#did he know of the amalgamates before Alphys told anyone?

[lowkey-loki245]

So I was watching someone play Undertale's True Pasifist run when I say this Papyrus call dialog (it takes place right after the Undyne Alphys date).

(Sorry for the poorly edited dialog, first time doing this.)

Papyrus... what the fuck?

I find this dialog kinda weird because the way he's talking sound less like he's just worried about her and more like he knows something. And this dialog is supposed to be what leads you to finding the true lab.

Papyrus rarely ever stutters, so he has to be super nervous here, and if it were that he was just worried about Alphys, he would have told you that instead of saying "for no apparent reason".

And then there's the "I only have good feelings about this" line. It feels like he's trying his best to convince us to go.

Papyrus, what do you know?

[stainedglassthreads]

Pretty sure it’s been done to death before, but it’s still so interesting comparing soul colors to how the monsters are colored. 

Toriel and Asgore use the most purple in their respective designs. They’ve both lived through immense amounts of tragedy, and done their best to persevere, and stick to morals or duty, respectively. Asgore also has some yellow in his design, he’s trying to deliver the monsters the Justice that they expect from him, but it’s no longer his primary desire. (I actually headcanon that the walls of New Home used to be painted bright yellow, but after Chara and Asriel’s death the color faded to grey. Both to reflect how the Underground lost hope, but here it could also be Asgore growing tired of war and justice and vengeance, only wanting to see his family again.) 

Meanwhile Alphys’ primary color is Justice. And a lot of people might think that’s a pretty strange choice for her. She’s a bad person, some might say. She created the Amalgamates, kept them in the True Lab, and lied to their families. But one could possibly say that she did all of that BECAUSE she had a strong sense of Justice. 

Alphys is a flawed person, but I believe she does have a pretty strong sense of morality, and right and wrong. And that’s part of her problem. She KNOWS she’s done wrong, and because she has such a strong morality, she judges herself very harshly, but fears others will do the same-- or even moreso. So she begins to lie, to buy herself time, but there’s nothing she can do with her very limited resources, so she instead keeps building and building people’s reactions to her in her mind, and worsening her anxiety and depression. 

She is a better critical thinker than most of the Underground in some ways, though. Most of the Underground accept that humanity is composed of monstrous people, and even those that do believe humans can be good people still want to collect the seventh soul, either so they can see the stars, or for the fame and prestige associated with capturing a human. Even Papyrus, the kindest and most idealistic monster, wants to assist in capturing you. Even Mettaton, who genuinely loves and admires humanity, still wants to take Frisk’s soul for his own purposes. 

Alphys stands apart, as one of the only monsters who’s never met a human, but of her own volition does her best to actively assist one in evading capture. Yes, she has some selfish motivations in wanting to play out her dreams of being a hero, but everyone in Undertale is a bit selfish. As I said, Papyrus wants to capture a human to become popular, and yes, he does know what death is and that his boss wants the human dead. 

Alphys is perhaps, besides Toriel, the only major character who both loves humanity and wants to keep the Royal Guard from capturing Frisk. (I’m not counting Sans because it’s hard to tell how serious he is about ‘you’d be dead where you stand.’ I don’t think he’d kill Frisk the second they leave the ruins, but who knows.) 

Then there’s the stuff with the Amalgamates. The more I think about this, the more I realize... I think Alphys’ biggest problem is that she prioritizes people’s happiness so much. She really does. She specifically says it would be better if Asgore didn’t see the tapes, because she knows they’d hurt him even worse. And I think the biggest reason she was so stressed about the Amalgamates and  lying about them was... she had already told the families that everyone had woken up fine, and had in that case been made a liar by unpredictable circumstances. She didn’t want to deliver anything less than the happy ending she promised them, and so stalled, lied, delayed, and begun to judge herself more and more harshly for lying, for failing the Amalgamates and their families, until she hit rock bottom and found herself in Waterfall, overlooking the abyss. 

Alphys has a sense of right and wrong. And she knows better than anyone else when she does wrong. But because she’s such a harsh judge of herself, she feels the people she’s failed will be just as harsh-- or even moreso. So, trash that she is, she lies and scrambles to fix things, and sometimes she lies more to make herself feel better, feel like a hero, and she’s also helping the human not die, isn’t she? Maybe everyone can win! 

But it’s not that simple. Sometimes, despite your best intentions, you just can’t tackle all these problems alone. And Alphys can’t. Sometimes, as scary as it is, the best thing you can do is come clean to everyone around you and try to deal with the fallout together. And Alphys does do that, too. She does it with Frisk and Undyne’s support in True Pacifist, and when things get really, really bad, she does it in the oft-overlooked Queen Alphys ending, too. 

Side-note. But what with all the evidence supporting that Determination may be golden instead of red... it’s also interesting that Alphys, the character most heavily involved in the DT experiments, is a yellow lizard. Not quite the same color, but fittingly close. 

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

Got one for you: Undertale characters realizing their sweet and seemingly harmless S/O has a pretty high LV due to a series of, quite frankly, horrible events in their childhood?

Undertale Sans - He's very disturbed and bothered about this. Since it's in your childhood, he doesn't want to make a fuss about this, it's in the past, but he can't act normally after this. Sometimes, he gets really cold for no reason, sometimes a bit too abrupt move can make him jump. He's not trusting you like before, and especially not close from his brother. He knows he's acting like a jerk, but you're not the only one to have deal with a high LV in the past. If he feels too uncomfortable and insecured, he might even leave.

Undertale Papyrus - Papyrus really doesn't care. Obviously, it's in the past and he can changed everything about it. In the end, you made the right decision, so you can't be all bad. Everyone can be a good person if they just try. But, in a very serious way, he makes you promise to never ever talk about this to his brother. Break that promise, and he will not be able to prevent Sans being overprotective when you're around Papyrus. He'll make sure you're never alone with him ever again.

Undertale Toriel - She is very affecting by this. After what happened with Asgore, she is avoiding high-LV people, because it reminds her too much of what HE did. But on the other way, she can't blame you for her own past. It will take some time, maybe even a small break, for her to accept this. As long as your LV is stable and that everything you did stays in the past, she will get over it.

Undertale Asgore - He can't really judge you now, can he ? Asgore has a high-LV too, and he knows better than anyone how hard it can be to get over it in a relationship, even if what you did was in the past. He's happy you trust him enough to told him about this. He might actually open a bit more about his own past after this. Healing is always easier when you are not alone.

Undertale Undyne - With time, she can go over it, but when she discovers it, she will be absolutely furious. It's not because of you, it's because a promise she did to herself. Her dad had high-LV, and she promised to never be like him, to never trust someone like him again. And now there's you, and she's hurt and angry at herself because she doesn't want to leave you, but she can't just accept this blindly. Undyne is completely lost and not sure about her feelings now. It will take a long time to repair your relationship.

Undertale Alphys - As scientist, she has that habit of scanning people, that's how she discovers it. She can't really judge you either. Alphys also killed people, except they didn't die and turned into Amalgamates. She is quite understanding about this. She knows how one mistake can lead to horrible events. As long your LV keeps stable and you still loves anime, she doesn't pay attention about this.

Undertale Frisk - *nervous sweating* Well, obviously, you didn't do what they did Underground, but it's still making them a bit uncomfortable. They doesn't care for your specific case, it doesn't change anything between you two, but Frisk is really scared Sans finds out. Because Sans will definitely not like that, and it's going to fall back right on their shoulders. Now that things are more peaceful between the skeleton and them, they don't want to lose his trust again. So, please, just like with Papyrus, never let Sans see your soul.

Undertale Chara - That's an absolute dealbreaker. After what Frisk did, after what humanity did to them, Chara can't get over this. Violence is the reason they fell Underground and they betrayed their own values with Frisk. There's no way they're dealing with this again. Goodbye.

Undertale Mettaton - He wants to make a movie about your tragic backstory. Except that, he really doesn't care. I mean, the guy threats to kill people with a chainsow in one show out of two so... If he can make money of it, he'll be happy. Else, he really doesn't give a shit.

Undertale Gaster - *nervous sweating, the return* Well... He can't really judge you either because he fought in the war between humans and monsters. Killing people, killing humans just for experimentation was something he was doing every day, and he was actually liking that very much. So... Uh... He can't really just put his hands on his hips and say "Bad human" without feeling very guilty all of the sudden. It's best if you and him never bring back that subject ever again.

Undertale Grillby - A bit like Gaster, he was a fighter during the war too, but he's really not proud of what he had to do to survive. As long as your high-LV is justified by necessity, he will not judge you and will not question it either. But if you did it only for fun, or without a good reason, it will be way more complicated for him, as he will feel quickly insecured around you. It's better if you tell him too. If he finds out by himself, he will be very hurt about this. He talks about how war scarred him all the time, so he would see that as a betrayal.

Undertale Muffet - She is disturbed of how good you're hiding it. But she finds this quite comforting. That means you can defend yourself easily, and that's all she wants to know. Muffet wants her S/O safe, it's the only thing that really matters with her. And anyway, sometimes, she kidnaps people just because they don't pay, so morality and stuff...

Undertale Burgerpants - Pretty ironically, it's making him feel safer. Knowing that you might break Mettaton in two if he's pissing him too much is such a nice feeling. He won't say anything, even if you're still killing people. As long you're not killing him, he doesn't care. He will complain a bit more often about Mettaton though. You know... Just in case you might have ideas. WINK WINK.

[smells-like-mettaton]

Perhaps Toriel and Alphys interacting?

Gift of Truth

Rating: G Word Count: 1310 Prompt: #23 weight of the world (randomly generated) Read on AO3: here Notes: Pretty sure this was for an art request a long time ago but I never got around to it, so I hope you don't mind that I did a fic instead! (If you even remember sending this ask lol)

---

There was no right way to do this. Alphys had talked herself into and out of it endless times, ever since they reached the surface four months ago.

It was too soon. It was too late. It wouldn’t make a difference. It would make too much of a difference, crush the former queen’s newly healed soul into dust.

Alphys probably would’ve put off the decision forever, but Undyne had started to worry. And everyone knew what happened the last time Alphys had tried to keep a secret of this magnitude. Everyone would’ve been better off if she’d just told the truth about the amalgamates from the beginning, right? So if she told the truth now… even though it was late… it would have to be better than not telling it at all.

Gosh, she hoped it would be better.

Alphys didn’t have to open the lab doors for Toriel. She’d had automatic doors installed in her new lab, just like her old one. It saved her a lot of hassle when she brought armfuls of old parts up from the dump—or, in more recent times, when she hauled new equipment or DVDs in from the nearest electronics store. Just one more incredible thing about the surface.

“My apologies, Alphys. I had to stay late to talk to a parent,” Toriel said as she strolled elegantly to Alphys’s desk. Even in slacks rather than her royal robes, she cut an imposing figure.

“I-it’s fine!” She had just panicked for the past thirty minutes, slowly driving herself insane, but that was about what she deserved for keeping this secret for so long. “I, um, why don’t you sit down?”

Toriel raised an eyebrow.

...Right. There was only one chair. The one Alphys was sitting in.

Alphys hopped up, offering it to Toriel, who now looked more bemused (and maybe a little embarrassed) than anything.

“It is quite alright, Doctor Alphys. I am no longer your queen, nor have I ever been. I apologize if I gave you the impression of expecting such formalities.” She sighed, her gase sweeping across the ground. Her paws folded in front of her. “I should also apologize for how I treated you before. Even if you did terrible things under Asgore’s direction… you were able to heal families wounded beyond repair.”

One paw brushed something off of her pant leg. Alphys would’ve recognized that white-gray goop anywhere.

“You—you met with Snowdrake’s mother,” she realized. Crystal was the only amalgamate who had a school-aged child.

“Yes.” Toriel smiled fondly. “She is a wonderful, sweet woman. She cares for Snowdrake deeply, and has been willing to volunteer at the school any time we need help. Just today she was discussing plans to organize a talent show for the children. She believes it would help Snowdrake—oh, excuse me! I am rambling.”

She chuckled, and Alphys gave a nervous little laugh in response. This was… good? Toriel didn’t hate her? Well, Alphys knew she didn’t hate hate her, because Toriel let Frisk come over and watch anime sometimes, but—well, Toriel had never used her title before. Toriel was the one who revoked the title of “Doctor” in the first place, even if she’d technically lacked the authority to do so. It didn’t really matter, because humans didn’t acknowledge monster degrees anyway.

“What was it that you called me for?” Toriel returned to the point. Her expectant gaze weighed on Alphys like an anvil in one of those ancient human cartoons.

“I-I was just, you know…” Alphys tapped her claws together, but even the rhythmic clicks couldn’t soothe her. Sparks started to fly between her fingers unbidden.

Toriel’s brows lifted in sympathy, and suddenly the weight wasn’t so unbearable.

“Is something bothering you, my—” Toriel cut herself off, but Alphys could guess what she was about to say. My child. It was how she most often addressed Frisk.

“No! I mean, y-yeah, but it’s—it’s my own fault.” Alphys’s claws dug into the back of her hand. The magical sparks finally went out.

Toriel waited patiently. Alphys really did feel like a child, trying to squeeze the words past the tightness in her throat.

“I-it’s about Flowey. I… you should know, he’s…” Alphys swallowed. Best to just rip the bandaid off, metaphorically speaking.

“He’s your son. He’s Asriel.”

Alphys looked up with a wince. She wasn’t sure what expression she expected to find on Toriel’s face. Horror? Confusion? Disbelief?

At first Toriel just looked blank. Slowly, her mouth flattened to a thin line, her fangs jutting out from under her upper lip.

“That… does explain some things.”

“W-what?” Alphys gaped.

“He has always known things I couldn’t explain. My favorite snail recipes. How my oldest human child would fill their water to the brim of their cups. And he is rather averse to the idea of me dating anyone but Asgore, no matter how clear I have made it that we will never get back together.” She gave an affectionate snort.

Alphys forced a grin. Well, there went one folder full of fanfiction. But! Other than that, this was—this was good!

“W-well! Then! Glad you’re, um...”

“Not ‘freaking out’?” Toriel asked.

“Hehe…”

“I certainly am. Freaking out, I mean.” She chuckled. “For all of their similarities, Flowey is also far less… civil, than Asriel used to be. Unless he… well, I suppose I never did truly understand my children.”

Tears leaked from Toriel’s eyes. This time, when Alphys slid the desk chair behind her, she collapsed into it.

“I—I am sorry.” She sniffed. “I am not usually a crier. And truly, this is wonderful news. My child… reunited with me. However you accomplished Flowey’s creation, I must thank you for that.”

Though her eyes were still wet, her smile was sincere.

“I’m still sorry,” Alphys said quietly. “I didn’t know what the determination would do to him. I didn’t know it was a him at all. I was just—trying to break the barrier without hurting anyone. And I… I didn’t know Asriel’s dust was on the flower, on Flowey, and, I-I messed up so bad! Your son doesn’t have a soul, Toriel!”

It was the wrong thing to blurt out, but Toriel took it gracefully.

“I know. He truly has matured despite his condition, has he not?” Her lips curled wryly.

“But—!”

“Doctor Alphys.” Toriel placed a hand on her shoulder. “We all changed while trapped underground. We suffered pains that no one should have to bear. You felt tasked with the same responsibility that my children did—the responsibility of breaking the barrier on your own.”

Alphys’s eyes widened. Toriel knew? Had she seen the videos of Chara and Asriel that Alphys had found? Alphys hadn’t taken them to the surface with her; anything could’ve happened to them. It didn’t seem like Toriel to go through someone else’s things, though… even if they were technically her things.

“I cannot imagine the stress that Asgore placed on you, or that you placed on yourself. You hurt many monsters, truly. But you also healed many. Including my son.”

Tears pricked Toriel’s eyes again, but this time she smiled widely, a bleating laugh escaping her.

“My son is alive!” She exclaimed again, as if just realizing for the first time.

She scooped Alphys up in a hug that threatened to crush her.

“Uh—! T-toriel—!”

Another laugh, and then Toriel set her back down. Alphys’s face was still hot.

“S-so, you, um, forgive me…?” She asked quietly.

“Yes, Doctor. I forgive you, and I thank you.”

With those words, the weight of the world lifted from Alphys’s shoulders.

“Now if you will excuse me, I must be getting home to my children.” Toriel beamed again. “My children! Hee hee!”

Alphys watched the automatic doors slide shut behind Toriel, and she finally allowed a real smile of her own.

[secret-time-is-here]

An Error's Journey

Chapter 36

Previous - First - Next

Waking up, he was thrown out of bed again, a panting trembling ball of fear and despair. How much he despised resets. Papyrus came marching up the stairs, and he played along with his brother-although his real brother was long gone. Killed by the human. Death showed up soon after, hugging him as close as he could with his wings, and disappearing again to let him change.

Down the stairs, Papyrus bickered with him, and he savored the flavor of leftover chocolate chips. Out the door, he joked with the lady before she ran off and then sat at his station.

“Hello, Sans.” Core’s droning voice called.

“Hi, Core,” Sans sighed, “Whadaya want now?”

“Just checking up on you, since the future is bright so far.” Core smiled, “You even managed to find the rest of your team with no help from me, and accepted your team even easier.”

“Accepted?” Core waited patiently, “Right, right, they’ve all been my enemies at some point… What about my partners?”

“Oh, you’ve known your partners for years. You’ve even dated nearly all of them separately at some point or another.” Core shrugged, “You’ll find out one day. For now, when you finish recovering again, I want you to be content with life. I’m sure it won’t take you long to accept this anyhow.”

“You’re still creepy.”

“Hmm, perhaps I am. Yet, I guess that's the price for knowledge, isn’t it?” Core looked off into the distance where Frisk had just exited the ruins. They turned back to him, “Sans, there’s a price for everything. Even for your memories. Trust yourself and do what you think is right. You have a safety net, and your pain will bring everyone closer. They care about you, whether they’ve told you or not.”

Then Core left.

The rest of the run continued on peacefully, for once. Frisk didn’t kill anyone and went even as far as to be nice and go out of their way for everyone. They came back after a merciful fight with Papyrus, and Sans got the chance to interrupt their date before they moved onto Waterfall. They trekked through easily, helping Monster-kid and buying plenty from Temmie, Tem, and Bob. They were careful when running from Undyne, and poured a cup of water to help the determined Captin from dying with the heat. Suddenly they turned back and met with Papyrus, spending time with Undyne and becoming friends.

They left back to Hotlands, and survived through Mettaton’s show, and returned to Alphys Lab, accidentally finding their way to the true lab.

Sans was hesitant to watch over them as they went through this portion but reluctantly kept his eyes on the screen before him. Death’s wings holding him closer. Stolen chocolates were carefully offered as Grimm did his best to comfort him, seeming to know of the horrors and backstory of the true lab despite not having one in his own universe.

Frisk keeps going through, not even bothered by the melting bodies before them, knowing the song and dance of each and easily making it through. Alphys saving them from the amalgamates and explaining the terror of what had transpired. Frisk promised to help reunite them with their families.

Finally, Frisk returns to the proper path forward, making it through the core, and finally into the Judgement hall. Death let him go, and he walked out from behind the pillar to meet them head-on.

Frisk quickly skipped through his speech, which was more than fine by him, and walked by to the barrier.

The barrier was soon broken, and Frisk brought them to the surface… He barely saw the sunrise before a true reset occurred.

Yet, if a true reset happens after every true pacifist… why did he still remember?

Gasping he awoke in his bed, panting with the pain of his soul being torn apart and reassembled again.

“...Sans? Soul?” Grimm asked softly, wings hidden behind him, “Do you… do you know who I am?”

“...I didn’t forget.” Sans choked out, “I was supposed to forget… why-”

”SANS YOU LAZY BONES!” Papyrus yelled through the door, “You Have Got To Get Up!” The handle wriggled, and he didn’t feel any panic as Papyrus seemed to look through Death, “What If We Miss A Human?!”

“Yeah, yeah, Paps. I’ll be down in a sec.”

“You better!”

“...Do you know what your AU is called, my soul?” Death asked carefully. Sans shook his head no, “Well, more like what your timeline is called… although it’s the first timeline of the kind, you seem to be the last to actually have it happen...”

“Grimm, I love ya, but spit it out.”

“...It’s referred to as a Genocide timeline.” Death looked away, “Most of them, the Sans gets stuck in the save screen, melting in his own determination and forever cursed to stay there-not alive, not dead. Unable to be killed by me… just… suffering.”

“I think if Core’s got any say in it, I won’t be there long.” Sans joked darkly, not sure if he should look forward to leaving the save screen or not. He doesn’t know what’s beyond that. He’s seen Outertale and visited Omega, traveled the streets of Lust’s world, sure; but he doesn’t know what lays waiting for him beyond that destiny speaking.

He could be torn apart-lose his body as Core has foretold. He could simply die and have to relive everything over again as Core has alluded to. Anything could happen. Yet, isn’t there some joy to that mystery? Something unconnected to the safety yet claustrophobic confines of the code?

Death only gave a solemn nod and promised to meet him at his station, letting Sans return to his never-changing routine.

-----

The genocide was the most gruesome he endured. Quick yet painful. Papyrus dusting in mere minutes before his eyes, his brother’s scarf in his hands and later wrapped tightly around his neck.

The judgment hall was soon full of blood, and he quickly grew numb to the feeling of it on his hands. Frisk had never made it far enough to battle him, and it was clear how unprepared they were. Round after round of blasters, blue magic, and bones. They didn’t stand a chance, but unfortunately, they began to learn, and the longer they prevailed the more tired he grew. The longer they lasted the more everything caught up with him and his initial rush began to fade.

At last, Frisk got their chance-and they landed their hit. Cutting down his measly single HP.

He fell to his feet, too determined to dust, but melting before himself. Not ready to die just yet. Frisk carelessly walked past him as he melted to the ground… the floor fell before him, and in the blink of an eye, he wasn’t melting anymore. Instead sitting on the single green patch of grass in the save screen.

His colors were still stuck on the fight screen, his whole outfit bleached white, a red slash across his chest that stung as much as the other half of his skull did. Opening up a screen, his skull looked like a melted candle, half lopsided and looking frozen in time. If his eye light still worked on that side, it’d probably be drooping and lazy.

His scarf thankfully was still red, Papyrus’ memory not tarnished.

Now all he had to do was wait for Death.

-

All characters belong to their creators

FINALLY DONE WITH THE SANS ARC ITS TAKEN SO LONG T^T

[undertale-a1ien]

Here's a reference sheet for mah boi Crack in his 1st and 2nd outfits!

Bio under the cut: (If you want to know anything else about Crack/his AU then feel free to send in an ask and I’ll answer it as soon as I’m able to!)

Name: Sans (Nickname: Crack)

Height: 6′9 ft

Blush Color: Either a grey-ish purple or just plain grey

Birthday: March 19th

Magic: Gaster Blaster, Gaster Hands, and Teleportation (Isn't any good at that one tho...)

Sexuality: Gay, Asexual (However it doesn't really matter since romance isn't even close to his top priority since he doesn't trust anyone. at all.)

Injuries: Broken leg (literally just deals with it, can't run for too long), Both arms are broken off (You have the amalgamations and Alphys to thank for that one), and Cracks in skull (result of getting a fragment of W.D. Gaster's SOUL inserted into his SOUL)

Font: Aster (and he can understand WingDings)

Personality stuff: Has major trust issues (last person he trusted was Alphys and well... that didn’t go well), Has trouble talking for himself (is used to just saying what Gaster says instead of what *he* wants to say), FIGHT first - think later kind of monster, Will attack anyone no matter what (They could be a literal titan and he would still fight it), Is SCARY GOOD at fighting (Can probably kill almost anything if it’s a 1v1), Struggles fighting groups with more than 3 people, Doesn’t have many reasons to smile anymore, Has a habit of getting into huge amounts of trouble, and He surpresses his emotions constantly. 

Quick summary of his au (that still doesn’t have a name):  When Gaster died a fragment of his soul remained and Alphys keeps it. After realizing that she cant get the determination experiments to work on her own, she kidnaps Sans and connects the fragment to his soul. (Alphys is NOT nice in this au) A couple years pass (by now Alphys has told everybody that Sans has died and Papyrus has started taking this royal guard thing more seriously (he's the captain now.)) and Sans has had to kill bunch of monsters to help Alphys with the experiments. He then ends up killing Alphys, running away from the amalgamates, and exiting the true lab. He then looks around the lab a bit and finds the bandages and cloak-thingy. However, before he can exit the lab itself Papyrus (in full armor) enters the lab. They end up fighting and just as he realizes that the person he’s fighting is Papyrus- the gaster blaster that he had pointed at him goes off and kills him. Long story short: Sans cries his eyes out as Gaster puts Papy’s SOUL into one of those containers that were used to hold the human souls. A couple hours after that Sans makes his way back to his old house and finally collapses once he’s inside.

Relationships: Papyrus: Killed him (he didn’t realise it was actually him until it was too late), Sees Hilucinations of him around sometimes, Kinda just shuts down if someone mentions him, Keeps his SOUL tied around his waist with Papy’s old scarf Gaster: Gaster is connected to his soul because of the fragment, Sees him as a ghost that only he can see/hear, When Gaster talks anyone else listening just hears echo-y whispers in WingDings, Gaster often gives him helpful advice/calms him down/warns him of incoming danger, Gaster and him have a pretty great relationship Alphys: Yeah... he doesn’t like her very much, Killed her, She is the cause of all the problems in his life, If he could kill her again- he would in a heartbeat, hater her with every fiber of his being, Is honestly terrified of her, Never wants to see her (or any other version of her) again  The Amalgamates: He is TERRIFIED of these things, They were the things that kept him from escaping and Endogeny (the dog one) is responsible for his missing arms, His attacks do nothing to them, Would break down if he ever saw one again Mettaton: Since Crack doesn’t like talking about what happened in the lab; Mettaton hates him for killing Alphys (his creator) since he believes that he did it for no reason, About a week after Crack escaped the lab and killed Papy and Alphys Mettaton went to his house with a group of monsters and attacked him, He is actually one of the things that causes Crack to leave his AU, Yeah... they don’t get along very much... Undyne: (Strap in fellas- this ones a doosie) From Undyne’s point of view, not only has Crack killed her best friend for no clear reason- but he has also killed the love of her life. I think it’s safe to say that Undyne hates Crack almost as much as Crack hates Alphys. She was the leader of the group of monsters that went to his house to kill him, She is another (and a bigger) person who caused Crack to leave his au, All in all; Undyne would thoroughly enjoy seeing Crack dust even if it’s not by her own hands. Pretty much the rest of the monsters in the underground: They’re all either scared of him, hate him, or want to kill him. The only monster that still kind-of likes him is Toriel since she doesn’t know that he did anything bad (not that Crack would ever visit her)

[anomalytale]

Part 2 - Snowdin and the Amalgamate

[[strap in folks, this is gonna be long]]

As soon as you leave the ruins, you are confronted with a subversion of the cutscene in which Sans approaches you for the first time in Undertale. This time, you're the one stalking him. When you reach his sentry station, an encounter starts. He is unaware of your presence. One thing that strikes you about him is that his battle sprite is still black and white and is in Undertale's lower resolution.

-(PACIFIST RUN)-

You pat sans on the shoulder, he says "how many times do I have to tell you to keep your paws off my bones?" before turning around. he is briefly startled. he summons 10 Gaster blasters, but then regains his composure. "heh...ah ah. nah." The blasters disappear. "not even gonna give you the satisfaction." he winks and leaves the battle.

You can find him at his sentry station, where he says he doesn't really have anything to do since the anomaly (aside from overseeing the operations in the ruins) and he can finally relax. Flowey pops out and greets Sans, causing him to flinch again: “i can’t make the same joke twice. so, uh. I’m going to grillby’s”.

[[Going into the forest, you’d encounter monsters I showcased in the snowdin pack. Not much to explain since that pack gave a very in depth look at monsters and group encounter dynamics.I guess I should explain the amalgamate somewhat.]]

The Amalgamate, an amalgamate of all amalgamates, is loose in the forest and will appear as a random encounter. It’s unkillable; only way to end the encounter is fleeing. They always attack first.

[[still love these guys]]

There's not much else to the area as most monsters are afraid of leaving their home in fear of encountering the Amalgamate. Firedrake being the exception as they recognize him as their son, as well as their son's friends as, well...friends (Jerry not included).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yIZgtvk2qc

Snowdin Town is lively as ever. As soon as you get there you experience a cutscene showing the D.O.G.S. returning and a casually dressed Asgore asking them if they have any news of Toriel. Dog duo replies that the explosion that engulfed the Ruins was centered on Toriel’s home. Asgore thanks them and leaves for Grillby's, defeated.

Overworld npcs are fairly similar as they couldn't absorb Frisk's soul. Some shed some more light on the world and events. You learn that Papyrus has left for the capital as he is now second in command of the Demon Squad, the institution that replaced the Royal Guard. Also, more info on the ruins disaster: Asgore left New Home in search of Toriel as soon as he received news of the disaster, which allowed Undyne and Alphys to take over the Capital and proclaim themselves as new rulers. Spoder has followed you out of the ruins, and comments on how fresh the air is, something they had seemingly never felt.

Sans leaves his sentry station and can be found in his home as well as Grillby's. He won't leave these 2 places ever and has a few 4th wall breaks where he asks if you are expecting him to follow you around, but makes it clear he wants nothing to do with you. He also informs Asgore has been living in his home. Talking to Asgore reveals that while he and Sans had never been friends, they've grown a lot closer since the ruins disaster. You can find him at Sans's home later, where he wishes he'd let him sleep in Papyrus's room instead of the couch, but makes it clear he's not complaining and he's glad he found someone who doesn't think he's worthless. He also tells you he's afraid of harming you because he killed countless humans, one of them just a week before you showed up. The Royal Guard was disappointed in learning he didn't have the strength to absorb the human souls, freeing them instead. He was overthrown without even resisting.

[[unfortunately i have no art of asgore, just imagine deltarune asgore's sprite here]]

Talking to Flowey, he would tell you that, as much as he enjoyed messing with him, he hates seeing Asgore down and that maybe he would be happier if they met; even if he knows he won’t feel anything in return. However he’s afraid of what he might say. You can encourage him to do so, after which you can watch an optional cutscene in which Flowey reveals his real identity to Asgore. His first reaction is disbelief, but then as he realizes Flowey is really Asriel, he is overtaken by Joy. He hugs the flower disregarding the thorns. “After all this time, I started to give up. I forgot there’s more to life than...loss.” Asgore says, tears in his eyes. Flowey asks if he doesn’t care that he’s in a different form now, but Asgore shakes his head.

After the moment is over, Flowey tells you that maybe the soul in his possession has allowed him to feel again. He thanks you for believing in him and giving him a second chance after what he did in the ruins (you obtain his memento item). Sans barges in and there’s a funny sitcom bit where he hates flowey but doesn’t want to hurt his old, grieving boss’s feelings. [[i just made this part up i thought it would be funny]]

If you try to leave for Waterfall, Sans will block your way. "maybe I've been too harsh on you. you're not a human, are you? i can feel it in your soul. damn. you're...them. i never thought i'd see the day. in front of you lies a path of pain, death and darkness. but you have to be strong. just...please go easy on my brother. he doesn't understand what he's doing."

"and another thing... r u n ."

-BOSS: THE AMALGAMATE (pacifist)-

The amalgamate charges at you, using multiple attacks at once. The only way forward is to run (akin to Undyne's pacifist battle in UT). After a few turns, they will be slowed down by the blizzard, at which point they'll give up. You're free to leave for Waterfall.

-BOSS END-

-(GENOCIDE RUN)-

You stab sans in the back. He staggers forward. "father...we did it" are his last words, before vanishing into dust.

In genocide, there is not much to do. The Amalgamate will come to rescue firedrake and his friends, at which point you'll have to run. The only way to complete the route, however, is to spare no one, so if you proceed without killing them, The Shadow will appear and end you.

Snowdin is deserted. If you head east, you'll find Asgore blocking your path. "Sans and I were supposed to meet at Grillby's 10 minutes ago. He is never late. He told me not to confront anyone but...killing is the only thing I know how to do. Whatever you are...prepare yourself."

-BOSS: ASGORE AND AMALGAMATE-

[[concept art of amalgamate in which they look like an eggplant]]

Asgore uses similar attacks as his UT battle. However, after a few turns, a loud, distorted howl interrupts the fight. Amalgamate joins in. "Are you here to rub salt in the wound?" "Or...YOU! What have you done to the children?! YOU...YOU DEMON!" Amalgamate and Asgore attack in sync. However the old monster is no match for Wally. "Sans...I should have listened." he turns into dust. You can then run away from the fight.

-BOSS END-

Amalgamate will keep following you into the snowstorm area. With a single ice spell, you can freeze them allowing you to shatter them, killing the abomination for good. You can then proceed to Waterfall.

[pandioka]

theory: sans and alphys used to work together

Everyone in Undertale has a very distinct relationship with one another (not necessarily love). It is very obvious that Sans and Papyrus are two brothers that care about each other. It's obvious that Toriel and Asgore are former lovers. But what about Sans and Alphys?

While trying to speak to Alphys at the end of the True Pacifist Ending, there's a short conversation between Undyne and Alphys, and Sans tries to make a joke. But Alphys interrupted him with the same pun. So obviously Alphys knew Sans well enough to guess what he would say in that situation. But where did they know each other?

Let's backtrack.

We know that Dr. Alphys was a scientist before she became the Royal Scientist. She did experiments in the True Lab using DETERMINATION and recorded entries in there. But one particular entry stuck out to me.

ENTRY 5

In this entry, Alphys used "blueprints" to extract determination from the human souls. But what are these blueprints? In fact, the only other time the word "blueprints" is mentioned in-game is in Sans' workshop.

Since this is literally the only other time "blueprints" is mentioned, we must assume that these are the same ones Alphys mentioned. So if Alphys and Sans both have or had the same blueprints, and they were about scientific experiments, that could only mean one thing.

Sans was also a scientist.

There is actually more evidence that Sans was a scientist because of the items that he owns in his house.

We must assume that this is Sans' book, because it was hidden away inside of a joke book. I highly doubt someone would read a quantum physics book for fun, unless they could actually understand what it means.

Let's go back to the blueprints.

Now that we know that Sans and Alphys were both scientists, and probably worked together, let's see what other information we can find about the blueprints. If you interact with them, it says, "You can't read the symbols they're written in.."

Symbols? What symbols? Nobody writes in symbols!

Nobody except the author of Entry 17, widely speculated to be W.D Gaster, the old Royal Scientist. But what is Gaster saying? Well, he isn't speaking gibberish. He's actually speaking through a font called Wingdings, which can be translated. The exact translation is:

Dark

Darker

Yet Darker

The darkness keeps growing

The shadows cutting deeper

Photon Readings Negative

This Next Experiment

Seems

Very

Very

Interesting

What do you two think?

Now that is very cryptic, but it also gives us a lot of information. For example, if these are the symbols used in the blueprints, that means Sans and Alphys could understand Wingdings, and possibly worked with Dr. Gaster.

Does this mean that the "two" that Gaster was talking about were Sans and Alphys?

It's very possible.

However, how close were Sans and Alphys?

Alphys was most likely alone when she conducted the experiments on the fallen down monsters, and unfortunately turned them into Amalgamates. She seemingly didn't tell anyone about this and fell into a spiral of depression. But did she tell the one person who could have understood what she did? Did she tell her old coworker?

When you call Papyrus outside of Alphys' lab without befriending Undyne, he and Sans say this:

Now Sans could be joking, but a lot of Sans' "jokes" turn out to be serious, so what if this was also serious? Does this mean that Sans knew about the Amalgamates? It's highly possible, especially with this dialogue:

I highly doubt that Sans was trying to eat healthier by eating dog food, but why would he give the bag to Alphys? For all we know, she doesn't have a dog. But she does have another "type of dog." That's right, Endogeny the Amalgamate. It's pretty likely that Sans knew about the Amalgamate Experiments, and if Sans is the only one she told, it's obvious that these two were very close.

But what did Sans do as a scientist?

And how do these two know Dr. Gaster?

I guess we'll never know...

Unless I'm really bored and decide to make another craZy tHeorY-

[butnobodycame627]

Flowering

Prologue: A Call For Help

I've been kind of worried about posting this for a while now, but it's Undertale's anniversary, so I decided I'd just go for it. I haven't worked on this story in a long time, actually, this is not recent. But if people like it, I might keep working on it. I have the first chapter done, but I'll probably check for mistakes before I post that. But uh... yeah, I hope this isn't too bad? I know I'm not the best writer, but I had been planning this story for a long time and I really want to finally post something about it. So... here is that. It's not too long, just a prologue. I'm not sure how long the chapters will be, I have difficulty knowing when to end chapters and they often end up being too short. I guess we'll just see when I post them.

Fresh air, a gentle breeze, fully bloomed flowers... This was an incredible day. Beautiful. The kind of day anyone would take to relax and unwind. The kind of day to go for a walk outside.

And for a normal day in a normal town, you would think just about everyone would be calm and collected, taking a break.

This is why the people all around town were shocked when they saw a mysterious figure run by. He was running so quickly that no one could really tell who he was or what he was doing. He was wearing a black cloak, which was not a very common thing for people to wear around town, especially not on a summer day where black would only make you more warm.

He seemed to be holding his hood down, as if it were important to hide his facial features with the shadow it cast.

He also stumbled every now and then, implying that he was injured or had trouble walking.

He was looking at every building, as if unsure where his destination was located, but yet it seemed that he had a place in mind somehow. Something he was looking for that he just could not find.

He had finally found it. The laboratory. No one knew why he wanted to go there or who he was. He knocked on the door three times.

The door opened, and as soon as it did, he rushed inside. As he closed the door behind him, he immediately blurted out "Dr Alphys, I seriously need your help, I don't know how to explain, but-".

"Woah, woah, woah! Wh-who are you? What's g-g-going on?" Alphys asked, startled. She, just like everybody else, did not know who this was. The only person she knew of that wore a cloak like this was the River Person. But the River Person never left their boat and had not moved to the surface yet. This was someone else. She did not know who. She did not know why he had come here. She was visibly alarmed.

He took a deep breath, then seemed to think about the best way to put his thoughts into words. "You.... you remember Flowey?"

"Hard to forget. Is he causing t-trouble or s-s-something?" She tilted her head, trying to figure out what this person was getting at. "I don't know what you've h-heard, b-b-b-but I'm not the best person to help with that."

"No, I..." He shook his head. Then, with eyes closed as if acknowledging how silly it sounded, said "I am Flowey".

It was obviously difficult to believe. This figure differed in size and shape compared to a flower and had a different voice than Flowey had. Alphys could easily assume this was some sort of joke.

"If you're here to make fun of me j-j-just because you th-think I'm some loser scientist that doesn't know what I'm d-doing, you know where the exit is!" Alphys was trying to sound like Undyne, it seemed.

"I'm not here for any reason like that. I just want your help. You're the only person that I think can help."

Alphys was stuck on that last sentence. When was the last time someone had told her that?

.... The Amalgamates. When they were dying. Their families had said the same thing.

"I can't help you. Please j-just leave..."

"Dr Alphys, seriously." He took off his hood to reveal the face of a Boss Monster. His eyes were black and he had horns, shorter than Asgore's, but longer than Toriel's. Another Boss Monster. Alphys did not know that there were any others. "I don't want to be like this anymore."

She was unsure how to react. All that she managed to say was "Who are you?"

The Boss Monster rolled his eyes in response. He had already given this information. "Flowey. I'm Flowey." Noticing Alphys' dissatisfaction, he decided a full explanation would be a good place to start.

"When a monster dies, they turn to dust. At funerals, their dust is spread on their favourite object so that their essence lives on in it."

"Where are you g-going with this?" Alphys asked, although seemingly less annoyed and more curious. That gave Flowey a good boost of confidence.

"You've heard the story of Asriel, right?" He shifted uncomfortably where he stood, looking disgusted, as if there were a strand of hair in his mouth. He clearly did not like thinking of that story. "From what I can tell, just about everyone has. He was the prince. He died. Turned to dust. And that was where the flowers grew."

Alphys froze. She understood now.

"You h-have Asriel's essence, then. B-B-But... that still d-doesn't explain this!" Alphys said, gesturing to him. "You were soulless. Asriel was not. There is no way you could have suddenly changed into him unless you absorbed seven human souls!"

"That's why I need help. I want to go back to being a flower."

Alphys could not understand why. It seemed Flowey had no intention to tell her.

Flowey knew that he was not telling the full story, but she did not need to know that he absorbed seven human souls. They were gone now, that was not the issue.

So what was the issue?

[undertalethingies]

Venn Diagram

They hadn’t always been opposites. Hadn’t always been short and tall and lowercase and capital and introvert and extrovert.

They hadn’t always stood apart, even when they were together.

--

It’s hard to say when the brothers began to grow apart. It wasn’t some sudden divide, some abrupt shattering of seemingly every similarity they possessed, but rather a slow change, a creeping realization that they weren’t the same as each other anymore.

Perhaps the earliest divide came when they learned speech, stepping blithely over the rules of language as only the ignorant can.

Papyrus used only capital letters, because his teacher told him they were for Important Words and Papyrus felt that everything was important, that the supposedly less significant words were being done dirty and that if no one else would acknowledge them as they deserved, he’d just have to do it himself. Even so early in his life, he showed his compassion.

Sans, if he’d had the words to put voice to his thoughts at the time, would have said that capital letters simply felt too loud to him. He was a creature of quiet, hiding in the dark spaces his caretakers tried so hard to forbid him from (and isn’t it funny, how even then he’d decided that rules were something for other people) and while he respected his brother’s choice like he’d respect every one of Papyrus’ choices for the rest of their lives, he knew it wasn’t a choice meant for him.

Sans spoke softly, his words round and friendly, while Papyrus had never been anything but a bundle of sharp edges trying his hardest to be heard.

--

Sans wasn’t a people person. He thought the majority of monsters were irritating and a bit slow, but he’d learned young how to smile and laugh in the right places and he was just quiet enough that people mistook him for a good listener. He’d learn later how not to be filled with contempt every time someone was different from him, but in the beginning of his life he was popular and surrounded with people who thought they were his friends, and he let himself inject venom in his teasing remarks.

Papyrus loved people. He was desperate for them to like him, desperate to fit easily like so many others seemed to. He wanted so badly to be like his brother, to be surrounded by people who thought the world of him, but he said the wrong things in the wrong places and he didn’t seem to know where he was supposed to joke, to laugh, and where he was supposed to be serious.

Papyrus was a pariah looking as hard as he could for just a single friend, and Sans had allowed himself to become a bully because he was charming and looked kinder than he was.

--

Papyrus shot up like a weed, easily outstripping his peers. Combined with his loudness, his new size tended to intimidate the people around him. Soon enough, though, they learned he was kind and harmless and only recognized cruel words when they weren’t said with a smile. 

Sans stayed short, and his very presence seemed to put those around him at ease. He turned a blind eye to the people who hurt his brother with kind expressions and told himself it was Papyrus’ own fault for trusting so easily, told himself the abuse he ignored would help his brother learn lessons.

Sans was small and friend shaped, with a sharp kind of cruelty hidden behind his smiling mask, and Papyrus was big and looked the grim spectre of death the humans so feared, but wouldn’t have hurt a fly if doing so would cure malaria.

--

The brother’s parents eventually heard about the bullying, and about the way Sans was learning to inflict harm with a word, and they moved to a new neighborhood with a new school.

After that, the brothers learned how to lie, though you wouldn’t guess from either of them how thoroughly they knew the art.

--

The new school was more proactive, and Papyrus no longer had to worry about his lunch going missing or his desk being graffitied. Sans, on the other hand, was quickly learning that his now routine manipulations would no longer be tolerated.

They were both quick learners. They picked up on the new rules fast.

Both brothers made friends, at that school. Papyrus became close with two children who were as brash and reckless as he was, while Sans made the acquaintance of a shy lizard girl named Alphys.

--

In the years that followed, both siblings mellowed out. Sans lost the venomous edge to his words after Alphys threatened their friendship over it in a rare moment of courage. He collected a circle of associates and kept them all at all arms length as he was wont to do, and his grades stayed high.

Papyrus learned how to hold his tongue when a harsh truth would cause someone pain, after he lost a friend to a thoughtless comment. He learned how to fake a smile when the other moved away. His grades were high too, because for all that people thought he was an idiot, the pure logic of the classroom came easy to him in a way people never had.

The next big thing happened when the brothers graduated at 16.

--

Papyrus got a job as an accountant, crunching numbers for a construction company in the capital. He found the work boring and far too easy, but he needed the money and it was one of the few jobs where they still wanted him after the interview, so he didn’t have much of a choice.

Sans worked odd jobs until he was 18, and had bought a cheap apartment in Hotland the year before. The reason he stopped the odd jobs when he was 18 is because he’d received an offer to be assistant to the new royal scientist- his old friend Alphys. 

Sans was satisfied with his job. Papyrus would have given just about anything to be doing anything else.

--

When the brothers were twenty, Sans and Alphys did something horrible and desperately attempted to cover up the evidence. They stayed friends, because an event that traumatic could only really serve to unite them, but both thought it best if they went their separate ways, and kept Sans’ involvement in the whole thing as quiet as possible. Thankfully, they’d never publicized his status as assistant to the royal scientist, so it was a simple task for him to pack his bags.

Papyrus, on the other hand, had accumulated quite a bit of nest egg from his job as an accountant. A housing lease had opened up in Snowdin, a small town on the outskirts of the kingdom that had a reputation for its kind and welcoming residents. Papyrus figured the place would be perfect for him, so he started looking for a roommate to cover what little of the lease he couldn’t afford himself.

Sans contacted him, and the brothers moved to Snowdin.

--

Long ago, they’d made a game of lying to each other, of covering up everything about themselves that might have hurt the other, and it was such an ingrained habit by the time they went back to living together that it would have been odd if they’d begun telling each other the truth.

Here are the things they never mentioned, that the other knew anyway.

Papyrus had moved to Snowdin because he hadn’t had a close friend in years, and he hoped that it would be easier in a place renowned for its kindness.

Sans had discovered a horrible secret about the nature of time a few days before the amalgamates had awoken, and he would never tell anyone about it, even Alphys.

Papyrus had made the acquaintance of a golden flower that called itself Flowey, but had all the mannerisms of the dead prince and none of his kindness.

Sans had a machine in a secret basement, one that he hoped would be able to break the cycle once and for all.

Papyrus knew that Flowey had no soul, and that ever one of his kind smiles were faked.

Sans would never finish his machine, because the cost of its activation was too great to pay.

Papyrus knew exactly what happened to humans captured by the royal guard.

Sans kept secrets in a notebook spelled against time itself.

--

A human fell, and they changed the world in ways no one had ever dared dream.

Papyrus had nightmares about xenocide, and Sans had entries in his notes that told him exactly what had happened in the last corridor.

--

The surface was nice, and even if Frisk seemed to smile in all the wrong places and react to things before they happened, well.

Everyone had eccentricities, right? 

--

Sans finally got to see tomorrow, and Papyrus allowed his smile to become entirely real when he spotted a hedge trimmed into the shape of his smile.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Red Letter Day (baon)

Summary: Edge and Stretch are finally paying a visit to Alphys to check on the results of her tests.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Established Relationship, Mentions of sickness, Mentions of LV, mentions of past trauma, Possible Past Medical Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort

Notes: I’m getting my timeline a little scattered, but man did I need something funny and cute.

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

~~*~~

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

The drive to the Embassy from New New home took about fifteen to twenty minutes depending on traffic. During the week, it was one that Edge took twice a day, occasionally listening to the radio, more likely to a podcast or the news.

Today, they were hardly five minutes into the drive and Stretch was already fidgeting. He’d hold Edge’s hand for a moment only to drop it, switch to flicking his lighter through his fingers, then back to holding hands. Once, he even started pulling out a cigarette only to catch himself, tucking the pack back into his hoodie pocket and switching back to the lighter.

It ached to see him so disturbed. Whatever Alphys had to say about his test results, at least Stretch’s anxiety over them would be finally over.

He’d come awake slowly that morning, having woken last night with Edge’s nightmare, and his sleepy pleasure at being brought a cup of coffee in bed had quickly turned to suspicion after a few sips. His reaction at being told Alphys moved up their appointment had been pure anxiety and Edge did not regret keeping the information to himself until then.

Sitting here now, his attention split between the road and watching as Stretch squirmed, he only wished there was something he could do to help, past keeping a hand available to be held whenever it was needed.

He’d accept his helplessness for now. This part would be over soon and he was braced for any answer Alphys offered, ready to do whatever was needed to help his love. Physically, mentally, anything and everything in between, he was prepared to offer it.

Now they only had to get there.

The parking lot at the Embassy was a secured one that required an ID, and Edge had his own parking spot at the back of the lot. Today, he forbore using it, instead parking as close to the entrance as he could.

If Stretch noticed, he didn’t comment on it, scrambling out of the car and already heading towards the entrance the moment the car was in park. He lingered there outside, waiting for Edge to catch up, hands shoved into his pockets and even then Edge could see his hands clenching and unclenching, the shrunken quality of his eye lights. He was scared and trying very hard not to show it.

The protestors across the street were there night and day, though at this hour there were only a handful of Humans, their ragged signs sitting propped at their feet. It seemed even racism required morning coffee to get going, Edge thought with dark humor. He moved to stand with his back to them, blocking their view as he gently took Stretch’s face in both his hands, giving him a brief kiss.

“It’s going to be okay, love,” Edge whispered to him. Stretch took a shaky breath and let it out, nodding slowly.

“yeah. let’s get this over with.” He turned and opened the door, and Edge followed him in.

Everyone who came in was required to swipe their ID, and even though Stretch could easily shortcut to any place in the building, he always did. It was for security purposes and Stretch had told him once that if Ass-gore had to do it, then he supposed it wasn’t beneath him.

Edge hadn’t commented on the nickname, that was a battle he wasn’t about to join.

As far as he knew, Sans was obedient about scanning his badge as well. His own brother, Edge couldn’t say, but that was another pie he was refusing to take a slice from. Red was a part of the security department, in official and unofficial roles, and if they had issues with him, he’d leave it to them.

The guard at the station offered them both a genuine smile, his curiosity obvious, but he didn’t question them. Anyone else would need to sign in with a purpose to visit, but Stretch was on a rather short list of people with classified access. Not that he ever used it. He knew the way to the labs, was already headed towards the elevator with Edge on his heels, but he went to them only rarely.

That was an issue that Stretch did not discuss, but then, neither did Red or Sans. Edge couldn’t remember the years his brother spent working at the labs in Underfell. On the rare occasion he said anything, Red usually made cracks about working there as a janitor. Sans was more amicable and often helped out in both the laboratories here and Stretch’s in New New Home, but for all the usefulness his brilliance offered the Monster community, Stretch refused to work with any of the other scientists.

Once, many years ago, Edge thought him selfish for it. Now, having spent dark nights with his lover in his arms, listening to him brokenly confess to watching his brother die during the resets, he could only wonder at what sort of trauma Stretch endured in the labs in Underswap that he refused to even discuss it.

It might be better that Edge didn’t know, and that whoever deserved to be punished for it was far from his reach.

At least Stretch was able to still enjoy his love of science, that hadn’t been stolen from him. But Red avoided the labs entirely when he could, and if Stretch wouldn’t talk about it, expecting any information from Red was less likely than stumbling across the Loch Ness monster in a puddle on the street.

In this elevator heading to the labs, all he could do was hold Stretch’s hand, squeezing gently as it trembled in his grip, and try not to think of the day Stretch had come on his own to get the tests done. He should have been suspicious then, too trusting and—

No. He was not allowing that thought any sort of traction, would not allow the faint whispers of his LV to taint any other part of him. He was here today and Stretch had told him the truth. That was all that mattered.

He heard Stretch inhale raggedly as the elevator doors opened, but he didn’t hesitate, walked straight through them with his normal lackadaisical stride, forcing Edge to slow his own steps.

The labs took up an entire basement floor of the Embassy, chosen to be placed here rather than at New New Home for reasons of practicality and safety. As far as construction went, Monsters were well familiar with how to build underground and the structure of the entire building was able to withstand everything from earthquakes to a concentrated magical attack.

The main room was an open layout, with plenty of tables and machinery around, and the walls were lined with doors that led to private labs for experiments that required more discretion. The scientists who worked here did so with the knowledge that their experiments would be used to better the lives of Monsters and Humans alike, and Alphys herself had demanded strict protocols on what experiments were allowed.

That was not a surprise; Edge had met the Amalgamates who stayed within New New Home. He had his own opinions on them that he kept to himself, and he’d easily agreed to the rules for laboratory protocols. He wasn’t entirely comfortable with her being the one to run tests on Stretch, but no one knew more about souls than she did.

Alphys was at one of the work tables and she brightened when she caught sight of them, waddling over.

“hey, lizard lady, how’s it going?” Stretch’s grin was the most genuine expression he’d offered since they’d gotten in the car. He leaned down, holding out his arms in offering. Once, Stretch had told her she could take the hug if she wanted or not, and he wouldn’t be offended either way. Today was a hug day and Edge did not know if that was good or bad.

But her smile was warm. “It’s g-going well! Why don’t we talk in my office?”

She led them to a closed door, unlocking it, and they followed her inside. The various clutter was a stark contrast to the orderly lab; her desk covered in papers, walls lined with anime posters and a framed picture from her wedding. There was another picture of Undyne on her desk, grinning at the camera, and a pink paper heart was taped to one corner with a sticker that blared the word ’kawii!!’.

Alphys bustled around, muttering to herself as she gathered up paper stacks from the chairs, gesturing at them to sit before she settled into her own seat. “Did you want a drink?”

“nah, i’m good,” Stretch waved it off, “just tell me the truth, do i need to start shopping for a urn or what? ‘cause i’d kinda rather get my dust sprinkled properly and a mason jar isn’t the aesthetic i’m looking for.”

“Don’t,” Edge said sharply before he could stop himself. He knew that biting sarcasm was only a defense mechanism, but he couldn’t listen to that. He couldn’t.

Sweet creature that she was, Alphys looked horrified at the black joke, “N-n-no, of course not! Y-you’re fine!”

That was not the answer Stretch was expecting. He blinked, the mask of his indifference slipping to show a struggle between disbelief and tremulous hope.

“fine.” Stretch repeated, slowly. “so why am i down an hp?”

She shrugged, “Stress, past sickness? There’s a lot of reasons for HP to drop and nothing unusual showed up on any of the tests. B-but, see here. You can’t see it in a Check but—“

She pulled out a small device out of a drawer that looked like a tablet and walked over. Alphys didn’t seem to notice Stretch’s slight flinch as she settled something that looked like a stethoscope over Stretch’s chest. She showed them the tablet, charting a mass of numbers.

“See here?” She pointed at the screen with one clawed finger. “Checks don't show the decimals, but if you can look a little deeper, you’ll see it’s c-coming back up.”

It was, Edge saw, swallowing down his own relief. The tablet was showing deeply into the decimals, but as they watched, the last number went up by one. And again, very slowly crawling upward.

“If it keeps up like this, y-you’ll be back to five in a few months!” She beamed. Her smile faltered as Stretch made a small sound, shaking so hard the bones of his fingers clattered against the chair arm. “Are you okay?”

“He’s fine,” Edge told her quietly, and pulled Stretch into his arms as he finally broke and the tears started. Held him gently as he cried, murmuring soft words and nonsense while the fear loosened its hold. Long minutes passed before Stretch pulled away, sniffling and wiping at his face with his sleeve.

Alphys already had Kleenex and a bottle of water in hand, practically shoving them into Stretch’s lap as she burbled out tearfully, “I’m so sorry! I would have told you over the phone if I’d known you were so worried, I only wanted to show you the results! I should have known, I could have told you—“

“it’s fine, lizard lady,” Stretch said and this time it was Alphys who held her arms out for a hug, the two of them embracing amidst tears. “s’all good.”

She nodded, sniffling, and drew back. “Th-the only thing I can recommend is getting plenty of rest, eat good food. It’ll speed up the process.” She gave the pocket of his hoodie a little poke, tapping the visible bulge there. "You should stop smoking. It retards your magic and it could be slowing down the process.”

“did you have to say that where he could hear?” Stretch groaned.

“Yes,” she said unrepentantly. “I don’t want to see you in an urn or a mason jar, and definitely not an ashtray.”

Edge said nothing, but Stretch still sighed. “i’ll try, okay?”

“Try hard,” Alphys said sternly.

She went on to show Stretch a few more test results, the two of them slowly descending into scientific jargon that Edge didn’t even try to understand. He’d gotten what he wanted out of this visit, the only words he wanted to hear.

Stretch was going to be fine and that was enough.

Once they were finished at the lab, Edge drove them back home. He thought about offering to take them for lunch, but the stress of the morning was hitting Stretch before they even made it back to the car, his untied shoes dragging as he walked. He was asleep by the time they made it out of the parking lot and Edge didn’t hesitate to let him sleep, carrying him carefully into the house and settling with him on the sofa, a blanket drawn over them both.

Normally, he wasn’t one for naps, especially not in the mid-morning. Today, he felt unexpectedly tired, all the worries of the past days seeping away and leaving exhaustion in its wake. His normal urges to be moving, working or cleaning or cooking, abandoned him, and Edge settled on the sofa with his sleeping husband in his arms, holding him close. Drowsing in the pocket of shared warmth beneath the blanket.

He couldn’t say how long he slept when he heard the soft click of the unlocked door, the almost silent footsteps. Edge didn’t opened his sockets as he called on his magic, flexing his fingers beneath the blanket as he reached out to turn his brother’s soul blue and lifted.

When he turned to look, Red was dangling in the air like a marionette, a sharp grin on his face. He tipped his head towards the door, one brow bone raised and Edge frowned, lowering Red to the floor before carefully pulling away from Stretch. Who murmured discontentedly, his face scrunching unhappily at the loss of warmth. Edge pressed a kiss to his skull and whispered a soft promise to return. Likely it went unheard but Stretch still settled with a sigh, burrowing into the blanket

Red was sitting on the steps when Edge walked out, an unlit cigar clenched in his teeth, “how’s the honey bun.”

Ah, of course. If there was one person Red had difficulty getting intel from it was Alphys, and they’d been in her office to talk.

There was a small, petty temptation to let his brother squirm a bit for the answer, but Edge resisted it, “He’ll be all right. His HP is recovering. She recommended he quit smoking.”

Red snorted loudly. “have fun with that.”

Edge didn’t think he imagined seeing a line of tension in Red’s shoulders relax. He’d been worried, Edge realized, far more than he would ever show or say, but enough to come by the moment he knew they had answers. Knowing that made a painful knot in Edge’s soul ease, a silent forgiveness for his brother keeping secrets from him about Stretch. Red did care about Stretch, he knew, past him simply being a precious liability for his brother. It was still nice to have it confirmed from time to time.

But it didn’t stop him from slapping Red on the back of the skull when he started lighting his cigar, hissing, “Do not smoke that near me!”

Red only grinned, unrepentantly, “yeah, yeah, get back in there with the honey bun. might want to get in your chucklefucks while you can, before the nicotine withdrawal hits.”

“Sans—“ Edge started to snarl, but he was talking to thin air, leaving him with no one to take his irritation out on. He blew out a sharp breath and shook his head, rubbing at his nasal bone to stave off an incipient brother-shaped headache.

Then he went back inside to take his brother’s advice.

-finis-

[dimensionsblog]

Chapter 11: ECHO

"I don't understand." He started, glaring as he spoke. "Why are you doing this? This isn't even her timeline, all she wants to do is go home!"

Every timeline must be purged.

"BUT WHY?! TELL ME WHY YOU'RE DOING THIS!" He yelled. "She's just a kid! You really want to murder a kid?! You're sick!"

"Cloak?!"

He spun around at the sound of his name. "Frisk no, get back!"

You know why. You've always known.

Turning his attention back to the dark void he was yelling at before, he just barely made out a single red eye. "Know what?"

You've known why...since the experiments.

"What..?" He started, but his attention shifted to the darkness surrounding him, engulfing him almost. "What the hell?!"

Allow me to remind you...of your true purpose.

He struggled. Nothing happened. He tried to move again. Nothing happened. Nothing happened each time he tried, he even reached out for something, anything at this point. And when he did, he was blinded by a bright light.

Opening his eyes slowly, he dound himself in some sort of laboratory. "What's going on..? Where am I..?" He said, mainly to himself.

Do you remember this? I do.

He looked around quickly, trying to locate the owner of the voice, but it seemed it was just his imagination. Brushing it off for now, he walked forward, each step unlocking the broken fragments of this memory in his mind. There were no amalgamates yet, they came later. The experiment wasn't originally performed by Alphys, she helped...him. "Why am I...How did I forget this?"

You forgot him too, I know. A lot of people did.

The Core. He was building the Core when he came in the first place. The DT Extractor only worked once, on...on him.

So, you now understand how. The machine caused you a lot of pain. I know, I was there.

"He...he used my determination." Cloak's mind raced for a moment, he remembered all the experiments involving his SOUL. His human SOUL. "But...I'm not human..."

So you were told. But when do you remember a monster using such power without melting? Think, Cloak.

"Even if that's true, that doesn't justify what you're doing!" He countered. "You can't murder innocent people, just for your own messed up agenda!"

You do not yet know the truth. But you will know soon enough. My "messed up agenda" was a plan we made ages ago. To fix the biggest mistake Dr. Gaster ever made.

"Gaster?" Cloak started. "But what-" He started, but was interrupted by a sharp, intense pain in his chest and stomach. When he looked down, he saw he was impaled by two large, black bones. "These...Undyne...you...!"

You'll know the truth very soon, so long as you survive. Pleasant dreams...my other self.

---

"Why...?"

"...I didn't want you to die..."

---

"You can't understand how this feels." He started, waiting to dodge their next attack in the Judgement Hall. "Knowing that one day, you'll wake up to find it's all been RESET." He waited a moment before continuing. "I won't let that happen. Seeing what comes next, I just can't afford to not care anymore."

"...Do it."

He froze. It was small, but it was definitely her voice. Not this demon thing, but Frisk. He'd know her voice anywhere. "Do what? Murder you?" He said, surprisingly in a quiet tone. "When you haven't hurt anyone? When we're all free? You brought me back down here so you could let me KILL you?!"

"...can't control...for long..." She looked up at him, her eyes seemed to be pleading for his help while her body trembled. "...Sans..."

He watched her for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what was going on, and that's when he found it: An endless dark void behind her. It definitely wasn't there before, he'd remember something like that. He realized what was going on, why she called him here like this. It wasn't for some stupid death wish, she hadn't lost her mind, she couldn't control what she was doing at all. And he'd....Gods, he'd already killed her to have her forced to come back. He didn't use the blaster but...if he did she'd still suffer wouldn't she? What was he supposed to do?!

His thoughts were interrupted by Frisk stepping forward. It seemed whatever was controlling her, they had no idea he figured out the truth with her help. Flashing her a quick smirk to show her he understood, he decided to play along. "Welp. Sorry, Toriel. Guess I should have never made that promise." He said.

When she was forced to step forward again, he used his magic to lift her up by her SOUL, he wanted to find out exactly how she was being controlled. But she screamed, as if she was in intense pain, and he couldn't keep a hold on her like that. He half set her down, half dropped her, he still had to keep his act up or else she would be in a lot more trouble. He could feel it, the malevolence surrounding her SOUL. That was definitely where it was coming from. Whatever was in that void was using her SOUL to control her every move. This made everything different. He'd have to do something else, killing Frisk would only make things worse for her.

"Why don't you just come out and face me?" He stated, looking directly at the void. "All this time you've been trying to 'ketchup', so you 'mustard' to meet me." He tried to joke, there was a small chance that would help.

I already know you. I've known you for a long, long time.

With that response, the figure within the void released his hold on Frisk's SOUL, Sans could hear her catching her breath. He kept his eyes on the void, and was surprised to see a figure walking out from it. They were covered in darkness, save for their eyes. One was visibly scarred and shut, the other was red and looking directly at him.

After all, you helped him experiment on me. Don't you remember?

Sans' eyes widened. The Determination experiments, the ones he helped Gaster perform. He was a part of them, but he never...he didn't do anything but check on...was this thing really...?

It was fun to use her. The first couple of deaths were my own experiment, I wanted to see what she could handle. But now, the fun's over. I have a job to do, and you're in the way.

He was still on denial that this dark thing was what was left of that human, but whatever it was, it was strong. It picked up the knife off of the ground that Frisk had dropped, and looked at her for just a moment, as if to tell her she was next. It pissed him off, how it was still after her after torturing her. Toying with her for some sick game.

He summoned his Gaster Blasters behind him on both sides, opening fire on the void-like creature. He repeatedly fired, until smoke clouded his vision. He couldn't make out if he'd killed it or not.

Checkmate.

He couldn't move in time, they'd hit him with their attack and he'd die, just like that. He knew it was coming, even if time seemed to slow down the inevitable, but he was glad it was himself and not her. She didn't deserve this. She never deserved this. She...

"NO!"

She stepped in front of him at the last second. He couldn't stop her, he couldn't save her. She held the knife handle with her hands as it impaled her through the stomach. Laughing, the figure stepped back into its own void, disappearing from sight.

He caught her as she fell, holding her close. "H-hang on!" He pleaded. "Let me get you help!"

Frisk shook her head, weakly grabbing his hoodie.

"Why...?"

"...I didn't want you to die..." She started. "...You'll...you'll be okay...you don't have to reset this time..."

"Yes I do! I'm not losing you!" Sans protested. He let the tears flow, the thought of living without her was unbearable. "Please..."

"...If I...if we reset...they'll just come back..." Frisk said softly. "...You have to let me go..."

"You saw what happened when I tried to before! I can't..." He said, looking her in the eyes. "I love you, dammit! Why do you think I fought so hard to get you back before?!"

She smiled. "...I love you too..." She started. "...That's why...I need you to do this...for me..." She used what little strength she had to wipe some of his tears away, gently placing her hand on his cheek. It only lasted a moment, one moment where they shared one last smile, before her hand slipped from his face. She was gone.

(Beautiful Frans artwork belongs to @an-endlessabyss )

[sage-nebula]

DELTARUNE

So I’ve finished one (1) playthrough of Deltarune, and as a result I figured I’d go ahead and write up my thoughts. Note that I’m actually writing this at 11:53pm on Wednesday, October 31st; I’ve just queued it to post now. This is because I’m both respectful of Toby’s wishes to wait 24 hours, but also because I want to write up my thoughts before I forget them. (And it’s already been a few hours, so I REALLY hope I don’t forget anything . . .

So! Deltarune spoilers below the cut! You’ve been warned!

First, just to get this out of the way: I firmly believe this to be an alternate universe to Undertale, rather than a prequel or a sequel. Specifically, I believe it’s an alternate universe where the monsters were never sealed underground to begin with. I have a few reasons for this line of thought:

Asriel is still alive, and seems to have grown up healthily and happily. This is the biggest reason why I believe Deltarune can’t be a prequel or a sequel to Undertale. If it were a prequel that took place before the monsters were sealed, Asriel wouldn’t have been born yet. If it was a sequel, he’d be stuck underground as Flowey. While there is a version of Asriel underground(?), we know that Toriel and Asgore’s Asriel is off at university (. . . supposedly). He grew up happy and healthy, meaning that he never died and was turned into a flower. This could only happen in an alternate universe / timeline.

If this was an alternate history where they were still sealed but Asriel grew up underground, Undyne and Alphys would know each other (and be in love), but they don’t. If you talk to Undyne about Alphys, she makes it clear that she and Alphys have never met, asking who Alphys is and then assuming that she’s committed some sort of crime. While this is setting up for a Meet Cute™ between them, it more importantly tells us that nothing that happened in Undertale happened in this universe, which is why they don’t know each other. Along those lines . . .

Sans and Papyrus have only just moved in, and have only just met the other characters. Specifically, Sans has only just met Toriel and Alphys within the past day or so (if he is telling the truth), and Papyrus has apparently never met anyone (we don’t even get to have Kris meet him :’( a tragedy). If the events of Undertale had happened, they would all already be acquainted. Since they’re not, we can assume that this is not a sequel. Moreover, it also can’t be a prequel because we know that Sans and Papyrus “just appeared one day” in Snowdin; they didn’t settle there with the other monsters, meaning that this can’t be a situation where Sans and Papyrus went with the others to be sealed underground. They came later. So, not a sequel, and not a prequel.

Snowy’s mother, Shyren’s sister, and the leader of the dog pack are all just dead, rather than amalgamates. In Undertale, monsters who had “fallen down” (i.e. were dying) were taken to Alphys, who experimented on them with Determination. This resulted in them becoming amalgamates; they survived, but melted together and became deformed. But in Deltarune, if you visit the graveyard to the southwest of town, you discover graves for these monsters (and Gerson, RIP). It appears that while they were taken to Alphys for Determination experiments in the Undertale universe, they simply died in the Deltarune one, presumably because there was no Royal Scientist to take them to this time around (given that, instead of becoming the Royal Scientist, Alphys became a teacher here instead). 

Toriel and Asgore are divorced. This cannot be a prequel, because while Toriel and Asgore did separate prior to Undertale, they separated after the banishment in Undertale’s canon. However, it also cannot be a sequel, because Asriel is alive and well. Therefore, for the two of them to still be divorced and Asriel to be alive, this has to be an alternate universe. What drove them apart this time one can only wonder, but this does tell us one thing: it wasn’t just the death of their child(ren) and their reactions thereof that drove Toriel and Asgore apart. Their marriage was never meant to last.

There are probably more things that point to this being an alternate universe rather than a prequel or a sequel, but those are the things that come to mind immediately. While I might not be exactly right about what specifically makes this an alternate universe (that it’s a world where the monsters were never banished, but instead continued to live on the surface), I still think that’s the case, and will continue to think so until proven otherwise. And honestly, I think this is the best thing Toby could have done. A prequel would have ended sadly no matter what Toby did, because the monsters would have ended up sealed underground and we’d likely have to witness the deaths of two children thanks to buttercup poisoning and awful humans. That’s a pretty downer note to end a game on, but Toby would have to if he wanted to make this a prequel. At the same time, while I’m sure there’s story potential in a sequel because I can’t imagine humanity will take the sudden freedom of monsters very well (it’s implied in Undertale’s prologue that it’s been long enough that most humans have forgotten monsters even exist, so to suddenly see a bunch of monsters running around would no doubt freak them out), a game that’s nothing but politics and peace treaties created by a child wouldn’t be very much fun to play. But an alternate universe gives Toby tons of creative freedom to make a new story, even if some of the characters are familiar because they’re alternate universe versions of themselves. This was a really brilliant move on his part (though that shouldn’t be surprising, because this is Toby Fox we’re talking about). 

Anyway, enough about that. On to other thoughts!

I still think the mysterious being that talks to us in the beginning is Gaster. It has to be Gaster. First of all, we’ve always had reason to think of Gaster as a potentially dangerous person; that he was lost to his experiment and shattered across time and space aside---that he was a brilliant scientist, and the Royal Scientist before Alphys aside---the Riverperson tells us to “beware the man who speaks in hands.” That’s not specifically about Gaster, but I seem to remember something in the game’s code that suggests it’s probably a reference to him. The Riverperson told us to beware Gaster, and we should have listened, but our curiosity got the better of us. Curiosity killed the cat? No. Curiosity killed the humans. That said, we don’t have proof that it was Gaster yet, but I . . . I still believe . . . (Plus, the original pallet for our vessel was the Gaster Follower pallet, wasn’t it? HMMM . . .)

That said, the being that possesses Kris at the end is very obviously Chara. The red eyes, the smile, the knife . . . all of those things point to Chara. And it’s not that much of a surprise, in a way, because the shirt that Kris wears has the same colors as Chara’s shirt (and their hair is the same, et cetera), but I also have to wonder why. Why did this happen? I’m assuming it happened when Kris noticed their SOUL behaving strangely at the end, while standing in front of the fountain, but I don’t get why. I’m wondering if maybe I made something wrong, if I made a wrong decision, if I made this happen somehow despite that I didn’t kill any monsters (Susie did, once, but not by my will), and I never did a genocide run in Undertale at all, much less on this computer where I don’t even have the game downloaded . . . except . . .

Thinking about it, I don’t think this is something I (or anyone else) did wrong---I think that we were all headed toward this ending, provided all endings lead back to the town and Toriel’s house in the end. And the reason why I think this is that we were told twice that our choices don’t matter. We were told this by Susie when she stopped Kris from answering at the start, but we were also told this by the mysterious being at the very start of the game when he discarded the options we made previously. The only one who seemed to counter the idea that our choices don’t matter is Ralsei, but while I haven’t done multiple playthroughs to confirm, I think that might only impact what happens during the showdown with the king. If you’re kind to all the monsters, they come and save you, and if you’re not, they . . . don’t? I’m not sure, I’ve only done one playthrough. But it might be that your choices only have impact in the dark kingdom; in the surface world, your choices don’t. So while you can effect how your last moments in the dark kingdom turn out, you can’t affect the ultimate ending where Chara takes over Kris’ body and rips out their soul to stuff it in the birdcage.  I still want to know why that happened, though, even if it wasn’t through any fault of mine.

On that note, the anagrams. “Delta Rune” is an anagram of “Undertale” and we been knew about that for years now. Ralsei is an anagram of Asriel, and my friend SB pointed this out to me because I didn’t notice it at first (and she was RIGHT ON THE MONEY HOLY SHIT). But Kris . . . it looks like an anagram of “Frisk”, but it’s missing the F, and while “Frisk” does have more consonants than it’s easy to make an anagram from, I don’t think Toby simply tossed the F off without thought. I think he did it because while “Kris” can be an anagram of “Frisk” without the “f,” it’s also an anagram of “Risk”, meaning danger. There’s a risk of danger with Kris, and we encounter that danger at the very end, when Chara takes over. But why? Why did Chara take over? I need answers, Toby! 

Speaking of answers that I need, I need to know what’s going on with Asriel. Asriel was supposedly off at university, yet he’s also very clearly Ralsei. Yet although she appears shocked, Susie doesn’t call him out on this, and you’d think she’d know given that she knows Kris’ mother, and therefore she has to be at least familiar with the sight of Asriel. Moreover, there’s no indication that Kris reacts at all, which is particularly strange since, although Kris is mute, Susie could have noticed Kris’ surprise. But there is none---there isn’t any reaction at all. So what’s going on there? Why is Asriel in the dark kingdom if he’s also off at university? What---what is going on?? 

Back on the Chara topic for a moment: I checked the mirror both at the start of the game and at the end. The flavor text was “it’s just you” both times. Nothing changed. So why did Chara take over Kris?? 

I love Susie. Really, all the characters ended up endearing (I would die for Ralsei / Asriel), but I loved Susie’s development. Toby does such a wonderful job of creating characters, and he really knocked it out of the park with Susie. I really love how it wasn’t spelled out that the reason she behaves so aggressively is because she’s lonely and no one wants to befriend her, so she pushes them away so she can act like it doesn’t hurt her, but rather shown with how she reacted to befriending Lancer, and how she felt when he wanted to be like her, and how hurt she was by his seeming betrayal. That we even got to see her development by her eyes becoming visible in the end was icing on the cake. Susie was a brilliant character, and I loved every bit of her development. Even in a game as short as this one, she really shined. ♥

Burgerpants continues to be an absolute fucking delight, and I love that he was apparently best friends with Asriel before Asriel went off to college. If there isn’t tons of fanart of the driving around town “picking up chicks” I’m going to be sorely disappointed.

Both of Lancer’s dads suck ass and I’m so glad that one is in permanent time out and the other is going to shape up his behavior (albeit for the wrong reasons, but we’ll take what we can get.

The gameplay is FANTASTIC. I love, love, love that it’s still recognizably Undertale, but that Toby has also made enough changes to it that it feels like a new experience. Because you know, that’s a problem with some game series: Either the gameplay is too samey and it feels boring, or it’s so radically different that fans of the original can’t enjoy it. But I feel that Toby struck the perfect balance with Deltarune, and I really love it. 

The music is fantastic as well. I love the remixes of certain songs (THE UNDERTALE LEITMOTIF IN THE SAVE SCREEN MUSIC, HHHHHH), but the original songs are also great. From the battle theme, which is a bop, to that end credits music . . . is that Temmie singing? If so, her voice is BEAUTIFUL. And if not, whoever the singer is has a beautiful voice. I need to watch the credits again, both to hear the lyrics again (there’s something really soul chilling about the song ending on something akin to “I’m here with you” after seeing Chara take over Kris, gotta say), but also to pay actual attention to the credits this time, and just to hear the music again.

ALL OF THE CAMEOS HAD ME SO HHHHHHH IN THE BEST WAY!!! And the things that we learned about them! Actual, English language confirmation that Sans is the older brother! In-game confirmation that “Azzy” is in fact Asriel’s canonical nickname! SEEING MONSTER KID HAVING GROWN UP TO BE MONSTER TEEN!! All these things are so freaking great. But also, where is Napstablook? Because that was clearly Mettaton in the ghost house. If that’s Mettaton . . . where is Napstablook? Where are they, Toby?? 

I made this and everyone was wrong about it, it’s beautiful:

There’s so much more I feel like I should say, but my mind is still buzzing and jumping all over the place. All I have to say is this: When I learned it was a demo, I expected it to take me thirty minutes, tops. But even allowing for the fact that I had to take a thirty minute break and also pause periodically to do work things, Deltarune took me my entire eight hour shift at work. Toby was right to call this “chapter one” at the end; even if it’s not completely polished yet, it already feels like a full (albeit short and with a cliffhanger) game. That Toby blessed us with this for free when there are plenty of indie developers that would have charged at least five bucks for this just goes to show how generous and kind he is to his fans. I mean, to be fair, the man has made a boatload of money off Undertale, to the point where he probably doesn’t have to make another game if he doesn’t want to (which might also be why this is so goddamn good; he didn’t make it because he needs the money, he made it because he wants to make it), so it’s not like he necessarily needs us to pony up the cash. I won’t be surprised if there’s not a Kickstarter for Deltarune (but maybe there still will be, idk). But he still could have charged, and we still would have paid, but he didn’t and so we didn’t have to. He did that because he genuinely wants us to play this game, and he really appreciates us as his fans. I mean, I’ve never spoken to him, so maybe I’m reading way too much into his actions, but this, combined with the fact that he’s never shamed or acted embarrassed of the fandom, leads me to believe that Toby Fox truly respects, cares about, and appreciates his fanbase, and that makes me even happier to support him as a creator.

I can’t wait for chapter two (or the full game), whenever it comes out. I expect it’ll be a while from now, but who knows; maybe Toby is farther along on the project than we know, and we’ll see it around Christmas time. Either way, this is the best Halloween present I could have gotten, and I’m so grateful. Toby Fox is brilliant, and I’m so happy that I decided to pick up Undertale three years ago (and that I purchased the collector’s edition for Switch despite already having it on Steam, and that I dressed as Chara for Halloween today---something which, mind you, I’d been planning for over a month, ever since the CE for Switch was announced and I preordered it, knowing I’d be getting the locket; truly, it was fate that caused Toby to release Deltarune on a day I was already cosplaying as Chara). 

I love this series, I love Toby Fox’s creations, and I knew I was right to be impatient for the day Toby would announce he was working on a new project. I knew he wouldn’t disappoint, and I’m so, so happy I was right about that. ♥

[yastaghr]

Dusty Boxes

Characters: Alphys, Frisk, Undyne, Papyrus, Sans

Warnings: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route - "I want to stay with you.", Medical Experimentation, Medical Trauma, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Frisk (Undertale), POV Multiple

Ao3: Here

Summary: Frisk and their friends help Alphys dig through some old boxes at the lab.(Not a good summary, sorry)

Alphys stared at the boxes and boxes of old reports and notebooks. The dust spinning in the air was sickening - whether it was the remains of the dead or the decayed paper of centuries of scientific progress, the horror was the same. How had she never noticed this door before?

All of this data - what if it held the answers she needed to stabilize the Amalgamates? What if it contained records of someone else doing the exact same experiment? How stupid would that be, hurting so many monsters and their families when just reading one of these files would have told her what to expect?

A small hand tugged at her sleeve, pulling her out of it. Frisk looked up at her through their brand new glasses, beautiful red eyes filled with concern.

“I’m okay...thanks, F-f-frisk,” Alphys looked around the room again, this time taking in the massive heap of collapsed boxes shoved in a corner, the flickering fluorescent lights, the receding walls. Sorting through this chaotic excuse for a filing system would take ages.

“Actually...do you, um, think we could c-c-call Undyne? There’s a l-l-lot of boxes.”

Frisk shot her a thumbs up, then signed out a question. Alphys’ lips moved as she tried to work it out. Some of Frisk’s symbols were very different from Monster Hands. Everyone was learning to translate, but sometimes it was tough.

“you w-w-want to call the...bone...broth- oh. Oh! Yes, they’ll be, um, helpful? Papyrus is very o-o-organized and Sans...yeah. That’s a really g-g-good idea, Frisk!”

The human smiled at her. They pulled their phone out of their pocket and started fiddling.. As they worked, Alphys wandered further into the ancient store room. She started mapping, in her mind at least, the relative age of various files. Some of the writing looked absolutely archaic! There didn’t seem to be much of a chronological ordering. Decaying cardboard leaned against colorful plastic. Maybe it was by subject?

Alphys’ thoughts trailed away as she paced through the caked dust, her friend's boisterous voices crackling through the cell’s speakers and disturbing the long quiet of the room.

Papyrus surveyed the neat columns of stacked paperwork in the hall before him. With his expert advice the unorganised files were being transformed into a neat chronology! Of course, his brother’s suggestion of sorting by handwriting and quantity of dust was of some help. Without the direction of the Great Papyrus, however, they would never have gotten this far!

“PAPYRUS! This one’s full of loopy dotted stuff. We got a place for that?”

He thrust his sternum proudly towards his friend, “INDEED! LOOPY DOTS ARE IN AISLE 3, ROW J!”

Thanks!” Undyne set off into the piles, “By the way, have you seen your brother lately? Alphys saw him disappear into the unlit mountains almost an hour ago and hasn’t seen him since.”

Papyrus patted his mandible thoughtfully, “NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT, NO! MY LAZY BROTHER HAS PROBABLY FALLEN ASLEEP AGAIN. I SHALL GO FETCH HIM IMMEDIATELY!”

Undye looked at him oddly, “You do realise he can’t help falling asleep like that? Punk’s got some kind of a medical thing. Frisk told me.”

Papyrus smiled brightly, “I KNOW! HE’S ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT, BUT I KNOW HE CAN DO BETTER! AT THE VERY LEAST HE COULD FALL ASLEEP WHERE I CAN SEE HIM. THEN I CAN GIVE HIM A BLANKET SO HE DOESN’T GET COLD!”

His best friend tilted her head, “I thought you said skeletons couldn’t get cold.”

“WE CAN’T! BUT THAT’S WHAT ALL THE MOVIES SAY YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO DO.”

She grinned, “Gotcha. So what are you waiting around here for? GO FIND THAT LAZY BROTHER AND WRAP HIM IN THE WARMEST BLANKET YOU CAN FIND!”

Papyrus saluted, “YES UNDYNE!”

He dove through the doorway into the cavern of paperwork, clearing Frisk’s approaching head by only a few inches.

When Papyrus found Sans he was sitting in a circle of scribbled paperwork. Three empty boxes were stacked behind him. One of their pet blasters hovered next to him, a pink lantern with cat ears on it dangling from its jaws.

“SANS WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ALPHYS SPECIFICALLY TOLD US TO LEAVE THE PAPERWORK IN THE BOXES UNTIL EVERYTHING HAD BEEN SORTED!”

His brother jumped, dropping a set of grainy images messily around him.

“wha- uh, hey bro. i know, just...” his skull rotated to avoid Papyrus’ gaze, “it’s my file, bro. never got to read it fully.”

Papyrus collapsed his knees into a messy tailor’s seat just beyond the ring of documents.

“OH,” his voice was plastic and crispy black slacks, “ANYTHING INTERESTING?”

Sans shrugged, “not really. no notes yet, just the figures. 20 mg of dried patience here, tibia cracked after 3.82 centimeters of separation there. ‘bout what you’d expect, really.”

Papyrus fiddled with his left glove, “I’M SORRY.”

Sans patted his patella awkwardly, “hey, what’d i say about apologizing for him? s’not your fault.”

Papyrus’ roving sockets stalled on one of the clearer pictures. A much smaller Sans stared blankly at the camera with one working eye. The other was stuffed with red-stained gauze and had fresh cracks around the edges. His jaw was wired to his skull in three places, and anyone who knew how skeletons healed could see the wires were already half-covered in new bone.

“I SHOULD HAVE NOTICED SOONER. HE WAS ALWAYS SO COLD, AND HE NEVER ANSWERED MY QUESTIONS. HE-”

Fragile, unevenly bleached arms wrapped around him.

“naw, bro,” Sans’ voice was a cracked whisper vibrating into his collarbone, “you’re perfect. suspicion isn’t in your nature - how could i blame you for thinking your dad was perfect? you saved me, you taught me how to eat and talk and trust other monsters. i’d never have survived without as cool a guy as you taking care of me. i love you so much bro, you’ve got no idea.”

Papyrus wailed into his brother’s hoodie, “BUT HE HURT YOU SO MUCH!”

“yeah. but you taught me how to love. besides, if frisk can forgive us for trying to take their soul to break the barrier, i can forgive you for taking so long to open that door. maybe i can even forgive him - after all, he didn’t realise his experiment had developed a soul.”

Papyrus gave in and let the tears fall. His little brother just hugged him, scarred frame radiating so much love and forgiveness that it was a wonder the humans on the other side of the world couldn’t feel it.

Alphys was snout deep in one of the dusty files when Frisk tapped her on the shoulder. She dropped the file, papers flying everywhere, and sneezed. A puff of dust disturbed the thick air.

“Sorry, sorry,” she turned to the young human, “Did you, um, want something?”

Frisk signed. Alphys’ lips moved as she worked it out.

“You found a file that has weird writing in it?” Frisk nodded, “What kind of writing?”

Frisk signed that the script looked like weird symbols.

“Oh. Okay. Do you want m-m-me to take a look?”

Frisk nodded again. Alphys got to her feet, casting a forlorn look at the scattered papers. Before she could open her mouth to ask, Frisk had already bent down to pick them up. Alphys joined them. They soon had the papers back in order and tucked safely away in the file. This accomplished, they set out.

“Alright, what am I looking at?”

Papyrus wrung his gloves under the pressure of Undyne’s one eye. Sans had only made him promise not to tell anyone about things, right? So obviously it was okay to bring the former Captain of the Royal Guard into the stacks of paper and point her at the right box. Obviously. His gut was just going to have to sit there and stop complaining.

Anyway, he hadn’t said anything to Undyne. He’d just...let her follow him. That was it. It wasn’t his fault if Undyne chose to follow him, was it?

Suddenly she snorted, “Snrk. Pap, really? You made me a puzzle again?”

Well no, he hadn’t, but that was fine. If Undyne thought this was a puzzle, he could play along. Sans always encouraged him to enjoy his puzzles. Papyrus suspected it had something to do with all of the tests they’d had Sans do back then. Some part of him still thought that doing good on tests was important, and that it meant safety. Making Papyrus safe was very important to him, and that was rather touching…

Or it could just be that Sans wanted him to be happy. Puzzles made him happy. Therefore Sans liked it when he did puzzles because they made him happy.

Something like that, anyway. No matter what, Sans would be happy that he was doing a puzzle. Therefore he could let Undyne think this was a puzzle. In fact, it was, in a way. Just not a puzzle with a very happy solution.

One yellow eye surveyed the area, “Okay. I see...boxes. Lots of boxes. Am I supposed to move them?”

Papyrus shook his head. She gave him a look.

“Can’t you just tell me? This is STUPID!”

Papyrus shook his head. If he told her he’d be breaking the promise to Sans.

“FINE! OKAY!” Her voice dropped in volume to something more normal, “Is the puzzle in a box?”

He nodded.

“Which one?”

He scuffed his boot pointedly. She stared at him. He scuffed it again, louder this time. She looked down.

“Oh.”

She turned around and stomped over to the right pile of boxes.

“These?”

He nodded. She snatched up the top box and plopped it on the ground. He winced as she tore it open with about 250,000% more force than necessary. The box disintegrated under the strain, spraying photos, folders, and binders all over the floor.

She looked at him guiltily, “Sorry, Pap. I ruined it, didn’t I?”

He shook his head. No, as much as it pained him to see that amount of unnecessary mess, it really didn’t matter whether or not the box survived. He doubted it would have done so after she saw the reports, anyway.

Her brows furrowed, and she looked back down at the mess. Then she groaned.

“A reading puzzle? Ugh, I hate those.”

Papyrus couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eye. He heard the thud as she dropped to the ground, then paper rustled.

Silence filled the dusty cavern of dead paper as Undyne read. The flipping of pages was the only interruption. That and the grumbling of an annoyed fish monster, but that hardly registered. The sound followed Undyne to a lot of places - he wasn’t even sure she was always moving her mouth to make it. It could just be background noise, like the music Frisk had signed to them about.

A longer than usual period of silence drew his attention. Papyrus turned.

Undyne was rereading the same page over and over again. Her hands were trembling, her arms tense with barely restrained fury. She reread it again. It wasn’t changing. Not even the former Captain of the Royal Guard could wish this away.

“Papyrus.”

Her voice was low and deadly.

“Please tell me this is a really bad joke.”

He shook his head. Her voice went on, wheedling.

“A prank? Did your brother put you up to this?”

He shook his head.

“Please don’t tell me this really happened.”

Papyrus nodded with a decisive finality drenched in grief.

Her head turned back to the sheet. She read it again, slower now. Then her fists clenched and it tore in two.

Her voice was calm, in an odd sort of way. Not happy. It was just calm. For Undyne, that was a lot more terrifying that spears.

“You know, it’s weird. I don’t want to believe this, and yet...there’s a lot of stuff that fits.”

She rolled her shoulders, loosening every muscle in such a way that she would be ready to fight. He knew that move well.

“Where are the freaks?”

He shrugged.

“You don’t know?”

He nodded.

“AND YOU’RE OKAY WITH THIS?!!!”

Papyrus faced her fully. She gulped.

“Sorry. I know you...I just...HOW THE HECK CAN YOU FEEL SAFE, NOT KNOWING WHERE THEY ARE?!! HOW CAN SANS?!!”

“how can i what?”

Both Undyne and Papyrus managed to flinch and spin at exactly the same time in exactly the same movement. Sans had peered around the edge of the boxes, a stack of binders in his arms. He looked between their guilty faces and the broken box.

“oh.”

Undyne clearly wasn’t as prepared to handle the blank expression as Papyrus was. She crumpled away, gulping. He just walked, slowly, over to his brother and took the box. Sans’ arms didn’t move. None of him did.

Undyne blurted out, “HE DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING! I WAS JUST-” Her voice dropped into a whisper as Sans’ eye lights returned, “I was just following him. I thought it was a puzzle he made me.”

Sans arms slowly lowered to his sides. He was still tense as a wire and NOT LOOKING at Papyrus. Papyrus tried to ignore the little bubble of unhappiness that was forminging in his SOUL. Sans didn’t know it, but this would help, he was sure of it.

Undyne muttered a curse, barely audible under her breath, and then said, “Sorry.”

The look in her eye and the face Sans turned on her made Papyrus glad. She wanted to help Sans, just like he’d thought. And while he didn’t believe it entirely, Sans actually looked as if he might accept that she would try.

It was nice to know he’d been right.

Alphys tried to allay her guilt by saying that it wasn’t really spying. They were in here to sort through the mess, after all, and just because some of the papers were in the same box didn’t mean they belonged there. A part of her brain objected that that step was supposed to come later. She hastily buried that thought.

Anyway, Frisk had asked her to read this file, so stopping now would be rude. It was dry stuff, just experiment notes on well-known substances. Albeit rather large amounts of said substances, but still.

The next section made her pause. It mentioned DT, and that was her specialty after all, but...but the way the author talked about it made it sound, if not commonplace, then at least familiar to the scientifically inclined. That couldn’t be right - it had taken her ages to identify the compound. It couldn’t be common...could it?

She read on, appalled at the tremendous quantity of DT that seemed to have been wasted on a fruitless experiment. The author only seemed to have been testing how much physical DT it took to form a stable mass. Why anyone would be interested in that-

The next paragraph stopped her dead. The author described a surgical procedure in which said mass was implanted into a living socket.

“Wha- who w-w-would...why…”

Her voice trailed off. The file referenced the subject as C0-M1-C5-ANS. Something about that serial number was familiar to her, but what-

“whatcha doin there, alph.”

She started, flinging the file into the air. Once more papers scattered around the dusty floor. A skeletal hand picked them up. It was attached to a dark-socketed skull.

“huh. interesting reading material. where’d you find this?”

Alphys tried to speak but could only squeak. Annoyed, she made the sign monsters had universally accepted as meaning ‘FRISK’.

“ah. shoulda expected that. our little human loves to stick their nose where it doesn’t belong.”

The skeleton bent down and started slowly gathering papers. It looked as though he was lingering over each and every one.

“and i suppose it’s too much to believe that you didn’t read these.” She nodded her head glumly. Sans sighed and asked, “which one had you got to?”

“I...I w-w-was...DT. In a mass. And they w-w-were, um, surgeryintosomeone’seyesocket. Yeah.”

Alphys couldn’t make out Sans’ expression as he demanded, “what did you think of it?”

Her jaw gaped. What kind of a question was that?

“It’s horrible? Not j-j-just the surgery, I mean, the science is b-b-bad. DT is dangerous. Why would anyone t-t-try to make a ball of it? Well, I did, but not that big! It’s just a w-w-waste. And there’s NO WAY I’d try to imp-p-plant it in someone. Even if they, um, consented? And I d-d-don’t think th-”

“they didn’t,” He interrupted her, “no, they never asked. they didn’t think i was a mons-fudge.”

She’d have to buff the snout scales above her mouth tonight. Her claws were leaving scratches all over them. Her knees felt weak, too.

“Th-th-they di- di-”

“hey, alph, easy! breathe with me. come on, iiiiiiiiin. ouuuuuut. alphys, listen to me, alph. please. iiiiiiin. ouuuuut. iiiiiiiiiiin.  ouuuuuut. iiii-oh. your hugging me. okay. hi alph.”

She wailed, “SAAANSSS!”

“yeah, alph?”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?”

She felt him try to shrug. He calmly answered, “didn’t think it was that important. i don’t have a whole lot of memories from back then. when pap found me, well, i wasn’t really sans before that. i was just a bunch of pain and confusion.  and i didn’t really know you that well until recently,” he got a glimpse of her face and rushed, “it’s not anything wrong you did, or because you are a scientist or anything. just...i don’t like talking about it. only paps knew, before today.”

Alphys blotted off her tears in his hoodie. Then “D-d-did you ever, um, talk with anyone else?”

He shook his head, “no. just pap. he’s so cool, you know? he got me out of that place and took me in. he taught me everything. how to talk, how to eat real food, how to walk comfortably, how to read. the first book i ever read aloud to him was fluffy bunny. he had some physics textbooks that i’ve memorised. maybe i can go to college once we’re settled up on the surface.”

She smiled weakly, “That would be n-n-nice. We could, um, go to classes togeth-th-ther? I’m such a mess. Undyne wants to study human history. The real history. ‘Cause I lied to her. About anime.”

“hey, don’t beat yourself up,” he tried to comfort her,  “people make stupid decisions, and once you’ve made a choice it’s hard to change your mind. you owned up to it. she forgave you. that’s enough.”

“Why do you alw-w-ways come up with stuff like that? After everything you’ve been through?” She asked.

Sans shrugged, “pap read a lot of books. psychology stuff. maybe you can help me convince him to go for a degree?”

She nodded, quick little motions that had her head spinning - or maybe that was the shock. Probably the shock. It was definitely the shock that made her ask, “Um...which eye?”

He blinked at her, clearly trying to remember what she meant. Then his face grew a little bit sadder as he lifted his hand and tapped under his right eye. He said, “this one. i can’t see out of it at all now. the mass didn’t do anything except make me bleed when i get hurt. i guess i can ask frisk if there are any tricks to getting it to stop. it doesn’t want to coagulate, so i keep bleeding for days. it sucks.”

“I have, um, I mean, I m-m-might know a few tricks. Bratty has hemophilia, which means her blood doesn’t c-c-clot either. I used to help her with her bandages. I could, um...show you?”

He nodded, “that would be nice.”

Frisk hadn’t meant to start a landslide. They’d been trying to get one of the boxes that was just a little bit too high up for them to reach. They couldn’t see the boxes on top of it. When they’d finally gotten it loose, the entire pile shifted. It collapsed on top of them. There wasn’t a whole lot of it, but unfortunately, it was paper. Paper was heavy. Not heavy enough to hurt them, but heavy enough to pin them down. Now they’d have to wait for someone to come rescue them.

“hey, human. i don’t have to ask if you got the memo, do i?”

Frisk turned their head. Sans was standing a few feet away and grinning at them. They stuck their tongue out at him. It was the only reasonable response.

He chuckled and said, “hey. why don’t i lend you a hand? i’m pretty sure pap wouldn’t like having a pancake for a friend.”

Frisk nodded as best they could. He came over. The pile around them lit up blue while his left eye turned blue and yellow. Frisk felt the heap lift off of them. They wriggled out from underneath. Sans let the pile sag back onto the ground. Frisk jumped up and hugged him.

Sans hugged them back, saying, “heh. don’t let that paperwork bog you down, kid.”

They stepped back and signed their thanks.

He said, “don’t mention it. hey, while your here, can i ask you something?”

They knocked on the air twice.

He closed his eyes and said, “alphys showed me something. she said you’d found it. what i want to know is this,” Sans opened his eyes. The sockets were dark. Frisk shivered. He continued, “what were you doing with my file?”

Frisk gulped and signed quickly. They’d been trying to find Papyrus and Undyne to ask where to put a box when they’d seen Undyne tear apart a box with her bare hands. The files had scattered everywhere, and one had gotten forgotten in the cleanup. They’d taken it and seen the weird writing. They’d been curious. They asked Alphys to look at it. They were sorry if they’d done something bad.

Sans sighed. His sockets closed. When they opened, his eye lights were back. He said, “it’s okay, kid. i’m not mad. i’m just...a lot has happened today,” he breathed in deeply, then asked, “do you still want to know what’s inside it?”

Frisk nodded.

“okay,” he said, “it’s not exactly kid friendly, but i can summarize. some very bad scientists took one of the dead humans and made a little skeleton. they did it so they could run some painful experiments. but somewhere along the way the skeleton developed a soul. one of the bad scientists had a real son. he found the hurt skele. he took the skele home and taught him how to be a monster. the bad scientists went away, and the two skeletons were happy together.”

Frisk’s eyes watered. That was horrible! Their imagination was filling the gaps in with really, really bad things. And Sans had lived through that? They jumped back over and hugged him tight. If they had their way, they’d never let go.

[seraphofretribution]

Obliteration Side Story: Return to the Underground

During the other night, Angelo had sent out a secondary squad of his angels to recover Alphys’s research from the Hotland Labs back in the Underground. His original intention was to send his guests out to get it, to give them something to do and test their ability to go on further adventures, but given current circumstances...There’s no time. 

Today the brave group of angels returns, the mission successful, despite injury and a missing comrade. Enclosed below is the official report by the leader.

Operation #275 Report

Mission: Data Retrieval -Recover valuable research from laboratory -Avoid confrontation with Amalgamates     --If confronted, prioritize escape. If impossible, incapacitate. -Do NOT use strong magic anywhere within the Underground.

Squad Assigned: Rainbow Wolves

Units: Lavina (Commander, Red Archangel), Hannah (Combat Specialist, Orange Archangel), Daring (Combat Specialist, Cyan Archangel), Comfort (Medic, Green Archangel), Mihr (Stealth Specialist, Yellow Archangel), Telantes (Support, Blue Archangel), Scholar (Intelligence Officer, Purple Archangel), Voice #868

Mission Status: Successful

Casualties: 6 wounded, 1 MIA.

Detailed Report:

This was supposed to be an easy mission. Go in, get the research, get back out. simple. The Seraph even said that the Amalgamates should have been fed today, docile! But when we arrived and noticed the civilian paid to stay posted and keep them fed was missing, I knew something was very wrong.

Really, I should have had us turn back, but we pressed onwards to avoid disappointing our Seraph, told the Voice to record everything as per protocol. I even took it upon myself to add a new objective, find out what happened to find whatever his name was. Charles or something, some cat monster with a weird face.

That came later, though. We barely exited the throne room when we were beset by several of the Amalgamates, angry and out of control. I thought they were just hungry, but I think they could sense whatever is happening up above or something and that was driving them really wild.

Luckily, we managed to break past them without harm to either side, Seraph knows they don’t deserve any more pain then they have already. I can’t imagine what it could be like, to get yourself mashed together with other people like that. One other, maybe, but more than that? I know I would start losing my mind if I had Daring and Telantes stuck in my head. And compound that to what happened years ago?

I’m getting off track. Anyway, we ran then, just throwing warning shots with our magic, trying to keep it weak as to not blow ourselves up. We should figure out how to stabilize the rampant magic down there once this all blows over, it’s really a time bomb waiting to go off.

But that also wasn’t the only problem, turns out the place is starting to experience cave-ins without anyone to upkeep the supports or walls or whatever the hell they did down here to keep everyone from getting crushed under tons of rock. As we were running along one of the balconies that overlook the actual city part of New Home, the ceiling collapsed, dropping a bunch of rocks on the path and breaking it apart. Most of us fell down into the city below.

I say most because, during the commotion, it seems like Comfort get separated, can only guess they managed to stay up on the balcony and just kept running. They were always a bit cowardly. We needed them too, Hannah, Daring, and Scholar broke their wings on the way down and none of us were willing to leave them on their own with no way to fly. But I thought if we just pressed on and found another way back around we would just meet back up. 

We never saw Comfort again.

The mission proceeded onward without much incident, we managed to get to Snowdin by riding in a boat along a river that seemed to span the entire Underground, the waterways were confusing as hell so it was the best we could do, the boat sprung a leak and sank as we arrived so we couldn’t try again.

We proceeded onward, Mihr helped us avoid the majority of any further Amalgamate encounters though we ran into one while we were exiting Snowdin. Unlike all others, this one was completely docile, from the way it kept saying a name over and over, can only guess it was just too consumed by grief to care about anything else. Telantes, in a moment of pity, tried to cheer them (her?) up by patting them on the back.

Turns out, our bodies of clay of other materials don’t react well to whatever is going on with Amalgamate bodies. Don’t know what it is, Scholar tried to figure it out as best he could but only had theories about chemicals or something. I didn’t listen. But end result is that Telantes is missing an entire arm. He claims it didn’t hurt but I could see him gritting his teeth and tearing up.

Dumbass.

Continuing on, not much more of incident happened. We made it all the way to the Hotland Labs, surprisingly completely empty of Amalgamate presence, and scoured every inch of the upstairs and the downstairs True Lab. We took all the research we could carry, files to a couple flash drives of whatever data was in the computers. Daring suggested just ripping out the hardrives and taking those but we ignored them.

We also found the missing civilian, hiding out in one of the closets, covered in chisp crumbs. According to him, the Amalgamates suddenly went wild the other day, chased him here, hes been hiding for days while subsisting on chisps and the occasional dry ramen packet. He requests to be fired.

With our mission complete, we made the mad dash back to the entrance, stealth difficult while carrying our massive load. Not the research, I mean Jim or whatever his name is.

We tried to detour to look for Comfort, but with Mark attracting every Amalgamate in a 100 mile radius, we had to make the difficult choice of leaving our friend behind. We kept going, having to slowly bring our flightless across the broken gap in the path, the wild Amalgamates catching up just as the last one of us got across.

We managed to keep ahead up to the Barrier room, but I tripped and fell, shouting for everyone to keep running. Tried to turn and get up, hold them off for just a second, but one of them pounced and got my leg before I could do anything.

Crawled back, to get away, though I was ready to die to keep my comrades safe. I could barely hear them arguing whether to come get me, looking up at the agent of my demise.

I could see it in their eyes, or whatever counts as an eye. Pain, suffering, grief, anger. I felt no hatred towards them in that moment, despite the fact that there were more than likely about to kill me, they were just people driven to sheer madness by so many things, just lashing out, unable to control themselves.

I was prepared to die then, I really should have.

But out from nowhere, maybe they climbed to the ceiling and just fell now that I think back, another Amalgamate showed up, dropping on top of the wild one. This one was canine-ish? They’re all very difficult to describe. But the canine one knocked they away from me, barking and roaring at all the rest.

Don’t need a degree to know it was trying to protect me. I don’t know why it was, though I felt a strange sort of connection to them. But I had no time to think about it.

I crawled onto my remaining three limbs and limped out as fast as possible, joining back up with everyone.

We wasted no time, and cleared out as quickly as possible, returning on foot back to the Tower. Most of the minor injuries are already healed, I and Telantes are awaiting repair to our bodies or a full transplant.

The Voice that came with us carries the full audio log in case any detail needs confirmation.

I hope this research was worth it, father.

                                                                    -Lavina                                                                       Commander of the Rainbow Wolves

[kaboomcookie]

Toontale AU

I came up with this AU out of nowhere and I REALLY wanted to post it. This is an Undertale AU that replaces everyone with cartoon characters from Disney, Felix the Cat, Fleischer Studios, Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes, Cuphead, and Bendy and the Ink Machine. There may be more later, but for now I’ve only really decided on the major characters and mini bosses and a couple other characters. Before I go crazy and get into the meat of this, I just wanna say that if you like this AU and want to make something from it (like fanart or a story), feel 100% free! Of course this is kind of an odd AU so I doubt it’s going to be popular or anything, but I’d really be thrilled to bits if anyone liked it.

The character roles are as follows: Frisk- Gelatoni Flowey/Asriel- Pluto/Morty Toriel- Oswald Napstablook- Julius Sans- Bendy Papyrus- Boris Nice Cream Guy- Bugs Grillby- Bimbo Monster Kid- Foxy Undyne- Cuphead Mad Dummy- Alex Temmie- Figaro Gaster- Ludwig Alphys- Mugman Mettaton- Felix Muffet- Scrooge Burgerpants- Daffy Bratty- Jerry Catty- Tom Asgore- Mickey Chara- Duffy

For those who don’t know, Gelatoni and Duffy are Disney park mascots. I didn’t think it made sense to make human toons as Frisk and Chara, because they’d still be toons. But Duffy and Gelatoni are mascots, so I figured I would make them human-toon hybrids (since mascots are, like, humans inside cartoony suits). Also, you may notice that there are no girls. I didn’t do that on purpose, but by the time I’d noticed it I was almost done and I didn’t see any point in throwing them in. There are female characters, but none of them are major. I’d also like to point out that A. Mickey and Oswald are brothers by adoption, NOT married B. Bendy and Boris are childhood friends C. Cuphead and Mugman are still brothers, and no they’re not going to date.

I’ve also decided on locations, most of which being Disney themed (and most of those are from the Epic Mickey series), and several are technically a couple of different places put together.

Mt. Ebott- Mickeyjunk Mountain The Ruins- The Wasteland Snowdin- Rainbow Caverns Waterfall- Inkwell Falls Temmie Village- Figaro Village Hotland- Small Village MTT Resort- Tomorrowland CORE- The Workshop New Home- Toontown Asgore’s Castle- Beauty Castle

In Epic Mickey, “The Wasteland” is the entire world, but in this AU it’s more or less just a wrecked OsTown. Mickeyjunk Mountain is a trash heap full of Mickey merch on the surface. The Rainbow Caverns are similar to the Epic Mickey 2 level, but there is snow, and the crystal statues are now ice. Inkwell Falls is pretty much an amalgam of the Cuphead hub worlds. Small Village is essentially the Gremlin Village from Epic Mickey. The Workshop is based off of Bendy and the Ink Machine, and the titular machine is also inside. Beauty Castle is based off of Dark Beauty Castle from Epic Mickey, but it’s, y'know, not dark.

And now for the verrrrry long background information:

Many years ago, humans and toons lived in harmony. Humans allowed toons to make entertaining things for them, but didn’t like the idea of toons getting equal rights. A war between humans and toons broke out because of this, and the humans won. The toons were sealed deep underground by the sorcerer Yen Sid; however, some toons had already made children with humans, leaving a few interspecies beings on the surface. In the underground, Mickey Mouse was elected ruler of the toons because of his reputation on the surface, and his adopted brother Oswald served as his second-in-command. Together, they forged the toons’ home, OsTown (named after Oswald). Mickey hired Ludwig Von Drake to serve as the royal scientist, because he believed that Ludwig could find a way to break the magic barrier. During this time, Mickey’s sister passed away during childbirth, killing one of her twin children. The surviving twin was sent to live with Mickey and Oswald, who named him Morty and raised him. One day, however, someone fell down into the underground. Duffy, a human-toon hybrid from the surface, was taken in by Mickey and Oswald as well, and he became friends with Morty. Duffy never liked humans, and seemed to think they were all rotten. Duffy had a plan to take back the surface for the monsters, but he needed Morty to take his soul in order for their plan to work. Morty was extremely hesitant and did not want to carry out their plan, but Duffy carried his end by getting sick and dying. Seeing no other choice, Morty absorbed Duffy’s soul, becoming possessed by Duffy in the process. They went to the surface together, but were immediately attacked by frightened humans. They returned to the underground and died in a field of flowers. Mickey and Oswald were both horribly distraught, and Mickey was driven into a mental corner.

Ludwig had discovered that seven human (or human-toon hybrid) souls could break the barrier for good. Mickey decided that the best course of action was to kill any human who came to the underground. Oswald was disgusted by this notion, and so he and Mickey went their separate ways. Mickey and most of the other toons expanded the kingdom, while Oswald remained in OsTown, later to be known as the Wasteland. While Ludwig had been commemorated for creating the artificial intelligence Toodles, he was still not satisfied and wanted to find a way to efficiently power the entire underground. He began construction on the Ink Machine, a machine that would power toons’ homes and devices with the power of raw ink. However, Ludwig fell into the depths of his creation and perished. Mickey insisted that his work be finished, and so the Ink Machine was completed and worked just as Ludwig had hoped. With Ludwig dead, Mickey needed a new royal scientist. Mugman knew this, so he decided to prove himself worthy by healing the heavily injured Felix and granting him strange new powers. Just as Mugman had hoped, Mickey was very impressed by Felix, who went on to become famous in the underground as the only celebrity. Mickey hired Mugman as the new royal scientist. Mugman’s first task was to tackle the question of immortality and the human soul trait “Determination”. He experimented with it on the donated bodies of deceased toons, but the results were horrifying; the bodies melded together and mutated. Mugman was ashamed to show anyone what he had done, so he locked them all down in a secret laboratory and continued to desperately search for a solution. He began another experiment to test Determination on an inanimate object. He used Morty’s favorite stuffed dog, Pluto. Unbeknownst to him, however, Pluto had been sprinkled with Morty’s ashes, and when Mugman fused Pluto with the Determination, Morty’s essence was also added. This caused Morty to return to life as Pluto. Terrified, Morty went to find Mickey. Mickey promised Morty that he would take care of him, no matter what. Unfortunately, Morty had lost all sense of apathy. As time went on and Morty failed to save the fallen humans, he felt less and less remorse for them. He had discovered long ago that he could reverse time and do whatever he wished, so he began killing toons; even Mickey. Morty was never quite satisfied with these kills, and his bitterness and hatred grew with his strength as he killed more and more and reversed time to bring them back.

In the meantime, Mugman’s older brother, Cuphead, became increasingly worried about him. Since he was told not to visit him, Cuphead instead decided to pull his own weight by joining the Royal Guard. Mickey accepted Cuphead, and even trained with him. Soon enough, Cuphead was promoted to the head of the Royal Guard, and was integral in the hunt for human souls. A demon and wolf pair suddenly emerged in the Rainbow Caverns, claiming to be childhood friends and new residents. Nobody knew where the two came from, or why they had no color, but they accepted them regardless. The wolf, Boris, was determined to join the Royal Guard and constantly asked Cuphead to train with him. While Cuphead admired Boris’s spirit and strength, he didn’t have the heart to tell him that he was too soft to be a member of the Royal Guard. Cuphead continues to train Boris, while the demon, Bendy, appears to be idle. Within a few years, an eighth child fell into the underground; another human-toon hybrid named Gelatoni.

*wIpEs SwEaT* OKAY THAT’S IT. Or, well, I have some extra ideas but none of them are important enough to put here. Mostly character stuff. ANYWAYS! I hope someone out there enjoys this!