The Fallen

by EeveeGen9988

If only they had realized climbing Mount Ebott was a bad idea, they would have never gone up it in the first place. Now they have fallen into the Underground, and all they have to do is find a way to escape… hopefully. For [Shibuya Operation - Story Storm]

3. The Quagmire:

The Fallen:

I do not own Undertale, Toby Fox does!

This story is written for [Shibuya Operation Story Storm].

…

Part 3: The Quagmire:

---

Before Todd knew it, he was sitting in a cave, behind a waterfall that Edgar had found, beside his sister as they waited for Marley. Yet right now, that was the last place his thoughts were. All they were on was the fact that Archie was dead.

It repeated in his head.

Rufus knocking down Archie then stabbing Archie through the chest on the cold, snowy ground… which soon mixed into a pink slush from all the blood Archie lost.

He blankly stared at the ground as he leaned against the cave wall, not caring as the spray from the waterfall hit him. Even when Winnie put something in his hands, it didn't register to him what they were. He just held them numbly.

Winnie had tried to talk to him, but he ignored her, too occupied with the events that just occurred. He just couldn't take his mind off of what happened.

When the constant torrent of the waterfall was disrupted, footsteps fell into the small area, and Todd could only blink as they drew towards him…

"What the hell was wrong with you!?"

Todd was yanked to his feet, but he didn't even lift his head to look Marley in the eye as she growled, "You just sat there- trying to get yourself killed- and for what!? Because Archie saved you!?" She struck him in the face, making Winnie cry out in alarm as Marley spat, "Pathetic!"

Right away Todd felt the words seep in, the memory coming back to him once again. He was pathetic… he let his best friend die protecting him! And he couldn't even stop that! He trembled as he let out a snivel.

"What!? Are you going to cry now!?" He closed his eyes, wanting the images to go away, wanting nothing more than that right now. "Oh, boohoo! You're crying! If you're not man enough to take a death, cry for all I care! How pathetic, Todd!"

"Marley." Edgar's curt tone of voice got her attention. "That's enough!"

In response, Marley whipped to her brother, shoving Todd to the ground and he cried out from the pain that spiked in his sore back. "I busted my butt out there getting the Royal Guard to go away all because he didn't have the sense to run, Edgar! Why shouldn't I give him crap!?"

"You're making it worse for Todd," replied Edgar grimly as he narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, I'm making this worse?" asked Marley loudly, taking an abrupt step to her brother. "I'm just laying down how moronic he was back there!"

"You can't do that to him, especially when Archie was just killed in front of him!" snapped Edgar as he shook his head, pointing at Marley. "How can you do this to our friend, Marley? To our friend who just lost his best friend!?"

"Now I'm the bad person!? Is that what you're trying to say!?" retorted Marley with anger. "You're acting pretty ridiculous right now!"

"You're being ridiculous! You're shoving salt into wounds that were just torn open, Marley! And you're not helping anyone, you're tormenting everyone!" shouted Edgar furiously as he clenched his hands. "Can't you see how it's affecting Todd and Winnie!?"

Todd let himself cry, not caring if Marley mocked him more about it. It didn't matter to him; what mattered was that his best friend was dead.

The tall girl let out a deep-throated growl as she faced her brother, trembling as she roared, "I don't care! All I get from you is crap!" With that she stalked past him, pushing her brother hard before she settled herself into a corner where she glared at them all.

Edgar gave a sigh, shaking his head before he crouched down, staring at Todd with a frown. "Are you okay, Todd?" Todd merely closed his eyes, willing the memories of the recent events to go away. "Todd?"

The image of the blood-covered longsword flashed through his mind, making him clench his hands, crumbling something.

"Has he even eaten yet, Winnie?" asked Edgar sternly.

"No…" replied the blonde sadly. "Big Brother hasn't…"

"It doesn't look like he's still bleeding, but that doesn't mean we should let him ignore that," said Edgar as he shifted beside Todd, and soon something was pressed into Todd's hands again. "You need to eat, Todd."

Todd opened his eyes, staring down at the cookies he limply held. He studied the mottled yellowy-orange sections that splattered across its surface, soon cringing when the blood that sprayed the ground from Archie's wound flashed through his vision. Instantly he felt sick, nauseous as he clenched his eyes closed, throwing the cookies far from him at the navy wall of the small hollow. Right away he breathed in and out heavily, trembling as he scrambled backwards until his sore back pushed against another stony wall.

A sigh sounded from nearby him. "At this rate, we'll be out of rations…" When he felt someone place their hand on his shoulder, he heard Edgar speak, "Look, Todd, you need to eat something. It's not healthy for you."

Todd didn't feel like eating, he felt ready to puke.

"What's wrong with Big Brother?" asked Winnie fearfully; prompting Todd to slightly frown as she squeaked, "He's not acting right! He's not talking to me! He's not eating! Why's Big Brother acting like this!? It's not like him!"

It was a few seconds before Edgar responded evenly, "I think he's in shock, Winnie. He's having a hard time processing what's going on around him, because his mind is still immersed with what just happened… "

"But why?"

"He saw Archie get killed right in front of him," came the boy's bitter reply, "that warrants him to feel the way he is right now. It's causing him so much stress his mind can't take it, thus he's in shock. And the grief he may feel at the moment might've broken him." Todd heard something shift nearby. "I don't exactly have the same bond that Todd had with Archie, nor have I lost anyone in such a way as he has, so I can only speculate what's going on with him right now."

When Todd felt something wrap around him, he blinked as he saw Edgar rearranging his dark grey coat across Todd's stomach. Soon he blinked again, aware of the fact that his sister was doing the same, making sure his legs were covered by her coat as her teary blue eyes gazed at him with worry.

"Will Big Brother get better?" asked Winnie quietly, sniffling as tears ran down her cheeks. "I don't like him like this…"

"I can say the same, Winnie. However, it takes time for people to get over something like this, so I can't say for sure how long he'll be this way. For now, we can only hope he will get better."

Todd closed his eyes, slowly feeling his consciousness drift away.

---

"Just do it!" Angie crashing hard into the ground, her broken body fully facing the sky. "I don't want you guys to di-"

"One down…" Roxie's grim expression as she adjusted her staff. "Five more to go…"

"Yes, the time as come for the Canine Unit to claim glory for taking down these Humans!" Rufus' laughter consumed his hearing, distorting slightly. "King Asgore will be pleased that the SOULS he wants are collected! And that will bring us closer to breaking the BARRIER, freeing all of Monsterkind from the Underground!"

"Tough talk for a Human who will soon die…" The Calico Bulldog's sadistic face as he chucked the dagger, his lips curling into a cruel smile. "Your SOULS will be ours, the Underground's, King Asgore's…"

"I'm not going to let you kill my best friend!" Archie was hit with an orange dagger. He was frozen for a moment before he was smacked down, slowly meeting the ground as though he was a feather. "Get back! I have a revolver, and I'm not afraid to use it!" A longsword was jabbed straight into his chest, and blood squirted out as it was slid out, all around his limp form.

"You just sat there- trying to get yourself killed- and for what!? Because Archie saved you!?" Marley's intense glare fully captured his vision. "Pathetic!"

"What!? Are you going to cry now!?" Her hand rose before it whipped towards him. "Oh, boohoo! You're crying! If you're not man enough to take a death, cry for all I care! How pathetic, Todd!"

All the images ran on repeat, growing far more distorted each time they came to him… The voices were merging together in a disharmonic mantra, making him want to tear his heart out to stop it from throbbing in agony-

He wanted it to stop! He wanted it to stop! He couldn't take it anymore!

'STOP!'

Todd jerked awake, whipping his had around frantically until he froze. He soon recognized the rumbling of the waterfall to his left, the navy blue stony walls that encircled the hollow… He breathed shakily, sinking back against the wall as he lifted his hand up to feel his forehead, meeting the cold sweat that resided there. The heaviness in his heart made him close his eyes again, only to be tortured by another flashback, and soon he snapped his eyes wide-open as he sniffled. 'Angie… Archie… why did you have to die!? It's my fault! You were protecting us- you were doing it for us only because I made us go further! You're dead because of me!' Slowly he let his arm flop onto his untidy makeshift blankets, which appeared to have moved during his sleep. '...Dead because of them…'

Blinking, he felt tears once again leak from his eyes, silent as he was as he stared blankly at his sister and friends, who were sleeping peacefully. He could only wonder how they could have good dreams from all that had happened to them… It made him sort of frustrated that none of them were experiencing the same thing he was, while at the same time he felt slightly relieved they were coping with it better than he was. Especially Winnie…

As his gaze went back to Marley, he focused on how her white flecked tutu lay nearby the wall…

He frowned at once. 'Wait… the snow should've melted by now.'

A strange feeling fell over him, making him uncomfortable as he furrowed his eyebrows. He found that it was cool in the cave, but at the same time it wasn't as cold as Snowdin. There should be no reason for the snow to not melt, yet he had a feeling that the Underground's snow could have been different than the Surface's…

"No, it's too cold… And it keeps melting…" Winnie's whimper echoed in his head.

Unless it wasn't.

Something felt wrong. He didn't know what made him feel like this, but he knew for certain something felt wrong. Or… was he becoming paranoid? He couldn't tell, but one thing that he did know was that the tutu had something on it that was triggering him in some way…

Despite the urge to stay sitting and go back to sleep, he slowly pulled Winnie's and Edgar's jackets off of him and got up.

Quietly he crept over to the tutu, lightly landing each of his feet as he crossed the hollow's floor. He moved carefully the moment he neared Marley, managing to reach the pink tutu without waking her up and crouched down the best he could.

Todd noticed how it was slightly paler than it should have been, some flecks resting on it from what he could see in the dim lighting that was present. In fact, when he poked it, he was alarmed by how many pale specks fluttered off of it, landing on the dark ground and creating a tiny mound.

'What the…?'

As his mind whirled he turned to Marley, who had temporarily shifted in her sleep, noticing how her skin looked slightly pasty. He knew for certain that Marley didn't wear makeup, nor did he catch her carrying a makeup case at any time. Upon looking back at the tutu, he rubbed two fingers on the rim to feel a viscous substance on it, bringing them back to see they were sprinkled with it.

'Th-This…' He shook as he stared at the grey mound. 'This isn't snow! What is this!?'

The substance wasn't melting, it wasn't cold, it was sticking to his fingers instead! It wasn't snow!

He wondered why it was on Marley's tutu, soon picking up the apparel item and taking a closer look as he held it up. He didn't have any experiences with tutus, but he knew for certain the sticky texture it had wasn't right! The moment he put it down, his hands were chalked with dust... dust that was eerily gluey.

Todd faintly remembered seeing something like this…

"What the hell are you doing!?"

Freezing in shock, Todd widened his eyes before he was slammed into the hollow wall, crying out before trying to recover from the damage that was done to his ribcage. As he turned his head behind himself, he saw Marley standing behind him, her hands on her hips as she glared at him.

"Why were you looking at my tutu!?" screeched Marley harshly as her dark eyes became slits. "That's mine! No one should ever snoop through my belongings! And yet you did!"

Todd frowned, narrowing his eyes slightly as he coolly spoke, "I was just looking at it-"

"Snooping! You were fucking snooping through my stuff!" snapped Marley as she clenched her fists, shaking as she screamed, "Do you know how low that is!? Do you!?" For a second she huffed before she growled loudly, "Did Archie's death screw up your brain more than I thought it did!?"

Right away Todd swung around to fully face her. "Take that back!" spat Todd harshly as he clenched his hands into fists. "How could you say that!?"

"Oh, who's to say I can't? My stupid brother!?" Marley half closed her eyes, giving out a snort. "Ugh, you really are sensitive over the little things, aren't you, Todd? You're triggered over a meaningless statement!"

"It was not meaningless!" retorted Todd angrily in a wail. "You downright insulted me and his death, and now you're acting like it wasn't important!" As he took a step towards her, he glared at her. "What's wrong with you!?"

"Please, I'm nowhere near any of that rubbish!" Marley shook her head, taking a step towards him as her hardened eyes met his dark blue. "I'm thinking about the truth, Todd! I'm just stating the facts, or do you think my brother should only be entitled to that!?" She stomped down hard. "Sticking out things that are pointless!?"

"Edgar does a better job at letting us know things that need to be known," growled Todd as he breathed in deeply, trembling as he jabbed his finger towards her. "You're disrespecting my best friend's death, me, and my friend! Are you even listening to yourself over your melodramatics, Marley!?"

"I can see that you're fucking brain-dead and annoying, Todd!" spat Marley as she trembled. "Now that I think about it… you were better off the way you were before I found you snooping with my tutu! Silent, not making a fuss…" She closed her eyes as she lifted her chin in the air. "And most importantly… you were broken."

"What's wrong with you...?" growled Todd in irritation as he glared at her, making her tap her ballet flat at the ground in annoyance. "Why are you being so insensitive!? This isn't like you-"

"Oh, cough out your damn lungs, Todd!" snarled Marley as she swung around, stomping towards the waterfall. "You're being fucking annoying, and I can't stand another moment breathing the same damn air with you!"

"Where are you going!?" shouted Todd in anger, running after her as she slipped through the water. "Marley-"

"Let her be."

Swinging around, Todd blinked in surprise as Edgar stared at him with a frown. "But she-"

"She needs time to calm down," said Edgar quietly, lowering his gaze as he sighed. "I think being down here is starting to get to her, but…" He bit his lip, soon shaking his head. The moment he met Todd's gaze, he spoke, "I'm partly relieved I'm not the only one who's noticed how Marley is behaving…"

Todd raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Haven't you noticed how Marley's been acting?" asked Edgar grimly, clenching his hands as he closed his eyes tightly. "She's… different. I can't say for sure why she's different, but she is…"

The dark brown haired boy gave a growl, "She insulted Archie's death, she insulted the both of us!" With a shake of his fists, he scowled at Edgar. "Of course she's different!"

For a few seconds Edgar was silent, opening his brown eyes to stare at Todd before Edgar turned his gaze away. "Yes, that is certainly valid," he mused resignedly. "Ever since she left us to be alone back in Snowdin Forest, ever since she's been scouting for us…" He sighed with a shake of his head. "Marley's been different. I can't figure it out, and it's honestly confounding me…" He briefly muttered something that Todd couldn't catch before he went on sadly, "I know what she said about Archie and us was wrong, but something isn't adding up about her. All I know is nothing at the moment, and we can't really do anything about it."

Todd scowled at Edgar, pondering about what his friend said briefly before the black boy finished, "All we can do now is wait for her to come back."

With that, the boy walked over to where he was sleeping before and sat down, taking his glasses off and placing them nearby himself. When Edgar closed his eyes, breathing out a heavy sigh, Todd couldn't help but notice how stressed Edgar seemed.

Todd merely stared at him for a few seconds before he went back to the coats and sat down, closing his eyes as he fell asleep once more.

---

The moment Todd was awake again, he noticed how Edgar was facing the waterfall, silent even as Todd got up to stand beside him. Upon looking around, Todd turned his head to Edgar when he asked the boy, "She's still not back?"

"No, she hasn't…" Edgar blinked, frowning deeply as his gaze remained on the ceaseless cascade of water. "I couldn't sleep, so I've been keeping an eye on the waterfall the whole time… and I haven't seen her at all."

Todd clenched his fists, narrowing his eyes as he turned his gaze away. "I don't expect her to come back, not after what she said about Archie."

As Edgar sighed, he shook his head. "It's been around an hour or more… and I can't help but think you might be right."

Blinking, Todd watched as Edgar turned, going off towards his dark grey jacket that lay in a heap beside Winnie's jacket. As the boy pulled the sleeves over his arms, he passed by Todd, heading straight towards the waterfall. Todd asked before the boy even touched the rushing water, "What do you think doing?"

Pivoting back, Edgar replied firmly after hesitating a bit, "…Naturally, I'm going to look for her." He fastened his coat as he continued sternly, "I need to find her, Todd, and I feel as though something may have happened to her."

"But you can't!" shouted Todd as he narrowed his eyes. "You're only going to get killed out there."

Edgar frowned. "Oh really…?" After letting his words ring through the small hollow, Edgar went on dryly, "Don't you think Marley could have been killed as well?"

Todd bit his lip, shaking his head lightly as he growled, "That doesn't matter…"

"Oh, it doesn't?" asked Edgar bitterly, letting out a humorless laugh. "You do realize you're talking about my sister… your friend, right?"

"Marley killed part of our friendship the moment she said those horrible things about Archie!" spat Todd as he stomped over to wedge himself between Edgar and the waterfall, sharply spinning around to face him as Todd clenched his hands. "I thought you said that we'd be better off letting her have her precious 'alone time', Edgar! And that's what we should do!" He shook his head. "You should her be responsible for herself for once... she doesn't seem to like it when you badger her enough as it is so why don't you let her be!?"

"Todd." The black boy crossed his arms, heaving out a sigh. "My sister needs me right now, as much as she might not want it. And I can't bear the thought of standing here, not knowing what happened to her…" As his hardened eyes met Todd's, Edgar narrowed them. "I need to go find her."

As Todd was about to retort back, he heard Winnie speak quietly, "Big Brother…?"

For a few seconds he kept his scowl on his face, soon softening his expression slightly upon seeing his sister who stared at him with worry. "Yes, Winnie?"

"I-I'm worried about Marley too," she said meekly, letting her gaze fall away from his the moment he met hers. She fidgeted with her hands, shaking as she squeaked, "Wh-What if something bad happened to her?"

"Marley can handle herself, Winnie," said Todd, cringing slightly from the harsh tone he used with her as she froze on the spot. The moment he heard her sniffle, he instantly tried to soften his voice. "Why should we bother with her if she doesn't want to be around us? You know how she seems to hate our presence?"

"B-But…" Winnie's blue eyes glittered in tears. "She might be hurt!"

Todd gave a weary sigh, closing his dark blue eyes as he frowned. "Winnie, please…"

"Your little sister may be right," said Edgar curtly. "Marley could have gotten injured, and because of that she isn't back. We really should go and find-"

"You're really trying to give me an excuse for why you want to go out and find her…" growled Todd loudly in annoyance, slowly reopening his eyes to scowl at his friend. Upon seeing his unimpressed expression, Todd went on with a huff, "Right now, we're being hunted! The Royal Guard wants us dead… reap our SOULS or whatever!" He inhaled sharply. "So right now, we should settle down and stay low on their radar. We shouldn't go off from silly little presumptions about-"

"Did you even hear what I said!?" spat Edgar sharply, his brown eyes flashing with irritation. "My sister might be injured- dead, Todd! Just like Angie and Archie! Yet you're acting as though Marley doesn't matter! Do you know how wrong that is!?"

Abruptly Todd stomped down. "Edgar-"

"Be quiet!" shouted Edgar as he shoved Todd back, earning a cry of alarm from Winnie as Todd stumbled a bit. As Todd regained his balance, he whipped his gaze back to Edgar, flinching the moment that the boy with neatly styled hair shook. "I didn't mean to do that, first of all… but hearing you mark her off as nothing is just wrong. Despite how wrong she may have been, despite how frustrated, hurt, and stressed you may be… we still should care about her! And as much as I agree that she isn't always the nicest person, she's still my sister. I need to look out for her…" Upon shifting his pained gaze, Edgar quietly spoke, "Just like you need to look out for Winnie, Todd."

Todd's breath hitched, and he slowly turned his gaze to his sister, who was crying as she gazed at the ground. For a minute his anger dissolved, and he stiffened the moment he heard Edgar speak again, "I know you're still grieving, Todd, but we shouldn't forget about the things around us that really matter."

Widening his eyes, Todd trembled as he thought, 'H-He's right…' As he took a step towards his upset sister, his heart strained. 'I haven't been there for Winnie these last few hours since Archie died.' The moment he stood before his sister, he bit his lip upon hearing her hiccup between her cries. 'And I'm not making her feel better about the situation either.'

Upon leaning down, he wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes as he whispered sadly, "I'm sorry…" Feeling her shake within his arms made it worse for him as he patted her back. "I didn't mean to make you upset, Winnie. Please stop crying…"

He felt her arms go around him as well, slightly gripping his shirt as she gave out a sob. Todd knew he messed up. He should've been aware of how it was affecting Winnie as well as himself, yet he was so concentrated on the fact that his friends were dead. Archie was like a second brother to Winnie, not just Todd's best friend… and his death affected her as well…

It was hurting his sister as much as it did for him.

Deep within Todd, he knew it was wrong to snub Marley. Even if he still felt angry towards Marley, he knew he shouldn't ignore her. He had to go find her as well.

After helping Winnie with her apron and coat, giving back her frying pan, he held her hand as he led them out of the hollow. He made sure to stand the closest to the waterfall, just in case the rocks that were falling hit him instead of his sister, walking along the walls, soon passing through weedy tall grass that they came across.

Before they continued on, Edgar stopped beside the cave wall, staring at the rosy pink and cyan gemstones before his gaze rose higher. He froze, wide-eyed as he haphazardly ripped out his notebook and pen.

"Are you okay, Edgar?" asked Todd in concern as the boy feverishly scratched at his notebook, his nose almost kissing the top of the notebook from how immersed he seemed.

Whipping his head up, Edgar exclaimed happily, "Stalagmites!"

"Uh…?" Todd frowned at that. "Whatamite?"

"Stalagmites, Todd, stalagmites!" Pointing his pen towards the mounds high above the point where the gemstones rested in the stony wall, Edgar grinned madly. "I can't believe it! I knew they would be present in depths like these, but I never would've thought I'd see them with my very own eyes!"

"What's so important about them?" asked Todd confused, finding that it was weird how Edgar could be distracted so easily when he was so determined to find his sister earlier.

"They're mineral deposits that have formed from water drippings!" explained Edgar excitedly, swaying back and forth as he gave a short laugh. "You can tell these are not stalactites because they would be on the ceiling, because stalagmites rise from the ground." His brown eyes twinkled. "It's fascinating to find some! I've read all about them, and I can't believe I've found a natural location they're growing in!"

Todd couldn't help but laugh as well. "Well then, I'm glad you're happy about this."

"Oh, oh!" Winnie tugged at Todd's hand, making him look at the gemstones. "Those are pretty!"

"Ah yes, gems," said Edgar as his voice flattened a bit, yet it held some content. "Rare stones that have formed underground for a long time, gathering until it forms various shapes and sizes, good to be cut for jewelry and various accessories… It's not uncanny to find them here as well."

As Winnie stared at them, she soon asked excitedly, "Could we bring one home?"

"Ah, sadly we don't have the proper tools to carefully take them out of the walls," said Edgar with a sigh, turning to the weedy grass and started to jot in his notebook again. "Although, bringing back gemstones would give us a fortune…"

"Oh…" Winnie's gaze tipped to the ground as she frowned.

"Hey… it might be for the best," said Todd soothingly, patting her shoulder as he went on, "If we took away the gemstones, then we would be stealing something beautiful away from the Monsters, Winnie."

"I'm sorry…" said Winnie with a sniffle.

"Don't be sorry, I think they're rather gorgeous enough to take home as well." Todd smiled at her, murmuring as he admired the jewels, "I bet we won't forget this moment, Winnie. Unlike a gemstone, you can't lose something wonderful like that so easily."

He couldn't help but feel warmth swell in his chest, for a second forgetting about the situation they were in as light reflected off of the gems' surfaces.

"Mmhmm…" Winnie gave a nod, giving a smile as well.

As Edgar pocketed his notebook, he pressed forward and they followed after him.

They came up to a room, finding a wide stretch of water in front of them. Upon coming up to the brink, Edgar left them briefly and soon spoke, "Ah, would you look at that."

"What is it, Edgar?" asked Todd warily as he turned back, finding that Edgar was beside a dark plaque with cyan writing scrawled across it.

"It says here, 'Skip across, try not to slip, for you only have limited time with each pip'," said Edgar as he blinked, frowning as he met Todd's gaze while he mused flatly, "Well then, it would appear as though we've encountered another puzzle."

"Again?" Todd groaned, shaking his head, feeling his locks scratch against his cheeks as they tossed back and forth. "I have to wonder what's the deal with Monsters and puzzles?"

"Perhaps it's safety measures, or even pastimes that they all enjoy," suggested Edgar offhandedly, shrugging as he ambled back. "You do realize that these Monsters are not like us Humans, Todd."

"Eh, I guess you're right about that," said Todd, for a moment thinking of the Spindlesnaps that Winnie made at Toriel's. "So what do you think we should do to get across?"

Edgar sighed, frowning as he took out his notebook to write something down. "What? Have you given up on trying puzzles yourself?"

"No, you always seem to know the solution to them," replied Todd mildly. "So I thought you might have a better idea than what I can ever come up with."

"Hmm…" Edgar's lip slightly twitched before staying as his frown. "Are you trying to say I'm more equipped for the matter? My, flattery doesn't quite stroke my ego, but you are indeed right about that."

Todd gave a shrug at that. 'You are smarter than me, Edgar. More than I ever can be...'

"Very well, let's take a gander around us, shall we?" said Edgar, taking an inhale.

As the boy glanced around, Todd watched as Edgar soon faced an alcove in the wall where a crate sat snugly in, chalk full of small purple seeds. He plucked one out, studying it for a few seconds before turning back to Todd.

"Do you think we'll need that?" asked Todd as Edgar stood on the edge beside him, soon watching as Edgar plopped it into the water. Todd widened his eyes, whipping his head to Edgar as he shouted in alarm, "Why did you do that!?"

"Watch." Upon Edgar's words, a large rosy pink flower bud rose from the water, soon opening its petals to reveal it's deep purple center. Todd gawked at it as Edgar spoke, "Interesting… So the moment these flowers meet water, they rapidly mature and are fully grown."

Todd blinked, soon finding his voice. "I-I guess so."

After a few seconds, Todd watched as the flower wilted, soon withering to powder that was carried away by the water. When he met Edgar's gaze, the black boy grimaced slightly. "So the flowers don't remain for too long either." He wrote something down in his notebook before returning to the crate, taking out a few more of the seeds before treading back. "If we can time ourselves right, we can jump to the other side before the flowers die."

"So, did you keep track of how long it took them to die?" asked Todd curiously.

"Quite frankly, I didn't know they would perish… so no," admitted Edgar curtly, sighing as he threw another seed into the water. "I'll do it this time, so let me concentrate."

The moment the flower withered again, Edgar spoke, "Ten seconds. You have ten seconds to get across them after they bloom to get across."

"So you want us to jump on them?" Todd frowned at that, taking a look at his sister. "Winnie might not make it in time."

Winnie tipped her head up, smiling as she murmured, "I'll try my best, Big Brother."

Todd smiled at that, squeezing her hand briefly before he turned back to Edgar.

"I might as well be the one to plant the seeds," said Edgar flatly, giving a nod as he continued, "You two might not get across in time if you're worrying about jumping on the flowers and throwing them in. I can estimate that it would take you one second or two to jump and land, and 5 seconds for them to bloom, then two seconds to jump and land again. If you don't time that right, then the flower will likely perish under your footing, causing you to plunge into the water."

"I'm sure that the water won't kill us," said Todd, grimacing slightly despite that. "We might teleport back here if we fall in."

"And if not, you could drown," returned Edgar with a cross of his arms, unimpressed. "That's why I'll be in charge of planting the seeds, hoping you two are not slow as slugs when doing your leaps."

Todd grimaced more at that. 'That's nice to know…'

Letting go of Winnie's hand, Todd leaned down to her and spoke gently, "I'll go first." When Winnie's gaze lowered, he put his hand on her shoulder. "If you don't make it, I'll be right on the other side to catch you. You don't have to worry about anything, Winnie."

"But what if you don't land right?" asked Winnie suddenly, whipping her head up to stare at him fearfully. "You didn't land right last time, Big Brother!"

"I'll be fine…" he murmured, "…this time for sure." With a nod, mostly for himself, he turned his head back to the stretch of dark water and inhaled deeply. "You have to trust me on this, I will land right."

Winnie soon grabbed his hand, squeezing it as she sadly whimpered, "You might not land right this time…"

"I will, Winnie."

"As nice as it is to see you two having a moment, I don't think the flowers will support your combined weights," mused Edgar sternly, shaking his head as he stared at the water. "Plus, the surface area isn't enough for two people, so it will be nearly impossible for you two to brave it together."

"Alright then, it's settled." Todd nodded curtly. "I'm ready, Edgar."

Slipping his hand out of Winnie's, sadly hearing her whimper, he waited until the seed dipped into the dark water then bunched his muscles. The moment the flower started to bloom, he launched himself at the flower, landing shakily as the next seed fell in front of him. When the next bud appeared, he leapt, continuing across the four other flower platforms with ease until he found himself on the other side. He turned, sighing loudly in relief before letting loose a big grin as he raised his hand up to wave. "Great job, Edgar!"

"Likewise, Todd," responded Edgar with a nod, soon sighing, "Surprisingly, it's remarkable that you managed to not fail on the second flower."

Todd screwed up his face from hearing that. 'He expected me to fail on the second flower!? That's…' He frowned glumly, closing his eyes as he gave a shake of his head. 'I guess Edgar will never change.'

From where he stood, he could barely make out Winnie's surprised and relieved expression peering back at him. He gave out a laugh and grinned again, waving more, receiving a reluctant wave back.

When Edgar tapped on Winnie's shoulder, halting her waving, he nudged her towards the water. As he leaned down, saying something to her, Winnie's expression soon became frightened. Todd dropped his grin, soon watching as Winnie shakily stood before the water. 'Is… Is Winnie nervous?'

Without a moment to lose, he cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted encouragingly, "Everything will be alright, Winnie! I'm here for you!"

The seven-year-old merely nodded meekly, and soon Edgar flung a seed into the water. Winnie flinched before jumping the moment the platform was raised, taking a few seconds before hopping over to the next. A slice of apprehension burst into him, watching as she landed unsteadily on another. The moment she was jumping to the next flower, he realized Winnie was getting slower each time. He widened as the current flower she was on was starting to shrivel as the next platform was raised. 'No! Winnie!'

If there wasn't a way for her to teleport back, if the water wasn't shallow… Winnie could drown!

Terror gripped him as she pushed herself into the air; she stood on the last platform for only a second before it started to perish. Winnie gave out a yelp the moment she started to fall, and Todd immediately lunged forward precariously over the edge, grabbing her around the waist and pulled her to him quickly the moment the flower had died. He toppled backwards, landing roughly and crying out from the intense pain as Winnie fell on his chest, then lay quietly in a daze.

Within moments Winnie was crying, and Todd held her close despite the pain. He gritted his teeth, feeling something lukewarm slide down and gather around his back as it throbbed horribly. Instead of focusing on his pain, he gave his attention to his sister as she sobbed. Soon footsteps sounded close by, and Edgar peered down at them with an annoyed expression.

"Why didn't I guess that a seven-year-old wouldn't do well with this?" he muttered in frustration. "But of course, I didn't..." Todd scowled at him, watching the black boy shake his head as he soon asked sternly, "Are you two okay?"

"I-I think I am…" gritted out Todd as he soon released Winnie to let her stand up, hearing her sniffle as she rubbed at her eyes. Upon trying to sit up, he gasped in agony upon feeling a spike of pain in his back, quickly pushing his palms behind to keep himself propped up. The moment he felt something wet against his palms, he gasped in and out as he clenched his dark blue eyes.

"Big Brother!" cried Winnie as she covered her mouth with her hands, staring at him in horror.

"It's your back again, isn't it?" grumbled Edgar grimly, and Todd groaned upon feeling another twinge of pain shoot through his back as the boy sighed, "I knew this would be a repercussion… I knew it." Upon leaning down, unbuckling the satchel, he pulled out a carrot and stared at Todd firmly. "Open your mouth, now. As much as I don't want to spoon-feed you, I have to… I don't want you to bleed out, Todd."

Todd gasped in another breath, obeying as the carrot was shoved into his mouth, chewing it up and swallowing the disgusting vegetable. When he finished the carrot, gagging from the taste, he felt a strange feeling spread through him just as Edgar gave him another carrot. He forced himself to eat it as well, and he felt the fluid that was dripping on his hands cease. The moment he gagged, trying not to vomit out the food, he breathed in and out until the pain ebbed away.

Pushing himself up to his feet, Todd stared down at his hands, flinching upon seeing how they were painted in blood. At once his eyes widened.

Archie being stabbed in the chest, blood spitting from the wound… shot through his vision.

He gagged again, dashing towards the water and wildly waved his hands in it until the scarlet disappeared, leaving his hands wet and chilled. Upon relaxing his uneven breathing, he turned back and gazed at Edgar who held an unreadable expression on his face, while Winnie stared at him frightfully. He ran his dripping hand through his hair to calm himself down, frowning when his hand didn't come in contact with his hat. He saw the blood puddle, adverting his gaze while pretending it wasn't there and found his hat, luckily far away from it.

Todd went over to quickly slip it back on, adjusting it before he turned to his sister and friend, nodding to them. "…I'm alright. We should go find Marley."

Winnie meekly gave a nod, ambling to join his side while Edgar's footsteps treaded behind them.

Upon crossing a small bridge, they found another plaque on the far side of the room that told them of another puzzle. Edgar quickly deduced it was the same as the last puzzle, getting them across the nearby water safely before they went on.

As they went through an archway that resembled one from a mine shaft, he stopped upon looking up towards the ceiling, where tiny twinkles blinked back. He heard Winnie gleefully squeal as he stared transfixed on the gemstones, "Look, Big Brother! Stars!"

His breath hitched. "Other than that, the sky looked pretty cool tonight. There were constellations I've never had a chance to see before, so I think taking a moment to gaze at them was worth it." ...Angie would have liked to see this, she loved stargazing… His heart throbbed in pain from realizing how she would never be able to stargaze ever again.

Angie's broken body warped into his vision.

He tried to push that out of his mind, instead trying to focus on the stars they found rather than his dead friend.

"I believe these aren't stars, Winnie," said Edgar flatly as he moved past them, bringing out his notebook as he stared up also. "If you look closely, I believe these are tiny gemstones that are emitting a light source."

"Oh…" Winnie sounded disappointed, but her eyes didn't stop sparkling with awe.

Todd smiled at them, amazed at what they were finding. For a moment, seeing something like this made him forget for a second that they had to leave this place. He liked little wonders like these. It was one of the things him and Archie liked to discover when they were younger, pretending to be explorers despite how small their feats achieved. The moment he thought of his best friend, he frowned, feeling a pang in his heart as he remembered his best friend was no longer with him, no longer there to experience it with him.

Archie's death flashed through his head again, and he shook his head to dismiss the image desperately.

"It says here that it's a 'Wishing Room'," said Edgar, catching Todd's attention as he saw the boy was staring at another plaque. "I guess wishing upon a star… or gemstones in this case, has stuck with the Monster culture just as it has for ours." Soon he walked over to a luminescent blue flower that stood tall, with a darker blue center in the middle of it that Edgar poked with his pen after scribbling something in his notebook.

Suddenly a voice came. "How does this work, exactly? Err… I feel like a fool for even trying this!"

Todd flinched, gawking at the talking flower in astonishment as he cried out, "I-I- The flower talks!?"

"It would seem so, Todd," said Edgar flatly, sighing as he went over to check out another one that was close by.

As Todd approached the flower, blinking at it, Winnie went to touch the flower.

"I-I- The flower talks!?" came from the flower, causing Todd to jump from being startled by his own voice.

"It would seem so, Todd," said the voice of Edgar, quieter than Todd's earlier exclamation.

As Winnie stepped away from the flower, Todd whipped towards Edgar as he cried out, "Edgar! This flower just repeated what we said!"

"I heard that, Todd," said Edgar dully. "You don't need to yell." Edgar briefly glanced at Todd before turning back to the flower he was facing, scratching down his pen at the page he was on. "I didn't think the Monsters had access to recording devices… which is a surprise to say for the very least."

Todd grimaced slightly at that, soon poking the flower to test it out himself.

"I-I- The flower talks!?"

"It would seem so, Todd."

Upon withdrawing his hand away from the strange flower, he breathed out in awe, "It didn't record what you said…"

"I think it has to be a matter of maintaining contact with it for it to record your voice," mused Edgar as he sighed, shaking his head as though unimpressed by Todd's discoveries. "Nonetheless, you are greatly aiding me with my notes."

"You're welcome, I guess?" Todd rubbed the back of his neck. 'Sheesh… this is weirding me out.' He gazed at the flower again, feeling sad as he closed his eyes and sighed. 'I bet Archie would have loved this. If he was here, he wouldn't want to leave this room so he could hear his voice, over and over...' He lowered his head. 'I wish he was here…'

Edgar poked the flower, receiving the female voice of what Todd assumed to be a young Monster. "So if I wish upon this flower, Mommy, will my wish come true?"

Right away Edgar treaded to the other wall to another flower, tapping it before he crossed his arms as an older female's voice came, "But of course, Sweetie. These flowers are the greatest listeners, so they will hear you out. …Although, they're not the greatest at giving you feedback. But that doesn't matter at all! Having someone listen to you feels a lot better than having someone not listen, especially if they understand what you said in the first place."

As he made contact with the flower's neighbor, Todd heard the same little Monster's voice from the flower next to the other wall. "Okay! You're so smart, Mommy! I love you!"

Todd heard Winnie sniffle the moment the flower was done speaking. He right away wrapped his arms around Winnie, rubbing her back as he murmured, "Don't be sad, Winnie… Please don't be sad, we'll be home soon."

Winnie gave a nod, turning her gaze to the ground.

"I think we shouldn't stay here longer," said Todd as he firmly met Edgar's gaze, taking in a deep breath as he put in, "I think it's not good for us to be near these flowers."

"That's logical." Edgar nodded as he put away his notebook. "It's distracting us, as fun as it may be to hear our lovely voices again and again." With that, he swiftly strode away. Todd and Winnie went after him, only to head straight to a wall. Edgar was muttering under his breath as he shook his head, soon giving out a sigh. "Great, a dead end."

"There has to be entrance somewhere," said Todd as he frowned at the wall. "Right?"

"As nice as that sounds, your optimism may be falsely laid," grumbled Edgar as he narrowed his eyes. "We must've taken the wrong way…" With a shake of his head, he put his hand on his chin. "And I was so sure that this would've taken us in further…"

"Maybe we did?" Todd gave a shrug. "I'm not really sure."

Edgar rolled his eyes, putting his hand on the wall as he grumbled, "For all we know, Monsters will corner us here and-" Soil fell from the wall that crumbled, landing on Edgar as Todd gawked at the tall yawning entrance. Instantly Todd stifled his laugh from what he saw.

As Todd looked back at his friend, he found that Edgar was silent, trembling slightly as he breathed in shakily before sighing heavily. "N-Nevermind!" he growled in irritation. "It seems that I found the entrance…" Upon brushing off the rubble, he stalked through the entrance stiffly while muttering under his breath again.

When Edgar was gone, Winnie gave out a short giggle, making Todd smile and giggle also. 'That was a surprise… I guess there are some things Edgar can't predict.' They went through the entrance when Todd was sure the both of them were completely free from giggling, seeing that it wouldn't make Edgar feel better if they let one snicker out in his presence.

In a darker area they entered, they were surrounded by tall blue plants, somewhat resembling cattails but much taller. They grew from the water that was beside the wooden bridge they stood on, swishing gently from below them. Upon gazing around, Todd cringed when he spotted a mound of pale grey powder resting on the wood.

It looked eerily similar to the pile created from Marley's tutu.

"Hmm…" Edgar knelt down, placing down his notebook and pen as he lightly brushed his fingers across the dust, rubbing it between his fingers before blinking. Like Todd, the dust stuck to Edgar fingers as he tried to get it off, soon sighing and giving up on trying to remove the substance from his skin. When he started writing in his notebook, he shook his head as he mumbled, "This dust… it has the queerest texture to it."

"Yeah, it does," said Todd uneasily, soon scowling when he remembered how angry Marley was when he was checking her tutu.

"I wasn't talking to you, Todd," said Edgar coolly with a shake of his head, returning to scribbling in his notebook. "I was just reading over my notes."

"Oh…" Todd gave a sigh, moving his gaze up and spotted more piles of the white substance lying across the bridge in the distance. He frowned deeply, leading Winnie forward warily as he noticed how each pile he came across became more and more scattered… and he couldn't help but think the slight breeze he felt wasn't the cause of that. It was as though someone disturbed the mounds, and Todd began to feel as though that was true when at the other end of the room he discovered a sliver of a shape sliced through the sprinklings of powder.

He trembled as he gazed at it, biting his lip as Winnie leaned down to touch it, only to pull her away roughly from it much to her confusion. He gave an apologetic look to her before he focused on it.

Something wasn't right with that powder, something felt terribly wrong with it. Whatever it was, he didn't want Winnie messing around with it.

He guided her to the next room, finding more and more mounds. He gritted his teeth, shaking his head as he thought, feeling disturbed, 'What… what is this!? Why is there so much of this!? Where is it coming from!?' He pressed his free hand to his mouth, trying to push back the puke in his mouth. 'Oh dear… why?'

Swiftly he walked across the bridge again, trying to avoid stepping in the mounds, ignoring Winnie's yelps, breathing unsteadily. He felt dizzy at each step he took, feeling sick to his stomach from the piles he kept passing. Upon hearing footsteps from behind him, he whipped around suddenly, wide-eyed as he saw Edgar reducing the speed of his run as he met up with them.

"Are you guys trying to leave me behind?" asked Edgar in annoyance, keeping his narrowed brown eyes mostly on Todd. "I would have thought you had the courtesy to wait for me to finish taking my notes."

"I-I… sorry…" Todd paused, grilling his brain as he tried to come up with something else to say. Upon gulping thickly, he breathed out shakily, "Something isn't right about these. It…" He put his hand on his temple, soon shaking his head as he felt cold sweat on his forehead. "I can't even describe this…"

Edgar nodded, putting a hand on Todd's shoulder before he spoke flatly, "I can understand, Todd. There's no reason for dust piles to be on a bridge."

"Then why is it…?" Todd let his whimpering words die, instead trying to even out his breathing, trying to make his racing heart stop pounding against his chest as he closed his eyes. 'What is it...?'

"I have no clue, Todd, but I think this place isn't the best for you to stay in," said Edgar as Todd stared at him, soon watching the boy walk ahead as he called over his shoulder, "And there's no use dwelling in this place anyway, so let's hop along."

Todd slowly nodded, feeling Winnie squeeze his hand and he relaxed slightly.

They followed Edgar, passing through more tall weedy grass. After pushing them aside, his vision filled with the moist blades as they slid across his skin, he soon got out from the small grassy jungle and pressed on.

After passing through a small room, they reached another where they found a tall archway. As Edgar investigated it, Todd couldn't help but think back to what he saw earlier, grimacing slightly as his stomach churned from the memory.

"Are you okay, Big Brother?" asked Winnie in concern, staring up at him with a frown.

"I-I'm okay, don't worry about me," he said quietly, trying his best to smile. Despite that, his knees felt weak when the pile that was greatly disturbed came into his head. He let go of Winnie's hand to slump against a wall, sliding down it to sit as he heard her frantic calls.

"Big Brother!?" As Winnie stared down at him fearfully, he saw Edgar return and Winnie dashed over to him. She grabbed his wrist, pulling at it through abrupt jerks and pointed towards Todd as she squeaked agitatedly, "Something's wrong with Big Brother! Something's wrong!"

Slowly Edgar adjusted his glasses, sighing before he escaped from Winnie's hold and strode straight over to Todd. Edgar frowned down at him for a few seconds before he mused sternly, "Okay… I think you're having a nervous breakdown. I think a break is in order."

"N-No… I'm fine," gasped Todd, shaking his head as he stood up, using the wall to support him until he steadied himself. "We need to find Marley." He closed his eyes tightly. "She might be miles away from us, even farther if we stop now."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Edgar. His tone had a hint of worry, but from how objective it sounded Todd could only assume he was imagining that. "You look like you're going to pass out at any time."

"I said I'm fine, Edgar," Todd insisted, smiling as he added, "Thank you for your concern."

Edgar rolled his eyes. "I wasn't concerned, I was just making a decision based on my observation from you."

Todd shrugged at that. "If you say so."

He went over to take Winnie's hand, stopping when she stared at him anxiously. He blinked when she asked nervously, "Are you sure you're okay? You look sick, Big Brother!"

"Don't worry, I'm not sick." He put his hand on her shoulder, holding her gaze for a few seconds as he murmured, "If anything, I'm more worried about you, Winnie."

The blonde pigtailed girl quickly looked down, shifting her feet as she spoke quietly, "Okay…"

Todd gently took ahold of her hand again, leading her forward until he noticed a bright blue lake at the end of the current path they were on. He saw a tiny yellow bird hopping around on the other side of the water chasm, pecking at the ground and twittering. He knew there was no way they could swim across that short gap of water, especially if there were some aquatic Monsters lurking in it...

Nor could he swim.

They took a turn, heading straight into a darker terrain that had tiny cyan stalks sprawled across it, emitting a glint that was easily seen as they passed through. A bright blue river ran beside them, branching off from what Todd could see from afar. Yet once again, he found mounds of grey powder, sticking slightly to the glowing stalks.

Todd grimaced as he gazed at the mounds, feeling his stomach churn as his gaze traveled to each one… He blinked suddenly, watching as they veered on his right side.

"Hey, the mounds are going this way," said Todd uneasily, stopping at the branch of paths after he gave a glance to two of the nearby recording flowers.

"Interesting…" Edgar slurred as he turned in the direction, staring at them silently before he spoke warily, "It might be worth checking it out."

"Why's that?" asked the dark brown haired boy curiously, feeling utterly creeped out from seeing all that dust.

"Personally, solving the dust trail mystery would be an excellent addition to my notes," explained Edgar as he brought out his notebook and pen, his brown eyes sharp with determination. "I can't help but want to figure this out, just so it puts to rest my thoughts on the matter." He paused, soon breathing in as he mused, "Plus, it might be good in case it gives us a clue to where Marley is."

"I don't think that's a good idea…" Todd felt sweat roll down his face. 'Why does Edgar want to find out what it is? I don't want find out what it is!'

Edgar continued forward, apparently more captivated in his research than noticing Todd's uneasiness. As much as he didn't want to follow Edgar to find the source of the dust, he didn't want Edgar to go alone and get ambushed by a Monster. They already had Marley disappear because of going alone; he wasn't going to let Edgar do the same thing.

Despite his grievances about following the mounds, Todd guided Winnie forward, dodging each mound as he stayed close to Edgar. For some reason the mounds grew less and less, and soon Todd froze completely the moment he spotted a few red flecks on the ground in front of Edgar. 'That's… That's not dust?'

As Edgar crouched down, studying the specks of red, he touched the stain and drew his hand back up. Todd noticed from where he stood that Edgar's finger had a streak of scarlet on it. Instead of commenting on the substance, Edgar merely crouched there, motionless, breathing quietly.

Todd took a step forward, letting go of Winnie's hand as he approached his friend, reaching forward to put his hand on the black boy's shoulder when Edgar got up. The dark brown haired boy edged back at once, surprised from the sudden movement when he noticed how Edgar was shaking slightly. "Edgar…? Are you okay…?"

Wordlessly Edgar stood there for a minute or two, making Todd try to reach out for him again when the black haired boy shot forward, running straight towards the other end of the room.

"Edgar!?" shouted Todd in alarm. It took him a moment to finally make himself push hard on his feet, sprinting after his friend. "Edgar!?"

Just as he was about to reach the bridge, he heard a strangled scream. Halting, Todd stared at Edgar as he stood before a patch of weedy tall grass, his notebook and pen abandoned on the ground at his feet. Todd's heartbeat quickened, breathing fast, deep breaths as he warily inched forward, hearing Edgar scream again as he backed away, yet it sounded more like a wail this time…

The moment Todd joined Edgar's side, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, he asked in a panic, "What's wrong, Edgar!?"

Instead of replying, the boy gave out a sob, trembling as he sank to his knees as another wail tore out of his throat.

Todd widened his eyes as he watched his friend, worried and baffled for why he was so distraught. Never in the time that he'd known Edgar did he ever see the boy breakdown like this… or even at all… But Todd knew for one thing that something terrible must have happened.

As he let his gaze travel towards the grass, his heart stopped the moment he saw more scarlet leaking from it… Todd knew it was blood. But that wasn't the worst thing, disturbing the grass was a dark-skinned arm that peeked out from it. As Todd stared at it, he instantly ran over, pushing aside the blades only to numbly stare down into it.

Crisscrossed were frayed wounds, across the body of Marley. Her eyes were glassy, her head was at an angle it shouldn't have been as her mouth was parted slightly, her stomach ripped open, ruining the white leotard she wore; and the worst thing Todd saw was that her legs were chopped off right from the knees. As he stared at his friend's dead body, he noticed how the parts of her body not soaked with blood was pale with a powder, mostly covering her ballet flats on her removed lower limbs; a pile of grey powder covered her feet and was dyed pink. Unlike Angie and Archie, she had no heart above her.

Todd could only step back, letting the blades of weedy grass slip through his fingers absently as he stood there speechlessly.

Other than the sound of swishing water, as well as Edgar's sobs and wailing, all his senses felt dead. He couldn't even come up with a thought from what he saw.

It was a few minutes later when he heard footsteps, and he slowly turned his head to them, only to flinch the moment he spotted his sister. At once his mind cleared, not much, but enough for him to realize how bad it was for her to be here.

Before she could get over the bridge, he dashed over and swung her around, grabbing her wrist hard and tugging her away. She yelped in pain, crying out his name, but he continued to pull her away, far from Marley's dead body.

"Big Brother!?" she cried, and he kept moving forward, pretending to not hear her. "Big Brother!? Y-You're hurting me!"

The moment he got them to the branch of paths, he collapsed to his knees, wrapping his arms around his sister as he whimpered weakly, "Marley's dead…" His sister stopped her pleas for a moment, and he sobbed miserably, "Please… don't go back there! You can't see Marley, I won't let you see her!"

At once Winnie's eyes glittered before tears ran down her cheeks, but Todd's vision was slightly blurred from his own, making it harder to see her suffer from the news he gave her. "She's dead… she's dead, Winnie."

He pulled her closer, hugging her harder, not wanting to let his sister go.

---

It took a while to calm down, letting Winnie go as he explained to her that Marley was killed. Except, he left out how she was brutally murdered.

As he sat beside his sister, listening to the rushing of the river beside him, he held her hand while waiting for Edgar. He knew Edgar deserved time to grieve, and from what Todd saw from Edgar, he needed this.

It might have been maybe ten or twenty minutes later before he saw Edgar slowly approach them, his cheeks crusted with his dry tears, his eyes bloodshot. When Todd stared at him long enough, the boy about to speak when Todd cut him off, "I'm sorry for Marley's death, Edgar."

Edgar merely adjusted his glasses, inhaling before he quietly spoke, "Why are you sorry? You didn't kill Marley."

As Todd turned his head away from the boy, Todd hung his head as he sadly murmured, "If I hadn't angered her… she wouldn't have stormed off like she did."

"Look, it wasn't your fault, Todd," said Edgar as he sighed. "As much as I want to argue with you for who's to blame for causing this, I won't. The both of us had a part in driving her away, but we're not the ones who killed her, so the blame isn't on us."

Todd nodded at that, feeling a little relieved yet he couldn't help but admire how Edgar seemed to be taking his sister's death. If it were Todd, if Winnie was killed… he wouldn't have the same strength that Edgar had in pulling through despite odds against him. If Edgar could keep himself together like that, then Todd felt that maybe he could also. After all, if it weren't for Edgar, he wouldn't have escaped from Roxie, or had someone take him away from Archie's dead body.

Unlike Todd, the black boy knew how to persevere during hardship.

"Will you be alright?" asked Todd as he met the boy's gaze again.

"Yes," said Edgar quietly, soon resuming an annoyed tone as he frowned firmly. "As much as I appreciate your concern, Todd, I don't want this to bog me down too much. So I rather have it that you give up on the sentiments as of right now." Todd gave a nod to that, moving to his feet as Edgar looked out towards the direction they were proceeding before. "Now then, I believe the best route would be to forgo this one."

"Why's that?" asked Todd in confusion, staring at the boy who crossed his arms.

"If… If the thing that killed Marley is still around, it would most likely be that way," explained Edgar sternly. "If it wasn't, I think we would have met up with it by now like Marley did." The dark brown haired boy grimaced at that, halfheartedly nodding as the boy treaded the way they came. "If we were to find another way, I think backtracking to that large room with the time-limit flowers would do fine. I remember seeing another body of water further that way, so there may be another area we could go to…"

Todd followed the boy, pondering Edgar's strategy as he guided Winnie along with him. He knew that it was a risk to continue moving forward, seeing that there was no telling how long ago Marley was killed. If they did, they might meet up with the Monster that killed her, and he didn't want to put Winnie or Edgar in danger.

As they came up to the lake of water again, he suddenly felt that Winnie's hand was gone the moment he heard her squeal. He froze, widening his eyes as he watched her dash straight towards the water. "Winnie!?"

Right away he hared after her, only slowing down the moment she crouched down in front of the tiny yellow bird he saw earlier. Now that he was closer to it, he noticed how much it resembled a duck… a very tiny duck. In fact, Winnie's hand could easily crush it if she wanted to… not that she would ever do that.

Furrowing his gaze, he watched as Winnie giggled as the bird hopped back and forth, tweeting back at her. Soon he heard Edgar come up beside him, and Todd faced the boy as he muttered, "That's typical of her… being distracted by something like this."

Todd scowled at him when he said that. 'Do you really have to act like that, Edgar?'

"Look at the birdie, Big Brother!" squeaked Winnie as she lifted the bird up in her hands, allowing it to perch on it as she showed it to Todd. Todd softened his expression, studying the bird as it ruffled its feathers and tweeted. "Isn't he cute~?"

"He sure is, Winnie," he replied warmly, wondering if the bird was really a female. It was strange how a bird would be in the Underground when it was filled with nothing but Monsters…

"As much as he, or she, is as you have said," grumbled Edgar as he sighed, unimpressed by what he saw apparently. "We have more important matters to attend to. We should quickly get out of the area so we don't meet up with the wrong Monster, as I have said."

Winnie's happiness slightly faltered, and as she made a move to put the bird down, it fluttered to the collar of her coat, grabbing it before Winnie was lifted from the ground. Todd at once widened his eyes, crying out as he lunged for his sister, "No!"

He missed, waving his arms through thin air as Winnie was slowly carried above the short stretch of water. He was about to jump in and swim after the bird when he remembered how he wasn't a great swimmer, leaving him to watch as the bird abducted his sister.

But after a full minute the bird let go of Winnie, allowing her step down on the dry land on the other side. Todd blinked, frowning as he thought, 'It… It helped her over there?' As he placed his hand on his temple, he shook his head. 'How can it… do that? Birds can't be that strong… especially if its that small.'

"Ah, what a stroke of luck," said Edgar aloud as he nodded, taking a moment with his notebook before he put it away and faced the water.

"Wait, what?" Todd blinked at the boy as confusion filled him. "What do you mean by that?"

Pointing towards Winnie and the strange bird, Edgar nodded as he explained, "That bird could carry us across and bypass the other way completely."

"Oh, I get it now." Todd rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing at that. "But are you sure that the bird will do that?"

As the bird fluttered back towards them, Edgar gave a curt nod. "Indeed. It knew what we needed."

Todd took a moment to wonder why Edgar was agreeing to this sort of thing, seeing how he wouldn't allow for irrational things like this to slide by him normally. But Todd couldn't argue with that, shrugging as the bird perched on Edgar's shoulder next.

As Edgar was carried across, the bird seemed to be flapping its wings harder than it did with Winnie... Todd couldn't help but wonder if Edgar's weight was making it tougher for it to move Edgar above the water.

It was three minutes later when Edgar joined Winnie's side, and the tiny bird barely hung on to him before it fluttered back to Todd. The moment he felt his shirt collar get tugged, he felt his feet leave the ground, slightly brushing the water's surface as the bird's wings whipped rapidly. For a second or two it jerked, causing Todd's feet to dip into the lake and he right away felt worry bubble through his chest as it continued to carry him. 'I hope it doesn't drop me...'

Just before he was directly above the dry land, he felt air whoosh against him as he plunged into the chilly water.

"Big Broth-"

Warped noises came from above the water, and he pressed his mouth closed as he propelled himself upward the best he could.

"Todd!" cried Edgar the moment Todd's head broke from the water, gasping for air as the black boy instantly extended his arm towards him. As Todd felt his hand be grabbed, he kicked desperately with his feet, not wanting to be pulled away by the current. "Keep holding on, I'll get you of the water soon!"

"Wh-What happened?" he breathed shakily, swinging his hand over to grab Edgar's hand as well.

"I think the bird must have lost its grip," said Edgar as began pulling. "Or, it could have also been too exhausted to carry you anymore." Nearby the tiny bird lay slumped beside Edgar, tweeting weakly. "Anyway… keep kicking your legs, Todd, and don't stop... or the water will pull you away."

When Todd was about to give his thoughts on the matter, he heard heavy footsteps from behind him, metal clanging as another footstep pounded into the ground. He froze, momentarily loosening his grip only for Edgar to tighten his own. 'Oh no...'

Slowly more thuds sounded behind him, and Todd felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise as it came closer.

"They're heading towards us," said Edgar warily, widening his eyes suddenly as his breath hitched. He started to tremble, breathing unsteadily.

"Edgar?" Todd felt uneasy about the way that Edgar was acting, feeling the boy tug harder despite how pale his face turned. Biting his lip, Todd asked nervously, "What kind of Monster is it?"

"Th-They're… th-they have that symbol from the Ruins."

Todd's heart stopped the moment he heard that. 'A… A-Another member of the Royal Guard!?'

Blood roared in his ears as the pounding footsteps drew near, and he knew for one thing they were already seen. If the Monster knew the area well… they would be able to quickly come over if Edgar took a long time to pull Todd out of the water. And then they would all be killed…

Todd gulped, feeling lightheaded suddenly as Edgar fought to keep his grip. 'I don't want to see anyone else die… I can't let them die because of me again!'

"Edgar…" he said quietly, clenching his eyes shut as he breathed shakily. "Let go of me."

At once the black boy stared at him in disbelief. "Let go of you!?"

"Big Brother!?" cried Winnie in horror, freezing up as she stared at him. "No!"

"I need you to do that, Edgar! There's no time to argue!" Todd retorted as he let his hands loosen, only to have Edgar tighten his hold. "This may be rash of me, but I need you to do this!"

"You're insane, Todd!" growled Edgar as he glared at him. "You know you can't swim!"

"I don't care! Just do it, Edgar!" he half-shouted distraughtly, breathing unsteadily as the pounding became louder. "Get out of here! The both of you! I'll find you guys, just run and hide, don't let that Monster get you! I need you two to live! I won't let you guys die because of me!"

"Don't do it, Todd!" snarled Edgar as Todd heard the scrape of metal nearby, making him afraid as Edgar went on harshly, "As much as people may view this as heroism, this is the crassest idea you have ever come up with!"

"Just do it!" Right away, Todd started to thrash in Edgar's hold, making Winnie cry out as he freed himself.

"Big Brother!"

As he slid into the water, he felt it grasp him completely, and he struggled to keep his head above the water. Yet despite his efforts, water kept coming into his throat, making him cough and choke as he tried to not drown. He soon found himself being dragged underwater, swinging and kicking his arms and legs around to push him out of it. Yet he felt weighed down... not able to go up for air... powerless as he was swept away.

Todd's chest filled with pain as he tried to stop inhaling water, yet drowsiness filled him… and his blurry vision darkened until there was nothing.

---

Blinking groggily, Todd painfully sputtered out water, trying to expel the fluid that was trapped in his airways. When a spell of dizziness waved over him, stopping him from continuing, he could only weakly let himself lay where he was. Through short breaths, he slowly regained oxygen, trying to figure out where he was as his brain sluggishly attempted to restart itself. Although, the first thing that came to mind was that he wasn't dead… or, he hoped he wasn't.

Slowly Todd sat up, coughing again as he took a glance around himself. He didn't expect to see mountains of trash nearby him, holding various items that he stared at in shock. He could have sworn he saw some old action figures that Archie used to collect when they were younger, and he caught the sight of some coolers that he knew came out four years ago...

Upon closing his eyes, Todd shook his head. 'Am I seeing things?'

As he got up, wincing upon the cramping he felt in his leg, it soon occurred to him why he was here. Within seconds he widened his eyes. 'Winnie! Edgar!'

Todd briskly limped, his drenched hair clinging to his face as he waded through the water. For a moment he ran his hand through his hair, flinching upon finding something was missing. He halted, turning back and glancing around frantically for the hat his sister gave him, in vain not finding it. He could only believe he may have lost it the moment he fell into the water… and he could only stare at different trash mountains only to slump his shoulders. He just couldn't see it anywhere… but he knew for certain that if he didn't find it Winnie would be upset.

As he drifted through the area of trash, he looked high and low, part of the time digging through the piles until he eventually concluded that he would never find his cowboy hat. He gave a sigh, clenching his eyes closed briefly as he thought miserably, 'I'm sorry, Winnie…' That hat meant so much to Winnie… he just couldn't help but dread the hurt expression she would give him when he told her the bad news.

The dark brown haired boy gave a sigh, looking down at the ground before he realized something seemed off. Usually his right side was weighed down slightly by his revolver, and he blinked upon checking and finding that his father's revolver was gone. He couldn't help but shake his head. 'Great… I've lost another belonging.' He knew for one thing that his revolver couldn't have been separated far from him, seeing how it was snug in the holster almost the whole time he had it on him. So he could only think that it must have been dropped nearby the location he woke up in.

Right away he trudged back to the spot, peering into the water hard as he wandered around. Once and a while his feet met some missing bulllets, so he scooped them up and plopped them back into his ammunition pouch. It was a long while until his feet kicked something hard, making him grimace and hiss out a painful cry, feeling his foot throb slightly. He frowned, wondering what it was as he soon crouched down more into the water, only to find his gun. He breathed out a sigh of relief, sliding it back into its rightful place. 'Thank goodness… I didn't want to lose two precious things today.' Once again he felt a strange feeling wave through him, and he ignored it like he did the first time.

Despite the reassurance he felt, he knew for one thing that he spent too much time here. He screwed up his face, breathing in and out as he thought desperately, 'Oh please be safe, Winnie and Edgar! I'm coming for you!'

Spinning on his heels, he waded as fast as he could through the water, ignoring the various items that poked from the trash mounds. He knew he couldn't risk searching more for his cowboy hat, right now his sister and friend mattered more. So he went forward, pushing more effort into his leg that was injured, managing to increase his speed slightly. Yet despite that, the pain caught up to him in full force the moment he met a bend in the garbage corridor.

Todd halted, breathing in and out heavily as he pressed himself against the nearby wall. He knew he couldn't continue on like this, he could permeantly injure his leg if he tried. So regretfully, he thrust his hand into Toriel's drenched satchel, trying to find something to eat when he found the carrots... along with something that felt like mush at the bottom of it. Upon pulling one out, he figured the mush must have been Winnie's cookies judging by the thick, grossly coloured fluid that was trickling off the vegetable.

Grimacing at the carrot, he shook it until a majority of the Spindlesnap mush fell off, considering for a moment to wash it off in the water when he shook his head. The water most likely was contaminated by the various items of garbage... he would only make himself sick if he tried that idea. So grudgingly he chewed at the disgusting carrot, screwing up his expression when his taste buds were tortured by the revolting substance as well.

As soon as his leg felt better, he shuddered, gagging a little before he continued. He kept his stride strong as he walked, munching on another carrot while keeping his gaze forward until he got to the end of the long stretch of water. Pushing himself out of the it, he went through a crack in the wall only to find himself in a quiet, open rocky area. There was a pond in the middle of it, with three paths that branched from the stony clearing… with no sign of Winnie or Edgar anywhere.

Just as he wondered about where he was at the moment, chirping caught his attention, making him flinch and turned to his left. In the distance he saw the tiny yellow bird. With a gasp, he ran up to it, leaning down to his knees at once to stare down at the little bird. It only turned to face him when he asked breathlessly, "Where are they!?"

Tweeting, it tipped its head to one side before fluttering in the air, flying past him and he followed after it. As it made a beeline to the other side of the room, it hovered in the air until Todd caught up to it, and he lifted his finger up to let it rest there. He gave a nod to it. "Thank you..."

With another chirp, it flew away and he made haste onward.

Just as he barely got a few steps into a stony corridor, he halted the moment he heard someone speak.

"Hey, son."

Turning around, he saw that an olive coloured bipedal tortoise was addressing him. The Monster's brown shell was against the archway he leant against as his yellow eyes met Todd's, or… his open eye. What struck Todd the most interesting about him was that he was wearing an outfit that Todd could only imagine an archeologist would normally don.

"It would be dandy if you follow me into my shop," the Monster croaked as he gestured behind himself. "I think something of worth is waiting for you, son."

Todd blinked, taking a step back as he replied warily, "I'm sorry, but I don't have the time right now, sir."

The Monster stepped forward slowly, narrowing the only eye he had open at Todd. Todd tensed as he watched the tortoise, wondering whether or not he should book it when hearty laughter burst from the Monster.

"Wahaha! You look like you just swam through all of Waterfall, son!" exclaimed the tortoise Monster. "I think some Sea Tea might do you some good right about now. You don't want to die after swimming around in the cold water!" Upon sneezing, Todd sniffled as the Monster nodded. "I reckon that sneeze of yours means yes."

For a few seconds Todd shivered, suddenly realizing he was, indeed, cold. He couldn't help but wonder why it occurred to him now, but he could only guess that his mind was too occupied by the fact that his sister and friend was in danger to notice. Slowly he wrapped his arms around himself, gawking at the Monster before he gave a reluctant nod. As much as he didn't want to go with the tortoise, he didn't want to get sick from not taking care of himself. It wouldn't do him or Winnie and Edgar good if he died or harmed their chances at getting out of the Underground if he disregarded this.

He followed the Monster through the archway, finding himself in a room that glittered with thousands of cyan and pink gemstones that danced all around the walls. Todd only paused to gape at them, admiring their beauty when he heard a shuffle nearby. Right away he stiffened, realizing it might have been a terrible idea to follow the Monster because this could be an ambush. He suddenly took a step back, watching cautiously as the Monster lumbered by and knocked on one of the crates that were in front of them, preparing himself to run if any Monster jumped out at him...

"It's another of you," the one-eyed Monster murmured as he removed the lid, chuckling when the shuffling stopped. "Has a face like yours."

Todd wondered if the Monster was speaking to him or was talking to himself when he saw something peek out, stiffening at once as he expected the thing to pounce out at him. And within moments a green blur shot at him, pushing him back slightly before he could run, shoving all the oxygen out of his lungs.

"Winnie!?" he gasped in surprise.

"Big Brother!" His sister hugged him tightly, trembling as he heard her hiccup after giving out a sob. "I thought you were dead!"

"I'm so glad you're safe..." sighed Todd as he relaxed, soon returning the hug. "I'm here, Winnie…"

"Where's your hat!?" cried Winnie in alarm as she moved back, staring at him wide-eyed. "You don't have it!?"

"I lost it," he said sadly, causing her expression to fall upon hearing that. "I tried to look for it, I really did… but I couldn't find it at all." He bit his lip as he half-closed his dark blue eyes. "I'm sorry…" Winnie sniffled, still crying as he sighed, "I would have looked for it more if I hadn't been worried that the Monster got the both of-"

He stiffened, blinking as he frowned. He glanced around the area, breathing in shakily before he soon asked nervously, "Winnie... where's Edgar?" Winnie stared at him, giving out a loud sob as he asked again, fearfully this time as he put his hands on her shoulders, "W-Winnie, where's Edgar?"

Instead of getting a reply from her, he heard the Monster speak grimly, "He's not here." Upon letting go of Winnie, and Todd turned to see the Monster frown. "That bookworm left her here, and ran off."

Todd's heart stopped. 'N-No...'

"You see, it wasn't that the boy left her because he wanted to get away, first of all," said the Monster seriously as he looked back at the entrance. "That boy asked of me to protect her and not let anyone get near her." Blinking his one eye, the Monster finished, "Although, you two looked similar enough that I reckoned you two were related, so I knew you weren't a threat to her."

"Where did he go?" Todd asked warily, staring at the Monster fearfully as he grew more stressed. "Where did he go!?"

The Monster was silent for a moment before he replied solemnly, "He ran off further down the path, and was in an awful hurry..."

"And you let him go!?" shouted Todd in frustration, shaking as he scowled at the Monster. "Why would you do that!?"

"Look, the boy left before I could ask him about anything… and I couldn't have left this child alone when I'm supposed to be protecting her for him." The Monster grimaced, shaking his head as he reached over to put a scaly hand on Todd's shoulder. "Right now, it would be best to wait for him to come back-"

"I've done enough waiting!" shouted Todd angrily, backing away abruptly before the hand landed on him. He glared at the Monster as breathed in and out sharply. "It killed one of my friends already, and I'm not going to let that Monster the same thing to her brother!"

Todd ignored Winnie's cries as he bolted out of the shop, pushing himself forward as he got out. He didn't know how long ago it was that he was unconscious, or how long Edgar had left Winnie behind for… but Todd knew for certain he had to find the boy. After wading through two puddles created by the waterfalls, he pressed on further with worry.

Edgar had to be alive… the boy wouldn't be dumb enough to let himself be killed.

He entered a darker area, faltering in his steps as he stopped in front of a single mushroom that was surrounded by glowing cyan stems. He threw his head around, only able to see luminescent trees with dark leaves dotting across the darkness.

Todd breathed in and out, wondering if this was all that the area had when he noticed something glowing in the distance... He squinted his eyes, unsure of what it was. He brushed past the mushroom, trying to get a better look when a path of glowing stems flickered before him, leading up to another mushroom far ahead of him.

Right away he widened his eyes, briskly walking down the glittering path, slowly getting further and further away from what he saw earlier. But he knew for certain that something must have triggered the lights over there. He could only hope it wasn't another Monster that wanted to kill him... like the Royal Guard.

Moving across the trail, tapping mushrooms to progress further, he stopped upon hearing his foot kicking something tiny. He whipped his head down, noticing something thin that was rolled against a shimmering stalk. He quickly snatched it up, recognizing it instantly.

It was Edgar's pen.

Clenching it, he quickened his steps as his breath sharply came out, walking on the path only to halt the moment heard a crack. He slowly lifted his foot back, staring down at fractured lens from Edgar's glasses. He picked it up as well, mindful of the jagged parts of it, soon staring forward as he found himself close to the mushroom he saw previously when he entered the area.

Numbly he stared forward, unsure of what he was seeing was real or not. He slowly stepped forward; feeling his heart ache as he approached the mushroom… approaching his friend's body leaning against it.

Unlike Marley's body, which was violently cut up, Edgar's body looked like it was cleanly sliced from the shoulder to the opposite ribcage. Edgar's head was lolled back, his face not even facing Todd (thankfully) as he rested against the radiant mushroom that was bloodstained.

Todd fell to his knees, feeling tears drip from the sides of his eyes as he studied his friend's dead body. He shallowly breathed, quivering slightly as his thoughts went mute. He couldn't come up with anything to think about but the truth before him. Never before could he have imagined that Edgar would die, but it would seem as though that wasn't the case. Edgar was smart, but Edgar wasn't as fast as Marley was. Marley probably couldn't think of a way out of escaping the Monster that slain her… while Edgar wasn't fast enough to get away from the looks of it.

Slamming his hand into the ground, dropping the pen, Todd held back a strangled wail, sniveling instead as he clenched his eyes closed. This couldn't be happening… this shouldn't have happened! Maybe if Todd let Edgar pull him up, they could have found a better way of hiding from the Monster that was after them before. Yet Todd let himself get pulled away by the water, and Edgar was right: That was stupid of Todd to do that! Todd only wanted to keep the people he had left alive, yet he only caused another to die! How could he be so stupid!? He should have listened to Edgar, then Edgar could still be alive!

It was his fault that Edgar died...

When he reopened his eyes to stare at his friend's dead form, he noticed how Edgar's right arm was stretched out towards him. Widening his eyes, he crawled over to him, for a second hopeful that Edgar was actually living still when Todd found that Edgar's chest wasn't rising up and down. Todd frowned wretchedly, scolding himself for having that stupid thought when he noticed that below Edgar's arm his notebook's cover was facing upward.

Trembling, Todd blinked as he gave out a shuddering breath. 'M-Maybe… Maybe he wrote down what he saw…'

Although he wanted to leave his friend's notebook in peace, he couldn't help but grab the notebook at once and opened it. To his dismay, the pages that would most likely be dotted with Edgar's sharp observations were torn and crumpled slightly… and the ink was smudged. Upon trying to read them, he felt his heart sink.

He could barely make out anything that it said.

All that writing, all the hours that Edgar put into this… and Todd couldn't even read a single word!

Todd shut his eyes, shaking as he cried silently.

---

"You know, Todd, the world has so many unanswered questions," said Edgar dully, while the two of them watched Archie and Angie jump back into the lake again.

Todd's two friends were competing for the best time underwater while Marley was practicing her swimming nearby them, and Todd would have liked to join them if it weren't for his ineptitude for swimming. So Todd sat between the roots of the tree that loomed over the water, listening to the boy beside him while letting his bare feet soak in the cool summer water. "Even though we may know the answers already… I believe the answers that we are given are not always the entire truth."

"Why's that?" asked Todd in confusion, frowning as he turned his head to the boy.

Edgar breathed out a sigh, rolling his unimpressed gaze over to Todd's dark blue eyes. "I believe that there are things that have so much more to them then what we see and know already…"

"And…?"

"Personally, I'd like to study more into things. To flesh them out... even more than what is already known about them," explained Edgar flatly as he brought his gaze back to the lake, and Todd watched as Marley stormed through the water to start yelling at Archie for splashing her after he came up for air. For a few seconds Todd and Edgar watched the argument, only for the black boy to go on when Marley tackled the screaming Archie into the water, "As cheesy as what I may tell you now, Todd… One day… I'd like to publish articles and bring about new information to the world."

"So, you mean you want to be a journalist, or something?" asked Todd curiously as he swung his feet, enjoying the feeling of the water as it sloshed around them.

"More like… a scientist."

---

Edgar always wanted to share his findings with the world… now it would be almost impossible for that to happen.

Slowly flipping through the notebook, Todd found that most of the pages were similar to each other, feeling his chest constrict even more as Edgar's words echoed in his head. He couldn't believe that not only did they lose Edgar, but his notebook didn't even survive. If Edgar was still alive, Todd was sure that Edgar would be upset about it.

Ending up at the last page, Todd froze. He noticed how blood was dried on almost the entire thing… except for the last sentence that was messily scribbled out:

…D wE're being trAckeD

---

"So let me get this straight, son…" said Gerson slowly as he chugged his Sea Tea, his good eye closed as he exhaled. "You found him dead among those glowing mushrooms?" Upon scratching his chin, he frowned. "The Temmies aren't going to like that."

Todd merely stared at the misty, swirling spring green liquid in the ebony handle-less cup that he held loosely in his hands, absently watching as the steam fluttered up into his face while the Monster went on, "I've fought plenty of Humans back in the Old War, but that isn't right. Leaving a corpse there to rot is hardly noble… and that doesn't hold to our honour well." Upon pointing his stumpy finger, wagging it back and forth slightly, he clicked his tongue. "We Monsters may hate you Humans, but we respect the dead... Well, that's what it was like when I was still in my prime to whop my foes!"

"Are you going to kill us?" asked Winnie timidly as she stuck close to Todd, almost pressing against him for comfort, but Todd merely looked up for one second to comprehend the Monster before him.

"Heck no, that bookworm told me to protect you," chortled the tortoise Monster with a slight grin. "And that's what I'm going do you for Humans as long as you're here."

Upon gazing at Todd, the Monster ambled over, pushing the cup up from the bottom towards Todd's face. "Sea Tea is best served warm, son… The healing effects go iffy if you let it become cold soup." Todd grimaced, not really in the mood for sipping tea, but he complied seeing how worried Winnie looked. After gulping down the liquid, he gagged slightly which caused the Monster to hoot heartily, "You see, son! Cold soup!"

As Todd continued to drink the strange tea, the Monster waddled around the shop as he went on, "Now then, clearly you two know that Monsters and Humans have been at war… So let me tell you that it won't be easy for the both of you to get back to the Surface." Upon stopping, he turned. "After all, the Underground has been under a panic since the Snowdin Canine Unit have been attacked…"

When Gerson got up to a familiar black symbol painted on the stony wall of gemstones, he tapped right beside it and spoke, "Now let me tell you that it's best that you proceed with caution. I may not be hunting you like I used to back in the Old War days, but I will turn a blind eye to you now if you skedaddle out of here within the next few minutes."

"W-Why!?" squeaked Winnie fearfully. "You said you were protecting us!?"

"I'm kinda a legend among the younglings and Monsters, and if they find out that Gerson, the Hammer of Justice, is sheltering Humans…" He grimaced the moment he turned to the both of them. "I don't know of what will happen, but it will harm my business, no doubt." With a sigh, he shook his head sadly. "I already heard that Chester from Snowdin got a heap of earfuls from everyone for letting you stay at his inn… so I don't want to get dragged into the same treatment."

Todd set down his tea, sliding off the crate he was sitting on with Winnie then helped her down. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Gerson speak, "Oh, you won't be needing that."

Slowly the dark brown haired boy turned, noticing how the old Monster was pointing his stubby finger at Winnie. "Hotland will boil you if you keep wearing that jacket. It would be best if you leave it behind before you leave Waterfall."

Winnie gave a worried glance to Todd, her expression twisted in pain. Todd understood that Winnie might not want to get rid of the coat Toriel gave her, but he did agree that if this 'Hotland' area was truly what it was from its name, then the coat had to go.

Gently he let his hand land on his sister's shoulder, nodding to her. Yet Todd didn't even have the energy to give a smile to reassure her. "Winnie… could you take it off?"

For a few seconds his blonde haired sister hesitated, not making a move to remove it. Todd gave a sigh, shaking his head as he spoke sadly, "Please, I need you to do it. I don't want you overheat, it's not good for you, Winnie." He then raised his palm up, waiting for his sister to give him her coat.

Soon his sister lowered her gaze, and Todd frowned at that, soon turning to her and started helping her out of it. He watched as Winnie slipped her bare arms out of the sleeves as she refused to look at him, but he didn't worry about that as he handed over the coat to Gerson who plopped it into a crate.

Todd slowly checked the satchel, finding that the Spindlesnap mush had already dried and the last two carrots that lay trapped underneath it looked disgusting. He couldn't even find the leftover Gold that he tucked into it… but that didn't matter. The satchel wasn't fit for carrying anything anymore; it would be a waste of time lugging it around now. Without thinking about it more, he slipped off the satchel and gave it to Gerson.

As the Monster looked at the item, Todd patted his pockets and soon pulled out Edgar's notebook and cracked glasses. He stared at them painfully, blinking away tears when he heard the Monster speak up curiously, "Hmm… What do you have there, son?"

Turning, Todd looked at the Monster. "It's my friend's belongings…"

"Do you really need a torn notebook and cracked spectacles?" asked the Monster flatly, crossing his arms.

Todd at once scowled, taking a step forward as he retorted, "It was his stuff! I'm not going to let Edgar's things be forgotten- and have them played around with by any Monster who walks on by his dead body!"

For a while the Monster tapped his chin, humming before he sighed, "Look, son… I know how hard it is for you right now, but carrying those items might not be the best for you."

"Why not!?" snapped Todd as he glared at the Monster.

"You don't need those glasses. They're cracked, and I don't think you can even wear them," said the Monster gruffly. "I don't mean to oppose, or sound unkind about what happened… but you don't need them." Pointing his scaly finger at Todd, he shook his head. "And that notebook… It would practically be burned to a crisp in Hotland's-"

"I'm not going to throw away his things!" Todd took a step back, letting out a growl as he spat, "It would insult his death!"

The Monster stared at him, silent as Todd breathed in and out unsteadily, then the tortoise heaved out a heavy sigh before he spoke softly, "You don't need to throw them out, son… I could always take them in for you if you want."

Todd stiffened upon hearing that. 'Wh-What…?'

"I may be retired, but my curiosity in me… is still as thirsty as my fighting days!" hooted the Monster as he waddled over, and Todd didn't move back as the Monster stood in front of him. "I know how hard it is to let things go, I don't like taking in junk… but-" He gave a toothy grin, showing his yellowing teeth. "I can breath life back into those items."

Todd stared at him, blinking as he asked warily, "...How?"

"I know of ways of restoration. It's a talent I had during the Old War whenever some crying Monster broke their axe or sword, or even cracked their good ol' armor…" replied the Monster proudly, placing his smooth hand on his chest. "I know of ways to enhance things that may look boring to the Monster eye… And I can make junk, not junk…" After he stopped speaking, he blinked his hardened eye. "This is my only offer for this occasion, son. Once you leave my shop, and if you think about stepping back in... I will crack your heads open with my hammer before you could even blink."

At once Winnie started to tremble, letting out whimpers of fear as she hugged Todd from behind.

Slowly Todd looked down at the items in his hands, frowning at once. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving behind Edgar's belongings… especially his notebook. But it was true, the glasses were unusable now… and there was a chance that the information that Edgar put in his notebook could be fixed. But Todd knew that it would be impossible to fix the notebook when they got back home; there was no one that he knew of who could do that sort of thing… But… as much as he denied it, the best he could do for now was leave it with the Monster. There was always a chance that they could get back home, but at the same time death seemed to grin down on them… If he gave the Monster the notebook, then at least one of Edgar's wishes could be granted. Even if it wasn't Humans who would be reading it, then Monsters could. It was the least he could do for his friend…

Half-closing his eyes, he grimaced as he tore his gaze away from the belongings, passing them towards the Monster. As soon as the Monster had ahold of them, Todd felt a tinge of regret about this, but he tried to shove that feeling away.

Taking his sister's hand, fighting the urge to take another glance at Edgar's things, they set out.

---

"B-Big Brother…?" meekly said Winnie as they stopped by another lantern, shaking as he slowly put his hand on the crystal embedded in it. "Can we have a break?"

"No, we can't do that now," mumbled Todd as he briskly pulled her along, being vigilant for any stray Monsters that could attack them again. "It's too dangerous, and we shouldn't slow down. We need to get out of here."

"B-But-"

Todd ignored her, soon reaching another lantern and tapped it, tugging her along the slowly dimming trail. Right now, he really wished she could stop talking; the Monsters could figure out their location and kill them. He already tried telling her that, but she didn't seem to listen to him. If he were to remind her, that would defeat the purpose of silence.

They soon reached a lane of repeating flowers after wading through a stretch of water, and Todd had to constantly jerk Winnie away when she tried to stop to pat them. He kept his gaze forward, he didn't stop despite how his body protested for rest, he knew the most important thing they had to do was get out of the Underground. If they kept stopping at anything they would be killed, if they rested they would be killed, if they went to talk or interact with any of the Monsters… they would be killed!

Just like Todd's friends…

After crossing a long wooden bridge, Winnie's tugging that started when they were past the flowers became insistant. "Big Brother, I can't walk more-" Todd pulled her along, feeling his knees wobble but strode into what seemed to be a crag. "Big Brother! Please!" As the hazy deep red sky fell over them, Todd gritted his teeth as Winnie squeaked tearfully again, "Big Broth-"

"Stop, talking, Winnie!" he snapped harshly, releasing her only to fall to his hands and knees. Upon hearing her cry out, he heavily panted, staring at the ground as he growled out, "We can't stop… we need to get out of here…"

Before long he let out a shaky breath, feeling his gaze blur as heat behind his eyes made it difficult to focus. "Please… please let me get us out of here!" he shouted out distraughtly, hearing his voice ring throughout the area.

For a while it was silent, and Todd let out a shivel as he held back a sob. He had to get them out of here, he couldn't let his sister die… not like his friends. Suddenly his friends' deaths came back to him.

Angie broken body sprawled out-

Archie lying impaled on the snowy ground-

Marley brutally slaughtered in the bed of weedy grass-

Edgar inclined on the mushroom blemished with his blood-

Todd screwed his eyes shut, trembling madly as he thought hysterically, 'I let them all DIE!'

"Big Brother…"

Todd's uneven breaths came in and out as he felt someone wrap their arms around him. "I'm sorry…" murmured Winnie with sniffles.

At once Todd's eyes shot open, frowning in a gape as Winnie went on sadly, "I… I didn't mean to distract you, or make you angry-"

"No-no!" he shouted in dismay, shifting his body so he could hug his sister. "You have no reason to be sorry, Winnie! Don't be sorry! It's my fault- I shouldn't have yelled at you! I'm not angry with you- I'm-" He panted hard, shaking before he breathed out stressfully, "I'm the one who's sorry…"

Winnie was silent, he heard her sniffle from over the sob he gave out, feeling dizzy suddenly as he sat with his sister. He couldn't believe he was making Winnie think she was an annoyance to him, it wasn't right at all! She was his sister, she didn't deserve to feel as though she's a problem… when he was the problem.

Todd bit his lip. "I didn't mean to be hard on you, I-I just…" He paused for a second, closing his eyes. "I-I… I don't want to lose you too…" he admitted feebly, breathing shakily as he held her closer while he trembled. "I don't know what I'd do without you. I don't want you to die, I can't let you die… You're the only sister I got, and I can't replace you no matter what, Winnie. ...I w-won't let you die, I-I promise you!" After gulping in another breath hastily, panting for a long time, he breathed out fraughtly, "I won't let my problems affect you... I need you!"

"I need you too…" whimpered Winnie tearfully as her whole body shuddered.

Listening to her sad tone made him hug her tighter. 'I won't let you down, Winnie… I'll die before letting you die.

'I need to...'

---

To be continued…

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! =3

…

EeveeGen9988: So… maybe this is a week late… (Yes it is!) I'm sorry! *cries* I had a lot of stuff happening to me and I got the terrible writer's block for the last 25% of the story, and boy was it hard for me to push myself out of that! *flops onto the fallen confetti that she needs to clean up* DX

Anyway, I think I pretty much disproved my friend CG's theory of Ar- before An-… muehaha! ...Sorry about that, CG! It was a cool theory, but sadly Ar- then An- then Mar- then Ed- doesn't work well alphabetically... ;p

I want to thank Hyoxjnn for making this awesome cover art! Thank you again, Hyoxjnn! *salutes Hyoxjnn* =D

See you (hopefully) in the next two weeks for the next instalment! Things are going to be heating up for the story~ ;3

…

~Item Check~

- Spindlesnap Cookies (5): A bizzare hybrid between pumpkin and gingerbread, it is said that these cookies require an acquired taste taste to enjoy them. Heals 4 HP.

Spindlesnap Mush: A revolting substance that was once Spindlesnap Cookies, there's no way that this is edible anymore… Heals -4 HP.

- Carrot: A simple carrot that's good for your eyes, fit for any snowman. Heals 7 HP.

Mush-coated Carrot: A carrot that's still good for your eyes… but it tastes worse than it originally had been. Heals 3 HP.

- Gold (21): The currency of the underground, also known as G. Apparently Monsters would rather have triangle coins instead of round ones.

- Winnie's Frying Pan: A small frying pan that Winnie loves to carry around, it pacts quite the punch...

- Bullet Pouch (75): The bullets that their father makes for Todd's gun, using them wisely would be best.

- Edgar's Glasses: Glasses that once belonged to Edgar… they are now cracked and unusable.

- Edgar's Notebook: The notebook that Edgar made notes in about the Underground… it is now torn and illegible.

- Todd's Hat: The cowboy hat that Winnie gave to him for his ninth birthday… Winnie gets upset if he ever takes it off.

- Toriel's Satchel: A satchel that Toriel gave him to carry the supplies she gave to him, Winnie, Angie, and Edgar when they were leaving the Ruins, but now it's unfit for carrying anything anymore.

…

~Fun facts about the chapter's development!~

- Todd originally was going to wait for Marley to come back, having Edgar and Winnie hide in the room behind the waterfall while waiting for her. Marley would have been complaining about how the Royal Guard almost decapitated her. This got cut because I thought it didn't seem fitting (boring really) for the beginning of the chapter, and would conflict with how Todd was affected by Archie's death in the last chapter.

- Another alternate beginning to the chapter would have been Todd being dragged into Waterfall by Edgar, and then Marley would have shortly come in and started to scold him like she did in the beginning of the actual beginning. Edgar would have stopped Marley when she went too far (like he did in the actual beginning of the chapter) and told her to go and find a safe place for them to shelter and rest in. Marley would have still been angry… even more angry, but did what she was told to do by Edgar. This didn't fit what I wanted for the beginning, and I wanted Marley to still be angry with Edgar, so I went for the somber beginning that you see in the chapter.

- Winnie was going to try to bring Marley's tutu along with them, but Edgar would have told her that they would go back for it later… It was cut because it couldn't have worked well into the scene, so I left it out and also did that because Todd, Winnie, and Edgar wouldn't want to backtrack that far into Waterfall because of the danger they were in.

- Gerson's actual reason for protecting Winnie would have been that since she was in his shop, she was a customer. That didn't seem like a good reason to me when I got to the part where Gerson came in… =(

- I had a very hard time writing Gerson… it was part of the reason why the chapter was delayed… DX