Me: Welp... I'm officially starting college today, and I wanted to get this out before classes begin. Luckily I only have three for today. Wonder how that's gonna work out for me?

Chara: Probably suckish on the first day because you'll have no idea where the hell you're going.

Me:...thanks for the vote of confidence...anyway! I wanted to get this out before first. Plot begins! And quite a confusing one!

Asriel: Oh golly...my head already hurts...

Frisk: And I'm getting the sudden feeling that I won't be having an optimal experience...

Me: Yeah...this won't be too fun for Frisk, most likely. Anyway...

Chapter Start!


(Dream State)

Asriel, Frisk, and Chara woke up at the exact same time, slowly opening their eyes and adjusting themselves to the light...or the lack of light. All three of them blinked rapidly before their eyes widened completely, shocked by the lack of light. Instead of light, there was nothing but darkness. Chara was instantly on alert, standing up and bringing his brothers closer to him.

"What the hell? Why are we in the Void?!" He exclaimed, searching the area for potential danger. One such danger being that they are unaware of what could be in this type of area, the Void was completely unpredictable if you weren't in tune with it. If you weren't with the Void, then it was going to start doing serious damage to he pysche. That's something Chara wanted to avoid as quickly has possible.

Frisk looked around, just as confused as the others. "What's going on? How did we end up in the Void? I could have sworn we were asleep in our beds..."

"We WERE alseep in our beds. We shouldn't have ended up in this plane, we didn't do anything to end up here." Asriel said, curiously looking around for anything that might give them a clue on what's going on. But there was nothing to be seen. Nothing but an endless, dark abyss taking up most of their sight aside from seeing one another. They were each growing a bit nervous, but they did their best to stay calm and carefully do their best to analyze the situation without panic.

"Let's think about the last time we interacted with the Void. We were...not under the best of positions. I was in quite a serious amount of danger, even though it was ultimately just a poorly thought out fluke. And then there was the time before that, when we were fighting one another. There was always some sort of significance to the events that involve the Void. We have to figure out what this could mean." Chara explained, folding his arms. "Do either of you have any ideas?"

Asriel reluctantly shakes his head. "Things have been going pretty well for a while. I don't think I can think of anything that could connect this kind of event to anything else we've experienced ever since returning to the Surface." He blinked a bit while placing a paw on his chin. "Except finding Red in that Artifact, and the appearance or Geno Sans. Those were completely unexpected events, and I don't really know what to think of them."

"Those things have never happened before, I can assure you. Though we didn't do anything that would warrant us ending up into the Void. We certainly didn't bring ourselves here while we were sleeping...did we?" Frisk wondered, head cocked to the side.

"No, I'm pretty certain we didn't do it. There must be something about that we're missing that lead to this..."

Just as they we're dwelling deeper into their thoughts, a loud, unclear, glitched voice sounded out from the darkness:

'tHe TiMe I hAvE fOrEwArNeD yOu Of Is AbOuT tO cOmE tO pAsS...

Chara recongized that glitched out voice anywhere. Gaster. He stayed on his guard, trying to locate the source, growing slowly frustrated that there was no luck. "Where are you?!"

'yOuR nEwEsT jOuRnEy Is SoOn To BeGiN...i'M sOrRy...BuT iT's OuT oF eVeRyOnE's CoNtRoL...YoU mUsT rEaCh OuT pAsT tHe BoUnDaRiEs Of TiMe AnD sPaCe..YoU aRe DeSpArAtElY nEeDeEd...ThE tIdEs Of TiMe HaVe BeEn AlTeReD...yOuR gReAtEsT tRiAls ArE AbOuT tO bEgIn...Be PrEpArEd To FaCe ThEm...

Asriel blinks in confusion. Trials...?

"Tra la la!"

Chara jumped as the River Person appeared right behind them, not looking at them. But looking past them. "What the?!"

"Tra la la! Don't be so jumpy. Take a breather, relax. You won't be able to do so for long."

Chara and Asriel were baffled, but Frisk was paying full attention. Some would say that the River Person always said the silliest things. Though very few have mamaged to catch on that there was more to the person than it seems.

"Your first major journey ended six years ago, now the newest one begins. The Third Catalyst has reached out to you. It is not nice to talk about someone who's listening...but it's imperative to listen when said person reaches out to you. I suggest you do so. He knows what he's talking about."

Chara growled in frustration. "We don't even know what you're talking about!"

"The Third Catalyst has reached out to you, there's no stopping what comes next, not now." The River Person turned to Frisk. "The first destination, is a world darker than this one. You must endure the curse that attaches to you, because your DETERMINATION is the purest of you three. Do not let the curse consume you, or else your soul will be unable to return..."

Chara's eyes began glowing dangerously red. "Man, you're being unbelivably frustrating right now! First destination with a curse?! Third Catalyst?! Unable to return?! What the hell does that even mean?! You make it sound like we're in danger, especially Frisk! Can you start making sense?!"

Asriel placed a paw on Chara's shoulder. "Chara, please don't be so hostile. If there's anything I know for certain due to extended knowledge, is that the River Person always has something important to say within the lines of strange speak. If it is said that these things are important, then we have to listen."

Chara folded his arms. "I already know that...but it would be so much easier to understand if the message wasn't so cryptic. Sometimes cryptic is fun to play around with, but other times it's just flat-out infuriating. Especially when it involves you two getting into danger, those are the times I REALLY don't want the information to be enigmatic. I seriously don't need that."

"Do not stress yourselves, young ones. Save your energy." River Person said, looking above into yet another direction of the dark abyss. "You are now currently regaining consciousness..."

Before they could ask any other possible questions, they were taken in by a different type of darkness, which also took a part of their consciousness with them...

(Reality)

Asriel opened his eyes first, gasping softly from how suddenly he woke up. Chara and Frisk woke up simultaneously as they all sat up in their bed, currently baffled by what they just heard and saw. Chara looked at his brothers with a bit of worry, which they returned by hugging him tightly. He didn't bother looking annoyed by it, he was worried enough to return the embrace without resistance.

"Chara...that was no ordinary vision, was it? It's much more significant than that." Asriel said with a light sense of dread.

"There was no way that was an insignificant vision. River Person in the real world is one thing. But River Person in our dreams...something like that can't be ignored. And believe me, I kind of wish we could." Chara shook his head. "We gotta take this seriously, you two. Whatever the River Person was trying to tell us, we need to look into it, and soon."

"But where do we start? How do we start? We know a bit too little to put together a very solid plan about how to proceed with certainty." Frisk said. "...Then again, most of the things we did aren't done with certainty. So I guess not much changes there."

"What do we do then...?" Asriel pouted in confusion.

Chara heard a knock at the door, and lightly pushed the two away, without harming them. "Let's get back to the subject later. We gotta look cool. She senses when something's bothering us. All she has to do is look at us to recognize when something's wrong. Try to look calm." The other brothers nodded softly as they turned towards the door.

Toriel opened the door to their room with a warm smile gracing her lips. "Good morning, my children."

"Morning Mom!" The trio replied happily, though Chara's was more cool than Asriel and Frisk's enthusiasm.

Toriel took a moment to look at their faces. She noticed the smallest detail, and her brows furrowed as she closed the door behind her. "Asriel, are you alright? You sound troubled."

Chara groaned, planting his face in his palms. "Azzy...what did I just say about keeping your cool?"

"I got nervous!" Asriel weakly defended.

Toriel's maternal instinct was proven correct. She made her way over to their bed and sat next to them. "All three of you are undoubtedly troubled by something. Was it a bad dream? You look like you just woke up from one that deeply shaken you." Asriel rubbed his neck. Chara shrugged at both him and Frisk. Lying to Toriel about deeper issues was like seeing through Sans' poker face. It borders on impossible. When they still haven't said anything, she wrapped her arms around all three of them and kissed the top of their heads. "You know you three can tell me anything."

Frisk and Asriel were a bit nervous. Chara looked away, but didn't vocally deny her wishes. The younger brothers soon hugged her back, gently nuzzling their heads into her soft, warm bosom. She didn't press them to tell her, letting them know that she wouldn't force them to speak. Chara sighed as he turned towards Toriel.

"It was a pretty vivid dream, Mom. We dreamed that we were in the Void, and we heard a voice warning us of events to come...we don't yet understand what it could mean. Though it's something I plan on looking into." Chara explained.

"Oh dear...possible time-space shenanigans?" The trio nodded awkwardly to her question. She sighed. "I'm afraid that area of expertise is down to both Sanses and both Alphyses. I do wish I could help more."

Chara shook his head. "No, you're doing just fine, Mom. You're our source of relief when things get a bit too intense and we wanna come home and have a breather. Or in my case, my family in general is usually my escape from strange phenomenon that ticks me off. My second choice would obviously be Muffet. Not that it means anything!" He said quickly as he saw the knowing smile on Toriel's face. "Not you too, Mom!"

"Whatever do you mean, my child? I did not say anything."

"But you're thinking it!"

"Hm~"

Asriel smiled while Toriel was petting his head while lightly avoiding his horns. "We'll figure something out, Mom. You don't have to worry about us too badly." Bcause telling Toriel not to worry about her children at all is significantly more difficult than seeing past Sans' poker face. It's borderline impossible for Toriel not to worry about her children.

Frisk smiled as he sat comfortably on Toriel's lap, hugging her tightly and resting his head on her bosom, nestling happily to her maternal warmth. Chara rolled his eyes at Frisk, who totally ignored him with bliss. "That's fine, Mom. You're doing just fine as you are. Though we'll let you know if there's any other way you can help."

"Please do, my children. You have each struggled enough on your own, I wish to help however I can. Lighten the load, as some say." Toriel released all three of them as she stepped back and clasped her paws. "Well, now that's out of the way for the time being, let's begin our morning properly."

Asgore soon opened the door to the room, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Am I interrupting, in any way?"

"No Dad, we just about finished talking. What is it?"

"I was just saying, you might want to head downstairs. It would appear that Red and Flowey are...not getting along particularly well this morning."

"Oh Golly, what's going on this time?" Asriel shook his head as he got off the bed and headed downstairs to the living room. This was also a common event in the household. Chara and Flowey are always at each others throats because of obvious antagonistic tendencies between the two. But for some reason, Red and Flowey were a much more hostile combination at times.

Like so.

"Lousy Mutt."

"Stupid Sunflower."

Flowey was leaning forward with his leafy arms crossed, glaring hard at Red. Red, with her paws on her hips and her hood pulled back, glared with agitated fire in her eyes. She has somewhat of a decent understanding that Flowey was a separate manifestation of Asriel's darkness through unbelivable means. Even with this, she found herself highly annoyed with the flower and his antics.

Asriel soon came downstairs and saw the two glaring at each other with steeled hostility. He sighed nervously and came in-between the two. "What's going on here?"

"This stupid dog is annoyed because I simply woke her up. And this is the thanks I get?" Flowey rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"You pushed me off the couch with your spiked vines you crazy sunflower!" Red bared her fangs at him, growling lowly.

"Alright you two, break it up." Chara pushed Red away from Flowey, while Asgore picked Flowey up and took him outside. "Red, you can't be picking fights with the Tsun Tsun Flower. That's my job."

"Hmph. Stupid Sunflower..." Red folded her arms and pouted. Asriel placed his paw on her head and began petting her softly. She was still pouting a bit, trying to pretend that it wasn't making her feel better, but the wagging tail ended up making this goal totally useless. After a couple more moments of petting, she could no longer keep the smile on her face from appearing. She giggled as she pushed his paw away. "Okay okay, I'm feeling better! No need for constant petting!"

Frisk smiled. "Never mind Flowey. He'll warm up to you eventually. Just like he warmed up to us."

"I DID NO SUCH THING!" The flower's denial was heard from outside.

"I wonder how any human neighbors feel about a talking flower in our yard?" Chara said, pretending to think hard on the question.

"There are so many varieties of monsters around, Chara. And yet you think the weirdest thing they'll see is the talking flower?" Frisk tilted his head.

"Of course not...the weirdest thing they'll see from us is that the King of Monsters loves the color pink, loves gardening, and his intro to almost every conversation is-"

"Howdy!" Asriel waved with a smile.

Chara glared playfully at his taller yet younger brother. He wrapped an arm around his neck and gave him a rough noogie. "You think you're funny, Azzy? Huh? Do ya?!"

"N-No, Chara! Of course not!" Asriel panicked, trying to pull away from Chara's grasp. "I'm not Sans! I don't even know that many jokes!"

"Alright, my children. Don't roughhouse." Toriel gently scolded as she pulled the two away from one another.

"Heh." Chara rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm gonna go solo for a bit. Azzy, Frisk, Red...you three can do whatever ya want."

"Solo? Where are you going, Chara?"

"Over to Undyne and Alphys' place. I got some things to do there that's been on my mind for a while. You don't have to worry about it. If I get the info I seek, I'll fill you in." He said as he reached out and rustled Asriel's fur and Frisk's hair on their heads. "I'll see you both soon." He nodded as he turned and opened the door outside, moving on to Undyne and Alphys' place.

Asriel and Frisk looked at one another for a bit, then towards Red. All three of them shrugged. "Guess it's just the three of us, then. What should we do?"

"We won't know until we get outside, won't we?" Red suggested. The three of them nodded, waved goodbye to Toriel for the time being, and left the house together as well. As soon as they left, Asgore came back in, lightly shaking his paw a bit.

"Asgore? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, dear. I tend to forget that Flowey is not only a hisser, he's also a biter. Golly..." Though to Asgore, Flowey's bites amount to nothing more than a small sting.

"Oh he's such a naughty flower. Doesn't he know that biting isn't nice?" Toriel huffed as she gently grabbed hold of Asgore's paw and planted a kiss on the bite mark. She looked up to him with a warm smile. "Is thst better, Gorey?"

Asgore pretended to ponder about it, stroking his beard. "...Maybe one more will make it better?" Toriel playfully rolled her eyes and kissed his paw again. He smiled a bit wider. "Maybe yet another one?" She kissed his paw once again. "...Maaayyybeee a couple more times?"

"Now you're just being silly." Toriel giggled.

"What would give you that idea, Tori? I am being completely serious about this, Flowey bites are rather painful and I'm sure kisses on the paw would make it better! Why is it so strange that it takes a couple tries?"

Toriel smirked as she releases his paw and turned her back on him. "Well then, I suppose kissing your own paw will suffice, then. You didn't say that they had to be my kisses."

Asgore's smile dropped, then he chuckled jovially as he followed her into the kitchen, rubbing his neck. "Bahaha! I'll admit, I walked right into that one!"

Outside, Asriel, Frisk, and Red were already a decent distance away from the house, as they were trying to decide on what to do for the day. With Chara somewhat interested in a different direction, they would have to decide without him. Asriel tilted his head and folded his arms as nothing came to mind. Except maybe one possible thing.

"Well, since we have the time and the intention, we should probably be thinking about how we're going to interpret that dream of ours." Asriel started as he unfolded his arms. "And we already know that there's one person we can go to for this sort of weirdness."

Frisk nodded. "Sans?"

"Sans." Asriel noddedx though he blinked with confusion. "Wait...which-"

"Classic Sans."

"Right! Let's get to his and Papyrus's house and see if he can make somethingnout of this!"

"And of course I'll help out however I possibly can!" Red said triumphantly, paws on her hips. She had little to no clue as to what they're talking about, but she insists on helping out anyway.

Frisk smiled. "Alright then. To their place!"

(Undyne and Alphys Residence)

Chara pushed his way through their door, stepping inside after knocking twice. "I'm stepping in because I require a bit of assistance! Simpler terms, I've come to see someone."

Undyne had her feet kicked up on the table in front of her as she had an arm wrapped around Alphys. "Ah. It's Chara. What can we do ya for, punk? We were just dosing in our early morning anime."

"Seriously? This early in the morning?"

"Why not?"

"...Fair point. Anyway, I need to talk to Geno Alphys and Geno Sans. I know the latter is here because he doesn't want to take chances being caught in his counterpart's house by Papyrus. The dude is seriously hung up on him."

"Can we really blame him?" Undyne shrugged. "Anyway they're both in the basement. I don't think they're doing anything, so you should be able to go right down."

"Okay, thanks." Chara nodded as he moved past them as he made his way down the stairs.

Once he got to the bottom step, he swiftly moved to the side as a bone embedded itself into the wall where his head was just placed. He blinked. "You know you can just tell me that you're busy. No need to shoot bones at me."

Geno Sans blinked as his eye stopped glowing, and he lowered his hand as Geno Alphys calmed him down. "ugh...i'm sorry...i'm sorry. i'm just so used to seeing you as the enemy...reflexes kinda-"

"No need to explain yourself. I get it." Chara shook his head. "I've come down here to ask you something. And don't worry. Geno Alphys would probably like to know too...except that I'm a bit more assertive on the issue because I know that you know the answer."

Geno Alphys looked a bit confused about what he was implying, until it clicked as she saw the serious look in his crimson eyes. "Chara, I don't think this is the best time for that. Maybe if you waited a bit longer-"

"This is something I really need to know. He's had enough time to cool down to the environment this new timeline had to offer him." Chara turned to Geno Sans. "I just want to know something important. For there to be a Geno Sans, you'd have to come from a Genocide timeline. And if you're from a Genocide timelime, that means Frisk and me would have to cooperate into a Genocide route. Thus, there should be a glitched Geno Frisk since Geno Me hijacked the body when they sold his soul. But you said your Geno Frisk didn't come with you...what happened to him?"

Geno tugged on his scarf tightly. "it's like i told geno alphys, some things are better left unsaid."

"That's what Sans has been saying for years. And the only thing that managed to get everything done positively is when he came out with the truth. I suggest you do the same right now, Geno." Chara said. "I know Geno Frisk was with you. But something happened between the time you moved from your own timeline to this one, and now he's no longer with you. What happened to him? What happened to your timeline you were hovering over and watching from the Reset Screen?"

"..."

"...He was Erased, wasn't he?"

"..."

"Geno, the only thing your silence is gonna accomplish is delay my approach to the truth. I've a bad feeling something major is going to happen, and not the good kind of major. I think you know what it is and yet you refuse to tell me." Chara narrowed his eyes. "How did he get erased? You know what, no. Lemme try a better question...who erased him? Our Geno Frisk sacrificed himself so Asriel could manifest a body again, alongside essences of the other six souls. Your Geno Frisk sounds like he disappeared completely, against his will. And you couldn't do anything to stop it. How, and why?"

Geno looked Chara in the eye, his eye socket narrowing. "...i'm not sure what you would do with that kind of information, chara."

"I'm using that information to help myself and my brothers, along with everyone else. But the only way I can do that is if you tell me what we're dealing with. I knew those p troubles weren't over, but I need to know what we're dealing with." Chara sighed. "I'm not even gonna ask you to explain the entire thing. If there's anything that you can tell me that can help me understand better, I'll take it."

Geno sighed as Chara calmed himself down in order to try and make this easier on him. He was deeply worried that something was going to happen, and that his brothers would be caught within the chaos. Reformed and better than he was before, Geno couldn't just tell the boy nothing out of leftover spite. That wouldn't be fair to anyone else. He had to give him something.

"...kid...lemme just say this. the person me and geno frisk was runnin' from...he ain't a joke. his demeaner is confusing but his intentions are dead serious. i barely escaped with my life, while geno frisk couldn't escape at all. i was forced to leave him behind...and he was glad i did, which only made me feel worse. all in all, when i thought my life couldn't get any worse...it did."

Chara payed close attention, keeping track of Geno's words. He was trembling slightly when he explained his ordeal. That confirmed something, someone erased Geno Frisk and almost did the same to Geno Sans.

What he wanted to know, was who.

(Sans and Papyrus's Residence)

Asriel, Frisk, and Red made it to the skele-bros house with great time, and the first knocked loud enough for them to hear. They waited patiently for a bit, just enjoying the warmth outside for a little while. Until they finally heard the doorknob turn and the door itself open. Papyrus was revealed to be the one behind it.

"AH! FRISK, ASRIEL, AND RED! HOW GREAT OF YOU TO VISIT! AND AT SUCH AN EARLY TIME!" The three of them laughed softly at that. If there was anyone who proved to be an early riser for one so energetic, it was Papyrus."I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN SANS TO OPEN THE DOOR, BUT HE'S BEEN LYING ON THAT BLASTED COUCH ALL NIGHT! AND EVEN WHEN HE'S AWAKE, HE REFUSES TO GET UP!"

"Wow, that sounds like Sans alright. Anyway, can we come in? We need to talk to him about something."

"WHY OF COURSE! PLEASE ENTER, DEAR FRIENDS!"

The trio entered the room with Papyrus's permission. Asriel and Frisk were alightly surprised that the skele-bros house was much like their old one, besides a few differences. It was slightly cleaner, the cabinet and the sink weren't so far apart, and it only lightly smells of spaghetti and ketchup. Other than that and rearranged furniture, it was surprisingly similar to their last house.

Sans was sitting on the couch, his jacket lightly tainted by ketchup stains, yet his pink bunny slippers remain completely clean, surprisingly. He chuckled lightly as he pointed at the TV. "ha! that pink rabbit completely mastered the art of laziness. i could learn a thing or two from him." He turned to see Asriel and Frisk standing a few feet away from him, and he cocked his head. "oh. hey there, kids. how's your mornin'?"

Asriel sighed. "Red and Flowey almost got into another fight."

"that don't surprise me much. he never did give her a reason to like him. not like you two did. anyway, you two sound like you have something to tell me."

"We do, actually." Frisk nodded as he and Asriel sat down on the second couch in the room, while Papyrus takes Red into the kitchen. "Something has come up in our dreams, something we think you should hear." Sans takes note of how worried they looked, and leaned in to listen better. Frisk took a moment to collect his thoughts. "We think...Gaster might be reaching out to us."

Sans' pinpricks turned to small dots. He sighed. "...let's take this briefing somewhere private." One moment they were in the living room. The next, Sans' room...which really wasn't any cleaner than his previous room. "now lemme see if i heard that right...ya heard gaster speaking to you?"

"So did Chara. We didn't see him at all, but we could somewhat feel his familiar presence. He was definitely speaking to us, but he didn't allow us to see him." Asriel said, lightly touching his horns out of slight nervousness. "He said something about the times he's warned us about is going to come to pass. We don't know for sure what he meant, but he sounded very serious about it. He said our newest journey is about to begin, and nobody has a say in the matter. The tides of time have been alterned and we have to meet the trials that come along with them. That's the gist of it, anyway."

Sans listened intently as Asriel explained the first part of their dream. He didn't have a clue as to what this could mean, but he knew he had to pay attention. Gaster doesn't just excess his magic to he could reach out to anyone from the Void, and not have it be important.

"Then the River Person showed up and basically told us some of the same things, except that it would be a world darker than ours, and I would be placed under a curse because my DETERMINATION is more pure than Asriel's or Chara's." Frisk said. "And if I let the curse consume me, my soul will be unable to return. I...don't know what that means, but it sounded very serious."

"a world darker than this one..." Sans mumbled. "...the river person musta been talkin' about a completely different timeline, if he says it's darker than this one. because this timeline has been great so far, with only a couple speedbumps along the way."

"And after that, we just woke up. It was really weird, Sans. We have no idea what any of it means and we don't know why Gaster is reaching out to us now of all times." Asriel said, tugging on his rainbow scarf slightly.

Sans had his skeleton hands clasped as he listened to the remainder of their story. When they finished, he sighed. "i honestly don't know what to tell ya, kiddos. except that g doesn't let himself be seen or heard by just anyone. it's been six years since we last saw him. if he told you all of this, with the river person's help, them you gotta take it seriously." He always knew the River Person knew more than they let on. He just never figured out how and why. "look...i'm gonna try and figure this out. you two can do the same...but be careful. if fate's choosinf now to give us a bad time...then we gotta be prepared for the worst."

Asriel and Frisk were slightly disappointed by the lack of answers, but they didn't blame Sans. If he was in the dark about this, then they all would be. Asriel sighed. "You don't have to do anything right now, we're just going to have to find out when it comes. Thanks anyway, Sans." And with another blink, they were back in the living room.

Red slowly walks out of the kitchen with a rather confused expression. "Papyrus has...strange ways to make spaghetti."

"THIS SHOULD BE ONE OF MY GREATEST SPAGHETTI TRIUMPHS YET!"

"bro, you say that every time."

"BECAUSE EACH AND EVERYTIME, IT GROWS EVER GREATER! JUST LIKE ME! NYEH!"

Sans shrugged. "on the bright side, it's finally tasting pretty good. ya should try it sometimes and see what i mean."

"We're good for now, thanks." Red shook her head.

"suit yourselves." Sans shrugged as he closed his eye-sockets.

Red turned to the two boys. "Did you two hear anything useful?"

"Only that we should watch our backs whenever possible." Frisk shrugged.

The canine pouted as she folded her arms. "Well that's not very helpful."

"Nothing we can do about it now. Let's go."

The trio nodded in agreement as they said goodbye to the already napping Sans and spaghetti making Papyrus. They closed the door behind them and turned around...

...to see the Annoying Dog.

"...Toby? What are you doing here?" Frisk said as he bent down and petted the small dog.

For a long while, this specific dog has been called just that, the Annoying Dog. However, Frisk decided that the name wasn't very nice, and decided to call him Toby, complete with a blue collar around his neck that had his name on it. Frisk didn't know WHY he chose the name Toby out of all names, nobody questioned it. It was very strange...yet it felt just right with everyone that there were no objections.

Toby responded positively to the petting, barking happily. Though it sounded muffled, almost as if something were in his mouth. Turns out there was a key in his mouth...a Silver Key. He lowered his head and dropped it on the ground in front of them, before turning around and running off, still barking.

"Huh?" Asriel picked up the key with a confused look. "Why would Toby have this...?"

Frisk tried to think back to see if he could remember the Silver Key, and what it did. After coming up with nothing the first couple times, he had an idea as to what it could be. Frisk quietly gestured for Asriel and Red to follow them behind the skeleton-bros house. When they did, they saw a shed, which was completely hidden from view due to the other houses blocking visual of it. He then proceeded to unlock the door with said key, then push it open with very careful caution. His theory was proven correct as the trio slowly stepped inside.

Sans' Workshop.

"He literally moved every one of his belongings to the Surface...even the contents of this room..." Frisk said quietly as he slowly closes the door behind him.

"Woah...he really didn't want to leave anything he might need behind. Including all of this..." Asriel whispered as the three of them began exploring the room. They could see the four drawers lined up perfectly like the last one...or was it the same? Sans can do many weird things...

"This place is weird...there's barely anything in here..." Red mumbled quietly. Then her gaze fell upon the sheet covering something up in the corner. Curiousity peaked, she pulled off the sheet,,and it revealed a strange machine that looked a lot like the DT Extraction Machine in Alphys's True Lab...just smaller. "What the heck is this...?"

"Sans Machine..." Frisk said. "I never really came back down here because everything was going fine. Was he still trying to fix it, even after all this time...?"

"I don't know much about machines...but what I do know is that in order for something to be fixed, it first has to have been broken." Red reasoned, her head tilted. "Though that leaves a curious question...how did it break?"

"I don't know...and I don't think Sans remembers the exact details." Curiosity driving the trio on, they stepped into the machine, looking around in the space for a couple moments. Frisk then spotted a note lying on one of the walls:

it took so much time...so many resets...so many constant failures...but finally...FINALLY...thanks the the assistance of geno alphys, and the recent data provided by geno sans...i've actually made significant progress. i fully intend to proceed when i'm sure that everything runs smoothly. for now though, i'll just put it on hold. paps and the others comes first.

...papyrus...

...i can't keep the truth from him forever, now that this timeline is permanent for the most part. sooner or later...i'm gonna have to spill my guts and tell him everything.

...even though i don't have guts to spill. heh...seriously though, i've gotta tell him soon.

...six years is enough time to gather the courage...

Asriel placed the paper on the counter and walked back into the machine. "So with Geno Alphys and Geno Sans' help, he actually made a breakthrough? Though because of the latter, this means that this note was very recent."

"What didn't he tell his brother, though? Does it have something to do with this thing?" Red asked, her ears pulled back slightly in confusion.

"I wish I knew..." Frisk looked downwards, and saw a red button on a control panel, which was unlabeled. Maybe Sans was too lazy to label them? Curiosity peaked, and he reached his hand out.

Asriel noticed what he was doing, and panicked slightly. "Um, F-Frisk?! I don't think we should touch that! Nothing good ever comes from pressing the big red-"

Button Pressed.

The inside of the machine began lighting up with a bright white glow, forcing the trio to quickly shut their eyes. The entire inside of the she'd began to light up as a loud whirring noise rebounded off the walls.

"BUUUUUUTTOOOOOOOOONNNNN!"

Asriel's cry sounded throughout the shed, and the flash complete engulfed the inside of the shed.

Once the light cleared...

...they were gone.

(?)

Asriel slowly opened his eyes, then sits up while placing a paw on his forehead. "Ugh...my head..."

"What...happened...?" Red groaned she stood up, dusting off her skirt while looking around the area, then below her.

Golden Flowers. They broke their fall.

Asriel's eyes widened.

"Oh Golly." He whispered. "Oh GollyGollyGollyGolly! This can't be! We couldn't have RESET this far back! Not to the beginning of the Underground! We made sure that couldn't happen again!"

"Wait...RESET?" Red blinked as she looked around the small cavern. "So...this is the entrance to the Underground, huh..."

Asriel was panicking, trying to figure out how Sans Machine was capable of such a thing...when he stopped and realized something...he still had his body. He's not Flowey. His panic soon grew into intense confusion. "What the Golly is going on here...? Something is very, VERY wrong here..." He blinked as they realized they were one person short.

Where did Frisk go?!

His concern for his little brother overtaking everything else, Asriel soon ran away from the golden patch of flowers, leaving Red surprised but able to follow him. Past the hallways, and into the next room.

Frisk! Oh Golly, why are you making me worry so much?!

As soon as the duo reached the next room, they stopped short, shock filling their faces. Especially Asriel's. Both by what they saw...and what they heard.

"W-What...? Y-You're really not going to kill me...? B-But no one down here as ever spared anyone before...Kill or Be Killed. That's the instinct everyone follows down here..."

"Well I say that instinct is a bunch of baloney. I'm not going to hurt you. In fact...here, climb on." Frisk suddenly stood up, with Flowey attached to his shoulder...except that this Flowey looked more wilted and damaged than the Flowey that Frisk and Asriel knew. And he was also...cowering.

"If you're s-serious...then maybe we should stick t-together. I can help you...I can help you get p-past...her. I-If she catches y-you...she'll NEVER let you go. Escaping the Ruins is close to impossible. E-Either you somehow pull off a m-miracle...or you'll d-die by Queen Toriel's hand."

Asriel's soul plummented into disbelief and horror. Something was horrifyingly wrong here. Red noticed too, as her ears flattened against her head while her mouth parted with disbelief.

"Is...is he talking about the same Toriel that we know...? That doesn't sound like her at all."

"No it doesn't..." Asriel narrowed his eyes. He needed answers. He walked forward, startling Flowey greatly once he heard him coming.

"W-W-What?!" Flowey's shock was well received. How is this possible! Why am I right there...when I'm right here?!

"Frisk, come on! We need to-" Asriel grabbed Frisk by the shoulder and turned him around. Only for his eyes to go wide as he stepped back two paces.

Everything was fine with Frisk. He was unharmed, he was safe for the moment, he didn't look scared, everything seemed to be okay. Except that Red was pointing at Frisk's eye with a confused/horrified expression. The same emotions were displayed by Asriel.

Frisk's left eye was completely covered by a blossoming Golden Flower.

"Guys..." Frisk said in a surprisingly calm voice despite being just as surprised as they are. "I don't think we're in our timeline anymore..."


Me: The Newest Arc has begun~

Frisk: Well. This probably won't be too fun. At least...not for me. I mean, I have a flower over my eye...that isn't a good thing, is it?

Asriel: This is bad. This is really, REALLY bad...things are so messed up here! What's happening?!

Red: I don't know what in blazes is going on...but I'm pretty sure that we won't initially like it.

Asriel: Oh golly...this is such a bad time for Chara to be separated from us...now I have to take charge...but first I have to know how things work around here...though that won't be until the next chapter, right?

Me: Right you are, Azzy. Until the next chapter, readers! See you soon!