~Clover~
"What in tarnation..." Clover stared at the two monsters in front of her.
"Hey! Check it out!" the alligator monster exclaimed.
"Yeah! Check it out!" the purple cat monster also exclaimed.
They were very... glamourous and flamboyant, to say the least. Clover wasn't too fond of them from first glance.
"Who the heck are you two?" Brayden asked them.
"I'm Bratty, and this is my best friend, Catty." the alligator answered.
"I'm Catty, and this is my best friend, Bratty." the cat answered.
They looked at each other and giggled.
"Bratty? Sorry, but... what kind of name is that?" Melody asked.
"Melody, that's so rude." Brayden said snidely. Melody glared at him.
"You are kids are so cuteee," Catty giggled. "Wanna buy some junk?"
Bratty leaned forward, holding out a bizarre selection of items.
Clover made a face. "Yeah... no thanks."
"UGHHH!" Brayden yelled. "CAN THIS BOAT GO ANY FASTER?!"
The children were taking the River Person's boat to Snowdin Town. Why, you may ask. Well... it was initially Percy's idea, since he said that the humans' phones would not be able to connect to the monsters' while they were in the CORE. So everyone decided they had to say goodbye.
"We must proceed at a high velocity." the River Person said.
The boat sped up, the front of it turning into a dog's face. Melody yelped, clinging onto Brayden. He groaned.
The kids arrived back in the cool town that is Snowdin. Clover thought Snowdin was pretty, but she missed the RUINS. They reminded her of home.
"UNDYNE, LOOK!" Papyrus pointed at the approaching children. "IT'S THE HUMANS!"
"Hey punks!" Undyne greeted, waving with a big grin. "It feels like ten chapters since I last saw you guys in person! How's it going?!"
"Could be better," Melody said. She frowned. "We... actually came to say goodbye."
"Wait, what?!" Undyne asked, her eyes widening.
"HUMANS!" Papyrus exclaimed emotionally.
"Your phones won't be able to access ours once we enter the CORE, due to it being a large tower of electric energy," Percy said.
"Aww man..." Undyne looked down. "Well I'm... um... I'm kinda gonna miss you kids."
"I'm gonna miss you too!" Cody responded, tearing up.
"HUMANS!" Papyrus exclaimed for the third time. "OH NO! YOU'LL NEVER GET TO TASTE MY NEW AND IMPROVED SPAGHETTI!"
The children pretended not to look relieved.
"Welp," Clover faced the monsters. "From behalf of everyone here... I just wanted to thank y'all. You did try to kill us and all but... I guess you've redeemed yourselves. And darn... I'm gonna miss you guys too."
"OHHH!" Papyrus started sobbing.
"H-HEY!" Brayden said, hiding his teary eyes. "I'M NOT C-CRYING! S-STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!"
Undyne gritted her teeth, bowing her head. "Kids... I know you've got an important mission ahead of you: stopping Chara. It's going to be hard, heck yeah, but you've just got to stay DETERMINED! We believe in you, SO DON'T GIVE UP! WE'RE COUNTING ON YOU! ALL OF OUR HEARTS ARE BEATING AS ONE!"
"Woohoo." Percy said emotionessly.
"LET'S DO THIS THING!" Melody yelled, punching the air. She hid her face. "Man... I can't believe I just did that. I swear I've been spending too much time around Brayden."
The eighth human looked ahead, wearing a thousand-yard stare. They nodded in approval.
And so... the final journey began.
The kids began walking towards the CORE, hotel music playing in the background and wind rushing around them. The CORE was surrounded by electricity and wires; it was almost a little intimidating. Clover was never into tech itself, aside from video game consoles. Percy, however, was fascinated. Until two suspicious black sausages waltzed into the CORE.
"Huh?" Alphys rung. "Who are they? N-nobody else is s-supposed to be here..."
"Not including us?" Melody asked.
"Oh, no, you guys are fine," Alphys chuckled anxiously. "Not like you're w-walking straight into danger or anything!" She paused awkwardly. "Um! Anyway! We can't worry about that now. Let's just go in!"
"Did she say we're walkin' straight into danger?" Clover asked, pouting.
"Technically, we've been putting our lives at risk for every second we've been down here," Percy pointed out. "We're not walking into any more danger than average if we enter the CORE."
"Fair enough." Clover shrugged.
Though... she was still mildly suspicious. Something was... off. She and the other humans entered the CORE. Blue walls completely surrounded them. Wires glowed, connecting the walls. An elevator was directly in front of the kids.
"Ready? This is it!" Alphys cried out.
"Wait, hold on..." Percy frowned. "How come your phone can access ours through the CORE? That should not be possible."
"Um... my phone's... got special connection!" Alphys answered, chuckling anxiously. "Anyway! Are you guys ready? Take the elevator up to the top of the CORE!"
"That's all?" Brayden groaned. "BORING! I WANT A FIGHT!"
"I would say luck doesn't exist, but Clover..." Percy blushed.
Clover gave him a strange look. Percy hid his face.
The kids approached the elevator. It wasn't working.
"BRAYDEN!" Melody grumbled. "You jinxed us!"
Brayden stuck his tongue out at her.
"What?" Alphys called, sounding shocked. "The elevator should be working... w-well then! Go to the right and keep heading up!"
"Alright then," Clover said. "Come on, y'all."
She and the others went to the right and headed up. However, there was a huge pit blocking the way.
"Uh..." Everyone looked awkward.
"Oh... no," Alphys sounded embarrassed. "Um, how about you guys go left instead?"
So the kids went left instead. The glowing path was clear.
"Okay, you should be able to make it through here," Alphys' perked up. She paused when two black sausages approached the kids. "W-watch out!"
Madjick pops out of its hat!
"Madjick... magic... hee hee." Faye giggled at the pun.
"Where'd these guys come from?" Clover grumbled, making a face.
"You could say they're..." Faye smirked. "Madjickal."
"UGHHHH!" Brayden groaned, clenching his fists. "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FOCUS IF YOU'RE TELLING BAD PUNS!?"
"Clover," Percy approached Clover. She stared at him, making him go red. "The stick kid informed me that to spare this mercenary one must stare into its orbs - the spheres floating beside it. And, um... your glares are very... 'intense'. So... maybe you could..."
"Good idea, Perce." Clover replied, grinning.
She stepped forward. She glared at the orbs, which were glowing. Somehow, she managed to shatter both at once. Madjick ran away in fear.
"That was AWESOME!" Brayden cheered, fist-bumping Clover's arm. She adjusted her hat.
"Guess I got myself a powerful glare, huh?" she asked, chuckling.
"Th-that was close," Alphys said, sounding relieved. "Wh... why are there so many monsters here?"
"Who cares?" Brayden asked, grinning. "We can take 'em!"
"Yeah! B-Brayden's right!" Alphys said. "I-it's no problem! We've just got to keep heading forward!" She hung up.
"I don't trust this," Clover admitted. "Do any of y'all kinda feel like Alphys is... behind something deeper?"
"Oh please, I've been thinking about that for ages," Melody replied. "I know my theatre. Everything feels so... scripted."
"Or... Alphys is just nervous?" Cody suggested.
"You give people too many chances, bro," Clover replied, staring at him. "Everyone deserves a fair go, but some people just take advantage of that."
"Like you?" Cody mumbled.
He walked away, his head down. Clover just stayed silent. She didn't really have a response to that. That's because he was right.
Was she really fair?
"Looks like you guys can't proceed until you hit the switch," Alphys said. The kids were now standing in front of a bridge surrounded by lasers. "B-but, those lasers will activate when you do. Umm... looks like they'll come in this order: Orange. Orange. Blue. G-got it? Move until the third one!"
She hung up. The eighth human stood in front of everyone, determination on their face. Faye turned off the switch.
An orange laser, then two blue lasers approached the kids. The wrong order. The eighth human pulled out their red sword and split it in two. They held them out, forming some kind of red barrier. The lasers went safely past the children. Aside from Faye, who was at the back.
"Um...!" Faye squeaked, eyeing the lasers.
Clover acted quickly, pulling out her gun and firing a bullet at the lasers. They fizzled and cracked, breaking down. Faye gave Clover a grateful smile.
"Oh my God, are you guys okay?" Alphys called. "I... I'm sorry, I gave you the wrong order."
"Thank goodness we have the stick-wielding child and Clover." Melody said, relieved.
"E-everything's fine, okay?" Alphys said, sounding slightly unsure of herself. "L-let's just keep heading to the right." She hung up.
"I've seen enough TV to guess that everything ain't gonna be fine." Clover grumbled. The kids kept going forward. They came to a crossroads.
"A crossroads..." Alphys sounded unsure. "Uhh... uhhh... tr... try heading to the right!"
The kids had barely taken a step when Alphys frantically rang back.
"W-wait!" she exclaimed. "No, I th-think you should head up!"
"MAKE UP YOUR MIND!" Brayden grumbled.
The kids headed up. There were two more black sausages there in that space. They became one monster - Knight Knight.
Knight Knight blocks the way!
"What the HECK is THAT thing?" Brayden asked, making a face.
"It looks like an owl, kind of." Percy answered.
Suddenly, someone started humming a jazzy tune. It sounded like the one back in Waterfall. The kids turned towards the eighth human, who was humming and gently rocking their head.
"Oh!" Melody's face lit up. "I remember this!"
She hummed along with them, gently swaying. Knight Knight began to look sleepy. Soon, she fell asleep... and began to snore.
"70 gold!" Clover observed the gold Knight Knight left behind. "We're getting rich!"
"Sorry, I... I..." Alphys sounded upset. "I thought that..."
"You thought that what?" Clover asked, her focus now on the monster. "That it'd be amusin' to lead us all to death?"
"N-no!" Alphys squeaked. "Not at all! It's just... it's just...!"
"What?" Clover asked bitterly.
"Just..." Alphys sighed. "Go to the path to the right." She hung up.
"She's definitely up to something," Clover mumbled. "I dunno what yet, but I'll find out."
The kids approached more lasers over a bridge. Percy frowned, observing them.
"We won't be able to pass those," he said. "Far too many."
"M... more lasers..." Alphys mumbled. "Okay, I... I won't mess around this time. I'll just deactivate the lasers and let you all through."
But nothing happened.
Alphys sounded panicky. "They're... they're not turning off... I can't turn them off, I..."
"You're absolutely sure about that?" Clover growled.
"Clover, please, not now!" Cody pleaded.
"I-i-it's okay!" Alphys squeaked. "I have this under control! I'm going to turn off the power for the whole node. Then you guys can walk across." With that, the lights switched off. "Okay, go!"
"I don't trust this." Clover said.
The eighth human held up their sword barrier. Clover found that slightly more comforting. The kids walked across the bridge, Clover eyeing her brother. He glowered at her.
"W-WAIT!" Alphys yelled out of the phones. "STOP!"
Suddenly, the lasers switched back on. Everyone stopped. The eighth human's barrier managed to protect them, just in case.
"Th-the power..." Alphys mumbled. She sounded... sad. "It's turning itself back on. D-damn it... this isn't supposed to... I... I'm gonna turn it off again. When it turns on, move a little, then STOP. Unless... unless the... stick kid's barrier can protect you. Just... anyway, don't get hurt!"
She hung up. The eighth human kept their barrier up, so the kids could proceed, even when the lasers were there.
Alphys called back, "S-see? Everything's under control!"
"No," Percy mumbled. "No, it's not."
The kids reached another crossroads.
"OK!" Alphys called back. "You should! You should..."
"Being honest here, Alphys, if you help us, you're probably going to lead us into a pit of fire or something," Melody told Alphys. "I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just saying-"
"You've got something planned, haven't ya?" Clover asked Alphys, narrowing her eyes. "You're like everyone else. You want us dead."
"I... o-of course not!" Alphys exclaimed. "I'm... I..."
"Okay, that's a little far-fetched, Clover," Melody said, waving her hands. "But I do kind of think there's something going on here."
"T-t-there's nothing going on!" Alphys replied. "It's just... I... I..." Her tone changed. "No, you know what? I'm no help to you guys anyway. The stick kid can lead you. They actually know what they're doing..."
She hung up.
"Oh, Alphys...!" Cody bowed his head.
"Wow, salty." Brayden commented.
"I liked her..." Faye sighed. "She was... kinda like me."
The eighth human stood in the middle of the crossroads, before going north. The kids followed them. They ran into Astigmatism, who was basically Loox but evolved.
"... Don't pick on me." it grumbled.
"People wouldn't pick on you if you were nice..." Cody pointed out.
"Nice..." Astigmatism sounded... thoughtful.
"Yeah!" Cody grinned. "It's not that hard. Just... treat people how you wanna be treated."
The Astigmatism seemed okay with that and let the kids go. Clover was proud of her brother. He was certainly growing up.
"This sign says we have to go East, for that's the End." Percy commented, taking notes.
One path was blocked with a laser, and the others just went backwards. The eighth human went north, as it was the only option. The others followed.
They took one step, and two monsters approached them: Final Froggit and Whimsalot. Whimsalot was wearing a suit of armour.
"Oh Whimsalot..." Faye admired Whimsalot. "You've grown up so much. You're so brave now."
"Pfft, looks the same as ever." Brayden said, waving his hand.
"I've made my choices." Whimsalot replied.
A wall of butterflies surrounded Brayden. He yelped in fear, stepping back. The eighth human pulled him away.
"Karma." Clover smirked, eyeing him. Brayden scowled at her.
Faye kneeled and prayed for safety. Whimsalot remembered its conscience.
"Don't give up!" it said brightly.
Faye let two green butterflies rest on her fingers, her HP increasing. The Whimsalot then left the battle.
"Croak, creak." Final Froggit croaked.
"Hmm," Percy pulled out his secret iPhone. "Did you know frogs can jump over twenty times their own body length?"
"Croak..." Final Froggit recognises it has more to learn from the world.
Next up were the two mercenaries, Madjick and Knight Knight. Madjick left as soon as it saw Clover. Frisk and Melody hummed again, sending Knight Knight to sleep. Melody reluctantly gave the eighth human a high five.
The kids took another few steps. Suddenly, they stumbled across something I call what a nightmare!
Astigmatism, Final Froggit and Whimsalot. Luckily, the group already knew how to deal with them. Cody reminded Astigmatism about anti-bullying, Percy told Final Froggit a great fun fact about frogs, and Faye kneeled and prayed for safety... again.
"Nice job team," Clover said, grinning at her friends. "Chara's gonna be no match for us."
"YEAH!" Brayden punched the air.
The kids pulled a lever at the end of the room. They were almost done. Just a few puzzles now.
The kids went back, searching for a puzzle. The eighth human knew where to go. The puzzle was like the ones back in Hotland. Percy got giddy since that dude loves his puzzles. He and the eighth human solved the first one in an underground record of five seconds.
The kids could now scram. On their way, they passed a conveyor belt with large chunks of ice. The ice landed in the molten-hot floor, vaporising into steam.
"Hey, I remember seeing a wolf putting that ice on a river back in Snowdin." Faye commented.
"And I saw that ice floating in a river back in Waterfall," Percy added. He gasped. "That's so clever! They use the ice to cool the CORE down. Oh my goodness, this is my new favourite place in the Underground."
The kids continued their journey. They ran into Final Froggit and Whimsalot once again. After taking them down, they continued walking and finally found... the exit. Dun dun!
"We're almost there..." Melody said with shock. "Almost home. We're... we're gonna see..."
"We're gonna see our families..." Faye said, her head bowed.
"WE'RE GOING HOME!" Brayden cheered. He paused, his eyes wide. "My mom is so gonna kill me."
"My parents won't care. They don't care." Percy mumbled, immediately looking away.
Clover put her arm around his shoulder.
"Well, we all do, Percy," she told him. "You're part of our family. You're not alone."
"Oh..." Percy's cheeks burned. "Thanks, Clover..."
Melody smiled at the two of them, sighing deeply.
"But what about Chara?" Cody asked, anxious.
Clover grimaced at her brother. She knew their dad would be waiting for them on the surface. Personally, she didn't want to know how he was feeling. Because whatever it was, it wouldn't be positive.
"We'll take them down," Clover replied.
"No, not that..." Cody paused. "Do you guys think... Chara has a family too?"
"They're dead, Cody," Percy answered. "Their family will be dead too. It has been a long time."
"Oh." Cody looked down. Clover squeezed his shoulder.
"Don't worry bro," she told him. "We've got each other. It'll be okay."
Cody crossed his arms, looking away once more.
"Hey, where did the stick kid go...?" Faye asked, looking around.
The eighth human poked their head out of a rather colourful and pretty doorway. The way to go. Hair was covering their face. The kids went over to them and entered the doorway. Clover thought about one thing while looking at the eighth human...
Where did they come from? Did they have a family?
The kids knew nothing about that kid. And part of Clover wondered... just a little bit... if that kid was hiding something very dark.