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"May Light always surround you;

Hope kindle and rebound you.

May your Hurts turn to Healing;

Your Heart embrace Feeling.

May Wounds become Wisdom;

Every Kindness a Prism.

May Laughter infect you;

Your Passion resurrect you.

May Goodness inspire

your Deepest Desires.

Through all that you Reach For,

May your arms Never Tire."

D. Simone

( * )


The door closed behind me with a final click. I spent a few minutes mentally processing what happened. It was only when the chill of the cold wind brushed against me that I deigned to look up. The sight I was met with was impossible.

Snow! There was snow drifting down onto the ground, covering the land with a white winter blanket. When I looked up to see where the snow was coming from, all I saw was the rocky ceiling glowing with light. It was almost as if I wasn't in the Underground at all! It was like I was under the sky in a snowy little forest.

But I knew better. I was still trapped in the Underground. Monsters were around every corner, trying to kill me. I was all alone with nowhere to go. I sighed, my breath turning into a frosty mist in the air. Shivering, I clutched my sweater close to me, pretending that I wasn't in the Underground but on the Surface.

Great. I was only here one day and already I get homesick.

I looked up and wished, for a second, that the sun would be there. Shining on me, giving me warmth. Just . . . there. But it wasn't there, nothing was there. The Narrator spoke up, distracting me from my depressive thoughts.

There is a SAVE STAR next to you.

I turned around, and there it was. A SAVE STAR. I quickly reached out to touch the SAVE STAR and another voice spoke. With the voice came a startling warmth.

*FILE SAVED. You BRAVELY go forward, knowing that many dangers shall fall upon you. However, you are filled with the courage to continue on.

[HP RESTORED]

I quietly watched as the star flashed a bright orange before fading back to its original glow. I then blinked at hearing the second message. That never happened before.

Quickly, I pulled up my stats with a wave of my hand and checked my HP. And there it was, [HP 20/20]. It was surprising that this happened. However, I quickly figured out that SAVE STARs not only act as points to go back to when I die but they also acted as HP restores just in case I was depleted.

I headed forward, satisfied for figuring out what the SAVE STAR was. Up ahead was a clearing where Flowey appeared to be waiting for me. I stopped a few feet away from the homicidal flower and wondered how he came here.

Flowey faced me with a creepy expression and spoke. "Bravo! Bravo! What an accomplishment! Going through the entire Ruins without killing anyone. Or even dying. Once. I'm surprised!" Flowey's smile widen even more.

"But you shouldn't feel too happy! After all, you only spared the life of a pathetic, worthless monster who couldn't even bear to kill you. What'll happen when you meet someone who will want to kill you? Huh? When sparing them isn't enough?" Flowey tilted his head to the side in a mockery of confusion.

I stared at him silently. I didn't know what to say. After all, what he said was true. Mom was nice to me because she cared about me, but there are monsters who don't care about me. And they already killed children. They wouldn't leave me even if I spared them.

Flowey laughed. "I see that you understand. I wonder . . . will you kill them. All the monsters down here? Kill them like how they will kill you? Show them no mercy just like they have to you? Or, perhaps, will you give up? Tired of always dying. In a loop of never ending torture. Will your DETERMINATION falter?"

I stared at the flower in surprise. The way he was talking . . . it was as if he knew we were in a videogame! If that was true . . . "Are you . . . do you . . . are you a Player?"

His smile took a cruel twist. "Yes! I was a Player. I controlled this world! It was my playground. But then, you came. And you took control away from me. But it doesn't matter. No, what matters is what you're going to do. When you're pushed to the brink. Tell me, what will you do?" Flowey was full of dark curiosity.

I bit my lip, hesitant to answer. I didn't know what I would do, but I do know one thing. "I . . . I-I won't give up. I will try to find a way, a way where I won't have to kill or be killed. A way to have a happy ending . . . because everyone deserves a happy ending. Everyone deserves a second chance. Everyone deserves mercy. Even you."

Unknown to me, my eyes were glowing a bright red. My DETERMINATION for a happy ending shined from my soul through my eyes. I didn't want to kill anyone. I didn't want to die. I just . . . wanted everyone to be happy. I remembered the sight of Mom crying on the floor. Staring at Flowey, I wondered, was he ever happy?

Flowey stared back at me in silence, then laughed. "HAHAHA . . . Y-You . . . HAHAHAHA . . . You're an idiot! Hahaha. Know that when your DETERMINATION falters . . . when you give up on this world . . . I'll be waiting. And I will gain control. I'm the prince of this world's future, after all. But don't worry, my little monarch. For now, I will watch you. Because this is way more interesting to me currently."

He then went underground, disappearing from my sight. I stood in the clearing, silent.

What Flowey told me, it disturbed me. I don't know what will happen in the future. In fact, I'm scared of the future, but I know that I will try my very best to carve my own path in the Underground. I won't kill. And I won't be killed. I'll defy this world if I have to. To get my happy ending.

The thought of having a happy ending fills you with DETERMINATION.

I smile at hearing the Narrator. I know that even if I did die many times, that at least I would have them with me. I wouldn't be alone. And that was all I needed to keep moving forward.

I soon left the clearing behind, spotting a tree branch on the floor nearby. I would have passed it if it weren't for the Narrator.

Having a stick might come in handy.

I followed their advice before continuing on the route to the Surface. Suddenly, I heard a twig snap. I froze and turned around quietly, wary about monsters sneaking up on me. When I saw that nothing was behind me, I sighed. But still, I didn't let my guard down. I needed to be cautious to ensure my survival.

I resumed walking forward. Ahead of me was a bridge that crossed over a chasm of cold water. I sighed in relief and quickly went to the bridge. It was then that I heard a voice behind me.

"Don't you know ho-"

Before the voice could finish speaking, my body automatically turned around and swung the stick in my hand at the voice. A scream was stuck in my throat, my eyes widen in terror. The stick hit the person behind me and a large 'CRACK' echoed in the silence.

The person who I hit, before I even got to take a good look at them, turned to dust. All that was left of them was a blue jacket that fell on the snow covered ground.

I stared, not comprehending what I did until my stats popped up again. Instead of the regular [LV 0] it turned into [LV 1]. I took a step a few feet backwards, my breath coming out straggled from the atrocity I have committed.

However, instead of my feet touching more snow covered ground, there was nothing under me. I was at the edge of the cliff the bridge was built on. So, instead of standing on stable ground, I slipped off the cliff and fell down into the chasm.

My body was free falling, it was like I was floating in the air. But then I hit the cold water in a harsh impact. I was shocked into stillness by the freezing temperature. I couldn't move at all. My body fell deeper and deeper into the water.

The Narrator tried to speak but the currents in the river made it difficult for me to hear them in my mind. Soon I became numb, black spots began to appear in my vision.

The last thing I could do was briefly touch the glowing [LOAD] that appeared in front of me at my last moments.


Sans blinked in surprise.

He was behind a tree far from the Ruins, waiting for a human to appear. For some reason, however, it felt like he already did this before. That feeling continued to persist when he saw the human child for the first time. It continued even when he purposely stepped on a twig to spook the kid. It continued even as he followed the kid to the bridge that would lead them to Snowdin and his brother.

Sans, seeing that the kid was going to cross the bridge, quickly teleported behind them and began to speak.

"Don't you know ho-"

However, before he could finish, a feeling of danger came upon him and he took a few steps back. Just in time too. The kid swung their stick to the position he was previously in, their face set in an expression of fear.

The swing caused the kid to become unbalanced and take a step backwards. Which was a mistake on their part. Their foot slipped back into the chasm that the bridge was built over, leading them to certain death.

Seeing that, Sans quickly grabbed the kid with his right hand and pulled them away. But it seemed that he pulled the kid a little too hard and, instead of the kid landing back on their feet safe and sound, they crashed into him. This caused the both of them to fall onto the ground.

For a few moments, everything was silent.

Sans soon felt movement on top of him. The kid pushed themselves up, rubbing their head. They probably hit their head on his bone-dy.

Sans snickered at the pun he made in his head. Despite the fact that he almost got his skull bashed in, he could still throw out puns like no one's business. His snickering, however, caused him to gain the attention of the kid. They looked down at him with their eyes opened.

Sans took in a deep breath. He always thought human eyes were boring. The orange brat had brown eyes and the other humans were rumored to have plain ones. This kid, however . . . their eyes were beautiful.

There was a icy blue and leaf green mixed in with a stormy grey. Specks of royal gold and hazel jewels were in the whirlwind of color and sprinkled everywhere was red crystals. It was as if he was looking at one of the few paintings the monsters had of the night sky.

Sans wouldn't have minded staring into their eyes for a few more minutes, but then the kid closed their eyes quickly and pushed themselves off of him. They backed away, fearful of him.

Sans, seeing the kid going back to the direction of the chasm again, sat up and quickly grabbed the kid's leg with his right hand.

He pulled the leg closer to him, causing the kid to fall on the ground again, and away from the chasm. However, he underestimated their weight and became unbalanced from pulling them quickly towards him.

Sans slammed his left hand next to the kid's head, making sure that he wouldn't crush them with his weight since he weighed a skele-ton. They clutched their stick closer to them in fright.

Sans was about to say something when, suddenly, a fart noise interrupted him. It was silent for a few moments, both Sans and the kid were in shock of hearing a fart noise during this situation.

Sans then realized that the sound came from the whoopee cushion that he taped to his left hand. He taped the whoopee cushion there as a small prank for the human, to get them to relax around him.

He felt sweat slowly drip from his head, his face turning a light blue from embarrassment. This was the first time that a simple prank went wrong for him, ever. The fact that it was a terrified human child witnessing this moment didn't help him much.

A small giggle snapped him out from his embarrassment. Sans looked down in surprise, seeing the kid laughing in absurdity of what happened. Soon, he was laughing as well. The entire situation was hilarious! Everything that happened was comedic.

Soon, Sans and the kid stopped laughing. It was quiet for a few more moments. Then they spoke up. "Um, can you get off me please?"

It was then Sans realized that they were still laying over the kid. He quickly got up and offered them his hand to stand up. They took his hand and was quickly pulled up, this time not crashing into him or falling.

Sans decided to say something to dispel the awkward air that came over them after a few moments.

"Hey, ki-"

"I'm sorr-"

Both Sans and the kid say at the same time. Suddenly they become quiet again, the awkward air growing even heavier.

Sans sighed and spoke up again. "Hey, kid. Sorry for scaring you an' all that." Sans waved his hand in the air. The kid nodded their head.

"It's okay. It . . . you have to admit, it was pretty funny." They giggled.

Sans snorted. "Yeah, it was really humerus. It seriously tickled my funny bone." The kid giggled again. Sans smiled at seeing them enjoy his puns.

"I guess I should introduced myself, huh? The name's Sans, Sans the Skeleton." Sans winked. The kid smiled warily, with an edge of warmth lining it.

"It's nice to meet you, Sans the Skeleton. The name's Frisk, Frisk the Human. It's ice to meet you!"


( * )

I don't have direction when I start a song,

It starts so simple then it takes off

. . .

If I'm left with just a toy piano

I start to play around

-SharaX, Toy Pianos (Vocal Cover) Chance • Melt

( * )