, you see 02, head slightly shift in your direction. It’s clear he’s noticed you, and trying to not make it obvious to either side of the mob. You freeze, waiting to see what he does with the knowledge of your presence. After a moment, you see him tilt his head back towards the Anti-Asriel crowd. You can’t tell if he’s asking which side you’re on or motioning you to keep going. You turn your shield towards the Pro-Asriel crowd and continue sneaking around; 02 turns his head back to the mob and keeps holding both sides back from hurting each other. You reach the other side of the ledge and saunter off behind the Anti-Asriel crowd, heading further into the Wetlands.

You travel off the path you’ve wandered onto past the ledge and into an area that looks a little bit more familiar. As you press on, the winding caves that go throughout the Wetlands begin to inspire feelings of déjà vu. You find a path that looks exceptionally familiar, and scanning the grass, you spot an indicator that you’ve been here before: a boot print, one from your own boots, pressed into a mussy part of the marsh grass on the floor of the cave. You follow the direction the print leads off into, arriving in a grassy area. You recognize it instantly: the small residential area containing Undyne’s home. You walk up onto Undyne’s property, inspecting her fish-like home the same way you did on your first visit. She doesn’t seem to be present within the building; exploring the premises, you don’t find her behind the house either, and you manage to refrain from taking more of her belongings as you exit the backyard this time.

Without another destination in mind, you sit down in front of Undyne’s mailbox. Keeping an ear out to be aware of anything or anyone trying to sneak up on you, you pull the mythology book out of your rucksack. As you do, one of the spiders runs out and inspects the area around you. They seem excited, tugging on your leg and trying to get you on the move once again. You ignore them and open the book, flipping through different myths to pass the time. The spider grows frustrated with you, climbing up on your shoulder and tugging on your ear. You ignore it and continue reading; you flip a page, and your eyes land on a new myth.

“Nike, the goddess of victory, had no place on the Earth without conflict to overcome. With her long-in-place duties slipping from her grasp, she threatened to fade away completely. The presence of the war god, Ares, galvanized her, for his relentless thirst for conflict brought her back into the realm of man over and over again. Through the times of war brought on by her vendetta with the war god, Nike returned to her element in the presence of Ares, and set her sights on surpassing what she was before.”

You don’t recall reading about this myth in any book you’ve read; indeed, you’ve found few stories about the goddess Nike. You’re not quite sure how much time passes as you go through the book, and the spider gives up in its pursuit to get you to move on. You’re turning the page to a myth about Hermes, when you hear a metallic clank somewhere in front of you. You close the book and look up; Undyne stands before you, dressed in her armor, arms crossed. She has no helmet, but her red hair is once again in a ponytail, and she still has the eyepatch. She looks down at you, incensed.

“What is this, Varik?”

“Camping outside my house like a total weirdo?”

“Reading…what looks like a pretty cool book, admittedly.”

“But that’s not the point.”

Her tone is calm, but the way she speaks betrays a deep bitterness. The spider rushes from your shoulder back into the rucksack; you set the mythology book down and stand up to meet her stare on an equal level.

“Are you waiting out here to try and KILL me once again?” Or…”

She scans the area around her. Even now, she’s on high alert.

“Is that prince here?! Is this some kind of ambush?!”

As she gradually realizes Asriel is nowhere nearby, she looks back at you, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

“Are you just here to gloat? Why haven’t you and ASRIEL killed us all yet?”

“Is there some part of you that wants to give me the chance at a rematch before you go an end everything? Because if that’s the case…”

Undyne tears off her eyepatch and throws it to the ground. She produces one of her spears; her empty eye socket begins to twinkle with pointed bits of the same kind of magic her spear is made of. She begins to shimmer, almost phasing out the same way you saw her do shortly before she melted.

“N-NGAH!”

“Agh…”

Undyne falls to one knee. The visual phenomenon encompassing her body calms down, and her visage returns to normal. Her spear disappears, and she stands back up, putting the eyepatch back on. She sounds utterly despondent, and she looks at you with a sincere look of hurt.

“Look at what you’ve done to me.”

“That damned amplifier’s left tiny amounts of free-flowing DETERMINATION coursing through my body.”

“Now I can’t get too riled up, or even use magic without risking melting again.”

“I can’t FIGHT.”

“You’ve taken the one thing I had, the one thing I perfected, away from me.”

“And now I’m helpless to protect anyone.”

“So, I hope you’re happy, NEUTERING who I am like that.”

“…”

“…”

“Well?”

“Say SOMETHING, Varik!”

“You come into my land, hurt my people, DESTROY what makes me who I am…”

“And now you walk back here to, what, boast?”

“…Wait.”

“You’re not here to ask FORGIVENESS, are you?”

“Oh-ho-ho!” Fu-hu-hu-ha-HA!”

Undyne breaks down laughing, though clearly still very angry. On a dime, she snaps back into a serious tone.

“Hell no.”

She gets up in your face, pushing into your chest with a gloved finger. Despite her apparent inability to fight you, her resolve is still on full display.

“If denying you that is the best way to get back at you, GOOD.”

“I REFUSE to believe you’re not working with that insipid prince! And I don’t care what ANYONE says!”

“…I’ve seen those goggles before. They’re Papyrus’.”

“Did you steal them, too?!”

Undyne starts to shimmer again.

“YOU SOCIOPATHIC FREAK-”

“CAPTAIN UNDYNE!”

Undyne’s face goes blank and the flickering stops as you hear Papyrus’ voice call out to her from down the passage in front of her house. Papyrus comes running forth from the passage, clothes still damp and slightly torn up. He runs up to Undyne and gives her a salute.

“PRESENT AND READY FOR DUTY, CAPTAIN!”

“AH, VARIK! YOU MADE IT AS WELL! SPLENDID!”

Undyne looks over Papyrus, and jolts as she notices his missing jaw is uncovered.

“P-PAPYRUS! Your face covering’s gone!”

“Here, let me just go inside and get you another-”

“OH, THERE’S NO NEED, UNDYNE!”

“I DON’T FEEL ASHAMED OF IT ANYMORE!”

“W-what?”

“VARIK SHOWED ME THE MERITS OF BRAVERY. I DON’T NEED TO BE SCARED OF PEOPLE SEEING MY WEIRD HEAD!”

“WHAT.”

Undyne looks severely bothered by something. She has her shoulders tensed up, eye twitching, and mouth curled back in an amazingly contorted forced smile. She looks back over her shoulder at you with a dagger-shooting glare, then slowly turns back to Papyrus.

“P-Papyrus, I reeeeeeally think you should put the cloth back ON.”

“Let me go GET you one.”

Papyrus looks at her quizzically.

“ARE YOU OKAY, UNDYNE? HAS VARIK APOLOGIZED TO YOU YET SO WE CAN ALL BE FRIENDS?”

Undyne looks like she’s about to have a conniption. You can see her trying to suppress some stronger emotions as she begins to flicker in and out. She claws her hands and raises them up to her head in exasperation.

“J-JUST LET ME GO GET THE-”

“ARE YOU STILL UPSET ABOUT DESTROYING MY JAW?”

“BECAUSE YOU DON’T NEED TO BE! LIKE YOU SAID, IT ONLY MADE ME STRO-”

“GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

Undyne mashes her hands into Papyrus’ face, trying to stop him from talking. She shimmers heavily, falling to the ground in front of Papyrus.

“U-UNDYNE?!”

Undyne takes some deep breathes in; she begins to phase back in once more.

“ARE YOU OKAY?”

Undyne stands back up. She looks between you and Papyrus, trying to hide how livid she is. Without another word, she storms off, running away from the house, and both of you.

“UNDYNE, WAIT!”

You watch as she disappears into the Wetlands. Papyrus looks back at you.

“THAT’S STRANGE. I’VE NEVER SEEN HER ACT LIKE THAT BEFORE.”

“COME NOW, VARIK! YOU CAN’T APOLOGIZE IF SHE’S NOT HERE! LET’S GO AFTER HER!”

Papyrus charges off after Undyne; you follow, leaving the mythology book back on the ground in front of Undyne’s house.

The Wetlands become more perilous as you press onward. You once more lose track of Papyrus, and Undyne is nowhere to be found. The husks have predictably grown even stronger and more numerous; In lieu of the crab husks, you are now finding more and more lobster-like husks, with harder shells and claws that cleave the stone of the passage walls like paper. You come across one, blocking your way through to the Wetlands; it rushes up towards you with startling speed, and makes a wide swipe at you. You raise your shield to block the blow, but the pincer catches the shield and yanks it out of your grasp, forcing you to let go lest you lose your arm. The lobster husk crushes the shield effortlessly, letting the pieces fall to the ground. You try to make use of the loss of your shield by jabbing your rapier into the soft flesh between the joints of the pincer and the lobster’s body. It plunges deep, spilling husk blood onto the floor of the passage, but does not sever it. You’re forced to let go of the rapier and jump back as the other pincer comes in to bisect you. Narrowly getting out of the way in time, you’re left with no weapon in your grasp; the lobster charges you, going in for the kill.

Thinking fast, you take a hold of Mettaton’s whip and unfurl it, lashing it out toward the injured joint. The whip wraps around the joint with a loud crack; you can even see a little bit of damage spreading onto the shell itself. Kneeling down in the path of the lobster, you yank the whip back as hard as you can, trying to twist it to pull along the cut you made with your rapier. Like a bloody javelin, the pincer comes flying off, spiraling through the air and painting the walls with husk blood. Your rapier is flung free from the grotesque stump and flies towards you; you step out of the way of the blade and catch it in your off hand. The lobster, now missing a pincer, begins to retreat back up the passage, but you charge at it, the stump now exposing a fleshy weak point. You plunge the rapier into the stump up to the hilt with your left hand. Through the blade, you can feel it perforate rotten organs and sinew inside the body of the lobster. The abomination convulses and dies, going limp on the spot, it’s remaining pincer falling to the floor mere inches before it takes a hold of your neck. You withdraw your rapier and sheathe it; you’re caked with more husk blood and, once more, lacking a shield.

You inspect your body. The dry, coagulated viscera sticks on your clothes and your hair, along with the fresh bits from the lobster. The smell is abhorrent; you need to wash it off before you go any further. You walk around, going further into the Wetlands when you spot something familiar. You’ve pushed far enough into the Wetlands to reach the section of houses where the ghost who let you hide inside lives. You walk up to the house and knock on the front door once more. Shortly thereafter, the ghost answers it.

“oh, hey…it’s you again...”

“sorry, I don’t have any new music…can’t work like that all the time…”

“oh no…are you a fan now…?”

“I don’t want to disappoint you…”

“…”

“…you look a little dirty…”

“here, follow me…”

The ghost floats through you and travels to the right side of the house. You follow, walking past the other house of similar design. All the lights inside are off, and the doorknob is very dusty, indicating that it hasn’t been used in quite some time. Continuing to follow the ghost, you reach a little fenced off area containing a bunch of snails. Some of them have little hats on, others are not so fortunate.

“just step in and we’ll take care of that for you…”

You walk into the snail enclosure. As soon as you do, the snail begin rapidly inching their way towards you. They climb up your legs, going slowly around your entire body. As thy inch across you, you can feel them eating the viscera and blood clean off you, without taking any hairs or punching holes in your clothing. You stand still and let the snails do their thing. By the time they’re done, your body and equipment are speckless, free of any viscera, though you feel a little bit slimier now. You step out of the enclosure and turn to face the ghost.

“since you gave our snails a free meal, I guess I should do the same for you…”

The ghost leads you back to the house. Once inside, he floats over to a smooth box with the appearance of glazed marble, and pulls out what appears to be a sandwich, with two slices of bread with some greens and a sliced tomato on it. The sandwich floats in front of the ghost, and he offers it to you. You try to take a hold of it, but as soon as it enters your grasp, it phases through your hand. You and the ghost watch it gently float down to the floor, then through the floor, and away from you.

“yeah…it’s a ghost sandwich…”

“can’t do much else…sorry…”

The ghost floats over to the center of the one room house.

“after a good meal, I like to lie down and feel like garbage…”

“it’s a family tradition…though I’m the last one here to do it...”

“if you want, you can join me...”

You watch as the ghost “lies down,” floating horizontally just above the ground. Taking off the rucksack, back scabbard, and sheathed rapier, you also lie down, setting all of your equipment aside. The floor, at first, feels uncomfortable made of scratchy, unvarnished wood that itches the back of your neck. Gradually, however, you put your focus on that aside, and let yourself zone out and relax. As you stare upward at the ceiling, you can feel the world around you begin to fall away. Your hands no longer touch the ground, and your head and neck feel like they’re floating. Soon, you find yourself adrift in the sea of your own mind, only the presence of the ghost being acknowledged by your peripheral senses.

It feels as if you are awash in a vast ocean, much like the one you traveled across to get here. You think back on how you arrived in this land in the first place, before you fell into the Monster Kingdom. Years of adventure and conflict across Eresia and Afroca, most of them with Dela targeting you every step of the way. You don’t know how far away your homeland is across that roiling blue sea, what events and wars you’ve missed in your time away. When you landed on the shores of this new, unexplored land, you were uncertain as to what you were searching for. Treasure was a given, but there were no bounties on this side of the planet. Dela followed you into the unknown for the express purpose of killing you; she was the only actually bounty hunter here. You wonder which bounty from which kingdom she planned to turn your head into if she ever returned with proof of your demise. You’ve thought about this often, never at pleasant times. Here, however, the thought does not concern you. Even the imminent threat of Asriel and the husks seems so far away, as you lose the clarity of your thoughts more and more. The joy of bliss, relaxation like what you haven’t known in years, settles over you, and your mind goes comfortably blank. The only sensation left to you besides how you float in this cognitive void is a vague self-deprecation, which you welcome without much resistance. Even as it pierces through some of the calmness you’ve managed to accrue by laying here, you cling onto it regardless, like a tether that reminds you to enjoy this, while being ready to return to what you face outside.

Eventually, the world around you settles back in; once more, you’re on the irritating wood floor, with a dry mouth and moderate neck pain. You sit up, and the ghost does the same.

“that was a good one…Thanks.”

You not and stand up, gathering your equipment and sliding it all back on.

“i know you’re probably just going to get dirty again, but if you need to come back, go ahead…”

“you’re actually saving me a lot of gold on snail feed, which is nice...”

“take care...”

You wave to the ghost and step through the door. As you close it behind you and turn around, you find yourself face to face with another mob of monsters, headed by the elder mushroom one you and Papyrus encountered earlier. They do not seem happy to see you. Floating above them is a mannequin, with angry eyes staring you down. You realize it’s the same one you fought in the garbage dump earlier; they seem pretty smug.

“Well, looks who’s hanging around these parts!”

“Bet you thought you saw the last of me, didn’t you, JERK?”

“Well, I’m BACK! I’ve got a new body AND I’ve met some people with some very upsetting things to say about you!”

“No missile-proof jacket this time, LOSER!”

The elder mushroom monster steps forward and addresses you, shaking their cap disappointedly.

“It’s truly a shame, son.”

“But it looks like your too far gone, fallen in with the traitors.”

“Guess that means we’ll have to TAKE you to the prince so HE can figure out what to do with ya!”

The mob encroaches on you. You back up to the house’s door; before the mob grabs you, the mad dummy floats down in front of them, blocking them.

“Hold on a second!”

“I brought you all here so you could help me beat up the human, not drag him off to the prince!”

The elder mushroom shrugs.

“Sorry, dummy man. We know what we came here for.”

“Now help out or step aside!”

The mad dummy starts bending back and forth angrily as it rants and raves.

“NO! YOU’RE gonna help me beat them up!”

“Who cares what the stupid prince is doing?! It doesn’t matter-”

The mushroom monster barks angrily.

“EXCUSE ME???”

The dummy stops fidgeting.

“Huh?”

The crowd suddenly rushes the mad dummy, grabbing at its linen body and trying to pull it apart. Accusations of treason and even blasphemy fill the air.

“AH! NO! GET YOR STINKIN’ HANDS OFF MY BODY! WHAT IF I CAN’T FIND ANOTHER ONE!?!”

As this is going on, the ghost from before opens the door to his house and floats outside. He looks over the crowd next to you.

“where did all these people come from…?”

The mad dummy calls out in desperation.

“NAPSTABLOOK! Thank god!”

“Please, get these crazy weirdos off me!”

Naptstablook floats over to the crowd and phases through a few of them, before popping up in from of the elder mushroom monster.

“boo.”

The crowd uniformly reacts with fear, backing up from Napstablook and unhanding the dummy. The dummy flies up and away, disappearing into the Wetlands. Napstablook turns to you.

“these guys don’t seem very nice…”

“go stand on the upper-right most patch of the snail farm...”

“it might be helpful…but maybe not...”

As you watch the crowd gather their courage and stand up to face you and Napstablook once again, you charge off in the direction of the snail farm. Vaulting the fence and landing in the enclosure, you take careful steps not to crush any of the snail as you set up to the area Nasptablook directed you to. Standing on the grass in the upper-right most part of the farm, for a second, it seems like nothing will happen. Just as you get the mind to step off and try another patch, however, the grass beneath you gives way, dropping you into a hole leading down to somewhere unknown. Everything goes dark and you lose all sense of orientation and direction as you plummet. Just as quickly as it started, it ends, and you land somewhere new in the Wetlands.

The grass around you is tall and unkept. The walls are covered with scribbles and decorations that looks like they were done with paint or some kind of pastel. You recognize the monsters in the artwork; they all appear to be drawings of Temmie, the cat-dog monster you found in the Wetlands before. You then realize that the entire area around you is filled with Temmies, though these ones have black hair and pure blue shirts. All the Temmies turn to look at you, and gasp at your presence. They all rush you and begin petting you, awkwardly slapping their paws into your face, back, hair, and shoulders, all the while rambling to themselves. The air is filled with many Temmie voices.

“OhH! HUman is SooOOOSOSOSO CUUUUUUUTE!!!”

“HAir sOO SOFT aNd Curleee!”

“TeM lOveS to Pet HoOmANs!”

All the Temmies say the same thing in unison.

“BuT TeMMiE is ALLERGIC!”

All the Temmies abruptly break out in hives.

“AnD So ARE HUMAn!”

You feel a little bit itchy. You stand up amidst the pile of Temmies and walk around the little area, which looks like a village. The Temmies frolic around, often bumping into things; some of the ones who first went to pet you continue to follow you around even as more hives appear on their faces. You move towards an illuminated indentation in the wall, looking to see what’s inside, when someone distinctly non-Temmie steps outside. It’s Undyne, still in her armor, looking around the village while scratching her head sheepishly.

“Of all the places…but making one for HIM?”

“There’s no way this is-”

Undyne looks up and recoils as she spots you. She backs up along the wall, keeping here eye on you.

“How did you even-!”

Another person steps out from within the indentation in the wall. It’s Toriel, hood pulled up over her head. She turns and looks at you, surprised by your presence, but calm. Undyne warns her of you, despite you being in full view.

“My queen, get back!”

Toriel smiles at you.

“Hello, Varik!”

“I guess I should have known that you would have found your way here eventually.”

Undyne looks dejected.

“Are you serious? So that wasn’t a ruse?”

“You’re SERIOUSLY trusting HIM?!”

Toriel turns and speaks to Undyne.

“Things are not in the best state right now, captain, and Varik has shown himself to be both willing and able to help.”

“We cannot turn down his assistance against the odds we face.”

“I understand your discomfort, but…”

Undyne scoffs.

“Yeah! ‘Discomfort!’ That’s one way of putting it!”

Toriel shakes her head.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, Captain Undyne, but it’s imperative that we help Varik.”

“Only HIS SOUL is strong enough to wield any weapon we might be able to bring against ASRIEL and the PLANET BUSTER.”

“That’s why we’re here, in the Temmie village.”

Undyne sticks a thumb into her chest, indicating herself as she speaks.

“A day ago, I would have been able to do the same, my queen!”

“I was the best warrior in all the underground! Then this TOOL went and-”

Toriel uses a much firmer tone as she interrupts Undyne.

“Regardless of whether you could have wielded such a weapon, be honest, Undyne; does Varik really hold ALL the blame?”

“What of that… “amplifier” you told me of? Surely, you must hold the person who built it equally accountable for bringing you to this state?”

Undyne looks stunned. She stutters as she tries to come up with a response

“D-don’t talk about Alphys like that!”

Toriel stares at her, unwavering.

“Mind your tone.”

Undyne relaxes her shoulders and lowers her voice.

“Sorry…”

“But I refuse to hear Alphys’ name dragged through the mud like that. It was…”

Toriel interrupts again.

“A mistake, I’m sure.”

“Move on from it or talk to her directly. We can’t have our captain acting like this in our most desperate hour.”

Undyne fails to come up with a response. Toriel then turns and speaks to you.

“And Varik, don’t shy away from you part in this.”

“Apologize, if you haven’t already.”

She then turns back to the indentation in the wall and walks part way back inside.

“But first…”

“Come, both of you.”

Toriel walks inside completely; Undyne shortly follows. You step in after her, finding yourself in a room that looks like a smithy. Exotics blades and armor line the walls, scorched anvils and hot forges fill each corner. Various tools are scattered about on the floor; this area is the haven of a true blacksmith. From further within the smithy, you hear clambering and the sound of many objects being knocked over. Something runs out from the back of the smithy to greet you; it’s the grey-haired Temmie you met earlier in the Wetlands, now dressed in overalls with a rag tied on her head.

“hOI! Da HUMan is HErE!!!”

“TEm…legINdry blAcksmtih!”

Look over at Undyne, she looks just as confused as you are.

“So what you told me before, my queen…”

“You were serious?”

Toriel nods her head affirmingly.

“Quite.”

“The Temmies were a clan of blacksmiths back during our rule on the surface. Their weapons and armor were crucial to keeping monster soldiers alive during the war.”

“And while I wish there was no need for such weapons in the first place…”

“Nonetheless, it is good that there are still some Temmies carrying on the tradition.”

Undyne squints at Toriel.

“But you said you needed them to forge a weapon to rival that big sword the prince always carried on his back. The “PLANET BUSTER?”

“Can they even do something like that?”

Toriel looks down at the blacksmith Temmie.

“That’s what we’re here to find out.”

“Temmie?”

“yeS, pretty QUEEn?”

“What is the strongest blade that you would be able to forge on a moment’s notice?”

“OoOh…tem doesN’T KNOW!!!”

“TEm need schEMAtic!”

Undyne addresses the Temmie.

“Schematic?”

“COOL desIgn tO make sowrd frOM! AlL TeMMie sCHEMAtic nOt so gud AnyMore…”

Toriel looks confused.

“But how can that be?”

“All the Temmie designs I saw before the war were superb. Each one a masterpiece of the craft!”

“DeSIGNEr Tems MOvE On. No WAR, no NeW wepons!”

“haven’T been TaughT IN A lot of YeARs!”

“NoW tem just Make BOOORIGN, saD things, like hammr, and pRYbar…”

“Oh, dear.”

Undyne scoffs. She seems both dejected and relieved.

“So that’s kaput, then?”

“No super sword for the human.”

“Kinda sucks; I’d love to use a weapon like what Gerson used during the war!”

“…Not that I’d be able to NOW.”

Undyne looks you in the eye as she says this. Toriel glares at her disapprovingly.

“Captain...”

Undyne turns on her heel.

“Hmph.”

“sO no SchemATIC?”

Temmie seems really disappointed, like she was especially excited to make something new and powerful. You reach into your rucksack and feel a spider pass the folded-up schematic for the Planet Buster/Chaos Saber to you; once more, they prove to be dutiful employs. You unfold the schematic and show the Planet Buster side to Temmie. Her eyes light up; Toriel and Undyne both look stunned. Undyne facepalms.

“Are you KIDDING me?!”

Toriel smiles and takes the schematic from you; she looks at the “Chaos Saber” side.

“I remember this!”

“He always had such an active…”

“Imagi…na…tion…”

Toriel quiets down and puts on a sourer expression; it looks like she’s trying to suppress the nostalgia. Undyne looks at her strangely. Toriel shakes her head and looks at the other side of the schematic. She looks over it, then presents it to Temmie.

“Can you work with this, Temmie?”

Temmies takes the schematic and looks at both sides excitedly. She hugs the schematic and nods vigorously; it looks like her face might vibrate off her body.

“yus yus YUUS!!!” DIS is GUD SCHEMATIc!!!”

“SooooO x-citING!”

“TeM WiLL MaKe da BESt SowRd!!!”

“for da PRETTy Queen!”

Temmie runs up to her forge and pins the schematic to the wall next to it with a nail. She begins rushing around and preparing to create a weapon from the schematic. Toriel nods.

“I don’t know how she’ll handle the DETERMINATION component, but we’ll leave that to her.”

“Even if their designs are out of practice, the Temmies’ forging abilities are unrivaled.”

Undyne has an odd look on her face; you can’t tell if it’s envy, disdain, or both.

“Hmph.”

“Where did you even get that? Did you steal it from ASRIEL?”

Toriel shakes her head.

“I’ve seen that sketch before.”

“Varik must have taken it from my home.”

Undyne looks completely dumbfounded.

“You STOLE a WEAPON SCHEMATIC from the home of the QUEEN?!”

“My armor, my weapons, and THIS…you weird, weird kleptomaniac!”

Toriel raises her eyebrows.

“He took your ARMOR?”

Undyne keeps yelling.

“He STOLE it, then wore it in the fight where he KILLED me!”

Toriel stays silent for a moment, then lets out a snicker. She covers up her mouth, trying to stop herself from laughing; Undyne is absolutely stupefied.

“You’re LAUGHING???”

Toriel tries to speak through the giggles.

“I-I’m sorry! I’m not laughing at you getting hurt, it’s just…”

“The image of Varik fighting in women’s armor…hee hee!”

Toriel turns to you, laughing.

“Did you really-?!”

“Oh my goodness, Varik! You’re... ha HA!!!”

Toriel is laughing very hard. Undyne is completely bewildered.

“Did anyone take a picture? Was Sans or Papyrus there?”

Undyne puts her hands on her hips and thinks.

“...No…”

“Where is Papyrus? He was running along with YOU, last time I saw him.”

“Where is he?”

“…You don’t KNOW?”

Toriel stop giggling and tries to compose herself as she speaks.

“A-are you worried about him?”

Undyne gnaws on her finger, anxiously.

“No, he’s…he’s tough!”

“But…hmph!”

Undyne whips out a cell phone, and dials in a number. Putting up to her ear, she taps her foot impatiently as she waits for an answer.

“…He always picks up within the first two rings.”

She narrows her eyes and looks at you.

“Where IS he, Varik?!”

Before you can answer, the phone call is picked up. A female voice comes through the other end.

“Ah-hu-hu…”

“Whose voice is this, dancing in my web?”

Undyne pulls the cellphone down from her ear, looking at it, confused. Toriel does the same. Undyne yells into the cell phone.

“Who is this? Where’s Papyrus?!”

A cackle comes through the receiver.

“Your boney friend walked on too many webs…”

“So rude. It’s the duty of a good host to ensure good manners are upheld on both sides.”

“And that means…”

“Expunging the inconsiderate!”

In the background of the sound coming from the phone, you can hear Papyrus.

“AHH…OUT OF THE EYE SOCKETS!”

“DO NOT CRAWL INTO THE EYE SOCKETS!”

The phone abruptly hangs up. You all stare at the phone for a second without saying a word. Undyne starts gripping her phone tightly, then closes her fist completely, breaking the phone into little pieces. She holds ups both of her fists and takes an aggravated, bow-legged stance, grinding her teeth as she looks at the floor. Her body begins to shimmer heavily; her legs disappear behind the haze. Toriel reaches out and places a hand on Undyne’s shoulder.

“Please, captain, calm down!”

Undyne can barely speak as her rage builds.

“FRIGGIN'...FRICKIN'...GOD…DAMMIT!!!”

Undyne punches the wall of the smithy. It fractures, stone crumbling to the ground. Undyne slumps down against the wall; almost her entire body has phased out. Toriel shakes her desperately.

“Captain Undyne!”

Just when it seems like Undyne is going to go past the point of no return, Undyne’s body begins to come back into view. Her eye is shut, and her head is tilted toward the ground. She’s breathing heavily, burying her face in her hands.

“I can’t do anything…”

“This is the kind of thing I should be ready to go for and I can’t.”

“I can’t go and help my friend! Because of-!”

Undyne jumps to her feet and faces you with clenched fists. Just when it seems like she’s going to start getting angry again, she stops, and looks toward the ceiling. With a huff, she turns and runs out of the smithy as quickly as she can. Toriel thinks for a moment, then speaks to you.

“With how she behaves, odds are she’ll go after Papyrus anyway. And I could never face Sans again if his brother got hurt like this…”

“Varik, I know your relationship is tense, but please…”

“Help her. And make sure both of them make it out of there, okay?”

“I KNOW you can do it. I believe in you.”

Without another word, you stride out to follow after Undyne. The Temmie’s crowd you as you walk for the exit from the village.

“HuMAn!”

“does HuMan have Tem FlaKEs?”

You shake your head.

“nooO...so huNGEr!”

The Temmie asking for “Tem Flakes” rolls onto its back, pretending to be dead. Just a second later, it snaps back to peak excitement, apparently unaffected by its hunger. The Temmies follow you to the exit of the village and call out goodbye to you as you enter the Wetlands once again.

You find yourself under another section of the ceiling of the Wetlands covered in those sparkly stones. The path you’ve been traveling on goes out over glowing, blue-white water, dark blue grass growing on the dirt of the paths as it weaves around the area. The scenery is serene, devoid of any husks, and the quiet noise of slowly flowing water enhances the atmosphere even further. You travel along the path, looking between the water and the ceiling as you follow the trail wherever it leads. You find yourself absentmindedly running you hand along the length of your sheathed rapier. On your back, the empty scabbard that once housed the Planet Buster sways back and forth loosely; the straps have been gradually untightening as you’ve walked around with it. You reach back with your free hand and tighten the straps. As you do, you raise you head to look around you once again. You spot Undyne sitting on the other side of a gap between the grass paths, watching the water. She doesn’t look up at you, but acknowledges your presence by speaking to you.

“I knew you’d be along.”

“Sorry, but if you wanted more indignant rage, I’m afraid I’m just not up to it.”

“It’s not even that I’m suppressing it. I just…”

“(Sigh)”

“After that call, and seeing the queen like that…”

“I don’t have the energy to be mad at you anymore.”

She looks up at you and points a finger at you.

“Now, don’t think that means I’m OKAY with you KILLING me.”

“We’ll talk about that LATER.”

“But…gah, I just don’t care right now.”

She looks back at the water. You kneel down to meet her at eye level across the gap.

“I know what a scared person lashing out looks like.”

“I’ve been in that position too.”

“…”

“You know how Papyrus is missing his lower jaw?”

“…Remember when he said I was the one who did that?”

“It’s the truth.”

“I used to do combat training with him when he first asked me to help him prepare to join the Royal Guard.”

“And he doesn’t show it often but…he’s really freakin’ tough!”

“One day, when we were sparring at this little dojo we built out in the land around the Snowcroft, we ended up going at it pretty hard.”

“Way harder than usual. Both of us got way too into the moment.”

“And I hate to admit it, but he was winning that fight!”

Undyne looks a little bit proud as she says this; her expression becomes morose once more quickly after.

“But we were treating it like a life-or-death fight.”

“He knocked me onto my back and…”

“Looking back, I don’t know if he was going for a follow up or not…but, well, I THOUGHT he was.”

“And I just…kicked him in the face, as hard as I could.”

“I didn’t even think about it. His jaw broke off and crumbled.”

“God, the moments after…I had thought I’d KILLED him.”

Undyne waves a hand through the air and then drops it onto her knee, shaking her head.

“He didn’t want to spar so much after that. It wasn’t long after he gave up on joining the Royal Guard.”

“Instead, he started building traps, unofficially prepping the Snowcroft for attacks, that sort of thing.”

“And I swear, every time I saw him after that, he always seemed a little more tense.”

“I couldn’t stand looking at his missing jaw. I told him to start wearing that cloth.”

“I know that’s awful, but…I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t take looking at that reminder of what I’d done.”

“Even if he’s forgiven me, I haven’t.”

Undyne looks up at you.

“When you jumped back up and started wailing on me…I saw a lot of myself in that.”

“And I HATED it.”

“When you shattered my SOUL, I thought it was karma catching up with me.”

“I tried to fight through it, but some part of me accepted that I was dead. That I deserved it.”

“But then I got a second chance, and now I have no clue what to do.”

“I wanted to be angry at you, but I don’t want to be angry at Alphys, or anyone else.”

“Just…gah!”

“My friend, who I hurt, is in danger, and I can’t help him.”

“And now I’m left here, with YOU.”

You get off your knee and sit down. Undyne continues.

“…Is it really that simple?”

“Letting something like that go, just like that?”

“I don’t know what grudge to hold, what to let go!”

“I just wanted to be ready to protect people, not wind up in crap like this!”

You don’t say anything in response to Undyne; she remains deep in thought for a few minutes, before taking a deep breath in and preparing to speak to you again.

“Varik...”

Before she says anything else you see something jump up from under the water and grab you by the legs. Two blue and yellow limbs, lacking hands wrap around your legs and yank you down into the water. You sink rapidly, dragged down by the weight of your equipment and the thing beneath you. Looking down, trying to make out what you’ve been attacked by, you see a figure with the head of a clam. It’s the clam girl from the Pro-Asriel mob, dragging you into the depths. You feel the pressure beginning to build, your blood rushes through your head with a painful throbbing sensation. You feel your breath get squeezed out of your lungs escaping your body and floating away from you in the form of bubble. You struggle, trying to force yourself free of the clam girl’s grasp. But to no avail; in the water, she’s more flexible, and suppresses your attempts to free yourself with ease. Your head pounds as your vision blacks out; water flows into your mouth forcefully. As you sink, the clam girl abruptly releases her grasp. At the same time, something grabs you by the collar and begins pulling you back toward the surface of the water with blinding speed.

You’re barely conscious, unable to breathe or open your eyes as you slip further into the recesses of your mind. You feel your body get slammed down on a grassy surface; water is forcefully expelled from your lungs by something pushing on your chest. Air fills the space the water once occupied. It is a painful yet relieving sensation. Your vision comes back, and you cough, turning over onto your knees and slamming yourself in the chest with the side of your fist, trying to clear your passages. On your shoulder, you feel a hand encased in a metal gauntlet holding you steady. You steady yourself and lift your neck up; Undyne is looking at you, hand on your shoulder, a wide-eyed expression on her face. You stand-up with some assistance from here, and both of you move along the path, away from the water. Undyne puts a hand on her forehead and thinks, then turns to you.

“YOU, of all people…”

“…I was just acting on pure instinct...”

She takes her hand down from her forehead and looks you in the eye.

“Varik…this is all very complicated.”

“I don’t know if either of us are ready to deal with it. Ready to just, HATE each other, despite all that’s happened.”

“What I’ve said about you…I’m not so confident in it now, despite all that’s happened."

“So…let’s just put it aside for now. All the things we’ve said and done thus far, let’s just…think on it for a bit.”

“We’re adults. We can do that.”

She smiles at you.

“We’ll each put some thought into it and talk about it when we’re ready.”

“But right now, Papyrus is in danger!”

“You know about the Amazons, right? YEAH, you do!”

“You, uh, don’t look like you’d qualify, but the idea’s the same! We gotta defend our own!”

“It doesn’t matter if I can’t fight. There’s no excuse for standing around and feeling sorry for myself without DOING anything!”

“Come on! Let’s go find him!”

Undyne runs off, heading into a passage that leads higher up into the Wetlands. You run after her, trying to keep up with her remarkable speed, as you try to recover from your ordeal in the water. You charge through the crowds of monsters on the bridges leading higher into the tunnel at the center of the Wetlands. With the palisades keeping monsters from falling over the side, Undyne goes in full speed, pushing the members of Pro-Asriel and Anti-Asriel mobs aside; the former decries Undyne as she runs past, but it’s rendered moot by her sheer speed. You follow the divide in the proverbial river of people she leaves behind. Climbing higher and higher, you get back to the top of the Wetlands standing on the bridge where you and Undyne battled before. Undyne has stopped on the bridge, and is looking around. She raises an eyebrow as she looks back at you.

“Have any monsters followed you up?”

As she asks this, you hear something, somewhere above you.

“Ah-hu-hu…”

You and Undyne crane your heads up towards the ceiling. Trying to see something in the darkness of the void above, you stumble around a bit, seeing if movement will change what you see.

“Varik!”

Undyne calls to you with an outstretched hand. You look at her as you’re about to put your foot down from another step, but your foot does not meet the ground. Your foot goes over the side of the bridge. Where’d you’d assumed there was a palisade, there was no such thing, as a random section of it has been ripped away, exposing the long drop down to the lake. You begin to fall, when you abruptly stop; it feels like you landed on a hundred intertwined threads. You try to stand up, only to find your legs bound to something sticky; the more you twist. The more stuck you become. Undyne takes a few steps towards you, still reaching out, when her hand suddenly becomes caught in the air. She tries to pull it back, only to become similarly ensnared on seemingly nothing.

“W-what is all this?!”

As Undyne struggles, you feel something land on the top of your head, followed by something else. Suddenly, many small particles are drifting down from above you, landing on and around you. Some lands in your mouth; it tastes sweet, like sugar. As more of the sweet dust falls, it begins to “stick” to something you hadn’t noticed until this point: spider webs, almost invisible otherwise, hung between the walls of the tunnel and covering almost the entire bridge, climbing high into the ceiling. You see a set of five glowing eyes looking down at you from above.

“Ah-hu-hu…”

“I heard that humans on the surface like to kill spiders.”

The figure above you slowly descends towards you and Undyne.

“That they like to throw them out into the cold and rain.”

Thousands of webs droop down from above. In your rucksack, you can feel lots of movement, but the spiders withing are unable to open the flap with the webbing covering the latches.

“…That they’re nothing but a bunch of filthy KILLERS.”

The figure above comes into full view. It’s a large spider, with six arms and two legs, dressed in rompers adorned with ribbons, and black hair pulled back in pigtails. Her skin is a light lavender, she has two sharp teeth pointing out of her mouth, which seems to be permanently locked in a condescending smile. She descends on a single web, surrounded by hundreds of spiders; around her in the maze of webs are many monsters, all trapped, their lives at her whim. Among the monsters you recognize, you spot the old turtle, Gerson, both of the Royal Guards from the Hot Zone, 01 and 02, the elder mushroom from the mob that’s been harassing you, the mad dummy, Shyren, Woshua, Aaron, and, dangling above you, behind the lady spider, Papyrus. Many more monsters you don’t recognize are also trapped in the web. Undyne looks baffled and agitated, though she clearly is still trying to suppress her stronger emotions.

“Papyrus! Gerson! Guards!”

“ALL of you are here?!”

Papyrus, suspended upside down, swings back and forth a bit; if he had a mouth to do it with, you guess he would be smiling meekly.

“HELLO, UNDYNE…”

“HAS VARIK APOLOGIZED TO YOU YET?”

“We’re not focusing on that right now, Papyrus!”

“What in the world happened?!”

The lady spider cackles and gestures to the many ensnared monsters.

“I’m just looking out for my own, dearie~”

“These monsters were being particularly rude; storming into my parlor, demanding food for their loyalty to the prince…”

“The same prince who’s left spiders trapped in the RUINS for generations without so much as extending a hand to help them pass the cold of the Tower!”

“Always too busy to really help his people…”

“It’s all quite silly! Thinking THAT man’s a justification to take what they want…”

“Ah-hu-hu~”

“You need to treat your neighborhood spiders with respect.”

She moves along the web to the restrained mushroom monster; she traces her finger along its cap as she speaks.

“Isn’t that right? Be kind…and open your wallet to sensitivity~”

A dozen spiders move across the mushroom monster’s body; the monster squirms, panicking, their mouth bound by webbing that prevents them from screaming. Gold pieces are funneled out from the mushrooms monster’s spot on the web, dropping into the lady spider’s hand.

“If you go to eat somewhere, you should always leave a tip!”

Undyne yells up at the spider.

“Parlor? This is a public area, lady!”

“You can’t just abduct people and claim they’re trespassing!”

The spider waves one of her arms dismissively.

“My parlor doesn’t exist anymore after these hooligans trashed it!”

“They marched up into the Hot Zone, acting like they owned the place…”

“And so cruelly ripped all the webs us poor little spiders spent ages making!”

“So THIS is my parlor now…”

“And YOU’RE the ingredients I’ll use to make a new batch of donuts and cider!”

“The fear adds extra flavor~”

“Sooo savory!”

The monsters on the walls squirm, scream and panic; Papyrus keeps swinging back and forth.

“M-MISS SPIDER…”

“I’M NOT ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIKE THE PRINCE…”

“I JUST WANDERED INTO YOUR PARLOR AFTERWARDS!”

RG 01 shakes his head.

“So did we, brah…”

“She doesn’t, like, care.”

The spider giggles and moves down to 01. She runs a finger up his helmeted chin; he pulls his neck back, trying to get away from her touch.

“Looks like this one’s a bit brighter than the rest.”

“Good! All that juicy knowledge will add to the texture~”

Undyne barks at the spider. As she does, you feel your rucksack thrash around more as the spiders desperately try to get out; you’re unable to reach back and open the flap with your arms locked in place.

“I’m not going to let you EAT monsters, spider-lady!”

“I don’t care WHOSE side they’re on! They’re monsters all the same!”

“As captain of the Royal Guard, it’s my job and my men’s job to ensure they’re safe, not matter who they support!”

The spider lady puts a hand to her chest.

“Ah! That’s you? You’re the undead captain I’ve heard so much about?”

“I do wonder what a reinvigorated SOUL tastes like~”

“I guess you’re as good a meal to start with.”

From the ceiling above, many thousands of spiders suddenly descend, weaving many webs simultaneously around you, Undyne, and the rest of the monsters. You’re now completely wrapped up in the web, unable to see any part of yourself beneath the neck, trapped withing a massive cocoon of spider webs.

“Come to Muffet! Let me make YOU the most exquisite dish I can! Ah-hu-hu!”

More spiders descend towards Undyne, preparing to wrap her completely in webs.

“UNDYNE!”

The spiders land on Undyne and begin weaving their web. As they do however, they’re suddenly tossed off by a magical burst from Undyne. Her eyepatch flies off, being torn apart by the burst; the image of magical spears dances inside her empty eye socket. Her eye’s sclera has gone black, and the pupil white, like it did shortly before she melted at the conclusion of your fight with here.

“Ha…”

“You’re going to have to try a BIT harder than that.”

Her body is already beginning to shimmer. Despite this, she presses on with using her magic. A group of blue spears appear above you, and fly down. They pass just above you, slicing the webs that encase you and free you. You’re able to pull your arms loose and get back on your feet before you’re stuck to the web once more; the soles of your boots are stuck, and you’re forced to prop yourself up with one hand to keep balance, which also sticks, but you have one hand free. You look back at Undyne; she’s clearly not doing well, but she persists in using magic.

“I’m not giving up yet, Varik!”

“I’ll rip up the webs around you to help get you up to her!”

“Just hurry!”

“I’m not sure how long I can keep this up…”

“But maybe being immobile, burning less energy, will help!”

“Now GO!”

Spears begin to pop up around you, near your feed and stuck hand. They tear up the webs without hurting you, letting you move up and around the web each time they free you up. You draw your rapier and begin climbing up the side of the cocoon, running along as fast as you can. Muffet sends spiders and projectiles shapes like pastries at you; you take a few to the chest, but quickly work out a way to use the movement Undyne is providing you to get out of the way. Your scarf swats away some of the attacks and launches out at other spiders scurrying along the wall, scattering them and making them flee. Below, you can see her shimmering harder; each spear blurs her out more and more. Papyrus above you yells down to her.

“UNDYNE, STOP!!!”

“WHATEVER THIS IS, IT CAN’T BE GOOD!”

“AT THIS RATE, YOU’ll…”

Undyne says something ins response, but it becomes indecipherable as the words leave her failing body. Muffet moves along the web, trying to keep away from you while sending more spiders your way.

“Such a lively one! Looks like it needs to boil a bit more!”

At this rate, it’s apparent that you won’t be able to reach Muffet before Undyne dies from overusing her magic. You look around from where you are on the cocoon; below you, across the web, is RG 02, looking up at you from his spot on the web. As the next round of spears detach you, you bound off the wall towards him. You slice your rapier across his chest as you pass, splitting the web open and freeing his arms, but leaving him unharmed. As you fall away, you feel him grab you by the collar. Looking up as you dangle in his grasp, you point your rapier upward, toward Muffet.

“…ah.”

02, using his magnificent strength, tosses you through the air underhanded towards RG 01. As you pass 01, you slice open the webs on his chest, freeing his arms as well. You land against him, holding onto him by his armor. He looks down at Undyne and calls out to her.

“Captain, we, like, got this!”

“You can stop! Like, NOW!”

Below, Undyne finally gives it a rest, her top half almost unrecognizable through the haze as she slumps over, exhausted. 01 puts his palm and the back of your boots; you jump off him as he gives you a guiding push, rocketing you across the web. At the same time, he reaches for his sword, trapped in the web with him, and cuts himself free. He drops down to 02, slicing him completely free and pulling him from the wall. 02 in his arms, he drops further to the bottom of the cocoon, keeping his sword arm always raised off the web. He cuts Undyne free and works on a way of getting her out of the web.

You fly through the air swatting spiders, pastries and teacups away with your rapier. You slice Aaron free completely; he pushes you up with his muscles before he falls to the bottom of the cocoon. You go for Woshua, who blasts you further up with a jet of water after you cut him free, then to Shyren, who uses her powerful voice to launch you up with the vibrations as you free her. You go for Gerson next, who turns as he falls out of his section of the webbing, letting you jump off his shell. He calls out to you as he falls away.

“Wa-ha-ha! Go get ‘em, youngster!”

The ever-more complex acrobatic display draws the cheers and encouragement of the remaining monsters. You get to the mad dummy who you cut free, but don’t jump off of as they fall out of the web. You look them in the eye; they shake their head frustratedly.

“Gah…FINE!”

“I’ll help you this once, but I am NOT your PONY!”

“GOT IT?!”

The dummy floats around the web, you on its back, like a rider on an airborne stallion. They circle Muffet, climbing higher and higher toward here. Her attacks come in force, but to the dummy’s credit, they do an excellent job avoiding what you can’t swat with your rapier. Above you, Muffet giggles as you get closer.

“Oh, how rude of me…”

“I forgot to introduce my pet!”

“Might as well do it now; it’s getting close to dinnertime after all!”

From above Muffet, something massive moves along the top of the cocoon. Papyrus screeches as it drops past him; it looks like a massive cupcake, with the legs and face of a spider. It falls toward you like a boulder. The mad dummy’s eyes pop out of its fabric head as the pet gets closer.

“GA-HAH! NO!!! FORGET THIS! I’M OUTTA HERE!”

The dummy suddenly veers off path, trying to get out of the way of the pet, and back down towards the bottom of the cocoon. You react, leaping off the dummy and toward the pet as it passes. You land on the pet, your feet planted on the teeth inside of its open mouth. You leap off the pet just before it can clench down and bite your legs off, jumping back onto the dummy and landing on it’s face as it floats around.

“MMF!”

You jump off the dummy, flying up just high enough to grab onto the elder mushroom monster, near the top of the cocoon. You hang from them, looking at Muffet. Below you the pet lends at the bottom of the web and snaps at the monsters trying to escape. 02 grabs the pets by the jaws and grapples with, trying to force its mouth open as RG 01 continues to cut a path out. You keep your focus on Muffet, slicing the mushroom monster free, then jump off of them as they fall past you.

“Woah!”

Angled upward, you rocket right toward Muffet, you fly towards her with your rapier pointed forward. She pulls her arms back, her smug look briefly faltering as you get closer, only to watch as you fly past her and into the ceiling of the cocoon. Your rapier gets jammed in the web up to the hilt, and you’re left hanging from the ceiling next to Papyrus. Muffet looks out at you and giggles.

“Ah-hu-hu! Oh, so sad!”

“Looks like your little display wasn’t enough to stop me, little human.”

“Forget the fish lady, YOU’LL make the finest meal of the course~”

You use your free hand to reach back at your rucksack, grabbing at the flap. It still has some webs on it, and your hand get stuck as you tug at it, trying to get it open. Muffet climbs up the web towards you, trying to get to you, reaching with her hands, pointy teeth showing.

“VARIK?”

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOUR PLAN IS, BUT…”

“HUP!”

Papyrus swings into you, shoving your arm along with some extra force, just enough to rip up the webs blocking the rucksack. You pull your arm away from the flap as it opens; from within, all the spiders you’ve been carrying with you thus far scurry out, crawling up your body and around the web as they leave the rucksack, carrying all their furniture and little belongings with them. One spider hops down towards Muffet, landing in her hand. It dances around, communicating something to her.

“What?”

“This one says you did good business at their shop in the RUINS…”

“And then, despite you taking so long…”

“YOU’RE the one who ferried them there from the RUINS?”

“But, the Tower!”

“…An insulated rucksack. Oh, you little geniuses!”

“At last, the spiders clans have been reunited!”

Muffet climbs up to meet your eye level.

“…All thanks to you.”

“Oh, it seems like I’VE been the rude one here, dearie~”

“I’m so, so sorry.”

Her words have a sickening sweetness to them. She wraps a few arms around you and stares you in the eyes as she speaks.

“I’m not usually one to let things like this go…”

“But, just this once, as a thanks to you…”

“I’ll forgive these naughty ones, and you.”

“My treat!”

A legion of spiders crowd around the hilt of your rapier and Papyrus’ legs. They break down the webs around them and drop you both. Papyrus flails about, screaming, as he falls. Tumbling through the air, you end up catching him in your arms as you plummet, both of you landing at the bottom of the cocoon with a bounce. At the bottom, both Royal Guards and Gerson struggling with the pet, while Aaron and the mushroom desperately try to free Woshua from the webs, and Shyren tends to the still flickering Undyne. The rest of the monsters come plummeting down from around the cocoon; Muffet descends on a web and strokes her pet’s back.

“Easy now, my sweet. We’re done here.”

The pet relaxes and backs off, allowing the guards to do the same. Muffet gives you a wave; as she does, the cocoon collapses around you and the other monsters. The webs are pulled away from you by an army of spiders, leaving you all on the bridge once more, while the remains of the webs are pulled into the darkness of the ceiling.

“You’ll always be welcome in my parlor, dearie~”

“So long as you behave, of course.”

“And thank you again for bringing the spiders together once more.”

“Looks like I was wrong about humans, or at least, wrong about you.”

“Take care!”

A spider hops up on Muffet’s shoulder and waves goodbye to you. Muffet, her pet, and the rest of the spiders climb up into the darkness above you, disappearing completely. Papyrus gets out of your arms and stands up, running over to Undyne’s side. You sheathe your rapier and inspect the interior of your rucksack. You didn’t have anything in there at the time, having left the mythology book back at Undyne’s house, and the interior has been stripped clean of the comforts the spider brought with them, leaving it completely empty. You sling it back on you back and walk over to Undyne; she’s lying on the ground, her body still completely obscured by the shimmering, the rest of the monsters looking over her. Shyren shakes her gently; she doesn’t respond. Papyrus looks extremely worried, pressing his gloves hands into his remaining row of teeth. You put a hand on his shoulder, leaning to the side to see Undyne past the crowd of monsters. RG 01 grabs at the area where you would wager the collar of Undyne’s armor to be and shakes her more intensely.

“Captain Undyne! Like, snap out of it!”

“We’re all okay. You, like, SAVED us!”

“Don’t drift away!”

Papyrus pushes through the crowd to Undyne. He moves 01 out of the way and cries out to her.

“UNDYNE, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!”

“COME BACK! FOLLOW THE ‘NYEHS!’”

“NYEH!”

“NYEH!!!”

The “nyehs” becomes increasingly more desperate. Undyne’s shimmering intensifies to a point where it looks like she’s about to go over once more. Papyrus stops nyeh-ing and grabs her vanishing arm. You move through the crowd up to her side and kneel down, peering at the area where her face would be. A moment of dead silence washes over the area as you and the monsters await what happens next. Then, gradually, the shimmering begins to die down, slowly, not all at once like when she melted. Undyne slowly faces back into view; when her face becomes visible, her expression is utterly exhausted. A sigh of relief spreads among the monsters as she phases back in completely. She looks at you with a smug smile. You hold out your hand; she grabs it and clasps her gloved hand around your palm in a confident affirmation. With Papyrus’ help, you pull her to her feet. She’s wavering a bit, but stands with Papyrus’ support.

“Hoo…okay…”

“Don’t know if I’ll be doing that again anytime soon!”

“Good…good job, Varik.”

“THANK GOD YOU’RE OKAY.”

“UNDYNE, WHAT WAS ALL THAT?”

“I’ll explain later.”

She looks around at the monsters on the bridge.

“The Royal Guard won’t keep you here for questioning.”

“Go on home, and be careful.”

“Let us take care of the husks.”

RG 01 and 02 salute Undyne. 01 affirms her order.

“We’ll keep them all safe, ma’am!”

“Like, no husk’s getting past us!”

Undyne nods. The Royal Guards travel back into the Wetlands with the monsters in tow. Gerson shakes Undyne by the shoulder in a friendly manner; he is positively beaming.

“Wa-ha-ha! Good job, Undyne! Good job, both of you!”

“It’s great to see humans and monsters working in tandem once again!”

“You’ve come a long way from when you were just a little urchin, Undyne.”

Undyne nods.

“Thank you, Gerson.”

“Make sure you stay safe, too.”

Gerson gives a thumbs up.

“I’ve made it this long! No husk or spider will get this old turt!”

Gerson walks back into the Wetlands. The mushroom monster remains for a bit longer, looking at Undyne. Undyne stares back, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes?”

The mushroom monster looks at the ground, then back up at Undyne.

“Nothin’.”

“…Thank you.”

“I need…I need to go think about some things.”

The mushroom monsters turn and walks back into the Wetlands. Papyrus looks between you an Undyne.

"I HATE TO KEEP REPEATING MYSELF, BUT ARE YOU TWO SQUARED AWAY?”

Undyne breaks out in a laugh.

“Fu-hu-hu-hu!”

“Ah…we’re working on it, Papyrus.”

“For now, we’re good.”

“We’re good.”

She looks at you with a smile. You nod, and walk past her and Papyrus heading to the exit of the Wetlands. Undyne calls out behind you.

“Where are you going now?”

“ARE YOU GOING TO SEE DOCTOR ALPHYS?”

“I’M SURE HER TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE WOULD LEND ITSELF WELL TO OUR PLAN TO ASSAULT THE FORTRESS!”

“Assault…”

“Listen, Varik.”

“Do me a favor. I’ll count it towards our resolution.”

“Ask Alphys…”

“…If she can make some kind of device to suppress the DETERMINATION in my body.”

“I NEED to be there at that assault. I can’t let this stop me.”

“And get her out of the Hot Zone, too! She stayed behind to help Mettaton after the evac was finished, and I don’t feel good leaving her there among the husks.”

"BUT, UNDYNE, I THINK YOU NEED TO TAKE A BREAK. EXPLAIN WHAT’S GOING ON TO ME.”

“I will. I’ll do both of those things. But, Varik…”

“You’re a warrior. You understand that I NEED to do this.”

“I don’t know if it possible, but if anyone can do it, it’s Alphys!”

“I trust her completely, even after the amplifier.”

“And, make sure she’s doing okay.”

“I haven’t seen her since your fight with Mettaton. Please, make sure she’s okay.”

“VARIK.”

Papyrus reaches for something; he pulls out his cell phone and tosses it to you. You catch it and place it in your rucksack.

“WAIT FOR A CALL FROM THE QUEEN.”

“WE’LL LET YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON!”

“Good luck, Varik.”

You stick a thumb up and turn to dash into the passage leading up to the Hot Zone. Part of you wishes you had taken some time to get more water from the Wetlands before moving on, but you press on anyway. In the distance, you can hear magma bubbling, and feel the heat increase. Your dinged-up armor rattles around as you run; it’ll have to support you for just a little longer as you move on to the challenges ahead.

Chapter Text

Stepping out from the darkened threshold between the Wetlands and the Hot Zone, the temperature hits you harder than you expected. Without the special armor Asriel gave you on your first time around, the heat is much more intense, almost unbearable, and you break out in a hard sweat almost immediately. You stop, adjust your armor to allow some more air flow; it helps a bit, but you still feel like you’re overheating. Ever stubborn, you don’t walk back to the Wetlands to get some water. Instead, you press on towards Alphys’ lab, in the hopes that you’ll find both relief and progress there. You take stock of your belongings. You have your rapier and a scabbard for it, the Planet Buster’s scabbard strapped to your back, your armor, your scarf, the whip you took from Mettaton, your refurbished fingerless gloves, and Papyrus’ cell phone. You don’t have very much to work with, and have been unable to find any currency to use at any stores for quite some time. It feels like the order of things in the underground is well and truly breaking down. You keep moving, seeing if you can outpace the worst parts of the chaos.

The Hot Zone is abandoned now, overrun with husks. You unsheathe your rapier and don’t get a chance to put it away for quite some time, as you cut through husk after husk or send them over the edges into the magma. You keep overheating, the sweat beading up on your brow and soaking into your hair with every minute spent in the hostile environment. Your own breath begins to scorch the inside of your throat; the taste is positively putrid. You feel your skin begin to itch beneath your gloves, the holes above the knuckles and around the hands no longer providing adequate ventilation, and as you twist your wrist, the leather constricts your fingers. You pull the gloves off and stuff them in your rucksack; the scarf is becoming similarly smothering, and you try to pull it off again. The more you pull at the fabric, however, the more it constricts around your neck; It feels like you will choke yourself if you don’t stop tugging on it, and you relent; more sweat drips off your face and onto the scarf. Pulling the scarf down as low as you can to leave your mouth unobstructed, you keep walking, beginning to hobble with the heat as it sears into your body further.

Eventually, you lose your ability to properly focus, aimlessly looking at the ground as you traipse on into the Hot Zone. Occasionally, a husk crosses your path, and you snap back to attention to dispatch it, but with each encounter, your strength and coordination wavers further. Gradually, you slow down further, falling to your knees and going into a crawl. As it feels like your head it about to drop and smack into the floor of the path, you feel a rumbling in you backpack and hear a ring. You shove your arm into the rucksack and yank out the cell phone, pressing the answer button.

“Varik, it’s TORIEL.”

“Things are finally beginning to calm down here in the Snowcroft and the Wetlands.”

“The people are by and large behind us. Most of the Hot Zone’s population is here, as well.”

“Papyrus and Undyne tell me that you’re going to locate the royal scientist, Dr. Alphys.”

“How close are you to her laboratory?”

“…Varik?”

“You don’t sound so good…are you okay?”

“Hot…? Oh.”

“Hmm. Um, Undyne, come here please!”

The sound of the cell phone being fumbled around comes through the other end. Undyne’s voice follows.

“Varik? What’s up?”

“…Ooooh boy, you sound…not great.”

“I get that. The Hot Zone SUCKS!!!”

“I didn’t even think of that. Crap, I guess we can’t have you passing out on us, though, from what the Toriel's told me, you’ve done that plenty already.”

“Kind WIMPY, don’t cha think?!”

“Fu-hu-hu!”

“Okay, real talk, where are you, right now?”

“Gimmie a landmark.”

You look around; up ahead of you are one of the lifts, and just beyond that, the Core stands straight ahead in the distance. You relay this to Undyne.

“…The lift overlooking the CORE? Yeah, got it!”

“I know just who to get to bring some water to you!”

“Though, YOU’LL need to make sure they get back okay.”

“Just hang on! We’re getting it done now!”

Undyne hangs up the phone. You crawl a bit further, before finally collapsing completely, pushing your rucksack to the side as you roll over you you can lie on your back comfortably. The cell phone lands next to your head, and you remain still, looking out into the void above. The scarf continues to move around, drifting across your prostrate body as if it was swaying in the wind. You can feel the sweat pooling around the base of your neck beneath the fabrics; you try to push the sensation of discomfort this brings out of your mind. Unsuccessful in this, you shut your eyes tight and try to force ignorance, which only makes your head sound as you scrunch up your face. The world around you briefly drifts out, and you feel something odd: it feels like their is drifting down past your shoulders, covering the back of your neck, and even further down past your eyes. You know that your hair isn’t long enough to do that, even lying down, and you open your eyes. The hair obscuring your vision is not auburn, but a very dark blue color. You yank your hand up to run your fingers through the hair, and the hands that passes through the strands is colored a cyan color, not the light beige you know yourself to be. Confused, you tug at the hair; it feels rooted to your scalp. At the same time, you hear the cell phone ring next to you. You slam your hand down onto the answer button, still occupied with your metamorphosis; Toriel’s voice comes through.

“Varik? Undyne hung up on you before I was finished. I need you to-”

Before she can finish, you feel a cold, wet splashing soaking over your entire body; something has just dropped a lot of water on top of you. Even though it is shocking, it does feel relieving, at once cooling you down and perking you back up. You reflexively shut your eyes as the water hit you. Shaking you head, you open your eyes and inspect your hands and hair once more; your skin is the color you’ve always known, and your hair is the right length and color as well; perhaps you’ve experienced some kind of heat-induced hallucination. Looking up at the spot where the water came from, you find that bird that rescued you from the mob back in the Wetlands flying above you, carrying a now empty bucket with its talons. The bird now appears to be overheating, struggling to keep itself in the air as it too swelters in the heat. You stand up and hold your hands out; the bird drops the bucket, which lands over your head, and drops into one hand. Not stopping to take the bucket off, you dip your hand into the thin puddle of water on the path and awkwardly lather the bird with it. You then reach for the cell phone. Toriel’s call has been cut short; it seems the water has damaged the cell phone somehow. You pick it up with your free hand and sling your rucksack back over your shoulder, tossing the phone inside. You consider taking the bucket off, but the interior is still a little chilled from the water, so you elect to keep it on for the time. You press on, using the thing edge of vision you have out of the bottom of the bucket to navigate your way to the lift and beyond.

You hear more husks outside of the bucket, and choose to dash past and through them instead of confronting them properly. You draw your rapier and point it ahead of you as you charge. You heel some husks get knocked aside, and others getting skewered by your blade; when too many stack up on your rapier, you withdraw it and charge further. Your entire approach is focused on rushing as fast as you can to the laboratory before you begin to heat up again as the cooling effects of the water wear off. You don’t come across any monsters on the paths you choose on your way to the lab; the evacuation ordered by Alphys and Mettaton seems to have been quite thorough, save for the trapped monsters you spotted earlier. After many minutes of charging around, you exit another lift and begin another blind charge, On the edge of your vision inside the bucket, you see the ground beneath you widen as you step onto a larger platform. You sheathe your blade and finally pull the bucket off of your head; standing before you is Alphys’ laboratory. You also become aware of something flying around next to you. One of Mettaton’s cameras has been following you around for a length of time you can’t wager a guess at. As you pull the bucket of and look at it, it floats up and away, flying over the top of the laboratory. You drop the bucket and walk up to the entrance to the lab. You rap against the door with one hand; there’s no response from within. You try once more, again to no avail.

In your hand, the bird chirps weakly. It seems the heat is catching up to the little bird; you can feel feathers molting off onto your hand. Another moment passes, and you head a massive clanking noise on the other side of the door. The door slides open, and you find Alphys facing you on the other side, a stern yet nervous expression on her face, with another one of her guns in her hand, pointed at you.

“Bring the bird in, and don’t try anything.”

She backs up to give you space to walk inside. You do so, embracing the sudden burst of cold air as you pass through the door. The bird reacts just as positively. The lab has been cleaned up from the first time you crashed through the roof. You move over to a table, covered in notes and one of the strange boxes like you’ve seen Napstablook use in his home. You set the bird down on the table between the notes; it basks in the comfort of the cool air. You turn back to Alphys, who still has her gun trained on you.

“Alright, now LEAVE.”

“There’s nothing else for you here.”

You remain still, not moving from your spot next to the table. Alphys shakes a bit and readjusts her aim. She raises her voice as she speaks again.

“I said LEAVE, Varik!”

You reach to the scabbard at your side, rapier still sheathed in it. Alphys screeches as you.

“HANDS OFF THE SWORD!!! DON’T-”

With one swift motion, you detach the scabbard from the side of your armor and place the sheathed rapier on the floor. Alphys stops shaking and looks between you and the rapier over and over, utterly confused. She takes off her glasses and presses against her forehead.

“I don’t get it. I…”

“I don’t know WHAT you are.”

She tilts the gun away from you and walks back towards the other end of the laboratory.

“I got a call from Undyne saying you were on your way, and I panicked.”

“I thought it was a WARNING that you were coming for me.”

“And now I have no clue what’s going on.”

She turns back to you.

“Where is Undyne? What have you done now?”

“…”

“She’s WORKING with you?!”

“B-but…why would…of all…”

“WHY NOW?!?”

“AAAAHHHH!!!”

Alphys abruptly turns and runs down through a door. As she does, something flies out of her coat pocket and slides along the floor. You head the sound of a lift starting up, and descending far below you. You walk over to what she dropped and pick it up. It looks like another cell phone, but with far more features than the ones you’ve used up to this point. You fiddle with the features; it utilizes little buttons with arrows and some kind of semi-transparent surface that allows words to instantly appear and disappear with each press of the buttons. You stumble onto “Undyne” and press the answer button. The phone begins ringing. As you put it up to your ear, you reach into your rucksack and pull out Papyrus’ phone, placing on the table among Alphys’ notes. Undyne picks up the line.

“Hey, Alphys!”

“You hung up kind of fast last time…”

“…Varik?”

“Why do you have Alphys’ phone? Where is she?”

“…Oh. Crap.”

“Yeah, I probably should have made it clear that you weren’t coming to GET her.”

“Dammit, why didn’t I think of that, either?”

“Can you go get her, please? And not like THAT. I don’t know what’s down in that lab, and I don’t like the idea of snooping on her personal stuff, but…”

“We really don’t have time to waste right now.”

“And keep her safe, if needed! GOT IT?!”

“…Great! I’m counting on you!”

“(Click)”

You pick up your rapier and reaffix the scabbard to your armor. It seems like the bird will be okay on its own for the time being. You walk over to the door that Alphys used. Pressing a button on the side, you hear the lift begin to rise up from the depths below. It takes quite a bit of time to get there, but it arrives eventually. You step inside and press the only present on the interior wall. The door slams shut, and the whole lift shakes suddenly as it begins descending once more. The further down you go, the muggier you feel the air become, and the less light there it. You brush your bangs out of your eyes a bit, trying to adjust to the lack of light before you reach the bottom. It grows darker, yet darker, as you go further down into the depths.

Chapter Text

You bolt through the Wetlands, barreling into and through husks with ease, thanks to the Temmie Blaster. You have no clue how long it takes you to traverse the Wetlands for the third time, but it is considerably faster than your previous trips. You storm through the damp environment full bore, cleaving through entire hordes of the most powerful husks you’ve seen yet effortlessly. A massive spider husk angrily flings webs at you, and you slice through them all before they come within inches of your body, then leap forth and skewer its abdomen. The husk collapses into a mass of light like the dragon, and splits into particles. It’s mere seconds after this that an even bigger husk, with multiple arms and swords, accosts you; you eradicate it all the same. The blur of time passing as you pass through the Wetlands is only occasionally interrupted by the sight of monsters engaging the husks in the distance, around you, below you on the bridges, and occasionally, alongside you.

As you reach the top levels of the Wetlands, the more powerful husks appear in larger numbers. While the power of the Temmie Blaster is unrivaled, its nature as a single blade does place you in some danger against groups of husks. On the final bridge before the section between the Wetlands and the Hot Zone, a trio of the headless husks blocks your path, having knocked over all the barriers keeping the sides of the bridge safe; Muffet and her spiders are attempting to wrap up the husks in webs to restrict their movement, but their sheer strength allows them to tear through the webs with ease. As you step onto the bridge, the headless turn their attention from the spiders to you. One throws a punch while another charges you. You manage to block the blow with your shield, but you miss your swing against the other headless, flying back to the edge of the bridge, inches from falling over the side. Before the husks get another chance to attack, however, two hooded blurs jump out from the entrance to the bridge, slicing through one of the headless’ arms and spilling husk blood all over the floor. It’s Dogamy and Dogaressa; the latter follows up with a jab from the blunt end of her ask, pushing the armless, headless husk over the side of the bridge, falling to the lake below. Dogamy barks; Lesser Dog and Greater Dog bound out form the tunnel entrance and barrel into the next headless, wailing on it with their teeth and weapons. The headless is immobilized as chunks are taken out of its body, and as it tries to swat the guards off, something drops from above onto its neck stump. Daggers in hand, Doggo stands atop the headless, and stabs down into the headless’ shoulders; the husk flops over onto its chest.

The final headless attempts to grab Dogamy and Lesser Dog but is stopped by Muffet and her spiders, who quickly wrap a massive web around its legs, stripping it. From above, Muffet’s pet drops down and bites around the husk’s torso, nearly crushing it completely in its jaw. However, the headless suddenly jumps up with an abrupt burst of strength, throwing the pet to the side. It dives for you, hand outstretched. You raise your shield but realize that you’re not going o be able to block the blow in time Suddenly, a battle-axe flies through the air, spinning towards the husk. It slices through it cleanly, splitting it in half down the middle of its torso. Pink blood spills out as the sides of the husk collapse to the ground; the axe lands in the wall next to the exit from the Wetlands. You turn to look at who threw the axe; Dogaressa stand behind you, arm still outstretched and hand still open, a stern look on her face. The other Royal Guards seem impressed, especially Dogamy. She looks over at you, and points with her outstretched hand towards the exit from the Wetlands.

“What are you standing there for? Get moving!”

“We have your back! Now GO!”

You nod and dash off, jumping over the corpses of the husks; Muffet waves and winks to you as you charge through the exit. Climbing up towards the Hot Zone, you can feel the temperature begin to set back in. However, the adrenaline overtakes the discomfort; you can barely register the heat as you move out from the darkness between area into the Hot Zone proper. The air is filled with flying husks, some large, but not as massive as the dragon. You see those flying eyes, very large insects, and on the ground, more headless, multi-armed husks with swords, monstrous spider-like and lobster-like husks, and many, many more. The chaos in the distance seems ridiculous, but what’s in front of you quickly falls beneath your superweapon. You jump in and out of the lifts, climbing higher and higher towards the Core and the Fortress. Ahead of you, monster begin to emerge onto the path you walk, clearing away more of the husks and opening up a path for you and the other monsters. Some nod to you as you run past, others are too preoccupied to do so. You slash a few husks away from the monsters as you pass, then keeping moving forth towards the next lift.

The section of the Hot Zone has massive, armored husks wielding rusted spears blocking your path. Behind the helmets, you see a vacancy, an absence of any Soul like all the others. You brace yourself for combat, when you hear a loud, repetitive noise cascading from behind you. White pillars of bone pass around you, briefly blocking your view of the Hot Zone. The pillars rescind into the ground; The husks have been skewered or launched over the side of the path. You turn, know who you’ll be facing. Papyrus, and surprisingly, Sans, stand there. Each of them gives you a wink, and Papyrus points a hand at the ground beneath your feet. You crouch your legs, ready for what’s next; a bone pillar juts out of the ground and launches you up high into the air. In your flight path is a floating eye husk; you’ll reach it before it has a chance to fire a laser at you. You stick the Temmie Blaster out in form of you and spear through the eye, annihilating it without losing any momentum. You reach the peak of your launch, with a new path just in reach of a landing. You curl up and roll onto the path as you start to fall, then climb to your feet and keep running.

With more ground covered, you continue through the Hot Zone. You’ve bypassed the section that takes you through Alphys’ lab; down below, you can see another clash playing our around it. RG 01 and 02 take on a group of lobster husks on their own. You initially think they’re overwhelmed, but the two demonstrate excellent strength and coordination in fighting against the husks together, crushing them underfoot as well as cleaving them with their heavy swords. 01 is working up a sweat; you think they’ll be okay. Moving along, you continue cutting a path through the husks that do cross your path. You’re starting to feel the heat once more; the scarf still refuses to come off your neck. It suddenly shoots out at something behind you and to your left; an insect husk falls out of the air, bisected by the violent fabric. You didn’t will it to do that; it’s apparent that it largely is no longer under your control. Ignoring this for the time being, you look around, trying to figure out where to go next. A lift lies ahead of you, and it looks like it leads up towards the entrance to the Core. You run for it, only to be stopped by another husk, dropping down from a path above you. It’s a massive sphinx, breathing fire from its rotting mouth, maggots crawling within its dead, empty eyes. An arc of fireballs flies towards you; you doubt that your leather shield will be enough to stop them. You raise it regardless, shutting your eyes and bracing for the pain. As you do, something from above jump down in front of you. You open your eyes. Captain Undyne is there, holding a shield similar to the one you took from her dojo earlier. She ducks down behind the shield and blocks the fireballs; she doesn’t begin to shimmer. It looks like nonaggressive actions like defense are calm enough to keep her body intact. She talks to you while maintaining her defensive posture.

“Crawl with me!”

You shrink down behind Undyne. The two of you crawl towards the sphinx from behind the shield; the beast keeping spewing fireballs from its maw, but never adjusts its aim or charges you. You and Undyne right up to the sphinx. You take the Temmie Blaster and flip it in your grip, then reach up over Undyne’s shoulder and stab it forward into the husk’s maw. The creature atomizes like all the rest, and the particles scatter into the air. You and Undyne stand up, she turns to you, beaming. She points her arm, hand open and fingers closed together, ahead of you both.

“Keep moving, soldier! There’s not a second to waste!”

“Monsters are beyond here, clearing a path for YOU, Varik! GO!!!”

Without another word, you charge past Undyne and along the path. You look back at her as you go; she looks over the edge of the path, down at some monster on another level of the Hot Zone, struggling with husks, and jumps over the side down towards them. You don’t wait to watch her land, getting into the next lift and going up further. Exiting, you’re even closer to the Core. It’s only a few more levels until you’re there. On the other end of the long path, you can see some monsters backing up into a lift, being forced back by husks. Many dead husks scatter the path; the monsters have done their work well, but the sheer number is too much. You bang the Temmie Blaster against the ground; it’s not quite like the Planet Buster, but you still feel a small quake. The husks turn their attention to you, and the monsters make it into the lift. You charge forth, arm pulled back and ready to swing through the horde. One by one, you cut them all down; you step between each blow on the corpses already piling the bridge, splashing putrid blood against your armor and equipment. Paradoxically, the blood is rather cool, and you can almost revel in the relief it brings, until the smell overrides what unorthodox solace there is. You shake away these thoughts and continue, eliminating a three-eyed, hooded husk as the last of its horde, before jogging ahead to the lift.

Emerging onto the next pathway, only a couple levels from the Core, you find yourself heading towards the large, luxurious building at the edge of the Hot Zone. The front door has been smashed down, and you run inside. Husks roam the halls of the building; the already malfunctioning fountain has been turned to damp rubble. The husks assault you; you charge through them, swinging the Temmie Blaster wildly. It works for some time; but they start to overcome you by numbers alone. You try to push through the horde, only to be pushed back against a wall. Some of the husk start reaching for your wrists, either to pin you against the wall or to tear them from your body. Even with such a powerful weapon in your grasp, you can barely maneuver it, and while the husks it so much as cuts fall easily, those you can’t reach are now mere inches away from getting to you. Just as it seems like you’re about to be their next meal, a rapidity of popping noises breaks out from the entrance to the building; the husks are cut down in a wave of lead and electric orbs, turning them to ash or hole-riddled displays as they collapse around your ankles. You push of the wall and back over by the fountain. Flying through the entrance towards you is Mettaton, a gun in each hand, and Alphys, surfing on his back with another one of her specialty guns in her grip. They stop and hover before you; Alphys makes a quip.

“Hope you don’t mind, Varik, but I’d ask you not break this gun.”

“You’ve gone through like, three at this point.”

“HURRY UP AND GIVE HIM THE THING, DOCTOR.”

Alphys tosses the gun to you. You catch it with one hand and sheathe the Temmie Blaster in the scabbard on your back; it fits perfectly. Alphys beckons to you with her hand, and you hop off the rubble onto Mettaton’s back, slinging your shield over your shoulder.

“It’s a REALLY cool sword, Varik! Fascinating, actually.”

“But not so great against hordes, I can see. Just one blade…it makes sense.”

“So let’s make this last leg to the Fortress more efficient!”

Alphys pulls out a small box from her coat pocket; it rapidly unfolds and turns into another gun. Mettaton speeds off for the exit through the other side of the building, much more controlled than the last time you were in the situation. The three of you fly up towards the Core, flying husks swooping in from all side to try and get at you. Back-to-back, you and Alphys shoot them down, with Mettaton keeping the flight path ahead of you all clear. It looks like Mettaton is aiming for the same area you dropped down into on your first path up, going for a clean landing. As you draw closer, however you can see that the Core appears to be rattling, like something is shaking it from the inside. You, Alphys and Mettaton watch as suddenly, a gargantuan husk bursts it head out through the Core. It’s easily as tall as if not taller than the Core itself, and resembles a giant snake, with teeth like jagged hills and scales that slough off with every movement, revealing the decaying flesh underneath. Mettaton pulls out of the way of the husk as it thrusts it head forward, attempting to bite you out of the air. You nearly lose your balance from the shockwave that results from the near miss, but manage to stay up on one knee. Alphys nearly falls over the side, but you catch her by the collar of her coat and keep her upright. With one hand, you fire your gun in the direction of the Core husk, but the comparatively miniscule projectiles do no visible harm. You hand your gun back to Alphys.

“Varik?”

You stand up, drawing the Temmie Blaster from your back and taking it in both hands. Alphys seems stunned.

“A-Are you sure???”

“YOU KNOW HE’S MADE HIS MIND UP ALREADY, DOCTOR.”

“BOMBS AWAY, VARIK!!!”

Mettaton starts flying upward, over the Core husks, Alphys tucks the guns underneath her arms and clings onto Mettaton with both hands. You ready yourself and pick out a spot on the Core husk to aim for. As Mettaton reaches the apex of his climb, he rolls over, flipping you upside down. You push off as gravity begins to pull you down, sending you rocketing towards the husk. It lashes out again, its horrific maw going around you, about to chomp down on your body. You thrust the Temmie Blaster forward through its throat as you enter; Even something of its absurd size, larger than even the dragon at the Snowcroft, cannot hold a match to the power of the Temmie Blaster at its peak. You pierce through the other side of the husk unscathed, looking around you as it turns to light particles and scatters. Before you plummet down pass the Core and back into the depths, you spot a fast-moving object flying through the air next to you; two robotic arms reach out to you with perfect timing and catch you in their grip. Mettaton pulls you up and away from the Core as the particles from the snake husk blink out of sight.

However, as the husk vanishes, the Core continues to shake. The holes punched through the structure it by its massive form compromise its already unstable state, and the framework, piping, and panels left on the Core all begin to collapse inwards, sending out a massive debris cloud, flinging metal in all directions. Several panels, rivets, and other miscellaneous debris strike you and Mettaton; one full panel, launched out by the cacophony happening behind you, careens into Mettaton’s side, forcing one of his arms off you, and spinning him away. He’s unable to hold onto you with the forces acting on him, and you tumble out of the grip of his other arm as well.

“CRAP.”

“Varik!”

You find yourself falling through the void of the underground once again, this time to the sharp edges of the now destroyed Core. You can only watch as the jagged, metal death trap draws closer and closer; a metal platform that once led to the base of the Core is within a few feet of where you will fall, but there is no way you’ll be able to orient yourself in time to land on it or catch the edge. Helpless, you tense up and brace for whatever comes next. You pass the platform, and before your feet drop past the edge completely, you feel a strong grip tighten around your legs. The sudden deceleration strains your muscles, but you don’t feel any express pain. Abruptly saved, you’re yanked up back onto the platform. A robed figure with fluffy white paws has their arms over you, checking to ensure you’re okay. You sit up; Toriel gives you a reaffirming smile and helps you to your feet.

“Always a lucky time and place with you, Varik.”

Looking back down the path leading away from the edge of the platform, one more horde of powerful husks is charging towards you and the queen. Headless, arachness’, sphinxes, nagas, and a few flying eyes. You pull your shield off your shoulder and charge right back into the action; behind you, Toriel sends streams of fire whipping through the air around you, scorching several husks while you ram through the rest. The lasers from the floating eyes mark the ground around you. You’re scarcely able to keep yourself int rapidly shrinking safe areas between the husks and their attacks, at times missing a fatal blow by mere inches. They all fall before you and Toriel, charred corpses and disappearing light both fill the area as you both work the carnage along. She runs up and begins moving along with you, keeping the fires around both of you like a protective envelope. Just as quickly as it starts, the chaos ends, and the last headless falls before the Temmie Blaster, its particles drifting away into the void above the Core.

You and Toriel take a second to catch your breath, before looking at each other and then turn to face the now destroyed Core.

“This is…less than ideal.”

“ASRIEL has cut off all other access to the Capital and the Fortress. The CORE was our only way up.”

“DO NOT FRET, YOUR MAJESTY.”

From above, you both see Mettaton slowly descending onto the platform; Alphys hops off him as he lands, and both stand before you.

“FLYING WHOEVER IS NEEDED UP THERE WILL SUFFICE AND MAKE GREAT FOOTAGE FOR THE DOCUMENTARY I’LL MAKE ABOUT THIS ONCE IT’S SAID AND DONE!”

Behind you, more people walk up to join you. Undyne, Papyrus, and Sans have all caught up. The seven of you stand, facing what remains of the now demolished Core. Undyne presses her palm against her forehead.

“Dammit!”

“Even if we can get people like Varik up there, we won’t have enough time to get a decent force to take on ASRIEL ready!”

“I THOUGHT VARIK WAS GOING TO FIGHT THE PRINCE BY HIMSELF?”

“What? Papyrus, that’s silly!”

“Why would we handicap ourselves like that? The more people we have against him in a confrontation, the better!”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY THIS BEFORE?”

“Because…it made the most sense? Didn’t feel like I needed to say it?”

“YOU KNOW I HATE IMPLICATION, UNDYNE!”

Toriel holds up her hand.

“Enough, you two. It’s a moot point now, anyway.”

Undyne looks around, back down the path leading away from the platform and then back to the group.

“Strange.”

The rest of you turn to face her.

“what is?”

“I told the guard to bring all the civilian groups to the base of the CORE once they’d punched their way through. Clearly, they held off the husks as best they could, but…”

“Where are they? They should be here by now!”

Alphys offers an explanation.

“Maybe they already made their way up through the CORE?”

“Though, I have no clue how they’d get past that giant husk! Did you see it!”

“…D-Do you think…they-”

Undyne shakes her head.

“Don’t think like that, Al.”

Toriel puts a hand up to her mouth.

“That husk was extraordinary big.”

“Whatever’s going on behind the BARRIER, if we don’t end this soon, they’ll be unfeasible to fight off.”

“We at least need Varik and the Temmie Blaster up there.”

“Are you ready, Varik?”

You nod confidently.

“THEN HOP ON! LET’S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!”

You take a few steps toward Mettaton. As you do, you hear pained groaning behind you. You turn to face the source; Sans appears to be in sudden discomfort, clutching at his chest.

“S-SANS…?”

“…”

Sans tries to straighten his posture, when his eyes go hollow and he falls onto his hands and knees, breathing heavily. Toriel and Papyrus rush to his side as the rest of you look on confused.

“SANS!”

“W-What’s wrong?! Are you injured?”

You hear more groaning, once more coming from behind you. You turn around again to find Alphys, holding herself up against Mettaton, struggling for breath, before her eyes go white, and she falls over onto her side. Undyne exclaims in panic and catches her before her head hits the ground.

“AL!!!”

As Undyne tries to wake Alphys up, she suddenly jolts, and begins breathing heavily as well. The same shortly follows with Papyrus and Toriel; All the monsters, save Mettaton, fall onto the floor, gasping for breath and clutching their chests.

“O-OH DEAR…”

“VARIK, WHAT IS GOING ON?!”

You look back to Sans, the first to collapse, as he lays inert, on the ground, something begins to appear above him, glowing brightly. With a flash, it comes into full view; an inverted heart shape, a Soul, floating above his body. Papyrus, straining, places one hand on his brother and reaches for the Soul.

“S-SANS!!! COME BACK!!!”

The same then happens to Alphys, a Soul appearing above her inert form. Papyrus follows shortly thereafter, collapsing over his brother. Toriel’s eyes widen, and she crawls up to you; you have to hold her up just so she can look you in the eye to talk.

“He’s…he’s doing it…”

“He’s started taking…our SOULS…”

“It…it may be too late… for us…”

Undyne, now fallen onto her back spits out a few words.

“Bull…”

“Get…up…and…”

You gently set Toriel down on her back; her Soul begins to hover above her body as well, and her eyes go white. You sheathe the Temmie Blaster and put your shield on your shoulder, and run over to Mettaton and grab onto him. He switches over to his fire jet and begins hovering. Undyne points at you, and mutters one more phrase.

“Get the bastard…”

With that, Undyne fully collapses as well, her Soul emerging from her body. Mettaton, without a second of delay, flies up towards the Fortress, as fast as he can go. You look back at the platform; the bodies of your compatriots are beginning to fade away, as their Souls begin to fly up and away from them. You watch as they speed past you, heading for the Fortress as well. You look back toward the underground, peering through the one-way void; thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, of Souls fly forth from every part of the underground. They surround you and Mettaton like a swarm of locusts, all flying into the same point entering the Fortress. Despite their speed, they do not make any noise, leading to a disquieting dichotomy of visual chaos and auditorial serenity, with only the whooshing of Mettaton’s fire jet there to fill the air. Mettaton says nothing, putting all his focus on getting you to the Fortress post-haste. However, he too begins to waver, and his fire jet sputters out multiple time mid-flight. It looks like you may reach the fortress, but Mettaton’s flickering flame puts that in doubt. He finally says something.

“SSSSSORRRY…DARLIIIING…”

“THOUUGHT I’DDDD…BEEEE…THERE FOOORRRR...ANOOOOTHER BOUUT-BOUTTT…”

“JUS-JUUUUUST…MAKKKKE…IT...”

With one last burst of flame, Mettaton bring you right up to the edge of the Fortress, next to one of the balconies. You grab on with both hands, and watch as Mettaton’s jet gives out completely.

“MAKE IT COUNNNNNTTTTtttttttt…”

The lights on Mettaton’s front panel blink out and turn off. He falls away into the underground, becoming a barely distinct dot far below you. You don’t see exactly where he lands. The Souls from the underground continue to fly into the Fortress, until they abruptly stop coming; From far below, you watch one more Soul flies on its own, and head inside the Fortress. You pull yourself up over the balcony and sprint inside, rushing for the Barrier.

It seems that you’re on your own now.

The halls of the Fortress are deathly quiet; your quickened footsteps echo throughout the entire complex, bouncing off walls you can’t even see. Outside, through the gaps and balconies you pass, you see the Capital far below. Despite having never been there yourself, you can feel the emptiness spread throughout it. The vibrancy that once pulse throughout the underground is all but absent now. Somewhere in the distance, you can still hear the discordant howls of the husks, growing ever louder. It sounds like they’re coming closer and closer to the Fortress, like an encroaching tsunami. You consign the thought to the back of your mind, writing it off as your imagination acting up. Still, you feel the fear build in your throat, knots in your stomach, as you can’t help but perceive the sound as growing ever closer.

You bolt through Asriel’s home; the door to the stairwell is locked. You dash over to his old bedroom and kick the door open. Frantically, you search for a key; if you listen hard enough, you swear you can hear the husks getting yet closer. The paranoia is making it difficult to breathe, and you begin huffing into the scarf. You search up and down across the room, ripping open drawers and cabinets. Finally, you find a single green key, in a drawer under the unused bed. You grab it and dash out into the hall, running past a mirror in the hallways between rooms. You stop dead in your tracks, and back up to the mirror. You swore you saw someone else run past next to you; the way the hair moved in your peripheral didn’t match what you know yourself to be. You look into the mirror and it’s you. Just you, your dark auburn bangs covering your goggled eyes, little flecks of husk blood spread across your armor. You pull back your bangs and let the goggles drop around your neck, looking yourself in your gray-colored eyes.

Despite everything, it’s still you.

You realize that the sound of the husks has abruptly stopped, as if it was never there at all. You cup your ear with one hand and confirm that the sound is indeed gone. At the same time, you feel the scarf become a bit more uncomfortable around your neck. You tug at it and run back to the door. Jamming the green key into the lock, you find that the scarf is starting to restrict again, and you can’t loosen it. You run up the stairs, finally putting all you can into prying the damned fabric off your neck. It constricts further; its starting to become difficult to breathe again. You burst out into the top level of the Fortress and run through the hall with runes inscribed on the wall, pulling your hands away from the scarf. It does not stop constricting, and your neck is starting to hurt. You manage to make it to the golden hall lined with marble pillars before you keel over. In the center of the hall, your write and grasp at the scarf, trying desperately to get it off you. Through the windows where sunlight once passed through the Barrier, white, pale light now permeates the hall. It’s night, how late exactly you cannot know, and the moons are shining directly over this spot. You feebly reach out towards the light, trying to keep yourself focused in on the light to remain conscious.

The scarf feels as if it will take your head clean off; you grab at it again with both hands and tug as hard as you can. You feel as if your Soul is slipping away from you, being pulled apart by someone else. You refuse; you hold on, and despite the pain, despite the strangulation, you remain. You feel the presence of something that is willing you to die, growing more and more furious with each passing second that you cling to life. You fight harder, your fear of death moving your muscles and Soul more than the adrenaline is. In one fell swoop, it all comes together, and you feel a great pressure suddenly build, before everything goes black.

You blink to ensure that you’re still awake, and look around you. You’re lying on the “floor” of a seemingly infinite black expanse. There is no topography, no features or light sources; despite this, you can see yourself perfectly. All of your equipment is gone, save for the Temmie Blaster, which has somehow found its way into your grip, your clothes and armor, and your scarf, which has finally stopped constricting and moving around on its own. You pull at it hesitantly; it does not resist, but you still cannot pull it off. You stand up and take a breath in to find that the air has no substance, but you do not feel like you are suffocating any longer. As you look around the expanse, the sound of a gentle breeze begins to settle in. You can hear crinkling leaves, the splashing of waves on a shore; each time you turn your head to face a new direction, a new sound greets you. Eventually it all settles back to only the wind, and then, even that fades. You’re left with only the absence of all other things, including something you can’t quite describe.

This feel of absence builds. It’s not an absence of any physical parts or any sense, but an absence of your own self. An instinct tingles in the back of your head, telling you to raise your hand. You do so, extending it in front of you, palm open. With a little fizzle, something apparates, floating above your palm. It appears to be half a heart, colored orange, cut in half perfectly down the middle; it comes to you that this is your Soul. You search for the other half, trying to sense its location, only to feel a presence behind you when you reach out for it. You close your hand turn to face the presence. Standing behind you, looking away from you into their own palm, is another human, one who is far more familiar that you’d expect, as you know you’ve never met them before. They are young; you would hazard that they’re an early adolescent, judging from their stature and features.

Their hair is long, revealing only the very bottom of their face with their mouth and chin. Initially, they are wearing a familiar leather jacket, but with no Delta Runes on the shoulders, long pants and shoes, with a golden skin tone and brown hair. When you “blink,” their attire changes to a set of silver armor overt top of a blue full body suit, metal gauntlets on their arms and a sword made of lumber gripped in their right hand; their skin is colored an inhumane cyan, and their hair is colored a very dark blue. In their open palm floats another half of a Soul, which mirrors your half in shape, but is colored red. Around their neck, drifting down to their side, is the scarf you are also wearing. The other human closes their hand and lets it fall to their side. Slowly, they turn to face you.

You stand apart from each other, still like statues, staring the other in the obfuscated eye. You see that the young human becomes subtly irate; their lips quiver, their fists shake, their breath quickens and their head jerks back and forth abruptly. You remain as calm as you can, given the situation. The sound of wind briefly returns, along with an actual gust. It whips your scarves around and blows the hair out of your faces, allowing each of you to glimpse the other more fully for just a second. Your eyes are put on display, as are theirs; their irises are colored a blood red color. The wind subsides, and the silence returns, and you both place both hands on your weapons. You know as much as they do what you’re both going to do next.

With a burst of movement, you launch towards each other, swinging your swords as hard as you can at the other. The wooden blades create a thunderous clap as they connect; you both strain again the other, trying to push your opponent off and open them up for another attack, but you both glance off, and they charge back into the fray. You exchange blow after blow, bashing your sword together and occasionally landing a strike on each other’s body. Each hit you take cuts deeper in terms of pain than anything else you’ve experienced thus far, despite your flesh remaining unmarked. You weather the assault and counter with you own, landing a powerful strike that knocks the kids onto their back. You experience a lapse in confidence, only for it to be take advantage of as they hop to their feet and thrust their weapon into your chest, creating a sensation you can only describe as agonizing. You feel a bit of your strength ebb away, like you’re losing your grip on a rope, and slide back along the “floor” of the expanse. The kid does not let up; they land blow after blow on you while you’re down, occasionally eschewing the use of their sword in favor of punching you with their gauntlet. They raise their sword and bring it down hard on the top of your head, discombobulating you completely. It feels like everything is about to leave you forever; the human lords above you, takes their sword in an inverted grip, and stabs downward.

From within what little of yourself you can still call “you,” that familiar fear flares up. That feeling that’s pulled you away from the brink of death so many times, that unwillingness to let it become a reality, lest you discover the limits of your mortality in a way that cannot be reversed. It moves your arms when you cannot, making you clasp your hand around the lumber blade before it strikes you. You struggle against the other human, each of you gritting your teeth, trying to overcome the other’s will. You feel an anger coming from them, a hatred so deeply rooted that it feels like it would consume a nation should it ever be unleashed. At the same time, it is a desperation, one so bitter that it’s bordering on the edge of utter collapse. An insecurity, countered by your fear, that you can overcome, and that they cannot. You push back, reinvigorated, striking them in the chin with the handle of their own weapon, before jumping to your feet and picking up your own.

You jump at them with a downward slash, then another, then another; you’re landing blow after blow that they manage to block, but cannot counter or return. You stop breathing, tensing your muscles and letting your head break with the haze of resistance. Though the blurriness, you feel the Temmie Blaster land more hits on wood, then on metal, then on flesh. Each sickening thwack drives you to do it once more; at some point they drop their sword and you continue, wailing on this defenseless enemy with the fervency of a starved animal. They fall to the floor, and you continue, landing hit, after hit, after hit, feeling yourself come back with each strike, until, finally, the rush begins to subside. You keep swinging, but the blows become softer, slower; eventually, you’re simply tapping them with the Temmie Blaster.

You stop and pull back, looking at their crumpled form. Their arms and legs are bent at angles they shouldn’t be, dents in their bones, and bloody patches cover their cyan skin. They gasp for breath, only to cough up blood, and try to crawl towards you. From somewhere in your Soul, you still feel opposition. You hold out your palm and your Soul shows itself; almost all of it has returned to you, only a small sliver not being present in the visage before you. You turn to look behind you; their weapon is on the ground, there for the taking. You hear them groan and growl, pledges of destruction and death leaving their lips. You walk over to the lumber sword and pick it up and turn to face the other human. They look up on you, a dawning realization in their crimson eyes, now revealed by their messy, blood-soaked hair. You take their sword in both hands and snap it like a twig, letting the pieces fall to your side.

The wind starts to settle back in. The other human is shaking, defeated on the ground. Miserably, they continue crawling towards you, as if they still have a chance at victory. They reach up at you the anger still radiating off of them. You kneel down and take their hand in your own. Their grip is weak, their muscles deteriorating by the second; their hair falls back over their eyes, and you hear them begin to sob. You lift them slightly off the ground with your other hand, supporting their neck. Tears stream from under their hair to the “floor” of the expanse; they look at you, teeth chattering.

Despite their ferocity, they are only but a dying child, on the edge of vanishing forever. You can feel your Soul filling out what’s missing, and feel their body become lighter. Their crying lessens, their breathing calms, and their head tilts back in your grasp. In the place of anger, you now feel sorrow, a mourning, coming from them. You feel their hand fall from yours and watch as they slowly begin to fade away. You brush aside their bangs before they fade. Even now, they’re staring you in the eye. You pull back your hair to offer them the same parting gesture. You can see your hand though the back of their head, then you can barely see them at all. They close their eyes, their fate finally absolute. They blink out for good, and the void around you does the same.

You awake with a gasping breath, instinctively clutching at your neck. You’re back in the golden hall; it doesn’t seem like very much time has elapsed. You pull at the scarf; it comes off your neck effortlessly. You stand back up and inspect yourself. Aside from the marks on your throat from being strangled, you have no injuries, and all your equipment is still here. You hold the scarf in both hands; it is no longer moving on its own accord. You think about it for a moment, then put the scarf back on. It remains inert; the force inhabiting it has moved on. You turn back toward the end of the hall. Many of the pillars have collapsed from your fight with Dela, and remained that way. You walk, purpose in each step to the end of the hall and pass through the door. You walk through the flower covered throne room, taking a deep breath in, letting the floral scent flow through you. It smells pleasant, better than any other flowers you’ve sniffed in your life. Part of you wants to take one with you, but beyond it being unlikely to remain intact beyond what’s to come, you feel an aversion to plucking any of them. You briefly stop at the door and look back across the throne room; this will likely be the last of the underground you ever see. You look at the chairs, the designs on the walls, and the ever-present Delta Rune, immortalized in the stained glass at the heights of the room. Your eyes fall on the bottom most triangle in the design, and you stare at it for a moment, as if it were a mirror. You close your eyes and turn, walking through the doorway and into the antechamber of the Barrier; the calm atmosphere of this world you’ve come to know vanishes behind you, to forever be lost to you from this point on.

The Barrier above you pulses with arcane energy. You don’t find it as disorienting as it was initially. You keep your eyes locked on the horizonless void ahead of you, scanning around to try and spot Asriel somewhere in the darkness. You keep your shield slung on your shoulder; it won’t do much against the Planet Buster, anyway. You reach back and draw the Temmie Blaster, preparing for whatever comes next. Each step you take further into the void raises more goosebumps on your skin. You reach a point where, when you look back, you can’t see the door leading back to the throne room any longer. You stop, remaining still, looking up at the Barrier. You don’t know if Asriel is deliberately avoiding you or not, but he has not made himself known. If you’re going to stop him, you’re going to have to find him soon.

You cup your hand over your mouth and yell louder than you have in a very long time. No one responds. You yell again; you yell something about a jacket, something about family, something about pie, something about responsibility. There is, again, no real response, but you can hear a thousand small, barely discernable noises reverberating through the void. You yell again, something about failure, and then you get a reaction. Something dives at you from behind and above, splitting the air with a noise like a knife slicing through paper. You turn on your heel, and raise the Temmie Blaster, gripping the handle with both hands. Asriel, coming at you from behind with an extraordinarily acrid expression on his face, brings the Planet Buster down over her head at you; you match the blow and block it, sending a massive, warbling quake across the entire void. Asriel looks mostly the same as when you last saw him, with three notable differences. A white aura has started radiating from around his entire body, his fur has become longer and messier, and Dela’s Soul, while still floating over his chest, is almost completely faded away. The sound of the Planet Buster scraping against the Temmie Blaster is grating; it feels like your weapon is on the verge of snapping. You hold on, pressing back against Asriel, and like with the human in the space you just left, you both glance off, sliding apart and facing each other in the void beneath the Barrier. Asriel's fur falls in front of his eyes; he looks up at you, grinding his teeth, his white and black eyes shaking in his skull as he stares you down.

“Varik.”

“I HAVE FRICKIN’ HAD IT WITH YOUR CRAP.”

“What are you trying to accomplish here?”

“There’s no role left for you! You’ve REJECTED what I offered, tried to damn my people back to the darkness beneath this accursed mountain.”

“YOU DON’T GET TO DECRY MY ACTIONS! THIS IS THE ONLY WAY, MY ONLY OPTION! IT ALWAYS WAS!”

“I need to take them to the surface. I need…to WIN.”

He holds up the Planet Buster.

“Look at this sword, Varik. It’s Vittorian, Bermiyaran.”

“Bytohlian, in some translations.”

“I know more about the history of your race than you do, and what do you know of OURS?”

“You know NOTHING, nothing beyond what little I’ve spoon-fed you.”

“You don’t know us…you can’t help us.”

“The only use you serve now is as a SOUL.”

“Lay that stupid toy down and yield your SOUL to me, and you yet may find purpose.”

Asriel looks like he’s barely keeping himself together to say these things. To you, he doesn’t look like an angered ruler; he looks like a scared child. You ready the Temmie Blaster and point at Asriel, demanding him to ready himself as well. He grimaces and raises the Planet Buster.

“You…idiot.”

“You barbaric, asinine fool.”

“FINE, Varik, if death is what you crave…”

Asriel smiles maliciously and flips the Planet Buster in his grip. He looks straight at you, and plunges the Planet Buster into his chest, through Dela’s soul. The aura around his body begins to crackle and spark, and the Barrier shakes violently. Asriel begins flashing, either laughing or screaming, as he begins to float above the ground, bits of his body dripping off of him like liquid from around where the Planet Buster entered his body. Everything is enveloped in a burst of light, and Asriel calls out to you, his voice warbling between different volumes and frequencies.

“I ‘ L L G I V E Y O U T H E B E S T O N E I C A N O F F E R ! ! ! ! ! ! !”

“H A H A H A H A H A H A HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”

The world returns to you, and Asriel hovers before you. His body has been transmogrified; his head sits atop a massive, armor like structure, with a chamber of swarming Souls within it; What’s left of Dela’s soul sits at the front, still, while the rest rush around like rats in a cage. His lower body ends in a point, like the end of a spade, with a line of energy squirming back and forth within it. His arms, barely connected to the rest of his form by what looks like chains, have heart-shaped holes punched through them. His horns have grown longer, and the scar on his snout now appears to be bleeding magical energy as if it were blood. A pair of wings with a flashing rainbow of colors and particles moving within them come off his body. The Planet Buster juts out from just beneath the Soul chamber, more energy bleeding from the wound, dripping down the handle of the blade. He roars, the sound leaving his mouth like some forgotten beast from times long before your own. You feel trepidation in response to what is before you. Sweating, you grip the Temmie Blaster, and charge in like you always have, and try to look for a way to fight back.

Asriel unleashes a barrage of magical meteors, peppering the ground around you. You move between them, trying to get out of the line of fire looking for a place to strike. A meteor crashes behind you, and you leap forward towards Asriel, swinging the Temmie Blaster as hard as you can. The blade glances off his new form, not leaving even a scratch. You wail on him again and again, but to no avail; nothing you can do harms him. You try to strike him again, and you in turn are struck by a magical explosion. You bounce off of Asriel, flying onto your back. He laughs and sends another barrage of meteors toward you, screaming at you as he does.

”ALL THESE SOULS GIVE ME THE POWER OF A GOD!!!”

“YOU ARE NOTHING, VARIK!!! YOU HEAR ME? YOU ARE NOTHING!!!”

“THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR ABANDONING ME!!!”

“DO YOU FEEL PROUD OF YOUR CHOICES NOW?!?”

“DIE!!! GO AWAY!!!”

The meteors descend upon you, being of such size and such number that there’s no hope of you getting away from it. The Temmie Blaster is unable to hurt him in this state; even with the Souls of all monsters behind you, it won’t work against the Souls themselves…and one Soul in particular doesn’t want you to succeed. The meteors draw closer, and crash around you. This is it. There’s no way you can fight like this...

But maybe…you can get some help.

You call out, looking for someone, and you hear voices call back to you. They sound lost, discordant; they need your help as much as you need theirs. You reach out to them, and take a hold of what left to get to them.

Two Lost Souls stand before you, one tall, dressed in ninja garb, one short with a woolen coat. A stream of bones pokes out of the ground, typing to skewer you; you feel your Soul become heavier.

“EVERYTHING IS GOING TO HURT ME…I NEED TO HIDE AWAY.”

“there’s no point in trying…what’s left for us now?”

You tell the tall Lost Soul that you enjoy his trap designs, and that he’s one of the bravest people you’ve met. You think you can see him smiling.

“THERE’S NO…OTHER RECOURSE…FOR ME…”

“i’ve been there too…all i’d dreamed of seeing is gone…”

You tell the short Lost Soul that you want to hear a bad joke about bones. You think you can see him wink.

“GET AWAY FROM ME…”

“just lie down and die like the rest of us…”

You tell the tall Lost Soul that he doesn’t have to be afraid of you; you tell the short Lost Soul that you’ve tried your best to be better for him and his friends in their home. A shimmer crosses their bodies, and the memories come back. Papyrus and Sans smile at you.

“I CAN BE STRONGER…I CAN FACE WHAT’S OUT THERE WITH FRIENDS LIKE YOU!”

“you’re doing better than most of us…i’m rootin’ for you, man.”

You feel your Soul coalesce; you feel stronger. You call out again. Two more Lost Souls come before you, one tall with flowing red hair and armor, one short with a trench coat. A barrage of spears and crackling orbs whip around you.

“I’m only a fighter…I can only protect by fighting back…”

“All that I touch will die…I need to stay my hand…”

You tell the tall Lost Soul that you’re looking forward to your rematch with her. She takes a proud stance and gives you a thumbs up.

“I NEED to hate you…it’s…not a choice…”

“I can’t help others…I can’t give them anything…”

You tell the short Lost Soul the name of one of your favorite myths. She responds with excitement, and wants to tell it back to you.

“And when I die…I’ll deserve it as much as you do…”

“Maybe I should lock myself away…wait for the void to claim me…”

You tell the tall Lost Soul that you know she’s strong besides her physical prowess; you tell the short Lost Soul that someone loves her, unconditionally. They flicker in and out, and the memories come back. Undyne and Alphys smile at you.

“To meet someone like you is a privilege; we’ll match each other as allies one day!”

“No! I CAN help others! I can recover from my mistakes!”

Your Soul steels itself; you feel even stronger. You call out once more. Another Lost Soul comes before you, a tall one with a hooded purple robe. Streams of fire close in on you, threating to cook you alive.

“I’m just another useless body…I can’t face the horror I made.”

You tell the Lost Soul that you can’t wait to try more of her food, and another slice of pie. She smiles warmly and folds her hands.

“I’ll never be able to make a difference…my only role is to hope for someone to change it for me.”

You tell the Lost Soul that you feel safer around her than you’ve felt in a very long time. She reaches out as if to hug you.

“There’s no future for me…”

You tell the Lost Soul that she’s a natural leader, that her people look up to her, and so do you. Her Soul phases back together, and the memories come back. Toriel smiles at you.

“I’m stronger than that! I’ve always been better than that, and I’ll keep doing it for people like you!”

Your Soul girds itself; you feel very empowered, but not powerful enough. You call out again, and feel another presence, one that seems to try and flee from you, only to be drawn in more. A Lost Soul, in a revealing outfit and cape stands before you. A magical current runs through your body, threatening to paralyze you.

“You are my mortal enemy…the worst of what our race has to offer.”

You tell the Lost Soul that you’ve never hated her, and the adventures you been driven into by her have been the most exciting times of your life. She scoffs and flaps her cape.

“You’re a murderer… the only duty in my life is to bring you to justice...”

You tell the Lost Soul that you wish something else could have been done about her master. She looks at the floor and clenches her fists.

“There’s nothing else for me…there’s nothing else for me…”

You tell the Lost Soul that you want things to be better the next time you see her. She gives you a wry smile.

“I…I…”

You tell the Lost Soul that you accept her judgement of you. With a flash, she reforms, and the memories come back. Dela looks at you, and gives you a gentle smile.

“Even with everything between us, you stay your hand against me...”

“I guess you ARE what drives me, Varik.”

Your Soul reinforces itself; it feels like you’re at the peak of your very being. Everything around you vibrates, and you feel yourself push back against Asriel. A searing pain sets in across all your senses, and you buckle for a brief moment. But, just as abruptly, you feel someone help hold you up, then someone else, and someone else, helping you remain stalwart in the face of the agony. You scream and push back as hard as you can. It’s as if you’ve punched a glass window, passing through the other side cut up, but alive, and ready for more. You open your eyes; you’re on your feet, the Temmie Blaster in your grip; the blade of the weapon is glowing a rainbow shade, leaving afterimages as you move it around. In front of you, Asriel is on his knees, grabbing at his chest; his body has been reverted to what it was before, the Planet Buster no longer in his body, lying nearby on the ground. He looks up at you, confused and bewildered.

“H-How…WHAT DID YOU-?!”

His eyes widen with horror as he looks at you. You raise a hand to your face. It feels like streams of warm tears are flowing from your eyes uncontrollably; pulling you hand away; flecks of some white energy fly off. You straighten your posture, let your shield drop from your shoulder, and ready the Temmie Blaster. You charge Asriel; he narrowly grabs the Planet Buster in time and brings it up to block your blow. Even reduced back to what he was before, his power is incredible; everything quakes with the clash of your blades. The two of you engage in a vicious duel, leaping to and fro, every strike either of you land shaking the entire world. The sound is deafening, and neither of you hold back. You find yourself struck by the Planet Buster a few times; it hurts so much more than even what you already thought of as impossible pain, and it only drives you further.

You slam the Temmie Blaster into the Planet Buster; for a moment, it looks like the Barrier will implode from the energy being output. Asriel parries your attack and swings the sword angrily, exchanging between hands after each swing while summoning stars from above to crush you, and bolts of lightning to turn you to ash. The lightning strikes you dead on, but it doesn’t do anything, being conducted out of your body through the streams pouring from your eyes, much to Asriel’s frustration. As the stars splinters into smaller ones, you bash them out of the air with your shield, which holds up, despite its weak material. Asriel uses the distraction to slash at you from the side; on autopilot, you raise your shield to block the blow. Asriel looks almost joyful at this action; he clearly expects to cut right through it, only to be dumbfounded and distraught as the Planet Buster bounces of the shield like a stone. An aura of your own, one like that surrounding Asriel, makes itself visible, and you see his physical form warble. Dread crosses his face as he is momentarily stunned by his failure; you counter, punching him in the face with your sword hand, knocking him back, then slicing him across the snout with a back handed slash.

The void around you shakes as the sword connects; Asriel does not vanish, but a massive gash is left in his face, cutting away part of his jaw. The aura around him shatters and he flies back; as he recovers, he grabs at his face, shocked, then screams and charges at you again, He swings the sword at you again and again; it feels like the planet is going to fall apart. You stop his assault with the Temmie Blaster and struggle with Asriel, staring at him from across your sword. He looks like he’s trying to force himself to overcome you, boosting himself with brawn he can’t quite muster, but in one quick surge, he manages to push the Temmie Blaster into your chest. It proves to be a detriment to him, however; you shove the Temmie Blaster upward into the Planet Buster and shove your whole body behind it. You hear a crack, and watch as the Temmie Blaster flies out of your grip and into the air. The Planet Buster does not fare as well; the powerful sword, once touted to be the strongest weapon every created, has snapped in two, the pieces spiraling through the air. You and Asriel look up at the flying swords; he seems horrified as he realizes what’s happened to the Planet Buster, but as the Temmie Blaster flies downward towards him, he jumps up and reaches out to grab it.

The next second slows down to a crawl as you watch Asriel take the Temmie Blaster in midair and begins plummeting towards you, ferociously brandishing your own weapon. You think to raise your shield, and realize that you aren’t unarmed. You place your hopes in what you have left, and reach down for the rapier. You jump up at Asriel, facing him head on, drawing the rapier and gripping it upside down. Asriel swings the Temmie Blaster at you. You raise your shield to block it; Asriel tries to raise his arms mid swing and come at you with a downward slash instead; it buys you just enough time to draw the rapier completely from its scabbard. You slice diagonally, upward across Asriel’s chest and the rapier cuts deep, leaving a tear through his clothes and body that seems to alter his form. His eyes widen and his muscles go limp; you ram into him and land hard against him on the floor. You roll off him and onto your knees, drops of white energy still falling from your eyes.
You stand up and face Asriel; his body is destroyed, the Temmie Blaster has fallen away from him, sticking out of the ground. He struggles for breath and tries to stand back up, only to fall onto his knees as he groans in agony. On the ground in front of him is the broken handle of the Planet Buster. He weakly reaches for it, mouth shaking as he looks at it, then up at you. He’s crying as he speaks; his eyes have returned to normal, his fur is at its regular length, and he’s beginning to flicker.

“H-H-H-Hoooowww…?”

“You bro…y-y-y-you…b-b-br…”

“A-aaaaah…”

“M-m-nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn…"

“nnnnnNNNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“I ju…I…”

“Varik…why…”

“Why couldn’t I just…”

“I…”

His lips quiver, and a sorrowful smile creeps onto his face.

“A-heh...eeeeh…”

“I…couldn’t…”

“I can’t…”

“I…I DIDN’T WANT TO HURT ANYONE, VARIK!!!”

“I JUST WANTED TO KEEP MY PROMISE!!! I WANTED TO BE A GOOD PRINCE!!!”

“MY WHOLE LIFE HAS BEEN PEOPLE GETTING RIPPED AWAY FROM ME!!!”

“ALL THE FRIENDS I’VE EVER HAD HAVE DIED!!!”

“I JUST WANTED TO DO WHAT I TOLD THEM I’D DO! I WANTED…I wanted…”

“…I wanted to live up to what others thought I was…I wanted…to be their hero…and all I could ever think of was how to hurt them to get there…”

“I wanted another choice…there wasn’t one! There…wasn’t one…”

“Was there?”

Asriel’s body begins to drip.

“Oh God…”

“I’m so cold…”

Parts of his body begin falling off. The Planet Buster’s handle falls from his grasp.

“It’s so…so…”

“Oh no.”

His voice drops in octaves gradually as he melts into a formless mass. He cries as his body deteriorates.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry Im sorry i m s o r r y”

“i m s c a r e d”

“i d o n t w a n t t o d i e i m s o r r y”

“p l e a s e . . . i”

“i”

Asriel stops speaking. His body is almost completely liquified. Then, like that, he dissipates, evaporating into dust. In the place where he once was lie his robes and the leather jacket. An inverted heart, a Soul, appears. It vibrates rapidly; you move towards it cautiously. It begins to shimmer, and looks like it’s about to snap.

“What are you doing, you idiot?! TAKE IT!”

You thrust your hand out and grasp the Soul, just before it breaks apart. You feel a burning in your Soul, and a thunderclap fills your ears as a flash of light arcs out from your body. You stop and try to coordinate yourself, before looking down at your body. Physically, you look much the same, though your hair has become coarser; you run your fingers through it and find that it almost has a fluffy texture now. You look down at your chest; your Soul is visible, and it’s been changed. Your orange Soul, surrounded by a white Soul, Asriel’s Soul. You look at it for a second, before it fades away into your body. You feels stronger, quicker, both mentally and physically; as you breathe in, it feels like the most substantive breathe you’ve ever taken. The stream of energy flowing from your eyes has stopped. You then realize that someone spoke to you before you took the Soul. You turn; Dela is standing there, in perfect health, with her magic staff in one hand and her other hand on her hip. She looks at you from head to toe, and then chortles.

“Gotta say, you don’t look very threatening.”

“So…Varik. I bet you really regret saving me now, don’t you?”

“…”

“Well, it’s your lucky day. I don’t like to owe anyone favors, so let’s call it like this…”

“You saved me, and I let you take Asriel’s Soul with no objections. So go through there, kill that monster…”

“…And I’ll let you keep your head a little longer.”

“Be warned though, once I’m out of here, and I WILL find a way out of here, I’m coming for you.”

“And don’t worry, I’ve made my commitment to the monsters down here. I’d hang around to help them out anyway.”

“I’ll go make sure they’re okay now that you’ve dealt with the prince.”

“Get it done so we can get back to settling this. And don’t you DARE die before we meet again.”

Dela turn and walks away from you. As she’s about to disappear into the void, she calls back to you once last time.

“And Varik!”

“…Good luck.”

Dela walks out of your sight; you assume she’ll be able to find her way back to the throne room on her own. You turn and go to pick up the Temmie Blaster, sheathing the rapier and pulling the weapon out of the ground. It hasn’t stopped glowing yet from when you brought it to bear against Asriel. Looking back at the handle of the Planet Buster, an impulse drives you to pick it up as well, tossing it into your rucksack. Broken, the weapon carries no presence like it did before, just another hunk of metal. You pick up the leather jacket and spend a bit putting it on under your armor. You turn away from where Dela walked away and continue walking into the darkness. You walk for some time; you expect a phone call at some point, but it never arrives.

Ahead of you, the Barrier starts to drop down from the ceiling to the floor, like a wall blocking any further progress. As you approach, you can hear something groaning; you know what waits for you beyond this, the last obstacle and threat you must deal with. You start to move into a jog, then a run, then a full-on sprint. The Temmie Blaster pulses as you run forth to the wall. You charge right into it, shield and sword at the ready, and it breaks apart, allowing you to pass through. The fractured pieces, just as abruptly, reform behind you, separating you from the underground permanently.

In the darkness of the region ahead, the monstrosity groans and roars. As you continue running towards it, it begins to come into view; it is much bigger than you expected. The formless mass of monsters and humans fused together in an unholy mess reaches as far as you can see in either direction of the void. The agonized screaming and moaning are deafening; ahead of you lies the three heads of the center of the beast. The melted forms of King Asgore and King Berebus, and the melted facsimile of a head created from the mass of the monsters and humans, all vomiting out husks, and wailing like the rest of the beast.

Suddenly, the three heads all cry out loudly, deafening all other noise; they all turn to face you, confirming that it knows you’re here. You freeze for a moment, trying to gather yourself, when you notice that the husks aren’t vanishing to appear in the underground; they remain in front of the beast, and begin charging you. You sidestep and cut through them, trying to get up to the abomination and cut it down. Headless, nagas, arachness’, they all swarm you and you eradicate them; dozens and dozens of their number fall before your blade.

Getting to the beast itself, the heads begin to weave back and forth, revealing them to not be attached to necks, but intestine like tendrils that whip around. The head bites at you, and you’re forced to jump off of them just to stay safe. The energy you drained during your fight with Asriel has not yet been replenished; you rushed in too soon, bolstered by the confidence of your new power. You fail to jump out of the way of one of the bites, and the Berebus head clamps down hard around your leg. The pain is severe, but your leg remains attached and intact. You flex the muscle and manage to force the mouth open with your leg alone. Even like this, the strength offered by your empowered Soul is nothing to scoff at, yet you wonder if will truly be enough. You slash the head and pull away; your muscles ache, but you press on. The blow you landed appears to be a good one; torrents of pink husk blood spill from the head, and it growls angrily. Briefly looking at the other head, you notice that the expression on the Asgore head hasn’t changed; it remains sorrowful, while the other two display a look of uncompromising rage. The third, fleshy head vomits out a swarm of sphinx husks. They try to bite and fireball you; you block the fireballs with your shield backed by the power of the Souls in the Temmie Blaster, and surge through the sphinxes as they swoop down at you. You kick off the final one, slashing it beneath you as you jump off. You get close enough to try and land a blow on the Berebus head once more, only for it to roar, releasing a beam of dark, fizzling energy that propels you back across the void. It burns every part of your body and Soul as it comes into contact with you. A headless yanks you out of the air and slams you into the ground. You manage to slash it and destroy it as you fall, but you’re disoriented. A stream of more headless swarms around you, beating you down. It feels for a moment like you’re going to slip away again.

But as you lie there, you feel something burn within you. You felt it before; the presence of others, pulling you back to your feet. Your eyes start to stream with energy once more, but more fiercely; the droplets take on a rainbow coloration that matches the Temmie Blaster’s blade. You stand up amidst the husks as they continue to beat on you. Their attacks feel like nothing; you destroy all of them with a single swipe of the Temmie Blaster. Deep down, in the depths of your Soul, you feel tens of thousands of hearts beating as one, overflowing with spirit and passion. You can feel the Determination coursing through your veins. You take a single breath in, and throw yourself back at the abomination. You land blow after blow, leaping away from attacks by the husks it continues to spawn and the heads themselves trying to get you. Each strike you land cleaves away a section of the abomination’s body; The Berebus head roars angrily with each strike, while the Asgore head seems to calm down. You aim for the third head, slashing through its connective tendril with the Temmie Blaster. It cries as the link is violently severed, and the head breaks off into particles. As you do this, the Asgore head howls loudly, and snaps towards the Berebus head, biting it and taking chunks out of it. The rest of the many small faces on the beast begin crying and screaming; you do not let up your assault.

Husks keep coming from the mouth of the Berebus head as it fights with the Asgore head, and the final leg of the battle begins. You cut through the hordes as you come through and strike the body of the monstrosity over and over and over; your body shakes with every blow. It’s almost too much. You feel like your nerves are going to burn away and your body will melt, but you press on. Again, and again, and again; every gradual chunk pushes you far enough to try one more time. The Berebus head roars in fury. The Asgore head releases its grip and drops, swaying limply as you wail on both it and the Berebus head. The rest of the beast begins to bleed profusely; husks cease emerging from either of the remaining heads. You strike it again; your body is numb, overloaded, and you keep going. You pull your arm back one final, and put everything you are behind it. The blow lands with a sound like a thunderclap, and once more, it feels like the whole world shakes.
You finally burn out, and drop to your knees, then onto your chest. The monstrosity begins to shake, and everything else along with it. The Berebus head cries out; a voice leaves its lips.

“ N O O ! ! ! ”

“ F O U L, A C C U R S E D M O N S T E R S ! ! ! ”

“ I ‘ L L K I L L Y O U A L L! ”

A more solemn voice leaves the lips of the Asgore head.

“A S R I E L…?”

“M Y S O N…T H A N K Y O U…”

“F O R S O L O N G…T H A N K Y O U…”

“K E E P Y O U R M O T H E R S A F E… O U R P E O P L E S A F E…”

“S T A Y A L I V E F O R A L L O F U S, A S R I E L...”

The monstrosity shakes more; it begins to vanish into light. The Berebus head gives one more cry in its death throes.

“ N O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ”

Everything goes white, then fades back to black. The ground beneath you feels like grass; you can hear the sound of a gentle breeze somewhere ahead. Light reaches your eyes from somewhere in the distance. You remain still on the ground for a while, barely able to register any of this through your numbed body. The rush of energy and Determination gradually calms down, until you feel more composed. All the left-over power has dissipated; save for the presence of Asriel’s Soul, it’s like it was never there. You try to push yourself up onto your knees; your head feels light as you then awkwardly stand up. You stick your hands out to your side and feel a wet, stone wall, using it to guide yourself back to your feet You manage to get upright, and stay like that for a moment, taking breathes as your sense return to you. The Temmie Blaster and your shield are still in your grip; you let your hands relax a little bit, while still holding onto them.

You take your first step forward. Your knees buckle, but you’re able to stay up. You take your next step, then another. You’re moving at an upward angle, drops of water coming down from above. You press on, looking at the floor, as more light comes into view. The grass beneath your feet is revealed to be green, the stone walls a light brown. You look up towards where you’re climbing; an exit, swathed in light, lies at the top. You realize that you’re in a cave, and looking back at where you came from, you see that it leads to an apparent dead end. You’re not sure how you ended up in here; the only thing that comes to mind is teleportation. You decide it’s not critical, and the only thing that matters is that you’re here regardless. You look back up to the exit and quicken your pace, nervous about confronting what lies beyond. You reach the top, and step through.

You reflexively cover your eyes as the light overwhelms you. Warmth covers your body; the tweeting of birds meets your ears. You lower your arm and look out at what’s in front of you. It’s the surface. You’ve made it back to the surface. Ahead of you, the sun is rising, shining down over the land with not a single cloud to block out its rays. Two blurs rush past you, making you duck. Two seagulls, gliding through the air out towards the sea on the horizon, passing over each other in flights. You watch them cruise down to the sea, gliding along the shoreline. You’ve exited out onto a ledge, a nearby path leading down to ground far below. A forest terrain meets the shoreline; our in the distance, you don’t see any other land mass, no other islands. You’re not sure if you’re even still on the same island you fell into the underground on. You take a deep breath of the salty air, savoring the feeling of utter freedom. Even if just in this moment, you are free.

You pull your rucksack off you shoulder and roll them. You look inside at what you have. The cell phone and the broken Planet Buster are the only items inside. You pull out the cell phone. You try to dial a number into it, but it doesn’t make any noise, either when you press a key or finish the number. You shake it; you hear the sound of pieces moving inside; you guess that it’s broken. Lacking the know how to repair it, you put it aside. You then pull out the broken Planet Buster; the pointy handle is useless now without the blade. You then look at the rucksack itself; it appears to be severely shredded up, barely holding together. It would be more feasible to fashion a new one from materials you find on your own. You place the cell phone and Planet Buster back inside the rucksack and seal it. You pick up the rucksack and leave it just inside the entrance to the cave. You turn back and look out to the horizon, and across the land you’ve emerged onto. You do not know how you will find your way back home, or what awaits Dela and the monsters in the underground; you’re not even certain how close you are to them anymore. But all you can do you is what you’ve always done: Press on and await what comes next. You take the Temmie Blaster, sheathe it on your back and sling the shield over your shoulder. Without looking back at the cave, you start down the path away from the cliff, listening to the birds and insects chirping in the forest below.

The rising sun tells you that you spent one full day in the underground. You think of the monsters you met in that time, and of Dela one more time, before deciding to relax a bit and think about something else for a little while. But in that moment that you think of them, you feel warm, happy, even.

A smile crosses your face.

“(Ring...)”

“Hello? Varik?”

“…No response.”

“Well, I can just leave a message…”

“It’s TORIEL. And…”

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“I do hope that you’re okay. But I won’t chastise you for not picking up.”

“Things have been…good, down here.”

“After you…defeated ASRIEL, as Delon told us, our SOULS returned to our bodies. But that was not the end of it.”

“We could feel that struggle with that awful beast from throughout the underground. And…”

“We prayed for your safety and success.”

“All of us.”

“It seems like you succeeded! The husks have gone away. Completely!”

“I’ve taken up the role of ruler of the underground once more. Our focus has been reconstruction and preparation for the future.”

“And…a-heh…I don’t know how else to say this…”

“All the monsters are okay. No casualties to the husks or SOULS left unreturned.”

“YOU saved us, Varik. We’re all okay, thanks to you.”

“(didja get through?)”

“No, Sans, but I’m leaving a message.”

“Would you like to…?”

“(of course.)”

“hey, varik.”

“it’s been, what, a month or so?”

“the snowcroft’s been cleaned up. grillby’s was burned down, but, hey…”

“we’re helping him build a new one.”

“nasty piece of work you managed there. i’m impressed.”

“when we get out of here, the next round’s on me…”

“…like it was last time.”

“but hey, if free drinks are what it takes to get a guy like you to do stuff like THIS, it’s worth it.”

“(WHAT ARE YOU TWO UP TO?)”

“(Leaving a message for Varik.)”

“(OH! GIVE ME THAT!)”

“HELLO, RECRUIT! HOW ARE YOU DOING? I KNOW YOU CAN’T ANSWER, BUT I BET THE ANSWER IS ‘SUPERB!’”

“I HOPE THE STARS UP THERE ARE PRETTY! I’D LIKE TO WATCH THEM WITH YOU SOME TIME.”

“I’M DOING BETTER! I'M HELPING REBUILD THE KINGDOM, MOSTLY BY DEFUSING A LOT OF MY OWN TRAPS. SINCE, YOU KNOW, THE HUSKS ARE GONE.”

“BUT THAT’S OKAY! IT WAS MY RECRUIT WHO GOT RID OF THEM! I’M SO PROUD!!!”

“AND…THANKFUL. THANKS FOR HELPING ME OPEN UP AND TRY TO GET STRONGER, VARIK. I OWE YOU THE WORLD FOR IT.”

“SO STAY SAFE! I MEANT IT ABOUT THE STARGAZING!”

“(What’s all this?)”

“HI, UNDYNE! WE’RE LEAVING A MESSAGE FOR VARIK!”

“(GIMMIE THAT!)”

“Hey man! Hope you’re doin’ good!”

“Me, I’m great! Al managed to throw together a design for that DETERMINATION suppressor; once it’s done, I’m back in business!”

“Though, there’s not much to fight now, but…”

“I still need to train!”

“We still have that rematch to look forward to!”

“(Rematch?)”

“Don’t worry, my queen, we’re all good.”

“Just a friendly, non-fatal rematch between friends!”

“I CAN’T WAIT TO KICK YOUR ASS LIKE THE BEST FRIEND YOU’VE GOT, VARIK!”

“So make sure you’re ready, too!”

“And DON’T use that stupid magic sword of yours, you know that’s not on the table!”

“Unless I get one TOO! THEN WE’RE TALKING!!! FU-HU-HU!!!”

“And…”

“Thank you, for helping us over the prince. It says a lot about you, that you went out of your way to help us instead.”

“You’ve got a good heart, so don’t you DARE go and die on me, got it?!”

“Hey, Al! Come over here, leave a message!”

“(O-Oh! Uh…)”

“(For Varik?)”

“Yeah!”

“Well…hey!”

“U-Um, Mettaton’s doing okay!”

“It took forever to find his body, but he’s back in running order!”

“I’m getting ready to upgrade his body to that better version permanently, so, uh…”

“That’s exciting!”

“…”

“I…also returned the dust of the monsters from the lab to their families without incident.”

“They were a bit upset that I couldn’t save them…but they weren’t angry, either.”

“They just…thanked me for trying my best. And then, that was it.”

“They got their closure and I got…a little less anxiety?”

“Well, no…”

“But I did get a pretty cool girlfriend out of this ordeal!”

“(ALPH!!!)”

“Heh-heh…”

“And some more confidence too.”

“...Thank you, Varik.”

“I don’t know if I can ever express how much you changed things for the better, but, just…”

“Thank you.”

“I’m handing you back to the queen.”

“…”

“We’re all getting by, day by day, Varik.”

“I hope we get to see you again soon!”

“And…oh!”

“Here…”

“Varik? It’s Dela.”

“Remember what I said. The instant we’re all out of here...”

“I’m coming for you.”

“…Heh. They’re all looking at me weird. But I’m sticking to my convictions.”

“The monsters are an amazing people, I will say. It’s a tragedy that they’ve been trapped down here for so long.”

“I can say that’s one good thing you’ve done, Varik. You made even just two humans aware of them.”

“I’m expecting you to try to find a way to help them out while you’re on the surface, mister!”

“Don’t focus on how I’m here. That’s selfish!”

“And-”

“(Yo, Miss Delon!)”

“(We want to get back to the magic lesson!)”

“Just a second!”

“…Hmph. I’m needed elsewhere.”

“Stay alive, Varik. For me~”

“Ta-ta.”

“Here, Your Majesty.”

“…”

“…She’s an…odd element, Varik, but it’s nice to have a human around for a change.”

“Oops. Looks like I’m running low on batteries. We need to go.”

“catch ya later, varik.”

“SEE YOU SOON, VARIK!”

“Stay safe, punk!”

“S-See you later!”

“Goodbye, Varik.”

“…”

“…Ah, they’re gone.”

“Varik, I do have one more thing to ask.”

“I’ll admit…I’m not doing the best job of moving on.”

“I can’t stop thinking about ASRIEL.”

“I know you did what you had to, but…”

“…”

“(Sniff)”

“Ah…ignore that...”

“Listen. I know you may be angry at him, and you have every reason to be.”

“But, please, if you can still hear him…”

“Tell him his mother still loves him. She takes back what she said.”

“I know that might not sound good, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven what he tried to do.”

“But, I still want to hope.”

“Hope that one day, beyond all odds, I’ll have him back as I knew him.”

“…Mmm. Just another wish of a silly old lady.”

“But I know you understand.”

“Keep him safe, Varik. Keep yourself safe.”

“Okay, that’s all.”

“Varik…”

“‘See you around.’”

“(Click)”

FIN

Chapter Text

The sand beneath your feet is blowing up into your face in the fierce desert wind. Were it not for your goggles, you wouldn’t be able to see anything; only an actual sandstorm would make this worse. Climbing up over another dune, you survey the horizon. There hasn’t been any change in the topography for quite some time, but you’ve pressed too far and over too much treacherous terrain to make turning back reasonable. Travel might have been a bit easier were you not lugging a massive wooden longsword on your back, but leaving the Temmie Blaster behind is not an option. Reaching for the waterskin you’ve fashioned from an animal’s hide, you take a hefty swig; sand mixes in with the water and scratches the back of your throat, but you at least get the hydration.

It’s been approximately a month and a half since you’ve defeated Prince Asriel and escaped the Monster Kingdom, buried deep beneath the land of what was once a continent known as “Atlas.” You were chased into the underground kingdom by your longtime rival, Dela Delon, and managed to befriend and rouse the monster population to rebellion after some initial adversity. Since then, with no way back across the sea to Afroca, you’ve wandered further into what's left this land, surviving by the day and awaiting whatever fate will befall you. You’ve tried to follow the coast thus far, but worsening weather conditions have driven you further in land, and into this desert. Your days of long walks and searching for native fauna to use for sustenance is interrupted only by your nightly rushes to set up shelter and not freeze. In your dreams, you think you can hear someone speaking to you; his voice sounds familiar and desperate, but you never have been able to hear him clear enough to discern what he says. You know well who he is, but he still hasn’t made himself apparent.

Another gust launches more sand into your face; you pull your scarf up over your mouth as the tail ends of the fabric flap wildly, and arch your head downwards as your march over the dunes. Over the sandy horizon, a shore begins to come into view. It seems you’ve finally reached the other end of what remains of this land. Walking up to the water’s edge, you lower your scarf briefly and inhale a bit of the salty sea air. There’s nowhere else for you to go, save for walking along this new coast or back the way you came. Frustrated at your lack of options, you kick at a few shells that have washed up on the beach; they skip across the frothy waves and then sink below. Suddenly, the water near where they fell begins to recede rapidly. The shells are uncovered once again as the waves pull back further into the ocean, so quickly and abruptly that it cannot be natural. You watch in astonishment as the water rises upward, leaving a gap in front of you gradually sloping down to the ocean floor, completely exposing the seabed. Beached fish flop around on what was once the ocean floor; the sea has somehow parted directly before you.

You stare out at the new path, walls of water, fish and silt on either side. Intrigued, though hesitant, you take the first few steps along the sand down past the walls and into the ocean. You walk amongst the dying fish, keeping your eyes on the top of the ocean to either side of you. The paranoia of the walls suddenly collapsing on top of you sets in, but you push through it. Your walk goes on for quite some time, the shore disappearing behind you. Just as you begin to feel hypnotized by the unchanging sights in front of you, something crests the horizon, walking the same parted path you are. It looks like a collection of individuals riding on horseback. You squint, looking at the one leading the group; they’re adorned in silvery armor, a massive, curved sword and a lance affixed to their horse’s barding. You’re shocked as their face comes into view when they draw closer; you know who they are.

His name is Karl Kares. You briefly served alongside him as a mercenary in the past, where you maintained an intense rivalry. His tall, platinum hair and the scar running across his face is a dead giveaway. You do not feel enthusiasm or excitement when you realize that it’s him; you know the man’s priorities, and regardless of however he came here from Afroca, you know that seeing him while not walking alongside him is a very bad sign. You reach back into your scabbard and draw the Temmie Blaster, gripping the sword with both hands, watching as Karl and his men draw closer. You ready yourself for whatever comes next, hoping the months away from proper combat haven’t eroded your reflexes and instincts.

But as you stand at the ready, a painful sensation strikes you at the nape of your neck. You fall onto one knee; it feels like a phantom cudgel has been swung against the back of your head. Disoriented, you watch out of your peripheral as the men on horseback trot up next to you and stop. Straining to look up, you lock eyes with Karl; he looks back at you with a stern gaze, and then raises an eyebrow.

“What happened to you, Varik?”

One of other men, clad in iron armor, jumps of his horse and walks up to you. He kicks at your side, knocking you over onto your back, and reaches down to pick up the Temmie Blaster. He scans the sword from top to bottom and shakes his head.

“It’s just a wooden toy! No way in hell this is what the king wanted!”

“What kind of dumbass walks around with a wooden sword?!”

“Frickin’ waste of time…”

The man reaches behind him and pulls out a dagger. Standing above you, he sticks the Temmie Blaster into the silt and raises the dagger over your head. You look over at Karl; he sits there, waiting, his eyes locked firmly with yours. He then speaks to the man with the dagger.

“Badorrer said to bring him in alive.”

The man looks back at Karl and spits in the silt.

“Yeah, well, this ain’t our guy! There ain’t no ‘grand’ weapon, Kares! Just a wooden piece of trash! I get to have this one!”

“Hope the fish like the taste of ya, creep!”

The man brings the dagger down, aimed for your neck. The painful disorientation that struck you out of nowhere suddenly evaporates; you can still feel it, trying to hold you down, but something else burning within you drives it back. You grab the man’s wrist before he stabs you and kick at his elbow, breaking the bones in his arm. With a pained cry, he falls back onto the silt. You swiftly jump to your feet, pulling the Temmie Blaster out of the silt as you do, and raise it over your head. It begins to shimmer with energy, only a mere fraction of what it did before, but as you bring it down onto the man, he screams and then disintegrates; it looks like he is partially bisected before his body turns to particles of light.

Thinking on the restraint you forced yourself under during your time in the underground, you don’t feel the same obligation towards these men. The monsters felt different to fight compared to your own kind. Perhaps Karl’s presence among them colors your view to be more ready for vicious action, but you don’t mull over it for long. You look up at the other men; all of them seem shocked and horrified, save for Karl, who has a look of subdued excitement. You charge towards him and swing the Temmie Blaster at him, but he manages to get his horse to back up before you can land a hit. The other men holler and charge you, swinging at you with swords and pikes from atop their horses. That burning in your Soul intensifies, and you rush in to face them head on. You slash and stab at them, moving deftly between their strikes and out of the path of their mounts.

One by one, you eradicate them, some dying atop their horses, others falling off and meeting their end on the silt. The rush reminds you of the feeling you had during your fight with Undyne, but it’s accompanied by something else. A pit in your stomach, a feeling like you’re doing something wrong, making you feel queasy. It doesn’t feel like anything you’ve ever felt in response to something like this before. Eventually, only one man besides Karl remains. He looks at you with utter fear and rides away from you. Karl, however, stops him, unhooking his lance and holding it up in the man’s path, knocking him off his horse and onto the silt. The horse, along with those belonging to the men you’ve slain, run off in the direction from where the group came. Karl reaffixes his lance and looks down at the man.

“Face him, coward. No running away.”

The man is in a great deal of despair. With Karl at his back, he nervously stands up and draws his own sword. Sweat pouring down his face, he closes his eyes and charges you, screaming. You don’t move, watching as he gets closer; he’s going to go for a downward slash against you. He opens his eyes, and with renewed confidence, brings his sword down. But the end result isn’t up in the air; you grab him by the neck and stop him mid-attack. The sword falls from his grasp, and he feebly grabs at his neck. You take the Temmie Blaster and prepare to run it through his chest. He pleads with you with choked words, begging you to spare him. You ignore it and thrust the sword into his chest, atomizing him.

That feeling of having done something wrong persists. You prop yourself up on the Temmie Blaster, taking in deep, heavy breaths. You can almost hear Toriel or Papyrus’ voice in your ear; the part that unnerves you the most is that you don’t know what they would say in response to this. Never before have you felt any guilt for something like this; these feelings can’t be your own. Something else is doing this. You take one more breath in and try to calm yourself down, and then look up at Karl. A thin smile crosses his face.

You raise the Temmie Blaster once more. Rushing towards Karl, you pull the sword back and aim for his horse’s neck. The horse, reflecting its rider, remains composed and doesn’t pull back. You don’t get to follow through on the strike; another shock at the back of your neck wracks your body, and your muscles convulse. The Temmie Blaster falls to the silt, and you drop onto your knees, head angled upward to face Karl. Everything is going numb; you fall into the silt face-first. As you black out, you can barely feel the sensation of Karl jumping off his horse and walking up next to you. That burning in your Soul dies down, and everything becomes dark. Before you drop out of consciousness completely, you feel something looking back at you in your mind’s eye. Desperate, you peer back, trying to make out anything. The image of a youthful face, covered in white fur with two floppy ears, fills your mind, and then vanishes as you fall into a deep sleep.