Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had shown up suddenly. A collection of cases in a very innocuous looking box, all the same color, all with the same strange symbol on the front and back. It gave Frisk an uneasy feeling, and they clung to Toriels' sleeve as she pulled out the small square cases. The bright pink stood proudly against the white background, and here the differences in the cases showed.

Each one had a name on it, most of whom were familiar to Frisk, but two of the cases were odd in very different ways. One name was impossible to read, and hurt their head the longer they looked at it, and the other one made Toriel pause and begin to shake a little. They tugged on her sleeve.

"Yes, My child?" She sniffled a bit.

[Are you okay, Mom?] Frisk signed.

Toriel chuckled and ruffled her childs' hair, "Yes, i'm quite all right. something just threw me off guard a little, is all." she took a deep breath before continuing, "Did you order anything online recently?"

[No. I'm just as confused as you are.]

The boss monster hummed for a second, "Well, these look like some kind of computer game, and since they're already addressed to people, I do believe we should deliver them." she smiled at Frisk before picking up the stack of cases, leaving the two strange ones behind. Frisk smiled and followed behind her. A game sounded fun, especially with their family and friends playing with. It had been awhile since everyone was able to get together after leaving the underground. 

[I hope everyone has time to play, i've missed everyone a lot.]

"Me too, Frisk... Me too."

---

The mother-child duo went around the town, delivering the games to their named owners, and set up times to play with each other. Papyrus was very excited, and assured the former Queen that both he and his brother would be available to play in a few days time. This was one of the few times of the year that Mettaton was on a break from touring, and was ecstatic that he and Napstablook could play together, "I'm going to clear my schedule for the next week, darlings! I worry about him sometimes, I think this will be good for him."

Frisk and Toriel stayed for a bit to chat with the Celebrity robot for a bit, before they continued delivering the games. Undyne and Alphys seemed excited, and promised to play, Frisk had to deliver Asgores' game, since they really didn't want to deal with the remaining tension between the two boss monsters. The old King thanked frisk, and handed them a tin of loose-leaf tea for their troubles, and promised he would join.

With their small task- and their very nice walk around town- completed, they headed back in comfortable silence, just enjoying the day. When they returned home, Frisk tugged on their adoptive Mom's sleeve. Toriel paused and turned to Frisk, "Hmm? what is it Frisk?"

[i'm going to talk to Flowey about the game, and maybe see about seeing how it works. Is that okay?] Toriel chuckled,

"Of course, My child. Just remember to wash up for dinner when you're done, alright?"

[Alright!] Frisk took off towards their room, snagging the game cases that read 'FRISK' and 'FLOWEY'.

Toriel shook her head and smiled before heading to the kitchen to get started on dinner. She paused. Weren't there two cases she had left on the counter? She blinked, and patted the side of her head. No, there had always been ten game cases, she was sure of it. well, no matter. Dinner wasn't going to make itself, after all.

---

Frisk opened the door to their room. Well, theirs and Flowey's room. it still amazed them to no end that Toriel (and Sans & Papyrus for that matter) was able to find a near perfect replica of her home in the RUINS. Flowey was setting on Frisk's desk, in a decently sized planter pot, with a little red heart painted on it. The soulless flower was leaning against the window, staring blankly outside. Frisk frowned, and picked him up. 
"Ugh, what do You want?"

Frisk set him down in the middle of the desk, and grinned, holding up the two cases in one hand, and signing [G-A-M-E-?] with the other. At the puzzled look from the yellow flower, frisk opened one of the cases to reveal a computer disk, with the same strange circular symbol on it. "Wait, you want to play a game? With me?" Frisk nodded, and turned the case over to show the names emblazoned in large blocky letters on the front of the cases.

It made the flower pause for a second, and shrink back. Frisk frowned in confusion. "I don't know if that's a good idea right now Frisk." 

[Not now, Flowey, but later today or tomorrow? everyone's planning on playing in a couple days, and I wanted to test it out first. that way if someone gets stuck we might be able to help?] Frisk clasped their hands together, looking hopeful. Flowey relented.

"Ugh, fine. But only after dinner, since you seem to be eager to play. I don't want Mo-Toriel to get mad at us again for taking too long to finish a game."

[Deal!] Frisk hopped up and headed to the bathroom so they both could wash up. 

Life was good. Everyone was living on the surface, the monsters and humans were happy, and Frisk had stopped the Resets. Papyrus was doing great as the human-monster ambassador, and Sans was even taking science courses at the local college. Alphys and Undyne were getting married in the summer, and Frisk was going to school again. Frisk couldn't be happier. They hoped it stayed like this for awhile.

Chapter Text

The Dark Ones in the space Between, Those Who Reside in the Furthest Reaches, The Beings of the Depths, encountered a solution to the Game's little conundrum. The Machinations of the Game considered. Then Acquiesced. A few Alterations Must be Made. And So They Were, Written into the fabric of existence itself. The Dark Ones bided their time.

---

W.D. Gaster was never one for coincidences. Everything could, in some way, Be measured and observed. There were no coincidences. Just highly improbable co-occurring phenomena. It was the one thing he held onto since falling into the CORE. it was all he had left. Which is why it was very unlikely that he would find a replica of his Lab in the void. with a single working computer, with a game already running. It was also very unlikely that the person shown on this monitor would be the King and Queen's Adoptive Child, who had been dead for quite some time before he even fell into the CORE. The third incredibly unlikely thing was that he could not Leave this particular place in the void after looking at his surroundings and deciding to leave this for some other soul trapped here to deal with. It was like the Void itself didn't want him to leave, but that was impossible. The Void was a place, not a sentient being. The walls seems to close in on him tighter. He sat down at the computer. It was time to play a game, apparently.

---

Chara was lot in the afterlife. Lacking a soul, they floated in the game files, watching everything happen. Even after watching Frisk through all the resets, all the different timelines, they never got to Chara. Even after killing everyone, they always reset before that could happen. It was infuriating.

Thud. What.

Thudthud. What the fuck?

Chara turned, and sitting in a nice little row behind them. three machines. they almost hurt to look at, being a clean white in the pitch black of the Start Menu. As Chara stared, a little card floated nicely down to land in their hands. "...What the Fuck?" 

They felt themselves moving of their own accord, the Void leeching in and pulling them towards the machines. Chara fought against it, tooth and nail. Whatever the Void wanted from them, they were not going to give it. Chara took a breath, and flung the void away. It landed on the machines. Chara turned back to the game files, a bit shaken. What was even happening right now?

After hearing a *pop* The Lost Child turned back to the machines, just in time for a green Pulsing light to hit Chara in the face. And everything went white.

---

Gaster grumbled as he manipulated the machines for the child. Spoiled brat. He checked on the child and quirked his head to the side. Chara was gone. In their place, a glowing ball of light with Charas' face on it. Hmm. hopefully that won't complicate things. He completed the puzzle, which, frankly while so easy a child could do it, it was nice. It had been so long since he had been able to complete a puzzle with his own hands. the Large Platform, the Alchemiter, summoned a small object, he could not see what it was, but it resembled a heart. The scientist watched as the little ball of light floated over to it, and slammed into it. causing his screen to go white. It would seem his job is done. he got up to leave.

He could not leave. the wall he had used to enter the lab had solidified, trapping him. he checked the other walls. all of them, more physical than the void should be. he began to panic.

---

Chara woke up. everything was purple. they blinked wearily and looked around. Everything looked like their room at home, except, you know. really fucking purple. "what?" Chara went around, examining everything. it seemed the same, aside from the odd hue. Even their clothes were purple, with a weird white crescent moon on the chest. They leaned out the window, and almost screamed. Okay, that was Way too high up. nope. nopenopenope. Time to close the window. And lock it, just in case.
"Okay. time to go back to sleep." Chara paused. and then locked the door to their room before sliding under the covers again.

And then Chara woke up.

Chapter Text

The Ground was soft, like moss. And the air was hot and thick. Chara groaned and sat up. they tried to stand but they...floated? instead. "what?" Chara looked themself over, ghostly white skin, dark green shadows, legs gone, and a ghostly tail in place of them. What was happening?

Chara felt a nudge on their back. "huh?" they turned to see a pale yellow snake staring at them. It flicked its' tongue and spoke. "You mussst come with usss, Chosssen One."

Chara stared. "...What?" 

"you Muss-" "No, i heard you. Just...What? i have been alive again for all of 5 minutes, and all of a sudden I'm a Chosen One? Do you even know me?"

The snake seemed a bit taken aback, and wavered in the air a bit before responding.

"not personally, no. But your presence was foretold. I know nothing of your life before, all i know is you are one of the Twelve Heroes of Old, and you are here to fulfill your duty. whether you decide to follow that duty is ultimately, up to you. but we would be lesser for it."

the snake, having said its' piece, slithered off into the underbrush. And chara finally got a good look at their surroundings. it was dark, not night dark, but thick foliage dark. They seemed to be in a jungle of some sort, thick green moss covering the floor and bright yellow flowers dotted the moss, while a darkened canopy rose above. the sky looked overcast, and dark blue rivers and streams ran through the jungle floor, surrounding massive stone ruins that depicted snakes, frogs, turtles, and any number of reptilian and amphibious life. Chara felt sick. there was too much information all at once- The Medium, The Exsphere, Sprites, Quests, Imps, Consorts Denizens Godtiers QuestbedSacrificalSlabKingQueenDerseProspitSkaiajustheroicdreambubblestimespacefroguniverseouterrimhorrorterrorsdreamselves- Chara S C R E A M E D.

Land of Buttercups and Ruin

Chara stood up. Knowing how to change their tail into legs. They knew what they had to do. The twelve person limit was unfortunate, but that didn't mean that they couldn't bring in more people. Chara grinned, their eyes wide as they felt the strings of possibility, of tragedy, flow around them. It was time to get to work. This was a game they would not be losing.

---

Frisk and Flowey felt a shiver run up their bodies. Flowey chose to ignore it. Frisk frowned, but brushed it off. It was after dinner (and dessert) and Frisk pulled out their old laptop from a few years ago, set it up, and set flowey down at the desktop computer. Both disks were running, and now it was just time to wait. 

[The loading screen is pretty.]

"It's neat. This is taking forever though."

[Eh, it gives us time to plan. What kind of game do you think it is?]

"uh...I mean, it seems to be a multiplayer game, Maybe some kind of puzzle game?"

[Paps should love this then, if that's the case.]

Flowey shifted, hiding the small smile at the mention of the energetic skeleton. There was a small chime from the two computers, both reading SERVER and CLIENT.

[You pick one, i'll pick the other?]

"Sure. I'll pick Server."

They clicked on their respective choices, Flowey using his vines to use the mouse and keyboard.

A pause, and then. "Oh What The FUCK Is That!"

It was their room. With both of them in it. A small error flashed at the top of the screen. :Error, Players must have at least one room of separation before Menu is available:

"huh. okay."

[what should we do?]

"Maybe we can use the guest room? You are using a laptop, after all."

[Got it, let me know what happens, i'll keep my phone on me.]

Frisk, grabbing the phone and laptop in their arms, and heading down the hall to the guest room, excitement in their eyes. And maybe a bit of fear? Games that affected reality tended to not end well in Frisk's experience. Setting down on the bed, and putting the laptop on the desk, Frisk waited.

Thud, thud, thud. And three big machines plopped down into the room. One of which blocked the door.

[Flowey, I cant get out now] Ping! Frisk's phone went off a few moments later

Flowey: Sorry, it's the only place it would fit with that big platform thing.

Frisk sighed, and took stock of the machines. A punch card floated to the desk, and Frisk picked it up.

---

A few minutes later, with Flowey's help, Frisk figured out how to make the totem by getting the cruxtruder open. Frisk was currently trying to get to the alchemiter, but the weird blue ball of light kept getting in their way.

[Flowey, what do I do? it won't get out of the way.]

Flowey: IDK, throw something at it.

Frisk frowned. And looked around frantically. The kernelsprite began to bounce around excitedly. Frisk, in a bit of a desperate situation, checked their inventory, selected something, and threw. Frisk felt the malfunction in their inventory, and saw as most of the armor and weapons from the underground hit the kernel in a huge bundle. The sprite settled down and moved to the side. Frisk was uneasy. They put the totem on the alchemiter. The totem was scanned, and the platform lit up with a blue flash. and on the platform, rested a lockbox, and a key.

Frisk did the obvious, and opened the box. Everything went white.

---

Flowey and Toriel, from separate points in the house, began screaming for two different reasons.

Chapter Text

Flowey and Toriel were panicking. Toriel because half of the house was gone, and frisk with it. Flowey because the computer screen blacked out, and showed a very familiar face on it, etched in red pixels. Toriel called Sans in a panic, because what else could she do? Frisk wouldn't open up to her very much about the underground, and the only other person she trusted that seemed to know what went on with Frisk was the Older skele-brother. She tried to stifle her sobs as her cellphone rang.

---

"hey tori, what's up?" Sans was in the basement, working on getting it cleaned up, while Paps was upstairs making dinner. His cooking had improved a lot recently.

"~~!" Sans stopped at the sound of Tori's voice, she seemed terrified.

"what? what do you mean Frisk is gone?"

"okay, calm down, what were they doing before this happened?"

"the game? you mean the one we were gonna play in a couple days?"

"okay, they were testing it out, you heard thuds and went to check on them, they weren't in their room, and now the side of the house with the guest bedroom is gone, and you can't find them."

Sans pinched his nasal ridge. Hasn't this kid put everyone through enough?

"yeah, i'll ask paps and see what he thinks. if it was the game, you might be able to, i dunno, follow them in?"

"yeah, okay, i'll talk to you later tori."

Sans let out a sigh and took a shortcut into the livingroom, the kid was gonna owe him big time for this.

"hey paps?" man, he was gonna regret this

"YES, SANS?" his brother poked his head out from the kitchen, a bowl of...Something in the crook of his arm.

"uh, you know that game that tori and the kid dropped off earlier?"

"OH YES! WE PLANNED ON PLAYING IT ON TUESDAY, CORRECT?"

Sans scratched at the back of his skull before continuing, "well, it seems frisk was a bit eager to play, and got in a bit over their head. tori just called me saying half the house is missing, and so's the kid."

the younger skele-brother tilted his head, looking all the world like a confused puppy.

"WELL WE BETTER GO AND RESCUE THEM THEN, AFTER DINNER OF COURSE. NOT EVEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN PLAY GAMES ON AN EMPTY STOMACH!"

Sans let his shoulders sag in relief. he could put this off a little longer. "you're the boss, bro."

---

Flowey started to panic as the door to his and Frisk's shared room closed of its' own accord, and the same machines that Flowey just dropped into the guest room appeared here. If he could, he would be sweating down his petals. 

"okay. Okayokayokayokay. Juuust like frisk did. you watched them do this, you can do this." He mumbled to himself as he tried to pull himself forward in the pot. Card into the lathe, get the top off the cruxtruder, get the cruxite, throw something into the glowy thing, carve the totem, put totem onto the alchemiter. He was running on autopilot at this point. the alchemiter flashed and...it was a mirror?

"what, no, wheres the box?" the little pink mirror did not respond. He growled at it.

"Who do you think you are huh? what the fuck am I supposed to do with a mirror, huh?" It flashed and reflected him for a moment, and then, it reflected someone who was not him. Flowey grabbed the mirror and flung it at the wall. 

---

Chara smiled. Their work as a server was done. Onto the next phase.

---

Frisk was cloud-gazing again. There was always neat stuff to find in clouds. They saw their friends, their family. Oh! that cloud looked cool, it had a ring of twelve planets, all different colors. Another cloud overshadowed it, this one had a pair of big feathery wings, that turned grey, and kept getting darker, and started to crumble. a third cloud demanded frisk's attention, Mettaton on a stage, flickering to Toriel tending to a garden, Asgore giving someone a hug, a meteor floating in space, A strange skeleton man pacing around a lab, muttering under his breath. Frisk stretched a little. It was time to wake up, even though they didn't really want to. Skaia was nice during the eclipse. It really was a shame that the other frisk didn't know about it. Oh well, it was for the best really.

---

Frisk sat up. The wind howling loudly in their ear. the guest room was...kind of intact. All the machines were gone, and in their place stood a floating specter, wearing some very familiar items. 

[Uh, hello?]

{Hello frisk. I am Soulsprite. How are you feeling?}

[mostly confused. Uh-]

{of course, allow me to explain. you are here to become a hero! isn't that exciting? Like a game, you must progress through Your Land by FIGHTing and defeating i̷̻̩̲̋̋̉̚͝ͅṃ̶̡̻̯̂̌̄p̸̨̞͚̰͍͊s̷͖͌̓̽̓̿͋,̶̯͈̐̾͑́͘ ̶̬͇̔̍̓̈́ä̸̙̦́̓n̷̻̱̱͓̓̈́̍͋̋̕d̷̩̩̈͑̊̓̍͊̃ ̵̻̌̂̈̾ṱ̷̡̨̧̛̰͐̏̓͝͝h̵̡̧̤̯̫́̒̂͐́e̴̡̞̟͐͋̾̆̀͝n̷̹͖͔̦̐̈́̓͝ ̷̡̱̮̙̒͋͝b̷̛̛̮̼̈́̋̋̌͘y̶̹̗̺̪̍̂̒́̚͘̚ ̸͈͍̍̊́͗̑́̕ẖ̷̊̉̌̈̇a̸̢͓̮̟̬̱͐̋͐̈́͜͠v̴̜͉̫̣͖̋͂̈́͂͘i̴̧̨̠̱̰̅̓̌̔͘͜͝n̸̲͓̰̆́̚g̶̰̱͕̼̰͖̈͐ ̷̟̌͂͑̓̿̓͝y̸̻͎̦̔͂̂̽͋ǫ̸̳̪̗͙̼̭̊̓́̕u̸̲͖͖͇̣̟̐̾̅̊̒̒͊ŗ̴̙̥͍̱̻̊̽̈͠ ̵̖̅s̷̢̧͙̼̠͓̅͂̍e̶̝̽̎̓r̵̦̱̲̟͈̆͌͛͗͜v̷̢̛̙̣̭̂͜è̸̛̹͠r̴̢͍͎͎͌͌͂̈́͑̓͠ ̶̛͇̪̦̻̓̽̑͂b̸̖͘͜u̷̧͔̙̹̠̠̒͑͠ĭ̸͈̥̳̎̂̉̓̕ͅl̶̡̰̙̫͇̆͐̿d̴̬̲̤͍͐͑̐̍̚͜͠ ̶̜͕̣̍͗̉̃̓̍͐ų̷̬̘̫́̔p̴̣̥͖̬̹̋̋͌ ̴͓̮͓̞̣̫̜̔̈́̈́̊̚y̶̢͚̏̉̏͂̾õ̶͙̠̫͚̭̪̇͋̃̍̎͆ṳ̷̢̢̱̟̦͐̿̿̂̅͜͝r̴̺͈͓̪̻̊̎̓̓ ̶̧̬͉͓̌͝h̷̳̬̮̰̱̙̉̓ͅõ̵̡̻͎͓̏u̷̦̾͛͝s̸̡̲̪̥̏ę̵̥͕̭̬͋̐̓̏̏͑ ̷̛͈͓̘̠͂̏͛͒̽ͅt̵̝̺̄ẖ̴̒͑̾̈̿r̴̡̈́̃̓́̓ô̴͇̗̬͚̝ͅū̷̡͋̈́͒͘͘͠g̴͓̟̗͇͋̈́̔̓̚h̷̬̼̚ ̶̨̙̙͚͋̓̋͊́͐̚͜ͅṱ̴͙͓̺͍͊h̴̳̗͙͇̰̜̭̊̈̈́̎e̶̡̢̻̲̯͖͇͂̂͂̄ ̴̳͗̓̅̚͝s̴̡̟̯̠̤͆͐̈́̕͠e̴̥̼͖̦̗̣̓͊̓̈͛͛v̴̛̛̱̼̱͒̏è̴̢̮̀͆̓n̶̢̼͈̳̪̑̌́̉͝ ̴͇͊̔͋̓̽g̷̏͜͝ȧ̷̝̠͍̜͑̔͜͜ẗ̴̢̰̜́̈́̄͘̚͠ͅe̵̥̦̅̿ş̴̞̗͈̓̚-̸̜̃͊̔̓}

Frisk stared, as Soulsprite seemed to glitch out and contort in strange ways, before collapsing onto the floor. It glowed a bit, and rose up again, its voice more echoey than before. 

{The Game Has Changed. Your World Is Dying, But You Can Save It. This Land Asks You To Go On A Journey, And Either Its People Will Die, Or The Ones That You Hold Dear. At The End Of Your Journey, You Will Be Faced With A Final Choice. What You Decide To Do Is Ultimately Up To You. I Will Be Here To Guide You Along The Path, But You Are Free To Do As You Wish}

Frisk swallowed thickly. They had a Very bad feeling about this.

---

On the Land of Cats and Machines, a bright pink Skink scuttled by. The Hero was to arrive today, and they needed their heroic burden. it was only proper it get to them on time. Apparently in the Hero's original world it was a great and terrible power they wielded to mess with the fabric of time itself. the Consort giggled. how silly. A Hero of Breath wielding Time. The skink screwed on the last bit of metal that would hold the Great Power in its cage. It was so amazing that a little thing like this could bring power to an entire world. The brightly colored reptile cocked it's head, briefly contemplating just bringing the power source to the Spire itself. But no. That is not how things were done, how very silly. The skink scuttled away, heading to the only building in the SAND WASTES.

Chapter Text

Flowey sat up. wait... Sat up? he looked down, and sure enough. Legs, and proper hands, not roots and vines. Covered in soft white fur, and a green- no, black robe. Wait, huh? He blinked. And stared at his leaves. He shivered and tried to hug himself for comfort. It didn't work. He looked around, and took stock of his surroundings. The house was gone, and so was his pot. he was in the ground, which tasted very strange to his roots. At least he was back in the ground, even if it was weird. the soil was an off white color, but it didn't feel like clay or sand, it just felt like soil. There were massive green crystal formations scattered about, some of which hummed slightly. the weird machines were sitting nearby, along with objects that Flowey knew had been in the room. And also a weird floating lampshade? directly in front of him was one of those crystals, which had changed to a dark shade of pink.

flowey sank into the ground and popped up near the base of the alchemiter. he could see a new machine right next to it, and a decent stack of those punch cards, although these ones were blank. He turned to the lampshade ghost.

"So what are you supposed to be?"

Lampsprite is trying to speak! it cannot do so as it lacks a mouth or some item that gives it mild telepathy.

"Uh...huh. well i can see you're gonna be just a wonderful conversational partner." Flowey turned to the machines. Might as well do something productive, like make something that can find Frisk. Or make it easier to move around.

---

Toriel paced the living room and kitchen. Two thirds of the house was gone now, and it had been a couple hours since she'd heard from Sans. She didn't want to be a bother, but both of her Charges were missing! She called Sans for the second time that night.

"hey tori, did something happen?"

She inhaled, and let it out slowly. it wouldn't do to cry over the phone.

"Flowey is gone now too, shortly after Frisk. He took Frisk's room with him, too. I don't have a whole lot of house left."

there was a pause, before "so you're saying you have a lot of house right?"

Toriel let out a bubble of laughter, and immediately felt better. Sans continued after both their chuckles died down.
"seriously though, wherever they are, i'm sure they're fine. They got through the whole underground without breaking a sweat, and if the little buttercup is with them, they'll make a great team together. they've got each other's backs."

The Boss goat monster hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose you're right, Sans. I'm just worried. Is there nothing we can do from here?"

"i mean, yeah. there's always something we can do. me and paps are setting up the game the kids were playing, see if we can't follow them in."

Toriel perked up, and almost shouted into the phone "Sans, will you bring me in first if you can? I know you said not to worry, but I simply must know that Frisk and Flowey are alright! Please, i'll do anything!"

"whoa, whoa, whoa. it's okay toriel, alright, i can get you in first, and paps will follow right behind, and i'll look around about someone getting me in. i've got the disk running right now, it just says 'waiting for client'" there was a pause, and a shuffle "you might want to get your game ready, paps will be ready soon, and i'm just waiting on him."

"Thank you, Sans. This means a lot to me." Toriel thought she heard something like 'i know' before she and Sans said their goodbyes.

---

Frisk sat at the computer, the SAVE point in a jar at their feet. Frisk really didn't want to do this 'Quest' and what better way to stall than by helping Papyrus, the cinnamon roll of monsters. While naive in some...okay, a LOT of ways, papyrus was still really smart, and Frisk knew he'd be able to figure out the machines by himself. It looked like both him and Sans were going to play. that gave Frisk pause for a second. Man, how long has passed over on Earth? it can't have been that long. Could it?

Frisk shook their head and deployed the machines, a little more spread out so papyrus wasn't trapped in his room, but Frisk was pretty sure they accidentally blocked the door. hopefully neither of them needed to leave anytime soon. Soulsprite began to nudge them, silently insisting they needed to move on. Frisk began to feed sans' pet rock. And clean the kitchen for them. and why not take the time to redecorate so that the door is accessible? fuck it, lets just accidentally rip up the sink. Frisk was not leaving. Not just yet. they needed a towel for this mess they have made. 

---

"SANS, WHAT IS HAPPENING?" sans stood, slack jawed as the kitchen sink ripped itself from the counter, and a towel floated over to clean up the water.

"beats me bro. maybe your server player just likes everything in our house but the kitchen sink." Sans grinned wider as his little brother made angry 'NYEH's in the livingroom.

"SANS THIS IS SERIOUS."

"really? i thought it was sburb."

Sans chuckled as Papyrus cursed his name to whoever was listening, and headed to his room. he had a goat lady to bring into the game after all.

Getting Toriel in was a breeze, and watching the alchemiter make stuff was neat. Toriel held a picture frame the alchemiter made, and sans watched as she wandered around the remains of the house with it, before snapping it in half, and his screen went white.

"well. that takes care of that then. let's see how pap is doing."

The older brother cracked his door open. "papyrus? you still here?"

silence. and then a Ping! from sans' phone.

Lil Bro: HELLO, BROTHER. I HAVE ENTERED THE GAME! AND I AM DEFINITELY NOT ANYWHERE ON EARTH THAT I KNOW OF, BUT I DO NOT SEE ANY SIGN OF HER HIGHNESS, OR FRISK! ONE I GET YOU IN, I SHALL BEGIN TO LOOK AROUND MORE THOROUGHLY.

"okay, cool." 

Lil Bro: I WILL SAY, SANS. THAT THE ENVIRONMENT HERE IS RATHER...UPSETTING, AND I DO HOPE THAT FRISK AND THE OTHERS ARE IN A MUCH NICER PLACE.

Lil Bro: BUT NO MATTER, WHAT IS IMPORTANT NOW IS GETTING YOU IN THE GAME!

Sans smiled, hoping that wherever his brother was at right now, he could comfort him somewhat. "you're the boss paps, let me know if i can help with whatever you got going on over there."

He cracks his knuckles as he hears three thuds around the house.

he gets another message, and he doesn't bother to read it, he knows what it says, and he chuckles.

Lil Bro: SANS WHY MUST YOU DO THAT. PLEASE STOP.

---

Gaster slumps onto one of the cots in his lab. The longer he is here, the more...physicality he regains. in the few short hours hes been here, his stature has shifted, and his figure has become less aqueous. the shifting in his body is tiring him out very rapidly. And after poring over every detail of his lab once more, he decides to let his exhaustion take over, and he falls asleep.

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W̴̛̹͔̲͎̤̟̠̄̓͒͗͗̀̇̕̕͠ȩ̷̮̟͇̂̔͒ͅļ̵̺͈̲͈̪͎͓̩̜̩̔̓̂̓͛͛͝ĉ̷̢̙̱̐̏̅̋͘̚ͅō̶̙̉́̉̿̿́̿̎m̴͖̻̆́̊̕̚e̵̦̖͉̮̲̥͕͂͜ ̷̼̻̱͉̂t̶̠̗̦͍̮̬̆̓̿̅̓͌̐̿ǫ̸͕̖̖̻͕͔̗̃ ̷̨̛̘̦̘̪̥͍͙̆̿͂̓̈́̍D̴̢̥̝̱̙̠̘̙̘̈̈̐̄́̋̇͑͝ē̷̝̫͍̤̣̎̔̆̈̊̄͂̚͝͝r̷̨̟̹̯̺͎̝͕͂̅̾̽͐̍̓̆͑ś̸̯̬͔̜̼̱̺̣̆͒̃̚ẽ̷̡͔͍̆́͌̚ͅ,̵͖̝̳̬͌̆̎ͅ ̵̡̛̝̗̤̫͖̺̆̆̆̕S̷̺̹͐̿͌͋̚e̷̢͔̺͓͐ͅe̴̛͇̜̬͈̐̑̂͆̒̂r̵̭̜͉̬͎͐̊̍̂.̶͓͇͙̞̹̆͌͜ ̸̧̣̱̓͐͝W̸̧̛͔̯̗̏͗̉̂ę̶̛̙͖̰̯̈́̿̕ ̶̞̞͓̙͇͈̓͊̚h̶̨̳͕͈̞̣͌̊̀͐̆͝͠͝a̶͔̩̩̻̋̊͆͋̾͝v̶̥̯͉̝̖̯̗̀̓̉͌̄̈̓̐͑e̶̢̡͚̫̫̰̞͇͎̮̓͊̉̍̒̽̅̆̽͌ͅ ̶̯̳̺̲̩͛̑̓͐́̐̕̕͜ͅg̷̡̭̱̙͎͇̤̪̘̐̒r̵̨̧̢̥͕͇̼̠̥̃̇̎͛̇̄̏͒̔͘͜ě̸̩͈̺̥̿͒̈́̍͌͜͜͝â̷̙t̶̝̝̼̖̞̦̺͑̑̀͜ ̸̳̫͈̃͌́́̍͝ţ̷̨̨̗̣̺̻̣͕̘̗̅͆̒̇̒͠h̴̜̲̏̿͜ī̷̢̡̛͕͍͖̖̲͇̋͛̋̈́̂̽̏͆͜͝n̸͕̫̻͖͕̭͌̿̃̆̏̊̏̕͝ͅġ̸̨̤̖̪͕̜̣̔̅́͋̊̑̇͠s̸̪͖͈͎̪̻͔͓͉̽͑̆̎͗̍͘ ̷̝̳̓͗̒̇̅i̸͎͖͇̟̘̫̟͕̒̂̔̿͌͛̒͜͠͝ņ̶̡͓̰̙̮͚͍̯̳̋̍̑͑͗͐̍̕͠ͅ ̶̢̪̤̲̝͈͔̣͓͉͊̔͑̋͜͝s̴̡͓̠̪̣̭͖̲̱̒̍̓̄͑̌ṱ̵͕̰͙̻̤̒͊̔̇̂̚̚̕͜͜͠o̴̧̢̼̠̤̟̗̺̻̾̂̊̊r̷̤͔̪̱̰̞̳͕̣͔̝̈́͊̎͠ë̶̛͍͕̱̗̠͉͖́̈́ ̸̨͕̭̮̠̱̏̒̈́̓̚f̸̨̳͚̟͍̔o̶̘̣͖̓͋̃̓̓̂̎̋͝͠͠ͅŗ̵̨̟̹̲̗̱͚͙̞̪̅̈͐̎̾͘ ̴̨̠̟̠͕͖̈͊̑͊̄̅͐̋̌̚͜͝ȳ̸̘̞̬̖̔̎͑̈́ǫ̵̤͙̩͈̹̣̈́̀͘̚ͅû̸͉͇̯͍̰̘̝̭̪͔̣͛͒̓͑̈́̌͛͛̕.̴̤͚͕͕̮̈́̉̆̔̃̋̆ ̸͔͙͇̹̟͉͇̮̱͐̅͜Y̷̧̧͍̦͍̩̜͔̝̙͍̍̑̽̏̚o̵̢͓̟̞̖̺͛̂͝u̸̯̗̳̰͉̔́͝r̵̨̛͓̱̭̬̘͓̣͈̳̔̅̑̇͆͛̄̔ͅ ̸̛̥̅̑̊̚͝m̷̢̛͇̪͚̺̳͍̠̋͋͑͛ͅi̵̡̛̔̒̈́͌̄̕͠ņ̷̺̔͝d̵̼̥̰̼̤̑́́̑̅͒͌̾ ̷̛̖̆͗̔̑̎̂a̵̖͙̙̪̤̿̀ṡ̵̛̤̟̗͙̰̪͙͍͚͔̥̃̈́̒̂̄͠ ̷̡̧͈̭̲̐̽͐̐ͅi̵̗͉͇̯̒̅̈̃͑̉̅̔t̴̡͓͙͕̰̩̊͒̄̉ ̷͚̖̹͕̒͊͐͊̾͋̅̈́̂į̶̨̠̖̭͚̳̩͓̐̓͂͌̾̒̿̄͛͗͝s̶͔̝̊̈́̈́,̷̛̠͍̟̱̩̙̖͛̓̈̅̄͜͝ ̵̫̞͓̱͌͗͝i̸͓̅͋̍̔͋̉̔̆̍̉͠s̸̰̉ ̶̫̦̹͔͈̼̌͘͜ͅṯ̸̨̬̑̋̕͜ö̶̩͖̪͚̰̌͌̈́̈́̚ŏ̷̢̠͈̟͖͆̆͜ ̶̢̢̢͈̮͔̰͗̂̾̃̄͋̚͠e̴̛̪̪̱̼̔̒̋̀n̷͇̬͓̮̼̳͕͎̏̔͛̿̚t̸̜̝͚̥̼̺̪̐̃̔̈͋̈͜ͅŗ̴̤̙̥̣̥̩̒͒͑̑̕͘ȩ̷̯̘̘͓̖̭̼́̽̔̀̂̕͝n̵̡͎̻̼̠̦̬͈̋̑͜͝ͅͅç̷̪͇͂͌͗̋̌̋̕h̶̡̟̳̫̠͔͔̣͙̓̈́͐̕͘é̷̘͕̯́̈́̉̓͑̐͆͂̽̕d̵̘̏̓̊̄͗̒͗̍͛͂̕ ̵̠̫̻̬̻̮̫̳̹̜̄̉̿́͂̇̒̽͝į̸̢͙̝̺̪̓̐̈́̂̓͑͝ṉ̴̫̝̜̣̫͐͋̅ ̸͎͂͒̃̑̀̓̕͠Ļ̷̡̛̯̞͚̖͖̉͑̒́̐͆͂͝i̷̛͙̪͍̩̖̎̿͋̉͜g̸̡̯̩̫̜̘̱̟͈̎͛̍͒ͅḫ̴͖͚̗̥̹̫͕͚̉t̸̨̡̹͎͓̝͙͙̘̙͂͒̎͝͝.̷̨̛͚̖̰͙̰̟̳̳̬͓̒̉͂ ̶̧͍̤̬̰̣̗̜̺̻̩͂͌̉̓͂͂̕͝Ÿ̶̛̹̱̬͇́̀͊̔͝ô̶̻̮̮̮u̴̢̧̧͕̖̺͖̘͔̞̾̈́͜ ̷̹͓̮̬̙̝͍̐́̂̃͐̾̂̿͛̑͠ş̶̙̹̟̝̝̃̋͆͂͐̇̍͘̕͜ḩ̶̲͓͎̫̭̳̖͐́̓̆͘a̶̡̠͇̰̭͔͋̍̈̚l̸̡̞͇͈̩̼͈̒̆̇̆͜͜l̶͕̹̭̇̑̓̿̉̊ ̵̨̧͍͎͉̪̩̥̮́͒̐̔̔͗h̷̡͕̯͍̟͔͍̦͉̰͈̓̚a̴͕̮͊̆̓̉͐̅͜͝͝v̴̧͇͖̰̺̣͎̈́̑̈́̔̽̉̈́e̷̡͙̪̰̐ ̶̫͉̥̜̟͌̔͝ͅt̸͇͙̻̓̑͐̿̀͋̽o̸̡̡̖̖̝͍̍͌̓̏̔̉̅̓͑ ̶͙͚̠̈̓̾̏c̴͎͑͠ḧ̸̨̜͙̖̭̞͚͇̠́͗͊̔̈̎̄͊ǟ̶͖̬͈̩̻̳͎̹͚͖̤̔͘̕ņ̷̺̣̩̤́g̵̢͉͎͚̯̮͚͆̒̄̐͌͜e̷̢̛̻̔ ̸̢̛͚̥̹̤̤͍̺̬̜͓̄̏͐͝t̴̻̚h̷̹̅̀̐̈̓a̶̝̥̾̑̓̾̒̓t̵͔̻̎͌̆͊͛̍̊̚ ̶̛̠̦͛͑̇̃̄̅̕i̷͖̤͖̻͑̒͌̀̎̓̍͝ͅf̶̧͙̙̰̝͓̝̏̉̉̂̐͐͌̈̋ ̷̻͐͑͛̓̐͠͝y̷̮̜̩͚̳̩̐͜ö̸̬̠̩͎̮̲̂u̸̥̔͂͒͂̊̄̿ ̶̧̛̖̭̖̝̰̫͔̈̀̊̊͜w̸̧̭̟̱̻̺̻̱̼̠̋a̵̞̼͕͚͍͔͙͉̅̐̾n̸̫̯̮̒͋͛ṭ̶͇͚͚̖̱͔̘͐̓̈́̆̆̍̒ ̸̰͈̥̤͔̪̼̳̺̟̭̆͌̂͆̓̀̂́̉͘t̵̢͖͙̖͚̺͈͕͔͇̆͌h̷̨̗̙̬͈̦̐̈́͌̀̍̆̍̆̚e̶̻̣̪͔̳͔͖͈̬͠r̴͎̗̳̜̰̣̆̋͌̿ͅë̷̥̤͕̰͉̲̱̲̖̣̏͆͂̐ ̷̧̮̱͍͔̝̞͍͍̈́̆͜͝t̵̘̞͖̜̭̼̞̺͂́͊̌̿̒̀̓͛ͅͅö̶̲̖̗͓̳̩̥͈̳̚ ̷̛̽̄͗̓̒͜b̶̢̢͈̠̖͖̖͓͌̆͂̓͌͠͝ȩ̷̭̜͇̼̠̒̈́͠͝ͅͅͅͅ ̸̨̩̙̋͆̈̿̏ạ̸͉̻̰̈́̽̍̾͜n̷͉͓͙̺͙̲̟̘͎͈̋̎̍̋͋̓̿̊̔̓ͅy̵̛̛̤̦͎͖̮̺͖̯ ̶̞͎̯̦̆̏͑͋̾̐̓̅h̸̛̺̙̦͐͐o̶̧͇͇͈̩̖͛̎͠͠p̵̧̛̛͖̲̑͋͗̈͛̆͘ȩ̵͚̻̞͔̖̓͋̒͌͗̊̌̔̕ͅ ̸̮̦̐͑̈͊o̴̟͍̬͈͐̈́̓͝ͅf̷͉͇̦͓̥͕̎̒͗͗̿͗̅͂͠ ̶̧̧̢̣̗͓̪͛͜s̶̬̯̒̅u̵̹̖̕c̵͂̏͌͜c̶̛̬̓́͌̒̾ȩ̵̪͎̖̰̌̂̅͛̄͜ͅs̴̛̰͉͉̈́͌̽͝s̴̢̛͙̻͓̱̜͉̒̑̍ ̵̨̗͖̥͈̀̄̒͊͛̄̈̏̈́̌ͅf̵̧̩͍͙̺̫̣̱̠̜͆̓̄̍ơ̸̗͙͖̺̠͎͚̳̿̍̍̿̿͒̂͌̐ͅͅr̵̼͔̫̠̣͇͔͎̋̉͜ ̴̭͓̗̞͎̺̟͈͎̻͆̾̌̋̅y̷̜͓̜̘̘͈̣͈̦͚͉͠ǫ̷͕̣̎͂͌̐̊u̷̥̣̭̫͚͈͊̊̏̓̕̚ͅŕ̶̪̰͖͉͚͚̉̐͘͝ͅ ̴̨̥͓̥̖̮̭̗͈̮̟̽͗̃̓̍̈̍̕̕f̶̫͓̯̩̉̋̉͝ę̵̤̪̾̈̃̂̽͂l̵̼͜ļ̷̨̻̲̻̣̼̈́̐̈́͂͝o̴̡̮̭̥͖̬͇̲̞̟͛̽̑̍͜͝w̵̨̛͉̦̣̭̮̮̫͇̰̹͊́̔͗͆̒̈́͘ ̶̪̙̼̃͒̈͜͠p̵̛̛̱̮̫̼̲̱̞͎̤̽͌͂̽̇̈͊̋̒l̶͉͈͔̬̘̣̼̈ḁ̶̛̭̬͈̖̭̮͓̘̤̐̓͊͘͝͝ͅy̷̩͉͕͍̥͕̯̻̓e̶̲͕͙͍͕͖̻̰̠͑̍̋͆̅͊̕r̵̨̡̛̦̗͍̭̬̫̘̞͑͂͝͝ͅs̷̨̺̙͇͙̹͈̣̻̠̙̄͂̕.̴̠̗͖͙̬̊̈́́͊͌ ̸̧͇͔͔͔̺̦̺͇̈́̀̎͜ͅA̵̰̲̦͍̩̹͋̂̆͠͠ͅl̴͈̰̓͂̍̇̚͘̚͘͝t̵̢̛͙̼͉̤̄͂̃͒͐̔̉͒̇̕ḩ̸̪̖̭͕̝̜̰͕́̾͛̓͋̿̕ö̵̡̩́̄u̴̡̻̹̘̞̝̫̩͑̋̍͒̏̂͌̉̍͜g̶̯͈̠͓̘͎̲̬͌́͐̈͠ḫ̴͈̫͇̰̦͖͈͋̈̑̽͑͂̓̄͋,̸̡̥͉̩̪̱̤͔͈̻̉̇̏̀̌̇̒͆ ̴̺͙̩̦̜̲̼̞͖͎͒͂̄̆̌̐͌ͅp̶̢̞̫̞̙̩̟̱̝͊̏̑̃̿̿̀ẻ̸̲̲͜͜r̸̬̤̳̱̝͚̰̔̈h̴̟̰̪̮͐̓͌̾̉̍͗â̷̳̘̲͚̑͋̃̽̎̽͒̕͝ͅp̸̧̺̥̫̮͉̦͇͒̽̕s̸̡̡̺͈͎̦̭̙̅̌̕ͅ ̶͖̖̫͇̳̘͒͆̍͐̂̋̋̐̕͝ŷ̴̧̢̛̔͐̍͒̈́̒͝͝ö̵̹̦͙̭͖̬͌̿̓̈̆̈́̃͑̕ų̵̛̤̘̋̆̎̔͆̿͝͝͠ ̵̨̞͗̈́̆̋̽̚ẁ̵̹̫̹̼͖͈̠͛̋̊̈̾͋̐ͅi̷̪̥̒̚ş̵̧̝̯̈̓̈́̍̐̋̾͑ȟ̴̨̲̠̻̤͖̬̤̊͗̾̀̈́͘ ̸͈͓̟̩͕͈̦̬̩͓̈̅͊̈͌f̶̘̟̘̹̠̙̻̃̈̎́̍͂̽̉͝ō̵͚̱̘̭̣̘͐͋͋͊͐r̵̬̓̇̃ ̴͉͎̉̉͂̀̑̈́͑̀t̷̘̞̱̙͖̎͐̈́̓̉͜͝h̸̡̡̺͕̟̰͇̜̼̾͊̿͛͑̓̉̇̎͂͝ẽ̴̱̥͚̣̫̳̲̀̿͒̏͒̓͋͊̕͜m̵͔̚ ̴̝͓̟̦͈͑̃͛̍ţ̸̢̡̲͔͈̱̦̞̓̿̈͋̅̒̿͜o̷͈̪̟̟͚̰̦̖̟̣͂̑̋̈́̚ ̴̡͍̤̣͎̱̉̃̐f̸͇͈̗̟̏̾͋a̸̱̖̙̝͉̗̯̗̯̝̾̂̋̆͊̿͝i̶͉̍͛͐̏l̴̛̟̫̩̩͔͗̊̏͋̎͝?̸̯̝̥̘̠̱̥̤̦̊̈́͛̅͒̓̐̑͌͑̇ ̵̨̬̤̩̝̼͖̥̖͓̱͌̾͝Ẁ̸͔̙̂̉͛͝͝͠e̷͇̳̻̙͓̱̯̾͂̂̐͝ ̵̨̨̨͍̖̟̺̪͎͓̈́ͅd̷̥͇̰̼̟̍ȏ̴͍͍̟̻͉̭̼̈́̇̋̾̄͑ ̸̩̻̭͔͚̫̰̣͖̂̈́̑̈n̵̤̯̬͕̩̯͙͍͐̈́ͅȏ̴̧̡̡̩̦͍̼͓͍̲̆̀̍̓͑t̶̗̩̖̭̲͉̣̔̚ ̵̨̡̱̤̳͙͓̟͑̓̀͘͜ͅḅ̴̟̽͘l̵̨͈̞̰̬̣̳͈͎̎̽̐̍̂͜ͅą̷̨̭͙͇͉̫̠̹͌̈́̂͒̈́͛̈́̉m̷̨͈̲̮̦̯͛̄̋͊͋̈̒̌̂͠ȇ̷̢͎̤̞͍̥̓̄̌̏̂̎͗͠ ̸͕̤͓̭͍̫̥̪͇̹͊̎͊̿̌̒y̶̛͙̗͂̿̃̈̀͗̇̑͆͊ö̷̡̦̪̦̩̪́̈́̈ͅȕ̷̢̧̢̝̘͓͔̖͎͙̐͒̀,̴̨̛̮̥̈̆̑́̐̐̔͒̂ ̴̧͔̼̲͎̞̟̤̲̓̇S̸̙͎̠̱̣̠̲͖̃̽͊̍̓̐̈́͂̓̉̔ë̴̮͙͍̘̻́̔͗̚͠e̵̲̋́̐̒̉͑r̸̞̻̮͚͍̟͙̭͑̔̋͊͑̃̃̚͝.̵͚̟̠̥̜̞̦̜̅̒̾̉̀̐͐̓̎͠ ̵̨͔̝͔͖̝͎̗͈̈́̔Ņ̶͎̬̫̼̾̀̂͗̍́͐͘͜ͅo̵̧̨͍̺͚̣̻̝̙̺̿̑̍̀͘r̷̼̘̺̙̪̪̟̦̗̲̉̋̐̓͒͌͒͜ ̸̣͈͓̩̹̼͎̝̠̇̾̉̓̅̈́́͘͜w̵̭͍̗͖͎̥̮̯̔̆ĩ̶̥̟̰̄́̇͂̈̈́͆ĺ̸̢̮͓̻̻̦̖̓l̷̝̮͙̥̝͕̝̰̑ ̴̢̛̟̙̮̗͕͕̼̲̹͑̆̔̈́̉͝w̵͎̽͑͌̈́̑̏̊͂e̷̞̒̽ ̵̺̮̝̈ǭ̵̡̪̫̮̭̫̪̼̮̔̎̋̀̿̈́ͅb̵̗̤̗̫̾̀͌͋̕j̵͕͍̉͊̄͘̚e̸̘̭̻̺̞̘̣͖̹͔̓c̶̺͓͒́͐̆͆̚t̶̗̞̾̿̎̈̌͌̐͝ ̵̛̰̳̭̬̱̦̯̜̃́̀̉̔̌̈̃͘t̷̰̞͖̋õ̸̗̺͕͑̋̊̇̏͝͝ ̷̧̛̻͕̪̪̮̥̤ā̴̧̨͖̙̗̿̀̅̅ ̶̨̦̰͎̼̙̦̪̠͙̅͌̌̋͌͋̍͜͠n̸̳̪͔̈́͂̓̍̆͆̆̿̈́̒ḯ̶̢̧̢͓̻̫̟͖̭̖̺͂̆c̶̞͕͓̞̞̩̙̻̱̭͒̃̂̈́̾͋̄̈̾̕͠ę̴̥̱͌̏̈̀̈͊ ̷̜̏̉̄̌́̈́̊̿͘͘͝m̵̝̼͈̺͉͛e̷͕̱̣͜a̵̪͔͓̜̺̫̰͉͛̉l̵̙̟̹̥̙̞̩̪͗̽.̵̨̯̩̺̄͐̋̊̋̏

Gaster hold his head, as he wakes up outside his room on Derse. he must have been sleepwalking again. Ugh, it hurts to think with the Horrorterrors screeching at him like that. he floats back to his room as quickly as possible and closes the window. Ah, much better. so much easier to actually think. Maybe he should start listening to music while he slept. might make dealing with the insidious whispers a tad easier.

Chapter Text

A couple days passed, and the remaining 5 players on Earth began to enter the game on the planned day. They all made it in exactly on time, Napstablook cutting it close due to the neuroses of his server player. They each discovered individually, that while it was a cooperative game, they would be expected to play separately for a time, due to the unique nature of their session. And while one player slept upon entering, his client waited. This was a necessary step for him to even enter the game.

Gaster began to pace. While no one in the underground retained any memory of him, he still held his own memories close to him. Watching the underground move on, continuing without even an inkling of his existence didn't hurt him, because he still held his own memories. Mostly. The few people who mattered to him, it hurt. He saw his boys go from innocent children to either naively hopeful, or jaded and withdrawn. It hurt to watch. So he wandered further away from them, he knew his boys, they could take care of themselves. The one it really hurt to see living without him, was the King. After the Queen left, Asgore leaned on him heavily for support, and Gaster threw himself into his research to break the barrier. He wanted-no, needed to free His King from this burden. 

Truth be told, he was nervous, even about just one person regaining their memory of him, much less five. He paused, grumbled under his breath, and paced faster. Oh who was he kidding, he was just nervous about His King seeing him in this state. while he has regained a lot of his former figure, he still dripped like black ink was pouring out of him. He- he didn't want to look like this in front of Asgore.

---

Asgore awoke on Prospit to Undyne shrieking exitedly in his face. "Asgore! You gotta check this out! everything's so pretty, and the clouds are like TV Screens!"

"Hrrm? Uh, Oh, Yes Undyne, I'll be out in a minute. I just need time to get my bearings." He watched her disappear through the doorway, and heard her whooping and hollering down the corridor. He let himself look around, adjusting to the bright gold and oranges of Prospit, before following the direction Undyne took. He took a short walk down a covered hallway, and stepped out into a large courtyard, beautifully made, and with beautifully made furniture setting out, with little koi ponds and flower gardens lining the sides, Undyne and Papyrus were excitedly exploring, and He saw little Frisk taking a nap in one of the flower beds. He let out a contented sigh.

"Ah, Well this is Nice." He sat down at one of the tables next to a flower bed, which had a nice tea set out on it.

"You know we're all actually asleep, right?" Asgore jumped at the unfamiliar voice. He looked around, no one seemed to be near him.

"Down here." He looked down, and m̴̛̝̖̝̬̣̉̊̌̈͋͠e̶̜̜͎̜̕m̴̳̪̤̜̰͔͙͛̅͒͠ȯ̶̧͍̼̫̆̽r̴̡̦̯͓͍͙̈́͌͊͆ỉ̷̭̠̌͝e̵̯̟̫̩̤͙̦͗͆̏̅̒̚s̸̪͉̹͕͍̠͑̉̈́̄̃̌ ̸̩͍̫̝̿̎͌ć̸̡̨̥̇́͛̍͘͘a̷̝̯̹̳̙͋m̷̛͇̹̘͔̾̎͗ė̴̦̔͗́̾͠ ̶͙̙̳̞̩͗̈́̓͂͗̚͜f̷̢̤̻̣̩͚͙͛͛l̶̘͙̲̦̼̭̓͘o̸̦͔͉̬̊͛̒̓̚͝ͅo̴̢̫̟̫̪̘͙̾͂̂d̵̺̀̉͐̎̚i̶̪͇̱̗̖̟̅̒͌n̷̪̈̓͐̕g̸̢̻̺̹̰͍͑̀ ̶̲̞̬̲̀̀͝͠b̵̡̺̝̣̖͈̤͊͌͌̋͠a̷̹̫̓ć̶̫̙͎̥̿̿͗̊͂k̵̭̤͉͛̐͋.

"Oh! A talking flower! What is your name?"

"Flowey."

"Well Flowey, It's nice to meet you." Asgore smiled and sipped at his tea. "And yes, I know that the Five of us are currently asleep."

"Six." Asgore took pause at that.

"Six?"

"Six." the flower confirmed. "Your client player. He hasn't woken up here yet."

Asgore frowned. "Hmm. Well, I don't know who else would be playing, Do You Know who he is?"
"Yeah, and you do too. You just don't know that."

Asgore looked incredibly confused. Flowey sighed dramatically, and began to sink into the dirt. 

"Look, why don't you do some cloud gazing. It might help you out. I gotta go." and he disappeared.

Asgore sat, and thought for a bit about this. Undyne and Papyrus had woken Frisk up, and they took the opportunity to hang out. The King finished his tea, and headed back inside, unnoticed. It was good Frisk had good monsters in their life they could socialize with. It was good for Undyne and Papyrus too. 

Back in his room, he opened the bay windows and looked out over Prospit. He looked up at Skaia, hoping to glean some information. Most of the clouds had nothing of note in his mind. Mostly the past, today. He saw flashes of the war, His family. He saw Sans and Papyrus as young skeletons, and he felt a twinge in his chest. Why was that so sad? He saw them in his palace, trailing after... after..?

He saw himself, holding a human soul in one of the containment units, and handing it over to...

He saw... that figure, patting his back as he sobbed into his shoulder. He saw that many times.

He saw the skeleton turn away from him as he tried to return the comfort, he was working too hard, and he looked tired. 

He saw the scientist with bandages over his palms, and only after insisting to see them, asgore saw the holes in his hands.

He saw his friend come to him in the dead of night, panicked and rambling almost nonsense, with two small bundles in his arms.

He listened as his Royal scientist, his Friend, his only remaining support in that lonely castle, confess to him what he had tried to do.

He saw himself asking 'Why? why would you do this?'

He heard W.D. Gaster reply. 'For you, of course. you should not have to bloody your hands for others, when mine have already been tainted.'

---

Asgore jolted awake. 

He remembered. He remembered Everything. Well, he remembered Most things. All of which pertained to one W.D. Gaster. 

He bolted over to his small, older computer, seemingly tripping over Everything in his room to get there. He had fallen asleep upon entering the Medium, and now it was hid job to complete the chain of players. His computer had been on, why was it taking so long to wake up?

"Come on, Come on, Please i want to see him." He whispered, almost desperately to the monitor. His screen flickered to life.

And there he was. He looked, Shorter than he remembered. And the black cloak was new, but Asgore supposed that just came with falling into the fucking void. 

Asgore wanted to cry. this was a lot. It was both Too Much and Not Enough at the same time. He took a breath. Picked up his phone, and dialed a number he knew by heart, that he never should have forgotten.

---

Gasters phone rang. which was very odd, considering the only phone he had was the one in his lab. And the only people who know about that particular number didn't know he existed anymore.

He hesitated as the phone rang. And picked it up.

---

"Its You!" Asgore almost whispered into his cell. "After all this time, It's really you." he could feel tears at the corners of his eyes

---

Gaster almost dropped the phone. He was not prepared for this. he was not expecting, or even thinking that it was a possibility that Anyone could remember him. But he especially was not prepared for the softness and wonder in His King's voice. It took him a long time to reply.
"Yes. It Is Me. I Am Sorry, Asgore."

He heard laughter choked with sobs. "What are you apoligizing for, My Friend? You're Here now, and That's whats Important."
Gaster smiled. "I Meant For Taking This Long To Get Back, Your Highness."
more laughter, less sobs. "Not at all, Not at all. It's nice you hear your voice again, Gaster." a pause. "I missed You."

This Broke Gaster. 

"✋︎🕯︎💣︎ 💧︎⚐︎ 💧︎⚐︎☼︎☼︎✡︎ ✋︎ ☹︎☜︎☞︎❄︎📪︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎ ☞︎☜︎☜︎☹︎ 💧︎⚐︎ ☝︎🕆︎✋︎☹︎❄︎✡︎ ✌︎👌︎⚐︎🕆︎❄︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ 💣︎✌︎☠︎✌︎☝︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👌︎☼︎☜︎✌︎😐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👌︎✌︎☼︎☼︎✋︎☜︎☼︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📪︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 😐︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 💧︎⚐︎ 💣︎✌︎☠︎✡︎ ✋︎☠︎☠︎⚐︎👍︎☜︎☠︎❄︎💧︎ 🕈︎☟︎☜︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎💧︎☜︎☹︎☞︎ 🕈︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎☠︎⚐︎👍︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ 💧︎✋︎❄︎🕆︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎📪︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👎︎✋︎👎︎☠︎🕯︎❄︎ 👎︎☜︎💧︎☜︎☼︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎ ❄︎☼︎✋︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☞︎✋︎✠︎ ✋︎❄︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ✋︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎✌︎👎︎ ✋︎ 👌︎🕆︎☼︎👎︎☜︎☠︎☜︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☞︎🕆︎☼︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ❄︎🕈︎⚐︎ ✋︎☠︎☞︎✌︎☠︎❄︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎☠︎ ✋︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎ ☞︎🕆︎👍︎😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 🖂︎☹︎☜︎☞︎❄︎🖂︎ 👌︎✡︎ 👎︎✋︎💧︎✌︎🏱︎🏱︎☜︎✌︎☼︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✞︎⚐︎✋︎👎︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎ ☟︎⚐︎🏱︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☠︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎☝︎✋︎✞︎☜︎ 💣︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎👍︎✌︎🕆︎💧︎☜︎ ☞︎☼︎✌︎☠︎😐︎☹︎✡︎ ✋︎ 👎︎⚐︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ 👎︎☜︎💧︎☜︎☼︎✞︎☜︎ ✋︎❄︎📬︎" 

---

Asgore stammered, and tried to calm his friend. "I- Um- wh- Ga-Gaster, Gaster, i'm sorry, but. Could you please slow down a bit? My Font is a bit rusty."

Asgore watched as Gasters' spectral hands flew around him at a dizzying speed, he doubted even another skeleton would be able to keep up with him.

"Now Gaster, while i get the gist of what you said, we can talk about this later, In Person. i Need to get you into the Game, and we can meet up in there, Alright?"

he heard Gaster take a few breaths to calm himself from his tirade, and switched to speakerphone so he could use both hands at his computer.

"Of course, My King" "Please, Just Asgore will be fine." Asgore chuckled.

he set the machines down in reasonable places around the lab, and tried to help, but it seemed gaster was much quicker on his feet, as he finished getting into the game almost as soon as the machines touched down. well, that takes care of that, his screen went dead, and his phone disconnected. hopefully he'll get another call soon. In the meantime though.

He looked out the window of his room to the Land outside. The grey terrain, speckled with colorful orbs, and a light downpour of rain seeming to mock him.

It was time to get a move on.

Chapter Text

Land of Nerves and Systems. That's what the Terminal called this place. The stone floors mimicking the tiles of my lab, and the fleshy webs that rise along the walls of this stone pit that race with electric currents and the gooey silhouettes of my own mistakes.

The green text flashes at me from within its mechanical and meaty form.
I sniffle. "I-its just. What even a-am I supposed to DO here? The.. nerves, are electric, and they're covered in amalgams, but other than th-that, I d-don't see a way out of this hole." I throw my arms up, mostly just for something to do. Some physical action to ground me out of my own head.
"You keep calling me a Hero, but what does that even mean here!? A Hero of what? Of-of blatant ethics violations? How about covering up those violations? What kind of Hero would I even be, with all the horrible things I've done."
I slump to the ground, Mewgenysprite cooing at me.
"After all the pain I've caused, after all I did to try and fix things, and still..." I take in a shaky breath, tears hot and thick on my face. "S-still all you have to get trapped down here with me, away from your families, from your new homes on the Surface. And I'm the one being called a Hero?"
Mewgenysprite's mournful whine as he nuzzles my side sends another bolt of misery and regret through my body. The lightning crackles violently above me, running along the web of fleshy strings to the surface. Wait. Aren't human bodies powered by electric currents from their brains? I lift my head to the black and green terminal, the flesh slowly overtaking the screen, webs of tendons, muscle fibers, comically large neurons, veins, arteries, and... Nerves. Nerves slowly integrating the computer into it's natural system.

"I- what? A maid?"

"N-no, wait!" My feet propel me to the screen before I even register that I've moved.
I can feel a spike of fear and anxiety right as I hit the pillar of meat, and lightning courses through me. I can feel myself dying. My last thoughts are a tangled mess of regret, anxiety, and wanting to see Undyne, just one last time.
________________

Alphys bolts upright, accidentally headbutting the figure looming over her, who swears and holds their head, as Alphys continues to panic from her 'Nightmare' that she completely forgets about what is outside. She flies over the dark steeples, past the dersites and the locked tight towers of other Dreamers, and the scattered few prospitians. She flies directly to the base of the Chain. Her comfort spot. It's no junkyard, but it's served her well.

I̵̦̱͙̰̖̹̠̤̠͊̾͋̃̑̌̂̔͆̚͘͝ͅt̸̲͌̔͊̎́'̴̨̡̯͈̠̪͇͍̥͑͗̿͠ş̷̼̲̮̗̼̬͇̞̪́̈́̆̒̒̀̔̈́͘͝ ̷̡̛̬͉̩̩̝̫̝͓̙̬̒b̶̢̢͕̘͎̩̜̭̰̘̖͎̰̀̒̿͜é̶̡̡̖̖̩̞͇͖̎͘͜͠͠ȅ̸̬̮̝͙̞̬̯̝̩͉̼͖̼̯̅̓̂̀̓̏͠n̴͇̗͙͚̫͙̥̩͇͔̜̐̉͝ ̶͖̬̪̹͎̗̞̳̙̙̅̀͊̏̇̃̓̉̀͑̈́̎͘̕͘a̸̢̧̘͓̍̍̈́̄̐̈́̂̂̆͝͠w̶̩̏̔̒̔̀̿̊̄̍̽̌̈́̅͘h̸̼̪̅i̶̢̯̠͊̾͂̓̉̋́̿͝͠l̶̢̨̥̺̹̘̬͎͉̮̀͆̽̆͂̌͝e̸̢̘̦̦̞̘͗̈́͌̇͆̀̔̋̎́̒̀͠ ̴̛̠̖͔̯̪͙̠̗̄͋͂̿̅̽̕̕͜s̸̟͍̼͇̏́̉͒i̶̢̮͐̅͊̀͝ņ̶͇̻̹̹̟̲̞̼͔̟̈̑̋̿̈́͛̐̄́̿̇͘͠͠͠ͅc̷̡̧̨̩̙̝̣̹̖̞͔̥̟̑ͅē̴̲̤͎̣̦̻̗̦̺̦̍̈́̈̀̋̊̎͐̐͊̕ͅ ̴̡̩͓̦̟̞̘͗̀͂̉̚̚y̵̡̡̻͇̞͙̗͕̜̥̗͍͙͚͎̓̈́͂ò̸̻̥̤͛̉͊̄̾̽̒̃̍͑̈́́̚͘ͅụ̵͖̱̩̥̣̞̜̼̳͎̩̫̩̅͂͊ͅ'̷̢̣̜͓͗̈́̑̆͠ͅv̸̧̡̭̫̗̭̘̤̺̯͕̖̣͋͊̍͝ͅe̵̘̰̖̲̾͛̑̐̓̈́̏͂̊̽̾͑͘ ̷̧̡̛̫̦̤͍͍̦̜̓͒̍͐̂͗͗̚͜͝v̴̲̲̺̰͚͍̗͎̤̬͉̗̾͐̓̇̍̏̆̇̕͘̕͘͠i̸̢̩̠̣̘̪̬̰͉̠͋̒̏s̴̢̫̳̤̣̖͗̔̔͒̍̒͂̕̚͘͝͠ͅí̴̖͉͕͇̿͐̐̾̉t̴̞̯̯̟̰͍̱̗̽̔̋̑́̀́̄e̵̘̖̫̗̺̺̠̬̳͌̅̉͗̀̍́͂͝d̵̨̝̮̺͚̖̺͕̙̗̪͙̯͌͂͋ ̸͎́̒ǔ̷͙̥̮̣͉̃̈́̈́͌͑̈́͊͑̏̚͝͝ś̸͙̩̝̬̆͒͋͗̈́̾͛,̷̢̣̮̦͙͍̅̿̃̐̾͆̈́̀̒̇ ̸͈̟̱̣̖͖͔̰̗̪̊̄̉̐͝͝͝Ą̷̦̖̬͍̮͙̜̀̓̑̓̂̍͑̍̐͘͝l̴̨̰̮̳̟̗̘̺͓̺̟͈̟̺̈́̏͌̑̀͝p̵̧͕̫̖̖̹̯̻͓̆̆̅͋͆̓̈́̃͑͂͑̕h̴͇͍̭͓̟̯̣͙̾̿͗͌̾̏̏̅̀͗ͅy̸̧̺̥̱̘̞̫̝̙̼̱̓̐͜s̶̡̾̑͂̏́͛̀̂͂͒̚̕͘͘ ̸̨̺̰̽̚͜d̵̨̡̧̼͖̪̱͖̞̹̜̚e̸̡̛͈̣̦̲̱͚̳͍͇͌́̀̑́͊̈́́̌͋a̵̪̅͌̍̇̒̇̀̚r̶̛̹͓̪̍̄͑̈͆̂.̴͎̖͍̩̬̻̬́̓̍͑̏̀

She looked Up. Or Down. (It didn't really matter) into the face of madness. "I had a nightmare again. The game has started, and I'm not prepared for it."

S̵̰͑̽u̴̦̱͓̖͗͊̓r̷͉͔̝̆̽ẹ̷̱̪̗͠ ̶̡͍̫̍͜y̴̡͓̜̮͛̕o̸͉̔̇͋ü̸̪̦̟͌͗̕ ̷̳̠͚̾ä̷̭́ř̴̳͔͙̠͌e̶̢͂̓,̸͔̿̾̇͠ ̴̞̍̄̒́y̵̻̟̪̝̍̈́͘ỏ̴͔̩̈̈́ű̴̠̬'̵̳̝͠r̴̗̫͛͆̒͊ȅ̵͜ ̸͎̻́̄̓͝j̷̬̾̇̈́ǔ̴̥̠̎̉͝s̵̹͓̲̯̐͐̆͑ț̶̓ ̶̡̬̲̠̒̉̈́̓t̷͈̻̭̿͛̐̎ô̶̝̳̯̥̂ö̴̢̘ ̵̩̙̥͑͂͝ͅc̸̛̼̏͌̊ļ̸̟̹͐̾̇̊o̴̺̓s̶̢͔̰̎̊̽̉e̷̦̻̝̩̾͝ ̴̯͍̜̲̏t̴̹̳̗͖͘o̷̢͊̄ͅ ̶̧͖̼̋̒͜ş̶̀͌ẹ̸̭̪̈́e̷̘̻̭͊ ̶̰͝ẏ̵͎̈́͌̚o̷̢̤̓̚u̷͔̩̐r̷̙̥͇͚̒ ̵̻̯͖̔͗́ô̶͈͗ẅ̴͖̬́͛̀͘n̴̘͙̰͛̈́̀̕ ̸̥̰̆̇̅̊a̶̳̲͇̓̐b̴͇̱̬͛̿̒̅͜ḯ̶̗̻̰ͅl̶̨͇͒͝ḯ̶̞̄̀ẗ̸̝͓͉́̎̐ị̴̝̝̉̅͑̂e̴͖̜͒̓ş̸̛̅͠.̷̠̱͎̆ ̸̙̹̄Y̷̪̠̺̯̔ơ̷̮͍̱̒̀̊u̸̡͛̑͘ ̷̂͗̅̊͜ͅs̸̤͎͋̎ḩ̸̪̬̠͆̀ö̴̰͜ṻ̶̝̪́̕l̷͚͕̒͊̊d̴̫̗͋́́ ̴̖̘̲̝́́b̶͖͊̎͘e̶̢͚̊́͘ ̸̩̥̎m̸͔̼͊͑ȍ̸̝͙͓̄ŗ̷̙̹̪̔e̷̝͊̈́͑͌ ̶̜̦͚͛̀́ć̸͍̪̀a̸͙̹̚r̵̛̮͇̄̐́e̷͓͍̼̾̿̾f̸̞̊̀ȗ̴̥̻͘l̶̮̘̇ ̵̗͚̰̹̀w̴̥͕͗į̴̻̦̃̅͘t̷̳̒͆͂̚h̴̦̭́̕͝ ̸̹̈́̿y̴͍̣͆o̵̢̲͖͝ų̵͉͓̪͐͒̈́r̶̭͓̰̗̈̿̎ ̵̛̪͒b̸̨̈́o̵̺͚͖̻̅ḑ̴̈̓̀̋ÿ̷̫ ̷̫̋̆̍̂t̸̹̋̀͐̕h̵̰͌̑o̴̓̑̽͝ͅụ̵̳̎g̶̖̣͒͋͑͛h̴͇̫̞͍́̄,̸͖̼̭̆ ̴̝͆̈́́͝t̶̝̏̇̎h̷͔̜̟̱̚i̸̳̝͐̓͘s̵̜̹̍́͆ ̶̢͔̥͓̊̔̋o̸̙͍̓̈́̀ń̷̡̖̖̠̄̿̀ę̶͂͊̈́ͅ ̴̗̩̘̹͆̈i̵͖̾̐̉s̶̨͎̘̞̿ ̴͎͓͓̇a̵͇͕̓̐͋̑ļ̴̬̝̔͑ĺ̶̩̍̀͘ ̷̮̗̣̝̀̇͐ẙ̸͎ͅó̶̹̯͐̒u̴͓̺̾ ̸̘̇h̷̘͌ả̵̲̱̠̟̈́̓̇v̸̞̱͚̇́̈̇ȅ̴̢̢̆̎̊ ̸͈̾̚͝l̶̩͉̓̄͐͝e̷̢͕͍̹̋͒̋͝f̸̪̬͋͂̑̌ţ̵̲͈̺̍ ̴̝̀̀́̉ṉ̷̏ǫ̴́͒͝w̷̘̞̍͋̽̋.̸̭̹͆̊͒̿

The short lizard monster blinked owlishly.
"What do you mean? I know I'm not the strongest monster out there, but I still have a decent amount of HP."

Ñ̸͍̣͌o̸̲̗͓̝͗̈́́̅̾̃t̷̡̩͉̿̿ ̵̡͚̜͔̥͍̄̍̈́h̶͉̎e̷͙͗̈́̑r̸̖͍̞̩̓͒e̸̯̊͠.̷̛̝̥̘ ̸̖̥͚͓̆̓́̍̏̚ͅṈ̷͓̼͔̠͊̎͘ǫ̸̢͕̗̠̈̾t̵̐̓̈̈́̿̕ͅ ̴̞̣̺͒́a̸̖̻͕̫̼͓͗́̔n̶̢̈̉͘͜y̸͔͓̹̳̠̋͠ͅm̶̛̗͈̰̻̾͑̑͘ͅo̴̜̹̮͇͓͑̃͊̐ŕ̵̡̦̤ȩ̶̱̀̋.̵̦̎ ̴̳̄͑Ę̵̰͌͝v̶͍̤̙́̇͝ḛ̵͉̿͜r̵̲͆͑̋͒y̸̯͍͉̎̽̅́̐̏o̶͎̯͍̒̊͝n̴̤͔̺̿e̷̯̼̐͊̆̚ ̶̨̡̦̈̊͝g̷̫̤̺̮̣̘̉̃͘͝e̸̳̮̜̝̅t̵̯̘͙̀̾̓̿̕s̵̘̜̊̊͌ ̴̨̹̰͕͕͂͋̓a̵͔̖̲̪̣̓ ̶̨̬͚̲̭̘̈́̑͌̓́s̶̹̯̦̑̚ͅį̴͚̟͑̎́n̴̺̮̦̬͊̒͘g̸̯͛̿̆̈́̂̈l̶̲̺͈̬͐̉͗̃ḛ̸̲̝̦͍̈́̏̔̇̕ ̷̝̮͐̍̐̓c̵̪̬͕̝̦͖̉͆͊͝͠h̸̢͈͕͉̣̆a̴̧̛̻̟͚͎̒ņ̶̪̰̣̜͉̓͝c̴̛̘͐̀͆̌͝ĕ̵͕͝͝,̸͉̈̍ ̶̫͓̤͕̲̅ͅm̷̪̂͐͆̔à̶̱̪̈̿̾y̶̨̆̓b̶͖͖̥̙̜̃̀̀͜ě̵̡̱̥͙̗͖̇̒͌̿͝ ̴̧̣͍̫̣̌͂̏͒͂͝t̴̳͋̀̐̍̄ẅ̵̭̻̱͙́̀͋o̴̜̦̣͗̎ͅ ̷̙̈́́̓į̸̰͕̊͋̂͂͠͝f̶̹͔͇̣̈̐̋̔͝ ̸̢͚̞͋ť̵͈́̎͑h̷̦͒e̵̹̙̤̙͈̣͛̏y̶͚̬̦͎̭̋̀̎'̷̬̅͜r̶͎͙̃̾̅e̵͖̪̪̙̣̋̀͝ ̴̡̮͑̀ļ̷̨͙͈͇̂̉̈́̋̔̕u̶͚̯͂c̷̼̿̽̽̊̈́̄k̶͓̹̮̜̏ȳ̶̨̭̯̲.̶̪̪̗͆̄̐͊͊ ̸̼̥͖͚͖̍Y̴̰̮̞͠o̶͇̦̻̬̣͌͠ų̴̩̭͇̜̱͆͂͂̍ ̶̺̏́͛s̶̯̑̏̅̊h̷̲̉̈ò̶͇̒ư̸͈̼̰̦̞̮̒͐̃͠l̸̢̤̹̀̿̏̈́ḑ̸̣̲͇͖͐̋̽̃͘ ̷̛̛̈́̋̽͜ḥ̴̢̘͓̙̓̀̈̌e̸̥̳͒͗̓̂̒ã̸̫͂̅d̵̨̮͛ ̴̨̛̪̲̤̪͂́͜t̸̢̤͙̱͕͙̿o̸͇͍̗̱̹̊͜͠ ̷̘̪̺̜͈̼̊͂ÿ̶̛̯̝́͐͋͝ơ̵̞̬͔̼ụ̵̡̞̪̤̩́͐r̸̝̝̝̞̾̍́̄̏́ ̸̛̥̣͇̰̀͗̈́͐̈́ͅL̶̼̻̣̝̺̼̅͑̔̆̐ă̶͎̖̊n̴̢̤̮̿̿̑͂͜͠d̵̨͓͈͗̈́̾̎,̴̝̦̮̰͉͌̓̓͋̂̑ ̶͕͈͌͋̐̇̉d̵̖͍̘̥̥̆̾͝e̶̡̨̖̣̼͈͋͐ȧ̷̳̟̌̋̅͛̚ṙ̶̜͒̎̐̈́͝.̴̢͓̻͒͆̐ ̶̖̭̯̩́̀̏̓͝͝W̸̼͋̈́ẽ̷͍ ̶̰̱̖̳̤̄̒̓̒͒w̸͓̘̄̂̑̃̄̇ơ̴̧̯̩̺̜͈͋ư̸̢͓̜̲̩̿̍́͗͜l̸͕̊d̸͇̲̟̗̜̾̏̅̈͘ͅn̵̹̠̟͚̯̋̓͗'̴̛̗̈́̊t̵̤̩̿̋͝ ̵̝̤͉͉͎̓̈̏͗w̸̡̯̗̑a̸͎̿̔͗̈̑n̵̼̿́̊̌͘t̸͉̩̂̆̈́ ̸̽̽̈́̎͜ÿ̸̹̯̥͕́̅ͅó̶̧̦̝̤̘̮̏̄̔̉ȗ̴̼̠̥͘ ̵̧̧̖̽̚t̶̢̍͂͠ͅǫ̸̨̪͖̾̍͌̓ ̶̛̺̹̱̔͑̀̓̑͜͜m̶̫̔ī̴̹̯̳̌ṡ̴̺͈̏̅s̷͕͎̣̯̈́ ̴̦̥̓̔̍á̵̜̙̝͎̦͖͋n̷̘̣̯̗̜̄̂̿͑̓ͅy̵̢̪̞̺̅͝͝t̷̺̤͈̹̓͑̂͜͝h̴͕̦̙͌̓̌̏̈̂i̴͈̥̪̼̖͊͛̂n̸̹̳̐͗̈́̔͆g̶͖̬̭̟̤͛̀͋... ̸̪͉͍̍́͐̍͐̕ḭ̴͇̰͕́̾͂͜m̷͈͉̬̤̠̯̓͗p̵̬͆̂̏̔ͅô̷̖̭͚̇̇̍̄̕r̶̰̝̝̮͖̓͋t̸͚͍̤̟͌͑̓̉̑̚a̸̧̘͛̓͂̌͊ǹ̵̡̻͈̳̀̑̓̉͝ṯ̷̜̔.̵̢͌

The dawning horror slowly grew on the scientists face as she put a few more puzzle pieces together in her mind.
"We...we all have functionally one HP. But how? That shouldn't be possible unless something is actively taking away our HOPE! And everyone else seems more hopeful than before, even Sans is more optimistic lately!"
A long, spindly arm reaches out to the bright yellow lizard, and sends her floating safely down to her planet as her body becomes more physical, and she loses herself in thoughts. The gears in her head steaming as she mulls over her current predicament, as well as her friends'.
________________

I blink. "Oh, I'm... back on my land?" Mewgenysprite nuzzles my hand and whines, almost crying at my feet "Mewgeny, I'm sorry for leaving, but I'm back now, okay?" I look around the now-familiar pit. "Oh" My body is still there. Charred black, and fused to the Terminal. "O-oh. Oh no. No no no no." I fell back, and screwed my eyes shut. "Okay. Okay, um. Take a deep breath, Alphys. Stay calm, and let's try and get out of here. The electricity is tied to your emotions, j-just take some deep breaths." I opened my eyes, and pointedly ignored my body. I alchemized some new clothes, and some basic hiking supplies, and a few notebooks and pens. For notes. After making sure my backpack was secure, I Ascended. Keeping my thoughts clear, and pushing my worries aside, even temporarily. It felt... Easier now, somehow. Maybe because I'm technically a dreeamself? I'll have to find a way to test this later. The Terminal also referred to me as the 'Maid of Mind', I wonder if the other players have similar titles. That might be a good place to start. A mild breeze blew past my face, and I got to the top of my Land.
_______________

Papyrus hates his Land. So much. He's just trying to help, he swears. There's so many people, so many potential new friends, and they're all in pain. And nothing he's done has helped. He wants to believe so badly that they can be better people, but he's losing HOPE. Papyrus is curled up in his yellow pajamas that seem to mock him in their brightness, their softness. Tucked in a corner of a cathedral spire, backed away in an alcove and sharing space with a stone Saint of Suffering, weilding a flog that's turned against its weilder.
He's been in his land for only a scant few days and he's already at the end of his rope, reduced to hiding from the bright yellow crocodiles that fight and tear and rend and gnash and thrash below. His ribcage is sporting a new Crack from his attempts to help, to Heal. His "misguided" attempts to stop them from hurting themselves, from hurting each other. From hurting him.

*ding*

It's his brother. He doesn't answer it, and cries, curling even further in on himself.

Papyrus hates his land. He hates that he God tiered first. He hates this game. He HOPEs that he finds a way out of his Land. Eventually.

Chapter Text

Hey guys. Listen. I'm so sorry to do this to you all. But I have McFuckin Lost where I was going with this fic. And it's been God knows how long since I've actually worked on it. The last chapter was there specifically because I found it in my notes. I have the Titles and Lands for each Character involved in the session, which I'll post here for anyone wanting to expand on things on their own, but I'm turning this fic over to the fans. It's not that I'm no longer in love with this fic, it's that I've simply spent too long away from it, and we're both strangers to each other. If anyone's does anything with this world I've slapped out several years ago, please let me know, because I would love you forever

 

My fic notes are as follows

Alphys- Maid of Mind in the Land of Nerves and Systems.[a thin, fleshy web covers everything, that leads to information terminals powered by the Nerves. End goal is to be able to read the mind of the whole planet as a singular organism basically]

Undyne- Rogue of Space in the Land of Gift and Frogs.

Sans- Mage of Time in the Land of Sharps and Flats.[spikes in the ground, and then mirror-clear salt flats that reflect his literal alternate timelines. Go AU nuts here, and throw in a dash of existential crisis]

Papyrus- Knight of Hope in the Land of Chains and Churches.[very upsetting. Suffering in the name of faith, who become furious if helped because you've tainted them. throw in some religious trauma and a skele who just wants to end other peoples sufferingand not knowing how to deal with a Brick Wall of a quest amd youve got a good soup. ]

Asgore- Thief of Rage in the Land of Drizzle and Glow. [Monochrome grey terrain, with colorful orbs floating about, and a constant light rain. If touched, the orbs take on the shape of a small child, and will lead the Hero around like a Willowisp.]

Frisk- Bard of Breath in the Land of Cats and Machines.[OneShot Nico game. Same option. Let the people die so you can live, die so you can free the people]

Toriel- Sylph of Life in the Land of Dens and Thorns.[lots of 'broken dens' and abandoned kits. A lot of citizens who willingly steal kits from others because their family isn'tpucture perfect]

Flowey- Prince of Heart in the Land of Grief and Gems.[reflective surfaces taken a bit too literally. The soil is off white, and leaves colorful furrows where it's been disturbed. He needs to learn to let himself grieve for himself.]

Mettaton- Heir of Light in the Land of Smoke and Mirrors.[all the world's a stage.]

Napstablook- Page of Blood in the Land of Candles and Shells.[candles and hermit crabs.]

Gaster- Seer of Void in the Land of Sea and Stars. [No technology to be found, scattered citizens with fire and spears level of tech, lots of oral traditions]

Chara- Witch of Doom in the Land of Buttercups and Ruins. [Jungle death trap puzzles, meant to be dangerous and infuriating. ]