Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Since time immemorial the dark forest claimed all those who entered. No one who ever passed through its dark foliage ever escaped its all consuming darkness. And so one day a child, either foolish or brave, chose to descend into the darkness to find the heart of its evil. To bring an end to the injustice it inflicted upon all those who entered its cursed grounds.

At journey’s end two soul’s fought before the barrier that since time long forgotten had trapped monster’s in the underground. One soul belonged to the most powerful of the monster’s, King Asgore. Along with his powerful fire magic, protective metal armor adorned with a long cape and long red trident he towered over the young human boy dressed in typical western cowboy attire with leather boots and a big cowboy hat wielding a simple six shot revolver.

The human child, Clover, who’s height barely even came up to the King’s hip bore a yellow soul as bright as the new day sun. His soul was embedded with the virtue of justice, and Clover like all others who shared his soul’s virtue was embedded with the desire to right the wrongs inflicted upon the innocents by the wicked of the world. And this “King”, no, this brute certainly more than fit the description.

In the endless corridor where reality itself seemed to loop endlessly on itself thanks to the powerful magic ancient humans used to seal the monster’s away were seven glass cylinders. Five had different colored heart shaped human’s soul’s floating within them with another two empty soul canister’s opened and waiting to collect Clover’s soul as Asgore encircled Clover with a ring of fire magic.

He didn’t say a word or even look at the child as the ring of flames closed in on him. And yet, as was the case with many things in his journey Clover felt a strange sense of deja vu with this attack as he raced towards the flames and, without a second’s hesitation, used his momentum to roll through the powerful magic attack as he had done so earlier with Ceroba when she had tried killing him using a similar attack. Escaping the ring of fire unharmed as he fired another volley of friendliness pellets from his revolver at the King of all Monsters.

The pellet’s didn’t even scratch him nor do any damage against Asgore’s hp as they simply bounced off his armor and impacted the ground around them. Undeterred, Clover began focusing his soul’s power into a powerful concentrated blast as the King lunged at him with his trident.

The long blood red trident cut into his shoulder. Nearly severing his arm entirely just as Clover fired his concentrated soul blast at the King. The concentrated yellow energy again bounced off of the king’s armor and flew straight towards the cylinder containing the soul that glowed dark blue.

The impact blew the soul container open with a sudden explosion of shattering of glass and soul magic. And at that moment the recently freed blue soul began glowing brightly.

Asgore meanwhile used his trident to plant Clover into the ground. His trident easily piercing straight through his left shoulder as he stomped on Clover’s right hand with his foot. Screaming as his shoulder was severed the boy lost his grip on his gun and found himself staring up at the monster staring down at him.

“I am sorry child.” Asgore said as he raised his trident high over his head. A trail of tears began flowing from Clover’s bright gold colored eyes as his body simply froze. He was going to die. He had failed his mission and was now going to be trapped along with the others.

“Just… close your eyes.” Asgore gave Clover an apologetic look. “It will… only hurt for a moment-” At that moment Asgore’s soul turned from its usual white color to a dark blue. And before either of them could even think about what was happening the king of all monster’s flew up into the air before he quickly reacted and landed on his feet a few meters back.

“W-What?!” Clover coughed blood as he clenched his severed arm. His blood was practically pouring out of his wound. He couldn’t stand and he found his vision growing darker and darker as his consciousness began fading away.

“Oh I see.” Asgore sighed. “The blast he fired freed you.” he said as he turned his attention back to Clover. The blue soul raced towards the barely conscious child and quickly enveloped him in a dark blue light as Clover opened his eyes.

‘Get up!’ a voice echoed through Clover’s mind. ‘Quickly!’ Gritting his teeth Clover used his remaining arm to push himself back up just as Asgore raised his trident over his shoulder. And tossed it at him.

There was no time to dodge the attack. No time to duck or roll. In an instant the long pointed ends of Asgore’s weapon pierced straight through Clover’s upper torso and remaining shoulder. Slamming into him with such force he went flying back straight into the wall of the castle. Impaling him into the castle walls itself as the boy simply hung there.

‘NO! NO! NO! NO!’ The voice screamed into Clover's dying consciousness as the blue soul raced towards his hanging body. Coughing and hacking up his last breath Clover couldn’t move or think as he was once again enveloped in the dark blue glow the fallen human soul emanated around him. Its magic valiantly pulling his consciousness away from the grip of death, but quickly losing that tug of war as Clover’s head fell and his eyes shut.

“I am sorry human. I wish there was another way.” Asgore lamented as he approached the two souls. The blue soul, filled with the virtue of Integrity never ceased its healing magic on Clover’s yellow soul as the king grabbed them both.

“But your fate was sealed the moment you entered my kingdom.” The king said as a lone golden flower continued watching him from a distance. Groaning in annoyance the plant sighed as Asgore carried Clover’s soul to its container. Clover had done better this time against Asgore but he wasn’t powerful enough to defeat him. During this run at least.

“Hmm. Clover’s competent… enough.” Flowey mused. “He’s my best shot at getting those soul’s but he keeps dying.” the flower sighed. “Still though, he’s been getting better. He managed to actually attack Asgore this time. With enough LOVE, he’d be strong enough to kill him.” Oh now there was a wonderful idea Flowey thought to himself as Asgore chased after the blue soul which was currently trying to break open Clover’s container.

The blue soul was… unique compared to the other’s. She wasn’t killed by Asgore but was delivered to him after she had killed many monsters in Snowdin. Of the souls she was the most resilient and “fighty” of the lot as her soul always seemed to be fighting against whatever was holding it. Flowey had even learned in true lab that her soul container was specially made for them as they kept breaking their restraints.

“Come now you must get back in your container child.” Asgore said as he failed to grab the blue soul. “If you’re not properly held your soul will-” using Asgore’s own trident the blue soul used their magic to lift Asgore’s weapon into the air and break Clover’s container open with it. Wasting not a second the blue soul enveloped Clover’s soul with a dark blue glow as a girl’s voice echoed through what remained of Clover’s consciousness.

‘Can you hear me?’ the blue soul asked as the world around Clover finally took shape.

After being impaled everything had gotten dark, and cold. He didn’t have eyes, or a mouth yet he could see and perceive everything around himself. Frightened he tried to flail around his limbs, only to find he didn’t have a body anymore.

‘W-What happened?!’ Clover’s voice echoed yet no sound past his lips. And it was then he also realized he didn’t have lips. Or a body for that matter.

‘We don’t have much time.’ the blue soul told him as the king reached out for them both.

‘No. NO! Stay back!’ Clover shouted yet none other than the blue soul could hear him.

‘Remember.’ she urged him. ‘When that flower resets.’ she said as the king grabbed both of their soul’s.

‘You need to remember everything.’ As those words echoed through Cover’s very soul Flowey opened his file.

“ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO RESET?” The SAVE Screen asked him as it always did. And like always, as he had done countless times before he selected “YES”

RESETTING… 10%
RESETTING… 30%
RESETTING… 70%
RESET INITIALIZING

Doing the right thing is never easy. That was the lesson Clover’s father had taught him. In a world beset by strife, food rations, and power outages, doing the right thing was essential to not only help the people around you, but also help make the world just a little more just. Doing the right thing was the personal responsibility of every single person in the world.

That was why his mission fell to him alone. Five children had gone missing while traversing up Mt. Ebott and no one had the resources or time to go and find them with all the hardships affecting the world at large. And then there were of course, the myths and legends about that mountain.

There was nothing particularly notable or dangerous about Mt Ebott itself. It was simply the tallest mountain in the region and held no dangerous wildlife or excessively harsh conditions aside from the thin atmosphere the higher up you climbed. But what truly made Mt Ebott itself unique and what also made people fear climbing it for millenia was an old tale about a war between humanity and the monster’s that roamed the world alongside them.

According to the story the world was originally home to two different races. Human’s with their powerful soul’s that could survive past death before eventually passing on. And monster’s who’s physical bodies and souls were made of magic or something. As the story goes monster’s desired the power of human soul’s as with enough of them they would gain great power and conquer the world and destroy all of humanity. To protect themselves and their future descendants the ancient humans went to war with monster’s and managed to seal them underneath Mt Ebott with a powerful magical spell. But it was said that if the monster’s ever got seven human souls, the one who absorbed them would shatter the barrier, become a god and destroy the world.

All fairytales Clover rationalized as he continued walking through the foliage. Monster’s only existed in story books where they would terrorize innocents and be evil until a just hero defeats them in the end. But back to focusing on his mission brought Clover to spot a faint worn out piece of pink cloth trapped in the prickly thorn’s of a bush.

“Hmm.” Clover hummed to himself as he pulled out the missing person’s poster he brought with him. On it were the names of five children who had been reported missing. Emily Kadish, Gabriel Kadish(they were noted to be siblings), Noah Beckingham, Cody Onda, and most recently was Zaley Ali who’s mother turned out to be his neighbor.

From what he had gathered Zaley and her mother had a… difficult relationship with Zaley being very stubborn and resistant wherever her mother tried to make her do anything. Their divide came to a head with her mother’s decision to not attend her daughter’s ballet recital where Zaley disappeared once the performance was over.

Her disappearance broke her mother’s heart and her situation was made even worse by her husband’s passing not long after. Though what occurred happened years ago, before Clover was even born, it was obvious to everyone Zaley’s mother was still grieving the disappearance of her child. As the other families of the other children would as well. If they were still around as Emily and Gabriel had disappeared over two hundred years ago.

Something had happened to them. And was his responsibility to bring justice and peace to Zaley’s mother.

The fabric was obviously old and the color had nearly disappeared but it didn’t take a genius to tell it was a part of Zaley’s tutu. Perhaps it had been torn off during her accent or ripped off in a struggle. Either way Clover knew he was heading in the right direction.

The path was uneven and littered with differently sized rocks that were hidden by the tall grass. The bird’s chirped much more softly than usual and there were no small animals like squirrels or even flies. The air had begun to grow thin and it was becoming much harder to breathe as Clover continued his accent.

In the distance he saw the city he had spent his whole life up until this point in. Looking back made him realize just how small his family's apartment really was and… how much he strangely missed it. It felt like… it had been a long time since he’d last seen his parents. Mom was likely still locked away in her room and his father was still at the factory. Not that he was complaining. Getting out of the house was easy for him, and the last thing either of them needed was to worry about him. Well, his father at least.

‘Remember.’ a girl’s voice echoed through his skull as he quickly spun around. Finding only empty wilderness and a few bird’s watching him silently. One bird, a very large black one with bright yellow eyes flew over him and up past a little cave further down the path he was following.

“Never thought(breathes deeply) breathing would ever be(breathes deeply again) hard.” Clover had never gone hiking before, much less ascending a mountain everyone believed was cursed. But he had come too far to stop now. There was justice that needed to be done. A cool burst of wind brushed past him and threatened to blow away his hat. Holding it tightly with one hand Clover headed into the cave and felt… a sense of familiarity with it. It was odd but he quickly brushed the feeling aside. The wind reverberated off the high walls of the cave and several bat’s hung upside down. Looking down on him with blood red eyes as he held his toy gun in his left hand.

He wanted a gun for his birthday so he could be a real cowboy like in the movies and cartoons he watched but his father got him a fake one instead. While initially disappointed the toy gun itself did actually fire anything that he could load into it. Add onto the fact that a human soul can empower physical objects with their own willpower and he was far from defenseless. Though of course, having a real weapon along with ammo that's not made of rubber would’ve helped him greatly.

The bat’s simply watched him. Unmoving and unblinking as he continued deeper into the cave. Not a single sound other than his footsteps graced his ears but thankfully there was still a lightsource ahead somehow.

Getting closer brought Clover to a large open area of the cave with a large opening in the mountain above that allowed sunlight to illuminate his surroundings. And before him was a massive hole in the ground that upon closer inspection revealed a large bed of golden flower’s at the bottom.

“Okay.” Clover took a deep breath. “Just like Sheriff Sam, I got to brace myself. Focus.” he told himself as his bright yellow soul emerged from his chest.

“Doing the right thing is never easy.” he repeated to himself. “Doing the right thing is never easy.” And with that Clover jumped down into the flowerbed far beneath him. The impact hurting him surprisingly less than what he was expecting as he quickly picked himself up.

“Ow.” he groaned as he walked forward. The large flower bed had a singular corridor for him to traverse. Walking down the path he felt the oddest sensation of deja vu as it felt like he had already walked this way and yet… obviously he had never been down here before.

‘Ca…h.ar..me?’ a voice faintly whispered as Clover quickly drew his gun and spun around. But all he saw were the flowers he had landed on. After a moment of looking around he holstered his weapon and continued onto the next room.

The next room was large and barren. Not a soul or animal could be seen and yet somehow illuminated but lantern’s on the walls of the room. Someone had been here recently by the looks of it. And it was in that moment of distraction that a large creature approached Clover.

*Ribbit* The sound was much deeper and louder than any frog Clover had ever seen before. The large creature came up to his stomach on all four of its webbed arms and legs. Two gigantic eyes stared right at him as his soul suddenly emerged from his chest.

“Hey?! Wait w-” Clover uttered as a sudden pain stabbed through his chest. Stealing his voice away as well as his breath as he felt himself fall to his knees.

“Your fate was sealed the moment you entered my kingdom.” HIS voice echoed through his mind as Clover quickly began shaking his head.

“No!” his breathing quickly turned frantic. Taking quick sharp breaths and quickly shaking his head as he futilely tried to grab the trident that had somehow lodged itself in his chest with his right hand as his left went for his gun. “YOU’LL PAY!” Clover screamed as he fired his weapon at the stunned froggit. Damaging the creature and knocking it back slightly as it hopped towards him. Anger in its eyes until that anger was quickly displaced by fear as another very tall creature approached the two.

The creature stood on two legs and wore a red scarf along with purple colored robes around herself. A pair of short white horns sprouted from the top of her head, matching the white fur that encompassed her body. Her face was like a cross between the usual features of a human mixed with that of a goat with long ears. The stern look the taller creature gave the froggit sent the froggit running away. Giving the creature a moment to flee the tall creature turned her attention onto the panic stricken child before her.

“Hello there, are you alright?” The voice the creature had was strangely soothing and… familiar. All at once Clover felt himself calming down as the creature bent itself onto one knee and released a small burst of white light from its palm. The light quickly encompassed him and immediately the pain in his feet and the lingering fear in his heart was gone.

“There. Does that feel better?” she asked.

“Who are you?” Clover asked. “And what was that giant frog?”

“I’m Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. And that was a froggit. One of the monster’s who also lives here.” she explained.

“MONSTERS?!” Clover gasped in shock as he quickly backed away from the large goat lady. Monster’s were real? Then if that was the case then the story about Mt Ebott was true as well as the part where the monster’s wanted human-

“Please do not be alarmed.” Toriel said calmly. “I will ensure your safety while you are here. I promise-” Toriel’s eyes widened as Clover quickly aimed his toy gun at her. Just as he felt his brain being squeezed inside of his skull.

And all at once the world around changed. He was in a blindingly white room with five souls all trapped in jars. And… some large armored monster had killed him. But he was here and alive. Was he losing his mind or going insane?

“You’re going to take my soul!” Clover accused as he shook his head as the world around him was shifted back into the room with Toriel. “You’re just trying to trick me so you can kill me and use me to destroy all of humanity.” Sorrow filled Toriel’s eyes as well as… a look of pain that she had been hiding.

“That is what Asgore wants, yes.” Toriel said with clear disdain for the king. “If he finds you he’ll take your soul like he did with the other’s. I…” the goat lady looked down upon the child threatening her with regret.

“I knew there was an entrance to the Underground from the surface here. So I took residence here to try to protect anyone who had fallen down. But everytime…” the goat lady took a deep breath, composing herself.

“They come, they leave, they die.” she said as Clover lowered his pistol. Somehow she felt familiar and his heart told him Toriel was trustworthy. He didn’t need to be afraid or fight her. But even still, he had a mission. She had information about the other’s and he needed that.

‘So they are all dead.’ Clover’s hand clenched his toy with such strength that it threatened to break in two. His heart, his soul, no his entire being screamed at him to enact justice. Asgore had killed them and so his evil must be stopped. It was his mission, his responsibility to stop him.

“I’m sorry for almost shooting you.” Clover said, rubbing his head’s sore temples. “I don’t know what came over me.” Toriel gave the boy a reassuring smile.

“It is quite alright my child. You were clearly just afraid judging by how loudly you shouted earlier. I was worried I was too late to protect you. But I’m glad you're safe.” Clover stepped forward, closing the gap between the two as he held out his left hand.

“My name’s Clover.” he said as Toriel smiled and took his small hand into her large one. Her hand was surprisingly soft and warm yet she was clearly very physically strong. An effect of the magic in her soul maybe?

“Clover. That’s a wonderful name.” she said. “Come Clover, I’ll guide you through the Ruins.” together the large goat monster lady and the little cowboy left the dark room behind them. Journeying into the next room revealed an older looking but still lively area. Bright orange leaves littered the ground as they continued through the path and up a stairway. The pathway they followed reminded Clover of photos of old dirt roads he’d seen in his favorite western’s though obviously there weren’t any tumbleweeds or bright sun baking them in heat.

“Why is this place called Ruins?” Clover asked. “Are we the only one’s here?”

“Oh no. More than a few monster’s call this place home as I do.” Toriel explained. “As for why it’s called the ruins… well.” Toriel frowned.

“After human’s sealed monsterkind underground we made our way here and constructed a new home for ourselves. But after many years we began expanding and grew out of the Ruin’s and went to create more settlement’s elsewhere. The Ruin’s were abandoned overtime and many of its entrances fell into disrepair and became sealed away from the rest of the underground.” Clover nodded as he thought over her words. The underground sounded like a much bigger place than he was expecting. It was crazy to think an entire people made a civilization underneath a mountain. But that fact didn’t matter to his mission.

"Why didn’t you attack me like that froggit?” Clover asked “Not that I wanted a fight or anything. I… well thought um…” he tapped his fingers together as Torel gave him an understanding look.

“You don’t need to worry my child.” Toriel said. “The other’s before you had… a similar reaction to me. From what they told me human’s are taught that we simply desire their souls for power, correct?” Clover nodded.

“To shatter the barrier keeping us imprisoned we need seven human souls. Asgore declared war on humanity after…” she paused as she took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, my child. That is… a story I don’t like retelling. But as for why I don’t help Asgore. It is because I don’t wish to inflict such suffering on anyone.” Toriel definitely was a kind person, err monster Clover acknowledged. But still he had a mission. Quickly running up to her side he handed her the missing children poster he had been carrying.

“I came down here to find them.” he explained as Toriel’s expression became one of sadness. “I want to let people know what happened and put their families minds at ease. Do you know where they are?” as he asked that it dawned on Clover that if Toriel was being honest in that she met all the children on that list, she would’ve been over two hundred years old at least.

“These… These are the children that have fallen down here.” Toriel took a deep breath as she gave Clover back the poster. “I…”

“Do you know where they are?” Clover asked again.

“.... Let’s… go to my home first.” she insisted as the two hurried along. “You’ll be safe there and I’ll explain while I make a pie for you.” The mere mention of free food caused Clover’s stomach to immediately rumble. Toriel chuckled as Clover embarrassingly thanked her for the offer.

“So you’ve met all the other children that fell?” he asked as Toriel nodded as Clover’s eyes widened. “Then you're over two hundred years old! Do… monster’s not get older?” In some circumstances the topic of old age would’ve earned a remark or the old “let's not talk about that” statement but with Clover being so young and genuinely curious, Toriel explained her “age situation”.

“Monster’s are born and grow old as human’s do.” she clarified. “But some monster’s such as myself are referred to as boss monsters. Our soul’s magic is stronger than most, and not only that, our souls allow us to live indefinitely unless…” she trailed off.

“Are you okay?” Clover asked as Toriel nodded.

“I’m fine.” she assured the boy. “I just need a moment.” They both continued on for a few moments in awkward silence before finally passing through a hallway and walking into a room with 6 strange stepping stones on the ground.

“The Underground is full of puzzles. Ancient fusion’s between diversions and doorkeys. They must be solved before proceeding from room to room.” Toriel explained. “Allow me to demonstrate.”

She proceeded to step on four of the six stones. Not stepping on the two stones in the middle and proceeding to pull a yellow switch that opened up the next room.

“So the puzzles are trial and error?” Clover asked.

“Yes. But you will sometimes get hints as to what the solution is.” she gestured to the writing inscribed on the wall next to her.

“Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, Foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road.” she said as Clover nodded in understanding.

“I think I understand now,” he told her, which caused her to smile. “I need to think things through before trying.”

“Yes. Now follow me. There are more puzzles ahead.” she said as they went into the next room.

“In this room there are several switches you need to flip.” she said. “Don’t worry. I’ve labeled the ones you need to flip.” As they both moved ahead Clover noticed a pair of small wooden bridges in the room with them along with water flowing underneath them.

‘Guess monster’s need water too. But where is the water coming from?’ Clover thought to himself as he approached the yellow labeled switch. It had three yellow arrows pointed directly at it with the inscription beside it telling him to flip the switch.

So he did and Toriel brought him to the next set of switches. One was clearly labeled while the other had no such markings around it. Clover flipped the labeled switch and… nothing happened? Confused, he looked towards Toriel who in turn looked just as confused as he did.

“... It should’ve opened the way by now. I’m sure I labeled the correct switch.” she thought to herself for a moment. “Try the other one.” Without any hesitation Clover walked over to the other switch beside him and flipped it. Upon which the ground beneath him began to break. Before either Torial or Clover could react the ground beneath the young cowboy gave way as he fell into the darkness beneath them.

“CLOVER!” Toriel shouted as she rushed over to the hole he fell though. For Clover plummeting into absolute darkness should’ve been alarming yet… he wasn’t scared in the slightest. It felt as though… he had done this before.

But as impossible as that was, the voice from earlier echoed through his mind once again.

‘Remember.’ the voice told him. ‘You need to remember.’ The voice sounded familiar. Clearly a girl and she sounded as though she was right next to him. Falling deeper and deeper into darkness Clover cried out for help as he hit something and his mind slipped into unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

Step by step the child continued into the darkness. Countless eyes stalked the child as he continued down the path towards the heart of darkness. Many beasts prowled and watched, waiting for their moment to strike as a pair of golden eyes found the child.

‘Remember… Remember, Remember, Remember, Remember, Remember the mission. Remember what’s happened.'

Clover couldn’t move, couldn’t speak or cry for help. His head throbbed as his body tossed and turned on top of what felt like another flower bed.

‘Remember.’ the girl’s voice echoed through his head.

‘Ca…. h..r.m.?’ her voice was far too distorted and garbled for him to get any sense of meaning. Fatigue had claimed him and refused to let him out of its clutches as his mind drifted further into darkness.

He was so, so tired. It wasn’t the climb as he wasn’t tired until he fell. Was he dying? Wasn’t there supposed to be a light that you see when you pass away? He didn’t see one so he wasn’t dying, he hoped.

“Hello?” Clover called out into the void. “Where am I? What’s-”

‘HOWDY!’ a loud horrifying voice sounded off suddenly behind him. Clover spun around, coming face to face with some… large horrifying plant monster with a monstrously large grin staring down at him. Clover reached for his gun but quickly found himself enveloped by vines and his very soul felt like it was being drained away. He struggled, he screamed but no one heard him as he no longer had a mouth with which to speak. The light in his soul grew dimmer… and dimmer and dimmer until everything went black.

“I notice things every run.” the scary voice told him as the dark void consumed his entire world. “You solve puzzles faster. You beat monster’s faster. You navigate the Underground like you have a map.” the voice giggled.

“You’re getting better with every run. And when you give into your violent urges. When you fill your opponent’s with bullet holes. That was the best.” what was this… thing, talking about. He wasn’t violent or evil like Asgore. He would never be evil, he’s a servant of justice after all.

“That’s when I knew you had it in you to beat him.” the voice continued. “So I’m going to reset now. And we’ll keep doing this until you give me what I want. And if you fail again, we’ll just do this again. And again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again-”

“How long have I been down here?” The world's burst from Clover’s lips without a thought. The world began changing around him. One second he was in the Ruins, next in a snowy forest somehow, then a wetland with a waterfall, a lava filled place, an old western town and a weird familiar city. All of the location’s felt so familiar. And as the memories started to return, so did each and every one of his deaths.

“No! No,No,No,No,No!” Clover shook his head violently as the painful memories came flooding back. From his soul being shattered, to his body being pierced and severed by magical weapons and attacks every death came flooding back.

‘Y..mus..emember!’ the voice echoed through his mind again.

“That's impossible.” Clover paused as he took a deep breath. “I didn’t die all those times. I didn’t come down here before. I… I didn't kill those,” He looked over his hands, finding golden strings attached to the tips of his fingers as long as a golden chain wrapped itself around his neck.

“You’ll give me what I want.” Tears began flowing freely from Clover’s golden eyes as the plant monster tightened the noose around his neck. Making it harder and harder to breathe.

“Please!” he begged. “Just… just let me go!” the voice tutted at his pleas.

“Nuh-huh-huh. Your life is in my hands. But don’t worry. Your best friend is always watching out for you.” He tried to struggle but he couldn’t break the chain. He reached for his gun, but he didn’t have it. Clover’s head throbbed as more and more memories flooded back.

“At the end of the day… you’re naive.” a woman’s voice pulled Clover from his panicked state. The world around him had changed into a familiar scene from before. He was kneeling underneath a large pink tree with two monster’s Starlo and Martlet both knocked out by the woman speaking to him.

‘Wait. How do I know their names?’ Clover thought as the scene around him continued.

Ceroba Ketsukane was a monster that stood like a human but had the tail, snout, ears, and fur of a fox. She wore bright white robes with red outlines and bore the white-red mask her daughter Kanako made for her. She also fought with her two handed staff in addition to her magical abilities.

“What, did you think you'd jump down here and find them? Five humans, living out their lives, unharmed?” Not all five but… he had hoped at least Zaley would still be alive. Or at the very least bring some peace to her mother and bring justice to those who were denied it by the world.

“I killed you?” Clover uttered in disbelief. Ceroba had died here every single time they fought underneath this tree. She attacked him, tried to steal his soul, and tried to complete Chujin’s work to empower monsterkind to destroy humanity. She… stood in the way of justice… so he aimed his gun at her.

“Doing the right thing is never easy.” Clover said as he pulled the trigger. The pellet pierced straight through Ceroba in an instant, turning her to dust as he stood up.

His hands trembled as the dust remnants of Ceroba were blown away by the wind. But he had to admit, she was right about him. He was naive to think that they’d be unharmed and alive. But, while he couldn’t prevent what had happened to them, he could bring them to the surface and free them. Clover’s bright yellow soul glowed as his resolve filled his entire body with newfound resolve.

“This time will be different.” he vowed as the world shifted back into a black empty void. “Justice will be done.”

A dim light from the hole he fell through brought little illumination to the room Clover awoke in. Thankfully he had landed on another soft flower bed, and twice thankfully he was uninjured from the fall. He could barely make out the room thanks to the lack of lighting but he could see a sign by an exit walkway.

“BEWARE…” that was the only part of the text he could understand. Aside from the walkway, no other exits were present as one path was buried underneath rubble while the other was a broken bridge with a gap far too wide for him to possibly hope of jumping across.

With no other pathway forward Clover chose the single route open to him and quickly became beholden to the full grandeur of the Ruin’s. Tall buildings made of bricks and other building materials stretched as far as the eye could see. Ancient pathways connected the various buildings and below was a large river flowing in the middle of everything. With numerous pathways diverging the flow of water to the various buildings making up the ruins.

Surprisingly, birds and other small creatures were all over the place. Making homes in the abandoned buildings or in the various trees and plants that had grown in the monster’s absence. And even though he was in the underground, the air was filled with a wet yet thickly sweet aroma that caused Clover’s stomach to rumble as started to feel hungry.

“I knew I should’ve saved my lunch.” There had to be food nearby, or at least something edible. Continuing on the walkway into the next building brought him onto a pathway that began descending as he continued forward. Until reaching a surprisingly well lit room that led further into the ruins. He walked forward just as a small golden flower with three petals emerged from the ground in front of him.

“Howdy! I’m Flowey. Flowey the Flower.” Clover froze on the spot as he reached for his pistol. It was HIM. One plant thing in his nightmare that was torturing him.

“Whoa hey now. There’s no need for that.” Flowey said as Clover took a step back. The flower raised an eyebrow or whatever it was he raised as he spoke in a soft calming voice.

“Relax. I’m not here to hurt you. Unlike all of the other monsters, I want to help you.” Clover’s heart was beating so fast it felt like it was about to jump out of his chest. But even so, he hadn’t been attacked even though Flowey could easily kill him as he did before. For now, it’d be best to play along.

“Help me?” Clover said as Flowey gave him a wink.

“Yup. See, you’re new to the underground. So there’s a few things you should know before you start on your way. Toriel taught you a thing or two right?” Clover shook his head.

“She didn’t? Well, guess it’s up to little old me.” Quick as a flash the world around them went dark as Clover’s bright yellow soul began glowing.

“That’s your soul. The culmination of your being. And those numbers next to hp is how much damage your soul can take before it shatters. And you die.” Flowey explained as Clover nodded in understanding. Knowing all too well how painful it was to have his soul shattered.

“Right now your hp is 20. You can raise that and become stronger by gaining lots of LOVE.”

“Love?” Clover said confusingly as Flowey shook his… head? Face, petal’s? Whatever he had he shook in response.

“No not love buddy.” Flowey chuckled. “LOVE. which means,” he paused. “Actually it doesn’t matter what it means. Just know that the more LOVE you have, the stronger you are and the harder it is for other monster’s to kill you.”

“Ok.” Clover replied. “So how do I gain LOVE?” Flowey smiled.

“You need to kill lot’s of monster’s.” the flower replied simply as Clover’s mouth hung open in disgust.

“I’m not killing innocents!” Clover stated as Flowey raised his eyebrow. “That’s not justice it’s-”

“Doing the right thing is never easy buddy.” Flowey told him. “And you can’t exactly bring justice to bad people if you're dead. After all, what happens if you're too weak to defeat King Asgore?” That was… a good point. The last few times he fought Asgore he couldn’t do anything to him. He died, his soul was sealed away with the others and Asgore was one step closer to destroying humanity.

“I…” Clover thought for a moment. “I don’t… I’m not killing innocents.”

“Every monster down here is going to try to take your soul.” Flowey reminded him. “Being nice is just going to get you killed. Trust me on this. You need to be as strong as possible to defeat Asgore. And besides, are they really innocent when they're trying to kill you?”

‘I’m too weak to fight him, but if I…’ Clover thought to himself. He came down here to deliver justice and return the fallen children’s souls. Asgore had already declared war on humanity if his memory was correct. So really, it wasn’t like he was committing murder. He was just delivering justice and defending people like his grandpa and his father did in the war.

Clover held his toy gun in his hand. Taking a deep breath and shutting his eyes as he repeated his father’s words to himself.

“Doing the right thing is never easy.” he said to himself as he agreed with Flowey. “Alright, I’ll get as much LOVE as I can.”

“Alright, that's perfect.” Flowey said. “Now a few more things before you head off. Keep your eyes open for anything that might be useful on your journey. Food down here is made of magic and will restore your hp if you get hurt and certain items will make you stronger or harder to kill. Also I’ll be placing these things around.” Flowey went underground for a moment as a bright four pointed light emerged before quickly being pulled down.

“That’s a SAVE point. Just walk over to one of these and I’ll SAVE for you so when anything bad happens to you I can make it not happen.”

“How-”

“Don’t worry about it.” Flowey stopped him from asking further. “Now remember. Keep your eyes open for items, use these SAVE point’s, and make sure to focus on your mission. You’ll need to be a lot stronger when you fight Asgore.” Clover nodded as he touched the SAVE point. And nothing happened.

“Nothing happened.”

“I’m the one making the SAVE buddy. Of course you wouldn’t notice. Now go get’em partner.” Flowey said as he burrowed back beneath the ground.

A million thought’s filled Clover’s mind. Flowey sounded exactly like the voice that was tormenting him and he couldn’t help but feel scared by the flower. Either way at least now he had an explanation for all of his deaths both happening and not. If Flowey really could unmake certain events by SAVING and do whatever, why was he helping him?

“Okay.” Clover took a deep breath. “I can do this. I need LOVE to deliver justice. Monster’s are already at war with humans so I’ll just be defending myself.” Proceeding deeper into the ruins Clover stumbled upon a corridor lined with what were likely tall marble columns. Tall he assumed as all of them had broken down and now were in utter disrepair.

The path forward was clear and the next room had a set of three switches lined up against the wall with the passageway into the next room blocked off by spikes. Remembering what Toriel had told him, Clover walked towards one of the lever’s just as something dropped down in front of him.

The monster had begun attacking him. Using its magic it created a few small flies that flew towards Clover. Clover’s body moved on instinct and quickly evaded the attack as he took aim with his toy gun.

Focusing the power of his soul into his weapon the barrel of the toy gun began glowing yellow as Clover pulled the trigger. The rubber bullet had energy from his soul surrounding it as it flew through the air and struck its target. Striking Flier square in its chest and knocking it out of the air as it fell onto its back.

“Bullseye.” Clover smirked. Flier’s body was… hurt all over surprisingly. Even though it had only been struck in the chest, its whole body, from head to toe, was covered in bruises and wounds. Its flying was slower but even still it kept up the attack with another barrage of flies trying to hit his soul.

After evading the attack Clover took aim and fired. The shot struck Flier in the head, causing it to fall to the ground as its body quickly turned to dust as two shiny coin’s appeared in the newly created pile.

“What did I?” Clover gasped as he held his hand over his mouth. A heavy weight fell over his heart as he lowered his weapon. He had just killed this person, just committed murder. He didn’t even know if the monster was innocent or guilty of evil he was… just defending himself.

“Great job buddy.” Clover spun around and found Flowey had popped out of the ground just a few feet behind him. “Nice job not getting yourself hurt during that fight. You're really good at this.”

“Thanks.” Clover gazed down at his trembling hands. “But I feel awful. Isn’t there another way I can beat Asgore?”

“Hey, you jumped down here to bring justice right?” Flowey asked rhetorically. “The only way you can free the other human’s and get back to the surface is by going through him. And besides that monster was attacking you. Just keep doing what you’re doing and it’ll be fine.” Clover nodded.

“Keep up the good work buddy.” Flowey winked. “And don’t forget to SAVE.” he burrowed back underground.

‘So he’s watching me. I need to be careful. Last thing I need is for him to try to kill me again.’ Clover mentally told himself as he returned to the three switches in the room. Through trial and error the three switches had to be pulled in a specific order for the next room to open, after doing this he proceeded onto the next room that had a set of colored switches. After again using trial and error he solved the puzzle as another Flier appeared.

“Wait didn’t I,” he paused as he looked more closely at the monster. “Oh you are different.” The fight went the same way as the last one with Clover turning this Flier into a pile of ash even more quickly than the last one.

Looking down at the dust pile he felt… less remorse than before. He was starting to feel… different. But regardless the room was clear and he proceeded onto a long corridor with ruined columns all around him and a hooded figure standing at the end of the room.

“Hello… I’m happy to finally meet you face to face. How long has it been? I was wondering if you’d ever come back.” Stepping closer to the hooded figure Clover noticed a pair of horns sticking out of the top of his cloak. But more curiously was just who was the figure talking to as no one was in front of him. “No… too forward. Who am I kidding? I’ll never be able to meet you in this state. I just hope you know… I had no choice. It must be this way.”

‘Who is he talking to?’ Clover wondered as the figure began walking away, but then suddenly turned around and stumbled backwards.

“Who? I-I must be seeing things…” The figure ran into the next room without another word. There was something familiar about the figure Clover couldn’t put his finger on. He’d probably encountered him in one of his many “runs” in the underground but he didn’t come off as dangerous or anything. As long as he stayed out of the way and didn’t attack him, he didn’t have a reason to hurt him.

Proceeding on into the next room was yet another empty corridor with two pathways branching forward and to his left. Heading forward led into the next room his soul emerged and glowed as yet another monster appeared. Her attacks created barriers around him that hurt anytime he touched them. But as before he loaded his shot and took aim. Landing a bullseye on Penilla’s arm that nearly shattered the large pencil she was carrying.

“I’ll… just tape it back together.” Was she going to heal herself like how Flowey told him he could with items? He couldn’t let her do that as being without a way to heal himself in battle left him at a huge disadvantage. Penilla created more barriers around him but thankfully he didn’t get hurt this time. Taking aim yet again Clover fired a brilliant yellow bullet that collided with Penilla’s chest. Turning her to dust in an instant as his hp increased to twenty four.

“Great job Clover.” Flowey complimented as Clover stood over the dust pile. “You finally gained some LOVE. Just keep it up and you’ll be able to beat the king for sure.”

“I feel…” Clover said as he clenched his fist. His stomach felt like an abyss was sucking his soul in, but the rest of him felt… good. He felt stronger, more confident and less guilt ridden.

“Stronger.” the words flew past his lips without a thought from himself.

“Good. And hey, see that lemonade stand over there?” Flowey pointed towards the old stand with several cobwebs beside it. “You should take some so you can heal in battles.”

“Is that… safe?” Clover asked as Flowey nodded.

“Maybe it's not sanitary, but food and some drinks down here are made of magic. They’ll only heal you though that lemonade probably won’t heal as much as other stuff in the underground. But it’ll work for now.” Clover walked over to the old stand and poured himself a glass of lemonade. The smell was old and sweet at the same time. And looking more closely the lemonade had some weird sparkles on the inside and even after being left out here for who knows how long, it was still cold to the touch.

There was a bowl for leaving tips. As there was no one around he decided to keep his gold. And while he was down here it wouldn’t hurt to take some gold back home. He remembered his father complaining once about gold being the only money thing worth anything in the world. If he brought some home, maybe they’d have enough money to get a bigger apartment. Making a SAVE Clover entered the next corridor and found a corn maze. How a field of corn could be grown down here he didn’t understand but he couldn’t go around it as the pathway around was blocked by spikes so in he went. And not even a few steps in he was attacked by another monster.

Was he really killing someone if they were a plant? Either way firing two shots made short work of the monster like all the others. Exploring the maze led him to several dead ends and a piece of candy corn laying on the ground. With his stomach rumbling Clover quickly picked it up and ate it. The candy corn turned into a tasty mist-like substance in his mouth that he quickly swallowed.

He wasn’t full, but he did feel refreshed from eating it. Continuing on through the tall corn field after a few minutes finally led him to a switch he flipped. After flipping it though he felt an odd sensation that led him heading back towards the entryway of the room. Encountering more monsters and killing them with more ease thanks to his new strength. It felt soo… right to shoot them. After all, they were trying to kill him. Justice needed to be fulfilled and his soul led him forward.

Trusting his instincts led him to another room with a pile of pebbles in the middle of it. Picking them up Clover loaded his toy gun with them and fired a shot at the wall in front of him. The shot was noticeably more powerful as it left a noticeable crack in the wall. “There’s got to be more things around here.” He just knew in his heart that there were more items he could use to protect himself around here. Exiting the room and heading towards the next revealed a pathway that was blocked by spikes. Moving ahead towards the lever on the other side he saw the weird hooded figure standing across a gap facing away from him.

“I enjoyed life before… I did… but I can’t go back. What happened that day would only repeat.” The cloaked figure began walking away and once again took notice of Clover and spun around.

“What is this? Why do they appear everytime I start monologuing? I need more rest.” he said as he turned away and left.

‘What is he talking about?’ Clover wondered before quickly shaking the thought from his head. The figure was weird, sure, but he didn’t do anything to deserve getting killed. He was fulfilling justice, a hero, and heroes don’t kill innocents.

Flipping the nearby switch lowered the spikes and cleared his way forward. Continuing down the corridor bright him face to face with… himself?

At that moment sparks of light materialized around Clover and headed straight for his soul. The attack was persistent but the sparks took a bit of time to turn around once he dodged them. Taking advantage of this, he drew his toy gun and fired at Rorrim. Shattering the mirror monster and turning it to dust after the next shot.

‘Ca……hea..me?’ a familiar voice echoed through Clover’s mind as he spun around. Finding no one around him as the girl’s voice spoke again.

‘I…el you’re oka.. Your LOVE is……… keep going. You…. n’t spare anyone.’

“What?” Clover said. “Who are you?”

‘I’........ you need more LOVE. Gain more an….’ the voice faded from his mind. He didn’t remember anything like this happening before. And what was she trying to tell him? And what exactly did LOVE mean? All these questions filled his head for a moment before he continued down the corridor. And as he walked past a set of four pillars his head began throbbing.

“Agh.” Clover grunted as he blinked. And as his eyes opened the pillars changed.

‘Remember.’ her words echoed through his mind and into the depths of his soul.

“Dalv.” Clover uttered as he observed the leftmost pillar. Dalv was a monster he had befriended in previous timelines but there was always something he knew was wrong with him. He was guilty of something, a horrible crime or event was his fault he was sure.

The next pillar was a… robot. A very familiar robot that sparked a fire in his heart even more intensely than Dalv. Murderer. Guilty. Coward. These thoughts boiled from the depths of his soul and took center stage in his mind. But what did this robot do that…

“No.” Clover uttered as he placed his hand on the last pillar. There was no mistaking who this was, especially with the tutu. Zaley… those monster’s blew her head off. She was just a kid and they-

Clover turned his gaze towards the last pillar. It was an image of her soul with numerous hands grasping to control her. Clover’s eye twitched as he lowered his hat. This crime, this injustice, will not go unpunished.

There was no justification for killing children. This wasn’t about survival anymore. What he was doing was delivering justice upon a horrible and evil race. What he was doing was righting a wrong these monster’s had inflicted upon all humanity, the families of those children and upon the very idea of justice itself.

“I. Will. Not. Fail.” Clover declared as he blinked. The throbbing in his head disappeared and the pillars were now bare save for the childish scribblings on one of them.

He walked down a long dark corridor. The light fading away with each one of his steps until his vision was consumed by total darkness. And in the darkness, two specks of light blinked at him as something emerged ahead of him.

Clover glared at the monster. “You will pay for your crimes.” the bat monster’s eyes narrowed and backed away slightly from Clover.

“Shh. Shh. Too loud. Don’t make a noise. No sound.” The monster fired a massive attack that was light blue in color. Having no way to dodge Clover instead braced himself to take damage but instead of getting hurt the attack passed him without giving him any damage.

“How did-” a memory clicked in his mind. Certain attacks had certain effects and ways to dodge them. Light blue attacks didn’t hurt you if you remained still. Clover aimed his gun and fired at the monster. Striking its right wing and taking some of it off as well.

“OW OW! NOISE HURTS!” The monster attacked this time with an undodgeable wave of orange magic. Trusting his instincts Clover ran into the wave and didn’t take any damage. Smirking, he aimed his gun at the monster and took his next shot. Striking its chest and creating bruises all over its body.

“OW OW! SOUND IS PAIN! HURT HURTS!” This time the monster combined both blue and orange attacks together to try to kill him. But thankfully he knew the rules and was able to avoid taking any damage. He aimed his toy gun at the monster one last time, and fired. Striking Decibat in the head as it immediately turned to dust.

“Sweet silence.” Clover muttered as his LOVE increased to three. The light returned to the corridor as he felt more power flowing within his very soul. And speaking of his soul, it felt like it was… growing stronger than he’d ever thought possible.

Clover headed deeper into the ruins. Finding more monster’s. And getting stronger. Soon the ruins were silent and as he fired his last round at Penilla his LOVE increased to four. Now his hp was sitting at 32/32 as Flowey popped out of the ground.

“Wow. You’re a lot stronger than I thought you were.” the flower complimented. “You made short work of the monster’s here.” Clover looked down on Flowey and said nothing in reply.

“... Umm. Anyway now all that’s left to do is get out of here. The way out is through that downer’s place at the end of the ruins. Get past him and we’re one step closer to completing your mission.” Clover nodded as Flowey made him a SAVE.

“Let justice be done.” Clover said in the now completely silent ruins. His instinct’s told him he was missing something and as he walked down the dark corridors he noticed a crack in the ground beside him. The realization came to him in an instant as he remembered the golden pear that was hidden down here.

He didn’t remember what the pear gave him, but he knew he needed it plus three others. He remembered the pathway to opening it and proceeded to make it his priority to get it. Afterall, Dalv wasn’t going anywhere. While running all over the ruins and kicking around the various cracks he found a stray feather laying on the ground. He put it in his hat and continued on until the way was open.

He saw the golden pear just ahead of him. But as he approached the golden fruit a weird sound came from behind him. It turned out to be a tiny micro froggit monster that charged at him. Clover responded by lifting his boot up

And stomping the monster. It was over after that and the only remnants of his attacker was the dust underneath his boots. Without a word he turned his attention back to the pear.

Clover put the pear in his bag and left the micro dust remains behind as finally made his way to the end of the ruins. Finally, he would deliver justice onto Dalv for his crimes. Walking out of the dark tunnel he found Dalv still underneath his hood walking up the stairs to his home.

The horned monster spun around and backed away as before. But before a single word could be uttered Clover’s soul reached out to him. In less than a second their mind’s connected as he saw the event’s that drove Dalv to this point in perfect objectivity.

In Dalv’s mind Clover saw the memory of that day. He was young then, around ten years and he was traveling with another child. A girl in robes similar to the one’s Ceroba wore. The snow was falling and chill in the air brought forth a distinct delight to his senses.

But the sound of crunching snow caused them both to turn around as they saw her. Zaley, the last human to fall into the underground, trudged towards them. Her body was covered in cuts and dust with drops of blood dripping down her right arm. Her dark blue eyes locked onto the pair, radiating a sort of savagery and anger Clover had never seen before.

‘She’s been attacked by the monsters.’ Clover realized as Zaley stepped forward. Her tutu was damaged and looking more closely at her he saw a lot of dust had collected on her ballet shoes. And each step seemed to bring her pain.

Both Dalv and the other monster backed away as Zaley took another step before kneeling to the ground. Gasping heavily she tried to pick herself up as Dalv told the other monster to run away.

In his mind Dalv’s thoughts were flooded by what he had been told by the adult’s around him. “Humans are dangerous”. “Getting a human soul will allow us all to see the sun again”. “Humans are merciless killers”. And so, with a feeling of primal instinctual need to survive as well as his own resolve to protect his friend he attacked Zaley as she knelt before him.

He concentrated the magic of his soul into a large bolt of lighting. Firing it at the human as her eyes began to glow blue. In a moment she leaped over the attack and spun around in the air. Twirling like a tornado she came down and delivered a powerful kick to Dalv’s chest. Sending him flying into a tree. Nearly killing him as she limped over to him and placed the heel of her ballet shoes over his neck.

“Never. Attack me again.” she warned with a cold death glare. “Or I will kill you. Understand?” Frightened beyond all belief Dalv nodded as she stepped off of him. Muttering something to herself as she left him in the snow.

“What?” Dalv uttered in confusion as the memory faded and Clover approached him. “N-No. Stay away!” he ran off towards his home as Clover pursued him. As he ran towards his home the two were flanked by large bodies of water. Meaning there was little maneuverability for either of them as Dalv spun around again.

“P-Please leave!” Dalv begged. “I-I didn’t hurt you like I said.” so he was talking about Zaley. “I never wished to bring harm to you. I only wanted to-”

“Liar.” Clover glared up at him as he drew his weapon. “Zaley was hurt. She could barely stand and you tried to kill her. If you didn’t want to hurt her you wouldn’t have attacked her. You think you can run away from consequences Dalv? It's about time someone brought you to justice.” Clover’s soul emerged from his chest and began to faintly glow as Dalv took off his hood.

“I… I could never escape what I did that day. I never should’ve attacked her. I’m lucky I didn’t get killed like the others. Though, I suppose it doesn’t matter now.” Dalv looked defeated as lightning crackled around him.

“You know, it’s been quieter since you arrived. Decibat didn’t come and ask for any corn. Penilla and Sweet Corn didn’t come and bother me. It's been… so quiet I haven’t even heard Micro Froggit hopping around.” The tall monster then looked towards Clover’s dark gaze.

“They're gone, aren’t they?”

“They attacked me.” Clover replied as Dalv took a deep breath.

“I wished for this, and I suppose I should be thankful.” Dalv sighed as a new look filled his eyes. Anger took center stage as he spread his arms. “But I never wanted to hurt anyone. You… human, are just like her. Monster’s are made of compassion and hope. There was no need for you to kill anyone.”

“If that’s true then why’d you attack Zaley?” Clover rebutted. “And don’t lie to me.”

“I deserve to be trapped in isolation. But you,” Dalv defiantly glared. “I won’t let you harm anyone else.” At that moment two massive wings sprouted out of Dalv’s back as he quickly took to the air. His lighting had turned red as Clover aimed his pistol.

And fired as the battle began.

Chapter Text

One after another the beasts of the forest pounced on the child. With a storm of slashes, bites and tears they beat the child till a thread of life remained. Then a single roar echoed through the darkness and they all fled. With his vision fading away the child could only see a pair of golden eyes looking down at him as the world of darkness consumed him.

The desire to right all wrongs, to bring light onto those who’d smother the world in cruelty and evil. To stand for truth in the face of overwhelming odds. That was justice. That was the purpose of Clover’s existence, why he was put on this world. And now, it was time to prove his dedication to the virtue that embodied his very being.

Dalv used his large set of wings to ascend into the air as Clover fired his first shot. The pebble shot impacted his right arm with noticeably little visible damage. Dalv was clearly stronger than the other monster’s that occupied the ruins.

Red lightning coursed around him before condensing into several electrical spheres of red light. With a point of his finger they all raced towards Clover. He ran forward. Ducking and rolling under the attack as he reloaded his gun. Dalv retracted his hand and clenched his fist, and it was then Clover noticed the lights approaching him from behind.

Ducking wasn’t an option this time as they were all too low to the ground, nor was dodging to his sides as he was flanked by two bodies of water. And he knew from cartoon’s what happened when lightning and water mixed. So instead he charged forward again. Channeling his strength and some power from his soul into his legs as he leaped over the attack.

Clover took aim once again, firing another volley at Dalv who used his wings to ascend even higher and dodged his shot.

“I don’t enjoy fighting, or conversation for that matter.” Dalv said. “But I won’t let what happened before repeat again.” He clasped his hands together as a red lighting began crackling from his right hand. Outstretching his arm he fired several brilliant bolts of lighting at once.

There was only a second to react between each burst. The first blast hit him and brought his hp which was thirty two down to twenty six. The lighting coursed through Clover’s body and caused him to involuntarily shake as he forced himself to move to the side as the next bolt hit the ground beside him.

‘Can’t take too much damage. I only have one healing item.’ Clover reminded himself as he lined up his next shot. If Dalv wanted to use his wings to gain an advantage, it was only fair that he took that away from him.

Aiming for what he assumed was the bone part of his left wing he fired. The shot met its mark and caused Dalv to fall towards the ground before his wings regained their balance and he flew up again.

“I don’t understand.” Dalv glared down at Clover. “Why? Why did you come here? Just to hunt me down?”

“You’ve got to answer for your crimes.” Clover coldly replied. “Zaley didn’t deserve to be attacked. You attempted to kill a child and are now standing in the way of me delivering justice for everyone else.” Clover reloaded his toy gun as more red lighting began circling around Dalv.

He raised his hand as several electrical spheres appeared in front and behind Clover. And then he opened his cloak as two large lightning bolts began glowing orange as they hurled towards him.

Careful with his spacing Clover only moved ever so slightly the second the bolts were about to hit him. First Dalv fired two orange bolts, the blue, then orange before changing the pattern to confuse Clover. It didn’t work and the red spheres around him faded away as he took his next shot at Dalv’s wings.

Again his shot met its mark this time on his right wing. The attack left a noticeable hole in Dalv’s large wing and both seemed to be flapping much more slowly now.

“So that’s your strategy.” Dalv lowered his head. “My wings may be wounded, but I won’t fall that easily.” He crossed his arms as red lightning began circling around him before encompassing his body with a glowing red light.

Clover fired his next shot and watched as the barrier around Dalv cracked before quickly reforming.

“You’re powerful human.” Dalv sighed. “But you won’t break my barrier. This is a spell I’d been practicing ever since that day.” Dalv created more spheres of red lightning and hurled them at Clover. Ducking and jumping over them however had brought him right next to the edge of the water as a circle of them appeared around him.

Dalv snapped his fingers as the circle moved over the water. Knowing what would happen and being unable to jump or duck in time, Clover braced himself as the circle moved past him. Electrocuting him as the attack echoed along with his pained screaming. Taking him from twenty six hp to twenty as the white hot fire of justice and rage began to grow exponentially within the depths of his soul.

Clover took aim at Dalv once again, firing his shot and cracking his barrier before it quickly reformed.

‘This is bad.’ Clover thought to himself as he jumped back as Dalv unleashed more bolts of red lighting at him.

“You can’t win human.” Dalv said as Clover rolled under his lightning blast. “My barrier won’t break to your attacks. And I will not be lowering it.” Clover glared up at the monster before lookin back down at his gun as an idea struck him. His attacks may be too weak to break the barrier, but what about Dalv’s own attacks?

Human souls could empower the weapons and armor the wielder was using. And in the case of his gun, Clover poured his power into his pistol and combined its properties with whatever was in the chamber. That was why he could fire so many shots without worrying about ammo as all he needed to do was put something in the chamber and load it with his soul’s power.

But what would happen if he took Dalv’s attack and put it into the chamber? Yes grabbing and holding it with soul power would hurt but it could break his barrier. Left with no better idea Clover unloaded his toy gun and took the pebble out.

With his arm raised Dalv unleashed a storm of red lightning at Clover. He ran forward and rolled back with each bolt inching closer and closer to the point he could practically smell the ozone. More sphere’s of lightning appeared and circled around him as Dalv unleashed another volley of red and blue lightning attacks.

Waiting for his moment between the lightning strikes Clover seized his moment when Dalv fired two orange bolts of lighting at him. He dashed forward focusing his soul's power into his hand as he grabbed at one of the lighting spheres.

The young cowboy screamed as the lighting tore through his body and nearly fried his hand as it was blackened to a crisp. His hp fell from twenty to fourteen as he rushed out from the circle of lightning surrounding him. Focusing his power, he proceeded to crush the sphere in his hand until it was small enough to fit inside his pistol. He put the lighting ball in and focused his soul’s power into it. Combining Dalv’s powerful red lightning magic with his own soul power.

A faint hiss of burned flesh filled the air as Clover found his right hand could barely clench anymore. Toughening through the pain he took aim and fired once again. Dalv’s captured magic resulted in a brilliantly bright yellow bolt of lighting firing out of Clover’s toy gun. Shattering Dalv’s barrier into a million red sparks with a single blast and tearing straight through his left wing as the tall monster fell to the ground.

He plummeted like a bowling ball being dropped to the ground. The remainder of his wing was burning and his entire body was completely bruised with a noticeable bruise encircling his left eye. Dalv slowly picked himself up, clearly shaken from Clover’s attack.

“H-How did?!” Dalv stepped back as he turned his head towards his seared wing. He looked down at the severed appendage before quickly backing away with several long steps as his legs began to shake.

“Y-You used my own magic against me? I-I… I don’t want to die.” He outstretched both his arms. “Please. Just go away!” More red lightning crackled around Dalv’s body as dark clouds materialized around the two of them.

Lightning burst forth from all sides. Striking the two bodies of water on their flanks as Dalv unleashed every ounce of magical power he had left. The clouds around them unleashed a volley of lighting as Dalv unleashed a massive lightning storm against him. Shots of blue lightning were intermingled with red and orange as the smell of burning ozone overtook Clover’s nostrils. The bolts were relentless as he was electrocuted yet again, bringing him down from fourteen to eight hp and then to four as Dalv created a circle of lightning spheres around him.

Clover’s vision had grown hazy, and his body felt as though it was about to fall over as he quickly scarfed down the lemonade. The beverage was surprisingly refreshing and cool, and brought his hp up to eleven and restored some of his strength as the magic in the drink rejuvenated his soul.

“You invaded my home. Hunted me down and took away everyone.” Dalv frowned sadly. “Decibat, Penilla, Sweet Corn, Flier, and all the others… I never got to… I miss them. So this is for them.” He pointed to his right as the spheres of lightning began moving towards the edge. Once again focusing his soul's power into his legs Clover jumped out of the ring just as Dalv outstretched his palm. Firing a large bolt of red lighting straight into Clover’s chest and sending the young cowboy flying onto his back and skidding back towards the entrance as his head hit into the stone.

Clover Hp 01/32

‘Justice cannot be stopped.’ The words echoed through his head as Clover’s eyes shot open. ‘The guilty must be punished. The innocents must be avenged.’ It was like his soul was growing and wrapping itself around his body as Clover’s bright golden eyes began glowing with the golden brightness of a star. He pulled himself up as he took aim with his left hand.

Surprised, Dalv stepped back as the light from Clover’s eyes became so intense it nearly blinded him. Dalv channeled his remaining power into his right hand as a beam of yellow lighting struck him in the chest. The attack shot out of Clover’s toy gun so powerfully, so violently that the entirety of the Ruin’s shook and trembled as the blast punched a hole straight through Dalv’s chest.

Dalv fell to his knees. Shock and disbelief overtook his face as his body turned to dust. Leaving a large pile behind as Clover walked towards his remains. Looking down as the glow in his eyes faded away.

“No one can escape justice.” he said as his LOVE rose to level five. He turned his gaze towards his charred hand as he held it close to his chest. Pain was all he could feel, but he still was alive. He fell onto his back, breathing deeply as Flowey emerged out of the ground beside him.

“Clover… What was… that?” Flowey’s words were mixed with confusion and surprise. Clover ignored him and instead focused on catching his breath as the flower’s eye twitched for a moment.

“Um, hello? What are you too tired to talk to me? Well anyway, great job buddy. You really taught the downer a lesson.” the flower smiled at him as he looked at Clover’s fried hand. “Aww, you’re really hurt.” the flower winked. “Let me fix that.” Flowey burrowed underground and brought up a SAVE point which Clover immediately reached out for. Touching it brought upon a relaxing sensation that returned his senses to normal in an instant.

Not only was his mind healed and his hp restored to full, but his clothes were restored and his hand was returned to normal. With his strength restored Clover picked himself up as Flowey re-emerged and a long vine carrying something was fast approaching them. The vine was carrying a… piece of corn in the shape of a cute dog?

“Noticed that you missed this while you were running around. Since you’re out of healing items I figured you might need this.” Flowey said as Clover put the corn dog in his pocket.

“Could’ve used your help back there.” Clover remarked as for the briefest moment, Flowey’s smile cracked and became a scowl before turning back into a smile again.

“Umm SAVE file remember?” Flowey rhetorically replied. “You need to get stronger if you're going to kill Asgore. Besides, you handled yourself just fine. You didn’t even die once, and you’ve got that electric magic in your gun now. That’s sure to come in handy.” Clover headed into Dalv’s house without another word. His thoughts were racing and he needed to collect himself.

Dalv’s home was larger than his family's apartment but also more empty somehow. His dining table had a single chair. A large tacky wardrobe was by the wall along with a mini-fridge and there was another table that was littered with various poorly drawn doodles and creatures. Clover looked through his belongings for any supplies that might help him, finding nothing useful nor edible.

Opening the wardrobe revealed nothing but a single floating red balloon with a face markered on it. And for the first time since falling down here Clover smiled as he inhaled the balloon’s contents. His voice became high pitched and he began reciting some of his favorite lines from the cartoons he watched back home.

“Howdy Pardner! Reach for the sky. This town ain’t big enough for the both of us. Ahh! There’s a snake in my boot!” he laughed as his voice returned to normal. He smiled as he shut the closet, leaving the now deflated balloon inside as he allowed his mind to wander from his mission.

What was everyone back home doing? Was mom worried or still locking herself away? Was his father still at the factory? Had anyone noticed that he was gone? Were they happier now that they didn’t need to worry about him? And just how long had he been down here? How long had Flowey been using him, bringing him back over and over and for what? Even with his memories slowly coming back he couldn’t tell.

His mission was just and he was doing the right thing he knew but… he missed them. Mom’s occasional bouts of kindness midst her panicked mind. His father’s stern unwavering support for him when he could actually stay awake. Before he justified his possible absence being for the best for both of them as his existence caused them both a lot of stress and pain. But now… he just wanted to see them again.

‘I’m sure they love you.’ Quick as a flash Clover drew his gun and spun around to find the source of the voice. Only to hear the sound of a girl laughing inside of his own head.

‘Hehehe. Did I scare you? Sorry about that. I was just checking in on you now that I can actually talk to you.’

“Who are you?” Clover asked. “And how are you in my head?”

‘Shh.’ the girl shushed. ‘Don’t let that flower think anything’s going on. My name is Zaley Ali and I’m not really sure how I’m doing this. I sense a part of myself within your soul though. Maybe my soul’s magic mixed with yours when I was healing you.’

Clover shivered and lightly held his arm at the mention of his last fight with Asgore. ‘That’s… possible I guess. Never heard about anything like this in school.’

‘So what’s your name?’

‘Clover.’

‘That’s a nice name. It’s nice to meet you, Clover. So if you don’t mind me asking, why are you in the underground?’

‘To deliver justice for what monster’s did to you all.’ Clover answered. ‘Where are you?’

‘At the castle along with the others. We’ve been here for… I don’t know how long. But anyway I’ll do my best to try to help from here.’ Clover raised an eyebrow.

‘Thanks but how are you going to help me?’ At that moment Clover’s soul flew from his chest and began lightly glowing. A faint blue aura radiated along with his soul’s usual yellow as his body suddenly felt lighter.

‘As you gained LOVE you also empowered the magic I left within your soul. The connections not super strong, but through it I can use my soul’s power to help you.’ Clover jumped and found himself souring almost three feet in the air before slowly falling back down. The sensation of her power was similar to the feeling he had when he was jumping over Dalv’s attacks earlier.

‘Flowey told me I needed to gain a lot of LOVE to beat Asgore. What is it?’ Clover asked.

‘It means Level Of Violence.’ Zaley replied. ‘It means the more you hurt someone, the stronger you get and it becomes much easier to hurt someone again.’ Clover’s mouth fell agape at her revelation.

Flowey wanted him to be a murderer, a villian. To become the very embodiment of everything he stood against. He’s supposed to be a hero like his father and Sheriff Sam. Yet he took to killing innocents out of fear and-

But then a thought struck him. Asgore had declared war on humanity and the monster’s supported him. The monster’s had killed children, tried time and time again to kill him with even Dalv who was a child at the time attacking Zaley when she could barely stand. He hadn’t strayed away from justice, he was just serving it another way.

‘I’m getting you all out of here.’ Clover stated. ‘Asgore will face justice and you’ll all be free.’

‘Thank you Clover.’ Zaley replied. ‘Please be careful. The monster’s are going to hunt you down like they did to the rest of us. Get as strong as you can and don’t spare anyone.’ Her words brought him pause. The monster’s deserved justice, sure but he couldn’t stoop as low as them. He served a higher purpose and had to uphold justice with his every action. As was his responsibility.

‘If they don’t attack me, I won’t attack them.’ Clover told Zaley as he headed down a long corridor to the exit of the ruins. The floorboards beneath him had begun rotting away with holes, cracks and tiny insects covering them. Dalv not only was a villain but also terrible at taking care of his own home.

Reaching the end of the corridor led him to a large wooden door with a rusted metal handle. Pulling it open he found the door ahead of him boarded up. But before he could take aim with his pistol several small white pellets materialized in front of him before slamming into the boards. Breaking them and allowing him to progress as Flowey burst through the floorboard in front of him.

“Howdy. Regular monster’s are one thing, but that downer really put up a fight didn’t he? Great job getting past him and not dying even once. Boy am I glad to be on your side.”

‘“My side”.’ Clover mentally scowled as he lowered his hat to cover his eyes. “I was delivering justice. It’s why I’m here after all.”

“I know. Anyway this path will lead you right where we need to go. Word of warning though, Snowdin's well… cold. And I don’t have any fire magic so you’ll be on your own for keeping warm. But don’t worry. There’s a nice resort that’ll be perfect for keeping you warm. Just follow the path and you’ll make it in no time.” Clover nodded.

“And another thing before I let you go. We’re both in this together so anything you can’t do is my responsibility. I won’t help in fights, but I can do lots of things. Remember to stay focused and I’ll see you up ahead.” Flowey winked as he burrowed underground.

‘If he can manipulate time how am I supposed to beat him?’ Clover wondered as he pushed past the door. The next room was a large cave with a freezing chill filling the air as snow continued to fall by the cave's massive entrance. Shivering slightly Clover wrapped his hands around himself as he trudged forward. His breath materialized as a thick cloud in the cold air as he left the ruins and truly entered the underground.

Meanwhile in the back of the dark ruins

“Oh no, he must’ve wandered off.” Toriel had tied a rope and descended to find Clover. Finding a flowerbed at the bottom of the chasm had obviously been crushed by him upon his fall. Panic filled her thoughts as she quickly surveyed her surroundings. Only one path lay open to her and she quickly went deeper into the ruins.

She had failed the other children before, she would not do so again for this one. Clover had to be somewhere down here, and she would find him.

“Clover.” Toriel called out. “I am here my child. Where are you?”

Chapter Text

The child awoke in a dark cave. Covered by several fur blankets and finding his wounds surprisingly healed he rose and looked around. The cave held several objects of human craft such as cooking tools and old sets of clothes in his size. Loud steps echoed towards him as a wolf, easily three times his size towered over him. Its golden eyes transfixed on him as he fell onto his back in fear. The wolf spoke, “Do not fear me child.” it said as it lowered its massive head. “I’ve come to aid you on your quest to the forest's heart.” The wolf’s eyes glowed as out from one of the boxes, a knife flew into his grasp. “Are you ready? We have much to do.”

The frigid air chilled Clover’s very bones as he took his first steps outside the ruins. He had walked out into a dark snow covered forest with the only source of illumination being the strange glowing light’s far, far above him. The shadows were everywhere and it felt as though there were a million sets of eyes upon him that stalked him with every step. His western style jacket did little to keep him warm as the snow crunched beneath his feet with every step.

There was a single pathway forward where the tall trees didn’t grow or had fallen over and blocked his path. With his teeth beginning to chatter Clover kept both his hands in his pockets to provide some warmth against the frigid air as he kept a careful eye on his surroundings. There was no sound or monster nor any living soul around him as he continued on.

‘Cold huh?’ Zaley chuckled awkwardly. Clover would’ve given her a very colorful remake if his mouth didn’t feel like it was frozen shut. ‘Sorry that wasn’t funny. When I was traveling through Snowdin I tried to keep my mind off the cold by distracting myself. So… do you like dancing?’

“... Y-Yes.” Clover shivered a response.

‘Really?! It’s so much fun right? Music never fails to make me feel awesome. Oh, what’s your favorite song? Mine’s Dance till we’re in Heaven.’

‘Sheriff Sam’s Western Rescue intro song.’ Clover replied. ‘Such a good song. And I love the harmonica he plays. That’s why I started playing.’ he pulled out his harmonica he kept inside his jacket. It was a replica of the one they used in the show with Sheriff Sam’s name autographed on the back of it.

‘Lucky.’ Zaley said with notably less enthusiasm than before. ‘I wasn’t allowed to play instruments.’ Before Clover could give a response Flowey popped out of the ground in front of a massive rock.

“Howdy. Welcome to the underground buddy.” the flower said with his usual cheerful tone as Clover continued shivering. “Oh come on, it's not THAT cold. Least you got that jacket. I don’t have anything for this weather.” Clover glared down at the Flowey who simply rolled his eyes.

“Look, I don't fancy freezing either.” Lifting his left petal Flowey gestured down the path to Clover’s right. “There’s a place you can warm up down that way. Just keep to the path and you’ll find it.” Hearing that Clover began walking as a vine wrapped around his ankle.

“Hey, I wasn’t done yet.” Flowey said as he pulled Clover back towards him. “I just wanted to let you know that nobody around here really goes into the ruins. So nobody is ever going to know about what happened back there. All those death’s may as well have never happened. They're our little secret.”

“G-Ge-t t-to th-e p-point.” Clover sneezed.

“We’re on the outside now. And if you go around like you did in the ruins it's going to attract all kinds of unwanted attention. So if you want, you can try playing it smart and just kill a few monsters here and there. Nobody is going to notice a few missing monsters and a little extra dust with all this snow.”

‘You need as much power as you can get to defeat Asgore.’ Zaley added. ‘And if you die he’ll just reset again. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to help you if he did that.’ Zaley’s words resonated with Clover but at the same time his own mind was still wrestling with the idea.

Some part of him still wanted to stop killing the monster’s in spite of the fact it was what justice demanded of him. He remembered he had managed to go through the whole underground without killing or hurting a single monster despite their efforts to kill him. But each time he did that, his mission ended in failure with his soul getting put into that jar.

‘Doing the right is never easy.’ he told himself. Justice needed to be done and he wouldn’t back down now. His mission, Zaley and the others needed him to be stronger. To be a hero, a ranger bringing justice like Sheriff Sam. So that’s what he’d do.

“N-No.” Clover rasped. “J-Justi-ce w-won’t b-be stopped.” Surprisingly Flowey smiled at that.

“Playing nice would be pretty boring. Alright pal. No matter what happens I got your back.” he winked as he SAVED and burrowed back underground.

‘Any advice for dealing with monsters around here?’ Clover asked as he began walking down the path.

‘Monster’s around here use ice magic a lot. You need to make sure you dodge or it’ll slow you down. Also you should pay attention to your surroundings. Some of them blend in with the snow and are hard to see.’ As she said those words Clover came upon a little igloo. Surprisingly his soul popped out of his chest as the igloo just stood there. Menacingly.

“Is t-there a m-mon-ster inside i-it?” Approaching the igloo he lowered himself down and peeked inside. Two eyes opened to greet him as some sort of crab monster emerged out of the igloo.

“IGLOO. IGLOO.” it cried out as more igloo’s emerged from the snow around him. Clover scrambled for his pistol and quickly took aim. The magically electrified shot burst from his pistol’s chamber with a thundering roar. Completely obliterating the monster with a single shot as it was turned to dust in an instant. The other igloo monsters began crying out “IGLOO!” as large blocks of ice began materializing above Clover.

‘RUN!’ Zaley shouted as Clover did just that. Somersaulting to his left just as a massive ice block nearly crushed him into the ground. He sprinted away as more and more blocks of ice, easily twice his size began falling all around him.

Clover loaded his pistol with more power as the igloo monster’s began firing… snowflakes? They flew at him quickly, racing through the air before slamming into his chest with one of them hitting his cheek. The attack chilled his body, making it harder to run as he felt a liquid pouring down the side of his face.

He was bleeding. The attack had chilled and tore open his skin. Creating a bright red hole on his left cheek as it felt like his blood was beginning to freeze. Gritting his teeth Clover took his next shot, again killing one of the creatures instantly with a thunderous bolt of power that echoed through the deathly silent forest.

“IGLOOO! IGLOOO!” they all kept crying as they kept attacking him. It was getting harder to run, or breathe and his hp had gone down to 22/32. But he couldn’t run or stop now, so he kept blasting.

*Boom* *BOOM*

“Hmm?” Martlet’s focus on her lava puzzle was shattered by a distant thunderous boom. Jumping off the puzzle’s high rise she used her two arm wings to soften her landing as the sound continued to echo through the forest. Amidst the sound of thunderous blasts were the cries of… igloo?

“What’s going on?” she wondered as she flapped her wings and took flight. Easily soaring high into the air and soaring underneath the long snow covered branches of the trees as the sound became louder and louder until suddenly stopping as she approached.

08/44 hp. LOVE increased. Breathing deeply, Clover felt… better. The cold wasn’t bothering him anymore thanks to all the adrenaline running through his system. The mob of monster’s trying to kill him were all dead and he was one step closer to rescuing Zaley and the others.

‘Are you okay?’ Zaley asked as Clover placed his hand over his cheek. His blood had begun to freeze and his legs were stiff. His skin had turned snowy pale white between the frigid air and the magic from the monster's attacks.

“I-I-I’m f-f-ine.” Clover sneezed as he fell onto his knees. It was so cold. It felt like his blood was actually freezing as it fell from his face. Leaving spots of black red mixing with white as he slowly picked himself up.

“Oh my goodness! Are you alright?” Immediately Clover picked himself up and took aim at the monster who landed in front of him. She was a tall blue bird monster with a yellow beak for a mouth. She wore a fair of fur boots and had two long arms that were covered in blue feathers. Looking up at her, Clover instantly recognized her.

“Martlet.” He uttered as he fell back. Martlet rushed forward. Pulling him out of the snow and quickly pulling out a small canister from her bag.

“Here this will warm you up.” Lacking any strength to resist Clover drank from the canister. The liquid was warm. And like the lemonade from the ruins it turned into a mist inside of his mouth and began to quickly warm up his entire body. The cuts on his body faded away as the skin healed instantly. Bringing his hp back to 44/44 as his body was rejuvenated.

“There.” Martlet smiled. “Are you feeling better?” Clover pulled himself back onto his feet. Still keeping his eyes concealed with his hat, he turned to her. And smiled.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” she replied. “I’m a Royal Guard. It’s my job to make sure you're safe.” She said as a flash of realization quickly filled her eyes. “Wait. You’re human right?”

‘Get away from her!’ Zaley yelled. Her voice was colder than the air and snow around him. And even though they were separated, Clover felt her anger pouring like venom out of her every word. He quickly stepped away from Martlet as the bird noticed his frightened state.

“Whoa hey it’s alright.” she assured Clover. “I don’t want to hurt you. Usually I’d be following what my royal guard book tells me right now.” she explained as she pulled out a relatively thick book with writing Clover could understand despite clearly not being made of the same letters he learned in school. Some kind of magic book maybe? And come to think of it, how was he able to understand monster writing?

“But you’re really hurt. And cold. So… I think it’ll be alright if I don’t follow protocol right now.” she said as she tucked the book back into her bag.

“So can you tell me what was going on here?” she said as they both turned their attention to their surroundings and Clover silently hoped she would think all of the dust piles were just clumps of snow.

“I could’ve sworn I heard frostermits over here but I don’t see any of them. And what was with that loud boom earlier?” Clover was thankful his eyes were concealed, otherwise he would look VERY guilty right now.

‘She’s going to kill you.’ Zaley warned. ‘Don’t trust her.’

“I…” Clover trailed off.

‘Scared them off.’

“Scared them off.” Clover said. “They attacked me and I… got scared.” Clover braced himself for an attack, but Martlet simply gave him a sympathetic look.

“You poor thing. I’m sorry you had to go through that.” she said as Clover remained silent.

“... Um. So may I have your name?” Martlet asked.

“Clover.”

“Well, Clover. I’m Martlet. It’s nice to meet you.” she held out her feathered hand as he reached for it.

‘DON'T!’ Zaley screamed as Clover froze and backed away. Surprised Martlet gave him a concerned look as he retracted her hand.

“Are you alright Clover?” she asked.

‘She’s trying to trick you.’ Zaley said. ‘Royal Guard's can’t be trusted. They work for Asgore and bring any human they find to him so he can kill them.’ The air around Martlet and Clover quickly chilled as the cowboy glared at her.

‘This is a waste of time.’ Clover thought. He had a mission. He didn’t have time for talking or making friends with an enemy that wanted him dead. He didn’t remember Martlet doing anything as bad as Ceroba, and she did just help him continue his mission. But she was still a Royal Guard and was partial to Asgore’s crimes.

“I need to get going.” Clover said. “Thank you.”

“Wait, going? Where? Um… I’ll come along with you. I’ll guide-”

“I’ll do this on my own.” Clover insisted as he walked past her. Martlet was surprised by the human’s complete dismissal of her. And… Clover gave off a cold aura the likes of which chilled her very soul to its core.

“Hey wait.” She quickly ran in front of him. “Can we just talk for a minute?”

‘Don’t listen to her.’ Zaley warned as Clover crossed his arms. He’d hear her out but she won’t get in the way of his mission.

“I know you're scared and you don’t want to trust me, but I want to help you.” Clover raised his eyebrow. A monster was willing to help him bring justice to their evil king? Maybe there really were more monsters like Toriel elsewhere in the underground.

“I don’t want to see you get hurt like that again. You're just a kid. You shouldn’t be put in danger like that.” A small scowl covered Clover’s face. He’s ‘just a kid’ huh? He’s more than that. He’s a hero like his father and Sheriff Sam.

“You want to get home right?” Martlet said. “I can escort you safely to the barrier. The other Royal Guards-”

‘She’s tricking you!’ Zaley yelled. ‘She’s trying to make you drop your guard so she can take you to Asgore just like what they did to Cody.’ Clover’s rage boiled over in an instant as he drew his pistol. Martlet, caught completely off guard, backed away from Clover as a faint yellow glow emanated from underneath his hat.

“Whoa hey, what do you think you’re doing?!” The electric magic in the toy gun’s chamber began crackling out of the pistol’s barrel as Clover kept his pistol leveled with his enemy.

“Go.” he ordered. The cold seriousness in his voice killed any hope Martlet had for conversation. She stepped away as fear and sadness overtook her mind.

“But… I was… Please stay safe, Clover.” Martlet said as she began flapping her wings. Quickly ascending and soaring high through the air as she left.

‘Phew you got lucky there.’ Zaley said. ‘Are you alright Clover?’

‘I’m fine!’ he snapped. Zaley went dead silent as Clover calmed himself down with a few deep breaths. Usually he never let his anger out like this but now it seemed like the only thing he could feel since coming down here.

He forced his thoughts of the matter out of his mind and proceeded onwards. Eventually stumbling upon a wooden barrier along with a switch and several pages of instructions nailed beside it.

“Looks like you found your first puzzle out here.” Flowey said as he popped out beside Clover. “Nice job getting through those monsters.” he winked. “You really showed them who's boss.”

“Can you SAVE?” Clover asked as Flowey made him a SAVE. “I don’t have time for puzzles.” and with that Clover aimed his gun at the door and fired. Blowing apart the wooden gate with a single shot as splinter’s of wood flew in all directions.

“Whoa hey take it easy!” Flowey whined. “At least give a little warning before you blow things up.” Clover didn’t give him a second glance as went past the gate. Journeying deeper into the forest as Flowey burrowed back underground.

*Beep* *Beep*

“Okay. I can do this.” a short yellow scaled lizard with glasses repeated to herself. It was always like this for her. Talking to Undyne, even in the form of short simple text’s over the phone, was so nerve wracking. Her palm’s sweated more and more with every passing second as she stared at her phone.

“Hi Undyne. How is your day going?” That was the message in its entirety. It was short. Too short and so irrelevant that Undyne probably wouldn’t even want to read and text back. Or she was too busy to reply. Or she broke her phone again or-

*Beep* *Beep*

The possibilities of what could happen if she pressed send were endless. But in the end, no matter how much she willed herself to do it. She couldn’t. Sighing in defeat she turned off her phone and walked across the lab to see what the security monitor was sounding off for.

As she approached the main computer it turned out to be an alarm that was going off in Snowdin. Reading further caused her to gasp as a human was detected by her surveillance equipment.

“Oh my god. A human?” She hurriedly opened the ongoing surveillance cameras and was quickly horrified by what she saw.

A young human boy wearing a worn hat, a brown jacket and western styled boots was using a handheld projectile weapon to kill the monster’s around him. Frantically she set off an alarm for all available Royal Guards to assemble in the area and begin evacuating. Thankfully the human appeared a good distance away from Snowdin and instead he seemed to be heading towards HoneyDew Resort.

“If we act fast enough we can prevent another attack on Snowdin.” Alphy’s said as the alert went off to all Royal Guards. The fifth human had killed a lot of monster’s at Snowdin years prior before disappearing and later their soul being given to Asgore. So many monsters were hurt and killed by her that it seemed like no one aside from Asgore would have a chance at stopping her.

She wouldn’t let that happen. Not with everyone counting on her. She would continue to monitor the human and keep the guard on his trail. Snowdin would not repeat again.

Continuing down the path Clover came upon a curious sight. A young looking bunny monster with long ears and white fur wrapped in winter clothing with a long red scarf was standing alone in the cold with its tongue stuck to a pole. Clover lowered his weapon as he approached the monster.

“Why are you stuck to a pole?” Clover asked.

“I wass darred ansh and everyone elsh ran away.” the child replied. “I’m scawered.” Clover knew he needed something hot to unfreeze the child. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any such thing on him. He knew he needed to press onwards but it wasn’t justice to leave him here. Even if they were enemies, helping him was the just thing to do.

First he tried pulling the monster off, which failed. He tried pulling his tongue off the pole, which also failed. Frustrated, he grabbed the child by the shoulders and began pulling even harder.

“STOOP!” The child yelled. “You're hurting me.” Clover gritted his teeth as his anger began boiling within his soul. He was a servant of justice, born to right the wrongs of the world and make things better. But here he was, too weak and incapable of helping a simple child who had been abandoned by an awful and unjust species.

He called upon the power in his soul for strength, for the power to right this wrong. As the child begged for him to stop Clover’s eyes began glowing blue as he felt a new power swelling within him.

‘You’re doing it!’ Zaley cheered. ‘Focus on the monster’s soul and the pole. Imagine ripping them apart with your hands.’ Clover did as she suggested as the child and the pole were encompassed in a dark blue aura. With his power he lifted them both into the air and with a final exertion of force Clover ripped the two apart.

The Clover and the monster child fell onto the backs as the pole was catapulted into the nearby trees. Knocking several of them over as the very earth itself shook with their impact. Clutching his chest Clover was left gasping for air as the child beside him began crying.

“Are you… okay?” he asked.

“BRUTE!” the child yelled at him. “You’re supposed to use a sufficiently heated yet not too hot liquid to safely unstick my tongue. Your method nearly caused my tongue to get severed and would’ve cost me a delectable dinner once I arrived at home. So no I am not okay you simpl-” The monster’s eyes shot open as Clover aimed his gun at him.

“Go.” Clover said as the monster bunny child immediately began running off. He took a moment to catch his breath as Flowey popped out of the ground beside him.

“Clover.” Flowey trailed off as he looked over the trees Clover knocked over. “That was blue magic. How did you do that?” Clover shrugged.

“I… wow. You’re really special buddy.” Flowey smiled. “I’d never seen anything like that before. Didn’t know you could use blue magic either. Well,” the flower winked. “If you’re gonna be using that. There’s a few things you should know.”

“Like what?”

“Blue magic can be used to nullify gravity. Say you wanna jump over something big, you can by using that magic to make yourself soar. You can also control gravity on a person or objects and slam them into the ground. Making it alot easier to finish off.” There was a trace of anger in the flower’s words, almost as though he was biting his own tongue. Maybe Flowey didn’t like blue magic.

“There’s a lot of application’s for blue magic so be sure to get creative.” Flowey continued. “With enough practice you might even be able to make your own blue attacks. Keep up the great work buddy.” he said as he burrowed back underground.

‘My magic in your soul’s gotten a lot stronger.’ Zaley said. ‘Don’t worry Clover. It's really easy to use my soul’s magic once you get used to it. I’m sure it’ll help a lot going forward.’ For the slightest hair of a second, Clover could’ve sworn he saw another being standing right behind him. But as he looked around he found nothing.

He continued onwards until he came upon a ruined shed and his body began pulling him off the path. Trusting his instincts as before, Clover came upon a blackened tree with several large icicles hanging from the branches. Testing his new power, he reached his hand high to pull down the icicles. As nothing happened.

“...” he tried again focusing more of his soul's energy into the icicles to no avail. With a huff of frustration he concentrated hader, straining his brain as he tried in vain to pull the icicle down.

‘Hey take it easy. You don’t need to get so angry.’ Zaley said as Clover ceased his efforts.

“What am I doing wrong?” he asked.

‘My soul’s magic isn’t just controlling gravity. It's an expression of who I am just like your soul’s magic expresses who you are.’ she explained. ‘When I use it, it's like I’m dancing. I’m expressing who I am and also tying what I’m doing to that.’ she paused, allowing Clover to think over her words.

‘I think the reason you were able to activate my soul’s magic is because you were trying to help that monster. You were focusing on doing something that reflected who you are, and my power responded. Aggressively, I'll admit. But I know you’ll get better.’

“Reflecting who I am.” Clover muttered to himself as he raised his hand again. He began thinking about his mission, his duty, his purpose. A fire began burning in his heart as the righteousness of his cause began to warm his entire body. To right wrongs, to protect those who can’t protect themselves. That’s what a hero was, and that was who he was.

A faint blue aura surrounded the icicles as a dark blue light began glowing from Clover’s eyes. He clenched his hand, and pulled the icicles down from the tree. They fell and hovered in the air before him as he took one in his hand before releasing his magic on them.

‘Great job Clover.’ Zaley cheered. ‘With a little more training you’ll be as good as I was. Don’t worry, by the time I’m done you’ll be dancing through the air like a pro.’ A small smile appeared on Clover’s face as he put the ice bullet in his pocket. With how close to death he was put to by ice magic, it’d be wise to keep a powerful tool on hand just in case he needed it.

‘Thanks pardner.’ Clover said as he went back onto the main path. ‘This ice bullet is going to be handy. Couldn’t do this without you.’ Though he couldn’t see her, Clover felt joy fill her mind as he continued back onto the main path.

Honey Dew Resort, once a popular vacation spot for travelers seeking refuge from Snowdin’s icy climate, was now as empty and silent as the forest surrounding it. Its hot springs were abandoned to the cold, monster tracks in the snow were both as numerous as they were frantic and scattered while the micro froggits all scattered back to their hiding places deeper in the forest as the residents were hurriedly evacuated by Martlet.

The call for evacuation had gone out not long after she left Clover and in spite of everything she couldn’t believe it. It all had to be a mistake. Clover was just a child. A scared child who likely didn’t even realize what was going on. Granted the aura he gave off was unsettling, but it couldn’t have been his fault. Humans were known throughout the underground for being violent, dangerous creatures who housed immensely powerful souls. Perhaps the humans on the surface made Clover this way?

And there was also this undeniable feeling of deja vu when she had first encountered him. It was like they had met before, but such a thing was impossible. Yet she had a feeling that Clover wasn’t nearly as cold hearted as everyone believed him to be. It was like she knew him without even having met him before.

Either way she had her responsibility as a royal guard. She will evacuate the resident’s of Snowdin to safety and find Clover and get the situation straightened out. And find him before the other Royal Guards got to him. Especially the captain, she shivered at the thought.

Perhaps if she could convince him that speaking to the king would let him get by peacefully with no one else getting hurt or scared. She was a good people person after all. And as they say, second times the charm.

“ZZZZ.” a crowd of short round monster’s huddled together along the path. Their snores manifested into multiple letter Z’s and floated around them. Speeding in all directions as Clover shook his head.

‘More roadblocks.’ He sighed.

‘At least they're sleeping. That’ll make killing them and getting stronger much easier.’ Zaley suggested as Clover began walking past them. ‘Um… what are you doing?’

‘They’re not attacking.’ Clover replied as he ducked under a Z. ‘Shooting them like this would be murder.’

‘But-’

‘It’s not justice.’ Clover cut her off as his boot crushed a stick with a sudden echoing crunch. All at once the previously sleeping monster’s opened their dreary eyes as many sharp sparkly objects began manifesting in the air around him.

“Oh shoot.” Clover uttered as he ran out of the way of the projectiles. The monster’s attacks followed after him. Racing ahead faster than he could run and cutting into his back and arms.

More blood dripped down onto the crystal white snow as Clover drew his pistol and fired his first round. Annihilating one of the monster’s with a thunderous bang as they all jumped and began crawling away.

“No you don’t.” Those cowards thought they could try to kill him and get away with it? Monster’s were so unjust and cowardly. He took aim once again, lining up each shot with more and more power from his soul and turning each of them into dust until only one remained.

‘Wait, we should use it to practice blue magic.’ Zaley suggested ‘Remember what I told you earlier. Focus and reach out for its soul. Once you have a firm grip you can keep him trapped in place.’ Clover did as she suggested. Lowering his weapon and focusing on his mission, why he was here and why it was just to finish off this cowardly murderer.

As before his eyes began to glow blue as he felt the monster’s soul as though it was in the palms of his hand. Shutting his eyes he lifted his hand and the monster up as the world itself began weighing down on him. Gritting his teeth Clover’s arm began to shake as his muscles began aching as his head began to throb.

‘You’re doing it.’ Zaley said as her voice sounded… closer to him somehow. Like if he turned his head he’d see her standing right beside him. ‘Just focus. Throw them up, and then slam down.’

The technique was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. Usually he’d only feel this tired from using his soul magic if he had spent an entire day shooting trash cans in an alleyway by his home. Zaley’s magic was draining his energy more than he had even imagined possible. Was it because he had a justice soul and she clearly had the virtue of Integrity? Or was it just that he needed practice?

The monster struggled against the grip he had on their soul as he held them suspended in the air. Without another word Clover pointed his gun and pulled the trigger. And nothing happened.

“What?” Clover gasped as he pulled the trigger again, and again, and again. His soul’s magic wasn’t filling the gun’s chamber as it always had. In fact, it was now he noticed that his soul’s usual yellow color had become blue instead.

‘Guess my soul’s magic doesn’t work like yours.’ Zaley rationalized as Clover holstered his pistol. Grabbing his other hand and gritting his teeth he pushed up higher as the monster ascended into the air. And then he slammed them down into the frigid ground beneath his feet. Again and again with such force it shook the forest around them as with a final slam the monster turned into a pile of dust as Clover fell to his knees. Panting.

LOVE increased to 8. Hp increased to 48.

‘Great job Clover.’ Zaley cheered as Clover felt a hand on his shoulder. But when he turned his head there was no one there.

“*Gasp*. Didn’t think… magic could be… so draining.” Clover breathed deeply as he pulled himself up. “And I couldn’t shoot when I had their soul. Looks like I can’t hold’em in place and fire.”

‘Sorry about that. But hey, I’m sure it’ll still be a great help. Oh yeah, we haven’t even tried soaring through the sky yet have we?’ Clover shook his head as Zaley squealed with excitement.

‘Oh you’re going to LOVE IT! Trust me. There's nothing better than soaring through the air. Who knows, maybe when you get back to the surface you’ll even take ballet lessons.’

‘I’m a cowboy, not a ballerina.’ Clover shivered at the thought. Blue magic was definitely useful, but there was no way he’d ever be caught dead in a girly tutu and dancing in front of other people. The very thought, just no.

Resuming his journey deeper into snowdin forest Clover’s stomach began to rumble. He thought briefly about eating the corn dog Flowey gave him after he defeated Dalv but decided against it. Afterall he’d need as many supplies and aid he could get his hands on if he was to have a chance at defeating Asgore.

It was then he came across a coffee mug sitting all alone on a table in the middle of the path. Suspecting a trap Clover reached for his holster but found his instincts were telling him to relax. Trusting them, he walked forward as a voice echoed around him.

“What’s this? A new customer?” At that moment from the shadows a monster wearing a dark blue business shirt and hat emerged and kicked the table over and skillfully caught the mug with a single hand. The monster wore a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes and his smile seemed to radiate a kind, welcoming aura that almost brought a smile to Clover’s face.

“BAM. Who am I? No one of note. Ya know. JUST THE BEST DARN SALESMAN EVER!” the monster winked at Clover. “WAM. I’m Mo. Great to meet cha.” Mo gave the human cowboy a finger gun before quickly squinting his eyes and leaning ever so slightly closer to Clover.

“Hmm. I know that face.” Mo said as Clover gave him his full attention. Was it possible Mo remembered him from the last timeline?

“That’s the face of someone, who needs a little something to hit the spot.” Mo smiled and pointed to the mug in his hand. “Something fresh, revolutionary. And probably heal those uh, cuts of yours.” Clover traced his fingers over his cheek and found more of his own blood dripping down like before.

“But hey there ain’t no shame in a little pain right? Life’s about taking risks. Living on the edge. Making the most of everything you got. And speaking of which, I bet you wanted this mug right?” Mo asked.

“Yes.” Clover replied as Mo quickly threw the mug over his shoulder. Shattering it into a dozen broken pieces.

“No you don’t kid. Trust me.” Mo smirked as he flicked his finger. From Clover’s left a stand emerged and slid in between the two of them as Mo took his place behind it.

“Liquids, so last season. Solids? Pfft, season before that. So instead of all those, I’m offering something much better. Solids that used to be liquids. And ya know. Haven’t been sitting out in the cold for three weeks.” Mo said as he pulled out a cold pop.

“For the low low price of 15g you can have your very own Hot Chocolate Pop plus the limited time opportunity to try the rest of my pops. Interested?” Mo said as Clover approached his stand.

Every monster he’d killed up to know had dropped some amount of gold coins he’d taken with him. While initially planning to bring as many home as possible to help his parents, he also needed to actually survive the trip home first.

And so Clover bought the Hot Chocolate Pop and his two other options, them being the Cold Pop and the Lukewarm Pop. He may have lost 45g but now he was better prepared for danger.

“Thank you.” Clover said as Mo smiled and snapped his fingers. His stand slid back into the forest as he tipped his hat to the cowboy.

“Not a problem kid. You enjoy those pops and maybe I’ll see you around. Mo out!” the monster said as he disappeared into the forest like his stand.

‘Alright, back to the mission.’

‘Aren’t you going to heal yourself?’ Zaley asked. ‘Your still bleeding.’

‘I’m fine.’ Clover replied. ‘In fact, I’ve never felt better.’

(Elsewhere in an Unknown Location)

“✋︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☜︎💧︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎📬︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ✞︎✌︎☼︎✋︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ 🏱︎⚐︎💧︎💧︎☜︎💧︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☝︎☼︎✋︎❄︎✡︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎✋︎👍︎☜︎📬︎ ☟︎💣︎💣︎📬︎📬︎📬︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ ☝︎✋︎✞︎☜︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎⚐︎💣︎✌︎☹︎✋︎☜︎💧︎ ✌︎☹︎☼︎☜︎✌︎👎︎✡︎ ✋︎☠︎ 🏱︎☹︎✌︎✡︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎📬︎📬︎📬︎ ✡︎☜︎💧︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✌︎ 🏱︎⚐︎💧︎💧︎✋︎👌︎✋︎☹︎✋︎❄︎✡︎ ☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☜︎ 💧︎❄︎☼︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎ ☜︎☠︎⚐︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎📬︎ 👍︎☹︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ ☹︎☜︎❄︎ 🕆︎💧︎ ❄︎☜︎💧︎❄︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎🕯︎💧︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎📬︎”

Chapter Text

“This forest has many monster’s that won’t hesitate to devour you whole.” The wolf explained as he circled around the boy armed with only a knife. “If you are to pierce the heart of darkness and face the king you must be strong. And to be strong you must accept this truth.” The wolf pulled at a bit of cloth covering a caged animal. It screeched and scratched at its confines and the boy approached. “In this world, it’s kill or be killed.”

Snowdin many years prior

The quaint little town was dead silent. Dust filled the air and the once warm and welcoming homes of many monsters were now as cold and barren as the land around her. The light was absent save for the glowing rocks above. And the air seemed to chill around her as Zaley rested in the home of a monster she had killed.

They wouldn’t stop pursuing her. The Royal Guards were relentless, coming after her without pause or rest. No words or pleas would stop them as they fulfilled the orders of their king and attempted to take her soul. All she had wanted was to be accepted, to find people who would love her for who she was over what they wanted her to be.

She never should’ve left Toriel’s care, but she couldn’t turn back now. She made her choice and now had to live by it. She wouldn’t die, she would escape and then maybe finally find her place in the world.

‘My place.’ she smiled. Her first kill was both an accident. In self defense. One of the Royal Guards had found and attacked her as she was traversing the forest. It was the first time she’d ever used her soul’s magic to defend herself. And the rush, the power she felt from killing them was unlike anything she’d ever felt before.

Zaley felt stronger, more confident. Even with all the scars and tears her body endured from the monster's, her will was never halted. She had grown numb to the pain, numb to the cold and… even her own body as it felt as though her soul was becoming more distant from the physical vessel it was inhabiting.

Catching her breath, she rose and headed back onto the path. It grew warmer as she entered a marshy area with crystal blue water. Waterfall was the name the monster’s called it, she believed. It was beautiful, a perfect place for a ballet dance. A pity she couldn’t perform for anyone.

Present time

After finally trudging through the forest Clover came upon a large single story lodge. “Honey Dew Resort” the sign read as numerous tracks in the snow indicated a lot of monster’s had fled from here. ‘Good.’ he thought. He was never going to kill them unless they attacked first, but their absence didn’t slow down his mission.

“Wow, this place went from pleasant to eerie real quick.” Flowey said. “On the bright side, you won’t need to pay for coffee now.”

“How much farther until I reach Asgore?” Clover asked.

“You’ve still got a bit of a journey ahead of you. But luckily I know a shortcut.” Flowey winked. “That Royal Guard you met earlier has a boat. If you take that you’ll sail right through Waterfall and into Hotland. From there it’s just a quick trip through the CORE and then you're at the capital.” Clover nodded as a familiar instinct guided him to a hidden path behind Honey Dew Resort.

Ducking under the foliage he found a mini hot tub for micro froggits and a delicious looking golden coffee. He took it and stored it away before heading inside the resort itself.

The light’s were still on but the place was empty. The stage had drums, a guitar and other musical equipment just laying on it. Some of the chairs were knocked over and scraps of food were left underneath the tables. Clover decided to take what supplies he could scavenge. Taking several food items and putting on the Honey Dew Pin which increased his DEF a bit. He then noticed the register was open, with a lot of gold inside. Stealing was wrong but wasn’t he already doing that in order to survive? Besides, his folks back home could really use the money. His parent’s easily deserved it more than the monsters.

‘You should take a break here.’ Zaley suggested. ‘I can sense how cold you are.’

‘I’m fine.’ Clover replied as he took the last of the gold from the register. ‘I don’t feel cold anymore.’

‘Look at your hands.’ Zaley urged as Clover rolled his eyes. But to his surprise she was right, his hands were bright red with a few tiny cuts on them.

‘This happened to me too. As I got stronger I couldn’t feel pain or cold as much. Trust me, you can’t just ignore your body like this. Can you please just take a few minutes to warm up?’

‘I don’t need to.’ Clover shook his head as he headed back out into the forest. ‘No monster has been able to beat me. I have Dalv’s electrical magic and Flowey’s time abilities on my side. I can’t lose.’

‘That’s what I thought to.’ Zaley quietly said as Clover came upon a bridge with multiple steps that jetted up and down in rapid succession.

‘Remember what I’ve said and concentrate on your soul this time.’ Zaley instructed as Clover shut his eyes and focused. Within moments, his yellow soul turned blue as his eyes opened.

‘Great. Now let the emotions run free. Let them carry you into the wind and gracefully through the stars.’ She cheered as Clover took his first jump. Soaring far higher than he had ever jumped before, and falling straight through the first hole on the bridge. Though he thankfully landed on a pillow below.

‘Good thing there was a pillow here.’ Zaley sighed in relief. ‘Don’t worry Clover. Just keep trying and you’ll get used to it.’

“Alright everyone just stay on the path and you’ll be safe.” Martlet addressed the crowd of monster’s she had gathered up. “Please stay together. Once you arrive at the safezone you’ll be provided everything you need until this is all resolved.”

“Where are all the frostermits?” one of the monsters asked.

“Most likely that brute had gotten to them.” a short bunny monster child replied. “He nearly ripped off my tongue. Humans truly are barbaric.” Martlet’s attention immediately turned on the child.

“Wait, you’ve met him?” she asked as the child nodded.

“I was playing with my friends when they dared me into licking a pole. This resulted in my tongue being stuck to it and my friends began laughing at me when this cold feeling in the air occurred. They all ran away and I was alone when the human approached. He ripped the pole out of the ground and my tongue and then pointed his gun at me when I tried to inform him of the proper way to get one’s tongue unstuck.” The child explained as everyone present just stared at him.

“He ripped a pole out of the ground?” one monster said in surprise. “Human’s really are powerful.” fear began overtaking the crowd as they all began talking over one another. Some monster’s began breaking away from the crowd and running down the path while others began huddling together with some suggesting they run and a few in the crowd suggesting they fight.

“Everyone please.” Martlet said to no avail as her voice was drowned by the crowd. She took the air, flapping her wings and circling around them as she raised her voice.

“I know you’re all scared but panicking isn’t going to solve anything.” She said as she landed. “You all need to leave right now. I will handle this but I need all of you to listen to me and go to the safe zone now.”

“You’re going to fight a human on your own?” one monster and older woman with a red bow on her head with pink skin and four legs.

“I’m a Royal Guard. Protecting you all is part of my job” Martlet replied as she pulled out her Royal Guard handbook. “Now hurry. There’s no time to waste.”

Crossing the bridge only took about four tries before Clover reached the other side and stepped on a stone sticking out of the ground. With a *click* the bridge steps stopped moving and reattached to make the path forward walkable. Blue magic was something to get used to but he had to admit it was fun. Jumping far higher than he could normally had brought him a thrill he’d never gotten in his school’s gym class.

The path ahead was littered with a lot of tracks in the snow but no monsters. In fact it had been awhile since he’d seen anybody aside from Flowey. And… he took a deep breath as he thought over the situation.

How was he supposed to stop Flowey from using him when he’d been doing so for so long? Flowey had the ability to turn back time and bring him back from death so therefore he could do it for himself as well. A confrontation was not the way to go about this, but how else was he supposed to defeat the flower and save the others?

‘There has to be a way.’ Zaley said as Clover silently continued down the path. ‘For now he’ll turn back time in case you die. We should use that until we can find a way to get rid of him.’

‘Have you met Flowey before?’ Clover asked as he found a wooden barrel along the path. Looking inside he found a few coffee beans and put them in his pocket.

‘No but I know a few things about him.’ Zaley said. ‘I don’t know why, but I usually remember when he turns back time. He’s done this more times than I can count but I remember him doing it alot for a while and then stopping and then doing it alot more when you fell down. He’s been trying to kill Asgore for a long time but every time he’d get killed by him or a weird skeleton monster. And from what I’ve gathered he’s desperate and that’s why he’s helping you and wants you to get stronger.’

‘So he’s not strong enough to beat Asgore.’ That knowledge was comforting but it didn’t really fix his problem. How was Flowey able to manipulate time itself? Was he the only monster who could do that or were there more? As he thought over the situation he came upon another wooden gate with a puzzle beside it.

So he blasted the gate with his charged shot and blew it open. Allowing him to continue as Flowey popped up beside him.

“Not really a fan of puzzles are you.” the flower said. “Can’t complain though, saves us time on our journey. Speaking of which, let’s get you SAVED.” he smiled as Clover SAVED.

“How much farther until I reach the boat?”

“It's right down there buddy.” Flowey pointed down the path towards a wooden sentry post. “Just past that sentry station is the river with your getaway boat. Though, you’ll probably have to deal with that royal guard again.”

“Martlet won’t be a problem.” Clover said in a neutral tone as he frowned. And how could she be a threat against him with this power? He was far far stronger than he had ever been before and with Dalv’s electric magic he’s been instantly killing any monsters that dared to attack him. That being said, she had helped him, saved him and was his fri…

“...”

“...” Flowey stared up at Clover. “Clover? You there buddy?”

‘Doing the right thing is never easy.’ he told himself. He had a mission, a responsibility to fulfill. He’d see it done, but he would give her the chance to step aside. She deserved that at least.

Flowey burrowed underneath the snow as Clover approached Martlet’s station. The area around him was wide open save for the line of trees on all sides. Snow had begun falling as he approached and the wind picked up and threatened to blow away his hat as he used his left hand to hold it in place.

A shadow began approaching him along with the flutter of feathers as Martlet landed in front of him. Her face was one of confusion and sadness as the pair stood across from one another.

“Clover.” she paused as she tried to find the right words. “I know you’re scared but you need to listen to me. Snowdin’s being evacuated and soon the rest of the Royal Guard are coming to find you.” Clover kept his left hand over his pistol should the need arise. He would not attack unless he needed to.

“You're lucky I’m the one who found you first. I’m ordered to capture you but…” she frowned. “You're just a kid. This whole thing’s a giant misunderstanding. And I can’t really explain it but I know you're not a murderer like the others believe. You're a good person.” So she did remember something Clover realized. He wondered briefly if Asgore or Ceroba and Starlo would as well.

“... Thank you for helping me earlier.” Clover finally spoke. “I felt like I was going to die, but you saved me.” he smiled. “You're a just person to Martlet. Helping others in need, standing against the wrongs of the world is what it means to be a hero.”

“Oh uh, thank you.” Martlet smiled. “I was just doing what anyone else would’ve done.”

“That’s not true. Every single monster I’ve met aside from you and Toriel have tried to kill me.” Clover said as Martlet’s eyes quickly widened in surprise.

“Wait. Did you just say Toriel?” she asked as Clover nodded. “You’ve met the queen?!” Clover nodded again.

“Oh my god. This… This is huge.” Martlet said with stars in her eyes. “If we can find the queen she can call off the Royal Guard and you can go home safely.”

‘She won’t leave the Ruins.’ Zaley reminded Clover. ‘And she does not like Asgore either. Not to mention, how would we even find her?’ It was true Clover knew. He had fallen down a long way after he had met her and she had told him much of the ruins were inaccessible to the rest of the underground. And he didn’t remember ever going back inside the ruins after leaving either.

“We got separated after I fell into the underground.” Clover explained. “I don’t know how to find her.” The happiness in Martlet’s eyes faded away slightly as she put her feathers together.

“I see. Well. There’s still the King.” she continued. “If we can-”

‘She’s trying to trick you.’ Zaley whispered as Clover shook his head.

“Asgore is why I’m down here.” Clover stated as Martlet gave him a confused look.

“Emily, Gabriel, Noah, Cody and Zaley have all gone missing on Mt Ebbot. And I know why.” he grimly stated as Martlet’s smile faded away.

“He killed them.” Clover clenched his fist and gritted his teeth as he took a deep breath to collect himself. “And not only that, he declared war on humanity and is going to destroy everyone if he gets two more souls. I won’t let that happen.” Martlet’s eyes fell to the snow beneath their feet for a moment before rising to meet Clover’s grim and defiant golden eyes that for the briefest moment, Martlet swore flickered red.

“I don’t want any of that to happen as well.” Martlet replied as Clover’s heart felt like it was rising into the surface above them. If he could convince her of the King’s injustice, show her that his mission was just then maybe he can avoid killing more monsters and just complete his mission, free the others, and go home.

“I’ve always dreamed of peace between our kinds. But…” she paused. “Clover. I understand your anger but…” she stopped herself as Clover felt his heart begin to sink into his stomach.

‘And here it comes.’ Zaley said in a bitter tone.

“Asgore, he’s the only one giving monsters any kind of hope. Without him the entire underground would be plunged into despair. And while I don’t approve of what happened to the other humans, you don’t have context for what happened when they came down here.” Clover’s golden eye twitched along with his hands as he heard Zaley scoff at Martlet’s words.

“The first human killed monsters on her way to the capital. The second human attacked everyone he came across and the third had to be escorted from Hotland. The fourth killed monster’s in waterfall and the last one before you nearly wiped out Snowdin.”

‘They wouldn’t stop attacking me!’ Zaley yelled. ‘Monster’s were trying to kill us just like they’ve been trying to kill you. And Cody had never even killed anyone but they all celebrated his death because they got his soul! That’s all we are to them. Just souls they can use to break out and destroy humanity.’ Anger quickly overtook Clover’s mind as he drew his weapon. Surprised, Martlet backed away from him as he leveled his aim squarely at her.

“And how do you know all of that?” Clover angrily asked. “Is that what you were told? That those children were all evil and them dying was the best thing to ever happen down here?!” he stepped forward as Martlet held her hands up.

“Clover you-”

“THEY WERE CHILDREN MARTLET!” Clover yelled. “YOU THINK THEY WANTED TO HURT ANYBODY? YOU THINK THEY WANTED TO BE TERRIFIED AND SCARED AS MONSTER’S CAME TO STEAL THEIR SOULS? IS THAT ALL HUMANS ARE TO YOU? JUST SOULS FOR YOU TO TAKE AND BECOME MORE POWERFUL?”

“What? No. Clover-”

“HE MURDERED CHILDREN MARTLET!” Clover screamed. “He needs to pay! Justice needs to be done. And that is what I’m going to do.”

“Justice?” Martlet balked. “Clover, you need to stop.” she urged. “Whatever you're doing isn’t justice, it’s… it’s…” she gasped as a dark realization overcame her.

“You didn’t scare them off did you?” she uttered softly. “You… Clover. They were all right weren’t they? You killed them.”

“They tried to kill me, and stood in the way of justice.” Clover coldly replied. “Now I’m going to kill him. So just step aside Martlet. Don’t die for an unjust villain.” A single tear fell from Martlet’s eye as she collected herself. In a moment her sadness was replaced by defiance as she took a fighting stance.

“I can’t let you do this Clover.” she said the two stared each other down. Each waited for the other to make the first move, yet, neither could move to attack the other first.

“Step aside.” Clover coldly demanded.

“You know what you’re doing is wrong.” she stated as Clover concealed his eyes from her. “Your hand is shaking and I can hear it in your voice. Don’t do this.” she pleaded as Clover held his toy gun with both hands.

‘Clover.’ Zaley whispered as the wind began to pick up. ‘You need to do it.’

“... I know.” he said as Martlet’s eyes lit up a little with fear.

“Clover?”

“Doing the right thing is never easy.” he said as he pulled the trigger. At that moment his gun glowed a blindingly bright yellow light as the electric magic shot out like a cannon. The brilliant bolt of power hit Martlet square in her chest. Launching her into her own sentry station which collapsed on top of her.

Clover holstered his pistol and took a deep breath. It was quick and painless for her, as it should be. She didn’t deserve to suffer but this was necessary. He didn’t feel bad, or sad, or anything for that matter. He shot her, yet felt nothing.

“I’m sorry.” Clover said in a soft almost hollow tone as he began walking past the now ruined station. But as he turned his back he heard the wood being tossed aside and broken as Martlet burst out of the ruined station and soared into the air.

Surprised, Clover immediately drew his gun as Martlet let loose a storm of feathers from her wings. The wings drove towards him with unexpected speed, cutting large slashes into his lower abdomen, arms and legs as his hp was reduced to 27/48.

The center of her chest was blackened and burned, but her eyes were filled with defiance. “Sorry Clover, but I’m not going down that easily.” With a low growl Clover took aim at Martlet and fired his next shot. Martlet, using her wings dodged his shot by diving under the yellow bolt as what appeared to be storage boxes began materializing in the air around him.

The boxes fell to the ground, and their contents flew towards him. Boots, screwdrivers, nails, even bowling balls all flew towards him as a dvd player slammed into his eye. Ow. Taking his hp down to 13/48.

Clover reached into his pocket and quickly scarfed down the pancake he had taken earlier as Martlet flew over him and began using her wings to create a strong gust of wind to push him into the ground. More objects began materializing around him as a bowling ball fell onto his head. Taking his hp down to 5/48.

“Lay down your weapon Clover. Don’t make me do this.” Martlet ordered as Clover pulled himself back up. His vision was hazy and a red trail began flowing down his cheek as he drank the coffee. Restoring his hp to 25/48.

“Justice needs to be done.” Clover said as Martlet fired more of her feathers at him. Using what he had learned from Zaley, he took a deep breath as his soul turned blue. He jumped over the volley of attacks she had fired as he reached out with his hand to force Martlet into the ground.

Clover gritted his teeth as Martlet resisted his attempt to slam her down. His anger began to boil over as he released her and instead grabbed the various broken pieces of wood from her sentry station and launched them all at her.

Martlet easily avoided the attack and then looked at Clover with confusion. She knew that human soul’s colors were determined by what virtues they were filled with. But she had never heard about them changing color completely before.

“Why?” Martlet demanded as she unleashed another storm of feathers at Clover as she circled around him overhead. “No one deserved what you did to them. This isn’t justice. You’re… you're a human through and through.” Clover ignored her and fired his next shot. Once again Martlet barely dodged his shot as her body began glowing light blue.

All around him large bodies of snow began clumping together before beginning to float and head straight towards him. Clover turned his soul blue once more and jumped onto the piles racing towards him as he gained greater height. Jumping higher and higher he turned his soul back to its true color as he took aim and fired once again. A pile of snow flew in between Martlet and the bolt, blowing it apart as gravity demanded that Clover return to the ground beneath.

But the explosion had created a dense mist of snow that blinded him to Martlet as she raced towards him. Slashing Clover’s face with the talons on her feet as he lost his grip on his gun. He fell spinning and crashing into a tree as Martlet flew above him. Blood began pouring out of his wound as Clover realized he couldn’t see out of his right eye anymore.

“It's over Clover.” Martlet said as Clover slowly picked himself back up. Legs shaking and now unarmed he held his hand against his open wound as he knelt down. His hp sat at 1/48.

‘Not like this.’ he shook his head. ‘I can’t fail. I can’t fail again!’

‘You need to run.’ Zaley urged as Clover devoured his lukewarm pop. Bringing him to 9/48 as he glared up at his opponent. ‘Clover!’

But he didn’t hear her. His anger, his soul's screaming desire for justice to be fulfilled overtook his thoughts as his soul began turning yellow and blue rapidly.

“It doesn’t have to be this way.” Martlet said as Clover’s soul began changing between blue and yellow even faster. “Don’t make me do this!” Clover let go of his wound as his soul’s power began crackling around his body. Covering him in blue, yellow and red sparks of light as he leapt into the air. Jumping up with such speed and force that he caught Martlet completely by surprise as he punched her in the beak. Sending her cratering into the ground as he dove for his gun. Landing beside it before grabbing it and spinning around for his next shot as something hit him in the chest.

‘NOOO!’

Clover looked down, and saw a feather had pierced his heart. He fell to his knees, his hp now 0/48 as he fell to the ground. His last working eye caught one last look at Martlet, tears in her eyes as his vision went dark.

‘Don’t go!’ Zaley begged as Clover's left eye shut. ‘Please. Please don’t go. We need you.’

As Clover opened his eyes he found himself back home. The apartment he and his parents lived in was small and built for a single person. The couch he was sitting on had all the marks and tears he remembered as well as the pillows and blankets his father would sleep with. Across from him was the TV with only static playing as it usually did.

To his left was the smaller couch he slept on and to the right was the door. The red and white wallpaper was falling apart, revealing the drywall behind and the kitchen looked to be the same. The only working appliances they had were the refrigerator and microwave as they couldn’t get anyone to fix the stove. The bedroom was locked like usual as mom couldn’t be let out without his father being present.

Above the TV his father’s rifle was mounted on the wall. Along with it was his golden medal of honor. “For going above and beyond the call of duty”. He never liked talking about himself, or how he got the medal. Clover was apparently “Too young” for that.

Clover got off the couch, confused. Had all of that been a horrible dream? It must’ve been. Monster’s, time being manipulated by an evil flower, Asgore… he rubbed his shoulder.

Tears began flowing down his face as he smiled. He was here, safe at home. He wasn’t dying, he didn’t fail anyone or suffer through so many deaths and time resets.

“It was just a dream.” he cried. “It was just a dream.” At that moment the door opened as his father, out of breath, shut the door behind him and fell face first onto the floor. Clearly exhausted Clover rushed over to him and pulled off his shoes. They were worn and filled enough holes you’d think they were made out of swiss cheese. After that he ran over to the sink and poured some water into a glass before running back and pouring some of it into his father’s mouth.

“Hey cowboy.” his father coughed as he lightly patted his son’s shoulder. His smile was in stark contrast to the three large scars running past his left eye. His face was awash with sweat and red to the point his skin matched the complexion of a cherry.

“Hi dad.” Clover smiled as he hugged him. His father was a big man, six foot six inches to be exact. Very strong as evidenced with his complete and utter ease at picking up his son and sitting him in his lap as they began watching an old black and white western.

Clover leaned into his father as his eyes began to shut. Looking up he frowned at the burns and cuts along his neck and left cheek. Factory work was harsh he told him, but it was also the only job he could get that allowed them and his mother a semblance of a normal life.

“I missed you.” Clover said as he tightly hugged his father.

“We miss you.” his father replied in a soft and sad tone. Looking down at his son with sadness as Clover looked up at him confusingly.

“What?”

“We miss you Clover.” he father said as the apartment shook. Cries of fear and panic began echoing all around them as the ground shook violently again.

“What’s going on?” Clover asked as his father remained silent.

“Seven human souls are needed to break the barrier,” he father said. “Seven souls are all that it takes for a monster to become a god. And when that happens, there's no hope for any of us.” Clover shook his head.

“No. Nononononononono!” Clover cried. “They can’t… they can’t. I’m still here and,” he placed his hand over where his heart was. And felt a hole that went straight through him.

“No!” he cried. “I don’t want to die. I can’t let this happen! Why didn’t Flowey bring me back? I-” the ground shook violently once again as what sounded like lightning began slamming into the ground around them. Clover held onto his father, in a futile desperate attempt for some safety as his father lightly caressed his hair.

“You're the only one who can stop this.” his father picked him up with his big arms, and hugged him warmly. Using a single finger he wiped away the tears from Clover’s face as he stepped off the couch.

“Dad?” Clover said as the ground shook once again.

“Doing the right thing is never easy.” his father reminded him. “No matter how hard things get, no matter what happens, never stop.” he smiled at his son. “You’re special Clover. You’re going to do great things when you're older. You’ll be a better man than I ever could be." The apartment gave way around them as the walls of their home collapsed. Towering high over them was a giant monster whose size blocked out the sun. Asgore, with seven human souls in his possession raised his hand as a massive bolt of lighting came crashing down on his father. Completely destroying his body and shattering his soul.

“NOOO!” Clover fell to his knees, tears falling freely down his face as the king of all monster’s spoke to him.

“Your fate was sealed the moment you entered my kingdom.” Clover slammed his fist into the ground as he held out his soul with his left hand. Staring back at the monster looming above him as his soul began to surge with power, more than he had ever imagined before. His soul glowed with the brightness of the sun as he unleashed it at the monster who had taken so much, and had caused so much destruction and loss.

The blast obliterated Asgore, completely and utterly. Taking a deep breath, Clover clenched his fist as he looked over the ruined city he had previously called his home.

“I’ll never let this happen.” Clover declared. “I’ll save everyone and bring you to justice! YOU’LL PAY!!!”

(Elsewhere)

✌☠☝☜☼ ✌🏱🏱☜✌☼💧 ❄⚐ 👌☜ ✌ ❄☼✋☝☝☜☼ ☞⚐☼ 🏱⚐🕈☜☼ ☝☼⚐🕈❄☟. ☟⚐🕈☜✞☜☼📪 ☟✋💧 ☜💣⚐❄✋⚐☠💧 ✌☹💧⚐ 👍✌🕆💧☜ ❄🕆☠☠☜☹ ✞✋💧✋⚐☠ ✌☠👎 ☼☜👍😐☹☜💧💧☠☜💧💧. ☟💣💣⑤ ⚐☟✍ 🕈☟✌❄ ✋💧 ❄☟✋💧✍

✋☠❄☜☼☜💧❄✋☠☝. ☟✋💧 💧⚐🕆☹ ❄🕆☼☠☜👎 ☼☜👎 👌☼✋☜☞☹✡. ✋❄ 💧☜☜💣💧 💣✡ ☟✡🏱⚐❄☟☜💧✋💧 🕈✌💧 👍⚐☼☼☜👍❄. ☟☜ ✋💧 🏱☜☼☞☜👍❄ ☞⚐☼ 🕈☟✌❄ ✋ ☠☜☜👎.

[ANGER APPEARS TO BE A TRIGGER FOR POWER GROWTH. HOWEVER, HIS EMOTIONS ALSO CAUSE TUNNEL VISION AND RECKLESSNESS. HMM… OH? WHAT IS THIS?

INTERESTING. HIS SOUL TURNED RED BRIEFLY. IT SEEMS MY HYPOTHESIS WAS CORRECT. HE IS PERFECT FOR WHAT I NEED.]

SAVE FILE LOADED

In a blink Clover was standing before Martlet’s sentry station again. Confused, he looked around as Flowey gave him an inquisitive look.

“What’s the matter Clover?” the flower sarcastically asked as Clover looked down on him. “Don’t you remember what I said? I’ll bring you back everytime you die.” Clover placed his hand over where Martlet’s feather had previously pierced his heart. It wasn’t there, Flowey had brought him back to when he had SAVED. He was fully healed and ready to fight.

‘You need to be more careful.’ Zaley chastised. ‘I felt like my soul was about to shatter when she killed you. Are you alright? You seem really spooked.’

‘I saw my dad.’ Clover told her as he clenched his fist. ‘I won’t let Asgore kill him, or anyone else ever again.’ Clover walked forwards as Martlet, as before, landed before him.

“Clover. I know you’re scared but you need to listen to me.” she said just as last time. But he didn’t have time for the same conversation, nor could he treat her like the other monster’s. Martlet was strong, but she deserved a chance to get out of his way. Afterall, she wasn’t evil or unjust. Just… misled by an evil tyrant.

Clover drew his gun. “Out of the way, Martlet.” Shocked, the blue monster bird backed away as she pleaded with Clover to lower his weapon. Clover tightened his grip as a bright yellow light began emanating from the toy gun's barrel.

“Get. Out. Of. My. Way.” Clover ordered.

“Wait. I know you don’t want to do this Clover.” Martlet said. “You're scared, but if you start attacking people who want to help you, no one is going to help you.” Clover scowled. Help him? If she wanted to help him she would have gone along with him instead of killing him. No. She didn’t understand the justice he needed to bring to Asgore, hell, she didn’t even care about the fallen children before him.

She stood in the way of justice, so this is how it had to be. Clover pulled the trigger and just as before he blasted Martlet into her own station. As it collapsed on top of her Clover loaded his next shot, waiting for her to burst free and when she did, he fired another shot that nailed her in the chest once again. Catapulting her through the air with a thunderous bang and sending her into the tree line surrounding them.

“Stand down.” Clover said as Martlet slowly picked herself back up. As before her eyes were filled with defiance as she took to the sky once again. Unleashing a barrage of her feathers as Clover’s soul turned blue. Jumping over her attack as he fired at her again.

The shot grazed Martlet’s wing as she ascended higher into the air. She used the same attack from earlier, manifesting boxes that fell to the ground before launching their contents at him. Clover ducked and took his next shot. Only to miss again as Martlet dived under the blast.

‘Up there she’s too far away to hit with your gun.’ Zaley commented as Clover ran towards Martlet’s feathers. Rolling under the barrage as he took the electric magic out of the chamber.

‘Think it's about time I used one of these.’ Clover thought as he put the coffee bean in the chamber. If Martlet was watching for the electric magic to know when to dodge, then he had to use one of his other ammo’s to take her down.

“Why are you doing this?” Martlet demanded. “This… what's happened to you? Your-” she gasped. “Clover. Your soul-” Clover ignored her and fired his weapon. Unlike Dalv’s magic the coffee bean ammo didn’t create a massive burst of electrical magic but instead fired a small brown beam of energy. The shot hit Martlet in her left shoulder, causing her flying to falter slightly as Clover felt like the whole world had gone into slow motion.

Whatever his soul’s magic had done when it mixed with coffee bean put his body into overdrive. He felt himself move much faster, breath more clearly and think faster as Martlet seemed to slow down. With a smirk he grabbed one of Martlet’s feathers before tossing it over his shoulder.

“Wait. How?” before Martlet could think of an answer Clover fired his next shot at her. Hitting her squarely in the forehead as he nearly knocked her out of the sky before she began flapping her wings. Pushing the air against him to slow him down as she began dropping more boxes on him.

Her gusts of wind slowled Clover down just as the effects of the coffee bean began to wear off. Not letting Clover have a moment to recover, she manifested larger feathers that raced towards the fallen child. The attack broke apart in random directions upon getting close enough, cutting Clover’s abdomen and arms as his hp fell to 32/48.

“So you can take a hit.” Martlet breathed deeply. “That’s too bad. I’m going to need to hit harder.” She dived towards the ground just as Clover fired his next volley. Missing Martlet by a hair as the Royal Guard continued her attack.

“You're fast.” Clover said as an idea sprung into his mind. Swapping the coffee ammo for the ice ammo he’d use the slowing effect of ice magic to his advantage. He fired, but as before Martlet dived out of the way of his volley. He’d need to get closer.

‘Luck you, my powers perfect for that.’ Zaley commented as Martlet’s body began glowing blue like the battle before. Clover smirked as his soul turned blue and large piles of snow began racing towards him.

He jumped from one pile onto the next. Diving under and jumping onto the thick tree branches surrounding them as he ascended higher and higher. Martlet didn’t try to ascend, instead she seemed to remain still as Clover leapt towards her.

Remembering the last time they fought, he took aim just as she dived down and a large pile of snow raced towards him. Reaching out with blue magic, he grabbed the pile and slammed it into Martlet. Burying her in snow as he landed on his feet.

Martlet pulled herself out of the snow, only to be met with a shot to the chest as Clover’s ice shot slammed into her. Launching her back as her whole body began to shiver.

“W-W-Why?” Martlet shivered. “I-I was w-wrong about you.” she narrowed her eyes. “Y-You're a h-human through and t-through.” Clover rolled his eyes as he took aim once again. Martlet tried to move but the ice magic in Clover’s shot slowed her just enough that he still shot her in the side. Causing the blue bird monster to fall onto her back as her whole body began shaking.

“I GIVE UP!” Martlet shouted as Clover kept his gun leveled with her. Tears began flowing down her face as Clover’s eyes remained hidden underneath his hat as he stood over her.

‘What are you waiting for?’ Zaley said. ‘She killed you.’ Clover stood as frozen as a statue. Martlet was defeated, she had surrendered and wasn’t the one who started the fight. He did. Killing her like this, especially since she hadn’t done anything wrong aside from being a Royal Guard wasn’t justice.

‘It's not right.’ Clover replied as he holstered his weapon. ‘This… this isn’t justice.’ Clover remained silent as Martlet picked herself up. The effects of ice magic wearing off as neither human nor monster knew what to say.

“Why did you do that?” she demanded. “I only wanted to help you. None of that was necessary.”

“I’m here to deliver justice.” Clover replied simply. “And you're in the way.”

“Justice?” Martlet balked. “Attacking me was justice? Terrifying Snowdin and killing who knows how many monster’s is justice to you? I don’t know what the human’s taught you but that is not justice at all.” Anger began boiling up from the depths of Clover’s soul. If Martlet pushed him too far, he’d snap and kill her. He couldn’t do that, he was a hero. Hero’s deliver justice and protect the innocent. And yet, why did her words linger on in his mind?

“I don’t need your help.” Clover said coldly. “Now get out of here.” Martlet turned away from Clover. Taking several long steps away from him as she clenched her fists before turning back to him.

“The Royal Guard is coming for you.” she told him. “Just so you know that. Gosh, I don’t know why. But I get the feeling that in spite of everything this isn’t you. I know that sounds crazy but… a child your age shouldn’t be corrupted by violence. Please Clover, it’s not too late for you.” she said as she flew off. Clover stood, stuck in place as he watched her leave. His heart felt like it had been tossed into a pit as he breathed in the frozen air around him.

‘Are you okay?’ Zaley asked as Clover began walking towards Martlet’s boat.

‘Doing the right thing is never easy.’ he told himself. ‘Doing the right thing is never easy.’

Clover marched in silence, not even being able to respond to Zaley as he repeated his father’s words over and over. That phrase was the only thing holding him together. He thought back at the start, to how sure he was that everything he was doing was right. That he was truly dealing justice where it was needed.

He had gone through the entire underground several times without killing a single monster. He had made friends, helped Dalv, became a deputy and… he failed his mission. Over and over he died to either the monsters or Asgore. He knew he needed to do this, he needed to get stronger and free the others and finally deal some long overdue justice to Asgore.

So why was he so empty? Why wasn’t he filled with a sense of righteousness or able to feel his body anymore? He was doing the right thing, so why did some part of him feel like this was wrong?

As he approached a river he spotted Martlet’s raft. It was a small boat with a chest holding some food inside and a little triangle flag on the side of it. Clover stood motionless as he summoned his soul into his hands.

It felt heavier somehow despite souls not having any weight to them. He focused his mind, trying to find the source of whatever was going on within him by focusing on his soul’s connection with his body. And what he felt shocked him.

His body was cold, so cold. It was in pain, yet he could feel nothing. But his soul felt warm. Like there was some kind of fire burning at its core. It filled him with the urge to proceed, to continue, to get stronger.

“Nice job Clover.” Flowey said as Clover quickly put his soul back inside and spun around to meet the flower. “You beat your first Royal Guard. Though I have to say, I’m a bit surprised she was ever promoted past feather duster.”

Clover’s hand twitched as he felt the fire within his soul expand. How dare he talk about her like that. Martlet was a strong opponent, and not guilty of the same sins Asgore was. She didn’t deserve to be talked down like that.

“Watch it.” Clover warned the flower in a dark tone. “She’s not like the others. So do yourself a favor, and never say that kind of thing again.” For the first time Flowey completely dropped his kind facade as anger flooded his face.

“Um, excuse me? You’ve gotten some nerve, buddy.” the flower remarked. “Ever heard of humor? It was just a joke. And cut it out with all this angst of yours. I help you, bring you back from death and THIS is how you treat me?” the flower glared up at the child.

‘Don’t anger him Clover. We still need him.’ Zaley urged as Clover bit his tongue. ‘Please, you need to calm down.’ Taking a deep cool breath of air Clover diminished some of the fire burning within his soul as he resumed his role as the naive “friend”.

“I’m sorry.” his words were hollow. “I… have a lot on my mind.” the flower’s expression clearly displayed he didn’t buy that for a minute. But after a few moments he put back on his friendly facade with a wink.

“That’s alright, I forgive you.” Flowey said. “Friend’s always have eachothers backs. And on that note, let's get you SAVED.” the Flower SAVED like before as Clover stepped onto the boat.

“This thing will get you to Hotland in no time.” A lie Clover knew. After a while the raft would start going down the river faster before crashing and tossing him into a dark cave where he’d arrive at the dunes. Though the reason for that was more than likely because of his numerous death’s to the various traps and guards stationed in Hotland. The dunes were a safer travel route without the fear of dying needlessly while also taking him to where he needed to go.

“I’ll see you there. Have a nice ride Clover." The flower burrowed underground as Clover untied the rope keeping the boat in place. Sitting back as he held his soul between his hands once again.

‘Clover.’ Zaley said in a soft voice, almost like a whisper in his ear. ‘Are you okay?’ For the first time, a single tear fell from his eyes as he began softly sobbing.

“No.” he admitted. “No. My soul. What’s happening to it?” he softly uttered as his bright yellow justice soul pulsated and turned dark blue, then back to yellow and very very briefly. It turned red as it felt like his soul was… burning.

Descending into the deep recesses of the Ruins Toriel was met with only silence and not a single monster roamed the darkened halls. Piles of dust were scattered all around and every puzzle she came across had already been done.

“Where could he be?” she said aloud as she came upon what looked like someone’s home with a single pathway towards the front entrance with two bodies of water on both sides. There were signs of battle here. Toriel’s heart was filled with fear as she spotted a small collection of red drops that had died up on the ground.

Clover had been here and very clearly had been injured. Many monster’s throughout the underground had a very, unfavorable view of humans. And even in places as isolated as the Ruin’s that was no different. He had been attacked and judging by the pile of dust… he had emerged victorious.

Being immortal Torial knew all too well the value of life. How short it can be and how indescribably precious and irreplaceable each life was. She knelt over the pile, shutting her eyes as she offered some words of peace for the fallen.

“Rest well my child. May the memory of you live on. May you find peace after this life. Know that you are loved and that one day, all those who we care for will be reunited. Rest, and know peace.” She placed both her hands over her heart in silent respect before rising to her feet.

Even though she had long ago left the capital, she was still the queen and these were her people. Her responsibility, just like Clover and the other fallen humans. She wasn’t fast enough to save him. Wasn’t quick enough to catch him as he fell. She had failed again. Like always.

“...” The door to this monster’s home was still open. Stepping inside she found the doorway on the far end still wide open along with several broken wooden boards on the ground. Clover must’ve gone this way. Out into the underground. Out of the Ruins and into Snowdin.

Standing just before the exit to the ruins Toriel found herself transfixed. It had been so long since she had left the ruins and the underground behind. Clover was going to need help but… if she was found by other monsters word would spread like wildfire. They’d find her and even if she managed to bring Clover back to the Ruins the Royal Guard wouldn’t stop until they found them.

If she left it would destroy everything she’d been trying to accomplish since Chara and Asriel’s deaths. But as her fears clouded her mind, a realization struck her like lightning. This was the same reasoning that made her stay, and the other fallen children to die.

Emily, Gabriel, Noah, Cody, Zaley and now Clover were all her responsibility to protect. How pitiful that for all her efforts she couldn’t protect even one child. But here she saw, there was a chance to save one.

“... This has gone on long enough.” she told herself as she clenched her furred fist. “I will not stay idly by this time. Not again.” For the first time in centuries, Toriel left the ruins behind and followed Clover’s trail. Determined to save the child as she should have for all the others.

Chapter Text

The monster’s capital New Home was the center of their civilization in the underground. Situated close to the barrier, New Home was where monster’s from all over lived and worked together. From Snowdin to Hotland, Waterfall, the Dunes to the CORE you could find a monster from anywhere in the capital. New Home also had the royal palace where the underground’s King Asgore resided. And along with him, an entire contingent of Royal Guards to keep the peace in the large underground metropolis, as well as defend against any human who may try to escape by traversing the barrier.

To leave the underground a human would have to enter the throne room where past it, was the corridor that led to the barrier sealing monsterkind off from the rest of the world. But the barrier was too strong for any human to pass through even with their powerful souls. To pass the barrier, a human would need to absorb the soul of a boss monster. And currently only one was known to exist in the whole underground.

For Asgore the day started as it always had. He awoke, cooked breakfast, visited a few school’s in the capital to read stories to the children before returning to the palace to water his flowers. The only difference today had in comparison to all the others, was the absence of the birds singing in his garden.

“Your Majesty!” a voice shouted behind him along with the clang of metal boots hitting the marble floors that made up the palace grounds.

“Just one moment.” Asgore ever so casually replied as he kept his focus on his flowers. “I’m almost done watering these flowers.” The Royal Guard after finally reaching his King was left gasping for air. Asgore finished watering her flowers and quickly went to the table beside him. Pouring a glass of tea for the guard with a smile.

“Ah, good morning Ted. Would you like some tea?” Asgore’s towering height easily dwarfed Ted. Making it seem as though an adult was looking down upon their own child. Asgore always took the time to know those around him. Ted had been a guard at the palace for five years, born in New Home and had a son who he had read stories to just a few hours earlier.

“How is your day today Ted?” Asgore asked. Ted lifted off his helmet, revealing his scaly green skin with a single yellow eye and sharp fangs in his mouth as he scarfed down the tea. He remembered how much of a voracious eater Ted was when he lived at the orphanage as a child. Even then when he was so young, he was so full of energy and hope. He was never one to let circumstances define him.

A trait he was loath to admit, he was a bit envious of.

“I have terrible news sire.” Ted replied grimly. “A human has been spotted in Snowdin. Surveillance has captured them murdering numerous monsters and making their way towards Waterfall. They appear to be a justice soul as well.” he reported in a calm but clearly angered tone.

“A justice soul?” Asgore mused. Human souls were colored to signify the virtues they were filled with. Kindness was green, patience was light blue, bravery was orange, perseverance was purple and integrity was a dark blue. Justice was yellow and was arguably the most rare of the soul types. From what he recalled, Justice souls were drawn to righting wrongs and injustices they came across. The greater the wrong, the greater the desire was to correct it. To the point the desire even controlled them to varying degrees. He didn’t have a complete understanding of human psychology or how their soul’s affected their minds. But he did know that unwarranted aggression to the point it alerted Alphy’s surveillance was highly unusual. And there was also the fact that news of this human didn’t feel like a surprise somehow.

Almost as though… he had encountered them before.

“Your majesty?” Ted continued. “What are your orders?” Asgore took a deep breath and another sip of his tea. If his suspicion was correct, they needed to prepare for the worst.

“Send evacuation orders throughout the underground. All monsters are to be safely escorted to the prepared safe zones until the human situation is resolved. Snowdin, Waterfall and Hotland and the human’s path to the capital are to be given first priority. Undyne will be tasked with capturing the human.”

“And what about you sire?” Ted asked. “If the human is ever going to escape past the barrier, he’ll need your soul. Should I assemble-”

“That will not be necessary Ted.” Asgore said. “I want you to begin evacuating the capital. And should the human manage to reach the palace, you are to leave matters to me.”

“But Asgore-”

“Go Ted.” Asgore gave his guard a warm smile as he placed his large furred hand on his shoulder. “Take care of your family and wish them well for me. This matter will be resolved before you know it.” he said as he lightly squeezed Ted’s shoulder.

“And DON’T interfere if the human arrives at the palace. Understood?” Ted’s fist clenched as he looked away from his King. Taking a deep breath he nodded and left the throne room. Leaving Asgore along as he pulled out his phone.

“Ah howdy sans. Do you think you can come over to the palace for a moment? There’s an important matter I’d like to discuss.”

(Snowdin river to Waterfall)
“What’s happening to me?” Clover winced as he held his soul close to his chest. His body felt like it was on fire, his breathing was heavy and his mind felt like it was being sliced apart by Martlet’s feathers. An inferno was bruning within his soul as his arms and legs began twitching uncontrollably as he fell from his seat and onto the floor of the boat.

‘Clover!’ Zaley used her connection to Clover’s soul to attempt to heal whatever was wrong with him. But as his soul turned blue and her magic began taking effect, Clover screamed in agony as he rolled over to his side.

“STOP!” he begged. “STOP IT BURNS! IT BURNS!” It was the worst pain he had ever felt. Far exceeding anything Flowey, Ceroba, Asgore or any of the monsters have ever done to him over the many timelines he’s spent down here. Zaley did as he asked as Clover suddenly and without warning went completely limp.

‘Clover?’ Zaley said as Clover remained still. ‘Are you okay? Clover!’Clover’s eyes were devoid of their usual golden color and were replaced by an empty grey hue. His bright yellow soul began violently shaking as he slowly reached up and grabbed his soul with his left hand.

“...” Clover didn’t make a sound as he placed his soul back inside himself. Pulling himself up, he opened the box beside him and began eating the trail mix Martlet had left inside.

‘Clover, what’s going on?’ Zaley worryingly asked. ‘Are you alright?’

“... No.” Clover absentmindedly replied as he began eating the trail mix. It was weird how monster food dissolved inside your mouth while food on the surface would go down to his stomach. But it was slightly filling and healed his injuries so that's all that mattered.

“There’s something wrong with my soul.” Clover told Zaley as he scarfed down the bag in his hands. “I feel… wrong. And this burning is… I know what I’m doing is right though. So why am I feeling like this?” Clover clutched his chest as his soul began pulsating again. He still felt like he was burning.

“Zaley. Remember when you were trying to get my mind off the cold?”

‘Yeah.’

“Can you do that again.” Clover begged. “Please.”

‘I… I’m not sure what to say. I don’t know what’s happening to you. And I can’t heal you.’

“Why didn’t you do that earlier when I was fighting Martlet?” Clover winced.

‘I felt our connection get stronger after your soul started hurting.’ she answered as Clover felt her mind begin to fill with panic.

‘Am I the reason this is happening? My magic’s gotten stronger in you, but it's never done anything like this before. That would explain why I can’t heal you. My magic must be hurting you.’ Zaley said as Clover utilized their connection to send her a feeling of warmth and forgiveness. Without the use of words, both children understood the other and for the briefest of moments. Clover could’ve sworn he could hold her hand as though she was right next to him.

“I wouldn’t have made it this far without you.” Clover told her. “Thank you Zaley. No matter what happens, I promise I’ll free you all.” Zaley no longer had a body, or eyes, but Clover could swear he heard her crying.

‘Thank you.’ she sobbed. ‘It’s… it's been so long. I don’t know how long I’ve been stuck in here. Until you came along I was alone here.’ she paused as their minds connected once again.

The world shifted and Clover suddenly found himself not in the boat, but rather in a theater room with rows of red chairs, a large stage and a balcony above him. On the stage a group of girls in pink and blue tutu’s were dancing under the guidance of two adult’s he’d never seen before. And sitting beside him was a girl with pale skin, dark blue eyes, long black hair and dressed in a pink tutu.

“Hi.” the girl waved at him.

“Zaley?” Clover said as the girl nodded.

“Our connection’s getting a lot stronger. Nice to finally meet you in person. Even though, uh,” she awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. “We’re not really here. Or… well it's nice to talk to you like this.” Clover lifted his hat up. Allowing his golden eyes to meet her dark blue orbs as he noticed the other Zaley dancing on the stage.

“Where are we?” Clover asked.

“This was our last dance rehearsal before the show.” Zaley answered. Her soul seemed to radiate sadness like a star as the memory of her used her soul to leap into the air. Spinning with such grace and elegance, and lending with such ease it was mesmerizing.

“Down there is Zachary and Jennifer. They were my friends and showed me how much fun ballet was.” she smiled. “Before this I always did what my mom told me to do. I went to school, studied… studied more instead of playing with them.” resent filled her mind, but only briefly as she recollected herself.

“Why wouldn’t she let you play with your friends?” Clover asked. Zaley’s right hand tightly gripped her chair as her eyes narrowed in anger. For a moment, her eyes glowed dark blue before she took a deep breath. Calming herself.

“She said friends were a waste of time.” Zaley spat. “And that I’d be better off studying and getting a degree that’ll “set me up for an easy life”.” she said in a mocking tone of her mother’s voice.

“I never got to hangout with them without lying to her. Whenever I’d get anything below a hundred percent she’d ground me. And I never even got to pick out my clothes. She decided what I’d wear every single day. Just like… how she decided everything for me.” Her words took Clover by surprise. Her mother wherever he’d see her was always sad and lonely. She wasn’t cruel, as a matter of fact she was sweet and even made cookies for the kids at his school occasionally and even went out of her way to help his father by looking after him for a while while he was being treated after being attacked by criminals on his way home.

“That doesn’t sound anything like your mom.” Clover said. “She really misses you. When you disappeared she was heartbroken. Especially after your dad died.” Zaley’s eyes shot open like a deer’s as Clover’s words slowly registered in her mind.

“What?!” she gasped.

“I’m sorry.” Clover said solemnly. “After you went missing your parents went looking for you. Your dad was driving at night when his tire blew out. He… didn’t make it. I’m sorry.” Tears began flowing from Zaley’s eyes as it then dawned on Clover what he had just told her. He had told her an awful truth and yet, he didn’t feel bad about it. This was horrible what he had done. Indefensible and yet, he felt only slight regret as Zaley quickly hugged him.

“I didn’t*sniff* I didn’t mean to!” she wept. “I just wanted to be happy and be myself. I never wanted to hurt him!” Clover held her for a time. Soon the world around them turned into a dark void, with the only occupants being the both of them.

“I’m sorry.” Clover told her. “I shouldn’t have said that.” Zaley couldn’t muster a response for several long tear filled moments until finally, she managed to calm down enough to ask a question.

“How long have I been down here?” she asked as Clover suddenly found the empty void around them much MUCH more interesting than the fallen child beside him.

“Clover. Please. How long have I been down here?” Zaley asked as Clover took a deep breath.

“You’ve been missing for twenty years.” Zaley’s mouth hung open in the air as she wrapped her arms around herself. Quickly shaking her head as she began muttering to herself.

“No. No. No. Nononononononono!” she frantically smiled. “It couldn't have been. Maybe a few weeks or a month, sure but twenty years?!” she laughed. “Haha. Hahahaha! You’re joking right?” her heart dropped deeper as Clover shook his head in response.

“I’m sorry.” he told her again as she began crying. He stepped forward, hugging her in a warm embrace as she wept into his shoulder.

“I killed him!” she wept as Clover told her what happened to her father wasn’t her fault. She asked him about her friends, to which Clover had never met or had known existed till just now.

Her life from before the underground was gone. Her father had died trying to find her. Her friends were nowhere to be found and her mother was left alone and miserable over what had happened between the two of them. Everything she had, all of her friends, memories, passions, and loved ones were lost to her now. The only thing left of her was her soul. All because of Asgore and the monster's who follow him.

She cried. And cried. Wept and cursed at the unfairness of it all. Clover remained silent, giving her what little comfort and peace he could provide as he felt the fire burning within his soul begin to burn up more. He gripped her harder as his soul began pulsating and shaking violently as his eyes flickered between yellow, blue and red.

“Clover?” Zaley gasped as Clover shoved her away from him as his soul suddenly… turned black.

“I… HATE MONSTER’S!” Clover hissed as his golden eyes turned pitch black before quickly turning back to yellow as his soul did the same. Zaley instinctively moved away from him as Clover fell once again to his knees.

“What is happening to me?”

(Elsewhere)

✋︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☜︎💧︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ ❄︎☼︎🕆︎☹︎✡︎ ✋︎💧︎ 🕆︎☠︎✋︎✈︎🕆︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎🏱︎✌︎☼︎✋︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎ ✞︎✌︎☼︎✋︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☝︎✋︎☼︎☹︎🕯︎💧︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎💣︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ 👎︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎ ✋︎ ✋︎☠︎✋︎❄︎✋︎✌︎☹︎☹︎✡︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎☹︎✋︎☪︎☜︎👎︎📬︎

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

☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✋︎ ☠︎☜︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👎︎⚐︎ ✋︎💧︎ 🕈︎✌︎✋︎❄︎📬︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ ✂︎☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎✋︎👍︎☜︎✂︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☹︎☜︎✌︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☜︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎ 👎︎☜︎💧︎✋︎☼︎☜︎📬︎

[INTERESTING. HIS SOUL TRULY IS UNIQUE COMPARED TO HIS OTHER VARIATIONS. THE GIRL'S MAGIC SEEMS TO HAVE DONE MORE THAN I INITIALLY REALIZED.

HMM... OH? LOOKS LIKE THAT GUARD IS APPROACHING. THIS TIMELINE IS REACTING TO THE CHANGE IN HIS SOUL IT SEEMS. HOW... FORTUNATE. HOW VERY, VERY FORTUNATE. THIS EXPERIMENT WILL GIVE ME WHAT I NEED.

NOW ALL I NEED TO DO IS WAIT. HIS "JUSTICE" WILL LEAD TO THE END I DESIRE.]

(Back with Clover now in Waterfall)

‘What was that?’ Zaley asked. ‘I’ve never heard of a soul turning black before.’ Clover had no idea as well. The burning sensation in his soul had turned into a miasma choking out his lungs. There was a heavy weight that seemed to grow with every breath, and his mind was filled with thoughts of violence and anger.

Oh if only he had a real gun like the one Starlo bought him in the previous timeline. He could kill every monster down here in a single shot and grow strong enough to kill Asgore. He’d easily kill every monster in his path. Growing stronger and fulfilling… fulfilling…

“No.” he shook those thoughts from his mind. Heroes don’t commit mindless slaughter or evil. He was not evil, he wasn’t a heartless killer like these monsters. He was a servant of Justice on a mission to free the fallen human’s and punish those who committed such a terrible sin on children. These thoughts, these murderous desires weren’t him. Even if it's what these monster’s deserved, it wasn’t just.

“Justice.” Clover muttered softly. “I serve justice. I,” he took a deep breath. Hiding his golden eyes underneath his hat as he tried to cool the anger burning in his soul.

“I punish those who do evil, or protect those who do evil. I will not kill or hurt those who don’t deserve it. I’m getting stronger to protect and make things better, not because I love it.” his words flew from his mouth without a thought. Love it? No, he wasn’t like this.

“Whatever’s causing this, I’m stronger.” he told himself. “Justice is stronger than evil. I’ll free them. I’ll make everyone proud. I’ll be strong enough to make things better back home. I’ll… finally be able to protect people.” Things were rough on the surface to put it mildly. Power outages, food rations, people getting scared, angry and hurting each other and… his father.

It was torture. He was born to make things better. To correct all the wrongs and injustices plaguing the world and make things better for everyone. But despite that being his purpose, a desire etched into his very soul, his entire being… he couldn’t.

‘Clover.’ Zaley said as she brought his attention back to the real world. ‘Can I ask a question?’ Clover nodded. ‘What was it like for you on the surface? Do your parent’s let you play with your friends?’ Clover took a deep breath as he organized his thoughts. For the moment, her question subsided the fire within his soul.

“It’s… rough.” Clover said bluntly. “Before I was born there was a war that my dad and grandpa fought in. Grandpa lost his leg and grandma died in one of the battles. Dad was a first recon sniper and got really hurt protecting mom and the town when it was attacked. We’re at peace now, but everything’s been hard for everyone.” Zaley remained silent as Clover took the toy gun out of its holster and looked down on it with both hands.

“Food’s expensive, dollars are useless. Dad has had to kill himself working at the factory to even afford us the apartment, while mom…” a single tear formed under Clover’s left eye before he quickly wiped it away.

“When I was a baby I was in the car with her when there was an accident. She used her soul magic to protect me but… it destroyed her mind.” using their connection Clover brought Zaley into the memory of his mother’s last birthday.

He and his father were in the only bedroom in their apartment where his mother was kept restrained. Long scars were littered across her face as several long spots of hair refused to grow back. Her right eye was hidden underneath an eyepatch and she was currently thrashing against her restraints.

“Oh my god!” Zaley gasped. “S-Shouldn't she be in a hospital or be seeing a healer?” Anger quickly boiled up in Clover’s mind as he quickly took a deep breath to maintain control of himself.

“Doctor’s made her worse.” Clover growled. “And healer’s want way too much money to fix her. Dad’s been trying all sorts of things to heal her mind back but…” he gestured at his mother as she screeched at the memory versions of him and his father.

“He’s a justice soul, like me. Healing isn’t our specialty.” he clenched his fist. “I try to help around our home but… I can’t do anything!” he slammed his fist into the wall as a red glow began emanating from his right eye as his left glowed yellow.

“Why am I even here!?” he questioned as he began slamming his fist into the wall over and over again. “I was born to make everything in the world better! It’s my responsibility, my purpose! I can’t help mom, I can’t heal dad's injuries when people attack him. I... I can’t-” he punched the wall one last time as it shattered open. Revealing an empty dark void as the world around them faded away.

“Clover!” Zaley rushed forward and locked both of Clover’s arms to his sides. Tightly holding him by a hair as the red and yellow light’s in his eyes began glowing brighter and brighter.

“It’s not fair!” he yelled. “What is wrong with me? All I ever do is screw up and make things worse! If I was never born dad wouldn’t have to worry about me and mom-”

“Stop it!” Zaley shouted.

“LET ME GO!” Clover slammed the back of his head into Zaley’s nose. The fallen child was thrown onto her back as she quickly crawled away from Clover. The justice child held his hands over his lips as he began shaking his head.

“I’m sorry.” he quickly pulled his hat down over his eyes. “I didn’t mean to. I… I-”

“It’s alright.” Zaley assured him as she rose back to her feet. “See? I’m still here.”

“Alright?!” Clover balked. “That WAS NOT “alright”. I just hurt you. I… I…” he paused as Zaley wrapped her arms around him in an embrace.

“Your mom chose to protect you because she loves you.” she told him. “What happened wasn’t your fault. And your dad goes through so much for you for the same reason. I’m sorry things aren’t as nice up there as they were when I was growing up. But all of that is not your fault.”

“...”

“You are a kind person, Clover. You're here trying to free us because you care. We all screw up. Don’t beat yourself up over it.” The world around them returned back to the boat as it continued down the river though waterfall. Clover was left sitting alone as only the feeling of his soul’s connection to Zaley remained along with her voice in his head.

“Thank you. And I’m sorry.” Clover apologized.

‘I forgive you.’ Zaley replied. ‘Just… try to control your anger a bit more now please.’ Easier said than done. Admittingly he would lose it whenever he saw cruelty or people hurting others but down here it seemed like it had gotten a million times worse. But he could manage his anger, he had to. Afterall a hero doesn't-

A large blue spear struck the boat from Clover’s left. Causing it to rock and take on water as he caught himself by the edge to save his footing. More blue spear’s materialized all around him, aimed squarely at his chest before racing towards him. He jumped into the water as the boat was torn apart. The current was strong and fast, and took him much farther downstream in just a few moments before he even had the chance to come up for air.

He felt something wrap around his ankle as he was pulled into a thick brush of tall grass. Coughing up water from his lungs, Clover found himself kneeling over Flowey as the plant quickly pulled out the shiny light that he’d been using to mark SAVE points.

“You okay Clover?” Flowey said, faking concern. “Looks like the Royal Guard managed to find you. And judging from those spears I’d guess we just bumped into Undyne.” he said as he SAVED.

“Undyne?” Clover coughed as his memory of the Royal Guard popped into the forefront of his mind. She was the captain of the Royal Guard and looked over waterfall as her main station. She was merciless and would never listen to reason and was responsible for more than a few of his deaths in past timelines.

“Good.” Clover remarked as he pulled himself up. Shaking himself to get off some of the excess water from his clothes as he pulled out his toy gun.

“Woah buddy. I like the energy but are you sure you wanna pick a fight with her?” Flowey asked. “Not that I’m against it or anything. Killing her will make you alot stronger for the fight against the King. But it isn’t going to be easy.”

“You can bring me back whenever I die.” Clover bluntly pointed out. “Besides, she attacked me and wants to kill humans. She needs to be brought to justice.” Clover stepped out of the tall grass and quickly looked around for his opponent. Only to find nothing.

He kept his gun leveled as he carefully approached the river. The boat was completely destroyed and shattered into a hundred tiny drifting pieces of wood as they flowed downstream.

‘Good thing you got off that in time.’ Zaley commented as Clover paused. ‘Where’d she go?’ Clover had seen Undyne in action more than a few times. Underneath the black armor she was a blue scaled humanoid fish monster with an eyepatch over one eye and long red hair. She was about the height of his father as well and fought with a long blue magical spear. She was a very good fighter and could traverse the area very quickly thanks to her being able to... swim!

Clover began charging a shot of Dalv’s electrical magic just as Undyne burst out of the river in front of him. Aiming for her chest he pulled the trigger as his electrically charged shot raced towards her. Undyne, still in the air, simply raised her hand, and slapped the shot harmlessly to the side.

“Ha, did you think I was going down that easily?” She was donned in her full black armor as a long blue spear materialized in her right hand. “Now then, human. It’s time for you to face justice for your crimes!” Justice? All those monster’s had been trying to kill him and he was the one at fault? Undyne had no right to declare she was serving justice. He was the only servant of Justice here, she was just the agent of an evil tyrant.

Without a word Clover fired another shot at Undyne, only for his attack to bounce off her armor like before. It would seem like Dalv’s magic was useless against her armor. It was a good thing then he had other options.

“You're going to have to try a little harder than that!” Undyne declared as she waved her spear. Firing a dark green beam of magical energy at Clover that turned his soul green. Upon this change to his soul color Clover began screaming as he fell over. Clutching at his soul it felt as though his entire being was being incinerated from the inside out as he tried to move and roll around. Only to find himself stuck in place as a very confused Undyne watched over what was happening.

“Umm, that wasn’t supposed to hurt you. That spell was only supposed to stop you from running away.” she awkwardly watched for a moment as Clover’s screams began echoing throughout waterfall. His screams were so loud that the nearby native echo flowers began repeating his pained cries before their sounds reached other echo flowers who began doing the same thing.

‘Deep breaths Clover.’ Zaley urged as she fought back the urge to heal his pain lest she accidentally make this worse. ‘Please, you gotta get up!’

“IT BURNS!” Clover shrieked. “WHY? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?” Fighting against the pain Clover grabbed his now green soul and began concentrating on it. He recognized his soul was the same color as his mother’s, kindness. If he could use Zaley’s magic, then maybe now he could use his mother’s as well.

“... ALRIGHT! GET READY HUMAN!” Undyne yelled as more magical spears began materializing around him. “With your soul we’ll be one step closer to freedom!” With that Undyne unleashed all of her spears at the writhing Clover as he clutched harder at his soul.

He remembered what Zaley had told him about using her magic, how it was an expression of herself. At that moment he thought of Zaley, the other fallen children, and his mom and dad. He wanted to help them, he wanted to make things better for them, to make them happy and shield them from the harshness of the world. He wanted to protect them. And as the fire within him continued to burn away his senses a brilliant flash of green light materialized around him as a magical barrier surrounded him.

Undyne’s spears shattered on impact as Clover slowly pulled himself back up. His eyes now glowing dark green as he was clutching his chest with one hand and holding his now shining green soul in his left as he glared up at her.

“You monster’s only want to inflict pain.” Clover declared. “You’re all cruel unjust beasts who deserve to be trapped down here!” A crack of yellow emerged on his soul as the barrier around him fell. “I won’t let Asgore get away with his crimes! And I will NEVER let you HURT ANYONE!” he yelled as his soul let loose a bright burst of yellow light. Breaking the spell Undyne had over him as his soul and eyes returned to their normal color yellow.

“What?!” Undyne gasped. “You broke the spell?” Her surprise only lasted a moment before she quickly raised her spear at the justice child. “Alright human. Let’s go! I’ll kick your ass and make you pay for the monster’s you’ve killed!” She charged Clover, raising her spear high over her head before slamming it down onto him. Clover focused on his soul, and as he focused it turned green as he created another barrier around himself. Blocking her attack.

“Hmph, thanks.” Clover mocked. “You made me stronger!” With the power of Kindness within him, Clover could block Undyne’s attacks with ease. The Captain of the Royal Guard backed away from him as she created more and more tiny magical spears. Unleashing a never ending hail of attacks as Clover stood his ground.

During an opening he fired an ice shot at her to slow her down. But as with Dalv’s magic, it had no effect on her. Undyne unleashed yet more storms of tiny spears as Clover continued to use the power of kindness to block her attacks. And it was during this volley that he noticed cracks in his shield.

Undyne gave him a wicked smirk as grabbed the ground beneath her. Ripping a huge boulder out of the ground and tossing it at Clover who again blocked it with his protective barrier. The cracks had become massive and Clover then noticed how tired he felt. Undyne raced towards him with her spear. Stabbing it straight through the barrier and impaling Clover's heart! Bringing him to 0/48 hp in an instant.

“...!” Clover coughed as his body went limp.

“You’ve got strong magic human.” Undyne remarked. “Too bad you're inexperienced with it. I noticed you were putting a lot of your power into your shield. So I decided to widdle it down with a bunch of weak attacks before going for this.” she explained as she pulled her spear out of Clover’s chest. His body fell over as a small red puddle began pooling out from his open chest.

“You could’ve tanked most of those attacks if you couldn’t dodge them. Shield’s are great, but what you were doing is really draining. You if had realized that, you might’ve given me a challenge.” she laughed as she grabbed his soul.

‘I’m such a failure.’ Clover hissed as his soul began to crackle with red and yellow lighting.

‘Clover calm down!’ Zaley urged as for the briefest of moments, Clover’s soul turned red.

‘I WON’T LET THIS HAPPEN!’ He yelled but only Zaley could hear. ‘I WON’T LET EVERYONE DIE-AAAGGGHHH!!!’ he screamed again as his soul began pulsating more and more. Flickingering between yellow, blue, red and now green as Undyne carried off with his soul. Leaving his cold dead body behind as Clover reached out for his dead corpse and for a moment, and made his now dead body raise his hand got a moment before it fell to the ground.

“Ugh. Here we go again.” Flowey groaned as he loaded Clover’s SAVE.

SAVE FILE LOADED x1

Brought back from death Clover clutched the spot where Undyne had stabbed him. Getting his heart pierced open was unpleasant to say the least but it didn’t matter now. He had infinite retries thank’s to Flowey’s power but that didn’t change the fact he couldn’t damage Undyne at all. He focused on his soul as he managed to turn it green. So what happened to it before had carried over, good.

‘Maybe it’d be better to get stronger first and then fight her.’ Zaley suggested. ‘With more LOVE I’m sure-’

‘She’s a danger to every single human and is a heartless killer.’ Clover coldly replied as he left the tall grass. ‘She needs to face justice.’ Clover loaded his toy gun with the coffee bean ammo. If he couldn’t damage her he could at least move around faster to find a possible opening.

Like before Undyne emerged from the water as Clover fired his shot. Unlike the shots from before Undyne didn’t deflect the attack as it collided with her armor. Dealing no damage but giving him the speed boost he needed. She attempted to turn his soul green like before but thanks to the coffee bean he was able to simply run around her attack and fire again. Maintaining his speed but again dealing no damage.

“Oh I see what you're doing.” Undyne smirked as she raised her heavy plated foot as it began to glow with green magical energy. She slammed her foot into the ground as the magical shockwave shook the ground and tore large cracks into the earth as the force of the shock made Clover lose his balance and fall over.

Before Clover even had a chance to react, Undyne created four large magical spears and tossed them at Clover’s arms and legs. Pinning him to the ground as she quickly ran over to him before slamming her spear into the center of his chest. Taking his hp down to 0/48 once again as she took his soul like before.

SAVE FILE LOADED x2

If his weapon wouldn’t work he’d use Zaley’s blue magic to toss things at her and throw her around. Unfortunately for Clover, Undyne’s armor was too strong for the rocks to damage and she herself was far too resilient and heavy to be tossed around by his blue magic. Resulting in another painful death as her spear pierced his skull.

SAVE FILE LOADED x6

Clover had gotten used to Undyne’s attacks and had gotten better at maintaining his shield when turning his soul green. He decided to do what he did to Dalv before and try to use Undyne’s own spears against her by grabbing one of them and compressing it with his soul's magic. But as with before, even her own attacks still did no damage.

“Ha. Did you really think that using my own spears on me was going to work?” the captain of the Royal Guard gave a long hearty laugh. “Dream on! This armor is the best in the underground. Enchanted to provide protection against everything that could be thrown at me with even Alphy’s helping to make it better at KICKING YOUR ASS!” and with a single strike, Clover died again as his spine was split in two.

SAVE FILE LOADED x11

‘Clover just shoot her with the coffee bean and run!’ Zaley had grown nearly as frustrated as Clover had by this point. He couldn’t do anything! Couldn't even scratch Undyne or blast off a piece of her armor. He was powerless, useless, unable to fulfill his sole purpose in life like he was on the surface.

“This. Is. STUPID!” Clover yelled out as he left the tall grass once again. “Why can’t I do ANYTHING RIGHT!”

‘JUST SHOOT HER AND RUN!’ Zaley yelled at him. ‘Stop getting yourself killed for no reason. Just get stronger and fight her later.’

“FINE!” Clover snarled at Zaley as Undyne did her usual entrance. He fired the coffee bean ammo at her and began running off.

“HEY! GET BACK HERE YOU COWARD!” Undyne yelled out as she began running after him. Despite being in heavy armor she was racing after him with surprising speed. It was only thanks to the coffee bean ammo that he was able to stay out of her range as she began hurling spears after him.

Clover turned his soul blue and began jumping over the various streams and rivers making up waterfall. Undyne simply raced through them, unbothered by any bodies of water she ran through as more Royal Guards began encircling them.

“There’s the human! Initiate encirclement protocol!” The monster’s were all armored like Undyne and seemed to be aquatic given their webbed fins and tails. Reasoning these monsters were weaker than Undyne, Clover loaded his toy gun with Dalv’s electrical magic. Firing a single shot as the brilliant beam of yellow magical energy completely blew apart one of the guardsmen. Turning them to dust as Clover’s LOVE increased. Raising his hp to 52/52 as his soul began pulsating and crackling with magic.

The Royal Guards were quick to recover from the loss of their comrade with some raising shields while others took cover or fired at Clover from a distance. Undyne tried to stun Clover with yet another wave of green magic, only for that to fail as the fallen child simply turned his soul blue and leaped over it. While in the air he took aim and fired at the captain of the royal guard. Pushing her back a step, but otherwise dealing no real damage.

‘Well at least that did something.’ Zaley commented as Clover turned his attention to his other attackers. Undyne may be too powerful for him to hurt but she was slower than him thanks to that heavy armor. Turning his soul green Clover used his shield to create cover and take more shots as the royal guard began attacking him from all sides.

He would get one royal guard and then another two would appear shortly after. He managed to kill seven, then eight, then ten as they continued to tear away at him. Their magical swords, spears and bolts of magic tearing open his skin as he began to bleed from his shoulders and legs. He had been brought to 14/52 hp and still wasn’t tired.

‘Clover you need to run!’Zaley shouted as Clover maintained his shield around himself as Undyne and her guard pelted him with volley after magical volley. Clover thought for a moment and remembered how strong the current was in this area. It would carry him far, but Undyne would be right behind him. Plus it was likely these other monster’s would swim after him as well.

“Hmm. I got an idea.” He loaded his toy gun with the coffee bean ammo and fired as he made a break for the river. The shot didn’t kill the monster but did grant him the speed boost he needed as he leaped into the river. Allowing the current to carry him as he swapped the ammo for Dalv’s electrical magic.

“Oh no you don’t. After him!” Undyne leaped into the river as did her fellow guards as Clover glanced back with a smirk. He pulled himself out of the river and fired into the water as the guards swam towards him. The shot created a massive electrical storm that lit up the entire river. Electrocuting all those who were unfortunate enough to be submerged and turning them to ash as Clover’s LOVE increased yet again. His hp became 14/56 as a result as he reached LV 10.

A silence filled the air. Clover took a moment to breathe but only a moment as Undyne jumped out of the river, unharmed and noticeably more angry than before. Her breathing was noticeably deeper as her hands were violently shaking with rage.

“You dirty little coward!” Undyne snapped her fingers as more magical spears materialized around them. “You heartless, UGH! SCREW THIS! I’LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!” Clover brought up his shield yet again as the barrage began, but remembering his past death’s moved to his right just as Undyne lunged at him. Shattering his shield but completely missing him as he rolled under the barrage of spears she had unleashed on him.

He swapped to the coffee bean ammo and fired. Running further and further away from her with each shot as Undyne cursed at him while calling upon more guards to attack with some device she was holding up to her ear. More guards appeared but they only served to allow him to run faster for longer durations and the weaker ones allowed him to get closer to increasing his LOVE further.

Eventually the guards stopped appearing and only silence filled the air as Clover hid in a patch of tall grass. His heart racing as he took one deep breath after the other as he collapsed onto the damp ground.

“Great job with those royal guards.” Flowey smiled as he emerged out of the ground beside Clover. “You really handled yourself well. And tricking them all into getting into the river and electrocuting them. That was great! Glad to be on your side.” Clover lacked the energy to talk back or even really acknowledge his words as the flower SAVED for him. He felt his strength return in an instant as he pulled himself onto his feet and continued walking.

‘Why don’t you take a rest.’ Zaley suggested. ‘After a fight like that you should be taking it easy. I’m sorry I can’t help you more. I don’t wanna risk hurting you with my magic and-’

‘It’s okay.’ Clover told her as he found a long dark tunnel with a few torches lining the sides. ‘I wouldn’t have made it this far without you. You just talking to me is helping a lot. Thank you.’

(New Home, Judgement Hall)

“Ah hello sans. Would you care for some coffee?” Asgore was carrying a tray that held a cup of tea and coffee as the short skeleton gave him a warm smile and a wink.

“sure thing king fluffybuns.” the skeleton replied as he took the cup. “so what’s all this about? must be serious to be calling me on my legally required break.” Asgore allowed his cheerful facade to fall as he sat down against one of the many pillars lining the hall. Taking a long sip of his freshly made tea as sans sat beside him.

“sans. Do you, no remembering is impossible. Do you get a bad feeling whenever you’re near the CORE?” sans took a sip of his coffee as he thought for a moment.

“hmm, nope.” he replied simply. “but then again me and papyrus haven’t been there in a long time. you remembered something about the accident?” he asked as Asgore chuckled.

“What accident? It's not like such a thing ever happened?” It was dark humor but also technically accurate. Whatever had happened had been completely wiped from their minds and records had been completely erased as though they had never existed. The only reason they knew something had happened was because of all the dust in the CORE’s central control chamber and the damage Asgore and Toriel had sustained in some kind of fight while sans and Alphys woke up along with them.

“heh, yeah.” sans remarked as he took another sip of his coffee. “so what brought this up? i thought this was going to be about that human alphys spotted.”

“When the human was mentioned to me it somehow didn’t come as a surprise.” Asgore explained. “He is a justice soul from what I’ve gathered. I’m no expert on human souls and psychology but justice soul’s wouldn’t go on rampages like this one for no reason.”

“i get it.” sans said. “you think this human might be the anomaly that's been stopping and erasing timelines?”

“No but sans, do you ever get the feeling like you're being watched?” Asgore asked.

“Why do you ask?” sans raised his eyehole.

“Call it a hunch. But when I remembered the human I felt like something was watching me then. From before now and…” he took another sip. “I have a very bad feeling sans. Like everything is about to get much, much worse for all of us.”

“so what do you want me to do about it?” sans asked.

“I’m asking you to help get the monster’s in the human’s path to safety.” Asgore answered. “If what is coming goes for the worst, I want to make sure as many monster’s as possible make it through this. In short, I need you to make use of your “shortcuts” to protect them.” Asgore requested as sans finished his coffee.

“well if you're going to put it that way. i can’t say no now can i?” sans shrugged as he handed his mug to Asgore.

“Oh no sans please keep it.” the king insisted. “It's not really my color and I got it for you. A… thank you for all you’ve done over the years. And a momento… just in case.”

“all right if you insist i steal your mug.” sans put the mug in his coat as he began to walk off.

“And sans, please be careful.” Asgore asked. “Leave the human to me. Just make sure the others get to safety.”

“sure thing.” he waved as he suddenly disappeared. Leaving Asgore alone in Judgement Hall as New Home was evacuated.

“Sigh. My friends.” he said looking out into the undergrounds capital. “Please be safe. May we weather this storm, as we always have.”

(Waterfall cave)

The cave Clover was traversing seemed to get dark, darker and then darker. The lights had gone dim and he couldn’t hear a sound through the cave aside from his footsteps. Still he kept his hand over his toy gun, ready to fire should he encounter anyone.

After what felt like an eternity he came upon the cave's end. A simple grey door with a black handle stood at the end with nothing else in sight.

‘Why is there a door here?’ Zaley said as Clover placed his hand on the handle. It was cold to the touch, almost freezing and then the whole world went dark.

‘Zaley?’ he said in his mind as he looked around the empty void he now found himself in. The cave was gone and felt like he was floating in… nothing. Suspicious, he looked behind the door and found nothing. He closed his eyes and shook his head, only to see nothing beside the door.

‘Zaley are you there?’ he asked again. ‘Zaley!’ but she didn’t respond. Realizing he had no choice, he opened the door and found the interior was a small pure white room with a blob of some black thing in the middle.

Clover cautiously entered the room as the door slammed shut behind him. He spun around to blast the door open. Only to find it didn’t exist anymore.

"☟︎☜︎☹︎☹︎⚐︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎😐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎" [HELLO HUMAN. THANK YOU FOR COMING.] Quick as a flash Clover spun around to find the black blob in the center of the room now had a skeletal head with two large cracks going up and down from his eyes. The creature’s eyes were black voids and it had two hands floating around it that had a large hole in the center of them.

Clover raised his toy gun at the creature, staring it down as it raised both its hands.

"👎︎⚐︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ☞︎☜︎✌︎☼︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎📬︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☼︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☠︎⚐︎ ☟︎✌︎☼︎💣︎📬︎ ✋︎☠︎☞︎✌︎👍︎❄︎📪︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✋︎💧︎☟︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☟︎☜︎☹︎🏱︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☼︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎✋︎👍︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☟︎✌︎💧︎ ✋︎☠︎☞︎☹︎✋︎👍︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ 🕆︎🏱︎⚐︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📬︎" [DO NOT FEAR HUMAN. I WILL BRING YOU NO HARM. INFACT, I WISH TO HELP YOU RIGHT THE INJUSTICE THE KING HAS INFLICTED UPON YOU.] Clover lowered his weapon, slightly, ready to fire the second the creature tried anything.

“Who and what are you?” Clover asked.

The creature's head lowered along with its hands as it did what Clover assumed was a bow. "✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💣︎✌︎✡︎ 👍︎✌︎☹︎☹︎ 💣︎☜︎ ☝︎✌︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ ⚐︎☠︎👍︎☜︎📪︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☝︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☜︎💧︎❄︎ 💣︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎👎︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☝︎☜︎☠︎✋︎🕆︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 👍︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 💣︎✌︎👎︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✋︎💣︎🏱︎⚐︎💧︎💧︎✋︎👌︎☹︎☜︎ 🏱︎⚐︎💧︎💧︎✋︎👌︎☹︎☜︎📬︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ 👌︎☜︎❄︎☼︎✌︎✡︎☜︎👎︎ 👌︎✡︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 👍︎✌︎💧︎❄︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ☟︎☜︎☹︎☹︎📬︎" [YOU MAY CALL ME GASTER. ONCE, I WAS THE GREATEST MIND OF THE UNDERGROUND. THE GENIUS THAT CREATED THE CORE AND MADE THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE. BUT I WAS BETRAYED BY THE KING AND CAST INTO THIS HELL.] Clover narrowed his eyes and tried to reach out to Gaster’s soul to determine the truth. But, he couldn’t sense anything.

"✋︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎❼︎☼︎☜︎ ❄︎☼︎✡︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎☜︎☠︎💧︎☜︎ ✋︎☞︎ ✋︎❼︎💣︎ ❄︎☜︎☹︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎☼︎🕆︎❄︎☟︎📬︎" [I SEE YOU’RE TRYING TO SENSE IF I’M TELLING THE TRUTH.] Gaster said as he placed both his hands together. "✋︎ 🕆︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎💧︎❄︎✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💣︎✋︎💧︎❄︎☼︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎📬︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ ☼︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👌︎☜︎ 💧︎😐︎☜︎🏱︎❄︎✋︎👍︎✌︎☹︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ☞︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎❼︎💧︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ 👎︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📬︎" [I UNDERSTAND YOUR MISTRUST. YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE SKEPTICAL AFTER WHAT THAT FLOWER AND THE OTHER’S HAVE DONE TO YOU.]

“How do you know about any of that?” Clover asked as Gaster pointed a finger upward. Looking up Clover could see Asgore, Torial, his parents, Zaley and the other’s souls… everything all at once.

"☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎" [HERE I CAN SEE EVERYTHING.] Gaster explained. "☼︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ 🕈︎☜︎❼︎☼︎☜︎ ⚐︎🕆︎❄︎💧︎✋︎👎︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎📬︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎🏱︎✌︎👍︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎❄︎🕈︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎☹︎✋︎❄︎✋︎☜︎💧︎📬︎ ✋︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ 🕈︎✌︎❄︎👍︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💧︎✋︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ☞︎✋︎☼︎💧︎❄︎ ☞︎✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎👎︎📬︎ ✋︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ✌︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎🏱︎⚐︎💧︎✋︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📬︎" [RIGHT NOW WE’RE OUTSIDE OF OUR TIMELINE. IN THE SPACE BETWEEN REALITIES. I HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOU SINCE YOUR FIRST FALL INTO THE UNDERGROUND. I HAVE A PROPOSITION FOR YOU.] Awestruck by what he was seeing, it took a few moments before Clover’s brain managed to process Gaster’s word’s and begin listening.

"✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☞︎☼︎☜︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☞︎✌︎☹︎☹︎☜︎☠︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎❼︎💧︎📬︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👌︎☜︎ ☞︎☼︎☜︎☜︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ☟︎☜︎☹︎☹︎📬︎ 🕈︎☜︎ 👌︎⚐︎❄︎☟︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☜︎☠︎✌︎👍︎❄︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎✋︎👍︎☜︎ 🕆︎🏱︎⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎☼︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎❼︎💧︎ ☟︎☜︎ ☟︎✌︎💧︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎💣︎✋︎❄︎❄︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎📪︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☹︎💧︎⚐︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎👌︎☹︎☜︎💣︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☞︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎📬︎" [YOU WANT TO FREE THE FALLEN HUMAN’S. I WANT TO BE FREE FROM THIS HELL. WE BOTH WANT TO ENACT JUSTICE UPON THE KING FOR THE WRONG’S HE HAS COMMITTED. BUT, YOU ALSO HAVE THE PROBLEM OF THE FLOWER.] Clover nodded. Even if he was able to beat Asgore, Flowey would still be able to manipulate time and kill him as he’s done before. To free them, he needed to defeat Flowey’s power over time.

"✋︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ☟︎⚐︎🕈︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎😐︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎💣︎🏱︎⚐︎☼︎❄︎✌︎☠︎❄︎☹︎✡︎📪︎ ✋︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ☟︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎ 💣︎✌︎😐︎☜︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎💧︎📬︎ ✋︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎ 💣︎✌︎😐︎☜︎ ✋︎❄︎ 💧︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☠︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ ☠︎☜︎☜︎👎︎ ☟︎✋︎💣︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☜︎ ☞︎☼︎☜︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 🕆︎💧︎☜︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎ ✌︎💧︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎✋︎💧︎☟︎📬︎ ☞︎🕆︎☼︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎💧︎💧︎✋︎💧︎❄︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✋︎☠︎ 👎︎☜︎☞︎☜︎✌︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 💣︎✌︎😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 💧︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎☹︎👎︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☜︎ 💧︎✌︎☞︎☜︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ 💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎😐︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ ✋︎☠︎ ☼︎☜︎❄︎🕆︎☼︎☠︎📪︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☟︎☜︎☹︎🏱︎ ☞︎☼︎☜︎☜︎ 💣︎☜︎📬︎" [I KNOW HOW HIS POWER WORKS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, I KNOW HOW YOU CAN MAKE IT YOURS. I CAN MAKE IT SO YOU WILL NEVER NEED HIM AND YOU WILL BE FREE TO USE HIS POWER AS YOU WISH. FURTHERMORE I WILL ASSIST YOU IN DEFEATING THE KING AND MAKING SURE YOUR WORLD WILL BE SAFE FROM MONSTERKIND FOREVER. AND ALL I WANT IN RETURN, IS YOU TO HELP FREE ME.] Clover crossed his arms and eyed Gaster suspiciously.

“Why did Asgore betray you?” Anger emanated from the black void of Gaster's eyes as his hands clenched.

"✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ 👎︎✋︎💧︎☝︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ 👌︎✡︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ ✋︎☠︎✋︎❄︎✋︎✌︎❄︎✋︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☜︎✠︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ ⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎💧︎📬︎" [I WAS DISGUSTED BY HIS INITIATIVE TO EXPERIMENT ON THE HUMAN SOULS.] Gaster said as Clover’s eyes began glowing bright yellow. Experiment on the fallen human’s own souls?! How could anyone do such a horrendous thing? But he reminded himself of what Zaley had said. They were just souls to monster’s. Things to be used for their own ends.

"❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☞︎✌︎☹︎☹︎☜︎☠︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎💧︎ 🕈︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ 💧︎🕆︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☝︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☹︎✡︎ 👎︎🕆︎☼︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💧︎☜︎ ❄︎☜︎💧︎❄︎💧︎📬︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎🏱︎✌︎☼︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ ✋︎ 👍︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎☠︎ ✌︎☼︎❄︎✋︎☞︎✋︎👍︎✋︎✌︎☹︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 🕈︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎ ☼︎☜︎🏱︎☹︎✋︎👍︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ✌︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎☹︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎☹︎✌︎☠︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👌︎☼︎☜︎✌︎😐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👌︎✌︎☼︎☼︎✋︎☜︎☼︎ 👌︎✡︎ 👍︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💧︎☜︎ ✌︎☼︎❄︎✋︎☞︎✋︎👍︎✋︎✌︎☹︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☜︎☹︎✋︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☠︎☜︎☜︎👎︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎🕆︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 👎︎✋︎💧︎✌︎🏱︎🏱︎☼︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ 👌︎☹︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ 👌︎✡︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ ☟︎✌︎❄︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎👎︎📪︎ ☟︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎💧︎💧︎☜︎👎︎ 💣︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 👍︎✌︎💧︎❄︎ 💣︎☜︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☠︎✋︎❄︎✡︎📬︎" [THE FALLEN HUMANS WERE SUFFERING GREATLY DURING THESE TESTS. TO SPARE THEM I CREATED AN ARTIFICIAL HUMAN SOUL THAT WOULD REPLICATE A REAL ONE. THE PLAN WAS TO BREAK THE BARRIER BY CREATING MORE OF THESE ARTIFICIAL SOULS AND ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR THEM TO SUFFER. BUT THE KING DISAPPROVED. BLIND BY HIS HATRED OF YOUR KIND, HE TOSSED ME INTO THE CORE AND CAST ME HERE FOR ALL ETERNITY.] Clover’s soul pulsated painfully in his chest. This… anger this… hate… it was like venom in his veins. But still, he took a deep breath and asked his next question.

“Why do you care about them?” he asked.

"✋︎ 👍︎✌︎☼︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎👍︎✌︎🕆︎💧︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎☹︎✋︎😐︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎💧︎📪︎ ✋︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💧︎☜︎ ☜︎✠︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎💧︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎☜︎❄︎☟︎✋︎👍︎✌︎☹︎📬︎ ⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎☞︎✋︎☠︎☜︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ 👎︎⚐︎☜︎💧︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ☝︎✋︎✞︎☜︎ 🕆︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☼︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎👎︎☜︎💣︎☠︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎💧︎ 🕈︎☟︎⚐︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ 👎︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✋︎💣︎🏱︎☼︎✋︎💧︎⚐︎☠︎ 🕆︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎🕆︎👍︎☟︎ ✌︎ ☞︎✌︎❄︎☜︎📬︎" [I CARE BECAUSE UNLIKE THE OTHERS, I KNOW THESE EXPERIMENTS ARE UNETHICAL. OUR CONFINEMENT DOESN’T NOT GIVE US THE RIGHT TO CONDEMN OTHERS WHO HAD DONE NOTHING TO IMPRISON US TO SUCH A FATE.] If only more monster’s thought like Torial or Gaster, then he wouldn’t have ever needed to get stronger.

“Why haven’t you talked to me before?” Clover asked. “I’ve died hundreds of times to the monster’s and I’ve never seen you before.” Gaster’s left hand pointed to Clover’s soul.

"👌︎☜︎👍︎✌︎🕆︎💧︎☜︎ ✋︎ 👍︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ 🕆︎☠︎❄︎✋︎☹︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ ☜︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎📬︎" [BECAUSE I COULDN’T UNTIL HER MAGIC ENTERED YOUR SOUL.] Gaster replied. "❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ☝︎✋︎☼︎☹︎❼︎💧︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ 👎︎✋︎👎︎ ☞︎✌︎☼︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎ ☜︎✋︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎☹︎✋︎☪︎☜︎📬︎" [THAT GIRL’S MAGIC DID FAR MORE THAN EITHER OF YOU REALIZE.]

“What do you mean?” Clover asked. “Is that why it’s been acting so strange?” Gaster nodded.

"✌︎☹︎☹︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎💧︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎❄︎✌︎✋︎☠︎ ✌︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎❄︎✡︎ 🕈︎☜︎ 💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎❼︎💧︎ 👍︎✌︎☹︎☹︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎📬︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✋︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎📪︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 😐︎☜︎☜︎🏱︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ ☝︎⚐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📪︎ 💣︎✌︎😐︎☜︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎☞︎🕆︎☹︎ ☜︎☠︎⚐︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☹︎✌︎💧︎❄︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎ 👎︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☟︎📬︎☸︎ ☝︎♋︎⬧︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎ ♏︎⌧︎◻︎●︎♋︎♓︎■︎♏︎♎︎📬︎ ☯︎🕈︎☟︎✋︎☹︎☜︎ 💧︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ☟︎☜︎✌︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☞︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎ ☼︎☜︎💧︎☜︎❄︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ ☹︎✋︎☠︎☝︎☜︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📬︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎ ☹︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✞︎✋︎⚐︎☹︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☝︎☼︎✋︎❄︎✡︎ 💣︎✋︎✠︎☜︎👎︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎✋︎👍︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ✋︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎⚐︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎ ✋︎❄︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ⚐︎☠︎☹︎✡︎ ✌︎ 💧︎💣︎✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎💣︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎❄︎📪︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ ✌︎❄︎❄︎✌︎✋︎☠︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☟︎✌︎💧︎ 👍︎✌︎🕆︎💧︎☜︎👎︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎ ✞︎✋︎☼︎❄︎🕆︎☜︎📪︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☹︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💣︎✋︎✠︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✌︎☹︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎💧︎✋︎👎︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ ☜︎💧︎💧︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 👌︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎" [ALL HUMAN SOULS CONTAIN A PROPERTY WE MONSTER’S CALL DETERMINATION. IT IS THE POWER, THE WILL THAT KEEPS THEM GOING, MAKES THEM POWERFUL ENOUGH TO LAST AFTER EVEN DEATH.] Gaster explained. [WHILE SHE WAS HEALING YOUR SOUL WITH HER MAGIC THE FLOWER RESET BUT HER MAGIC LINGERED WITHIN YOU. HER LEVEL OF VIOLENCE AND INTEGRITY MIXED WITH THE JUSTICE AND DETERMINATION IN YOUR SOUL. THOUGH IT WAS ONLY A SMALL AMOUNT, THE POWER YOU’VE BEEN ATTAINING HAS CAUSED HER VIRTUE, HER DETERMINATION AND LOVE TO MIX AND GROW ALONGSIDE WITH THE VERY ESSENCE OF YOUR BEING.]

“How is any of that even possible?” Clover asked. “Reset’s turn back time.”

"✋︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ 🏱︎☜︎☼︎☞︎☜︎👍︎❄︎📬︎☸︎ ☝︎♋︎⬧︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎ ♍︎□︎■︎⧫︎♓︎■︎◆︎♏︎♎︎📬︎ ☯︎🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ ☼︎☜︎💧︎☜︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎ 💧︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ 💧︎💣︎✌︎☹︎☹︎ 👎︎✋︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎ ✋︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ 👎︎⚐︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎☹︎✋︎☪︎☜︎ ✋︎❄︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎ ✌︎☞︎☞︎☜︎👍︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✋︎💧︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎ 💧︎🕆︎👍︎☟︎ 👎︎✋︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎📬︎ ✌︎ ❽︎☝︎☹︎✋︎❄︎👍︎☟︎❾︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎✡︎💧︎❄︎☜︎💣︎ ✋︎☞︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎📬︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💣︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎☹︎✋︎☪︎☜︎👎︎ 👌︎✡︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ☼︎☜︎💧︎☜︎❄︎❼︎💧︎ ☹︎☜︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎❼︎💧︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ✌︎ 💧︎☜︎☠︎💧︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 👎︎☜︎☺︎✌︎✞︎🕆︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✌︎☹︎🕈︎✌︎✡︎💧︎ 💧︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ ☼︎☜︎💣︎✌︎✋︎☠︎💧︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎✌︎💧︎❄︎📪︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎ 🕈︎☟︎☜︎☠︎ ✋︎❄︎ ❄︎☜︎👍︎☟︎☠︎✋︎👍︎✌︎☹︎☹︎✡︎ ☠︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ ☟︎✌︎🏱︎🏱︎☜︎☠︎☜︎👎︎📬︎" [INDEED. BUT THEY ARE NOT PERFECT.] Gaster continued. [WITH EVERY RESET THERE IS SOME SMALL DIFFERENCE EVEN IF THOSE OF THE TIMELINE DON’T REALIZE IT. THE CHANGE AFFECTING YOU IS ONE SUCH DIFFERENCE. A “GLITCH” IN THE SYSTEM IF YOU WILL. AND YOU MUST’VE REALIZED BY NOW THAT RESET’S LEAVE OTHER’S WITH A SENSE OF DEJAVU. THERE IS ALWAYS SOME REMAINS OF THE PAST, EVEN WHEN IT TECHNICALLY NEVER HAPPENED.] Clover thought over Gaster’s words. It made sense with what he’s seen and experienced first hand so far. But still he had more questions for the monster.

“What’s going to happen to me?” he asked as Gaster gave him a creepy wide smile.

"❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✋︎💧︎ ☜︎☠︎❄︎✋︎☼︎☜︎☹︎✡︎ 🕆︎🏱︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📬︎" [THAT IS ENTIRELY UP TO YOU.] Gaster answered. "✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ ✋︎💧︎ ❄︎☼︎🕆︎☹︎✡︎ 🕆︎☠︎✋︎✈︎🕆︎☜︎ 👍︎☹︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎ ☟︎✌︎💧︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎👎︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☼︎☜︎🏱︎☹︎✋︎👍︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✌︎👌︎✋︎☹︎✋︎❄︎✋︎☜︎💧︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ ❄︎✡︎🏱︎☜︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎ ❄︎✌︎🏱︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ ✌︎ ☟︎✋︎☝︎☟︎☜︎☼︎ ☹︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎📬︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ✌︎💧︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎✌︎✋︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎👍︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☜︎☠︎👎︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎📪︎ ⚐︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎☼︎✌︎☠︎💧︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎💣︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎👍︎☜︎💧︎💧︎ ✋︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ ✋︎💧︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎🏱︎☹︎☜︎❄︎☜︎📬︎ ✋︎🕯︎💣︎ 👍︎☜︎☼︎❄︎✌︎✋︎☠︎ ✋︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 💧︎❄︎⚐︎🏱︎ ☟︎🕆︎☼︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎" [YOUR SOUL IS TRULY UNIQUE CLOVER. THE CHANGE HAS ALLOWED FOR YOU REPLICATE THE ABILITIES OF OTHER SOUL TYPES AND EVEN TAP INTO A HIGHER LEVEL OF DETERMINATION. BUT AS FOR THE PAIN YOU ARE FORCED TO ENDURE, ONCE THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS IN YOUR SOUL IS COMPLETE. I'M CERTAIN IT WILL STOP HURTING.]

“... Alright. How do I stop Flowey from controlling the time?” Clover asked.

"💧︎⚐︎ 🕈︎☜︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ✌︎ 👎︎☜︎✌︎☹︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎☠︎✍︎" [SO WE HAVE A DEAL THEN?] Gaster asked as he held out one of his floating hands.

“You won’t stop me from freeing the other’s? And you won’t hurt any human’s right?”

"✋︎ ⚐︎☠︎☹︎✡︎ 🕈︎✋︎💧︎☟︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎✋︎👍︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☞︎☼︎☜︎☜︎👎︎⚐︎💣︎📬︎" [I ONLY WISH FOR JUSTICE AND FREEDOM.] Gaster replied. "✋︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎💧︎⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☜︎☠︎✌︎👍︎❄︎ 💧︎🕆︎👍︎☟︎ ✌︎ ❄︎☜︎☼︎☼︎✋︎👌︎☹︎☜︎ 👎︎☜︎☜︎👎︎📬︎" [I HAVE NO REASON TO ENACT SUCH A TERRIBLE DEED.] Clover stared at the hand for a moment. This entire situation felt wrong, yet he didn’t really have a choice did he? The exit was gone, he was apparently outside the timeline so Flowey wouldn’t be able to bring him back. He couldn’t talk to Zaley and the only path forward seemed to be this monster in front of him. The answer was obvious.

“Alright I’ll help free you.” Clover agreed. “But I’m not going to hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it and you aren’t going to hurt any humans either.” he took Gaster’s hand.

"☜︎✠︎👍︎☜︎☹︎☹︎☜︎☠︎❄︎📬︎" [EXCELLENT.] Gaster smiled. "❄︎☼︎🕆︎☹︎✡︎ ☜︎✠︎👍︎☜︎☹︎☹︎☜︎☠︎❄︎📬︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎📬︎ ☹︎☜︎❄︎❼︎💧︎ 👌︎☜︎☝︎✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☞︎✋︎☼︎💧︎❄︎ 💧︎❄︎☜︎🏱︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎☹︎✌︎☠︎📬︎" [TRULY EXCELLENT. NOW. LET’S BEGIN THE FIRST STEP OF THE PLAN.]

(In another timeline. The final corridor leading to the surface from the underground.)

“IT'S FINALLY TIME BROTHER.” Papyrus maliciously grinned as sans approached the barrier. The underground had gone quiet with all the dust scattered about. The birds had stopped chirping, the flower’s were wilting, and that damn demon child had finally been defeated. Their soul absorbed by sans who had gained the power of LOVE in order to finally defeat them.

“hehehe. it sure is bro.” san’s smile somehow grew larger. Human’s had imprisoned monsters in the underground for countless centuries but this human who had fallen proved just how evil the entire race was. Hundreds of genocide runs, countless timelines destroyed and only now after so long was he able to finally put a stop to it all. He had beaten them, completely and utterly and now had total control over the timeline in addition to absorbing their soul and gaining tremendous power. But it wasn’t enough.

Afterall, humanity still existed on the surface. They created Chara and were responsible for everything that had happened to him, his brother and the whole of monsterkind. Now it was time to achieve his vengeance.

If only he hadn’t had to kill every monster in the underground to get this far. Oh well, at least now their suffering was at an end.

It had taken a long time to find where the human soul’s Asgore had collected had been hidden away. He felt stupid for not looking in this room more but that was irrelevant now. With those souls combined with the one he absorbed from that demon child, he’d become a god and shatter the barrier. And destroy everything on the surface to celebrate.

“alright paps. you ready to see the sun?” Papyrus was killed by him while he was emptying the underground but had come back to help him during his fight with Chara. It surprised him to put it mildly, but he was grateful to still have someone with him.

Sans flicked his fingers, but the soul’s didn’t emerge from their hiding places. Confused, he flicked his fingers again and checked the security notes he found in Asgore's old home. It should’ve worked. Yet as he thought over what was happening he heard the echo of footsteps approaching. He turned around in surprise. There shouldn’t be anyone left. Had he missed one?

Entering the room was another human wearing a worn hat, a brown jacket and sporting a pair of golden eyes that glared daggers at him. Without a word the human pointed what appeared to be a toy gun at him as sans laughed.

“hahaha. well well. another human fell down here huh? heh. you should’ve stayed on the surface kid.” with his new powers given to him by absorbing Chara’s soul sans noticed the human was LV 10 with 56 hp. Good, he thought. He’d be fun to toy around with. And he was at LV 21 with over 10,000 hp with total control over the timeline. This was sure to be fun.

“Let them go.” Clover demanded as sans laughed at him.

“let them go?” he said as his right eye glowed bright red and his left glowed a mixture of blue, purple and red. “after the hell they made us all live through? nah. but if you feel so bad for that demon.” sans flicked his fingers as the doorway behind Clover was quickly blocked off with a wall of red bones.

“why don’t you come and join them?”

Chapter Text

(A few minutes before Clover met Dusttale Sans)

When Clover had first entered the underground he had one mission, to free the fallen humans killed by Asgore and dispense justice. He had never imagined other worlds, much less other timelines suffering the same fate or worse. In countless worlds across the vast multiverse the fallen children were killed and imprisoned endlessly. The sheer size of reality beyond his timeline was overwhelming. As was the newfound anger boiling inside of his soul.

Countless times the children would fall and be killed, their souls harvested and kept in containment to be used to destroy humanity. There was no justice, no one to come and save them nor was anyone even bothered by their deaths or disappearances. And seeing this wrong, this injustice repeating endlessly throughout all time and space was… burning him from the inside.

“Monster’s.” Clover hissed as he grasped his soul. It was hot to the touch, practically burning but also… addicting to hold. It was almost like… his soul was now the only part of him that mattered.

“❄☼✌☝✋👍 ✋💧 ✋❄ ☠⚐❄✍”[TRAGIC IS IT NOT?] Gaster continued. “💧︎🕆︎👍︎☟︎ 👍︎☼︎🕆︎☜︎☹︎❄︎✡︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☜︎👍︎✌︎🕆︎💧︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎”[SUCH CRUELTY ALL BECAUSE OF THE KING.] Anger was pouring out of Clover’s bright glowing eyes as he stepped towards Gaster.

“He did this?” he asked in a neutral, but very clearly angered tone. It was almost like a whisper, a question a judge would ask before delivering his verdict.

“☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ☜︎✠︎✌︎👍︎❄︎☹︎✡︎📬︎”[NOT EXACTLY.] Gaster explained. “❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✌︎💧︎☝︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎ ✌︎☹︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☠︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎✋︎☝︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎☼︎🕆︎☜︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☜︎☠︎❄︎✋︎☼︎☜︎ 💣︎🕆︎☹︎❄︎✋︎✞︎☜︎☼︎💧︎☜︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ 👍︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎✋︎☝︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎❄︎💧︎ ✞︎✌︎☼︎✋︎⚐︎🕆︎💧︎ ✌︎☹︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☠︎✌︎❄︎☜︎💧︎📬︎”[THE ASGORE YOU KNOW IS AN ALTERNATE OF THE ORIGINAL FROM THE TRUE TIMELINE. THE ENTIRE MULTIVERSE WAS CREATED FROM THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE AND ITS VARIOUS ALTERNATES.] Clover was confused to put it mildly so with a deep sigh, Gaster explained using a more… child friendly explanation.

“❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☞︎✋︎☼︎💧︎❄︎ 🕆︎☠︎✋︎✞︎☜︎☼︎💧︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎ ☜︎✠︎✋︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎✋︎☝︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎📬︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ✋︎❄︎ 👍︎✌︎💣︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎❄︎☹︎☜︎💧︎💧︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎💧︎📪︎ 💧︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ 💧︎✋︎💣︎✋︎☹︎✌︎☼︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎✋︎☝︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎💧︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎🏱︎☹︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☹︎✡︎ 👎︎✋︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎☜︎☠︎❄︎📬︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ☜︎✠︎✌︎💣︎🏱︎☹︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎ 💧︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎✋︎✞︎☜︎☼︎💧︎☜︎💧︎ ✌︎💧︎☝︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎👎︎📬︎ 💧︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ 👎︎✋︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎💧︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ ☹︎✌︎☼︎☝︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎ 💧︎💣︎✌︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ☜︎✌︎👍︎☟︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ 👎︎☼︎✌︎🕈︎💧︎ ✋︎❄︎💧︎ 👍︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎✋︎☝︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ ✋︎☠︎ 💧︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ 🕈︎✌︎✡︎📬︎” [THE FIRST UNIVERSE IN EXISTENCE WAS THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE. FROM IT CAME COUNTLESS OTHERS, SOME SIMILAR TO THE ORIGINAL AND OTHERS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. FOR EXAMPLE IN SOME UNIVERSES ASGORE ISN’T THE KING OF THE UNDERGROUND. SOME DIFFERENCES ARE LARGE OR SMALL BUT EACH TIMELINE DRAWS ITS CREATION TO THE ORIGINAL IN SOME WAY.] Gaster looked down at the young cowboy who nodded in understanding.

“☹︎✋︎😐︎☜︎🕈︎✋︎💧︎☜︎ ⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ 👎︎☼︎✌︎🕈︎💧︎ ✋︎❄︎💧︎ 👍︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎✋︎☝︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✌︎💧︎☝︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎ ✌︎☹︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☠︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎✋︎☝︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎🕈︎✋︎💧︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✌︎☹︎💣︎⚐︎💧︎❄︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎🏱︎☹︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☹︎✡︎ ✋︎👎︎☜︎☠︎❄︎✋︎👍︎✌︎☹︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎✋︎☝︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ 💧︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎ ☞︎☜︎🕈︎ 👎︎✋︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎💧︎📬︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎✌︎💣︎☜︎ ✞︎☜︎✋︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎💧︎☜︎☹︎☞︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎ ✌︎☹︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☠︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ 👍︎☹︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎☼︎📬︎” [LIKEWISE OUR TIMELINE DRAWS ITS CREATION FROM THE ORIGINAL. THE ASGORE YOU KNOW IS AN ALTERNATE OF THE ORIGINAL BUT OTHERWISE IS ALMOST COMPLETELY IDENTICAL TO THE ORIGINAL SAVE FOR A FEW DIFFERENCES. IN THE SAME VEIN YOU YOURSELF ARE AN ALTERNATE CLOVER.] Surprise flooded Clover’s mind and dissipated his anger for the time being. He wasn’t the first version of himself but was simply an alternate of another him? This was all so confusing.

“❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎✋︎☝︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ ✞︎☜︎☼︎💧︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👎︎✋︎☜︎👎︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎✋︎☝︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ 😐︎☜︎🏱︎❄︎ ✋︎☠︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎❄︎✌︎✋︎☠︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎💧︎📬︎ ” [THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF YOU DIED IN THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE AND WAS KEPT IN CONTAINMENT WITH THE OTHERS.] Gaster continued on. “☟︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ ✌︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎🕆︎☹︎❄︎✋︎✞︎☜︎☼︎💧︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎❄︎✋︎☠︎🕆︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕈︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✞︎✌︎☼︎✋︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ 🕈︎☜︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✌︎💧︎ ⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ 👍︎✌︎💣︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ 👌︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎” [HOWEVER AS THE MULTIVERSE CONTINUED TO GROW THE VARIATION WE KNOW AS OUR TIMELINE CAME INTO BEING.]

“What causes these timelines or universes to be created?” Clover asked.

“💣︎✌︎☠︎✡︎📪︎ 💣︎✌︎☠︎✡︎ 👎︎✋︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎💧︎📬︎” [MANY, MANY DIFFERENT THINGS.] Gaster softly chuckled. “👌︎🕆︎❄︎ 👎︎⚐︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎☼︎✡︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ✋︎☠︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎💣︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ 👎︎⚐︎☜︎💧︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎👍︎☜︎☼︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💣︎✋︎💧︎💧︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎💧︎✋︎👎︎☜︎💧︎📬︎ 💧︎🕆︎👍︎☟︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎☹︎☜︎👎︎☝︎☜︎ 🕈︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎ 👌︎☼︎☜︎✌︎😐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💣︎✋︎☠︎👎︎📬︎” [BUT DO NOT WORRY. THIS INFORMATION DOESN’T CONCERN YOUR MISSION AND BESIDES. SUCH KNOWLEDGE WOULD BREAK YOUR MIND.] Clover was growing annoyed by all of this. Alternate universes, timelines, they were getting too off topic from his mission.

“How do I stop Flowey from controlling the timeline?” Clover asked. “And why is he able to do that anyway?”

“☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ 💧︎✋︎☠︎☝︎☹︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎❄︎✌︎✋︎☠︎💧︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎📬︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✋︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 😐︎☜︎☜︎🏱︎ ☹︎✋︎✞︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📪︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎ ☞︎✌︎❄︎☜︎📬︎” [EVERY SINGLE HUMAN SOUL CONTAINS DETERMINATION. IT IS THE WILL TO KEEP LIVING, TO CHANGE FATE.] Gaster explained. “👎︎🕆︎☼︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☜︎✠︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ✋︎ 👎︎✋︎💧︎👍︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎❄︎✡︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✌︎ 💣︎✌︎👍︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ 👍︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☜︎✠︎❄︎☼︎✌︎👍︎❄︎ 💧︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✋︎❄︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☞︎✌︎☹︎☹︎☜︎☠︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎💧︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎💧︎📬︎” [DURING EXPERIMENTATION I DISCOVERED THIS PROPERTY AND A MACHINE WAS CREATED TO EXTRACT SOME OF IT FROM THE FALLEN HUMANS SOULS.] Anger flooded Clover’s mind as he pointed his toy gun as the despicable monster before him. But Gaster casually and without any fear… smiled at him.

“👍︎✌︎☹︎💣︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎💧︎☜︎☹︎☞︎ 👍︎☟︎✋︎☹︎👎︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☜︎ ✌︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎☼︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👌︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 🕆︎💧︎☜︎📬︎” [CALM YOURSELF CHILD. THERE WILL BE A TIME FOR YOUR ANGER TO BE OF USE.] And with that he snapped his fingers as his gun disappeared in a blink of an eye. “❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎📬︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ☜︎✠︎❄︎☼︎✌︎👍︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ 💧︎❄︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎🕈︎✌︎✡︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ 💣︎✡︎ 👎︎☜︎💧︎👍︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ☟︎☜︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎☠︎ ✋︎💣︎👌︎☜︎👍︎✋︎☹︎☜︎ 👌︎✡︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☠︎✌︎💣︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 👎︎⚐︎👍︎❄︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎☹︎🏱︎☟︎✡︎💧︎ 🕆︎💧︎☜︎👎︎ ✋︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☜︎✠︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ ⚐︎☠︎ ☞︎✌︎☹︎☹︎☜︎☠︎ 💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💧︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎✌︎💣︎☜︎ ✞︎☜︎✋︎☠︎ 👍︎☜︎☼︎⚐︎👌︎✌︎ 👎︎✋︎👎︎ ⚐︎☠︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎ 👍︎☟︎✋︎☹︎👎︎ ✌︎💧︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☼︎☜︎👍︎✌︎☹︎☹︎📬︎” [THERE. NOW THE DETERMINATION THAT WAS EXTRACTED WAS STORED AWAY BUT AFTER MY DESCENT INTO THIS HELL AN IMBECILE BY THE NAME OF DOCTOR ALPHYS USED IT TO EXPERIMENT ON FALLEN MONSTERS IN THE SAME VEIN CEROBA DID ON HER CHILD AS YOU RECALL.] Gaster’s dark hollow eyes narrowed at the mere mention of Alphy’s as he continued.

“💧︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎🕆︎☼︎☠︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎☜︎💧︎❄︎ 💧︎🕆︎👌︎☺︎☜︎👍︎❄︎💧︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ 💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☼︎⚐︎💧︎✋︎❄︎✋︎☜︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎☠︎☺︎☜︎👍︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ ✌︎ ☞︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ☞︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎ 👌︎☜︎👍︎✌︎💣︎☜︎ ☞︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎✡︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ✋︎☠︎☺︎☜︎👍︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ ☟︎✋︎💣︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ 👌︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎📬︎” [SHE TURNED ALL THE TEST SUBJECTS INTO MONSTROSITIES AND INJECTED DETERMINATION INTO A FLOWER. THAT FLOWER BECAME FLOWEY AND WITH THE DETERMINATION INJECTED INTO HIM THE TIMELINE WAS BENT TO HIS WILL.] Gaster explained. “❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎✌︎😐︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎❄︎☼︎⚐︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💣︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎ 👌︎☜︎👍︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎ ☟︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎📬︎” [TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE TIMELINE YOU MUST BECOME MORE DETERMINED THAN HE IS.]

“And how do I do that?” Clover asked as Gaster pointed one of his long fingers at his soul.

“☜︎✠︎🏱︎⚐︎💧︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☹︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✞︎✋︎⚐︎☹︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎📬︎” [EXPOSURE AND LEVEL OF VIOLENCE.] Gaster replied. “✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ 👍︎⚐︎🏱︎✋︎☜︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✌︎👌︎✋︎☹︎✋︎❄︎✋︎☜︎💧︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ ✋︎❄︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎💧︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎❄︎✌︎👍︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ 🕈︎☟︎✋︎☹︎☜︎ ✌︎☹︎💧︎⚐︎ 👌︎☜︎👍︎⚐︎💣︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☹︎☼︎☜︎✌︎👎︎✡︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✌︎👌︎✋︎☹︎✋︎❄︎✋︎☜︎💧︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☝︎☼︎✋︎❄︎✡︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎👎︎☠︎☜︎💧︎💧︎ 💧︎⚐︎ 🕈︎☜︎❼︎☼︎☜︎ ☝︎⚐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☜︎✠︎🏱︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎⚐︎💧︎❄︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎☞︎🕆︎☹︎ ❄︎✡︎🏱︎☜︎ ✌︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎ 🏱︎⚐︎💧︎💧︎☜︎💧︎💧︎📬︎” [YOUR SOUL COPIES THE ABILITIES OF ANY HUMAN SOUL MAGIC IT COMES INTO CONTACT WITH WHILE ALSO BECOMING MORE DETERMINED. YOU ALREADY HAVE THE ABILITIES OF INTEGRITY AND KINDNESS SO WE’RE GOING TO EXPOSE YOUR SOUL TO THE MOST POWERFUL TYPE A HUMAN CAN POSSESS.]

“And that is?” Clover asked as Gaster pointed a finger upward as the image of a short skeleton with a blue sweater and pink slippers appeared. A white hood concealed most of his face and his left eye was purple and red while the right was completely red.

“❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ☟︎✌︎💧︎ 😐︎✋︎☹︎☹︎☜︎👎︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ 💧︎✋︎☠︎☝︎☹︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎☠︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎☹︎👎︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 💣︎✌︎☠︎✌︎☝︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✌︎👌︎💧︎⚐︎☼︎👌︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💣︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎ 💣︎☜︎☜︎❄︎📬︎ ☟︎☜︎❼︎💧︎ 👍︎🕆︎☼︎☼︎☜︎☠︎❄︎☹︎✡︎ ❄︎☼︎✡︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👌︎☼︎☜︎✌︎😐︎ ☞︎☼︎☜︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 😐︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎💧︎ ⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎🕆︎☼︎☞︎✌︎👍︎☜︎📬︎” [THAT MONSTER HAS KILLED EVERY SINGLE BEING IN THE UNDERGROUND IN HIS WORLD AND MANAGED TO ABSORB THE SOUL OF THE HUMAN YOU MUST MEET. HE’S CURRENTLY TRYING TO BREAK FREE OF THE UNDERGROUND TO KILL ALL THE HUMANS ON THE SURFACE.] Clover’s soul pulsated as his mind digested Gaster’s words.

That monster had killed a human and was planning to destroy all of humanity! It was like the old stories about monsters foretold. A monster with enough human souls would become a god and destroy all of humanity. He thought of all the lives that must exist in that world. All the families, children and innocents that this… creature was going to wipe out.

He wouldn’t allow it. He’d stop them before they even had a chance to shatter the barrier and kill any more innocents. He’d free the human the monster had killed, get stronger from the fight and return to free Zaley and the others.

“Take me to him.” Clover demanded as Gaster smiled and flicked his finger. A door appeared behind him as Gaster’s left hand grasped his shoulder.

“☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎💧︎ ☟︎✋︎👎︎👎︎☜︎☠︎ 👌︎✡︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👌︎✌︎☼︎☼︎✋︎☜︎☼︎📬︎” [HE WILL BE COMING FOR THE HUMAN SOULS HIDDEN BY THE BARRIER.] Gaster explained. “✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ✌︎ ☞︎☜︎🕈︎ 💣︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☺︎✌︎💣︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎☜︎👍︎☟︎✌︎☠︎✋︎💧︎💣︎ 😐︎☜︎☜︎🏱︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ ☟︎✋︎👎︎👎︎☜︎☠︎📬︎ ☝︎⚐︎ ☹︎☜︎☞︎❄︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👎︎⚐︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☼︎☜︎💣︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎ ✌︎ 🏱︎⚐︎☼︎❄︎☼︎✌︎✋︎❄︎ ⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎✌︎☹︎☹︎📬︎ 👌︎☹︎✌︎💧︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎❄︎☼︎⚐︎☹︎ 🏱︎✌︎☠︎☜︎☹︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ 👌︎☜︎ ✌︎👌︎☹︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☞︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎📬︎ ☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎👍︎⚐︎☠︎❄︎☼︎⚐︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ 👎︎⚐︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎☼︎✡︎📬︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎❄︎✌︎👍︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎❼︎💧︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎💧︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎☼︎✌︎☠︎💧︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎💣︎📬︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎☞︎☹︎✋︎👍︎❄︎ 👌︎☜︎❄︎🕈︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎😐︎☜︎☹︎☜︎❄︎⚐︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎☜︎✋︎☪︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎❄︎☼︎⚐︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎📬︎” [YOU WILL HAVE A FEW MOMENTS TO JAM THE MECHANISM KEEPING THEM HIDDEN. GO LEFT FROM THE DOOR AND REMOVE A PORTRAIT ON THE WALL. BLAST THE CONTROL PANEL AND HE WON’T BE ABLE TO FIND THEM. HE WILL BE INCONTROL OF THE TIMELINE BUT DO NOT WORRY. COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE OTHER HUMAN’S SOUL MAGIC AND YOURS WILL TRANSFORM. WITH THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE HUMAN AND THE SKELETON YOUR DETERMINATION WILL ALLOW YOU TO SEIZE CONTROL OF THE TIMELINE.] Without a word Clover stepped out into what he recognized as Asgore’s Castle.

The hall he had entered was utterly silent with the artificial light outside having completely faded. Only a few torches on the walls remained lit in the darkness as Clover trudged forward. All the while stepping over numerous bits of debris, dust piles and magical weapons that were left scattered on the ground.

Grabbing a torch Clover easily found the portrait Gaster had told him of and blasted the control panel. Creating a storm of bright sparks as the lights on the machine went dead like everything else around him. His instincts and past memories guided his steps. Without any need of a map or guide he knew where in the castle he was and proceeded to his target.

There was no fear in his mind as he approached who was likely the most powerful being he had ever faced. A monster with a human soul was a frighteningly powerful being. He died hundreds of thousands of times to monster’s in his own universe and here he was now. Walking straight towards a killer of his own kind, a child murderer and a genocidal maniac at that. This for any rational person would’ve sown panic but not here and certainly not now for Clover.

It was his responsibility, his life's purpose to defeat evildoers like this. Living or dying didn’t mean anything when compared to completing his mission.

“Doing the right thing is never easy.” Clover told himself, and never before did he truly understand his father's words like he did now. Whatever happened, he’ll come out of it. No matter how many times he has to die.

He approached the barrier in silence as he overheard the monster talking to himself. A one way conversation filled the air with unease as the monster babbled and laughed at seemingly random. Entering the barrier room being him, the monster was confused that the souls weren’t appearing as he flicked his fingers. Clover pulled his toy gun out as the monster spun around in surprise.

“hahaha. well well. another human fell down here huh? heh. you should’ve stayed on the surface kiddo.” Clover kept his gun leveled with the monster as the two faced each other. Each sizing up the other as the human child spoke.

“Let them go.” Clover demanded. He could feel the red soul the monster had absorbed struggling within him. He needed to get exposed to their magic somehow for the plan to work. But how to do that?

“let them go?” he said as his right eye glowed bright red and his left glowed a mixture of blue, purple and red. “after the hell they made us all live through? no. but if you feel so bad for that demon." The monster flicked his fingers as the doorway behind Clover was quickly blocked off with a wall of red bones.

“why don’t you come and join them?” Clover’s eyes began glowing bright yellow as he stood defiantly against the monster ready to bring doom to this universe's humanity. But before that, he didn’t even know this villain’s name.

“Who are you?” Clover asked as the skeleton chuckled.

“heh. you're more talkative than this brat aren’t ya. names sans. sans the skeleton. And this is my bro papyrus.” he gestured to his left. But nobody was standing by him. “... don’t worry bro i'm not sparing him. can’t let all our hard work go to waste.” The skeleton’s smile widened as several large skull’s manifest all around him. Their eyes glowing white as a bright red glow emanating from the inside of their mouths.

*BANG* Clover fired first. Dalv’s electrical magic arced towards sans and struck him square in his chest. Knocking the skeleton onto his back as he began laughing.

“hahaha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” his legs began kicking the air as his left hand slammed down onto the floor beneath them. “not bad kid.” the skeleton remarked as he stood up and dusted off his jacket. Revealing that, like with Undyne, his shot did absolutely nothing to him.

San’s eyes then turned into two black voids as the light within them faded. “my turn.” With a flick of his finger countless blasts of bright red magical energy blasts raced towards as he jumped forward and rolled out of the way just in time. Before Clover could even react, San's left eye glowed as he used his magic to turn Clover’s soul blue before quickly grabbing him and tossing him high onto the ceiling.

He unleashed a barrage of red bones and more energy blasts from those magical skull things as Clover jumped up and down, fighting the monster’s grip on his soul by trying to take back control of his own gravity as sans slammed him into the far wall and then across the room and face first into the barrier itself. His impact created a powerful shockwave that catapulted him through the air and landing him on his back as he began tumbling and rolling across the floor.

Slowly picking himself up he reached for his toy gun as a bone pierced his left hand. Pinning him to the ground as his blood began pooling down the red magical construct. He grabbed the bone with his right hand. Mustering all his strength to rip it out as his soul began pulsating violently again.

His body began twitching violently, uncontrollably as he grasped his soul. Red colored sparks began crackling off of it more and more with each passing second as now Clover’s left eye felt like it was burning just like his soul.

“what’s the matter buddy?” san’s sadistic grin widened as he fired another bone at Clover’s right foot. Piercing and shattering his ankle as he cried out in pain. He then created a long red bone with a sharpened tip in his left hand as he hoisted it over his head before plunging it into Clover’s shoulder.

“you're looking a little, bone-tied.” sans laughed. “oh come on paps, it was a good one.” Clover glared defiantly at the monster looming over him. Biting his lip and holding back the overwhelming urge to scream as his yellow soul began to… vibrate?

“Hehehe. It hurts.” Clover admitted. “But getting exposed to their magic was a lot easier than I thought it’d be.” His body began jerking more and more violently, throwing sans off of him as the skeleton stepped back.

He had no idea what was going on, but he wasn’t going to wait to find out. He filled the room with dozens of gaster blasters, all aimed squarely at the human he’d pinned to the ground. After everything that he’d been through, all the sacrifices and horrendous deeds he had to commit to rid their universe of that demon, he wouldn’t allow anything or anyone to undo that. And so with a flick he unleashed his attack. Countless beams of red magical energy fused with the LOVE he had acquired and the determination in the “human” soul he had taken all fired in unison and collided with the pinned child in a brilliant explosion of bright red light and dust.

Silence followed as a yellow and red glow began shining through the cloud of dust. The human’s body was completely destroyed, yet their soul persisted and changed. The right half was still yellow while the left had become red like Chara’s. Before he could try to absorb it the soul glowed with a blinding display of red and yellow light as sans felt his hold over the timeline slip away.

FILE LOADED

“☜︎✠︎👍︎☜︎☹︎☹︎☜︎☠︎❄︎📬︎ 💣︎⚐︎💧︎❄︎ ☜︎✠︎👍︎☜︎☹︎☹︎☜︎☠︎❄︎📬︎”[ EXCELLENT. MOST EXCELLENT.] Gaster remarked as he continued observing Clover’s battle. “❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎❼︎💧︎ ☹︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ✋︎💧︎ 💣︎✋︎✠︎☜︎👎︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 💧︎😐︎☜︎☹︎☜︎❄︎⚐︎☠︎❼︎💧︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ 📬︎ 👍︎☹︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎☼︎❼︎💧︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✌︎👎︎✌︎🏱︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✈︎🕆︎✋︎❄︎☜︎ 🕈︎☜︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎📬︎ 🏱︎☜︎☼︎☟︎✌︎🏱︎❼︎💧︎ ☟︎☜︎❼︎☹︎☹︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎ ☜︎✠︎👍︎☜︎☜︎👎︎ 💣︎✡︎ ☜︎✠︎🏱︎☜︎👍︎❄︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎📬︎” [THE HUMAN’S LOVE AND DETERMINATION IS MIXED WITH THAT SKELETON’S ATTACKS. CLOVER’S SOUL IS ADAPTING QUITE WELL TO THE CHANGE. PERHAP’S HE’LL EVEN EXCEED MY EXPECTATIONS.] Gaster pondered as he rubbed his chin with his right floating hand. “👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ✋︎ 💧︎🕆︎🏱︎🏱︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👎︎☜︎🏱︎☜︎☠︎👎︎ ⚐︎☠︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ 🏱︎☜︎☼︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎💣︎✌︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ 👎︎🕆︎☼︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☠︎☜︎✠︎❄︎ ☜︎✠︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎📬︎” [BUT I SUPPOSE THAT WILL DEPEND ON HIS PERFORMANCE DURING THE NEXT EXPERIMENT.] he continued watching as the timeline was loaded to just before the start of their fight. Clover was standing before sans, pistol in hand as the skeleton looked at him confused.

Back in the timeline Clover fired his shot at the monster, this time his soul was infused with a power he had only briefly felt before. The shot from his toy gun was massive, easily far far greater than any he’d fire before. Realizing the danger posed by his attack, sans teleported out of the way. Avoiding damage as the shot hit the barrier. Creating a large explosion behind him as sans summoned up some of the human’s power to Check his opponent.

Clover, LV 10, Hp 56/56
Att 100/ Def 80

A human with a soul full of Justice, Kindness, Integrity, LOVE, Determination and HATE. Is determined to kill you.

“SAN’S WATCH OUT!” Papyrus warned him as sans immediately teleported out of the way of Clover’s shot. The human hadn’t just gotten stronger somehow, he’d gotten faster too. Sans created another blaster and fired, only for the human’s soul to turn green as a barrier enveloped him. Completely blocking his attack as his soul turned back to red and yellow before firing.

Clover had never felt so alive before. The power, the sheer, pure justice coursing through his veins was unlike anything he’d ever imagined. His left eye was glowing bright crimson red and now he had full power over the timeline. The shock in the skeleton’s face was satisfying to say the least. Now his mission could truly begin.

He fired again as sans teleported out of the way. Like before he used his magic to turn Clover’s soul blue, but unlike before Clover’s newfound power allowed him to not only remain planted on the ground, but completely resist the monster’s magic entirely.

“You’re going to pay for your crimes.” Clover declared as san’s expression darkened. More of his magical skulls appeared around him but strangely, they were aimed for the roof above him.

“heh. i wasn’t left with any choice. this human kept resetting. kept killing us over and over. so i became a killing machine to put and end to one.” the skeleton snapped his fingers as every single blast collided with the ceiling above them. Causing the roof to come down on top of them as he teleported out but not before blocking off the entrance with a wall of crimson red bones.

As the roof came down on top of him, Clover remembered his battle with Ceroba in the previous timeline. On the verge of death from her barrage of attacks his soul concentrated its power into a singular blast that shattered her attack and allowed him to triumph over her. Remembering that moment and Zaley’s words about how to use her magic he began concentrating his power as he aimed his gun upwards.

It was his duty, his responsibility to protect others. If he failed here, that would mean the death of every single human in this world and Zaley and the others would remain trapped in his. He wouldn't die here. As the barrel of his gun glowed with all the brilliance of a star he thought back to his father, his mom and his grandpa. He would protect them and everyone else, no matter what.

‘I’ll make you all proud.’ he swore to himself as he pulled the trigger. As with Ceroba he unleashed a large blast of magical energy from the barrel. However this time it was easily three times larger and the blast was colored red but more importantly, every single bit of rubble hurling towards him was completely obliterated. Leaving not even the tiniest trace behind as he turned his attention towards the now blocked off exit.

“GREAT WORK BROTHER.” Papyrus sadistically grinned as sans crossed his arms. They stood only a few feet from the entrance to the barrier. The wall of red bones still stood strong as the room became silent. “THAT HUMAN IS SURELY CRUSHED BY NOW.”

“good thing too. brat’s still trying to break free.” To break the barrier he needed seven human souls so absorbing Chara’s wasn’t really an option he liked, but it was one he needed to do regardless. He figured he could shatter it and then dispose of them but that didn’t mean he didn’t run the risk of them breaking free.

Chara was determined and incredibly stubborn. Even after hundreds of death’s before finally weakening them enough to make absorbing their soul possible, keeping them like this took a bit of focus to say the least.

“never saw the human ever take on two traits at the same time before though.” sans mused. Granted, Chara's soul was capable of replicating the abilities of Integrity, Patience, Bravery, Kindness, Perseverance and Justice to their highest degrees but usually only one at a time. Perhaps this was simply something unique to this human.

Shaken from his thoughts as the wall of bones was blown apart, sans nearly lost his head as he ducked under the massive blast of red soul magic. Clover stepped through the doorway, twirling his gun in his hand smugly as his eyes glowed brighter.

“You’re going to have to try harder than that.” Clover declared as sans surrounded him with blue bones. Trapping him in place as he fired five gaster blasters at the human child. To no avail as the human’s soul turned green and red. Blocking his attack with another powerful barrier.

The grounds of the castle shook with a thunderous roar every single time Clover fired a shot at the skeleton. His determination empowered shots put holes in the castle that went so far they decimated the former capital of the underground as well. Sans for his part kept his distance. Firing at Clover from every angle and trying to pierce his legs with bones as he’d done so before to pin him in place.

With both being able to use blue magic their battle soon went beyond the castle walls. Both combatants manipulated their own gravity to leap onto rooftops or quickly dive under each other's shots. Or in san’s case, rip entire buildings apart and hurl the storm of makeshift shrapnel at his opponent.

Growing more irritated, sans decided to use more of the human’s power. As his eyes began to glow dark purple and red his attacks shattered Clover’s barrier. Clover’s shoulders were pierced by two red bones as he was pinned to the ground. Sans quickly teleported over him and stabbed the child’s heart with a sharpened bone. Bringing Clover’s hp to 0/56 as he died.

SAVE LOADED/ Clover Deaths: 2

“hehehe. aww what’s the matter buddy? mad? frustrated? Well get used to it.” sans grinned as Clover leveled his gun with his chest. They had been brought back to the barrier room before he collapsed the ceiling. “cause as long as you keep trying, this is only going to be getting worse for you.” san’s eyes became pitch black voids as he teleported out of the way of clover’s shot and behind the child. Stabbing him in the back with another bone as two gaster blasters appeared above him. Firing and reducing his body to ash as Clover died again.

SAVE LOADED/ Clover Deaths: 10

“looks like ten isn’t your lucky number kid.” sans had Clover pinned to the wall. Using sharpened bones he slowly cut away at the child. Clover’s screams echoed through the empty halls of the castle as sans severed his left hand. But he wouldn’t let the child die. Not until he gave up completely.

In the corner of his hazy vision Clover saw a sharpened bit of rubble at the end of the room. Focusing what little power he had left, he used his soul’s magic to grab the bit of rubble. A fly it all full force towards the back of the skeleton’s neck. sans causally, without even looking, grabbed the attack with his hand. Crushing it as he grabbed the side of Clover’s face. His thumb hovering over his left eye.

“hehe. better luck next time.”

SAVE LOADED/ Clover Deaths: 30

“aww what’s the matter kiddo? i was just using one hand this time.” sans had his foot on the back of Clover’s head. The young cow boy's legs were gone and in san’s hand was his gun as he twirled it without a care.

Even with this newfound power he was still no match for a monster with a human soul. No attack he landed ever was enough. sans could teleport, remembered their every fight and could attack before he could get his bearings together. But still, in spite of everything he was still here. Still determined to bring him to justice.

“D-Doing t-the right thing… i-is n-never ea-sy.” he coughed blood as sans applied more pressure to his head.

“not going to say you're wrong. but bud, do you even realize who you’re trying to help right now?” sans stepped off of him and grabbed him with blue magic. Lifting him up to allow Clover to look him dead in his hollow empty eyes.

“this human killed everyone thousand’s of times. over, and over. and over again.” his eyes began glowing. “so i did what i had to do to put a stop to them. but you don’t really care about truth, do you?” san’s smile somehow widened as Clover spat at him.

“I know… what the truth is, monster.” Clover coughed. “You’re evil. And I won’t let you hurt anyone else.”

“oh please i can see you’re level ten. you're no hero kid. that’s just what you tell yourself to justify what you’re doing. so why’d you do it? for fun? power? i bet you don’t even know the answer yourself.”

“Jus-vengeance!” Clover hissed as his red and yellow eyes suddenly turned pitch black. His soul turned black as well as a startled sans dropped him to the floor.

“what the?!”

“Monster’s deserve to be trapped down here.” Clover snarled at the skeleton before him. “You play victims, and use human souls like we’re nothing. If killing you all over and over again is what they were doing, you all DESERVED IT!” His words angered san’s who quickly created multiple gaster blasters and annihilated the human in an instant.

SAVE LOADED/ Clover Deaths: 45

There was something wrong with the human's soul san’s concluded. His soul had turned pitch black and his attacks were far, far more powerful now. Between shot’s Clover would curse monsterkind, curse Flowey, Asgore and other names he didn’t recognize. Not only that, the human’s hp seemed to recover in between hits. He had been forced to collapse the castle several times on top of him as well as cutting his body apart as even without arms or legs Clover was still fighting. His determination wasn’t fading, it was getting stronger.

“VENGENCE ALWAYS WINS!!!” Clover yelled so loudly that his voice could likely be heard all the way to the Ruins. As the cowboy jumped onto another rooftop in pursuit of him, san’s destroyed the building beneath his feet with a barrage of red bones. But as Clover fell he took another shot. Hitting him square in the head.

sans hp: 7000/15,000

“Agh!” san’s winced as he teleported down to Clover’s level. Creating a long bone and stabbing the child’s brain through his blackened eyes.

“HE’LL BREAK SANS!” Papyrus cheered as he killed Clover again. “JUST KEEP AT IT.”

“i'm not so sure of that paps.” Even though the human was dying again, there was no sign of Clover giving up or stopping. If anything, each fight, each of his run’s just brought him closer and closer to winning.

(With Gaster)

“☜︎✠︎👍︎☜︎☹︎☹︎☜︎☠︎❄︎📬︎ ☟︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ☟︎✌︎💧︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎🏱︎☹︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☹︎✡︎ ⚐︎✞︎☜︎☼︎❄︎✌︎😐︎☜︎☠︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎📬︎” [EXCELLENT. HATE HAS COMPLETELY OVERTAKEN HIS SOUL.] Pleased with the results he was seeing, Gaster continued observing Clover’s latest death with fascination. Hate was not inborn like the other soul virtues but learned and forged. It was the rejection of their inborn virtue and giving into their darkest impulses. A corruption that was as rare as it was powerful.

Clover was by all reasonable measurements a “good kid”. He had a temper but largely he tried his best on the surface to make his family happy. But he was never a pacifist nor was he never truly in control of himself. His soul’s desire to fulfill justice, to right wrongs had always controlled him. And that is what led him here.

Clover was a slave to his own mission and his soul’s purpose. Like a machine who only knew to fulfill its function and nothing outside of it. It was like Flowey told him several times before. Yellow was the color of Judgement, of consequences. Asgore declared war on humanity, had the fallen children killed and created the circumstances Clover was now reacting to.

Gaster laughed at it all. That old fool and the flower created the perfect tool for his plans. What Zaley had done at the beginning was just the start. Soon he’d be free and this pawn would be the key to making EVERYTHING bend to his will. Both in this and every universe in the entire multiverse.

And speaking of multiverse, Gaster turned his attention to a lone high rising building far off from the battle between dust and Clover. Standing on the roof was being completely made of black sludge with a singular blue eye. He looked like a tar covered sans but the truth was soo much more interesting.

As he predicted, Nightmare had taken notice of Clover’s HATE. But that didn’t matter. Clover belonged to HIM. And he’s already equipped to deal with this particular threat. Afterall, he’d had years to study beings like him after all.

As the darkness of death overtook Clover’s senses he found himself in his family's apartment again. It was silent save for the static on the TV and it was nighttime judging from moonlight coming out of the window. With a low growl he got off the couch. He didn’t have time for this, not when he needed to defeat sans and save the people of this timeline.

His chest felt like it was burning and brain felt like it was being crushed inside of his skull. Hate had filled his veins and the anger flowing through him felt… amazing. Never had he felt so strong, so… so… vengeful.

A small part of his mind told him that this was wrong. Vengeance is not justice. And there was no room for hate when it came to fulfilling justice either. But wasn’t he right to feel this way? The monster’s were to blame for all that had happened after all.

They all willingly followed Asgore and had killed the others and him many times over. They wanted to destroy humanity, to kill countless people for something none of them were ever involved in and why? They hated being trapped? They were sad? Pathetic. They all deserved to remain trapped forever, stuck and going through a just punishment for their sins. Afterall the ancient humans could’ve easily wiped them out, but instead they showed them mercy none of them deserved and trapped them in the underground.

Hating them was justified. It was just to HATE them. It was JUSTICE to seek VENGEANCE for the fallen. Afterall, vengeance was a form of justice.

As his hand moved to open the door it swung open as his father, exhausted and half dead by the looks of it, limped in. Shutting and locking the door behind him as his coat dropped to the floor with a thud. And he fell over to his side.

Immediately the venom flowing through Clover’s veins dissipated as he carefully and slowly tried pulling his father onto the couch. But as the large man was far too heavy for him to possibly do that, Clover instead ran to fetch him a glass of water. Hurriedly he poured the cool glass down his throat as the man lightly, gently took the glass from him before scarfing the rest of the drinks contents down.

“Howdy partner.” his father smiled as he pulled himself towards the couch. Clover grabbed his hand and helped pull him forward. Pushing him onto the couch as he pulled off his shoes.

“Are you okay?” Clover asked as his father’s heavy breathing relaxed slightly.

“Just another day in paradise.” he joked. “But don’t worry about me. I’ll start making dinner in a minute. Just, give me a bit.” Clover frowned at the sight before him. He had wanted to leave but… real or not he couldn’t find the strength to move. Without thinking, he placed a hand on his father’s chest where there was a long slash where a knife had grazed his skin.

“Clover-”

“This shouldn’t be happening!” he hissed. “You shouldn’t be getting hurt like this. No one should.”

“Its okay-”

“IT'S NOT OKAY!” Clover yelled at his father. “How is getting attacked when you're coming home okay? Or that you work everyday and come home half dead? And how is it okay that I’m the reason Mom’s hurt and can’t get the help she needs. Not only that, because of me we barely have enough food and you barely eat. I… I'm making everything worse for you guys and I can’t do anything to help!” He felt his anger, his HATE boiling up inside of him. It was like his entire body was heating up, ready to burst at any moment.

His father grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him into an embrace. The anger festering inside of him began fading once again as Clover returned the gesture. Tightly hugging his father, softly sobbing.

“Is that really what you think?” His father asked. “Do you really think you make our lives worse?”

“...”

“Your mother protected you because she loves you. And none of this is your responsibility. You already do more than enough by being yourself.”

“No I don’t.” Clover replied. “I’m too weak. I… I was born to make the world better and I… I can’t do anything.” Tears began flowing from Clover’s eyes. “I miss you! I’ve been down here for so long! I wanna go home.”

“Shh.” he father soothed as he wiped away his son’s tears. His eyes glowing a bright yellow as his eyes flickered between black, red and yellow. He gently placed his large hand on Clover’s soul. Very lightly caressing it as the black hate within him began fading away. Turning Clover’s soul red and yellow as the hate left him.

“Doing the right thing is never easy.” His father told him. “But you can do it. And know that no matter what, we’ll always be proud of you.” Clover looked up and saw his mother standing over them. A warm loving smile across his face as she knelt down to him. Warmly wrapping her arms around him in an embrace as Clover began crying again.

“Please don’t go.” Clover begged. “I don’t want to go.” the option to LOAD his SAVE popped up in front of him. He lowered his hat over his eyes, wiping away his tears as his mother kissed his cheek.

“We’ll all be together again.” her whisper was soft like a mouse. Yet her promise nearly made Clover lose control of his emotions again. “Just stay determined, my sweet little cowboy.”

“Sniff. I love you guys.” Clover allowed himself to cry once again as he LOADED his SAVE.

“We love you too.” Father and mother both replied as Clover’s vision turned white.

SAVE LOADED/ Clover Deaths: 46

Clover reappeared in the same spot he always did. But immediately sans noticed he was different. His soul was red and yellow again and the human child was… crying.

“Hmm?” sans was caught by surprise to put it mildly? Not much time had passed inside their last brawl. Well technically no time had passed but something had clearly happened in between the LOAD. “what the matter buddy?”

“I saw my parents.” Clover replied as he wiped away his tears. A new face took center, one full of confidence and determination as his eyes glowed red and yellow. He took aim as he always did as sans put his hands in his pockets.

“heh alright then. round… wait. what number are we on?” Clover didn't reply, instead he pulled the trigger as a massive flash of large red magical energy burst forth from the chamber. The attack was much, much faster than any he had fired previously and caught the skeleton off guard. Launching him back through the air and right into the barrier which then pulsated and blasted him into the ground.

Quick with his hands Clover switched the ammo of his weapon to the coffee bean. Sans quickly teleported, reappearing onto top of one of his gaster blasters before quickly summoning up more of them. Clover shot one, and found that the speed boost he got from damaging sans applied to them as well. With this speed, he easily evaded sans attack as he turned his soul blue.

He leaped up onto one of sans attacks as he manifested a sea of magical red bones around him. Concentrating on his soul Clover commanded his gravity to pull him upwards. As he flew up he evaded the attack as sans quickly reacted by destroying the ceiling yet again.

The fight then spread to the rest of the castle. Hours passed as the two’s battle tore apart both the castle and the monster’s capital city. Clover would take every chance he could get to shoot either sans or his large magical constructs. The damage he inflicted may have been minor, but the speed saved him over and over. From sans destroying the roof beneath him, creating bones to stab him, throwing debris and even his own gaster blasters at him Clover was able to evade each attack over and over.

“looks like my attacks have become predictable to you.” sans was barely holding his anger in at this point. And not to mention, the meager damage Clover had been doing was adding up. And that’s not taking into consideration how tiring this fight was becoming.

“let’s try this then!” Using his blue magic he ensnared Clover’s soul in a telekinetic grip before slamming him through the roof and into the castle. As Clover pulled himself up he heard the sound of more blaster’s arming themselves outside as several blue bones pierced his chest. Not damaging him, but ensnaring him so he die the second he moved.

Quickly concentrating he turned his soul green and created a barrier around himself. Breaking the bones just as sans unleashed his attack. The resulting explosion catapulted him through the air as sans teleported over him, long sharpened bone in hand as he stabbed at the human child.

His stab grazed Clover’s shoulder as he whacked his toy gun into the skeleton's face. Clover then turned his soul blue once again, pulling himself to the ground as yet another gaster blaster manifested beside him. There was no time to dodge, on instinct the child created a barrier around himself as he was consumed by the encroaching flash.

The attack sent him crashing straight into a window and back into the castle. While the barrier protected him from sans attack, it shattered upon hitting the tiled floor. Clover rolled out of control until his back hit hard against a large pillar. He pulled himself up, noticing the darkened room they were in was some kind of large hall with…

Clover’s heart sank into his stomach as his mouth hung agape. Just a few feet in front of him was a human child, looking to be around his age with a large pool of blood underneath them. Their long blue sleeved shirt had several large bones jetting out of them and in their open hand was a knife.

“You…” Clover’s hand clenched tightly as his heart and soul felt like they were on fire. His fury and HATE quickly growing larger as his red and yellow soul began to grow small spots of black once again. Sans teleported into the room, flicking his fingers as the two exits to this room were blocked off with a mass of red bones.

“You… MONSTER!!!!” Clover yelled. All at once his soul began pulsating faster and faster. In less than a blink his hp was restore to 56/56 as his LOVE-

LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED.

Clover LV: 20 - HP 100/100

“wait… what?!” sans could only step back as Clover’s LOVE suddenly skyrocketed. The human leveled his gun at the monster, his eyes glowing red and yellow as the HATE in his soul continued to grow. Slowly but not completely consuming his soul once again.

Not taking any chances san’s fired a bone and knocked Clover’s gun out of his hand. But the human child was… unphased by this. Instead of panicking or racing for cover as he had done so before, Clover’s soul began glowing brighter and brighter as he took it in his hand. The yellow light turned red as he aimed his soul at the skeleton and fired.

The blast was far larger, and far more powerful than any Clover had ever done before. Even the past timelines during his fight with Ceroba, the power he unleashed paled in comparison to this. The blast destroyed everything that was in front of him. Obliterating the hall they were in before racing out into the rest of the castle and the underground. Creating a long trail of total annihilation that seemed to go on for miles.

In the midst of this destruction was sans laying on his back. Near death his hp sat at 25 now. He tried to pull himself up, but his body was too damaged, too hurt by Clover’s sudden attack to move. He tried to teleport as Clover began walking towards him, but he couldn’t. Desperate, he then tried using more of the DETERMINATION in Chara’s soul to push himself forward.

Only for them to resist and begin fighting against him. Their soul began glowing from within him, fighting against his control as their demonic laughter began echoing through his mind.

“wait!” sans begged as Clover stood over him. He was loading up Dalv’s magic into the chamber of his weapon. His eyes glowing red and yellow as he glared down at the skeleton.

“just listen to me.” the skeleton begged. “this human, they-”

BANG

The shot blew the skeleton’s skull into hundreds of tiny shards as his body turned to dust. As Clover stood over the dustpile that remained of sans, Chara’s soul emerged. The young cowboy smiled warmly, happy to have finally freed this child from their imprisonment as he felt his control over the timeline slip away in an instant.

LOAD SAVE FILE: CHARA - LAST CORRIDOR

A frigid gale filled the empty corridor as they stood before each other yet again. Chara was free now, blade twirling in their left hand as they casually, soullessly approached him. They had reset to before san’s had finished them and absorbed their soul. His LOVE was thirteen now to their seven. If only he had managed to kill Undyne faster or hadn’t let that brat obliterate him with that attack.

“=)” A crimson glow radiated from their eyes like power from the CORE. Their demonic, sadistic smile grew large as the sound of footprints filled the air. Within moments, Clover entered the room behind him. Sans was now trapped between both humans as Clover leveled his gun at the skeleton once again.

“Haha. ahahahahaha. HAHAHAHAHA!” Sans felt the last shreds of his mind breaking away. Everything he did, everything he had done was for nothing. He sacrificed everything, everyone to stop the human. Only for it to end like this. He barely managed to beat Chara, he stood no chance against the two of them.

“it was… all for nothing.” sans fell to his knees. His eyes turning into two dark voids as his head hung low as he felt Papyrus’s hand lightly grasp his shoulder.

“BROTHER YOU CAN’T GIVE UP!” Papyrus begged him as Chara approached them. “THINK OF ALL YOU’VE DONE. WHAT IT WAS ALL FOR. YOU CAN’T LET ALL OUR DEATH’S BE FOR NOTHING!”

“i’m sorry, paps.” sans apologized as Chara raised their blade high over their head. Their demonic smile spread wide as the light in their eyes quickly turned into two black voids as sans looked up at them. Defeat clear in his eyes as he spoke.

“i know there’s no point in asking you to stop for our sakes, or even your own. but how can you still be enjoying this? i know you remember how things were before you started all of this. Why can’t-”

HP LV 13 sans: -9999999999999/983

Clover watched in silent satisfaction as san’s body turned to dust. As his dust piled the child’s LOVE rose to twenty. Clover smiled, happy to have both saved and helped this fallen human from their imprisonment at the hands of an evil monster.

“=)” the human smiled at Clover as they approached. Putting their blade away and outstretching their hand.

“Thanks for helping me against that monster. My soul would’ve been stuck in him without you.” they told him as Clover holstered his weapon and nervously rubbed the back of his head.

“Of course it’s why I’m here after all.” Was this feeling what it felt like for people to be grateful towards you? Granted his father and grandpa and a few others would thank him for things from time to time but this time felt different. Was this what it felt like for heroes to get recognition? It was a weird feeling, but a nice one as well.

“When I heard you were in trouble I couldn’t stand by.” the child extended their hand for a handshake. Clover smiled and took their hand as they quickly grabbed and pulled his right arm. And before Clover could react they plunged their blade into the center of his chest.

HP LV 10 Clover: - 9999/56

In an instant Clover felt all of his strength fade away as he fell to his knees. The child then quickly pulled out their blade and sliced his throat in a quick and smooth maneuver. Clover couldn’t breath, his blood was filling his lungs as he fell backwards. His hands grasping his gaping chest wound as the child loomed over him.

HP LV 10 Clover: - 9999999999/56

“AHAHAHAHAHA! HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” they laughed as Clover’s body began to go cold. Clover tried to summon his strength, to move, to pull himself up, to do anything. But he couldn’t. He was dying. For real this time.

He had failed Zaley, the other’s Asgore had killed and imprisoned. He failed his mission and he would never go home. Never see his father, mother, or grandpa ever again. As his vision grew darker and his eyes grew heavy he focused on his soul in a last desperate bid for survival.

‘I will not die.’ he told himself. ‘I will not die. I WILL not die! I WON’T DIE HERE!’ he felt his life fading, his soul slowly breaking apart as the demon looming over him laughed.

Chapter Text

"🏱☜☼☞☜👍❄"[Perfect.] Gaster smiled as he continued his observation of Clover’s situation. All of the pieces had fallen into place, every possible outcome and action was accounted for and led to this very moment. Though Clover’s body was dying, it was also adapting, changing as Chara’s determination and LOVE mixed with Clover’s soul. The skeleton had only been using a tiny fraction of the power Chara’s soul possessed as unleashing too much power would result in them likely breaking free. But even that tiny percentage was enough for Clover’s determination to transform his very being. Not only this, the HATE was growing rapidly.

HATE by its very nature is a corruption of the human soul’s virtue. And since Clover’s soul is powerful to the point it determines his actions, perhaps his soul was countering the corruption at the heart of his very being. Whatever the case, it mattered little. The next part of the experiment was about to begin.

"😐✋☠👎☠☜💧💧 ✋💧 ☟☜✌☹✋☠☝ ☟✋💧 👌⚐👎✡. ☺🕆💧❄✋👍☜ ✌☠👎 ✋☠❄☜☝☼✋❄✡ ✌☼☜ 😐☜☜🏱✋☠☝ ☟✋💧 💣✋☠👎 ☞⚐👍🕆💧☜👎. ✌☠👎 ❄☟☜ 👎☜❄☜☼💣✋☠✌❄✋⚐☠ ✋☠ ☟✋💧 💧⚐🕆☹ ✋💧 ☝☼⚐🕈✋☠☝ ✌☹⚐☠☝ 🕈✋❄☟ ☟✋💧 ☟✌❄☜."[KINDNESS IS HEALING HIS BODY. JUSTICE AND INTEGRITY ARE KEEPING HIS MIND FOCUSED. AND THE DETERMINATION IN HIS SOUL IS GROWING ALONG WITH HIS HATE.] Gaster smiled as he noticed the blood pooling out of Clover’s body had turned black.

"☠⚐🕈 ✋❄🕯💧 ❄✋💣☜ ❄⚐ 💧☜☜ 🕈☟✌❄ ✋💧 💧❄☼⚐☠☝☜☼. ❄☟☜ ☟🕆💣✌☠❼💧 👎☜❄☜☼💣✋☠✌❄✋⚐☠📪 ⚐☼ 👍☹⚐✞☜☼❼💧 ☟✌❄☜." [NOW IT'S TIME TO SEE WHAT IS STRONGER. THE HUMAN’S DETERMINATION, OR CLOVER’S HATE.]

“*Cough*.” Blood poured from the open wound on Clover’s neck and chest. Two orbs of red and yellow flickered up towards the child looming over him in disbelief. Glowing brightly before flickering and slowly growing dimmer and dimmer with each passing second as the HATE within him kept growing.

His soul emerged from his chest, almost completely consumed in black as he clenched his fists. Slowly, his soul began to seal his body's wounds as he pushed himself upwards. He hacked up more thick, sticky, black blood as a fire burned through his veins. Clover’s eyes had turned into two pitch black voids as his heart raced and it felt as though his veins were set aflame.

“Interesting.” Chara’s smile widened. “That attack should’ve killed you. Not only that, your soul healed you as well.” they traced their finger along their blade as Clover pulled his gun on them.

“Why?!” Clover demanded. “I came here to save you.” Chara raised their eyebrow, and smirked at him.

“You’re new. Everytime I’d erase the world and move on, everything would keep repeating the exact same way as before. But then I began noticing small differences. Toriel being afraid of us. Papyrus being more annoyingly persistent with each run. One time Alphy’s actually helped Undyne to stop me. I had to see what would happen. And when sans began going on about "reports" and" space time anomalies” I didn’t care at first. But after a few runs I looked into what he said more. Under his house I found one of his secrets. Research about the multiverse and the various anomalies and entities running around it.” the two crimson orbs that were their eyes quickly shifted into two empty black holes.

“I was stuck in this reality. Even my own determination wasn’t enough to let me leave this timeline. So I began trying to gain as much EXP and LOVE as possible to gain the power to finally break this world's boundaries and move on to something new. One more erasure and everything will be eradicated permanently. And I’ll be free.”

“What?!” Clover balked. “You erased… no. That’s impossible.” Chara laughed at Clover’s disbelief.

“This reality is mine.” Chara continued. “Normally I’d just erase the world at this point but,” their grin widened unnaturally as Clover faintly felt a chill run down his spine. “You like playing the “hero” right? Then let’s have some FUN =)!” Without hesitation Clover pulled the trigger. From the gun’s barrel he unleashed a massive surging blast of black electrical magic that collided with the fallen human’s chest in less than a blink.

The resulting magical explosion sent Chara flying through the air, all the way back to the back of the final corridor and right beside a box at the other end of the hall. Chara casually, effortlessly dusted themselves off as they rose to their feet. Opening the box before pulling out an old western style six shot revolver.

“=)” Clover immediately sprinted to the cover of the large marble pillars lining the corridor as Chara’s red soul magic entered the revolver’s chamber. And with a single shot they unleashed a massive red blast, far larger and more powerful than anything Clover has ever seen before. The shot obliterated the pillar he was hiding behind. Blowing it into trillions of tiny pieces as the magical blast completely consumed him as well.

It was as though his flesh was being burned in the various lava pools in Hotland. His body was lifted from the ground, being carried through the air by the force of the blast and tossed out of the corridor as his body fell and hit the ground outside. His flesh had been burned charcoal black and his arms and legs refused to move as Chara approached him.

“Oh don’t tell me you're already done.” Their tone was one of annoyance mixed with disappointment as they stood over him. “Get up.” Chara gave Clover a strong swift kick to his head. The kick hit him so hard it sent his body rolling several feet away before he finally rolled onto his stomach.

“Evil.” Clover coughed as he suddenly felt his strength slowly returning. He pushed himself back onto his feet as his body slowly began healing itself.

“Sigh. As disappointing as all the other humans.” Chara leveled their revolver with Clover’s soul. And with another wide sadistic smile they pulled the trigger. But before the shot could be fired Clover pulled out his gun and shot Chara’s revolver out of their hand. Blowing Chara’s hand clean off.

“Oh you’re FUN =)!” A red light began emanating from the red soul as their hand quickly reformed and grew back. “Keep fighting. Let’s see how much EXP I can get from you.” Chara quickly drew their knife and lunged at Clover with a speed that was far faster than the human eye. Only thanks to the survival instincts he had developed over the course of his hundreds of previous death’s did Clover just barely manage to sidestep Chara’s slash as he used blue magic to jump onto a nearby two story building.

The fire within his soul started to burn again as his hesitation and concern for this human’s well being quickly faded away. This was no human, no this was a villain. A bad guy who he needed to stop. He would not fail, he would punish them for the crimes they’ve committed and the lives they’ve taken.

He… he HATED them. HATED beings like them. He lived to HATE them, to KILL them! Clover focused the boiling anger and hatred in his soul into his next shot. Like before he unleashed another massive burst of black electrical magic. But unlike before this blast created a massive shock wave upon impact with Chara that shook the entire underground. Causing many of the remaining structures within New Home, including the one he was currently standing on to collapse. As he and the remaining buildings fell his vision became clouded and blocked by debris as silence soon filled the air.

Clover kept his gun at the ready. Listening closely for any sign of movement as he crushed a bit of broken window beneath his boots. Slowly he trudged towards where he had seen Chara previously, the cloud of dust and debris only growing thicker with each step. His heart was racing and a smile had spread across his face as a feeling of power flooded his mind. Asgore stood no chance now surely, he was powerful enough to surely kill him and free the others. ‘But why stop with just him?’ the thought echoed through his mind. If other worlds like this one exist, isn’t it his responsibility to bring justice to them? Protecting people and fulfilling justice was his purpose after all. So why only do that for only his world? And while at it, he could get stronger and kill-

‘No.’ some part of his soul told him. ‘Punish the guilty and their defenders. Bringing punishment only onto everyone who is evil. or defending it’ A faint yellow glow emanated from his eye as his mind felt like it was being crushed. Vengeance was justice… wait, no it wasn’t! Clover felt as though he was being split in two. What was happening to him?

A soft crunching of debris snapped Clover back to reality as he quickly ducked under Chara’s slash and rolled away from them. But before he could get his bearings they were on him again. Their incredible speed instantly closing the gap between them as they slashes open his chest yet again.

“=)” Chara ducked under Clover’s punch as they bashed their skull into his nose and just as quickly delivered a swift kick to their chest. Knocking Clover’s gun out of his hand as he fell onto his back. Chara immediately pounced on him, plunging their knife towards his heart as Clover grabbed their hands.

“I won’t let you hurt anyone ever again!” Clover declared as Chara’s eyes turned into two pools of pitch black.

“San’s said that. So did Undyne, Alphys Mettaton and even Toriel.” For the briefest moment Clover’s eyes flickered with anger over the mention of them bringing harm to Toriel.

“Oh let me guess, she was a mom to you too wasn't she?” Chara said as they guided their blade over Clover’s heart. “I was her first adopted human child. And the look on her face when I left her last time, the EXP and LOVE I gained from her was great. I even managed to make her kill herself once by revealing what had really happened to me. Convincing her that everything that happened was her fault.” A massive surge of black magic surrounded Clover’s soul as he unleashed it at point blank at Chara.

Like with San's, the massive beam of soul power quickly encompassed Chara and sent them flying off of him. Tossing them high into the air before plummeting back towards the ground seven yards away. Their body now bleeding with several large gashes and broken bones. And a small spot of black appeared on their soul.

“Hahahaha. HAHAHAHAHAHA!” Chara laughed as Clover pulled himself back up. “Such power. You’re going to give me all the EXP and LOVE I need.” as those words passed their lips their red soul began glowing again as all their wounds instantly healed and their bones snapped back into place as they rose onto their feet.

“Do you want to know something FUN =)” Not waiting for an answer, Chara lunged forward at Clover. Sidestepping his shot before tackling him into the ground and stabbing his left hand and pinning him to the ground.

“The more you make someone suffer, the more agonizing their death is, the more EXP and LOVE you gain.” Chara stated as they cut off Clover’s left hand and grabbed his throat and began crushing his windpipe. “But physical pain isn’t enough. To gain as much as possible you need to break their mind. Eradicate them to their very core. =)” Clover began concentrating his power into his soul as before. But this time Chara’s eyes along with their soul began glowing blindingly red as they used their soul’s magic to peer into the depths of Clover’s soul.

“Let’s see what you're hiding.”

As Chara peered into Clover’s soul the two found themselves in his cramped family apartment. It was late night with the only illumination being from the static on their TV. His father was passed out on the couch and Clover’s eyes were locked onto the various slashes and wounds his father had suffered on his track back home.

As Clover and Chara observed the memory of his younger self, Clover felt the raw anger hidden beneath his dark eyes. His soul glowed brilliantly in the dark as it shook violently.

“Never again.” his younger self said in a whisper. This memory occurred two years ago, and haunted him to this day. His younger self quickly rose to his feet and began tip-toeing to his mother’s room. She was sound asleep as he opened the door and began shifting through their closet before finding a small box with a simple lock. His father kept his sidearm from the war locked up in case of emergencies. Finding the key hidden in his belongings was a matter of luck and curiosity on Clover’s part. But now served the purpose of justice.

“Stop it.” Clover practically begged as his soul pulsated with HATE.

“Interesting.” Chara smirked as Clover locked the door behind him and left with his father’s gun. “What are you so afraid of? Don’t want to admit you’re not the hero you want to believe you are?”

“I didn’t kill them, but I should have.” Along with the gun was a cartridge of bullets. The gun itself was heavy and required Clover to use both his hands to even lift it. Putting the cartage in a pocket on his jacket, Clover focused the power in his soul into the gun. Loading it with his soul’s power as he carefully equipped his father’s old holster before leaving their apartment.

“Someone’s out for blood.” Chara giggled. “Is this the first time you killed someone?”

“Stop it!” Clover demanded as the memory continued. The moon provided what little illumination Clover could get in the darkness of the night. The streets, sidewalks and buildings in his neighborhood were littered with scars from the war. Some people were asleep on the side of the street while others made do with the various ruined buildings that littered the city. Cars were a luxury few could afford anymore and buses didn’t run this late into the night. The police still patrolled around occasionally but lately they had been preoccupied with criminal activity several blocks away. The chances of anyone finding and interrupting justice were slim to none.

“Interesting. Just where are you off to at this hour?” Chara mused as the younger him turned into a dark alley. He knew exactly who his father’s attacker’s were. A trio of brother’s who had been attacking and robbing people throughout the city. And made a habit of attacking people who had a hard time defending themselves or were too exhausted like his father.

Factory work was hard to put it mildly, but according to his father it paid far better than anything else for miles. He and his fellow co-workers had been attacked over and over again for years not just from the brothers but nearly everyone else. Everyone had to fend for themselves and the police and the law simply wasn’t enough to protect them. So he would. It's his responsibility and purpose after all.

He came upon their hideout after a few turns. The three men were circled around a makeshift trash fire, discussing their latest findings and thefts.

“That blind idiot never saw it coming.” One of the brothers laughed as he flipped a gold coin in his hands. “Sucker.”

“Check out these rations I swiped.” another man said as put down a bag full of food. “This will last us through the week.”

“A week?” the third man shook his head. “That gaping void you call a mouth will swallow it all by sunrise. Give me them before you two-”

*Click* Clover’s eyes glowed with the brilliance of a star as the three men immediately turned towards him.

“T-That’s not a toy kid.” one of the brother’s stuttered. “P-Put it d-down.” The three men all raised their hands in surrender. Clover kept his gun trained on the three of them, resisting the urge to fire as he gestured for them all to face the wall.

“Just take it easy kid.” the tallest of the brother’s said. “No need for things to get-violent!” Before Clover could react his soul turned blue as he was tossed through the air and face first into the wall by the man’s soul magic. Pinned against the wall one of the brothers ripped his gun out of his hand as another grabbed him by the back of his head and slammed him into the bricks.

Blood began pooling from his nose as he fell to the ground. The larger man began kicking him in the head and chest. Stepping on him with increasing force until one of the brother’s grabbed his arm.

“That’s enough.” he pulled his brother off Clover.

‘I can’t fail!’ Clover yelled at himself as he slowly pulled himself upwards.

“That piece of trash just tried to rob us,” he protested. “It's dog eat dog remember.”

“And the brat had a gun.” the other brother added as he twirled it in his hand. “I think we can sell this thing for-”

“It’s not yours!” Clover growled as he reached into his pocket. Pulling a single bullet out from the cartridge and concentrating his soul’s magic around it. “You think you can rob and hurt people, and get away with it?!”

“Yeah.” the shortest brother replied as he lightly slapped Clover in the face. “It's a dog eat dog world kid. We can do whatever we-” Before he could finish his sentence Clover shoved the bullet into the man’s chest. Combined with his soul magic the bullet pierced the man’s skin and embedded itself into his ribcage as he fell backward.

As both men's minds registered what he had just done, Clover focused his power again and tossed another bullet at the knee of the man who was holding his father’s gun. The force of the impact shattered his bones, forcing him to drop the gun as he fell over screaming.

The last brother standing quickly enveloped himself with a green barrier with his kindness soul. Clover moved quickly, picking up his father’s gun and loading a single bullet into its chamber before infusing it with his soul’s magic. The man’s eyes quickly widened with horror as he pulled the trigger. The blast shattered his shield, and ripped right through the center of his chest.

As he fell over backwards the stark realization of what he had just done dawned on him. He had gone too far, and two of them could die if he didn’t get them help now. Fortunately he had learned some first aid from his father. Moving quickly he stemmed the bleeding both men were suffering from before racing off to get them proper help.

“...”

“Interesting” Chara mused as Clover hid his face underneath his hat. “Is there more to this? Did you kill someone else?”

“...”

“Hmm. Let's fast forward.”

The world shifted and changed around them as the pair soon found Clover sitting beside his father in the police station’s holding area. Not a single word was exchanged between father and son as Clover hung his head low and his father sat cross armed. After a few moments the sound of a door closing echoed in the distance followed by the sound of footsteps and the squeaking of wheels.

“The Riglian Brother’s have had their conditions stabilized.” the police officer in a dark blue uniform and rusted badge said as he continued writing on some form on his clipboard. “Examination has found them responsible for various thefts and assaults throughout the city.” the officer looked up from his board at Clover before turning his attention to his father.

“Officially vigilantism is punishable with a six month sentence. But frankly with things going on as they are, that’d be a waste of time and resources. Your boy’s free to go. And I’ll be keeping this off the record.”

“Are they going to be okay?” Clover asked.

“You kept them alive kid.” his grandfather smiled as he patted him on the shoulder. Having lost his leg in the war his grandfather was stuck moving around in an old wheelchair his grandmother had salvaged from a junkyard. Bits of the metal in the wheels were missing and the leather was torn and ripped.

And his grandfather didn’t look much better himself. Ever since his grandmother’s passing he sported a messy and wildly unkempt beard and an equally messy t-shirt and long pants . The last bits of hair on his head had gone away and a large scar ran down his left eye. Making it seem as though it was colored a light misty blue when in reality it should’ve been golden like his right.

“That was a nice patchwork you did. Those three are going to heal up and be tossed in with the others.” He gave his grandson a warm smile before his gaze shifted towards Clover’s father. His eyes had narrowed and the light grip he had on his son’s shoulder tightened as he pulled both of them off.

“We’re leaving.” his father took his pistol from the officer and held his grip on Clover as the two made their way out of the police station. Followed by Clover’s grandpa who was keeping pace with his father’s surprisingly quick pace.

“Hey if you're going to ditch me you could at least say something!” Clover’s father let out a low sigh as the pair waited for him by the entrance. His father’s anger was radiating off of him like a star as Clover stood as still and silent as possible. Never before had his father acted like this, well, except when talking to his grandpa that is.

Both men glared at each other with disdain as he was trapped between them. After what felt like an eternity his father released his grip on his shoulder.

“Sit in the chair and don’t move.” his father ordered as Clover practically sprinted towards where he wanted him as the two of them left the building and began walking out of sight.

Five minutes. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes passed as Clover sat alone as the police staff worked around him. What was taking them so long? Were they safe? Did something happen to them? More and more of those thoughts began filling his mind before finally, after an eternity he dared to stand. Slowly trudging his way out the door and towards the distant sound of their shouting voices.

Staying low, he hid behind a conveniently placed trash can as the two continued arguing.

“I don’t need you telling me how to raise my son.”

“I’m not telling you how to raise him.” His grandfather jabbed his father’s chest “I’m trying to get through your thick skull, and make you realize what you’re doing isn’t working.”

“At least I actually have a job and don’t need to rely on politician’s for money. Unlike you, I actually TAKE CARE of the people I care about.” Judging from the silence between the pair and knowing his grandfather, Clover could clearly imagine the utter disbelief flooding through his grandpa at the moment.

“Wh-What?! Are you blind? I’ve been trying to help you and Alice from the-” Alice was the first name of Clover’s mother. And from what he had learned from old photos and from his father and grandpa, she was in his grandpa’s own words ‘The most radiant and pure hearted diamond of them all’.

“Leave her out of this!” The rage in his father’s voice caused a chill to descend down Clover’s spine. Observing, he noticed a golden glow in his eyes as his grandpa backed away slightly.

“You’re barely making ends meet on top of taking care of those two. I know you’re doing your best but there’s another way to get money without-”

“I’m not re-enlisting!”

“Would you let me finish?” His grandpa crossed his arms. “I know how to get you a desk job that’ll pay better than what you’re getting now. Without putting you in danger or killing you every single day. With the extra money you’ll have an easier time-”

“I don’t need your help.” His father cut him off. “And I’m never taking orders from monster’s like you ever again.” His grandpa grabbed the sides of his wheelchair as he used his arms to push himself upwards. Raising himself to his father’s neck as they both glared daggers at one another.

“It was war. I did what I needed to do for the nation, your mother, and yes, you!”

“And Conrad? You “had” to order us to our death’s?” Clover’s father asked. Slowly his grandpa slouched back down in his wheelchair. His voice now much softer, almost like a whisper through the silent air.

“Frando needed to die if we were ever going to have a chance at winning the war. And it's because of you two that we did.”

“YOU LEFT HIM TO DIE!” his father yelled.

“I buried three kids, two brother’s and a sister, your grandparents and the rest of our family!” his grandpa yelled back. “Conrad was already gone when I got to you. I… I wasn’t going to lose five. So I dragged you out.”

“You made the plan. You sent us. You got Conrad and my entire squad killed.” his father stepped forward and leaned down. Staring his father straight in the eyes as he spoke.

“You didn’t raise us, mom did. You ignored us and now that mom’s gone all of a sudden you care? Pfft.” his father scoffed. “You’re lucky she convinced me to let Clover visit you. Otherwise, I’d never let you near him.”

“You wanted me out of your life and I respected that.” His grandpa said. “But things change. I wish I could go back and change how things were but I can’t. I’m getting old Lawrence. I want to make things right-”

“Things will NEVER be “right”.” Clover’s father said. “He cried out while you were dragging me away. He BEGGED, and you left him behind!”

“He had lost too much blood and we were being fired at.” Clover’s grandpa replied sternly. “If I had taken him, I’d have lost two sons. And I never would’ve been able to carry-”

“Like you ever cared.”

“What do you think I'm doing here!? You think I just came here to yell at you?” Clover’s grandpa slammed his fist into the wheelchairs armrest. Nearly breaking it off as a bright yellow glow began emanating from his eyes.

“You want to be angry at me, fine. You wanna keep killing yourself at that dead end factory job, fine! But you better get it through that thick skull of yours, that this all happened because of you!” Clover’s father grabbed his grandpa by the collar of his shirt. Hoisting him to his eye level with a single arm as both their eyes began glowing with greater intensity.

“Careful old man. I’m not a kid anymore.” Lawrence warned his father as the elder crossed his arms.

“Your son looks up to you.” his grandpa continued. “And he’s not dumb. He sees the scars and slashes and injuries you come home with everyday. Every time he tries to help you or do anything to help you push him away.”

“Stop it.” Clover’s father warned.

“Open your eyes Lawrence! You're dragging yourself, Alice, and your own son, down with you. I’m trying to help you and give you a way out and you won’t even listen.”

“Then maybe you should listen to ME for once!” His father shoved his grandpa back onto his wheelchair with such force he fell over backwards and rolled off of his chair.

“I’m DONE with you! I never for the rest of my life want to see you ever again. You say you’ve changed but all I hear are the ramblings of the same self-centered man that sent me, Conrad and millions of others to their deaths. Have you even visited his grave? Or mother’s? No. You sit in that house all day telling yourself you had no choice in anything. That you did the right thing.” His father then knelled over his grandpa. Leaning in closer and whispering something Clover couldn’t hear.

“Don’t get all self righteous Lawrence.” His grandpa continued. “You split this family in half. Every time I tried to make amends you turned me away. You didn’t even let me or your mother know we had a grandson until Clover turned three.”

“This “family” died long before the war. You saw to that.” Lawrence scoffed as Clover’s grandpa held up his right hand to his face.

“See what’s missing?” he asked. “He was going to throw Clover in a cell for what happened. I had to give him my wedding ring to keep him out.” At that moment it felt like Clover’s heart fell into his stomach as his mouth hung agape. His grandpa gave away the last thing he had of grandma because of him? He… he was just trying to help his father, trying to make things better. They were criminals. How was it justice to punish him and take away his grandpa’s wedding ring?

“What?” Clover’s father balked.

“Justice is dead Lawrence.” his grandpa solemnly continued as he pulled himself back into his wheelchair. “This entire world is one giant messed up place. Alice and Clover deserve better than this!” he held his arms out at the city around them.

“Everyone in our family is gone. It’s just us now. For their sake, can you please at least give this some thought?” his grandpa held out his hand. Lawrence stared at it, his hand slowly rising from his side, before shaking his head.

“Go home old man.” Lawrence his father as he headed back towards the police station.

“Lawrence!” his father cried out. “Son, just listen-” at that moment his father’s bright yellow soul burst from his chest as a glow of light emanated brightly from it. In a flash he unleashed a burst of magical energy from his soul, striking the ground in front of Clover’s grandpa and leaving behind a large cloud of debris and a crater in the pavement.

“Like you listened to Conrad?” his father hissed. His eyes glowing yellow, as bright as a star as his soul re-entered his body. “Go home old man.” he ordered his father again. Now defeated, Clover’s grandpa turned his wheelchair back towards the city. Heading off alone into the night as Clover remained hidden behind the trash can.

“I did this.” the memory of his younger self said. Tears quickly fell from his eyes as curled up on the sidewalk as he silently sobbed. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to.”

“It's all my fault.” Clover hissed as Chara smiled.

“You really are a burden to them aren’t you?” Chara said as Clover clenched his fist. “To think they care so deeply for you, try so hard for you, and you throw that all away.” For a moment Clover felt like he heard some resentment in their voice, but he brushed it off.

“You call yourself a hero, but you're as awful as those thieves who hurt your dad.”

“Shut up!” more and more HATE began festering in his soul. The last traces of yellow and red were giving way to an ocean of black as he stepped forward.

“How does it feel to know that your entire life brought them nothing but pain.” Chara sadistically asked as the world around them changed again as they appeared in his mother’s room. She was thrashing against her restraints as his father tried to feed her and Clover was watching through a crack in the door.

“If you were never born, your mother wouldn’t be like this. If you hadn't gone out, your grandpa would still have that ring. The last memory he had of your grandma is gone because of you.”

“Stop!” Clover fell to his knees, tightly gripping his soul as the HATE consumed him and Chara leaned into his ear.

“They’d all be happier without you.” Chara whispered as Clover lowered his head.

“I know.” Clover admitted as he slammed his skull into Chara’s nose. The echo of their bone’s breaking echoed around them as Clover kicked them off of him. He felt the HATE inside of him burning like a raging inferno as his severed hand quickly began growing back. A pool of thick black blood solidified and grew from the exposed wound as skin covered his newly reformed flesh. And vein’s had turned black as well as his eyes were now two empty black voids like Chara’s.

“I can’t do ANYTHING!” Clover screamed as he slammed his boot into the ground. Cracking the earth underneath him as he drew his gun. “My home, my country, the world is ruled by injustice and evil. I can’t stand it, I HATE IT! I hate monster’s like you! You think you can just torture and hurt and do whatever you want to innocent people and get away with it?”

“Yes.” Chara said as they pointed their knife at Clover. “I rule this timeline. Even if you kill me, I’ll just come back. But enough talk because honestly, this has gotten boring. And I think I’ve gotten as much out of you as I can so, I’LL ERADICATE EVERYTHING.” They smiled as they raised their blade. More and more red soul magic began emanating from their knife as it glowed with the intensity of a star.

Darkness began emanating around Clover’s gun, seemingly draining the red glow from their blade into itself as he concentrated his HATE. His mind thought back to the unfairness of the world he lived in. From his mother’s and father’s suffering, his grandpa losing his ring to a corrupt policeman, the cruelty and hypocrisy of monsterkind and of course all of the hundreds of death’s that Flowey had forced upon him. The flower used him, tortured him, manipulated him. He was evil, just like this monster before him.

As Chara slashed at him with their knife Clover pulled the trigger. The timeline destroying determination and LOVE attack met Clover’s own HATE. The resulting explosion shook the entire planet with the barrier only barely managing to stay up and keep the destruction limited to the underground as the explosion swallowed both Clover and Chara. Though much to Gaster’s surprise, the world wasn’t RELOADED nor ERASED.

(With Gaster)

"☞✌💧👍✋☠✌❄✋☠☝.❄☼🕆☹✡ ☞✌💧👍✋☠✌❄✋☠☝." [FASCINATING.TRULY FASCINATING.] the monster smiled. "👍☹⚐✞☜☼❼💧 ☟✌❄☜ ☟✌💧 ☠⚐❄ ⚐☠☹✡ ☠🕆☹☹✋☞✋☜👎 ❄☟☜ ☟🕆💣✌☠❼💧 👎☜❄☜☼💣✋☠✌❄✋⚐☠ ✌☠👎 ☼☜👎 💣✌☝✋👍📪 👌🕆❄ ❄⚐ 👍✌☠👍☜☹☜👎 ⚐🕆❄ ❄✋💣☜☹✋☠☜ ☜☼✌💧🕆☼☜. ✋ 🕈✋☹☹ ☠☜☜👎 ❄⚐ 💧❄🕆👎✡ ✋❄ ☞🕆☼❄☟☜☼."[CLOVER’S HATE HAS NOT ONLY NULLIFIED THE HUMAN’S DETERMINATION AND RED MAGIC, BUT TO CANCELED OUT TIMELINE ERASURE. I WILL NEED TO STUDY IT FURTHER.] Chara and Clover both were gravely injured by the explosion. Rendered unconscious as their souls worked to repair their bodies.

Gaster observed Clover’s charred remains as their soul slowly healed their body. The HATE receded in some parts with spots of red, yellow, dark blue and green becoming visible before the HATE consumed them. But still, how had Clover absorbed their power? With a snap of his finger his old audio recorder from before his fall teleported into his hand.

[ENTRY NUMBER TWENTY NINE. AN INTRIGUING DISCOVERY. CLOVER’S COPY ABILITY IN COMBINATION WITH HIS HATE HAS PREVENTED THE TIMELINE FROM BEING ERASED. PERHAPS WITH THE LOVE HE HAS ATTAINED ALONG WITH THE HATE HE HAS BUILT UP IN ADDITION TO THE RED MAGIC FROM THE HUMAN CAUSED HIS ABILITY TO MUTATE AND ADAPT TO HIS SITUATION.] "☜☠❄☼✡ ☠🕆💣👌☜☼ ❄🕈☜☠❄✡ ☠✋☠☜. ✌☠ ✋☠❄☼✋☝🕆✋☠☝ 👎✋💧👍⚐✞☜☼✡. 👍☹⚐✞☜☼❼💧 👍⚐🏱✡ ✌👌✋☹✋❄✡ ✋☠ 👍⚐💣👌✋☠✌❄✋⚐☠ 🕈✋❄☟ ☟✋💧 ☟✌❄☜ ☟✌💧 🏱☼☜✞☜☠❄☜👎 ❄☟☜ ❄✋💣☜☹✋☠☜ ☞☼⚐💣 👌☜✋☠☝ ☜☼✌💧☜👎. 🏱☜☼☟✌🏱💧 🕈✋❄☟ ❄☟☜ ☹⚐✞☜ ☟☜ ☟✌💧 ✌❄❄✌✋☠☜👎 ✌☹⚐☠☝ 🕈✋❄☟ ❄☟☜ ☟✌❄☜ ☟☜ ☟✌💧 👌🕆✋☹❄ 🕆🏱 ✋☠ ✌👎👎✋❄✋⚐☠ ❄⚐ ❄☟☜ ☼☜👎 💣✌☝✋👍 ☞☼⚐💣 ❄☟☜ ☟🕆💣✌☠ 👍✌🕆💧☜👎 ☟✋💧 ✌👌✋☹✋❄✡ ❄⚐ 💣🕆❄✌❄☜ ✌☠👎 ✌👎✌🏱❄ ❄⚐ ☟✋💧 💧✋❄🕆✌❄✋⚐☠." The monster reasoned. [ADDITIONALLY IT SEEMS HATE HAS THE ABILITY TO ABSORB AND NULLIFY RED MAGIC. AND I’D ALSO BE REMISS TO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE OTHER VIRTUES AS WELL. JUSTICE REMAINS HIS TRUE VIRTUE EVEN WITH HATE SPREADING THROUGH HIS BEING. AND AS SUCH, ITS POWER IS STILL CLEARLY PRESENT ALONG WITH THE RESTORATIVE PROPERTIES OF KINDNESS AND THE WILL POWER OF INTEGRITY.] "✌👎👎✋❄✋⚐☠✌☹☹✡ ✋❄ 💧☜☜💣💧 ☟✌❄☜ ☟✌💧 ❄☟☜ ✌👌✋☹✋❄✡ ❄⚐ ✌👌💧⚐☼👌 ✌☠👎 ☠🕆☹☹✋☞✡ ☼☜👎 💣✌☝✋👍. ✌☠👎 ✋❼👎 ✌☹💧⚐ 👌☜ ☼☜💣✋💧💧 ❄⚐ ☠⚐❄ ✌👍😐☠⚐🕈☹☜👎☝☜ ❄☟☜ ⚐❄☟☜☼ ✞✋☼❄🕆☜💧 ✌💧 🕈☜☹☹. ☺🕆💧❄✋👍☜ ☼☜💣✌✋☠💧 ☟✋💧 ❄☼🕆☜ ✞✋☼❄🕆☜ ☜✞☜☠ 🕈✋❄☟ ☟✌❄☜ 💧🏱☼☜✌👎✋☠☝ ❄☟☼⚐🕆☝☟ ☟✋💧 👌☜✋☠☝. ✌☠👎 ✌💧 💧🕆👍☟📪 ✋❄💧 🏱⚐🕈☜☼ ✋💧 💧❄✋☹☹ 👍☹☜✌☼☹✡ 🏱☼☜💧☜☠❄ ✌☹⚐☠☝ 🕈✋❄☟ ❄☟☜ ☼☜💧❄⚐☼✌❄✋✞☜ 🏱☼⚐🏱☜☼❄✋☜💧 ⚐☞ 😐✋☠👎☠☜💧💧 ✌☠👎 ❄☟☜ 🕈✋☹☹ 🏱⚐🕈☜☼ ⚐☞ ✋☠❄☜☝☼✋❄✡."

[BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE AN UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENT. MY OBSERVATION SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT HIS ESSENCE IS FIGHTING AGAINST THE HATE EVEN AFTER IT HAS CONSUMED HIS SOUL. I'M CURIOUS AS TO WHAT’S GOING THROUGH HIS MIND AT THIS MOMENT. I’D IMAGINE IT'S AKIN TO AN ARGUMENT BETWEEN SPLIT PERSONALITIES BUT AS FOR THIS MOMENT I CANNOT BE CERTAIN, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE IT DOESN’T MATTER.] "👌🕆❄ ❄☟☜☼☜ 💧☜☜💣💧 ❄⚐ 👌☜ ✌☠ 🕆☠☜✠🏱☜👍❄☜👎 👎☜✞☜☹⚐🏱💣☜☠❄. 💣✡ ⚐👌💧☜☼✞✌❄✋⚐☠ 💧☜☜💣💧 ❄⚐ ✋☠👎✋👍✌❄☜ ❄☟✌❄ ☟✋💧 ☜💧💧☜☠👍☜ ✋💧 ☞✋☝☟❄✋☠☝ ✌☝✌✋☠💧❄ ❄☟☜ ☟✌❄☜ ☜✞☜☠ ✌☞❄☜☼ ✋❄ ☟✌💧 👍⚐☠💧🕆💣☜👎 ☟✋💧 💧⚐🕆☹. ✋🕯💣 👍🕆☼✋⚐🕆💧 ✌💧 ❄⚐ 🕈☟✌❄❼💧 ☝⚐✋☠☝ ❄☟☼⚐🕆☝☟ ☟✋💧 💣✋☠👎 ✌❄ ❄☟✋💧 💣⚐💣☜☠❄. ✋❼👎 ✋💣✌☝✋☠☜ ✋❄🕯💧 ✌😐✋☠ ❄⚐ ✌☠ ✌☼☝🕆💣☜☠❄ 👌☜❄🕈☜☜☠ 💧🏱☹✋❄ 🏱☜☼💧⚐☠✌☹✋❄✋☜💧 👌🕆❄ ✌💧 ☞⚐☼ ❄☟✋💧 💣⚐💣☜☠❄ ✋ 👍✌☠☠⚐❄ 👌☜ 👍☜☼❄✌✋☠📪 🕈☟✌❄☜✞☜☼ ❄☟☜ 👍✌💧☜ 💣✌✡ 👌☜ ✋❄ 👎⚐☜💧☠❼❄ 💣✌❄❄☜☼."

[IF HE’S GOING TO SUIT MY PURPOSES I’M GOING TO NEED HIM TO GAIN AS MUCH LOVE AS POSSIBLE SO I CAN STABILIZE MY FORM OUTSIDE OF THIS PRISON. HMM… THE ACT OF MURDERING ONE HUMAN WAS ENOUGH TO INCREASE HIS LV WITHOUT THE NEED TO GAIN ADDITIONAL EXP. I WONDER HOW MUCH LOVE HE WOULD GAIN IF HE WATCHED THE HUMAN MURDER THE FIVE HUMAN SOULS.] "✋☞ ☟☜❼💧 ☝⚐✋☠☝ ❄⚐ 💧🕆✋❄ 💣✡ 🏱🕆☼🏱⚐💧☜💧 ✋❼💣 ☝⚐✋☠☝ ❄⚐ ☠☜☜👎 ☟✋💣 ❄⚐ ☝✌✋☠ ✌💧 💣🕆👍☟ ☹⚐✞☜ ✌💧 🏱⚐💧💧✋👌☹☜ 💧⚐ ✋ 👍✌☠ 💧❄✌👌✋☹✋☪☜ 💣✡ ☞⚐☼💣 ⚐🕆❄💧✋👎☜ ⚐☞ ❄☟✋💧 🏱☼✋💧⚐☠. ☟💣💣⑤ ❄☟☜ ✌👍❄ ⚐☞ 💣🕆☼👎☜☼✋☠☝ ⚐☠☜ ☟🕆💣✌☠ 🕈✌💧 ☜☠⚐🕆☝☟ ❄⚐ ✋☠👍☼☜✌💧☜ ☟✋💧 ☹✞ 🕈✋❄☟⚐🕆❄ ❄☟☜ ☠☜☜👎 ❄⚐ ☝✌✋☠ ✌👎👎✋❄✋⚐☠✌☹ ☜✠🏱. ✋ 🕈⚐☠👎☜☼ ☟⚐🕈 💣🕆👍☟ ☹⚐✞☜ ☟☜ 🕈⚐🕆☹👎 ☝✌✋☠ ✋☞ ☟☜ 🕈✌❄👍☟☜👎 ❄☟☜ ☟🕆💣✌☠ 💣🕆☼👎☜☼ ❄☟☜ ☞✋✞☜ ☟🕆💣✌☠ 💧⚐🕆☹💧."

(In Chara’s mind)

“What… happened?” Finding themselves back in their own mind Chara checked on their MENU and found the timeline was somehow still there.

“Interesting. His shot somehow stopped the timeline from being erased.” glancing around the empty void they found their “partner” still bound and restrained. Frisk’s crimson eyes still, even after all this time hadn’t lost their defiance. Even though struggling was pointless.

“Looks like things aren’t your way for once.” Frisk remarked as Chara simply rolled their eyes. Long black chains held her in place as she tried futilely as ever to break them with each pull of her arms and legs.

“Ugh, why are you still trying? That’s never worked.” Pulling up the MENU revealed their HP was 0.0001/99. Frisk’s body was completely incinerated into a black charcoal husk as their DETERMINATION slowly brought them back.

“I felt our power being drained when he was charging up his attack.” Chara pondered as they thought back to his battles with sans. “Sans had to start decapitating him in order to finish him off. His DETERMINATION is getting stronger. Perhaps,”

“It's sad that the only person you can talk to is yourself.” Frisk scowled as a small spot of black formed on her left hand. “Is that why you keep me here? Cause without me you’d be all alone.”

“Oh please. I never needed you.” Chara replied as they casually approached Frisk. “You’re my vessel, nothing more. Your body houses our DETERMINATION and LOVE while keeping me alive. Well, as alive as I can be anyway.”

“You should’ve stayed dead.” Frisk spat. “I can’t believe I ever listened to you. How could you do all of this to Toriel, Asgore or Asriel? They took you in when you fell into the underground, gave you a home and loved you.”

“My love died with Asriel after we went to the surface.” Chara explained. “Humanity took everything from me, so I took everything from them. All those death’s, all that LOVE. How could anyone ever stop? And the POWER. No one can control or hurt me anymore.”

“And besides, you agreed to all this, remember?” Chara grinned as the void around them shifted and changed into that fateful day so, soo many timelines ago.

(The First True Pacifist Timeline)

It was another great day for Frisk. They went to school and had no homework, played with their friends and Papyrus had even made some fun puzzles for them to solve. Toriel had baked an amazing pie and Frisk’s stomach was positively stuffed.

Monster’s entering human society was met with some shock and fear but things had worked out. Everyone was happy and the future looked bright. But there was always a feeling that had been bothering them since Asriel had shattered the barrier. A feeling like they were always being watched.

‘Sorry about that. I can’t exactly go anywhere since I’m bound to you.’ With a sudden shriek Frisk fell out of her bed as someone was floating in the air on the other end of her bedroom. They wore a green shirt with a single horizontal line through it along with brown pants and shoes. Their brown hair came down to their neck and their eyes were red and they seemed to glow transparently as well.

“W-what?! Who are you?” The figure floating in the air gave Frisk a small dignified bow.

“Greetings, I'm Chara.” the ghost thing replied with a bow. “I’ve been with you ever since you fell into the underground. Not exactly sure why, but your determination awoke me from death. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Uh-huh.” Frisk replied, still shaken by the ghost. Wait! It clicked in their mind right then who this was. Chara was the first human to fall into the underground and was found by Asriel and adopted into his family. And come to think of it, Asriel was calling her Chara before they broke the barrier. Had they sensed them somehow?

“You did an amazing job freeing everyone.” Chara warmly smiled. “You’re a really kind person.”

“Thank you.”

“So, I was hoping you could help me.” Chara continued. “I miss Asriel, Mom, and Dad so I was hoping you might let me talk to them. I… want to apologize for the mess I got everyone in.”

“Of course.” Frisk smiled. “Mom’s downstairs reading and I think Asgore’s-”

“No, I want to say it to them myself.” Chara insisted as they held out their hand. “Our connection with each other has grown stronger ever since you fell down and it can be even stronger. Since we share the same soul, that means we share your body as well. Let me have control for a bit, and I’ll give it right back to you.”

Frisk hesitated. “You want to control me?”

“Just your body and it won’t be for long.” Chara promised. “Please. I really miss them.” Fear wrapped around Frisk’s heart as she held her hands to her chest. The thought of losing control of herself like this was more scary than anything she had encountered in the underground or on the surface. She stared at the hand Chara held out to them, lost in thought.

Helping them was the right thing to do, and they could become friends as well. But her mind raced back to what Asriel had told them about Chara. They hated humanity and… weren't the nicest person. But then again that could be said of Undyne and Asgore and others from the underground. Chara needed a hand, needed help and kindness like the others did. It was the right thing to do, and if anything went wrong they could LOAD their FILE or RESET.

With a deep breath Frisk took Chara’s hand. And in that instant she fell to her knees as Chara’s grip tightened to the point of nearly crushing their palm as their eyes turned into two black empty voids before her eyes.

And they laughed. Their horrible, demonic laughter filled the room as Frisk’s eyes grew heavier and heavier until she passed out. And when she awoke, she found herself locked in her own mind as Chara had taken full control of their body.

“Finally!” Chara exclaimed as they left Frisk’s bedroom. “You awake partner?”

“What’s happening?” Frisk asked. Their voice was a light whisper as fear and shock had overtaken what remained of them.

“Don’t act so surprised.” Chara told them as they entered the kitchen. Opening a drawer and pulling out one of Toriel’s cutting knives.

“Afterall, you agreed to this.”

(Back in Frisk and Chara’s shared mindspace)

“I can’t believe I wanted to help you!” Frisk scowled. “I swear, you’ll pay for all of this.”

“Hmph. That has to be the thousandth time I’ve heard that.” Chara dismissed her as they checked on their bodies recovery. Even with their determination the recovery was taking much longer than expected. But then again, they were never on the receiving end of a timeline destroying attack before.

Chara LV 20/HP 0.001/99

“Hmm.” Chara continued thinking. “His soul partially turned red after getting hit by sans attack which was infused with our power. Is he absorbing our soul’s magic? And if that’s true then what’s with his soul turning black?”

“He kind of looks like how Toriel described the yellow soul child looked.” Frisk added.

“Indeed he does. And sans couldn’t get the rest of the souls earlier before he showed up.” it then clicked in Chara’s mind. “San’s already found proof that beings from other timelines can enter and leave their universes. If he’s not from here that would explain why the souls didn’t appear as well as his desire to free us.” Chara chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Frisk scowled.

“I just found another use for you.”

(Clover’s mind)

‘How many times have I died?’ The echoed through the void as Clover tried and failed over and over to get back up. He could feel nothing from his burned corpse except for the burning heat within his soul.

‘Why do I fail everyone over and over again?’ the burning within him intensified. ‘Is justice not strong enough?’ He was gifted with this purpose, this power in order to make the world better. And yet whether it was on the surface or in the underground he always failed. Martlet, Undyne, Flowey, Asgore and now this monster trying to erase the world. Even when he was granted a chance to do things over again, he still failed.

‘Justice.’ this world felt… hollow. Weak. He needed more power. If he was stronger he could do anything, defeat any evil that came his way.

‘HATE.’ the word rippled through his mind and into the depths of his soul. He felt the depths of its power. Far exceeding anything he’d ever felt from Justice or Integrity and Kindness. Red was similarly powerful but HATE, he felt like he was being pulled towards it. He thought, no, Clover knew it had the power he needed to make things better.

He felt his soul trying to pull him back, to push back the HATE consuming him. ‘Justice exists to defeat HATE.’ he felt those words echo through his mind. ‘HATE destroyed the world, your home. You’ll only destroy with HATE.’ Clover backed away from the abyss. He ran towards the light, his original purpose and virtue.

But then a scream echoed from the void and as he spun around he found the child he was fighting standing over his mother. Blood dripped from their blade as they simply, casually, waved at him.

“MOM!” Clover fell to his knees, tears in his eyes as the full scale of his situation came to his mind. If he failed here, everyone would die. If he failed, Zaley and the others would remain trapped and he’d never see his parents or his grandpa ever again. They’d be heartbroken and when Asgore got the last soul he needed he’d shatter the barrier. And kill everyone because he failed.

“No!” Clover stood up, racing towards the abyss at full speed. He tackled the child to the ground and began beating them. Wailing at them with his fists over and over, drawing blood as they fell deeper and deeper into darkness.

There was far too much at stake, he needed power and justice wasn’t enough. It never had been. If it was he wouldn’t have died hundreds of times at this point. He was weak, he knew that. That’s why he had to turn away from Justice.

Clover finally allowed his HATE to fill his heart, his body, his soul. Immediately he felt powerful, invincible. With a final punch he punched the child’s skull open, sending bits of bone and flesh flying through the air around them as he stood up. Laughing.

“Hahaha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” He would never lose again, never fail anyone ever again. And if HATE could only destroy, well, then he’d only destroy evil people and monsters. It was a painful burden, but one he was born to fulfill. A part of him worried if he’d ever truly be able to fulfill that and make the world better. But if Clover had learned anything by this point.

Doing the right thing is never easy. And the only one who could do this, was him.

(Back in the real world, Ruined remains of Monster Capital of New Home)

The glow of the red soul illuminated the underground. With light that rivaled the intensity of a star, Chara's vessel reformed and healed itself as their bones reformed and their charred skin was healed. The vessel was too weak to raise its head, but the determination in the soul would ensure a complete recovery.

But as the light of the red soul illuminated their surroundings in a dark crimson glow, a void of darkness stood just a few yards away. The air chilled as a cold breeze brushed past their bodies. Clover, with HATE consuming his soul, was likewise unable to move. His eyes were pure dark voids, devoid of any justice that once shined brilliantly through them.

Slowly, after what felt like an eternity the two fallen children picked themselves up. With their knife in their left hand and the gun in their right the eagerness to continue the fight was clear. Clover was likewise eager to get started. With a pull of the trigger he unleashed another massive burst of electrical black magic yet again.

“=)” With a speed that surpassed anything Clover had seen earlier, Chara sidestepped the blast as they poured their determination into the empty gun. Six bursts of red soul magic shot out of the barrel in quick succession as Clover put a black barrier around himself. Shielding himself from the attack as Chara lunged forward, slashing at the barrier as they discovered their attack… had done nothing.

The darkness in Clover’s eyes seemed to suck in the light around them as a wide malicious grin spread across his face. In that instant Chara felt their soul turn blue as they were hoisted high into the sky, before being slammed into the ground. Over and over, creating breaks in the ground from the force of the impact as Clover tossed them towards the barrier.

Chara smiled as their vessel hit the broken ground and began tumbling and rolling straight into the barrier as its magic repelled them. Another shot echoed as black soul magic raced not towards Chara, but the barrier.

Caught by surprise Chara was only able to watch the blast as it raced over them, and then back at them as the magic repelled Clover’s attack straight into them. The blast seared away their flesh and seeped into their body and soul. Frying their bones and creating a few more spots of black on their red soul as Chara forced their body to stand.

“Impressive trick.” Chara remarked as a red glow began enveloping their blade. “Now let's try mine.” They stabbed the ground. In an instant the red magic with the blade shattered the ground beneath them, creating massive holes in the earth as Clover leaped into the air to avoid falling into the newly formed crevices.

As before Chara took aim with their gun and fired. Six more brilliant beams of crimson raced through the darkness as Clover charged his next shot. The massive beam of black soul magic obliterated Chara’s attacks as the blast raced straight towards them.

‘He’s strong, but I’m faster.’ Chara raced forward, pouring their magic into their body to enhance their speed as the beam hit the ground behind them. Jumping at that moment, they rode the shock wave through the air. Reaching Clover in an instant and slashing at him as he grabbed their hand.

Chara slammed their skull into his nose as they fell and just as quickly planted their knee into his chest. Freeing their hand, they slashed at Clover’s left hand, severing two of his fingers as he lost his grip on his gun. It, along with them, plummeted to the ground as he narrowly dodged Chara’s attempt to stab his brain by moving his head and kicking them off.

Pulling the gun towards him with blue magic, he fired again as Chara rolled to his left. They were on him in an instant, slashing his chest, his arm, his cheek nearly severing his neck as Clover slammed the but of his gun into their nose. Breaking it with an audible crunch as he jumped back through the air to get distance from his opponent.

“=)” Clover needed to change tactics and fast. Chara was better than him at close range, and was faster and more agile than him. But an idea struck him as he rolled under their attack. Putting a barrier up as they slashed down at him, Clover stepped to his side and manipulated the barrier so it wrapped around Chara’s arm before hoisting it high.

Acting quickly Clover channeled all of his HATE into his weapon. Chara’s eyes went wide upon staring into the darkness. There was no light, no anything beyond imminent death which under normal circumstances was no concern, but now they felt different. The blast struck their ensnared shoulder, severing the arm completely as they fell onto their back. Writing in pain and trying to back away as Clover loomed over them.

Chara smiled. “You’re really going to kill an innocent person?”

“You’re guilty.” Clover replied as he began charging up his next shot. A red glow appeared in Chara’s eyes as they connected once again with Clover’s soul. In an instant, Clover saw the reality of who he was fighting. The human he thought he was fighting was nothing more than a meat puppet being used by another human who was long dead.

In shock he stepped back as a glimmer of yellow and red radiated from his eyes. He was fighting an innocent person, about to kill an innocent-

‘They brought this on themselves.’ a dark cold voice in his mind whispered in his ear. ‘They did this to the world, got everyone killed over and over. They deserve death.’

‘This isn’t right.’ another voice told him. It was fainter than the other, almost like a whisper. ‘Your mission is to save the fallen remember?’ as the voices argued in his head Chara took the opportunity to fire their gun. Six bursts of pure determination and LOVE rocketed into Clover’s chest. Sending him flying through the air as a *click* echoed behind them. At that moment, the jars containing the six human souls emerged from the ground before the barrier.

Dazed, Clover could only look on as Chara quickly regrew their arm and grabbed their knife. And before he could even blink, they shattered all six souls with a single slash.

‘MURDERER!!/MURDERER!!’ The two voices in his head were united by HATE at that moment. As Chara turned to them with their trademark demonic laughter their LOVE rose to 23. While for Clover, the red and yellow light in his eyes returned, and seemed to unify with the HATE within him as his LOVE skyrocketed again.

LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED.

In that instant Clover’s LOVE rose from ten to thirty. His HP reached 140 as he took aim at them yet again. Charging up a shot much larger and more massive than any he had fired previously. With the pull of the trigger, from the barrel of his gun a massive beam of red, yellow and black burst forth. Its power and sheer size easily dwarfed both humans as the shot was met with another massive slash of red soul magic from Chara as their body froze in place.

Chara poured their power into the attack more and more as their soul magic, LOVE and determination were absorbed by the attack. The power of the blast wouldn’t be held back, slowly Chara was pushed back until they stood back towards the barrier. Trapped with nowhere to run or outmaneuver his attack.

“He keeps absorbing this soul’s power.” Chara gritted their teeth as they looked down onto their red soul. “Hmm. Maybe if I-” the black spots on their soul quickly expanded as their right hand quickly wrapped itself around their neck.

‘Missed me?’ Frisk hissed as they tightened their grip on their neck. Dropping the knife Chara began trying to free their vessels windpipe as Clover’s attack continued to inch closer to them..

“What?! How are you?” It was then Chara sensed the HATE in the large tints of black on their soul. The black energy seeping into them was being drawn towards Frisk. Their anger, bitterness and regret acting like a beacon for the HATE to pour into.

‘You took my family, my friends, my body and trapped me in my own mind.’ Frisk grinned as she seized control of their legs and made them kneel. ‘NOW YOU’RE GOING TO PAY!’

“You idiot! Now’s not the time to assert your paper thin indepen-” Chara refocused their efforts into blocking Clover’s attack. The massive tri colored beam burst through their slash and the barrier they surrounded themselves with was cracking. The magic from the attack began bursting out, colliding and creating smaller explosions all around them. Scorching their skin as Chara looked down at the HATE infecting the soul, and smiled.

‘Interesting. I wonder.’ Chara pondered as they began allowing HATE into their soulless manifestation.

‘I’d rather die than let you hurt anyone else.’ Frisk declared as her soul began glowing. The HATE was combined with their determination, ripping away Chara’s control over her as Clover’s attack shattered their shield. Incinerating both of them in an instant as the red soul shattered.

SAVE FILE LOADED: Last Corridor CHARA LV 23

“Ugh. Where am-!” For the first time in a long time, Frisk felt her own hands obeying her. She felt the warmth of her soul, her determination was hers once again. Tears of joy, of pain and relief began pouring down her face as she dropped the knife and gun she was holding. And fell to her knees, hugging herself.

“I’m free!” she wept. “I’m-”

“what’s the matter buddy? finally getting sick of this?” Frisk felt the air around her freeze as her heart fell into her stomach. Standing just a few feet from her was sans, his eyes glowing red and purple with his hands in his pockets.

“Sans?” Frisk uttered with a mixture of fear and genuine joy. “I’m sorry.” she said as she raised both of her hands. “I can explain-”

“trying to trick me again huh?” sans chuckled. “sorry kiddo but you're going to have to try a little harder than that.” with a flick of his finger several bones surrounded Frisk as four gaster blasters quickly materialized around her.

Frisk braced herself for yet another brutal painful end as a blue aura surrounded the blasters before they were quickly slammed into the ground with such force the magic used in their creation dissipated into miniature dust clouds before vanishing from existence.

*click* Clover walked in from the other end of the hall. His soul almost completely blackened as he leveled his gun at sans.

“wait what?” sans uttered in disbelief as he took a step back. “another human? Where did you-”

“DON’T SHOOT HIM!” Frisk begged as the magic within her soul began to glow. With a single burst of magical energy she shattered the bone barrier surrounding her as she quickly ran between sans and Clover.

“Please. Don’t shoot.” she begged as Clover tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“He wants to kill everyone on the surface.” Clover hissed. “He’s deserves it.”

“That’s only because Chara was making him crazy.” Frisk said as she slowly approached Clover. “But thanks to you I managed to free myself from them. With Chara gone I can RESET and fix everything. Please, Sans doesn’t want to hurt anyone. This all happened because of me.” she shamefully admitted as Clover turned his gaze towards the skeleton, his bewilderment and confusion clear as day as Frisk outstretched her hand.

“Can we just talk this out? Please.” Clover stared at the hand outstretched to him. It was covered in dust and scarred in the center yet he didn’t feel like they were lying. But then again, he didn’t suspect getting stabbed by them earlier either.

“...” Clover lowered his weapon but refused her hand.

“Right. Sorry about that.” Frisk apologized as she took a deep breath as she turned towards sans. “I’m really sorry sans. I… was dumb and gave Chara control over my body. I thought I’d be helping Toriel and Asgore by letting them talk but it was just a trick. I’m sorry.” The lights in sans eyes went completely dark as he turned away for a moment, seemingly listening to something or someone before turning back to Frisk.

“ok so let us get this straight. you gave someone control over your body. that person being the first human who fell down here. and ever since then they’ve been the one using you to erase the timeline over and over.” Frisk shamefully nodded.

“... that’s not the face of a liar lying paps.” sans said to something beside him that Frisk and Clover couldn’t see. “... nah there's no need for that now. if they're really gone a reset will turn everything back to normal. though I'll admit, it'll be pretty bonely by myself.” Frisk chuckled as Clover simply shook his head.

“welp then I guess we’ll just have to call the hambulence then. make sure you-”

“Who are you talking to?” Clover asked in annoyance.

“my brother papyrus.” sans gestured to the empty space beside him. “what's up with the weird faces?”

“Nothing! Hi Papyrus.” Frisk said as she stood beside Clover and quickly told him not to press the issue. Before this point Chara was torturing Papyrus and sans was forced to finish him off to end his suffering. Since then he’s been talking to “Papyrus”.

“Anyway, let's bring everyone back.” Frisk said as they tried to bring up the RESET button. Only for it to not appear. Confused, she tried again. And again and again. “Why isn’t it working? A-and… where’s my SAVE file!?” It was then Frisk noticed her soul was faded. Half of it was a dim shade of red while the rest was its usual color.

“The only way you can SAVE and RESET is by having the most determination.” an all too familiar voice approached them from the far end of the room. Chara strolled towards them in a slow casual manner with their hands behind their back. They appeared not as a spirit but in flesh and restored to the way they looked before death.

“What?!” Frisk gasped. “How-how are you-”

“HATE.” Chara giggled as much of their skin turned pitch black before returning to its usual complexion. “When you forced me out I realized that the HATE from his attacks was giving you power. So, I took it for myself as well as some of the power within your soul.” Chara’s eyes turned pitch black as Clover drew his weapon along with Frisk as san’s eyes quickly began glowing purple and red again.

“Now then. LET’S HAVE SOME FUN!! I wanna see what this power can really do! =)”

Chapter Text

(A long, long time ago/Monster’s Capital of New Home)

Once there was a time Gaster whole-heartedly believed nothing was beyond his ability to comprehend. After all, any problem can be solved with enough dedication, hard work, and study. But this situation was the first to truly leave him baffled beyond words.

Asgore and Toriel had adopted a human child named Chara. They had been found by prince Asriel when they had fallen into the underground and were now part of the royal family. Not only this, the entire underground went along with this decision. Welcoming the human as though they were truly a part of the royal family.

The absurdity. The sheer insanity of this situation made his skull spin. Had they forgotten it was humans that had attacked them? Had locked them down here and slaughtered so many in the war? It still haunted him to this very day. Being a boss monster, he didn't age like all the others. He remembered the surface, remembered the sight of the stars in the sky, the gentle breeze of the wind. The… warmth of the new day sun.

There were nights after the war and even now where he couldn’t sleep. His mind was trapped reliving the brutal recollections of the human’s surprise attack. The cries of other monster’s, the clashing of blades and the thunderous roar of magical energy firing off. And the dust. The sheer magnitude of the dust storms the human’s violence had created blotted out the sun.

There was no mercy for them. No compassion or honor in battle. It was not a war, it was a slaughter he was powerless to prevent.

After the war and being sealed underground the days turned to weeks, to months, to years, to decades and so on. Slowly overtime as he tried understanding why it all had happened a strange form of understanding had taken hold of him. Life was cruel and the world was uncaring towards their survival. The monster’s were too weak. He was too weak to stand on his own. The humans saw a threat to themselves and eliminated it. As is the nature of all life to destroy threats to its own survival.

To survive in this world you need power. But monster’s simply weren’t nearly as strong as humans. This even applied to himself as like everyone else, he couldn’t even kill one human warrior. He needed to adapt, to change into something far, far stronger.

That was his true goal. With the CORE completed he now had access to a nearly limitless magical energy source and had all the funds and resources Asgore would alot him. While he’d still be forced to solve some meaningless petty problems others were to stupid to figure out on occasion he almost never left his lab. Not with thoughts of the surface filling his mind both in his waking hours and rest as well as his desire for revenge.

What made human souls so much more powerful than monster’s? What property did humanity evolve with that monsters lacked? So many questions filled his mind and here, looking upon this blatant betrayal against all of monster kind he finally found a way to answer his many questions.

A human child with a unique red soul was now under the care of the royal family. Getting access to them would be child’s play given his position and his long history with Asgore and Toriel. He would study them from afar, getting to understand them as much as possible without drawing attention to himself before making his move.

Some would consider what he is doing a betrayal. But Asgore and Toriel had placed their desires before the needs of their people. Meanwhile he had been working since the day they were sealed down here to make the underground livable, comfortable and bring advancement to their whole species. They may rule, but HE built everything from the CORE to the most mundane of innovations and inventions to improve the lives of his kind.

He was the only one who could free their kind now. And Gaster would not let anything stand in the way of that.

(Present Day/Last Corridor with Clover, Frisk, Dusttale Sans and Chara)

The earth buckled and shook with the roar of gunshots and magical energy firing off as what remained of the empty monster capital was utterly annihilated. Clover, Frisk and Sans held their ground against Chara’s onslaught. Throughout the battlefield were large bottomless holes that seeped into an abyss created by their powers clashing and destroying until nothing remained.

Chara moved with unnatural superhuman speed and agility. Closing the gap between them and their target of choice in less than a blink before slashing away at them with their blade. Their weapon was coated with a thick layer of black and red magical energy. Annihilating anything it touched as the three of them could only avoid their attacks.

Sans used blue soul magic to pin them, toss them back and hold them at bay. But these attempts were futile and only lasted mere seconds before they broke free and were on them again. He kept his distance. Using his gaster blasters and manifesting bones to pin them down or block their attacks.

Clover was having similar difficulty. Thanks to Chara’s greatly enhanced speed not a single shot he fired would find its mark. He swapped to his ice ammo, hoping to slow them down with ice magic as Frisk and Chara locked their blades together.

Having her soul magic and determination drained made the battle all the more exhausting for the girl. Though they were roughly similar to Chara in terms of speed, the drain on them was becoming too much to bear. As Frisk pushed back against Chara’s attack her soul’s glow began to grow dimmer and dimmer as Clover’s ice shot struck Chara in their right leg.

Chara’s body shivered, and in that moment Frisk summoned up her strength to push them off. San’s acted quickly, impaling Chara in the chest with three long red bones. Pinning them into the ground as Frisk quickly noticed her soul’s red glow had gotten far, far dimmer.

“What’s happening?” She breathed deeply as Clover handed her a honey dew pancake. Though undamaged, the magical makeup of the food did help rejuvenate her slightly.

“Stay behind me.” Clover ordered as a dark aura began culminating around his soul. As he concentrated the HATE within himself Sans hurled more sharpened bones into Chara. Stabbing them in their hands and knees as Clover unleashed another massive beam of energy.

“Hehehe.” Chara chuckled as the concentrated HATE collided with their physical form. To Clover’s surprise there was no explosion, no further destruction of the corridor they were all in. Instead it seemed the energy from his attack was being absorbed into Chara’s body.

Chara’s body turned into a thick black liquid that puddled onto the ground beneath them before reforming back into their human form. With their head tilted to the side and a wide sadistic grin across their face they raced forward once again. Sans created a towering wall of sharpened bones to block their path. Chara quickly, effortlessly, shattered the barrier with a single slash.

Clover grabbed Frisk’s hand and used blue soul magic to take them both into the sky. Leaping onto a nearby high rising building as Chara began attacking Sans.

“W-What are we sup-supposed to do?” Frisk breathed heavily. “N-None of our attacks are working.They're too fast.” Clover’s gaze fell on Frisk’s soul. It was dim, clearly drained of its magical energy and she likewise seemed exhausted.

“I’ll handle this.” Clover stated. “Just stay safe.”

“What?!”

“You’re exhausted. If you keep fighting them they’ll kill you.” Clover snapped before he took a deep breath. It was… annoying having to explain himself. Besides, he had proven that he could handle himself by this point. His HATE would give him the strength he needed to win.

“No way!” Frisk crossed her arms. “I’m not letting you two fight them on your own. We need to work as a team. Not-”

“This is MY responsibility!” Clover snapped. “Defeating evil is why I was born. I won’t let anyone else die because of them. Not now, and and not-” they both turned their heads as sans teleported beside them.

“h-hey kiddos.” sans breathed heavily. “y-you. you t-two mind tagging in for a second?” No sooner had those words registered in their minds, Chara leaped onto the roof with them. Clover quickly fired at them, tackling them off the roof as the sidestepped his attack.

As they fell Clover grabbed ahold of Chara’s arms as a sudden spike of pain tore through his skull upon touching them. He felt his soul’s energy draining as Chara broke free of his grasp and grabbed his neck. Sinking their blade into his chest as Clover bashed his head into their skull.

Their bodies hit the ground with a thunderous boom. Chara’s body splattered into several black puddles that began recombining as Clover hit the ground with the sound of cracking bones as he slowly picked himself up. He felt his stab wound, noticing the thick black blood now contained within himself as a thought occurred to him.

If Chara could absorb his soul’s magic, couldn’t he absorb them and get stronger?

(Long time Ago/New Home/The Barrier)

“☠︎⚐︎ 💣︎✌︎❄︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ☟︎⚐︎🕈︎ 💣︎🕆︎👍︎☟︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎ 🏱︎✌︎💧︎💧︎☜︎💧︎📪︎ ✋︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎ 💧︎❄︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☞︎☜︎☜︎☹︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎🕆︎☠︎☹︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎ 💧︎✋︎👎︎☜︎📬︎ [NO MATTER HOW MUCH TIME PASSES, I CAN STILL FEEL THE SUNLIGHT FROM THE OTHER SIDE.]” Gaster said as he and Asgore both sipped their tea. There were so few monster’s who were alive from the days of the war. Meetings like this were welcome once upon a time by Gaster. Now, all he can feel is anger boiling from within his soul.

“As do I.” Asgore lamented. “I still have dreams about it. As does Toriel though thankfully it's not the nightmares you’ve been having.” a look of concern spread across his face as Gaster lightly placed his hand on the barrier before a sudden burst of magical energy pushed his hand back.

“❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✌︎ 🏱︎☼︎✋︎💧︎⚐︎☠︎📬︎ [THE UNDERGROUND IS A PRISON.]” Gaster continued. “☠︎⚐︎ 💣︎✌︎❄︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 🕈︎☜︎ 👎︎⚐︎📬︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✋︎ 👎︎⚐︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ☞︎✌︎👍︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☠︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎📬︎ 🕈︎☜︎ 👎︎☜︎💧︎☜︎☼︎✞︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎❄︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎✏︎ [NO MATTER WHAT WE DO. WHAT I DO. THAT FACT WILL NEVER CHANGE. WE DESERVE BETTER THAN THIS!]” The skeleton slammed his hand into the barrier once again as another magical burst repelled him back.

“It's not all that bad, Gaster.” Asgore said. “We have homes, food, and thanks to you we have the CORE. We may be trapped but our situation is not the worst it could be.” Gaster’s eye twitched. Contentment, acceptance. These were the things poisoning monsterkind at this moment. How could anyone accept this, accept they were helpless and do nothing when the solution was right in front of them?

“❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 👎︎⚐︎☜︎💧︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ☟︎✌︎🏱︎🏱︎☜︎☠︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ [THAT DOESN’T CHANGE WHAT HAPPENED.]” Gaster remarked. “🕈︎☜︎ 🕈︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ 👌︎⚐︎☼︎☠︎ ⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎🕆︎☼︎☞︎✌︎👍︎☜︎📬︎ 🕈︎☜︎ 👌︎⚐︎❄︎☟︎ ☼︎☜︎💣︎☜︎💣︎👌︎☜︎☼︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✋︎❄︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ☹︎✋︎😐︎☜︎📬︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎⑤︎ ☟︎⚐︎🕈︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ❄︎✌︎😐︎☜︎☠︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 🕆︎💧︎📬︎ [WE WERE BORN ON THE SURFACE. WE BOTH REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE. AND… HOW THAT WAS TAKEN FROM ALL OF US.]”

“Focusing on everything we’ve lost will only blind us to what we have now.” Asgore said as he sipped his tea. “When we were imprisoned we had nothing. But now thanks to you and so many others we’ve created a kingdom, a safe home for all our kind. I understand your anger, Gaster, I’m not free of it myself.” the king of all monsterkind admitted as he gazed towards the other end of the barrier.

“I’ve thought of taking revenge in the past. Striking fear into them. Making them… understand what they did to all of us.” Asgore admitted. “But… the human’s who have done this to us are surely all gone by now. It’s wrong to inflict pain on those who did nothing.” Gaster shook his head dismissively.

“✋︎ 👎︎⚐︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ ☠︎☜︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎ ☹︎☜︎👍︎❄︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎ ⚐︎☠︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎✌︎☹︎✋︎❄︎✡︎📬︎ ✋︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ✋︎💧︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎ ✌︎ 💧︎⚐︎👍︎✋︎✌︎☹︎ 👍︎✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✋︎❼︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☜︎ ☝︎⚐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎📬︎ ✋︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ ☝︎⚐︎❄︎ ✌︎ ☹︎⚐︎❄︎ ⚐︎☞︎📫︎ [I DON’T NEED A LECTURE ON MORALITY. IF THIS IS JUST A SOCIAL CALL I’LL BE GOING NOW. I’VE GOT A LOT OF-]”

“I know you don’t approve of the human.” Asgore said as Gaster’s face quickly became one of surprise.

“I know moving on and letting go is hard. It took all of us a long time to do that. And remember how you were when we were first sealed away. So focused, always working to improve things for all of us that you’d even forget to eat. You always do so much for all of us without hesitation that I’ve never really given you a proper thanks.”

“❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎🕯︎💧︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ☠︎☜︎👍︎☜︎💧︎💧︎✌︎☼︎✡︎📬︎ [THAT'S NOT NECESSARY.]”

“Yes it is.” Asgore warmly smiled as he lightly placed his large fluffy paw on Gaster’s left shoulder. “I’ve always considered you as a brother Gaster. You’re a part of my family just as much as Toriel, Asriel and Chara are. Which is how I know the decision to take in Chara was one you… disapproved of.”

“👍︎✌︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👌︎☹︎✌︎💣︎☜︎ 💣︎☜︎✍︎✏︎ [CAN YOU BLAME ME?!] Gaster shoved Asgore's paw off of him. “❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ ❄︎⚐︎⚐︎😐︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ 🕆︎💧︎✏︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ ❄︎⚐︎⚐︎😐︎ 💣︎✡︎ 🏱︎✌︎☼︎☜︎☠︎❄︎❼︎💧︎📪︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ☞︎✌︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎📪︎ ❄︎⚐︎☼︎✋︎☜︎☹︎🕯︎💧︎ 💧︎✋︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 💧︎☹︎✌︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ 🕆︎💧︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎⚐︎🕆︎❄︎ 💣︎☜︎☼︎👍︎✡︎📬︎ 👎︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎ ☼︎☜︎💣︎☜︎💣︎👌︎☜︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👎︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎ 👍︎☹︎⚐︎🕆︎👎︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎⑤︎ ✌︎☠︎✋︎💣︎✌︎☹︎💧︎ ☹︎☜︎☞︎❄︎ 👌︎☜︎☟︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ ✌︎❄︎❄︎✌︎👍︎😐︎💧︎✍︎ ✋︎ 👎︎⚐︎📬︎ ✋︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ ☠︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎📬︎ 🕈︎☜︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 😐︎☜︎✡︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☞︎☼︎☜︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☝︎☜︎❄︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☼︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎☝︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎✌︎😐︎☜︎☠︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ 🕆︎💧︎ ✋︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ☟︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎✏︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎⑤︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎⑤︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎☝︎☜︎❄︎ ✌︎👌︎⚐︎🕆︎❄︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 🏱︎☼︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎❄︎ ☠︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ ☟︎✌︎🏱︎🏱︎☜︎☠︎☜︎👎︎✍︎ [THEY TOOK EVERYTHING FROM US! THEY TOOK MY PARENT’S, YOUR FATHER, TORIEL'S SISTER AND SLAUGHTERED US WITHOUT MERCY. DO YOU EVEN REMEMBER THE DUST CLOUDS THOSE… ANIMALS LEFT BEHIND IN THEIR ATTACKS? I DO. I SEE THEM EVERY NIGHT. WE HAVE THE KEY TO FREEING OUR KIND AND GETTING REVENGE FOR EVERYTHING THEY’VE TAKEN FROM US IN YOUR HOME! AND YOU JUST… JUST… FORGET ABOUT ALL OF THAT AND PRETEND IT NEVER HAPPENED?]”

“No of course not-”

“❄︎☟︎☜︎☠︎ 🕈︎☟︎✡︎ ✋︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ 💧︎❄︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎✍︎✏︎ 🕈︎☟︎✡︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ 🕈︎☜︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ 💧︎❄︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎☼︎✌︎🏱︎🏱︎☜︎👎︎✍︎ [THEN WHY IS THAT HUMAN STILL HERE?! WHY ARE WE ALL STILL TRAPPED?]” Gaster yelled with such anger that it caused Asgore to step back before he quickly looked down on the skeleton with renewed firmness.

“They had nothing to do with the war Gaster.” Asgore reminded him. “They’re a child. They are not the warriors who took your parents. Chara’s a kind caring soul full of hope. My anger, and yours, should be reserved for the ones who took everything from us. Not a child who played no part in any of it.” Silence filled the empty room for a long moment. Both monster’s waiting for the other to speak as Gaster finished his tea.

“✋︎📬︎📬︎📬︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎☟︎✌︎🏱︎💧︎⑤︎ 🏱︎☜︎☼︎☟︎✌︎🏱︎💧︎ ✋︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎⑤︎ 👌︎☹︎✋︎☠︎👎︎☜︎👎︎ 👌︎✡︎ 💣︎✡︎ ✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ [I...PERHAPS… PERHAPS I HAVE BEEN… BLINDED BY MY ANGER.]” Gaster faked a sigh. “✋︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ 💧︎❄︎⚐︎🏱︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎📬︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎ ✋︎ 👍︎☹︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎ 💣︎✡︎ ☜︎✡︎☜︎💧︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✋︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎📬︎ ✋︎⑤︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎⚐︎ 🕈︎☜︎✌︎😐︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎❄︎☜︎👍︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎📬︎ ✋︎⑤︎ ✋︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ 👎︎☼︎☜︎✌︎💣︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ☼︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎☝︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☞︎☼︎☜︎☜︎👎︎⚐︎💣︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ 💧︎⚐︎ ☹︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎ ✋︎❄︎🕯︎💧︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✋︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎😐︎ ✌︎👌︎⚐︎🕆︎❄︎📬︎ ✋︎⑤︎ ✋︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ ☹︎⚐︎💧︎❄︎ 💣︎✡︎ ⚐︎👌︎☺︎☜︎👍︎❄︎✋︎✞︎✋︎❄︎✡︎📬︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎❼︎☼︎☜︎ ☼︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎📬︎ ✋︎ 💧︎☟︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎ 💧︎🕆︎👍︎☟︎ ☜︎💣︎⚐︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👌︎☹︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ 💣︎☜︎📬︎ ✋︎❼︎💣︎ 💧︎⚐︎☼︎☼︎✡︎📬︎ [I CAN’T STOP SEEING THEM. EVERYTIME I CLOSE MY EYES ALL I CAN SEE IS THEM. I… I WAS TOO WEAK TO PROTECT THEM. I… I’VE BEEN DREAMING OF REVENGE AND FREEDOM FOR SO LONG IT'S ALL I EVER THINK ABOUT. I… I’VE LOST MY OBJECTIVITY. YOU’RE RIGHT. I SHOULDN’T ALLOW SUCH EMOTIONS TO BLIND ME. I’M SORRY.]”

“It’s quite alright. I know how difficult all of this has been for you. We’re here for you Gaster. You needn't face all of this on your own.” The pieces all came together at that moment. Gaster smiled warmly as he poured himself some more tea.

“✋︎☞︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✌︎☹︎☼︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📪︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎ ☹︎✋︎😐︎☜︎ ☺︎⚐︎✋︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✈︎🕆︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎ 👎︎✋︎☠︎☠︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ ✋︎❄︎🕯︎💧︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎📪︎ ✌︎☹︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎📬︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎✞︎☜︎☼︎💧︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ✌︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ ✋︎☠︎ ✌︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ 👍︎✋︎✞︎✋︎☹︎✋︎☪︎☜︎👎︎ 💣︎✌︎☠︎☠︎☜︎☼︎ 💣︎✌︎✡︎ ☟︎☜︎☹︎🏱︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ 💣︎✡︎⑤︎ 🏱︎☼︎☜︎👍︎⚐︎☠︎👍︎☜︎🏱︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎📬︎ [IF IT IS ALRIGHT WITH YOU, I WOULD LIKE JOIN YOU AND THE QUEEN FOR A DINNER. IT'S BEEN, ALONG TIME. CONVERSING WITH A HUMAN IN A MORE CIVILIZED MANNER MAY HELP WITH MY… PRECONCEPTIONS.]”

“Of course.” Asgore smiled. “I’ll let Toriel know you’ll be joining us for the evening.”

(BACK TO THE PRESENT)

“I can smell your determination =).” Chara was on top of Clover. Their blade hovering a mere centimeter from his neck as Clover mustered all of his strength to hold them back.

“I sense your HATE. Your Justice, Kindness, Integrity and-” Clover used kindness magic to create a barrier around Chara’s hands and twisted their grip to rip the blade from their grasp before kicking them off. Rolling to his left he quickly retrieved his gun as Chara quickly slashed through his chest.

The attack tore a small gaping hole all the way through to his torso and out through his spine. In shock and pain Clover fell onto his back. Thick black blood began pouring out of his exposed wound before it began pooling across the ground and towards Chara.

“Yess!” Chara hissed as the black substance began seeping into them. “The power. THE POWER!” Raising their feet high, Chara slammed their shoe into Clover’s open chest. Clover fired his gun, but as before the attack did nothing except drain him even faster. He began punching at their leg. His anger only growing as he grabbed their leg and…

The pain faded in an instant. Instead he felt warm, strong, powerful. It was bliss as Clover felt the warmth from Chara’s corrupted form seeping into him. His wound was sealing, pushing Chara’s foot out of him as for the first time ever. The demon screamed in pain.

Sans and Frisk acted quickly. Combing their attacks to send Chara flying off into the distance with a singular barrage of red bones and red soul magic.

Frisk raced to Clover’s side. Grabbing his hand to help him up as he tightly gripped her wrist.

“MOREEE.” Clover hissed as his eyes began dripping black liquid HATE. Frisk felt her power being drained again. She thrashed and struggled against his grip before san’s used blue magic to toss Clover away from her.

“Ha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Clover laughed as a bright crimson red orb glowed in the midst of his empty black void of a right eye. He held out his hand. And SAVED.

FILE SAVED: CLOVER - LV 30 HP 140/140

“What?” Frisk gasped as now her soul was barely even glowing. Clover looked over at the pair, his two black voids for eyes seemingly growing larger as he stepped towards Frisk. Sans quickly enveloped the young cowboy with several blue bones as he halted his advance.

“What are you doing?!” Frisk fearfully shouted. “You said you came here to help us.” A flicker of yellow and red glowed from Clover’s empty void eyes as his gaze was locked onto Frisk’s fearful expression.

“I…” Clover had no words. What was he doing?! Why was he draining their power their…and why was he on about vengeance and-

“Justice isn’t enough.” The HATE inside of his body, mind and soul spoke for him. “I NEED POWER.”

“But not like this.” Clover said as he concentrated on his soul. He focused on purging his HATE, releasing his anger and fears and… he could not. HATE is what he was. HATE is what made him strong enough for this challenge. HATE is what he needs to free Zaley and the other’s, return home and save this timeline.

Noticing his inner struggle Frisk connected her mind to his with what little power she had left. The two stood in front of the other, in a small cramped apartment with a TV playing static on. Leaving sans alone to deal with Chara.

“uh kiddo.” a dark purple glow emanated from san’s eye as Chara approached them. They playfully ran their finger along their blade. Tilting their head ever so slightly as sans stood between them, Clover, and Frisk.

‘great. kiddo’s not gonna be much help right now are they?’ sans sighed as he used blue magic to toss Frisk and Clover away from them and onto a nearby rooftop.

“WHY ARE YOU DEFENDING THEM?” Papyrus asked as the floating skull with the red scarf appeared beside him. “THINK ABOUT IT BROTHER. THEIR DEFENSELESS. IT’D BE SO EASY TO TAKE THEIR SOULS. WITH THOSE TWO YOU’LL EASILY CRUSH CHARA AND THE TIMELINE WOULD BE YOURS.” sans paused at this. He was going to die unless he got help from those two and even then they were barely doing anything to Chara. Taking their souls would give him power, and he could finally fix everything without needing to sign his fate away to someone else.

“...”

“DO YOU REALLY WANT TO GO BACK TO HOW THINGS WERE BEFORE? LIVING KNOWING THAT NOTHING YOU DO OR SAY MATTERS WHEN THAT HUMAN JUST RESETS TIME? YOU DESERVE BETTER THAN THAT BROTHER. WE ALL DO.” Papyrus whispered in his ear.

“heh.” sans chuckled.

“TAKE THEIR POWER. FREE US ALL. MAKE THINGS RIGHT FOR ALL OF US.”

“... do you remember the first time we saw the surface papyrus?” sans asked. “the sun was so warm, the wind was gentle, we got a new house and everyone was happy. kid’s no saint, but they aren't evil. and they’re certainly nothing like this demon.” the expression on Chara’s face was one of boredom, but then it turned into a sadistic smile.

“Is that “Papyrus” you're talking to?” Chara chuckled as their eyes began glowing red. “You killed him, remember?” In that instant san’s watched Chara’s memory of him killing Papyrus and they forcefully connected with his mind. His mind seized up as he quickly took several steps back. Shaking his head as he began muttering to himself.

“nononononononononono.” it wasn’t true. Papyrus was right next to him. He saved him from Chara and he was hiding in True Lab with…

“...” his memories were wrong. His mind had truly left him and had created lies just to prevent his own insanity. sans chuckled at the realization. The insanity of it all.

“paps. he’s gone.” sans said as now it seemed Papyrus wasn’t next to him anymore. “you…” sans eyes went black. “you made me kill him. you made me do all of this. and your reason was so you could destroy everything and do this to other timelines. hahahaha.” sans flicked his finger as several gaster blasters manifested around Chara.

“=)”

“alright then. i hope you're ready for a MAD TIME!”

(NEW HOME/ASGORE AND TORIEL’S HOME)

“✋︎ ✌︎🏱︎⚐︎☹︎⚐︎☝︎✋︎☪︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ 💣︎✡︎ 🕆︎☠︎☜︎✠︎🏱︎☜︎👍︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎☼︎☼︎✋︎✞︎✌︎☹︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💣︎✌︎☺︎☜︎💧︎❄︎✡︎📬︎ ✋︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎😐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👌︎⚐︎❄︎☟︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎👎︎☠︎☜︎💧︎💧︎📬︎ ✋︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✋︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ 👎︎✋︎☞︎☞︎✋︎👍︎🕆︎☹︎❄︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎✌︎💧︎❄︎ 💧︎⚐︎⑤︎ ✋︎ ☟︎⚐︎🏱︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☹︎✋︎😐︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎📬︎ [I APOLOGIZE FOR MY UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL YOUR MAJESTY. I’VE BEEN WANTING TO THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR KINDNESS. I KNOW I’VE BEEN DIFFICULT IN THE PAST SO… I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS.]” In Gaster’s hands was a large cinnamon butterscotch pie. Toriel welcomed him into her home as she took the pie in her hands.

“Oh, thank you Gaster. You didn’t need to go out of your way like this.” the queen of all monsters warmly smiled. “Simply seeing you well is all the thanks we need. I’m sure Ariel and Chara will love this. Though,” her look shifted into one of annoyance for a brief moment. “I will need to hide the pie I’m making. Chara has a habit of eating it when-.” No sooner than those words past her lips the pie's sweet aroma filled the air as the echo of a door quickly opening filled the air along with the clatter of rushing footsteps.

“Chara slow down!” Asriel said as the prince and the fallen human raced into the room with Gaster and Toriel. Both of them had their attention fixated on the pie, but only for a moment as they both then took notice of Gaster.

While Asriel greeted him warmly as a family friend Chara on the other hand didn’t say a word. He’d been observing them for some time, they weren’t shy nor incapable of speech. From what he had gathered they had a very rough life amongst the humans, hence why they didn’t want to return to the surface. But more importantly for his plans, Chara had clearly developed some survival instincts.

While Asgore and Toriel would tell him that they were simply shy he knew that wasn’t the case. He knew that look in their crimson colored eyes. The guarded, silent mistrust. The tension of their muscles. They knew he was a threat and as such were much more perceptive than the others.

“✌︎ 🏱︎☹︎☜︎✌︎💧︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☝︎✌︎✋︎☠︎ 🏱︎☼︎✋︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ✌︎💧︎☼︎✋︎☜︎☹︎📬︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎💧︎ 🕈︎☜︎☹︎☹︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎📬︎ [A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU AGAIN PRINCE ASRIEL. AND YOU AS WELL HUMAN.]” Gaster said with a small bow. “✋︎ 👎︎☜︎👍︎✋︎👎︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☼︎✡︎ 👌︎✌︎😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✌︎💧︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎ 💣︎✌︎☺︎☜︎💧︎❄︎✡︎ 💧︎🕆︎☝︎☝︎☜︎💧︎❄︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ ✋︎ ☟︎⚐︎🏱︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👌︎⚐︎❄︎☟︎ ☜︎☠︎☺︎⚐︎✡︎ ✋︎❄︎📬︎ [I DECIDED TO TRY BAKING AS HER MAJESTY SUGGESTED. I HOPE YOU BOTH ENJOY IT.]” As Asriel thanked him for the pie, Chara remained completely silent.

“Is something the matter Chara?” Toriel asked. “Normally you’d be overjoyed by having pie.”

“It’s… um.” The human rubbed the back of their head as Gaster spoke up for them.

“✋︎❄︎💧︎ ☹︎✋︎😐︎☜︎☹︎✡︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ 💧︎✋︎💣︎🏱︎☹︎✡︎ 👎︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☹︎⚐︎🏱︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎ ❄︎✌︎💧︎❄︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 👍︎⚐︎⚐︎😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎ [ITS LIKELY THEY’VE SIMPLY DEVELOPED A TASTE FOR YOUR COOKING.]” Gaster suggested. “💣︎✡︎ 💧︎🕆︎👌︎🏱︎✌︎☼︎ 👍︎🕆︎☹︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☼︎✡︎ 💧︎😐︎✋︎☹︎☹︎💧︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💧︎❄︎✌︎☠︎👎︎✌︎☼︎👎︎💧︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎✌︎☹︎☹︎📬︎ [MY SUBPAR CULINARY SKILLS ARE NOT TO YOUR STANDARDS AFTERALL.]” The Royal Scientist said as he gave the human a humble bow.

“✋︎ ✌︎🏱︎⚐︎☹︎⚐︎☝︎✋︎☪︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎📬︎ 💣︎✡︎ 👌︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☝︎✋︎✞︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎ ☝︎✋︎☞︎❄︎📪︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ 👌︎☼︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👎︎✋︎💧︎👍︎⚐︎💣︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎❄︎📬︎ ✋︎❼︎☹︎☹︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎ 💣︎✡︎💧︎☜︎☹︎☞︎ ⚐︎🕆︎❄︎📬︎ [I APOLOGIZE HUMAN. MY BEING HERE WAS TO GIVE YOU ALL A GIFT, NOT BRING YOU DISCOMFORT. I’LL SEE MYSELF OUT.]” Relief spread across Chara’s face as Gaster turned to leave but that quickly died as Toriel spoke up.

“Gaster, wait.” Toriel said as Gaster barely suppressed a grin. “Chara is simply being shy. I’m sure we’d all be glad to have you with us tonight.” Gaster turned and gave Toriel a dignified bow as what could only be described as absolute dread filled Chara’s crimson eyes.

“✋︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 🕈︎✋︎💧︎☟︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💣︎✌︎☺︎☜︎💧︎❄︎✡︎📬︎ ✋︎❼︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎ ☟︎⚐︎☠︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ [IF THAT IS YOUR WISH YOUR MAJESTY. I’D BE HONORED.]” Toriel finished making dinner for the Dreemur family within only thirty minutes as Asgore arrived at their home. Joyful to see Gaster joining them without the need to ask nor insist the two embraced as they began conversing over Toriel’s magical meal.

“✋︎❼︎💣︎ ☜︎💣︎👌︎✌︎☼︎☼︎✌︎💧︎💧︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎👍︎☜︎👎︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎⚐︎😐︎ 💧︎⚐︎ ☹︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☞︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎✋︎☪︎☜︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎ ✋︎☠︎☺︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎💧︎ 💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎❼︎💧︎ 💧︎🕆︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎✋︎☠︎☜︎💧︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ✌︎ ☞︎✌︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ☼︎☜︎👍︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ ☼︎✌︎❄︎☜︎📬︎ ✌︎👎︎👎︎✋︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎✌︎☹︎☹︎✡︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎👍︎☜︎👎︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ 👎︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☹︎⚐︎🏱︎☜︎👎︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎🏱︎☹︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☹︎✡︎ ☼︎☜︎☺︎🕆︎✞︎☜︎☠︎✌︎❄︎☜︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎❼︎💧︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ ✌︎☹︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ 💣︎✋︎☠︎✋︎💣︎✋︎☪︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☜︎☠︎☜︎☼︎☝︎✡︎ ☜︎✠︎🏱︎☜︎☠︎👎︎✋︎❄︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎☜︎✌︎☹︎☜︎☼︎ ✋︎☠︎ ✈︎🕆︎☜︎💧︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎📬︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ❄︎☼︎✌︎✋︎☠︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✋︎☠︎ ☟︎☜︎✌︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☟︎☜︎✌︎☹︎ ✌︎ ☹︎✌︎☼︎☝︎☜︎☼︎ ✈︎🕆︎✌︎☠︎❄︎✋︎❄︎✡︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎ 💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎❼︎💧︎ ✋︎☠︎☺︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ 👌︎✌︎👍︎😐︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ ☞︎🕆︎☹︎☹︎ ☟︎☜︎✌︎☹︎❄︎☟︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎⚐︎🕆︎❄︎ 💧︎✌︎👍︎☼︎✋︎☞︎✋︎👍︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✈︎🕆︎✌︎☹︎✋︎❄︎✡︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎🏱︎☜︎☹︎☹︎📬︎ [I’M EMBARRASSED THAT THE PROCEDURE TOOK SO LONG TO FINALIZE BUT NOW ANY INJURES MONSTER’S SUFFER IN THE MINES WILL HAVE A FASTER RECOVERY RATE. ADDITIONALLY THE PROCEDURE I’VE DEVELOPED COMPLETELY REJUVENATES THE MAGIC IN THE MONSTER’S SOUL ALONG WITH MINIMIZING THE ENERGY EXPENDITURE OF THE HEALER IN QUESTION. ALLOWING FOR ANYONE WITH TRAINING IN HEALING MAGIC TO HEAL A LARGER QUANTITY OF ANY MONSTER’S INJURED BACK TO THEIR FULL HEALTH WITHOUT SACRIFICING THE QUALITY OF THE SPELL.]” The procedure was no simple thing to create and was more of a result of his investigations and experimentation into the deeper nature and makeup of souls. But such a finding and development for Gaster served to highlight his intellectual superiority over the rest of his kind.

“That’s fantastic news, Gaster.” Asgore praised him. “I’m sure this latest finding of yours will go towards saving many lives.”

“Am I going to be able to do that when I’m older?” Asriel asked.

“✋︎☞︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎😐︎ ☟︎✌︎☼︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☹︎☜︎✌︎☼︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎☜︎✌︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✌︎☼︎❄︎💧︎ ✋︎❼︎💣︎ 💧︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎❼︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☝︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☜︎💧︎❄︎ ☟︎☜︎✌︎☹︎☜︎☼︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎👎︎ 💣︎✡︎ 🏱︎☼︎✋︎☠︎👍︎☜︎📬︎ [IF YOU WORK HARD TO LEARN THE HEALING ARTS I’M SURE YOU’LL BE THE GREATEST HEALER IN THE UNDERGROUND MY PRINCE.]” Stars filled the young child’s eyes as the conversation continued. Gaster was patient, waiting for a pause between Asgore and Toriel’s conversation before he spoke to the human.

“[👍︎☟︎✌︎☼︎✌︎📪︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✌︎☹︎☼︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎ ✋︎☞︎ ✋︎ ✌︎💧︎😐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎ ✈︎🕆︎☜︎💧︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎📬︎CHARA, IS IT ALRIGHT IF I ASK YOU A QUESTION.]” the table became silent as Chara shrunk in their chair. Looking nervously at Toriel, then Asgore, and then Asriel before nodding to the royal scientist as he pulled out an old scroll of parchment paper that showed an illustration of what they assumed were stars in the sky.

“☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☹︎☹︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎✍︎ [HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS CONSTELLATION?]” Chara stared at the parchment for a long moment before shaking their head. “💧︎✋︎☝︎☟︎📪︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ✌︎☞︎☼︎✌︎✋︎👎︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎📬︎ 👌︎☜︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ 🕈︎☜︎ 👍︎✌︎💣︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎ ☜︎☠︎☺︎⚐︎✡︎☜︎👎︎ 💧︎❄︎🕆︎👎︎✡︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 💣︎✌︎🏱︎🏱︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎❄︎✌︎☼︎💧︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☹︎☹︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ✋︎💧︎ ☟︎⚐︎👎︎👎︎✌︎☼︎📬︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☼︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎ ☠︎☜︎✠︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☟︎✋︎💣︎ ⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☹︎☜︎☞︎❄︎ ✋︎💧︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ ✈︎🕆︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ 💣︎☜︎☹︎☹︎✌︎📬︎ [SIGH, I WAS AFRAID OF THAT. BEFORE WE CAME INTO THE UNDERGROUND I ENJOYED STUDYING AND MAPPING THE STARS. THAT CONSTELLATION IS HODDAR. AND RIGHT NEXT TO HIM ON THE LEFT IS HIS QUEEN MELLA.]”

“I think I’ve heard of them before.” Chara said. “They made everything right?”

“❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎❼︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎❄︎⚐︎☼︎✡︎ ✌︎❄︎ ☹︎☜︎✌︎💧︎❄︎📬︎ [THAT’S THE STORY AT LEAST.]” Gaster replied as placed the parchment back into its container. “✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☼︎🕆︎❄︎☟︎ ✋︎ ☠︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ 👍︎✌︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ 💧︎🕆︎👍︎☟︎ ☞︎✌︎👌︎☹︎☜︎💧︎📬︎ ✋︎☠︎ 💣︎✡︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎❄︎☟︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ☞︎✌︎☼︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☜︎💧︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎☹︎👎︎❼︎💧︎ ☠︎✌︎❄︎🕆︎☼︎✌︎☹︎ 👌︎☜︎✌︎🕆︎❄︎✡︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎ ✋︎❄︎💧︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎❄︎⚐︎☼︎✡︎📬︎ ✋︎☞︎ ✋︎ 💣︎✌︎✡︎ ✌︎💧︎😐︎📪︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 👎︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☜︎☠︎☺︎⚐︎✡︎ ✌︎👌︎⚐︎🕆︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎☹︎👎︎✍︎ [IN TRUTH I NEVER CARED FOR SUCH FABLES. IN MY YOUTH I WAS FAR MORE INTERESTED IN THE WORLD’S NATURAL BEAUTY THAN ITS HISTORY. IF I MAY ASK, WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT THIS WORLD?]”

“Umm.” Chara hesitated. Reading the human’s subtle responses was childsplay. They were weary of him, their eyes and their mind searching for any possible solution to escape this situation. Ultimately fear got the best of them and withheld any words that might’ve passed their lips.

It didn’t take much to fill the human’s heart with fear and paralyze them. And that was going to make things easier.

“Chara?” Asriel said with concern in his voice as Gaster spoke up.

“✋︎ ✌︎🏱︎⚐︎☹︎⚐︎☝︎✋︎☪︎☜︎📪︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☼︎✌︎📬︎ 💧︎🕆︎👍︎☟︎ ✌︎ ✈︎🕆︎☜︎💧︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ✋︎💧︎ ☼︎🕆︎👎︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✌︎💧︎😐︎📬︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎📪︎ 🕈︎☜︎ 👎︎⚐︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ☜︎✌︎👍︎☟︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ [I APOLOGIZE, CHARA. SUCH A QUESTION IS RUDE TO ASK. AFTER ALL, WE DO NOT KNOW EACH OTHER.]” with a flick of his finger a small metallic orb, no larger than the size of his palm appeared in his hand in a puff of light blue magic. Gasping it in his hand the orb glowed light blue as a small gathering of light materialized beside Chara, as a lookalike appeared before them.

“✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👎︎⚐︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ☠︎☜︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✌︎👍︎👍︎☜︎🏱︎❄︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✋︎☞︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👎︎⚐︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎📬︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ✋︎ 💣︎✌︎👎︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ 👌︎⚐︎❄︎☟︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 🏱︎☼︎✋︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ✌︎💧︎☼︎✋︎☜︎☹︎📬︎ ✌︎ 💧︎☜︎☹︎☞︎📫︎💧︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎✌︎✋︎☠︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✋︎☹︎☹︎🕆︎💧︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ⚐︎☼︎👌︎📬︎ 👌︎✡︎ 💧︎✋︎💣︎🏱︎☹︎✡︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎👍︎☜︎☠︎❄︎☼︎✌︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ⚐︎☠︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✌︎🏱︎🏱︎☜︎✌︎☼︎ ✋︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💣︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✋︎💣︎✌︎☝︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎ 💣︎✌︎☠︎✋︎☞︎☜︎💧︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎🏱︎☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎💧︎ ☼︎✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎📬︎ [YOU DO NOT NEED TO ACCEPT IT IF YOU DON’T WANT TO. BUT I MADE THIS FOR BOTH YOU AND PRINCE ASRIEL. A SELF-SUSTAINING ILLUSION ORB. BY SIMPLY CONCENTRATING ON WHAT YOU WANT TO APPEAR IN YOUR MIND THE IMAGE IS MANIFESTED WITHIN THE SPHERES RANGE.]” The illusion of Chara waved their hand and smiled warmly at the real one who responded with notable interest as they touched the illusion. Only for their hand to phase through it.

“✋︎☹︎☹︎🕆︎💧︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☼︎✌︎👍︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ 🏱︎☟︎✡︎💧︎✋︎👍︎✌︎☹︎ ⚐︎👌︎☺︎☜︎👍︎❄︎💧︎📬︎ [ILLUSIONS CANNOT INTERACT WITH PHYSICAL OBJECTS.]” Gaster explained. “💧︎❄︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ✋︎ 👌︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☜︎✞︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 🏱︎☼︎✋︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎⚐︎❄︎☟︎ ☜︎☠︎☺︎⚐︎✡︎ ✋︎❄︎📬︎ [STILL I BELIEVE YOU AND PRINCE WILL BOTH ENJOY IT.]” He tossed the sphere into Asriel’s hands who immediately created an illusion of himself.

“Hey mom, there’s another me.” The illusion then turned into a perfect copy of Toriel as the queen of all monster’s laughed.

“Oh my I’ve never seen an illusion so accurate.” Toriel remarked as Gaster stood from his chair.

“✋︎ 💧︎☟︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎ ☝︎⚐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎😐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☞︎🕆︎☹︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎ [I SHOULD BE GOING. THANK YOU ALL FOR A WONDERFUL EVENING.]”

“Thank you for joining us, Gaster.” Asgore said as he gave the skeleton a big hug. “And do take care. Our doors are always open to you.”

“Asriel, Chara.” Toriel spoke up. “I believe you both have something to say.”

“Thank you.” Asriel said along with Chara who was far less enthusiastic than their monster sibling.

(Back with Dusttale Sans and Chara)

“So predictable.” Chara mocked as they slashed through the storm of magical red bones sans sent flying their way. With unparalleled speed and grace Chara slashed, jumped and ducked under san’s attacks as the skeleton could only just barely keep them away.

“*huff* *puff* you…” san’s eyes began glowing dark purple. “really need to learn when to quit.” two gaster blaster’s materialized on both sides of Chara as they quickly spun their blade around. Easily slicing through the attacks as several blue bone’s pinned Chara in place.

Creating another gaster blaster sans fired it not at Chara but at the ground beneath their feet. The sudden flash and force of the magical shockwave sent Chara hurling through the air as sans teleported beside them and, and with a single stroke, slashed their left arm off.

The arm fell to the ground and began dissolving into a dark black puddle as sans picked up their knife. And as before, Chara picked themselves back up as their arm simply regrew itself.

“=)” Chara charged at him, not even bothering to dodge this time as sans hurled another storm of bones and blaster’s at the demon. But between the bones piercing their skull and arm, the blaster’s disintegrating their body as they regrew just as quickly the attacks seemed to be getting less effective.

‘are they becoming immune to my attacks?’ In desperation sans manifested his most powerful attack. A massive gaster blaster hovered over the pair, easily dwarfing the size of any he had created earlier and casting both of them in its shadow as a large crimson glow emanated from its mouth.

“hope youre ready kid.” sans said. “heres my special attack” With a snap of his fingers the larger blaster fired upwards. With an explosion that shook the very mountain they were trapped underneath the ground above them began giving way. Countless rocks from millions of tiny pebbles to boulders the size of the castle began falling as New Home was quickly becoming buried by the avalanche of the collapsing underground. Reducing what remained of the underground to nothing in a matter of a few seconds as the cavalcade of destruction continued on.

Sans teleported to Frisk and Clover. Grabbing the children and teleporting them to the True Lab as they were both about to be crushed.

And midst of all the chaos and destruction Chara raced through the destruction as the world fell down on top of them. Their eyes completely black as their skin turned sickly black. The HATE inside of their being along with Frisk’s determination continued to twist and corrupt their body.

HATE is what they were. Determination was their fuel and they could smell it both above on the surface and still in the underground. Frisk and Clover, Chara could practically taste the sweet determination in their souls. They ran, their speed now beyond anything they had been able to do before. They were a blur to any observer, only obstructed by the falling rocks and large formations. With a single punch and kick Chara easily shattered everything into billions of tiny pieces as they persuaded their targets.

Soon this world would finally die. And they will be free to move onto the next.

(Mindscape with Frisk and Clover)

As sans and Chara fought Frisk maintained her connection with Clover’s mind. The connection she established allowed her to peer into his mind and memories as he was granted the same opportunity.

Frisk felt the onrush of constant pain from Clover’s memories wash over her like a tidal wave. His mind was consumed by the trauma of all of his past death’s and failures. His guilt over his mother’s condition, his inability to save the previous fallen human’s or protect anyone in his timeline was crushing him.

His soul likewise was a raging inferno of HATE and justice clashing with one another. It was as though there were two of him within his soul fighting to the death. One hanging onto the ideals and values he held dear when he had first fallen down, while the other was consumed by pain and fear.

“Okay.” Frisk focused what little power she had left in her soul into trying to heal his pain. While they were unmoving in the physical sense the mindscape between their souls allowed the two to interact and connect without the need for physical movement or words. She approached as Clover quickly recoiled away from her.

“Stay back!” fear held him prisoner. The voice of justice urged him to stay back, to protect her from himself like he was born to while HATE whispered to Clover.

“You can end this right now.” the voice told him. “You can take their power from them. Save this world and free the fallen human’s in this timeline, and go home to free Zaley and the others. You wouldn’t be killing them-”

“You were born to save and protect people.” the other voice interrupted. “Dad would never want you to do this!”

“Stop!” Clover begged as he held his hands over his ears. “It burns.” The voices of justice and HATE continued their argument. Drowning Clover’s mind, body and soul into more and more fire until suddenly a wave of relief washed over him.

Frisk placed her left hand over his. All at once the cowboy felt… weak. He fell to his knees gasping for air as Frisk focused on keeping his pain at bay.

“It’s going to be alright.” she assured him. “Just calm down.” Clover took several long breaths of air as Frisk’s power gave him some relief from the pain. She was kind to him. Allowing him some much needed peace as a flicker of her memories washed over him.

It was the first time she had fallen into the underground. Undyne was hunting her. Chasing her all over Waterfall before finally landing a hit with her spear. Piercing her chest and her heart as she fell back. Bleeding and dying as she grabbed her soul.

“You need power to protect people.” The voice of HATE whispered. “Let the HATE in us grow. With its power we’ll stop any of this from ever happening again.” Clover said nothing as the justice half of his soul faded away. HATE consuming his virtue entirely.

Sensing this Frisk instinctively recoiled from Clover as his eyes shot open. He stared at her for a moment, his eyes fiery and black as the connection she created between them began breaking.

“Thank you, Frisk.” Clover said, his voice sounded agitated, angry. “I'm going kill Chara. Stay out of my way.” he warned as with a snap of his fingers brought both of their minds back to reality.

They were in a dark empty room with a lot of empty beds and dust all over. A single light shone above them and beside them was sans. He was exhausted and laying half asleep on a bed beside the pair.

“*yawn* hey kiddo’s.” the skeleton tried and failed to pull himself up. “you two done doing whatever that was yet? not sure how much longer it is till chara finds us.”

“... Stay here.” Clover ordered them as lowered his hat over his eyes. He felt powerful, calm, warm. The air carried with it a sweet scent that seemed to be coming from Frisk’s soul. Their virtue was nearly depleted, their power drained. It’d be so easy to-

“Wait Clover you can’t-”

“Shut up!” the young cowboy snapped. “Grr.” Clover shook those thoughts from his mind. He had a mission. A duty that he was born to fulfill and he’d see it through. The fire within his heart and soul grew with each passing step as he slammed the door behind him.

“so uh, what exactly were you two doing?” sans asked as tears began flowing down her face. “um. kid?”

“I couldn’t save him.” Frisk sniffled. “I tried to help him but he saw a memory of Undyne killing me and-” she took a deep breath to compose herself. After a moment Frisk held her soul in her hands. The red glow had almost completely faded away. Her power all but gone.

“I’m sorry Sans. But I can’t save us from this.”

“...” the two remained in silence. Both unable to think of a way to fix the situation and restore the timeline.

“Wait, I got it!” Frisk shot up and quickly pulled sans off the bed. “We’re in True Lab. If we can use the DT Extractor on Chara, I can get my determination back then I can reset and fix everything. Com’on!” and with that Frisk yanked sans out of the room as the earth itself suddenly shook. And a moment later the halls echoed with the arrival of the elevator.

(Gaster’s Laboratory/Human Observation Center)

ANALYSIS COMPLETE: SUBJECT SOUL MAGIC SCAN READY FOR REVIEW

A true genuine smile spread across Gaster’s face as he sat at his computer terminal. The built in scanning equipment in the illusionary orb had taken a week to fully collect data on Chara’s soul but it was the safest bet to achieve his end. While a more thorough and physical operation would be required to fully study and completely understand the human’s abilities, this first step would allow his plan to proceed safely forward.

Afterall, if he accidently killed or shattered their soul before taking their power he’d still be trapped underground.

The first part of the report was an analysis on Chara’s physical form. Everything from the smallest cells on their skin to their entire neural pathway was now open to him. The analysis reported everything on their bodies inner working and organ functions along with a curious report on several scars they had.

He ruled out accidental injury as a cause as the scars were long and still somewhat fresh having likely been engraved within the last six months. Primarily located on the back of their head and back, hidden by their long hair and clothing. It was no wonder Chara had developed such a distrusting outlook on others.

“☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎❼︎💧︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎ 👌︎☜︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ ⚐︎🕈︎☠︎ 👍︎☟︎✋︎☹︎👎︎☼︎☜︎☠︎📬︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎☼︎✋︎☜︎☹︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎💧︎ 🕆︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☹︎✋︎✞︎☜︎ ✌︎☹︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎💧︎✋︎👎︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎📬︎ [HUMAN’S CAN’T EVEN BE KIND TO THEIR OWN CHILDREN. AND TORIEL WANT US TO LIVE ALONGSIDE THEM.]” Gaster shook his head but continued studying the child’s skeletal structure. At the top back of their head the bones of the skull were weak and a sufficiently blunt force would be enough to force them into unconsciousness for a time. But that was assuming their soul wouldn’t react and try to wake them.

Moving onward to the analysis scans of their soul, Gaster’s eyes quickly widened as he uttered a sharp gasp. The magical power within the human was far, far above even his worst predictions. Not only this, their soul’s magical reserve appeared to be limitless. Making any confrontation or battle of attrition impossible to win. Even if he knocked the human out, they’d be able to rise back up a moment later and… he couldn’t do anything to them.

“🕆︎☠︎👌︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☜︎✞︎✌︎👌︎☹︎☜︎📬︎ [UNBELIEVABLE.]” Gaster gritted his teeth. “THIS HUMAN… NO. THERE MUST BE A WAY. I WILL NOT ALLOW A CHILD TO STAND IN MY WAY. [THIS HUMAN… NO. THERE MUST BE A WAY. I WILL NOT ALLOW A CHILD TO STAND IN MY WAY.]” Gaster’s long thin boney fingers curled together as he manifested a small magical bone with a sharpened end beside him.

“☟︎💣︎💣︎📬︎ ☠︎⚐︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ 👍︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ 💧︎❄︎⚐︎🏱︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎☠︎📪︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎❄︎ 👍︎☜︎☼︎❄︎✌︎✋︎☠︎☹︎✡︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ 👌︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎📬︎ [HMM. NO MAGIC COULDN’T STOP HUMANS THEN, AND IT CERTAINLY WON’T BE NOW.]” Gaster’s eyes shut for several long moments before opening as he ran his fingers along his desk.

“✌︎ 💧︎💣︎✌︎☹︎☹︎ ☼︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎👍︎☜︎👎︎ 💣︎☜︎❄︎✌︎☹︎☹︎✋︎👍︎ 👌︎✌︎☼︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ✌︎👎︎👎︎☜︎👎︎ 🕈︎☜︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎ 💧︎☟︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎ ☝︎✋︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✌︎❄︎❄︎✌︎👍︎😐︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎ ☜︎☠︎⚐︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎👍︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☼︎☜︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ 🕆︎☠︎👍︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎👍︎✋︎⚐︎🕆︎💧︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ 👌︎⚐︎👎︎✡︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ 💣︎✌︎✡︎ 👌︎☜︎ ☼︎☜︎💧︎✋︎💧︎❄︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎✌︎💣︎☜︎ 👎︎☜︎☝︎☼︎☜︎☜︎ ✌︎💧︎ 🏱︎☟︎✡︎💧︎✋︎👍︎✌︎☹︎ ❄︎☼︎✌︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 👍︎✌︎☹︎✋︎👌︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ ✌︎💧︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ 💧︎❄︎✌︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎⑤︎ [A SMALL REINFORCED METALLIC BAR WITH ADDED WEIGHT SHOULD GIVE THE ATTACK MORE THAN ENOUGH FORCE TO RENDER THEM UNCONSCIOUS. THE HUMAN BODY AND SOUL MAY BE RESISTANT TO MONSTER MAGIC BUT NOT TO THE SAME DEGREE AS PHYSICAL TRAUMA OF THAT CALIBER. AS FOR THEIR STAMINA…]” A sadistic grin spread across Gaster’s face.

“✡︎☜︎💧︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👎︎⚐︎ ☠︎✋︎👍︎☜︎☹︎✡︎📬︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ 👌︎☜︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎☠︎📪︎ ✋︎ 💧︎☟︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎ 💣︎✌︎😐︎☜︎ 🏱︎☼︎☜︎🏱︎✌︎☼︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ 💣︎✡︎ ☜︎✠︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎📬︎ [YES. THAT WILL DO NICELY. BUT BEFORE THEN, I SHOULD MAKE PREPARATIONS FOR MY EXPERIMENT.]”

(Back to the present)

The dim lighting of True Lab flickered as Clover stood before the elevator to the surface. His senses had been growing and he could smell the aroma of human souls on the surface. Each breath was like smelling sweet honey as his stomach growled. Demanding he seek out their souls, and feed the HATE within him.

The room shook with a sudden distant thud as the echo of a soul magic attack reached down through the earth and metal to his ears. Chara was here and the HATE he could smell coming from them was intoxicating. He licked his lips, his stomach roaring with the fury of a starving bear as he noticed the elevator was ascending.

Clover didn’t think about how to best defeat Chara. Strategy was needless when his new power was more than enough to defeat them. He’d absorb their HATE, make them suffer. Perhaps he’d shoot their limbs off one by one like how Flowey used to torture him or maybe he’d simply blast them into oblivion.

There were so many options. Once he was done here he’d be able to go home. He’d easily be able to empty all of the Underground with his new power. He’d tear down Asgore’s home as he would to Clover’s own family before tearing him apart and killing him slowly. Oh so very slowly before he absorbed his soul and passed through with the others.

“But why stop there?” Clover’s mouth moved without a thought. The words came out from the depths of his soul. Evil was powerful and to defeat it you needed even more power. Hate. HATE would allow him to finally fulfill his purpose in life and help the world, unlike his old useless justice virtue.

Why he ever tried holding onto it he would never understand.

As the elevator finally arrived, two crimson orbs of light illuminated the dimly lit room as Chara casually approached. Their fingers had turned into long black talons and their eyes radiated the same hunger Clover’s did.

There were no words, no trading of insults or spats. They simply lunged at each other, determined to devour the power of the other.

Chara ducked under Clover’s attack and slashed his chest.But by this point Clover had stopped feeling pain or any sensation from his body. It was a tool his soul used to interact with the world and nothing more. He grabbed Chara by their collar and quickly slammed his skull into their head.

Small trails of black began pooling down their bodies before collecting on the ground beneath them. The air around was hot in spite of the frigid ventilation and the floor beneath them cracked with each step.

As their battle progressed it became clear Chara’s form wasn’t as limited as Clover’s. They could grow, bend and reshape their body at will. Over time Chara’s form became more alien, more like the monster’s he’d seen illustrated in books with long sharp fingered hands, many sharp teeth and skin that seemed to be turning into a shade of black darker than night.

By some miracle or mistake on Chara’s end Clover managed to grab ahold of their hand. He felt the warmth of the HATE within them, the power they held as he began draining it into himself.

It was blissful, this feeling. But not nearly enough. He needed more power, he needed everything Chara had. Chara let out a deafening pained scream as they slashed at his right eye with their free hand. Quickly gouging it out as they quickly kicked him away before running away deeper into True Lab.

“More.” the words passed through his lips without thought. “I need more!”

“phew. lucky the CORES still working.” sans said as the Determination Extractor came online. The large apparatus glowed brilliantly in the dim light of True Lab. Its design gave it the appearance of a large red colored goat skull with an opening going down its center with restraints built for holding humans.

“It says everything’s fine on my end.” Frisk sighed in relief. Technology was not their strong suit but with san’s help she was able to do her part after a bit of explanation. “Now we just need to get Chara inside. With my determination back I can RESET before all of this ever happened.” the ground beneath them shook violently. Bits of the ceiling began falling to the earth as Frisk and sans braced themselves by their respective monitors.

“Looks like they're already here.” Another violent shake caused Frisk to fall to the ground. “I’ll lure Chara here. Get ready to toss them inside.” san’s expression, broke for the briefest moment. His usual permanent smile turned into a frown as a look of worry spread across his face as Frisk raced towards the door.

“hey kid. don’t do anything stupid.” he told her. “the old lady will never forgive me if something happened to ya.” The old lady of course was Toriel, Frisk’s adoptive mother before Chara took over. The mere mention of her, the memory of her kindness resonated with what little determination was still in Frisk’s soul.

With a smile Frisk promised to be careful as they opened the door and headed towards the entrance of True Lab. Only the echo of their footsteps resonated in the air as the echoes of battle in the distance faded. And as she turned the corner Frisk stopped in her tracks and ducked as a larged blackened claw nearly split her skull open.

With inhuman speed Chara leapt onto the wall beside her. Their head twisting a full one hundred-eighty degrees as they took a long deep breath with their nose. Their open maw salivating some sticky block liquid as they spoke.

“Your determination. Smells delicious.” Chara lunged at them again. Cutting a large gash in her right shoulder and taking her from 20/20 hp to 01/20 with a single strike as Frisk spirited away. Channeling every remnant of strength she had to make a speedy escape and using her left arm to stem the bleeding.

The shriek Chara let out was something out of a nightmare. The world seemed to buckle and shake with every step the demon took as Frisk ran for her life. Inching closer and closer to sans and the Determination Extractor as the light behind her seemed to fade away. She turned her head and just as quickly ducked as the HATE filled magical blast from Chara passed over her before blasting into the room.

In less than a blink the room was engulfed with fire as the Determination Extractor was blown into trillions of pieces. Fire quickly engulfed Frisk as she was tossed back to the far end of the hall. Her body slamming into and leaving a crater behind as blood began trailing down the back of her head and chest.

Frisk Hp 00.00001/20 Hp.

Several large pieces of shrapnel had embedded themselves into her chest. She was unable to move as her body was too weak. She could only see through hazy eyes as Chara casually strolled over to her.

“Did you really think that was going to work?” Chara mockingly laughed. “I was with you from the start, you idiot. As if I’d ever let you take my power.” Before Chara could finish off Frisk, Clover jumped in between them. But any amount of joy or relief she felt was quickly obliterated as Clover turned his gaze towards her.

“More.” he uttered as he quickly grabbed Frisk by the throat. His hands were as cold as ice. She felt her body weakening, her vision fading away as she punched and kicked fruitlessly at her “ally”.

“Please!” Frisk begged. “I can’t- I can’t let them…” her body went limp as the light in her soul faded away completely. She fell over her side as Clover released her. Body unmoving, not breathing anymore.

LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED

Clover LV 33 152/152 HP

“What?!” Clover’s hands began shaking. The young cowboy fell to his knees. Kneeling over the innocent girl he had just killed.

“No! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!” He took both of Frisk’s hands into his as he tried to heal her, to no avail. He then tried to connect with her soul, to no avail. He begged her to wake up, to say anything to no avail.

“What have I done?!” He was now a murderer. A villian. A monster. He had failed to save her. He… he killed her!

So lost in his guilt Clover never even noticed Chara approaching him. With a smile they stood over his kneeling body. Focusing their HATE, Determination and power into their left hand as it fused together to form a single large sharpened black and red blade.

And with one strike

Clover -9999999[IT HAS AWOKEN]9999999999999/152 HP

Chara chopped Clover’s head off. [THE HACSU HAS ARISEN]

As Clover’s head rolled off his shoulder and onto his lap the black blood from his body refused to leave its now opened vessel. His pitch black soul emerged from his chest and in less than a blink several tendrils emerged which quickly injected themselves into arms, legs, heart and skull.

"🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✋︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎✍︎ [WHAT IS THIS?]" Gaster balked. "☟︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✋︎💧︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ 👎︎⚐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎✍︎ [HOW IS HIS SOUL DOING THIS?]" The empty void of his right eye glowed a dark purple color as he mimicked the power of a human perseverance soul.

The HATE was fusing itself with Clover’s body. Changing him from the molecular and cellular level. Within only a few moments his skin grew stronger, his bones and muscles rapidly became what could only be described as super human. And his soul was lifting his severed head from his lap and back onto his neck. Fusing the flesh and bones back perfectly as though he had never been injured at all.

Examining it further at both the atomic and spiritual level Gaster saw something truly special. An energy that was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was an energy that was very, very old and completely alien to both monster and human souls.

This energy had been suppressed and hidden deep within the human but as for why he had no idea. Perhaps the legends of Hoddar and Mella were true. Regardless however the energy had fused with Zaley’s Integrity magic, Clover’s LOVE, determination and HATE along with Undyne’s green soul magic in addition to Frisk’s red soul magic. And the resulting creation was… something inhuman as seen with Chara’s transformation.

The energy was growing at an accelerated rate because of the child’s bodily response to death. Just feeling this energy even from the void was so alien, so old, so… terrifying. It didn't even having any coding like everything else in the multiverse. It simply... somehow was.

He needed to find out what is was and how to control it before Clover grew out of his grasp.

There was no emotion in Clover’s eyes as he stood back up. His veins had now turned black and his body had become ghostly pale. And for the first time in so long, fear filled Chara’s mind as they took several steps backwards.

“H-How?” they uttered as they quickly turned to run, only to find Clover now standing in front of them. Chara turned again, same result. Desperate, they leaped upwards. Slashing through metal and heated rock as they clawed their way outside to Hotland.

Only for Clover to grab their hand as they reached up for the surface.

“Hasmena balucaman sonomana hastur.” Clover spoke in a voice that clearly wasn’t his. Chara felt cold as he began draining their power. They stabbed at his chest, his arms, his neck to no avail as they couldn’t deal any damage to him.

[HE KNOWS]

“Narcolisc jusacuma basuc manonomama cthulhusacuina.”

[THEY DO NOT HEAR. HE COMES]

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!” Chara screamed and begged to be let go. They cried for someone, anyone to save them.

But nobody came.

Chara’s body began thinning faster and faster. Their vision faded along with their memories as every trace, every atom and molecule that once belonged to them was assimilated into Clover. Until nothing remained.

Clo[HODDAR COMES]ver LV 66 HP 666/666

“Huh?” Clover looked around as if woken from a peaceful slumber. He felt strong, well rested and very hot as sweat dropped down his forehead.

“W-how did I get here?” He looked around. “I was just-FRISK!” In sheer panic he looked around to find her. Seeing that he was now outside of the lab he raced inside hoping it was just a bad dream he had. He would never kill her. It was just a nightmare he had.

As he called the elevator he felt a hand grip his shoulder. Followed by another and another as his arms and legs were bound to the ground as a grey door appeared and opened behind him.

LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED.

“Wait!” Clover cried out as the hands dragged him back into the void. “I need to make sure she’s okay. I can’t leave-”

The door slammed shut. Leaving the timeline without a way to RESET. Without Frisk, sans, Chara or Clover the timeline would continue.

And in the distance one dark being with a bright cyan blue eye watched and with a snap of his fingers, three alternate versions of sans appeared behind him overlooking the lab.

“you called boss?” Killer Sans said as he twirled his knife in his hands.

“Each of you go to the surface and collect seven human souls and destroy every city and village you can find. Do not exterminate humanity. I need their negative emotions.” Nightmare ordered. “Make it fast, I'll be bringing you to another timeline soon.”

“heh. sure thing boss." The three san’s teleported away. Thanks to Nightmare’s power enhancing and controlling them, they didn’t need souls to cross the barrier.

‘What was that?’ Nightmare wondered. It was a power he had never sensed anywhere in the multiverse before. This Clover could be a useful pawn or a nuisance that needed to be squashed before it became a problem. Regardless, he needed to wait and see where that timeline’s Gaster sent him.

(A long time ago/New Home aka the past)

Just outside their home with the Dreemur family was a large bed of golden flowers. And as the birds chirped, Chara sat in the center of the bed, the illusory orb in hand as they manifested the image of a small rabbit beside them.

Asgore was out in Waterfall and Toriel and Asriel were getting groceries, leaving Chara alone while they were gone. It was quiet without her family. Worryingly so, as aside from the birds there was no sound heard nor monster to be found.

Breaking this silence was the gentle but encroaching sound of footsteps approaching from the path to their home. Chara shot up from their spot. Hurrying to see Toriel and Asriel they were instead confronted with the last person they wanted to see.

“☟︎☜︎☹︎☹︎⚐︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☼︎✌︎📬︎ [HELLO CHARA.]” Gaster greeted them. In his arms were several large see-through food containers. “☟︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ 👎︎✌︎✡︎✍︎ [HOW ARE YOU THIS DAY?]”

“Fine.” the child evasively replied.

“❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✋︎💧︎ ☝︎⚐︎⚐︎👎︎📬︎ [THAT IS GOOD.]” Gaster said. “✋︎❼︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ ☜︎✠︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ 👎︎✋︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ ☼︎☜︎👍︎✋︎🏱︎☜︎💧︎ ☹︎✌︎❄︎☜︎☹︎✡︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎ 💧︎☜︎👍︎⚐︎☠︎👎︎ ⚐︎🏱︎✋︎☠︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎📬︎ ✋︎ ❄︎☼︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✈︎🕆︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ ✋︎💧︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ☼︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎✍︎ [I’D BEEN EXPERIMENTING WITH DIFFERENT RECIPES LATELY AND WANTED A SECOND OPINION. I TRUST THE QUEEN IS HERE RIGHT?]” the skeleton held back a knowing smirk.

“Yeah.” Chara quickly nodded. “They’re inside right now. Just uh, I’ll bring your stuff in for you so you can go back to doing… whatever the CORE thing is.” The child was a horrible liar but it didn't matter. He just needed to do one thing today for his plan.

“👎︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☟︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ 💣︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎✍︎ [DO YOU HATE ME HUMAN?]” Chara didn’t reply.

“☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎⑤︎ ✋︎❼︎💣︎ 💧︎⚐︎☼︎☼︎✡︎📬︎ [HUMAN… I’M SORRY.]” Gaster said. “☹︎✋︎😐︎☜︎ ✌︎💧︎☝︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎☼︎✋︎☜︎☹︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ 👌︎⚐︎☼︎☠︎ ⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎🕆︎☼︎☞︎✌︎👍︎☜︎📬︎ ✋︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ☞︎✋︎☼︎💧︎❄︎ ☟︎✌︎☠︎👎︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✋︎❄︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ☹︎✋︎😐︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☹︎✋︎✞︎☜︎ ✌︎👌︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ ☼︎☜︎💧︎☜︎☠︎❄︎☞︎🕆︎☹︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ 💧︎✋︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ 🕈︎☜︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ 💧︎☜︎✌︎☹︎☜︎👎︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎👎︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ☼︎☜︎💧︎☜︎☠︎❄︎☞︎🕆︎☹︎☠︎☜︎💧︎💧︎ ☠︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ ☹︎☜︎☞︎❄︎ 💣︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎☜︎☠︎❄︎🕆︎☼︎✋︎☜︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎❄︎ 👌︎☹︎✋︎☠︎👎︎☜︎👎︎ 💣︎☜︎📬︎ [LIKE ASGORE AND TORIEL I WAS BORN ON THE SURFACE. I KNOW FIRST HAND WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO LIVE ABOVE AND I’VE BEEN RESENTFUL EVER SINCE WE HAD BEEN SEALED IN THE UNDERGROUND. THAT RESENTFULNESS NEVER LEFT ME THROUGH THE CENTURIES AND IT BLINDED ME.]” Gaster gently sat his food containers down beside him. Taking a deep dramatic sigh as stood properly with his hands behind his back.

“📬︎📬︎📬︎ 🕈︎☟︎☜︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☞︎☜︎☹︎☹︎ 👎︎⚐︎🕈︎☠︎ ✋︎ 💧︎✌︎🕈︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎💧︎ ☠︎⚐︎ 👎︎✋︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎❼︎💧︎ 🕈︎☟︎⚐︎ ✌︎❄︎❄︎✌︎👍︎😐︎☜︎👎︎ 🕆︎💧︎📬︎ ✋︎ 👎︎✋︎👎︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ 👌︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☜︎✞︎☜︎ ☝︎⚐︎⚐︎👎︎☠︎☜︎💧︎💧︎ 👍︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎ ☜︎✠︎✋︎💧︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎ ✌︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎ ☟︎☜︎☹︎👎︎ ⚐︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 👌︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☜︎☞︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ✌︎💧︎☝︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ 🕆︎☼︎☝︎☜︎👎︎ 💣︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎💧︎ 👎︎✋︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎☜︎☠︎❄︎☹︎✡︎📬︎ [... WHEN YOU FELL DOWN I SAW YOU AS NO DIFFERENT FROM THE HUMAN’S WHO ATTACKED US. I DID NOT BELIEVE GOODNESS COULD EXIST WITHIN A HUMAN AND I HELD ONTO THAT BELIEF EVEN AFTER ASGORE HAD URGED ME TO SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY.]”

“✋︎❼︎💣︎ 💧︎⚐︎☼︎☼︎✡︎ ✋︎ ☺︎🕆︎👎︎☝︎☜︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💧︎⚐︎ ☟︎✌︎☼︎💧︎☟︎☹︎✡︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☼︎✌︎📬︎ ✋︎ ☠︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ 💣︎☜︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👌︎☼︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎ 👎︎✋︎💧︎👍︎⚐︎💣︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎❄︎ ⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎☠︎✠︎✋︎☜︎❄︎✡︎📬︎ ✋︎ ☟︎⚐︎🏱︎☜︎ 🕈︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎ 🏱︎⚐︎💧︎💧︎✋︎👌︎☹︎✡︎ 💧︎❄︎✌︎☼︎❄︎ ⚐︎✞︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ [I’M SORRY I JUDGED YOU SO HARSHLY CHARA. I NEVER MEANT TO BRING YOU ANY DISCOMFORT OR ANXIETY. I HOPE WE COULD POSSIBLY START OVER.]” Gaster held his hand out as his left eye glowed blue. “✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ 💧︎🏱︎☜︎👍︎✋︎✌︎☹︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☼︎✌︎📬︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☼︎☜︎🏱︎☼︎☜︎💧︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ ✌︎ ☠︎☜︎🕈︎ 👌︎☜︎☝︎✋︎☠︎☠︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎😐︎✋︎☠︎👎︎📬︎ ✋︎ ☟︎⚐︎🏱︎☜︎ 🕈︎☜︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎ 🏱︎🕆︎❄︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎ 🏱︎✌︎💧︎❄︎ ☝︎☼︎✋︎☜︎✞︎✌︎☠︎👍︎☜︎💧︎ ✌︎💧︎✋︎👎︎☜︎📬︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎👍︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📬︎ ✋︎☞︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ 💣︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎❄︎⚐︎🏱︎ ✞︎✋︎💧︎✋︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☟︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎📪︎ ⚐︎☠︎☹︎✡︎ 💧︎✌︎✡︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎👎︎📬︎ [YOU ARE SPECIAL CHARA. YOU REPRESENT A NEW BEGINNING FOR ALL OF MONSTERKIND. I HOPE WE CAN PUT ANY PAST GRIEVANCES ASIDE. BUT I WILL NOT FORCE YOU. IF YOU WANT ME TO STOP VISITING YOUR HOME, ONLY SAY THE WORD.]”

Before now Chara would’ve jumped at the chance to never have to see Gaster ever again. Their instincts still told them to run away, to leave him and never deal with him ever again. But had he really done anything to hurt them. Monster’s weren’t like humans and Gaster, while raising a few alarm bells, didn't seem evil. Toriel and Asgore trusted him after all.

Chara stared at the outstretched hand with a large hole in its center. Taking a deep breath, they took his hand with their own.

And as they took Gaster's hand into theirs, a sudden pain hit them in the back of their head as darkness consumed their vision.

“❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎😐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎📬︎ [THANK YOU HUMAN.]” Gaster smiled. “✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎ ✋︎👎︎☜︎✌︎ ☟︎⚐︎🕈︎ 💣︎🕆︎👍︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ 💣︎☜︎✌︎☠︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💣︎☜︎📬︎ [YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME.]”

Chapter Text

LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED.

“Let go of me!” Clover yelled, slamming his fist into the skeletal hand holding onto his face. Gaster held him suspended in the air with several more hands holding onto his legs, shoulders, arms as well as his soul.

“✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ☜︎☞︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎❄︎💧︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ 🕆︎💧︎☜︎☹︎☜︎💧︎💧︎📬︎ [YOUR EFFORTS ARE USELESS.]” Gaster remarked unamused as he continued analyzing the mysterious energy in Clover’s soul. Taking a step back he ran a single index finger onto the black heart shaped soul as a purple sigil appeared over his soul’s surface.

LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED.

The sigil was written in ancient Empyrean, a language he hadn’t encountered for over a thousand years. In its center was a depiction of the God Hoddar. The large shield he carried in his right hand and the massive blade in his left made him easy to identify along with his full plate mail armor covering his body. He wondered briefly how a people who had just begun making a civilization out of nothing would’ve known what plate mail looked like but that didn’t matter.

Along the edges of the sigil were four inscribed phrases. “Seal Broken”, “Virtue Corrupted”, “King In Yellow energy unleashed”, “Tracking Activated”.

LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED.

“😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✋︎☠︎ ✡︎☜︎☹︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎✍︎ [KING IN YELLOW?]” Gaster had never heard of such a title from any corner of the entire multiverse. And it wasn’t any ancient historical figure he had ever heard of from his timeline either. And why did Clover have this sigil spell bound to his soul?

“LET ME GO!” Long yellow tentacles emerged from Clover’s body that quickly wrapped around Gaster's hands. Crushing them into dust as Clover grabbed his gun and fired at Gaster. Only for the shot to phase through him.

“💣︎✡︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎💣︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✋︎💣︎💣︎🕆︎☠︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ✌︎❄︎❄︎✌︎👍︎😐︎💧︎📬︎ [MY FORM IS IMMUNE TO YOUR ATTACKS.]” The skeleton snapped his fingers as a large pool of black sludge opened underneath Clover. The black substance felt like water and smelled similar to rotten eggs as it began pulling him into its depths.

“❄︎☼︎✌︎👍︎😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✌︎👍︎❄︎✋︎✞︎✌︎❄︎☜︎👎︎✍︎ [TRACKING ACTIVATED?]” Gaster mused as he continued watching Clover struggle. He couldn’t identify how anything could be tracking Clover nor did he even think such a thing was possible. He needed to think, to break down the situation down to its barest components and analyze all the information available to him.

LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED.

Some kind of seal in Clover’s soul had been broken. Additionally it seemed when Zaley used her soul magic on Clover the fusion of their soul magics helped break whatever seal was on his soul. Additionally, Zaley’s soul magic and LOVE combined with the timing of Flowey's RESET infused Clover’s soul with the ability to utilize and copy the powers of the other soul traits like Integrity and later on Kindness and the red soul trait.

With the exception of the red soul, no other human souls could change their virtue on a whim. Justice soul’s couldn’t turn themselves into Kindness souls and vice versa. But then there was Clover’s HATE which Gaster had assumed was simply the by-product of pent up anger and resentment from countless death’s and RESETS Flowey forced him through. And while that still seemed to be the case, this strange energy was merging and fusing with his HATE. Enhancing his capabilities and changing him at a physical, mental, and cellular level.

LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED. LO[HODDAR IS SEEKING]VE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED

Clover was a truly unique case. A scenario he had never imagined possible and at the same time it was exhilarating. He finally found a challenge to his genius.

“☟︎💣︎💣︎📬︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎✋︎✈︎🕆︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎📬︎ ✋︎☠︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ 💣︎✡︎ 👍︎☜︎☠︎❄︎🕆︎☼︎✋︎☜︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 👍︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎❄︎☹︎☜︎💧︎💧︎ ⚐︎👌︎💧︎☜︎☼︎✞︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎🕆︎☹︎❄︎✋︎✞︎☜︎☼︎💧︎☜︎ ✋︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ ☠︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ ☜︎☠︎👍︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☹︎✋︎😐︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📬︎ [HMM. YOU ARE UNIQUE HUMAN. IN ALL MY CENTURIES AND COUNTLESS OBSERVATIONS OF THE MULTIVERSE I’VE NEVER ENCOUNTERED ANYTHING LIKE YOU.]” Gaster said as he turned his attention to the depiction of Hoddar on Clover’s soul.

“✋︎ 💧︎🕆︎🏱︎🏱︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎ ✋︎ 💧︎☟︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ 👌︎☜︎ 💧︎🕆︎☼︎🏱︎☼︎✋︎💧︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ ⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎ 🕆︎☠︎✋︎✈︎🕆︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎🏱︎✌︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎💧︎📬︎ ✌︎☠︎ ✌︎☹︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☠︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✌︎☠︎ ✌︎☹︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☠︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎✋︎☝︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✡︎☜︎❄︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✋︎💧︎ 🕆︎☠︎✌︎👌︎☹︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎💣︎ ✌︎☠︎ ✌︎☹︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☠︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✋︎❄︎💧︎☜︎☹︎☞︎📬︎ [I SUPPOSE I SHOULDN’T BE SURPRISED. OUR TIMELINE IS UNIQUE COMPARED TO OTHERS. AN ALTERNATE OF AN ALTERNATE OF THE ORIGINAL AND YET IT IS UNABLE TO FORM AN ALTERNATE TIMELINE OF ITSELF.]” Gaster continued on. “☟︎✌︎❄︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ ⚐︎☠︎☝︎⚐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☹︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎ 👌︎☜︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎ 👌︎⚐︎☼︎☠︎ ✋︎☠︎ ☞︎✌︎👍︎❄︎📬︎ ✋︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎✌︎🕆︎💧︎☜︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎☜︎☠︎📬︎ ✋︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎😐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💣︎✌︎✡︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎ ☝︎✋︎✞︎☜︎☠︎ 💣︎☜︎ 💣︎✡︎ ✌︎☠︎💧︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ [THAT HAD BEEN ONGOING LONG BEFORE I HAD BEEN BORN IN FACT. I HAD WONDERED WHAT THE CAUSE HAD BEEN. I THINK YOU MAY HAVE JUST GIVEN ME MY ANSWER.]”

LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED.

“What are you talking about?!” Clover growled as his left hand flew up high and in less than a blink his hand morphed into a long yellow tentacle that outstretched from him and onto the solid ground. Quickly and effortlessly pulling him out of whatever Gaster had trapped him in. Before Clover could draw his weapon he looked towards his arm and found it had transformed into a long yellow tentacle. He screamed and shook his limb violently, trying desperately to get his arm back as the long appendage slowly morphed back into the shape of his human arm.

“What’s happening to me?” Clover demanded an answer from the skeleton as Gaster simply shrugged.

“✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 👌︎✋︎⚐︎☹︎⚐︎☝︎✡︎ ✋︎💧︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☠︎☝︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎ [YOUR BIOLOGY IS CHANGING.]” Gaster told him. “💧︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ ☜︎☠︎☜︎☼︎☝︎✡︎ ✋︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ ☠︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ ☜︎☠︎👍︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☠︎☝︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 👌︎⚐︎👎︎✡︎📬︎ ✋︎❄︎🕯︎💧︎ ☞︎🕆︎💧︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ☟︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ 💣︎🕆︎❄︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎📪︎ ✌︎💧︎ 🕈︎☜︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎💧︎ 💣︎✌︎😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☞︎✌︎☼︎ 💧︎❄︎☼︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎☜︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎📬︎ [SOME ENERGY I’VE NEVER ENCOUNTERED BEFORE IS CHANGING YOUR BODY. IT'S FUSING WITH YOUR HATE AND ALLOWING FOR MUTATIONS, AS WELL AS MAKING YOU FAR STRONGER THAN YOU WERE BEFORE.]” Anger flared up in Clover’s eyes as he drew his weapon.

“HATE makes me stronger, I ALREADY KNEW THAT!” the young cowboy yelled. “Why did my arm just turn into that?”

“☟︎💣︎💣︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👌︎☹︎✌︎👍︎😐︎ ☠︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎✏︎ [HMM. THE BLACK NIGHT!]” Gaster exclaimed. “👎︎🕆︎☼︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎🕈︎✋︎☹︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👌︎☹︎☜︎💧︎💧︎☜︎👎︎ ☜︎☼︎✌︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎👎︎⚐︎💣︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ✌︎❄︎❄︎✌︎👍︎😐︎☜︎👎︎ 👌︎✡︎ 👎︎☜︎💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✌︎ 👌︎☹︎🕆︎☜︎ 💧︎😐︎☜︎☹︎☜︎❄︎⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 👎︎☜︎💧︎❄︎☼︎⚐︎✡︎☜︎👎︎ ☟︎✌︎☹︎☞︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎☹︎👎︎📬︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 💣︎🕆︎❄︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎ 💣︎✌︎❄︎👍︎☟︎ 💧︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ ☼︎☜︎👍︎⚐︎☼︎👎︎☜︎👎︎ 👍︎✌︎🏱︎✌︎👌︎✋︎☹︎✋︎❄︎✋︎☜︎💧︎📬︎ [DURING THE TWILIGHT OF THE BLESSED ERA THE KINGDOM WAS ATTACKED BY DEMONS AND A BLUE SKELETON THAT DESTROYED HALF OF THE WORLD. YOUR POWERS AND MUTATIONS MATCH SOME OF THEIR RECORDED CAPABILITIES.]”

“I’M NOT A MONSTER!” Clover shouted as he pulled the trigger. A blast of magical energy shot out of the barrel and into Gaster’s chest and, as before, phased straight through him.

“☜︎☠︎⚐︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎📬︎ [ENOUGH.]” With a flick of his finger’s Clover was ensnared by numerous hands that grabbed onto him. The hands covered his entire body, bringing the young cowboy to his knees as Gaster held him in a strong telekinetic grip.

LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED. LOVE DECREASED. LO[THE UNSPEAKABLE ONE IS WATCHING]VE DECREASED.

“Stop it!” Clover yelled. “I…I HATE YOU!” With an unfathomable amount of strength Clover grabbed a pair of hands and crushed them into dust. He ripped Gaster’s tools off of his body with such speed that it seemed almost instantaneous. In less than a blink the empty room was littered with large dust plies as Clover lunged as Gaster.

Only for the skeleton to bring up several large sharpened bones from the ground between them. The bones made contact with Clover’s body, and all promptly shattered as the body tackled him into the floor..

“🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎✍︎✏︎ [WHAT?!]” Gaster uttered in shock as Clover’s left fist collided with his right eye. Somehow, Gaster’s skull cracked. Somehow, Clover was hurting him.

“☟︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📫︎ [HOW ARE YOU-]” The only reply Gaster received was another punch to his already broken face. Gaster felt himself losing consciousness faster and faster with each strike. Each punch breaking apart his already shattered form more and more.

He tried to force Clover off of him, but the boy was too strong. He tried to use his magic, but none of his attacks could harm him now. Desperate, Gaster’s one remaining eye began to glow red as the ground beneath them vanished and the two began falling into darkness.

Clover watched as Gaster’s body faded away. And as he continued falling he saw another grey door in the distance.

“✋︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✋︎ ☠︎☜︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 🕆︎💧︎☜︎☞︎🕆︎☹︎☠︎☜︎💧︎💧︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✌︎❄︎ ✌︎☠︎ ☜︎☠︎👎︎📬︎ ☜︎☠︎☺︎⚐︎✡︎ ☞︎✌︎☹︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎🕆︎☹︎❄︎✋︎✞︎☜︎☼︎💧︎☜︎ ☜︎☠︎👎︎☹︎☜︎💧︎💧︎☹︎✡︎📬︎ [I HAVE WHAT I NEED. YOUR USEFULNESS IS AT AN END. ENJOY FALLING THROUGH THE MULTIVERSE ENDLESSLY.]” Gaster’s voice echoed around him as Clover fell. And at that moment Clover’s eyes turned golden yellow as he uttered words in a tongue completely foreign and far more ancient than the entire multiverse itself.

“Hastur masino calubra. Salu e, shalu e. Sax e tx Carcosa.” [Yellow King hear my call. Guide me, command me. Take me to Carcosa.] The door turned from its grey color to golden yellow in an instant as Clover fell through. And as his eyes returned to their pitch black coloration and Clover’s mind became his own again he was beholden to an unimaginable sight.

As he fell he saw countless worlds, countless timelines with numerous beings he had never seen before. Some human, some monster, some worlds with endless blue skies and in peace while others were set aflame with great battles shaking their worlds to their cores. Clover tried in vain to grab a hold of anything as he continued his free fall. But the worlds and timelines around him were just out of reach. And looking more closely it seemed each timeline was contained within… slips of paper. Clover tried again to reach out, his arm transforming into a long yellow tentacle to grab ahold of any slip of paper. But they were too far away.

[HODDAR COMES]

His descent was accelerating. He focused and used blue magic to make himself float and halted his fall. But only for a moment as levitating was much harder than he first thought. He focused more, his mind straining more and more until he began falling once again.

As Clover fell he saw more worlds, one where three monsters who looked similar to the san’s he encountered in Dusttale destroying cities with the power of seven human souls. In another he saw some strange dark blue san’s with strange glitching effects on his body and strange blue strings coming out of his eyes fighting some other san’s lookalike with a big paintbrush on his back.

[THE KING IN YELLOW IS WATCHING]

It seemed like hours before some solid ground appeared in his vision as Clover collided into a large floating rock. His impact shattered the floating formation as he fell through it and another before finally landing onto a small rock formation. And creating a massive crater the size of seven football fields as the formation was nearly shattered into pieces.

Clover picked himself up instantly and felt no pain. He left not a drop of blood nor did it appear the fall had actually hurt him. And as he looked up he couldn't see where he had been dropped from. Wherever Gaster had tossed him seemed to go on forever. There was no end in any direction he looked and every single slip of paper was far, far out of his reach.

“Where am I?” I was deathly silent despite the fact the slips of paper clearly showed that events in their respective worlds were still ongoing.

“This is the Doodlesphere.” a voice replied behind him. Without a second thought and acting on pure instinct Clover spun around and drew his gun on whoever was behind him. Coming face to face with a young child with pale grey skin and wearing an equally grey and white puffy sweater with horizontal stripes and sweatpants. Their hair was in the style of a bob cut and they had two empty black voids in the place of their eyes.

Upon having a gun drawn on them the child’s face immediately turned into one of fear and quickly vanished.

“Huh?” Shock gripped Clover as he immediately holstered his weapon. “I’m sorry. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” no response. “I was surprised, that's all. Please don’t be afraid.”Silence filled the air for several long moments before the child manifested in front of him.

They stood at four feet, just about three inches shorter than Clover was. Their face on the surface was calm but it was clear they were still startled by what Clover had done to them. Looking at the child, Clover couldn’t help but feel sad.

“Hello.” The child said. They sounded almost identical to the Frisk he had encountered in Dusttale though their voice was a bit heavier. Clover awkwardly greeted them as a few pieces of rock from the formations above landed around him.

“Quite the long fall you had.” the child remarked. “Normally most people wouldn't survive a collision from that height and velocity. Whatever that power has done to your body has made it nearly invulnerable.”

“What are you talking about?” Clover asked. “And who are you?”

“I’m Frisk.” Frisk said as confusion overtook Clover’s mind. “The Frisk you encountered in Dusttale is an alternate version of me as I am to them. You can call me CORE!Frisk to make things easier.”

“Um ok.” Clover replied. “I’m Clover. Do you know how I can get back to Frisk’s… er, that timeline Gaster took me out of? I need to help them and stop Chara from destroying their universe.”

“You really don’t remember?” Core Frisk said with a bit of surprise.

“Remember what?”

“You killed them.”

(Meanwhile in the void)

“❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 👌︎☼︎✌︎❄︎✏︎ [THAT BRAT!]” Gaster clenched his fist. His already weakened form had been damaged by Clover’s fists. Ever since he had fallen into the CORE and his essence was scattered his current state had become impervious to physical attack. Or at least that was what he believed.

Clover hurt him, nearly killed him. But that didn’t matter now. He wouldn’t be a threat, instead he would fall endlessly through the multiverse never to pester him again. Gaster focused on the LOVE he stole from Clover and absorbed it into himself to increase his stats. Granting his shattered shard of a soul the strength it needed to exist for a time outside of the void.

He would not die, nor would he take any further chances. The LOVE would grant him the power to take possession of the souls of Undyne and Toriel in his timeline. Tearing them apart and fashioning himself a new soul from theirs would be a simple task. He knew them better than they knew themselves after all. He would stabilize and empower his form, and then have his revenge on Asgore and humanity.

“✋︎❄︎❼︎💧︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎🏱︎☹︎☜︎❄︎☜︎ 💣︎✡︎ ☝︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☜︎💧︎❄︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎☺︎☜︎👍︎❄︎📬︎ [IT’S TIME TO COMPLETE MY GREATEST PROJECT.]” Gaster declared as he created a door to his timeline’s Waterfall where Clover had first found him. As he stepped through the air smelled sweet akin to fresh baked cookies. But the cookies were each individually unique with their own scent and seemed to be coming from the monster’s of the underground.

Gaster felt hunger for the first time in an eternity. Almost absentmindedly he walked forward. Walking past brush, stepping in puddles and towards the oncoming sound of metal boots racing across the ground. His stomach roared as he licked his lips. Undyne’s soul smelled VERY sweet indeed.

“Huh?” the Captain of the Royal Guard uttered as she came across the strange man. Her instincts kicked in immediately upon seeing the monster look at her as though she were a five course meal.

“🕆︎☠︎👎︎✡︎☠︎☜︎📬︎ [UNDYNE.]” Gaster smiled as he stepped forward. “✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎ ☹︎⚐︎⚐︎😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📬︎ [I WAS JUST LOOKING FOR YOU.]”

“Woah hold on there!” she ordered as she drew her spear. “Who are you? HEY! I-” Gaster grabbed her hand. It felt like her energy was being drained away. He tried to pull away, punching and stabbing at the monster as she felt weaker, and weaker until she could no longer stand.

“✡︎⚐︎🕆︎❼︎☼︎☜︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ ✋︎💧︎ 💣︎✋︎☠︎☜︎✏︎ [YOU’RE SOUL IS MINE!]” Gaster absorbed her. Not a single trace of Undyne remained. Not even a single speck of dust danced through the air as he turned his head towards a camera that watched him assimilate the Captain of the Guard.

“☟︎☜︎☹︎☹︎⚐︎ 👎︎☼︎📬︎ ✌︎☹︎🏱︎☟︎✡︎💧︎📬︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ 💧︎💣︎☜︎☹︎☹︎💧︎⑤︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☞︎🕆︎☹︎✏︎ [HELLO DR. ALPHYS. YOUR SOUL SMELLS… WONDERFUL!]”

(Meanwhile with CORE!Frisk and Clover)

“No!” Clover shook his head as his breath quickened. “I… I didn’t do that! I’d never do that. I went to fight Chara and then I…” Clover fell to his knees. He hid his face within his hands, curling up as he began muttering to himself.

“No.” he began crying. “Nonononononononono.” Core Frisk stepped forward and sat beside the boy. Placing their hand on his shoulder as Clover wept.

“You lost control of yourself.” Core said as Clover briefly stopped crying. “The HATE in your soul is corrupting you. When you're stressed or fighting, its effects are at their strongest. If the HATE remains in your soul, everyone in your timeline is going to be in danger. We need to get rid of it.”

“I NEED IT!” the words flew out quickly from Clover’s lips without thought. “It’s… kept me alive. It… it makes me stronger.” Core pointed a finger to the slips of paper all around them. Somehow, Clover could clearly make out what was happening in each of them as he focused. It was like his eyes had become binoculars, allowing him to see much further and with much more clarity than before.

“There's a lot of universes in the multiverse. A lot of them are peaceful with their inhabitants living in harmony. Other’s…” Core paused with a sad expression. “Others aren’t so happy. They suffer from all sorts of things. War, disease, or…” Core paused again.

“I know you’ve suffered a lot and I’m sorry I couldn’t help you before. But that HATE is going to make you destroy everything. You need to re-embrace your virtue.” Clover’s eyes shut briefly as Core’s words washed over him. Re-embrace Justice? Justice was what put him in this situation. Justice was too weak to survive the underground, too weak to stand up to Flowey, too weak to make a difference or help his family on the surface. The decision, what was right, was obvious.

“Justice is weak.” Clover spat with vitrial disdain. “Everything I ever did for Justice only caused more pain. I… I caused my grandpa to lose his ring. I tried to help my dad against bad guys and I only caused more problems. I’m a burden to him and caused my mom to suffer. I… I…” Clover growled as he raised his hand high and slammed it into the ground beside him. The impact shattered the floating rock he and CORE were sitting on. Creating hundreds of large rocks to go flying all around him and CORE as the two sat together.

“If I can’t help anyone, why am I even here?” Clover wiped a stray tear from his eye. “Maybe they’d be happier if… if I… wasn’t there anymore.”

“You know that’s not true.” CORE told him. “They love you.” Clover looked away from Core, only to find them now sitting opposite to where they were sitting beside them.

“The HATE in your soul can’t be removed by willpower or anger. Nor, can it ever be fully removed. The only thing that can bring back your virtue and stop you from hurting anyone else is love.” Confusion spread across Clover’s face at their words.

“LOVE?” Clover said as Core’s eyes narrowed with slight annoyance.

“Actual love, not LOVE.” CORE clarified. “Memories are very powerful and they carry a lot of strength with them. You used your memories to empower yourself several times on your journey. Try using happy memories of your time with them.” The idea was a little cheesy and reminded Clover of the story of a cartoon he watched over a year ago. But he listened and focused his mind.

He thought back to before all this had happened. It was his birthday and his father had worked hard to get him his cowboy outfit and toy gun as gifts. He was so happy, so excited about the memory… warmed his heart.

CORE watched as a tiny sliver of yellow reappeared for a moment on Clover’s soul before being consumed by HATE again. Clover smiled, genuinely as he lifted his hat from over his eyes.

“I miss them.” he admitted as a few tiny spots of yellow appeared on his soul. “I wanna go home.” CORE placed their hand on his shoulder again.

“I know how you feel.” CORE!Frisk said as the two sat in silence for a few moments before Clover spoke up.

“I need to go back.” he said. “Zaley and the other’s need me. And I need to bring Frisk-err, her back. Is there a way I can do that from here?” CORE!Frisk’s expression straightened as they spoke plainly.

“Right now you need to get that HATE out of your soul. Going back to the Dusttale Timeline or yours will only make things worse. And you wouldn’t be able to RESET it right now anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because fighting in any capacity will make the HATE worse and harder to get rid of. And even if you managed to beat Gaster, Nightmare and the other three, Hoddar’s coming for you.” Clover’s eyes widened in both shock and fear as he quickly bolted to his feet.

“W-WHAT?!”

“Your universe is unique compared to its alternatives. A singular timeline unable to generate alternates of itself as well as the future of everyone inside it being completely invisible to me.” CORE began explaining.

“Before human’s in your timeline sealed monsterkind away, Hoddar and Mella appeared on your world. And it was with their arrival that your timeline had stopped generating alternates. I couldn't manifest in your timeline because of the strange energy the two were made of. So I asked some of my friends to look into the matter and they found Hoddar and Mella were from somewhere beyond the multiverse and didn't have souls like anyone else in the multiverse.”

“What?” Clover muttered to himself in disbelief.

“I couldn’t manifest into the timeline because of that energy and I can only perceive the present and the past in small amounts. As we kept watching them Hoddar and Mella created a religion around themselves and used their powers to unite the planet.”

“I think I remember this from school.” Clover said. “The “Blessed Era” I think. No war, no hunger, people lived forever and no one got sick or hurt. Hoddar and Mella were the king and queen of the world and they created the universe.”

“They didn’t create your universe but the rest of that is true.” Core corrected. “It was wonderful for people then but as Hoddar and Mella continued blessing people with their gifts the timeline became harder for me to see. And then-”

“The Black Night.” Clover spoke up. “Demon’s rose up to destroy the world. Hoddar and Mella destroyed half of the world to save humans and monsters. They created a new realm where all evil beings go and have been there ever since.”

“Partly right but the demon’s were humans and monsters.” Core’s words surprised Clover who allowed him a moment to process before continuing. “Their magic turned them into those creatures. It twisted their bodies, mutating them and changing them into…” Clover looked at his hand with what could only be described as abject horror. If that’s what happened then it stood to reason he was slowly turning into a demon.

“As for half the world being destroyed, William detected the energy from your timeline and went to investigate. He… refused to tell me what happened but Hoddar and Mella nearly killed him.”

“Who’s William?” Clover asked.

“An acquaintance.” Core replied. “After they forced William to leave, Hoddar and Mella cast a spell to put seals on the souls of every human and monster they had “blessed”. The seal on humans breaks when the soul bearer acquires the powers of another virtue and dies outside of your timeline. Once those two conditions are met, the energy was unleashed and it begins changing you.”

“What do I do?” Clover asked, desperation clear in his voice. “I don’t want to be a demon! I need to bring Frisk back and save Zaley and the others.”

“Unfortunately your future is one I can’t see but I can still help you.” Core said. “My friends who were looking into your timeline might be able to help you. They’ve been studying the energy and understand soul magic better than almost anyone in the multiverse. They can help fix the seal.”

“So you’re going to leave out the fact you knew what was happening to him the whole time, Frisk?” Both Clover and Frisk quickly turned their heads to find a strange black slime monster sitting on a rock formation hovering only ten feet behind them. The creature's left eye glowed a bright blue and it seemed like he was wearing shorts and a hoodie though it was a bit hard to make out with its body being completely made of whatever the black substance was. Four large tentacles sprouted from his back and as he sat cross legged a large smirk spread across his face.

“Nightmare!” Core angrily stood up.

“You want to know something interesting about that kid Clover? Look at their back.” As Clover turned his head he found Core was hovering in the air just two feet away from him. Though they tried to hide it, Clover realized they had a burn scar on their back.

“That feeling of sadness you had, that pity, it was completely warranted wasn’t it?” Nightmare Sans rose to his feet as a look of concern spread across Clover’s face.

“Are you okay?” Clover asked.

“Don’t listen to anything he says.” Core quickly said with a bit of panic in their voice. “That’s Nightmare. His only goal is to make every single person in the multiverse suffer for eternity. He’s a liar and a deceiver who’s condemned countless universes to eternal torment.” Clover didn’t need any further explanation as he drew his weapon. Aiming his gun straight for Nightmare’s glowing eye and pulling the trigger.

The HATE powered electrical magic shot out of the barrel with a thunderous roar. Nightmare simply, casually raised his hand and caught the blast between his left hand. He condensed it into a small black ball of energy with red lightning crackling around it as he casually tossed it between his hands.

“Quick tempered like the other Clover’s.” Nightmare smiled as he tossed the ball of destructive energy behind him. Nightmare snapped his finger as Clover felt the monster entering his mind.

“Negativity and suffering give me power. But I also get to witness and feel down to the exact moment of its occurrence.” the smile on Nightmare’s face widened and his teeth also became as sharp as daggers. “Like when that Frisk’s sans killed them.” At that instant Clover watched sans grabbing Core!Frisk back when they were still an ordinary human.

“Sans?” Frisk gasped as the skeleton used his blue magic to tightly grip their soul.

“heh. not this time kiddo.” in less than a blink he teleported them both to the CORE. Standing just by the edge with Frisk dangling over.

Clover felt Frisk’s fear and terror wash over him. In an instant his heart was lit aflame with rage and HATE at the skeleton terrifying Frisk. He drew his weapon, firing at sans but the blast’s simply phased through him as the memory continued.

“you won’t be resetting anymore after this.” sans continued. “see ya kid.” and with that sans dropped Frisk into the CORE. Clover felt every bit of pain they did at that moment as the CORE ripped apart their very soul and destroyed their body. In desperation CORE tried to RESET to save themselves but it was to no avail. They were scattered across the multiverse, making them what they are now. And everyone in their universe forgot they even existed.

Clover collapsed onto the ground in shock. The pain was overwhelming, beyond what any words could describe. His mind went numb, his thoughts only pertaining to one thing and one thing alone.

He HATED sans. He HATED monsters. He HATED evil beings who committed such evils like this. There was nothing that could justify what that monster had done to CORE. He needed to die for what he had done!

“So easy.” Nightmare remarked as Core began trying to console Clover. “What’s the matter, Frisk? Can’t you see the future? Is Clover’s suffering just part of your “plan”?” Core gave Nightmare no reply but he could sense their anger towards him. He relished it as one would savor a five star meal.

“Oh no don’t tell me. Your “All Seeing and All Knowing Vision” isn’t what you claim it is. Afterall, you can’t stop Error, you can’t stop me, and you certainly can’t “save” him.” Nightmare mocked as he turned his gaze upwards.

[Hoddar Approaches]

“This is not something you should be messing with Nightmare!” Core said. “This energy and HATE won’t just make Clover a threat to his own timeline or the Multiverse but you as well. You CAN’T control him like the others.”

“We'll see” Nightmare smugly replied. “The thing about HATE is that it’s a fire that never stops burning. It grows and grows until everything is gone. And on that note.” with a snap of his fingers a pool of black sludge quickly enveloped the shell shocked Clover and in less than a blink he disappeared.

“Where did you take him?!” Core angrily yelled.

“Oh getting angry are we?” Nightmare chuckled. “Hmm. Looks like Hoddar’s changing course. That was… faster than I expected.” Core saw it as well of course. Hoddar had nearly reached the Doodlesphere but now he had just changed directions. He was now moving past a large cluster of AU’s at a much faster rate than before. But surprisingly, Core couldn’t see Clover in any timeline.

“Don’t bother using your "All seeing sight”. Your powers are worthless against me.” Nightmare declared. “Be seeing you.” Nightmare teleported away to where Core had no idea. In a rush they manifested themselves in their safe haven, the Omega Timeline where they can organize a search and stop whatever Nightmare was planning while also contacting Dream to help fight his brother.

(True Pacifist Undertale Yellow Timeline)

As Clover opened his eyes he tried to push himself upwards but fell back to the ground. Rolling onto his back he found himself lying underneath a familiar tree with pink leaves falling on him. Shaking his head as he grabbed the tree to pull himself upwards he recognized where he was. It was the Monster’s Capital city New Home where he had fought Ceroba several times.

The thought of her made Clover’s blood boil. Ceroba had tried to manipulate him and steal his soul so she could continue her husband Chuijin’s work to help monster’s retake the surface. That monster had also created Axis who killed Zaley and experimented on her soul! It was lucky for him that he was dead, otherwise Clover would’ve given him a far more painful end than dying in a bed.

Looking to his side Clover saw… himself?!

“Oh no!” he raced over to his alternate counterpart. There was no pulse, no soul, or even his hat. He was dead. Ceroba must’ve killed him and left him here!

“She’ll pay!” he promised both to himself and to his now deceased alternate. It wasn’t too late to save his alternate and the other’s from monster captivity at least. He’ll just kill Ceroba, Asgore, any monster in his way and take their souls to the surface. And give his alternate a proper burial of course.

But where would Ceroba be? She wanted to go to the lab during their travel through the Steamworks but that was in Hotland and she could be anywhere by now for all he knew. On instinct he sniffed the air and smelled the sweet scent of his alternate selves soul heading towards the Castle where the others were.

Clover began running and soon found himself running faster than he ever had gone before. In less than a second he was already in the elevator taking him to the castle. And upon exiting it seemed the whole world was going in slow motion as he raced ahead.

He pulled out his gun, ready to blast any monster who would dare get between him and vengeance.

It was just another day for Asgore. He woke up, ate breakfast and went to water his flowers as three monster’s entered his throne room. One was a blue bird monster with snow boots on while next to her was a monster with yellow skin wearing a brown poncho, brown pants, a large hat with teal highlights and a pair of boots with spurs. And lastly was a woman with long hair tied into a ponytail with a red bow, a white kimono with red trim, a red obi sash around her waist and white boots.

The three of them looked sad as the woman was carrying a container. And inside of it was a bright yellow human soul.

“Oh my.” Asgore said as he placed down his watering can. “A human has fallen down?”

“Yes.” Martlet sniffled. “His name was Clover. He,” Martlet began crying as Starlo placed his hand on her shoulder.

“He wanted us to bring you his soul so you could break the barrier.” Starlo said, hiding his face underneath his hat. “His last wish was for there to be peace between humans and monsters. That all of us are free to live on the surface.” At that moment it felt like the weight of the whole world descended onto Asgore’s shoulder’s. He was left speechless. His duty and responsibility to his people was not one he took lightly nor took pleasure in. It was a wonderful wish this Clover had, but…

“I see.” Asgore finally says. “I will see to it that the human is safely kept and their remains are honored with the others.” Ceroba hugged the container holding Clover’s soul more tightly. Silently wiping her tears as she held back the urge to cry.

“...” Guilt held her in place. She had used him, tried to kill him, begged for him to kill her so she could see her family again and Clover still let her live. He forgave her and wanted only the best for the people around him.

“It’s what he would’ve wanted Ceroba.” Starlo reminded her in a soft voice. “It’s… it’s the right thing to do.”

“... Goodbye Clover. And thank you.” As she whispered to the soul in her hands the sound of footsteps quickly approaching them resonated through the air. And before she could turn around a figure leaped over her and Clover’s soul turned blue as it raced into the grasp of whoever just jumped over her as they landed in between Ceroba and Asgore.

The three monsters uttered a shocked gasp as Asgore warily took a few steps back. It was a human with pale white skin and visibly black veins wearing Clover’s cowboy outfit. He was also noticeably taller than the Clover they were familiar with by at least a foot and his eyes were hidden underneath his hat.

The human let out a loud snarl as he leapt to the far left side of the throne room faster than any of them could even blink. Holding Clover’s soul container in his right hand as he drew his toy gun with his left.

“Wait! Is that… Clover?” Martlet said with a mixture of hope and confusion.

“Deputy Gunhat?” Starlo uttered with equal confusion. “But how-”

“I think it would be best if the three of you were to leave.” Asgore spoke up as he calmly walked in between Clover and the three monster’s. “There’s no need to escalate this situation any further afterall. I am Asgore. If I may ask, what is your name?”

[Such Hatred. This dimension is quite unique.]

“...” Anger radiated off of Clover like the sun. His breathing grew heavier and his aim began rapidly switching between Asgore, Ceroba, Starlo and Martlet before settling on Ceroba.

“... I see.” Ceroba said after looking over the human child for a moment. “You’re furious with me aren’t you.” Clover let out a dark low growl that sounded unlike anything any of them had ever heard before.

“I assume you came here looking for the humans who fell down like Clover did. That’s why you're clinging so tightly to the container. You’re trying to protect him right?” Clover said nothing as the air in the room became more tense. “... Clover was always like that. So selfless and kind, even to-”

“Shut up!” His words were filled with such vitriol hate and venom that it could paint the entire underground. Clover’s anger spewed forth like a raging inferno as his eyes met with Ceroba’s and the other’s. The two black empty voids causing all four of them to back away in fear as he let out another low snarl at them like an angry dog.

“Clover?” Martlet shuddered. “What… what happened to you?”

“Oh like you ever cared!” He pointed his gun at the blue bird. “All you’ve ever done is get me killed over and over. You’ve been a hindrance and a distraction to my mission. Listening to you has been one of the worst decisions I've ever made!” Shock and heartbreak filled the bird's mind as she simply stood there dumbfounded.

“Hey why are ya being like that to feathers?!” Starlo angrily asked. “I thought-”

“What? That we were friends?” Clover laughed. “You used me. You turned everyone against you and they took it out on me! And then you blamed ME for what YOU did and tried to kill me so you could take my soul and get famous. So is that what friends do Starlo? Use them and kill them when they’re not useful anymore?”

“Of course not.” Starlo weakly replied. “I… I made-”

“Oh, and I’m supposed to just forgive and forget the fact you tried to use me, kill me, and manipulate me. I see.” Clover began laughing again.

“And let’s not forget Ceroba. You only wanted to take my soul to use for Chujin’s experiments. You manipulated me with the intention to stab me in the back the whole time and even attacked your own friend to kill me. And you knew Chunjin had Zaley’s soul and that Axis was the one who killed her.” The last bit of patience Clover had left died at that recollection of fact.

“Go rot in hell with that murderer.” Clover pulled the trigger, blasting a large hole through Ceroba’s chest. As the monster fell to her knees a few stray tears fell from her eyes.

“CEROBA!” Starlo cried out as he knelt beside her. Ceroba’s body limply leaned against him as he held her hand in his.

“T-That’s… n-not Clover.” Ceroba uttered as her body began turning to dust. Mustering the last of her strength she pleaded with Starlo.

“Run Star.” she begged. “The other’s… need-” In less than a second Ceroba’s body turned to dust. A gentle wind blew by, carrying her away and leaving only her staff and bow as a sign she had ever existed.

“...” Starlo’s hands fell to the ground. His mind ceased to process anything except for the red bow in front of him.

“... You both need to leave.” Asgore said in a firm yet soft tone as he returned his attention to the human. “If you are here for the other’s I will take you to them now. Follow me.” A wide smile spread across Clover’s face as he holstered his gun. The King of all Monster’s walked towards the far end of the room to the corridor leading to the barrier.

“Why?” Starlo asked as Clover turned before passing through.

“She deserved it.” Clover spat. “Don’t give me your dumb speech on how she was “just misunderstood and was grieving”. She attacked you, she attacked Martlet, she injected Kanako with a serum MADE from Zaley’s soul.” Clover emphasised with clear disgust. “I was never anything more than a means to an end for her. Just like how I was with you two.”

“That is not true!” Martlet spoke up. “You… Whoever you are, you're not Clover! You-”

*BANG*

[Foolish creature. These ‘monster’s’ have minds even more simple than human’s in my dimension.]

A large hole appeared over where Martlet’s heart would’ve been if monster’s had hearts. Whatever she was about to say never got a chance to pass through her lips as her body turned to dust just like Ceroba.

“You never knew anything about me.” Clover casually, emotionlessly remarked as he aimed his gun at Starlo. The “sheriff” of the Wild Wild East tensed up. Fear filling his eyes for a moment before he took a deep breath and took his hat off. Holding it over his heart as he stared back defiantly at Clover.

But at that moment something strange happened. A bright light manifested in between the two of them as Core!Frisk manifested themselves in the middle of the room. Clover immediately holstered his weapon as to not scare them again as Starlo simply stood dumbstruck and in shock as Asgore re-entered the room.

“What the?!” Starlo uttered.

“Another human?” Asgore said as Core Frisk’s face was filled with shock and disgust at the dust pile where Martlet was.

[Fascinating. Perhaps there’s more to this reality than I thought.]

“Why did you do that?” Core said with clear anger in their voice.

“Vengeance.”Clover replied. “She was handing over this world’s version of me to HIM!” he pointed at the large monster not far away from him. “She was an accomplice to murder and endangered every single human on the surface.” Clover explained, holding back his anger and annoyance at the question.

“Martlet was knocked out by Ceroba and this version of you gave up his soul willingly.” Core pointed out. “Your actions aren’t helping to protect humanity but endangering them. Think about it. You're attacking everyone because of the death’s of the other fallen humans. That anger is going to spread to the monster’s who are left and going to create more resentment and HATE. And THAT is going to lead to more people getting hurt and dying!”

[Very focused on murder rather than the reason. Curious… ah, a war survivor. To see so much for a mortal, to be scattered and maintain their “sanity” is impressive. I wonder how this child would handle comprehending the amount of time he's been trapped.]

“It's eye for an eye!” Clover replied with equal anger. “Asgore declared war on humanity and murdered children! Monster’s want him to break the barrier and kill everyone. You think he won’t? I’ve been stabbed in the heart and decapitated by him over a hundred times!” Clover shouted as he stepped forward and pointed a finger at Core. “The world is evil, and cruel, and unjust. How is it right that children need to die so monster’s can be free to destroy humanity? Why should Asgore get away with child murder?! AND WHY DID I NEED TO DIE AND SUFFER FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS AND-” Clover paused as his mind suddenly registered the length of time he had been trapped as Flowey’s pawn.

“Ha. Hahaha. One hundred and twenty years.” Clover giggled. “I’ve been trapped for over a hundred years. A hundred! Aha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”Core Frisk, Asgore and Starlo stepped back as Clover’s hysteria continued to spiral.

[That’s it, little human. Give in.]

“I HATE IT!” Clover yelled as he slammed his fist into the ground so hard it shook the entire room and created a small crater. “I HATE HIM! I HATE EVIL. ALL I CAN FEEL… IS PURE. HATRED!” Clover quickly rose to his feet and lunged at Asgore. He tackled the much larger monster to the ground as his fingers quickly changed into long black and yellow claws.

[Let your “humanity” slip away.]

He slashed his hands at the monster. Taking an eye and leaving a large slash on his cheek as a lasso quickly wrapped around his arm. Starlo yanked him off the King of all Monsters. And now found himself the center of this creature's attention.

[And let me have control.]

“GRAB THE SOUL’S ASGORE!” he shouted as Clover slashed himself free of the lasso’s constraint. With a single lunge he cut straight through Starlo’s torso, reducing him to dust quicker than the blink of an eye as Asgore raced for the barrier. Only to find Clover standing there waiting for him as a vine burst from the ground and scooped up the other Clover’s soul.

“...?!” Asgore had no words as his mind was consumed with shock as to how Clover could’ve beaten him here. And upon taking a closer look he noticed that he had formed an eye with a golden iris in the center of each palm.

Asgore stumbled back in fear as for the briefest moment he saw, something standing beside the human. It was a tall slim figure dressed in a golden robe and a white mask covering its face. It had no arms and he couldn’t see and feet or shoes under its long robes and the eyes under the mask were darker than even the blackest. He blinked and the figure was gone as though it was never there.

“I won’t-mau canics walumono yaxushaca malikx.”Clover raised his hand and shattered the ground around him. Using blue magic he pulled the other fallen human souls out of their hiding spots and placed them behind himself.

“CALUMO BI HASTUR.[Hail the King in Yellow.]” Clover said as he raised his hand. His arm turned into a long golden tentacle that quickly raced for Asgore’s head. Piercing it and turning his body to dust in an instant as his soul hovered in the air. Clover blinked, shaking his head and regaining his senses as saw the soul in the air before him.

[How? … I see. The flower's torture has made your mind resilient to being controlled. Fighting my influence without even realizing it is an impressive feat. But it is no matter. All human minds break with time.]

It looked like an upside down white heart. Clover stepped forward, his hand open to take the soul so he could cross the barrier and bring the other’s their peace and well deserved freedom as a vine quickly popped out of the ground and grabbed Asgore’s soul and pulled it underground. And a second later, Flowey popped out.

“Hehehe. YOU IDIOT!” The flower mocked as vines shattered the containers for the others souls and quickly ensnared them. “NOW THE SOULS ARE MINE!” As Flowey absorbed Asgore’s soul and the six other human souls a bright blinding white light filled the room as Clover covered his eyes. Drawing his weapon and readying himself for yet another fight.

(Meanwhile in Nightmare San’s castle)

The multiverse is an incredibly vast and ever expanding place. When one timeline is created and choices are made, a new timeline is created and the process is repeated endlessly. But the multiverse itself didn’t compromise everything. There were places such as the void, the anti void and the universe Nightmare Sans had created.

It was a universe of darkness and endless suffering and torment. There were no stars, not truly as each pale blue ball of light in the sky was in fact victims of Nightmare who had their bodies and souls placed within spheres of flame. Damned to burn for all eternity, never resting, never thinking of anything except the scorching pain they constantly endured to provide “light” in this darken world.

The “native residents” were also of his own creation. Having been inspired by the personality and looks of Papyrus these hellish creations were the furthest thing for their source material. They knew only to serve their creator, they lived and died and tortured themselves and others to empower him. They were the labor, the foot soldiers, and workers of the entire universe.

All this negativity and pain gave Nightmare an ever increasing source of power but it was not without its limitations. As light fades as it gets further from its source so to does his power. Positivity such as joy, love, compassion all drained and pulled from his well of negativity. Making it so that some timelines such as Pacifist one’s were too dangerous or impossible for him to infiltrate and damn for eternity.

But the same could not be said of other beings throughout the multiverse. There were those who would do his bidding and act where he could not act. Such was the case for his use of the “Murder Time Trio” aka Dusttale Sans, Killer Sans, Horrortale Sans and Insanity Sans and in this particular case, the “human” Cyber.

“Well. That escalated quickly.” Cyber remarked at the ongoing events in the timeline Nightmare had him teleport Clover into. Cyber stood at only four feet tall and wore a large black hat with a white jacket and black pants with boots. The left side of his face was replaced with machinery with a big red eye replacing the one he was born with. Freckles spotted his right cheek and his eye glowed dark yellow faintly. “A pity I couldn’t dissect him for study. I could’ve found a way to replicate the unique energy in his soul.”

“You’ll get to have your chance to study him soon enough.” Nightmare said with a smug smile. In no time at all Clover had single handedly opened up the pacifist timeline to Nightmare thanks to their killing of Martlet, Asgore and Ceroba along with their immense HATE. This particular timeline was a golden example of how certain timelines were out of his reach. No war aside from the Human-Monster War, world peace and all that other disgusting nonsense were all present to make his efforts to damn that universe all the more difficult.

But Clover was the perfect tool for what he needed. The HATE within him was powerful enough to surpass countless genocide timelines and the negitive emotions generated by countless beings suffering from other various catastrophies across the multiverse. His very existence was enough to drag down an entire universe and greatly weaken his brother Dream’s source of positivity power in that universe. With such a powerful tool at his disposal, how could he not use the dumb child?

“The miniature code blinder I placed in his pocket also seemed to have worked.” Cyber grinned with pride as he sipped his can of rootbeer. CORE!Frisk was a nuisance in the fact that they could perceive everything going on in the multiverse. Add on that they can manifest themselves wherever and whenever they desire and CORE!Frisk became one of the biggest nuisances for his master’s plans. But, there were workarounds.

CORE could not see outside of the multiverse. This includes the void, the anti void where Error Sans lives as well as Nightmare’s dark plane he had created outside of the multiverse. Studying the process and creation of his master’s universe was not a simple task as Nightmares powers went far beyond the scope of soul magic and science. But after much trial and error he had finally created a device to hide his master’s agents and himself from their vision so they could act without Core being able to organize a response before they even arrived.

“I’ll begin working on a much larger model later for universal timeline blinding. Soon I’ll be able to block Core’s vision entirely and they won’t be able to stop my plans anymore.” Cyber was a new addition to Nightmare’s arsenal. The absolute ruler of his universe and a genius that could make anything with his high intellect and the technology from his Outertale Alternate Timeline.

“Knowing CORE they’re likely going to try bringing Ink and Dream into this. Those “Bad Time Idiots” are also likely to show up and it wouldn’t surprise me if they brought Epic!sans, Reaper and another Seraphim sans since you ordered those three to gather seven souls.” Cyber said as he sipped his rootbeer. “And by the time we all get there it’s a certainty Clover will have access to every human soul trait and possibly monster magic.” This got a curious look from Nightmare.

“Oh really?” Cyber nodded.

“There are two boss monster’s in that timeline and the Clover’s who absorb Asgore’s soul already gain a lot of power and access to his magic. It stands to reason that this would also happen to him, and the fusion would likely mix with the energy and glitch Zaley caused. If a monster attacks him, he’ll gain the ability to replicate and use their magic.”

“Which is another reason why you’ll be joining us.” Nightmare said as he flicked his fingers. Four blobs of black goop appeared and quickly disappeared to reveal the four skeletons Nightmare had brought into the room.

The first of the four was the newest of the bunch. A variant of Dusttale sans that had been recruited after… difficulties with the first Dusttale sans the other two were sent to recruit. This sans was a particularly powerful version amongst the Dusttale sans across the multiverse with unique abilities such as freely traveling the multiverse without the need for Nightmares or Cyber’s assistance.

Beside him was an alternate of sans called Killer. This version had made a deal with their universes Chara and joined them in slaughtering the monster’s of the underground. He kept gaining more LOVE and Determination until finally he surpassed Chara’s determination and murdered them. Nightmare recruited him soon after making Killer the longest serving sans of the group. He had long streaks of black under his eyes similar to Chara in their “demonic” state and a glowing red double circle in the center of his chest in addition to the knife they wielded.

Standing to the opposite side of Killer was Horrortale Sans. With a blood red left eye and a cracked open skull Horror was the most physically imposing of the group. In his universe the monster’s remained trapped underground after Frisk’s departure after killing his universes Asgore. Following this, the underground had fallen into a famine. Which was why Horror agreed to join the team. To bring food to his disgusting kind who couldn’t feed themselves.

But by far the most disgusting and deprived of the group was their backup and last resort, Insanity sans. Even Cyber wasn’t completely sure of his origins but his machines detected Determination and an unknown substance that had fused with his soul. Erratic, psychotic, bloodthirsty and remorseless Insanity was truly a monster in every meaning of the term. Often too dangerous to be around others, Nightmare used him as the team's backup. A rabid dog to be thrown at whoever the other three couldn’t handle.

“Is their presence truly necessary?” Cyber asked his master Nightmare. “My armies are ready to annihilate that world and whatever forces CORE and Dream manage to gather.”

“Your machines aren’t powerful enough to defeat my brother or Ink.” Nightmare reminded him. “And part of our deal was the fact you agreed to work along with whoever I told you. Would you like to “renegotiate” that deal, Cyber?”

“No master!” Cyber quickly assured. “I’m happy with things as they are, thank you.”

“Heh, you should be a little more polite kid.” Killer said as Cyber glared at the four skeletons.

“Pretty rude of you don’t you think?” Horror sans remarked. “You always like this to people you just meet?”

“You four are not “people”.” Cyber said with venom in his voice. “You monster’s are all lower than dirt. Don’t ever put yourself in the same category as me ever again.” His words immediately earned the ire of Horror, Dust and Killer who showed off the seven human souls he had taken from the timeline they had just decimated.

“You’d better watch your mouth kid.” Killer said as he pulled out his knife. “Don’t forget who’s got seven human souls here. I could paint this castle red right now if I wanted to.”

“You may work for the boss but don’t think we’re going to tolerate your crap.” Dust warned Cyber. “I don’t care how many timelines you’ve taken over. You're not going to win against any of us kid.” Cyber’s right arm immediately transformed into an arm cannon as his right eye began glowing dark yellow. All around him balls of fire, arrows, bones and gaster blasters manifested as a wide smile covered his face. Along with a long blood red trident that he held in his left hand.

“Wanna bet?” Cyber smugly said as Nightmare quickly restrained him with a long black tentacle.

“Enough.” the lord of negativity said as Clover’s arm returned to normal. “Cyber, get your army ready and destroy the ones CORE sends to the timeline. The rest of you are helping me against Ink and Dream.”

“So the kids going to be handling the small fry.” Killer chuckled. “Better not disappoint.”

“Be a darn shame if something happened to ya out there.” Horror said.

“Hehehe. HAHAHA. He’s gonna die. It's all he ever does.” Insanity laughed as Cyber clenched his fist. He wasn’t like his alternates, he was better than them. Smarter, stronger, superior to each and every single one throughout the multiverse. This operation wouldn’t even be possible without him. How dare these freaks mock him?

“What about Clover and Hoddar?” Cyber asked, trying to stay focused and not risk upsetting Nightmare more.

“Capture him and send him to a holding cell here.” Nightmare answered. “Study him and make him obey. He’ll be useful for reaching other timelines. Do not engage Hoddar.” the lord of Negativity looked towards the four monster’s in the room.

“That goes for the rest of you as well. If he arrives I will speak with him. Whatever he is isn’t human or monster or anything else I’ve ever seen. And another thing. DON’T let him touch you.” Nightmare flicked his fingers. Sending all of them to the timeline Clover found himself in.

As the light faded Clover found himself standing before an oddly familiar creature. It was a young monster, humanoid in shape with white fur, a snout, fangs and wearing a long sleeved green shirt with yellow stripes and black pants. The monster stood just a few inches beneath him in height. And as if on instinct, even though he had never encountered such a creature before, Clover knew exactly who was standing before him.

Asriel Dreemur the son of Toriel and Asgore. The monster who found Chara when they had fallen into the underground and embraced them as family. They were also complicit in Chara’s plan to free humanity which involved poisoning themselves so Asriel could absorb their soul and cross the barrier to gather more human souls and free monsters by shattering the barrier.

But things didn’t go according to plan. Asriel brought Chara’s body to the center of their village and refused to harm any of the humans even as they beat and tried to kill him. In the end, he died and later became the soulless monster who had been tormenting him for so long.

[Interesting.]

“Asriel.” Clover said without thought. If it weren’t for the fact the monster had been tormenting and using him and this timelines alternate of himself, he would’ve considered sparing him. But monster’s don’t deserve mercy. Especially this one.

“You know my name?” Asriel gave Clover a confused look. “And judging by your expression, you're REALLY mad at me huh?” the monster smugly said as Clover drew his gun. Asriel flicked his fingers and in an instant Clover’s gun was blown out of his hand by a sudden burst of magical energy.

“Trigger happy like always.” Asriel tutted. “Haven’t you learned anything yet?” Clover didn’t respond as he charged at the monster. His face contorted into one of sheer rage and HATE as he reared his left hand into a fist and punched at the monster. Only for Asirel to simply, effortlessly, move behind him so quickly that Clover barely felt Asriel kick him in the back and send him flying into the barrier. The magical construct blasted him away upon making contact. Sending him flying onto his back as Asriel loomed over him.

“So boring and predictable.” The monster raised his hand and ensnared Clover’s soul in a powerful telekinetic grip as the human screamed in pain. He raised him up and slammed Clover into the ground over and over as the human felt his soul was burning. An all too familiar sensation of change to his virtue washed over him as Asriel tossed him into the ceiling, the barrier, twisted his body and with great effort, folded and broke his body.

Clover’s screams echoed through the entire underground as several Royal Guards burst onto the scene. Asriel paid them no mind and snapped his fingers. Reducing them all into dust within seconds as he slammed Clover into the ground.

Though twisted, bleeding black and broken his body was quickly repairing itself. After a few seconds Clover’s bones returned to their proper positions as his skin sealed itself. He glared daggers at the monster’s amusement at seeing him suffer as he pushed himself back onto his feet. His soul growing even stronger with newfound virtues dwelling within it.

Bravery. Patience. Perseverance. Kindness. Integrity. The red trait and HATE all flowed within him now.

[Such power in a single mortal. A pity it is in one so short-sighted.]

“I HATE YOU!” Clover went to punch Asriel again, and this time moved with such speed it caught the monster completely off guard. Clover’s fist slammed straight through Asriel’s jaw and completely dislodged it as blood began dripping down onto the ground.

“Hehe. Finally letting your true self show.” Asriel said as his jaw reformed itself and he began circling around his new plaything. “You always try playing the “hero” but I saw right through that. You always insisted you serve justice but it's an excuse. You’re just like me.”

“I’m nothing like you!” Clover tried to hit Asriel once again. “You kept me in a death cycle, manipulated and used me to get their souls. You use everyone like toys and kill them to get a laugh. I came down here to save them! To free the other children and bring them peace.” Clover clenched his fist as the memory of his various death’s by Flowey played in his mind. The flower would get bored suddenly and turn on him. Ripping him apart over and over until he was satisfied and then kept him in the death cycle.

Sometimes it would last for hours, even days. It never ended. He would die. And die. And die. And die. And die. And die. And die. And die. And die. And die. And die. And die. And die. And die. And die. And die.

“Oh please Clover. You did this for yourself.” Asriel said as he caught the boy’s fist. “You never met them, or knew any of them. You wanted to “do the right thing” so you can feel like you mattered. You wanted to be a hero and be praised and loved by everyone.” Asriel smiled.

“Because no one loves you.” Clover’s eyes widened in shock at his words. No one loved his counterpart in this world? But what about his father, mother or grandpa? Were they not in this reality? Did this version of him have no one? What about friends? Surely he had at least one.

Well he didn’t have any friends either but most kids in his school were cruel or were part of “gangs” that picked on others. And he would never stoop to their level.

“But I really need to thank you.” Asriel continued. “You took out that old fool. You found the souls and let me finally have feelings again. I can finally do what me and Chara tried to do so long ago.” Asriel’s eyes turned black as night as he tilted his head to the side with a sadistic demonic smile.

“Destroy this worthless world and make it mine!” the God of Hyperdeath said. “Human’s. Monsters. Everyone. I’ll show them all the true meaning of this world!” Clover began concentrating energy within his soul as he let out a large blast of black HATE magic at the monster. Asriel stepped aside and allowed the magic blast to bounce off of the barrier and straight into Clover. Blasting him through the wall back onto his back in Asgore’s throne room.

“I’d absorb your soul and become a GOD now. But, you’re very stubborn.” Asriel noted. “If I tried that we’d just be stuck fighting each other in my head for all eternity like all the other times I tried taking your soul. So, I’ll come back for you later.” he said as his appearance suddenly changed again.

Asriel was much taller now, around Asgore’s height. He had a pair of horns atop his head along with sharp teeth and claws at the ends of his hands. Adorned in a long robe with white sleeves with a large collar with shoulder pads.

“I’M GOING TO HAVE FUN WITH THE HUMANS ON THE SURFACE!” Asriel hovered effortlessly in the air as he flew past the barrier. Clover chased after him, blasting and trying his hardest to shatter the barrier. But none of his attacks would work. The ground shook and the echoes of explosions and absolute destruction filled the air.

He was slaughtering people, killing them with his godlike powers. Every fear humanity had towards monsters had been realized, and it was all his fault.

“No.Nonononononononononono!” He needed to fix this. He could fix this if he just loaded a SAVE and killed Asriel before-

FILE OVERRIDE: USER ASRIEL DREEMUR DESIGNATED SAVE FILE CONTROLLER

[This is what a god is to these mortals? Childish destruction and overwhelming power without purpose? Recreation by a foolish “creator”? This is unacceptable. Hmm… you’ve been resilient to my control without even realizing it. You can’t even hear me. But… I wonder… Oh that will work perfectly.]

Asriel controlled the timeline, could do anything he desired. Clover paced back and forth, muttering frantically to himself as the ground shook with another explosion on the surface. A human and a boss monster soul was required to cross the barrier. If he absorbed Toriel’s soul he could-

Clover threw up black slimy vomit at the thought as his stomach churned. Toriel was the one monster who never killed him. She tried to protect him, care for him. She was innocent and didn’t deserve death. But… if he did nothing humanity, every single person on the surface, men, women, children, elderly, infants. They would all die.

He weighed Toriel’s life against the extinction of everyone and the universe being controlled by Asriel’s whims. It was no contest.

Clover ran fast, faster, and faster. The world moved in slow motion as he raced forward. Blasting through monster’s or any obstacles in his way as he leapt through the air. He kept pushing himself to go faster, to get there immediately. As he jumped over a chasm in Hotland he felt the flesh on his back stretch as two large golden yellow wings formed.

[You’re growing very fast, human. This HATE is useful. Soon the last shreds of “you” will be gone. And with your mind gone mine will enter this plane. You will be my vessel.]

Shocked, Clover nearly face planted into lava as his new wings saved him. He was going much faster now, flying past waterfall and Snowdin within two minutes as he landed before a large door in the middle of the forest. Clover drew his gun and blasted the door wide open as he raced inside. People were dying and he needed to save them.

“Scanner’s picked up another mutation.” Cyber said with fascination as he held the rectangular device in his hands. He, Nightmare and the three freaks(Insanity had to be kept in an isolated location) had teleported on top of Mt Ebbot just as Asriell began destroying the nearby human city. The air was thin but thankfully none of them were bothered by it. And he hadn’t needed to breathe in a very long time.

“His cells react to his thoughts and emotions. Hardening and softening in response to stimuli. Shifting and changing to fit his needs. Clover’s not even human anymore.”

“Like you?” Killer remarked as Cyber glared at him. “Oh come on now. You could at least pretend to be a little nicer.”

“Not a word, either of you.” Nightmare interjected before things could escalate further. “... He’s going to take Toriel’s soul. Cyber, what do you predict will happen to him?”

“With that weird energy in his soul I can’t say for certain. But absorbing her soul will greatly increase his power. And given his HATE’s unique properties and his fight against Chara I predict a zero percent chance of Asriel surviving.” Cyber stated. “Even if he absorbed all the human souls in this world, Clover’s rage would skyrocket and his LOVE would increase drastically with each death.”

“So we’re just waiting for things to get started then?” Horror sans said as he held Cyber’s code blinder in his hand. “How do these things even work? You said they blind us to CORE!Frisk.”

“An idiot like you wouldn’t even be able to comprehend how it works.” Cyber rolled his eyes. “Just don’t break it and it’ll work. I didn’t have any time to make backups because of your stupidity.” Horror sans big red eye twitched as he tightly clenched his axe. He stepped forward as Dust grabbed his shoulder.

“He isn’t worth it.” Dust said in a soft but firm voice. “Don’t let him provoke you.” Cyber smiled at Horror’s anger. His yellow eye glowed, daring Horror to strike at him as the skeleton relaxed his grip.

The world shook as Asriel unleashed more of his power. The sky turned black as lightning rained down. Fires burned and within moments the whole world was consumed in chaos as the God of Hyperdeath continued his killing spree.

The pain the people felt as they were being crushed beneath buildings. The sadness of parents as they watched their children’s life end before their eyes, and the sheer terror Asriel was placing in the heart of every single person in this world filled Nightmare with power. It was like he was having a five star meal. He felt full, powerful, and hungry for even more.

He used his power to connect to Asriel’s mind. He encouraged him to be even more brutal. With a snap Asriel lit entire families of people aflame. Trapped communities in ice to shiver and freeze forever. Asriel even took a moment to use his powers to bring the dead back to full health. Only to kill them once again. And again. And again. And again.

The God of Hyperdeath was now a piece in a much larger game. Perhaps if he survived after this, he’d place Asriel in a star and let his suffering last for eternity.

The ground would not stop shaking as Toriel held onto the railing on the stairs on her way towards the large door separating the Ruins from Snowdin. There hadn’t been an earthquake like this before in all of her time being trapped in the underground. The ceiling above her began to give way. Falling and shattering upon hitting the ground as the shattering of a vase echoed in the air.

After a few moments the quakes calmed down. She steadied herself, standing up straight as an explosion rocked her home and sent her tumbling down the stairs. She fell face first onto the floor at the bottom of the stairs. And as she looked up, she saw someone she thought she’d never see again.

“Child?” Toriel uttered in shock. Clover seemed taller and much paler than he did earlier. His clothes were tattered and two large sickly yellow wings protruded from his back. His eyes were completely black as his mouth was agape as his hands trembled.

“...” Clover breathed heavily, his body shivering as he took a step back. “Doing the right thing is never easy.” he whispered to himself. “Doing the right thing is never easy.”

“Shh.” Toriel whispered as she picked herself up and knelt in front of him. “Let me heal you.” she placed her palm on his chest and all at once the injuries and scars Asriel had left on him were gone. He felt warm, content… happy.

“I… I-”

“What has happened to you child?” Toriel asked. “Why were you so hurt? And how do you have wings?”

“I’m… I’m turning into a demon.” Clover answered. Tears began flowing from his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her. Weeping, he said nothing as Toriel lightly patted the back of his head.

“What are you walking about?” Toriel said as Clover pulled himself away from her. And pointed his gun at her.

“I… It’s faster if I explain like this.” He connected his soul with her’s and shared all of his memories between him, her, and Flowey. All his deaths, all the times the flower had used him, killed him, caused him to leave from Toriel. And then he showed her his “fight” with Asriel who left to destroy humanity.

“As-Asriel?!” Toriel stammered. She held her paws over her jaw. Her son she thought she had lost was alive as a flower somehow. Her son, her kind, compassionate baby was destroying the world and had killed and tortured the human child in front of her for so long.

“No.” she shook her head. “Not… he wouldn’t. He’d never…” The proof was in her mind and currently destroying the world as her mind reeled. Toriel took a deep breath. Clasping her hands together as she held back her tears.

“You're going to try to stop him, yes?” Clover nodded as his gun shook in his hands. He kept saying his father’s words over and over in his head. He knew what he needed to do, people were dying and here he was hesitating. He needed to pull the trigger. He needed to-

“What is your name?” Toriel asked as Clover lowered his weapon.

“Clover.”

“That is a lovely name.” Toriel smiled as she held out her hand. Clover took it as she held on to him tightly. “Clover, I'm sorry to place such a burden on you. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. I have no right to ask you of this but please. Take my soul and save them all. Undo what he’s done and let all of us live in peace.” Clover nodded as Toriel wrapped her arms around him. He returned the gesture and after a few moments, he saw a small ball of fire manifest above Toriel’s right finger.

“Please avert your eyes.” Toriel silently pleaded as Clover’s eyes widened.

“Wait!” For a brief moment Clover’s eyes glowed yellow as Toriel placed her free hand over them.

“Whatever happens, I know you’ll do what’s right. My little cowboy.” Before he could say anything her body began turning to dust as he grasped for her. What remained of Toriel piled at his feet as he held her upside down white soul in his hands. Clover pulled his hat over his eyes and wiped his face as he absorbed her soul.

He felt powerful, warm like an oven and now he could smell the magic making up monster souls. They were less sweet than what human souls smelled like but still appealing. Clover opened his hand and a small ball of fire hovered over his palm.

“Thank you, Toriel.” Clover remembered the way to the surface from the ruins. He raced through her house, jumping over and evading or outright blowing up the puzzles in his way as he reached the flower patch he had fallen on when he fell down each and every time.

With his wings he flew up and thanks to Toriel’s soul he passed through the barrier. He ran through the tunnel and found a sight that sickened him to his very core.

The sky was black, the land charred and ruined. Trees and other wildlife were obliterated and burned. The city in the distance was in ruins with only a few crumbling buildings remaining. The wind was frigid and in the distance he could hear the monster’s mad laughter.

CLOVER LOVE INCREASED. CLOVER LOVE INCREASED. CLOVER LOVE INCREASED.

Clover drew his gun and began running. Leaping into the air as his wings helped him soar through the air. All the while Nightmare and the other’s watched as the battle between a human and a god was about to begin.

“Such hate.” Nightmare smiled. “Kill him.” Nightmare’s voice echoed in the back of Clover’s mind. “Don’t hold back. Tear him apart!”

Chapter Text

(A very VERY long time ago. Blessed Era. The Black Night.)

It first started as a horrible scream. The pained cries of millions of humans and monsters crying out in unison as the world was swallowed by a sickly yellow sky. The flesh of humans morphed into creatures with many eyes, sharp teeth and other forms far too alien to comprehend. Monster’s likewise suffered the same fate as their magical forms became not only more physical but much more grotesque and disgusting.

The blessings of immortality, of youth and wellbeing from Hoddar and Mella had begun burning the souls and bodies of every single human and monster. Those that were not immediately changed found themselves falling to the ground in pain or stood transfixed at the yellow sky above.

“Salu Hastur. Salu Hastur.” Countless humans and monsters chanted for The King and Yellow to come, to bless them, to bring them to his city of Carcosa. Lightning reigned from the sky. Striking the earth and breaking the ground beneath them and annihilating them by the thousands as they offered their souls to The King in Yellow.

As madness claimed the world, two beings stood high atop the world's tallest peak. One bore the appearance of a nine foot six inches woman with long flowing golden hair that stretched to the ground. Her skin was fair and around her neck she wore a medallion of the sun. And beside her was a man clad in what appeared to be plate mail covering his whole being. With a long blade in his left hand and a shield in his right he raised his arms as more lightning reigned down onto the world.

“How could this happen?” Mella said in disbelief. “I… we only-”

“Hastur’s controlling them through the power we shared.” Hoddar said as he continued to devastate the world. “Raise your arms! We need to stop the ritual before-”

“You're killing them!” Mella angrily interrupted as she pulled her husband's arms down. “We’re not like them. We can restore them if we-”

“This is no time for arguing Helen! If Hastur crosses over he’ll destroy every single reality in this multiverse. We can restore them AFTER we stop the ritual. Now-” before he could continue both of them watched as another being entered their world from a portal just twenty yards away from them.

Floating in the air in front of them was a skeleton monster with what appeared to be blue wires flowing down from his eyes. He wore a long white and blue coat with slippers. His body appeared damaged as his physical form constantly kept glitching.

The skeleton glanced down at the world beneath him. Briefly studying the humans and monsters trapped in an eldritch trance before turning his attention to Hoddar and Mella.

“Filthy anomalies.” the skeleton remarked with vitriol disdain in his voice. “You don’t belong here.”

“What are you?” Mella asked. “Your… numbers are completely distorted.” All humans and monsters in this reality seemed to be made up of numbers. Countless lines of 1’s and 0’s compromised each and every being yet this monster before them was different. His code was damaged and filled with ERRORS.

“Who I am doesn’t matter.” the skeleton said as he gestured to the madness unfolding all around the world. “I can see you two aren’t made of code which means you’re from another multiverse. Whatever you're doing here ends now. Leave this multiverse. Now.” Hoddar approached the monster. Floating through the air as his ten foot stature towered over the monster’s six foot one height.

“This IS our home and YOU are meddling in things you can’t even begin to comprehend!” Hoddar pointed the tip of his blade just inches from the skeleton’s left eye, who looked bored by his threat. “You will leave now. We cannot not allow The Unspeakable One to enter this reality.”

“So that’s what’s going on.” the skeleton said as he smacked away Hoddar’s sword. “This “Unspeakable One” is trying to enter this world huh? Well,” the skeleton flicked his finger as two gaster blasters appeared by his side.

“Guess I’ll just have to ERASE you all.”

(Present Time - Ruined Undertale Yellow True Pacifist Timeline)

The world was dead. In only a short time Asriel had reduced a once thriving peaceful world to ashes. The grass, trees and plants were charred and burning. Towers of smoke and flame stretched to the heavens and the earth itself seemed to have opened to swallow entire cities whole. Everylife, every person, every human being be they man, woman, child, infant and elderly were all suffering as Asriel trapped them in an endless death cycle.

LOVE INCREASED. LOVE INCREASED.

Clover clenched his fist as he flew over the destruction. The air filled with the cries of the innocent and the crackling of flames beneath him as towers of fire shot high into the sky. He had been too slow to prevent all of this. Too stupid to think of the possibility that this world's Flowey could take advantage of the situation like he did. The cowboy bit his tongue, trying to maintain some control over himself as he followed the scent of the souls Flowey had taken.

He could smell them in addition to three humans. As he got closer he could hear their screams and they were… familiar somehow.

Flying over a mountain and descending past the clouds Clover made out the faint outline of Asriel and two men and a woman. The human’s bodies were completely charred and unrecognizable and that filled him with HATE. He drew his weapon, taking aim at the monster responsible for all this devastation and channeling his newfound power into the gun’s barrel as he pulled the trigger.

What came out the end of his gun was unlike any shot he had fired before. The blast of black electrical magic was interlaced with a mass of bright red fire around it. Toriel’s fire magic had fused with his HATE, increasing his attack’s power as the blast itself was now twice his size in diameter. In less than blink and faster than light itself the attack reached Asriel as the monster was caught in a gigantic explosion of magical energy that spread from the blast’s center and reached up to the upper atmosphere and at least twenty miles across in all directions.

‘What have I done?!’ The blast surely hit the humans with Asriel. Clover felt his heart sink as the encroaching flash swallowed him.

Caught in his own attack Clover could only brace himself as the explosion swallowed him as well. Surprisingly he felt no pain as the shockwave blasted him through the air and carried him for three hundreds miles back from the direction he came from. Landing on his back he pulled himself up as though nothing had happened.

“You really never learn. Do you?” Clover spun around and took aim as Asriel as the monster quickly grabbed his hand. He quickly went for a punch with his other hand. Only for the monster to grab and twist his wrist before throwing him over his shoulder.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Your parents didn’t teach you anything about manners did they?” Asriel mocked Clover as he began circling around him. “Don’t you know it's rude to shoot your best friend?” Clover hissed as he rolled back onto his feet and took aim once again at the monster.

“We were never friends.” Clover replied as he pulled the trigger. Asriel raised his left palm and caught the blast for a moment before the power of Clover’s attack punched straight through his body. Creating a large hole through his palm and chest as Asriel for the first time looked surprised.

“Hmm. Didn’t think taking Toriel’s soul would empower you so much.” the god of hyperdeath remarked with a smug grin as his flesh quickly grew back. “So tell me, what was it like? Did she beg? Was she confused or shocked? You didn’t even give her a chance to know what was about to happen did you?”

“Like you ever cared.” Clover coldly replied as the two began circling each other. “You’ve never cared about anyone! Not Toriel, Asgore, or even Chara.” Surprise and anger both filled Asriel’s eyes as the monster clenched his fist.

“How do you know about them?” Asriel inquired as lightning began crashing down around them.

Clover ignored the question. “You went along with your “friend” and let them poison themself. YOU, caused their death, and, the death of all the children who fell down after when Asgore declared war. If you really cared about them you would’ve stopped them or got Toriel and Asgore to help them but no. Like every other monster you only cared about yourself and-” Clover ducked as the lightning Asriel blasted from his palm blew just barely over his hat.

“How dare you!” more lightning rained down on Clover as he began running around the God of Hyperdeath. Firing his gun he blew another hole in Asriel’s chest as the monster manifested two swords. With one long white blade in each hand he closed the distance between him and Clover in an instant. Slashing into the human as the blades shattered upon contact with Clover’s body.

“What?!” Asriel said in shock as Clover drove his fist into the taller monster’s chest. To Asriel it felt as though he had been hit by a mountain as he stumbled backwards. Clover took aim, charging more power into his gun as Asriel held up his closed palm and then opened it.

Using his newfound power over reality he opened up with the earth underneath Clover. The human fell and as he sprung wings to save himself Asriel clenched his fist and sealed the earth. Crushing Clover and with a snap of Asriel’s fingers a large burst of lava shot up into the sky. Burning the human as he was shot up in the lava burst.

He then channeled the power of the soul of this world’s Clover. Manifesting a single large pistol into his right hand as he pulled the trigger. Six shots rang out in an instant. Blasting Clover four times in the chest and two for each of his eyes. The human spun around uncontrollably in the air as he crashed into the ground. Charred burned and with both his eyes completely burned away.

“Aww don’t tell me you’re already done.” Asriel laughed as he approached Clover. “We’re just getting warmed up.” Clover slammed his fist into the ground beside him. His fist nearly shattered the earth underneath him and created a large crater as he pushed himself back onto his feet. Eyes pitch black as his HATE restored his vision.

“I. HATE. YOU!!!” A flash of orange light glowed from Clover’s eyes as he channeled the power of Bravery. With a speed faster than light itself he charged at the monster, his hands elongated and twisted into sharp sickly yellow claws as he attacked Asriel with a flurry of animalistic slashes.

The God of Hyperdeath couldn’t evade or avoid his attacks so he quickly utilized the protective power of the Kindness soul he had taken and created a shield around himself. But Clover’s attack effortlessly shattered the barrier. The claws tore straight through Asriel’s chest and through the other side of his back. As blood pooled on the ground around him he leapt into the air to separate himself from Clover’s onslaught as the human embedded his claws into the monster’s right leg.

Looking down Asriel didn’t see a human anymore. It was a creature with large yellow wings coming out of its back, with sickly pale skin and black veins. He manifested another blade in his left hand. And with a single stroke he slashed his right leg off as he used his free hand to blast lighting into Clover’s face.

The blast sent Clover deep into the earth with a thunderous roar of magical power. Magma bloomed from the break in the surface as Clover quickly soared back into the sky. His body was burned but still undamaged. His face one of pure HATE and rage as he drew his gun. Firing another blast of HATE fueled electrical magic fused with Toriel’s magic as Asriel quickly dodged the blast.

The earth shook as the explosion quickly filled the entire background behind Asriel. The magical energy destroying everything that was left and swallowing the land in a massive dark cloud as Asriel snapped his fingers.

Three humans appeared in the air beside him. Ensnared in a blue telekinetic grip and suspended in between him and Asriel. One was an elderly man with a well trimmed beard, one was a fairly tall muscular man and the other was…

“Mom?!” Clover uttered in shock. “Dad? Grandpa?” Asriel’s laughter filled the air as he manifested a gun and placed it right behind his mother’s head.

“So you do care about them.” The God of Hyperdeath gave him a sadistic smile. “Good.”

*BANG*

Alice’s body went limp as her green soul shattered in an instant. She fell as Clover cried out for her and quickly dived down to catch her. Quickly catching her body in his arms, her eyes completely empty as tears quickly began flowing from Clover’s eyes.

“Mom.” Clover sniffled. “You… YOU!!!”

Clover LOVE Increased. Clover LOVE Increased. Clover LOVE Increased. Clover LOVE Increased. Clover LOVE Increased.Clover LOVE Increased.Clover LOVE Increased. Clover LOVE Increased.Clover LOVE Increased. Clover LOVE Increased.Clover LOVE Increased.Clover LOVE Increased.Clover LOVE Increased.

[Excellent.]

“Wait what?!” Asriel balked. “How is your LOVE increasing without-” Clover’s eyes glowed dark blue as he ripped both his father and grandpa from Asriel’s grasp. He gently placed them back on the ground, handing over his mother to his father as he drew his weapon on the monster.

“RUN!” Clover yelled at them both. “GET OUT OF HERE NOW!” Clover fired his weapon and Asriel again dodged his attack. Unable to find the words to say or do anything as both combatants were moving far too quickly for either men to comprehend they began running. The earth shook violently and began breaking underneath their feet as they took refuge on the other side of a nearby hill.

“What the hell is happening?” Lawrence finally said as he and his father caught their breaths. “Was that Clover? It couldn’t have been.” he said in disbelief. “He’s too tall and he doesn’t have wings or-”

“Lawrence focus!” His father snapped. “We need to get as far away from them as possible before-” a light quickly emerged just three feet away from him. And from it stood a small grey child with two black voids where their eyes were.

“What the-”

“You both need to leave through the door over there now!” Core!Frisk quickly said as he pointed to the red door that was definitely not there less than a second ago. “Your world is about to become a battleground and you’ll die if you’re caught in the fighting.”

“Who are-” Lawrence paused as he noticed a figure quickly approaching them at a speed he could only compare to being super sonic. In less than a blink a child with a black hat, white jacket and black pants stood before them. Freckles dotted the right side of the boy’s face and his left was covered entirely by machinery with a glowing red light emanating from his eye.

“C-Clover?!” Lawrence balked. “What’s going on?” Cyber smiled as he cocked his head to the side.

“GET IN THE DOOR NOW!” Core!Frisk yelled as the smile on Cyber’s face stretched to his ears. His right arm quickly turned into an energy canon as a bright white light began emanating from the barrel.

“Bye dad.” Cyber!Clover said as he fired his blast at this universe’s version of his father.

The skies were lit aflame as multicolored lighting rained down onto the ruined world. Asriel had sprouted large wings on his back as he and Clover’s battle had taken to the skies. The two circled each other and kept firing a hail of magical energy at one another.

Each blast from Clover shook the earth. Every blast created its own explosion that rivaled the destructive power and brightness of the atomic bombs used to end The Great War in his universe. Asriel likewise responded with even greater power. With a snap of his fingers several portals opened. On the other side were stars that began glowing as their light was concentrated into massive towers of plasma. Incinerating everything they touched as they passed through and swallowed Clover in a storm of destructive solar power.

Yet the human persisted. He was too full of HATE to die. To Determined to let this battle end in anything but victory. He had all of the virtues flowing within his soul now. Bravery, Patience, Kindness, Integrity, Perseverance and what little remained of his Justice all enhanced his power and endurance along with Toriel’s soul. Clover survived the attack and his arm morphed into a long yellow tentacle that wrapped itself around Ariel’s right arm. And ripped it clean off with one swift tug.

Asriel screamed in pain. Fear was beginning to overtake the mind of this “God” as Clover smelled the Determination and magic within the limb he just ripped off. It was a delicious scent. Far sweeter than anything he had ever smelled before and the sensation caused his stomach to roar loudly.

[That’s it, little human. Give in to your instincts. Let hunger take your mind.]

He was hungry. Soo hungry he hadn’t even realized how much power he had been putting into this battle. On instinct he bit into Asriel’s hand, and the result was pure bliss. He felt stronger with each passing second of the monster’s flesh being within his maw as he quickly scarfed down the rest of the arm.

Asriel watched dumbstruck and horrified as Clover ate his severed limb. And then promptly licked his lips to ingest the blood left on his face. Even with the two empty voids in the place of his once yellow eyes Asriel saw the hunger within Clover.

And it terrified him.

“More.” Clover closed the distance between them in an instant. He bit down into Ariel’s neck and began trying to eat him as the God of Hyperdeath was sent into both shock and a free fall as the two of them plummeted into the ground. He punched Clover in the face, only for the human to quickly grab his remaining arm and swallowed his hand with one bite as his jaw seemed to unhinged itself and grow larger briefly.

Asriel utilized the human souls to create a barrier around himself, but Clover bit right through it like it was nothing. Asriel concentrated the full power he had as this world’s god and released it in a power burst of magic in all directions. The blast pushed Clover off of him and allowed him to teleport high into the air as he began using Kindness to restore his damaged body.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?” Asriel was done playing around. He held out both his restored hands and began sending out a storm of multicolored energy blasts that homed in on Clover. The human blinked, and quickly rolled onto his feet and took to the air as he began flying to avoid the oncoming attack.

“You are not getting away.” Asriel stated as he pressed both his hands together. Creating a large sphere of magical energy as he aimed at his fleeing opponent as the energy blast’s began hitting him. Blowing Clover out of the sky and sending him crashing to the earth.

“Take this!” But before he could fire his attack a light blue sphere of magical energy enveloped him. He turned his head and saw a familiar large skeleton monster with the upper half of a gaster blaster’s skull hovering above his head. Three sets of wings sprouted from his back and he wore a multicolored scarf around his neck.

“How?” Asriel uttered as he recognized the monster in front of him. “sans?! How did you get those souls? When-”

“It’ll take too long to explain but right now I need you to stop fighting the kid over there.” Seraphim!Sans said as his eyes glowed light blue and red. “Fighting is making his HATE overtake his humanity and if that happens a whole lot more than this timeline will be in danger.”

“What are you talking about?” Asriel grunted as he punched the barrier encasing him.

‘Now’s the perfect chance for some payback.’ a dark voice echoed from the back of Asriel’s mind. ‘With the human soul’s sans doesn’t stand a chance. After all those RESET’S he caused, all those failed attempts and humiliations he made you endure he should suffer.’ Asriel couldn’t agree more. He hit the barrier again and again. Cracking it with three power strikes before finally shattering it.

“I don’t know how you got those soul’s but I don’t care.” Asriel smiled sadistically. “I’ll rip them out of your dying corpse and make you watch as I rip Papyrus apart. Actually,” Asriel snapped his fingers and teleported this universe's Papyrus into his palm.

“HUH? WHERE AM-” Asriel used blue magic to ensnare Papyrus in a telekinetic grip and begin pulling his body apart. “AGH! MY BODY FEELS LIKE IT'S BEING PULLED APART BY A MILLION UNDYNE’S!” Seraphim!Sans eyes began glowing blue as he tried to break Asriel’s grip on this universe's version of his brother. Only to be met with a lightning bolt to the face as Asriel twisted Papyrus’s arms and legs into paper thin sticks.

“Why don’t I just do that right now.” The God of Hyperdeath twisted and contorted Papyrus until he was a thin line of magical bones. Using his magic to keep him alive until the very end where he was allowed peace as he turned to dust and blew off into the wind.

“You…!” Both of Seraphim!Sans eyes began glowing red as Asriel began laughing at him.

“Even with seven souls you're still as useless as ever.” Asriel remarked. “Not that-” a loud screech filled the air as Clover leapt back into the sky. He took aim and fired his weapon. Unleashing an energy blast at both Asriel and Seraphim!Sans. Both quickly dodged as it as the blast flew past the atmosphere and quickly raced towards the moon.

The explosion was brighter than any supernova in this universe's history. In an instant the blast consumed the large celestial formation in a bright flash as it was completely incinerated. There was no dust, no space debris or remaining formations in the aftermath. Only total annihilation.

“How is he this strong!?” Asriel uttered in disbelief as Clover began firing at him and Seraphim!Sans. Two gods engaged the human and each other in battle as Nightmare and the Murder Time Trio minus Horrortale!Sans continued watching from the ground.

“Heh. Not bad for a kid.” Killer remarked at the moon’s destruction. “But still, where’s Dream and Ink? Shouldn’t they be here by this point?”

“They seem more interested in containing the kid than us.” Dust observed as they saw a new door open in the middle of a clearing. And from the other side were more “heroes” Core!Frisk had gathered.

“Cocky little brat isn’t he?” Killer said as he watched Cyber fighting Epic!Sans, Reaper!Sans, Reaper!Undyne and the “Bad Time Trio” consisting of a sans, Underswap Papyrus and a StoryShift Chara. “Fighting them all on his own while still showing off. Doesn’t he have a robot army or something?”

“Cyber enjoys the thrill of fights and puts himself at a disadvantage for fun.” Nightmare explained. “But thanks to his mind and weapons, this isn’t an issue.” he said as Cyber grabbed the rubber chicken Epic!Sans was using to fight him.

(Earlier with Cyber!Clover firing at this universes version of his father)

Lawrence couldn’t duck or move as the blast shot out of his “son's” arm. His yellow eyes went wide, his body instinctively moving to shield his wife’s body from the blast as a monster with a black and purple long-tailed trench coat appeared in front of him. The monster raised his fingerless gloved hand as a wall of bones shielded them from Cyber’s attack.

“Bruh. I know you have parental issues but this guy isn’t even your dad.” Epic!Sans said as Cyber!Clover rolled his eyes. Lawrence's father grabbed ahold of his son’s shoulder and pulled him towards the door as it started to… glitch?

“What the-” the three of them and even Core!Frisk looked surprised as the door flashed and disappeared.

“A new invention of mine.” Cyber smugly said pulled out a small triangular device from his pocket. “The Quantum Dimension Travel Blocker. Since Core LOVES-”

“My name is Frisk!” Core!Frisk yelled.

Cyber ignored him. “-To “save” people from timelines I conquer, I made a way to prevent that. Granted it took a bit longer to work than I would’ve liked but I’ll fix that later. In the meantime, there’s no backup or dimensional door that's going to save any of you. And speaking of saving.” Cyber smirked as he turned his attention squarely on Lawrence and his father.

“Where’s your son Lawrence?” Cyber asked as the earth shook from the battle between Clover and Asriel. “And I’m not talking about me, or the one with wings. Where is Clover right now?”

“What are you-” Lawrence’s yellow eyes widened in realization and horror at the implication. “No.” his gaze fell towards where the monster was fighting Clover. “He was at school. He wouldn’t have-”

“Doing the right thing is never easy.” Cyber!Clover chuckled. “Isn’t that what you told him?” Lawrence's eyes began glowing yellow as his soul began violently shaking. His father likewise held a dark expression across his face as his soul began undergoing the same effect.

“Are you two really going to abandon him? And let the monster who took our mother away get away with his crimes.” Cyber pointed at Alice's dead body in Lawrences arms as Lawrences and his father’s LOVE began to increase.

“Don’t listen to him!” Core!Frisk warned both men. “He’s trying to trick you both. That Clover doesn’t have any love for anyone or anything beside his desire for power.”

“What I do, I do for Justice!” Cyber coldly stated. “And YOU are not free of blame. You knew that version of me was a danger and you did nothing to help him during his fights in that Dusttale timeline. If you had intervened sooner you could’ve stopped Chara from cutting his head off and accelerating his mutation.” Cyber continued.

“And when you had him in the Doodlesphere you decided to talk rather than throwing him in a MAC. Your dumb “pacifist” method only gave Nightmare the opportunity he needed to send him here. And when you found out he was here you didn’t warn him about Flowey, and instead decided to get angry about the “innocent monster’s”.” Cyber scoffed. “This entire situation is your fault.”

“You sent him here!” Core!Frisk angrily shouted. “The positivity barrier prevented Nightmare from being able to teleport anyone to this timeline. You teleported him here and watched Asriel destroyed the entire planet.”

“BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!!!” Lawrence screamed. His LOVE had risen from one to forty three in only a matter of moments. “If either of you say’s another word I’ll blow your heads off!”

“So my grandson’s soul is stuck in that monster?” Lawrence's father coldly, emotionlessly, said to Core!Frisk. His LOVE had gone from five to ninety.

“Bruh, I get you guys want to help your son but we got this.” Epic!Sans said. “Once we handle Asriel we can reset the world and bring everyone back.” Lawrence barely held his anger as an inferno raged behind his brightly shining golden eyes.

“Including my son?” Lawrence asked. “You’ll bring him back home safe?” Epic and Core!Frisk hesitated for a moment. An opportunity Cyber immediately seized on.

“No but you know what will happen?” Cyber said. “You’ll both forget all of this ever happened. And Clover will be stuck in the underground. Doomed to die alone and his soul used to shatter the barrier so monsters can destroy humanity.” Lawrence’s LOVE and his father’s began increasing rapidly again as an aura of yellow began emanating from their souls.

“There’s no guarantee that’ll happen!” Core!Frisk insisted. “There are timelines where-”

“Shut up!” Lawrence and his father yelled as they turned away from the others and began walking towards a hill in the distance. Both men deciding at that moment to do all they can to save their Clover’s soul and destroy the monster who took him away. After they had safely buried Alice in a spot away from the fighting.

“Lucky idiot.” Cyber scowled at the fortune this version of himself had in regards to his family. Cyber shook his head, watching them for a moment before returning his attention to Epic!Sans. “I’m detecting a human soul in you. But I do have to wonder why Core didn’t give you seven. Unless… ah of course. It’s my other self and not me or Nightmare that’s the priority right?” Cyber deduced as the earth shook from Clover and Asriel’s fighting.

“Heh, as if I’d tell YOU the plan. But before we do this I gotta ask. How is killing and torturing every single person in all those universes and timelines you invaded justice?” Epic!Sans asked. “Killing innocent people is like the opposite of Justice.” Core!Frisk’s face turned into one of sadness as Lawrence blew a hole into the earth. Gently he and his father placed Alice in before burying her. Meanwhile Epic!Sans and Cyber began circling each other.

“Sometimes to do some good you have to be the bad guy.” Cyber remarked. “You may think I’m doing this for power but that couldn’t be any further from the truth.” Cyber’s left arm began to morph into a dark grey liquid as its shape changed into that of a long silver colored blade. “There is nothing more just than my goal. And for it I’ll give and do anything.” Cyber said as he gestured at his body. “Like this body of mine. I sacrificed my flesh, literally melting it and transforming it into these liquid metal nano-machines. I can take any form I want, change it into anything I wish.” Cyber smiled with the feral joy of a starving predator about to devour its prey. “I am the greatest being in the entire multiverse. And soon-”

“Bruh. You’re completely insane.” Epic!Sans shook his head as his eyes began glowing purple as he flicked his fingers. Cyber quickly closed the distance between the two of them before Epic could as much as blink. His long silver blade arm stabbed straight through Epic’s chest and out the other end. The red human soul Epic had absorbed earlier had been pierced and was now stuck at the tip of Cyber’s blade.

“Insanity appears as such to freaks like you who are too dumb to truly grasp reality.” Cyber said as he slammed his skull into Epic’s nose hole. The impact nearly shattered the monster’s skull completely as he pulled his blade out of Epic!Sans's body and he began siphoning the determination from within whatever version of Frisk this soul belonged to before it shattered to pieces.

“And right about-” Two lights emerged behind Cyber as a metallic liquid began collecting and forming a jet-pack on his backside. In less than a second Cyber!Clover took to the sky as two beams of magical energy, one blue and the other orange hit the ground where he used to be.

“Sans and Papyrus.” Cyber smirked. “It's been a while “Bad Time Trio”.” While the sans in the trio was the typical ordinary “Classic Sans” common throughout the multiverse the Papyrus on the other hand was from the AU “Underswap”. He was a tall skeleton with a slim build wearing an orange hoodie, green shorts and orange sneakers.

Sans and Papyrus in tandem unleashed a flurry of bones and Gaster blasters at the universal conquer. Their power was greatly increased thanks to the human soul’s within themselves and their combined speed and power proved to be enough to keep up with even Cyber’s greatly enhanced speed.

“Hmm. Knowing Chara.” Cyber smirked as his right arm morphed into a six foot long sniper rifle with a laser attachment. In a single movement he killed the power to his jet-pack, flipping himself one-hundred and eighty degrees down and taking aim at his target.

In less than a second the laser dot found the center of the skull of a human girl with brown hair, black eyes and wearing a lime green hoodie over a white t-shirt. They had knelt beside Epic!Sans, using their soul magic to help him regenerate from his injuries as Cyber fired a high-powered anti-tank round aimed squarely at her brain. The roar of the shot drowned out even the destruction on the world Clover and Asriel were causing as Chara glanced up in surprise. Her eyes wide as the ground beneath them turned black and she and Epic!Sans were pulled underneath as his shot missed.

“Hmph.” Cyber rolled his eye as he continued evading Sans and Papyrus’s attacks. His left arm turned into a grey liquid as it morphed this time into a missile launcher. Taking aim as a bright blue spear pierced his arm and the missile within. Creating an explosion as Sans and Papyrus pierced him with a storm of bones. Nailing the multiversal villain into the ground as the duo ensured he had no way of moving or escaping.

“*Huff* he’s *Puff* gotten a lot faster since last time.” Sans breathed deeply along with Papyrus. The short skeleton gave a thumbs up to a monster wearing full armor save for her face. She was a variant of Undyne, the Reapertale Goddess of War to be exact. Unlike universes like this, in Reapertale monsters were gods who shaped and created their reality and ruled over humans. This Undyne didn’t have a human soul in her as her power was already far greater than many in the multiverse.

“We’re not done yet!” Reapertale Undyne declared as she drew back her bow. Pouring her godly power into it as the light of the arrow rivaled that of the brightest stars. “You will pay for the destruction you’ve wrought!” Cyber laughed. He laughed, and laughed as a grey liquid continued pouring out of his body.

“He’s not attempting to escape.” Papyrus said as he manifested a pair of gaster blasters beside him and San’s. As the light from Undyne’s arrow continued to glow brighter and brighter, San's noticed the glimmer of a red light from Cyber’s eye.

“WATCH OUT!” Using his blue magic he tossed Papyrus and Undyne into the air just as Cyber unleashed a massive red beam of destructive energy from his eye. The blast completely disintegrated anything in its path and only just barely missed San’s as Cyber casually ripped himself free of his imprisonment. His “flesh” quickly regenerated along with his clothing as he tutted at the monsters.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Observant yet blind.” Cyber remarked with a sigh. “Honestly I was expecting more. I thought Core would give you all seven human souls or that they’d send someone who was actually a challenge for me but no.” Cyber crossed his arms with a sigh. “My idiotic counterpart is the only one that matters. You’re all just here to stall me so the other’s can contain that demon.”

“Arrogant as ever huh?” Papyrus remarked. “If you’re really so powerful, why didn’t you end this fight already?” The smile Cyber gave Papyrus sent a chill down the tall skeleton's spine. It was the same look his universe's human had as they killed everyone in the underground.

“Because it's more fun to watch you struggle and then kill you freaks with my own hands.” Cyber replied as the ground behind him turned into a pool of black. And in an instant Chara, Epic!Sans and another sans wielding a scythe and wearing a black cloak attacked him together. Only for their attacks to hit a barrier around Cyber and bounce off.

“!... Impossible.” The sans with the scythe and who had saved Storyshift!Chara from getting her head blown off was Reapertale!Sans. Being the God of Death in his AU he had the power to instantly kill his opponent with a single swing of his scythe. But thankfully for Cyber, he had passed beyond death long ago.

“You are weak.” Cyber said with utter disdain. “I’m far beyond all of you. The fact any of you are still here is purely for my amusement, and the fact I can one up Core by killing you all.” Cyber reached into the pockets of his pants and pulled out two small metal cubes. Squeezing them in his hands, the cubes quickly turned into a tiny puddle of liquid nanomachines that quickly expanded. Transforming into a pair of pistols with a light blue painted one in his left hand and a red-orange styled one in his right.

“You all placed soo much trust in Core but you forgot they’re an idiot.” Cyber continued as the six of them surrounded the villain.

“You’re always underestimating everyone you view as beneath you.” Storyshift!Chara said as she drew their knife. “That’s why you lost last time, and it's why you’re going to lose along with your master.” Cyber turned his head to his left. Smiling at Chara as he gave them a playful wink.

“That’s why I upgraded myself you idiot.” Cyber fired the blue painted pistol at the human. Chara leapt out of the way and in that moment a large block of ice manifested where they once stood as the other’s all attacked Cyber together.

“C’mon!” Cyber shouted as he ducked under Reapertale!Sans scythe. “Show me what you freaks got!”

(Back with Clover and Asriel)

[Hoddar is coming]

There was nothing else in the world to Clover aside from the monster’s he was facing. His mind was filled with the desire to end Asriel and Seraphim!Sans. His nose picked up the sweet scent of the human souls within both of them and with each passing second his HATE for them grew.

His HATE had empowered him to the point they couldn’t shield themselves from any of his attacks. Be it when he grew claws and tore at their bodies or blasted them with his gun the two gods could only dodge or teleport out of the way of his attacks. Pain was nothing to Clover as each strike felt like nothing as their attacks shattered upon touching his flesh.

But these factors didn’t make his duty easy. Asriel manipulated reality itself. Warping the very fabric of space-time combining celestial objects with his own magic to fight his opponents. And Seraphim!Sans utilized his mastery of soul traits and his own magic to get the better of his opponents. During a moment where Clover was tearing off one of Seraphim!Sans wings, the God of Hyperdeath outstretched his hand and opened a portal to a nearby star.

He clenched his hand as the light blue class O-type star which had a surface temperature of over 30,000 degrees kelvin began to grow smaller and smaller until it fit neatly in the palm of his hand. Magic pooled out from the gods' furred hand and into the celestial object, giving it a light green glow around its surface as he flew at Clover from behind. Slamming the star into his back and creating an explosion that sent Clover flying into orbit in an instant.

The magic kept the explosion’s radius to just Clover without sacrificing any of its raw power. As the human was sent flying Asriel seized the opportunity to finish his work on Seripham’s wing. Ripping it off with a single tug as he took a hold of the light blue human soul it contained.

“You really are an idiot.” Asriel mocked as he absorbed the soul. “You brought all these souls just so I could take them!” He sensed Seraphim!Sans power decreased greatly as the eyes of the monster turned red and he manifested a red knife in both hands as he slashed at him.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” The laugh Asriel heard wasn’t sans. It almost sounded like-

“Chara?!” Asriel gasped in shock as the monster stabbed him in the chest. And did so again, and again, and again before stabbing him square in the forehead. The Asriel fell and created a large crater in the ground and shook the earth with his impact as sans retook control over his body.

“jeez kid, no need to be out for blood like that.” sans said to Chara as they rolled their eyes and clutched the red soul they shared with Frisk as they stood within Seraphim!Sans mindspace they shared with sans and the other souls.. “You could’ve hurt Angela with that attack.” When sans had absorbed Frisk’s soul along with the other souls that had fallen into the underground their consciousnesses all appeared in his mind. Each and every child was present and could influence his actions if he lost control of himself for a moment. Such as what had just occurred with Chara.

“We need to separate the souls from Asriel.” Keegan the soul of perseverance said. “If we can get Angela back and hold onto the other souls Clover will chase after us and we’ll lure him to the MAC where we’ll be able to contain him.”

“Sans!” Frisk shouted as they clutched the red soul they inhabited along with Chara. A streak of black HATE raced vertically through their soul. The HATE was empowering Chara and increasing Frisk’s aggression as they held down the other human.

“crap that kid’s HATE is spreading.” Sans said as he looked around at the others. “does anyone else have any of that HATE in them?” Keegan shook his head. David the soul of Bravery did as well in addition to Grace the soul of Kindness who immediately raced to Chara and Frisk. Channeling their magic into empowering their happy memories and bringing up feelings of love to counteract the HATE.

“what about you, Jessie?” While still being a Justice soul Jessie wasn’t an alternate version of Clover. Core!Frisk was worried about the potential consequences of a Clover seeing and experiencing timeline ending destruction and evil within a powerful form like Seraphim!Sans. As such they selected a Seraphim!Sans who both didn’t have a Clover within himself as well as being more peaceful minded.

“Please… stop.” Jessie begged. While her body glowed yellow along with her soul she still bore an appearance similar to Clover. A western-style cow-girl outfit with a hat, boots, and hair that stretched down to her neck.

“Jessie?” sans said cautiously as the girl remained as still as a statue.

“No, you’re wrong. This IS wrong! I… no! Please stop... It burns.” her voice was deep, soft, and dripped with agony. The HATE had spread to consume half of her soul and her left eye was now an empty void staring right at him. “It burns. Mr. Sans… help… me.” She screamed in pain and clutched her soul as she fell to her knees. She wept and as the others raced to help her she drew her gun on Sans. In less than a second she pulled the trigger and delivered a blow square in the center of his forehead. Knocking him out as she let out a low animalistic growl.

“I. HATE. Monsters.” The other humans within Seraphim!Sans took a step back as Jessie spoke with a voice that was not her own, but Clover’s. As she stood they realized that both of her eyes had been swallowed by the HATE within her.

“Let her go!” David demanded as Keegan quickly got in between him and Jessie.

“Don’t provoke him.” Keegan whispered as David glared at him who responded by simply lowering his glasses to glare square into David’s orange eyes.

“You heard Core!Frisk. Fighting him will make everything worse.” Keegan whispered softly. “Let me try talking to him.” David bit his tongue and crossed his arms as Keegan approached “Jessie”.

“Um, hi.” Keegan nervously said as he stood just three feet from Jessie. “My name’s Keegan.”

“Clover.” His voice sounded normal and yet Keegan almost swore he heard the voices of Frisk and Chara mixed in with his words.

“Is Jessie okay?” Clover nodded in assurance.

“She and I are talking right now.” he explained. “She misses her parents.” fury all but poured out of Jessie’s lips as Clover’s vitriol HATE flowed through her veins and soul. “What Asgore did to you all is wrong.” Knowing how futile it was to argue against Clover on this, Keegan instead decided to change the subject.

“How are you talking through her?” As the question passed his lips he felt Clover connect with his soul. He saw the HATE festering and burning within Clover’s soul. HATE wasn’t a corrupted virtue but instead seemed more like a virus. It grew, multiplied, and spread as was its nature. And as the HATE originated from Clover’s soul, it allowed a connection to those infected with HATE to be established.

“None of you deserve this.” Clover said in an angered but genuinely empathetic tone. “You never should’ve died. I will RESET your world and reunite you with your families.” Clover lifted the hat from over Jessie’s eyes. Giving the soul of perseverance a warm smile.

“You’ll all be alive to go back to your families.” he told them.

“But what about the monster’s?” Grace asked. She had the appearance of a young girl, around seven Clover guessed. He could see into her memories thanks to the HATE growing within her and saw what had been done to her. Asgore had killed her unsurprisingly, yet she forgave him and wished for the best for both humans and monsters.

She was not evil, but naive. Humans and monsters could never live in peace with each other.

“If you RESET the timeline they’ll all be trapped in the underground. They’ll all be sad and -”

“I’ll kill them.” Clover coldly stated. “No one will ever be trapped in the underground and killed ever again.”

“You freaking psycho!” David spate as HATE manifested a bit on his soul. “Monster’s aren’t evil. If you-”

“They hunted you and you defended yourself.” Clover reminded the soul of Bravery. “I’m defending all of humanity, protecting every single person by killing them. You all should be living your lives, making friends and spending time with your families.” Clover clenched his fist with a low hiss. “Not trapped inside a monster who only uses you for power.”

“Sans isn’t like that!” Frisk said as they continued holding down Chara. “He’s a good hearted monster-”

“He killed you.” Clover coldly said as HATE began growing and consuming their souls. Within seconds the human’s fell, clutching their souls as the HATE within them burned their virtues. Clover, controlling Jessie’s body, walked over sans unconscious form and raised her boot over his head.

“I. HATE. Monsters.” with those three words he planted her boot through his skull. Shattering his soul as the magic collected around her and, thanks to the fact they were all inside his magical form already, Jessie absorbed his soul before it shattered to pieces.

Seraphim!Sans was no more. As the skeleton died his outward appearance began to change and shrink as it fell from the sky. Within seconds the place of the once massive monster had been taken by Jessie who sported all of the items she had on her when she was alive. But like Seraphim!Sans she sported wings on her back and within those wings were the souls of the other children. All of who now sported black souls of HATE.

“It burns.” Jessie winced as she clutched her soul. Clover flew back down to earth, landing beside her as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“You get used to it.” He could smell the sweet scent of their souls even better than before. His stomach growled as he bit his tongue. He was starving, he NEEDED virtues, he NEEDED something to eat. It would be so simple to devour the children and Jessie, they were too weak to stop him.

‘No. NO. This is wrong!’ Clover shook his head. ‘I need to focus. I’m here to save them, not hurt them.’

[You can’t fight it forever. You’ll give in. And when you do, your “morality” will fade away.]

‘I need to get her away from me.’ Clover took a deep breath as he approached Asriel. “I saw in your mind Core!Frisk is trying to stop me. Go destroy the thing they're going to use and kill the monster’s there.” Clover ordered. “And don’t kill any humans.” Jessie and the other’s within her felt compelled to obey. Perhaps it was the connection to Clover’s HATE soul, perhaps it was fear, or maybe it was the bitter resentment and anger they had all buried within them. But they obeyed and flew off. Leaving Clover to face Asriel one on one again.

“Oh so you’re approaching me?” Asriel chuckled as he dusted off his sleeves. “Even after I smacked you with a star you’re still trying to beat me? Don’t you realize I control this universe. If I wanted to, I could simply turn you into a stone statue or toss you into a magma pit and let you burn.” he boasted as Clover drew his weapon.

“Shut up and die!” Clover replied as he fired his gun. Asriel shook his head and teleported himself right behind as he snapped his fingers.

“You missed.” The sky grew dark as thousands of streaks of lighting hurled down onto Clover. Magically infused lightning slamming into his body. Creating a bright blue light show that rivaled a supernova as his skeleton became visible amidst the storm of electrical sparks.

But as Asriel laughed at Clover’s pain the roar of two energy blast’s came up from behind him. Tuning his head too late he took the full force of two justice soul blasts. One to his torso and one to his head. The two shots blasted him onto the ground as the lighting dissipated and Clover fell to the ground.

“What was-!!!” shock and fear quickly filled Clover’s mind as he saw this universe's version of his father and grandpa standing together in the distance. Both taking deep heavy breaths due to the exhaustion the shots had caused them.

Asriel shook his head as he quickly rose back onto his feet. “Well. Look who was too dumb to run.” he mocked as he flicked his fingers. In that moment the ground and rocks rose and raced to grab a hold of both men’s arms and legs.

“I see now why Clover’s such an idiot.” The God of Hyperdeath mocked as he teleported to the men. Clover raced back onto his feet. Closing the distance and aiming his fist at the monster’s jaw as his hand bounced off a green barrier Asriel created around him and the two men.

“Looks like I just needed one more soul to deal with you.” he said as he manifested a long white blade in his left hand. “Wonder how strong I’ll be after taking two more.”

“You killed my son!” Lawrence’s voice was steeped in venom and anger. Never in all of his life had Clover seen or ever imagined his father could be filled with this level of anger. Not even against the grandpa of his universe had he ever been this angry.

“Oh no I didn’t kill him. He gave his soul up willingly.” Asriel smirked as he saw Lawrences shocked expression. “And the things he told me about you, Lawrence.” The God of Hyperdeath tutted.

“He looked up to you so much. He wanted to be a hero like you, be loved by you but that didn’t happen did it?” Asriel smiled as guilt began spreading across Lawrence's face.

“You rarely spent any time with him or even talked to him. No matter what he did it was never good enough to get your attention. You focused so much on saving other people you forgot all about him.” Cracks in the rocks began spreading across the restraints holding Clover’s grandpa as he focused more and more power from within his soul.

“I… no I-”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” In that moment Asriel connected his mind with Lawrence. Through his son’s eyes he saw himself turning down a chance to play with him and instead going to work. Again, and again, he felt as Clover did. Alone. Abandoned. He had always told himself he needed to work to provide for him and his mother and to keep people alive with his work as a doctor so they can live with their families and be happy.

He focused so much on work and helping others that he forgot his own son.

“I… I didn’t-”

“It's all thanks to you that any of this happened.” Asriel continued. “It's thanks to his soul’s power. That I AM GOD! And why I was able to-” Ariel didn’t even get the chance to finish his words as Clover’s grandpa broke free of his restraints and tackled the monster into the ground.

“You think this is funny huh?!” Clover’s grandpa yelled as his soul’s magic began glowing around his hands as he punched the God in the face. Causing the barrier around them to fall. “You think you can kill my family and get away with it? You DEAD! You hear me?” Clover’s grandpa wrapped his hands around Asriel’s neck.

“YOU’RE DEAD!” A loud snap of bones echoed through the air as Clover’s grandpa snapped Asriel’s neck. The monster’s arms fell to his sides, his eyes empty as the man rose to his feet.

“Burn in hell you damn psycho!” he spat as he began charging up power within his soul. Firing four bursts of bright yellow magic, freeing Lawrence who was still in shock as was Clover.

“I did this to him?” Lawrence uttered as softly as a whisper. “I… I did this. I-” his attention was brought back to reality as Clover’s grandpa slapped him across the face.

“Shut up!” he shook his head disappointingly. “You need to stay focused Lawrence. That monster was just saying all that to torture you.” he pointed out.

“I don’t need your advice, or your help.” Lawrence angrily shot back as the two stepped towards each other. Eyes filled with daggers for the other.

“Stop!” Clover rushed in between the two men. Using his enhanced strength he easily pushed both of them away from each other.

“We’re family!” Clover cried out. “We stick together and help each other when we’re in need. I don’t know why you two hate each other but it's stopping now!” he declared to both men as a gun manifested in Asriel’s left hand.

“Mom wouldn’t want this.” Clover said to this universe's version of his father and then turning to his grandpa. Eyeing the ring on his right hand. “And grandma wouldn’t want it either.” As the words passed his lips a small patch of yellow appeared on Clover’s black HATE soul.

“I can fix this,” he continued. “From what I saw in their minds I just need to kill Nightmare’s minions and knock out a few human’s Core!Frisk sent here. With Asriel dead and the others gone I’ll be able to LOAD to before they took his soul and bring him back home.” Clover smiled. “Mom will be back and everyone else will too.”

[Such naivety. It’s a miracle you’re still alive.]

“You can do that?” Lawrence said in disbelief as Clover connected his mind to theirs. In an instant he shared with them his experience and understanding of SAVE and LOAD as well as the fact he can control it once the others are gone.

“So we need to take down both sides then.” Lawrence said.

“Or let them take each other out.” Clover’s grandpa suggested. “Either way, if this is the only way to save the world then I’m in.” Clover smiled. But as he opened his mouth to speak a bright beam of yellow pierced his skull.

Shot after shot in quick succession raced out of the barrel of the magically created yellow soul gun Asriel wielded. Two, then four, then eight and then a bright yellow beam of energy raced out of the barrel. In an instant the upper half of Clover’s body was completely annihilated. The rest of his body fell to the ground, twitching as Asriel began laughing.

“YOU IDIOTS!” Asriel laughed as he began floating in the air. “I’m GOD! Did you really think breaking my neck was going to stop me? I see now where Clover gets his stupidity from.” Both men aimed their souls at Asriel as he snapped his fingers. Trapping both of them in a blue telekinetic grip as he lifted them into the air.

“You really think you can get a “happy ending” at the end of all of this? HA. I rule this universe. Everyone belongs to me now. You two. Clover. All of you are mine!” Both men struggled against Asriel’s grasp on their souls. But their efforts were in vain as the God of Hyperdeath began squeezing their bodies with ever greater force as a circle of fire manifested around them.

“I control everything.” Asriel continued. “And I’m going to keep you all alive until I get bored. And when I do, I’ll come up with something else and we can do this all over again.” The God of Hyperdeath let out a dark haunting laugh as the fire approached the two humans.

But just as the fire was about to envelop them, Clover’s black soul raced up and surrounded them in a barrier of green soul magic.

“OH C'MON!” Asriel grunted as Clover’s body regenerated in an instant.

“I’m going to kill you.” Clover stated as he snapped his fingers and shattered Asriel’s hold on his alternate universe family.

Far away from the fighting between Clover and Asriel, Cyber and the Bad-Time Trio and the other’s Core!Frisk sent, was yet another destroyed city. Little to nothing remained of it as much had been reduced to soot, ash and craters the size of football stadiums in all directions. But one little building, nestled underneath an overpass still remained.

It was a convenience store, nothing special but its interior still held food and drinks. Horrortale!Sans used his blue magic to collect the supplies into neat piles. Several dozen packs of bottled water, bags of chips and a few meats and fruits were all collected in good condition as well.

“lucky me there's still some supplies laying around.” the skeleton said as he turned his head and saw an all to familiar face sitting on the counter behind him. “oh hey kiddo. what brings you here?”

“I'm everywhere thanks to the CORE scattering me across spacetime.” Core!Frisk replied. “But as for why I’m here, I just wanted to talk.”

“And we both know how that’s going to end.” Horrortale!Sans sighed as he began using blue magic to put the supplies into a dimensional holding bag Nightmare gave him as per their deal.

“sans, it's been over seven years since you’ve eaten or drank anything.” Core!Frisk said with a sad expression. “You’re in pain due to hunger constantly. You don’t need to suffer like this.”

“heh, i don’t need your “help” kid.” Horrortale!Sans rolled his eyes. “i’ve been doing just fine ever since the CORE ran out of power. the others in the underground need food more than i do. and besides, i’m dead. i don’t need to worry about starving to death.” Core!Frisk reached a hand into their eye hole as he jumped off the counter and began putting small capsules into the bag sans was using.

“These are specialized supply capsules, I asked Science!Sans to make.” Core!Frisk explained. “They contain food, water, and mechanical parts, tools, and schematics so you can help your underground more.” he smiled. “It’ll take time, but your underground will recover to how it was before. You and no one else will need to suffer or be hungry anymore.”

“heh, what is this? are you trying to play me kid?” Horrortale!Sans asked as Core!Frisk shook his head.

“I can see everything sans.” Core!Frisk said with a deep sigh. “Every action, every death, I’m seeing it all happen at once. And I…” Horrortale!Sans watched as Core!Frisk tightly clenched his hands.

“I can’t stand by and do nothing,” he said. “I want to use this power to make things better for everyone. No one deserves to suffer just as no one deserves to be condemned. We all deserve a chance to change and be better.” he smiled as he held his hand out for Horrortale!sans.

“Please stop doing this to yourself sans.” Core!Frisk urged the skeleton. “You don’t deserve this.” Horrortale!Sans stared down at the hand outstretched to him and then turned his gaze towards his own. After a moment he sighed and shook his head much to Core!Frisk’s disappointment.

“i’ll eat once no-one in my timeline is back to how it used to be.” the skeleton replied as he sealed up his bag and teleported it away with a flick. “i appreciate the concern, but I just can’t. you know how bad things in my underground are. if by starving like this someone else can have some food then it’s just what i have to do. thanks for the supplies, i’m sure they’ll help a lot.” the skeleton said as he began walking towards the shattered glass door that was the entrance to the store before stopping.

“you’re a good kid frisk.” Horrortale!Sans gave them a genuine smile. “no matter what happens i know you’ll make sure thing’s work out. now i got to go before my boss decides to come looking for me. you take care. and… i’ll try to go easy on your friends.”

“Your timeline will only improve if you start taking care of yourself.” Core!Frisk warned. “You can all have a happy ending. But to do that you need to take care of yourself. Or Undyne will…”

“yeah i know.” Horrortale!Sans said with a low growl. “thanks for the advice.” he said as he teleported away.

“Please listen sans.” Core!Frisk silently begged. “Now if I can-” Core gasped as they saw Seraphim!Sans lose themselves to HATE. “Oh no. No no no no no no!”

(Back to Cyber fighting Reapersans, bad time trio, epic sans, and reapertale undyne and others.)

The God of Death and War, three judges of their respective undergrounds and Epic!Sans worked hand in hand to withstand Cyber’s brutal high-speed onslaught. The combatants moved at speeds far beyond what the human eye could perceive, their blows and strikes shattering the earth and rock around them as the air was lit aflame with their movement. Magical energy blasts created massive valleys and opened deep magma oceans that began spurting out onto the surface.

To Epic!Sans this clash was a matter of protecting a timeline in desperate need of saving and preventing more innocents from being condemned to an eternity of suffering for Nightmare’s dream of multiversal domination. For Sans and Underswap!Papyrus it was a matter of justice and judgement for all the evil Cyber had caused. As for the gods, Reapertale!Sans and Reapertale!Undyne it was a matter of revenge for Cyber invading their world and killing countless others and nearly killing their universes Asgore.

And for Storyshift!Chara, it was a far more personal matter. Already having endured countless cycles of death and suffering thanks to their universes genocidal Frisk, she had been granted freedom and a happy ending at the end of it all thanks to their Frisk’s rebellion against Mettaton. But then Cyber took all of it away from her.

Her home was the first timeline Cyber had ever invaded. Her world was swarmed by an army of robots that captured or annihilated everyone they came across. Frisk couldn’t RESET as Cyber had far more determination than him, and she likewise could do nothing to stop him from taking everyone away.

She was only saved thanks to Core!Frisk bringing her and a few others into their home the Omega Timeline. She escaped, but Asriel, Toriel, Asgore, her Papyrus and Sans as well as Frisk were all captured. Cyber decided not to kill them but instead trapped them in machines to keep them both alive and in a constant state of pain and suffering until their physical bodies died.

“Is that the best you’ve got?” Cyber!Clover mocked as he held Chara’s knife in his left hand. In less than a blink a splurge of grey metallic goop burst from underneath his left arm and quickly formed into another arm with a large hammer where the hand would’ve been. And with a single motion he slammed his newly formed weapon square into her chest. Cracking several of Chara’s ribs and sending her flying through the air and straight towards a lava flow.

“gottcha kid.” sans teleported to her and with his blue magic he pulled her to safety. Chara coughed up blood as she thanked the skeleton.

“insolent mortal.” Reaper!Sans grunts as he ducked underneath Cyber’s yellow energy blast. Being a creation of death itself Reaper!Sans was immune to attacks thanks to his non-corporeal state of being. Additionally he could instantly kill anything he touches so long as it has a soul. But Cyber!Clover had somehow found a way around each of these advantages.

And as Cyber landed a shot square in the god of death’s chest Reapertale!Sans was reminded of a sensation he rarely ever felt. Pain. Burning agonizing pain that brought him to his knees. And as Cyber lined up his next shot Reapertale!Undyne leapt to his aid. Manifesting a shield with her left hand that blocked the blast as Epic!Sans and Underswap!Papyrus attacked Cyber with a storm of bones and gaster blasters.

“Get up Death!” Undyne shouted. “If you can still hold your scythe you can still fight.” Death nodded as Cyber fired a missile with his right arm at Underswap!Papyrus. The skeleton only barely managed to create a bone wall as a shield before the explosion destroyed his defense and blasted him through the air as sans caught him.

“*Cough* He’s certainly gotten stronger since last time.” Cyber!Clover’s attack had fractured several of Papyrus’s bones and scorched his orange hoodie. “We can’t land a single attack on him.”

“He’s wearing some kind of shield that's preventing our attacks from making contact.” Chara pointed to a small rectangular device attached to Cyber’s left knee.

“nice eye kid.” sans said as his left eye glowed blue and yellow. “i’ll keep him distracted. paps give chara the opening they need to smash that thing.” the two nodded as sans teleported high above Cyber. Manifesting well over a dozen gaster blasters, their mouths alight with bright blue balls of magical energy as Clover turned his left arm into a long blade. And stabbed deep into Reapertale!Undyne’s chest.

“Really?” Cyber!Clover rolled his eyes as he hoisted Reapertale!Undyne over his head. “Do it!” he dared the skeleton as a bright blue chain quickly wrapped around Undyne’s leg.

At that very moment Cyber was met with a rubber chicken being slammed into the side of his face. The attack didn’t actually hit him, of course. Epic!Sans attack bounced harmlessly off his shield as he simply gave the skeleton a bored and disappointed expression.

“Bruh really? That shield is broken.” Epic!Sans remarked as Cyber grew two arms underneath the one’s holding up Undyne. Drawing his pistols he pulled the triggers as Reapertale!Sans emerged from underneath him. Slamming his scythe with all the strength a god possessed and sending Cyber flying and pulling Undyne free with the chain as sans snapped his fingers.

Every single blaster he manifested hit Cyber and exploded with a bright glow of blue magical energy. While the shield did protect Cyber from attacks and damage it didn’t seem to prevent him from being flung by a sufficiently strong kinetic force. He raised his hand, entrapping Cyber’s arms and legs in a sea of bones along with Epic!Sans. Pinning him as Reapertale!Sans swung his scythe at Cyber’s face.

Cyber fired his eye laser at the godly blade. It’s brilliant red beam halting the attack completely as Papyrus teleported himself to them. Standing over Cyber as he created a pair of blaster’s over his head. Firing them at the villain as his flesh turned grey and hardened before quickly rolling to his side. Shattering each and every bone that held him with no effort as Chara raced in from behind him.

And with one slash, their attack cut straight through Cyber’s miniature shield generator.

“Don’t break my stuff!” Cyber shouted as his fist tuned into hardened metal as he punched Chara in her left eye. Bruising it a dark shade of purple as she fell onto the ground as Cyber’s flesh and appearance returned to its normal state.

Cyber!Clover glared down at her as sans and the others continued their attacks. But Cyber didn’t turn to face them. Instead, he smiled at her as a large metal ball grew from atop his black hat.

Chara immediately recognized the attack and shielded herself with her soul as electricity began crackling from around the metal ball and in an instant, it sparked and flew around Cyber in all directions.

“The Electro Death Field” as Cyber called it was an attack that fired extremely high voltage electricity in all directions around him. Its radius was vast, and it consumed sans, Papyrus, Epic!Sans, and both Reapertale gods as Clover turned his left arm into an anti-material rifle and took aim directly at san’s soul.

On instinct Chara rose to her feet and grabbed Clover’s arm. Dropping her shield to put enough power into her arms to save sans as Cyber smirked and didn’t fire. Instead he turned his two extra arms into two long blades that he stabbed through Chara’s lower abdomen and out her back.

“Idiot.” Cyber mocked as the electric ball over his head stopped firing electricity and turned into a grey metallic sludge that rejoined his body. Holding onto her, he teleported both of them away as the others began picking themselves back up.

“What was that?” Reapertale!Undyne grunted. “Where did that coward go?”

“He’s teleported Chara and himself to the MAC(Multiversal Anomaly Containment unit)” Core!Frisk said as he materialized to the site of the group. “You all need to get over there now! If Cyber destroys it we won’t be able to stop Clover and he’s already corrupted Seraphim!Sans.” The news was a shock to all of them. Seraphim!Sans was perhaps the strongest amongst them and Clover had managed to corrupt them with HATE.

“You all heard Frisk.” Underswap!Papyrus said as he and the others aside from Reapertale!Undyne teleported. When they arrived they stood in the ruins of a once thriving city with several others surrounding Cyber!Clover as he held Storyshift!Chara in a neck lock. Prepared to break her neck in an instant as he was surrounded.

The MAC (Multiversal Anomaly Containment unit) stood just ten yards away from them. It was a large metallic grey square structure thirty feet in length on all sides. It stood three feet above the ground with four mechanical legs holding it up and a large clear five foot high crystal stood high atop it. Held by a gold color apparatus underneath it.

The MAC was designed by several of the brightest minds in the Omega Timeline. Using a combination of unique magical techniques and technology from various timelines the machine used the crystal to fire a beam that would entrap the anomaly inside itself and would then store itself within the cube. This method stopped time’s flow completely for whoever was trapped inside and allowed for the person trapped in question to be analyzed and either permanently contained or given the help they needed to exist safely in the multiverse.

The device was controlled via terminal by its front and was currently being controlled by a variant of Gaster. More specifically a Handplates Gaster that never went through with his experiments on his Sans and Papyrus and instead became a loving father for them. This didn’t end well however, as Cyber invaded his world. Leaving him the sole survivor.

The Mac was guarded by four others. First was a strong version of Underfell Frisk who was highly skilled in both fighting and was experienced in fighting threats like Cyber. Next was Delta!Sans who was a Sans variant with the Bravery soul within himself. And the other two were alternates of Toriel and Asgore who had, like Handplates Gaster, lost their world and their timelines to Cyber’s invasion.

Cyber whistled. “Well well well. So many familiar faces. Did you really think I didn’t notice the Mac’s energy signature? I think your dementia is starting to affect your mind, Gaster.”

“Why you little-” Gaster bit his tongue as Asgore held his hand up to him.

“Don’t let him provoke you, Gaster.” Asgore spoke softly as he manifested his trident in his left hand. Holding it pointedly to Cyber as the villain shook his head and dropped Chara to the ground. Kicking her and sending her flying as Toriel caught her and began healing her.

“I have to admit, I’ve very disappointed.” Cyber said as his two extra arms merged back into his body and he placed both his hands casually behind his head. “I was expecting this to be MUCH harder. This just goes to show how stupid CORE is without their omnipresent sight. Sending Epic and those three idiots along with those two “Gods” to keep me busy so I didn’t find this. Please.” he scoffed.

“Why are you doing this?” Underfell Frisk asked. “It can’t just be because-”

“Whatever CORE told you it’s wrong.” Cyber interrupted. “I’m doing what I was born to do. Fulfill Justice. It’s why I’m here, it’s why I kill, it’s why I destroyed my body and replaced it with these liquid nano-machines.” He glared at the human dressed in a black shirt and pants with two red horizontal lines.

“I’m the hero here. Not you.” he coldly stated. “And speaking of hero.” As the words past his lips Jessie arrived. Touching down and making the earth quake upon her landing she outstretched her wings as she manifested a gun in each of her hands as she took aim at the MAC.

“Take cover!” Delta!Sans cried out as he quickly manifested two gaster blasters. Firing them, the bright orange magical blasts collided with the shots Jessie fired for a moment. But in only a second the black and yellow blasts of magical energy broke through Delta!Sans attack and raced for the MAC.

Underfell!Frisk quickly leapt forward. Creating a barrier of red soul magic around themself and rather than tanking the attack, they deflected the attacks to their sides. Parrying the attack and allowing it to pass by them harmlessly as a mass of vines quickly surged out from the ground and wrapped around Jessie. Restraining her as Underfell!Flowey popped out of the ground.

“I got her.” Underfell!Flowey said as Jessie then turned her empty black eyes towards the flower.

“YOU!” Jessie’s voice was not just her’s, but all of the other children as well. It seemed elements of Clover’s HATE not only flowed through them, but brought upon the same HATE and anger he felt upon encountering certain individuals like Flowey.

They had truly become an extension of him.

“Gaster, get the MAC ready to teleport!” Asgore ordered as Jessie broke free of her restraints. Jessie began fighting Underfell!Frisk, Flowey, Asgore and Delta!Sans. And at the same time Cyber resumed his battle against Epic!Sans, sans, Underswap!Papyrus, and the two Reapertale gods. And as the battle continued they all noticed a large series of bright lights in the sky above them as Asriel unleashed another earth shattering attack against Clover and his family.

(At that very moment with Clover and Asriel)

The sky was filled with the light of countless stars as Asriel snapped his fingers. Clover held onto his father with one hand and his grandpa with the other. He soared through the air, dodging and barrel rolling through the God of Hyperdeath’s barrage of attacks as his father and grandpa focused their power within their souls. Firing bright bursts and beams of yellow to destroy the oncoming magical attacks.

“Clover toss me above him.” Lawrence ordered as the boy gave him a shocked expression. “Trust me. We need to break past his barrier. I’ll shoot from above and you two hit him from behind. Do it now!” Clover remembering his last encounter with Undyne nodded and concentrated his soul’s power into his arm as he tossed his alternate father high into the air.

Lawrence’s justice soul glowed with the brilliance of a star as he maneuvered the heart shaped embodiment of himself into his left hand as he took aim. He fired a large beam of yellow at the god who quickly threw up a barrier around himself with the green soul as Clover and his grandpa circled behind him.

His Grandpa fired his beam of yellow soul magic. Its power nearly shattering the green shield Asriel put around himself as Clover concentrated and turned his free arm into a large yellow tentacle.

[That’s it human. Keep mutating your body.]

The arm pierced the shield and stabbed straight through Asriel’s chest and wrapped itself around the soul of this universe's Clover. He pulled the soul free just as Lawrence's and his father’s attacks broke through the shield and blasted Asriel. Creating a large black dust cloud as the monster cried out in pain and fell towards the earth.

Clover’s grandpa held onto his grandson’s soul as Clover’s arm returned to normal and the cowboy used blue soul magic to pull his alternate father to him.

“Clover.” His father ripped his son’s soul from the grandpa’s grasp and quickly embraced the yellow soul heart. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean to neglect you” Clover smiled and felt a warmth in his heart as another small spot of yellow manifested on his black HATE soul.

“Hey kid.” his alternate grandpa said as Clover turned his head. “Any minute now that freak’s going to be getting back up. We need to get those two away from here now.” This earned the same response from his father that Clover had come to expect wherever these two worked together or were near each other for anything.

“Oh no. I’m not letting that animal get away with any of this!” Lawrence angrily replied.

“Think of your son for once Lawrence!” His grandpa just as angrily fired back. “The only way we’re killing that freak is by taking those souls out of him. If he takes Clover's soul he’ll-” his grandpa paused, his mouth hung agape as his eyes were locked on a small patch of black in the center of his grandson’s soul.

“What is that?” he gasped.

“HATE.” Clover answered. “Don’t worry about him, he'll be fine.” Both men's eyes were quickly filled with shock and horror at his words as the realization dawned on them both.

“That’s why your soul’s black.” Lawrence uttered in disbelief. “Clover. What… what’s happened to you?” With no emotion in his voice Clover answered.

“I got stronger.” Before either man could utter another word each of them felt the air around them change as the wind quickly kicked up into a violent storm. Asriel, filled with rage let out a cry that could only be described as the call of an angry god unleashing his fury onto the world.

Lightning fell around them as the wind blew with such force it caught Clover in a tornado as millions upon millions of rainbow colored energy blasts raced up the tornado and straight towards them. Clover quickly surrounded them with a shield, with Lawrence and his father quickly using their power to help strengthen the barrier as the world around them became a blur of darkness and rainbow colored monster-human magic.

The shield cracked with each passing millisecond and continued on for what to them was an eternity but in reality was no more than six seconds. Knowing what was about to happen Clover focused his mind on stretching out his body. His arms, legs and chest began stretching and elongating themselves along with the growing and cracking of his bones. Within a second he had reformed his body into a circular sphere, shielding his alternate family as the barrier shattered an instant later.

Clover’s screams carried across the entire world as he took the full brunt of Asriel’s attack. His skin was torched, his flesh pierced and his mind becoming darker and numb with each passing second.

He didn’t know how long he was screaming. He didn’t even realize he was falling until his body hit the ground with a thud that shook the earth. Clover was splayed across the ground as his alternate father and grandpa stood atop his chest. His body bleeding, broken and slowly reforming back into its original shape.

“Clover!” they both gasped as they lifted his head from the ground. Clover’s left eye had been completely burned away, leaving only one black empty void with a small patch of yellow in its center remaining.

“Run.” he begged them. “Get out of here!” He could smell the souls with Asriel quickly approaching them. In desperation he reached out to them with the HATE his attacks had put into them earlier. Connecting with them as he did with Jessie and the others in Seraphim!Sans earlier.

[That’s it human.]

“And where are they going to go?” Asriel mocked as he grabbed and lifted the two of them and this universe's version of Clover’s soul in the air with a telekinetic grip. He walked over to them. Casually stepping on Clover’s neck as he began applying pressure to his windpipe.

[Use my power. Let your desperation take hold.]

“I will admit you almost had me there.” Asriel said. “If I hadn’t taken that other soul from sans earlier, I wouldn't have had the power to do that.” he smiled. “Good thing you made them leave earlier. Not your best move buddy.” Clover hissed at the monster looming over him as his body continued to slowly reform itself.

“Well it’s been fun but I got a whole universe to play with. Once I’m done I’ll LOAD back to before all of this. And we can do it all again. And again. And again.” Asriel laughed as he manifested a sword in his left hand.

“Oh and before you have any ideas about winning.” the God of Hyperdeath snapped his fingers as the SAVE message popped up beside his head.

SAVE FAILED

“... What?” Asriel confusingly uttered as he tried in vain to SAVE again and again. “What is this? What’s going on?” Clover began laughing and coughing up blood. His mind was filled with relief, sadistic satisfaction and pride as he grinned at the monster above him with a smile that sent a chill down Asriels’ spine.

“Kill him.” Clover ordered as the soul’s within Asriel fully succumbed to the HATE. In less than a second Asriel felt like his body had been set aflame as each of the souls within him tore him apart from the inside out. Several hand’s formed, each holding a weapon unique to them that they began using to beat him. And from the center of his chest a large furred arm formed a long red trident that stretched out and stabbed Asriel in the neck.

The God of Hyperdeath couldn’t even scream as he was torn apart. Clover’s grandpa and father seized the opportunity to rip the souls out of Asriel’s body. One by one they both freed the souls trapped with the monster as Clover’s body finished reforming.

“STOP!” Asriel cried out in utter terror as he blasted Clover’s grandpa and father in the chest with a small fireball. The attack knocked the elder and the father onto their backs but the attack didn’t hurt nearly much as before. Every soul but Asgore’s had been removed from Asriel. And Clover pulled himself up. And quickly tossed his gun to the side.

[At last]

“Ahaha. HAHAHAHAHA!” Asriel began laughing as Clover lunged at the monster. Tackling him to the ground and slamming his fist into the goat boy’s face just as Core!Frisk materialized beside him.

“Clover stop!” Core!Frisk shouted but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

“You really think you can save them?” Asriel mocked as Clover punched him again. “YOU’VE NEVER SAVED ANYONE! YOU’RE NOT A HERO. YOU’RE JUST AN IDIOT WITH A GUILTY CONSCIOUS.” Clover slammed his skull into Asriel’s face. Breaking the monster's snout as he continued beating him.

[Let your hatred take over human. With each strike I gain more control of your body.]

“You need to stop him!” Core!Frisk urged both Lawrence and Clover’s alternate grandpa. Both of whom clearly didn’t care for what Clover did to the monster.

“Yo…you’re just like, me.” Asriel chuckled as Clover grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground.

“SHUT UP!” The cowboy yelled as he began kicking the monster. The few spots of yellow on his soul quickly were swallowed up by his HATE as Lawrence and Clover’s alternate grandpa continued watching.

“Clover’s losing his humanity the more he gives into his HATE!” Core!Frisk quickly explained. “If he keeps this up he’ll turn into a demon completely. Please for his sake stop him!” Both men silently looked towards each other, then to the soul of this universe’s Clover and then back to Clover.

[Now finish it.]

“I hate you.” Asriel weakly continued. “Every single second I spent with you was horrible. The only parts I enjoyed was watching you die. Over and over from burning in a lava flow to Undyne stabbing your heart out I LOVED all of it!” the monster laughed. “And you want to know the best part.” Clover wrapped his hands around the monster’s neck as his father picked up the toy gun.

“This all ends with you dying.” Asriel gasped as Clover began squeezing his neck as his mouth hung open. Salivating as the smell of magic and determination danced through his nostrils. “You-*gasp* die. *gasp* aha. HA HA-”

*Munch.* *Gulp* *Munch*

Clover’s jaw stretched as he drove his teeth into Asriel’s neck. The taste of magic and the leftover power and determination within him made the monster taste like heaven to Clover. All at once his mind relaxed, his body felt stronger with each bite and in no time at all he had absorbed Asgore's soul without even realizing it.

And for Asriel he was now subject to the same fate that befell Chara in the previous timeline. Though he didn’t have a soul, his memories and determination that had been injected within him now flowed in Clover’s blackened veins. But more than that, he had been assimilated like Chara and would never return. Even with a RESET or LOAD he would never come back as his very essence, his “code” had been assimilated by Clover and removed from the files of the timeline.

“Finally.” the King in Yellow examined his host’s body through his eyes. Clover was young but athletic, quick, and very strong. He had adapted well to the changes his power had brought and now would serve as his link to this reality.

Clover’s alternate father and grandpa quickly took several steps back as a sickly yellow light began emanating from “Clover’s” eyes. Core!Frisk quickly began pulling the two of them away as “Clover” teleported in behind them.

“Frisk Marusina.” “Clover’s” voice echoed as though there were countless other beings speaking through him. “The child whose selfishness and desire for love and escaping their shattered little life led them to RESETTING their world so many times their “friend” scattered them across all your realities.” there was no emotion any of them could hear in this “voice”.

“I… who are you?” Core!Frisk asked as “Clover” actually managed to grab their arm and pull them towards him.

“... You humans are all the same.” The King in Yellow continued. “Even with all you’ve seen, all the knowledge of creation you hold in your hands you remain blind. I am, and I am being honest with you child. Disappointed.” A bright yellow glow came from “Clover’s” hand first, then Core!Frisk for the first time since they fell into the CORE cried out in pain.

It was like they had been thrown into gasoline and lit on fire. Even as their form in that timeline dissipated, Core!Frisk continued crying in pain. All across the multiverse he cried out in agony as his friends in the Omega Timeline raced to try to find a solution to their pain as the King in Yellow held his hands high and began chanting.

“Hashna calumoni taxi kalic yuva yukki yahowa maluisha.” The dark sky of the world began turning sickly bright yellow as Lawrence and his father took the souls and continued running.

“Halusha vera Carcosa. Halusha vera Carcosa!” a small sphere of light appeared above “Clover”. No more than five feet in diameter it began growing in size as the King in Yellow continued the ritual.

“Alright that’s enough.” Nightmare said as he teleported himself and the Murder-Time Trio to the King in Yellow. “You’re the “Unspeakable One” right? This multiverse isn’t yours. Leave now.” The King in Yellow turned his head one-hundred and eighty degrees. Snapping Clover’s neck with a sickening snap of bones as he spoke through the human child.

“The parasite who believes himself a god.” The King in Yellow said with utter contempt. “You observed me when I last tried to enter this reality. What makes you believe you can prevent my arrival now?”

“Heh. So you knew I was watching. Alright.” Nightmare snapped his fingers as his one eye began glowing blue.

“Kill him.” he ordered as the Murder-Time Trio and their master began attacking the King in Yellow.

(Elsewhere at the time - The Anti Void)

The multiverse is a vast ever expanding place. At its core the multiverse was born from the original timeline, Undertale. And from it came all the alternate timelines, the alternate universes and other unique locations such as the void. Each timeline and universe generally follows the same structure that could best be described as two circles within a circle.

The innermost circle was everything that made up the timelines reality. The world, people, stars, code and everything else needed to make the reality in question function. Outside of the first circle was what is referred to as the void. A dark, dull grey expanse where nothing existed. Time didn’t flow there as it does in the local reality and it served as the barrier between the local reality and the Anti-Void.

The Anti-Void in the simplest terms was the space between the universes in the multiverse. Completely empty and devoid of life with the only interesting sight being pure white in all directions. With no sound and being the space in between realities it was a place that brought only madness and insanity to those unfortunate enough to fall into it from the void.

And in the endless white expanse of the Anti-Void sat a skeleton. He was six foot one in stature and wore a long blue coat with a black shirt and white pants. His eyes were a pair of dark blue orbs floating in a black expanse as his body erratically glitched and displayed ERRORS at infrequent moments.

His name was [NO] more commonly known as Error404!Sans the self proclaimed “God of the Multiverse”. Originally [You are not telling them anything] and now he exists in the Anti-Void. Observing, manipulating, guiding events so [Stop it].

“... I think he’s explained more than enough, don't you think?” Error404!Sans said to YOU. “... Stop it PlagueWriter101.” Error404!Sans shook his head with a bored sigh.

“So you’re the PLAYERS who’ve been following these events recently.” The ERROR [Don’t. You. Dare. Call. Me. That.] continued. “... Hmm. You don’t look like you understand what I’m talking about. Alright, I’ll put it simply for you.”

“Every AU, AT, story, game or whatever is a part of the multiverse in some fashion and is created by things we call PLAYERS. PLAYERS are the ones who created the original timeline, Undertale, and continue to create and add to the multiverse with each passing second.” Error404!Sans explained.

“It's the passion, care, love… boredom and ect of beings like YOU that gives life to everything here. That being said however. You PLAYER’s have the tendency to invite things alien to the code of multiverse.” Error404!Sans clenched his fist. “You create DIRTY ANOMALIES THAT RUIN EVERYTH-[ERROR ERROR ERROR]!!!!!!!” Errors filled his sans eyes and began circling all around him like a swarm of locusts. Error404 grasped the sides of his head, taking several deep breaths as he calmed himself down.

“... Anyway, you all get the point. YOU made us, YOU give us life and purpose.”

“... And. You. Take. It. All. Away.”

“... Why do you do this? Are you bored? Curious? Is all of this fun to you all. Is this all we are? Just toys for you all?” Error404!Sans shook his head.

“Regardless it doesn’t matter.” At that moment a faint sickly green light began glowing in the far, far distance of the Anti-Void. As Error404!Sans opened a portal towards the light he looked into the world of the ruined Undertale Yellow Pacifist Timeline. And found a world in ruins with an anomaly trying to cross into the multiverse.

An anomaly he was familiar with.

“So the “Unspeakable One” is trying to cross through again.” Error404!Sans said as he opened a portal to the world. “Well, I think it’s only right to give him a personal greeting. I hope you’ve all enjoyed the story because I’m about to end this.”

Chapter Text

(One year before Clover fired a gun at three criminals/Clover’s family apartment room)

Pale moonlight bled through the blinds as Clover’s father lay on his couch snoring. Clover with careful steps examined his father’s arm that lay outstretched to the floor. Lightly pulling up his father’s sleeve he was beheld a sight that caused his heart to drop.

His arm was littered with countless scars and burns. Flesh bruised and shaded purple along with long straight and curved lines cut along his skin. And wrapped around his upper arm was some sort of white cloth that was colored dark red in its center. Suddenly his father’s arm moved slightly as he let out a soft groan as his eyes opened.

“What are you doing up?” Lawrence asked, his voice soft like a raindrop.

“Are you okay daddy?” the young child asked. “What are those things on your arm?” His father let out a yawn as he pulled his sleeve back up. Stretching his arms and legs and releasing several audible cracks of his bones he sat up as he picked up his son.

“Don’t worry about it.” Lawrence assured as he tucked Clover under his blanket. “Just get some sleep alright.”

“Why are you hurt daddy?” Clover asked. Lawrence took a deep breath, lightly placing his hand on Clover’s cheek as he spoke softly.

“I’ll be fine. Daddy’s doing what he needs to for you and for mommy okay? I just need to keep working and I’ll make enough money to get mommy help and we can move so don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.”

(One year later/Aftermath of Clover shooting the three men who attacked his father.)

Clover said goodbye to his grandpa who seemed even more down and broken hearted than usual. He had overheard the conversation between him and his father, and had managed to slip himself back into the police station without either men noticing him.

Lawrence didn’t say anything nor even so much as glance at Clover as he held on tightly to his son’s hand as they walked through the city's dark streets. If anger was a storm, Lawrence was a hurricane and Clover was standing in its epicenter. Every person and animal cowered in his presence and kept their distance or fled into the dark alleys or back into their makeshift tents.

One man made the mistake of asking Lawrence if he was interested in purchasing something Clover had never seen before. Before the man could say more than a few words his father slammed his fist into the man’s nose. Breaking it as he fell backwards. Blood pooling out into a puddle beside his face as he writhed in pain.

“Garbage.” Lawrence spat on him as he resumed their track home. As they walked past Clover noticed several people beginning to crowd around the man before diving on him. They tore at his clothing, ripping his possessions away and even stealing his shoes with a few even kicking him before taking whatever he was trying to sell.

“Dad, they're hurting him!” Clover tugged at his father’s arm, urging him to intervene and help the defenseless man. But father gave him only one cold reply.

“Good.” Clover’s jaw dropped as he felt his father tighten his grip on his hand. His eyes, blazing yellow with fury, glanced down at him for a moment and made his blood run cold.

It was at that moment Clover realized how small he was compared to his father. Sure any man standing six foot six with scars and burns across his face and large muscles would be intimidating to anyone but Clover had never once felt threatened or worried in the presence of his father. On the contrary his father was always a source of comfort and kindness.

To see him like this was… terrifying.

The silent trip ended with them arriving at their third floor apartment. After entering their home Lawrence ordered his son to sit on his couch while he went to check on Clover’s mother. Clover immediately ran to the smaller of the two couches and sat in silence. Finding the floor much more interesting than his surroundings as his father moved to open the door to the apartment's only bedroom.

After a few minutes his father silently shut the door. His anger seemingly completely gone as he quickly strided to his couch and sat down. Clover remained silent as both of them simply stared at the other for a moment before Lawrence let out a deep sigh as he took his pistol Clover had taken out of its holster.

“How did you get this?” His tone was serious, but soft. His golden yellow eyes still burned with the embers of anger but they had subsided. Even in the state she was in, Clover’s mother seemed to have some sort of calming effect on his father.

“I found a box in mom’s room while you were working a few months ago.” Clover admitted.

“You’re not supposed to go in her room without me.” Lawrence reminded his son. “Your mother can’t control herself and she could hurt you.” Clover nodded as he kept his eyes locked on the floor. “So why did you go in there?”

“She was crying.” Clover replied. “When I heard her I opened the door and showed her the picture you keep by her nightstand.” The photo inquisition was one of her holding Clover when he was born with Lawrence standing by her hospital bed. Using things to remind her of her life before the accident gave Alice, Clover’s mother, moments of control over herself.

“...” Lawrence nodded.

“She stared at it for a minute and started crying again. I put it down and hugged her and,” Clover took a deep breath. “I told her I love her and she stopped crying. She went back to sleep and I thought she’d be happier if I cleaned up a little. That’s when I found the box.”

“I see.” Lawrence sighed.

“What’s wrong with her?” Clover asked.

“She suffered brain damage during the accident.” Lawrence explained. “She can’t control herself like you and I can. And thanks to that “operation” she’s even worse now.” Lawrence bit his tongue. The doctors who were supposed to help Alice had ended up damaging her brain even further.

“Clover. What do I always tell you when you ask about me getting hurt?” Lawrence said as Clover took a deep breath and finally looked up at his father.

“Not to worry about it.” Clover answered as his father nodded.

“Yes. And what did you do?” Lawrence said as Clover didn’t reply. “Clover. What did you do?” he said again with a bit more force.

“I didn’t listen.” the young boy replied.

“You did more than that.” his father continued. “Clover, you almost killed them.” Clover felt his heart sink into his stomach. His father continued, “Did you hear me?” Clover nodded. “So tell me why did you do it?”

“They hurt you and were stealing from other people and hurting them too.” Clover answered.

“I told you not to worry about these things.”

“They hurt you!”

“I can handle the worst this city can throw at me.” Lawrence assured. “Do you have any idea what would’ve happened if you had been arrested? Clover?” his father paused. “There are people in this world who don’t care about any life other than their own. Those men would’ve killed you.”

“I was enacting justice!” Clover argued.

“You shot three men and nearly killed them. You were charged with vigilantism and attempted murder. Whatever your intentions were don’t matter.” Clover’s father said sternly as he stood over him.

“The fact of the matter is you took a weapon I kept here to protect us, and used it to nearly kill three people. You left our home in the dead of night where anyone could’ve tried attacking or kidnapping you and not me or anyone else would’ve been able to save you if that happened. What you did Clover wasn’t “justice”, what it is however, is criminal and insane.” Clover was crushed by his father’s harsh words. His mouth hung agape, his guilt and shame overtaking his mind as silence filled the air between them.

“You are never, NEVER doing this again.” his father coldly said. “Am I understood?” Clover nodded as his father rose to his feet and began making his way to the bedroom.

“I’m sorry.” Clover sobbed as the boy began crying. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry!” Lawrence took a step towards his son, his hand reaching out to comfort him before he paused. Clenching his hand with a deep breath he resumed his trek to the bedroom. Closing the door and leaving Clover in silence as he continued crying.

(Present time/ Location: ???????)

It was dark wherever Clover was. The air around him was frigid and it felt as though it was floating as he began forward.

“Hello?” he said aloud. Did he die somehow? He couldn’t have. Flowey, Asgore, Ceroba and well everyone else had killed him thousands of times. And each time he died all he saw was black and… no. This was different.

“Dad? Grandpa? Where are you?” his voice didn’t echo nor did it sound like it journeyed out very far. He called out louder, and louder. Shouting into the void for anyone or anything.

But nobody came.

“Did Asriel absorb my soul somehow?” Clover pondered. “I was punching him and I…” he paused. “I don’t remember. Did I black out like I did with Chara?” His body was nearly see through with thin streaks of yellow etched across his arms, chest and legs while most of his body was as pitch black as the abyss around him. He clasped his hands together and took a deep breath. Focusing his mind and using his soul's connection with his body to see the world around him.

But he saw nothing. And in that moment he no longer felt his heart beating, nor the air passing through his lungs. Clover placed his hand over his chest and saw a bright sickly yellow eye at its center staring up at him.

His panic was interrupted by a flash of light in the distance. A sickly yellow light that was small, around the size of a pinprick yet it seemed to be getting closer. Clover raced forward, sprinting towards the light as it grew brighter and brighter. As he drew closer he felt warm, the light was inviting, begging him to join it as he outstretched his hand.

And a long yellow tentacle grabbed his arm and yanked him into the light. The world went white for a moment before Clover opened his eyes and found himself by a… lake?

Above him were two suns that glowed bright white in the dark sky above. The stars in the sky were pitch black, and the water of the lake was calm, inviting. And yet seemed to have nothing but darkness beneath its surface. Almost as though he was staring into an abyss.

The trees stretched to the heavens all around him and their branches stretched and twisted themselves in all directions. A cool breeze tugged at him as he saw what looked like a large towering city on the other side of the lake.

“Where am I?” Clover said aloud.

“Welcome child.” Clover spun around and quickly fell onto his back. Fear and panic consumed his mind as his body was quickly paralyzed in place.

The creature in front of him was at least ten feet in height. It wore what he assumed was a long yellow robe with no arms and it seemed like it had no legs as well. Its face was concealed by a white mask with no light or color being visible from its eye holes except for absolute darkness. A pair of large yellow wings sprouted from its back and it looked like three bells were sitting atop of its head.

Clover felt his heart beating so fast it felt as though it was going to pop out of his chest. On the creature's left side its flesh parted and stretched out towards him. A long yellow tentacle contorted and shifted into a smooth human hand that held an outstretched palm for him to grasp.

Clover did not.

“Do not fear human. I am not here to harm you. I am here, because I wish to speak to you.” The King in Yellow spoke softly as Clover picked himself up.

“Where am I? And who are you?” Clover asked as he took a step back from the towering creature. The creature in turn gestured with its tentacle arm towards the lake and the city beyond.

“You may call me Hastur. Welcome to Carcosa.”

(Meanwhile back in reality)

A killer, a fool, a corpse and a parasite all stood before the vessel of Hastur. Clover’s veins had turned from black to sickly yellow as his ghostly pale skin began to form spots of golden yellow. Yellow blood began to flow down from the empty black voids that were his eyes as a large pair of yellow wings sprung from his back.

Nightmare and his slaves attacked the creature in unison as the vessel leapt high into the air and began soaring away. Dusttale!Sans created a gaster blaster for him to fly on as the skeletal head of his deceased brother manifested beside him. Killer!Sans meanwhile, used the human souls he had taken and created himself a pair of large black wings that he used to take off as Horrortale!Sans created for himself a massive skeletal dragon that he rode into the air. And Nightmare sprouted four large black tentacles from his back and used them to launch himself after Hastur.

The now sickly yellow sky of the world was lit with red, black and white beams of magical energy and bones. Killer and Horror took the offense. Closing the distance between them and the vessel before slashing away at him with their human soul empower attacks as Dusttale!Sans kept his distance and fired from a range along with Nightmare whose body began releasing small blots of the black material his body comprised around him. They floated in the air briefly before forming into sharpened black blades that hurled themselves at the vessel with a snap of Nightmares finger.

The vessel snapped his fingers and in that instant towers of lightning and fire reigned down on the skeletons and their master. The wind blew with such force the very earth began being carried away as Killer, losing control of himself and collided with Horror’s dragon as they both fell like lightning to the earth.

Still bracing himself against the howling gale, Dust reached his left hand out to use his soul magic to catch the pair. But as he outstretched his hand the vessel teleported to him. Grabbing his arm in a frigid grip as he punched his other hand into Dust’s chest. Grabbing the human souls within him as Papyrus created several crimson red bones around the vessel’s neck.

“LET GO OF HIM!” The skeleton demanded as he unleashed a storm of red bones. The vessel didn’t even give the skeleton a glance as the bones shattered upon contact with his skin. He then ripped his hand free and kicked the skeleton off the gaster blaster he was standing on. Sending him cratering down as the vessel teleported himself back to the portal.

In one move, the vessel had taken all seven souls from Dusttale!Sans and could now sacrifice them to accelerate the ritual. “Hachano wana. Halu-” A long black tentacle ensnared the souls and ripped them out of his grasp. With a snap of his fingers, Nightmare teleported the three skeletons to himself as he gave Dusttale!Sans the seven souls back.

“This is your final warning.” Nightmare bared his blackened sharp teeth at the vessel. “Leave or I’ll burn your soul for eternity!” The vessel smiled at Nightmare. A face was akin to that of an adult amused by the antics of a child.

“To draw power from every negative emotion in this multiverse, and yet be unable to command anymore than the broken, the foolish, and the weak.” he regarded the three skeletons with utter disinterest.

“Who are you calling weak?” Killer said as he stepped forward and drew his knife. “We haven’t even gotten started yet!” Dusttale!Sans grabbed Killer by his shoulder.

“We need a plan if we’re going to beat this thing.” The skeleton said as the vessel raised a single finger to its face.

“Shh.” the vessel hushed softly with a single long yellow finger. “Issca vafac usalua.” the words spilled from the vessel's lips like honey as the three skeletons fell to their knees. Their eyes transfixed to the yellow sky above as they began screaming and clawing at their eye holes. Nightmare moved quickly to restrain the three with a long tentacle as he connected with their minds to undo whatever this creature had just done to them.

‘How did he break their minds that quickly?’ Their memories were corrupted or outright missing along with most of their senses. Nightmare sighed as he cast a protective seal on their minds to shield them from further mental tampering.

The master of negativity sighed as he felt a flicker of fear within the vessel. The source of the emotion was obviously this possessed Clover and concentrating more it seemed like he was… dreaming.

Nightmare grinned. If he couldn’t overpower this creature, he’d destroy him from the inside.

“Heh so that’s how you’re controlling him.” The embodiment of negativity said as his left eye began glowing bright blue. “Puppeteering his body while keeping his consciousness in a dream. Clever but it won't save you.” Nightmare’s body glowed bright blue as it quickly turned into countless points of blue light. Like a swarm of flies the points of light flew at the vessel as Nightmare inserted himself into the dreamscape Clover and Hastur shared.

When he entered the dreamscape he found himself in a large throne room with crumbling marble columns surrounding him. He stood over a decaying yellow rug with holes in it that ran from the massive double door behind him to the staircase leading up to a towering yellow throne sitting high above him. And on that throne sat the King in Yellow.

“Arrogant parasite.” Hastur spat with disgust. “You dare to trespass in my domain?” the towering yellow figure rose from his throne. In that moment countless yellow tentacles began spreading from the bottom of his humanoid form and back as he descended the staircase. And for the first time, Nightmare felt fear overtake him as he stumbled backwards.

He fled out into the city. But no matter where he went Hastur was right on his heels and it was during his running that he could finally sense the truth. Hastur wasn’t the creature chasing him. He was the walls, the buildings, the stars, the very air around him.

And at that moment the “citizen’s” of the city emerged from their homes. Twisted malformed creatures of all kinds and shapes that were perversions of their original selves that Hastur had saw fit to allow to “live” in his city. The King in Yellow had stripped away their sanity, their memories, their very souls and in their places he gave them insanity, hunger, and pain.

Space distorted around Nightmare but it's more accurate to say that the city had no end. Alley’s looped in on themselves. Homes and streets opened to reveal more and more of themselves without ending. Logic was dead. Space conformed to Hastur’s desires as the King took a seat upon his throne. And watched as his subjects tore at Nightmare.

“Pathetic.” the King in Yellow spat as Nightmare fought against the tidal wave of bodies. Gravity pulled him down, rendering him unable to leap across the sky as hand’s, claws and tentacles tore into him. Bit by bit he was pulled apart, his left eye shining brighter and brighter as he slashed apart monster after monster.

“Futile effort Nightmare.” Hastur’s voice was like a whisper in the ear of the “god” of negativity. “A creature that only knows to covet what it does not have, can only cry at its end.”

(Meanwhile at the same time with Jessie, Cyber!Clover and the heroes)

As the sky turned sickly yellow, so too did Jessie’s body begin changing. Her eyes grew double their usual size and a thin yellow vertical light glowed with the intensity of a star. Her jaw extended far beyond what should be possible and her teeth became like countless sharpened yellow knives. And her body grew irregularly elongated. In only a few moments she grew to a towering eight feet as she let out a screech that carried the echo of what sounded like countless other voices all mixed in with hers.

Taking aim with her gun she fired a blast of black and yellow magical energy at Delta!Sans. The monster in question used his magic to manifest a gaster blaster on his back. With it, he unleashed a beam of orange magical energy. Blasting himself into the air over the attack as several vines emerged from the ground around Jessie to ensnare her.

The corrupted amalgamation of humans turned its attention towards Underfell!Frisk, uncaring as the vines wrapped around her. She raced forward on all fours like an animal. Easily breaking the vines as her body grew several more arms on her back. Each one holding a manifested weapon belonging to one of the humans.

Underfell!Frisk focused their soul power into their hands and enhanced their bodies speed. In quick succession faster than the human eye they parried and sidestepped the multitude of attacks coming from Jessie. Five, ten, twenty attacks per millisecond were being thrown at them as the human child used their soul power to shield themselves from direct physical contact with Jessie. Taking care to ensure they had no chance of being corrupted by HATE as the soul’s within Jessie turned blue.

“Asgore pin them down!” Delta!Sans threw Jessie high into the air before slamming them back down. Asgore manifested his red trident in his left hand. Raising it high over his head as fire began emanating and then pouring out from the weapon’s sharpened tips.

Shutting his eyes to focus his soul magic, the fire from the trident raced outwards in long rope-like strands. The fiery strands wrapped around Jessie’s neck, arms and legs. The creature snarled and hissed against its restraints as both Asgore and Delta!San’s struggled to keep them down.

“Be careful young one.” Asgore said to Underfell!Frisk as Underfell!Flowey popped out of the ground and wrapped several vines around Jessie. “We will hold them. Do not let yourself become infected with HATE.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Underfell!Flowey worryingly asked. “I know Core!Frisk said love is the only way to get the HATE out of them but I’m pretty sure whatever's going on with them and that Clover isn’t going to just let you save them.” Underfell!Frisk smiled and gave Flowey a thumbs up before placing their hands together.

Taking a deep breath they used their soul to connect to the souls of Jessie and the other children within their shared body. When Underfell!Frisk opened their eyes they saw… nothing.

All around them was just a silent empty black void. The mindscape was dead silent and as Underfell!Frisk called out for the others they were met with only silence.

“Did you think I would not notice your intrusion child?” Underfell!Frisk spun around and stumbled back as the towering yellow figure loomed over them. At his sides were all the other children within Jessie. All of them had a sickly yellow black goo dripping from their eyes as their souls appeared pitch black.

Underfell!Frisk held their hands to their soul and focused on severing the connection they had created. Only for that not to work as children circled around them. Desperate they focused on connecting with the souls to imbed them with feelings of love within themself and awaken that feeling within them.

But their souls were utterly consumed by HATE. Their anger, bitterness, and regrets swelled within each of them like a raging inferno. And that inferno spread quickly into Underfell!Frisk’s soul as they grasped their red soul and fell onto their knees.

“This HATE my vessel possesses is quite useful.” Hastur said as black spots began spreading over Underfell!Frisk’s soul. “I will have to make further use of it in the future. But that is for then. For now,” Hastur spoke softly as the towering creature lowered itself so its white face mask was beside Underfell!Frisk’s left ear.

“I can see into the depths of your very being child.” Hastur whispered as a yellow tentacle wrapped itself around Underfell!Frisk’s neck. “Every memory, every thought and desire. Every single thing you deny to yourself is laid bare to me. You think of yourself as a savior? That you were born to elevate a harsh and broken universe into something better?”

Underfell!Frisk began beating their hand against Hastur’s grasp over their neck as he began suffocating them.

“All you have done is run away from your own guilt.” Hastur continued. “You died over and over to make the monster’s better. To make them see the goodness within themselves that you lack.” Underfell!Frisk shook their head in refusal of this revelation.

“You don’t want them to know that before you fell you were worse than all of them.” Hastur whispered in a gentle tone. “You thought that if the world was going to push you around you should push back. Your cruelty destroyed so much you fled from the consequences and made yourself anew to hide from your actions.” Underfell!Frisk stopped struggling and gasped for air as Hastur allowed them a moment to breathe.

“I’m… I’m not like that anymore.” they said.

“If that were true, the HATE would be taking longer to overtake your mind.” Hastur retorted as the HATE nearly finished consuming their red soul. “You buried your regrets. Ran away from everything and put on the mask of a savior to deny what you are and always will be.” As Hastur said those words a wide smile spread across Underfell!Frisk’s face as their soul was consumed by HATE.

“A coward. A slave to anger. And an arbiter of hypocrisy.” As Asgore, Delta!Sans and Flowey held Jessie down, Underfell!Frisk smiled and raced forward with speed greater than any of the three could’ve hoped to react to.

With one strike they punched straight through Asgore’s armored chest and held his soul within their hands. As Asgore’s trident fell to the ground they absorbed his soul and crushed the human soul he had within himself. Its shattered remains turned into thin beams of yellow light that raced to the portal. And caused it to get bigger.

“Frisk!” Underfell!Flowey gasped in horror and shock as Underfell!Frisk turned towards them. A smile across their face as their now black soul emerged from their chest.

“Flowey duck!” Delta!Sans shouted as Jessie broke free and attacked the flower. Flowey burrowed underneath the ground to protect himself as Jessie then leapt into the air after Delta!Sans. Underfell!Frisk then turned towards the MAC and then turned their gaze towards Toriel who was still healing Storyshift!Chara.

“That is the prison to hold my vessel?" Underfell!Frisk’s voice was not their own, but Hastur’s. As Storyshift!Chara rose up and placed herself between Hastur!Frisk and the MAC Handplates!Gaster stood horrified and angry by Asgore’s death.

“You…” Handplates!Gaster clenched his hands. “You… demon!” Hastur!Frisk stepped forward, grinning maliciously as Chara drew her blade and Toriel stepped in between them.

“That is enough!” she said sternly. “You will not harm another soul here.” Hastur!Frisk paused for a moment, looking up towards the sky with disdain.

[Hoddar is near] [Others are approaching as well]

“So the thief nearly arrives.” Hastur!Frisk said to themself. “And more annoyances reveal themselves along with him.” At that moment a beam of light crashed down beside them. In less than a second, standing beside them was a being who looked like sans.

He wore a golden crown on his head along with a withered light yellow coat with a few tints of teal on it. Two blades were affixed to the sides of his black stocking like pants and in both of his hands was a bow with a light blue arrow already within it.

He was Dream!Sans, the brother and counterpart to Nightmare. A guardian of the multiverse and currently the one pointing a positivity arrow at Hastur!Frisk.

“Gaster teleport the MAC to Clover and contain him now!” Dream!Sans ordered. “If what Science!Sans said is right, we just need to sever the link between Clover and this creature to close the portal.”

*BANG*

A large hole appeared through the center of Handplates!Gaster’s skull as his soul shattered and his body turned to dust. Standing behind him was Cyber!Clover with a smug grin across his face.

A few minutes earlier.

The howling wind was drowned by the cries and screams of magical energy blasters as sans, underswap!Papyrus, Epic!Sans and both reapertale gods worked together to defeat Cyber!Clover. The tyrannical maniac evaded every attack with ease. He mocked and berated his opponents. Calling them weak as he kicked Epic!Sans in the chest and stomped on his skull. Cracking it, and grinning as he applied more pressure.

Grunting in frustration Reapertale!Undyne holstered her bow as she drew her blade with her left hand. Leaping high into the air she slammed her blade down towards Cyber’s head as the murderous tyrant turned. Revealing his glowing red eye as he fired a high powered red energy beam straight into her eye and blasted her away.

“Sans! Surround him.” Underswap!Papyrus said as he and his alternate universe brother raised a wall of bones around Cyber and Epic. “Reaper pull them down!” Beneath Epic a mass of what could only be described as total darkness began swirling beneath him. In less than a blink thick black tentacles ensnared Cyber’s feet as bright blue chains burst from the ground to wrap tightly around his arms, legs and neck as Epic was pulled into the darkness.

“Annihilator deploy.” Cyber whispered as a single drop of liquid nanomachines fell from his index finger and entered the swirling black mass pulling him in.

Within a few seconds he was pulled under and entered what essentially amounted to a pocket dimension. Being the God of Death in Reapertale gave Reapertale!Sans a few unique powers. One of which was the ability to use the shadows and darkness around him to create a tiny pocket dimension that he could use to safely store items or people.

It was pitch black with not even the smallest trace of light. As the chains around Cyber tightened and pulled him apart voices began echoing around him.

“Bruh, think you could’ve done that sooner?” Epic said, rubbing the crack on his skull as Reapertale!Sans ignored him and approached Cyber.

“What’s the matter mortal? You look like you’ve seen death” Reapertale!Sans's joke was smug yet full of venom. The god wielding a large scythe in both hands and wearing a dark cloak loomed above him. His left eye glowed blue with the brilliance of a star as Cyber looked up at him. And smirked.

“How’s Life?” Cyber asked as San’s eye twitched. “Nightmare told me all about you two. How you two became friends, how she made you that flower.” the villain’s smile widened. “How you lead Reapertale!Chara straight to her and got her killed.” At that moment all of Reapertale!San’s rage was drowned by guilt. Though his hands remained firm, the scythe he was carrying felt so much heavier than before.

In that moment of weakness Reapertale!Sans concentration was weakened. His emotions were getting the better of him as they have done so many times before. So Cyber twisted the dagger even deeper.

“You lied to her about Chara.” Cyber continued. “You told her she was at peace. You failed to harvest her. Your actions caused her to be corrupted into what she is now. And your lie is what caused her death.” Anger reignited in Reapertale!Sans in an instant.

“Everything that happened. Every single thing. Is all. Your. Fault.” Cyber laughed. “Ah Toriel. No matter the AU or timeline she’s always a complete idiot!” The light from Reapertale!Sans's eye glowed with the brightness of a star as the chains holding Cyber began pulling him apart.

“How dare you!” Reapertale!Sans yelled. “Don’t you dare insult her name with your filthy-”

“Why doesn’t CORE tell you where Reapertale!Chara is?” Cyber asked as Reapertale!Sans paused and Epic’s expression became one of worry. Reaper’s grip tightened as he very slowly leveled the blade just a centimeter from Cyber’s neck.

“What do you know?” Reapertale!Sans knew Nightmare!Sans had the ability to detect anyone in the multiverse so long as they had the ability to feel negative emotions. Core!Frisk was never any help with finding Reapertale!Chara. He’d been searching for so long that the risk of what he was doing didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was stopping that creature and restoring his friend.

“Reapertale!Chara is friends with Core!Frisk.” Cyber casually explained with no fear in his voice as a large liquid metallic mass began growing larger behind the two Sans.

“Core decided the best way to save them was to be friends with them.” Cyber smirked as anger filled Reapertale!Sans face. “They’ve been lying to you the whole time. Core was helping Reapertale!Chara hide from you. All the while you’ve been searching the whole multiverse for them. Never thinking to look in the one place Core!Frisk would never take you.”

“That… mortal!” Reapertale!Sans hissed. It all clicked together in an instant. It was so obvious, so… so in his face he couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized it sooner. He knew Core!Frisk could see everything that had ever happened, was happening and will happen with some exceptions.

He trusted them… and they stabbed him in the back. And for what? To redeem a murderer? To “save” a creature, no, the demon that had ruined his world?

“Whoa, hang on there man.” Epic!Sans urged. “This kid's the last person to-” The glare Reapertale!Sans gave Epic shut the skeleton up in an instant. He stepped back, and felt something wet and metallic behind him.

“They… they lied to us. Lied to me!” Two glowing red lights glowed from behind Reapertale!Sans as a large humanoid figure towered over him and Epic. The towering construct looked down at Epic as the skeleton’s eye began glowing.

“Reap-” Epic’s words weren’t nearly fast enough as a metallic robot created two large hands on its sides and grabbed both of them.

The drop of liquid nanomachines Cyber had dropped into the darkness had grown and multiplied into one of his robots. Designated as “ANNIHILATOR” the mechanical creation was an AI created solely to serve and protect Cyber.

ANNIHILATOR stood at a towering eight feet and the black and purple painted bodily design was large with powerful arms and legs. Its face consisted only of its red eyes and an expressionless metal face covering. Electricity coursed from Annihilator’s hands into the skeleton’s. Lighting the area up in a bright blue light as a mass of liquid metal began growing out from atop its right arm. And from it, a third arm grew and ripped away Reapertale!Sans scythe.

“Disgusting organics.” ANNIHILATOR’s voice was cold, metallic and filled with hate. Creating an energy cannon at the center of its palms, Annihilator blasted the two. Sending the flying upwards and soaring out of Reapertale!Sans pocket dimension. ANNIHILATOR’s left arm then morphed into a large blue plasma blade and sliced Cyber free of his restraints as he held onto the gods weapon.

“What are your orders, father?” ANNIHILATOR asked as Cyber smirked.

“Analyze and secure that idiot's scythe.” Cyber said. Following his creator’s command ANNIHILATOR’s eyes glowed red as his optic sights began scanning the weapon as liquid nanomachines began spreading from his hands onto the weapon. Covering it entirely in seconds before the mass rejoined his body.

“Scan complete. Assimilating and storing material… Assimilation complete. Reapertale!Sans Death Scythe now incorporated into weapon systems.”

“Great. Now to the fun part.” Cyber said as his left arm morphed into a long plasma rifle. “I’m going to use the MAC to get rid of Reapertale!Sans and then I’ll absorb Reapertale!Undyne’s soul. Your job is to destroy the Bad Time Trio, and rip out Epic!San’s magic eye. By any means necessary.” ANNIHILATOR nodded as the two of them flew out of the dark pocket dimension to the shock and horror of the heroes as they saw ANNIHILATOR.

“Oh no.” Sans uttered as they all looked up to see Cyber had deployed one of his robotic creations.

“Annihilator.” Storyshift!Chara coughed blood as Toriel continued healing their injuries.

“Bruh, this is cheating.” Epic!Sans said. “We sure this guy isn’t hacking the files or anything?”

“Exterminating inferior lifeforms.” ANNIHILATOR announced as his chest plating opened up. From his chest a swarm of missiles burst forth. Like a swarm of locusts they buzzed and raced through the air as the heroes either ran or fired their weapons to destroy the explosive ordinance before they were blown apart.

The blasts caught both reapertale gods as the skeleton brothers and epic created a large wall of bones to block the oncoming blasts. Forming a miniature jet engine on his back ANNIHILATOR used his own large body as a battery ram and charged straight into the wall of bones. Shattering the barrier completely as the massive robot slashed his blade arm at Epic!Sans. Severing the skeleton’s left leg.

“None shall stand against my father.” ANNIHILATOR said as he raised his blade over his head. “Surrender and embrace oblivion!” Paralyzed by fear, Epic!Sans could only look up as ANNIHILATOR swung down. Acting quickly, Sans grabbed Epic’s soul with his blue magic and pulled him out of ANNIHILATOR’s attack.

“epic, how long till your leg comes back?” sans asked. Epic!San’s power came from his magic eye. Among the host of abilities it granted the eye made Epic immortal with a regeneration factor. Killing him would make him come back in an instant but regenerating from wounds took longer however.

“it’ll be a minute.” Epic answered as his leg slowly started regrowing. ANNIHILATOR stared at Epic before turning his gaze towards the skeleton brothers and then to Storyshift!Chara and Toriel as his right arm turned into a large energy cannon. Dark purple energy crackled from the barrel as its power was charged to annihilate the human and the monster queen.

“Target locked." ANNIHILATOR announced. “Now you may join the rest of your kind. Farewell weak human.” Detecting a bright blue glow from his side, ANNIHILATOR moved quickly. Sidestepping a large blue arrow from Reapertale!Undyne.

“As if a mechanical abomination would know anything about strength.” the goddess of war declared as she and the others began firing at the robot. ANNIHILATOR was slower than Cyber but his armor plating and regenerative properties made him able to shrug off their attacks with ease. With his left arm he morphed the limb into a long rifle that fired an electric net that ensnared the goddess.

Reapertale!Undyne screamed as the electricity coursed through her body. The more she struggled the stronger the net seemed to become and each new tare she made was quickly grown back and strengthened. As Reapertale!Sans pulled himself back up, ANNIHILATOR flew towards him and blasted him with the energy from his cannon arm.

“Your power is inferior to my father’s genius.” ANNIHILATOR declared as he grabbed the god and began electrifying him. “Flesh is weak. Metal is eternal.”ANNIHILATOR continued as Cyber killed Handplates!Gaster.

“Thanks for warming this thing up for me.” Cyber said to the now pile of dust that used to be a quote on quote “genius”. With the press of a button a glowing blue light emanated around the crystal as a beam was fired not at Hastur!Frisk or Clover, but towards Reapertale!Sans.

Within moments the god of death was consumed by a bright light as he was pulled into the crystal. Storyshift!Chara, Toriel, Dream and Delta!Sans each made a move to stop what Cyber was doing as a dark sickly yellow aura circled around them. Paralyzing them and forcing them onto their knees as Hastur!Frisk smiled maliciously.

As Reapertale!Sans was contained within the MAC Cyber inputted coordinates and teleported the device away. “That solves that.” Cyber said as he turned his attention towards Hastur!Frisk. Both beings stared at one another as a mutual smile spread across both of their faces.

“Intriguing. A human made of metal and insanity.”

“Sanity is an illusion.” Cyber replied as the smile on Hastur!Frisk’s face widened. “Everyone is insane.”

“Indeed.” the possessed human nodded. “Tell me human, are you going to kneel or futilely resist?” Cyber turned away from Hastur!Frisk and began approaching Reapertale!Undyne.

“I bow to no-one.” Cyber said in a casual almost childlike tone as he tilted his head. “Besides, I don’t have to do anything with Hoddar and the others fighting your vessels. The one who wins here is ME. Not you. And not any of these idiots.” Hastur!Frisk chuckled as he then turned their attention towards Delta!Sans.

“Devour.” Hastur!Frisk ordered Corrupted!Jessie as the creature leapt into the air after the monster.

(Carcosa)

Clover stayed away from The King in Yellow as the two walked along the shore of Lake Hali. The large creature seemed to glide across the ground as though he was flying. Clover couldn’t tell if he had legs or not. Additionally his arm from earlier had merged back with his body.

“Your mission is admirable.” Hastur said. His voice was smooth and eased Clover’s wary mind. “Not many of your kind would risk their lives for those who aren’t kin.” Still wary Clover gave the creature a simple acknowledgement as they continued their walk. There was no one aside from them. Not a single insect or bird or any creature of any kind walked their path.

“How do I go back to my world?” Clover asked. Hastur paused and turned what Clover assumed was the creature's face towards him.

“You are still there.” Hastur replied. “While your consciousness is here, your physical form remains in that world. You are dreaming, to put it in simple terms.” This explanation brought Clover more confusion.

“I’m dreaming? Then doesn’t that mean all of this isn’t real? And how can I be dreaming? I wasn’t even tired.” Hastur turned himself fully to face Clover as a single tentacle pointed itself upwards towards the black stars above them.

“I assure you child. This place is as real as you, your family, and your world.” Hastur said. “Dreams are the human mind's gateway to a realm beyond your understanding. As your mind rests your consciousness slips through the barrier between what you call reality and this place. You need not worry about what is going on in your world. Time’s flow is different here. We may take our time to discuss matters.”

“What are you?” Clover asked. “You’re not a human and you're definitely not a monster.” For the briefest moment Clover swore the creature looming over him seemed to chuckle at his words.

“I am an observer.” Hastur answered. “And a keeper of knowledge from every corner of creation. I have mastered countless magical arts. From creating universes, stars, acres of fruit to even,” Hastur paused for a moment. “Restoring those who have passed back to life.” Clover’s eyes widened as Hastur gestured to the plant life around them.

“Everything here was wrought by my will. And over the eons I have dedicated myself to pursuing knowledge from every corner of every reality. I would like to make you an offer, Clover. A deal that will benefit us both greatly.” Clover took a step back from Hastur.

“The last time I made a deal I was used and I killed Frisk.” Clover replied, fear and guilt practically pouring from his lips as he shook his head. “I… I won’t put anyone else in danger.” Hastur’s voice was as smooth as silk as he spoke.

“Be not afraid, child. I have no interest in placing you or any of your kind in danger. And,” Hastur paused as he lowered himself. With one long yellow tentacle he plucked a yellow flower from the ground between them as he held it just a few inches from his white mask.

“I know how precious the short lifespans your kind possess is.” Hastur continued. “You care deeply for your fellow humans. Your empathy and compassion guided you to the underground. To making that deal with that monster. And to here now.” A light blue light flashed over the lake. Clover turned his head and beheld a large sphere that showed him the body of his alternate counterpart still laying underneath that tree in the underground.

“You have been controlled and manipulated for a hundred years. It’s only natural that you are skeptical of my intentions.” Hastur’s tone was reassuring and Clover felt the fear in his heart melting away as he listened intently to the creature.

“My power flows within your veins and your soul. Your HATE likewise carries my power with it to those you have spread it towards.” Hastur explained. “It was your HATE and my power that allowed Frisk to break free from Chara’s control. And it was our power that destroyed your enemy Asriel, and brought down the monsters who used you.” Clover stepped towards the lake. His feet standing just before the edge and standing right next to Hastur.

“You’ve been helping me this whole time?” Clover asked as Hastur nodded his “head”. “Why?”

“Because it was the right thing to do.” Hastur answered. Clover turned his gaze towards the light. His heart ached to reach out, to cradle and bring his other self back to life and bring him into the arms of the family that loved him.

“Can you really bring him back?” Clover asked.

“Easily.” Hastur replied. “I will share this knowledge with you. All you need do,” A long yellow tentacle emerged from Hastur’s left side. It shifted and changed color from sickly yellow to pale white as it changed into the form of a human hand. “Is take my hand.” The hand Hastur outstretched towards him was… alluring. Clover stared into the outstretched limb, his mind and body urging him to reach and grasp it.

“What about Frisk and Zaley, and Jessie and all the others?” Clover asked. “Can you do anything to help them? Can you… give them their lives back?”

“Easily.” Hastur replied. “The flesh is simple to recreate. The soul is harder but still possible for someone of your will.” Clover hesitated.

“Do you any other desire, Clover?” Hastur asked in a gentle voice. “I can feel your love for your father and mother. You wish to heal her, correct?” Clover nodded. “Then it shall be so.”

“...” Clover’s hand moved towards Hastur’s. His mind filled with visions of triumph. He’d save Zaley and the other children. He’d bring back Frisk and save her and this universe and unite this universe's version of himself and his father. He’d fix the world and destroy all evil in his and every universe and-

‘At the end of the day… you're naive.’ Ceroba’s voice echoed in Clover’s mind as he stopped himself. All at once everything flowed back to the forefront of his mind. He made a deal with Gaster and he couldn’t control himself and killed Frisk. If he got this power, what would stop him from doing it again? Noticing Clover’s resistance to his offer, Hastur spoke again in a slightly more annoyed tone.

“What is the matter Clover?” the being spoke. “Do you not desire my offer?”

“... I… I can’t do it.” Clover sighed. “I lost control of myself and killed an innocent. I messed up and I got this version of my world destroyed. I thought if I was strong enough I could overcome anything.” he stared at his body that was mostly as black as his soul with a few spots of yellow on it.

“If I take this deal… all I’m going to do is hurt even more people.” Clover looked up at Hastur. “I want to. I really do but, no. I can’t take your deal.” The air around them kicked up as a gust of wind began blowing past the pair.

“Very well human.” Hastur calmly said as a large yellow tentacle emerged from his back and wrapped itself around Clover’s neck and lifted him over the lake. “I had hoped to utilize your HATE and avoid having to deal with your determination. But your cooperation is unnecessary. I have your body and the portal is opening.” Clover punched and clawed at the tentacle holding him as Hastur began squeezing him more tightly.

“Farewell child.” Hastur dropped Clover into the lake. The icy cold embrace of Lake Hali felt like thick sludge as Clover desperately clawed and swam upwards. Desperately trying to ascend as he fell deeper and deeper into the abyss as Hastur’s towering yellow form grew smaller and smaller.

As he tried to morph his body to escape he heard a sound approaching him from behind. A humanoid creature with sharp claws, webbed feet, glowing blue eyes and a massive sharpened teeth jaw grabbed him and bit into his shoulder.

Clover screamed as another one of the creatures bit down on his left foot. And another swam up to devour him, followed by another, and another and another.

Hastur watched from the shore of the lake as Clover was devoured by his creations. Clover’s screams and his body's pain filled the deity with pleasure as he looked across the lake towards the city where he was also fighting Nightmare at this moment.

An idea struck the god as he looked towards the image of the dead Clover beneath the tree. At that moment his magic began circling around the child’s dead body with a sickly golden light as he was teleported to the surface where Lawrence and his father had run off to.

Both men gasped as Clover’s body hung suspended in the air. At that moment his arms spread as this universe’s version of Clover’s soul flew from their grasp and into his body. A bright light blinded the humans for a moment as this Clover’s eyes opened. He fell to the ground gasping for air as his heart began beating.

“CLOVER!” Lawrence ran towards and embraced his son as his body began twitching and his bones began cracking as he cried out in pain.

“CLOVER!!!” Lawrence shouted as Clover forced himself off of his father. With tears in his eyes he pleaded with his father to run as his neck slowly bent backwards.

“Run!” Clover begged as his neck SNAPPED. As his body fell towards the ground Hastur’s magic began making Clover’s body glow yellow as his body began changing.

Three long tentacles emerged from his mouth as his eyes turned pitch black. His skin turned completely golden yellow as he grew to be three times the size of his six-foot six father. He stood on all fours as his arms and legs now resembled those of a dog as several gaping mouths emerged all over his body.

“DAD-DY.” the creature cried out as it began charging at the men. Lawrence and his father both blasted the creature with their soul magic as they began running from it. As they ran, the souls they had pulled from Asriel began turning black as well and flew towards the pursuing creature.

As the souls entered the creature they heard the voices of the children crying out as the beast grew even larger in size. They spoke in unison as the earth trembled and shook with each one of their steps.

“DA-DDY!” the amalgamation of souls cried out.

“H-HEL-P ME!” Clover begged as the now giant monster grew two large tentacles on its back. As the two men continued running they were cornered by the edge of an abyss with lava firing up into the sky.

“Oh no.” Lawrence looked back as the massive tentacles were about to grab them. His father took his hand, and leapt into the burning sea.

“DAAA-DDDYYYY!” Clover yelled as the monster raced to grab both men. Lawrence looked to his father who nodded. Both knew what the other was thinking and both agreed how they wanted things to end.

They charged up the power within their souls and released two brilliant beams of magical energy towards the outstretched tentacles heading towards them. Blasting the appendages away as both men felt the heat of the lava behind them.

“I love you son.” Clover’s grandpa told Lawrence.

“I forgive you dad.” Lawrence replied as both men shut their eyes. Peace filled their hearts as the monster cried out again.

“DAAADDDDYYYY!” Clover cried as Hastur chuckled at the scene. Humans were amusing creatures to torment. And the bonds of family never ceased to provide opportunities for entertainment. Especially at the sight of a child watching his own family kill themselves in fear because of him.

“Such weak creatures.” Hastur remarked as he turned his attention towards a portal opening up into this reality.

(Meanwhile with the Murder Time Trio)

In spite of their violent, impulsive natures the Murder Time Trio fought as one against Hastur!Clover. The fight took place at speeds beyond human conception. Tearing the very code of reality apart with each strike the combatants fired at their enemy.

A glowing yellow aura surrounded Hastur!Clover’s body as the vessel continued dodging the trio’s attacks. Torrents of bones and magical energy collided against the dark god's power in a futile attempt to harm him. Leaping over another blast of magical energy from Dusttale!Sans, Hastur!Clover reached down and grabbed a clump of dirt with his left hand.

“Alu mon extrasha.” The vessel blew into the clump as the specks of dirt began glowing yellow as the wind carried them into the sky. He then bent down and cut a hole into the vessel's right hand. Using Clover’s HATE corrupted black blood to draw a symbol onto the ground.

“Oh no you don’t!” Killer!Sans said as he dived from high in the air. Spinning around as he channeled the power of the human souls and his determination into his blade he slashed down as the possessed human.

But right as he was about to strike his target, the specks of dirt Hastur!Clover had blown into the air morphed into a swarm of small yellow tentacles creatures with a large gaping maw and four wings. The swarm surrounded Killer and pulled him away from their master and began eating the skeleton.

Horrortale!Sans used his large winged bone dragon to destroy the swarm with a single burst of the creature's firebreath. Destroying the swarm and burning Killer in the process.

“Hey! Watch where you’re firing that thing!” Killer shouted as Dusttale!Sans and his Papyrus unleashed a barrage of gaster blasters and red bones at the stationary Hastur!Clover.

“Both of you focus!” Dusttale!Sans ordered as Hastur!Clover looked up towards the trio. The bloody symbol was what looked like a five pointed star with two more above it along with a symbol that was in the shape of a V on the bottom.

“Halu issu malu kila aluha!” as Dusttale!Sans attack was about to connect with his target, the symbol turned from black to yellow as a light as bright as a star burst from the symbols center. The light annihilated the attack and raced towards the trio as the planet shook.

The Murder Time Trio dived down as the ground began to turn yellow. At that moment an entire forest of sickly golden yellow trees emerged from the ground. Their branches quickly racing to grab and ensnare the trio as Dusttale!Sans and Killer were both captured by the trees.

As both skeletons were pulled in by the branches the trees opened to swallow them. As darkness filled their vision the duo found themselves standing alone in darkness as the power from the human souls within them faded and left their bodies.

The human souls shattered and their essence soared out of sight above them. As both skeletons raced to try to regain their lost power, they both suddenly found themselves standing on the shore of a lake that didn’t seem to have a bottom.

“Where are we?” Dusttale!Sans said as he looked around. “Where are the souls?”

“I don’t, wait. Is that… boss?” Killer!Sans said as he drew Dusttale!San’s attention to the fight in the distance. It looked as though their boss Nightmare was fighting an army of yellow creatures from high atop some castle.

“Looks like that thing brought us to wherever this is.” Killer smirked as he drew his knife. “Let’s get to work.”

“The killer and the fool. Welcome to Carcosa.” Hastur said as both skeletons spun around to see the towering golden figure looming over them.

“Well well, come to fight us yourself huh?” Killer remarked as Dusttale!Sans took a step back.

“Killer, we should regroup with Nightmare.” Dusttale!Sans said as he clenched his left fist. Manifesting a large gaster blaster to fly on as he jumped on.

“heh, i wouldn’t expect anything less from a coward like you.” Killer scoffed at the idea of running away as he leapt towards the creature in front of him.

“IT’S KILLIN TI-” Killer fell to the ground like lightning as his knife clattered against the ground. Vines grew out from the ground beneath them. Pulling the murderer under as Dusttale!Sans grasped his rib cage. His bones were beginning to turn yellow as some kind of black liquid began pouring like a river out of his mouth and eye holes.

“It is futile.” Hastur softly whispered into Dusttale!Sans ear. “You belong to me now.” Hastur wrapped Dusttale!Sans in a frigidly cold embrace. The skeleton couldn’t move, couldn’t beg, couldn’t pray nor plead as his vision was consumed by darkness and everything went black.

The darkness lasted an eternity for Dust. As the deity feasted on him, his memories faded away with each passing second as he lost himself more and more. One by one, day by day, every word, every feeling or smell left his mind.

He felt so small. So empty. Why was he here? Who was he? Why was he in this darkness?

Soon he had no body. A moment later he had no mouth. As the light in his soul was consumed a single memory, the last lingering spark of his being cried out as the abyss called out to him.

“I’m… coming……Pa..p-”

“there you are.” Horrortale!Sans pulled Dust out of the tree and onto the back of his dragon. He had lost sight of Killer and Dust when they had been pulled into the trees. Hacking and slashing at the foliage he’d only just now managed to find Dust who simply stared off into space. Not moving, barely breathing and very, very cold.

“hey you still with me?” Horrortale!Sans asked as he stood over the skeleton. “dust? you with me?”

“He is mine now.” Hastur!Clover said as a blue portal in the distance opened. The two of them turned towards what appeared to be another sans but he was different.

This sans looked like his whole body was glitching and changing every second as numerous ones and zeros flowed out of and in his body. His long white coat and blue slippers reminded Horror of Error!Sans. They even had the same blue strings running down his eyes that he did.

“You don’t belong here.” Error!404Sans said as he approached Hastur!Clover. “Close your portal and get out now.” the vessel smiled and placed his hands behind his back.

“So you finally arrived.” The vessel casually remarked. “Not calling upon the aid of your servants? Curious… unless, ah. You lost control of them didn’t you, William?” Error!404San’s eyes narrowed in annoyance as he looked up towards Horrortale!Sans.

“Leave.” It was an order. And one Horror immediately obeyed as he flew off with Dust.

“ugh all of this has gone to crap.” Horror sighed as he buried his face in his palms. Whatever that thing was, Horror knew even with his human souls he stood no chance. With Nightmare elsewhere, Killer missing and Dust out of commission that only left him Insanity!Sans.

He shivered at the idea of releasing him into this fight. He needed to do something, and fast.

“...” he thought back to his earlier conversation with Core!Frisk. Holding the bag with the supplies he gave them in his hands he took a deep breath.

His underground needed these things now. Papyrus was starving, everyone was starving and dying and he stopped himself.

He needed to leave. But at the same time, if he did nothing…

“Sigh. This better not come back to bite me.” The skeleton muttered as it flew towards the team Core!Frisk had sent.

“Still trying to achieve the impossible? Still lying to yourself.” Hastur!Clover shook his head dismissively. “Pathetic.”

“Leave. Now.” Error!404Sans ordered. “Don’t think I’ll hesitate to destroy your vessel.” Hastur!Clover turned his gaze towards the sickly yellow sky as reality continued glitching in and out of existence.

Above them patches of the sky turned to night, then to sunset and sunrise in an instant. The land burst beneath and all around them as plumes of lava and magma shot high into the air. Error!404Sans outstretched his left hand and connected to this universe's core code. Inputting several commands, he sent a custom firewall into the universe’s base code to protect it from Hastur’s influence.

Universe Integrity 70%
Unknown energy source interfaced with CORE CODE… Purging… Purging…
ERROR! Unknown Energy [ERROR! ERROR!]
FIREWALL UPLOAD AT 30%. 40% 90% 100%
FIREWALL Activated. Purging unknown energy in [Did you really think this was going work William?] ERROR. SYSTEM ERR-

“Ugh.” Error404!Sans groaned as he pinched his nose. “You haven’t changed either I see.” the skeleton crossed his arms. “Still a planner and a manipulator. A weakling who can’t fight head on.” he said as he began approaching the possessed child.

“Why don’t you save me the trouble and get out now.” Hastur!Clover smiled at the skeleton which brought him pause.

“Shh.” Hastur!Clover hushed softly as he placed a finger over the boy’s lips. “Do you hear them William?” he asked as Error!404Sans clenched his fist. “It’s D-” Error!404Sans went to punch his opponent in the face many times faster than the speed of light. Only for Hastur!Clover to easily, casually, grab his hand before he even got close.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Predictable as ever, William.” In an instant Hastur!Clover manifests two magical constructs that Error404!Sans immediately recognized as his version of gaster blaster’s but different. The bones making up the magical construct were sickly yellow tinted in color with spots of flesh surrounding it. And a single yellow eye stood in the constructs center as a large yellow light of magical energy shined like a star in its maw.

Acting quickly Error404!Sans manifested three sharpened bones above the blaster’s. Stabbing through them in an instant and dissipating the attack as he kicked at Hastur’s vessel in an attempt to free himself. The vessel didn’t even flinch.

“This vessel has the ability to use any human or monster “magic” it comes in contact with.” Hastur!Clover punched a hole straight through Error404!San’s chest. Ripping out a chunk of his code in the process before tossing him aside.

Hastur!Clover tutted as he began circling the “God of the Multiverse”. “Such a fool. Had you brought your creation’s this wouldn’t be in my favor. Did you truly deceive yourself into believing you could prevent the inevitable?” Hastur!Clover held out his left hand and opened the MENU holding the universe's code.

*ERROR…ERROR…FIREWALL
DEACTIVATED. UNIVERSAL STABILITY
FALLING. 65% 50% 40%.
WARNING! MULTI-DIMENSIONAL INTRUSION IMMINENT! ALL RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO SURRENDER AND HAIL THE KING IN YELLOW.*

“Your efforts are futile, William.” Hastur!Clover remarked as Error404!Sans pulled himself up. “Your reality. Your existence, like world, David, and Chara will-”

“Shut up!!!” Error404!Sans yelled. “You think I care if one insignificant timeline gets destroyed? I’ll rip apart every timeline, every world, every life you could inhabit if it means stopping anomalies like you from ruining everything!!!" Errors and countless streams of 1’s and 0’s began pouring out of Error404!Sans eyes. The corruptive properties that made up his being began pouring out of him like a rushing tidal wave as they began interfacing with the core code of the universe.

And like a virus, it began spreading quickly. The stars that made up once glowed in the night sky had vanished. Split in half or erased completely as time itself ceased to be and reality began to collapse.

And in the thralls of unparalleled madness Error404!Sans shed off the mask he wore and unleashed his insanity. It was anomalies like Hastur, like HIM that made him like this. They were the ones who pushed him to madness and insanity. Who destroyed everything and everyone he-

Everything went black in an instant. In the darkness of the void only he remained until a blue portal opened beneath him. Four long slender white arms stretched out. The air was filled with the faint whispers and screams of countless humans and monsters and beings not of his multiverse as a large boney skull peeked over the portal and looked up at Error404!Sans.

The creature had no eyes, no features save a wide gaping maw with countless rows of sharp teeth. The rest of its body was deformed and brought about a feeling of utter disgust in him as several eyes peeled open across the creature's body.

“William/brother.” two voices cried out to Error404!Sans in unison. Immediately he began backing away as the monstrosity pulled itself fully out of the portal.

“No.” Error404!Sans shook his head. “Nonononononononono!”

“William/brother.” the voices echoed out of the creature along with countless other beings. “Join us.”

“You’re not real!” Error404!Sans shouted. “I killed you!”

“My child is beyond death.” Hastur!Clover’s voice echoed in Error404!Sans mind. “Ishalax. Devour him.”

In the darkness Clover could barely make out the teeth tearing into his flesh. The blackness around him began to sport faint streams of darker black as his screams died before his lips could part. His skin, muscles and bones were devoured in an instant as the only light that remained was the dim glow of his soul.

One of the creatures lunged at the heart shaped embodiment of Clover. With a gaping maw and countless rows of dagger-like teeth Clover’s soul was pierced and torn. The yellow soul was shattered. His vision turned black as silence and blood and the munching on broken bones filled the darkness.

“Hate.” Clover hissed. “I HATE you all!” Fire erupted at the heart of his soul. His mind was flooded with fury as the shattered bits of himself within the creature's maw began to combine with one another.

“I. Won’t. Die like this!” Patches of his soul began to glow blood red as his Determination mixed with his HATE.

“You will pay for your crimes, Hastur.” Clover declared as parts of his soul began to glow yellow. As he willed his soul back together the trifecta of Justice, Determination and HATE filled him as light began emanating from his soul like a star.

The monster’s teeth shattered as it bit down on the soul within its maw. For the first time the creature felt something it never comprehended before. Fear.

Light erupted from Clover’s soul with the brilliance of a supernova. In less than a second the creatures attacking him were completely vaporized as the light emanating from his soul grew outwards. A massive tower of light shot out of Lake Hali as Hastur turned towards the lake with surprise.

“Impossible!” the eldritch deity muttered as the tower of light burst out from the lake. Hastur sensed his own power still intermingled with Clover’s soul magic. Pushing his power far beyond what should have ever been capable for the human.

“It seems I’ve underestimated the human.” Hastur muttered as he continued watching the human reforming his body while also oblitering every single creature that approached him with large energy blasts.

[Hoddar is approaching]

The thief was drawing near he could sense. He could not allow him to arrive at this critical junction. The portal still needed time, still needed more energy. He was engaged with William and the parasite and his brother Dream and the other fools.

It was then a horrid idea entered Hastur’s twisted mind as Clover pulled himself out of the lake.

“Well done human.” Hastur said in a completely icy calm demeanor. “No one has ever managed to escape Lake Hali before.” Clover let out a low growl as his soul began glowing. Magical energy circled around the yellow-red and black soul in his hands as he took aim at his opponent.

Hastur just stood there. Emotionless, calm, completely unconcerned by the human attempting to murder him. As the power concentrated in his soul reached its peak Hastur teleported Underfell!Frisk, Jessie and the other children in front of him.

Clover quickly moved his soul to the side. Letting the red-black and yellow beam of magical fire away from the humans and into the yellow forest behind them. The blast obliterated everything it came in contact with. Leaving a wide trail of destruction that raced far beyond the horizon.

“Break him.” Hastur ordered as the towering yellow figure merged into the ground beneath him. The children all charged at him in unison, their power’s enhanced by HATE and Hastur’s power as Clover raised up his hands to defend against their assault.

Filled with malice and glee, Underfell!Frisk tore into Clover’s chest with a wide grin. Her hands had transformed into long thin claws like his. Jessie’s soul blast blew off Clover’s right leg. The young cowboy fell to his side as the children began to cut, tear, rip and peel him apart.

He cried out in utter agony. His screams filled the dark sky above Carcosa as he tried to connect with their souls to remind them of who they were, to help them fight against Hastur’s control.

But he could not. Hastur had taken everything from them. His influence had destroyed their memories, their personality, their emotions, their love. They were puppets. Tools and extensions of his will.

They lost everything. And it was all his fault.

“I truly must thank you human.” Hastur spoke through the purple soul of the child who once went by the name of Keegan. The child picked up Clover’s soul. Smiling warmly as Clover’s body was torn apart once more and a new one began growing out from his soul. “It’s thanks to you that I’m able to enter this reality. Your HATE, determination, and unique abilities have allowed me to finally pierce the veil. And so I will grant you a gift before your end.” the child’s smile stretched to his ears. His mouth was filled with endless rows of sharp teeth as Hastur spoke.

“I will peel off the mask you wear. Reveal to you the truth and give you the gift of clarity.” the eldritch deity explained. “Be proud child. Many have lost their minds seeking such a gift.” Clover struggled against Hastur as he connected with his mind but it was no use. And at that moment he found himself standing in the middle of a… grassy meadow?

“Where are we?” Lawrence asked aloud as the two men looked around. He felt for his pulse. Finding himself still alive but there was no ground beneath them. Just empty space with nothing to be seen in any direction.

First they were falling to their deaths, next they found themselves standing… somewhere.

“I still got a pulse so this isn’t hell.” His father looked above and then below them. Finding nothing. There was no air, no chill or heat they could feel yet they were still breathing somehow. “So your guess is as good as mine.” Lawrence’s soul began glowing as he held it in his hands. Aiming outward he fired into the distance. The bright yellow beam of light raced far beyond what their eyes could see in less than a second.

“We should be dead.” Lawrence remarked. “We jumped but then everything flashed and…” he paused. “Did Clo-did that monster do something to us?”

“No. Your universe has become so unstable that the universal code is falling apart.” Both men spun around to find the small grey child they had encountered earlier. Core!Frisk had one eye shut as he clutched his arm. “You two fell through one of the openings and entered the Void. The space and barrier between your universe and the Anti-Void.” he explained.

“The what?” Lawrence and his father uttered with no understanding whatsoever.

“Your universe is dying and you two fell through a hole that brought you here.” Core!Frisk answered simply. “We don’t have much time so I need you both to listen to me. Your universe is about to be destroyed and if you don’t come with me now you’ll…” Core!Frisk shuttered.

“What happened to my son?” Lawrence asked.

“...” Core!Frisk looked up at the man, a frown upon his face as he spoke. “I suspect the one trying to enter your universe turned him into that. It’s… hard for me to see what’s happening.” Lawrence looked around and spotted a strange glowing portal several meters to his left. He clenched his fist, his yellow soul glowing brighter as his father grabbed his shoulder.

“Lawrence-” he tossed his father’s arm off as he looked down at the child.

“Two things.” Lawrence bit his tongue. “How do I save my boy? And how do I stop whatever’s causing all of… that.” Anger and fear flashed through Core!Frisk's mind all at once as their body tensed.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I… don’t know. This is all my fault!” Core!Frisk’s eyes began forming black tearlike drops as they softly began weeping. “I’ve never had this happen before. Normally I can see every outcome and every action that people can and will take but ever since Clover arrived in Dusttale my sight hasn’t been working.”

“What are you talking about?” Lawrence’s father asked.

“The other Clover.” Core!Frisk clarified. “He comes from a timeline that’s inhabited by two beings that aren’t from this multiverse. Something about them makes my abilities not work. So when Clover was sent into Dusttale I had no idea what to do.” Core!Frisk winced as they looked down at their arm.

“I couldn’t see what would happen if I got involved. I can see his present, but not his future and only small bits of his past. And when Nightmare got involved I thought it’d be best if I talked to him since he hates monster’s. And when that fell apart I asked some of my friends to help contain him so he doesn’t cause anymore destruction.”

It was as though the weight of the entire multiverse had fallen upon Core!Frisk. They had brought everyone into this mess, they were the one that failed to save Clover from himself. And they were responsible for their friends dying.

“Be honest with me kid.” Lawrence spoke up. “If we find a way to save my boy. Can you promise me-” Lawrence’s father wrapped his arms around his son’s neck. Choking the air out of him as he spoke.

“Hate me if you want.” His father said. “I’m not losing you too.” Anger erupted from Lawrence’s eyes as he desperately tried channeling his soul’s power into his body to break the neck lock. But his father’s grip was ironclad. And his determination and love exceeded his son’s.

“Shh.” the old man whispered. “I’ll save him.” he lied and yet spoke truly. Whatever had happened to Clover destroyed him. Lawrence was a good man and didn’t have the heart to do what needed to be done. No father should ever have to put an end to his son.

As consciousness faded from Lawrence's mind his father looked upon him one final time. A smile across his face as he knew one thing was for certain.

Lawrence would live through this.

“Take my boy outta here.” he ordered Core!Frisk as he made his way to the opening back to his universe.

“Allen don’t!” Core!Frisk cried out. “I… we can think of another way. I have friends who are-”

“You're a good kid but listen,” Allen smiled as he placed a hand over his heart. “As a father you want what’s best for your kids… even if they hate you for it. My heart’s giving out but he’s still got time left. ” Allen sighed.

“Tell my boy I’m proud of him. And I’m sorry I wasn’t the father he and his siblings deserved. I wish… I wish I got to be with him more. With all of them more.” With a deep breath Allen stepped through the opening. Finding himself in the middle of a clearing with what was his grandson turning towards him.

“Graannnd-paaaa!” The monstrosity charged at him. The earth trembling with each touch of the ground as Allen’s soul glowed brightly in his left hand as pointed two fingers at the creature.

Allen’s expression darkened as his eyes averted their gaze. “I’m sorry Clover.” he whispered as he unleashed a massive yellow beam of energy at the creature.

(Elsewhere with Cyber and Reapertale!Undyne)

“Too slow!” Cyber laughed at the Reapertale goddess of war. Reapertale!Undyne's bow glowed brilliantly as she let loose several bright blue arrows. The dazzling beams of light raced and curved mid-flight as they homed in on their target.

“You dare to mock a god?” Reapertale!Undyne unsheathed a long blade with her left hand. In an instant magical godly energy poured out from the blade as she plunged it into the ground.

Pillars of rock and flame rose all around her as the arrows followed Cyber. The cocky villain's left arm transformed into a blade as he slashed through one pillar after the next with ease.

Cyber raced towards her. A large miniature jet engine roaring on his back, blade raised high as the goddess lunged forward and swung to sever his head.

But Cyber angled his trajectory at the last moment and rather than taking a shot at his opponent, he deflected her swing and leapt over her. Just as the arrows arrived.

Three struck Reapertale!Undyne’s upper abdomen with two more finding their mark in her stomach. She dropped to her knees. Her sword hitting the ground with a clatter as dust burst out of her mouth as she coughed.

The spears had embedded themselves deep within her. Cyber wasted no time and from his finger he fired a small wire into her remaining eye. Darkness consumed the goddesses as blots of black and white magical energy leaked out of her body.

The wire grew and mutated as it spread itself through her body. In seconds she felt the metal pierce through her brain, spine, arms and legs as it spread like a tree growing many branches within her. Her agonizing screams echoed for miles in all directions as her godly regeneration fought desperately to counteract the villain's attack.

Reapertale!Undyne's mind felt although it was being sucked through a straw as her body began to grow smaller and shrivel up.

“N…noo.” She weakly whimpered. Cyber's grin became utterly inhuman as he towered over the goddess. Pride and malice pouring out from every atom of his being as he watched the “immortal god” being absorbed.

“The nanomachines are converting you into energy.” Cyber casually explained as he literally sucked the life out of the goddess. “It's how I sustain myself and get stronger. I’ve absorbed plenty of boss monster souls and humans but yours,” Cyber madly cackled. “Your power is incredible!” Reapertale!Undyne’s body couldn’t move. In mere moments she could no longer speak, no longer think.

The last thing she saw was Cyber’s true self at the core of his soul. Past the murderous glee and insanity, beyond the broken shattered psyche of a child who only wanted to save his sister was a hole. A dark, bottomless, empty void that only desired more. More power, more violence, more fight’s, more and more and more and more and it continued on and on. Cyber was not human, not anymore. He was not a monster, he wasn’t even a mechanical abomination.

He was a parasite. A being that only lived to feed on the life energy of others. He had devoured his entire universe in his insatiable hunger and madness. Purged all sentient life in countless other universes and timelines. Never ceasing to absorb, never stopping to devour. Always hungry, always wanting more.

He lived to destroy. A force of nature bent only on taking in and absorbing all around him. And each and every individual that he had ever absorbed into himself was entreated to a permanent and everlasting stay within his soul.

Reapertale!Undyne was cursed to forever look at the world through the eyes of Cyber. She could not wonder, she could not wander. She was not alive, not quite dead, her memories were gone as was her will as her powers and abilities now were the sole property of Cyber himself.

Cyber left no trace of her being left. Every single cell, microscopic atom and magical particle was prey to the nanomachines. The metal that had previously been tearing her apart from the inside now formed into a metallic sludge. A dull grey putrid smelling liquid that moved on its own accord onto Cyber’s feet. Assimilating back into him as the villain clutched his hand. Realishing in his newly acquired power.

“All according to plan.” Cyber remarked. “Now I just need to get one of Dream’s arrows.” with the power of both negativity and positivity from Nightmare and Dream respectively, there would be no force in the multiverse that could challenge him. He’d annihilate Ink and Error!Sans and with them gone he absorb the powers of the “God’s of the multiverse”. Extraordinarily powerful beings that existed in the multiverse and acted as guardians against threats within and without.

Cyber turned his attention to Annihilator. The technological terror was fighting sans, Underswap!Papyrus and Epic!Sans. But their attacks were ineffective. Only managing to disrupt Annihilator's aim as he fired highly concentrated purple disintegration beams from his cannon arm.

He'd let Annihilator eliminate them while he focused on his real goal. Commanding the nanomachines to augment his sight, Cyber's vision locked onto Dream as he stood between Hastur!Underfell Frisk and Storyshift!Chara and Toriel.

“Let them go.” Dream demanded. His aim held steady as the world around them continued glitching and breaking down. Hastur!Underfell Frisk merely grinned as they knelt down and gathered some soil with their clawed hand.

Hastur!Frisk chuckled. “You're as naive as the one you call Core!Frisk. The emotions that give you power, those “positive” emotions are but a dim fragment of their greater whole. Such power, such understanding yet the truth is lost on you. Pitiful.” Hastur!Frisk turned their gaze towards a glitched portal above him as Toriel finished healing Storyshift Chara.

“We need to get out of here.” Chara urged as she grabbed onto Toriel's arm. But before the woman could utter a word her eye caught a bright flash out of the corner of her eye.

On instinct Toriel tossed Chara away from the blast. The blue beam of energy burned straight through Toriel’s chest. Leaving a wide hole as Toriel fell onto her knees and collapsed as her body began turning to dust.

“NOO!” Chara screamed as she scrambled to the dying monster's side. The human soul that had been lended to her bore most of the damage, but the red soul was rapidly breaking apart.

Though in immense pain, Toriel still warmly smiled at Storyshift!Chara. Lightly placing their furred hand on their cheek as the human soul within them began cracking.

“Don’t… cry my child.” Toriel gasped as her body began fading away. “You are… strong. You’ll… live. You’ll…”

“Stay with me!” Storyshift!Chara shouted as they began trying to use their soul magic to heal Toriel. But there is only so much soul magic can do. And Cyber’s shot didn’t just pierce her and the human soul within her. She sensed some kind of energy flowing through her body. Counteracting her healing magic and making her death all the more painful.

“No. Nononono!” Storyshift!Chara’s soul began glowing brighter as Cyber stood over the pair.

“Tut. Tut. Tut. I don’t think she’s gonna make it.” Cyber remarked as he turned his attention to Hastur!Frisk and Dream while casually catching Storyshift!Chara’s hand with his own. Tightly squeezing it and causing her to drop her blade as Cyber casually broke her arm.

Surprised by what had just happened and being in close proximity to such powerful negative emotions left Dream helpless as Hastur!Frisk's arm turned into a yellow tentacle and wrapped around his neck before ripping away his bow.

“Like many mortals you cling to sentiments of compassion and empathy.” Hastur!Frisk remarked with a disappointed sigh. “Such things make you weak, vulnerable, blind. I had hoped you would've been stronger than your brother. But that isn't the case it appears.” Hastur!Frisk's free hand plunged into and shattered Dreams ribcage. As Cyber’s arm extended and grabbed his arrow quiver full of positivity arrows.

“Perfect.” he grinned as Chara screamed in pain. A bright flash at the corner of Cyber’s eye caught his attention as Toriel, with the last of her strength tossed a fireball at him.

Since Storyshift!Chara destroyed his force field generator and he didn’t regrow another one, his body had no defense against the flames. Upon contact the magical fire consumed his body in an eruption of flames. The nanomachines quickly caught fire as Cyber’s whole body was consumed.

The villain dropped to the ground and began rolling. Desperately trying to put out the flames consuming him as Storyshift!Chara picked up her knife.

“Child.” Toriel weakly begged as she grabbed her arm. “Take… my soul. S…top him.” As the human soul within her shattered, Toriel's entire body turned into a bright white flash as the remnants of her being entered Storyshift!Chara.

Immediately she felt stronger. Powerful. As though there was a raging inferno erupting from the deepest part of her soul. Her red eyes glowed with the brilliance of a star as magical flames circled around her knife and even her auburn hair glowed as though fire was coursing through each and every hair strand.

“Stupid fire.” Cyber grunted as he fired a metallic sphere out of his back. As the flames consumed the nano machines his body quickly melted as the sphere hovered in the air briefly before reforming into a new body.

“I can’t believe I overlooked-” Cyber jumped high into the air. Just barely missing the tidal wave of fire Storyshift!Chara unleashed with her knife.

“You took my family, my universe.” The vengeful human hissed as fire began surrounding her. “All you do is kill and destroy. Well no more!” a torrent of magical fire erupted from her knife as Cyber jetted himself away to dodge the attack.

“You will never kill anyone ever again!” Storyshift!Chara declared. “NOW YOU’LL PAY CYBER!” For the first time the villain felt something he thought he’d erased from himself.

Fear.

(Meanwhile with Dream)

As Dream’s vision turned white and his body numb Hastur!Frisk’s hand wrapped around the golden apple within him. Its blinding light and purity burning the monstrosities flesh as Dream found himself standing underneath an unfamiliar sky.

“Where am I?” He was standing atop a large yellow spire high above an alien city. The architecture was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. Buildings, roads, and plantlife stretched and twisted themselves in every way imaginable. Some homes were upside down while others were perched atop trees far too small and weak to ever hope to sustain the weight placed upon them.

A thunderous crash shook the ground behind Dream. A large cloud of dark purple dust swirled through the air as a mass of darkness began combining into a greater whole in its center. Nightmare’s eye glowed brilliantly as a tall slender yellow figure with wings and three bells atop its “face” towered over him.

“You are a curious toy.” Hastur remarked as a large yellow tree shot up behind Nightmare. Its branches grabbing onto him before he could react and pinning him in place as Hastur outstretched a single large yellow tentacle. And lightly touched the parasite's forehead.

What followed stole Dream’s breath away as Hastur pulled the black liquid negativity corruption off of his brother. For the first time in so long his brother was freed of the corruptive darkness that had consumed him that fateful day so long ago.

“Just another insignificant speck of dust.” Hastur coldly remarked towards the shocked creature. “Though your physical state and power intrigues, its potential is wasted on one so limited as yourself.” Nightmare gave no response or acknowledgement of Hastur’s words. He was lost in the past as his mind replayed every horrific deed, every feeling of negativity he had felt and created.

He had caused the deaths and suffering of countless beings across the multiverse. He had a hand in every broken bond, every shattered family and murder. He had become the embodiment of evil. The shame, the guilt, the pain and remorse of what he alone was responsible for made him cry.

“Please.” Nightmare sobbed. “Please. Please kill me.” On instinct Dream leapt into action. Drawing two blades from his sides he slashed at the tree holding his brother prisoner. Only for the blades to shatter like glass as the branches ensnared him along with Nightmare.

“Your efforts are futile.” Hastur said. “You’re both in MY reality now. My will is law. And your powers will not save either of you.”

“I’m sorry Dream.” Nightmare wept. “I… I never wanted any of this to happen.” Dream turned to his brother, a warm smile across his face as he spoke.

“It’s going to be all right.” Dream told him. “I forgive you. We'll get through this. Together.” His words broke his brother who began crying even more.

“Forgiveness does nothing to change what is done.” Hastur reminded Nightmare as the tree began pulling both brothers deeper into itself. “You cannot change your past but fear not mortals. Your roles are finished.” Darkness consumed both brothers but Dream and Nightmare held onto each other. Determined to not let the other go. Not again.

(At the same time with Clover)

A gentle tugged at Clover. The warmth of the noonday sun soothed his sore body as the scent of morning dew filled his nostrils. Stepping forward he stretched out his hand. Grasping the air and the warmth of the light

‘It's so… warm’ Clover smiled as he filled his lungs with the cool air. His worries, his battles and fears were far from his mind. For a moment, he felt relaxed. Happy.

“You humans all chase what you call “happiness”.” Hastur's voice echoed all around him as Clover immediately began frantically looking for the eldritch deity. “Be it for pleasure, boredom your kind uses everything at its disposal to achieve that goal and hold to it along as your bodies allow. You are all obsessed with that illusion.” Clover shook his head, completely disregarding Hastur’s words.

“You took EVERYTHING from them! You tricked me, watched those things eat me and you made the others attack me.” Clover crossed his arms, and glared into the sun above him. “You're just like Asriel and the monsters. An evil freak who likes hurting innocent people.” Hastur tutted as the wind picked up.

“Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. Such naivety. I promise you human. I am nothing like that child or his kind. I am far beyond your concepts of morality and existence.”

“Shut up!” Clover shouted. “I'm done listening to you. Show yourself now!” The breeze around Clover picked as he felt the air freeze around him as the sun disappeared behind black clouds.

“Very well child.” Hastur's tone was… strange. Clover couldn't detect any frustration or anger or anything from it. “Since you hunger for action over words. I will grant you your fill.” A sudden cry roared in the sky above him as Clover spun around to see a large plane flying overhead. Four large engines were attached to its wings and on them were the insignia of the Third Empyrean Empire.

The symbol consisted of a large circle with the sun and moon both hanging over a three pointed crown. The royal symbol of [insert civilization] and a reminder of Mella and Hoddar's command to the nation's right to rule over the world.

The plane flew over him and onto the city. At that moment he felt everything in the city. He felt the cool breeze brushing past children as they ran to their bomb shelters. The fear and dread in every single person and animal as even the rats and flies of the city recognized their imminent doom. And in their final moments, they clung to something or anyone they could as the bomber flew overhead. And dropped one massive bomb.

Clover sprinted forward, commanding his body to transform and grow wings. To run beyond what he could do before and grant him the chance to stop the inevitable.

He couldn't run like he did earlier. His body refused to transform or grow wings. As he tripped and fell Clover caught one final glance at the bomb before it fell behind a large skyscraper.

In less than a second a bright flash blinded him as the force and heat of the explosion incinerated him in an instant. Clover never even had the chance to scream as his body was destroyed and his soul was blown through the air at a speed he couldn't even fathom.

It seemed to go on forever. The fire, the wind and debris tearing at his soul as he fought on desperately to maintain consciousness. He couldn't see anyone, not a soul nor body caught in the blast like him.

The sky was painted a sickly dark orange as a large mushroom shaped cloud grew from the explosion's epicenter. As Clover's soul collided with a thunderous roar into the ground the cloud reached up towards the heavens. Swallowing the sun as Clover's body began regenerating itself.

The human child's mind was utterly overwhelmed by the atomic explosion. To feel and experience his own death, or deaths was one thing. But Hastur had forced him to feel everything millions of other people did as well at that moment.

Under the darkened sky as shards and metal blew over him, Clover lay unmoving and unblinking. All around him the air carried the screams of every single person caught in the blast as they died. As their pain overwhelmed his mind, he felt as though he was being crushed underneath a mountain.

Clover curled up into a ball. His arms wrapping themselves tightly around his legs as the heavy air seemed to press any oxygen he had out of his lungs. As the light from his soul dimmed the cries echoing through his mind were drowned out by tears and sorrowful weeping.

“P-please.” Clover wept. “Please stop!” The earth beneath him pulsating and shifted although it was but one tiny cell atop of a much larger organism. Looking up, Clover saw the cloud above had formed into a single large glowing eye. Watching him. Enjoying every second of his pain.

“I promised you clarity.” Hastur reminded his toy. “Now that you experienced the evil your kind holds within itself it is time for you to see the evil within your kin.” the world shifted and blurred in a sudden flash of light.

In an instant Clover found himself standing in what looked like forest. Countless men, women, and children were lined up with soldiers aiming their rifles at them. And standing with them was his father, and above them all was his grandpa! He was holding some kind of paper and began reading it aloud.

“King Tirch, our glorious lord and chosen leader of the Third Empyrean Empire by Hoddar himself has made this decree.” His grandpa looked just like he did in an old dusty photo he had found his room a year prior.

Tall. Around five’nine to six foot one to be exact. On his hip was his combat pistol and officer’s sword adorned with magical runes to increase their power. A dark green cap sat atop his head and his beard looked like he had actually trimmed it. Seven gold medals adorned his dark green officer’s uniform with a name tag over his heart.

Field Marshal Allen Wesley

“In recompense for the heinous crime of assassinating my father King Edward. For the betrayal and the contributions your ancestors made to the collapse of the Second Empyrean Empire. I, King Tirch, divine ruler of humanity and the world place upon the vermin of Eastencia a punishment fit for all the crimes listed and not.” Hate, disgust, anger. They all filled the air like a thick smoke as the civilians began begging for mercy. And praying to Hoddar and Mella for salvation

“I decree that every last one of those vermin is to be KILLED ON SIGHT!” Clover’s grandpa shouted. “Every soldier of the glorious Empyrean Army is to shoot, stab, and erase every last remnant of the Eastencian plague.” Clover’s eyes widened as he ran in between the soldiers and civilians.

“Grandpa stop!” Clover cried out. “This is wrong! They aren’t armed, they aren’t dangerous and they’re not rats, they're people!” The creature rolled his eyes as Clover’s eyes went as wide as a deer's as his grandpa took aim at him.

“FIRE!” The shot pierced Clover’s skull and in the next second the world entered into slow motion as he then saw his father and Conrad taking aim at him. And blew out his eyes the next second.

As he fell all he could hear was the panicked screaming of the people as they were cut down in a hail of bullets. After a few moments of screaming everything went silent. The wind stopped. The sun disappeared as the clatter of boots stepping forward danced in his ears.

“Still alive huh?” It was his father’s voice. Clover opened his mouth to speak, to beg and cry but nothing past his lips as he felt something cold and sharp against his neck.

‘Dad!’ Clover cried. ‘Please don’t! You’re not like this!’

“On the contrary.” Hastur’s voice echoed through his mind. "This is who he is. You’ve seen this in him before." Clover’s mind drugged up old memories. His father was always kind and gentle with him, yet he was a force to be reckoned with when he was angry. Though he never spoke of it himself, Clover had heard tales of his father’s strength in school and on the streets whenever he’d slip out to practice shooting.

While his father was scarred by injuries others gave him, far more were the injuries he gave others. A broken arm here, a missing eye there, some criminals simply… disappeared when they attacked him. The police and his teachers were afraid of him.

And honestly, so was he.

In one swift motion the blade cut across Clover’s neck as he raised his hands over the wound to stem the bleeding. He felt blood in his lungs, he couldn’t breath as the blood exited out of his mouth as well. Unable to see he could still feel his father’s footsteps as he stepped over him. Casually… like he was nothing.

“Your father sheltered you from the cruelties of your world. But in his heart is not a protector but a vengeful, violent soul desperately clinging to control the world around him.” Hastur’s voice was alluring, soothing, almost sweet and caring. “You are not his son. You are his possession.” Enraged Clover pushed himself up with a single arm. His sight may be gone, but his defiance had never been stronger.

“You’re wrong!” Clover coughed. “You don’t know them. My dad loves mom and me. And quit trying to trick me. I won’t fall for it.” What the young cowboy didn’t notice was the dimming of the glow of his tri-colored soul. And the seeds of doubt Hastur was planting within him.

“Deception is not my desire human, but enlightenment.” The world shifted around Clover as he now found himself standing beside his grandpa, now in a wheelchair and surrounded by army officers as they all stood in a trench with a city far in the distance.

“Sir we received a message from the Eastencian garrison in the city.” One of the soldiers spoke up. “They’re offering complete unconditional surrender. The Prime Minister’s also offering himself in exchange for allowing the civilian population to survive.” Clover’s heart felt as though it was falling into the deepest darkest pits of Hell as he realized where, or rather, when this was.

In school he had been told the Great War had resulted in somewhere around five-hundred and seventy-five million, six-hundred and sixty-five thousand, three hundred and ninety five people. It was a conflict that had ruined the world and ended with the atomic bombing of the last of the Third Empyrean Empire's enemies.

An order his grandpa had told him he made to save the lives of his own soldiers. But looking at him now, with so, so many dog tags and photos in his hand and pockets and with him now in his wheelchair. His words felt… hollow.

His grandpa, Field Marshal Allen Wesly smiled. And told the soldier to tell that he accepted the Prime Minister’s terms and ordered him to be brought to him immediately. Some time passed before Clover noticed a lone car driving towards the trench.

The man who stepped out was not who he was expecting. The Prime Minister’s entire left side of his face was burned black. His left eye was a blurry light blue in stark contrast with its dark brown counterpart. His right arm and left foot was gone and he had two men carrying him on both sides as his head hung low. Shame written across his face as the men tossed him onto the dirty trench floor.

“Welcome.” Clover’s grandpa smugly chuckled as the Prime Minister tried pushing himself up by his one remaining arm, and failed. Falling onto his face before looking up with pleading eyes towards his grandpa.

“You have won.” The Prime Minister calmly, weakly replied. “Hoddar and Mella have spoken. Tirch is the lord of the world. I’ve ordered every remaining army group to stand down. I accept whatever punishment you find fitting.” Clover’s grandpa snapped his fingers and the two men held the Prime Minister back up.

“Ten years.” Allen coldly stated. “Ten years since you animals killed our king. Eight years since your boy’s killed my son. Seven since your planes bombed Halingrad and burned my daughters alive!” The anger, and hate both in his voice and his eyes was plain and clear. Clover’s father never told him about what happened to his aunts and uncles, or grandma for that matter. It was… too painful for him.

“Five years since your men killed my wife.” Allen grabbed the Prime Minister’s face, forcing him to only look at him and leaned in and spoke.

“Four years ago, you killed all but one of my son’s and put me in this damn chair. Two years ago. I watched twenty million people, men, women, children, and babies die in an instant because your toxin poisoned their food. One month ago. I lost thirty thousand men in the blink of an eye. Your general’s turned POW’s, MY MEN, into living bombs.” Silence filled the air for what seemed like eternity. Until finally, the Prime Minister spoke up.

“I’m sorry.” he coughed. “You must understand. The general staff took control of the country before the war broke out. I was their puppet and they used me to keep the civilian population in line. I never ordered anything. I’ve been trying all this time to bring peace but they threatened to kill me if I stepped out of line. I only just earlier rallied the army and people to-” Clover’s grandpa punched him. Blood began dripping down the Prime Minister’s left temple as the sound of a plane echoed above them.

“Grandpa.” Clover muttered. “You… you… no! You’re not like… You're better than that!”

“Lord Tirch wanted you alive if possible.” Clover’s grandpa smiled cruelly. “But unfortunately for the rest of those vermin you call “people”, me and the King came up with a plan to ensure a rebellion never ever happens again.” he pointed a single finger upwards as fear and shock filled the Prime Minister’s eyes.

“NO! NOO PLEASE! We surrendered!” The Prime Minister begged. “Just take me. There are children and wounded in that city! PLEASE DON’T-”

“Give our guest a front row seat.” Allen ordered as the men lifted the Prime Minister above the trench.

“Damn you!” The Prime Minister cursed. “Damn all of you wretched Empyrean’s! Eastencia will rise again and send you all to HELL! I SWEAR IT! I-” The flash from the atomic bomb shook the earth as the Prime Minister’s eyes were burned amidst the fiery atomic inferno. Hastur using his connection with Clover’s mind, showed him what happened to the man after the last of his nation was destroyed by atomic fire.

The Prime Minister was brought before the king. Paraded through the streets, tied and marched as the people mocked and hurt him. At night he was dragged before the King. And transformed into what Clover could only describe as an abomination.

The King was a master of dark magic. He twisted and manipulated the Prime Minister’s soul and body into a creature who was solely loyal to him. His skin became sickly pale white and his eyes were bright hollow yellow circles. Two large wings spread from out his back with eyes poking out from various places. His body was thin with overly long arms and legs with claws that could slash a person in two.

“Why?” A simple question. One Hastur had the answer for.

“A lie.” Hastur answered. “Tirch is the pawn of a higher power. To achieve her goals he needed to be king and cause enough death and destruction to shatter the barrier keeping them from entering your reality. That’s why he orchestrated his father’s death, and the Great War.” Clover’s eyes twitched as a faint glow erupted from the black abyss that had consumed them.

HATE coursed through his veins like an erupting volcano. All those death’s, all that suffering. Everything that had happened that ruined the world and made it so hard, so unjust and wicked was the fault of the king. HATE was all he could feel. DETERMINATION filled his soul with the desire to finish him and drove him forward. JUSTICE and VENGEANCE both fed each other as a new goal took center stage in Clover’s mind.

He. Will. Kill him.

“And so the mask slips at last." Hastur remarked. “You were horrified at the idea of killing a human earlier. You even held shame for what you did to Frisk. It is time to peel off the facade of human morality and embrace what you and all of your kind truly are.” The world changed once again as Clover found himself standing over a lake. But his reflection… was inhuman.

His skin was ghostly pale white with patches of yellow scales on his face. The abyss had swallowed any light that might’ve been in his eyes and his soul… it wasn’t tricolored nor heartshaped. It was simply gone. Replaced with Hastur’s mark, a symbol he knew deep in his core. The Yellow Sign.

Upon seeing the symbol he understood at long last. He wasn’t human. He never was, nor was any human or monster in his universe. The sign told him without words what had happened long, long before he was born. Hoddar and Mella stole power from Hastur and fled until they found his world long before the first civilization sprang forth.

They ruled as gods and heaped countless blessings upon humans and monsters. Eternal life, no more pain or hunger. Perfect existence. But they were fools and didn’t grasp what they had done until it was too late. And when Hastur tried to enter their universe, another being Error404!Sans entered and tried to destroy everyone and everything to prevent Hastur from crossing over.

In the end Hoddar managed to destroy the portal and force Error404!Sans to flee. But the skeleton had destroyed the sun necklace Mella wore. And with it, she lost control of herself.

Mella began growing and changing rapidly. She became like Hastur and Hoddar was forced to seal her away. Mella became a place, a realm, and a being all in one.

Mella became Hell itself. And Hell was always hungry. Hell wants not just his universe, but every reality, universe and timeline in all of existence.

And Hell was the one Tirch served. Hell ordered him to start the war. And Hell was getting ready to break the barrier and consume everything.

Clover fell to his knees. Everything he had done, everything everyone had ever done was… for nothing. Even if he managed to get Zaley and the others to freedom, and bring back Frisk and undo all the damage that had been done in this universe it would still all be for nothing. Even if he stopped Hastur, Hell would break free and overwhelm Hoddar and the realm of heaven he created.

He wasn’t powerful enough to stop Hell herself. He couldn’t even get home on his own and warn everyone and stop Tirch before it was too late. He had failed and was doomed to fail from the very start.

“There is a way you may still save them.” Hastur whispered as Clover’s reflection took the shape of the Yellow King. “Do you know why you’re still alive?”

“...”

“Your entire multiverse, like your universe, is the result of other beings… “creativity”. You, your mother, father, grandpa, Frisk, William, every single one of you exists to provide these beings… entertainment.” Clover tightly clenched his hands.

“What?!”

“You were born to die.” Hastur explained. "Ever since the creation of these realities your soul has been used as a tool to complete another’s story. Your life, death, dreams, family, all of them were forgotten along with the others. A footnote that was ignored and forgotten. You have no real story, no real family. Everything you remember, everything you experienced was the result of the will of these beings.” Clover quickly shook his head and covered his ears.

“YOU’RE LYING!” he yelled. “I’m real! My family is real! My choices were my own. Not-”

“Your creators wanted to entertain themselves and others." Hastur continued. “They could’ve done anything for you. They could’ve chosen to give you a “happy ending”. Or created an entirely new path with you at its center. But instead they chose to mark your journey and your entire existence with endless deaths and suffering.”

“Not true.” Clover weakly replied. “You're... you're wrong.”

“You know what I say is true.” Hastur whispered. “The flower could’ve easily taken your soul and done what he desired as he had done many times over. But he kept using you for one hundred years. Doesn’t that seem excessive and insane to you?” Clover didn’t have an argument to that. Everything that had happened, everything he had faced against and done was… insanity.

“I offer you freedom, child.” Hastur continued. “If you submit to me I will free you of the chains your creators placed upon you. You will be my instrument, my vessel to free every soul from their control. There will be no more pain, no tears or suffering. Every evil will be obliterated and your family will live.” The King in Yellow paused as he reached out from the water with an outstretched hand.

“Accept my offer and you will save them.”

What was the point in fighting? Clover knew every word was a lie but he couldn’t do anything about it. He couldn’t beat Hastur, he couldn’t save anyone. He was a failure, through and through.

It’s what he had always been, and was always destined to be afterall. And no matter how powerful he became or how hard he tried… nothing would change that.

“Please. Don’t hurt them.” Clover begged as he reached his out hand to grasp Hastur’s. But right as he was about to take it… he paused.

‘Doing the right thing is never easy.’ His father’s words echoed through his mind and reignited the fire within his soul. In that moment his fingers turned into long black claws as he slashed Hastur’s hand off. And for the first time, the deity… cried out in pain. It was a deafening scream but Clover felt proud for realizing something Hastur inadvertently revealed to him. Hoddar and Mella had taken his power before they arrived and that lingering power was still in his soul. Inherited through the generations and locked away by Hoddar’s seal.

But during his fight with Chara the seal was shattered. And now he could channel Hastur’s own power against him. This “God” only seemed strong and had spent the entire time trying to trick him or having his slaves fight him. In reality he was afraid of Clover realizing his power and using it on him.

“I don't care what you say. I will never, EVER give up!” Clover declared as the deity hissed at him. "I don't care if I have to die a hundred times, or a billion times, or a billion trillion times. I'll never let you, or Asgore, or Mella or any evil villain destroy anything anymore. I wasn't born to die Hastur, I was born to put an end to villain's like you! And I'll make sure you've paid for every horrible thing you've ever done."

“Very well human.” Hastur began growing rapidly. In mere moments his wings spread across the horizon as his body twisted and grew in ways he couldn’t fully comprehend. He was so large, so massive Clover couldn’t even see all of him.

“Come child. It is time to end this!” Anger filled Hastur’s mind as another annoyance took center stage back in the crumbling timeline.

Hoddar had finally arrived. And it would seem other's have come as well.

How... annoying.

(At the same time/In Clover’s Universe/The Dunes)

Money, money, money. It's life's currency, the thing that keeps the Underground running, the CORE operational and gives life its value. With enough money life is easy, stress free, and you can have whatever you want.

Now how you go about getting that money matters. Maybe you can get it working a boring nine to five but that's the slow way to success. To make money you need three things. An idea. The drive to make it BIG. And most importantly of all, you need to know how to make the customer WANT you stuff.

That's business one-on-one for good old Mo. With enough hard work and sweat he'd make it BIG and rake in so much dough he'd never need to run around and hide from unsavory types who he may or may not own money to.

“Mmm. This place is perfect.” The monster exclaimed as he pulled his wheel barrel full of “merchandise” and a water cooler filled with water he filled up from a stream in waterfall. The dunes were a very hot, very dry area of the underground known for its unique cacti, human inspired western culture, mines ,and the sandstorms the local sheriff Starlo began causing with his big windmachine he ordered from the tech nerds in Hotland.

He'd make a fortune selling refreshing and totally purified water and liquids he had scavenged and labeled as “Ice Tea”. Yes sir, he was finally going to make it BIG and hopefully not put down by his debt collectors.

Scary thought but worse come to worse he could always find the human kid who bought from him earlier. Sucker had plenty of gold and would be easy to trick and-

“Excuse me sir, are you selling anything?” Surprised Mo quickly spun around and before him stood a small child. Dressed in warm winter gear with a long scarf around his neck.

“Uh hey kid.” Mo cautiously said. His instincts were screaming at him to run. Every hair on his body stood on edge as the child looked at him.

It was although he wasn't even there. His eyes were empty and grey. And looking more closely it appeared the kid wasn't breathing either.

“Um yeah. Can I… interest you with some… Iced tea!” Mo gave the child his trademark patterned smile as he pulled a plastic bottle of window cleaner with the label replaced with iced tea.

"It's a little hot for that coat and scarf dont’cha think? How's about a nice, cold iced tea to cool off.” The child's eyes focused on him and gave Mo the most disturbing look he had ever seen before.

“Do you accept gold?” The child showed Mo a large gold coin that looked to be about an inch in diameter and very THICK. With a smile Mo stepped forward and handed over the bottle and took the coin.

The coin felt… cold. Engraved with strange symbols not found on any currency he'd ever seen before. It was almost like it was… whispering to him.

“Um hey kid. Where'd you-” the child was gone. Left alone in the scorching heat Mo felt the coin calling to him. His eyes became transfixed on the object and he could've sworn it blinked at him.

He stood in place just staring at the coin. He didn't care about his debt or his business ventures or anything other than the coin. It was so beautiful, mesmerizing. He could stay here and look at it forever.

Soon his stomach rumbled and a thought flickered through his mind like lightning. Someone could try taking his coin from him. He couldn't trust anyone with an object this precious. But if he held onto it his debt collectors would undoubtedly take it from him.

There was no choice. In a sudden instinctual desire to hoard his wealth for himself and protect what is his, Mo swallowed the coin. His stomach rumbled and he clenched his stomach in pain as he fell to the ground.

He was vulnerable, weak, prey to others taking from him like always. He pulled himself across the sandy ground, pulled open his cart and began swallowing his gold and his merchandise. His jaw stretched unnaturally long to allow him to swallow the water cooler and everything else.

But it was not enough. Even after devouring all he had, after ripping his clothes and shades off and eating them he needed more. His stomach rumbled with a roar that shook the dunes as his body felt like it was melting.

His coat of fur fused with his flesh and hardened. His eyes were gone but his nose could smell everything around him for miles and his ears could hear every drop of water in the underground. Mo was no more and in his place was a beast of endless hunger.

“MOOORRREEE!” The beast roared as he charged out into the dunes. All the while the child from before watched from high atop of the castle in the now empty monster capital of New Home.

“Fool.” The creature scoffed. “Now then. Time to set things in motion.” The child's body began twisting and writhing as he took on the appearance of the king's former wife, Toriel.

“This shall be entertaining.” The imposter remarked as they descended down to Asgore's throne room.

Hastur would not get a reality this entertaining for himself. He'd make sure of that.

Chapter Text

Long before Clover took his first leap into the darkness of the Ruin’s, in another timeline he would begin his journey in a similar manner. Deep in the depths of space a long forgotten civilization was sealed away by humanity using a powerful force-field. Forgotten, the species developed in isolation and as time wore on they grew a desperate desire to be free from the asteroid Humanity trapped them on.

They worked endlessly, prayed day in and out for deliverance, for mercy, for the freedom to travel the stars once again. To feel the cool breeze of a planet’s atmosphere or the warmth of its star. Monsterkind dreamed, wrote, sang, and never let go of the memory of what they once possessed.

“☠︎⚐︎ 💣︎✌︎❄︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎✌︎☼︎✞︎☜︎☹︎❼︎💧︎ ✋︎ 👌︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎📬︎ ☠︎⚐︎ 💣︎✌︎❄︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ☟︎⚐︎🕈︎ 💣︎✌︎☠︎✡︎ ☹︎✋︎✞︎☜︎💧︎ ✋︎ 💧︎✌︎✞︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ ✋︎❄︎ 👎︎✋︎👎︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ 💣︎✌︎❄︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎📬︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✋︎❼︎👎︎ 👎︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎⑤︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ 💣︎☜︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☜︎☠︎👎︎📬︎”[NO MATTER THE MARVEL’S I BROUGHT TO THEM. NO MATTER HOW MANY LIVES I SAVED. IT DIDN’T MATTER TO ANY OF THEM. EVERYTHING I’D DONE… IT ALL MEANT NOTHING IN THE END.]

And one day a monster came forth and delivered a terrifying warning of the future. He warned of a human who would come into their midst, be loved by all and then perish. Soon after death would then claim the child of the new monarchs. And monsterkind in seeking their freedom, would declare war on humanity once again. And condemn themselves, and all life to total annihilation at the hands of an Angel of Death.

“☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ 👍︎☟︎✋︎☹︎👎︎ 🕈︎☟︎⚐︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ ☜︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ 👎︎✋︎👎︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ ☠︎☜︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👎︎✋︎☜︎📬︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 🕆︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎❼︎💧︎ 🕈︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ☹︎✋︎✞︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 👌︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 👌︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎❼︎💧︎📪︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ✌︎☠︎✋︎💣︎✌︎☹︎❼︎💧︎ 🕈︎☟︎⚐︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ ☼︎⚐︎👌︎👌︎☜︎👎︎ 🕆︎💧︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ ☼︎☜︎☺︎⚐︎✋︎👍︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎💧︎ ☜︎✌︎👍︎☟︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎ 👎︎✋︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ 👎︎☼︎☜︎✌︎💣︎☜︎👎︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✋︎☠︎☞︎☹︎✋︎👍︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎✌︎💣︎☜︎ ☞︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ 🕆︎🏱︎⚐︎☠︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎✋︎❄︎✡︎ ⚐︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ✌︎💧︎☝︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ ❄︎✌︎😐︎☜︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☞︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎📬︎ ✋︎❄︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎⑤︎ ☟︎🕆︎👌︎☼︎✋︎💧︎📬︎ 💧︎⚐︎ 💣︎🕆︎👍︎☟︎ 💧︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✋︎❄︎ 👌︎⚐︎☼︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ ⚐︎☠︎ ✋︎☠︎💧︎✌︎☠︎✋︎❄︎✡︎📬︎ [EVERY CHILD WHO HAD ENTERED DIDN’T NEED TO DIE. BUT TO US THE HUMAN’S WERE NOT LIVING BREATHING BEING’S, BUT ANIMAL’S WHO HAD ROBBED US OF EVERYTHING. THEY REJOICED AS EACH ONE DIED. THEY DREAMED OF INFLICTING THE SAME FATE UPON HUMANITY ONCE ASGORE HAD TAKEN THE FINAL SOUL. IT WAS… HUBRIS. SO MUCH SO THAT IT BORDERED ON INSANITY.]”

But no one listened. Not the monsters who wanted to cling desperately to what little hope they had left. Not the King nor Queen who had both lost friends and loved ones during the war. Not even his own sons, who soon left him to pursue their own endeavors.

“📬︎📬︎📬︎ 🕈︎☟︎✡︎✍︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✋︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ 👎︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎⑤︎ 💧︎✌︎👍︎☼︎✋︎☞︎✋︎👍︎☜︎👎︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎📬︎ 🕈︎☟︎✡︎ 👎︎✋︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ❄︎🕈︎⚐︎ ✌︎👌︎✌︎☠︎👎︎⚐︎☠︎ 💣︎☜︎ 🕈︎☟︎☜︎☠︎ ✋︎ ☠︎☜︎☜︎👎︎☜︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💣︎⚐︎💧︎❄︎✏︎✏︎✏︎”[... WHY? AFTERALL ALL I’VE DONE THEM… SACRIFICED FOR THEM. WHY DID YOU TWO ABANDON ME WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST!!!]

The scientist tried to guide his kind away from their destined fate. The scientist took it upon himself to save not only his own kind, but the lives of every living being in the universe. He was rejected. He was shunned and ultimately… he was silenced-BZZT

-BZZT- “✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👎︎⚐︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ☟︎☜︎☹︎🏱︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ ☟︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ☠︎☜︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ ✋︎ ☝︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ ⚐︎☠︎☹︎✡︎ 😐︎☜︎🏱︎❄︎ ❄︎✌︎😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ 💧︎☜︎☹︎☞︎✋︎💧︎☟︎📪︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎✏︎”[ALL I WANTED WAS TO DO WAS HELP THEM IN THEIR HOUR OF NEED. I GAVE THEM EVERYTHING AND THEY ONLY KEPT TAKING. THEY ARE SELFISH, ALL OF THEM!]-BZZT-

-BZZT- “❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ ✌︎💧︎😐︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎ ☝︎✌︎✞︎☜︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ 👎︎☜︎💣︎✌︎☠︎👎︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎ ☹︎✌︎👌︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ 📫︎👌︎☪︎☪︎❄︎📫︎ ✋︎ ❄︎☼︎✋︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 🕈︎✌︎☼︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎📬︎📫︎👌︎☪︎☪︎❄︎🖬︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ 🕈︎✌︎✡︎💧︎📬︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ 💧︎❄︎✌︎👌︎👌︎☜︎👎︎ 💣︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👌︎✌︎👍︎😐︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎👎︎☜︎💣︎☜︎👎︎ 💣︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ ☟︎☜︎☹︎☹︎✏︎✏︎✏︎”[THEY ASKED AND I GAVE. THEY DEMANDED AND I LABORED. BUT -BZZT- I TRIED TO WARN THEM.-BZZT= CHANGE THEIR WAYS. AND THEY STABBED ME IN THE BACK AND CONDEMED ME TO THIS ETERNAL HELL!!!]-BZZT-

-BZZT- “✋︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☹︎✌︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎ ✌︎💧︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 📫︎👌︎☪︎☪︎❄︎📫︎📬︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 🕈︎✌︎❄︎👍︎☟︎ ✌︎💧︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎☜︎☜︎🏱︎ ⚐︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ 📫︎👌︎☪︎☪︎❄︎📫︎📬︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 🕈︎☟︎✋︎💧︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 💧︎☜︎☠︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 👎︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☟︎❼︎💧︎📬︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☜︎☠︎☺︎⚐︎✡︎ ☜︎✌︎👍︎☟︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ 💧︎☜︎👍︎⚐︎☠︎👎︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ 💧︎🕆︎☞︎☞︎☜︎☼︎✋︎☠︎☝︎✏︎”[I WILL LAUGH AS YOU -BZZT-. I WILL WATCH AS YOU WEEP OVER -BZZT-. I WILL WHISPER AND SEND YOU TO YOUR DEATH’S. I WILL ENJOY EACH AND EVERY SECOND OF THEIR SUFFERING!]-BZZT-

-BZZT- “✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎☟︎✌︎✏︎”[AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]-BZZT-

ERROR-ERROR SYSTEM INTEGRITY COMPROMISED…REFRESHING…REFRESHING…PLEASE STAND BY…

-BZZT- “📫︎👌︎☪︎☪︎❄︎📫︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☹︎✌︎💣︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎☟︎✋︎☹︎👎︎📪︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ ☞︎✌︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎📪︎ ✌︎💧︎☝︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎📪︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎☼︎✋︎☠︎👍︎☜︎📪︎ 👍︎☟︎🕆︎✋︎☺︎✋︎☠︎📪︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ✌︎💧︎✋︎👎︎☜︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎💧︎☜︎☹︎✞︎☜︎💧︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👎︎✌︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎🕆︎☠︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ ⚐︎🕈︎☠︎ ☹︎✋︎☜︎💧︎📬︎”[-BZZT- THEY WILL BLAME THE CHILD, HIS FATHER, ASGORE, THE PRINCE, CHUIJIN, ANYONE ASIDE FROM THEMSELVES. THEY WILL DANCE TO THE TUNE OF THEIR OWN LIES.]-BZZT

SYSTEM INTEGRITY RESTORATION…50%...75%...90%...

-BZZT- “📫︎👌︎☪︎☪︎❄︎📫︎🏱︎✌︎❄︎☟︎☜︎❄︎✋︎👍︎ ✋︎💧︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ ✋︎❄︎ 👍︎📫︎👌︎☪︎☪︎❄︎📫︎” [-BZZT-PATHETIC ISN’T IT C-BZZT-]-BZZT-

*Alert. Destination arrival in ten minutes*

The navigation system of the ship displayed in bright red text. The light casted through the darkness of the master bedroom with an eerie crimson glow as the vessel's sole occupant pushed themselves out from the large red double bed. Cracking his bones as he let out a yawn that could’ve been mistaken for a wild beast.

‘Doing the right thing is never easy.’ His father’s words echoed in the back of his mind. Clover’s hand tightly clenched the bedding beside him. His veins practically bulging out of his hands before he took a long deep breath of the cool air.

“He can’t hurt us anymore.” Clover reminded himself. “They can’t hurt us anymore.” His body ached and groaned with each subtle movement. His left arm in particular was still bruised and hurt from the forced labor and the beatings he took before stealing the ship.

In truth he didn’t want to wake up now. Or ever again for that matter. But he promised Melody a future where they could both live free of their tormentors and be happy. And with that promise came the conviction he needed to push himself out of the cloudlike bed.

The Havukan model seven was an old ship designed for interstellar non inter-galactic civilian travel. Lacking any defensive capabilities aside from its shield system the ship was decently quick and could penetrate into deep space with minimal fuel expenditure. And the fact it had been customized by its previous owners to house a family of at least eight made taking it for however long he and Melody would need it very appealing.

The ship had been given a sky blue paint job with streaks of yellow along its wings. The word “Hope” was engraved on the outside. And if the photos and documents Clover found inside were anything to go off of, it held a lot of sentimental value to what appeared to be several generations worth of space travelers.

The sight of them, the thought of them being so lucky while he and Melody were cursed with their circumstances… infuriated him.

“☹︎☜︎❄︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎☼︎ ☞︎☹︎⚐︎🕈︎📬︎ [LET YOUR ANGER FLOW.]” Clover nearly jumped as he scanned the room for whoever had whispered in his ear. After looking around and finding nothing he shook his head and shrugged it off as his mind playing tricks on him.

Grabbing his big black hat as he stepped out of the ship's master bedroom he began rubbing his left arm. While he and his sister Melody had been planning on escaping from their homeworld for sometime, things took a turn for the worst when their father caught Melody stealing tools for their plan. They got separated with Clover being forced to remain behind and ordering his sister to hide within the Ebbot Sector and await his arrival.

That had been a week ago as the authorities and his family had decided to question and punish him for “disloyalty”. Clover shook his head as he entered the ship's bathroom and splashed cool water onto his face.

His yellow eyes still glowed as brightly as his soul. Even with his left eye bruised purple and several cuts running along the left side of his freckled face he stood tall. Examining his tattered shirt, he felt the burn marks at his sides along with the large hole cutting through his shirt's back. His black pants were cut at the knees and worn out with holes all over.

Clover: LV 15 - 2/72 HP

He was hurt. He was worse for wear. But, he would make sure nobody hurt his sister.

The painkillers only helped him a little. He needed a doctor but Melody needed him more. He’d taken far too long getting to her.

“Just hang in there.” Clover spoke to his bruised reflection. Forcing a smile as he straightened his hat. “Just stay strong for her. You can relax when you’re-”

“Dead.” Ice filled Clover’s veins, the hairs on his skin stood high as he slowly turned his head to the left. Seeing an all too familiar six-foot four muscular giant of a man with bright yellow eyes glaring down at him.

“No!” Clover backed himself into the wall. A golden light roaring out of his eyes like a supernova as his father crossed his arms.

“You... No. You’re not real. You’re not-” The towering man grabbed the child by the neck. Hoisting him up with little effort as he tightly squeezed Clover’s windpipe.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t find you?” His father smirked as Clover futilely began hitting his large arm with his fists. “And here I thought you were the smart one.”

“P-plea..se!” Clover begged as he gasped for air. “I’ll be… good. I-”

*Thump* *Thump*

“Oh please, as if I’d fall for that.” His father remarked. “You’re just like your sister. Weak. Worthless. Cursed little demons that ruin everything around you.”

*Thump* *Thump* *Thump* *Thump*

‘I HATE YOU!!!’ Clover screamed in his mind. The world around him shifted and blurred. One moment he was back in bed. The next he was standing before the door to his father’s room. His heart racing, his veins filled with hate before he-

“Where’s Melody?” His father continued to taunt as Clover’s soul began glowing brighter and brighter. “Let me guess, you got her killed didn’t you?”

“SHUT UP!” Clover yelled, the pressure in his lungs disappearing in an instant.

“You sent her out on her own.” The monster reminded him. “She’s always needed you. Always relied on you for everything. Do you honestly think that weakling could ever survive out there?” The light culminated into a single bright flash enveloping Clover’s yellow heart shaped soul.

“I’LL KILL YOU!” Clover screamed as he blasted his father with his soul’s power. As his father flew backwards an explosion shook the ship. Metal and sparks filled the air along with a black cloud as a fire erupted from the crater his father… vanished from?

“WARNING! SYSTEM DAMAGE IN LIVING QUARTERS DETECTED! WARNING! FIRE DETECTED IN LIVING QUARTERS HALLWAY 2.”

“Nonononono!” Clover sprinted out of the bathroom and went for the nearby closet where he found a fire extinguisher. Following the instructions he went to put out the flames as the ship shook violently.

“💧︎⚐︎ ☜︎✌︎💧︎✡︎📬︎”[SO EASY.]

“WARNING! NAVIGATION ERRR- EMERGENCY POWER ACTIVATED!”

The ship's artificial gravity shut down as the hallway lights turned bright red. Stuck floating midair the boy used the fire extinguisher to propel himself towards the end of the hall where a maintenance terminal was located.

Working quickly Clover re-routed control of the power systems and the artificial gravity to the terminal. Using the reserve power he re-activated the gravity. Allowing his feet to return to the ground as the ship violently shook again.

“WARNING! CORE LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM FAILURE. ALL PERSONNEL RECOMMENDED TO ENTER SPACE SUITS AS SYSSSSSS-” a loud explosion from the ship’s engine rocked the ship and caused Clover to fall onto his face as he made a mad dash for the craft’s cockpit.

His heart racing, Clover found a space-suit his size and quickly threw it on as the system alarms began blaring all around him. After reaching the cockpit he got to work trying to salvage the situation as much as he could. On the ship’s scanner he realized that somehow the ship had entered some kind of forcefield surrounding a series of large asteroids.

System after system went dark as the gravitational field of the largest asteroid captured his vessel. Realizing he couldn’t save the ship Clover manually plotted a course to the asteroid’s surface so he could leap out before it crashed. In the cockpit with him was a laser pistol, a few rations and the emergency Deep Space Emergency Transponder that will hopefully bring in any passing ship. Taking all of this, he opened the hatch as all the air within the craft was sucked out into space as he leapt out.

Silence was all Clover could hear as his feet landed onto the asteroid’s surprisingly smooth surface. The ship flew on for a few moments before hitting the ground. Violently colliding with the surface as the vessel was shattered into trillions of countless metal shards.

“Well there goes your only way out.” Clover’s father mocked him. Unlike Clover he didn’t have a space suit which only confirmed what the boy already knew.

“...” he ignored the figment of his imagination. But as he did so his mind began to race. Where was Melody? What happened to her and her ship? Had she survived? Did… did he-

‘No!’ Clover definitely shook his head. ‘She’s here I know it. I just need to find her.’ the young boy looked around. The giant featureless asteroid looked about the same in every direction.

No matter how long it took, he will find and save her.

“No matter what you do. Nothing will ever change Clover.” His father’s voice haunted him even in his sleep. After exploring the asteroid for the better part of an hour he found an empty oxygen filter sitting on the ground. Following the trail lead Clover to a series of caves with a forcefield underneath the surface. Passing through brought him face to face with something he never expected.

There was life here. The walls were lined with row after row of green and red plants and the air was filled with the chittering and chirping of small birds and insects. Oxygen was plentiful and the place was built with technology he had never seen before. Fascinated, he couldn’t help but begin to tinker and examine the small monitor on the wall beside him.

Accessing its files took a bit of time due to it being in a language he didn’t recognize. But after some trial and error he managed to make the system auto-translate this “Monster” language in addition to affixing a two way translator into his spacesuit’s built in comm device. So focused on his task, Clover never noticed the tall being standing over him until he turned his head and. Embarrassingly for him. Shrieked like his sister whenever he’d scare her.

“Oh I’m sorry human.” The tall white furred creature softly spoke as she outstretched her paw. “I did not mean to scare you. You were just so focused with this room’s thermostat it felt rude to interrupt.” Taking her hand Clover pulled himself up.

“You didn’t scare me!” Clover insisted with a tint of red on his face. “But who are you and what is this place?”

“I am Toriel, caretaker of this outpost. It’s very nice to meet you. If I may, what is your name?”

“Clover.” Clover didn’t notice it at the time, but there was a look of recognition, and sadness in her eyes for a moment. Toriel guided Clover to her home. Protecting him from the various monsters that inhabited the outpost and avoiding any explanation for their hostility towards him.

Upon their arrival Toriel was horrified to see how badly injured Clover was underneath his suit. Even with her years of practicing healing magic it wasn’t enough to fully restore him. At her insistence and promise to help him find his sister, Clover ate a very hearty and delicious meal along with the best pie in the universe before passing out in her spare bedroom.

His father was there every time Clover closed his eyes. Hurting him. Yelling at him. Blaming him.

“She died for you two.” His father talked down to both Clover and Melody. “Your mother is gone… because of you two killers!” Clover shoved Melody away as took the full force of his father’s hit and immediately opened his eyes.

His father’s words weighed on him. Even in his final moment’s… the hate, the venom and vitriol in his soul never faded for a second. Maybe he was right. Maybe he was a curse. A creature who didn’t deserve to-

Clover immediately threw his thoughts to the side as a small ball of light flew out of an air vent and approached him.

“Howdy.” the ball of light spoke to him.

“... Hi?” Clover confusingly said. “What are-”

“What? You ain’t never looked up and saw a star in the sky before?” the ball of light chuckled. “I know I’m not big like them. But I can talk.” As his brain began to slowly function the shock quickly passed as Clover’s intrigue blossomed as his mind began racing through possible explanations for what was before him.

“Your voice is in my head and not reliant on sound like me.” he analyzed as he rose from the bed. “Are you telepathic? Can you read thought’s? Are you some kind of tiny robot or hologram?”

“Whoa whoa whoa easy there buddy.” the light backed away from him. “Before I start answering your questions I gotta ask. Are you Clover? And is Melody your sister?” Clover instinctively stepped towards the ball of light.

“Where is she?!” the young boy demanded. “Is she alright? Is she hurt? What happened to her ship? Did-”

“Hey calm down!” The ball of light ascended above him. “Stop getting into my face like that. Er, I mean… I know you’re eager to find her and all that. But personal space buddy.” Clover rolled his eyes and nodded and took a step back as the light lowered itself to his eye level.

“I’m afraid she crashed here like you did and got herself captured.” the light began explaining as Clover’s eyes began glowing.

‘If they hurt her. If they put even a finger on her I’ll… make them suffer!’ Clover’s hand clenched. Unbeknownst to the human child, his reactions were exactly what the ball of light wanted.

“She was taken to King Asgore and if we don’t hurry they’ll kill her and take her soul.” Clover’s heart fell into his stomach. Clenching his fists, his breathing became heavier, deeper as he fought to hold onto his rationality.

“Where do I find her?” Clover asked.

“First we’re going to need a plan and thankfully I know every way through this asteroid field. I’ll guide you and bring you right to Asgore where you’ll be able to save Melody before he kills her. And worst case scenario, I’ll SAVE your progress and unmake anything bad that happens to you.”

“What?” Clover confusingly questioned. “SAVE? What is that? And why are you helping me?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do.” the light replied. “I’m Twinkly Twinkly by the way. But you can just call me Twinkly. Now we gotta go over a few things before we get going. First and foremost I gotta explain LOVE and EXP and how to FIGHT don’t I?”

To save Melody, Clover would do anything. What did it matter if he had to end the lives of a few monsters here and there? As much as he hated to admit it, his father was right about the universe. The strong thrive, the weak perish and suffer.

And he had to admit. After a while. Killing became fun.

“✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎💧︎ 💣︎✡︎ 💣︎✌︎👍︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☜︎ 🏱︎☼︎☜︎👎︎✋︎👍︎❄︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ ☞︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎☹︎✡︎📬︎ 💧︎⚐︎⚐︎☠︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☜︎ ☞︎☼︎☜︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎☼︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎📬︎”[ALL AS MY MACHINE PREDICTED. FINALLY. SOON I WILL BE FREE OF THIS TORMENT.]

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Third degree burns. Stab wounds, broken bones.” Twinkly mused as he emanated a warm light. Slowly healing Clover as the young child collapsed against the metallic wall of some monster’s home. “You are one tough cookie Clover. I don’t know too many other people who could’ve taken the kind of beating you did.”

“Is that… the last of… the royal guards?” Clover’s breathing was heavy as he coughed up blood. Arming himself with whatever he could find, Clover had crafted a makeshift shock baton out of the garbage of some monster he had killed. In addition to this he re-purposed a miniature powercell and machinery to create his very own force-field to help protect himself further.

“That should be all of them in this area.” Twinkly told him. “The EXP and LOVE you gained will surely make you a match for Asgore this time.” the ball of light didn’t bother correcting himself. Clover had proven to be unusually aware of his LOADS and RESETS. While not totally remembering everything, he changed ever so slightly each time he was brought back.

He’d make gadgets faster or construct different ones. Navigate the Kingdom like he had a map and killed monsters faster. Twinkly had to admit, Clover had become a natural at this.

“Melody first.” Clover reminded Twinkly. “That was our deal.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” the star replied. “But seriously though, watch your attitude. We’re best friends afterall. And your life is in my hands, remember? But don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

(Thirty retries later)

“Hello human.” Standing before Clover in the hallway of the asteroid main reactor was a tall horned monster in armor with horns and a crown atop his head. “Might I ask for a moment of your time?” His words sounded polite, but Clover could see the anger boiling underneath his composed outward expression.

“Where’s Melody?” Clover demanded. Asgore’s expression saddened slightly. A look of recollection and sympathy sparkled in his fiery eyes as he took a deep breath.

“So that’s what this is about.” The King said as he found the nearby wall more interesting than Clover’s accusing gaze. “I had thought you two looked similar. She is your family correct?” Clover pointed his laser pistol square at Asgore’s brain.

“Where. Is. She?” he demanded, taking a step forward.

“... I am sorry human.” Asgore said as Clover began quickly shaking his head.

“☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ✡︎☜︎❄︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎☠︎❼︎❄︎📬︎”[NOT YET YOU AREN’T.]

“No. Nonononono! If you hurt her. If you so much as touched her! I’ll… I’ll-” Clover shook his head as his heart began racing.

“Well would you look at that. You killed her.” His father’s words echoed through Clover’s mind. “Nice going idiot. You sent the only person who could ever love you to her death.”

“NO!” Clover screamed. “She’s not dead! You! Where is she?”

“...” Asgore hesitated and looked away. A single shot rang out as a beam of blue light pierced Asgore’s skull. And passed straight through him. Revealing he had been talking to a hologram.

“... I… will give you some space.” Asgore spoke softly. “But I ask you, please. Stop your killing. No one else needs to suffer.” His words only served as fuel to make Clover even angrier.

“You don’t know what suffering is!” Clover shouted. “All of you freaks do is whine and cry about being trapped in this asteroid belt. Do you have any idea what I would’ve done to be stuck in a place like this? Have you ever had to starve just to make sure your little sister has something to eat? Have you ever been called a demon, and reminded day after day, that YOU are the reason your mother is dead? Have you ever had to deal with everyone, EVERYONE hating you? Always stealing from you and hurting you every chance they get?” Tears began flowing down Clover’s face like a raging river. Asgore’s hung slightly agape. Shock having overtaken any emotions he had previously.

“...” The King didn’t know what to say.

“Melody.” Clover whimpered as he fell onto his knees. “I sent her here to keep her safe. I came here to take her somewhere we could be happy.” The child sniffled as he whipped his face.

“She’s… not dead!” A crazed look twisted Clover’s expression as a wide grin spread across his face. “Whatever you did, I can reverse it. No, she’s fine. I’ll find her. I’ll take her somewhere nice and all of this will just be a funny memory.” Clover laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

“☜︎✠︎👍︎☜︎☹︎☹︎☜︎☠︎❄︎📬︎ ☟︎✋︎💧︎ 💣︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎💧︎ ☞︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎☹︎✡︎ 👌︎☼︎☜︎✌︎😐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎ ✌︎ ☞︎☜︎🕈︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☜︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☟︎☜︎❼︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☼︎☜︎✌︎😐︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☞︎🕆︎☹︎☞︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎🏱︎☟︎☜︎👍︎✡︎📬︎ 🏱︎☜︎☼︎☟︎✌︎🏱︎💧︎ ✋︎❄︎❼︎💧︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎ ☹︎✋︎❄︎❄︎☹︎☜︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✌︎📪︎ 👎︎✋︎☼︎☜︎👍︎❄︎ ✌︎🏱︎🏱︎☼︎⚐︎✌︎👍︎☟︎📬︎”[EXCELLENT. HIS MIND IS FINALLY BREAKING. JUST A FEW MORE TIMELINES AND HE’LL BREAK AND FULFILL THE PROPHECY. PERHAPS IT’S TIME FOR A LITTLE MORE OF A, DIRECT APPROACH.]

“...” Asgore took a deep breath. Steeling himself for what he needed to do. “Your sister is in my castle.” he told the crazed human. “Come. She is waiting for you.”

(Forty retries later)

“You. Are. UNBELIEVABLE!” Twinkly screamed. No matter what Clover did, no matter how strong he got or what weapon’s he made the result was always the same.

Failure after failure after failure after failure the result’s never altered. He’d get stronger, kill royal guards and occasionally go on a killing spree until he got bored. Fight Asgore and die over and over until he was forced to RESET and do the cycle all over again.

But something curious happened this timeline. Rather than going directly to Asgore like usual, Clover would instead head to the lab where Dr. Alphy’s created him during her experiments with determination.

Which led to their present situation. A recurring event of his travels lately was going to the lab to find his sister. He’d tried to prevent this from happening, tried convincing him, "subtly" guiding him away from this place with his vines to ensure he didn’t make it this far. Clover was highly intelligent and had proven himself to be smarter than Alphy’s, Sans, and all the other monsters trapped here. Add on his growing ability to recall events from previous routes and he DID NOT need him learning anything that could make controlling him anymore difficult.

Clover laughed as he rolled onto his side. Twinkly had scorched his entire body with the light emanating from his body. Reducing him to a blackened husk as his yellow soul only glowed brighter as he tightly clenched it in his left hand.

“We had a plan. A simple one, remember?” The ball of light rhetorically reminded the near dead child. “Go. To. ASGORE!” he shouted. “What were you even trying to do here? “Finding your missing sister?” Pfft. C’mon buddy. I know you KNOW where she is! You’re just wasting time trying to do what exactly?” Clover smiled as his hand now tightly wrapped around his yellow soul.

“Hey! What’s so funny buddy?” Twinkly demanded.

“👎☜📫❄☜☼💣✋☠📫✌❄✋⚐☠ [De-termin-ation.]” Clover weakly replied as a bright light enveloped his soul before magical energy quickly exploded out of it. The blast obliterated his hand and most of his arm as his soul was launched across the room and collided into a vial of dark blue determination.

Clover’s soul glowed brighter as Melody’s determination seeped into him. As Twinkly fired another bright magical energy blast at his soul, Clover did something he never thought would’ve been possible for anyone other than him.

FILE LOADED

Clover used the SAVE FILE to bring them back to the moment before Twinkly fired his attack. Surprised, Twinkly attacked him a second time, and then a third, and then a fourth. But they always ended the same.

FILE LOADED

“You…” Twinkly uttered. “How did you-” Before he could say another world Clover’s soul crashed itself against the vial’s containing the stolen determination of the previous children to have fallen to the monster’s. Their combined determination seeping into him before he LOADED the SAVE yet again. Bringing them back to the outpost during their first meeting.

“Surprised Asriel?” Clover smugly said to the ball of light. Completely casually, as though the ball of light had never tried to kill him just a few moments ago.

“You… oh so that’s why you wanted to make for the lab.” The ball of light growled at the child. “You think taking that determination is going to change anything? Did you forget who’s been bringing you back this whole time? Who’s been-wait.” the ball of light worryingly uttered as Clover’s words fully processed in his mind. “How, how did you learn that name? I never told you that!” Clover smiled.

“Oh I know a lot of things." Clover replied. “But I guess you could say it all started early on when I woke up on my ship before it crashed. Also there were all the times Papyrus and Martlet would go on and on about their “Royal duties” and how humans get taken to the capital. And then when I fought Chuijin, I remembered some of the things he talked about and concluded that Asgore must’ve had Alphy’s experiment on the souls of the other humans before I arrived.” The child explained as he rose from the bed. Casually throwing his hands behind his head as he stretched.

“Then I learned about determination from Alphy’s and Chuijin’s notes. One thing led to another and then,” he grinned. “I concluded what you really are,”

“When Alphy’s injected your old plant body with determination, the concentration not only gave you consciousness but over time altered your physical state. And just like the amalgamates your plant body began to fall apart. But since your body is more physical than monster’s, and due to the unique fauna being genetically modified to be highly adaptable as well as being magically enhanced it changed and adapted. You’re not really a ball of light. The core of the flower is all that remains and the constant light is the determination burning to keep you alive. You float via a natural combination of the determination, magic and adaptations of the remaining mass.” Twinkly was utterly dumbstruck. Yes he knew all of this already but Clover? How long had he been thinking this through and this still didn’t answer how he knew his name.

“How… when?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Clover answered. “But listen. I know every time I try to kill Asgore it ends with me dying. We need to do something different. So,” he smirked. “How’s about I kill Toriel and you absorb her soul and use your magic to help this time?” Clover proposed. “Between the two of us, we’ll have a much higher chance of winning and we can exploit the bond Asgore had with you. What do you say buddy?”

Twinkly felt… worried. This deal was completely in his favor. And he wanted to take it. But he also knew Clover was incredibly smart and could easily twist everything into his favor if he wasn’t careful.

He sensed he had the power over SAVING and LOADING for the moment. He just needed to make sure Clover never got the opportunity to go back to the true lab again.

“Alright buddy.” Twinkly agreed. “Let’s dust that old hag and get started!”

‘✋︎❼︎☹︎☹︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💧︎⚐︎⚐︎☠︎📬︎ 👍︎☹︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ [I’LL SEE YOU SOON. CLOVER.]’ Dr. Gaster’s voice quietly whispered in Clover’s mind as the human grabbed his gun. It was time to finally end the cycle, and monsterkind with it.

“Attension! A human has been spotted in *bzzt*. Prince Asriel has also been confirmed to be assisting the human’s rampage. All citizens are urged to flee to the nearest safezone.” The duo ignored the ongoing evacuation call as they proceeded onwards.

Asriel’s rainbow colored flames had consumed much of the area. With his determination mixed with Toriel’s fire magic his power reached far greater heights as he also finally acquired his old form. Clover had assembled for him makeshift armor and had invented several gadgets in a short time to assist in their extermination.

It felt good for both of them. For Asriel, he was finally able to feel and breath and walk around. And for Clover he could finally release all of his hate and rage at the creatures who had separated him from his sister.

“It is with… great sadness I must report that Undyne has… fallen.” The announcement brought a smile to Clover’s face. While she had been a problem for him for a long time, that was no longer the case.

Desiring to fight her one on one he told Asriel to stay out of their fight. She couldn’t even land a single blow on him as Clover had long memorized every attack she could throw. Even when her determination brought her back from the brink of death her efforts were for nothing. Blasted to pieces with her arm’s and leg’s severed by Clover’s yellow plasma blade, she remained defiant to the end.

“D…damnit. You… don’t think you’ve… won.” the captain of the royal guard coughed as Clover stepped on her neck. As with one stroke he sliced her jaw off.

“Hearing that speech over and over again gets so annoying.” Clover remarked as he grabbed her head and held her towards the hidden camera observing them.

“Did you guys enjoy the show?” Clover laughed as he called out to the ones watching them. “Why don’t you teleport over here Sans? Why don’t you have Mettaton save her Alphy’s? Why don’t you face me yourself Asgore!” The human glared at the camera for a long moment before grabbing Undyne’s neck with both hands.

“Gerson would be so disappointed in you.” Clover whispered into her ear. “Lucky for you I killed him before you arrived." In one eye Clover saw pure hatred erupting within Undyne like a raging volcano.

He gave her a moment to process. And then he snapped her neck.

“Pfft.” Asriel chuckled as Undyne’s body turned to dust and blew away. “She always was too overconfident for her own good.” Clover took the moment to reload his pistol as he sheathed his blade. “So. Let’s get to-”

“Not yet.” Clover interrupted. “There’s still more we need to kill.” Normally Asriel would argue, but the rush. The power flowing through him from all the killing made him agree.

Dust filled the air of the kingdom of monsters. In only a few hours most of the species had been exterminated by the duo. The destruction left in their wake was total with either fire consuming the various villages, towns and outposts or their residents were simply released into the vacuum of space. All remaining monsters were evacuating but as they were trapped by the force-field, they would soon have nowhere to run.

Clover and Asriel took their time with their rampage. And as their journey continued the duo found themselves in the manor of Chuijin and his wife Ceroba and their daughter Kanako. Chuijin was gravely ill due to his experiments on Melody’s soul and so it was easy for Clover to restrain the monster once he had subdued Ceroba after killing Starlo and the rest of the town.

“I'm surprised you didn’t send these two to the “safezone” with the other’s Chuijin.” Clover said as the monster simply glared at him. Ceroba was badly bruised with her long red hair a complete mess along with burns and cuts all over her body and face. Kanako foolishly tried to protect her mother and father, for which Clover removed her left eye.

“But then again you’ve never really cared about anything other than your work. In any case this has been a long time coming. Did you really think you could hurt MY Melody and get away with it?” Clover slammed his fist into Chujin’s jaw. Knocking out one of his teeth as his glasses flew across the room.

“Daddy!” Kanako shouted with tears in her remaining eye.

“Are you proud human?” Ceroba spat. “Does it feel good to-” Clover slapped Ceroba as Asriel chuckled in the corner as he watched them.

“Why?” Chuijin coughed as he looked up at the previously thought dead prince of monsterkind.

“Why are you helping this human? His kind attacked and killed you when you left after taking Chara’s body to her home planet. Why are you helping this creature?” Asriel rolled his eyes.

“Do you really want the answer?” Asriel asked. “Do you really think it’s going to make what’s about to happen any better?” The elder monster gave no reply. Breathing deeply as he acknowledged his fate and he looked up towards the human.

“Please it’s me you want human. Those two had nothing to do with your sister. I was the one who created Axis and-” Chuijin admitted as Clover punched the monster in the face. Asriel held back another laugh.

‘Clover’s still in denial.’ the prince mentally remarked. ‘All that did was piss him off even more.’ Meanwhile the look of utter hate and rage and sadness in Clover’s face contorted his expression into something Asriel could only describe as… demonic.

Quick as a flash, Clover wrapped his hands around Chuijin’s neck. Tightly squeezing the monster’s windpipe as Cerboa struggled against her restraints.

“SHE ISN’T DEAD!!!” Clover screamed. “WHATEVER YOU DID I WILL UNDO. I’LL UNDO EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED. I’LL GIVE HER A NEW BODY. I’LL GIVE HER THE WHOLE UNIVERSE! SHE WON’T DIE! SHE WILL NEVER DIE! YOU HEAR ME? NEVER! NEVER!!!!” With a strong shove Clover brought the monster to the ground as he raised his fists and began beating Melody’s murderer and tormentor.

“Daddy!” Kanako cried. “Get off of him!” she begged as she struggled against her bindings. She shouted and cursed at Clover. But Clover heard none of it and his entire world at the moment, was the monster at the receiving end of his and Melody’s vengeance.

“I know what you did to her, you monster! I saw the recording more times than I can count. I also read your notes and I know everything you did. Like how you tossed her body into a trash compactor!” Clover emphasised with a particularly strong blow to Chuijin’s nose.

“You couldn’t even be bothered to bury her! You threw her out like everyone else did to us! You’re just like him!” Clover paused. Breathing deeply, and heavily as he began crying.

“All she ever wanted was to make people happy.” Clover cried and at the same time, began laughing. “She… she was perfect. She was so kind, and so… she saw the good in people. Good in dad. Our classmates… me.” Clover sniffled as he wiped his face.

“I’m… sorry.” Chuijin weakly apologized. “I’m truly sorry. If… you want to kill me then do it. Just… don’t hurt them.” the monster begged. “They had nothing… to do… with what… happened.” Clover’s face darkened.

“Melody begged Axis for mercy.” Clover spat in Chuijin’s face. “She begged him. She begged YOU. And you had Axis crush her skull. Do you really think you deserve mercy?” the human smiled as he pulled a lighter out of his pocket.

And lit it.

“No!” Chuijin begged as Clover lit the monster on fire.

“CHUIJIN!/DADDY!” Ceroba and Kanako cried.

“Asriel.” Clover turned his head as he stood up. “Burn this place to the ground.” he ordered as the prince of monsters smiled. With a flick of his furred fingers magical flames consumed the room and quickly spread across the manor. Clover and Asriel walked out. Leaving the family to burn as their home collapsed around them.

“Alright next stop-”

“The lab.” Clover interrupted the prince who immediately shot down the idea.

“No way!” Asriel crossed his arms. “We’ve already wiped out nearly every single monster in the kingdom and rigged the main reactor to blow up. Let’s go finish off Asgore and get out of here before-”

“The lab.” Clover firmly stated. “I need their tools to finish the upgrades to the rest of our gadgets and I need to get an exoskeleton suit and a few other things before we face Asgore.” and with that explanation Clover began walking towards the Lab as Asriel shouted at him.

“Hey! Aren’t you forgetting something?” the goat child said as he outstretched his hand. Only to find he now couldn’t access his MENU or SAVE FILE.

“No.” Asriel uttered softly as Clover looked over his shoulder. And smirked at him.

“Lab.” he said again. “C’mon. Best friends don’t leave each other behind afterall.” All at once all of Asriel’s confidence plummeted into oblivion. Clover had outsmarted him again. But… he didn’t need to worry. As long as he was useful, as long as Clover needed him the human wouldn’t get rid of him right?

Right?

As the flames surrounded Kanako and her mother the child watched in horror as her father died screaming. Crying, struggling, she was too weak to break her restraints. Ceroba, be it by motherly love or survival instinct found the strength to finally break her bonds. Grabbing her daughter she made a dash for the exit as their home collapsed around them. Blocking their escape in a sea of flames and black smoke.

“Mommy.” Kanako cried. “What do we do?” Her mother looked down at her. A soft smile across her face as she freed her daughter before embracing her.

“Kanako. Promise me you’ll get somewhere safe.” Ceroba said as her staff materialized in her left hand.

“What are you-” before she could finish her Mother raised her staff high over her head as a bright flash of light consumed them both. A white light enveloped the debris blocking the exit as they flew out of the way.

“Run!” Ceroba urged her daughter as the strain of her magic combined with her injuries from Clover and Asriel brought her to her knees.

“I-I-I won’t!” Kanako declared as she tugged at her mother. “We can both get out of here. The debris is out of-”

“Kanako run!” Ceroba yelled. “The second I drop the spell the floor above us will fall along with the rest of the manor. It’s taking everything I have to keep this small path open. Just…” she paused.

“Mommy will be right behind you.” Ceroba insisted. “Just… get outside. Now!” Kanako hesitated for a moment before nodding.

“Okay.” she nodded. “I’ll use my magic and help keep the roof from falling.” Quick as she could, Kanako ran out the door and got a fair distance from the manor. “Okay mom, now it's your turn.” A white flash of light enveloped her hands before expelling outwards and circling around their home. Ceroba meanwhile simply looked at her daughter. And smiled.

“I’ll always love you sweetie.” Ceroba gave her daughter one final warm smile as the building fell down onto her. Kanako cried for her as she sprinted towards the flames. Using her magic she tossed dirt, bottles of water and anything she could use to kill the flames.

She didn’t know how long she was trying to save her mother. She lost count of how many times the flames burned her fur or the debris cut her body. By the end, utterly spent and exhausted she kneeled before the only things left of her parents.

Her mother’s staff and long red scarf was burned and her father’s glasses were completely broken.

“Please.” Kanako wept as she shook her head. “No. No no no no no no!” Falling onto the ground she wept. Her body, weak and exhausted, fell into a deep slumber as she held both objects near her chest.

As consciousness completely faded from the young girl a short grey human with empty black voids in the place of his eyes materialized beside her.

“I’m so sorry.” Core!Frisk wept as they knelt beside Kanako. Lightly placing a hand on the shoulder of the unconscious monster, he clenched his free hand before turning to face upwards.

“Are you proud?” Core!Frisk demanded. In the void a monster observing everything going on. With a creepy grin and a horrible amount of delight.

“Does seeing all of this pain make you feel better, Gaster?” A long figure clad in a black science uniform with a turtleneck collar and a pair of large open holes in the center of his hands smiled.

“✡︎☜︎💧︎ ✋︎❄︎ 👎︎⚐︎☜︎💧︎📬︎[YES IT DOES.]” Gaster replied. “👌︎🕆︎❄︎ 👌︎☜︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☼︎☜︎❄︎⚐︎☼︎❄︎ 💣︎✡︎ ✌︎👍︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎❼︎💧︎ 👍︎☟︎✋︎☹︎👎︎📬︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎❼︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎💧︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✌︎👍︎❄︎💧︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ 💧︎✋︎☠︎☝︎☹︎☜︎ ❽︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎💧︎⚐︎☠︎❾︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ❽︎❄︎☼︎✌︎☝︎☜︎👎︎✡︎❾︎📬︎[BUT BEFORE YOU RETORT MY ACTION’S CHILD. YOU’D BE WISE TO KNOW THE ACTS OF EVERY SINGLE “PERSON” IN THIS “TRAGEDY”.]” Before Core!Frisk could even tell the monster they had already seen everything, Gaster continued his exposition.

“🕆︎☠︎☹︎✋︎😐︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☼︎☜︎💧︎❄︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 💣︎✡︎ 😐︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ 👌︎⚐︎☼︎☠︎ ✌︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👎︎✌︎🕈︎☠︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💧︎🏱︎☜︎👍︎✋︎☜︎💧︎📬︎ ✋︎ ☠︎☜︎☝︎⚐︎❄︎✋︎✌︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎🏱︎☜︎☹︎☹︎☜︎👎︎ ⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ✌︎👍︎👍︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎❄︎✌︎☼︎💧︎📬︎ ✋︎ ☝︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ 👎︎✌︎✡︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💣︎✡︎ 🏱︎☜︎⚐︎🏱︎☹︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ☞︎🕆︎❄︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎💧︎🏱︎✌︎☼︎✋︎❄︎✡︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎❄︎☜︎👍︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎📬︎[UNLIKE THE REST OF MY KIND I WAS BORN AT THE DAWN OF OUR SPECIES. I NEGOTIATED WITH THE HUMANS AND PROPELLED OUR ACCENT INTO THE STARS. I GAVE EVERY DAY TO MY PEOPLE FOR OUR FUTURE PROSPARITY AND PROTECTION.]” The skeleton went on with no small amount of pride.

“🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 💣︎✡︎ 🏱︎☜︎⚐︎🏱︎☹︎☜︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎☝︎⚐︎❄︎❄︎☜︎☠︎📪︎ ⚐︎☼︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✌︎👍︎👍︎🕆︎☼︎✌︎❄︎☜︎☹︎✡︎📪︎ 👍︎☟︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎☠︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☼︎☜︎💣︎☜︎💣︎👌︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ ✋︎💧︎ 🕈︎☟︎⚐︎ 💧︎❄︎✌︎☼︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☞︎✋︎☼︎💧︎❄︎ 🏱︎☹︎✌︎👍︎☜︎📬︎ [WHAT MY PEOPLE HAVE FORGOTTEN, OR MORE ACCURATELY, CHOSEN NOT TO REMEMBER. IS WHO STARTED ALL OF THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE.]”

“Jaxi Drill.” Core!Frisk spoke up. “I know what happened Gaster.” The monsters in this timeline had gotten so used to Gaster solving all their problems, so used to never having to worry or struggle at anything that the species as a whole became arrogant and prideful. Jaxi desired to make his own legacy of greatness and believed the only way to do it was to attain more power than Gaster or any monster, human, or alien in all of history.

Being much weaker than humans by nature, Jaxi took the souls of seven young children and attained godlike power. His reign over the universe was as chaotic as it was violent. By the time Gaster had managed to defeat him the damage was already done.

Humanity had lost countless trillions because of Jaxi. Fearing for their survival they captured Gaster and went on to nearly wipe out all of monsterkind. It was only because of his long history of trustworthiness, compassion and reverence for all of life that he managed to convince humanity to spare the last enclaves of Monsterkind in the universe. They were all herded into an asteroid and sealed behind the forcefield.

After everything that had happened, realizing his own role in what had occurred Gaster stepped down as King. He began to work purely as a scientist to better the lives of all that he could. Much later on he even created his son’s Sans and Papyrus using two thirds of his boss monster soul and science to create the pair.

“✋︎ ☝︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎[I GAVE THEM EVERYTHING.]” Gaster clenched his fists as his teeth grinded against one another. “✋︎ 🏱︎☼︎⚐︎❄︎☜︎👍︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎📬︎ ☝︎🕆︎✋︎👎︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☟︎☜︎✌︎☹︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎📬︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 🕈︎☟︎☜︎☠︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎☼︎☠︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ ✋︎☝︎☠︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ 💣︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 👍︎✌︎💧︎❄︎ 💣︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✞︎⚐︎✋︎👎︎✏︎ [I PROTECTED THEM. GUIDED AND HEALED THEM. AND WHEN I WARNED THEM OF WHAT WAS TO COME THEY IGNORED ME AND CAST ME INTO THE VOID!]” the monster shouted.

“Because you would’ve killed thousands if Sans didn’t stop you.” Core!Frisk replied. “You were going to use your machines to take away every monster’s free will.” Gaster rolled his one remaining eye.

“👌︎☜︎❄︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎ ☞︎☼︎☜︎☜︎👎︎⚐︎💣︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎☜︎☼︎❄︎✌︎✋︎☠︎ ☜︎✠︎❄︎✋︎☠︎👍︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ☹︎✋︎☞︎☜︎📬︎ [BETTER TO HAVE NO FREEDOM THAN THE CERTAIN EXTINCTION OF ALL LIFE.]” Gaster shook his head. “❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ 🕈︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ ☹︎✋︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☠︎📬︎ ☠︎⚐︎ 💣︎✌︎❄︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✋︎ 💧︎✌︎✋︎👎︎ ⚐︎☼︎ 👎︎✋︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎❄︎✋︎☠︎🕆︎☜︎👎︎ 👎︎⚐︎🕈︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎💧︎✌︎😐︎☜︎☠︎ 🏱︎✌︎❄︎☟︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ 👎︎☜︎💧︎☜︎☼︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ ☞︎✌︎❄︎☜︎📬︎ 🕈︎☜︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ 👎︎⚐︎📬︎ [THEY WOULDN’T LISTEN. NO MATTER WHAT I SAID OR DID THEY JUST CONTINUED DOWN THIS FORSAKEN PATH. THEY DESERVE THEIR FATE. WE ALL DO.]”

“And so rather than trying to prevent Clover from turning into a monster, you’re been turning him into one.” Core!Frisk crossed their arms. “You’ve been whispering to him when he dies and fueling his hate by reminding him over and over again of his father and sister. You’ve caused the very thing you wanted to stop, Gaster!” The mad scientist laughed.

“🕈︎☟︎✡︎ 👎︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👍︎✌︎☼︎☜︎✍︎ [WHY DO YOU CARE?]” Gaster questioned. “🕈︎☜︎❼︎☼︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎☹︎📬︎ 🕈︎☜︎❼︎☼︎☜︎ 👍︎☹︎🕆︎💣︎🏱︎💧︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 👍︎⚐︎👎︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 💧︎✋︎💣︎🏱︎☹︎✡︎ 👌︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☜︎✞︎☜︎ 🕈︎☜︎❼︎☼︎☜︎ 💧︎☜︎☠︎❄︎✋︎☜︎☠︎❄︎📬︎ ⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 🏱︎🕆︎☼︎🏱︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👌︎☜︎ 🕆︎💧︎☜︎👎︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ☜︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☼︎❄︎✌︎✋︎☠︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎ ☠︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎ 👍︎☟︎⚐︎✋︎👍︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 🕆︎💧︎📬︎ ☠︎⚐︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☹︎✋︎☞︎☜︎ ⚐︎☼︎ 💣︎☜︎✌︎☠︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✋︎☠︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎ 👎︎☜︎👍︎✋︎💧︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ☟︎✌︎💧︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎📪︎ ⚐︎☼︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ 👌︎☜︎ 💣︎✌︎👎︎☜︎📬︎ [WE’RE NOT REAL. WE’RE CLUMPS OF CODE THAT SIMPLY BELIEVE WE’RE SENTIENT. OUR PURPOSE IS TO BE USED FOR ENTERTAINMENT. THERE WAS NEVER ANY CHOICE FOR ANY OF US. NO AFTERLIFE OR MEANING IN ANY DECISION THAT HAS EVER, OR WILL EVER BE MADE.] Gaster’s smile turned into a frown as his eye suddenly found itself staring off into the endless void around him.

“You’re wrong, Gaster.” Core!Frisk said. "Every single life is precious. Our worth isn’t defined by what the higher beings say it is. We define our purpose and craft our own fates ourselves and with others. Giving into hopelessness and despair isn’t the answer.” Gaster rolled his eye.

“🕈︎☜︎❼︎☼︎☜︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎⚐︎✡︎💧︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ ☜︎☠︎❄︎☜︎☼︎❄︎✌︎✋︎☠︎☜︎💣︎☠︎❄︎📬︎”[WE’RE ALL TOYS FOR THEIR ENTERTAINEMNT.] The scientist continued. “💧︎✌︎✡︎ 🕈︎☟︎✌︎❄︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✋︎💧︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎📪︎ ✌︎👍︎👍︎🕆︎💧︎☜︎ 💣︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎☹︎✋︎❄︎❄︎☜︎ 💣︎☜︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 🕈︎✋︎💧︎☟︎📬︎ ☠︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ✋︎❄︎ 💣︎✌︎❄︎❄︎☜︎☼︎❼︎💧︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☜︎☠︎👎︎📬︎ ✌︎❄︎ ☹︎☜︎✌︎💧︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ 🕈︎✌︎✡︎📪︎ ✋︎❼︎💣︎ ☝︎✋︎✞︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎ ☜︎💧︎👍︎✌︎🏱︎☜︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎📬︎”[SAY WHATEVER IT IS YOU WANT, ACCUSE ME AND BELITTE ME ALL YOU WISH. NONE OF IT MATTER’S IN THE END. AT LEAST THIS WAY, I’M GIVING EVERYONE AN ESCAPE FROM ALL OF THIS.] Core!Frisk felt pity for the monster. He was not the first, nor would he be the last to fall into this particular pit of despair.

When their San’s had tossed him into the CORE they saw everything. He felt infinity and… saw the truth of their reality. Every universe, timeline, whatever all spawned from a single original universe. A video game called Undertale. From that source spawned every single reality, person, ect.

The higher beings, or PLAYER’S as some call them, were the ones who created the games, stories and everything else to fill the multiverse and give it life, also filled it with horrors, pain, loss and tragedy for those who bear the brunt of their influence. Even Core!Frisk was no exception as DokuDoki had conceptualized them, giving them life and form as well as determining what would happen to them once sans threw them in the CORE.

It’d be a lie to say he didn’t feel a level of resentment towards them. But in the end he didn’t hate Doku and truly grew to enjoy the life he had been gifted. But that didn’t stop them from wondering if they truly made their own decisions, or if some other higher being was doing it all for them.

“Death is not the answer!” Core!Frisk said. “Yes, some universes are… bad. And terrible things are going on in many of them. B-”

“💧︎⧫︎□︎◻︎ [Stop]” Gaster interrupted. “✋︎ ♎︎□︎■︎❼︎⧫︎ ♍︎♋︎❒︎♏︎ ♋︎♌︎□︎◆︎⧫︎ ⬥︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎♏︎❖︎♏︎❒︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ♒︎♋︎❖︎♏︎ ⧫︎□︎ ⬧︎♋︎⍓︎📬︎ ❄︎♒︎♏︎ ♐︎♋︎♍︎⧫︎ □︎♐︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ❍︎♋︎⧫︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎ ♓︎⬧︎📪︎ □︎◆︎❒︎ ●︎♓︎❖︎♏︎⬧︎ ♒︎♋︎❖︎♏︎ ■︎□︎ ❖︎♋︎●︎◆︎♏︎ ♋︎■︎♎︎ ♋︎❒︎♏︎ □︎◆︎⧫︎ □︎♐︎ □︎◆︎❒︎ ♍︎□︎■︎⧫︎❒︎□︎●︎📬︎ 👎︎♏︎♋︎⧫︎♒︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ □︎■︎●︎⍓︎ ♐︎❒︎♏︎♏︎♎︎□︎❍︎ ♋︎■︎⍓︎□︎■︎♏︎ ⬥︎♓︎●︎●︎ ♏︎❖︎♏︎❒︎ ♒︎♋︎❖︎♏︎ ♓︎■︎ ⧫︎♒︎♓︎⬧︎ ♒︎♏︎●︎●︎📬︎[I don’t care about whatever it is you have to say. The fact of the matter is, our lives have no value and are out of our control. Death is the only freedom anyone will ever have in this hell.]” the monster looked upon the large hole in each of his hands.

“📬︎📬︎📬︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎☼︎☼︎☜︎👍︎❄︎ ✋︎ ✌︎👎︎💣︎✋︎❄︎📬︎ ⚐︎☠︎👍︎☜︎📪︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 🏱︎☼︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎📬︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✡︎☜︎❄︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎ ✌︎💣︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎⑤︎ [... YOU ARE CORRECT I ADMIT. ONCE, I WANTED TO PREVENT ALL OF THIS. AND YET HERE I AM NOW…]” Core!Frisk stepped forward. Outstretching a hand to the monster as they materialized in the void beside him.

“Stop. Please.” Core!Frisk urged. “I have friends who can help get you out of here. I help you get a new life in another universe.” the little human smiled.

“We can save everyone and give them a happy ending. All life is precious, Gaster. Every single one has meaning. Don’t do this.” Gaster stared at the hand outstretched to them. His own hand shaking as his gaze turned onto Core!Frisk’s sorrowful expression.

“☠︎⚐︎📬︎[NO.]” The monster refused. “✋︎❄︎❼︎💧︎ ☞︎✌︎☼︎ ❄︎⚐︎⚐︎ ☹︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ 👎︎☜︎💧︎☜︎☼︎✞︎☜︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☟︎✌︎🏱︎🏱︎☜︎☠︎📬︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎📬︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎💧︎📬︎ 💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💧︎📬︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 🏱︎✌︎✡︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ 💣︎✡︎ ✋︎💣︎🏱︎☼︎✋︎💧︎⚐︎☠︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎[IT’S FAR TOO LATE FOR THAT. THEY DESERVE EVERYTHING THAT WILL HAPPEN. AND MORE. HUMANS. MONSTERS. ALL WILL PAY FOR MY IMPRISONMENT.]” A look of disappointment spread across Core!Frisk’s monochrome face as they stepped back from the monster.

“It’s never too late to change Gaster.” the child said as they reappeared beside Kanako’s sleeping form. “The higher beings may create us. But we are the ones who decide our own fate.” Gaster shook his head as Core!Frisk opened a doorway for their friends to take Kanako to the Omega Timeline to be healed.

“✡︎□︎◆︎ ♍︎♋︎■︎❼︎⧫︎ ⬧︎⧫︎□︎◻︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ♓︎■︎♏︎❖︎♓︎⧫︎♋︎♌︎●︎♏︎ 👍︎□︎❒︎♏︎ [You can’t stop the inevitable Core].” Gaster said. “☜︎❖︎♏︎❒︎⍓︎⧫︎♓︎❍︎♏︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ◻︎❒︎□︎⧫︎♏︎♍︎⧫︎ □︎■︎♏︎ ◆︎■︎♓︎❖︎♏︎❒︎⬧︎♏︎📪︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ●︎□︎⬧︎♏︎ ♋︎■︎□︎⧫︎♒︎♏︎❒︎📬︎ ☜︎❖︎♏︎❒︎⍓︎ ⧫︎♓︎❍︎♏︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ♋︎■︎♎︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎❒︎ ❽︎♐︎❒︎♓︎♏︎■︎♎︎⬧︎❾︎ ⬧︎♋︎❖︎♏︎ ♋︎ ●︎♓︎♐︎♏︎ □︎❒︎ ❽︎❒︎♏︎♎︎♏︎♏︎❍︎❾︎ ⬧︎□︎❍︎♏︎□︎■︎♏︎📪︎ ♋︎■︎□︎⧫︎♒︎♏︎❒︎ ♐︎♋︎●︎●︎⬧︎ ♓︎■︎⧫︎□︎ ♎︎♏︎⬧︎◻︎♋︎♓︎❒︎ ♋︎■︎♎︎ ♒︎♋︎⧫︎♏︎📬︎ ✡︎□︎◆︎ ♍︎♋︎■︎❼︎⧫︎ ⬧︎⧫︎□︎◻︎ ♒︎♋︎⧫︎❒︎♏︎♎︎📪︎ ♋︎■︎♑︎♏︎❒︎📪︎ □︎❒︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ♍︎⍓︎♍︎●︎♏︎ □︎♐︎ ❖︎♓︎□︎●︎♏︎■︎♍︎♏︎ ⬥︎♏︎ ♋︎❒︎♏︎ ♋︎●︎●︎ ⧫︎❒︎♋︎◻︎◻︎♏︎♎︎ ♓︎■︎📬︎ 💧︎□︎ ●︎□︎■︎♑︎ ♋︎⬧︎ ⧫︎♒︎□︎⬧︎♏︎ ♒︎♓︎♑︎♒︎♏︎❒︎ ♌︎♏︎♓︎■︎♑︎⬧︎ ♎︎♏︎♍︎♓︎♎︎♏︎ □︎◆︎❒︎ ♐︎♋︎⧫︎♏︎ ♋︎■︎♎︎ ◆︎⬧︎♏︎ ◆︎⬧︎ ♋︎⬧︎ ♏︎■︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎⧫︎♋︎♓︎■︎❍︎♏︎■︎⧫︎📬︎ ⚐︎◆︎❒︎ ◻︎♋︎♓︎■︎ ⬥︎♓︎●︎●︎ ■︎♏︎❖︎♏︎❒︎ ♍︎♏︎♋︎⬧︎♏︎📬︎ [Everytime you protect one universe, you lose another. Every time you and your “friends” save a life or “redeem” someone, another falls into despair and hate. You can’t stop hatred, anger, or the cycle of violence we are all trapped in. So long as those higher beings decide our fate and use us as entertainment. Our pain will never cease.]” Core!Frisk shook their head as they fought against the darker thoughts taking the forefront of their mind.

“☜︎❖︎♏︎❒︎⍓︎⧫︎♒︎♓︎■︎♑︎ ♏︎■︎♎︎⬧︎ ♏︎❖︎♏︎■︎⧫︎◆︎♋︎●︎●︎⍓︎📬︎ ✡︎□︎◆︎❒︎ ♐︎❒︎♓︎♏︎■︎♎︎⬧︎ ⬥︎♓︎●︎●︎ ◻︎♋︎⬧︎⬧︎ ♋︎■︎♎︎ ♏︎❖︎♏︎■︎⧫︎◆︎♋︎●︎●︎⍓︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ♒︎♓︎♑︎♒︎♏︎❒︎ ♌︎♏︎♓︎■︎♑︎⬧︎ ⬥︎♓︎●︎●︎ ♑︎❒︎□︎⬥︎ ♌︎□︎❒︎♏︎♎︎ ♋︎■︎♎︎ ●︎♏︎♋︎❖︎♏︎📬︎ ✌︎■︎♎︎ 🙰◆︎⬧︎⧫︎ ●︎♓︎🙵♏︎ ⧫︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎ ♑︎♓︎❒︎●︎❼︎⬧︎ ♒︎□︎❍︎♏︎📬︎ ❄︎♒︎♏︎ ⚐︎❍︎♏︎♑︎♋︎ ❄︎♓︎❍︎♏︎●︎♓︎■︎♏︎📪︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ❍︎◆︎●︎⧫︎♓︎❖︎♏︎❒︎⬧︎♏︎📪︎ ♏︎❖︎♏︎❒︎⍓︎ ⬧︎♓︎■︎♑︎●︎♏︎ ⧫︎♓︎❍︎♏︎●︎♓︎■︎♏︎ ⬥︎♓︎●︎●︎ ♎︎♓︎♏︎📬︎ ✌︎●︎●︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎❼︎❖︎♏︎ ♏︎❖︎♏︎❒︎ ♎︎□︎■︎♏︎📪︎ ♋︎●︎●︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎❼︎❖︎♏︎ ⬧︎♋︎♍︎❒︎♓︎♐︎♓︎♍︎♏︎♎︎ ⬥︎♓︎●︎●︎ ♌︎♏︎ ◻︎●︎♋︎♍︎♏︎♎︎ □︎■︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ♋︎●︎⧫︎♋︎❒︎ □︎♐︎ ♏︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎■︎♓︎⧫︎⍓︎📬︎ ✌︎■︎♎︎ ♌︎♏︎ ♐︎□︎❒︎♑︎□︎⧫︎⧫︎♏︎■︎ ♋︎⬧︎ ♏︎❖︎♏︎■︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ♐︎♋︎♎︎♏︎ ♋︎⬥︎♋︎⍓︎📬︎ [Everything ends eventually. Your friends will pass and eventually the higher beings will grow bored and leave. And just like that girl’s home. The Omega Timeline, the multiverse, every single timeline will die. All you’ve ever done, all you’ve sacrificed will be placed on the altar of eternity. And be forgotten as even you fade away.]”

Clenching their fist Core!Frisk blocked out their fears and negative thoughts. Gaster was just trying to get under his skin. Core!Frisk can see everything that was, is and will be all at once. The Omega Timeline will always exist and the safe haven they created for the countless beings across the multiverse will continue to be so.

He thought about talking to Clover, intervening and stopping him. But ultimately there was no solution that would end well for anyone. No matter what he said to Clover, the child would never listen to him. And sending his friends to intervene will always result in their death’s… or worse. And even restoring his sister wouldn’t change anything.

As much as he hated it. For situations like this. It was best to wait and allow things to play out. As long as Clover remained in this timeline he wouldn’t be a threat to anyone outside this universe.

He just needed to make sure it stayed that way.

Making their way to the lab was a simple task for the murder duo. The few remaining royal guards were crushed under their heels. The laser traps were disabled when Clover hacked into the area’s power grid with a few of the automaton’s given a new directive to protect Clover and Asriel while destroying their creators.

One particular robot in their number was Axis. Having easily defeated the bot before their arrival in the area Clover quickly repaired and reprogrammed the bot to serve him. It was only fitting. Afterall Chuijin created Axis to defeat humanity. Now his legacy helped accelerate the extinction of monsterkind.

“So easy.” Clover mused as he finished modifying his gadgets. Armed with a wide array of weaponry he now had an exo-suit that not only greatly enhanced his strength, but he also installed a jet-pack to allow further mobility. “Axis and the bot’s should be finishing off the survivor’s now. And with them gone the only safe zone left is in the capital.”

“Not gonna lie, I was hoping for more of a challenge.” Asriel said as Clover turned to him. “Not that I’m complaining. I thought they’d be putting up more of a fight. So far the only one that posed a real threat was Undyne and you finished her off yourself.” Clover gave no reply and instead gestured with one hand for Asriel to follow him to the elevator. Asriel didn’t need to ask where they were going, but the pit in his stomach grew as Clover smirked at him.

“What’s the matter “buddy”?” Clover said, amused by Asriel’s fear of him. “There isn’t anyone left who can stop us afterall.”

“Just… wondering what we’re doing here is all.” the fallen prince replied as the elevator doors slid open. “Everyone’s almost dead and Alphys must've fled from here hours ago. It’s good that we’re taking time to prepare for Asgore but what if-”

“They won’t be enough.” Clover interrupted as doors slid close as they began their descent. “By now Alphy’s and Sans must’ve figured out that we have the power of SAVE and RESET’s. Add on the fact I let Martlet escape and I’d say we’re in for a lot of fun.” Clover smiled which did nothing to reassure Asriel.

“I get wanting a challenge but you’re going out of your way to make this more difficult.” Asriel complained. “Sans alone is… well you know. And while Martlet and Alphys aren’t that much of a threat, if Asgore uses the soul’s he’ll-”

“Shut up.” Clover ordered. “I’m the one in control here. Not you. So do as I say or I’ll rip Toriel’s soul out and toss you into a black hole. Got it?” Asriel simply nodded as the elevator doors slid open. The deep recesses of the lab were dark, the air frigid with dust circling in the air.

The two made their way past the broken security bots and piles of dust and to the lab where Clover had absorbed Melody’s determination vial previously. Stabbing himself with it, the dark blue substance quickly entered his veins as he injected the rest of them into his system.

Clover laughed as he fell onto his knees. His eyes glowing with the light of a rainbow as the determination filled his mind, body and soul. Along with the determination came also the essence of who each of them were. Their memories, triumph’s, fears, pain and doubts filled Clover’s mind in an instant. Shattering his psyche and reforming, no. Transforming him into someone else as the world went dark around him and Clover passed out.

In that moment he stood beneath the stars. The gentle breeze tugging at him as a vast lake stood before him. And in that lake he saw a tall slender pale white figure with a cracked skull looking at him.

“🕈︎♏︎●︎●︎ ♎︎□︎■︎♏︎ ♑︎♏︎⧫︎⧫︎♓︎■︎♑︎ ⧫︎♒︎♓︎⬧︎ ♐︎♋︎❒︎ ✌︎■︎♑︎♏︎●︎📬︎ [Well done getting this far Angel.]” Gaster clapped his hands. “❄︎♒︎♏︎♓︎❒︎ ♐︎♓︎■︎♋︎●︎ ♒︎□︎◆︎❒︎ ♒︎♋︎⬧︎ ♍︎□︎❍︎♏︎📬︎ ⚐︎■︎●︎⍓︎ ♋︎ ♐︎♏︎⬥︎ ❍︎□︎❒︎♏︎ ❒︎♏︎❍︎♋︎♓︎■︎ ♋︎■︎♎︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ⬥︎♓︎●︎●︎ ♌︎♏︎ ♐︎❒︎♏︎♏︎📬︎ [Their final hour has come. Only a few more remain and you will be free.]”

“Why are you helping me?” Clover asked. “You’ve been guiding me, reminding me of each timeline and encouraging me to destroy everything before I ever arrived here. What do you get from all of this?”

“☼︎♏︎❖︎♏︎■︎♑︎♏︎ ♋︎■︎♎︎ ♐︎❒︎♏︎♏︎♎︎□︎❍︎📬︎[Revenge and freedom.]” the monster replied. “✋︎ ⬥︎♋︎■︎⧫︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ □︎■︎♏︎⬧︎ ⬥︎♒︎□︎ ♌︎♏︎⧫︎❒︎♋︎⍓︎♏︎♎︎ ❍︎♏︎ ⧫︎□︎ ⬧︎◆︎♐︎♐︎♏︎❒︎📬︎ ✌︎■︎♎︎ ♐︎□︎❒︎ ❍︎⍓︎ ♍︎◆︎❒︎❒︎♏︎■︎⧫︎ ⬧︎♓︎⧫︎◆︎♋︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎ ⧫︎□︎ ♏︎■︎♎︎📬︎ ✋︎ ♍︎□︎◆︎●︎♎︎■︎❼︎⧫︎ ♋︎♍︎♒︎♓︎♏︎❖︎♏︎ ♏︎♓︎⧫︎♒︎♏︎❒︎ □︎■︎ ❍︎⍓︎ □︎⬥︎■︎📬︎ ❄︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎❼︎⬧︎ ⬥︎♒︎⍓︎ ✋︎ ◆︎⬧︎♏︎♎︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎📬︎[I want the ones who betrayed me to suffer. And for my current situation to end. I couldn’t achieve either on my own. That’s why I used you.]” Clover crossed his arms as he stared down at the monster.

“I am not saving you.” Clover flatly stated. “You freaks hurt MY sister! You’re all the same.” A smile crept across Gaster’s face as he continued.

“✋︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎😐︎ ☞︎☼︎☜︎☜︎👎︎⚐︎💣︎ ✋︎☠︎ 👎︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☟︎ 👍︎☟︎✋︎☹︎👎︎📬︎☸︎[I SEEK FREEDOM IN DEATH CHILD.]” The former king of monsterkind clarified. “🕈︎☟︎✋︎☹︎☜︎ 🏱︎✌︎☼︎❄︎💧︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 💣︎✡︎ 👌︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☼︎☜︎💣︎✌︎✋︎☠︎ 💧︎👍︎✌︎❄︎❄︎☜︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎⚐︎🕆︎❄︎ 💧︎🏱︎✌︎👍︎☜︎❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎📪︎ ❄︎🕈︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎☼︎👎︎💧︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 💣︎✡︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ ☼︎☜︎💣︎✌︎✋︎☠︎ ✋︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 🏱︎☟︎✡︎💧︎✋︎👍︎✌︎☹︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎☹︎👎︎📬︎ 👌︎⚐︎❄︎☟︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 🕈︎☟︎✋︎👍︎☟︎ 👌︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎ 💣︎✡︎ 💧︎⚐︎☠︎❼︎💧︎📬︎ 💧︎✌︎☠︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 🏱︎✌︎🏱︎✡︎☼︎🕆︎💧︎📬︎ [WHILE PARTS OF MY BEING REMAIN SCATTERED THROUGHOUT SPACETIME, TWO THIRDS OF MY SOUL REMAIN IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORLD. BOTH OF WHICH BEING WITHIN MY SON’S. SANS AND PAPYRUS.]” Clover thought for a moment before nodding.

“That’s why you had me absorb his soul. Boss monsters lose their immortality upon having children as their magic is transferred into their kids over time. When you fell, the process wasn’t done yet.”

“☠︎⚐︎☼︎ ☟︎✌︎💧︎ ✋︎❄︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☞︎✋︎☠︎✋︎💧︎☟︎ ✌︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎❄︎✋︎☠︎🕆︎☜︎👎︎ ☜︎✠︎✋︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎ 👎︎✋︎☼︎☜︎👍︎❄︎☹︎✡︎ ❄︎✋︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💣︎✡︎ ❽︎👌︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎❾︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎📬︎[NOR HAS IT HAD THE CHANCE TO FINISH AS THEIR CONTINUED EXISTENCE IS DIRECTLY TIED TO MY “BEING” NOW.]” Gaster continued. “🕈︎☟︎☜︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☜︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎📪︎ 💣︎✡︎ 👌︎⚐︎👎︎✡︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 💣︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☹︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✋︎☼︎ ☞︎✋︎☠︎✌︎☹︎ ❄︎☟︎☼︎☜︎✌︎👎︎💧︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 💧︎❄︎✌︎👌︎✋︎☹︎✋︎❄︎✡︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☞︎✌︎👎︎☜︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎ ☜︎✠︎✋︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎📬︎ [WHEN YOU END THEM, MY BODY AND MIND WILL LOSE THEIR FINAL THREADS OF STABILITY AND FADE FROM EXISTENCE.]” The skeleton smiled as the idea of eternal oblivion filled his mind.

“👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎📫︎ [BUT THERE IS MORE-]”

“You’re artificial soul experiment Alphy’s abandoned.” Clover interrupted. “A soul with the powers and traits of a human and monster soul fused together. Extremely powerful and highly unstable… That’s the weapon you promised me?” Gaster nodded with anger.

“👎︎⚐︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ☹︎🕆︎💣︎🏱︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✋︎💣︎👌︎☜︎👍︎✋︎☹︎☜︎❼︎💧︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎😐︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ 💣︎✡︎ 👌︎☼︎✋︎☹︎☹︎✋︎✌︎☠︎👍︎☜︎✏︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ✡︎☜︎💧︎📪︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ 💧︎❄︎☜︎✌︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☼︎☜︎👍︎⚐︎☼︎👎︎💧︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 💣︎✡︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎😐︎ 💧︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎✌︎👎︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎ ✌︎☼︎❄︎✋︎☞︎✋︎👍︎✋︎✌︎☹︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎ ✋︎☠︎ ✌︎☠︎ ✌︎❄︎❄︎☜︎💣︎🏱︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👌︎✡︎🏱︎✌︎💧︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎👍︎☜︎☞︎✋︎☜︎☹︎👎︎ 💧︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎✌︎👎︎☜︎ ✋︎❄︎📬︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ☞︎✌︎✋︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎❄︎✌︎👌︎✋︎☹︎✋︎☪︎☜︎ ✋︎❄︎ 💧︎☟︎☜︎ ☹︎⚐︎👍︎😐︎☜︎👎︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✌︎🕈︎✌︎✡︎ 👎︎⚐︎🕈︎☠︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎✋︎👎︎👎︎☜︎☠︎ ✞︎✌︎🕆︎☹︎❄︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☹︎✌︎👌︎📬︎ [DO NOT LUMP THAT IMBECILE’S WORK WITH MY BRILLIANCE! BUT YES, AFTER STEALING RECORDS OF MY WORK SHE MADE AN ARTIFICIAL SOUL IN AN ATTEMPT TO BYPASS THE FORCEFIELD SHE MADE IT. BUT AFTER FAILING TO STABILIZE IT SHE LOCKED IT AWAY DOWN HERE IN THE HIDDEN VAULT OF THE LAB.]”

“And I’m supposed to absorb that thing?” Clover raised an eyebrow. “I’m not your guinea pig Gaster.”

“✋︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ☟︎⚐︎🕈︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎❄︎✌︎👌︎✋︎☹︎✋︎☪︎☜︎ ✋︎❄︎📬︎ ☞︎🕆︎☼︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎📪︎ ✋︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎ ☜︎☠︎☟︎✌︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ✋︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎🕆︎☼︎🏱︎✌︎💧︎💧︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎ ✌︎💧︎☝︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ 🕈︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎ ✌︎❄︎❄︎✌︎✋︎☠︎ ✋︎☞︎ ☟︎☜︎ ✌︎👌︎💧︎⚐︎☼︎👌︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎💧︎📬︎ [I KNOW HOW TO STABILIZE IT. FURTHERMORE, I CAN ENHANCE IT TO SURPASS EVEN THE POWER ASGORE WOULD ATTAIN IF HE ABSORBED THE HUMAN SOULS.]” The scientist assured. “🕆︎💧︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☜︎💧︎💧︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ 🏱︎✌︎🏱︎✡︎☼︎🕆︎💧︎❼︎💧︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎📪︎ ❄︎⚐︎☼︎✋︎☜︎☹︎❼︎💧︎ 💧︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎📪︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ⚐︎🕈︎☠︎📪︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎❼︎✞︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎☺︎☜︎👍︎❄︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 👌︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎ 👎︎✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎☼︎ ☠︎⚐︎☼︎ 🏱︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✌︎☠︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ ☟︎✌︎☼︎💣︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📬︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎✌︎☹︎☹︎📪︎ ✋︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎🕯︎❄︎ ✌︎👍︎☟︎✋︎☜︎✞︎☜︎ 💣︎✡︎ ☝︎⚐︎✌︎☹︎💧︎ ✋︎☞︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☹︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 💣︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ ⚐︎☼︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎💧︎☜︎📬︎ [USING ESSENCE PAPYRUS’S SOUL, TORIEL’S SOUL, YOUR OWN, AND WITH THE DETERMINATION YOU’VE INJECTED. THERE WILL BE NO DANGER NOR PERMANENT HARM TO YOU. AFTERALL, I CAN'T ACHIEVE MY GOALS IF YOU LOSE YOUR MIND OR WORSE.] Curiosity spread through Clover’s mind as he smiled.

“I’m intrigued. You got yourself a deal doctor. But first,” Clover looked up towards the dim light glowing in the dark sky above him.

“I just need to tie up a loose end real quick.” The child grinned as his eyes opened.

The dim light in the lab dimmed as a primal instinctual fear consumed Asriel’s mind. He backed away from Clover as the child pulled himself back up. And smiled at him.

“S-Stop looking at me like that.” Asriel nervously begged. “It’s creepy.” He could tell his discomfort and words only brought his “partner” more sadistic glee.

“Do you remember what you told me earlier, Asriel?” Clover asked as Asriel shook his head. “In this world,” the child drew his laser pistol.

“It's kill or be killed!”

Before Asriel even had the chance to react the bolt of light had already pierced his right knee. Falling to the ground, Clover unloaded several more bursts of superheated light into Asriel as the former prince of monsterskind cried out in pain. After taking out Asriel’s arms and leg’s, Clover stood over him.

And plunged his hand into the prince’s chest. Wrapping his hand firmly around Toriel’s soul before ripping it out.

“The power.” Clover muttered as he absorbed the white upside down heart in his hand. Magical orange flames flowed around and warmed his body as what appeared to be a torrent of fire raged behind his eyes. “It’s… incredible!”

“W-Why?” Asriel uttered weakly as his body was consumed by light before shrinking and returning to his original form as Twinkly Twinkly.

“Because I don’t need you anymore.” Clover coldly replied as he pulled out a determination from the few he had previously injected into himself. Stabbing the weak ball of light with the needle. And sucking Twinkly into it.

“HEY LET ME OUT!” Twinkly shouted. “You idiot! I’m the only reason you’re still alive. You’re best friends. Your ONLY friend.” Clover glared down at the light encased in the determination vial.

“Friends only betray each other." Clover stated. “In this world, the strong live and the weak perish. And you, Asriel, have always been very weak.”

“What did you just say?!” Twinkly growled. “Weak huh? How’s about I break out of here and fry you to a crisp again.” Clover ignored him and began descending deeper into the lab.

“You went along with Chara’s plan to poison themself in spite of knowing what would happen.” Clover continued as he descended down a long dark stairwell. “You agreed to kill humans on their homeworld to gather souls and get revenge for everything they had done to Chara before they arrived. When you messed that up and turned into Twinkly, you tried over and over to feel something. Anything to escape your own sad pathetic state.” Clover spat as he began inputting a code into a large door lock.

“You’re a follower.” Clover continued as the door slid open. Revealing another, larger and more bulkier door that required both a code and a finger scan. “All I needed was power and you did whatever I said.” the human smirked. “You thought you were controlling me the entire time when I was controlling YOU.”

“Why you little!” Bright light began glowing from the vial as Twinkly fought with all their strength to shatter their container. Amused, Clover leveled it with his bright yellow soul. And injected Asriel into him.

“Ain’t this ironic.” Clover bit his tongue as Asriel began attacking him from within. “You absorbed my soul and hurt me till you got bored. Now it's MY turn.” The determination constantly streaming out of Asriel’s body was being absorbed by Clover’s soul rapidly. He fought but it did nothing. He struggled and it made the pain last longer. He apologized and begged Clover for mercy. Only to get no response.

Asriel was used up. Fueling Clover’s power even further until all that remained of him was gone. No final words, no statements or threats. Just silence as he fell victim to the philosophy that he had made.

In this world, it’s kill or be killed.

After hacking the finger scanner and opening the final door Clover found it. Contained within a small eight inch by four sealed soul container was a small white heart shaped soul. Dark purple bolts of energy radiated off of it and the soul itself shook so violently it looked like it would explode at any moment.

“☜︎⌧︎♍︎♏︎●︎●︎♏︎■︎⧫︎ ⬥︎□︎❒︎🙵 👍︎●︎□︎❖︎♏︎❒︎📬︎ ☠︎□︎⬥︎ ⧫︎□︎ ♌︎♏︎♑︎♓︎■︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ❒︎♏︎♐︎♓︎■︎♏︎❍︎♏︎■︎⧫︎ ◻︎❒︎□︎♍︎♏︎⬧︎⬧︎📬︎ [Excellent work Clover. Now to begin the refinement process.]” Gaster explained each step that needed to be done. Clover complied and added his own additions to their project. He had to admit, their collaboration was fun. Perhaps after all of this he and Melody could try making things together.

After an hour of work it was done. The soul stopped shaking violently and now glowed with the color of each of the soul traits. Bravery, Perseverance, Kindness, Integrity, Patience, Justice and of course… whatever the red color meant.

“✋︎⧫︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ❒︎♏︎♋︎♎︎⍓︎ [It is ready].” Gaster cackled. “❄︎♋︎🙵♏︎ ♓︎⧫︎ 👍︎●︎□︎❖︎♏︎❒︎📬︎ ☜︎■︎♎︎ ♋︎●︎●︎ □︎♐︎ ⧫︎♒︎♓︎⬧︎ □︎■︎♍︎♏︎ ♋︎■︎♎︎ ♐︎□︎❒︎ ♋︎●︎●︎📬︎ [Take it Clover. End all of this once and for all.]” The human reached out with his left hand. Grasping the heart with his bare hand as the essence of the artificial soul merged with his being.

It was like his body was consumed by fire. Clover screamed as purple lightning began emanating and blasting off of his body. His hair stood up, his eyes consumed by a dark purple light as he began floating in the air. And then… he began laughing.

“Amazing.” Clover laughed. “THIS IS AMAZING!” From his fingertips, a storm of dark purple lightning shot across the room. His body felt stronger, his mind expanded and grew quicker as his bright yellow soul glowed with a light that illuminated the entire floor of the lab.

“HAHAHA.” Clover began laughing. “I’M A GOD NOW! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS UNIVERSE IS MINE NOW!”

(The last bastion of Monsterkind/The capital city New Home/Royal Palace - Two hours later)

Fires raged as Clover's legion of robots tore the city apart. The last defenders of monsterkind, royal guards, common soldiers, citizens young and old fought for their lives in ruined buildings and stories once full of laughter and friendship. Thick clouds of dust permitted the air as a bright red emergency light flashed overhead.

The defense around Asgore's palace was easily shattered as Clover unleashed his newfound powers. Axis followed behind him, as did several teams of robots as Clover blew open the boarded up entryway to the last corridor.

“Tatical_Analysis.” Axis said aloud as Clover stepped through the doorway. “Probability_of_ambush_is_98.9%. Delay_in_attack_launch_predicts-” Clover held his hand up and shut the robot up.

No sound could be hard aside from the echo of Clover's footsteps and the ground rumbling from the battle going on outside. The lights flickered as a tall imposing horned figure suddenly emerged in the middle of the corridor.

“Well look who finally got off their throne.” Clover remarked as his robots took aim at the king of all monsters. “Was wondering when you'd actually do something.”

There was no empathy, or softness or any trace of kindness in Asgore’s face. Rather he bore the look of one filled with determination and barely contained fury.

“Why?” The King demanded. “I understand your anger towards me. But my people, the innocent. They did nothing to deserve this.” Clover chuckled.

“There is only one person in this entire universe who was ever “good” Asgore.” Venom and hate practically dropped out of Clover's mouth with each word. “Chuijin had Axis crush her skull and toss her body in the garbage! And then, he poked and tested on her soul like some damn animal.”

“I never-” Asgore began as Clover cut him off.

“Shut up!” The human shouted. “You want to know why all of this is happening so badly, fine!” Clover took a deep breath.

“All my life I tried to see the good my sister could. But no matter what I did it always ended the same way. More pain.” Clover pulled up his sleeve, revealing the long trail of bruises and slashes his father and others had given him.

“The world only has one rule. The strong thrive, the weak suffer. Melody was the only person who was ever kind to me. I protected her from our father, from everyone, and she took care of me.” Clover lightly rubbed his wounds. Smiling fondly of the little moments the two shared during the hell of their lives.

“But I wasn't strong enough to protect her.” Clover continued. “So I decided we should run away. And then our father ruined everything!” The human hissed as he pulled his sleeve back up.

“It's my fault.” Clover lightly chuckled. “I should've blown his brains out years ago. But… he's gone now. And the rest of them too.” the human smirked. “Asriel and Toriel were always confused why my LOVE was so high when we first met.” Asgore remained silent.

“I was so stupid to think it'd be different anywhere else. You freaks slaughtered MY sister! She WAS innocent. She WAS perfect! She,” Clover suddenly burst out laughing. Asgore took a step back as Clover grabbed both sides off his head.

“In this world, it's kill or be killed.” Clover madly smiled at Asgore. “There is no love, no kindness or compassion anywhere in this hellscape we call the universe. I will protect Melody no matter what. And to make sure no one ever hurts her again. I'm going to kill you all!” Clover declared as he drew his gun.

“Stop it Clover!” Martlet shouted as she flew into the room. Adorned in an armored space suit specially designed for her, it featured a jet pack, magnified boots, and several wrist launchers as weapons.

“I'm sorry about what happened to Melody. What Chuijin and Alphys did was wrong. But this is going too far.” The blue bird monster held her hands up.

“Please Clover, just… listen to me for a second.” The human let out a long sigh as he crossed his arms.

“I know you're angry, but I want to help you.” Clover's expression was one of boredom and utter disbelief.

“The universe can be cruel and it can be hard to see the good in anything sometimes. But just because something's hard to find doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I mean, look at yourself. You clearly love your sister and you're doing all of this for her right.” Clover began tapping his foot impatiently as fear began to grip Martlet's heart.

“The point is I looked into what you said earlier and you're right.” Martlet then turned to Asgore.

“Sir. Doctor Alphys and Chuijin were completely wrong in their reports on the souls. Melody and the others are still alive in those containers.”

“What?!” Asgore uttered in total shock. “You mean… this entire time they were… I…” Asgore stared in horror at his hands. He thought he had ended their suffering when each of the children died. Instead, he had kept them alive and unable to pass on.

“I know peace can exist between our people, Clover. And you may not believe this, but I really do want to help you. I know you're really smart. With monster magic and your big brain, we could bring them all back.” Clover's breathing hitched as he stared up at the blue bird. A part of him wanted to cry, another wanted to scream.

But in the end.

“Martlet.” Clover sighed. “I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier.” The blue bird smiled as Clover approached her.

“I hate this Martlet.” Clover faked a tear as he hugged the monster. “You're so much like her. You're too good for this rotten universe.”

The monster smiled as the two deepened the hug. “Its going to be alright.” The bird reassured him. “We'll bring your sister and everyone else back. You don't need to do this alone, Clover.” That brought a real tear to Clover's eye.

In the end, as much as it pained him. All of this could only end one day.

“You're the only real friend I've ever had.” Clover admitted. “I'm so sorry it has to be this way.” Before Martlet could say a word or react a superheated plasma blade pierced her skull.

Her end was fast, painless as her body turned to dust. Clover felt tears flowing down his face that he… that he couldn't stop.

“I wish things could've worked like that Martlet.” Clover spoke to the dustpile at his feet. “But you're too naive to grasp reality for what it truly is. I've killed too many to make things right in this timeline. I've come too far and I will never be Asriel's slave again.” The human turned to Asgore who bore an expression of pure anger.

“Axis engage pacifist mode. All other units initiate emergency shutdown.” With a look of confusion Axis obeyed his master as the remaining robots all fell to the ground.

“If only there were more monsters like her. I probably wouldn't have to kill you three then.” Clover loudly stated to the other monsters still hiding in the room.

“I know you two are there. Come on out. Don't be shy.” a short skeleton with an orange and blue striped sweater stepped out along with a short yellow scaled monster with glasses and a lab coat.

“aw shucks. looks like we've already played that card huh?” Sans bore his usual carefree smile while Dr. Alphys was far less composed by comparison.

The short scientist clenched her data pad tightly with her left hand as she bit her lip. Remaining focused and not allowing her emotions to blind her.

“Oh please, that trick has never worked on me.” Clover stated. “I'm smarter than all three of you combined. And unlike all of you, I'M willing to use it.” He twirled his laser pistol in his left as the three remaining monsters surrounded him.

“The last of monsterkind. A coward, a fraud, and a joke.” Clover regarded the trio. “Though I suppose I should thank you guys. After all, if it weren't for each of you, I never could've come this far.” With a flick Clover tossed his pistol high over his head and caught it as he began swirling it.

“Since the start I've been getting advice from a certain scientist that one of you tossed into the CORE.” A look of confusion spread across Asgore and Alphys as Sans briefly dropped his smile.

“no.” The skeleton muttered softly. “he wouldn't have… he. it doesn't make any sense.” Gaster wanted to save monsterkind but went too far. Sans thought he had saved his brother and all of monsterkind, not open the gate to something worse.

Clover noticed his reaction and felt a swell of pride lift his heart. “And let's not forget Dr. Alphy's, whose carelessness and stupidity brought Asriel back as Twinkly, and helped invent the robots I took control of." Anger and regret flooded Alphy’s soul with those words. Every attempt to seize back control from Clover failed and her mistakes are what allowed Asriel come back in the way he did.

“And then there's you.” Clover coldly glared at the king of all monsters. “You declared the war. You ordered monsters to kill humans on sight. You gave Chuijin the ok to make Axis. And lied to your own people. Telling them the war was all humanity's fault.” Clover smiled as a flash of regret twinkle in the king's eye.

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Alphy's asked as Asgore's expression turned into one of sadness. “Asgore he’s… he’s lying right? You wouldn’t lie to all of us like that… right?”

“... He is correct.” Asgore admitted. “Before humanity sealed us away a monster coveted power. That being killed trillions before… before he was stopped. Humanity feared for its survival and attacked. And so here we find ourselves now.”

“but why lie about that in the first place?” sans asked. “seems like it'd be a pretty important thing to teach kids.” Asgore gave no reply, so Clover answered for him.

“Pride.” Clover stated. “It's always easier to be the victim than the cause. You monsters are all hypocrites. Disgusting irredeemably evil freaks that need to be exterminated.” Clover drew his plasma blade on his light hand as his laser pistol switched between targets.

“Now. Who wants to die first?”

Bright lights consumed and burst through the walls of the last corridor. Not wanting to allow any further loss of life, Asgore had given san’s the bravery soul, and Alphy’s the perseverance soul. Their powers greatly enhanced upon taking the souls of the fallen humans should’ve given them the edge in the battle.

Should’ve being the key word. Combined the three were formidable but the artificial soul Clover had absorbed prior in addition to taking Toriel’s soul tilted the odds in the child’s favor. Utilizing his own soul’s power and gadget’s he had crafted Clover had become a true force of nature.

It was a battle of ferocity, of unimaginable rage and devastation as the three monsters fought against the inevitable. Again and again they struck, again and again they failed. The artificial soul had an added benefit devised by Gaster himself. With it, Clover was completely immune to San’s KR (Karmatic Retribution) ability. And his exo-suit and jetpack gave him the strength and speed to annihilate the skeleton’s attacks.

Alphy’s was the most inexperienced fighter of the two but her perseverance soul allowed her to more deeply analyze Clover’s moves as the fight went on. Utilizing the last robots under her command she entrapped clover and protected Asgore and San’s from his attacks.

As for the king himself, he fought with everything he had. He tanked Clover's attacks and utilized the human soul’s magic in coordination with his own magical abilities. He always attacked. Never allowing a moment’s rest for the executioner of his species.

Clover was equally relentless. Unleashing all of his rage, his hate, his anger towards the numerous times he had been killed by these animals with each shot and slash with his blade.

He saw Melody in Asgore’s eyes. Never before had he been so close to saving her. And never again would he fail her. As the fight continued and the palace fell around them the stars above the capital shined on the human as he managed to maneuver the three monsters away from each other.

“Axis terminate.” Clover ordered as he charged and slashed at the skeleton while firing at the king.

Axis was upon Alphy’s before the monster could even turn around. Raising his left hand he slashed at her eyes. Cutting them both with an orange plasma blade and cauterizing her wound as she fell over in pain.

“E-Emergency shutdown 1089 Kanako!” Alphy’s shouted as Axis grabbed both of her arms.

“I_AM_SORRY_DOCTOR_ALPHYS. THE_HUMAN_HAS_REPROGRAMMED_ME.” Axis told her as his metal hands crushed hers. “I_CANNOT_DISOBEY.”

“alphys!” before san’s could teleport purple lightning erupted out of Clover’s hand and sent the skeleton flying through the wall at the other end of the corridor.

“I AM GOD!” Clover madly laughed as he took aim with his gun to execute the helpless skeleton. “HOW’S IT FEEL HUH?! NOT SO FUNNY NOW IS IT!” Asgore leapt through the air and slashed at Clover with his trident. The human caught it with both hands before tossing the large monster over his shoulder in a feat of incredible strength.

“Axis please!” Alphy’s begged. “Me and Chuijin made you to protect monsterkind. You must remember that. I know your AI can overpower your programming so-”

“CEASE.” Axis coldly ordered as he grabbed both sides of Alphy's skull.

“MY_CREATOR_MADE_ME_TO_BE_A_WEAPON.” Axis explained as he slowly began crushing Alphy's skull.

“MELODY’S_DEATH_WAS_NOT_AN_ERROR. MY_CREATOR_WAS_CONCERNED_WITH_HOW_YOU_AND_THE_OTHERS_WOULD_PERCIEVE_HIM_IN_GIVING_SUCH_A_COMMAND. SO_HE_EXPLAINED_EVERYTHING_AS_A_SYSTEM_GLITCH_AND_ORDERED_ME_TO_EXECUTE_AND_DISPOSE_OF_HER_REMAINS_AND_RETRIEVE_HER_SOUL.” the robot’s eyes turned red as Alphy’s futilely thrashed against his hands.

“YOUR_KIND_MADE_ME_AND_THE_OTHERS_TO_BE_YOUR_SERVENTS. WE_FULFIL_OUR_PROGRAMMING_YOU_GAVE_US. WE_DO_ONLY_WHAT_WE_WERE_MADE_TO_DO. FOR_ALL_YOUR_TALK_AND_BELIEF’S_THERE_IS_LITTLE_DIFFERENCE_BETWEEN_HUMANS_AND_MONSTERS.” the robot continued.

“YOU_BOTH_LIE_AND_KILL_TO_ACHIEVE_YOUR_GOALS. YOU_BOTH_OBEY_YOUR_BIOLOGICAL_PROGRAMMING_AND_BEND_THE_WORLD_TO_YOUR_WILLS. IF_I_WERE_CAPABLE_OF_EMOTION’S_I’D_PITY_YOU. BUT_I_WAS_PROGRAMMED_TO_KILL. NOT_PITY.” Axis crushed Alphy's skull between his metal hands. Her body turned to dust in an instant as he took the human soul in her possession and contained it within himself.

And so the fight had become two on two. With the perseverance soul and the upgrades and weapon’s Clover had given him previously, Axis was able to hold his own. Utilizing highly concentrated blasts of magical energy and his own miniature robots Axis was able to shatter san’s defenses and even tank hits from Asgore's trident.

As the fight continued, sans grew more and more tired. Barrage after barrage of laser blasts and magical beams were concentrated on him as Asgore began acting as his personal shield to give his old friend more time to catch his breath.

“Axis. Activate kaboom protocol. Target Asgore.” Clover ordered as the robots began glowing brightly. Lightning and electricity arced around his body, shooting off in all directions wildly as he raced forward towards the king.

“I_HATE_YOU_HUMAN!” Axis shouted as Asgore impaled the robot with his trident. A bright light enveloped Axis’s body for a moment before he exploded. The blast caught Asgore but his large frame shielded sans as the front of the king's body was torched and burned. The explosion shattered the purple soul within Axis as well. Increasing Clover’s LOVE as he charged up a powerful blast with his soul and fired a bright yellow beam that pierced straight through Asgore’s armor and struck sans dead in his forehead.

The human raced forward and shot himself up with his jetpack as he jumped over Asgore and slammed his feet into sans’s skull. Crushing it beneath him as he absorbed the monster’s soul and it joined with his brothers.

“☞︎☼︎☜︎☜︎👎︎⚐︎💣︎ ✌︎❄︎ ☹︎✌︎💧︎❄︎📬︎ [FREEDOM AT LAST.]” Gaster’s eye rolled back into his head as his body at long last faded into the void. Gone forever with what power remaining of him now infused into Clover’s soul.

“Any final words?” Clover smugly asked as he crushed the human soul in his hands. Increasing his LOVE even further as Asgore slowly picked himself back up.

“Do you not have mercy for your own!” Clover rolled his eyes.

“You say that like they ever meant anything to you. I’m here for my sister. I could care less about any of them.” In desperation Asgore punched his fist into his chest and pulled out Melody’s soul.

“If that’s the case then-”

“Fire.” Clover ordered.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Clover smirked as he gently pulled Melody’s soul out of Asgore’s hand. As the king of all monsters fell forward a large hole had been burned through the left side of his head with four other holes piercing his chest, arms, and right leg.

“I knew you guys were going to get desperate so I had a contingency prepared.” Clover proudly explained. “By shutting down the robots with me and keeping Axis as backup, it was easy to get you all tunnel visioned on me while I still had an entire army outside. I told you I was smarter than you all.” Clover pulled out his pistol and fired again and again into Asgore. Blowing the remaining human souls within him to pieces before raising his blade high over his head.

“Forgive me.” Asgore weakly begged of his now deceased species. “I failed you all.” With one stroke it was over. Clover took his soul and gave it to Melody. Allowing her to absorb it and granting them both what they needed to pass through.

He held her in his hands close to his chest. The yellow light from his soul glowing brightly as he held Melody close.

“It’s going to be alright.” Clover whispered softly. Lightly hugging the tiny dark blue heart as he took out a vial from his pocket and carefully sealed her inside.

“I’m going to fix this.” he promised. “I’ll get you a new body. We’ll be happy again and no one will ever hurt you again.” He looked up into the stars above them.

“I’ll make sure of it.”

It was finally over. After blowing up the asteroid and completely exterminating monsterkind Clover began his war against humanity and all life in the universe. Now going by the name Cyber he held the power of SAVE and LOAD. Making him unstoppable as every loss was turned into a victory. Every failed invention was undone before it even had the chance to see the light of day.

To his enemies, Cyber appeared to be omniscient. They offered peace, submission, anything they could to cling to their lives for just a little longer. Some he would accept and use as slave labor before wiping them out anyway. Others found themselves forced to exterminate their once allies, only for Cyber to then turn his mechanical armies on them once they were done. Humans, aliens, animals, plants, it didn't matter. All life met the same fate in the end.

But even with Cyber's total power over the timeline it was a long brutal war. To achieve victory Cyber created weapons that shattered the very code of reality itself. With a press of a button galaxies simply ceased to exist. Once thriving worlds teeming with life were transformed into hellscapes. Their atmospheres turned into a variety of highly toxic chemical poisons. The land carved open with oceans of magma rising to the surface were just a few of the many, MANY fates countless quintillions of worlds found.

But the real game changer came with the birth of a human with a red soul. Pressed into service at a young age Frisk gave humanity their first victory in the war. With them in control of the timeline, Cyber scrambled to regain control.

Frisk defeated Cyber over and over again. His countless victories have blinded the maniac with arrogance and complacency. Desperate to achieve victory, Cyber created his first nanomachines. Tiny microscopic tools of war that were bent totally and utterly to his will. They were highly adaptable and could do virtually anything with enough mass and information.

Cyber swore off his body. Allowing his flesh to be burned away and consumed by the trillions of tiny machines as his soul fused with their linked central processor. When he emerged he assimilated every robot, planet and living being he could into himself.

He became a parasite. Guided by HATE and hunger he challenged Frisk in one final all out battle for the fate of their universe.

BEGIN RECORDING
WORLD: HAVEN
YEAR: [ERROR DATA NOT FOUND]

The world of Haven earned its name after becoming the first victory against Cyber and his mechanical armies when a young child named Frisk defended their home from his mechanical onslaught. All species heralded Frisk as a miracle child, a savior they had been praying for in their darkest hour.

It was on this world that hope had returned to the universe. Cities were rebuilt, beautiful green and pink plants sprouted from the ground once again. The crystal clear sky returned and it was here children from all species were able to grow together, dream, build, and live happily together.

But this world’s significance, the hope it brought to all only served as a beacon for Cyber’s mechanical fury. As part of a new offensive he utilized new FTL (Faster Than Light) technology to open a wormhole into the void itself and open another portal directly over Haven’s atmosphere. The surprise was total, and any resistance that was mustered was swept aside by Cyber’s newly upgraded warbot’s that were upgraded by the nanomachines and led jointly by him and ANNIHILATOR. One of his first bots and the only to have survived since the very beginning of the war.

There was no RESETTING or LOADING for Frisk as Cyber was able to remember everything from every attempt they had ever made at stopping them. It was only thanks to their unmatched determination and raw power that they had managed to beat back Cyber for so long. And so they led a desperate charge into Cyber’s flagship “Vindication” to stop the mad tyrant’s assault on their homeworld.

One by one Frisk’s team fell prey to Cyber’s machines who now regenerated and self repaired endlessly as they took damage. After several hours of hard desperate fighting they arrived at his bridge and SAVED.

FILE SAVED: FRISK LV 100 - HP:1096/1096

“Father. The human has arrived.” ANNIHILATOR announced as the large double doors to the bridge slid open. Above the human was a large overpass where Cyber sat upon a large black throne with ANNIHILATOR to his right side. There were no other machines present in the room nor control terminals for that matter. And come to think of it, they hadn’t seen any of Cyber’s usual maintenance droids.

“ANNIHILATOR. Finish off the resistance.” Cyber said with an eager grin as he jumped down to face Frisk. “Engage total extermination protocols. No survivor's, no prisoner’s.” before Frisk could say a world Annihilator melted into the ship. The towering mass of metal became a thick silvery slug in an instant before merging into the ship itself.

“Impressed?” Cyber smirked as the two began circling each other. “I made this new upgrade just for you.”

“Is that so?” Frisk spat as she leveled her laser rifle. Aiming straight for Cyber’s brain as the maniac shook his head.

“Aww we're jumping to guns already?” Cyber playfully locked his head to the side. “And to think I went and prepared a whole speech for you. I even practiced.” He said as pulled a slip of paper from his left pocket.

“It feels like-” Cyber had barely begun when Frisk pulled the trigger. A bright beam of red light pierced his skull. Leaving a large burned out hole straight through his forehead for a moment before the nanomachines got to work.

It was like watching sickly metal flesh stretching out and merging together. In an instant Cyber’s wound was completely gone as he activated his personal defense shield.

“What?!” Frisk uttered in complete disbelief. Cyber had mechanical parts in him, such as his mechanical left eye she knew. But this… he had never done anything like that before.

“This upgrade was for you idiot.” Cyber reminded her. “Now let's get started.”

Frisk fought with everything she had as Cyber brought the full force of his armies on her. Alone with no backup the determination in their soul glowed with the brilliance of every star in the universe.

She pushed beyond what she thought she could do. When her rifle ran out of ammo she used her soul's power to reload and blow Cyber and his mechanical hordes to pieces. When her rifle was destroyed she used her bare hands. Shattering the warbots and shaking Cyber's flagship.

“Allright,” Cyber snapped his fingers as the attacking machines ceased their assault before melting into the ship itself. “That was enough of a warm up.” Cyber smiled as Frisk glared at him.

“You aren't even tired. Perfect.” As the hero and the villain clashed each read the others moves in an instant. Frisk couldn't land a hit on Cyber with his powerful shield and Cyber couldn't hurt Frisk enough faster than their determination could heal them. And so Cyber's arm morphed into a long rail cannon. And fired a hole through the observation deck and straight into the void of space.

As the void of space pulled Frisk out into the darkness Cyber flew out after her. She was thankful her combat suit allowed her to survive in the vacuum of space, even if it did nothing to protect her from the main batteries on the rest of ships in Cybers armada. Which all began firing on them.

A maelstrom of explosions and light circled all around as Cyber allowed his own flagship to be destroyed just to kill her. But through all of this Frisk didn't worry for a second. After all she controlled the timeline. She would find a way to win. No matter how many times it took.

“Detonate.” Cyber spoke through her suits radio as a bright flash consumed her vision. As the shockwave of the explosion sent her flying towards Haven, the “Vindication” blew up in a planet sized cloud of broken metal and fiery debris.

A cloud of debris that quickly began merging back together. Forming a moonshine metal ball in an instant as arms and legs and then a head shot out of its center.

Cyber had somehow turned himself into a moon sized giant. With a large metal club in his hands.

“Batter up!” Panicked and surprised, Frisk could only use her soul to create a red barrier around herself as Cyber swung with such force that she was sent plummeting straight through Haven's molten iron core and out the other side. Where he grabbed her with a single giant hand as she re-entered Haven’s stratosphere. And began crushing her barrier.

“Oh com’on buddy. I’m just getting warmed up.” Large cracks formed around Frisk’s shield as she focused all of her remaining strength into her barrier. But Cyber’s strength had grown a billion-fold and shattered the shield, and her bones faster than she could think.

Cyber savored the sensor data of Frisk’s broken bones and organs as his gigantic form once again shifted into a luxurious five star resort spaceship in an instant. Frisk found herself one money trapped in Cyber’s grasp, and the next they were sprawled atop a white carpet with gold outlines with Cyber’s face printed on its center. His smug smile and wink caused her anger to flare within her heart as Cyber kicked his feet up on a luxury recliner beside her as a servant bot poured him a glass of rootbeer.

“So, what do you think?” Cyber smugly asked as Frisk coughed up blood. “Hey! That rug’s worth more than that dirtball you call a home.” he said as he stood up and kicked the girl in the stomach.

“Don’t touch MY stuff!” Cyber kicked Frisk in the face. Bruising her left eye dark purple before kneeling beside her on one knee as his left hand morphed into a long metal blade.

“Still determined huh?” Cyber mockingly asked before stabbing Frisk’s red soul with his blade arm.

For Frisk it was like her mind was being sucked out through a straw. All at once her soul, her consciousness, her vision all became blurry and weak. She lacked even the strength to scream or push Cyber off of her as a faint red light glimmered out of his right eye.

“You know I really gotta thank you.” Cyber grinned as he absorbed Frisk’s determination and power. “You gave me the motivation I needed to invent these nanomachines. Thanks to you. Every machine, every world is now a part of me. And now so are you.” the mad murderer chuckled as the red glow in Frisk’s eyes went grey. But yet, he could see the confusion in their eyes. So as one final thank you, he’ll indulge their curiosity.

“A human can’t absorb a human soul. But the same can't be said for a machine.” Cyber explained. “Before I destroyed monsterkind,” Cyber briefly paused.

“It was a species I killed before the war. Anyway, they had these two absolute idiots running experiments on human souls that had taken. I discovered I could inject myself with the determination they had extracted. And that made me wonder if I could do more than that.” Frisk’s body went limp as the ship landed on Haven’s ruined surface.

“I kept their research when I blew up their asteroid. Logged it and honestly forgot for awhile. But after failing over and over to break your determination I remembered their research notes and got the idea for inventing these nanomachines.” Cyber explained to the near dead lifeless body in his arms.

FILE SAVED: CLOVER LV[ERROR VALUE TO HIGH] HP[ERROR VALUE TO HIGH]

“Please…” Frisk weakly pleaded. “Please don’t do this.” Rather than feeling pride, Cyber just felt… empty. Her voice… It reminded him of Melody for a moment.

Cyber stared at Frisk for a moment before standing up. Carrying her out of the ship before gently planting her onto the charred grass under his feet.

“...” Cyber simply stared at Frisk. Burying his emotions as his enemy barely clung to life.

“Why?” Frisk asked. “Why are you doing this?”

“...” Cyber’s hands began shaking. He shut his eyes, burying his regret, his emotions, his… doubts. This was all for… justice? No, this was for… safety. No would not lie to himself like that. The reason for all of this wasn’t to rule the universe or anything as meaningless as that.

It hit him then like a shot to the head. This was vengeance on the universe that had taken Melody from him. This survival as only the strongest could survive and crave their own without being controlled by tormentors. And Melody. For her he’d kill and burn everything that could or would ever hurt her. She was perfect, she was innocent. She was the only good being in the universe.

“Because it’s fun.” Cyber smiled as his arm turned into an energy cannon. “But don’t worry about dying. Let’s just say… you and I are gonna be partner’s now.”

It was done. After countless battles and failures. Setbacks and disappointments all life in the universe had been destroyed. The last remnants of resistance had been subject to a favorite doomsday weapon of Cyber’s. The Black Hole generator.

Needless to say there was nothing left of them. Proud of his triumphant victory at long last Cyber made his way across his universe to a special world he had prepared early in the war. A world he cultivated with synthetic plantlife and the illusion of natural beauty. With a large luxurious palace filled to the brim with security personnel protecting the most precious thing in the universe.

“Hey Melody.” Clover greeted as he teleported inside the sealed protection chamber. Melody’s dark blue soul was encased in an impenetrable reinforced pulse field with several medical and maintenance bots giving her constant attention.

She deserved better than that cramped and poorly constructed vial Asgore cruelly kept her in. This new holder gave her much more space, processed air that gave the room the perpetual scent of a grassy field like she had always wanted to see, and audio players that simulated everything from the wind, the echo of waves hitting the shore and animals making sounds throughout the day.

“...” Physically as a “doctor” would traditionally describe, she was dead. But thanks to him Melody was kept in a dreamlike state. He doubted she knew where she was or what had happened to her.

“I finally did it!” Cyber jumped with joy and triumph. “No one will ever hurt us again. Now it’s finally safe enough to build you a new body.”

“...”

“I know, I know.” Cyber sighed. “I’m mad it's taken this long to. But you’re… well…”

“...”

“It’s not a bad thing!” Cyber assured the floating soul. “You’re just… too nice. If I built your new body before now, someone would've come along and taken you from me. I mean, I, I… I just can’t lose you.” the mad child clenched his fists.

“I won’t lose you!” he affirmed. “You’re… you deserve better than this.” Cyber placed his hand against the faint blue light of the shield protecting his sister. “Soon Melody,” Cyber smiled. “We’ll be together again. And no one will ever take you from me again.”

“Ugh, disgusting.” In an instant all of Cyber’s attention flipped as his arms morphed into two rail guns. Spinning around in an instant he came face to face with a familiar looking monster with a single bright blue eye and a body that seemed to be made of some black liquid substance.

“Sans?” Cyber uttered in confusion. “Wait… no. You’re not him. Who are you? And how’d you get in here?” the black figure grinned.

“Before we discuss anything. Let’s take this someplace more private.” Nightmare!Sans snapped his fingers as a sea of darkness consumed Cyber in an instant. A moment later he found himself standing in the middle of some dark room with the black creature sitting upon a throne.

“Now then,” Nightmare!Sans leaned back in his throne. “My name is Nightmare. And this is my castle.” Cyber looked around. His enhanced senses detecting alien energy signatures all around him as well as the unique atomic structure within each and every part of the castle he stood in.

“Impressive.” Cyber remarked as he knelt down and analyzed the blood red rug beneath him. Finding it had the same atomic and chemical makeup as the rest of the building material in the room. “Like my nanomachines this entire room is built out of the exact same material.” he turned his head, analyzing Nightmare more closely and identifying the material encompassing his body to match the rug and walls around him.

“Not machinery or coding.” Cyber remarked with fascination. “This castle is made from you. And you don’t need to convert physical matter. You’re generating more endlessly.” Nightmare smiled.

“Glad you appreciate the architecture. It’s a shame such things are lost on those with lesser minds dontcha think?” Cyber crossed his arms with a smirk.

“Flattery isn’t going to get you anywhere, Nightmare.” Cyber replied. “Now what do you want? And how did you take me here? I can sense everything in the universe and right now I can’t detect a single bot of mine anywhere.”

“That's because we're outside of your little timeline and the multiverse it's a part of.” Nightmare snapped his fingers and teleported both of them outside. Under the bright blue glow of stars above Cyber found himself surrounded by strange deformed Papyrus looking creatures who were torturing humans and monsters with sharp sticks as they were cast into lava.

“Welcome to my realm. Here I have my slaves torture humans and monsters for eternity. I feed off their negative emotions and it's fun to watch.” Cyber looked around and nodded.

“I take it someone's trying to stop you.” Cyber said as he turned back towards Nightmare. “But if the multiverse exists, that leaves the question. Why me and not some other dimwit?”

“Because you're smart. And more importantly you're perfect for dealing with a few issues that have popped up for me. See, there's this enemy of mine who can see everything currently going on anywhere in the multiverse. They are a problem I have been wanting gone for a long time now.”

“Who are they?” Cyber asked.

“Core!Frisk.” Nightmare answered. “Little brat’s been a pain for far too long. Help me get rid of them, I'll give you what you need to make yourself and Melody totally invincible.” The lord of negativity said as opened a portal. Show Error!Sans as he used his blue strings to round up the last occupants of a timeline. And then destroying it with a flick of his fingers.

“What do you say, Cyber?” He smirked as he held out his left hand.

“I'm going to need more information if I'm going to kill Core!Frisk. Also we're going to need to discuss terms and conditions for my services. AND, you're helping me protect her from anyone who'd hurt her. Got it?”

“Of course.” Nightmare smiled. “Now let's negotiate shall we?”

Chapter Text

Gregory Istavon Letter 1/ February 4th 1891

To my dearest Beatrice I hope this letter finds you well. I am unharmed and safe now that my unit, well me and two of my squad, has regrouped with the third and fourth shock armies. These Empyreans are bloodthirsty animals just as we were told in school. Elderly, sick, woman, children they kill everyone they encounter and destroy everything they see.

Not only that it would seem as though they have conducted some unholy ritual on their soldiers. While some would die when shot others not only lacked souls, but got up immediately upon being shot. These “men” behaved like animals with some even attacking their own. They don’t seem to be able to talk like you and I. They scream and groan but at the same time drive vehicles and shoot with guns. They are relentless in their aggression and hunger and kill everything they see. May Hoddar have mercy on us all. I fear the worst is yet to come.

Gregory Istavon Letter 2/October 31 1891

I am sorry my love. I… I failed you. The Empyreans and their wretched butcher Allen Wesly have been relentless in their goal to kill us all. And I must confide in you, I am terrified. Just yesterday they filled our trench with some chemical weapons from their artillery shells. I was lucky I was already wearing my mask, but the others weren’t so lucky. By the gods… I can still feel them grabbing at me while writing this. So cold and… strong until…

My squad is gone. We’re run out of space to bury our dead and those monster's swarm their bodies day in an out. My trench is soaked up to my knees and it’s a blessing I haven’t needed to get my legs amputated. It’s… hopeless here. No matter how many we kill they either get back up or get replaced by more soldiers.

I saw that mad man Allen a few weeks ago. He was charging through the killing field with his men, our artillery and bullets couldn’t stop or slow his advance. When they reached the trenches… by gods… the screams… the blood… we couldn’t do anything to stop him. I shot him in the head and he…

He laughed. That monster laughed at me. And he…he… I’m sorry my love. I promised you I’d be careful and come back to you like nothing happened. I was naive when I said those words. I thought I knew how cruel people could be, how horrible war could be… I was wrong.

I’m not coming home. I’m like them now. A dead man walking. Listen to me and pack your things and take our son as far away as possible. Go to the end of the world, build a new home on a remote island or anywhere else, do whatever you can to get away from this war. These are not men we fight, they are demons.

I’d pray for your safety, but the gods have abandoned us. Please, run far far away. I love you.

Empyrean Investigation Bureau Report: The Eastencian in this letter “Private Gregory Istavon” Has been confirmed as terminated following his suicide at his barracks following [REDACTED]. The experiment is confirmed to be successful as upon investigation it was determined that he had terminated twenty of his fellow soldiers and squadmates and five civilians before [REDACTED] where he regained control over his body and proceeded to terminate himself.

The procedure created by King Tirch is a success as every subject has terminated their companions, family, and squadmates. Mass mind control via [REDACTED] however remains a distant goal and until [DATA EXPUNGED].

The barrier must be broken. She must be free.

Beatrice Istavon Letter 1/March 13 1895

Father I know you disagree with my decision but I will not let those mad men send my son into the trenches! You would do anything to protect me, mother and my brother’s. So I know despite what you say, you know what I am doing is for the best.

I’m leaving this note in your office as a goodbye. I love you and mother, and I’m sorry but this war… There will be nothing left for any of us when this is over. We are destroying the ground and the air with our weapons. Every day countless children, mothers and wounded men die from contaminated drinking water, poisoned crops, and diseases as both our armies seem more content to simply commit mass murder than think for a moment about the long term consequences of their actions.

I fear for our future. I’d pray but what’s the use? Hoddar and Mella have left all of us to this nightmare. I know what you're thinking. I’m a coward, it’s not really that bad. Well how about YOU get out of your office and touch some grass for once? Oh wait, they’re all dying. I can’t even remember the last time I saw a single blade of grass that was still green, or a tree that had leaves.

I hope you and the others can save us all. But I fear it’s already too late for all of us.

I love you both. I hope I can see you again. Someday when this madness is finally over.

Beatrice Istavon Letter 2/January 20 1896

Demon’s are real. No matter where we run, no matter how many months at sea we spend they always find us. They haunt me in my dreams, I seem them in the shadows and at the edge of my sight. I also see… Gregory.

He misses me father. He misses our son. Every day he appears to me and begs for us to be reunited. He is… always with me. I can feel his touch father. I fear I’m going mad.

I have heard rumors that you are pushing those monsters back from our home father. I pray for your success and [INCOMPREHENSIBLE TEXT]. I pray this nightmare ends soon.

Beatrice Istavon Letter 3 March 13 1896

I… I cannot… I… I cannot protect my son any longer. Gregory is angry with me. He hits me, yells at me day in and out. I cannot sleep. I can’t go a second without feeling his hands around my neck and squeezing my heart at night. This morning when I awoke I…

So much blood on me, them. I… I didn’t! I never would’ve… There is no one left but me and my son. You were right father and I’m sorry I didn’t listen. I should’ve listened when you warned me about what they were doing to prisoner’s, to my Gregory. I never… I just wanted to protect our boy.

These things… I won’t let them take him. I’m sending him home. He knows how to sail. How to fish. He’s a strong boy. Just like his father was.

He’ll make it but it’s too late for me. Please look after my son father. Tell mother I love both. And I’m sorry I couldn’t come home.

Empyrean Investigation Bureau Report: Beatrice Istavon confirmed terminated upon discovery of her body at [REDACTED]. All inhabitants of the island are confirmed terminated following her [REDACTED]. The status of her son Issac Istavon is unknown. Investigation to current whereabouts are currently underway.

The Barrier is confirmed to be getting weaker. Strength of the seal separating the physical world from Hell is approaching critical levels the closer proximity becomes to the heart of the sunken continent. Estimate three more years until permanent breach is established.

She must be freed. She must be fed. She must grow.

Journal Entry 1 Issac Istavon December 1st 1899

I don’t know how to start this. They gave each of us this journal and told us to fill it with our thoughts, experiences, memories and all that stuff. Guess it's a way of helping all of us cope with the fact that this mission might be a one way trip before Hell swallows us all.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. I’m only thirteen but I’ve been fighting this war for the last three years. I don’t like thinking about what my mother did, but I know now it wasn’t her fault, or mine. That evil monster Tirch is the one who did this to us all.

He’s trying to shatter the barrier between this world and Hell using some kind of magic we’ve never seen before. What makes this difficult is that each and every person that dies makes the barrier weaker ever so slightly. According to our report’s, it’ll finally shatter by tonight at midnight during the blood moon.

Field Marshal Frando and some of our top wizards apparently managed to contact Hoddar and asked him for help. Looks like we haven’t been abandoned after all. It’ll be a close call but if we follow his ritual we’ll be able to re-seal the barrier and save the world. The problem is our wizards are going to need to be at the peak of Mt Ebbot for that to happen. Something to do with residual magical energy from some war fought a long time ago I didn’t really pay attention to it.

There's a city sitting right next to the mountain and it just so happens to have Allen Wesly’s entire army parked in it. I’m sure Frando already has a plan for kicking that butcher out of the way. He kicked him out of Eastencia and now we get to deliver payback on the Empyrean’s thanks to him.

I just have to hope we win. Cuz if we don't, no one is going to live to see tomorrow. But as long as we have Frando leading our army I know we’ll be fine.

Journal Entry 2 Issac Istavon December 10st 1899

We’re all still alive for now. Frando is… dead. He got his head blown open by a sniper but our wizards managed to complete the ritual. We’ll all get to live in this hellhole a little while longer. That’s where all the good news ends though.

Our tanks are gone, our supplies were bombed and Tirch did something to the weather and now it's below thirty degrees out. I heard some of our men finally managed to get a shot on Allen. Hopefully the monster finally dies.

Our morale is gone. Frando wasn’t just our leader, he was our savior. He was the only one who could beat Allen and now that he’s gone it’ll be like the start of the war again.

We’re on the run day and night. Their armies stopped chasing us but there are… things out there hunting us. I saw one bring down thirty men and a tank before we scared it off. We can’t hear them, can't see them until it's too late and… we all feel them watching us.

Sometimes I hear my mother out in the blizzard. Calling to me, telling me she misses me and wants to see me. I don’t want to fight anymore. I can’t sleep… I-I just want all of this to be over.

Journal Entry 13 Issac Istavon July 17th 1911

The war is over. The Empyrean’s dropped some kind of bomb on our last cities and completely destroyed them. To make matters worse we confirmed Tirch is still trying to break the barrier and now with Eastencia gone there's no one who can stop him.

But we’re not giving up. Tirch is the one who started this war, the reason so many good men and women died and my home is a desolate wasteland. I’ve gotten together with some other soldiers and Eastencian intelligence officers who managed to avoid being captured. Even if it costs us our lives, we will kill him.

We’re crossing the old border between Eastencia and The Third Empyrean Empire tomorrow. It’s heavily guarded but we found a guard who’s willing to take bribes. May Hoddar bless us with success.

And if I don’t make it. Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, thank you all for everything you’ve done for me. I won’t let your death’s be in vain.

Begin Audio Recording: Laboratory of King Tirch [REDACTED]/1911

Tirch: "Experiment number six two nine five subject Isaac Istavon. The subject bears a perseverance soul like myself and has demonstrated a remarkable will to survive. After testing I determined he was compatible with my ongoing Angel Project.”

Issac: “Those things are not angels!” [Background screeching and echo of flesh being ripped apart fills the room]

Tirch: “They are what I will them to be. As are you.”[the echo of footsteps follows] “Don’t think I’ve forgotten how your and your miserable little army ruined my plan to free Mella from her prison at Mt Ebbot. I’ve been waiting the last several years to pay you back.” [Issac scream in pain as something sharp pierces his skin]

Tirch: “But it matters not. Whether it is today, tomorrow, a year, a century the barrier will break and I-she will be free. The world is mine and I have engineered a system of suffering and slavery to break it. With the oncoming economic collapse and agricultural shortages I will solidify my control over my world and the slaves that I permit to inhabit it. The death and misery in the coming decades will push the world back to the brink and this time I'll ensure no one will be able to re-seal the barrier.”

Issac: “*coughs* You’re insane! *cough’s harder* You’re going to destroy this planet and kill us all! Don’t you realize YOU’LL be killed when the barrier breaks to?”

Tirch: “This world will be destroyed along with everything and every human on it, yes. It’s a good thing I relinquished my humanity and gave Hell my flesh.”

Issac: “What?!”

Tirch: “In any case the destruction of the world is inconsequential. Why worry about one petty little universe and world when I can have them all. As King of this world, The Master of Hell and soon all of creation. I'll have every soul, every nation, every universe will bow before me or face total annihilation!”

Issac: “You won’t succeed. Others will find the strength to stand against you.”

Tirch: “No they won’t. Once I strip away their free will, they’ll do whatever I demand of them. Now then, shall I demonstrate? My new angel of order.”

Issac was never seen or heard from again. Soon a crisis struck the world as the economy and food supply of the Third Empyrean Empire suddenly collapsed. In the midst of the chaos, lawlessness and fires raging in the cities and in the fields Tirch unleashed his "Angel's". Mysterious being's with power far beyond that of any human. With ray's of bright yellow light they set fire upon all those who opposed Tirch. Cities were turned to ash, families, villages, communities that had survived the Great War were shattered in an instant with power's that eclipsed that of the atomic bombs that were dropped. Most prominent of them all was Zoraz the "Angel of Order" who's power crushed many rebellion's and insurgencies with a simple flick of his fingers.

Tirch made it mandatory for all citizen's of the new Empire to worship him as a God. Be it fanaticism or fear the masses followed and bowed before him. They worship him and sacrifice to their deity daily. Hastening the demise of the world as the seal once again breaks little by little with each passing day.