Author's note: I don't own Undertale or Doki Doki Literature Club, I do, however, own our Player.
Monika sighed as she listened to the music around her. Just as it had outside of the restaurant, the music here was loud, strong- she was coming to the end of the story and she knew it. For a moment, the young woman frowned, a piercing sting of sadness gripping her heart as she did. The end of the story, was that what this was? The end of the game? She shook her head, but the thoughts wouldn't leave her. Like gnats buzzing around her ears, they whispered softly, but so monotonously, so droningly, that though they were quiet, she found them unbearable.
Part of her felt that it was silly to feel this way all over again. Hadn't she already dealt with these worries? Hadn't Sans already helped her through them? But even as she thought that, she knew that Sans' words hadn't been quite as helpful as he'd hoped. When they'd first stepped into the CORE, Monika had felt in higher spirits, and really had tried to ignore the heavy, horrible weight that formed in her chest when she thought about this world, but after a while and a few fights, she found that she couldn't put up with it anymore. She had to address these concerns, really address them this time. Sans had given her good life advice, and she wanted to follow it but... She couldn't shake the terror that came with these thoughts.
Everything she's gone through, everything she's changed- surely it meant that she had a choice, that this world was truly real, right? She wanted to believe that, but there were certain facts of this world that prevented her from really buying into it. Her beloved had a File Menu, he could add objects to the world, surely that played into the unreality of it all, didn't it? Maybe she was merely special, maybe it was her- and maybe her beloved Player- who were afforded the power to make their own choices, and those choices would spiral out and change how the characters would act. Maybe she was back where she started, surrounded by fictional people, with the only other real one being the one she loved.
'Would that be so bad?' She asked herself, reaching a hand up and running her palm over the almost electrical wiring of this area, letting the bumps of the circuitry roll over her hand with every step. 'Could I live with that? They clearly aren't as scripted as Sayori or Yuri or Natsuki. This game adapts better than mine...' But even as she thought it, Monika felt her frown deepen. Living with machines was no life at all, and though her Player was sweet, she couldn't imagine living in a world of NPCs, a world without meaning. How could she achieve her dreams in such a place? A fulfilling career, or even that small part of her that dreamt of being a housewife- could she even see herself loving her children, if they were the same as the rest of this world? An illusion?
She didn't want to live in an illusion. She wanted something real, something tangible, something...
Something that mattered.
'But don't they matter? Isn't that the point of all this? Learning how these people are? Learning that they have lives and wants and desires just the same as I do?' Monika looked around. Monsters were everywhere. Some, waited for her to get close, wanting to fight. Others were bustling by, talking to friends and family. Monika listened to them as she passed, hearing snippets of their lives and as she did, questioning herself. Were they real lives? Were these people really, truly, real? It wasn't as simple as it had been in her world. Everyone who existed in her microcosm of a reality were all empty shells, hollow husks pretending to be humans with the sole exceptions being Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki and herself. And Sayori's friend, Monika supposed, but he was different. A vessel designed to channel... Her Player. Everyone else though, they were objects. Literally, they had no purpose other than to fill space, to convince her that the world was real. Even Natsuki's father didn't really exist as his own being. He was there to represent abuse, and that was all.
She wanted to scream. The anxieties that had been brought on by her line of thinking had suddenly exploded up from her chest, bubbling and gurgling like pockets of air against her heart. She needed to let that out, needed a moment to collect herself, needed something to keep these feelings in check... But there was nothing she could do here, in this hall. Bustling monsters moved around her, some blissfully unaware of her presence while others stared at the girl with the bowed head as they walked by. Others still seemed to want to reach out and help, but they didn't. Monika was thankful for that, she didn't know how she might react if someone had spoken up.
She didn't stay there long. No, before Player could get concerned, before he could speak up and ask her about the questions plaguing him about her conversation with Sans, she looked back up and stepped forward. Two monsters moved into her path.
She didn't recognize one, but the other was a face that reminded her of the beginning of this journey. A Froggit, but now its body had evolved, spikier, stronger, more dangerous. The other that she didn't know was simple, a creature that looked almost like a living cloak, with a large witch's hat and a clever smile. Monika slept through the fight. Not literally, of course, but she didn't really pay much attention to it. Her mind was elsewhere, preoccupied with questions of philosophy and matters of agency, she had no time to think on how best to spare such beings, but...
It seemed as though fate had decided to put the two Monsters most suited to getting her mind off of this in front of her. For the Froggit, her Player said, it needed to be mystified. Easy enough, even in her current state, all Monika had to do was a simple magic trick any kid had learned when they were young. She didn't know what else to do that could be considered "mystifying" and so, she pretended to pull her thumb off. It worked, but the brown haired girl had felt nothing but emptiness as the Final Froggit glimmered yellow. But as she moved to spare the creature, her Player spoke its flavor text and... she paused just a bit.
"Final Froggit recognizes it has more to learn from this world."
She wondered if the game had noticed her thoughts and accommodated itself on purpose to get her to stop thinking about it, or if Player had somehow manipulated the files of these creatures. But then, she wondered differently. "Hey Player..." Her own voice felt alien to her, softer, sadder. Realizing that her darling may get concerned, Monika cleared her throat and tried to sound more cheerful. She didn't think she did a good job of it. "Do these monsters usually go together?"
"Hm? Not usually, I'm frankly surprised to see them here like this. Usually Madjick is with Knight-Knight." Player admitted, and his voice rang with something else as well. He wasn't excited like he usually might have been about revealing game lore to her. Instead, he sounded worried. Monika tried to hide her frown when she realized it; she didn't want him to worry about her, she was sure that she could handle this herself... But even so, it felt nice to know he cared. She wanted to smile, but that feeling buzzing in her chest that kept her heart pounding away wouldn't let her.
Monika sighed as she turned back to Froggit and uttered "spare" as she prepared to face down Madjick's upcoming attacks. She wondered, if maybe these two had paired up of their own free choice. If random chance had brought them together, instead of fatalistic demands. She wondered if it mattered, as she dodged past Madjick's Crosses. Even if they had free will, they still weren't real beings... But then, what made them real? If wants and hopes didn't do it, and dreams and free will didn't do it, what did? Souls? But Monsters had Souls, just not the same as her own. What really made someone real? It wasn't a question she had ever stopped to ask herself back in her game. All she knew was that the other girls weren't and her Player was.
As she landed, Monika shut her eyes and focused, trying to clear her mind. Too many things happening at once, too many conundrums to deal with. Even so, she knew she was making some progress. Sans's words had helped, reminding her of those little things that made life worth living for most people had managed to push out a little bit of her Nihilism, but it was coming back in a way Monika wasn't sure she could beat on her own. The questions she had might not have had answers... But they brought her some hope. Hope to think that maybe, just maybe, these beings were real, that she wasn't all alone in this world with only her Player to keep her company all over again. Just enough hope to try talking with this creature, choosing to insert her will entirely instead of looking towards what the game expected of her.
But as she opened her mouth and spoke, Madjick chose to talk over her, and utterly confused itself in doing so, causing it to skip its turn and glimmer a bright yellow color. Part of her wanted to make some dry comment on that like she had with so many other weird things in this game, but nothing came to mind. So, she shrugged out a "spare" and the battle ended.
Maybe it wasn't that the game was trying to terminate her questions, if it had sent those two in front of her on purpose, maybe it was trying to calm her down. If that had been its intention, Monika had to admit, it was working. Her heart had slowed its beat just a little, and her mind wasn't racing anymore, more focused than it had been since they left the restaurant at least. And as it became more focused, she came back around to the final question she had asked herself. Were the Monsters their own real people? What separated them from her? Maybe it really was her SOUL... Or maybe there wasn't a difference between them, maybe they were all just the same as each other.
That was a question she would have to struggle with for now, it couldn't be easily answered, and even if it could, she didn't think she was qualified to answer it on her own. But there was one question that could be answered, and one person who could answer it. Her eyes settled back onto her Player, who looked at her with concern. She could tell, even if his facial features were obscured. Her darling had a way about him when he was worried about her. He fidgeted, floating around her and trying to see what was bothering her. He had the answer to one question, and that was the only one that Monika wanted to worry about right now. Maybe the answer to this one could help her answer the others.
Taking a breath, Monika looked at her darling with a serious expression. It wasn't one she had used often with him since her game had ended, she didn't like taking things really seriously, it wasn't in her nature, but this was something important to her, she really wanted to know. But as she looked at him, she felt the urge to glance away, to take it back and not admit to what was bothering her. But that wasn't like her either, to back away from something. She shut her eyes and with them, shut out the world around them, if only for a moment. And when her luminous emerald eyes opened again, the Club President felt a new feeling rising in her chest. She was filled with Passion.
"Player... I need you to be honest with me." Monika begins, crossing her arms uncomfortably as she does. As confident as she was, there was still a small part of her that loathed things like this. It was natural of course, a human reaction to conflict. But one she had thought was gone, something she'd buried years ago under a mountain of confidence. She supposed she had buried it, it was only a small part of her now, after all. "You can see the script of the game, can't you? You're able to tell what things are supposed to happen and what's going to happen, right?"
Player looked away for a moment, then sighed. "It... I can see what's supposed to happen, yes. But not what's going to happen, you've shocked me plenty of times. Honey, what's-"
"I need you to be fully honest." Monika interrupted him, and immediately it felt like she'd shot him. It hurt to do that, she didn't like doing it and it even went against her instincts from when she had been part of the debate club and yet... She needed to do it. She didn't want to get off track, not this time. Then, realizing how her words sounded, she corrected herself. "It isn't that I don't trust you, my love, I just... I need evidence this time. I need you to be completely transparent." She sighs and struggles to think of what she wants to say, eventually deciding to come out with it. "Is the script changing? Whenever I act, whenever something deviates from the events of the real game- is that the script editing itself in real time? The othes- do they have the ability to make their own choices, or is it all smoke and mirrors? An "if than" statement designed to account for my actions?"
Player sighed. He opened the File Menu, and moved to turn it towards her, but then remembered from earlier. "Right, you can't see it." He sighs. "I... It... Its complicated, Monika." He starts, then shakes his head when he sees the look of both fear and resignation in her eyes. On one hand, it was terrifying to hear that from him, and on the other... what more could she have expected? But Player holds up his hands, looking down at her. "Don't... don't look like that just yet, let me explain..." He sighed, thought for a moment, and then spoke.
"At first, with the exception of how fights resolved or certain special events like Flowey's battle and his new music, we were on the script's track. Down to the character dialogue being the exact same but now..." He shrugged, shaking his head. "I can promise you that things aren't following the script word for word anymore. Its like... the longer we're here, the more we do, the more freedom the characters get. It isn't just your actions either." He adds, and Monika looks away, he must have noticed the look on her face. "This?" Player gestures to the monsters in the hall around them. "Is supposed to be like... three NPCs at most. Now its a living, breathing place, filled with monsters. Alphys being up there with the bomb earlier wasn't intended, Undyne leaving Waterfall like she did- frankly I'm surprised Mettaton's been mostly consistent with his part of the story... Then again, his is literally scripted, as in... A TV show so, that makes some sense..." He smiles a little, trying to look hopeful for her... but, and she's not sure how, she can tell that he's uncertain. "But that isn't all. The script? Its not moving at all. For whatever reason, this box is pretty much useless in telling the future. I know what's supposed to go down, but I don't know if it's going to go down."
"So... You're saying that the script isn't changing itself to suit us?" Monika can't help it, that tiny smidge of hope that manages to creep into her voice, that sets her eyes alight with an almost childlike optimism. Even if it doesn't fix everything, it does help make her feel a little better. "But then... I have to wonder, why our presence is causing things to change..."
Player shrugs. "Maybe it was always this way. I can't explain what this File Menu is for or why it exists, but I can promise..." He looks into her eyes. Monika wishes she could feel his touch as he reaches a hand down, gently laying it against her face. "They have as much choice as anyone else."
It wasn't much longer before the pair of them started moving again. After their conversation, even though Monika still wasn't sure about this place being a simulation, there was some hope in the idea that these entities had free will. She still wasn't entirely sold on whether or not that alone made them real, but it did manage to make their interactions with her feel all the more meaningful. After a few more battles and some strange puzzles involving orange lasers instead of blue ones, the pair of them made their way to a very ornate, very odd looking, door. Monika wasn't as well versed in video games as her partner was, but this definitely looked like the entrance to a boss room.
"Why does it kind of look like a bird?"
"I think it has something to do with the Prophecy of the Underground." Player says, and Monika glances over at him, her eyes lighting up with interest. He chuckles at her reaction, shaking his head gently. "You're too cute, darling." He adds, then stops to think for a moment. "I can't remember if you skipped over it or if you read the wall telling the story, but basically this is supposed to- probably- represent the "Angel" who causes the Underground to go empty. Some people speculate that it might be the main protagonist of the game, which is you now I guess, anyway its just a fun little symbol. Doesn't have any real significance to Mettaton."
"But this is his boss battle?" Monika asks, and Player nods.
"Yep, once you step through there, its you vs him. I'm still obligated not to give you tips, but um... You might want to limber up a little before you go in." Player says, and Monika can almost feel his smirk. "Stretch and stuff- just uh... Putting that out there."
She sigh, shaking her head. "You aren't supposed to give me tips but..." Monika raises one arm above her head and grabs her wrist with her other hand, pulling until she feels her muscles loosen. She follows suit with the other and then moves to stretch her legs, roll her shoulders and crack her neck. Honestly, she's surprised by how good that all feels more than anything. "That felt... really good, so thanks for reminding me. I was starting to get tired of running into fights without any warm ups... But... Now I'm a little curious as to why you warned me for this one..."
Player wags a finger at her playfully. "Sorry, love. That's a surprise for later. In you go now." Still in a playful mood, her boyfriend floats behind her and pretends to press his hands to her back. Monika tries to lean into his "touch" but since he's still intangible, she almost looses her balance, her feet skidding around randomly in an effort to stop herself from falling back as her arms flail around. In the end though, she manages to stop herself.
"Gah! Are you okay?" Player asks, floating back around until he was in front of her again.
Monika doesn't say anything at first, but then she gets an idea and smirks at her Player. But before she implements it, Monika decides to speak. "Maybe you should avoid teasing me that way until you have a real body. Buuut..." Since he was so close to her face... Monika darted in quick, pressing her lips to about where his would have been if he was solid and stealing a kiss... Or at least she might have, if he was really there. "That doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to tease you!" Monika giggles as Player blushes profusely, or at least she imagines him to do so as he pulls back, stammering and blustering all the way. He was cute when he did that, and it was only fair- how often had he teased her while they were down here? In fact...
"You're really cute when you're surprised~" She said softly, once more putting herself into his personal space, causing her darling to freeze up for a moment, unsure as to what he needed to do. She giggled again, and in a lower voice, spoke. "Its almost like you didn't know what to do when a pretty girl flirts with you back~" She couldn't help the mischievous grin that settled onto her lips as she spoke. It wasn't often that she got to really flirt with... well anyone. In her world, it had always been the other way around, and she had always turned them down when they did. Not because they had done a bad job trying to flirt with her, but because she was too busy or too stressed or... Had recently come to the conclusion that they were all mindless machines. That didn't mean that she was unaware of how to be flirty, though.
"I-Its not that- you just- I just- you..." Player speaks, but his words get caught in his tongue. Monika softens her grin, leaning back a little for now as she does. But as soon as she does, Player wraps his arms around her. She can tell what he's trying to do, but since they weren't able to touch one another, it comes off as more of an awkward hug. "Its just... I can't touch you and sweep you off your feet so... I can't get you like you got me." He speaks and Monika smiles a bit warmer now as her cheeks flush red. She shut her eyes and, if she believed hard enough, she could almost feel his warmth around her. Even if his voice was shaking and she knew he was bluffing, the gesture was still nice to imagine.
"One day." Monika sighs, then steps back. "For now... We have to finish this."
"Right- yeah." Player also steps back, but Monika can tell the grin on his face, even if it is a bit hard to see within the shadows that made up his form. 'So... He likes it when I do that? I'll have to make a note of that. For now...' Monika steps into the next room, and walks forward down a long raised platform until she makes her way to the center of the room, where bright red lights come on.
Mettaton stands before them. "SO." His mechanical voice echoes and reverberates over the empty... Monika looks around, her eyes narrowing. At first, the room had seemed normal, but as she looked... Monika noticed just how vast and empty the area really was, and just how high the walls seemed to go. It was almost as if they went off into the void of space itself but... they had to have an ending somewhere. The room was too large, too grand, less like a normal room and more like-
'A stadium?' She thought, but before she could finish her thought, Mettaton had decided that his pause was dramatic enough.
"You've finally arrived, darling! Which means its high time for our little showdown!" Mettaton's voice was as eager as ever, and the showman-bot extended his arms out to his sides, gesturing around them as more lights began to come on, and suddenly, Monika felt something strange. Like dozens of eyes were on her but no matter where she looked, she couldn't find their audience... "Where you can at last defeat the- ahem- "malfunctioning" robot." Monika could almost feel the smarm oozing out of the machine, but she had to admit that it was a little charming. As much as she disliked him, she couldn't really convince herself to hate him. With that said, she could already tell that he was building up to something that would get under her skin.
"NOT!" Mettaton added, voice booming out with a sudden, violent eruption that the girl hadn't been expecting. "MALFUNCTIONING? REPROGRAMMING? GET REAL! THIS-" He gestured now at himself. "Was all a show! An act that was meant for Doctor Alphys' sake. She wanted so desperately to be the hero so she could convince you to like her, but as I tried to tell her, it really was better just to come out and say what she meant!" Mettaton chuckled. "And to think, all the puzzles, all the traps, even enlisting yours truly to assist her was all for nothing! So eager to become part of the play that she didn't even realize the part she was auditioning for... Tsk tsk." Mettaton chuckles, shaking his entire torso in place of his head.
"I figured all of that out already and you obviously know so..." Monika put a finger up in her classic pose. "I imagine you've got something else in mind now that the game's up?"
"An intelligent one you are! Indeed, I was getting tired of this charade well before you sniffed out Alphys. I was intending to ruin her next little scheme- "deactivating" me, saving you, all the usual heroics that would only be possible with MY theatrical skills... Ah, but now that she's let you in on the game, I had the opportunity to skip ahead in the script a bit." Mettaton admits with a mock-bow, which Monika found looked almost like something out of a classic villain's book. That could only bode so well for her... "You see, I have no desire to harm humans. Far from it, really. In fact, my only desire is to be entertaining. You've already thrown off our plot twist, so instead of the third act consisting of a twist, why don't we do the classic final battle?"
"I would much prefer if we could skip that and instead have a peaceful resolution! Subverting the audience's expectations is a great way to drive drama you know-" Monika tried to avert the battle she felt coming on, but she had no chance of talking Mettaton down and she knew it. Raising his arms up higher, Mettaton chuckled.
"While true, I think that an anticlimax would be incredibly dull don't you? Besides, I have more motivation for this than merely helping my dear friend! After all, a villain without a good reason is the worst kind of villain! And unfortunately for you, darling... I require your SOUL for my personal part of our play!" Suddenly, the stage the pair were on began to rise, soaring into the air at speeds so great that Monika actually dropped to her hands and knees for a moment. "So then! Since our last show was cancelled, how about we skip to the next one? I call this one... Attack of the Killer Robot!"
And without another word, the world darkened around her as Monika entered the battle status. Without a choice, her SOUL erupted from her body and the girl extended her hand out, summoning her Spear with one hand while pulling the Jacket tied around her waist off with her other hand. Pulling it on, Monika was flooded with warmth once more, and her DEF went up again. She was glad to have it back after all this time without it.
"Okay... Player, what are my options?" Monika asked, glancing towards Player as she did.
"You can check him or you can burn him. I assume burn means insult in this case since we don't have a flamethrower on hand." Player half-jokes and Monika chuckles.
"Even if we did, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't really help out against metal." Monika replied, then glared forward. "Alright, Check!"
"Mettaton, 999 DEF and 30 ATK. I wouldn't recommend trying to FIGHT him." Player answers.
"I didn't plan on it." Monika replies at Mettaton releases his first attack... But strangely, the machine himself doesn't move. Instead, and to Monika's shock, tangible blocks begin falling from overhead. One lands on her before she notices it, causing Monika to drop to her knees again as the magic splits apart. Not willing to be taken off guard a second time, the girl quickly stands back up again and flings her Spear into a glowing yellow portion of the next row of boxes, causing all of them to be destroyed. "So, his come from above... alright, I've got that for later..."
Just then, her cellphone began to ring. Monika pulled it out and glanced down at it, spotting Alphys' number. Figuring that she has a way to help her out here, and not sure what she can even say to burn Mettaton- she could probably think of something nasty if she had time, don't get her wrong, but not in this situation- Monika decides to pick up the phone. "Hello?"
"Ah! S-s-so you know how I s-s-said that I didn't know what M-m-m-mettaton was going to do? Th-that's still true, I d-d-di-didn't know about this, bu-but... I think I might know how to beat him and..." Alphys gulps on the other line, pulling her phone away from her ear enough that Monika could hear the background noise. It sounded like... Someone was running, their feet hitting metal really hard like they were mad. The brown haired girl didn't like the sound of that, but before she could speak up, Alphys was back. "Y-y-y-you really need to hurry! S-so, I- you just need to trust me. I-I-If you get him to turn around, there's a sw-switch on his back you can hit! Th-that should turn him off!"
"Why... do I need to hurry?" Monika asked with a voice like she was seeing something simultaneously strange and terrifying at the same time. After Alphys didn't respond, she spoke again. "Alphys?"
"I-It's n-n-nothing! I'm just- uh- please hurry! There m-m-m-might be some Ro-Royal G-Guards heading your way is all..."
"Oh..." Monika bit her tongue to refrain from uttering a dry "great", and instead looked over at Mettaton as she hung up. How was the best way to get a narcissist like him to turn around? Monika thought about it for all of five seconds before she got an idea. A bit of pride swelled in her chest when she thought of it, and the girl cleared her throat before speaking up. "You know... I've seen almost every part of you, but I haven't seen all of you! It wouldn't be very fair of me not to get the full picture of my killer, a bit narratively unsatisfying wouldn't you say?"
"Ooh look at you, using your literary skills to trick him like that! I like it." Player remarks. "Such a brilliant girlfriend I have~" Monika smiled at his words, feeling her heart swell with another emotion- but before she could bask in it, Mettaton was already lighting up.
"Hmmm... That is true. It would be a certain shame to have someone miss out on witnessing my perfect body! Fine, I'll pose for you, darling!" Mettaton turned around, and true enough there was a switch on his back, marked as such, even.
Monika smirked, then dove for the switch while the machine was distracted, easily outpacing him and reaching her hand out before grabbing onto it and yanking the square-shaped button from one side to the other. "Gotcha! Its over!"
But to her horror, Mettaton didn't shut down as the girl had expected. Instead, he went still. "Did you... just flip..." His voice echoed out strangely, but not in the way she might have hoped. Instead of slowly powering down, his battery deactivating with every moment, Mettaton slowly turned around and despite not having eyes, stared at the girl in possibly the most surprised manner that he could muster. "My Switch?"
Monika leapt back as Mettaton began to freak out. His body shook violently, jerking and thrashing around like it was possessed as his hands moved to grab onto the edges of his box body like he was holding his head. The machine continued, shaking faster and faster until the entire stage around them began to vibrate. Until the platform they were on stopped moving. Until a pair of studio lights fell from the ceiling... And until an explosion of bright light and white smoke blinded Monika.
And then...
"Ohhh Yesss..."
"Oh no..." She muttered, not liking that sound effect at all. And then a worse thought struck her as she peered into the smoke, seeing a strange shape begin to take form. Taller than her by far, humanoid, and standing with its legs and arms spread and in Mettaton's previous location... she wondered if this possibly was Mettaton.
"Don't be surprised darling. If you flipped my Switch then it can only mean one thing... You were really desperate to see the premiere of my new body! Well, I can't really blame you darling, look at it, isn't it absolutely beautiful~?" Mettaton's previous mechanical tone had changed, and now the machine spoke with a much less rigid tone of voice, much more like a human or a Monster. "I wanted to wait until my final performance to show it off... but I guess that would be now, wouldn't it? So I should really thank you, darling. And as thanks, I'll make sure to make your final moments..."
The overhead lights came on, and Monika finally realized the answer to why she felt like she was being watched. Surrounding the pair must have been dozens of cameras, all capturing them from dozens of angles. But she didn't pay much attention to that fact right then, instead her focus landed squarely on Mettaton's new purple form. Gaudy and flamboyant as it was, she could definitely see the beauty in it...
"Perfectly amazing!"
Too bad he was going to use it the to kill her. Monika drew her spear again, this time with a bit more conviction. If he's transformed, his stats might have changed, right?
"Mettaton EX makes his premiere!" Player announces as the music around them changes from Mettaton's earlier, more gameshowesque music to something that resembled funky pop music like the kind you might hear on a dance floor. Monika had to admit that it sounded pretty nice, and in another circumstance she might have even been willing to dance to it, but for now she narrows her eyes and readies her spear.
"Lets start small, che-"
But before Monika can finish speaking, a roar erupts from the floor at the bottom of the cavern that the pair had gone up, a roar that sounded almost a little... familiar? It didn't take the girl long to realize where she had heard that voice before, and as soon as she did, Monika paled a bit. "NGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Undyne screamed as she leapt from the bottom of the elevator shaft all the way onto the platform where Monika and Mettaton were standing. The blue fish woman looked different than she had before. Her armor was off, but despite that, she still managed to look ready to murder her. "HUMAN! I'VE FINALLY CAUGHT UP TO YOU AGAIN! AND THIS TIME-" She turned, glaring at Mettaton. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING IN MY WAY!"
"Oh wonderful! A crossover episode? It seems that this will be my greatest performance yet!" Mettaton chuckles, posing dramatically several times as he dances for the cameras surrounding them. "But, and I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, Undyne, but I'm going to be the one taking that Human's SOUL! With it, I'll cross the barrier and save Humanity, and then become their greatest Star!"
"And leave the rest of us trapped down here? Not happening you defective... defector!" Undyne's voice had dropped from its earlier scream, but it was still pretty loud even when she struggled to find the right words. Even so... Monika was impressed that she had figured out a good rhyme to go with defective. "I'm gonna take that Human's SOUL to Asgore and he'll break the Barrier and free us all!"
At this, Monika glared a bit. "I thought I made it clear earlier, but I'm not going to let anyone take my SOUL! I'm going back to the Surface to be with my boyfriend and that's final!" Her SOUL blazed with pink flames as Monika spoke, and as she did... she saw Mettaton's eyes light up with intrigue, and then he smirked in the kind of way that someone smirked when they had a good business idea.
"WELL WELL, it seems to me that we've encountered a very rare three-way standoff! So, instead of arguing with each other, why don't we fight it out?" Mettaton offered, and Undyne lit up with murderous intent before he continued. "In the court of public opinion that is!" Snapping his fingers, the robot brought up a gigantic screen behind him that displayed the ongoing ratings of the show and who was generating the most fan support. "The rules are simple. Whoever generates the highest ratings and whoever collects enough votes from the folks at home, wins! And any method is justified." Mettaton grinned darkly. "How does that sound?"
"Psh." Undyne scoffs as she crosses her arms. "You're really going to bet on your fame that much? No chance in hell anyone sides with you over me! I'm fighting for all of our freedom!"
"Well if you're so sure..." Monika speaks up now, getting an idea. Mettaton thought his game was rigged in his favor by virtue of his status as a celebrity, but in reality he'd given herself and Undyne a fair chance to make their point. As much as she didn't like the idea of hedging her life on the off chance that people would resonate with her desire to return home and be with her love... She had a feeling that she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. "Then why don't you agree? See what the people really think?"
Undyne chuckled. "Alright kid, fine. I'm in a good mood today anyway. Lets do this!"
Player spoke up then as Undyne took her turn first. "Mettaton and Undyne Attack! But they're not working as a team this time..."
Undyne spoke next as she summoned a wave of spears, hurling them not at Monika... But at Mettaton, who easily danced and weaved his body around them even though she had turned what Monika assumed to be his SOUL green. "Everyone listen to me! Its Undyne, I'm fighting for all of your hopes and dreams right now! So tune in while you can! Give me all of your support and help me win this!" She yelled into the ether, and Monika took a look at the scoreboard. It seemed like about five-thousand people were watching in total, and of those, a few hundred were watching for Undyne explicitly, a number which jumped to a thousand after she spoke.
Another four-thousand watched for Mettaton, while a measly five-hundred were watching for her. A number that jumped up, Monika realized, as her turn came around. Nodding to herself, Monika thought for a moment on what to do. Undyne's speech had helped her get ahead, but it seemed like Mettaton was getting more votes with every pose he struck. So what if...
Monika smirked and quickly struck a pose, strutting to the center of the stage in an effort to get as much attention on herself as she could. And once she had that attention, she spoke up. "A lot of you know who I am... we've met, we've fought and I've even helped some of you out! Now I'm asking for you to help me! Someone I care about more than the whole world is on the Surface waiting for me, all I want to do is see him!" Her numbers leapt up, but not by nearly enough compared to Undyne. Monika's current was about nine-hundred. Below Undyne and well below Mettaton, who chuckled.
"Drama! Romance! Bloodshed! Such wonderful things, but I think we all know who you love more, beauties! Me! So, lets crush this star crossed lover and this wannabe superhero!" Mettaton shouted, but his ratings didn't jump like theirs did, instead they stayed right around the same, keeping consistency... And Mettaton noticed it, which is why he extended his hands around himself and suddenly from the ceiling opened a series of panels. Each panel dropped out of it a small box-shaped Mini-Mettaton, who floated towards the ground slowly on umbrellas, and seemed to be carrying...
"Bombs?" Monika asked, looking up at the approaching Minitons (as she'd decided to call them) who were now starting to accelerate towards her. Since there seemed to be rows of them, they didn't look like they were safe to dodge... But if that's a bomb, then perhaps...
Monika hurled her Spear up towards the explosive. To her horror, the explosion didn't go out just to the bomb's sides, instead choosing to explode in a strange plus-shaped fashion. The girl managed to get away from the explosion, but Undyne was not so lucky as the magic energy raced across her form. At first, Monika was confused as to why she didn't dodge, but then... it dawned on her. Maybe the green magic she was using to keep Mettaton in place also prevented her from moving?
Monika wanted to think more on that, but before she could, another wave of bombs and boxes came towards the pair, forcing Monika to re-summon her spear and get ready to throw it, but before she could-
Monika felt a change in the ground beneath her feet, and only barely managed to jump out of the way before Undyne's spears shot up and out of the ground, slamming into the bomb and causing it to explode in a fiery eruption. "What- you can attack on the same round?" Monika asked, looking over towards Undyne, who shrugged with a devious smirk.
"In a three way fight, monsters are allowed to combine attacks. 'Sides." She directed Monika's attention over to Mettaton, who seemed to have been hit by the Spears since his SOUL was still grin. "It means I get free hits on that guy!"
"That doesn't seem very fair..." Monika muttered as the attack phase ended. She took another glance at the ratings. Mettaton's had risen a little, and so had Monika's, but Undyne's had jumped up. The only explanation was the screen displaying a "+20, violence". There was a commentary in there somwhere about how television used violence to increase ratings, but Monika didn't feel like examining it as Undyne also began to showboat for the crowd, adding another twenty more for her score as she raised her arms up like a Roman Gladiator.
Mettaton danced around, his body moving in several impossible poses and moving faster than an average person- human or monster- could. His score increased as well and Monika's eyes narrowed towards the floor. Both Undyne and Mettaton were playing to their own strengths. Mettaton relied on his popularity while Undyne relied on her ability to perform acts of violence. Monika didn't have either of these things, so trying to outright one-up the pair of them wasn't going to work. Even if she did combine dancing around with attacking, she doubted she could do them both better than either one individually. And she had to beat both of them for her to survive, not an easy task.
So if she couldn't outdance Mettaton and can't outfight Undyne then...
Monika stepped forward as the spotlight came down on her again, clearing her throat and shutting her eyes. Her chest thundered, her skin was growing clammy and her clothes hot underneath the spotlight, but she let all of that fade away as she took a deep breath. There was one thing that Monika was better at than both of them. One thing that she could use to her advantage and hopefully push the pair of them out; her sincerity, her pure, genuine fondness for her Player... and most of all her Passion. Monika's SOUL glimmered. Vibrant pink flames began to move up her body, spreading out like a wildfire around her form, consuming her torso, then her arms and legs, then her head and hair, it was as though she had become her own candle, and suddenly the spotlight didn't seem nearly so bright. As her flames began to outshine both Mettaton's lights and Undyne's spears, something changed. The music around her began to fade, and when Monika opened her eyes, finding that Mettaton had stopped dancing and was looking around confused- eyes flickering, demanding to know why the music wasn't his anymore- she also noticed it.
The new music held a strange, almost electrical beat to it, but the actual sounds were unmistakably her own- the music she had been putting together on the Piano all that time ago for her Player. The game, or, if she was hopeful, this new world, had seemed to recognize what she was doing, the song she was building up to. For a moment, her flames flickered as she grew uncertain. Her thoughts came to her slowly, but they were as panicked, as terrified as they would be if they had come rushing into her head like lightning. Could she do this? Was it really okay to use this song to win something like this? Was it even worth it for her to win it this way? Would it even work? But as she cleared her throat, Monika also cleared her thoughts. It didn't matter, none of it did. Because she didn't just want to sing this for the sake of winning. If she lost, she'd never have a chance to sing it for her Player... She wanted to sing for him, even if it was just once. And if she succeeded, then it was all the better.
"Everyday..." Her voice came out softly, light, airy, but with a tint to it. Blue hung over the word in the same way it hung over a dreary sky on a cloudy day. It hung there, but it stood proudly, it wasn't the kind of blue that was downtrodden. Not alone, at least. It was bitter in the same way that it was sweet. "I imagine a future where I can be with you." Each syllable that came out was just the same as the last, heavy and slow, warm and hopeful, blue and tragic. She really had. All those months spent living on his computer, looking out at him, wishing she could hold his hand, touch his face, feel his hands around her waist as they danced in the moonlight- every single day of every single month, she had dreamt of a world where those dreams weren't just imagination. And as she sang, a new color came to mind. Vibrant, flaming, soft, and sweet. Pink, like the brightest moments before the sun set. Blue and Pink, but blue began to fade as pink light- real pink light- began to grow around her. Until at once, Monika became less like a candle, and more like a blazing sun all her own. She took a step forward and with it, another breath to enter the next verse.
"In my hand, is a pen that will write a poem of me and you..." On its own, her hand moved out. It extended towards empty air for those in the crowd, but for her, the way her eyes were, the way she locked her shining, bright jewels onto him, she was looking at the only person in the entire world that she had ever dreamt of. And for those at home, the effect was the same, they felt the same that she did. "The ink flows down into a dark puddle." She continued, and then slowly pulled her hand back, letting it fall. The Pink of her words had grown, but that Blue hung in the air around them like a rope, pulling them back, tinging every second of her song with a kind of longing that she sometimes felt would never go away. Would her dreams ever become reality? Would she ever feel her hand in his? She didn't know, and she hated it. She loved and hated in the same breath, loved the man, and hated the longing.
"But in this world of infinite choices, what will it take just to find... that special day..." The music swelled around her, the beat rising in what Monika vaguely recognized as the buildup before it dropped. In some ways, she hated how ill-fitting her lyrics were for something like this... but in others, it almost added to it. It was a strange choice for the world to pick for her, but she understood it completely. Mixing those tragic, longing lyrics with something more upbeat and peppy, she had to admit that it often seemed to work well for getting a message across. It was even something she herself had done in the original. For as emotional as the song was, she hadn't finished it before she and her Player had been transported. She wasn't even really intending to do that either, if she was honest. That song spoke to how she felt about being separated from him, but not about how she felt about their chances of being together sometime in the far flung future. She sighed and took a glance towards the ratings, and her sad eyes lit up with a small smile. She was close, she just had to end this, with one more lyric. Something personal, something sweet, something that spoke to... How she really felt about her chances.
"What will it take just to find..." She looked over at him again. Her eyes lit, shining like verdant fonts. Pouring from them like tears, her gaze became like a waterfall of vibrant pink light. A deep, passionate color, that rose with her chest. She wanted to reach for him again, wanted to do more, wanted to feel him, and let him feel her, and yet all she could do was gaze. Looking at him, her Player, everything else turned to blur and faded behind her. Her heart ached, and her hands turned to clench at her jacket, pulling her arms around herself in a hug. It was as close to him as she could be. And as she did, she felt warmth rush over her. She loved him, more than she loved the world. "That special day?" The music swelled, the beat dropped and the remix of her piano work moved along to the rest of the song, but she didn't have any intention of singing the rest. It needed work still, she needed to think about it more and besides...
Her ratings had exploded. Undyne fell to the wayside first, and now it seemed that things were neck and neck between Monika and Mettaton. Undyne looked at the numbers with a strange expression her face. Like she was re-evaluating everything around her. Even so, when her turn came, she turned Monika's SOUL green, locking her in place while Mettaton made his own move. Monika was avoiding Undyne's spears when Mettaton's own SOUL came out of the small heart-shaped hatch in his stomach. Monika thought it was strange that his SOUL was white compared to hers, but she didn't think much about it as the Heart-Shaped thing floated above herself and Undyne.
Mettaton chuckled as it did. "Now now darlings, if we're pulling out all the stops, then we might as well go all-in!" He grinned, surrounding his SOUL with a bunch of magic boxes before causing it to erupt in a circle of lightning bolt shapes. Monika usually would have avoided them, but since her SOUL had been turned Green by Undyne, the girl had no choice but block the incoming attacks. They came down on Monika like rain, but thankfully they weren't actually electrified, or the girl might have been in more danger.
Even so, as her Spear moved to protect herself, Monika saw Undyne draw her own Spear back. She was worried that the Royal Guard was going to attack her, but to her surprise, Monika flung the Spear towards Mettaton's SOUL, causing the thing to shake and turn black for a moment before flicking back to white. As it did, Mettaton made a pained expression, and seemed to end his attack run early, allowing the SOUL to return to its housing chamber for the time being.
Once it was over, Monika and Undyne checked the ratings again, and Undyne's brow furrowed further. Monika expected the woman to react with rage, but her expression didn't read like anger to her. Pursing her lips and scrunching her face, the woman seemed more confused than angry. Monika understood why that was. During their battle, Undyne had made it clear her reasons for why she fought. She had given so much to her people, so much to make their lives better, and to see them siding with Monika over her... it had to be making her rethink her choices.
Which is why she reached out. Even though with her SOUL Green, Monika was stuck in place, she still managed to wave to Undyne, getting her attention if only for a moment. "Hey..." She began, glancing away as the woman turned her gaze back onto the girl. "I understand how you feel. We're both fighting for the same reason, because we love someone so much that we'd do anything for them. I don't expect you to stop trying to get my SOUL but... if they..." Monika trailed off, suddenly feeling hypocritical. She hadn't realized it when she set out to make this point, but... "If everyone is telling you that they want to see me succeed, even if you don't think its best... shouldn't that be enough to listen to them?" It was the same as she had been with bringing back the other girls. Monika had been so blinded by her desire to keep her Player all to herself, that she hadn't listened when he begged her to revive the others, even as he promised to only be with her.
Undyne seemed to pause to reflect on her words, but before she could speak up, Mettaton cut them off. "Well would you look at that!" He announced, causing both women to look over at him, then to turn their attention onto the ratings meter that was beside him. "This is my most viewers ever! Which means we've reached the milestone to bring a caller on! Indeed, one lucky viewer at home will have the chance to have their call taken by yours truly on what is intended to be our FINAL show!" Somehow, by extending an olive branch out to Undyne, Monika had not only increased the ratings but had also managed to make it so that she and Mettaton were neck and neck with one another- both sitting at 6000 out of the full 12000 people watching them.
A Miniton came forward, transforming itself into a phone before setting itself onto speaker. "Alright caller! You're live on our final performance!" Mettaton chuckled into the phone, which seemed to be silent for a moment before...
Monika's eyes widened as Napstablook's voice managed its way out of the cellphone. "oh... hey, Mettaton..." The ghost's voice muttered, flat and sad as ever but... Monika couldn't help but to feel like it was a bit more flat than before. "my life is pretty boring but... seeing you on the screen... brought a little excitement to it... vicariously..." He sighed, and Mettaton's face... it changed, it fell. For the first time since she'd met the machine, he didn't seem to be putting up any kind of act. "i guess this is the last episode... well... i'll miss you... mettaton... " Napstablook said, then spoke a bit more. "...oh... i'm sorry... i didn't realize i'd been rambling so long... bye..."
"Wait- blo-!" Mettaton tried to shout out, but the phone line went dead. His face fell again... And then, as if remembering that he was live, the Machine lit up again. "W-Well, lets take another caller!" The Miniton activated at his request, and another voice came rolling in.
Only this time, something had changed. It wasn't just one voice that came through, it was dozens. Monster Kid's, Shyren's, Alphys', Papyrus', it was as though the entire Underground had called in, all of them. Their voices overlapped with one another, filling the space around the group with shouts of appreciation, of adoration, of love for the star. And with each one, Mettaton's face began to fall more and more. The chorus became greater and greater until at last, Mettaton himself spoke up.
"Ah... I see..." He went silent for a moment, then glanced up at Monika and Undyne with a sad expression on his face. "Darlings... Maybe you should decide the fate of the Human's SOUL on your own... Humanity already has enough Stars to stand, and... it seems that I'm still needed down here, so... I'm resigning from our wager." Mettaton chuckles. "Besides... if I'm being honest... this form is... extremely energy inefficient. I've been burning through it since we started... I'll probably end up powering down in a moment..." Even as he speaks, the machine chuckles a bit. "Not to mention... you managed to survive both of us trying to kill you at the same time! You'll probably defeat Asgore... and save humanity, won't you?" Mettaton struggled to keep his eyes open as he spoke, and when he finally stopped, he shut down completely, and was gone.
Monika looked over at Undyne, waiting for her turn to come. Undyne glanced away. "I... you made a good point, Human. Plus, I made a bet and I've gotta stick by it. If everyone in the Underground really thinks you deserve to be the one to leave... Can't fight em on that. Much as I hate it." Undyne admitted... and turned Yellow.
"Undyne is sparing you." Player mutters. "That's... holy shit..." Monika was so taken aback by his use of profanity that she literally did a double take at him. She hadn't expected that from her boyfriend at all but the moment she thought about the fact that he'd said it... She realized that he really must have meant it! Undyne sparing the protagonist must be some kind of rare event to get a reaction like that out of her love. But after the shock wore off... Monika sighed, then smiled.
"Alright, thank you, Undyne. Spare."
And then the doors leading into this platform opened, and Alphys came running in. "I'm so... sorry...! I... lost track of... them both... oh... ow... ran... all the... w-way... here... to... help..."
Author's Note: WELL this one was a little longer than I was intending it to be. I'm so used to writing 10k word chapters now that I accidentally wrote one here. Ah well, I'm sure none of you are complaining, its just more time for you to spend with these characters after all. In any case, this is the conclusion of both the Mettaton and Undyne plots, at least for this route. Next time we'll be heading towards New Home, Sans and then Asgore, and then after that... Heh, you'll find out in a few more months~
As for this chapter, I didn't intend for it to be as long as it was, but I wanted to better address the issues I brought up in the last chapter with Monika's doubts. As good as Sans' advice is for life and to stave off nihilistic depression, it isn't good enough for her, and while it made her appreciate things more in the short term... Yeah I wanted to point out that it wasn't going to help her for long here. But with Player's assistance, she seems to have gotten over one hurdle... but she brings up a good point. Even if the characters are making their own decisions, they're still characters in the game... right? Do they matter the same way she does? Well, that's a question for another time. I also really wanted to deepen the relationship between Monika and Player here, more cute romance stuff can never be a bad thing after all, and it added a bit of a tension break before we entered the Mettaton battle, WHICH... really changed a lot from when I first planned it back when I was sixteen. That's the fun thing about my writing, even I don't know what we're going to do next half the time! I like to imagine its the characters' free will asserting itself over my writing, leading them on the paths they want to go down.
Anyway, I've rambled long enough, I hope you all liked the chapter! Now to address the reviews... We've got quite a lot today!
Guest: Oh, i'm just loving all what you are doing here! Well, it's Halloween now, and i hope you still inspired for this fic! I love DDLC and Undertale, and you're doing a good job in Monika's and Frisk's journeys. Oh, and the MOI gives a voice for Sayori in "Sayo-nara", so now i imagine Sayori with this voice. (Sorry if some words or sentences are wrong. I am brazilian, so i don't talk english very well. Hehe...)
Me: (You did a great job, don't worry!) I'm glad you're liking the story so far! Don't worry, I'm not going to go anywhere any time soon, I fully intend to see the story to its finish, and I hope you had a good Halloween too!
Due to the length of this review, I decided to split it up into multiple replies.
Xian0451: As of writing this review, I basically read it from start to finish from Oct 29- today so here are my overall thoughts on the story.
I like it….what you expected something more?!
Well ok…
To be honest, since I'm more of a Undertale Fan rather than a Doki Doki fan so my expectations for this fanfic were a bit different than what was written here… not that what you written here wasn't good, the idea itself and the execution were all good no complaints here. Changing Undertale stories or at least parts of it because of Monika's existence is pretty much on point with how her game went.
As for the Player…as a guy who doesn't simp for any of the Literature girls, I can be more objective here and say that…he doesn't do much in the grand scheme Iof things. Acting as Monika's morality chain is the only thing he can do and maybe that's fine for the story but with him being able to access the code and get her actual items…shouldn't he be able to do more? Like give your GF a Gaster Blaster for fuck sakes or give her the ability to teleport and shit come in! Your nothing but a glorified cheerleader lol.
Me: I'm glad you liked it! You had to get through some of my rougher stuff from when I was much younger, but you made it here so it looks like even that was pretty good if you managed to read it all this quickly. As we come closer to the ending, I hope to continue to capture your interest, and in the interest of doing that, I'll address some of your points here, starting with Monika. Monika's existence alone isn't the only thing forcing the game to change, there's more here going on that I've hinted at in the past, but she definitely is playing a huge role in changing events around.
As for Player, I didn't want him to turn into something of a Deus Ex Machina, which is some of the reason why he can't simply give Monika invincibility or a Gaster Blaster. He's also just limited in what he can do because he's not really a coder. I've never gone into detail about it, but the File Menu isn't a God Box, Player can only do so much, and even the little he can do takes a lot of time. As a reminder, Player was buried in the Files from essentially the beginning of the RUINS to the end of them, and all he got out of it was a Jacket. A really OP Jacket that makes Monika pretty tough and outclasses almost every armor in the game barring Temmie Armor, but a jacket nonetheless. Believe me, if he could, he'd definitely be giving her more just to make sure she's safe, but he can only do so much.
Aside from that…to the Frisk side of things.
First off Frisk being a girl…to be fair, like 80% of the fanart for Frisk portrays them as girls due to how they draw their faces so I'm not that bothered. (don't know why this comment was necessary but whatever).
Secondly, her interactions with the girls is pretty good, feels very natural to her, almost like as if she should have been the MC instead…hmmm.
Seeing Yuri and Sayori breaking apart real time is horrifying but at the same time confusing? Like if this is still a game…they shouldn't be breaking this fast right…unless…someone else is messing the code and the only other culprit is…Chara…or maybe it was just designed to break down naturally like this even without Monika and that would be depressing.
Me: So in regards to my decision to make Frisk female in this, there are two reasons behind it. First, when I initially wrote Frisk's first foray into the DDLC reality, I didn't really understand or recognize the Non Binary was an option for people. If I had written it now, I definitely would depict them as going by they/them pronouns, even though they would be female because Doki Doki is a romance game and its plot kind of requires that the Club is full of "incredibly cute girls" with MC as the only guy. The second reason for my decision to make them into a she is because I personally headcanon that both Chara and Frisk are female.
As for writing for her, it honestly just came really naturally to me. Frisk is the kind of person who's always trying to help people work through their issues, she genuinely wants to help everyone she meets. Sure, she's only human and she does bad things a lot, but she really is a kind person, and that plays off really well with the Dokis, who are all people who need someone to reach out to them and help them through their problems. Also, it helps that the FFLC chapters are mostly action-free, which really allows me to flex my character writing skills and really develop their characters. In regards to her being the MC... Both Frisk and Monika kind of fill that role in their stories. Both FFLC and the main Monitale story take place somewhat concurrently with one another, just in different realities. So in a way, Frisk is the main character in the same way the Monika is. But if you were actually comparing he to MC the character... Well, that's quite funny, and that's all I'll say on the matter :)
In any case, for me at least, the story that is written right now is enjoyable and would like to see where it goes. Personally for me, I had the idea of Chara still being in the underground and following Monika around and confronting her at the end of the story (whether Neutral or True Pacifist) and confronting them both, stating that the Player enjoys torturing the monsters here since he reset so many times to try and see what endings he could get if he did certain things (I believe that making the Player not do the genocide is a stupid idea and a wasted potential. For me I would have had him done the Pacifist, all Neutral Endings and the Genocide endings. Heck since he is a coder, have him also modify Undertale a couple of times to get different results like Frisk having a Gaster Blaster or Every Enemy is Sans lol and have Chara be aware of every single run, modified or not.) and wanting to kill both of them for the sole reason of ending Chara's pain by erasing Undertale entirely without Frisk or Monika to stand in their way and have an epic fight.
As for Frisk…I still don't know where to put here in all of this or how she could interact with Undertale so I just left her at the background.
Anyway that's my review on this story, good luck on it. And stay PASSIONATE!
I can't wait to show you where its going. I can't say that you're completely correct in your assumptions with the ending, but I think that you'll like how it finishes when we get there. Its going to be quite the ending, and I'm going to be pulling at almost every string I've being laying out up until now to make sure that its one of the most satisfying conclusions I've ever written. As for Player doing Genocide, he actually has done Genocide. I'll just point this out here, but, Frisk notes multiple times that she had made it to Undyne the Undying before choosing to RESET, and Player was playing the game at that time so he also made it at least to Undyne. Did he get further than Frisk? Well that's an interesting question. One with an answer that you'll have to wait on, but it is the case that Player has done at least some of the Genocide route.
Ah, but on that note, Frisk herself will have a very interesting role to play in the final ending. Stay tuned~
Ruby Rose: Frisk is older now.
Monika is filled with PASSION.
Toriel saved Monika.
Me: Yes, those are all true things that happened!
Chloe Bourgeois: So Player is a ghost now.
Monika is in Undertale and Frisk is in Doki Doki Literature Club.
Me: In a manner of speaking, yes Player is a ghost. And yes, Monika and Frisk did swap places.
omega5342: Oh, my sweet little Frisk. Don't worry your pretty little head. Soon enough, you too will forget everything about your original life. The names of your old friends are just the beginning.
Meta-wise, loved this chapter. Is she really forgetting her old life or is it just me?
Me: Unfortunately, I have to say that it is just you in this case. I like the way you think, but no, Frisk isn't losing her old memories of her life before, if she was then how could she remember being a child in an Orphanage or even her adventure down in the Underground? There is a reason why she can't say her friends' names, but its a bit of a spoiler so I'll have to save it for later...
MysticBoywastaken: (:
Me: =)
Isaasol2: So I wonder how long it'll take for one of the Undertale characters get a feel for Monika's psychology and diagnose her with either Schizophrenia or depersonalization-derealization disorder. I also wonder if they'll come across any of the Gaster mysteries, it's a 0.1% chance but with Monika being who she is it'd be cool if they do come across one.
Me: Honestly it wouldn't surprise me if Sans or Flowey have decided that Monika is slightly insane just because she's always talking to herself. As a reminder, nobody but her can see the Player. To the outside world, even during battles, she's just talking to herself and occasionally staring out into space while she does, sometimes with a strangely loving gaze or with her trying to touch things that aren't there. As for actually diagnosing her though, they probably won't do that. Sans probably figures she's just having an existential breakdown and everyone else only gets to know her for a very short time. As for The Man Who Speaks in Hands, well... its rude to talk about those who are listening, you know.
Setokayba2n:Only 9 chapters, that mean only 9 years more of waiting for chapters... More seriously, good job with the story.
Me: Haha, funny guy. No but seriously, I know what you mean, I've been writing this since forever, but we really are on the verge of ending things here, and in some ways that makes me happy while in others... its really, really sad.
Anyway! I'm glad you're liking it so far, and I can't wait to hear from you next time~
Welp, that's all of them! For now, dear readers, I hope you enjoyed and, as always...
Until Next Time True Readers!