Chapter XV: What Awaits
After the horrorfest they had just witnessed, Gaster took it upon himself to cleanse their mental palettes. He distorted their perceived reality once more, and Snowdin was back to its original form; Calm, tranquil, and lacking bloodshed.
"I must concede to you all," Gaster said. "That this journey thus far has rarely been filled with any 'light-hearted' moments. Perhaps you should indulge in the best that our little world has to offer."
(Queue 'Snowy' by Toby Fox)
And so, Gaster showed the group around the village; letting them experience the fun and wholesome interactions of the people there. While many in the group were still cautious and more focused on strategy for what was to come, many such as Flora, Kathrin, Evals and Mike enjoyed the innocent ambience; It was almost intoxicating how cozy the atmosphere was.
Meanwhile, Trace and Sirus had gone off to a separate corner, as Sirus had wanted to speak with Trace on a few matters.
"Trace," He started, lowering his voice. "I must be honest with you, I underestimated the sheer size of this journey. I also underestimated the threat that may come from it. We are... in a precarious situation."
He looked around very quickly before taking his gaze back to Trace; his eyes were dead-set and grim.
"These creatures... when I first heard they were 'made purely out of emotion', I was obviously skeptical. However... all of these interactions, these experiences, are starting to lead me to some conclusions. Listen closely-"
"What are you two scheming about?"
Sirus froze, hearing Gasper's voice rasp in his ear. He and Trace whipped their heads to see Gaster hovering over them; his mask expressed distrust and deep suspicion at their hidden conversation.
"Nothing against you or this world," Sirus said, recovering smoothly from his initial surprise. "But your demands that we help you are deeply selfish, if you reflect on it."
Trace was unpleasantly shocked by Sirus' sudden insult; Did he think it wise to antagonize their only guide through this mess?
Despite his fears, Gaster merely released a hollow sigh through his mask, curling his stygian-black hand in contemplation.
"...Yes, I am aware. Which is why, once you help me in this task, I would be glad to come to your world and... offer my own assistance in solving matters there."
"Deal." Sirus said immediately, much to Trace's consternation.
"Deal?!" He said in outrage. Sirus raised his hands in a negotiatory gesture.
"Uh, Trace, have you seen where we are right now? This being is capable of quite a bit, if it wasn't evident before. We most certainly could use his help when we get back to our homeworld."
Trace gulped. If they got back to their homeworld.
"...Very well."
Hours passed as the journey took on a more relaxed tone; There was no longer a hovering ominous presence to everything, nor an underlying, unknown danger seemingly posed to them. They knew the threat, as well as what their mission was, and so this was more of a break from the bleak nature of this world.
They began making their way through a cave that led to the Waterfalls; however, its maze-like caverns confused even Gaster, who was becoming frustrated as he kept hitting dead-ends to each path.
"Um..." Eric muttered. "...This is your world, right?"
"Shutup." Gaster retorted rather childishly. "I did not memorize every nook and cranny of the Underground. I'm sure you haven't done the same with YOUR world, either."
"...Fair enough. By the way, I know we're kind of in the 'spirit realm' or whatever this is, but is this cave inhabited by any-"
Bloop.
"...thing..."
Eric's sentence fluttered into nonexistence as he felt his foot pass through some kind of... apparition.
"OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOohHhHhHh..."
"What the fu-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Eric screamed, falling back in terror as a surprisingly-stereotypical looking ghost suddenly rose from the ground, a melancholy expression on his face.
"WhoOoOoOoOo dares disturb me from my sluuummmbbeeerrr- oh. OH."
The ghost's face contorted into an expression of deep disturbance as he saw Eric; Who was entrenched in horror by the sight of a ghost.
"This is a hoOoOoOorrrriiifffyiiiinnng sight to behoOoOoOold." The ghost uttered. "This must be... Gaster's work."
"Wait, you can see ME?!" Eric screeched. "Wait, isn't this the past?!"
"Settle down for a moment, Mr. Eric." Gaster whispered, though his voice projected across the caverns as if he were declaring it. "This is what you might call a 'spacetime seance'. Since Napstablook here-"
"Napsta who?"
"...Napstablook, the ghost here, is a spirit. Thus, he is able to ignore the laws of physics and may be capable of traveling through the fabric of different realities and timelines. However, since he is a lazy fuck-"
"That was uncalled foOoOoOor." Napstablook said depressingly.
"-He stays here, but is able to see and speak with 'visitors' from different timelines that happen to pass through."
"Well... why don't we warn him about Frisk, then?" Kathrin spoke up, clearly disturbed by the ghost as well.
"I already knoOoOoOoOow." Napstablook said, even more depressingly this time. "But... I cannot doOoOoOoOo anything... I am just a ghoOoOoOoOost, after all."
"Napstablook has... too complicated of a history to explain here." Gaster said with a regretful tone. "Just know that whatever idea you may have, I have likely already tried in this world. Hence, why I called all of you here."
The atmosphere was somber and silent, as they eventually left the depressed ghost to his own devices; Cordially, Napstablook was kind enough to lead them out of the cave and to Waterfall, before receding into his cave.
"When you find her..." He said, floating back into the dark cave. "Please... let me knoOoOoOow when she is freed. I want to listen to moOoOoOore tunes with her..."
"Freed?" Euchre muttered, unsure of what the ghost was trying to imply.
(Queue 'Waterfall' by Toby Fox)
Nonetheless, he left, and the group officially emerged into Waterfall. The calming illusion of the night sky, as well as the shining lake that glimmered brightly before them, filled with lilypads and cute frogs jumping about... it was serene, and a stark difference from the previous location.
"Man, what a rollercoaster landscape." Evals said in a tired voice. "I'm starting to wonder if this 'Underground' is an entire country."
"Hey, something's shining over there..." Flora muttered curiously, seeing a faint glimmer behind a nearby waterfall. She began making her way, when she felt a firm hand grab her arm.
"Wait!" Trace said, turning pale with fear. "Don't leave me!"
Flora turned back to look at him with concern.
"Wh-What? Trace, I'm just going across the-"
"I'll go with you!" Trace interjected; His heartbeat had accelerated rapidly as thoughts of her past self came to the forefront of his mind.
"Oh...okay, Trace." Flora said assuredly, trying to keep him calm. "Let's go, okay? I won't leave your sight, I promise."
Trace nodded frantically, still pale as a ghost, and they made their way over to the waterfall. Trace ducked his head as he passed under the wall of water along with Flora, and was surprised to see a line of ancient hieroglyphs scrawled onto the rock wall. Unfortunately, neither he nor Flora were able to translate it, and so after a few moments of initial curiosity, they decided to eventually leave it and return to the group, soaking wet from passing under the waterfall.
Unfortunately for them, this failure to pursue the information of these glyphs would come to bite them badly in the future...
The group had split off into smaller groups of 2-3 people (Gaster said it was fine to split up, so long as no one wandered off outside the boundaries of Waterfall). Evals and Mike went together, touring the rather quaint underground cavern.
"Man... this sucks." Mike said with a sigh.
"What? This is a beautiful place." Evals protested.
"No, you idiot. I'm talking about our situation. We were slaves, you remember that? Now... well, now I wish I could be swabbing the deck and unloading cargo." Mike said.
"Not me." Evals retorted smartly. "I'll take exciting adventure into another world any day."
Mike shook his head in resignation.
"Sure... that is, until we see this horrifying villain that brought ruin to this place. I'm sure you'll be all excited for the adventure then."
"Mike, if you only look at the bad in life, how do you think you're going to enjoy what's good?"
"Well, I can't very well enjoy anything if I'm dead, now can I?"
Evals shrugged.
"Well, call me a half-glass full kind of guy-"
"Call me a half-glass full kind of guy..."
Evals stopped in his tracks, sweat tracking down his face.
"Wh-Wh-Wh...at was that?!" He stuttered in terror, swinging his head around to find the source of the noise.
"What was that?!"
"AAAAAAH, SHIT, THERE IT IS AGAIN!"
While Evals was panicking, Mike glanced downwards, hearing the noise come from below him- only to see a luminescent blue flower, which hummed with an otherworldly radiance.
"Uh, I think that is the culprit."
"Uh," The flower repeated, rather annoyingly. "I think that is the culprit."
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH-OOoooooohhhhh... Oh." Evals muttered, becoming incredibly embarrassed by his initial panic. "Well... that's kinda cool."
"Thanks."
"Huh? HUH?!"
Mike pulled at Evals' shirt, pointing at a small door lying at the end of the hallway.
"There's an interesting sight. Let's go see it."
"Uh... ok."
They went towards the door with relative caution; Mike looked behind him, ensuring there was no one lying in wait to ambush him, and slowly pushed the door open-
"HOYOOOOOOO! WELCUM TO TEM SHOP! HOY HOYYYYY-"
SLAM!
Mike promptly slammed the door shut, an expression of 'I'm-really-fucking-done-with-this-shit' clear on his face.
"Let's just... get out of here."
(Queue 'Spear of Justice' by Toby Fox)
"THAT'S RIGHT, HUMAN!"
"Oh, god, what now?"
The group had eventually met up with Gaster, who directed them to follow Frisk down the beaten path. After lots of unnecessary exposition, they finally ended up here; Staring at a fish humanoid standing atop a mountain, who was gazing murderously down at Frisk; Spear in one hand, helmet in the other.
"YOUR CONTINUED EXISTENCE IS A CRIME!"
"Damn, that's a raw line." Keith said with a smirk. "I need to write that down, so I can say it to my foes in the future!"
"Please don't take inspiration from a fish, Keith..." Flora muttered.
The battle then commenced, and the group watched in awe as Undyne hurled attack after attack at Frisk, who was gracefully dodging every throw of the spear and stab of the blade. It was like an elegant masterpiece of a combat display; Like the group was watching a theatrical-
Shick!
"Oh, damn!" Eric said in shock, seeing Frisk suddenly take several shallow cuts from one of Undyne's attacks. "Are we watching someone die right now?!"
"THAT'S RIGHT, HUMAN!" Undyne cackled with a wicked grin- despite her supposedly being a 'hero'. "WITHER AWAY, FOR I AM THE SPEAR OF JUSTICE!"
"The spear of what now?" Evals said, trying to contain his laughter.
"She sounds more than a bit delusional..." Euchre remarked rather rudely.
"Hey, she's just passionate!" Flora defended her.
"I WILL DEFEAT YOU IN BATTLE, AND-"
And then suddenly, without any warning...
Frisk ran.
...
...
...
"HUUUUUUHHHHH?!" The group screeched as a united front, completely taken aback by that unexpected move.
Turning red in the face, Undyne chased Frisk down a long path, with the group trying to run to catch up with them.
"You think that fish is gonna catch Frisk?" Evals asked Mike, who facepalmed.
"I don't even know what's going on anymore. Hopefully, things will clear up after this battle."
"It'll take a moment for the water to boil."
"...Nothing is cleared up." Mike groaned in exhaustion, as the group had suddenly ended up in Undyne's home, watching her cook a meal for Frisk, who sat at the dinner table-
"HOW THE HELL DID WE GET HERE?!" Brahn shouted in frustration. "WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE FUCKING MISSION-"
"Wait, is she using salt and pepper?" Flora interjected, distracted by Undyne's rudimentary meal cooking. "Eugh. She should really add in some lemon pepper and zest, or that meal is gonna taste bland."
The group didn't spend much time in that spot, as they were already getting anxious about the mission ahead.
"I would like to show you the Hotlands," Gaster rasped, almost in a reminiscing tone. "But unfortunately, there is nothing important there that pertains to the mission ahead, so we will skip to the CORE."
"And you considered that cooking fiesta to be important?" Eric groaned.
Gaster waved his hand, and the landscape shifted once more; This time into a dark, gloomy atmosphere. They looked to be in the interior of some kind of grand castle, with long hallways and grand marble columns becoming the mainstay.
(Queue 'CORE Approach' by Toby Fox)
Navigating through the winding hallways, walking along the flagstones and intricate designs on the floor, seeing the decor that populated the somber interior... it was humbling, at the very least.
And then...
(Queue 'Asgore' by Toby Fox)
...They arrived. Watching as Frisk approached a tall, hulking beast wearing a crown and a cape; A king.
"I... I see. This is it, then."
Asgore, King of the Monsters, unsheathed his mighty trident, brandishing it with melancholy as he readied to fight with Frisk.
"Woah, this is badass!" Evals said excitedly, much to Mike's irritation.
"These people are fighting to the death, and you're saying it's 'badass'?"
Evals sneered at Mike, something that took him by shock.
"Mike, I don't think you understand warriors. It is honorable and the highest prestige to be considered 'badass', especially when you're fighting to the DEATH!"
Mike rubbed the bridge of his snout tiresomely, not caring enough to respond.
After much time, the fight eventually ended, with Asgore falling to his knees in defeat; Frisk had defeated him.
"Well, that was quite a show." Euchre remarked. "So, then, is this where our journey begins?"
"Not. Yet." Gaster rasped.
"What?" Eric said in annoyance, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration. "He's the final boss. What the hell else could come from-"
SLASH!
The group reacted with existential shock as several small seeds encircled him, then impaled him. He looked up at Frisk with misery in his eyes, before fading to dust.
And behind him emerged-
"YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Flowey.
"WOOOOAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
"WHAT THE FUUUUUCK?!"
"Well, that wasn't very nice."
"MY GOD!"
"Oh, no!"
"THAT THING IS TERRIFYING!"
The group gave varied reactions of shock as Flowey, now re-personified as some kind of hyper-realistic nightmarish beast, began speaking in a horrifying way to Frisk.
"WATCH ME TEAR YOU TO BLOODY PIECES, AS I SAVE OVER AND OVER AGAIN, JUST SO YOU CAN SEE YOUR OWN SLAUGHTER-"
And then, Flowey stopped mid-sentence.
His gaze slowly drifted away from Frisk...
Towards...
(Queue 'Blackness' by Brand X Music)
"Wh...Why is he staring at me?" Evals muttered, a bit discomforted by the expression on that thing's face. Gaster's mask morphed into one of horror- as he seemed to realize something terrible.
"WHO IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOOOOUUUUU?!"
"No..." Gaster muttered, his mask seeping with rage and terror. "No, no, no, no, NOOOOOOOOOO! HOW COULD I HAVE NOT FORESEEN THIS?"
Gaster's sudden unhinged reaction, along with the giant monster standing in front of them, served to only cause mass panic within the group.
"Wh-What do you mean by that?!" Mike asked Gaster.
"U-Uh, guys, it's still staring at me!" Evals muttered frightfully.
"I'm getting some seriously bad vibes from that thing!" Keith shouted, unsheathing his sword as Flowey's beast-monster form (whatever the hell it was) made its way towards them at the back of the throne room.
"HOW DID YOU GET HERE, MORTALS? HOW ARE YOU HERE RIGHT NOW?!"
Without warning, Gaster suddenly began opening up a rift in the middle of the air- it cracked and screeched with derision, before eventually opening up to reveal a stormy landscape.
"GET IN." Gaster shouted, his voice ringing across the giant room; Flowey cackled malevolently as he continued tromping towards them, losing his focus on Frisk.
"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY FROM MEEEEE!
"OH, GOD, THAT'S TERRIFYING!" Kathrin screamed, jumping through the portal without a second thought.
"HOW THE HELL CAN HE SEE US?!" Euchre shouted in anger and confusion. "THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE NOW! I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE PAST!"
However, seeing that Gaster would not answer his questions, he released a frustrated grunt and jumped through- Everyone else followed quickly, except for Sirus and Trace.
"GASTER, WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Trace demanded to know, though he was disturbed to see Gaster's mask had suddenly developed a web of cracks along its surface.
"I HAVE NO TIME TO EXPLAIN. GET. IN."
Gritting his teeth, Trace made an internal vow that he would get answers for all of this once they were in safety again.
He hopped through the portal, but not before seeing Gaster whisper something in Sirus' ear-
...
...
...
...
...
In the next second, Trace had landed on his feet; Solid ground.
Feeling panic, the first thing to his mind-
FLORA.
In a panic, he looked around-
"Oh, thank GOD!" He cried, seeing Flora having a heated argument with Evals, Mike and Euchre.
Now that his first matter was settled, he decided to take a look around-
...
"Oh...no."
He was horrified by the sight before him; It was very reminiscent of the world he saw when he'd ended up with just Keith...
They were on a hill. The land expanding outwards displayed all kinds of human civilization-
In ruins.
(Queue 'Perkunas' by Elephant Music)
The sky was a permanent gray- Thunder crackled through the dark clouds ominously; A distant rainfall could be seen heading towards them. The large town before them was in shambles; Buildings were dilapidated, damaged or destroyed entirely. Even from the distance they were at (being miles away), Trace could clearly see movement within the city; Almost as if there were several small fights happening at the same time. Winged demons of some kind flew around the innerspace of the city, snatching at whatever was moving.
What was this fresh hell they had just emerged into?
"Wh-What is this place?!"
"This is awful..."
"I sense bad energy from this land."
More varied reactions from the group, none of them hopeful or good. Everyone looked around at each other, worry and fear being communicated between them all.
"I-Is... this... the mission?" Brahn muttered, holding his daughter close to him.
"Blackened skies scream its demise," The daughter suddenly whispered loudly. "Yellowed lands plagued with sin, heralded by warlords, their evil within."
"Wha-" Brahn stuttered. "Wait, why did you say that just now?! Was that a warning?!"
The group erupted into a light panic; Everyone was trying to find answers, speaking with each other frantically or readying themselves for the potential of combat. And Trace...
Trace looked back, to see Sirus had gotten through the portal, which promptly closed without a sound; As if it had never been there in the first place-
"Sirus!" Trace said urgently, running over and grabbing him by the shoulders; He felt a deep dread within his stomach. "Wh-Where's Gaster?!"
In that moment, there were no amount of words that could have possibly described the dreadful horror that seeped into Trace's mind and body, as he watched Sirus avert his gaze, gritting his teeth and grimacing.
After a few torturous moments, he finally opened up his mouth to speak.
"Gaster... said... 'our mission begins now'."
PROLOGUE: END | STORY: BEGINS