Chapter Text
"Woah, kid, you look exhausted."
Hearing her say that makes him realize how much he's sweating, how heavy his breaths are. His legs buckle from under him, and he tumbles into the snow, gasping for air. He went too hard, didn't he? He feels lightheaded… Can't keep his eyes open…
…
He opens his eyes again, and is greeted with the empty void of the mindscape. This wasn't the first time he had passed out, but it was the first time he'd woken up… here.
He sits up, looking over himself in confusion. He hadn't done anything to enter another mind, right? His memories were a little fuzzy, granted, but surely he'd remember something like that.
In any case, the routine is pretty standard at this point, so he leans forward, arm outstretched…
As he was about to press his hand to the floor, a figure… blinked into existence in front of him. Clover didn’t know how else to describe it. One moment there was only uniform darkness, the next it was blemished by the silhouette of a human.
The first thing Clover noticed was that the figure was also glowing yellow, like him. Yet it was… Different, somehow. Not the gentle glow of his own self, but a harsher, paler yellow. As the initial shock faded away, he started to notice other details. A bandana wrapped around the figure’s chest, a cowboy hat set on its head. It was almost the exact same outfit he wore.
So far, the figure had been completely motionless, facing away from Clover into the darkness. Seized by a sudden urge to get its attention, Clover moved forward.
“...Hello?” He called out.
The figure reacted immediately, whipping around as their hand flew towards the side of their waist, grasping at empty air. Was whoever this was… Trying to go for a gun? That's where he usually kept his…
Gradually, the figure’s arm relaxed as they took in the bright yellow human before them. “...Hi. Do you know what’s… going on?” They asked, taking a hesitant step toward Clover as they began looking around.
“Uh… How do I explain this… We're in someone's mind, I think… maybe yours? The only people that ever move in this place seem to be whoever's mind it is… I think. I'm Clover, by the way. What's yours?”
The figure seemed to stiffen at the last sentence. “What did you say?”
“Um… I’m Clover, by the way?” He repeated.
The other human lifted up their hat to scratch underneath it. “That’s… My name too. I’m also named Clover.”
Taking a moment to process this, he takes a deep breath. “Okay… Something new. Just what I needed…” It comes out a little more bitter than he had intended, but he was really getting sick of how much he was having to deal with all the time.
The other Clover still seemed to be processing everything. “You said this is… my mind? But I don’t remember being here before, I would remember something like— Wait.” Seeming to realize something, the other Clover looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Have you been through this before?”
“Twice, yeah.” He says rather nonchalantly.
“...Alright.” The other Clover said slowly. “So then—”
“Hang on!” Clover interrupted. He really needs to call them something besides ‘other Clover’. There’s already way too much to deal with here. “If we're both named Clover, one of us should have a nickname so it doesn't get confusing. How about something for you?”
“I guess. You’re the expert here.” Other Clover replied with a shrug. “Does… Clove work?”
“Kind of… lazy, but yeah, that works.”
“Right…” Other Clover Clove trailed off, leaving a slightly awkward silence between them. “As I was saying…” They continued after a few seconds without a reply, “What exactly can you do here?”
“Well, for starters…” He leans down and touches his hand to the ground, sending a bright flash of yellow across the area, just as it did before. He could hear a noise of surprise from Clove as the light began to fade, revealing Ceroba kneeling down, her broken staff and mask in her hands.
“Ceroba! Oh, perfect, she can help us I'm sure!” He moves over to her, pulling out his gun.
“...I know her.”
“Huh?” He turns back to look at them, his gun awkwardly raised.
Clove had backed up until they were pressed against one of the battlements. “That monster. I fought her, defeated her. Why…” Their voice shook, just a little bit. “How did you bring her here?”
“I didn't choose to, it's just whatever memory needs to be… judged, or something. Is this your memory or mine?”
It took a moment for Clove to respond, looking away from Ceroba and at the buildings far below. “I know this place, but… I never fought her here. We were somewhere else, and…” He pointed at the shattered mask. “That’s something I definitely didn’t see during our fight.”
“So, mine then. Strange… Hopefully she remembers what happened last time.” He fires his gun at her, the beam going straight through her. But unlike the last time, it doesn't do anything. “Huh… That's… weird.”
Leaving the battlement behind, Clove seemed a bit less tense. “Was that supposed to do something?”
“Yeah, that's how I interact with the memories, but it's… Not working, I guess.” He tries firing again, but the beam just passed through the memory of Ceroba once more. “I… Don't know what else to do, heh.”
“Odd…” Clove mused, before freezing up as they stared at Clover. “Wait. This is your memory.”
“Yeah.”
“And this is the Underground?”
“Yeah, New Home.”
“Wait, so…” Clove’s eyes brightened as they seemed to come to a revelation. “Do you know what this means?”
“That I was wrong and this is actually my mind?”
Clove waved his hands between them. “We’re both named Clover, we both know about the Underground, and we know the same monsters. So…”
“So… Oh, wait, I get it now!” Clover exclaimed. “We must be the same person!”
“Yes!” Clove nodded energetically. “I don’t know how this makes any sense, but we are!”
Thinking about it… What are the odds they were both named Clover, were almost the same height, and had the same type of outfit? Granted it's all… Yellow, but… The hat is obvious.
All the while, Clove was practically bouncing around the rooftop. “We can’t be exactly the same, we fought that monster at different places.” They said, acknowledging the still-kneeling Ceroba with a nod. “What else changed? Can you show me?”
“I… don't know, I've only had one memory at a time in this place.”
“Why not just try what you did the first time? That hand thing, I mean.”
“That might work…” He kneels down again, pressing his hand against the flat stone of the area around them. To his surprise, the place flashes with bright yellow light once again, shifting the environment to a new look.
This time, it seems to be the castle, just outside the barrier. Frozen images of Asgore and Martlet appear, staring each other down. He remembers this… It's when Martlet took him away. Feels like so long ago now… Seeing it again feels oddly comforting, as if reassuring the choices he's made.
“This is when you fought the king!” Clove exclaimed, the excitement in their voice tinged with something Clover couldn’t recognize. “But I didn’t expect Martlet to be here…” They walked towards the frozen images, taking in the tension between the two. “Is she trying to stop the king?”
“This is when she rescued me from Asgore and took me back to the Dunes. She kinda just picked me up and left.”
Confusion flickered across their face as they turned back to Clover. “...The Dunes? But… Why would she take you there? After what you’ve done, wouldn’t that be the worst place for you to hide?”
“Well, yeah, Starlo was mad… But where could we have gone?”
“...Star-low?” Clove said slowly, sounding even more confused. “Who’s that?”
Something's beginning to feel very off. He can't imagine any scenario where he wouldn't have met Starlo… “The sheriff?”
The blank stare Clove was giving him suddenly changed to one of recognition. “Ah… The sheriff, of course…”
“Did you just forget his name?”
“He… never told me. I only interacted with him once, but…” Clove was looking increasingly uncomfortable as they spoke. “...Sorry, this whole ‘same person’ thing is still quite confusing to me. Yes, I’ve met Starlo before. Just didn’t know he was called Starlo, if that makes sense?”
“Why didn't you know? He should've talked to you as soon as you went through the East, I barely stepped into town and he took me into the saloon.”
“He just never told me his name.” Clove stated firmly. “Can we please not get hung up on me not knowing someone’s name?”
Why would they be so defensive about that? There might be something going on here after all, but what? Maybe he can get them to talk about something else with another memory…
“...Do you have any memories about Starlo? I’d like to see what happened after you went back to the Dunes.”
Well, that's convenient. “Sure, I can try and get one…” He presses his hand to the ground yet again, the environment shifting and changing into a recreation of the Dunes, a tired and angry Starlo yelling at Martlet.
“This is after we got back…” He mumbles. “He allowed us to stay, but wanted nothing to do with me.”
Clove didn’t say anything at first, looking around at the wooden buildings before turning their attention towards Starlo. “Because of that monster in the first memory, Ceroba? Did he know her?”
“They were childhood friends… Really close. He obviously wasn't happy with me after I killed her…”
“I’m surprised he didn’t try to fight you on the spot.” Clove laughed quietly to themself, though it was devoid of any real humor.
“He was tired. And mourning.” He twirls his gun absently, thinking of his “apology” later on. “Though I did challenge him to a duel later.”
“A duel?” repeated Clove, sounding skeptical. “How did that help?”
“It's how I apologized. I knew it was the only way I was gonna get through to him.”
“...By fighting?” They still sounded unconvinced.
“We didn't fight, it was just one shot from both of us. You don't get duels? I thought you would.”
“No, I get duels. It’s just that… How does it work as an apology?”
“It was just the only way I was gonna get through to him.” He crosses his arms. “It made sense at the time.”
“...Well, if you say so.” Clove acquiesced. “Say… Do you also have your own Flowey? Yellow flower, quite friendly? He was pretty helpful with me, though—”
“Woah, woah. He was what? Helpful? You're not talking about the little yellow flower, are you?”
“Yes, the talking yellow flower.” A second of silence. “I’m guessing… that’s also different for you.”
Clover scoffs. “He's trying to kill me. Actually, here, I can show you.” He sets his hand on the ground, quickly changing the area to the memory of him being assaulted by Flowey. “Very friendly, isn't he?”
Staring at the frozen display of a vine holding Clover by the neck, Clove didn’t say a word as they reached out. “...I never saw this side of him myself.” They tried grabbing the vine, but their hand phased through it. “I didn’t know it existed until it was too late.” Their gaze hardened. “And after I found out, I killed him.”
“You… You what?”
“I shot him. Kept shooting him until I couldn’t anymore. It was…” They trailed off, sounding unsettled. “...It was right.”
“How?! How did you do it?!”
“...I shot him?” repeated Clove, giving him a strange look.
“Did you do something special? Different bullets or something? I've shot him before and he just reversed it!”
“Maybe you weren’t fast enough? I think that’s why mine couldn’t, he was just too surprised.” A frown came onto their face. “Actually, why does your Flowey act so… different? Mine never tried to attack me or anything like that. What did you do to make him so violent?”
“Waste his time, I guess. He wants me to go kill Asgore, which would kill me for sure, and he wants it done quickly.”
The frown on his counterpart deepened. “You don’t want to kill Asgore?”
“No. I've killed enough already…”
“And what about the kids that he killed?” A bitter laugh escaped from Clove. “Isn’t that the whole reason you came here in the first place?”
“Yes, obviously… It's just… I can't just kill him for it, I need to hear him out first.”
“What for? What kind of reason could possibly justify killing children without cause? Even I—” Clove abruptly stopped mid-sentence, their expression tense as the words hung in the air. “...Even if there was some perfect explanation, what were you going to do next? Leave and go back to your life on the surface?”
“No, I wanna stay with Martlet.”
“...Why that, specifically?” Clove asked slowly. “Why… Her?”
“She's my mom now. Adopted me and everything.”
“Your mom?!” Clover could hear the disbelief in their words.
“Yeah, she's great. Actually, we just arrived at her house for the first time in ages recently. Let's see if I can…” Another change of scenery later, and Martlet’s house appears in front of them, with the group of monsters in front of it, Clover and Martlet having their bonding moment.
“Wait, is she…” Clove snickered, sounding genuinely amused. “Tickling you?”
Clover rubs the back of his head, looking embarrassed. “Let's not focus on that part…”
“No, I’m focusing on that part!” They were definitely enjoying his discomfort. “Did all the feathers make it tickle more than normal? How long did it go on for? Did you ever get her back?”
“Man, I wouldn't have shown you this if I knew you were gonna act like this!” He pouts, turning away from them.
He could still hear the peals of laughter behind him, though they gradually began to lessen. “...Sorry, that just really caught me off guard.” Clove finally manages to compose themself, trying to speak somewhat neutrally. “It’s a nice memory, Clover. She clearly cares a lot about you.”
“Yeah… That's why I want to talk to the king. I don't know why he would do such a thing when all the monsters I've met have been so kind.”
“...” Clove didn’t respond as they turned away from him, looking at the other monsters gathered around the house. “...It really doesn’t make sense, does it?” They pointed at Undyne, who wore an evaporated expression at the ongoing theatrics. “She doesn’t look that kind, though.”
“She's… a special case.” He mumbles, setting his hand on the ground without hesitation. The scene shifts to the catwalk in the Steamworks, the team battle between Clover and Undyne with their robotic partners on display.
“Huh…” Clove was eyeing the battle with the most interest they’ve shown in anything so far. Walking next to some of the blue spears erupting out of the ground, they almost looked… impressed? “Good thing I never met her. You won this fight?”
“Barely… I sort of freaked out and blasted her with this beam from my soul? Paralyzed her arm…”
“Did you say soul beam?”
“Dunno what else to call it.” He shrugs indifferently.
“I have that too! I can try to…” Clove brought their hand out, and… stood there awkwardly. “...Oh. Seems I can’t do that here…” Letting the arm fall back to their side, they shrugged. “Point being, I figured out how to control it. You probably can too, if you put your mind to it.”
“Like most of my magic, it just happens when it happens. Seems like it only happens when I get mad or upset or something… it's annoying. I can't control it.”
“Hmm… Most of your magic? You can do more than just fire lasers?”
“Well, there's all this. This is my magic.” He gestures around at the mindscape.
“Right… Is there anything else?”
“I can do a dash I think… Haven't figured out how to do that one properly though, I only did it against Ceroba…”
“Against Ceroba…” Clove repeated, carefully weighing each word. “I meant to ask before, but… You killed her, in that first memory you showed me. And from what you said after, you don’t think it was right. Why?”
“She had already surrendered, there was no point.” He pulls down his hat. “It was a mistake that I need to atone for.”
“I meant… Why did you choose to kill her in the first place?” Trying to get their point across, Clove motioned towards the frozen fight before them. “What was so different about Ceroba compared to all the others?”
“I… Guess because she had real intent to kill me.”
“And she didn’t?” Clove questioned, gesturing towards Undyne.
“She's a royal guard, she just has a passion for her job. Ceroba… She wanted me dead for her own personal issues.”
“Those being?” They pressed.
“Shouldn't you know all of this? You met her too, didn't you?” He frowns. “A lot of what you know matches up with me, but you don't know anything about the monsters. Except for Martlet… And Flowey. Why is that?”
“It’s, well…” Their posture shifted, seeming to draw into themself. “Does that difference really matter that much? I’m sure there’s other things we don’t have in common, right?”
“This is different, you had to have met them! I know you did! So why don't you know anything about them? You never talked with Ceroba at the bar or had that duel with Starlo?”
“I…” Clove took a step back, their hands constantly clenching and splaying out against their sides. “It’s really hard to—”
Suddenly, the Steamworks disappeared in a flash of yellow, so bright it almost hurt to look at. From somewhere in the now-featureless mindscape, a voice called out “Did you do that?”
“No! Why is this so bright?” He tried to close his eyes, but the yellow only seemed to get brighter and brighter.