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]

4. The Molten Wastes:

The Fallen:

I do not own Undertale, Toby Fox does!

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

…

Part 4: The Molten Wastes:

---

Slowly Todd could feel a gush of heat waft onto him, making him flinch from the unexpected change of temperature. Upon gazing forward, hearing the electric billboard buzz softly on his left, faint light shone on them from the gaping archway. When Winnie gave him a worried look, he gave her a smile as he squeezed her hand, to reassure himself as well, then led them through the yawning exit.

As soon as they stepped out, Todd found that they were standing on a reddish-brown terrain, and above them was a smoky sky with a red tint. Within seconds Todd felt a drift of heat blanket him as he coughed from the fumes he inhaled, and as he gazed forward he thought uneasily, 'So, this is Hotland...'

It certainly was sweltering… Todd was glad they weren't wearing coats, or this would have been intolerable for him and Winnie. In fact, he surprisingly didn't mind the heat… it was a nice change from the colder temperatures that Snowdin and Waterfall had. But that didn't change how he felt about getting them out of the Underground safely, and he knew he should focus on that instead.

After wiping his forehead with his free hand, he gave a quick look to his sister and gave her hand a light squeeze. "Are you feeling okay, Winnie?"

Winnie gave a nod, giving him a small smile which made him sigh in relief. As long as his sister was okay, he knew there was nothing to worry about.

With a quick glance ahead of him, he spotted a wooden plank bridge before them. After blinking, thinking about why a bridge would be in a place like this, he led them across it, only to notice why... they were high above lava.

Todd grimaced upon hearing Winnie's breath hitch as she stared down, when a couple spurts came from the molten liquid from below. He had to wonder how deep underground they were if they were encountering lava... and in the end it didn't make sense to him.

At once, Todd wished Edgar was here to explain this to him... but a sting struck through him when he reminded himself he couldn't.

Edgar was dead... just like the rest of his friends.

Frowning, he took a step forward onto the bridge, trying to fight through the painful memories that assaulted him until they got to the other side. He held his sister's hand for a long time until the shudders her body gave ceased, then led them on.

About a minute or two later, Todd froze upon hearing something.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Slowly turning his head to the left, he cringed the moment he spotted two Monsters who wore shining grey armour. 'Oh no…'

"Of course it is… just let me focus and I'll get this done faster, Carmel!" snapped a lanky bipedal lizard with his back turned away from them, hunching over before doors that might have been for an elevator.

"But this could be harmful to the other Monsters!" protested the otter companion with a few flicks of her striped twin tails; her frantic voice telling Todd that whatever the Monster was doing wasn't good news. Her owl-like ears flattened while she leaned over, looking at the thing the other Monster was busy with. "Xander, just listen to me-"

Upon turning around, the artichoke-coloured lizard snarled harshly, "We have an order to do right now, Carmel! Just let me focus so this won't be permanent!"

At that, the sleek-furred Monster fell silent with a sigh.

Todd breathed in and out unsteadily, carefully guiding Winnie forward towards the other direction from the Monsters. He knew they had to get away as fast as they could, especially if the Royal Guard was around the area. He got them over to a large building that had LAB printed above the door before them, and flinched slightly the moment it hissed open... reminding Todd of science fiction doors from the way they slid open for them. With a quick look to Winnie, they entered into a mostly dark room.

It took Todd a few seconds to adjust to his limited vision, and from what he could see there was only a flashing light up ahead. Slowly walking, hearing their footsteps echo on the hard floor, he turned his head to a flickering small monitor on a table... It looked like a computer, from what he remembered from his conversations with Edgar when they were still on the Surface.

"B-Big Brother…?" whimpered Winnie nervously, tugging at his hand to get his attention. "I-I don't like it here…"

"Me neither…" he murmured to her with a grimace. "Let's get out of here."

Todd could barely see his sister's frown in the dim area.

He wasn't happy how this was affecting his sister. He knew that she'd never liked being anywhere dark, so this place wasn't helping her feel better about their circumstances either. He gave her hand a light squeeze, soon edging forward so he wouldn't make them bump into anything.

From what he could tell, this place had no one here… but he knew that someone must have been occupying it if the computer's... monitor was left on. So it was better that they should leave as fast as possible.

Luckily after wandering around in the darkness for a bit, he got them outside onto a strip of orange rocky terrain that he led them across. Just as he was about to turn the corner with Winnie, he froze the moment he heard a familiar whoosh of the door from behind him.

Turning his head back, he widened his eyes in horror as he spotted the lanky lizard Monster who was walking right towards them. "Of all days… why does Carmel have to be so difficult with me now!?" It didn't seem like the Monster noticed them yet... but Todd knew they should get away before the Monster did.

Todd breath quickened as he right away spun around, gripping his sister's hand hard as he hissed to her in hush, "Winnie, we have to run!"

Before his sister could reply to him, Todd cringed the moment he heard the Monster yell out angrily, "What the-" At once, Todd bolted forward and pulled his sister along, causing her to yelp in surprise as Todd kept his gaze forward. "Humans!"

"Big Brother!?" Winnie yelped when Todd pushed on his feet harder.

"Just keep running, Winnie!" cried Todd as he heard the Monster gaining on them. "We can't let that Monster get us!"

Within moments, Todd stopped at the sight of moving platforms… conveyor belts, from what Edgar had told him. For a few seconds he stared at them in surprise before he got his sister and him onto the moving strip as he heard the Monster's footsteps. "I'm not going to let you Humans get away!"

Todd turned his head to see that the Monster had stepped onto the conveyor belt as well, walking towards them with a deadly glare. With a quick glance to his sister, he pulled her along with him as he started to run, making them move faster until they got off and continued forward. Again they got to another conveyor belt, and Todd made them run across it as well, disliking how much it twisted, listening to his sister's troubled breathing as they ran.

Soon they came towards a wider area where he could faintly see something in the distance, but he paid no attention to that and kept them going across short bridges between the rocky terrains, that felt extremely shaky under his footing, following a zigzagging pattern as he turned at each corner they came to. He only stopped running when meeting a fork in the paths, whipping his head back and forth to see that there were two different ways he could go…

Winnie whimpered at once as Todd debated which way he could go, wanting to make sure he took the right path. Before he could calm her down her at this time, he heard the Monster yell out shrilly, "Humans!"

"This way!" Todd yelled out as he took the path on the right, noticing the Monster was already crossing the winding path that they had passed through seconds before.

Before he knew it, he stopped at the sight of two strips of conveyor belts a little ways from them on each side of him, gawking at them when he realized either one could loop back to where he stood. 'Oh no… I took the wrong way!' Todd thought in horror.

He heard Winnie give out a sniffle from beside him, hearing the Monster catching up from behind him, then veered to his right without thinking, running towards the conveyor belt when he heard Winnie yelp. He widened his eyes upon feeling her hand twist and slip out from his own, finding that Winnie had tripped. "Winnie!" he cried as she gave a sob, soon catching her hand when she was getting up. "I'm so sorry, I should have known I was going too fast for you!"

"Where's-" Winnie let out a cry as he quickly checked over her for any injury she may have gotten, freezing the moment he heard loud footsteps coming towards them.

"We can't stay here!" he hissed as he whipped his head to the Monster charging towards them, feeling his sister resist to his surprise. "Winnie?"

"My frying pan!" she sobbed before he noticed that the Monster had a large jagged sword out now. "Where is it!?" The Monster stopped, swinging his blade high in the air and started to whip it down. "Big Brother, I can't leave it!"

"I'm sorry, Winnie, but we have to!" he shouted desperately as he saw flames shoot towards them, pulling them on the conveyor belt and rushed forward to avoid being toasted by the fire. He heard his sister crying, and gritted his teeth as they were heading back towards the Monster who had his blade ready. "Winnie, just run!" Before the Monster could swing the blade down, Todd darted forward as hard as he could, shooting past the lizard Monster who hissed in frustration.

Back where they were earlier, he pulled them forward, taking the path he ignored when Winnie let out a scream. "Winnie!" he yelled and gaped in horror as her hand slipped out of his as again as fire suddenly propelled her far away from him. Upon seeing her land roughly, he instantly careened towards her, helping her up as she sobbed shrilly. Before he could even comfort her, he noticed that the Monster was charging right at them.

'NO!' Todd thought in appall as the Monster raised its blades up again, and soon Todd narrowed his dark blue eyes. 'I can't let that Monster kill Winnie! I'm not going to let another person in my life die!'

Right away he pulled out his revolver, shakily pointing it towards the unsteady bridge before him, and fired a shot at it. He grimaced from the pain his wrist sustained from the abrupt shot, instantly shoving the gun back in his holster before he made them run again. Just a few steps in he heard the Monster cry out in shock, along with sickening cracks and snaps of wood.

For a second, he wondered if the Monster was okay. He wasn't planning on killing the Monster by making it fall into the lava, but he hoped this would buy them more time to get away... The Monster would have to take another path if it wanted to catch them, and Todd was glad the bridge was unstable enough as it had been.

When he noticed that Winnie was about to look back, he spoke quickly, "The Monster's fine, Winnie! We can't stop now!"

"But-"

He halted her cry as he quickened his pace, bolting back towards the conveyor belts. This time they took the ones that sped in the opposite direction than the ones they took before, and quickly crossed them with his sister.

After they got through the lab, he pulled them towards the elevator that he noticed earlier, panting hard as he let go of his sister's hand as she panted as well. He pressed the elevator's button after regaining some of his breath, nervously biting his lip as he waited for it to arrive. He knew that if they wanted to get away, maybe the elevator could separate them from the Monster easily. But from how long it was taking… he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

The moment he heard it ding as it opened for them, he got him and Winnie inside, instantly gazing at the array of buttons that were labeled:

L3 - R3
L2 - R2
L1 - R1

Without a single thought, he pressed R3, hoping it could get them as far away from the Monster as possible… only to find that it didn't work. He widened his eyes, pressing the button again and again, only to receive the same results. 'Why isn't it working!?' he thought in agitation as he jabbed his finger on the button once again. 'It should be working! What's wrong with-'

His blood went cold.

The Royal Guard member must have done something to the elevator.

"Big Brother!" screamed Winnie in distress.

Todd turned his attention to her, only to find that the Royal Guard member who had been chasing them was streaking right for the elevator. 'NO!'

Whipping back to the elevator, he instantly started to press the buttons frantically, not paying attention to them when he heard the doors whoosh close, along with a dull thud and faint exclaim of pain from the other side. He relaxed at once, feeling the ground rumble as it whirred to life… only for the doors to open ten seconds later.

Blinking, Todd slowly led them out, turning and tipping his head up to see that the elevator was marked R2. Todd frowned at that. 'It… It didn't take us that far up…'

Todd sighed, shaking his head before he quickly grabbed ahold of his sister's hand again, walking briskly. He knew for certain that the other Monster would soon catch up to them once the elevator got back to the level they were on before. But Todd knew for certain that they were safe for now, and that was the only thing that mattered to him other than protecting his sister.

It was a minute or two later when he noticed the otter Monster from before, freezing his steps right away. He took a few steps back with his sister, watching in horror as the Monster turned around to spot them.

Her owl-like ears sharply pointed forward as long golden claws, that hadn't been on her paws before, stiffly extended and glinted in the harsh glow of the area. "You… You're Humans!" she growled as she took a step forward, falling onto her fours as her claws drew out more. "We've been looking for you!"

"Carmel!" Todd stiffened the moment he heard the lizard Monster, turning to find the Monster was back with a blade raised in his claws. At once, the Monster grinned balefully as he growled, "Good… you cut them off for me."

"I did exactly what you wanted me to," curtly said the otter with a sniff, shaking her head. "This is a team-effort, if you haven't forgotten."

"But I called the shots, so stop complaining…" growled the Monster before he took steps towards Todd and Winnie. "We'll soon have the Humans' SOULs…"

Todd at once felt sweat roll down his face as he began to breathe shallowly, widening his eyes as he noticed the other Monster was closing in on them as well. 'W-We're… W-We're trapped!'

"B-Big Brother…?" Winnie trembled as she pressed closer to him. "Wh-What do we do?"

Todd scrambled for some kind of way to get them out of here, but he could only come up with trying to barge past either of the Monsters, or fighting through them. He didn't want to fight them… he only wanted to get him and his sister out of the Underground. So he knew the only way would be to try the former option.

Without answering her, he sprinted forward, trying to get past the otter Monster, only to drive himself and Winnie to the side when the tawny otter nearly sliced them with her claws. Todd withdrew from his plan at once, backing away from the Monster as she raised her hackles threateningly, with her teeth bared as she hissed at them.

Both of them slowly backed away from the Monsters, and Todd had a problem breathing in and out as both Monsters walked towards them. Todd only stopped walking when he found that they were in a tiny space of land, and he couldn't help but feel his heart drop into the pit of his stomach. 'We can't… we can't get past them!' he thought with dread, shaking his head as he quivered. 'They'll only cut us apart!'

"Nowhere to run, Humans," growled the lizard Monster as his claws tightened around his weapon. "You're going to die, and we're going to be closer to freedom because of you."

"Don't make them feel worse about it, Xander," said the tawny otter suddenly, and Xander turned his head to her sharply with a glare. "It's bad enough that they know they're going to die."

"Carmel, that doesn't matter!" With a curl of his lips in a snarl, Xander's narrow head whipped to them. "They're going to die in the end, so why not?"

Todd felt his lower lip quiver as he stared at the Monsters, trembling on the spot as he heard his sister whimper fearfully. 'I-I can't… H-How can we get away!? There's no way we can!'

"They're still children, Xander," said Carmel gently as her honey-coloured eyes slowly softened a bit. "I just don't like the idea of mocking them about their death."

"Who cares!" snapped Xander as he pointed his blade towards Todd and Winnie. "We need their SOULs, it doesn't matter who they are because they're going to die- and be forgotten!"

Right away the Monster charged towards them, swinging his blade down and Todd at once pushed Winnie away, hearing her squeal in alarm as he brought his revolver up to shield himself. He grimaced from the force that was delivered, stepping back and whipping his revolver up again to block another strike. He gritted his teeth, trying his best to not lose focus as the Monster struck again and again, and soon Todd found that his hands were aching from how hard he clenched them around his revolver.

When he heard Winnie shriek, he thrust himself out of the way, hearing the blade clout the ground and turned his head to his sister, only to yell out, "Winnie!" Winnie was sobbing fearfully from where she was trapped under the other Monster who had her claws around Winnie's shoulders, and Todd at once ran towards the Monster as he raised his gun up. "Winnie!"

The otter Monster raked her claws into Winnie's back, causing Winnie let out a harsh scream of agony.

Upon hearing that scream, Todd's ears began to ring, and a distraught yell tore out of his throat. 'WINNIE!' He thrust himself at the Monster, tackling the Monster over and pulled Winnie close to him, feeling his heart thud madly as he moved his sister around in his arms so she could look up at him. He shook as he heard Winnie's pained breathing, and watched as Carmel stiffly got up to glare at him. As he heard Xander slowly walk towards him and Winnie, he heard flapping from nearby.

"There you guys are!" squawked a medium sized avian above his head. "You're missing the Captain's final debriefing for the day!"

"Reggie, can't you see who's below you!?" snapped Xander, glaring up at the cyan and red striped avian Monster, who's one large eye on its large beak skimmed back and forth. "Humans!"

"The Captain told me to tell you guys to come over there before he personally claws your behinds!" squawked the Monster. "And he told me to tell you that he's taking on the remainder of the Human Hunting!"

"But the Humans are right below you!" roared Xander as he shook his blade abruptly at Todd and Winnie. "We can kill them now!"

Todd shook, hoping the new Royal Guard member wasn't going to decide to kill them as well.

"Captain's orders, not mine!" squawked the avian Monster before it started to peck at Xander's head. "And I don't care!" With a few more flaps, he hooted in frustration, "I rather get home soon to see my chicks! As their Daddy, I promised them some Hotland Gumbo! And that's selling fast, and I don't want to disappoint my chicks!"

"Xander…" Carmel's expression looked torn as her honey-coloured gaze flickered between Todd and the avian Monster. "Let's just… listen to Reggie. I don't want to get in trouble with the Captain…"

"This is bullshit, Carmel!" snapped Xander before he received a sharp poke from Reggie. "The Humans are right there!"

"Too bad, so sad…" sang Reggie as he poked Xander again. "Get going or I'm going to have to tell my chicks that Auntie Carmel and Uncle Xander made Daddy not get them their Hotland Gumbo…" His one large eye narrowed substantially as his voice turned grave. "And the chicks will torture your souls for the rest of your lives when that happens…"

With an aggravated growl, Xander turned and shoved his blade onto his back, a click sounding before he roared, "FINE! But the Captain will hate you for not letting us kill the Humans, Reggie!"

"At least my chicks will get their Hotland Gumbo~" sang Reggie before the three Royal Guard members walked away.

Todd watched them go nervously before he whipped his head back to his sister who he cradled in his arms, hearing her shallow shudders of breaths. He shook as he noticed now that Winnie's wound had bled out quite a bit, and he right away started to untie her apron, causing her to weakly breathe out, "B-Big… B-Brother…?"

"Hang on, Winnie, I'm going to stop the bleeding," he murmured with a smile he forced onto his face, slowly sliding the rosy pink apron off his sister's body as he pressed it against the harsh wound. "You're going to be okay, you're going to live and we'll get to the Surface-"

"I-It… hurts…" whimpered Winnie.

"I know it does, but it won't soon. I'm going to give you something to eat..." Todd at once pulled his hand away to reach into Toriel's satchel, only to flinch the moment he remembered he no longer had it on him. His breath hitched at once, and he stared at his sister in distress. "Y-You're going to be okay! The bleeding will stop soon, I promise you it will!"

"D-Don't leave me…"

Todd shook his head, smiling as he held her closer. "Of course not, there's no reason for me to leave you."

"B-Big B-Brother..." His sister's face looked paler than it had been before, and her tiny face looked absolutely pained as she weakly smiled. "I… I-I love you, B-Big Brother..."

"I love you too, Winnie," he said as his heart ached. "I'll never leave you…"

He pressed the apron against his sister's back harder, willing the blood to stop, willing his sister to not look like she was dying. She was only injured, and would heal up soon.

"Winnie, we're going to get out of here once the bleeding has stopped," he murmured gently as he smiled at her. "We'll see Mom and Dad… we'll tell everyone about what we saw…" After a second or two, he added warmly, "And you can make me one of your wonderful breakfasts, and I will eat every bite of it. How does that sound?"

For a while, he eagerly waited for her to respond, only to frown when he found that she just stared at him, still smiling. "Winnie?" She didn't seem to hear him say her name, and he frown more when he spoke again, this time nervously, "W-Winnie?" He was suddenly aware of the fact that her chest wasn't rising and falling… and her eyes didn't shine like they normally did. Her crystal blue eyes were dull pools…

He merely stared at her, blinking as heat swelled behind his dark blue eyes. "I-I know how much you love to cook… s-so doesn't cooking sound fun?" She still didn't respond. "W-Winnie…?"

His sister wasn't dead; she couldn't be dead.

He held his sister close, rocking back and forth as he murmured, "Hey… it's going to okay. I promise you it will be okay, Winnie. Just… talk to me." Briefly pausing, he whimpered, "P-Please… talk to me, Winnie! I know you can h-"

Without warning, a small green heart rose from Winnie's chest, glittering softly amidst their darkening surroundings.

Todd only stared at it with distrait for a long time… only to widen his eyes horror. 'N-No… this isn't-' He shook his head, instantly breathing unsteadily as he thought frantically, 'No! Winnie can't be dead! She can't be dead! Winnie's didn't die, she can't die! I'm protecting her, and she isn't dead!'

At once he gently laid her down on his lap, raising his blood-soaked hand and rough hand up to gingerly cup his sister's SOUL. He gazed at it, slowly moving his right scarlet hand up over it, and eased it down towards Winnie's chest. 'She just needs her SOUL back… then she'll breathe again.' Moving his other hand up, feeling the heart try to rise back up, he stopped it and guided towards Winnie's chest. 'Just go back in…' He pressed against it hard, still feeling it pulsate against the palms of his hands. 'You can do it, just go back in and make Winnie breathe again so we can get out of here.'

The green SOUL refused to go back in no matter how hard he tried.

'Go back in! You have to go back in so Winnie can live!' he yelled mentally as he tried to force the SOUL in, feeling it resist and he felt his tears rush down his cheeks. 'It has to go in! It needs to go in, why won't it go in!?'

"Just go in…" he whimpered as he tried again, shaking his head as he let out a shuddered sob, "Winnie needs you be inside her, not outside…" After a few seconds, he let out a wail, "Just go back in! I need you to go back in, I need my sister!"

Instead of doing that, it didn't. Todd could only let it rise up as he let out another wail, trembling as he sat there. He closed his eyes, shaking his head wildly as he let out a distraught wail, hearing it echo around him, but he didn't care. As much as he tried to come up with a reason that his sister had fallen asleep, or she passed out, he knew that his sister's SOUL, that floated right above his sister, told him that this was real.

His sister was dead.

After a long time of crying, wailing, and mentally yelling about this, Todd soon lost all the tears that he could cry... And all that he could do was sit there, letting his sister lie on his lap as he blankly let her SOUL rest in the palms of his hands. Its gentle beating never faltered, never once did it speed up or slow down... it continued to buzz with life... unlike his sister.

His heart felt dead, he couldn't even feel anything but the tormenting agony that lay inside it. Everything around him didn't matter suddenly, the only thing that did was his sister's SOUL… Now that he thought about it, his sister's SOUL was still her… right? At that thought, he smiled, gazing at his sister's SOUL with a sniffle. It made sense, that it was still her. His sister was still in front of him… she was still there.

The dark brown haired boy felt a laugh bubble from his chest, and he gingerly held his sister's SOUL. 'Winnie… don't worry, I'll always be there for you.' He smiled a bit more. 'Always...'

After a few seconds, it hit him that this was just his sister's SOUL, not his sister. He tried to clasp on to the little notion that it was his sister, not the SOUL that left his sister's dead body. But no matter how much he tried to convince himself of that, the grim reality fought and won.

Slowly the joy he felt ebbed away, leaving him to feel cold and miserable as he absently stared at the SOUL. He knew deep down that there was nothing he could do, nor could he pretend that his sister was still there.

Winnie was dead.

He failed to protect her.

For a long time, he let his hands cradle the bright green heart, doing nothing else… but then Todd heard something faintly. He didn't move from his spot; Winnie wouldn't like it if he did...

"Are you okay?"

Todd blinked, not letting the Green SOUL fall from his hands when the deep voice sounded from behind him. He didn't even question how the being snuck up from behind him; he didn't care about that.

"Nothing's fine..." Todd breathed quietly; he closed his eyes as he let himself focus on the warmth Winnie's SOUL gave out.

"But why do you think that?"

"It's because it is..." Todd said bitterly, bringing the SOUL closer to him. He imagined Winnie was hugging him right now, and he hugged her back the best he could. "It was never right to begin with."

For a few seconds the being was silent, shifting on the spot, rattling some sort of metal upon doing so. "I am sorry, but was that someone who you were close with?"

At once Todd let out a sob, shaking as he whimpered, "Why does that matter to you...? You're probably here to kill me too, so get on with it."

Slowly the being came closer, thumping the ground before Todd noticed the shadow that cast over him and Winnie. "You really want to die like her?"

"N-No, I won't die alone..." Todd breathed in shakily. "I-If I die here, th-then I won't leave her. A-As long as I don't leave her, th-then..."

"I have no clue why you are asking for death, but no child should wish that."

"Sh-Shut up..." Todd shook his head, gritting his teeth. "You don't know what I've gone through!"

A sigh sounded. "She was that close to you..." Todd didn't respond to that, trying to keep Winnie close to him as he waited for his life to end. "I have lost those who I have loved... It devastated me, it knocked me down..." After a pause, it went on, "So to say that I have not experienced your sorrows is empty words, boy... only from one that is lost and confused."

Todd let out a sob, "S-Stop talking..."

"You have my condolences, boy..." Something large fell on his shoulder, making him slump down from the weight it had. "But you must know that she has passed... and no matter how long or hard you cry, she will not come back. It is a lost cause to let yourself crumble away, as much as you have the right to..."

"I-I can't leave her..." he whimpered weakly. "She doesn't like it when I break promises, and I won't do that to her." He clenched his eyes closed. "I won't leave her!"

Something thudded from behind him, and soon he was pulled against his will to a cold surface. He cried out, trying to reach for his sister's SOUL, not wanting to abandon her. "S-Stop- I can't-" Soon he found that something large brushed his back, making him widen his eyes as he trembled. "N-No..." He felt hot tears rush down his cheeks as he was held, unable to return to his sister's side. "Winnie needs me!" he shouted desperately. "Let go of me!"

The strokes on his back continued, and despite his best efforts, he couldn't escape from the being. "WINNIE!" Soon he could only cry, sob, wail as he struggled... stopping when exhaustion seeped into him as he closed his eyes.

---

Todd stood in darkness, blinking absently as he stared into the abyss. It didn't occur to him why he was here, so he was baffled for why...

Soon light blue light flicked on his left, and he blinked his eyes only to widen them when he saw Angie standing there, bathed in it.

"Angie!" he shouted out in relief, about to run up to her when he halted. Her head lowered, casting a shadow over her face. He screwed up his expression, breathing in confusion, "Angie? What's wrong...?"

Before he could walk towards her, orange light appeared on his right, and he found Archie there... his head was lowered as well. "Archie?" Suddenly a roar of wind came from behind him, causing him to turn to Marley and Edgar who didn't look at him. "M-Marley...? E-Edgar...?"

Looking at each of them, bewildered by her behavior, he breathed sharply as he asked nervously, "G-Guys...? What's wrong...?"

"You let us die..."

Todd jolted, turning to Archie as his expression was torn with anger. "I thought you, of all people, would protect them!" yelled Archie as he took an abrupt step forward. "I trusted you, Todd! You were my wingman, and you didn't do what I asked you to do! Protect them!"

"Archie, I-I..." Todd froze, widening his eyes as blood started to dribble down Archie's mottled shirt. Before Todd knew it, blood was gushing down, pooling below Archie's feet.

"You're not my best friend..." hissed Archie coldly, taking another step as a gaping hole opened up in his chest as more blood poured out. "No one kills my friends! You're dead to me!"

Todd's breath hitched, backing away as he shook his head. "I-I wouldn't..."

"I gave you guys a chance to live!" Todd whipped his head, gasping as Angie trudged towards him, slowly falling to her knees as cracks sounded. Soon falling down, her legs at odd angles, Angie started to pull herself towards him. "And you ruined it for everyone, Todd! How could you!?"

"Angie's right..." Upon hearing clear footsteps, Todd flinched when he found that Edgar was slowly inching towards him. His shoulder slowly beaded with scarlet, soon tearing open as blood leaked from a slice between his shoulder and opposite ribcage. "How can you live with yourself when you've wasted my death by letting your sister die!? I always knew you were dense, but I guess I was wrong..." His stony gaze locked on Todd's dark blue. "You're brainless! You don't know how to do anything but mess up everything for everyone!"

"How fucking pathetic!" crowed Marley, making Todd's blood go cold, afraid of looking at her. "Look at me when I'm fucking talking to you, Todd!" Todd trembled, watching Edgar, Archie, and Angie, through her crawling, close in on him. "TODD!"

Something met his shoulder, causing him to stiffen as he whipped his head to Marley, only to scream in terror. The black girl's body was coated completely in blood from her terrible injuries that materialized over her, and to his horror her legs slid off, flopping on the ground as Marley crumpled at his feet. She grabbed his legs, making him try to yank them away as she snarled, "You're so damn stupid, annoying... why are you still alive!? You should be fucking dead! If you damn were- we would still be alive!"

No matter how hard he tried to move, her grip was too tight. Hyperventilating as his three other friends nearly got to him, he clenched his eyes closed, kicking Marley in the face, and dashed away when her clutch loosened.

"I'm sorry!" he shrieked shrilly as he felt tears fall from his eyes. "I was only trying to keep you all alive!"

"No you didn't, Todd!" they yelled angrily after him. "You killed us!"

Halting, Todd gasped as he saw a familiar green dress in the distance. With a shaky breath, he shook his head before sprinting towards his sister. "Winnie!" The moment he got to her, he hugged her from behind, holding her close as he whimpered brokenly, "Winnie... I'm here..."

"B-Big B-Brother...?"

"We have to get out of here!" He grabbed her hand, starting to pull her along as he breathed anxiously, "W-We're..." He was stopped abruptly.

Blinking in confusion, he turned to his sister who stood motionlessly. "W-Winnie? We have to go-"

Her shoulders started to shake, and tears started running down her cheeks. "You didn't protect me..."

Todd froze, shaking his head as he softened his voice. "I was, Winnie-"

"Th-Then why did I die!?" sobbed Winnie as she shook her head. "Wh-Why did you let me die!?"

Todd stared at her as his heart strained from pain, speechless as she let out a wail, "I thought you would protect me!" Slowly her apron became stained by blood. "Why didn't you protect me, Big Brother!?"

His heart felt like it shattered, and he numbly stared at her as she sobbed hard. Soon he noticed how his friends were slowly approaching him and his sister, yelling at him, and when he tried to pull away from his sister, she clutched his wrist hard as she wailed, "I thought you wouldn't leave me! Why are you leaving me, Big Brother!? Do you hate me!? Why do you hate me!?"

"I don't hate you..." he whimpered, staring at her numbly. "I'm sorry..."

"Why are you lying to me!?"

"I'm..." He bit his lip hard, shaking his head. "I-I'm not..."

Slowly he was surrounded by everyone, shaking as they shouted at him, clenching his eyes closed as they all grabbed him roughly, not allowing him to move.

He threw his head up, feeling them pull him down to the ground that engulfed him... feeling his body break as darkness filled his vision.

"I'M SORRY!"

Todd jerked awake, breathing heavily as he stared out into a brightly lit room. He flickered his eyes around; frantic about where he was until he closed his eyes, shaking his head before he flopped backwards.

'I'm sorry...' he thought miserably as he slowed down his breathing, soon finding himself staring at a ceiling that loomed high above from where he lay. He noticed how soft the ground was, and it occurred to him he was in a bed... that felt uncomfortable to lie in. He let his mind not focus on that, only staring at the ceiling.

This wasn't where Winnie died...

Slowly he got up, swinging his legs over the side and got off. For a few seconds he blinked, noticing now that the bed he had been in wasn't the only one. Lined up in rows and columns were similar ones, varying in sizes and were all neatly made up. It didn't seem as though they have been used for a long time... but the sheets were fresh so someone must have changed them recently.

Soon he cast his gaze around, trying to pinpoint an exit when pounding sounded from nearby. He whipped his head to it, soon absently watching a Monster approaching.

It was a bipedal large dark brown bear, having the same body type and qualities one would have. He could tell it was a grizzly bear, but it had an unkempt bushy tail and sharp, upright ears that a wolf would have. As well, its snout stretched out more, with two long fangs that protruded over its lower lip. It wore a simple crimson tunic, with a crest that looked like it became worn from over time; and steel-plated leggings that went down until it reached the ankles. The Monster's huge hindpaws thudded at each step, and Todd assumed it was impossible for it to ever wear shoes.

"I see that you are finally awake," rumbled the Monster who stopped in front of Todd, but Todd refused to meet its sharp yellow eyes that peered down at him. "That is most welcoming after you fainted."

"...Wh-Why did you take me away from her!?" growled Todd bitterly, clenching his fists. "I was supposed to stay with her-"

"Calm down, boy." Slowly Todd felt himself be nudged over to a bed, but Todd refused to sit down. "It may be best if you rest for now, and I am sure you are confused about your whereabouts..." Todd didn't reply to that, instead staring absently at the ground. "I can answer your questions, so I ask of you to settle down before I reveal anything. I know it is hard for you to do this, but please... do so for your sake."

Todd blinked, soon allowing himself to sit, knowing the Monster wouldn't be pleased with him if he didn't. He held his hands together, silently watching as the Monster brought his paw to his chest, noticing the hooked claws slightly twitch as the Monster gave a rumble, "Foremost, my name is Arturo Aril, the Swing blade of Might." After letting his paw fall from his chest, he gestured it to Todd. "Now, what is your name, boy?"

The dark brown haired boy lowered his head, looking away as he closed his eyes. "Does it really matter? I'm going to be killed soon."

"Not if you hold your head up high, and press on the best that you can, boy," replied Arturo evenly, soon moving to sit down on a neighboring bed and looked at him. "The fire within you is faint, but only because you refuse to give it oxygen to thrive. I know you do not mean that." He soon paused, inhaling a hefty breath before he spoke gently, "Boy, I would like to know your name. Even if you are bleak about giving it out at a time like this."

With a sigh, noting how the Monster seemed genuinely interested in his name, Todd closed his eyes. "...It's Todd."

"Todd..." It sounded like the Monster was testing it on his tongue, soon giving out a rumble, "Now that we are acquainted, do you have any questions for me."

For a while Todd ignored the Monster, soon looking back at his face and saw that the Monster was calmly waiting for Todd to speak. With a sigh, Todd mumbled, "Why did you bring me here?"

"I brought you here... because you would have been killed by the Captain of the Royal Guard," came the grizzly wolf Monster's reply reluctantly, soon shifting as his yellow eyes met Todd's. "He is hunting you at this very moment, and I know all too well that he would cut you down where he finds you. I could not let more blood or dust be shed, so I covertly brought you here before he was aware of your location."

"And here is...?" Todd slurred dully.

"Here is the Lab of our Royal Scientist, who used to be our Royal Doctor before the castle was finished being built… but his whereabouts are now unknown to us." explained Arturo as he cast his gaze away. "He went missing a month ago... and we have yet to find him."

"So... was this... a hospital?" asked Todd quietly.

"What is a hospital?" asked Arturo deeply; seemingly interested in the subject.

"A place where people who get hurt or sick go to get better..."

"Ah, then the Lab used to be a hospital," said Arturo with a nod. "Sick Monsters used to come to him, and get treatments that cured them. He was a brilliant Monster, one that I knew well..." His eyebrows furrowed. "If it were not for him, I would probably be renting out a room in Snowed Inn for my whole life… and that would not sit well with me that I am hindering Chester's business."

Todd blinked, staring at the Monster as he asked, "But why don't you have a home?"

With a slight grin, the Monster replied, "The other Monsters deserve a home, and I rather not deprive a Monster of that luxury."

After a few seconds the Monster got up, soon stretching before he gave a glance to Todd. "Now, I have business to take care of… Todd. I would like you to stay here until I return, for it is safer here than outside."

As the Monster made a move towards the door, Todd spoke up when the grizzly Monster was almost gone, "Wait-"

"Hmm?" The bear-wolf hybrid halted, turning his head slightly. "Do you need something?"

"You said earlier…" Todd lowered his head. "'We have yet to find him'? What did you mean by that?"

For a few seconds, the Monster was silent, stationary as his bushy tail twitched, soon sighing. "That is… all the Monsters are worried about him, and we all are trying our best to find him. We owe him so much for what he has done for the Underground, and we dread the worst has happened to him."

With that, the wolf bear hybrid walked down the hallway.

---

It was a few hours later when Todd heard the pounding of steps, but he didn't look up as Arturo walked past and heard the Monster stop. "Todd… I will be gone for the unseen future, to do some errands that I failed to finish yesterday. I want you to stay here until I return to the Lab."

Todd didn't respond to that, ignoring the items that Arturo slowly put on his bed. "These are for you, Todd. It would be good for you to eat."

At once Todd flinched. "Look, Todd, you need to eat something. It's not healthy for you." Biting his lip, Todd shook his head, breathing shakily as he clenched his hands.

The Monster put his large paw on Todd's shoulder, making Todd and the bed sink down as he murmured, "Please… eat when you are hungry. You should not starve yourself…"

Todd merely shook, feeling the Monster's paw leave before the sound of Arturo's footsteps disappeared. 'I don't want to eat… I can't eat… Why do I need to eat?'

After a minute or two, Todd shifted slightly, glancing at the strange food items that lay on the bed beside him. There was a duel-coloured pear-like fruit, that had faded flaky leaves sticking out from the top and was grey with pink stripes that looked so rough it made Todd wonder if it was really a painted rock; a bright yellow cylinder, that had a black lid that was sealed with a brown melted substance that might have been wax; a clear square container that contained a goopy, lumpy ash-coloured fluid; and two charcoal coloured pastries; that might have been some sort of muffin or bread that was dotted with tiny green berries.

Blowing out a sigh, Todd shook his head with despondence. Food wasn't what he needed right now, he felt sick at the thought of eating…

"Look at what I made, Big Brother!" He grimaced, breathing unsteadily as he heard his sister's upbeat voice. "Toriel calls them Spindlesnap Cookies, and I made a lot with her! Do you want to try one?"

He remembered her big, hopeful smile when she said that… remembered how he smiled back and replied, "Not now… but I'll try one later. I promise."

"Okay, Big Brother~!" Her gleeful giggles made his heart sink.

Todd whimpered wretchedly, feeling heat behind his eyes as tears rolled down his face. 'I'm sorry, Winnie… I'm sure you worked so hard at making them, and I should have ate them when you offered them to me!' He shook his head as he took in a sharp inhale. 'I'm sorry!'

His blurry gaze drew to his hands soon… remembering how hours ago he held his sister's hand for the last time.

"D-Don't leave me..."

Clenching his eyes shut, Todd let out a sob, shaking as he sat on the bed. He shouldn't have let her die! But the Monsters took her away from him! They took everyone away from him!

He had to go back.

Getting up, hiccupping, he turned his head to the hallway, and began to trudge towards it. Using the walls as support when the memory of her death began to run through his mind, he slowly made progress in traveling through the corridors. In a few minutes he found himself standing nearby a door that he couldn't open, so he continued through the halls until he found himself before an elevator door. He pushed the button, hearing it swoosh open before he entered. He pressed the button to go up halfheartedly, feeling the elevator vibrate as he ascended and left the tiny space.

Upon standing outside, he found himself in the lab Winnie and him discovered earlier.

Clenching his hands into fists, he turned on his heels, heading straight towards the exit. After a few steps, he stopped when his body was lit by the screen that flickered and buzzed, facing it when he heard something mumble from it.

"I r-wonder r-what the captain r-wants to talk about r-with me?"

Absently he stepped up to the table with four pink pads, noticing a familiar Great Pyrenees on the monitor who was vigorously pacing back and forth, wagging his tail as he barked, "Maybe he r-wants to just tell me I'm doing a great job! Maybe he r-wants to ask how I've been! R-Woot! I hope he gets here soon!"

'It's… It's a video feed,' thought Todd blandly, sighing soon as he shook his head with annoyance. 'I don't want to see this! Not after what he's done!'

Slamming his hand down on the table, the monitor switched to snowy scenery where little Monsters were playing in the snow.

'It... it changed!?' thought Todd in shock, soon noticing his hand was resting on one of the pink pads. 'Is... Is this a control pad or something!? A control pad or something that allows me to watch the Underground!?'

"Mommy! Mommy!" A small Monster was running up to a larger version of itself who was differently coloured. "Look at my snow poff!"

Todd clenched his fist, slamming it down on another pad, not wanting to see that either.

"Say… would you look at this!" A Monster was going through a trash pile in the garbage zone Todd woke up in. "Another icky Human food!" Holding it up in the air, the skinny Monster held up a candy bar. "Sheesh, it's no wonder why here! This is basically junk!?"

The dark brown boy growled in frustration, slamming his fist down again and again, seeing the monitor switch instantly until he heard a voice.

"Hey, Xander… how about we stop here?"

Todd stiffened, letting his fists hover above the buttons, slowly lifting his gaze to see the same Royal Guard members that killed Winnie. Just seeing them made his blood boil, breathing in and out as he watched them walking along a path, and at the bottom of the monitor he saw L2 flashing at the corner of it.

Watching the numbers flash, Todd blinked slowly. He focused on the area they were in, and gritted his teeth as he thought, 'How could you… get away with this?' He closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head as he breathed in and out heavily. 'How could you get away with killing my sister!?'

"Carmel, I don't like looking at the lava… It's always there, so what's so special about it!?" growled Xander who turned swiftly to the tawny otter, who's owl tufted ears twitched. "Could you tell me why you're acting like this!?"

"I…" Her words were soft and uncertain. "After what's been happening lately… hearing about what occurred in Snowdin… I can't help but think about enjoying what we have now."

"Tsk." The lanky Monster shook his head. "Are you serious!? We have nothing to worry about! As much as I don't like it… the Captain will deal with that Human and bring us closer to breaking the Barrier! We just need to relax!"

"Hmm… I guess you are right," said Carmel unconvinced, flicking her tail tip's spiky fluff before she sighed. "But, for all we know… the Captain could fail. We could all die… If we had just killed that Human when we had the chance, we wouldn't have to wait for the Captain to do it himself. We wouldn't have to worry, we wouldn't have to wait…" With a pregnant pause, she shook. "This isn't helping any Monster."

"I know that, feh. As long as we make sure the next two Humans are killed, everything will be worth the trouble."

Todd's breath hitched and his eyes dilated.

"I-It… hurts…"

Winnie's blank eyes filled his mind, and for a moment he felt the ghosting of her dead body cradled by him... as well as her blood.

'Nothing was worth it, you killed Winnie…' Todd quivered, narrowing his dark blue eyes as he clenched his fists more. 'You killed Winnie!' Shaking, his breath hitched before he whipped out his revolver, and pulled it up. 'YOU KILLED WINNIE!'

A shatter filled the air when his bullet shot into the glass.

Falling down, feeling the dusting of glass fall on his head, he shook as he faced the ground. His wrists immediately ached; the kickback dealt to them made him grimace as he let out a sob, feeling his tears drop on his sore hands as he bit his lip. 'You two… don't deserve to live… How could you live and walk around when you murdered my sister!? You took her life, yet you're still here! Why are you still here!?'

Feeling the revolver he held in his hands, he slightly glanced at it, watching it glint from the sputtering static coming from the broken screen, then frowned. He didn't know why, but he couldn't help but think of one thing.

'You should die…'

Raising his head, flinching from the static sputtering from above his head, he stared at the gaping hole he made. It was a rather sloppy shot… but he knew it could become better. He could shoot his father's revolver better… he knew he could.

He picked himself up, feeling the glass slide off as he focused his vision on the broken screen. He was silent for a few seconds before he tightened his grip on his revolver.

'You need to die...'

"I want you to stay here until I return to the Lab."

Grimacing, Todd knew very well that he couldn't comply with the Monster's request. Even if he was being hunted, Todd knew he could be alert during his time outside of the Lab. As long as he did that, he would be fine. So Todd shook his head. 'No. I won't do that, Arturo… I know you're looking out for me, but I need to do this.'

Turning on his heel, he was about to stride out of the Lab when something occurred to him. If he tried to fight the Monsters… he could get injured then be killed. He knew for one thing that wasn't something he wanted to happen, unless he had something to heal himself with. He knew Arturo left some food items for him back in the room he woke up in, so with a grimace, he swiftly went back to the elevator, and went down to retrieve the necessary items.

---

Todd patted his pants pockets, just to be sure he had the food (that he could fit in) secure before he left the Lab. He stepped onto familiar orange grainy terrain, warily glancing around for a few moments before he continued forward, heading straight to the elevator and entered it. He glanced at the array of buttons, checking each one for the one he needed, and found it in less than twenty seconds. Right away he pressed it, only to bite his lip when it failed to work. 'It must still be disabled…'

After checking the buttons, he soon found that the only button that worked was the button from before. He pressed it quickly, hearing the elevator hum to life and bring him to the level. Getting out, he threw his head around, soon blinking before stopping. 'How do I get to them from here…?'

He took in a hefty inhale, closing his eyes as he tried to remember exactly where they might have gone. But seeing how there was only one direction he could go, he decided he could wander down the path until he found them.

Todd only stopped at a familiar fork in the path, turning to see his sister's dead body in the distance. At once he felt heat behind his eyes, walking towards it as he approached his dead sister. But upon noticing that her Green SOUL was missing, he couldn't help but feel his chest constrict, collapsing to his knees as he grabbed her cold hand. 'W-Where… where did her SOUL go!? It was here! I had it in my hands- where!?'

Lowering his gaze, he bit into his lip until he tasted his own blood. He didn't exactly know who could have taken her SOUL, but at the moment, he knew he didn't have time to look for that. Once he did what had to be done, he could go look for his sister's SOUL... as much as he wanted to do that right now.

He brushed her hand, feeling her soft skin against his own before he squeezed it. "Don't worry…" he said gently to her. "I'm here for you, Winnie." With a slight smile, he chuckled. "I'm going to make them pay for what they've done to you. I'll be back for you soon, I'm not going to leave you." Slowly bringing his hand over to her small face, he brushed her eyelids over her glassy eyes before painfully leaving her. "I won't let them get away with this."

Todd trotted down the path, slowing to a stop upon seeing conveyor belts running briskly. He briefly skimmed his gaze over the area, soon stopping when he noticed something glinting in the distance. It looked like a strange square, which was in the stubby grasp of a small creature that was hopping back and forth on the spot. Todd furrowed his eyebrows, not wanting to deal with another Monster… but he knew for certain that it had to know how to get rid of the laser beams that was blocking the rest of the path. He sighed, taking a step onto the conveyor until he reached the other side, and walked towards the Monster.

"Hey…" he said quietly as he knelt down, which earned him the attention of the small spiky furred mouse-like creature. "What do you have there, little guy?"

As its large purple eye stared at him, its two other tiny paler eyes on the sides of it's face slowly twitched to him as well. After a minute of scrutinizing him, it gave a chatter of its blunt buckteeth, soon speaking up with a wave of its stubby talon, "Oh… I got nothen', bucko."

Todd grimaced, not expecting to hear that shrewd response. With a inhale, he frowned as he spoke to it, "I can see that you have that thing." He pointed at it, soon locking his gaze with its largest eye. "Do you know what it's for?"

"I foundit, bucko," squeaked the Monster with a snort, and turned its back to him. "Fair, and scuare…" With a hop away, it spat, "Sow why don'tja scuurrie off and leave me alone!"

At once Todd clenched his fists, glaring at it as he growled, "Hey, I was just asking about it!"

"Sow yew saay…" slurred the Monster as it's skinny lion-like tail swatted him in the face, causing him to yelp and wince upon getting pricked with the spike at the end of it. "I wanta be in peace, bucko, sow why don'tja tacka hike!" it growled.

Before it could leave, Todd let out a frustrated growl before he lunged forward, grabbing its tail and lifted it up. "What's wrong with you?" he asked bitterly, shaking it as he glared at it. "You're treating me like dirt, and we've just met!"

"Yew're twreeteng me like dert aas swell, bucko!" it squealed as it swayed back and forth, chattering its teeth in irritation. "Let go of me, and go away!"

"Could you please, tell me, what you have?" he snapped as he lifted it up to his face, jabbing his finger towards it as he set his jaw rigid. "I'll let go of you after- argh!"

Falling down, it scurried onto the conveyor belt. "Nota chaance, bucko!"

Todd hissed in a painful breath, shaking his finger that was bitten. For a few moments he quivered in anger before he clenched his hands, immediately haring after it. "Come back here!"

He jumped on the conveyor belt, walking forward to go faster as he kept his gaze on the swift Monster. When he saw it was about to escape from the way he came, without thinking he pulled out his revolver, slid in a bullet, and pulled the trigger.

His aim was off (luckily not harming the Monster), and made it freeze in its place right where his bullet met the ground. With a whip of its head, it squealed out in shock, "What was dat!?" Todd quickly caught up to it, quickly sliding in more bullets as it twitched for a few moments before it let out a shout, "Hey! Didja do dat, bucko!?"

"I had, nothing to do with that, bucko!" Todd growled as he swiped at it, his hand meeting thin air instead of catching its tail like he wanted to. Right away the Monster ran off towards the conveyor belt Todd originally took, and he followed after it with his gun loaded. If he could somehow scare it enough, he could easily catch it. As long as he didn't harm it, he could get on with his search.

Trying to steady the revolver, he struggled to aim it towards the ruddy-furred Monster, who was trying to bolt towards the other conveyor belt, then pushed down on the trigger and gave out a growl when he accidentally hit the conveyor belt. The Monster got on it, sticking out its long grey tongue at him, which made him angrier as he ran onto the moving ground as well. He gave out a cry of surprise when the conveyor belt jerked to a stop, and Todd almost dropped his gun when that happened.

Todd wondered what happened when he noticed how the conveyor belt shuddered from a rip being caught by it, and he realized soon that he made it stop. Upon meeting the eye of the shocked Monster, the Monster soon cringed and scampered away, flying towards the only way out. After half a second, Todd brought his gun up again, sloppily steadying it before shooting another shot.

The Monster once again stopped, backing away before whipping its head to him when Todd came over to it. "Sow… its yew who's doen' dis!" it yelped.

"I'm just trying to talk to you!" cried Todd as he shook his revolver towards it, growling under his breath as he snarled, "If you would just stop trying to run away from me, and explain what that is…" He stomped down when it sharply turned its pudgy face away. "Then I would go away!"

"I don't feel like doen' dat, bucko…" With a sniff, it gave a cheeky smirk as it toddled backwards. "I don't dink dat's part of my poliscies… and I rather like dis for my collection…"

"Why you…" With a snap of his wrists, he pointed the gun at the Monster. "Just… let go of your attitude, give me that thing, and I'll leave you alone," he said sternly and slowly. "I don't want to waste anymore of your time, and I don't want to do something I'll regret."

"Like what, kill me?" it squeaked blatantly, giving a short-lived high-pitched cackle. "Like yew could do dat with dat boom-maker, bucko! Its twrash, justa stewpid toy!" It gave a swish of its skinny, lion-like tail with a spike at the end, wagging its tiny talon, then crowed, "I havta wonder why yew're playen' around with dat crud." With that, it ran off towards the conveyor belt, giving a chortle as it gave a mocking yawn. "Don't wasteja time, bud…"

Todd was about to get on the conveyor belt when he remembered that the other one stopped moving, stiffly turning to it before he bolted across the still platform. When he got to the other side, the Monster gave a squeak before it spun around and tried to run back across the conveyor belt, only to be pulled back towards Todd. With a sharp turn of its head, it squealed haughtily, "Yew're just a buncha talk, bucko! I havta wonder who raised yew to be sow annoiyen'!"

Right away Todd went rigid, shaking as he narrowed his dark blue eyes into slits. "…What did you just say?"

It whistled before it piped, "Oh? Did I nip a nerve?" It lashed its skinny tail before it let out a laugh. "I bet yewr family gave yew dat boom-maker sow yew wouldn't havta bother dem…"

Trembling, Todd took a step forward. "Take that back."

"I guess I did, huh?" It twirled the object on its tiny talon, giggling sharply. "But where are dey? Do yew even have any of dem left to deal with yew?"

Todd couldn't take how annoying this Monster was, how horrible it was, how insensitive it was being to him. Right now all he wanted to do was ram his revolver into its body, just so it wouldn't give another slander…

"I bet dey didn't even lov' yew…"

Within seconds, Todd pulled the trigger, staggering back from the shock as he watched the Monster fly onto the conveyor belt. Before he knew it, the Monster vanished, and grey residue fell and gathered on the object it once held.

'NO!' Todd widened his eyes, staring down at his revolver in horror. 'I killed it! How could I-'

His thoughts stopped the moment something strange struck through him. Doubling over, his heart started to twist and tighten, and he dropped his gun to grab his shirt from how much pain it was in. He yelped, whimpering, baffled about why his heart hurt. He clenched his eyes closed, trembling madly as tears ran down his cheeks… wanting the agony to end-

Then it did.

Blinking for a long time, he soon absently stared at the dust pile that disappeared with the conveyor belt, soon hearing the moving platform screech in protest as it slowly stopped moving. But all Todd did was stare at the remains of the Monster… it had to be from it. He remembered what Arturo told him earlier, about how Monsters became dust when they died… Then he inhaled, somewhat happy the Monster was no longer alive.

'Stupid rodent,' he thought satisfied as he ambled over, letting his fingers brush against the sticky dust before wiping it on the broken conveyor belt. 'It had it coming to them.' Ignoring the horrible texture that the object now had, he began to rub his hand across it, trying to scrub off the substance before he examined it. 'Good riddance…'

It was a small, square grey object that had a dull spike at one side, along with a dark purple half-sphere jutting from the center of it. He moved it up and down, blinking as he wondered what it was and tested the button, soon hearing a beep from nearby.

Whipping his head up, he saw a light turn green from the machine beside the conveyor belt. Todd walked over to it, ignoring how the residue clung to his boots, and studied it for a few seconds. He moved the remote in different angles, soon wondering if the spike at the top was something he had to point with. Traveling down the stopped conveyor belt, he pointed the remote at the flashing red light, and pressed the button. Upon haring another beep, a hiss sounded from behind Todd.

Todd spun around, finding that the laser beam was gone. He gave a sigh of relief, throwing down the remote, retrieving his father's revolver before he walked towards the accessible path.

Stepping forward, stretching before him were pillars rising from the large abyss before him, connected to each other by green metal beams; and far off on his left, he saw more conveyor belts that rolled from the land on the other side towards his direction. As soon as turned to his right and walked over to the end of the path, he saw a black vertical marking on the ground that faintly flashed once and a while.

'I wonder…' Todd deeply breathed in, blinking as he tried to stretch head up, looking over at the wide columns to notice a similar marking. With a shrug, he stepped on the pattern, feeling his stomach lurch before finding himself on a pillar on the corner, flanking the conveyor belts. It took him a few seconds until he recovered from that unexpected jolt, now noticing two new markings…

One that was a white swirl… the other was a blue square.

He blinked, wondering what happened when he noticed a marking below his feet. It was the exact same one he stepped on.

The marking teleported him… so he had to guess those two markings were linked.

With a grimace, Todd wished Edgar was here. Edgar could shed some light on the situation… and tell Todd which one he should step on.

For some reason, Todd didn't feel that bothered by it, and he only heard inaudible words from Edgar echoing in his head… He took a moment to wonder why he didn't before he gave a shrug, taking a step on the blue one.

He found himself back where he started in front of the black symbol, giving a sigh before he stepped back on. This time Todd went on the white marking, finding himself this time on a pillar that was a feet across from where the initial black marking was. For a second he took in the two new markings near the edge, a green triangle and a yellow zigzag; then stepped on the one that was green.

It didn't surprise him when he got to the beginning again. 'Hmm… back here again, huh?' Todd felt it would be helpful to have Edgar with him, but he knew wishing that wouldn't help him... it was honestly useless and stupid right now. He instead used the same symbols again, soon reaching the point that he got stuck on.

After going on the yellow marking, he found himself on a pillar on the other corner that was far across from the first pillar he got to on the other corner. This one had a purple circle and three straight vertical red lines for symbols on the ground…

'Okay…' Todd grilled his brain, pondering about which one he should take. He really didn't want to go back to the beginning; he already wasted enough time as it is with that stupid rodent Monster and this puzzle… and he didn't want to lose track of the two Monsters that killed his sister if they left the area they had been in… 'What made the markings the wrong ones, and what made the markings the right ones?'

After a few minutes of standing there, struggling to figure it out… it occurred to him that the wrong markings were ones that had connecting lines. With a facepalm, he soon went on the red symbol and found himself close to the other corner, finding more markings.

Within two minutes Todd got to a pillar that had a single white horizontal marking, with the exact same one right across from him. Todd felt he should have been proud that he solved the puzzle… yet he didn't. He merely stepped on the marking, teleporting to the next one before walking away from the puzzle.

Todd strode for a while, hearing nothing but his footsteps and the lava in the distance. 'Winnie… this is for you.' He only halted to pop in more bullets, just to be sure that the six chambers in his revolver were filled, then took in a deep breath and continued on. 'I will not let them get away from me… I will give them the same pain they gave you.'

Soon he reached another turn that he took, and headed straight until he entered an area that branched off to other islands. The islands, from what he could see, were connected by short, thick salmon-coloured wires that were melded together and some more skinny, green metal beams.

He cast his gaze around, wondering if he was close to finding the Monsters when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, did you hear that?"

Todd hardened his dark blue eyes as he spotted the two Monsters, who were on the island ahead of him. They weren't close enough to see him apparently, so he slowly slid out his father's revolver and steadied it.

"…Carmel, you've been asking that for the last hour…" came the lazy growl of the lizard Monster who shook his head at her. "I think you're becoming paranoid."

"But I thought I heard something, from over there!" she exclaimed as she lashed her two tails, soon placing her paws on her mouth as she gasped, "What if it's the Human!?"

"If you think that the Captain is that incompetent in finding and killing the Human, Carmel, I think you should really go home and relax."

"But, Xander!" protested Carmel with a huff. "We've been training for this ever since we've joined the Royal Guards, this isn't something to go lax on! If we don't do our jobs right, innocent Monsters will be harmed!" After a few seconds of silence, she shook her head. "I trust the Captain, I know he's capable of hunting down the last Human..." She then bowed her head. "But that doesn't mean I can't stop worrying about this!"

As her fellow Monster gave a grumble, she fell to her four paws and started walking in Todd's direction. "Hey!" shouted the greyish green Monster who sharply whipped to her. "What do you think you're doing, Carmel!?"

"I'm going to check, just in case..."

"Fine! Do that if that'll shut your jaw off!"

Todd narrowed his eyes; tightening his grasp on his revolver as the otter Monster slowly approached him. Slowly he raised his revolver up, breathing in and out as he tried to judge his aim... but he realized the Monster was too far away for him to get an accurate shot in. With an irritated sigh, he started walking towards the Monster, watching as the tawny otter froze, giving a gasp in horror as her fur bristled.

At once the Monster jumped back, yelling out frantically, "Xander!" As Todd readied his next shot, she yelled louder, "Xander, it's the Human!"

"For the last time, Carmel-" As soon as Xander ran up to her, he halted by her side as he gave a hiss, "What the-" At once he reached behind his back, bringing out his jagged blade in a flash as he shouted, "YOU!" Todd set his glare on them, not moving as the Monster hissed out, "What are you doing here!?"

"I was hoping to find you," growled Todd coldly, keeping his grasp firm as he watched Carmel slowly bring out and put on her gold claw extensions. "And I guess I lucked out."

Slowly Carmel's owl-like ears sharply pointed forward, and she wiggled her golden claws as she growled, "We should have killed you when we had the chance."

"Oh, I guess you realized that now…" slurred Todd icily, taking a step forward as he thumbed the trigger on his revolver. "Or maybe you should have realized that before you killed my sister!"

"Is that it?" asked Carmel with a humourless laugh, frowning deeply as she raised her hackles. "Revenge?"

"I think of it more as delivering the means you deserve!" snarled Todd bitterly as he took a step forward, recalling how they killed her sister to fuel his resolve. "I never cared about how we're supposed to be enemies… I never did… that was, until you killed her! Slaughtering her when she never had a single intent to harm anyone in her entire life-" After stomping down, breathing harshly, he roared, "She never deserved to die!"

"Tsk… you actually do look pissed…" Xander's orange slitted eyes narrowed as he brought out another blade, pointing that one towards Todd as he snarled, "But I guess this means you wish for death by coming to us!"

"Do you know if the Captain is nearby?" asked Carmel warily, flicking her head up to her fellow member.

"I don't care! We're here, the Human's here…" Xander lashed his long scaly tail before he crouched with sheer bellicosity. "It's our duty to kill them now! We did it once, we can do it twice, Carmel!"

Carmel merely frowned at that, soon setting her honey-coloured gaze on Todd as a wisp of smoke fluttered from her fake claw tip. "Of course."

At once the bipedal lizard sprang forward, whipping his blade towards Todd as he jumped to avoid the blow. He thrust his revolver up, blocking the blade before it could slice his side open and jumped back. Before the Monster could swing another blow, Todd readied his revolver to shoot the reptile when he caught movement from the side of his eye.

Spinning around, he lurched backwards to avoid Carmel's pounce, striking her quick claws that were about to rake his arms. He stomped his foot down to steady himself and swung his revolver at Carmel before she could land a hit on him.

Carmel cried out as he swatted her in the throat, making her roll across the ground, causing Xander to cry out, "Carmel!"

"I'm okay!" shouted Carmel as she slowly rose. "Focus on the Human!"

While Xander was concentrated on his comrade, Todd immediately took the opportunity to ready his shot. He was in perfect view this time, and there was no way he could miss… so he pulled the trigger. Upon hearing Xander scream in agony, Todd smirked, feeling a rush of triumph before he put room between himself and the Monster.

"What was that!?" cried Xander as Carmel sprang towards him on her fours, soon standing on her hindpaws again as her wide expression was filled with horror.

"I don't know! I've never seen an attack like that before!" she shouted before she whipped her head to Todd, letting out a growl as she snapped, "You're going to pay for that, Human!"

Todd kept his expression hardened as he aimed his revolver, stepping back as Carmel bolted towards him. The moment she launched herself into the air was when Todd raised his revolver, and he waited until she almost tackled him before he gave his next shot. At once she squealed in pain, and he thrust himself to the side to not have her crash into him.

Upon turning to her, he saw her crying out as she twisted on the ground in agony. Todd gave a swift look to his revolver, smiling back at his reflection in his revolver only to frown and whip his head back to the Monster when her pained noises ceased. Carmel shakily got up, having smoke blow from her paws as she growled, "That hurt like hell! I guess I should deliver it back you!"

"Bring it!" retorted Todd before he cried out in agony, stumbling forward as steam drifted around him. Before he could take a moment to wonder what that was, he jumped when a geyser of fire burst from the ground. He gave a growl as he thought in frustraion, 'But of course she has fire magic! I should have remembered that Monsters don't just attack with weapons!'

Jumping and dodging each geyser, he skidded on the coarse orange terrain and soon fell backwards as a geyser flew into the air in front of him. Before he could get up, a battle cry sounded behind him and he rolled to the side to avoid the lizard that was about to charge into him. He breathed in and out, keeping a firm grip on his revolver as the bipedal reptile came back towards him, wielding blades high in the air.

Before Todd could aim his revolver, a torrent of fire struck him, making him fall down painfully as he noticed how butterflies that were made of flames circled from above before diving down at him. Right away he rolled out of the way before they hit him, soon circling above again as he weakly got up. 'Seriously!? Fire butterflies!? Seriously!?' he thought in dismay as he swerved to the side to avoid being swarmed by the fiery insects. 'This is crazy!'

Todd kept hopping around the area, trying to avoid being pelted by the fire butterflies that kept homing on him. For a second he tried to aim a shot at them to destroy the magic, only to cry out as they singed his hand. His revolver fell at his feet as he collapsed to his knees, gripping his hand as he tried to stifle his whimpers.

Suddenly something struck his side, and Todd soon tumbled on the ground briefly before he weakly propped himself up to look at the blade-wielding Monster. "Nothing will stop us from killing you this time, Human…" growled Xander coldly as he crouched again, raising his jagged blades towards Todd. "There's no running away..."

"I don't plan on running," hissed Todd as he shook, soon rushing towards his revolver, snatching it up and grimacing from the pain he felt in his hand. "I plan on ending this!"

"Then die!" cried Xander before he leapt towards Todd, swinging his blades into the ground, which caused a wave of fire to fly from the impact. Todd right away thrust himself away, avoiding the fire before the clanging of the blades warned him more attacks were coming. One by one, surges of flames flew at him, and he tried his best to run past them, grunting as he thrust himself over a geyser of fire that blew up, blocking the incoming fire torrent and creating a safe ground for Todd to stand in.

With a quick glance at the otter Monster, whose fake claws expelled smoke constantly, he noticed her grimace as she curled her claws together and brought it close to her breastplate. Upon meeting her pained gaze, she hissed before she bolted on all fours at him, knocking into him before he had a chance to avoid her charge and got a battering of hot metal in his face. He screamed in agony, wrestling with the otter who was determined to melt his face off. The moment he rolled them over on their sides, he kicked the otter Monster right in the stomach, making her curl up in pain as he made a break away.

After getting enough space between her and him, he breathed in and out heavily, feeling his numb, throbbing face and found he had bleeding blisters when he drew his hand away. He stared at it for a while, widening his eyes as faint flashes ran through his mind.

Archie being stabbed in the chest; blood gushing from his life-ending wound.

Marley's sliced up body; blood crusting it all over.

Edgar's cleanly struck wound; blood trickled down but was still fresh.

Winnie's back that bled from Carmel's deep claw wound… Winnie's apron was probably ruined from all the blood that it absorbed when he tried to stop the bleeding.

The fear running through him transformed into rage as he glared at the tawny Monster, who was slowly being hoisted up by her fellow Royal Guard member. 'It's her fault… she needs to die first! If it weren't for her- Winnie would still be alive!'

His vision blurred briefly, making him grimace as blood slid down his face, to his chin, and dripping onto his shirt. He breathed in and out, feeling lightheaded as he slowly fell to his knees, stifling his whimper of pain as his sore burned hand protested from the pressure he used on it.

'But… I can hardly fight them like this-'

An unexpected blow to his abdomen extracted all of his oxygen from his body, expelling him forward until he felt air fly around him. Immediately he threw his hands up, catching a green metal beam with both of them, although it was almost unbearable using his injured hand. He grimaced painfully, breathing in and out as he struggled to grasp the warm beam tightly. And below him he heard gurgles of lava, making him gulp as he thought fearfully, 'Oh no…'

"Shit!" hissed the lizard Monster loudly. "Shit, shit, shit!"

"What did you do that for, Xander!?" screamed Carmel in appall and anger.

"I didn't mean to do that! I struck him too hard, that's all, Carmel!"

"Did he fall over the edge!? What if he's gone!?"

"Let me check-" His shaky vision soon had the bipedal reptile come into it to leer down at him. The Monster gave a mutter under his breath before he growled, "He's clinging to the metal beams, Carmel! He's fine for now!"

"Oh no!" Upon seeing Carmel join the Monster's side, she peered down at Todd with horrified eyes. "We can't let that Human fall in the lava!"

"I know that, Carmel!" spat Xander with frustration as he instantly reached for Todd, straining to lean forward to try to grasp Todd's hands. "If we do… then we have to wait for two more Humans to come here before we can go to the Surface!" Suddenly he gave a yelp, almost plunging forward if it hadn't been for Carmel taking a hold of his waist and tugging him away from the edge.

"We have to be careful…" she murmured. "Especially you, Xander."

"Did you just hear me!?" snarled Xander with a sharp glare at his fellow Royal Guard Member, who flinched and stared at him wide-eyed. "I know that, dammit! We can't get his SOUL if he swims in that hot shit!"

With twitches of her ears, her tails swishing nervously, the shorter Monster soon murmured, "…I'm lighter than you…" Carmel slowly approached the steel beams, going on all of her paws to balance on them as she crept closer to Todd. "The steel beams can't hold your weight, so let me help the Human up."

In response, the artichoke-coloured lizard gave a huff then took a step back, turning his face away as he tapped his foot. "Alright… just do it quickly."

Todd bit his lip, trying his best to hold on as the Monster's concentrated expression loomed over him. 'Don't you dare come near me…' he thought bitterly as he felt himself dangling, soon feeling sweat slide from his hands as he growled under his breath. 'I don't want your help! Leave me alone if you want me to die!'

Slowly the face of the Monster drew closer to him, her claw extensions shaking as they neared Todd's hands. Todd didn't want this happening to him; he knew the Monsters would only kill him if he didn't fall into the lava. It was pitiful… how he couldn't even avenge his sister… nor could he save the rest of his friends who died because of him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head while ignoring the pain his face protested as he thought wretchedly, 'I-I'm so sorry, everyone…' As he took in shaky breaths, he bit his lip. 'A-Angie…'

"Get away from my friend!"

He blinked, knowing that there was no escaping this.

'A-Archie…'

"I'm not going to let you kill my best friend!"

He didn't want to let them kill him so easily; he wouldn't allow that.

'Marley…'

"Only idiots would jump out of here."

He wasn't an idiot; falling down wouldn't solve anything.

"You just sat there- trying to get yourself killed- and for what!? Because Archie saved you!? Pathetic!"

He wasn't pathetic; he wasn't going to take this.

'Edgar…'

"I know you're still grieving, Todd, but we shouldn't forget about the things around us that really matter."

He didn't want to die without trying to bring down the Monsters that took away the person who mattered the most to him.

Todd's heart thumped against his chest as he cried silently, grimacing when his tears rolled onto his wounded cheeks.

'W-Winnie…'

"I'm okay! I'm tough like my Big Brother!"

He was stronger than this.

"What if you don't land right!?"

He was going to land his attacks right; he was going to make sure the two Monsters would pay for what they'd done.

"I wanted to make sure I could defend myself like you can, Big Brother!"

He would defend himself against these Monsters; he wasn't going to let them kill him!

"I'm not tired!"

He wasn't tired...

"I love you, Big Brother…"

He loved Winnie too much to let these Monsters live!

Suddenly, unlike moments ago, a burst of energy filled him. He felt it wave through him constantly, almost like someone was running electricity through his body… without hurting him. And as he was being pulled onto the metal beams beside the Monster, steadied as he sat there, he hardened his gaze.

'I won't die!'

Before the Monster could pull him towards the rough terrain, he grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her with all his might off the beams. Thrusting himself towards the land and snaking past the stunned overgrown lizard, Todd smirked delightfully from hearing the terrified scream of the Monster as her fellow Royal Member cried out her name. The first thing Todd did when he got away from the Monster was bolt straight towards his revolver, picking it up to feel the rush he felt from holding it so many times. Upon giving a huff, wheezing slightly, he felt the wind strike his face and the sting from that reminded him that he was still injured.

He had to heal himself before the Monster came back.

Digging into his pockets, he tore out the strange black muffin bread and took a large bite out of it. He chewed on it quickly, soon feeling the horrible pain from when he killed that annoying rodent fill his heart. He nearly choked on his swallow, but tried to ignore the intense pain and continued eating the tart yet sweet pastry. Even as he did so, he could feel his urgency ebb, feeling confident that there was nothing to worry about but to heal himself so he could end the remaining Royal Guard member's life faster.

Starting on the next one, he was aware of crying from nearby, taking another bite as he turned to the hunched over figure of Xander. Todd gulped down the food he'd broken down in his mouth, blinking as he watched the Monster. It was sort of pathetic how the Monster was acting like this, when it was expected that pulling up the enemy would only make it easy for them to kill you when you were that defenseless. He continued eating the delicious pastry. 'Pathetic… and here you were boasting about how you can deal with a mere Human.' Todd gave a roll of his eyes. 'Ha. You really are pathetic.'

Todd threw away the muffin cups, wiggling his fingers with the hand that was now normal. With a grin, he brought his revolver up to point it at the Monster he had to kill next. 'It's your turn…'

Feeling bold, he started to take steps towards the Monster, knowing that he could effortlessly make enough holes in the Monsters before it could kill him. It was that simple: adjust the chambers, rest your thumb on the trigger, and let pain bless the target. He felt like this Monster couldn't stand a chance against him now.

As soon as Todd was close enough to it, Todd smirked as the Monster slowly turned towards him. "You…"

"Yes, it's me." Todd gave a humourless chuckle, shaking his head lightly as he asked, "Do you have any prayers, or do you Monsters not do that?"

"You killed her…" hissed the Monster, stiffly taking a step forward, clenching his claws hard as he snarled, "You killed Carmel!"

"I know that," replied Todd coldly. "I let her know what it was like for otters to swim in lava… oh wait?" Todd paused before he closed his eyes. "Are Monsters even animals anymore?" The Monster growled at that. "You know what…? I had a friend once, a friend who said that you're not related to animals… so I have to wonder if that's actually true."

"Do you realize what you've done!?" snapped the Monster with a snarl, trembling in anger as he jabbed his claw towards Todd. "You just killed her, and you don't seem to understand that!"

"I know what I just did." Todd hardened his dark blue eyes, frowning deeply as he growled, "Did you realize what you've done when you killed my sister!?"

With a growl, the Monster's eyes flickered from Todd towards the blades that lay abandoned on the side nearby Todd. Todd knew what the Monster was about to do, so when the Monster sprinted towards the weapons, Todd right away kept his gun in range of the Monster, waiting until the Monster almost got to them before Todd yelled angrily, "I want you to die!"

Pressing down hard on the trigger twice, keeping a firm grip on his revolver the moment he felt its kickback, he watched the bullets turn into blinding yellow wisps as they struck the Monster in the heels of its feet. Right away the Monster fell down, tumbling ungracefully right onto its weapons and shrieking. As soon as the Monster reached for their ankle, Todd readied his next shot and aimed it successfully into the Monster's hand, then shot another just to make sure he wouldn't have a chance to use them against Todd. When the lizard jerked and screamed harshly, Todd shook from excitement as he pressed the trigger again, only to frown when he discovered he needed to reload his revolver.

Todd grimaced, soon reaching into his ammunition pouch and scooped out three more bullets, sliding them into each chamber before adjusting the revolver. He slowly approached the Monster, hearing it wail in agony, soon smiling as he thought coldly, 'You're so disgusting… I have to wonder how slimy snakes like you survived here for so long.'

The moment the Monster lifted one of its blades feebly was when Todd shot a hole into its exposed throat. He heard the Monster gurgle in alarm, and he slowly grinned slightly then steadied his revolver before he shot another bullet at the Monster, right through the head. At once the Monster went limp, falling onto his other weapon, and exploded into powder.

'I… I did it.'

Todd felt a giddy laughter bubble out of his throat as he fell to his knees, throwing his head up, as he felt triumphant. 'I killed them! I did it! I did it, Winnie! I avenged you, and got rid of those annoying Monsters for good! You can rest in peace now!'

A knot of pain filled his chest, filled his heart again… but this time he didn't care about it. He did what he had to do, he couldn't be happier that he righted a wrong in the world. He killed the Monsters! He was victorious! He did it!

As he stayed there, laughing, he gave a broad grin as he looked to the smoky sky. 'I did it…'

Pounding sounded from behind him, and Todd didn't even regard it from how joyful he was. There was no reason to, he killed the Monsters who killed his sister… that was enough for him. In fact, he didn't mind dying right now. Nothing mattered…

"Wh-What…?"

Closing his eyes, Todd enjoyed the sound of bubbling lava and whirs from the steam around him.

"T-Todd!?"

Upon hearing his name, Todd's grin weakened slightly. He blinked, furrowing his eyebrows as he heard the thumping steps come closer.

"What are you doing here!?"

The moment Todd got up, slipping his revolver into his holster slightly, he turned only to widen his eyes.

Standing there was Arturo, donning a Royal Guard uniform. But instead of the usual grey steel... it looked like he was wearing bronze armour.

Todd frowned slowly, breathing in unsteady breaths as he backed away, shaking his head. 'N-N-No… h-he's…'

"What happened here?" asked Arturo cautiously before freezing, his sharp yellow eyes fixated on the heap of grey dust that covered the now ownerless blades. Todd watched as the Monster merely stood there, stiff as a plank, and Todd could hear the grizzly Monster scarcely breathe, "Wh-Who… did this?"

As soon as Arturo lifted his aghast gaze back to Todd, Todd couldn't help but give a smirk and snickered, "He had it coming for him…"

"Wh-What?" Arturo shook his head, and soon his gaze darkened as his lip curled into a frown. "Did you do this!?"

At once Todd frowned, stepping back again as he coldly replied, "What do you think? I did what had to be done, and I did what that was." Pausing for a second, Todd soon added in a punctured hiss, "But I guess you should've known that? Right, Arturo?"

He expected Arturo to charge at him, to roar in anger and grief, to try to kill him… and Todd right away brought out his gun only to notice that the Monster wasn't doing that at all. He blinked in confusion when Arturo lowered his gaze, and asked quietly, "What purpose did killing Monsters serve you, Todd?"

Right away, Todd trembled, tightening his grip on his gun as he growled, "What did it serve me? It was justice! I did what needed to be done-" A laugh tore out of Todd's throat, even as the Monster started to trudge towards him, "I did it! I killed them, Arturo! This was the one thing that needed to be done!" As Arturo was almost in front of him, Todd felt tears run down his face as he exclaimed happily, "You told me to fuel the fire within me, and I did! I killed the ones responsible for Winnie's death! And boy, it felt so good!"

Arturo stopped in front of Todd, and Todd knew that it was the end for him. He closed his eyes, dropped his revolver, and drew in a deep breath. 'Do it… kill me.'

The moment he was struck in the head, his mind went dead.

---

Slowly Todd's vision cleared, and he soon groaned upon blinking his eyes from the light that shone down on him. He frowned, wondering what happened when he sat up, finding that he wasn't alone.

Before Todd stood Arturo, his sharp yellow eyes flashing slightly for a brief second before he spoke quietly, "So, you are awake now."

Todd merely scowled at him, raising an eyebrow as he asked coldly, "Why didn't you kill me back there?"

"What do you mean?" asked Arturo with surprise.

"You know what I mean." As Todd squirmed out of the blankets he was tucked in with, he pointed sharply at Arturo as he growled, "You know that I killed your comrades…"

For a few seconds, Arturo's gaze slid away from Todd, and he heaved out a sigh. "Todd, I do not want to shed dust nor blood…"

"But you're a member of the Royal Guard!" spat Todd as he got off the bed, shaking as he glared at the grizzly Monster. "It's your job- to hunt Humans! Humans like me!" When the Monster refused to respond to that, Todd gave a growl, "So that's it then? You're going to tell your leader that you've captured me, then he'll come over and kill me!"

Slowly Arturo turned back, blinking his yellow gaze as he shook his head. "Todd… if I wanted to do that, then I would have already. I would not have brought you here the first time, out of harm's way; put you to bed, to make sure you had a good sleep when I found you grieving over your sister's death; and made sure you were not discovered the whole time that you were under my care before you left to kill my comrades." After shifting slightly, he added with a sad sigh, "I know, as a Human, you are in danger. And I want to make sure you're not going to be captured, and used by King Asgore to bring us to the Surface to have the New War. In all honesty, I do not want the New War to happen."

"How can I trust you?" asked Todd bitterly, shaking his head as he refused to look at the Royal Guard Member. "For all I know, you could be lying…"

"You have every right to distrust me." The dark brown furred Monster soon trudged towards Todd, stopping after a few steps as he murmured, "But, you have to understand that you may not find as many Monsters who do not want the New War to begin. I was a part of the Old War, and saw so many Monsters fall down… and turn to dust." His voice suddenly took on a wretched tone. "I do not want to see that happen ever again."

Todd slowly blinked, pondering the words that Arturo said. As much as Todd wanted to believe the Monster… he couldn't trust him, not after what happened to his friends and his sister… especially now that Todd knew that Arturo was a Royal Guard member. He remembered how each of them died, their last words, the very injuries that took their lives…

How could he trust any Monster after what happened?

Arturo shook his head. "I do not want to kill you."

That snapped Todd out of his memories, making him whip his head up to glare at the Monster. "Then why are you a part of the Royal Guard!? We're supposed to be enemies, so why- why are you a Royal Guard member!?" snapped Todd as he breathed in and out heavily, clenching his fists as he searched the Monster's face for disgust or hatred… Instead, he found the Monster looked pained.

"...I am bound by my blood." The Monster slowly closed his eyes as he lowered his head, resting his paw on his crimson tunic that he gripped hard. Todd blinked in surprise, not expecting that. "My species of Monsterkind... were a proud race, now dwindled to me. Our duty was to serve the Royal Family… and that we did. To protect them." After a few seconds of silence, the Monster gave a shudder of a breath. "But nowadays… that has broken, yet my ancestral pledge to the Royal Family has not."

"What do you mean?" asked Todd as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"I do not want to be a part of the Royal Guard, I merely want the nightmare to end," replied Arturo sadly as he slowly released his tunic and met Todd's gaze. "I do not want the New War, the Old War showed us we never had a chance against the Humans. If we were to have the New War, we would repeat the torment of the past." He shook his head lightly. "You will never understand that, Todd, but know this: I do not want to kill you."

Todd merely hardened his gaze.

It was few seconds later that Arturo blinked, biting his lip before he asked slowly, "D-Did you… Were you the one…?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Todd as he scowled at the Monster.

"Recently… Snowdin's Canine Unit was wiped out…"

At once Todd raised an eyebrow, widening his eyes in surprise. "They were?"

"Yes… all except for one." Arturo shifted before he inhaled deeply. "A Monster by the name of Rover."

For a few seconds, Todd blinked, wondering how that happened. The last time he saw the dog Monster was before Archie…

The memory of Archie lying on the ground, bleeding out from being impaled in the chest, ran through his mind.

He grimaced. "Why does that matter? I didn't do it."

Arturo slowly twitched his bushy tail, soon responding in a level tone, "Today, I was requested by the Captain to escort him to have an audience with the said Monster, to talk about what had happened. All we got was that Rover did not know where they went, but we could tell from his descriptions that they were slain. Clearly, this task was undertaken by a Human."

"And why don't you think a Monster did it?" asked Todd bitterly with a huff.

"No Monster would wish to harm another, never as Humans have."

"Humans attacked out of anger to protect their family," said Todd with a shake of his head. "They would never just slaughter Monsters."

At once Arturo's eyes flashed. "You know of how Humans done that in the past?"

"I was told that a Monster child killed a Human child, then their parents attacked the family of Monsters out of grief," replied the dark brown haired boy with a huff, crossing his arms. "Then the war that you had started."

Arturo shook his head. "That was a mere part of it." Upon shaking, the Monster's gaze grew sharp. "Did you not hear of how Humans feared for their lives? Not wanting to have their SOULs absorbed by Monsters so they attacked us out of cowardice?" Just before Todd could give his opinion on the matter, Arturo growled bitterly, "They killed thousands of Monsters- never holding back- and we had to surrender to protect ourselves! We were trapped underground by them, by their terrible magic!"

Todd faintly remembered that Toriel mentioned something about magic.

"We never had a chance to kill them, we were too weak…" Slowly Arturo's voice softened into sadness, the anger he held seemed to perish. After a moment or two of shifting on the spot awkwardly, Arturo sighed, "Monsterkind remembers Humans out of bitterness, but they need to remember that there were days that were of golden happiness… and of peace. I, too, want the days of peace and happiness to come back, and I wish I could help King Asgore remember that as well…" His gaze drifted down. "But, I have no such luck."

'What do you mean by that?' thought Todd warily as he saw that Arturo started to breathe in and out, sluggishly taking off his bronze helmet and letting it clatter to the ground. 'You… why do you care about the king? Why should you care about that Monster who wants to kill us Humans when you don't want to!?'

"I believe that if we can offer a hand with no thorns attached… we can arrive at peace." After a few seconds, Arturo soon stepped closer to Todd. "I apologize for going off topic."

"It's…" Todd turned his gaze away. "It's alright." His dark blue eyes stared off at the bronze helmet that lay discarded on the ground. Unlike the other Royal Guard members who wore silver helmets, the helmet looked somewhat fancier… If Arturo was a type of Monster who had to help protect the Royal Family… then it made sense that their armour was slightly different. After a few more seconds of studying the helmet, Todd looked back at the grizzly wolf Monster "But what were you trying to talk about before?"

"Ah yes, about Rover…" As Arturo trudged over to a bed, he took a seat before he spoke, "The Monster asked if we saw a Human with a strange hat around. Do you know that Human?"

The boy could only blink, soon replying with a shrug, "I lost that hat."

"So, you are that Human, then?" Arturo smiled at that, soon relaxing with a sigh. "I was afraid that we had to tell him that the Human was dead."

"Why would that matter?" asked Todd in confusion.

"Because Rover wanted to meet up with you."

"Why would he want that?" asked Todd with a tilt of his head.

Arturo shook his head gently. "I do not know, Todd. All I know is that he wanted to meet up with you nearby the bridge back to Waterfall, and that he would not leave until you came to see him." With a pat on Todd's shoulder, in which Todd scowled at him for doing, Arturo put in, "It may not be my decision… but I believe it would do you no good to disregard his invitation."

Todd silently turned his head away, frowning as he stared at nothing particular. To him, it was a waste of time… there was nothing useful or meaningful that could come from seeing the Monster again. And Todd didn't care about seeing that Monster, especially when the Monster…

'Wait...?'

"I'll go," said Todd with a smile. "I think it might be good to see someone familiar."

Arturo smiled at that. "Very well." As an uneasy frown formed on Arturo's lips, and the Monster slowly withdrew his paw then got up. Todd watched as the Monster lumbered away, soon getting up and was about to leave as well when he heard the Monster return. Upon turning to him, Todd widened his eyes slightly when the Monster offered Todd's revolver and ammunition pouch. "I apologize, Todd. I could not be certain if you were going to attack me or not when you woke up, knowing now that I am a member of the Royal Guard…"

For a while Todd stared at the Monster warily, blinking as he frowned. 'If... If the Monster wanted to kill me, he would have done that if he had my stuff...' Breathing in softly, his dark blue eyes widened. 'I guess he never did want to kill me.' Todd slightly smiled for a trice. 'I guess I was wrong to assume the worst.' Although, Todd had to say that it was suspicious how Arturo took his revolver and ammunition away... but he shrugged off the feeling, simply discarding that for the fact that the Monster was worried that Todd might've wanted to kill him.

"I understand, don't worry about it." The dark brown haired boy reached for his belongings, tying on his pouch to his holster and slipping his revolver back in. As the familiar wave of power struck through him, he grinned as he nodded. "I'll be sure to be careful."

The dark brown bear gave a nod back, and turned around to lumber away to another location in the room. By the time the Monster disappeared through a faraway hallway, Todd turned and went off through the one to leave.

---

It didn't take Todd long until he noticed the Great Pyrenees Monster who stood beside the water cooler, who was wagging his tail as he licked the inside of the cup he held, soon panting as he let his tongue loll from his mouth. Todd, at first, didn't know what to say or what to do, but the moment the hyperactive dog's eyes turned to him, he didn't have time to choose that.

"Oh my gosh~ it's you!" barked Rover happily as his tail wagged madly, instantly running up to give Todd a hug. Instead of freaking out about it, Todd let the dog Monster hold him, closing his eyes as memories of Winnie's hugs made it somewhat bearable to get through. As soon as Todd was put down, the dog Monster yapped, "I thought you r-were dead, and I'm so glad you r-weren't-"

"It's good to see you," said Todd as warm as he could, except his words seemed a bit more flat than he wanted to express. The moment he saw Rover's eyes light up from that, Todd looked to the ground. "So… did you need something?"

"Oh!" For a few seconds Rover raised his paw up, gaping his mouth open only to hold it for a minute or two. He blinked in confusion, soon flattening his ears as he whimpered, "I… I r-wanted to be r-with a friend! I-I haven't seen you since…"

Todd sighed at that sadly. "Yeah… I get what you mean."

'Especially when you caused my friends to die…'

"Oh my gosh~ do you r-want to roll around and-"

"It's a little too dangerous to do that here, Rover," said Todd with a frown. 'Stupid mutt…'

Rover's face soon fell, looking around as he let out a whimper, "Oh… " His eyes soon glowed as he barked happily, "That's okay! R-We can do that in Snowdin! The snow is so fluffy~ and it's the best for rolling around on~!"

"That sounds nice…" Todd smiled at that.

"R-Wait?" Rover's paw waved over Todd's head as he tilted his head to one side. "R-Where's your hat!?"

Todd looked away, hearing Winnie's voice echo the same question. "I lost it, and couldn't find it."

"Rover can help you find it!" yelped Rover with a beam, nodding his head as he panted more. "I have a great nose and two…" His ears flattened slightly before they perked up. "Two friends can find it better together!" His tail wagged as he chirped, "Right!?"

When Rover said 'friends' Todd's expression screwed up, and he looked at the ground painfully. "I guess so…"

'If we were friends...'

"R-Where did you last see it?" Rover at once turned his back to Todd, whipping his head back and forth as he rested his paw on his forehead. "I'm great at finding things!"

As Rover continued to bark pathetically, Todd gritted his teeth. 'If you hadn't told them… my sister and friends would still be alive!' His eyes narrowed as he shook. 'It's disgusting how you can't tell that you've hurt me more than you can ever hope, Rover.'

"R-Well?" The white-furred dog Monster turned to him, panting as he asked, "Do you know r-where you lost it?"

"I think it's somewhere close by." Todd pointed across the bridge. "I think that way."

"Alright!" Rover nodded before turning back, starting to walk with a bounce in his steps across the bridge. "Let's go!"

Slowly Todd followed after him, keeping his gaze on the upbeat Monster. After a few steps, Todd slid out his revolver. 'You disgusting mutt… how about we play catch instead?' As the Monster continued to babble annoyingly, Todd raised his revolver towards Rover. 'With a bullet in your head!'

Todd instantly fired his revolver, jerking backwards as he heard the boom ring through the air clearly. Rover fell down at once onto the bridge with a pained yelp, and within seconds Rover whimpered in a low tone before his body collapsed into grey dust. Todd smirked as he felt a breeze hit him, which soon pushed the dust off the bridge to sail into the boiling lava below.

'Heh… down doggie.' With a twirl of his revolver, Todd put it back in his holster and felt a twinge of pain through his chest. He turned and gave a low laugh as he walked back to the Lab. 'For good.'

---

"So… how did your talk go with Rover?" asked Arturo calmly.

Todd ignored the Monster at first, eating the Hotland Gumbo (that Arturo had given to him earlier) as he rolled the question through his mind. But after a while, Todd felt that Arturo would sooner or later find out, so he smiled after gulping down the spoonful of the grey stew.

"I killed him."

Arturo at once stiffened, slowly turning around to give Todd an unreadable expression as he spoke, "I-I see…"

"I mean, it was easy," said Todd nonchalantly after gulping down another mouthful, stabbing his fork into it before he went on, "The Monster thought I was his friend or something… when we weren't."

"Why would you do that?" asked Arturo finally after a minute of giving Todd a weird look.

"If it weren't for him, my actual friends and my sister would still be alive," growled Todd and shoved more food into his mouth, angrily breaking it down before swallowing. He pointed his fork at Arturo, causing the Monster to flinch, and put in bitterly, "I wish we could have killed him when we met him. If we did, maybe he wouldn't have run off to whine to the Canine Unit that we were there- then we would practically be out of here by now." After shoving his fork back into the stew, Todd gave a sigh, "All six of us…"

As Todd began stirring through the lumpy slop, idly scooping up and plopping the food back into the container, Arturo gave a sigh then spoke, "As pleasant as that may sound, there was no way you could have gotten out of here without alerting the wrong Monsters."

Todd at once snapped his hardened gaze to the Monster. "What are you talking about?"

Briefly, the Monster sighed again, then shook his head. "You do not know how to get out… from what you have said."

"And are you going to tell me then, Arturo?" asked Todd rudely with a snort. "You seem to know that."

"Yes, I do know that."

"Then how?" Todd let his fork drop in the half-eaten food, soon shifting so he could completely face the large Monster. "Will you tell me that?"

The Monster merely stared at him, his yellow gaze pained as he inhaled deeply. He turned his head, taking some steps away before he spoke, "I will." When Todd blinked, the Monster soon added sadly, "However, there are things I should have told you about sooner. I shall tell you them, in hopes that you will understand, then you will know why it will be hard for you to leave the Underground." Upon turning his head slightly, he asked, "Will you let me do so?"

Blinking again, Todd scowled at the Monster until he slowly let his lips slip into a flat line. He gave a small nod, soon setting down the stew to the side to listen to the Monster.

When Arturo understood he was free to speak, he began, "Long ago… when Monsterkind had recovered from the blow Humankind had dealt to us, a Human child fell down. It had been years ago, when I still served the Royal Family as their sole bodyguard. By then, King Asgore had sought to put aside what had happened in the past, wanting to look to the future. So when the Prince found the Human, King Asgore took in that child, and adopted them as his own-"

"Them?" echoed Todd with a frown. "Was it a boy or girl?"

"Unfortunately, it pains me to say that I cannot tell you," said Arturo with a shake of his head. "The Human only told the Royal Family what gender they were, and I am sworn to secrecy for what gender that was."

"Why's that?" asked Todd with a frown.

"I want to uphold the promise I gave to never reveal it, Todd."

Todd gave a nod to that.

"A few years or so later, the child died…" explained Arturo sadly, closing his eyes as he breathed in quietly. "And our prince, Asriel, took them to the Surface to lay them to rest where the Golden Flowers grew in the Surface." He frowned then. "But he was attacked by Humans, and died upon his return. The Underground was upset by the tragedy… but not as much as the King and Queen.

"When I tried speaking to King Asgore about what he was to do, he told me through utter rage that he had to kill the Humans." Arturo shook his head at that, clenching his paw that was pressed to his side nearby the wall. "I tried to reason with him, but to no avail did I sway him away from the New War. He told me how we had to collect enough SOULs to break the Barrier… just so he could slaughter all of Humankind in the world. But I know that will only kill him, as well as Monsterkind if he follows through."

Suddenly Arturo shook his head, shaking slightly as his gaze turned away from Todd. "I cannot stand the thought… of all the dust that will pile upon the Surface. No Monster can stand up to the Humans, no Monster can survive the New War…" Without warning, a bang sounded through the room, and Todd flinched upon seeing Arturo bash his fist against the wall. "King Asgore will kill us all!" he snarled bitterly. "I cannot allow for that to happen!"

"Only a few Humans know about Monsters," said Todd as he frowned, shaking as he went on, "I'm sure the other ones won't hurt you!"

"But as far as we know, we may be killed on sight," responded Arturo sorrowfully in defeat. "For all we know, we may be accepted… only to be betrayed by Humankind…" With a shuddery inhale, Arturo murmured, "I know for one thing that we are marching towards our deaths."

It was quiet between the two of them after a while, that was until Arturo sighed before speaking solemnly, "King Asgore just needs seven Human SOULs… seven Human SOULs in order to break the Barrier. And once he does, Humankind will slay us. I want that to be avoided at all costs… and it brings me to an option that I venture to say is against my morals…"

"What is it?" asked Todd curiously.

"Killing King Asgore…"

At once Todd widened his eyes. "You want to kill the Monster who you are loyal to?"

"I do not want to kill King Asgore, I merely hope there is a way around that," said Arturo grimly. "The Queen is no longer here, so there is no one else who could stop him but me. But I am not strong enough to defeat him… nor is it favorable to me if Monsterkind finds out about me murdering the King."

"Then what will you do?" asked Todd coldly, sniffing a second later. "Let him die of old age?"

"He cannot die of that, only of swift death." Arturo slowly turned back to Todd, frowning as he gave a heavy sigh. "I only wish that I can show Monsterkind a better way than to kill Humankind…"

"And how would you stop him if you can't kill him?" The dark brown haired boy raised an eyebrow at the Monster.

"Stop him from obtaining what he wants: The Human SOULs." Slowly Arturo walked towards Todd, soon stopping to sit on the bed beside Todd's as he spoke grimly, "Five of the Human SOULs have already been harvested… by the Captain of the Royal Guard."

Todd's blood ran cold at once, and he stared at the Monster in horror. 'No…'

"I asked the Captain about them when I had seen him last, and I have heard that he is taking them directly to King Asgore at this very moment," explained Arturo as he put his paws together, soon squeezing them slightly. "I know the castle well… Every hall, every room, every inch that it stretches…" His eyes turned to Todd and locked with his dark blue. "It may be hard, but we can get them back."

"We?" repeated Todd warily.

"I mean, I can help you get them back," clarified Arturo quickly as his gaze sharpened. "If you could get past the Barrier, with the Hum- your sister's and friends' SOULs… you would greatly inhibit King Asgore's plan for the New War. You could escape the Underground before you are killed, and you can find a way to stop Humans from coming to the Underground. Then no Monster, or Human, would have to bare arms against each other ever again."

Todd blinked, pondering about the plan as he stared at the Monster. It didn't take long until nodded at that as he felt a swell of anger rise in him. "It will be better that way," said Todd dryly. "I've had enough of Monsters who want to kill me…"

"There is only one problem." As Arturo frowned, he closed his eyes. "The Barrier will not allow for entities pass through it… unless a Monster SOUL and Human SOUL go together."

"So what you're saying is…" Todd grimaced. "I can't leave."

"No, you are perfectly capable of leaving, Todd," said Arturo as his gaze turned away. "You only need to have a Monster SOUL strong enough to help you pass through."

"And what does that mean?" asked Todd in annoyance. "What should I do?"

"You need to take Asgore's SOUL."

At once, Todd widened his eyes. "You mean… k-kill Asgore?"

"As much as I do not like it… King Asgore needs to be taken down if the New War will be prevented, and for you to go home," explained Arturo seriously, not looking at Todd as he went on, "I can take care of the Underground in his absence. After all… Asgore would trust me to take care of it."

"Is that because you were his bodyguard?" asked Todd curiously.

"It is because…" For a few seconds, Arturo went silent. His gaze stayed away from Todd, lingering towards the other side of the room before he shook his head. "I rather not say."

Todd grimaced at that. He would have liked to hear what Arturo meant by that, but he shrugged and nodded. "So… I have to kill Asgore?"

"I did not say you should, only that his SOUL would give you what you need to escape from the Underground." As soon as Arturo looked back at Todd, his yellow eyes weary, he frowned. "Unless… you did not want to leave."

Right away, Todd lowered his gaze. He felt as though he should be immediately agreeing with the Monster… but at the same time, he didn't feel like it mattered at the moment. If he did leave the Underground, he wouldn't have his sister and friends with him. He would never get them back... only because that Monster, King Asgore, took them away from him. If the Monster hadn't made the Royal Guard, Winnie, Archie, Angie, Marley, and Edgar would still be alive. Therefore… Todd knew what he had to do.

He clenched his fists; breathing heavily as he growled bitterly, "There's no way I'm going to let that Monster live after what he's done to my sister and friends…" He slowly met the Monster's gaze again. "I need to do this, Arturo… can you help me?"

It was a minute or two later when the Monster gave a curt nod. "I would gladly aid you the best I can, only if I remain not linked to the deed, Todd."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Todd with a frown.

"I will help you get into the Castle, into New Home, and help you take down Asgore… as long as I remain unlinked to the deed," explained Arturo evenly as he inhaled slowly, clenching his paw. "If Monsterkind knows that I helped you kill King Asgore, it will not bring good light to relinquishing the New War. So, I will strike King Asgore at the right time, giving you the opening to attack and take his SOUL."

"You mean to say, I'll hold onto it?"

"No." Arturo's eyes sharpened. "When a Human takes a Monster SOUL, they absorb it. It feeds into them, granting them might… granting them the ability to make their SOULs stronger."

"Why?" asked Todd with a frown.

"From the reports of the Royal Scientist, that I have been tasked to studying to find clues of his whereabouts, I have learnt much about SOULs." Arturo grimaced slightly, furrowing his eyebrows as he shook his head. "Monster SOULs have magic properties… while Humans have different properties that make them stronger because of their organic matter. Their organic matter thrives on energy, while Monster matter thrives on magic. By taking the energy of the SOULs of Monsters, from what he has come to theorize…" He narrowed his eyes. "If a Human takes enough energy from enough Monsters, their SOUL could equal another Human SOUL, making their might the might of two Humans instead of one, allowing them to take down Monsters easily… As well, this could very well allow them to become strong enough to surpass the Barrier without having to sacrifice innocent SOULs…"

"That… That would allow me to get past the Barrier easily," said Todd in astonishment.

"Indeed." The dark brown-furred Monster for a while stared at him with an unreadable expression before he turned his gaze away. "That is why I believe, if you take Asgore's SOUL… your SOUL would be strong enough to help you pass through the Barrier without you dying from the pressure it exerts, Todd. You will need to take down Asgore… if you want to get back home."

"Couldn't I just kill some more Monsters?" asked Todd suddenly. "I mean, I still want to kill Asgore… but wouldn't-"

"Killing the innocents will not justify the blood spilled from his vengeful streak, Todd," said Arturo curtly as he narrowed his yellow eyes. "I do not want any of Monsterkind to be killed when the source of the hatred comes from our King. Once the King is gone, Monsterkind will have no one but a stronger Boss Monster to lead them, one that will give them what they need." As he pressed his paw to his chest, Arturo spoke softly, "And I wish it to be me." His voice became stronger and passionate as he went on, "I can show them mercy, rather than death. You, and the rest of Humankind, would never have to worry about Monsterkind ever again. I will keep the Monsters down here, but give them new hope for our home that we are not prisoners, but survivors… survivors that can live without yearning for what we have lost, and live for what we do hold."

Getting up, Arturo turned to Todd with a smile. "And I would wish you would aid me in guiding the Underground to a better future, and in return I will help you and your sister and friends return to the Surface." He slowly extended his paw out, retracting his claws slightly as he met Todd's dark blue gaze. "Do these conditions please you, Todd?"

The dark brown haired boy for a while stared at the hand, blinking slowly as he pondered the deal. In both worlds, this would suit them best. No one would ever fall down again, no one would ever have to encounter each another again, no one would have to draw blood or dust again…

And no one would have to die again.

This would grant everyone peace, and history would never repeat ever again.

There was nothing more ideal than this arrangement.

As long as King Asgore was gone, there would be no more conflict with Humanity and Monsters again.

Todd knew, in all his heart, his sister would want this. She wouldn't want him to kill innocent Monsters… she never wanted to harm anyone. If she was here right now, she would be happy to hear of this...

Slowly Todd got up, and placed his calloused hand into Arturo's paw. "I will."

Arturo's smile on his broad face was bright, from what Todd could tell, so Todd supposed he made the Monster very happy.

"Very well, we shall recover our energy and strength for the time being," said Arturo proudly, shaking Todd's hand. "And tomorrow… we shall meet King Asgore in the depths of the Castle: New Home."

'I can't wait to do that…' Todd made himself smile back, and he soon let go of Arturo's hand and went to cover and place his half-eaten Hotland Gumbo on another bed beside his. 'Put a bullet into the Monster's skull… making him taste his own death!' As he slid into his bed, he chuckled as he pulled the covers over himself. 'I will put an end to everything, and leave this damn place behind with everyone… just like we were supposed to!'

He closed his eyes. 'Together.' Slowly smirking as his exhaustion caught up with him, he felt nothing as he slipped into sleep.

Todd had no nightmares… neither did he dream.

---

To be continued… hope you enjoyed the chapter! =3

…

EeveeGen9988: Heh, it's here... Sadly, the next Part will be the end ...or the beginning? *shrugs* Anyway, I hope you like what I got cooked up for Part 5! Which may come in the next two or three weeks!

Also, I will accept final chapter notes extras. For that, if you want, you can request information about the story and its characters. Like, for example, stuff about Edgar... or concepts that I chose to do for the story... etc! Why I'm doing this... it's because I like talking to people and answering their questions~ =3

As well, I put up a poll on my profile for the story, so check it out if you feel like it! =D

See you later, people!

*goes to try to gather the rest of the confetti she shot in Part 1*

…

~ Item Check ~

- Fizzle Fruit: a pear-like fruit that looks like a painted rock… but its not as hard to eat. Heals 7 HP.

- Paste Shake: a milkshake that is trending in Hotland right now… container says to shake well or you won't feel well. Heals 10 HP.

- Hotland Gumbo: a strange gumbo that looks like vomit chow… but it seems to be healthy for you for something so hideous. Heals 13 HP.

Half-Eaten Hotland Gumbo: it may look like vomit chow... but it was not, surprisingly enough. Heals 6 HP.

- Bruffin (2): a strange muffin bread hybrid… despite its charred appearance its relatively moist. Heals 5 HP.

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

Ammunition Pouch (61): Holds the bullets that Todd wants to use to make Monsters die… it doesn't matter how many he uses.

…

~ Fun facts about the chapter's development! ~

- Name of Part 4 was supposed to be 'The Molten Wastelands', but I thought it was a bit too much of a mouthful so I went with 'The Molten Wastes'.

- Todd initially shot 15 bullets in the chapter... funny enough... That is, until I realized one part of a scene didn't make sense if Todd shot his gun at the time (when Todd initially found Xander and Carmel before their fight). Todd originally was going to fire a shot at her, but then later on in the battle sequence the two Monsters freaked out about the attack Todd used on them because they don't know what that type of attack was, and that wouldn't make sense then if Todd tried to shoot her earlier. So therefore, I had to erase the part where Todd tried to shoot Carmel when she was going to check out the noise she heard, and she had to dodge the shot that Todd fired at her. So 14 bullets were shot in this chapter instead of 15... Why am I talking about this... I dunno but I find it interesting how this had to be changed. Heh... logic.

- It took a while to decide upon Carmel and Xander... I think the two of them would have been males, though. As well, they would have been really flat characters who just want to kill Todd and Winnie without any traits that made them distinct. Good thing I came up with something different! =D

- It was really, really hard to write Winnie's death scene and the scenes that led up to it... *weeps* I didn't want to do it, but from the direction the story was going... it had to happen! Forgive me readers! DX

- Arturo was a character that was planned from the start, and I had different ideas for how I wanted to use him in the story... I had to tweak what was going to happen with him and Todd a lot... heh. In fact, Arturo originally was going to tell Todd right away he was a Royal Guard member, but then that wouldn't be fun to just do that in the chapter, so I went with him hiding it from Todd until Todd saw Arturo in his armour.

- Arturo's initial name was going to be Grimmsley... but then I chose Arturo because I liked it better and Grimmsley didn't fit his personality at all.

- Todd originally had to try to track down Carmel and Xander without any knowledge of where they were, but I felt as though Todd wouldn't have found them if he did that so I went with the video feed route! As well, Arturo initially was going to hint at how Carmel and Xander would be walking around Hotland, which would prompt Todd into the idea of searching for them to kill them. =3

- The Monster that Todd was chasing for the remote on the conveyor belts just sort of happened, and was a random strike of inspiration on my part. But it was sure fun to write! =D

- The Rover death scene was going to be longer, with Rover rambling more of how sad he was about the Canine Unit being killed. So eventually, he would get so absorbed in his talking that he wouldn't have noticed Todd pulling out his revolver to kill him, and Rover would have asked Todd why Todd hurt him, but Todd would only yell at Rover in such loath about how it was Rover's fault that Todd's friends and sister got killed until Rover died. Isn't that dark? So I rather have it that Rover died while in a happy mood (alarmed slightly, but killed swiftly before his good mood perished as well) rather than a fearful, miserable, and baffled mood. I mean, c'mon, Rover doesn't deserve that, people! *EeveeGen9988 used MERCY on Rover... slightly*

- Rover changed a lot from what I had planned for him. He was supposed to be originally a Saint Bernard who was very formal and didn't roll around to just play around, but to literally attack and kill the six children. When defeated with MERCY, he was going to say that he was impressed with them, and the children would have earned his respect rather than his friendship. But then again, Rufus sort of became something along the line of that personality-wise, so I had to change Rover a lot until he became the ball of energy he is today.

- There was supposed to be two more scenes, but they were cut out because I felt as though I went to a good spot to end the chapter... So... the unused scenes will be a part of Part 5. =3

- This was the hardest chapter to write. =(