PLDN Chapter 15

"Chapter 15: Homecoming/Transition to the Next Phase of the Goddess' Game"

Sub-Entry 141: "Flashback to Chara's Escape.  Descent into the Underworld":
While I dared never venture into the Chaos Realm, I wasn't about to be completely unprepared for my enemy's schemes.

Thankfully during our brief tussel, evil Chara didn't notice the monitoring and survailence devices I'd slipped onto him. This made it a prime opportunity to log information about the Followers of Chaopolis.

A secondary bonus is that I could probably score a few brownie points with the Council if I gave them at least some form of lead on our most-hated traitor. But that was a secondary bonus, not the main goal.

It was time I gained ground from the maniac who'd stolen so much from me and everyone I cared about.

"Stupid...stupid...stupid idiots!  They'll be sorry!  They'll all be sorry!"

Not surprised that Chara was fuming. This version of them didn't take loss well. What was Madam Fate thinking creating something like him? Probably trying to shake things up.

Now my heart was going out to an Asriel......well...Flowey that I couldn't save. I would later think about what he said about being cheated out of a best friend. Considering how much more he was aware of than other AU Floweys...yeah...this was something I'd have to be cautious about.

Reflecting on what visual data I was getting from the feed, having spent this time preparing for our vacation, it was insane what laws of physics Adonis had broken to create a path into this unspeakable Hell he had established. I dare go as far as to say, he was definitely risking the physical and mental health of anyone traveling to and from this accursed place. In light of all that...this Chaos Realm didn't even have a proper name. No doubt because he considered that an act of establishing the most base form of order in that which should remain unbound and chaotic.

"Urrgh!  I swear I'm going to carve up on you when I get there!  This trip through this vortex is murder!"

Ironic choice of words. No, irony wasn't the word...more like cliched.

Reminding that the log of this is retroactive, I would most certainly compare it to other nightmarish trips to parts both known and unknown. The Two Great Ones' own "Bogus" journey to Hell, for one one. My mentor's venture into the Containment Unit to retrieve the Three Ghosts of Christmas that he would later ascribe to being somewhere between a journey into the Twilight Zone and the opening sequence to Dr. Who. I'd even draw comparisons to the acid trip from the end of 2001: a Space Odyssey.

To be honest...I would see the replay of what Chara was seeing, and yet even at this point I couldn't describe WHAT I was seeing. Just that it reeked of chaos and evil. Even someone as irredemable as this Chara seemed, I was feeling a tinge of sympathy for their plight. No one should be subjected to this.

It was about then that Chara began grumping over his other pains. Namely us.

"...who does that Arcade think he is?  It was the perfect plan and he ruined everything!  And those friends of his!  Grrrr!!!  I hate them all!"

And of course the Boss Monsters..

"Stupid king...stupid big fuzzy pushover!  I had him dead to rights!  He doesn't get a pass!  No one does!  Stupid metal showboating freak!  Damn scaly anime otaku!  Sushi-smelling, war-mongering musclehead!  That hopeless spaghetti-obsessed bonehead!  That cursed, naive, smothering livestock of a caretaker!  Thinking she was ever worthy enough to be my parent?!"

And of course....

"And you, Asriel...no...not even an echo of that useless, cowardly scapegoat of ragdoll...you're the biggest traitor of all.  You spared the humans!  You got us killed!  You sold me out to Asgore and the others!  I hate you!  I hate you so much!  I'm going to mulch you, you...you...you IDIOT!!!"

Chara clutched his head.

"What's...this isn't..." He shook his head. "What did that accursed Devil do to me?  I had all those chumps dancing to my tune...I played them all like a fiddle...my plans were brilliant...but...it's like...something is off about me...I can't focus...I should be smarter and craftier than this...going into that battle...it's like I've become a dullard!"

Now that I reflect about it...something was odd about Chara. In all the times I'd faced off with him in this timeline, there was a sort of craftiness and a structure to his madness. And in that showdown in the hallway, he just blurted out all his evil plans and just let the cat out of the bag instead of trying to weasel a way out. He probably could have found a way to spin it and turn it all on my crew and me; taking advantage of the confusion between us and the boss monsters.

But what he did came across as a bully throwing a temper tantrum. Granted Madam Fate had her reasons for everything...but it didn't sit right that she'd just limit Chara's abilities like that.

...but it made perfect sense when I thought who would. Yeah...now the pieces were starting to fit. It's just the kind of thing he'd do. Even if it meant jeopardizing one of the plans his subordinates crafted for the end game. Just to limit the rules and structure...or maybe just for the "lulz" as Vi put it. Either way. I was sure that Chara was screwed over just to drag out this game of order VS. chaos.

"I'm gonna get back what he took from me and get those idiots on my terms!"

A realm of chaos; it would make sense that it was improbable to determine what direction Chara was traveling. Up? Down? In the cardinal directions of the compass rose? Who could say. From the video feed it was definitely a roller coaster going every which way at random. It reminded me of the looping ring paths aboard a spherical space station I remember from my encounters on the various Mobius AU's. In fact the very same method of coiling, twisting travel had reappeared in a similar form aboard Space Colony ARK, within the Crazy Gadget zone...

Huh.

"How long does this damn path take?!  Is that jerk bringing me in through the scenic route or what?!"

The readings that the lab would interpret would be off the scale to say the least. The numbers would not make sense. Yeah. This was his kind of place. I would discover that even with the data being collected, even with the survailance...even with Chara's colorful commentary, I'd be no closer to figuring out where in existence or non-existence this in-between dimension existed, let alone how to get into it.

While I would enevitably be caught up in the sheer abundance of chaos, disarray, and lawlessness...it would behoof me to bear in mind that it was also a dimension of evil. Maybe even pure evil.

It wouldn't take long before I'd get proof.

The vortex would eventually spit Chara out into a capacitious void with semblance of terra firma...islands, really. Creatures out and about that even Jack Skellington's realm of Halloween couldn't top in all it's Tim Burton-esque twistedness. Things that looked bigger and nastier than the Sand Worms of Saturn that the Neitherworld's Ghost With the Most feared.

It was a real head trip and a stomach-turner.

The lifeforms around were being subdued if not tortured by beings in cloaks and masks...bearing the insignea of the Followers of Chaopolis. They weren't enforcing any laws. They were just bullying what was around because they felt like it...because it staved off boredom. But mosty...because it was what my eternal nemesis was all about. The complete and utter destruction of law, order, and any semblance of systematic coherence. One big space that was the equivlent of white noise...that stuff TV static was made of, if you wanted to generallize.

To draw upon another name-drop reference, Dr. Ian Malcom would have quite the Chaos Theory about this place; even without a T-Rex eating a lawyer cowering on a toilet.

I digress. Just narrating this log; describing my enemy's world was causing my mind to wander...to lose focus of what the point of this was--Chara's descent into the Underworld.

"UNGH!" Chara landed hard. Moments before being surrounded by Adonis' followers.

"Hey!  Back off!"

I should know better than gloat over Evil Chara being subdued. But make no mistake. The enemy of my enemy is most certainly not my ally here. Then again...maybe this was just the greeting party.

Sub-Entry 142: "Flashback to Chara's Escape.  Dialogue with the Devil":
As diversionary as it was, I would find myself focusing more on Adonis' guards re-enacting the "Oh-wee-oh.  Yoh-oh!" chant from the Wizard of Oz. It was painful how many overused evil villain cliches were in abundance around here. I was even sure I was somehow seeing one of them LITERALLY stealing a lollypop from an infant in a baby carriage.

Under any other circumstance it would seem like this place was self-satiring. But here and now...it all just felt like geniune law-breaking. Geniune evil. There was just no explaining his madness or why he insisted on creating a working museum of chaos and evil--from the grandaddy of them all--tying a damsel in distress to train tracks, to twisted medical experiments on a live, and very-much awake victim. To dumping toxic waste anywhere and everywhere while strip mining the rare minerals and such making up thise weird dimension. To fraud. And all the things in between. Things that viable shouldn't make sense. And things that made all too much sense.

"Heh.  Cute." Chara sneered. Don't know how true his statement was. "I'd say you're all proving my point about humans being sick, sadistic, disgusting creatures, but I don't know which of you are even human."

A spark of insight. Maybe what Adonis did to him was wearing off.

"Watch it with the spear, you...dumb...dummy...dumbhead!"

Retracted. He was still a few bulbs burned out.

The more the bugs and tracers recorded, the clearer the picture of what Chaopolis was intended to be had become.

What structures were around, were cobbled together randomly. Some holding together impossibly. It was as if they were disregarding the laws of physics out of spite. At this I couldn't even guess where Adonis would make his inner lair.

And then he was there. Or was he? Had reality folded upon itself? Had time wrinkled up? It was...difficult to tell if there was even any linear progression to events. Had Chara...suddenly appeared in different moments of time en route to him?

It was...harder than ever...to describe. Even now, after looking over the recorded feed over and over. It was like my very mind wasn't compatible with what I was perceving.

"I think I'm...gonna be sick."

Okay so it wasn't just me.

I couldn't tell...was he arriving at an alter? Was it a throne-room like in the heart of Sigma Palace on the moon during the eight Maverick War? Was it...shifting forms? Maybe the destination was a run-down shack with a single chair. No. It was a Roman colloseum with the leader about to give his thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Wrong again...it's......it's...nevermind.

"Every * FLOWEY CACKLE * time he brings me here..." Chara complained.

"And as chaos embodies all, all embodies chaos.  It was not my will that you arrived here, but by chance.  By Fate's arbitation.  And now you are here.  Speak my child."

That voice.

I tried zooming the feed in. Sure enough I saw the eyes, squeezed shut in a smug, anime smile-eyes fashion, SOMEHOW... ...but I couldn't make out the figure. It was...a seated silhouette. Seated on a throne. No matter what I did to enhance the image or zoom in on it; it was as if the chaos realm itself was obsuring everything about him. Yeah. This was him. This was my nemesis all right. Finally. He shows himself in some semblance of form.

And now that I could see...at least the shape of the villain...all the confusion in the Underground in both timelines made sense...

Why Sans didn't trust me.

What Gerson had previously said.

The reason Frisk looked at me like that.

And yeah...why Flowey was frustrated with me.

That voice...an echo so familar.

Was it really so cliche to say 'You're officially a hero when you've got an--'

"Spare me the crap.  What did you do to me?!"

"It's perplexing.  No matter how many times you repeat an experiment with a drop of water on the same place on a bare arm, it'll never take the same snaking path as it follows the contours of said arm.  Skin oils are not in the same place as they were previously.  Hair folicles are bend slightly differently.  Air currents can never be exactly the same.  A myriad of little things and imperfects make a repeated action never the same.  And they say madness lies in those that repeat an action expecting a different result; but are they?  Aren't the results always different?"

"Are you listening?!?"

"Flowers for Algernon.  A curious tale about the dangers of intelligence.  Is the happiness of one's life truely inversely proportional to their intelligence?  Is it wrong to make the lesser conform to the greater just for the acceptance of an unstable parent?  I wonder."

"Stop ignoring me!"

"Faust had interesting writings.  "Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici--I, by the Power of Truth, while living have conqured the Universe." A passge about cheating the Devil.  How fascinating."

"I'm dead serious!  Stop screwing around with me!"

"Tell me...do you know what Paradise Lost is about?  The greatest creation of the big man him self.  Big guy with horns and a pitchfork.  No, not Asgore.  I mean the OTHER guy...down there.  Yeah...the story about him and how his maker cast him out of the big white place...up there.  The funny thing is that's the cliche image of him.  What he really looked like was much different.  It's all in the old reliious texts.  Yeah.  You know how his story went.  You know what happens to angels when they're kicked out of Heaven.  They become Devils...  Do you wonder how that story is relevant even now?"

"I'm warning you, Adonis..." Chara drew the Real Knife--

"URK!!!" His eys bugged out as he was hoisted off the floor by an invisble force, spasming as his limbs were pulled back and his back arched; his head thrown back in pain and anguish. The knife flew out of his grasp and into the grasp of one of the elite guards.

"You've used your rudeness quota for the conversation." The guard was adressed next. "Have his dangerous toy confiscated for a bit;  Chara just grounded himself.  Then consider yourself on notice for bringing a rule into our kingdom.

As I have delegated my elite guard and my Council of Chaos to enforce the proper levels of respect and such, there are no rules but what they been deligated to decide you've broken. And by doing so, they've made themselves expendable to the cause.

When you fail, Chara, you buy yourself another chance with sacrifice. When they fail, they receive the punishment of erasure from existence--simply for the crime of bringing order to Chaopolis. So really, you're not the only one punished. Theirs is just...delayed. As I have no rules and have not enforced anything, I was just a bystander."

Just to clarify, he had his elite guardsman invoke a random rule on Chara and punish him for it. And because the guardsman made a rule, he now has a death sentence on his head to be carried out on a whim; whether by his first failure or by Adonis' random decree. Whichever came first.

"You're...going to deny...setting rules when you're the one--!" Chara strugged. Granted Adonis' logic was flimsy as heck, but...good luck telling him that.

"Why don't you get what's really bothering you off your chest?"

"You made me a dullard!  How much have you dialed back the intelligence that was rightfully mine!?  How much have you reduced me to being just a...a...a freakin' KID?!?"

"It was not my Followers of Chaos that disarmed you but your own past, Chara."

"What?!  How is this MY fault?"

"You wanted to jump right into the game that you were kicked out of...the departed UTPR-3224, so you ended up in game after game after game without rules and restrictions.  I admire that.  I really do.  I do not want to have to impose these rules upon you, but my hand is being forced by you and the one who made me her black knight.  Madam Fate unfortunately trumps me.  Which is why I keep my realm isolated from her.

But you see failure after failure to reach your goal becomes a predictable liability for the Godess that gave you existence. Your predecessor used up their last chance but was defeated and purified before the interest they acquired had gone into effect. They were nearly successful. You on the other hand...haven't even gotten close, despite the age advantage and mental superiority.

After so many Genocide runs that were painfully predictable, your maker--my Goddess--let her sister weave a lovely pacifist run. Now came the twist that made it seemingly perfect; a pacifist run without a Chara narrating, guiding, influencing. Once you and the Prince died, it would be an uninterrupted path to Asgore and beyond. Destiny should have realized that it was too good to be true.

Who could have predicted the former Prince Asriel would take it so personally that his Chara would be completely gone? That he'd be aware all the timelines.

It was then our arrangement was made. Give life to a fallen. Surely you know that obtaining without sacrifice is only for Philosopher's Stones and dirty dealers? All behind Lady Destiny's back. It's not cheating their game if cheating is part of Fate's set of the rules."

"Get to the point!  Why?!  I want to know why?"

"Were you not paying attention?  I just explained why."

"I'm not going to ask you to dumb it down."

"Ah.  Pride.  What a lovely sin.  Chara.  You should know that you can only push a pendulum one direction so far before it becomes the opposite direction."

"...what?!"

"Pride coupled with greed is a nasty combination.  Even the game is to be cheated, it's still a game.  And a game if cheated too much becomes broken."

"So...what?  You being Santa and telling me my Christmas List is too long?"

"Heh.  Precious."

"Don't disrespect me!"

"It's very simple.  You got a second chance at life.  No Chara has ever received that.  You got to smear the eighth child's reputation.  You took out your frustration on all of the Boss Monsters.  In short you turned a pacifist run upsidedown.  I couldn't have had a better plan...if I actually made plans.  You voluteered your services to me; in exchange for anything I could give you, you gave me your complete and total undying obediance simply because our goals aligned."

"I WHAT?"

"Conceal me what I am, and be my aid, for such disguise as haply shall become the form of my intent.  - Twelfth Night.  Quite the oath you swore to me."

"Wha...when did I ever say that garbage?!"

"What becomes of memory when one is regressed, mentally?"

"Are you saying I was smart enough to quote dusty old books and plays?!  By that logic wouldn't I have been smart enough not to trust a liar and backstabber like you?"

"Naysay, my dear Chara.  Perhaps there is something missing now which prevents you from seeing the bigger picture.  I remind you, that when we met, I instructed you specifically NOT to trust me.  You do not recall the conversation we had.  That admiration is the state furthers from understanding.  And yet you insisted.  The penalty has been paid.  You are a product of what you wanted most and what you were willing to exchange for it."

"I want my intelligence back."

"Fair enough.  But by now you should expect a new handycap to take its place."

"Why handycap me at all?!  I thought you WANTED Arcade and his idiots to suffer!"

"Ah.  Miss Acorn doesn't know how right she was to hit upon the Bowl Metaphor.  Haste is indeed the enemy of modern politics.  In your impatient mind, you fail to understand that suffering without prolonging it is not suffering but a merciful demise.

You think that in the fleeting moments of a sheathing a happy dagger into the flesh of your hated opponent is enough for them to be truly hurt. That as they look you in the eyes and their life drains away they truly learn anything? It's even less so with the bullet from a gun. No, true chaos lasts forever as does true suffering."

"That doesn't answer anything!"

"To create anarchy, opposing forces must be random...but equal.  If one outweight the other than chance is not 50/50.  The outcome, while not certain is still predictable.  In equalibrium, the true chaos can bloom forth.  You once understood the necessity of entropy."

"Ugh...you're making my head hurt.  Just fix this, dammit!"

A snap of the fingers and the appropriate Elite Archmagus stepped forward and invoked the runes to reverse the curse on Chara.

A bit of struggling, a gnashing of the teeth. And then...calm. Followed by a look of insight.

Chara grinned deviously, the rosey cheeks burning even brighter. The red eyes dancing mad with cunning and evil intent.

"Ah!  Our not-so-benevolent dictator...as it were." Chara bowwed, sarcastically but still within reason enough that the "dissing" wasn't too provocative.

"Our agreement stands?"

"Of course, Dr. Adonis.  You have what you desire.  Now I believe it is time for the debt to reach that equilibrium before the next wave of anarchy.  I will be departing now to reap my rightful revenge."

"You shall not."

Sub-Entry 143: "Flashback to Chara's Escape.  Ascent From Hell...Denied":
"...excuse me?  I believe I did no hear that right.  It sound as if you just denied me my well-deserved retribution."

"You heard correct."

"What we have here is a very clear and present failure to communicate.  Threatening should be beneath me.  But you are exhausting my options.  Now.  Let us try this again.  I intend on subjecting Arcade and the Boss Monsters of the Underground to a myriad of unpleasantries before I give permission for them to expire."

"You speak in a more erudite fashion, boy.  But you have not matured after I returned what was yours."

"One thing you did not take from me was my Determination.  And I know I have more than you bargained for."

"On the contrary.  I counted on it exceeding my expectations.  That is how I knew it would be your downfall."

"Do not patronize me like I'm the God of Hyperdeath...and don't take me for that spineless coward at the end those genocide runs where they said no to ERASING evertything--"

"Let's not lose focus.  Frisk should be the least of your concerns.  As it is, they will soon be off the playing field for an extended amount of time.  Unfortunate but chaos cannot be selective about its chess pieces.  Thus it would be systematic.  Structure is the enemy of Chaopolis."

The eyes remained squeezed shut in an anime smiley-eyes fashion. Yeah...I'd seen this from archival footage of Seymore Cheese. And from my encounters with former 3rd Squad Captain of the Soul Society, Gin Ichimaru. The time to be afraid was when the eyes peeked open in ominous narrow slits.

It wasn't that he was taking this too lightly. On the contrary. It was that he could afford to. This was just a perk of holding all the cards before his unsuspecting servant.

"What would you have me do?"

"Exercise patience, FIrst Fallen."

"Patience is an irritation."

"But necessary.  You forget, I was once an agent of STC.  Patience was something they taught us until we could gain limitless should we be allowed to open the Genie's Lamp and Pandora's Box.

Let me let you in on a little secret. STC Agents allowed to do so are puppets on strings. Dolls with heavy restrictions and minds that belong to the council. The equivalent of chess pawns.

But those of us who take the unorthox method of opening both can have those strings cut. We can be unplugged. That is why Arcade and his underground allies have done. I guess you might say it's like the Schwartz. They got the "Up Side".

"Ugh.  You and your references.  You an Arcade are annoying like that."

"Don't think you haven't dropped a few.  And of course it was amusing to taint the skeleton with that kind of information as well."

Chara glared. "Maybe you forgot I was on the RECEIVING end of that!"

I was sure that Adonis was grinning.

"You said their was an up side...."

"So logically...if there was an up-side...don't you think Arcade spent a lot of effort to make sure the Council didn't discover the method and try to replace him with it,  Yet, they did.  In fact, they were so sure that without the restrictions the "standard contract" imparts...that their...golden boy with be superior.  They didn't see the harm of using artificial means to make him a puppet of the council instead of the Godesses as everyone else on their payroll--save for Arcade--was."

"So...that was it.  That's why you are why you are, isn't it?"

"A humanoid psyche is like a beehive...contained in a fortune teller's crystal ball...or so I've been told.  I guess mine was just a little...cracked.  And low and behold...while Arcade and his friends all signed the contract to be Destiny's White Knight...how long do you think Fate went without someone signing her contract?  For the game to truely be a game between sisters...you can't just have one side defending evil.  For the good to be good...you have to have evil."

"And when evil triumphs in your end game..."

"What's good and evil will no longer be defined.  A world of chaos, without rules, without definition will just be...existence itself."

Chara chuckled darkly.

"And that's what I've signed up for..." But then he turned sour and darkly angry. "I will not take no for an answer--"

Sub-Entry 144: "Revenge Another Day, Chara.  Another Day...":
The next thing Chara knew...

"...ugh...confined to solitary again.  So much for figuring out what our alliance relationship is..."

He glared at the walls. "Be patient, huh?  I don't have the Patience soul.  That should be obvious enough."

A growl.

"Start counting the days, Arcade.  I'm coming for you.  And after I take you down...I'll go after Adonis and he can join you!"

Right now it was just the rage talking. Once Chara calmed down, he'd be back to his scheming, nihilistic, Uncle Tom self.

"Fine then.  If you're going to force my patience.  So be it." Chara drew the Real Knife and stabbed it into the wall and carved a mark.

"Day one."

He narrowed his eyes.

"I will have so many plans to tear you down.  I don't care if Adonis steals them...as long as they get results and cause chaos, disorder, pain, and anguish, it'll keep him off my back.  Where should I start?  I need to learn more about him.  His family.  His friends.  Their fears and weaknesses.  Exploit them for all they're worth.  Make them understand true suffering."

Chara began pacing.

"If what you said is true...my "predecessor" nearly brought them all to their knees.  Then I will put their rampage to shame.  When I've left them all crippled and gasping for life...they will look up from wherey they lay in their puddles of blood and death and beg me to release them from their suffering...and I will hover over them...bend down and whisper in their ears..."No."

I don't know what was worse, Chara before Adonis returned what was taken from him...or after. And really...how did Chara know that infamous Watchmen reference--

"I suppose I've overdue to study up on more research material from their world..." Chara slide open the panel on the wall and located multiple discs, selected one and installed it in a slot underneath a flat panel monitor.

...consider my previous question redacted.

There were times I compared Adonis to Batman villain, Equinox. It was like half the time he was trudly sadistic...but then counterbalanced it with something else. But then that 'something else' would turn out to have a much more sinister ultior motive. Just that one thing to bring the chaos back full swing that one could consider a...ahem...jerk move, to keep it G-rated.

Still...the fact that Adonis was polluting the Underground and its people at a far more reckless, irresponsible, accelerated rate than anything my crew and I had done unintentionally.

"Interesting...these 'Chimera Ants'.  Who knew this garbage Alphys hordes could be so...enlightening.  Perhaps I should review more of Adonis' archive footage of when his pico-virus-infected Infiltrators had Arcade an unsuspecting hostage.  He'd probably have puppies if he found out how much Alloicious Adonis observed through his enemy's own eyes."

Yup. That's definitely Hunter x Hunter. Well. Now I knew how Chara learned about our pop culture and about other worlds within the InfinityVerse.

...wait...what was that about watching our world through my eyes? Crap. Now I knew how Violet crashing the Twisted Sister video at Woolma's day of filming...but how did Sans learn about it? Now that had me interested.

"This is all well and good...but it doesn't get me any closer to preparing...I guess if I'm here for the long-haul I might as well get with the program around here."

Chara slid down a different panel on the wall, uncovering multiple dart boards with a handful of his hated enemies. Yeah...there was Toriel...Asgore...there was me...Bunnie...Violet...no Sally, though. Guess she was a surprise...I digress...Undyne, Alphys. The Skelebros. Each with their own dartboard. And yes...even one of Asriel.

"Oh "howdy" you say?  Well...it's KNIFE to meet you...YOU TRAITOR!" *THUNK*

Yikes. A bullseye right through the actual eye.

Suffice to say when next I encountered the Goddesses......Fate and I were going to have words.

As disturbing as this was to watch, there could be an opportunity. Perhaps Chara would give up information that could further assist with narrowing down where in or outside of space-time that maniac had holed up in--

A holo-transmission suddenly opened up before Chara with the message "SOUND ONLY". Adonis' voice rang out.

"Oh yes.  One more thing..."

And suddenly Chara was jolted with continuous spasm of electricity!

"GAAAAAH!"

That was right about the time the camera feed cut out.

Oh crap...

"No peeking, Volt, you naughty werewolf."

"W-w-what?!" Chara managed to say in between spasms.

"Shame on you, Chara Dreemurr.  Letting yourself be bugged with listening devices, cameras, and probes."

The sensor suite started going off line as well as the magnetometers, the scopes, and finally the microphone.

This is right at the point where my retroactive log ends.

Touche, my old enemy. Touche. This was the closest I'd made to a counterattack after what that jerk put Asriel and myself and all of our friends and family through.

"Damn." I growled as I shut off my Dimensional Lab's mainframe. I wasn't in the mood to check the updates to the Undertale AU's that had sprouted up that update that blew my mind previously. If five years up updates was even double that size, I'd be buried in side project research for a very long time. It was official. This Undertale had more alternate universe than any I'd ever encounter. It officially had the record and that record was likely still being broken over and over by now.

I wonder if Kommand was right to compare this to a fandom or fanbase. It's only a matter of time before it grows to big or starts growing toxic or so she warned. Great. Another thing to worry about.

But in all seriousness, the fact that I was willing to change the subject after I had gotten so much disturbing info on my enemies...yeah...I hadn't fallen back into the rut yet. I was still enjoying the benefits left over from vacation.

I had a feeling it wouldn't stay that long when the Followers of Chaopolis decided to go on the offensive in the future.

For now this meant something else. Now it meatn the first round was over. The Goddesses were about to advance to the next inning or quarter or whatever division this  game of theirs had. Yeah...things were going to change, probably. As to how fast and how drastically? I wasn't ready to know that answer.

I had some other works in progress I'd need to tackle. For one thing, I was ready to reexamine UTPR-3235's past. Let's face it. IT was an unstable timeline and I wasn't taking advantage of seeing into the "red zone"of the (metaphorical) broom straw that was the timeline.

Sub-Entry 145: "Let the Next Round of the Goddess' Game Begin":
Somewhere I imagined there was a chess board...but not a normal one. This was more of the chessboard of deities. And somewhere Destiny had her knight take her opponent's rook.

At least that's how I envisioned it.

Truth be told even I didn't know how they controlled the games behnd these scenes.

All I knew was the game was about to level up. I had an opportunity during the "intermission". An ironic choice of description, since tour two-week vacation probably should have counted as an intermission.

No. It was more like the game was on pause.

"Cagey as usual, Alloicious."

He knew I was wise to him. He had two options and either way would make too much sense; either way would disrupt his precious chaos in some unseen, not-so-obvious way. As someone who saw plans as the enemy of chaos...he declared them a necessary evil as long as he wasn't making them. If they were someone else's, then he was just a puppetmaster who could both take the credit for them...and abandon that credit easily. And having to make a choice like this? That had to piss him off.

He could strike now while my guard was up and I was ready for him. Or he could go into hiding again and wait for us to become complacent again. While he was still a failed protogee and an ex-member of STC, he was still bound by the same unlimited patience I was.

Chara...not so much. The problem was he needed someone who could make plans in his steed. Sure he had enough loyal pawn followers...but he needed someone who had the hate. The anger. The determination. Someone like this iteration of Chara who was completely driven to achieve their goals. Someone who would and actually HAD stabbed their own mother (in multiple Genocide timelines, no less). A ruthless, devil-may-care, (questionably) human child...no...teenager who'd cut a path of destruction through anything and anyone that got in their way. When someone was that broken....when someone gave zero damns...someone that Fate had deliberately created to be this messed up... Good gods. I don't think even Adonis could keep them under countrol.

Yet, I also believed that even if Chara rebelled it would NOT go well for him. Why? Simply, because he would not be the first or the last. Indeed he would likely share their fates.

"Nothing I can do about either of them now.  The game can only advance when the Sisters make the next move."

I gathered what I had collected and combined it with every last thing I had on Adonis, before and after...it happened. I put together the biggest, most impressive report I could; knowing full well it was mostly padding and filler. The meat and the bones were still out there...rotting and scheming.

"I wonder what good this will actually do?  The Council will see through it sooner or later.  Just a ploy to buy more time and keep them off my back.  I can't ask Daimyou to hand-hold.  If I'm not productive on my own, then I was a burden to her.  I have to earn my place in STC fair and square."

I readied for departure and made sure I put the Dimensional Sub-Lab on lockdown just so no one would discover it by chance.

I paid a visit, first to Bunnie. Because why not? I wasn't counting on the effectiveness of time-loops but...every little bit helps, right?

"I will keep things under control here.  Good luck with the Council, Commander."

"Thanks.  I'll need it."

"But perhaps...you might receive a helping hand from high places."

I smirked as I walked away. Yeah. I got this. Thanks, Buns.

Suffice to say the overall mood of the council was...less than receptive.

"I don't know what deal you've cut with Daimyou, but mark my words, Agent Arcade--"

"You want it or not." I dangled the dossier rather smugly. I know I was pressing my luck...but the last time I actually felt any semblance of what I'd consider confidence around the council...welll...actually I couldn't remember when if ever that occurred.

"If you think this paltry attempt at bribery will get you any leniancy for your endless list of maverick behavior--"

* BAAMF *

Saved by the empress of time and space.

"I believe I will be accepting this report on your behalf, Dr. Arcade."

I knelt down and held it up with both hands, bowing my head. "By all means, Lady Daimyou."

Daimyou accepted and quickly skimmed through everything I had collected from the probes I had snuck onto Chara's person.

"Hmm...this is the first semblance of a lead we've had since Adonis' betrayal.  It may not be much but you've managed to collect something within a very short period since your reinstatement.  Well done, doctor."

"I live to serve the cause; for the good of space, time, and realities, m'lady."

"As you should.  I need not question your motives...unlike OTHER beings in this room." Daimyou's death glare pieced through the face plate like lasers. The Council Members quickly reciprocated.

"I find it reassuring you pledge your loyalty to the common good and not to me.  I am but a symbol given authority; representing the ideals of STC's mission to maintain space, time, and dimensions.  You are not a servant or tool of a syndicate but a living being with a heart and mind of your own.  What you do is of your own accord and not by the divine will of any one being--least of all myself.  Your automy should be commended, not regarded a liability."

Daimyou kept her gaze on all of us. Yeah. She was calling them out.

"I apologize if it is disrespectful to say, but I'm not about to kiss up to anyone just to score leniancy."

Gasps around the council.

"The impretinance!"

"How dare--"

"Silence." Daimyou ordered the others. She looked upon me. "To be uncharacteristically blunt, Doctor...finally.  Someone gets it."

I was sure she was smirking under the mask.

"Now.  Enough of this pretense.  We have a job to do.  Do you know where you go from here, Doctor?"

"I believe I know where to start.  I have some ideas."

"Are you at liberty to reveal any specifics?"

"No, not yet.  Actually, there is someone I need to visit first to inform them of the developments in UTPR-3235."

"I see.  It is only fair then."

The council members muttered among themselves, not quite understanding what the two of us were getting at.

"Daimyou.  Our enemy has been laying dormant.  I believe we will start to see semblance of activity, sooner than we think.  While...that place is a closely guarded secret, which I've stricken fro the Axis of Reality master archive--"

The Council Chairman stood up with and slammed his palms on the table. "That is a violation of STC Protocol!"

Suddenly he was staring down a blade of pure flame.

"You overstep your bounds again, Councilman.  Do not speak out of turn again."

Daimyou turned to me.

"Your actions, while unorthodox, are approved.  Continue, Doctor."

"Having moved it off the grid, I don't anticipate he'll find me or Asriel any time soon.  However..."

"You have had five years to prepare.  Do whatever you must."

"We will no doubt hear from the Sisters.  The next round is probably coming sooner or later."

"It is only a matter of time before we catch him...and then the souls of Universal City can rest in peace."

I bowed one final time before making my exit.

Somewhere...

A divine hand picked moved a knight piece on the etherial chessboard, taking a moment to grab the rook piece in its way.

One sister closed her eyes with a sigh.

The other slowly cracked a wicked grin.

Sub-Entry 146: "Back to Miranda City.  Unwinding From a Long Vacation":
"No offense, Dad...but you look like Hell."

"I appreciate you being honest, Elektra.  Vacations are supposed to relax and rejuvenate you.  Not exhaust you."

"Well. Lesson well-learned, I hope."

"Now, Elektra.  Don't sass your father."

"Right, mom."

Asriel smirked.

"Speaking of which, I'd better drop in on my family.  You good here, Volt?"

"Yeah...I think I'll survive." I sighed happily as Lisa draped her arms around me from behind and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Until next time, Mrs. Arcade."

"It's actually Coleman.  I married under his birth name."

"Let's just keep it on the down low." I said, clearly embarrassed.

"Don't pretend like we didn't have a past life, dear."

"I know...it's just that...that was then, this is now."

"Remeber, Dad, what they say about those who forget their past."

"You don't need to lecture me on it, daughter.  I hear you."

"Eheheh...I'lll just back out of the conversation now.  Thank you again, for your hospitality!" Asriel rolled up the window of his car and drove off.

At Rabbotou Dojo...

"それはずっと謙虚でなければならない..."   Bunnie started.

"家のような場所はありません. "  

Megami finished.

"Agreed." Dr. Lynx nodded.

"Classes will resume soon.  We also must ready for when the Commander makes his return to the Underground."

"Noted." Dr. Lynx remained profound.

"Any of us should prepare to be called upon should he need backup.  But more importantly..."

"Maintaining the promise to keep Asriel out of it until he comes of age."

Bunnie looked off in the distance. "He's a teenager...not yet an adult.  He's come a long way but...he's not ready for the responsibility.  Yet...the longer we keep the truth from him."

"The harder it will be to tell him."

A rare moment of the closest thing I'd call humanity from Nikita. No. That wasn't fair. She was trying. She was interpreting what was considered ethical. But most of all, she had Sally's essence with her.

At Computer Valhalla...

"As Administrator and Webmaster of the Miranda Global Internet, it's time for me to exercise my authority again.  Now.  Let's see what naught no-no's are going on now..."

Violet worked amonst the ring of workstations controlling the massive server farm underneath Computer Valhalla.

"Oh-ho...what's this?  Leaking Infinity War spoilers this early?  Not on my watch, "Admiral Banana"..." Violet rubbed her hands together.

"Ye-he-he-he-he-he-esssss!  Wonderfullllllll!" Violet said with a vibrato goat's bleat.

"You have come into my domain and dared tresspass with spoilers!  Those who ignore proper internet ettique must suffer the fate of all and be...DELETEEEEEEED!!!"

Violet made the appropriate keystrokes and blacklisted the offending party.

"As a fan of WWE's own Matt Hardy!  I take this opportunity to...DELETE!  DELETE!  DELETE!"

Someone was having too much fun. Oh well. At least she was entertaining herself and not annoying us.

At a nightclub rave, hours before a show...

"It's time to THROW DOWN and SPIN UP!  Kick into Overdrive with this sick beats I engineered while touring Jang!"

Sally was in her element.

"Man, she's really immolliating out there, Honey."

"Totally gridding, guuuurl!"

A sis-fist between 2/3rds of Team Acorn as the rave rocked on with the sights of lasers and strobes lighting up the dance floor.

"Check it, I think that's one of Vi's dance troupe from the RHP last October.  Scope what he's wearing!"

"Oh man!  Buckeroo Banzai!  I love Buckeroo Banzai!"

"See if he's got a friend strutting an Austin Powers suit and we're totally there."

At a stopping point between gigs.

"Hey, thanks again, girls for remember my b-day."

"Just a number, Sal Gal.  We're all in this long-haul together."

"You know Asriel baked a small blueberry fudgecake just for me."

"He is such a darling."

"If only we could find men half as sweet as him."

"Well, you two can go looking for Mr. Right."

"Oh yeah...that guy.  Still holding a torch for him."

"Don't know if that's over optimistic or incredibly romantic."

"Honey!  Manners!"

"It's okay, Willie.  I know the reality is far less than optimistic.  But y'know...I just have to keep holding on.  Believing he's still alive and out there."

"Yeah.  We're with you, girlfriend."

"Besties all the way.  You go and find him, Sal.  No matter how long it takes."

"That's the plan, Team.  That's the plan."

At Lupe's Nature Preserve...

"I'm home, everyone!  Come to me, my animal friends!"

Admittedly I suspected Violet put her up to that Ace Ventura one-liner but the likelyhood was it was just cooincidence. Lupe was one of the profound ones. But I digress.

"Spring is upon us, Shishi." Lupe lay down in the grass and stroked the alpha male lion's mane.

Semblance of a a deep purr or...whatever noise it was that lions make when they're content. This was why Lupe was the nature expert. So she could correct me on things like this, when I'm wrong.

That bit of liteheartedness asside, Lupe was right. Spring was unfolding before us. How time flies when you're having fun and on vacation.

At Miranda Palace...

"Mother."

"Ivy."

This was probably as civil as they had been in a long time. It was long story from before Asriel's time, to say the least. A lot of things that happened that lead to Ivy taking a different path, away from the responsibilities of royalty. No longer an heir to the crown, having been stripped of her princess status.

Yet the air had long been cleared, the mood had some years to simmer down.

"It was...an enjoyable experience."

"I would like to hear of it sometime."

"I will take my leave.  I must return to Nightwatch HQ."

"As you wish."

If either said what was really on their minds, I'm not sure what kind of setting it would be. Honestly the thought made me nervous but I also kept in mind that they were both responsible adults. They could be grown-up about things.

Plus...they were still mother and daughter. No matter what the past was, nothing would change that much.

And finally at the O'Conner residence...

"Welcome home, my little humble-bundle!  I missed you so much!" Callista hugged Asriel tight and kissed him right on the nose.

"Not so little anymore, mom.  But I missed you too.  I have soooo much to show and tell you!  It's all on the cloud so when you and dad have a chance to fire up the computer--"

"That my boy?  Hey there, champ!"

"Wow, that is such a dad-thing to say.  How you been, pop?"

"A dad thing to say?  It's not that cliche, is it?"

"I'm just messing with you.  I think spending time with Aunt Violet is warping my sense of humor.  I better be careful or I'll end up with a sense of humor as skewed as Chara."

"Wow look at you.  Ripping on your sister like it was nothing."

"Yeah...I may still be a cinnamon roll, but I think even in her passing we've reached and understanding.  She'd appreciate it."

"We know you love her, son."

"Yeah...I wonder what she's doing in the Soul Society right now?  It's been so long since...that horrible day."

"But good things came from a horrible experience.  If it hadn't been for her--"

"Yeah.  A lot of things.  But if also hadn't been for the Wraith..."

"Yeah.  Lot of things." Scott looked off to the side.

"Shh.  Sweetie.  It wasn't you.  Remember?  It was just the Wraith using you a puppet.  It was all that horrible entity."

"Thank you,dear."

"So.  Get into any trouble on your vacation?"

"Well...i think I should probably not say any more until I can make sure Violet shares her part of the responsibility."

"That's...not a good sign."

"You're not turning into a deliquant are you?"

A sheepish grin.

"OKay, I trust you."

"Just to be on the safe side...avoid any internet stories about Jangese drift races..."

"We'll definite take this up with Violet." Callie crossed her arms.

"You're lucky what happens in Jang stays in Jang."

"Now.  What stories can you tell us about your time in Edoropia?"

"Oooh boy..."

Sub-Entry 147: "Volt Reflects on the Past and Prepares For the Future":
Here I was in my secret Dimensional Lab again. As I looked upon Teletran-1, I debated whether or not I was ready to know how many more AU's had been born within five years. A five-year-old update about made me freak out. How would I take a current update.

"No.  Not yet." I decided to keep the computer off.

What happened for things to get to this point?

From the very beginning, I was born into a humble and remote village. One I can barely remember. But it was still my home of birth. They were good lycans. Ecotropians unfairly hunted in the name of racial genocide.

I was given a second chance at life and became part of a bigger world. While I was priveledged, I was given an opportunity to become my own man. And that I did. I made the most of what I was given and did the best with what I had; not seeking handouts and not about to be called out on living in the lap of luxury.

Carved my own path. Built up my own legacy. Earned the respect of my first team...and what a team. THe many adventures I had, the research I collected, and all the good my team and I did. It was the best of times.

"That's where I took it to the next level.  Where everything started to change.  Neither for the better or the worse."

My retirement just seemed...like it was a long time coming. Honestly I knew very little about lycan lifespans and aging. Lisa and I had a largely incompletely education from our village. We weren't walked through the facets of who we were and what we could do. Our tribal laws, our culture, not much of anything.

Having said that...

Miles had finally broken free of Alphabet Soup, following the scandal that exposed the secret government program to the world.

He found his way into our ranks and got a glowing recommendation from all of the Ecotropians that had joined us by that point. Nikita overwhelmingly approved and before long, he went from her protogee to leader of the UCIAT. After a bit of watching from the sidelines, I felt I left the team in good hands.

"The dream needed to be continued, Emmett."

That was when I left to seek out all of my old mentors. After a bit of debate, I had chosen to pursue chrono-science with Dr. Brown instead of the paranormal with Dr. Spengler and Dr. Stantz. They agreed it was the better fit for me. But I promised I'd stay in touch and come back when I could. Keep everyone in the loop. And I did.

The Founding of the Insitute For Future Technology. It was underplayed for what it really was.

While the flash in the pan science was kept above ground, our real research was kept underground where we deconstructed the very structure of the universe. Space. Time. And soon dimensions. Before long we had our first map of the Axis of Reality.

"Good times."

It was where we went from there that changed everything.

Teleportation was a cinch. Time travel...we already had it. The big discovery was crossing dimensions. Learning about timelines. The development of the first SPECTRE system to make sure we didn't disrupt history. Problems like Marty accidently causing his parents not to fall in love or Biff Tanen creating an alternat 1985 with Gray's Sports Almanac could be averted.

"Project Paradox moved into phase 2....things were looking up."

Observation and research quantum leaped since then. As our program grew, Emmett and I brought in the best, brightest and most trusted minds to help us explore and record. See history itself on not just our plane of existence, but countless worlds. And with countless worlds came countless dimensions. It was only in recent years that Alternate Universes--AU's began to pile up like wildfire. So much so we couldn't track them all. Not even for just one world, let alone trillions.

At some point... the first act of space-time terrorism had reared its ugly head.

It was sloppy but we all banded together to try to fix the damage and punish the ones responsible. Eventually...we did clean up the mess. But with one act, it came to our attentions others might try to disrupt time, space, and dimensions. We realized this was bigger than us. Bigger than anything. So with that we formed an alliance. The precursor to the STC Council.

It wasn't long before our operation grew...but so did our our budget. We began to raise eyebrows as our expenses swelled in the name of the greater picture. This was the defense science of the new era and beyond.

"I wish I had seen the danger then."

At the time were were all still more concerned about the bigger picture. In the name of good. In the name of science. For the good of all intelligent life. Under protest, I agreed with the others that we had to militarize the operation with the rise of so many multiverses that now had access to the same technology we did. Enough to breach anywhere and anytime at any moment. Maybe even in overlapping simultaneity.

To that end...we realized no matter what we could observe...it would never be enough and we would just be throwing lives into the unknow.

It was then my greatest discovery turned out to be both a blessing; a wellspring of hope...as well as a curse; a potential disaster waiting to happen.

"I wish I had never discovered that infernal route to the Quasar Pyramid.  The realm of the Twin Goddesses--Destiny and Fate.

"I became part of something big.  No...far bigger than big....but I was deceived into doing so."

It was true. They didn't exactly lie. But they didn't give me the whole truth either.

It was a choice. A choice between White Knight and Black Knight. Seemed cut and dry. I didn't even know I was making a choice at the time let alone agreeing to a binding contract.

Sure Destiny didn't want to withhold that little detail. Sure Fate was very much amused by the prospect of turning my life on its ear. But in all fairness...I should have known there was more to what I had stumbled across than just their blessings.

And because of that blessing...I was given the title of Destiny's White Knight. As well as immortality. Having been rewound to my prime and locked in that form...

Once I realized what I had gotten myself into...I realized that I had unbalanced an equation. And I called them on it. I realized that I couldn't let anyone else agree to that specific contract; otherwise it would mean that they would become Fate's Black Knight...and my sworn enemy, corrupted with evil.

After a heated discussion on being duped into this bigger role with bigger responsibilities and powers and being the centerpiece of a game of perpetual Good vs. Evil...Order vs. Chaos...Destiny vs. Fate....I managed to make a demand on my terms...but at the cost of an an agreement on their terms.

In essence anyone I brought before both Goddesses could be offered a contract for immortality but would be the equivalent of NPC's. Neither side had the advantage...but at the same time they would be perpetually "plugged in" to what was coming. Hence why it was a big deal that I and a select number of others like Dr. Nicodimus would be..."unplugged" and free. Like actual players and not just scripted.

it was a complicated explanation to the others. Over time...I brought them aboard. And they deputized others they brought in to be our first field agents. We began working in shadows to maintain the InfinityVerse. That should have been the end of it. But Fate never deals a fair hand.

"What happened to you guys...?"

Over eons and eons, my trusted council members began to shift away from our goal. The began to errode as people and the earlier problems addressed by our bloated budget gnawed at them. Not to mention the pressure of the powers that be of the political nature. Before long...the council began to slip away from me and my friendships began to die. It stopped being a team effort of an organized agency...and began more like a syndicate. When I protested...I began to watch as my clout began to dissolve...and my position began to be demoted.

That was when I had lost control.

For time I did fight back. But eventually they wore me down until I was a tool. The equivallent of a drone...an agent of the Matrix to draw a comparison. And my story would have ended there. But I was not so naive back then that I wouldn't think of a contingiency.

"My friends..."

I had realized that the contract had stated with both Goddesses present, anyone who opened the Genie's Lamp and Pandora's Box was plugged in. But what if I brought someone before only ONE of the Goddesses. With the deck still somehow unfairly stacked in Fate's favor in unseen ways...wouldn't it only be fair if I make some secret deals with Destiny? And that's when I called upon my former UCIAT members and gave them a choice that they could not take lightly. If they chose to side with me their lives would never be the same. This was forever until the Goddess decided to release us from our contracts.

So. Daimyou was born and through a lot of planning and political manipulation was put in the position of the newly created rank of High Empress of Space-Time and Dimension as a check and balance on the council.

What I couldn't handle legally, I needed someone to operate through an underground. And thus STC's most infamous terrorist stepped into the limelight under the hacker name, KOMMAND. Pulling what she called a female take on the "Green Hornet", she pretended to be the bad guys in order to get to the bad guys, but outside of STC rules and regulations. In short...her own take on the Expendables.

My lifelines were secure and so was space and time. From that safety net others were brought in as specialists. And thus my tale finally drifts closer to present times. Five, now six years ago...the Undertale research was given to me. When it was shifted from Undertale Prime timelines to the so-called unstable timelines...the rest is history.

I had work to do now.

First thing I had to do was talk to Chara. The previous Chara, now in Soul Society. A street rat, scavenging for an afterlife. She had to learn about Frisk and New Chara. I didn't know how she'd take it.

Then I had to put the game on pause, in a manner of speaking. As of now, Frisk was back in the place she fell in the first place. And just...staying there, surviving on an inventory I didn't reset. If I had to harbor a guess, she was probably on a steady diet of Glamburgers, Cinnamon Bunnies, hot dogs, and Starfaits. And whatever else she had.

It would behoof me to return to a point very shortly after I Neurolized everyone and had them sent back to their starting points. It was a reset...but it wasn't a reset. Their memories were conserved. I just needed to unlock them. But not all at once.

I returned, forthwith, to the secret Men in Black headquarters, where sure enough, I could reengineer the de-neurolizer technology. Reengineer it into something not only portable but far more surgical. It wouldn't just be memory restoration...it would be memory editing. The merciful thing would be to let them recall Chara as the human child they remember...not as he accutally was. The fact is, I couldn't count on Chara to actually return to the game. Thus, the game was unbalanced. A double-edged sword, so to speak. Advantageous because Frisk could go through the game uninterrupted; without being influenced by Chara's narration and manipulation. A drawback because it meant Madam Fate could pull as many "fast-ones" as she desired at any time. Any curveball that Adonis could through my way would be just the crap she'd instigate.

For now. One step at a time.

Frisk was in no shape to play the game as she was. I had to remind her justr who she was. I had to help her make up her mind on who she wanted to be. I had a plan. It was unorthodox. But it just might work.

I got up and left for Rabbotou Dojo.

Sub-Entry 148: "Delivering the News to Chara in the Soul Society":
"...you know you don't have to do this, Major."

"I left you in a difficult situation the last time you came here.  It is only fair I buffer any unexpected bumps in the road."

"Okay.  Soul Candy ready?"

"Ready, Commander."

On three, we popped the pills and separated from our physical bodies.

The black kimonos were easy to get used to. The tabi...not so much. My werewolf feet were already feeling the fin

"No funny stuff while we're gone.  Promise?"

"Oh-kay, Way-dee Bunnie!" Still with the baby talk.

"Ey, no problem, boss!"

I turned to Bunnie. "Why does my substitute soul sound like a Brooklyn mobster?"

"Take it up with Urahara." Bunnie, said, uncharacteristically bluntly.

"...developing an attitude, Major?" I mused, reflecting on the irony that Daimyou had done similar. And it made sense because...well, it's a bit late for spoilers, now.

I'm still going to have to censor this out before the Council gets my report.

"Opening the Senkaimon." Bunnie finished the last brush stroke and folded up the Shodouphone, returning it to her sleeve.

Fast-forwarding through the trip through the path from point A in the world of the living to point B in the Soul Society...there were unexpected complications. To make  along story short, we both missed our target.

Bunnie landed at the Squad Four barracks. Considering she ended up catching up with Medical Corps.' own Captain Retsu Unohana, it was pleasant diversion for her. Even up to Squad Eleven's Lieutenant Kusajishi dropping by.

"Always bring plenty of candy and sweetened tea." Bunnie mused.

"It's the best-est of the best-est, Miss Hoppy-Hop!"

Appeasement came easy for the Major. For someone who had no interest in offspring, she was good with kids.

"You should consider visiting the Seireitei more often."

"How I wish it were a simple task.  But abandoning my responsibilities in the Wolrd of the Living complicated with the red tape I need to cut through with the powers that be in district 46 world prove too arduous to become a regular habit."

"But we love having you here!" Yachiru tacklehugged.

"You are most kinda, Yachiru-chan.  It is no easy task spreading myself thinner to accomodate all of my friends.  But when it can happen in moments like these...it is truly special."

Bunnie sipped her tea.

"Your flower arrangements have gotten all the more beautiful, Retsu."

"I do what I may in between medial corp duties."

"And as Captain of Squad Four." Bunnie added.

"Indeed."

"If it were only possible to pull strings and bring Lupe here, I have no doubt she woud be the person to critique your gardening work..."Flower Rabbit"."

A soft giggle.

"Only you can appreciate the appropriate irony of my name." Retsu remarked, subconsciously grasping at her twin "rabbit ear" hair tresses that wrapped around her neck and pretzil-twisted into the fancy braid like the most unusual of neckties, for lack of a better description.

It was about at that time the door slammed open. And who should appear in the doorway but Squad Eleven's own Third Seat, Ikkaku Madarame. The closest Squad Eleven's Captain Kenpachi Zaraki had to a righthand man (and still woefully underneath Lieutenant Kusajishi) and Ichigo's second friendly rival (With squad six's own Renji Abarai being the first).

With battle-hungry grin he pointed his zanpakutou--Houzukimaru--the so-called "Winter Cherry" spear at Bunnie.

It was obvious what this was about. When a strong warrior around, Kenpachi's borderline bloodlust  hunger for battle made it reeeeeeally hard to decline an invite. Really...really hard. When he made up his mind to have a battle you only needed to know this:  Kenpachi never holds back so anyone he deemed strong enough to challenge him to a battle, that battle was practically to the death. And as strong as both he was in raw power versus how mighty Bunnie was in experience and technique...it could potentially be a battle that could last for an impossibly long while.

Now granted, Bunnie could handle herself in this situatuation. Had she been alone, she would most certainly decline and find he way out of it.

"I knew the rumors were true.  You're back in town, long-ears.  My captain will be glad to hear it.   So why don't you save him the trouble and meet him on the battlefield for a sparring session.  He's been itching to have some fun for a long time now--"

Retsu stood up rather calmly. "Lieutenant Rabbotou will have to decline Captain Zaraki's invitation.  She is rather indisposed at the moment.

But this time she had backup. And suffice to say...the deck was not stacked in Ikkaku's favor.

"This doesn't concern you.  It's been between Bunnie and the Captain--"

It was at that moment that Retsu repeated herself...but it was as if the gravity in the room had increased and her presence had gotten staggeringly threatening.

Bunnie noted Ikkaku taking a step backwards.

"LEAVE OUR TEA PARTY ALONE AND GET LOST, PINBALL HEAD!" Yachiru snapped before spitting a big loogie right on top of Ikkaku's very bald head.

A raspy gasp of fury, like someone shuddering from the cold. "I'll...kill...her..." Ikkaku Madarame managed to wheeze out under his breath as he tightened his grip on Hozukimaru.

"I do not wish to repeat myself again." Her tone and demenor was still calm and reserved but by this point the ominous aura of her presence had a crushing gravity that probably could have gone toe-to-toe with Brooke using the Scary Voice.

"...!"   Reluctantly Ikkaku withdrew and retreated to Squad Eleven, with a gloomy haze over his head and a crumbling ego. Told off by the Captain of Squad 4 as well as Ikkaku's direct superior, Lieutenant Kusajishi.

"I do apologize for that." Retsu suddenly turned incredibly pleasant. It was freaky how she could do a 180 like that; from "you're-gonna-die" to Mary Poppins at the drop of a hat.

Meanwhile...

I had gotten the much shorter end of the stick. I landed between the border of Squads Eleven and Twelve. Talk about caught between a rock and a hard place. In this case...I ended up the person of interest between the battle-hungry barbarians of Squad Eleven...and the brainiacs of the Research Corps of Squad Twelve. And as I had stated before...Squad Twelve was headed by...that man.

"Ohhh maaaaan..." My ears drooped.

I was probably okay as long as I stayed out of--

"And what have we here?"

Goddammit.

"Captain Arcade...my curiosity simply cannot be contained.  You have not allowed me a proper chance to study you unique physiology...perhaps some augmentations are in order.  Perhaps some cellular grafts after I dissect you and find out how that miraculous electrokinesis manefests itself..."

For a guy who looks pretty normal when he's not caked up in the freaky makeup and headgear...there was nothing normal about Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Like one of the more twisted iterations of W.D. Gaster but with more gleefully sadistic personality.

"Eheheh..Captain...I was not expecting you to show up so...suddenly.  I uh...wasn't aware that you were aware that I was in the Soul Society again."

"You insult me; would I not be worthy of the title of Captain of the Research Corps if my data collection weren't absolutely thorough?"

Which was his way of saying, he never stopped spying on me. Or ANYONE in the Soul Society. Honestly I wanted to believe he took notes on intrusive surveilance from Al Dente...or vice-versa.

"Well, you're a busy man with a lot to keep that curiosity occupied, so I'll just kindly head on out to the--"

"Nemu, I believe the Doctor was about to make a house call."

"Oh cr--"

That was right about the time Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi instantly had me pinned in a vice grip that went well beyond iron and steel. Introverted. Passive. Hell, she was a damn living doll created by Mayuri, to be perfectly blunt. Whatever was considered "robotic" about Bunnie? Nemu topped that and then topped what she just topped. The bottom line was she as just a tool to Mayuri and that's exactly how he treated her.

"As you wish, Captain." Her subdued monotone never got any less creepy. From my numerous encounters with Mayuri, I'd learned this his "daughter" (and I strongly emphasize the air-quotes) was birthed as the result of his Nemuri Project for the purpose of creating new life through Gigais and Mod Souls. All I really needed to know was, someone her size, stature, and overall figure shoult not be capable of this kind of strength..and in many cases should not be able to bend in certain ways. That on the other hand was another story I didn't want to get into.

"...this day couldn't get much worse."

"Hey."

"...correction.  It just got worse." My eyes widened as I recognized the gruff voice of Kenpachi Zaraki.

"I called dibs on having fun with Captain Arcade last time he was here.  He and I have a battle."

Some day I'd have to explain in a report how I got the equivalent rank of captain as a substitute Soul Reaper. Now was not that day.

"An ignoramous like you cannot appreciate a rare subject like him!  He needs to be studied and taken apart, piece by piece that he can be reborn as an amazing creature this world has never seen."

"You know I can cut you down, too.  Why don't we see how strong you really are?"

"Imbecile!  I have no need for gladiatoral encounters!  Genius is not be wasted in muscle-bound beatings with no strategy!"

"Coming from a weakling who fills his own organs with poisons and traps.  Your way of battle is boring."

"My method is not meant to entertain, it is meant to inform and collect data!"

Kenpachi drew his sword and pointed it. "Why don't we see wha you can learn from a good old fashioned thrashing?  I think it could be fun chopping you into itty bitty pieces and watching you try to put them back together.

"You dare draw your sword at me?!  This will not stand!"

"Don't I get a say in this?"

"Sure.  What will it be.  Fun times in a sparring match?"

"Or the rib spreader so I can study those lovely internal organs of yours?"

"...joooy...choices."

"Claw out...Ashisogi JIzou!!!"

Oh no. He's drawing the "Animal killing Ksitigarbha"...according to its other translation. Then again, Leg-cutting Buddha was just as bad.

"Heh...now that's more like it."

I wasn't sure how unfair a match this was, if at all. For one thing, when it came to brute force and raw spiritual pressure? Kenpachi trumped Mayuri about 1,000 times over. Plus he DEVOURED pain. The more it hurt the more excited by battle he became. He was a simple man and easy to figure out. A living bulldozer if you will.

On the other hand, when it came to brains, Mayuri held all the cards. Plus he had about 1,000 different tricks up his sleeve--from fake limbs grafted on, fake organs filled with a variety of pathogens, poisons, viruses, and whatnot. On top of that he could plan unfathomable steps ahead of his opponent and was a master of Kidou plus possessed an abnormally high amount of Reiatsu. A trickster and a genius who could probably keep running circles around Kenpachi if he managed to avoid any major blows--

"I really wish I could get out of here..." Struggling against Nemu would do no good. I needed a miracle.

"Heh..what do you say we take this up a level?"

Oh no. He's removing the eye patch. He's removing the freakin' eyepatch. He's tapping into the OTHER reserve of Reiatsu...

"Fool!  Raw power is nothing without a plan!  Nemu!  Get over here immediately!  Subdue on my command!"

This on the other hand was an opportunity. While the distraction was momentary, it took only a fraction of a second to electromorph into lightning and arc the heck away from there!

"Idiot!  You let him get away!"

"Grr..." Kenpachi glowered. "If he's not going to be my next opponent, then this battle is boring."

I didn't stick around long enough to see the outcome.

"I apologize, Commander.  I was sidetracked at Squad Four's barracks." A moment of silence. "What happened to--"

"Don't.  Ask." I smoldered. "I'm going to need you to do me a solid and keep Mayuri and Kenpachi off my back the next time we're here."

"Come on.  The Rukon District is this way."

And in due time...

"Well hey.  Doubling my order at the drivethrough?  Two UCIAT's for the price of none."

The spirit Chara had traded up for a better looking kimono and waraji sandals. The patterns looked even closer to her old green and yellow jumper. She had managed to even slip a western shirt with a collar underneath just to remind her of what once was. It was a weird mashup. Then again I wore a button-up shirt with collar and necktie under my gi jacket with a lab coat on top of that when I was in my physical body.

"Your sense of humor is as jovial as ever."

"So what's the occasion.  You didn't drop in on me just to say Azzy's stopped sleeping with Captain Snuffles, did you?"

"Must you pick on your brother?"

"Who picks on him now that I'm not around."

"Does anyone really NEED to?" I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes.

"Easy, Commander." Bunnie mused. "He was never one to handle teasing well when he was young or so I'm told."

"Heeeey.  Private, Major!" I glared.

"This is all just gravy." Chara mused.

"You done?" I put my hands on my hips.

"Okay, we've rattled the Commander enough, Chara-san.  We need to talk."

"Right right.  Fun while it lasted.  So what's the deal?"

"It's about Frisk."

That clammed her up.

"What did she do?"

"It turns out, she's innocent.  The truth is...there was more than one fallen child."

"...go on." Chara lowered an eyebrow.

"And that child turned out to be...well...you."

"..."

"Yes.  It turns out this timeline DOES have a Chara.  And...this Chara is male."

"Don't see what that's relevant, but...I have a bad feeling where you're going with this."

"Like I said, they've made many attempts on the lives of the Boss Monsters.  The latest being Asgore."

"...Dad...no...I should't call him that anymore." Chara's mood had dampened. She was obviously getting depressed the more I explained.

"I'm afraid things...took a turn for worse." Bunnie lowered an eyebrow.

"Asgore?  Toriel?"

"No, there were no casualties." Bunnie explained. "But you're not going to like what you're about to hear.

We explained in thorough detail what had happened. Evil-Chara's plan...and of course...how little Asriel meant to him.

Chara's eyes disappeared underneath the shadow of her bangs. I could tell she wasn't happy. But I could also tell she was at war with herself...she felt like she didn't have any right to raise a stink about matters.

But it was obvious she disagreed with her counterpart's ways...and was apalled by his treatment of his Asriel.

"This is wrong.  I know what I've said about humans.   I know I've done unforgiveable things...but hearing this...there's just no feeling sorry for myself and angry at what I did.  I may have done horrible things to our Azzy while under the Wraith's control.  I get that I must accept some responsibility for what I've done...but this changes everything.  At least...I can honestly say I'm BETTER than him.  At least...I wasn't a wretched example of what I hated to begin with!

Arcade...this new Chara is the very definition of human garbage. And I can't stand by while they plot to terrorize innocent monsters, other humans, and you and your crew."

"You righteousness is inspiring but--"

"I know.  There's nothing I can do when I'm dead...it's out of my hands." Chara hung her head.

"However..."

"However?" I questioned.

"I'm grown weary of being on the sidelines in all matters.  I'm tired of being in this situation where I just can't do anything at all.  I'm just...tired of not being able to redeem myself in someway.  I have to make things right.  The problem is...there's so very little I can do on this plane of existence.  In the world of the deceased."

"What are you saying?"

"There is however an option for me.  If I want to do something with my afterlife?  There's only one way to go.  Even if there's the slightest chance I can change my fate into some semblance of a destiny, I'm taking that chance.

I realize that if I go this route, the chance that I could ever reunite with my Asriel is no better that it is now. But he wouldn't me moping. He wouldn't want me going through the motions and surviving day to day when I could be making something of my afterlife."

"Chara...where are you going with this?"

"It's not the most ideal thing for me to get into, considering what I've done in the past timeline...it's kind of a dark irony to even consider this.  But it's all I think i could do."

A deep sigh as she turned around, back to the both of us.

"Arcade......I want to become a Soul Reaper."

Sub-Entry 149: "Chara's Bold Decision."
"What?!"

"Hmmm.."

"Don't look at me like that, fuzzball.  I'm serious."

"You...want to become a Soul Reaper."

"I know what you're thinking.  It's not like that." Chara's gaze fell. "I don't WANT to go back to...that.  And...for me to say that Hollows are just souless beasts and eliminating them is like cutting up paper dolls is just a flimsy excuse.  But...I don't know of any other way to find redemption."

Bunnie was ominously silent. I didn't know what to say.

"I get it.  You both think it's a terrible idea."

Now I knew what to say.

"No.  I think it's probably the only path for you out of this afterlife."

"If I say that it's to protect the cycle of souls...to keep the recently departed from being gobbled up by Hollows...when I say it out loud, it sounds like I'm just saying what they'd want to hear when they ask why I want to be a Soul Reaper.  I've been lying to myself for so long I don't know how to be honest.  I don't know what comes from the heart."

"You do not give yourself enough credit, Chara."

"Right now Asriel has more determination than ever.  You should follow his example.  In a way you were the first to teach determination to him."

"Like it got us anywhere.  Me, dead from my own selfish ambitions.  Which I convinced myself was for the good of all Monsters.  But all I did was--"

"That's enough." I actually cut in before Bunnie could say anything.

"I of all people learned what beating yourself up over a mistake accomplishes.  The Council keeps beating it into me every time I check in.  And Hell.  They indemnify themselves from any and all wrongdoings."

"Step it up with the cookie-cutter advice, Arcade."

"...aren't you the sassy on." I crossed my arms. "Look...my point is...you're already dead.  There's nowhere left to go but up.  You want a second chance.  Just take it.  We'll do the rest.  Somehow the Major and I will find you an in."

"You have a plan, Commander?"

"We know a guy and a gal." I said with a devious grin.

"Indeed we do..." Bunnie rubbed her chin. "I will go talk to Shihouen Yoroichi-sama."

"And I guess I gotta put more on my tab with Kisuke Uruhara.  I'm never going to pay this thing off at this rate.  And certain members of his helper staff won't let me get out of it that easily, either...the kid's quite a trash-talker and the depressing little girl's got a surprising iron grip and a steel kick."

"I will handle Commander-General Yamamoto."

"Better you than me..." My ears drooped as I remembered my smoldering tail from the last time.

"You do realize you don't just drop in on the Seireitei and apply for membership.  For me to even give you an overview of what other Soul Reapers--of any rank--have to go through to even get in the door?  That's more than a few paragraphs on a page.  If anything I'd have to condense a report just to give you a general idea."

"Oh go on, you spark plug in sandals.  I'm not a child anymore."

"But you're not a legal adult either."

"Technicalities."

"The Commander is right.  It's rare that anyone from the Rukon District is even looked at."

"Well that's real motivator."

"Let me finish.  It's not impossible.  Have you heard of Squad Six's own Rukia Kuchiki?"

"...I think I heard the name before.  Someone name-dropped a Captain Kuchiki when there was an incident around here a while ago.  That her?"

"No, but close.  Rukia is Captain Kuchiki's sister."

"Annnnd?"

"She wasn't born into royality.  She was a commoner.  In fact a street rat like yourself." I continued Bunnie's story. "If she can make it and be adopted as Byakuya's younger sister, than anything's possible."

"Okay.  How DID that happen."

"Really gonna, ask, huh?" I crossed my arms.

"Abridged version: Byakuya fell in love with Rukia's older sister, Hisana.  She was like her identical twin, only in an adult form.  Byakuya caused a scandal by marrying her.  And things got only more complicated when Hisana left this plane of existence.  She entrusted Byakuya with her little sister, Rukia."

"Ooh.  That's a bit of drama-lama for another day."

"My point is, it's not impossible.  We'll put in the good word for you where needed and pull what strings we need to get you in the door.  But after that it's all you.   It's going to require a lot of work and study.  Learning about how to control Reiatsu and summon Kidou abilities.  And of course--"

"Getting your own zanpakutou."

Chara looked at her empty hand.

"You keep imagining it still being there.  The Real Knife."

"The thought of holding another blade...heck one that could be a potentially large upgrade to it..." Chara shuddered a little. "I'm scared.  I admit it, I'm scared."

"The weapon doesn't define you.  What you do with it defines you."

"Wow.  The fortune cookie advice doesn't stop."

"Major...we're going through with this.  One step at a time.  We'll get her there.  And who knows.  Might be good to have an ally in the Soul Society at all times."

"Perhaps.  But that isn't to say there's no room in there for a gigai."

A moment of silence.

"Uh...what's a gigai?"

Bunnie and I looked at each other and smirked.

"Another time.  It's been real.  We'll tell Asriel you said hi."

"Feels like a surprise you're keeping under wraps.  I think Smiley Trashbag is rubbing off on you."

"Theeeere's classic Chara." I prodded.

"Some nicknames are just too good to give up.  Oh well.  Give Sansy-pansy my best when you run into him again."

"Coming, Commander?"

"Open the way, Major.  Before the Squad Eleven and Twelve captains track us down."

With that the Senkaimon was open and we were en route back to Miranda City.

Sub-Entry 150: "Volt Initiates Damage Control in the Underground"
"This is it, Commander.   You sure you're ready for this?"

"No.  But I've been out of this for long enough."

"Bring us back souvaniers, boss man!"

"Violet, you brought back far more than what should be considered okay.  Don't be asking me for favors."

"It was worth a shot."

"You sure you don't want backup?"

"Not for this go around.  But once I make sure she's on her own path to recovery, then I'll decide how I want to go about the Boss Monsters."

"You got a plan, don't you?" Sally mused.

"Maaaaaybe..." I said, rather coy.

"Asriel will be here any time so...we better wrap this discussion up." Rotor warned.

"Agreed. "

"We made it five years without him being the wiser.  What's another five.  Waiting until he's 21 isn't...horrible...is it?"

"Patience and perserverence, Commander.  He knows it's coming some day."

"Must be something to be able to activate those cyan eyes whenever the waiting gets excruciating."

"Does it even work that way?"

Who could say but Asriel. Only he knew how his additional powers worked.

"Seven virtues...Callista would say he's always been her favorite sunshiny rainbow."

"Mitzi!  That's so corny!" Violet laughed.

"Rude." Mitzi crossed her arms and scowled.

"Heh.  Everyone showed up to see me off, huh?"

"You know it!" Sally fist-pumped.

"Good luck, big brother!" Gadget followed up.

"Waaaait!"

Sure enough, there was Asriel flying in on the NX Board. I still needed to have a talk with Vi about the upgrade. But I suppose it got the job done during our joint effort with Providence.

I smirked.

"Heh."

Asriel backflipped off and the NX Board auto-pilot linked with his backpack harness.

"C'mon, Azzy.  You really think I'd leave without sayin' goodbye to my best friend?"

"Course not.  Like I'd let you leave without getting a goodbye in return."

"Fair enough."

A quick high-fived pulled into a momentary man-hug.

"I don't see the Delorean and we're a long way from the train tracks at the railroad depot."

"Traveling uber-light for my prep work before the actual mission resumes.  So..."

"Strange things are afoot at the Circle K." Violet cut in.

"Darn it, Violet." I sneered as she ruined the moment.

I motioned for Asriel to take a step back with me. And good thing, too.

The sky started clouding up and getting windy and stormy. The crackle of unnatural blue lightning in the clouds only signaled the coming of the shaft of light.

In moments the Phone Booth dropped down from above, threatening to flatten Violet.

"Hey!  A bit of warning next time!  Bit of a d--(FLOWEY CACKLE) move, Commander."

"Gotta keep you on your toes."

Okay. That was definitely a crack about her maybe/maybe-not foot fetish.

Violet stuck her tongue out.

The Booth crackled for a bit before I opened its doors.

"Good luck, Commander."

"Hey.  It's gonna be fine.  I'm starting to get this down to a science, now.  After this much time, I'm no longer 5-years rusty.  Am I right."

"Go on!" Violet brushed it off.

"You're gonna do a great job, Volt.  Wherever it is you're going to."

"And WHENEVER it is I'm going to."

Which of course reminded me of the side-project research I though I'd commit myself to examining when I had a proper chance. I was really curious now about those Before Times. The point before Chara was exiled into the mouth of Mount Ebott. Maybe before that...I should at least get some insight on what happened in the Human-Monster war.

I looked up the point in Mount Ebott's space, time, and made sure I had the right AU...the right timeline. I entered the coordinates, with the flash drive plugged in and hit the Alpha and Omega buttons on the sides of the zero on the numerical touch-tone keypad. I hung up the phone and waited for Circuits of Time to do the rest.

The antenna opened up, looking like an umbrella that the fabric had been completely stripped off of, leaving the wire skeleton. The tangles of lightning wrapped around as everyone waved good-bye and sent me off with cheers and wishes of good luck.

And low and behold, the whole booth was sucked down into the ground through the blue portal.

Next stop...inside the mouth of Mount Ebott...

Chapter 16

Back To Part 2

Back to Project Lost Dreemurr Next