The duo followed Sans, and the next thing they knew, they were sitting at a table across from him in a diner. "Well, here we are." Said the skeleton. "So. Your journey's almost over, huh? You must really wanna go home."
"Yeah… where ever that is…" Muttered Nemo.
"Hey, I know the feeling buddo." Said Sans. "Though… maybe sometimes it's better to take what's given to you. Down here you've got food, drink, friends…"
"People trying to kill us every five minutes." Said Nemo drily.
"Is what you have to do… really worth it?" Asked Sans.
"Sans, we can't stay here. Frisk can't stay here. It's not safe. Not with monsters like Undyne around." Said Nemo.
Sans looked away for a moment before looking back at them. "...Ah, forget it." He said. "I'm rootin' for ya, kids." He looked away for a moment again. "Hey. Let me tell you a story. So I'm a sentry in Snowdin Forest, right? I sit out there and watch for humans. It's kind of boring. Fortunately, deep in the forest… there's this huge locked door." This got the attention of Nemo. "And it's perfect for practicing knock knock jokes. So one day, I'm knocking 'em out, like usual. I knock on the door and say 'knock knock.' And Suddenly, from the other side… I hear a woman's voice. 'Who is there?'"
"Toriel…" Thought Nemo. He exchanged a look with Frisk, who seemed equally surprised.
"So, naturally, I respond: 'dishes.' 'dishes who?' 'dishes a very bad joke.'" Said Sans with a wink. "Then she just howls with laughter. Like it's the best joke she's heard in a hundred years. So I keep 'em coming, and she keeps laughing. She's the best audience I've ever had. Then, after a dozen of 'em, she knocks and says… 'Knock knock!' I say 'whos there?' 'Old lady!' 'Old lady who?' 'Oh! I did not know you could yodel!'" That managed to earn a chuckle from Nemo. "Wow. needless to say, this woman was exe=tremely good. We kept telling each other jokes for hours. Eventually, I had to leave. Papyrus gets kind of cranky without his bedtime story. But she told me to come by again, and so I did. Then I did again. And again. It's a thing now. Telling bad jokes through the door. It rules." Sans looked away again. "...One day, though, I notice she wasn't laughing very much. I asked her what was up. Then she told me something strange. 'If a human ever comes through this door… could you please, please promise something? Watch over them, and protect them, will you not?'" This made Nemo's eyes widen. "Now, I hate making promises. And this woman, I don't even know her name. But… someone who sincerely likes bad jokes… has an integrity you can't say 'no' to." Sans looked away again one last time. "DO you get what I'm saying? That promise I made to her… you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything? ...buddies." Sans closed his eye sockets before opening them again, the eye lights in them now gone. "You'd both be dead where you stand." He said grimly.
This made Nemo inhale sharply. "Is that a fact?" He asked.
Sans closed his eyes and opened them again, and they were normal. "Hey, lighten up, bucko! I'm just joking with you. Besides… haven't I done a great job protecting you? I mean, look at yourselves. You haven't died a single time." He said with a wink. This caused Nemo to make a face before looking away. "Hey, what's that face supposed to mean? Am I wrong…? Heh." Sans then stood up and started walking away. "Well, that's all. Take care of yourselves, kids. 'Cause someone really cares about you."
Once Sans was gone, Nemo groaned before running a hand through his hair. "Nemo?" Asked Frisk in concern.
"It's nothing…" Said Nemo tiredly. "C'mon, let's get going." He looked over and saw the exit. "That way." He said as he started walking with Frisk close behind. The duo then found themselves in the center of what must've been the M.T.T. Resort. Frisk looked in a direction before walking over to a glowing star. They reached over and placed their hand on it, causing that feeling of warmth to wash over the duo. Frisk's gaze wandered over to the fountain with the Mettaton statue. They then looked down at what seemed to be an inscription, and after looking at it for a moment, they scowled at it. "Are you ok?" Nemo asked.
"Mettaton altered a memorial and turned it into a fountain. Said Frisk darkly.
"Oh… ok wow, that's not cool." Said Nemo. He looked over and saw an elevator. "I wonder where that goes?" He thought as he walked over to it. Unfortunately, it appeared to be in use. He groaned and rested his head against the metal door. He was exhausted.
"Are you ok?" Asked Frisk as they walked over to him.
"Yeah…" Said Nemo with a yawn. "It's just been a long day is all."
"It looks like they're renting out rooms, maybe we could stay the night?" Suggested Frisk.
"That… sounds like a good idea." Said Nemo as the duo walked over to the desk.
"Yes, we know." Said the monster. "The elevator to the city is not working. Because of this incident, rooms are running at a special rate! Two hundred G a room. Interested?"
"Oh… " Said Nemo as he checked his money. "We don't have enough." With a sigh, he and Frisk walked away. "Guess we're sleeping outside."
"Yeah…" Said Frisk. The duo went out the front doors of the resort and walked around before resting at a spot that seemed clean enough. Nemo sat down with his back against the wall. Frisk sat on the ground next to him. Nemo then wrapped an arm around them and pulled them close. "Do you think he meant what he said?" Asked Frisk.
"Who?" Asked Nemo.
"Sans. About us being dead if it weren't for his promise." Said Frisk.
"Who knows…" Said Nemo as he felt himself start to drift off. "Doesn't really matter does it?"
"No…" Said Frisk as they closed their eyes. "I guess not…"
The Next Day
Nemo awoke to the sound of Frisk's voice, but they were speaking too slowly for him to properly understand whatever they were saying. "Frisk?" Asked Nemo sleepily.
"Oh! Nemo! You're awake…" Said Frisk, surprised.
"Yeah… what were you saying?" He asked.
"Uh, nothing important, just talking to myself." Said Frisk nervously.
"Riiight…" Said Nemo before standing up. "Anywho, it doesn't really matter. Let's get going, I saw the entrance to the Core while we were in the resort."
"Ok." Said Frisk softly. The duo then went back into the resort and to the entrance to the Core, with no resistance.
"You think people would try to keep us from entering somewhere as important at this, not that I particularly mind." Said Nemo as he and Frisk went through the double doors. The duo then stopped as they noticed the silhouettes of two monsters. Suddenly the phone began to ring. "Hello?" Asked Nemo.
"Huh?" Asked Alphys in surprise. "Who are they? N-nobody else is s-supposed to be here… oh well! We can't worry about that now!" The phone then clicked as she hung up. Nemo sighed as the duo crossed the small bridge and into the Core. Alphys then called them again. "Ready? This is it! Take the elevator to the top of the Core!" She said before hanging up.
Nemo walked over to the elevator and tried to open it, but it wasn't working. "What?" Asked Alphys in surprise. "The elevator should be working… W-wll then, Go to the right and keep heading up!"
"Something's wrong." Said Nemo.
"What do you mean?" Asked Frisk.
"Everything else we've had to put up with was obviously Alphys's fault, she's the only one with the smarts to reactivate those puzzles, but she sounds genuinely confused about this." Said Nemo.
"You're right…" Said Frisk.
"Well, let's go." Said Nemo as he and Frisk went to the path to the right. But all this path had was a dead end and what was basically an inferno.
"Alright, now just keep heading up!" Said Alphys.
"Um… Alphys?" Asked Nemo.
"...That pit… isn't on my map." Said Alphys. "Forget it! Let's try the left side!" She then hung up as the duo backtracked and went down the other path. Once in the other path, Alphys called them up again. "Okay, you should be able to make it through here…" She said. Suddenly the silhouettes appeared and approached the humans. "W-watch out!" Cried Alphys.
The duo's souls manifested as the Madjick popped out of its hat! Nemo tried to punch it, but his aim was off so it didn't hurt nearly as much. "Alakazam!" It shouted as it summoned weird cross shaped projectiles and fired them at the humans. Nemo tried to dodge, but he did take a few hits. He tried again, landing a better hit. "Hocus pocus." Said the monster. It then summoned a weird eyeball that started flying around, leaving more crosses behind. Nemo did a better job of dodging before landing a hit against the monster. "Hocus pocus." It said again. The eye returned, and Nemo was able to avoid it. He then brought his leg up and kicked the monster away, causing it to become dust.
The humans' souls then returned to normal. "That was close." Said Alphys. "Wh… why are there so many monsters here? I mean… it's no problem, r-r-right?" W-w-we've just got to keep heading forward!" The phone clicked as Alphys hung up. The duo then made their way further into the went forward and around a bend, stopping in front of an electric blockade, with an off button right next to it. Nemo was about to press it when their phone began to ring. "Looks like you can't proceed until you hit the switch." Said Alphys "B-but, those lasers will activate when you do. Ummm… Looks like they'll come in this order: orange, orange, blue. G-got it? Move forward until the third one!"
"Right…" Said Nemo drily as Alphys hung up. He pressed the button, and the lasers came at them. And instead it was two blues and an orange. Thankfully Frisk and Nemo were able to avoid them. ""Alphys…" Groaned Nemo in annoyance before he and Frisk made their way across the bridge.
Once across, Alphys called them again. "Oh my god, are you okay?" She asked. "I… I'm sorry, I gave you the wrong order… e-everything's fine, okay? L-let's just keep heading forward." She then hung up.
"Let's just go." Said Nemo.
"Ok." Said Frisk.
The duo walked only for a short bit before reaching a split in the path. The phone then began to ring as Alphys called them again. "A crossroads… Uhh…" She said. "Uhhh… Tr-try heading to the right!" She said.
"Riiight…" Said Nemo as he and Frisk followed her instructions.
But before they could make any progress, Alphys called them again. "W-wait! No, I think you should h-head to the left!"
Nemo sighed before following her instructions. He and Frisk went down the left path and found themselves in front of another monster. "Crud." He said as their souls manifested. He sighed before rushing forward and punching the monster.
"Good knight." She said. It then summoned a sun like thing and fired light based bullets at them. Fortunately the duo was able to avoid the attack. As the monster smashed her Morningstar, Nemo rushed over and kicked it. "Good knight." She said again. The sun was summoned once more, and had a different pattern of attack. Nemo wasn't so lucky when it came to dodging this time. The knight monster smashed her Morningstar again as Nemo went in for another kick. "Adieu." Said the monster. She summoned her sun again and the first attack pattern rained down at them. Nemo was able to avoid the attacks this time. He paused and looked at the monster, who was quietly watching. Nemo ran over and punched it, but wasn't able to strike as hard. It said "Adieu." again before summoning a moon, causing small meteors to rain at the humans. Three of them pelted Nemo. The knight simply breathed deeply.
"Nemo. I think she's done." Said Frisk. Nemo looked at them tiredly.
"What?" He asked.
"She doesn't want to fight anymore." Said Frisk.
Nemo looked at the monster, and saw that they had yet to act. Nemo sighed as he stood a little straighter. "I'm done, we're leaving." He said.
The night nodded and departed, and the humans' souls vanished. Then their phone began to ring. "Sorry, I… I… I thought that…" Said Alphys nervously. "Let's try the right path instead."
"Whatever." Said Nemo as Alphys hung up.
The duo turned around and went back to the crossroads before taking the right path. They walked a short distance before reaching a narrow bridge with more lasers. Their phone began to ring again. "M… more lasers…" Said Alphys. "Okay, I… I won't mess around this time. I'll just deactivate the lasers and let you through." There was a pause, and nothing happened. "They're… they're not turning off… I can't turn them off, I…" Nemo could hear the distress in her voice. "I-i-it's okay! I have this under control! I'm going to turn off the p-power for that whole node. Then you can walk across." There was a moment of silence before the room went almost completely dark. "Okay, go!" Said Alphys before hanging up.
Nemo and Frisk started to jog across. As they passed a part with a large number of deactivated lasers, their phone began to ring. "W-WAIT! STOP!" Cried Alphys. Just then the power came on. Nemo's eyes widened as he saw lasers come straight at him.
Page 28 End