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Chapter Text

Clover fell Underground one night, and no one noticed.

They made it through the Ruins (according to the cracked sign they had seen upon entry), confused and alone but steadfast. They had a mission - find the six kids, or at least find what happened to them, and get out.

They were aware of the rumours- of course they were, but whatever was down here had never met Clov- oh god what was that thing.

They held their gun up in front of them, startled enough by being approached that they were fully prepared to fire at the first thing that came at them, when-

Oh.

"That's... a frog," Clover said aloud, lowering their gun slightly and looking at the small frog(?) in front of them. It certainly didn't look like any frogs they'd seen back home, but... they'd feel bad hurting something that was clearly just going about its life.

"Do ya, uh- want somethin'?" they asked, rather conscious of the fact they were talking to a frog and feeling mildly ridiculous accordingly. The frog croaked at them in response, and they felt even stranger.

Hesitantly, they reached a hand out and pat the frog on the head. Judging by the content (possibly?) croak Clover received in return, this was a Very Reasonable Decision. Hopefully, they would be able to get by-

They almost tripped trying to dodge a barrage of flies the frog sent their way before hopping off.

Huh.

The Ruins turned out to be a rather charming place, once Clover moved past everything attacking them. (At least they didn't have any ill will behind it?)

Learning the names of things- monsters- was slightly more difficult. There were no real indicators, so they sort of had to guess. More surprisingly, they seemed right most of the time, and committed it all to memory just as well. Must have been magic.

They picked up an old ribbon that looked eerily similar to the one a child on the missing poster had (muttering an apology to no one in particular as they tied their hair back with it), climbed back to the first level of the room, and carefully stepped over a spikebed to get across.

Clover enjoyed a good puzzle, sure, but they were going to break a leg if they kept falling.
This all culminated in them coming across a tidy, surprisingly upkept home. It looked like the only way forward, but... that was technically illegal, wasn't it? If someone lived there, Clover couldn't just waltz in like they owned the place...

A quick check of the previous room revealed no other way forward, save for another Froggit croaking at them that they pretended to understand.

Seeing no other way forward, they returned and nudged the door to the house open, sneaking inside with nothing but sheer, unfaltering guilt in their gut.

The house seemed relatively lived in; not a speck of dust in the room that Clover entered into, several worn-down books... It was a place that they could see themselves wanting to spend a lot of time in.

That didn't matter. They were getting out, before someone noticed them. They hurried down the stairs, maintaining their speed through the corridor until they almost walked face first into a giant door.
They swore they heard someone calling to them. But they didn't acknowledge it, only nudging the door open and being met with the freezing cold.

"I should've prepared for something like this," Clover muttered to themselves, despite clearly not being realistically able to do so.

They only made it a few steps before they heard the crunch of snow several feet in front of them, and they snapped to attention. That was... a human, wasn't it? Taller than Clover was, almost certainly older, and eyeing them with something between shock and suspicion.

They were planning to get a word out, but then-

Clover fell Underground. Again.

They reached up- hadn't their hair been up? No, probably not...

They made it a bit further this time, taking a leap of faith over a blocked off gate to make it to the other side.

Their head had felt foggy- like there was something important that they were forgetting all of a sudden, but couldn't place exactly what. They tried to shake it off as they trudged through the snow and ice, until-

...

They got sent back to the start again, and forgot their train of thought anyways. Whoops.

"Hey, watch it!" Flowey called out to someone in front of him. They had almost trampled him, dammit! He expected a better response than... being completely ignored.

He tried to make himself inconspicuous while burrowing behind whoever it was, before he was suddenly back at the Ruins. Dammit, dammit, dammit. It had been a while since that happened. What was going on, was the kid-

Flowey sighed. No point in delaying this conversation. He burrowed underground, heading for nowhere in particular. They were always hard to catch when he really wanted to, but- he had made it to Snowdin, hadn't he? They couldn't be too far...

He was wrong a few times; almost ending up in a lengthy conversation with a snowman, nearly getting crushed by a falling branch... None of it was fun. This had better be worth it.

On what felt like the millionth time, he surfaced in front of his current "best friend". More of a failed pet project than anything, though he'd never say that to their face.

"You loaded. Why'd you load?" he demanded, forgoing tact entirely, "Something happen, kid?"

So what, they were older than he was. He wasn't dropping the nickname.

They jumped at Flowey's presence, quickly turning to face him.

"I thought I saw- no, I did see someone," they answered, voice still clearly tense, "and I panicked."

"So what? You see people all the damn time."

"This was different!" Their voice dropped to a whisper, and they leaned closer to Flowey, "I think it was a human? And- this might be my chance!"

"Your chance just ruined my night," he responded, though with slightly less bite. He understood. Somewhat.

"I know, I know- I'll figure it out in a few resets, I just need more time. I didn't- I didn't expect them."

"Right."

A momentary silence fell between the two of them, before-

"So, do you want me to off them now, or-"

"No!" they interrupted, "I'm not going to- I don't want their blood on my hands! I just- I have this under control. We'll get their soul, and we'll be minimally involved. I've got this. I can do this."

Flowey huffed.

"So I'm on watchplant duty," he stated dryly.

"That'd be nice."

Watching over this new human was boring. The loading had become a near constant part of Flowey's routine, and he had to keep taking mental notes to make sure he ended up in the right place at the right time.

They didn't seem to remember anything, yet they kept doing something different every time. It was odd. Like it was in there somewhere, a bit closer to their consciousness than normal.

...That said, the furthest he's seen them get before the world reset was Waterfall, after they somehow survived a bridge collapse. Flowey wasn't sure if the kid orchestrated that, or if Undyne did. He wasn't going to get any closer than he was already.

And it wasn't like they were good at staying alive, either! He'd watched this human stumble into near-death situations, but make it out of them like nothing happened!

(Them somehow only getting lightly scorched by a jet of fire that Papyrus apparently had in storage came to mind.)

They had a kindness to them, at least. Flowey could see that much. They had a saccarhine shtick not unlike the one the kid had when they had first fallen. It was familiar, and-

God damn it, at this rate he was going to start rooting for them. He was just... He was getting tired. He watched, and watched, and watched, but nothing interesting ever happened. He just wanted to either kill them to get this over with, or find a way to stop this cycle from happening. Was this what it felt like for everyone else? Having to constantly repeat everything?

It was sickening. He didn't like this plan anymore.

Maybe on the next go-around, he'd catch up to them- oh, that was a giant rock that they just dodged, and it looked to be-

Getting crushed to death wasn't a fun experience. That was when he made up his mind.

He'd buy them time, alright.

Clover fell Underground one night, and someone noticed.

They came into a clearing, and a golden flower was facing away from them. It turned around, revealing a face- that was weird, but alright.

"Howdy, stranger! I'm Flowey, at your service," the plant- Flowey greeted, "You don't know it yet, but you're in quite the pickle!"

"I... figured as much," Clover responded, confused, "I mean, what with- you're a talking flower, something ain't right here..."

"No, silly! Not like that!" A wink, "You know about that situation. I'm here to tell ya about a real head-scratcher!"

"Okay..?" No harm in hearing him out, they supposed. They could probably outrun him, at the least, if it came to it.

"Alright, alright. You could be a bit less excited," Flowey deadpanned, "This may sound odd, but you've been here before! Lots of times, in fact! I've started to lose count!"

Clover didn't respond. That sounded unbelievable- they'd need a bit more proof-

Flowey had continued talking before they could, anyway.

"Your hair's down. You insist on getting that stupid ribbon from the Ruins, because apparently you like having it up instead."

That... sounded true enough. They weren't the biggest fan of- wait, no, why were they going along with this?

"And... why should I trust you?" they asked instead. That seemed like a good enough question.

"Well, I happen to know the cause of your problem, and the solution to it! See, the kid who has your life in their hands is real powerful. The determined type, if ya will," Flowey began, face contorting into a smug grin, "So, we've just gotta sneak you to the castle without them noticing you're here, and I'll take care of the rest! You'll still end up where you wanna go, just... you'll be off the map for a while!"

Clover's eyes narrowed. They didn't know anything about this place, but... On the off chance Flowey was telling the truth? Maybe they should take that chance.

"And if you're wrong?"

"Well, you can just find your way to the main path, no harm no foul! Doesn't hurt me a bit!"

They thought it over for several seconds, before slowly nodding.

"Alrighty, then. Does... that make us a team?" they asked.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, uh..."

An uncomfortably long pause.

"Gun-hat?"

Clover didn't even bother correcting him. That was hysterical. And judging by the look on Flowey's face, he knew he was way off. They tried to keep a straight face as they continued walking forwards, Flowey ducking into the ground behind them.

They made it through the Ruins, up until a pathway with switches that felt irritatingly familiar. Flowey popped up, attacking the floor with a few odd bullet-shaped pellets.

"I doubt Toriel would let this puzzle stay the way it was," he grumbled, "Give me a minute."

"...Toriel?" Clover asked in response. Flowey paused what he was doing entirely, giving them an incredulous look.

"You haven't met her? But you've made it through the Ruins so many- did you break into her house?"

"I-"

"No, don't answer that. You don't remember."

They didn't. Instead of retorting Flowey's statement, they let him go back to attacking the floor in silence. He seemed to slowly be getting more and more frustrated.

"Are... you okay?" they asked, crouching down to be closer to his eye level.

"There's another way through the Ruins down there. But dammit, I can't get the floor to crack op-" He was cut off by a gunshot, and a loud crack of the floor.

Clover put their gun back in its holster- just a toy, but they could use those rubber pellets efficiently when they wanted to.

"Nice goin', buddy," they said sarcastically, "Really hard to get the floor open."

"Just jump down there before I shove you-" Flowey responded, "Not sure how long the fall is. Don't know what it's like down there," and, after a moment, "I'll catch ya on the other side, pal. Good luck."

Without another word, he had burrowed into the ground, leaving Clover to stare into the hole in the floor. There were leaves down there- maybe they would break their fall if they tried hard enough.

They pulled their hat further down onto their head, sighed, and jumped for it.

Chapter Text

Clover hit the ground feet-first, the leaves not doing anything to soften their fall. They stumbled into a recovery, trying to ignore the biting pain that sprouted from the point of impact. They were- no, they would be fine. They'd walk it off. They would be fine.

They got to their feet in time to watch the missing poster they had lovingly created fall into the abyss, and couldn't stop a frown. They had worked hard on that. Probably no way to get it back, though...

Sigh. There was no good in staying in one place. They would have to find Flowey at some point, for one. Hopefully, that wouldn't take too long. They walked down the corridor, keeping an eye out for anyone or anything.

The place looked... decrepit, even more so than the Ruins above. Clover had to fight their way through cobwebs more than once, and every bit of floor felt like it was ready to give out under them. Whenever there was writing on the walls (that they could see, at least- it was painfully dark down here), it was scratched to illegibility.

...They weren't sure if something had gone horribly wrong, or if this place was just old. Maybe both. They'd have to ask Flowey.

The darkness caused them to walk straight into a... small flying monster, and they recoiled. It was small enough for Clover to, quite frankly, be embarrassed about not missing it.

"Gah, sorry- hard to see down here, and-" they waved their hand, smiling softly, "Name's Clover. What do ya know about these parts?"

"Flier. It's- it's lame here! Do you..." the monster greeted, "Do you mind if I give fighting a try? It'd let me do something instead of just... wasting my life."

...Were they being. Asked to fight? They weren't really the-

But it'd... make a stranger happy.

"Alright..?"

...

...

...

Oh. Was it their turn?

"You, uh-" Clover spoke up, not particularly willing to throw hands with something a fourth their size, "Ya said ya were wasting your life, but there's still a lot of it left! No need to rush anything!"

"You're... right. Something needs to change," the Flier responded.

...What. Was- Was that it? They just needed to- oh they were being attacked.

They attempted (to dubious results) to dodge out of the way, getting only mildly injured. With a sigh and a smile, they were able to send the Flier on its way. Success! They even got two GOLD, doubling Clover's net worth!

Clover continued forwards, stumbling upon what... looked like a puzzle? The light in one of the boxes was flickering, and another box was cracked altogether (poking it did absolutely nothing). They slowly walked to the spikes on the other side of the room. Maybe this one just... wasn't doable anymore. They'd have to jump over-

"C'mon, you're not gonna at least try?"

They jumped in shock, turning around to face Flowey, on the other half of the room with that same smug grin on his face. They looked between him and the clearly defunct puzzle, slowly raising an eyebrow.

"Could be fun!" he added, burrowing underground and reappearing in front of the boxes, "Let's see here..."

He lightly poked a box with a vine, and the entire row burned out. Clover watched as he tried poking the same box repeatedly, seemingly in an effort to fix it.

"Look what you've done," they observed, amusement prickling under their expression.

"Shut up," Flowey grumbled in response, burrowing in front of them before speaking again, far more cheerfully; "So! You survived the fall, didn'tcha? I said I wouldn't lie to ya!"

"I... guess," they looked around the room, as dark and decrepit as the rest of the area, "Why's it like this? Any ideas?"

"Oh, of course! I've been around the Underground enough to know everything about it, didn't you know?"
...

"Okay. Fine," he added a moment later, "I don't know. Old places are like this. Can we get to the point yet?"

"The point?"

"Yeah. The time thing. The one you're stuck dealing with. Didn't think you'd forget this quickly."

Ah. Clover... still wasn't sure if they believed Flowey on that. But they'd listen if he insisted.

"Right. What about it?" they asked, sitting themselves down next to him.

"Let's get to the point. Dying? Keep that to a minimum, and be subtle about it. I don't know how many times I can convince the kid to load without them getting suspicious. They're not that much of an idiot."

"I... wasn't planning on it..?"

"Well, you shouldn't. I don't know what they're thinking, but it will not be good for ya," Flowey's expression dropped, just for a minute, "Got it?"

"Alright. I can do that. Just... keep movin' forwards?"

"You're a fast learner, Gun-hat. Take a while. Best to give 'em some time to work, or else we'll be back to square one," he sighed, face contorting into a grimace, "This would be easier if you were able to remember time stuff. I don't want to keep reminding you of things."

Clover nodded, stood up, and turned towards the bed of spikes.

"See you up ahead, then?" they asked.

"...Yeah. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Clover swore this place was only getting darker. They could barely see a metre in front of them, and yet none of the monsters commented on it.

That was one positive, actually. Once they got past the "constantly being attacked" thing, the monsters here were wonderful people. They all seemed to just... need a bit of reassurance, more than anything.

(A monster called Decibat came to mind; they had disturbed them with their presence, and just had to... leave them alone, until they fell asleep. They would wear the Sentinel of Silence title with pride.)

Clover couldn't fault them; living in a run-down, hidden part of this place couldn't have been easy.

They were getting some of that, and they had only been here for about fifteen minutes. They could only hope that the rest of the Underground would be more spacious than this.

However spacious it could get, for... an underground labryrinth, or-

They were so lost in their internal monologue that they almost fell off of a broken bridge. They righted themselves, looking across to see... what looked like a humanoid monster? Taller than them, wearing a cloak... that was the only detail they could make out.

They turned around. Clover still couldn't see their face.

"I... I thought you were gone. It's been so long- why are you back?" the monster asked, "Are- are you here to finish the job..? Forgive me, but I didn't let that happen then, and I won't now."

"Huh?" Clover said, not loud enough to get across. They had hurried away before they could anyways.
What was that about? They weren't... anyone else, were they? Maybe it was just the odd lighting?

Hm.

Huh.

Shaking their head, Clover turned and proceeded to the next room, stepping over a fallen banner that looked eerily similar to the walls next to it, and ducking through the hole in the cavern wall.

...

There was a lot of corn in front of them all of a sudden. There seemed to be a pathway in the middle of it, but it was hard to tell; stalks cut into it frequently, blocking off some pieces entirely.

They took a few steps forward, finding a surprisingly intact signpost in front of the... "maze".

"Please don't step on the corn," it read in a neat handwriting, "It's my dinner. And every other meal."

Clover would be fully willing to heed that if it were possible. Unfortunately, every other pathway seemed to be blocked off (they weren't going to leap over a spikebed if it meant contradicting the sign!)

Alright. Carefully. They should be able to make it through if they take it slowly and nudge the corn stalks out of the way.

...There was a part of their mind that was aware of how ridiculous this was. That they could do this far quicker if they just disregarded everything. But that would be depriving someone of food. That didn't seem right.

They'd just have to... take their time.

If Flowey had one personal point of pride, it was that he had become a damn good liar.

Of course, he wasn't perfect. He would never be as good at it as... someone else was.

(He had mastered the grin, the constant look of mischief that was enough to make it hard to tell when he was being truthful or not. It was too familiar.)

But he had gotten good enough.

So, when he prepared to show up in front of the kid, he was ready to go back to lying through his teeth and hoping it worked.

"Yeah, yeah. I- I know it's not the best circumstance for either of us. You can go against it all you want, I just... Yeah. Yeah, that's exactly it," he heard them say, and he popped up enough to try to figure out who they were talking to. They were in Waterfall, so that narrowed down their options... but...

He couldn't hear a response. And he couldn't see anyone. It didn't look like they were on the phone, either... Huh.

"Talkin' to yourself, kid?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. They flinched again, muttering something about how he 'had to stop sneaking up on them'.

"Something like that," they responded after a few seconds, their hand idly hooked into the hem of their sweater as they clearly tried to change the subject, "Any updates on... them?"

"Them? You mean Gun-hat?"

"That- That can't be their name."

"They didn't tell me their name! I'm improvising here!"

They didn't. If he learned Gun-hat's real name, the kid would be the first to know.

(No, they wouldn't.)

"I made sure Toriel found them," he said, "You'll have at least overnight to do... whatever you're doing. Rigging Papyrus' puzzles, probably. One of them killed me last time, you know."

"Sorry, I..." the kid sighed, shaking their head, "I'll make sure to be more careful. You didn't deserve to get dragged into it."

"It's... whatever. Anything for my best friend, right?"

Hook, line, and sinker. He knew they wouldn't believe him forever, but hopefully he could get a few more saves out of them before then. Try to keep Gun-hat out of harm's way long enough to wrench this timeline back into the hands of someone who won't ruin it.

...He hoped.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks for... helping, then," they responded, smiling wearily, "Only have to get them once, right? Then we'll... have enough to go to Asgore."

"Boy, how exciting!" Flowey added cheerfully, "How long's it been for you? Four years? Five? Miracle you haven't died of some deficiency or other."

"Tell me about it. That's the real benefit of magic."

...

The kid had been Underground almost twice as long as Chara had - he had long since figured out they weren't the same people, five years gave him more than enough time to do that - realistically, it would be in his benefit to just get Gun-hat's soul immediately, to be done with this.

So why... didn't he? Flowey wasn't sure. Boredom? Exhaustion? Something in between?

He'd have to figure it out. He didn't like the feeling of pity that swirled in his stem. It was new in a way he didn't like.

He just had to... keep up the act.

Clover all but collapsed the second they made it out of the freakishly long corn maze. They weakly reached up to pull a lever on the wall, hearing a click as the spikes across the room no doubt retracted. They hadn't trampled any of the corn. They passed the routine Good Person Test, something both normal to want and possible to achieve.

Even better, they found some pebbles to load into their gun! It seemed like it'd be more effective than the rubber!

They finally got back to their feet, staring into the darkness ahead of them. It looked like the walls of the cavern had changed to something more rocky, like this was a side path that they weren't technically supposed to be walking into.

The writing on the walls was worn to the point of being illegible, but it looked like the same handwriting as that of the signpost. Clover kept walking, only pausing to pick up a feather and put it into their hat. They weren't sure if it'd benefit them, but they certainly felt more stylish.)

They made it through the pathway (slowing their footsteps to avoid waking a sleeping Decibat), coming into an opening with a staircase.

That cloaked monster from before was there.

"You again... Don't come any closer." they said, taking a step back, "I'm sorry, but I wish to be alone."

The monster immediately retreated into the next room.

...

Seeing no other way forwards, Clover walked up the stairs, pausing to read a sign; it looked to have been recarved again and again, almost reaching the cracked wall.

"Property of Dalv (That monster in the cloak)," it read, "NO TRESPASSING!"

Dalv, huh? They'd try to remember the name.

They looked around, idly wondering if Flowey would reappear. When he didn't, they stepped forward, following Dalv into the room ahead.

He turned around to face them after they made it halfway across the room, face still obscured completely by his cloak.

"I've... I've made it clear I wish to be alone," he said, raising his voice slightly, "I don't know if you're real, but... if you ignored my wishes, I have to make you leave by force. I'm sorry for this."

He pulled his hood down, revealing a... shockingly humanoid face. Save for the horns, one of which was chipped (and the fact he was purple), he looked like any "typical" vampire.

Clover stood in silence. They didn't want to hurt this guy, frankly. They'd just... try to find a solution.

Several bolts of lightning cracked out of the floor (somehow not causing any damage to it), that they tried to swerve past, one of their hands on that yellow heart in front of them as they rolled out of way of the attack.

"I- I don't know how long it's been..." Dalv stated, hands faltering for a moment, "Six years? More? I'd made my peace here, and then you showed up..."

They stood in silence again, watching as Dalv fired more lightning their direction, the glow illuminating the room just enough to make it easier to dodge.

"There's no way into this part of the Ruins, either... Yet you still stumbled into my home. And I can't... I need to face this."

Clover raised an eyebrow. Who did... Who did Dalv think that they were?

They wanted to say something. They wanted to ask for clarification. But they couldn't think of the words to say.

They were swiftly surrounded by electricity, trying to keep up pace with the ring of lightning that encircled them. The circle moved across the corridor, yet never quite into the water. It was almost like Dalv didn't want to guarantee their demise.

"Did you pester everyone else as well..? I haven't spoken to them in eons, but... you had to have seen some of them if you're here."

Clover had. Struggling artists, an amped scroll, a broken mirror that still insisted on talking to them- they hadn't asked how that injury happened- should they have? Everyone had a history here that they didn't- couldn't know about. They stood their ground, still staring at Dalv with a small frown on their face.

Lightning was coming from all sides now, a bolt striking them directly in the chest as they tried to weave through all of them. They fell to the floor, trying to recover- volts of energy coursed through them, and they closed their eyes, covering their head in a position that was disturbingly familiar.

...

Nothing was hitting them while they were down there. Dalv seemed to be purposely attacking around them.

"You hurt me quite badly, that day, you know," he whispered, hesitation creeping into his tone, "Forgive me for being hypocritical, but I need to defend myself."

They rose to their feet and rummaged through their pockets, pulling out a piece of candy corn. They tossed it into their mouth, feeling reinvigorated as it... seemingly disappeared into nothingness. It tasted several years past its expiration date.

Dalv sent more bolts of lightning Clover's way, fast enough that they had to almost run to ensure they dodged them. They were getting closer to him. Was that good? Maybe if he actually saw them, he'd realise they weren't trying to hurt them.

Hopefully. He seemed to be avoiding eye contact now, at least.

"What's... You seem... troubled. Do you... I remember you, of course you would remember me..." he muttered to himself.

Clover stretched their arms out to their sides, the tense frown on their face growing. They had to do something. This was... This was sad to watch. They couldn't take it.

"I'm pretty sure you're real now, but... You look so helpless. If it's not you, then..." Dalv paused, shaking his head, "Even then... No. I'm sorry. I can't take that risk. Forgive me for this."

Bolts of lightning boomed around them, slowly getting closer. Once they were well and truly surrounded, they watched Dalv raise his hand, aiming a final bolt straight at them.

They could do nothing but stare in shock, terror rising into their throat as they prepared for a final attack that...

Never came. The lightning slowly fizzled out, and Dalv lowered his hand, staring at the floor.

"No, this isn't right... I... You haven't tried to hurt me this entire time. You..." he sighed, finally looking back at Clover, "I can tell, now. You're not who... You're not who I thought you were."

They nodded slowly. Who did he think they were?

"I... I truly do apologize. This was not... the best showing of character," Dalv let out an awkward laugh, hands behind his back, "Is there... I don't think there's a way I could make this right, but... I do hope you'll forgive me."

He had almost killed Clover. They had every right not to forgive him for that. But... he was troubled, clearly, and they didn't want to just leave it there. They needed to let him find some semblance of peace.

Taking a few more steps forward, they smiled at Dalv and offered their hand.

"Don't worry about it too much," they said with a nod, "We got off on the wrong foot, huh?"

He stared at their outstretched hand, raising one of his own to his chin.

"You want me to... but that's- that's a sign of friendship... You're... definitely not a monster. Human, then..? Are handshakes the same up there?" he asked.

"Last time I checked!"

"Ah. I'm... It's been a long time since I've had a friend. If... you're really sure you forgive me, then..."

Dalv took Clover's hand and shook it with a smile.

"Nice to meet you officially, Dalv!" they greeted.

"Yes, it's... a delight, er..."

"Clover."

"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Clover," he replied, letting go of their hand, "I'm not... sure I remember what friendship entails, but... my house is up ahead, if you wish to hang out?"

They nodded. That sounded fine, considering they were heading that way anyways...

Dalv smiled one more time, then turned around, gesturing for them to follow.

Dalv's house seemed... dubiously taken care of. It was like he had tried, but got to the point where it was just... too hard. It reminded Clover of obligations back home, frankly. What would've happened if they... had done less.

"This is... where I live," he said, motioning around the room, "Make yourself at home, I suppose? I will... be right back."

Clover walked across the room, sitting down on a chair and looking around idly until Dalv returned. When he did, he had removed his cloak, showing a plain white dress shirt. He watched Clover watch him, tilting his head slightly.

"Sorry, I... only have one chair. I don't have guests often. Or ever."

He walked over to the other end of the circular table, sitting down on the floor next to it.

"I could move, if ya want?" Clover offered, "Doesn't feel fair if one of us is sittin' on the floor..."

"No, no, you deserve the rest... I did try to kill you."

An awkward silence followed that statement. Clover was still shocked at how they weren't... more angry about that, frankly. If that bolt had hit, it would've been a problem, yet...

"What's ahead of here?" they asked instead, trying to make conversation.

"Ah- My house has a door that leads to Snowdin. It hasn't been used since I showed up here, but... the path should still be there..."

Clover nodded. They would leave eventually, then. Flowey had told them to keep moving forward.

"Do you... want to come?" they asked, "Maybe you can get outta this house. Might do ya some good."

Dalv hesitated.

"I... would need a few days. Forgive me, friend, but... I haven't left in six years. I'm not sure how emotionally prepared I am."

...

But Flowey had also told them to 'take a while'.

Well, what are friends for?

"Is it alright if I stayed here until then, then?" Clover asked, "We can leave together?"

...He looked at them like they'd just grown a second head. Or, since that may have been normal for monsters, like they had just collapsed onto the floor and died.

"Are... Really? I would... hate to inconvenience you. I'm sure you have somewhere to be."

They shook their head.

"Not really. Dunno what's waitin' for me out there, either."

Dalv took a few seconds to process the statement, before nodding slowly.

"I'll... try to find things that'll make your stay more comfortable. And I suppose I'll have to ask a neighbour for non-corn foods- I've eaten it every day for six years, but I'm not sure if humans can do that..." he seemed to be muttering more to himself now, eyes closed and brow furrowed, "But... thank you, friend."

"Don't worry about it."

Looks like they had a few days to kill.

Chapter Text

Living with Dalv for a few days turned out to be fine. He was surprisingly determined to be a good temporary host; apparently stopping by a neighbour's to get some "actual food" for Clover.

...They still ended up eating a lot of corn. But at least Dalv was talking to people now..?

Unfortunately, there had been no sign of Flowey for a while. Clover was... worried, sure, but they assumed he had his reasons. They'd probably ask when they saw him again.

Currently, they were sat outside Dalv's house, idly looking down into the corridor. It was almost like fresh air. Almost.

...

It was strange. Clover had never had so little to do before. They had tried to continue searching for information on the missing humans, but... that was a bust. Dalv had apologetically admitted that he only knew about one of them, and stated that he'd rather not go into detail. Which they had to respect.

With their mission on hold, they were sort of out of tasks. Helping Dalv around his house was nice, but it was rare he had too much for them to do. Even then, he insisted on not troubling them too much. (They were a guest, after all!)

They'd wait for him to be ready to leave the Ruins, of course they would. But Clover would be lying if they said they weren't a little bored, and that-

"Howdy," Flowey said, appearing out of nowhere and almost making Clover fall off the bridge, "Been a minute, huh? Sorry. Didn't plan on that."

They righted themselves, looking over at the flower next to them. He looked... the same as ever. They weren't sure why they expected anything different.

"Where were ya?" they asked, trying to make the question more casual than confused.

"Oh, you know... Here, there..." Flowey winked, before curling into himself slightly, expression morphing into one of discontent, "Trying to delay your inevitable discovery as much as possible. Hard to do when you're gonna be public enemy number one!"

Clover winced. That bad, huh...

"Care to be a little more specific..?"

"Nah."

...

"Thanks," they deadpanned, eyes narrowing against their will.

"Anytime, pal! And thank you too!"

"...Why?"

"You gave me a lotta time to work with! Good idea sticking with that loner, I wouldn't have thought of that!"

Clover frowned. Sure, they had remembered Flowey's suggestion, but it wasn't all that. They enjoyed having a friend for once just as much as Dalv clearly did. The "strategic importance" didn't really matter as much as the fact that they were helping someone out.

They didn't say that, though, only responding with a quiet "no problem."

"Anyway," Flowey continued, winking at them, "You about ready to leave?"

They shook their head.

"Not without Dalv. I said I'd wait."

He seemed... disappointed? Discontented? At that response? At the very least, he gave them some sort of look.

"You don't need to, Gun-hat. We're being careful, but you don't have to be... overly dependent, let's say."

"What's... that supposed to mean?" Clover asked. That seemed a little concerning...

"Just that, well... how do I put this," Flowey hummed for a few seconds before shooting them a grin, "You can't let other people dictate your life! 'Cause what're you gonna do when they... inevitably disappoint you, or... ya know, betray you..?"

They didn't know how to respond to that. But they were fairly sure they knew one thing.

"Dalv wouldn't. He-"

"Clover..?"

Clover turned around in time to see Dalv, and they gave him a small wave. Out of the corner of their eye, they could see Flowey freeze up.

"Ah, sorry," Dalv continued, bowing his head slightly in apology, "I didn't mean to interrupt, friend, I just-"

They watched him staring at Flowey staring at them, and cleared their throat to try and dilute some of the awkwardness that had settled on the corridor. The flower's comfort seemed more important, so they focused on whispering to him.

"It'll be fine. He doesn't bite," and then, "I think."

Indeed, Dalv seemed more focused on taking a few steps closer, giving Flowey a curious tilt of his head.

"Hello there, small one," he greeted amicably, "What kind of flower are you? Sorry, I... can't quite tell."

"The kind you don't ask stupid questions to, buddy," Flowey responded immediately, eyes narrowing, "Just an ordinary flower. That enough to sate your curiosity?"

"I... suppose. Sorry for intruding, then, I just... haven't seen anything like you before," Dalv answered, sinking into his cloak slightly, "I wanted to tell Clover that I'm ready to leave when they are."

"Oh. Yeah, that's fine. Just..." he glanced between Dalv and Clover, mild indecision written on his face, "...Keep an eye out for them, 'kay? I know for a fact someone out there won't like 'em."

"I can handle myself!" Clover interjected, though there wasn't any true anger behind their words (they were, frankly, too overjoyed at the prospect of finally doing something again).

"I watched you almost get impaled once," Flowey replied with a sigh, "Just... gah, Please be careful. I can't believe you're making me ask that. I'll... try to catch up with you when I can."

Without any further ado, he burrowed into the soil and was gone. Clover stood up again, looking up at Dalv with a slight smile. He had a pair of glasses now, and was still pointedly staring at the point where Flowey disappeared.

"That was... your friend, right?" he asked, "I can't believe it. I might make a second total friend."

"Something like that, yeah. Flowey's kinda weird, but he's been helpful enough to trust," and then, a moment later, "You said you were ready to go?"

"Ah! Right, I had almost forgotten. Sorry, but-," he cleared his throat, "Yes. I am. Thanks for waiting, I know I'm not the most interesting monster around."

Dalv nodded, turning around and towards his house once more.

"Come on. I'll just be a minute longer, and then we can get going."

Flowey popped up near the entrance to Snowdin, right outside Toriel's house. It was where he expected them to be. He wouldn't be surprised if the kid hadn't slept in days; he had just told them Gun-hat would be out of the Ruins 'soon, probably.' So he had expected them to be waiting there in silence, waiting for an appearance that would never actually come.

Yes, he knew Clover's name now. But dammit was he committing to this.

Now that he had a rough estimate, he could try and get them to save again. That loner guy would remember their conversation, and he wouldn't have to reintroduce himself.

Gah, he was still mad about that. He shouldn't have been so careless; no one else was supposed to know he existed. If anyone started asking questions he couldn't answer, he didn't know what he'd do. No one could know he knew anything.

That went both ways, too. The kid couldn't know where Gun-hat was leaving the Ruins from. That'd hopefully buy Flowey enough time for... Something.

Getting the souls was so much less appealing than it used to be, and he had two plans to get to them. What was having to live normally doing to him...

Shaking his head- entire body, whatever- he burrowed again, trying to get an estimate. He thought he saw footprints- hopefully not the trashbag, he wasn't prepared for any sort of conversation with him- so maybe following those would yield some luck.

...

His assumption was correct. The kid was sitting in the snow, jacket tugged closer around them than it usually was. He felt a sting of something close to pity, but couldn't blame them. The cold sucked, and he wished they'd stop making him burrow here, but... it was easy to be alone when no one else wanted to freeze their ass off.

"Good news for ya, kid," Flowey stated in lieu of greeting, "Ol' Gun-hat's finally leaving the Ruins. Saw it with my own eyes! Why don't you-"

He technically wasn't lying for once. But the kid didn't even respond.

"Hey! I'm talking to you here!"

He burrowed a few inches closer to them, taking a better look. Their head was bowed, and their breathing was steady- were they... asleep? In the snow? Wasn't that really bad for humans, since they were... cold-blooded, or whatever?

He didn't know why exactly, that was just what... what someone told him, with that mirthful smile that he could never tell the sincerity of.

Sighing, Flowey summoned a single pellet and aimed it at the side of the kid's head. They snapped awake at once, rubbing the spot on their head where he had hit them.

"What was that for?" they asked, brow furrowing at him.

"You were asleep! Didn't wanna risk losing a few days 'cause you went and froze to death!" he replied, acting as cheerfully as always, "When's the last time you've been inside, anyway? Don't Papyrus and Sans let you sleep on their couch?"

They didn't answer the question. He wasn't sure why he thought they would, but was disappointed anyways.

"Anyways!" he continued, undeterred, "I was trying to tell you this, but you were asleep, so I'm telling you again!"

"Hm?"

God, he hated repeating himself. Did that make him a hypocrite?

"Gun-hat! They're leaving the Ruins soon! You should save so we don't have to wait for them every single time!"

"That... took a while. Is that... normal? I was only in there for a day and a half, wasn't I..?"

"I have no idea why you think I remember!"

The kid nodded, sitting up straighter. They tried to give him a smile, but it ended up looking more like a grimace than anything.

"Thanks again for watching them. I'll... get their soul, right? Then we should be able to... do whatever you want to do?"

Huh. Flowey had made that promise a while ago. He was surprised they remembered, even if he wasn't particularly motivated towards it anymore. He'd milk it for what it was worth, though. The longer they thought he had goals, the longer they would believe him for. God forbid they realised how aimless he had become.

"Sure, kid," he replied instead, "But... go inside at some point. Can't do anything with a frozen you."

They nodded, and he decided not to press them any further. It wasn't his business whether or not they listened to him on that regard. As long as they saved, it wasn't any bother.

...Still, they looked cold. Chara always got cranky when they were cold, so... maybe it'd help them think better.

"Sorry for the trouble," they whispered, so quietly Flowey almost couldn't hear, "I know this is... a weird situation."

"...It's whatever," he replied, watching them stand up, "So long as I get my end of the deal."

Clover kicked their feet, staring at the wall of Dalv's house. They were sitting in a chair, waiting for the monster to return from whatever he was doing. It was always hard to tell.

...No, that was a lie. They could see him from here. He was looking for a jacket. They were beginning to wish they had one of their own, really; their cowpoke gear probably wouldn't be all that suited for the cold.

They should've known. Not like they knew there would be changes in temperature around here, but they should have known.

Dalv returned to the main room after a few minutes, still tugging a coat over one of his shoulders.

"Sorry, I... don't have anything in your size," he said apologetically, "Will you be alright?"

"I'll manage!" Clover replied, "Besides, we'll be moving, won't we?"

"I suppose," Dalv nodded, before speaking again, "I doubt I'll follow you forever. Our destinations are probably very different. I'll keep you company until then, though."

They hummed in response. They knew that, and were fine with it.

"Any idea what ya wanna do?" they asked, standing up and walking up to Dalv, "Since you're apparently set on gettin' outta here?"

"I'm... not sure. I will... have to see what it's like outside," he answered with a smile, "I'll figure the details out later."

"Gotcha."

After a moment, Dalv walked over to a door at the other end of the room, and opened it, gesturing for them to go through.

"There's a path to Snowdin just through here. I'll have to unblock it, though..."

Clover stepped through the door, and tilted their head at the sight. Indeed, the door was boarded up, nails hastily situating the planks to the wall. If they squinted just right, it almost looked scratched...

Hm. Huh.

Dalv didn't comment on it, simply approaching the door and fiddling with the planks for a moment. He was able to pull a few of them off fairly quickly, before Clover was even able to offer help. The moment they took a step, he shook his head.

"I can take care of it, friend," he said with a smile, pulling one of the last boards off of the door. Clover frowned, but stayed in place and waited for him to finish working. Once he did, he tossed the planks idly to one side, a clatter loud ringing through the room as they hit one another.

"That it, then?" they asked, finally walking forward.

"Evidently so," Dalv answered, pushing the door open. Clover could feel a blast of cold air hit them immediately, and their eyes narrowed instinctively. He and Flowey weren't kidding...

They couldn't respond before Dalv muttered a "wait", taking a few steps forwards. While he was focused on whatever was out there, Clover leaned down and scooped some of the nails into their gun, letting the pebbles that were stored there previously clatter to the ground. Just in case... something. They weren't sure why, frankly. They just wanted to.

Exiting the room, they prepared to brave the cold, when-

Ah. That was what stopped Dalv. A tree had fallen onto the path, too large to climb over and too wide to walk around.

They coughed into their hand, glancing between him and the tree.

"Is that a problem?" they asked rhetorically.

"It... certainly is," Dalv answered, "Give me a moment to think, there has to be some way past this..."

As he thought, Clover stepped forwards and tried to climb over it anyways. No luck. The bark just broke off as they got a grip into it, crumbling into their hands.

"'S fairly weak," they observed, "Maybe we could-"

They were cut off by a repeated... fluttering noise? Like the flapping of bird wings, but bigger... They strained their ears trying to figure out what was happening, when the noise stopped. They could hear the snow on the other side of the tree crunching.

"Is someone there?" a voice called out, "I didn't think- I had forgotten there was a pathway here! Sorry, clearing this hasn't been priority number one, I was just passing by-"

"Er... Yes, we just left the Ruins," Dalv responded, "Any ideas for getting past?"

"Hah, well- I was just gonna get someone to blast it with magic... Hard to do, though. It'd need to produce enough heat to break it. Most monsters here use ice and stuff."

Dalv raised an eyebrow.

"Step back, Clover," he whispered, and then raised his voice to address the other person, "I'm going to try something. Please be careful over there."

After Clover had stepped back, he raised one arm to the side, a lightning bolt forming below it. It sped forward and hit the base of the tree, a loud crack sounding out. Part of it crumbled to the ground, but it remained intact. Dalv's eyes narrowed, and he summoned a few more bolts.

It was getting somewhere, certainly, but he didn't seem to be having the best of luck.

The voice knocked on the other side of the tree, letting out what sounded like a content chirp.

"You're definitely getting somewhere! It sounds hollow, so just... keep doing whatever it is you're doing!"

Dalv let out a huff, clearly tiring of summoning so much in such a little time. He pointed his hand forwards, and a low rumble sounded as his brow furrowed. Clover tilted their head, hesitantly taking half a step forward, when-

Several bolts of lightning appeared from under the tree, breaking through it and hitting the cavern ceiling above. The resulting blast sent them and Dalv to the ground, their hat falling off their head. They covered their face with a hand - wood chips were flying everywhere, and they'd really rather not inhale them.

When the mess cleared, the person; a blue bird monster, goggles tied loosely over their eyes and a grey bandana covering their mouth, one wing somewhat bandaged; got back to their feet. They pulled their goggles up (how did a bird have hair?) and pulled the bandana down before hurrying over.

"Are you guys okay? That was impressive, but-" they offered a hand to Dalv and pulled him to his feet, still talking all the while, "Definitely intense! I don't think I could've managed that... You're impressive, uh..."

"Dalv," he replied, turning to help Clover up in turn. They wobbled a bit, but were able to stay upright, giving a thumbs up.

"Clover," they replied, looking down and picking up their hat.

"I'm Martlet, it's nice to meet you two! I was serious, I haven't seen monsters come this way in... at least half a decade..."

Clover hummed in acknowledgement, gently equipping their hat once more. Martlet glanced over at them and paused, seeming to take note of something.

"That hat..." she said quietly, eyes widening slightly, "No way. I didn't- this is weird to ask, haven't in years, but- you're a human, aren't you?"

Dalv froze, looking between Martlet and Clover, before throwing his hands up in shock.

"HOW IS THEIR HAT THE DETERMINING FACTOR????"

Chapter Text

Martlet, fortunately, was quick to backpedal on her previous statement.

"Sorry, sorry! It's just- I haven't heard anything about humans since before I got fired, and I wasn't stationed where the last one was, so I got... well, excited!"

She took a few steps closer to Clover, reaching a wing towards their hat but stopping, seemingly realising that it wouldn't be the politest thing to do before they even had to recoil.

"Are you... going to do anything to them?" Dalv asked, already holding his arm out in front of Clover. They appreciated it, but they didn't need to be protected this much, did they?

"Well..." Martlet paused, closing her eyes in some approximation of thought, "Nah, probably not. Haven't been in the guard for... however long it's been? Maybe it'd get me in good favour with my old boss, but... I don't really need to be!"

"So I'm... okay?" Clover asked. They only caught half of that, but they didn't seem to be dead yet.

"Mhm! Can't promise everything, but I can try to help ya through Snowdin! Only problem is... well, someone rigged this place with puzzles, and, uh, as it happens- I'm the only one who knows how to disable them. Or at least make them... less complicated."

A long, uncomfortable pause followed that statement.

"...I get bored while inbetween jobs, okay?" she eventually added, "I'll get to work. You two just... keep heading on, and I'll see you up ahead!"

Before Clover or Dalv could get another word in, Martlet had already taken flight.

"Huh," Dalv said after another pause, "Well, it's nice to see a friendly face..?"

"I s'pose," Clover agreed, "How bad do you think the puzzles are?"

"There's only so bad it could be. If they were unsolvable, they'd be removed..." he shook his head, tugging the hood of his jacket up, "Monsters are particular about puzzles. That's tradition for you."

They would have to take his word for it. If Dalv said nothing too terrible could happen, then they would have to believe him.

It was so much worse. Clover stood in front of some sort of contraption that would put any puzzle they'd seen previously to complete and utter shame. They could see the top, sure, a rock teetering ominously into what can only be described as a labyrinth...

"I'm never trusting you again," they said after a minute of silence, warranting a reluctant sigh from Dalv.

"That's... I didn't expect this," Dalv replied, taking a few steps closer to the puzzle and looking at a series of notes taped onto the side, "This is certainly not approved by anyone official. I'd... well, use my magic and get us past, but... I'd rather not overexert myself after a bit ago. Sorry, friend."

Clover nodded. They... couldn't argue, obviously, so...

With a reluctant sigh, they stepped up to the controls and watched the molten rock tumble into the abyss below.

...

Okay, so the puzzle was tilted awkwardly in one direction, making it nigh-impossible to keep the rock closer to the left side. They could manage this. They'd just have to keep- dang it!

They took a step back, looking up at the wooden pachinko-esque torment in front of them. Everything seemed linked, so if they could get the ball set up to fall into one hole over and over again... that should work..?

Clover let out a huff. This was going to take a while.

Flowey swore that if he had to watch Gun-hat fail to complete a puzzle one more time he would lose his mind. It wasn't even just that they were bad at it. They were getting better every time they tried, somehow. That wasn't the problem.

The kid had, for whatever reason, taken to loading a lot in the past- however long, the process itself complicated determining that. He couldn't figure out why, exactly. Either something had gone horribly wrong, or they were planning something. Or both, knowing them.

Which, unfortunately, made looking into whatever was happening his responsibility. No one else would, and that was horrible for his emotional well-being.

"Howdy!" he greeted the moment he popped out of the ground, "Care to tell a pal what you're up to?"

...Flowey figured the "I'm going to lose my mind if you don't stop resetting" was implied.

"I'm trying to get a member of the Royal Guard on the other part of Snowdin," the kid answered, "I- I trust you fine, but Papyrus mentioned somewhere I'd never heard of and I want to be sure that- well, you know, I'm not... missing out on anywhere. It... hasn't been working."

"Golly! I thought I was doing that for you!" he stated simply, "Sure you can't just live with what I tell ya?"

"It's a precaution. You're being- you're being plenty helpful, Flowey. Promise."

...If nothing else, the kid looked more well-rested than the last time they talked. Maybe they had listened to him about going inside for once. He was willing to press his luck if it meant keeping an eye on everyone, not just Gun-hat.

"Tell Papyrus to tell Undyne," he suggested, "If trying directly isn't working, you try indirectly. It's what you've been doing for everything else, right?"

Well, that might keep them off of Flowey's stem for a while longer. Being helpful wasn't that hard!

"Huh. That simple? Maybe I was overcomplicating things..."

"You always do, kid. You always do."

Satisfied enough with the conversation, Flowey winked and buried underground again. That should give him another day at least, time to do... Whatever he was planning.

He wasn't sure anymore. It was weird, he... wasn't used to this lack of certainty.

Clover let out a sigh of relief as the last bits of ice in the puzzle melted, and the gate slid open.

Flowey had showed up halfway, pausing whatever monologue he seemed to have in favour of begrudgingly assisting Clover and Dalv with the simple task of doing a puzzle.

"Well, that worked out," Dalv said idly, staring at where the gate was a few seconds ago, "Does... that mean we're fine?"

"Looks like," Flowey grumbled in response, "Can I get to what I was going to say now? I'm freezing, and would love to go hang out somewhere warmer for a while."

Clover nodded in response, muttering a "go ahead". They... sure, this conversation concerned them, but they didn't need to make a big deal over their presence, did they?

"Alright. Buckle up. Get ready for a completely unsurprising development," he continued, "The kid was trying to get a hold of the Guard. I'm not sure where anyone will get stationed, if they do at all, but... keep an eye out, okay? Most of them aren't threatening, but I'd hate to see ya get blind-sided."

"That's... not good," Clover said, "Is that better than, uh... they'd be?"

"Probably! They'd be a whole lot more persistent, so... small wins? Dunno what I'd do if they decided to face you themselves..."

"Don't worry about us, small one. We'll deal with it if we have to," Dalv added with a smile, "Thank you for warning us."

Flowey froze at the gratitude, before going completely deadpan again.

"I'm flattered. Now, keep moving before I freeze to death."

...They were willing to oblige.

Snowdin, it turned out, was fairly peaceful. Once Clover got past the dread that Flowey's warning had briefly clouded their mind with, the falling snow made it easy to feel some sense of serenity. Perhaps even more charming were the monsters; an igloo crab, a reporter who they stumbled upon when they got briefly lost, a rabbit who apparently had gotten stuck to a pole every week for the past five years...

("It'th twadithon at thith point," they had explained. It was easy enough to free them, at least; Dalv had stepped forward and used a lightning bolt. Apparently he could regulate their temperature. More importantly, Clover got a cool scarf from the situation.)

They spoke to Martlet a few times on the way. She had, relievingly, been able to disable the majority of her puzzles; and, perhaps more relievingly, explained why the one they were forced to do was so agonizing.

("Well, that part of Snowdin's become progressively more unpopular, since... well, all the roadblocks have popped up," Martlet said with a hum, clapping two feathered hands together, "So that puzzle sort of became my tinkering ground! I didn't expect anyone to have to do it, hah... Sorry! That should have been the first one I disabled!")

(They respected the honesty.)

Other than that, things passed... fairly normally? They let their guard down just enough to-

Jump out of their skin when the cup of coffee that was on the table in front of them (for some reason) was abruptly shoved aside.

"Shocked? HAH! I would be too, kid. But that coffee's dated- literally! I've been sitting here for years waiting for someone to make this pitch to!"

A raccoon... thing slid in, rolling up his sleeves and shoving a... weird merchandise stand in front of Clover and Dalv, sliding behind it with a grin.

"Name's Mo. Tell you what, folks," he explained, leaning on the stand with one shoulder, "You two seem like you know a good deal when you see it."

"Careful, Clover," Dalv whispered, "I'm... not sure I trust this fellow or his confusing sales pitch."

"Oh, but you will!" Mo answered, causing Dalv to flinch, "Consider this. You're cold, aren't ya? This place isn't exactly forgiving. So I present..."

He slammed a container with three cones on the stand, literal snow filling all three of them.

"Snow Cones! Snowdin's finest treat, now taking after a familiar monster! I considered the name Nice Cream, but that bunny guy threatened to sue!"

...They... looked kind of good, Clover admitted to themselves. They weren't sure if it was the right temperature for it, though-

"I know what you're thinking," Mo continued, answering their question before they could ask, "Why would you eat this in the freezing cold? And I answer, why wouldn't you, huh? Who knows, a treat for warm places might just trick you into thinking it's warm! Only 15G each! What do ya say, we got a deal?"

Dalv reached a hand out towards Clover, clearly trying to stop them from making an impulse purchase.

But they had the money, and Mo's pitch was convincing, so...

...

They ended up buying all three. Clover could only hope they wouldn't melt in their pockets.

"That's what I like to see! You've got taste, kid. And I'm all out of stock, so..." Mo kicked his stand aside, shooting a finger pistol their way, "Mo OUT!"

"Clover?" Dalv asked after a few seconds' pause.

"Mhm?"

"Please never make a financial decision again. In general."

They had no regrets, of course. Their reaction reflected that, just shrugging before continuing on the snowy path in front of them. Judging by the crunching of snow behind them, Dalv was following.

Clover sat outside the Honeydew Resort, kicking their feet as they held their hands up to a fire. Dalv had gone inside to listen to some of the live music- not really their scene, but they weren't going to stop him.

He had promised them a coffee, though! They hadn't had any since falling down here, and a nearby monster had told them it was to die for, so that was exciting!

"Just stayin' where you are, huh?"

Flowey was sitting- standing- whatever him resting in the soil counted as- in front of them, giving them what seemed like a half-hearted glare.

"I've been trying to get your attention for a few minutes now," Flowey said, eyes narrowing, "Is your head that lost in the clouds?"

Could he really blame them? They were in a good mood, who cared if they were a little lost in thought because of it? They-

Oh! They had almost forgotten!

They took off the scarf they were wearing, draping one end of it next to Flowey.

"Any chance you could find some way to hold that?" Clover asked, still holding the other end. Flowey's glare intensified, but he summoned a vine and wrapped it around the scarf. They nodded to themselves, glancing around until they found a stick that looked sharp enough.

With a hum, they severed a bit from the end of the scarf, and wrapped the smaller piece around the top of Flowey's stem.

"Wh-What was that about?" Flowey asked, like the idea of someone being friendly to him was completely foreign.

"You said you were cold," they explained, "I didn't want my friend to freeze. Do you... not want it, or something?"

Hesitantly, they reached a hand out, prepared to take the piece of fabric back, when Flowey hissed at them.

"No. This is mine now."

They moved away instantly, raising their hands defensively.

"Sorry,"

"It's... whatever," he replied, face contorting in disgust as he all but spat out a "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Clover said cheerfully, wrapping the rest of the scarf back around their neck. A comfortable silence settled between the two of them, until a thought hit them.

Flowey had been talking to the other human here, he had said. Would it be a stretch to ask if he knew anything about the others..? They had a moment, it wouldn't be impossible to ask about their mission...

Well, it was worth a try.

"Flowey?" they eventually began.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know anything about the... other humans who fell? Besides me and, uh, them? Since I-"

He all but sank into himself, and Clover immediately felt bad for asking, promptly shutting up.

"Only one," he answered eventually, "But they're long gone. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only person who remembers them."

Well, they... knew what loss was like, even if they had been too young to remember. Half-formed faces, too close for comfort but too far to recall the specifics. But... this was clearly different. Closer. And they had to be tactful about this, or Flowey would just shut down.

"What... were they like?" Was that too much?

"They were something, alright. Mischievous. Good-hearted. The kind who puts others before themselves, even when there was no benefit to doing so at all. A real quiet sufferer, too," Flowey said, almost bitterly, "They were my best friend, but- if I just understood them better, I could've- god, I don't know. They make me angry, but I just..."

They didn't say anything, waiting for him to finish the thought.

"I want to see them again. And I'm not sure what I'd say. And that makes me mad too."

"Ah."

Clover understood that too. Clinging to the memories they did have, until there was nothing but the marks where their nails dug in too deep. They tugged their hat down- they couldn't make this about themselves. It wouldn't be empathizing like they'd want it to be.

"I get it, ya know," they said eventually, their voice far weaker than they wanted it to be, "Don't really mention it much, but... missin' people isn't fun. 'Specially when they're important to ya."

"Yeah? You know- you're doing that thing again, you know. You're being nice, and I don't get it. Why?"

"There's... nothin' to get, Flowey," they tilted their head, frowning, "I'm bein' nice because it's the right thing to do."

Flowey didn't respond for several long seconds. Eventually, he sighed, face contorting into an awkward frown.

"Sorry for your loss. Whoever it was. You're a good kid."

"Thanks. And... I'm sorry for yours, too."

They sat in silence until Dalv opened the door to the Resort and stepped outside, walking over to Clover and handing them a steaming cup of coffee. They tugged their scarf down and sipped at it, still scalding hot but entirely pleasant.

It tasted like camaraderie and untouched memories and, for the first time since falling down, Clover genuinely felt like they were doing something right.

Chapter Text

The snow crunched as Clover stood up, Flowey and Dalv watching them closely. They adjusted their scarf again, looking around the resort.

"I'm kinda sad to be leavin' here so soon," they said, not particularly addressing either of their companions, "This place is cozy, ain't it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess," Flowey responded, eyes unfocused and expression still a little distant.

"We could always come back some time, once you've... done what you need to," Dalv added with a smile, "I wouldn't complain about 'hanging out' here again."

"Wow, keep talking like that and you'll almost forget that they're wanted by the law," Flowey's face contorted into a grim smile, "You just love playing it safe, huh?"

"I figured that... their safety fell under Clover 'doing what they needed to.'"

Flowey made a non-committal sound in response, smile faltering. He muttered something along the lines of "speaking of which" before burrowing underground, leaving Clover and Dalv to continue forward without him. They did so, of course, turning down a path to the right of the building and walking in silence.

There wasn't much of note on the path ahead, just a sign far too vandalised for Clover to read properly. The whole area seemed... a bit poorly maintained, really, a few of the benches they saw clearly splintering and a gross-looking pancake under one of them.

They considered grabbing it, but... No. They had some standards. A paper cup was fine, but they drew the line at that.

Absently, they tugged at Dalv's sleeve, drawing his attention.

"What's the deal with this place?" Clover asked, and then, "If you have... any idea."

Dalv looked around, seemingly taking in the decrepit state for himself. He walked over to the sign, tapping a worn bell with a claw.

"I believe this was one of the mail stations. Of course, they were far more... maintained, before I retreated to the Ruins," he explained, tone light, "I suppose that their glory days have passed."

"Isn't that a little sad?"

"That's... often how people are. So, ultimately? Not entirely. I would've liked to send someone a letter, though," and, after they raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm not sure who, but it could have been fun."

Clover frowned, walking over to the sign as well. They rubbed their sleeve against the bell; a bit of stray dirt came off, but its condition stayed the same. They quickly gave up. No use in wasting time on something so trivial.

"I guess."

They continued on, coming to a stop a few feet away from... some sort of sentry station, a rather irked-looking dog monster sitting inside. Dalv motioned for them to stay behind him "just in case", which was fair even if it blocked their view, dang it!

"This is a dead end," the monster said, the tone of their voice doing absolutely nothing to make them seem friendlier, "So unless you've got business at the birdhouse or plan to swim to Hotland, I advise you turn back."

Neither of those things were true. Well, they'd swim if they had to, but it probably wouldn't work.

"Ah, well-" Dalv replied, with a quiet sound that Clover assumed was him tapping two claws together, "My friend here needs to get to-"

He turned around, lowering the volume of his voice to speak to them.

"Where are you heading, again?" he asked.

"Flowey said to get to the castle,"

"Right, thank you," Dalv turned his attention back to the sentry station, "My friend here needs to get to the King's castle. Could you point us to the fastest way to get there?"

"Swim across the river, for all I care," the monster replied unhelpfully, "Or find a way to get to Snowdin Town. If the idea of cutting through the woods thrills you."

"...Ah. Of course. We'll... discuss," he turned around, "Come on, Clover, there has to be another way through..."

The two of them turned around, beginning to walk away from the sentry station, when-

"That- Your friend is a HUMAN?!"

Clover was quick to look back, finally getting a look at the monster. She was a brown dog (beagle, perhaps?) in armour, seemingly stuck in a permanent state of rage and very clearly not happy with their presence.

"I'm not even going to ask why you didn't mention this," she continued, "Except for the part where I'm ABSOLUTELY QUESTIONING IT!"

"Are... you okay?" Dalv asked, tilting his head, "You seem... overly stressed. If we could-"

"I AM THE PERFECT AMOUNT STRESSED! If you were capable of using your brain for more than half a second, you'd understand."

"I don't like you!" Clover cut in, still smiling cheerfully.

"Oh, that's nice," the monster replied, tone turning mockingly kind, "I'm the one employed here. And the job says you need to die. Since none of the other Snowdin dogs are able to fathom something more difficult than their own tails..."

She practically vaulted over the sentry stand, gripping a spear in one hand as she landed on the ground in front of them.

"It's my job. And I'm not going to make it easy for you."

Clover's eyes narrowed. Somehow they got the impression that this wouldn't be as easy as letting her monologue.

"Her name's Doge," Dalv observed, "The nameplate's right there. Maybe if we could calm her down enough..."

"We?" Doge interrupted, gripping her spear tighter, "Let me tell you there. If you think that intervening in a Royal Guard fight isn't going to result in the worst criminal charges you've ever seen, you've got another thing coming."

"...Okay."

Dalv took a few steps back, giving Clover an apologetic smile. Dalv's legal safety came first, even if they could probably use a hand here. They stood there; they weren't going to draw their gun yet, so they'd... wait to see what Doge would do.

In response, she charged forward, spear turning a light blue. Clover froze as they tried to evaluate how to dodge, when it just... phased through them. They put a hand to where the spear would've been if it did damage. Sure enough, they didn't feel very cut open...

Watching Decibat came to mind. Don't move, blue waves... Oh! Right, of course!

They came to their senses just fast enough to get hit by another swipe of Doge's spear, a hand flying to clutch their side. They should've expected that.

"You know, I was supposed to have a day off today," she said, barely paying them any mind, "Then my boss tells me she heard something from someone- from someone- about you. I was supposed to be reading right now, and yet-"

"Wh... What're you reading?" Clover asked, for some reason. Maybe if they diverted the conversation, she'd stop trying to skewer them. Plus, they could always respect a good book.

"That is not something you should be worrying about. You're too young."

"Oh! Is it one of those romance novels?"

They remembered someone back home liking them. It was always something that made them uncomfortable- what kinda thing would make people act so painfully out of character? They didn't get it!

"...Something like that. Now stand still, dammit, you're making this harder than it needs to be."

Another swipe of Doge's spear, a dodge to the left... Clover hoped they could calm things down before they tired out; at this rate it would happen before they knew it.

Being on the defensive was hard. Especially when they didn't get a moment to try to actually defend themselves instead of dodging constantly. If they could somehow take the spear...

That had merit, they thought. They'd get a turn to do anything. They could try to disarm her; it wouldn't take care of any magic, but it could ease their burden...

They reached forward and grabbed, their hand accidentally slicing against the spearhead instead of the wood itself. They recoiled, grabbing their hand; nothing deeper than a bit of blood, probably only knocking off one or two HP, but... They weren't going to try that again.

They'd have to find a different angle. Hopefully quickly.

"Whew, that about covers it!"

Martlet took a step back, admiring her handiwork. The whole human thing? Yeah, that sort of threw her off guard for a while. But she finished her current project! That was another paycheck for her!

Wait, the human thing! Right, that was more important, she said she'd catch up with Dalv and Clover! She'd just have to... remember to deliver that later. Hopefully the guy who ordered it wouldn't need this shelf immediately!

She pocketed a few of her tools before taking flight, looking out across Snowdin. They couldn't have gotten far, right? No, probably not- where did Martlet last see the two of them again?

"No, not over there... Oh! Wait, that could be them!" she exclaimed aloud; they weren't too far from her house! That was the sentry station at her old job, before she-

Well, there was no time to think about that now. She had been fired a while ago, anyway, and this...

This could give her something meaningful to do. A plan formulating in her head, Martlet took off. Walking would take about the same amount of time, but she didn't have wings to not use them!

She landed close enough to the sentry station, only to immediately process the situation. Clover was bleeding, struggling at least somewhat to hold up against who was definitely a member of the Royal Guard- was that who replaced her? Gosh, she didn't think anyone could take it that seriously...

She smacked herself mentally. More important things to deal with, Martlet. Clover's bleeding, they might die if you don't do SOMETHING!

But that was the Royal Guard... she could bend the rules while still employed, sure, but they wouldn't hold back if she actually intervened.

She watched Clover barely dodge a spear aimed directly at their neck, and shook her head. No. Not a chance she'd let this happen. This wasn't- This wasn't justice, they were just a kid! She couldn't let a kid die, even if they were human!

She took one of her tools (a hammer) out of her pocket and ran forward; she didn't intend to do any real damage, she just had to... knock a member of the Royal Guard unconscious.

The hammer made contact, and Martlet only felt a little bad as another monster froze and fell over.

"Are you okay?" she asked immediately, like she didn't just knock someone unconscious, "Sorry, you're hurt- gah, I should've been here sooner! Will you live?"

Clover untucked their head from their elbow, probably a defensive position, and opened their mouth to respond, when Dalv cut in.

"Did you KILL her?!"

Oops.

Clover blinked at the situation. They weren't dead, that was for certain. And Doge seemed to be... still breathing, just unconscious.

"I've had worse," they finally responded, "Is she going to live?"

"Of course! I'm not gonna kill someone, that's ridiculous! She'll just be..." Martlet visibly winced, "Out for a while."

They sighed. That was good enough for them. They fished through their pocket, pulling out and eating a Snow Cone that somehow hadn't melted whatosever. It healed their wounds enough that they were confident they weren't just going to croak it the moment they tried to do anything.

"Sorry for getting loud, I was just... shocked," Dalv took a step forward, shaking his head, "And... right. I should've intervened too. Sorry to you too, Clover. I was afraid, I don't know what grounds Doge would have to sue me on, but... I should have been willing to help you, friend."

They forgave him.

"Hey, relax! I haven't been sued before either!" Martlet added cheerfully, "I just assumed she wouldn't pin it on me!"

Clover wasn't sure how they felt about the concern they were being shown. They let it happen nonetheless, even if Martlet and Dalv clearly didn't know anything about human medical problems.

"I... suppose we'll have to find another way to get you to the castle, then, huh, Clover?" Dalv eventually said, "Even if that means going through Snowdin again."

Surprisingly, Martlet perked up in response.

"Oh, you won't have to do that! 'Cause, uh, I might have a better idea! C'mon, I'll show you!"

She ran off. Dalv and Clover exchanged a glance before following along quietly. They were led to a river with a house in the distance (Martlet's, maybe?), with a raft floating there that looked like it had been repaired many, many times.

"What's that?" they asked.

"This is Ava! Or... the U.G. Aviator!" Martlet laughed, "She's pretty hardy! Even if I... don't use her much! Or at all!"

...

"...Like I said, I... get bored sometimes. You can't blame me. But!" She walked forward, motioning towards the raft, "This is a straight-ticket trip to Hotland! You'll get to the castle in no time!"

"Ah. Right, Hotland," Dalv responded, sighing, "I've... never been able to handle the heat. And I like it fine here, so... Clover?"

Clover frowned. They could tell where this was going before he even said anything. Of course, they weren't mad; they knew he wouldn't follow them forever, and weren't going to pretend as much.

"You wanna stay here?" they said, more for clarification's sake. Dalv nodded.

"I... believe so. I've thought it through, and I think that I could benefit from... going it alone for a while. Leaving the Ruins, maybe. I'll have to get my things packed, but I'll figure it out!"

"Right. Good luck?"

"Thanks. You as well. Feel free to come find me if you need anything. Or if you wish to talk. I won't complain. And... thank you for everything. I wouldn't be outside if not for you."

Dalv offered a hand, and Clover shook it with a smile. He patted them on the head, turned around, and walked away. What a guy.

They turned back towards Martlet and nodded.

"I'm ready to go, then," they said with a smile.

"Alright! This- actually works out! I didn't wanna bring it up, but Ava only really has room for two people, so- better not to make that choice, right?" she clapped her wings together, letting out a chirp, "Don't worry! I'll do my best to protect you! That's a promise- 'cause you don't deserve to die!"

That was reassuring. Clover wasn't sure how well Martlet would do at protecting them- she seemed a tad scatterbrained, but the offer remained. And they appreciated it. They took a step forward, preparing to hop into the raft, when-

"Actually, wait a moment!" Martlet said, holding a wing up to get them to pause, "I just realised- these waters can get kinda wild, and I don't want you getting hurt! Wait here!"

She ran towards the house a few ways away; confirming it was her house, they supposed. They waited patiently, tapping their fingers against their sides idly until she returned.

When she did, she handed them a pair of safety goggles. Slightly worse for wear, but they looked fine in quality. Their defensive qualities were... up to interpretation, however.

"Thanks," they nodded, putting on the goggles and adjusting them to fit, "Now are we good?"

"Mhm!" Martlet answered, pulling her own pair of goggles down and motioning for Clover to get into the raft.

They did, sitting down and making themselves comfortable. There was a rug in here, for some reason; they didn't quite get it, but they wouldn't complain. It was a nice place to rest, they could easily get some shut-eye here...

They watched Martlet untie the rope, panicking before flying to get into the raft next to them.

"Have to say, those goggles look good! You look like you could do some killer woodworking!" she stated with a smile, "I'd be happy to teach you at some point. Always been told you can learn better by teaching someone else, and I'm already pretty good, so..."

"Maybe," Clover answered, "I've never been good with knives."

"It's not just knives. It's, like... a whole assortment of tools. You have to know which to use, and when to use 'em!"

Martlet sprung into a short explanation as the raft drifted through Snowdin, the vibrant white turning into a deeper purple colour, gemstones shining around and illuminating some of the plants. They thought they saw Flowey for a moment, but... no, probably not.

"Sorry, I'm excited about this stuff. Haven't had anyone to talk about it with since my old job."

"Nah, it's okay," and it was, "You're makin' me curious about your old job, though."

"Oh! I was in the Royal Guard, like I said! Building puzzles, doing sentry duty... I was kinda bad at the sentry part, though," she laughed awkwardly, shrugging, "So I... got a little fired from it. Now I do freelance carpentry! It's fun when I have jobs!"

She slouched slightly, crossing her arms. They weren't sure if they wanted to press the subject.

"Are... you okay?" Clover finally decided on asking.

"I'm fine! Just..." Martlet shook her head, "I guess I haven't really had... much to do? It's fine, really, I make enough money to survive, but... it's boring, you know? I have to be doing something, but I can have weeks off at a time."

They understood the feeling. They started getting ansty while staying with Dalv, they... were bored a lot back home, even when there were things to do. Menial chores didn't make up for a lack of enrichment. So they could sympathize.

"Well, here we are, right?" they replied, "We're doin' somethin', and it'll be great!"

"Right! We'll... Maybe the King'll pardon you, or you can go back home, or something like that! Either way, I'll be busy for days!"

She offered a wing for Clover to bump, and they did. The rest of the ride passed in silence, before...

...were they picking up speed?

Clover looked around. Yeah, they were in a pipe passing over what they assumed was Hotland, but at a speed that was swiftly increasing. They glanced around them, before looking back at Martlet.

"Are you sure this is safe?" they asked.

"Well, I was..." came the response.

Ah.

The raft missed a turn, and they hit a rock dead-on. Clover was able to curl in on themselves, sure, but they still got hit pretty roughly.

And then they fell 50 feet.

And then they got hit by another rock.

Today really wasn't their day.

The last thing they were consciously aware of was a panicked Martlet saying that she'd come back for them. And then they blacked out.

Chapter Text

Frisk woke up, and they had no idea what time it was.

That wasn't anything new, necessarily; the Underground had a particular lack of working clocks, and resetting certainly complicated matters. It was easy enough to lose track of time, and yet for once they had a reason not to. For all they knew, the human- whatever their actual name was, Gun-hat couldn't be it- could be anywhere right now.

Really, that was probably unlikely. Flowey's help had been vague enough to be completely unhelpful, but Frisk hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. They had asked Papyrus to ask about the Royal Guard on the other half of Snowdin (how long had that existed, anyway?), so they had all possible outcomes covered.

Unless the human had managed to get past Snowdin already. They'd done it before; made it all the way to Waterfall before Frisk found them and decided to load. They could reluctantly concede that there was a non-zero chance of that effort being useless. Still, it'd be nice to know.

They couldn't just not have an eye or two on what was going on. Not when the alternative was... well, they didn't have to think about that right now. They could- they were going to do this. They just needed to get their SOUL once. They could manage that much...

They sighed, getting to their feet and tugging a jacket on, same as always. Had they really become this repetitive?

"Repetition is something you know well, hm?" that damn voice in their head chimed in, "Though, it would be nice to see you stop stressing yourself out."

Right, of course. They had been awfully quiet lately. Even if their commentary was snarky and occasionally unwelcome, it was... nice to hear someone familiar. Someone who had a vested interest in keeping Frisk alive.

"I- look, I know it's not the most optimal situation, Chara," they reply, pinching the bridge of their nose, "But we can't just- we can't just die, not- not like this! The human is- they're our only chance!"

"You've said as much," Chara stated, and it didn't feel accusatory so much as it did a quiet acknowledgement, "And you know my opinion on the matter. I firmly believe that this is a waste of your time and energy."

"But you're... not trying to stop me."

"No, I suppose I'm not. At the end of the day, this is your choice to make. And you... have clearly made a choice. My thoughts are secondary."

Well, that was... almost preferable. If nothing else, Chara understood- Frisk was sure they'd come around eventually, once they processed the severity of the situation. They were sure of it.

Finding Papyrus is easy.

Catching up to him is not.

It came with the "always moving" thing, Frisk supposed. Even if his Royal Guard status perpetually had an asterisk- despite their efforts- he would always be doing some sort of work.

They ended up running after Papyrus for about an hour, constantly barely being evaded. They were almost tempted to just... load and try again. Fortunately, they were finally able to stop him before resorting to anything of the sort.

"Papyrus!" Frisk called out, doubling over and trying to catch their breath after they ran up to him, "I- Hold on, actually..."

Papyrus turned to face them and, to his credit, waited for Frisk to calm down enough to not be under immediate threat of passing out.

"ARE YOU... OKAY?" he eventually asked.

"Yeah. Fine, thanks, I..." they sighed, finally standing up straight again, "Needed a minute. Can we talk?"

"HM... I SUPPOSE I COULD SPARE A MINUTE!" Papyrus replied, "AS LONG AS YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN YOU AREN'T ABOUT TO FALL OVER. YOU... LOOK LIKE YOUR BONES ARE A BIT RATTLED, TO SAY THE LEAST!"

"I'll live," and then, after another deep breath, "Any news from the Guard about, uh- anything interesting?"

..."hey, have you seen a human" felt like a lot better of an opening than "I'm trying to get a child killed".

Papyrus made a sound of consideration, bringing a gloved hand to rub his chin slightly.

"WELL... I DIDN'T GET TOLD EVERYTHING, BUT..." he began, "ONE OF THE RESERVE UNITS CALLED IN WITH... A LENGTHY COMPLAINT. I WOULD TELL YOU WHAT SHE SAID, BUT... IT'S NOT SOMETHING I WOULD RECITE IN MY PRESENT COMPANY."

Ah. That'd do it. Was this a chance of making progress?

"Can you summarize, at least?" Frisk asked, trying to mask the hope in their voice under simple curiosity.

"WOWIE, YOU'RE NEVER THIS INTERESTED IN GUARD BUSINESS! NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING, IT'S JUST... ODD!"

Frisk paused for a moment. Was that- no, Papyrus wouldn't ask if they didn't give him reason to. They'd just have to act normal. Which they could do! They could manage this! They had this under control!

"I'm trying to stay up to date on what's going on. Easier to keep track of everything that way," they said, and it wasn't technically a lie.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT. LET ME THINK..." and then, "SOME MISCREANT KNOCKED DOGE- THE RESERVE UNIT I MENTIONED- UNCONSCIOUS. LENGTHY RANT ABOUT THE INDIGNITY OF IT, AND THEN... OH, RIGHT!" Papyrus clapped his hands together, "A HUMAN! RIGHT, SHE HAD SIGHTED A HUMAN AND... FAILED TO CAPTURE THEM."

So the other human had made it out of the Ruins. Flowey was wrong. Frisk would have to ask the next time he caught up with them, get a track on an exact location. It might be inconvenient to get ahead of them if they were past Snowdin, but... they could manage. They could solve the problem at hand without needing to get directly involved.

"Out of your domain, then, huh?" they asked, raising an eyebrow, "Guess the Guard will have to figure something else out."

"EVEN THEN, I'M... NOT SURE I WOULD!" Papyrus answered, "I'M ALREADY PROTECTING ONE HUMAN. I CAN'T JUST COMMIT HALFWAY! I DON'T DO ANYTHING HALFWAY!"

He made a dramatic flourishing gesture, and Frisk fought back a sigh. Right. He would say that, wouldn't he... so much for leading questions.

"Mm. Right," they said instead of expressing any actual disappointment, "Thanks, Papyrus. I'll let you get back to your rounds."

Papyrus gave them a saluting gesture, and they huffed out something almost like a laugh before turning around and retreating back into Snowdin Forest.

Frisk really wasn't sure why they kept sitting down in this empty, snowy clearing. The quiet was nice, and the chill sunk into their very being and snapped them back to focus. Moreover, it had become sort of an unofficial meeting place for them and Flowey. However unpredictable his appearances may have been.

They settled themselves against the nearest tree, sitting down and pulling their jacket further around themselves.

"Risking dying of hypothermia fills you with determination," Chara commented, making their presence known next to Frisk, "Perhaps you should consider a better meeting place."

They weren't wrong. Frisk, for one, would have loved to relax someplace that wasn't the middle of nowhere. But they had to consider the practical elements of it.

"Flowey's not comfortable being seen around people. And I'd rather no one hear about what I'm doing," they replied neutrally.

They weren't sure they could take everyone knowing about the blood they were going to have on their hands. They're not sure they could commit if that happened.

"Of course," Chara said simply, shaking their head, "Ever the sacrificial one, hm?"

"It has to be like this."

"You've been saying that a lot lately, too."

Frisk didn't have anything to say to that. Maybe they were getting repetitive. Fortunately, Chara didn't press the subject, only choosing to go back to lurking silently in their mind's eye. They were grateful, even if they could never admit as much.

With a final sigh, they leaned back and waited for an appearance that, for all they knew, may never come to pass.

"Hey! Dammit, are you even- no, of course you're not listening..."

Frisk jolted. They must have gotten lost in thought again...

Flowey was in front of them again, looking particularly impatient at their failure to immediately acknowledge him. It was startling; from the right angle, he almost looked... worried about something? No, probably not, there was nothing for him to worry about...

And he had a scarf, for some reason. Or something that looked vaguely akin to the tattered edge of a scarf.

"Hi, Flowey..?" Frisk said, looking down at him, "What's with the scarf?"

"Oh. This old thing?" Flowey glanced at the scarf, expression turning completely neutral, "Stole it."

"You... stole it. From..?"

"A... really tiny child?"

"Right."

They would be stupid to believe that for even a second. Unfortunately, they were more worried about everything else going on, and thus had to reluctantly concede.

"Just give it back at some point," they told him with a sigh.

"Not a chance. You think I'm not freezing my petals off with all the time I've spending in Snowdin for your sake? I'm taking the one scrap of warmth I can get."

...That got Frisk's suspicion, however.

"Are you... really spending that much time in Snowdin? We don't talk that often, do we?"

"That's- well, no, I guess not, but-" Flowey stopped himself, eyes closing, "That's nothing you need to worry about, kid! I've got my own projects, you know that!"

"But you hate this place."

"I- yeah. I do. But sometimes I need to look at the bigger picture."

...Oh.

Oh. Of course. Of course they should've realised. Flowey knew the human's whereabouts this entire time, he knew every step Frisk was taking and was probably relaying them back. He had his own plans, and, painfully, they didn't involve Frisk.

They weren't sure why they were so sure he'd be fully cooperative, either. He had always focused on what he wanted more than anything, and Frisk was just the most convenient path for the longest amount of time. Maybe they weren't anymore. And that was... disappointing.

Mutually antagonistic plotting aside, they really did start thinking of him as a friend. But of course. Antagonists were as antagonists did, and they'd just have to accept that.

"You've been lying to me," they stated instead, with a tone that hopefully conveyed that they knew it was true.

"What?" Flowey replied, a cheerful smile coming to his expression, "Why would I do that, buddy?"

"I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out. Because it's- because it's convenient to you? Because..."

"Because? I think you're just tryin' to incriminate me here. Come on, give me a real reason."

And then Frisk couldn't take it anymore.

"Because you're you!" and they didn't mean half of it, but the disappointment clawing at their gut forbade them from stopping, "You've always been like this- I don't know why I ever decided you were worth working with! You'd kick me to the curb the second I stopped being useful to you! And I was still stupid enough to think that we were friends!"

"You're telling me to KILL a kid!" Flowey yelled back, like that was definitely the problem he had with this, "Look, I know you're zoned in on this, but they're not the only person who's been hurt by whatever you think you're trying to accomplish. Do you even realise that I've been suffering because of this too? Or has that never crossed your damn one-track mind?"

"We were supposed to both benefit from this, you idiot! Are you going to throw away your first friendship because you had a MOMENT of inconvenience?"

"I DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! AND IT DIDN'T EVEN MEAN ANYTHING! If I didn't know it wouldn't accomplish anything, I would've impaled you myself!"

Frisk paused. They- No, wait, they didn't mean any of this, they weren't supposed to- they weren't supposed to be arguing with Flowey, he was still their friend... sure, they were disagreeing on this one thing, but they- they were being hasty. They hit the side of their head with their hand and took a deep breath, trying to calm themselves down.

"I... Flowey, come on. I didn't-" they sighed, holding out their arms, "I didn't mean that. That was stupid. I've just... been stressed these past few weeks. You know that."

"Mhm."

"Are we still... okay?"

"Mhm."

That was... good. They could tell by his expression that he was hurt- why wouldn't he be, they were both yelling at each other, but... hopefully he would still listen to them. They didn't want to lose him, after all...

"Do you still want to, uh... be involved with this?"

They knew Flowey had chosen a side. But they'd rather hear it from him.

"I don't know, kid," he answered, "I don't know. I... you know, I think I'm going to go for a while. Check in on Gun-hat. Last I saw they were unconscious. Hopefully they've woken up by now. See you."

Frisk managed a "wait-" before Flowey was gone, burrowing back underground. They sighed, the back of their head hitting the tree behind them as they tried to catch their thoughts.

So Flowey... probably wasn't going to be completely helpful anymore. Not that he was to begin with, but...

Well, if he was going to tell the human anything that Frisk told him, they'd just stop telling him things! That kind of hurt, yeah, but... they could conspire alone. Or with Chara, if they were ever feeling particularly cooperative.

This didn't need to mean anything if they didn't want it to. They were in control. They were going to live. They could do this. They could do this. Even if they'd have to take that human's soul themselves.

...It wasn't preferable. But they felt like they had to at this point. If Flowey wasn't going to, and their indirect action kept forcing them to load or try another plan, they'd... they would manage.

They'd do what they had to.

They'd made their choice.

Taking a deep breath, they stood up. They'd have to find a map of the Underground or something. If they could get Flowey to accidentally reveal something major again, that would help, but... they would find a way regardless.

As soon as they figured out where that damn human was.

Chapter Text

Clover woke up from yet another fall that should have killed them, surrounded by wood splinters and hurting basically everywhere.

The goggles Martlet had given them at least stopped them from losing an eye. They took that as a win.

They sat up, looking around for their hat and shaking it free of wood chips before re-equipping it. It looked a little worse for wear, a bit of thread fraying off of part of the rim, but acceptable nonetheless.

Standing up proved to be a tad more difficult. Clover could get to their feet fine, sure, but it was while their leg screamed its agony like a thousand tortured souls. Maybe falling on it repeatedly wasn't the best idea, but... as long as they could keep moving, they would be fine.

...

It took a few minutes, but they were eventually able to begin making progress again. They just hoped no one brought up the limp that they were developing. They didn't need anyone to worry.

Progressing through the dark cavern they had found themselves in was thus a rather difficult task. They were operating at half capacity, and- was that sand?

Clover would never admit that they spent a minute inspecting a single grain of sand. But they weren't denying it. They just... wanted to figure out their surroundings. If they looked a little silly, that was a risk they had to take.

...So they had no idea where they were, but there was sand.

Satisfied with their completely obvious conclusion, they continued their exploration. To their surprise, Flowey had already caught up with them, slightly slouched and distinctly scowling. For once, he hadn't seemed to immediately notice them.

"Howdy, there!" Clover greeted, attempting to crouch down to be closer to eye level but immediately realising that as 'not an option', "Is everythin' alright? Ya look a lil' bit, uh... upset."

Flowey startled slightly at their presence. He straightened his stem a bit, plastering a grin on his face.

"Well, that's not for you to worry about, is it?" he replied, "I just got into, say, a minor argument with..."

He faltered. For just a moment. Clover almost didn't notice.

"Someone I thought was a friend," he finished with a sigh, "They didn't even apologize."

Clover nodded. They wanted to comfort him, sure, but they... weren't sure if he'd take completely kindly to it. So they settled for giving him a smile they hoped was sympathetic.

"Are ya gonna be okay?" they asked, because that seemed like a decent starting point.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about me, pal. More importantly, are you alright? You've been out like a light the last few times I checked on you!"

This time, Clover was the one who hesitated. Flowey didn't need... the whole truth, right? Sure, they should have been honest, but they didn't need to make him more worried about everything.

"I'll be alright!" they answered, "Ain't the first rough fall I've taken these past few days."

"Wow, that's a good point! Maybe... don't take any more?" Flowey suggested, grin completely dropping, "Need I remind you that you're walking a very delicate tightrope? Not like you can come back if you drop dead here and now, ya know."

Clover, for once, chose to concede.

"Fine, fine. I'll... eat somethin', I guess."

They plopped themselves down next to Flowey, pulling one of the Snow Cones they bought from Mo out of their pocket at random. How it hadn't melted yet was beyond them.

"Aw, shucks, it's chocolate..." they said after taking a bite. They'd eat it, but of course this was what had to be saving their life.

"Not a chocolate fan?" Flowey asked, seemingly amused by the prospect, "That's a first. Feels like every human I've met loves the stuff."

"I just don't get why it's being used to flavour a snow cone. Aren't those usually more... I dunno, fruity?"

"You bought that from a shady merchant in the middle of nowhere. Besides, it's subsistence logic. Monster food. It's made with what people have. Gotta accept it for what it is, Gun-hat."

"Ain't it magic?"

"Golly, that's an uneducated viewpoint! Wow, you might as well just say you don't know anything about monster culture."

They went quiet for a few moments, expecting Flowey to correct them. When he didn't, they replied.

"Are you... gonna elaborate?"

"Now, why would I do that?"

With an annoyed huff, Clover resigned themselves to eating their Snow Cone Of Apparently Dubious Origin in silence. Once they finished, they stood up experimentally.

They felt like they were in less pain. But their leg wasn't working any better. Dang it, they... hoped that would do it. Maybe it would go away on its own. Maybe not. They could hope.

"Guess I should get goin', then," they said, looking further into the cavern and hoping Flowey wouldn't notice anything off, "See ya up ahead, then?"

"Yeah. Keep an eye out, yeah? Not sure how good a watchplant I can be, so..."

"Got it."

With one final glance back at Flowey, Clover continued forwards.

A vast desert greeted them, suspiciously bright for the Underground; looking up, some approximation of the Sun. Absolutely sweltering, but at least Clover felt dressed for the occasion.

They stepped over a few dried plants, continuing on their way. Walking through sand with only one leg at full operating capacity was a difficult task, sure, but the "main pathway" seemed more packed down. It left minimal room for detours, but was a lot less painful. Physically and emotionally.

They spent a few minutes entertaining a Dunebud. That wasn't a detour. That was just enjoyable. They could still have fun, after all.

Everything went fine until they came across a sandstorm warning. However that worked, Clover had no idea. Worse yet, the sign was... poorly vandalized.

"We broke the fan!" it read instead, answering Clover's question implicitly, "Now we have no idea when the sand will kick up! Trespassers beware, we're sorry to everyone else! -Moray"

Figuring it couldn't be that bad, they took a hesitant step forward. Almost immediately, they were blasted by a sandy gust, forcing them back to the sign. This pattern continued for several minutes, and Clover got no closer to making any significant progress.

After another rather embarrassing failure that (thankfully) no one else bore witness to, they finally stepped back to try and observe a pattern in the storm's behaviour.

It looked like it was supposed to start every thirty seconds or so. The exact range felt inconsistent at best, but it was a starting point.

Taking a deep breath, Clover waited for the wind to die down and hurried forwards to the best of their ability, making it behind a pillar before it started again.

Great. Now to do that... however many more times.

...

Clover wasn't entirely sure how long it took exactly to make it through the storm, but they remembered it being very long and painful. They leaned against the side of the rather large fan that was seemingly causing the sandstorm, immediately deactivating it.

It let out a painful-sounding wheeze before shutting off. They weren't sure they could reactivate it even if they wanted to.

"Gah- thank you!" a monster nearby called as the fan shut off, "It was bad enough before those four ruffians broke the fan. I'm trying to irrigate here."

"You're... tryin' to what?" Clover replied. Sure enough, the monster had a handful of pipes in their claws, and was semi-frantically searching for a place to lay them.

"Haven't you heard? Foreman wanted us to lay these pipes down. Somethin' about groundwater. I don't know. Not paid to study the specifics, but it's apparently a good thing! He was in contact with the Royal Scientist about it!"

"Ah. Good luck with that?"

The monster kept looking around for a few seconds before looking over at Clover, and tilting their head.

"Say, mind helping a monster out, kid? Just..." they tossed a single metal pipe Clover's way, "Put that somewhere that looks fitting. I gotta get back to work."

They didn't want it, but they had a metal pipe now. Further questioning proved useless, so they gave the fan one last cursory glance before continuing forward.

Clover found Flowey again surprisingly quickly; under a shockingly well-off tree. His eyes were closed and he didn't respond to their approach, so they decided to leave him alone. No use waking him up for presumably little information.

That didn't mean they couldn't mess with him just a little bit, though.

They stepped forward slowly, before planting the metal pipe they were apparently wielding into the ground in front of Flowey. They let out a quiet laugh before walking off, continuing forwards and...

To a dead end. Apparently. Nothing but a small table and an empty cup, which-

"What's that ol' empty cup doin' there, I hear ya asking?"

Oh boy.

"That's a good question," Clover replied with a nod, "What's the deal with it?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!" Mo answered, sliding forwards and shoving the cup aside. It shattered on the ground, but he didn't seem to care. "That, my good friend, was completely useless! And not just 'cause the water in it evaporated!"

They were quietly amused, simply choosing to let Mo continue his sales pitch.

"Water. Plain ol' H2O. I'll tell you the secret, kid. It's last season. No one cares about it anymore. But you know what they're all talking about?"

He snapped his fingers, a another stand appeared from absolutely nowhere.

"THIS!" Mo announced, clapping his paws together once, "Water, but with stuff in it, for flavour!"

"Couldn't that be anything?" Clover asked.

"PROBABLY! This ain't just anything, though-" Mo grabbed a spare container of what appeared to be iced tea and drank half of it in one go, "-it's leaves. Leaf water, ripe for the drinkin'. So good, you'll forget your heatstroke! What do ya say, only 20G each."

"...Wasn't your stuff 15G in Snowdin?"

"Listen, kid. You gotta raise prices sometimes."

...

They bought one of each. Again. They weren't even sure if Mo's sales pitches worked, they were just... amusing. It never hurt to give him a bit of money.

...Even if they only had 20G now. They'd get more somehow.

"Dang, really?" Mo said, pocketing their change, "You've got taste, kid. I'll tell ya that. Unfortunately, I'm all out of goods! That said..."

He shoved his stand aside, and it also fell to pieces. Mostly splintered wood that brought back rather unfortunate memories, but also...

Was that a broken air conditioner? Weird.

"MO OUT!"

"Let me get this straight. You bought that shady guy's stuff again?" Flowey asked as they returned to the tree, eyes still closed.

"Mhm! I think he's silly!" Clover answered, because he was!

"He woke me up, Gun-hat. First nap I get in days, and it's interrupted."

Flowey opened one eye for the express purpose of glaring at them, only to immediately go completely still. His tone turned completely flat.

"Why's there a pipe in front of me," he... stated, more than asked.

Clover had to stifle a laugh, responding with a "no idea" that was flagrantly untrue.

"Gun-hat. Why is there a pipe in front of me."

"Some guy gave it to me!"

"WHY???"

"I don't know! But it's mine now! There has to be some use for it, right?"

Flowey, judging by the look he gave them, did not agree with them. Instead of grilling them further, he summoned a vine and knocked the pipe over. Clover picked it back up and... pocketed it somehow. They were getting used to the weird item shenanigans. They... were sort of running out of pocket space, though. Hopefully they could hand off the pipe eventually.

"Any idea what's next for me?" they asked, looking towards another path to their right.

"Nope. Never really been to these parts. You got all sorts of lost, buddy," Flowey answered, "What's good is that you have time. If I've never been here, the kid's definitely never been here."

"Mm," and, a thought striking them, "Why don't you call 'em by their name? They have one, don't they?"

"Well, that's because I..." his face literally shrank, turning into a nervous smile, "Don't. Actually. Know it. Never asked, and they never told me."

Clover nodded. It felt a little dehumanizing, though. Sure, they didn't know any real motives, but... that other human was still a person, weren't they? Maybe they could ask if they ever had to.

"What's it to ya, anyway?" Flowey asked, "'Specially since you're trying to avoid them. Doesn't really matter what we call them, then!"

"I guess, just..." they shrugged, letting out a sigh, "They're puttin' in a lot of energy to hurt someone they don't even know. Why would they?"

Flowey's expression turned... bitter, maybe? The same expression he had when they spoke to him back at the Resort. It was still an odd look on him.

"Because they're a coward who doesn't know when to give up," he said, "and that kind of softness is gonna get you killed if you don't drop it. I couldn't get through to 'em, so they're clearly set on this."

"Maybe."

Clover turned to keep moving, letting out another sigh. They looked back at Flowey, who still looked annoyed.

"But I'd like to think there's somethin' more to them."

There were a frankly absurd amount of rocks blocking the way forwards, and another vandalized sign saying that "Mooch was here" on top of an introduction to the East Mines. Seeing no other way forwards, they stepped into the mines.

They could only hope that it would still take them where they needed to go.

Chapter Text

A map had been found. A plan, formulated.

A whir of noise greeted Clover as they stepped into the East Mines. It was an open space, clearly well-explored and equally well-maintained. They didn't see anything worth mining here specifically, though, so... they weren't entirely sure what the monsters they could see were doing.

Oh, well. That wasn't their business, so if-

They sidestepped a minecart that was distinctly headed their way, and made a mental note to avoid walking on the tracks from therein.

(Someone yelled "Ay, kid! Stay out of the way!" as they did. Clover spent several seconds apologizing.)

Better yet, they found a new belt buckle that they chose to believe they weren't stealing. If it didn't raise their defence, they didn't know what would.

They traversed through the first few rooms, adjusting a set of tracks to get a door open - why a mine had puzzles was beyond them, but they weren't going to complain.

"Nice work," a monster told them as they headed forth, "I would've helped, but... nah."

They did their best to ignore that. Anything Clover could have said in response would've been surely unwelcome. They could hold their tongue, and hopefully never have to talk to that monster again. Nothing wrong with a bit of wishful thinking.

It was a simple enough task, actually. They weren't sure if they'd ever come back through here, so-

...The elevator, seemingly the only way forwards, was blocked off by a poorly painted block of wood wedging the door open. "FF WAS HERE" was poorly carved into the end facing them.

"Uh," they said, more to themselves than anything, "How long has that been here?"

"Oh, it's off and on," someone responded, tugging their hard hat back down, "Ever since the Four started leavin' the Wild East more often, there hasn't been a month without... well, this. I'm missin' work for this, you know. Can't even imagine what those guys were thinkin'..."

Clover stepped forwards, trying to dislodge the beam with their bare hands. It didn't even budge...

They were getting kind of sick of being inconvenienced by wood, to be honest.

"How do ya... usually get rid of 'em?"

"Whatever we have, usually. I'll let ya figure it out. Look around. Someone probably has somethin'."

Clover sighed, leaving the miner and the pickaxe they very clearly had to wait by the blocked off elevator.

"You're looking for a pickaxe or something?" the same monster from before asked as Clover returned to the room, "Can't help you. Sounds like too much work to find mine."

"...Can ya at least point me to someone who has one?" Clover replied.

A moment's thought, and then they were pointed to the other end of the mines. It wasn't a very specific direction, but it was better than nothing.

They walked off, yelling a "thank you!" as they did, to no response.

...

Clover quickly discovered that the East Mines were far larger than anticipated. They got lost, letting out a frustrated huff as they got stuck on another minecart-based puzzle and wondering yet again why a mining company needed puzzles.

And they swore there was some humanoid creature carved into a wall off the main path! They didn't even know how they got there- who was Everyman, anyway?

They found what looked like a conveyor belt after making their way back to what could be deemed the path most travelled. A green slime monster was staring at it, occasionally reaching out to poke a gemstone.

"'Scuse me," Clover greeted politely, walking up to them, "Elevator got blocked again. Have a pickaxe I could borrow?"

The monster startled, before looking at Clover neutrally.

"Well, I'm working here. I sort of need my pickaxe. Unless you have something that could pay for my lunch."

...They were relatively certain they did not have enough money to pay for this monster's lunch break. Dang it, Mo. It was definitely his fault that all they had was-

Well, they had some food and a metal pipe. Worth a try."

"Could this help?" they asked, holding the pipe out. The monster took it, inspecting it like it were something far more intriguing than a metal pipe a stranger gave them.

"Well, it'd help with the irrigation project the foreman's in on... maybe it would earn me his good favour..." came the muttered response, "What the hell. Take the pickaxe, kid."

Clover took the pickaxe, pocketing it with a smile.

"Thanks."

"Don't sweat it."

They made their way back to the elevator, only getting turned around once this time. When they did, they took out the pickaxe, swinging and breaking the wood in a few hits.

...And also shattering the pickaxe in the process. Whoops. Hopefully that monster wouldn't mind.

"Not gonna lie. That was kind of disturbing," the hard hat-wearing monster stated as the elevator hummed to life, "Good work."

Clover stepped into the elevator, waiting for the monster to enter as well before they hit the button for the next floor.

The Mines were surprisingly nice, once they ignored every other factor. They were able to help out a Bowll, solved another puzzle, and continued on their way.

They weren't sure where the monster travelling with them went, exactly, seeing as the path only went one way (and yet Clover couldn't see them anymore). But that was okay, they thought, as they stepped out of the Mines onto an overlook.

Where boulders were falling. From what appeared to be the sky. That was a nice touch, if it didn't risk them getting a severe concussion. They could see the shadows before the rocks risked hitting them, so...

Carefully, they weaved their way past the overlook, only having to dodge a rock last minute a few times. They were, however, proud to say they made it unscathed. However hard it may have been while mostly incapable of running was something Clover didn't need to touch on.

They made it back into another sector of the Mines, to a desk where an older looking fish(?) monster was standing.

"Howdy there, kid!" he greeted with a small wave and a tip of the hardhat he was wearing, "This mine isn't really a place for monsters your size, you know?"

Well, they weren't a monster, so they were probably okay!

"I'm just passin' through," Clover responded, tipping their hat in return, "The main path was, uh, blocked off, so I had to come this way."

"Was it? Dagnabbit, I told Moray to keep their friends away from the mines..." he cleared his throat, and then nodded at Clover again, "Give me some time, I'll get it fixed."

Whoever these friends were, they were starting to seem like trouble. More importantly...

"Are you the Foreman, then?" they asked, tilting their head, "Heard some of the monsters around talkin' about ya."

"Only good things, I hope..!" the Foreman replied with a nervous laugh, "But yes, that's me. I've been running the East Mines for... well, however long. Tried to retire way back when, but... figured I'd keep the position until things in the Wild East passed over."

"Wild East? What's goin' on there?"

"Hopefully nothing you'll need to worry about. A fight between friends, really... worrying, but sometimes problems happen, yes?"

"Gillbert, we've talked about this," a monster next to him chimed in, "This has been going on for two years. It might not be just any old fight."

"Right, right... sorry, Angie..." he replied, before turning his attention back to Clover, "If you see them, will you tell them to come talk to us at some point?"

Clover made a saluting gesture, before continuing forwards once more.

A minecart and a lengthy path awaited them. They hopped inside and rode it forwards.

The gems of the cavern shined around them, undisturbed except by the occasional clang of a pickaxe in the distance. Clover closed their eyes, taking a bit to enjoy the silence. It felt like a rare bit of calm compared to the rest of their time Underground, and they took it for what it was worth.

Until the minecart clattered to a stop, and they hopped out.

They took care of another slightly infuriating minecart puzzle, found a monster's hard hat, and finally made their way out of the East Mines.

They found themselves on another overlook, able to see half the Underground. And the giant rock that made the Dunes' "sun". It was a nice view, quieter than even the minecart ride was. They kept moving, enjoying the silence.

And yet...

They couldn't help but feel like they were being followed. Clover glanced around, slowing their steps even further while trying to figure out who was following behind them.

Maybe if they were quiet enough, they would avoid suspicion and- oh, no, someone just landed in front of them.

"Halt! I, El Bailador, have tasked myself with confrontation!" he said, straightening himself out and looking at Clover.

He was twice their height and... masked, perhaps? His cape flowed in the wind, blue, red, and green.

That was a lie. There was no wind here, to their knowledge. That didn't seem to stop his cape, though.

"The air is much too quiet! Too dreary! You make no noise when you move!" El Bailador continued, "Where is your RHYTHM? Your FEELING? If I did not know any better, I would call you a Sentinel of Silence! No, no... this will not do!"

Clover raised an eyebrow, the floor below them turning the same colour as El Bailador's cape.

"Prove to me that you have what it takes! I challenge you... to DANCE!" he grinned, pointing at them, "To truly find oneself, you must ignite the passion within! Let us duel!"

They stared at him in silence for a few seconds, something that seemingly upset him. El Bailador huffed, sliding to one side of the corridor.

"It has been years since I have seen a new apprentice! Show me what you can do!"

The floor beneath Clover lit up in parts, and they clumsily stepped aside onto them as the lights approached. It was... somewhat enjoyable, if not tiring.

They couldn't help themselves. They smiled slightly. El Bailador smiled back, continuing to monologue.

"Ah, that was much too simple! Try this!" he said, flourishing his hand and lighting up the floor below Clover once more. They fell into step, a bit more confidently this time.

When they made the unfortunate error of missing one step in the dance, the floor itself scorched some of the life out of them. They held a hand to their chest, took a deep breath, and continued moving.

It wasn't horrible. They didn't consider themselves a dancer by any means, and this was by no means the easiest thing they had ever done, but... well, Clover would take it over someone who genuinely wanted their blood any day.

"Do ya challenge everyone you see to a dance-off?" they asked, though not unpleasantly.

"Only some! The ones who need it most! Like you!" El Bailador answered, "This is what I live for! A life without dance is a life without joy!"

Clover tilted their head, almost forgetting to keep stepping in sync with the floor and getting lightly scorched again. Nonetheless, they couldn't keep a bemused smile off their face.

"You're one of them extroverted types, then?"

"Indeed! A world of solitude is one I do not wish to find myself in! The Underground is much too depressing, you see! Perhaps a bit of joy is all anyone here truly needs!"

Blue, green, red, blue, red, green, blue. Clover could feel a rhythm, not unwelcome.

Frankly, it was also raising their competitive spirit. They needed to prove themselves somehow, and they were readily enjoying doing it was only a bonus. Even if they were still far quieter than El Bailador likely wanted.

Some things would never change, after all.

"Even with everythin' goin' on? Seems kinda hopeless to me."

"It is a sad, sad situation, yes! But it is not always sad for I!" another dance, the floor lighting up that part of the Dunes in a multi-coloured hue, "I make time for happiness! For vigour! Joy is not a quiet virtue, and I can only hope it is contagious!"

"Maybe a bit of sadness is okay, though. Helps ya remember what's really important."

"Perhaps so! But too many let it consume them! They let their rage become the only thing they know, until even a helping hand is too much! I seek to prevent that wherever possible!"

After making a step that they miscalculated the distance of, Clover landed face first on the ground. They struggled back to their feet, only for El Bailador to pause his movements and offer a hand to get them back upright.

"Thanks," they said, sipping at an absolutely rancid tasting iced tea to keep their spirits up.

"It is my pleasure! After all, the finale will not be as enjoyable if not all are participating!"

Clover could barely get out a "the what" before the floor started glowing spectacularly, at a speed where they could barely keep up. If they messed up once, they would lose rhythm entirely and get burned twice more before catching back up.

Once the onslaught ended, Clover doubled over to catch their breath, taking a moment before-

Well, before the floor started glowing again, faster this time.

They weren't sure how they survived relatively unscathed, but they were about ready to fall over once the attack ended entirely.

"Huff... You have proven your passion, little one!" El Bailador stated, the floor returning to normal, "I apologize if this was strenuous on your health!"

Clover gave him a weary thumbs up.

"Don't worry about it. I've had worse," they reassured, "Never been danced to death, though..."

"Alas! I understand that you may not love the art of dance as much as I. Perhaps you have other means of happiness?" he mused, scratching his chin, "I have never considered that for quiet monsters such as you. Ah, well! I hope your day has at least been brightened!"

"It has. Thanks, El Bailador," they said, and it wasn't a lie.

"Right! I wish you a fulfilling journey! Farewell!"

And then he leaped off the cliff-face and into the distance. Clover was relatively certain they could see him running a hundred feet below them.

Huh.

Finishing their iced tea and reinvigorating themselves, Clover continued forwards, trying vaguely to process that encounter.

They came across a lift, seemingly jammed by... something. Reaching up, they found what looked to be a satchel, taking it and throwing it over their shoulder. That certainly solved the inventory problem. And the lift problem!

Clover stepped onto the lift, being taken back to the base of the mountain. The boulders that blocked their path were already cleared, much to their surprise. That Foreman worked quickly, apparently!

They continued on, carefully treading over a patch of flowers and what may have been the smallest stream of water they had ever seen, the rickety set of pipes that created it seeming to lead back to the Mines. They were careful not to jostle it too much, nor to disturb the woman contentedly working away at tending the flowers.

"Gosh, you don't have to worry, hun!" she said, as Clover was about to leave, "You weren't botherin' me any!"

They paused, glancing back.

"Sorry, ya just... seemed focused," they replied, offering their hand to shake, "Name's Clover."

"Pedla!" she replied, shaking their hand, "Nice to meet you. I have to say, the Foreman's makin' my life a lot easier right now. It's not much water, but I've never seen these flowers look happier."

Clover gave the flowers a passing glance. They did seem well-loved, at least.

"Never had much of a green thumb myself," they stated after a moment with a self-deprecating laugh, "Most plants don't really like me."

"Don't be silly! Plants don't have the hatred in their hearts to dislike anyone, let alone you!"

(They momentarily thought of Flowey.)

"Hm. Well, I'll let ya get back to it then!" Clover said cheerfully, turning to leave again.

"Stay safe out there!"

They walked off with a small smile, leaving Pedla to her gardening. They saw movement a few ways ahead of them and took another step forward to investigate, when-

"Clover!"

Before they could process anything else, they were wrapped in a feathery hug.

Chapter Text

Clover blinked as they were incapacitated by Martlet in the span of about two seconds.

"Gosh- I'm sorry! I was looking for help, but then something came up, and then another thing came up, and it was a whole situation, and I couldn't get back to you-" Martlet explained, finally letting Clover go, "But since you're okay, that doesn't matter!"

Of course. They were fine, if they ignored all the things that were definitively Not Fine. Almost dying to El Bailador was certainly on that list.

"Takes more than that ta get me down," they replied with a shrug, "'Sides, this place has been nice! Kinda reminds me of home!"

(It didn't. Where they lived on the Surface was fairly temperate. They weren't sure why they were lying about that.)

"Even if you are fine, I promised I'd protect you! Agh, I hope you weren't too hurt!"

"I wasn't, promise!"

Clover wasn't sure how to feel about this. Someone was worrying over them for... seemingly no reason? Just out of concern? That was... something they couldn't quite wrap their head around. Dalv did that too, but they were sure he had his own reasons...

They couldn't place anything of the sort with Martlet. And it was kind of worrying.

"Well, then, I swear I won't fail you again!" She clapped her wings together with a smile, apparently oblivious to Clover raising an eyebrow at her, "I'll have your back until the end! And I can't mess up twice, right? We'll get you back to the Surface as soon as we can!"

...

Clover sighed. They would have to trust Martlet, they supposed.

"Ain't necessary to try so hard for my sake, ya know?" they said, "But I... 'ppreciate it. So... thanks."

"Aw, Clover! No need to thank me! Now c'mon, there's no time to waste!"

She fell into step next to them, and they continued to make their way through the Dunes.

The path eventually opened to... a settlement of sorts? Too small to be reasonably deemed a town, but more than just a few houses. Clover glanced to Martlet curiously, before gesturing around them; a silent question.

"Hm- oh! This is Oasis Valley!" Martlet answered, pointing to the sign that they immediately felt embarrassed for not noticing, "It's been a while since I've been here, honestly. Not since my old mentor..." she paused for a moment, before waving off the statement, "Well, that's nothing for you to worry about! Point is, it's been a while!"

"Huh."

They took a bit to look around; speaking to a handful of Frostermits for some reason, walking into someone's house and pocketing 20G from them...

(Look, they wouldn't do it normally, but they were still basically broke.)

Taking what was almost certainly a detour, they came across a large gate, apparently unlocked but too heavy for them to open. They pushed it once, and it didn't budge.

"Well, that was a bust," they sighed, "Guess that ain't a frontier I'm takin'."

"If who I think lives here still does..." Martlet began, taking a step closer to the gate herself, "Maybe it's for the best if we don't let ourselves in."

That was fair. Clover still gave the gate another experimental shove anyway, to no avail.

Shaking their head, they turned around and walked back to Oasis Valley.

To their surprise, Flowey was by the oasis itself, looking unusually nervous. Clover began to approach, but paused as he looked between them and Martlet, clearly debating. After a few moments, he relaxed slightly, and they took it as cue to walk forward.

"Howdy, there, Flowey!" they greeted, crouching down next to him, "Somethin' botherin' ya?"

"Just get the introduction over with first," Flowey replied, turning to look at Martlet, "Howdy, I'm Flowey, I'd rather not be here, but we both have a vested interest in Gun-hat's safety and something's currently very wrong. Can I talk now."

"I... guess?" Martlet answered, situating herself on the other side of Flowey, "If Clover isn't bothered by you, you're probably alright?"

"Great. Gun-hat, I was doing some re-con work, so to say-" he began, only for-

"Re-con? Are you tryin' to sound cool?" Clover interrupted. It wasn't anything that bothered them, but they... couldn't help but be amused by Flowey's dead serious expression.

"Yes, now SHUT UP AND LET ME TALK," he snapped back, "I can't find the kid. I feel like I've checked everywhere, and I haven't stumbled upon them yet. Either they've gotten really good at evading me, or they're somewhere I don't know about."

Ah. Well, that could be a problem. They had felt more comfortable when Flowey could report back to them.

"Is that... somethin' I should be worried about?" they asked instead of expressing that concern.

"Probably! Still doubt you can stop them from doing their thing, but... well, maybe if you keep your eyes open, you can avoid a knife to the back for a little longer. Which would be good for you!"

"Wait, slow down, I feel like I'm out of the loop here-" Martlet cut in, rubbing her temples and looking between Clover and Flowey, "What's going on?"

"Human. Wants Gun-hat dead for their own reasons. This is a bad thing," Flowey grumbled something about repeating himself before speaking again, "Trying to keep an eye on them both. Failing."

"Ah. Well- wait, a human?" she said, thinking for a minute before perking up, "Oh, I remember now! They- Captain Undyne, I mean- mentioned something about a human before I was fired, but... I didn't know that they were still alive! I figured someone would've gotten to them by now!"

"People like them," he stated simply, "Even if some of their better traits are... sort of hard to see sometimes. So long as they keep away from the King, no one bothers them."

"Gotcha. Well, I'll fly over when I get the chance and help you find them! Two sets of eyes are better than one, right?"

Ah. Right. That... seemed foreboding. Clover didn't doubt that Martlet would leave that human unharmed, but if it came down to it, they'd want to be sure that...

No one deserved to die just so they could live. That wasn't fair. And they needed to hold onto that.

"Hate ta ask, but... if either of ya find 'em," they said, putting their hands together, "Ah- don't hurt 'em too bad, will ya? I still wanna try and talk to them. I don't wanna assume they're awful without context."

Martlet responded with an "Wouldn't dream of it!" at the same time that Flowey said "THEY'RE STILL TRYING TO KILL YOU???" a little too loudly. When Clover gave him a pointed look, he seemed to lose enough steam to elaborate more properly.

"Sorry. Just..." he sighed, face contorting into something contemplative, "You're too optimistic, Gun-hat. But... I suppose you. Have my word. I guess."

"Good enough!" they replied cheerfully.

"Well, I think that's all I needed to tell you. I'll keep an eye out for you, just... try not to draw too much attention to me. Or to yourself."

"We'll do our best," Martlet said, "Thanks for doing this for Clover, though, Flowey. You're doing a good deed for them."

"That's- you- I don't-" Flowey seemed momentarily bewildered at the statement, before going back to a smug smile, "Don't get used to it."

And then he was gone. Clover got back to their feet, putting their hands in their pockets as they regarded the spot where Flowey was not even a minute ago.

"Weird kid," Martlet commented, standing back up as well, "He was trying, at least."

Clover couldn't disagree. She was right about at least one thing, they thought. Flowey wasn't too bad.

Finding the slightly run-down café was a moment of delight. A café meant food, and Clover personally was-

They didn't make it inside before someone ran past them, all but shoving them aside. A glance revealed- a humanoid figure with... were those cat ears? She was hauling an arcade cabinet with a mascot identical to her on it, a feral grin plastered on her face.

"Gotta run. Gotta run! GOTTA RUN! Out of my way!" she declared, bounding past Martlet and out of sight.

They watched as the exhausted looking employee behind the counter walked forwards and flipped the sign on the door to say "CLOSED".

Huh. Despite everything, Clover couldn't help but feel like an hour of their time was just saved. With a bemused smile, they turned around, made their way down the only other route and out of Oasis Valley, Martlet behind them all the while.

Nothing of note was on the path until Martlet stopped them by a rusted-looking well, holding out a wing.

"Hey, wait a minute! You know, it's an old tradition down here; you toss a coin into a well, and make a wish!" she said, "I'd make one, but... well, I left my wallet in Snowdin."

Clover hummed in response, approaching the well. They did have the same tradition back home. Maybe there was merit to it, if it was here too... Or not.

Either way, they reached into their pocket and handed Martlet a single piece of gold.

"Knock yourself out," they replied with a smile.

Martlet nodded and walked forwards, holding the coin to her chest for a moment.

"Let's see..." she said, her expression turning a little more solemn, "I wish I could feel satisfied with the work I do for once."

Clover gave her a moment, stepping back until they heard the coin clink against the bottom of the well.

"Sorry," Martlet finally added, "I wanted to make one for you, but... I guess that was... bubbling under the surface for a while, and since I had a chance... well, feel free to make a wish of your own!"

They paused. They could, but... was there any merit to that? Martlet seemed to think so, at least. And this whole place was magic, so... maybe there would be.

They fished through their pocket for another coin, holding it above the well.

They wished...

They wanted to get up to more misadventures with Martlet. To have another talk with Dalv over a cup of rapidly cooling coffee. To get to understand Flowey better.

They wanted to live, however selfish that would be.

They wanted so much. But how much could they really ask for?

"I wish I could remember all of this forever," Clover finally decided, letting go of the coin and looking back to Martlet with a sad smile, "I'm ready to go when you are."

"Right," she replied, raising a wing to above Clover's shoulder before thinking otherwise, "I hope your wish comes true, kid."

...

They did, too.

Immediately afterwards, Clover ended up standing there as Martlet started talking about a carriage for five minutes. They didn't interrupt.

"It's well-made, actually," she commented, motioning towards the carriage with her wing, "Can't help but wonder who made it! I'd love to talk to them about something like this!"

They nodded politely. If the Foreman was right, then...

"Ain't the Wild East near here?" they suggested, "Maybe there's someone there you could ask."

"Oh, maybe!"

Martlet kept considering the carriage, until-

Someone poked their head out, a fish monster with a beret. They seemed... irate, but in a way that seemed relatively facetious.

"Hey! We've got some secret operations going on here!" they shouted, "Keep moving! Please! And don't tell the Sheriff about this!"

"Sorry, sorry! I didn't know there was someone living here!" Martlet replied, scrambling a few feet away.

"No, don't worry about it. You didn't know. But you didn't see or hear anything, got it?" they flashed Clover and Martlet a grin before retreating back into the carriage.

Clover looked at Martlet, shrugged, and continued forwards.

The path opened up into a proper Western town, and Clover couldn't help but look around in awe. This was... shockingly close to how all the movies they watched were. They felt right at home, tugging their hat a bit further over their head and giving Martlet a smile.

"This ain't what I expected, but I like it!" they said, still looking around.

"It's a bit quiet, isn't it? You'd think people would be around if it's an entire town..." Martlet replied, a bit warier, "Still, if you want to take a look around, I-"

"HALT!" someone called out, and the two of them froze.

Clover looked up, as a monster approached; hat pulled over their head, its teal highlights seemingly painted over with a more neutral brown colour.

"Yer enterin' the Wild East. As the Sheriff of these parts, I need ta demand ya state yer names and businesses."

Martlet took a step forwards, holding a wing out to try and protect Clover.

"I'm Martlet. This is Clover. We were just passing through," she explained nervously, "But if you're going to hurt them, you'll... have to get through me."

"Hurt 'em? Nah, you've- you've got the wrong idea! My job's ta keep an eye out on the people, not ta shoot any monster who comes through... Protection! That's the job of a sheriff! Everyone's countin' on ol' North Star!"

"Oh. In that case, can you point us to the way out of here?"

"Gladly! Ya just take a right, then a left, and open the giant gate to-" then North Star froze, looking at Clover like he had just realised something very important, "That's a human! Ya have a human with ya?"

Martlet looked away from him, picking at one of her feathers.

"No, that's... not a human. Yes. Right," she stated, "Not a human."

North Star, instead, took a step closer to Clover, practically inspecting them.

"Howdy..?" they said awkwardly.

"Howdy yerself! Gosh, I can't believe yer actually a human! I'm actually meetin' a human!" North Star replied, suddenly giddy with excitement, "Yer comin' with me, kid! As for you, Feathers..."

"I resent that," Martlet muttered in response.

"Hate ta be an inconvenience, but I can't really have ya reportin' a human to anyone. Or fightin' me. Two versus one ain't exactly fair. Do ya mind, uh..." he pointed to the jail across the town, "Goin' in there for a bit? Pretty please?"

Clover raised an eyebrow. He was going to... no, they could tell Martlet to get out of here. She'd probably listen, wouldn't she?

"Martlet, you're not gonna... actually do that, right?" they asked.

"Well, he asked kind of nicely, Clover..." she answered, a wing going to the back of her neck, "Listen, I won't be far! We'll get through this too, it'll just... be a bit of a detour! Another one!"

...North Star had asked politely. Even if this was a worrying development, Clover couldn't argue that he was being courteous about it.

They sighed.

"Fine," they conceded, even if the prospect of feeling abandoned again wasn't great, "I'll... be back for ya, okay?"

"Relax! Really, I'll be fine!" Martlet replied, already heading towards the jail like this was only a minor inconvenience and not imprisonment.

Once she was gone, North Star turned his attention back to Clover.

"Right! I gotta show everyone in town!" he exclaimed, before picking up Clover by the scruff and walking towards the saloon, them in tow.

They weren't entirely sure why they were letting this happen. But they were. Maybe it would be fun, and he didn't seem intent on hurting them...

They sighed. This was their life now, they thought as North Star took a moment to chat with someone lingering outside the saloon.

"Is that... bothering them?" a tall fox lady asked, motioning to how North Star was holding Clover like one would a small cat. The situation itself wasn't uncomfortable, just bizarre. They were halfway through a 'no not really' when North Star interrupted instead.

"Ceroba, you and I both know that humans are s'posed to be way hardier than that!" he said proudly, "I'll put 'em down in a minute anyway!"

The woman- Ceroba, apparently- gave a shrug, a smile crossing her muzzle that suggested she was very used to this set of circumstances.

The two of them waved politely to each other, and Ceroba gave Clover a curious look, before North Star carried them into the saloon, door swinging shut behind him.

Chapter Text

A gate had been found. Unfortunately, it was locked from the other side.

"LISTEN UP, Y'ALL!"

Clover was unceremoniously dropped into a stool, looking out across the saloon at the crowd of monsters. North Star pat them on the head with a grin, giving them a thumbs up before turning his attention back towards everyone else.

The room fell into hushed whispers as he spoke, seemingly a mixture of amusement and slight disdain at the interruption.

"This here's Clover!" he exclaimed, motioning a hand towards them. They waved politely. "And that's not all!"

The whispering became louder. North Star just pat Clover on the head again.

"Clover here is a human! If y'all don't recall, I'm somethin' of an expert on humans! Their fancy weapons, their shootouts at high noon..."

Someone sitting at the other end of the saloon raised their hand.

"Does it bite?"

"Well, that's-" North Star's voice dropped to a whisper, "Do ya bite?"

...Clover just smiled in response.

"I'll never tell!" they replied.

"Right. I'm sure they won't!"

The quiet discussion amongst the actual paying customers continued for a few moments before, from outside the saloon, Ceroba piped up.

"Oh my god, Star. They're a kid. Every kid bites people, that's what kids do," she said, loudly enough for Clover to hear her perfectly.

"EITHER COME INSIDE OR STAY OUTTA THIS!" North Star retorted, but he was laughing, "Right, right. I'll be keepin' an eye on them while they're here. I'm sure they'll be a model citizen in no time! 'Cause, heck, we all know we've needed a hero, since-"

A loud crash came from outside. Clover could hear Ceroba sigh, saying something they couldn't hear to someone they couldn't identify.

"Well, since that," he clarified immediately, which did not help matters at all, "Relax, it's just part of things. You ain't in danger, Clover."

That was not what they were concerned about whatsoever. They nodded all the same.

"Who, exactly, am I not in danger from..?" they asked.

"Just some old pals. Ain't anything serious. We'll all be fine so long as they don't-"

Another crash, and the door swung open. North Star gave a long, drawn out sigh. He hopped down from the stage, voices following him all the while.

"It's the Four!"

"They're back again?"

"Man, I wanted to finish my drink..."

"Hehehe, can we do a villain intro?" the shortest of the four asked, tugging on the sleeve of- oh, that was the fish monster from earlier!

"I don't see why not," they replied, "Ed? Will you do the honours?"

"Gladly, Moray," he- Ed- cleared his throat, before striking a pose, "Presenting the scourges of the Wild East! The enemies of justice in all its forms-"

"Wait, I thought we were the ones here for justice!" the shortest interrupted.

"Dammit, Mooch, you're right for once. Ignore that part!"

Clover snickered. This was absolutely rich.

"May we get to the point, please?" the fourth said, tugging his hat further down his face.

"If you insist, Ace," Ed replied, "Edward! Moray! Mooch! Ace! We're-"

"Don't say the darn name," North Star threatened(?), hand going to his holster, "I came up with it, I should be able to keep it."

The four of them went silent for a moment, before Mooch stepped forward, a hand resting under her chin.

"We're the Feisty Four!" she declared proudly, causing North Star to let out another long, dramatic sigh, "And we're-"

Ace nudged her, pointing to Clover.

"And we're being replaced," he stated, causing Clover to immediately throw their hands up.

"I dunno what's happenin'!" they replied defensively, "Leave me outta this!"

"Maybe we should believe the kid," Moray whispered, "Keep an eye out for now and all."

"They are just sittin' there..." Ed nodded, "We could come back for 'em at some point..?"

"Ooh, a new heist!" Mooch said, "Sounds fun!"

"You leave Clover out of this!" North Star exclaimed, motioning to them dramatically, "I found the human, I'm gonna be the one to-"

Ace reached forward and tugged North Star's hat down, leaving him temporarily blinded. He didn't react all the while.

"Too many people around right now to do anything," he said with a shrug, "We'll get a chance eventually."

Before North Star could so much as fix his hat, the four of them had turned around and hurried out the door. The saloon quickly returned to regular conversation, like this was simply a regular occurrence that everyone had learned to deal with.

It probably was, now that Clover thought about it. It probably was.

"Alrighty," North Star said, righting himself and making his way back over to them, "That- didn't quite go as planned, but... I s'pose this works! Yer gonna need some trainin', in case they come back, so..."

He went quiet for a moment, scratching his chin thoughtfully. Eventually, he grinned and continued speaking.

"Well, I'll let ya loose for a bit. Come back when yer ready to learn the ways of a real cowpoke!"

He pat Clover on the back, effectively launching them off of the stool and to their feet. They gave him a wave before hopping off the stage and looking around the saloon.

Spotting a particularly disgruntled looking whale, they approached and tilted their head.

"It's the mail system," he lamented before they could even ask, "It's all either vandalized or decrepit, kid! I'm out of a job because of folks not appreciating a good letter anymore!"

"...Sorry?" they replied, not entirely sure what to make of this, "At least you're alive, right?"

"And I don't have to rhyme anymore... Maybe there is some good in this, huh, kid?"

...

Feeling slightly more confused than they were a few seconds ago, Clover walked away from him.

They spoke with a few more of the monsters around; a large group who were seemingly all cheating at poker in different ways, a few tourists who had apparently come from New Home...

("We tried to come through the Steamworks, because that's quicker than going through Waterfall or Hotland. But the door was closed. The only person waiting there didn't seem too happy to have company, so we found another way around. And now we're here! Hope they didn't mind us not telling them..."

"For the best," someone else interjected, "The door only unlocks from this side. You'd just be waiting there until someone opened it.")

It was a happening place, sure, and the noise was starting to wear them down. Giving the saloon a final passing glance, they stepped outside, closing their eyes and enjoying the relative silence for a few minutes.

When Clover opened their eyes, it was to Ceroba glancing over at them, leaning against the wall of the saloon.

"You holding up okay?" she asked, "I get Star can be a lot. If you want, I can tell him to tone it down."

Clover shook their head.

"He's fine. S'just loud in there," they answered, "Thanks, though."

Ceroba nodded, looking out towards the Wild East, seemingly focused on the bell in the centre of town. Or she was just staring into space. It was hard to tell.

"This town's gotten a lot bigger in recent years. I don't think Chujin could have ever anticipated this..." she trailed off, shaking her head, "Apologies. I'm thinking out loud."

"Who?"

"...He was my husband, until he..." Seeing Clover's expression of concern, she raised a paw to stop them, "Don't worry too much about me, Clover. It's been years, and... well, every day is easier than the last."

Still, they couldn't help a frown.

"Loss still hurts."

Ceroba's eyes widened, and she slowly bowed her head, letting out a sigh.

"It does. I suppose, then, that you've..?"

"Ah- well-"

Clover didn't like talking about it; they couldn't even really remember, it was stupid to still feel upset about it. They nodded, but then hurriedly searched for a different conversation topic. Hopefully she wouldn't pry.

"Why're ya standin' out here and not in there?" they asked.

"Oh. I'm banned from there. Unofficially," Ceroba answered, pulling a flask out from a pocket and taking a drink from it, "Once the saloon's business stopped being 50% me, Dina and I agreed it would be... preferable if I did not return."

"What about that, then?" They pointed at the flask.

"This? It's fruit juice. It's lukewarm and tastes awful, but it's a replacement."

Huh.

They settled into a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Once their mood felt a little more normal and a little less overwhelmed, they waved goodbye to Ceroba and walked back into the saloon, where-

A skeleton who almost certainly was not there when they left was sitting at what was an empty seat, sipping at a drink. He turned to them and winked.

"heya. you're a human, huh?" he asked.

...Clover didn't trust this guy. Something felt off about him.

"nah. don't worry about me. once every five years is enough for this skeleton."

He finished his drink (somehow) and reached in his pocket, inexplicably handing Clover a root beer before standing up and leaving.

They stared at where he was for a few confusing seconds before walking across the length of the saloon and tugging on North Star's poncho. He looked down at them, flashing them a grin.

"Well if it ain't the kid of the hour!" he said cheerfully, "Ready to begin yer first mission, then?"

"I guess!" Clover replied.

North Star nodded, leading them outside and ringing the bell a few times. For... some reason. He tipped his hat and cleared his throat, making a sweeping gesture around the Wild East.

"Alrighty! So, first things first, ya gotta-"

"Are you really sending them out looking like that?" someone called out from across the fence separating the Wild East from the rest of the Dunes. Ace, apparently.

"Well... yes?" North Star replied, scratching the back of his head, "Somethin' wrong about it?"

"Their hat's frayed and that gun's a toy. You don't have an apprentice, you have a joke. No offence to you, though, Clover."

Well, that felt a little rude.

"ALREADY ON IT!" he answered, "C'mon, Clover, I think I have a hat somewhere..."

They watched North Star rummage through his pockets, eventually (somehow) pulling out a hat that looked nearly identical to theirs. They took off their pair of goggles, tying them around the new hat and putting it on.

They felt the exact same, but certainly a little more stylish.

"Thanks," they said, "What about the gun?"

"That's... hm. I have an idea. Follow me."

He led them across town to an old shop, and knocked on the door a few times.

"If that's you, 'Sheriff', I'm busy. You weren't allowed in yesterday and won't be now. If I have to see ya tryin' to stop one more fake heist, I might fall down on the spot," someone yelled from inside.

"C'mon, Blackjack! It's important!" North Star said.

"I'm right in the middle of- can't a guy try to retire in peace?"

"What if we do business out here? Won't even step onto the porch or nothin'!"

...

The door opened, and Blackjack walked out, adjusting his glasses and seeming particularly annoyed.

"Well? Make it quick."

"Alright, no worries!" North Star threw out his arm, gesturing towards Clover proudly, "I was just gonna ask you to sell a gun to this child!"

...Blackjack immediately turned around and went back inside, slamming the door behind him.

"WAIT! That- this ain't a child. Just a very small, but very tough monster! Who needs-"

Silence. North Star sighed.

"I'll give ya 200G," he said, voice suddenly somehow a few pitches higher.

"WELL WHY DIDN'T YA SAY SO, PARDNER?" Blackjack replied, already reopening the door, "Come on inside, I'll get the paperwork!"

Clover was left standing there as North Star went inside the shop. They tapped their fingers against their side a few times, until-

North Star emerged, smile slightly more awkward, and handed them a revolver. They held it in surprise for a few seconds, eventually raising an eyebrow.

"This is for me?" they asked.

"Yup! Use it well. How about..."

He pointed them over to a shooting range.

"Try to hit one of 'em practise dummies. Don't worry, they ain't sentient."

With a firm nod, they stepped to the fence and raised the gun, eyes narrowed. After a moment, they fired; 6 times, each hitting the dummy square in its... chest? They turned back to North Star with a self-satisfied smile.

"How was that?"

"A little terrifyin', actually! But it looks like ya got the hang of it! Just keep that away from anyone who doesn't really deserve it, okay?"

Of course they would. They weren't in a hurry to enact any particular vengeance, and even then this could cause far too much damage...

They followed North Star back to the town square, where he nodded at them.

"Well, I guess that's that, huh? Yer first mission kinda went off track, but at least it'll shut Ace up. We'll get ta something special next time!" he said.

"Sounds good?" they replied, suddenly feeling a little concerned.

"Sure does! Well, ya know where to find me when yer ready!" he called out, already heading back towards the saloon.

They could do that now, but...

Clover looked towards the jail. Wouldn't hurt to check in on Martlet.

They walked inside, seeing three monsters (were they... cups?) in one cell, and...

Martlet sitting in the other cell with the door wide open, apparently acting like she was stuck for good.

"Clover!" she exclaimed, standing up and... still not leaving the cell, "Gosh, it feels like it's been forever!"

"It's... been maybe half an hour?" they said, "Oh well. Are ya... comfortable there?"

"It's not horrible, actually! Four guys broke in and gave me snacks a bit ago!"

...They were still relatively certain this was a prison of Martlet's own making, but they were happy to see their friend alright.

"How about you?" she asked, "Can't help but notice the new hat. You look even more human now!"

...A monster gave them this hat, though???

"Yeah, I'm North Star's new apprentice!" they explained, "He's apparently puttin' me through 'training'. Hasn't really... amount to much, yet."

"Well, that sounds important. If you're in training, I'll wait here! I'll keep trying to find a way out in the meantime!"

Clover gave Martlet a salute, leaving her to her (still very non-existent) imprisonment.

"Alright! Second mission!" North Star exclaimed, clapping his hands together, "Or... what was supposed to be the first one!"

He nodded, leaning against the bell tower with a grin.

"We'll be doin' a proper shootout. With fake guns, of course. It'll be fully safe, you won't have to worry about a-"

A crash sounded from a building nearby, and several gunshots rang out.

"That... was not part of the plan. That could be... hold on, Clover. I may have to deal with that. Sheriff's duty, and all..."

North Star ran forward, yelling a "WHAT'S GOIN' ON HERE?" as he did.

Well, he'd be busy for a while. They would just-

Before Clover could really move or try to get a better view of what was happening, they found themselves being thrown over Ed's shoulder.

"Got 'em!"

Their brow furrowed, and they instinctively tried to get out of his grip. To no avail. Accepting that this was their life now, they reached up to pull their goggles over their eyes. Just in case.

"Sorry, Clover. Only business," Ed said, hurrying to the end of town and hopping over the fence, "You're comin' with us."

Chapter Text

Clover, for the second time in the span of a few hours, found themselves unceremoniously dropped somewhere. This time it was inside of the carriage outside of the Wild East, where Moray and Ace were whispering something to one another.

"I'm simply saying that Midnight Crew is a cooler name."

"We don't have midnight here."

"It's the principle of the thing, Ace!"

Ed cleared his throat, and the two of them looked over accordingly.

"Ed?" Moray said, "What's- oh, you got Clover!"

Clover gave a small wave, because what else were they going to do?

"Uh- pardon me for askin', but what's exactly going on?" they asked, tapping two of their fingers together.

"Well, we had to get you away from Starlo somehow!" Ed explained, sitting himself down next to them.

Starlo? Was that... yeah, that was probably North Star. More importantly...

"...Why..?"

None of them had a response to that. A momentary lapse of silence fell before Ace piped up, crossing his arms.

"You could say you're our new protege," he stated, "Our methods will certainly be a bit more direct than the Sheriff's were. As justice often must be."

"Oh, come on! Don't scare them!" Moray interrupted.

"I was being honest."

The two of them immediately started bickering again, and Clover would've been concerned if it weren't for Moray clearly grinning. They supposed some friendships were just like that.

They looked around the inside of the carriage absentmindedly; a few decks of cards were in a corner, and one wall had a hammock tied to it somehow, with a spare magician's hat. Just in case, presumably. A pet bed was in another corner, with "PROPERTY OF MOOCH :)" written on it.

That... reminded them, actually. There were three of them, so where was-

"Hi, Clover!"

They all but jumped out of their skin. Mooch was sitting in front of them now, a mischievous smile on her face like she had been here the whole time.

"So, how's being a hostage? Pretty great, right?" she asked.

"It's. Fine? Y'all are fine? Still dunno what's goin' on? Where'd you come from???" they were really kind of getting tired of being so damn confused at this point, but... oh well.

"I was always here!"

"Nah, we sent her to distract Starlo," Ed said, "It's better not to think about how."

"We're now a few dozen gold richer!" Mooch added proudly.

"Dammit, Mooch, you've gotta stop robbing people! We're all about justice, not petty crime!"

Clover had seen enough of the Dunes to assume that the Four had, in fact, done a fair amount of petty crime. They'd probably broach the topic at some point. But, for now, they didn't have a motive established and thus could not assume anything.

...Nonetheless, they gripped their satchel a little tighter. Just in case.

"Any update on the jail situation?" Moray asked, "Or did you not have the time to look?"

"Both the cells were full!" Mooch answered, "Star couldn't put me in either, so he let me go!"

"That seems a little too simple," Ace interjected.

"I just had to say I was sorry this time!"

"So, uh, it's still on? We're gonna break someone out?" Moray leaned over to whisper to Clover immediately after, seemingly noticing their hesitation, "No one's in there who's dangerous. Think of it as... we're letting them stop acting in a show that they, maybe, didn't want to be in!"

Well, that seemed... fairer than just... a normal prison break. They could maybe let that happen. But they'd rather not have to run around again immediately.

"Do we have to go right now?" they asked, "Kinda sick of bein' run around the Dunes. Nice havin' a chance to... not."

"Not a problem at all," Ed said, "Gotta have naps in your schedule sometimes. For your spirit! Just... let us know when you're ready to get going, yeah?"

"Sure."

After a solid hour and a half of putting divine fear into Ace by beating him at cards repeatedly, Clover found themselves standing outside the Wild East's jail. They were, strictly speaking, on watch duty. Something about giving them the least important job in case they went back to North Star.

Which was fair. They would've done exactly that if they weren't kind of curious where this was going.

But also, they were hard-boiled enough! They could've easily taken on a bigger role! They would've done great!

If they tilted their head just right, they could see Ace picking a lock inside the jail cell; presumably not saving Martlet, then. Those other guys that they saw in there?

They looked around the Wild East. They could vaguely see North Star sitting down by the bell tower and kicking his feet; possibly talking to someone, but they couldn't quite hear.

They tugged their hat down when he looked up, trying not to make themselves too obvious. They couldn't just be immediately recognised in the middle of a crime! That wouldn't be fitting of North Star's apprentice!

...

...Still, the crashes from inside the jail felt ominous. Maybe they should look inside, just to-

The three cup guys from earlier slid past them, sending them reeling for a solid few seconds. When Clover recovered, it was to North Star standing up in a hurry.

They had to- they'd have to let the Four know about that, right? That was part of the mission statement. Grabbing their gun and hoping that no one was walking by, they fired three shots into the distance.

"Was that Clover?"

"Had to have been."

"Right. We should break out of here."

Clover watched as Ed punched a hole in the jail wall, and ran out with Ace, Moray, and Mooch in tow. He reached to grab them, when-

"Alright, what's goin' on?"

North Star crossed the length to the jail, and Clover bowed their head. Right, he was going to be disappointed. Because they sided with his weird cartoon rivals for a bit. Sure, they didn't really have a choice, but...

"You four get outta here. I'll, uh- I'll talk to him," they said.

"Are you sure?" Moray began from their position slung over Ed's shoulder, "It was-"

"Go on! Get!"

North Star began a protest, but Ed had already ran past him, this time towards the part of town where Clover believed Blackjack's shop was. Maybe there was something else over there that they weren't aware of. Or they were robbing that guy. It was hard to tell.

They lost the last bit of courage they had as North Star stared at them. They had to say something, right? To explain the property damage and escaped convicts?

"Ah- howdy, Sheriff. Uh- 'bout the whole prison break thing," they started, "You aren't, uh- too mad, right?"

"Not at you, at least," North Star replied, "This sorta thing is par for the course around here. I've seem 'em stir up a lot more trouble than releasin' a petty gang."

"Yeah. About that..." they trailed off for a moment, fully prepared to lie through their teeth, "This whole thing? I, uh- it was sorta my idea. They didn't want to at first, but I figured that... ya know, if they were gonna be outlaws, they should do somethin' big."

North Star paused for a few seconds, staring at their expression. They hoped they were being convincing enough; he'd probably be less harsh on them than he would the Four, right?

To their surprise, he... laughed? He pulled his hat down and cackled, shaking his head at them.

"All the humans, and I got a lil' scoundrel, huh?" he finally said, crossing his arms with a grin.

"You... huh?"

"It's entertainin', at least. Heck, I wouldn't have guessed ya had it in you!"

He's believing them???

They... might as well go along with it, then!

"Yeah. That's right, I'm, uh, betrayin' you! This is a betrayal!"

"Aw, say it ain't so!" North Star replied, shaking his head and clutching a hand against his chest, "I s'pose if you're a criminal now, then I gotta deliver justice, huh?"

He led them to the bell tower again, bowing his head.

"Ten paces back. Gotta be fair."

They obliged, walking away and turning back to him before pulling their goggles down over their eyes.

"Alright? What now?" they asked, more rhetorically than anything.

"What now? Dangit, it's time for a dual!"

...

It's pronounced duel???

North Star didn't seem to be trying particularly hard to hit them. Of course, Clover wasn't really doing anything to provoke him. They were willing to let him have his moment.

"Y'know, it's like I said. I didn't expect this," he said, summoning a handful of cans and blasting them open, trying to hit them with the shards, "Ya really could've been a good deputy. I saw that in what little time we were cooperatin'."

"Thank you..?" Clover replied, ducking out of the way of a can as it exploded in their general vicinity. They raised their gun, halfheartedly firing a warning shot and completely missing. They had to keep up the act for a while. He was clearly enjoying this.

"Anytime, pardner. Even so, I gotta make a statement." he fired their way, and they stepped aside accordingly, "Can't have my town descendin' into chaos like the Four want."

That... could've been an opening, actually.

"What happened with 'em? Ya just said they used to be your friends, but... no one's really given me anythin' close to an explanation."

North Star hesitated, taking the time to throw- was that a bomb? Clover was caught off guard, getting lightly charred by the edge of the blast.

"They, ah... grew tired of bein' part of my posse. Maybe I wasn't the nicest to 'em. I dunno. But I gotta keep goin', don't I? The people need a hero."

He wasn't smiling anymore, they noticed.

"Maybe they don't need a hero," they stated, "Maybe they just needed a friend. And ya weren't providin' that, or-"

"What do YOU know about providin' for people?" North Star snapped, causing Clover to flinch and take a step back, "I gotta do this, Clover. The people's hopes are more important than anythin' I may or may not feel."

Clover bowed their head. Right. Of course, what did they know. They weren't sure what they expected, really.

"Sorry. I just..." they stopped, sighed, and tried to rephrase, "If ya feel any sorta way about all this, then... maybe it's not too late."

He didn't answer, simply raising his gun and pointing it at them once more. He really was lost in it, then. They should've tried to hear more from the Four before all of this. They could've understood.

But they knew one thing. It wasn't too late to try and save Starlo from his own persona.

"I was willin' to play along with this villain act ya have goin', Clover," he grumbled, "But if yer really set on tearin' down everythin' I've built, well... I can't let ya do that."

They were able to step aside before he fired.

"What have ya built?" they asked, trying not to let their brewing mix of pity and exasperation show, "The townsfolk seem to only tolerate you, your old posse left... so I don't understand. What are you gainin'?

"I'm gainin' the hopes of folks. If I can make even one monster smile for just a day longer, I've won."

"Well... have you?"

Starlo froze. Just for a moment, his trigger hand faltered.

"Again, it ain't yer business! They want... they want someone to rely on. There's no news of any souls bein' collected, and who knows if we'll ever actually see the Surface. You're..."

He hesitated, looking them over.

"You're right. I'm not a hero. This is selfish, it's stupid, it's immoral. But if I can get your soul, everythin' will be better. They'll see I'm the hero I claim to be. Don't you understand?"

They wished they could.

He fired at them again. His hand was shaking.

"Starlo. It's... I dunno."

Clover needed to shut him up, somehow. If he kept monologuing, he'd keep digging this hole deeper.

They sighed. He hesitated for a moment, didn't he? Maybe if they kept talking?

"There's more than one way to be a hero. And sometimes that's just... not actin' like one. Tryin' to make yourself some big act, like you're everythin' everyone should want ta be? That's not what people want." they sighed again, absently shooting their revolver to block another tossed can from hitting them, "I dunno who Starlo is. And that kinda sucks, 'cause I think I'd like to!"

Starlo raised a hand to lower his hat further onto his face. His hands were shaking, and he let out a vague sound of frustration. It didn't feel directed at them.

"Gotta make it count..." he muttered. But he didn't fire at them.

They... well, if he wanted a concession from them, they supposed they could...

Clover dropped their revolver and raised their hands in surrender, brow furrowed.

"Well, go ahead, then."

It was a gamble. They just had to hope Starlo wouldn't.

"You... huh?" he replied after a moment, lowering his gun, "Just like that? Don't ya have any sense of preservation?"

"Clearly not!" they said cheerfully.

"I... no, I can't do this. Yer a kid, it'd be..."

With a long sigh, Starlo tossed his gun to the side, and turned his head away from them. They didn't expect that to actually work.

Neither of them said anything for a few long seconds. Eventually, he took a step closer to Clover and sighed.

"Maybe you're right. I was about to... well, I was about to put a bullet through your skull, just 'cause I wanted to feel important. I don't- I do like the shtick, but maybe I could... ya know, be a bit more me."

"That sounds... uh, that sounds good!" Clover replied, "Then, it's nice to meet ya, Starlo!"

Starlo snorted, shaking his head.

"Don't overdo it, Clover. But... same. Hope you can forgive me for all the trouble."

They dismissed the notion with a wave of their hand, like it was a mild inconvenience and not almost getting shot.

"You'll be fine in my book once ya talk to the Four," they said amicably.

"Right. 'Course. You mind helpin' me catch up to 'em when it comes time?"

"I don't mind. Y'all definitely need to have a conversation."

Starlo nodded, and crouched down to bump his fist against theirs.

Well, this whole situation seemed to be at least partly resolved. Were they forgetting something?

Hm. What could it be...

...

Oh, right. Yeah, they should mention that.

"Can you let Martlet out of jail, too?" they asked.

"...Yeah, I'll do that soon."

Chapter Text

Starlo led Clover to the end of town, apparently following in Ed's footsteps. They weren't sure how he knew their whereabouts exactly, but they trusted his judgement!

(And, apparently, this path only went one way.)

"If they didn't just run off, they'd all be backed against a wall," Starlo told them, dragging them along a narrow pathway, "My family's farm is neutral territory, and the Steamworks is closed."

"If it's your family's, is it really neutral..?" they asked in response, "That seems like the opposite of-"

"My folks aren't involved in all this. So it's neutral."

"Ah. 'Course."

Indeed, the ground under them seemed to be turning a little bit greener. It was nice to see these patches of life throughout the Dunes. Maybe Starlo would know, if he grew up there..?

They tugged on his poncho gently, waiting for him to stop walking.

"How'd ya get this place so, uh..." they paused, looking around, "Friendly, I guess?"

Surprisingly, he perked up in response, launching to an in-depth explanation of soil quality and water management- how he wasn't an expert by any means but his parents were naturals and he had learned a thing or two. Clover nodded politely all the while, like neither of them were tracking down a group of outlaws and were just having lunch.

After his explanation died down, they took a moment to regather their bearings. They could see a looming structure a bit ahead of them, past the farm, and...

Was that Mooch? They didn't get much of a glimpse of her; she turned tail and continued running past the farm, but that couldn't have been anyone else...

"That's her!" Clover exclaimed, picking up their walking pace and tugging Starlo along with them. He charged ahead, almost leaving them in the dust but seemingly realising they could not run that fast.

They swore they heard someone- presumably one of Starlo's family members- tsking at them, but that wasn't their focus.

After several moments, they skidded to a halt in front of a large gate. They could see Ace pressing random buttons in an effort to get it open (and the gate beeping accordingly). Ed was pacing, Moray was trying to ease their weapon under the gate, and Mooch was...

Possibly on lookout duty, but Clover was pretty sure they just saw her pickpocketing Ace.

The moment she saw them and Starlo, she whistled into her paws, hollering a "THEY'RE HERE!"

All four of them immediately stopped what they were doing, moving to stand next to each other in a convincing villain pose that only made them look kind of goofy.

"So you've made it, North Star," Ed began, glowering, "Finally here to put an end to our 'reign of terror'?"

"Or are you tired of these games?" Ace added, tipping his hat lower.

"We'll make a valiant last stand!" Moray continued.

"Then you'll be sorry!" Mooch finished.

"Of course," Starlo replied, taking a few steps forward, "If it's a fight you want, then... I s'pose a sheriff's gotta do what a sheriff's gotta do. I'll put this right once and fer all."

Clover stood back; this wasn't their battle to fight, after all. If Starlo needed help, they'd give a hand, but... they didn't want to make things worse.

They watched Starlo take a few bold steps forward, one hand on his hat and the other behind his back. Once he got into firing range, staring the Four down, he...

Took his hat off and knelt, bowing his head and sighing.

"I'd like to apologize, folks," he said, shaking his head, "I know that ain't really enough considerin' how long this has been goin' on, but... I gotta make a start somewhere."

Ed and Moray exchanged a confused glance, like they couldn't quite believe what they were hearing. Starlo continued nonetheless.

"If y'all want me to take a step back from, ah, all this, or at least make it more inconvenient for everyone, I'd be willin'."

Clover took a look at Starlo, not quite expecting the shift in character. Without the hat he really was, well... just some guy. The yellow of his face was slowly fading into orange, and he was wearing a pair of glasses that looked like they had taken one too many beatings.

"Starlo. That's, uh..." Ed trailed off, shaking his head, "You're right. It's a start."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Ace said, "You've got a few years to make up for."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll work on it."

"I'm willing to forgive him!" Moray declared, walking forward and offering their hand to Starlo to shake, "This was... fun, even if you weren't intending it to be! I wouldn't complain about a show!"

"As long as you stop throwing me in jail!" Mooch decided cheerfully, like she wasn't an actual thief.

The four of them spent a few minutes whispering to each other afterwards, clearly trying to come up with a plan. Eventually, Ed piped up again, crossing his arms.

"As your rival... I suppose, for all intents and purposes, we... accept your terms. As your old friend, it's... nice to see you comin' to your senses."

He looked over at Clover. They waved hesitantly in response, because what else were they going to do?

"Come talk to us once you don't have to worry about the kid," he said, before walking past them and back to the Wild East. Ace followed in silence, only sparing Clover a curt nod.

"See ya around, Clover!" Moray said, before hurrying after Ace and Ed. Mooch scrambled to catch up.

Starlo sighed, getting to his feet and putting his hat back on. He gave Clover a smile, tilting his head.

"Thanks," he said, "I know I kinda dragged you into this, but... thanks for bein' here. If there's anythin' I can do for-"

Suddenly, he cut himself off, clapping his hands together.

"I have an idea!" he declared proudly, "Wait here, Clover!"

They did as much, leaning against the gate in front of them and letting out an amused huff. They couldn't wait to tell Flowey about all this, they were sure he'd get a kick out of it. Wherever he was. It had been a while. Considering the situation, it would be nice to know that he was okay.

...It'd be nice to see Dalv again, too. Gosh, a moment to themselves and they can't help but start thinking about missing their friends. Once things were over, they'd make a point of checking in on everyone.

They sighed. Well, no need to get too sentimental. They were just... this place was nice. They wished they could do more to help everyone.

Ah, well. They'd find a way. They always did.

They closed their eyes. Despite everything, they'd never been happier. What did that say about them? Did that even matter? They-

"Oh, they are here!"

...Was that Martlet?

"I can't believe you let her out, Ceroba," they heard Starlo say, "I mean, I was gonna, but-"

"I'm a criminal, an outlaw, and a fraud, I know. Save the speeches," Ceroba replied.

Starlo hurried forward towards them, Ceroba and Martlet calmly following behind him. He reached into one of his pockets before pulling out a badge of a four-pointed star, gently pinning it onto Clover's jacket.

"It ain't much, but... ya did more for the Wild East in a few hours than I had in years. And ya got my friends willin' to talk to me," he explained with a smile, "Take it as a badge of honour, deputy. You've earned it."

They just stared at him. This was... He was thanking them? They didn't think they had done anything to warrant that. And the badge was...

It was a gift.

They weren't going to cry. They were not going to cry.

But they did reach up and wrap their arms around Starlo's middle, pulling themselves into a hug.

"Thank you too," they whispered.

Starlo let out a surprised laugh, hugging them back.

"Oh, c'mon!" he exclaimed, "I didn't do anythin'. I was just bein' a dork."

"What else is new?" Ceroba interrupted, shaking her head.

"You're ruinin' the moment, Ceroba."

Clover pulled away, wiping their face on their sleeve (for no reason, as they were never crying). They'd have to keep going eventually, but... this was nice.

They looked over at Martlet, tilting their head.

"Ya good?" they asked, pointing to her.

"Oh, me?" she replied, "I'm completely fine, actually! Not being a fugitive anymore's pretty nice, haha... But, uh- I kinda need to finish an order I was working on, and I'm kinda skirting a deadline now, so-"

She looked at Clover apologetically. They couldn't help but laugh again, even if they knew it meant they'd be alone again.

"Nah, do what ya gotta. Guess I'll be seein' you, then?" they asked, holding their arms out, "Don't forget about me, yeah?"

"Of course I won't! Besides, you're getting close! Just gotta get through the Steamworks, then you'll be to the King before you know it! We'll catch up before you go!"

"The Steamworks, hm?" Ceroba said, looking over at Martlet, "Is it safe to be sending a kid through there alone? We don't know if it's still stable."

"It's the only way, isn't it?" Martlet replied, "But... yeah, I guess Clover's safety comes first, especially since..."

She shook her head, a nervous smile on her beak. Apparently 'someone wants to kill them' was too far of an explanation. Clover understood.

"I won't do anythin' stupid?" they offered.

"You were just gonna let me shoot you, deputy," Starlo replied.

"THEY WHAT?" Martlet exclaimed immediately.

"Oh, that was what they were doing?" Ceroba asked, before nodding, "I suppose that settles it. I may recall the way through the Steamworks. If it's their safety you're trying to ensure, well... I'll do my best."

She glanced over at Clover, raising a paw slightly.

"Does that sound fine?"

They didn't want to impose themselves. They made it through the Dunes fine alone, they'd be able to...

"Ah- yeah, I guess?" they said instead. Darn it.

Ceroba nodded again.

"We'll get the door open, then. Then we'll be off. Starlo?"

"Already on it, Ceroba," he replied, fiddling with the keypad, "Was it an 8 or a 7?"

"It was an 8 then a 7, I think. We wrote it down somewhere, do you want to go get it?"

"No, no, it's fine."

Clover watched that for a moment before turning their attention back to Martlet, offering a smile.

"See you around, Martlet."

She reached down to bump Clover's fist with her wing, and nodded.

"See you, Clover. I'm proud of you, okay?"

And then she took off, completely unaware that that sentence hit like a punch to the gut.

It took several minutes, but Ceroba and Starlo were eventually able to get the gate open. Starlo let out a laugh, crossing his arms.

"See, I told you we could remember!" he said.

"You were the one who proposed giving up multiple times," Ceroba replied.

"Nah, I don't remember that."

"...Really, Star?"

"Alright. Fine. Maybe that was harder than it needed to be. But we did it! And my work here is done!"

He tipped his hat to Clover, winking and making a finger pistol gesture. They repeated it, naturally.

"Hah! Knew ya had it in you," he said, "Now I've got some folks I need to talk to."

"Bye, Starlo."

He pat them on the back hard enough to leave them winded, and then was gone.

"Is he really always like that?" they asked Ceroba.

"Yes. Are you not already used to it?" she replied, but her expression was nothing but amused.

"Fair, I guess... Ah, well. Are we goin'?"

"Whenever you're ready."

Clover gave the Dunes one last look, at Starlo hurrying back towards the Wild East, and then stepped into the Steamworks, Ceroba following behind them.

It was...

Really dark. They could barely see the pathway in front of them, and they stepped on a cracked part of the flooring before-

A fwoosh sounded, and they looked back to see Ceroba holding a fireball in one of her paws. It didn't illuminate everything, but it was... an upgrade.

"The generator should be around here somewhere," she explained, "Hopefully it still works, because if it doesn't, I don't know what we're going to do."

"Mm."

Sure enough, the path did lead to a large structure suspended in powerlessness, its cogs eerily still. There was a closed doorway behind it, and two branching paths on either side.

"Maybe they'll have somethin'?" Clover suggested, "I'll take the left one, you take the right one?"

"I suppose. Don't keep me waiting."

They watched Ceroba head off before heading to the left, walking down the hall and coming across a wheel and three gauges of liquid, all marked with lines and arrows.

...They couldn't help but wonder what the liquid tasted like. It looked like forbidden pink lemonade! They were only human!

The wheel was... annoying to move. It was stuck in place until they forced it to move, but that raised the problem of it having no tension whatsoever and thus being unnecessarily sensitive. Hopefully Ceroba was having better luck than they were.

Still, they were unnecessarily satisfied when they got it to work, and hurried back to the generator. Ceroba was already looking at it, tsking under her breath.

"It opened the door," she said, and sure enough it did, "but the power's still out. Maybe there's something up ahead. I'll see if I can find anything else here."

Clover nodded, hurrying through the door and down the hall. An assortment of washing machines overgrown with some white plant, and a hall with lockers and- oh, that was probably it!

They threw the switch, watching as the Steamworks became bathed in a pink glow as it sputtered and whirred to life. The labyrinth of cogs, wires, and pipes suddenly seemed so much more vibrant, cracks notwithstanding.

And they could see now! That was a major bonus! They'd have to get back to Ceroba quickly, to-

"Good work," she called from the other end of the hallway, "I don't know why it was over there, but it looks like we're still good to go."

Clover made their way back over, looking through the door and the ominous pink glow radiating from it. Well, no way to go but forwards, they supposed.

With a final sigh, they crossed the threshold of the door, and entered the Steamworks more properly.

Somewhere, someone else did the exact same.

A locker door, rusted from years of inactivity, was tossed open. A robot emerged, one eye cracked and wires slightly on the fritz.

"AXIS MODEL 014 IS N-N-NOW ACTIVE," he declared to no one in particular, "INTRUDERS DETECTED. INVESTIGA-A-ATION MUST OCCUR AT ONCE.

Chapter Text

Clover's immediate thought was that the Steamworks was not a safe place to be standing around in. The letters to what was probably a welcome sign were half submerged, a few letters still managing to flicker on.

It should not have been funny. But they couldn't look away.

They must've been staring a little too intently, because a few seconds later Ceroba was clearing her throat next to them.

"It's... just a sign, Clover," she said, getting their attention, "Is it really that important to you?"

"Oh! Nah, sorry, I just zoned out," they replied, pretending that a burned-out sign wasn't the funniest thing they'd seen in a long while, "We can keep going."

Immediately following this were vents of steam that almost certainly would hurt to be caught in the blast in. They sputtered occasionally, like maintaining some semblance of activity was near impossible.

Clover glanced over to Ceroba, trying to silently communicate that they weren't sure about risking this one. Especially since the lone robot who tried to make it across got launched into oblivion.

"It's the only way across, isn't it?" Ceroba stated, possibly just as uncomfortable with this as they were, "Unless... Hm. Hold on."

Interpreting this as 'wait', Clover let her think for a few seconds, until-

She picked them up in one arm and ran for it, leaping over the second group of vents before they could even recover the presence of mind to freak out with. Once they were able to breathe again, they were back on the ground and watching Ceroba flip a switch, deactivating that set of vents.

They straightened their hat. Well, it worked, but...

"Please never do that again," they said, far more distant and hollow than they intended.

...They kept walking.

The green of a giant computer screen flickered on in front of them, requesting an authentication code.

...One that, naturally, Frisk did not have. They were able to tell from a handful of notes attached to the monitor that it controlled... some sort of robot activity. What was not locked were the other two screens, displaying camera feeds from across the area.

The majority seemed busted or blurred, but a few were still actively running. Some sort of factory, a close up zoom-in on some sign that just said "Greenhouse", and a robot standing on a bridge; staring straight at...

Oh. Oh! That was them, wasn't it? So Frisk had caught up, sort of... they'd be okay soon.

"You would have to isolate them from their company," Chara supplied, "Or else you would have to deal with another immovable object."

"Right," they responded, "I'll just..."

...They would have to get into the monitor. If they could control the bots, they could get control over this place. They'd just need the password, and-

...

Frisk pressed one button on the giant keyboard, and the monitor immediately went ominously red. They could hear a siren blare distantly and a computerized voice declaring an intruder alert.

Well, that could be good, actually! If they were here too, everything would go after them! They'd get their soul in a cinch, and then would get out of here!

(...But who programmed an extermination mode into every robot they made, and why?)

Clover and Ceroba had found themselves backed against a wall, a robot glaring them down ominously with a ball of energy in one of its hands. It sparked a few times, voice lines repeating themselves as it monologued at them.

"AXIS MODEL 014, FULFILLING MY CREATOR'S GOAL OF PROTECTING THE STEA-A-AMWORKS. YOUR EXTERMINATION WILL BE QU-QUICK, SO PLEASE DO NOT-"

A siren screeched to life. Axis straightened himself at the sound, the ball of energy fizzling out. He looked... as confused as a robot could, Clover supposed.

"HOW ODD. ANOTHER INTRUDER. AND ONE THAT ACTIVATED [UNALIVE] MODE... HM. WELL, I CA-ANNOT LEAVE YOU UNSUPERVISED, BUT I MUST DO MY JOB.

"I KNOW. HERE. PLEASE STAY IN CONTA-AINMENT. I W-W-WILL RETURN SHORTLY TO [DISPOSE OF] YOU BOTH. AND I WILL HAVE DISABLED DOCTOR KETSUKANE'S SPEECH FI-I-ILTER."

(Ceroba let out a startled intake of breath, but they didn't have time to question it.)

He brought his hand to a wall, pressing a button that Clover did not notice beforehand. Moments later, the floor below them and Ceroba opened, and they fell to their supposed doom for what had to be the fifth time.

Well, no, Ceroba had the presence of mind to try and cushion their fall by holding onto them; so it wasn't as likely that they were in any actual danger.

But the crunch they heard as they both hit the ground still felt incredibly foreboding until they realised that it was the sound of cardboard and not their leg.

They pulled themselves out of Ceroba's grip and to their feet, looking around before turning their attention back to her.

"Sorry ya had to take the brunt of the fall, ma'am," they said quietly, "You alright?"

"I am... well, I'll be okay," she replied after a moment, sitting up. Clover thought they heard her grumble something about "getting to be too old for this".

"Are ya sure?"

"I promise I'll live, Clover. No need to worry. I just... didn't expect Axis to be his." Ceroba paused, shaking her head to refocus. "Are you holding up?"

They... were pretty sure they were, yeah. More so than usual after falling.

"I guess, yeah," they decided upon, "Just... didn't expect the robot guy to be that angry. Or... to be at all."

"It's... interesting. The Steamworks have been closed for such a long time. I would have expected everything to be out of commission, but they're all still... running, like nothing's wrong. And they're in 'extermination mode', like it's only a matter of time before another incident..."

It was an unsettling thought, even without the context of the 'incident'. Being trapped in time, unaware of the world going by without you...

...Clover would prefer not to think about that, actually.

"Must be lonely here," they said instead.

"I'm not sure if alone is something robots can feel, Clover," Ceroba said, standing up, "But if they can... well, maybe we can distract Axis and get out of here. It'd be... easier than hurting him."

"Uh. How?"

She rolled up her sleeves and stood up, looking around the room.

"Looks like there's some old junk around here. Why don't we build Axis a partner?"

...

They, uh.

Weren't. Sure about this. It felt kind of uncomfortable to think about. It wasn't even for them, but... wasn't that kinda presumptuous?

"What if he doesn't, uh... want that kinda thing?" they asked, fiddling with the brim of their hat.

Ceroba paused, looking at Clover for a few seconds like she was silently making a connection in her mind. She shrugged it off, smiling slightly.

"Well, we'll make him a friend then. Whatever happens is up to him."

That felt better! They could do that!

Hurrying off to the other side of the room, they picked up a few items that looked vaguely robot-esque, leaving a slightly bemused Ceroba in their wake. Upon returning, they dropped their haul on the cardboard they landed on with a proud smile.

"This good?" they asked. She knelt down next to them, humming thoughtfully.

"That'll do. Now we just put the pieces together."

...They were very determined to do so properly, of course. They and Ceroba got to work, and eventually put together a one-wheeled slightly-boxy creation that was certainly an imitation of a robot.

"Were the googly eyes really necessary?" Ceroba questioned, seemingly amused.

"Yes." Clover replied proudly.

"...Alright, then?" Somehow, she pocketed the 'robot', before giving them a nod. "Let's get out of here. If Axis shows up again, we'll hand it over."

They could work with that. Unfortunately, as they quickly found out, the door leading out of the room was locked.

"Any other way out of here?" they asked.

Ceroba looked around, before pointing to what was absolutely an air vent with a wince.

...

They didn't want to talk about how long it took to get through, but it was most certainly arduous and painful. By the time Ceroba had knocked the cover to the other opening to the vent aside and caught Clover as they made it out, they were frankly ready to fall asleep for a while.

Alas, they persevered, walking through the sliding door to their right and- oh geez that was another robot.

Aw, it was a janitor android! A Jandroid! It was almost kinda cute, except for how discontent it seemed to be at their presence.

"11111NTRUDER F0UND. DIREC7IVE- SCRU-U-U-UB 0FF FACE OF 3ARTH," it stated loudly. They weren't... sure how easily this one would be to talk down. Maybe if... it was a robot, wasn't it? It had to have some sort of non-lethal sleep mode...

No off switch to be seen. Maybe if they could fix it a bit somehow?

"Howdy, uh-" they began, "-you seem a lil', uh, glitchy. Mind if I try cleanin' your sensors or somethin'?"

"N0T!!! A! CHAN(E!"

...Nonetheless, the giant bucket of trash they had to sidestep did include a bar of soap. This absolutely was not how they were supposed to clean a robot, but they didn't have any other ideas. Clover approached and practically tossed the bar of soap at the Jandroid. It let out some confused sounds, and a few ominous sparks, before-

"[Error encounted. Entering recovery mode...]"

...

"That's good, right?" they asked Ceroba.

"I don't think it's dead, so... yes, I suppose so. Good work." and then, a few seconds later, "Seems like Axis was the only one unaffected by 'extermination mode'. Maybe that means he'll be easier to reason with..?"

They nodded and stepped past the frozen Jandroid, hurrying across the path and to a... robotic manta ray, its fins glowing a soft pink.

"Manta ray," they commented.

"Clover, those aren't- ah. Yes. Manta ray."

"Only way across. Hopefully it works."

They stepped onto the ray's back, and it hummed to activation with a statement of purpose ("TRANSP0RT.")

Content with its stability, they motioned for Ceroba to join them.

"Don't think about the death liquid," she muttered as she stepped next to them, "Whatever you do, do not think about the death liquid."

"I thought it looked kind of tasty!" they said as they pointed in a direction and the ray started moving accordingly.

"Clover, no."

Clover was no expert, but this didn't feel like a good working environment. They had to cross another bridge of vents (that Ceroba thankfully let them do this time,) and then make their way back to the gate, and...

They were pretty sure they got lost. They came to a dead end, where-

"WELL, LOOK WHO IT IS!" someone called out.

They knew that voice.

A stand was slid in front of them, and Mo rolled up his sleeves with a grin.

"Didn't think I'd see my favourite customer here!" he exclaimed, leaning against his stand.

"...Clover? You know this guy?" Ceroba asked.

"He's Mo!" Clover replied, "He's pretty funny. Gives me food."

"...His stand's on fire," she stated eventually. Sure enough it was, and crumpled into ash a few seconds later. Mo stared at the residue in awkward silence for a few seconds, before speaking up again.

"Well, that doesn't matter. Got all the stuff in my pockets here. Authentic food straight from the Steamworks!" He held up what was absolutely a bowl of moss. "Now only 30G each!"

"Please tell me that you aren't buying this stuff," Ceroba said, giving them a look. Clover was already fishing through their pockets, handing Mo 90G. They weren't proud of where that was sourced, they were following Mooch's advice, but... it wasn't their problem anymore!

"...Really? I mean, of course, but-" Mo cleared his throat, and sighed, "Kid. I'll be honest with you. I've been goin' through a tough time financially for years, and, well. Your patronage? It's been giving this old raccoon a second chance."

Clover smiled and shrugged.

"Always happy to help," they said.

"Course you are," he replied, "Good kid, you are. Dunno where you're off to, but I wish ya luck. And if ya need anythin'? Just call. I've got connections."

Mo whistled, and a second manta bot appeared behind him. He hopped on, yelling a "MO OUT!" before riding away.

Huh.

"I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or proud, Clover," Ceroba said flatly.

"That's fair."

They were able to get back on track after that, making their way back inside and to a rather long hallway. Clover swore they saw Axis watching them and Ceroba for a moment, but... probably not. They sighed, shook their head, and went through the doorway. No point in lingering, so-

"F0-0-0UND YOU._"

And then he was chasing them. Ceroba yanked them forwards by the arm and into a run, but she was a lot faster than they were, and they started to fall behind. Still, despite their racing heart and the general feeling of 'am I about to die', they managed to stay a few paces ahead of Axis as they ran through the hall, then a storage room, then- why was this hallway so long???

They finally lost him, but then he was firing at them through a window, which didn't feel fair in the slightest, but what did they know?

They practically collapsed as they made it through the door and into relative safety.

"You're alright," Ceroba noted, and they weren't sure if it was a statement or an attempt at calming them down, "Sorry, I should've known you wouldn't be as fast. Come on, let's get you sitting down somewhere..."

They didn't bother to resist as they were picked up and carried to an actual table. The moment Clover was seated, they slumped against the table, taking a few deep breaths.

"I... never... wanna do that... ever again..." they huffed out, more to themselves.

Ceroba sighed, walking across the break room and to what Clover thought was a vending machine.

A sapient vending machine, of course.

They couldn't hear the conversation, but they were pretty sure Ceroba was scowling. A few minutes later, a bottle of water was slid over to them. They opened it and drank half of it in one go.

"Don't ask what I went through for that," she said, sitting down on the other side of the table. They wouldn't.

A few minutes of silence passed, Clover's heart rate slowly returning to a normal pace. When they finally sat up straighter, Ceroba spoke up quietly.

"You know, you sort of remind me of Kanako in some ways," and then, probably noticing Clover's confused expression, "She was my daughter. She... 'fell down', a long time ago."

"Oh. I'm... sorry?" they replied.

"Thank you, but... it's not your concern. Maybe in another time, I would have tried something, but..." she shook her head, a frown crossing her muzzle, "You're not a bad kid. I do not think I could forgive myself if I let you perish."

They... took that as a compliment, despite the underlying 'I could kill you if I wanted to."

"What was she like?" they asked, curious.

"She was a good soul. Always wished to help Chujin and I whenever she could. I would have done anything if it meant preventing what happened to her."

She laughed, bitterly.

"And yet it was my fault. Isn't that ironic? If I hadn't done what I did..."

Clover didn't know how to respond to that. Hesitantly, they stood up and walked over, wrapping their arms around Ceroba.

"If she was as good as ya say, I'm sure she would have forgiven you eventually! 'Cause you ain't so bad either! No point in makin' it hurt more than it clearly already did, right?" they eventually said.

Ceroba froze, before patting them on the head.

"Thank you."

They smiled softly, and returned to their side of the table, taking another sip from the bottle of water.

"Don't worry about it."

Another few moments of silence before Ceroba spoke again.

"Do you have folks? Back at home, I mean. You've been here for a while now, right? Surely someone's been looking for you on the Surface."

...

Clover had really been hoping no one would ask that. They stared at the table like it was the most interesting thing in the world for a few seconds, trying to figure out a convenient excuse.

But Ceroba had been forthright with them. Maybe it wasn't the end of the world if they were honest for once.

After a long pause, they shook their head.

"Don't remember 'em, really. Just been the orphanage since I was real lil'," they said quietly, "Guess that's why I've thrived here. Y'all are... nice. I feel appreciated."

She sighed again in response, crossing her arms.

"You are," she replied simply.

That felt nice. They would believe that.

"Thanks. That's... kind of ya," and then, "I think I'm happier here with y'all than I've ever been."

"That's..." For a few seconds, Ceroba seemed surprised, almost sentimental. "Even with everything apparently going on?"

"Yeah."

She seemed to believe that.

...

"Can we stay here for a little bit longer?" they asked eventually.

"...Of course, Clover."

Chapter Text

After a few minutes of sitting in place, Clover and Ceroba stood up and continued moving forwards. They felt a bit more well-rested, somehow. Maybe they had fallen asleep? No, it hadn't been that long...

Maybe they were just in better spirits after having a break. That seemed likely.

There was nothing of note on the corridor, really. Another derelict sign, more of the weird plants, and...

"Please don't tell me that's another one of the steam vent mazes," Ceroba grumbled.

"Okay," Clover replied without skipping a beat, absolutely lying, "It ain't one of those."

It was true. There was a clearly defined path, so it wasn't technically a maze. They would still rather not get caught in the middle of it, though.

...Being hauled over by Ceroba would be worse, though. They watched the pattern of the vents for a few seconds before carefully beginning to walk through, having a moment of pure dread every time one sputtered below them. Eventually, however, they emerged on the other side, Ceroba close behind them.

They couldn't help a sigh of relief as they flipped the lever, holding up a hand to give her a high five. One which they immediately regretted as the force of Ceroba's paw left them wincing.

Right. Nine foot tall fox lady. They should've remembered that.

She muttered an apology, at least, so they were willing to shrug it off and continue walking.

Or... they would. What Clover assumed was the main pathway was out, and the only way forwards was a rickety bridge, covered by more white plants. And...

Was someone on the other side? Worrying, considering everyone else they had encountered here, but... well, they'd figure it out. Ceroba seemed to be similarly concerned, considering she immediately took the lead, a paw outstretched in front of Clover as they both walked forwards slowly.

The bridge creaked ominously below the both of them, almost certainly no longer stable. Ceroba looked back towards them, shaking her head.

"I don't think it's worth it, Clover," she said quietly, "We should turn around."

Clover was fully ready to agree. This was a bit too offputting for their tastes, and they'd really rather-

The part of the bridge directly in front of the two of them collapsed, falling into the abyss below. They weren't sure how that happened, but the figure on the other side was taking a few deep breaths like it took a lot out of them. So they could take an educated guess.

They didn't really have a chance to process that, however, because Ceroba was already picking them up and turning around, booking it back down the corridor fast enough to take the wind out of them.

...

They were pretty sure they heard a "Dammit, how am I supposed to get across?" yelled behind them.

Ceroba was very clearly not kidding around with this. They weren't sure if she had made a conclusion that Clover hadn't or what, but she was all but sprinting through the hall that Axis had chased them down not even thirty minutes prior. Once they made it out of there, she stopped for a moment, evidently catching her breath.

"Are you okay?" they asked from their position slung over her shoulder, "Why'd ya hurry off like that?"

"I don't trust them," she replied, her free paw on her chest, "I don't trust any of this. Most of the robots are losing it, and the path forwards is blocked. And it doesn't take a genius to see why. Even if we could keep going, we'd probably have to deal with another lacklustre decision on their part. So I'm getting you out of here before that can happen."

"Right. 'Course. Thanks, then."

By some miracle, the manta ray was still floating right where they had left it. Ceroba stepped aboard, and they were off. At a... marginally slower pace, this time.

"Well, I mean, there's only one of these guys, right?" Clover said, "So they wouldn't be able to get across the lake."

"I suppose not. That buys us some time."

They took a moment to take a deep breath of their own, closing their eyes. Surprisingly, despite the circumstances, they didn't feel like they were in any particular danger yet. If Ceroba was this determined to keep them safe, they were fully willing to trust that she would.

Even then, they... assumed they knew who was causing all of this. And if they were friends with Flowey at some point, Clover didn't think they could be that far gone. No matter what happened, they would get through it.

That was reassuring.

Once they reopened their eyes, it was to the sight of Ceroba talking to a TV-headed robot, who had a straw in the lake of forbidden pink lemonade.

"Sorry. Can't move, I just got a spot to drink some of the coolant here," it explained, "You know, everyone here's in kill mode. I'd be doin' my part, but I don't really care that much. So I'm being a roadblock. How's that?"

"Really?" Ceroba said, clearly exasperated, "Isn't there anywhere else you can do this?"

"No can do, sorry. Snooze, you lose."

She sighed, before shaking her head and picking the robot up, moving it to the side slightly. It made a few vague sounds of protest, but they were able to continue on.

Surprisingly, the Jandroid that was there before didn't attack this time. It was back in operation, but was just mopping a bridge like nothing happened and the Steamworks wasn't on maximum security. They decided to leave it be.

Ceroba hurried through the next corridor, and before Clover knew it they were being placed down by the generator at the front of the Steamworks.

"Right. Here we are," she said, patting them on the head, "You're safe and sound. Maybe just a bit worse for wear."

"What should I do now?" they asked, looking up at Ceroba, "I mean, if ya really don't want me goin' forwards?"

"I... Find Star. Tell him the situation. He'll keep an eye on you until everything clears up. Try to get any friends you have here alert, too. Prepare to stay undercover for a while. If not from whoever's after you, then because of the King and the Royal Guard. I don't think facing any of them as you are would be a good idea."

It was... true, probably, but it still stung to hear about. Clover had thought they were doing well. Sure, it was a bumpy road, but they had come out of it fine so far. And if Ceroba didn't think they could survive.

They supposed they needed to hear it outright.

"They're the only one left, then? That human. The rest are..."

Ceroba paused, but eventually nodded.

"Dead. None of them made it out. I'm surprised there's even still one out and about."

And their mission of finding the other humans, the one they had really almost forgotten about, ended far more suddenly than it began.

They weren't as mad as they thought they would be. More so... disappointed. Why had no one told them? They would've...

Well, they would've come up with something. They would've eventually, almost certainly. But now? They didn't have any time to think of anything. They didn't want to die when everyone was trying so hard to specifically keep them alive. That would disappoint their friends.

"Ah."

"...Hey. I know that look. Don't let that discourage you." Ceroba nodded firmly, kneeling to make eye contact with them. "There was nothing you could've done. You couldn't have prevented a massacre, or stopped any of what happened. You would've been too young, for one. Not that you're not too young for any of this now."

"Where're ya takin' this?"

"The point is that you don't need to have all of this on your shoulders, Clover. Just let yourself live for a bit. We'll all figure something out eventually."

Figure something out.

Right. Right! They didn't need to sink into despair like this! They were always able to figure things out, that had been what got them this far. They couldn't just lose their spirit because the way forwards was blocked.

They smiled, tipping their hat at Ceroba.

"Got it. Thanks. I'll find Starlo."

...

Well, actually, Clover needed to know one more thing first.

"What're you goin' to do?" they asked, "You're wordin' all this like you ain't followin' me."

"I'll catch up eventually," Ceroba answered simply, "I was going to do a round through the parts of the Steamworks that we have access to. Catch whoever's following you before they can catch you, yeah?"

That seemed sound. But if Flowey were to be believed, it might not be entirely effective. Or not. It was the best they had to work with, at least. Maybe they'd give up eventually if Ceroba kept finding them.

...Presumably that was how it worked.

"Good luck with that, then!" Clover said.

"I'll need it. You take care of yourself too, okay?"

They'd try!

Ceroba turned tail and walked off, summoning a staff and holding it at her side.

It was still an odd thought, that people cared enough about them to go through all of this trouble, but... Clover was getting used to it.

They looked towards the generator for a few seconds longer, before turning around and walking through the corridor that led back to the Dunes.

The gate was, shockingly, still open. They weren't sure why they expected that it wouldn't be, frankly. But somehow it just felt like a universal truth was being altered.

They walked through the gate and into the Dunes, looking around. Same as it was a few hours ago. Maybe there wasn't a need to hurry, then. Besides, it wasn't far to the Wild East, so they-

As soon as Clover took a few steps forward, they were pulled back roughly. Before they could so much as struggle in resistance, the dull side of a blade was pressed against their throat, effectively holding them in place.

"Time's up."

They couldn't look back to see their captor, but they weren't sure they needed to.

Oh dear.

Chapter Text

Instinctively, Clover slammed their elbow back, trying to get even a modicum of freedom.

It was successful enough; the knife clattered against the floor, and they were able to get a few feet of distance as their captor let out a pained gasp. Clover let out a sigh of relief. They didn't... that couldn't have ended well.

More importantly, they were able to get a better look at their opponent. They...

They expected someone scarier. Like, a conniving grin at least, not... some scrawny teenager with shoulders permanently set in discomfort. It was... almost sad.

They should have kept running. They should've gotten as far away as they humanly could. But after all this? Their desire to understand was winning out.

"It's... you, huh?" they asked slowly, as the other straightened themselves back out. "You're the one who's... done all of this."

"I- I didn't do all of it," came the response, "I'm not- this is- you have to understand! I've put the pieces into place because I had to! And you- you haven't seen the half of it. It's... it's me or you. It can't be me. I've done too much for it to be me."

Ah. Right. This... wouldn't be someone Clover could talk down as easily. They could still always run, but what good would that do? Had they already tried before? How many times had they had this conversation?

"If... you're sure. I don't... have a choice, do I?"

"You..." Surprisingly, they laughed. It didn't feel real. "Hah! You never did! You- if you run away, I'll send you back. If you win, we'll do this all over again until you don't. I'm not losing my only chance."

"Right. Of course."

Clover reached for their holster with a trembling hand. Would there be a way? Was this hopeless from the start?

...If they were going to fight, they would do it on equal terms.

"Can I... ask ya somethin', then? Before we... do this?" they said.

A pause, and then-

"...Make it quick."

"Right. Just, uh-" they hesitated, because this felt like a weird thing to ask, "What's your name? I wanna be able to call ya something other than just an opponent."

They looked utterly dumbfounded by the question, like it was another elbow to the gut in and of itself. Clover immediately considered retracting the statement, until they sighed and lowered their head.

"Frisk. It's Frisk."

"That's a nice name. You can call me Clover."

"Clover," Frisk echoed, "I... I won't forget it. Now..."

They crouched down and grabbed their knife again, raising it into an attacking stance.

"I've let you get away with being this selfish for long enough. It's time you think of the greater good."

And then Frisk charged, already moving to attack Clover with the knife. They stepped out of the way fast enough to notice them slashing at their back, letting out a yelp when it tore through their jacket.

This sort of speed attacking put them at a very quick disadvantage, and they could do little more than keep struggling to dodge as Frisk kept advancing with an honestly disconcerting level of determination. They... had to do something, or they were toast, but... what?

A particularly low sweep that knocked Clover off their feet was apparently going to force them to answer that question. They... could they really get back from this? One good attack, and that'd be that.

An attack that... never came..?

Clover blinked a few times. They definitely weren't dead.

...They stared up at Frisk with a raised eyebrow.

"You gonna... finish me off?" they asked.

"It's your turn, isn't it?"

...

All that, and they still cared about etiquette, at least for now. They didn't expect that.

They raised their gun, hands still shaking. One good hit, and they could start this over. Even if they didn't remember, it'd be another chance. It'd fix their jacket too; they'd rather not have to stitch it up.

And Frisk almost seemed to be expecting it, too. They were making no effort to step aside, just staring down at them patiently.

One good hit. Just moving their hand enough to pull the trigger. That was... that was easy. It was a simple move. And it'd be in self-defence, right? It wouldn't be vengeance, it would be saving their own life.

And they had all the time in the world to make that choice. Frisk was waiting.

Right.

They could do this.

They could do this.

They...

...

They couldn't do it. Not like this. They weren't just going to shoot another person. Even if they wouldn't remember it, it still happened. Frisk would remember, wouldn't they? It'd affect them. They couldn't put that on them.

Clover lowered their gun with a sigh.

"Well, you'll be disappointed," they muttered, "I ain't doin' a thing. I can't."

"You're not doing anything," Frisk reiterated, "All that. And you're not doing anything. You would rather let me slice you up than even try?"

"...Yes..?"

...

Once again, Frisk started laughing, their tone turning more and more bitter by the word.

"That's- that's rich. That's so rich of you! You think you're playing the hero, don't you? Refusing to fight, even when it comes down to it? You've met an impassable opponent, and you still think you're good enough to not do anything about it, because you think your morals can get you everywhere!"

Clover tried to get a few inches away. Somehow, this was more disturbing than the active murder attempt.

"Where do you think that got me? I've been so perfect, and yet I have to put you through the same gruesome end all the other humans who fell down here met! This is where your hopes and dreams go to die!

"So really, this is a favour I'm doing you. You have to understand."

Frisk let out a derisive scoff, before raising their knife and slashing wildly. Clover let out a hiss as the blade tore through the flesh on their arms and hands, leaving specks of blood in its wake.

They watched them take a deep breath, preparing for what was no doubt a finishing strike.

But they couldn't die. Not if it meant Frisk would keep doing this to themselves.

A burning in their very soul rose, like raw ire to live. It was like something changed, their palms now flaming with justice itself.

Almost naturally to them, they put their hands together and fired a burst of energy. They could see Frisk's eyes widening before they themselves got knocked off their feet, but then-

Once. Thrice. Ten times. Fifty. How many deaths had it been?

They'd keep trying. They had to. They'd find a way out, or at least find peace. But they'd keep coming back until then.

Wait. No, that wasn't right. Clover was watching this happen. It wasn't them experiencing it. They blinked, and found themselves separate from the action, an impassive observer. They weren't sure how much they existed, and their head hurt, but they would see where this was going.

They watched Frisk bring themselves to their feet next to an odd star-like object, letting out a sigh. They said something to... no one, apparently, before walking into the throne room.

They weren't sure how they knew that it was the throne room. They felt like they were tapping into a memory of some kind, so maybe they were... getting side-effects from that?

Clover followed behind, more being dragged along than walking. A tall, looming figure greeted them and Frisk.

So this was the King, was it? He seemed... friendly, despite everything.

He turned around, letting out a shocked exhale. Frisk just nodded quietly.

"Ah. I'm sure you know what must happen, then," he said, "My apologies. You are young, I am sure, but... it is simply what needs to happen. Perhaps in another life."

The king lowered his head, a trident fizzling into existence in his paws.

"I will make it quick."

And indeed he did. Frisk was able to dodge the first few attacks he sent their way, but a summoned flame hit them in the back and they fell to the ground. As they struggled to their feet once more, the king raised his trident and forced it forwards, never quite making eye contact.

A sickening squelch pierced the air, and Clover was quick to avert their eyes. They knew what had happened, and from the glimpse they got Frisk didn't even look surprised. They coughed a few times, the sound slowly but surely getting weaker, before...

Clover heard a crack of a skull as they fell, landing in a pool of blood.

And then they were back in front of the throne room. They didn't know how many times they watched the scene replay, Frisk never making any true progress.

They wanted to throw up. They wanted to be away from this. They needed to get out of this mindscape.

They couldn't just keep listening to this. Was there anything they could do?

Closing their eyes, they tried to force themselves back into reality.

And then they were back, still on the ground. Frisk was staring at their hands, and then glancing down at Clover in... shock? Panic? Confusion? Anger? Some combination of all of the above?

"Now you know. Now you know where being kind gets you," they muttered, distant and detached. "At least you'll only have to go through it once."

"I didn't know that would happen," Clover said, and it was completely true, "I didn't... That was..."

"Don't. Don't even start."

They both stood up. At the very least, they had a non-lethal defence mechanism. Hopefully they wouldn't have to look into Frisk's head every time they used it, though.

Clover stepped back, putting their hands together to fire a few more shots. Frisk sidestepped them effortlessly. Apparently they were less of a precise shot than the King was. Shucks.

But it established a pattern. Frisk got close, and Clover was able to repel them by simply willing it to happen. That was the joy of ranged weaponry, they supposed. They should bring a gun to a knife fight more often.

Eventually, they started slowly chipping away at Frisk's will to dodge. Maybe it took more energy than they thought, but their shots were definitely landing more often, and the other definitely looked more tired.

When Frisk raised their knife to slash again, Clover took their chance. They focused their energy in another blast of justice, and it brought Frisk to their knees.

That was... that was that, then? They had technically won? Would that mean they'd get reset back, or would... could they hope?

"Hah. Hahahahaha. HAH! No. This isn't- this isn't over," Frisk exclaimed eventually, standing up. Dang it. "I've got more will than you can imagine. And I'm focusing it all on getting your soul."

"I'd just call that stubbornness," Clover muttered to themselves, as Frisk took a few steps closer.

"You know how many times I've had this conversation with you? Because I don't. I always lose track eventually. There have been a few times when you've actually taken my life. You didn't mean to, I'm sure, but you know what?

"I learned from it. I can learn from the advantages you take. That's a strength you lack."

Frisk took a few steps closer, not even bothering to dodge the shots Clover fired.

They had... so they had caused a few of Frisk's deaths. The idea twisted their gut. Did that make them any better than the King was? Could they even claim to be a good person at all, if they'd...

Just because they didn't remember it didn't mean it didn't happen, they reiterated to themselves, their hands shaking.

Frisk took the opportunity to slash them to the ground again. Their gun fell out of its holster, and they tried to reach for it. Unsuccessfully, unfortunately; the other had grabbed it before they could, and was now looking it over.

"I didn't expect you to have an actual revolver," they observed, "Flowey had said it was a toy."

"I got an upgrade," Clover replied simply.

"Yeah, I learned that the hard way. I'm surprised you didn't shoot this time. It's weird. Your actions change, even if you shouldn't remember anything. Why?"

They didn't have an answer to that one. But then again, they didn't understand any of this time stuff. They would like to, though.

"I dunno. Why can't most people remember?"

"I don't know."

Frisk sighed, raising the gun and pointing it at Clover.

"You're lucky, Clover," they said, "Really. You are. I would have loved to not remember the dying. I would've loved to forget the hurting. And that's great! Once you die, you won't remember this even happened! It'll just fade into oblivion for you!"

"But... you'll still remember it, won't you? That's not just somethin' that goes away."

"I... will. But it's something I've considered. Your life has a cost, Clover. I don't know what that cost is to you. The cost for me, however? It's my survival. If you stay alive, I die. And that's the one thing I can't pay. So what else can I do?"

They cocked the gun. Clover thought they heard distant footsteps, but that was... probably not.

"I wish I could say I was sorry, Clover."

With a lack of better options, Clover tucked their head into their arms. It wouldn't do anything if they were shot, but they felt safer that way, and-

BLAM!

...

...

...

They didn't... feel very dead. And there wasn't any pain anywhere on their body other than what they had already sustained...

Slowly, they looked up. The gun was tilted away from them now, and-

Ceroba had charged forwards, and punched Frisk in the face. And was now continuing to do so. Repeatedly. They were struggling for a bit, but quickly their efforts subsided.

Clover just... sort of stood there and watched. Should they tell her to stop? Would she listen? They didn't want Frisk to die, so-

"Uh- Miss Ceroba? Ma'am? I think they're unconscious," they said, "You can, uh- stop punchin' em, maybe?"

Ceroba looked up at them, and then down at Frisk.

"This is a child," she replied simply, "A child caused this. I..."

"I didn't expect it either, frankly."

"Huh."

Clover took a few steps forwards.

"Can we... get them somewhere more comfortable? I'd rather they weren't left out here."

"Clover, they had a gun pointed at you. I'm not sure that's the safest idea."

"We can disarm them. I just wanna be able to talk to 'em more properly."

Ceroba contemplated that for a few seconds, before sighing slowly. She took the knife and gun away from Frisk, handing the latter back to Clover.

"If you're sure it's a good idea. We'll take them back to my house. There are beds there, and I can keep an eye on them."

She picked them up, their head resting on her shoulder as she began the trek back through the Dunes.

It was in the middle of the Wild East that Clover's minor wounds started to catch up to them. They leaned against the bell tower for a few seconds, staining it with blood where their arms were. Ceroba paused, looking back at them.

"...Wait here," she said simply, before walking over to the saloon and banging on its door, Frisk still cradled in her arms.

A bit of unintelligible conversation later, and Starlo walked out and over to them. He gave Clover a once-over and winced.

"Yer bleedin', Deputy. Don't think you should be walkin' like that," he stated, "Here, let me help ya..."

Starlo took off his poncho and draped it over Clover, covering the wounds on their arms. A moment later, he picked them up off the ground, apparently trying to be careful.

They closed their eyes. They needed a moment to think on this, after all. Or...

Maybe they would just... doze off for a bit. Starlo and Ceroba would keep them safe, wouldn't they? They could use the rest, too...

The last thing they heard before falling asleep was Starlo asking Ceroba where they were headed.

Chapter Text

Clover awoke to soft orange light hitting their eyes.

They slowly sat up, looking around. This was... not a familiar location. An old bedroom, almost untouched by anything but time. A few drawings were peeling off the walls, and the lamp on the nearby wardrobe was seemingly long broken.

More immediately, however, their hat and jacket were hanging on the headboard. They reached over and grabbed them, when-

"Ah, you're awake!"

They froze, looking to their left. Dalv (!!!) was sitting in the corner of the room, a clipboard in one of his hands and a coloured pencil in the other. He gave them a patient smile.

"Dalv?" they asked, slightly bewildered. How did he get here?

"Your feathery friend and I crossed paths, and she told me that you were, well-" he motioned vaguely at Clover, "-here. So I hurried over to check on my friend. I hope that's okay."

"S'fine. Nice to see ya."

They looked around again, still trying to confirm where they were.

"I've got some questions," they said slowly.

"I'll... do my best to answer, then?"

"How long was I out?"

That felt like a good start. They weren't sure how much time they had lost.

"A... while, I believe," Dalv replied, putting down the items in his hands in favour of tapping his claws together, "I haven't been here long. Perhaps a few days? You would have to ask one of the others."

A few days? They couldn't have been fully unconscious the whole time. They just thought they had fallen asleep. Maybe they were hurt worse than they thought?

"Alright, I suppose..." Clover paused for a moment before asking their next question; "Where exactly am I?"

"This is... well, it's just Ceroba's home now. I haven't been here in a while. But it's nice."

That made sense. They weren't sure where else they would've been taken, in hindsight.

They were suddenly feeling kind of bad about sleeping here. This room probably had a lot of sentimental value. They-

...

Frisk was unconscious on the floor, a water bottle placed against their face. Well, Clover supposed they could've been worse off.

Still, they had to ask.

"Why're they, uh... there?"

Truthfully, Frisk looked a lot less... everything, really, while asleep. Ignoring the bruises (thanks, Ceroba), they looked a lot less like a threat and a lot more like a kid who had been dealt a bad hand. They could almost sympathise.

"Apparently, there was nowhere else to put them," Dalv replied, slightly observationally. "I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on both of you, actually. I suppose everyone else has been too."

"Like... in shifts?"

"You could say that. I was just... added to the schedule." he thought for a moment, and then; "Maybe go out there and tell somebody you're awake? I'll stay here and keep an eye on them."

Clover obliged, standing up and re-equipping their hat.

It was as they were about to put their jacket on as well that they noticed the assortment of bandages on their arms and figured that maybe those should be left unbothered. A shame, too. They had thought they did pretty well in that fight, but the evidence to the contrary was right in front of them.

They mulled about in the room for a few more seconds, taking a closer look at some of the drawings (a slightly out-of-place drawing of a tutu caught their eye, for one) before giving Dalv a nod.

"Move Frisk to the bed, if ya can?" they requested, "Havin' them on the floor doesn't sit right with me.

Once Dalv nodded, Clover left the room and made their way downstairs. The sound of conversation was a bit clearer from here, but... well, they wanted to look around a bit.

The first door they opened led to an office; robot parts, four souls on a map...

They wondered about the fifth absently before shaking their head, sighing, and turning around to leave. Nothing of use.

They might as well go see the others. Seeing them awake would make all of them happy. They could say that for sure, and took reassurance from it.

"I'm saying that we'll need to be careful, Martlet. There are two humans in my house. That's practically an invitation for the Royal Guard."

"I get that! I just don't think that keeping Clover in the Dunes forever is a smart idea. At least let me take them to Snowdin every now and then!"

"It's not forever. It's a temporary precaution."

"Weren't you trying to get them to Hotland?"

"Circumstances have changed."

Clover took that as an adequate time to clear their throat, grabbing Ceroba and Martlet's attention from... whatever argument they were having.

(They knew. They knew this was too good to be true.)

"They're awake!" Martlet was already hurrying over and wrapping her wings around them. They were ready this time, opening their arms in turn.

"Takes more than a few cuts to keep me down," they replied, "Y'all okay?"

"We were discussing the... semantics of your continued survival," Ceroba replied, making her way over, "Your protection is the highest priority, naturally. But I can admit Martlet had a point that you shouldn't be trapped here."

"You just said-"

"Let me finish. Clover, would you mind staying here until you and..."

"Frisk," Clover interjected.

"Until you and Frisk have recovered, right. I... maybe shouldn't have punched them as hard or as much as I did. I didn't expect them to be a teenager."

It did save their skin, though. They could concede that much.

They wouldn't mind staying with Ceroba for a while, they supposed. They weren't in a bad home, and... well, they appreciated the care they were being shown. And it wouldn't be forever, she was right...

"If I must. Thanks for offerin'," they decided.

"Well, that settles it. Thanks for making this simpler," Ceroba replied with a nod.

"If they're okay with it, I guess?" Martlet added, "I'll be sure to visit, Clover!"

"Don't force yourself," they said, "If it's too much trouble gettin' here, you don't have to-"

"Nope, I've decided!" she interrupted, "You're in the flock now!"

"You're basically never getting rid of any of us," Ceroba added, "That reminds me. I should go tell Star that you'll be staying here. He'll be ecstatic."

They were about to interrupt, but Ceroba had already turned to leave, leaving them and Martlet in the dining room.

"You're totally going to sneak out the first chance you get, aren't you?" she asked.

"It wouldn't be sneaking out! I doubt I could get out of the Dunes without bein' caught anyway, and she told me not to!"

"C'mon! You've got one adult allowing it, that's basically full permission! I'm sure Starlo would agree! Dalv might not, but 50/50 is 50/50!"

...

They would like a moment to think, though. That might be nice.

"You're... really allowin' this?" they asked.

"I'm not forbidding it. I would already be gone if I were in your shoes!"

"Right. Uh. Thanks, Martlet. I'll be back soon."

Clover turned around and went down the other hallway, making an unintentional pitstop in the kitchen. A bowl of corn chowder was on the counter, still almost warm. A note labelled it as theirs, so they picked it up and took a few sips.

They took a moment to stare into the basin there as they ate, their own reflection looking back at them. It was...

Everything they'd been through had had an effect on their appearance, evidently. They'd never thought they could look so weary. Maybe they had slept for too long and were still tired. Maybe they were just... emotionally exhausted. It had been a long few days, after all, and...

People were trying to keep them alive. That much was evident. Monsters were trapped Underground, and yet their life was so important as to delay freedom.

...No, they shouldn't go down that road. They were alive, and for now that was that.

They emptied the bowl into the sink and cleaned it, an odd reminder of the Surface.

...

They needed some fresh air.

"Chujin Ketsukane - The best of us," an epitaph read. They had strayed a bit outside and had gotten to a headstone, lit by candles. The area was shockingly well maintained, the amount of plant life foreign for the Dunes. It must've been Ceroba's work, they mused.

They sat down by the headstone. Were they disrespecting the dead? They... should they say something? That was...

That was what people did at places like this. And they had a lot on their mind.

Clover sighed, and looked up at the cave ceiling.

"You're one of the missin' pieces, aren't you? Part of a story I ain't getting. Kinda weird to think about, huh?

"I can tell I don't understand who you were. Martlet, Ceroba- heck, even Axis, everything they've said about you is all just part of a bigger picture. I'm sure of it. But..."

They smiled softly, and shook their head.

"Thanks for meaning somethin' to them. Hopefully you're happy, wherever you are. Mind if I talk at you for a bit?"

No response. Well, they weren't sure what they expected.

"How many years have y'all been, uh, underground? Centuries? Millennia? Long enough that killin' humans is... well, you're all desperate."

They tapped their hands together, frowning slightly.

"So why are people still tryin' to look out for me? Wouldn't they be a hero for gettin' my soul? Closest anyone has gotten has been Frisk, but...

"I don't get it. What's it about me that deserves to live?"

...

There was the nearly imperceptible sound of something being moved. Clover looked around, and...

A vine slid a video tape towards them, before disappearing into the ground. They picked it up and held it in their hands; completely unlabelled except for a chipped blue mark.

It... felt important. If it were literally taken to the grave, it had to have been.

But they didn't have anywhere to play it. They'd... pocket it for now. Maybe they'd find a way eventually.

"Well, I should get back. Thanks for listenin', Mr. Chujin."

They... did feel lighter, kind of. It was nice to get it off their chest, even if they were just talking to themselves.

Clover was still themselves. That was feeling clearer now.

Sure, they were beaten and exhausted, but... they had made it this far, right? If hoping for better had gotten them this far, they'd keep doing that. There were a lot of loose ends they needed to tie up anyway.

Sighing one more time, they stood up and walked back to the Estate. They shouldn't make anyone worry.

Thankfully, no one asked where they were. Martlet greeted them with a conspiratorial wink and a comment about how they'd never left, before standing up to leave.

So it was just them, their friend who didn't live there, and the unconscious person who tried to kill them a few days ago.

...

Well, they'd been through weirder.

For a lack of better to do, they made their way back to Kanako's room. (It didn't feel right to call it theirs.)

Surprisingly, Dalv had managed to move Frisk into the bed. They sat down on the floor next to him and waved.

"Thanks again for comin' all this way," they said.

"Of course," Dalv replied, "Why wouldn't I?"

...

That was the crux of it, wasn't it? Clover helped others, and were helped in return. They had people who cared for them. They cared in turn. That...

That was why they were still here.

"Thanks in general, then," they added softly. Dalv tilted his head, but seemed to write it off.

A comfortable silence settled between the two of them, Dalv occupying himself with the clipboard. They caught a brief glance; a paper full of drawings and concepts.

"What's that?" they asked.

"I've always wanted to write for kids, but I had sort of lost the spark," he answered, "It's hard to teach someone about the world when you... haven't seen any of it in years. But now I'm back, and so is this dream."

"Aw. That's-"

An incoherent mutter came from the bed, and they paused.

Frisk was stirring, raising an arm to block their eyes from the light in the room.

...That was probably more pressing.

Chapter Text

Neither Dalv nor Clover said anything as Frisk woke up. They looked around for a few seconds, their gaze eventually settling on the two of them. Immediately, they tensed up, sitting up and scrambling away as much as they could in their current position.

Which wasn't much.

"Don't- Don't push your luck. I'll send us both back," they warned, "You know I can."

Clover immediately raised their hands in surrender; they had no doubt that that threat could very easily be carried out, and they would rather not risk it.

"Woah, I ain't gonna- I dunno," they began, "You're not in any danger. I just wanna talk."

"Do you want to handle this?" Dalv asked quietly, "I can intervene if need be."

"It's... I think I can manage," Clover replied, "But please stay."

Once he nodded, they turned their attention back to Frisk.

How would they word this in a way that wasn't absolutely terrible...

"So, ah- why'd ya want to kill me so badly?"

Probably not like that, but it was too late to backpedal now!

Frisk stared at them for a few seconds before letting out a sigh and lowering their head.

"I've said it already. It's either you or me," they answered. "But I couldn't risk letting you escape. I'd waited too long."

"...Have you been in any... actual danger? After the thing with the King, I mean."

"I... not really? I've helped with people's problems enough that no one really cares if I'm here. As long as I don't actually go to the castle, I'm just... allowed to live."

Well, that answered a lot. And was reassuring if they were going to stay here for longer. Clover could work with this.

"Then why go after my soul at all?"

"Because-" Frisk shook their head, throwing their hands up in what could only be described as exasperation, "-I've seen everything there is to see here. I've been everyone's hero for so long, but there's nothing coming from it! No matter what happens, I've needed more! And- we had- we had a plan, and following that plan kept me sane. Even if it meant killing you, it'd give me something to work towards."

...That sounded like much ado about nothing, but what did Clover know?

"Are you... gonna keep tryin', then?" they asked.

Frisk didn't answer for several seconds, long enough that Dalv reached out to try and shield Clover with his arm. It was an important question; if they were really set on killing Clover, then there was nothing else they could do.

But they'd like to hope anyway.

"I... don't know," Frisk finally said. "It's tempting, but... I just- I've tried a lot. And you've always somehow forced me to load, even when I do get close to succeeding. I mean, if you remember everything I've put you through-"

"I don't, actually," Clover interrupted amicably.

"Oh, wow, that actually explains a lot."

...

They decided not to ask what that meant.

"I guess it's your choice, in the end," they said instead, "Not like any of us but you will remember this conversation if ya do, right?

"But it'd still mean somethin'. You'd be firmly choosin' a path that ain't exactly the best. And you'd have to deal with knowin' that."

That was the crux of it, really.

Frisk sighed, resting their head on their hand. They nodded and muttered a "no, you're right", before their brow furrowed and they turned their attention to... something.

It almost felt like something about the world itself was being written down. Like a snapshot was taken of this moment and stored somewhere.

Whatever it was, it felt important.

"It's done," they said flatly, looking at Clover. "Whatever that means to you. Just... things aren't as easy here as you clearly think they are."

...So they were free, huh? That was that? One of the major looming threats was taken off the list? Nothing else to worry about, at least from them...

(They'd still like an apology, kind of, but this was a good start.)

"Well, in that case..." Clover stood up, walked over, and offered their hand for Frisk to shake. "It's nice to meet ya more properly."

Frisk glanced at their hand, and then up at them.

"I don't get you," they eventually stated, though they shook Clover's hand nonetheless.

Frisk healed surprisingly quickly, considering they were beaten to an inch of their life. They avoided Ceroba like it was life or death, and they only really talked to Clover and Dalv (something about him just "having a calming vibe". They weren't exactly sure what that one meant.), but they seemed to be making... some progress.

It was nice to see them trying to let their guard down. And also felt a little bit like socialising a feral animal.

Currently, the two of them were sitting in the Wild East's saloon with Starlo a few days after their conversation. They figured that if anyone could at least amuse Frisk, it would be him.

They had zoned out halfway through him explaining something wildly incorrect about human culture, as Frisk just nodded politely like it was absolute fact.

It wasn't really a conversation that involved them, but they were happy to be there.

"See, Ceroba always tells me it ain't always like the movies, so I'm glad yer confirmin' it for me instead!" Starlo exclaimed, downing a can of root beer.

"You're not, I dunno... scared of her?" Frisk asked in response, "I'd be pretty scared of getting on her nerves."

"Nah. I mean, she'd kick me into next week if she wanted to, I'm sure. But it's a Ketsukane thing. Devotion, ya know? One of their values."

"Ketsukane, huh?" Frisk said, causing Clover to perk up slightly.

"What about it?" they asked.

"Nothing important. I just... think I recognise that name from somewhere..."

"Ya do? I didn't think Ceroba got out of the Dunes that often," Starlo stated, scratching his chin, "Not since a few years ago, at least..."

"Want us to try and jog your memory?" Clover added.

"I'm thinking about it," they answered simply, lowering their head, "Turning tragedy into opportunity..?"

The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes before Clover thought of something, and turned to Starlo accordingly.

"She had a kid, didn't she?" they asked.

"Kanako, ya mean?" he replied, "Yeah. She fell down a while ago. Never had a funeral for her, but by this point-"

"Wait." Frisk said abruptly, sitting up straighter, "Okay, this is going to sound weird, but- if she never had a funeral, she never dusted, right?"

"Reckon so."

"I- well, legally speaking I shouldn't be telling you about this, but one thing led to another a few years ago and I ended up privy to some classified scientific information, and- can we go talk to Ceroba?"

"Couldn't you do that yourself?" Clover asked.

"I'd rather have witnesses in the case that this doesn't make her like me."

...Well, they still thought that fear was completely ungrounded, but alright.

They waved to Starlo, and let Frisk drag them out of the saloon.

"You. What." Ceroba said.

It was honestly a comedic image; Frisk vaguely cowering behind Clover as they talked to frankly one of the nicest adults they knew.

"I- yeah, I didn't make the connection until now," they replied, "But I think she's in the lab? And conscious? I can't guarantee things will be the same, but she should be there."

Ceroba nodded firmly.

"We're going. Clover, considering circumstances I'd rather you stay here. No need to have another reason for people to go after you."

"Got it," Clover replied.

...They were absolutely going to follow along the moment they figured out how to, and they knew Ceroba knew that. They'd be polite about it until then, at least.

They sat themselves down as a very frightened looking Frisk left with Ceroba in tow, thinking the matter over.

How to get to Hotland in a timely manner. They could go through the Steamworks, but Axis would probably be ticked at them, and the place was barely navigable even without the bridge now being down. They doubted they could make it without Ceroba. But that was apparently the only way out of the Dunes.

A dilemma. They would-

The beating of wings outside snapped Clover to attention, and they quickly made their way to the front door of the Estate to investigate.

"Clover!" Martlet called out cheerfully, "See, I told you I'd come visit!"

They bumped their fist against her wing with a smile.

"Howdy. Sorry, Ceroba just left. So did Frisk, for that matter."

"So they are awake, huh?" she asked, "You don't look very dead! So you worked it out after all, then?"

"Somethin' like that. I think they're still itchin' for approval, and they're still a little full of themselves, but they ain't fightin' me anymore."

"Small wins, right?"

Clover leaned against the wall, and sighed. Small wins. That was about what they were getting, and-

Wait, birds could fly! They should ask!

"Mind doin' me a favour?" they asked, "If not, it's fine, but somethin' ain't sittin' right with me."

"...I guess that depends on what you're asking!" Martlet answered, "It's nothing too illegal, right?"

"Well, not for you. I just need to get to Hotland. Since the Steamworks are sorta impossible to navigate right now, I was wonderin' if you could fly me there?"

Martlet paused for a few seconds, probably thinking over the semantics of doing so, before nodding.

"Where in Hotland? It's... kinda a big place."

"Uh, wherever the lab is? I think?"

Another moment of consideration.

"I can do that! You wanna go right now, or..?"

"I mean, if it's not any trouble, I would-"

They were already being picked up, and they unceremoniously clung to Martlet's shoulders to let her actually fly. It wasn't really comfortable by any means, but they would take getting to Hotland as reward enough.

...They did let out a rather indignant squawk the first time they looked down and saw magma below them. But they would deny that until the end of their days.

Once Martlet landed, Clover situated themselves back on solid ground and looked over at the laboratory in front of them. The door was still ajar, and it was dark enough that they couldn't see inside.

Ominous. They could only assume Ceroba and Frisk had already gotten there.

"You ever been in there?" they asked, more to fill the silence than anything.

"Only once, back when I was in the guard," Martlet replied, "I probably shouldn't have, but it's too late to go back now!"

Even more ominous.

"Guess this is it, then," they said, "You mind if I go it alone from here?"

"Clover, I said I'd protect you, so-"

"I'll find Ceroba and Frisk as soon as possible. Don't need another person gettin' involved in... whatever this is."

Martlet frowned, but nodded slowly.

"If... you're sure, then..." she laughed nervously, then spoke again. "Gosh, this feels a little more final for some reason, doesn't it?"

...Not really. They weren't sure if they could see where she was coming from, so...

"What do ya mean by that?"

"Just... I dunno. Feels like this is gonna be the last I see of you for a while. You mind if I say some things, then?"

"I... guess?"

"Right.

"I've thought about this for a while. Everyone kind of stopped thinking there was good in humanity, and it's not... really hard to see why. Even I was kinda losing hope. But then we all met you!"

"...Me?"

"You! You're a good kid, Clover. I dunno how much you believe that, but you are. You're patient and compassionate to a fault. Sure, you haven't changed the world, but you've changed so many lives for the better. You've given people someone to fight for.

"So... I don't know what the best course of action is for you, but I think that if anyone can figure it out, it's you. And I meant what I said. I'm proud of you for making it this far!"

...For some reason, their throat felt dry. They nodded slowly, and looked back to the lab.

"...Thanks, Martlet."

"Aw, there's no need to thank me! I really just needed to get that off my chest."

She looked to the lab as well, and reached over to pat them on the head.

"Good luck in there, Clover."

And then she took off, leaving them alone again. They lowered their hat over their eyes for a moment, letting out a long sigh. For some reason that was getting to them.

...

Well, no point in delaying it any longer.

With a lengthy sigh, they approached the door to the lab and snuck inside.

Chapter Text

The lab was almost worryingly sterile at first impressions. The walls were clean, and there wasn't anything that struck Clover as particularly worrying.

Save for a screen that appeared to be broadcasting their exact location. They looked up at it, adjusted their goggles, and turned their attention elsewhere.

Down the hall there was what appeared to be an elevator shaft, the door to it somehow open. Clover walked forwards to inspect it, when-

"Can I... help you..?"

A short lizard monster emerged from an upstairs portion of the lab (apparently). Well, they couldn't lie, but how could they explain "hey the vibes were off so I'm making sure everything's okay"?

"I'm looking for Kanako Ketsukane. Any chance you know anythin' about her whereabouts?" they said instead, hoping that that would be sufficient. In response, the monster looked at them like they just punched her in the gut.

"O-Oh. You're... following Frisk, then?" she asked. "Do they know you're here?"

...

"Yeah." they lied. "What, do they have clearance or somethin'? 'Cause I could really use that."

"Something like th-that. I-I mean, they know more than most people about this..."

Ominous. They'd really rather not play another game of "what's this kid hiding from me now".

"So, ah- is it fine if I..." Clover pointed to the elevator shaft, their voice trailing off.

Once more, the monster seemed wildly unsure as to if she actually wanted them to. So they pressed on. They had to know the truth.

"I'm worried about Frisk," they added, and it wasn't false. "And if you're involved in whatever happened to Kanako, I'm worried about you, too. So... let me follow 'em? Please?"

Another long moment of silence. Slowly, she nodded.

"I'll... pretend I d-didn't see you come in. Just...

"Whatever you see there was my fault. Not theirs."

Even more ominous!

Nonetheless, Clover nodded and approached the elevator shaft. It... looked like a long way down. Or maybe that was just the atmosphere. Or maybe it was both. Either way, they weren't looking forward to this.

They sighed, tugged their goggles over their eyes, and took a step forwards, before-

"Wait!"

...They looked up, raising an eyebrow.

"The call button f-for the elevator," she said, "It's right there. See it?"

They glanced over. Sure enough, there was a button hidden on the wall. They pressed it, and the shaft doors beeped and closed again.

"Thanks," they replied. The monster nodded, before turning her attention to her (incredibly messy) desk. They let her be.

Eventually, the elevator dinged again, and the doors opened. They stepped inside, pressed a button, and the doors closed.

...

It was like everything was getting darker. The quiet became quieter. Too quiet. Something was very, very wrong.

Clover took a deep breath. They just had to figure out what was going on, find Frisk and Ceroba, and get out. They could manage that. They could.

The elevator dinged a final time, before the doors slid open. That felt wrong somehow. Too normal. Nevertheless, they stepped outside the elevator. The doors closed behind them, before something fizzled and cracked. An experimental press of the call button showed that it was out of power.

So they were stuck down here. That was okay.

They walked down the hall, looking around. Everything was grimy and decrepit, and still far too dark. They moved to tug their jacket closer around themselves, but-

It wasn't there. Right. They must've left it at Ceroba's. A shame, it was sort of chilly here.

A screen flickered on as they approached, illuminating the room slightly. They took a moment to read the text on it.

"...Unleashing the power of the SOUL," Clover muttered, clutching a hand to their chest where their soul hummed gently. What did that mean, exactly..?

Using the souls of monsters, the next screen explained. Normally they disappear after death, added the next.

Determination. The resolve to change fate.

...Wasn't that what Frisk was trying to do? They... that didn't paint a fantastic picture.

They kept walking.

The hall led to a door, four faded lights on it. Apparently also out of power.

A note was attached to the door, a messy scrawl that Clover had to squint to read.

"i swear, it's like every elevator i touch breaks," it read, "sorry, alphys. -frisk"

Despite everything, they were able to snicker at that. Was that just written, or had it been here for years? How long had this been going on for?

They went the first way they saw, down another hall. Another screen, detailing requests for "fallen down" monsters and... subsequent experiments.

"Kanako..." they said aloud. What had gone wrong?

...Were they going to like knowing?

One of the doors slammed shut a few minutes after Frisk and Ceroba stepped through it. Great, the power cut again.

...Well, no matter. They knew where the keys were. They'd find a way past the door, and get the first one.

In the meantime...

"Kanako should be in this part of the lab," they said, temporarily ignoring the why of the power situation, "I'm sure you can manage without me, you're definitely capable, feel free to keep looking. I need to get this door open somehow."

...

"This wasn't my fault, for the record," they added, somewhat more nervously. "Please don't kill me."

"...Do you really think I'm that angry at you?" Ceroba asked tersely, "Even if I was, I'm not killing a child."

Right. Of course. Maybe they were being melodramatic. But maybe they didn't want to be punched again, and that was completely fair! They weren't in the wrong this time!

They sighed.

"Anyway. Are you fine with splitting up for a bit? If not, it's fine, whatever, up to you-"

"Can you just talk to me like a normal person?"

"Okay."

"But... yes. That's... fine. Good luck."

They gave Ceroba a thumbs up, and then she walked away. Frisk turned their attention to the closed door afterwards. It was closed magnetically, wasn't it? If they could force it up enough, they could get it to open...

They sighed, and took out their dagger.

"Frisk, I swear. If you break one of my only remaining possessions I will find a way to break you," Chara piped up, making their presence known once more.

"I'm not going to. Relax," they replied, leaning down and trying to fit the blade under the door.

There was just enough room to do so, but the door didn't budge at first.

Okay. They could do this. They just had to be careful with the knife.

...

Frisk really hoped whoever caused the outage was okay.

Oh god OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD.

The note had said the key was dropped down the drain, so they were fiddling with the sinks, and something was definitely forming from one of them. Six melted faces melded together, constantly shifting and pulsing and writhing. Two others identical creatures followed, and Clover slowly raised their gun defensively.

...Smelled like batteries. More importantly, what were these things? They didn't look anything like any monsters they knew...

Clover stood by and waited for the three entities to do something.

Dial-up tones emitted from nowhere in particular, and kept ringing and ringing and RINGING, before-

OH GOD ONE OF THEM WAS ON THEM GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF

They tried to force it off, but it just latched on tighter like some kind of parasite and everything was screaming and tearing and burning and they'd like to cry but they had no eyes and their gun was ringing out and it just wouldn't stop.

"Some say yellow is the color of jcuoswtaircde. you're. a. coward."

"6f6e652074776f20746872656520666f757220666976652073697820736576656e20536576656e207353657656656e20377345763d656e2073566d6e20307345376e205365767665767656767676765656565656"

"4E 6F 74 68 69 6E 67 20 62 75 74 20 67 61 72 62 61 67 65 20 6E 6F 69 73 65 2E 2E 2E"

"Let justice be done."

they could feel their very soul screaming it was too much it was too much it was too much it was too much they just had to get one more it'd all be over soon they had to survive a little longer they had to get revenge- what revenge they just had to find-

why were they here

they couldn't remember THEY COULDN'T REMEMBER THEIR HEAD WAS EXPLODING

"HEY!"

that was real that was real someone was here- the screaming in their head died down and they clung to that feeling.

"Get off of them- this isn't their fault!"

the...

The dialtones died down.

So did the ringing.

Frisk was standing over them, holding out a cell phone like it was a shield of some kind. The things disappeared, and for some reason they were breathing just as heavily as Clover no doubt was. They reached into the nearby drain, pulling out a key and not taking their eyes off Clover for even a moment.

"I- why are you here? Ceroba told you to- no, that's not important right now..."

They were vaguely conscious of Frisk opening their bag and stealing a can of root beer from it, but they didn't have the energy to protest.

Oh. Wait. They were handing it to Clover. They cracked it open, taking a few long sips of it. They felt like they were getting... some energy back.

They sat up- how long had they been laying down for?- and looked up at Frisk.

"Thanks," they whispered weakly.

"They- I swear the Memoryheads aren't normally like that. I have no idea why they would've latched onto you like that. Not to mention, this wasn't supposed to involve you. I'm..."

Frisk winced, like it was physically painful for them to say.

"I'm sorry."

...Clover nodded, taking another sip of the root beer. It was very flat now, and really mediocre, they finally recognized. At least they were able to notice that.

They were here to find the missing humans. They had found one of them. The rest were gone. Now they were just trying to take it day by day. It was coming back. All that mattered was that which actually happened, not something they might have done in another time and another place.

There still felt like a gaping void where the Memoryheads had clung to them, but they could manage. Their soul was still intact, and they still existed. That was enough.

They weren't sure they could stand up just yet, and Frisk seemed to take the hint. They walked into the next room, something clicked, and they returned.

"The key's in the wall. The power's out, so you can't leave, so... Are you going to be okay if we keep going through this place?"

Slowly, Clover remembered their deep need to understand. They still had to figure out what was going on. Those things were a bad sign of whatever had happened to Kanako, but...

They'd manage. They'd apparently have to.

They nodded, reaching an arm up weakly. Frisk pulled them to their feet and let them lean on them, and they started on the walk through the lab once more.

Clover's head was still swimming. They needed something to focus on. Maybe they could start a conversation, but...

Hm. That was a good question. They'd ask.

"If ya don't mind me askin'- you caught up with me outside the Steamworks, right?" they began.

"Hm? Yeah."

"How'd ya get past Axis?"

Frisk went quiet for a few seconds, before smiling. For some reason, they seemed... embarrassed?

"I panicked and needed something quick. So I flirted with him."

"...You WHAT?"

"I don't know! It was something I did all the time when I was still going through the Underground, so I guess I just fell back on it!"

"And it worked?"

"Yeah..? I think it short-circuited his emotion drives, or something..? I'm... not sure."

Clover managed a quiet laugh as they were led back into the main room(?) of the lab.

This sucked. This whole situation was quickly turning into one of the worst things they'd ever experienced. But they had someone to talk to. They weren't alone.

It felt weird to actually be comfortable around Frisk after everything. Maybe they were just really bad at being threatening. But they were... being helpful. They wouldn't just forget that.

So they continued further into the lab, letting themselves keep their hopes high.

Chapter Text

"one of the bodies opened its eyes."

Clover took a step back from the sign. That... explained a lot of what they needed to know. Fallen down monsters injected with determination to try and preserve their souls.

Evidently, something went... very wrong.

...

They didn't bother to try and parse the sticky notes on the wall next to the sign, simply looking at Frisk expectantly. Frisk seemed to pick up on the implicit question; they shook their head and took a step forwards.

"'Apparently, human consciousness can be preserved post-mortem and... despite everything,'" they read aloud, "'Doesn't seem like much of the soul needs to be there, either...'"

"And the other one?" Clover asked.

"...'I'm running out of sticky notes.'"

...Well, one of those was more helpful than the other. If one of the other humans were even vaguely conscious, they could take that as a win in their book.

A few steps later, the hallway opened into a... bedroom, apparently. A half-full bowl of dog food was placed in one corner next to plants that definitely needed more sunlight.

(Briefly, Clover thought back to Flowey. He had the same sort-of-wilted appearance. They considered forcing him to get more sunlight as soon as possible before moving on.)

"Why's there a dog food bowl?" they stated more than asked, "You ain't been feedin' people dog food, have you?"

"There are dogs down here," Frisk replied casually. "But I'll refill the bowl at some point. We can't let it stay close to empty for too long, or-"

They were cut off by an odd scampering noise. Squinting in the direction of the sound proved unsuccessful; it was too dark, and whatever made the noise seemed more focused on getting away from them.

Hm. Well, if it didn't want to bother Clover, Clover wouldn't bother it.

Clover crossed the length of the room, only pausing briefly to fix the sheets on one of the beds; force of habit more than anything.

"Oh, a key," they noted with a slight smile, picking it up and pocketing it. Had to be important somehow.

"That should be the one for... the VHS room, maybe?" Frisk added, their focus more on something in another corner of the room that Clover couldn't quite see. At the very least, the feeling of something being cosmically written down was becoming slightly more familiar.

So they just gave a quiet thumbs up as Frisk looked back towards them, and continued forwards.

A thick fog obscured the room Clover stepped into, making it almost impossible to see the walls. They stepped forwards carefully, eventually finding a switch on the wall and pressing it.

Fans whirred to life next to them, and they muttered an apology to a now-wincing Frisk, as-

...as pieces of the fog were clumping together, forming a large hulking beast that slowly approached the two of them while flicking a strange, unknown substance everywhere. Frisk took a few steps back next to them, hitting a wall and establishing their status as "really cornered".

This was starting to feel eerily familiar.

"That's Endogeny. Shit, I should've known," they muttered, "Just- don't aggravate it and I'll try and figure something out."

Clover nodded, looking over at Endogeny. It was...

...

"That's a bunch of dogs," they said flatly in response, "You're tellin' me to be afraid of a bunch of dogs."

Frisk did not seem to be viewing this as casually as they were. This fact only became more true as Clover clapped their hands together and called out to the amorphous dog mass.

"C'mere!" they exclaimed with a grin, because an odd mass of a bunch of dogs was still an odd mass of dogs. Endogeny bounded towards them, the orifice producing even more of that odd fluid.

"What are you doing, you're going to get us killed, holy shit-"

Clover paid that no attention, currently far too busy petting the dog. After a few moments, it pulled away, practically bounding up the walls in excitement. They took a step back themselves, relatively confident that getting crushed by a dog of that size would kill them.

They were also relatively confident, however, in their knowledge of dog behaviour. How to get a dog's energy down...

...

Clover made sure the safety of their gun was still on before throwing it across the room. Endogeny perked up, bounding to fetch the weapon. They repeated the process a few times before the dog stopped and rested itself on them, very much slowing their ability to move.

...

They pet the dog again. Better yet, Frisk finally seemed relaxed enough to help.

Apparently satisfied, Endogeny made an odd barking sound at them before fading away.

"...Clover, why are you like this?" Frisk asked after several seconds of silence.

They didn't have an answer for that one.

Clover kept their head down as they entered a room next to a large, unsettling machine. It was like it was watching them, staring without eyes like it had a life of its own despite its confinement to the wall. They loathed to think what it was used for.

Frisk opened their mouth (probably to tell them) and was immediately met with the worst glare that Clover could muster. It managed to shut them up all the same.

A television was set in the middle of the room, a tape player laid on the shelf under it.

...Sure, there were tapes laid out next to it, but that felt more like an invasion of privacy than anything. Like looking into a story that wasn't theirs to know. Instead, they reached into their bag, pulled out the blue stained tape, and put it in.

The TV flickered on, the room being suddenly bathed in a deep green. A figure on the screen tapped his paws together nervously, his face obscured by shadow.

"This is Chujin," he said.

Well then.

"I messed up, miscalculated, something. Axis- Axis is dangerous. I must've overshot the variables, all I wanted was apprehension."

A thud sounded outside the room. Frisk sat down next to Clover, constantly glancing behind them.

"The human who almost hurt my child, I told Axis to track them down. I know I should've stayed to comfort Kanako and tend to the resident who was hurt, but... I had a tool that could stop the human's crusade, so I tried."

Another thud. They swore they heard voices outside- was one of them Ceroba?

"In a flash, Axis left me. Bolted for Waterfall. By the time I tracked him down... it was too late. I'll never forget the scene laid before me. Part of me wanted to quit everything that instant, but... this outcome was earned, was it not?"

The tape cut out. Clover didn't realise that Frisk had taken it out until a hand was placed on their shoulder a few moments later.

"You're shaking, Clover," they said quietly, "Don't- don't think about any of that too hard, okay?"

They took a deep breath. Right. They just... had to know. And now they knew.

Now they knew. They straightened themselves back up. They knew others had died before them, sure, but... so directly?

It was... a sickening thought.

...

They were cut off from dwelling on that as something burst into the room, Ceroba following a few seconds later. Her ears were pinned against her head, and there was an expression of pure, terrified desperation on her face.

Like with the Memoryheads earlier, Clover chose to place their thoughts on the matter gently in the box of "I'll process that later.", and instead hurried forwards to check on their... temporary caretaker, they supposed.

Ceroba flinched as they approached, taking a step back.

"Clover. I told you to- right, I wouldn't have listened to that either..." she stated, but it sounded... distant and far off, like she wasn't really seeing them, "Move out of the way. I need to talk to Kanako. It's- it's important. I have to apologise."

"...get... g-get away... can't... can't run anymore... can't- can't- can't-"

They looked over at... Kanako? The left side of her face- and indeed that half of her body- was in a constant loop of melting and reforming, constantly falling off and surging to fix itself. She was shifting from foot to foot quickly, with a practised ease and nimbleness that didn't quite reflect her state.

The best Clover could describe her was curled in on herself, occasionally letting out sounds of pure terror. Like a cornered dog. Occasionally, she said something incoherent to herself in what could only be an attempt at self-soothing.

...The second thing they noticed was that Ceroba speaking seemed to only make the situation worse. Like she was torn between listening to her mother and running away again, and that that disconnect was stressing her out.

Or something. They didn't know Kanako that well, or at all.

It... it wasn't a good idea, by any means, but Clover had to keep her away from Kanako. If only until the two of them could think more clearly.

"I... I can't do that, ma'am," they said slowly, "You gotta breathe. Stop followin' her."

"Clover," Ceroba warned, "That's my child. I need to speak to her."

"She's clearly freakin' out! You're not gonna get anywhere if she's scared of ya!"

"If I can just get through to her-"

"Give her five minutes to calm down! Just- just LISTEN, DAMMIT! Can't ya see you're makin' things worse?"

...

They never thought they would be trying to restrain a grown woman. Ceroba, fortunately, was still able to focus on not hurting Clover, but she was also still clearly upset at them. And was maybe also a little shocked that they actually yelled.

Thankfully for them, Frisk knelt to be on eye level with Kanako. They reached a hand out slowly.

"Hey," they whispered, in a similar tone to how they had spoken to Clover a few minutes prior, "Can you look at me?"

"...can't... don't- it... hurts. it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts-"

"I know. But you're safe here. Ceroba's just worried about you. She's not that scary, is she?"

...They were very clearly lying through their teeth, and very clearly still terrified of Ceroba, but... it seemed to be working.

Slowly, but surely, Kanako stopped curling in on herself. She loomed as much as a child could, looking at Frisk with one good eye that was tinged blue.

The same blue that was on the tape.

...

Oh.

Oh.

Oh no.

Clover looked up at Ceroba.

"You mentioned once that what happened to Kanako was your fault," they said, but it wasn't really accusatory, just a statement of fact. "Can ya tell me more?"

"I-" Ceroba prepared a rebuttal, no doubt, before sighing and speaking again. "Chujin told me to finish his experiments with the soul he had collected. When I finished the serum, Kanako offered to let me test it on her, and..."

She didn't finish the sentence.

"So she's awake, but she's got a bit of another person's soul in her," Clover concluded, "Is it possible, that, uh- the other person is- also awake?"

...

Kanako- and whoever could be there too- blinked over at them. The shifting seemed to become less errant as they spoke, like something was being properly identified. Frisk nodded encouragingly.

They took a step forwards, nodding slowly to Ceroba.

"Howdy, stranger. You got a name?" they added, stepping closer to Frisk.

Once more, they and Kanako recoiled, scrambling to the back of the room. Her paw was raised in front of them, claws unsheathed like it was doing anything to protect them in the slightest.

(Oh, there was a slot for a key next to her. They'd have to look at that later.)

"...not... not gonna hurt you... not again- you're fine- sorry- don't..."

...Conflicting thoughts. That seemed to be part of the problem; if they weren't working together, their state got worse. Hm.

Frisk frowned next to them, tilting their head.

"Can you tell us more about what happened?" they asked. Clover elbowed them gently.

"Well, that's not gonna help," they whispered.

...

Surprisingly, they spoke up.

"kept- nothing... nothing worked. tried. tried. TRIED-" their voice came out inconsistent, shaky, but clearly more lucid, "tried to- tried to get stronger, but... didn't- too little too late, and-"

Frisk nodded.

"People got hurt," they finished, taking a step forwards, "You died, and now you're here. And... part of someone else. Does... is she upset, or..."

"n-no," came a firm response, and that was certainly from Kanako, "not... not anymore..."

"That's good," Clover added, "Is it just the two of you?"

Another nod. Talking seemed to be getting easier for both of them.

"hid from... hid from... e-everyone when... something......" she trailed off, "can't.... c-can't remember. but... stayed together..."

"I think you've made it through the worst of it, then," Frisk noted, "No one's conditions have gotten much worse, so... the worst you'll have is being stuck together. Which you've... clearly at least sort of accepted."

"Can't change the past, only the future!" Clover said cheerfully.

Finally, Ceroba stepped forwards, crouching down next to Clover and Frisk.

(They let Frisk move away slightly without bringing it up.)

"I... I'm sorry for chasing you both here. I suppose having my daughter back got to my head, and..." she shook her head. "Well, I hope you weren't too badly hurt."

Kanako slowly reached a paw out. Again, the melting seemed to become more stable.

"We'll get you out of here, okay? I can't imagine this isolation has been good for either of you," Ceroba continued. "And... whoever's in there with you?"

They froze. Kanako pat herself- them- on the shoulder.

"Thank you for watching over my daughter. I don't forgive you for what you've done, but... Kanako is back. Even if things are different, she's here."

Another paw was reached out, this one closer to an odd, dripping hand.

"c-cel. my name- that."

...

"Thank you, then, Cel."

Ceroba leaned down and hugged both of them, slowly and gently. A bit of goop clung to her kimono, but she didn't seem to care.

"Sorry for holdin' you back," Clover whispered, "But I think this is better than the alternative."

...She shook her head, and they were suddenly pulled into the hug too. It was kind of gross, but... it felt right. Almost like having a family.

Not that they'd voice that, of course. That still felt like over-stepping a boundary. Ceroba just got her daughter back, they wouldn't want to be weird.

...They gave Frisk a glance, but they shook their head. Clover would let them keep their space.

"Ya did good too, Frisk," they said instead. "Didn't think you had it in you."

After a moment, Frisk gave them a hesitant smile, like someone who was still processing the idea of doing a good deed for the sake of it and not just to try and survive.

"I can agree with that," Ceroba added. "Thank you for your help, Frisk. You aren't all bad."

...Okay, now they were just starting to look uncomfortable. They sunk into their jacket slightly, shaking their head slowly and stepping towards the door of the room.

Choosing to let Frisk have their moment, Clover just relaxed into the hug between Ceroba, Cel, and Kanako. It wasn't the most normal situation to be in, but...

For a moment, they were happy.

Chapter Text

After a few more minutes, Clover was able to pull away from the group hug. They wiped goop off of the front of their shirt (distinctly not thinking about what exactly it was) and stood back up, taking a brief detour to put the key they had pocketed into the slot on the wall.

(They were sure Ceroba was still talking over the semantics of everything with Cel and Kanako. It didn't feel like their contribution was needed, though, so they let them be.)

They sidled up to Frisk, leaning on the wall next to them.

"Ya think we should keep movin', or should we wait?" they asked.

"I don't think we should split up again," Frisk replied with a shrug. "There isn't any immediate danger, but... tracking everyone down again would be a hassle. Especially if Ceroba's found one of the other keys."

"Yeah, that's fair."

...

It took a bit, sure, but eventually Ceroba joined them, holding her children(? whatever the semantics for her child and her child's brain hitchhiker were?) by the hand.

"Thanks," she said. No elaboration was given, but Clover figured they understood well enough.

"What's the plan, then?" they asked in response. Ceroba looked down at Kanako for a moment before responding, her voice contemplative.

"I plan to get both of them out of here as soon as possible. Which we... can't do without the power," she answered, "I guess we'll follow you two until then. Afterwards, I'll... figure something out."

Kanako nodded in the affirmative, and they finally continued onwards.

"Garbage dump?" Clover said aloud, reading one of the signs in front of them.

Frisk and Ceroba seemed more focused on the contents of one of the fridges nearby, theorising idly about a tube of some sort of starry substance. They heard a lot of "it wouldn't be worth it" and half finished ideas. Well, at least they were getting along.

Instead, they were approached by an (apparently rather bored) amalgamated child, who looked up at the sign with them.

"in... waterfall..." Kanako explained slowly, rubbing the side of her head with her paw, "it's... human trash, i... i think...?"

Clover nodded, looking back at the sign. They suddenly got the impression that they had missed a sizable amount of the Underground throughout their journey.

Though, maybe there was no helping that. They did sort of have to be rerouted a bunch.

...

A thought hit them, and they smiled absently.

"So you got bored of their science talk too, huh?" they whispered, "Clearly, we ain't that different. Determination ain't really my thing. Kinda neat there's a whole study about it down here, though."

"they... said- about you... you aren't really... you probably don't... don't have a lot of it..?"

...Well, that was kind of rude. Unsurprising, but kind of rude. They opened their mouth to protest (or respond, at the very least), but Kanako had already kept moving. She shambled her way over to the fridge at the end of the hall, a hand slowly reaching out to poke it.

It shook in response. Clover took that as a cue to hurry over. Just in case.

"Is... somethin' weird about it, or..."

"not a fridge at all," came the response, sharper in a way that they assumed was Cel instead of Kanako before softening again. "only... four here."

For some reason, the two of them seemed incredibly excited about this. Not matching their sympathies, Clover took a step back, as-

The fridge shifted, changing slowly into a giant mass, and then-

...A bird monster, possibly? Dissimilar from Martlet, but that seemed like the closest approximation. Its face was two other monsters, and its beak was chipped.

More notably, it seemed to be melting worse than any of the others. A sense of sympathy burned at Clover's gut, but they didn't know where to begin.

Kanako held them back slightly, shaking her head.

"don't... worry... harmless..." she explained, as Frisk and Ceroba hurried over to get a look.

"That's Snowdrake's mother," Frisk said, frowning slightly, "Her condition is... definitely worse than anyone else's."

Ceroba reached a paw out slowly, expression unreadable.

"You're separated from your child, then..." she stated, "I... understand the feeling."

Ah.

Right.

"sno... wy..." the amalgamate replied, hopefully at least somewhat receptive. She sent a few crescent shaped objects at them that... were far from close to hitting them. Ceroba continued speaking.

"We'll get you out of here, alright? Just hang in there, and..." she nodded firmly, astonishingly determined, "You'll see your family soon, if we can help it."

"th... ank you..."

"It's... nothing. I understand."

Snowdrake's mother dropped a blue key before shambling down the hallway. Ceroba stared at her as she departed, expression still vacant.

"I had always wondered what would happen if it were me," she stated vaguely, "I suppose that answers it."

"What's that mean?" Clover asked, pocketing the blue key.

"Nothing important. I'm just... thinking."

It took several seconds before Ceroba spoke again, voice thoughtful.

"I think I'm happy to be here as is," she decided, "Things worked themselves out one way or another."

"That's a good way to look at it," Frisk agreed thoughtfully, "Better than getting lost in your head?"

Clover looked out past them as they spoke; there was another doorway there. Was that where the key they just got would go?

...

They walked into the room. Unfortunately, the slot was for a green key, not a blue one. So they... apparently didn't gain anything from all of this.

Especially since they hadn't seen one of those. There was somewhere they missed, so-

"I think I picked that up, actually," Ceroba said, suddenly next to them. She searched for a moment before pulling out a green key and putting it into the slot.

"Where'd ya get that?" Clover asked.

"Running after Kanako covered a lot of ground."

They took out the blue key they had just picked up.

"So where does this one go, then..?"

"Is there anywhere we could have missed?"

...Well, there was a hallway by the room with the beds. They'd have to go back to turn the power back on anyway, wouldn't they?

Slightly begrudgingly, they turned around and went back through the lab.

It took a significant detour and a confrontation with another bird amalgamate thing, but the blue key was inserted safely. After returning to the first room of the lab, they were able to open the door to the power room.

And... into another elevator. Why was this elevator here?

"I think this one goes directly to New Home," Frisk commented, already stepping through the doorway, "I'm not... exactly eager to go back there."

Understandable, from what they'd seen. They followed behind, walking down the next hallway. The screens on the wall were off, keeping the room eerily dark.

...Clover kept walking. Best not to think too hard about it.

The hall opened up to a room with a machine, a sign on it glowing red. A heart shape was fixed above it.

"This controls the power, then?" they asked, hand hovering over the button on the machine. "Seems like a lot of effort for... this."

"Well, get it over with," Ceroba added. They obliged, the machine starting to emit a hum before-

Four amalgamates started towards them; not enough to outnumber, but enough to be distinctly worrying. Ceroba held an arm in front of Clover, Frisk, and Kanako, shielding them more directly and preparing for a confrontation that-

"W-WAIT!"

The same lizard monster from before hurried forwards, tapping her claws together. The amalgamates stopped in their tracks.

"I-I got some food for you guys! Just- leave everyone alone, w-will you?" she said.

("that... that sounds good... actually," Kanako whispered.

"I probably have some stuff for ya," Clover offered, opening their bag for her. She took a surprisingly-still-unmelted snow cone out and started slowly nibbling on it.)

"Hi, Alphys," Frisk said uncomfortably, "Sorry I broke everyone in. No one's... too hurt, I don't think."

The monster- Alphys- nodded, managing an awkward smile.

"I... I'd hold it against you more if I d-didn't think this was inevitable," she responded, "I guess I owe an explanation, though...

"I-I was told to find an alternate way to break the Barrier," Alphys began, voice suddenly more scientific than nervous, "I discovered determination, and w-was able to wake up the monsters that came in despite the, ah, failure of my research. But monsters can't h-handle it like humans can, so..."

She gestured vaguely around them.

"I thought that helping out- making everyone happy, really- would mean I'd have a better chance of getting out of here," Frisk added. "Instead I just... kind of ended up knowing."

Clover and Ceroba went quiet for a few seconds, glancing at each other. Eventually, Ceroba clapped her paws together and nodded.

"I got my daughter back," she stated firmly, "And you made it so she's awake, even if things are different. I'll forgive the secrecy if you let me take Kanako home."

"This ain't really my circus, and these ain't really my monkeys," Clover chipped in, "but I don't really feel like the folks here are happy. Maybe lettin' 'em go would be a good idea."

Alphys and Frisk shared a look before the former let out a lengthy sigh.

"I-I... suppose. If not for th-their sakes, then for Frisk's. No one else should've gotten i-involved in this..." she decided. "And it'd be... nice to have this off my back."

She glanced at the amalgamates behind her, and then to Ceroba and Kanako.

"Come on, I'll... h-help you get the records in order."

Alphys left, the other two following behind her. Additionally, the amalgamates cleared out, leaving Frisk and Clover standing there alone.

"That could've gone worse!" Clover exclaimed. Frisk just pinched the bridge of their nose with a sigh.

"I still can't believe you followed us," they replied, shaking their head. "I mean, I guess I would have too, but-"

"I had a bad feelin' about the whole thing."

"Right. Thanks for your help either way. Now come on, I'll get you back to the Dunes."

They walked back down the hallway, the screens flickering on in an ominous red.

"'The flower from the outside world. It appeared just before the queen left. I wonder...'" Clover read aloud, "'What happens when something without a soul gains the will to live?'"

And then the next.

"the flower's gone," it read simply.

Ah.

They glanced at Frisk for confirmation, who simply nodded. So Flowey didn't have a...

He seemed nice whenever they talked! A little bitter, but Clover doubted it meant too much. They'd be bitter too, they figured. Maybe if they ever saw him again, they could ask. It'd be nice to understand him better.

That was what they decided as they walked past and into the elevator, turning their attention to the panel when-

"Dammit, just a second, my phone's ringing-" Frisk said, taking it out and answering the call. A familiar voice echoed through the receiver.

"Howdy, kid, and Clover if you're there," Flowey said, his tone unusually solemn and thoughtful. "I've been watching, you know? Seems like everyone's satisfied. Forgive and forget, right?"

Aw, he did remember their name!

Wait, there were more important things to deal with here.

Clover started to say something, but Flowey kept talking. He wasn't listening.

"And I've done... a lot of thinking. About things. About how this world works.

"There's no way past any of this. If you don't want to kill each other, you'll be stuck here forever. Or, at least until the guard decides to come and nab Clover's soul. They wouldn't survive. You know they wouldn't.

"Even worse yet, you're both stuck together now. You still have the power to send everyone back. Your deaths mean nothing except for the possibility of ruining your mental state even more. Are you sure you can keep wrestling with that burden?"

Frisk and Clover shared a glance. Where was he going with this?

"Like it or not, it's kill or be killed. If you don't kill Clover, someone will.

"And that's what's bothering me. Does that really have to be how things are? Why let the world go on like this if it just means you're going to get hurt? Especially when it'd be so easy for me to end the cycle. So... that said...

"I'm sorry, Clover. Our partnership was fun while it lasted, but I need to make sure this all stops."

The phone hung up.

Moments later, the elevator shook ominously before plunging down.

Chapter Text

The elevator came to an abrupt halt, the doors sliding open.

Clover took inventory of themselves; they didn't seem hurt in any meaningful way, and a glance over to Frisk implied that they were doing about the same. That was about the best they could hope for, really.

Still, it couldn't hurt to ask.

"You good?" Clover said, pulling themselves to their feet and offering a hand to help Frisk up as well.

"I've... been worse," they replied, taking the hand. "This is why I don't like elevators."

...

Clover made a point of ignoring the implications behind that statement in favour of stepping out of the elevator, Frisk following behind them.

The area they found themselves in was... bleak, to say the least. Streetlights glowed faintly in the distance, the only colour in an otherwise grey landscape. If they squinted, they were sure they saw some movement of monsters in the distance.

"New Home," Frisk supplied warily, "Figures the elevator would take us here. Flowey must have-"

Seemingly on cue, they jolted to attention, grabbed Clover by the shoulder, and started hurrying down the corridor.

"We've gotta go after him."

Right, Clover had gotten distracted. Whatever Flowey had decided to do to "stop" everything couldn't be good. If they could catch up to him, maybe they could get through to him somehow? It would've been a stretch, but...

There was a reason for his decision. So there was something they could work with.

Frisk let go of them as they approached a small house with a door blocked by vines. Their face became even more falsely stoic as they took out their dagger and sliced the vines methodically, muttering a few "it'll be fine"s as they did.

Clover didn't really know how to comfort them, especially since they were clearly determined to keep moving.

Once the doorway was cleared, they were led through. The house itself was a bit more colourful than the rest of New Home, golden flowers strewn about providing a bit of life to the place.

...They would've liked to take a moment to look around if they thought they had the time. Alas, Frisk seemed to have other ideas, hacking at a padlock by the staircase in front of them.

Clover frowned, walking forwards to rest a hand on Frisk's shoulder.

"Maybe we should slow down a bit," they suggested. "Or at least try takin' a breather. I get we don't know what's happenin', but hurryin' through can't help ya feel better."

"Can't help me- Clover, the world could END if we're not- well, I don't know if that's true, but- he's going to-" Nevertheless, Frisk relented, taking a deep breath.

They could work with that.

"Well, what do ya think Flowey's gonna do?" they asked.

"I don't know. He's wanted the other souls for a while, but... five souls wouldn't get him anywhere catastrophic, I don't think?"

"So if they can't get him anywhere on their own..."

"Then it's not the end of the world."

Clover smiled.

"We've gotten this far."

"Right. Yeah. I'll... stop dragging you along. But I'd prefer to keep moving."

"We can do that. Just stop worryin' prematurely, yeah?"

Frisk nodded before going back to working with the padlock. After a few more seconds, it snapped open and they walked downstairs at a slightly slower pace.

(Clover managed a passing glance at a nearby calendar, still marked from a century ago. It was like this place was frozen in time, somehow.)

The basement(?) eventually led into a brighter hall, bathed in gold from what they eventually realised was sunlight. They took a moment to stand in the light, closing their eyes and enjoying the feeling after two weeks underground.

...It felt nice, despite the bemused look Frisk was no doubt giving them. Eventually contented, they walked through the rest of the hall, before-

"heya."

A short skeleton that Clover knew they recognised was giving them both a look, his skull tilted. Frisk let out an indistinct grumble next to them.

"you two look kinda busy, but this is my job. guess i'll make it quick.

"the king's a few rooms over. normally this wouldn't matter, but two and five is seven, so it's kind of the fate of the world in your hands. even without any outside interference"

"Ain't that a lot of pressure?" Clover asked.

"sure is. look inside yourself and ask what you're gonna do. your actions so far might have the answer."

He was silent for a moment, letting them think. They... were pretty sure they knew their principles. And they were... proud of how they'd acted so far. They had made lives better.

They didn't have the power to change the world, but they were able to hope for a better future.

(Frisk seemed a little bit more unsure than they did. They could guess why.)

"well, that's not here nor there," the skeleton concluded. "i really just wanted to say one thing to the other kid there."

He nodded towards Frisk, grin widening.

"you've been through the wringer, huh? made some tough choices, pushed yourself down. even then, there's no blood or dust on your hands. so... if you were trying to be bad, you kind of sucked at it."

"I've been a great villain!" they interrupted. "I just... know better now."

The skeleton just glanced over at Clover and shrugged.

"well, if that's what you think. but you're still the frisk i know, kid. and i'm proud of you for that."

He pat them on the shoulder and was gone, seemingly disappearing. Frisk went silent, burying their hands in the pockets of their jacket with a frown.

"I think that guy gave me a root beer once," Clover said cheerfully before walking through the door, stepping over another vine on the way.

Nothing seemed wrong when they stepped into the throne room. The tall goat monster in front of them was simply humming to himself while tending to a garden. They expected... someone more threatening, somehow.

"Ah, is someone there?" he said. "Just a minute. I have almost finished watering these flowers."

After another moment, he turned around, his smile quickly dropping.

"Oh.

"I... cannot say you two were what I expected. I would love to offer you a cup of tea, but... well, you know how things are."

Asgore walked towards the end of the room, bowing his head.

"Please follow me when you're ready."

Clover gave Frisk a nod, before following behind them and Asgore. This seemed... normal. Where was Flowey, if he had evidently been following them through New Home? Was his plan just to get them impaled..? But that contradicted what he had said to them over the phone.

They weren't really focusing on what Asgore was saying as they walked through the next rooms, more focused on if this was how it ended.

Moments later, they were forced to stop moving as they bumped into Frisk's outstretched arm, shielding them like that would do anything against the literal King of All Monsters.

(They appreciated the gesture, at least.)

In front of them was a giant corridor, stretching seemingly forever and yet for no time at all. They couldn't see past it, but... this had to be it. The Barrier.

"Is this it, then?" Clover asked, their voice not quite feeling like theirs.

"I suppose so," Asgore responded.

He raised a paw, and an assortment of empty tubes rose from the floor.

...

"Those are where the souls should be," Frisk said, "Did..."

They were cut off as vines protruded from the floor, announcing Flowey's appearance by ensnaring them, Asgore, and Clover.

"Howdy," he greeted, "I thought I warned you well enough to stay away. Don't you realise this has to be done? I thought you'd know all about that."

"Flowey, c'mon-" Clover began, before being cut off by a laugh.

"Don't ya know a dead-end when ya see one? Say I give the souls back. What's gonna happen then? You just get killed?

"I mean, I should've known all along! I learned a while ago that it was kill or be killed, and from the best, even! But why should I let the world run like that when I could just force it to stop?"

Flowey summoned more vines, two of them wrapping (rather uncomfortably) around Clover's soul. There was nothing they could do but struggle.

"Sorry, Clover. It really isn't anything personal. Who knows, you might fit right in once I fix the world! Dying never was your style, right? So why should you have to?"

They felt a tug on their very being, like they were about to be ripped from their very flesh.

And then a handful of feathers sliced the vines restraining them, and Clover fell to the floor with an ungraceful thud. Moments later, Martlet rushed in, still catching her breath but clearly more than willing to protect them and Frisk if she had to.

"See, Clover? Told you I'd protect you this time!" she declared proudly. "I was thinking about our last conversation, and you know what? This shouldn't have to be goodbye!"

Clover couldn't help but smile. They would've missed her, really.

Flowey sputtered, summoning a ring of bullets, before they got shot down. Starlo was tugging his hat down, but offered them a smile.

"Howdy, deputy. This miscreant buggin' you?" he asked, "C'mon, you're the best of the best! No one stands a chance against real justice!"

They were motivated to get to their feet, grabbing their gun in one hand as well. Flowey's eyes narrowed, and he summoned another large vine, that...

Quickly got struck down by lightning as Dalv entered, one of his arms outstretched under a cloak.

"A shame, really," he said with a frown, "I thought he was a good friend for the time we travelled together. But I'm not going to fail to protect a friend this time."

"How'd y'all get here?" Clover asked, slightly bewildered.

"Well, Ceroba said you weren't in the lab when she came back, so we went through the worst case scenarios, and now we're here!" Martlet explained, "She should be here in a minute too, actually."

Flowey took that as an opportunity to get some distance, getting as close to the Barrier as it would allow as Ceroba came in with her staff raised, practically ablaze with fury. Decisive, devoted, and determined, apparently.

"I'm not losing another Ketsukane," she stated. "Clover, I'm protecting you if it's the last thing I do."

...They didn't really have time to process that statement, but they appreciated the sentiment!

All the same, Frisk raised their dagger besides them, pointing it in Flowey's general direction.

"I'm not letting you go down the same path I did, Flowey," they decided firmly. "Nothing for us there."

Asgore bowed his head in turn.

"This is... more important than our conflict, I imagine," he said, summoning a ring of fire to protect them, "Let us set that aside, then."

Flowey seemed well and truly like a cornered animal, enraged and maybe a little scared. It wasn't a great look on him, Clover thought.

"No. NO! I- Why can't you all understand!"

And then he grinned wickedly, like the threat of death or harm suddenly meant nothing to him.

"This is how it has to be. I didn't want to take you down with me, but it seems I've gotta!"

...

The world shook, and everything went white.

...

...

...

Clover realised they existed when they sat up in a bed of golden flowers, the stems poking at their back unnaturally. That was new.

They hit the side of their head a few times, trying to remember what happened. Flowey had done... something, and now they were back at the entrance of the Ruins, completely alone.

But they remembered this time. That felt important.

They looked up. The hole from the surface was dark, and they swore they saw something like wires above it? Like they were looking out of a television of some kind.

Furthermore, they had their jacket on now. Didn't they leave that with Ceroba before going to the True Lab? So why...

The flowers crunched as they shifted. Moments later, a face- Flowey's face- emerged from one of the rocks above them, sloughing unnaturally and staring at them.

"Howdy again," he greeted, "I didn't expect you to still be conscious."

"Why... wouldn't I be?" they asked, "Actually, where am I?"

"Well, let's just say I've got everyone locked in a little room up here!" The imitation of Flowey's face shifted into a grotesque depiction of a brain, "And most everyone's thrown in the towel and just become part of it!"

Clover stood up. They would rather not let Flowey finish his monologue.

...Unfortunately, all exits got blocked off by vines.

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Do you do this to everyone?" Flowey asked, the rock shifting back into his face, "Oh, wait. You don't. I've seen you. You're really, uh... optimistic. Hell, I'm jealous of your spirit sometimes!"

They were not sure they liked the catch they assumed there was.

"But..?"

"But that's gonna be a real thorn in my side. Heh. Thorn. Get it?" he took a moment to laugh at his own joke before continuing, the sound ringing out all around them. "See, the problem is if I let you stay like this, you'll just find a way out. And I'm making everything perfect here! I don't want you to change that! So..."

The face disappeared, and Flowey himself (or at least, something that looked more like Flowey) appeared next to them. He raised a vine and trapped Clover with it before they could get away.

"I'm, uh- well, there's no way that I can put this politely- going to make sure you lose the will to keep going. This is going to hurt a lot."

The same rock that Flowey was previously occupying(?) shook ominously, before breaking off of the wall and falling to-

CRACK!

A splitting pain- because, delightfully, Clover could still feel pain- erupted from one of their legs as the rock landed on it, letting out a crack through the room as it got flattened in a distinctly abnormal way, the bone breaking in two.

They would not deny screaming in agony until their voice went hoarse. It was the only way to cope with the ringing in their ears, really.

They were only aware that Flowey was still talking at them once the pounding of their heart died down.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. Game over, pal."

And then he was gone, the rock conveniently disappearing with him and leaving them stuck with the grisly sight of their very unnaturally flattened tibia.

Right. They could-

They could salvage this, probably. They-

...

THEY COULD NOT FUCKING SALVAGE THIS!

There were SO MANY things they could take care of! They were able to get through the damn Underground through force of will and optimism, but this was not one of those situations! If they could do anything, Flowey would just come back and make their life worse!

They... This was it. Flowey had managed to create an unwinnable situation.

They closed their eyes. Maybe fading into the background wouldn't be too bad, if everyone else had supposedly done it. Besides, they would be one more soul in the mix. Couldn't do any worse for the world.

With a sigh, they waited to lose consciousness.

...

...

...

...was that someone walking?

Clover managed to open their eyes and shift their head up, where an odd red glow was emanating from down the empty hall. Seemingly noticing them, someone walked forwards, the glow becoming more distinct as the person's eyes.

"Greetings," they said. "I've been waiting quite a long time to speak with you face-to-face."

Chapter Text

The person made their way down the corridor, looking down at Clover curiously.

"Though, I cannot say I wouldn't have preferred meeting you under better circumstances," they remarked.

Clover made a vague effort at reaching for their holster before concluding it wouldn't be worth it. No use in threatening someone prematurely.

"Uh, who're you, exactly?" they asked instead.

"No one important," came the response, "Though, you may call me Chara."

"Right. Nice to meet ya then? It's good to see someone else who's..."

Alive? Conscious? Seemingly aware of how messed up this whole situation was?

They settled for waving their hand vaguely. Chara seemed to take the point; they nodded and let out a weary sigh.

"I hadn't assumed anyone would be awake either," they said. "Or that I would exist at all, for that matter. I guess I'm just as real as anyone else here."

"What do ya mean by that?"

Chara sat down next to Clover and closed their eyes. Slowly, a few small pieces of a soul materialised in their hands and they looked back at Clover.

"I suppose the best way to describe my situation would be as an unwilling hitchhiker. Living in Frisk's head for the years after they fell. It's been... interesting."

They shrugged and looked around before continuing.

"Now that Flowey's holding countless souls hostage in a world of his making, I'm not 'less real' anymore. Because none of this is real to begin with. Or not. Frankly, that's just an educated guess."

"Sounds reasonable to me," Clover replied.

Honestly, knowing that they weren't alone in this whole situation was... incredibly reassuring. They weren't totally alone. There was someone else who could help them figure things out again.

In that case, there might be a way to fix this mess. No point in giving up until they knew for sure.

"So, what do we have to do, then?" they asked.

"I... don't know," Chara replied, "I would like to find Frisk, and I'm sure that you would like to find your friends. We just have to balance that with Flowey not becoming too aware of such."

"It almost sounds easy when ya put it like that."

"Oh, I'm sure it won't be. Actually, I'd be shocked if this weren't astronomically difficult. But you seem to have the magical ability to get things to turn out okay. So you're helping fix this."

Chara turned to walk back down the corridor, only pausing upon realising Clover wasn't following them.

"Uh. Yeah, he broke my leg," Clover slowly explained, "Mind helpin' a person out?"

...

They sighed, and walked over to support Clover into a standing position. Leaning against Chara, they traversed deeper into someone else's world.

Neither noticed an eye turning on them as they left.

It really felt like they were suddenly in the Ruins. Instead of entering through the doors, it was more like a channel was suddenly being switched. Vines covered the walls more than even in the lower part of the Ruins, and the place itself seemed torn between "generally well maintained" and "as dilapidated as the Dark Ruins were".

"Like if you blended every part of the Ruins," Chara commented, "Somehow, this fills you with a sense of justice."

Clover gave them a confused glance, and they responded with an apologetic smile.

"Apologies. Force of habit. Even so, it's worth noting; he's taking inspiration from the Underground itself. I don't recognise some of it, but... it's certainly still the Ruins."

"Oh, I think I passed through somethin' like this, actually!" Clover said cheerfully, "Wonder if that means Dalv would be somewhere around here?"

Surprisingly, Chara seemed... almost nervous.

"Well- I can't guarantee he'd be... all there. Don't- don't worry about it yet. It's nothing we can't figure out."

Now slightly more concerned, Clover let them continue leading the way through Flowey's imitation of the Ruins. More and more broken pillars cropped up, the area itself getting darker and darker.

It felt more familiar, at least. More like what they remembered.

For a moment, it was comfortable. Almost too much so.

As Chara shifted their position awkwardly to help them over a stream that distinctly was not always there, Clover swore they saw movement. A cloaked figure paused at the end of the room, not paying the two of them any particular attention.

"Dalv?" they called out, only to continue going unacknowledged.

They stepped forwards, and Dalv(?) responded to the echoing of their movement by...

Running into the next room, still determinedly not looking back at them. They would've loved to chase after him, but...

...

Clover glanced over at Chara, raising an eyebrow. Maybe if they...

"You mind if I do somethin'?" they asked politely. Chara seemed mildly concerned, but they nodded all the same.

Taking this as permission enough, Clover swung their other arm around Chara's neck and hauled themselves onto their back, the other letting out an indignant yelp as they did so.

"Was this necessary?" they complained, fixing the collar of their shirt and the locket they had on.

"Stop complainin' and follow him! I'm worried about the guy!"

...With another long-suffering sigh and a mutter of something Clover wasn't sure they wanted to hear, Chara began running after Dalv.

The next room seemed to stretch on endlessly, bolts of lightning occasionally trying to stop them. Chara kept pace surprisingly well for someone who had only been "alive" for fifteen minutes at most, eventually-

Skidding to a halt and narrowly avoiding slamming into a pillar that Dalv seemed to have accidentally collapsed in front of himself.

Clover took this as their cue to stand properly, leaning against Chara again and reaching a hand towards Dalv.

"Howdy," they greeted. "Everythin' alright?"

He turned to face them, and-

A harsh static covered his face, his breaths uneven and hurried. He raised an arm, another bolt of lightning already forming.

"You need to leave," he said, distant and hollow but certainly still Dalv all the same.

"Lost Soul," Chara stated, "Blinded by the past, perhaps."

Clover wasn't in any position to dodge, really. So they did the only thing they really could.

As the lightning came towards them, they willed what little power they had forwards, put their hands together, and shot it down with the same burst of energy they had summoned against Frisk days ago.

They still weren't really sure how it worked, but they were acting on what they knew!

More importantly...

How to get Dalv back. If he was "blinded by the past"...

Something came to mind. They hoped it'd work.

"You said you were working on books for kids, weren't ya?" they slowly asked, "Mind telling me more about it?"

He seemed indecisive for a moment, clearly unsure what exactly to bring up. Then the moment was lost as he shook his head and regained (or lost?) his composure.

"I won't let it happen again."

Chara pulled Clover to the side as the floor erupted with more lightning, helping them dodge where they couldn't. It made them a surprisingly good team; they shot things away when the need arose, and Chara kept guard for what couldn't be shot down.

Once the bolts died down, Clover nodded, giving Dalv a small smile.

"I've been wronged before too, ya know," they attempted, "There's still a future for people like us."

He bowed his head, but raised a hand to strike again.

"Sorry, but I'm standing my ground this time," he echoed.

And then they had a stupid idea.

Dragging Chara along with them, they hobbled forwards and offered their hand for Dalv to shake.

"C'mon. I've loved bein' your friend," they stated.

Dalv stared(?) at them for a few long seconds, and they closed their eyes in preparation for being immediately struck down, when...

His hand found theirs and shook it a few times, the static on his face giving way to a genuine smile.

"Of course. You would never attack me," he said, "You're my friend! And I'm yours!"

...

Clover let out a sigh of relief. That was Dalv, alright. They looked over at Chara with a nod.

"You told me not to worry about it, so I didn't!" they said, actual joy coming to them easier again.

"Utterly incorrigible," Chara replied, "If only everything else will be this easy."

Dalv looked between the two of them, seemingly finally processing Chara was there.

"My apologies. I didn't notice you when-" he shook his head with an apologetic sigh, "It's the strangest thing- I might as well have just appeared here. Everything else is still a bit foggy."

"Take your time," Clover said, "I'm just glad you're awake."

Chara, on the other hand, seemed quietly surprised. They muttered a "didn't notice me?" before shrugging it off with a neutral smile.

"It's quite alright," they said, "I suppose my status of 'here' may be debatable after all."

Dalv looked at them quizzically for a moment, though he didn't get the chance to elaborate on it before-

The walls themselves started shaking, bricks caving in and revealing the carapace of wires and vines underneath the imitation of the Ruins, pulsing like something alive and terrified.

In response, Dalv pulled Clover and Chara closer, seemingly trying to shield them from the worst of the cave-in and occasionally striking down anything that got close with lightning.

Clover figured they would try to help. They held their palms together and fired where they could; it wasn't as efficient as what Dalv was doing, but they were able to knock a few bricks down.

After a long, terrifying few minutes, it was like the cable on the area itself cut. The world went dark for a moment and everything.

When it restored, they and Chara were suddenly sitting in Snowdin, and Dalv was nowhere to be seen. Clover looked around, frowning.

"Where'd he go?" they asked, not really to anyone in particular.

"Perhaps he was tied to the Ruins being there. Now that it... glitched out, I suppose, his soul might be back to... temporary dormancy."

"He'll be fine though, right?"

"We can only hope. I doubt he's dead, if it's any consolation."

Well, if freeing their friend broke part of a fake world, they could keep doing that! Maybe something would happen if they ran out of pieces to run through!

...That did imply that everyone they knew and liked was also in a similar condition to how Dalv was, but they'd really rather not dwell on the full breadth of that just yet. One at a time, please and thanks.

If they were in... not Snowdin, that meant Martlet would be around, wouldn't it? Clover wasn't sure of the exact extent of her worries, but she couldn't be much harder to break through to than Dalv. That was reassuring.

As Chara helped them stand up, they managed a firm nod to themselves. They could make it through this. They could get to the bottom of this and come out the other side fine after all.

With their optimism restored for now, Clover continued forwards.

Chapter Text

Clover had never seen Snowdin so... inhospitable. Maybe it was Dalv's company that made it better the first time, or...

No, there were definitely more icicles this time around. And unfamiliar pathways as a whole; there seemed to be a lot more ice in immediate footpaths and a lot fewer sharp turns. The only real familiarity came in the occasional dilapidated wooden structure.

"This reminds me more of the forest near Snowdin Town," Chara stated, looking down the path in front of them. "I... don't suppose you've been there, though?"

"Nah. The part I saw was near Honeydew Resort," they answered.

"...Never heard of it. Must have been after my time."

Chara didn't elaborate on when their time was, instead helping them over a clump of ice spikes in silence, and breaking one off to apparently wield as a dagger. Clover decided not to push it.

"Either way, it seems like Flowey is tapping into... whatever he remembers. With a few embellishments."

"Embellishments?"

...Chara just shrugged and tapped one of the spikes next to them, which explained nothing and everything.

They continued on, narrowly avoiding biting it on ice once or twice because of Chara's help, and-

The first sharp turn they took hid a giant, familiar wooden structure that Clover distinctly remembered spending at least an hour on. And this one seemed taller and more ridiculous than the last.

Was this how Flowey remembered it, or was he intentionally trying to make their lives harder?

"An insurmountable object looms in front of you," Chara commented, with a clear air of amusement, "You're despairing. This isn't right, you tell yourself. The anger you feel fills you with a sense of justi-"

"That's not what I'm doin'!"

"Right. Of course. Just- you clearly recognize this. I'll try to find a way to get the gate open without doing the puzzle, if you want, but... have at it until then."

They made sure Clover was able to control the puzzle without also falling over before making their way to the gate and distinctly not helping.

How did they manage this the first time??? They could hardly even see the rock! To add insult to injury, every time they failed the damn thing almost crushed them before somehow making it back up to the top.

As they watched a patch of snow next to them dissolve in a disturbingly similar fashion to TV static, an idea hit them.

They just had to melt the ice, didn't they? And they... presumably still had their gun.

(They checked their holster to be sure. They did.)

"Hey, uh- I'm about to do something that may go catastrophically!" they called out. "Maybe take a few steps back!"

"Worrying, but okay," Chara replied, before startling slightly as Clover shot the ice cube at the top of the ledge, both shattering it and melting it in one fell swoop. Part of the structure crumbled into pieces as well, somehow.

The gate slid open a few seconds before The Hell Puzzle made several ominous creaking noises that prompted Chara to drag Clover away as fast as they could manage.

Past the gate was a side path that cut deep into the forest itself; winding through the darkness and leading to nowhere visible.

They didn't particularly want to take the scenic route, but the only other way was blocked by a rather large rock. With a sigh, they nodded at Chara to keep moving.

(One of the trees seemed... off. Like the memory of a person was clinging to it, roots and branches wrapping around something that wasn't there and leaving it in the cold.)

(Or maybe they were just imagining things. It was hard to tell in this place.)

The route through the forest continued, ice spikes somehow becoming less abundant as they moved forwards.

...Hm. That reminded them.

"So, why'd ya take the icicle?" they asked, more to fill the silence than anything, "You plannin' on fightin' someone?"

Chara paused for a moment, before shaking their head.

"Someone else has my dagger," they answered simply. "I felt weird without something to hold. Even if it's... less than pleasant."

Well, they'd heard of weirder habits.

"I guess I'd feel strange without my gun," Clover said. "More so the idea of not havin' somethin' to use if it came down to it, then?"

A nod. They understood better.

After several long minutes of wandering through the forest, the two of them came the consensus that following the path wasn't helping them get anywhere, and took a sharp turn into absolute nowhere.

This... eventually proved more successful. The trees slowly became more sparse again, and, before Clover knew it, they had made their way back onto a more clearly defined route.

They held up their free hand.

"Not bad! We got there eventually!" they exclaimed proudly.

Chara stared at their hand for a few moments in quiet bewilderment, like it had been a century since they had high-fived someone (or something equally egregious). Eventually, they brought their hand up and hit Clover's.

"Well, at least someone believed in us."

They approached a few derelict gateways, before coming across a peculiar blank space. There wasn't even any snow there, just... an absence of where something could've been in the past.

Still, they felt like they had seen it before. So where...

"I think this is where Doge beat me up," Clover said slowly, "Though, there was a station here and not just... nothin'."

"Strange."

Just ahead, the river they had taken was completely drained, a mess of wires and plant matter congregating where it was supposed to be.

On the dock in front of it, a familiar bird monster was perched, rummaging through what appeared to be a toolbox and throwing tools out haphazardly. Clover couldn't see her face, but could occasionally make out a flicker of that same TV snow that Dalv was consumed by.

"Lost Soul," Chara noted. "Blinded by... ambition, I would guess."

Well, Clover knew what worked from the last time. They motioned for Chara to help them step forwards, before clearing their throat.

"Howdy, Martlet," they greeted gently. "I don't think I ever properly thanked ya for all you did to help me. So... thanks. Wouldn't be here without ya."

(Not here specifically, but- they meant the rest of it!)

Martlet didn't turn to look at them, just shaking her head and clicking her beak.

"Why am I just..." she said, as distantly as Dalv was previously.

They put their hands together to shoot down a few stray objects that came dangerously close to hitting them; a wrench, a block of wood, an entire bowling ball, for some reason, that shattered into pieces as they hit it-

Standard stuff, essentially.

Clover nodded to themselves. They just had to... keep thinking of things to say and do.

They thought for a moment, taking a moment of remembrance. What was something to remind her of...

"It was nice travellin' with you. Still can't always wrap my head around why ya do some of the things ya do. Lettin' Starlo toss you into an open prison cell and just stayin' there? I mean, c'mon..."

Martlet nodded, like it was somehow familiar to her. She looked up from the toolbox, but still didn't turn to face them.

"Why is nothing working?" she asked, though not to anyone in particular.

(Chara quickly dragged them aside to dodge another thrown object. Clover muttered a hurried thanks.)

Well, that was... sort of effective, but... still. Nothing left to do but keep enduring.

They stomped their good foot against the snow, making a show of standing their ground and holding fast.

"I'll still be here no matter what ya throw at us," Clover declared. "We'll all get out of here, okay?"

Somehow, Martlet seemed... impressed? She turned her head to look at them and Chara, before-

The static abruptly cut out, and they didn't have a moment to process before she had hurried forwards and wrapped her wings around them in a way that had their broken leg making its displeasure very known. They tried not to mention it.

"No, that's ridiculous!" Martlet said, "We're doing our bests here, aren't we?"

...Clover couldn't help but laugh quietly. Her energy was always infectious.

"Somethin' like that," they answered.

"We'll have to cut this little reunion short, remember," Chara reminded them. "It's nothing personal, Martlet, this place is just... odd. Do try to stay safe, whatever happens from here."

Martlet tilted her head slightly, but quickly nodded.

"As long as you're both here, I'll do my best to keep you safe too!" she exclaimed with a salute. "You have my word, random mystery monster!"

"...I'm not a-"

That protest quickly died down as the area itself returned to shaking, the snow turning into nothing but static and ice falling sporadically around them. Martlet hurried to kick up some wind by flapping her wings, keeping the ice from hitting any of them directly with a pleasantly surprising efficiency.

(If they squinted through the snowstorm, they could almost see the pulsating vines on the walls, and the beating of the very box they found themselves in. They decided not to think about it too hard.)

The wind continued even after the distinct sound of a wire being cut somewhere rang out and Martlet disappearing, but the atmosphere... changed.

Like an abrupt shift in temperature, and the snow being replaced with sand.

...

Apparently, the sandstorm was not going to die down. Clover took a brief moment to mentally thank Martlet for giving them a pair of goggles a week or so ago.

(Not that it helped with visibility.)

"Careful. Drastic shifts in temperature can cause you to die of shock," Chara explained cheerfully, seemingly unbothered by the storm. "Wouldn't want you keeling over dead right next to me."

"I don't think that's really something I can control?" Clover whispered back.

Chara just shrugged.

Despite their best efforts, it was a pain to try and navigate through the storm. And there probably wasn't a simple way to turn it off, or-

A shot was fired into the air in the distance, like an odd beacon of some kind.

"You reckon that's Starlo..?" they asked.

"You'd know better than I do," Chara replied.

"I don't get it. Why's he tryin' to get our attention if he's... y'know, probably like the others?"

"Again. You'd know better than I do. He's your friend."

Another shot in the air. With a lack of better options, the two of them began the trek through the storm.

...

"So, is he like a shootin' star, or-"

"That's a ridiculous title," Chara said. "No need to make him sound any edgier than he already is."

Chapter Text

Cutting through the sand was... certainly a task that existed. The storm seemed to get worse by the second, the distant gunshots the only method of navigation.

...If Chara wasn't helping them walk, Clover was almost certain they would've lost each other.

There wasn't really much else they could do but continue forwards, where-

The storm abruptly died down near where not-the-Wild-East apparently was. It looked... about the same. The buildings weren't any different, and for a moment Clover could believe that things were normal.

(If they ignored their broken leg. And also the howling wind immediately behind them. And also the vines now blocking the way back.)

...

It was practically completely empty, they abruptly realised. The town itself was completely silent, like it were just... suspended in time. They wouldn't... always comment on it, but when the Wild East was almost always slightly overstimulating...

"Don't really like the quiet goin' on here," Clover said. "Not used to it. Not from here."

"It's no quieter than the rest of this place," Chara replied.

...True, but if that were the case, where were the gunshots coming from? Starlo had to at least be here, right? Or-

"HALT!"

...Ah. That would do it.

The saloon door was kicked open, Starlo stepping outside. His hat was tipped lower over his face than it normally was, obscuring what was almost certainly the same static as always.

He crossed the length of the town, crouching down next to them and Chara.

"Howdy, pardner," he greeted. "Yer new to these parts, huh?"

"Starlo, is-" Clover attempted to interrupt, but to no avail.

"And durin' a storm of that calibre, too... Good thing I found ya!"

"Starlo-"

"C'mon, I'll bring ya into the Saloon. Probably still some water or somethin' in there."

He... clearly wasn't listening to them. Or acknowledging them whatsoever. They suddenly understood all too well how Chara felt going completely unnoticed by the other Lost Souls.

(Probably not. Chara didn't seem that bothered for the most part, really.)

Maybe if they played along, they'd get a chance to get through to him. They broke his persona once, they could do it again.

With a shake of their head, Chara helped them follow Starlo into the Saloon. It was... equally empty, the only sound being their footsteps as Starlo pulled up a chair and started looking behind the bar for some ice water.

Chara let out a quiet grumble as they grabbed a chair and sat down next to them. Clover could only give an apologetic smile.

"Town's been empty for as long as I can remember," Starlo explained, sliding a glass over to them.

Despite their best efforts, it slid past them and crashed onto the floor. He didn't seem to notice.

"Nice to get someone new to show around. Haven't been a sheriff to anyone in... well, I don't exactly recall." Starlo took a lengthy drink of what appeared to be root beer, his face still somehow completely obscured. "Their faults, I mean. I've just been doin' my job here."

An opening, maybe..?

"Where'd everyone go, then?" Clover asked. "Ain't really a way out of this town, is there?"

...Starlo didn't respond. But he did lower his head, which suggested he at least heard them. They decided, for once, to press the subject. They felt bad about it, but it seemed like the only way.

"Heck, why'd they leave at all?" they continued. "If you're such a great sheriff, shouldn't people be comin' here in droves?"

"Or, at the least, you'd think that no one would be leaving," Chara added. "Is a hellish sandstorm really more preferable to your company?"

"Yeah, I think a good sheriff would be better than this. I guess that's how all the cowboy shows go, though. Someone's gotta get left behind."

...Starlo pulled himself over the counter, hopped down, and left the saloon.

"Alas," Chara said, "pride blinds him. Even if he couldn't really hear me, it was fun getting a snide comment in on someone else for a change."

"Do ya... insult people frequently, or somethin'?"

...

Chara smiled vacantly in response, staring at the opposite wall intently. Maybe they didn't want the answer to that one. They cleared their throat, hoping for a change in subject.

"So how're we gonna get through to him? Keepin' his attention didn't work..." they stated, more to themselves than to Chara, "Guess we gotta provoke him into fightin' us somehow?"

"If we appeal to his idea of justice, he'll try to take us down..." Chara muttered in response. "What's a fast way to be seen as a villain in an old-timey town?"

"YOU WANT US TO ROB A BANK???"

Indeed, they were standing in front of a worn-down, empty bank, Chara already half-dragging them inside.

"Not entirely. I doubt there's money to steal here anyway. It's all a facade- a facade of a facade, if you will," Chara answered. "We just have to set off the alarm somehow. Presumably, Starlo will come running."

"I still don't think this-"

"Do you think shooting the alarm would set it off?"

...Begrudgingly, they accepted that this may have been the only way to get Starlo's attention.

"If ya want my gun, you can borrow it. I ain't shootin' it myself, though," Clover relented, taking their gun out of its holster. Chara grabbed it, handed them an empty burlap sack that they somehow found, and shot at the bank's alarm system.

Predictably, as anyone and anything would when shot with a revolver, the alarm started screaming in agony. Chara returned Clover's gun to its holster before dragging them back outside.

"And now we wait," Chara declared proudly.

"I'm startin' to think you just really wanted to rob a bank," Clover said.

...

They didn't respond to that.

Eventually, Starlo did hurry over, his hand on his holster. Chara grabbed Clover by the arm that was holding the sack and held it up proudly. This seemed to provoke... a reaction?

"Stop where ya are, scoundrels!" he exclaimed, holding up his gun. With lack of any other option, Clover held up their gun as well.

"This whole ordeal needs to stop, Starlo," they warned. "There's no one left to act for."

For once, Starlo genuinely looked at them, the static on his face on full display.

"I can't give up now," he declared. He tossed cans out of his pocket and shot them into pieces, the shrapnel falling towards them. Chara weaved them through the pieces they couldn't shoot away, and they eventually made it a few paces closer to him.

Clover cleared their throat, staring up at him with as much determination as they could muster.

"It's what's right. If the right thing to do is stoppin' you," they explained, "Then I'll do it."

("Weren't we playing the villains?" Chara whispered. They didn't answer.)

"I won't let you take what I've worked for," Starlo said, still not quite acknowledging them. His gun shook in his hand for just a moment, before he regained his composure and fired at them wildly.

Apart from being nearly impossible to dodge, they weren't entirely certain if any of the buildings around them were structurally sound. At this rate, they would...

Clover sighed. Well, if it worked the first time...

Seeing no better option, they took a step forwards and raised both of their hands in surrender.

"Well, even then, I guess there's no winnin' against the almighty Sheriff. You win."

"It's been less than three turns?" Chara asked.

"Just go with it, Chara. Trust me on this."

In response, Starlo bowed his head and...

Dropped his gun, finally. When he looked back up at the two of them, it was with a bewildered smile.

"You've gotta stop tellin' me to shoot you, Deputy," he said. "Hell, ya nearly dragged someone else into-"

Starlo paused, looking intently at Clover's broken leg.

"Dammit, you're hurt somethin' fierce," he muttered.

"It's fine, I've been-"

"Wait here."

Before Chara could tell him that they didn't really have the time for this, Starlo hopped the nearest fence and plucked an assortment of spines from a cactus. He hurried back, tore off a piece of his poncho, and made a makeshift sling on Clover's leg, wrapping the piece of fabric firmly around it (and the spines).

They couldn't even protest. He cared enough for it to be his first instinct, so they just had to let it happen.

"That should hold," he finally declared, nodding to himself. "Have ya just been walkin' around on the damn thing?"

"I mean, it hasn't been broken for that long," Chara answered, "And I've been trying to keep them off of it."

"...Better than nothin', I s'pose. Now-"

The bell at the centre of town rang out ominously, before the ground trembled below them.

Surprisingly, instead of standing by and defending them, Starlo picked both Clover and Chara up in either arm and booked it, hurrying down the pathway to where his family's farm would normally be.

"Starlo, we really have been dealin' with all of this for a while. It'll be fine," Clover tried to explain, but Starlo seemed determined to get them to safety.

"Nonsense. I'll handle whatever happens here instead. Someone's gotta, sure, but..." Starlo retorted, "What matters is you kids are safe. It's what a real hero would do, ain't it?"

Quietly accepting this as something that was happening, Clover went quiet and let Starlo carry them to... wherever.

After a few moments, Starlo made it to a cellar door, putting the two of them down for the sake of fiddling with the lock. He muttered some sort of profanity before just shooting it open and tossing the door open.

"Nothin' in there that can break easily. Go on."

"Starlo, we-"

"Go on!"

...

He was already hurrying back to what remained of this world's Wild East. So much for arguing their case.

Clover looked over to Chara. They shrugged, wrapped an arm around their shoulder for support, and entered the cellar, the door somehow slamming shut behind them.

It was dark, a faint hum of what seemed to be electricity surrounding them. The shaking of the world seemed to die down to a barely noticeable level again, but...

It would've been nice to be able to see.

A moment later, the humming grew louder and lights flickered on to reveal-

Another elevator, already flickering to life.

"Where's this one takin' us?" they asked.

"I couldn't tell you," Chara replied. Then, slightly quieter and more unsure: "Possibly New Home? That's the longest elevator in the Underground, but..."

Well, nothing to do but wait.

"Did Flowey spend a lotta time in New Home or somethin'?"

...

"I couldn't tell you. Most likely more time than you or Frisk did."

Which... didn't feel entirely true.

"Dangit, Chara. Ya clearly know somethin' I don't," they accused, "And it's the kinda time where bein' a little more honest could be really helpful!"

This seemed to strike... some kind of chord. Chara opened their mouth to say something, before their brow furrowed and they shook their head.

"I don't like dealing in... uncertainties," they eventually responded. "Unfortunately, that's what we're surrounded by. Alas, if you insist on a bit more forthright communication, here's what I know; I tried to get through to Frisk before you woke up and failed, so I retreated. Before I knew it, I was in the Ruins, and you were awake."

"Huh. What about Flowey? Know anythin' about him?"

"I would like to think I know him better than most. Still, he's been... particularly hard to get information out of. His true identity remains a mystery even to me, as hard as I may try to speculate. Still, his behaviour is... familiar. In many ways. An old friend who's a particularly sore loser."

...They didn't really get a lot of new information out of this conversation, but they appreciated the honesty.

"So all your theories are..." Clover began.

"Of this place? Yes, they're just... based on what I've seen. I'm not incredibly worried about the prospect of getting through to Frisk a second time. You've had a remarkable success rate thus far, so I doubt anything else will be... much different."

Somehow incredibly encouraging. They just had to know one more thing.

"Just one more thing. Who exactly are you, anyway?"

Chara paused.

"I'd rather not answer that, but I'm-"

The elevator stopped, the doors sliding open to reveal an... unfamiliar part of what was still certainly New Home. A streetlight glowed next to them, illuminating a street that led deeper into the city. And a handful of benches.

Considering what the rest of Flowey's world was like, Clover would really rather not find out what was in the bag of chips under one of them. Probably poison of some kind.

"Hm. I didn't know Flowey spent much time in this part of New Home," Chara commented, "Unless... No, maybe not. Let's just... keep going."

Despite understanding no more of the semantics of the false world around them, Clover's new mission continued.

Chapter Text

The streetlights flickered out as Clover and Chara passed, keeping the Battle Box dark as they continued; the only real source of illumination coming from the buildings in the distance.

...Well, "buildings" felt like a stretch. Anything past a certain point seemed more like a flat wall than anything someone could reasonably live in.

"Nothing past there," Chara commented as they stared into the abyss, "But I do admire Flowey's tenacity."

The path itself felt unreasonably long, like someone was deliberately trying to keep them stuck forever.

Even worse, Clover couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Doors would slam when they walked by, almost-familiar shadows shifting from the windows. They tried not to think about it.

...

The elevator they eventually came to was jammed with vines, too dense to cut through. Fantastic.

Chara gave it a particularly long look before shrugging.

"Perhaps if you had someone around who could use fire magic, you could burn them away," they observed.

"That really ain't as helpful as you think it is," Clover replied.

...It wasn't that unhelpful, actually. Ceroba had used fire magic once, they remembered that, but she obviously wasn't here. Unless she was somehow on the only other path accessible to them, they were at a complete dead end.

Then again, based on what they'd seen so far, there probably had to be someone in this place. And they only really knew, like... five people with completely normal souls.

"Might as well check the other path," they eventually suggested, and the two of them turned around and headed down another ridiculously long hallway. There wasn't any railing, and below them was the same mass of wires and vines that had punctuated their current existence.

(They leaned closer to Chara and tried not to think about the possibility of falling again.)

On the bright side, it seemed to be getting brighter. Small wins.

At long last, the hall opened to an overlook, a tree looming and watching in the corner. Whenever a leaf fell, it immediately crinkled into nothing but ash.

More importantly, a tall figure stood by it and watched the pulsating mass below like it was an unfathomable world. They couldn't help but relate a little bit; the overlook they found themselves at was... odd. Almost familiar, almost safe, almost comfortable- like if Clover laid down here, they might not ever get up.

Or something.

"Lost Soul," Chara introduced, knocking them out of their thoughts. "Blinded by desperation."

Clover wanted to think they were sort of used to this song and dance by now. They were ready when Ceroba turned around, nodding at Chara to help them step forwards.

"Howdy," they greeted calmly. "Sorry for runnin' off back at the Lab. Wasn't wholly intentional, but... 'specially since I went to New Home, I shoulda waited."

One of Ceroba's ears twitched, and somehow they got the impression that she'd already forgiven them. As always, though, they didn't get an actual verbal response.

"It doesn't matter if they hate me," she said instead, holding up her staff and directing a large number of cherry blossom petals towards the two of them. Weaving and shooting seemed as effective as always, but-

...

They were suddenly really glad they were not on Ceroba's bad side, to say the least.

Still, once the storm died down, they managed another step forwards.

"We fixed things. Everything's gonna be fine once we get outta here," Clover reassured.

"I have to finish this," Ceroba echoed, but she took a step back, the static on her face flickering.

...At this point, Chara just gave up pretences and threw Clover over their shoulder for the sake of dodging. They sputtered for a moment in response before sighing and letting it happen. Dodging several rings of flowers seemed far easier when it was only one person doing it, after all.

It wasn't exactly comfortable, and every so often a bullet got worryingly close to their face, but Chara seemed to know what they were doing.

Once Ceroba's attack died down, Clover was dropped onto the ground unceremoniously, before being helped to their feet again.

Finally, they managed a smile that only felt partly forced.

"I've said it before," they said, "Journeyin' with y'all, just bein' Underground in general... this is the happiest I remember bein'. So... thanks for that."

Ceroba looked at them quietly for a few moments, before bowing her head and-

The static cleared.

"Clover, I..." she began, before sighing. "Thank you."

They hurried forwards as best they could to hug her. Maybe it was for her sake. Maybe it was for theirs. She returned the gesture all the same, offering a small smile of her own.

"You've held up okay, then?" she asked after a moment, eyes narrowing at the makeshift sling on their leg.

"...More or less," Clover answered, and it wasn't quite a lie. "Made it this far, just gotta find one more person and... a way outta here."

Surprisingly, the world didn't start falling apart immediately. Either this was Flowey's last line of defence, or they weren't quite done here. Or both.

"Speaking of which," Chara added, "Is there any chance you could help us with something?"

A few brief introductions later, the three of them made their way back to the blocked-off elevator.

"So is there any chance you could clear that for us?" Chara requested. "It seems to be the only way forwards."

Ceroba nodded.

"You might want to stand back," she said, waiting for them to do so before summoning a fireball and sending it towards the mess of vines.

A sickening hiss erupted immediately, as did the disgusting stench of something burning and rotting.

The outermost layer of vines started peeling and blistering like flesh would, eventually turning black and eventually collapsing into ashes. This continued a few times until the elevator door finally slid open all the way.

...Clover made the executive decision to not think too hard about it. Hopefully Flowey didn't feel it. Or notice at all, really.

"Thanks," they stated instead. "Guess this is our stop, then. See you in-"