Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

What does Joey even get out of this?

Cults. Cults are things that happen. You’re pretty sure there used to be a cult here. Maybe that’s what happened to all- everyone. Maybe it was on purpose, by them, at least some of it. That seems better than being killed for no reason.

They were betrayed, though. No matter when. No use in pondering it. It won’t help. Just try to get to Tom and Allison. They’re nice enough.

And then you are falling. And beneath you is… color. And around you. What.

You had forgotten what color was like. It has been so long.

You are crying. You press on your eyes, and slump down.

There are flowers around you. Golden and beautiful. And soft.

How long has it been since you’ve slept? Since Allison and Tom’s place, but even then it was a bad sleep.

You lay face down in the flowers, to see their colors, and you drift to sleep.

Chapter Text

When you wake up, there is a goat leaning over you.

(You) “Bhuwh? Who?”

The goat leans back, smiling-nervously?

(Goat-Lady) “I am Toriel, Caretaker of the Ruins. I apologize for startling you.”

You smile.

(You) “Uh, don’t worry. Not the scariest thing I’ve seen. Is this your flowerbed?”

(Toriel) “This is indeed. But I planted it so that humans would be safe, after they fell down.”

You look up.

(You) “Oh wow. That’s a long fall.”

Toriel tilts her head.

(Toriel) “Surely you could tell as you were falling.”

Well, this is awkward. Less awkward than if she was a person, but you don’t remember anything that looks like her. If she was a sheep, maybe.

(You) “I didn’t fall off there. I fell through a hole in the floor.”

Toriel looks lost.

(Toriel) “There is no floor up there, surely? Who would build such a thing?”

No.

(You) “Not here. There wasn't any color. I used to have it, but the ink took it from me.”

Toriel stares at you.

(Toriel) “Did you hurt your head?”

Mmm.

(You) “On the way down, or? I’ve done it quite a bit.”

Toriel takes your hand.

(Toriel) “I would show you the puzzles, but you are not doing well. Come with me.

You take her hand, and walk through the confusing set up.

Chapter Text

She brings you into her home, and sits you down in a chair near the fire.

(Toriel) “I am afraid the only beds I have for you are a children's bed and this chair.” 

You shrug.

(Toriel) “Give me a minute. I have some human medicine books around here somewhere.”

You lay back, as she leaves the room

(You) “I’m pretty sure it’s been too long for you to be able to help, ma’am, but I appreciate the concern.”

You can hear her flipping through pages, in another room.

(Toriel) “I suppose you’d know more than I would, but would you let me check?”

Hmm.

(You) “If you want to.”

Toriel eventually comes back.

(Toriel) “This one indeed speaks only of the immediate aftermath. You were correct.”

You nod.

(You) “If you’re satisfied with my health, can you teach me how to deal with monsters? It seems like a good thing to learn.”

Toriel smiles, small.

(Toriel) “Do not strike at me. Please.”

You nod.

(Toriel) “Here we go.

And then-

Things change.

You are not in your body. You look behind you. And there it is.

You blink. Your body blinks.

You smile. Nothing happens.

(Toriel) “Do you see your options?”

You nod.

(Toriel) “Go into ACT.”

Ah!

You move over there.

There are two options. *Talk and *Flirt.

You have a wife? Why is that an option. You chose *Talk.

(You) “I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

Toriel smiles. Text pops up.

*Toriel is SPARING you.

The menu is back.

*SPARE

*Spare and *Flee

You pick *Spare, and the screen fades away, and you are back in your body.

(Toriel) “Your soul is Bravery. I did not expect that.”

You shrug.

(You) “You don’t get half the places I’ve been without being brave or stupid. My wife would say stupid, though.”

Toriel laughs.

(Toriel) “You are friendly.”

You smile.

(You) “Thanks. How do I get home?”

Toriel’s face falls.

(Toriel) “I am sorry, human. You cannot leave. We would have, if we could have.”

Oh no.

(You) “That’s not great.”

Toriel’s face splits into a bitter smile.

(Toriel) “Indeed. In addition, you are the last soul that Asgore will need to open the barrier.”

(You) “And the only way to get my soul is to kill me?”

Toriel nods.

(You) “I don’t suppose I could talk him down?”

Toriel turns from you.

(Toriel) “The rest were children.”

Oh. Oh god.

(You) “I’m sorry.”

(Toriel) “It is not your fault.”

Chapter Text

The next day, after Toriel has finished making breakfast, you ask her if you should go do the puzzles, so that you’re ready for the rest of the Underground.

Toriel chokes on her drink.

(Toriel) “Well, first you should get some food in you. Second, you can’t do the puzzles. They’re set up to be done from the other side. It would be too easy to be much of a challenge.”

Toriel gives you a scoop of… melon? And some hash browns?

They are good, if not like you were expecting. The fruit is spicy, and the hash browns are sweet. It makes you feel better, emotionally?

(You) “Is there anything I can do? 

Toriel tilts her head.

(Toriel) “You could try to talk to the monsters of the ruins. I will not come with you. They would not come near you, most likely.”

You nod.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a day full of wiggling, complementing, getting shot directly in the chest, which hurt a lot, sparing, and figuring out how to make people leave, you are tired. And back at the beginning.

You sit down and stretch. It’s been a long day and you aren’t exactly a young man anymore.

You notice a flower, who seems to be moving. You get closer. It appears to have a face.

(You) “Oh my. Did I nap on you? I’m sorry. I didn't know any of you were alive.”

The flower giggles. It seems off. But so did trying to eat vegetables made by a living vegetable, so you shove it down.

(Flower) “Nonono. It’s just me. I was going to talk to you earlier, but you fell asleep before I could talk to you.”

Oh. He’s reminding you of Alice. Best to be careful then.

(You) “Well, I’m glad you’re here now.”

His smile drops, and then reforms. You take a step backward.

(Flower) “Jumpy, arnicha? Ah well.”

And you are pulled into a fight screen.

*Flowey is tired.

*ACT

*Comfort and *Hug and *Insult

*Comfort

(You) “Are you doing alright? Have you been resting-”

And then there are bullets around your soul, and you are dying.

*Don’t give up, stay determined!

Which is in a child’s voice, but that doesn’t matter. You feet the pull, and you are at the tree, near the very beginning of your journey.

You fall to the ground, into the leaves.

You check your pockets, and all the gold you collected is gone. You go back inside.

Toriel is not in the kitchen, or any of the rooms.

You go into the basement. It’s a very long journey. You find Toriel at the door, who is laughing. She stops when she sees you.

(Toriel) “Human! You look as if a ghost ran through you.”

You shiver.

(You) “What do you know about coming back to life? Like, not resurrection, but being brought back to a time you weren’t dead.”

Toriel hums.

(Toriel) “This happened to you, did it not?”

You nod. You are ashamed. You don’t know why.

There is a noise coming from behind the door.

(Toriel) “Calm down, Sans. They have been quite well-behaved, and it is a good sign that they came to me first.”

You get closer to the door.

(You) “Sans, huh? I’m Henry Stein. I’d shake your hand, but I’m feeling a bit cut off.”

You can hear him breathing deeply.

(Sans) “You’re gonna come out, arencha? Why not now?”

You shrug.

(You) “During the lost time, I got pretty roughed up. Nothing I couldn’t fix. Except the flower. Uh. But the food does a great job at healing me up.”

You took some candies out of a bowl, and bought some spider pastries out of a web. The texture was weird, and you aren’t sure about any of the moral implications, but it certainly tastes better than cold bacon soup.

Toriel puts a hand to her chest.

(Toriel) “Oh my. I… How about I make you a pie.”

(You) “You don’t need to do that for me, ma’am.”

Toriel smiles, which seems empty to you.

(Toriel) “I do.”

(Sans) “howazbout when you’re done, i give you a little tour of snowdin.”

Snowdin. Huh, sounds like one of the names you used to write for one-off locals.

(You) “If you insist.”

(Sans) “i do.”

And that is empty.

(Toriel) “Well, please come upstairs

You follow her and flip through the books.

You eat snail pie, which is pretty good, all things considered, and settles some of your worries. Toriel stares at you, and then helps you wrap up pieces of pie in paper towers, so you can tuck them into pockets you half forgot about.

(Toriel) “Why do you want to leave?”

You scare her. You make her sad, and uncomfortable, and you can fend for yourself.

(You) “I’d be more comfortable in a place where I can solve my problems. Besides, I  can’t just stay here forever.”

You probably could. But Toriel doesn’t want you around.

(Toriel) “When you leave, human… please- do not come back.”

You nod.

(You) “Alright.”

You walk to the basement,and knock on the door.

(Sans) “hey.”

You open the door.

(You) “Were you waiting this whole time for me?”

Sans shrugs.

(Sans) “nah. got errands to run. grab my hand, and we can get this ball rolling quickly.”

And then you are in a cell.

(You) “Seriously? Teleportation, and you just bring me to a cell.”

The bars are wide enough to squeeze through.

(You) “I could squeeze between the bars?”

You turn to look behind you, and Sans looks at least like he doesn’t want to murder you.

(Sans) “i’ll take that under consideration. but i wanted to ask about the death-time- travel.”

Oh. That.

(You) “I honestly thought that it was just some sort of demon thing, but if I have the power here…”

His eyes are completely blacked out.

(You) “Are you okay?”

His lights-eyelights? are back.

(Sans) “what, uh, does demon-thing mean?”

Oh yeah.

(You) “Well, I used to work on a cartoon. The protagest was a demon.”

Sans appears to have choked.

(You) “You’re a skeleton! Why would a demon be any weirder?”

His eyelights flash again.

(Sans) “demons are real, turns out. not cartoons, twisted up dead people.”

You put your head in your hands.

(Sans) “you, uh, alright, buddy?”

You breathe in and out.

(You) “Totally fine. Deal with demons later. Your kind anyway. So, Bendy the Dancing Demon. Not the most intimidating guy. Trickster. Got some flack, trying to make a demon into a non threatening cartoon protagonist, but neither of us cared. Me or Joey.”

You have to stop then, to swallow down the hurt.

(Sans) “joey-hurt you?”

You huff out a laugh.

(You) “You could say that. Uh, we can come back to that. Boris was ever more of a jokester. Less pride, more prone to filching. Alice was an angel. Little bit temperamental, but friendly. Couple of recurring enemies, even a couple of skeletons. It was a cartoon. Not a very well managed cartoon, I didn’t know how to run anything, and Joey wasn’t too giving, but it ran well enough. And then I got drafted.”

Sans tilts his head.

(Sans) “what?”

Oh boy.

(You) “I went to war. Not my choice, but I did it anyway. Shot some people, got shot by some people, watched friends die. It was the worst part of my life, up to the factory.”

Sans is glaring.

(Sans) “you killed someone.”

You shrug.

(You) “It’s war. You kill people. A waste of life, but there’s no going back now.”

Sans’s eyes are dark again.

(Sans) “That gives you license to kill?”

You shrug.

(You) “I can’t exactly go down the line, and try to convince everyone not to kill me. That’s not how war works.”

Sans’s eyes are lit again.

(Sans) “so, then, you’re trying to save them.”

You nod.

(You) “Of course. I tried to save the ones at the factory, too. Most of them couldn’t be helped, though.

Sometimes, they came back. For moments, but it never worked. Alice-Susie hurt.

(Sans) “so. you and joey.”

You shrug.

(You) “We were friends. I was the idea guy, mostly. He was good at following through. We got a loan from Joey’s family. They were reasonably rich. We had enough money to hire some people, start putting cartoons out there. Made enough to survive the Great Depression.”

And his eyelights are out again. You snap.

(You) “You alright, buddy?”

He shakes himself.

(Sans) “doesn’t sound great.”

You nod.

(You) “Lots of people were out of work. Starving, out of homes. Miserable. President didn’t do anything either. It’s better now, though. Besides, that’s not what you want to hear, is it? You want to hear about the factory.”

Sans nods.

(You) “Once I was drafted, Joey started to go off the rails. Overworked everybody, installed ink pipes, started feeding people to the ink machine-”

(Sans) “what the flip.”

Oh yeah.

(You) “I tried to come back. Before the human sacrifice. Probably?”

(Sans) “what the flip?”

You throw your hands in the air.

(You) “There isn’t exactly a timeline, and none of them know what happened. There are tapes, but piecing the story together won’t help me stay alive.”

And then Sans is staring at you sharp.

(Sans) “what does it matter to you, staying alive, if you just come back.”

You bare your teeth.

(You) “I wanted to help them! I care? Besides, I don’t think that giving up and letting myself get beaten to death by Searchers would help anybody.”

And Sans looks like he’s caught you in a lie.

(Sans) “why not leave? just walk away.”

You raise your eyebrows.

(You) “If  it was that easy, I’d have taken Allison and Tom and left a long time ago. No, you can’t get the doors open, you can’t get to the first floor, and when I put the reel in, I end up in Joey’s living room, surrounded by polite notes, before he sends me back to the beginning. It never ends. And I’m being chased, by one thing or another, and everyone I care about will inevitably die, or get reset, and I can’t save anyone, and they all come back, so it doesn’t matter, but Alice-Susie remember a bit, and hates me for it, and I can spend some time with Allison, who doesn’t hate my guts, and can also talk.”

Sans seems to consider what you’ve said.

(Sans) “alright. trapped in a time loop at someone else’s whim, with the ability to respawn. the story’s crazy enough to make me think you didn’t just make it up. only question is, why’d you leave.”

You shrug.

(You) “Toriel was obviously uncomfortable with me around. Apparently I could kill her really easily, and I remind her of a bunch of dead kids. So, it would be best to leave. Besides, I don’t think she knows much about the murderous flower, which is something of a prioty at the moment.”

He killed you in one attack.

(Sans) “i know someone who knows about that. alphys, the royal scientist. but first. undyne’s going to try to murder you. don’t kill her. don’t die. and if you could humor papyrus, he’d love to run you through some traps.”

Lovely.

(You) “Alright. Fine. I won’t kill the person who’s trying to murder me.”

You can do that. You will do that. You tried so many times for people who had forgotten who they were. You can do it for this person who…

(You) “Why is she trying to murder me?”

Sans shrugs.

(Sans) “wants to spare the king the burden of killing you. wants to keep people safe.”

Oh, seriously.

(You) “ Save him the burden of killing-a child. It would have been a child, wouldn’t it?”

Sans shrugs.

(You) “Fine. Fine.”

(Sans) “she doesn’t understand you’re a person.”

(You) “And it’s my job to make her? Fine. Fine. I’ll do it. But I won’t like it.”

You swallow bitterness down.

(Sans) “up for some puzzles?”

You feel like slamming your head into a wall.

Chapter Text

The puzzles are pretty good, actually, and friendly living dogs, who don’t have any problems except for you potentially you murdering them. And then Greater Dog kills you.

It’s fine. It’s fine. You are determined. You’ll do it again.

You return facedown in a snow poff, somehow.

You pick yourself up, and fight again. This time you win, without violence. You take a long sit in the snow.

It scrapes at you, your death. Not physically, but in your soul. It hurts. You break off a bit of crust from one of the pieces of snail pie.

(Sans) “whoa, buddy. you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Oh, lovely.

(You) “He killed me.”

Sans tilts his head.

(Sans) “greater dog? doesn’t seem like the type.”

You push it down.

(You) “I don’t think he was trying to. Doesn’t mean he didn’t.”

And then Sans is just-gone. You swallow-whatever you’re feeling-down, and move on.

After you’ve cleared out what you’re sure must be all of the forest. Including a deer who wants to be free of decoration, who kills you. Along with an Ice Cap. You get better. 

You stagger home. You haven’t been injured, not in a way that matters, but you are drained.

(Sans) “wow. you don’t look so great.”

(You) “Mmmm.”

The shed has a dog bed, which is worse than a hammock, but better than laying against a wall, or face up in the ink, so you try to curl up on it.

(Sans) “you’re, uh, not looking too determined.”

You shrug.

(Sans) “you just gonna die, and stay dead the next time somebody hits you?”

You shrug again.

(You) “I hope not.”

He prods you with his foot.

(Sans) “i don’t think that’s how it works.”

You shrug.

(You) “Worked for me.”

(Sans) “mmm?”

You turn away.

(Sans) “don’t do that. come on, tell me.”

(You) “I just, coalsessed out of the ink? It’s faster if I care, but you can’t put too much into it, or it hurts.”

Like acid.

(Sans) “huh?”

Little bit of panic?

(You) “Goes faster, but painful.”

(Sans) “that’s, uh, not great.”

(You) “Can’t die for real if I do die, though.”

Sans huffs.

(Sans) “i think it’s different here?”

Who cares. You think you might prefer death to keeping this conversation going forever.

(You) “Tomorrow. Go away.”

Sans huffs again.

(Sans) “g’night.”

(You) “Night.”

And then his presence is gone, and you fall asleep.

Chapter Text

You feel better in the morning.

Worse, when you remember you have to face a murderous fish, but better than last night.

(Sans) “you’re looking better.”

Very helpful.

(You) “Rough day. Probably headed into another one.”

And maybe you’re not super calm. But you can do this.

(Sans) “you want to get more sleep, so you don’t kill anyone?”

You rub your temples and walk past him.

(Sans) “you aren’t getting away that easy, buddy.”

You continue to ignore him.

(Sans) “where you going?”

And that is an actual question, which would be rude not to answer.

(You) “I’m checking out the buildings around town.”

You’re stalling, a bit. But what else are you supposed to do? Finding stuff is important.

(Sans) “alright.”

You buy some cinnamon buns from the lady running the shop. You ate some of the pie, but some of it’s back. You can hold off on consuming it, now. You are not hurt, and the hunger is less ever-present. You are no longer eternally drowning. In hunger, in desperation, in violence, in guilt, in ink. It is better here. The only thing you are drowning in is your own anger, and even though you don’t know why you are so angry, you can handle that. You can.

There is an inn next door. You want to snap at Sans for not telling you, but the cost for one night is almost more than you can afford, so you swallow it down. It wouldn’t have helped.

Sans turns towards you, to make some sort of remark, but you are glaring, attempting to settle yourself, so he wisely decides to shut his trap.

The pub looks altogether too busy, so you simply close the door a couple of seconds after you enter.

(Sans) “c’mon. that’s one of the best places in town.

Wow. Inspiring.

(You) “Feel free to go, then.”

(Sans) “nah. i’m busy.”

You. Will ask the question. It will be a set up for him to heckle you. But you are curious. Surely. Surely he is not just trying to annoy you. Actually, that is quite probable. But we’re taking a chance.

(You) “Doing what?”

Sans’s grin splits a bit larger.

(Sans) “guarding the human, of course. wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

This would have been much more helpful when there were people trying to kill you. Because he could have protected them. Or you. But you are fine. You are doing well. You enter the next building.

(Sans) “nice sign.”

And that is, for once, not aimed at you. It is aimed at someone who seems to find that out-of-the-blue statement enraging.

(Librarian) “I know the sign is spelled wrong! Everyone tells me! You do this every time! Why are you even in here?

You are content to let someone else deal with Sans for once.

You take out a book from the blue bookshelf, and flip it open. It says something about bullet-pattern birthday cards, which seems frankly ridiculous to you.

It would be… nice. To exist in this world as a monster, you think. Humans seem to be very dangerous, but it’s hard to feel like a force of danger after you’ve just been killed by a dog (a tiny dog?) in a suit of armor. The bullets are pretty, even though they are trying to kill you with them, and you bleed tension into the world around you.

(Sans) “you seem pretty bummed out.”

And you don’t even care enough to snark back.

(You) “I feel bad. Like every time I die, I empty, and I keep getting refilled, but it’s anger. It’s all just anger.”

Sans is staring at you with no light in his eyes again.

(You) “What’s it like without humans here?”

Sans seems to be considering something.

(Sans) “you asking me to kill you?”

And that is not right at all. And you feel a little full of bitterness.

(You) “It was an actual question.”

(Sans) “uh. pretty cool.”

Hmm.

(Sans) “actually, it’s kinda bad? I mean, it’s a pretty nice place, compared to being dead, but people are low on hope. that’s what souls are made of. the lady who made the flower took the dust of people who had fallen down from sorrow. but that doesn’t mean that you should start putting people out of their misery. everybody cares enough to try and make things better. well, most people do. but it’s not such a terrible place.”

Wow.

(You) “I think that’s the first thing that you’ve said to me that was even slightly inspiring. You’re not very helpful.”

But you are smiling.

(Sans) “huh.”

And you think that it is time to face Undyne.

(Sans) “are you really leaving?”

Chapter Text

Undyne does not show up immediately to face you. Which is probably a good thing.

You can see a small child, a blue flower, and a bright orange fish standing directly next to the flower. And one of Sans’s sentry stations. He periodically shows up, directly after the rare moments he leaves you alone. Never with his brother. You can understand that.

(Sans) “oh man. seeing that sentry station. it really makes me want to take a break. you want to come with?”

Sure. Sure. Fine.

(You) “Are you going to do the teleporting thing again?”

Sans tilts his head.

(Sans) “nah. i only do that in really bad emergencies. like when i’m late to take a break.”

You stifle a smile.

(Sans) “i’m actually a bit early. so there’s plenty of time to walk.”

You start a jog.

(Sans) “wow, buddy. that’s way too fast. calm down.”

You roll your eyes, and you recognize that you feel more full than you have in a long time. More than you have in the underground, the whole time. With Allison and Tom, maybe, but if you can’t bring yourself to care, it all kind of flows past you. That dulls everything, even when you care. Not that they aren’t the best part of it, or that they don’t make you feel human, but it’s weakened.

And then you are at the bar.

(Sans) “zoned out there? no worries, it happens to papyrus sometimes. just dreaming about being a royal guard.”

And him being a royal guard is a threat to your safety, but you’re at least mostly sure that it’s just Sans complementing his brother. He does that a lot.

(You) “Now you’re zoning out. Do you want to go inside? This is your break after all.”

Sans seems to start making a joke, and then decides against it. That’s probably for the best.

(Sans) “yeah, come on.”

You walk into the bar, where you hear a general cheer go up. Or at least a rise in bar chatter.

(Sans) “come on. let’s get you some food. i bet you could use it.”

And that one might be a jab, but you can shrug that off.

(Sans) “hey, grillbz. you want burgers or fries, henry.”

And that…people do not call you by your name often.

(You) “Fries please.”

And “Grillbz” sets a container of fries in front of you. It’s made of something solid. Maybe just plastic, but it seems reasonably reusable. Solid all the way through.

(Sans) “you seemed a lot more concerned with the container than the food.”

You shrug.

(You) “Haven’t seen something like it before.”

You begin to eat. It actually tastes like fries, which is more of an anomaly than things that taste like something completely different than they should, at this point.

(Sans) “hey, grillbz. can i get some ketchup?”

“Grillbz’s” flame flickers. You don’t know what it means, but he brings Sans his ketchup.

(Sans) “yeah, yeah. i’ll pay later.”

And then he just takes off the cap of the ketchup, and drinks it.

That’s a weird amount of time to be drinking anything. Especially ketchup.

Just ignore him.

(Sans) “what, you want some?”

(You) “No, thank you.”

Sans is quiet. For a weirdly long time. Especially considering he’s looking at you the whole time.

(Sans) “you know my brother. he’s pretty cool.

He can be annoying, but he’s friendly enough, and seems to be completely oblivious to the consequences of his actions.

You nod.

(Sans) “yeah. he wants to capture you and bring you to undyne.”

Huh.

(You) “That could speed things up, couldn’t it?”

Sans hisses a dismissal.

(Sans) “she’s… probably going to kill you the second papyrus is out of sight.”

Oh joy.

(Sans) “she might give you a chance to fight, but it would probably be a better chance if you show up on your own.”

Okay.

(You) “I can do that. But Papyrus?”

You aren’t going to kill him, but Sans could probably help.

(Sans) “he’ll probably put you in the shed, if he beats you. that’s what it’s for, after all.

(You) “And you didn’t tell him it would be ineffective?”

Sans shrugs.

(Sans) “he thought i was just stalling. sides, wouldn’t stop anyone with real power, even if they were closer together.”

You suppose.

(You) “Alright. You want me to go non-lethal and have a fight with your brother. I can do that.”

It might be annoying, but it’s fine.

(You) “You can consider it a favor.”

You’ll add it to the list.

(Sans) “i appreciate that.”

Um…

(You) “Do you know where he is?”

Sans chuckles.

(Sans) “probably looking for me. i’ll go find him.”

And then he is gone.

You should stay here, while Sans is looking for his brother. So he knows how to get back to you. But you are not ordering more food. You are low on gold, and do not want to figure out how to stuff a burger into your pockets. You don’t even think you have enough pockets.

You walk up to a table full of dogs, where Lesser Dog, whose neck is still longer than it has any right to be, is playing cards against… no one? It doesn’t look like a spread for solitaire, and he appears to be doing badly.

(You) “Mind dealing me in?”

(Lesser Dog) “pant-pant.”

They trash the game, and start pushing the cards together.

(You) “Uh. I can shuffle.”

You don’t know any fancy maneuvers, but you’re decent at shuffling. And you have hands that work.

(You) “What game do you want to play?”

(Lesser Dog) “quiet-woof.”

You don’t understand what that means.

(Dogaressa) “Deal me in, too. I can show you how to play.”

It is like poker, but the jack is worth ten, the queen is worth one, the king is worth eleven, and the ace is worth twelve. You haven’t quite gotten the hang of it by the time Sans taps you on the shoulder.

(Sans) “huh. i’ve been replaced.”

You raise an eyebrow. Giving you the energy to continue, in some tiny way, is not something replaceable. Or something you really think that Sans wants to keep to himself.

(You) “Have you found Papyrus?”

And Sans shivers.

(Sans) “sorry. that sounds pretty ominous.

You don’t really think so?

(Lesser Dog) “small-whine”

(You) “Sorry, buddy. I think it’s time for me to head out.”

Sans nods an agreement.

(Sans) “yeah. papyrus is waiting at the border between snowdin and waterfall. you want to take a shortcut?”

Hmm.

(You) “Why not?”

You feel… good. The teleportation makes you feel less good, though

(Papyrus) “HELLO, HUMAN! SANS HAS TOLD ME THAT YOU WISH TO DEFEAT ME. BUT IT WILL NOT BE SO EASY! I MUST CAPTURE YOU!”

You smile.

(You) “Good luck.”

Papyrus laughs, full of energy, and you fight.

You do not swing at him. You do not flirt with him either. You are not flirting with him. You will not flirt with anyone. You have a wife. You will not insult him, either. It would be rude. You spare him. Again, and again. And then you are at one HP, but you can deal with that, and your vision goes dark.

You awaken in the shed again.

(Sans) “wow. this is completely unprecedented.”

And that feels like a joke at someone’s expense. Not yours, though.

(You) “Up and attem, then.”

You walk back to Papyrus.

(Papyrus) “OH, MY! I DID NOT EXPECT THIS. HUMAN! I HAVE ALREADY DEFEATED YOU ONCE. WHY HAVE YOU ESCAPED?”

You smile.

(You) “I’ve got things to do. Being captured kind of stifles my plans.”

And Papyrus tilts his head.

(Papyrus) “WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS?”

Hmm. You weren’t expecting that.

(You) “I have to get past Undyne. I have to talk to Alphys.”

And Papyrus smiles.

(Papyrus) “YOU HAVE ALREADY FIGURED IT OUT?”

You are confused, now.

(You) “I need to deal with a flower?”

Papyrus looks confused.

(Papyrus) “UNDYNE HAS A CRUSH ON ALPHYS. WHAT FLOWER ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? COULD IT POSSIBLY BE A TALING FLOWER, WITH YELLOW PETALS, NAMED FLOWERY?”

You don’t like that.

(You) “Yes.”

Papyrus seems excited.

(Papyrus) “HOW ARE THEY RELATED?”

You didn’t expect that.

(You) “I don’t know? Sans told me.”

He hasn’t told you much of anything regardarding… Flowery? Huh. It’s a weird name, anyway.

Papyrus gasps.

(Papyrus) “OH MY GOD! SANS NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT THAT! I HAVE TO GO WITH YOU!”

Huh.

(You) “How do you know Flowery?”

No, that seems wrong. It was Flowey. But that’s not your biggest issue.

(Papyrus) “WE ARE FRIENDS. IF I AM BEING HONEST, IT SEEMS LIKE HE COULD USE SOME HELP. IF HE HAS SOME CONNECTION TO ALPHYS, MAYBE SHE WILL KNOW HOW TO HELP HIM?”

You. That’s not your first priority, but alright.

(You) “Flowery tried to kill me. Got very close to it. I don’t think he’s safe.”

Papyrus smiles at you.

(Papyrus) “I WILL HELP YOU TWO GET ALONG, THEN. I AM SORRY THAT FLOWERY TRIED TO KILL YOU, THOUGH. THAT’S NOT VERY NICE.”

Sure.

(You) “Yeah. But I still have to get past Undyne.”

Papyrus strikes a pose.

(Papyrus) “I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL EXPLAIN TO UNDYNE THAT WE NEED TO HELP FLOWERY. SURELY SHE CAN DELAY CAPTURING YOU UNTIL FLOWERY IS OKAY!”

Huh.

(You) “Okay?”

You wouldn’t be opposed to helping Flowey. Flowey hasn’t shown up to brutally murder you. You don’t know what’s happening with that guy, but if Alphys can help, and you use the coming-back power, everything should work okay. Except Undyne. But you’re about to confront that issue.

(You) “Alright, then. Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

Papyrus walks quite quickly.

(You) “Papyrus, I can’t keep pace with you. Papyrus?”

He turns around.

(Papyrus) “APOLOGIZES, HUMAN! I HAVE NOT DONE A LOT OF SYNCHRONIZED WALKING BEFORE. YOU CAN GO FIRST.”

Okay, then.

(Papyrus) “IT IS NOT MUCH FURTHER TO UNDYNE. IN FACT, IT IS ALMOST TIME FOR MY MEETING. I MAY HAVE TOLD HER ABOUT YOU, BUT WITH FLOWERY’S WELL-BEING AT STAKE, I’M SURE SHE WILL PUT THE CAPTURING ON HOLD.”

Hmm. 

(Papyrus) “HELLO, UNDYNE!”

Undyne is a suit of armor. No, no, they could be wearing armor. Maybe.

(Undyne) “PAPYRUS! You captured the human?”

She seems confused. You suppose he did capture you, but only temporarily.

(Papyrus) “WHY, YES! BUT THAT IS NOT THE POINT! THE POINT IS THAT WE NEED TO ASK ALPHYS SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT FLOWERY, AND SO WE NEED TO PUT THE CAPTURING ON HOLD.”

Undyne seems to grow more energized.

(Undyne) “Papyrus, obviously this human is just trying to TRICK YOU! Get out of the way.”

Papyrus seems concerned.

(Papyrus) “UNDYNE, THEY SEEM VERY GENUINE!”

You didn’t really expect this to work, anyway.

(Undyne) “REALLY, Papyrus? They’re concerned about your “friend” FLOWERY? I don’t THINK that’s it!”

Well.

(You) “I was concerned about him trying to kill me. If Flowey needs help, maybe we can give it to him, but I’d really like to know more.”

Undyne… glares at you? It feels like a glare, at least.

(Undyne) “HEY, Papyrus? Would you mind taking a couple of steps back?”

Papyrus retreats.

(You) “I would really prefer it if you didn’t kill me right now.”

Undyne takes off her helmet.

(Undyne) “Don’t play DUMB with me, HUMAN! You know why Flowery tried to kill you! If you told Papyrus about ALL the people who tried to kill you, you’d still be MONOLOGING!”

Grabbing and shaking me wasn’t necessary. Very nerve wracking, though.

(You) “He came pretty close to killing me with one attack, and then just left? He acted really cordial beforehand, so I can’t trust him, and everyone else who tried to kill me seemed satisfied. I don’t know what he’s doing.”

And your voice trembles a bit. You haven't tread that particular horror to a regular path yet. 

(Undyne) “Hmm. I SUPPOSE that would be a reasonable concern. If I BELIEVED you! Which I DON’T! So, you’re going to say goodbye to Papyrus, and then I’m going to DESTROY you!”

Alright. You’re doing this.

(You) “I’ll see you later, Papyrus!”

(Papyrus) “ARE WE NOT GOING TO GO TALK TO ALPHYS?”

Undyne glares at you.

(Undyne) “We can go AFTER I capture the human.”

(Papyrus) “GOOD LUCK, UNDYNE!”

Papyrus sounds nervous.

(Undyne) “I need you to leave, Papyrus.”

She sounds like she cares.

(Papyrus) “YES. OKAY! I WILL GO-TALK TO ALPHYS???”

Uh. Maybe not.

(Undyne) “Go HOME, Papyrus.”

And she’s going to try to kill you. You can handle that.

It’s been a long while since you felt this comfortable. You do not feel like you will burst with anger. You can deal with whatever comes your way.

(Papyrus) “ALRIGHT? I? WILL? GO? HOME? SEE YOU TOMORROW, UNDYNE?”

And then he is sprinting.

(Undyne) “ALRIGHT, human! Let’s DO this!”

She pulls you into a battle.

(Undyne) “En garde!”

And your soul is green. It is a struggle to move, but you click on ACT.

*Check *Plead or *Challenge.

You do not want to challenge her, so you click on plead.

(You) “Look, I really don’t want anyone to get hurt. I was serious about that.”

Undyne lobs a spear at your head.

(Undyne) “You’re a cruel deceiver, and I’m GOING TO KILL YOU FOR LYING TO PAPYRUS!”

Well. That was more emotional than you expected. You will try to spare her, then. You do not want to deceive her. So you will simply give her kindness.

Chapter Text

Kindness. Does not work. Neither does asking. Running, however, works quite well.

Better than anything else. You are getting better at running. It hurts, but Undyne does not try to attack you near anyone else. Even when it would almost be a safe shot.

You are actually buying things from a shopkeeper. The shopkeeper stares at Undyne, who is hanging around in the background.

(Shopkeeper) “You’re a human, aren’t you?”

(You) “Yup. You going to start chasing me, too?”

He looks down.

(Shopkeep) “You know, not a lot of people like to hear my stories. I was just reminiscing, and I thought I remembered one about this human. But I don’t remember Undyne in it.”

That doesn’t narrow it down.

(You) “From what I’ve heard, there were plenty of children before me.”

He looks you in the eyes, and it almost makes you feel guilty, but what do you have to be guilty for? You stare back and raise an eyebrow.

(Shopkeep) “Well, you’ve got a conscience at least. There’s another story, about an angel who emptied the underground. That isn’t going to be you is it?”

You think about putting your head on his desk.

(You) “No. I have not even killed the person who is trying to murder me. Who is standing right there. She keeps yelling about using you as shields, but I’m starting to think this is just really extreme politeness. Uh. I don’t want to kill anyone. I won’t kill anyone. And you’re safe. Now, can I have some more apples, or should I start running again?”

The shopkeeper snickers.

(Shopkeep) “Alright. Have fun. I think I’ve had enough business for today.”

And you run off, while Undyne hurls a spear just a bit closer to the people than last time. Best hurry this up.

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You come back to the stall so many times, you think Gerson actually notices. You bothered to ask his name, once.

Dashing is not very inspiring, but actually getting to talk to someone, even after being stabbed is.

You make it to Hotland before you have any idea of a plan. You feel like sobbing. You can see Sans at a sentry stand

(You) “Hey-Oh!”

She’s still throwing spears.

(Undyne) “Sans is a member of the royal guard! I can endanger him!”

You guess?

(Sans) “papyrus would be pretty mad, if you killed me, though.”

And Undyne turns to yell at him, allowing you to escape further in.

(Undyne) “OH ASGORE! I’LL BE BACK, SANS!”

And she throws another volley of spears. But she’s walking slower.

And slower.

Heh. She can’t even throw those.

Uh. Collapsing. Not good.

(You) “Sans, do you know what to do with her?”

You can’t see Sans, but you can hear his response.

(Sans) “rehydrate her?”

Okay. You can do that.

(Sans) “couldn’t you just use the water from the cooler.”

What?

(You) “She’s a giant fish! I’m not just going to splash some water on her.”

You resume picking her up, and attempt to keep your balance.

You can carry her, even though it is difficult, to the start of the mountain, and drop her into the river. Maybe that wasn’t the best idea. But it was your best idea.

(Undyne) “What did you do to me?”

She sounds… sad? Tired, probably tired.

(You) “I put you in the water? You fainted.”

Undyne turns to face you.

(Undyne) “I just… why?”

You shrug.

(You) “I told you I didn’t want to hurt you.”

She turns away.

(Undyne) “I can’t stop you. Just go talk to Alphys.”

You don’t know what to do.

(You) “Goodbye.”

You hurt. But you don’t know what to do. So you leave.

Chapter Text

You go back to Snowdin.

(You) “Papyrus, do you want to go talk to Alphys now?”

Papyrus pops his head out of his house.

(Papyrus) “OH JOY! DID YOU CONVINCE UNDYNE TO NOT FIGHT ALREADY? I THOUGHT IT WOULD TAKE MUCH LONGER.”

Huh.

(Papyrus) “DO YOU FEEL WELL, HUMAN?”

Not really.

(You) “I made Undyne feel bad.”

Papyrus looks deep into your eyes.

(Papyrus) “WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP HER FEEL BETTER?”

It’s a nice thought.

(You) “How?”

Papyrus looks past you.

(Papyrus) “HMM. HOW ABOUT WE GO TALK TO ALPHYS, AND I CAN THINK ABOUT IT ON THE WAY THERE. DO YOU WANT TO PRACTICE SYNCHRONIZED WALKING SOME MORE?”

You hope he comes up with something.

(You) “Okay. Let’s go.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Undyne is not out and about, and while you are glad, that doesn’t help with the problem. But you don’t need to tackle that. And you don’t know how.

(Papyrus) “MAYBE YOU SHOULD HELP UNDYNE AND ALPHYS GET TOGETHER?”

(You) “I don’t think I know them well enough to set them up.”

Papyrus does not appear to have considered that.

(Papyrus) “OH, THE LAB.”

He knocks on the door. You stand behind him.

…

(You) “Should we just go in?”

(Papyrus) “I AM SURE THAT SHE’LL BE HERE SOON.”

…

…

(You) “How long are you willing to wait?”

Papyrus seems affronted.

(Papyrus) “YOU’RE REALLY BORED ALREADY?”

Yes.

(You) “I can wait.”

…

…

The door opens.

(You) “What!”

Papyrus smiles.

(Papyrus) “HELLO ALPHYS!”

And there is a small yellow dragon-lizard-person.

(Alphys) “Hello. Uh, you came to talk to me.”

You try to look her in the eyes. She looks away.

(You) “Hmm. I want to talk to you about Flowery.”

Alphys shuts the door in your face.

(Papyrus) “HUH. I GUESS SHE DOESN’T KNOW.”

Really.

(You) “I think we spooked her.”

Papyrus walks away.

(Papyrus) “AREN’T YOU COMING?”

You shrug.

(You) “I’ll wait for her to calm down. I know she’s here now, and I can wait now.”

You will wait now.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Alphys) “You didn’t leave. T-this isn’t good.”

You raise an eyebrow.

(You) “I need to talk to you. How long do you want to stall?”

(Alphys) “Eep!”

Alphys hides behind the door.

(You) “That-that wasn't a threat. I’m not going to hurt you. But Flowey will hurt me, and I want your help. I’ll be in Snowdin if you want to talk to me. Please choose to help me.”

You smile.

(Alphys) “G-goodbye!?”

And shuts the door in your face again.

You feel better. You talked to Alphys, and it’s up to them now. You’ve given them the choice.

Sans calls to you from the sentry station.

(Sans) “did alphys really tell you about flowey?”

Huh. He knows the other name.

(You) “No. But the ball’s in her court now. And I told her I was in danger. So less weight on my shoulders, and now she’s bound to help.”

Sans hisses another dismissal.

(Sans) “she’s pretty good at just drowning in guilt and not doing anything.”

Mm.

(You) “How long should I wait before talking to her? I want her to be able to make a choice, but I really would like to not be murdered by a flower.”

Sans shrugs.

(Sans) “i’d give it a week before you bust into her house.”

What?

(You) “She lives there?”

That’s not great for making her feel comfortable. Busting into someone’s workplace is… a standard tactic at this point? Gosh. But breaking into someone’s house is a different thing.

(Sans) “busting into her workplace would make her more nervous.”

(You) “What does that mean? That sounds really suspicious.”

Sans shrugs.

(Sans) “she’s made some pretty bad decisions. avoiding them. you’re gonna have to bust her out of that.”

Oh boy.

(You) “Alright. A week before I have to wrangle Alphys, who’s miserable about something she isn’t sharing with anyone, into helping me, and hopefully fix her on the way there? No problem. No problem at all. Also, what’s her deal? Has she killed someone?”

Sans shrugs.

(Sans) “nah.”

That-that’s it?

(You) “Not going to uh-explain? Anything?”

Sans looks just as serene as ever.

(Sans) “nah. you’ll find out eventually.”

Very helpful.

(You) “Okay. A week.”

(Sans) “she’s not going to reach out to you.”

Ah?

(You) “Are you sure?”

That doesn’t sound very hopeful. Or polite.

(Sans) “maybe. people can surprise you. but i doubt it.”

Sans sounds… empty.

(You) “Alright. I guess I’ll wait.”

Chapter Text

It’s three days into the week, and Alphys hasn’t come yet.

You think Sans might be right, but you aren’t going to give up yet. You’ll give Alphys her time, and then you’ll go ask her directly. It’ll be fine.

(???) “Hey, buddy.”

And that-Oh no.

(You) “Hello.”

The flower, is uh. Smirking?

(Flowey) “I just thought I should tell you. She doesn’t know ANYTHING that will help you fight me.”

Okay!?

(You) “I suppose we’ll see?”

(Flowey) “Oh, you’re fun. I’ll let you go now.”

Huh?

(You) “Uh, just like that?”

And Flowey’s-mouth? splits open in a terrifying grin.

(Flowey) “If you wanted me to kill you, you could have asked.”

His voice is honey-sweet, and you hear his laugh echoing as you run.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alphys comes to you two days later.

(Alphys) “Are you r-really just living in their shed?”

You shrug.

(You) “The inn’s too expensive.”

Alphys shrinks into herself.

(Alphys) “You-oh. Nevermind. They have a sofa, though, don’t they?”

You know.

(You) “I didn’t want to push. Sans isn’t- he might be more comfortable with me than before, but I’m not pushing my luck.”

Alphys smiles awkwardly.

(Alphys) “So, uh. You c-can come with me. To the lab.”

She turns and bustles off. At least she’s slow enough for you to be able to catch up with her.

Alphys gets into a boat, and waits for you to follow her.

(Alphys) “T-to Hotland, please.”

The boat is… running on the water. Wow.

(Riverperson) “Tra la la. I hear spiders have a favorite food. It’s spiders.”

Oh.

(Alphys) “Uh. Yeah.”

Luckly, the boat ride is quick, although you don’t know how anything is going to make this day any less awkward. At least Alphys reached out to you.

(Alphys) “Uh. H-here we go. Uh. Come in.”

You are led through a brightly lit lab into a dark, wet place.

 (Alphys) “Uh. I d-didn’t want anyone to know. What I did. B-but Flowey-he’s my fault. I’ll help you.”

You suppose that makes sense.

(You) “I’ve dealt with someone else who created life before. You’re handling it much better than he did.”

Alphys starts to laugh. And then to cry.

(You) “Can I hold you?”

She nods through her tears, and you pick her up and press her to your chest, and tell her it’s okay. Whatever she’s done, it’ll be okay. You can help.

You can finally help.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Alphys) “I experimented with DETERMINATION. They-the dust was- They weren’t supposed to c-come back. They were gone.”

Oh.

(You) “But they came back.”

Alphys chuckles, voice breaking.

(Alphys) “They came b-back! And they were fine! And then-”

You reach a hand out, she shrinks into herself.

(Alphys) “They- m-melted together.”

(You) “They’re still here.”

She nods.

(You) “Okay.”

That’s-not good.”

(You) “Let’s get them home then.”

Alphys lunges at you. Just a little.

(Alphys) “Y-you can’t! They-I-”

You pick her up.

(You) “They deserve to go home. C’mon. Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

It’s easy, when it comes down to it. They are so happy to see their family again.

There is joy in the streets. People break out juice, and alcohol, or what you assume is alcohol. There is good food. Spider donuts for free, and confetti? Why are they eating paper?

Sans shows up.

(Sans) “yah want to help pass out hot cats?”

He holds one up. It’s a hot dog with a cat face.

(You) “You knew about this?”

And you try not to make it accusing. It wouldn’t help.

(Sans) “i didn’t think it would go like this. i forget how happiness works, sometimes.”

You think that might be dangerous.

(You) “I’m glad it turned out this well.”

You thought they might try to hurt her. That’s why you went in front. But they did not.

(Shopkeep) “Fluffybuns is here!”

And.

(You) “That’s the king.”

It is a question, if barely.

(Sans) “yup. wanna go say hi?”

You aren’t going to provoke him.

(You) “I think I’d rather pass out hot cats.”

So you do, and you snack, and the king eventually comes to you.

(Asgore) “You are safe from me.”

It is not what you were expecting.

(You) “Why?”

Asgore turns away.

(Asgore) “You have brought more hope to the people than anything I could have done with your soul. It is dangerous out there. You have tried to save us. I cannot kill you.”

You nod. You don’t know how to broach the topic of the children.

But you won’t have to.

(Flowey) “WOW. Everyone’s all together now. Looks like it’s time for me to steal the show.”

Chapter Text

Alphys blocks Flowey attack. She is hurt, but she’s still trying to help you. Papyrus is trying to reason with the flower, which isn’t going… well.

And then Toriel comes to light Flowey on fire, and smiles at you, and Flowey stabs another tentacle through her body, and…

A goat kid? Oh. that’s good. Focus. Focus Henry.

(Kid) “Finally, I was getting so tired of being a flower!”

And then he is a- goat angel? Something like that.

(Goat) “You made it so I could become a god. I would thank you, but I’m going to need your soul if I want to stay like this.”

You can’t.

(You) “I’m sorry. But I’m not giving you my soul. Uh, even if you’re not trying to kill me.”

The angel spreads his arms wide.

(Goat) “YOU FOOL! I’m not the flower. Not anymore! I need your soul so I won’t become him ever again.”

Oh. That’s not great.

(You) “Do… you want to talk about it?”

And he lowers. Into the void.

(Goat) “This isn’t going how I planned.”

You smile.

(You) “I have a story, if you want to hear it.”

He drifts down towards you.

(You) “I used to work in cartoons. My partner wasn’t a very good person, but I took care of him. Until I went away to war. It was a terrible place, but I fell in love with a nurse there. After the war was over, I returned to the factory, but my partner wouldn’t let me in. He said I betrayed them. I tried to get in contact, but I had other things to do. I got married, had kids, and then one day I got a letter from my old partner. I left, and I came to a factory with no color. I started up the machine, and listened to the recording of my old coworkers telling me about my partner, Joey, losing it. And then I met them. And they were all… monsters? No, you’re monsters. But. Twisted. Erased and rewritten and gutted on tables. There were so many corpses. I don’t even know who they were. And now I’m here. And I’m safe. And I want to stay here. And… I’m not giving you my soul. You can’t keep all their souls. They have lives.

Are, are the children in there? Can they hear me? Oh. It’s your turn.”

He stares at you.

(Goat) “My name is Asriel Dreemurr. I had a best friend named Chara. They wanted to kill six humans to open the barrier. But I couldn’t. So the humans killed me. I guess Dad did it, instead. I. I don’t want to go back.”

Oh no.

(You) “Do you think you can keep a hold on them?”

He shakes his head.

(Goat) “Not forever.”

You hold open your arms.

(You) “Come on. I got you.”

You hold him as he cries, and he shrinks to a child.

(Asriel) “I-I don’t wanna go. But I can’t-can’t keep them forever.”

You rub his back.

(You) “How does it feel, being the flower?”

He sobs again.

(Asriel) “It’s nothing. It’s nothing and I hate it. I killed so many people, just to try to feel something, but I can’t.”

(You) “What about the souls? The, uh, human souls. Are they still there? Do they feel? Could you…use them to feel? No. That sounds bad, but?”

Asriel sighs.

(Asriel) “Not now. Not after all I’ve done. They. Wow. They hurt. A lot. I should let them go. I can’t keep them here. Not after everything.”

And he flickers, and reforms in your arms

(Asriel) “Keep holding me.”

And you cradle him, as he sobs.

He cuts the souls free.

(Asriel) “They’ll remember this. I want Mom and Dad to know what happened. Maybe I’ll regret it.”

You smile as tears drip from your eyes.

(You) “They’ll take care of you.”

And you’re still holding him as he begins to change.

(Asriel) “Please. You don’t want to see this.”

You place him on the ground.

(You) “I’m here. Right here.”

And you know it hurts, and you reach out to him, but he sends bullets at you. And you wait. And he is a flower now.

(Flowey) “Scram.”

And you wave him goodbye, promise to yourself that you will return and trek away. Towards the commotion. Towards the palace. Towards the surface.

Where the barrier lies broken, and the Underground awaits.

You smile. Maybe you can find your way back home, but if not, you’ve made things better. And that’s what really matters, isn’t it?