King: We return once more to this fun little story. Except it's driving me crazy! See the bottom of the chapter for details and maybe help ease my mental state somehow.

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Jaune walked along an old stone path. He didn't remember how he'd got here. He looked to his sides and found the walls to be a massive stained-glass window. It filled the room with golden light as he walked along the hall. As he looked back to the front, he stopped at the sudden appearance of the girl from the picture.

"I have to ask you a question." She spoke, a slight reverb to her voice. "Would you give up everything to make others happy?"

"I…" Jaune stammered. How could he answer that? But in a moment, as though divined to him by an unseen factor, he answered. "I would do what I could. I don't want to die if I don't have to." Weird that I'd say that. He thought, but pieces were adding up over time.

"I see." She smiled slightly. "Chara was right that you are an interesting person."

This put Jaune on edge. Ever since Flowey mentioned that name, he'd lock up when he heard it. Then he 'met' her and she talked about killing everyone. So, not a good start.

The girl turned toward the glass and her smile dropped. "Don't let your curiosity get the better of you." And with that, the lights began to glow brighter, blinding Jaune.

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When Jaune's eyes opened again, he was looking up at the ceiling of the skeletons' home again. He sat up from the couch he'd used as a bed as he wiped some sweat from his forehead. He groaned and sat up as he hunched over with his face in his hands. There's a lot of weirdness going on at this point. And that dream being like how he met Chara was… concerning. And what did she mean by that last part?

"Good morning, Jaune Arc!" Jaune looked up to see Papyrus walking down from his room. "I apologize we didn't think to get you a bed, but it was rather last minute."

Jaune waved off the concern. "It's fine, really. It wasn't that bad." Jaune stood up and stretched his back with a pop. "The worst part was a weird dream."

"I see." Papyrus walked over toward the couch and stood to address Jaune. "So, I'm to assume you plan to leave Snowdin?"

Jaune gave a weak nod. "Sorry. You're awesome, Papyrus, but…"

"It is fine. The Dog Guard being here is likely difficult enough for you, but I'm certain it's only a matter of time. Besides, there's not much to do here. Sans is always sneaking away to do something else. Oh! We should exchange phone numbers! So we can stay in touch."

"Phone?" Jaune was confused for a moment before instantly getting the context clues. "Oh! Sure. Assuming this works…" Jaune pulled out his scroll and extended it open.

"Oh wow!" Papyrus looked at the device with stars in his eyes. "That's so cool. What kind of phone is that?"

"It's called a Scroll."

"Like a rolled up paper?"

"I guess? I remember hearing about how it used to just be for looking stuff up, but that they added communications later."

"That makes sense." Papyrus nodded, but clearly didn't quite get it.

Making Jaune have to remind him, "what's the number?"

"Oh right!" Papyrus listed off his phone number and helped Jaune input his own into the more antiquated device. With a quick text as proof of contact, the two were registered. "Excellent! Now we can keep in touch throughout the entire Underground! Of course, if you get back to the surface it won't reach you anymore…"

"Don't worry about it." Jaune said as he put his scroll away. "We'll figure something out."

"Of course we can! As an aside, if you go to the Royal Labs, I'm sure Alphys would love to get a look at that scroll thing. She might be able to increase its range to stay in touch. Who knows?"

That must be the head scientist. Jaune thought. After his scroll was secure, he nodded back. "I was planning to go to the Labs anyway to make sense of everything that's different."

"Right. The weird different histories thing."

"Yeah." Jaune was quiet for a moment. But, he ultimately nodded once with determination before speaking again. "I'll be heading out. Thanks for letting me stay with you and… for helping me."

"Don't worry about it!" But Papyrus jumped a bit before going, "Oh! Hold on a second!" The taller skeleton ran into the house before coming back out with a wooden sword. He handed it over toward Jaune. "Here. There are still going to be some monsters that want to capture you. It would be best if you had this to defend yourself."

Jaune looked between the training weapon and its holder. "Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure!" Papyrus remained as cheerful as ever. "I don't really use swords anyway, so I never actually used it. So I'm giving it to you."

"Thanks." Jaune took the wooden weapon and thought what he could do with it before Papyrus surprised him again. He hadn't noticed that the weapon had a frog attached to it for holding the weapon on his belt. After attaching it to his hip, Jaune stood a little taller, feeling closer to his dream of becoming a hero.

"got one more thing for ya." Sans had appeared suddenly and handed Jaune a shield. An honest to goodness metal shield. "it ain't much, but you strike me as the kind of guy that'll like it."

Jaune blinked in surprise as he held the metal plate. He gripped the handle on the inside and held it against his body. He couldn't help but smile and say, "Thank you both."

"don't mention it."

"Now!" Papyrus shouted, as per usual, "Go out there and become a hero!"

Jaune nodded, Determination fueling him more than he'd ever felt before. "Right!" With one last wave back to the two, Jaune was off on his way again. Equipped with new tools and an, admittedly, improved attitude, he was ready to take on anything!

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How the hell was i supposed to be ready for this?! Jaune mentally shouted as he hid in very tall grass. He flinched with the sound of armored footsteps making an approach. He'd barely left Snowdin when what looked like a knight in full plate armor attacked him. He tried to reason with them, whoever they were, but all he got back was silence at first. Then they let out a roar of anger and tried to remove his head from his body. If not for the shield Sans gave him, he'd probably be dead right now.

But that wasn't his problem right now. Right now, he was hiding in the grass, as still as possible, hoping the knight couldn't hear his heart beat or stifled breathing. He was afraid, but he had to keep himself in the moment. Stay alive, get out of here, never run into this guy again. That was his game plan.

He heard the armored steps get closer, causing him to slowly adjust his position. He got low to the ground and curled up as much as he could to minimize his profile. If he was lucky, the dark color of his hoodie and the dim lighting of the area would make it look like he was a rock or something. He heard the steps stop, causing him to hold his breath. Is this it? Did he find me?

But nothing happened for a moment. Then, he heard the footsteps double back and begin searching back where he'd started. This was his chance and he took it. He quickly got up and ran away as low to the ground and quietly as he could. He continued to run, hoping to get as much distance between him and the knight as possible. He noticed a turn in the path before running passed it for a while before retracing his steps and softly moving down the new path, erasing the steps made by mud and grass blades. With any luck, that'll throw them off.

But luck was only so kind to Jaune Arc. The new path was a dead end. "Crap." He looked around for any sign that there was another way out, but only found a few small indents and an old piano. He let out a groan and moved to the piano, sitting on the bench in front of it. Thankfully, it held and he earned a moment of rest.

Jaune groaned as he shook his head, trying to figure out what to do if the knight came through here. It was a dead end. He had no way to escape. He had… about five seconds to duck.

His eyes went wide and he dove for the ground before a glowing spear hit the bench and shattered the wooden seating. Jaune looked up to find the knight stomping toward him. Jaune attempted to back away, but just fund himself blocked by the piano.

"I'll give you this," the knight spoke for the first time since appearing. The voice was reverberating and echoed in their helmet, making it difficult to tell too much about them besides what they were saying, "that was pretty clever. Trying to make it look like you went one way only to double back and hide that you took a different turn. Unfortunately for you, I like to be thorough." The knight raised their hand and a spear formed from magic, the same way Papyrus had created that bone-like staff.

Jaune raised his shield up and slid his foot back, both in fear and to get a more stable position.

The knight noticed this and motioned their head toward his side. "Ain't you gonna draw your sword?"

Jaune considered it, but ultimately shook his head. "No, I don't think I need to."

Jaune almost instantly regretted his choice of words when the knight's grip on their spear tightened. With a quick action, the knight charged and swung with a heavy arc of their spear. And, with even quicker thinking, Jaune used the swing to his advantage. He held up his shield, jumped up into the air, and let the impact of the spear send him barreling toward the side and away from the knight. With enough distance and a stunned knight, Jaune got his feet on the ground and scrambled to the exit. The knight took a moment, seemingly to process what the hell just happened, before suddenly bursting into a run after the escaping human.

As they left, a certain flower sprung up from the ground and looked up toward a secret door. He used a few tendrils to play the opening to His Song, and opened the door to the ancient artifact. He chuckled to himself as he looked into it, "Let's see what I can do with this."

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Jaune had thankfully lost the knight in his escape once again. His breathing was heavy and his muscles hurt, but he was safe. For now. He let himself collapse on the ground, groaning as his muscles ached. It was, thankfully, already healing for some reason, but he wasn't about to question it until he felt better. As he lay there, he looked up toward the sky, or rather the ceiling of the Underground. He took a deep breath and considered his position in the world at that moment.

As much of a confidence boost as Papyrus' speech and outlook were, it hardly helped him in a situation with something like the knight. He just needed to keep himself together. With a quick slap to his cheeks, he sat up and took out one of his snacks from Toriel. Taking a bite proved to make him feel a bit better. Not just physically like he expected, given monster foods have helping properties. But he felt better in the sense that it reminded him that there were people in his corner. That must be what Papyrus meant before. About believing in yourself because someone else believes in you.

Finishing his snack, he let out a groan as he stood up again. Stretching his back got him to shiver as he cracked a few points along his spine. For now, it was best to get moving. Unfortunately, he was stuck in, what he then learned, was a marsh area with no idea where he came from or how to leave. He couldn't help but let out a sigh before trying to march, what he hoped was, forward.

There were a few weird moments, like areas where the path obviously continued on the other side of a river while there was no bridge. He could swim across, but that would get his hoodie wet and weigh him down. He discovered, by sheer accident, that a series of flowers to the side could be used as a bridge if positioned right. Hardly the weirdest thing in the Underground, so he didn't question how flowers could support his weight. Other than that, it was fairly uneventful. A few Monsters approached him, but most of them left pretty quickly.

As he walked, he tripped slightly on a rock and hopped forward to avoid falling. He pulled himself back and took a moment to make sure he had his balance back before letting out a breath of relief. He stood tall again and looked around to make sure no one saw that.

"Yo!" Only to find out there was someone nearby. Walking up was a short Monster in a striped shirt. He had a larger head and reptile tail, but either had a sweater that wasn't designed properly or had no arms. "That was a close call, huh?"

"Y-yeah." Jaune was just embarrassed now. Someone had seen that. But, noticing the size and general demeanor of the Monster in front of him, he had to ask, "Do you live around here? You seem kind of… young."

"Yo! That's because I'm a Monster Kid. Can'cha tell by my striped shirt? All kids in the Underground wear striped shirts."

So those two grew up down here? Jaune thought to himself, considering the two girls who's literally appeared in his dreams. "I didn't know that."

"How could you not? Are you not from the Underground?" The kid asked with a tilted head.

"Well, no." Jaune told the truth, but decided it was best to keep the more confusing parts to himself this time.

"You're from the surface?! Wait… are you a… human?"

"Yeah. I am."

The kid was quiet for a moment, taking a light step back, but keeping in place for now. "Yo." There was a sense of curiosity and a tint of fear.

Jaune just made sure to stand still and avoid sudden actions. He understood the Monsters' fear of humans by this point, so this wasn't surprising. "Look, I fell down into the mountain. Now, I'm just trying to get home and… maybe make sense of why everything is so weird."

"What's weird?"

"Yeah, kid." The sound of an overly cheery voice cut through the moment and eyes turned to a yellow flower sprouting up from the ground. "What's weird?"

This caused Jaune to move. He put himself between Flowey and the Monster Kid pulling his shield up. "What do you want?"

"Come on, is that any way to talk to your pal?"

"We're not pals! You tried to kill me!"

"What's a little murder between friends? Besides, you're okay, aren't you?"

"Yo?" The Kid spoke up, looking around Jaune to the flower. "What's going on here?"

"You're in the way kid." Flowey shot a series of pellets toward the Monster Kid, only to have them shatter against Jaune's shield. "Still getting in the way, are you?"

Jaune called back to the Kid, "Run! Now!"

The Monster Kid was still confused, stalled long enough to be caught by surprise. Vines shot up from the ground and held him upside down before wrapping him up. "Y-yo! What's going on?!"

Jaune's head spun around in worry and wasn't ready for a pellet to hit his cheek like a bullet. He kept himself upright but his legs were a bit shaky now.

Flowey laughed and moved from side to side. "Oh! I get it. You're the noble type that tries to keep other people safe. I bet you think you're all cool and chivalrous. But you're just an idiot. I mean, look at you! You don't even have a real weapon!"

Jaune gripped his wooden training weapon tighter in frustration. He had to figure something out before Flowey did something drastic.

But the flower just laughed. "Don't worry, kid. I'm not gonna kill him. Yet. You're too DETERMINED for me to risk it. You have to die first!"

This was the moment a glowing spear slammed between them.

This caused Flowey to laugh. "That works~" Then, he sunk into the ground with a laugh.

That's when the knight from before appeared again and pulled the spear out of the ground. The knight pointed the spear toward Jaune, "Finally caught up with you." The knight noticed the young Monster held up by vines. "You responsible for that?"

Jaune looked up toward the Kid and immediately shook his head. "Of course not! I wouldn't…"

"Shut up!" The knight swung their spear, which Jaune ducked under, cutting the vines and freeing the Kid. As the Kid landed, he was caught by Jaune and shuffled off to the side as the human ran in the opposite direction, followed by the knight.

The Kid could only watch on in amazement. "Yo."

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As Jaune ran across the marsh, he saw glowing pools from which spears rose up from as he passed. He glanced back to see the knight keeping pace despite the heavy armor. He also noticed their hand was glowing and releasing each time the pools would appear and shoot up spears. That's just not fair!

Jaune ran as fast as he could, eventually ending up on a wooden bridge. His range of movement was limited, but it seemed like the knight's range was being limited as well. He tried to gain a bit more distance, but found a wall of spears shoot up from the ground in front of him. He turned with his shield raised and back to the wall. Crap!

The knight slowly approached, their free hand glowing and held up, likely to keep the wall in position. "You're not getting away now!"

Jaune grit his teeth and tried back into the wall, finding it stung just to touch the spears, even if it was just the shafts. It's probably because they're made of magic or something. He kept his shield over his chest and just barely peeked his eyes over the top. He had to play this safer than before. That stunt from the piano room won't work here. He doubted the knight would fall for it again, anyway.

The knight held up their spear to point to Jaune. "Now, draw your sword already."

Jaune's hand clenched onto his shield's straps. "Won't help."

"And why not?"

"It's made of wood. And you're covered head to toe in plate armor. The worst I could do is make your ears ring a little."

The knight seemed to pause for a moment before lowering the spear. They dropped the wall and a new spear formed in the now open hand. The magic spear was tossed toward Jaune and planted into the bridge. "Take it. That should make it fair."

Jaune was surprised but couldn't help but see the knight a bit differently. Yeah, they were trying to kill him, but there was still that chivalrous element. He had to respect that. He moved toward the new spear and hesitantly grabbed it, finding this one didn't sting. Must be an intention thing. The ones meant to stop me won't let me touch them without hurting while this one, which was sort of given to me, doesn't hurt me. He took the weapon in his hands and pulled it out of the wooden surface beneath him.

A wooden surface that now had a large hole in it. That was cracking in every direction. With the sound of splintering wood.

Uh oh.

The bridge broke apart from the sheer force of the spear impaling the surface. Jaune tried to scramble to a stable part of the bridge, but the only support area was directly under the knight, who took his movement as a charging attack and swatted him back. As Jaune landed on the bridge again, it finally gave out and fell apart. Jaune plunged into the abyss below, uncertain of what could happen now. He could see t Two things went through his mind in this moment.

Son of a bitch!

And…

Not again!

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Here's how my mind and soul have been for the passed month as I wrote this:

Mind: Okay, we're moving this event around here, and...

Soul: Hey! What if we paired up Jaune with Undyne instead for the end?

M: We already said it would be the love triangle.

S: You decided that. Come on, it'd be adorable!

M: That's not the point.

S: Do it you pussy!

M: That doesn't work on me. We said what we said and we're sticking to it.

S: We getting paid for this?

M: No. Why?

S: Then who cares if we stick to it?! You know you want to. Here! A cute scene you can use later.

M: ... That is kind of...

S: And you don't even have to change anything to make it happen! The story can be exactly the same!

M: That's true...

King: So, yeah... I'm not sure exactly how I want to do this now... And we've already left Snowdin and I want to seed the shipping side plot in soon. I hate them both for pulling this stunt and I know Knox was involved somehow! I might change course moving forward...