Frisk took no more than three steps into the next room before something slammed into their stomach. Despite getting the wind knocked out of them, they reflexively grabbed whatever it was that hit them and held it there. Coughing, they tried to catch their breath as they straightened.

"Frisk! You okay?" Flowey asked, craning his head around to see what had hit them. "Huh? What the-?"

Gazing down at the thing in their arms, Frisk raised their eyebrows when they recognized the fish shaped monster. Shyren shivered, burrowing her face uncomfortably into Frisk's chest. She didn't seem like she was trying to attack—if anything, she looked like a baby trying to hide from something in their mother's arms. Confused, Frisk patted the top of monster's body—would that be her back or just the back of her head? Oh well, that wasn't important.

"Hey, you! What do you think you're doing?" Flowey snapped, leaning down to yell at Shyren. "This isn't a cuddle party! Get lost."

The sound of movement before them made Frisk jerk their head up. Looking up, they saw Shyren's agent looking strange and vaguely slug-like as ever, waving their arms at them all. Had Shyren's agent been attacking her? What on earth were they trying to do? They kept making a strange gesture that Frisk eventually realized look like a fist pump into the air. Confused, Frisk's brows knit together, but it was at that moment that Shyren bit their arm.

Frisk's body seized up in shock. She bit me! She actually bit me! I can't believe she actually—wait.

*Your body is frozen. Seems that Shyren's bite causes paralysis.

You are not as helpful as you think you are, kiddo.

Shyren's agent began to bounce in place excitedly, their mucus flying off at its movements. Where the mucus splattered the ground, the slime would hiss and the ground became pitted.

*Acid. These two monsters make quite the team.

Flowey, at least, seemed to realize what was going on as the agent monster began to slither forward. "Hey!" he finally snapped. "I said get lost!" Frisk felt something moving against their shoulders—two vines shot out from behind their neck and wrapped themselves around Shyren. The small monster squeaked in surprise, but she could only squirm as Flowey yanked her from Frisk's frozen arms and chucked her away.

She smacked against her agent and then screamed as the acidic mucus began to burn her. Yelping, she fled. The agent monster shook an appendage at them before following their friend.

Flowey sighed. "What a pair of assholes." He paused and frowned up at Frisk. "Frisk? You okay?"

Frisk could only groan, their jaw clenched shut. Feeling was slowly coming back into their fingers, but their body was still locked up.

"Uh, don't panic. I forgot at first but, uh, Shyren's paralysis bite, it wears off pretty fast. Aside from that, are you okay?"

Terrifying full body paralysis aside, nothing hurt aside from the slight ache where Shyren had bit them. "Mmhmm," Frisk managed.

"Oh, well, that's good," Flowey murmured, deceptively positive. Then he began to glare. Using one of his roots, he smacked them across the cheek; it didn't hurt at all, but they got his message of annoyance loud and clear. "What the hell were you thinking?! How many times do I have to say 'it's kill or be killed' in this stupid world before you stop trying to befriend everyone you meet?"

Glaring at him, they fought to move their jaw. "One," they managed.

Flowey frowned at them. "What?"

"More."

Flowey's eyes narrowed. "Wait."

"Time," they finished. If they could smirk, they would have, if only to be a further pain in his nonexistent ass.

Making a sound of disgust, Flowey turned his head away from them and folded his leaves before him, like he was crossing his arms. "God, I don't know why I even bother. An idiot like you, it's a miracle you haven't died yet."

Rather than fight the paralysis more to tease him, Frisk decided to focus on trying to get their limbs to obey them. Slowly, feeling crept up their arms until they could at least bend their arms enough to let them drop to their sides. It took nearly three whole minutes, but finally they could move freely. Their tongue still felt clumsy in their mouth, but at least they could move again. Rubbing their jaw, Frisk made a few halting noises before they glanced up at the flower, who was still pouting on their shoulder. "F-f-Flowey?"

"What?" he snapped waspishly, refusing to turn around to look at them.

In spite of his anger, they had to smile. "Th-thanks, F-Flowey."

He paused, turning to glare at them. "You'd be dead without me, you know."

They only smiled brighter. "I kn-know. Owe—owe you one."

Sighing, he let the leaves drop back down and let himself lean against their neck for a brief moment. "Sometimes, you are absolutely exhausting to be around."

"Yeah. Sorry."

Shaking his head, he straightened. "If you're feeling better, we should go. Who knows how long those two will stay gone, but we're sitting ducks if we stay here much longer."

"F-fair enough." The rolled their shoulders, trying to work the stiffness out. Giving it up for a lost cause, they instead shifted about on their legs, kicking the air a little to work some feeling into them. They even did a few squats before they felt sure their legs were mostly awake. Once they were satisfied, they headed east.

The familiar sound of rain distracted them for a moment. Walking into the next area, Frisk smiled a little at the scenery.

"Oh, sweet, there's still umbrellas here," Frisk exclaimed as they hurried over to the umbrella stand and yanked out a burgundy colored one. They were even more delighted to see that no mischievous monster had poked holes in the fabric to ruin it.

"Why wouldn't there be umbrellas?" Flowey asked as they put the umbrella over their heads.

"To be honest, I kinda thought that someone would have probably stolen them all as a prank or something," they admitted. "This seems like that sort of place."

Flowey considered it. "Well, I guess so. Hmm."

"Let's get going then—we still have a lot of walking ahead of us." Without waiting for a reply, they stepped into the rain. They paused, listening to the comforting patter of the water against the umbrella before going forward. Strolling past puddles, listening to the downpour, Frisk found themselves smiling at the serenity it granted them—even in this violent world, nature still soothed a weary soul.

That peace broke abruptly with the sounds of something flopping around and loudly whining. Glancing around, Frisk searched for the source of the noise before stopping mid-step. "You have got to be kidding me."

There, rolling back and forth on the wet ground like a pig in mud, the Monster Kid loudly cried. "Hey, hey! You there—help me out! I don't have arms, so I can't get up!"

"It's a trap," Flowey hissed.

Frisk glanced back at him with a frown and a raised eyebrow. "Uh, yeah, I can see that."

Flowey gaped. "Really?"

I should probably feel insulted by that. Then again, I was the dumbass who got paralyzed about five minutes ago by a fish. I'll keep my mouth shut. Without another word, Frisk went back to strolling along.

They didn't get far before Monster Kid shouted after them. "Hey, hold it, you asshole! Where do you think you're going?"

Frisk glanced over their shoulder to see Monster Kid easily roll onto his front and then pick himself up before scrambling over to them. "What?"

"What? What! You asshole—you see an armless kid rolling around on the ground and you just leave them there?"

Frisk gave him a dry look. "I doubt you'd get to be as old as you are without being able to get your legs under you."

The monster frowned up at them for a moment. "You put a lot of faith in something you don't know anything about."

"Maybe," Frisk shrugged. "But either way, there was no need for me to help you."

"You're a cold hearted bastard," the child said finally before grinning wildly. "I like it! It's awesome."

In spite of Flowey groaning over their shoulder, Frisk had to smile. "And you're a mischievous little shit to try and pull that over on someone—what do you do? Wait 'til someone gets close and then whip around and bit them when they try to help?"

"Hell yeah!" he laughed. "It's so easy to do! And they're faces are always priceless."

Frisk chuckled before they could stop themselves. "I'm sure they are."

"Hey, are you heading deeper into Waterfall? Can I come with? I don't have any arms, so I can't carry an umbrella myself."

Frisk barked a laugh. "You're already soaked through from all that rolling around in the mud."

"So?" Monster Kid drawled. "I don't want to get rained on."

"Fine," Frisk answered, still chuckling. "Far be it from me to not help a kid out, even if a little rain would at least wash the mud off you."

He beamed. "Thank you," he chirped before immediately jumping into a rain puddle.

Flowey growled in annoyance, but Frisk only jumped back before the splash could hit them. Chuckling, they started walking forward again. "You're going to have to try harder than that, kid."

"Is that a challenge? I'll do it."

"I'm sure you will. Don't let me leave you behind now."

"Huh? Oh, sure," he said as he jogged forward. They had hardly walked together four paces before he apparently decided that silence was boring and began to chatter. "So, are you out here to see Undyne too?"

Frisk and Flowey shared a look before the human glanced back down at their new companion. "The Captain of the Royal Guard?"

"Pfft!" he snorted; they could hear the implied Amateurs just dripping off the sound. "You mean Captain of the Overlord's Enforcers."

Flowey shuddered on their shoulder, but Frisk managed to keep their face neutral. "My mistake. But yeah, something like that. I heard she hangs around here. Is that true?"

Rather than harp on trying to figure out what they meant by 'something like that', his face lit up as talked. "All of Waterfall is Undyne's jurisdiction. She doesn't even need anyone else to help her scout the area. Unlike those stupid dogs and skeletons in Snowdin," he added, grumbling under his breath. "Still though, she's wicked strong. No one can beat her!"

Arching a brow, Frisk tried to squelch the urge to defend the skeletons although they had no idea why they felt the urge in the first place. Sans might have been fun to talk to and there was definitely more than met the eye with Papyrus, but it wasn't like either skeleton seemed to like them much. "Admire her, do you?"

He shot them an incredulous look. "Admire her?"

"You know, like her. Think she's cool."

He snorted. "Like her? No way, she's an utter bitch!" He grinned. "I just like the way she kicks ass and make people cry."

Jesus Christ, this child, they thought while Flowey shuddered against their neck as he huddled silently against it. "Uh, then why come all this way to see her then?"

"Didn't you hear? There's a human in the Underground! The Innkeeper said they stayed at the Inn last night. Now they're supposed to be in Waterfall." He was practically skipping as they turned the corner. "This is my last chance to get to see Undyne kill a human up close and personal. After this, we'll all be free from the barrier."

"Oh?" They managed to keep their tone even. I have never thought of a child needing Jesus before, but damned if I don't now.

"Yep!" Suddenly, he dropped down and swiped at them with his tail. Effortlessly, they hopped over his tail as if they were jumping rope. He popped up with a laugh.

"You little scamp." They tried to sound scolding, but instead they couldn't stop giggling.

"That's me. You're fast. I usually get most people with that one. They don't think I can move that quick."

"Very tricky," they agreed, nodding. "But I've been trained to watch out for sneak attacks. You'll have to try something else. So then, you what, you want to watch Undyne at work?"

"Yeah," he sighed going back to ambling along with them under the umbrella. He paused and hurried ahead as they came up to the passage that overlooked the rest of Waterfall. The king's castle rose in the distance; it'd been a grand sight in their childhood, a breathtaking vista that had caught them off guard the first time through. This castle wasn't all too dissimilar, being big and grand, but the roofs looked as if they were stained with blood, rather than painted red. They shuddered and dismissed the thought. Still, it was a hell of a view. They paused next to the monster for a moment to appreciate it until Monster Kid abruptly went back to walking, leaving them to follow behind him. "When we get out of here, the king's going to start the war back up. I'm planning to sign up to fight."

"Little young to sign up immediately, aren't you?" they asked, still stealing glances at the castle as they walked along the pass.

"Well, sign up for training then." He grimaced. "Or, I dunno, something."

"So eager. Do you not need your parents' approval to sign up?" Honestly, it wouldn't shock them if he said yes—as creepy as the idea was, child soldiers didn't sound out of the realm of possibility in this place.

He paused and squared his shoulders, puffing his chest importantly. "No, I don't! I don't need them for anything." He smirked. "Not anymore."

"Oh? Emancipated already?"

"Emanci… what?"

Frisk resisted a smile. "Free to do as you please."

"Oh! Well then, yeah, I am! My parents always said that as long as I lived under their roof that I had to do whatever they said. Well, I'm no longer under their roof anymore." He cockily tossed his head. "I don't need them anymore." He glared. "Them or my stupid sister. She's a bitch too."

Runaway, they thought, fingers tightening around the handle of the umbrella. For a moment, they stopped seeing the monster before them and saw another child altogether—hair disheveled, clothes old and dirty, nursing a grudge that left no one safe. Frisk closed their eyes and tried to remember to breathe. It's okay, Frisk. We aren't that kid anymore—we're grown up. We're safe. We know how to control our anger now. It's okay. You're okay.

Once they had themselves in check, they opened their eyes to find the monster staring at them. The forced themselves to smile. "That sounds like quite the big change to make. How's it working out of you so far?"

This seemed to please him and he was all too happy to return to walking without a question as to what made them fall quiet. "Great! I mean, I left just this morning, but I'm already making great time for the Capitol. We'll be in Hotland in just another hour or two and then we just gotta get through Hotland. It'll be a snap."

Their lips twitched—that saying sounded a little odd coming from a monster that didn't even have fingers to snap, but they doubted that such a little thing ever got to him. "Have you been taking good care of yourself? Have you eaten in awhile?"

He paused, looking back at them. "Uh, you offering? Cause, um, I could go for something, if you got anything."

Flowey muttered something that sounded an awful lot like "did no one teach this idiot that you shouldn't take candy from a stranger?" while Frisk dug out their bag of monster candies.

"Sweet! Toss me one, dude!"

Lips twitching, Frisk pulled one candy out and tossed the candy high enough into the air that he could easily snatch it up in his mouth. He chewed and then beamed, looking more energetic.

"Awesome! Where'd you get those?"

"My mom made them for me," Frisk answered with a shrug, putting the bag back.

He raised a brow. "Seriously? I thought you were a grownup."

They grinned. "I am. My mom's just really cool."

He snorted. "That's not cool—even my mom does that. Uh, did that."

"Did that?"

He shifted about, nearly stepping back into the rain as they entered a new passage. "Well, it's not like I live there anymore, so she can't make them for me now."

"I see." They glanced forward—they could see the umbrella stand just ahead.

"That doesn't make her cool though!" he suddenly shouted. His cheeks burned as they glanced to him. "She's still a nag and so overdramatic and she's always bossing me around. Just because she makes me food sometimes, that doesn't make her cool."

"That's fair," Frisk replied, tone perfectly bland. "My mother does lots of other things besides cooking that make her cool."

"Like?"

Frisk considered their answer and took a risk on a manipulative one. "Well, if someone were trying to attack me, I know without a doubt that she would step in to protect me."

"Ugh, that doesn't make her-" he paused, voice going quiet as he spoke. "Um… well, maybe… a little?"

"And, I know the rest of my family would do the same for me as well."

His nervous shifting became flat out squirming. "Whatever."

Bingo. How much do you want to bet this kid comes from a fairly decent house—well, decent for this world at least.

*Sounds likely.

Frisk's lips twitched as their heart warmed. I forgot how nice it could be to talk to you.

While the Monster Kid fell quiet, Frisk reached up and closed the umbrella. They shook the rain off of it and slipped it into the umbrella stand. "Well, whether your family was cool or not, it's not like you don't have time to consider your situation," they offered calmly. "We aren't to New Home yet."

He scowled. "I don't have to think of anything!"

"That's for sure," Flowey grumbled.

Frisk kept their smile neutral. "Well then, I'm sure that this will be a very peaceful walk then. Shall we continue?" They gestured onward, past a little bridge and onward. Wait, a little bridge? But that's not right… now the layout of the Underground is changing? We shouldn't be anywhere near this point. And yet… what does this mean? Well, forward was the only way to find out. They let the monster stalk forward, following after him at a careful pace.

It was as he crossed the bridge it happened; part of them had thought for sure they had to be wrong, but even in this strange world, sometimes the notes would line up into a familiar chord. His foot slipped.

Frisk was a little amused to hear, despite all his grumblings, that Flowey gasped in shock as the monster started to slip. Without a word, Frisk reached out and grabbed the child by the back of his shirt. Heaving him upward, they got him settled on his feet before he even knew what was happening. Thank god, I was right to let him go first—I wouldn't have been able to catch him if I went first.

For a moment, he swayed on the spot before turning to look back at them with wide eyes. "Did you… catch me?"

They smiled and shrugged. "You have to be careful on these bridges—they can be treacherous. Shall we move forward a bit. Get off it, you know?"

He stared for a second before scrambling forward, like he expected the bridge to spitefully dump him over the edge anyway.

Frisk followed at a more sedate pace but spared him a kind smile as they walked forward. A ledge blocked their path, but where it'd been a pain in their youth, they could easily haul themselves up it now. Still, they turned back to Monster Kid. "Want a hand up? I can get up on my own."

He considered the ledge before nodding slowly. Cupping their hands, Frisk bent and let him put a foot into their hands before hefting him up over the ledge. Once he was up, Frisk hopped to catch the edge and then hauled themselves up.

"Phew," they sighed, trying to catch their breath. "You know, we're getting in a pretty decent walk today, wouldn't you say?" When the only thing he did was nod unsurely, Frisk tried to keep up the cheerful face. "Well, no need for us to be wasting time, right?" They straightened and started walking. "Don't let me lose you now."

He followed a half step behind them as they walked forward. The cavern opened up as they got further in, revealing the multiple layers of bridges. Frisk paused, trying to remember what it was that set alarm bells ringing as they looked at the bridges. Had Undyne attacked them here? Probably—their memories were a little muddled from all the panic they'd been in as they tried to escape Undyne. Still, was Undyne here now—should they try to send the Monster Kid away if she was waiting to strike? He was so willful—how would they even manage that?

Reluctantly, they stepped out onto the bridge, letting the monster sidle past them as they walked. All too soon, the light dimmed and they found themselves walking in the lengthening shadows. Still, they continued onward for a ways.

It was Flowey who noticed first—Frisk had been so busy looking around for signs of an ambush, they never thought to look down. When a red circle formed directly below Monster Kid, he hissed Frisk's name and pointed. The monster walked past it safely, but Frisk drew up short just in time to avoid being shish kabobbed by a spear. Frisk bit back a yelp as the magic spear shot up past their head.

"Huh? What's-?" Monster Kid began. His eyes widened at the sight of the spear. They both looked down again to see another red magic circle forming below him.

"Run!" Frisk yelled, shoving them. Monster Kid took a few steps back, but all of them could only watch as the spear shot up, straight into the middle of Frisk's palm. Freezing, Frisk watched the fabric of the glove rip as the spear protruded, but fear flooded their brain so fast that they couldn't react. The moment the spear vanished, they started running, not even thinking to check their hand. They grabbed the monster by his shirt and began to physically haul him along. "I said run!"

He finally seemed to wake up. Together, the two ran head long down the bridge, weaving around spears as they rose up.

"Death to the human and their collaborators!" shouted a voice before more spears shot up.

Frisk nearly tripped over their feet. It IS Undyne. And she's after both of us—shit, I gotta get away from this kid, or she'll kill us both. Clearing their throat, Frisk pointed up at the nearest fork in the bridges. "You go north, I'm heading south! She'll chase after me. You get out of here while she's distracted!"

He shot them a baffled look. "But what about-?"

"Just run!"

Rather than argue, he actually listened and headed north as they darted south. They focused on running and watching out for more spears. The seemingly random patterns and timing of the attacks kept Frisk on their toes. The only comfort they had to hold onto was the hope that this meant that Undyne had let Monster Kid go in favor of chasing after them instead.

Eventually, the bridge stopped branching and the path began to narrow. Still, Frisk ran on, even when their chest started to ache from all the running they were doing—their binder was comfy and loose enough for some light exercise, but now it was starting to constrict their breathing. Shit, if I get out of this, I'm going to have to ditch it for awhile. Frisk grimaced, dodging another spear. IF I get out of this…

Spears shot up behind them in a tight knit wave; Frisk nearly tripped as they lunged forward to escape. The shock of adrenaline made them smile, but a wall of red bones forced them to skid to a stop.

The bones had smashed completely through the wood. It groaned like a sick patient; Frisk froze, not even daring to take a step back when Undyne's spears vanished behind them. Shit, what do I do? they thought.

Behind them, it was strangely silent for a moment. Then, they flinched at the pair of footsteps behind them. Reluctantly, they turned to look back. On the right, Papyrus watched them without a trace of either sympathy or recognition. So, they thought glumly, he must have regretted letting me go yesterday. Time to finish the job.

It took a surprising amount of determination to turn their gaze to the figure on the left. And yet, after all the running and the panic, they didn't know whether to be pleasantly surprised or disappointed. While the too wide, near manic grin on Undyne's face was unnerving, it wasn't anything Frisk hadn't seen on their own Undyne back home. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a severe ponytail, she had the same plain black eye patch. The only difference was the strange cracked heart—or was it supposed to be a human soul?—on the front of their armor, taking up the majority of her breastplate. She swaggered forward, helmet under one arm, idly twirling her spear with her free hand.

"Finally!" she snapped, advancing forward. Flowey cowered behind their shoulder, half tucked into the back of Frisk's shirt for cover. Frisk instinctually leaned away but froze as the wooden boards groaned beneath their feet. The sound only seemed to make Undyne happier. "So this is the human that's been causing all the commotion since yesterday? Bah!" She spat off the side of the bridge. "You're shorter than I expected."

Five foot five is a perfectly normal height for a human, thank you very much, you oversized guppy.

"Well, Papyrus, now's the time to make up for yesterday," she began, pointing almost too casually with her spear at Frisk. "Go on, I'll let you smack 'em around for a bit—I can't let you take credit, mind you, but god knows you probably need to let off some steam."

Papyrus's face was unreadable as he straightened. "Gracious of you," he said evenly.

Well, I guess that answers that question, they thought with a painful thud of their heart. The groaning of the boards filled their ears as they leaned still farther back.

When Papyrus took a single step forward, Frisk took one backwards instinctually. However, they barely had set their foot down when their eyes widened. The sounds of cracking shattered the silence and suddenly there was no floor beneath their feet anymore. As Frisk started to list backwards, they caught sight of the two monsters before them—Undyne's face slid from smugness to shock slowly, her mouth falling slightly open. Papyrus's expression, on the other hand, never changed—for a single sliver of a second, hope entered Frisk's mind. Did he plan-?

And then the more prioritized portion of Frisk's mind took over. As they started to fall backwards into open air, Frisk reached over their shoulder and grabbed Flowey by his head. Perhaps by instinct, he released his death grip on their shirt. Which was good because Frisk immediately wrenched him forward and hurled him up to the bridge. Just before they smacked into the churning current below, Frisk allowed themselves a brief flash of satisfaction as Flowey reached out and safely caught himself by grabbing the bridge. At least he'll be safer up there. Their eyes met and then Frisk slammed into the water.

There was no time to think; the water swallowed them up in a heartbeat, dragging them down before Frisk could get a breath into their stunned lungs. They flailed wildly, but the undertow was too strong and they couldn't reach the surface. For a moment, they weren't twenty four years old anymore—now they were six and Marty, that asshole, had their head underwater, holding it down there despite their struggles, and where was their foster parents? Where were the adults, couldn't anyone see that they were drowning, couldn't anyone see that they couldn't breathe-

Can't breathe got to breathe lungs hurt so much just need to breathe-

They opened their mouth and water rushed in.

It took everything Flowey had to not start screaming; he knew that if he did start, then he would never stop. One moment, Frisk had grabbed him and the next they had tossed him upward, like a rag doll. He'd caught the planks of the bridge with his vines, but when he'd looked down, he'd only had a moment to look at Frisk before they vanished under the water.

Flowey had neither lied nor been entirely truthful when it came to the extent of his emotions—it was true they weren't friends, but that was because he could never care for Frisk at all in his state. All the same, he'd wanted to try something besides running away for a change. He was just so tired of death. And Frisk had been so surprisingly kind in this awful world, he'd decided that they could be the thing he'd try differently—to safely navigate them to the surface. Maybe that would fill the hole where his heart should be.

But then, Frisk was so much more than what he planned. They'd been kind, yes, but they'd also been funny, weird, playful, but oddly dark as well—Frisk walked in a strange twilight between kindness and casual indifference. But never, even at their most acerbic or unamused, had they ever tried to harm Flowey or any other monster. Somehow, they'd always found another way or at least lucked into it. Watching them progress, to succeed, allowed something sharp and painful to unfurl in the place that had once held his feelings. Hope was a strange thing, aching and wonderful, and one of the few things he could still feel since it wasn't really an emotion. Hope, like fear, was a primal tool to keep him alive. Before Frisk showed up, his hope had started to fail and he'd been ready to accept being killed. Frisk, however, had started to change that. 'Live and let live' didn't sound so stupid when it came out of their mouth. In fact, it almost sounded believable.

And now, now they'd vanished without a trace into the water. He gasped and then froze at the sound of his own voice. Above him, someone stepped up to the edge; terrified, he looked up, straight into the eye sockets of Papyrus. For a moment, the skeleton and the flower shared a look, Flowey doing his best to not tremble violently under his gaze. Then Undyne ran forward and Papyrus shifted his foot until it stuck out far enough to block the sight of Flowey hanging on below.

"What happened?" Undyne snapped, pausing as the planks groaned under her.

"The bridge was weaker than I thought," Papyrus grunted. "It cracked under the human's weight."

"Goddamnit," she huffed, shouldering her spear. "I told those useless idiots that the bridges weren't up to code. Well, shit, come on. It'll probably end up in the dump at this rate—you head along that way, I'll check down here along the banks of the river. We can meet in the middle and see what we find."

Papyrus nodded and let her go first. As she vanished, Papyrus moved his foot to find Flowey still hidden there. Without a word, he extended his foot to the flower. Silently, Flowey wrapped his roots around the ankle of the skeleton's boot and let Papyrus pull him up.

"I don't know if Frisk can swim," he murmured without prompting when Papyrus sat his foot back down on the bridge.

Papyrus scowled. "Damn. Hang on."

If Flowey were braver, he'd tell the skeleton to go take a long walk off the short bridge before them. But he didn't have a death wish, so he gripped Papyrus's leg the best he could and held on as the monster leapt from the bridge, down to the banks of the river easily. He didn't linger there, where Undyne was searching, instead taking off at a dead run down the river, his long legs eating up the distance swiftly. The skeleton watched the water constantly which meant he nearly slipped and cracked his skull open multiple times, but it neither slowed nor forced his eyes away from the water for more than a second.

At last, Flowey gasped when they saw a glimpse of familiar blue under the water sliding over the edge of a waterfall. "There! I saw them—they just went over that waterfall!"

Not bothering to reply, Papyrus leapt over the side of the cliff the water poured over. Too late, Flowey realized that Papyrus meant to jump into the water as well. Rather than argue, Flowey let go and resigned himself to the painful smack he got as he flopped onto the rocks while Papyrus disappeared under the water. Grumbling, Flowey got his roots under him and pulled himself up. Looking around, he leaned forward to search the water. Tapping the ground with growing urgency, he began to count the seconds to distract himself.

Eight one thousand, nine one thousand—where was Papyrus with Frisk? Ten one thousand, eleven one thousand—was it really so hard to spot them down there? Twelve one thousand, thirteen

Papyrus exploded out of the water, Frisk under one arm, spraying water everywhere as he dropped the limp form onto the gravel of the shore.

"Frisk!" Flowey gasped, but kept himself rooted to his spot—whatever Frisk may or may not be inspiring in him, it wasn't worth getting smashed or stabbed by a bone. "Are they okay?"

The skeleton grunted and flipped Frisk over, arranging them to free up their airway. Flowey shuddered at the pale gray hue their skin was, at the floppy way they moved, like a marionette with its strings snipped. Papyrus moved to put his hands over their chest to compress—something he'd picked up from the few tv dramas that aired down there, not that Flowey knew that—but hesitated. He frowned and braced his hands over their heart, or at least the area he guessed their heart to be in. Slowly, he started to apply pressure, but there he saw no reaction he growled and shoved down all at once. Something cracked ominously in their chest, but water gurgled up and gushed out their parted lips. When Papyrus yanked his hands away, red shining fragments slammed together over Frisk's chest to form the heart-shaped soul that always reminded Flowey of Chara's. He watched in baffled silence as it glowed with life for a moment before slipping into Frisk's chest. That is… what's their soul doing? he wondered, but then Frisk coughed weakly for a second and then bolted upright, hacking and spitting out water. Whatever was going on, it could wait until the skeleton left because holy shit that idiot is actually alive. Papyrus whacked them between the shoulder blades during the worst part of their fit, but slowly, Frisk got their breathing under control.

"What… what the hell happened?" they wheezed, eyes watering. They tried to wipe at their tears, but their hands were just as wet as their face.

"You fell off the bridge and then nearly drowned like a clod," Papyrus informed them, eyes narrowed.

Frisk started and turned to look at him. "Papyrus? What…?"

Changing his mouth to look like he was gritting his teeth, Flowey grabbed a rock with a vine and hurled it at them. It bounced off their shoulder, making them yelp. "What the hell happened? That's what I'd like to know! You tossed me in the middle of the air! Do I look like I can fly to you?"

Hiccupping, Frisk rubbed their shoulder and tried to smile at him. "Well, you don't look like you can swim either." They shivered and rubbed their arms. They glanced up at the river before them—it was calmer here, but they could vaguely remember the strong pull of the undertow before their world went dark. Frisk shivered for an entirely different reason than cold. "I… I actually landed in the water?"

"I'd say that it was better than landing on solid ground from that high up, but after that little sinking like a rock stunt, I'm not so sure," Flowey snapped.

In spite of themselves, Frisk couldn't help the full body shudder at the thought. "I'd taken the broken skull over water any day."

Flowey groaned in disgust.

Papyrus looked none too amused as well. Growling, he slammed his fist down against the ground next to him, cracking a large stone and making Frisk jump as chips of the rock skittered towards them. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind the next time I have to save your life, you idiot! Ungrateful little shit."

Frisk froze, staring at him. "You were… trying to save me?"

The skeleton glared, but joined them in sitting down as well, propping his arms on his bent knees. "Don't misunderstand me, human. I'm not doing this out of some misguided notion of 'the goodness of my heart'. That's not the reason at all!"

Frisk resisted the urge to look at Flowey, to silently ask 'do you hear this nonsense?', and instead remained patient.

Papyrus didn't last long under that waiting stare. He fidgeted, crossed his arms in front of his chest, folded his legs only to immediately beginning bounce one knee up and down, all the while pointedly looking away. Slowly, fidgeting gave way to twitching until at last Papyrus's shoulders shook. Finally, he snapped with a growl, rounding on them as he shouted. "I just hated owing you one, okay?!"

Leaning away, Frisk frowned. "What? Owed me for what?"

"Don't patronize me, human! I'm well aware that I couldn't only repay by just pretending I didn't see you in Snowdin."

Rather than correct him, Frisk kept their mouth shut.

*You feel bad for not telling him that you had assumed exactly that.

*How manipulative of you.

Don't sass me over this. It's keeping us alive.

*Noted.

"But at the same time," he began, turning away and looking at his curled fingers like he very much wanted to throttle something. Flowey say the motion and sidled back out of reach. "At the same time, I know I need to turn you over to the king!" He growled and frustration and turned back to Frisk. "Do you see? Do you see my problem?"

"It, uh… sounds like quite the dilemma."

"It is! So I thought, 'I know. Undyne's going to know they're coming to Waterfall at anytime. As soon as she catches them, she'll kill them and take their soul to Asgore.' But! But if I pretended to help her, I could keep her away from you, at least until you left Waterfall."

"That's very thoughtful of you," Frisk offered.

"I know! I happen to be a very considerate soul, not that anyone notices."

A smile tugged at the corners of Frisk's mouth. Well, he's certainly humble like my Papyrus. "Now, that is a shame."

"Exactly!" He slammed his fist into his hand, grinning wildly. "And then, after I helped you, my conscience would be clear and then I could capture and take you to Asgore! My plan was fool proof. We would be freed, I'd get rewarded by being let into the Royal Guard-" Hadn't the Monster Kid said that it was the Overlord's Enforcers? Why was Papyrus calling it that? "I could get us out of that shithole in Snowdin and into a place with actual security! Hell, maybe Sans would finally get off his ass and do something productive for once."

The smile vanished from Frisk's face. So called humility aside, he sure could learn a lesson on sweetness from my Papyrus. "I, um, see."

Papyrus paused, his own smile sliding off his face as he let his arms rest against his knees so he could prop his jaw into his hands. "But then we caught back up to you. Then I got the brilliant idea—entirely on the fly, mind you—to just break the bridge under you so you could get away that way. But no. You sank like a rock and I nearly drowned you." He sighed.

Looking at him, Frisk was tempted to pat his shoulder in sympathy. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that. Me and water, we don't mix that well." They kindly decided not to inform him that they might have died anyway just by banging their head off a rock in the river. Actually, how did I avoid that? My health bar's still full. I must be one lucky bastard to avoid every rock in there. Well, not that it kept me from nearly drowning anyway.

"I noticed," he replied dryly before sighing. "And yet… and yet, I'm glad anyway."

Frisk paused and shared a look with Flowey before glancing back to the skeleton. "And why's that?"

"I… I'm glad despite the fact that this still means I still owe you. That I… still can't turn you over yet."

Neither Frisk nor Flowey hardly dared to breathe. Well, it's a good thing I didn't say anything before about him not owing me for saving him. "Is that a fact?"

"Yes, it is," he insisted, voice rising as he glared over at them.

They raised their hands placatingly. "I see. Well, please understand, I'm very grateful. You, ah, must be really… something else to bear such a burden so well."

He nearly preened. "That I am." He paused again and sighed. "I'm very strong. I have to be strong. In this world, if you're not strong, then you're either dead or due to be dead at anytime. Not that you'd know that if you listen to Sans. Pah."

Frisk cocked their head to the side. "How's that? According to Sans, he seems to think that it's a 'kill or be killed' world."

"Oh, that fool knows how the world works—he's just too much of a lazy moron to do anything unless I make him! If I let him, he'd waste his life away in that stupid bar or nap all day out in the open. I swear, he doesn't have an ounce of self preservation left in him."

Remembering the arc of bones that he'd quickly summoned when they'd gotten too close to him, Frisk considered telling him that he had his brother pegged wrongly. But, maybe that wasn't the point he was trying to make here. "So then, you're… trying to protect him?"

He glared at them silently for a long moment before at last looking away. "If I didn't, who would?" he asked waspishly.

In spite of nearly drowning, in spite of being constantly under threat of being murdered, Frisk felt their shoulders loosen and their smile came easily to their mouth. "You're a good brother." Or, at least, better than they originally thought—they didn't think he'd appreciate that though.

Surprised, Papyrus lifted his head to glance sharply at them. But their honest smile betrayed no manipulation, no devious scheme, so he slowly relaxed. "Hmph. You tell him that next time you see him."

"I will."

To their surprise, he chuckled. "Heh. He won't believe you. He just doesn't care." He glanced at them. "Not like you do. You care about this world, don't you?"

Was this a trap? It was a certainly odd question, but it wasn't like they could tell him that the truth was this world was only a darker reflection of their own. That they knew a far kinder one than this—one that this world could be more like, if Frisk was correct in their thinking. Even in this world, that tried constantly to insist that it was "kill or be killed", Frisk had met far more monsters that were all too happy to escape or talk than flat out resist their sparing. That, however, would only prompt a lot of questions Frisk wasn't sure they were ready to answer, lest Papyrus be the one accusing them of being crazy. "I have a lot of hope for this world and its possible future," they said finally. "It's not as grim as I worried it might be. It's no walk in the park, but I haven't killed anyone yet and no one's killed me or Flowey. I'd call that a good sign."

Papyrus frowned thoughtfully. "I'd noticed. While I was trying to keep Undyne distracted, we nearly ran into you a few times anyways. I didn't linger—I had to keep her away—but I saw you. Trying to talk to them, trying to evade, but never fighting back. I thought you were just an idiot at first." Frisk wasn't sure if he was trying to insult or flatter them; probably neither, considering the way he was staring off into space before his eyes snapped back to their face. "But you're not a coward or a fool. You just have your own way of doing things. An incredibly backwards way that can only make life more difficult for you, but one that seems to be working for you nonetheless."

They resisted the urge to chuckle. "Well, that's awful…" They hesitated to use the word 'kind' on the off chance it would only annoy him. "Thoughtful of you to say."

He nodded. "Yes, I know. I have a keen sense of observation. But, more than that, I notice that… that monsters you met didn't try to use their natural advantage to your inadequacies."

Frisk's smile twitched. "My… inadequacies?"

"Yes. Your hesitance to attack monsters."

"Ah… that."

"I mean, your obvious weakness should have incensed any sane monster into killing you right then and there! With that power, we'd all be free. All they had to do is kill you and we'd all be on the surface in no time."

Frisk frowned. "Or they'd take my soul for themselves. Escape on their own."

Papyrus turned to glare at them. "And leave the rest of us down here to wait?"

Had the idea that a monster would selfishly keep the soul to themselves not occurred to him? Either he was very dim, very trusting, or just didn't listen to other monsters or their words left behind in the echo flowers. "Mm, that wouldn't be… very generous of them."

He snorted. "Of course it wouldn't be. Besides, Undyne would kill anyone that tried to take a human soul for their own and would rip it right out of them."

*You think that when he puts it like that it sounds more likely.

"And yet, either way, no one's gotten close to killing you. They've all let you get past them one way or another. For some of these monsters, you're the last chance they might see in their lifetime. But here you are."

"Yep. And still mostly whole."

He nodded. "You're… you're making monsters act differently now. I've seen it already. Back in Snowdin, the innkeeper said you'd stayed there the night without causing any trouble. In Waterfall, whenever a monster admitted to seeing you, they'd said that you'd been sparing monsters. It's having weird effect on monsters, the weak, cowardly ones. They're hoping that you keep going, but not so you'd get caught. It was because they were hoping that maybe you'd go all the way to Asgore with no bloodshed. That they'd all be safe for now and then free soon."

Frisk paused, brightening. "They think I can free them?"

"Well, once Asgore kills you and takes your soul, yeah."

Frisk wilted. "Oh. That, uh. That sounds about right, I guess."

*You feel demoralized. What a failure you are.

Okay, kid, time to pack in the sass. Let's try and keep it positive around here, okay?

He narrowed his eyes at them. "Do you think it would be different if you got to Asgore? Do you think you could get past him with or without killing him?"

Frisk frowned. "I would never kill him." There'd been some close calls in their first battle, but they'd tried their hardest back then to spare him. "And… and I don't know what will happen to when I get to him. But I do know I'm not going to back down and surrender when it comes to either not killing or not giving up. I'm going to get out of here and… and I'll do what I can to see the barrier comes down when I do."

They waited as he gazed at them. Would he question them on how they planned to do that? The unfortunate truth to that would be that they had no idea. But, they'd seen miracles happen before—they just needed to find out how to do it again.

At last, he smirked. Without warning, he reached out and slapped their back, shaving off some of their HP in his enthusiasm. "Ha! At least you got the right spirit. Alright, fine, I'd like to see you actually try and talk to Asgore. The King, you know… well, he makes Undyne look like a fluffy teddy bear." He paused and frowned sternly at them. "Not that I'd know how fluffy or soft a teddy is."

In spite of themselves, Frisk had to smile. "No, surely you wouldn't."

He nodded. "Anyway. Asgore hasn't hesitated to kill a human yet, but then, I don't think he's ever met anyone like you." He turned away and pointed to the east. "Listen, just keep heading that way. If you do, you'll make it to the palace eventually. There's a lot of obstacles in your way, like Undyne and, well, you'll see. But if you're as determined as I think you are, I think you're bound to show us all something really interesting. You understand me?"

"Yes." They nodded confidently, smiling at him. "Trust me, Papyrus, I'll do my best not to disappoint."

"See to it you don't." He stood and dusted off the back of his legs before resting his hands at his belt. "You have a cell phone?"

"Uh, yeah?" They paused and pulled out their phone, then sighed in relief when it turned on. Alphys had waterproofed it for them ages ago, but they'd been careful and never had a reason to test that protection out until now.

"I'm going to give you my number. Call me if you have an emergency. I won't come to save you," he said with a shrug. "But I might be able to help out."

Frisk chuckled. "I take what help I can."

"Yes," he said, glancing at Flowey. "I noticed. You've been helping the human?"

The flower, who'd been quiet as he could be, squeaked and pulled himself half into the ground as he cowered. "Y-yeah?"

He stared down at Flowey for a long moment before finally nodding. "Well, good to see you're making use of yourself at last." Flowey rose up, half in confusion, but Papyrus had already turned back to Frisk—still, Flowey wondered if maybe the skeleton had trying to praise him or not. "Look after each other."

"We will," Frisk promised with a smile. "Thanks for everything, Papyrus."

He nodded. "I'll tell Undyne that I think you've already gotten away. If you're lucky, she'll head into Hotland. Wait long enough and she'll head back this way. Try to sneak past her then."

"Got it. Hopefully the next time you see us, it'll be on the surface."

He shot them a look as he turned away. "We'll get to the surface, one way or another. I hope for your sake that your plan works."

"Me too. See you later, Papyrus."

"Stay alive, human. At least you're doing better than all the other times." With a wave over his shoulder, he set off heading north, back the way he came.

"Wait, Papyrus, what-"

It was too late though; he was already sprinting away. The two of them watched him go. Once he finally vanished out of sight, Flowey nearly flopped onto the ground with a sigh of relief. "Oh god, I thought for sure he was going to kill you soon as he saw you."

Frisk turned to face him with a smile. "Aw, were you worried about me? Thanks, buddy."

Flowey lifted his head up to glare at them. "I am not your friend. Even if you weren't—weren't nonsensical, you and I still wouldn't be friends."

"Grumpy."

"You're darn right I'm grumpy! What were you thinking? I thought you were dead!" he snapped, rising up to his full, unimpressive height.

Frisk lifted their chin to stare at him down their nose. "To be fair, Papyrus is the one that dropped me in the drink. Trust me, if I had my way, I'd never get anywhere near for the rest of my life."

"Ugh, so you really can't swim?"

Frisk shuddered. "No. I can't. I, well, let's say I had a bad… time when I was little. Really soured me to the whole water thing. So, no reason to know how to swim."

"You've been in water before," he said, glaring at them sidelong.

"Water that didn't go past my neck. Anything past that doesn't end pretty."

Flowey shook his head and sighed. "You really are hopeless."

Rather than argue, Frisk glanced back to the north, where Papyrus had gone. "So, what do you think he meant by 'all the other times'? And what's with you and him? Did he just give you a lift out of the goodness of his heart? Did you sneak a ride?"

Flowey winced and shifted nervously. "I have no idea what he meant by that, but as for the other stuff… no. He, uh, he knew I was there. When you tossed me up to the bridge, he saw me there and… and he hid me from Undyne."

Frisk gaped at him. "He protected you?"

"I—I don't know about that. But he didn't let Undyne see me."

Instead of arguing semantics, Frisk tried to focus on the bigger picture. "Okay, but why?"

Flowey tried to shrug nonchalantly, but it looked more like a twitch. "Probably to interrogate me later."

Frisk narrowed their eyes at him. "Interrogate? Not, you know, exterminate? Flowey, just how do you know Papyrus?"

For a moment, Flowey didn't speak. Instead, he fidgeted with a rock, rolling it around with one of his leaves. It was, amusingly enough, a lot like how Papyrus had fidgeted under their gaze. "I… I know what you're thinking, but I wasn't lying to you before. Back… back before you came, I used to alternate between the Ruins and Snowdin a lot, since they're usually the two safest areas of the Underground. Less monsters around. But, um, in Snowdin, one time Papyrus spotted me. I thought for sure he was going to kill me, but he just… just kinda looked at me for a second before walking away. I was beneath his notice, I guess." He shrugged. "But each time it happened, I was sure he would kill me, but he never did. Mostly he just ignored me, but once or twice he'd asked if I'd seen anything. Sometimes I had, so I would tell him. Sometimes he'd catch one of the guards or his brother trying to kill me and he'd make a big ruckus about them wasting their time."

He paused and frowned up at Frisk. "Don't get me wrong. I wasn't lying to you about him being dangerous or that we were secretly friends. It's just, for some weird reason, he thinks I'm useful."

"Relax, I'm not mad," Frisk laughed. "Still, you could have told me. Why not tell me sooner?"

"Cause you kept insisting on not killing anything. Papyrus might have spared me out of some misplaced pity or idea that I'm useful, but he was absolutely not going to spare you."

"But he did," Frisk chirped.

"Yeah, yeah. Somehow, you managed to worm your way into his good graces." He shook his head wonderingly at them. "I… I don't know how, but you keep doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Somehow convincing others not to kill you." He glanced away. "You know… each time you do it, it just seems more… well, like this world really could change. Like maybe it can really change from 'kill or be killed' into something… something kinder." He paused and looked up at Frisk. Then he groaned; Frisk was beaming at him, sheer pride written into every inch of their face. "Oh, oh no. Don't look at me like that. Your way is still stupid, and backwards, and—and a pain in my stem."

"But?"

He paused before finally relaxing. "But it… it'd be nice if it really could work."

"It can work," they promised, reaching out to stroke one of his petals. When he looked up at them, Frisk smiled. "Just stick with me, Flowey. I'll show you."

He gazed up at them for a long moment, before finally sighing. "Alright, alright. Show me whatever you like. But later. God, looking after you is exhausting."

Frisk laughed heartily. "Sorry for being so troublesome."

"You should be," he grumbled, starting to slump.

Poor thing. I actually managed to wear out a flower, they thought in amusement as Flowey began to nod off. "Sweet dreams, buddy. We could both use the rest."

Flowey mumbled something that might have been 'goodnight' but it was so muddled that Frisk couldn't be entirely sure what it was. Still, they watched as he wilted, his petals closing up around his face like he was an ordinary day blooming flower. Resisting the urge to pat his head gently, like Toriel had patted their head when they were still a child, they turned their attention away from Flowey.

There is something up with those two skeletons. First Sans knows I'm not the right Frisk, then Papyrus mentions something about 'all the other times', like I've been making multiple tries to get through the Underground. What does it—bleh, I'm starting to get a headache. Better to stop while I'm ahead. This world really does make no sense.

They gazed out at the gently running river, a shudder running up their spine as they watched some flotsam bob up and down in the current before being sucked under the waves, washed away out of sight.

That was almost me for a second there. If it weren't for Papyrus… If it weren't for the skeleton, Undyne might have very well had gotten her wish for killing them. Frisk did nearly drown; the thought made their stomach flip. Trying to change tracts, Frisk glanced away from the water and down to their lap. Ugh, I'm all wet again. Well, these clothes aren't going to give me any warmth for now. Best to take 'em off and let them air dry.

Quickly, they checked to make sure Flowey was asleep before they yanked off their binder again. They set it aside with the sad thought that they'd probably wouldn't be able to wear it tomorrow—if they ran into Undyne, they couldn't let themselves be hindered by it. Not to mention, Hotland was just around the corner and it would become unbearable there. They also yanked off their boots and socks, and after a moment of thinking, pulled their pants off too. Their boxer briefs were enough like swimwear that they wouldn't be too self-conscious at least.

As they finished, they looked down and paused before lifting their left hand.

They'd seen Undyne's spear pierce their hand back there on the bridge. They couldn't have imagined that. Carefully, they reached out and probed their palm. Something felt terribly off—stomach sinking, Frisk slowly pulled off their glove.

The sounds of the burbling river drowned out a single, sharp gasp. Flowey never even peeled back a petal to check on them.

For a long, stilted moment, Frisk was dead silent as they thought. Then they turned and scrambled through their pockets for the little sewing kit with thread and needle they salvaged back in the Ruins. With the practiced efficiency of someone who had to learn to sew out of sheer survival, Frisk fixed their glove and shoved it back on. Once they had their glove back on, they sat there, trying to slow their breath as they teetered near hyperventilating. Slowly, their breath steadied. After some time, they sighed and flopped back into a patch of flowers. Closing their eyes, they ran a thumb across their palm and shuddered.

Exhausted, that was how sleep finally claimed them. Still, even in their exhaustion, that didn't stop them from shivering as a chill crept up their body. Their teeth were chattering when a soft, heavy warmth dropped onto them. Slowly, they stopped shivering and curled deeper into the warmth.

Seeing Frisk trying to burrow into the warmth, Sans tucked his coat over their toes that had still been peeking out from under it. Sitting down next to them, Sans observed them for a moment before reaching down to pluck one of the golden flowers they laid on. He twisted the stem around in his fingers, watching the head idly twirl before glancing back to Frisk. In their sleep, they started to smile.

At last, he tossed the flower away and dug his phone out of his pocket. Looking at it, he fiddled with something on it, glancing at it and then to Frisk several times before finally putting it away.

"Just what the hell are you, human?" he murmured. He paused as they sneezed in their sleep, but then they quickly settled back down again. "Are you even human?"

Shaking his head, he grunted and glanced out at the river, trying to figure out the puzzle that lay breathing steady and deep besides him.

A/N: This... this chapter really got away from me. Unfortunately, it really ate into my time for writing for next week's chapter. I'm going to try and finish up before Wednesday, but it might be late-I'll still try to make sure that it gets updated before that Sunday. That said, after that chapter, I'll start to hit chapters that already have portions of them written, so hopefully I can get caught up soon.

A guest reviewed last chapter asking some questions. Just telling you now, if you want quick responses from me, sign in; I try to reply asap. That said, if you can't, I'll just reply in the next chapter. So, as for that guest, here's the reply to the reviewer:

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story—and that you enjoyed the characters' dynamics. Sans is just really really fun to write and Papyrus is a delight. Writing becomes five times easier whenever they enter the scene. Actually, the funny thing about the spaghetti was originally there was going to be a punch line later on were Frisk would find out that it wasn't intentionally poisoned, Fell!Papyrus is just an even worse cook than regular Papyrus. I forgot to write it into my outline, though, and so I don't have a good place for it now. Oh well. We finally met Undyne here in this chapter, but she'll get more exploration later, as will the test subjects.

As for theories in the comments, go nuts. I don't mind at all—actually, I'd be terribly flattered. If you guys really do hit on a spoiler though, I retain the right not to comment on it. So, have fun, and thanks for commenting.