Chapter Text
It's a pacifist route, just like any other. It's happened many times before, and it will likely keep happening many times over. Out of frame, Flowey is watching a conversation happen, a conversation he's heard dozens of times, and expects to hear a lot more in the future if he keeps resetting this stupid timeline.
However, something has felt...off, this whole run. Nothing big, but small things here and there. People standing in different positions, their dialogue having slight alterations. It's nothing alarming, but Flowey can't help but keep it in mind as he watches the scene unfold.
Undertale Yellow OST: 091 - One's Past...
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Starlo is looking down on the floor, too conflicted to make direct eye contact with Ceroba. Having found the trapdoor in her house, and connected some dots in terms of her late husband's work, he's confronted her in the hopes she'll clarify what exactly she needs Clover for.
"I don't want this situation to escalate, so tell the truth!!" Starlo yells at Ceroba.
Ceroba takes a step back, clearly unwilling to answer Starlo's questions. Her hands quiver as she opens her mouth in a desperate attempt to reply.
"I..." Her hands stop shaking, as she closes her eyes, pondering on what to say for a moment, before realizing nothing she could say could remedy the situation unless she confessed her true intentions. And sadly for everyone involved, confessing is the last thing she wants to do right now.
She looks next to Starlo, unwilling to make eye contact. "I have to go."
Flowey watches from a distance, but notices something is very off about Ceroba's behavior. Normally her feet start shaking and she looks at Starlo with pure fear in her eyes which then prompts her to run to the elevator in a hurry, but this time, she has a look of resolve on her face.
"Clover, come on!" She forcefully yanks Clover's arm, with the child not putting up much resistance, and pulls them into the elevator.
The elevator door shuts behind the two, with Starlo banging on the door and yelling Ceroba's name, but Ceroba remains unfazed, having quickly pressed the button for the elevator to go to her desired floor.
The banging becomes quieter as the elevator goes up towards its destination of Hotland, Clover and Ceroba standing at opposite ends of it.
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Undertale Yellow OST: 073 - Kanako
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Ceroba is sweating, and nervously panting. Her breathing becomes heavier and heavier as her legs start to shake, overtaken by both fear and grief over the confrontation with Starlo.
Clover, not fully understanding what is happening, but also not distrusting Ceroba after the journey they've had together through the Steamworks, walks up to her.
Ceroba starts tearing up, thinking about how she might have just pushed away the only people who cared about her and who understood what she's gone through.
But suddenly, she feels a gentle touch on her hand. Clover gives her a reassuring smile, which helps calm her down.
"Thanks, Clover..." She tugs Clover's hand lovingly. Forgetting about her mission for a second, she lets herself feel the relief of having someone there for her and smiles back at the child.
However, this moment doesn't last too long, as she remembers why she's in this elevator at all, and the smile fades from her face.
She makes eye contact with Clover, and ponders whether or not it's a good idea to open up a bit to the child.
"Clover, the truth is...I haven't been the most honest about our journey together..." She pauses, looking down at the floor, thinking of how to possibly word herself without giving away her full intentions.
"There's something I need you for Clover, something I have trouble asking for. But, I hope that when it needs to be done, you'll be able to help me."
"I'll tell you more when we get there, but, I just...I just want to help my daughter and- " She cuts herself off, realizing she's starting to tear up again.
Clover gives Ceroba a confused look, but doesn't seem to be too concerned over what she said. Instead, Clover holds Ceroba's arm, in an attempt to comfort her.
Ceroba looks down at the child, feeling her guard lowering more and more, she sits down, with her back against the elevator wall. Clover sits next to her.
"You're something else, Clover, thank you." A feeling of guilt tugs at Ceroba as she realizes just how implicitly the child trusts her, and to what extent she's taking advantage of that trust.
But, she reminds herself that this isn't the first time she's had to do such a thing. She has to stay strong, and she can't let herself grow too attached.
"Wait, Clover. As soon as this elevator door opens, we'll have to book it to the lab. Starlo is likely to start pursuing us immediately so we can't waste any time.
Clover holds Ceroba's hand as the two stand up together, standing next to the elevator door.
She gives the human a gentle smile. "I know my way through Hotland, so don't worry about playing the leader this time, let me prove my own leading capabilities a bit too!"
In reality, she's only saying this because she no longer feels like she needs to test the purity of Clover's soul. The child has done more than enough to prove their soul is as pure as they come, which is exactly what Ceroba is looking for.
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Undertale Yellow OST: 095 - Medium
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The elevator reaches its destination. Clover holds Ceroba's hand and she nervously stands up, which the child then does as well. Then the two run out of the elevator together.
Ceroba leads the way, with Clover trying to keep her pace as the two run past the UG apartments
Ceroba attempts to lighten the mood a little bit by starting some small talk. "You know, I would've thought Hotland would be...hotter? Compared to the Steamworks this is very manageable."
Clover silently nods, as Ceroba feels herself lightening up a bit. Despite her conflicting feelings and resolve to complete her mission, she does genuinely enjoy Clover's company.
In the distance the two spot their first roadblock, a mighty one at that. A group of small spiders all with appropriately spider-sized tools are working behind spider-sized fencing.
However, unlike Ceroba, Clover doesn't seem too phased by this seemingly impassable obstacle. Ceroba looks back at the child who is still keeping pace with her.
Seeing Clover keeping up so effortlessly makes Ceroba continue to wish she didn't cancel her gym membership.
"Huff...On the count of 3, jump! Okay, Clover?" The child nods as they keep running.
"Alright...one, two, three!!" The two of them magnificently jump over the spiders on the floor. Well, in reality it doesn't look that magnificent, but Ceroba feels like it was still a pretty graceful little hop for someone as out of shape as her.
They land back on their feet and continue running as one of the spider construction workers yells at them in a deep voice. "You damn rascals! Get back here, you're breaking the law!!"
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Clover cracks a smile as the two continue to run into the purple room where the walls are coated in cobwebs and there are small spiders littering the floor, who all get out of the way of the duo so as to not be squished.
"I'd heard that there was a spider parlor being constructed in Hotland, but I never actually imagined I'd be...in it. I've never seen a spider before, up until today...now I kind of wish I never did."
Near the middle of the room is a large spider web on top of the floor that makes it hard to walk through, so the two have to stop running and force their way through the web step by step.
Suddenly, an ominous feminine voice with a lisp is heard in the distance.
"Ahuhuhuhuhu...~ What's all this commotion about..."
"An odd looking fox and...what's that, a human? A human has willingly come to my parlor? Well, why don't you let yourself feel at home, my dears?~"
Ceroba holds Clover's hand tighter and looks around in panic. "W-Who are you?! What do you want from us?!"
The disembodied voice continues speaking, its voice echoing through the room.
"Ahuhuhuhu...~ What do I want from you? What a strange question to ask, considering you're the one who barged in here without as much as an invitation..."
"If you're so keen on paying us a visit anyways, how about we...take that weight off your shoulder, dear fox..."
Ceroba retorts. "What weight? You aren't talking about-"
"Give us the human...The price of their soul could be a great step towards our goal..." the voice interrupts her, as a big spider-looking woman descends from the ceiling upside down.
"The name is Muffet, dear fox...And, if you do as I said, we could become very wealthy business partners...But if you don't, I might have to introduce you to my pet! Ahuhuhuhuhu...!!~"
Ceroba doesn't mince words and summons her staff, smacking it against the floor which makes its outer end red, which quickly changes Muffet's expression from one of smug joy to concern.
"Now now, dear fox, there's no reason to-"
Without hesitation Ceroba shoots a red bullet at Muffet, which sends her flying against the wall, and she shoots a series of bullets at the spider webs on the floor, ripping them apart.
"We don't have any time to waste on these spiders Clover, think of the mission!!" Clover follows Ceroba's lead and the two start running towards the other end of the room.
The two escape the purple spider parlor and are back in the familiar brown turf of Hotland.
Undertale Yellow OST: 095 - Medium
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"If I had any idea this would happen I would've just gone to R1 and taken the long way around...!" Ceroba mutters to herself with an annoyed look on her face.
"Well, Clover, nevermind that, I'm honestly...Huff...I've gotten a bit tired of all the running we've done today, the Steamworks was already enough to work up a sweat, but that spider really stressed me out."
Ceroba's eyes flair up and her ears perk up a bit as she continues speaking. "But luckily for us, I've heard we're nearing the cutting edge steam transportation system! I haven't ever gotten to see it myself but I have heard of it before!"
The two arrive at a room full of platforms with lights at their edges, all isolated from one another with four little vents with red arrows on each of them, all pointing in one of the cardinal directions. For some reason, looking at this gives clover a strange sense of déjà vu.
Ceroba walks to a small vent in front of them, standing on it. She's about to open her mouth to talk to Clover but suddenly a huge rush of lukewarm steam comes out of the vent and shoots her towards where the arrow was pointing. She stumbles and lands on her side.
Clover follows suit, walking up to the vent, standing still, and being shot towards the platform Ceroba is on, landing perfectly on their feet.
Clover grabs Ceroba's hands and helps lift her up. And then the two realize this isn't a transportation system, but a maze.
Out of pure frustration she starts to shout. "Can't anything those blasted royals make work normally, does everything have to be some sort of convoluted puzzle?!"
She sighs, the anger fading from her face. "Well, Clover, just stay behind me, and follow my lead, we can solve this thing together.
The two of them jump from platform to platform using the vents, Ceroba continuing to have difficulties landing while Clover lands without issue every time. Eventually Clover walks ahead of Ceroba, pointing at the vent, and showing her how to properly use it. Standing completely still and letting the vent do its thing. She tries to do the same and finally gets the hang of it.
As the two continue jumping from platform to platform, Ceroba starts to enjoy herself and chats with Clover. "You know...I thought this was really annoying at first but, I'm starting to find this pretty fun...Even if this is completely wasting our already very limited time, but maybe this room will stump Star, he hasn't always been the best at puzzles, haha. I remember once he-"
She stands still for a second, remembering the good memories she's made with Star, and feeling conflicted because she may never get to experience such a thing again. However, she doesn't let it get to her too much, and holds on to her resolve that she's doing the right thing. She puts up a smile again, and continues talking to Clover.
"Anyways, we'll probably be more than okay!! That spider will probably hold them back too!! Knowing Star, he'd rather take the long way around than break into the spider parlor like we did!"
The two finally arrive at the other side of the vent maze, and hold hands again, ready to continue their trek.
"We're almost at the lab, I'm fairly sure, I feel a bit better so let's get running again Clover, we can't afford to lose pace after that puzzle."
The two start running again, with Clover having a smile on their face, they're having a very fun time. Ceroba looks back on them and their warm smile makes her smile too.
The two walk past a spider bake sale which is still being set up. A wave of guilt washes over Clover who feels the urge to make up for what happened at the parlor. They suddenly stand completely still and stop running, taking Ceroba off guard.
"Clover!" She starts tugging at the child, who is pushing back against her, making the sound of concrete sliding as Ceroba drags them bit by bit. "Clover what are- What are you doing?! Is something wrong?"
Ceroba glances over at the bake sale. "Do you...want to buy something?" Clover nods and Ceroba sighs. Remembering she's dealing with a child, she decides not to be too assertive.
"Sure, go buy something, but please be very quick!!" Clover walks up to the bake sale attendant, a small spider on a long stool who is standing behind a makeshift stand made of cardboard. Clover ponders how or why this Cardboard is handling the heat when Mo's clothing couldn't handle the Steamworks' heat. They just assume it must be because they're farther away from the lava than they were from the coolant.
"Hi! Welcome to the spider bake sale!! Come eat food made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders! We're still setting this stand up, so we don't actually have any food yet, but you can leave a tip if you'd like!"
Clover looks at the tip jar, which is magnitudes larger than the miniscule little spider, and is deciding whether or not to leave a small tip or a big tip.
Clover decides to give the spiders a big tip, hoping this makes up for their previous anti-spider crimes.
Clover runs back to Ceroba, who is impatiently tapping her feet. "Oh thank goodness, can we carry on now?" Clover nods, and Ceroba breathes a sigh of relief.
The two hold hands again and start running. "Did you even buy something?" Clover shakes their head. "Of course..." Ceroba shakes her own head, and chuckles, finding the child's antics very entertaining.
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After a minute or so of sustained running, the two finally arrive at the L1 elevator.
"We're finally here Clover, we just have to ride this down and we'll be near the lab." Her breathing gets uneasy. But she doesn't let it stop her, opening the elevator, the two of them walk in.
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She presses the button to go all the way down. Ready for another lengthy elevator ride to the bottom.
Ceroba starts thinking, and gets lost in her own thoughts quickly. After so long, her goal is finally in reach. She thought it was all a pipe dream, hell, she started to give up on the idea.
But that's when Clover came into the picture, not just a human, but a pure human, one who wants what's best for others, one who will do what's right no matter the circumstance...One who is right next to her, right now.
She coldly stares at the human child, who is also staring ahead. Ceroba wonders what they must be thinking about.
Clover is thinking about Kanako. Despite having heard so much about the kid off-handedly, they know very little about her. They know she's a bit of a troublemaker, she also wore a cowboy hat like them, and...That's it, really. Clover considers asking Ceroba personally, but isn't sure how to.
Throughout this whole journey, Clover has never been much of a talker, only ever saying the bare minimum, what's absolutely necessary to evade or defuse conflict. But maybe being more proactive would be beneficial.
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Undertale Yellow OST: 099 - You Gotta Be Kidding Me!
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Suddenly Flowey's voice rings in Clover's head. "Yellow is the color of judgement...consequence."
Clover's head spins, and they fall to the floor, Ceroba is quick to tend to them and ask them if they're okay, but they don't reply.
Flowey hasn't once told Clover these words...Has he? Clover doesn't know, but the world around them keeps spinning, Clover feels their sins crawling on their back, sins they've never committed, they hear familiar voices say phrases they've never said before. Clover's breathing starts to hasten, as they grip their chest tightly with one of their hands, the other is shaking, trying to hold them up.
And then, nothing. The thoughts stop, and Clover is able to breathe, and calm down.
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Undertale Yellow OST: 054 - Blossom
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Ceroba's voice starts to become clearer to Clover as their head stops spinning and they get a grip on themselves. "Clover! Clover, are you okay?" Clover looks up at Ceroba, and replies.
"Y-Yes, I'm okay."
Ceroba hugs Clover. "Thank goodness...You made me really worried. What happened?!"
Clover gets back up with Ceroba's help, takes a second to breathe, and replies.
"I don't know...I just felt very dizzy all of a sudden, but it didn't last too long...Thank you for being so concerned...!"
Ceroba smiles warmly. Her care for Clover shines through her previously cold demeanor. A feeling starts manifesting in Ceroba, a feeling she's been holding back for so long, doubt.
She's starting to doubt herself, doubt her actions, doubt whether or not what she's planning to do is truly just. A part of her starts to secretly wish Clover will comply with her plan, that she won't have to forcefully steal their soul like she originally intended.
She puts this feeling on the backburner, as before the two realize, the elevator door opens. In the distance, a big building can be seen.
The two walk out of the elevator together.
"Is that the lab?" Clover asks Ceroba.
"Yes, that's the lab. I've never been there before, but I've seen pictures. I always looked forward to the day I'd see it in the flesh, hoping it would be the day I could finally...pick Kanako up..."
Ceroba closes her eyes in solemn contempt as her breathing gets funny towards the end of her sentence, but then Clover holds Ceroba's hand.
"We will pick her up. I don't know what you're planning, but I know it'll be what's right for everyone."
If yellow is the color of judgement, then Clover has decided Ceroba seems to be just. If they knew her full intentions, maybe they'd think otherwise, regardless, they seem to have made up their mind in trusting her.
The two of them walk towards the lab together, holding hands like a mother and her child.
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