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Frisk is filled with Determination to rescue the Gone-Not-Gone Monster.
Human Determination combined with monster ingenuity leads to a door that opens onto empty white Nothingness, and a pathway being built of magic and colour. (Frisk doesn't miss the glances Dr. Gaster and the four lab assistants share when it opens, as if they'd expected to see something else. Frisk doesn't know what to make of them, though, so they put them aside for now and concentrate on how Determined they are to succeed at this rescue mission.)
Frisk walks the pathway. Dr. Gaster walks beside them, tall and imposing as ever, fingerbones clicking together in a nervous habit he seems completely unaware of. Behind them follow Sans the skeleton, Scalene the lab assistant, and Undyne of the Royal Guard.
It's fairly clear Undyne and Sans have no idea why they wanted to come. Sans has been trying to hide behind claims of 'scientific curiousity'. Undyne hasn't bothered with an excuse.
Frisk gets the impression from how easily Dr. Gaster agreed to their joining the party that there's some connection between the two of them and the monster the group is rescuing.
Frisk gets the impression that they don't know about it.
The flower pops into existence blocking the path. Frisk jumps. So does everyone else - a bone and a spear flash towards it, and there's a strange whining in the air for a moment.
*Well, gee, that's not very friendly of you," the flower pouts, eyes blank and hard as it looks at them. *What are you all even doing here?"
Frisk steps forwards as spokesperson.
The flower's eyes widen. *A rescue?" A jagged grin splits its face. Vines lash out and snatch them up, off the path, hold them helpless in midair. *Well, before that, how about you let me tell you a story!"
It's not even pretending to make a request.
Once upon a time, there was a skeleton who insisted that everyone should have second chances, and everyone could be a good person if they tried, and - and lots of silly, ridiculous things like that. The skeleton was odd - he used to say things that didn't make much sense, and he'd cook the world's worst spaghetti, and -
(Golly, I'm getting off-track! So.)
This skeleton had a brother who he loved more than anyone in the world. His brother used to lie to him all the time, because he didn't want to see the skeleton sad. And the skeleton knew that was why he was lying, so the skeleton tried to be happy all the time for his brother.
But the more he looked happy, the more his brother wanted to keep him happy, and the less his brother told him the truth.
So the skeleton was sad.
This skeleton wanted to be a Royal Guard, like - (oh, look, here's) the Captain!
The skeleton went and stood outside the Captain's house until she was impressed by his determination, and agreed to train him. But! The silly skeleton, he was too gentle to be a guard! He'd never kill someone, even if it was a human, even if they were covered in dust and going to kill him -
(Why are you crying, silly-billy? This is just a story!
It's not like I'm talking about you!)
Anyway, he'd never be a guard. And it didn't take long for the captain to realise that. But she liked seeing him smile, and she didn't want to make him unhappy, so instead of telling him that he wasn't going to be a guard ever she just said she was training him.
And taught him to make pasta.
They worked on the recipe over and over again, and the skeleton wondered what good this was going to do him as a guard, but he couldn't bring that up - that would sound like he didn't trust her!
And the skeleton slowly realised that she wasn't going to teach him anything useful, ever, and she wasn't going to let him be a guard, ever, and she wasn't going to admit this to him. Ever.
So the skeleton was sad.
The skeleton tried to make friends with other people, but they always heard how strange he was, how childish, and they never paid enough attention to see who he was and get to care about him.
So the skeleton was sad.
But... there was one monster - person? - who didn't overlook the skeleton. There was a flower, all golden and friendly.
And soulless. (Can't forget that part!)
The soulless flower could affect time, making it repeat itself in a loop over and over and over. At first, the flower helped other monsters.
But it got bored.
Then it hurt other monsters.
But it got bored.
Then it started really paying attention to other monsters. Including a certain silly skeleton.
And it took much, much longer for it to grow bored of the skeleton than it did of everyone else, because the skeleton was unpredictable and the flower liked him for that.
But. But the flower didn't have a soul. So it couldn't care about the skeleton.
So sometimes, when the skeleton would come to it for someone to talk to who wouldn't think he should be happy and clueless, the flower would ignore him. Or say everything he needed not to hear - that he was stupid, he was naive, he was childish, everyone was right to treat him like he was still a worthless little babybones because that was all he'd ever be and he'd never have any use to anyone except making them happy so he had to always keep smiling -
(Don't be silly, trying to throw those little attacks. You can't hurt me.
Where was I?)
So. The skeleton was sad. And sometimes, when the skeleton was really sad, when the skeleton just wanted to talk to someone who wouldn't insist he had to keep smiling, the skeleton would go to a strange door he'd found in Waterfall and talk to it.
And the people behind the door never told him he was being silly! And they never told him he had to keep smiling! And they never told anyone else anything he told them!
So the skeleton told them that he was useless. And the skeleton told them that he was worthless. And the skeleton told them that he wanted to not take up space in the world - but he couldn't kill himself, oh, no, he could never do that, because there were people who'd miss him!
But no one missed the people behind the door. No one knew they'd ever existed.
And that was what the skeleton wanted.
(Gosh, everyone's got such horrified looks on their faces! Come on, Doctor, this shouldn't be news to you, surely?)
So the skeleton kept talking to the people behind the door, and the people behind the door slowly remembered how to talk back, and they had some fascinating conversations about exchange and substitution and...
...and they figured out a way for the skeleton to take the place of the people behind the door.
And the people behind the door told the skeleton not to, but they wanted to come out from behind the door so badly, so they just maybe were a little less convincing than they could have been?
(My, you're looking guilty!)
The skeleton's brother didn't get suspicious, because he never paid enough attention to see any signs that something was wrong - if he did that, he might have to see that the skeleton's smiles were faked, and that would never do!
The Captain didn't get suspicious, because she told herself that of course the skeleton's brother would notice anything worrying - they lived together! How could he not?
But the flower, the soulless flower, the one who couldn't care about anyone - he noticed. He saw there was something going on. So he followed the skeleton, and he heard what the skeleton said to the people behind the door, and he heard what the people behind the door said to the skeleton -
- and he couldn't just let his favourite toy go and leave him alone, not when his favourite toy was talking about how, if he died in the Void, that would mean no one could ever remember him or bring him back -
The vines around Frisk, around the monsters, vanish.
The flower smiles.
*That should be long enough, right? For him to die before you can reach him, I mean."
Its smile is utterly broken.
*That was what I promised him."
It vanishes.
Frisk grabs Dr. Gaster, grabs Sans, and hurries forwards.
They're Determined to make it in time.