The River Person looked silently at the human, before slowly taking their gaze down the river. "…the man who came from another world? …that is a warning far older than I. I do not know the tale behind it. It's just a warning passed through time." The human looked down, clenching their fists. "However…" Frisk slowly looked back up. "Gerson might know. He's one of the oldest monsters we have around, knowing times even before the war."

The child blinked, and without so much as a sound, they whirled around and headed back up, as Gerson's shop was just north of the river station. "Frisk!" Flowey exclaimed as they race past him. "What are you even trying to do!?"

Grillby silently watched the human, slowly shaking his head. It seemed something had fired up their will again, but they'll likely only get crushed once more when they finally hit the dead-end of their trail. When the child entered the shop, they found Gerson sitting quietly at his stand; his head resting against his propped up and folded hands. They tapped the counter to get his attention, and the turtle monster slowly raised his head, looking down at them.

"Down here, already, eh?" he asked softly, the way he looked…the way he spoke…Frisk realized he knew already, and that news really did spread fast. They drooped, silent at first, hesitating to ask, while Gerson glanced up when he saw Grillby and Muffet step in behind the human. "Well…this is a surprise."

Grillby simply nodded while Muffet politely dipped her head. "We're watching out for the little dearie."

The fire monster paused, going still almost. "…they seemed to want to ask you something in the hopes of figuring something out."

"And what's that?" the turtle asked, leaning his head close, knowing that the child spoke a bit softly, and he wasn't getting any younger. The child nervously murmured their question, beginning to wonder if it was the time and place, just after he had heard about the deaths that had occurred. "The man that came from another world?" The turtle nodded. "That's a tale just about as old as monsters, though it was before written history, so the accuracy may have lessened over the years. It's a really interesting story though…"

Flowey poked his head out of the earth, and all four leaned in a bit curiously, as Grillby and Muffet held no recollection of such a tale at the moment. The turtle was quiet, his gaze going astray as he went to collect his thoughts. "…I don't remember." Frisk's head promptly met the counter with a soft moan. "Now, don't give me that! I'm an old man, my memory ain't all that good."

The turtle sighed, tapping his fingers on the counter briefly. "Wait!" he exclaimed as something came to him. "I may not remember the tale at the moment, but I remember someone who knows it very well." He gave a frown, tapping the counter again. "They live in Temmie Village; I remember that…just need to remember where that is…"

Frisk gasped, waving their hand frantically, while Grillby raised a brow. "…you know where it is?" They nodded, and dove back out of the shop.

"Hold it, kid!" Gerson exclaimed as he stood, then shook his head. "Ah, youngsters. Here, let me come along with you. That kid must be a handful."

"They're becoming several all right…" Muffet murmured as the four monsters hurried out, with Flowey ducking into the ground. However, Grillby stopped at the water's edge when he found the child went back to the flower field. Muffet paused. "That's problematic."

"Indeed," Grillby replied, trying to find some way around it while Gerson simply trudged through it.

"Oh!" Muffet murmured. "It'll just take a little magic." She twirled her finger, purple magic swirling around it before she spread her hand, the purple magic going across the water after Gerson got out, and then, a sturdy web was formed over the water. "My webs are stronger than they look," she explained. "I could just make webs over any other water gaps we see."

Grillby looked at it warily, and slowly slid a foot forth, testing its strength. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but he and water would never get along. However, the webbing was extremely sturdy, and didn't so much as bend under his weight. He stepped onto it fully, and glanced back to her. "…your magic is quite deceiving," he said. "It looks like it would break under the smallest pressure…but I assume it can take on quite powerful forces if need be."

Muffet rose a free hand to her face, shyly looking away as her eyes blinked. "Perhaps. The worst beatings I tend to get are busy days at the bakery." Humans were the worst her webs had seen, and with Chara, she had purposely allowed her webs to be easily broken, simply drawing out the fight for a while. If she had truly wanted to, her webs wouldn't have done so much as tremble when the rocks had hit the strings.

With the solution for navigating with Grillby found, the rest of the traveling went rather smoothly, with Frisk leading the way into one of the dark mushroom areas. However, they simply lit up the trail, before heading to southernmost part of the area…and suddenly seemed to be walking on air, catching the others off guard, until Grillby approached and his flames revealed a nearly invisible path in the darkness.

They followed Frisk into the darkness, and then, sure enough, light returned as they came into a small area, filled with small monsters with white fur, and black hair, and seemed to be the cross of a dog and a cat. "Hoi!" came several greetings from the creatures as they went about their daily business.

Muffet and Grillby looked quietly at the village, not too surprised by the monsters. They were well aware of the Temmies, but they did a good job at keeping their village secluded. So this is where they live… she and Grillby mused to themselves. They were so secluded that they weren't even aware of most of the deaths yet. News took at least an extra day before it would reach a Temmie's ear for the most part. Though that could work in Frisk's favor.

Frisk looked around, and then reached for Gerson. He slowly knelt and lowered his head, listening to them. "Eh? Who knows the story here? Hrrm…" He hummed softly, stroking his beard as he tried to remember. "Now, what was their name…? John? Joe? Bo? …nah, not those—ah!" He snapped his fingers, suddenly remembering. "Bob was that one's name."

"Bob?" The group looked to a Temmie, who tilted their head. "Yous look for Bob?" Most Temmies were not known for having the best of grammar…or any at all in some cases. Frisk, however, knelt down, and nodded to them, not wanting to get too close, due to being allergic. The Temmie gasped. "I's find Bob!" With that, the Temmie went racing off, creating quite the commotion.

Soon enough, most of the Temmies were scurrying around, searching for Bob, while the others stared blankly at the display, before they looked at Gerson, who shrugged. "I can't help who knows the tale," he said in his defense while Flowey watched the display in mild annoyance. He didn't really care for the Temmies for the most part.

Eventually, a lone Temmie came over, and dipped its head politely before sitting down before them. "Hello. I'm Bob," they said. "For what reason did you request my presence?" Unlike other Temmies, this one spoke in clean English, and with a surprising large vocabulary. They looked to the turtle, and seemed to perk up happily. "Hello, Mr. Gerson, it's been a while since we last talked."

"Indeed it has," Gerson replied. "Anyways, to explain this little group. The kid wanted to know about the 'man from another world', but I'm getting old, memory isn't as good as it used to be."

"So you want me to inform them of that ancient tale?" Bob asked with a tilt of their head. Gerson nodded and the Temmie rose a little. "In that case, everyone sit down, this might take some time. After all, the tale is old and was passed from mouth to ear for many generations, so though I remember it in intricate detail, I cannot promise how accurate the story is after all this time."

"How long are we talking?" Flowey asked.

Bob seemed a little excited at that. "It's as old as time itself. In fact, most say it's the first story this world ever had, the dawn of this place."

"…then who is this man from the other world?" Grillby asked.

Bob smiled. "Of course, in this world, 'man' is a loosely used word. He used to be referred to as something else, until the term started to be used as taboo for monster kind. He has no name, but…" The Temmie pointed to the painting on the wall. "That dragon," they said. "That's the man from another world."

Muffet stared in alarm. "He looks like a…"

Bob nodded slowly. "A beast." Frisk looked at them in confusion. "Oh that's right; a human wouldn't know…"

Gerson looked to the child. "You know how monsters are tied to their emotions?" Gerson asked. They nodded slowly. "Well, when a monster begins to fill with many amounts of dark emotions, they start to turn into twisted creatures that we call Beasts. When they finish changing, they lose their sanity, and forget what they once were. They transform into something feral and wild…and they have to be killed after that, as there is no cure to reverse the effects."

Bob nodded sadly. "The dragon was not of such ill intent however," they said as they looked at the group quietly. "The dragon was said to be very kind, and very wise, and helped form this world. It was said that when he came to this world, it was nothing but water. An endless ocean covered it, not a single speck of land. So he swam, bringing but only one thing from his world when he left it."

Grillby glanced to the picture. "…a Temmie?" he questioned in confusion.

"Indeed," Bob replied. "It is said that Temmies were from the other world, but still a creation of his own. He brought one to this world, and formed an island for them. After that, the dragon continued creating the world. He made monsters and humans alike, but in doing so, a good portion of his ocean vanished. Legend goes that that ocean is now underground, and that he lives down there, guarding the souls of monsters and humans alike."

Frisk gasped, and jerked up, grabbing Bob and yanking them over, muttering urgently in their ear. "What? How do you get to that ocean?" Bob squirmed gently out of Frisk's hold. "It's an old tale," Bob said. "I can't say anything is for certain. I do not know if the ocean can be found, and even if it is, there's no say of what's even down there. It might just be water. However…there is someone with plentiful amounts of information."

"And who might that be?" Muffet asked.

Bob gave a shrug. "They gave no name to themselves, but they were very knowledgeable with the world's history. The last I heard, they went into Snowdin, which I thought was rather odd indeed."

"Why?" Grillby questioned.

"They were reptilian," Bob explained. "Why would a lizard make a home in artic like climates?"

"That is strange," Gerson murmured. "That type of monster doesn't do well with the cold."

"…they aren't in the town," Grillby murmured. "And haven't been a part of it for at least two decades."

"What?" Muffet asked in surprise.

"I own the only restaurant in town," Grillby murmured. "And I lived there for a few years prior. Just about everyone comes there, and they haven't…nor has anyone even breathed word of such a monster secluding themselves in the town."

"Maybe they went to the Ruins?" Bob asked, and then shook its head. "No, we likely would have seen them by now due to the news of the barrier breaking…"

"Maybe there's someone living deep in the forests of Snowdin," Gerson said. "When I was a bit younger, I'd go down into the valley, there were a few cabins down there for hermit monsters."

Frisk gasped, and murmured something.

"You've seen a house down in the valley below, dearie?" Muffet asked, and they nodded, before murmuring more. "With a light in the window, smoke in the chimney…" She gasped softly. "And you saw a human-like shape come out at one point?"

Bob perked. "The monster I spoke of was like that, aside from the reptilian features. Maybe that's where he is nowadays."

"Well," Gerson murmured. "I suppose if we were really determined to—"

Frisk jumped up, with said determined look while Flowey gave an exasperated laugh. "…we're going anyways…unless you can tie Frisk to something."

"…I could…" Grillby murmured, causing Frisk to jump back. "… but that would be cruel."

Frisk sighed in relief, and Grillby stood. "Frisk…I'm not sure what you're quite looking for here…even if we somehow found their souls, then what?" Frisk was silent, not even having an answer. Grillby sighed. "Very well, I'll help you find this person, but if it ends up being a dead-end, I must ask you to give this up. You'll only hurt yourself in the long run if you chase after the dead for too long."

The human nodded solemnly, while Muffet drew them into a hug. "We just want what's best for you, Dearie." She stroked their hair gently. "I know it hurts, but even human magic can only do so much. We just don't want you to tear yourself up even more than you already are…"

Frisk nodded, and allowed the group to lead them back out, with Gerson opting to walk with them for the time being. However, on their way back through the Echo Field, a familiar voice called out. "Frisk, darling?" Frisk turned to see Mettaton rushing over along with Napstablook, dropping to a knee. "Goodness, child, are you all right? News is spreading faster than anything I've ever seen—are you hurt!?"

Frisk shook their head, and gave the 'okay' sign, much to his relief. "That's good…" Napstablook replied as they floated above their cousin. "We got so worried when we heard…oh no…we lost so many…what are we going to do?" They had lost their King and Queen, and with no true heir aside from Flowey, and most of the runner ups also gone, there was confusion as to what would become of the monster kingdom.

Gerson folded his arms. Mettaton was well known for the most part ever sense his special airing alongside Frisk, even Gerson knew—though it helped to live right by the two in his case. "There isn't much for the moment," Gerson murmured. "For now, the kingdom will have to tend to the dead, after that…we'll try to find a suitable ruler."

Grillby nodded. "…until then, everything will be up in the air."

Muffet frowned. "But who will we even consider for a new ruler? Undyne, or one of the brothers would have been the kingdom's first choices."

"There's hidden gems in the kingdom," Napstablook murmured softly. "Like Mettaton…no one knew anything about him at first, and now everyone really likes him…so there's probably someone we don't even know about yet that would be really great, we just have to look…oh no…I'm sorry…I said too much."

"Nonsense, Blooky," Mettaton murmured, drawing the ghost close. "I think that was well said."

"Really…?"

Grillby perked as someone tugged on his coat. He looked down to see Frisk impatiently and insistently tugging. "…already wishing to get on the move?" They nodded vigorously whereas the robot and the ghost looked in confusion.

"Where are they in a hurry to?" Mettaton asked.

Muffet raised a hand to the back of her head. "It's a bit of a story…"

"Then I guess you'll tell us on the boat."

"Will there even be enough room on there?" Flowey asked.

The turtle smirked for a brief moment. "I can swim, those two can fly, so long as no one splashes any water, you'll be fine."

Grillby paused. "…you're coming?"

"Course I am," Gerson replied. "Got a little fighting spirit left in me, and this kid seems determined to find this monster. Might as well help, hmm?"

"Blooky and I would be glad to offer our assistance as well," Mettaton replied as Napstablook nodded. "I owe it to Alphys after all; she'd want them to be safe."

Muffet glanced to Grillby and he nodded before she turned with a slight smile. "We appreciate the offer."

With that, the group headed for the boat, but to Muffet's surprise, something dropped gently on her shoulders. She turned slightly to see that Grillby had given her his coat. "…you seemed cold in Snowdin. You can have this for now."

Muffet blinked, feeling a slight blush creep up her face. "Err—I—um—thank you, Sir…" she managed before he helped her onto the boat, while Gerson slipped into the water, and Mettaton and Napstablook hovered over the river. Flowey vanished into the ground as they headed back to Snowdin, with Muffet explaining the happenings to the other two.