PLD Chapter 30

" CHAPTER 30: It All Comes Crashing Down "

Sub-Entry 291: "One Last Look Around Miranda City":
I'd spent a lot of time in the Underground by now. According to my instruments it's been a few months. Frisk has had a while to think about finishing the "game". I'd come to the conclusion it would be any day now that they'd try do so. I had to be there to make sure it went well.

I'd grown to like it here, but I knew I'd have to let go of my attachment to it eventually. It really was hard to let go.

But after all this time...the lifetime...the many lifetimes I'd come to Fontraile...

I was hurt. Really hurt by them. Even my own family didn't have time for me. Maybe I was blind to something and maybe I did take it too personally. But really...maybe they were the ones who took it too far, not me. They all know what kind of life I live. What being an immortal space-time-dimension traveler entails.

I'd blown off steam a long time ago.

I should at least give them another chance before "The End".

Yet...why was it...that when I tried to reflect on it...I felt...?

I took the Delorean back to town, but I kept it hovering high enough so I could slip in and do some reconnaisance. If I was back in town, I wasn't going to tell anybody. I wasn't about to walk face first into an act, if everyone was in on the secret Asriel was keeping.

How had my suspicions on my family and friends grown so much? This...had to be part of Madam Fate's scheme somehow. I'd had my life toyed with in similar methods in the past either through her mischief or through the proxy of the Council...sometimes even directly through...him. I'd name dropped Adonis several times during the course of this collection of logs. Why be subtle about it, now?

I was taking after Vi, too much, using this many resources to listen and look in on them from afar. I filtered the conversations for any mention of me. Time passed and I had nothing. Lack of evidence is frustrating. And really...what I was doing wasn't healthy or particularly ethical. Definitely in bad taste. I was disgusted with myself...I was becoming Al Dente. I knew it but I still went through with it, accepting the consequences. Wasn't I owed at least an explanation, though?

When nothing turned up by the end of the day, I gave up the long-range method. I would have at least wished to catch an instance of my own twin daughters say "when is Daddy coming home"? It didn't look good.

This much time. My crew at least had to know I left on bad terms. I wasn't exactly expecting them to have comfort or apolgies ready should I make my presence known. But...someone should at least try to resolve this, right?

A day or two passed and I'd wandered around, with the Hazard Card still active. Back in the Underground, I did this same proceedure as a social experiment and gotten numerous instances of people, especially the Boss Monsters, talking about me and wondering when I'd return. Here...I couldn't even find one person who even said my name just offhandedly. Yeah. I think I'd fallen about into the same psychological pit as Alphys.

I watched Bunnie spend so much time with Asriel. It was like he didn't even notice I was gone. I'd already practically accused her of stealing away our friendship. I wanted to apologize for it...but not if I wasn't going to get an apology in return. For all the loyalty she'd shown me...did she really just trade it in for the loyalty to the active UCIAT commander? I wasn't going to hate Miles for that, even if it was true. I sure wasn't going to hate Asriel for forgetting me so easily. How did I really feel about Bunnie at this point?

"So you've returned."

Oh. Right. NInja with psychic powers.

"I'm not expecting a Hello from you." I said as I yanked the card.

"You remain as bitter as when you left."

"And you remain as beligerant as when I last saw you." I wasn't imagining her tone. She was DEFINITELY attempting to keep me away.

"Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

"I was hoping to grant you mercy, but I can see it would be wasted."

"Again, you remain blind to what you don't understand."

"Yeah. I do. Funny how someone who doesn't have psychic powers just can't pry the understanding out of the other person's head. But they can do the same to you."

"You would dare imply such a thing?"

"I'm just stating the facts. Why don't we discuss if Goat Son has any desire to see me?"

"You need not concern yourself with that."

"So that's how it is."

"After all this...how do you really feel?"

I tightened my fist and turned away.

"I can't feel...ANYTHING." I walked away from her making sure I deliberately turned my back on her. The same way she turned her back on me.

"VOLT!"

"At least you had the decency not to call me Commander. Don't bother telling Miles I was here. Furthermore...if you mention anything about this conversation to Asriel..."

"You are in no position to make demands."

"Am I?"

I turned, my hands crackling with electricity. Her nanites made her frighteningly more vulnerable to electricity than anyone else in town. All it would take is one jolt and her pain would be as excruciating as my own. But...no. She wasn't worth it.

"I never would have imagined you'd decide his path. I guess if his home world is going to lose a prince, it's going to gain a time-traveller."

I stormed off and took the Time Machine back to the Underground.

"...he was here, wasn't he?"

"He was."

Asriel looked off to the side.

"It's for his own good. And ours. It will work out in the end."

"Just a little longer..."

Sub-Entry 292: "Back to New Home"
My mood was shot. I was in no shape to be attempting this. This was a mistake. It was a mistake and I was making it willingly.

What's left to say. I'd finally gotten word that Frisk had chosen to finish what they started.

I wanted to join them in just to encourage them and alleviate any anxiety before meeting Asgore.

I had so many questions I wanted to ask them afterward.

"How many Frisks were there before you? How many times did you reincarnate? Did Chara-Wraith really collect the souls of other Frisk incarnations? They hadn't collected the previous Genocide Frisk's soul. But why the sudden change to a Pacifist Frisk without explanation if it WAS the same soul?"

But mostly...

"Why so many resets?"

I had used the Save Marker as a Homing Beacon. It auto-programmed the Time Circuits to arrive at that point, outside of New Home.

As soon as I had landed in the Underground again...I sent the Time Machine back to the X-Vault. The only way back now was if I went crawling back to S.T.C. and requested the techs beam me out of there.

Kommand had gone silent. I had no more lifelines. Nothing but my own immortality to fall back on.

"Why did it come to this?"

I was ready to make the Underground...and perhaps the surface world my new home. The True Pacifist ending awaited.

I went back inside New Home. I should have taken a load off. I should have cleared my head. Wow. Getting pretty self-absorbed, Volt.

Just one more sentence starting with "I" and you could safely consider your ego out of control. Think about the bigger picture.

I headed for the basement...and noticed the locks on the chain had been undone. That meant...

"Oh crap...when did Frisk get here?"

Frisk had a headstart. And I let it happen. If I had never returned to Miranda City and confirmed I was forgotten and thrown away like trash...I could have been here ahead of them.

I couldn't leave it up to chance. If Madam Fate tampered with the plan somehow, this Pacifist Ending chould somehow be aborted. It was just the kind of thing she'd do for her own amusement. Not for any grand purpose of reason that mortals understood. No. It was pretty much the same as why Lord Beerus destroyed entire worlds on a whim. That's what Gods of Destruction do. There's no logic to be found, no wisdom to behold; and no reason it had to happen.

"Frisk, damn it! Don't you dare do something stupid! Asgore, don't you dare strike them down or let them strike you down!"

I wasn't expecting any calls from the other Boss Monsters. Should I have? No...this would happen only after the reload and afte Frisk visited the True Lab...and got that strange message from.......someone before the Elevator made its last stop.

Dashing down the corridors drew serious wind; that is it would easily mean being out of breath by the time the doors opened up into the path to the Judgement Hall. I paid no attention to the monsters who were telling Asriel's tale. If anything, their story was making things worse.

It was like getting salted rubbed in the wound.

The paths up and down and around the walkways and towers of the Castle finally led to that one place. Every time I'd come down this way, it would be empty.

Just my luck. Now was the first time it wouldn't be. For there he was...in my way.

Sub-Entry 293: "The Judgement Hall":
Sans.

After all the times I came through here...there he was.

"So--"

"You know. It was a fun ride."

"Don't tell me you're giving up--"

"Shhh. I'm talking here. We'll get to that soon enough. Why don't you get comfy...or don't."

"Sans. The human--"

"...will be fine on their own. But uh...that issue that you're implying will be addressed. They've certainly had their fun. Playing around with this world like a big sandbox...meeting and greeing...sometimes defeating us."

Okay. He was definitely hinting at the other timelines...that last crack was most assuredly about the genocide runs.

"So you're just going to stand here and--" THen it hit me what he said.

"...You've already judged them. Then went ahead to Asgore."

"Hey, give the wolf a prize."

"Must you be a jokester about everything?"

"It takes practically no effort to make a joke about the world. And hey, no one spares effort as much as me."

"Well if that's the case, I'll be on my way--"

"No. I don't think you will."

"Excuse me?"

"What, you fart or something?"

"Hilarous."

"Let's cut the crap. I appreciate that you kept the old lady behind the door happy and you certainly put Paps in good spirits. And while you did fight Undyne, you did at least save that armless kid so. And then there's the Royal Scientist. On top of that you cheered up the King so. I guess you didn't gain any LV."

"Am I being judged?"

"Call it what you will."

"I've met the requirements for--"

"Hold on a minute. You have, however been putting on quite an act. Got a lot of people wrapped around your finger."

"Now hold on--!"

"Hold onto what? There's nothing in this hall to grab."

"Sans..."

"Getting to the point." Sans finally stopped with the jokes. "How should I approach a time-traveller?"

Ohhhh. Smart skelly.

"I didn't come here to cause trouble."

"And yet so much trouble has gone on around here."

"Hey. If I hadn't intervened, we'd be down a Royal Scientist, and I'm pretty sure the a lot of boss monsters--your brother included--would be dust right about now and Chara would...!"

"Yeah, let's talk about the brat. She seems to be missing. Word is...you took her off world and disposed of her. What a pal, huh?"

"Sans, I know you're not being vindictive. Do you really carry that much of a grudge for them?"

"After so many timelines dealing with her...him...them...it's hard not to care anymore."

I narrowed my eyes.

"What do you want from me, Sans? I'm an over-glorified librarian for an agency, trying to do the right thing, despite them being content with me watching grass all day and erasing the night a senator got caught with lipstick on his collar; and it wasn't his wife's."

"But you have been abusing the timeline just as much as the kid. For selfish reasons, right?"

"You don't know what you're talking about--"

"How's the little goat?"

"!!!"

"And before you answer, I'm not going to accept that you did this all for him. Maybe you did and maybe you didn't. You still took someone out of his timeline and left everyone else to die. That's kind of a dick move.

Still...who'd thought that you've been caring for the Prince of All Monsters all this time?"

"Did you learn about this from Gaster? You know you're a real soft spot wound for him. I wonder if he's the same for you?

"Wrong thing to say."

"So. What. You going to lecture me on how I shouldn't try to save anyone if I can't save everyone? I think you have me confused for a god.  I have limits.  I acted within the boundaries of what I could do given a timeline that was coming to an end.  I.  Saved.  SOMEONE."

"Maybe you shouldn't have saved anyone."

"WHAT?"

"I did say maybe. It would have been a choice. You could have made it."

"You've been talking to the other Sanses in the other timelines...and I'm not even sure how you did it."

What he implied about not saving anyone...this stunk of Geno Sans' timeline. Was he really prepared to conclude that there was no better way to save Papyrus than by letting it all come to an end? Finally putting an end to the resets? No. I wasn't about to hear this crap!

"Timelines shifting to the left...and to the right. ANd then all of a sudden it all just comes to an end."

"Don't. Just don't." I pointed at him. "Don't you dare say this is my fault."

"No. But you're still an anomaly. You still don't belong on this world."

"So this is your reasoning for distrusting me? Because I'm a time-traveller who saved a child's life and raised him somewhere else?  I'm here on the authority of an organization that's been established for a lot longer than you can fathom.  On whose authority do you think you can pass judgement on me?"

"You. The weed. And the kid have things to answer for."

I wrinkled my snoot. "You were never kidding when you said they'd be dead where they stand.  What a friend you've been to the eighth fallen child."

Sans closed his eye sockets. "Now that hurts. Really, it does."

"What about you, Sans? What do you have to answer for? Who made you judge, jury, an executioner?"

"We gotta accept the roles we were given. Otherwise we'll just break the game, won't we?"

"You had the gall to say I didn't save everybody. Yet, where were you all those times that Chara-Wraith had the kid kill the keeper of the ruins...or Undyne...or even Papyrus. Wasn't it in YOUR power to stop them?"

Sans opened his eye sockets. They were completely empty; the tiny light dot pupils unable to be found. It was creepy as Hell.

"What I've done or failed to do isn't up for debate."

"We both feel our sins crawling up our backs, don't we? How sickening. A sinner judging a sinner and vice-versa."

I was filling with rage over this.

"You're making a mistake. You know the rules of a Pacifist Run. Chara broke those rules. Are you going to do the same?"

"Whose rules are you breaking, time-traveller?"

"We're just going to keep turning this around on each other until someone concedes, aren't we?"

I narrowed my eyes.

"If this were a genocide timeline, what you're trying to provoke me into would leave you too tired out to face Chara. Speaking of...she had things to say about the time she escaped the King's Castle and when she snuck aboard the Delorean. I don't even have to ask how your battle went."

Sans continued to stare holes in me with his non-existent eyes.

"So where does this leave us? You know how the script goes from seeing the other timelines. You know that--"

"That's where your wrong. No one's going to show. It's going to be the kid and Asgore. One dies the other goes on. They're not going to show up until the kid loads their save data after crossing the barrier. They'll try to get a better ending out of it and jump start Undyne and Alphys' dating."

"That always bugged me about you, Sans. How not just self-aware but super-aware you are. You know exactly what this world is."

"Won't deny it."

"Sans...do you know how many times the "brat" as you call her has been reincarnated throughout the timelines of this AU? How many times the prince has been recycled into it. How many times you and everyone else have just been copied into and randomized to almost unnoticeable degrees every time the world is recreated around you?"

Was I really making excuses for Chara? For Asriel?

"I could give you an estimation if I felt like it."

"That doesn't count for something?"

"They'll have their day. Somehow they'll have their day."

"I'm not about to let you get in the way of my job, Sans."

"It seems to have escaped you that I'm a sentry. I have a job to do, too."

"We're really doing this?"

Sans opened his eyes a second time. There was the blue glow in the left socket--!

Then I felt i in the core of my being as I saw a large blue heart over my chest..and then I felt myself being tossed and thrown in every direction with each wave of Sans' arm.

I was taken by surprise but I was quick enough to react to the walls, floor, and ceiling of bone-spikes before unceremoniously lifted up and telekinetically dragged through a tunnel of bones all around me. Immediately afterward I heard the unmistakeable sound of Gaster Blasters charging up. I got to dodging like a mad-man, narrowly escaping massive shafts of plasma lasers in FOURS.

I dropped to the floor in an ugly belly-flop splash.

A groan and I looked up.

"So that's how it is, is it?"

"The fact is, buddy...I just don't like you meddling around in our world. So with all due respect...you're just not welcome here."

Sub-Entry 294: "Volt Arcade vs. Sans the Skeleton":
"The secret life of Comic Sans." I sneered. "What Papyrus doesn't know doesn't hurt him, does it?"

"Low blows don't help your case."

"I'd tell you not to do this, but you won't stop, will you? Why don't you tell me what position you REALLY hold in Asgore's ranks?"

"Clever, aren't you?" Sans stood directly over me.

"Just being here in the time stream, trying to get you your happy ending bugs you that much?"

"You say that but I don't really have any motivation to let you prove it. It's easier to just eliminate you and remove all the complications from this timeline."

"You're really willing to bet removing me will improve your chances to make it out. You gave up on trying to go back. And going to the surface just doesn't appeal to you any more, does it?"

I narrowed my eyes.

"Even if you do...you'll just end up right back here without any memory of it. Or that's the case for everyone else. But you're different. You remember. You remember everything. Does it come to you in nightmares or is it in your conscious memory?"

"Wow. YOu've been here before, haven't you? Funny...I'd think even with the resets, I'd remember you being here. Which leads me to believe...you've seen the other Sanses. You've been to the other universes."

"Just the one that started it all."

"Well. That's enough for me." Sans closed his eye sockets. "Your journey ends here--"

In that moment, while he wasn't paying attention. I winged what dropped out of my sleeve into my hand. It burst in mid-air releasing an oily compound that completely covered him. How's that for an "Ink Sans"?

"Jeeze, guy. I appreciate a practical joke as much as the next comedian, but I don't think that action is going to save you here. You also ruined my hoodie parka. If that was your idea of a first attack, it's not very impressive."

"But it got the job done. That compound is pretty hard to clean out on the fly. But I guess it's what's mixed in that's the real danger. Ask yourself...how many iron filings went into mixing that compound?"

"Huh...?"

"Do you think the mixture is enough to make a skeleton...very ferro-magnetic?"

"!!!"

"My turn."

I suddenly cranked up my magnetism and yanked Sans off his slipper-wearing feet and hurled him into the very wall he tried to smash me into. I could see his eye light up and I felt an opposing force try to cancel my magnesis. He just barely saved himself from a hard impact, as I suddenly reversed direction and slammed him again and again toward the ceiling, floor, and walls. Each time he managed to repulse his momentum before impact. Just the same as I had done with my soul.

After the last attempt, I tried to hold him still but in that moment he teleported to a different spot. The ferro-kinetic coating made it easy to sense where he'd reappear.

"Wow. I didn't peg your for the revenge-seeking type."

"You're not the only one who can't afford not to care. Whether or not I have a home to get back to, I made a vow to keep the prince alive and well. But most of all I intend to make sure he has a home to come back to some day. And that means getting you all to the surface."

"I want to believe it. Really I do. But talk is cheap. And you've kinda pissed me off."

The Gaster Blasters came out again.

I retaliated with the XBTOCLC's. My shots met air as he teleported out of the way. I wasn't a teleporter so I had to use different method.

"What? Did you really think--"

"That you were going to just stand there and take it? No. I'm not that naive. But you're not dealing with a human child armed with the Real Knife."

"You keep trying to convince me you're here for everyone's benefit."

"I never put it like that. I'm here to try to keep things the way they were meant to be. Chara's interference--" I started as I blasted the bone attacks out of the way. As much as I was fighting back I had no intention of turning Sans to dust. Even if he was pushing me to think he deserved it. But he didn't. I just couldn't get through to him. I guess for experts on time and space...we were just never going to understand each other any time soon.

"I won't deny they screwed things up for everybody. But you interfering...poking the demon brat. Have you really done the right thing? Have you really made things better?"

"What do you want from me, Sans? I did the best I could!"

I dodged the walls of bones and dove through the gaps in them. If I was having this much trouble playing keep-away from the bones and the blasters, how did Frisk manage it in the Genocide runs?

"How much did it torture you to fake it, eating Paps' spaghetti?"

"You mean like the human did?"

"Again...I appreciate that you humored Paps and kept him cheered up and all. I'm glad you spared Undyne and kept Alphys out of trouble. You were even there for the King."

Sans didn't mention Toriel. He still hadn't met her (face to face). That was still on track.

"Let's face it. Your mission is a failure. You didn't save the kid's life. You stole it."

His words echoed of Hideo Kuze. Was I really reflexively making a comparison to Ghost in the Shell at this point?

"Tell me, Sans. Did Asgore do his own dirty work...it did he delegate the harvest of human souls to someone else?"

"That's a serious accusation."

"They'd be dead where they stand, comedian?"

The bones were hard to dodge by this point, and I was most certainly in a handicap match; I couldn't score a direct hit on Sans or he'd be dust. I wasn't about to ruin this Pacifist Run. Frisk had come so far and I wasn't about to take that away from them or the Monsters.

By this time it was becoming a war of twisting time and space. It almost seemed like Sans was chopping up time itself; putting me in between his different patterns...almost like a Wario Ware game.

I was also getting severely pissed off. Both of us were running out of time. I estimated that within a span of 10 minutes or so, Sans would be tiring out. It was hard enough to pull my punches. It would become all to easy to land a death blow on him if this went in a bad direction. I wonder how long he could keep "Skele-porting".

"You've done many things that I don't agree to. But you know what the thing is that I can't afford to let slide most?"

"Enlighten me." I seethed.

"You reek of...him."

Gaster?

"So you and W. D. Gaster do have history. What's the connection, Sans? What's the official canon?"

"Uh-uh-uh. You don't get spoilers."

So the feeling was mutual. No one was going to answer the mystery of the previous Royal Scientist.

"What gets my goat is that you found the prince in his company."

"So what?" I was grinding my teeth and fangs.

"Buddy chum pal friend buddy pal chum bud friend fella brother amigo pal buddy friend chummy chum chum pal--"

"Skip whichever Sans you're channeling and get to the point." I roared as I plastered the field around him with lightning bolts. "But I'm warning you. I'm really trying to keep Papyrus from becoming and only brother. You push me and you're not gonna like what happens next."

"You like turning things around on people, don't you?" By this point Sans was blinking us both out of time and space and right back into it at different points. It was like he was loading save states all throughout the battle and putting me in attack barrages that didn't or shouldn't exist.

"For all your hatred for Gaster...you should hate yourself for how much you're acting like him."

"That's not funny." Sans glowered as I electro-morphed and spiraled around a Gaster Blaster laser.

"If it's not true, why are you trying so hard to extinguish the last hope to give Monsters a happy ending? Do you think Monsters DESERVE to be stuck in this prison? You may not care about going to the surface, but for you to steal that dream away from everyone else? You're no better that W. D. Gaster!"

"This isn't about Gaster. This is about you, the Brat, and the Flower."

"You certainly caused Flowey his fair share of resets. How much do you know about--"

"If I had known the weed was the prince all along...if I had known he'd been with Gaster all that time? Well...I guess I'd have to make sure they both got dunked on--"

At that my temper soared into the stratosphere and I snapped.

"YOU LAY A BONE ON HIM AND I'LL--!!!"

There was the sound of a deafening thunderclap as I nearly ignited the air itself and electromorphed like I had never done before.

"!!!!!!"

Sans was completely caught off guard.

FIrst I saw white...then I saw red.

I landed and whirled. Sans dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. This had never happened before. What had I done?

Sub-Entry 295: "The Final Meeting with Asgore":
"Sans...stop this. I don't want to fight but I can't make it any clearer than I have if you still press this."

Sans was still stunned by the hair-line slice across the jowel of his skull. Red peeked out from it.

My scanner glass was reading 0.9 HP. I had done a tenth of a point of damage to him.

"The Prince...Asriel...my Asriel...he never became the weed.  I can't believe you'd murder an innocent monster...just because he was in the same vicinity as the former Royal Scientist you hate so much.  You may despise Gaster...but leave Asriel out of it.  I don't know how you found out about this...whether it came from Gaster or an outside source...but you need to step off.  Right now."

Sans sighed.

"You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

"If you don't move you're going to end up failing Asgore as a sentry and...well, whatever real purpose you serve here. Whatever you've hidden from Papyrus."

"It wouldn't be the first time Fluffybuns has been dusted. If this has been going on as many times as I think it has...the resets and the erases and the in-betweens..."

"Sans, don't. I have a chance, a real chance to find a way to stop the resets and make all this last. I want a place for the kid to return to. Once both he and this world have had time to mature...for humans and monsters to grow used to each other. For the ways of the old to be brushed away for new thinking."

I admitted. It wasn't as cut and dry as I made it sound. There could still be consequences. There would likely be bumps in the road. Things like...addressing all the children Asgore had murdered to get their souls. If equality was possible between two races that had gone to war in the past. What issues would they have integrating into society?

"Determined, aren't you? You and the kid have that in common."

"Sans if we keep fighting, I can keep going on. I might tire out too, but you've seen this." I pointed to where the bone had pierced through me, now healed up.

"I can go on forever but sooner or later, no matter how much I keep the kid gloves on...that one HP of yours is just going to drop to zero. I can't do that to Papyrus. I can't take you away from him."

"Huh. Sounds like I should have trusted you in the first place. But...it's too late for that, I guess."

"Sans. Get some healing. Put some trust in the kid. And maybe me."

"THe kid earned the benefit of the doubt."

"And yet you're still afraid they'll reset."

"I hate promises. So I'm not going to make you promise to stop the kid from doing the deed."

"Look. They're so close to the ending. They've probably been in battle with Asgore for a while now. I have to be there to make sure nothing unexpected goes wrong. I have to make sure they reload and get to the happy ending that you all deserve."

"No promises. I have one too many as it is."

"I'll do what I can." By now my confidence was shakey. Even though I had no danger of dying, Sans, really took me to school. It was the sloppiest battle I'd ever fought.

I turned and charged through the door into Asgore's throne room. Nobody here. They'd already gone ahead to the barrier.

I rushed through the doorway and down the hall.

One last doorway...and there I was. In that endless hallway of strange, pulsing white light.

I heard Asgore's trident clatter to the ground as he took a knee. He was wounded but not fatally.

There was Frisk. In that brief instant, they tossed asside the stick.

I saw the H.U.D. come up...the MERCY button was...fractured. The pieces of when it had been shattered by Asgore were barely sticking together. This was Frisk's mercy.

"I remember the day after my son died. The entire underground was devoid of hope. The future had once again been taken from us by the humans. In a fit of anger, I declared war. I said that I would destroy any human that came here. would use their souls to become godlike... ...and free us from this terrible prison. Then, I would destroy humanity... And let monsters rule the surface, in peace.

Soon, the people's hopes returned. My wife, however, became disgusted with my actions. She left this place, never to be seen again. Truthfully... I do not want power. I do not want to hurt anyone. I just wanted everyone to have hope...

I cannot take this any longer. I just want to see my wife. I just want to see my child. Please... Young one... This war has gone on long enough. You have the power... Take my soul, and leave this cursed place."

Frisk pressed down on the SPARE button.

"After everything I have done to hurt you... You would rather stay down here and suffer... Than live happily on the surface? Human... I promise you... For as long as you remain here... My wife and I will take care of you as best we can. We can sit in the living room, telling stories... Eating butterscotch pie... We could be like... Like a family..."

I breathed a sigh of relief...but then he said started speaking again and I felt the situation start to fall apart.

"No. That's just a fantasy, isn't it? Young one, when I look at you... I'm reminded of the human that fell here long ago... You have the same feeling of hope in your eyes. There is an ancient prophecy among our people... One day, a savior will come from the heavens. ...I believe the one that was prophesied was you. Somewhere in the world outside... There must be a way to free us from our prison. It pains me to give you this responsibility, but... Please. Take my soul... and seek the truth. Ha... ha... I'm sorry... I couldn't give you a simple, happy ending... But I believe your freedom... ...is what my son... ...what ASRIEL would have wanted."

No. This wasn't right. This shouldn't be happening. Something was wrong. Something's changed. Was this because of Chara? Was this MY fault? I have to--

Asgore looked up and saw me standing in the entrance. Frisk noticed me as well.

"Doctor...I--"

Suddenly I felt a presence.

Then I saw the ring of Friendliness Pellets.

"No!"

This was necessary for the Neutral Ending to run its course and lead into the True Pacifist Ending. But something wasn't right.

The pellets encircled Asgore's throat...then collapsed inward. My eyes widened as the fatal blow was struck.

I heard the dreaded sound. I watched the unknown breeze blow through. Asgore's form dissoved away into dust which fell to the floor.

A single upside-down, white heart lingered behind in front of Frisk moments before a final Friendliness Pellet appeared...and pierced it.

Meanwhile...far, far away in Home, in the Ruins...

"...Tch!" Toriel covered her heart.

Tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Asgore..."

Back at the Barrier...

Sub-Entry 296: "The King Is Dead. Long Live the Prince of this World's Future":
I stood aghast as Asgore was now a pile of dust. I knew it was coming but it just didn't set it that it had to be this way. I respected him. I cared about him. I felt like I should have intervined...but I didn't. It was opposite of what I had done with Asriel. I knew I shouldn't have intervined...but I did. This time I knew not to intervine.......and I didn't.

"Flow--" I started.

But then something happened that wasn't supposed to. The mass of a barbed, spikey vine streaked toward me...and missed?

No. It didn't miss. It struck--

"FRISK!" I cried out as the child was smashed against the wall several times before being thrown out the door.

This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't supposed to happen!

"No!"

I gaped in horror.

"I don't understand...! Why--"

"You IDIOT!"

"Flowey...!" I whirled.

I was an idiot. All this time. I convinced myself that Chara was the the threat...no...my mistake was convincing myself Chara was the ONLY threat. I had left my guard down to the weed all this time.

Yet...that wasn't what made my mistake bad. I forgot...this vessel. This wretched, souless vessel. It carried the memories of Asriel and was injected with large doses of Determination. Enough that could have influence over time and space.

"That's right. It's me. Flowey the Flower."

"But...! The--"

I should understand. I should realize what he had been pounding into me all along. He had no soul. He had no regret. He felt himself above the consequences. Yet...I was stunned...completely catatonic down to my core as the realization had set in that he murdered his own father.

"You really don't get it. I've been doing this dance for so long. I take the souls, I unload Hell on Earth, I watch the human die and die and die again. I save over their death. And somehow...I end up losing. I get spared. I run away. I contact the human outside of their perfect little life outside the barrier, and get them to reload and come back."

"Flowey..."

"I convince them to cheer up Alphys--something you tried to do but obviously it didn't work out, did it?"

He was speaking of something that shouldn't have been put into motion yet. Worse...what he said before...maybe it was just the Determination that was making him meta-aware but...could it be he was acknowledging the reincarnations...? No. It couldn't be that. This Flowey resulted from a new Asriel. Not the one I saved. Yet...I still didn't understand why my Asriel didn't remember the times he must've been reincarnated like Chara had.

But that was of little consequence now. It hit me hard, realizing an undeniable fact.

"..."

I screwed up.

"The funny thing is that it all could have worked out sooner if I wanted it to. If I had only told Papyrus to bring everyone together, then the human wouldn't even NEED to reload. We could just get right down to the stealing of the Human Souls and every Monster Soul in the kingdom. The one chance to ascend to a god."

"But why would you throw away that chance?"

"Because. Something else has been bugging me."

"...what...would that be?"

"You. Every time I followed them...you were there watching. Talking about how you care. Only one person ever truly cared about me. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

"..."

"What's you're deal? What's your obsession with me? You don't know me."

"But..."

"He was right about it all. I'm not even the original, am I? No. I was just a substitute for this endless game that keeps being restarted over and over. But you...you know what happened to the last one, don't you? That's what the Wraith went after you for?"

Things were going from bad to worse. Things were falling apart faster and faster.

This Flowey. He KNEW about the endless resets and reincarnations. The times that one of the major souls couldn't be salvaged and recycled...the Goddesses simply replaced them. But the previous Chara...the one in the Soul Society refused to let their role end. They pushed aside the new Chara soul in the pipeline to get to an Asriel...any Asriel. Flowey knew I rescued his predecessor. He knew Chara...the one he only thought was his own...followed me to my home world........and never came back.

This Flowey/Asriel was completely aware of what was apparently stripped from my Asriel's memory. My Asriel honestly thought that what happened to him happened for the first and only time. That was the nature of the Unstable Timeline at work. That was Lady Destiny and Madam Fate's rewrite of the rules.

But that wasn't what was on my mind. I was beating myself up for what I had overlooked.

I focused entirely on Chara-Wraith...that I was completely distracted from the most obvious of threats. Mabye...it was because I didn't want to remember him. Maybe...I was too convinced to focus on Asriel as a completely different person than Flowey that I denied they were one and the same...at least they should have been until a single fluke prevented that from happening. A complete fluke in a doomed Genocide Timeline. A fluke that if I hadn't intervined...would be as if it had never happened at all. Everyone including Asriel would be gone and the timeline would restart in another configuration with unstable variations.

"But I know what you did. He told me what you did. You're the reason. You're the reason Chara is gone, isn't it?!"

Flowey said 'he'. This was making it well beyond obvious that my efforts had been sabotaged. Someone undid everything. Someone was interacting with key people--Flowey especially--behind my back. Someone wanted me to fail. Someone...succceeded at doing just that. If I weren't so absolutely in shock at that moment it would have occured to me just who could do such a thing.

Flowey was supposed to mistake Frisk for Chara. It was all for nothing. I had no chance. What did I even accomplish?

"Please...I--"

"I'll never forgive you. But I won't kill you. No. The brat out there can wait their turn. I think I found someone better to play with..."

That was when the six souls rose from their shattered containers and joined with Flowey.

The laughter. The unholy laughter.

Everything went black--

CRYPTOSMASHER ERROR.

LOGGING MALFUNCTION...

TEMPORAL ANOMALY.....

I found myself in the Ruins when might sight and hearing came back. But it was so dark an empty-- SOmething was wonky about it. Maybe it was the [LOAD] "screen" before me. But...where was Frisk? They should be at this "screen", not me.

A massive impact reverberated through the area. Then again...and again. And I saw...reality seem to crack...and shatter as the message [LOAD FAILED] quickly tore itself apart as I was confronted by a giant Flowey hovering before me.

Sub-Entry 297: "Omega Flowey":
"Well. We've certainly dragged this out long enough. So why don't we just get to it. I'm sure you know this by heart now...hee hee... *ahem*

Howdy! It's me, FLOWEY. FLOWEY the FLOWER! I owe you a HUGE thanks. The kid really did a number on that old fool. But you distracted them both with your arrival that they never saw it coming. Without you, I NEVER could have gotten past him. But now, with YOUR help... He's DEAD. And I'VE got the human SOULS!"

"But...he was your--" I started. Flowey cut in before I could practically drive it home that I knew who he really was.

That image was covered with micro-glitches. The area was unstable. I could see...code and...arcs of pure time and pure space within Flowey's flickering...image?

"Boy! I've been empty for so long... It feels great to have a SOUL inside me again. Mmmm, I can feel them wriggling... Awww, you're feeling left out, aren't you? Well, that's just perfect. After all, I only have six souls. I still need one more... Before I become GOD. And then, with my newfound powers... Monsters. Humans. Everyone. I'll show them all the REAL meaning of this world."

The whole thing about passing up the last human soul. It was a lie. He didn't want Frisk's soul...he wanted mine, now.

"Golly, if only you had a SAVE FILE you could run away to... But you were just too STUPID to make one! But don't worry. Your old friend FLOWEY... Has worked out a replacement for you! I'll SAVE over your own death. So you can watch me tear you to bloody pieces... Over, and over, and over..."

I tried to speak but--

"...what? Do you really think you can stop ME? Hee hee hee... You really ARE an idiot."

This feeling. What was this feeling?

I was...afraid. I was afraid to confront him. I knew who he was. Who he really was.

My best friend had betrayed and abandoned me. I was hurt. I was alone. I was scared. I was completely wired. As much angst as I felt...I had vented it with my fight with Sans. But more than that......I came to the realization....

I couldn't raise a hand to him. I couldn't face my best nightmare. Whether Asriel or Omega Flowey......I couldn't bring myself to fight back.

From the depths of the darkness he slowly lowered down from above. Huuuuge, spike-covered, cactus-y arms with red, clawed finger-spears. Two, enormous masses of what appeared to be continuously growing vines--each as big around and more spike-covered than his "arms"--poured out of a leafy mass underneath the main...er...head?

A fleshy...face which resembled Gyfftrot's...or the DT Extraction machine sit directly above the cushion of leaves; a bulbous bloodshot eye in each socket. The nostrils were pushed up well above the eyeline. But it was the jaws that were most disturbing. They weren't like a normal beast's. No. They were turned 90 degrees so that each set of jaws was like a set of pruning shears...but far more toothy and saliva-dripping.

The pattern of...metal, flexible hoses encircled the main head in a six-petal...vaguely flower shape. A second pair of eyes filled the outer-most hoses. The lowest set of hoses fed into the side of each jaw. The last pair of hoses, forming the top petals, fed into the main head--a classic-looking CRT-type television set. And from the whole mass, a spaghetti maze of veins, tendrils, hoses, pipes, and bio-matter poured out of it and into the ceiling somewhere above.

The screen turned white and on it I saw Flowey's face...at least it started as Flowey's face until the mouth widened to impossibly large and toothy. Then the eyes...split open and a bulbous, red orb popped out of each one. The whole creature looked like a science project gone wrong and then gone completely to the tenth level of Hell.

With a loud, and disturbing laugh, he deafened me.

I had a price to pay. It was time to pay what I owe. There was only one course of action...

Sub-Entry 298: "Volt Surrendered to Fate. But Fate Would Not Allow a Game Over":
I spread my arms out and closed my eyes.

"What's this? You really think sparing me is going to work. Aww...I guess I should take pity on you..."

And then I found myself riddled with X-shaped bullets from the lower eyes followed by maniacal laughter.

"...You really are a special kind of idiot!"

And then triple waves of X-shots from the upper eyes.

I couldn't count how many times they struck me. There was searing pain. I spasmed from the impacts.

"Urgh..." I staggered, the breath knocked out of me.

"Flow...ey....!"

As my vision cleared I saw the red targeting lines. Then I felt the scores and scores of vines pierce. Repeatedly.

I felt wet and looked down to see the holes and the blood. I gasped for breath as I staggered back.

I saw it to the left...and I saw it to the right. I felt only a brief moment of something warm incoming...

Then I felt myself ignite.

My scream echoed through the room. Eventually the flamethrowers shut off and the flames died down. Oh gods...oh gods, no...

I had been stumbling backward. I blinked and I saw the energy buildup in the second head. Then the resulting beam flooded the room and blinded my vision...everything kinda blinked out of existence for a moment.

I was too out of it to look how badly my body was torn up from just this much.

It didn't matter though. As soon as my eyes opened...the Friendliness Pellets encircled me.

"You...and the old goat...with the same murder weapon."

And then I felt it pierce into my throat--

CRYPTOSMASHER OFFLINE

LOGGING INTERRUPTED

LIFE SIGNS NOT DETECTED...

LIFE SIGNS DETECTED

LOGGING RESUMING

"Ugh..."

"Well, well...it seems you don't NEED a save file. This is verrrrry interesting. I guess our game won't have to end so soon! If you can do that...then this can go on forever and ever and ever! Hee hee hee hee..."

"Flowey...no...don't...do this..."

My vision was blurry. As soon as I blinked everything seemed to go to black and I was seeing knives fly all around.

No. Toy knives.

I could hear a girl's voice in the distance. I couldn't make out what they were saying but I could see a cyan light around.

This was the soul that represented patience!

The souls! They were starting to resonate...they were starting to rebel. But...

I didn't have Frisk's...! I didn't have what our Asriel had gotten from the previous Frisk.

I thought the voice said  "I...can't find you......please......I'll keep searching......for as long as it takes..."

That was the Patience soul speaking to me!

The ACT button wasn't showing. She couldn't find my soul in all this darkness. I couldn't call out for help. Or...maybe I didn't...

Back to reality.

More of Flowey's barrage.

I faded out of consciousness again...this time...

"Gloves...?"

Tough gloves.

An orange glow. And a voice.

"Hey! Mister! What are you scared? C'mon, stop hiding and fight this guy! Show yourself so I can help you out!"

Bravery, now.

They couldn't see me or hear me. Was I even calling for help? No. I wasn't.

By now Flowey switched strategies.

By this time Flowey had started to ramp it up and added to his arsenal.

His "hands" started to mutate, growing Venus Flytraps. And then came the flies. Flies that swarmed me; their vomit threatening to digest me. Ewww. And OUCH! FREAKING OUCH! Acid really, really hurt!

I looked up.

"Oh come onnnnn..."

That was when I saw the bombs drop. LITERALLY. Bombs sporting Flowey's face.

Explosions. Pain beyond pain.

I then saw the plant stems with the finger-guns suddenly sprout up. On the ends of each were Flowey's image. And they all converged upon me like javelins.

As if that weren't enough...the Dentata rushed at me; cactus-like snakes with mouths. If they missed, they ricochetted off the wals and tried again.

When I conked out this time there were stars around. I didn't have time to stargaze because that was when the giant ballet shoes came down in a ballet "jette" to each side of me, one after the other.

"If you keep up this way, you won't last. You're not being very true to yourself! This isn't you, Mister! Please! Stop running from the truth!"

Integrity.

More attacks came to snap me out of that darkness. I was regenerating as fast as they were coming in but...for how long?

Which sent me spinning into the blackness yet again.

A purple haze among two giant books to the right and left of me. I was being bombarded by a plethera of negative words.

"Mister! You're backed into a corner! Why are you giving up? It doesn't make sense! This isn't the logical path! You gotta survive! You gotta think of a way out of this!"

Perserverence.

By this next round Flowey decided to turn up the "meta" factor and prove to me that this WAS a game. And that's when I felt time and space jump around me...and saw the brief image of the dreaded "File 2 Loaded". This happened every time one of his vines missed me.

When it reloaded I was reloaded directly in the path for a bulleye that never happened.

"Wha...what?!?"

He had multiple save files. If ever there was a greater cheater on this world...

Oh, Asriel...how did you become...this? This is what happened when I wasn't there to save you. So why did...why did both choices end so badly?

The blackness overtook me.

Green now. I was tumbling among frying pans. Frying pans that were spitting out fire. Heh...out of the frying pan and into the...yeah...you know...

I think by that point I was getting a little loopy.

"I don't want to see you hurting like this. Please...let me help you! Where are you?! Come out so I can heal you! I can feel your pain...it hurts! Let me stop the hurting!"

Kindness.

I was losing track of how much I was being bombarded. The grotesque form of this Photoshopped Nightmare was fading in and out. I was barely sure of where I was.

One more blink out of existence and...

"Oh...its this one..." I looked down the barrel of the gun moments before the boom.

"Tarnation! What in Sam Hill are you doin', par'ner? Git' up and show that ornry critter who's boss! You ain't gonna let that varmant get away with that, are ya?"

That could only be Justice.

But it did me no good. Six virues...and I was letting them slip by.

The real problem was...after all that happened...I had lost the one virtue I needed now more than anything.

However...I had made my choice. I was already taking action...by not taking action. By not acting at all.

This was my fate. This was my punishment. Is this what you wanted, Asriel? Does this make it right? Tell me when I've paid for betraying you...whatever it was I did......can't...think.....straight....

It was fading to black...

CRYPTOSMASHER OFFLINE

LIFE SIGNS NOT DETECTED

LOGGING INTERRUPTED...

*static*

Sub-Entry 299: "Why, Dr. Arcade?! Why Won't You Fight Back?!":
How many times now....has it been... Hundreds of death-and-revives? Thousands? I didn't know. I didn't care. All I could do was take my punishment. Over and over. I wasn't trying to commit suicide. I was...just...letting him win.

But with each death...Omega Flowey's excitement...his smugness...his enjoyment of the situation began to fade.

The badly digitized images of...what vaguely looked like a monochrome Game Boy Camera image of a human either laughing maniacally or having a siezure. stopped showing up and Flowey's bloodshot eye image stopped popping up as much...leaving his golden flower image to emote.

He started looking bored...then annoyed...then frustrated...then downright pissed.

"What are you doing?"

"..."

"Fight back!"

"..."

"Do something!"

"..."

"Are you really so stubborn that you won't fight me out of spite?! You're mocking me! You're--"

"No. That's not it."

"Why?! Why, Arcade?! Why are you DOING this?!?"

Omega Flowey tightened his vines around me and squeezed.

"WHY?! WHY WON'T YOU FIGHT BACK?!?"

"..."

"What has anyone ever accomplished by not fighting back?! What do you think you're going to prove--" Flowey stopped short.

"That's really a question...you once knew the answer to..." I looked up.

The memory was coming back.

I was using...that against him...not intentionally, mind you. It was just...how it was.

I had reminded him that a monster prince who had absorbed a human soul...who just needed six more to give monsters their freedom...wouldn't fight back when the humans murdered him out of fear.

But what I had really hit home with was that I had proved a point.

"You're figuring it out, aren't you? All that power... It's happened. You've become strong. Too strong. Being this strong is.......pretty boring, isn't it?"

Was I really quoting Saitama at a time like this?

"What?!"

"Where's the challenge? That's what you're really thinking."

"No, no, NO, NO, NOOO!"

"All those times...you begged "Chara" to let you win. Well. You're winning. What else is left?"

"I won't win until you're dead! Why won't you DIE?!?"

"It's because...that's the one thing I can't do...as much as I want to at this point...I'm so sorry.......Asriel."

Flowey just stopped for a moment.

The flower image on screen suddenly drooped, hanging its head. I was breaking the "game". This was way outside of his comfort zone.

"No. I'm not him. I'm NOT. What you're talking to is the husk of someone that's already died. I'm Flowey! I'M FLOWEY! I'M JUST A BALL OF MEMORIES WITH NO SOUL!"

"You need help. You need--"

"I don't WANT help!" Flowey raged.

"You already have him. Why are you reaching out to me?! What, are you trying to save every "him" in existence? Am I just one more to add to a collection? You're a freak!"

"..."

That wasn't it. It wasn't. You've got to believe me, Flowey. That's...not true... That's...not.......

"I'm sorry, Asriel. I did everything wrong in the end...all of my good intentions...they backfired drastically. That's why...that's why I'm letting you take your revenge on me. In the end...I'm a coward. I've lost my way. Just like you have."

"I'm nothing like you."

"Yeah...the fact is...you were better than me. When you were still him...you were always better than me."

"Gaaah....stop being so sickening."

"I get it. I'll never be Chara."

"How dare you speak her name...how dare you! You don't know her! She was the only one who knew me! And you...you...you made her go away!"

"I did. And...I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that! I don't forgive you! I hate you! You're ruining everything!"

"It wouldn't be the first time..."

I stood there, limply. My clothing was having trouble completely reintegrating. Everything Omega Flowey put me through started to erode the regeneration image stored in the Bracer. While the Contracts of the Sisters--the Genie's Lamp and Pandora's Box--wouldn't let me die...it had its limits to respawning anything that wasn't part of me; clothing and equipment. Which, the bracer, extended to my being. The deaths were starting to erode its residual memory of my attire's last intact image of its entire molecular structure. Heh...so this is what it's like to be Son Goku after a battle that finally cashes in his training gi...? What an inappropriate thing to cross my mind at that moment.

"Then I guess we'll just repeat this over and over until you break! Until you give up!"

"Flowey...don't do it. You've already abused the timeline enough...if you keep pushing it, you're going to--"

"Shut up! I'll show you."

I shakily stood my ground.

"I'll just use every save file in my possession to--"

And that was when Flowey got the ERROR message.

"What? How'd you...? Well, I'll just...Wh... Where are my powers!? The souls...? What are they doing?"

I looked up and saw the souls tear free from Omega Flowey's body.

"N-no! No, stop! Don't...! I can get through to him! I can--"

With that...the souls rebelled.

"NO!! NO!!!!! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO OBEY ME!! STOP!!! STOP IT!!!!! STOOOOPPPP!!!!!

The destruction. The carnage. This time it wasn't my own.

I begged the souls to stop. I tried to convince them that I was in no danger. I pleaded to listen to me. Despite everything...I wanted to protect Flowey...Asriel...but...

This was the end.

Sub-Entry: 300: "Flowey Defeated/Frisk's Choice"
Quiet. So quiet. And ominous.

There was the weed. It hung like it had wilted. Flowey was in bad shape. Bleeding...something. Liquid determination? Without the six souls, everything...even the barrier became so colorless.

"..."

Omega Flowey was nowhere to be found.

But regular Flowey...

There he was. Looking wilted...and torn up...

I approached.

I tried to comfort.

"... What are you doing? Do you really think I've learned anything from this? No."

I refused to lay a hand on him let alone hurt him.

"Sparing me won't change anything. Killing me is the only way to end this."

I shook my head.

"If you let me live... I'll come back. I'll kill you."

"You know that isn't true. You know I can't die."

"Just end me, Arcade!"

There was a thick...black...something coming from his mouth. It wasn't blood. It looked like...could it be...? Was this......spent Determination? Was it Determination that had gone inert?

"..."

I refused.

"...?"

I wouldn't do it.

"... why?"

A tear rolled down my furry face.

"... why are you being... so nice to me?"

"Because despite it all...it's still you. You're still Asriel. Even if you don't know it...I will always want to be your best friend." I said, voice breaking.

After all that...once again Flowey was confined by the rules of the "game". Once again...he was following the "script". This was one of the parts of the stable timelines I had seen and heard so many times I could anticipate every word in my head at the exact moment it was said, in the exact same rhythem, in the exact same tone, in the exact same level of volume.

"I can't understand. I can't understand! I just can't understand..."

Flowey ran away. I didn't quite understand how that worked since Flowey had no feet or legs. No means of propellng himself. But...really...was that....a detail to be focusing on at that moment.

"Flowey! Asriel! Please! Come back! Don't.......don't....leave me....again..."

I hung my head.

I heard a noise behind me.

"Hmm?"

I turned. "Oh! Frisk! You're here! Thank goodness you're alright. The souls are going to open the way forth. You can do it! You can go home--"

That's when I noticed...

"Frisk?"

To my horror...I suddenly realized what they were doing.

"Frisk, NO!" I strugged to stand back up from where I had knelt down to tend to Flowey.

"No! No! No, Frisk! You can't do THAT!"

I could see it plain as day. That was the H.U.D. And that was the [RESET]!

"Frisk, please! You can't take those memories away! We came so far! If it's about Asgore, we can bring him back! You know this! You know all you have to do is reload!"

I stumbled and tried to run toward them.

"FRISK! FRIIIIIISK!"

They looked up at me with sad eyes.

"I don't want to let go! I don't want to lose their friendships! Why would you?! Why would you take their hopes and dreams?!  You haven't even finished this run yet and you're just going to throw it away?!"

Frisk started crying.

And then...they spoke.

"I'm...sorry. He said it was the only way..."

He?! HE WHO?!?

"Nooooooooooo! Don't do it!"

I grabbed onto them...but a moment too late. I reached for the H.U.D. hoping I could stop it somehow.

Their hand touched the RESET...and the shock wave erupted outward...but something felt off as I felt the energy release tug at me.

My Bracer's screen started glitching out. Then giving error messages. Then it started flashing red as a static discharge leaped from the device and across the H.U.D.

Microglitches, binary, and wire frame blinked in and out of it moments before it warped and twisted for a moment.

In a moment the spherical blastwave swallowed us both up.

As we were lifted off the dissolving room...the dissolving reality...I felt the child being pulled out of my grasp and sucked away from me.

As I tumbled out of control into the abyss of white light I could see everyone in the underground...fading away.

It started with Sans.

He looked at me with defeated...eye dots, hands shoved into his pockets.

I looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "Sans...I..."

"Heh...I guess...the joke's on both of us..." He was joking but I could hear the depression in his voice. "Guess we all get dunked on because I couldn't trust you. Well. Guess it was the kid I shouldn't have trusted.  Well...I guess when we all come around again...I won't make the same mistake..."

Then he was gone.

"D-Doctor..." Alphys looked at me as she was slowly pulled out of reality. "Are we...going back?"

I nodded, sadly.

"W-w-we j-just weren't w-worthy of the surface after all.."

I couldn't protest. She was already gone.

Undyne looked at me, her ear frills drooping.

I couldn't look her in the eye. I'd never be able to explain this.

She could have said a number of things. But what she said was...

"Hey...anime's still real...right?"

I nodded before she gave that silly grin...and disappeared.

"I...I don't understand..."

No. Not Papyrus, too.

"Paps...I..."

"I still believe..." was all he got out.

No...this was cruel. This was horrible.

It was then I turned to face Goat Mom.

"Volt."

"Toriel."

We faced each other as she started fading away.

"You'll be good...won't you?"

"I'll be on my best behavior.  I'll be my very best."

She waved...with a pleasant smile that seemed to say "until we meet again" while making a heart-sign with her hands. One last secret handshake to remember her by...

As the Underground twisted and contorted into a vortex of pure time and pure space I saw Gaster for a moment, hands behind his back. He shook his head, then turned and vanished.

Frisk appeared in the center of the storm, tangles of electricity pouring out form the epicenter. Was this what a reset looked like form the inside?

"Frisk! Stop this! Please stop this! You have to stop!"

But I knew they couldn't. I knew it was already too late.

"Why, Frisk? Why?"

Frisk didn't answer. They were ashamed. They were regretting their decision immediately. They knew they had been lied to by now. But who? Who lied to you, Frisk? Who put you up to this? Was it Flowey? No...

"Friiiiiiiiiiiisk!" I felt myself being yanked out of the timeline as its unstable nature collasped and disppeared into the cosmos.

"You can't do this! You can't do this! You can't..."

TO BE CONTINUED....

A message from Asriel: Milestone 300th Sub-Entry!

I know things look bad.

I know how the others and I must seem to you.

But hang in there.

Things have to get worse before they get better.

The story is not finished.

All will be revealed...soon.

Thank you all for staying with us this long.

The end of the beginning is coming...

Chapter 31

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