Three days. Three long days. Three long days living at Toriel's house. Nemo couldn't stand this place, it was boring. And having the image of Toriel's dusting body glued to the inside of his eyelids did not help him. Nor did waking up every night in a cold sweat, the scent and feeling of dust stuck in his nose and skin. But the worst part, the very worst part, was Chara. Seeing them float around Frisk, constantly narrating the most pointless and asinine things. It made Nemo want to scream. He wanted to throttle the little brat for what happened, but he knew that no matter what he did, it wouldn't make a difference. He didn't know how exactly Chara had latched themselves onto Frisk, but they were here, and they had no intention of leaving. Honestly he wasn't even sure if they knew how to leave Frisk's body/soul. At least they were willing to stick to riding shotgun and let Frisk stay in the driver's seat.

On another note, three nights of terrible sleep was starting to show, as Nemo stood in front of that large mirror in the hallway, poking at the dark circles forming around his eyes. "It's you." Said Chara.

"F*ck off." Said Nemo drily as he flipped them off.

"Careful, don't want Frisk learning words from you." Said Chara.

"F*ck off with two hands." Said Nemo as he used both hands to flip them off.

"Wow, you really don't like me, huh?" Asked Chara.

"Wow, it took you that long to figure it out? And here I thought you were smart." Said Nemo drily.

"At least I'm not making myself look like a crazy person." Said Chara as they covered their mouth, snickered and pointed over Nemo's shoulder.

Nemo looked where they were pointing to see Toriel standing there with a very concerned expression. "My child… are you feeling alright?" She asked.

Nemo's eye twitched as Chara continued to snicker until Nemo grabbed them by their throat without even looking and slammed them through the wall. Unfortunately, the part of the wall he put them through had the mirror, causing cracks to appear in the reflective surface. "I'm just swell Toriel. I'm mirror-ly a little sleep deprived, you don't goat to worry about me." He said as he forced a grin.

His puns managed to break Toriel out of her concern as she let out a small laugh. "If you say so, my child…" She said as she turned and walked away.

Nemo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, only to pull away in disgust as he noticed the blood that was not only on his hand, but was now on his face as well. He lowered his hand to stare into the damaged mirror.

He couldn't say he was a fan of what was staring back.


After cleaning his hands and face, Nemo exited the kitchen to see Frisk standing there, staring up at him. "What's up Frisk?" He asked.

"It's time." Said Frisk.

Nemo stared down at them for a moment. "Guess it is, huh?" He asked as he scratched the back of his head. "Alright, go save for us, I'll talk to Toriel." Frisk nodded their head as Chara floated next to him.

"Starting to rely on their power huh?" They asked. "Planning on killing her a few times before resetting to undo it?"

"Don't be an idiot." Muttered Nemo as he walked over to Toriel, who was sitting in her chair and reading.

"Oh, hello my child, do you need something?" She asked.

"I-." Said Nemo, but was cut off when his stomach growled.

"Would you like something to eat?" Asked Toriel with a chuckle.

Nemo stared for a second. "Is there any pie leftover? Maybe get some for Frisk too." He said.

"An excellent idea my child." Said Toriel as she stood up and went to the kitchen. As she left, Nemo felt a wave of warmth, meaning that Frisk had saved.

They walked up to Nemo. "Did she go to the door?" They asked.

"Not exactly." Said Nemo.

"What do you mean?" Asked Frisk. Nemo didn't bother responding, as Toriel returned soon after Frisk asked with two pieces of her butterscotch-cinnamon pie. "Nemo, what-?"

"Might as well enjoy one last nice meal." Said Nemo tiredly.

Frisk gave him a concerned look. "If you say so." They said as the two of them sat down to eat their pie. Once the food was eaten, Nemo turned his attention to Toriel.

"We're leaving." He said.

"Wh-what?" Asked Toriel.

"Frisk and I, we're not staying in the ruins anymore. No offence but this place sucks." Said Nemo.

"I'm afraid I take some offence to that." Said Toriel stiffly.

"Yeah… not sorry. C'mon Frisk, we can show ourselves out." Said Nemo as he stood up.

"What are you doing!?" Demanded Chara. "This isn't how we handled things in the last two timelines!"

"That sounds like a 'you problem'." Said Nemo as he made his way towards the stairs, with Frisk walking next to him.

"My children, you will not just walk out of here because you don't feel like staying anymore!" Said Toriel.

Nemo stopped. "Toriel, I appreciate what you've done, but nothing's going to be solved by us just sitting here. We stayed as long as we did to be nice, but really we could have left whenever we wanted."

"My chil-!" Said Toriel.

"I am not your child!" Snapped Nemo as he looked over his shoulder to glare at her.

"Nemo… please don't shout at her." Said Frisk as they tugged at his hand. Nemo didn't even bother to turn his head to look at them but instead gazed down at them through the corner of his eye. Frisk instinctively flinched.

Nemo put his hands in his pockets and started walking. His head was killing him. His brain felt like it was full of static. It was making him increasingly irritable. The humans made their way down the stairs and into the hallway. They didn't get far when they heard Chara let out a cry. "Watch out!" The duo didn't have time to react as a fireball whizzed past Nemo's head, singing a few white hairs. The humans turned to see Toriel standing behind them, her arm extended towards them as fire burned in the palm of her hand.

"Do you two truly wish to leave this place? The monsters in the ruins are not like the ones out there. The monsters in the rest of the underground are strong. They will kill you. And if they don't Asgore will." She said.

"I'd like to see them try." Said Nemo drily.

"Nemo…" Said Frisk.

Toriel narrowed her eyes. "Very well, then you must face me, here and now. If you win, and prove you are strong enough to survive on your own, I shall let you leave. But if I win, I will destroy the exit, and you will never be able to leave. Is that understood."

"Nemo!" Said Frisk.

"Deal." Said Nemo.

"NEMO!" Cried Frisk.

"What is it Fri-?" Asked Nemo as he turned to look at them.

SLAP!

Everyone else stared in shock. Frisk was panting as they held their arm to the side. Nemo's head turned ever so slightly to the side as he brought his hand up to where Frisk struck him. This was the first time he'd ever seen Frisk, the real one anyway, do anything violent. It was a shock to say the least. "Nemo… please… you need to stop… you've… changed, so much. I want you to go back to the person you used to be." They said, tears welling in their eyes.

"I… Frisk, I don't think I can be that person." Said Nemo as his hand moved from his cheek to his magic eye. "Not anymore, anyway." Frisk looked at the ground as the tears in their eyes streamed down their face. Nemo knelt down and hugged them. "But… I guess it wouldn't hurt to try.

Frisk was quiet for a moment before returning the hug. The two let their hug continue for a short bit before separating. Nemo stood up and faced Toriel. "Alright, now that my head's a little clearer, let's go." He said.

"Go?" Asked Toriel.

"To the door of course. That area is far better for a fight than this cramped hallway, right?" Asked Nemo.

"I suppose there is validity in your words." Replied Toriel.

"Let's go then." Said Nemo as he extended a hand to Frisk. Frisk stared for a moment before smiling and taking it. The three of them made their way to the Ruins' exit. Nemo stared at the large door. "Well, here we are again."

"Again?" Asked Toriel in confusion. "What do you mean m-... child?"

"You could have the decency to use my name instead of just calling me child." Said Nemo as he turned back to the boss monster.

"Very well… Nemo. Are you ready to prove yourself?" Asked Toriel.

"Do you know how easy it'd be to just walk out this door and ignore this whole ordeal?" Asked Nemo with a shrug. "I mean, it'd save us all a lot of trouble, especially since we all know you're going to lose."

"I did not take you as the arrogant type." Said Toriel.

"I've already fought you twice, and won both times. I've seen you die, Toriel. I doubt anything special is going to occur from this fight." Said Nemo.

"What are you saying? Do you know something that I don't?" Asked Toriel.

"Oh, I'm sure you would just Level Of ViolencE it if I told you, wouldn't you?" Asked Nemo.

Toriel was quiet. Chara was not. In fact, they were laughing. "Wow! Gotta admit, that was kinda funny!" They said.

"I can not say I find humor in that joke." Said Toriel stiffly.

"Can't say I do either. You'd have to have a reaaally messed up sense of humor to find that funny." Said Nemo as he winked his left eye closed at Chara, who simply responded by sticking their tongue out at him. "But, I think we've spent enough time screwing around, it's time to start this fight."

"As you wish." Said Toriel. Suddenly Nemo's soul manifested in front of him.

"Frisk, let me handle this." Said Nemo.

"...Alright." They said.

Nemo started by Checking Toriel. "TORIEL - ATK: 80 DEF: 80. Knows what's best for you." Read the white words. Toriel fired two streams of fire. Nemo simply had to sidestep into the right position to avoid being hit.

"You missed." He said drily. He reached out and pressed the Mercy button, followed by using Spare. Toriel didn't respond, instead she simply waved a hand in front of her, summoning flames that launched at Nemo before bouncing off the walls. Frisk ducked into a corner and covered their head, trying to avoid being hit. Nemo kept an eye on them while continuing to side step her fireballs. "Watch where you're aiming, you almost hit Frisk." He said

"Toriel is acting aloof." Said Chara.

"Shove it Chara, let me focus." Said Nemo before using Spare again.

"C-Chara?" Asked Toriel, causing her expression to waver for a moment before regaining focus. Flames began to fall from the sky at random. The randomness made them harder to avoid, and Nemo had to block two fireballs with the back of his wrist. Nemo shook his hand a little, before using Spare again.

"This is getting old." He thought tiredly. Toriel waved a hand in front of her, summoning flames that launched at Nemo before bouncing off the walls. Nemo avoided these just as easily as last time.

"Toriel takes a deep breath." Said Chara.

"Shut uuup…" Replied Nemo as he used Spare for a fourth time. Toriel seemed confused, but attacked nonetheless with the same pattern as before. Nemo avoided the attack and used Spare for a fifth time.

"What are you doing?" Asked Toriel as the walls were set ablaze and more flames rained down. Frisk let out a startled cry as they moved away from the wall they were next to. Nemo used his arm to shield them from two more fireballs. The pain that the flames caused were incredibly dull. He stared at his arm, which was mildly burnt from her attacks. It looked like it should've hurt more than it did.

"Toriel looks through you." Said Chara, prompting Nemo to shove them away before pressing Spare again.

"Attack or run away!" Shouted Toriel. She used the hand wave and bouncing flames combo, which was avoided with ease.

"Toriel takes a deep breath." Said Chara.

"You know what…" Said Nemo as a shadow fell over his face.

"Nemo…?" Asked Frisk.

Nemo's hair turned dark as his hand began to glow with magic. "Oh my…" Said Toriel.

Nemo reached out with both hands and gripped the Act and Item buttons. He gripped them in both hands and squeezed.

"What are you doing...?" Asked Chara. Their question was answered as the buttons shattered in Nemo's hands. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Nemo then did the same to his Fight and Mercy buttons.

"I am done playing by this world's rules." Said Nemo as his hair returned to white and he stared at Toriel. "From now on, I'm making my own rules. No more turns. Now… let's begin the real fight."

Page 44 End