Author's Note: Don't think that just because I'm working on a new fanfic that you guys are getting the short end either. I still fully intend to finish this one. However, I am unsure if I will go through with my Season 2 idea, or the potential Genocide Route. For now, lets get through Neutral and Pacifist.
So then.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doki Doki Literature Club or Undertale, but I do own our Player and the overall plot of this story.
Monika observed Undyne walk towards the tunnel that lead into the next area, shuffling off before vanishing entirely and reappearing just a yard ahead where bright magma-colored light shined. She sighed in relief that the fight was over before leaning up against the nearby cave wall, exhausted both emotionally and physically. Not only had the battle with Undyne itself been a gargantuan effort for the Club President, but Undyne's words were ringing in her ears.
This was... selfish of her, wasn't it? She was perfectly willing to allow everyone down here to suffer, to possibly even live their entire lives without ever seeing the sun... So that she could experience happiness?
Was it... Right for her to put the desires of the individual over the needs of the many?
Sure, Monika had been selfish before, remorselessly so. She'd even killed to assure that her own joy, her own desires were filled well before the needs of others... Even people she considered her best friends... But she wasn't sure if this was quite on the same level. This wasn't the lives of three women, it was the lives of an entire species of people. She could live, just barely, with Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki's blood on her hands, but to live with the sadness and crushed hopes of an entire people? Was that something she could do?
But the question wasn't the part that frightened her, not the most.
No, Monika was much more afraid that she was capable of doing it, that she would leave here one day with a smile on her face because she was getting what she wanted..
And worse, she derived satisfaction from harming and injuring those who stood in her way.
She thought back to her fight with Undyne, the woman who was a hero to so many people- who fought and bled to assure that those people would one day see the sun and experience life outside of these caves... And she thought about how good it felt to hurt her, to take revenge on her for all the grief she had brought her. How she felt so... So angry that she had the nerve to stand in her way.
She looked at her fingers, seeing the dust coating them and was reminded of when she had observed her hands earlier in the cave, imagining the blood of her friends staining them... And drawing a parallel between that and the dust on her fingers now.
Once, she had told her Player that she wasn't certain if she had the ability to really do it. To honestly kill someone with her bare hands.
Now she knew.
If Undyne had continued to fight her, she would have ended her life. She would have fought it for as long as she could have, appealed to Undyne's reasoning, tried to make her quit through talking or diplomacy... But if all else failed, Monika was fully capable of drawing that spear against her throat.
And she wouldn't have felt too bad about it afterwards.
The understanding sickened her, and she turned her head away from her hands before dusting them off on her skirt unable to look at them anymore.
She glanced at her Spear, which still shimmered Pink in color nearby. It hadn't vanished like Undyne's had. It was still her weapon, bound to her now. She held her hand up, and the weapon dematerialized before appearing in her palm.
She examined it for a moment, noting the light white dust which coated it's pink form.
Her stomach lurched.
Her face contorted, a horrid look of wretched understanding, of realization that she was everything she feared.
"Monika." A voice shook her from her contemplation, causing her to look up towards the wispy black shadow that was the form her Beloved had taken on. His tone was strangely... Understanding, and Monika realized that all of her expressions and actions were visible... Even to him.
The turmoil in her features was plain as day, this time she had forgotten to face away from him.
Still, a smile came to her lips. It was a fusion of feigned happiness and genuine joy to see and hear him. "Yes-" She cleared her throat of the lump that had been forming. "Yes, my love?"
"You're not a bad person."
Her chest went cold, shock overtaking her. Of everything she was thinking he'd tell her, that wasn't what she had been expecting. She expected some kind of reassurance but not... Not that.
"I don't- I don't know what you mean..." She lied, and poorly this time. Here her face was visible to him, she was more than a PNG being displayed, her full range of emotions were his to see... And though she had gotten very good at lying, her inner turmoil was not allowing her to succeed this time.
"You're not a bad person." He repeated more forcefully. "You're just a person. You went too far with... With the girls, and I- I am mad at you for that, or I was at least." He sighed at her and placed his hand on her shoulder even though neither of them could feel it. "But I see you. I know you're trying, I know that you're trying to do better than you did then. And I know you were hurting then too." He whispered softly to her, his tone portraying so much more than a facial expression ever could. "I know it hurts to have to fight them, to know that you're... You're keeping them from their happy ending. But its not your fault. You're stuck here by circumstance, you want, and you deserve a life of your own, everyone does, and despite those wants you still choose to spare these people. To give them mercy." His voice breaks now, and she could just about imagine tears being held back. "Which is more than you did for Natsuki, Yuri, Sayori. You're trying to do better this time. And... I'm... I'm so proud of you for it."
By now, Monika had to look away and scrub tears from her face and cheeks as the small rivers overwhelmed the dams holding them back, and finally allowed all of that pent up emotion to rain down. She was crying, and despite her efforts she couldn't stop it. Hearing those words from him...
"And I know, you're not a bad person anymore." His hand came up, and he wished he could wipe those tears for her. "You never were, that person you were back then... She was scared, alone, depressed." A Pink Glow erupts between them as Monika's SOUL shines, filling with such intense burning... Passion. "And that's not true anymore. You're not alone."
"And I won't let you be ever again."
"I love you."
Eventually the pair would begin moving, silence surrounding them as they moved from the cooler air of Waterfall, the almost tropical atmosphere fading away behind them as they entered Hotland.
Halfway there, Monika pulled her jacket off, letting her brown vest show until even that became too much to bear, pulling the vest free and allowing herself to remain in her bright white dress shirt. She tied her jacket around her waist- not wishing to be without it- and handed the vest off to her beloved, who accepted it and placed it into her inventory. Monika let out a sigh of contentedness as she at last entered the magma filled cavern and moved her arms around. Without the constraints of either her jacket or vest, she was free to do some much needed stretching, and at last lifted her arms over her head and cracked her back before resetting her posture.
Then, a less pleased sigh would overcome her as a bead of sweat formed on her brow. Even just that small action had caused her to heat up, although it shouldn't be too surprising, given the... Lava surrounding her.
She peered down into the molten rock and metal, and shuddered a bit as she imagined herself losing her balance by accident. She would definitely have to stay on the middle ground while here, the idea of falling in and dying a much more painful death than anything most people would find possible was... Not a friendly one.
Then, a thought struck her and she glanced back to her Darling before quickly glancing away, her face flushed with a different kind of heat. How... Is she going to approach him after earlier? Her heartbeat quickened at the thought, the idea of talking like normal people after such a heartfelt moment, a declaration of how happy he was for her, a moment where he... Admitted that he loved her...
She shook her head at herself, she was being silly. She loved him too, and he loved her so... There was no reason to act like a shy little schoolgirl around him!
The hopeless romantic Club President took a breath and regained control over her emotions before turning back to face him. "So, my love... How far down are we exactly?" She asked, still in shock from earlier... Yet as she spoke to him, she felt a warm smile cross her lips and found that he was smiling too. Or at least she thought he was, his form wasn't exactly easy to make out.
"Honestly? I have no idea, my dear." He admitted with something of a shrug. "We're definitely at whatever level magma starts appearing though, I can say that for sure." Player continued.
"Well, its true that sometimes you have to go down to go up..." She giggles a bit. "That's such a silly quote. I wonder where it came from..." She says with a hint of thoughtfulness, genuinely kind of curious about the origins of it. "Maybe a TV show somewhere? Or... Another video game! Or..."
"A book?" Player offered, his tone playful as the pair began to walk forward again, too distracted by one another to notice where exactly they were going.
"Or maybe some old poet somewhere? One of those lines that were remembered by us but... forgotten by time." She offers, and her smile sort of dies a bit as she thinks of that. How many people and poets like herself have been forgotten by time? But then she smiles- how many of those people and poets have left the world with sayings like that? Sentiments won't be forgotten... Sentiments like...
"Darling?" Monika said softly, shaking Player from his reverie.
"Hm?" He looked down at her from his position just above her.
"I love you too. And... Thank you, for not leaving me."
Monika could feel his smile from here, and the pair turned away to face ahead of them. "So..." She looked at the giant white building with the words "LAB" in big blocky lettering in the front and blinked, remembering that this was a video game, at least at some stage. "I'm going to guess that we're going there next..?" She asks, pointing towards the large building.
"Probably." Player answers with a nod, and with that the pair begin to make their way towards the building, and he turns his head to look left towards an open path. "Huh..."
"What?" Monika asks, stopping to look where he's looking.
"Usually after the Undyne part this area is blocked off by two guards, which forces us to go into the Lab... So I guess we can skip the Lab if you want?" He offers her, looking down towards the brown haired woman.
Monika considers for a moment before shaking her head, wiping sweat from her forehead again. "I think I would prefer visiting the Lab and cooling off a little bit before we get going through the rest of this place. Sure going that way would save us a bit of time, but I don't want to get too off track. I still want to be able to rely on the safety net of your knowledge of the game just in case." She replies, before correcting herself. "N-not that you should tell me things, even if I ask. It should only be done in emergencies." Monika adds, quickly crossing her arms.
Player chuckles and holds his hands up. "Alright alright, lets keep going."
The duo make their way over to the Lab... Only to find that the doors are locked. "That's different..." Player admits as Monika taps the automatic doors a few times, trying to get them to open.
"Hmm... You think I might have changed something by defeating Undyne like I did?" She asks him, looking over. "Or is there something else I'm supposed to get first?"
"I... I think this might be more evidence that we're not in the game world. The script for Undyne's battle ends a lot more brutally if you fight her... And that doesn't result in Al...Phys locking the doors on you. I don't know why things are different, but I guess the only way forward for us is to go back up that way."
"Pft, that's kind of funny." Monika remarks as they turn around and go back the way they came. "I was worried about not having your foreknowledge to help me out but it looks like I broke it by accident anyway." She giggles as they head... North? Is this North? Its hard to tell direction down here, but she's certain that she's progressing forward at least.
She and Player come up to an elevator and Monika pushes the button to call it down, but as it does, the pair hear a strange sound coming from their right.
Player is the first to turn and he audibly sucks his breath in, signaling concern enough for Monika to turn as well to see what was concerning him so much.
Now, Monika has gotten used to a lot of things over the course of her time in the Underground, but a flying vending machine holding a microphone was definitely going in her top five. Maybe even top three. She took a step back and her SOUL appeared, allowing her to summon her spear again, the pink glowing magic forming in her hand at her command. It seems that she's completely taken over the item from Undyne, which was good since she was in desperate need of a weapon for defense that wasn't a boxing glove.
Suddenly, a deep metallic voice erupted from the box shaped bot as it landed in front of the pair, no longer being propelled by some kind of... Rocket thing. "OHHHHH YESSS, It seems like you missed the place I intended for our first meeting to occur! No matter at all, darling! I shall instead simply move our show to this area. Although that does mean the cameras will have to move as well." It spoke, its deep tone throwing Monika for a loop. Who would make their robot have such a deep and... Almost sensual voice?
No time to dwell on that however, as suddenly a series of cameras would appear around her, recording her actions and causing her head to whip around. "Where did those-?" She asks, before spotting that each of them was apparently built into the wall. The robot couldn't have set those up on his own, so who the heck was keeping this place under surveillance?
Before she could think about that though, the robot continued. "NO MATTER AT ALL~ I can already tell its going to be a GREAT SHOW! After all, today we have the lovely Human, and the even lovelier Mettaton, locked in a battle of Drama, Romance, and BLOODSHED!" He then paused briefly. "Although from what I know about your fight with Undyne, things might be more on the latter side, wouldn't you agree?"
Monika goes to answer. "Well-"
But she's cut off. "OF COURSE IT IS! A gripping tale of star crossed lovers, one trapped beneath the surface, the other trapped above, so it seems like this time I shall take the role of the villain of your tale! And you the villain of mine~" He, Monika was quite sure it was a He now, seemed to be playing things up for these cameras. Who knows why? Was this thing some kind of... Celebrity robot? Would... Someone build a celebrity robot? Why? "WHICH MEANS if you want to get back to the surface, you must participate in my gameshow! A SIMPLE quiz show, where the victory will entail LIFE and failure... DEATH!"
"Why can't things just be normal down here?"
"BECAUSE NORMALITY IS MUNDANE AND WITHOUT EXCITEMENT, LIFE JUST ISN'T WORTH LIVING! NOW, LET US BEGIN!"
The world around them darkened, and Monika recognized she was in the battle system, but something was totally off about this. "Hey I thought this was a game, not a fight!" Monika calls to the robot.
"Why not both my dear?" Mettaton replied, and she could swear he was smirking at her with those lights on his square shaped form. "It's a simple challenge, you answer my questions and I won't attack. Fail and... Well, we'll have to see that won't we folks?" He turns to the Cameras again, one of his large metal arms waving towards them.
She looked over to Player, who read out her options automatically, being used to this by now. "Act, Check." Monika replies, deciding to figure out just how powerful this enemy was.
Player sucked his breath in through his teeth again, which is never a good sign. "Mettaton, 999 DEF and 30 ATK." He informs her, before glancing down towards her. "Which means..."
"Yeah..." She holds her spear up. "We'll have to figure something else out to spare him."
Mettaton, for his part, didn't seem to care at all that his contestant was apparently talking to herself and instead slid to the left, leaving a set of magic numbers in his wake as he pulled out a sheet of paper. "FIRST QUESTION! What is the prize for answering correctly?"
A series of multiple choice answers appeared in front of her. "Okay so these must be similar to buttons... Um.." Her options were Money, Mercy a New Car or More Questions. And there was a timer counting down from 30..
She observed the timer for a second before noticing that it was actually going down by two every time. "Hey! Why is the timer going down so fast?! That's cheating, if the game isn't fair then I just won't play." She said with a hint of indignation, crossing her arms. This was, of course, a ploy to try and disrupt the gameshow to see if that had any effect on the Machine. In reality she didn't mind this since fifteen seconds was more than enough time, but she did disagree with the false premise on principle.
"WELL, IT SEEMS that you're a smart cookie! I admit that the timer has been broken for some time, so you'll have to live with only fifteen seconds. Oh, by the way, five seconds left!" Mettaton replied after a beat, apparently having not expected her to pick up on the timer.
Now with only five seconds left, Monika didn't have much time to think. But she quickly reasoned that with the robot's gameshow host-like mannerisms that-
"Er... More questions?" She calls out, and Mettaton pauses for a moment.
After a second or two, a loud series of thunderous applause erupts from the machine, causing Monika to wince at all the noise. That combined with the music- though it was very good music- forced her to cover her ears for a moment. 'Did he have to play it so loudly?' She thought to herself as the robot ceased the cheering and spoke again. "A wonderful guess, darling! Now for our next question!" More white (magical?) words appeared next to Mettaton and more answers came up to Monika. "WHAT is the King's full name?"
Monika only skimmed the others, which seemed kind of mean to be about their king, as she had quickly zeroed in on the one titled "Asgore Dreemur". Her memories of Toriel shot back at her, reminding her of the man she warned would kill her: Asgore.
"Asgore Dreemur!" Monika shouted out, and yet again the robot cheered her on.
"A WONDERFUL job, it looks like you know your history, but lets see if you can get these next ones~" More words (where they drones of some kind?) appeared next to Mettaton as he spoke out- "WHAT are robots made of~?"
Monika read the other options, cocking her head here. This one seemed really easy... Hopes and Dreams? Sugar and Spice? Snips and Snails? No, obviously they were made of-
"Metal and Magic?" She asks, weirded out by the fact that he seemed to be giving her some pretty simple questions.
"Alright, I can tell by that face of yours that you think I'm going too easy on you! Well, why don't you try a harder one, I do hope you know your math, BECAUSE HERE. WE. GO!" He cleared his throat(? Why would someone design this?) and... Way smaller lettering appeared next to her, so small that Monika was forced to squint. "AHEM. Two trains, Train A, and Train B, simultaneously depart Station A and Station B. Station A, and Station B are 252.5 miles apart from each other. Train A is moving at 124.7mph towards Station B, and Train B is moving at 253.5mph towards Station A. If both trains departed at 10:00 AM and it is now 10:08, how much longer until both trains pass each other?"
Monika looked at Player, who looked down at her. "I... Am terrible at math, I'm not even going to pretend."
"I'm not so bad at it but this... This is crazy! Hey, er, Mettaton, sir, can I at least get a calculator?"
"Calculators are not allowed in this quiz!" He replied without missing a bit. "Time is running out, beauty!"
Monika sighed and shut her eyes, falling back on some old tricks she learned during school. First, she can eliminate B, since its nothing like the other three. Then she can eliminate the 31 since its clearly there to trip her up, leaving her only C and D...
"So, it must be-"
"FIVE!"
"Um, it has to be C! No wait, D? The seconds-"
"I heard C!" And with that the options vanished, and Monika was relieved.
"WHICH IS WRONG!"
Suddenly a horrible jolt thrashed through Monika's body as Mettaton zapped her with a laser from his finger, causing Monika to be stunned and unable to move as her body felt like it was fried. She let out a scream of pain and it was over, the poor girl dropping to the ground on all fours, pain causing her to wince and cry out.
Mettaton meanwhile didn't seem to care. "It looks like the first loss for our contestant, I suppose math questions might be too hard on the girl. Unfortunately folks, all the remaining questions involve math." He shrugs at the cameras, causing Monika to glare over at him in a twinge of rage as she manages to stand back up.
"That... Hurt... A lot." She admits to Player. "I could use a Nice Cream."
Player nodded and handed her the confectionary treat, which Monika consumed after a word of thanks.
Her eyes narrowed. It looked like the questions were getting way harder. If they were going to be math based from here on then she needed to change her way of thinking. It hadn't been that long since she'd been a high school student, and a straight A student at that, she definitely knew she had what it took to answer his problems. Still, she couldn't help but to feel like it was a bit unfair to her since she didn't have more than fifteen seconds to answer. She sighed at that thought and steeled herself.
She'd been zoning inwards to prepare for her next answer while Mettaton spoke, and when she refocused ahead of her she had twenty- ten- seconds left and a series of words floating mid-air, begging the question
How many flies are there in this jar?
Monika observed the jar, which seemed to be made of magic, as well as the flies within. Momentarily she was confused as to how they had flies in a cave, but she ignored that thought and focused on the answers ahead of her. All apart of the "fifty" family, each within one of each other. It wasn't a math problem, but a guessing game... And she wasn't very good at those. Still, she could try to work it out in her head. Fifty-two and Fifty-five were out since they acted as outliers, leaving only fifty-three or...
"Fifty-four?" She answers, wincing pre-emptively, expecting him to zap her again.
Yet, no electrification came, and Monika's wince was too hasty as Mettaton shouted- "MY MY, YOU ARE QUITE THE LUCKY ONE TODAY! I wasn't even sure how many flies were in there! But a wonderful answer from our contestant! Lets see if she can survive... MY NEXT QUESTION!" Mettaton again seems to almost be grinning wildly for the crowd, and Monika swears she can feel more eyes on her than normal. She shudders but focuses again as Mettaton asks: "ALRIGHT, WHAT MONSTER, is this?" A magic picture of half of a Froggit appears in front of her.
"Oh..." She relaxes a bit, offering a smirk. "That's an easy one. Its a Froggit!"
"NOPE!" The image zoomed out, confirming it was magic, and showing that it's actually Mettaton wearing a Froggit T-shirt. Which seemed a bit unfair to Monika, who frowned.
"Oh no."
And with that, Monika lets out a scream as she's once again zapped by the electrical attack.
"Screaming is, in fact, against the rules!" Mettaton adds once she finished her pained shriek.
She grit her teeth and stood up. They can't afford to keep using up all of her healing items on this, and she knows it, so she'll just have to suffer along for now. "I.. Don't suppose you're interested in getting spared since... I've been such a good contestant?" She asks, a bit tiredly as she leans up against the elevator door. The elevator which has by now left them and returned to the top floor.
"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNope!" Mettaton replies before continuing on with his game show. "NEXT QUESTION, would you smooch a ghost?"
Monika stares at this one, her cheeks flushing a little pinkish as she momentarily forgets the situation and glances at her very ghostlike boyfriend.
"...Heck yeah!" She decides to play along for this one, and her SOUL burns hot as Passion fills her. She really would smooch him.
"OF COURSE YOU WOULD, WHO WOULDN'T?!" Mettaton said, feigning shock at the idea that anyone would choose a different answer. Or... Maybe it was real shock, Monika couldn't quite tell...
She chuckled. "I guess you have a point." She looks over towards Player and gives him a slight wink, causing him to glance away. Though she couldn't see it, she could tell that his cheeks were flushed too. A smile fell over her lips, glad that things were back to somewhat normal after earlier.
"Next question! How many letters are in the name METTATON NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN-" The "N's" continued to go for a while, and the options seemed to increase along with them.
Monika for the first time had no idea how to answer. She grit her teeth and shut her eyes to prepare for the incoming pain as she answered with a meek- "Fifty?"
"YOU WISH!"
Another zap of lightning killed any good mood that she had as she let out a pained shriek and was sent against the wall. She panted for air for a moment, and was starkly reminded about the fact that this was a game show to the death. No matter how many times she answered his questions, he would just keep putting out more until she was done for.
And so she made a new move, and subtly pushed the elevator button as Mettaton was showboating to the cameras. Once his next question came down, she'd just dive into the elevator and escape from there.
"Alright, since you've done so well thus far, its time for my penultimate question." Mettaton announced. "In-"
"NGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Before Mettaton could finish, suddenly a very familiar and very angry voice caught both his and Monika's attention, prompting them to look up just in time to spot Undyne drop down from the ceiling, having apparently jumped from somewhere behind the pair as she lands behind Mettaton. "THAT'S ENOUGH OF THAT, BOT!" She shouts at him, glaring heavily.
"Oh dear, look at the time, it seems like Alphys and Undyne have figured out what I'm up to-"
Undyne wraps her arms around Mettaton, who struggles. "Wait, Undyne, hold on its not what you think!" Mettaton tries to complain to the Royal Guardswoman.
"Oh I know what you're up to! And takin the human's SOUL isn't for you unless you're givin it up to Asgore! And we both know you weren't intending that!" Undyne growls at him, and lifts the robot into the air with brute strength. "WHICH IS WHY YOU AIN'T GONNA WIN HERE, NGAAAAAAAAAAH!" Undyne proceeds to suplex the robot, just because she can.
However, Mettaton is entirely unharmed, in fact the ground seems to be in worse condition than he is. "This is most uncivilized!" Complains the robot. "Although I will give you points for overacting, sometimes scenery chewing is necessary for providing a wonderful performance!" He continues. "However, I believe there is one thing you've forgotten about, Undyne!"
"Oh yeah, and what's that?" Undyne asks him, her boot firmly placed against the robot's chassis to prevent him from getting up. Now all she has to do is wait for Alphys and-
"The Human is leaving." Mettaton points towards where Monika is with his stretchy limbs, prompting Undyne to look over just in time to see Monika pull her head back into the elevator door and wave as it shuts.
Undyne's eyes widen and she grits her teeth. "GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE PUNK!" She charges the door, but is too late to catch Monika as the elevator rises up into the next cavern.
"Well its been fun, folks. But all good things must come to an end. Besides, the pilot episode was JUST THE BEGINNING! TA-TAA~" Mettaton had already righted himself and was taking off on his rocket, heading up to the next cavern as well, leaving Undyne as the only one without a means of getting up.
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She roars up at the duo, causing the entirety of the cavern to shake.
As Monika and Player reach the next room and step out, they feel the floor below them shake and catch Undyne's roar of primal rage muffled through the floor. "She seems... Healthy." Monika remarks, rubbing her forehead. "I'm glad she showed up when she did, I wasn't sure if my escape plan was going to go through."
Player nods but shrugs. "Well, at least we won't have to deal with them for a while. You want to keep going? Maybe we can outpace them."
"Maybe, we'll have to see."
Author's Note: It... Is done.
Review time.
MysticBoywastaken: •
Me: Que?
Rose rich 2002: Excellent job.
Me: Thank you!
Cardboard Joey: It's back, and it's still good
Me: I'm glad you like it, hopefully we'll have a more consistent upload schedule from here on. No promises though.
AnimeVulpaGirl chapter 20 . Mar 13
IT'S BACK~!
Me: Never left, my friend!
Well that's all the new ones I think, so
Until Next Time, True Readers!