Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chujin adjusted his glasses and hit record.

"This is Chujin. I'm back from the dead. I'm not sure how or why, but from what I could gather, my wife acquired a human soul in the time I was gone. To be alive again is... strange to say the least. It has led to some interesting... developments.

"Ceroba had injected our only child with the serum I had concocted, and she fell down. Despite the grief she suffered, Kanako managed to come back from the brink as well. I'm still not sure what effect the human had on her, but her soul is undamaged. I'd have to run some tests to check her status soon. I voiced my frustrations at Ceroba for going against my wishes, but for now I'm just glad Kanako's alright."

Chujin put his hands together. How was he even supposed to word the next surprise that awaited him when he woke?

"There's more. I'm just not sure how to... process it into words. I appear to have another kid now, but I don't know how he came to be. He may have the same genetics as Kanako, but I've never had more than one offspring. His soul is white and carries the boss monster gene, but it is oriented in the same position a human's would be. By all accounts, this doesn't make sense. To make it more puzzling, he appears to be around Kanako's age as well.

"I know I shouldn't place doubt in my family's actions, but this doesn't change my stance on humanity. If one human soul can accomplish this, what other unspeakable things could they do when still alive? I'm not sure I want to know the answer."

He hit stop and rubbed his cheek. This was going to be a rough day.

…

"What is your purpose, Sunshine?!" the drill instructor berated. "What is the purpose of your enlistment?!"

The waves splashed up and into her face. "I-I..." she managed between push-ups. This didn't seem to satisfy the overbearing presence looming over her.

"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION, PRIVATE! WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?!" he barked, unrelenting. "PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND SPEAK, DAMNIT!"

She shook her head and got up. That flashback was from boot camp. The moment that would stick with her for the rest of her days.

What is your purpose? she mouthed to herself.

She needed to grip the world and steady things after her fall. Her second fall, and in the same day too. The ruins were already desolate above her, but the deep caverns she stumbled into were completely void of discernable life. Not like she encountered anyone above her, but sounds of activity could be heard. Here it was silent.

She cursed herself for letting go of her combat rifle during the fall. She'd dropped it in an effort to grab onto her surroundings. Anything that could help stabilize her descent.

Looking back up now, she could see the stock sticking out from the ledge. So close, but climbing to get back up would be an inefficient use of her strength. She had to leave it behind and keep going forward. Besides, she has her combat knife, so she wasn't completely unarmed.

Ava un-sheathed said knife and kept moving. Her steps were precise and alert. She wasn't taking any chances in an unfamiliar territory. She heard rumors that Mount Ebott was home to horrifying beasts capable of tearing you apart. The fact that eight children seemingly just disappeared held credence to that.

Her eyebrows narrowed. She just hoped that her brother managed to tough it out until she found him. She knew he would. "Tough" was a great description for the kid. Even if it took years...

Despite her confidence in him, something cold kept holding her thoughts from going away. It had been a week since she was discharged, but Ava was trained in the art of suppressing one's thoughts and emotions. Not everything can be held down forever, and even if it wasn't the overwhelming feeling of regret haunting her, she still felt a presence watching her.

Puzzles littered the halls where she walked. The same had been true for the hallway she fell through. Mayhaps a way to delay her progress? Strange. Was someone expecting her? Stranger yet, the difference here was that these ones seemed to have already been solved.

She hated how quiet it was. She knew someone was nearby, but whoever or whatever they were, they stayed distant. Ava quickened her pace and pushed that prospect to the back of her mind. Best to not get distracted.

The next room she entered made that a little difficult for her. Upon taking her first steps, she found herself in the middle of... corn? With how little lighting illuminated the place, it was astounding plant life could sustain itself down here.

Cautiously, she took an ear and sniffed it. The corn smelled oddly sweet. This piqued her curiosity and she partially shucked a cob. One bite couldn't hurt, right?

The juices ran across her jaw as the muscles connecting them squeezed. It was... delicious. The feeling of being watched took a backburner as she embraced a sense of nostalgia.

Another flashback? No. Just a vague feeling of what once was.

She had more important tasks to finish before she would allow herself to reminisce. The first being getting through here, and seeing how there was no sign of anyone around, Ava allowed her shoulders to relax. The atmosphere wasn't going to hold her back, even if it wanted to.

…

After about twenty minutes of unimpeded search, the soldier found a light coming through a doorway at the end of a tunnel. The only thing of note from then was a house built into the structure of the ruins, but it was synonymous with what she encountered so far in that it was uninhabited.

If nothing else, the way the light crept in the door in front of her held promise. Pushing the heavy door open revealed an odd phenomenon to her. Just on the other side sat an underground forest... and it was snowing.

From a physics perspective, this was possible. NASA performed a study on if a building was big enough, it could give means to its own internal weather. That being said, this was still super bizarre.

Ava cautiously took a step into the snow. It definitely crunched like snow, so that's a good sign her vision wasn't failing. The sudden temperature drop caught her off guard though.

She came with little gear, often preferring to travel light. Part of Ava's time in the military had her live in places that were similar to Alaskan winter climates, so this was nothing new to her. If she needed to start a fire to keep warm, she had the resources to do so.

Regardless, it would be a good idea to get moving. The snow was rather humid and falling slowly, but that didn't mean it wouldn't change up on a dime.

She trudged through the snow until she came across a large rock with a strange carving engraved in the side. A dot with wings above three triangles. Perhaps something religious? Ava was never a religious person for... reasons she kept to herself, but she humored the rock and closed her eyes to remind herself why she was here.

Having endured the fall and making it out unscathed reminds you of your PURPOSE.

FILE 10 SAVED

Chapter Text

Dalv opened his front door and stepped outside. Today was the day. Today, he was going play the organ at the Honeydew resort. A time slot had been allotted specifically for him.

It would be difficult performing in front of an audience, but that was a pill he could manage to swallow. He owed it to Clover to finally break free of that stage fright.

He held a hand over his chest and gripped his shirt. Had it really been four years since he saw him last? It only seemed like just yesterday he was helping Dalv move in his new abode.

Dalv turned to look in the direction of the ruins. It wasn't for nothing. Clover had changed his life for the better. What good would come of chickening out after all of this?

He closed his eyes and smiled. "Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if you hadn't shook my hand that day. I know our time together was short, but I'm glad I got any with you at all."

Dalv's smile faltered and his usual solemn face slipped back to rest position. He's got nothing to worry about.

Paff... Paff... Paff...

Dalv opened his eyes and scanned the forest ahead. Those could have been anyone's footsteps, but they audibly stopped when he began to look around. Someone was watching him.

"He-... Hello?!" he called out. "Is someone there?" A little calmer now, Dalv focused along the main path where a few footprints lie. He didn't need to get any closer to know they were much bigger than the footfalls of anyone who lived in the immediate area.

"Hey! I know someone is over there!" Dalv mustered what strength he could in his voice. He felt on edge. Something was very wrong. The only times someone hid from him, he didn't feel in danger. "I don't... I don't want to fight you! Just come out from behind that tree and we can talk."

…

Ava cursed under her breath. She let herself get careless. Hearing the music coming from the vampire-esc monster's house got her curious. It was... well, relaxing.

That relaxation didn't last long enough. Her position had been compromised. Any attempt to sneak away would only give up what semblance of advantage she had. She could only wait it out. If he approached... she'd do what she needed to. She just needed the right angle of attack.

Dalv cautiously advanced toward the footprints. He didn't know what he would find when he got there, but it beat having to endure a staring contest with an unrecognizable opponent.

Three meters away...

Two meters away...

One meter...

Dalv stood and looked down at the boot bottom form in the snow. He studied it from a distance and pondered what monster could have big enough feet to displace that much snow.

And then it hit him, literally. Ava managed to sneak up behind him and deck the base of his neck. Her normally stoic and emotionless face gave way to a hint of confusion when Dalv almost immediately spun around after regaining his balance.

"Hey! What was that for?!" he grimaced. He threw open his cloak and readied some electrical magic, intent on defending himself. He didn't think he'd need to use it again ever since Clover showed up, but he had been wrong before.

Ava was too stunned to move. She had hit him square in the spinal column at a pressure point that would incapacitate or at least slow most humans. This... thing had just shrugged it off. Maybe something was different in their biology that circumvented this tactic from working.

Dalv had been held in place too, but not for the same reason as Ava. As the world around them faded to black and white, Dalv caught a glimpse of his attacker's stats.

Ava Millet

LV 12 EXP ???

HP 100/100 ATK 45 DEF 60
Too shocked to understand what's happening.

This was alarming. He never saw a monster with an ATK stat higher than 20. And how did she manage to get behind him when he had heard her moving before?

"Y-you're..." His voice was shaky. This snapped Ava out of her thought process and she drew her combat knife.

Ava was perplexed with how the world had changed in a manner of milliseconds. Why did she have stats? Why did the color disappear? What were these options that lie in front of her? She disregarded it and selected the FIGHT option. It was what she was intending to do, after all.

Dalv fired a small barrage of voltage at her in a desperate attempt to distract her long enough to escape. It stung, but she powered through it and stabbed Dalv right in the jugular as he turned to run away.

The monster instantly disintegrated before her. It was as if his body had been held together with sand. What was going on here? Had she actually just killed him without having to sever his vocal chords?

Her hands got caked in some of the dust. She didn't know how to feel. Training had told her time and time again not to let an enemy escape because they could always bring reinforcements and jeopardize the mission. Maybe she was right to trust her training, but it still felt wrong. This was a civilian. Not a soldier.

"I shouldn't have killed him... I had to! He was fleeing. He knew I was a threat to his people. This... this was necessary."

She didn't sound to convinced in her own words. They weigh heavy as they exited her throat.

No. This isn't Wanat, Ava. You're not in Afghanistan. These aren't the enemies you think them to be.

She argued with herself over her moral dilemma. As she did, something pierced her back and shattered the strange heart shaped object she used to highlight her options with. The world shifted back to color, and a strange humanoid fish lady started running at her from a distance.

Ava's body began to grow cold, and she collapsed. She had been taken out. But... she still needed to fulfill her PURPOSE.

FILE 10 LOADED

Chapter Text

What just happened?

Ava blinked. She was back by the rock with the strange design on the front. Had she hallucinated the whole thing? No. She could hear the music from the vampire's house right now. Exactly as wonderful as it was the first time.

Did she experience a vision?

The music stopped, and she heard a door open in the distance. This happened within the same time frame it did before her interaction started. By having stood still for as long as she had, things were happening without her.

And she remained standing there. She was too dumbfounded to do anything. She died, didn't she? Something cratered through her back. She could have sworn it did. The pain was real. The blood was real. The dust on her hands...

She looked at her hands. They were no longer dusty. She didn't kill the vampire man. For some reason, her conscience felt lighter by knowing this. Maybe it would be best if she stayed out of sight, then.

…

Dalv stepped up to the resort and paused. A heavy worry began to settle on him. Somehow, someway, he was going to mess this up. He could feel it. The knowledge that he was playing to a live audience was just too much. Undyne's words of encouragement didn't do him good either.

Maybe he should just leave.

Dalv gripped the music chart in his hands tighter. "No. I can do this. If I burn, I burn." he stated with a spark in his eyes. "For Clover."

Dalv stepped inside and prepared for the concert.

Outside, someone was watching. Monitoring his movements. Listening in to the words he mumbled. Analyzing what troubled him. And as they did, one thing was certain.

He had information about her dear brother. Ava needed to talk to him if at all possible. The guy was a loner. She could see this plain as day. It would take some time to wait, but she could wait days if that's what it took.

Ava backtracked through the snow path she came from as the sound of pipe organ filled the air. As she walked, Ava's mind drifted to memories of her time at home. A time before her military years. Before the orphanage. Before all of it went wrong.

She was hauling a sack of feed to the horse pen. It was almost time to lock up the shed for the night. When she entered and started opening the sack, she caught sight of a cowboy hat in her periphery.

Ava put down the sack and looked over to Clover. He had fallen asleep in a chair after tending to the goats. How silly.

A smile crept up her lips and she finished feeding the horses. "You really wanted to make sure they were squared away this time, huh?" she muttered.

This winter had been particularly brutal to the homestead this year. The workload increase caused by the blizzards had been overbearing, and the family was feeling the stress. Despite the conditions, Clover would often forego dinner if it meant the farm animals were taken care of.

Ava rolled up the empty feed sack and picked up Clover. She locked the barn and shed and made her way to the house.

You're too good at being selfless, Clover.

Ava sighed as the snow packed under her boot. She wanted a better life for him than what he got. She could give that to him now. She just had to find him first.

…

Dalv walked along the path with lifted spirits. He outdid himself at the concert. Not a single note was missed and no notes were incorrect. His hard work had paid off.

The world around him was calm. Calm and happy. This was the best he'd felt in a long time.

He grabbed the knob to his front door and twisted. So good to be home. Something was off, though. A hint if seriousness lingered in the air. Something happened while he was away.

His eyes lowered to his bookshelf. It was only something he could tell because he was the only one who organized them, but the spines were out of order.

Dalv tensed up as the door closed behind him. He spun around to find a figure taller than him had entered his home, and they were now blocking his exit.

"Who are you?" he managed through tense breaths. The figure took a step in his direction and the overhead light gave way to her features.

Standing before him was someone with messy brown hair, medium length. Her legs were adorned with cargo pants, and she wore a camo jacket over a dull green tank top. On her belt was a sheathed combat knife next to a small flashlight. Her right hand gripped a rucksack. Those arms had gauss bandages wrapped around them.

Dalv returned his eyes to meet the lady's gaze. A small necklace he hadn't seen prior was tucked under her shirt collar.

She spoke. "Sorry for intruding, but it was the only way I could safely talk to you without anyone else seeing. From what I could gather in the short time I had skimming your books, I would be targeted by your kind for being a human. Is this a correct assumption?"

Dalv hesitated. How was he supposed to continue the conversation? A human was in his house, uninvited. An adult at that. He had only experienced interactions with human kids but how would their elders fare in a monster's environment?

"I suppose... that wouldn't be an inaccurate assumption," he began. "B-but! Recently, the public opinion on humanity has changed. Another human has been living in the underground for at least a year."

His word choice held some promise. She reached to her rucksack and pulled out a manilla folder.

"I'm going to show you some photos, and I need you to tell me if you've seen them. After you tell me what you can, I'll be on my way."

Dalv straightened his posture. If information was all this person wanted, he'd be happy to give it to them. It was true they barged right in, but this might have been important.

He nodded and motioned to his table. The two walked over and she spread the photos out on its surface. Dalv could feel a small pang in his soul as the photo of the ballerina graced his eyes.

Melody Schambeck AGE 12

"Yes. I've seen this one." Dalv turned his head to the side. He didn't want to relive the moment, but...

"She was scared... I mistook her aggression for ill intent and attacked her. I thought she was going to hurt my friend."

The woman looked at him with a neutral expression. "What happened afterwards?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. She ran away. I never saw her afterwards, but I regret my actions that day. I could tell when she left, she had been betrayed. This happened at a place called Waterfall."

Dalv looked back at the pictures. None of them seemed familiar, save for one whose name had been torn from the photo. One he recognized immediately.

"...This is Clover," he stated. "He helped me overcome my griefs and convinced me to move out of the ruins." Dalv smiled weakly. "He headed East out of Snowdin. That was the last time I saw him. He said he had something important to attend to." Dalv's smile faltered. "Although what that was, he never told me."

The woman stared at him without word before collecting the photos and putting them away. "Thank you," she said without emotion as she slung her rucksack back over her shoulder.

She glanced over to the organ in the far side of the room. Dalv caught her stare and perked up. A smile dressed him again.

"Would you like to hear me play?" he beamed. The woman stopped in her tracks. This was not something she was expecting. The world slowed to a crawl as she pondered.

"I suppose I don't need to go immediately," she calmly replied. Dalv could swear she even gave him a slight smile. This had gone from a scary situation to a happy accident.

Dalv hopped on the swivel chair in front of the instrument and pulled out some sheet music. Today was going to be a better day than he thought.

…

Chujin sighed as he opened up his video recorder. His last tape had been four years ago. Still, it would feel good to get something off his chest.

"This is Chujin. My son, Clover, has found my plans to build more anti-human defense robots behind Asgore's back. I don't know how he got the codes to my old office in the Steamworks, but he did and now I've got a conundrum. He seems to think that making them would be a mistake.

"I agree that there exists a line not to be crossed, but humanity is and always will be a threat. I know a human has recently fallen down and convinced the king to declare the war against them over, but I don't think the humans above us will reciprocate when the barrier is eventually shattered. If we cannot assert ourselves, we will be forced back down here to be locked away again... or worse.

"It still amazes me how much they've grown. I just hope he learns to stop playing cowboy and comes to terms with the reality of what we're facing. I do love him. I love him as much as I do Kanako, but it would destroy me if he got a taste of the surface and paid dearly for it."

He sighed and stopped the recording. If the stories he heard about the war are true, humans couldn't be trusted. Frisk was an exception, but he wouldn't be taking chances with every child he happened upon. No matter how pure their intentions may seem.

Chapter Text

Dalv turned around, excited to see what reaction his guest had in wait for him. He wasn't sure what to expect. It was as if his stance on performing was flipped on a dime. Granted it was just one person, but it still was more than he was used to.

"So, how did I do?" Dalv asked.

His guest had a poker face smile. It was a practiced one, hard to see the cracks. "I... I really liked it."

Something told Dalv there was a lot of pain in those words. It was forced, but not ingenuine. The woman picked her head back up and resumed her Stoic expression. Her eyes had softened.

"Sorry. I'm not the most in touch with my emotions," she lamented. The sorrow of her previous words had been completely removed.

"That's fine. I've had some struggles of my own with that myself. That's why I like music." Dalv's smile warmed again. "It's a great way to express them."

His guest nodded and stood. "I should get going, then. Sorry for breaking in."

She reached for the doorknob and a hand grabbed her arm. "Wait!" She turned to face him. Dalv's eyebrows raised expectantly. "What's your name?"

She allowed herself to smile. "My name is Ava."

"Dalv," he returned. Dalv moved his hand to be in front of him. "Nice to meet you, Ava."

Ava blinked. She remembered Dalv saying something about shaking someone's hand. The significance of this notion had not been lost on her. She turned and gave Dalv a firm shake.

"It's nice to meet you too, Dalv. I'll see you around." Ava left without another word.

Despite the start of her visit, Dalv enjoyed her company. It felt familiar to him. Her face felt familiar, too. One question still nagged at him. Did he just make another human friend?

Ava on the other hand, had considered it a certainty. After she was done with her mission, a return visit was going to happen. She needed to find the other humans first... or what became of them.

In truth, she possibilities scared her. Dalv's books revealed that at least five had died down here, and their descriptions matched what she had on file.

Holding the memory of that song fills you with a sense of PURPOSE.

FILE 10 SAVED

There it was again. That bizarre power she had. Ava wasn't sure where it came from, but it strangely wasn't unfamiliar to her. Was it even new then? Maybe she always had it. Maybe she just picked it up along the way.

Speaking of things she picked up along the way, another monster started following her. She didn't notice them at first, mainly because she was still thinking about the song Dalv played, but the monster in question noticed she wasn't from around here and wanted to speak to the new face.

Suddenly acutely aware that she was being shadowed, Ava spun around and brought her hand closer to her combat knife. She didn't want to use it of course, but like compounded training, old habits die hard.

"Who's there?" she commanded. Her eyes lowered down at the small creature in front of her. Its height about to her waist. The monster had a pair of antlers and a red and green seasonal sweater. The girl, at least she assumed this was a girl, had her eyes wide open in shock. Was this some sort of deer?

Ava relaxed her stance and crossed her arms. "Well? I asked you a question," she reminded the small deer.

Said deer monster meekly replied, "N-Noelle Holiday, m-m-ma'am."

Ava huffed. What an ironic name. "Well met, Miss Noelle. Might I be learned the reason you are following me?"

"I... um... I didn't recognize who you were so I came to say hello!" Noelle's eyes lowered. "I was too scared to outright talk to you from where I was when I first saw you, so I thought I'd wait until..." Her eyes kept looking every which way but Ava.

The human looked to the side as well. "Well... maybe you were right to be scared," she mumbled thinking of just how quick she was to reach for a weapon. "I'm not exactly a saint, you know."

"A saint?" Noelle repeated. She was about to inquire further but someone else interjected. "NGAAAH!!! Who the hell are you supposed to be?!"

Ava's head snapped to the direction of the approaching fish lady. She re-positioned her left foot to face the new speaker. "Ava Millet. United States 77th Infantry Division." Her eyes narrowed. "What's it to ya?"

This wasn't her actual division. It was the one she started out in, yes, but she got transferred to a different one after the battle of Wanat. Which division did she get transferred to? According to the CIA, her new division didn't exist.

The fish lady clenched her fists. "So you're the one everybody's been so concerned about. I don't know what you mean by 'Infantry Division,' but it sounds like something for babies." She pointed her thumb at her chest. "I'm Undyne of the Royal Guard. I don't know why you think you can just bully kids, but I'm gonna stop it!"

Ava didn't budge. She just stared and waited for this 'Undyne' person to act on it. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Noelle stepped away slowly. Undyne's wicked expression began to settle as confusion kicked it. Then it was realization.

"Wait a second!" She pointed at Ava. "You're that HUMAN, aren't you?" to which Ava just sighed. Was every monster abstract in some way?

"Yes, I am a human. No, I didn't bully anyone." Ava closed her eyes. "I was just wondering why I was being followed."

"Er! Uh! Well... I got a few people saying you were acting shifty and possibly threatening in your advance towards Snowdin!"

Undyne was really trying to hold back from starting an engagement. The king's recent orders changed protocol from attacking humans on sight to only if the human attacked first. This was really awkward for her. Usually, her way of guns blazing made this part of the job easier. Now it felt like she had to fight a part of herself to stay in line.

"The reason I'm so on edge is because I have to be. It's not every day that you fall down into an unfamiliar territory and have no means of reinforcements at your disposal," Ava pointed out. The air between them gained a new tension, and their locked eyes met no interruptions for a good five minutes.

Suddenly, Ava let her arms to her sides and began walked toward Snowdin. Appalled, Undyne chased after and matched her pace beside her. "Where are you going?! We weren't done talking yet!"

Ava didn't bother looking her way. "I'm pretty sure we are. You don't strike me as someone I could get reliable information out of, and I'm not under arrest because I've done nothing wrong."

Undyne's fingers flexed and unflexed in a motion akin to strangling someone. "You! Y- Oh you just- graAAH!!" Her expression was manic. This human was seriously getting on her nerves. What was really pissed her off most was that through all of it, Ava hadn't once flinched or showed any facial expressions. Why did she have to be so robotic?! There was no way to read her! Still, Undyne had a wildcard.

"You're being detained!" she shouted. Ava stopped and turned to look at her. The corner of Undyne's lips rose a little. She was getting somewhere.

Ava looked Undyne down and up before stating "You're not big enough, and there isn't a chance in hell even if you were." Ava resumed her pace. "Besides, I still have my duties to uphold."

Even though she was initially pissed at the response, that last part stuck out to Undyne. "But, what kind of duties... would bring you to the underground?" Undyne's voice was much lower with that second half.

The human stopped at the billboard that read: WELCOME TO CENTRAL SNOWDIN

A lump formed in her throat as she hesitated. "...Family duties," and she kept walking.

Chapter Text

Clover sat at the kotatsu with Ceroba and Chujin. Kanako was taking her sweet time getting ready for dinner. What was keeping her? He stood up from the table.

"I'm gonna go check and see what's up," he said. Chujin just nodded. Ceroba just sighed. It was clear something had been troubling both of them, but Clover could pester them about it later.

The brown kitsune stepped out into the hall to his sister's room and knocked.

"Kanako? You in there, sis?" he asked. A few seconds passed. No response.

Deeming it cause for entry, he cracked the door ajar and peered inside. Kanako was not there. Where was she hiding?

His ears twitched when he heard something from back in the hall. So, he turned around and followed the noise to his room. The closer he got, the more he could grasp what that sound was.

It was a zipper being closed.

"Kanako," Clover began, widening the angle of his bedroom door. "Dinner's ready. We're waiting on you."

Kanako stood with her back to him. She was sniffling, bent elbows suggested she was holding onto something he couldn't quite see.

"Koko? Is something wrong?" Clover asked. Something about the way she hadn't responded put him off. He entered the room to look at her. "Kanako, why are you crying?"

He reached to put a paw on her shoulder. To his surprise, she spun and slapped it away. "Don't touch me!"

Clover's eyes widened when he saw her face. He knew that look all too well. It was one of fear. "Look, we can talk about it if it's-" He stopped and saw what she was holding. It was a small photograph. An old one.

She had been digging around his old backpack he got after moving in four years ago. It wasn't something he remembered all too well because he just kept putting other things on top of or in front of it. And the photograph...

He beckoned for her to flip the picture so he could see. Kanako showed him the photo and pointed at the two kids in it. One was a small human wearing Clover's clothes. The other was... Who was she?

Someone had scribbled "I'm always here for you Clover" on the bottom. Something about that awakened a painful nostalgia for him, but he couldn't remember who the young lady in the picture was supposed to be. Then again, he didn't really know who the little boy was either. They seemed familiar, but mostly because of his outfit.

"Which..." Clover studied the photo again. His eyebrows narrowed in confusion. What was going on here? "Which pocket did this come from, Kanako?"

Kanako, still distraught, demonstrated the location and how she got in. "You were a h-human this whole time?" she sniffed. "Did... Are you even my brother?"

She wiped her tears and looked back at him. The shadow cast by his hat covered his eyes as his head angled down. "Kanako... I'm not sure what this is. I don't know who these people are. But, I'm as much your brother as you are my sister."

She could see his grip tightening on the picture and tears rolled down his cheek. "Can you... Can you go get mom?" he asked with a shaky voice. "I know I can't remember most of my life before you and dad came back but..."

Kanako bolted past him and down to the dining room. Clover looked over his paws. He had been told that he had been struck with amnesia and that he had lived with them his whole life. Why would Ceroba feel the need to cover this up with a lie?!

…

"Hey punk!" Undyne barked. "You've been walking for at least half an hour and haven't once stopped to do anything in town. What gives?"

"Not my legs. That's for damn sure," Ava muttered. The two stopped walking and she threw an inquisitive side eye to the fish woman. "Why do you care if I don't take a break?"

Undyne observed Ava's slight twitch. The way she had been walking was almost robotic, but even she could see her beginning to tire.

"It's mostly because you look like crap, dude. Here," she pointed to a nearby building with big letters on it. The place was called "Grillbys".

"My treat." Undyne smiled earnestly.

Ava turned to face the building and cocked her head to the side. This felt like a trap. "Huh... I'm not sure I'm completely sold on the whole 'friendly monsters' thing if I'm honest. What're you playing at here?"

Undyne frowned disappointingly. "Look, I'm not a therapist, but I've recently been told to not spearhead every situation I come across. You being so hesitant and alert just reminds me of myself. Take a moment to soak in the environment. You don't have to fight the world, okay?"

Ava thought back to her first encounters. She killed Dalv. A civilian who was just trying to practice music. She reset because she knew it was wrong and made amends. Then there was Noelle. She immediately assumed the worst and almost pulled out her knife. What kind of response is that to a little child coming to check up on you?

Ava grabbed her arm and squeezed. "Why don't I trust you? You don't just give kindness to a random stranger you were going to arrest for suspicious behavior. This has to be a damn trick."

Undyne looked down. "Trust is a difficult subject. If you stay too open, people will take advantage of you." She cleared her throat and held out Ava a hand. "But if you don't trust anyone, nobody will be able to help you, either."

Ava looked back at Grillbys. Maybe this fish lady was right. She had every right to close herself off after all she's been through, but tightening the valve to absolution results in nothing coming out.

"Fine." Ava stepped up and opened the door.

Immediately after her eyes adjusted, she realized most eyes faced her way. Hers met four dogs, a rabbit thing, a fish person like Undyne, and a man behind the counter seemingly made of sentient flame.

"Well? What's the hold up?" she heard behind her. Ava pushed herself in and found a seat at the counter. Undyne sat beside her. "Got a look at the menu yet?"

"I'll just have a burger. I'm not picky."

Grillby nodded and went to make her one. Ava looked back at the other people there. Some of them waved. Most were engaged in conversation. Some were playing poker and board games. The sight and feel of the place reminded Ava of one of the many barracks she was housed in during her time in service.

"Heh... how 'bout that?" she mumbled. Ava's shoulder slumped and she leaned against the counter. "Back at Fort Benning, there was a barracks I stayed at where we'd all play board games after training to exercise the brain a little. Not really all that practical, but it gave us something to do."

"What kind of training?" Undyne asked coarsely.

"USSOCOM," Ava replied with a casual smile. "It was there I met most of my friends I had before... deployment." Her expression changed to one of contemplation accompanied by guilt. She had a lot bottled up that she wasn't saying.

Undyne nudged her shoulder. "If you don't want to discuss it, you don't have to."

Ava turned around to face the counter as Grillby returned with her food. She gave a slow nod and her thanks. Grillby returned the nod and went to clean some dishes.

"Hey, Undyne."

"Yeah?"

"You ever wish you could just go back in time and fix something?" she asked.

Undyne closed her eyes. "Hm, let's see... If I could go back and fix one thing, I'd probably stop myself from being so detached from Alphys. She had a lot she needed to tell people, but she was afraid of the backlash she would get for doing so. It was unhealthy for her. The signs were there, but I was just so focused on my job it wasn't a consideration for me."

The corner of Ava's lip twitched. "Guess we'd both go back and help someone else."

…

"So?" Clover began with crossed arms. "Got anything to say?"

Ceroba stared blankly at the photo. Chujin was watching her with worry. His wife only got this way when it was a monumental fuck up.

Kanako held herself in a hug. This was stressing her out. It was too quiet. Somebody say something. Anything.

Clover threw his arms in the air. "Nothing?!" Ceroba flinched. "Who is this?" he asked. "Who's this lady and why is this kid wearing my clothes?"

"That's not your-" "Now don't give me that cow shit!" he snapped. "That's my bandana. Has the same tears and cuts."

Silence.

"Is that supposed to be me? I-I'm not even... I'm not... wha..." he breathed. "Why would you keep this from me?" Tears started to dampen the fur on his cheeks.

"Were you worried I would attack Kanako like the last human? Were you afraid I'd attack dad because of how said human died?" His lips quivered. Then he frowned.

"Or did you fear he'd experiment on me like some fucking lab rat the way Alphys did to sis?!"

"That's enough!" Chujin exclaimed, slamming his fist on the kotatsu. Clover shot him a glare. "Is it, dad?! Don't think you're innocent in this."

Chujin's stern gaze wavered. His son was out of line. Maybe Ceroba had her reasons to keep this from him, but this didn't give him an excuse for such a harsh berating.

"I've seen the way you look at me, dad. Don't think I haven't noticed." Clover dropped his arms and slumped his shoulders. "You were always giving special precedence to Kanako. You think I couldn't tell you saw me as different?"

Chujin wanted to respond. He wanted to tell him that it wasn't true. But it had been true, hadn't it? He tried to speak, but the words weren't coming out of his throat.

"Looking back it makes so much sense," he muttered and stared at Ceroba again. The fierceness in his eyes was weaker, but not by much. "Dad and sis are brought back from the dead. You did something with a human soul. Conveniently, his name was Clover, and I just happen to have amnesia shortly after it all goes down? Come on."

He looked away at his revolver holster hanging by the door. "I'm honestly mad at myself for not putting the pieces together sooner. Where would I fit in to a family so gifted?" he mumbled as he stood up. "Apparently I can't be trusted. I'm not good enough for that."

"NO!" Ceroba barked. "Don't say that. Don't ever say that, Clover." She was shaking as the tears hit the floor. "I wasn't scared you'd hurt us, Clover. I never wanted you to feel that you were a burden. I just... didn't want to lose you again."

Clover just stood in silence, dumbfounded. That soon became anger, and then it became sorrow. He put on his holster and stepped out the door.

"You really don't trust me."

Chapter Text

Chujin stared at his bowl of corn chowder. He was hungry, but it didn't feel right to eat dinner anymore. Dinner was to be enjoyed by family, and now his family had been torn apart. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. Ceroba couldn't look him in the eye. She must have been stewing over this for quite some time.

"He was a human. A kind one. Pure of heart," she managed. "He had been abused by his parents. His self esteem was in the dumpster." Ceroba closed her eyes. "He fought me under the sakura tree in New Home, you know? Or rather, I fought him."

Chujin tensed up briefly at the mention of a human attacking his wife but calmed down. This happened years ago.

"He proved our stipulation about humanity was wrong. How could a child so rich in values come from such a rotten upstart? Selfless to the core." Ceroba painstakingly met Chujin's green glasses. She couldn't tell what was going on in that head of his right now, but what it was he wasn't showing. "When we fought, he never once tried to fight me. In the scuffle, the mask that Kanako made for me was destroyed. I lost myself."

She looked down. "I attacked my friends. I binge drank. I almost threw away everything I had left after I lost you and Kanako. I let go of who I was." Chujin remained motionless in his expressions. "He saved me from myself. I couldn't let him march to his death at the hands of that bigot Asgore. He deserved better.

"I think he knew I thought that, too." Ceroba squinted and rubbed her eyebrows. "I'm still not sure just what he did that day. After the other two left as I was going to take his soul, Clover asked me what I wished for more than anything. I told him I wanted to have my family back."

Chujin clasped his hands and leaned on his elbows. Monsterkind didn't get another human soul since the ballerina, so is it possible that Clover's soul is still...? There is much we don't know about how a human's soul interacts with a monster's.

"He wasn't wrong in that I'd have looked into running more experiments on him than I had in the first year of knowing him. You were right to hide this from me. I doubt I would have trusted him to stay in the same house had I known, though I wish you'd gone about it differently."

"And now that you do?" Ceroba asked. "Do you love him any less now that you know he used to be human? That he isn't actually your biological son?"

"...No. No I do not." Chujin straightened his posture and readjusted his glasses. "He is still my son, and I'd sooner attack Asgore myself than abandon Clover. Let's just let him cool off before we talk again."

…

"-And then he stuck a plate of kevlar under his ass just before running over a mine. Saved his life," Ava explained before taking a swig from her water canteen.

"Woah. Is it really that bad in those parts?" Undyne asked. Ava capped her canteen and nodded. "Yep. It's better now, or better than it was at any rate. I can't tell you how many times I've had to exit the Bradley and scan for suspicious placements in the road."

Undyne looked down. "Damn. Sounds like it was the worst place to be in. Having to be on the lookout all the time. Doesn't it get exhausting?"

"Oh it does, don't get me wrong. We took shifts between sleep schedules. It's not something you really forget, either." Ava stared at the now empty plate in front of her. "It's been a few years, but I still get nervous when I drive past a random trash bag on the curb or any potholes in the road. Once you go through something like that, you're a different person."

She lowered her voice to a whisper. "You'll never be the same as you once were."

Undyne tried to reassure her with a smile. "Well! That's not something you have to worry about with us, Ava! Fighting like that is," her smile faltered. "...just, messed up."

Ava chuckled and put a hand on the fish woman's shoulder. "I'm glad that's something we can agree on." The human gave her new friend a warm smile.

"For what it's worth, you act like someone I've met before. Direct. A bit knuckleheaded. Wants the best for folks." Ava got up from her stool and stretched. "I just wish I could've brought some of that surface spark down here to share."

"Oh yeah, what was it you wanted to ask me again?" Undyne remembered. "You wanted to know if I came across any other humans, right?"

Ava reached down into her rucksack and pulled out the stored files. "Yes. Part of my mission is to locate and record their whereabouts, as well as their wellbeing. Before you say anything, I am aware that at least five of them are dead, so don't worry about me being angered."

"Oh. Uh... I've only ever come across two humans before. Three counting you. Let's see here." Undyne looked through the pictures Ava handed her. "Nope... Haven't seen that one... Not this one... I've heard a brief mention of this one... This was the first one, but the king would have more than enough information on them to give you your fill... I've met that one... This one here is still alive... I haven't seen this one."

The human internally sighed. Clover was not among the ones she had seen. This was fine though, as she would still get some more leads out of this. Undyne had seen the one with the glasses.

"This one is Percy Vaden. He is described as being persistent in his pursuit of knowledge. Given how you mentioned one of the kids are still alive, this one is likely dead. Where did you last spot him?"

Undyne thought back to her encounter with him. "In Waterfall. He was walking out from Gerson's place and took off running when he saw me approach. I'm not sure how he made it that far, but he managed to just barely make it to Hotland before... dying to heat stroke."

Undyne kicked herself mentally. His death was foreshadowing what would have happened to her had Frisk not been a good person. "I can get the official documents from the UGRL if you want."

Ava nodded, assuming this was some facility dedicated to information held by monsters. "Okay. While you're there, can you look into the other cases? I need to be as thorough as I can for this report."

Undyne squinted. "What? You got a time limit or something? C'mon. You make it sound as though you're not trapped down here."

The human zipped her rucksack and threw it over her shoulder. "Be that as it may, I will climb the hole I fell down from if I have to. Those above deserve to know what happened." She pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to Undyne. "Here's my number. If anything happens or if you've made progress, just give me a call."

"Where are you planning on going?" Undyne asked for the last time that day. Ava opened the door. "East of Snowdin. At least until I can get something else to go off of. Keep in touch, will ya?"

The two parted ways, and Ava started walking to the east end of Snowdin. Surely, this would bring her closer to her real goal.

The knowledge that you've gained brings you closer to your PURPOSE.

FILE 10 SAVED

Despite this truth, someone stepped into the middle of the path. It was an animated skeleton with white dots for eyes. It didn't matter how casually he was dressed. He might have a wide smile and inviting laziness to him, but Ava could tell that this monster walked with business. This was a confrontation, and she knew it.

She tried to ignore him and walk right by, but the skeleton was somehow already in front of her. He had moved without her seeing.

"Human," he said slowly. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal?"

Ava wasn't sure what this guy was planning, but it couldn't have been good. She took in a deep breath and maintained eye contact. The skeleton reached an arm out in what appeared to be a handshake invite. Ava spotted a slight deformity in the glove he wore. His smile somehow got bigger. "Come on. Shake my hand."

The human cautiously took a step back. "I'm not your 'pal,' pal," she muttered.

Something about the way the skeleton looked at her after that made a shiver crawl down her back. What was it about him that set her off so badly? Her ROE included disposing of any assailants should she need to, but how would she keep others from finding out she did? Not that she wanted to fight, but it might be what she had to do.

"Aw, come on." He shrugged and took off the gloves he wore and pulled out a woopy cushion from inside. "You got my bones rattling here. The name's Sans by the way."

"I'm not that dumb. Why'd you block the path forward? How'd you get in front of me so fast?" she asked expecting direct answers. "You're planning something more than just pranks."

"Beats me. That face you're giving me?" Sans put his hands back in his pockets. "That's the expression of someone who'd be thinking of ways to kill a person without causing too much noise."

Ava's eyes widened just slightly. How did he know? Wait, no, that was it. He was doing the exact same thing she was attempting. Sans was reading her and judging how she responds.

"Maybe," she said firmly. "Even if you don't mean any harm, I'm in a rush. I have things to do. People to see."

"And what will you do when you see them?" Sans' eyes darkened. The jolly grin gave juxtaposition to a deep graveness. He was no pushover.

Ava jumped back and readied her combat knife. "I'll get to that when I do. For now, you're getting on my nerves. Too many questions for someone who never answered mine."

Sans shrugged again. Then one of his eyes changed blue and yellow. "Guess you like doing things the hard way, huh?"

Ava felt a sudden foreboding danger welling up as the world changed to black and white. She was back in the strange combat interface she found herself in when attacking Dalv.

…

Clover walked past the bell in the center of the town. The Wild East always felt like a strange place to be in, but at least he felt like he most belonged. Cowboys and gunslinging were just his thing. It was his home away from home.

"Clover, yer not lookin' too hot. What's been eatin' ya?" Starlo asked with a hint of worry. The fox monster tipped his hat over his eyes. "Can I get a word with you in private?"

Hoo boy. This is gonna be one a' those talks.

"S'pose I could. Lets stomp on over to the fence east side o' town."

Starlo could feel the lack of energy behind Clover's motions. This was serious. He had never seen his "nephew" so down in the dumps before. The strength Clover once walked with was not with him at the moment. Even so, they stopped by the fence and leaned on it.

"So, about the kid I was named after..." Clover looked over to the town's eastern gate leading to the cornfields. "How much did he mean to you?"

Starlo frowned. "Hmm... That's an impossible question ta answer, Clover. He meant more to me than I can rightly describe." He stood straight and looked Clover in the eyes. "I'm not seein' where this is goin' though. What brought this up?"

Clover sighed. "Kanako found a photo of him in the backpack I was found with. The one I never used. After seeing what he actually looked like, things just sorta clicked together." He turned to face Blackjack's gunshop. "I'm him, aren't I? I'm the sixth human we needed to destroy the barrier?"

"...I don't know, Clover. I was only there after Ceroba brought y'all back home. I thought I was seein' ghosts because I technically was." Starlo hung his head. "I wanted to believe he was happy with his sacrifice. Even so, I couldn't shake the feelin' he was still here with us."

"It's a bit strange, but I get that feeling too. I never met 'em, but I get riled up when something isn't just. When that happens, it feels like I'm not alone in the argument. Some sorta reassurance someone has my back on it."

His ears perked up at the sound of boots dashing through sand. Clover and Starlo turned to see Kanako making a B-line for them. It was crazy the speeds she could reach when she set her mind on something.

"BIG BROOOTHER!" she wailed. "I'M SOOORRYYY!"

Clover got up and held his paws up in front of him defensively. This turned out to be a good idea as Kanako tackle hugged him to the ground. "-OOF" She nuzzled her nose against his neck, tears soaking the sand behind it.

"I'msosorryforrootingaroundinyourstuffiwantedtosurpriseyoubygivingyouagiftforyoureighteenthbirthdaytocelebratebutiendedupmakingabigmessandfoundthatpictureandnowmomanddadarescaredyoudhurtyourselforthattheyhurtyouandididntwanttohurtyouandimsorryididandsaidyouwerentmybrotherand-"

"Slow it down there! I can barely understand what you're saying!" Clover stammered. Kanako squeezed her arms around him tighter. "Breath slower please. I'm still here for you, Koko."

"I swear I'm not angry. (sniffle) I love you and I got scared that after you found out you were a human you'd try to do something like the last human did and attack people and I didn't want that for people because I didn't want them getting hurt or you getting hurt because they would attack back and-"

Clover gave her a head pat and hugged her back. "I'm not going to hurt anyone unless they threaten my family. Doesn't matter what I am. Doesn't matter what they are. I'm sorry I ran out and left you to deal with the aftermath. That was irresponsible of me."

Starlo smiled and chuckled to himself. He looked past the town's gate in the direction of the cornfields. Maybe this Clover was the same as the first one. A moment of recollection befell him. He was swiftly taken out of it when he spotted a certain robot speeding down the road towards them from the Steamworks.

Axis had been outside of his primary work zone. This could only mean one thing. A human had been spotted fighting someone.

Chapter Text

Undyne and several others gathered around to watch the fight. Shock and confusion adorned her face. Why was Sans attacking Ava? How was Sans able to fight this hard? How was Ava for that matter? How long had Sans been capable of this?

Another skull thing fired a beam at the human. She had been dodging this skeleton's attacks for almost 30 consecutive minutes now. This Sans guy had been rather ruthless. People from the crowd were shouting and egging Sans on, but he didn't care what they wanted.

What he wanted was the human's soul. The only reason he didn't do this to Frisk was because he had a promise to keep for Toriel. This human had an air about them that he found familiar, and not in a good way. She definitely hadn't been making getting it an easy task for him though.

This had been thirty minutes of two people not being able to land a hit on each other. The longer the fight dragged on, the more convinced Sans was that this human would be a serious problem to the monsters here. This wasn't a normal human. This wasn't a normal human with military expertise. This was a human with military tactics and an ability to push him to the edge.

Ava landed from her combat roll and jump about four feet off the ground as a bunch of bones shot past where her legs had just been prior. She looked to her side as another bone was on a collision course with her head. Her arm shot out and grabbed one of the bones zipping by and used it to shove her body high enough to escape the more dangerous problem.

Sans grunted. How long had she been able to just grab his attacks without getting hurt? Her HP wasn't even draining. If anything, she wasn't slowing down at all. Himself? He was managing to hold his own, but he knew he couldn't keep it up for much longer. Eventually, the human would outpace him and get a stab in.

"Alright. I can tell you're gonna get me one of these turns," Sans said matter-of-factly. "So! It's just not gonna BE your turn. Ever. I'll just keep having MY turn until you get too tired to dodge."

Ava scowled at him. "I'm not sure why you're so insistent on fighting me anyway. I haven't even done anything to you yet."
"Yet is a word that implies you will, which you won't."
"Fuck you."
"Nah, you're not my type."
"I can do this all day, box a rocks."

The two kept hurling one liners at each other until someone came through the crowd. It was another skeleton monster. He was much taller than Sans.

"SANS! WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING THIS HUMAN?" It felt as though he just speaks in uppercase letters. "SHE HAS HARMED NOBODY HERE. YOU'RE FIGHTING HER FOR NO REASON, BROTHER. CEASE THIS VIOLENCE AT ONCE!"

Sans held his ground. Ava didn't move. She was too busy focusing. No surprise attacks were going to fuck her over this far into the battle.

"Step away from the human, Papyrus. She's dangerous," Sans warned. He would be damned if he let something happened to his younger brother. "See her LV? You gotta kill a lot of people to get it that high."

Ava narrowed her eyes. Yet again, a monster saw her as nothing more than a threat. Granted, she didn't exactly depict herself in the best light, but she was more than willing to walk away from all of this. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

SANS ATK 1 DEF 1

The easiest enemy.

"How'd you-?" Sans' eyes widened. She got her turn in? His was still in play.

AVA MILLET LV10

HP 90/90

ATK 40 DEF 80

Has just been reminded of her brother.

"I KNOW SHE SEEMS DANGEROUS," Papyrus began. "BUT I BELIEVE SHE HAS MORE SCARS THAN YOU, DEAR BROTHER. PLEASE. LET US SUBSIDE THIS BATTLE."

"...What?" slipped out of Ava's mouth. "It went down? My LV went..."

Sans lost focus at the mention of what should've been an impossibility. In that moment, Ava broke through the battle boundary and practically flew right up to him. The skeleton cursed himself for not paying attention. He could see the hand gripping the knife tighten. Sans closed his eyes as Ava came up on him.

And then nothing happened. Slowly, Sans opened his eyes to find Ava walking past him with her knife sheathed. The crowd and skeleton brothers watched idly by as she left the town without another word.

Undyne vaulted over to Sans and lifted him up by his collarbone. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she exclaimed through gritted teeth. "You know what the king's orders are!"

Sans shrugged. "I'm sure she'll have a bone to pick with him too."

Undyne jostled the short skeleton man. "This isn't the time for your jokes, dude!" She gestured to the remains from the battle. "What the hell was that?! How long have you been just sitting on that power?!"

Sans' grin seemed to falter as he observed the results of his recent escapade. "...Longer than you think," he muttered. "I know she seems like your average human, but she's not. I could tell with how she fought."

Undyne let go of Sans, and he walked over to kick a leftover bone out of the main path. "She's an entirely different variable here. That soul she's got? Beyond a scientific breakthrough. An experiment." His eyes narrowed and he looked back at Undyne. "With how high her LV was, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she could've killed everyone in the underground if given the time."

"BUT THINK ABOUT IT, BROTHER," Papyrus interjected. "SHE ACKNOWLEDGED HOW HIGH IT WAS AND THAT IT WAS LOWERING." The tall skeleton put a finger to his chin in speculation. "SHE WANTS TO BE A BETTER PERSON. I JUST KNOW IT."

Sans looked to the east of Snowdin. "That's what I'm worried about, Paps. If it was that high before she noticed it was lowering, how high was it before she fell down here?"

They sat in silence letting that last sentence sink in. Ava's words to Undyne earlier that day replayed in her mind.

"Once you go through something like that, you're a different person."

Just what exactly did Ava have to go through for her to be able to do all that footwork without being so much as grazed by Sans' attacks? Undyne assumed Ava was exaggerating when she told Undyne she would climb up the hole she fell in, but maybe there was more truth to that statement than she previously thought.

…

Martlet took a breather in the room lined with echo flowers and looked up at the glimmering stones in the ceiling. This was her favorite place in Waterfall. It was a beautiful sight, and kept her wondering what the real night sky looked like.

She also liked to hear the echoes of passersby conversations. Most people kept things interesting when she needed a distraction.

She stared up at the ceiling stones in wonder, but a nagging feeling was tugging at her. The echo flowers were oddly silent tonight. Usually, they kept hold of conversations that could last as short as six months to possibly even years. Why were they being quiet? They only got this quiet when listening to a new voice.

Even if they were expecting Martlet to be the one speaking, she'd need to at first say something to get their attention. She hadn't said a word before landing from her flight.

Maybe they had heard someone really quiet.

Martlet found one echo flower and leaned in closely. They were replaying sounds that they'd heard. It was footsteps. Quiet, carefully placed footsteps. It impressed her the plants could pick up on such low volumes.

Without warning, the once quiet footsteps became erratic. Martlet backed away from the plant as the sound increased. Footsteps splashing through the puddles and moving quicker to the other side of the room. A voice quietly whispered "shit," before a loud bang rang out, and the sound of rocks crumbling soon after. A second set of footsteps picked up from the far end of the room. Someone was being chased!

The blue bird began to worry. She knew she was no longer in the Royal Guard, but it was still her duty to help protect those in need. Martlet readjusted her utility belt around her waist and flew out to the next room.

This room had been trouble for the king and main construction crew to build over when it was first discovered. A lot of shallow water with varying depths just scattered about. Now, it was much easier to travel with the wooden path ahead.

Martlet didn't need to use the planks because she could just fly, but the sight of trampled sea grass ahead caught her attention.

Someone was definitely coming through here quite quickly. Recently, too. This form of sea grass corrects its positioning rather quickly on its own, so to see a wide margin flattened made her all the more curious to see what had caused it.

She didn't have to look far, as in the next room a silhouette graced her with its presence. Martlet landed nearby and watched the person look up from observing a table with a strange crystallized cheese stuck to its top.

Martlet wasn't sure exactly what kind of monster this was, but it had a familiar aura to her. She gave her her warmest smile and approached.

"Hello!" she chirped cheerfully. "My name's Martlet! What about you?"

The unidentified monster person gave a small wave back. "Ava. I'm not sure you saw where that guy I was following went, did you?"

Right to the point. Martlet's smile quivered. "I haven't. You were following someone? Could I ask what for?"

Ava looked over to the light blue bioluminescent waters to the east. "He was following me but bounced when I found him. I wanted to interrogate him, but he lost me in the flora back there. Not sure what his deal was."

Martlet scratched her head. So, nobody was in danger? That's a relief. Still, a bit odd she never met this monster before. Maybe she was from different parts of the underground and was just visiting?

The bird snapped back to attention and studied the strange monster again. Something was off here.

Martlet narrowed her eyes. "Your name was Ava, you said?" Ava nodded. "And you're a girl, correct?" Ava nodded a second time and raised an eyebrow.

Martlet's smile grew wider and her eyes lit up. "I KNEW BOATS WERE GIRLS!" she exclaimed.

"...What?" Ava managed. She was beyond confused. Martlet calmed down. "Oh, I'm just getting excited because you've got the same name as my boat!"

Ava squinted. "O- okay? What does that have to do with boats being girls?"

Martlet held up a finger and looked as though she was going to explain. No reasoning that made logistical sense came to mind though, and she let her arm down. "I uh... well... nevermind."

Martlet stepped past her. "So, about this person you were looking for. What did he look like?"

Ava stepped off to a branching pathway. "He looked purple. Was wearing something like a bathrobe or other. I didn't get the best lighting to see him with," she stated blankly as she entered a small room and found a small pink tutu laying on the ground.

Martlet turned back around to follow her. Ava's eyes widened in realization. "This belonged to the little girl," she let out as she picked up the tutu. Both her and Martlet took note of the dust settling from where it was.

It was a lot of dust. Ava couldn't help but think back to her first encounter with Dalv, and how easy it was for her to kill him. The dust that caked her arms then seemed very similar in texture.

"I don't think we should be touching that," Martlet pointed out with concern. "Don't want people getting the wrong idea."

While she completely agreed with Martlet, she still brought the tutu over to the water and gave it a good rinsing. Martlet cocked her head to the side. "What are you doing?" she asked. Ava wrung out the water and put it in her rucksack. "I'm gathering evidence for my report."

Evidence? Report? What was this lady up to? "What report?" she asked calmly. Ava stood up and started walking the path. "I've got to prove that they were down here. This tutu belonged to my younger brother's close friend Melody."

"The sixth human that fell down here? Why are you talking as if you've been to the surface?" Martlet pointed a finger. "Who are you doing this for?"

Ava halted and took a right turn. There was a patch of sea grass conveniently growing in a spot that didn't make sense for it to. "I'm talking about the missing kids. And yes, I have been to the surface. I thought it was obvious."

Martlet ran through the possibilities in her head. Had she been a veteran from the great war? Maybe. That didn't explain finding the tutu and knowing its wearer's name though. Ava observed the cogs turning in Martlet's noggin.

"Ah! You think I'm a monster. That's why it doesn't make sense to you," Ava commented before inspecting the sea grass. The revelation hit Martlet like a truck. "Wait! WHAT?!" she yelled, unable to keep her shock restrained. She started to sweat. "You're the one the emergency alert was about?!"

"Emergency alert?" Ava questioned as she parted the sea grass. She reached in and found a pair of ballet shoes. The right size for Melody. "These are Melody's as well. She must have passed away nearby. The little girl wouldn't be caught dead without these things."

Ava considered the ironic wording of that sentence for a moment and continued to look through the grass. Maybe something else was here. The dirt at the roots was particularly loose, so she carefully parted it and dug with her hands.

Martlet swallowed a lump in her throat. This was a human. A dangerous one, according to the Underground Network Broadcast System. This gave the chase that happened more meaning. Why was this human being so calm and casual around Martlet?

"Y-yeah. They said you were attacking people in Snowdin. I thought it was just another one of those mistaken identity situations and didn't pay it much mind."

"Is that so? It seems either way, you have been misinformed. I was not attacking people in Snowdin. One person? Yes. I will admit to that, but it was in self-defense."

Martlet pulled out her phone and looked over the broadcast again. Now that she saw the picture, she agreed that this was definitely the same person as the one before her. "You were fighting for a half hour."

Ava shrugged and got back to digging. "He didn't really give me room to stop, so I just kept going. It was his choice to drag it out for as long as he did. I didn't hurt him, so what's the big..."

Ava's hand bumped something in the deep soil. Something solid and most certainly organic. Ava and Martlet froze when the human pulled what it was to the light. This was a bone.

"...deal?" she finished dryly. She dug around the sides and up towards the back of the sea grass patch. Soon, a small skeleton was exposed to the elements. The skull had been shattered and had multiple fracture points.

"Melody, what the hell happened to you?"

Chapter Text

Martlet was mortified. She knew the sixth human died, but nobody knew when or where. She had been intentionally buried, so why did nobody come forward with this news? And the smell... some of the flesh still remained, but most had been burnt near the upper half.

"I've completed my autopsy," Ava said solemnly. "I'd like to rebury her now. I don't think I can stand to see her like this."

The human got up and covered the fallen with the surrounding dirt and sea grass. She then grabbed two wooden planks from the pathway and made a makeshift sign at the front of the patch. Ava pulled out her combat knife and etched some words into the wood.

MELODY SCHAMBECK
199X - 200X
LOVED TO DANCE

"There." Ava wiped her brow. "I didn't know her well, but from what I could gather, she was well set in her morals. I didn't think she'd ever kill anyone unless it was in self-defense. At least now, she's at rest."

"...I... I don't know what the circumstances were. This one wasn't officially investigated. It was deemed a cold case. I'm not so sure that's an accident anymore."

Ava nodded. Martlet was right. This death wasn't meant to be found. Had she not thought the patch of grass was odd, she wouldn't have found her in the first place. She then thought about how dusty Melody's tutu was. If a child could kill enough to make it so dusty then...

"Maybe the barrier is better off unbroken," Ava muttered. Martlet's eyes widened. Why would that be a good thing? Did Ava think Monsterkind was vicious? That couldn't be further from the truth.

"I know this situation is grizzly, but we're really not that bad. I promise!" Martlet begged to change her mind. Ava shook her head. "That is the problem, Martlet."

"What? How is that the problem?" Ava shot her a stoic look. "You misinterpret my statement. Your kind is too forgiving and hospitable. Humans wouldn't have a problem if attacked by monsters. It's monsters that would get completely crushed by humans."

Martlet balled her fists and gave Ava a brave face. "You're wrong about that. There are some sensible humans out there! I know there are. You've been nice to me this whole time."

Ava gave Martlet a moment of silence. "...I'm not sure I'm a good example to go off of, Martlet." Ava crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "It's very likely I would have killed a lot of people had I not lost my combat rifle back in the ruins."

Martlet felt her feathers stand on end. Ava was telling her the truth. "Well, that's proof enough you can be reasoned with! I don't know what your plans are for being here, but you've been making an effort to not hurt people. It would be a shame if you had to stop."

Ava let her arms drop and looked over at the blue waters and luminous fungal matter nearby. "It would be a shame, yes. Maybe I'm just being too pessimistic."

…

Chujin was ready to jump in if Martlet needed him. He had been on edge since the human uncovered the remains of the blue soul's host. He was expecting her to lash out and attack Martlet. Instead, she showed compassion and insight. Maybe this human wasn't as bad as he thought.

He was dragged out of his head with the approaching footsteps coming from the east. Two people were running in his direction. Rather, one of them was running while carrying the other. Chujin frowned.

"SLOW DOWN, BIG BROTHER!" Kanako shouted with panicked breaths. Clover was using dash magic to out speed Axis. He was carrying Kanako because her magic was more like Ceroba's and she couldn't keep up otherwise.

Clover kept advancing however, and Kanako had to tighten her grip around his chest to keep from being flung off to the nearby water. She had heard stories of bull riders from Uncle Starlo. Something about cowboys trying to see how long they could last the thrashing of the horned beast below them. That felt oddly fitting given her current situation, only both the cowboy and the bull were her brother.

They slowed to a stop upon seeing the human standing by Martlet. Kanako stood beside her brother, holding onto his arm in a protective manner. Flashbacks of "The Snowdin Incident" ran through her head.

The little girl was in a blind panic, ruthlessly attacking everyone that tried to get close to her. She attacked Dalv. Her father fell down because of that human. Kanako got stuck in that dark lab because of her too. She didn't want to go back to that hopeless place again.

The human looked over to them with a very robotic, emotionless face. The young kitsune shuddered. Why did this human have to be so intimidating? Why couldn't she be more approachable?

Clover noticed how offput his sister had been and decided to break the silence. "Howdy! I see you've met Martlet..." It was something at least. Not an ideal conversation starter, but then again he wasn't much of a conversationalist. Most of his 'words' were conveyed by his actions.

The human stared at them, searching them over. She seemed fixated on Clover for some reason. "...Yeah. You could say that." The human grabbed one of her elbows and looked to the side. Her stone face gave way to a more somber story. "I suppose it was to be expected. Humans and monsters have only recently become friends."

The delivery of that last bit made Clover believe it had a different meaning than what it was at face value. The prospect of having a friend is supposed to be a good thing, right?

The human furrowed her eyebrows and clenched her fists. "Tell me, fox boy," she started and turned to meet his eyes. "What happened to the child who wore those garments before you?"

Clover realized what she meant by those afore mentioned sentences. "He wasn't killed, if that's what you're assuming. From what I've been told, he went out on his own terms." He could see the hurt in her face change to anger. As fast as it had appeared, it vanished.

Chujin, who had been watching from his hidden spot, fought the urge to rush in and help. He didn’t like the direction things were going. Even so, a voice in the back of his head told him to put trust in his son.

"As for what exactly happened to him, I'm not completely sure," Clover continued. "What I do know is that he sacrificed himself for my family. That's why I'm named after him."

Ava threw her rucksack and combat knife to the floor by the wall. As she removed her jacket, Kanako pulled Clover behind her. "Don't give her any more answers, brother," she ordered with a glower in Ava's direction. "Humans are dangerous. She's planning something. Nobody just disarms themselves after portraying themself in a demanding manner."

"Bold statement, Kanako." Ava tossed her jacket to the side and stretched her arms. "One that I can agree with. I know more so than anyone here just how dangerous humans can be."

Martlet quickly rushed between them. "Now, now! There's no need to fight! We can come to a peaceful resolution to this."

Kanako summoned her staff and set up a single hit protective barrier around her and Clover's souls. This whole situation was getting intense. In the moments where Clover's soul was visible, both Ava and Chujin spotted the deeply saturated yellow of the Justice trait.

The purple fox watched in astoundment. Had Clover’s soul been the same one as the seventh human the whole time? What had restored it to such a vibrant color?

Ava's forefinger twitched. So not only was this monster named after her dear brother and wearing his clothes, but he was also using his soul as well? How disrespectful.

"I have no doubt about it now," Ava scowled. "You have his name. You carry his look. You house his soul. If what you say is true, you will have to prove it to me."

Ava pulled out a strip of cloth from her cargo pocket and wrapped it around her hair in the way of a headband. She slammed her left foot in the ground, cracking it as she assumed the Taekwondo Back Stance. She glanced at Martlet.

The blue bird stood in between them. "Don't do this, Ava. You're better than this," she pleaded. "I don't know what Clover meant to you, but fighting because he passed isn't what he would've wanted!"

The human lowered her head slightly. "Yet again, you misunderstand. I do not wish to enact petty revenge on Clover's behalf," she explained, reinforcing her stance. The soldier cut her emotions and pushed them aside. "Please do not interfere. You or Kanako. This is of the utmost importance."

Martlet stood firm. This was not happening. Kanako stepped up beside her. "You'll not harm Clover!" she exclaimed adamantly. The bird and fox were resolute.

"Step aside, you two."

Kanako chanced a look behind her. "...What?"

"Step aside." Clover walked up and in front of them. "This isn't simply about me getting hurt. Don't you get it's bigger than that?"

Chujin felt his heart ache. Was this what Ceroba was talking about when she told him Clover would be selfless to a fault?

A heart of gold weighs heavier than the pain it must endure. You really do believe in doing this, don’t you Clover?

Martlet started to object against Clover’s logic. Clover locked eyes with her. His were giving off the same determination emanating from Ava. He really wanted to do this. Knowing that she couldn't halt two people so hard stanced on fighting, she relented and backed to a safe distance.

"Big brother?" Kanako tugged on Clover's arm. "Please don't do this." Clover gave her a head pat and a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Koko. I'm going to be fine. You just follow Martlet and watch the show. Here..." Clover handed her both his holster and hat. Although she was less lenient than Martlet was, Kanako reluctantly joined Martlet on the sidelines.

Clover turned to face Ava. He swore a genuine smile could be seen on her lips, but only briefly. The world around them dimmed to black and white. "Thank you, Clover. Are you ready to prove to me you are worthy of housing my brother's soul?"

Chapter Text

Chujin was sweating bullets. How could this get any worse? The human had learned of Clover's fate, somewhat. Now she was fighting his son in hand to hand combat? Clover wasn't adept at magic. He only knew how to dash through danger without taking damage and dish out a mean soul blast. Something told the purple fox monster those wouldn't work well in this application.

Kanako seemed to be faring just as well as her father. Clenched fists and a worried expression adorned her adorable eyes. It wouldn't surprise Chujin if she chose to break her promise and join in the fray should things get hairy. Martlet was helping to keep her stationary, but it was apparent she was scared for both combatants.

Axis is taking too long to get here. I need to remember to upgrade his locomotion systems when this blows over. As soon as he does though, the kids' safety is assured.

Chujin adjusted his glasses and looked closer at the fight before him. Hopefully, this wouldn't last too long.

Ava threw a roundhouse kick toward Clover's head. The fluffy brown fox ducked, but that was what Ava expected. Rather than try to ground her lifted foot, she slowed it down and brought it back to the right side of his face. Then, she jumped and spun her other leg to catch the opposite cheek, flipping Clover off the ground and slamming him into the floor.

Ava recovered first, and jumped to strike him with the palm of her hand. Clover rolled, dodging the strike, and forcing Ava to continue her forward momentum with a roll. As she jumped, Clover shot out his foot, clipping her jaw with his boot. Ava's velocity was thrown off course, and she landed awkwardly.

Clover pushed himself off the ground and balled his fists. Ava got up and observed his posture. He was poised to act, but with the amount of time she took to get up, he had plenty of opportunities to strike her. Perhaps he was a more careful fighter.

"Why didn't you strike?" she asked. "You had a big window. While I doubt it would have been enough to put me against the ropes, it would have given you a big advantage."

Clover shook his head. "That is a coward's way of fighting. If you attack someone who cannot defend themself, you have no honor."

Ava chuckled lightly. "You have been blessed by the ignorance a civilian's life grants. In war, honor is a suggestion." She resumed a fighting stance and her smile flattened. "Again."

Clover raised his left arm to block an incoming punch. It felt like time itself began to slow. He could see Ava change the position of her fist to try and grab the arm he just blocked with. His movements were sluggish, but so were hers. Maybe time actually did slow down.

He sharply lowered his left arm and pushed it forward, knocking Ava's right arm to the side. Time sped back up as he was shoulder bashed by Ava's left. Clover fell to the ground. That was a hard hit to the chest. His HP was at 5 of 20. He wasn't sure how much of it was drained from the flip, but he couldn't risk getting hit again.

He shoved himself up as Ava went in to subdue him. He slammed his forehead against her chin and knocked her back. She was dazed long enough for him to get to his feet.

"I will admit, having to fight such a defensive opponent is frustrating." Ava wiped blood from her lip and spit to the side. "That being said, to have matched my speed is nothing short of impeccable. I was expecting to restrain you in an attempt to see how you would escape."

Clover blinked. What was she talking about? He was moving as fast as he always had, hadn't he? Now that she mentioned it, the fall from when she hit him did feel delayed. Was this an adaptation from his dash magic?

"While it does make things interesting for me, I'm afraid it also means I have to turn up the pressure. You didn't think it would be this easy, did you?"

Wait, what?

Clover blinked and immediately moved his arms parallel to block an offensive mid air triple kick to the chest from his opponent. She had switched to using a different form of martial arts.

Ava dropped low and flung her foot out to catch the poor foundation of Clover's knee. Clover buckled and felt gravity betray him. He moved his closest arm out to catch his fall, but Ava used that opening to deliver a right hook to the jaw. This was a decisive blow that absolutely would have knocked him for six.

The sound of glass shattering filled the air as Ava spun around to jab Kanako in the ribs, knocking the wind out of her and dropping her to her knees. She had tried to cut in and save her brother. Noble, but exploitable. Ava cocked back her arm and readied it.

A deep strength burned bright in Clover's soul. This was their fight. She had more than administered enough punishment to Kanako for her trouble. He could feel the pain in his chest and jaw, but they were just a message. One that could be ignored.

As Ava's fist decreased the proximity to Kanako's head, she abruptly stopped. Everything had stopped. Kanako looked up after catching her breath and saw the back of Clover's shirt. How did he get there so fast?

Ava withdrew her arm and selected MERCY. The world around them regained its colorful atmosphere.

"True... But even if you hadn't been here to block my strike, I wouldn't have hit her. My fist was aimed to the side of her head."

Clover relaxed his arms and looked at her with wonder. "What do you..." He looked over to Ava's left at Martlet who was cancelling an attack as well, her target being Ava.

The human then clasped her hands together and bowed to Clover. "You have passed my test, Clover, and with it, gained my respect." Clover picked Kanako up and rested her arm over his shoulders. "I know my methods are extreme, but to truly show someone what you're made of, you have to dig deep."

She stood up and looked toward Chujin, who had revealed himself when Ava jabbed his daughter. He had fire magic prepared to incinerate her, and a look of fury to match. Ava's smile turned sour. She pointed a finger at him and scowled.

"As for you," she started sharply. "It shouldn't have taken you that long to intervene. I could tell by how concerned you were when they first showed up that they were your children."

Chujin's fire magic dissipated and his mouth opened. She knew I was here the whole time?

Ava stomped over to him and poked his chest. "What kind of parent doesn't ensure the safety of their children?!" she shouted. "You should have been there before I threw out my first strike!"

"Ava!" Clover snapped. "That's enough! He didn't do anything wrong. This anger you're giving him is undeserved."

Ava's forceful aura minimized. "He didn't do anything period. He just sat by as I beat up his kid." Her eyes narrowed. "He was studying me, when he should've been more concerned about his son's wellbeing."

Chujin was speechless. It was true he had ample time to step in. Maybe he had spent too much effort focusing on Ava. Even so, he frowned at her. "While it is true I could be doing better as a parent, it is also a parent's duty to put trust in their child. I had no reason to believe he was in actual danger, but I had no idea how you would treat Kanako if you fought her."

For the first time in a while, Ava felt something different to her usual emotions. What was it? Why did it feel so... wrong? Oh... It was shame... That made sense.

Ava straightened up and regained a neutral expression. "I apologize. I let my emotions get the better of me and acted on my rage. This will not happen again." She reached out for a handshake.

Chujin was hesitant to accept it. As such, he didn't. He had no way of guaranteeing she wouldn't snap his wrist or worse. "How can I trust you? Why should I trust you? The only thing you have proved to me today is how dangerous you are to have around."

Ava stood still for an uncomfortable period of time. "...You are right... That is what I am..." She turned towards the east exit of the room and walked to it, pausing briefly.

"I'm dangerous," she muttered with her back to them. She moved on, leaving the rest of them behind. Clover could feel pain etched into those words.

Martlet let out a breath and gasped. "Oh Clover! I was so worried I forgot to breath! Are you alright? You're..." Martlet's eyes widened as she realized something. "You're bleeding?" Monsters weren't supposed to bleed. Well, they technically could bleed magic, but this was blood. Blood was physical.

Chujin ran over and applied some healing magic to both teenagers. "Your mother is going to kill me when she hears about this. Kanako, how's your ribcage?"

Kanako looked down at the floor. "I'm fine. She only dealt me 1 damage. How did she manage to down me with an attack of 1 damage?"

Martlet left them to take care of each other. She was more so preoccupied with the fact Ava left her stuff where she tossed them earlier. Why did she just up and leave it behind? It didn't sit right with the avian. She grabbed Ava's stuff and walked after her.

…

Ava walked on, unsure of where she was going, uncaring of where she was going. She didn't even notice she was missing her stuff. She looked at her hands and felt the memories come back to her. memories of being trusted, only to have blood on her hands in the end.

Dangerous.

That was the word he used. That was the word they used. That was the word everyone used.

She couldn't help it. The whole reason she became what she was was for Clover. He needed someone to take care of him that wasn't that old hag and drunken bastard that ran the orphanage they were sent to after Mom and Dad died. It had taken her eight long years and several deployments, but was it all for naught?

It was true. She was no better suited to protect her brother than the three others in the same room. If anything, she was worse. What was her purpose if not to protect him? What else could she do?

Maybe Clover wasn't technically her brother anymore, but he proved by his actions he was the same person. The same person she wanted to protect. It only occurred to her now that she wasn't sure what he needed protection from. He had a family down here who cared about him. And Ava? She had nothing now.

She had no purpose. The only thing she was good at was fighting. Fighting and killing. That's not protection. That's murder.

Ava trudged along to a bridge and sighed. How would her parents feel about the horrible person she turned out to be? What grounds did she hold to tell his adoptive father how to do his job? It wasn't right.

And he had a sister now. A real one. One that wasn't away fighting in wars. One that would be there for him when he needed a shoulder to cry on. Clover deserved to have his soul, because it was the same Clover she knew. Ava didn't deserve Clover because she had done nothing to earn her title as his sibling.

She was an outsider. She always was, and she always will be.

[HALT. HUMAN DETECTED. SCANNING.]

Ava looked up at the short purple robot before her. When did it get there?

[LEVEL 8 THREAT DETECTED. WAIT... THIS IS FAMILIAR...]

Ava turned to look back at the bridge. Maybe she should go back. It would be better to not cause more problems for people.

[I CANNOT ACCESS MY MEMORY BANK. HUMAN, PLEASE HOLD YOUR POSITION WHILE I CONTACT MY CREATOR.]

Ava walked over to the bridge again and stepped by the edge, looking at the chasm's depth.

[I ASKED YOU NOT TO MOVE, HUMAN. I HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED TO USE LETHAL FORCE IF NECESSARY.]

The robot, following Ava towards the edge, fired a warning shot above them.

[DO NOT TEST ME. I AM COMPLETELY SERIOUS.]

Ava looked up as she heard moving rocks. Her eyes widened as she realized where they were heading. Quickly, she shoved the short robot out of the way as a large boulder sized stalactite crash into the ground in front of her, shattering and colliding with Ava. The force was great enough to knock her off the edge and into the chasm she was debating jumping into earlier.

The purple robot righted itself and looked around.

[HUMAN? WHERE DID YOU GO?]

Chapter Text

"Whoa... Hey guys! Someone's over here!"

The voice was high pitched. Ava groaned. She was in too much pain to move. She was in too much pain to open her eyes. She was in too much pain to care. All she wanted right now was to sleep.

A set of small footsteps rapidly approached, accompanied shortly after by a few more big ones. Someone picked her up off the hard surface she was laying on.

"What's all this red stuff on her clothes? Did she fall from up there and get carried by the river?"

Blood... the guy holding me is talking about my blood... How am I alive? What happened after I fell? ...Everything hurts...

"I don't know, Ed, but we should get her to the hospital before asking questions."

"Ace is right. She seems to be alive, but just barely. 4 HP isn't a lot to work with."

The footsteps began moving. Ava felt her arms and chest fall over the shoulder of the person holding her, likely the one being called 'Ed'. A sudden temperature shift slapped Ava's limp body as the air transitioned from a humid and mellow to a hot and relatively dry.

"Do you think she can make the trip to The Wild East?"

The familiarity of blowing sand wrenched a memory out of Ava's suppressed depths. The first time she had to be carried out of a near death situation. She remembered the blood oozing from her shoulder and lower calf. Shrapnel was sticking out of her back, and she was being carried on a stretcher.

This was Wanat. The aftermath of the ambush. The day she became a murderer. This was the day she lost those closest to her. Alongside her were the body bags of her fellow soldiers. The ones she had been to basic with. They had been deployed together. It was her family away from home. But it had been taken from her. How much had the enemy suffered for this? She didn't know. It was war, and she felt they hadn't suffered enough. Nothing would be enough. They had attacked and taken her family away. Forever. Nothing could change that.

"We should stop by Ceroba's place, then. She knows a bit about humans. So does Chujin."

"Chujin hates humans. I don't think that would be a good idea."

Ava found the strength to barely open her eyes. She was facing behind whoever was carrying her. This was a desert, underground? Then again, there was a snowy Forrest, so this wasn't too weird.

"Let's just take her to Starlo. He'll know what to do."

The warmth from whatever it was that gave off the intense light down here soothed her sores and bruises. She found it difficult to stay awake any longer, and passed out.

…

Sans' eyes were locked to the screen. He was at Alphys' lab, watching his fight with Ava. He wanted to study her movements as much as he could should she turn out to be a problem later.

"F-Frisk?! W-when did you get here?" Alphys stuttered. Sans peeled his eyes away from the monitor and down at the small human next him. They appeared to be just as engrossed in the fight as he was.

He raised an eyebrow (can he do that?). "What's up, kiddo? You recognize this one?" he asked. To his surprise, Frisk nodded.

[*You tell Sans that the lady on screen used to take care of you and several others from the orphanage you grew up in.]

"Is that so?" he mumbled. "Was she this violent back then?" Frisk shook their head.

[*You tell Sans the lady only got aggressive towards the people in charge of the orphanage. You also inform Sans that she had disappeared around eight years ago without saying goodbye to you.]

"W-wait a second!" Alphys cut in and paused the recording. She zoomed in on Ava's soul. "She's using soul magic as a speed b-boost!"

Alphys resumed the footage. It was nearing the end of the fight. Sans watched as she grabbed the bone he launched by her knee to make use of via pole vaulting over the bone going for her head. Alphys paused again and switched view modes to magic scans. The hand was surrounded by a deep shade of red magic that trailed all the way back to her soul.

"Could that have something to do with how big her soul is?" Sans asked casually. Alphys nodded. "I've read somewhere during my research on the barrier th-that humans that can use magic are few and f-far between."

Sans stepped away from the desk. "Did you find anything else?"

Frisk grabbed Alphys' hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Yes. They are the strongest souls out there. Only f-fourteen have ever been recorded existing at the same time. These are the same as the souls used by the wizards who sealed us underground."

"...A mage soul, eh?" Sans muttered before silently teleporting away.

"Y-yes. If she lets me run some tests, I might be able to find a way to dispel the barrier. Don't attack her again, Sans. I n-need..." Alphys looked around and noticed he was no longer present. Her shoulders slumped and she turned to face Frisk. "Can you get Asgore and bring him here for me, please?"

Frisk nodded and ran off. Alphys pulled out her phone and dialed Undyne's number. Ava needed to be kept alive for her idea to work. For now, all she could do was wait.

…

"What do you mean, she disappeared?!" Martlet yelled at the robot. Axis pointed to the remains of the stalactite.

[THE HUMAN PUSHED ME AS THIS FELL AND DISAPPEARED BEHIND IT.]

Martlet looked over and followed its trajectory with her eyes until a splotch of blood was noticed on a rock in the chasm below. Her eyes widened with fear. Ava was injured!

Without thinking twice, she dove down and flew after her. She was going to help Ava. That was absolute.

She followed what signs of her descent were available. Three spots in particular had a lot of blood, which concerned her. She was impressed when Clover survived the fall after their crash, but she was doubtful he'd survive a fall like this.

She tucked her wings close and sped up. Time was of the essence. A light near the bottom of the chasm made itself known. A river, and then an embankment. Blood trails led past it. Someone had already found Ava.

She sharply turned her momentum with the tunnel and out into the Dunes. That human couldn't have been far.

Voices she recognized came into focus. It was the Feisty Five! Hope filled Martlet's heart and she sped past them, stopping just up ahead. As Martlet turned to talk to them, her eyes settled on the poor state Ava was in.

The color drained from her face and she bolted over to the surprised posse. "Ava?! Ava, oh my stars! Ava! Talk to me!"

Ed held Martlet back as she attempted to shake Ava awake. "Cut it out, wouldja?! She's unconscious. We need to get her to the hospital in The Wild East!"

Martlet grabbed Ed's free hand and started dragging him, and by extension Ava, forward. "She's not gonna make it that far! We're going to Ceroba's," she ordered concretely.

Moray ran alongside them. "But what about Chujin?"

"I don't give a flying Moldsmol what Chujin thinks!" Martlet screeched. "This is Clover's human sister, and I won't let this be the end of her!"

"WHAT?!" exclaimed the others collectively. Martlet kept tugging them along and kicked open the Ketsukane estate gate. A concerned Ceroba and frustrated Starlo were at the porch.

"I know he ain't happy about it neither, but I promised him I'd keep an eye on y-..." Starlo led off as both him and Ceroba stared at the human over Ed's shoulder. "Feathers? What's happened?" he asked.

Martlet ignored him and moved right to Ceroba. "Listen good, because she doesn't have much time. This is Clover's sister from the surface, so I want you to spare no expense getting her to feeling a little better. She took a massive tumble getting here. Where can we set her down?"

Ceroba stood still, taking in all this information. "But-" Martlet barged past her and found the new guest bedroom Chujin had recently finished. South-eastern corner of the house. Martlet turned and yelled out for Ed to bring her there.

The bed was bare bones and not furnished yet. There was no mattress. It was just a few large pillows on some plywood.

Ed lay Ava flat on her back as Martlet got to work in the rucksack to hopefully find more of that cloth she saw Ava wrap around her forehead earlier. In the main pocket lay medical tape and something labeled "emergency morphine." Martlet wasn't sure what that meant, but she grabbed it anyway.

She quickly wrapped the bandages around Ava's midsection, head, and arm. The bleeding had slowed significantly, and Martlet chanced a look at Ava's face with worry. She was met with one of pain.

Martlet picked up the morphine syrettes and readied one. This was an emergency, so it made sense to use something labeled for emergencies. She plunged the needle into Ava's chest by the bloodiest spot and watched the contents empty into her. Ava's grimace slowly softened.

Ceroba and the others caught up with them and she got to work with some healing magic. As she focused on sealing the wounds and impeding blood flow, she looked her patient over. The kitsune could definitely see the resemblance to the young Clover she first met. Same cheek bones. Same messy hair. Same tendency to fall down places they shouldn't.

She finished stemming the bleeding and glanced at Starlo. "...Chujin's going to kill me when he hears about this."

Chapter Text

Undyne plucked an old hard cover book from the shelf and jumped down the ladder. "Is this the book you wanted, Alphys?" she asked, presenting it to her. It was a book detailing the ties of human souls to the emotions and traits they hold.

Alphys nodded and grabbed the book. Undyne stepped over to continue looking through the old archives. "Let me know if you need anything else, okay?" the fish lady said with a toothy grin.

Alphys returned the smile and started walking toward the exit. Undyne was already doing something for Ava, so it didn't feel right to the lizard lady if she interrupted her with the task of babysitting an adult that was clearly capable of taking care of herself. Still, she couldn't help but worry that sans was going to attack her again. And that worry would only increase when her watch sent her a message about seismic shakes being detected in Waterfall.

Her heart sank as she rushed out of the Underground Royal Library and scuttled to her lab. She fidgetted with her watch to get imagery of the seismic event. Earthquakes didn't naturally occur here. When one did, it was usually because someone with a lot of power made it happen. Pulling up the footage of the event revealed a robot had fired an energy blast at the roof and dislodged several stalactites.

Alphys nearly tripped over herself when she witnessed a disheveled Ava push the robot out of the way as a falling chunk of stone shattered in front of her and pushed her off the ledge. She needed to get ahold of Mettaton NOW, and have him search the drop.

As for the robot that was present, she recognized the symbol of the Steamworks on its back. A frown crossed her lips. She wanted bygones to be bygones and not bother the Ketsukane family again, but now she was being forced to.

"One issue after another. F-first, I need to see if she's okay." Alphys sped off with a newfound boldness, if still somewhat timid. Maybe some of Frisk's determination was rubbing off on her, or maybe she was finally breaking free from the shy persona she was forced into.

…

Martlet was standing on the porch with the Feisty Five, minus Stsrlo. Not much was heard from inside. Just the two conversing behind the closed front door. It was muffled, but Martlet could make out Ceroba's voice.

"Listen, Starlo. Her HP isn't increasing. I can't just force her to get better. That's not how healing magic works. She needs to want to get better."

"Yer tellin' me she wants ta die?!"

"She's not conscious. She can't want to get better if she can't think about wanting something, Star."

"But she's stopped bleedin'. That's gotta mean she's still fightin' strong!"

"That's a self-preservation response from her body. Humans work differently than monsters do."

"Don't hand me that! You can still heal someone if they're asleep. That's how Doc does it in the East!"

"I'm aware of that, Star! Ava's body is healing. Her soul is not!"

Martlet couldn't help but feel as though she was responsible. She wasn't, but she could've done more to stop this from happening. Maybe if she tagged along with her immediately as she left, Martlet could've caught Ava's fall. She could be doing a lot better than she was right now, at any rate.

The five of them were dragged out of silence with the sound of the front gate opening and closing. They looked up to see Chujin and the twins heading their way. They knew what they were going to find when they got inside. The underground had cellphones now. It was unsettling to Chujin that a human was not only staying in his house for the night, but had also attacked both of his kids. This was a terrible idea.

As they entered the house, Ceroba wasted no time in grabbing Chujin's wrist and bringing him to the guest room. Chujin was caught off guard by how much had changed in Ava's appearance. Multiple bruises, several bloodied bandages, and a vast assortment of cuts scored her figure.

"I've stopped the bleeding, and her vitals have stabilized, but her soul is a different story. I'm no doctor, but I've done what I can for now."

Clover stood outside the door. He wanted to make sure Ava was alright. Kanako grabbed his paw and tried to direct him to the living room, but he stood firm. She looked over at him questioningly. "Clover? We need to give them some space so they can do their thing. Come on. Let's go to my room and play on the game system."

Reluctantly, Clover followed Kanako up to her room. There wasn't much he could do to help Ava in her current state, and he knew he'd just get in the way. His father was an expert on the topic of souls, so he was most qualified to help her. He did trust his father, but that didn't help put his mind at ease. To Chujin, Ava was a stranger in their home who had no right to be there. It wasn't exactly as though he was just suddenly okay with Ava being over for the night.

He picked up a controller and sat on the bed next to his sister. For the next half hour, they played Super Smashing Fighters in silence. Kanako was winning most matches. This was usually what happened when they played competitive games, but Clover was losing more than he often did.

Kanako could feel the distant look in Clover's posture. He was disconnected from what was on screen, lost in his own thoughts. It pained Kanako to see him like this.

Ever since he was added to the family, he'd been open about his opinions. Even when she got injured in a fight or something concerning happened, he'd tell her about it. He told her just about everything. Was having a human in their home that unsettling to him?

Kanako paused the game and turned to look at Clover. He blinked a few times before noticing the game was paused and looked at the floor. His fingers were trembling.

"What's wrong, big brother?" Kanako asked calmly. It would be best to talk things out. "If you're concerned about the human being here, you can sleep in my room tonight."

Clover jumped slightly at his sister's arms wrapping around his midsection. His tremors calmed and he gave her a small smile. Even if she thought he was upset for the wrong reason, it was clear she didn't want to see him like this.

"No, Koko. I'm not scared of Ava. I'm just worried about what dad is going to do to her. I know you don't like her, but if my soul really does belong to her brother, she won't attack me. I'll be fine."

Kanako's arms drew tighter. "I don't want her here. She's mean! And she's scary..."

Clover felt a frown tugging his lips but fought against it. "It's just for tonight, Kanako. Tomorrow morning, we'll bring her to The Wild East hospital and they can take care of her there."

"But what if she attacks someone?" Kanako cried. Her eyes were tearing up. "What if she attacks Uncle Starlo and the others? I don't want them to get hurt!"

Clover grabbed her shoulders and held her face to face. "She's not going to hurt anyone, Kanako. I'm certain of it. Calm down. It's all going to work out."

Kanako wiped her eyes. "Why are you so upset if you believe this? (sniffle) Y-you said you aren't scared but you are."

"I'm fine. It's just me being concerned for her wellbeing."

"...Please stay the night in here with me, Clover. I don't feel safe."

Clover nodded and held her close. "I'll be here, Kanako. Just promise me you won't let this stop you from sleeping, okay?"

"...Okay."

…

Chujin carted some computer equipment over to the guest room and got to work. He was running some tests on the extractions made from Ava's soul. While he didn't feel at ease with this military weapon from the surface sleeping in his house, this was a new opportunity for him. A soul so brimming with life balancing on the corner of death. This one wasn't like the blue soul. Not by a long shot.

No, this one held some real answers. Answers he could unveil. An unusual quirk to have. Ava's was a soul that seemed to produce most of the known human soul traits.

Perseverance, Integrity, Justice, Bravery, even Kindness in a small amount, as well as something else. Most interestingly, her soul looked as though it could produce more traits, but at the time was incapable of doing so. Maybe he could find a way to restore this functionality and see what else it could offer. There were so many possibilities.

A weak cough broke him out of his thoughts. Chujin looked over from his screen to the soul, and then to its owner. While the soul had been easy to navigate to, it was still attached to a living being. He had almost forgot about that. For that whole half hour, his anxieties had perished. Hearing that cough brought it all back.

'I could find a way to restore that functionality?' What in the world am I thinking?! This is a human. Giving her more power than she already has could prove disastrous for our kind.

He frowned at the human connected to the various monitoring equipment. Her soul was a spectacle. She was not. He wouldn't let himself get carried away like he did with the blue soul.

He readjusted his glasses and sent his findings electronically to his office. He'd just have to gather what he could for now and theorize about it later. It had been a stressful night as it was. As his last task of the night, Chujin began a fight with Ava. The world faded to black and white, and for a moment, he considered just removing her soul from the body it was tethered to. It was very tempting. He ultimately decided against it and selected the CHECK option in his ACT menu.

AVA MILLET

LV 7 HP 4/50

ATK 20  DEF 150

Stuck reliving her own special hell.

Chujin exited the fight and pondered. Her LV had been dropping. So had her ATK. Her DEF had been increasing. This was truly bizarre. And then there was that last part about being stuck in hell. Was she having a nightmare? He didn't know, but he also didn't care... Or did he?

Chujin spent an uncomfortably long time standing there. Why was he feeling so guilty all of a sudden? What was it about her that hammered a sense of regret into him just now?

He looked at the monitors. Everything looked good, save for the soul. He'd just have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens.

Chapter Text

Her body ached. Everything was hot. She opened her eyes to a blinding light overhead. A familiar dugout befell her.

She coughed. She was hungry. So were the men around her. They had to ration everything. They'd been stuck there for eleven days with minimal sleep, minimal food and water, and minimal support. Operation Rock Move had been in play, and outpost "Bella" was a hell scape in the current heat wave.

Ava sat up and looked to her left. There lay her best friend and co-transferee from the 77th. They were being used as a replacement for a paratrooper division due to loss of soldiers. The only two to make it through their first year together with no separation.

Ava wanted to marry Cole Monayak. He was special, and she knew he was the one for her. That's what made being deployed to Wanat that much more depressing. First year in active duty and they were both being put on the front lines because they had expert scores in marksmanship.

And yes, the boys in her squad were ruffians and comedic assholes, but they were still good people. Even if she wouldn't admit it, she felt at home with them. 26 battle hardened soldiers deep into enemy territory with no heavy equipment and limited rations, but she was confident they could outlast whatever awaited them.

Ever since they got there, they knew an attack was going to happen. The police chief and mayor conveniently left to go to a business meeting out of town, and the mountains and nearby village were prime spots for hiding.

She chose to let Cole get some more sleep. He had been going off of 36 hours without it after all. It’s a lot to power through, and it can severely hamper judgement.

"Alright, just wanted to get your opinion... This is Stenton. He's been digging this foxhole all day yesterday. Over to the left here, we had that fence set up. Real proud of that."

Ava stepped out and into the sunlight. 120-degree heat clung to her face. Mark and Stenton were vlogging again.

Mark turned to look at her. He cracked a smile. "This here's Sunshine. That's her nickname. Real piece of work, but she's good at cooking and keeping us alert at night."

"We got just short of two weeks left in country," Stenton interjected as Ava flipped Mark off. "And they send us in the middle of bum fuck nowhere to build a F.O.B. for 126. So now, Mark and I are out here stuck in Afghanistan," "Well- we- let's take a panoramic view... of what's here."

Ava walked over to the chow tent. She sat beside Abahd who was replacing the bandages on his leg. He had been shot recently and it was still healing. "Kinda sucks how it's just us out here, huh?" he asked. Ava nodded and split her daily assigned rations with him.

"We're gonna make it out, Abahd. You're going home tomorrow."

Abahd smiled and thanked Ava for the portion. "I gotta say, it's gonna be nice to see my daughter. I know you've basically just started your tour here, but just know it only gets better once you get through the deep shit. They won't keep you here too much longer."

Ava drank from her canteen and capped it. "Yeah... Eleven days and a wake up." She looked out the opening if the tent out at the village in the distance. "...When do you think they'll attack?"

Abahd put his boot back on. "I wouldn't be surprised if the answer was tonight. They've been watching us build. Taking measurements. They act nice and friendly, Ava. They're not."

"Tom said the place was practically empty earlier today, so your estimate might hold true. Just yell for me and I got your six."

"Thanks, Corporal," Abahd said with a smile. Ava gave his back a pat and exited the tent. The night was close to its end, and her earlier nap was all she would get for a long time.

Later that night...

Just into the morning...

"... just east of that 'bout 50 east ... need you to come in hot immediately, ... AAF, RPG, and PKM team at that location. Out, copy."

A radio. It was in the OP. Ava could hear the sergeant talking, but wasn't recognizing any of the words. It was too distant. Everything felt distant. She was running on empty, after all. As a precaution, she grabbed her helmet and fastened it before moving to head to the tents. Right as she heard a distinct noise far to her right. It was an RPG, and it was coming right for her.

…

Ceroba was making breakfast. Last night was an odd night for everyone. Clover's secret had been revealed, a human was attacking people in Snowdin, and now they were taking care of said human until she could be transferred to the hospital in the east.

The fox momma knew that her kids had got in a scuffle, but Chujin refused to elaborate on the matter. She knew it was just her husband trying not to stress her, but more often than not, this would only increase her worries.

And then there was Martlet. The poor girl slept on the porch overnight and refused to leave the premises until Ava got better. Why? Did she really have that much of an attachment to her already? Then again, this was how she got when she first met Clover, and the second time she "met" Clover.

The sound of sizzling omelets caught Ceroba's attention and she turned down the stove. She could worry about things at the kotatsu. Right now, she was cooking. After finishing the last of the plates, she shut off the stove and brought things to the living room.

"Kids! Breakfast is ready!" she hollered. A few moments later, she heard movement from Kanako's room. A sleepy Kanako rubbed her eyes as she dragged herself to the table. Clover appeared shortly after, hat barely on his head.

Chujin, who was already sitting down, smiled as the two kids joined him.

"Good morning, you two," he said warmly. He made note of Kanako's frayed hair and chuckled. "Someone slept like a rock."

Ceroba sat down with the food and passed the plates around. They all clasped their hands together and said "Itadakimasu" in unison before eating.

"So, about our guest," Ceroba began. Chujin swallowed a bite of his omelet and looked her direction. "Is the condition of her soul improving any?"

Chujin looked back at his plate while chewing. He had checked on her earlier this morning before everyone got up, but her HP only increased by one since last night. It was an improvement, but he wasn't sure how to feel about it. On one hand, the sooner she got better, the sooner she left. On the other, Ava's soul has already highlighted and fixed several problems in his serums. If he could have her stay here for a while longer, he could revolutionize soul power.

"About that... She's only regained a minimal portion of her strength. I don't think she'll be able to travel any time soon," the purple fox stated. "I think it would be better if we could keep her here for a while longer. A few days at most."

Ceroba, Kanako, and Clover looked at him incredulously. "Come again?" Clover asked. Where did this sudden attitude shift come from? His father wouldn't hesitate to send Ava packing any day of the week. This wasn't like him at all. What was his reasoning for this?

Ceroba held her fork in hand, piece of egg stuck on the end. She raised an eyebrow at her husband. This was quite peculiar. "You'd let her stay for even longer? I don't mean to question your beliefs, but I fail to see the logic here. Just last night, you were telling me you were worried she'd attack our kids."

"I know that, and I'm still not fully certain she won't." Chujin straightened his back. "This human is a powerful one. Her soul is one to match. Even so, she is severely injured. Even with your magic healing her wounds, her nervous system is shot, and she can barely hold stable breathing."

"So she's just going to stay here?!" Kanako blurted. "Why? Why not bring her to the East? They know more about doctor stuff to help her and she doesn't have to stay here," she pleaded.

Chujin sighed. "Kanako, I'm sorry. She's not fit for transport right now."

Kanako puffed out her cheeks and frowned, crossing her arms. "Well, I'm not happy about it," she pouted.

"There's a lot I'm not happy about either pumpkin, but right now, she is our guest." He readjusted his glasses and took a drink of water. He swallowed and looked over to Clover. "In addition, I've taken blood samples and compared them to the ones I've received from you during our little discovery last night. Clover, the blood she has and the blood now flowing through you are almost an exact match."

Ceroba's head snapped to face him. "Eeeeexcuse me?!" she asked wide eyed. Chujin sweatdropped. "Now, dear, Clover... um..."

"Yes, Clover um what?" she egged Chujin on. He gulped and prepared for the worst. "He fought-"

A scream could be heard from the far corner of the house. "CONTACT!" was cried out in desperation before a deep thud shook the floor. Everyone looked in the guest room's direction. Chujin got up and made his way to the door. "I'll go check on what's happened. Stay here."

He slid the door open to go to investigate. Shortly after closing it, Martlet barged in the front door and beat him to the guest room. By the time he got there, Martlet was already trying to help Ava back into bed. Ava on the other hand, seemed to be in a state of fight or flight. Even if her movements were sluggish and very pained, she made it abundantly clear she wanted to be anywhere but here.

Ava was struggling to reach her rucksack. "My radio! I need my radio!" she begged. Martlet tried unsuccessfully to keep Ava in bed. "I-I-I have to warn them!" Not knowing what to do to calm her down, Martlet hugged the crying human.

"Th-they they they must not crest the hill..." Ava stammered.

Slowly, Ava's struggling ceased. "They must not..." she mumbled. Chujin was shocked at the look of pure panic that resided before him. Here was a human he had seen stone faced throughout almost all of yesterday's events, reduced to crying and anguish because of a dream.

Martlet continued to hold her close. "There, there. What's this about a hill?" she asked with concern. The human in her arms regained the expressionless demeanor of the day prior as she realized she was experiencing a PTSD flashback. Ava hung her head and sagged her shoulders.

"Hey, it's okay to talk about it. I'm all ears," Martlet encouraged. "I've been wondering what's been eating you since we first met."

Ava's hands shook. Too much adrenaline so early in the morning. She had half the urge to get up right now and search the perimeter for threats had her back and shoulder not hurt so bad. She rubbed the back of her head. It was bruised. Come to think of it, there was a lot of bruising visible. "How the hell am I alive?" she asked casually.

Martlet let her go and rested a wing on her less injured shoulder. "Well, you were bounced around pretty good back there. From what I can remember, the incline from which you hit the river took off most of your speed. The Feisty Five found you and we brought you here."

Ava looked around at the room. The bed was pretty makeshift. She was used to that though, so it wasn't that noteworthy. The rest of the room was constructed primarily of different types of treated wood. Architecturally placed similar to a place she had visited during her time in the Pacific.

"Huh," she mumbled, staring at the fox crest on a pedestal. "For a moment there, I thought I'd been kidnapped by some folks I met in Japan."

Martlet went wide eyed. "WHAT?" Ava reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. "Yeah. I cross-trained some Judo with folks in Hiroshima. Real nice place. Guess they liked me because I woke up the next morning hungover and in one of their houses."

"Sorry to interrupt, but are you okay? From the sounds of it, you hit the floor pretty hard." Chujin stepped into the room finally. "You're nervous system is-" "Hurting like a son of a gun. I know," Ava interjected. "I found out as soon as I picked up my sack."

She looked over at the monitoring equipment to her right. Some of it had been what she expected to see. Heart rate, blood pressure, etc. Then there was the soul stuff. She didn't understand what was being displayed. Humans didn't really do much work with soul magic. Nobody could really use magic since as far back as the civil war, so there wasn't a point to learning about it. She cocked her head to the side and glanced Chujin's way. "Not sure what I'm looking at here, doc."

"You don't have to know. Your soul is definitely a strange one, so this is a learning opportunity for both of us," he returned. Ava huffed and rubbed her shoulder. "Ah, yes. I'm an experiment then. That makes more sense. Here I was thinking you had a change of heart."

"I'm sure he means well, Ava. Chujin's actually a nice person. You just gotta give him a chance," Martlet chirped. "I know he's a bit stubborn, but everyone is at some point."

Ava grabbed her canteen from her rucksack and leaned back in bed. "Ain't that the fucking truth," she muttered before taking a swig. Chujin looked over the monitoring equipment and checked Ava's bandaged shoulder. She stiffened up at first, but let him tend to it with a bit of annoyance. "-Ack! Careful... That spot's been beaten to high heaven."

Chujin slowed his patchwork. Ava made no attempt to stop him. If he wanted her dead, he had ample opportunity already. If he wanted to torture her, he was doing a shitty job of doing it.

"So, you mentioned warning someone. If you don't mind, I'd like to know. Just in case it's important," Martlet queried. Ava closed her eyes and relaxed her neck muscles. "Not a chance, Martlet. I'm not visiting that memory again."

Martlet frowned. It was clear Ava held emotional baggage, but suppressing it wouldn't do her any good. If Ceroba was anything to go by four years ago, that only led to self-destruction. She gripped Ava's hand. "Well, it seems like it keeps visiting you. I think you've got some problems, Ava. Bottling whatever you're dealing with up is only going to make things worse."

Chujin was standing by the door. He wanted to go back and eat the rest of his meal with the family, but this seemed pretty serious. Plus, it could help give him a better picture of who his guest was, and possibly give hints to how her soul operated.

Ava coughed and cleared her throat. "Is that so? I'm gonna let you in on a little secret I've picked up on over the years, pretty bird." The human sat up and looked her dead in the eyes. "Opening yourself up to connections is only good for one thing, and that's getting you or someone else killed."

"That's not how that works, Ava!" Martlet shouted. "The hell it doesn't," Ava snapped back, her eyebrows furrowed. "Look at me and tell me it doesn't, Martlet." Her expression softened. "Everyone I've ever loved has either died or was just using me as a means to an end. Everyone except for what's left of Clover, so don't you fucking try to tell me I'm wrong when the only person I've got left is technically not even here anymore."

Chujin's mouth opened slightly. No words came out, as he was still trying to find them. This person has lost everything. They've got nothing left. This world had taken everything from them. Finally, a question came to mind.

"Why did you come to Mount Ebott?" he asked. He wasn't sure what response he was going to get, but if there was anything he did know about humans, people want to be validated in their actions.

Ava opened her rucksack and pulled out the mission files. "The missing children, of course. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I was expecting to fail this mission and accepted anyway. If I succeeded in my efforts and completed a case for each child, I would be rewarded with me completing my final mission renowned as a hero, regardless of who or how many died."

Chujin narrowed his eyes. "And if you failed?"

A wicked smirk crossed Ava's lips. "If I failed, then I would get to witness Monsterkind use my soul to destroy the single cause for all of my pain:

“Humanity as a whole."

Chapter Text

"You're not actually advocating killing your own kind, right?" Martlet questioned. Ava stayed silent. Chujin was put off by this. It was true he used to think humans were simply incapable of decency, but this was eventually disproven by Frisk. Ava was on the opposite side of the argument. To her, peace simply wasn't an option.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it, Martlet. I've been debating doing just that for a long time now," Ava bluntly spouted. "When you sign up for the military, your civil rights are revoked, and you become property for your government to use however they like. This includes questionable practices."

By now, Kanako had finished eating and stood just outside the room in the hall, eavesdropping in. Ava continued her dialogue. "I won't go into the specifics. Knowledge isn't always a good thing. Sometimes you learn something you wish you could forget, but you can't. I can never live a normal life knowing what I do now."

"Okay, so maybe you have some problems with your government. You wouldn't attack civilians, though." Martlet said hopefully, but it was evident she wasn’t convinced in the words she spoke. Ava glanced at her and opened up the missing children folder to pull out a certain file. Once again, the absence of expression was unnerving. She handed the file to Martlet.

The bird was met with a photo of an orphanage, two people standing in front. Their appearances were unkind. Given it was included in a missing persons case, it didn't take much to assume they were connected in some way.

"These are the Dookowitz couple. These are the fuckers responsible for the poor conditions revolving around the upbringing of the missing children. All of them went through here, and all of them have had some form of mistreatment." Martlet handed the photo to Chujin. "They're the reason I had to enlist in the first place. They knew I'd get them in trouble, so they signed me away to the military."

"You lived with them?" Chujin asked. Ava snorted. "That wasn't living. It was just not dying. I was deprived of a childhood, and so were they." She closed her eyes. "When I came back home from my end of contract agreement, I was enraged to find out they had no idea where Clover was. That's when I got the opportunity to go on this mission. I told the Dooks if I found Clover dead or in poor condition during my travels, I'd feed Mr. Dookowitz his own beating heart."

Martlet gasped. Kanako's eyes widened. This lady was crazy! Why was Dad so intent on keeping her here?!

"That was why I agreed to this mission. To me, Clover is all that matters. My life. My dreams. None of it is worth anything in the end if he's unhappy. That's why I fought him at Waterfall. I wanted to make sure that the one thing keeping me going wasn't just some recreation or a farce."

"I'm sorry you and Clover had to go through that, and I guess it makes sense why so many are often hostile when falling down here, but that's not a good enough reason to kill them," Martlet firmly stated. "Killing isn't the answer. I know you know this, Ava."

"...Some must live and some must die, Martlet. That's simply how the world moves. As fucked up as it is, we live and die in a world where the only way someone can get happiness is if somebody else suffers. That is why Clover must live a happy life. My pain must not be without purpose."

Martlet frowned. "Clover wouldn't have wanted you to go through with this. He might hold resentment towards these two humans, but he would want them to stand trial. He wouldn’t have wanted you to kill them. He’d also want you to have a happy life too."

Ava smiled weakly. "If his life is a happy one, then I am happy. I'm not picky with what I'm given."

Chujin opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. He had heard enough. This conversation was going nowhere, and the more he heard about this human's life, the more he felt upset about how it was destroyed. This wasn't just about soul research anymore.

"I might not fully know what's going on," said a voice behind him. "But my brother is worried about you. If you really want Clover to be happy, then you need to be happy too."

It was Kanako. She slipped past him when Chujin stepped out. She went right up beside Ava with that same puffed up cheeks pouty face she does when she wants things to go her way. Ava's eyes were still closed, so its effect was minimal if at all.

Even so, Ava didn't respond. She had heard similar words before.

“We fight for those who can't, and those who can't want the best for us, Ava. Do not forget this. He is thinking of you every day."

Ava's breathing slowed. She was experiencing a vision of her sitting next to Cole at a mess hall.

"When this is all over, I'm gonna build us a house in the country. You can get your brother outta that nasty spot, and we can be happy."

She opened her eyes and she was back at the Ketsukane residence. Why did that memory have to go as quick as it came? Her gaze fell upon Kanako. She looked possibly angry. It wasn't a malicious anger, though. She was mad at Ava for how she viewed herself. A tool for Clover’s survival.

Ava let a chuckle escape her throat. "Why are all of you monsters so selfless?" she rasped. "I have done nothing for any of you, and yet I am treated with more respect than I get in my own corps. The difference between our kinds makes me wonder who the barrier is meant to protect."

By now, Ceroba and Clover came to see what was taking so long. Kanako held up her clenched fists and shook her head. "Everyone deserves respect. Even humans. Normally, I'd be appre... uh... appre... upset at you for having hurt me and Clover, but you're hurting yourself more than you ever did to me."

Chujin could feel a sudden rage building behind him. It was his wife. She'd definitely be giving him an earful after breakfast was cleaned up. A beep from the monitors brought him back to the present. Ava's soul had been producing more traits. Her HP was increasing.

"...I have some things to think about," she finally spoke. "My purpose is still ensuring Clover's happiness, but if my wellbeing is important to him, then I will give it a try."

While Martlet knew she was still withholding information, the bird woman was content with her decision. Clover stepped in and joined Martlet by the bedside. Ava locked eyes with him. "Ah, speak of the angel." The fox boy tipped his hat and offered her a smile. "Sorry you had to hear all of that."

"I would've heard it eventually, Ava." He ruffled Kanako's hair, much to her displeasure. "Kanako is right, though. You deserve to live happy."

Ava groaned. "I get it, okay? Let's talk about something else." A familiar smell reached her nose, and her eyes lit up. "Did someone cook eggs recently?"

Ceroba and Chujin nervously looked at each other.

…

With a lot of heavy lifting help from Martlet, Ava made her way to the Kotatsu and a plate was made for her. She stared at it for a moment before sheepishly looking up at the family there. Chujin raised an eyebrow. "Is... something wrong?" he asked.

Ava rubbed the back of her neck with an awkward smile. "No! Not at all. It's just that... I'm not all too well familiar with Japanese eating etiquette. I was going to ask what the proper procedure was."

"Well, we usually start eating when everyone is sat down," Clover answered. "But before we dig in, we put our hands together and say 'Itadakimasu.' It's a way of saying thanks for the things that let us have the meal."

Ava's arm rested back to her side as she nodded. "Oh, so it's like saying grace?" she asked. It wasn't something she did often. Grace was a family tradition, but it was one that stopped happening after the car crash that took away her parents.

Ceroba grinned. Clover was always on the job when it came to helping others, no matter how small the task was. She still remembers the time she had to remove pricks from his fur when he hugged a cactus because it was sad.

"I'll start the prayer. God, I haven't done this in a while." Martlet and Clover both looked at Ava in confusion when she grabbed their hands. "Oh lord who art in heaven, thank you for giving us this daily meal. Amen."

She let go of the two sitting beside her and laughed. "Sorry. Usually, it's a lot longer than that and more is said, but I don't remember it all too much. What was it you say? Ita-... Itakadamisu?”

"Itadakimasu," Kanako corrected. "Ah, thanks," Ava responded before picking up her fork and holding it like one would a pencil. The reason this intrigued Chujin is because it took him a month of trying to get Clover to stop holding his utensils like he was holding a shovel. Each motion Ava made was precise but quick. Clover's tended to be more messy.

Within minutes, the plate was empty, and she attempted to get up and bring her dishes to the kitchen. Martlet quickly caught her from falling and grabbed what she was holding. "Here," she said, easing Ava back to her seat. "I'll get this for you." As Martlet left to go put the dishes in the dishwasher, Ava thanked Ceroba for the meal.

"It's not every day you get some good food in the army. Most stuff is bland and unseasoned, and if it is seasoned, it's over seasoned."

Ava stretched her arm and winced at the pain in her shoulder. She looked at the table with disappointment. To have her movements so limited was frustrating. She wasn't really on a time crunch anymore, but it still felt wrong to be doing nothing.

"Are you okay?" Clover asked. "I mean, as okay as you can be?"

"I'm fine. I'm usually working on something by now is all," Ava explained. "I'm too used to busying myself with doing dishes immediately after or jumping right into my duties for the day. Being stuck in one place with nothing to do is... well, it's boring."

A timid knock is heard from the front door. There was a number of people who it could have been, but Ceroba could tell whoever it was would give her a stomach knot. Familiarity struck her like a sledge hammer when the woman on the front step spoke.

"He-hello? Mr. and Mrs. Ketsukane? I need to t-talk to you about something very important."

Chapter Text

Frisk brought Alphys up to the door. They were there primarily as emotional support, but they also were determined to make sure Alphys didn't chicken out. It was just information they needed, and they knew the Ketsukanes were good monsters. They'd oblige.

"Okay. Here goes," Alphys stammered. The yellow lizard knocked on the front door to the estate and gathered her strength. "He-hello? Mr. And Mrs. Ketsukane? I need to t-talk to you about something very important."

Frisk gave her a thumbs up. She was taking her challenges head on for once. Alphys hadn't once faltered on her way here, and it seemed that momentum was still going strong.

And then the door opened. Almost immediately, Alphys' feeble mannerisms fell back into place as she felt her feet begin to back pedal. All she managed was one step before the one who opened the door looked down on her, freezing her in place.

As she expected, Ceroba was glaring at her. She wasn't one to forgive easy. Most other families were too happy to have their fallen back to hold a grudge against her, but Ceroba found out just what happened to those under Alphys' care before Frisk showed up. Clover brought Kanako back. Not Alphys.

Would Kanako have ended up just like those other monsters if Clover never showed up in the underground? Amorphous and barely conscious? At least Ceroba had the decency to keep Alphys' secret on the down low for so long. After all, she was responsible for Kanako ending up there in the first place.

"Well? What is it?" Ceroba asked impatiently. Alphys pulled out her phone and selected a video of Ava's interaction with Axis. "R-right! I'm sure you've heard the news of a new human in the underground a-and, she was last seen with your husband's robot up in Waterfall. I had Mettaton search the fall sights, but he came up empty-handed. We were w-wondering if you might have... y'know... seen them?" Alphys had a nervous smile on her face.

Ceroba stood still as Chujin walked up behind her. "...If you were expecting us to have a spare human soul lying around, I'm going to have to disappoint you."

Alphys held up her hands disarmingly. "N-no. I'm not implying that you did, Mrs. Ketsukane. It's just that w-with the Oasis being the closest spot to her blood trails, I thought this should be the first place to check. Sorry to bother you. I'll be go- eh?"

A small hand grabs Alphys' own and tugs her forward. She stumbled to keep up as Frisk pushed past Ceroba and into her home. "W-wait! Frisk! I-I'm not comfortable just entering without perm-mission!"

Ceroba recovered from her shock at Frisk's sudden forced entry and raced to keep up. What were they thinking? You can't just go in people's houses uninvited. Regardless, Frisk and Dr. Alphys were in her home and into the living room. As Chujin was passed by his wife, it became apparent to him that Frisk must have seen Ava's boots by the other footwear.

"Frisk! S-slow down!"

Ava's head turned up and at the visitors. Calling her confused would be an apt assessment of her current being. Frisk kept going until they tackled Ava's midsection for a hug. Once again confused, Ava looked down at the small human clinging to her and eventually returned the sentiment.

[*You tell Ava you missed her.]

Ava stared into Frisk's eyes before recognition struck. "Little goober? Is that you?"

[*You tell Ava you thought you would never see her again.]

A moment of recollection is made, and Ava nods. "It wasn't unlikely. I've been through a lot. -GAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Kanako was picking through Ava's hair and attempting to remove dirt and sand. The brown fox giggled as Ava failed to reach around behind her. "You need a bath!" she yipped.

Ava laughed and turned her attention to the little lizard lady in front of the two fox parents. She looked at Frisk and back to her awkwardly. This quiet exchange went on for about a minute before anyone spoke.

"So, what's yo- *cough! cough!* Erh! ...What's your deal?" Ava asked, interrupted by a coughing fit midsentence. "You taking care of Frisk?"

Alphys smiled and pushed her index fingers together timidly. "N-no. They're just accompanying me. Frisk lives with King Asgore." Frisk looked her way, waiting for Alphys' response. "O-oh, right! I was trying to make sure you were still a-alive."

Ava's small grin turned grim. She didn't know this person. Why was she worried if Ava was still alive? Should she be concerned for her safety? Was this some ploy to gain her trust? Why was Frisk traveling with her if they were under the guardianship of the Monster King? Why is the lizard woman sweating so much? And why was Ceroba staring daggers in her back?

The questions kept piling up in her mind until she drifted her attention to Chujin. He had been oddly silent throughout all of this. As far as she knew, the only reason she was here still was because he wanted to research her soul. And then it dawned on her.

Ava's posture straightened. "You want to run tests on my soul, yeah?" Alphys' nervous smile fell and she averted her gaze. "Y-yes... If you're okay with it, of course! It's just, u-um, we might be able to, uh, recreate a um, ar... artificial human soul if we can, uh, m-make records of your soul's properties."

Ava closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "And what do you plan on using said replications if you succeed?"

"We would use them to... t-t-to... break-" Ava stood up from her seat, surprising all of them. "OUT WITH IT, DAMNIT! STA- STA- STOP STUTTERING!"

"Aaeigh! T-to break the barrier!" Alphys clambered. She wasn't expecting Ava to be so tall. The human sat back down and rested her volume.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" she said before taking a drink of water. "Sorry about my outburst. You were just taking too long to give me a clear answer."

Frisk hugged Alphys to reassure her and calm her down. Martlet joined Frisk in consoling her. Ceroba and Chujin were both wide eyed for different reasons.

How the hell could she stand like that? Her spinal column was struck in such a way it should have been impossible so soon!

I didn't realize how direct our guest could be. Is this really the soul that holds our future?

"Even if you had more of a backbone, I would still refuse," she began. "I won't allow the barrier to be destroyed just yet, and that is simply because the world is not ready for it."

"What are you talking about, Ava? I thought the point of your mission was to keep Clover happy. Isn't the surface a part of that?" Kanako asked. Ava turned to face the fireplace and tipped her head down.

"It still is, Kanako, but the fact of the matter is that both of our species cannot coexist right now." Ava watched the dancing flames in thought. "Humans are masters of war, and even though there is a relative peace right now, how would they respond to monsterkind having killed several children to acquire enough souls to escape?"

She turned to face them. "Some would be understanding, but ultimately they'd be overruled by the population that wants revenge. If there is one thing that motivates a human, it's anger."

"So w-we show them we don't want war," Alphys suggested. She was actually getting better at this. "We can diffuse their anger. It's not impossible."

"Their anger isn't what I'm most worried about. It's Clover, and I know the first thing they'd do if they... when they find out he has a human soul instead of a monster one. They'd think he killed someone, and if they don't try execution, they'll run experiments on him."

Ava frowned. "I'm not putting him through what I've been. I trust him to be around Chujin because he is family to him, and I know he wouldn't do anything that would outright endanger his life, but humans take things too far 90% of the time."

"But that means there's a chance they won't." Clover rested a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to agree to doing it right now. Just think on it, okay?"

"I... I don't want you getting involved in all of this, Clover."

"If you don't do it, I will," Clover stated. Almost unanimously, Ava, Ceroba, and Chujin all countered with, "Absolutely not!"

He grinned cheesily, and tipped his hat. "Fine."

That got Ava thinking. "Hey uh, before you go, Doc, why did you need my soul in specific? I mean, Frisk has been down here for a while. What makes mine so special?"

Finally able to let the fear fade away, Alphys smiled at having a chance to nerd out. "Y-your soul is a Mage Soul. You are one of very few humans who can use magic without cracking. There have been some observed instances of this phenomenon in humans with normal souls, but it requires a lot of determination and more often than not, will still cost them their life."

Ava stared blankly. "...What?"

"You've been using magic in your fight with Sans. Did you not notice?" Alphys pulled her phone out again and started reviewing footage. "From what I've observed, you've been using it to improve your m-mobility and defense. Even going so far as to pole jump with one of Sans' attacks."

"I thought it was just something I could grab, so I did. How is that using magic?" Ava asked. "Were those not supposed to be grabbable?"

It was around this point in time that both Frisk and Ava felt as though time had attempted to reverse, but couldn't. Frisk looked at Ava with worry. Clover seemed mildly unaware, and held a hand to his noggin as if trying to remember something.

Ava took notice of Clover and Frisk's demeanor and put a finger to her chin. Martlet raised an eyebrow before looking around. "Hey uh... did," she started. "Did anyone else just get a serious sense of deja vu just now?"

Clover nodded. "I can't really say I didn't. Gonna be real, my head's hurting something fierce. Think I'm gonna lay down for a bit."

He sauntered off toward his room and closed the door behind him. Alphys took this as her cue to leave. As she grabbed Frisk's hand to escort him out, Ava stopped her.

"Frisk. This is a bit of a weird question to ask, but have you ever felt anchored to a spot in time through intense moments of will?" to which Frisk slowly nodded. They knew what Ava was implying. They had that power as well, after all.

[*You tell Ava you've had to reset before. She looks conflicted, but appears to understand what you mean.]

Ava let out a breath. "Hey Doc? Take Frisk back to the king and make sure they are protected, okay? I have reason to believe that they may soon be a target."

"W-what do you m-mean, a target?" Alphys stuttered. Ava stood up again, this time with no signs of weariness. "Just call it a hunch. I'm counting on you."

Alphys gave her a short nod and she exited with Frisk in tow. Ava walked over to the front door without Martlet's help and watched them go. There were several implications to be made from this meeting. Frisk wasn't safe. Clover wasn't safe. Nobody was safe.

Someone had tried to reset, but failed.

The uncertainty of an unseen foe reminds you of your PURPOSE.

FILE SAVED.

Chapter Text

The veteran sat on the guest room bed and waited ad Chujin extracted soul samples for his records. Ava appeared to have some form of regeneration magic that occurred passively, and he intended to find out how it worked. She shouldn't have been able to walk let alone stand without support given this morning's condition. Despite the science, she had done just that.

"Are you sure you're okay to walk around?" Martlet asked. Ava shrugged and grinned. "I mean, I'm not feeling any pain at the moment."

Martlet looked over to Chujin. The purple fox was too focused on his work to notice. "Why, er- hm... how do I phrase this? What made you let Chujin run tests on you, but not Dr. Alphys?"

Ava crossed her arms and threw a glance his way. "Well for starters, he's a family man." Chujin's right ear twitched. "Second, he knows when things have gone too far. Third, Alphys may or may not be capable and competent, but she's not brave enough to pull the trigger. And yes, Chujin is doing research on my soul even after I denied Alphys the same thing, but from what I've seen, Chujin is methodical. He thinks things through beforehand. I can't say I see the same in Alphys."

"Well, what if they were working together on it?" Martlet suggested cheerfully. Chujin stopped typing. "You two both have experience working with souls. You'd be able to work much faster, and there would be less problems because there would always be a second opinion on things."

The blue bird gave them a confident smile. Chujin huffed and resumed typing. "That's not happening. Dr. Alphys is smart, but as Ava said, she doesn't know how to gauge the experiment. If I ended up working with her, I'd be doing the majority of the work just for her to get more recognition for it in the end."

Martlet's smile fell flat. She knew that the two scientists had beef between them, but she was hoping they could let it go after all this time. She rubbed her arm and sighed. Oh well. An idea pitched was better than nothing.

Chujin finished the extraction and removed the equipment from Ava's body. Ava got to her feet and popped her knuckles. What to do now? Clover was resting, but where did the other two disappear to?

"Alright. That's all I need from you for now," Chujin said. He did find his relationship with Ava fairly odd. First, he wanted her as far from his family as possible. Next, she admits to being perfectly fine with the genocide of humanity. After, she refuses to help with breaking the barrier because she's afraid of what humanity will do to Clover because monsters aren't as aggressive as she had expected. Even so, she's letting him experiment with her body with little to no qualms about it.

Right now, he was still concerned for her well-being, but Chujin wasn't sure why she trusted him so much. Ava really was one strange human. She was just kind of... letting it happen.

Martlet said her goodbyes to Chujin and followed Ava out the door. She had work tomorrow, and as nerve-wracking fun as this little adventure had been, she should get back home so she could be bright and early for her shift. Even if she was no longer in the Royal Guard, she had to make ends meet somehow. The UGPS was still in use. Packages needed delivered.

"Just swing by Snowdin if you need me. WAIT! Did I give you my number? Oh, I didn't. Right, here you go."

Ava slipped on her camo jacket and took the sticky note from Martlet. "Thanks. Catch you later."

Martlet took off flying. Ava was still on the porch. The surrounding area was desert, yes, but there were numerous trees and bushes just outside the estate's fences that stretched on a good distance. It was a strange sight to Ava. Having been on numerous missions in the Middle East, the flora of desert landscapes were nothing new to her.

Had the Ketsukane's been keeping them alive? How was there enough minerals in the sand to sustain such a wide variety of plants? It was practically just...

Ava facepalmed. It was magic. Of course, it was magic.

"Mom, how is this gonna help me get better with fire magic?"

Ava turned to her right. Ceroba and Kanako were on the sand, practicing magic. The human left the porch and walked over to them. "Mind if I watch?" she asked casually. Ceroba looked at her with uncertainty before responding with "If you must."

In front of them was a makeshift training dummy. It was particularly scorched in a few places.

"Back to the lesson," the mother said before placing a barrier on the dummy. "If you want to get better at fire magic, you need to focus on keeping the flames together, but not enough that it would be snuffed out. You've been struggling with that."

Ava pondered while Kanako complained about how hard it was to even manifest the flames to begin with. Barrier magic had been a cake walk by comparison, so why was attacking with flame so difficult?

"I'm trying my best! Seriously, why can't I catch up to Clover with this stuff?" Kanako's snoot drooped slightly and she sagged her shoulders. "He's so good at manifesting his magic. It's so simple for him."

"That is because Clover has a different form of magic than you, Kanako. He uses his gun as his offense, and only needs to focus on making a bullet. The shape and speed is relatively constant, so it's easy to maintain. As for defensive applications, he uses speed magic." Ceroba sighed and crossed her arms. "While it's true you have fallen behind in offense, Clover doesn't bother with being able to take hits, and often chooses to dodge them outright."

"May I put in my two cents?" Ava offered. Ceroba shot her an annoyed look. What would she know about magic? She's a human. Ava has a mage soul, true, but she doesn't know how to use it.

Kanako on the other hand gave Ava her full attention. "A saying we humans have is, 'the best defense is a good offense.' While that might be true, we can flip the words around and see it differently. From what I gather, you're using your magic as a weapon, which fire can be. Don't get me wrong."

Kanako tilted her head. "What do you mean?" Ava held up a finger. "What I mean is a great offense is an even better defense. Use your fire too forcefully, and it'll fizzle out. Let it have space between and give it air to breathe so it can keep up with you."

She pointed to the dummy. "These marks are frayed. Unconcentrated. You're being fast with it. Being fast is good, but being slow in a hurry will get you better results. Experiment with it."

Kanako frowned. Ava had a point in that she was being aggressive with her magic. But fire was supposed to be aggressive. That's why it's dangerous, right? But maybe that was the point. A fire burns out faster if more fuel is used. She just needed to restrict the fuel flow.

Kanako spun her staff and focused magic into the end of it. Fire sparked into existence. It was small, but stable. She gave it more juice, and it grew to about the size of a softball. Rather than just launching it right away, she held a hand out to transfer the flame from her staff to her palm. As Ceroba was about to step in, concerned Kanako might burn herself, the brown fox produced a steady burst of flames at the dummy. The flames grew stronger the further they went, contrary to how her magic had been acting just last attempt. The barrier on the dummy shattered, and an even spread of fire coated the makeshift adversary.

Kanako swept her hand to the side and the fire went out. Ceroba examined Kanako's hand for burns, but she found none. She looked over at Ava with astonishment.

How the hell did that work?

Kanako's frown turned into a toothy grin and she jumped in the air with her arms raised in excitement. "I DID IT! HAHA!"

Ava joined her in grinning and held out a closed fist. "Put 'er there," she said heartily. Kanako punched Ava's extended fist, slowly after which shaking her own due to Ava's rigid unmoving-ness. It was like punching a table. "Ow," Kanako quietly mumbled.

Ava raised an eyebrow at her. "Well don't hit it that hard, silly."

Kanako then ran over to her mom and gave her a big hug. Ceroba returned the hug and hummed happily.

Ava watched and reminisced about the time her own mother bought her her first gun. Clover was about 6 when this happened. Ava was given a 22 lever-action for her birthday.

Ceroba must've noticed the human daydreaming. "Ava? Are you alright? You look lost in thought."

"Hm?" Ava snapped out of her stupor. "Sorry, it's just seeing you two like this reminded me of... better days."

Ceroba knew the look Ava wore. She knew it well. It was one she had to hide when she first met Clover. Simply put, she couldn't stand how accepting Ava was of letting it dress her face like that.

"Would you like to talk about it?" she asked. "I..." Ava began. A quick glance at Kanako made her think twice about continuing to bottle up. "...Okay," she sighed, defeated by Kanako's puppy dog eyes.

"Let's see... Clover was 6 years old at the time. I just had my birthday. Ma and Pa were still alive. They were taking us down to the gun range to celebrate." She smiled with sorrow, recounting the details. "There was a little competition going on, and I was just old enough to participate. I wasn't shooting to win, you know. I was just having fun. Imagine my surprise when the results came back and I hit expert in first place."

Ava turned her head toward the front gate. "I hugged my mother like you just did yours, Kanako. We left to get ice cream after... I miss those days." She closed her eyes. "A normal, happy life... I won't lie to you and say I'm not jealous you got to experience that."

"Sorry for your loss, Ava. Although, normal and happy weren't always what described my family life either."

Ava looked back at Ceroba. The fox woman was sympathetic. "Not long before I met Clover, my husband Chujin was dead. As for Kanako here, she was in a state of being between life and death. In my own panic, I sent her to Alphys' lab as there were flyers going around calling for people who had fallen down."

The human blinked and straightened her posture. Ceroba was talking about a time where she had been without family.

"For months, I got no response from Alphys as to the status of my daughter, and so I attempted something I almost certainly would never have forgiven myself for." Ceroba looked away in shame. "I had the intention of stealing Clover's soul to save my daughter."

The light furred fox looked at Ava, dreading to see what her reaction would be. Surely, it was anger, or at the very least, disapproval. But Ceroba wasn't sure. Ava's eyebrows were narrowed, but the human had an expression to match her own.

"Yeah... I get that. If it were me and I'd lost everything too, I'd more than likely latch onto the first hope I could as an escape."

Kanako took the opportunity to observe just how much taller Ava was than her mother. She was probably just half a foot shorter than Asgore. Were all humans this tall when they grew up?

"You're not upset with my choices?" Ceroba asked. Ava turned away from her. "I'm not saying I approve of or even agree with your actions, but I can understand. It doesn't matter anymore though, does it? Clover and Kanako are both still alive."

Ava leaned up against one of the support pillars to the porch railing. "And also, by this logic, we should both apologize to that doctor the next time we see her."

"What do you mean? I've already made my peace with her long ago," Ceroba said simply. Ava snorted. "You're bad at lying, Ceroba. I saw you glaring at her the entire time this morning. You didn't tell her to get out, but if looks could kill, she'd be dust within the first two seconds."

"Hey, mom. Can we get some Nice Cream?" Kanako interrupted. Ava burst out in laughter.

Chapter Text

LOAD FAILED

"What?!"

LOAD FAILED

"Why can't I...?!"

LOAD FAILED

"Oh, this is some bulllllllshit."

The flower was very unhappy. The flower was almost always unhappy, but this was a special case. Most of the time, he was unhappy because he was bored.

The buttercup flower woke up in the Ruins. He remembers having been there in wait for when another unfortunate human fell into the underground. His plan was to piggyback off of their momentum and acquire the human souls stored away at Asgore's castle for himself.

You see, the flower had no soul. He physically was incapable of feeling empathy. He could mimic it pretty well, but all in all didn't get the positive feedback the way most lifeforms do. Technically speaking, he wasn't supposed to be alive.

"Clover..." he mumbled. Something happened the last run he tried using him for. And as for the run that happened prior? Clover had killed him. Somehow shot him 8 times despite having a 6 round chamber. The flower died, only to come back later back at the beginning again. Only, it wasn't his adventure's beginning. It was Clover's.

This time around, Clover's mindset had flipped completely. He was refusing to fight everyone. What happened to the gusto and grit from the cowboy? Actually, what happened to the cowboy himself?

Let's see... the last thing he remembered was the fight at New Home that always happened if Clover didn't fight anyone. The young man was about to give Ceroba his soul.

The flower deemed Clover a lost cause and retreated to the Ruins, but as he surfaced there, a flash of light blinded him and here he was. He couldn't tell how much time had passed, but another human had definitely fallen down by this point. Although, it was strange. He could feel his save file had been overridden by TWO people, not just one. Had Alphys succeeded in her determination experiments?

If she did, that would explain why he couldn't hear anyone in the Ruins.

He exited the flower room and checked the halls as he went, stopping at an unattended assault rifle and ammo box. They were sitting next to a familiar hole in the floor beside a broken lever. The hole had been crudely patched up, but it seems it wasn't enough to stop someone from widening it and falling anyway.

The flower debated stopping by and observing how the queen was doing, but decided against it. She wasn't worth the time if he knew the most recent human took a different route.

Maybe he would just cut out the middle man and make his way directly to the castle. At least get confirmation Clover's soul was amongst the others.

…

Ava sat down at the Cafe in the Dunes. Apparently, they had a business relation to some guy in Snowdin who made ice cream, officially branded as 'Nice Cream.' The wonderful treat that warms your heart. She had to admit, it was good. Maybe not the best flavor she had as far as frozen goods go, but it was good nonetheless.

"Did you try the mint choco chisp flavor?" Kanako asked Ava. "It's really good!" she said between licks.

Ava couldn't help but grow fond of Kanako in the short time they knew each other. She really was that piece that holds a family together through the tough times. Someone you just want the best for.

Ava shook her head. "I appreciate it, but I don't think your mother's wallet does. One serving is enough for me."

Kanako pouted. "You know, one of these days, I'm gonna break that selfless mask of yours and you're gonna accept my kindness!"

The human looked over to Ceroba. "I don't think she realizes just how long that could take," she whispered, though Kanako could still hear her. Ceroba laughed and stepped up to the Cafe counter. "One more in Mint Choco Chisp, please."

Ava's jaw hung open. "You're serious?" Ceroba shrugged with a smile. "I don't mind. You've more than earned it already."

Ava's eyes narrowed. "But, I didn't do anything."

Ceroba brought the Nice Cream over to her. "To an onlooker, sure. You didn't do anything directly, but that doesn't mean you haven't helped us." As she sat down, she rested a hand on Ava's own. "For starters, Kanako has always been struggling with getting the hang of her magic. It took us years to get the barriers mastered. And as for Chujin, he's been in a rut lately. Your soul has given him a new avenue of passion. You've ignited a fire I haven't seen in him in a long while."

"And yourself?" Ava asked. "What have I done for you?"

Ceroba looked out the door. "You called me out. I've been holding onto a grudge I shouldn't have been for too long now." She looked back over to Kanako, who was gnawing on a popsicle stick.

"I needed a wake up call. Thanks for giving me that."

The human bit her lip. Why was she holding her emotions from them? Why did it feel wrong to let herself be prideful of her actions? This was a good thing, right? She should be proud.

Her phone started buzzing in her pocket. Ava set her desert down and accepted the call. "Ava speaking."

"NGAAAAAH! I heard you took a real beating! Let me know next time you almost up and die, okay? I got worried."

It was Undyne. Sounds like she didn't get much sleep.

"Was the bed rocky last night? You sound like my neighbor's cat. Hehe," Ava quipped. "Ah but yeah, the thought didn't cross my mind. I was sorta busy not dying, ya know? Sorry."

"Fufufu! Well it sounds like you're doing better than me. I was up all night getting those official records you asked for."

Ava tilted her head and held up an open hand in a questioning manner. "Why didn't you like, stop to get rest?"

"Hah! Justice never sleeps!"

Ava rolled her eyes. "If you say so. Just remember to use your own advice and take care of yourself. I'm the last person who should be reminding you. Anyways, what all did you find?"

Ava could hear shuffling papers on the other end. "I've got the official reports here. Just a sec."

She felt eyes staring at her. Kanako and Ceroba were watching her silently, and this was to be expected. Despite looking around to verify they were the only two people, save for the Cafe worker, who were looking at her, she couldn't help but feel like someone was watching her from behind. It wasn't a feeling she could shake off either. This was a presence she had felt before. Back in the Ruins. It had left just after she hung out with Dalv. Why did it return?

"Here we go," said Undyne, bringing Ava back into focus. It didn't matter if she was being watched. She had a job to do. "Chara Dreemurr, age 13. Arrived in 19XX. The first human to fall down, and the earliest. They were adopted by the Dreemurr family. Cause of death was ingestion of poisonous flowers. There's actually a lot more information on them but that can wait until later."

"That's... unfortunate," Ava mumbled. She had done her research on the missing kids before embarking on her journey. The case of Chara Dookowitz was a disturbing one. For a child to die so soon after escaping the hell cast unto them on the surface was truly tragic.

There was that presence again, tugging at her mind. It was getting more intense during the file description. The sudden urge to ask for more info on Chara gripped her.

"You said there was more. I..." Ava trailed off. What just happened? That wasn't her speaking. It was said in her voice, and it was her body saying those words, but she wasn't the one speaking. "Sorry about that. I'll ask about it later. What's the next file?"

"Uh... okay. The next report is on the first soul collected. A small boy named Gary Baker." Ava was jotting the information from both cases down. "This sounds like the one that disappeared around 198X. Is that correct?" she asked.

"Yes, actually. Gary Baker, age 16. Arrived in 198X. The second human to fall. Made it all the way to the castle and gave up their soul willingly to King Asgore. Known for unyielding kindness."

Whatever presence she felt before left without warning. In its wake was a disembodied sense of disappointment. Ava knew someone, or something, was trying to interact with her and had limited success. It was concerning, but she quelled the fear of what could happen for the sake of her mission. Back to the task at hand.

As Ava and Undyne continued the conversation, Ceroba was tuning more and more out. She looked at her daughter who had now started chewing on the remains of her bisicle sticks. This entertained her for a while, but then Ava began taking the lead in the conversation, which surprised her.

"Melody Schambeck, age 17. I knew her. I'm assuming she was the one responsible for 'The Snowdin Incident,' yeah?"

Kanako stopped chewing in response to hearing the words 'Snowdin Incident.' Ava knew her? The ballerina that took her father from her? The human that attacked her friend and tore her family apart?

Ava closed her eyes and frowned. "Look, I'm not saying she was a Saint. I get it. If she killed people, you were right to take her down. I just wish it wasn't as brutal a death as it was."

"Brutal death? What are you talking about? We didn't find a body, just her soul."

Ava's eyes snapped open and she pointed a finger in front of her at no one in particular. "You didn't find the body. I did, and I'm telling you right now, the autopsy wasn't pretty."

Ceroba tensed up. Ava had found the body? Given how Chujin hadn't been able to get a good night's rest for a month after he acquired the blue soul, it must have been grizzly.

"Do you want to move on to the next one, then?" Undyne asked. "I get the feeling you don't want to talk about it."

"Yeah..." Ava muttered, remembering her last words to Melody before she was hauled off to the military. She was the one person she got to say any form of goodbye to. Although in hindsight, there were better ways to say it.

"Kid, if they ever hit you with something, you hit back twice as hard. Got it?"

She was talking about the Dookowitz couple. Melody must've taken that towards everyone. 'When under attack, fight back.' What would've changed if she never said those words?

"Okay, so I actually couldn't find much information on this one unfortunately. Their first name is Clover. There was no last name documented. The age was estimated to be around 12 years. They were last seen at New Home. After that, they vanished."

"Mmm," Ava hummed. "No possible leads to Clover's whereabouts?"

She could hear Undyne groan in defeat. "It was what I spent most of my night trying to dig up, but no. I got nothing. Sorry."

Ava of course knew where Clover ended up, but not what happened and the circumstances of his transformation. This was fine with her, so she needed no further information on the matter.

"That's plenty enough, Undyne. Thanks for trying," Ava said coolly. "I'm gonna let you go now. Get some sleep, okay?"

She hung up the phone put it back in her pocket. Ava turned to face the Ketsukanes, although her eyes were down at the Nice Cream.

"Ceroba," Ava began with hesitancy. "You were... quite stiff necked during that last part."

Ceroba's heart rate increased. She didn't like where this was going.

"Don't worry about it. My main priority is towards Clover. If the capital doesn't know about what his is now, that won't hurt them."

Ava smiled, seeing as this seemed to calm Ceroba. It did, but only a little. Maybe she didn't put two and two together yet.

The human ate her Nice Cream and pondered. The information gathered today was enough for the criteria listed in the mission. It sounded like the bodies of the kids were stored at the castle, so she could gather the rest of the evidence she needed there. Just photos would do, given the context of what they were being held in. Melody was the outlier here. In any case, she should make her way to the castle. Scheduling a conference with the King would be a good idea.

Ava nodded her head. "You know what? This flavor is really good, Kanako. Thanks for suggesting it."

Chapter Text

"Are you sure that's a good idea so soon?" Kanako asked Ava. "The barrier isn't going anywhere. There's no need to rush things, you know."

Ava was leaning up against the palm tree by the oasis water. "I'm not in a rush, kid. I'm just a busy body. And yeah, I don't have to go there immediately, but sitting around and doing nothing will drive me crazy."

She also wanted to check up on Frisk. Clover would be safe with the fox monsters, but she had no frame of reference for Frisk's safety. It would be best to verify they were safe as they could be.

"Well, promise you'll come back soon. We're making chowder tonight, and you don't want to miss it, do you?"

Ava smirked at Ceroba. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll be back before too long." She waved as she started walking south down the road redirected east.

"Bye Ava!" Kanako yelled with a wave of her own. Seeing that joyous smile made Ava feel a bit warm inside. Ceroba's smile, while not as exuberant, also added to it. Was this what having a family felt like?

As they went separate ways, Ava let her thoughts carry her forward. She didn't stop to observe anything save for a Wishing well. Some monsters would look at her from a distance, but she didn't mind. She was used to it by now.

Soon, she came across the gates to a small town. A big sign overhead read, "The Wild East". Ava couldn't help but stifle a giggle.

The place looked like a tourist attraction for the old western movies she watched with Clover as a kid. It was almost nostalgic in a way. As soon as she stepped into town, more people looked her way. It was at this moment she was approached by a few of them.

"Whoa! You're alright?!" asked a very high-pitched squirrel monster. The voice was familiar. She heard it last night.

Ava stared at the squirrel curiously before looking up and to her left at the pink ogre wearing a tophat. "So, you're the deputy's sister, eh?" the big brute asked.

Deputy? Was Clover helping to run this town?

Ava crossed her arms. "Clover's feeling a bit under at the moment. I left him with the Ketsukanes so I could go speak with King Asgore."

Ed scratched his head. "That doesn't really answer my question," he quipped. "Adding to Mooch's question, how are you not stuck in bed right now? You were at death's door when we found you."

Ava blinked and looked at the other two who stepped up. A fish person, like Undyne, was accompanied by... something decked head to toe in dapper attire. Whatever monster they were, they were good at hiding their face.

"I'm a soldier. I'm used to knocking on death's door," Ava retorted casually. "I will agree though. This was a lot closer than the other times I almost died."

"Sounds like you've been through the wringer," the dapper monster said. "To clarify, Ed was talking about the human who was deputized here many years ago. It is nice you're concerned for the monster named after him, though."

Ava kicked herself mentally. She had to be careful who she was speaking so openly to. "Ah, right. Yes, I am Clover's biological sister. I guess I was just projecting my relations to the fox monster as if he were the same. Sorry."

The fish person nodded. "It's fine. He acts the same, so I get where you're coming from."

Ava locked eyes with the fish and squinted. "Are you... by any chance related to-" "Related to Undyne? Yes. It's been a common question since Frisk visited the Dunes."

"What's got all y'all crowdin' up over here?" spoke an unfamiliar voice. The accent was southern, if a bit crude. The group made way for the new addition.

It was a humanoid monster with yellow skin whose head was shaped like... well, a star. Each end was tipped with green. He wore a ten-gallon cowboy hat and a poncho. Boots with spurs hugged his feet and a silver revolver graced his hips.

Ava snorted and couldn't help but laugh a little. The stranger's welcoming smile became an uneasy one. She noticed this and bottled her laughter.

"Sorry for laughing there, hotshot," she said with a wide grin ever present on her face. "I was just expecting you to be a bit more serious."

The stranger frowned. "I'll have ya know, I'm the sheriff 'round these parts. My job is very serious!"

Ava's grin widened further. She walked up and pat his shoulder. "I'm just giving you shit. Hell, it's no wonder my brother was fond of this place." She extended her hand for a shake. "Ava Millet."

The stranger took it in his own. "The name's North Star, and welcome ta' The Wild East. Nice ta' meet'cha."

Ava looked him up and down once more. This 'North Star' was actually a bit muscular under those garments. She was taller than him, but she was taller than a lot of people so it didn't amount to much.

"Gotta say it first and foremost: You monsters are weird," she said bluntly. The sheriff raised an eyebrow, though it was hard to see. "What makes ya say that?"

Ava rubbed her chin. "I've no doubt made headline news for attacking someone in Snowdin. I also fought Clover in Waterfall."

North Star straightened his posture as soon as he heard that. Ava continued. "After that, I fell nearly 140 feet and could've died. I was saved by monsters who no doubt read the news by that time. That is what's weird."

North Star pointed to her hands. "Ya didn't kill anyone though. You'd have dust on them hands if ya did."

"Star, sweetheart, you're giving me too much of a chance here," Ava mused. She then held her hands in front of her. "I was found at the bed of a river, no? Who's to say what dust stuck to my hands washed off?"

North Star held her hands closer to inspect them. "Mmmm, no. Monster dust is 'lot less water soluble than ya think, Ava. Even if some was washed away, there would be a remnant stuck fer 'bout a day 'fore it disintegrates completely."

Ava huffed. "You're missing the point, Star. 'Didn't' doesn't mean couldn't."

"No, yer missing the point!" North Star stated adamantly. "Could doesn't mean would! If yer really Clover's sister, you'd have a feel fer differentiatin' what's right an' wrong."

Ava's left eye twitched. What was this guy's deal? She had made a good point, and he just invalidated it with another. She turned to see the east gate at the far side of town. North Star followed her line of sight and realized she was intending to just leave.

"Hold on, now! Where ya goin'? We just met, and ya ain't even gonna get ta' know us first?"

Ava grumbled. "I was hoping to meet with the king as soon as possible." She was committed to doing so, but she looked back to see the others were saddened by this. Under normal circumstances, she would've shrugged them off and continued. But, this place meant a lot to Clover, so it would be worthwhile to entertain the group for a day.

"How 'bout this then?" North Star said, tapping his revolver. "If ya can best me in a dual, ya can go on as ya please."

Ava smirked, amused at how he had pronounced 'duel'. "Alright. If you've got a gun for me, I'll play along."

North Star brandished a second revolver seemingly out of nowhere and handed it to Ava. The dapper monster came up to them and gave both safety glasses.

North Star nodded. "Thanks, Ace."

Ace and the others backed up. "I'm just surprised you're trying a duel this early after meeting someone."

North Star was going to interject, but his attention was swiftly directed to Ava who had walked over to the fence and lifted a big rock, hanging it under her arm. "Uh, what're ya doin'?" he asked.

"Holding this rock, of course." Ava's smile was back in full force. North Star squinted. "But why?"

Ava adjusted the small Boulder under her arm. "Because you wouldn't make the tenth pace pivot before me otherwise."

North Star looked a bit miffed. He wanted a fair fight, but he couldn't blame her if she wanted to handicap herself. He got lined up with her and said, "Yer loss, missy."

Ava nodded and the two began the pace. As she stepped away from her opponent, the soldier debated where she would place her bullet. Ideally, the torso, but she wanted to avoid causing too much harm. Her optimal bullseye would be below the ribcage, above the pelvis, and to the side as to avoid hitting any organs.

One of the Feisty Four yelled draw. Ava spun on a heel and cocked back the revolver's hammer. Because of what she was carrying in her off hand, her movements were slower than her muscle memory, forcing her to correct her aim. In the time she had done this, North Star had already locked in on his.

A rubber bullet exited the barrel and hit Ava square in the chest. This knocked her arm up slightly as her finger reflexively tightened around the trigger. The hammer released and let loose a bullet of her own. Ava righted her stance and watched as a spot right over North Star's heart on his poncho was pressed inward and he was sent to the ground.

"Shit!"

Ava quickly tossed the large rock to the side and ran over to North Star. She immediately went into pulling up his poncho to inspect the impact. This elicited a blush from North Star as Ava felt around his chest for skin openings.

She removed her hand and let out a sigh of relief. "Just some minor bruising," she mumbled with eyes half closed. Then they narrowed and she glared at him. "What the fuck are you putting in these bullets?! You need to work on your stance. I thought I had the wrong ammo for a second!"

The sheriff laughed and sat up. "Yep," began with a jovial grin. "Yer his sister alright."

It took a moment for Ava to process what North Star just said. The sheriff got up and started walking to the saloon. Ava stood up and handed Ace the safety glasses and her revolver. The Fiesty Four then watched as Ava bolted after Star angrily.

"Where are you going?! Get back here! We're not done talking yet!"

She disappeared into the saloon and the four traded looks. Moray spoke up. "Anybody else getting Ceroba vibes from her just now?"

Ed put a finger to his chin. "I can see it."

Ace just rolled his eyes.

…

The boy stood atop the apartment complex. The building remained standing, but a significant amount of the roof had been destroyed from their battle. In front of him lay the writhing amorphous mass of monster he once referred to as "Martlet." She had been reaching out for him in desperation. Desperation to survive. This effort was wasted. She lost what strength she had left and crumbled away.

The fight was long and hard, but he was victorious. All that was left was the castle. Or at least, it would have been. Life had other plans, and just had to throw one last obstacle his way.

"Great... This is just great!" It was Flowey. The two had been quite upset with each other as of recent. It looked up at him with great disdain. "Do you have any idea how much attention this will bring on us?! The entire underground is going to put up its defenses!"

Clover stayed motionless. This flower was no longer necessary. Has it ever been necessary? All it seemed to do was give him pointless instructions he could figure out on his own.

"I'm sure the castle is on full lockdown thanks to your recklessness!" The flower's eyebrows furrowed. "No... this won't do. You're gonna make this right, got that? You may have a 'shiny new ability,' but that doesn't change a thing!"

The flower scowled. "Go to the castle and smash its walls down! Tear it apart!! Do whatever it takes to get me my SOULs!!! To..."

Clover's fingers twitched. Flowey must have noticed this because his scowl fell flat. "Hey now..." he said cautiously. "I meant 'your SOULS.' You know that!"

Oh he knew what Flowey meant. He knew EXACTLY what he meant. Clover's hand drifted to his revolver.

The flower scowled again. "You idiot! What do you think you're doing?" He said as Clover drew his gun.

FILE OVERWRITTEN

The cowpoke aimed his ironsights at the flower.

"Fine! Looks like this is another dead end."

LOAD FAILED

Silence. Flowey and Clover were still atop the building. The flower was confused why the reset didn't work, so he tried again.

LOAD FAILED

LOAD FAILED

"What is this? What's going on?!" he exclaimed. Flowey was furious. "You little-! You're going to put a knife in MY back?! I'm the only reason you ever made it out of the Ruins!"

He lurched forward to enunciate. "Your BEST friend! Your ONLY friend!" The flower straightened itself. "Well, you know what? I've never been above betrayals either!"

FILE SAVED

Flowey readied an assortment of friendliness pellets and shot them at the gunslinger. Clover was as still as a statue, gun trained on the flower. As the pellets closed in, they vanished. He had reset again.

Flowey tried attacking again. This ended with the same result. He tried more and more times, changing up his attack vector with each attempt. In the end, it was fruitless.

I have to get out of here!

Flowey submerged into the building structure to escape, but immediately found himself set back by two seconds. Escape was impossible.

Realizing he was going to die and there was nothing he could do to prevent this, he laughed. His face contorted into one of pure manic. This little bastard was going to kill him with his own power, and he wasn't giving Clover the satisfaction of seeing him quake with fear.

"I HATE YOU! Every second that passes when I'm with you is more miserable than the last, and it's always been that way! The only time I-"

His words were dripping with venom as he spouted his true thoughts at Clover. But at that point, Clover had stopped listening. This flower was just a tool to be used until it was no longer useful. It had served its purpose.

His revolver had no bullets in the chamber due to how much he had expended in his prior fight, but with his newfound determination, he simply willed new ones into each chamber. His thumb pulled back the hammer and he fired. It felt good to kill this abomination, so he kept shooting, even after it had fallen over.

The flower was now a shredded husk of what it once was. Clover stared at it before promptly walking down the stairs to his right. Now was not the time to reconsider his actions. It was time to serve justice. No matter how grizzly it had to be.

…

Clover's eyes snapped open. He was laying down in a bed. His bed. Right?

Sitting up was a little jarring. His movements felt different. His body felt alien. He reached over to the bedside table to grab his hat and froze.

His arm was covered in soft brown fur. His fingers were tipped with black pointed nails like you would find on a dog's paws. But... this was how it was. This was his body as it had been for quite some time now.

It must've been the dream, then. It was so vivid. So realistic. He remembered what it physically felt like to be human. Wait, was it a memory? Was he finally regaining his lost life beforehand? Then again, if what he saw in the dream was real, maybe forgetting was preferable.

Maybe it was just Clover's soul. The one he had was always a mystery, but if he was really it's owner, then who was the monster? Was he the same as the original, or was the soul simply showing him experiences of its own past? Wait, no! Martlet was alive! That dream couldn't have been real.

He climbed out of bed and rested his hat where it belonged. He should talk to his father about this. His... father... This was getting confusing.

The young fox readjusted his belt buckle and shirt. He gripped the doorknob to his room and started the twist, but held still when he overheard his monster parents talking out in the hall.

"Chujin, we've been over this. It's Ava's decision to not be Alphys' test subject!"

"I'm not saying she has to, Ceroba. I already have enough data to separate the traits and reverse engineer her regenerative magic. But still, even if I had all the pieces without Ava's help, Alphys is still necessary for it to work!"

Clover removed his hand from the door, opting to sit still and keep listening.

"I'm certain Ava will understand. This is an opportunity that cannot go to waste."

"...But, what makes you so sure what you've discovered can be applied to monsters? This is a mage soul you're talking about here. The serum you derived from the blue soul killed you! What the hell is this going to do to people?!"

"I'm not uneducated in my field this time, Ceroba! I was operating on concepts before, but I've got the fundamentals now. Because of how the samples react with Clover's blood, I have a template. The key to what's missing lies within Alphys' research. I know it does!"

"Let's say you and Alphys can get along and actually work on it. What are you hoping to achieve?"

"This isn't about what I want, Ceroba! It's about the families of those who weren't as lucky as Kanako and myself. This is for them."

The voices were starting to calm down now. Clover didn't know the most about souls, but he knew about family enough to see how this could potentially lighten the weight that monsterkind had to bear. It was the right thing to do. It didn't matter now if he was the same Clover as the one that fell into the underground. He was making sure his father and Alphys would finish this research.

Chapter Text

Frisk looked over their shoulder. Someone had been following them since they got to New Home. They knew they were at the safest place in the underground, but it wasn't much for reassurance. Whoever it was managed to disappear whenever Frisk looked their way.

Alphys had gone back to her lab, and Undyne was doing Royal Guard stuff with Papyrus. Sans was nowhere to be found. That just left the king to guard Frisk.

"Dum dee dum..." the king hummed, watering his flowers. He turned to glance down at the child looking off in the distance. He stopped watering and put the watering can down. "There. All done."

The behemoth of a goat lifted the child up into his arms and carried him to his living quarters. "Alright, Frisk. Alphys told me this was important. What did you want to talk to me about?"

They looked up into the king's eyes as he placed them on the mattress. Asgore knelt down by the bed frame and waited.

[* You inform Asgore you're both being observed from a distance.]

"..." Asgore stared in silence. What was he supposed to say? This room had no windows. The door was closed. The walls were at least 10 inches thick. How could someone be spying on them?

Did Frisk feel unsafe? Had the human they visited threatened them? No, not according to Dr. Alphys' report on her visit.

[* You tell Asgore the observer is leaving. This seems to relax him. You both feel safer knowing this.]

The king stood up and nodded. "Well, that is good to hear." He smiled, but was hiding his concern. "Would you like to Gerson's newly published book with me?" he offered gently. It was an attempt to take focus away from what troubled them.

And so, the two read together.

The flower was pissed that a human not only had survived to reach the king yet again, but was now living with him. This useless old king was only reliable for killing his pawns. The moment he wasn't chess master, Asgore was okay with letting them live?

And the human? They were one of the people who overrode his determination. The king was now their pawn to make use of, not his. It made sense now why the king wasn't killing them on the spot for their soul.

What kind of name was "Frisk," anyway? A stupid one. Fitting, given the absurdity of the situation.

He burrowed under to the barrier room. He couldn't access the souls that resided there, but he remembered Clover's essence enough to verify his soul wasn't around.

So he was still alive. Did that mean he was the second person overriding his determination? If he was, then by golly, Flowey should go and find him and have a chat for ol' time's sake.

After all, there was much that he missed out on, and much catching up was required.

…

Water drenched her socks as she scuttled along through the trash pits. It had been a while since she last set foot here.

The item dumps in Waterfall calmed her nerves. She came by often before Frisk had shown up. Exploring this place was her coping mechanism for depression. It was where she belonged, after all.

She thought she was stronger. She thought she could tackle her problems so long as her friends were with her, but when she needed the strength the most, she couldn't utter the simplest of words. Just like that, her facade had crumbled.

Ava was right. She had no backbone. She was garbage, and she knew it.

She slumped her shoulders and dug around some. Maybe there was some anime she had been missing out on. That always cheered her up. Anime wouldn't judge her.

"Hey. Hey! HEY!!!"

Alphys jumped and caught her glasses before they fell in the water. She quickly straightened them and peered forward. Just ahead of her stood a familiar silhouette. A life-sized figurine of a cat girl, specifically from Mew Mew Kissy Cutie.

"W-what?!" the lizard lady squealed in shock. This was the same exact Mew Mew Kissy Cutie life-size doll she lost a while back, but it was animate?

The cat girl frowned at her. "What are YOU doing here?!" she yowled.

"What?" Alphys repeated. "I'm just dumpster diving. I-I'll be going soon enough."

The cat girl growled and furrowed her eyebrows. "Ridiculous! You are drowning out your troubles! Eh, what's with that look? Myew're telling me you don't recognize me?!" The cat put her hands to her hips. "I used to see you here all the time!"

Alphys looked around her. This was just the normal dump. Nobody was ever there with her except for an odd training dummy that sat in the corner.

"Wait..." Alphys narrowed her eyes. "Y-you were possessing that dummy the whole time?!"

The Mad Mew Mew stomped her foot and struck a pose. "I knew you'd remember me! I knew it! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!!!" A wild grin presented itself to Alphys. "I always thought you had moved on and decided to keep Undyne happy! I was here for your date, you know."

Alphys sweat dropped and grinned nervously. "Y-you saw... me mistaking th-the human for..."

Triple M put a finger to her chin and smiled. "I remember them. They taught me to be true to myself and not rely on anger to fuse with my body." Her expression fell flat. "I'm uh... still trying. B-but! I'm making progress!"

"You h-haven't fused with your body yet?" Alphys reiterated.

The Mad cat girl shook her head and huffed. "That's not for you to worry about! You're still sad and sulking!" She picked up Alphys with surprising strength and carried her along out of the trash pits. The lizard woman squirmed and frantically tried to right herself.

"W-whoa! Where are we going?!" she stuttered. The pink cat's smirk grew wide. "We're going to 'The Stash!'"

Alphys was soon greeted to a hidden dugout excavated neighboring the land lot where Undyne's house once stood. In it was a bunch of random junk, a TV, some wiring snaking off to who knows where, some cushions and a couch in surprisingly good condition, and a big collection of movies, documentaries, and anime.

Her kidnapper put Alphys down and pointed to the stacks. "Pick a movie or something! I've got a lot of things people gave me during my stay here."

Alphys scuttled over to the wide array of discs and CDs. The sheer amount of different anime and cartoons she had been missing out on. There was so much to see here. The corners of her lips tugged upward. Maybe today wasn't so bad after all. She got to watch anime with a new friend.

As the two got settled in on the couch and cushions, Triple M put the disc Alphys chose in and pressed play.

"So, about you and your body..." Alphys began. "If you're having trouble fusing with it, I have w-ways of... helping with that."

The mad cat girl thought to herself. 'What does she mean by that? This is the same scientist who made Mettaton's body, so maybe she's referring to a body transfer?'

"No. No! NO!! I'm not leaving this body. It's perfect!" She looked over to Alphys with a fire in her eyes. This was her body. HERS.

Alphys shook her head and put a hand up. "N-not like that! I'm not trying to remove you from your body... althoughifyouwantIcouldbuildonefromscratchthatlooksextremelysimilarandIcanworkoutallthedetailsbecauseIhaveMewMew'swholecharacterknowntoatee," she blurted. Her eyes went wide and she promptly shut up. 'WHAT AM I DOING????' she screamed internally.

Mad Mew Mew sat and stared at the screen. It was true she found this body of hers in Alphys' lab, so maybe Alphys knew more about her design than she thought. It couldn't hurt to try.

She straightened herself and held up a finger. "Alright! But, I get to say what gets added. If I like it, I'll consider it payment for cheering you up. Deal?"

Alphys couldn't help but feel that this 'deal' was fairly one sided. She did offer it though, and it was something to do.

"D-deal!" she stammered. The lizard lady reached over to shake Mad Mew Mew's hand. This motion shook the couch into lightly bumping one of the piles of stuff nearby. This light bump was just enough to knock one of the CD boxes from the top and a few other things down to the floor. The CD box bounced off of Alphys' head and into her lap. "Ow!"

Mad Mew Mew moved to pick the stuff that had fallen up. "Sorry. That's my sorting pile. I haven't looked through it all just yet." She motioned for Alphys to give her the box in her hands, but she was met with nothing as Alphys stared at the cover.

"Operation Enduring Freedom... The tragedy of Outpost Bella," she read aloud. Alphys looked at the faces on the cover. One stood out among the rest. A female. It was Ava.

She flipped the case over and sure enough, Ava Millet was in the list of names. This was her story, or at least part of it. The doctor hopped off the couch and replaced the CD in the TV with the one in the box. Her curiosity was too much to deny.

The documentary started on an interview.

"The words 'chosen few,' and what they mean to me?" Spoke a voice. On the screen was a human. In the bottom left corner, a name and rank was displayed. This was a soldier. "I'd have to say they're God's selected few. They're uh... heroes... There's nothing and no one better than the chosen few."

Alphys sat back down and looked on intently. The camera cut to a different human being interviewed.

"When we first got into Chosen Company, it felt weird b'cause most people had theirs named 'Bravo' or 'Charly' or y'know."

Another footage transition.

"What was your opinion when you were told you'd be heading to Wanat?"

"Heh, well... first thought was 'this is gonna suck.' But then again, this is my family, and if family has to go somewhere, you're going with 'em. I didn't wanna let the boys down like that. They were in this shitshow too. They knew it as much as me though. Nobody wanted to be there. We all knew it was gonna be a bloodbath. The only question was 'When?'"

A familiar face showed itself. It was a younger Ava Millet. In the corner with her name was a ranking of Corporal, along with a bit of text reading; "Distinguished Service Cross."

"My opinion? I was terrified. Yeah, I didn't show it... but at the same time, I couldn't. I didn't know anyone else in this platoon aside from Cole, and we got transferred there together."

A little further into the documentary and some overhead footage was shown being recorded from surveillance.

…

Shrapnel scraped and cut into her back as the RPG that was meant for her missed by a few inches and detonated into the building behind her, pushing her forward onto her front. She yelled "CONTACT!" at the top of her lungs.

Blood streamed down her back as bullets started flying overhead. She hoisted herself up and scrambled for her M4 carbine. The shrapnel in her back was painful, but it only served to keep her neurons firing.

A quick scan of her surroundings revealed that numerous RPGs had been fired and alerted several insurgents to move to combative positions. The TOW launcher had been taken out, along with numerous defensive vantage points. Incoming insurgent fire was accurate and close by. The hotel, mosque, and bazaar were all being used as enemy machine gun positions.

Ava sprinted through with her head low to command and dove through a window. A single bullet managed to strike her lower chest as she did. "Aaaah!!!" she bellowed. "Fuck!" Abahd swiftly drug her away from the window and to a corner so he could help patch her up.

"Ava! There you are! Command's called for assistance from First Platoon. They'll be here as soon as they can, but we're dealing with a large scale assault."

Ava nodded and grit her teeth as Abahd removed pieces of shrapnel and bandaged her. The roar of a constant gunfight made it hard to hear. "Trucks have been taken out along with the TOW. I couldn't get a read on the mortar positions, but I'm not hearing as many as I should be going off."

"Topside is cut off from the perimeter. OP Rock is providing long distance cover via ordinance but with how the mountain's crested, they'll have to hit danger close."

Shortly after, Ava stepped up to man offensive countermeasures. Half an hour passed with only one member of the platoon killed and three injured. As the fight dragged on, hundreds of bullet casings on the floor, two B1 bombers dropped explosives off in the distance, cutting off an enemy reinforcement.

Ava noticed a group of insurgents moving up the hill towards the Topside fighting position. The men from Second Platoon were suffering heavy losses up there, but they were holding their ground. That wouldn't last at this rate, though. She moved to a different window facing them and began shooting to give Topside a head start.

Despite the TOW vehicle being disabled, its crew had mostly been unharmed. They moved in to reinforce command. One brave soul unstrapped a reserve TOW and threw the explosive ordinance at the encroaching enemy forces before hopping over a sandbag wall.

The mortar pit had come under heavy fire as well. An RPG managed to light the ammunition reserve on fire, causing the mortar team to flee to command. Topside Outpost was still struggling with leeway. They needed support. They all did, but more than the rest, Topside was being stressed from all angles.

Ava gathered some supplies and turned to the platoon sergeant. "Topside is getting overrun, Sarge. First won't arrive fast enough to help them. We need to move in. Now!"

"Ava's right," said the platoon sergeant. "I suggest taking two routes. Me and another will cut through the gap between the hotel and the bazaar. Ava, get six others and meet us Topside to help reinforce fighting positions." He turned to face Abahd. "You and the rest will provide cover fire until we reach half way. After that, your primary task is keeping comms with OP Rock functional. If one of us pops a Hot Mike, you'll know by the smoke."

They split off as Abahd manned an M240 machine gun to apply pressure and make way for Chosen Company's advance. At this time, the flaming TOW vehicle's missile reserves caught fire, sending missiles through the Outpost at wild angles. This served to help Chosen cover more ground as one of the missiles flew into the hotel, killing several insurgents. Ava and the others moved through the scarred mountainside and pressed on from the eastern path. The platoon sergeant and specialist assisting him made it through the gap undetected thanks to the TOW and reached the Topside Outpost first.

The two quickly stacked sandbags and were shortly killed alongside one of the remaining paratroopers who tried to assist with the defenses. As the rest of Chosen's dispatch raised the incline, Ava and Specialist Dean picked up their bodies and rushed to re-fortify. Four of the remaining nine posted there were still alive, and only two were able to fight as Cole was patching up the other wounded soldier. More enemy insurgents showed up and were focusing them now that they were a larger force.

Ava popped a signal jammer and tossed it over towards the west. Yellow smoke billowed out of the canister as radios went static. Seeing how the platoon sergeant was K.I.A., she was now acting leader. She didn't like having to give out orders, but it was her role now. "Grab the wounded and fall back to the command center! I'll cover you!" she barked as she grabbed the radio off of the dead sergeant and bounded over the sandbags.

The rest were picking up bodies and laying suppressing fire. Ava dashed through the wood line and engaged insurgents in close combat, taking out a position and moving on to another. As the Corporal became a nuisance in the enemy's back lines, the radio kicked back into focus.

"Outpost Rock, this is Topside Bella! Topside is going to fall if reinforcements do not arrive soon! Where the hell is First Platoon?!"

Ava looked back towards Topside. That was Cole's voice. Why hadn't he joined the others in rerouting to command? Why was he just staying there?!

She ducked behind some rubble and shot three Taliban soldiers approaching her and caught sight of the small team she arrived with making it back to command safely. That was good for them, but there was absolutely no way in hell she was going to just up and leave Cole behind up there.

Cole had managed to find a leftover grenade launcher and was lobbing shots at Taliban near the mosque. Ava dove over the sandbags, startling Cole and he whipped around to face her. Relief was instant, but the look on his face was that of regret. Contrarily, Ava was smiling.

"You're okay!" She slung his arm over her shoulders and hoisted him up. "I mean, your leg's bleeding, but you're alive. Let's get out of here."

But Cole shook free from Ava's grasp. "Negative, Corporal," he muttered firmly. "We can't give up the high ground. I'm staying."

Ava's smile turned to perplexion. "What?! No! Command is safer, and backup is on route!"

Cole gave her a warm smile. "I'm sorry Ava, but this position is vital for ensuring the insurgent reinforcements can't get an approach vector. This is my choice, Corporal. Let me do this."

Ava was fighting inside. He was being difficult. He wanted to go and be a hero. He wanted to sacrifice himself for the team. He was being reckless. He was...

He was right.

Ava looked to the incoming wave of Taliban soldiers. If they got footing in this Outpost, they would have a golden vantage point to aim ordinance at command and even shoot down incoming air support. He was going to hold this point. The only question was if she would stay with him or not.

The choice was obvious. She got in this mess with Cole. She was getting out of this mess with Cole. But despite how she felt at that moment, a decision had been made for her.

By the time she knew what had knocked her back, a bullet had burst through her shoulder. A bullet that should have been going a lot faster.

It had passed through something else first.

Ava moved her arms to catch Cole. Pain wracked her shoulder, but it was nothing compared to what she had experienced when she laid eyes on the side of Cole's head. Cole Monayak... her beloved, had just died in combat saving her life.

She grabbed the radio receiver. "I NEED A MEDIC AT OP TOPSIDE!" she screamed. She wouldn't. She couldn't believe Cole was gone. So she lied to herself and said he needed medical assistance. But as the sun began to rise in the east, no response rang from the radio.

"I need a med-evac!" she cried again, this time more desperately. She got no response. The radio antenna had been destroyed in the time it took for her to get back to the outpost. So she did the next best thing. She called out. She prayed for help...

...But nobody came.

Chapter Text

Ava held Cole close to her chest and wailed. Her hopes, her dreams, shattered in an instant. This cruel world had forced her into a pit just to step on her when she reached rock bottom.

She held her hand over his face and closed his eyes. At least his was quick. Her pain was just beginning. That bullet was meant for her, and in that moment she wished it would have just hit its mark. At least then, Cole would still be alive. He would still be...

A power welled up from within as she lingered on the thought. He was truly gone now, wasn't he? The truth burned itself into her retinas.

Why was she still here? The coalition forces had been working to improve standing with the local populace, but even since day one, they had been treating Chosen Company with utter disrespect. Not inviting the commander to shurs, shooting one of their own 'accidentally,' not expressing external condolences after the fact, refusing to help coalition forces unless utmost protection was guaranteed even though that was impossible with what they were given. And now, the insurgents had used the very town they wanted to strengthen relationships with as a forward operating base for an ambush.

They had taken something precious from this world. Something they shouldn't have, and she was determined to show them this. She made her way to the mounted M240 and began firing on the Taliban advance.

Although nothing seemed amiss to her given her current state, time around her seemed to slow down, and her accuracy with each fired round improved considerably. She didn't notice because she was too focused on putting a bullet in every last one she saw. She also didn't notice all incoming return fire was deviating away from her.

In the span of 53 minutes, she had single handedly repelled or killed 70 would-be attackers. As the sun continued to rise, two friendly apache helicopters showed up and were assisting with suppressing fire.

A four man element finally reached Topside to help defend, but by that time, it was no longer a focus for insurgents. Ava helped cas-evac Cole's body and immediately descended to help clear Bella of attackers for the remainder of the four hour long engagement. Counterinsurgency was met with little resistance where Ava was involved. Counter ops reported that she had been unusually fast and aware of enemy locations, as if she could see them through walls.

The wound on Ava's shoulder finally took its toll on her, and she collapsed due to blood loss. She was ex-filled with the remainder of Second Platoon to recover.

She lay belly down on the stretcher as she was hoisted up to the helicopter. The numbness dulled her senses, but her mind was sharp enough to mull over how life had done its absolute most to rip away every good person she had grown attached to in life. It wasn't fair.

Why did she get to live?

…

It was concluded after the events that had taken place in Wanat that morning that the command center was placed in a poor position and that better planning could have saved those lives. An investigation was performed, and the commanding officer in charge was deemed negligent of the early warning signs given by the local populace.

Alphys read the words on screen and slumped back on the couch. She wasn't new to the idea that humans were extremely good warriors, but watching the UAV footage of Ava shrugging off bullets and killing or badly wounding potential attackers from 100 yards away from multiple directions was truly amazing... and scary. The scariest part of that was she was using magic without knowing. The fight would have been ever far more leaning in her favor if she did.

"How did you find the strength to keep fighting for as long as you did?"

"...I didn't. I just knew I had to. It wasn't a matter of kill the enemy first or get killed. It was just kill... Failure to honor Cole's last act was unacceptable. But... I was also running on rage."

"You saved lives, Miss Millet. Your bravery gave command enough time to get in and evacuate the rest of the wounded. What are your thoughts?"

"...I think you've been misinformed. That's what I think."

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't killing them to prevent an assault on the command post." Ava leaned in. "I was killing them because I was pissed off. If you want to talk about saving people-"

Alphys couldn't watch anymore. She hopped off the couch and ejected the disc. Understandably, Mad Mew Mew switched the CD for something more light-hearted.

"...Why did you want to watch that again?" Her unease became frustration. "Cheer up! Don't put another one of those in, got it? Mew?"

Alphys looked over at the pile behind the couch. "Y-yeah. I got it." She hung her head and sighed. "I was hoping to... I don't know. I guess I just wanted to get to know more about her without direct conversation. She's an intimidating person."

Triple M's eyes snapped to her incredulously. "YOU'VE MET HER?!" she shouted. She lowered her volume after Alphys flinched. "The one that was in that one spot for like an hour?"

Alphys nodded and put her hands together to fidget. "I might be reaching a bit here but, I think her problem with me stems from a distrust towards bureaucrats. Not that I am one at heart, but I technically fit that description."

"Is she here in the underground? Is she the one who hurt your feelings?!" Mad Mew Mew’s fists clenched.

"Yes, b-but that's not entirely why I was upset. I-I... I'm not confident enough. I'm still being punished for my ineptness."

Triple M raised her fist defiantly. "Nyo! You're wrong! You're wrong!! YOU'RE WRONG!!! You've got plenty to be proud about! We're going to talk to this Ava person right now!"

"W-wait!" Alphys protested. Just like before, Mad Mew Mew picked her up and took off.

…

"Achoo!" Ava sneezed and wiped her nose on her arm. She was fixing a problem with a mounted TV in the saloon.

"Bless you, sweetheart!" Dina, the bartender said. The TV was a relatively new addition. A relatively old model, like the one in Star's house. This one was a lot less heavy though.

"Thanks. This thing should function properly now." Ava closed the back and put it back on its wall mount.

North Star chuckled as it flickered to life. "I didn't know ya were an electrician," he mused.

Ava shrugged and put her multitool in her pocket. "I'm not a licensed electrician, nor am I an engineer, but I've worked with enough of them to have a general grasp of concepts. Plus, who else is gonna fix the odd TV in the barracks when it's filled with a bunch of idiots?"

She stepped up to the bar and sat down next to Star. The armadillo monster on the other side of it smiled graciously as she continued washing dishes. Ava found a monster keeping garden snakes as pets a bit unusual.

"So uh, Ava," Star began, briefly avoiding eye contact. "How do ya feel 'bout this town so far?"

Ava looked around the saloon. "...Nostalgic, sort of. I'm not really a cowboy fan. I know where the inspiration comes from, but... It's just bringing back memories. Both good and bad."

"I'll buy ya a drink n' we can talk 'bout it," he offered. Star pulled out some G and gave it to Dina. Ava quickly motioned in the negative. "I don't drink alcohol. Root beer's fine."

Dina nodded and she poured them their respective drinks. Star held up his glass and said "cheers."

Ava clinked her glass to his and took a swig. She put the mug down and stretched her arms. "I'm not sure what all Clover told you about our life on the surface."

"Nothing."

"Come again?"

"He didn't talk about his life before he up and forgot it all," Star explained.

"...Maybe he was trying to forget. Can't say I blame him if so. Just know that ours was a good family, while it lasted."

The door to the saloon opened and the Feisty Four entered. They brought some movies from their shared household. Ava smiled while they set it up. It was a bit amusing to watch a group with such a variety of heights working together.

"Did ya have a lot a family?" Starlo asked. "Just puttin' it out there, yer givin' me some mixed messages here."

Ava stared at him blankly for a moment. "No... We had our parents and that was pretty much it. Farm life was pretty secluded, and what other relatives we did have were too far away to come and visit. Even before the accident."

Starlo cocked his head to the side. "Too far ta visit? That's ridiculous. Just how far-"

"Right, I forgot you underground folk are used to being stuck in limited exploration ranges. Let's see..." Ava tapped her fingers on the bar, calculating a rough distance of Snowdin to Waterfall. "Okay. I think I've got a good picture for you. This here is Snowdin," she said as she put her right index finger down on the counter in front of Starlo. She then brought her right middle finger to sit right next to it. "This other finger is Waterfall. This finger here," she held up her left index finger. "This finger is going to POINT to the metaphorical distance between Snowdin and our farm on the surface."

Ava then pointed the finger at the wall beside the saloon's front entrance. "That's how far that distance is."

Starlo gave her a wide eye. "That's... pretty far."

Ava nodded. "Correct. Now, take that distance and multiply it by fifty and you've got how far it is between our farm and our relatives."

"Wow. I didn't know the world was that big," chittered Mooch. "It would really suck to have to walk that far."

"Oh, you think that's far? That was just the distance from Texas to Oregon. The whole planet? Multiply that by... mehhh 'bout thirty and you can wrap it around the circumference of the Earth."

"What kind a corn did ya grow?" Starlo asked. Ava squinted at him. "How'd you know we grew corn specifically?"

"Doesn't every farm grow corn?" he asked. This was a constant with the movies he had watched.

Ava stifled a laugh. "Not all farms grow corn, North Star. Hell, not all farms grow plants." She poked his shoulder. "For a cowboy fanatic, you sure got a lot of gaps in the homestead department."

North Star huffed. "I've got a lot a' experience with farmin'!" he blurted defensively.

A sly grin crept up Ava's lips. "Is that so? What plants were you growing? Ten bucks says it's corn!"

Starlo's frown deepened as the others joined Ava in laughter. She grinned and put her arm around Starlo's shoulder. "Lighten up, sad sack. Being teasy is just how I get along. In fact, I think this is the most fun I've had since I showed up in the underground."

"Ooh, what's this?" Mooch asked. She was holding onto a particular necklace. Attached to said necklace were a set of ten dog tags. Military ones, not actual dog tags.

Ava spotted it and pat her pant leg. Time froze for her as she realized Mooch had searched her pockets undetected. "When the f-? Give that back!" She fell off her chair and scrambled to clench the necklace without delay. Moray helped her up off the floor and Ava dusted herself off.

"That wasn't very nice, Mooch. I thought you were done doing that kind of thing," said Ed. "Jewelry isn't money, okay? You didn't have to go that far."

Mooch shrugged and stared at Ava. The human was no longer in a happy mood. She glared at the gray squirrel. "You do that again, and I'm drop kicking you over a building."

Mooch, unfazed, asked "Who's names are those?"

The muscles in Ava's neck visibly tensed. "These names are none of your business."

The tension in the room rose, but the movie playing on the TV redirected it as a familiar song was played on a piano. Familiar to Ava, and the one Dalv had played for her when she was at his house.

"...This is... this was his favorite song." She held the necklace in front of her. "I'm not good at the piano, but Cole was. He played this chart music before our deployment to Afghanistan."

Her eyes half closed somberly and she offered a moment of remembrance. "The tags I carry belonged to those we had lost six years ago as well as my own. A reminder of what I fight for." Her hand tightened into a fist as she clenched it tighter. "A reminder of what happens when you let down your guard."

"Sounds like you've been through the mill," said Dina. Ava closed her eyes and pocketed the necklace. "More times than I'd like to admit."

She faced the door. "Mooch, was it? I'm sorry for snapping at you. Seems like that's a problem I've been dealing with recently. I want to get better at withholding my anger, but it's not that easy. Opening up is something I struggle with, so my emotions come out in droves. Hanging out was fun, but I think I better get out of your hair."

Ava stepped out of the saloon and set her mind on returning to the estate. Her head snapped to the west at the sound of a gun going off. She took off down the road to the Oasis, and the Feisty Five shortly after followed suit. Starlo knew the sound of Clover's SOUL bullets. This was much louder than normal, so something was very wrong.

Despite the grief you must endure, you are brought one step closer to your purpose.

FILE SAVED

Chapter Text

Flowey had managed to duck in time. As for the rock that was nearby the Eastern Mines, it was practically gone. Clover made a mental note to reel it in with his attacks from now on. He wasn't exactly expecting the blast to be small, but even he agreed it was a bit overboard.

Flowey popped out of the sand with a scowl. "Seriously? Come on, Clover. This is the first time I've seen you in years and you shoot at me?! Some friend you are."

Clover glared and fired another shot. This attack left the spot Flowey was just at charred. Charred, but mostly intact.

"I don't care what you have to say!" Clover snarled. "You were the worst thing to ever happen to me!"

"Really now?" Flowey said coyly. "I don't remember telling you to shoot first. That was your choice to make. I only fed you positive reinforcement after you were on your way."

Flowey almost didn't dodge Clover's next shot in time. In the distance, he sensed someone approaching. The energy inside this person's soul made them undoubtedly a human, but something else resided in them as well. Something familiar.

He popped out of a small hill of sand and deadpanned at Clover. "Ugh... You're seriously not going to tell me why you're a monster now?" he asked, annoyed. Clover once again refrained from speaking and blew a hole through the ground Flowey was at half a second prior.

Several thorny vines shot up from under the fox boy and he jumped over and backwards. The vines grew thick and walled off the pathway. Flowey surfaced and winked. "Well, since you're not going to be any fun, I'll just go say hi to your friend over there instead!"

Clover shot at the vines a few times. The blasts were enough to weaken them, but they regained footing quickly. This enraged him further. He shifted his aim to where Flowey was before the vines blocked his view of him. The chamber of his revolver glowed a brilliant yellow as he ramped up the power.

The young adult felt a sudden coldness in his chest accompanied by an exponentially increasing pain in his ribcage. His gun's glow was silenced as it dropped to the ground. Clover collapsed as he finally realized what had transpired.

Flowey, malicious grin wide as ever, had been behind him since the vines first went up. "You're just as easy to predict as you are stupid!" The flower tilted his head as it rose up to eye level. "Did you really think I'd try to block you with something as unreliable as a wall?! I just needed a distraction!"

Clover tried to focus on his soul, to try anything to keep it from getting absorbed, and it worked. Flowey became agitated and tried to yank and tug at the yellow soul, but Clover wouldn't relent.

Flowey scowled. Then he grinned. "Stubborn as always, partner. Any other monster would already be dust by now."

The vines that were previously blocking the road now wrapped around Clover and filled in the hole in his chest. Flowey entangled himself with the boy and prevented Clover from bleeding any further.

"Buddy. You really think I didn't have a work around for this? Sure. I can't absorb your soul completely so long as your body and brain are still alive," Flowey's maniacal grin returned. "BUT THAT ALSO MEANS YOU CAN'T STOP ME FROM USING YOUR SOUL MAGIC!"

Clover couldn't speak. How could he? He didn't have the strength to stand. If Flowey wasn't supporting his weight with his vines, he'd be on the ground. He wanted to just close his eyes and die, but Flowey was ensuring he couldn't. The flower was draining his determination and using some of it to keep his vitality afloat.

He was a passenger in his own body. He couldn't breathe, but he also didn't need to. Clover would've thought more on it if he wasn't so deprived of his senses. An ear twitched. Someone was coming.

"Clove- WHAT THE HELL?!" Kanako shouted in shock, Ceroba and Chujin in tow. All were too stunned to make sense of the situation.

Ceroba's eyes widened as she observed Clover's condition. Tattered shirt and bloody remnants of his Polka-dot bandana decorated his chest. This thing had been maneuvering his body around like he was some puppet. This thing didn't have the right!

She summoned her staff as Flowey made Clover pick up his gun and point it at her. This stance coupled with the lack of expression from the boy awakened a sense of deja vu in her. An image of her fighting him in The Wild East. A feeling of being entrenched with fury. A nagging message of Starlo's death.

And just like now, that Clover was being puppeteered by this flower. It was different, though. He was being coerced into action. Right now? He was being forced.

Ceroba dug her nails into the staff and bared her teeth. This thing was holding her adoptive son captive and feeding off of the regret he expelled. Maybe it was a message from him, to show he was still alive. Maybe it was to show her what he feared he would do if the flower got past her. Either way, this petalled bastard was in for a world of pain.

Flowey smiled with glee as he noted Ceroba's reaction. "My, my, someone's ready to throw down. But tell me, how will you kill me and not him?"

Ceroba's grip loosened slightly. Any attack she threw out carefully wouldn't be enough to kill the thing safely. Clover was at death's door. His soul was barely visible behind all of the vines. He was still hanging on, but he wouldn't last if not treated immediately.

"Oh, silly me. That's right. You can't. You can't save him." Flowey's face contorted to something more wicked and fierce. "You can't even save yourself! Hahahahaha!"

Flowey pumped soul power from Clover into his gun and fired at Ceroba. She blocked it with a barrier, but there was no comeback option. She just stood there, ready to fight but not willing to fight back. She felt powerless.

"Haha! This is fun! How 'bout another round, partner?" Flowey said snidely as he put a lot more energy into the next shot.

Ceroba raised another barrier. Given how strong this attack looked, it wouldn't block it completely. Still, what choice did she have here?

The dazzling glow of a big shot burned through the air as it shattered her defense and kept going. She closed her eyes and accepted the irony that she was about to be killed by her own child.

"Keep your eyes open, Ceroba!" Chujin shouted. He and Kanako had reinforced the shield. "You're worried about Clover. We all are, but there's more at stake here than just him!"

Flowey jeered. In his attempt to savor killing the fox monster, he neglected the intervention of the others present. "I had almost forgotten about your pathetic family. Last time I checked, they were supposed to be dead."

The flower smiled normally and prepared a barrage of friendliness pellets and vines. Chujin and Kanako's legs were then ensnared from below. Ceroba's eyes darted to them in panic.

Flowey lurched forward from Clover's shoulder. "Let's fix that, shall we?"

Something dashed past Ceroba before she could make out what it was. As she saw a familiar green adorning their figure, the red soul they projected became a vibrant orange. This in turn caught Flowey off guard as all four of them, and by extension Flowey, were blown away from the orange soul in front of them. This forced the vines rooting the foxes in place to separate, freeing them.

Kanako fell forward to her hands and knees. Her magic was limited, and she used what she had on that shield earlier. Turns out you're less conservative with energy if someone close is in danger. It worked, but she'd need to hang back for a bit to restabilize her soul's magic flux.

Chujin stood up and got ready to start attacking, but stopped in his tracks when he saw Ava had already taken the initiative. The sand blowing around had slowed as she pushed her palm into Clover's left wrist. Unfortunately, Flowey wrapped a vine to the gun to prevent it from falling. This bastard had matched her speed and accommodated for her strike.

The gun glowed again. She was too close for it to hit her, but that didn't seem to matter to the thorny menace puppeteering her brother. Something strange happened with this shot. She could sense the energy moving from Clover's soul into his arm and into the chamber. Then, there was a bang.

Ava heard Kanako sharply inhale behind her. Following shortly after was a scream of anguish from Ceroba and a sharp "NO!" from Chujin. She didn't have to turn around to know what happened. Just like how she could sense Clover's soul distributing magic, she could sense Kanako's soul fading.

When did she awaken this power?

The flower cackled in her face, taunting her. "Congratulations, idiot. You just got an innocent monster killed! You even lined the shot up for me. How thoughtful of you. Hee hee hee."

Ava growled and tightened her grip on Clover's arm. Flowey grinned. "You wouldn't hurt someone so close to dea-"

Ava interrupted him by crushing Clover's wrist with her own and snatching Flowey by the base of his stem with her free hand. Now that Clover's magic could no longer travel to his gun, he was useless to him. The flower's smile fell flat as he realized this was not the type of person he could play games with.

Flowey could feel Ava's death grip tightening. "You fool! I'm the only thing keeping this moron alive! You kill me, he dies too!"

"You're too slow to escape if you try to keep tethered to him. You'd have to disconnect eventually. From my perspective, the choice is simple."

"You're a sick woman, and that's coming from me!"

"You're wasting your breath, and it doesn't seem like you have much left."

Flowey glared at Ava's cold face. She had managed to stay unwavering through the sobs and sounds of panicked healing magic in the background. He couldn't read her.

Electing to take the smarter option, Flowey started taking as much magic as he could from Clover in preparation to make a mad dash. Ava could sense him gathering. She knew what his next move would be.

Flowey shoved Clover and his soul against Ava as he sprung away with a substantial boost of energy. Ava had no intention of following the flower and went to suppress Clover's blood flow. Her goal was accomplished, but the conditions surrounding it were dire.

The flower sped past Mad Mew Mew and Alphys approaching from the west. The scientist's eyes widened. "Th-the flower?!" she exclaimed, still being carried by the cat girl. Then she heard the sound of desperate parents.

Mad Mew Mew sped up and set Alphys down beside the Ketsukanes. The scientist scuttled over to Clover and whipped out a syringe with a white substance in it and plunged it into his soul. It was a special concoction she had been working on since the amalgamates were let go. A vast improvement to what she injected them with.

Within seconds, his wounds were sealing up and he could breathe properly again. His wrist contorted and bones reformed. He remained unresponsive, but he was alive. Ava lay him flat on his back and walked over to Kanako.

Her side had been practically erased, and her soul was starting to crack. Her internals were exposed and there was no block to prevent the soul magic from bleeding out. Ceroba and Chujin were both slowing it to great effect, but they couldn't keep it going forever.

"Your son is going to be alright, Mr. and Mrs. Ketsukane," Alphys relayed. She added some of her own healing magic to help accelerate the mending of Clover's more situational injuries.

Ava summoned her soul in front of her and brought it close to Kanako's. Chujin and Ceroba looked up at her, unsure of what she was doing. Ava's soul gained a greenish hue and seemed to connect a stream of energy to Kanako. The fox parents exchanged looks as the veteran lifted Kanako in her arms. The fox's magic stopped seeping from her soul. The cracks were still there, but they didn't worsen.

At long last, the Feisty Five caught up with her and stood helplessly as they took in what was before them. Ava looked to Starlo with frustration.

"You took your sweet ass time getting here, farm boy!" she barked. Starlo flinched. Ava huffed and looked to Ceroba. "You and the five will stay here and look after Clover," she ordered.

"What about Kanako?" Ceroba asked.

Ava turned to Chujin, ignoring her. "Grab your research. We're going to Alphys' lab."

The Royal Scientist looked up. "Wh-what did you say?"

Ava knelt down to meet her eye to eye. "We're going to your lab, and you are going to do whatever you can so that this ball of sunshine survives."

"...I'll need to-"

"You'll need to conduct experiments on my soul, so you'll do it when we get to the lab,” Ava interrupted. “Now quit wasting time and show me the way there."

Chapter Text

Snowy walked out of the librarby with Monster Kid, holding a piece of newspaper for them to read.

"Isn't this news just chilling?" the snowdrake asked. MK rolled their eyes and read the first few lines aloud.

"'Breaking news: Human saves numerous lives and fends off an unknown threat!' Come on, Snowy. Doesn't this just sound like one of Mettaton's plays?"

"Don't give me the cold shoulder just yet, MK. There's pictures on the next page."

Snowy flipped the newspaper over and showed them the attached image. MK looked it over and paused when they saw who Ava was carrying.

"Yo, that's Kanako!"

The two heard footsteps crunching through the snow. MK smiled, but it wasn't as warmly as they wanted it to be. "Hey, Noelle!"

The deer lady waved as she approached them. She gestured to the newspaper in Snowy's grasp and asked, "May I?"

Soon, another two sets of footsteps tracked through the snow as Undyne and Papyrus arrived. Wanting to know what the commotion was about, Undyne looked over Noelle's shoulder at the photo.

"NGAAAAAH! Can she not go ONE DAY down here without getting into trouble?!" Undyne shouted, making Noelle jump. "She almost DIED yesterday! Why doesn't she take a little precaution?!"

"WHILE I DO ENJOY A GLORIFIED EVENING ENGAGEMENT, THINGS LOOK TO BE A BIT DIFFERENT HERE." Papyrus put a hand on Undyne's shoulder. "I DON'T THINK THIS WAS HER CHOICE, UNDYNE. THAT EXPRESSION IS ONE I HAVE SEEN ON FRISK WHEN THEY CAUGHT THE COOLSHED ON FIRE. I BELIEVE THIS HUMAN BLAMES HERSELF FOR THE PROBLEMS SHE RAN INTO. BUT, SHE ALSO LOOKS FRUSTRATED. SOMETHING WAS OUT OF HER CONTROL."

The four of them looked at him astounded. Undyne raised an eyebrow. "Papyrus, how the hell'd you get all of that from a picture?"

"Where is that at again? Hotland?" MK asked, looking at the picture again. "This is the Royal Scientist's lab, right? We should go give Kanako a visit!"

"Won't we get in trouble for missing school?" Noelle asked.

Undyne wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her close with a huge grin. "Not at all, kid! This is your friend you're talking about. Whatever moron thinks that's not worth bending the rules a bit for is gonna get a talking to from ME!"

A bead of sweat trickled down Noelle's face. "O-okay. I guess we are going."

"THEN IT'S SETTLED. I'LL GUIDE THE WAY," said Papyrus. He started marching towards Waterfall. "ONWARD!"

…

Sans stood outside the exit to the Ruins with his hands in his pockets. He had been standing there for about ten minutes, contemplating if he wanted to know how Ava's trip up until Snowdin played out. With how willing she was to blow him off and keep going, he dreaded what could've gone down within.

Ever steady, Sans gave the door a good knock and waited. A few minutes passed with no response. Was she...

Sans straightened his slouch when he heard movement from the other side. "Just one moment!" a voice spoke. Sans let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Thank God. Toriel was still alive. The door cracked open and Toriel stepped in between the door and its frame.

"Heya, Toriel. It's been a while. How've ya been?" Sans asked.

Toriel raised an eyebrow. Was there a pun in that opening? There wasn't. That's not how Sans usually starts his greetings with her.

“Sorry for the delay, Sans. I just had a slight detour today. It seems another human has fallen down, but I could not find anything aside from this contraption and some bizarre bolts in boxes near a hole in the floor. I thought I patched it up pretty good, but they must have fallen through despite my efforts."

Sans looked to the items Toriel was holding. It was a gun of sorts. This definitely belonged to Ava.

"So, she dipped, eh?" he joked with a grin. While at first, Toriel felt the smile tug at her cheeks, she noticed something about Sans' joke that stuck out to her.

"Sans, why do you believe this human was a girl?"

Knowing that lying to her would be a mistake in the long run, Sans sighed and confessed. "I... I fought her."

Toriel's eyes widened. "You what?!"

Sans put up his hands defensively. "Whoa! Listen before you start berating me, okay?"

Toriel reclaimed her prior calmness. She motioned for him to explain.

"So, you remember that promise I made to you a year ago? I've held true to it this whole time."

Toriel set the gun against the door and crossed her arms. "Sans, where is this going?"

"Where it's going is, I was trying to protect more than just Frisk this time. This human is extremely powerful. She's killed before. She was difficult to read, but if it wasn't monsters she's been killing then..." Sans looked to the side. "I didn't want to put anyone at risk. Not Papyrus, and not Frisk either. I didn't find out until after she chose not to kill me that the two knew each other."

Toriel took in the information. The human had made it through the abandoned deeper Ruins and to Snowdin before getting into a fight? How strange. And on the one day Toriel didn't check the flower spot too.

"Do you still believe she is dangerous?" Toriel asked. "Or that, she cannot be reasoned with?"

"...Maybe she can. I haven't heard anything new about her since she fell down a ravine in Waterfall."

Toriel's face drained of color, even more so than it already was. "Is she alright?"

Sans shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't gone to check on her. If I was her, I'd just want to be left alone," he quipped, making finger guns as he did.

Sans' pocket buzzed and he looked down at it. He pulled out his phone and viewed the caller ID. It was Papyrus. Sans' grin lessened. Why would Papyrus be calling him right now?

"Hey, Paps. What's up?" he asked.

"SANS! WHERE ARE YOU?! THE HUMAN IS AT ALPHYS' LAB. SHE'S... DOING FINE, BUT SOMEONE SHE BROUGHT WITH HER IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION! I EXPECT YOU TO BE HERE SHORTLY."

Sans squinted. "The human? What happened?" he asked. But the line was already dead.

The skeleton looked to Toriel. "I guess I'm needed at the lab," he said. Sans started walking away. He heard footprints behind him and stopped.

"Take me with you," Toriel requested. "If this stuff belongs to the human, it would only be right to return their property. And also, I would like to meet them myself."

Sans looked at her and then to the gun nervously. "Uh... Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Toriel lowered her hand a bit. "It might not be, Sans, but it would still be wrong to withhold it from them."

Sans thought it over. "Alright," he said finally. The skeleton took Toriel's hand. "Walk with me then. I know a shortcut."

…

The monitors beeped and devices whirred. Sounds of keys being pressed and notes written on paper passed by Ava's ears as she isolated herself. Compared to the noises of the lab, her thoughts were deafening.

I'm really screwing things up, huh? How many mistakes have I made since I got here?

Ava brought Kanako to her chest and held her close. The past night and into this morning were dragging on for far too long. But she had to be patient. Kanako would wake up eventually. She had to.

Chujin got a call from Ceroba that Clover was already awake and walking around the house. That serum Alphys had worked. Apparently, it was meant for use on Frisk should they be caught in a pinch. Frisk... What would they think of the person Ava was now?

If I could go back and try again, would it even matter? I'd still remember that it happened. I don't even know how to reset. Do I even have to? Clover is okay. Kanako is also... going to be...

The soldier felt a wetness on her cheek. What was it? Sweat? No. This had a different feel to it. Her vision was getting blurry. She had been awake for a long time now. But she couldn't fall asleep. No losing focus. If she did, how would Kanako's soul be kept in check? The only acceptable option for her now was to be patient and persevere.

The door to their room opened and in walked Chujin holding a syringe. He stood over at their bedside and inspected Kanako's soul. It was slowly mending itself to his relief.

The boss monster then looked over Ava and started a fight to use the ACT menu's Check option.

Ava Millet LV 4  HP 50/50

ATK 80 DEF 480

Kanako's proximity to Ava's soul is the only reason Kanako survived.

He ended the fight and stared grimly at his daughter. Chujin never wanted her to get involved with his work. He stated as much in his tapes. Yet, here he was doing that exact thing. But in this situation, he had to succeed. There was no room for error.

As for Ava, Chujin wasn't sure he could bear to see her in this state. Sure, she wasn't bruised or bleeding, but it was just how unresponsive she was that put him off. She wasn't speaking. She refused to lay down. She wouldn't eat. Was Kanako really that important to her?

Chujin moved to expose Kanako's abdomen and produced the syringe he came in with. "Here goes nothing," he whispered and injected it into her soul. He withdrew it and put the needle in a sharp’s container.

Kanako's finger twitched, but other than that, remained motionless on the bed in Ava's arms. Then she started coughing. Ava could feel Kanako's soul light up dimly within her. It wasn't as alive as Chujin's, but it was alive nonetheless. After the coughing fit, Kanako gripped the pillow near her head and shuffled slightly to get comfortable.

"She's still asleep, but it looks like the serum worked." Chujin looked at the human holding his daughter. "This should keep her going while you get some rest, Ava."

Ava remained on the bed upright, still tethering her soul to Kanako's. "I'm not sleeping until her soul is fully reformed. Sorry." Her words were slow.

Chujin looked over to Kanako. "Her soul is fully reformed. She just needs rest. Like you. If you must, sleep beside her, but you need to sleep too, okay?"

Ava begrudgingly shifted Kanako off of her and lay on her back beside her. Finally absolved of focus, sleep was quickly approaching her. Satisfied with this action, Chujin stepped over to the door.

"Sweet dreams, you two."

"Goodnight, Dad," Ava let slip without realizing, reminded of a different time in her life.

Chujin's ear flicked. What did she just call him? He turned to look at her over his shoulder, but she was already out cold.

He dimmed the lighting some more and quietly left the room. Maybe he should take a break with some shut eye too now that things weren't so dire. He sauntered on over to Alphys and told her the news.

"The serum worked flawlessly. She's exhausted, but she's stable. No abnormalities in the soul, and her body has completely regained her lost mass, although I can't be sure if that's because of the tests or Ava."

Alphys nodded as she looked over some records. "Ava is a fascinating variable here. The membrane of her soul regenerates faster than her body does. Not to mention the sudden boost to her stats."

"While she is a topic I'd like to discuss, there is another I want confirmation on first now that we have the time."

Alphys adjusted her glasses. "O-of course. Um... The injection I gave to Clover, right?"

Chujin nodded. "I was wondering, seeing how potent it was going in, whose determination did you inject him with?"

"Oh! That's a funny story actually!" stammered Alphys. "So, as you know, I made it with the intention of use on Frisk. This was back before they confronted Asgore and fought. It was actually made for that fight in mind, believe it or not."

Chujin raised an eyebrow and Alphys started to sweat. "I wasn't trying to stab King Asgore in the back! I just didn't want Frisk to... to..."

"You wanted to give them the best chance they had," Chujin finished.

"Y-yes." Alphys looked over at the screens displaying Ava's soul data. "They have a similar power to Ava, you see. The ability to completely undo damage they receive in mere seconds. I asked them to help with my research and they accepted. This would lead to the discovery of how a human's soul integrates with the body it is hosted within. I wanted to make a dose strong enough to replicate that power for when they were in a pinch, but when I gave them the syringe, they declined and told me to use it on someone who needs it more."

"Someone pure of heart," Chujin mumbled. "That sounds familiar. How did you know Clover wouldn't end up like Kanako did that one time?"

Alphys shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't. I just thought that if any monster could withstand Frisk's determination, it would be Clover. He has a boss monster soul, but the soul is specifically formed like a human's is. Add on the fact that he was bleeding. I'm willing to believe Clover was a human in a past life as outlandish as that sounds."

"Yes, that does sound outlandish," Chujin cut in. "Outlandish that you went right forward with injecting him. Usually, you're more hesitant about things and overthink them, which brings me to how Ava knew Clover would survive. Under normal circumstances, I'd expect her to be protecting Clover as hard as she is to Kanako now."

"Is that the other thing you wanted to talk about? Her soul powers?" Alphys asked. "I've been monitoring her magic output. It's increased by at least tenfold since your data after she fell down at Waterfall."

Chujin put a finger to his temple. "Was it possibly caused by the near-death experience?"

"It's probably a factor, but I don't think that was what set the ball in motion." Alphys pulled up the magi-metric data of Ava during her fight with Sans. "She was already using magic back then, but she didn't know it. This fight took place right after she ate at Grillbys."

"So, you're saying monster food is giving her powers?" Chujin joked.

Alphys scratched her head. "I was just, uh, denoting when it happened, although... You might be on to something."

Chujin blinked. "You're serious? I get that monster food is magic and therefore supplies magic, but how would this relate to unlocking her powers?"

Alphys pointed at the screens. "It's not the food itself, Chujin. I think it's what she's doing before, during, or after she eats," she hypothesized. "Undyne said they had exchanged stories from their military experiences. Some of them were... Well, I believe the key to unlocking Ava's powers is linked to genuine expression."

"Genuine..." Chujin trailed off as he thought about yesterday's breakfast. Ava's back and shoulder showed little signs of improvement prior to eating. Not much was said, but she seemed to be enjoying herself. Shortly after, Alphys arrived and Ava's back and shoulder were all but healed.

Chujin closed his eyes and pondered. "If your theory holds true, something must've happened when she was in The Wild East. Something big for her to release that controlled explosion on the flower. I'll have to ask Starlo about it later."

The flower... That's right. I was so focused on these experiments, I completely forgot that the flower caused this. This travesty is my...

Alphys shook her head. She may have brought it into existence, but she was not to blame for the flower's actions. Still, the flower was alive and sentient. She needed to review her old records. "Chujin, it's your turn for a sleeping break. I'll keep going. I have some things to look into now that I have the chance."

Chujin nodded and stepped off over to an empty room. "See you in a few hours," he said before closing the door. On the other side, he sauntered over to the bed and lay down. Finally a chance at rest, but his thoughts were plagued by something.

She called me her dad. Perhaps... Perhaps she doesn't have anyone to fit that description anymore. I wonder if she'd let me...

He drifted off.

Chapter Text

The morning after...

"I'd like to thank you, Doctor Alphys. Sorry for tacking you to the board of people I viewed as incompetent or incapable. Clearly, my first impression of you was misguided.

"I'd also like to apologize for putting all of this on you at once. It takes a lot to act in the moment when so many things go wrong. You have truly earned my respect, and I assure you, trust isn't something I just give out for free."

Alphys stood there, uncertain of herself. What do I say? WHAT DO I SAY?!

She put on some false confidence and smiled. "Actually, I've been meaning to check on your physical state. How do you feel after only four hours of sleep?"

Ava ran her fingers through her hair. "It had to have been longer than that. I feel refreshed. Revitalized, even."

Alphys ran her fingers over some keys. "Really? That's..." she drifted off.

Ava looked around the room. Specifically, she was inspecting the large, mouth-like machine connected to hundreds of 16-inch cables in the back.

"Hey, any reason why we're performing a check up next to Audrey II over here?"

"That's the Determination Extractor," Alphys explained. "It sounds foreboding, but it's the only machine we have here with powerful enough sensors to explain what's going on with Kanako."

"What's wrong?" Ava asked.

"Nothing's wrong, Ava. She's recovering faster than predicted, even. And, uh... that's what we're trying to figure out."

Ava stood up from her seat. "Am I supposed to be inside the jaws for this to work?" she asked, looking at the bizarrely shaped feat of engineering.

"The sensors are set to scan the whole room. It's a bit overkill for its intended purpose, but it works out perfectly for us here."

Alphys then gave a thumbs up to Chujin through the window to another room. A loud hum emanated from the DT extractor. Ava could feel a slight tugging sensation from her chest, but it left as quickly as it came.

"It captured! We're done!" Chujin shouted.

Ava felt around her sternum and took in a deep breath. "That felt weird. So, what all does the scan tell us?"

"Come on over in here and have a look," Chujin offered. "I can tell you right now, it's not what I was expecting."

Ava walked over to Chujin and stared at the generated image on screen. "This looks like a fungus' hyphae. All spindly but without the dirt it's holding together. What am I looking at here?"

Chujin pointed to a spot on the screen where the most color had been concentrated. "This is where you are. As you can see, a lot of magic is surrounding your soul. The amazing part here is that all of this excess magic you're producing is being sent through what you described as 'hyphae' to Alphys right over here,-" He paused to point at a focal point in the room where magic had been concentrating. "-and some is being sent to presumably me in this room right here. Judging by how the coloring fades, it's likely weaker with distance."

Ava looked at her hand. "Am I bleeding magic then? Should I be concerned about my safety?"

"It's more concentrated than if you were just 'bleeding' it. This looks more unintentionally intentional. I wouldn't get too worried about it though. Mages are notoriously known for generating seemingly infinite pools of magic," Alphys explained. She then doubled back. "Or... that's what the books on them have led me to believe. Given that some of them were written by an old colleague of mine, I'd be surprised if this was misinformation."

Chujin nodded. "If I may be honest, it's astounding the sheer heft of production compared to how little magic was circulating in you when you fell at Waterfall."

"Are you both using this magic?" Ava asked.

"I suspect this has something to do with why we had so little sleep," he posited. "You've been developing new utilities since you showed up. Some seem to be beneficial to not just yourself, but to others around you as well."

"I know knowledge is power and forewarned is forearmed," Ava nitpicked. "But just say yes next time."

Her frown relaxed a little and she closed her eyes. She could feel the closeness of Kanako's soul in the other room. Ava found relief in how well it had recovered, but concern in... something she couldn't quite pin down. These powers were so alien to her. As someone who had spent her whole life without them, it was akin to having multiple new limbs grafted into her spinal column. And this... sensory ability? It was like a form of radar. What was the cause of all this development in one night?

That... uneasiness with Kanako's soul was really starting to bug her though. The soldier walked out into the hallway down to the observations room where Kanako was resting. Alphys noticed this, but just correctly assumed she was going to check on the young fox monster.

Kanako was growing restless. This wasn't her bed, but it was a familiar one and her body knew it all too well. This was wrong. She wasn't supposed to be here!

She sat up and looked at a younger Kanako's arms. To say her form was inconsistent would be an understatement. Holding herself together took too much concentration. The young fox collapsed and started to feel her body become unrecognizable. Suddenly, this made sense.

Clover had shot her. She was being punished for having been unable to protect him, and now she was reliving hell. As she recognized this, the brown fox depressingly lowered herself into the puddle of her own body amassing at her feet.

Clover, I'm so sorry. I nev-

"Kanako?"

Kanako opened her eyes and blinked a few times. Her vision was a bit foggy, but she knew with how her body felt, it was still in one piece.

"Hey!" Ava said, snapping her fingers a couple times. "Are you okay, Kanako? You were hyperventilating."

Kanako stared at Ava in the doorway and then up at the ceiling. She was safe. Ava gave her a warm smile and sat down on the corner of the bed. Kanako sat up next to her.

"Nightmares?" she asked. "Yeah... Life threatening experiences can do that to ya."

Kanako's ears drooped. "You have no-"

"Idea?" Ava cut in with a raised eyebrow. "You do realize who you're saying that to, right?"

Ava took Kanako's hand in her own. "Wanna talk about it?" she asked.

A sudden chill ran across Kanako's lower right side. Upon investigation, she found a rather large hole burned into her kimono. Despite the obvious entry point of the blast, her body was completely fine. She poked it to make sure.

"I..." she began, fascinated by how clean the circumference of the whole was. She managed to tear her focus away from that in order to answer Ava's question.

"It was a memory. The first time I woke up in this room." Kanako looked over to the bedside table. "I was overwhelmed by how dull everything felt. I tried to call out for mom, but my voice was deep and guttural."

She hugged her knees close to her chest. "I was alone. Even if there were others in the adjacent rooms in similar situations, they weren't people I knew. Not to mention how hard thinking became. Then again, I might've gone bonkers if I could think normally. My body had been reduced to a melted mush I could barely hold together."

Ava sighed to herself and thought over what she just heard. "Well, at least you had that going for you."

Sounds a lot like being trapped in one's own...

"Hey... Kanako, can I trust you to keep a secret?" she asked half rhetorically. "If not, it's fine. Just know the story I'm gonna tell you could get me put behind bars for if they ever found out I'm violating terms of non-disclosure."

The fox gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I can keep a secret," to which Ava nodded.

"Good. I'm going to tell you what happened after I got med-evacced at Wanat many years ago."

…

She stood in the kitchen stirring a pot of corn chowder. This was the same chowder meant for Ava last night.

The golden furred fox sighed. Why was life never simple? It seemed there was always something to toss a wrench into the mix. She couldn't help but worry for her children. Who wouldn't? One of them had been shot by the other, and the one who fired was being puppeteered by some... thing.

The flower. Something about it made Ceroba's fur stand on end. A deep rage imbued within for how it held Clover in place the way it did. And the vision she had when she saw it. She didn't know how it was possible for her to know, but the flower had done this exact thing to Clover before.

"That chowder's gettin' mighty hot there, Ceroba," Starlo commented, drawing her out of her thoughts. "Any longer with that much heat under 'n it'll start to burn."

Ceroba turned down the heat and continued stirring. "Sorry Star. It will be ready in a few minutes."

Starlo leaned up against a wall. "Can't stop thinking 'bout last night?"

Ceroba said nothing. Her answer was obvious.

"Me neither," the cowboy mumbled. "I can't stop seein' it. The dual I had with him when he first showed up." Starlo shook his head. "Only, the atmosphere was different. He was holdin' a loaded gun, and he intended to use it."

"We could ask him," Ceroba suggested. "About the flower, I mean."

The door slid open and Clover stumbled in. "What about him?" he asked with some effort. Ceroba runs over and attempts to help support his weight, but Clover refuses.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Ceroba asked. Clover sat down on a stool and clenched his fists.

"Like I could kill someone at any moment," he responded dryly. Ceroba and Starlo traded worried looks. Clover hung his head and kept his eyes under the shadow of his hat. "Not that I want to. I just... know that I can, like some mental restriction has been removed."

"Well, uh..." Starlo begins. When he can't find words to guide the conversation away from the topic of murder, Clover does it for him.

"His name is Flowey. That's what he calls himself, anyways. I'm not sure what his real name is. He might've slipped it in one of his timelines, but if so, I don't remember."

Starlo raised an eyebrow. "Timelines?" he asked simply. "What's a plant monster got to do with the concept of time?"

Clover lightly chuckled. This unsettled Starlo, and his attempt at lightening the mood was shot down by this sudden shift in Clover's demeanor. At the same time, Clover's mock grin became a frown.

"It sounds ridiculous, I know, but you've already been born witness to circumstantial evidence in its favor."

What is he talking about? Why is he speaking like this? Ceroba thought.

Clover lifted his hat, and a pair of yellow eyes stared, alternating between the two of them. "Come on, Uncle Starlo. Think back to the incident at New Home. Do you really think a run of the mill orphan bumpkin could make it all the way through The Ruins to New Home in less than eight hours without injuring others or being injured a single time? You didn't think it was a little strange I was able to stumble through each answer and get the correct option each time? Statistically speaking, it's almost impossible."

"You're saying this 'Flowey' made you succeed?" Ceroba asked.

"I don't know how it works. At least, not completely, but the long and short of it is when something unfavorable happens, he made it unhappen. I only found out just how deep he could reach after I..." Clover trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence. An overwhelming dread filled the pit of his stomach.

Starlo quickly moved from his leaning on the wall to the corn chowder and turned off the stove. He could hear Clover start to cry behind him.

"Honey, are you okay?" Ceroba asked.

Clover wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "No, mom. I'm not. I... I killed a lot of people."

"No, you didn't," Ceroba stated firmly. "You didn't kill anyone. I can tell your soul is troubled, but you're still the shining symbol of justice for the underground. If what you're saying about this flower is true, you were a victim of circumstance. This wasn't your doing."

"That's not... I wish I could say that was how it happened." Clover sighed and continued. "From the beginning, he wasn't changing how I interacted. I jumped down the hole of Mt. Ebott with the intent to defend myself if things got violent."

"Self-defense is-" Starlo began before Clover held up a hand.

"Not a good excuse for my actions, Starlo. I first thought that Queen Toriel tricked me when I pulled the wrong lever and the floor gave way. That's when I met Flowey. That's when I started killing.

"By the time I made it to Dalv, I was already numb to it. I had fully accepted that anyone who challenged me would die by my hands. I just didn't know that the only reason I was able to survive for how long I had was because Flowey kept resetting every time I died. In that sense, he was my lifeline."

"So, he was feeding you positive reinforcement for your actions?" Starlo asked. "He wanted you to keep killing people."

Clover shook his head. "Yes and no. He wanted me to keep going, but it wasn't until I first exited The Ruins where he gave me caution as to the route I was taking. He even seemed to discourage it for a bit. Everything after that was a blur until I found Martlet."

Ceroba wanted to comment. She just couldn't find the right words. He wasn't going into detail, but she knew his words had weight to them. Clover was notoriously bad at lying, but this was concrete.

"She was the one who was fighting for their life this time. I shot first, and she even gave me a few chances to turn around before she defended herself. It's because of this I chose to let her get away when she tried to flee."

"...And then you moved on to purge The Dunes," Ceroba mumbled. "That vision of me standing next to Starlo's hat while you pointed your gun at me... it happened, didn't it?"

Clover nodded. Starlo grit his teeth. "So, because of this flower, you had to go through killing everyone you loved down here over and over?! That low-down scoundrel! I oughtta-!"

"If it's any consolation, I never came across the Fiesty Four in that timeline. I didn't know you all as family at that point. To me, you were only obstacles in the way of putting Asgore on a pike."

"The Steamworks..." Ceroba's chin lifted a little. "You went through The Steamworks. No wonder you got the generator working so fast. You did it before."

"I turned on the generator, but only after I ordered Flowey to force open the gate blocking my progress. He wasn't happy about it, but I didn't care. I had become callous." Clover leaned forward and rested his elbows on his legs. "Just like with the other places, I had searched out every cognizant being I could to destroy them. Machines, even though soulless, were subject to annihilation. And then I found Axis.

"Apparently, being at such a high LOVE can trigger his backup drives, because he was able to remember his encounter with Melody and describe it to me. An emotion was evoked, and I had ascended to a new plane of existence. Flowey didn't realize it, but he could no longer influence the timeline at the point of Axis' destruction."

"He was locked out?" Starlo asked. "What happened after you left The Steamworks?"

Clover stared forward. "I created a save point, but let Flowey think he was the one doing it. At this point, he wasn't necessary, and only served as a means of information."

"You took his power from him." Ceroba affirmed. "That's why he attacked you, right? He wanted to take it back?"

"If I still had that power, he would be dead by now and Kanako wouldn't have been shot," Clover pointed out, shifting uncomfortably on his seat.

"This is all a bit hard t' wrap my head around," Starlo said with a forming headache. "Who has this power now then?"

"With absolute certainty, it would have to be Ava or Frisk."

"What makes you so sure?" Ceroba asked.

"Remember yesterday morning when I went to go lay down? Well, I got flashes of the past timeline in that moment. That was Flowey trying to reset, but someone in the room with us was preventing it."

"How'd ya know that?"

"I don't know how I know, Starlo. I just know." Clover threw his arms in the air. "As for where we left off, I shot him eight times after he revealed he was just using me to get to the five souls in Asgore's basement."

Clover clasped his hands together and he recounted. "Even after completing this mission and freeing the lost souls, I felt unfulfilled. Without Flowey to keep my thoughts from distracting me, I got to thinking. 'The monsters deserved this fate. I avenged Melody and the others, so why do I feel so empty? I did the right thing, didn't I?'

"Obviously, it didn't sit right with me. I thought back to how distraught mom was when I... shot you, Uncle Starlo."

Ceroba studied his face. He was withholding something, but Clover would never tell her he went back to kill Martlet. He just couldn't bring himself to.

"It became clear to me that there was more going on here. I just needed a different approach. So, I did the logical thing and reset the timeline with a new mission in mind. The plan was simply, 'make everyone happy.' This is our current timeline, and Flowey was none the wiser."

"That answers... some questions, but-"

"Hold on, Mom. I'm almost done explaining things. Just a little bit longer and I'll be done, okay?"

Clover...

Ceroba was fighting to keep her stoicism. She had developed a knack for it over the years, but the knowledge that this devil plant put her little boy through hell pissed her off to no ends. What troubled her the most was that he was convinced this was his fault.

"I can't fully explain what happened that day. I only knew that you needed your husband and child, and I needed a family. That was your wish as well as mine. This power could let me do that," Clover explained. "But for this to work, for this family to be happy, I needed to truly be a part of it. I needed to forget who I was. I think... that's why I got turned into a monster."

Ceroba wrapped her arms around him and hugged Clover close. "You-..." the young fox began. "You're not angry?"

"Of course not, sweetie." The mother fox tightened her embrace. "You wouldn't have done those things if he wasn't making you do them. Not my son. Questioning your choices as soon as the flower was out of the picture attests to that."

"B-but! ...I was the one who pulled the trigger." Tears were threatening his eyelids again. Ceroba, however... her cheeks were already soaked.

"You only think that because he reset every time you didn't," she choked. "If this was one of many timelines like you said, I can guarantee you in over 99% of them are a kind, caring, and compassionate young boy!"

Starlo stood in front of the chowder. His back was facing the two. I can't watch this or I'll break down too... he thought to himself. But she's right. He wanted to rewind time to fix his mistakes. Hesitating with Martlet shows he still held morals in mind.... to an extent.

"Who wants some grub?" he asked with a big smile as he prepared some bowls. "All this ponderin's makin' me hungry."

Chapter Text

Opening my eyes proved to be a painful experience. Then again, pain seemed to be the only thing I was experiencing, so I pushed past and forced them through it. I saw five people in surgical garbs, but the environment told me this was far from a normal hospital, if one at all.

The walls were all brick and concrete. There were no windows, but the room had a surplus of cameras on the ceiling. The room itself was quite large. There was easily enough room to fit an elephant or two inside.

The surgeons were operating on me. I wasn't sure what specifically, but given what I know now, it was likely they were running tests on my soul. Something about my time on that hill fascinated them, and they wanted to know what made my body work so different from the others.

I could feel it, too. I just couldn't interact. My whole nervous system was shot. At most, I could wiggle a finger... barely. The number of drugs they were pumping through me made time difficult to keep track of. Not that I cared at the time.

I just wanted it all to end. My life was one of tragedy. Why should my death be any different? Of course, fate had other plans.

After about three months of being stuck in what I eventually found out was an underground research bunker, my condition turned around. Funnily enough, it was the day they wanted to have me med-boarded out.

The scientists were baffled when I sat up and removed the cast on my shoulder. They said it was like watching a mummy resurrect itself. Given how dead I felt, I couldn't blame them. What I could blame them for though, was what came after.

For the next six months, I was subject to seventeen different stress-inducing experiments. Most were related to pushing my body to its limits. Those were the easier ones to get through.

Keep in mind, I had been down there that whole time without seeing an ounce of daylight. The psychological tests were just beginning, and it was already a lot to handle.

After testing my body's response to chemicals that little was known about, the simulations began. It immediately became apparent to me they were training me for something. It wasn't just that, though. They were trying to reshape my brain patterns. They wanted to change me into a deadlier soldier.

The reconditioning worked. I was deadlier than I had ever been before deployment. They had their new subject. Their unkillable force of wanton destruction, but I wasn't going to give them that. Not easily, anyway. I still had a good 5 years to finish my contract. I was going to make them count.

…

"I'm not that same naive young woman, and I don't think I'll ever be free of her scars," Ava hypothesized. "In a place that was all too familiar to me by the end, I had never been more lost."

Kanako watched as Ava lifted up her tank top and exposed her well-toned abdominals. She pointed to a few incision lines with her index finger.

It was about this time Chujin made it to the door. The two scientists had been wondering why Ava had been gone for so long, so the purple fox went to investigate. After hearing the remnants of a conversation however, he opted to listen through the ajar door.

"Do you understand now why I'm so hesitant to let Clover return to the surface? If they did all of this to one of their own soldiers, what would they do to an abnormality in his case? Simply put, I won't allow it."

She put her top back in place.

"I suppose I got carried away with the story and forgot I was trying to cheer you up. I'm actually not sure if what I had was worse. That's an impossible question to answer, but I guess what I'm saying is you're not alone in that sense."

The room quieted and Ava grew still. She stared at the floor, not wanting to continue the conversation now that it was out there. From the silence, an idea entered Kanako's mind.

"Maybe... you don't have to be alone either."

Ava's head raised a little. "Hm? What? No, I-... The point was that you're not alone. The implication being-"

"Oh, wrong word... or sentence." Kanako's eyes darted as she searched for the right words. "I meant to say we don't have to be alone by ourselves."

Ava raised an eyebrow at her. "...What?"

Kanako got up and stood in front of Ava with both hands on the soldier's shoulders. "Come be a part of our family!" she said with a bubbling smile. "Mom and Dad trust you. You're already Clover's big sister. You can be my big sister too!"

"Big sister," Ava repeated. "You'd trust me with that?"

Kanako beamed and held her hands together. "So that's a yes?! YAY!"

"Whoa now," Ava said. "You're jumping the gun a little. You still have to ask your parents."

Chujin smiled and left to go back to work. They could ask him when they were ready. Rushing things through was never a good idea. That's how he died, after all.

…

"NGAAAAAH!!! What do you mean?!" Undyne shouted with fists clenched in a manner that can only be described as angsty teen mixed with hungry football quarterback.

Maddie was obstinate. "She told me she wanted NO DISTRACTIONS! I don't know what she's doing down there, but she made it seem like this was the most important thing in her entire life."

"Urrrh... well what about Ava, huh? Can I at least talk with her?"

"NO!" Maddie exclaimed. "Nobody! NOBODY!! NOBODY!!! I'm not letting nobody get past me and into this elevator until she comes up to say I can!"

The lab's main doors opened and in walked Sans and Toriel. The kids who were hoping to check up on Kanako (and some who just really wanted to know about the human) quickly made way for them.

"It's the queen!" MK whisper shouted.

Papyrus' eyes practically popped out of his head. "SANS?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I'VE CALLED YOU TWO MINUTES AGO! SNOWDIN IS FAR, BUT YOU'VE MADE IT HERE FASTER BEFORE."

Sans shrugged. "Chalk it up to Snowdin having its own time zone. Also, my watch needed a few to chill."

Papyrus stomped his foot. "OH MY GOD! SANS!! YOU DON'T HAVE A WATCH!"

"Perish your impatience, Papyrus," spoke Toriel softly. "We are in no rush. It would be reasonable to believe they are still resting, would it not?"

"HMM... A REASONABLE ASSUMPTION I SUPPOSE, HOWEVER!" Papyrus held us a gloved finger. "THAT IS NO EXCUSE FOR MY BROTHER'S TARDINESS. REGARDLESS, ALPHYS' NEW GUARD IS PREVENTING US FROM CHECKING UP ON THE HUMAN."

Maddie's defensive frown weakened as Toriel approached. The cat girl gripped her staff tightly and gulped.

"Pardon me, but I need to pass. This is important."

"I-... Ah..." Maddie stammered. She felt meek in front of this 6'+ giant. Reluctantly, she stepped aside. "Yes, Queen Toriel."

"Thank you," Toriel said before stepping into the elevator to the true lab. "I will assess the healthiness of both human and monster and come back to notify if they are fit for visitors. Until then, you all are to remain here. Understand?"

After several nods and a few yes's, as well as an "AFFIRMATIVE," from Papyrus, Toriel pressed the button for the rather spacious elevator to go down.

The Queen of Monsterkind then looked down at the large combat instrument she was holding. Well, large by today's standards, she supposed. Once again, she was alone with her thoughts. It was a problem she was used to, but this time was different. She had no idea what the human even looked like. From the sounds of things, she was an adult too. Toriel could only hope she was less aggressive with her than she was with Sans.

The elevator stopped moving and the doors slid open. Toriel stepped into the hallway leading East towards the testing and patient holding rooms. She stopped in front of one whose door was somewhat ajar.

"No, Kanako. It's someone else. I'm going to investigate."

Those words were what all Toriel could recognize before nostalgia struck her in droves. The voice belonged to a young woman who now stood in the doorway, full body there for her to see. Messy brown hair and vaguely luminous red irises adorned her head. A lamp in the room cast a light yellow across her green tank top, almost like a certain striped shirt did. The rather expressionless face accompanied by the roundness of her cheek bones were almost a perfect match.

"Ch-..." Toriel shakily choked out.

Ava looked her once over, stopping only on a familiar weapon purchased with her own money. Her eyes widened, but only a little.

"Nice Five-Five-Six you got there," she commented. She met Toriel's somber gaze. "Did you fill out the licensing for it too? The way you're holding it suggests otherwise."

Toriel snapped out of her stupor. "Apologies. I was just reminiscing." She then presented the gun and boxes. "This weapon belongs to you, does it not?"

Toriel handed Ava's gun to her and she quickly removed its magazine and cleared the chamber.

"What are you doing, my chi-...?" Toriel asked, biting her tongue to stop her words.

Ava took her ammo bag from Toriel and added the disarmed bits to its interior. "I'm being safe. Those were live rounds in there, you know." She gave Toriel a judging look. "Your thumb was in the trigger guard. If you slipped while holding it like that, you could've fired a round."

"Who's there, Ava?" Kanako asked from in the room.

Toriel looked to the side. "Where are my manners? I haven't introduced myself yet." She then put a hand to her chest and spoke with renewed composure. "I am Toriel, caretaker of The Ruins. I was on my way to water the flowers and came across a hole in the floor. I thought I patched it up good enough, but it seems my efforts proved insufficient.”

"Hello?" asked a voice down the hall. "Toriel, is that you? You should've called me. I woulda let you in."

Ava could feel who it was before she heard them. It was Alphys. The yellow lizard monster scuttled along and adjusted her glasses. Kanako stumbled over to Ava and poked her head out the door.

"Oh! Hi, Doctor Alphys!" she gleefully exclaimed. The fox then turned to look at Toriel. "Wait, why is the Queen here?"

"Hmph," Ava huffed at the mention of a royal figure. Her expression remained neutral. "Typical. You've never held a firearm before in your life, have you?"

"Well-"

It was at this point that Ava's expression turned sour.

"Listen here, 'Queen,'" she said sternly. "I don't give a rat's ass if you're royalty or not. The next time I see you approach me or Kanako with a loaded gun, safety off, and your finger in the trigger guard, it's gonna get personal."

Toriel wasn't aware the gun was loaded. She wasn't familiar enough to know how they worked.

Ava took the gun and ammo pack from the queen and set them against the wall, her expression calming. "I appreciate bringing it all this way for me, but if you don't intend to shoot, keep your fingers away from that trigger."

"I-I..." Toriel managed. Realization of her having carried a loaded gun in front of kids assaulting her like a brick.

Alphys' eyes widened. "Wh-what's going on?!"

…

"So, let me get this straight," Ava said with the bridge of her nose in between a thumb and a fore finger. "You adopted Chara, took them into your family, they mistook cups of butter for buttercups, found out they were horrendously poisonous, and you STILL don't understand how your adoptive child died from food poisoning?!"

"You believe my child did this to themself?!" Toriel asked defensively.

Ava put her arms out in a questioning manner. "Can you truly say with absolute certainty that buttercups didn't cause the death of at least one of your children?"

"I never said they died from food poisoning! They fell from a sickness!"

Ava pointed to parts of her torso. "Inflammation of the lower antrum." She shifted her arms to her head. "Hot sweats, headaches, and nausea." She moved her hands to her back. "Blood blockages. The final nail in the coffin was kidney failure."

Ava held out a hand in question. "These were the symptoms Chara experienced, yes?"

"That is what we observed," Toriel admitted again.

Ava pointed a finger at the floor in a very "Math is Math!" manner. "Chara Dreemurr died at the hands of food poisoning. Whether they did it intentionally or not is irrelevant."

"I will not tarry on this any longer," Toriel stated with crossed arms. "Change the subject or stay silent."

Ava stared at her with lowered eyebrows. What. The fuck. Dude? she thought. After a moment of tense quiet, she shifted her attention to Alphys.

"Hey Doc, you've been awfully quiet. Something on your mind?"

Alphys rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, actually. There's a number of things I need to get done, but where do we start?" She pulled out her phone and projected a 3D hologram of Ava's soul. "Because of your help, we now know enough about human souls to recreate the bare minimum for a stable shell. Breaking the barrier is going to be a lot easier, but we don't know how well it will work, if at all."

Ava nodded. "I'm sure you're concerned about the flower popping up?"

"I, um, actually have something to confess." A nervous sweat trickled down the side of Alphys' face. "I may be partially to blame for the uh, murderous and bloodthirsty flower thing. Eheh... heh."

Ava blinked at her twice. "Clarify."

"Mnnnh... Well, more than a few years back, I was tasked by Asgore to investigate the five human souls and their properties. What was it that made them persist beyond the death of their bodies? That's when I constructed the DT Extractor, but before I figured out what to call the substance, it was just called 'The Extractor'."

You built it before you knew what was to be extracted? Ava thought. Then again, she never specified that she was to complete this task alone. I highly doubt they only had one royal scientist.

"We wanted to see how it would affect monster souls, but unlike humans, monster souls immediately shatter upon the death of the host. The only form of testing would need to be done on those who were still alive."

"And testing on a monster before you could observe its effects could have been life threatening. A flower it is, then."

"Y-yes. The first few tests proved ineffective. The ninth test was the only one that showed promise. The first flower to bloom from the king's garden before all the others. It disappeared and the only time I've seen it since was last night."

"And now that flower is sentient. Great," Ava remarked. "What happened to the monsters you tested on, then?"

Alphys averted her gaze. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that."

Kanako poked Ava in the shoulder. "They went through what I did, but they're all clumped together, and also still like that."

"I've been trying to find a way to treat them, but it's difficult. The more solid ones are too interconnected to be separated safely... and unsafely. I've tried, but what damage they sustain is almost immediately undone by that Determination."

Ava crossed her arms and closed her eyes in thought.

The monsters are being held together by the same stuff that's keeping them alive. Take away the determination and they separate, but that comes at the cost of them dying. What would happen if we were to...

Ava smiled as a brilliant thought crossed her mind. "Hey Alphys, where were those monsters at again?"

…

The elevator doors slid open and the five of them stepped out. Ava was not prepared for a bunch of children to be awaiting them, however.

"WHOA! She's like, as tall as the Queen, dude!"

"I- what? Excuse me?" Ava managed with eyebrows raised. She then lightly elbowed Kanako. "You're pretty popular to have all of these kids come and visit, you know?"

A "tch!" from the back of the crowd did not go unnoticed by the human. Its source was a purple... dinosaur? Maybe a gator or lizard of some kind? She couldn't really tell.

MK ran up to them and stopped in front of Ava. "Hey! You're the one who saved Kanako, right? How did you do it?"

"Uh..." Ava sweatdropped. How the hell was she supposed to explain what happened in words?

Undyne made her way to the front and gave Ava a pat on the back. Said pat would have knocked most people over. "Fufufu! You really shoulda saved some of the action for me, you know?"

"I didn't really have much choice," Ava remarked. "I also don't know how to explain what all went down, either."

"AN ACT OF HEROISM, OF COURSE," Papyrus answered. "I WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU, HUMAN. YOU'RE A GREAT PERSON, EVEN IF YOU, OR SOMEONE ELSE..." He threw a quick glance in Sans' direction. "DON'T THINK SO!"

He then gives Sans a bump of encouragement. "Calm down, Papyrus. I'm getting around to it," Sans said. The kids started talking to Kanako and Toriel while Ava walked over.

"To be fair," Ava began. "I drew my knife before you did anything. So yeah, that's on me."

"IT TAKES STRENGTH TO ADMIT ONE'S FAULTS, BUT SANS REALLY SHOULDN'T HAVE SPURRED ON THE MOMENT."

"I was wrong and I'm sorry. Wanna grab a bite to eat at Grillbys?"

Papyrus' eyes became very visible. "SANS! THAT'S NOT HOW TO APOLOGIZE! HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THIS?!"

"Sure," Ava returned with a shrug. "I'm heading to Snowdin anyways."

"WHAT?!" Papyrus yelled. "OH NO! MY BROTHER HAS CORRUPTED THE HUMAN'S STANDARDS WITH BAD TASTE IN FOOD!"

"No, I've just never been picky," Ava clarified. "Food is food at the end of the day."

As Undyne joined the three in banter, Toriel and the two scientists discussed Ava's idea.

"I don't really know about this," Alphys said. "What happens if it doesn't work the way she hopes it will?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but she was able to stabilize Kanako's condition overnight. It could be because Kanako is a boss monster and it was easier, but she was in a far worse condition than they are now. I think it's worth a shot if nothing else."

Chujin turned to ask for the Queen's input, but Toriel was staring at Ava with wonder, and didn't notice Chujin's words.

"I wonder... could the prophecy be true?" she mumbled. Toriel turned back to the scientists. "Sorry, I was thinking out loud. What were we discussing?"

"The prophecy? You think she's the angel?" Chujin asked.

Toriel looked back at Ava, who was now interacting with the kids playfully. "It is said an angel will descend from above and the underground will go empty. Ava seems to have pulled off a number of impossible feats so far."

Alphys fiddled with her fingers nervously. "I guess I'm out voted." She waved at Snowy. "Hey Snowy? Do you think it would be okay if we go and bring your mom back here for a bit? It's about her condition."

…

The man quickly screeched to a stop. His Toyota getting awfully close to the cliff's edge as he did. Not much farther was Mount Ebott. Ahead of the cliff was a river that traveled into the mountain itself.

He put the vehicle in park and grabbed his suitcase. This suitcase held classified documents. How many laws did he break in the past three hours? Too many to count, yet not enough.

Ava deserved to know what happened. G.S.S.O.G. was the reason this travesty happened to her. She had to go through so much and for what? But lamenting could wait. Finding a way to stash the compact waterproof suitcase was more important.

He heard tires in the distance. They were already onto him. There was no time to hide it. Still, he couldn't let them get their hands on the incriminating evidence. He had to act now or there would be no case to make against his oppressors. They would destroy it and cover up his inevitable murder.

With a hefty swing, he tossed the suitcase into the river and let the mountain claim its new prize. Although, he knew he'd be joining it as soon as he was shot.

He could only hope someone else found it before they did.

Chapter Text

"Dum dee dum," hummed the King as he watered the flowers. The underground had been strangely noisy as of late. It always was to a degree, but with the arrival of a new human, things just became that much more rambunctious.

He had received word that they had recently been attacked and chose to stay and help with research at The Royal Lab. Asgore trusted Alphys to get things done, perhaps more than he should, but after hearing a familiar name come up as her new lab help, he couldn't help but ponder how well things were going.

"Alphys and Mr. Ketsukane are starting projects without my approval. Perhaps they have found a breakthrough in soul technology. Perhaps it is something else."

He turned to look at Frisk who was helping with watering efforts. Frisk smiled and continued. Asgore returned the smile and resumed.

His smile didn't last. A frown crossed his face as he thought about what was told in the newspaper. 'Human Found Fighting Monsters! Human Falls and Disappears! Human Survives and Recovers! Human Uses Magic to Save Young Monsters! Is Breaking the Barrier Closer Than Ever?'

That last one. The thought terrified him. Yes, he wanted to return to the surface. Many did, but he was ultimately responsible for the deaths of five human children. How would the humans react? Had he doomed his entire race?

This wasn't the best path, but it was too late to change its direction. The damage was done. All he could do was wait and see what happens.

[*You tell Asgore that visiting Ava could help get some weight off of his chest.]

"Hmm?" Asgore glanced back at Frisk. It was a bit strange that they always seemed to know what was going on in his head.

"Perhaps you are right, Frisk," he said while putting away the watering can. "Come, let us go."

Frisk held Asgore's hand as the two left the castle.

…

Sans sat on a bar stool next to Ava. At the moment, the others were trying to find the amalgamates and escort them back to the Lab. A double order of burg was served and the two began to dig in.

"So... how well do you know Frisk?"

Ava put her burger back on its plate. "I uh... I got some time with them, but considering the setting in which it took place, I don't know if it was enough to really understand them."

"You don't?" Sans repeated. "Do you not know who you know?"

Ava rested her arm on the bar. "Well, it's complicated. My memory of things before the... before boot camp is shot full of holes. I can remember a lot of fragments, but not much as far as long stretches go. Sometimes, it's clear. Sometimes it's blurred."

"And your younger brother?"

"Clover? Well, I grew up with him on a farm. Not much really happened outside of daily chores and... no... we had TV. We would go to the shooting range nearby every second Saturday. And school was... I actually can't remember. I know he was known to get in fights on behalf of others if things were unfair or misunderstood. Aside from that, he's my lucky Clover, and I love him."

Sans popped the top off of a ketchup bottle and started drinking it. Ava raised an eyebrow but let him continue. After an uncomfortable time, he finished and wiped his face.

"Why do you fight?" he asked. "He fights for justice. What about you? What are you fighting for?"

"...I don't know." Ava looked back at her plate. "It used to only be for Clover's sake, but now? I'm not sure."

Sans studied her expression. A lot of things had changed since their fight. She was being more open with him.

"Do you mind if I do a CHECK real quick?" he asked.

Ava shrugged and took a bite from her burger. She stared at her food as the world faded to black and white.

Ava Millet  LV 3  HP 40/40

ATK 200 DEF 960

Uncertain of her purpose.

"Whoa," Sans mumbled as the world returned to normal. "You're definitely going through something serious. Usually, I'd have a joke lined up, but... I feel like that'd kill the mood."

"Do you think it'll work?" Ava asked. "The soul replication. What if it doesn't? Technically speaking, we have enough soul power without it to shatter the barrier, but... well, there's just so many ways it could go wrong is all."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. That's their hurdle to jump. Not yours."

"I know, but I can't help but want-"

Sans turned in his seat to face her. "Look lady, you keep putting yourself out there for every monumental task and you'll burnout in no time. Take things a little slower, okay? Show a bit of patience."

"I..." Ava began. "Okay." She faced him as well and extended a hand. Without skipping a beat, Sans shook it with a gloved one of his own. The sudden noise of a deflating whoopee cushion emanated from it.

Ava's jaw dropped. She had been had. She looked to the side and let a light chuckle escape her throat. "Damn. Alright then."

The air around the two felt a little lighter, and Sans could actually feel the magic coming from Ava's soul increase. He felt oddly pleasant, even.

"Well, I better get back to it," Ava said with a stretch before walking to the door. "I'll be at the lab with the others, Sans."

But Sans had fallen asleep. Ava looked at Grillby. The fire monster shrugged and kept wiping a cloth over the plate he was holding.

"Grillbs says Sans falls asleep often. This is normal," explained a monster nearby.

"I'll go get Papyrus," Ava sighed.

The soldier stepped out and into the snow. She looked left and right, but didn't see Papyrus yet. He couldn't have gone far. She took a left and started heading East before sensing a soul around the corner of the building. She rounded the corner to find a purple dinosaur monster digging around in the garbage can. It was the same monster who was with the other kids when they exited the Lab.

The monster growled and knocked the garbage can over. "Come on! Not a single thing to eat?! I thought this was a damn food place. Well, whatever."

The monster turned around and finally noticed Ava's presence. Recognition flashed in her eyes and she frowned. "Great. I've been caught by 'the saviour.' Another misdemeanor on my record for digging into the trash."

Ava looked on stone faced. This monster reminded her of her time in the foxhole. Limited rations and supplies. Having to hold out with what was barely there.

"If I'm gonna get in trouble again," The world began to fade to black and white again. "It'd better be for something worth it!"

A punch was thrown at her, but Ava did not move. The rugged monster was surprisingly strong, but that didn't amount to much against Ava's impenetrable defense. A big zero materialized in the monster's perspective, indicating a lack of results.

Ava's arm moved out from behind her back and the monster cautiously took a few steps back.

I knew it. This human is just like the rest of the stuck up pricks. Flexing what they have over others! Pretending to only care about others but willing to fight about it even if they aren't hurt in the process! She's reaching for a weapon. What a privileged asshole!

"Here," said Ava calmly. The world faded back in and the monster got to see what was actually in her hand. "I know I already took a bite, but it's mostly intact."

The monster looked down at the burger in Ava's hand. She was just giving this to her?

"What's your name, anyway?" asked Ava.

"You're not gonna turn me over to the police?"

Ava crouched down and put the burger in the monster's hands. "Trying to survive is a stupid reason for getting arrested. And besides, you remind me of a younger me."

"It's Susie," she said before eating the burger in one massive chomp. "Thanks."

Ava smiled. "You needed it more than me. I'm not exactly hungry." She stood up and faced East. "I gotta get going, Susie. I'll see you around."

Susie was left standing there stupefied. Who was this human? Why was she like this? She seemed to understand what she was going through. Maybe she was being too judgy of others. Could... could she have been wrong about Kanako too?

…

"Okay, just stay right there."

Alphys wiped sweat from her forehead. This whole idea was a huge risk. Testing the new recreational soul membrane would require manual installation. Despite her doubts, Chujin was confident Ava could do it.

"We'll be done before you know it," she said, half speaking to herself.

In front of the amalgamate was the DT Extractor. They were positioned directly in between the machine's "jaws." The first test was about to begin.

"Monsters don't have the same physicality as humans. The determination was too much for their bodies to handle, and they turned into what they are now."

"Chujin's research on boss monster souls proves the similarities between our species starts there. I'm thinking we try out the soul membrane on those folks you tried to save."

"What if they get drained too fast and die?"

"That won't happen as long as I'm in the room with them. I can keep them tethered."

"My boss monster serum has come a long way from just being a shot in the dark. I've learned that the monster on which it's administered needs to have matching properties with the soul it's derived from."

"We extract the traits necessary from me, then. My soul is chock-full of each one now, remember?"

"Th-this is too risky! Their souls are too fragmented. There's no way you'll be able to sort them out in time for the separation!"

"'We won't get anywhere by doing nothing.' Newton's third law of thermodynamics."

"...I don't know."

"It could work, Alphys. Please... let me help them."

Mechanical whirrs filled the room as the DT Extractor fired up. Like before, Ava felt an odd tugging at her chest. The amorphous collective in the jaws of the beast seemed to freeze in place. No part of their body was melting.

That was a problem. In order for this to work, they had to separate. In their current state, they were still stable.

"Turn up the power!" Ava shouted. "They need to be more malleable!"

After a few seconds, the whirrs got louder and the tugging on Ava's soul stronger. She began taking steps to the amalgamate who was now struggling to hold itself together. Each footstep felt heavy. Moving was requiring more effort.

As she stood directly in front of the amalgamate, she brandished the soul membrane in one hand and moved forward to make contact with the other.

Three souls.

She could feel them. Two plant-like monsters and one Snowdrake. They were in there somewhere, mashed together. Time itself felt distorted. Not frozen. Just, not moving at its usual rate.

From the outside, both the amalgamate and Ava seemed to go inert. Chujin and Alphys watched the screen as Ava's soul began to manifest. Chujin recognized a familiar yellow hue that overrode Ava's usual red.

"That's Clover's soul color," he said. He turned to look at the second monitor that was keeping tabs on magi-metrics. He pointed to it, eyes widening as his brain fought to comprehend what he was witnessing. "The-! Her soul! It's trying to pry them apart!"

The magic "hyphae" of Ava's soul now gripped at three points in the bizarre cluster that were the congealed souls in front of her. Contrary to Chujin's initial assumption, the soldier's soul was being very gentle. It was as if Ava's spirit was trying to coax them to defragment, and it was working.

Alphys observed in awe as Ava's body started to move. The hand that held the soul membrane brought it closer to the amalgamate. As soon as it was touching their amorphous flesh, the membrane slid inside.

Ava didn't stop there. Her arm kept going. Both arms reached into the collective's monster soul and held the membrane to it. The magic fountaining through her arms caused a lumen increase in the magi-metric monitor, making looking at her on that screen almost impossible without causing retinal damage.

…

Ava didn't immediately understand what was happening. Her body felt alien. Different. Even though she wanted to look herself over, her body and eyes refused her orders.

"Come on now, Snowy. We need to get home in time for dinner."

Your father is flying late tonight so we have an excuse to try and make some actual food for once.

That voice. These movements. The thoughts that seemed to invade her brain.

Those weren't her words. This wasn't her mouth. This was a memory, and she was in the passenger seat for the whole experience. Currently, she (or whoever she was possessing) was waltzing through the entrance to Snowdin, coming from Waterfall.

The creature whose eyes she watched through turned to look over a winged shoulder. Behind her followed a smaller version of that one snowdrake who showed up when Kanako was released from Alphys' care. This was Snowy as a younger child.

As they passed the strangely named librarby, two monsters ran past them laughing. One was Dalv. One was a small fox monster that looked extremely similar to Kanako. Ava couldn't see her clearly enough through this old bird's eyes to know for sure, but if what she did see was anything to go off of, Kanako was adorable as a kid.

She(?) was dragged out of her(?) thoughts as a commotion further in the town started. Some of Snowy's mother's feathers stood on end. The Royal Guard in the immediate area got up to go investigate. This wasn't good.

"Snowy. Go on and head into the Librarby."

Mother Snowdrake could just feel how rough today was going to be. Snowy was not going to get involved.

"But Moooom," Snowy whined. "What about dinner?"

"Get in the building, NOW," Mother Snowdrake said sternly. "Don't come out until it's safe to do so."

"Okay," Snowy said reluctantly before stepping into the Librarby. Now that he was safe, Mother Snowdrake stepped closer to the commotion.

She didn't have to go far before a small girl wearing a pink tutu and ballet shoes made herself known by impaling a guard, turning him to dust almost immediately.

A human?! She's attacking people!

Mother Snowdrake flew in and slashed at the girl with her talons as the girl moved her arms to take the scraping. The world turned to black and white as a proper battle was instigated.

Melody Schambeck  LV 7  HP 23/56

ATK 16  DEF 16

Is committed to defending herself.

Scared for her life.

That last bit didn't seem to make sense to Mother Snowdrake. This human just attacked that guard earlier without giving him a chance to speak.

She didn't have much time to think on this as a shoe careened towards her head.

…

As soon as the brightness faded, the scientists were shocked to find the membrane split into three at Ava's maneuvering. Somehow, she had duplicated the membrane. Not only that, the souls had migrated inside them.

No sooner than they realized this did the amalgamate itself start to split. Alphys acted quickly and shut down the DT Extractor. The noise plummeted, but the tension remained.

What just happened? Chujin wondered.

"...Huh?" spoke a voice Chujin never heard before. "Where... where am I?"

Alphys and Chujin rounded the corner to find Ava standing still next to three monsters. The monsters turned their attention to Dr. Alphys. They spent more than enough time with her to know who she was through the haze that was the past several years. The Snowdrake approached her with squinted eyes.

"Did... did you bring us back?" she asked.

"Uh-um! It was all three of us, you see..." Alphys replied, gesturing to Chujin and then to Ava.

"Ava?" Chujin asked. "Are you alright?"

Ava stood stationary with a lost look on her face. Upon looking closer, Chujin discerned tears running down her cheeks. Despite this, the soldier was not seemingly aware she was crying. It was as though her tears just willed themselves to be there.

"Oh... yeah. Sorry, just... thinking."

Ava turned to face away from the monsters that were once one. The color of her soul returned to red and faded. She realized tears were present on her cheeks and wiped them with her arm.

"I guess I knew it happened. I just didn't want to believe it. I couldn't comprehend in my mind without seeing it firsthand what became of Melody down here."

Chujin pulled a rolling table over with some checkup equipment. "I'm going to examine you for potential tissue damage," he said. "That was an awful lot of magic you just expelled."

Ava sat down and let him. She tried to get the image of Melody assaulting that guard out of her head but she couldn't. Why was it she chose to keep attacking? From Mother Snowdrake, it could be argued she was acting in self-defense, but that wasn't the case for the other monsters. Melody attacked first.

As Ava combatted her inner thoughts, Chujin moved the inspector tool to her abdomen. He noticed the scars she had shown to Kanako earlier that morning. What were they from? Why hadn't they healed like every other injury she had?

Her arms are partially burnt, but they have almost completely rejuvenated since I began the examination. How strange. Perhaps some scars can't be healed by magic alone?

"Chujin?" Ava finally asked. "Can I ask you some questions about the Snowdin incident?"

It was about this moment a certain flower showed up. A different room though, just so he wouldn't be spotted.

The DT Extractor was active? That was odd. And the human was throwing magic around left and right. How could he not swing by to see what the fuss was about?

Even throughout the procedure, Ava's determination never dropped below a certain threshold, but after seemingly gone through a revelation of sorts, Flowey could feel her determination begin to wane.

An idea struck the flower. A deliciously simple idea. Let her have her little family fiasco. Let her get attached. Let her learn more about the people in this boring bleak hellhole. And then introduce a little spice to the mix at its most inconvenient.

Flowey would need to keep quiet and stick around. He needed some information, after all.

Chapter Text

"What do you want to know?" Chujin asked.

"It's obvious you've had some contact with her judging by your bitterness towards humanity, so let's start simple," Ava said. "How badly did she hurt Kanako?"

Chujin's throat tightened. How did she know Kanako was involved? Did Kanako tell her? No. This is easily explainable.

"Kanako was left unscathed, but the monster who she was with wasn't as lucky."

"So Dalv was attacked," Ava deduced. "It makes sense actually. In the memory, he was immediately more outgoing and expressive. A far cry from the reclusive nature forced upon him now. Was it your arrival that scared her into fleeing for Waterfall, then?"

"Y-..." Chujin slipped. He couldn't withhold that bit of information now. He had already given Ava too much. "Yes, it was."

"And you didn't stay to comfort Kanako?" Ava pushed. "I'll admit it. Ceroba and Kanako seem to always be transparent with me. The only time they got cold on me was when I was talking to Undyne about Melody's incomplete case."

Chujin straightened his back. "Alphys, could you escort the others back upstairs please?" he asked.

Alphys understood the implication and led the reborn monsters to the elevator. As soon as they were out of earshot, Chujin sat down on a chair facing Ava.

"Worried about me learning something? You don't need to respond. The answer is written on your face." Ava's eyes narrowed. "As I was going to say, you've been a walking red flag ever since we've met. In Waterfall, the closer I got to where Melody was buried, the less you concealed yourself. It was only after I began constructing a cross your breathing corrected, because it was clear I wouldn't attack Martlet in that moment."

Chujin stared at her. Ava had already figured it out, hadn't she? She just needed confirmation.

"I didn't want to confront Ceroba and Kanako after that because Kanako is still a child at heart, and Ceroba has enough to blame herself for already. As for you Chujin, your heartbeat is moving faster than it should for a mere explanation of the Snowdin Incident."

The two stared at one another in an uncomfortable silence. Chujin didn't dare move. He wasn't fully sure what Ava was capable of, and he didn't know her well enough to gauge her reaction to bad news.

Ava closed her eyes and sighed. "Would you calm the fuck down, Chujin? Seriously, you're making a bigger deal of things than they need to be."

Chujin loosened his grip on the chair's armrests. "I'm trying to keep calm, Ava. You just caught me off guard with how fast you pieced things together."

"I've been picking up pieces here and there. I try not to be too judgmental until I've gathered enough data to make a case." Ava crossed her arms. "Still, if I'm correct and you were the one who buried Melody, why not tell the Royal..."

Chujin noticed Ava's head perk up and look over to the DT Extractor. Her eyes drifted to the syringes and documents regarding his research on souls.

"...I see. You're an engineer. In order to know how something works, you take it apart. That's your mindset, yeah?"

Chujin stood up with a start. "I didn't want it to end up this way!" he shouted defensively. "It was a miscalculation."

"Miscalculation," Ava repeated. "Heh... I could berate you. I could tell you this was going too far. I could even say you had a choice, but we both know that you didn't." She hung her head. "I just wish it wasn't someone I knew on a personal level."

"I... It was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. We needed to know what we are up against. I assure you, I take no pleasure in conducting questionable tests on people I don't know."

"I never said you did. She posed a threat and that had to be addressed. As fucked up as it is to have to kill a child to protect those around you, I can't say you're wrong for doing it."

"But," stammered Chujin, confounded at how calm Ava seemed about this. "The experiments I ran. Surely, you hold some resentment towards me for that, right?"

Ava looked to the side. "I'm not gonna say it was the right thing to do. This is a dead child we're talking about. With that said, medical advancement has a habit of being born from horrible situations. In addition, this particular child killed people. I'll be willing to admit Melody wasn't the best person and leave it at that. Sh-... she made her bed and gets to sleep in it."

That last sentence was a little choked. Ava had to force herself to say it.

The door opened and Alphys stepped in. She was as nervous as she usually was.

"You're not convinced she deserved it," Chujin noted, finally able to steady his nerves.

Ava smiled weakly and shook her head. "'If you ever get hit with something, hit back twice as hard.' Do you understand how much of this could've been prevented if I never said those words? ...Hell, there's even a chance she could still be alive at this point if I didn't."

"Ava. Stop talking like that."

Ava's eyes drifted back to Chujin. He was visibly upset with her.

"Don't blame yourself for actions that took place nearly a decade ago. You had no way of knowing it would cause all of this."

Ava's mouth hung open slightly as he said that. Then, she composed herself.

"Melody shouldn't have been a factor in this. She was just a kid who was forced through the meat grinder at a young age. Being put in a situation where fighting was the only option she could see. She didn't deserve it."

"I know it's not my place to interject but," Alphys piped in suddenly. "You're talking about yourself there, aren't you?"

Alphys scuttled over to a desk and pulled up a file on her desktop. Ava stood up and looked over Alphys at the video file playing. She could feel a rage burning within her at recognizing its contents.

"You're comparing her last living moments to my time at Outpost Bella?! Your assessment couldn't be further from the truth!" Ava bellowed. Her fists clenched and shook. "We didn't have the options she had! We tried for peace and to improve standing relationships, but it was THEY who refused! She only attacked because someone attacked her first! Her impression of monsters was warped and mislead due to the actions of ONE, not MANY!"

"Ava, what is this?" Chujin asked.

Although stiff shouldered, Ava managed to reel it back in. With a voice lowered, she responded. "This is a recap of what hell is. I could tell you more, but I'm sure the video could do a better job. I'm going to go cool off now."

Ava left the two to the documentary and went to find the elevator. There was no need to linger and relive the pain of losing Cole yet again.

As she passed by one room in particular however, she stopped. Her thoughts drifted back into focus. She wasn't perfect at sensing people's souls yet, but she could swear there was a presence on the other side of the door. Not a soul, but a presence. She opened the door to find no one, yet the presence remained.

The room itself was filled with boxes and a VHS player connected to an old television. One of the boxes was opened. She looked inside and pulled out a cassette tape. Ava felt the presence next to her guiding her hand to the VHS player and press play.

…

In a room closer to the DT Extractor, Flowey listened in on Chujin's reactions to the documentary.

"Those are... some rough living conditions," the purple fox commented. For several minutes, the two stood in silence, letting the documentary play. Just as Flowey was beginning to get bored again, he heard the sounds of gunfire from the speakers.

The flower snuck into the room and moved to an angle that wouldn't get him caught so he could watch as well. He had to admit, he saw a lot of Clover in the younger form of the woman on screen.

A wicked smirk graced his lips. It seems that being great at killing runs in the family.

The last chunk of the documentary played out, including Ava's response in post to the situation. Chujin closed his eyes and sighed. It was now abundantly clear why Ava hated humanity.

To be pushed to edge so many times under the worst of situations yet continuing to act as a proponent for establishing peace... only for those who stood beside her to be drug through the mud at the end... I truly have no room to complain about our plight, do I? Simply put, I was wrong, thought Chujin.

"Where did you find this movie?" Chujin asked Alphys.

"In the trash pits at Waterfall. Maddie sat me down to watch it just after I first met Ava in your house."

The two continued talking, but Flowey had heard enough. He knew Ava had a temper. He just needed a way to exploit it. Now that he understood her motives better, it was only a matter of time. Taking a look through the dump might tide his boredom over until that time came. He needed to brew a trap first anyway.

…

Ava ejected the final tape from the player and put it back in the box. She stared at it for a bit before ultimately deciding against showing it to Toriel. It was true that the death for Chara Dreemurr was reported as ingestion of poisonous plants, but even when she brought this up, Toriel was stubborn in her refusal to believe it.

But this was fine with Ava. A mother in mourning was a subject she'd rather not touch again. However, this presence beside her was starting to become more apparent. It was as if it was interacting directly with Ava's soul.

"Can you... hear me?" she asked.

Ava felt a strange poke to her chest. The sensation was alien, but something about it just felt like a 'yes.’

As she started contemplating what this could mean and what questions it would be able to respond to, Chujin opened the door. Alphys was right next to him.

"Ava! There you are," he said. "Are you feeling better?"

Ava gave him a quick nod. "Yeah. Is everything ready for the next amalgamate?"

Chujin almost inhaled his own saliva. After a short coughing fit, he responded. "Ava, you just went through a mental breakdown. Don't you think you're going through this a little quickly?"

To which Ava said, "Well yes, but I've acclimated."

"But... Ooookay," Chujin relented. "We're taking a break upstairs though. I need to examine how the first monsters are doing before we move on to the next."

…

They stepped out of the elevator and Chujin and Alphys got to work on the three monsters from before. Near them stood Kanako and Toriel.

Ava walked over to the door on the far eastern side of the lab. A familiar soul was approaching along with a monster's.

Frisk was surprised with a hug that lifted them off the ground. Ava's smile was as warm as her arms. Frisk returned the gesture and held her back.

"I trust you've stayed out of trouble?" she asked. Frisk nodded. She let them back down and they ran off to go hug Toriel.

Ava watched them interact. It was like a child visiting relatives. She supposed it wasn't just Clover who found a happy family for himself.

"Howdy!" spoke a deep voice behind her. Ava turned around to face the large monster she forgot about. He was similar in biology to Toriel and slightly taller than her too. His yellow hair and beard were well kept. A golden crown sat atop his head behind his two big horns. "I am not intruding on anything, am I?"

Ava looked over her shoulder and back to him. "Well no. We're taking a break actually."

"What from, if I may ask?" The goat man inquired before realizing he forgot something. He extended a fluffy hand. "I am King Asgore. I just realized I had not introduced myself. My apologies."

Ava raised an eyebrow and accepted the handshake. "Yeah, uh, that's kind of a reoccurring thing, isn't it? Call me Ava."

"Well met, Ava."

"What we- ah yes thanks. What we were doing though was separating the monsters who were stuck together from the determination experiments."

"Hmm?" Asgore looked over at Chujin and Alphys checking up on Mother Snowdrake and the two Vegetoids. The scientists were talking back and forth. They were speaking of a breakthrough, but it was hard to tell what for at this distance.

Chujin turned to Ava and Asgore and smiled as he approached. He knelt before the king and spoke.

"King Asgore, though we may have had some disagreements in the past, I strongly request my life's work be greenlit. Before you in these three monsters is proof my boss monster serum can work. This is our chance to level the playing field."

"What if they seek war?" Asgore asked.

"Undoubtedly, they will," cut in Ava. "But even if they do, public opinion is near impossible to escape nowadays. With how widespread a cell phone is, civilians will pick up on it within hours." She crossed her arms. "If they choose to fight, they'll be battling against their own representatives and senators. Monsterkind will have a much higher chance for survival if it took more than three swings from some thug off the street to take them out, hence the serum."

Chujin's eyes widened. Ava was sticking her neck out for him.

"And besides," Ava continued. "I'm a Distinguished Service Cross recipient and war hero. They'll listen to what I have to say."

Asgore took those words in. If anyone would know anything about humanity and how it operated, it would be an adult of their own kind.

"Very well. As of today, I authorize your use of soul research to help better Monsterkind. You are hereby granted the opportunity of Royal Scientist alongside Alphys."

Chujin rose and began vigorously shaking the King's hand. "Thank you! Thank you, King Asgore! I promise you won't regret it."

"Now that that's settled," Ava said, turning to look Asgore dead in the eyes. "I need you to show me where the humans are buried."

Ava's pocket buzzed. She reached in and pulled out her ringing cellphone. It was Martlet. She put the phone to her ear and accepted the call.

"...OHMYGODAVAISTHATYOUISKANAKOOKAYWHEREISCHUJINWHATSGOINGONINSNOWDINWHATHAPPENEDAFTERILEFTLASTNIGHTISHOULDHAVESTAYEDLONGERIMSOSORRYIWASNTTHERETO-"

"WHOA! Whoa! Martlet! Calm down!" Ava yelled into the receiver. Martlet quieted down.

"I'm sorry, Ava. I just... wish I coulda done something."

"Where are you now?" Ava asked.

"Oh! Uh, I'm at the Oasis. I just got here from Waterfall but the news said something bad happened! I talked to Ceroba, but what she said to me didn't make any sense. A flower almost killed the kids? I was hoping you could help clear things up."

Ava turned to face the others and pinched the bridge of her nose. Martlet continued.

"Also, she told me you were using magic!" "Martlet." "That's amazing. I didn't even know humans could use magic!" "Martlet!" "Is it like a specific pattern you can do? Wait! Do you have multiple different forms of magic or is it just one?"

"MARTLET!" Ava said for the third time. "Come to the Lab. We can discuss this here. Then, you can take Kanako home to the Dunes. Sound good?"

Toriel walked with Frisk over to Asgore. "How is Frisk's education coming?"

"Straight A's. Frisk is on honor roll," replied Asgore. "I often wonder if they're in the right grade."

"And they are receiving plenty of time exercising and getting the vitamins and supplements they need?"

Asgore sighed. "Toriel, I spare no expense when it comes to taking care of children. You know this. Frisk's every need is taken into account."

Toriel looked to the side somberly. "...I know."

Asgore let the weight lift from his shoulders for once. "Tori, you do not have to stow yourself away in the Ruins. There is always room in the castle. If not for me then be here for them.”

"I'll think on it, Asgore. But for now, I'm going back to my house. Frisk, do make sure he stays out of trouble, okay?"

"Hey now," Asgore said with an eyebrow lowered. He then looked to Ava who'd just finished her phone call with Martlet. "Ava, do swing by the castle once your hands are free. I'd be glad to show you around. And as for the humans, it would help my conscious greatly to have them tended to. Goodbye for now."

Asgore turned and Frisk walked with him out the eastern door.

Ava frowned and looked down at her not-so-free hands. She really wasn't taking what Sans said to heart, was she?

Chapter Text

The flower was getting rather peeved at his lack of finding anything useful. He had been searching for at least two hours now and still came up empty handed.

Flowey, you idiot! Were you really just expecting things to just fall in place for you? he thought to himself.

The sudden change in water rushing against something ahead caught his attention. The river was carrying another object down.

Flowey looked up at the waterfall's ledge as a waterproof suitcase flew off and landed right in front of him.

"Are you serious?" he griped as he picked it up with his vines. He judged the weight of it, lifting it to and fro. He'd need to take it someplace drier in order to open it. So, he did just that.

The room behind the waterfall where that old tutu was hidden. It was perfect. Nobody ever checked this spot except for her, and now that Ava already checked here, she'd have no reason to do so again, at least for a while.

"Now, let's see what's so important about this suitcase." Flowey carefully opened the suitcase... only to find a locked briefcase inside. He squinted at it. "What? Who puts a briefcase inside of a suitcase?! Ugh, whatever!"

The flower summoned some friendliness pellets and struck the locks off with precision. A vine lifted the top up to reveal a sheaf of documents along with a note at the top.

"Ahem! 'IMPORTANT! Do not lose! Inside the attached documents resides evidence for the complicated murder of Lieutenant Cole Monoyak and the attempted murder of Ava Millet, both of Chosen Company, by the hands of the United States Covert Operations Group GSSOG.' Well now... you have my attention."

The flower cackled and grinned the more he read of the enclosed documents.

"Oh ho-ho ho! This is just too good! I'd even go as far as to say Ava and Cole had it worse than me and Chara, and that's saying something!"

He just kept reading. "Oh Chara, humans really have changed... FOR THE WORSE! HAHAHAHA!"

…

"So, they're boss monsters now?" Martlet asked.

Chujin nodded. Standing beside him were a multitude of dog monsters. "It's astonishing, really. Because of Ava, I was able to improve and perfect my boss monster serum within a day, for the amalgamates anyway."

"And they're all just fine? No lasting side effects or nothing?"

"From what we can tell, no. Their souls are much stronger now, and can contain the leftover determination still existing within their bodies. Of course, I'm going to have those close to them notify me or Alphys if something goes wrong."

The elevator door opened and out came Ava and Alphys. Ava stretched her arms overhead and yawned. The last amalgamate(s?) was(were?) a difficult piece to puzzle with.

They were designated as memoryhead A through C. According to Alphys, they weren't even monsters to begin with. As far as she could tell, they just showed up once the determination experiments went awry.

"It's done," Alphys said. "I can finally say I've helped those monsters get better."

"So we get to go home now, right?" Kanako asked.

"For now, yes. We can go home," Chujin said with a smile. Even he had to admit being cooped up in this lab was rather demanding. It would be best to go back and see how his wife and son were doing.

"Of course!" Alphys piped up. "It'd also give me time to work on Maddie's body."

Before they knew it, the group was in Hotland. Martlet decided to fly ahead and tell the Dunes the good news.

Ava was still caught up in thought. What were they, the memoryheads? They lacked souls. Hell, they were barely even sentient. Were they ghost monsters like Maddie?

No, that didn't make sense. Maddie herself even told Ava that ghosts were incorporeal until they fused with a body. These things were already tangible. The serum wouldn't work on them if they weren't because there would be nothing to inject it into.

And sorting them out was even more difficult than the others because of it. It didn't even feel like the memories belonged to anyone. They, like the bodies they inhabited, simply were. It was as though they themselves were cast out memories and remnants of the others that came before them, whatever that meant.

She managed to align them with what they were likely to be, but they just completely disappeared afterwards. This just left Ava and the others with more questions, but at least they left on a high note. Maybe.

"Do all human soldiers carry their weapons like robots do?" Kanako asked, breaking Ava out of her thoughts.

Ava looked at Kanako and chuckled. "I didn't even realize I was marching." She shifted her rifle in her arms to a more lax position and walked casually. "I can't speak for other countries, but in the states, we are taught ad libitum to stay in line with each other to keep rhythm and maintain professional appearances. I guess muscle memory kicked in for me there."

Kanako looked at the tattoo of two sevens mirroring each other on her shoulder. "What's that on your shoulder mean?"

Ava snorted. "What is this? Twenty questions? In all seriousness though, it's a design that symbolizes which division I was assigned to after I completed basic training at boot camp."

"So you weren't always with Chosen Company?" Chujin asked.

"Oh, most certainly," Ava replied. "I've been passed around more platoons than I could count, even after... well, it's best not to talk about it."

The three of them approached an old elevator shaft. As they entered and Chujin selected a floor, Ava's thoughts went back to the memoryheads.

They didn't have souls, yet they were still responsive. They reacted to Ava. They knew she was trying to help them, even if it was impossible for her to know how. Despite these signs of life, the responses were mitigated to simple phrases. Higher thinking was possible, but it seemed to be extremely difficult.

Then there was the flower. The damn thing seemed to spit in the face of everything she had just learned about what a soul does. Without a soul, a being is just a being. It doesn't experience emotion. Period. The flower definitely held something of an existential awareness beyond its simple existence. It had shown Ava manipulation, shock, confusion, rage, spite, and even a hint of sympathy in their short interaction.

"Gah... I don't get it!" Ava blurted. Chujin raised an eyebrow, but Ava continued. "The flower that attacked you guys. I can't make sense of it. If a soul is the embodiment of one's own being, how can something that has no soul be so expressive?"

"What do you mean?" Chujin asked.

"During the attack, I was beginning to get the hang of sensing other people's souls. That thing didn't have one," Ava pointed out. "It knew what to do when it couldn't take Clover's soul, which might I add is awfully strange for a being who can exist without a soul to do unless it is acutely aware of how powerful one could be if used. It did use soul magic. This thing had to be beyond knowledgeable on the topic of souls to do that."

The elevator doors slid open and the three stepped out onto the signature Hotland rock from before, but the atmosphere was immediately less lively. They were entering the Steamworks.

"I've been thinking about it too, although it not having a soul is news to me. I had just assumed it had one like those Vegetoids, but even so, the way it was acting," Chujin started. "It talked like it knew Clover on a personal level. It knew I was dead at one point. It knew of Kanako's predicament as well."

Mechanical whirring filled the air as the main computer room lit up. Within seconds, the sound of a tire was fast approaching. [CREATOR?] they heard from down the hall.

Ava's eyes darted to Axis. Axis likewise turned his attention to Ava. The human's eyebrows furrowed. Axis himself was set on high alert.

"Chujin? Why does your robot have a soul of its own?" Ava questioned. "Wait. Is it a ghost like Maddie?"

"No. He's my finest feat of engineering. Him having generated a soul is due to my own experiments."

Ava's finger twitched. "What?! But, how is that even possible?"

Chujin frowned and sighed. "It's a complicated process, Ava. Too long to explain. For now, let's just go."

[CREATOR. I MUST INFORM YOU THAT THE TALL HUMAN IS CARRYING MULTIPLE WEAPONS.]

"An astute observation, Axis. Thank you," Chujin said as they walked past him.

[…]

The robot simply stared at Ava. She was a bit weirded out by him to be honest. It was here she realized just how much she relied on observational cues and actions of people to know what they were thinking.

[CREATOR?] Axis asked again. He began to follow in line with them.

"Yes Axis?"

[REQUESTING MAINTENANCE ON THREAT SENSOR. REASON: CANNOT CONFIRM LV STATUS OF INDIVIDUAL DUE TO PRIOR LOG SHOWING DISCREPANCY.]

"Maintenance request denied. Your sensors work fine, Axis. Ava's LV has just been dropping."

[...ELABORATE.]

"Sorry, but that's something else I have no answer for."

Axis fell back a bit and kept in pace with Ava. [AND YOU? WHAT ABOUT YOU? WHAT CAN YOU ANSWER?]

Ava didn't bother to look at him. "What can you ask?" she retorted.

[WHY DID YOU SAVE ME?]

Ava shrugged. "I don't know. I never gave it much thought to be honest."

[WELL, I DID. JUST NOW, YOUR WORDS CONFUSE ME MORE. YOU BELIEVE I AM NOT SOMETHING TO SUSTAIN A FORM OF LIFE, YET YOU OPTED TO PUSH ME OUT OF DANGER.]

Ava stopped and looked down at him. "I just didn't want you to get hurt is all. Is that such a bad thing?"

[…]

"...What? Don't look at me like that. I acted on a gut feeling, alright? Get off my case."

The four continued walking in silence. Eventually, Axis spoke again.

[YOU MADE ME REMEMBER HER, YOU KNOW. THE DANCING HUMAN.]

Aside from a slight irregularity in her gate, Ava kept walking undeterred. She had made her peace with Melody's death a while ago.

Chujin watched Axis with concern. How much did he remember? They were suppressed for a reason, and not just to keep evidence to a minimum.

[IT WAS UNPLEASANT. I DID NOT WANT TO ATTACK HER, BUT I HAD FAR LESS LIBERTY IN MY ACTIONS BACK THEN. SHE WAS SCARED. I WAS NOT, YET I WAS FORCED TO NEUTRALIZE HER.]

The group went in an elevator and descended to a lower floor. Axis was still accompanying them, much to Ava's discomfort. Was he expecting a response?

Eventually, they made their way to a large passage filled with a pink substance covering the lower levels. While signs of damage were present, it seemed as though the robots were working on rebuilding the place. Many of the walkways that had been destroyed due to lack of maintenance were fully recovered. Unfortunately, a huge section was still cut off by the pink stuff.

Ava watched as a robotic manta ray swam up to the walkway. [THE FLOOR IS LAVA, BUT WITH MY HELP IT WILL NOT BE. TWO AT A TIME PLEASE.]

"I guess I'll go with Kanako," Ava suggested.

"As much as I do enjoy seeing you spend time with her, I have a few things I need to discuss with Kanako in private. Please understand," Chujin said. "You can go with Axis."

Ava stifled her grimacing. "Are you sure I can't just-" Her eyes settled on Kanako's. They were wide and dilated. She was looking at Ava like a sad puppy. "You-... Fine. Go with your father."

"Yes!" Kanako fist pumped.

"Yeah, yeah. Get going. The longer you dilly dally, the later we'll be for supper."

The two foxes stepped atop the manta ray and drifted off. Ava sat down and leaned her gun on her shoulder. Axis simply stood in place.

"So, got any campfire stories?" Ava asked as a joke.

…

"Clover, honey? What are you doing? It's late. Dinner is almost done."

"I'm applying myself, Mom," Clover responded. His palms were out and his arms were extended. He was standing in front of the training dummy, but his revolver was still in its holster.

Ceroba looked up. The large swelterstone was almost halfway covered up by the day and night mechanism Chujin finished building last year. She looked back down to her son.

Mooch walked over to the porch. "He's been trying to create a barrier for the past hour."

Ceroba raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I need to," he said over his shoulder. Clover stopped and turned her way. "When I fought Flowey before, I was carried away by going on the offensive. You've been teaching Kanako how to use barrier magic because she's not good at dodging. I want some of that too."

"Are you sure? Dodging is your whole thing," Ceroba pointed out.

Clover lowered his head. "Not always. Dodging will work for me, but what if someone else takes the hit in my stead?"

Ceroba sighed. Once Clover made up his mind on something, there was no convincing him. "Clover, are you sure you can even make barriers? Mastering magic isn't relegated to just hard work and practice."

Clover nodded with a grin. "I'm a Ketsukane. I'll figure it out eventually."

Ceroba materialized her staff. "In that case, you'll need to start by making a staff. Standing there with your hands isn't gonna cut it."

"So you'll teach me?" Clover asked. He looked around suddenly. "Wait, does anyone else hear wing beats?"

The three of them look north as a blue figure fights the wind to close the distance. Clover's eyes widened. It was Martlet. She flapped her wings rapidly to slow down and landed in front of the house. Clover found it odd that she wasn't short of breath.

"Clover! Ceroba! You'll never believe what I found out," she chirped with the biggest smile she could manage.

"Dinner's ready!" Starlo called out from inside. Mooch jumped up and darted inside.

Martlet grabbed Clover's hand and tugged him with. "Come on. I'll tell you inside."

Ceroba followed them in and found herself smiling. The image of Martlet leading Clover around reminded her of the day she met him. She then remembered something else.

"Martlet! You forgot to use the boot scrubber to clean off your boots again!" Ceroba shouted.

While footwear except for sandals weren't allowed on in the house, Martlet was a special case. While she is undoubtedly a sweetheart, those talons of hers were anything but. Hence, she's allowed her boots to avoid damage to the floorboards.

"Sorry," Martlet said sheepishly. She bolted outside to clean and sped back in to join Clover at the kotatsu.

Steak with a side of corn. Clover loved steak. It was rare to get down here and rather expensive too. As such, this particular dish was reserved for special occasions.

"Feathers? Didn't know you'd be joinin. Good thing I made extra."

Martlet looked around. Of the Feisty Five, only two were here. "Where are the others?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

Starlo looked at Mooch and shrugged. "Ed an' Ace went back ta the East, but I don't know where Moray said they was headin."

"Well, just tell them the news when you run into them. So anyway, Chujin's a Royal Scientist now!"

Ceroba's fork was held in front of her open mouth. Her husband was...

"Turns out Ava thought of applying his experimental boss serum thing to the amalgamates and that lead to a breakthrough. They're on their way back here actually! I suppose I should've mentioned that sooner but oh well."

Clover laughed. "Look at that, Mom. Dad's finally getting the recognition he deserves. What about Kanako? How is she doing?"

Martlet poked her steak with her fork. "She seems to be doing good. When I got there, she was standing and in deep conversation with Ava so that's gotta be a good sign, right?"

Clover nodded. Thank goodness Kanako was alright. He didn't know what he would do with himself if he was the one who inadvertently killed his own sister.

"Oh! And Ava was a lot more cheerful than before. She got to talk to both the King and Queen and convince them to let Chujin continue his work. Or, just the King I guess. Queen Toriel was just keeping tabs on Frisk."

Clover slowed down on eating his dinner. His smile faltered for a bit. Supposedly, Ava was his biological sister and other surviving member from his first family. This was confirmed when he regained his memories. However, this only highlighted how little he knew about her.

Just before Ava disappeared to join the army, she was a rambunctious loudmouth tomboy who stood up for the other orphans when things got down. When he met her in Waterfall 8 years later, she was soft spoken and collected. Decisive and cold. What changed in her?

Martlet looked at Clover and then to Ceroba. "Um... you know you still have food on your plates, right? Why are you two just staring off in space?"

Chapter Text

Ava stared into the bubbling pink liquid. This whole situation just didn't sit right with her. Everything was going too smoothly. Even sitting down next to the literal murder machine on a robo manta ray didn't faze her.

These new abilities were so foreign and alien to her. We're they even "hers" at all? Was all of this just thrust upon her? It certainly felt that way.

Ava sighed. "This is taking a while... Hmm?"

She lifted her head as they passed a set of walkways leading somewhere else in the building. Was someone around the corner of the wall just there? Ava could've swore she saw something yellow in the periphery of her vision.

"Axis? Tell me, are there any robots in the Steamworks that are yellow?" she asked.

[NEGATIVE. STEAMWORKS ROBITS ARE ALL THE SAME COLOR WITH VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS. NONE ARE YELLOW, TALL HUMAN.]

Ava mulled over this and stood up. "Manta ray robot. Stop here."

Axis followed Ava in her detour. [WHAT ARE WE DOING?]

"Investigating," Ava replied.

As they stepped onto the platform and walked down the corridor, a yellow petalled flower thought to himself out of sight.

Damn, she's fast! I was just trying to get a good look at what she was holding. No sooner did I poke my head out did she turn hers my way!

This was far from ideal. He needed to catch her off guard for this to work. Direct manipulation was off the table so long as her stats were as towering as they were, and her being so aware even while daydreaming would put Flowey's skills to the test.

"Axis, can you scan parts of the room we are in now?" Ava asked.

[MY EFFECTIVE SCANNING RANGE IS LIMITED TO 8 METERS WITHIN A 90 DEGREE CONE.]

"Alright. Start scanning the walls."

Flowey slid behind the walls going the opposite direction of Axis. He was moving past Ava when he suddenly heard screws snapping. Next thing he knew, the sheet metal was torn off the wall and Ava's hand clasped around his stem.

"Glk! Whrt thr hll?!" he choked. "Hey! Hands-ah! Get off!"

"You mean to tell me you really are that stupid?" Ava asked while tugging Flowey's head out into the open.

"What... a-are you talking about?!" Flowey managed.

Ava pointed to Axis. "You chose to go the completely wrong direction. Instead of avoiding him, you should've tried to avoid the both of us. You can't seriously say you didn't consider I'd hear you shuffling behind this loud ass steel, did you?"

Flowey chanced a glance down at the sheet metal by Ava's foot. His eyes were already wide, so not much changed with his expression.

How the heck did can she just force her hands around the metal like that?! That steel is at least an inch thick!

He looked further down at where it was removed from the wall. Turns out, it wasn't completely disconnected. Some chunks of the wall where the screws were drilled into were still part of it. Just how strong was this human?

"Still, thank you for validating my concerns. I thought things were going a bit too smoothly." She squinted at him for a moment. "You seem quite tense. I wonder what other secrets I can gleam from you," she said while brandishing her combat knife.

Flowey tried to put on his best creepy face. "Do you really think torture is gonna work on me?"

Ava raised an eyebrow. "Oh. I didn't know you were into that kind of thing."

Flowey's smile faltered. "Wh-what?"

Ava inspected Flowey by the stem. "Nah, I was just gonna dissect you. I want to know what makes you tick."

To Ava's amazement, she could feel Flowey begin to sweat.

"You're a real Pandora's box, you know that?" she told him. "Next you'll tell me you're the prince of monsters."

Flowey finally understood why he was so put off by her. Ava had the perceptiveness of Smiley Trashbag, the brute strength and will of Undyne, the conviction of Ceroba, and the chaotic personality of Chara.

"HnghaaAAAAAAHH!!!" Flowey bellowed as he pelted Ava's jaw with over a hundred friendliness pellets. This got her to release him and he ducked in the wall below her reach.

Ava felt along her jaw where the cuts were. It stung quite a bit. An awkward smile tugged at Ava's lips.

"You little shit. That actually hurt a little," she said aloud. "Is it strange that I found it a bit nostalgic? Probably."

Flowey grumbled a bit under his breath. All he wanted was to get some information. Now, he was hiding for his life. The flower was starting to wonder if her soul was even worth the gamble.

"What's your deal, lady?! You're an absolute freak!" he yelled.

To which Ava responded, "Takes one to know one. What's your name, anyway?"

"It's Flowey! Flowey the flower. Don't you forget it!"

Axis watched silently as Ava stared at the gap in the wall. "...Did you come up with that on your own?"

"Yes I did! F-...FUCK YOU!" he screamed. Of all the mean things he did in his hundreds of life times, swearing was something he found little enjoyment in. It always felt good to defend his pride, so this was an exception he was willing to make.

Ava's smile grew just a bit but then flattened. "Alright, I've had my fun. Who are you really, because it's definitely not this 'Flowey' persona you've built for yourself."

"I am the GOD of this world's future!" Flowey said with malice.

"Ah, so you were a child before you became a flower. Got it."

Flowey remained quiet. He knew what game she was playing now. She was trying to trip him up through conjecture. It seems Ava couldn't be stopped from getting a response though, as not responding was also in a way a response.

"I can hear how bad of a poker face you've got, or lack thereof. It needs work."

No response from Flowey.

Ava shrugged. "Not sure why you'd be keeping an eye on me if you didn't want a piece of the action."

Again, no response from Flowey. Ava crossed her arms and waited. Axis looked at the wall gap and back to her.

Finally, Ava turned to walk away. "Guess you don't want a soul of your own, then," she commented.

"Not falling for it!" she heard from the wall. "The second I pop out to talk, you'll kill me. You think I haven't used this tactic myself?!"

"Buddy, if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. Still..." Ava turned around and faced the wall gap. "You're interested then. Good. I wasn't going to take no for an answer."

"You can't just create a soul from nothing! There's always a catch."

Ava huffed. "The catch is I'll look into it if you stay out of Clover's hair. We'll both shut the fuck up about it until I figure it out."

Flowey's head popped into view. He was annoyed. "So, you don't even know HOW you want to do this?!"

Despite his anger, Ava remained resolute. She was stern, but her face held no malice.

"You think I'll just be a pawn in your game of chess?! Or are you stupid enough to have forgotten I attacked your brother?"

"Oh I've far from left that in the past," she said. "But even so, I want to help you."

Flowey rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Oh good. Pity. I'd rather go back to spying from afar than sit through this."

"Pity?" Ava repeated. "No. Not pity. I just think you'd be much less of an asshat with a soul is all. When I grabbed you earlier, I was able to feel your emotions, albeit to a significantly diluted and lesser extent. Soul or not, they're still there."

Flowey was still hesitant. It seemed too good to be true just getting a soul for free but, maybe his plan could still work. Reluctantly, Flowey extended a thorny vine out to her and waited.

Ava took his vine in her hand and shook. Flowey felt something flow through him unexpectedly. This feeling... what was it she just gave to him?

"Glad we have an understanding," she finally said. "You can wait like three days, right? I gave you patience, so now you've gotta use it."

Flowey felt as though a small part of him had been restored. After all of this time without it, the feeling was strange. He couldn't deny he felt good though.

Ava raised her other hand and snapped her fingers.

FILE LOADED.

Flowey blinked and he was back at the corner watching Ava and Axis cross the pink liquid. Initially, he was a bit miffed that she reset immediately after making a deal with him but then he realized that the feeling of patience persisted. Technically speaking, the time when she gave it to him had been erased.

Did her magic extend beyond resets?

She held up a hand with three fingers on display. Three days. Flowey only had to wait three days. He would finally be able to make his dreams come true.

…

"There they are," Chujin said in the distance.

After they met up and parted ways with Axis at the Steamworks entrance, the three made their way through The Wild East. They took some time to reassure everyone there that Kanako was okay before moving on. Ed and Ace were running things while Starlo and the rest were away. Apparently, Moray had to go visit their parents at the mines.

Before long, the Ketsukanes plus one human of tall stature approached the unlocked gate to the estate. From inside, knocking is heard before the three enter and remove their footwear.

"Honey? We're home!" Chujin called out. Kanako rushed past him through to the dining room. He can't help but stifle a giggle at his daughter's energy.

"BiIiIiG bRoOoOtHeEeEr~!" Kanako yelled, running in and slamming her arms around Clover. She followed up by nuzzling his shoulder. "Mmmmmmmmm! I haven't seen you in forever!"

Clover hugged her back. "Koko, it's been a day."

Kanako frowned. "It didn't feel like a day!"

Ceroba joined in on the hug and squished the two of them together before kissing them both on the head. "Welcome home, sweetie."

They break from the hug as Chujin gets his turn. He ruffled Clover's unkempt hair and smiled. "How's your chest feeling?" he asked.

"I'm just fine, physically speaking."

Chujin raised an eyebrow. "Just physically?" he asked.

Clover looked down at his empty plate. They were about to start putting away food not one minute ago. "Yeah, I've got a lot to think about."

Ceroba met eyes with her husband. With sadness in her eyes, she explained to him that Clover remembered his past life as a human. Clover stared at Ava who was standing at the door while she said this.

That's right. Clover remembered her now. She always had his back, but was that really true? The more he thought about her spot in his life, the more fixated he became on that question. The more frustrated he got because of it.

He turned to her and walked over quietly, but everyone was watching him. As he approached, Ava averted her gaze.

In a moment of surprise, Clover balled a fist and drove it into Ava's naval. Ava felt the wind rush out of her esophagus, but remained standing.

Tears stung Clover's eyes. "How could you?!" he shouted. "How could you just leave me in the dark without telling me you were going away?!"

Ava steadied herself as a right hook struck her in the jaw. Once again, Ava was staggered but remained upright.

"You left a photo on my backpack, and then you just disappeared!"

"Deputy? Deputy! What's the meanin' of this?!" Starlo shouted as he entered from down the hallway to see what was going on. Martlet was right beside him. As she moved to try and separate the two, Ava held out a hand to tell them not to interfere.

"I deserve thi- oogk!" she got out before Clover threw another punch.

"You told Melody! WAS I NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH?!" Clover was practically screaming now. "You think I wasn't terrified when you weren't there to help us feel safe?!" Another punch. "You thought Melody could shoulder that responsibility all on her own, YOU SELFISH BITCH?!"

"CLOVER, THAT IS ENOUGH!" Ceroba bellowed. "You know better than to let out your aggression on people with violence!"

Clover came at Ava again and she closed her eyes. She was expecting more than what she got. Clover's strikes were far less forceful now, reduced to low effort bumps. He leaned against her chest and sobbed.

Clover...

"Do you ha- (hic!) have any idea how scared I was when I heard you'd been put in critical care? I thought I'd been abandoned for nothing."

Ava held Clover close and rocked him back and forth. Her arms were firm and rugged, but also gentle. Just like how they were back then.

"Clover... I was wrong to leave you with no notice like that. This much is true, but my reasons for doing so go far beyond my own selfish want to experience the world as it was."

Ava crouched so she was eye level with Clover and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"The Millet bloodline is known for their way of fighting, Clover. Not through how the fighting is done, but why."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"For generations, our family tree has fought to protect the ideals of our world. Our records date back to the Revolutionary War where our ancestors fought as slaves to earn their freedom. After that, our great great great great grandfather fought in the civil war to abolish slavery and free the colored folk in the south. Great Grandpa Rick served in the first World War to defend the interests of our allied nations, and after him, Grandfather Josephia Millet abandoned his post and joined the Canadian army so he could get to the front line faster when fighting the Nazis in World War 2. He later re-enlisted to fight to keep the people of South Korea from being erased from history."

Ava smiled. "Our father fought in Desert Storm not too long before you were born. He told me this ten years ago as I'm telling you now, and I have verified what he said to be true during my time in service. We don't just fight on behalf of our country or for honor, we fight because we believe it's the right thing to do."

Clover sniffed. "Was it? Was going overseas the right thing to do?"

Ava stood back up. "It's not that simple, Clover. At the time, I had believed that fighting the Taliban was the right thing to do. Terrorists... don't exactly hold moral high ground in their decision making. To some degree, I don't regret choosing to fight them."

Clover peered into Ava's crimson red eyes. She was being sincere.

"I hold disdain for what command pursued after our initial insertions, but I cannot say with absolute certainty that things would've been better if we weren't there. In addition, there were personal reasons," Ava continued. "You are a benevolent and righteous boy. Our father wanted you to live a happy life, free from the excursions of our military. If the cycle of our heritage were to continue, it would have to be from another. Do you understand what I'm saying, Clover?"

Clover looked down. "...You wanted to fulfill father's wishes?"

Ava nodded solemnly. Hearing this, Kanako became self-conscious about her screw up five-and-a-half years ago. She thought about how messed up she turned out. After hearing the details about Ava's hospitalization and what followed, she realized the two had stronger parallels than she thought.

"Wow..." mumbled Martlet. "I never considered that angle before. Are you still serving?"

"Technically, yes. Although my contract has expired, my status as a veteran does not begin until I complete this mission."

"So, you'll have to go back to them eventually," Clover said with disappointment.

Ava smiled and hugged Clover again. "I was given no time limit. I am simply considered M.I.A. until then."

Clover's eyes lit up. "So you'll stay?" he asked with energy returning.

"I left you once, Clover. I will never do that again. It is my purpose in life to see you live happily."

"In that case," began Chujin as he hugged Ava. Kanako got the hint and motioned for Ceroba and the others to join in.

"Welcome to the family, Ava Ketsukane."

Chapter Text

"...What?" Ava mumbled, dumbfounded. It seems she wasn't expecting to be invited into the family that easily.

"Kanako and I discussed it while we were in the Steamworks. You need someplace to stay, right?" Chujin pointed out.

"But don't you... You've just changed your mind on the whole 'Humans are dangerous' thing?" Ava asked.

"Quite the opposite, actually. Knowing as much as I do about you only further cements that as a fact," Chujin quipped as they let go of Ava. "But as far as humans being decent... well, you've went above and beyond my expectations. If you weren't here, Kanako would be dead right now."

Ava turned her head and looked down. "I wouldn't exactly call myself decent."

"Hey now," Starlo piped in. "I'd say it's more important what others' opinions are of you than you've got of yourself."

Ava glanced at Starlo. Thinking over his words, she did see the wisdom in them. But... was it really that easy to be a good person? She didn't know, so instead she just sighed with a smile.

Ava looked over at Kanako and Clover. "Alright, you two. Dinner if you haven't had it yet, showers, and then bed. You have school tomorrow."

Clover was a little put off by her sudden parental behavior. "But, what about clean up afterwards?"

Ava pointed a thumb at herself. "I got it covered. Now get to it. I've gotta get my stuff washed too. My plunge into the West Mines River two days ago doesn't count."

…

Ava was resting an arm on the porch's handrail while looking out into the dark and surprisingly frigid air of the Dunes. She had to admit, the contraption that covers the swelterstone does a great job of simulating night time.

The door behind her slid open. She didn't need to see her to know it was Ceroba. She walked up and joined Ava in her "star gazing."

"Long night?" Ceroba asked.

Ava let out a hearty laugh. "Oh... longer than you think, though you can probably guess why."

Ceroba leaned her cheek on her palm as she used her elbow on the rail for support. "Are you worried the flower will return?"

"Oh he will eventually, but it won't be for a while," Ava said. "My concerns are mostly about myself. I have ascended to another plane of understanding. I can do things that shouldn't be possible... and I'm not sure how to feel about them."

Ceroba thought back to what Clover told her about timelines and redoing things. He told her that Ava could be the one with that power now.

"How many times have we had this conversation?" Ceroba asked. The least she could do was be supportive.

Ava tapped her fingers on the rail. "That's a really strange thing to say, you know? But uh, the first. That's another power I'm not exactly comfortable thinking about. I'm assuming Clover knows something and told you?"

"He told me that Flowey is the reason he made it to the Dunes in the first place. Like you, he can rewind time." Ceroba let out a sigh of her own. "I still find it hard to understand how such a power could even exist."

Ava thought on it. "Is that why the flower is so messed up in the head? He's done everything there is to do and thinks of everyone as pieces on a chess board because he can't connect to anyone?"

"Clover said he wants to get the five human souls at the castle to become godlike. That certainly feels like something someone who views others as expendable would seek."

Ava looked over to the luscious greenery along the fence. "I don't ever want to end up like that."

A furry hand rested on her shoulder. "You won't," explained Ceroba. "Unlike the flower, you have a soul. A very passionate and caring one at that. You've made some mistakes, but we all do."

"Hmm..." Ava trailed off. The two stood in brief silence as the wind blew by.

"I'll see you inside," Ceroba said. "Gotta get the tub ready for you. Let me know if you need anything, okay sweetie?"

The fox mother leaned over and kissed Ava's cheek before withdrawing inside. Once the door was closed, Ava chuckled to herself. They really were treating her like family. She felt a warmth in her chest from that notion.

"Just a few more minutes," she murmured. There was something calming about the wind being the only noise apparent.

She went in after getting her fill of the night air. Tomorrow was approaching. She'd better be ready for it.

…

The water was warm and relaxing. The bathroom itself was surprisingly modern-day, albeit with far more hair-care products than any human would ever need.

Ava cupped some water and ran it into her messy brown hair. There was some resistance due to tangled bits, but she was able to undo most of them with a little effort. When it came time for her to undo her arm gauss, Ceroba entered with a folded up kimono for her to wear while Ava's clothes were in the washer.

"You can have one of mine until we get your measurements," she offered. Ceroba looked to Ava with concern. "Why did you only bring one pair of extra clothes on a mission with no time limit?"

"To be fair," Ava began as she unwrapped her right forearm. "I did say I wasn't planning on surviving this long. Plus I prefer to travel light. It might not seem like much of a difference to someone of my physique, but even the smallest intervals can be all the difference in a mission."

Ceroba brought the trashcan closer to the tub so Ava could discard the bandages. What she found odd about it was that there were no wounds. Maybe that could be explained away by her regenerative properties, but it still didn't make sense.

The moment Ceroba noticed how poorly Ava was washing her hair, she moved up and began getting her hands soapy.

Ava looked up at her. "What are you doing?"

Ceroba put her fingers through her hair and starting properly conditioning it. "Fixing your hair. It's greasy and full of knots."

Ava protested but Ceroba wasn't having it. This was the same farm hand style of "washing" that she observed in Clover when he was first adopted. "Good enough" was not good enough for a Ketsukane.

Ava frowned but relented, focusing instead on removing her left forearm bandages. Ceroba grabbed a brush and spent the next several minutes straightening and washing Ava's hair.

"You know, you could just tell me to do it better."

Ceroba stopped brushing for a second. She had heard these words before back when Clover was first given a bath. What was it she read about? Chronic stress? Complex stress? One of those had to have happened here. There's no way them having the same response was just coincidence.

And then she remembered the definitions. Chronic Stress is defined as a compounding stress that occurs from multiple instances of the same or similar situation. Complex stress is defined as the stress caused by one who's supposed to protect and nurture the victim.

Ceroba felt her fur raise a bit in bitterness towards Ava's and Clover's foster care orphanage. It would explain why Clover is so withdrawn with some subjects even now. The development of a child's decision making is highly impacted the younger they are. Ava wasn't kidding about being robbed of a normal childhood either. Try and cover it up as she may, the signs were there.

"You know, I can tell when you're trying to psychoanalyze me," Ava said, making Ceroba jump. "I might not read minds, but you've been awfully quiet and still for someone who just wants to clean my hair."

Ceroba continues her brushing and sighs. "This orphanage you went to was neglecting your and Clover's needs in handfuls, Ava. Your body isn't a tool you can just manage and call it a day. You have to treat it with respect."

Ava finishes scrubbing down her arms and legs. "I'm aware of that, Ceroba. It's just that things can go from one to one hundred quickly, and I have to be ready to move at a moment's notice. That's just life."

"It shouldn't be," Ceroba said with worry evident in her words. "You don't have to keep pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion. I know you act and feel like you're unstoppable when getting things done, but this exact behavior is what lead Chujin to his death. Life doesn't have to be moving that fast."

"I am completely aware of my traumas, Ceroba," Ava said bluntly. "I just can't not be moving that fast with it. That's just who I am at this point. I only slowed down as much as I have at Sans' recommendation."

Ceroba huffed and rinsed Ava's hair. "Well then, you're coming with me tomorrow to New Home. We're having a day out together. Just the two of us, so I can get you to slow down more."

Ava stepped out of the tub and began drying herself off with a towel. "And if something goes wrong at the lab?"

Ceroba smiled. "They're going to be fine, Ava. Chujin and Alphys know what they're doing."

The fox mother created some wisps of flame to dry off Ava's hair. Ava nodded and reached into her items to pull out some more medical gauss, much to Ceroba's confusion.

"Ava?" she asked simply.

The human rewrapped her forearms and wrists before cutting them as she had done several hundred times before. "The gauss isn't for my wellbeing, Ceroba," she said while flexing her fingers. "I wrap them as a preventative. One reason is simply if I get into a scrap, my most likely cut areas would have a slight barrier already there. Second reason is it helps with gripping things. Neat little trick I picked up from my time with Cole."

Ceroba raised an eyebrow. "Coal? Did they have you fueling trains with your odd jobs in the military?" she asked.

Ava put on her undergarments and socks. "I mean... once. That's- Oh. You don't know who Cole is. That's right."

Ava picked up the spare kimono Ceroba gave to her and put her arms through the sleeves. She had to admit the texture was very smooth and relaxing. She brought the large ribbon part of the outfit around her waist and tied it at her back. It was a little short near the bottom for her liking, especially considering she was at least six inches taller than the one it was meant for, but it would do until morning.

Ava jumped as Ceroba brushed her hair again. Sighing, she took a knee and let her do her hair. Ceroba brought the majority of her brown locks to the back of her head and tied them in a ponytail using a red ribbon adorned with a little yellow bell, much like Kanako's.

"Is that a bell?" Ava asked with slight annoyance. "If so, it's gonna drive me crazy."

"These aren't normal bells, Ava. They only ring when healing magic is by the person who's wearing them," Ceroba explained. Ava poked and prodded at the bell and nothing came from it.

"Huh..."

She looked in the mirror at her reflection. Both of her eyes were no longer obscured by her hair. She could still see perfectly fine if some was, of course. It had just been so long since she'd actually cared about how she looked in front of others.

"You look beautiful, Ava." Cole's words echoed in her ears. Her lips parted near the middle as if she was to form a response. But even if she wanted to, and even if she did, the recipient would not hear.

She hung her head and walked away. "I think I'm going to go lay down now."

"Okay sweetie," Ceroba said. "Sweet dreams." She gave Ava a hug as she walked by. Ava made a note to just get used to it.

She thought along as she made her way to the same room she was in back when she fell in Waterfall. It was too sudden, all of this. Her instinctual response was to draw away. The overwhelming positivity coming from this household was enough to make any stranger suspicious.

That's what she was, after all. A stranger.

Despite this sentiment, Clover was here. If it weren't for that simple solace, Ava would've fought every intonation of her body giving in to comfort. These living conditions were just too far above her pay grade, which is an ironic oxymoron given how much the army pays her.

She stepped inside "her" room and climbed atop "her" bed. God, she couldn't even welcome the thought that this was her chamber. The bedding had been replaced with nicer material, and the pillows were even softer than last time. Once again, Ava had to fight the feeling this bed was meant for another soldier. Someone who needed it more.

Even so, she could not deny her body's needs. Try as she might to remove herself from the covers, it was too inviting to refuse. Ava closed her eyes and let sleep take her.

…

The flower popped his head up in the secluded room behind the waterfall. Sleep was something he needed too, even if he was technically a plant.

I know just what to tide me over, he thought with a grin.

He opened the briefcase again to read further into its contents. As it delved into some of the more grotesque details of the experiments listed, one thing stuck out to him that made sleep hard to do. A single implication that suggested something he wouldn't have expected.

Naturally upon reading this unwanted knowledge, his grin became a frown. Now he was starting to do something he hadn't in a long, long time: Worry.

Flowey quickly closed the briefcase and everything was stuffed back inside. "They wouldn't actually do that, would they?" he asked between panicked breaths. "I-if they did, Ava surely would... She likely already hates them for what she knows they did."

The flower's worry increased tenfold. He needed to forget what he had just read. If what Ava did to the amalgamates was as simple as reading their memories, Flowey was fucked on two fronts. Not only him, but everyone else too. Not that he cared about anyone but himself, but it was just something he knew to be factual.

Think of something else! THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE!!!

Boy, he hadn't been this worked up since he first awoke as a flower. For a full hour, Flowey stressed himself out thinking of other things just to rid what he just learned from his brain. What else was he to do? Let it fester until it was the only thing he thought about?

For the first time in his life, he wished he didn't remember what happened in between resets.

Chapter Text

Clover woke up with a start. Someone was doing something in the house. The sound of a board barely creaking from the southeastern room.

He angled his head up and at the alarm clock on his dresser. The time read 7:01 AM. He didn't have to get ready for school for another twenty minutes. The pillow was comforting, but the board in the distance creaked again.

He sighed in annoyance as the creaking rhythmically continued. He counted five, then twenty, then forty, then eighty. The board had been disturbed one hundred times and only slowed down near the last few. What was going on in Ava's room?

Clover flung the covers to the side and climbed out of bed. He rubbed his eyes and stepped out into the hallway. He heard Ava's door open and looked to see her rubbing her arms as she exited.

She was already dressed for the day. Brown cargo pants and her typical green tank top. Her hair was tied behind her head with the same ribbon and bell the rest of them wore though, so that was nice.

"Um... Ava, what are you doing?" he asked.

Ava yawned and stretched. "Push-ups. Why?"

Clover's eyebrows lowered. "At seven in the morning?"

"Well, yeah. I've been slacking on them since I got here," she told him. "Gotta make up for lost time, you know?"

The door just behind him opened and out walked Chujin, holding a small purple flame in his hand as a light.

"Clover? You're up early. Usually, I have to knock on the door," he quipped. Behind him, Ava could hear Ceroba picking a kimono off of a hangar. Upstairs, footsteps were rapid as Kanako got dressed and brushed her hair.

"Guess I'm getting dressed then," Clover mumbled with a lack of enthusiasm. Despite the early fatigue from waking, he didn't feel all that tired. From the looks of it, neither did anyone else.

Clover went to his dresser and pulled out a white tee shirt and blue jeans. Once that was situated where they belong, he grabbed his hat and placed it on his head. Out of habit he reached for his holster.

As his hand brushed the leather, he remembered his gun wasn't allowed in the school. Laughably obvious in hindsight, but Clover always felt like a piece of him was missing when he didn't have it. Sighing, he put on his brown jacket and polka-dot bandana.

The family ate breakfast and got ready to make the trek to New Home. This was usually how they started the weekdays. Get up, get ready, and go to school. After the teens were dropped off, Chujin would go around and do maintenance and odd jobs for various monsters to get the money for working on his projects, and Ceroba would be on call for the school board if she was needed as a substitute teacher.

The group made it to the shortcut through Waterfall into New Home (Don't ask me how it's faster than going through Hotland. It just is.) and took the second elevator down to the city below.

It was upon stepping out and into the urbanization that Ava was forced a realization. Every place she'd been to... Every single location had been just strange enough for her to see it as abnormal and therefore relatively safe, as odd as that sounds. Here? Far from it. Upon passing the first trashcan, Ava's back tensed up and her grip on Clover's hand tightened.

Clover turned to look up at her. Ava was holding a straight face, but her eyes were intently locked on another trashcan before looking around with a sense of unease. Seeing this from such a normally lax and composed individual didn't sit right with him.

"Ava, what's wrong?" he asked, prompting everyone to stop.

"Nothing!" she replied with more force than she wanted to. "Nothing. Keep going. We're going to be late."

Clover crossed his arms and frowned at her. "We're twenty minutes early. What's going on with you? Why are you freaking out?"

Ava grit her teeth and forced a smile. "Don't worry about me. I can handle it. The sooner we get through, the sooner I can stop being paranoid about threats that aren't there."

Clover looked over to Ceroba and Chujin. They were just as confused by this behavior as he was. Ava quickly walked along the asphalt, tired of waiting for the others to get moving.

"Hey! Wait a second!" Kanako shouted before running after her.

Ava's pace increased with every oddity she saw with the road before her. That crack in the pavement was pretty big. Better avoid it. That trash bag is oddly shaped. It could be concealing improvised explosives.

She broke into a full-on sprint, getting numerous looks from the monsters nearby. Before Ava knew it, she was rapidly approaching the high school. The human barged through the front doors and quickly sat down on a bench. She spotted a sizable rock near the base of it and picked it up, squeezing it in one hand to help her calm down. It wasn't helping much, but it was something.

Kanako burst in the doors as Susie and Noelle were coming to see what the commotion was.

"Ava!" the brown fox called. She spotted the human on the bench and scurried over. "Ava. Are you okay?"

Ava grunted. "I'm fine. Just get to class."

The rest of the family caught up with the two. Ava's eyes drifted over to Chujin who was approaching to check her heart rate.

"Stop! Not another step closer!" she begged. "Just- just let me calm down. I'm jittery and on edge. I don't want to accidentally hurt you."

Chujin halted in his tracks, but he did not retreat. Susie was watching from afar and noticed Ava's other hand grasping the bench.

"Whoa! She's bending the metal," the purple reptile said in awe. She looked at Ava's face and instantly felt bad for announcing her observation. Susie motioned for Clover and Kanako to follow her and Noelle. Clover nodded and walked over, but Kanako glared at her and stayed by Ava.

Susie frowned. "Hey you moron! She doesn't want to be seen like this. I know we're at odds foxface, but we have class and she needs space. Now get over here so she can get some," she growled.

Kanako's glare faltered. She looked back at Ava. The human was purposely keeping her eyes closed. Kanako's ears drooped and she begrudgingly followed Clover to their lockers.

"Miss Ceroba? What's going on?" asked MK. "Is the human okay?"

Ceroba turned to the young monster and hurried them along with her arms. "Get on to class, sweetie. Ava just needs to cool off."

"Okay," MK said nonchalantly and ran off to their homeroom.

Chujin pulled out a notebook from his multidimensional pouch and wrote some notes. "Ava, how do you feel right now?"

Ava didn't answer. She was completely still. Chujin sighed and wrote more notes.

Subject Ava is experiencing a panic attack. She is aware of her position and that she is in no danger, but her body disagrees. She is currently shutting off stimuli with her surroundings. This is likely a coping method meant to keep her emotions in check.

Chujin's ear twitched. Ava's breathing had regulated. The human slowly set the rock down and let go of the bench.

"I suppose you want to know what that was all about, huh?" she asked. Ava rubbed her shoulder and looked to the side. "I wasn't really given time to prepare my mind for living back in the states. A week wasn't nearly enough. They physically had to restrain me to get me on the airplane."

Ceroba sat down next to her on the bench. "Are you feeling better?"

Ava half nodded. "Y-yeah. Sorry. My anxiety took hold of me there. If it was just two or three of us, I'd be relatively fine. A little tense, but I could live with it."

She turned her head to watch young monsters moving about the place as classes started. "But when so many people I've come to care about get close to a potential hazard I have no way of disabling, I want things to move as fast as possible so if something does hit the fan, they won't be caught in the blast radius."

"Honey, what dangers are you afraid we'll run into?" Ceroba asked. "Is it another thing with the flower?"

Ava laughed. "Heh, no. That flower isn't nearly as big a problem to me as... I was actually dreaming of a time in Kandahar the morning after I fell down the drop at Waterfall. See..."

…

Sweat trickled down her cheek. The sun was high and the temperature was greater the of one hundred and tens. She was laying prone with a Barrett M82 sniper rifle scoped in on a road in the distance. Ava Millet, designated callsign "Sunshine," was pulling overwatch for a small convoy moving supplies to an Outpost further in the region.

She put a hand to her radio and pressed it. "Fifty-Two Charlie, this is Sunshine. Got a rough patch in the road about sixty meters out. Advise you hold your position, over."

"Sunshine, Fifty-Two Charlie. Good copy. Holding position, over."

Ava brought her supporting hand back to her rifle and observed the road. The asphalt was fresh. A few spots on it had dipped where culverts had been. Some of the roadwork was sloppy, as if hastily applied.

She chambered a round and focused in on the closest dip to the hill 52C was waiting beside. Ava reached for the receiver again.

"Fifty-Two Charlie, Sunshine. Be advised, the three buildings spanning the stretch of new road are showing no signs of activity. An ambush is likely, over."

"Sunshine, Fifty-Two Charlie. Good copy. Sending two for building check, over."

Ava frowned and fired at the dip she was centered on... No ignition, but she wasn't convinced. She reached back for the receiver.

"Negative! Do not crest the hill, over!"

She pulled her head back and angled it to face the hill. It seems the two recon soldiers didn't get her last message.

Ava pointed her gun back to another dip in the road. "Fuck it," she cursed.

She pulled back the bolt and chambered a Raufoss. Burning a seventy-five-dollar bullet was worth it if it meant disarming a potential threat to her convoy. The soldier centered in on the culvert and pulled the trigger.

As soon as the bullet burrowed into the asphalt, the entirety of the new stretch of road erupted with debris and shrapnel.

I FUCKING KNEW IT! she screamed internally. Quickly, she chambered a normal round and scoped back in on the building.

"Fifty-Two Charlie! Be advised, the road is destroyed and Taliban are exiting the building now! Do not crest the hill! You need to detour, over!" She shouted over the ringing still in the air.

She shifted her gun about five degrees to the left to spot a group of Taliban rushing out of the building, most of them were armed. Back in the other direction, one of the two recon soldiers were downed and being firefighter lifted by the other. It was clear to Ava what she had to do.

…

"So, I started putting rounds down range. I knew I couldn't get all of them. I only had so many bullets, but killing them wasn't the objective," Ava explained. "I needed them to find my position so I could draw them away. I was lucky that the first few shots were enough to catch their focus and the two recon scouts got out."

Ceroba looked uncertain. So did Chujin, but he understood how these things worked.

"This happened enough times to compound that sense of danger around uneven roads to you? Did the people you were watching over make it out?" he asked.

Ava sighed. "Yes and no. The leading scout broke his leg and had to be brought back to the prior Outpost. He had to get it amputated. Too much bone damage and it was cutting off circulation to the rest of his foot. As for his buddy, he made it back over the hill. I wasn't quick enough on spotting, and one of the Taliban got a bullet in him before I could chamber in my next round."

"I... couldn't imagine what that's like. This human war... the way you describe it is different than what we were taught."

Ava nodded solemnly. "That's because it's guerilla warfare. The Taliban knows it can't fight the US directly. They'd just get crushed. So instead, they cut away at what they can and run."

She looked down as Ceroba sat next to her patiently. "I... There is no winning in guerilla warfare. Just surviving it."

"Do you think you'll be okay to walk with us?" Ceroba asked.

Ava nodded again. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine."

The human put the rock she was holding back on the floor. She looked back at the bench where her hand dented the metal.

You'll never fit in anywhere. Not anymore. Not ever again. Whatever semblance of a normal life exists for you, you'll never reach it.

"Well, if you're sure you're okay, I've got to get to the Lab. You two have fun today," Chujin stated. "Oh, and um, don't worry about the bench. I'll see to it the school is compensated."

Ava was still lost in thought by the time Chujin had left. She was just coming to terms with it. No matter how hard she tried to be normal, there would never be such a thing as "normal" for her. She was too far gone for normalcy.

A part of her longed for the grueling labor of the days back on the farm, living under strict but caring parents and a family among a community. Those days were gone, but not for Clover. He was a monster among monsters. He had plenty to relate to.

Ava on the other hand, was a freak of nature. Dangerous to the core. The perfect killing machine with the strength to crush, kill, and destroy anything and anyone in her path. There was no relating in that department. And the fact she had a mage soul further pushed that boundary to the extremes. This was something she'd just have to bear on her own.

…

The walk through the city with Ceroba was a lot less stressful than her entry to it. This was mostly because it was just the two of them together and therefore less risk involved, but also because there were a lot more people walking around than earlier.

"So," Ava began as she followed Ceroba through a city block. "Where are we going?"

Ceroba couldn't help but smile back at her. "We're going to my friend's shop! She's the seamstress I mentioned."

"Oh," Ava said. That's right. She needed new clothes.

Not five minutes later, the two of them managed to reach a department sized building. The large neon lights sign on the front read "EVERYTHING OUTFITTERS" in bright yellow. Underneath that sign was a smaller sign that read "Your shop for all things design and shine" but in orange.

Ava looked over at a small sign near the door. "'Special interview with MTT Live tonight. Be here!'" she read aloud. The fox beside her rolled her eyes.

"Yeah... don't worry about Mettaton. He's a celebrity that pretty much owns a TV show monopoly around here." Ceroba's words were dry and held annoyance towards the subject of topic.

"Noted."

Ava opened the door and the two walked in. The first thing she noticed was the diversity of the smaller shops inside. This "Everything Outfitters" was literally just a mall.

The two of them made their way past several places, including the location the event was to take place, and monsters kept giving Ava looks throughout most of it. She received plenty of glances out in the open city, but the ones she got here were far more concentrated.

Ava did her best to act indifferent. It was obvious to them who she was. Either that or she just stood out that much.

A bell tied to a door handle jingled as they entered a small Japanese themed apparel shop. Shortly after they stepped inside, the store owner and her employees each gave Ceroba a hug. They were fox monsters like the Ketsukanes. These ones were white and gray furred though.

She didn't know Japanese all that well. Going to and being stationed in Japan doesn't simply ingrain that knowledge into someone. Despite this shortcoming, Ava was still able to generalize bits and pieces of Ceroba's conversation. "Greetings," "It's been so long," and the like.

Ava was then surrounded by three of the fox employees as they took her measurements. A few seconds later, they pulled her over to a counter to select colors.

"Wh- uh? ...Red and black?" She managed, pointing to the respective colors. She didn't know why she chose those colors specifically, but it was too late to take it back.

The store owner had her T-pose while her employees held some cloths of the selected colors up in front of her to simulate what the end product would look like. She tapped a clawed finger to her chin and then snapped. She motioned for the others to move to the back and get to work.

Ava noticed the name tag on her kimono. It read "Nakamura Suzumoto".

Suzumoto smiled and bowed to the two. "They will be ready for pickup in an hour."

"I- wha- You can speak English?" asked Ava who was flabbergasted. Ceroba lowered Ava's arms to her side and laughed.

"It's a fun trick we used to do. Pretend like one or both of us can't know what others were saying, only to surprise them with perfect vocal understanding."

"Sue and I go way back," Ceroba explained. "I don't know if college is a thing on the surface, but we were dorm room buddies."

Ava nodded. "We do. I just didn't have the chance to go to college what with... you know." She looked away.

"Hey, it's fine," Ceroba jumped in, eager to shift the topic. "Let's go and see what else you might like in the mall while we wait."

…

The two spent the next half hour going to various shops and trying out new clothes. Ava wasn't much for fashion, but she was having fun. There was one shirt Ava spotted that had her rolling. Okay, not really. She was smiling though.

The front of the shirt read, "You can't scare me! I have two daughters!" She lifted it off the rack and waved her arm over a topstock section to get Ceroba's attention. "Hey Ceroba!"

Ceroba, who was in the other row, turned and entered the same row Ava was in. She read the shirt's contents and chuckled. "Oh, he'd love that. Let's get it for him."

They added it to the cart and walked up to the register. As they were checking out, Ava felt a jolt shoot through her body. She tensed up and threw a quick glance over her shoulder. Someone had just used the CHECK option on her from afar.

She couldn't pinpoint its source. There were too many monsters moving around and her soul radar was being jumbled up for the same reason. The only thing she knew for certain was that the one who ACTed did so from the main lobby.

Chapter Text

Ava Ketsukane LV 2 HP 80/25

ATK 400 DEF 999

Appreciating life for once.

Flowey peered at her from a very small crack in a ceiling tile. He learned from last time not to be that close. He was lucky her eyes only passed over his hiding spot for a split second.

Sure, her soul had evolved to the point where she could now sense when people checked her discreetly, and she was now alerted to their approximate position, but the sheer number of monsters around made tracking him impossible.

She's not expelling enough magic, he thought. The overflow has spilled out into her HP pool, but what happens when that breaks peak? Her ATK Stat has skyrocketed. One hit from that and Asgore would crumple like tissue paper.

He chuckled internally at the thought of the big oaf being slammed against a wall and dusting before he even had the time to process his pain. Then again, it might not play out that way given how low her LV was. If it went any lower, the attacks could swing in either direction.

Whatever happened, he needed to make sure she never got to that point. The only surefire way to accomplish that was... theoretically impossible. The extremely low odds that he got the jump on her were slim to none, and even if he did, she would remember between resets.

The only way to stop a soul from developing was to remove it from its body. Easier said than done for any human. Far less easy for a battle-hardened-brute who is used to taking hits. That chance dwindled astronomically with each day he didn't act. The allotted three days wouldn't cut it. He needed to strike soon. The question was when.

In the meantime, he needed to find a way to get her to release a lot of soul power all at once. For one, so he can gauge her body's response to handling mass quantities of magic. The second reason was far too nuanced to easily explain with words.

The time to strike was drawing near. He had to be ready for it.

…

She was finally getting comfortable. Why is it anytime that happened in a public place, something just had to come along and ruin it?

With her eyes narrowed, she searched the crowded mall. With how she bolted out to the main lobby like a hunter ready for their game, most eyes were already on her.

"Well?" she asked aloud. "Which one of you thought it would be a good idea to CHECK me while my back was turned?"

"Ooooh~? Sounds sexy!" sang a somewhat metallic and synthesized voice.

Ceroba caught up to Ava and tucked her dimensional satchel back underneath her kimono. "I bought our clothes," she said. "Is something wrong? You were in quite the hurry to- Oh for the love of-!"

Mettaton.

He was resting his chin on the back of a hand as he looked Ava up and down. "Hmm~. Have you ever thought about modeling? You've got a nice build there~," he said sultrily.

His big grin and expressive attitude were heavily juxtaposed against Ava's firm footing and stone walled glare. The crowd that had formed around them grew quiet.

"Oh! I get it! You're one of them strong silent types, right~?" asked Mettaton snapping a finger. "This'll be the PERFECT start for our interview!"

Ava groaned and rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this over with."

Mettaton snapped his fingers again. At this notion, several monsters that were previously buried in the crowd came out holding a bunch of appliances. Ava looked around at them confused until she recognized the camera setup and recliners they brought in. There were four recliners in total. One for Ava, one for Ceroba, one for Mettaton, and one for... Max. Apparently, the camera man got his own chair now.

Mettaton leaned the recliner all the way back and lay down in a rather sassy position. His hand withdrew into itself and it returned holding a microphone. Cameraman Max gave him a thumbs up signaling they were live.

Mettaton wasted no time with his intro. "Goooood morning, Beauties~! Welcome back to MTT Live! Thank you for tuning in. Today's show has a little surprise in store~. Everyone give a warm welcome to the newest human to enter the underground!"

The camera panned over to Ava as confetti popped from multiple angles. Applause sounded both from speakers and the crowd nearby. The human raised a hand briefly before setting it back down on her lap.

"So, wonderful guest, how would you like to introduce yourself to all of the underground~?"

"Right. Hello everyone!" Ava said with a simple smile. "My name is Ava M. Ketsukane, formerly just Ava Millet. I'm an army veteran who was deployed in Afghanistan and just recently came home. That's pretty much all you need to know when it comes to my background."

Mettaton shifted poses. "So, you used to fight for humanity and now aim to do the same for Monsterkind, or are you retired for good?"

Ceroba frowned. "Okay, I think that's enough qu-"

"I swore an oath to defend this country, Mettaton," Ava cut in. "To defend the United States from all threats both foreign and domestic so that the peace I may never know can be enjoyed by those who live upon its land. By this definition, I've never stopped defending the monsters who live here."

Another pose change from Mettaton. "An honorable motto indeed. But enough about your past. Let's talk about what you're doing now~."

A screen was placed beside them and turned on. Footage from a security camera in Snowdin played out. In it were Ava and Sans fighting. Ava's eyes widened.

"This battle went on for thirty minutes. Nobody managed to get hurt, which is astounding given how much went on. It was quite the spectacle to watch." Mettaton brandished a remote and sped up the fight to a specific spot. "My favorite part was this small sequence right here. You took his attack and used it to propel yourself into the air. These bones missed you by the length of my forefinger. How did you feel in that moment?"

…

"Here you go!" the pink bear announced with a smile as she served Dalv a plate of pancakes. The vampire blinked in an attempt to wake himself up and graciously took the plate from Miss Bea Honeydew.

"Thank you, Bea." Dalv began cutting up his pancakes with a fork.

Bea shrugged and smiled. "Anytime, Dalv. Your music is well worth the free pancakes." She then averted her gaze nervously. "Though, I've been meaning to ask you... Have you ever thought about going further?"

Dalv looked up from his food. With an eyebrow raised, he inquired her. "Further? In what way?"

"Uh well I mean..." Bea was fidgeting with her fingers. "You've brought a lot of business to the resort, and I'd be lying if I said I wanted you to leave, but what about going to Waterfall and uh, talking to the other musical folk that tend to hang around there?"

"Oh..." Dalv looked uneasy. "I suppose it could help to give me some perspective on things, but other than that, I don't think it would be the best idea."

"You don't?"

Dalv frowned and turned his head. "I just... it sounds silly, but I can't help but feel like the one who caused the Snowdin Incident is still in Waterfall. Not her soul, but her spirit. I'm worried about what would happen if I came across it."

Bea held her words pensively. What in the world am I supposed to respond to that with? she thought. "W-well! It's been several years, so I think you should be safe if you ventured through."

Why am I so awkward? She wanted to bonk her head on the counter right there, but she refused to do so in front of him.

Three other monsters were trying to get the wall mounted TV working. They did eventually, and the audio from the speakers caught Dalv's attention. The channel was connected to MTT Live.

"That was the plan." That was Ava's voice. "Please understand though, nobody was ever in any real danger."

Dalv turned turned to watch the screen. On it was footage from a camera in Waterfall. It was a fight between Ava and a fox monster that was dressed an awful lot like Clover. In the background were both Martlet and Kanako.

"What is going on?" Dalv asked. The footage continued.

Ava struck Kanako's ribs with a swift jab, causing her to collapse. As she cocked back her arm for a punch, the fox monster dressed like Clover made it past and put himself between the human and Kanako with blinding speed. Ava's fist stopped an inch or so from his face. From the bushes, Chujin emerged with magic attacks already summoned. Martlet was readying herself as well.

"She attacked a family?" Dalv asked, not sure how to process what he was seeing.

"I admit it was brash, but it was the only way to prove my younger brother was still alive in the form of this monster."

"CLOVER IS AVA'S BROTHER?!" Dalv exclaimed. "A-a-and Clover is still alive?! That's Clover?!"

"Sorry you had to find out this way, Ceroba. I'm sure you could tell I was holding back."

Dalv's eyes were glued to the screen. It was now evident he was missing out on a lot that had happened. He would have to visit the Ketsukanes after this.

"Hey Mettaton? If my little brother gets bullied because you forced this outta me, I'm gonna scrap your [CENSORED]."

…

"There are no cameras in the Dunes, so unfortunately we don't have much to go off of other than word of mouth from those who were present." Mettaton pressed a button on his remote and the screen changed. "For the Beauties who were tuned in Monday morning, this should be a familiar sight."

This camera was in Hotland. Ava was walking out of the elevator carrying Kanako. Behind her walked Chujin and in front of her walked Alphys. Her soul was visible and actively healing Kanako.

Mettaton changed the camera again. This was outside the lab. Ava was bringing the amalgamates in and bringing the fixed monsters out.

"You saved this young monster's life and went on to help several others. What do you have to say about your heroics, darling~?"

"Don't," said Ava with a bit of bitterness in her voice. "Don't ever call me a hero. Call me Ava, human, or even call me a freak if you so choose."

Ceroba looked to her with mild concern. Ava kept going.

"It doesn't matter how many good things I've done," she said. "I can never do 'enough' good to counterbalance the bad. So no, I'm not a hero. The heroes I know didn't get to come back from all the good they've done. Don't hold me to their pedestal."

Ava suddenly stood up from her seat and looked at the ceiling. Ceroba stood as well.

"I think we've had our fill of questions, Mettaton. We'll be leaving now," the fox mother said.

Another pose change from Mettaton. "That's a shame really. I had several other questions, but-"

"-CAN IT!" Ava cut in. Her eyes were darting to several spots in the roof tiles. "Something's wrong. We need to evacuate the building NOW."

A moderately worrying range of cracks occurred. The sound of something collapsing tickled Ceroba's ears. "What's going-" she managed before Ava's leg shot out and swept under her own.

"Oof!" from Ceroba. "GAH!" from Ava.

She had a rough landing on her tail, but judging from what she saw, things could have been far worse. When she opened her eyes, Ava was holding a ceiling beam above her. Her shoulder was dislocated, but she was still keeping the beam oriented. If Ava hadn't tripped Ceroba just then, she would have taken the full force of the ceiling.

"Sh-shit!" Ava swore as the rebar connected to the beam was starting to drag some of the other loosened chunks down. Her shoulder hurt, but if she gave out now, the rest of the main lobby would collapse. More of it was collapsing anyway. She needed to buy the monsters here more time to escape.

She growled and let out a scream that was more akin to a battle cry. Her soul manifested purple. It was as if her very being was glowing.

Ceroba watched as an ethereal purple substance reached from Ava's soul to her dislocated shoulder. With a gut-wrenching crunch, the ethereal arm forced Ava's shoulder back into place. Ava winced, but she held her posture firm.

"Ava! Are you okay?!" Ceroba shouted. Ava's response was one she should have come to expect by now.

"G-GET THEM OUT OF HERE!!!"

Mettaton finally got over his shock at the situation. He jumped over behind the human and rested the beam in his own hands, relieving the weight and freeing Ava. The human stumbled forward, giving Mettaton a grunt as thanks.

Most present monsters were fleeing. All of this movement was shaking some of the loosely tethered chunks out and into free fall. Ava clasped her hands together knowing she couldn't hold the building with just her arms alone. Magic was her only option now. Her soul was still shining purple. Hundreds of ethereal arms like the one she used to pop her shoulder into socket extended from it and flew out to hold the ceiling from falling.

Try as you might to say otherwise Darling, Mettaton thought with a grin. Your actions speak louder than you do. You are a hero.

"You're doing fantastic, darling~!"

I AM DOING EVERYTHING!

Ava was fighting the urge to tell him off for distracting her. Ultimately deciding against it, Ava focused her attention on lifting some rubble out of the way of the rest of the mall. Ceroba ran through to get to the inner workings and help the other stores evacuate.

An idea popped into the mage's head and she took a knee to the floor. The few monsters remaining watched in awe as the ethereal arms intertwined and branched off of each other to connect and form a web. Unlike most webs, this one WAS the supporting structure.

One shopkeeper was a bit unhappy to have to close up business for the day. As Suzumoto's own and many other families ran by, the spider monster walked out into the lobby with a big frown on her face. That spider then noticed the caving ceiling and the strange magic that held it in place.

It's sloppy work. Whoever made those webs aren't any of MY spiders. That's for sure.

Muffet noticed the main ceiling beam being lifted and pushed back into place by an extension of the purple web. Her frown flattened and she moved closer to get a better view.

Ah, that makes more sense. Of course, it wasn't spiders making do with such shoddy webbing. It was one person. A human? That's bizarre. I didn't know humans could use magic.

Muffet clapped her hands twice and thousands of spiders appeared from the shadows. Some of them were wearing hard hats. "We'll take it from here, dearies," she announced.

Ava looked up as the spiders scaled the walls and began working on repairing the ceiling. She still held her spell in place just in case, but it was getting exhausting. Eventually, the ceiling was more or less rain proof with how seamless it was with its original design.

Ava released her spell and collapsed front first on the floor before her.

…

The results turned out better than he had expected. Ava not only stopped the ceiling from falling, but expended an absurd amount of magic in doing so. Thankfully, Ava was the only one who was actually harmed in the process, and comparatively not by much.

Flowey had to do a double take at that last thought. 'Thankfully?' Where did that come from? He didn't care. He couldn't care. It wasn't in his capacity to care.

He looked back at Ava who was being hoisted away on a gurney. His expression turned sour. What if it wasn't just patience she gave him?

"What did you do to me, lady?" he muttered quietly.

Chapter Text

Ava splashed her face with water and rubbed it down with a small cloth. She looked down at it, then back up at the mirror. She barely recognized the person staring back at her. Was it a good thing it was all starting to blend together?

"You about done in here?"

Ava turned to the door. Undyne was leaning against its frame. "Man, you're really making me look bad. Not really, but just... You tend to do some pretty crazy junk, you know?"

Ava sighed. "I don't know how I did it. I don't think I could replicate today's stunt without a lot of practice."

Undyne looked down. "Well, its impressive, but I guess what's been pissing me off is that you've been using so many different forms of magic. Not to mention, you pull it off exactly when you need it to. It's just... humbling."

Ava looked serious. "If could've held the roof through my arms alone, I likely would have, but I'm not going just stand there and take it when I can do so much more for people that deserve it."

"I'm not saying you shouldn't!" Undyne said. "I'm just jealous is all. You've finally cracked out of that shell you had when I first met you, and that's a beautiful thing to accomplish. I wish I was more like how you are now."

Ava crossed her arms and looked back at the mirror. Her expression softened. "I made a lot of mistakes to get to this point. I wouldn't recommend following in my footsteps. Something about now though, I feel it needs said."

The human grabbed the necklace adorned with the names of her fallen. "I spent a full quarter of my life fighting and killing. I was kept in the shadows on most things and only brought to light about others when it best fit my superior's agenda."

She let go and smiled. "But now, I look at myself in the mirror and I'm not inherently disgusted by what I see staring back at me. I don't see a demon ready to kill anyone and anything at a moment's notice. Do you know how good it feels to know with absolute certainty to not hold doubt in your actions when that's all you've been doing for years on end? It's like having an illness lifted, or-or taking your first hearty breath after a deep swim."

Undyne grinned. "Fufufu! I feel like I'm watching one of Alphys' animes right now."

"Hah," Ava let out. "I guess it was a bit sappy, huh?"

"Your shoulder alright?" the fish woman asked. "I saw the footage. That looked like it hurt."

"I'm a bit bruised, but I can make do. What about everyone else?"

Undyne motions for Ava to follow. "Nobody else got hurt. You caught the problem before it turned into a disaster."

The two continued out into the waiting room where Ceroba was sitting on a chair. Upon seeing her, the fox stood and came to check on her. Ava stood still as Ceroba held her hands over her shoulder and started inspecting her. Undyne nodded and went back into the hospital to let the doctor know Ava was being discharged.

"Ooh. That's... not supposed to look like that. Are you sure your arm is okay enough to go?"

Ava raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, now I know you're trying to baby me. It was way worse when I dropped from Waterfall."

Ceroba deadpanned. "You were hit with a ceiling beam. Your shoulder was dislocated and bleeding. This isn't me babying you. I'm genuinely trying to make sure there aren't any permanent problems that could arise from it."

Ava waved her off. "I'll be fine in a few days, if that. Besides, I'm resilient."

The entry door flew open. A purple silhouette adorned with a green tint on glasses stood. He walked over, panting. He must have run to get here.

Chujin hugged the both of them. "Thank goodness you're both alright."

"Is it that surprising?" Ava asked. She then added, "for me, anyways."

Chujin adjusted his glasses and examined her shoulder. "Yes, actually. Your tissue regenerates fast, even back when you fell. Given the three hours it's been, your shoulder should be fully healed by now."

Ava closed her eyes. "...Did you want me to come with you to-"

"-Yes please."

"Okay."

…

Clover closed his locker and rubbed his eyes. Alvin Boom is a great teacher, but these new concepts were a bit high learning curve for his liking. Math was never his strong suit. That was Kanako's Forte.

A hand slammed on the locker door next to him, making him jump. Clover looked to his right and found Susie leaning over him. Something was different about her this time. Whereas the norm for Susie was to immediately start with some wisecracking comment, here she just sort of stared at his face.

Was she searching for something?

Eventually, Clover turned to walk away. Susie finally said something when her arm shot out and grabbed his shoulder. "Wait!"

Clover scowled. "I've been waiting. You're not doing anything and I've got things planned for today."

"Is it true you used to be human?"

Clover's ears fell flat and he deadpanned. "Kanako told you, didn't she?"

Susie's eyes widened. "Wait, that's true?! I was just bullshitting." She looked behind her down the hall at Noelle. "It wasn't your sister who told me. I just kinda... overheard something about the news."

It was Clover's turn to have wide eyes. "I'M ON THE NEWS?!" he shouted.

Susie raised a hand to lower his volume. "Hey, hush it down, would ya? We don't want to make this a big deal."

Clover looked past her at the door to the computer lab. He made his way there and stepped inside with Susie close behind. After booting up a unit and accessing the UnderNet, he pulled up MTT Live and began scrolling.

He didn't have to search for long. The top three highlights of the interview involved Ava in some way. The highest rated clip was Ava using her magic to stop the building from collapsing, which, first off, wow. Holy shit. Second highest was a replay of her fighting Sans. There was even a shoe-in for an artist who painted the still frame of her height gain using Sans' own attack.

"That's actually kind of badass," Susie commented.

Clover rolled his eyes and viewed the third clip. He recognized the camera footage. This was his spar with Ava. He sighed as the realization that this interaction was visible to literal thousands dropped on his head like a pile of snow.

Susie's eyebrows lifted more and more as the fight went on. It all happened so fast, and got even faster once Clover noggin bashed Ava's chin. Before Susie knew it, the fight was over.

"Wh-what the hell? Why didn't you put this much effort into fighting me?" she stammered.

Clover watched Ava bow to him on screen. "It's because you never deserved it," he mumbled.

Susie frowned. "But I've been mean to you and Kanako for all of the two years we've known each other. What do mean I 'never deserved it'?!"

"Maybe she thinks you do, but to me, you were more annoying than oppressive," he explained.

Susie bared her teeth. "What's that supposed to mean? You don't think I'm threatening?!"

Clover turned the chair and looked up at her with a disappointed expression. "It means you're trying too hard to be intimidating. I could see it the day we met. I'm not alone here when I say we've both had a rough upbringing."

Susie calmed down. God damnit. Why does he have to be right? she thought.

The door to the computer lab opened and in walked Ceroba. Her eyes landed on Clover and she relaxed her stressed posture a bit.

"There you are, Clover... Hello, Susie."

Susie feigned ignorance and looked away. Clover looked at a wall mounted clock. It was about fifteen minutes after class ended.

"Hey Mom. Are we still doing magic training today?" he asked. A smile creeping up on his lip corners.

Ceroba smiled. "Of course, sweetie. I was a bit late for... reasons, but after Kanako gets done in the restroom, we can go to the park and practice."

"Can Susie come?" he asked, catching them both off guard.

"Um," Ceroba began. "Well Clover, I don't think Susie will benefit from this type of training. She's not... well, she's not good at using magic."

"That's fine. She can just hang out if she wants."

Susie was awash with thoughts. Nobody ever invited her to anything. Whenever she did go somewhere, it wasn't because people wanted her to. Except for that one time with Noelle, but that's because you don't say no to Noelle.

"You want me to hang out with you?" Susie asked. Her voice was slightly less coarse than usual. She quickly regained her composure and played it off as not a big deal for her. "I mean, I guess if I have to. Sure."

Ceroba stared at Clover, and then at Susie. What was he trying to do here? What it was wasn't apparent.

I trust you know what you're doing, Clover, she thought to herself.

…

Kanako walked in between Clover and her mother. As they stepped along, she would occasionally throw a look Susie's way. Susie, who was on the other side of Clover much to the fox girl's chagrin, either didn't care or hid her emotions toward her very well.

"So Clover, why were you so adamant I walk next to mom instead of Susie?" Kanako asked.

Clover looked her in the eyes knowingly. "Come on, Koko. You know why."

"But why her? Why practice magic with someone who can't use it?" Kanako asked, directing a finger to Susie.

Susie let out a "Hmph!" in response.

Clover stopped walking and gestured towards the two of them. "Because you two need to knock it off." The hatted fox frowned. "We're adults now, Kanako. How long is this stupid rivalry between you two going to go on for? We graduate in one week!"

"She doesn't respect us! She doesn't respect ANYONE!" Kanako barked.

"Are you sure?" Clover asked. "On the surface, it might seem that way. So what if she's messy, mean, and a bit overbearing? That doesn't mean she has no respect. Would someone who doesn't have respect visit you in the Royal Lab after your chest gets blown apart?"

Ceroba's mouth was open. She was somewhat shocked, but she was also proud of Clover.

"Even if she looked pissed off while doing it, the fact she was there at all proves she cares enough to come by and check." Clover cleared his throat and gestured to himself. "Respect goes both ways, Kanako, but you can't make connections without reaching out first. So, I'm reaching out."

Is this guy serious? Susie thought. She studied his unmoving face. The glimmer in his eye. Oh shit, he's actually serious.

Ceroba felt a smile cross her lips when Susie slowly reached forward and took Clover's hand in her own. Kanako's frown faded. This was what Clover genuinely wanted.

"So, why are you doing this again?" Susie asked.

"When we were watching the news, I thought about when I met Ava. Turns out, you're a lot like her," he said. "I don't wanna explain in what ways, but if she can make an effort to change, so can you. That's what we're doing today."

In the distance, a flower scowled. Was he trying to replace him? The first thing he does after his memory returns is switch to this purple brute in place of his best friend?! What a jerk.

...Well, he didn't want to talk when they met up. Maybe he just didn't trust him anymore. After all the shenanigans he put him through, was distrust not earned?

Flowey wrenched his eyes away from the four as they entered the park. He needed to get these emotions in check. Focusing was so much easier before he regained them. Jealousy and envy had all been what wracked him this whole morning as he thought about the good times he spent with Clover in his runs. Not the violent moments, but the calm ones. A far cry from what he would call them just days ago.

If unkempt, his new sensations left him in a state of dull aching. The yearning for something he knew he would never get to have. Not like this. Not with all of this regret hanging on his conscience.

He couldn't think about that right now though. There was still a big problem hovering over everyone. Ironically, that big problem was the only person he felt the slightest bit comfortable talking to right now. As the subject of Ava crept back into his mind, Flowey couldn't help but wonder what she was doing at the moment.

…

She stared at the replication through the glass container. A boss monster soul had been completely replicated. It was a bit surreal actually. She had only ever seen her and Clover's souls before. She could sense them of course, but seeing a real boss monster soul pulsing with magic was oddly relaxing.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Ava looked over to Chujin. "We managed to make a soul using some monster dust given to us by the king. What you see now is the end result of the boss monster serum. My prior life goal is done... partially. I'm just not sure if I can bring myself to go through with it.”

He looked at the soul with a hint of sadness. Ava could tell his next words were something he had been mulling over for quite some time. The dim white glow emanated on the lower side of his jaw.

"I'm going to have to run tests on Clover. His soul is the final endeavor to this project. Frisk's soul is also a factor in this. They are the control cases for what is considered a successful soul infusion and what is considered standard for human soul attributes."

Ava's head lifted. "I... don't understand. Why can't I be either of those? Mage soul or not, mine is still human."

Chujin looked to the side. "I wish we could, but this morning's fiasco at EVERYTHING OUTFITTERS did something... unexpected. It's the reason your shoulder is taking so long to heal. Your soul is changing. It's using the magic normally meant for accelerated cell repair as a means to reinforce your soul itself. A secondary lining to your soul membrane is forming. In other words, your ability to regain, infuse, and use magic is going to increase in ways I cannot predict in the near future."

"Does that mean my soul is no longer useful for your project?" Ava asked.

"Not in the same way, no." Chujin shook his head. "I'm sorry. I would prefer to work with yours, but with your soul changing so drastically, basing experiments off of your soul structure would be unsafe and inconsistent. You are no longer strictly human."

"Hah. That last part's funny. I haven't been strictly human for a long time."

Chujin wanted to join in on the chuckle, but he refrained. There were still more things to explain moving forward.

"Yes... we will start trials early morning tomorrow and move on to stage two. If all goes well, we can get a security escort to help transfer the souls from the castle to the Lab and get data on them by the evening."

This caught Ava's attention. "The souls? What do you plan on doing with them?" A hint of worry was barely there, but still there it was.

Chujin held a hand up reassuringly. "Like I said, just getting some data. We've upgraded the DT Extractor for better results. We won't be injecting or extracting anything. Just getting some scans. This will also give you some time to do business with the king."

The mage relaxed her muscles. "Good. Mel's been through enough already."

…

"You sure you wanna try this?" Susie asked.

Clover nodded. "Sure. I've got the basics of magic transfer down. Just think of it like a team attack, okay?"

The two had hit it off pretty well all things considered. Clover had managed to make a simple barrier through some trial and error, and Susie even managed to create an axe for attacking with. The real craziness happened when Clover started using his magic on other monsters.

When Clover placed a barrier on Susie, the barrier wasn't much better against magic attacks, but it skyrocketed its strength against physical ones. When he did the same to Kanako, the opposite was true. What they are trying now is a bit different. Clover wasn't creating a barrier, but instead supplying offensive supporting magic to Susie's axe.

Clover shone his soul upon Susie. Susie cast YELLOW BUSTER!

Susie's axe lit ablaze with a mystifying yellow flame and she swung it in the direction of the dummy. The flame copied the crescent curve of the axe's edge and arched into it with a direct impact. This impact shattered the barrier Ceroba placed on it, and as the attack fizzled out, a faint odor of gunpowder emanated from its smoky remnants.

And then it exploded.

Everyone shielded their eyes. Susie looked over at the utterly destroyed dummy. She rubbed the back of her neck.

"Sorry. Guess that's it for your training," she apologized. "I should probably get going then."

Susie turned to walk away. A fluffy hand made its way to her shoulder. The purple monster stopped and looked back at Kanako.

"Hey Susie... I had fun. Let's hang out again tomorrow, alright?"

Susie gave her a big toothy grin. "You want some more?! Aww, man. Okay! Yeah, I'm down for that."

Clover looked over at Ceroba. She had a smile as wide as it was the day she adopted him. Her eyes were as dilated as Kanako's gets when she really wants something.

"What?" he asked.

Ceroba closed her eyes. "Sorry, that was just too wholesome."

Chapter Text

He stood at the border of Snowdin and stared out into the fog. He wanted to cross through it last night like he said he would, but it terrified him too much. He couldn't help but think she was hiding there somewhere, waiting to catch him off guard.

This was where he last saw her, after all. She ran into the fog... and never came back. He knew she died, but nobody knew how. For all anyone knew, she was just a ghost that haunts Waterfall.

A rustling sound caught Dalv's attention. The wind picked up a bit and blew snow into the fog. Dalv shielded his eyes with his cloak. He lowered his arm once the wind died down.

"Where did that wind come from?" he asked no one.

He caught something moving in his periphery. Dalv turned back to the fog as a small silhouette formed in it. It didn't get closer. It just stood and waited.

It was a child from what he could tell. A HUMAN child. It wasn't the dancer. She was taller. It definitely wasn't Clover. No cowboy hat. Who was this?

"Hello?" he tried.

The silhouette did not answer. Instead, several more shadows appeared behind the first one. These were much taller. They were adults.

Dalv suddenly felt an imposing aura coming as more and more showed up. It began with the first three, then came two more, then three more... then one.

Something was different about the last one. The silhouette wasn't as solid as the rest. The others made way for it too. Four on each side of it with the child in front.

"Who-who are-?" Dalv mumbled. He was too stricken with fear to get anything more out. Why was he seeing them?

"I know this is a strange situation, but you need to listen up because we don't have a lot of time. Ava needs you. Clover needs you. Go to the king's castle... I can't talk about what happens next, but I trust you'll do the right thing. Our time is up. We have to go now."

The shadows vanished. The sense of foreboding along with it. Dalv's eyes widened and he reached out a hand.

"Wait!" he begged, forcing himself through the fog. As he found himself on the other side, he couldn't help but wonder if he was hallucinating. After all, nobody was around.

A realization was forced upon him. Dalv was now in Waterfall. He was in Waterfall and had no idea where he was going.

The vampire frowned and steeled himself. He had already come this far, and going back now would defeat the purpose of crossing the threshold in the first place.

He had friends to go visit.

…

Martlet stood outside the door to the Lab. She looked down at the flyer in her feathered fingers. "BOSS MONSTER TRIALS! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!" it read. She gripped it tighter and knocked on the door.

The blue bird heard the pitter patter of small footsteps reach the door. Alphys slid it open and looked up at her visitor.

"Oh! Hiya Martlet." Her eyes drifted down to the flyer in her hand. "...Oh. I thought it was a bit early for mail."

Alphys turned and motioned for Martlet to follow. The blue bird said nothing as they went to the elevator. Martlet looked at the flyer again during the descent.

"You're probably wondering why I..." she mumbled.

"I-I am," Alphys confirmed.

Martlet grabbed her elbow. "It's a little ridiculous. I don't know if I should."

Alphys adjusted her glasses. "Take your time. I'm, um... not exactly in a place to judge."

Martlet grimaced. "Okay. Do you remember that moment back at Chujin's not too long ago? When I got dizzy and Clover had a headache and both Ava and Frisk simultaneously went stiff shouldered and stuff?"

Alphys nodded. "I do." She wanted to mention the conversation she had with Frisk on the way back to Hotland about timelines and what they meant when they said "reset," but declined to tell because she didn't know how Martlet would react.

"I had another spell like I did then, two days ago. I was filling up a cup of water when I looked at the clock. Nothing was strange until after I drank the water." Martlet rubbed her temple. "It was about a minute later when I heard the clock slow its ticking, so I stepped closer and... then I wasn't closer. I was back to filling my cup and my mouth was still dry. The clock hand was back to where it was when I first checked."

She quickly rose both wings and looked a bit more panicked. "A-a-and when I took apart the clock, nothing was wrong! I wanted to just write it off as just me losing track of where I was at the moment, but that doesn't explain the clock doing what it did."

"That's... (Do I tell her Frisk said that that was Ava's doing?)"

Martlet raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I didn't catch that last part. Whadya say?"

"Ah! I said... that that's an odd occurrence but why would it make you want to become a boss monster?" Alphys stammered. Yes! I nailed it.

Martlet sweatdropped and smiled nervously. "Oh, uh, I guess I got a bit off track there. Heh..." she looked back to Alphys as the door opened to the True Lab.

Chujin looked up from his desk at the two. "Good morning, Martlet. You wanted to volunteer for serum trials?"

She nodded and waved to him before continuing. "Anyway, ever since I had that first 'moment' at their dining room I've been having nightmares. I keep seeing myself repeating the same bunch of moments over and over. People around me are being attacked by something I can't understand. I also can't fight back. Every time it happens, I'm either forced torunawayorI'mnotstrongenoughandendupgettingdustedandit'sreallybeenweighingon-!"

Martlet sighed. "I just... I'd feel a lot better knowing I can help if I had the strength to do it. I may have left the guard, but I guess a part of the guard never left me."

Chujin walked over with a clipboard. "You're sure you want to go through with this?" he asked. "You know there's only one shot at it and there's no turning back once you do."

Martlet confirmed her resolve. She put a wing over her heart and stood straight. "I, Martlet Stellarbeak, hereby authorize the use of this experiment on my body, and, hereby accept whatever ramifications result from it. So, I swear."

Chujin nodded. "Everything is prepared. Please follow Alphys and I to the next room."

…

"So, how did I do?" Asgore asked.

The massive goat sat on the far end of the table and watched in anticipation as Frisk dug into breakfast. Over the year that he had adopted Frisk, the had worked hard to improve his cooking and cleaning etiquette.

[*You tell Asgore that the pepper was more than enough, but other than that, he did fantastic.]

"Thank you, Frisk. I have been getting better at it," Asgore beamed. "Say, I think I have the recipe down this time. We should bake a pie tonight!"

Frisk looked up and turned their head to the front door. Someone gave it a firm two knocks.

[*You feel as though a specific monster from Snowdin would judge it harshly.]

"One moment!" Asgore called. He stood up from the table and walked out to the stairwell room and opened the door.

"Good morning, King Asgore." Ava was standing straight with a neutral look. "I trust I'm not intruding on anything?"

Asgore waved a hand dismissively. "No! Not at all! Come on in and sit at the table. Frisk and I were just enjoying some 'biscuits and gravy.' It is a meal they introduced me to not long ago."

Ava nodded and followed Asgore to the dining room. She pulled one of the chairs back and sat down next to Frisk. Asgore couldn't help but envision a different time seeing the two of them in those chairs.

"I assume you've told Frisk the reason they aren't going to school today?" Ava asked.

Asgore's faint smile diminished. "I have," he responded.

Ava looked down at the tabletop. She then reached over and put a hand on the king's own. "I would take their place if I could, but it seems that's not in the cards anymore."

Frisk stuck another bite of biscuit in their mouth.

"I have been reassured that they will come to no harm, but it still pains me. While it is true I have yearned for the surface for generations, I cannot hold resolute in the actions that got our kind this close to seeing it again."

Ava put her hand back in her lap. "I've come to take photographic evidence of the four. After that, I will accompany the Royal Guard back to the Lab with the souls. After they get everything they need, I'll put the souls to rest. You won't have to bear this burden anymore."

Asgore looked down at his plate somberly. "I just wish they could have had a happy life down here as Frisk has."

Ava stiffened and grabbed her chest. A hot sweat came over her, but left shortly after.

What was that? What just happened? she thought. Her lungs had involuntarily flexed, which was incredibly bizarre given the diaphragm is the thing that controls breathing.

[*You ask Ava if she is okay.]

She forced her heart rate to calm down. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just..."

What is HAPPENING to my SOUL?!

Ava stood up from the table. Asgore stared at her as she remained almost statue like for a few seconds. If possible, her red eyes grew even redder.

"You wish for them to come back and live a happy life?" she asked.

If Asgore was a bit put off, he didn't show it. This was Ava's voice, but it didn't feel like it was just her speaking here.

Ava's posture relaxed and her eyes returned to normal. She turned to face the other room. "Sorry, that was a strange thing to ask."

"Clover wished for me to come back. That's all I know as far as to why I'm still alive."

Chujin's words re-emerged in her mind. Was that all it took? Some serious wishing?

Ava walked over to the stairwell. "I'll be waiting here until you're ready to show me," she said.

…

The trek to the basement was rather long. In order for any non-flying monster to get to the throne room, they had to do an awful lot of walking. Ava didn't mind though. It always felt good to calm the nerves.

They came across a rather foreboding hallway with a sunny lighting coming from windows in a shape resembling the delta rune. Ava looked through as they passed.

"Heh... it's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming," Ava started as a warm smile crossed her lips. "On days like these, people like me would be going for a hike..."

"A hike would be nice," Asgore chimed. "Or a picnic, or a game of catch. There are many options for a day this good."

Ava nodded. "How much further?"

"Just two more hallways and then some stairs."

"Copy that."

They arrived at the stairs not much later.

Ava stood at the base and looked on at the seven coffins laying out before her. She walked over to the first one. The name engraved on its front was obviously Chara, given they were the first one to fall.

Ava knelt down by the grave and glanced back at Asgore. The monster king was staring aloof.

"If you don't want to be here for this," Ava began. Asgore held up a hand to quiet her.

"You will have questions. I will be here to answer them," he replied. "It was by my order they were brought to death."

Ava gave him pause, yet he offered no reconsideration. She nodded and lifted the lid to Chara's coffin. She braced for the smell of decay only to find it was empty.

"Tori brought Chara with them after we separated paths. I know not the location of their soul nor their corpse. I am sorry."

Ava sighed. "It's fine. Onto the next."

As Ava conducted autopsies on the bodies, she documented the causes of death and stored the info in her phone. She found it odd that a coffin was built for both Melody and Clover despite neither body being recovered, and in Clover's case, a soul either.

Patience Harper died from malnourishment. There were no signs of struggle. Just shrunken muscles and deteriorated skin tissue. Despite this horrendous way to perish, she looked rather peaceful in death.

"A Froggit had brought her to me. She made it to Toriel, but couldn't stand not having her best friend near to help her. Poor little girl starved herself waiting at the entrance to the Ruins waiting for his arrival. Despite Tori's efforts, she refused her aid, only willing to move from her spot when she would see him next. He arrived too late to save her."

Riley Hardy had suffered from intense frostbite and hypothermia. His knuckles were bruised. One of his gloves were missing. His face was firm and focused, even after all of these years. He was on a mission when he died.

"Even with the knowledge that the one he came for was dead, he wanted to bring her body back to the surface. He died in a snowstorm in Snowdin, helping a great many monsters get to shelter. His sacrifice gave my people hope. If only I had met him before he passed."

Ava stood and saluted Riley's body. A moment of silence passed before she moved onto the next coffin.

Gary Baker was a strange case for Ava. By all accounts, Gary showed no signs of deterioration. She would need to dissect him to determine cause of death, but she didn't want to. That was something that could wait until they made it to the surface.

"Gary was a kind child. He found ways to give gifts to everyone he came across. He gave up his soul as his last gift for all of us. I didn't have the heart to tell him how long it could be before another human came down here."

Percy Vaden had lived up to Undyne's testimony.... somewhat. There were many discrepancies present on his body. Several scrapes and cuts made her think back to the time she died. Some of these impalements were from spears. Aside from that, it seemed heat stroke really was the nail in the coffin.

"Undyne omitted quite a bit with this one," Ava griped.

"Percy was a strange one. I didn't understand their motive, but I believe he was the explorer type. Witnesses say he tended to do his own thing. He didn't engage much with others, but he was polite when he did. That's all I know that wasn't in the report."

Ava pulled out her phone and put in a note about confronting Undyne later. She then thought about it and deleted the note deeming it a pointless waste of time. She had the truth already so why bug the fish lady about it?

Ava recovered Percy's coffin and walked over to the coffin with a dark blue heart symbol. The nameplate was empty.

"Ah! I am afraid there is no record of that one's name," Asgore said.

"I don't need a record," Ava replied. She knelt down and began carving Melody's name into the plate with her combat knife.

"Did... you know this one?" Asgore asked. His deep voice was contrasted by the mild quiver most couldn't pick up on. "This is the one who was responsible for the Snowdin Incident."

"I know," Ava lamented. "But I can assure you, whatever she did, I've done and seen much worse."

Ava stood up and eyeballed the coffin farthest East. "I'm surprised you made a coffin for Clover."

Asgore nodded as Ava walked back over to ascend the stairs with him. "I prepare in advance."

"That's morbid, but I get it. So, what now?" Ava asked.

"We wait for the escort," Asgore said. "Soon, we will bring the souls to the Lab. After what's needed is done, you can put them at ease, and this nightmare can finally be set behind us."

"Yeah..." Ava mumbled. She wasn't certain the souls would listen to her.

As thoughts swarmed her head, a strange feeling pulsed through her soul. Being this close to the barrier was doing something to her, but she could not yet discern what that was.

She couldn't help but feel as though many, many spectral eyes were watching her.

Chapter Text

"Her soul is stable. Martlet! H-...How do you feel?!" Alphys hollered from the observation room.

The bluebird lay flat with eyes open on the bed. As far as she could tell, not much had changed.

"Well, I feel more alert. That counts, right?" Martlet asked.

Chujin wheeled out a fresh combat dummy from the other room. He placed it next to the one he had Martlet use magic on before the trial was administered. The fox stepped into the observation room with Alphys.

"Okay. Let's test your magic again. Do that feather strike you did before. Same strength and intensity if you can."

Martlet got up from the bed and faced the dummy. "Okay!" she said before sweeping an arm in its general direction.

Four feathers. That's what she did the first time. Four golden feathers lept from her wing and carved their way through the air to the dummy. Unlike the one next to it where the feathers embedded themselves about two inches in, the ones she threw now cleaved right through their target.

"Whoa!" Martlet let out. "I- Oops... Sorry about the dummy."

Chujin and Alphys came back to the testing room. "It's fine, Martlet. This was one of the hypothesized outcomes, and actually the one we were hoping for. There's one more thing I want to test before you can officially be deemed a successful trial patient. Try to manifest your soul."

Martlet cocked her head to the side. "What? Chujin, I can't do that."

Chujin sighed and walked up next to her. He brought his hands up front of his chest and closed his eyes. Martlet watched as his soul emerged from it.

"See?" he said. "Focus on your soul. Imagine it moving to your hands like how mine just did."

Martlet squinted. She closed her eyes and put her hands together like a cradle in front of her tank top. "Okay," she said. "How do I get it to move?"

"Like I said, just picture it moving forward."

"Okay."

Martlet concentrated. After a few seconds, and upside-down heart slowly exited her chest and hovered above her hands.

Alphys scribbled down something. Chujin smiled, however, Martlet's eyes were still closed.

"Sorry it's taking so long. I've never done this before. Mostly because I've never been able to do it before."

"Martlet," Chujin tried.

"-Doing a soul call is something I've only seen done by you and Frisk, and technically Clover I think."

"Martlet! Open your eyes, Martlet!"

Martlet finally opened her eyes. "What?" She looked down. "Oh."

The blue bird stared at the floating soul in her hands. The way it glowed was quite soothing. Strange as it was, she couldn't help but feel like it was trying to tell her something.

"That looks like success to me," Chujin quipped. He logged some information on a tablet and sat down at a desk. "Alright. Just a quick check and we can get moving to the castle."

"...Twice I could've done something different. Tried harder..."

Alphys looked back at Martlet who was staring dumbfounded at her soul. The yellow lizard took note of the bird's squinting and furrowed brows.

"You didn't need a reason when killing the others..."

Her eyes widened. This was her voice. This was her battle. Her battle with...

"We only t-took five. You've taken dozens."

Martlet's soul disappeared back into her chest. It had told her all it needed to. She just had to finish processing what she had learned.

"Martlet?" Alphys asked. "Is everything okay? You spaced out a bit. I-I mean, you looked quite serious this time, as opposed to your usual."

Martlet hugged her hands under each arm and looked away. "Y-yeah... just, um, thinking on things."

Alphys raised an eyebrow but let it slide. "Let us know if anything feels odd or abnormal, alright?" she said. "I want to know any concerns you may have, pe- period. If there's a problem, I need full transparency."

Martlet nodded. "I know, but what I'm thinking about is just... a bit more personal and not really related to the trial."

He killed me. He killed me on that rooftop. I remember now. That's why I couldn't comprehend it in my nightmares. It didn't make sense. Clover is too nice to ever do something so horrible.

She looked over at Chujin. He was still typing up a report. Her thoughts turned to Kanako. She saw the pictures in the newspaper. Kanako's side had been cut cleanly through by magic.

Both her and Clover were injured during that excursion. The severity of Kanako's injury seemed to line up awfully well with her own when... other her was shot by Clover's soul beam. Was this "flower" they talked about even real?

"Chujin," she began. The purple fox looked her way. "Did Clover, well... shoot Kanako a few days ago with soul magic?"

Chujin's jaw dropped. He was certainly not expecting this.

"(Ahem!) Well, yes and no. It's complicated," he said. "Clover wasn't paying attention to what was nearby when he fought the flower and clipped her side by mistake."

Sorry for twisting the truth a bit there, Martlet. The only person Clover shot was Kanako, and I am not about to even TRY to explain how that flower thing could use Clover's magic against his will. How the hell did she deduce his magic caused her injury?

"So, he didn't mean to," Martlet mumbled. "He must've really wanted that flower dead, huh?"

Chujin weighed thoughts on his hands. "The thing did try to absorb his soul. I'd say he had plenty of reason to fight back."

Martlet frowned. "Uh huh. Where is he now?"

"He's..." Chujin's eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to know?"

"I want to talk to him. He might know something about these nightmares I've been having," Martlet stated.

"Oh." Chujin immediately relaxed. "He went with Ceroba and Kanako to drop her off at school while I came here and Ava headed to the castle. Clover and Ceroba should be almost here by now. In a little bit, the Royal Guard will be here to escort the five human souls back here. You should have plenty of time to talk with him as we walk."

Alphys' phone vibrated twice on the counter. The yellow lizard scuttled over to it and checked the notification. "The Guard's here," she said.

Chujin got up from his desk and stretched. "Let's head out, then."

…

The escort was composed of a few monsters. Undyne was here, of course. Papyrus was as well. Sans was not. He was asleep as per usual.

Two other monsters were there, but Chujin never could identify what kind of monsters they were. As such, the two men were simply referred to by their callsigns of 01 and 02. Funny how none of the others in the Guard had callsigns then.

Martlet looked to her right. Clover was walking just ahead next to Ceroba who was on her left. Now was the time to speak up.

"Clover, can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked.

Clover's ears perked up and he slowed down a bit to walk beside her. "Sure. What's on your mind?"

"How do I put this..." she trailed. She tapped her leg with a finger as she constructed a train of thought she could use. "Have you ever had a nightmare about monsters being mercilessly killed en mass?"

"...What?" Clover responded. "I mean..."

He glanced to Ceroba and back to Martlet. This was enough to add more to her suspicions.

"Clover? What's wrong?" Martlet asked. She meant it in earnest, but her eyes were narrowed. "I wasn't too on the nose with that one, was I?"

Clover looked around at the others present. "We shouldn't be having this conversation right now." He met eyes with Martlet again. "What all do you remember?"

Martlet faced forward again. "I remember being in Snowdin when a certain someone attacked. I also remember trying to stop that same person again in the Dunes. And finally, once more atop UG Apartments." Her eyes drifted back to Clover. "I remember what I said to them each time, too. I remember how much it hurt when I fought them. I remember slowly melting away as my body turned to dust and faded."

"I didn't-... What do you want me to do, Martlet? Say I'm sorry?" Clover choked out. It was evident he was close to tears.

Martlet held her tongue. Whatever she said now wouldn't change what happened. If it even technically happened at all. Clearly, Clover didn't want to kill the monsters, but what made him go down that path in the first place?

"...I don't know. I don't know what I want from you, Clover, and I don't think I'm gonna get whatever it is anyway."

Ceroba held Clover close to her as they walked. Martlet fell behind a bit. She knew Clover must have been in a torrent of emotion right now.

"I guess I want to know why. I don't need the answer right now. Er-! I also don't hate you, so don't go thinking I do. We'restillfriendsIpromiseIjust..." she trailed off as Clover's tears hit the floor. "Damn it," Martlet whispered.

The rest of the walk was done in near silence. It seems the Guard didn't understand what they were talking about or didn't care. Papyrus understood and cared, but he feigned ignorance. This wasn't his conflict to solve.

…

When they got to the throne room, the king was watering flowers. Frisk was helping him, of course, but Ava was standing at the far side of the room. She was staring at the north wall absent-mindedly.

"Hey King Asgore! We're here!" Undyne announced with a big grin.

Asgore stopped watering and smiled. "Howdy! Good morning, everyone! The souls are just this way. Follow me."

Alphys pulled out her phone to do something as the others followed Asgore behind the throne. Ava broke out of her stupor as Clover walked past. It seemed as though she didn't sense them approaching.

"Hey buddy," she said, falling in line behind him. "You doing alright?"

"I've been worse," he replied.

"Yyy-yeah..." Ava managed. "I can see something's got you crying. 'S-uhhhhh- Something fussy earlier?"

Clover stopped and turned to look at her. "Are you okay?"

"Just a headache, Clooover. No need to worry."

Clover squinted. Ava was acting very strange. Her eyes were distant, like she wasn't fully aware of what was going on.

She walked past him into the next room. Clover raised an eyebrow and followed. Alphys finally finished what she was doing and caught up.

"Ava. There you are. I wanted to wait until everyone was here to show you," Asgore started. He gestured to the large column of oscillating light in front of them. "This is the barrier. This is the thing keeping us all trapped down here."

As he was explaining, Ava stumbling ahead of him, unfazed by his speech. She walked ten meters, then twenty. Forty meters past him, she stopped.

"Ava?" he asked. "Are you alright?"

Ava stared at the barrier. Nothing was said. Nothing was being done. A mechanical noise clanged behind her as the five human soul containers rose from the floor.

Ava looked down at her hands. What was going on? Had she been drugged without her knowledge? No. This wasn't someone slipping her a mickey. Something was draining her energy.

She couldn't hold herself upright anymore. Ava leaned slightly to the left and collapsed. She wanted to speak, but she didn't have the strength.

"Ava!" Chujin shouted. He and Ceroba ran to help her up.

The oscillating light from the barrier increased amplitude and overlapped in a few places. Asgore studied the lightforms. "Curious. That's never happened before." He glanced back down to eye level as specific colors seemed to congregate at certain points.

As the light shone and coalesced, seven figures materialized. Asgore's eyes narrowed in recognition. They weren't exactly faces he could forget. They were the reason his people were stuck here after all.

A man wearing a red cloak stood taller than the six others near him.

"Who has disquieted us?!"

Chapter Text

The red robed man looked around at those present. "Red" closed his eyes and focused.

Chujin stared at him uneasily. What was he, and by extension the others, doing? Where did they even come from?

Without warning, Chujin and Ceroba were knocked back by an unseen force. The purple fox landed awkwardly on his arm. Undyne readied a spear and stood in front of Frisk.

Red looked at Ava and frowned. "There is only one mage soul within a mile radius. The fact that each of my cohorts are revived can only mean one thing." An oaken staff materialized in his hand.

Ava got to her feet and clenched her fists. Red noted her posture and sighed. "You are not aware of what you possess, are you?"

Ava frowned. "I've got a mage soul. I get it. I've also got something else!"

She thrust an arm forward at Red's face. The oaken staff reached his face first and blocked it. Ava's eyes widened as things became more apparent for her.

Red pushed her fist away with his staff. "Impressive speed and strength even with your magic fully depleted. You are indeed the original bearer of this mage soul. However..."

Ava was knocked back in a similar manner to her adoptive parents. Red closed his eyes. "I have been resurrected at a third of my prime strength. The others were only brought to a quarter. Their traits were forcibly added to your own. In your current state, any path forward will lead to utmost annihilation."

Ava got back up with some effort. She was more sluggish than normal. It was frustrating.

Red sharpened his gaze. "You understand what threat you pose to humanity? To the world itself? You are a cataclysm waiting for breach!" He gripped his staff with both hands. "...You must be destroyed before that can occur."

Ava grumbled and reached for her dimensional satchel. "What are you going on about?!"

"The time for talk has passed. Goodbye."

Red's cloak was then set ablaze by purple fire. He roared in pain before throwing his cloak off. Green ran up and rapidly healed his wounds.

"You're not laying a finger on my daughter!" Chujin yelled.

Red locked eyes with Chujin. "You are willing to risk the lives of the underground as well as potential hundreds of thousands atop the surface for ONE. Protecting this woman is an act of madness!"

Chujin's frown deepened. "I've got no reason to believe anything you say. As far as I'm concerned, you want her dead because she's helping to destroy the barrier."

"If the barrier breaks, then it breaks," Red stated. "But as long as her soul is approaching instability, we will not allow it to. I am determined to hold this line until she is dealt with."

A large purple cape entered Ava's vision. Asgore was now in front of her. "Because of you and your others' actions, my people have suffered down here for an epoch. You will not take from them the beacon of hope they have yearned for so long."

Ava spotted Red's cloak dissolving on the ground. A strange detail. It wasn't physically there.

Asgore swung his trident at Red. Mid swing, a rugged gauntlet extended from Orange's robe as he intercepted the strike.

Gunshots rang out as Clover fired yellow blasts at Blue and Cyan. They were getting close to the children souls and he wasn't gonna let that slide.

Blue took a knee and clasped her hands together. At that exact moment, monster (including Clover) felt an intense increase in gravity. Each one of them collapsed to the floor, save for Undyne, Asgore, and Clover. As those three remained mostly upright, moving became practically impossible.

Clover couldn't raise his arm to aim properly. Cyan advanced in his direction.

Ava found herself also unable to move. Looking down, she realized she was being held in place by ethereal arms. Upon struggling to wrench herself free, she heard the source grunt. Purple reinforced the number of arms restricting Ava and then worked on keeping Frisk in check.

Asgore took a step towards Orange with great difficulty, but was sent to the floor by another psionic discharge from Red. The headmage sent Undyne to the floor as well.

"Hmm." Red scanned the area. They were all either restrained or incapable of standing. "No more interruptions? Good. Enok? the fox holds your essence. Retrieve some to regain your strength. If he gives you too much trouble, kill him and siphon it from his soul."

He turned to face Ava. Her struggling compounded at the mention of harming Clover. "As for you, it's pointless. I'm blocking your mana flow. You can't infuse magic as long as I'm nearby. Struggle all you want, but Lance has you in his hold."

A collection of cyan bones erupted from the floor around Red, Orange, and Yellow. RG01 and RG02 were helping Papyrus keep upright.

"DID YOU FORGET ABOUT US? I'M NOT SURE WHAT ERA YOU'RE FROM, BUT IN MY CULTURE, IT'S RUDE TO IGNORE YOUR GUESTS OR TREAT THEM LIKE THEY AREN'T THERE."

"Papyrus, what are you doing?!" Undyne hollered through gritted teeth. "You can't keep those bones active for long!"

"I KNOW THAT, UNDYNE. I JUST WANT TO ASK HIM A QUESTION."

"A question? Very well. Ask and be silent," Red responded.

"WHAT IS AND WHY ARE YOU CONVINCED AVA WILL BRING THIS CATACLYSM YOU SPOKE ABOUT? OH, AND ALSO, WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO TAKE SOMETHING FROM CLOVER'S SOUL IF YOUR PROBLEM IS WITH AVA?"

Red crossed his arms. "You ask three questions, not one, but I will answer them regardless."

Ceroba slid her hand to her kimono. She could feel it in there. The second mask Kanako made after Clover changed her life. Like the one she used in that fight long ago, this one was imbued with a similar strength. She just needed enough time to get it to her face.

"The one you call Ava is a mage, and therefore a direct descendant of myself or the others. Given the red coloration taking dominance over her soul, it stands to reason she is of my bloodline. While siblings often have differing soul traits, a mage soul will always match the lineage they are associated with."

That explains Clover's soul being different, thought Chujin.

"No matter what the circumstances around it are, a mage can only hold power over one trait. Some have come close to complete dual use, but this is extremely rare and difficult to control. Those are cases in which mages were bred for the outcome. There have been others, however."

Cyan stared at Clover. She was studying his soul. A perplexing sight to her obviously, given her astounded facial expression. She then raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Yellow.

"Numerous instances have occurred where a mage would attempt to acquire partitions of other mage traits in order to become all powerful. Unfortunately for me, my lineage has more of that sort than the others, but it makes sense, given my trait. Still, there is only one instance where a full collective of all seven major traits have been completely stable."

Ava glanced at Yellow and then to Cyan. She could feel something trip between them. As Red was mid-sentence, the two switched places. Neither showed signs of injury from the bones because neither had technically moved. Obviously, everyone else saw it happen. Nobody pretended to not see them teleport.

"Our great grandmother was the first mage. She divided her powers through the generations of offspring and passed from old age. The one true magic came from her, and it is said she held dominion over the world itself. Any power-hungry fool would grasp at the chance to taste her fortune. And therein lies the problem. Every time a mage soul takes an abundance of traits into themselves, the power output scales accordingly. This power gain is not linear. It is exponentially exponential."

Ava shifted her arm closer to her dimensional satchel. Purple increased his hold on her limbs to keep her from moving. She growled at him in response.

"It is not a matter of if, skeleton monster. It is a matter of when. And given how many traits she has now, her explosion will be immeasurable. That is why she must be destroyed."

Papyrus grinned. "A-HAH! BUT YOU SAID IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR ONE MAGE TO SURVIVE HOLDING ALL TRAITS! THEREFORE, THE CHANCE IS SLIM BUT NOT ZERO."

Red simply stared at Papyrus. He was somewhat flabbergasted at the fact this skeleton was wanting to argue chance in a 2089 to 1 scenario. Then again, monsters never did make the most sense to him.

He turned to Yellow. "The skeleton's strength is about to give out. Get your essence out of the child and make it snappy. We need to reinforce this barrier before criticality can be achieved."

Papyrus' jaw dropped, metaphorically speaking. He wasn't even going to explain the other thing to them?

Martlet managed to get her knees between herself and the ground. This was the exact situation she was hoping to be strong enough help in, and yet, the most she could do was watch.

"Ghh!" Clover grunted as Yellow's hand landed on his chest. He thrashed, but Purple and Blue had him pinned in place. Yellow continued and a light glow pulsed through Clover's frame. "Gyaaaah! Gggrk!"

The blue bird found this torment unbearable. Not less than half an hour ago, she was drilling him for her own death. A death that didn't technically even happen. And now he lay suspended by magic as his soul is torn asunder. Unlike her, he didn't even get to go out fighting.

Each pained noise coming from the young monster fueled a fire in Martlet's soul. One that kept growing stronger to the point that Blue's gravity attack held little bearing on her.

"What's taking so long, Enok?" Red asked.

Yellow, or rather Enok, responded. "He is resilient. This monster is more dedicated to survival than any I have seen. I fear this isn't just a boss monster with my essence."

"Enok, we've talked about this. You need to be more efficient or your own caution will punish you."

"The boy has done nothing wrong!" Enok snapped. "His attack was warning. He did not harm Esra, and he knew the soul by name. Until he has proven himself of fault, he will receive none more than as painless I can muster."

"Aris! I need support here!" Purple called out. Green, or rather Aris, ran over and placed a hand on Purple's back. Ava's struggles were once again stalled to a stop.

For just that moment, more focus was drawn to Ava than it was to Martlet. The gravity spell Blue, or rather Esra, put on her was repelled and Martlet was now able to move freely.

Martlet's feathers glowed a dark blue and glimmered as an odd but familiar echo of magic coalesced within her. A gray chest plate covered her torso emblazoned with a soul pattern on the front. Her talons outstretched alongside her build as she grew nearly twice as tall.

You won't hurt Clover anymore!

Red's head snapped to her direction. His eyes widened in recognition. This power was one he had faced before. "Orion! The time for pleasantries is over. Slay the young mage NOW!"

Orange, or rather Orion, vaulted over to Ava and cocked an arm back. He was going straight for her sternum. Judging by his glowing gauntlet, Orion's magic works as a substitute for force.

"Death by compression asphyxia," Ava threw in. "Definitely not on my top ten for ways I could die, but it was number eleven. Are you sure I didn't prepare for it?"

Orion scowled and plunged his fist into Ava's chest.

Chapter Text

CLANG!

Chujin watched in horror as Ava's body was flung past them and struck the wall of stone beside the doorway. She landed upright and fell down, her legs in front of her and her back against the stone. Whatever she was fishing around in the satchel for had slid over to her side, knocked loose from the impact of Orion's fist.

"Did you have to send her that far?" Red complained. "I told you to kill her. I did not say treat her body as one would for sport!"

"Well, the time is not yet returned," Orion replied. "I say your suppression of her magic worked wonders."

"You sent her out of range, you fool! I cannot verify she passes on unless she is brought closer."

As those two were bickering, Martlet leapt into the air. Cyan teleported in front of Enok and deflected a yellow meteor the phoenix had summoned.

Martlet dug her talons into Cyan's arm and pumped a wing beat so strong it pulled her off the ground a few feet. The mage winced and wedged her foot in between the bird's talons. With some effort, she managed to free herself. Naturally, she was still airborne.

Martlet angled her wings back to glide down after her. Immediately after this, the area around her had changed and she was significantly closer to the ground than before. Her eyes widened, and she fought the air vigorously to slow her velocity.

It was then she noticed Cyan was missing. Martlet heard something hurtling through the air behind her just in time to be elbow dropped in the lower spine by the mage on the way down.

The two crashed and Martlet swept Cyan off her with a wing. The mage was mostly uninjured, but then again, so was Martlet.

"Get out of my way!" she squawked.

Aris ran over to Cyan and began healing the gouges in her arm. An odd detail that Ceroba noticed while trying inch the mask closer to her face was that the mage wasn't simply bleeding. Whatever "blood" exited from the wounds just floated back into the barrier.

A weak, wet coughing sound echoed about the stone. Ceroba's ears perked up. The gravity was too much for her to see and confirm her suspicions directly, but the coughing followed by a quiet "Fuck!" was all that she needed.

Mommy's coming, Ava! Just hold out a little longer.

Ceroba slid the mask ever closer until it was practically touching her nose. Warmth flowed through her chest as she pushed through Esra's spell to put it on.

The mother fox slammed a clenched fist into the stone as she broke Esra's hold on her soul. The blue-robed mage cursed under her breath as yet another escaped her spell.

"Damnit, Orion!" she spat. "If you didn't cause me such a distraction, my spell could've been better maintained!"

Orion moved to block Ceroba's path to Clover and Martlet. "Oh please, you can cast another one!"

"Subsequent spells of this magnitude are much weaker. You know this, and I'm not chancing it with lifting my old one on the fish and the goat!"

Red turned his focus on the beige fox. Ceroba held out a hand and summoned her staff as her hair grew to an unreasonable length. A white robe lined with strips of red matching her kimono dressed her shoulders.

While not as strong as a boss monster on the surface, Ceroba's soul works a bit different than most. Memories are her strength, and she can store the weight of these memories in objects she holds close to her heart.

The memories stored in the first mask were strong enough to combat Undyne. How strong were this second mask's memories? Considering the precious moments now included raising two children AND her husband coming back to life? She had quite a lot more happiness stored.

"I see," said Red. "You have your own 'Ascension' as well, although it seems this one carries less permanence than the bird's."

Red gripped his staff and solidified his footing. "It matters not. Two against four are still bad odds, even if you two are elevated. And now that I don't have to put so much effort into suppressing the abomination’s magic recovery, I can attack with full effectiveness."

Ceroba dodged to her left as a glowing orange fist zoomed past her shoulder. A lock of her hair wrapped around Orion's fist and ignited.

"Orion, you clod!" Red berated as Orion used a pulse of power from his soul to free his arm. "You are impatient! Let us observe her power first and come up with a strategy."

"And what do you think I'm doing?" Orion asked. "She's on the defensive. She won't show us her power unless we make her."

Meanwhile, Ava opened her eyes. She reached up pulled the collar of her shirt forward. Underneath the shirt was a metal sheet. Judging by the massive dent near the sternum, it had done its job.

She thought back to her detour in the Steamworks. Some sections of metal were much stronger than others. She then recalled how Flowey had attacked Clover.

I tried to tell you I was prepared, Ava mused. Still hurts like a bitch, though.

She reached down at the object next to her and dragged it closer.

Oh-HOH FUCK! THAT HURTS!

She began a desperate coughing fit as blood exited her mouth. The plate of metal she had under the backside of her shirt did nothing to shoulder the impact against the wall earlier. With the cracked ribs and lung hemorrhaging, moving around too quickly would push more blood into her lungs. She had no choice but to take it slow.

There isn't much I can do right now, can I?

Ava's eyes scanned the chaos. Martlet was fighting both Cyan and Aris. Ceroba was fighting Red and Orion. Asgore, Undyne, Chujin, and Frisk were struggling against Esra's and Purple's magic constraints. The two guards and Papyrus were taking a breather to get their strength.

And then a realization hit her.

Ava had not once seen Alphys since she walked past her to go to the barrier. She didn't notice it before due to her prior headache, but Alphys had left as soon as she collapsed. Where did she go?

Ava couldn't think on that right now. Too much was happening in front of her to afford being distracted. At the very least, she could observe and identify who did what.

Martlet's wings shone a brilliant yellow as she slammed them into Cyan. Once her shimmer had settled, it was revealed that Cyan and Aris had switched places. Aris had formed a green shield to catch Martlet's wings before impact.

"The more you interfere, the harder it will be for Enok to keep the fox from unbearable pain," Aris reasoned.

"If he wasn't tugging at Clover's soul, he wouldn't be in pain in the first place!" Martlet countered with a scowl.

She then used ice magic to send large ice blocks along the ground at them. The blocks of ice weren't very accurate in velocity, and they didn't hurt much when collided with, which was bizarre given they were as tall as they were. Cyan and Aris traded looks of confusion at this.

Things started to make more sense once Martlet's feathers sliced through a few blocks and rebounded off others. Cyan and Aris were caught in a blender of feathers and ice. Aris was able to outheal the cuts and bruising, but Cyan was struggling to keep up.

Ava lifted the object up and positioned it against her shoulder in a manner most would a certain type of weapon and flipped a selector switch to three-round-burst. With her combat rifle perched to her shoulder, she took aim and steadied her breathing.

I'm out of magic, and I'm practically immobile, but there is still something I can do. She looked at Red before fixating on her target. Have you ever read 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu? It's a good book.

As her grip on the trigger tightened, a few vines shot out of the ground around her. She was in no position to fight him. It would make sense he'd attack her now of all times, wouldn't it? While she's completely helpless? In that case, she needed to get this shot off as soon as possible.

In a move that would continue to baffle her for some time to come, Flowey's vines did not impale her. Rather, they coiled around her arms and behind her shoulder. The shock of sudden contact made her finger flinch.

PO-PO-POOM!

Ava felt the kick of the rifle jutter into her shoulder. The recoil was significantly reduced compared to what she knew it should have been. The vines around her arms and the ones holding her shoulder had absorbed the majority of it. Had he been trying to help her?

Blood pooling into her lungs told her that this was the only burst she could handle. Anything more would risk killing her. As if knowing this, Flowey's vines receded into the floor.

The thud of a body hitting the floor brought her attention back to Esra, her target. She lay unmoving on the floor, two holes in her face and one in her throat. Ava's aim was as good as ever.

The gravity spell failed with the caster disabled. Asgore and Undyne ripped free from Purple's arms. Frisk wriggled out and went to help Papyrus and the guard duo.

Aris looked with worry as she tried to get to Esra's side. However, Martlet was still forcing pressure on her and Cyan. She couldn't get any leeway with the bird on her tail.

"Maya! Teleport us to Esra, now!" Aris shouted.

Cyan, or rather Maya, shook her head. "We can't do that for a few reasons, Aris. I can't see where Esra is through all these attacks. I'll be teleporting us blind. I can't chain soul power like you and Astor. In addition, your announcement told our enemy just where we want to be and she'll be ready if we do. I know you want to help Esra, but we have to wait for an opportune moment."

Aris frowned but didn't pester her further.

Further away, Orion smashed his fist into the ground. The resulting impact sent a shock wave that knocked most present off their feet. The shock wave continued and shattered Martlet's ice blocks, freeing the other two mages.

The mage of BRAVERY dodged just in time to avoid a geyser of fire magic erupting from his prior standing. Ceroba summoned some exploding bells and flung them to his sides, pushing him back towards the barrier. Orion landed on his feet and stanced himself for her next attack.

Red, or rather Astor, held his staff aloft and concentrated. Both Asgore and Undyne were facing him. Both were formidable foes. Unfortunately for them, so was he.

Undyne threw her spear at him and followed up with a barrage of four more after. Astor effortlessly caught the first spear and used both said spear and his staff to block and repel the others. Undyne closed in and struck her spear out of his hand.

"For not being a boss monster, you could definitely pass as one," Astor told her. He leaned his head left to avoid her right fist. "As it is apparent, Asgore definitely trained you."

Astor huffed before a sly smile crossed his lips. He rotated clockwise on his heel before slamming his staff into her shoulder. Undyne stumbled on her left foot and Astor tripped her with his own. The mage caught a red trident aimed for his face.

"Reforge your strategies, Asgore. If it didn't work back then, why would it work now?" Astor prompted.

He then angled the trident to the fish lady at his feet. He thrust it down, barely missing her as she rolled out of the way. Astor laughed.

"So, you CAN dodge. I was beginning to think Asgore's methods were lacking. Or maybe the knock of my staff was enough to put some sense in you."

Undyne got to her feet while Asgore rushed Astor. The behemoth of a goat opened a fuzzy hand and seared Astor's face with fire magic. Astor recoiled and Asgore retrieved his trident.

A psionic blast cracked Asgore's armor and pushed him back. Asgore dug his trident into the stone to prevent any further ground loss.

"You okay, Asgore?" Undyne asked.

The Monster King nodded. "I am. It is concerning however, that he is not using his main abilities."

"He's not?"

Asgore removed his trident from the stone. "His magic extends beyond simple forces. There have been instances in the great war when I've witnessed him exuding magic from his soul capable of erasing attacks from existence. While the green one comes close, none other than he had such a phenomenal ability to recover from any wound in seconds, but that doesn't seem to be the case with the burns I have just inflicted."

The king narrowed his eyes. Was blocking Ava's mana flow costing him power such that his own regeneration is stunted?

"These shortcomings mean nothing to him. Be on your guard, Undyne. Astor only views a handicap as a challenge."

…

Not much earlier...

Alphys clambered about Asgore's kitchen.

"Come on! Where does he keep it?" she grumbled.

The yellow lizard monster looked through each cupboard and cabinet until she came across a bottle of nondescript ibuprofen. She reached in and grabbed it.

"There it is! -Huh?" Alphys said as someone knocked on the front door. She scuttled over and opened it.

"Hello?"

At the door was a purple vampire monster. "May I come in? I need to get to Ava as fast as possible."

"Oh, um, I was actually getting something for her headache." Alphys twiddled her fingers awkwardly. "Is it important? This is kind of official business."

Dalv furrowed his eyebrows. "From what I understand, this is a life-or-death situation. Please let me through."

Alphys tentatively raised a finger in protest. "O-only Royal Gu-"

The sound of a distant explosion interrupted her. The two looked at each other before glancing at the staircase.

"I made the mistake of assuming the worst before, but now I think it's warranted."

Alphys nodded and motioned for Dalv to follow. It seemed his claim was to be believed after all.

Chapter Text

Chujin knelt beside Ava and closed his eyes. If the blood was ignored, she seemed pretty calm and relaxed actually. This was far from what was happening, of course. The soldier had been willing her heartbeat to slow to reduce the blood entering her lungs.

The purple fox sighed and got to work. "You're really gonna just walk this off after it blows over, huh?" he asked before lifting Ava's shirt. He flinched at the cavity in the plate. "You... where did you even get this?"

The corner of Ava's lip twitched upward briefly. It gave him a message along the lines of 'Heh, I'll never tell.'

Chujin removed the plate from her front gingerly, only pausing when Ava couldn't maintain stillness and took in sharp breaths. Once it was removed, he examined the surface of Ava's chest. The blood made it hard to see the abundance of abrasions and cuts caused by the Orion's punch and the deformity of the plate. The way her chest caved in slightly was very apparent, however.

Ava's ribs were bent and shaped in such a way that the further they were, the more visible they became. Unfortunately, this was a sight he had seen once before. The only time being someone who was much, much smaller, and had haunted him to his death.

This time was different, and arguably much worse. Melody had her head blown apart by Axis' thermal blast. Only after that did he excavate her soul from the poor girl's chest. Ava had to breathe through the pain. She was conscious. She was aware of every neuron going ballistic inside her spinal column. She was fighting to stay awake. If Chujin were human, he'd have lost the contents of his stomach looking at how her crushed sternum moved with her heartbeat.

Instead, he swallowed and held his hands over her ribs. "I'm not the best at healing magic," he admitted. "I know enough to get your ribs out of your lungs... God, that's... ooh, I can't look."

That's gotta be agonizing. How can she keep such a straight face?

A small bell in his hair chimed as his hands glowed green.

…

Orion's fist bounced off Ceroba's barrier. She was fast enough to dodge it, but he was relentlessly persistent in his follow ups. Any opening she gave him, he'd take it.

He was smart enough to not attack her from directly behind. This meant he was going for side strikes, but he was more ferocious when facing her head on as he now was. An extended fight with him would undoubtedly end poorly for her.

Four lines moved around Orion, forming into a square and locking him in place briefly. Behind her mask, Ceroba wore a smug grin.

Doesn't feel good being on the receiving end, huh? she thought.

She summoned a geyser of flames from underneath him. He grunted and swore at her. As the geyser receded, Orion charged through and held his fist to Ceroba's barrier.

Ceroba was surprised to see how little changed in Orion's HP. He was bathed in an orange light. It wasn't healing him, but it did create a buffer between him and the fire.

"Your love for your children makes you strong, fox. You have given me a great excuse to exercise my power, and for that, I am grateful. A reward for your endurance so far..." Orion smiled knowingly. "This light that clings to me acts as a deterrent to damage. In proportion to how much I would suffer, as long as I move for long enough, I can store it."

Ceroba squinted as the light around his fist grew brighter. From his fist a cavity in the air ruptured, shattering her barrier and tossing her to the floor a way away.

She rolled over and pushed herself off the ground. Orion staggered slightly and corrected himself.

He absorbs damage and puts it into his next attack. Using that much power seems to disorient him, though, Ceroba noted.

She feigned a strike at his knee with her staff. As he moved his hand to catch it, the beige furred fox used the bottom of her staff to propel herself into his abdomen. His reaction time was aloof and he took the brunt of her weight to the floor.

He kicked her off of him and laughed. "Yes, YES! This is what I was talking about!" Orion cheered jovially, holding his open hands at his sides. "The drive to protect your others turns your fear into fire! Only those with bonds as strong as your own would be able to conjure such motivation from such an inferior collection!"

He wiggled two fingers at her in a taunting motion. "Come! Let me feel it again!"

"Do you get enjoyment from this, you sick bastard?" Ceroba growled, slamming a fist into the ground before getting up. "Does it make you feel strong to fight someone who can actually fight back? This 'inferior collection' poses that little threat to you?"

Orion's grin subsided. "It was not meant to be derogatory, fox. Just a statement of fact. Many of my own race are unable to stand up to my might."

Ceroba scowled behind the mask. This brute thought too highly of himself, and it was pissing her off. He would need some humbling.

The fox mother summoned a ring of flames around him and had them close in. At the first sign of Orion's light cloak, she held the flames where they were. He was confused at first but soon realized what she was planning. His grin returned and he willingly tried running into the flames. Orion cloaked himself in light and dashed into a row of flames, only for them to disappear and Ceroba's staff to strike his jaw.

Orion's grin widened and he snatched her staff. "So, you figured it out, huh?" he said before snapping the staff in half. "You won't be needing this if you wish to defeat me with physical attacks. Unfortunately, the only one here who could best me at that is already bleeding to death."

Ceroba clenched her fists. Ever since she took in Clover, she wanted to believe there was a better reason. She wanted to believe that Chujin's analysis was unfounded. But despite her hopes, it was clear now that the ones responsible for their imprisonment under the mountain did not do so for Monsterkind's sake.

She stepped forward and summoned a kanabo this time. To this, Orion guffawed.

"You wish to make yourself slower with a weighted stick? How dense can you be?"

"MrrrraAAHH!" Ceroba howled with fury before she charged him. Orion caught the spiked bat with his left hand before clocking Ceroba in the face with his right.

His grin was smug until he felt something off. The mask she was wearing had been shattered. Shouldn't her power be disappearing? No, that wasn't it. Her boost had vanished. His strength was being depleted by being in contact with her bat!

He quickly pushed her away from him and refocused his stance. Orion's face was now adorned with a stone serious expression. This wasn't just another opponent who stood out. This was actually a threat, and he needed to address her as such.

…

Martlet's talons raked across Maya's shoulder. A good amount of blood seeped out of her tunic as she removed her robe.

"This damn thing is only getting in the way," she bickered, seemingly unfazed by her injury.

Martlet's eyes darted over to Aris. With a powerful sweep of her wings, she sent a hurricane's force worth of air at her to knock her away from Esra. Aris blocked it with her shield and went on undeterred.

The phoenix growled and readied her wings to fire off another burst when a light blue arrow impaled and destroyed her chest plate. Martlet doubled over as the remnants of her armor fell to the floor.

Wh-where...? she thought, staring in confusion at the arrow protruding from her chest. Where did this arrow come from?

"The hunter catches its prey by waiting for its best chance and takes them by surprise. You made a mistake by ignoring me."

Martlet found turning her head to be surprisingly difficult. Actually, everything was rather stiff. She could move her eyes with ease, but that was about it. She heard footsteps approaching.

Maya entered her vision holding a medieval longbow. The mage stared at her blankly. Martlet stared back, unable to change her own blank facial expression.

"I know I don't need to tell you this, but you're completely incapable of moving. My gale arrow is directly implanted in your soul. You won't die as long as you stay still, but try to move and things will end abruptly for you." Maya picked up the front of Martlet's chest plate. "I cracked your backside earlier with my elbow. I just needed you to expose your back again and the battle was over."

She tried to harden her stare, but her body wouldn't listen. It felt unnaturally cold in the places she tried to move. Martlet looked to Clover. If she could show worry right now, she would.

"Your concern for your friend is not unfounded, but do not fret. Enok is an honest man. If your friend is as virtuous as he is loved, he will be spared."

Martlet could only grunt in response. It was at this point Asgore's trident zoomed past them, seemingly off course.

"King Asgore!" Undyne yelled. She shifted the spear in her hands. In front of her knelt Asgore, a gash across his armor.

"I told you... to be on your guard, Undyne," the king managed.

(A bell chimed from afar.)

"I must admit, you're much faster than you look, Asgore." Astor watched as Undyne placed herself between the two. He sighed. "This really isn't that fun anymore. Asgore, you've let age take its toll on you, and I don't feel like dragging this out any longer."

Undyne summoned some spears, but was slashed across the chest by Astor's sword in the same manner as her teacher.

(A bell chimed from afar.)

Undyne struggled to move. Her body felt like it was splitting apart. Yet, it did not buckle under her injuries. Why?

Astor stared at her perplexed for the same reason. The slash he hit her with should have killed her from full health. He shrugged off the shock and stabbed her again.

(A bell chimed from afar yet again.)

Astor frowned. Asgore wasn't turning to dust either. What was happening?

Well, it didn't matter. He turned to Purple. "Keep them from moving. They're too weak right now to do anything problematic, but just to be safe."

Purple nodded and summoned his ethereal arms to hold the two in place.

…

The kanabo clipped Orion's knee as he delivered a kick to Ceroba's hip. The force knocked her to the floor, and Orion grabbed the kanabo and snapped it in half. He dropped the two pieces and looked down at Ceroba. She tried to get up, but the pain in her side was too great.

"...Not many have had the honor of bringing me to my limits... Tell me your name so I may remember she who brought me closer than even Astor."

The cocky and bragadocious attitude Orion had before was gone. This was him being respectful, for what it was worth. Ceroba spit at him and snarled. He let out a breath.

"So be it," he said. Orion held a gauntlet at the ready. "I will make it quick."

(A bell chimed from afar.)

Orion's fist collided with Ceroba's skull, but it didn't break as he was expecting it to. He stood upright and took note of her status. She was unconscious but alive.

Astor walked over to assist Orion, but the mage stopped on a dime after he spotted something in the far side of the room. The color drained from Astor's face.

"H-HOW?! THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" Orion followed his gaze and found Ava's soul outside of her body, shining numerous colors at once.

The bell from Ava's hair chimed once more. She was using GREEN to conduct healing magic. She was using CYAN to teleport the healing magic and extend her range to Asgore, Undyne, Ceroba, and Martlet all at once. She was using PURPLE around their souls and holding them together. And she was using ORANGE to mitigate the damage each of them took.

The most absurd part about this was that Ava was doing this with her soul alone. No staff, no wand, and no instruments. Not even her own body, for she could not move it. Astor and the other mages knew how to detect a timeline reset, which meant that this was her first time doing this.

"Lokah! Release the king and his underling," Astor ordered.

Purple, or rather Lokah, hesitated. "...But Astor, we can'tbe certain if she is-"

"Release the avian, Maya." Astor completely disregarded Lokah's complaint. "Aris, collect Esra and enter the barrier."

Enok's eyes finally opened. He looked Astor's way. The mage of Justice was resolved in his decision, regardless of how convenient the timing was. "Clover has been judged. This child is going to keep my essence, Astor."

Astor remained unbothered by this declaration, simply replying with, "...I know."

One by one, or two given Aris and Esra, the mages walked into the barrier and vanished. Lokah was the last one, but before he joined them, he turned and spoke.

"We leave you with your lives... for now. The barrier will be reinforced. You will have a much harder time escaping, but if Astor and Enok are correct in their observations, you won't have to worry about that."

Without another word, he walked past the threshold.

The arrow in Martlet's chest dissolved and she could move again. The phoenix clambered over to Clover and held him tight to her chest. Tears stung her eyes as she cradled him within her massive form. Clover could already feel the apology coming and accepted it.

"I'm sorry, Clover! I never meant to be angry with you. I just... I-I thought that I had to- I had to know if- I-I-I-"

Clover rolled his eyes and hugged Martlet back. "It's okay, Martlet. It's okay. We won, didn't w-"

Clover went slack-jawed when he finally noticed the aftermath of the battle. Martlet let him go and he surveyed the fragments of ice and cracks in the floor. The line of blood that started off thin near the front by the barrier that thinned out further until it... surrounded Ava and Chujin by the back wall.

His fur stood on end as he saw Undyne helping Asgore walk. Both were battle worn. Frisk ran past them to help, and Papyrus and the RG duo were hauling the soul containers out of there.

Mom. Where's mom? he thought, the anxiety creeping in.

"Dad! Mom's hurt!" he called out as he rushed over to her dormant form. Clover rolled Ceroba over to lay on her back and initiated a battle to CHECK her soul. His heart skipped a beat when she rolled back over and began crawling towards the south wall.

"Mom!"

Clover helped Ceroba up and slung her arm around his shoulder. She kept her eyes forward. The brown fox walked his mother over to Chujin and Ava.

Chujin panted heavily. Ava's soul had returned to her body, and she had accelerated her own cell regeneration, but something was wrong. She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing. Her body was fine, but nothing was happening.

"Ava?" Ceroba tried. "Ava, can you hear me?"

She held a hand to Ava's cheek. It was cold. Her vibrant red eyes were starting to lose color.

"A-Ava?" Ceroba's voice cracked.

No! NO!!! I can't lose a second daughter to the responsibilities this world forced upon them! I can't! I won't!

"Oh my god!" squeaked a certain scientist when she and Dalv rounded the corner. Alphys ogled the devastation. "Wh-what happened?!"

She then caught sight of Ava and almost inhaled her own saliva. The yellow lizard checked Ava's pulse. She moved Ceroba and Chujin aside rather forcefully and placed a hand up by her shoulder and another just above Ava's left hip.

Chujin reached towards Alphys in a panic. "What are you-"

"Clear!" Alphys shouted. Ava's chest spasmed and then fell back to resting position. Alphys put her ear to Ava's chest. She then repeated the process a second time.

"My charge isn't strong enough to complete the circuit to her heart," Alphys relayed in defeat.

Dalv, who had been busy watching the room in awe, perked up at this. He moved over to the other side of Ava. With a renewed vigor, he spoke.

"I can use electricity magic. Just tell me what to do and I'll follow your lead, Doctor."

Alphys pointed to where she held Ava's shoulder. "I need you to focus positive charge here. I'm going to focus negative over here. On three!"

The Ketsukanes and Martlet watch with baited breaths as Ava's chest flexes and relaxes. Eventually...

"She's got a p-pulse!"

Ava's eyes regained life and drifted to scan the faces of those present. Why was everyone looking at her? What happened? Did she... Wait.

She squinted at Dalv. "...What the fuck are you doing here?"

As soon as those words left her mouth, Ceroba pulled her into a deep hug. Although a touching moment, Ava was still bruised to high hell from Orion's punch. Chujin sighed, partially out of relief Ava was alive but also because Ceroba did not know the extent of Ava's injuries.

"Ow-ow-ow-OW! Fuck!" Ava hissed. Ceroba immediately loosened her grip.

"Sorry! Sorry."

Dalv held an uneasy eye contact with Clover. This was an odd situation for both of them, so it made sense they would have trouble piecing together a way to break the ice. Clover started.

"Hey... Dalv... Been a while, ey?" The cowpoke rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry I never came to visit. I was... well, that doesn't matter now. How've ya been?"

Dalv took on a somber tone. "I haven't changed much, unfortunately. I've moved to Snowdin, but I'm still just as shut in as I was when we first met." He shifted his gaze to Ava. "I had only just recently opened myself up to performing for others. What about you? Clearly, you have been through a lot."

Ava winced as she tried to get up. Chujin helped her to her feet, but he was unable to support her weight further. Martlet scooped her wings behind Ava and carried her like one would a small child.

"At least you're easier to carry this time," she remarked.

Ava just smiled and let her eyes close.

Chapter Text

The veteran in the ghillie suit adjusted the focus on his binoculars. Three people walked by the entrance to the strange cave. It was difficult to read lips from fifty meters, but that's what the binoculars were for.

"The readings from the (head turns) ....... ... (turns back) fluctuating. We've confirmed positive ID on Ava Millet's soul just beyond the barrier, but the scanner can't determine her current status. Given the output, it's possible she'll approach criticality within a few days. -Oh? Hang on. I gotta take this."

Abahd lowered his binoculars and whispered into a small microphone.

"Looks like the drive Mac sent you before he dipped was onto something after all."

“Do you have visual on the barrier they're discussing?"

"One hundred meters in the cave, affirm. I have visual. Check the livestream, Taz."

"You're streaming this?"

Abahd smirked. "Sure am. Got five channels running under this suit. This defunct CIA experiment is gonna get exposed for what it is."

…

"How do you do it?"

Ava angled her head towards the corner of the room. She was in a patient's room in the lab. Chujin wanted a chance to use the upgraded DT Extractor to get a bead on Ava's situation.

Once she was deemed "safe," she was given a bed to sleep on and Alphys and Chujin got to work on collecting data from the five human souls. Frisk and Clover would be inspected later.

"Seriously, though. I don't understand you."

It was Flowey. His usual seemingly innocent or conniving grin was replaced with contemplative squinting. Ava searched his visage for any semblance of malice, but he showed none. This was a different flower than the one she met the first time.

Ava relaxed her head against the pillow. "You're gonna have to be more specific, captain," she said.

Flowey looked up from the tile he was staring into. "How do you keep focus when you're so close to death? You're not operating with emotion. You just shut them off and keep going. I don't understand how someone that has them can just remove them like that."

He frowned. "I didn't need to worry about that so much before, but whatever you did gave them back to me. I should care less about these people. I should find it funny when you get hurt... but I don't. I was supposed to keep my distance and watch, but these emotions made me intervene."

"It's simple, really." Ava looked up at the ceiling. "If you dumb things down and not think about people's responses to things, you become more efficient at completing the objective. If someone gets hurt, either help them until you can advance, or let them deal with it themselves and move up faster. If you're fighting someone, stop thinking about what they could do, but what they are doing and circumvent it. If a lady is showing their hands in the air but keeps looking at a detonator on the table, don't wait for her to grab it. As soon as her foot moves, shoot her and you've saved at least one other person from the intended explosion."

She sat up and let her legs off the side of the bed. "You can have time for emotions after. You can deal with the pain of injuries after. People are counting on your ability to do your job. Not your opinions."

"You didn't once go unconscious." Flowey's frown became a scowl. "If I didn't help you, you would have DIED! And for what? You freed them only for them to get hurt as you bled to death!"

"It's a soldier thing," Ava replied. "You wouldn't understand."

"THEN HELP ME UNDERSTAND!" Flowey barked.

Ava stood up and locked eyes with Flowey. "You think I can just MAKE you understand?" She glared at him. "How the hell have you not figured it out yet?"

Flowey felt a pang of hurt, but why? "No, I haven't. That's why I'm asking you! You..."

Ava's eyebrow rose. Flowey looked away. "No. You're not an idiot. That's what scares me. That's what scared me when we met. That's why I've been so interested in seeing what you'll do. It's strange, really. When we fought, you didn't chase me. You gave me options, even though I didn't deserve them. You broke your own brother's arm to stop me from using him. But didn't it hurt you to have to do that? Didn't you hate me for what I put you through?"

Ava sighed and sat back down. "Damn. You're making me feel self-conscious all of a sudden. I don't hate you. I was pissed, sure, but you only intrigued me more than anything."

Flowey's eyes drifted her way. "I what?"

"An adversary with a body so bizarre in nature, it would force me to adapt so strenuously? Truly, it was a challenge I didn't know I wanted. I'm used to fighting things that are more humanoid in shape," Ava continued. "The prospect of a fight like that was why I let you go. I wanted you to escape. I wanted you to get stronger. I wanted to work for my victory, but I got stronger instead, and you stayed the same."

Flowey's face paled. "Y-you wanted me to..."

"A relentless killer against a relentless killer. The classic rumble that everyone wants to see but no one will admit to it. How could I refuse something so tantalizing? That was my mindset at the time. Even with everything going on, I wanted to understand what you could become for the sake of my own entertainment." Ava gave Flowey a terrifyingly casual light laugh that would've been perfectly normal in any other context.

"Right, Flowey? We really are a lot alike, huh? ...Or we were, rather. I'm sure you've guessed by the time we bumped into each other in the Steamworks my want for battle had waned. As I helped the amalgamates, I remembered how good it felt to just help people. I don't know if you can relate with no soul, but when the ceiling in the mall collapsed, I felt the necessity for those monsters' safety burning inside me."

Flowey nodded slowly. "I'm starting to get it. I was relieved, too."

Ava smirked. "...You did that, didn't you?"

Flowey once again averted his gaze.

"Heh, well, I'm glad you did. Else, I don't think I'd have the motivation to do what I did back at the barrier."

Flowey frowned. "And there you go again, throwing me off. Who thanks someone for nearly killing themselves and the immediate vicinity? I don't understand you at all."

"Nobody has ever accused me of being normal," Ava pointed out.

The two listened to the clock ticking for a bit. The flower had to admit, it felt pretty good to socialize and share the moment. It was far better than role-playing a recording.

"...You know, Ava, I'm done trying to take those souls. I had been entertaining a few ways I would use their power, but I'm starting to find it all unappealing." Flowey looked back at Ava in earnest. "But, with you here in the underground, as strange and unusual you may be to hang around, living without a soul isn't so bad."

"I promised I'd get you a soul, didn't I? I don't make promises I can't keep," she said calmly.

Flowey squinted. "You didn't even know if it was possible when you made that promise. God, you're weird... but, being weird means you’re unique. I kind of like that."

Ava laughed. "There's no way you're a kid with a pick-up line like that. How long you been practicing that one?"

Was it possible for a flower to blush? Up until witnessing Flowey's reaction, Ava would have said no. Maybe it wasn't the flower itself, but the monster dust it was fused with.

The soldier looked up at the door. "You should probably hide. Someone's coming, and I'm willing to bet it's Clover."

Flowey submerged as the sound of boots drew near the door. Sure enough, Clover opened the door and walked inside. Ava rolled her eyes.

"I see you still don't knock before entering," she quipped.

Clover caught an odd scent and sniffed twice. He pointed a finger haphazardly around. "Was someone just in here?" he asked.

"I was just in here," Ava stated with a grin. "Anyway, what's up? How's everyone doing?"

Clover shrugged. "Yeah, well uh... Dad is perfectly fine, aside from some minor bruising on his arm. Mom is breathing, but she's got sore spots everywhere. Undyne is battered, but she's already up and trying to help Alphys take care of the king. Martlet..."

The vulpine cowboy sighed. "I'm not sure what's going on with Martlet. She seems alright, but she's really tired. I think it's something to do with magic exhaustion? Dad's keeping an eye on her if something goes wrong. Oh! Speaking of Dad, he wants you to come to the DT-what's-it room. Says it's important."

"...Alright," Ava grunts as she gets up and starts walking. "What about you, Clover? Any pain or discomfort? I didn't see you get hit by anything, but whatever that yellow-robed dude did, I doubt it was pleasant."

Clover walked along with her down the hall. "...Yeah, I'm fine. Just got dragged down memory lane again. Apparently, that's my trait's power."

"What about soul lasers and dash magic?" Ava asked.

"That's part of it, but Enok explained it a bit better. About halfway through, he stopped trying to take the 'Judgement' ability away from me entirely. Said I'd need it to better understand and evaluate someone. He never mentioned who it was, though."

Clover was happy Ava didn't prod him on why memory lane was a bad thing for him in a few parts. That was something he could bear to tell Ceroba and Starlo... and technically Martlet, even if she figured it out before he could properly explain. He didn't want to tell Chujin, and he most definitely didn't want to destroy the mental image of "Ava's golden younger brother" for the one standing next to him either.

"'Judgement,' huh?" Ava repeated, remembering something she thought was funny.

"There you are," Chujin said as the two entered the DT Extraction room. "I've successfully isolated the components of your soul extract and mapped them to the other souls, with some variations in the mix should they be needed for adjustments later."

Ava rubbed her eyes. Sitting across the room was Ceroba. She gave the two a small wave and a weak smile.

"Damn, Mom. You look like you got put through the wringer, and that's coming from me. Your nose alright?"

Ceroba nodded. "I'm not that frail, Ava. I may get knocked down here and there," she said with a grin. "But I get back up."

"We were able to separate the determination and its components from the souls and remove any lingering effects caused from LV gain," Chujin said as he pulled out the boss monster soul container.

Ava looked at the container and back at Chujin. "Did you need more trait extract from me?"

Chujin shook his head. "Actually, I wanted your input. Which trait should we try to give it?"

Ava blinked a few times. "My input? Why do you want my input?"

Chujin smiled and scratched his chin. "Well, to be honest, none of this would've been possible without you. It's crazy to think that only a week ago, I had been working on human eradication weapons. You've been nothing but selfless and helpful since you've opened up to us. It's only fair you get to choose the first advancement."

That wasn't true. There were numerous times where she'd been selfish. It didn't seem that way on the surface, but just about everything she did was because she wanted Clover to be happy. She wanted everyone else to serve their own specific purposes and moved to change things if she found them inadequate. Hell, she never even apologized for yelling at Starlo. It was only after she stayed at Alphys' lab that first night that she started to actually care about other people's opinions.

All in all, she was the last person who should get to choose what happens. She didn't want to be the one to choose. Was that selfish of her? Maybe it was. Still, Chujin wanted to know her response.

Monsters are weird. They all had little quirks, but that's what made them so real to her. Above all other things though, they were consistently kind. With a deep breath, Ava settled on her answer.

"Kindness!" she blurted. Ava reeled it back in and tried again. "-Er! Sorry. But, uh, kindness... give it kindness."

Chujin's smiled grew warmer. "Kindness? I think that's a great answer."

In another room, Alphys was bandaging Undyne's chest. The yellow lizard wrapped another round over her ribcage and secured it.

"Okay! That's a- the uh- that should do it." Alphys smiled awkwardly at Undyne.

Undyne poked and prodded at the stitched together gash that Astor inflicted. "Damn, that's gonna leave a mark. Hey, Alphys. When did you get so good at stitching?"

Alphys threw a glance at Frisk. "Well, Frisk has had some rough situations. They're not exactly as careful as they appear sometimes." She directed her attention back to Undyne. "These stitches are to remain on for two days. I don't want you doing anything extracurricular until I take them off. I-is that understood?"

"Can I at least bench press boulders?" Undyne asked.

"No!" Alphys rebuked. "That's specifically what I meant by extracurricular! Just take it easy for a few days."

Undyne frowned. "Damn. I was hoping you wouldn't say that." Her grin returned shortly. "Guess that means we can binge watch some anime, huh?"

Frisk came up and grabbed some rubbing alcohol from the tray.

[*You tell Alphys you need this.]

They took off to the room Asgore was in and set it down on the bedside table. Toriel nodded and smiled.

"Thank you, my child. Monsters might not 'bleed' the same way humans do, but magic is only able to do so much for as deep as this cut goes."

"Thanks again, Tori," Asgore said. "I know I probably deserve less, but it means the world to me you came on such short notice."

Toriel hummed slowly. "Believe me Dreemurr, if Frisk had been at all injured, you would not be receiving this care in the first place."

[*You ask Toriel if she can stay at the castle tonight to help take care of Asgore.]

Toriel sighed and looked over her once beloved again. "He's not in any condition to be performing Royal duties... Fine. I will step in as Queen until he is capable."

Ava overheard her last sentence and poked her head in the room. Briefly, both owners of red souls locked eyes. While this could just be a sign of good faith from Toriel, the look that Frisk gave her suggested they knew something important.

Whatever that was, it had to happen tonight. It would happen tonight and it was her that had to be... somewhere?

Ava's eyes narrowed. Did Frisk know about the deal she made with Flowey? As this question crossed her mind, the look on Frisk's face was replaced with confusion. It was as if they weren't aware of what they just did.

Suddenly, Ava felt that strange presence again. The one she was next to when she watched those tapes. The one who tried to get info from Undyne by speaking the through her over the phone. The one who had been watching her in the Ruins. It, or they, were hovering around Frisk. Shortly after recognizing they were being observed, they vanished.

Chujin walked up to Ava with the test soul container in his arms. "There you are. I need to put this back in its spot and conduct some checkups on Martlet. It's probably going to have to be an all-night-er depending on her state. Could you, Clover, and your mother go pickup Kanako from school?"

Ava crossed her arms. "Sure, but it's gonna be a bit difficult to explain the whole, um..." She pointed at her chest. "Thermonuclear-bomb-that-is-my-soul thing."

Chujin nodded. "I imagine she'll be shocked, but from what the DTE confirmed, that new membrane around your soul is preventing it from 'overloading'. You should be fine for the time being, but I'll need to keep checking on it from time to time to see if things start going awry."

"We can tell her about it when it comes up," Ceroba said. "I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I'd like to get some good sleep tonight so we should probably head out."

"I'll be back home in the morning, dear." Chujin leaned in and gave Ceroba a kiss. "Leave the porch light on for me, okay?"

"I will. Okay you two. Kanako should be getting out of class in a few minutes. Wh-"

…

"You SKIPPED CLASS?!" Ceroba yelled incredulously. Clover and Ava caught up to her now that she finally stopped.

The past hour had been the three walking to Monster Highschool only to find out that Kanako wasn't there. As soon as Alvin Boom told her that she and a few others left early to go to the Wild East, Ceroba took off without listening for an explanation.

Kanako, Susie, and Noelle were dressed up as cowgirls. Starlo and the gang were in the middle of filming a movie, but when they laid eyes upon Ceroba and Ava, everything stopped. If it was possible for the color to drain from Kanako's face, it would have.

"M-Mom?!" she exclaimed. Kanako ran up and looked her over. "What the heck happened to you?!"

"I'm fine, Kanako," Ceroba insisted rather sternly. "Now, what happened with you and school?"

"Now, hang on!" Starlo cut in. "School doesn't take precedent here! Ceroba, why're you an' Ava battered an' tossed about?!"

Ceroba's eyes narrowed. "Hmph. We ran into some... less than desirable individuals while collecting the souls for Chujin's research."

Starlo's frown deepened. "And did these rapscallions attack you to get the souls?"

Ava crossed her arms. "It looked like they were going for them near the start, but I think they were more preoccupied with killing me than anything else."

"Tch! Was it that damn flower again?" Starlo asked.

Ava shook her head. "I've already tracked down and interrogated the flower. Let's just say you won't have to worry about him anytime soon."

"So who was it, then?"

"Ah, fuck. How do I explain this?" Ava rubbed the side of her face. "Okay, so what I think happened is I got too close to the barrier and it had a reaction to my soul, or... something like that. And now... the seven humans who made the barrier in the first place are alive again, although I'm not sure they ever technically 'died'."

To this, Starlo's frown dropped, entirely replaced with confusion. "Huh?"

"My theory so far is that they stored their souls in the barrier. Given how messy it was when I blew off Esra's head, she should've been dead three times over, yet only one of the six others were concerned."

"You… blew someone's head off?" Noelle repeated. Meanwhile, Susie was secretly wishing she had been there to see something that awesome.

"Well, most of it was still attached. It was just... Actually, I shouldn't be describing this to kids."

Susie rolled her eyes. "We're all eighteen."

"Alright, well the point is nobody died that isn't already dead. Now, what's with you leaving class early?"

Ceroba redirected the conversation. This was taking too long and she wanted to go to bed. She was even willing to wave whatever punishment Kanako would receive if she really skipped out just to play games. Just give her the reason at this point.

"Well, uh..." Kanako fiddled with her fingers. "So, Mister Boom said we had to start on a school project and then put a movie into the projector thing at school, but it was the same movie we had watched a few weeks ago. I didn't really want to see it again, and was going to dip out anyway, but then this big earthquake happened, and we all left the building. At that point, I asked Noelle and Susie if they wanted to just make our own movie and turn that in for our class project."

Ceroba sighed and relaxed her shoulders. "You should've called me or your father to let us know beforehand."

Kanako stomped a foot into the sand. "I did call!" She pouted and puffed out her cheeks a bit. "You never answered and I didn't want to interrupt Dad's work."

Ceroba deadpanned and reached into the pocket under her kimono. She pulled out her phone and pressed a button. It was off. She facepalmed and turned it on. The mother fox was hit with three missed call notifications and a text describing what Kanako and the others were going to do.

Ava walked over to Starlo and motioned for him to follow her around the backside of Blackjack's gun shop. "We gotta talk," she said before slipping around the corner.

Starlo looked back at Ceroba and the "kids". They were putting things away. Guess they'd have to continue tomorrow if time allowed it.

He swallowed and went to meet Ava where it was quieter.

"Alrighty. N' what's this about, then?" Starlo asked.

Ava was staring out at the sand past the ravine nearby. A small gust of wind blew the hair away from covering one of her eyes.

"...I'm sorry, for yelling at you before." Ava leaned against the building and let out a breath. "It was uncalled for behavior and I was lashing out because of something I had no way of controlling. I was mad that things weren't going how I wanted them to. You didn't deserve the steam I let off."

"Oh? Is that what this was about?" Starlo asked, seemingly unbothered. "Yeah, figured it was somethin' along those lines. Wasn't too worried. Hurt a bit, but we live an' learn."

Ava's lip stiffened. "This isn't the military. I can't just get away with yelling at people in fits of rage. There are consequences to things like that. So, yeah. You might not think much of it, but I needed that off my chest."

"I appreciate the honesty. Really, I do. Just give me a warnin' next time yer 'bout ta blow a gasket."

Ava raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you even know what a gasket is?"

Starlo scratched his temple. "Somethin' to do with a machine, I think."

A chuckle escaped Ava's lips. "Well, you're not entirely wrong. Let's get back to the others."

The family and friends finished putting things away and separated, each going to their respective homes. The Ketsukanes had dinner and got ready for bed. And yet, at midnight, one snuck out.

Chapter Text

The night prior just before the clock struck twelve...

Dalv and Alphys were reviewing the security footage at the barrier room. The two watched the battle in its entirety, saying nothing until it finished. By that time, Alphys was mortified. Dalv was similarly shocked, but he was more focused on the shapes of the mages.

"I... don't fully understand. These are different humans, and there are less of them too," he mumbled. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised they aren't the same as the ones from the fog, but then, who were the ones I spoke to?"

"These r-readings are comparable to Ava's. They are mages, no doubt." Alphys got over herself and refocused on analyzing their powers. "Ava was able to replicate four of these abilities in under an hour. It was crude and not to the same efficiency as the ones she was copying, but it's still impressive."

On a bed in the same room, Martlet coughed and opened her eyes. It seemed whatever transition her body had gone through was temporary. She was back to her old self. Well, she was still super tired and a bit disoriented, but she was fine nonetheless.

Chujin looked over from his computer. "Martlet? What are you feeling right now?"

Martlet rubbed her eyes. "...Sleepy. A bit nauseous. I'm not hurting nowhere. That's good, right?"

Chujin checked over her soul with some equipment. After a few seconds, he smiled in relief. "Just magic exhaustion. You'll be fine with some rest."

Martlet looked down at the hospital scrubs she was wearing. "Where are my clothes at?" she asked. "And, uh, my boots?"

"Oh... they couldn't really hold during your transformation, so it looks like you're without them until we get you new ones."

"That's fine. I have extra clothes back at my house. It's more the boots I was concerned about. I don't have spares."

Dalv helped Martlet upright. "Did you want me to help you home? I live in Snowdin," he offered.

Martlet squinted and relaxed her arms. "I'd appreciate it. I never got your name though. Mine's Martlet."

"Dalv," he returned.

Chujin escorted them to the elevator. "Get some sleep, Martlet. I'll talk to you tomorrow to see how you're doing."

The blue bird waved at him as she and the vampire left the lab. "Good night, Chujin."

The doors closed and Chujin was left with the quiet hum of the upper lab. He pulled out a cellphone and texted Alphys, saying he was going home for the night. Alphys responded with "k have a gn". He opened the east door.

The heat quickly forced him to alertness. Was it just the heat, though? A small shiver ran down his spine as the overwhelming feeling of being watched gnawed at him. Chujin panned around, focusing on rocks people could be hiding behind. There were a few, but nobody was there.

Chujin swallowed dryly and kept going. "I'm overreacting. No one is here." The boss monster let a small smile grace his lips and he took to the Steamworks.

Ava, who was hanging onto a pipe outside the building above the door Chujin just left from, dropped down and brought a hand up to the door lock's number pad.

That was close. I thought he was gonna turn around, thought Ava as she looked at the keys individually. It was a four-digit code, and only the first four keys showed any signs of use.

Ava's frowned. You wouldn't really just... she thought. The soldier punched in 1234 into the key pad. An unlocking churn was heard and the door slid open for her.

Her eye twitched. Alphys, we are going to have a talk about safe security practices after this. On that note, Ava slipped inside, making sure not to make noise with her boots.

…

Flowey poked his head up from the rocks outside the lab. He was watching Dalv and Martlet leave when he felt the presence of an absurdly powerful soul approach from the east.

He frowned. What was she doing here at this hour? Didn't she go home with the others? As he thought these questions, he sensed her enter the building as Chujin mumbled something.

Curiosity got the better of him. Flowey burrowed down to the true lab and waited for the sound of the doors. They slid open, but he couldn't hear anything else besides the scuttle of Alphys' toenails clicking on the floor tiles.

"That's odd," he heard her say near the elevator. "I guess he sent it back down?"

A few seconds later, she entered and took it up to her sleeping box. Now that Ava was alone in the true lab, she threw being stealthy out the window. Her footsteps echoed through the halls as she approached the DTE room. The human unveiled the containers from the secured wall cabinet and pulled each of them out, opening them one by one.

The flower made himself known by surfacing and pointing a vine at Ava. "What are you doing here this late?" he asked. The accusatory tone was not lost on Ava.

"Making good on my promises," Ava simply replied as the souls began to lift out of the containers. "They have the necessary data to fabricate souls, so I'll be putting the others to rest after I give you yours."

"We're doing this already?" Flowey asked. "It's barely been two days!"

Ava held the green experimental soul and turned back to face the flower. "The clock reads past midnight, so it is the third day. I'm doing this now so you don't have to worry about others seeing you." She grossly underestimated how long this would take.

Flowey hesitantly brought two vines up to the soul. He stared at it. This was really his, wasn't it? He looked away.

"I... I don't think you understand just how much this means to me, Ava." His eyes started to dampen. He was already feeling the soul enter his body.

This soul was completely different to all those times he tried to absorb Clover's. This one didn't fight. It was understanding. It was as if it was tailor made to fill his emptiness.

Flowey took in the sensations. Even if he was still a flower, he felt more alive than ever. The only thing aside from that he wanted to change was...

The flower closed his eyes and muttered. "I just... I wish I could forget all of the bad and keep the good."

Ava's chest jerked forward. Flowey was understandably startled when every visible vein on Ava's body started glowing a bright white. The emission of light only intensified as her soul manifested and cascaded every color possible. The last thing he saw before he couldn't see anymore was the other souls dancing around Ava's own.

…

He opened his eyes and things were immediately different. His vision was obstructed near the bottom by something familiar. It was his muzzle.

The young monster blinked a few times and moved a vine to touch it, only to find five fuzzy fingers enter his view instead. He looked down at his body.

Asriel was no longer a flower. He was himself. Well, it seemed as though a lot of years had been skipped in his biology, but after witnessing decades of what other kids had to go through during puberty, he considered this to be more of a blessing than a curse. With that said, he was technically barely older than most monsters in the underground.

He wore a purple robe adorned with the Deltarune on the front. Curious, he glanced over his shoulder to find a similarly purple cape flowing from the back. He reached up and felt along his hair until he felt two protrusions from his skull. He had horns now. This was exactly how he drew himself growing up as a kid. Well, his body was missing the black markings that he added. Maybe his eyes were normal as well?

A repetitive thud brought Asriel out of his thoughts. The world around him, which had been an empty void until now, had changed. He was in a run-down cabin. A very large one. The room he was in was a bedroom, but it had rows and rows of beds lined up next to dressers that separated them. The floorboards creaked when he took a step towards the door. He tensed up when he heard the rhythmic thump of whatever was just beyond it strike again.

"There... That give ya enough an idea who I am yet?" he heard a voice say. It was Ava.

Another voice, gravelly and couching, spoke with pained breaths. "What did you do to Meredith?!" he demanded.

"Meredith is unconscious, but alive. Had to keep her from interfering with my business... Sound familiar?" That last sentence was dripping with venom.

"I don't know what you're talk- Oog!"

Another punch.

"No Mr. Dookowitz, you do. I've become a lot better at reading people since we've last interacted. Those eyes of yours? They're telling me a different story than your mouth."

Asriel cracked the door and slowly slid it ajar. On the kitchen floor sat Ava over top an old human with her fist cocked back for another swing.

"You've always been a stubborn man, Ruford. It's a shame I'll only be able to kill you once."

She threw her fist down again. "The mountain!" She halted.

Ava's eyes narrowed. "...Go on."

Ruford Dookowitz was bleeding from his broken nose. "Mount Ebott. He went to find the others. Ju-just please don't kill me."

Ava raised an eyebrow nonchalantly. "At the very least, I expected you to include Meredith in that, but I can't say I'm surprised."

She wound her arm back again. Asriel flung the door open and dashed to her, grabbing Ava's arm to stop it from moving.

"STOP!" he yelled. "THIS ISN'T RIGHT! Revenge only gets people hurt!"

To his shock, Ava moved right through his hands. She turned to look at the open door. Despite how little he could physically do to her, his actions seemed to be enough to get her to stop.

"The door... Who else is here?" She stared at the open doorframe before eventually looking back down at Mr. Dookowitz. "For now, you get to live, but if I find Clover's body, only God can save you."

She got up and walked to the exit. "You weren't fit to raise children. You couldn't even take care of Chara. It's a miracle you two even got approved for foster care." She looked over her shoulder at him one last time. "I don't need to kill you. Alcohol and depression seem to be doing wonders already. Yet another privilege you have no right to abuse."

As the soldier left the building, darkness crept in from the shadows. It was slow at first, but it was making ground. Asriel frantically made his way to the exit door only for it to slam shut in his face.

"H-Hey!" he shouted, banging on the locked door with a fist. "Let me out! Let me..." With a nervous gulp, he turned around to see the darkness swallow him and everything else whole.

Yet again, Asriel was in the void. Nothing else and no one else was there. He was all alone. His lungs ached for air that wasn't there. His arms and legs flailed desperately for some form of mass to escape from to no avail.

"Suffocating, isn't it?" A voice spoke from all around him. "To be swarmed by the dark. To be shrouded with hate."

Chara? he thought.

Asriel gasped and coughed violently as air began to flood his windpipe. He could breathe again. Wind gave way to surface and he landed slowly atop a hill of flowers. Gravity returned to normal.

The goat monster got to his feet and brushed himself off. What was even happening right now?

"Azzy?"

Asriel looked over the hill. Just ahead of him was-! He ran over to them without hesitation.

"Chara!" he called out. "Chara! I'm over here!"

Chara looked up at the goat as he got within a few feet of them. A smirk crossed their face.

"You sure took your sweet time getting here, you know?" Chara said. "It's good that you did. Our plan is almost finished. Just a little bit further until-"

Asriel stopped and frowned. "It's good to see you again, but... Chara, I... The plan failed. I don't regret stopping us from killing those humans. I'm sorry, but we need a different approach."

The human stared dumbfounded for a second before stifling a snicker. "Oh, you still think I'm talking about that plan?"

They gave Asriel a hug, which was a bit awkward now due to the size difference. Asriel returned the embrace. It had been such a long time since the two were around each other.

"No, this plan is much better. We can save everyone. And the fact that you're here at all means this is the run!"

'Run'?

Asriel let them go and crouched to be at eye level. "Chara, what do you mean by 'run'?"

Chara pointed over the hill at something in the distance. There was a human lying asleep on a stone slab. It was Ava.

"Azzy, I think you might wanna sit down for this. I've got a lot to explain." The two sat down on the hill and looked at Ava. "As you know, the most 'determined' being in the underground can reset time. It's something you've been doing in excess."

Asriel looked to the side. Yes, using time as a toy was something he was quite familiar with. Before he got the chance to mull over that, Chara continued.

"This human right here caused problems for us after everything went right. The barrier was destroyed, Monsterkind was free, and you briefly managed to return to your old self. Clover, Gary, Percy, and the others were dead so monsters could walk with humanity. But that was exactly the problem. Clover and the others had died."

Asriel squinted. "But, I never-"

"You did, but you can't remember. We had to make sure the reset was a full one and make adjustments," Chara explained. "Anyway, Ava Millet came home from service about a year after everyone was free and became enraged that the only person she had left was dead. I think you know where I'm going with this."

Asriel nodded. He rested his elbows on his legs. "How many did she kill?"

Chara's eyes closed. Things took on a somber tone. "Anyone and everyone. Didn't matter if it was a monster. Anyone who got in her way on her quest for destruction met it firsthand. Every time we reset and got to this point, it would always end the same way. Monsters go free only to be erased."

"Who's 'we'?" Asriel asked.

Chara was a bit miffed he kept interrupting but relented and answered. "Me and the angel. They cannot interact with the world outside of spiritual entanglement. But to continue, we tried again and again, repeating over and over until we got a similar result. The barrier was broken, but the seven human souls had been fully integrated into your own. Monsterkind was free, and now they had a god on their side, only it still wasn't enough.

"Ava's aptitude for combat made it easy for her to read you. Reset as many times as you liked, you couldn't touch her. And then something strange happened. The fight lasted long enough for her soul to become unstable. She was being fueled entirely by determination, and it was even stronger than yours with the souls helping you. Her soul wasn't strong enough to house it all, and the resounding explosion killed over sixty million people, including the majority of Monsterkind."

"So, you can reset while dead? How did you overpower her determination?"

"The angel. They pulled us back to just after you woke up in the garden. Apparently, that's the earliest they can go. The anchor save. It was then we came up with the plan.

"At first, it revolved around Clover's survival. He was always the catalyst, after all. But... he was always too humble. The selfless boy who wanted what was best for everyone. It makes sense why Ava held him in such high regards. He always gave up his soul in the end. This unfortunately led to our next problem: You."

Asriel stiffened up. This plan of theirs sounded like a lot of resets were being used just for this to work. Knowing how he used to be, it made sense they'd be at odds with him.

"You being the most determined being in the underground meant we couldn't override your save file, since we don't technically exist on the same dimensional plane as you. We could only reset, not prevent you from resetting. We could only wait for you to get tired and let time pass. Naturally, you broke out of your timid shell and went full hammer and nails by the end of it, but this actually worked out in our favor.

"You always kept Clover on the straight and narrow. Whenever he deviated from a certain path, you reset. This meant that he would only get to the castle under two conditions. He becomes friends and doesn't hurt anyone, or he hurts and destroys everyone. That second one might sound bad, and it was for a while. He killed Dad. He killed a lot of monsters, but it wasn't everyone. They had been set back, but they were alive. He was alive."

Chara focused back on Ava. "The problem arose again when he got to the surface. Ava would always find him, sense Asgore's soul within him, and deem him an imposter. Not hard to imagine when the dust of monsters fueled his ever-growing power. He'd challenge her and lose.

"At first, I hated Ava. I felt rage with every fiber of my being when all our hard work was squandered by this brute going on a rampage. It further solidified my stance on humanity being a self-destructive race that would destroy itself someday, but even I could see the pain in her eyes when she had to kill her own brother.

"That's when we realized Ava needed to come to the underground before the barrier broke. This was... easier said than done. Clover never lived long enough to delay his soul being used to break the barrier and Frisk always brought you all you needed to shatter it. With enough attempts however, we got one where Clover reset before we made that decision. A run where he was here for redemption and not just 'justice.' That ended up making all the difference."

"What do you mean? Clover... Wait. No, he didn't. What happened to him? Why did he become a fox monster?" Asriel asked, putting pieces together.

"He wished for it. That wish ended up making his soul as close to monster as it could be, meaning Dad had access to one less soul until Frisk arrived. Frisk was very determined to keep living, but they were also determined to make sure Monsterkind kept their hope alive. Because of these circumstances, Ava made her way to Mount Ebott and you couldn't override anyone's determination. I'm not sure why you took a deep slumber though. Maybe that was a part of Clover's wish. To have you out of the way without killing you. That would make sense. You were his best friend."

Asriel sighed. "I don't know about that. He tried to blow my head off, last I checked."

"I'm sure he'll be more welcoming once he finds out you've got a soul."

Asriel clasped his hands together and fiddled his thumbs. "You really think he'll just look past all the bad stuff I made him do?"

"This is Clover we're talking about. Of course he will."

"Did he always forgive me when we got to this point?"

Chara smiled. "In most situations, yes." Their smile turned to uncertainty. "This is the furthest we've ever gotten with her, though. Ava's soul has never been able to sustain granting a wish before, let alone three."

"Are these wishes really that powerful?" Asriel asked.

"For most humans, casting a wish is a death sentence. That's why barely anyone knows how to do it. That's my theory anyway. Clover had to change his entire biology to survive it, and even then, his memory was wiped. In the case of Ava, she'd retain her memories, but the membrane of her soul would gradually deteriorate, killing her within an hour. I'm not sure what's changed yet, but the state of her soul isn't worsening. It's getting stronger, and..."

Chara turned to face Asriel with a serious expression. "And I think you're the reason why."

"Me?!" Asriel repeated.

Chara nodded. "In most runs, she'd given up on herself. She was always chronically lonely, even if she didn't admit it. Her soul? It seemed to get stronger every time that feeling of loneliness was diminished. Take that time you collapsed the roof on all of those monsters. She viewed herself as a part of the community and desired to protect them. Her soul began to evolve past being a simple mage soul at that point."

Asriel stared at Ava. "She wants to belong?"

"Think about it, Azzy. She's been given her brother, she's been given a family, and now she's been given community. That would be enough for most people." Chara poked Asriel's chest. "But not for Ava. In order for her to break the barrier now, she needs that last piece of the puzzle She's been starving herself of since the day her magic first awakened... I know you read the files."

Asriel's eyelids grew heavy. "I... I don't think I could ever replace him, Chara. He was her special person."

"You're not replacing him. Cole will always be an important part of her life. There is no removing that. But Ava is the plan. In order for the barrier to be broken, she needs to be happy. Darkness still plagues her. As much fun as it is to watch her beat up my birth father, she needs to forgive. She needs to move on."

"Why do you think I can do it?" Asriel asked.

"Simple," Chara began. "You were the third wish. She wanted to know you. The REAL you. That alone should give you the opening you need."

Chara got up and walked over to the stone slab Ava was sleeping on. Asriel stood and followed.

"From this point on, Ava's determination is stronger than the angel's. We can't override what happens. This is our last shot." Chara grabbed Asriel's hand. "Tell Mom and Dad I love them, okay?"

Asriel's eyes widened. "What? Wait, no! I just got to see you after all this time. Now it's... goodbye?"

Chara frowned sympathetically. "Come on, Azzy. You know I can't come back. I'm already too far into the afterlife."

The corners of the goat's eyes started to water up. They pulled him into a hug.

"Big kids don't cry, but sometimes, it's okay to let it out. You taught me that."

After the last embrace had concluded, Chara's form became translucent.

"Guess this is it... You don't have to follow me around anymore, Azzy. You're your own person. It's up to you where life goes from now on."

"I... I'm sorry I wasn't a better sibling, Chara."

"Don't say that, Asriel." Chara was fading. "You've been the best brother I could ever ask for."

And with that, they disappeared.

Asriel felt the wind pick up. It was as if a torrent had been shot into existence right where he was at. As he shielded his eyes however, the wind died down. As he lowered his arm, he took note that he was now in the emptiness of space, stars shimmering everywhere around. He looked down at the marble platform beneath his feet.

"Hello, everyone." Asriel's head shot up. That was Ava's voice. "I'm sure many of you are confused. You have the right to be."

In front of him stood Ava. In between the two were five humans. He recognized them from the coffin room. Behind Ava floated fragmented glass in the shape of the Deltarune.

"You've only had each other for company for so long. My inclusion must be a shock after years of nothingness." Ava went on. "You are being given a second chance. A chance to erase the bad and replace it with good."

Ava raised her hands in a manner as though she were lifting a box or something flat. Essentially, her palms were facing up.

"Your bodies were too destroyed by time to recover, so instead you will be broken down and rebuilt. Death as a human to be reborn monster. For a few of you, this will be easy. The rest will not be so lucky." Her arms rose. "The time has come to make amends. Step forward and be absolved of your sins."

One by one, the young ones stepped forward. As they held still, a glow emanated from their souls and they were sent away. Asriel watched as the last one, Melody, moved in to hug Ava. No words were exchanged. Just a silent understanding.

As she was sent, Ava turned to look directly at Asriel. He stepped up to her and took her hands in his own. They were warm.

"You've been through quite a lot given your LV," she commented. "Let's fix that."

As she said that, Asriel began to feel a weight lift from his shoulders. His LV was decreasing. Gruesome memories erased from his mind.

There was some resistance. It would be terrifying to lose oneself through their memories. That part of him tried to fight back, but Ava reassured him.

"You're worried Ava will see something. Rest easy knowing she cannot view your memories even if I am erasing them. This is not Judgment. This is a wish."

"I'm... sorry for torturing your brother, Ava," he managed. His words felt foreign to him. When had he tortured Clover? He already couldn't remember.

"She has forgiven you a long time ago." 'Ava' let Asriel's hands down to his sides. A sudden exhaustion befell him. The world faded, and he was falling.

…

The goat's arms reached out to stop himself from tasting the floor tiles of the lab. A good thing, because he had a really strong intuition it didn't taste good.

"...Well, good morning to you too," said a voice beneath him.

Asriel's eyes were barely able to make out what was in the room. Ava was on the floor and facing up. His eyes drifted to where his right hand had landed and...

"Gah! I'm sorry!" he apologized with flustered red cheeks. The goat monster quickly got off of her and stood upright.

"...Still wasn't expecting to have my abs used as a bunkbed, but it's not the first time I've been used to block a fall." Ava tried to move her arm but couldn't. "I uh, can't seem to move my body. Mind giving me a hand?"

Asriel fished around the wall for a light switch and flicked it up. With a dull hum, the lights flared to life, illuminating the room completely.

Ava winced from the jump in lumens. She adjusted quickly and glanced back at the goat monster only to realize...

"No fucking shit... YOU?!" she began. Her look of incredulity fell flat. "You're, uh, naked."

Asriel looked down to confirm she was right in his assessment. Panicking, the prince scrambled over to a hamper with clean hospital gowns and pulled one out. Once the strings around the back were tied, he walked back over and pulled Ava's arm up from the floor.

"S-sorry about that," he said, thoroughly embarrassed.

Ava was impressed with how easily he slung her arm over his shoulder and lifted her body up. With how Martlet made it sound, she was quite heavy for a female. This also made sense. Asgore was quite jacked from what Ava could tell, so maybe Asriel just had less Myostatin in his genetics. That was assuming they even had Myostatin in the first place.

Her thought process was interrupted by the sound of an elevator and voices coming from within. She looked at a clock on the wall. It read 7:23 AM.

Oh great. This is gonna be a bitch to explain.

Chapter Text

Asriel looked down at the dentist as he inspected his teeth. The dentist was looking back and forth between notes and nodded.

"His teeth match the growth outlined in his dental records. Same positioning. Same number of wisdom teeth."

The dentist poked at his right cheek just in front of the jawbone. "Speaking of, we'll need to schedule an extraction soon."

He turned to Alphys. "You said he already had a CT scan?"

Alphys nodded. "A-and an X-ray. The development of his organs and bones suggest his body is about 22 years of age, but it will take longer to assess his mental state."

"Golly. It sounds like you've got your work cut out for you," the prince commented.

"You still didn't tell me why you snuck out of the house," Asriel heard from across the room. He looked over at Ava and Chujin, the former of which finally broke free from her paralysis. "And before you say, 'I left a note,' said note only said, and I quote, 'I'll be back before 7.'"

Ava sat up. "I was expecting this to take an hour at most. And to be fair, I was never given an actual curfew."

"That doesn't mean-! Okay..." Chujin put both index fingers together and held them to his lips. "I'm willing to excuse the fact that you somehow miraculously brought the prince back from the dead and used the experimental soul to do it. But tell me... where are the five human souls?"

"Oh yeah, fuck. Um..." Ava stared off into space. "I wanna say they've been brought back to life."

Chujin's eyes opened to their fullest. "WHAT?!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a device. Ava's hand reached out and grabbed his own before the fox could input instructions. "What are you doing?!" he asked.

"Stopping you from making a mistake," Ava responded calmly.

"Axis is far more advanced than he was that day. The countermeasures I've put in place ensure he won't harm her out of parameter," Chujin argued.

"That's the problem. If she sees Axis, she'll go into fight or flight, and last I checked she can't fly." Ava's rebuttal was solid, but she still had more to say. "You need to think of her perspective, Dad. She's all alone, in a body that she's not used to, and in a land she's afraid of. There are only three people down here she'll actually trust, and that's if she thinks Clover is actually Clover. Both him and Frisk are at school, so your options are limited. I'm going."

Ava stood from the checkup seat and started walking to the door.

"She's dusted many monsters. I need Axis there with us to prevent death! We can't just trust her to do as she pleases!"

Ava opened the door. "Sure, but you can trust me. I'll get through to her. Bring Axis if you want, but keep him out of sight unless shit gets hairy."

"What about the other four at the castle?" Asriel chimed in.

…

The dirt below was cold. The air around was hot. The sounds of rushing water nearby reminded her of a heartbeat she barely registered as her own.

She coughed. Her lungs worked. That meant she wasn't dead. Not yet, anyway.

The teenager tried to recall her latest memory. It was fragmented, but she knew she was with that doctor again. Apparently, her hatred hadn't been enough to kill him. She definitely made him suffer for tormenting her soul, so that was a bit of relief.

It occurred to her how tired she felt. Resting some would do her good. Even if she didn't have answers now, she could still get them later. Her body felt strange, but the seagrass was warm. A natural blanket that didn't have to cover you to give comfort.

Sleep took her for a while. She didn't know for how long, but she also didn't care. The environment was just that relaxing. No one could hurt her here. No one could distract her from the beauty of the world around her here. She was safe.

Not long later, several footfalls went by. Not too close, but close enough for her to hear words being exchanged.

"We have to secure Snowdin's east perimeter. Orders are directly from the Royal Scientist."

"What about Hotland?"

"It's already being covered. We can't let anyone by without permission from a royal guard or authority figure. Not until the human is taken care of."

Well, that's just peachy. They're hunting another human. Someone likely lost and fending for their life. Someone like her.

They hadn't noticed her whereabouts just yet. She held still and waited until the footsteps grew silent.

Now refreshed from her sleep, she was starting to get hungry. Hearing nobody around, she moved the seagrass off of her and crawled out onto the solid dirt nearby. The bioluminescent fungi nearby shed light onto her form and she was able to see why her body felt so bizarre.

All over her arms and legs were small black and dark blue feathers. She held a hand in front of her and flipped it over, examining it. Strange. Humans didn't have feathers.

She pushed herself onto her feet only to struggle with getting her footing. Something was off with her legs. She could feel a singular "toe" at the back of each foot that she could move individually. On closer inspection, they were talons. Was she some sort of bird?

She felt along her face and found her mouth and nose had joined in a beak, so it seemed her being a bird was more likely than something else.

It was a difficult task, but she got up and found her balance. An awkward posture, but it would have to do. She had the drive, the Integrity to advance even in the most unfamiliar territory. Learning to walk again would be a piece of cake.

Something caught her eye as she stumbled toward the beaten down path nearby. It was a flimsy cross composed of two pieces of wood. It was a burial piece, and it read her name.

"Melody Schambeck," she mouthed. That was her. The soul of Integrity. The teenage ballet prodigy who fell down the hole in the cave while trying to locate the remains of Percy, an old friend and bunkmate back at the orphanage. But why was her name inscribed here?

Melody didn't tell anyone her name. She didn't have time to tell it. Her "adventure" was so short, the only person she had a decent conversation with was Miss Toriel, and nice as she was, she still didn't trust her with her name.

She looked at the way the wood was carved to form letters. Whoever did this had known her. The fact the name was underlain with "loved to dance" was proof enough.

She brought one foot in front of the other. It would be difficult to dance with the shape of her feet, but she was determined. One step forward, one step back. Two steps forward, one step back and rotate. She tried this until a rhythm was formed.

Melody smiled. She had her balance back. And with that balance, she tried a pirouette. It was surprisingly easy to do without her ballet shoes. She did it by balancing on the curves of her front talons where it was smooth.

Her body reminded her again that she was hungry and she stopped. She was pretty famished. But this was Waterfall. Where could she get food? She could try digging around those trash pits she heard about but that was too belittling. She would not stoop to those lows, and also, gross.

She started walking north. Melody considered trying the glowing fungi but thought better of it. If there was anything she knew about food, sometimes mushrooms are best left where they were.

As she approached a familiar path, her eyes landed on the BOX. The one that no matter where she opened it from, it always had whatever she put in the other ones. She quickly opened the BOX and dug inside. Unfortunately, there was no food. There was a coat and some bandages though.

Her face fell flat and she closed the BOX. Looks like she had to go try her luck with the guard and get into Snowdin.

Snowdin...

Her expression darkened. Snowdin is where everything went wrong. She got by the Ruins without hurting anyone, but the monsters there were small and barely caused her trouble. Her first step into Snowdin? Someone had immediately alerted the guard.

It was always frustrating how many times she'd try to wait or delay her exit of the Ruins only to be forced to move or die. Frustration leads to mistakes. Mistakes lead to people dying.

What scared her more than the threat on her life was that attacking them became easier as she did it. She killed seventeen monsters in total. Directly, anyway. She had no idea what would come from her actions.

Then there was the fox. She was nice. She didn't know better than to trust a complete stranger. It made her sick inside.

The vampire attacked her. She fought back, but knew if she stuck around, the guards would catch her and she'd have to reset again. This was the furthest she'd made it, and she was not going to be brought back to the Ruins again.

Her foot struck a rock and brought her back to her senses. She had been wandering. Rocks were rolling down a path of water in front of her. The land's layout was familiar. It was behind the waterfall where she left her tutu to try and throw off her pursuers.

Melody stepped into the running water and moved towards the room she left it in. Just as her feathered fingers touched the water, something occurred to her. She wasn't human. She didn't look like a human. Nobody would mistake her for a human, and wearing a tutu covered in monster dust would look suspicious.

She chose to leave it be and continue her walk towards Snowdin.

Leaving her tutu didn't work for her in the past. It wasn't long before she realized she was being hunted. That damn robot always found her. She wasn't even fighting living things anymore and she was still getting killed left and right.

That time... the last time she was killed by it made her give up. It was like Melody was destined to die. The laser blast destroying her brain was less brutal and painful than anything else she had to endure, so she saw it fit to let it be her end.

Until the experiments happened.

Melody shuddered and approached the fog separating Waterfall from Snowdin. She hoped that her pain would end when she died. The doctor that made the machine had other plans. She called out, begged him to stop, but he could not hear.

"Oh. Guess this one's a bit smaller than it looked."

Melody stopped on a dime. Someone was coming up on her from behind. It was too late to hide. There was nothing to conceal herself with. All she could do was stand there and hope that whoever it was miraculously didn't see her.

"Same likely applies to the shorts that came with it. It's what I get for- Oh hello! Sorry, I didn't see you there."

Well, that didn't work. Time to act natural. Melody turned around to meet her potential attacker.

It was a bird woman like her. She was taller and her feathers were light blue as opposed to Melody's dark blue. She was carrying grocery bags, primarily holding new clothes. Only some of them carried groceries.

The bird lady looked her up and down and raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

Melody's face tensed. This wasn't the expected response to her condition. The bird lady went wide-eyed. Melody's breathing hastened in response.

"Wait! Are you-...?" she began. The bird lady calmed down and looked upon her with sympathetic eyes. "Your clothes are tattered and you're covered in dirt and mud. I don't want to be rude but... You're homeless, aren't you?"

"I-I..." Melody tried. The word felt alien coming from her beak. Once again, the bird lady acted against her expectations. "I never knew my mother. Dad said he couldn't take care of me, so he..."

"How long have you been...?"

"...I've stopped counting the years," Melody admitted. It felt strange admitting this to someone she just met, but frankly, she didn't know what else could go wrong for her at this point.

The bird lady looked down at her bags and pulled some clothes out. "Here," she said, handing the clothes to Melody. "I can't rightly leave you like this. I know it's shady to go with a stranger you just met, but a child shouldn't be subject to all this."

Melody cautiously accepted the clothing and put them on, removing the old remains of her prior outfit. She eyed Martlet with suspicion the whole time.

"My house has warm water and electricity. I've been improving it a lot over the years. You can stay with me until we get a game plan set up. My name's Martlet by the way."

Melody pondered. What should she do? On one hand, she was a human fugitive running from monsters like the one in front of her. On the other hand, her body was that of a monster now and she'd fit in better with them now anyway. There really was nothing for her up at the surface. Maybe just Clover and Ava, but... Ava was likely dead after that one news report went out. So, maybe just Clover. Oh yeah, Frisk... How did she forget about Frisk? God, she hoped they were okay.

"Wait. How will we get past the guards?" Melody asked.

"Hm?" Martlet questioned. "What do you mean?"

"-Thought I heard someone speaking over here!"

As if on cue, several armored monsters passed through the fog. Five of them to be exact. Her feathers stood on end ever so slightly. She was nervous. How could she not be? She remembers at least two of them killing her before.

Oblivious to Melody's current state of mind, Martlet turned a smiled at the guards. "Oh, hello everyone!" she chirped. "Doing a training run?"

A couple of them traded glances. One of the dogs that was holding an axe stepped forward. "Martlet? RG02 told us you'd been impaled with an arrow to the soul. How are you alive?"

"Heh... Did he now?" Martlet's tone shifted from cheerful to annoyed real quick. "Say, what else did he say that he was specifically ordered not to talk about?"

"That... the barrier is supposedly much harder to break now? This happened yesterday. Are we not supposed to tell anyone?" he asked.

She would have face-palmed if her hands weren't carrying so much. "No, Dogami! Orders are not to talk about yesterday's incident. As far as the underground needs to know, that explosion was a chemical mishap, the barrier is still close to breaking, and I got an injection. I didn't get shot. Capiche?"

Some of them saluted. "Aye aye, Martlet."

The blue bird shook her head. "Put your hands down. I'm not in the Guard anymore. Please, let us pass so I can get the little one a shower."

The five guards stood aside and let Martlet and Melody by without further question. Aside from the waves they received before entering the fog, nothing else happened as far as the interaction went. Just an off handed comment by one of the dogs.

"Martlet has a kid?" Melody heard them say.

"That was... oddly smooth," Melody said. "I thought... So, you were in the Royal Guard before?"

Martlet hummed. "Once. I used to make the puzzles in Lower Snowdin before I met a friend of mine, and he convinced me that being in the Royal Guard wasn't exactly what I was hoping it would be. So, I got a real job." Her eyebrows furrowed. "Not that the Royal Guard isn't a real job. It's just not as good as it's been hyped up to be. We haven't had a human attack in years. I don't count the last three humans. They always found peaceful methods to win fights."

The two passed a place called Grillby's. Melody couldn't help but look and imagine what food they served.

"Don't know why I'm saying that like you don't know all this, but yeah. Humans aren't bad. Some are just... mislead is all. Hey, think we should go in and grab a bite? You look pretty hungry."

Melody nodded and the two entered the burger joint.

So, three humans had fallen down after her? That was concerning. How was the barrier not destroyed then? They had enough souls. They had her soul. Wait, did what happen to her happen to more souls? Is that why they don't have enough? Or did something else happen? Was that why Martlet said the barrier was much harder to shatter now?

"Alright. Mr. Grillby? Can we get a burger and uh..." Martlet looked to her left at Melody. The dark blue bird simply nodded. "And another burger please!"

Grillby raised an eyebrow at Melody. "Of course. Who might this be?" he asked. This was odd. Grillby almost never spoke.

"Melanie!" Melody blurted. A little louder than she wanted to. "Ahem. My name is Melanie."

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! She screamed internally.

Martlet smiled. "She's a... relative of mine. I'm gonna be taking care of her for a while. Thought we'd stop by for a bite before heading home."

It was hard to tell because he was living fire, but Melody could swear his posture and expression relaxed a little after that. He disappeared in a door from behind the bar and came back with their food a moment later.

That was fast.

Martlet set some G on the counter and Grillby counted it. Melody picked up her burger and took a bite. She couldn't help but marvel at the flavor. Who could blame her? She hadn't eaten in... she didn't know how long. That first bite? Heaven.

"Sounds like it tastes good," Martlet said with a smile. "This reminds me of a time when I was a kid. I was covered in soot from a magic attack and-"

It was odd. Hearing her speak. The warmth in her voice. It reminded her of Toriel. It was just rambling to most ears, but it calmed her. It was great. All that stress about survival was melted away. She could breathe easy for once.

"That's when I found out you could just light it from underneath. Oh, you're done! Sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

With one big bite, Martlet swallowed her burger whole. Melody's eyes went wide at this, as did many other patrons.

"I'd prefer to enjoy it like you, but my nares can only take so much of that swamp smell coming off of you. Come on. Let's get you a shower."

Melody let a smile crest her mouth and she picked up two of Martlet's bags. "Okay. I'll help carry these."

Martlet got up and grabbed the rest of them. "That's very kind of you."

…

Ava pulled a dark blue feather from the seagrass. "Looks like she's a bird now," she said. She looked down at the four-pointed toe tracks in the dirt and followed them with her eyes to the next room.

"Call off the guards at Hotland!" she hollered to Chujin. "She's heading back into Snowdin!"

Chujin popped his head out from around the corner. Axis also popped his head out from around the corner. They walked over to her.

"You're sure we didn't pass her? There are multiple tracks here," he pointed out.

Ava inhaled some of the cool air and let it out. "True, but only one set is coming from this patch here. It's going Northwest. The tracks coming from the east are older, meaning they passed her heading to Snowdin. Judging by the depth of these later tracks, she was teaching herself how to walk again. The movements sway a little here and are off balance."

"Your attention to detail is honestly scary sometimes."

"It's what kept me alive all these years," Ava muttered.

Not much further down the road, they found Melody's old rags. What used to be dance wear. Ava picked it up and examined it.

"Well, that's fucking weird," she said. Ava looked around at the other tracks present. "Looks like she took off her clothes before crossing through. Was it to lower suspicion?"

Chujin raised an eyebrow. "I'd still find a naked monster with strides as big as these suspicious."

Ava crouched down and looked at nearby boot marks. "Yeah, but the barely clothed monster with ruined clothes is more out of place. I'm honestly surprised she seems to be as collected as her movements suggest."

"You can tell her state of mind by the tracks she makes?"

"Not entirely. She ran into someone here. If she was attacking, there'd be dust or her prints would be deeper and more scuffed. Neither of which is evident, meaning she tried to blend in and act as though she belonged." Ava looked back towards Waterfall. "Not to mention earlier, she didn't deviate from the path once. She knew where she was headed. She knew what she wanted."

Chujin crossed his arms. A small smirk working its way to his lips. He was starting to find Ava's analysis amusing. "And what did she want, detective?"

Ava observed the paw prints of the dogs who were stationed nearby. "If I had to guess, food. Let's go talk to the guards in Snowdin and see if they saw anything."

…

The goat monster stood in front of the door. He had been standing there for quite a while. Four minutes and thirty-seven seconds to be exact.

How long had it been since they saw each other? Yesterday, technically, but that didn't count. They didn't see him.

Asriel raised his hand to the doorknob and twisted it open. He probably should've knocked, but he only considered it after. Because he considered it after, he went back outside and knocked on the door anyway. It was only polite.

Some noise was heard and a set of footsteps moved to the other side of the door. The door opened for a split second before it was hastily slammed shut again.

"I must be seeing things."

Slowly, the door opened once more. It stayed open this time. Toriel's breathing hitched. In an attempt to alleviate awkward silence, Asriel held up a hand and smiled.

"Hey, Mom. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

To which, Toriel stumbled through the doorway and wrapped him in her arms. Tears rolled down her face and soaked into his shoulder.

"My child! You have come home. How is this possible?" Asriel opened his mouth to answer, but he had none. Toriel cut him off before he could respond. "It matters not! Monsterkind's Son is home! He's come home!" she managed through choked sobs.

"...Let's take this inside," he suggested. "I'm sure Dad wants to see me."

Toriel withdrew her face from his shoulder and held his arms with her hands to look him in the eyes. Her own were a mess. "I think he will find your arrival a pleasant surprise indeed."

She took his hand in her own and led him in. He felt it a little silly being led around his own home, but he relented with the consideration that she probably needed this.

"Ah, Tori! Was that the 'Special Guest' Alphys said would be coming by to check on-" Asgore's eyes settled on Asriel. "...the children..." he finished.

The prince stood in front of the king. Without words, an embrace was made. Several footsteps entered the hallway as the two hugged it out.

Chapter Text

Melody stood outside of Martlet's house. She set the bags she was carrying on the workbench nearby and looked at the exterior while its owner unlocked the door.

"Hm, it's smaller than the orphanage, but looks better taken care of by a long shot," Melody commented.

"Yeah, the house is coming along nicely. I've been working on it over the years. You shoulda seen what I started with." Martlet undid the deadbolt. "Those first cuts weren't too good, but I'm much better now."

Melody clasped her feathered hands together and concentrated. Just in case something went wrong, she needed to save. Martlet seemed nice, but there was no telling what could happen.

"Of course, I didn't have a miter saw starting off."

As Martlet continued her rambling, Melody struggled to access her SAVE file. From her hands formed a small yellow star. Her HP was replenished, however the option for saving was no longer available.

"Huh? Why can't I..." she mumbled. The world itself seemed to grow distant as she tried again to reach her SAVE file. She soon felt the presence of another. This other being was obscured, but held a foreboding aura about it. Naturally, she couldn't see or interact with this other person, but the pressure they exuded on the SAVE button was overwhelming. They were accompanied by Royal Guards too.

"You're in Lower Snowdin."

The booming voice coupled with a sudden feeling of eyes boring into her back shook her to reality. Melody shuddered. Who was that?

"Is everything okay, Melanie?" Martlet asked. "I left you alone for a bit because I thought you were praying, but you're shaking. Was it something else?"

Melody looked to Martlet with worry. "Y-yeah. Something like that. I was trying to use magic. It didn't work." She was only half lying.

"Is magic something you're not good at?" Martlet asked. She then shook her head and focused. "Wait! I can give you pointers later. The bathwater's ready. Let's do that first, okay?"

"...Okay."

Melody was far from calm. The last thing she wanted to do right now was pretend that she wasn't being hunted, but Martlet didn't need to know that. She followed Martlet inside and shut the door behind them.

Melody was immediately distracted from her troubles at the sheer atmospheric change from outside. They say not to judge a book by its cover, and in the case of Martlet's house, that saying had some merit. Polished marble tiled flooring, hickory wooden walls, lighting fixtures, couches and a dinner table, a flat-screen TV on the south wall. She had electricity and running water. The kitchen was fairly modernized. Looking at it from the inside, you wouldn't expect the exterior to have so much patchwork done to it.

"Wow. This is not at all what I was expecting," Melody said. She walked past the living room to the hallway. Martlet smiled and guided her to the bathroom. Melody took off her clothes and settled into the bathtub.

The tension in her nerves melted away as the warmth from the water seeped under her feathers. Martlet went over to the door.

"I'll be out here when you're done."

Melody reached a hand after her. "Wait! M-..."

Martlet looked back awaiting Melody's finish to the sentence. "Yeah?"

Melody's hand sank back underwater. "I have a feeling... Just, be careful, alright?"

Martlet's warm smile returned. "I'll be careful. Don't worry." She closed the door and went to the living room. As she sat down on the couch, she withdrew a cell phone from her pocket and made a call. She couldn't wait to tell Ceroba about this!

…

"Halt, human!" The Dogi approached Ava from both the north and south. The shifted their axes to block her path. "We've been ordered to apprehend and detain you until further notice! Come along quietly."

Ava rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Looks like the mail got misinterpreted. No, I'm fine just staying right here until Chujin shows up. Thank you."

Dogami and Dogaressa traded looks. What were they supposed to do in this situation? They couldn't take her on in a fight and they knew it. There was nothing they could do to persuade her to comply, but as long as she wasn't attacking, they couldn't use force. She wanted to stay where she was? That was as good as they were gonna get.

And so the three stood there. Nobody dared move. The wind was drenched in friction, yet neither party acted on it. Soon, more of the canine unit walked up to investigate the commotion.

"Dogaressa? Who've you got there?" asked a certain blind dog. "You've found the human?"

"They've found a human," Ava griped. "Your orders were incorrect. You are not searching for a human. You are searching for a monster with a human soul. Specifically, a dark blue one."

Further back the way she came from, Chujin ran towards them with Greater Dog in tow. He waved to them and yelled, "She's right! Stand down!"

Upon seeing the Royal Scientist approach, the Dogi pulled back their axes and stood at attention. Ava reached into her pocket and pulled the feather she found earlier.

"Got that all cleared up? Good." She offered the feather to Dogami. "We've got a lead, but we need your help on this one. You ran into her already and I need your noses to identify what monster this feather belongs to."

Dogami sniffed the feather and pondered. "This smell. Mud and seagrass. We-"

Ava's sense of time and location was abruptly ripped from her. All nearby disappeared as a new presence made itself known. This feeling... someone was trying to SAVE.

Ava felt this presence observe them. This was not the spirit that had interacted with them a number of times before. This one was far more physical. Just in a different location. This was Snowdin, but somewhere along the trees were different. The altitude was different.

"You're in Lower Snowdin," she said. It was more so projected, as her lips didn't move. It was just something she realized. She didn't even register saying anything until the presence of Melody recoiled in fear.

The connection was severed and Ava was thrust back to her surroundings. The mage snapped to alertness and toned out all distractions. She needed to strike while the iron was hot.

Ava broke into a full-on sprint, only deviating to avoid running over monsters in the way. Chujin and the guards were shocked by her sudden action, but the scientist soon regained his composure.

"Issue a 'stay inside' alert for all Snowdin residents!" Chujin ordered. "I want a sweep done of Lower Snowdin. Anyone who isn't on record. Anyone who isn't easily recognized. I want them documented. If they attempt to fight," Chujin's eyes narrowed as he pondered. "... then cut and run. Regroup and notify me. I don't want anyone getting killed."

With the canine unit already in motion, Chujin tried to follow Ava. Emphasis on tried. Somehow, she was already beyond his line of sight. Her footsteps were easy enough to identify, so he started with that.

It was just before the sliding ice puzzle that the path branched south. Coincidentally, this was the direction Ava's footsteps went. Chujin and Axis went south and to the right, nearly bumping into a certain deer monster.

"Oh! Sorry about that. I was too busy thinking and didn't hear you coming this way." She smiled and pulled out a small notebook. "The name's Jane Doe. I was investigating the strange door over in the cave just at the end of the path there when this large monster ran past me and jumped off the ledge."

Chujin felt his soul jolt with concern at that. "Excuse me," he began with a nervous smile, knowing full well Jane was talking about Ava. "Did you say she jumped?"

Jane put a finger to her chin. "Yeah. It was really bizarre. I asked her what she was doing and the only thing she said was 'Taking a shortcut.'" Jane furrowed her eyebrows. "I've never seen a monster's soul change color before. Hers started off red, which is already strange, but then it turned blue as she got close to the tree line."

Chujin listened to this and recalled what Dogami told him as Ava spaced out. The monster they were looking for had joined Martlet on the way to her house. Ava was quite literally taking the most direct path to Martlet's house that she could. He was going to have to take the normal path. The unmarked forests would confuse and detour him too much if he found a way to go the route Ava did. If he could even survive a fall of this height anyway.

"That's concerning, but there are more important things you should be doing right now. The Royal Guard has issued a 'stay inside' alert. Please get back to Central Snowdin. Get inside a building and stay safe."

Jane blinked. "Are we under attack?" she asked.

"No, but a very dangerous monster is on the loose. It would be best not to get involved."

Jane squinted and reluctantly agreed to go back to Snowdin. "Fine. I suppose I'm done with my insights today anyhow. See you around, then."

She was questioning why Chujin was out and about if this was so serious, but given the lab coat and his robot companion, it was probable he was well equipped to handle this troublesome monster.

…

THUD!

The impact of Ava's feet shook snow off the nearby trees. It was a shorter fall than the one in Waterfall, but it was still a fair distance. If she hadn't lessened her gravity as much as she had, her legs might've wound up broken in a few places.

Ava chuckled. Who was she kidding? She would've been alright. Although, her legs were a bit tired now. Looks like she was walking from here on out.

"And today's knee destruction tutorial has been brought to you by my stupid ass," she joked.

Ava stood up and rested a hand on the trunk of a tree. She closed her eyes and focused. Melody's soul was about two hundred meters facing west. She saved a lot of time, but there was still some walking to be done.

At any rate, she'd be there before anyone else was.

…

Melody found drying off to be an ordeal. One she asked for Martlet's help with. Washing had been a learning process by itself. No doubt, this would take some getting used to. Luckily for her, this new body had new instincts. Feather ruffling was super weird, but it helped to dislodge a lot of the gunk trapped between them.

Now that "Melanie" was bathed, dried, and clothed, Martlet offered her to pick out a movie to watch.

Melody looked over the small collection of movies. She found it peculiar the number of them specifically related to cowboys. She smiled.

"Clover would've loved these," she murmured.

"You know Clover?" Martlet asked, catching Melody off guard. "That's funny. He never mentioned he was friends with another bird monster. Those movies were for him, actually."

The calming nature of Martlet and her home seemed to shatter in an instant. Martlet knew who Clover was. She knew EXACTLY who Clover was. Given they were on a first name basis, in addition to the gifts, Martlet thought very highly of him.

"He's here in the underground?" Melody asked.

Martlet raised an eyebrow. "You couldn't possibly know him if he wasn't. You-" She abruptly stopped herself midsentence. Gears began to turn in both of their brains. The bird woman broke eye contact somberly. "Your name's not really Melanie, is it?"

Even though this was a person she just met, seeing Martlet saddened by this news hurt Melody at her core. Part of having integrity was being true to yourself, but it also meant being true to others as well. She had to come clean or it would drive her mad. Someone this nice didn't deserve to be left in the dark.

"No... My name is Melody Schambeck," she said. Her voice was firm, but opening.

Martlet nodded. "So, you were a human like Clover was?"

Was?

"I... was human, yes."

Melody sat on that thought. She was human, and now she is no longer. Clover was human no longer. That at least meant he was safe. That also meant that he came to save her. Melody's heart leapt at the intonation.

"For the longest time, I was told you were evil. That you didn't show an ounce of mercy in your attacks." Martlet locked eyes with her guest. "But, that's not entirely true, is it? You didn't show mercy because you've tried it before and it didn't work. That's what that magic you did earlier was. You tried to wind it back, but couldn’t."

"I have to go find him," Melody declared. She walked past Martlet to get to the front door.

"He's alright," Martlet chimed in. "There's not a safer human-turned-monster on the planet. I can't guarantee the same for you if you go."

Melody's hand stopped at the doorknob. Was she being too hasty? If Martlet was telling the truth, showing up out of nowhere by herself could complicate things.

"If anyone found out who you were, I dread to think what would happen to you. You're a good kid. You just got put in a bad corner." Martlet turned to give Melody an honest smile. "I said it before. A child like you shouldn't have to go through what you did. I can give you a good life here."

Melody's fingers trembled. She wanted so badly to go both directions. To pretend to be someone she wasn't. To stay true and go find Clover. She was stuck in the middle ground.

"I can't just live a lie, Miss Martlet. They've already found me. I wish I could stay. I really do, but I'm being hunted. I don't want you to get hurt trying to protect me."

Martlet sighed. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm much stronger than most people think, but if I can't persuade you to stay," Martlet rose to her feet. "Then let me go with you."

Melody stared at her for a moment. She was fully expecting her to stand her ground and refuse her exit like Toriel had. Instead, Martlet wanted to accompany her to make sure she wouldn't get hurt. This was... an odd feeling for Melody. She turned the doorknob and opened the door.

The wind, which had previously been near non-existent, was now blowing quite fast. With the wind came snow. This was a blizzard.

Martlet followed her outside and shielded her eyes with a wing. "Oof! Where did this blizzard come from?! I thought it was supposed to happen tomorrow!" she shouted through the roaring of the winds. Martlet quickly shut the front door and produced a lamp light from her workstation.

Melody watched as a large clump of snow was blown around and slammed into Martlet's house. Now the shoddy exterior made sense. The excess layering was to prevent damage to the real outside of the house further in.

"Stick close!" she told Melody. "I can't fly in this weather, so keep next to me so you don't get lost!"

"Mhm!" Melody managed. She held onto Martlet's free wing as the two started down south.

A shiver ran down Melody's back. Not because of the cold, but because of the innate fear that someone nearby exuded unto her. She looked to her left. That's where it was coming from.

Behind the woodline, a figure emerged. It was bulky. It was towering. It was familiar. Melody could feel their soul from here.

"Hello?! Is someone there?!" Martlet tried. She couldn't quite see them through the snow.

Melody's heart sank. This hulking figure was a human. It had to be. Those arms were rugged and the owner stood as a soldier does. They were used to killing.

Did that mean the guards Melody sensed them with were actually trying to arrest them? If so, what happened to them? Melody could only see one answer. This human had destroyed them and was coming to kill her off so they could keep the power to reset all to themselves!

A burning feeling grew inside Melody. If they were going to kill her, that was something she would find undesirable, but she would not let them lay a finger on Martlet!