Begonia, a flower that means individuality. Directly translates, however, to "beware".
You're in Snowdin.
You stare out at a town of moving monsters, unaware of your sudden appearance. It'd been a long while since you experienced a reload.
You're just glad that the reload didn't "reload" the horrible feeling you'd gotten the first time the machine had dropped you here.
A human child weaves through the crowd, nearly bumping into a rabbit walking a rabbit. Chara flinches when he looks up and his red eyes meet yours. For a moment he freezes under your stare, then he's closing the gap between you, wringing one of his hands in the side of his sweater. He looks angry, upset, but he avoids your narrowed eyes nervously.
"What was that?" You ask. You cross your arms, which makes him flinch, but it's to keep warm not to show that you're angry.
"I messed up." He relents quietly. "I didn't think it'd- I forgot about…" He trails off. He glares at the ground.
"What happened?" You ask instead. He doesn't meet your eyes. "What happened with Sans? Did he…" You trail off, not waiting to finish the sentence. You couldn't imagine Sans, especially this Sans that acted so much like Papyrus, hurting a kid. Let alone kill one.
"Sans wouldn't." Chara said and then made a face as if he'd tasted something rancid. "I was the one-"
"HUMAN!" Sans comes bounding into view. He gets to you and Chara quicker than last time since the two of you hadn't moved. "I FOUND YOU HUMAN!"
Chara can't look Sans in the eyes.
"Two humans." You say, drawing Sans's attention. He gasps at you, like before, and the white lights in his eyes turn to stars.
"WOWZERS! ANOTHER HUMAN! IF I CAPTURE TWO HUMANS, I'M SURE ALPHYS WILL HAVE TO LET ME INTO THE ROYAL GUARD! MYEH HEHEH!" He poses while he laughs.
"Alphys?" You remember hearing him say it last time, but it's only now that you really think about it. "Alphys as in the yellow dinosaur Alphys?"
"OH! ARE YOU FRIENDS WITH HER?" It's an excited question that is met with Chara staring at you with a confused and untrusting look.
"Alphys?" Chara asked, sounding more confused. You open your mouth and then seal it quickly, realizing your mistake.
"ALPHYS IS THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD." Sans says and this time Chara glares your way. "SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT A HUMAN COMING THROUGH SNOWDIN… SHE MUST HAVE MEANT YOU!" He points his finger at you and beams. "BECAUSE YOU KNOW HER!" You try to shake your head, but Sans was already turning away. "I'LL GO INFORM HER THAT HER FRIEND IS HERE! NO NEED TO THANK THE SUPREME SANS!"
Then he's gone, his "myeh heheh" the only thing left behind. You stare at his foot trail and then turn a nervous look to Chara, who's still glaring up at you.
"How do you know Alphys?" It's a simple question but his low voice says otherwise.
You've managed to get the ten year old to stop trusting you in less than an hour of knowing him. And here you thought you were good with kids.
"I heard about her." You say, trying to fib your way through this. "From… Papyrus! Before the reload. He told me about her and how she was hunting humans."
Chara's eyes search your face. You think he's searching for a reason to keep trusting you, but maybe it's for a reason to stop trusting you. Either way the child sighs and nods, accepting your answer.
You feel a pang of guilt for lying so easily.
"That makes sense." He grumbles. "But we need to get going for real. I've never met or fought Alphys and I really don't want to anytime soon."
The two of you quickly start for the other side of town. When you pass Muffet's there's no tall skeleton to invite you to lunch. When you glance in, you don't see Papyrus anywhere.
At the edge of town, where the ice and snow start turning to water and melting away, a fog rolls in.
Then, it rolls out. Chara glances around when you two get through the cloud, as if expecting something or someone to jump out. When they see no one waiting there he waves you on.
The two of you safely make it to Waterfall.
So far you've noticed that the lay of land was the same as your universe. Which was nice, because you knew exactly where everything was. It was just the people that were mixed around.
Which was the dangerous part.
If Alphys was the head of the royal guard, then where was Undyne? Was she also a part of the guard or… Did she take Alphys's place? Sans and Papyrus had switched personalities and roles, kind of. And if Asgore was in the ruins, maybe Toriel was acting as Queen. If that was true…. What a weird universe, having two monsters switch roles. You wonder what had to happen in your universe to make that kind of divergence.
The lukewarm air of Waterfall felt nice on your chilly limbs. Out of the three oddly placed biomes in the Underground, you had preferred Waterfall the first time you'd traveled through. Not only was the sound of running water calming, but the area was also the darkest and easiest on your nerves. Well, easier on your nerves when Undyne wasn't hunting you through the marsh.
You come to a familiar outpost surrounded by glowing echo flowers. Chara nervously glances around, probably looking for the particular skeleton that was supposed to be stationed there.
As Chara heads over to peer into the station, your eyes are caught by movement. By the rock walls that lead to the next section of Waterfall, your eyes meet those of a monster child.
It was Asriel.
Seeing the small child again, your heart tugs in the same way it had when you first saw Chara. His red eyes bore into yours and you think maybe he's a ghost, a spirit. Then he smiles and runs forward.
"Wowie!" He says, surprising Chara. You catch his arm as he stumbles back. "Howdy!" Chara snorts through his nose at Asriel's excitement.
"Hey kid." You greet sweetly.
"Are you guys sneaking out to see Alphys, too?" You share a look with Chara. "Mom says I'm not allowed to go see her, 'cause it's dangerous, but I had too!" Asriel grabs up Chara's hands. "You two must admire her too!"
"What? No-" Chara begins but you push him forward.
"We definitely do!" You finish for him and Asriel's face lights up.
"Oh! Then let's go together!" Chara makes a face at Asriel, before turning a glare up at you. You smile sweetly at both of them and wave them on.
"Take Chara with you, he really adores Alphys." You say.
Asriel gives a little squeal as he tugs on Chara's hands. "Let's go let's go!"
You watch Asriel drag Chara off. The kid sends you a look but you shrug and wave him off.
Asriel seemed to be in Waterfall instead of Monster Kid, the monster Frisk had adored oh-so-much. You knew Chara would be fine. In fact, just like Frisk, you're sure Chara would be fine whether you were with him or not.
It was nice to know that even in an alternate universe Asriel and Chara were still together.
Now that Chara wasn't at your side, you think back to what you remembered of Waterfall's layout. As much as you liked re-experiencing the Underground, you didn't feel like you had time to do all of that adventuring.
Gaster had mentioned the bits of his soul would go to places in the other realities that were "familiar to him". The only places you could think of was the lab in Hotland and the Core, since both used to be his. You decide on the lab, first, since it was the closest.
You walk further into the winding and damp rock of Waterfall with a purpose. You stumble across a few monsters that step into your way. They're familiar and comforting, even when attacking. Because you knew them so well from where you came from, you left them in whirlwind with how quickly you spared them.
You come to a small narrow path, off to the side and tucked away. Slipping through it you come to the edge of a secluded river. You look both ways and sigh in relief when you see the silhouette of the River Person at the far right end.
River was a monster that you didn't know well. You're sure even if you had all of your memories of the surface, you still wouldn't have any of this monster. They kept to themselves and you only met them during the times you and Frisk took their boat while in the Underground.
The hooded figure slides their boat to the side, stopping it by pinning the rock with their oar. They gesture for you to board and you step on.
"I need to get to Hotland." You say, avoiding River's stare. They hum and nod and then push the boat off. They spin the craft around and take off up stream.
You don't even blink before they're slowing the craft down again.
You don't question the magic they must use to keep their border still or to move the boat so fast. Instead you step off once they siddle the boat up next to land.
"Thanks." You say, turning to head off into the hotter biome.
"La ta ta," The monster sings. You pause at the voice, looking back over your shoulder. The cloaked figure slowly raises their arms as they push the shore with their oar. Their cloak slips down and you see their hands-
You knew those hands.
Skeletal hands with large holes in the middle of their palm.
"Beware of the man from a different world. He's watching." Your stomach drops out as you hear Gaster's voice. His actual voice, not the odd reverberating sound that you couldn't actually hear when he'd talk and sign. This Gaster didn't sign as he spoke.
"G-Gaster." You blurt just as he pushes his boat offshore. "Wait, Gaster! What man?" But he's gone, singing out in that deep voice of his as he goes down the waterway.
You stare at his retreating figure until he's completely gone. For a moment more after that you stare, trying to order your spiraling mind.
Was the soul piece with that Gaster? Why was Gaster there instead of the River Monster? Why didn't he sign? So far you had grasped that the monsters had been switched around but you didn't know how that affected their souls and how that messed with your Gaster's soul. Would the piece still go to the lab, even though this Universe's Gaster probably never went anywhere near there?
You sigh, rubbing a hand down your face.
One thing at a time. Focus.
You'd check the lab first. You assume the souls call out to your Gaster, not just any Gaster, so they'd go to places associated with him. If that fell through you'd come back to question the River Pers- question this river Gaster.
Hotland is, well, hot. You couldn't very well describe it any other way. Just like Waterfall you navigate the steaming rocks and pools of lava expertly, and pass most warm monsters with only a few well chosen words.
Getting to the large towering lab before you was the easy part.
As you step up to the lab doors, they slide open for you. A burst of cool, damp air blows past you from inside. It's nice and immediately cools you down.
The lab is dark as you enter. You take two steps inside and then the metal doors slam shut with an echoing clack behind you.
You swallow. Something didn't feel right. You continue on cautiously.
The only real light source in the lab is a large computer screen to the left. It's a massive computer, showing two different scenes. One showed the back of your head as you walked through the lab. You remember seeing this same thing in Alphys's old lab. The other scene made you pause, though.
It was Chara, covered in dirt and sweat. He was breathing heavy and looked like he was running. The camera pans back enough for you to see that he was running through Waterfall, a large bulky figure just on his heels. He turns on the wooden path, skirting around a corner. The new way gave light to the silhouette behind him and you nearly choke on your spit.
It was Alphys. An Alphys in a suit of armor and three claw marks over her left eye. She glared daggers into the back of Chara as the two continued running.
You hear movement to your right.
Whirling around you face the darkness. You narrow your eyes, trying to see who was with you. Instinctually you reach for your back where, when you went through the Underground the first time, you carried your baseball bat. Your hand of course grabs only air and your heart gives a nervous beat.
"Hello?" You jump at Undyne's voice. You know it's hers but it's a lot quieter than you're used to.
You hear the sound of something powering on.
Just as a blinding light blankets your vision a cold hand grabs your arms.
For a moment you feel nothing but a cold and bottomless tug that makes your stomach rise to your throat.
Then you're standing in a hallway.
It's the Judgment Hall.
The cast of the pillars loom over you, the dawn light seeping in from the surface making odd and malicious shadows. Looking around, you try to find out how or why you were there instead of the laboratory.
You turn around to the beginning of the hall, noticing the save star not too far away.
"You're a real interestin' kid." You flinch and spin back around.
Papyrus stood before you, eyes downcast as he fishes a cigarette from his pocket. You glanced around, wondering how you hadn't seen him before. Was this Papyrus… Like your Sans?
"Did you bring me here?" You ask hesitantly. Papyrus lights his cigarette with a snap of his fingers by the end of it. You don't know how the two bones created a spark and you don't think to ask. When his eye lights flicker up to meet yours you feel dread swallow you.
"Ya know, I've been watchin' you." He takes a drag. "You're not from around here."
"I fell-" Your words die as your soul is tugged on.
"Nah. You didn't. 'least not here anyways." Papyrus raises his hand and makes a lazy wave for you to come closer. It's not until you feel your soul leave your chest that you realize he wasn't waving at you.
Your green soul bobs in front of you. At the same time you know it's been probably ten years since you last saw it, it feels weird seeing it so changed from your last memory of it. The last time you saw your soul was in your underground. It had been changed, down there, half of it turning a bright crimson in the final battle. Now seeing it after so long, the red had dissipated. The crimson now was only small cracks through the pulsing green.
"You know the Underground like the back of your hand." Papyrus continues. "But you told me you just up 'n fell. Checked with the guy in the ruins n' he didn't know of an older kid comin' through." Papyrus blows another cloud of smoke. Through it you see the faint glow of orange. "So who are ya, kid?"
The question makes you nauseous.
Papyrus stares you through, his glowing orange eye piercing your soul and seeing something you couldn't.
"I just want to go home." You said, not knowing what else you could say. There was no way he'd believe your crazy story and honestly you didn't feel like sitting down and explaining it. You didn't want to bet on him being empathetic and understanding your plight. You're sure even if you did tell him, even if he wanted to help, he couldn't.
No one knew about Gaster but you.
No one was a part of the same reality that you were.
No one could help you.
Papyrus raises his hand. You don't dare to wait to see if he attacks or not.
You flee.
"Wait kid-!" His startled voice only just makes it to your ears as you turn and sprint. You're out the doors of the judgment hall before Papyrus can say anything else.
You cup your soul as you run, trying to wave it back into your chest. Even though you had flee'd and left the encounter, something was still pulling at your soul.
You throw yourself into the elevator, pressing the button to shut the door multiple times.
You don't breathe until the doors shut and the elevator starts its descent.
You rub your shaky hands together, trying to calm yourself down.
If you remembered correctly, the judgment hall and this part of the Underground led directly to the Core. It seemed a better time than ever to check the Core for the fragment.
When the elevator lands and opens its doors you're off, sprinting through the blue wired walls.
When you turn the corner at the end you stumble to a stop. The open room glows white from steam and some kind of energy pulsing below the blue walkways. Though you had spent the least amount of time in the core, it was probably the area most imprinted in your mind. This area felt so off to you. You could practically feel the energy pulsing in the air, ghosting against your skin.
It's then too, that you hear a whisper.
You don't know how you heard it, over the churning of machinery and the hissing of pipes. It wasn't really a voice, and somehow you knew it wasn't really a person trying to get your attention either.
You just knew it was the soul.
You quickly make your way over the walkways, being careful not to look down into the bottomless void of white underneath you.
There's a loud bang and you throw your arms up as a wave of fog from the Core rises and blankets you. You couldn't see anything but the blue bridge just below your feet.
"Kid." You flinch and jerk around. Papyrus emerges from the fog behind you. You back peddle, weary of what little bridge you could see.
"Just leave me alone!" You hiss as you turn and begin running. You can only go so fast through the fog, as you could only see so much bridge and you didn't want to run off the side of it into the core.
You follow the whispers, weaving your way through the Core trying to find them. You knew Papyrus was following you, close behind, short cutting to get closer without you hearing him.
The bridge takes a sharp turn and then abruptly ends. You stumble to a halt, having almost run right off. You start to head back but when you turn you see the orange of Papyrus sweatshirt through the cloud.
"The kid's gonna reload soon." You hear him comment. He walks closer so that his face is revealed again. "Everythin's already stopped." At that you jolt.
Everything had stopped. You hadn't noticed the lack of machines going until it was pointed out. You'd been too focused on the whispers.
Thinking of the whispering, it was louder than ever. You couldn't understand the words, if it was words, but you understood the feeling behind them.
"You're right, you know." You say as you face your back to him. You search the unmoving fog in front of you. "I didn't fall down here like I should've."
The invisible hand from before pulls at your soul again, trying to force you to reload with them. But you refuse.
"Where'dya come from?" You hear Papyrus inch closer to you. "Nothin' like yous ever been in the Underground."
Through the fog you see it. A glowing fragment hanging low in the air. The moment your eyes landed on it your soul pops out of your chest. You lurch forward, but pull yourself back against the force.
You couldn't reload now. You were so close!
There was no way you could reach the fragment from the level the bridge was at.
Gaster had said that the machine would take you to the next piece the moment you grabbed one, didn't he?
You inch back on the ramp.
Your soul hurt from refusing the reload. It trembled through the pressure. The longer you held out, the more the red cracks grew.
"Kid what're ya doin'?"
"I don't know." You mumbled just as you hyped yourself up.
You took off running.
"Kid!" You feel the swipe of Papyrus's hand against your back as he tries to grab you.
You feel the rush of the cold energy as you fall into the fog.
The moment you grab the soul fragment you're filled with its last emotions: desperation, sadness, and an immense guilt.
You feel the invisible hand of the reload curl it's fingers around you, pulling your soul back. You also feel a new force, a stronger force, pulling at the soul you clasped tightly in your hands and your soul.
For a moment you feel like you're being ripped apart. There's an electric current shooting through your soul and you taste pennies.
"Found you."
Then you hit the ground.