~Clover~
Clover growled, pacing around in a somewhat large room. She was walking around a large, comfortable bed. The lampshade light was shining into her face. While the whole Muffet business was happening, the kids had participated in another Mettaton shenanigan. However, Clover had almost killed Mettaton because he was testing her patience, so the kids had to quickly leave, dragging Clover with them.
They were now staying in the MTT resort, but they had to share a room because every other room was booked out. Percy wasn't too happy about that. He opted to sleep on the floor.
Right now, Clover was the only one in the room... aside from her brother, Cody, who was passed out. He was lying on the bed, looking so... peaceful. Clover eyed him. She held back tears. She wasn't going to cry. Not now.
"Clover, come on," Melody opened the door, her arms folded. "You've been in there for twenty minutes. Come out here and-"
Clover cut her off with a deathly glare.
"Fine," Melody grumbled, taking a step back. "Stay in there."
"How's Cody going?" Brayden asked, popping his head in. Clover glared at him as well. He made a face and retracted his head backwards.
"Come on, let's go back to playing chess." Melody sighed, taking Brayden's arm.
"But Faye keeps winning!" Brayden groaned.
Clover didn't pay them any notice. Normally, she'd be nicer to her friends. Melody and Brayden both drove her up a wall, but... they had their moments. Melody could be... tolerable... sometimes. And Brayden was Brayden.
Clover heard Percy and Faye talking outside the door about something.
"Faye... can you keep a secret?" Percy asked.
"Yeah..." Faye replied timidly.
"Well, you know how I spout random facts sometimes?" Percy asked. He sounded... genuinely nervous. "I was... secretly using the internet on my 5th iPhone to research half my dialogue. So... I don't actually know about that much stuff."
"I already knew that," Faye mumbled. A little louder, she said, "This conversation... is kind of random."
"I know, I can't socialise," Percy sighed. "Anyway, are Cody and Clover in that room?"
"Yep," Faye replied.
Clover opened the door and glared at them. Percy clung onto Faye. Clover didn't really want to scare those two, even though they just had the stupidest conversation in the whole fanfic.
Faye was adorable. She was almost like a little sister. And Percy... Percy was just straight up weird. But... Clover couldn't really hate him. He seemed to be a nice guy underneath.
But even if Clover did really appreciate her friends, she just wanted to be alone with her brother. He was the only family she had left.
Disappointment was dragging her down. She couldn't protect him, and he'd almost died. He had overestimated himself again, and he almost died. He was tricked by a burst of confidence. It had happened before, and Clover knew it would happen again... she was angry.
She was angry she didn't yell back at her brother. She knew how gullible he could be. She held back another sob. She wanted to decapitate that Muffet monster and all her spiders. How dare she. How dare she harm someone completely innocent.
And then there was the eighth human.
The eighth human... they had arrived at the MTT Resort, supporting an unconscious Cody. Their face was hidden. The kids put their green-souled friend on a bed in the room they'd booked, hoping he'd wake up. He hadn't yet.
Clover had nagged the eighth human about resetting, but they had stubbornly refused.
"You did it for Percy, why not my brother?" Clover asked them bitterly.
The eighth human was wearing a dark expression. They turned away, hair covering their face.
"Well?" Clover growled.
"Leave them alone, Clover," Melody said, leading the eighth kid away. "They did their best."
"Their best wasn't enough." Clover spat.
"Clover!" Melody crossed her arms. "That was very rude!"
"Yeah," Clover replied. "But you know it's true."
Was it really?
Clover sighed and leaned back on the wall. That's when her brother sat up, his chest rising up and down.
"Gaster..." he groaned, rubbing his eye. "Oh no..."
"CODY!" Clover yelled, racing over and tackling him in a hug.
The relief she felt was indescribable. She had never been happier to see her brother.
"Clover..." Cody replied, hugging her back.
"I HEARD CODY!" Brayden opened the door. He saw the siblings reuniting on the bed. "CODY!"
He ran over and joined in on the hug.
"Cody's awake?" Melody asked, entering the room.
She was followed by Percy and Faye.
"Oh my god, it's a miracle." Percy said monotonously.
"Cody! Oh, thank goodness!" Melody said, walking over to Cody and smiling at him. "You had us all worried sick!"
Faye hadn't said anything. It seemed she was waiting for something.
"HEY CODY!" Brayden yelled, glaring at the kindness child. "IF YOU EVER GO TO SLEEP FOR FOREVER AGAIN I'LL BEAT THE HECK OUT OF YOU!"
Clover gave Brayden her infamous death glare.
"I mean, instead of beating the heck out of you... I'll just beat you up normally...?" Brayden suggested.
Melody face-palmed.
"Can y'all leave for a minute?" Clover asked her friends. "I wanna speak to my bro by myself."
"OH COME ON!" Brayden groaned. "YOU JUST HAD TWO HOURS BY YOURSELF!"
"Clover was with Cody by herself for twenty minutes, actually," Percy pointed out. "Cody was in a coma for two hours."
"I was in a coma for two hours?" Cody asked, his eyes widening. He shook his head. "Wait, where am I? What is this place?"
"Two hours is miniscule," Percy pointed out. "Some are in comas for days on end. We're in the MTT Resort. This is a room we booked, since we're staying here for the night."
Clover noticed a phone hidden in his notebook. Cheater.
"And... what happened to the stick kid?" Cody asked, concerned.
"They're fine," Melody replied. "They just..." Her nose wrinkled. "... wandered off somewhere. I'm sure they'll be back soon."
"Oh..." Cody looked down. "Well... if you see them, tell them I said thank you."
"Will do." Melody smiled. She eyed everyone but the siblings. "Come on, let's leave them alone."
"Wait..." Faye held up a hand.
She walked over to Cody and whispered something in his ear. Clover didn't catch much of it, but she did hear 'the Void', 'dream beings', and 'them'... and something about Cody being sad.
After that, the others finally left. Clover sighed and adjusted her hat. She eyed her brother.
"I know what you're gonna say, Clover," Cody said, crossing his arms. He bowed his head. "And... I just wanted to say... I'm so sorry. But... I don't regret it."
"What?" Clover spat.
"It was my choice," Cody told her. "I don't need you to tell me what to do. I'm sorry for scaring you, but I got to do something of my own free will!"
Clover gripped onto her hat. "Cody... alright, fine, just... promise me one thing," she suddenly faced her brother and grabbed his shoulders. "Don't die on me. I don't care if you're tryna be noble, if whatever you're doing could lead to death, don't do it. Do you hear me?"
"But what if someone's dying?" Cody asked. "You of all people wouldn't let them die, would you?"
Clover bowed her head. When she looked up, her voice was serious. She had never been more honest before. "True. But you're different, Cody. Your life means more to me than anyone else's. If you die..." She trailed off.
"Clover..." Cody sighed.
"So... promise you won't die?" Clover held out her hand.
She didn't feel she was being too tough. She was genuinely worried she would do something terrible if he...
Cody swallowed, trembling. "Clover... you're not blaming it all on the stick kid, are you?"
"They were the one that got you in that coma," Clover grumbled.
"Hey!" Cody snapped. "It was my choice to help them. They were going to do it solo. They saved my life. It's not their fault, it's mine. They just wanted to protect all of us."
Clover's arms trembled.
"I'm the one you're mad with," Cody stood up, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Listen, Clover. I can't promise I won't die. But I can promise you that I'll try to always do the right thing."
Clover glowered at her brother, biting her lip. She laughed.
"Mom would be proud," she shook her head. "I love ya, Cody."
Cody grinned. "Love you too, sis."
Clover was feeling a bit drowsy. She'd been awake for far too long. Brayden and Melody were now playing checkers in their room. Brayden kept losing, even though Melody wasn't that good at checkers. The eighth human was still who knows where. Faye and Percy were watching Puella Puella Magi Madoka on Percy's 12th iPhone. Cody was... hanging out with a bunch of monsters, and his new Vulkin friend. The one that he'd saved, naturally. He'd named her Layla.
Layla was now following Cody everywhere, rubbing up against his leg every ten seconds like some kind of cat. Cody didn't seem to mind. Clover wasn't sure about Layla at first, but then decided she wasn't really causing any harm, so let her stick around. Speaking of Clover, the justice child was wandering around the resort aimlessly when a certain monster approached her.
"hey kiddo," Sans gave her a classic smirk. "what's up?"
"Not much," Clover faced him. "What 'bout yourself?"
"same old same old," Sans responded. "i hear you and your friends are going to the core?"
"Yep," Clover nodded. "We're goin' tomorrow."
"nice," Sans nodded. "hey, you look pretty bored. how 'bout you come and get some dinner with me? i actually wanted to talk to you 'bout something."
"Just me?" Clover asked, tilting her head.
"yep," Sans jerked his head at the restaurant. "so how about it?"
"Well, I've got nothin' else to do," Clover shrugged. "Why not? Could go for a meal anyway."
"thanks clo," Sans replied, winking. "let's go."
Clover followed Sans into a restaurant on the side of the MTT resort. She had to admit, Mettaton really had everything. There were a lot of monsters there, seated at tables, enjoying themselves. Clover and Sans sat at a table at the back.
"gettin' closer to the end, huh?" Sans asked, leaning his skull on his bony palm. "you must be pretty stoked about goin' home."
"You know it," Clover replied. "We ain't that far now."
"Yeah..." Sans said. He seemed curious. "y'know, when you think about it... it's not really that bad down here. you've got food, friends, water... each other. i mean, hey, i'm not saying you should stay or anything, since, y'know, you and your friends have the power to free us, but... in case something goes wrong..."
"No way in Hell are we stayin' down here," Clover grumbled. "Way too dangerous."
And besides, some of us have loving families...
"s'cool with me, i'm rootin' for ya," Sans shrugged. "anyway. lemme tell ya a secret." He looked around, like he was worried people were listening in. "you're my second favourite human in the group. my first... well, you could say she's my... faye-vourite."
Clover chuckled at the joke. She always had a fondness for puns. She tilted her head. "Why am I your second favourite?"
"you... kinda remind me of me, with your brother and all," Sans responded. He drummed his fingers on the table. "so. i would've called faye over here but she probably wouldn't do anything. like me, she's pretty lazy. and insecure. you, however... you would do something. something as soon as you can."
"What're you talkin' about?" Clover asked.
"funny story," Sans chuckled. "so... let's just say, a little birdie told me some... very interesting things about some members of your group. including you."
"What'd they say 'bout me?" Clover asked, now interested.
"well..." Sans looked away. "they said... they said that in another timeline, you..." He looked back. "you were a murderer."
"Excuse me?" Clover asked, glaring at him.
"they said you killed a lot of monsters," Sans continued. "you were angry. you were unstoppable." He paused. "you were not a good person."
"But I would..." Clover felt furious. Who was this little birdie? She wanted to...
"now hold on," Sans waved a hand. "i'm not calling you a murderer. from what i've seen, you're not a bad kid. you've got a temper, sure, but you're not a bad kid. this little birdie, however... they had different ideas. they suggested that i should..."
He chuckled, a dark look on his face. His sockets had turned black. "Tear you to bloody pieces."
Clover stood up, reaching for her gun. "You threatenin' me?"
"whoa, whoa, whoa," Sans waved his hands again. "chill out. i was just messing with you, clover. i made a promise with a lady behind a door not to kill any humans. you're fine."
"... A lady behind a door?" Clover asked.
"yeah," Sans said. "y'know that big purple door in snowdin forest that's always locked? there's a lady that lives behind there. she's really good. loves my jokes. one day, she made me promise not to harm any humans that came through that door. and you'd better be darn thankful she did that... or otherwise, let's just say..."
His sockets had turned dark again. "I wouldn't need a little birdie to tell me to kill you."
Clover glared at him. "I don't trust ya anymore."
"i'm just kidding, chill," Sans smirked. "you really have got a temper."
"I'm not a murderer," Clover warned him. "But don't you dare hurt my friends, or you'll regret ever meeting me."
"whoa," Sans raised his bone brow. "intense much?"
"I'm serious," Clover repeated. She put her gun away. "But for now, I trust ya. And hey..." She made a face. "You're my second favourite monster out of the ones I've met so far."
"whoa, really?" Sans asked. "who's your first, then?"
"Papyrus," Clover answered. "He reminds me of my brother. Both of them are so... gullible. They need to be protected."
Sans chuckled. "i can't disagree with that."
Clover returned to the room. The eighth human had come back from wherever with a bunch of sleeping bags and food. Everyone (aside from Cody) was now fast asleep, including them. Food was scattered around. That eighth human had so much GOLD.
Percy was in a sleeping bag, same with Melody. Faye and Brayden were sharing the big bed with the eighth human, who was sleeping in between them. Cody was still outside. He wasn't tired at all, so he was still hanging out with Maya and other monsters.
Clover rubbed her eyes. She was tired as well. She grabbed a sleeping bag and plopped it on the floor. She felt concerned about her brother. But he'd promised not to die. And Clover knew he would keep that promise.
Though... she couldn't stop worrying. Her eyes just wouldn't shut. So she stayed awake, sweat crawling down her cheeks. She was about to go outside and check on Cody when suddenly the eighth human sat up with horror, their eyes wide. They were breathing heavily. They took a few moments to calm down. After that, they quietly clambered out of the bed and left the room.
Clover was naturally suspicious. They could've been just going to the bathroom, but she wasn't exactly sure. They looked... terrified. She was honestly concerned. So she decided to follow them.
The eighth human was moving like they were James Bond. They snuck through the reception, their head bowed. They were jogging lightly, like they were trying not to make noise. Insert Mission Impossible here. Clover was... suspicious. She continued following them.
The eighth human exited the hotel. They were walking on a long, wooden bridge, leading to a shiny, bright blue place, which Clover guessed was the CORE. A light breeze was ruffling their hair. They began sprinting, their head down. Clover was now even more suspicious. What were they doing? Why were they running? Were they... they couldn't be...
Abandoning everyone.
Suddenly, the eighth human stopped. They were about halfway to the CORE. They turned their head to the left. Other than that, their body was completely still. They were... staring at something in the distance...
The child reached their hand out. Their eyes were wide. Below them was complete darkness. But they didn't care. They moved their body forward. It looked like they were about to step off the edge...
"NO!" Clover yelled, suddenly in hero mode.
She raced towards the kid, holding onto her hat. She couldn't let them nearly die again. Yet they were so close to falling off...
Clover wrapped an arm around their waist, pulling them back. Their body stiffened with surprise. But they did not protest against her pulling them back. If anything, they looked relieved. They shook their head, closing their eyes.
Clover released the eighth human, then glared at them.
"What the heck was all that about, pardner?!" she demanded. "You could've died!"
The eighth human looked away, expressionless. They sat down, their legs dangling over the edge of the bridge. Clover sat down next to them.
"Are you alright, pardner?" she asked them. "You never tell us anything about how you're feeling."
The eighth human shrugged, giving Clover a grin. They seemed to be saying, I'm fine.
"I'm worried about you," Clover told them, raising her brow. She really was. They had so many secrets. "Weren't you just trying to..."
The eighth human shook their head frantically. They almost looked like they were about to say something, but they... held it back.
"What were ya doin' then?" Clover asked them.
The eighth human looked off into the distance again. Clover caught their eye. She couldn't tell what they were trying to say. Then for a moment, she heard... voices.
"You're a fool," a voice whispered. "They will never trust you."
"No, Chara," a voice replied. "They will never trust you."
Then Clover felt something jab her side. It was the eighth human with their stick. They were giving her a strange look.
"What's wrong with you?" Clover asked them, her voice full of concern. "What are you hiding from me?"
She stood up, glaring at the eighth human. They shook their head. They gave Clover a friendly smile. A reassuring smile, like they knew a happy ending was confirmed.
"You scare me," Clover admitted, sitting back down. "Look, kiddo, we like you and all, but we really wanna know what your deal is."
The eighth human paused for a moment. They simply stared at her.
Clover sighed. "You'll tell us someday, won't ya?"
The kid nodded.
"Y'know, if I wasn't so tired I'd be meaner than this," Clover sighed, adjusting her hat. "You're darn lucky."
The eighth human rubbed her shoulder.
"Thanks," Clover grinned at them. "And... thanks for not letting my bro get killed. Though... still think you should've reset."
The eighth human looked down.
"Hey," Clover spoke... calmly. "I guess you're kinda sad about not bein' on the surface. I mean, my bro's the only family I have, but I bet you've got a family up there who loves you."
The eighth human didn't respond to that. Their face just darkened.
"Touchy subject, sorry," Clover said, looking away. "So, excited 'bout going to the CORE tomorrow?"
The eighth human shrugged.
"You're not that talkative, are ya?" Clover asked. She sighed. "Let's not hang around here. I'm tired. Let's go back inside."
The eighth human held up a hand. They quickly drew a sketch of Sans with a conveniently placed pen and piece of paper, then showed Clover.
"Yeah... I did have a chat with Sans..." Clover answered. The eighth human quickly drew another sketch. Clover observed it. "What did we talk about...?" She frowned. "Now that's where it gets interesting." She made a face. "I think Sans wants us dead."