Credit Note: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox and additional credit is given to the various artists who worked alongside him. The credit for the picture on this Story's cover goes to Knocker12.
Undertale
Witness The Influence
First there was a Journey
"Frisk...? Chara...?"
Those words sound so... genuine, and heartfelt, almost full of fear, but nonetheless filled with extreme elation even if it's held back by trepidation.
There is a new tale of the underground now, not a story of The Fallen Child, now a story of The Fallen Children. There was not just one, but now two. Chara and Frisk both fell at once, since Frisk, the prince of the new world, recreated the old world in specifications he personally set up. No more would monsters stay underground forever, the Barrier is breaking. In ten years time, the Barrier will be no more, and the monsters will know this.
They will cheer, they will fear, they will celebrate, they will deliberate... but the Underground will have hope, all because of the sacrifices of the new world for the old. The belief of a happy ending, the single driving force that drove Frisk, the eighth and final human in the underground, drove him to this exact moment.
And it will be remembered as the beginning of the end.
/FIRSTTHEREWASAJOURNEY
/THENTHEREWASDOUBT
Someone in a dark lab, far away from the children's current location ponders what is occurring.
"You two... what do you make of this?" The tall man lets out, addressing the two others in this room. They turn from their work, papers; recording of data across various fields, not the least of which would be the nature of the soul, and the strength of the barrier, turn to the speaking man and the monitor he is looking at. They all look at the three children. One being obviously the Monster Prince Asriel, the two others seemingly human.
"I don't know what I'm looking at, WD." A male voice lets out. Similarly tall and wearing a lab coat, a similar looking monster stands next to the one he called WD.
"Humans, Roman... Humans..." WD lets out to the shaded man standing next to him, calling him Roman.
"H-Humans...? B-But... why? Why would humans... c-come here?" A female voice with a stutter lets out. WD squints as he views the children from afar with his monitor.
"I don't know... but I find it very...
"very...
"interesting..." WD lets out as a single alarm blares in the lab they stand in. They look to a machine as it prints out a very long piece of paper. So long, it eats up all the paper in the printer and malfunctions, spitting everything it can out before deactivating itself.
Upon the piece of paper is an infinite number of red colored 9's.
Asriel helps Frisk and Chara to their feet and helps them walk through the ruins. They aren't as hurt as Chara was back in the original universe, they can mostly walk now... perhaps since they braced for their fall into the underground, perhaps because they've gotten used to it, reliving it over and over again.
"Frisk... I... I can hardly believe your plan actually worked..." Asriel lets out. He looks forward as monsters see Asriel helping the humans around. Aghast and in awe, the recognize the weight of what's happening, and give them space, talking amongst each other. Froggitss croaking, Whimsuns muttering, Looxes staring... they are drawing quite a crowd. Chara looks over at Frisk, being supported by Asriel's other arm.
"Frisk... I never imagined a day where this could happen, where I could... get another chance at life. To live in a world, no longer burdened by my hatred of humanity, to live with friends and family... and I have you to thank..." She says with a trademark smile. They continue to walk forward, passing over the dusty ruins of Old Home. No one has lived here for a while, at least not outside of the city below.
As they continue walking, they realize that Frisk hasn't said a word yet. Asriel looks over. Frisk's face looks normal enough, permanent neutral expression, but it appears he's okay at least.
"Frisk? Are you alright?" Asriel asks.
*You tell Asriel you are okay.
"Oh, haha, that's good." Asriel says, satisfied.
However, that small action she just witnessed... it makes Chara's stomach drop and chills her blood to ice. Did... did Frisk just...? That action... there's... no way... Chara's smile disappears.
It does not return.
WD looks over at his compatriots.
"Roman. Alphys. I think soon, all of what we have worked for will be put to the test, and all we have asked will be answered... but surely you have all felt the impact of... this." WD says, holding up the long strip of paper with red numbers over it. WD's face is bony and white, but otherwise free of imperfections such as cracks. Small white dots of perhaps monster magic form pupils. He is tall and rather slender. Roman stands up, equaling him in height, but is a bit bulkier. He, too, is a skeleton. Roman is tall, but rather form fit for a skeleton. He too is in a lab coat, along with Alphys at his side.
"Gaster, I have a bad feeling about this... about the humans, about the red message..."
"So you've felt it too, Roman? I'm not the only one?"
"N-No, I felt it too, WD..." Alphys lets out.
"The nature of the world..." Gaster lets out.
"The nature of the flow of time..." Roman lets out.
"The nature of the soul..." Alphys lets out.
"I have a feeling they are all linked." Gaster lets out. Roman and Alphys look to each other and not.
"I agree, G. After all, we all saw the reports... multiple timelines, starting and stopping... until it all just... ends... but... you think these kids have something to do with it?"
"I do. Call it... a hunch." Gaster says, crossing his arms, keeping an eye on the kids as they march through the underground.
They pass through Hotland. At this point, they have amassed a group of monsters following them. All of them curious and in awe, but none of them confident enough to near the humans. Asriel is lost in thought. The glamour of getting a second chance is... intoxicating... but every good memory is met with a bad one. Frisk, in the past timeline, asked Asriel who was still Flowey at the time if he wanted to keep his memories. Memories of killing his parents and friends, but also memories of meeting Frisk... and breaking out of the infinite cycle of the Fallen Human...
They near the Lab which Chara remembers, at this time, is not Alphys' lab... but someone else's.
"Asriel... where do we go now?"
"We turn left here, go north to the elevator. Should take us straight to the plaza outside of the Core." They walk into the elevator, leaving the other monsters behind.
"Frisk? Are you sure you're okay? You haven't said a word since the Ruins. Are you nervous about meeting mom and dad?"
*You explain to Asriel that you're not nervous... just lost in thought.
"Ha, I understand. Man... I wonder how things are gonna go... Frisk... I'm really glad you did this. Really."
Chara keeps noticing how Frisk is talking. Asriel doesn't seem to understand, but Chara does, it makes them worried. VERY... worried. Frisk and Chara are strong enough to walk by themselves now, and they arrive at Elevator R-3, walking out and turning to the plaza to the north.
They enter, Frisk seems puzzled however.
"Huh? What's wrong, Frisk?"
*You explain to Asriel that you remember there being a hotel here.
"Ah, you mean MTT hotel? Well, back then, this was just a small plaza built by my parents. It has a fountain, but nothing in it. A small little rest area for monsters that got hot or tired in Hotland, and still had business up in New Home." They continue past the Plaza and enter the Core.
"Back in this timeline, the Core wasn't finished. The head scientist... someone... I for some reason cannot remember; was working on it. When it was finally finished... they disappear... I think. It still provides magical electricity to the Underground, but not a lot... and there are no traps built into it yet, since there was no reason to build traps this far into the Underground. We feared humans, but we didn't hate them. At least, they didn't hate them yet... b-but we can do things differently this time!" Asriel says with Determination twinkling in his eyes!
"We can do things better, and it's all because of you, Frisk!"
*You tell Asriel to knock it off, he's gonna make you blush!
Asriel laughs and they continue forward. Chara traveling at the back of the pack.
"Hey Chara? You haven't said anything in a while, is everything alright?"
"Oh uh, yeah. Just... thinking."
"Hmm... well, when we get back home, be sure to put on your best face!" Asriel says looking back with a goofy smile. Chara smiles back...
"Did you hear that?!" Roman yells out. Gaster simply nods, and Alphys gulps. Gaster then speaks up.
"There's no doubt about it... these kids are from the future." He says, causing Roman to shake his head-
"But... time travel! It's so... complicated... n-not even you have perfected it yet, Roman!" Alphys bleats. Roman sighs.
"Maybe I was going about it all wrong. These... kids... these KIDS somehow came back in time... how? Why?" Roman growls.
"I think it's in our best interest to keep watching, Roman..." Gaster assures.
"But they're going to reach the King and Queen soon... what if they-"
"Clear it from your mind. The Prince is with the humans... and the Prince recalls the future as well. They appear to all be friends... if the King and Queen were in any danger, do you not think the Prince himself would see fit to protect them?" Gaster says, turning and walking to another computer.
"Huh? G? Where are you going?"
"Time is of the essence, Roman. We must begin the tests."
"Now? But-"
"If not now, then never. They may not know it-" Gaster says, holding up the paper with the red numbers-
"But they are extremely dangerous."
Author's Note: I'm rehosting the Unseen Influence Trilogy on account of my patron vanishing. This story will be deleted if he ever returns. Until then, enjoy yourself.
