Chapter 12: Explanations and Aftermaths

Not one, but three entities hit the stone slabs of ClockTown. The white light created by the Song of Time had faded away, leaving Link, Sans, Asriel, and Tatl waiting for one to act. But, none of the four wanted to move. They were all mentally exhausted from the timeline beforehand.

All of them just wanted to take a deep breath. Sans, on the other hand, had much different plans. Normally being the lazy skeleton he was, this was astonishing coming from him. "I know we're all tired but… I think we all have explaining to do…"

Link, Tatl, and Asriel all snapped out of their daze, looking towards the skeleton. Comically, Asriel's ear was not stopped from moving fast enough, and gave Tatl a large whack on accident. The fairy hissed in slight annoyance. "C'mon! Even when you seem different, you can't stop from annoying me…"

He quickly realized his mistake. "O-Oh, sorry I didn't mean to…" He quickly apologized, Tatl seemingly confused at the apology. The young monster tilted his head in slight confusion as well.

Before any other events could ensue, Sans decided to get on with it. "So, uh, this has all been… really sudden. So, I'll begin on a better note than last time." Giving a wave, his pupils danced to the fairy and young boy. "Sup, I'm Sans, Sans the skeleton… I come from the Underground and have a basic knowledge of timelines." His hand dropped to his side as he continued. "So, I guess I should apologize for what went down back there…"

"Don't mention it." Tatl murmured. "But, I guess we should ask what drove you to attack?"

"Well uh…" Sans scratched the back of his skull. "A masked kid sorta… notified me it could stop all anomalies in the timeline and…" Breaking a sweat, he shut his eye sockets. "I was stupid enough to go along with it…"

Link's eyes narrowed when a "masked kid" was mentioned. Tatl wasn't feeling too spiffy about it either. "Yeah… that's the reason the moon is falling…" Tatl explained, looking up at the sky. As usual, the empty eyes were staring back at them.

Sans seemed slightly intrigued. Although, Asriel was mainly terrified of that thing staring upon them. "I-I don't think that's a good thing…" He stuttered, eyes fixated on that moon.

Once again, Tatl was slightly confused. "Why are you so worried? When you were a flower you were all confident and you'd NEVER apologize."

"That's where I have my own explaining to do…" Asriel admitted, shuffling his feet. It seemed as if he was about to explain an uncomfortable topic. Nervously tugging on his ear, he began his short explanation. "To summarize everything up because…" He looked to the moon. "We don't have much time… As Flowey… I lacked a soul but… that song seemed to give me one…"

That was when Link noticed what was in Asriel's hand. It was a mask of Flowey… The boy motioned to the mask, catching the boss monster's attention, then motioned to his face. He seemed to get the idea. "You… want me to put this thing on?" He studied the mask, not sure of what the boy was trying to do. "Um… alright then…"

As the mask came into contact with his face, the results were immediate. Asriel let out a shrill yell, vines beginning to wrap around his legs. Sans recoiled in shock while Link and Tatl remained unfazed. This was completely normal. With a flash of blinding light, Asriel was back as a flower. It took him a moment to realize what had happened. "W-Wait wha-" With one good look at himself, he attracted the gaze of all of ClockTown with a girlish scream. "WHAT HOW? I can't be a flower again! I just got back I-"

Before any more outbursts could take place, Link tapped the flower, motioning for him to take off his… face. "H-How am I supposed to trust you?" The panicking Asriel asked. "Y-You turned me into a f-" Link did the deed for him, ripping off the mask. In yet another flash, he was back as the adorable little goat figure…

Sans's gaze kept flickering between the two as he was completely confused at what he just saw. Eventually, he pointed a bony finger at the boy, "You have some MAJOR explaining to do…"

"I shall do that for him…" A voice from behind spoke. Everyone could recognize that voice anywhere. It was none other than the Happy Mask Salesman. When they all turned around, Link couldn't have been more relieved to see the man. Sans, on the other hand, was sweating bullets. The man took notice, giving him a slight glare. "Ah, do not worry… I do not hold grudges for long…"

Sans slightly relaxed, but kept a solid eye on him. "Eh, sorry bout that…"

"Now… I will have a word with you later… but we need to sort things out…" He placed his hands behind his back, facing the four. "Welcome to the land of Termina, a world different from yours… but all the same…" He motioned a hand towards the Flowey Mask Asriel was now holding. "That mask… it is one of many… They house the soul of one that has moved on. Putting one on will allow you to use the strength of the healed soul."

"But… I'm still here…" Asriel muttered, confused. "Wouldn't I have disappeared?"

"Ah yes," He nodded in understanding. "This mask is unique. It calls forth part of your soul that used to be Flowey. Flowey left an imprint on your soul that can never be changed…"

"I hate to interrupt but…" All attention was brought to Sans. "That's… harvesting souls. You do realize how messed up that is, right?"

"Of course in your eyes it would seem that way." The Happy Mask Salesman shut his eyes, facing the sky. "Yet, the souls are helping its wearer… Whether intentions good or bad. The imp who stole my mask… the one who talked to you I suppose, is using it for terrible reasons such as the one above you."

Sans's gaze wandered back to the moon. Of course, that did make sense. But, the feeling of guilt that he trusted someone who would misuse the power of a soul. "Alright, but what about greenie over here." He motioned towards Link who was currently disgusted by that nickname. "He uh… has three souls on his own…"

"Those souls are also aiding him." He paused. "But why he had three when he came here, I cannot remember."

Link bowed his head, the memory flashing in his head. He couldn't remember entirely, but it was enough to know what happened. His mother had perished after bringing him to the Deku Tree. He assumed his father was gone as well since no one came to find him during his years of growing up…

Tatl saw his little daze, and cover for him. "He doesn't like talking about it… or talking at all in that matter…" She shook her head. "But that doesn't matter."

"And what about the LV?" Sans inquired, leaving no stone unturned.

The Salesman decided to cover this one. "Unlike the "monsters" that you originate from, these monsters do not listen to reason. They have only the intent to kill…" Sans's gaze lowered in understanding. "But, not all are bad. The species of Gorons and Zoras are extremely friendly. And even sometimes the monsters may not be what they seem…"

"Yeah, enough small talk." Tatl rudely interrupted his spiel. "We can fill him in when we are ACTUALLY making progress. We are wasting time by sitting here."

"Don't you have a barrier to break?" The Salesman asked, tilting his head. Link nodded in response, motioning towards Snowhead. "Then I must give you the clues you seek to destroy it…" He shut his eyes, thinking of the thought. "You must gather four more souls to shatter it. Only then can your quest be complete."

Tatl didn't seem to like that. "But we have a moon falling on our heads. The barrier can wait until that's finished."

"That's where you are mistaken…" He spat back at the fairy. "This time things have changed. Events have been set off course. Some will be the same, some will change. You must break that seal to stop the moon. For Majora will not be fooled if you take the same path…"

"So… we need cooperation of the other monsters for this…?" Asriel asked in wonder.

"Exactly." He confirmed, motioning towards the south gate. "If I were you, I'd go find those souls…"

"I still feel extremely uncomfortable about this…" Sans complained, still feeling queasy about stealing souls. "I'd really like to not fight unless absolutely necessary…"

Tatl groaned, but Link shut her up quickly. He nodded in agreement, but that wouldn't mean he'd sit around while something tried to beat him alive. Most of the beasts outside the walls of ClockTown would not hesitate to fight. "So, shall we get a move on then?" Tatl asked. Everyone else nodded, not seeing the Happy Mask Salesman had vanished from the area.

"If… If you have anything you want to do, please do what you must…" Asgore spoke, eyes staring intently to the barrier.

Frisk silently spoke, "T-There are some things I'd like to do first." Asgore nodded, seeming slightly relieved. Immediately, Frisk turned on their heels, heading for the exit of the barrier room. It seemed everything had returned to before they absorbed Asgore's soul.

Hopefully everything had gone alright with Asriel and Sans. The skeleton probably would have appeared if something went wrong. But, he was probably on the other side of the barrier with Link. Chara had been relatively silent ever since that song that changed Asriel back had played. It was… odd to say the least.

Walking through the Judgement Hall, Frisk subconsciously began humming the same tune. The humming echoed through the hall, giving an even more eerie feeling. Before reaching the end, Frisk saved, just in case something bad happened, they wouldn't send everyone else's progress back too far.

New Home seemed as silent as ever. The only sounds were the occasional conversations happening in the distance. It seemed everything was normal, so all they could do was wait. Since Sans was gone, maybe they thought they should visit Papyrus to make sure he was alright. That would probably be the best option.

But, they were stopped short when they heard not only their feet pattering, but a second pair. Whirling around, they saw none other than Asgore. His face seemed confused and glad at the same time. Seeing no trident, they didn't draw their knife. He was being formal right now, as if needing to tell something important.

It was then when Frisk realized, he remembered… He shouldn't have though. That was impossible. "Human… do you remember what happened last timeline?"

This was all wrong. Sans and Flowey were the only other known two that could understand resets and remember them. But now, Asgore somehow knew. Hesitantly, Frisk nodded, not wanting to know what would come next. He stared at his feet in shame. "I… I still am very sorry for trying to kill you. I hoped I would make up for it when you had my soul b-"

Frisk stopped him right there. "It was your idea for Flowey to hold Sans in place. Without you, we'd be dead. So stop beating yourself up!" They exclaimed, a beaming smile on their face.

"You are too kind… Frisk." He looked as if he was about to cry. "But I must ask… is Chara alright?"

They paused, trying to reach for the ghostly human. But nobody came… "They… have been extremely silent… I'll tell you if they talk." Frisk reassured him.

"Oh alright." A glint of happiness formed in his eyes. "While we are waiting, I can finally ask you, Would you like a cup of tea?"

That damned song. That song that was ringing in their ears. They wanted it to just stop. It was tearing them limb by limb. Chara let out a scream as the Song of Healing seeped its way into their broken soul…

Memories of what life was like before began ringing through their head. The rushing wind of the fall from Mt. Ebott was familiar. Then, Asriel came to help them, helping Chara to their feet and thinking of them as a sibling… Asgore and Toriel both loved them as a child. It was the feeling of hope that trumped everything. Someone actually wanted them. The will to live on began thundering through their head.

Once again, that familiar feeling of rushing air was felt on their face. Looking down, they saw they were falling… On the other side of the Underground, Chara stood up from the mound of buttercups, gasping in udder surprise. Their own body was back, along with a healthy, red soul.

The Song of Healing as a huge effect on who listens to it. It will probably be more important than the Song of Time in this case...

Thanks for putting up with the wait time... I've been struggling with all this work.

Next chapter will begin the Majora's Mask themed chapters versus more Undertale...

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