PLDF Chapter 37

> Chapter 37: "In September, Asriel Celebrates Another Year as Another Part of the Story Ends (Sub-Entry 361-370)
>
>

## Sub-Entry 361: "In September..."

So here we are.

The death rasp of summer.

Sure it'll start with pretty nice weather...nice climate to begin with.  But before we know it, the end of this month is going to start getting colder, the leaves are going to start turning color.  Autum is upon us.

I can already see Jon anticipating winter.

I'm going to deep sigh again just for good measure before I get it all out of my system.

It was a nice three months.

Well.

Enough sentimentality.

So.  A bit late to the party...but eventually Asriel, Frisk, Chara, and M.K. came to Bunnie and me about...the tome.

"What?"  I was aghast.

"It seems the Goddess Twins have put one over us again."

"This is one of those times it's hard to tell WHOSE handywork it is."

Bunnie had opened Madam Fate's Codex.

Sure enough...something had changed in it.

I wasn't even sure how this worked.  How she was doing this?  Or...was the Codex doing this on its own.

"This isn't the only Codex we've dealt with...is it?"

Bunnie thumbed through it and located the Miranda timeline in which Ivianna had a her own encounter with a Codex of a different kind.

I crossed my arms.

"So...it's legit?"  M.K. asked.

"It's the genuine article.  The Goddess have written a new twist into our tale.  And that means something."

"It means that what's past...is prologue."  Bunnie said, quoting Samus Aran from once upon a time.

"Deeeep."  M.K. uttered.

"When you think about it, this is their next logical step.  Futz with our lore itself."  Chara growled.  "Pretty sure plenty of other AU's out there already did the same so the Goddesses aren't winning awards for originality.  Damn, this meta-thing never gets any less jarring.

This was one of those times when Chara often proved to be the cunning brain of the group.  More so than Asriel at times.  And more so than Frisk.

Asriel had proven to be quite a prodigy...but even at their current ages...I could sometime see a slight edge in Chara when it came to cunning and strategy.  Sometimes it was easy to believe how often she kept tricking Azzy as kids.

When I really thought back...Asriel won his battles against his Chara thanks to virtue more than full-fledge brainpower.

Chara-wraith had him outclassed in her Absolute God of Hyperdeath form in terms of outthinking and backing him into a corner.  It was entirely because of Determination he overcame.

Evil-Chara, on the other hand...all of Asriel's abilities had grown stronger. Including intelligence and cleverness.

He'd grown strategic.  He'd grown pretty cunning himself.  But really...he had the advantage of the seven virtues.  On top of that...Asriel was pronounced, by Violet, as clinically genius.  But a special breed of genius.  Most geniuses had the weakness of being unable to see things through the point of view of someone who ISN'T a genius.  Empathy and being able to walk a mile in someone else's sandals.  While that was his big strength, the long run...he STILL had the mental edge over Evil-Chara compared to Chara-Wraith.  Current Chara?  She could probably still trick him if she wanted to.  They might be able to banter on equal ground but when the dust usually settles, Asriel being the straight man...the boy scout usually gave way to Chara's teasing.

When I really added it all up...when it came to distinction between the three of them?  Chara had the brain.  Frisk had the heart.  Asriel had the guts...the most determination.  Something that no Asriel had when put side-by-side next to every Frisk that had come before.

Maybe...maybe, if I might get a little meta?  Maybe...it was because in our AU...Frisk was no longer the main character.  Maybe...it was because this had always been Asriel's story in the UltraVerse.

Truth be told...I didn't have a proper description for Asriel.    If Chara was the brain, Frisk was the heart...?  Then Asriel being the "body" would sound superficial.  And while he did have balance between heart and mind...it didn't really describe what who and what he was.  If it was true this was his trait...even if this crazy theory of Soul-Linking worked...would he be the main shell of whatever they combined into?

And...what would Hyperdeath have to say about this?

The more Asriel explained his theory...his comparison to Sym-Bionic Titan...the more I realized he was right.

I did consider that M.K. was left out of the equation.  It was a trio.  But...was it possible?  Was there a limit or not to how many this technique could link together?

Even attempting three felt dangerous.  And had way too many conflicting problems.  For one thing?  Asriel was no longer a Monster.  He was a Zoanthro-Sapien.  Frisk was human, yes.  But Chara was no longer alive; she was a Soul Reaper.  She was a spirit in a faux body.

Would...could this even work with so little magic esper between them?

"You're not actually thinking about attempting this?"

"No!  Of course not!"  Asriel flailed a little.

"I agree.  This has too many unknowns.  I let my soul be tampered with too much as it is."

So...after both of them gave a response...

"Frisk?"

She was hesitating.  She actually thought this might be a good idea to attempt.

"Frisk, don't leave us hanging!"  M.K. spoke up.

"Oh...um...yeah.  It...probably wouldn't work anyway."

I wasn't convinced.  And I was darn sure Bunnie wasn't.

"Look.  Even if we agree not to...you think the Goddesses are going to let that stand?  Shouldn't we see it coming if they force us into a situation where we have no choice but to attempt it?"  Chara grumbled.

"Chara's got a point.  We may already be dancing to Madam Fate's tune.  She's plotting.  She's scheming.  She's got something lying ahead."  I agreed.

"What can we do about it?"  M.K. asked.

"Right now...nothing.  Nothing but keep reading these tomes.  Try to figure out what kind of soft reboot she's trying to force in with a crowbar."

"So much time has passed since her defeat.  How long is she going to keep stringing us along with this false peace?"  Chara slugged the table.

"Chara...!"  Frisk protested.

"Putting...him...away destroyed us all in some way.  She's let us recover and then become sedate in our paradise.  It's just logical she waits to strike us when time finally makes fools of us."  Chara growled.

"Yeah...but maybe that's also what she wants.  For us to destroy ourselves worrying about what and when."  Asriel suggested.

"Logical."  Bunnie nodded.

"We don't want to be unprepared.  We don't want to drive ourselves nuts overpreparing until we wear ourselves out.  We don't want to worry.  We don't want to drop our guards.  We don't want to be caught unaware...but we don't want to cause a panic."  Asriel paced.

"Quite a tall order."  Chara agreed.

"I...I don't want to live in fear."  Frisk sniffled.

"None of us do."  Asriel faced away.

"We've done enough of that during Adonis' Hellish nightmare.  Whatever she brings at us.  We're going to hit the ground running and bring the fight to her next nightmare script."

"I'm in."

"Just try to hold me back."

"Duuuuude."

"Determination.  Til the end."

So.  We were in agreement.  We had no idea how long it would take.  When or even if it would come during our lifetimes.  I hadn't ruled out the possibility she could spring this on an unprepared next generation.  One that...had only the tales of us and this generation to go on.  No actual experience.

But one thing was certain.

We beat her script once.

We could do it again.

Now...as for the rest of the month...

## Sub-Entry 362: "Hysterical Hijinx in Histeria!  A Forgotten Comedic World of Historical Satire":

"So...how’d we end up here again?"  Chara asked as I looked on.

"Well..."  Frisk rubbed the back of her head.

A day like any other, in the lab.  Specifically the Cyber Gate room.

"Huh...this one' display is malfunctioning.  I can't tell where it reads."  Frisk poked at the screen.

"Not only that, the darn thing's covered in dust.  I bet it hasn't been used in ages."

"I probably shouldn't have recycled the parts from when I replaced the display unit and time circuit control panel from the Delorean all that time ago."  I frowned at the flickering L.E.D. lights.

Yeah.  You really should have thrown those parts out.  But you didn't want to look wasteful in front of Gadget and Lupe.

I mean...what harm could it do to recycle questionably stable electronics when you ran out of parts while constructing a new cybergate way back when.

"Hmm...Is there a standard procedure for unknown gateways, Volt?

"There was...but...it's been so long I can't remember it."

"Ugh."  Chara facepalmed.

"Well.  Why do we not investigate?"  Papyrus suggested.

"I think that would b-b-be extraordinarily d-dangerous and irresponsible."  Alphys cautioned.

"Maybe we should send a probe in first?"

"Ah nuts to that.  That's no fun!"  M.K. said before hitting the power button.

"Wait!  M.K.!"  I dropped my clipboard.

By this point he'd already jumped through.

"And without considering if he needed a disguise or not!  That's TOO reckless!"  I groaned.

"He's your friend--"  I started before Chara protest.

"Ohhh no.  Don't heap me in with dude-a-saurus wrecks."  Chara crossed her arms.

"Come on, Chara!  He could be in real trouble."

"Hmm...perhaps we should organize an investigation team and rescue squad."  Bunnie rubbed her chin.

"Curious.  This one seems...somehow familiar."

"How can you tell?  These gates all look alike save for their displays."  Chara stuck her tongue out.

"I'm with M.K.  Later haters!"  Vi pinched her nose and fell backwards through the portal like she was diving into a pool.

"Nyeheheheh!"  Papyrus donned his disguise before going in.

"Did everyone in this room just lose all common sense?"  I facepalmed before demorphing and followed everyone else in after the group.

"Epic faaaail!"  Chara shrugged, quoting Klaus the goldfish.

So begin the chain reaction of several of us going through.

After that...I couldn't really tell you what happened next.

But I could tell you the exact moment I woke up.

Because it was to a teenage girl's scream.

"Oh no...we're in one of those horror worlds, aren't we?  Which one is it?  LJN's Friday the 13th?  Nightmare on Elm Street?  Maybe it's Jaws.  This is what I get for brushing off Vi's fanaticism over the Angry Video Game Nerd rematching the Nostalgia Critic!'

I bolted on a dead run until stopped in my tracks at seeing Asriel getting accosted by a red-haired teenage girl in what looked like a 50's poodle skirt and sweater.  Even down to the pony tail with a bow in it and bobby-socks with saddle shoes.  Mitzi was going to want to see this.

As I skidded to a stop I watched as she had wrapped her arms around Asriel and was squeezing him in the over-friendliest bearhug I'd ever seen while giving the most excited squeal I'd ever heard.

"OH MY GOD!  IT'S YOU!  IT'S REALLY YOU!  AHHHHHHHHH!  YOU'RE MY FAVORIIIIITE!  EEEEEE!!!  PLEASE SIGN MY AUTOGRAPH BOOK!!!"

Uh...

Wait, what?'

"Uh...sure.'  Asriel took a moment to shake off the fluster.  I then noticed his Unitrix had been knocked offline and he was in his goat form.  But...the girl didn't really seem to notice.  Or care.  Or maybe she did and that's why she was hounding him like a super-fan.

Either way.  Azzy took the book and the pen and signed before handing it over.

"OH THANK YOU SO MUUUUUUUUUUUCH!!!"

But the girl took one look at it and sudden turned disappointed.

"Heeeey!  You're not Rauru from Tears of the Kingdom!"

She then huffed and spun on her heel and stormed away.

"Uh....did I miss something?"

"Azzy!"  Frisk hurried over.

"Who in blazes was that?"  I immediately caught her jealous tone.

"Beats the heck out of me."  Asriel sweat dropped.

I scratched my head.

"Hey, you guys."  I tried not to make a reference to the Goonies or the Electric Company.

"Doctor!"

"Volt!"

"Oh man...what crazy world did we end up on?"  I heard M.K. pick himself up and head over.  His disguise was holding.

"That...is the question of the year."  My eyes widened when I saw it all...

It was like...every point in world history was blending together...on a sound stage.

"What."

I eyed what was definitely Thomas Alva Edison's laboratory where the man of the hour was at work on a light bulb.

Elsewhere I saw Rene Descartes leaving his residence.

Over yonder I could see Julius Caesar at...I'm sorry...the VOMITORIUM?

But the closer I looked at all these historical figures...the more I noticed...

They were all looking like recent or modern celebrities.

"Uh...why does Julius Caesar look and sound like Bing Crosby?"  I uttered out loud.

"Okay I've been a quick study on Earth history but...pretty sure Joan of Arc never had a valley girl accent."  Frisk scratched her head.

"Why...does an Ancient Aztec civilization have an ambulance-chaser lawyer at a desk?"  Asriel's eye twitched a little.

"Where in the heck ARE we?"  I gaped.  The funny thing was...I felt like I KNEW this place but it all slipped my mind--"

\*sniff sniff\*

Oh.  My.  GOD.

"Woooooo-WEEEEEE!  What in Videoland is that SMELL!?"  I burst out.

That was when I felt something bump into my leg.  I looked down at a small African-American girl, holding the most BLOATED baby I'd ever laid eyes on.

"Big, Fat Baby needs a diaper change."  She said as she shoved the kid into my arms.

"OH MY GLOB."  I quoted Finn and Jake and anyone on Ooo.  "When was the last time this baby HAD a diaper change."

"You remember when the Big Bang happened?"

"I actually saw it once, yeah.  Lived up to the hype."

"Before that."

My jaw dropped.  Just as the baby let out an unholy fart.

I turned green and insisted she take the kid back before grabbing Azzy and Frisk, who grabbed M.K. and RAN!

"That was FOUL."

"I think I'm going to be sick to my stomach."  Frisk hunched over with her hands on her knees.

"That thing smelled worse than Al Dente's cooking."  Asriel was so dazed he let his head go limp and let his tongue hang out of his open maw while his eyes spiraled in anime fashion.

I panted for a bit before getting back to my senses.

"We got to find the others."  Frisk gasped.

"I hope they're having as miserable a time as we are..."  I grumbled, mostly meaning Violet and Chara.

Elsewhere, Sally went tumbling through the air before landing on her feet and landing from the shockwave.

"Maybe this brat should have called HIMSELF Sonic.  I haven't felt a shockwave that hard and loud since Fat Cat tripped and fell at the race track."

Sally skidded in a spinout, landing in a Spider-Man sprawl.

"What did he say his name was again..."  Chara said, sarcastically, trying to wiggle life back into her ears.

"I think he said--"  Violet grinned moments before--

"LOUD KIDDINGTON!!!!"

And the all the surrounding buildings in the square collapsed into mounds of rubble as every window shattered.

"Ahh!  I'm deaf!  I'm deaf!"  Undyne held her frilled ears.  "Damn kid--"

Was all she got out before suddenly the entire SCENE was shoved aside and replaced by a penthouse office with a woman seated at a desk.

"Hi there.  Lydia Karaoke, network censor here.  We at the network are ones to forgive and forget but we do not condone language of this magnitude on a program like this.  I don't know where our actresses were when the scripts were handed out but I can assure you that in no way does this offensive word appear anywhere in print.  So as a common courtesy, I'm going to politely ask that they refrain from using such verbal curses lest we have to change this program's TV rating.  And that costs money we really are not keen on spending.  So please.  As a courtesy, do knock it off.  Or there will be very heavy consequences.  Please refer to your contracts for details.  Thank-you."

And like that the scene was shoved back into frame...wait...

I was suddenly catching on.

"Oh my gosh...this is one of those meta-worlds."  I gaped from barely visible off screen.  OFF SCREEN!?!

"What the \*FART\* was that?"  Undyne screamed as Big Fat Baby waddled past with the kid, now identified as "Aka Pella" chasing after him.

Meanwhile, Violet was upside-down where she crashed and laughing like a loon.

"I LOVE THIS PLACE!"

"You would."  Bunnie sudden bamfed into existence.

"Where were you?"  Undyne growled.

"Getting an up-close and personal interview with Emperor Wu and Wen Wang.  After enduring Pop Quiz's game show about Chinese history."  Bunnie.  "It's...rather similar to our own world's Yonkou."

"So why the throbbing anime veins, Major?"

"You ever experience a back-and-forth skit on Chinese dynasty founders done in the style of Abott and Costello?"

"Oh.  That'd do it."  Sally shrugged.

"Considering how many Yonkou names rhyme?  If China's anything like that it must've been HILARIOUS."  Violet giggled.

"Ancestors stay my hand."

At the same time, Alphys was running around being chased by Vikings led by Lief Ericson...who for some reason had an Arnold Schwarzenegger grade Austrian accent.  And was rapping about the history of Vikings?

"I love this!"  I heard Violet chuckle.

"Enough with the goofing off.  Violet, do you know something you're not telling us?"

"I might."

"Then stop beating around the bush, kimono girl and TELL US!"  Undyne snapped.

"Ohhh...alright.  Since you asked nicely...I'm going to do it in a song!"

"What--"  Once again, I was too slow on the uptake and asked the question too late.

And Violet broke out in song and laid it out for us:

"It's called HISTERIA!

The world prepare-ia!

We dare ya!

To watch HISTERIA!

Prepare-ia for hilar-ia!

They love it in Bulgaria!

HISTERIA!

We declare-ia!

Be aware-ia!

The laughter's gonna bury ya!

We swear-ia!

It's extraordinary-ia!

Let's head for HISTERIA!"

The rest of us eventually showed up for Vi's number.  And there were sweat drops everywhere.

Papyrus adjusted his backwards ballcap, trying to make sense of it.

"We're racing through time in search of comedy!

We're gonna make fun of history!

With superstars from every century!

Here on HISTERIA!"

Alphys raised her hand and pointed up, just about to speak.

Chara pulled Alphys' arm down with one hand and shook her head no.

"It's HISTERICAL!  It's HISTORICAL!

Here's Big, Fat Baby!  He smelled HORRIBLE!"

"You got that right..."  I pinched my nose shut.

"With Father Time...!"

Violet reached off screen and yanked a bald geezer with the longest beard and even longer moustache into frame.  He was wearing a blue, long-sleeved robe and sandals...and more wrist watches on both arms than even my mentor, Dr. Brown had!  On top of that he was holding an hour glass.

"LOUD KIDDINGTON!!!"

"Gah!  Chara cried as the kid had leaped up and screamed right in her ear.

"Miss Information...!"   Violet pulled down the next scene, effectively breaking the fourth wall...and replacing us was a blond-haired woman with a Francine Smith haircut and an overuse of red lipstick and an equally red tour guide outfit on.

"World's Oldest Woman!"

Antoine found himself hugged by a wrinkly grandma in purple.  And boy did he struggle to get away.

"Oh no!  Not again!"

"Mix Toast and Pepper...!"

A cut away to a burnt out pre-teen on a surfboard, actually EATING a slice of toast.

Then again to the earlier red-head in the poodle dress.  Apparently her full name was Pepper Mills...wait a minute...

I could see Goat Son's face brightening with each person who had a pun name.

And I could see Papyrus deadpanning and hear him groaning with each one uttered.

This time Pepper was begging M.K. for an autograph and then storming off when she found out he wasn't Yellow Yoshi from Super Mario World.

"...with Charity!"

And the scene cut to a blond-haired girl in what looked like a nun's dress; who looked like this was the most depressing thing in the world.  Also the caption below her read "Charity Bazaar"........darn it all.

Goat Son's grin went wider.

And Sans had popped up out of nowhere, grinning like a loon.  How and when did he follow us here?

"Sans!"  Papyrus scolded.

"Add Froggo and the others!  It's hilarity!"

Froggo, was apparently another little boy in a backward ballcap, somehow aboard the Titanic and giving a thumbs-up.  We'd later learn he was called Froggo because of the sound of his voice.  Like a chain-smoker even deeper than Alternate Video Land's Mega Man.  Or the Monarch's wife, Dr. Girlfriend.

"Revolutionary-a!!!

It's time for HISTERIA!

HISTERIA!"

By this time the whole cast had joined Violet in song for the big finish as the Title Card dropped down.

"Nicely done, bunny girl.  But you're either going to have to sign this waiver and relinquish your images to the network or they're going to have to sue you for every penny you got."

Father Time presented Vi with a stack of papers.

"Eh.  That's showbusiness."  Vi signed the papers.  "My people will get with yours, though and we'll have a counter waiver for you guys to sign.  No biggie."

"Who the heck do you work for?"

"Can...we hurry this along?  We're burning up our time slot."  Aka Pella warned.

You know Aka sounds a lot like voice actress, Cree Summer.  And I was getting Frank Welker vibes from some of the other cast.  As well as Rob Paulson...and Tress McNeille.

Whoa.  Getting weirdly meta again.

"Good point."

And so after one long day of meeting up with celebrities while getting a ton of historical facts dumped on us in exposition, song, dance, and satire...

"...can I vote we NEVER visit the vomitorium again?"  Frisk said, holding her stomach.  "Also this tunic isn't very comfy."

"At least you did not end up with zee World's Oldest Woman.  She 'ow you say...invited me to over so she could be showing me her asp--"  Antoine complained.

"HELLLOOOOOO!!"  Violet cut in.

"Never meet your heroes."  I grumbled as I rolled my eyes.  "I think I'm going to become a Nikola Tesla fan after that run-in with Edison."

"You mean after their back-and-forth argument over which is better?  AC or DC?"  M.K. asked.

"Why choose?"  Asriel chuckled as he played Thunderstruck on his guitar.

"At least Chara seemed like she was enjoying herself."  Alphys shrugged.

"Dude.  She was watching Joan of Arc get burned at the stake.  In cartoon fashion at that."

"I'm sorry.  Were you guys saying something?"  Chara shoved another s'mores in her mouth as she held the tree branch with burning marshmallows on the ends.

I facepalmed.

"I say we stick around.  That Lief Ericson guy was a lot of fun."  Undyne hefted the Viking broadsword.

It figures.

And then without warning...it came back to me.

"Now I remember this world!"  I pounded my fist into my palm.

"Obviously the name of it is HISTERIA!  So...?"  Frisk prompted.

"So I'm going to take a wild stab at why you never came back here."  Chara huffed.

"Actually...the gate just kind of shut down after season 2."  I shrugged.  "I found that happened a lot with a number of my cases...though I never referred to them as "seasons" except in meta worlds like this one.

Weird."

But also made sense when I stopped to think about in on non-meta worlds.  On worlds like HISTERIA!  Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, Freakazoid! The Mask (Endsville) and the Neitherworld, it was like an incredibly overlooked detail that became a shocking discovery out of nowhere.  Like it was some big mystery no one could figure out.

It was a rule of thumb.  Somehow meta worlds affected your conscious mind.  Somehow...we were subject to their rules.

How else do you explain why Asriel, Frisk, M.K. and I just suddenly hopped in Cosgrove's patrol car just for a jelly and jam festival?

"Uh you guys?  The closing credits are rolling."  Violet pointed out.

"I think we better get going before the show's REALLY over."  Asriel opened up the portal back home.

"Good point."

"Until next time on HISTERIA!"  Violet prompted.

And one by one, the scene cut away to another cast member or guest shouting out "HISTERIA!" before everyone just suddenly shouted it out in unison.

As the portal closed?  The scene faded to black.

## Sub-Entry 363: "When it Becomes a Cold Case We Worry For the Future of Unicorn: Warriors Eternal":

We thought we'd be in for a long haul with our group of unlikely immortal souls that jumped from host body to host body over the generations that The Evil would pop up.

We thought we'd be in for something the scope of the crossover wars.

And then...

"Ahh!"

"What happened?"

"We...got the boot from the Cosmic Plane."  Asriel gasped as he pushed himself up to his hands and knees.

"But...why?"  Frisk sat up.

"Was it...the Evil?"  Asriel asked.

"Inconclusive."  Nikita ran scans over us and the rift as it was closing up.

That was when the emergency memo came from the top.  From Daimyou.

"Attention, Agent Arcade and company.  Effective immediately...the ongoing case of Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is...suspended until further notice."

"What!?"  Frisk protested.

"I think...the mission just became a cold case."

"Whoah, whoah, whoah, dudes.  A cold case ALREADY?  No time has past!  It's not like it dragged on for years."  M.K. was flustered.

"Most unfortunate..."  Toriel had a seat.

"I say...this is unprecedented.  But...I fear not in a good way."  Asgore understated the obvious.

"I...don't think we're going to get answers from Daimyou any time soon."  I had pushed myself up into a Jangese kneeling position with my fists resting on my knees, oriented like I was steering a bicycle.

"We barely got to introduce ourselves."  Frisk looked disappointed.

"My guess is...the Evil has put a BOOT on the timeline.  It's likely we won't be able to join the fray until the Warriors Eternal manage the mess in the Cosmic Plane.  And judging by how much of space-time is all one big casserole?  That could take a very long time and equates to a very big mess."

I gave my best guess.

"We didn't even really get to know them.  Are they even going to remember us?" Frisk followed up her question.

"That's for Destiny...and Fate...to decide."  I had grumbled Fate's name under my breath, lowering my voice, at that.  I was intentionally slighting her, knowing I wasn't having whatever she was scheming.

"All we can do is remain patient."  For the first time in a while, Asriel's eye had turned cyan blue.  He was really making an effort."

"Frankly...I'm just glad Emma and Melinda resolved their differences."  Frisk tried reassuring herself with a positive thought.

"That's the spirit, Frisk.  We'll get back to them.  It'll just take time."

"Yeah...and maybe we'll grow stronger, too."  M.K. volunteered.

"I would not mind another attempt that this."  Asgore stroked his beard.

That seemed to sit well with Toriel.  Like she was seeing more sparks of the man she had married long ago.

He was trying.

She couldn't deny that.

"Until then, Mom.  Dad.  I guess you've earned some time off."

"My son...is this feeling not what you experience?  Anxiety over being unable to...do anything to assist?"

Asriel smiled.

"I'm glad to see you motivated.  I was...worried that the mission would turn violent and drive you away."

"Several times I put young children to the test.  To see if they could survive outside on their own."  Toriel looked quite guilty over the matter.

"Would I not be a hypocrite if I turned away from battle merely because I wish to save my own self?  I cannot be selfish and claim that I have taught my family well."

"I too share Tori's sentiment.  I have much to make up for.  This was...going to be a first step in my path toward redemption.  I cannot give it up so easily.  I cannot stand by.  But it seems the fates have decreed we do not have a choice in the matter.  How bittersweet it is that our intentions...our choices do not matter in this moment."

"Believe me, your highness...your highnesses...the sentiment is more than enough to go on for now.  We'll all get back there.  It's only a matter of time before Lady Destiny comes up with her own countermeasure...her own gambit against Fate delaying our intervention."

"Yeah.  We'll show that stuck-up snob how we roll!"  Undyne thunked her spear into the floor...rather violently at that.

I'd...refrain from billing her for the damages.

"Until then.  Let's keep researching until we find a chink in that armor."  Chara skimmed over Fate's Codex.

"Seconded."  Frisk smiled.

"Also all in."  Asriel followed up.

"Let's call it unanimous and we'll wait for our opportunity."  I nodded.

"Agreed."  Toriel and Asgore said in unison before looking at each other...then stifling a giggle and chuckle, respectively.

"Until then.  Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is officially...a cold case."

I inserted the key into the Cyber Gate we had hoped to re-open back to where the portal had spit us out.

I twisted it to the side and the portal's colors dulled and greyed as it stopped swirling and became a completely flat plane of energy.  The display on the terminal turned from green to icy blue text and in bold letters it went from "ONLINE" to "HYBERNATION".

It would be a short entry this time around.

The rest of the day would be uneventful.

The days would turn to weeks and eventually months.

But I knew we weren't done with the Evil.

None of us really expected to grow this attached to a case were started out knowing very little about.

It was a unique case.

There was something about its style.  Something familiar.

Something I recognized when working previous cases; Dexter's Laboratory, Primal, Samurai Jack...

But I couldn't put my finger on what the commonality was.

I, nonetheless, filed them all under the common folder marked G. Tartakovski.  A...familiar code word or name I never quite found the connection to when analyzing these seemingly unrelated realms.  But I KNEW that there WAS something significant, linking them all together.  It was just one of those times the Goddesses didn't want it to be...obvious.  Blatant.  Spelled-out.

We were going to rejoin Melinda/Emma, Seng/Alfie, Eldred/Dimitri Dynamo, Winston, Merlin, and the Rakshasa again.

Some day.

One by one we left the Gateway Room.

## Sub-Entry 364: "Flowey's Struggle Goes On":

\*sigh\*

Lupe held her tongue as she watched the flower sigh for the 100th time that day.  And I mean actually one-hundred.  Believe me.  She kept count.  Ten sets of ten. One with two zeros behind it.  A full hundred.

There was patient.

Then there was Lupe.

Anyone else would have cracked by now.

Lupe's ear twitched as the clock's minute hand reached twelve and it was time for close to the general public.

The last of the visitors had gone.

Once she made her rounds and closed the gates for the night...

She returned to where Flowey had taken root.  Literally.

Finally he was the one who cracked.

"Well?"

"Hmm?"

"You're taking your sweet time to ask me what's troubling me."  He grumbled.

"I did not want to pry."

"You...you're always like that."

"Are you...asking me to?  It seems like poking my nose into your affairs would only provoke you--"

"Of course it would!"  Flowey borderline snapped at her.

"Then...?"

"Just...never mind."

A long period of silence.

"Do you...wish to keep going on like this?"

"You can save the invite to experience the wonders of your perfect world, druid.  It would have no more response from me than if you'd asked me to watch paint dry or count the cracks in a ceiling.

No soul means no soul."

Lupe stared for a moment, to confirm.  Yes, there was indeed no soul...but..there was a spark of...something.  Something tying Flowey to more than just base sentience.

No animated object harbors this much resentment and frustration and can just be written off as just-plain-soulless.

So...if it wasn't a soul...what was it that was making him...well...him?

Determination alone just can't be giving him...a will?  Can it?

Maybe...maybe Lupe, considered, it was time to talk to Dr. Alphys about what she knew about liquid determination.

Then there was the overlooked obvious.  What had been drilled into anyone who's read my notes and logs up to this point.

It's as plain as the name he was given when first brought into the world.

He's still...carrying a trace essence of Asriel.

Asriel emulating a frustrated Chara, minus any emotion.  Minus any sense of humor save for his attempts to be sadistic on the moments he actually DID try to stir something up.  Usually, unsuccessfully attempting to banter with Asriel, Frisk or Chara.

Asriel knew his incomplete self too well.  He could mentally and emotionally disarm before Flowey could really stick him with something that might actually hurt.  Plus he was a pun machine that had learned from both Chameleon and Sans.  It frustrated Flowey that Asriel always made it seem like everything was a joke to him when it came to the Weed.  And that hurt Flowey's pride.  That made him think he wasn't being taken seriously.

Frisk was nonconfrontational.  Hugs and understanding smiles and being nice was her way and there no way Flowey could counter that.  And that made him realize he was always going to run into a wall trying to get her to dance to his tune.  To try to lure her into an argument on his terms.  She'd matured.  She'd gotten too wise to his tricks and she'd gotten thicker skinned.  She just couldn't be brought down by negativity.

Chara?  Well.  It's painfully safe to say...Flowey never once beat her at her own game.  She was too witty, too crafty, and knew right when to make her verbal strike.  To this day?  He still kept finding himself protesting "Just let me win!!!" before game set and match.  And he was no match.  It just pissed him off seeing her so smug about winning and winning and winning.  Maybe Chara was throwing gas onto the fire.  But by this time...Flowey was burning out after so many losses.

M.K.?  He couldn't really relate to him.  Most of the time Monster Kid tended to forget Flowey was even around.  And I'm pretty sure Flowey was holding a grudge over all the times M.K. accidently stepped on him because he wasn't aware Flowey was even underfoot.  He was...just kind of oblivious.  And that made Flowey REALLY pissed off.  To be treated like he didn't even exist?  It wasn't that M.K. was doing it on purpose.  Maybe...because there was so little of his former goat prince self left...maybe because M.K. wasn't one of the chosen; namely Asriel, Frisk, and Chara.  Maybe because he never had a save file and was still technically NPC...maybe he just didn't have any real connection to the Weed.  Maybe he just couldn't help it.

When it came down to it...Flowey was barely a whisp.  An echo.  Even Asmirus would consider him barely a shadow at most.

But he DID still exist.  He was outside of the game, constantly degrading himself, by choice at that...just so he at least had semblance of frustration and humiliation to hold onto.  Though...it was debatable if he honestly felt either.

The number one description Flowey would always use when asked about how he was doing?  That word was always...

"Numb."

Lupe cocked her head at the one word the flower had spoken.

Day in and day out, Flowey always identified as "numb".  Everything is "numb".

There was no feeling.  No attachment..  Even though the memories had returned.  Even though he knew very well who Asgore and Toriel were...he still called them the old lady, the old fool...and sometimes just the old goats.  Like they were strangers.

When he tried to follow Chara's example and put on that...twisted jester like sense of humor, it almost seemed like it was something different to him.  Like it might distract him from the emptiness.

It amused him for a while.  It seemed like it might actually create a different future than what he'd been through after resetting the Save File he had gained from so much Determination injected into him.  The clashes with Sans...the times he tried hijacking the game...and of course attempting to coax Frisk into doing his dirty work.

But every time it ended the same.  Even in True Pacifist Endings...it always reset from the beginning again.  Lady Destiny and Madam Fate would start the game over again after tinkering with its..."files"...with that FUN Value.  With the sprite sets....with...whatever meta reference he could think of.  Whatever they could do to the script...to his reality.  Whatever timeline variation they came up with...it was just the same, as well.  Ending in disappointment.

Until...

I was factored in.

He was intrigued at first.  But he saw more of the same in the end.

I had...at least a chance of convincing him we could help him.

However...along comes a spider.  My eternal nemesis...my failed protégée had been waiting for me to stop researching the Prime timelines...the stable AU's...and start up in the Goddess' sandbox.  Their modded games.

And like that...he became a more interesting path for Flowey to follow.  It seemed almost too good to be true that the chaos would make sure he'd never be bored.

Then...it WAS too good to be true.

How quickly Flowey's promised land became a far worse prison.  The path ahead was now his neverland.  It was the rawest deal.  But at least he knew what he was getting.  At least he was banking on the one thing he was certain of: UNCERTAINTY.

I was making a bold promise.

Adonis made no such one.  In fact he warned Flowey NOT to trust him.

That risk.

That made all the difference.  That's why...that's why Flowey betrayed me.  Betrayed Frisk.  Betrayed...EVERYONE.

And what happened?

Once he became Asriel again…once he was Ultimate Hyperdeath...his conscience made him realize...what he had done.  It made him understand...he was in the midst of being betrayed yet again.  Adonis...was never going to let him off his leash once he did what he was asked.

It was WORSE than the promise Evil-Chara had him make.

So now...Adonis' fake future had crumbled.

We'd given him the keys to a new future.

But...he didn't want them.

We...honestly...all coaxed him into this new life.  Asriel...had convinced him to abandon Ebott.

And maybe it was sour grapes?

But he still couldn't be happy.  Even if he wanted to be.

How do you help for someone like that?

"You have your freedom.  You can do with your life as you may."  Lupe offered.

"Did you ever see that stupid cartoon...with the gray rabbit that's always eating a carrot and asking people "What's up, Doc?"  Did you ever see the one where that nemesis of his...that orange-haired and bearded short man was a chef for a fussy king?  His royal highness would should "Cook!  Where's my lunch!  Where's my dinner!"

And every day the angry chef would make the same thing for the king.  He'd push those groceries up and down the hills to the royal kitchen while grumbling and lamenting how ungrateful the monarch was.  Yet he still made the same thing.  The same old thing.  Do you know what that was?  VARIETY."

"Go on...?"  Lupe cocked her head.

"Tell me.  What is the problem with having the freedom of variety.  Of having EVERYTHING at your fingertips?"

Lupe blinked.

"You experience too many things at once.  And then...you get bored of them all very quick."

"Oh.  I see."

"So one day the King gets pissed and demands he make something different and says off the top of his head: "Make me...hasenpfeffer."

Lupe sweat dropped, knowing full well that hasenpfeffer was basically roasted rabbit.   I mean...a couple of her best friends were rabbits.  Though...it was hard to tell if Lupe leaned more toward the Hybrid where their animal namesake instincts were dominant or if she was like Bunnie or Mitzi and being half animal was more of an afterthought.  Like she identified more as female than canine.  Like I did.  Wait...I mean I identify more as male than I did canine.

Oh brother.  That was awkward.  I digress.

"Umm...okay.  But did you not already give the lesson?"

"Don't get technical with me."

"Are you saying that if you are introduced to a change of pace that you will grow bored of it too quickly once again?"

You know, Lupe was another one who rarely if ever used contractions.  You know.  Toriel speak.  The way of Tiem and other pure-breed dragons.  Also known as "Mr. Data" style.

Flowey dodged the question at first, finishing his anecdote.

"Anyway...the rest of the cartoon was that silly rabbit making a fool of the angry red-haired chef until finally he pulled the prank that had the chef hauled away by the guards.  And then the rabbit becomes the new chef.  So what does make?  He tells the king he made "hasenpfeffer".  But it turns out to be a plate of cooked carrots.  To which the stupid king remarks "If I didn't know it was hasenpfeffer, I'd swear it was carrots."

Lupe covered up her smile.

Flowey narrowed his eyes, noting the amusement.  "Then the cartoon goes and ruins it with a corny joke."

"What...might I ask...was the joke?"  Lupe couldn't contain her curiosity.

"That it just goes to show how a one-eyed JACK...rabbit...can beat a king."  Flowey smoldered, drooping his whole head to the ground, sitting his jaw-line in the soil; in a "I can't deal with this" manner.

It took everything Lupe had to hold back her giggle.

"I...see."

"This world..."

"Is it not...?"  Lupe started.

"It's no worse then the last.  But no better.  I get it.  No world ever will be."

"Well they will not if you will not give them the chance they merit."

"And that's the risk, Lupe.  Do you know how many times I've been burned on risk?  Too.  Many.  I'm tired of it.  Call me a coward if you must.  But I take one more chance with this stupid farce of a life and I might as WELL go to where Asriel...my old self went.  Wherever it is that naive little goat princes go when they stop existing.  Then at least we can be out of everyone else's hair."

"But...think of all that you matter to."

"You think I'm not?  I told you.  I just can't FEEL for any of them.  I can't EMPATHIZE.  So what's the point of trying to even act like I can if it's all just a lie to make everyone else feel better.  I get nothing out of it.  This whole "kindness is its own reward" crap just doesn't work with me let alone for me."

I really don't know how we can help him.  And I'm pretty sure Lupe didn't know either.  But.  She was going to at least keep on offering a shoulder to lean on.

She was...still the best thing he had going in his non-life.

"Is it...feasible if Asriel still visits?"

"Let the goat do what he wants.  I don't care."

"As you wish."

"Don't say wish."  Flowey turned away as his already dour expression became all the more empty and depressed.

"You know where to find me if you need anything."

"Don't hold your breath."

"Good night, Flowey."

And Lupe headed off to her one-sight residence, far from the eyes of any of the general public.  Far from the majority of the animals.  Far from the main gardens.  Far from the activity centers.  Oddly enough...it was actually nestled in the area of the cave systems where she had tours and geology exhibits and such.

I couldn't nail down why she chose a mountainous region for her residence but I could see the correlation between her and her counterpart in the Wolf Pack Freedom Fighters.  When Robotnik captured that Lupe's father and roboticized most of the pack, the ten remaining fled to the caves of the Great Unknown.

There they rigged them with boobytraps and spread the rumors of a terrible curse upon anyone who intruded upon their land.

What I knew of our Lupe's people was that they lived a more tribal life.  Very, very similar to certain tribes of Native America.

I'd even seen Lupe wear an occasional feather or two but not like the full headdress you saw the outdated images of depictions of "Indian Chiefs" wearing in the old days when it was okay to call them Indians.

Back before Thanksgiving stopped being the great American holiday and the current generation just started shaming it for what happened AFTER the times of the first Thanksgiving.  And of course before every form of business started bringing Halloween ware out in July and Christmas items as early as September and a lot of people of the Earth would just blow through the days between October and December like an afterthought.

Why am I even getting worked up over an Earth holiday and Earth customs?  This is VGM-098 (and Undertale) for crying out loud.

Okay, before this gets preachy, back to Lupe.  Or rather...back to Flowey.  Man, I really go off on too many heated opinion tangents in my old age.

Don't get old.  Or immortal.  It's lousy.

"Hmm..."  Flowey slowly turned around once he was sure the coast was clear.

"Good night, Lupe."

It was the most his expression had softened.

But unlike usual...instead of pulling himself underground...he just...remained outside in the moonlight and stars.

And maybe...just maybe...he took a moment to remember and look up at those stars.

While I may never prove it...

I think...Flowey made a wish on a star.

Whatever it is...I hope it was a good one.

I hope your dream comes true.

## Sub-Entry 365: "Happy Birthday, Once More, Asriel":

September 15th.

The date was permanently etched in my head.

It had only been six days since we celebrated Pit's birthday and thus the Anniversary of the Prophecy of Captain N--the turning point of our universe's Videoland War.

September 15th...it was almost like an anniversary of Undertale itself.

Maybe, only its true creator could say for sure.  But I doubt I was going to get anything out of Annoying Dog.  If even a "bark-bark-bark".

Though likely I'd get run down by him driving one of those PlayMobile toddler cars and end up seeing a Game Over screen.

Hmm...was that a reference in DeltaRune I overlooked?  Maybe.  Kris did end up ignoring that branching path in the trash heaps outside of the Cyber City commercial district.  In the area, not far from Mr. "Big Shot" himself, Spamton G. Spamton.

That said...

Birthdays for Asriel had evolved.

I remember when it was cake, ice cream, and NO PARTY CLOWNS.  You're welcome, Violet.

Then it was an all-nighter at the activity center with other teens.

Things changed with the sweet sixteen gift of a car.

Then at 18 he was legal.

From there...well...it all just became a slow ramp...until he wasn't there anymore.

One gap in time later...he was back.

And now...here we were, wondering how to celebrate the birthday of a goat his adult age.

For weeks...I was at a loss.  Like on the slowest climbing roller coaster in which I could see the top of the hill coming.

What was I going to do once I reached the top?

What were we going to do for him?

Frisk was there to calm me down.  And M.K. there for positive Vibes.  which left Chara to get my head in the game.

So...I relied on them to guide me.

How did they celebrate Asriel's big day back in Undertale?

So...it was no surprise they brought Asgore and Toriel in on it.

But surprised, I was, that Burgerpants was invited anywhere this.  But...maybe there was a connection between him and Azzy I didn't want to acknowledge.

When I thought about his unseen counterpart in DeltaRune...still busy in college...I wondered how big his backstory must've been to leave this kind of impression on everyone surrounding Kris.

Seriously.

I had a lot of word of mouth but no evidence.  Nothing from the goat himself.

I really wanted to know how similar there's...and ours were.

What parallels did Asriel Arcade have to Asriel Dreemurr (DeltaRune edition)?

Things like that were hard to let go.

And I didn't want these questions becoming an obsession.

"What do we do for the fuzzball's birthday?"  Undyne looked at me funny.  "Well, I don't know about you, but his parties need more wild in him.  I keep suggesting a place where I can start a good bar fight.  Teach those punk how it's done!  FUH-HU-HU-HU-HU!!!"

Undyne was no help.

Maybe I had plenty of support with Frisk, Chara, and M.K. in my corner.  Adding anyone else's advice might be like too many cooks in the kitchen.

"The P-P-Prince?  Oh g-golly.  I sure hope he s-s-still likes anime.  I d-d-don't know about him, but I r-really like l-life sized character pillows of my favorite dreamy p-protagonists..."

Alphys covered her blushing cheeks as she bobbed her head slightly back and forth in an otaku-esque manner.  Whatever that was.

You mean well, Doc.  But...not really tailored to his interests.  Yours, yes.  We never had to question how to celebrate your birthday.  But we could do better for Azzy.

Asgore's suggestions were a little too obvious.

"Uh..."  I looked at the flatbed truck filled with flowers.

"Maybe...a bit too much.  I mean yeah...he's still a flower child but..."

I was recalling how Thaddeus S.  "Rusty" Venture was complaining to me how he mentioned ONE TIME his interest in home movies and Jonas flooded him, everything birthday and Christmas, with nothing but video cameras and movie-making gear while attempting to talk his ear off about a shared-interest in cinematography.

As I called it...how to kill your offspring's interest in ANYTHING in one easy step.

That said, my advice?  DON'T.  GO.  OVERBOARD.  Don't.  Smother.

Okay.  Rant over.  And not just because I spoke a little from experience from my attempts to be a good dad to Elektra...

With Toriel?  I guess less is more.  While she certainly had the least about advice?  I didn't walk away with more inspiration than I felt I should have.

But at least she was the most supportive without being obnoxious.

I immediately shut down Violet's suggestions.  And had to whap her with her own..."literature".

"Easy, Dr. Alphys.  Easy.  Breathe in...breathe in..."  M.K. fanned the fainted pangolin with one of Bunnie's tessen fans.

Her glasses had fogged completely up and she had turned completely beat red from head frills to toe tips.

"What the HELL is wrong with you?"  I demanded at Vi.

"If Frisk were her she'd slug you."

"No she wouldn't."  Chara cracked her knuckles.  "But she WOULD scold you harshly.  Slugging her is MY job.  Nobody gets to make Azzy blush but ME."

"Not helping."  I muttered.

And of course.

"I'm with Bunnie.  Let the goat free-form it.  Anything we do, he'll be cool with.  I mean, we're his family and friends, m'dude.  He'll be way schway with it because we'll make his day out of love and respect, right?"

"Yeah...good advice, Sally."

It was good advice but not much substance to it.

I was doing what I did best.  Overthinking.  Which wasn't a good thing.

My head was telling me to let Frisk and Chara and M.K. handle it.  They got this.

But...I didn't just want to be left on the sidelines, either.  I was his best friend.  I should...do something, right?

I should...y'know...be a good friend.

He was a grown adult.  But still younger than me by far.  So...what DO you do for a grown adult goat hybrid?

With my own crew I didn't have to do much thinking.

I usually got Bunnie tickets to a performance where there was a professional children's choir.  She would never have kids of her own, but she loved the sound of children signing.  One of her favorites was a rendition of the theme to Sakura Wars.  Hearing young kids sing together in Jangese made her forget about missing out on a normal childhood.

Violet always treated herself.  She's still expect stuff from us, because it was tradition...and her day (and no one else's.)  Riding the border of obnoxious and self-absorbed was a talent.  And somehow she had a way of not completely crossing it.  Just yanking our chain with it.

Jon?  Just buy every sale item at the butcher shop and have Mitzi make a feast that was big enough for Monkey D. Luffy.  He'd be in hog heaven.

Pit?  He was humble.  He never asked for anything but I still treated him to his angel food cake and angel-hair pasta at Rock-Afire Pizzeria.

Sally liked whatever sports thing was popular at the time.  Her favorite times being when she could join Arlene for the two nights of WrestleMania.  And boy were the two of them hyped for WrestleMania 40 this coming year.

We got Lupe a tree sapling this year.  It was all she'd ever want and need.  Just another little contribution to nature.  Mother Nature was the real recipient.  And that made her happy.

Antoine...well...this year was tickets to Les Misérables.  I think he appreciated them.  Last year was plenty of fencing gear for his "academy" or whatever he called the place he was giving lessons from.

I always did Honey T. Cat a favor by buying one of her latest dresses for Lisa.  That was enough of a gift to her.  Keeping her business thriving.  Every sale made was all the gift she wanted.  That and she's always make Willie take her out to go bar-hopping afterward.  Yeah...leave the gift-giving to her bestie.

Willamina?  Not really hard to buy for.  Even though long obsolete, she had been just enamored by an old-school CD/DVD burner.  So of course she'd pile up the mix tapes she'd burn to disc from her music download service.  It was cool if we wanted to buy her latest album.  But she was more cool that we showed some support to some of HER favorite groups in the industry.  Show a little love to her friends who were also music stars.  That was enough for her.  And she really wasn't into bar-hopping.  But she was a good friend to Honey so...what are you gonna do?

Rotor.  Just keep him in your Rolodex for when you needed plumbing maintenance.  As long as he was remembered, it didn't matter if we celebrated his birthday or not.  He really didn't care about it.  Just another day.  It wasn't sour grapes...he was just that humble.  But if we did celebrate and I did get him something,  he was grateful.

There were plenty of others to list and that list had doubled if not tripled now that Undertale and its people were our neighbors.  Finding out what to get Toriel was as simple as a trip to bookstore.  Sans?  Go to the practical joke shop and he'd be fine with whatever lame trick and novelty you brought.  He'd find a way to milk the heck out of it...for ages.  Much to Papyrus' chagrin.  And of course, Pappy had been asking for a weight set and gym equipment.  Seems that Jacques LeLean had inspired him.  Muffet?  Just buy...buy...BUY from her shop.  And buy until your wallet wasn't just sad...but depressed beyond measure.  Asgore?  Flower seeds.  Undyne?  C'mon...I'd have Bunnie commission a sword every year from this point.  Alphys?  Do I NEED to say?  Mettaton?  Juust let Violet get him another diary.  And then put a multi-million GP add-on to his already insane resort as a her gift to him.

And so on.

In short...I really did want to get him a perfect gift but...I knew by this point it was an impossible task.  Anything I got him he'd appreciate because it came from me.

So...what did I go for...?

Later...

"...it's uh...great, Vi.  I'll treasure it always."  Asriel put the automated foot massager deluxe of Vi's own design with the others.

"Oh boy..."  Frisk sighed.

"Leave it to Vi to incorporate her favorite kink."

"Well.  I don't know if you have started a collection, my former student but...a nice starting piece seems like the way to go."

Bunnie handed him the gift.

And sure enough.

"A sword!  How thoughtful!"

"Aww MAN!"  I could practically hear the jealously dripping from Undyne's voice.

"Do not worry.  I'll craft one for you on your next birthday, Undyne."

"Now that's more like it!"

"Hey.  Whose birthday is this, fish lady?"  Chara retorted.

"What was that?  Undyne balled up a fist.

"Yeah, you wish you could lay a knuckle on me before gift that missing eye an extra scar--"

"Alright you two.  You know the rules of Rock-Afire Pizzeria.  No wasting food.  And no fighting."

I think Mitzi paid a visit to the Baratie restaurant that Sanji Vinsmoke worked at with Chef Zeff and crew...

I wonder if she's going to enforce it with the same kick-based martial arts? still.  I had to hand it to her...she never needed to hire a bouncer at her place.

"Well...I guess all eyes are on me.  I'm pretty sure you were looking all over for a little something missing this morning, my friend..."

"Hey, yeah...I'd almost forgotten but I didn't say anything--"  Asriel put two and two together.

"But...Gadget and I decided you were due for an upgrade."

I presented the box.

Azzy opened.

"You did some work on my pocket watch?"

"Open it."

And as soon as he did, he noticed the tiny lever set to "mute"  As soon as he slid it to on...

"Oh!"

And like that "His Theme" played on the new music box I added.

I could see his smile light up.

"And I decided mine could use a match but...a different tune."

And when I opened mine?  A music box version of "Hopes and Dreams".

"Volt...I don't know what to say......thank you, man."

"Thank YOU."

And we gave each other the biggest one-armed man-hug we could muster.

On that note, if I may peek behind the fourth wall?  Happy 8th Anniversary, Undertale.

## Sub-Entry 366: "Do You Still Remember the 21st Night of September..."

Earth, Wind, and Fire.

On this world, that would most accurately describe Tiem, Blue-Scale, and Red-Scale.  Though for Tiem, that's a stretch as he identifies more with acid/toxic.  And Blue-Scale, while a lightning type wyrmling is actually a wind element.  Though one might assume because he's blue that he's a water type.  Anyway...that was a tangent.

But no.

It was a group that performed a nice little song called "September".  And what month was this?

Yeah.

Somehow, every 21st of September, this song would come back in spades.

Though in truth?  It didn't really have any significant meaning.  It wasn't anyone's birthday.

Really...it was just an ordinary day which anyone in the know might ask the question: "Do you remember?"

And someone might actually reply with "on the twenty-first night of September".

Where it went from there?  Who could say.  Every instance of small talk was different.  But this always seemed to be the lead-in on this very day.

So...yeah.  A random sub-entry much about nothing.

Though, technically, someone on Undertale DID turn this into an unofficial holiday so...chances are if you were prompted with this question it probably came from one of Azzy's people.

So where was I on the 21st Night of September?

Cooped up in the lab.

I took one last look at the first three dossiers; FLCL, FLCL: Progressive, and FLCL: Alternative.

"That sure resolved quick."  I looked at the one marked FLCL: Grunge.  There were only three reports inside.  Each of these cases got resolved faster and faster.  And there was less and less to report.  It was at least half as big as the other three.

"So...guess you didn’t need Azzy after all."

I eyed the photos.  One of a boy named Shinpachi A.K.A. Shin; a kid who reminded me a LOT of Naota, that was working in a sushi shop.  But something about this one was different.  Something...more optimistic?

So this was the tale.  He and two other students were the last three students of his class before the school shut down.

One of them was Shonari.  And I had to do a double-take to make sure I hadn't dug up the file on the Fantastic Four by mistake.  But no.  This Earth apparently had a race of rock men that could have passed for Benjamin J. Grimm, "The Thing".  I'd later learn his race was called "Rockian".  And stop me if your heard this one before?  Outcast as second-class citizens.

The other, a bespectacled, mousey, purple-haired girl named Orinoko.  The daughter of an ailing blacksmith.  One who'd lost his wife a while ago.  Down on their luck.  Struggling to find even the slightest scraps of usable metal to continue their trade.

I'd learn that Shin had been gifted a cutting knife that she'd managed to make out of scrap.  A bent, mostly unusable piece of cutlery but...it was the thought that counted.

So...Shin and company?

His home town and dwindled to nothing ever since the appearance of the Medical Mechanica "steam iron" factory/plant.

By this time Lupe had confirmed with me that the plant was slowly destroying the atmosphere.  Wealthy citizens were leaving the planet in droves aboard interstellar rockets, leaving whoever was left to squabble amongst themselves and fight for territory mostly held by Yakuza in blood feuds.

"And there you are..."  I narrowed my eyes at the pink-haired woman.

"Posing as the mayor's mistress?  What were you up to...?"  I furrowed my brow before taking a look at the short, cartoony man.  "Ick...no standards at all.   You've got an ulterior motive.  And I bet I know who it concerns."

I eyed the aerial photo of the giant landfill; the impact sight of a meteorite.

"Hmm?"  I cocked my head.  "Well, well...if it isn't "Eyebrows" himself.  What are you doing here, Amarou?"

It looked like Medical Mechanica had drawn the attention of the E.B.I.  (Extragalactic Bureau of Investigation).

There were...weird signs that this was either an alternate timeline or a "prequel" to the Mabase incident.

So...that night everything spiraled out of control as Haruko had been catfishing the Mayor in order to get close enough to slip a virus on a thumb-drive into the sushi of a Medical Mechanica  high-ranker robot representative that had met with his honor, the Mayor.

And the timing couldn't have been more choreographed.

Orinoko had, earlier in the week, found some usable steel to smelt into a katana.  Which she gifted Shonari.  I found out how deep his older brother was in with the Yakuza, following the path of their parents, who both perished while leading yakuza lives.

"I see..." I put together that the yakuza blood feuds had been instigated by a...mutual partnership between the Mayor and Medical Mechanica to distract everyone from what was really going on.

And I knew Medical Mechanica had one agenda: literally flatten planets across the galaxy to smooth out the "wrinkles".  Which mean...the plant was going to activate--

"Right on cue."  I eyed the Medical Mechanica gear insignia on the flashing red monitor of the infected robot.  I closed my eyes and I could just hear that air raid siren that M.M. plants blared just before the Terminal Core activated.

When that happened...down came that stone hand, which grabbed the handle and began steamrolling the plant through everything in its path.

If Atomisk didn't show up soon...even with all her abilities, I doubt even Rahuro could throw a monkey wrench into the plan.

It was hard to say whether Rahuro was hero or villain.  Heck, she was the Harley Quinn of this universe.  I'm sure Violet would love to see a duel between those two.

Meh.  They wouldn't stand a chance against Gear 5 Monkey D. Luffy in the form of "Joy Boy" himself, the Sun God, Nika.

Enough distractions.  So what happened?  All HELL broke loose.

His honor wasn't happy about Rahuro, rather Haruko Haruharu catfishing him; and less happy about stealing his entire supply of shuttle craft tickets that would have allowed all his elites to take the last rockets off the planet before it met its demise.

Further research would turn up that Rahuro was stuck on this planet with a busted Vespa.  I'd been noticing she'd been befriending Shin and his classmates.  Though befriending, I guess, is relative?  No matter.  It was one of the times she didn't have a chance to be her more psychotic self.  Not with her grudge against Medical Mechanica keeping her incredibly focused.

So of course, Rahuro had been working toward her own favorite contingency.  Finding the right head to open the portal to N.O.

After all...that was how she had caught up to Atomisk in the past.  I still wasn't quite sure how it worked, but...I did know her trademark armaments; often guitars, were pulled through it.  And that meant finding someone and awakening their N.O. Portal the usual way.  By tipping them over that "coming of age" moment.

In other words...seduce them for just a brief moment.  Then throw them away when their use ran out.  Kind of like how she did with the mayor.  She was shameless.  But I had to admire how far she'd go to get what she wanted.  Not so much who she'd trample on the path to get there.

So, escaping a Yakuza blood war and the Major's gestapo put her on her repaired Vespa and on a path toward the Medical Mechanica Plant.  For they, too, had a vested interest in capturing Atomisk.  And no doubt...the Pirate King had his own plan.

But what I couldn't figure out up until those last photos was:

Where DID Atomisk end up?

The answer...was plain as ground zero of that meteor strike.  The landfill.

That was no meteor...that was...!

"I bet I know what you were screaming in those moments."

I'd found out that she'd drawn a new weapon out of Shin's head:  A Rickenbacker 4001 Guitar.  Nifty.

Asriel would tell me that was a really good guitar, at that.

I don't recall seeing a rip-cord dynamo in back though.  That had always been a signature of the guitars she'd use as a baseball bat.

As she did battle with the nanobot mosquitoes that the plant had released as its defense system...no doubt configuring into one of their hand-shaped, one-eyed mecha-beasts I'd come to expect...Shin and the others had decided to help her out.

Sure enough, Atomisk emerged and knocked the plant offline.

As a thank-you, Rahuro gave the remaining shuttle ticket to Orinoko in order for her to find a new life.  Shin decided to stay behind.  As did Shonori; deciding he was fated to fight to his last breath during the bloody yakuza war that took his brother and his parents.

In the final moments...Orinoko had made a backup of her house's robot servant only to find the last memories of her late mother.  They'd...guide her on her path toward an unknown future.

The last photo showed Rahuro surfing the commandeered Medical Mechanica plant as it flew off in space after an escaping Atomisk.

And like that...I would never hear from Rahuro in the conceivable future.

"You think it's goodbye forever?"  Asriel asked me as he peeked over my shoulder, curious to see what all the fuss was about.

"Unlikely.  But...you never know."

I closed the dossier and put it with the others.

And then...we both stared longingly at the final dossier.  A folder marked...FLCL: Shoegaze.

We looked at each other.

I sure didn't know what the word meant.  And Asriel seemed to confirm it was a Jangese word he didn't know either.

Would we...should we ask the Major for guidance.

As we read...we'd soon discover...

This FLCL case was not like the other four.

This...was something different.

And this...?  I don't know if we could intervene or not.

All I knew was...there was no giant clothes iron plant.  There was no Vespa.  There was no sign of Amarou.

But there was one link...

A guitar that fell from the sky like a meteor and embedded in the ground...

Despite how mundane it was...

We would remember.

We would remember the 21st Night of September.

And a case that we couldn't confirm was a case at all.

I took a sip from my soda can before realizing.

"Aww come on, Azzy.  The sour ones again?"

Somewhere in her room, I had this sensation that one of the strings of Elektra's old bass guitar had just vibrated for no apparent reason.

"You know I never asked after all these years.  What's with the eyebrows, best friend?"

Just end this entry already.

## Sub-Entry 367: "Spotlight on the Skelebros.":

I'd cited a few sub-entries where Papyrus had gotten his fair share of field work.  Mostly...easy cases.  A few A-ranks but only when he was accompanying a larger group; such as the outing with Conan and his allies.  I was hesitant to give him C or B rank missions on his own just yet.

He spent half of his time on our side of the gate and the other half on Undertale.  He seemed to instinctively know just the balance to keep his magic levels managed.  I'd yet to see him have an emergency where he'd have to rush back home to that Christmas Light covered home of him and his brother.

Sans on the other hand...kept the lowest of low profiles.

His appearances were spotty and always on his terms.  And let's face it...always minimalist.

When he did show up, mostly it was if Papyrus was already there.

But sometimes he'd get a rare moment when he'd just pop up for the heck of it.  Like when we uh...kind of left Chara to keep things managed with Beetlejuice and the Mask.

Eheheheh...our bad.  But y'know Mike Cosgrove makes a very, very good invite, no matter what the venue.  It's just not possible to say no to that guy.  And....even harder to WANT to say no.  How can something as mundane as seeing a bear on a unicycle get us THAT hyped up?

Even more baffling is how he can utter three words, "Cut it out."...and somehow the action just stops and everyone just knocks off whatever stupidity they're up to.

I would NOT have expected that to work on beings of pure chaos like the Mask and Beetlejuice.

Oh right.  I'm getting off topic.

The Skelebros.

Back to Sans, first, even though I started with Papyrus.

Ahem.

Sans...I think was finally starting to accept the new normal.  It finally set in that RESETS in their AU could never happen again.  The "game" was really broken.  This...was finally the peace he and his brother could enjoy.

For the first time...I was seeing almost no depression in those empty eye sockets.

For the first time...I think even Frisk would confirm he was genuinely happy.  A comedian who wasn't dying on the inside?  It's all he ever wanted.  It's all he ever dreamed.  And it was only second to a life Papyrus could lead such that he wouldn't have to be watching over his shoulder for a fallen human to decide Paps was "forgettable" and "just in the way".

I could rest knowing that Megalovania was in the past and buried with the Genocide Runs.

"Hmm."  We all looked at each other after sampling Papyrus' latest batch of spaghetti.

Who are you and what did you do with Papyrus?  This is actually...really good.

I guess all those lessons with Mitzi finally paid off.

Sans couldn't be prouder.  His brother was finally making something edible.  More than edible.

Granted, Undyne was a little frustrated that he abandoned her technique but...

I don't think the Skelebros. can afford to keep replacing their kitchen...or entire house from fire damage like she could.

Anway...back to Sans.

In time Chameleon had gotten used to bantering with a skeleton.

I mean, really...it didn't REALLY count as undead or plain dead, right?

But...how do you consider a skeleton alive if it doesn't have anything but...well...bones.

I remind that it's more than just bones.  There's also a soul there.

Heck, even Tsunderplane had a soul and she was mostly 747 airliner...with a pissy attitude.

Even the Temmies all had souls...though...in terms of extracting anything from them?  You'd just end with a vial of Temmie Flakes in a perpetual swirl.  Even when the test tube was stationary.

How DID they do that without a centrifuge or magnetic stirrer?

As for employment?  Sans...not so much.  I guess he was technically part of Ultra Crew Institute now.  But...what he actually did?

He just really did as he pleased and seemed to keep an eye socket open for the next amusing thing to hold his attention.

Papyrus had taken every opportunity to find out if there were...other skeletons to join his growing fanbase...or at least become his friend.

So of course...

He'd already met Jacques LaLean.  That was a given.

He met Jack Skellington, even prior to Halloween night next month.

"Soul King" and musician of the Straw Hat Crew, Brook (not to be confused with Brooke, our Queen).

Grimm, the Grim Reaper of Endville and "best friend" of Billy and Mandy.  How he got off of Mandy's leash temporarily, I'll never know.

And plenty more skeletons beyond that.

You know, I swear meetings between all of them happened all over the InfinityVerse in crossovers I wouldn't know about.  For now, the one our UltraVerse would know definitely sated my appetite for crossovers.

Returning to my earlier point about UCIAT field duty?  I'll admit it.  Papyrus had gotten good as a UCIAT field agent.  I still didn't want to put him on the more dangerous missions.  But I knew he was just itching to go beyond.

It was like joining the Royal Guard all over again.

And that I was nervous about.  Especially since I felt I was NEVER quite out of Sans' crosshairs.  Sure he buried the past.  But he'd never stop being protective of his brother. Protective while not letting on to everyone else around.  Save for the person he wanted to get his point across to.  And make sure whoever he was talking to knew that he was serious.  Deadly serious.

I don't think we'd ever TRULY escape Megalovania.

Somewhere, some-when...I felt like that infernal song was going to rear its head...and whatever the reason might be...Sans would be doing more than putting the fear of the gods into the guilty party.

As a Scorpio, I could do no less when it came to safeguarding trust.  After all...I was one to give second chances.  But it hurt when I saw those second chances thrown away.  It stung when the betrayal was intentional.

And honestly I never once afforded leniency when a rivalry turned ugly.

So yeah.  I understood Sans' philosophy well.

Even now I maintain the balancing act between Skelebros.

It's the least I can do for Sans to make sure Papyrus is not protected, but well within his happy place.

And Pappy?  I would do what I could to makes sure Sans didn't let his brother see his darker side.  Granted, Papyrus was somewhat naive.  But he wasn't stupid.  He wasn't unaware.  He might not quite get the gist of things but he knew when Sans was hiding his depression.

Paps was an open book.  He was too honest to hide anything.  And even if he was hiding something, it would be incredibly obvious.  The best comparison I could get?  Chances are he'd pull an Alphonse Elric, and try to hide that he'd picked up a stray cat.  He'd be the type to give the sad eyes when busted.

And I don't even really know where his cartoony eyes even COME FROM!  He's a skeleton.

I know, I know, Sans.  Mmmmmmmm-magic!  This is me, doing jazz-hands.  Yeah, just use your imagination since I know you can't see it happening right now.

Just don't question it, Volt.  This is how their world works.  This is how our world works.

It's probably only weird on other worlds, like Earth Prime.

Anyway.  What was my over-arching point again?

Um...I was talking about the Skele-brothers.

The times they were around, I kind of wanted to test some theories of mine.

Like a moment of the Straw-Hat crew when Brook had a cracked skull and Luffy lost a tooth.  Would drinking milk really regrow that tooth and fix Brook's bones?  Would that even work on Sans or Papyrus?

And besides it would actually require one of them to be physically injured and I sure didn’t want THAT to happen.

And there other things that I questioned before but never had an answer to.

Like...how do you electrocute a skeleton?  Seriously.  All the way back when, Pappy stepped on his own electricity maze and got a good zap before he figured out Frisk had to carry the lightning ball on her head...like she does with the hot dog stacking challenge.

But what is there to even electrocute?  I know that inside the human body, bones are surprisingly wet and even wetter on the inside due to the marrow.

But a magical skeleton?  I don't exactly see either of them trailing more water than Undyne after a dunk in Waterfall.  And really...I'd have to confirm in a chemistry book, but pretty sure calcium, as a metal, isn’t inherently conductive.  At least not in its solid form or in  a mixture like bone.

There were so many aspects of skeletons I wanted to learn about, ahead of October.  Maybe so I could understand the species a little better.  September was dwindling and about to come to an end in a week.

No matter how I sliced it, the Skelebros. were their own book worth of research and observation.  I got plenty of answers from watching them but still more questions kept popping up.

Most certainly not least of all was...how were they REALLY connected to Dr. Wing Dings Gaster?

Was he their father?  Creator?  Boss?  Some other relation?  No relation?

He never gave me a straight answer.

Sans never did either.

I don't think Papyrus even remembers.

So...this about brings me to end of what I know about them.  Them then versus now?  Not a lot added.  Not a lot of difference.  Maybe it was better that way.

All I really needed to know was...we were no longer strangers to each other.  I was no longer putting on an act to guide their paths toward an intended end.  I was no longer serving my White Knight role on Lady Destiny's behalf.

Here we were.

And I really didn't know where it would take us.  Just that wherever we went...

Sans and Papyrus would be there.

Now...let's get in on some more of that good spaghetti, shall we?

## Sub-Entry 368: "We Revisit Old Friends.  The N-Team and the Power Team Reunited":

"You know it's been a while, since we'd had a diplomatic get-together.  Not even a mission.  Just us...paying a social visit."

"You were starting to think those days were behind us during the Crossover Wars."

"I'm starting to appreciate Princess Lana's situation a lot more deeply.   This could have been seven years of our own Hell if we hadn't broken Chaopolis."

"What baffles me is...we're getting a return of the meeting of the Arcades.  Not just our family but--"

"You mean Johnny Arcade.  No relation to us.  Just a kid, who really likes leather jackets, that has the same family name  by coincidence."

"And happens to be in the business of leading video heroes to victory.  Whether it's against a brain in a bottle that commands a brain-shaped artificial asteroid or a short, fat gangster who smokes cigars and rides in a limo."

"I heard that."  I smirked.

September 9th had already come and gone.  We'd celebrated Pit's honorary birthday as normal, recognizing it as the day of Video Land's Prophecy.  The day our UltraVerse's Kevin Keene, alias Captain N the Game Master, warped into Video Land and lead the N-Division Ultra Crew to victory against the invading forces of Mother Brain and the League of Chaos.

We decided to follow up with a soiree in between battles of the Alternate VideoLand heroes and as it turned out...Johnny Arcade had a similar idea as his Power Team needed a bit of R&R.  It must've been a lot of bonus lives ago that they even earned a break from Mr. Big and Malkil and Rotten Roddy Radish & Petunia Parsnip and Burnt Rubber.

Honestly I don't know if we had any records of Tyrone having any...heheh...arch rivals.

But seriously.  We'd all teamed up during the Crossover Wars.  Maybe it was time to revive old friendships in times of peace.

"So.  We got a pretty big group going to the Palace of Power?"

"Oh you know it.  In fact some members couldn't wait and went on ahead..."

"Really, now..."

And so...

"It makes me uncomfortable when you stare at me like that.  Is something wrong with my wings?"  Pit asked his counterpart."

"My, my.  Could it be our little archer is jealous that he has such flimsy feathers?"  Alternate Simon loomed over the orange-haired, green eyed Kid Icarus.

"Shut up-icus, Simon!"

"But...my wings are actually pretty undersized.  And...they don't even work here on Video Land.  Why would you be jealous of that?"

It was true.  There were a number of worlds where Pit's wings did work...but this wasn't one of them."

"I don't know what's more amusing.  You two or the rivalry between our little Mega Man and and...!"

"Just keep on talking, Simon!"  Alternate Mega Man shook his fist.

"I really don't want to start any trouble."

"Then why did your mechanic ask why I have the voice of a 60-year-old chain-smoker and say I'm not even the right color?!"

"Auto?  Well...he's just a little overzealous.  He thinks the world of me and get a little overprotective.  He thinks its one of those situations where a rival superhero is stealing my gimmick--"

"Me mega-steal from you!?  That's a laugh!  And where even are your weapons!"

"My Mega Buster?  It's right here."  His arm shapeshifted into the egg-shaped cannon.

"Only one?  And it's the size of my head!  How are you supposed to fight effectively with that ugly thing!  This is the way to go!"

Alternate Mega Man pointed to his wrist blasters.  "And I bet you're not even half as Mega Strong as I am!"

Okay I am pretty sure Alternate Simon stirred up their egos to be this defensive.

"Well, I am if I use Guts Man's Super Arm--"

"Well I got news for you!  My strength is built in standard."

"Ahem."  Our Simon tapped Alternate on the shoulders.

"No autographs.  Not unless you're willing to pay top dollar."  He said while primping before his hand mirror.

"Do you not have a shred of piety?  What magnanimous fool instigates discord amongst his own team members.  You should remember that it is a sin to bear false witness.  Much less to thine own amusement."

"Oh.  It's you."

Alternate Simon turned around to see our more reddish-haired counterpart in the signature barbarian armor.  Unique to our UltraVerse, instead of furry, leather Viking boots, ours wore greaves and sandals similar to Lupe's, giving him a more Roman gladiator look overall.  Plus his armor was red instead of blue like Alternate's furry overcoat.

"I stay my wish to the Lord that you be of Dracula's clutch that I might raise Vampire Killer to your prideful neck."

"Hey, if you want to go, buddy, my whip can whop yours any day."  Alternate Simon got nose to nose with his counterpart.

The arguments overlapped until a shrill whistle broke it up.

"Time out team.  Last I checked this isn't the way to be a good host to our guest."

Kevin Keene.  At least their version of him.  Ours was probably a couple decades older since going back home and moved on with his life.

Duke barked a few times in agreement with his master.

"Wow.  He's just like our Captain N was back then.  Looks almost the same."  Pit cocked his head.

Reluctantly the N-Team calmed down while the N-Division just kind of apologized for starting trouble.

Princess Lana kind of shrugged it off.  Like she was used to it.  Her captain had it handled.

"So when are those other weirdos getting here?"  Alternate Simon snorted.

"Show some respect, Simon-ius!"

"Yeah, they saved our Mega-hides when we were in trouble.  The least we can do is be courteous."

They changed their tunes in a hurry after being divided over their counterparts.

From what I had seen, Kevin Keene and Johnny Arcade hit it off pretty well.

I know Kwirk and Duke worked well together.

Uh...no comment on Alternate Simon and Kuros.  Actually the latter preferred working with OUR Simon.

There are perks to being able to pull our old crew members from the past without mucking up the timeline.  The UltraVerse was awesome that way.  Well...for most of the worlds.

Worlds like Back to the Future, on the other hand.  We still weren't going to risk causing a major paradox.  Even if we DID get lucky with Jennifer Parker meeting her future self and the two of theme merely fainting.

"You wanna specify who you're calling weirdos?"

Uh-oh, Simon.  Busted.

At the warp zone opened and who should roll in but Big Foot, carrying the whole Power Team and Johnny Arcade.

"Your grace!  I protest this...this..!"  Alternate Simonn got up in arms over the 4x4 rolling into the palace throne room.

Lana could only stifle her giggling.

"Well, look on the bright side.  They do know how to make an entrance."  Kevin beamed.

He waved.  "Hey ya, Johnny!  It's great you could be here, dude!"

"Right back at you, Kevin.  How's the war in VideoLand?"

"Oh.  It's going.  We handed Mother Brain a nice serving of Continue or Game Over.  She and her goons are probably licking their wounds and saying nasty things about us."

"That sounds like the aftermath of a win against Mr. Big."

"So what's the stacks of too many burgers and fries with the bad smoking habit got himself into lately?"

"If it's not getting rich quick by setting a monster truck race trap and stealing the ticket sales, it's some plot to try to zap the Power Team back to their game worlds."

"Man, I wish my game cartridges worked that way.  It'd save a ton of drain on my power pad."

"I get you.  I'm going to wear out my game controller with the high risk stunts the Power Team has to go through."

"And we appreciate you jamming' the joystick, Johnny."  Big Foot's grill flashed as his onboard A.I. responded in kind with that Texan accent.

"Ah!  Kuros my friend!  You must tell me of your adventures on Sindarin."

"If that is your wish, Simon Belmont I will gladly relate my tales on Ice Fire mountain provided you indulge me with your own adventures defending Wallachia."

"Oh please..."  Alternate Simon pointed a glove finger into his open mouth in a gagging gesture.

"Hey hey hey HEY!  Is that my favorite muttski over there!  C'mere, Dude and show some love to your favorite Tomato!"

And there was another friendship reunited.

"Hey hey HEY!  That tickles!  Not so wet no!  I'm a tomato not a lollypop!"

"Man it's going even better than I hoped."

"Welcome, my friends, to the Palace of Power."

"The pleasure is all ours, your highness."  Max Force gave a bow.

"Man, I GOTTA check that Hoop Land place out, Kevin.  Talk to me straight, man.  You really met Larry Bird?"

"The one an only."

"Now I got to challenge him to some one-on-one."

"Something about VideoLand really tickles my transmission.  I could stay here for a while."  Big Foot responded.

"Well, maybe it's because Videoland is one big video game."

"Yeah, that makes sense."  Johnny reasoned.  "It's sort of like if your individual game worlds were all mashed up together into one universe."

"An excellent way to put it, Mr. Arcade."

"Call me Johnny.  It's easier so we don't get confused with--"

"A certain other Arcade?"  I cut in right as our warp zone opened and the rest of our group stepped out.  I'd sent most of our N-Division on ahead.

"Alright!  Now the party can REALLY begin!"  Kevin decreed with a faux uppercut to emphasize his energy.

"And for some of us it will be a first time as guests."  Toriel waved.  Then she quickly muttered to Asgore.  "Stand up straight, Asgore."

"Huh?  Oh!  Um.  Yes, of course."  Asgore's mind was apparently elsewhere.

"Nyeheheh!  I should hope Videoland is ready to receive the Great Papyrus!"

"Oh boy...what an ego..."  Alternate Simon muttered before Lana elbowed him in the ribs, irately.

"Duuuude!"  M.K. hurried over to Kid Icarus and Mega Man and Pit and Rock."

"Mega Dude!"  Alternate Mega Man responded.

"You made it-icus!"

"I was starting to worry you'd be held up."  Pit rubbed the back of his head, still getting used to walking around so much.

"Me?  Naw.  Just had to let the parents know I'd be out for a bit.  It's casual."

"Oh!  Dr. Alphys!  I got to introduce you to my creator, Dr. Wright!"

"Huh...still getting used to hearing that."  Rock cocked his head a little.  He wasn't wearing his helmet but he did have the armor/suit on.

"Well, look at it this way, Blue Bomber. What's Wright isn't wearing white and what's Light is all right!"  Azzy joked.

Which made sense, because on the monitors on the wall, in the process of checking in with us, at the same time were Dr. Wright on the left one and Dr. Light on the right one.  And sure enough, the dwarfish Dr. Wright was most certainly wearing a teal-colored suit, while Thomas was wearing his buttoned up lab coat over his pants, vest, shirt, and tie.  Light is on the right.  Right?

Now he's got me doing it.

\*SNRK\*  Sans chortled.

"Uh...yeah.  I guess that makes sense.  I think."  Rock sweat dropped.

"Ugh...not enough action.  Yo, we at least got something good to eat around here?  If not I'm going to the kitchen to make some spaghetti or something."

"I think that would be a really bad idea."  M.K. whispered to Lana.

"Not unless you're a fan of kitchen fires."  Chara mused.

"Oh my!  I didn’t notice!"

"Hmm?"

Lana pointed to Frisk's wedding ring.

"I know!  Asriel and I got married!"

"Dude!  For real?  You lucky goat!  Congratulations."

"Aww, thanks.  I am the luckiest goat in the world."

Bunnie and I looked at each other and exchanged warmed smiles.  Yeah.  This was going great.

"Attention!  Attention!  Make way for the star attraction."

"Uh-oh.  Here comes the grand entrance.  We get enough room to roll out a red carpet?"  Asriel shrugged.

"Mettaton."  I shook my head.

And like that, who should arrive in fog and laser lights but Mettaton EX, escorted by Violet in another of her loud, Matrix-code computer gowns.  And flashing through the entire source code of Mortal Kombat One it looked like.

"Vi, you know Boon and Tobias are going to Cease and Desist you if you keep that up."  I scolded.

"As if anyone has eyes fast enough to read and comprehend machine code.  And beside, how is anyone going to know it's even from a game let alone THAT one."

"Well don't say I didn't warn you when their lawyers turn your counter-suit into a fatality."

"Eheheh...when did video games get so violent?"  Kevin rubbed the back of his head.

Johnny just shrugged.

But we had one more arrival that even I didn’t expect.

"D...Dad?"  I let it slip out.

"Heh.  You know you don't have to try so hard to call me by first name.  Just as I don't have to try so hard to not embarrass you by refraining from calling you son."

"Umm...well..."

"Dr. Arcade!"  Lana's eyes lit up.

"There's Charles' little girl."

"It's still mind-blowing that you know my father and I in your world."

"Don't forget your brother, Lyle.  But yeah.  You all have variants in the UltraVerse.  Arcade Industries was very instrumental in getting the Warp Zone to Oblivion off the ground.  Back when it had a different name."

"I can't wrap my head around the fact that there's a whole coalition of Game Masters out there."  Kevin shrugged.

"You were the one chosen in every AU of Video Land.  With some variations."

"Like?"

"Would you believe there's a version of Captain N who's named Kevin Hayland and he once blasted Ganon with Elec Man's Thunder Beam by clamping it onto his zapper?  Or maybe I should tell the ancient story of Captain Nintendo?"

"Ohhh.  So that's what the N in N-Division stands for."

"Well...not necessarily."  I shrugged.  But yeah...there is a world where it does mean that."

"Hey, you think we should tell them all about Buddy Boy?"

"Who?"

"Well...technically he's another universe's take on your friend, Julio.  You know.  The Paperboy?"

"Far out!"

"Azzy, I don't think Kid Icarus and Mega Man are ready to know about that."

The orange-haired angel and the teal robot looked at each other then back at us with expressions that read "is there something we should know?".  Oh boy.  What have we started now, Asriel?

And so the celebrations went on with banter, and food and drink, and party time with music hosted by Sally "D.J." Aelita and featuring guests like the Blockheads and Alternate Simon's favorite group, the Un-grateful Un-dead.

CastleVania Band Stand lives.  I guess.

All of course, topped off with Mettaton reprising "Mega Move".

"It's funny...I feel like I know this song but...I kind of expected "Shakedown" or "Danger Zone" in their place.  I'd even take "Thriller" or "White Wedding"."  Kevin shrugged.

"Yeah...eheheheh..."  I rubbed the back of my head.

It's no licensed music by known artists.  But it's still catchier than I gave it credit for.

"Here's to seven years of keeping our heads above water and hopefully making your father proud, Lana."  Kevin raised a toast.

"To King Charles"  the N-Team chorused.

"To unusual but amazing friendships."  Max Force toasted next.

"I'll drink to that."  Violet grinned before Bunnie thwapped her for jumping the gun...and the fact that she was still banned from alcohol over the last incident she got drunk at.

I had the chef immediately replace it with a root beer.

"Spoilsports."

"And to seven more years and beyond of our continued alliance.  May we celebrate many, many more anniversaries of the Video Land prophecy."

"Now THAT'S Video Power."  Johnny agreed.

"What can I say?  I'm still hooked."  Kevin followed up.

And we all toasted and enjoyed our drinks.

I wished that this day could go on forever.

## Sub-Entry 369: "Body, Heart, Mind.  Asriel and Siblings Follow the Path of the Galalunans"

Asriel, Frisk, and Chara sat before the ones whom they decided to meet.

It had been silent.

It had been tense.

Plus...it was a rare thing for the three of them to be in the presence of outsiders who knew their secret, here on Earth...

...here...far from Galaluna.

The home of Sym-Bionic Titan.

Chara started at the brain of the operation; Octus.  Having dropped his holo-lything overlay of either of his two personas--the father figure of the household.  And the student, going by "Newton".  Something about this robot rang too familiar a bell.   He was no sexy rectangle but...machines had a way of making Chara Dreemurr suspicious.

Frisk looked with compassion toward her person of interest; who looked back with the same compassion.  Princess Ilana.  That coiled hair in back with that almost chalk-white color.  Everything about her was perky.  Yeah, I had no trouble believing she was a princess.  Shame that someone so loved and popular on her world...was a bit of an outcast on this one.  Seen as...too nice, too weird, and too outgoing.

Which left Asriel, kind of unsure how to deal with strong, silent Lance.  He'd taken to the role of quiet, lone-wolf bad boy and quite the popular one around the school.  The guy who wanted to attract the least amount of attention became the talk of the town.

Who else were they going to go to about this whole Soul-Link thing?

Certainly there had to be a better name for it but...that's what the tome called it.

"I don't think it's a good idea."  Lance broke the silence.

"Well he has some common sense."  Chara eyed the others.  "We don't know that it could fail miserably."

"But we don't know that it might succeed.  One who does...dares.  Right?  Isn't that the proverb, Azzy?"

"Well...yeah.  But--"

"Technically the architecture of this procedure aligns with most of the processes by which Titan is formed."

Octus's mechanical innards floated within the clear cyber-cytoplasmic membrane .  He was definitely one of the more unusual automatons.  I probably would have commented he was like the Rainbow Devil from the first two Mega Man Zero games.

"I'm going to try to see things from the robot's perspective, being that he's completely objective on this.  But I still don't like it."  Chara crossed her arms.

"Hmm..."  Frisk looked worried.

This was something that felt like she should consider early on.  With similar mergers, transformations, and gestalts in our database; she'd seen a pattern when it came to individual parts of the whole.  Namely if one person wasn't dedicated...if one person wasn't motivated...if one person wasn't giving their all...then the whole thing could fail.

This was a thing that usually wasn't considered until AFTER a combiner would fall in battle.  After a big loss.  I mean...right now we were at peace.  But...what if we weren't?

I feel like Chara and I were worried for opposite reasons.  She didn't think the risk was worth it.  She really thought she could lose Asriel again.  And...maybe Frisk, too.  I don't know how close she was to her "pretty mirror".

I worried that the risk might be all we had if something bad went down.  Death was bad.  But you could survive a lot of things that would be infinitely worse.  The time I was fused with Ultimate Hyperdeath and Asriel was flooded with every secret I was still keeping from him.  I felt no greater shame before my best friend.  I felt no greater defeat than our bond being desiccated like that.  But for however bad I felt...he felt far, far, FAR worse.  And that was the a sweet victory Adonis savored even after Violet's Return to the Past screwed him out of his ultimate victory.  A consolation prize if any.

"The two of you are being rather quiet about this."  Chara eyed Asriel and Ilana.

"Being objective isn't easy."  Asriel looked down.  "Both you and Frisk have strong points.  Whatever choice I make is going to create bias.  To side with my wife?  Or my best friend and sibling?"

"It's not about sides, Azzy--"  Frisk started.

"Agree to disagree.  We have to all be on the SAME side."

"Well then I guess I have to convince you."  Frisk seemed a little more direct with that one."

"You give yourself too much credit.  I can just as easily dissuade you from this madness."

"Madness?"  Ilana gasped.  "You are talking about having the means to help an immeasurable number of people!  Is that not what your aim should be?"

"Hey, don't make this sound like I'm being selfish.  I read up on Neo Arcadia's history and I know what started with good intentions spelled the doom of Ancient Arkadia.  I'm not about to let us partake in something that could decimate a continent.  This tome talks about combining magic and science in a way that I'm not even sure Gaster would know what to make of."

Asriel sighed and closed his eyes, resting his jaw on the table, while covering his head.

"I can't really comment on this "magic" aspect.  But the science is rather familiar."

"It's probably familiar because Lady Destiny and Madam Fate copy-pasted it from your world."  Chara rolled her eyes.

"Are you really prepared to risk the lives of two humans for this?"  Lance asked Asriel directly.

"I don't know.  The uncertainty is what's holding us all back.  Well...most of us.  Frisk...Frisk has always put on a brave face and charged ahead.  Chara...Chara would always act once she was 100% sure of something.  Me?  I've always found the balance between the two but...both sides are evenly matched.  What's needed is a compromise."

"Maybe you shouldn't have broken the RESET."  Chara narrowed her eyes.

"What was that?"  Frisk stood up.

"Okay, time out!"  Asriel stood up next.  "I'm not about to let us take it there.  We did what we had to do.  There are no second chances with the life you're given, Chara.  Only the past your life takes.  Second chances are for those of us who've made mistakes or were given a bad hand.  And they aren't always given to those who have.  This could be a second chance to rewrite Undertale history as much as it could be strike two and three in one blow.

I get it.  We're hesitant.  We're making ourselves paranoid in times of peace.  We don't even know if there IS a threat coming.  Just that Madam Fate has been...doodling in her notebook.  She's also up in arms that we now have her Codex."

Asriel paced.

"Maybe we need to settle this here and now.  It's time to take a vote.  All opposed to Soul-Linking?"

Chara and Lance raised their hands.

"All in favor?"

Frisk and Ilana raised theirs.

"Okay.  Tie-breaker rounds.  What's it going to be."

Asriel and Octus looked at each other for the longest time.

Asriel lowered his eyes first.  Octus only had that single, unblinking yellow eye so...it would be a little hard to tell.

Asriel stood up...and took his place next to Frisk.

"Traitor."  Chara growled.

"That hurts, Chara.  That hurts a lot."  Asriel looked solemn.

Finally it came down to the robot.

"In my assessment of the viability of this process.  I recommend...

## Sub-Entry 370: "Soul Linking Achieved.  What Does This Mean For Our Future?"

What a cliffhanger to leave off on, Octus.

The majority had spoken.

"We are making a big mistake."  Chara complained.

"We won't know until we actually attempt it."

"Chara...this has been bugging me for a while.  But I have to ask.  I know you've been through more timelines than just our own.  Mine.  I know you've merged with another Asriel or two and somehow gotten another chance to try again.

I know that Destiny and Fate considered you a favorite until my Genocide Timeline when they wiped the slate clean.  You weren't done trying.  That's why you kept Evil-Chara from his turn."

"It's not something I want to remember.  It's not something I SHOULD remember.  But by the time I was ready to try again...I no longer wanted to.  In fact I don't even think I remembered.  In my zeal to reincarnate in UTPR-3224...it cost me my memories of my previous attempts.  Destiny wanted me to abandon the plan and just let you have your happy ending, Azzy."

"Yeah...the Codex seems to support this.  Destiny's first attempt at a permanent true happy ending had to start with giving Fate a chance to do one more Genocide Run.  To get it out of your system, Chara.  But it wasn't...you needed the chance after.  You broke the character Destiny had written for you.  You picked Fate's plan just before Destiny wiped your soul.  You forgot about what you attempted."

Asriel explained.

"But Fate was crafty.  She sent her Wraith to bring the plan back to me.  To get me to merge with the new Asriel, seeing as how Destiny had seemingly discarded you to the void and thus--"

"The new and future Flowey.  Currently sulking in Lupe's garden."  Azzy shrugged.  "And that's what set Volt down this whole adventure.  He was Destiny's contingency, once she was knew that her sister wasn't going to let her have that ultimate happy ending.  Project Lost Dreemurr happened because Fate was too eager to cheat."

Asriel looked Chara in the eyes.  "But you do remember now.  You remember everything.  Including..."

"You know what it feels like to have the power of a monster soul infused into your own.  I don't know how or why we separated each time the plan failed.  Both our souls should have been completely gone.  But no...I haunted Frisk during UTPR-3224.  And probably other timelines.  I let the Wraith manipulate me so that I might manipulate Chara.  But that wasn't good enough for Adonis.  He took charge personally..."

Frisk sniffled.  "And got me to do the deed.  And ruin all of Dr. Arcade's hard work."

"So what's REALLY holding you back is...!"

"Power is like anything else that can become an addiction.  It's a hard bottle to put down."

"Was that a reference to your AU variant who's nicknamed "Bottles"?"

"Yeah.  Yeah, I acknowledge Drunk Chara.  But beside the point, Azzy."

"So that's it...you're not as afraid of it failing...as you are of it succeeding.  You're afraid that once we have the power...you won't be able to stop.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

"And now the dirty laundry's out.  You both have me figured out now."

"So...it's presumptuous to ask but--"

"Yeah.  You did it.  You changed my mind.  I guess...there's nothing worse than living with regret.  Of never knowing.  And...I guess I shouldn't be scared of it because...unlike those other times...I won't be alone."

"But...the other Asriel's?"

"Made their choice.  They knew I was wrong.  I did stand alone.  I lost my best friend before we died all those timelines ago.  I see it now.  If we're going to screw this up.  At least we'll do it together instead of against each other."

Asriel nodded.

"So...what about you, Frisk?  What of your many reincarnations?  How many can you remember that you were not a good person?"

"Maybe...maybe with the Soul Link...I'll finally be able to remember which Frisk I even am.  Somewhere I'd like to think there are mystic jump drives which hold the fragmented bit data of our soul's remains.  Our "files".  A record of past versions of me."

"So...you don't remember, per se?"

"I feel like...there's empty blocks of space in whatever..."memory" I took up the game.  Things where other versions of me were loaded into our "game".  Into each Undertale mod."

"That makes sense.  If she's willing to keep a tome of all her tampering with the UltraVerse...why not have digital records of each incarnation of us.  Study what went wrong and what went right.  Plan better for winning the game more definitively against Destiny."

Asriel looked up from his NXS tablet and all of my dimensional research on Undertale.

"This discussion has been enlightening."  Chara pondered.  "Okay.  If we're going to do this?  We don't know how big our fused for will get.  We don't know what damage we might do.  We don't want to be billed for damages to the town."

"And you can hardly afford it on your salary; which you keep blowing on chocolate and nick-nacks."

"Hey now, Bro.  Leave my personal spending out of it."  Chara put her hands on her hips.

"So...we are sure this will work with a human, a soul reaper, and a zoanthro-sapien."

"Octus gives a 95% probability of success entirely on the science.  But the magic...and the Determination factor..."

"The unknowns."

"Well.  Nothing gained.  Nothing ventured."

And so...

"Nice comfy, loose fitting clothes.  Stretchy yoga pants and minimalist plain tee-shirts.  All made of bio-receptive material like Volt uses so his transformations don't tear his threads apart.  In case this turns out to be a Jon Talbain situation.  We don't want to unmerge from this bare butt naked."  Chara grinned.

"Chara.  You're not becoming like Violet again, are you?"

"Not telling..."  Chara gave the creepy face.

"Oh brother..."  Frisk rolled her eyes.

"The biggest, emptiest field in the middle of nowhere.  No vegetation to burn down.  No wildlife.  Not a soul for miles."  Asriel looked around.

"But we do have a contingency if we want to get help here VERY fast." Frisk smiled.

"Yeah...I don't want to wake up from this, ending up some kind of Amalgamate."  Chara sneered.

"Way to think of the team, Chara."  Frisk prodded.

"Okay...each of us followed the Mage Academy's teachings to the letter on making a Transmutation Circle.  And Dr. Lynx has agreed not to say anything about the nanotech devices we had her make for us."

Asriel looked at the runes he'd painted over his chest, which overlapped the ring-shaped circuit board he'd placed over it.

Chara and Frisk looked theirs over, too.

"Last chance to back out."  Chara reminded.

"Not happening.  Frisk flexed.

The incantations began in simultaneity.  Three voices as one.  And then the chant.

"Body. Heart.  Mind."

At first, nothing...then...

Frisk's soul was first to emerge, cycling through the rainbow.

Chara's next.  Doing the same.

And Asriel's last.

But instead of drifting toward one another and merging...something else happened.

Rainbow-glowing,...tubes...or hoses...tendrils...?  Emerged from the souls in pairs.  Each soul linking to the other two in a triangle formation.  And interwoven between them a second triangle at the center of the three.  Like a Triforce or...

Delta Rune.

All three gasped at the same time as the connections were made.

"I..feel...I know...I am...!" Asriel uttered as his eyes started flickering through the rainbow of virtues.

"What's happening...is this right?  Is this normal?!"  Chara panicked.  "Is it the absorbing all over again?"

"I...don't think it is.  It feels like my soul is staying with me...it's just...connecting to both of you.  It feels so warm.  So right."  Frisk smiled brighter.

"Yeah...this isn't like Hyperdeath.  This is...!  This is...!!!  THIS IS...!"  Asriel stammered.

The world around them started turning white as a massive shaft of energy swallowed them all us. Like the reverse of a Dark Fountain.  It pierced the clouds into the heavens.  A twinkling glint appearing on the planet's surface...visible from space.

And elsewhere...

Flowey's head snapped up as his eyes bugged out.

"What...what have those fools........WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

He knew.  I don't know how, without a soul...but he knew instantly.

He was somehow connected, remotely.

And a lot of us took notice, regardless of how far away the trio thought they were.

Upon opening his eyes...!

"This...is so familiar.  But so...different."  He heard Chara say as her ethereal form floated in an empty...but very bright, star-filled void.

"I feel you both.  I know you both.  And in a way...I am...!"

"We are us."  Asriel finally spoke.

"Where are we?"  Frisk asked.

"Inside."

"Inside what, Chara?"

"Inside of...all of us."

"That's...confusing."

"Wait.  I think I got it..."  Chara waved her hands around and like that...reality before the trio tore open...and they could see out and into our world.

"Whoah...how...big did we get...?"  Frisk asked.

"And...what do we even look like...?"

"I can help with that.  A reflection of the heart...a reflection of the soul...!"  Frisk waved her hands about and...

Like that the world outside turned very mirrored. Like we had warped reality itself.  To those outside...it looked like a giant mirrored sphere had suddenly erupted around the giant...whatever.

"We're...a giant Hyperdeath?"

"No.   We're different.  Look at the eyes.  They're not eight-balled.  Black sclera, I mean.  They're...almost pure white.  Glowing.  No...they're rapidly flickering through all the virtue colors.  We look...not like a demon...more like an actual angel.  The robe is white.  It's like a white version of Hyperdeath's outfit...but the pauldrons match Dad's."  Asriel cocked his head.

"This must be what it liked for Liu Kang when he became--"

"Yeah, we know the reference, Chara."

"Look!  We have angel wings!  And a halo?"  Frisk pointed.

"And both are cycling through the colors of the rainbow."  Azzy rubbed his chin.

"Can we...even move this thing?  Can it talk, let alone fight?"

"I think we can...and so much more.  Hey.  I want to try something.  Can you two help me...!"

Outside the commotion was pretty wild.  People were flocking toward the giant goat god.

The mirror ball had dispelled and everyone could see the glory of the deity before them.

"I feel like we're going to really tick off some religious types."  Chara joked.

"Never mind that.  You clear on this?"

"Yeah.  All we have to do is synchronize our hearts.  And wish with all our being and...!"

Like that...the giant goat god shrunk down to just...a ten-foot goat god.  Smaller...but still towering over everyone.  Even Asgore.

"My...children!  Is...is that...!"

A moment before the being went from stiff as a statue to being mobile.

He closed his eyes a moment before opening and turning to Toriel and replying.

"Yes.  Yes it is us, mom.  We are all here."  All three voices overlapping.

"You...you did not...!"

"It's not what you think.  This is something different.  This is--"

"So you really did it."  Volt interrupted as the crowd suddenly started silencing.

There he was, arms crossed.

"You made Soul-Linking happen."

"My students.  Words cannot express how much you have...surpassed my highest expectations.  This is...beyond anything this world has ever known."  Bunnie was there.

"This is SO COOOOOL!"  M.K. was hopping around, quite hyper.

"Er...this will be a...big change...will it not?"  Asgore gaped.

"Your majesty, this will set the whole global media on FIRE!"  Mettaton kicked up a leg in a sexy pose.

"I...I...I....!"  Alphys stammered before dropping her entire stack of research.

"I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU!"  Undyne guffawed before giving a whap on the back...which she immediately withdrew her hand in pain, shaking it.

"DAMN, that smarts!  But I love it!"

"But...is it...!"

"You know...I thought that would be a question asked sooner than later.  So, you two?  You okay with...?"

"Yeah."

"I'm ready to come back to Earth.  Or...whatever this planet's name is."

"Then what is one...becomes three again."

And before we knew it, in a swelling ball of light...!

...and then the light was gone and the goat, the human, and the soul reaper were separated again.

"It worked!"

"Was there ever a doubt, Chara?"

"Yeah.  Only a little one though."

"We have...an ace in the hole, now.  Just in case.  We'll need to refine the process.  Streamline it.  Make it a little less..all this and more convenient in a pinch."

"I got some research from those Digimon groups we have on file.  Digi-vices could be the way to go."

"And we have plenty of morpher technology to draw on."

"I think we've taken a huge step toward an unknown future."

"Yeah.  A future where wishes do come true."

Azzy fist-bumped his wife and sibling at the same time.  Right as Prisma's camera flash went off.

The next day the headline of the town:

"MIRANDA CITY'S NEWEST ULTRA HERO IS ACTUALLY THREE HEROES IN ONE!"

What a way to end this part of the story.

But perhaps...that was the sign that things would remain good for so long.

What came next...made us only wish for the Crossover Wars to return.

"And that is my hand this round."  Lady Destiny beamed...but then her smile faded when she saw the expression on he sister.

"A very impressive gambit, dear sister.  Your contingency is well in place.  But...will it be enough?"

"What have you done...?"

Madam Fate began to chuckle...then laugh...then laugh maniacally; her cackle echoing throughout the Quasar Pyramid...

***END OF PART 3...***

Chapter 38

Reload Part 1

Reload Part 2

Reload; Part 3

Continue on to Part 4

Back to Project Lost Dreemurr Final