Toby Fox owns Undertale and all associated characters.

Aardonyx sighed heavily as he stood before the decorated tree in Snowdin. "I can't believe our child sometimes," he muttered to Itemirus.

The dark scaled reptile nuzzled his chin. "Rex did what they thought was right," she murmured. "They wanted to make sure their friend was all right."

"They were already grounded," the golden one grumbled.

"And now they're more grounded," Itemirus confirmed. "But you can't keep them grounded forever."

"How do you even ground things to this scale? They were missing overnight-no warning-"

"To be fair, they didn't know they would be gone overnight...but I see your point."

Itemirus giggled, nuzzling her husband. "So grumpy today," she cooed.

Aardonyx shook his head. "It's just getting...hard…"

Itemirus's smile faded, and she nodded slowly. Just as the kingdom had gained their freedom...they lost their leaders, their scientist, their captain...even the two souls who livened up Snowdin. Not to mention two high ranking guards. And, due to the Humans, they were still mostly living in the mountain. And now...they had almost lost their new leaders too.

What should have been a big turnaround for the Monsters almost seemed like an early grave. Nothing was progressing...they were still living in their prison.

"We'll pull through," Itemirus started. "We managed for a thousand years down here-we can manage just a little longer…"

She nuzzled his shoulder this time, and with a quiet rumble, he nuzzled her head just before her cream colored spikes began.

"I know, I just-"

There was a crash-causing the two to jerk their head up. Then came an unsettling roar, causing all the Monsters in the town to freeze.

Up the ways, where the shop and inn were-a large mass of dark purple and gray fur crashed out the inn door. Rex's parents froze-realizing there was a Beast. It was briefly on its hind legs, before dropping down on all fours. The back feet of it looked strong, with short claws. It might have had a short tail, but its ears were massively long and floppy, nearly going down half its back.

However, the loud sounds had caused another inhabitant to rush into the inn with a cry of alarm. The shopkeeper...and the shopkeeper was close enough to see the dust on its maw.

Whether it was her sister's dust, or the child-she didn't know.

Nor did she have time to-for the Beast whirled-and sent her dust to the wind.

Monsters cried out, all rushing for safety-as the Beast turned, and rushed over, crashing down upon those that were closest.

Emberno sat on a small rise in the open land below the mountain, staring out at the endless world. He heard footsteps, but didn't turn as his blue flamed wife slowly sat down beside him. For a while, neither said anything, until she finally turned her head. "Emberno…?" she asked softly.

The other elemental sighed. "We should have listened to Grillby," he muttered.

"Didn't we listen?" she replied, confusion entering her voice.

"Yes, but…it wasn't enough, I don't think. Not only that, but…he shouldn't have had to hit us over the head to make us see that." Emberno's flames dimmed. "Fiona…"

"…it's been a few years, Emberno. She's not down here, so Grillby must be taking care of her."

"Heh…course he is," Emberno grumbled—albeit lovingly. "Had to be one hell of an Uncle for her…"

Calida huffed. "Guess he had to…"

"Someone had to make up for those shortcomings, I guess. I just…" His hands clenched at the grass beneath him, singeing them slightly. "I don't think we left on the best of terms…"

"It could have been worse," Calida pointed out.

His flames wavered. "True…just…" He gave a groan. "Dammit, why did she have to grow up so fast—and why were we so involved with the hunting?"

"We enjoyed the thrill of it," Calida murmured. "…I suppose we should have cut back—we just never heard the complaints. And…honestly, Emberno…" She glanced to him. "If your brother's patience had not already been frayed that day, do you think he would have snapped at us there?"

Emberno paused…and then shook his head. "No—we would never have gotten that had he been all right…"

"We were in the wrong, maybe," Calida started. "However, he could have said something sooner. Sometimes, Emberno, your brother is a little too good at being polite."

"Doesn't want to interrupt what little time we spent with her, but at the same time…"

"Had he done so, we probably would have noticed the problem sooner."

"We should have noticed a lot sooner on our own," Emberno mumbled.

"But we didn't," Calida stated bluntly. "Look…we made our mistakes, and we didn't live long enough to make up for them, but—we did have a few years to spend time with her, and once we knew, we didn't waste it."

Emberno nodded quietly. "….if we defeat this—should we wait, Calida?"

"…we'll figure that out once we get to that," she replied. "On one hand, I'd love to see her once more, talk to her again, and…figure out how she's faring, but on the other hand…if we're careful, we can live a long time, Emberno. Do you want to stay in a state of limbo for hundreds—if not thousands of years?"

He shrugged. "It might be worth it…"

"We never fully reconciled," she reminded him.

"Which means it could be fully mended then," he reasoned.

"Or we learn that there was no need for it," she stated quietly. "…however, we're going to be stuck here a good while…it gives us time to think about it."

"We need an army," Emberno muttered.

"We still have many sane Monsters on our side," she murmured. "Long lost warriors, former rulers…at this point, we're nearing a hundred, are we not?"

"Not as easy to tell when we're never in the same place at once."

Calida's flames crackled. "Like we can draw attention to the fact that we're forming an army right under that thing's nose…"

Emberno huffed. "We still need to figure out how to take that thing down."

"The plant limbs we saw would be a good spot to start attacking—destroying the machine on top would probably be the best thing to do…"

"Problem is getting up to it," Emberno muttered. "We don't exactly have a lot of fliers."

"But we have some," she pointed out. "We attack the limbs, they attack the machines…"

"If we can keep ourselves on dry ground," Emberno reminded her. "That water does hurt us."

"It stings," she muttered. "But it's not killing us. We could just push through the pain it gives…"

"Or lure it onto that landmass the guards mentioned…"

She shrugged. "There's advantages and disadvantages to fighting in the water, or on the ground. We do have some water loving monsters in on this, after all."

"We could attack it from two fronts," Emberno argued. "We attack from land, they attack in the water."

"The guards mentioned that the 'beach' isn't that wide, and that while there is a bigger area, it's hard to get into if you don't know what you're doing down here."

Emberno huffed. "You would think that after dying, things would be straight forward and simple."

"They were…"

He shook his head in irritation. "Well, if we defeat this, we'll be the best beast hunters."

"Hunting beyond our graves, and taking down the ultimate beast in the process…" A soft laugh escaped her. "I'd love to see how you can top that."

"Don't tempt fate, Calida…"

"We're dead, how can we tempt fate further?"

Emberno gave an odd sound. "Don't tempt it, seriously."

Calida's flames crackled in amusement, before dimming. "…though I wouldn't mind getting this part of being dead over with…I didn't intend to have to fight that thing to have my right to peace."

"Well, when life gives you lemons…"

"Then what do you do when death gives you an insane dragon to fight?"

"…make lemonade?"

Calida gave him a long look. "You can't just finish your previous saying."

"…worth a shot," he muttered.

"I swear…"

"…kill it with fire?"

"…better."

The child looked up from where he was making a flower crown as the Puzzler began working with odd contraptions that he had managed to conjure in the vision. The little one watched him, and then stood, leaving his crown with his human friend.

"…Mister?"

"Hm?" he grunted as he worked, rising fully on his hind legs to work on it.

"…why are you different?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, sliding something into place, and moving over to another spot.

"…you're not sad," the child murmured, and then tilted his head. "Why, Mister?"

Puzzler chuckled. "I'm old, I lived my time. And…I got to see the sun. I'm satisfied with my life. The others, however…" The merriment faded. "It got cut before they were ready. That's why they're not happy."

"…you're really not bothered by it…?"

Puzzler shook his head. "I'm more bothered by the fact there's trouble in the afterlife."

The child blinked. "But…" The boy paused. "What're you doing?"

"Testing some puzzle designs that I had in my later years, but didn't have the energy to make."

"…it doesn't look like a puzzle…"

"To clarify, it's a trap that would spring in a puzzle," he informed the little one.

"….I thought it looked weird…"

Puzzler gave a snort of amusement.

"What!?" the child exclaimed. "I thought a catapult looked weird for a puzzle, I didn't get it!"

The strange monster laughed, slowly sliding down onto the ground. "If I wasn't dead, you'd be killing me!"

The child drew up his shirt to hide his face, which only caused him even more amusement. Puzzler rolled over and rose up on all fours. It seemed standing upright was a formality, and he seemed far more comfortable with all four limbs on the ground.

"Say, you want to know help, correct?"

"Uh-huh…"

"Then how about helping me test this, hmm? This catapult is strong, but, we need to figure out how far it can launch things."

"So…what do we need?"

"Something to send flying," Puzzler replied with a smile.

"Oh, oh!" The child raised his hand excitedly. "I know, I know! A boulder!" And with that, a hefty sized rock materialized and landed in the catapult.

Puzzler chuckled. "Why don't you let it loose then? Send it off!"

After showing the child how, he excitedly let the catapult release the boulder—sending it flying off a good distance, before landing with a thud. The Monster child jumped excitedly. "Wow, look how far it went! Can we do it again, please, please, Mister?"

"Well, there are a few designs I'd like to try still…"

"YES!"

01 glanced over from the garden that he and the dragon guard sat at. "Do you think it's a good idea for him to be letting…"

"No harm will come to the child," 02 assured as he watched them. "Puzzler's creations have always been flawless. Plus, the child can't be harmed in here unless it is willed…"

The rabbit's ears drooped briefly. "It's going to be difficult…"

"Eventually, this one shall pass on," 02 assured. "He has a lot of regrets, but I feel, he'll find an escape in the end."

The rabbit glanced to the Human making flower chains. "…how are you so certain?"

"Because…I feel I can come to terms with this once we take down the dragon."

01's ears twitched. "Truly?"

The dragon guard nodded slowly. "I…know it wasn't for you…or us," he murmured. "However…we died protecting the kingdom—even if it was only to buy them time to react—we fulfilled our duty…and in a way, they accomplished taking down the human."

"But…now that thing's soul is down here…and…I'm not ready to let go."

"I'll wait," 02 stated simply. "There are things to long for, but…I cannot move to the next thing alone." 01 jerked his head up in surprise, and somehow, he sensed a smile from the dragon. "Worked together, died together—surely we can do a little more side by side, hm?"

The rabbit gave a shaky laugh. "I have no idea when I'd be ready to go…"

"I can…exist with that."

"Even if it's a thousand years?"

"That's a long time to be stuck with me."

The rabbit looked away, tapping his fingers together. "Wh—who said anything about that? I didn't say anything about you…"

02 gave a bemused snort. "You're endearing."

"I'm no longer speaking with you!"

"For all of five minutes."

"Not listening!"

The child paused in their work, as the Puzzler turned to the fuss. The young one smiled, and began to laugh. "They're doing it again!"

Puzzler gave a knowing smirk, having quickly caught on to the dynamic between those two. "So I see. You want to go over there while I figure out what's wrong with this?"

He nodded and then bounded over, laughing, and leaping onto the rabbit guard. "Come on!" he managed. "You don't mean it! You gotta talk to him. Or he'll be lonely….even if it's hard to tell!"

"I'll be deeply wounded," was the idle reply.

The rabbit gave a half-hearted glare. "Oh, I felt every bit of pain in those words."

"Devastated, even."

"At least put some emotion into it!"

02 put an arm over his head. "It'll be dreadful."

"…I can't believe you."

The child simply snickered, sliding into the rabbit's lap. "You two are silly!"

02 chuckled. "That's all on him," he assured.

The rabbit's gaze narrowed. "You started this."

"Did I?"

"Yes!"

The child giggled and looked up. "Puzzler said I could help…"

"If you want to," 02 reminded.

"He's a child!" 01 protested. "He needs to stay away from that thing—"

"But he can be far more than a child here," the dragon reasoned.

"And I know what to be so I can fight!" the little boy exclaimed, clenching white furred fists as he did.

"No—he's never been in a fight," 01 weakly protested.

"Then we teach him," 02 stated firmly.

The rabbit groaned. "…well…" His golden ears drooped forward. "What does it look like?"

"This…"

The rabbit jerked at the different voice, and then suddenly found himself looking up at a tall monster. The former child smiled—though it seemed more like a smirk as a finger traced a horn. "Well…"

"…wow."

02 chuckled. "Intimidating, and yet, there's a charm to it, don't you think, friend? I could see him getting chased all along the kingdom."

"Wha—no!" 01 exclaimed, jumping up abruptly. "He's still just a child! I will beat them all off with a stick if we must!"

The strange Monster tilted his head. "…you're being weird again."

"Shouldn't that be normal now?" 02 teased. The former child laughed, while 01 shook his head in exasperation.

"You always choose to talk when I really shouldn't let you," the rabbit grumbled.

"I'm not that bad, am I?" the dragon rumbled as he drew close. "Surely, deep down, you do enjoy the teasing—" There was a grunt, and then an outright laugh as 01 pushed against the dragon's helmet.

"Not another word while we're in this vision, or I swear—"

"Don't swear!" the former child insisted worriedly.

They all suddenly turned their heads as Puzzler burst out laughing, falling over as he did.

The rabbit stared at everyone around him, and completely drooped. "…this is my army."

"Now, now, there are more members in other visions," the dragon reminded.

"…this is the army I'm stuck with the most."

"And you love us all."

The rabbit sighed heavily.

02 shook his head. "Little one, go help Puzzler so that he doesn't die twice over." The former child nodded, and raced off, while he rested a hand on 01's shoulder. "You know we'll be serious when the time comes…"

"I know…"

"Relax, now," the dragon murmured, trying to soothe the rabbit. "We will gain peace…even if we must generate some chaos first."

Just as the rabbit was about to reply-they paused, and then both guards jerked their heads up, and 01 leapt to his feet, hand already on the hilt of his weapon. "...do you sense it?"

"I do," the dragon confirmed. "...a cluster of souls."

"...something's happened," 01 managed worriedly.

"We need to find them."

And so they did…

And the shopkeeper learned...who's dust it had been.