The Museum, as it turned out, was...not one in what one may consider a traditional sense.

In front of the building was a statue, evidently dedicated to the local celebrity mentioned in the pamphlet. Which the statues mural indicated was; The Towns Founder. The Towns Mayor. Local Guardian. Beloved Celebrity. Factory Foreman. Heart-Throb.

"That's a lot of titles." Aliza noted, asking. "What's a heart-throb?"

"Honestly. I dunno." Chara said, thinking. "I..."

"Wait, isn't that...those people that like...people really like?" Aliza tried to recall. "Ya know like uhm...like like."

"Maybe?" Chara scoffed at the concept. How arrogant, or insecure did you have to be to let people put that on your statue?

They proceeded forward beyond it. Giving the statue a final glance. The figure present there, was a tall man, who looked a bit robotic. With a trench coat, that had spikes on the shoulders. Slicked back hair, and a V-shaped guitar. Looking like some odd rock-star.

When they opened the door to the 'museum' they were greeted by some soothing, guitar music. A few monsters sitting in the lobby. With one behind a counter, that had a variety of merchandise. Shirts, fake guitars, and banners bearing the odd knock-off deltarune.

The monster at the counter was a flame elemental, like Grillby. Only green in color, and seemingly a little bit younger. Or at least shorter. The duo starting over. Aliza noticed one of the monsters watching them, and gave a friendly wave. Getting one in return, as the monster, some sort of crystal being chuckled.

"Welcome to the Happy Town Museum." The flame elemental behind the counter said, in a distinctly feminine voice, filled with disinterest. "A place where you can learn the history of our 'Happy Town' and its magnanimous founder, Napstatton." She reached over, and pointed to the shirt with his face on it. "When you're done, please check out some merch. All proceeds go to making the town a happier place."

She didn't seem very enthused with her job. Prompting Aliza to lean on the counter. Examining her over. She had been inspired by her friend to be a bit more proactive, when it came to talking to others. However, the moment she tried to muster words, they failed. As the flame elemental wouldn't even look at her.

Chara spoke and asked. "What's...the deal with this place?"

"It's a museum kid. It does museum things. Talks about stuff, has stuff in it." The teenager replied.

Chara rolled her eyes. Teenagers were always so disinterested with everything. She assured herself she wasn't going to be like that. Sure you won't.

Aliza spoke. "Like what?"

"I dunno, fuck'n...walk around or something." The teen grumbled.

Someone in a room behind the counter leaned out. "Smiles. Remember, smiles."

The teen groaned, before speaking in a chipper tone. "Of course, boss." She began to squeeze a stress ball. "Sorry about my tone, there little friends. How can I help you today?"

Aliza frowned. "Sorry...to...bother-" Her voice trailed.

Chara noticed her frown. "You're not bothering her. She's just being a jerk." The girl said, adding. "And we don't need anything. C'mon Aliza."

The orange-eyed girl glanced, and started to follow along. The teen behind the counter groaning audibly, before taking a seat. Purely disinterested in what was going on.

Aliza sighed a little. "Sorry."

"Sorry?" Chara glanced back, as they rounded the corner. "Why are you sorry?"

"W-well...I asked and uhm...she got upset, and-" Aliza hesitated.

"She's a teenager. They're usually rude." Chara assured her.

"Really?" Aliza inquired.

"I mean, normally, yeah." Chara thought for a moment. "They write really grim poetry. Don't talk to their friends at all. And are like, really edgy."

"What does edgy mean?" Aliza asked her, as they came to the first exhibit.

"Wears dark clothes. Angry, violent, swears.." Chara replied. "Tries to be cool, tough, that kinda thing."

"So...you?" Aliza smiled some.

"I-I'm not edgy." Chara replied, flustered, looking around. "Uhm, see, this guy...here, that's edgy."

She pointed to the exhibit. It was what appeared to be the 'founding of happy town' in all that it was. It contained a painting on the wall, that depicted the local celebrity mayor in a sort of godlike light. With dozens of people appearing in awe of him. As the start of Happy Town could be seen in the background.

There was also a diorama which appeared to be for the same individual. Playing his electric guitar, while waging battle with various creatures. 'Clearing the land single-handedly' apparently.

Aliza hummed. "Seems...uhm...what's the word...ego. Lots of ego." She then added. "But, that...doesn't make him edgy."

Chara rolled her eyes, before noticing the next exhibit. "Oh, well, how about this one." She wandered over. "It's a statue of him. And like, some spooky factory."

It was indeed, both those things. There was some little tablet of stone there that explained he had cleared out the Meat Factory, also single-handedly. Thus saving the town, and countless people. Notably, his appearance was on display.

His slicked back hair reminded Chara of an edgy oc, or one of those used car salesmen. His trench coat felt like it was definitely something, someone's overpowered character would have. And the guitar, well, she remembered cartoons where everyone had one. And it was 'so cool' to people. Including one where a needle mouse played in a band, while fighting evil. It kinda sucked though.

"He has a nice smile." Aliza noted.

"What?" Chara glanced, and noticed the mans smile was nice, admittedly. "S-so, look at this dude. This is clearly some edgelord. I bet he pretends to be a vampire on the weekends, or something."

"I never liked vampires." Aliza admitted. "I like werewolves, though."

"Yeah, me too. Vampires are...I dunno, lame. I mean, werewolves are super strong, real fast, and-" Chara began.

"So fluffy." Aliza added. "And they have cool tails."

Chara scratched her cheek, and smiled some. "I mean, yeah, sure...there's that too." She pondered. "Also, maybe vampires aren't like...totally lame. The fangs are pretty neat."

Aliza gasped. "Edgy Chara."

"I-I am not!" Chara pouted, adding. "A-and you can't call me edgy for uhm...wearing dark clothes." She tugged on the jacket. "You gave me this."

"You made it a cape though." Aliza winked. "Like a vampires."

Chara turned beat red. "I-It wasn't...I-I didn't think of it like that." She crossed her arms. "It was meant to...ya know, cuz it's too big. So-" Aliza stepped closer. "ya know, it's...yeah."

"It looks cool." Aliza assured. "Like a knight."

Chara hummed, glancing at her, and then away. "Well...yeah, of course. I mean...I was thinking more...I dunno. Like a witch, or something, but yeah. I can see that."

"You can cast magic." Aliza said, adding. "Hey, uhm, how do you...do that, by the way?"

"What, cast magic?" Chara hesitated. "That's...complicated."

"I mean, we talked about it...briefly, but uhm...like, didn't really." Aliza commented. "So...how would I do it?"

Chara did not want to share the trick of the trade with her counterpart. Not because she didn't want Aliza to have magic. But because she didn't want her to 'have magic.' Though, as she thought about it, she wagered...there was a chance, maybe, that Aliza had obtained something. Assuming her soul worked the same way.

"Let's..." Chara looked around, before grabbing her hand, and wandering to a spot more out of sight. "Okay. So...bring up your menu."

"Menu?" Aliza asked. "Like...the fight one?"

"No. Uhm. Ya know...the menu?" Chara focused, and manifested her own.

A purple lined pair of boxes appeared. Surprising Aliza.

|Chara| |LV 10| |HP 38| |G 0|

|Item| |Spells| |Stat|

"H-how did you do that?" Aliza reached out and tried to touch it. "Is...is it magic?" She recalled her brief time in school. "I know...our souls can do stuff...they told me in school. But...not this?"

Chara could only barely recall the functions of the soul being explored on the surface. Most humans actually didn't even know about them, or what they could do. And even less cared.

But their understanding was limited by a thousand years of ignorance. The purging of magic, as 'witchcraft' and 'demon-worshipping' alongside everything else. She briefly recalled how much she hated them, before stowing it, to focus on her friend.

"So, it's...hmm." Chara wondered how to explain it. "So...envision...the letter C."

"C?" Aliza sounded confused.

"It's, okay, so...you have to uhm...imagine your character. Like, well, you. Imagine yourself, and then try to break it down to something simpler." Chara vanished her menu. "You want the basics of it. What you can do, what you can't do, that sort of thing. And...for me, the word I imagine is Character. So, I shorten it to C."

Aliza did her best to follow suit. To try and imagine things, as she was being told to. However, nothing happened. She tried again a few times, and glanced to the side, while running her fingers through the end of the scarf.

"I...I can't. Sorry." Aliza frowned.

"Hey, relax." Chara said, giving her a nudge. "It takes a bunch of practice. So, it's okay if you don't get it the first time." She shrugged. "Look my like, two months."

"Really?" Aliza asked.

"Yeahup." Chara lied. It had been...very easy for her to grasp. But, she did know that some people had trouble with it. So she wasn't going to say that.

Aliza looked reassured. "Thanks. I'll...try and figure it out." She then asked. "Why uhm...did I need to, figure it out?"

Chara materialized hers. "If you have magic, it'd go there." She tapped Spells. "See?"

A list of spells manifested. Revealing what she had available to her. And to her counterpart.

And they were, as follows. I'll include a handy reference for the 'who and how.' Even if she herself isn't entirely aware of all of their origins.

|Hideous Laughter| - Obtained from killing the Prime Grey

|Patchwork| - Obtained from helping kill the 'Non-Human'

|Phantom Hand| - Obtained from The Doctor

|Puzzle Cube| - Obtained from killing the Elder Puzzler

|Royal Buster| - Obtained from killing 04

|Sway| - Restart Gift, from The Doctor

With these things on display, Aliza looked them all over. She recognized a few of them. Or, believed that she did. Both from the fight with the Non-Human, and use when they were together. Specifically, she guessed the functions of Phantom Hand, Puzzle Cube, and Royal Buster. She knew what Patchwork did, given it was used on her directly.

"What do...Sway, and Hideous Laughter do?" She inquired.

Chara glanced at the newest spell. "Uhm...well uh...Sway is a pacify, spell. It's for ending a fight, more peacefully than ya know...death." She didn't know the other one. "The other one...isn't important now." She vanished the list. "My point uhm, is that, they'd be there. So, ya know, something to think about for the future."

"Okay." Aliza pondered, and asked. "What if...I can't use magic?"

"Then you'd be tougher in another area, I guess." Chara then added. "But we can talk about that later, right?" She laughed nervously. "We've still got to...go and see the other exhibits, right?"

"Oh, right." Aliza laughed a little. "I sort of...forgot, for a moment." She then went to offer her hand, before pulling it back. "R-right, so, we should get back...to it right?"

Chara noticed, but didn't say anything. "Right. Definitely." She wandered out of their spot. "Shall we?"

Aliza merely hummed in response. An 'mhm' sound. As they once more started to explore the area. To learn more about this strange town. Though, honestly, they weren't going to learn anything vital.

Then again, while they're busy...maybe we should check in on this mayor.


While the children were exploring Happy Town's world-class museum, the mayor was occupied elsewhere.

Down the road, and within a strange factory, a figure sat. A pair of robotic hands was strumming along with an electric guitar. Playing an upbeat sounding song. The player, a robotic man, wearing a fancy trench-coat adjusting the pitch on a few. Getting it to sound just right.

"Ahh, there it is." He remarked, while rising from the chair. The sleeves falling to his side. The hands disconnected from his body, continued to play, as he stepped around the desk.

Listening to the music, calming, and rhythmic. He stepped over to something. A life-sized doll, resembling an anime character. A sort of cat-girl, wearing a punk style outfit. Giving a swift kick to the legs, as it fell to the floor of his office.

A boot coming to rest on the back of the head. His smile grew, as he pressed down harder. Causing it to crush down some.

A voice spoke up. "WoWz. Yu Sem ta Bez haVInG a good time."

The robotic man, with wild pale hair turned. A creature had crawled through an open window. The cat-dog thing, with faintly glowing red eyes.

"My, oh my, if it isn't Temmie." He moved away, the doll spared its destruction for a moment. "What's with the voice, pal?" He snickered. "You ain't gotta do that with me~"

Temmie hummed, and hopped onto his table. "I thought you were a fan of 'happy faces' Napstatton?"

"Of course I am." He said, wearing a neutral expression. "Here-" The hands stopped strumming. "see?"

They flew back over to him. And gripped the sides of his lips, pulling them up into a smile. Enough for the synthetic skin to tear slightly. The mad look in his eyes growing, as one twitched.

Temmie couldn't help but appreciate this monster. They were both awfully similar, in some ways, after all. Both pretending, when they needed to. Being honest, when they knew they could get away with it.

"What's with the dummy?" Temmie asked. "Got tired of 'swooning slaves' or something?"

"Oh, that?" He snickered. "My cousin got it. Spent weeks fixing it up. Styling it to perfection." He swayed over, the hands connecting beneath his sleeves. "So damn happy. I mean. How could I resist, tearing it away from them?"

"No backlash?" Temmie asked, tail swishing. "Tell me, did they cry?"

"People love me." He noted, taking a seat. "And of course they cried about it. Maddy is just as pathetic as Metta always was. But I called it a health concern, and gave a suitable replacement." The dark smile grew. "One of those old training dummies. With the stuffing slipping out."

There was a moment of pause, before the two began to laugh. Cackling at the concept. At the misery inflicted on someone else.

Temmie sighed. "You know, when the time comes, I'm think I'll miss you." It stepped nearer. "Maybe, I'll keep your severed head as a souvenir?"

"Please do. But be sure to face it to the carnage, won't you?" He laughed a mad little laugh. "I wanna see the hope leave their eyes."

The creature replied. "I think I can do that."

"Good. Well. Anywo. I take it you're here for a reason?" He inquired. "Is it about that filths little show?"

"You actually watched it?" Temmie asked.

"Of course." Napstatton replied. "Sometimes, my darling cousin likes to let people call in. It's a wonderful opportunity to suggest he should kill himself, and spare the world another broadcast." The two smiled. "Sure the feed cuts when I start talking, the look in his eyes when he hears it." He made chef's kiss with his hand. "Beautiful."

"So you saw those darling little humans, didn't you?" Temmie asked, pacing, as he focused, listening. "What to you say to an even split?"

"Oh?" He raised a brow. "A soul a piece?"

"I saw them heading to your...happy little town, after all~" Temmie smiled eerily. "And they have to come through here, to leave."

"That's a wonderful idea." He replied, with a vile grin.

A deal had been struck. The details spoken in hushed whispers between the two forces. A darkness loomed ahead, for the girls. Who remained none the wiser.


Well that's concerning.

Regardless, for our protagonists they learned that the rest of the museum didn't offer that much.

All the information pretty much said the same things. The mayor was amazing, and everyone is better doing as he says. And that sort of thing, on loop. The only interesting thing there, was an exhibit on the strange banner.

"New-Rune?" Chara asked examining it.

The plaque explained that the town was cutoff from the rest of monster-kind. To the point, that the residents of Happy Town decided, of their own accord, to succeed and follow the mayor completely. To the princess of the underground, this was treachery. And her view on the happy little banner, and the denizens darkened.

Aliza wondered. "Why...would they go alone?" Asking. "Isn't it better...to come together, when...like, scary stuff is out there?"

"I somehow doubt it was the people who decided it." Chara reasoned, wandering away from the exhibit.

They reached a point in there, where there were mannequins, and more statues present. The sight, and amount of them visibly disturbed Aliza. Who made a point to stay near Chara.

The purple-eyed girl thought about pranking her. Maybe she could use her phantom hand to knock one over. Make her jump a little. However, as she had decided earlier, she didn't really want to scare Aliza. And she wagered her counterpart wasn't the type to respond well to pranks.

Nearing the end, they found a monster examining one of the exhibits. This one detailing the work being done in the Meat Factory. Complete with a cheery set of images, and little figurines of happy smiling people.

"Bullshit." The monster remarked, in irritation, noticing them. "Hey, kids." The pair paused. "See this crap?" The strange bearlike monster asked. "Don't let em tell you none of that. That job is terrible. Smell's awful. And you rarely get a break."

"Do you work there?" Chara inquired.

"Used to. Back before they added even more regulations." The bear-monster huffed. "But that's politics for ya. All about control."

The bear smelled an awful lot like a liquor bottle. And that scent made Aliza incredibly uncomfortable. Some unhappy memories, and phantom pains flowing into her mind.

She tugged the other girls sleeve. "We should...go."

Chara was going to argue, before noticing Aliza sweating. "Uhm...yeah, okay. Later, stranger."

Aliza grabbed Charas arm, and began to lead her away. The bear-monster just groaning. Growing increasingly irate, while rambling at the air, as they left.

They didn't even stop in the lobby, instead heading straight outside. Where Aliza finally released her. While breathing heavily, letting cold air flow into her lungs. Calming her senses some.

Chara asked. "Are you alright?"

Aliza laughed a nervous laugh. "Y-yeah just uhm...I dunno. I got scared for a moment."

"Of that guy?" Chara asked her. "I mean, he seemed weird but-"

"It's silly. C-can we please...not talk about it?" The other girl requested.

"Uhm. Yeah, sure, okay." Chara agreed, electing not to press, asking. "So uhm...I guess...we should try the inn huh, for the night?"

Aliza reminded her. "I think...those cost money. And we don't have that."

The purple-eyed girl turned her focus to the shop. The last of the major buildings they had yet to visit. There were less people wandering around now. Suggesting it was later in the evening, but the lights on the shop were still on.

"I have an idea." Chara motioned. "C'mon."

"Where are we going?" Aliza asked, following her.

"You'll understand in a minute." Chara assured, leading her friend onward, once more.