A/N Again, I'm terribly sorry for not updating on the agreed upon time, life's been coming at me fast and I haven't been able to keep up. I'm so sorry, but try to enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 23: Fall into the maw

Six awoke in an uncomfortable bed. It was... oddly familiar... There was also an ominous, everpresent swaying. That could only mean one thing.

"The maw... no..." She looked at her hands in disbelief, then to the scenery around her. Yep, it was the maw.

"The maw? What kind of name is that?" Someone to her side questioned her. She quickly looked to her side in shock to not only see Mike, but Mono, Frisk, and Chara with her.

"What... How are you here...? Why are you here...? How are WE here?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Chara asked once she sat up.

"This place... this awful... awful place... I've been here before..."

"Wait... How?" Six held her head and groaned.

"I... It's hard to explain... Any time I try to think about it..." She then yelped in pain and clutched her skull. She breathed heavily as the pain subsided. "It hurts... But I know I've been here before."

"Okay then... How uh... How do we get out of here?" Frisk asked. Sox frowned as the darkness before them seemed thick and impassable. She absentmindedly fumbled around in her coat pocket and her hands grazed cold metal. Blinking in confusion, she pulled the object from her coat and inspected it. It was her old friend, a lighter. She opened it up and struck the mechanism with her thumb and a small flame burst to life. She smiled as she illuminated the room.

"Wow. Didn't know you were a smoker." Mike joked. Six rolled her eyes and stood up, leading the way.

"Okay... If i remember right... It's..." She groaned a bit as she tried to remember, but it was no use. "Rats... Guess we gotta go in blind... Sorry." Mono shrugged and patted her shoulder.

"We made it out of the pale city alive... How much worse can this be?" Six furrowed her brow and frowned. She wasn't quite sure why, but she knew that danger lurked around every corner of this forsaken submersible. Tests and trials of survival lay before them... as well as something else... Something darker... However, standing here doing nothing as they slowly got seasick wasn't helping anyone. Taking point, Six marched forward with the others close behind. She held her light far out and high up as to get the best view possible. Unfortunately... Their blessing of light was also a curse. For just a few rooms ahead was a sinister sight: an unfortunate man decided to take the cowards way out. He swung with the pitch and yaw of the ship and the chair below him a sinister reminder of the last thing he touched before... She shook her head, trying not to think about such things. Studied the chair for a moment and thought about using it to open the door right next to them, but then she realized she didn't need to.

"Hey... can one of you give me a lift?" She asked. Frisk nodded and knelt next to the door. Six then stood on her hand and together, they got the door open. Frisk smiled and patted her back as they continued onward. Six shivered a bit as they moved on, faint and brief visions of the future... or perhaps her past... filled her head, but these dark visions were soon replaced with a strange warmth she's never felt, but as soon as it was there, it was gone. She shook her head and pushed forward. She felt optimistic for the first time in a long time. She didn't know for sure what lie ahead, but she was ready to face them head on, and she wasn't going to do it alone. They pushed forward with confidence, solving puzzles and avoiding hazards without even breaking a sweat. There were a few horrors spread throughout, like the distant screams of unknown creatures and a short yet gangly figure on a bridge far above them hauling... something. But these things didn't pose a very present danger as of now.

"This isn't so bad. A few creepy leeches here and there... a couple deadly falls... and general scary ambiance... but besides that, I'm feeling pretty good about all this!" Mike smiled as he marched ahead. The others began to follow, but then Six froze and her eyes went wide.

"DON'T MOVE!" She shouted. They all stopped where they were and turned to look at her.

"Why? Is there something ahead?" No sooner had the words left Mike's mouth, from the end of the room, an eye opened up and cast it's terrible gaze upon the room and soon landed on Mike. As soon as it did, Mike stared in horror as his body slowly turned to stone. "Gah! It hurts!" He groaned in pain and went as fast as he could to the others. He slowed down more and more and nearly came to a full stop, but he used what little strength he had left to lurch himself forward and into the shadows. The others quickly pulled him closer to safety as he shook and shivered in pain. His body slowly returned to normal and the eye came to a close. He breathed heavily and held himself.

"Mike... Are you okay?" Frisk asked, more than a little worried. He slowly nodded his head and rubbed his muscles as if shaking off the last of the petrification. Once he finally recovered, he stood on his shaking feet and used the nearby pillar for support. He gulped down the rising bile in his throat.

"I... I may have spoken too soon..." He mumbled as he stared at the patch of no-mans-land before them. This was not going to be easy.