LOUDERTALE

by Superdimentio77

When Lincoln wins a free reservation at a resort, he of course invites all of his family to join him. But when said resort is standing next to a certain mountain, their visit up the mount might extend the Loud Siblings' trek by a little bit. What friendship and trials await them? Look out Underground, here come the Louds.

5. Ruins, Part 3

LOUDERTALE

Arc 1 : Ruins

Part 3 : Michigan Louds and the Lost Monster Ruins

(A true Fictional story)

Author's Note : Another huge chapter that could've been done in ten pages, but instead takes about 32 of them ! Well, you apparently like that, so what the heck ?

I've got so many reviews, that's just awesome ! Know that I read every one of them, and I might, later on, devise a way to answer them all. Let me answer the general ones though.

Yes, Papyrus and Sans will be there. What Undertale adventure would that be without Loud Cinammon Roll, and punny edgy potato couch. As for Gaster... he won't be important, but he will be mentionned. He could even make an appearance, who knows...

As for the Route questions again, NO GENOCIDE ! It is an important part of Undertale, I concede you that, but there is no need to bring any of that stuff here, not even by some convulted way. Plus, I just can't bare subjecting the children to more than what I have already in store for them. After all...

Pacifist Route doesn't mean NOBODY can die at some point.

But enough edginess for now ! Let's just hope that I can keep my working determination well and alive, and get on with this chapter. Also, do not hesitate to put on some ambiance by using the Undertale OST on Youtube at the right moments. While very superficial for most of the story, it's recommended for the boss fights. I'll even indicate the music names for those who do not know the tracks' names.

Loud House and Undertale belong to their respective owners. Enjoy !

---

Back to our young heroes, all were partaking into some activities of their own. Lisa was drafting the pillar before her for future research references, Lola was busy adjusting her make-up (you'd be surprised how much make-up she could fit under that dress), and Lana was looking at the dirt between the purple bricks and... tasting it.

"Hmm... tastes like blueberries for some reason." commented Lana like a wine expert.

Lucy was sitting against the pillar, thinking about the new collection of poems this place would no doubt give her the inspiration to create, Lynn was bouncing her rubber ball on a wall with the most bored of expressions, and Luan was brainstorming some good puns she'd share with Toriel later. The buck-toothed comedian was almost bouncing with glee, still on cloud nine about discovering that Mother Goat liked puns. Leni was entertaining Lily... or was Lily entertaining Leni ? It was hard to tell at times.

And as for Luna, Lori, and Lincoln, they were busy conversing to eachother. Lincoln stopped however, when he noticed the camera coming back, and slipped away from the chatting duo. "Oh, glad to see you're back." waved the boy enthusiastically. "Now, I don't know if it's been more than a week or barely a minute since you've last seen us, but we have been waiting here for at least 30 minutes. We're doing fine for now, no monster has come to bother us, and Flowey (Lincoln shivered), is still on the loose, hopefully very far away. So to wait until Toriel comes back, me and my two big sisters have been busy talking about... well, all the crazy stuff that has been happening for the last hour." He sighed tiredly, rubbing his eyelids. "There is still a lot to discuss, and even if we don't outright show it, we're all a little scared. Firstly about finding a way home, and secondly about what else we're gonna encounter." He sighed again, but this time with a calmer breath. "But... I guess that it's a bit too soon to give up. I'm sure that as long as we stick together, we can get through it. Don't you agree ?" The camera nodded, and Lincoln smiled. "Then as the voice in my head told me, I'm gonna stay determined..."

"Lincoln ! Quit speaking through the wall, and come back here !" called the eldest of the Loud children. "We have other topics we litteraly need to discuss !"

Lincoln stopped his speech, and ran back to his sisters. "Coming !" He sat back next to Luna. "Well, what's next on the list ?"

"Lori and I were going over that weird little sparkle you've touched earlier." answered the purple rocker. "Especially those weird words and numbers it showed."

Lori nodded, scratching her cortex to get a proper image of the memory in her mind. "That one in the top right corner, '0:12'. It looked like... some sort of time recording. Combine that with the fact it was dubbed a SAVE file..."

"It may've been showing us the total time we've been in here." Lincoln snapped his fingers, indicating that he was following his sister's reasoning. "I guess that's something we'll have to verify if we find more of those. And I think we'll do, because the words next to it were describing a place. In games, it's usually to remind you where you'll come back."

"Yeah, but we still don't have any idea how all of this works." sighed Lori. "We can't really play the 'That's just silly' card anymore, for obvious reasons, so there is bound to be an explanation of why it's there, what does it do, and how do we make it do it."

"That, and something to explain that 'LV1' stuff. What's LV supposed to mean ?" wondered Luna, looking in her bro's direction.

"Hmm... Level, maybe ?" guessed Lincoln with a shrug. The idea nontheless brought a thought back to him. "That reminds me, back with that Frog guy, when the Fight was over, that strange voice told me something about Gold and EXP, the latter usually meaning Experience Points in games. The more you get, the stronger you become. But to get EXP, you're normally supposed to... beat your opponents. Yet Toriel told us the best way to advance is to NOT fight. But then we... it's... and... oh, my brain hurts." moaned the boy, prompting Luna to give him a gentle pat on the head.

Lori rubbed her own temples. "Mine too, Lincoln. But we gotta go still. Let's talk more about that voice in your head."

Lincoln moaned again. "Ah, this again ?"

"YES, this again !" she countered.

Meanwhile, apart from the siblings entertaining themselves, Lynn kept frowning at the purple wall in front of her, as she bounced her lucky tennis ball on it. The motion was swift, yet mechanical, and that just didn't feel right to the sportive brunette. Each bounce made her brow lower a bit more in irritation, to the point that she was outright glaring at a brick like it had insulted her baseball skills. Worse, she could feel numbness beginning to overcome her body, and the traitorous serie of apendages was accepting it !

But it wasn't until the moment that the thought 'What if I took a little nap ?' passed through her head that Lynn's senses flared up with the accumulated irking boredom.

"UUURRGH, I can't take this anymore !" hollered the jock, pratically tearing her hair off. Her shout startled all the other members of the Loud group. "If I have to wait one more minute in this stupid hall, looking at its stupid walls, I'm gonna go insane !"

"Woah, calm down, it has not even been a hall hour, hahaha !" laughed Luan.

Lynn's eyes became wide with anger, and she quickly bumped noses with the comedian. "I will knock those braced teeth out, and make you eat them." she breathed heatedily, prompting Luan, no longer laughing, to quickly pedal away from her least younger sister.

Lori grunted in annoyance. Now was not the time for a tantrum, especially from someone as hard-headed as the thirteen year-old jock. "Lynn, chill. As Luan said, we've only been here for thirty minutes. You litteraly wait longer during your visits in Dr. Lorenzo's waiting room."

"One, I'm used to his waiting room. Two, there are sport magazines. Three, I know there is nothing waiting for me elsewhere." counted down Lynn with a slight snarl. She then reamorced her countdown. "One, brand new place. Two, nothing else than this ball to distract myself. And three, we are in a kingdom of monsters. Weird stuff and people just waiting outside those walls, and we're just sitting here like a bunch of idiots !"

"Urgh, haven't you been listening ?" called out Lola as she closed her compact. "It's not safe out there ! Toriel said so !"

"So what ?" grumbled Lynn, crossing her arms.

Lincoln rolled his eyes. "So, she knows this place better than we do, which isn't hard, since we know nothing of it !" he exclaimed, not caring about the sour look he was getting from his sport buddy. "Normally, I'm all for exploring and stuff, but if there is a safer option here, maybe it's best that we suck it up, and just take it."

"Yeah, I don't wanna meet that meanie flower again." said Leni, trembling as she remembered the nefarious plant's wicked laughter. "Besides, imagine what could be, like, waiting for us. Maybe... um... a flame guy! Tied in a rope ! With spats !"

"If I'm ever to witness that, then I cannot promise that my already wounded sanity will be preserved." commented Lisa. Just because monsters existed didn't mean that she had to believe in every strange fantasy coming off the top of Leni's greatly catatonic mind.

"But guys, come oooon ! I'm so bored I'm considering taking a nap ! A NAP !" the Loud athlete insisted.

"Ah, don't be like that, sis." said Lana as she readjusted her cap. "I mean sure, it is kinda boring here, but I'm sure Toriel's gonna come back any minute. And on the way, maybe we'll meet more of Hops' cousins !" the tomboy giggled excitedly.

"That does sound pretty rad." grinned Luna, exchanging a high-five with her little sister. "Besides, if there was any problem, Furry T. would have called us by now."

Lincoln arched an eyebrow. "'Furry T.' ?"

Luna pouted in thought. "Yeah, maybe that nickname's a bit weak. I'll work on it."

Lori nodded, and approached her grumbling sibling. "See Lynn ? Until there is a good reason for us to move, forget exiting this room. And don't even think about going there alone, or you'll be the one at the bad end of a wedgie for once."

Lynn flinched a little, but still chose to be quietly defiant. "Control freak." she mumbled.

The eyes of the oldest Loud present widened with shock, then tightened with anger. "What was that, twerpette ?"

But before Lynn could worsen the situation, a ringing sound echoed, startling the siblings a bit. Baby Lily pointed out the source, as she waddled to her big sister's legs, and tugged on her brown shorts. The sound then became clear to Lori, and she sorted her newly acquired phone. Fidgeting a bit with the buttons, she pressed the green one, and a familiar voice crackled through the receiver.

"Hello children. It's me, Toriel. Is everything alright ?" asked the woman with a warm tone.

The Louds perked up at the voice, and got closer to answer more or less joyfully. Even Lynn said yes, but still with a sulky tone.

"Hehe, I'm glad." chuckled Toriel, before her voice became less joyful. "Unfortunately I bring some news that may upset you. I am facing a slight problem here, something that has greatly delayed me. As such, it could be a while longer before I am to fetch you, children. I am deeply sorry."

Lynn didn't lose any time in expriming her annoyance in a loud cry of frustration, that was thankfully muffled by the combined efforts of Luan and Lucy.

"What's the problem ?" asked Lincoln, eager to help.

"You see, it's that little white dog. He's quite the regular here, and is always up for some benign mischief. I know the little darling can't help it, so I let him do as he pleases." As she spoke, a little 'yip yip !' echoed in the background. "Now though, he's snatched one of my bags of groceries, and he refuses to give them back to me." There was a bit of shuffling, as well as a cute growling sound. Toriel grunted in effort to get back her bag, then sighed in resignation. "I may have to go all the way back to the supplier."

"Wait, maybe you don't !" quipped Lana as she grabbed the phone from an indignant Lori. "Our dog Charles is like that sometimes, and there's a trick I use to make him let go. Try scratching his chest in circles, then go with your two hands along his neck to end behind his ears, and pet like you've never pet before ! Should work like a charm."

"Hmm, I suppose I can try. Thank you for your advice, Lana." Toriel praised, making Lana beam with pride. "In the meantime, are you all truly doing alright ?"

"Well, everyone's doing swell. Though some of us are getting a bit bored." commented Luna.

"Not me." said Lucy suddenly, making Luna yelp. "A shady hall, empty as can be. The practical example of what life can truly be."

"...My my, you've certainly got a way with words. You're a book devourer as well, aren't you, Lucy ?" said Toriel warmly.

Lucy's expression brightened a bit, and her cheeks flushed. She remembered her existence...

"Well, I trust that you'll find a way to occupy yourselves. Besides, if things come to the worst, I should be back in barely an hour. But if there is anything wrong, know that I'll be there immediately. I hope you understand, children. Be good, alright ?"

"Yes Toriel, bye !" chorused the siblings all at once. Toriel chuckled, then hung up with a 'Click'.

The moment she did, Lynn pratically howled with tired ire. "One hour ?! I can't wait this long ! I'll be going nuts in five minutes, tops !"

"Lynn, stop being such a baby !" scolded Lori. She briefly turned to her youngest sister. "No offense, Lily." The baby blabbered that it was okay, so Lori continued her rant to the freckled athlete. "Seriously, we are not risking everyone's safety just because you are bored !"

"What's wrong with a little exploration ? What are you all so afraid of ?!" said Lynn with a snarl.

Lori, now very irritated, rubbed her eyelids profusely, litteraly trying to not blow up. "Oh, I don't know, let me see if I find anything. A completely unknown realm, Flowey, possible traps waiting for us, Flowey, other monsters that could attack us, Flowey !" she stressed with a sharp sarcastic tone, that did NOT please Lynn.

"Why are you being a sissy ?!"

"I am being your leader !"

Lynn then crossed her arms, rolled her eyes with a sneer, and scoffed in a cold tone, "Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

Those four words were enough for Lori's expression to change from fury to shock... to pain. The eldest blonde looked genuinely hurt by Lynn's comment, and fell shamefully silent.

"LYNN ! That was totes not nice !" yelled Leni in a rare bout of anger, as she came to her older sister's side to comfort her.

"I must agree with our mutual parent here, your argument was thoroughly uncalled for." frowned Lisa.

"Yeah dude, it's not because you're bored that you must be a jerk about it." said Luna.

"Not cool, Lynn." coolly added Lucy.

"Yeah !" said Lola.

Lynn looked at the frowning faces of her siblings, even Lincoln's and Lily's. Guilt passed through her face for a moment, before it morphed back to annoyance. "I'm cranky when I'm bored, so bite me !"

Lana rolled up her sleeves and advanced, before being stopped by Lincoln, who wagged a finger, signaling it was not the time to make things worst. Lana recluantly nodded.

A moment passed, and Lynn's annoyed demanour became progressively more regretful. She turned to the quiet Lori, who was looking at the floor. "Look, I-I'm sorry Lori. It's just that... you know me ! If I'm contained for too long, I struggle to get free ! I can't help it." And speaking of struggle...

*Growl*

Lynn's hands reflectively went to her stomach, as she gave out another groan. "Great, now I'm hungry too."

*GROOOWL !*

Lynn blinked at the beastly growling that had just echoed, but got her answer when the siblings began to hold their stomachs as well. She couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "And I'm not alone, apparently."

"Oooh, my tummy's feeling lonely." moaned Leni.

"Well, it is worth mentionning that we've skipped breakfast, and are probably going on the adequate time for lunch." commented Lisa, trying to muffle her own gastric demands.

"I'm soooo craving for a burger rignt now." blissfully groaned Lincoln.

"Yeaaah..." drooled Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lincoln, Lana, Lola, and Lisa, imagining a meat patty cooked just the way they liked it, with melted cheddar, rich salad, sauces of their likings, and the whole thing sandwiched between two golden and tender buns...

(Darn, now I'm getting hungry too !)

As those siblings were drooling New Niagara Falls, Lucy imagined some blood pudding herself, while Lori, coming out of her shy state, dreamed of a rich plate of sushis, makis, and tender pieces of sashimi. But while that was going on, baby Lily could feel her own tummy greedily growling. She didn't like that, so she teared up, sniffled, and let out a wail of distress.

"WAAAAAAAAH !" sobbed Lily.

This immediately snapped the Loud siblings out of their reverie. Luan picked up Lily, trying to calm her down with a silly face, but the infant's cries only got harder. "Guys, I think we have a cry of distress here. Hehe- ouch ! Lily, no slappies !"

"Does anyone have food on her ?" asked Lincoln urgently. He only got silence and nervous looks as answers. "No one ?!"

"I had to choose the one day we get into this great conundrum to forget my emergency rations." facepalmed Lisa.

"What do we do now ?!" panicked Lincoln, as Lily's sobbing got even louder.

It was then that Lori finally broke her silence with a sigh and a resolved look. "Well, looks like it had to be so. Let's go forward."

Her sisters and brother gasped, even Lily stopped crying, hiccuping instead. "But Lori, what about what Toriel told us ?" inquired Lola.

"I know what she said, but I am not letting my baby sister starve." Lori argued back, looking at the misty-eyed and red-faced Lily. "The three rules still apply, so we go together. Everyone stay on the lookout for that no-good weed." The others straightened up, and she smiled. "C'mon people, let's go find some grub."

"YEAH !" the Louds cheered, excited by both the food and the new places to visit.

However, before they could leave, Lori stopped them. "Wait ! Lynn, could you come here, please ?"

Lynn arched an eyebrow, but complied to Lori's wish.

"Could you give me your arm for a moment ?" asked Lori, still in an even tone.

"Uh, sure. But why for- YEOWCH !" yelped Lynn, as Lori offered to the arm in her hand a vicious arm-twister. Lynn hissed to herself as she got her arm back, trying to rub the pain away.

Lori, on the other hand, grinned contently, took back Lily from Luan, and slowly went to the next entrance. "There, now we can go."

The other siblings blinked at what they had witnessed, then all smiled knowingly as they followed her.

"Our big sister's back." chuckled Lincoln.

---

The siblings entered the next room, which was of course way smaller than the hall they'd been in. No puzzle seemed to be in view, only more red leaves and two other ways out, one directly on their left, and another down on the right. They began to think of which way to take, but Lana interrupted them.

"Wait guys, I'm getting something." called the little dirt monkey, as she sniffed the air and ground with all of her inner animal. Her eyes widened, and her head snapped to the left. "There is food that way ! I can smell it !"

With their stomachs taking over their minds, the Loud kids did not need to be asked twice, and rushed into the room.

---

The room was much smaller, water filtering on its sides, and a wall of ivy opposing them. What really caught their attention, was what was standing inside a square of red leaves. Indeed, resting on a pedestal, was a bowl full of-

"CANDY !" hollered the kids in joy. They eyed the dozens of colourful sweets, their mouths idly watering.

"Aw man, there must be enough for all of us to get a mouthful each !" excitedly analysed Lincoln.

"That is so sweet !" exclaimed Luan. She blanked, then laughed. "Wow, I didn't even plan that one."

"Well, what're we waiting for ? Let's dig in !" endorsed Luna. The siblings wholeheartedly agreed, and moved towards the bowl, ready to take a fistful of delicious sugary treats.

"Wait !" Lisa stopped them, much to their hungry and voiced annoyance. The genius pointed at her finding. "Something has been written down on the pedestal." She approached the small column, and read for the group.

"Please, take ONE piece of candy."

This reading of course got a lot of groans and complaints from the humans.

"One measly candy ?! Are you for real right now ?!" raged Lynn.

"I'm all for diets and stuff, but we're litteraly starving here !" huffed Lori, as she could feel Lily in her arms being just as grumpy about it.

Lola rolled her eyes, and approached the bowl hautingly. "Well, sorry whoever-wrote-this, but a princess needs her fill of sugar." The pink-clad blonde reached for the bowl, and took a handful of sweets. But as she admired her prize, a strange feeling of dread began to overcome her.

She could feel her sin crawling on her back...

She hastily put the candy back, and the feeling subsided. She laughed nervously, trying to shake that strange experience off. "Y'know what ? Maybe we should apply to the rule. Don't want to get cavities, or anything."

Lincoln tilted his head. What just happened ? He decided to find out by grabbing multiple sweets as well. Immediately, the same creepling dread took him, as if the crime itself was crawling like a big insect on his back. And the voice in his head wasn't helping the matter.

*You rightfully feel like the scum of the Earth...

Lincoln put the sweets back as fast as his sister. Tentatively, he pinched one. He felt nothing. He then tried to take another one, and the feeling immediately tickled down his neck again. So in the end, he wisefully only took one. "Girls, I think it's best for us if we obey this one." he advised.

The girls didn't feel like arguing when they saw both of Lola and Lincoln's fretful eyes, but still groaned in disappointement. In the end, each had a piece of candy in their hands, looking at their only food with crestfallen expressions.

"This stinks." Leni commented simply.

"Hunger is a blight many are cursed by." recited Lucy, before her tone became a tad whiny. "But it's a curse I don't wanna be part of right now."

"Worst is, being food from a very foreign world, we cannot even say if it'll be good, whether for our tastebuds or for our digestive system." uttered Lisa dryly, beginning her usual 'What could go wrong' rant. "It could be poisonnous, give us rashes, make us vomit for hours..."

"I don't care if it makes my body swell up like a balloon, I'm eating it." Lynn answered just as dryly. Before anyone could stop her, she popped the round sweet in her mouth. Her eyes widened as she began to suck on it, and a smile appeared on her freckled face. "Hey, that one's cherry-flavoured ! My favourite !"

The siblings blinked at Lynn's bright expression. Curiosity got the better of the sole boy among them, and he mimicked his sister's action, down right to the widening eyes. "Raspberry ! So good !" he exclaimed, letting the fruity flavour rolling off his tongue.

Seeing the double happy result, the sisters decided to attempt the experience as well. And the pattern was of course repeated.

"Ah, sweet ! Mine's blackberry !" cheered Luna with her rock pose.

"Black Licorice. Darkness' own sweetness, and Edwin's favourite." monotoned Lucy.

"The Granny Smith flavouring of my saccharose sphere is much appreciated." analyzed Lisa.

"Eeee, lychee ! It's like, my bestest flavour ever !" squealed Leni.

"Get out ! Blueberry !" Lori joyfully gasped.

"Mmm, pink grapefruit ! The true taste for a princess such as I !" beamed Lola with pride.

"And mine's booger-flavoured !" added Lana with her own toothy smile, making her twin wince with disgust, before returning to her fruity paradise.

"Mine's pretty easy to guess ! I go bananas for it, hahaha !" cracked Luan, the joy of having this taste in her mouth adding even more peppiness to her tone.

"Poo-poo !" clapped Lily.

(Her sweet tasted like cranberry by the way. It was not "poo-poo" flavoured. Just thought I'd leave it there.)

The symphony of contented sighs and pieces of candy being sucked kept going for a full minute. And when it stopped by them finally gulping the treats down, another sensation vanished as well.

"Check it out, my stomach's not growling anymore !" noted Lynn excitedly.

"Mine isn't either !" supported Lana.

"This is beyond fascinating." said Lisa with a rare excitement that seemed to just keep coming down here. "How is it possible that pieces of candy could taste like our favoured aromas, and be able to fulfill our abdomen capacities ?"

"Magic ?" attempted Lincoln as he rubbed his stomach.

Once again, Lisa tried to rebut, but finding herself unable for the moment, she simply frowned, a little harder than last time. "Sure, why not ?" she parroted.

"Well, at least now Lily's full." said Lori. She then adressed the baby with her silly voice. "Do you have a full tummy Lily ? Do you ?"

"Full tammy !" giggled the baby with her adorable innocence. The siblings awwed at the little ball of sunshine.

"That's that then. Let's go back !" rallied Lincoln. The others approved, and moved out.

---

Back into the larger room, the Louds were ready to weigh their options, with Lynn obviously wanting to go explore more, and Lori to return to the safe hall now that their stomachs were not digesting themselves. But before the cacophony of arguments could begin...

*Ring, ring !*

Recognizing the sound instantly, Lori took out her phone again and unconciously pressed the green button. It was obviously Toriel, suprisingly calling again already.

"Hello children, it's me again !" said Toriel in a happier voice than during the last call. "Lana, I must commend you for your advice. The little dog was quick to contently flee the premises once I scratched both of his ears. Thank you very much."

"Aww, 'twas nothing. Just an old trick one guy at the park taught me." said Lana, bashfully chuckling.

Toriel giggled at the obvious pride in the small blonde's voice. "Well, I suppose that does shorten my original planning by quite a bit. I guess you won't have to stay too long in the hall after all, hee hee."

All the siblings' expressions comically morphed into 'We're so busted !' ones. An eerie silence echoed in the room.

"You... are still in the hall, yes ?" inquired Toriel, her voice losing a bit of her warmth.

Wow, I think I've just heard a pin drop somewhere in the next town.

Toriel's voice got more cautious. "Lori, you are all waiting in the hall, aren't you ?"

"Hehehe..." Lori chuckled very nervously, tugging on her blue dress' collar. "Define 'in the hall'."

"Lori..." Toriel said in a motherly warning tone. It was more than enough for Lori to crack.

"Okay, we... might have gone out. But only for a little bit, we were there when you called, but then Lynn was bored, and then we got hungry, and the candies, and Lily crying, and I'm so sorry !" she blabbered all at once, genuinely regretful about breaking the Mother Goat's trust.

Another moment of tense silence, nobody daring to gulp down the anxiety bulging in their throats. Finally, Toriel sighed, but not angrily, more with disappointement. And towards herself. "I suppose it could not be helped. Asking of you to wait for so long was perhaps a tad too harsh for so many active children such as you." she mumbled a bit absentmindedly.

"I'm sorry." repeated Lori, still as remorseful.

"I'm sorry too !" quipped Lynn. "I was the one who suggested we explored. I just can't stand being bored, so I pushed Lori to take that decision."

"I understand you two, no need for excuses." cut Toriel, her voice warm again, with a layer of carefulness added on top. "Children, I won't be there for at least another half-hour. So in the meantime, if waiting in a hall proves too much... you can try going forward. My home is along the only way possible, just before you reach a grand opening to the old city." Her voice's worry increased. "Just, be careful, alright ? If you have any problem, you just have to call me, and I'll whisk away to your position. Be kind to those you meet, but i-if something goes wrong, do not hesitate to escape, do you understand ?"

The siblings couldn't help but mellow at the urgency of Toriel's voice. The poor woman was so worried about them, it made them feel valued. Well, they were certainly not letting the woman down. So with smiles and nods to eachother, they uttered as one, "YOU CAN COUNT ON US !"

Toriel sighed in relief, and chuckled at the kids' determination. "Well, I suppose it's alright then. I'll see you in half an hour, whether at my house or on the way. See you later, and be nice to eachother."

"Yes mom !" said Leni out of the blue. She immediately realized her mistake, and slapped a hand against her mouth. The others stiffened as they heard what resembled a choked gasp from Toriel's end.

"D-Did you just call me... mom ?" slowly articulated Toriel, the shuffling of fabric indicating that she was gently gripping her heart.

"Oh... oh no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to !" attemped Leni, worried that she had done something stupid. Her words slowly morphed into whimpers. "I'm sorry, I said something dumb again..."

"Leni, it's... alright." soothed Toriel, her voice still shaking a bit. With a quiet gulp, and an uncertain tone. "Well, would that please you, children ? To call me... 'mother' ?"

The Loud kids kept silent again. What could they say to that ? They already had a mother ! But thinking about it, that monster... she was like their mother in so many ways ! Worried for their well-being, always warm and gentle, yet stern when she needed to, and her approval meaning so much to them. They had no doubt that if one of them scrapped their knees, not only would she heal it with her magic powers, she would then kiss it to make the sadness all go away ! So even if they were not related... she was sort of a mom.

It was Luna who worked up the courage to speak again. "Well, yeah. I mean, might be a wee bit sudden, we've known eachother for, what, an hour ? But in a way, you are a... um..." Luna hesitated, scratching her short brown hair to find the best way to put it. But then, in a flash resembling the one of a spotlight at a Mick Swagger concert, the words appeared crystal clear in the rocker's mind, creating the perfect nickname. "Goat Mom ! Yeah, you're a Goat Mom, always ready to help children in need. Toriel to the world, Tori to friends, and Goat Mom for the kiddies."

"Hmm, I kinda like it !" bounced Lana.

"Fittingly adequate, for sure." lisped Lisa with a smile.

"Neat." scarcely said Lucy with a thumbs up.

"Well, it's certainly a nice goat-to nickname !" joked Luan, earning her usual share of unamused groans.

"Yay, Goat Mom !" cheered Leni, no longer bummed out.

The kids let out cheers for their monster guide's new affiliation. But they stopped however, when they heard a choked sob crackle through the receiver, piquing their interest. "Um, Toriel ? Goat Mom, are you okay ?" asked Lincoln, kinda worried for the woman.

"W-What ?" replied Toriel, sounding overwhelmed with either sadness or joy. Maybe both, the kids couldn't tell. But with the sound of a sleeve wiping tears off one's face, Toriel spoke with a much more controlled voice, though still brimming with moved pride. "Oh, I'm sorry. I-It's a wonderful nickname you've created, you can call me however you feel is best. Now, I have to go. Be good, children."

"YES GOAT MOM !" answered the Loud Kids all at once, prompting another tearful squeal of happiness from the monster, before she hung up. "What was that all about ?" asked Lynn, a bit confused at Toriel's bouts of emotivity.

"Eh, maybe she's sensitive." shrugged Lola, taking a pose. "After all, who wouldn't be crying of joy knowing they're being accepted by someone like me ?"

"Yeah, they'd weep alright." mocked Lana, earning a dark glare from her twin. She ignored it, and concentrated her focus on the piles of red crispy leaves close to them. "More leaves !"

"Lana, wait !" yelled Lori, failing to grab the girl in overalls as she pounced in the one pile on her right, close to the wall opposite to the exit delivering to another unknown room. The leaves flew up when the little blonde landed in them, giggling as she felt the leaves crunching under her whole body as she rolled onto them.

The fun she was having was enough to flare up the interest of some of her siblings. First, Lincoln and Lynn rammed into Lana's pile, adding onto the laughing factor. Then, Luna and Luan joined in the fun, amassing leaves to then chuck them on their younger siblings, who immediately countered the move with same 'leaf-balls'.

Lori groaned at their childish antics. "Guys, this is so not the time !" she berated, trying to get the guffawing girls and boy under control.

"But Lori, those leaves are so pretty !" said Leni as she approached a smaller pile closer to them, admiring the shiny crimson hue of the leaves. "Hey Lola, come here ! I'll add something nice to your tiara !"

"Um, okay." said Lola, doubt plaguing her voice. She sat next to the blonde fashionista, and let her do her magic, expertly picking leaves and carefully fidgeting with the princess' prized tiara. When she was done, Lola sorted her compact mirror to see the result. Her eyes widened, but certainly not in horror. It seemed that Leni had fit leaves through the loops of her tiara, darker ones on the sides, lightening up until they reach the flaring red one in the middle. Lola grinned at her tiara's autumn modification. "Not bad, not bad at all." she complimented, making Leni smile at a job well done.

As for Lucy, Lisa, and Lily, they joined the fashion-lovers duo in their pile, with Lily toddling through the leaves, joyfully cooing all the way, and Lucy laying down on the micro-field of leaves, inert as she enjoyed resting among the decaying rests of nature. Always ready for a laugh that Lucy. Lisa, on the other hand, simply picked a couple of leaves, and looked at them with a calculating look. "The secondary veins of this leaf seem different, strangely crooked. But the feeling, the touch provided by my hand stumps, it is indeed the same that we can find in our yard. And where could be the tree that have produced them ? Is there even a tree ?" she ranted, grabbing her trusty notebook and dashing off those new observations with a fierce grin. "The questions, they just keep coming !"

Lori's shoulders slumped as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. "A pack of kindergartners, that's what I'm stuck with." she grumbled to herself.

*Bap !*

Lori was litteraly hit back to reality, when a leaf-ball impacted her head. Shaking away the leaves, she glared at the playing siblings, who had frozen like deers in headlights. Immediately, the girls pointed at their brother, who scowled. "Real nice, girls, real nice." he grumbled. With a scornful glare, Lori stomped towards the snow-haired boy, towering with menace. She raised her hands, and Lincoln winced at the thought of being turned into a Human Pretzel. But no limbs were pulled, as Lori instead gathered a huge pile of leaves, and threw it in Lincoln's face, burrying him.

Confusion spread along his features as he popped his head from the pile, but he understood when he caught the sly smirk drawn on Lori's face. "This is how you do it." she dusted her hands, then putting them in a 'gun-drawing' position. "Ready for next lesson ?"

The happy laughs ramped up as the game of crinkly leaves thrown at eachother's faces was resumed. Amused, the other sisters joined in, even Lola not caring about the 'dirty leaves' thrown at her. For this sole minute, nothing else really mattered, the Louds were simply having the time of their lives.

Then, as he ducked under one of Lisa's shots, Lincoln finally noticed something that had been standing in the room for quite a while. Something shiny, and very familiar. Indeed, it was another of the SAVE points. "Guys, look over there !" he called, alerting his sisters. Immediately, they approached the mysterious shiny star.

"Another one of those ?" said Lola.

"Bro, you gotta touch it !" pressed Luna, wanting to see if their hunch from earlier was right.

Lincoln nodded, and his hand grazed the star. The voice echoed again, but this time, something weird happened. Instead of just repeating it, Lincoln could feel his own mouth moving with the thoughts passing through his skull, repeating the exact same words with the exact same tone at the exact same time.

*"The feeling of crinky leaves under your feet, something you've all felt before... It feels you with Determination !"

Lincoln blinked and rubbed his jaw, wondering what had happened to him during the last five seconds. But he instantly knew that he had certainly done something freaky, because his sisters were looking at him as though he had grown a third eye. "Um, why are you looking at me like that ?"

"Dude, did you even hear yourself ? You were talking in stereo mode !" exclaimed Luna.

Confused Lincoln was confused. "I was what now ?"

"The words you've enounced once you touched this aureolin light source were accompanied with a strange duality of voices." explained Lisa, using a tongue depressor and a small flashlight to look inside her brother's mouth. "It felt as if another entity was adding the force of his vocal chords to yours."

"And that's not all ! Your pupils, they became bright red !" added Luan, not finding a suitable joke for this yet.

Leni gasped, "Oh my gosh, does he need cream or something ? I don't want to be infected !"

"Leni, that's pink eye." reassured Lori, rolling her eyes.

"Guys, should we be worried about this ?" said Lana warily, worried for her brother. She turned to the spooky expert for an answer.

"The spirit seems friendly for now. I suppose we can only see how the situation unroll, and hope for the best." analyzed Lucy.

"Thanks Lucy." said Lincoln gratefully.

"No problem. The helplessness of this situation is reward enough, it'll certainly make great material for my future writings I will adress to the Dark Lord." said Lucy with the exact same tone.

"...Thanks, Lucy." repeated Lincoln, taking a cautious step back.

His attention was thankfully carried elsewhere when the black panel reappeared. On it was written the same stats it had been indicating once Lincoln had saved. Only this time, instead of the 'File saved successfully !', there were only the options to Save or Cancel. Confident in his choice, Lincoln tapped the Save button.

LOUDS – Ruins Leaf Pile

LV1 – 1:08

File saved successfully !

And with those words, the black panel once again vanished to places unknown. The Loud siblings, having only one remaining choice of action, began to depart towards the next corridor, when something interrupted them.

"Um... excuse me ?"

It was a small and frail voice, sounding like the tiniest of whispers. The Louds almost didn't hear it, but Lucy thankfully turned her head, prompting the others to do the same.

The source of the voice was a little fairy-like creature, shaped like a lump with dainty insect wings, and two antennas on its forehead. The monster had meek arms and legs, looking no stronger or thicker than noodles. Finally, its face was contorted in sadness, or rather in fear, his shaking form adding to that effect.

The Louds did not know how to react to the newcomer. Lori tried nontheless to adress them with a simple greeting. "Um, hi. Do you... need anything ?" she said with a low voice, having a hunch that using a high rate of decibels could prove too much to the little guy.

The small flying monster began to fidget his fingers, gulping each breath of air with intense nervousness, as if the share fact of looking at the humans in the eye was taking all of their courage, and much more. But in a moment of feeble bravery, they spoke, "I-I n-need to d-do this." A glint shone for a millisecond in his sad eye, and the Louds internally gasped when their SOULs once again jumped from their chests. They knew what that meant.

Fight engaged !

*"Whimsun flutters forth, trembling."

Lincoln blinked. He had apparently done the double voice act again, but it just midly irked him this time. Right now, he and his sisters had an enemy to engage ! Well, they didn't know if it really could count as an enemy...

"Guys, am I the only one feeling real sorry for that guy ?" said Lynn of all people. The others nodded. What were they supposed to even do against something so pitiful ?

"Um, let's check him first." Lincoln tapped the ACT button, then 'Whimsun', and then 'Check'. The answer he got and gave though, wasn't of much help.

*"Whimsun. ATK 5, DEF 0. This monster is too sensible to fight. Talking to him ain't gonna be easy either."

"I've seen more helpful, guidemaster." commented Lola dryly.

"Hey, don't be blaming me !" the boy defended himself.

It was now the Whimsun's turn. Shakily rising his hands, a swarm of white butterflies began to circle the eleven humans. They recoiled a bit, remembering the friendliness pellets that had almost caused the premature end of their story, but soon noticed that the attack was not... well, attacking them. As the siblings pondered this, the short attention span of Lily got the best of her, and all she could see were the pretty butterflies fluttering around. With a giggle, she extended her little arm to get a bit closer to them, but the moment she did that, Whimsun squeaked in fear, and the butterflies began to retreat instead of advancing towards the SOULs.

And just like that, the attack ended, resuming the Louds' turn. It looked like this turn had been a dud.

"What just happened ?" said Lana, hopelessly confused.

"I think the better question would be 'What didn't happen ?'." added Luan with a slight chuckle.

The monster could not stop trembling, tearing up in remorse. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." he quietly sobbed, beginning to hyperventilate.

The Louds cringed. The pity meter could not go any higher without borderlining on some sort of sad backstory, with deceased family and junk. Assured that the little guy would not attempt anything, the pack of siblings joined in a huddle.

"Gosh, poor little guy. This is kicked puppy level of sad !" whisper-yelled Leni, feeling genuienly sorry for the small monster.

"I know, right ? What can you say to a guy like that ?" said Lynn, casting a sideglance at the small lump of apologies. "He looks like he's gonna wet himself the moment we talk to him !"

"While I am a great enthusiast of Sigmund Freud's works, my aptitudes in the world of the psyche are rather weak. I fear I will not be of much help here." confessed Lisa with a twinge of shame.

"So... who's gonna talk to him ?" Lana popped the big question.

"I can try." interjected Lucy. She immediately received weirded out stares from her many siblings. "What ? Is there pink in my hair ?"

Lincoln took a breath, and put a hand on his little vampire-loving sister. "Well, Lucy, it's not that we think you can't make people feel better, it's just that the situation here is a bit tense. The guy's real sensible, and you can be a bit... um..."

"Back-crippling ?" tried Luan.

"Sunshine choking ?" added Lola.

"Noose inducing ?" finished Lisa.

Luna winced at the last one. "Way harsh, Lis'. Way harsh."

"What I'm trying to say," hissed Lincoln, clearly indicating that they were not helping, "is that you can be a little bit, um, spooky when you let yourself go. This guy clearly needs compassion, a listening ear, and someone to resolve his problems. So if you really wish to do it, you should tone down the 'World doomed to oblivion' schtick, and just be natural."

"Darkness is my nature, Lincoln. The curse I was born with marked my skin and hair the moment sunlight dared to assault me." croaked Lucy. Somewhere, an organ was playing a dark melody.

"Yeah, see what you did there ? Do the exact opposite." pointed Lincoln with a deadpan expression. "All you need to do first is just say hello, and ask why he is so afraid of us. Simple as that, got it ?"

Lucy looked at her shoes for a moment, then nodded. "Got it. No tales of Edwin, no poems, no preaching about our inevitable fall into the pit of emptiness. Just... hello and 'what's wrong ?'."

"Atta girl !" grinned Lynn, giving her a friendly slap across the back. Despite the force unconciously put into it, Lucy barely flinched. "Now, go get him, you spooky jaguar !"

With the extra dose of encouragement, Lucy advanced, as Lincoln pressed ACT, and then chose the option 'Lucy', with the name strangely written in Blackadder ITC. One could immediately notice how eerily silent her approach was, as if there was no weight at all, or if she was just marching on the air. Nevertheless, Lucy proceeded, trying to keep her most neutrally friendly face.

"Go Luce !" whisper-cheered Lincoln, as the others watched with ranging expressions, but all with at least a trace of hope for their sister.

And for that moment, there was indeed hope, as the Whimsun, who noticed her approach, stopped trembling altogether, and wasn't actually fleeing her forthcoming presence. This was quite the good sign !

Well, to the humans it was, but not so much from Whimsun's point of view. The real reason the little monster had stopped trembling wasn't because his fear had melted away, but because he was actually so scared he couldn't move a muscle. Unconciously, Lucy was terrorizing him in her approach. The way she walked, the lack of sound in her steps, the overall aura of the pale human, it all served to build the image of an otherworldly presence in Whimsun's mind, one of a princess of eternal darkness.

Once she was close, Whimsun could see the dullness of her skin, grey like a tombstone, and the veil of dark bangs that hid her eyes, leaving only nightmarish imagination of what they could look like, judging the every flutter of his wings. And as Whimsun could feel his little heart pounding with the force of a taiko drum, the girl's words were enough to make it stop.

"Hi." Lucy saluted. It was a casual tone to her, but for the Whimsun, it was the icy voice of the Grim Reaper herself, chilling the very core of his frail heart. "What seems to be the problem ?"

Whimsun answered, in the form of a weak groan, his eyes rolling back in his head, and falling like a pigeon that had just been shot.

*...Well. It seems that Whimsun, unable to take the pressure of Lucy's... presence, has fainted.

There was a moment of silence for Lucy, as she just stood there, looking at the monster who laid on the ground, foaming by his mouth because of her simple greeting. Her siblings advanced to her level, and observed the overall damages.

Lola gave a short whistle of wonder. "Wow. You've managed to make someone lose conciousness just by opening your mouth. Terrifying, but impressive."

"Aw, poor little fairy guy." Leni said in concern, as she kneeled to the little guy's level, and gently carressed his hand. "There there, you'll get all better, and then you can go back home in the enchanted forest."

Lynn facepalmed. "Urgh. Leni, that's not a fairy."

"But he does need help." pointed out Luna, patting the unconcious monster's forehead.

The siblings began to group around him, with Lisa using her small medical tools to analyze his situation, Lana using her cap to give him some air, Lily giving him 'kisses on his boo-boos', and the others watching any developpement.

Lori, supervising the situation from afar, noticed Lucy still standing on her spot. When the little goth slowly turned her head in her direction, the eldest sister put on an uneasy grin. "Um, say Lucy, why don't you go wait a little further away ? I... don't think it'll be a good thing if you're the first thing he sees when he wakes up."

Lucy immediately bowed her head in shame, and her shoulders slumped under the weight of her guilt. She slowly trudged to a corner at the end of the room, opposite to the way they hadn't explored yet, and sat down, knees against her chest as she poked the cold ground, an aura of pure gloom falling on her, even thicker than usual.

Lincoln looked at Lori with a look that screamed 'Really ?', putting Lori on the defensive. "Hey, I know it's not her fault, but I'm just preventing a possible heart attack here !" she said hautingly.

Lincoln rolled his eyes and shook his head. Sensing that it was their turn again, he tapped ACT, chose'Group Comforting', and joined Lucy in her corner. He tentatively poked her bangs. "Lucy ? Are you okay ?"

"Peachy. I've just found out that monsters are afraid of me." mumbled Lucy, sounding even more depressed than usual.

"Lucy, you know that's not true. That guy's too sensible, I'm pretty sure he would've cracked if any of us had tried talking to him." Lincoln tried to reassure.

Lucy slumped her head deeper into her knees. "You're just saying that." was her muffled answer.

Lincoln pursued his lips, knowing that his arguments would need to be a little more fleshed out. "Lucy, don't get so bummed out about one guy. Not anybody can handle the darkness as good as you do. Plus hey, Toriel doesn't fear you ! She knows you express yourself differently, a fact we all know." he pepped up, pointing at his sisters to emphasize his point.

Lucy lifted her head from her legs, and put her chin on the top of her knees, putting on a pensive expression. She did remember the lesson she had learned about being herself through her encounter with Rocky. She blushed lightly at the thought of the curly-haired child. "Siiiiiiigh. I guess..." she admitted with a cute pout.

"Exactly !" exclaimed Lincoln. He knew that he had hooked her attention, so better not let her slip through his fingers back into her little lake of depression. "And you know what ? I'm postitive that down here, we'll meet a monster that'll be just as passionate for the ways of gloom as you."

Lucy perked up, a glimmer of hope present in her dry voice. "You really think so ?"

"I know so ! I even swear it on my entire coin collection, including that ultra-rare franc from 1860 I got three months ago." said Lincoln, crossing his chest to seal his promise.

Now knowing how serious the boy was, Lucy rested her head on his shoulder in gratitude. Smiling, Lincoln passed a hand around her own shoulder, and gently brushed her scalp with his other hand, the way he knew she liked it. The sisters, seeing the adorable scenery, couldn't help but chuckle and 'aww' at it.

Lisa's attention was brought back to the monster when she felt his fragile hand beginning to move. "Siblings, our patient is reemerging !" she warned.

"Everyone, back up, let him breathe !" firmly ordered Lori. The siblings immediately obeyed, and watched as Whimsun's small eyes fluttered open.

"Oooh, what was I doing ?" he meekly groaned. Memories rushed back, however, when he saw the nine girls of varying ages looking at him, the ones he had dragged into a fight. "Aaah, I'm sorry !" he yelled, thinking they were going to beat him, or scream at him.

But to his surprise, one of them, the one with a turquoise dress and sunglasses, approached him and gave him a warm hug, with her green SOUL glowing with compassion. "Aww, don't be like that, mister fairy. Everything's gonna be alright."

"Leni, he's not- oh forget it." Lynn relented.

Confused by the display of affection the blonde was giving him, Whimsun stood immobile, blinking. Then, he saw another human approaching him, one with purple boots this time. She sat down to be at his level. "Hey love. Be real with me for a moment. You don't wanna fight, do ya ?" Luna asked, a soothing tempo in her chill voice.

The small pinkish monster could only look down in shame. "No... I thought I could, but I can't... I'm sorry." his eyes began to water again.

Luna smiled, her yellow SOUL gleaming with wisdom. "That's okay, little dude. We don't wanna fight either."

"Y-You don't ?"

"Totally." nodded the musician. "Look, I don't get why monsters tend to attack us when they see us, but you don't have to if don't want to. If you do, you're only gonna hurt yourself." Luna took his tiny hand, and gave it a very soft squeeze. "Also, you gotta be a little more brave, dude."

"Yeah !" exclaimed Lynn, startling the Whimsun when she rapidly approached him. He could see the lively orange of her SOUL reflected in her eyes. "You've got to stand up for yourself ! Don't faint when someone talks to you, look at them in the eye, assert yourself ! And hey, if even my wimpy bro can do it, I'm sure you can manage."

"I can hear you, Lynn." grumbled Lincoln, making Lynn whistle innocently.

Whimsun took a moment to think, and the shadow of a resolve began to overcome his features. Batting his wings, he slowly lifted himself off the ground and out of Leni's grip. Once he was in the air, he nodded to the siblings. "I-I see. I do not want to fight you. So... could we end this fight, please ?" he asked, his voice only slightly cracking.

*Whimsun has no issues with you anymore.

From his spot with Lucy, Lincoln observed the option boxes that had followed him for some reason. The one on the far right, [MERCY], was glowing a little brighter now, almost beckoning him to press it. Giving a look to Lucy, who returned it with a small shrug, Lincoln touched it. Two new options appeared, Spare and Flee. And the strange thing was that the first choice was typed in golden letters, instead of the usual white.

"Well, here goes nothing." he mumbled to himself, and pressed the Spare option.

An invisble wave washed over the battlefield, and Whimsun's form glowed for an instant, then dulled back to its normal pale pink. The very small source of Whimsun's magic could not be felt anymore.

He had been spared.

*YOU WON ! You've obtained 0 XP and 1 Gold.

Lincoln arched an eyebrow. 'Won one what now ?' he thought, as his bright red SOUL went back to its fleshy home, as did the SOULs of his sisters.

Fight over.

Whimsun, sensing the end of the fight, bowed gratefully, and flew down the exit, a little more confidence in his fluttering. The Loud siblings smiled at what they considered a job well done. "So young, and already he departs from the nest." Lana said, wiping a tear away.

"Yeah, but he let a souvenir !" chimmed Leni excitedly, as she showed it to her siblings. Their eyes collectively widened. This shiny yellow colour, this rare metal they've only seen on their mom's family ring or at the jewel store, there was no mistake to be made here.

"Is that..." began Lori with gleaming eyes.

"A coin made of..." continued Lynn.

"GOLD !" loudly squealed Lola, her pupils morphing into gold bars. She immediately tried to pounce on the coin like a tiger on its prey, but was held back by three of her siblings, including Lynn. The little princess snarled and trashed violently. "LET ME GO, YOU FILTHY PEASANTS ! THIS GOLD IS MINE, MINE I TELL YOU !"

"Geez, her gold fever isn't getting any better these days." said Luna, struggling to keep her hands on Lola, as the six year-old began to snap around like a, well, snapping turtle.

"Hmm, this does require some analysis." uttered Lisa, taking the little golden coin. Without her tools though, she used a more rudimentary method. She put it between her teeth, gnawed on it, and tried to bend it. When the coin proved sturdy enough, the small genius took it out. "This indeed seems to be aurum. But it is a wonder as why our winged friend would part with it so easily."

"Dunno, but for now, I'm keeping it." declared Lori, as she swiftly swiped it from Lisa's hand, and put in her pocket.

"No fair ! He gave it to me !" complained Leni, hands on her hips.

"Yeah, but I'm the oldest, so I'll hold on it until we need it." explained Lori.

Lola's rage subsided to a very whiny tone. "But why can't I have it ?!"

Lori huffed condescendingly. "Because, if we refer to your garments and multiple accessories back home, you aren't really the girl that keeps money inside her pockets for long."

Lola frowned heavily, but said nothing, instead choosing to glower with all of her anger at a particular brick in the wall. If the paint could've scrapped under her gaze, it would had done it without hesitation.

After this small rollercoaster of emotions, the siblings felt ready to go forward again. But...

"Ribbit."

Lana immediately perked up at the croaking sound, and looked back. She immediately spotted a Froggit sitting next to the corner separating the ways to the large hall and the sweets room. "Look, another one of the big froggies !" she exclaimed giddly. "Let's go see him !"

The others were a bit wary. "I don't know. What if he attacks us ?" remarked Lincoln.

"Lincoln's right, let's not hop to it just yet, hahaha ! Get it ?" cracked Luan.

Her knee was swatted by Lana's cap. "No frog puns, we had a deal !" she recalled the jokester.

Lynn shrugged. "Meh, what's the worst that can happen ? Luce, please don't." the jock stopped the small emo just as she opened her mouth, prompting a small "sigh" from her.

The Loud kids thus approached the Froggit. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be something a little different from the one they met with Toriel. This Froggit had some froggy wrinkles, and possessed a wiser look in his eye. He even had a little goatee !

"Aw, it's an old one. I'm callin' you Froggit Senior !" grinned Lana.

"Man, didn't know that the guy who painted this place also gave lessons to choose names." Lola commented dryly, still sour about losing her piece of gold.

"I gotta hand it to you Lana, he is pretty cute." nodded Lincoln.

"F'og." Baby Lily approved joyfully.

"Ribbit... thank you."

All human eyes widened in shock, apart from Lily who giggled obliviously, and Lana who looked like she had seen her first rainbow. "Did you just... talk ?" she whispered with overwhelming wonder.

"Why yes, how else would I communicate ?" croaked Froggit Senior in an old man voice. He tilted his head. "Are you crying, little human ?"

"This is the greatest day of my life." weeped the little tomboy. Lisa offered her a handkerchief, which Lana blew loudly into.

"Well anyway, I'm glad I got your attention, as there is something I wish to induce you. About battling monsters." he continued.

"Oooh, you've got free tips ? Sweet !" Luna threw a rock sign in the air. The kids excitedly took place in front of Froggit Senior.

The old frog nodded. "I've seen you with poor Whimsun back there, ribbit, and it seems that you were more than capable of settling things peacefully."

"Eh, it was nothing." Lori blew on her nails.

"You were lucky to have him as your first true opponent, ribbit."

The Louds stared in the distance, the haunting image of a cackling flower coming back. They all chuckled akwardly. "Yep, real lucky alright." laughed Lincoln, failing to not make it sound suspicious.

The ancient amphibian was kind enough not to dig the matter any further. "Here is how it works. If you ACT a certain way, or FIGHT until they are almost defeated, your opponents might not want to continue the battle. If such case happens, then be kind, humans, and use some MERCY, ribbit."

"So we can stop a fight by giving them Mercy ?" rationalized Leni. "That sounds totes swell !"

"Yeah, but I have a question. No wait, I have two." interjected Lynn. The sport-loving brunette needed important answers about those strange fights. "Why are monsters attacking us ? And follow-up question, what happens if we 'defeat' them ? Toriel told us that Fighting is the wrong way to go, but why exactly ?"

Froggit Senior bowed his head a little, a throaty sigh escaping his lips. "For your first question, the answer will be given to you on your way home. You do wish to go back to the surface, do you not ?" The siblings nodded, their eyes fixated on the frog, hanging on every word of his serious tone. "As for your second question, Toriel did not lie to you. Acting is a less dangerous course of action. Fighting can lead to a monster's giving up, but fighting too much with them could lead to their defeat. What of it, you ask ?" His look darkened, as he stared right back into the humans' eyes. "Well, let's just say that if you wish for your hands to remain pure, you will avoid finding out."

The piercing words of the frog monster made the children's hearts skip a beat, whether the organic or magic ones. Lynn, now having her chilling answer, gulped at the rather grim revelation, that she completely understood. ACT certainly didn't seem that bad of an option now.

Seeing that the children had gotten the message, Froggit Senior's face brightened up. "Well, now that you know, do you think you can promise an old frog that you'll try to be the bigger person, and find the way to Spare the fools that attack you ?" he asked warmly.

The siblings looked at eachother, and smiled when they found the same answer in eachother's eyes. They were more experienced in the brawling area, but diplomacy seemed a safer and, dared they say it, funnier way to get through this. After all, making friends along the way did sound a better trip than having to cruelly take lives in vicious retaliation, or even just to beat monsters down until they give up fighting. They nodded to eachother, and looked back to the frog with fire in their eyes.

It was Lori who sealed the pact. "We promise that as long that there is a way to show Mercy, we'll find the way to use it !" she tightened his fists, and threw them in the air.

"YEAH !" bellowed the others, immitating the eldest of the group with the same amount of passion.

The frog let out a hearty chuckle. "Well in that case, I wish you a nice trip, children. Enjoy your stay in the Underground." he saluted. "Oh, and if you get into a fight with one of my kin, simply compliment them. That should shake them right out of their fighting spirit."

The children wished Froggit Senior a fond farewell, and hurried out to the next room. Once they were gone, the monster released a thoughtful sigh. "Who knows ? Perhaps they will manage to go back to the Surface." His eyes twinkled as he looked at the ceiling. "Perhaps... perhaps they'll let us see the sky too." He chuckled wistfully. "Heh, even a Froggit can have his hopes and dreams."

---

The next room the Louds crossed was a rather small one. The only thing to be found in it were two little openings in the wall, a cracked portion of floor in its center, and an exit straight ahead.

Lynn advanced towards the cracked tiles, and poked one with her spiked shoe. It shuddered because of the light impact, indicating how frail it was. Lynn shook her head. "We can't pass on that. We're gonna have to jump to avoid it."

"This one should be easy. In position, people !" commanded Lori.

Thus, passing became a matter of seconds. Lily and Lisa hung on Lori who, with her long legs, managed to stride over the obstacle, as Luna managed to barely do the same with Lola on her shoulders. It was a good thing the rocker was used to doing splits during her jams. Lynn of course jumped above it, completed with a front flip and a perfect landing, earning a small round of applause from her siblings. Luan, Lana and Lincoln mimicked her action, with the pun-lover knowing her acrobatics, the mud-enthusiast counting on her reflexes she'd developped for her alligator fights, and the comic-fan proving that his training with both his athletic sister and girlfriend were not for naught. And Lucy... she just crossed it. No one knew how, but the moment the sibs took her into account, she was already on the other side.

And that made... ten ?

"Leni, hurry up !" called Lynn to her ditzy sister, who was looking at the opening in the wall next to her with interest.

But though not very smart, Leni wasn't deaf either. "Hm ? Oh, sorry guys, got distracted. I'm coming !"

Lori rolled her eyes. "Great, Leni. Just don't forget to- LENI, NO ! DON'T WALK ON THE CRACKED-"

"EEEK !" screamed Leni, as the damaged floor gave way under her, and she disappeared in the ground. The siblings gasped fearfully at this, but the pretty blonde was quick to reassure them. "I'm okay ! I landed on a big pile of leaves ! Oooh, I see a way up, be there in a sec !"

They could hear her going up some stairs, which seemed normal, but were properly baffled when Leni joined them by phasing through the wall just under its narrow opening, making the surface ripple like water as she stepped out.

"Hey guys !" waved Leni cheerfully, not seeing anything wrong with what had just happened.

Lisa went ahead to touch the wall, which was now solid. She massaged her temples, already afraid of the answer to the question she was about to ask. "Leni... how did you pass through that wall ?" she articulated, keeping her vocabulary simple enough to be understood by the fashionista.

Leni looked back at the wall, devoid of the doorway she had gotten through. "Oh. I'm not sure. Like, there were some stairs, so I went up, and I could just see you like there was some sort of doorway. I guess it, like, only works one way or something."

"Well, that is one way to put it, haha !" joked Luan.

Lincoln opened his mouth to retort, then closed it in contemplation. "Okay, that one was actually adequate." commented the boy.

"I'll take that as a victory !" cheered the optimistic brunette.

And with nothing else to see, the Louds proceeded.

---

The next room was bigger, but quite barren as well. A sign on the wall, a stone switch on the ground, a Lisa-sized rock, one row of spikes extended on the whole room's width, and an exit right on the other side.

The humans' immediate instinct was to head towards the sign. Once again, the information was quite peculiar.

"Three rocks out of four recommend that you push them. - New Rock Times"

Luan giggled at the pun, while the others raised their eyebrows. "Rocks can read. Sure, why not ?" Lisa grumbled, trying to take this new insult to logic in stride.

"Well, the solution is pretty easy this time, even without Toriel." remarked Lincoln, looking at the rock and the stone button next to it.

Lynn nodded and cracked her knuckles. "Well, finally some exercise. I've been a little sore around the knees lately." she chuckled, her voice full of pride as she kept going with her warm-up with squats. "Step aside sisters, I'm about to push a rock to his place."

Lynn put herself in position, and began to push. The siblings lost no time in cheering for the young teen like during her sport events. They'd always attract attention, especially when Luna would compose a ballad for Lynn's team, or like the time Lisa had tested her own brand of fireworks. In both cases, it had taken 15 solid minutes before anyone around the field got to recover their hearing.

The rock was of fairly weight, so Lynn was more than able to push it, while at the same time having to put her legs into it. But that didn't bother her, quite the contrary, she welcomed the effort. Ten seconds later, the goal was reached, the button sunk into the ground, and the spikes did likewise. Lynn contently dusted her hands, and gave a bow to her siblings applauding her.

"Woo, that felt good to the old back." Lynn groaned happily. "Well, pathway's clear, so now let's-"

*Ring*

The motion of the siblings was once again interrupted by the sound of the phone. Lori reached it out of her pocket and answered. It was Toriel again.

"Hello children." Goat Mom said joyfully, which the Louds replied with a just as joyful 'HI!'. "I trust you're all doing all right, yes ?"

"Everyone's doing alright. We've met some locals, and they're really nice." Lori quickly described their small journey of ten minutes.

Toriel audibly nodded. "That's good to hear. But I'm also calling for a small piece of information. What taste would you prefer to have ? Butterscotch or Cinammon ?"

Intertwined shouts of the two flavours were raised, and their disharmony made the Loud sisters stare and glare at eachother, with a silent and confused Lincoln in the middle. Sensing the tension starting to be manifested, Lincoln put a stop to the conflict before it could even begin. "Hey, rule number one, guys ! We talk about our problems, not shove them in eachother's faces along with our fists and feet !"

"Oh my..." mouthed Toriel through the receiver.

Lori felt part of her anger diminish, and saw reason in her brother's words, though a pang of jealousy echoed by thinking it was once again Lincoln who had stopped the fight. "Ladies, he's right. Let's just act like we do when there is a motion to pass, with a vote." she sternly reminiscened. There was slight grumbling, but all seemed to accept this fair process. "Okay, so all in favour for yummy Butterscotch on the left, and all in favour for crummy Cinammon on the right." Her not-so-neutral explanation of the rules earned Lori a couple of raspberries.

In a swift motion, the Louds formed their two groups. The 'Butter-scorchers' counted Lori, Luna, Lucy, Lola, and Lisa, while the 'Cinammonsters' had Leni, Luan, Lynn, Lana, and Lily. Although the groups were differently constitued, this situation felt oddly familiar for the Louds, as well as the main factor of why it was still a tie despite their odd number of voters.

"Lincoln..." called the two groups in unison, looking at the boy with dangerously tense expressions. Lincoln gulped. Him ending in the middle of this kind of vote hadn't done him any good in the end. And he wasn't helped by the fact that he liked both of the tastes. 'Curse my widely accepting tastebuds !' he shouted internally.

"Well brother, what is your choice ?" said Lisa, her tone clearly indicating the answer he should choose to avoid becoming her guinea pig for the next few days. "Surely you too realize the delicacy that is Butterscotch compared to the excrutiating flavour that is Cinammon."

"Butterstink, you mean !" retaliated Luan rather seethingly. "C'mon Linc-aroo, trust in the taste of Cinammon, it'll spice up your day ! Get it ?"

"Butterscotch forever !" sang Luna.

"Cinammon for the win !" hailed Lynn.

The tension was getting thicker, as growls and hissing began to rise among the female packs. Lincoln knew there was no good ending for him with either of his choices, so he risked everything, and took the phone from Lori.

"Hey, Goat Mom ? Is it possible to have both ?" Lincoln spoke nervously, hoping for a quick answer as he could pratically feel the hot breath of his nearing taste-warring sisters.

Fortunately, fate proved to be merciful this time. "Why, that's a wonderful idea, Lincoln ! As long as none of you allergic to either of course."

"Nope, none of us, Lisa tested us on that."

"Well then, Cinnamon-Butterscotch it is !" declared Toriel with a chuckle. "I'll see you all later. Be nice~ !" And she hung up.

Lincoln sighed in relief, and looked at his sisters, who were raising a collective eyebrow at their brother's decision. "BOTH tastes ? That's your amazing solution ?" huffed Lola condescendingly.

Lincoln's expression went deadpan. "You all like Cinammon and Butterscotch. You just prefer one or the other, none of you hate them." he explained flatly. The sisters put on a face of sudden realisation, then smiled and scratched their necks sheepishly.

"Hehe... sorry ?" Lola chuckled akwardly.

Lincoln rolled his eyes, but smiled nontheless. Things getting intense over mundane choices was nothing new for the boy, but nothing he couldn't forgive or get back at them later on. "C'mon, you silly gluttons, let's keep going. Toriel might be preparing a dessert right now, and I think we wanna be there when it comes out of the oven, or whatever monsters use to heat their food."

With this mouth-watering thought, the Louds moved past the spikes, and out of the room.

---

"Well, that's not suspicious at all." commented Lori dryly.

The eldest blonde was referring to the pattern of the new room they had entered in. Behind them, another narrow opening in the wall. And before them, a wide almost bare floor, save for a tiny pile of red leaves, and another passageway on its far left from the Louds' point of view. But the detail that was the essence of Lori's snark, was certainly the cracked tiles that were plaguing the entirety of the stone parquet.

"This place could use some renovations." Lana scratched her chin. "If only I had the tools. Some plaster, a polishing, a quick paint job, and those Ruins would be all young again !"

"You've got good plans, but I'm pretty sure this suspicious floor gig was done on purpose." argued Luna with a sharp eye on the premises.

"Indeed." nodded Lisa, readjusting her glasses. "This is obviously another puzzle for us to solve in order to proceed. A clue must've been stacked somewhere near our current position. We only need this starting point, and we'll have this enigma done in no time."

"Who's 'nigma' ? He sounds cute." Leni grinned, the image of a bold hunky man settling into her quite feeble mind.

Lincoln decided to take the first step, by using his foot to poke at the tiles. He first tried the ones on his right. They shifted, promising a swift breaking down if someone dared to step on it. Lincoln then touched the tiles on their left. To his surprise, these ones didn't move, even by adding more pressure onto his poking action. "Guys, I think the cracks on the left are, um, what's that big word again, Lisa ?"

"Superficial, masculine sibling of mine." said Lisa like the teacher she could sometimes be. "Your analysis is nontheless correct, both showings of cracks look exactly the same, but some are only light crumblings, while the others are truly on the verge of collapsing." She tapped her chin in reflexion. Poking every tile to go forward seemed a rather tedious way to proceed. This clue had to be somewhere around here.

Lisa's eyes widened a bit as she looked at naive Leni, who was still daydreaming about 'nigma'. "Or perhaps... the solution is somewhere under here." she mused, remembering Leni's fall a couple of rooms ago. She turned back to her sole brother. "Lincoln, use your foot harder on those weak tiles, in order to have them accomplish their trapping purpose."

While not understanding Lisa's sentence to its full extent, Lincoln had gotten the idea in it. He added force in his poking, until the shaking tiles crumbled, allowing the human bunch to, as Lisa guessed they would, see what was down there. The result was unsurprising.

"More leaves !" whooped Lana in joy.

"Where do they all come from ?" genuienly wondered Lori. Loads of leaves, and not a single tree into view. Then again, to know that, she would have to ask the giant talking frogs. So yeah, Lori wisely decided it was better to just accept it.

Lisa nodded ferverishly. "As I suspected. A clue indicating how to clear us a way must be down there. And with those leaves, it shall be easy for us to simply let ourselves fall down, and the opening in the wall being our way to go back up."

To demonstrate her theory, Lisa went first. The leaves easily broke her short fall, and looking around, she saw many more of them stacked in oddly shaped piles. She dusted her little pink pants, and called to the rest of the pack. "Okay, the coast is clear, you can jump-"

The genius kindergartner was silenced by her siblings all falling on her at the same time. Lily was thankfully kept on top, but her two-year-older sister rested at the bottom of the pile. Thank goodness her bones had gotten sturdy by all the dogpiles that she and her siblings had performed over the years.

"As I was trying to say, you can jump one at a time, and certainly not all at once like impatient mutts !" muffledly scorned the four year-old. The siblings removed themselves from her, helped her up, and apologized. Lisa only grumbled in her inexistant beard. "Simple-minded apes, the lot of them..."

Brushing her foul mood aside, Lisa spotted a sign on the wall. The siblings followed her, and read the writing as well.

"Don't step on the leaves !"

"Way too late for that, buddy." said Luan plainly.

Looking at the leaves around him, Lincoln's short sleuthing experience was at work. It quickly produced a result, one that was shared by his black-haired partner. "Those leaves haven't been stacked like that just for an artistic purpose." piped Lucy.

"You're right !" the white-haired boy brought his fist down on his palm in an 'Ah ha!' manner. "'We musn't step on the leaves'. The piles are telling us where not to step on to reach the exit !"

The other sisters, apart from Lisa, followed the non-leaf trail, and produced a collective 'Ooooh' of realization. That one was pretty darn clear once you put your mind into it.

"I have successfully memorized our road to success. Let us go test it." said Lisa as she began the trek hersef.

But interruption litteraly hopped on her way, in the form of a passing Froggit. Lisa bumped into it, startling the skittish monster, and prompting him to once again make a rainbow of human SOULs appear.

Fight engaged !

*"Froggit hops into action." recited Lincoln, once again sounding like two persons were speaking at the same time.

"Still freaky." commented Lola, supressing an uncomfortable shiver.

"Now that Goat Mom isn't there, think we should check it again ?" asked Lynn with interest.

"Can't hurt to try." shrugged Lincoln, tapping ACT, Froggit, and Check successively. His eyes went red again.

*"Froggit. ATK 5, DEF 2. He only enjoys his attacks once. Life is hard that way for this enemy."

"Rip-off. I want my turn back !" said Luan in a fake booing tone, with a chuckle at the end.

"Meow." said the Froggit, bouncing on the spot.

"The frog meows... okay." shrugged Luna. As things stood then...

The Froggit took his turn by making a smaller white frog appear, this one looking more like a regular one. It reared himself in position, and hopped toward its targets. Not quite wanting to know what would happen if they were touched by the small animal made of magic, they dodged out of its way, and rather swiftly at that. Once the frog touched the ground, it vanished.

"Woah, did anyone else feel more agile ?" remarked Lori, not noticing the red outline of her cyan SOUL glowing brighter. "I guess that's one more weird trait to add on the already long list."

*"Froggit is not sure of what he's doing here."

"Well, I know what I'm doing right now." Lana puffed her chest confidently, pressing on the ACT button herself and selecting the newly added option Compliment. She then walked to the Froggit, and gave him her brightest smile. "Hey there, Froggit. I just wanna say, that bounce was awesome, almost as great as the ones my buddy Hops can do. You've got a knack for it, I can tell !"

Froggit blinked owlishly at the little grinning tomboy. Then, his white cheeks gained a pale pink blush, and he croaked a flattered "Ribbit".

*"Froggit doesn't seem to have understood you, but seems grateful anyway."

"Aaah, any time, frog pal." chortled Lana.

But while grateful for Lana's compliment, Froggit still attacked, this time in the form of little winged balls, resembling the way flies are usually drawn when not zoomed on them. None of them targeted Lana, strange as she was pretty close, but the others were not so lucky. One of them even managed to graze Leni's ear. It only stung a little, but the result was there, as Leni's HP bar lost one point. It was thankfully the only damage that resulted from this attack.

"I got an ouchie !" complained Leni, rubbing her lightly bruised ear.

"It's just a grazing, walk it off." Lynn rolled her eyes.

*"Froggit seems unwilling to fight."

The Loud kids knew what it meant, so Lincoln immediately pressed the Spare option of the MERCY bar.

*"YOU WON ! You've gained 0 EXP and 4 Gold."

The frog monster kindly gave a short nuzzle to the giggling six year-old, and hopped off the premises. Lana spotted the golden coins on the ground and picked them up. Then, she heard a throat being soundly cleared, and unenthusiastically gave the money to Lori, who shoved them down her pocket.

This problem done with, the siblings quickly obliged to Lisa's previous idea and got up. Once they were back in front of the room-wide puzzle, a strategy was quickly devised, courtesy of Leni of all people. A conga line ! Lisa was leading, with Lily behind her, then Lola, then Lana, and so on in a sibling increasing order. While Lisa tried to stay serious in her endavour, she ended up joining her siblings halfway through in their dancing to an inexistant rhythm, that kept going until they were out of the room.

---

The next room held three rocks familiarly placed near stone buttons, two rows of spikes on a platform surrounded on the sides by water, and the exit once again right in view.

Lynn was more than happy of this developpement. "Alright, it's pushing time again !" she said excitedly. After stretching her back again, she pushed the rock on the left in no time.

"Dibs on the next one !" demanded Lola with a grin.

"You wanna push ?" said Lincoln, a bit baffled that the little royalty would 'demean herself for such gross menial task'.

"Hey, that body wasn't just made with make-up, you know. Sometimes, it needs some work-out to get rid of those nasty love handles." explained Lola while taking a pose. She straightened the sleeves of her gloves, rubbed her hands together, and began to push. While not as fast as Lynn, her little body had the strength to get the work done. When she was done, she wiped the sweat off her brow with her handkerchief, as the siblings applauded her for her effort.

"Well, if everyone's doing it, I guess I'll join in too." announced Lincoln, used to get involved in some regular exercise after the Football Tournament fiasco.

"That's the spirit, bro !" encouraged Luna.

Lincoln strolled to the third rock, stretched a little, and advanced his hands. But before they could touch the rocky surface...

"Woah there, pardner ! What d'you think you're doing here ?!"

Lincoln jumped out of his skin the same way Lucy would make him when she'd suddenly appeared. Had he heard it right ?

"Well, anything to say for yourself ?!"

Yep, there was no mistake here. The rock had spoken. Monsters that took shape of animals and vegetals was already something, but they apparently could look like minerals too. They say you learn something every day, and today was proving to be a very long day.

Nevertheless, Lincoln's features fell into embarrassement, as he began to humbly apologize. "Oh, I'm sorry ! I didn't know you didn't like to be pushed... miss rock ?" he tried, recognizing a female tone in the rock's voice.

The rock huffed at the boy's excuse. "Well of course I don't wanna be pushed ! Didn't y'all read the note back there ?"

"That poll result was a clue ?" Lisa blinked. "Huh, well played monsters. Well played."

"Why, youngsters these days ! Here I am, dandy lil' lady, sittin' there and minding mah own business, and suddenly I'm being pushed along like a dang sack of potatoes, without so much of a 'how do you do' !"

"Yeah Lincoln, is your heart hard as stone or something ?" chuckled Luan.

"Okay, this one was easy, even for you." Luna reprimanded her roommate.

"Look, our brother is very sorry, it's just a big misunderstanding." appeased Lori, with Lincoln nodding next to her. "Let's just forget about this, and start again, alright ?"

"Hmm... well, if he is sorry." relented the female rock, her voice then warming up. "Name's Joannah. I've never seen the likes of you in the neighbourhood. You visitin' or something ?"

"That's... one way to put it." fiddled Lori, not really wanting to tell every monster that they were humans. If one with such with attitude decided to attack them, things could get pretty hectic. Not to mention she could easily squash their toes. And that was just plain nasty to think about.

"Yep, and we, like, need to go that way." Leni pointed to the exit. "But there are mean spikes blocking our way. Could you try moving for us without touchies ? Pretty please ?" she put forward her best pleading puppy eyes.

"So, you're askin' me to move over ?" Joannah raised an eyebrow. Somehow. "Well, for you pumpkins, I guess I can do some movin'." She immediately did just that, moving slightly to the right. "There, is that good ?"

"Um, could you do it a little more ?" said Lana.

"Sure." Joannah moved again, upward this time. "How's this ?"

"No, we need you to move on that stone button over there." explained Lincoln, gesturing the rock's intended destination.

The female rock shifted, like she was nodding. "Oooh, right, got it." She then moved herself back on track, and attained the goal. With the three buttons pressed, the spikes slithered down, opening the way for the humans. "And there you go !"

"Yay, we can pass !" cheered Leni, starting to walk forward, but she was momentarily stopped by Lisa.

"One second there, dear sibling." tutted Lisa, knowing that if it had needed that much information to get the rock to accomplish their wish, she'd need one last information to not screw it up in the process. "Miss Joannah, could we ask of you that you remain on your current position until we're all through ?"

"Well, aren't you all demanding ? But since I'm already there, why not ?" she 'shrugged'.

Now 100% assured that all was clear, the Loud siblings proceeded across the wooden unspiked platform. Once on the other side, they adressed a big "Thank you!" to the helpful geologic monster, who chuckled.

"T'was nothing, pumpkins. Have a good day, and remember ! Things are easier if you just ask !"

The Louds waved good-bye, and went to the next room.

---

Once again, a very small room, this one having barely enough place for all the children to move freely. Three things stood out in here : a mouse hole in the wall, a little table with some cheese on it, and another glittering SAVE star.

"Oooh, free cheese !" grinned Lana.

"Lana, you don't even know how long it's been there !" chatised Lola. The messy twin ignored her, and tried to remove it, but no matter how much she insisted, it wouldn't move.

*"The cheese has been there for so long, it's stuck to the table."

"Ha, serves you glutton right !" mocked Lola, making Lana pout and grumble.

"Think whatever mouse lives in there will get the cheese one day ?" asked Lincoln, trying to get a good view of said mouse inside the little hole.

"So close, yet so far. An odyssey against the fear of the unknown, one that has doomed many before." Lucy mused in her own way.

"How do you get a simple story like that and make it so gloomily epic is something I'll never get about you." said Luna, throughly amused by her little dark-minded sister. She messed her long hair a bit. "And best to keep it that way."

Lincoln touched the new star, and the voice once again spoke through their mouth.

*"Wondering if the mouse will ever get his share of cheese. It fills you with Determination !"

"Looks like Lincoln's mind roommate is also on the whole 'mundane epicness' thing !" laughed Lynn, along with the other sisters, and even Lincoln as well, who promptly saved.

LOUDS – Ruins Mouse Hole

LV1 – 1:36

File saved successfully !

Once the black panel was gone, Leni felt her ear tingle, and touched it. "OMG guys, my ear's all better now !" she said, as her HP bar went back to 20/20.

Lisa, bent on finding how this place worked, wrote down this occurrence for later. "SAVE points can heal. Interesting..."

This being done, they took off to the next room, with Lucy sharing one last glance at the mouse hole.

"Sigh. Is there really someone waiting for me along the way ?" she wondered mournfully, before following the group.

If only she knew what was waiting for her in the next room. Speaking of which...

---

The new room had something rather peculiar going for it. In addition of the two exits standing at the other end of the room, one going straight, and the other one to the left, there was a pile of leaves concealed by two walls.

And standing on the narrow, only way to keep going, was a white... blanket ? To be more precise, its form resembled of the stereotypical drawing of a ghost. On it were two round and empty eyes, looking like they had been drawn with a marker, and a line between them.

And it just laid there, unmoving, tranquil. But most important, it was in our heroes' way !

"Ah geez, do monsters take their naps in people's ways ? Is that a thing ?" said Lola, huffing in slight annoyance.

Lucy was unresponsive as she looked at the 'napping' form ahead of her. She could feel strange energy coming from it. Behind her bangs, her eyes widened a little. No, they were never that clear in the open, it certainly couldn't be... could it ?

"Well, should we ask him to move ? Don't want to be rude or anything, but we can't pass if he stays there." argued Lana.

"I'll do it !" said Leni, waving her arm in the air. She advanced to the sleeping white form, and asked casually, yet gently, "Hi, mister sleepy head. Could you please, like, move for a second, so we may pass ?"

"zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."

Leni quietly gasped, and turned to her siblings. She made a 'shh' with her finger before her mouth. "I think he's napping."

Lori sighed and shook her head. "Okay Leni, first, that's the problem we're trying to solve. Second, that guy's not sleeping, he's just saying 'zzz' out loud, pretending to sleep !" she said with a scowl, that only hardened when the ghost zzzed louder, thinking he was fooling someone.

Well, he was fooling Leni, who widely shook her head. "Nuh huh ! That's just the sound people make when they sleep, I saw it once in Lincoln's comics !"

"That's called an onomatopeia, Leni." explained Lisa. She felt the need to add, "And no, this has nothing to do with tomato sauce."

"Alright, enough of this, let me try." Lynn pushed her way through, and passed Leni to look at the sleeper. "Hey buddy, not trying to be rude here, but we'd like to pass. So, could you please get out of the way for a second."

"zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... (i'm sleeping...) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."

Lynn wasn't the brightest of the bunch, she knew that. But she did NOT like to be taken for an idiot. Clenching her fists and her teeth, Lynn reached for the ghost. "That's it ! If you're not budging, I'm budging you !" she said heatedly. But surprise came when her hands were supposed to touch the white and seemingly fabric-like skin of the creature. The key word was supposed, as Lynn's hands actually moved through the monster, who lost its opacity to gain a translucid appearance.

"YIKES !" yelped Lynn as she brought her hands out of the creature and took an immediate step back. She peered at her right and left hook-throwers, and sighed in relief when they appeared to be unharmed. But she had no time to fully enjoy it, as she backed up more alongside Leni while the untouchable monster began to stir.

Then, he began to float off the ground, his eyes gained a touch of live in them as well as a bit of moisture, and a little mouth appeared beneath the line at the center of his face. It opened, speaking with a quiet, monotone, and ghastly whisper. "oooh... am i such an annoyance to you ..?"

All of the siblings looked shocked at the moment. Some with confusion, others with wonder, and some others with fear. The voice, the shape, the intangibility, there was no doubt of what type of creature the Louds were encountering at the moment.

But if the Louds had not been so focused, they would've caught what is a probably just as rare sight to behold.

Lucy with a genuine toothy smile, her form slightly shaking with mirth, and a small squeal of excitement escaping her lips.

Only three words for the little spooky Loud, as she felt her SOUL jump out of her chest.

"Best. Vacation. Ever."

---

*Spooky Jazz intensifies*

Yes, I certainly DO wonder who everyone's favourite weeping ghost is gonna bond with. I'll give you a small clue, it's not with Luan.

Welp, that's another chapter done. In the next one, we'll tackle on the first UT-LH bond beginning to form. Will it be a friendly one ? Or perhaps something more... Nothing too severe though, don't want LucyxRocky fans starting to crash my door and steal my Nacho Cheese Dorritos. My precious...

As always, leave a Review to say what you've thought of this chapter, and keep throwing some ideas in the mix. Who knows, they might just get enough of my interest to get me to slither them in. Though to all Undertale AU's Fans, know that there'll be none of that. I like them as much as you do, but the story is already long and complicated enough as it is. Nothing stopping you from writing them yourselves though ! The site is there for that, after all !

Anyway, this is Superdimentio77, telling you to not worry, there's people out there who'll get and understand you, even if they aren't in everything you like. Be great forever !