PLDF Chapter 20

> Chapter 20: April Showers Lead to Festival of the Rabbit as Two Goats Unite To Brave the Castle of Queen(Sub-Entries 191-200)
>
>

## Sub-Entry 191:  "Going Back to DeltaRune With a Vengeance: I Am a Warrior For Peace"

"Proceed."

...what...what is this...?

"Proceed."

...!!!

That voice...was it...Kris?

Was I back in DeltaRune?

No.

No, this is wrong.  This feels wrong.

Something is definitely wrong.

"PROCEED."

Wait...who's responding!?  Who's that replying to Kris...?

"I....I don't know that spell...!"

Spell!?  What spell!?  What are you...!?  You...!  You're Noelle!  What is it that Kris is trying to force you to do?

"PROCEED."

This feels...so cold...so empty...powerful but so empty and cold...this feels just like the start of a genocide run--

\*gasp\*

Stop it.  Stop it, now.

"Fine.  You want to see it so bad..."

Something is warning me inside.  Something in me is sensing extreme danger.  Hyperdeath and I both feel it.  This is....!!!

Noelle, DON'T!!!

"Watch what happens when I cast a spell I don't know....!"

I could see it...their opponent...was...BERDLY!?

My eyes widened.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

At that moment...she cast the dreaded spell.  The one I dare not speak its name in this dreamscape.   That spell meant only one thing...!

DEATH.

And low and behold...the world turned white with snow.  So.  MUCH.  SNOW.  AND.  ICE.

I could barely make it out...but the last I could see of Berdly...was encased in a solid crystal prison of ice.  It reminded me vaguely of Magna Quartz in Crystal Snail's Energon mine......but not...the same.  This...was so much colder.  So much...darker.  So much...!

I couldn't see through it.  It was ice and I couldn't see into it.  I could no longer see Berdly.  Just a shape.

I felt myself dropping to my knees and throwing my head back with an expression that was so aghast.  I couldn't speak.  I couldn't scream.  I could only weep.  In a way...it was almost the same as what Volt experienced in his own nightmare...when he dreamed of Hyperdeath's suicide in that nightmare during my first Full Moon celebration...that which he never told me about...that which I never let on that I overheard everything as he thought he lost me forever.

I had lost something in that moment; in that moment when Noelle had lost her...well...for lack of better phrasing...humanity.

Kris.  What have you DONE!?!

As the cold became unbearable, my eyesight began to fail me and I...I.......trouble......thinking...can't........!

Fade to white...then to black...

My eyes snapped open as I woke in my bed in a cold sweat...uttering a single phrase.  That dreaded spell.

"Snowgrave...!"

So.  That was it.  It was just a nightmare.  But...what WAS the Snowgrave Route?  Was that...Noelle's fate if we didn't save her?

She wanted to get stronger.  But this was not the way.  There were other forms of strength.

There was a better path.

As I reflected on this, a montage of images flashed in my memories before fading away with the nightmare.  Memories of opponents...enemies in DeltaRune...being frozen to death by the precursor of that spell...IceShock.  My god...Kris forced Noelle to kill all those Darkners!?  For WHAT!?  For POWER!?

My earlier theory about Kris possibly being the "Knight" was...only marginally less outlandish.

Plus.....I remembered something that Spamton said.  "Mike".  Who was this...Mike?  And why did invoking my memory of this "Mike" resonate so much with...memories of Dr. W.D. Gaster...?

What was the underlying game you were playing, Madam Fate.  But more importantly...

Kris...was this your true nature?

It almost seemed like...

I could not allow this.  I don't know how but I have to avoid this worst case scenario.

Right now.   They were taken prisoner.  They were lost.

Ralsei...what became of you?

Captured.  Probably separated.  Confused and alone.

They needed me.

I recognized this.  This was the "plot twist".  That meant, in the words of Captain Blue of Viewtiful Joe, that before the happy ending...something had to go wrong.

I spent all this time not knowing what my role in this was.  What I had to offer.  What I could do.

Like that stopped me up to now.

This time would be different.

I knew what I had to do...

\*whoosh\*

The doors opened as I stood behind them, waiting for my path to destiny to allow me forward.

"....."

My eyes were hidden beneath the shadow of my bangs as  I slowly walked into the lab.

A hush fell over the technicians as they noticed me...and parted to open an unobstructed path for me.

Not many were in the know.  Those that did were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement as part of security measures.  The outside world was not ready to know about this.

It was calling.

It was time.

The gates to Alphys' main lab opened.  In slow motion the weeb lizard turned in my direction and her expression turned to apprehensive if not intimidated.  But she spoke not a word.

I entered as the doctor joined me and kept pace, clutching her clipboard to her chest.

Further in...there was Chara in gigai body.  Arms crossed.  No sign of amusement on her facial expression.  She knew things were getting real now.

She let me pass without resistance, keeping her eyes on me and turning her head but otherwise remaining planted where she stood in that bad-girl, arms crossed, defiant way I'd come to know from her.

And lo and behold.  Frisk was at the table, fidgeting a little but eyes full of hope and determination.

"Azzy..."

"I know."  I embraced her and hugged tight.

"They're depending on me.  But...honestly...I haven't the foggiest idea what it is I can do.  Not until I talk to Ralsei."

"He..."

"...might know the truth now.   There's no choice.  I have to come clean."

"You look like...you know this isn't going to wrap up that quickly."

I nodded.   It was Queen's Castle.  And plus I had a bad feeling about Spamton.  We'd gone all this way past the meeting place he spoke of.  Plus...he did say  "come alone".

Kris would...probably take care of that in due time but...would they even allow me to come along and observe?   Would my presence break the rules?

Then again...who could tell how the rules worked in this place.  Felt like they were always dynamic.  Always changing.  Always...

...yeah...

...this felt all too familiar.  This felt like a Madam Fate calling card.

"Wherever this may lead...I have to see it through.  If it takes me several more months of this...we are sealing that Dark Fountain and rescuing that poor girl."

I paused.

"...and Berdly, too."  I said with less enthusiasm.

Chara just grinned.  Frisk gave only the briefest of disapproving looks until she could tell I was going to rescue him anyway.  I just wouldn't enjoy it much.  I think we both agreed, though, that Berdly represented the modern bully where Susie had always been the classic bully.  Something that Mitzi had given me advice on at times when I needed to stand up for myself or for others.  More so others; such as the incident with Mina Scalnistro.

As for what I meant by modern and classic?  The latter case was direct and used brute force and intimidation.  The former case was condescending and constantly building their own ego while tearing down the ones they felt threatened by; it was more cerebral and exploited the Reputation Era to its fullest.  A classic bully could make you feel physical pain with a bit of humiliation on the side.  Often pity but no real help by those that weren't pointing and laughing at you after being branded a "sissy".  A modern one could make you feel a lot of humiliation that spreads over social media and just seems to hang with feelings of frustration that could lead to depression and self-doubt if unchecked.

Putting this bit of thought aside, I think my attention was better focused on the REAL bully at hand.  Our villainess, Queen.  I think for her it was a matter of bullying being a side-effect to really misguided intentions.

I had a good month to think about her connection to the Spade King and to Lancer.  If she really WAS the mother of the family I had a lot of thoughts.

Why...need a peon at all?  I'd gotten out of it that she acknowledged Noelle's strength.  That Noelle gave herself too little credit.  I empathized with her to the very core because...I'd been there.  I used to be her when I was little.  I was always told I was too good for this world.  Well...now I was on the outside looking in and seeing another generation's iteration of the cinnamon roll.  She was so kind.  And timid.  Apologetic...in a way she reminded me of Kitty Dimitir of the UCIAT founders.

I was also drawing comparisons to Alphys.  Why wouldn't I?  I'd worked with Alphys long enough to really get to know her; to understand everything Volt told me about her.

And really...like me, she was a dreamer.   Like me...she longed for a bygone era...of times when she was happier.

When you know...you know.  What was I tempted to trade just to see Volt again...to train with sensei...to put up with Aunt Vi's irregular behavior.  I wanted all those things in my life again but...I'd gone this long understanding that these things...lived on in memory.  Just like Noelle.

Gods...I was thinking of her less as a sister and more like a...daughter?  Golly.  Have I...really aged that much?

"Slow those thoughts, Azzy.  You don't need distractions where you're going."

"Right as always, Chara.  I guess this is just my way of getting everything out of my system.  I'm going to need to focus.  I don't even have a plan or any idea if Ralsei will even be at my touch-down point.  I'm even worried that my save marker will have changed due to context-sensitive situation."

"You'd think with our world being a game for so long, it would be easier to figure out another one that's a similar case."  Chara crossed her arms.

"You got this, Azzy.  You've got all three of us behind.  You have our support.  And anyone that's in on this deep dark secret dream world."  Frisk assured.

A circle we kept unimaginably small.  I didn't even tell Flowey much less my parents or anyone outside of this lab.  We only needed the basic skeleton crew absolutely necessary for tech support and such.  And they were people I trusted with my life as they would trust me with theirs.

I got comfortable on the table as the neural colander was put on my head and the chin-strap tightened.  Additional electrodes and what-not as well as the monitoring sensors for my vitals and such were fit on me as routine.  The Alpha Catch was active.

Nothing left to do but let DeltaRune "chapter 2" take the wheel.

I felt Frisk grip my hand with both of hers as I laid back and closed my eyes...and felt the world slip away.

"Good luck, Asriel..."

It was the last thing I heard.  The blackness set in...and I found myself in free fall within the void; translucent circuit paths around me like rain.  Pulses ran down the ghostly tracks as I drew my arms inward and looked straight to the ground.

It was funny...when my journey in Miranda began...this was the position Volt was as he chased after my unconscious form while in free-fall above the fountain.

The role had been passed down to me.  I was emulating him subconsciously, now.

As the ground came up I did not blink.  I did not falter.  I did nothing.  Nothing but accept what was to come next.

My eyes opened after what felt like a momentary blackout but...it was a blackout that seemed...voluntary.  Like I needed to load my save data.  Like I needed just the smallest amount of time to do the opposite of decompress.  To...focus, I suppose.  Time to let the determination flow forth.

No turning back now.

I rose from my Iron Man landing.  Tony Stark be pround, am I right?

Back in my human form.  Unitrix was replenished.  So...why did it feel like this was...moot?

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

"Well.  Aren't you going to say something?"

Ralsei fidgeted a little...fumbling with his hands.

"You've returned, Mr. Asta."

"I have."

"We are...in an unfortunate situation, aren't we?"

"Yeah.  Yeah, I'd say so."

I kept my eyes shut.  I didn't have to open them to know we hadn't moved that much from the entrance to Queen's castle.  I could feel the power of the Dark Fountain billowing out from it.  Even from this far away...it felt cold...and lifeless...it didn't feel like the dark fountain within Ralsei's kingdom.  There was only supposed to be one to maintain this dark world.  But with addition ones...it was obvious that they shifted the balance.  It was obvious that someone intended to escape the borders of the Dark World into the Light World.

Was it so much of a trope that it was all about conquering both worlds?  This "Knight" has been busy...and yet we haven't seen hide nor hair of him...her...them...it.

What was the end game?  What was the bigger picture?

"Well.  We're not accomplishing anything by standing around.  We need go in there and get our friends out."

"That sounds like a plan but how will we do so?"

"I'm open to suggestions."

"For now...I suppose we should make haste before we're discovered."

"Or Queen makes more cages.  You lucked out with her just leaving you here right as my world pulled me back.  Sorry about that, by the way."

"It seems it cannot be helped."  The way he spoke was...like Mom.  Like Bunnie at times.

Obviously the red carpet was a route that might as well say "We're holding up neon signs that red 'here we are'.  Attack us and take us prisoner'.  There had to be another way in.

For the time being...we strafed the perimeter of the castle until we were both certain we were beyond prying eyes.

It was about this time...I addressed the elephant in the room.

"Ralsei.  You have not called me out."

"A-Asta?"

"Please don't act naive.  Let's not fool ourselves."

"I...!"

"Just admit it.  You know that I haven't been fully honest, have you?"

I opened my eyes and slid my gaze to the side.  Out of the corner of my eye...I could see Goat Wizard's eyeglass frames take on a...sad appearance.

"Why don't I get to the point.  You saw it.  Didn't you?"

## Sub-Entry 192: "Coming Clean to Goat Wizard":

Silence.

"Kris has sensed it from the beginning.  But they are not saying anything.  I'm sure you've sensed it as well.  There's more to me than just being a Lightner with overwhelming pure white aura.  In fact...what you sense feels...familiar but mirrored.  Isn't that the description you'd go with?"

Ralsei bowed his head a little.  He...was really hesitant to confirm I was right.

"As I was leaving this world...my Unitrix shut down.  You have to have noticed.  You had to have...questions.  What it was about me that rings so familiar.  And yet so hard to place."

"........."

"I suppose the thing to say is...you've no doubt deduced...my name isn't even Asta.  But before I tell you...I think you know.  You understand.  You've...probably heard Susie...name-drop before.  Or...maybe Kris has conveyed it in some form.  Perhaps...you maybe even heard Noelle or Berdly mention them by name.

They are...the missing element from Kris' story, wouldn't you agree?  The one that's conveniently away at college...but has so much backstory that Kris' friends and family keep bringing up.

So...given all that...it would only make sense that...perhaps they exist in other forms.  None perhaps more obvious than the one that stares back at you in the mirror."

Ralsei let out a brief moan, like he knew where this was going.

"Counterpart.  That's...such a cumbersome word to describe parallels...variants......doppelgangers.  Soul twins."

The silence was getting to me.  He wanted to speak but...what could he say.

"So...if Kris were here...my presence...rather...my real form...would cause complications."

Goat Wizard just blinked a bit as I continued to look over my shoulder.

"Why don't I...just drop the façade from here on out.  And let you see for yourself.  Let you see and understand why...why I had to keep this under wraps."

I turned around fully...and deactivated the Unitrix.

"I wasn't truthful...but I wasn't completely lying.  My sur-name is in fact Arcade.  It was given to me when I...started my new life.  After...things happened on my home world.   After I was orphaned.  But if you want the whole truth?  The answer is as plain as the letters in your name...rearranged.  What a curious anagram to have more than one word hidden within.

To think...I used to be bent out of shape over my name...being unscrambled into such a terrible thing as "serial murderer".  But now I see my first name has another form, doesn't it, Ralsei?"

He thought for only the briefest moments before he figured out what I was getting at.  Sadly, he nodded.

"So here we are at this point.  I abandon my masquerade for you and only you.  So...I think you can know my name.  But you already have an idea what it is, don't you?"

"You are...Asriel Arcade.  Are you not?"

"I am.  I am...one of your counterparts in this vast universe.  So...I guess this really is my favorite song personified."

"Hmm?"

I chuckled and replied.  "A song dear to my heart...titled..."Two Princes" by a group called Spin Doctors.

How poetic.

"A prince of darkness.  And a prince of light.  At this moment.  In this meeting.  How strange it is.  How very strange it is..."

A long period of silence.

"Well.  Won't you say something?  I've...confessed my deepest secret to you and...I'm sure you have many questions."

"I do.  But...perhaps it is not my place to ask.  Perhaps...all I need to know, you have already revealed.  I need not look into your soul to know you are a noble person, Asriel Arcade.  You have supported us all this time.  To pry further would only endanger the bond we've forged.  What tremendous bravery you've shown to confess such a thing to me.  That you would have so much faith that I would understand."

"Well...you do, don't you?"

Goat Wizard hesitated before nodding.

"I am...not certain I understand it all...that there are questions I need to ask before I can honestly say so.  But I know enough.  This should not deter us from our intended goal."

"No.  But.  I have to ask you the favor of keeping this from the Lightners.  From everyone.  This is between two goats and two goats alone.  Yes?"

"I agree to your terms.  I am...sure you have your reasons."

"Thank you for understanding--"

I wasn't prepared for Ralsei to hug me.   Huh.  Is...this what I feel like to the touch?  Am I...this "floofy"?

Huh.  So this is what it's like...

I...guess I can now see one of the things that Frisk sees in me.

Okay, Azzy.  Don't make it weird......weirder, rather.  Accept the goat-hug and get back on task.

"Heh.  Gonna have to let go, y'know?"

"Y-yes.  It would only...muddle our already strange situation."

Alright.  Side by side we finally stood.

"We need to approach this carefully.  I hate to take a cue from Berdly, but we do need to be smart about this."

I then remembered the NX Switch Board.  It had somehow recharged.

"Time to turn to the tools of the trade."

Two goats as similar as we were different.  Him?  A wizard.  Me?  A scientist.  I already knew he was a master of healing spells and pacifist type status effects and de-buffs.  Now it was time to show what I could bring to the table.

I reconfigured my NXS' Pro-Controller after unlatching it and de-collapsing it from where it had been on my belt buckle all this time.  Captain N the Game Master fashion statement, of course.

So...time for the Quad Copter drone.

"Let's get some intel and we'll find our way in..."

So off it went to examine the castle until we could find an unguarded way in...

## Sub-Entry 193: "Rescue/Always Keep a Spade in Your Pocket..."

...some time had passed before I navigated my little tool into the castle, successfully.  Now it was just a matter of zeroing in on where our friends were being kept.

My eyes had turned cyan.

"Oh my!"

"Yeah.  They do that based on my emotional state...or rather what virtue of the seven I'm embracing.  In this case...Patience."

"What a magnificent world your "Undertale" must've been."

"Yeah...I...didn't really get to live in it though.  Not the timeline I was born into.  I...ended up transplanted to a different one after...some time maturing...learning...becoming my own man."

I don't know how many rooms the drone explored from the ventilation system until...

"Don't get too excited but...I may have a jackpot."  I narrowed my gaze.

As it came into view...we both identified the laser cage.  But who was in it...?

A look around the room and I noticed the INSANELY big mainframe computer with an equally insanely big flat-screen monitor.  There was high definition and then there was extra, extra, EXTRA-wide screen.

Unfortunately it lit up with an all too familiar image.

"Queen."  I narrowed my eyes as I turned up the drone's microphone.

"Look!"  We both saw--

"How Do You Like Your New Room Units

As You Can See They Are Perfectly Suited To Your Interests"

Hmm?

"(Which I Gleaned From Your Internet Search Results)"

...okay...creepy...and I really couldn't comment about the accuracy.

"I Estimate You Will Have No Desire To Leave"

Presumptuous much?

"Please Tantalize Yourself With Your Surroundings"

Phrasing!  Though...maybe I was just used to Aunt Violet making double-entendres that I was seeing lewdness where it didn't actually exist per se.

"And Wait Patiently While I Dominate The World"

Okay, back on task.  Villainess is being villainess.  World Domination.  A cliche that was as overused as it was timeless.  Somehow this motivation always managed to be both something to roll your eyes over...and something that somehow never went out of style.

"Toodles"

Yeah.  Toodles.  Good grief, that robot woman.  I just CAN'T with this gal, y'know?

Well.  Let's get a good look at the place.

Oh.  I lucked out...I think.  It was Kris in the cage.  Might explain the silence; the lack of screaming to let them outta there before the threats of ripping limb-from-limb would begin.  That would TOTALLY be a Susie movie.  Pretty sure Berdly was too much of an 'intellectual' to stoop to such draconian methods.

Hmm...?  It seems I couldn't check the place out as long as Kris was still trapped inside the cage, unable to actually explore their surroundings.  Was my observation dependent on their interaction?

I guess...narrating this weird situation meant I was more or less an extension of Kris' will than I was a casual observer.

Yet again...the very concept was rearing its ugly head.  And that concept was: your choices don't matter.

Well that's disconcerting.  Being an over glorified...under glorified...gah...being an un-acknowledged inner monologue for someone that isn't you.

And I thought our game world had weird rules.  This one was even weirder--

"K...Kris!?  Hey!!  Can you hear me!?"

That voice!  Susie?  Where was it coming from?

"Looks like there's some way to communicate between rooms."

That's when I noticed the Dr. Seuss-esque victrola horn sticking up out of the floor.  Like an inverted saxophone in shape...baby blue in color...and the base surrounded by a nice silk doily.  Like...those dainty arm-chair covers in elderly people houses.

"Convenient Isn't It

I Really Thought Of Everything"

Queen's image appeared on the computer screen...again; taking credit for the genius of the room.

"SHUT UP!!!"  Susie shouted as the transmission cut out.  "Anyway...let's think of some way to get out of here."

"Ralsei, you got any ideas?"

A long pause before it set in.

"Hey, where the Hell's Ralsei?'

At the time Ralsei wasn't looking over my shoulder at the screen.  I think he was searching for his own way in.

Wait...how long ago did he leave me behind...?

That was when I heard the faint sound of it over the microphone.  And I think Susie and Kris did, too.

"Damn, that soft-yet-tender screaming -

Kris, that's gotta be him!!

Quick, we gotta find some way to get out!

Anything you smuggled in that might help us out?!"

Smuggled in......wait!  Kris' inventory hadn't emptied out since the very beginning...including that brief time they...and I...escaped back to the Light World to investigate the storage room inside the school!

I about smacked my own forehead when I remembered...all this time and I hadn't thought of him save for a passing thought.  As Kris searched their inventory, I could have sworn I heard it...!

"Hoho!  It's me, Lancer!  Release me and I will release you!"

Huh.  As plausible as anything else.

From Kris' pocket came the playing card...and as they let it drop to the ground...!

In mid-spin the playing card...had transformed into a familiar Spade.

"Missed me!?"  That toothy grin.  "Because I missed you!!  Ha ha ha!!"

"Lancer!?  That you!?  I thought you ditched us!"

"No!  I love ditches, but I would never ditch you!

I was simply relaxing in Kris's spacious Pants Hole!"

...pants hole?   Why is it when he described a pocket that way it sounded...naughty?  And also...did he seriously just...erm......how to say...'Handsome-Squidward-face'?

Holy clarinet-solo, how DOES he do that?

"Uhh, 'pocket'."  Susie corrected.

"Yes!  And I saw it all!  Pants.  Lint.  Various items.

A wild mom put you in some Shock Cages."

"Hahah, yeah.  We're trapped, so, uh..."  Susie started before she distracted herself.

"Hey, wait didja see us on the roller coaster!?"

"Yes!!!  It was amazing!   My first coaster ride."  What was it about Lancer...actually, never mind.  It was that puppy face of his.  With his tongue hanging out and his nose having that weird canine shape to it like a pup...

Don't get distracted, Azzy.

"Haha I love getting nauseous with friends!"  Lancer spun around.

I don't know why...but I was grinning floppy ear to floppy ear.  Oh!  I should probably morph back again.  Just in case.

"Hey, you should probably free us."

"Oh, right!  Yes!!

You can always rely on friendly Me!!! ...to make you free!"

Lancer immediately got to the computer console and logged in.

"Haha...I have no idea how to use this!!"

Wait, what...!!?  Crud.  I should have figured.

The prompt read: REQUEST NEW ITEM FOR ROOM.

""Request new item for room?  That sounds good."  Lancer got on all fours and scampered across the keyboard, randomly.

"Item request: shovel".

Uh...?

"Quantity: Let's say...999"

And so he entered it--

QUANTITY OVERLOAD!!!

And the system crashed and with it...the Shock Cage shut down and came apart, releasing Kris.

"Hoho!!  It worked!"

Let's go, blue person whose name I know!"

I shook my head and chuckled as I kept the drone steady in the air vent.

Lancer went on ahead...but Kris stayed behind to observe the room.

"(It's dozens and dozens of bath bombs

From search query: DIY bath bomb)"

Wasn't there...something in Volt's notes about Kris doing something with bath bombs...involving the toilet...?  Oh boy...

"(It's a jelly in the shape of various knives  From query search: sharpest kitchen knife jello)"

I gulped at that one.

"(It's Jongler's Book on Jongling and Other Things.  From query search: how to use magic.)"

Huh...I forgot that humans in this world didn't usually have magic, either.

"(It's a calendar with college vacation circled.  From search query: summer vacation when)"

Hmm...I thought of my own college days and pondered the fact that...on this world, I was actually a little older than my counterpart.  I wonder...what was Kris' Asriel doing right now?

"(It's two pixelized Toriels playing the piano.  From search query: video game  piano tutoriel)"

Okay...the pun wrote itself.  And seeing mom in 8-bit form, twice over?  There's one for the books.  Funny...in my world it was always Undyne at the piano.  Or...Mettaton posing sexily on top of one.  Eeesh.

And finally...

(It's a VHS explaining how to install video game piano.  From search query: video game piano tutorial)

Oh.  This one spelled correctly, thus eliminating the pun.  But still...a weird sight gag.

There was one last interaction before we got going...and it involved Kris putting their whole head into the communication horn....before honking VERY LOUDLY...and then getting a load of crap from Susie...as well as indicating that the reptile maaaay have tried the same thing herself.

Onward, I guess.

I rerouted the drone in the hopes of finding its way out into the hall.  I was curious to know what the interior of this palace looked like.

## Sub-Entry 194:  "Spade Keeps a Stiff Upper Lip...and Everything Else.  Healing Lancer"

Out into the hallway I finally steered the thing; keeping it well above Kris' line of sight...and hoping they wouldn't look up.  I noticed Susie waiting outside.

That's when I noticed all the doors on the walls.  Only the one Kris came out of and the one Susie was presumably behind...were at ground level.  Every other door was staggered in formation, going all the way up to the ceiling.  And there were LOOOOTS of doors.

It was like...severe case of Alice in Wonderland here.  Or the Boogie Man's domain as Egon had described it to me--a sort of in-between dimension where he could travel from closet to closet.

Like Super Mario Bros. 2 warp zones, really.

"Kris, hey!!"  Susie was actually in a pleasant mood...or as pleasant as it gets.

"Man...Lancer...  You're the best, dude!!"

And with that the spade and the purple crock exchanged a jumping high-five.  Okay, I was starting to get into this.  Almost wanted to say something over the NXS drone's public address bullhorn.  But I also didn't want to risk drawing attention to them.  It would be bad if I alerted any guards.

"C'mon.  Noelle and Ralsei are waiting!!"

Goat Wizard had a head start on me.  I was just now making headway into infiltrating the castle; having fallen back on my ninja training.

I even mastered Bunnie's quick-change into a nice tactical dark blue outfit.  I don't know why so many think a ninja's outfit is black.  Black would stand out in a night sky; like a silhouette.  Blue blends into a night sky much better.  Oh well.

"Yes, let's put the pedal on the medal!"  Lancer declared.

Well we were on our way!

...

.....

...annnnnd...we were...on our way...

...hey...

What's the holdup, Lancer?  Why are you standing there like--

\*cough...cough...\*

Uh-oh.

Lancer wasn't looking so hot.  In fact...it looked like his naturally dark blue and greyish white colors were...fading...?

"Hey, Lancer, you okay, dude?"

"I...I'm fine...just...very...cold..."

Cold?

And like that he tipped over like a statue, flat on his back.

"H...hey, what the Hell!?"

"..."

"Hey, are you okay, dude...?  Here, lemme heal you...!"

And out came Susie's basic healing spell.

"...th-thanks, Susie...but..."

It wasn't enough.

"D...darn, it's not strong enough, huh...

Quick, Kris, let's find Ralsei!  Maybe he can heal him!"

And up Lancer went into a piggy-back ride on Susie's back.

"This is a fine kettle of fish..."  I slipped through the way in I had found then checked my NXS RC Remote's holo-projection video feed.

I traced the path my drone had gone to see if I could close the gap between us.

\*click\*

Hmm?  Sounded like a door opening behind the group--

"Wait!!  WAIT!!!

You two aren't going to leave without ME, are you!?"   Yeah.  Suddenly Berdly.  Lucky us.

Though in all fairness it was a little easier to have sympathy for the traitor after Queen dumped him like week-old trash.

"Uhhh...yeah, we are."  Susie said flatly.

Okay, easier.   Susie obviously had her own reservations.  I guess maybe I was too forgiving...even after all the annoyance the Falco-cosplayer had put us through.

"But Noelle - my damsel in distress - she must be...

...in distress.  And if I cannot help her, then...!"

Still not giving up on that?  I was getting shades of Antoine back when he was still trying to woo Aunt Sally.  This tired old tale of unrequited love never goes out of style does it?  Yet...disco, file-sharing sites, and mullets did?  Eeesh.  Where's the justice?

"Okay, FINE you can come if you shut up!"

Inside...I was cheering and applauding Susie.  But heroes shouldn't take pleasure in such things.  We're better than that, riiiiiight?

How convincing is the metaphorical angel's halo over my head right now?

Yeah...thought so...

Ahem.

Save Star.  "You have escaped your second personalized room of the day.  You are filled with the power of vacation homes."

You do you, strange game humor.  You do you.  I don't get it but I accept it.

Kris decided to explore Berdly's room.   Yeah...pretty much what I was expecting.  Though...not exactly how I was expecting.  A vacuum-powered book from query: "LOSERS!!  THIS LIBRARBY SUCKS!!"

A painted egg that was warm...from search query: "Can hardboiled eggs hatch".  Come on maaan.  FUNK DAT!  Seriously someone that smart had to look up something that obvious?

A copy of an online skateboarding game.  From query: cool skateboard game online.  It's a skateboard game.  But it's A.I. is cheating.  It's impossible to win!  From cool skateboard game online CHEAT

I laughed at the irony.

And then there was a glitched out hologram.  From search query: FJFIrejirioEUEUROI4378789....whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?  Guess Berdly was cleaning his keyboard.

There were name plates from a lot of locked rooms.  Some...I recognized.  Catty's room.  Jockington's room--

My eyes widened when I saw it.

"Asriel's Room?"

I opened the door with my eyes closed...WAIT!?  MY EYES CLOSED!?  What is this mess?  Am I not in control of my..........oh.  Yeah.  I guess my choices still don't matter when I can't even look into my...well...my counterpart's room.

In the next room...a puzzle?

On the floor I noticed an emblem in Queen's likeness.

How to solve this one?

"Looks like a puzzle."  Keen grasp of the obvious, Susie.  And seriously!  Narrating is MY job.  Somehow.

"Think uh, you can do it, Kris...?"

You know I really should catch up to them and try my hand at these.  They were kind of irresistible.   Must be the Papyrus in me.

"Calm your skinless, boneless, thighs everyone.  I'LL think of a solution."

Oh.  Berdly.  Right.  You're here...

Okay, pretty sure you're reading my written thoughts in the driest, most underwhelmed voice you can manage in your head.  Can you blame me?

You know, he's like the modern version of alternate universe Simon Belmont.  Less of a musclebound, tanned, blond-haired, blue-eyed hunk of a man stuffed into a blue furry overcoat and backpack, constantly gazing into his hand mirror's reflection and more of a my-brain-is-bigger-than-everyone's know-it-all followed up with a plethora of l337 sp34k.  Really who talks in numbers mixed with letters?  Ahem... I digress.  Arrogance is arrogance.  In all its bully some annoyance.  But really...what is UP with the obsession with nipples?  Tell me I'm not the only one who thinks it's very weird and very disturbing.

Cool it, Azzy.  We HAVE reforged our truce...more or less.

"(Kris, just ignore him.)  I'll just be over here where I can't hear you..."

Seconded.

"And I'll be over here away from your IQ-debuffing aura!"

I'd protest 'Don't I get a say in this?' but I'd kind of have to make my presence known.  I'm still technically trying to catch up to my own quadcopter drone.

I zoomed in on the plaque on the wall.  "These Darkbulbs will cast a bright shadow on the ground. Fill in the space with dark to unlock the way."

Makes as much logical sense as anything.

As I studied the shapes of the colored shadows of light on the ground...boy that was a contradiction... I quickly realized they were three pieces of Queen's face.  And they lined up with her outline likeness on the floor.  Ah-haaaaaa!

Kris worked the controls on the light dimmers and shifted and rotated the shadow images, overlapping each of the three pieces until the fit together like a simple puzzle over top of the outline.  Almost like a coloring book or a very simple jigsaw puzzle.

The last piece fit in and the shadow turned pure white...still not sure why it was a shadow and not a light projection.  Being this was the Dark World, maybe this opposite case just made sense when you think about it enough.

"Yeah!!  We got it!"

You know it was actually pretty cool when Susie grinned a sincere smile and not one of her fang-filled 'I'm-gonna-eat-your-face' expressions.

And if that weren't enough, Berdly just wigged out from disbelief.

"Wh...what!?  Hey, wait a second--  How'd you...how'd you solve it without me!?"  Angry Bird rising.   Hide your pigs, dudes.  Hahahahah.  I'm terrible.

"Hahahaha.  Kris figured it out before you.  Jealous?"  Susie taunted.

Okay, okay.  Heroes shouldn't gloat.  But it's just soooo tempting.

"Well, I..."  Still flustered for all but two seconds until he tried to save face.  "I knew the answer, I just wanted to see Kris try, first!"

A likely story.

"it's called SUSPENSE, Susan.  DRAMATIC SUSPENSE."

I'm sure Susie was thinking the same thing as me.  Whatever helps you sleep at night.

"Then YOU do the next one."  She countered, unphased.

"Fine!  WATCH ME!"  He charged on ahead.

This was going to be fun.

"(Also my name's not Susan?)"

The next hall was another light-shadow puzzle.   This one was...a triangle with many pieces.

"Hah!  Child's play.  Couldn't you give me a harder one?  For example, if someone had a 4x4 puzzle cube..."

Um...

"Just tell us the solution."

"Well, haha, you see...first you umm...you align the shadows with the floor."

.......really.  In two seconds he figured it allllll ouuuuut.  How to actually work the puzzle.

Soo....the solution?

Man, Flowey was being a bad influence on me.  Guess it takes something like the annoying blue falcon to bring that side of me out.  I think I liked myself better when I didn't think that side of me existed.

What am I saying?  All things have to balance.  If I didn't, I really WOULD be a Gary Stu.

"Alright.  what do we move first?"

We're waiting.

"Well, umm---"

"Kris, just do the puzzle."

"JUST GIVE ME A MOMENT!  It's not like Kris could do the puzzle, anyway--"

Won and done.

"Whoops.  Looks like Kris got it again."

"H-huh!?  W...wait!!!  Wait just a second!  You can't have--  You just got lucky!  It's just trial and error!  The brute force method.  A caveman could do it!"

I didn't call for a Geico commercial.

"Except cavemen died out because they're STUPID!  I'M solving the next one so--  Just STAY HERE until I'm done!"

Should we hold our breath, guys?

By now I was practically right on top of the NXS.  Some searching annnd...

I dropped down from above, getting Kris and Susie's attention.

"Oh.  Where the Hell have you been, old man?"

"Oh.  Around."  Not gonna slow my stride, fancy pants.

"Oh.  Well.  You gonna make yourself useful--"  She said before drone hover right down in front of her face.

"Smile for the camera."

"...!!!  WHAT THE HELL--!?  ARE YOU CREEPING ON US!?  You some kind of--!"

"What?  Don't have one of these of your own?  Huh."  Okay that was gloating.

I piloted it away from Susie before she got ideas of using it for a projectile weapon or target practice.

"Ralsei and I were together for a bit but he went on ahead without me.  Guess I'm slowing down in my old young age.  I'm playing catchup and trying to figure out where he ended up in here.  Been putting together a partial map while I've been doing recon.  Most of the paths all lead to dead ends so...nothing useful yet.  But it's only a matter of time before we figure out where Queen's keeping Noelle."

"Uh.  Oh.  I guess that's something."

"So.  How long we going to give Berdly before he started rage quitting the next puzzle?"

Okay THAT got on her good side.

"Dunno.  Maybe he already is.  Wanna find out?"

"Do I?"  I grinned.

Sometimes you just need common ground.  Or at least someone who annoys you more by comparison.

Kris led the way.

Funny you should mention a 4x4 cube, Berdly.  Because look what was on the floor THIS time.

Only thing was...could the shadow pieces be ANY more intricate?  Those were not simple shapes to say the least.  Honestly...they reminded me of Mike Tyson's facial tattoo...really tribal looking save for the flat parts that fit...somehow together...?  Heck, one of the pieces kind of looked like a ghost...a ghost without any flat edges...maybe it fit in the middle somehow?  Oh boy this one was going to be tricky.

"What are you two...three doing here!?  This one's MINE!"

Oh.  He acknowledged me.  Just call me Roman Reigns.  Meh.  If I was head of the table, I abdicate my position as tribal chief.  Who needs a Wise Man like Berdly?  Am I right?

Okay WWE references over with.

"I'll be over in a second, so why don't you just...Relax in your mind palace, which PROBABLY doesn't even have anything in it!  \*dramatic pause\*  I just need to figure out why...(the shapes don't go together...}  He really muttered that last part.  Really spitefully, too.

"You just gotta fill the square thing, right?  What if we all just piled them in the corners?"

"Like digging a really wide hole!"  Lancer managed to follow up, still frozen.  I now had Christopher Lloyd's iconic meme-able exclamation from Suburban Commando in my head.  Guess what happened to him today, I wonder.....hmmmmmmmmmmm...!

"Wh-what...!?"  Berdly gasped like he was overwhelmed by the simplicity. Or in his opinion, stupidity.

And sure enough Kris did EXACTLY what they suggested.  It was true.  The pieces didn't line up, but they DID overlap and completely cover the square area without leaving any gaps.  Ahah!  So it was a trick question trap.  How devious!

"S-SUSIE'S IDEA WORKED!?  THERE'S NO WAY!!!  IT'S A COMPUTER BUG!  IT'S A GLITCH!  YOU'RE CHEATING!  JUST LIKE WHEN YOU W-WAVEDASH!"

He was raging hardcore.

Also...wavedashing?  Is Super Smash Brothers'  infamous speed trick still a thing?

Susie couldn't help herself at that point.  Gloating?  VERY YES.

"HAHAHAHAH!  How's it taste, idiot!  Man, I'm going to relish this FOREVER!  All those times you acted so high and mighty...  Well guess what?  You're not!  Face it, you're just as big a dumbass as the rest of us!  HAHAHAHAHAH!"

I couldn't stop her if I tried.  Or wanted to.  Hey, better her than me.  Heroes shouldn't gloat but...I wouldn't call her totally hero-aligned.  More like anti-hero.  Wolverine be proud.

Wait a minute...dumba--!  Let's not take it THAT far...  I was humble but I'd like to think I have at least a drop of pride to balance it out.  Otherwise I'd have no self-esteem like--

...

Oh...right.

Don't get distracted.  That poor kid, Noelle was out there.  And probably scared out of her mind.  If anybody needed a little pride in herself it was her.

Hmm..?  I think this momentary distraction also let something else escape my attention.  Um...Susie's taunt may have just...broken the bird.

"...fine.  I admit it.  I'm not that smart.  I never was."

Oooh.  He sounded...really out of sorts now.  I think maybe she took it too far.

"THERE.  Are you happy!?  I...I...I...just...

Oh boy.  Incoming flashback...

## Sub-Entry 195:  "Blue Is the Color of Sadness.  Berdly's Façade Comes Crumbling Down":

"I used to be a forgettable little bluebird.  No one even remembered my name.  Then...one day, came the spelling bee Noelle and I studied for.  When it came down to the two of us...she got nervous and couldn't speak  (the word was: December).  She lost.  And I won.  That was when I tasted it.  The praise.  The glory!  The SUPERIORITY!  The addictive power of being...SMART! "

Huh...you know praise was never all that important to me but...it's not like I had a shortage of it.  It's not like I was all that forgettable back on Undertale...and yet...

...that became EXACTLY the case.  My own world...my own 'game' cast me aside.  Over and over.  Just a plot device to be martyred...to ignite dad's fuse and catalyze mom's disgust.  I was..ironically forgotten by being remembered.  All the time.  The Monster Kingdom was driven to capture human souls because of me...and yet no one remembered what I would have done hadn't so many version of me lost himself.  So many called me a sweet, innocent child.  Why did they think I'd want our freedom at the cost of the lives of human children?  Those other Asriel's.  They end up becoming Flowey.  That version of me.  Lost his life.  His soul.  His compassion.  No wonder I thought Chara was the only one who understood me.  And when she didn't...that was just the Wraith acting through her.

Remembered yet forgotten.  What a weird dichotomy.

In his case...he was just forgotten period until...something gave him notoriety.  And getting something for the first time...can be truly intoxicating.  When you're deprived of it long enough...how do you NOT go overboard on it?  How did I not fall into that trap?

Maybe...we weren't so different after all?

"Since then, I've been number 1 in the class.  ...but it's only because Noelle helps me study.  She's... the real smart kid.  But everyone's expectations for ME are so high now...  What am I going to do once I go somewhere without her...?"

And now I was seeing WHY he valued Noelle so much.  I thought she was just superficial arm candy to him but...now I saw the reason why he was so obsessed with her.  Still didn't excuse why he kind of treated her like dirt.  But yeah...this was ringing all kinds of bells.

"That's why I wanted to make a new world.  For us.  Where we'll always be number 1 and number 2.

But I was so wrapped up in that, I got tricked by Queen.  And now...Noelle is going to suffer because of it.  Maybe I did just like being superior.  Maybe I am...just...an idiot."

You know...after all this time...I STILL hate that word so much.  Flowey's favorite insult back home.  Berdly's go-to here.   Even in Miranda, Aunt Violet would often earn admonishment in the form of the Jangese word, "baka".  Which, of course, means idiot.

What am I going to do about this word I'm never going to get away from?

"Don't cry, chicken-nugget-man!"  What?  Lancer was the one to speak up?

"All of us are idiots, too."

Yeah...I guess we kind of are...for sticking to this insane quest for so long, huh?

"Huh...?"

"...I mean, I dunno about everyone else, but...  Whether you're the smart kid or not.    We couldn't care less.  Screw up as much as you want, honestly.  It's not like our opinion of you can get much wo--"

Okay, that's laying it on thick.

"Susie!!"

Oh no.  Oh no.  Do not bring it in--

"Susie...you...you'd...accept me...?  Even if I'm dumb...?

"Uh...y...yeah?"

Live to regret it?  Very.  But what the heck.  There are worse fates.

"It's like when your sister gets cursed in Dragon Blazers 2.  Even if her stats suck she's still your party member."

"S...Susie!  A real Dragon Blazers 2 reference?"

So this was what it was like being on the other side of that.  I'd...forgotten what that felt like after 15 years of Miranda City.

"...Susie...you're not only kind, but a true gamer as well!"

Okay, don't get carried away, bud.

"Perhaps I underestimated you."

"{DON'T SAY THAT NOW.}"  Susie raged under her breath, between clenched teeth.

"But worry not, I have decided.  I will turn over a new leaf from now on... And FIGHT...for the side...OF IGNORANCE!"

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight...whatever...works.

"WE'RE NOT TELLING YOU TO BE STUPID."

"Aww come on, Susie.  My Aunt Violet always DARED to be stupid!"  I one-arm hugged the two of them together.  Okay, I was going to bring in.

"Hey!  Get your arm off me, you old fart!"

"Just, sometimes it's okay to make mistakes!"  Lancer interjected.

"Hahah...and make mistakes I will!"

What are you encouraging, Asriel?

"ONWARD!"

"Ughh.  Why couldn't Ralsei be here to teach the moral lesson?"

And with that everyone but Kris an I went on ahead.

I looked at them and shrugged.

Still...with the staring.  Staring with eyes I couldn't see.

They'd already gone ahead so it was just us.

The next room was a dining hall with two more of those giant butlers in the white tengu masks.

"This downstairs table will be for our special guests.  There's a dinner party on the second floor for everyone else."

Right.  Big castle.  Multiple floors.

"Everything here is tailored for you...right?"

Up ahead I could see Susie and Lancer.  They stopped in their tracks when they heard it.

"Th...that screaming...Ralsei!?"

And just up ahead was...

RALSEI!?!  WHAT THE HECK IS HE WEARING!?

"You don't have to scream just because you like my outfit."  He spoke to the large detail of butlers.

It wasn't him...it was the butlers.  What the...!  And they ran off.

What in the WORLD happened while we got separated and why is Ralsei wearing a TUXEDO!?

"O-oh!!  Kris, Susie!  Um, how may I serve you...?"

Cheerful.  Rosey cheeks.  Those glasses.  Looking all Harry Potter-ish.

"THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"

"Umm...Queen didn't have a room for me so...err...  She made me into one of her butlers instead..."

"You got captured that quick after heading into the castle ahead of me?"  AND changed your clothes that fast!?"

I had no words beyond that.

"Whatever.  Ralsei!  Can you heal Lancer!?"

"O-oh!"

"Haha...it's...cold..."

Suddenly...Goat Wizard was somber.

"Susie...I'm afraid...this is something I can't heal."

"Wh...what?"

Say it isn't so...

"Lancer is..."

As Susie set him down..he'd completely turned gray...and solid.

"Lancer...!  Lancer..!?"

"You see, each Dark Fountain creates a different "world".  A world whose Darkners reflect the will of its fountain.  But though Darkners can exist in their own worlds...They might not "belong" if they go to another one."

"So can we help him?"

"Yes, there is a way.  Castle Town's Fountain is made of pure darkness.  As long as it stays flowing any Darkner can live there.  So if we bring Lancer back to school, he'll be okay."

Wow...what a downer...any help from Ralsei's kingdom is anything but in the Cyber World.  Just when I was beginning to like...er...tolerate......you know I barely knew Lancer.  But that still doesn't mean I wasn't getting the feels.

"So we just need to get out of here, huh?"

"Right."

"Lancer, we'll be back for you, buddy."

"Your friend.  If we defeat Queen, can we save him?"

"Uh, yeah."

"With me out of the way, Queen... ...is going to force Noelle to do her bidding.  And if Noelle doesn't want to...  ...she might make her face into a robot one."

"..."

"Susie, could you assist me in saving Noelle?"

"...huh...?  M-me?"

"I just can't do it by myself.  But if you can help me...I have a plan."

"A plan?"

"I remember from my tour of this place.  There's a secret shortcut on the third floor.  While Kris is distracting Queen, Susie will take the shortcut to Noelle, and transfer her to me on the roof.  From there, I'll bring her to a safe hiding spot.  And together we can all defeat Queen!"

"Alright, sure, we'll give it a shot."

"Most excellent!  Then... See you on the roof, fellow agent..."

"Not a bad plan...I love it.  I'm excited to be a part of it!"

I was being presumptuous but mostly channeling Peter Venkman moments before he and the Ghostbusters decided to try their plan of crossing the streams to force the Manhattan Crossrift gate to Gozer's world shut moments before blowing the top floors off the New York Highrise and splattering Walter Peck with 100,000 gallons of molten marshmallow.

"Whoah!  Who said you could be part of this, old man?!"

"I can offer recon and a few extra toys."  I mused, igniting my NX Sabers...which IMMEDIATELY got Berdly gaping and drooling.

"J...just like the Super Special Laser Blade in--!"

"Yeah, I don't need to know the details.  But if we're doing this, we're doing this PACIFIST.  No casualties on either side.  GOT IT?  That means we spare our opponents.  No.  Disintegration."

I was channeling my inner Darth Vader, giving very specific orders to Boba Fett.

"R-right!  No disintegration."

"FINE!"  Susie grumbled.  "Not like we were going to kill anybody anyway..."

Off he went.

"Alright, let's go."  Susie started before pausing and glaring at Ralsei.

"WOULD YOU TAKE THAT OFF ALREADY!?"

"S-sorry!"  Ralsei sweat dropped before...sudden spin quick-change!  Oh.  So that's how he did it.  Huh.  Kind of reminded me of Bunnie...but with less smoke and more top spin.

Up ahead...a intersection of staircases...right in front of a giaaaaaaant pair of legs in knee-high, high-heel black boots.  I recognized them as Queen's own fashion statement.  What?  She had a giant statue commissioned of her in her honor?  Villain cliche number whatever...check.

Before those boots...a Save Star.  Good...I was staring to drift at that point...

A lot accomplished.  A lot learned.  A lot to think about.

"Looking at these legs fills you with a certain power."

And would probably fill Aunt Violet with intrigue as she would most likely wonder...what was inside the boots?  I hope I never figure out her foot fetish.

As the world was dissolving around me and I was being pulled back I scanned my surroundings as quickly as I could.  A bookshelf along the right staircase toward the east.  A doorway leading into "Cafe Color" in the staircase leading back from where we came from the west.

Further toward the south, in a...doorframe that jutted out from the wall that didn’t' really seem to go anywhere...orange flames licked out from underneath the crack under the door.

I could barley see down the hallway to the East and make out what might be a portrait gallery...?

I didn't have time to ponder it long because the world around me was stopping...pausing...and I was drifting up toward the light...

...and I awoke to Frisk and the others.

"Hmm."  I furrowed my brow as a I sat up.

"Productive.  But still a long way from mission accomplished."

"You look like...you have questions, Azzy."

"As I'm sure everyone in this room does.  But we're not going to get any answers beyond the ones we just got."

"Heh.  Chicken Bittle has another side to him.  Who knew?"

"Yeah...you never really know them until you put aside the resentment and rivalry  I guess that was something Aunt Violet always knew.  But we never gave her credit for her knowing exactly where to draw the line and stop the teasing and start the friendship?"

Silence.

"He's still annoying."

"Oh, totally, Chara.  Totally."

A giggle.

"Are y-you sure you want to k-k-keep doing this, your highness?  Each d-drift goes longer and longer.  What if it gets to the point we can't bring you b-b-back out?"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take.  Heroes can't think about themselves.  It's not about that.  It’s about being responsible for other people."

I think I was trying to channel a little of that Wachowski Special that the Donut Lord gave as advice to a certain "Blue Justice"?  But I don't think I was quite getting the quote right.  Maybe I was off my game.

Oh well.

Maybe some ice cream for all of us?  My treat.

I wonder if they have grape flavored...go a craving for that somehow.

"I know I definitely got a few more of these adventures left in me before this second chapter wraps up."

"Until then all we can do is wait."

"Yeah.  And...honestly...I think I'll have an easier time of that now that the cliffhanger is resolved and we can be at a proper stopping point."

"What's the plan now?"

"Ice cream.  Maybe take a little home for the sour flower."

Frisk giggled at my rhyme.

"Oh you like that?  That's a keeper, then."

Alphys shut down the equipment and saved all the captures to my secure research cloud server database.  Somehow this proof of DeltaRune's existence was going to come in handy.  At the very least serve as a guide if there was a third through seventh chapter like I suspected.

DeltaRune was on the shelf yet again.  For now...let's see what the world of Undertale has in store for us.

## Sub-Entry 196:  "April Showers...Yeah, You Know the Rest"

When April hits...it hits with a vengeance.

If you've read the title then yeah...you know what the weather is doing.

\*sigh\*

It was one of those days.  One of those days where when it rained?  It poured.

And yeah.  Downpours made it hard to be motivated to do anything.

One thing I could tell you...Flowey was unusually more active on rainy days.

Maybe it was the humidity giving him plenty of moisture to work with.

Maybe it was the depressing nature of it.

Maybe it was just him taking any moment to spite me...though that rarely worked if ever.

Whatever the case...yeah.  April Showers bring May Flowers.  There.  I said it.

"Awwww, why the long face?  Then again, you are a farm animal."

"You used to be one, too."

"Fssht.  You're livin' in the past, goat boy."

"And you're longing for it."

It was noticeably more challenging to banter with him on these days.  I think the moisture in the atmosphere gave him an edge somehow.  Like his non-existent neurons were firing on all cylinders.  Actually. When i think about it...where does his sentience lie if he's a plant that shouldn't have any semblance of nervous structure?

I mean I know it's Determination fueling him.  But...he was just an ordinary Golden Flower before he became...well...him.  Did the dust of my descendant...for...lack of a better term to describe my later timeline self...did his dust really have enough spark to animate him and make him self aware?

Maybe there was some basis to our dust retaining some degree of magical esper when we fall down.

Golly...it's so easy thinking about morbid stuff like this when it's stormy, rainy, and gloomy out.

But...pretending it's not there doesn't do me any favors.  It's just acting naive when I do know better.  When I am informed and not ignorant.  I can't see the world through rose-tinted glasses as much as I want to.  I have to acknowledge both sides.  Both points of view.  Both interpretations of reality.  Only then can I decide how to approach it.

Chara was away in the Soul Society.

Alphys was updating the research servers.

Undyne had to cancel on her martial arts lessons.

And the parents had their own obligations.  Just me and the floral specimen.

"Hmm."  I looked at my LP record of the Grateful Dead that Sally had gotten me long ago.  "Touch of Grey" would be a fitting song right about now but...why perpetuation the depression?  It was a good song but...I didn't want t hammer the greyness of the outside world into the ground.

I will say the music video was very popular with the Skelebros.  I had to explain a few times that it wasn't real skeletons playing on stage along side Jerry Garcia and company.  I don't know if that made things better or worse.  But you know...I think Pappy's starting to get the concept of skeletons that don't have the spark of life to them.  Both the replicas use for science rooms and...yeah...the more morbid real ones inside non-monster bodies; human, animal, or otherwise.

I think it gave Sans and excuse to "veg out" to something low key while his bro appreciated the skeleton imagery.

But if I may take that detour back to where I am now....

Yeah.  Not a lot to do or say and not a lot of work I can tinker with now.

\*sigh\*

I did say "not a lot" rather than "none".  I was tinkering with a plasma toroid from my Cyber Gate prototype; trying to get the ionizing rate just right with my D.I.Y. setup I had it hooked up to.

"So what now, fuzz face?  You trying to invent the electric donut or what?"

"No, no.  Just...take-home work from the lab.  Nothing you'd be interested in."

"First smart thing you said all day."

I wrinkled my snoot.  Normally I'd just let it slide off my thick skin when he made a comeback like that but...it felt more tiresome in this instance.

"If you can't say something nice..."  I muttered.

"And where's the fun in that?  I get a rare chance to see you a little more unhinged than usual and you think I'm going to pass that up?"

"No, because that would be an admission you actually have a conscience and that you can still feel something."

Flowey scoffed at that.  He still didn't like being reminded despite the fact he set himself up.

"Well what I'm feeling is the need to needle you until I get something juicy to savor."

"Do I have to explain what a non-disclosure agreement is and why we all signed one at the lab?"

"Riiiiiiight.  Whatever you say, James Pond."

"It's Bond.  James Bond.  Double-O seven."  I don't know why I felt like correcting him.  Though in all fairness, he DID by chance reference an old Sega Genesis game about fish in a tuxedo.

Also, the moment made me smile as I realized I had quoted Her Majesty's best agent's catchphrase from more entries in the long movie series than I could count.  Now I felt like digging out that old tuxedo Jon made for me a while back.  Honestly, I did think I looked better in the Sean Connery edition than the Daniel Craig suit-and-tie.

If there was one good thing to this, at least my train of thought was more flexible during these rainy days.  I mean I had just gone from thinking about the weather, to where Flowey's brain was to James Bond.  That was a quite a combo.

You know, the last movie in Craig's run as 007 had unpacked itself from Violet's collective of compressed data files in the NXS board a while back.  Maybe it would be a good movie selection for Frisk and I some night.

And then I just realized it was kind of wishful thinking that Frisk might stop over.  I mean...who'd go out in this rain?

"Missing your giiiiirlfriend?"

"Careful about the taunts.  Or some day she's going to be your sister-in-law."  I decided to tease him with what felt outlandish in the moment.

"You wouldn't dare!"  Flowey furrowed his brow.

Then again...why couldn't Frisk and I get engaged some day?

Slow it down, Azzy.  You're still just dating.  I mean it hasn't even been a year since your first...that is to say...umm....

Oh boy.

Though...it would be nice if I had some human company right about now.  While I wouldn't mind Chara's banterous mischief...I think I was wishing more for Frisk to show up.  Banter just didn't have the appeal as the tender, loving care of someone who'd given her heart (but not her SOUL) to me.

Heh....yeah...having trouble being clever at this moment.

I'd noticed that.  Rainy...gloomy days...they just seemed to drain my natural abilities.  Like I was stuck in second or first gear instead of drive.  Like...I wasn't at my best on these days.  Maybe it was the mood, maybe it was the muggy humidity, maybe it was just all in my head.  But it honestly felt like it was harder to move, harder to think, and just harder to get out of bed on these kind of days.

Despite that...I still made the effort to force myself into seeing it from the other point of view.  That the rain was necessary.  That the rain served a purpose.  Obviously, it did.  Precipitation was part of the cycle known as weather patterns.  They were how the planet rejuvenated itself.

But it wasn't just the logical sense.  It was just what they could teach us in school about the very basics of our world (or most Terran worlds).

I had to really make an effort to appreciate the other aspects.  The less popular/unpopular opinions and such.  This was clearly where I needed to turn that frown upside-down, right?

I mean...there were good things about the rain that weren't inherently obvious?

I mean, heck, the song, "Escape" A.K.A. the Pina Colada Song even said so in the lyrics.  Getting caught in the rain could be something to be liked or loved.  Though whether it's comparable to an alcoholic drink that contained pineapple and coconut milk or erm...making love at midnight was a matter of personal preference.  Though I could relate to the feel of the ocean.  And really...as healthy and vegan as it was, even I had to cringe at the thought of tofu.

"...!!!"

"What?  No witty remark, Flowey.  I thought you'd have more to say."

As I turned around, who should I see but Frisk, playfully covering Flowey's eyes from behind.

"HEY!  I CAN'T SEE!"

And then came the string of stuff I'd have to wash the weed's mouth out with soap for later on."

"Rude!"  Frisk pouted as she uncovered the flower's face.

"You!"  He whirled around to see Frisk waving with a cheesy grin on her face.

She hadn't taken off her raincoat but she did leave her umbrella on the coat rack.

It then completely escaped my attention that I'd given Frisk a key to my house just so she could check up on Flowey and Spot while I was away for extended periods.

Did I say it was wishful thinking, hoping she were here?

Well then... 願いが叶う.  (Negai ga kanau.)  That is to say...wishes do come true.

Haven't said that in a while, have I?  Then again...I didn't exactly have  T-shirt or gi jacket that had that new Rabbotou Dojo credo.  It was kind of weird when the catchphrase of the era wasn't driven into the ground.  How many times had "ホープは決して一人で歩くことはない。(Hōpu wa kesshite hitori de aruku koto wanai.), rather“Hope never walks alone."or "夢は永遠です。" (Yume wa eiendesu.), rather "Dreams are forever."  been said in the previous parts of my life?

I guess I shouldn't complain.  They were personal mottos...credos that served me well back then.  This was my creed now.

"I'm glad you came by, Frisk.  I was...getting a little down in the dumps."

Frisk hung up her raincoat.

"It is a little wet out there."

"A little...?"  I winced a little at the rumbling thunder outside that followed up the lightning flashes.

"I'll be fine.  That is...if it's okay if I dry off and warm up here."

"Before you catch a cold?  By all means!"

And so after a bit of toweling off in the bathroom and coming back in my extra bathrobe and shower sandals......um......I'm not blushing!  You're blushing!   Gah!

I could hear the whir and hum of the drier in the laundry room going.

She had a seat on the couch with me.

And then there was a bit of silence.

Awkward silence.

"So."

"So."

More awkward silence.

"Hey...could I trouble you to serenade me?"

"You mean...like on the guitar?"

Frisk nodded.

"I like when you play and...I could use something--"

"Acoustic, right?"

"You read my mind."

Well.  I had said guitar right next to the sofa in its stand.  Why not?

But...what to play and sing?

After a bit of thought...I came up with something.  I could only think of one old song that was appropriate on a night like this.  Well...I did say I'd try to see things from a positive perspective.  If you pretend something long and hard enough, you eventually believe it?  Well...why not believe that you love a rainy night?

Hey...that's perfect.

"This one's called 'I Love a Rainy Night' and it's by Eddie Rabbitt.  Sound good?"

Frisk nodded and laid her head on my shoulder but not in such a way that impeded my ability to strum.

***"Well, I love a rainy night***

***I love a rainy night***

***I love to hear the thunder***

***Watch the lightning***

***When it lights up the sky***

***You know it makes me feel good***

***Well, I love a rainy night***

***It's such a beautiful sight***

***I love to feel the rain on my face***

***Taste the rain on my lips***

***In the moonlight shadow***

***Showers wash all my cares away***

***I wake up to a sunny day***

***'Cause I love a rainy night***

***Yeah, I love a rainy night***

***Well, I love a rainy night***

***Well, I love a rainy night, ooh***

***I love a rainy night***

***I love a rainy night***

***I love to hear the thunder***

***Watch the lightning***

***When it lights up the sky***

***You know it makes me feel good***

***Well, I love a rainy night***

***It's such a beautiful sight***

***I love to feel the rain on my face***

***Taste the rain on my lips***

***In the moonlight shadow***

***Puts a song in this heart of mine***

***Puts a smile on my face every time***

***'Cause I love a rainy night***

***Yeah, I love a rainy night***

***Ooh, I love a rainy night***

***Yeah, I love a rainy night, ooh ooh***

***Showers wash all my cares away***

***I wake up to a sunny day***

***'Cause I love a rainy night***

***Yeah, I love a rainy night***

***Well, I love a rainy night***

***I love a rainy night***

***Well, I love a rainy night***

***You can see it in my eyes***

***Yeah, I love a rainy night***

***'Cause it makes me high***

***Ooh, I love a rainy night***

***You know I do***

***Yeah yeah, I love a rainy night***

***I love a rainy night***

***You can see it in my eyes***

***I love a rainy night***

***It makes me high***

***Well, I love a rainy night***

***And I love you, too***

***Yeah, I love a rainy night***

***Well, I love a rainy night***

***Well, I love a rainy night***

***I love a rainy night"***

I started to lower the guitar when I noticed Frisk had fallen asleep was now using me as a makeshift pillow.

"....."

Flowey deadpanned for a moment before saying a single word.

"Done."

And then he pulled himself under the soil.  I think he really WAS afraid that Frisk and I would tie the knot.

Heh.

We have plenty of our lives left before we make that decision.  Right now, we're in a comfortable place.

Was...this okay, though?  For her to slumber in my house...on my sofa...on...me?

Just...be responsible, Azzy.   Just be...

\*yawn\*

...yeah...who knew a day of doing almost nothing could be so tiring?

I'm sure...this is...fine for two grown adults.

As I looked upon her sleeping form...I took a moment to appreciate how beautiful she was.

Just a moment.

And then I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer as I was barely able to get the guitar back in its stand before passing out.  I think...I wrapped my arm around her...but I wasn't sure.

Whatever the case...

I'm sure we'd figure it out...in the morning.  Maybe then...the sun'll be out.

## Sub-Entry 197:  "Festival of the Rabbit Comes to Undertale"

Boy, oh boy.  I've been waiting forever for this one to come around again.  It was a good day to appreciate the species known as lagomorphia...aka...rabbits and hares.

As I knew from sensei, way back when, this was a holiday that had its roots in religion.  A couple of them, like Christmas, did.  While I won't get into the story or the history or the controversy or whatever...I will get into the fact that...it's  day for chocolate and candy.  And that was all I needed to win Chara over.

The chocolate and the rabbit symbolism were superficial, though.  Really...it was all about renewal.  About springtime finally arriving.  And yes...about new life and new energy.  What else but a rabbit could symbolize it?  Well...obviously rabites.  And seeing as how I only had Spot on this world...he had the monopoly on the latter.  But there were definitely rabbit monsters in Newest Home.

One fond memory I had was being an honorary rabbit at a time before my horns came in.  So it was easy to mistake me for a rabbit with my droopy, hanging ears.

I recall using clear plastic braces to prop them up at times to give me that more rabbit-like appearance that Bunnie and Aunt Violet had.  The natural droop also gave that "bent ears" look that made rabbit hybrids distinguished compared to Viera--whose ears stuck completely straight up.

I can definitely tell it was going to be a great day when I wake up to see the cluster of Cadburry Creme Eggs laying out in a small thermal container of ice to keep them from melting at room temperature.  As amusing as it WOULD be to say that the actual Easter Bunny left them for me...I must confess I left them for myself late last night.

"Time to put the ears up."

I didn't mean it literally.  Especially after I was talking about the clear ear clamps to keep them standing up as an "honorary rabbit".

By this point, our town became an unofficial mecca for rabbit/bunny/hare monsters who definitely felt appreciated thanks to my efforts of bringing this holiday to Undertale.

It was a good time to be bunny.  Or at least resemble one.

I actually...thought about getting Frisk a full-body bunny costume.  Like the feety-pajamas kind...just as a joke gift.  See if we'd get a laugh out of it.  But...then I had second thoughts that it might be inappropriate somehow.

Though...in all fairness, if it were Aunt Vi, she'd get her a...different kind of "bunny costume"...and I guarantee that would be VERY inappropriate.  And no doubt Volt would most certainly not care if Hugh Heffner approved.  Oh boy...

Wouldn't you know that she'd show up at my door actually WEARING a full-body bunny costume and carrying a Festival of the Rabbit basket full of colored eggs.

"Uh...?"

"I kind of lost a bet to Chara--"  Was all that she got out before my sister, in her gigai body, lightly shoved past and asked one thing:

"When's the chocolate already, Azz?"

"Eheheheheh...good to see you both.   It cool if I do NOT post any pictures or a transcript of this conversation on social media?"

"Where's the fun in that?"  Chara mused.

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

"I'm going to be asking about the bet before this day is done, aren't I?"

"Better you than Flowey."

Oh man.  Flowey is not going to go easy on her--

"BWAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

...called it.

"He's all heart."  I wrinkled my snoot and crossed my arms.

It was one of those times that Flowey and Chara were on the same page.  On the bright side it did mean Flowey was quick to forget about his own Chara.  I guess you could interpret that as accepting my Chara as his own.   A step in the right direction...I think.

"You know, you don' HAVE to wear that if you don't--"

"Oh no.  She is TOTALLY wearing it.  Tell them about the rest of the bet, Frisky dearest."

"I...uh...have to volunteer to be the--"

I guess the equivalent on Earth would be the Easter Bunny.  But...we still hadn't agreed on what to call him/her/them on our world, yet.  Since it was Festival of the Rabbit and had no tie-in to its religious roots.

Then again there weren't any back in Miranda City.  It was all about the Western celebration of the dawn of spring, much as Setsubun was the Eastern welcoming of spring.  It was about new life.  New hope.  New promise of love and fertility.......and I can't stress how much that second one made me a little pink in the cheeks while resisting the urge to read into it.  Eheheheheh.

Why is it so hard to keep things G or PG-rated in my journal?

"Oh.  I see."

Awkward silence until Flowey ruined it by saying:

"It just gets better."

I really should be glad that he's not grumping and finding amusement in things.  But really...does him being in a good mood HAVE to come at someone else's expense?

So later that day...

"Oh my!"

You couldn't have stopped Mom's giggling if you moved Heaven and Earth.

All I could do was pat Frisk on the shoulder and support her.

"Hey.  You...wouldn't mind having a cohort to help you through this?"

I had managed to makeshift a way to prop my ears up in rabbit-like fashion and put in some prosthetic incisors as well as add some long whiskers with some make-up advice from Metatton.  At least if Frisk suffers, she won't suffer alone.

"I'd like that."

So a morning of children sitting on Frisk's lap and getting their picture taken.  This honestly felt more in tune with how Easter on Earth was celebrated when it focused on the commercial image and less on its ties to the Bible.

And of course having a very public breakfast with our...um....Bunny of Honor...certainly drove that home.

I dare say Grillby does know how to make really good scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

Afterward came the egg hunt.

"Nyeheheheh!!!"

Papyrus took to it like a moth to a light bulb.  Heh.  Who could blame him for being so giddy.  I think he was more glad to be active and searching high and low for hidden colored eggs sure seemed to align with what he considered "training".

"I still don't get this holiday thing."  Undyne crossed he arms.  "It's all way to cutsie to me."

Oh well.  The holiday wasn't for everyone.

But then again...

"KAWAIIIIIII!!!"

Sometimes you just needed to find your niche audience.  And considering how many merchandizing deals resulted from only a year or two of me introducing this holiday...?  It was inevitable Festival of the Rabbit got its anime spin.  And that mean resin kits, full-size body pillows, and other things you had to go on Nipponese sites just to buy from overseas.  And Alphys practically corned the market as a consumer.

Though admittedly...Frisk did take an interest in the magical girl taken on a Festival of the Rabbit bunny.

Why did I suddenly have an image of Mega Man's sister, Roll in such a costume...with a baseball cap with bunny ears and a cute matching jacket and clodhopper rabbit foot boots.  Was I channeling another of those alternate universe things like Volt used to do?

Even Metatton found a way to exploit the holiday to put on a show...which...harkens back to my earlier comment about Violet's idea of a "bunny costume".

Thankfully he didn't make it...too racy.  Just enough to cater to a demographic, as Konata Izumi would say.  And that was my Lucky Star moment.

Alphys really brought out the anime train of thought in me, y'know?

But yeah...I guess Mettaton filled in the celebrity role that Aunt Sally used to fill when she and Team Acorn would drop in and sign autographs for the kids (and sometimes the older, die-hard fans).  I mean April was still the off season and she had an other month or two before having to go back to Technopolis.

I've really got Aunt Sally on the brain despite this day being Bunnie's big favorite day.

"Oh, sensei...what are you up to right now?"  I had my moment of melancholy.

Moment over.  Back to the joy.

I think another aspect I appreciated about Festival of the Rabbit was the shift to bright, pastel colors.  Those creamy blends of light green, blue, pink, yellow, orange, purple...just about any color.  When taken in  whole...the world just seemed like one big but subtle tie-dyed shirt.  Was there any better way to express how the shift from winter just made the world seem to come back to life again?  Obviously the buds forming on the trees and the flowers finally blooming again was the tell that it wasn't snow season any more.  Yet, we had a way of just enhancing that effect as we react to the changing seasons.  Also, it was getting warmer out and we would be seeing less grey and gloomy and more blue sky and warm sun.

Have I sold anyone on the joys of spring yet?

"Chuu!"  Of course I had to bring Spot.  And...letting him be out in public turned out to be a good move.  He was a big hit with kids and women.  Though...I wonder if I was going to eventually start getting questions of how anyone else could get a rabite as a pet?

That...I had no answers for.  Spot was still the only one.  And I felt bad about that.

"Chuuu!"

"Yeah, you're right.  I'll stop being a worrywart about things I can't help."

A short pause before I added "...yet."

Oh yeah.  I was still focused on my long-term goal.  But that was for another time.

You know, a previous time I took Spot out for a walk, we did run into that girl from Snowdin who was out "walking her brother"...?

That...made an interesting conversation about whether I was walking my brother.  Eheheh...I just said it was complicated and had a brief chuckle.

Anyway...back to the now.

I think one thing that was new this year was the set-up of a small carnival with a carousel and a Ferris wheel.

That...had me thinking back to the Dark World...to DeltaRune......to Noelle and the conversation in front of the flier for the Ferris wheel at the carnival.

Patience, Azzy.  You'll help rescue her.  You'll figure this out in another month.

Frisk and Chara joined me at that moment.  Chara wasn't exactly subtle about how much chocolate she had by that point.

"Uh...you got quite a bit of...y'know...on your--"  I pointed to how blatantly stained with melted chocolate her face was.

"Really, sister dear.  All those years of you telling me I'm such a kid but you unwrap an 80% cocoa dark chocolate bar and you're right back in grade school."

"What was that?"  Chara gave me a glare.

"Guys!  No fighting!"  It was...a challenge to take Frisk seriously when she had yet to take the costume off.

Oh boy.

I wonder if gigai bodies can get cavities?  If so, I don't know HOW Chara's going to pay Urahara for maintenance on HER salary.

The day eventually wound down.

"Every one of these holidays I keep saying it was a perfect day.  And...well...it just always seems to feel like it."

Frisk finally got out of costume.  And she was actually wearing a pretty spring/summer dress with sandals.  She was carrying a matching sun hat, too.  I'm sure if I had spent time with Frisk when she was younger I'd be used to seeing her in her striped jumper and those jorts.  I'm told her fashion sense hadn't changed since she was pint-sized so...now that she was an adult, I was seeing that she was definitely more feminine than she must've come across initially.

After seeing some of Volt's photos of previous timelines, no wonder why everyone thought she identified as non-binary.  Then again. Not all of those photos were of the same Frisk.  So...I guess I just made a moot point.

"You've certain made things run smoother as the Ambassador between monsters and humans.  This is another holiday that's just brought us all closer together."

"Yeah, I can't take credit for inventing them...just importing them."

"Valentines Day and now Festival of the Rabbit..."  Chara finished snacking.  "How long again til Halloween?"

Anything for a good chocolate.

Laughter.

Flowey just rolled his eyes and looked deadpan unimpressed.  At least he wasn't being as smug and poking fun as Frisk.

"Well...same time again next year?"

"You bet."

"Keep the chocolate coming ever one of these holidays and I won't complain."

"You might want to exercise moderation before--"

"Before WHAT dear brother.  You better not be implying I'm putting on weight!"

"What?  N-no, I mean...yeah, it's not healthy if you go overboard--"

"Chara, can you ease up on rattling your brother?"

Oh.  She was just messing with me.  How I fall for that one again?  Man sometimes I never really grow out of that naive goat phase of mine.

We went our separate ways and the rest of the day was uneventful.

As an after thought I took off my make-up additions and let my ears hang back down again.  And I deployed my horns.  Yeah...pretending to be a rabbit was cute for a day...but I'll always be a goat hybrid.  I'll always be a Dreemurr.

"Happy Festival of the Rabbit, sensei.  Hope yours was as great as ours."  I looked out the window and up into the sky.

Then I closed the curtains and took the rest of the day to rest.

## Sub-Entry 198:  "Shoot to Reboot the OGPX!"

It was a slow day in the lab.  Slower for Alphys, to be honest.

I'd noticed that the boredom was starting to get to her.

We'd been making quota for research goals for the days, pretty early, leaving us with few projects on the shelf to tinker with.  Too much time on the clock to use up constructively.  I'm sure some of us were tempted to waste it with distractions; an online game one computer or that phone call that goes from 5 minutes to 65 minutes while trying to hide it as a work call.  But if I did any of those things, I'd never have my blue-eyes integrity virtue manifest any time soon.

That said...I thought back to something I'd offhandedly thought about or said something about.

It was getting close to April 25th.

Aunt Sally's birthday.

Man, did I miss those guys.  And now I wasn't even trying to hold back how much.  Life in Miranda City was good.   Life in Undertale, now, is good.  But honestly...was it getting too greedy hoping and wishing that I could have both?

No.  I'd already driven off that bridge before.  Besides it wasn't just for me.  Everyone in town.  Everyone who'd listen to me on Undertale, I was offering the chance to see the other side of eternity.  I wanted to share my other world but...it was a long, slow climb until we had the means.  We had the tools and the talent...but not the equipment, yet.  We were still building toward there.

Back to Sally, before I get off track...

Sally was seemingly easy to figure out on the surface.  She and Ripper clicked in the adrenaline rush category; but she'd never stop lecturing him on exercising proper safety protocol.  I think that was her saving grace as to why she didn't annoy Chameleon any more than she did.  Plus...despite her free-spirt, tom-boy personality, she was still one of the responsible ones.  Gods know we had Violet, Jon, and Honey to fit the opposite category of those who goof off, wisecrack, and pull pranks.  Yet, Sally hid that other life of hers pretty well.  The one where she was a princess and heir to the defunct Ecotropian Kingdom.  The Monarchy that was the Royal Family of Acorn had been believed dead and buried and that was just the what Sally preferred the world to think.

Anyway...her life afterward was dedicated to the OGPX.  And quite frankly she was never happier now that she could be her own self even if it meant accepting that she and Sonic were fundamentally the same at their core.  Sally...just rebelled against it during her childhood because she felt she was expected to be a teacher's pet and a goody-two-shoes and a Daddy's little girl (who'd never inherit the throne...let's face it, Maximillian Acorn or at least his variant was kind of a jerk according to Volt's research).

The time as a speed demon and Volt's terrain master...I came to see her as my first superhero to admire.  As I got older...I had a chance to try some of those powers of her myself.  OGPX gear was...pretty cool.

By the time I was a young adult and attending college...I had a set of my own.   And a handle of my own.  "Solar Blossom".  It was kind of...flowery...to say the least.  But it was my call sign.  And I embraced it.

On a whim I decided to bring my BioWare and OverTech to the lab to see if I could properly tune and maintenance it.

It didn't even occur until I reached the facility that I'd overlooked a PRETTY major detail.

Did our world even have a Bio-Field?   Did the Morphin Grid extend to our world?

That's a pretty big thing to overlook.  Glad I realized this issue before I even thought about giving my old gear a test run.

Obviously if we DIDN'T have a Bio-Field, the gear would be useless.  But...still...I had hope.  I had a dream.  And I did very much wish to step one more time into my OGPX Suit and Overdrive Sandals.  I really wanted to hear the whir of those quantum turbines again.  I'd really like to remember what it was like to have all of my native abilities super-enhanced to levels that could handle the INTENSE stresses of moving at that speed.

Let me break down just one issue...or two or three out of a PLETHORA of them.

First...metabolic demand.  With the bio-field rebalancing the way our bodies produce and use energy...we'd not only be racing to accelerated starvation without the BioTech...we'd also be burning out our metabolic processes and running ourselves to hyper-accelerated aging and eventually death.  Sort of like...what happened with Johnny Quick during that Justice League thing while Bat Man was fighting Owl Man in another dimension.

Second...at that speed, the friction alone would grind our bones to dust; that is if the heat generated didn't manage to get the calcium to reach its ignition point.  Seriously.  Ask yourself how hot it has to be for BONE to burn to cinders.  Moving at speeds above mach 2?  That might actually do it without serious bio-overhauling like what the BioField was designed to do.

And too many other problems that could go wrong in a hurry if we didn’t' have all these complicated systems to circumvent those issues...to bend the rules to our will or break them entirely.

"Man...you sure gave me a lot of good memories."  I admired the OGPX logo; modified from the old "Boukenger"/"Operation Overdrive" emblem.

And that was no coincidence.

This tech, on our world, was developed as an off shoot of Power Ranger technology.  Dr. K was far ahead of her time to come up with this.  Andrew Hartford even came up with his own take during Operation Overdrive.  And yes...I wasn't going to leave out Nate's own designs with the Beast Morphers technology that integrated animal DNA into the powerful liquid energy form, Morph-X...or is it Morphex?

Thinking back, there were other instances of bio-enhancing suits I'd come across before.  Our friend, Virgil Hawkins AKA Static Shock had an interesting case with some covert superheroes hiding in plain sight as pro basketball players.  Heh.  The secret word was "Point Man".  Though Sally would probably prefer "Spin Drive".

I think I've spent enough time monologuing about what OGPX gear was and what it did and how it did so.

Anyway...back to Alphys.

I think it was time I shook things up with her.

"Alphys?  Whatcha' doin'?"  I was sounding very sing-songy and very sly about it as I came up behind her.

"Oh!  It's you, your highness."

"Asriel.  Don't 'your highness' me around here."

"R-right.  Sorry."

"It's a habit I know you're not going to break any time soon so...I can't get bent out of shape over it.  So...what you up to?"

\*sigh\*  "Mostly boring myself into a rut with mundane data."  Alphys hunched over and rested her chin on the computer table, in front of her keyboard and just hung her arms by her sides, in a "this is so dull it's painful" sort of way.

"Come on, Allie.  We're making brilliant innovations.  Not everything can be as hands-on as building the world's first "robot with a soul"."

"Asriel...p-please don't bring that up.  I still c-can't get a word in edgewise to c-confess the t-truth to Asgore that he's n-n-not even a real robot.  He's j-just a ghost possessing an object.  Just...a really snazzy looking body that wouldn't even have the computing power of a c-c-c-calculator if his soul just left it behind."

"Alphys, a word of advice.  Sometimes a fake invention that can outperform anyone or anything can give people more real hope than a real invention that just lets us down when it underperforms.  I mean...yeah, I know it's still the last of your secrets to confess and it's a little dishonest letting Mettaton keep up the charade...but the feelings he inspires are still very real.  Let them all believe what they may if it doesn't end up hurting them in the end.  If Lady Destiny wants the truth to come out...she'll arrange it so.  And when she does, she'll have faith that you'll pick up on the signs of how to do it as painlessly and gently as possible."

My advice seemed to help.

"So.  Since you're in need of a challenge..."

"Hmm?"  Alphys didn't look up.

I startled her suddenly as I suddenly and unceremoniously dropped my gear onto her desk with a sizeable impact.

"GAAAAH!"

"Feel like analyzing something new?"

"Y-y-you about s-s-scared me to death--"  Alphys suddenly stopped in mid thought.  Then her eyes widened.  She was intrigued.

"Th...this is...!"

It took a few moments for her to process...before she realized this stuff looked...familiar.

"I've...s-seen this equipment before."  She poked at the metal sandals.

"Your friend...Sally?  She was wearing something like this but it was mostly blue.  This is...mostly white."

"Color aside...it's functionally the same."

"What...what is this...?"  Alphys sat up straight and swiveled around in her computer chair before scrutinizing every inch of it.

"This is my Overdrive Grand Prix OverTech, BioWare, and Overdrive Sandals.  The gear I wear when I used to race Aunt Sally."

"Seems like...it's some kind of...enhancement apparatus.  Like it's designed to--"

"Draw out a person's natural abilities, recycle that power in a feedback loop geared to radically amplify the native abilities, the strength, durability, and overall aspects of a living body.  In short...a do-it-yourself kit to make a superhero.   Run at speeds exceeding various multiples of mach speed.  Jump over tall buildings.  Withstand a heck of a lot of abuse.  And turbocharge your reflexes and overall physical performance.  The perfect synergy of man or hybrid and machine without the two actually melding and integrating into one entity.  Working as one but remaining separate.  Yeah.  That's Overdrive Grand Prix.  Taking the evolution of sentient beings to the very pinnacle of its true potential without permanently modifying it."

"OH M-M-MY GOD!  THIS IS...!"

Then I decided to nip it in the bud and address the...fatal flaw.

"There's...just one problem  I...don't know if this world has the energy grid that can be used to run it."

"Hmm?"

"Back on...VGM-098...our world had a mysterious Bio-Field energy matrix that ran the whole planet in a spherical grid.

This same morphing grid was used by legions of superheroes known as the Power Rangers.  Using this great power, they could "morph" into battle-suited heroes to fight evil.

Our world repurposed it for use in a powered sport called the Overdrive Grand Prix.  I could spend days explaining it all...everything from the rules of the race to the promotion and such but...all things in good time."

"Oh...I s-see."

"I figure with you and I collaborating on analysis we could check our world to see if there's a compatible energy type we can use to energize it."

I rubbed my chin as I did.

"I do have various samplings of the Morphin Grid Bio-Field energy as well as other alternative energy types we could try...but realistically I don't know if any of them will work."

I set down a large sample container of Morph-X I had saved despite the fact that it had all gone back to the Morphin' Grid following Venjix/Evox's defeat and the city being converted to newer alternative energy sources.

"A scientist at Grid Battleforce tried to make this work with old morpher technology; tried combining it with animal DNA to get various Ranger gear to work again but...it turned out to be a bitter failure."

Alphys was already batting about a million thoughts and possibilities in her head as I showed how to access the various internals and open the very subtly hidden panels.

"But...you have ideas, don't you?"

"A lot.  So far none feel like they're going to pan out.  If only I had some aspect of our world that everyone could take advantage of...if only..."

I scrolled through the data windows of my NXS Switchboard in tablet mode before I accidently clicked the wrong file folder.

"Hmm?"

I'd accidentally accessed Volt's and my logs from when we were in the alternate VideoLand.  Specifically while we were paying Dr. Wright a visit.

I remember seeing something confiscated from Dr. Wily's lab (better known as Skull Castle) that I didn't think of before...but then I remembered.

The Power Vacuum.  Designed to draw in and intensify.....Competition Energy...!

"Asriel?"

I was silent and still for a bit.

Then a smile slowly crawled across my face.

"You got something?"

"I just might..."

I remember the four giant...insane energy jars with the pink liquid and electrode setups inside...crackling with energy.  And that energy built up to impressive levels after Wily instructed Metal Man to challenge Eggplant Wizard and King Hippo to combat.

'Don't blow your stem, indeed, Eggplant.' he says.  'All you have to do is defeat Metal Man' he says.

Normally, given how much of a wimp that Metal Man is by comparison to the other robot masters on our Mega Man's world...I'd figure that wasn't too much to ask.  Really.  You get the Metal Blade and you can tear just about everything in Mega Man 2 apart with ease.  Why even have the other seven weapons when you got this?  Then I remember...it's Eggplant Wizard.  He should be SO DEAD when facing down a weapon like freakin' METAL BLADE.

But it was the energy build-up I remember.  And Wily's words: "If I can get THIS much energy from one robot and that idiotic vegetable of yours, just think what I can do with Captain N and his N-Team."

And that was when I realized the true simplicity of Competition Energy.  As long as they compete, the technology could be powered.  But...that was VideoLand.  This was Undertale.

HOWEVER...!

...there was one resource our 'game' didn't have a shortage of.  And I realized that with a few revisions...a few adaptations...

...presuming that at least SOME things of our world were still in place despite Frisk and I breaking the game...

...what if we could use the power of Determination to run the OGPX gear?

I explained my idea to Alphys.

After a bit of thought...and getting over her old fears of using Determination to reanimate what were now the Amalgamates...

"I th-think we should try it."

And now we had a new side-project to keep us occupied for time to come.  Something to challenge us in between my long and winding road to get a working Cyber Gate big enough for Undertale to bridge the gap back to my other home.

"What do you think?  Can we adapt Wily's Competition Energy power vacuum to draw in Determination and transform it into a power equivalent to the Morphin' Grid?"

This...was something even Dr. Lynx had never considered.  And I just came up with it on the spot.  And Dr. Alphys would most assuredly help me find a way to make it possible.

"But...if we succeed...what do we do with it?"

"Alphys...what do you think?  We're going to start our own Overdrive Grand Prix League here in Undertale."

I grinned from ear to floppy ear.

With a subtle gasp, Alphys put her hands to her cheeks and tried to resist the urge to squee.  She was on board.

The goal was for me to be able to use my old suit again and use that as a template to make new iterations.  From there we'd adapt it to work on humans.  See if they could make use of the technology.  Many of them, like Frisk, had Determination to spare.

Now...the question was if we could make this gear work for monsters, too?  Maybe...adapt it to run off of magic?  But it would have to work as a feedback loop or this gear could end up sucking every last drop of magic out of a monster.  And if a monster didn't have any magic left...

Yeah.  That would be bad.

Still...this was a pretty good endeavor.  And more than that...I think Undyne would sure like to see another sport added to our world.

You know, Dy-Dy and Sally were like two peas in a pod when they met.  I couldn't think of anyone else who'd want to try this tech first than Undyne.  She may be crazy strong to begin with but...I kind of wanted to know...what would someone like Undyne be like with their abilities super enhanced.

Then I worried that we could have the fish-lady equivalent of Saitama and she'd be...just too strong.

Oh boy.  We have a LOT of details to work out before that day comes.

"Well.  Here's to our next big innovation."  I was bending my rule about food in the lab but...you know that can of soda I'd teleported before finally passed the last of its checklist.  I was absolutely certain there'd be no side effects.  So I chilled it for a bit and saved it for this instance.

"Cheers, Dr. Alphys."

She opened her own rare carbonated beverage imported from the other side of the world and we both clinked cans together before enjoying our toast.

"Cheers, Dr. Asriel."

Mmm.  That's good soda.

## Sub-Entry 199:  "Spring Has Sprung, the Grass is 'Ris":

...or however that old saying goes.  I can imagine Heathcliff the cat asking "I wonder where the birdies is" in follow up.

Heh.  I think this was the first time I addressed "other Garfield" when I thought about Garfield Arcade's prime counterpart in another universe out there.   But seriously.  Orange cat with black stripes.  But somewhat different in the fact that he was streetwise and had a tendency to bully dogs, steal fish from the market, and had an intense hatred for whatever music instrument his kid owner was practicing.  And dating a cute little white puffball named Sonia.

Though, in all honesty this wasn't COMPLETELY the first time Volt or I referenced this.  Way back in the X-Vault we dug out a certain red and white Cadillac that had been sitting inconspicuously in a junk yard prior to...yet was in working order even back then because it was the vehicle of choice of the Cadillac Cats; as I described...the cousin felines (not literally) of Heathcliff; occupying the same town, on the same world, in the same universe.

In fact I'm pretty sure there was implied crossover but Volt would be able to comment on that.  What I'd been told about them was they were a group of vagrant strays that formed a gang under diminutive but sly-as-a-fox, scruffy orange cat in the golfer cap, Riff-Raff--dating surprisingly attractive female cat employed at a music store, Cleo.  In R.R.'s group was this  universe's answer to Big the Cat in the form of oversized, dim-witted, lovable muscle head, "Mungo"; rappping/rhyming white cat on roller skates and goggles, "Wordsworth", and slightly untrustworthy and cynical "Hector".

To date they occupied a research folder in my archives marked "Cats & Company".  Which made me often think of Oliver & Company--yet another universe where a cat got into mischief--often described as a 90's take on Oliver Twist.  I remember doing that choreographed song-and-dance number with the whole town to Billy Joel's "Why Should I Worry" while indirectly giving Al Dente the business.  Heh heh...good times.  Not for him, in all likelihood but you know what I say about karma.  What goes around comes around.

Back on topic...yeah.  It was getting to be spring again.  And frankly I just couldn't wait for it, all winter.  ...actually I could since I have the patience virtue but...you know.  Patience doesn't diminish the eagerness.  It just suppresses the urge to act upon it.  Hey, all things come to he who waits and patience is the jewel on the crown of wisdom?  Remember that?  Remember that Zelda quote from my childhood days?  Er...a bit awkward that I'm not really asking anyone in particular.  I don't even know who's ever going to READ this journal of mine.  I do hope if someone does that it's entertaining.

Okay meta-jokes over.

So.  Day off all forms of work.  Lab's actually overstaffed today.

Sometimes you just don't know what to do with time off.

I mean...It's a beautiful day outside.  Birds are singing.  Flowers are blooming.

...I think I'm going to enjoy the great outdoors.

Hahah...psyche!  Thought I was going to say something else!  Yeah, I'm definitely not Sans.

And...those days are behind us.

"Oh joy.  You're giddy."  Flowey was already turned off by my good mood.

"You know, you're free to join me--"

"Yeah.  And I could also take HEDGECLIPPERS TO MY OWN STEM!!!!!!"  He got a little too close for comfort.

"So.......no?"

He hissed in reply.

"Your loss."

"I'll cope."

"Well, behave yourself while I'm out.  I don't want to come back to the LAST st'nank you did while trying to be dank after yanking my crank about how you did NOT make the house look like it was hit by a tank.   The house still smelled rank.   And papa spaaaaaank!"

I gave my best Shinigami Chop to emphasis that he was punished appropriately.

Okay, I never actually laid a hand on him.  I'm not a brute.  But he did suffer punishment.  And was still salty over it.  Man, that was a record for laying down bars.

"Oh you're REEEEEAL clever with the rhymes."

I shrugged with a cheesy grin.

"Do I have to put you semi-solitary confinement with Spot as your jailer?"

That made him freak.

"NOT EVEN REMOTELY FUNNY!!!"

"Then we won't have a problem will we?"

"THAT'S BLACKMAIL!"

"Naw, man.  That' extortion.  See the "ex" makes it sound cooler."

You're such a bad influence on me, Aunt Violet.

"Fine."

And deep into the pot he goes.  He is not coming out of that soil any time soon.  Really...how does he do that?  He seems like the entirety of his being, roots to petals wouldn't collectively fit in there without cracking the pot open or displacing the soil.

I'll tell you how.  Mmmmmmmmmmmagic.  Right, Sans?

And out the door I go.

As I stand here...try to imagine the very deep breath I'm taking of that clean air.

\*sniiiiiiiiff\*

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

It's  good day to be alive.  Seriously.

"Oh wow..."

I thought I'd have to wait longer before I'd see the world come back alive after going dormant during winter...but mother nature had a head start.

"You should see this, Lupe..."

It almost brought a tear to my eye to see the trees no longer leaf-less.  To see those white blossoms across the branches and  the bleached editions of Sakura petals in the air.

That warm sun...

...that cool waving grass.

And not a cloud in the sky.

"This is what we live for."  I smiled.  I had never been happier that I was living on the surface.  By now my memories of my decade inside Ebott were...faded like an old sepia-toned black and white photograph.

I had certainly spent a lot of time, collectively, with each person in town to date; getting to know them al land such.  I'd certainly embraced my family reunion and now I felt closer than ever to mom, dad, and Chara.

I was happy that I was part of the Skelebros. lives.

It felt cathartic to finally be on the same page as Undyne.

I'd waited all my life for someone who could match the intelligence I never gave myself credit for.  But now that Alphys was a trusted coworker and friend...I didn't feel like hiding that part of me.  I no longer felt shy and unapproachable.

This is what a prince should be.

You know what...this is going to be a journal entry where I go solo.  Just...me and my thoughts...and an occasional comment out loud.  It's okay to keep things this simple, right?

"Well, my favorite gear...let's go for a ride."

I dropped my NXS to the ground and let it stop in the air and hover.  I stepped on and got my balance and got to flying down the road.

"Wheeeee!"

It was a childish exclamation.  But it felt more true to me than I could express.  It was like I was ten again...but I was completely different.  I was without fear.  I was free.

Just like Willamina Mongoose's choice of theme song...I'm falling free in the wind...in the wind.  Free to be me, in the wind...in the wind...

Odd that it was Aunt Sally who expressed that to me first.

It wasn't my OGPX gear...I mean...I couldn't be Solar Blossom again.  I wasn't sure I ever could be until I figured out the energy problem.   I might not be able to experience that kind of speed again...but...  Being on the NXS Switchboard was as close as I could get.  I mean...this hoverboard's top speed was nothing to scoff at.  It could get up there and I'm pretty sure I could break a few speed rules.

But for now...let's just keep it sensible.

"Ready or not, here I come, Newest Home."

Technically...I was on the outskirts of New Home.  I was outside the border of where Mom and Dad and everyone else lived.  It kind of made me think about the brief moments Sally would bring up her late brother, Elias.  She confided in me that if things had been different...her older brother would have gladly let Sally take the throne.  His heart...was just not into being a prince any more than her heart was being a princess.  But...King Max had to have his way.

I could relate.  Looking back I never really understood what it meant to be royalty.  I never felt tempted to flaunt it...to fit the archetype of being debonaire but...confined to a luxurious life style.  Maybe be a little snooty in the process.  No.  From the get go, I realized...I was always humble.  I was always a crybaby.  I was always someone who had no need for the world to be my oyster.  It was all out there.  It was at my command if I so wanted.  I could have pulled rank.  I could have been like Aunt Vi in many ways.

That wasn't me.  As much as I admired Vi's integrity...her no-holds-barred approach to being herself....yeah.  I was more of a Steven Universe at heart seasoned by a little Finn from Adventure Time.

"Sometimes you just need a day alone with your hoverboard to clear your head and find your vibe...get your groove back...and just be Zen."

The sign posts and billboards where just flying by.

"Welcome to Newest Home.   Seriously, Dad...can you please let mom name something for a change?"

Couldn't name for beans.  That's my old man for you.

And once I entered town...there came the hellos and waves and greetings.  Hometown hero was most certainly the description everyone would ascribe to me.  Embarrassing...but at this point it wasn't worth trying to fight.  Sometimes you just had to be that person people could believe in.  Sometimes it was a mantle that there was no getting around.  As long as it did some good in this crazy world, I wasn't about to abandon my moniker.

"I do all that I may do to be a man.  He who does more is none.   Macbeth."

I was starting to see real change in town, too.  Alphys and I had been innovating ever since I first set foot in the lab.  Everything had advanced.  Everything had evolved.  It was convenience with conscience.  Just as Odie had explained to his research staff.

We were starting to see the first holographic billboards and signs in town.  The WIFI had gotten substantially better (such that even Jerry couldn't complain).  Cars were now using more efficient fuel alternatives and electricity.  It wouldn't be long before we had our own take on the Mr. Fusion home energy conversion system to solve our waste problems.  Remote controlled Quad Copter drones were all the rage.  V.R. headsets were now practical and Alphys was determined to quadruple our server capacity by next year.

"This is what it means to be Prince of This World's Future, Azzy."

I was glad to make the world a better place.

As I reflected on how all this got started...how everyone just built me up during Frisk's journey to the throne room...telling that sad story that had been told over and over in every Undertale Prime timeline and its many variants.

It wasn't about me.  It was never about me.  And yet my people made it about me.  They wanted the human to understand why we were the way we were.  Why our hopes and dreams were almost gone.  Why it was so tempting to do what I wouldn't just to secure the last key to our freedom.

In the end...Flowey...this timeline's Asriel...did what I couldn't and wouldn’t.  Take all those souls...and crack that barrier wide open.

Even though I was my world's version of "The Boy Who Lived"...I was still among every Asriel that was the lynchpin to this long and winding journey.  Chara showed me the light at the end of the tunnel.  I followed it without understanding the consequences.  And even though I was the one goat that didn't turn into a weed...I was still a flower prince that had naively made a mistake.  Only...I wasn't punished for it.  I was rewarded for my good intentions.  Was...that ever a possibility in any other AU but ours?  I guess...I guess I was the exception to the old proverb "no good deed goes unpunished".  So yeah.  I guess I was the big gambit of Lady Destiny that paid off.

Let's be real.  I don't think I could rock a lightning bolt shaped scar on my forehead.  And let's not forget...I ALREADY had a magician variant in Ralsei.  This world didn't need two Goat Wizards.

Gods.  Was I talking like Flowey just now?  We really WERE too much alike at our cores.  Soul or no soul.

There were too many hellos and greetings and friendly acknowledgements to even begin to list in this journal entry.  So of course I returned their common courtesy.

"Howdy, everyone!"

I was finally on a first name basis with nearly every person in town.  I think I'd gotten most to break that habit of calling me "prince" or "your majesty" or "your highness" or "my liege".

Like Sally says...titles are meaningless.

Through the streets, past the grocery store...past the librarby...er...library......ahem...

Grillby's.  Muffet's.  MTT Resort Plus.

So yeah...in less than an hour I'd explored the whole town and decided to head back, taking only some time to rest for a bit in the park at a bench.

"Hmm...kind of expected there to be an abandoned quiche here."

I knew the reference.  I knew what was still back in Ebott, in Waterfall.

Well...time to go back.

And go back I did.

Did me some good getting out of the house.  Enjoying the outdoors.  Of course...never forgetting that it was spring and the life force energy was strong this day.

And all the while I neglected to mention...I'd dug my old JVC camcorder out to film it all.  This was going to make a great video to upload.  Who knows?  Maybe I'd use it as a travel highlights to boost tourism around here?  I'd discuss it with Frisk and with City Council.  It was getting close to time to resume my deputy mayor duties again.  Things ran so smoothly around here, it was like I was always on an extended vacation before they contacted me and informed they actually needed me in the office.

What town works that way?  None but ours, I guess.

"Well...same time another time?"  I mused as I hoverboarded out of town, giving a subtle wave goodbye as I left the city border.

Spring was a good time to do things like this.

I may not have accomplished a lot, if anything at all...but it was my time.  I think that time was still well-spent.

Here's to having a lot to look forward in, in May...

## Sub-Entry 200:  "Frisk and I Take Karaoke Night To the Next Level"

It finally happened.

I finally got Karaoke Night off the ground.

Movie Night had always been an overwhelming success so now...the sequel.  Now we had a night we could just express ourselves in song.

Mettaton paid a pretty copper (penny) for the venue and spruced it up nicely.  Really a family sports bar would have been fine, but he had to go all out with Newest Home's own personal opera house theater hall.

"Nothing is too good for our royal family, darlings."

Eheheheh...I'd beg to differ but I don't want to be rude and ungrateful.  Kudos to you, MTT.

Naturally, Napstablook was in charge of every aspect of the total acoustic package.  And here's where his expertise in sound engineering shined.

Honestly...Sally told me stories about his music interest.  But I never would have figured he was this professional!  It quickly dismissed any thoughts of Mettaton hiring him out of guilt or nepotism.  No.  'Blooky' knew exactly what he was doing and his cousin recognized that talent.

Now if only the same consideration could be given to their stagehand "peon"...I might actually hear less of poor Burgerpants' depressing complaints.

Anyway...

Once it was off the ground, we started with some practice sessions; dipping our toes in the water (poor choice of words if Aunt Vi were here).

At first it was just a few "wing it" nights to see how many of us in town could carry a tune much less actually......sing.  (Which reminded me of a movie...what was it's name again?  It just got a sequel, too...which recently unpacked itself on my NXS board.   Hmmmmm...)

Then we started trying rehearsals and practice sessions to actually "git gud" as Vi used to tell me.  Sans joked if we were planning on starting one of those competition shows on TV...like the one where humans wear monster costumes during their performance and have some big reveal that they're actually a celebrity underneath the mask.   It was an idea that Mettaton was a little TOO invested in.  Stand by, Undertale...we're probably going to see something hit the airwaves come the fall lineup.  Oh boy.

As to who tried their luck?

I wasn't that surprised to see mom give it a go.  And...what actually was a surprise was that she was actually incredibly good.  Who knew?  If her own son sure didn't know, it was a surprise to everyone.

"........"

...both of her sons.  Right,  Flowey?

"...tch...!"

"Leaves you kind of speechless...don't it?"

And that was my moment from Cats Don't Dance that worked out as the perfect banter to shut him down for the rest of the day.   C'mon, Azzy.  Don't gloat about such a thing.   Tempting as it was.

Mettaton was a clear case of "duh".  Who else would strut his stuff so eagerly.  But...I guess in a way that also disqualified him from competing.  Or DID IT?  His house.  His rules.  Probably going to be a bit unfair competition at that.

Shyren?  Of course.

Alphys?  Not the first choice that came to mind but then you realize how much an opportunity t his was for her to show of how well she knew her favorite anime theme songs forward and backward.  And it wasn't like she was terrible at it.  She was actually easy on the ears.  How did I never realize that after working with her this long and getting to know her personal interests?

Undyne...uh....let's just skip this one.

Dad.....um...skipping ahead again...

Papyrus actually had a unique voice to lend.  I realized...if I had the track with me a good fit for him to try was "Dare to Dream" from Double Dragon Neon.  I mean...wasn't Skullmageddon's ending song just perfect for someone like him?  Nyeheheheheheheheh!

What surprised me was Sans making an attempt...then it stopped being a surprise when he was revealed to be lip-synching as a joke on us.  And THAT was a pretty impressive feat for someone who doesn't have lips.  Yohohohohohohoho!  SKULLLLLLL JOOOOOOOOOOOOOKE!!!   Blame it on the rain?  Blame the comedian here.  Maybe I shouldn't talk about Princess "Peach" Toadstool's former favorite music group, Milli Vanilli?

Even Chara managed to shock us all that she wasn't that bad, either.  In fact I'd say Mitzi would have stiff competition.  All this time and I never really knew my sister had this side to her!   To hide this from her own brother for over a century?  That takes some REAL determination.

That made me realize...how serious were we about this?  How far were we going to take this?  Like a...weekly thing for the town?  With prizes and recognition?  Seemed a bit much for just an activity I wanted to host for the heck of it.  But then again...it could help put us more on the map.

I had concerns for a bit.  I knew it was only a matter of time before the spotlight fell on me.  And...well...sure I'd performed that day back in Ebott for the WHOLE population but...I don't know what was stopping me or holding me back.  I wasn't one to get stage fright...at least not since I was just a kid.  But...turning into a serious competition with the town?  I think...Volt's influence was peeking through.  By now anyone who's read his and my logs up to this point fully understands his disdain for competing and his praise for cooperation.  I mean...didn't Bunnie say one of her sensei’s had some kind of advice karate to defend family and honor has meaning but karate for a plastic trophy means nothing?

Hmm.  That reminds me...I need to wash and wax my car some time.

Ahem...

I guess my choice was made for me when who should approach me but Frisk.

"...you want to what?"

"I think it would be a good idea, Azzy.  How about it?  Do you want to compete as a duet?"

I was...caught off guard for a few seconds.  I didn't know how to respond.

But then...I looked into her eyes and I saw how much this clearly meant to her.  What else could I say but--

"Sure.  I'm in."

That lovey-dovey smile I had just now.  I think Frisk acknowledge that before she did my actual reply.

Well...that was then.

Now...it was Karaoke Night and each act took his, her, or their turn (accounting for both non-binaries and for groups, mind you).

The usual turnout and the usual performers.

Mom gave an incredible rendition of Bette Middler's "The Rose".

Alphys surprised us all with the complete version of Radio Shibuya's "Resonance" from Soul Eater; I was kind of expecting her to belt out her go-to with the theme from Mew Mew Kissy Cutie (the first one, not the 'inferior' sequel).

Shyren blew us all away with a rendition of "Memory" from Cats.  I don't regret bringing that Broadway play to town...besides, Felicia definitely insisted way back then.

Either way...she'd be a tough act to follow.

Finally it was our turn.

I struggled to put my worries behind me.  I run through my head all the checklist and the preparations.  Wondering if I missed a detail when following Mettaton's step-by-step guide to presentation and such.  Wondering if the microphone levels were balanced...all the little lights and display details.

And...wondering if I could pull off something so delicate...flashy...but harmless with my Hybrid Ability.

And I wondered if Frisk could match me with what I discussed with her.  Could we sing at each other's level?

So.  The song was chosen.

The announcement was made.

"Our final song of the night will be performed by our own Prince Asriel Arcade and Frisk Dreemurr.  We've have some impressive competition up to now so they have their work cut out topping all we've heard."  Mettaton built up the hype.

"So here it is without delay.  From the motion picture, and a personal favorite of mine, Short Circuit...here's the other theme song of the movie by Max Carl and Marcy Levy: "Come and Follow Me"

A generous round of applause before the music kicked in.  I looked at Frisk...she looked back...and I took a deep breath...and raised my microphone and led things off as I willed my Hybrid Abilities to manifest without using my hands.  And it drifted down like fiery yellow, orange and red glitter from above.  Embers that sure looked dazzling...but contained no heat--all light and effect.  It drifted down around us in a coiling spiral as the spot lights crisscrossed and the fog and effects fired up.

***"Feels like I came alive just yesterday***

***Feels like I'm always gonna feel this way***

***Hearts have been set in motion, worlds have been turned around***

***When you've been lost, you know when you've been found"***

I stopped the spiral glitter effect as the holograms went into effect depicting 8-bit sprites of various things, including a human soul and a monster soul side by side.  On cue, both cracked apart at the appropriate lyric but re-merged by the very next line.

***"Easy to hide and live your life apart***

***Easy to find new ways to kill the heart***

***Now I'm through some changes, laughter as well as pain,***

***Now I can dance in sunshine or in rain, "***

The illusions turned to a virtual rain storm with hovering rain clouds.  Real enough to the eyes but we were both completely dry.  It was just illusion, after all.

And we both continued to dance as I continued the song.

***"Come and follow me,***

***To wherever the light breaks through***

***Come and follow me,***

***And you're gonna be dancin too"***

I looked deep into Frisk's eyes with love and admiration.

***"In your eyes I see,***

***You're alive as me,***

***So whenever I'm lost, then I can follow you."***

Frisk immediately picked up from where I led off.

***"Too many people throw it all away***

***Can't seem to take another empty day***

***The trick is to keep believin', the trick is to simply see***

***Just how great the gift of life can be"***

Oh, wow.  She was AMAZING...!

And like that our voices united in a duet.

***"Come and follow me,***

***To wherever the light breaks through***

***Come and follow me,***

***And you're gonna be dancing too***

***In your eyes I see,***

***You're alive as me,***

***So whenever I'm lost then I can follow you"***

By this time the lasers were sweeping in full-force chorography as the disco ball dropped down and filled the whole area with stars.  I wondered if we went overboard with the presentation?

***"Just when the light seems to be growin' dim"***

***The spotlights dimmed slightly to accentuate the effect.***

***"You will be there, I know it, like a true friend***

***Helpin' me shine again"***

At that moment I let my NXS board drop and hover and climbed on as it lengthened and reconfigured a bit.  I helped Frisk aboard and we shared our spot as we started to rises up out of the kerosene fog and drifted about the stage.

***"To shine again!"***

We both stepped off the board in seemingly mid-air at the exact moment my program kicked in and the magnetic Yoku Block materialized underfoot and another in sequence, each disappearing as we stepped off and climbed down the artificial staircase to the floor again.  They weren't the usual metal Dr. Wily obstacles but each one a crystal box, each glowing with a different neon color of the seven virtues before the pattern repeated as the staircase spiraled around to the ground.  Each had bright chaser light pulses running the etched-in circuit tracks over every surface.  Each just looked so mesmerizing and really sold the light show as my eyes lit up in a different color with each block we stepped on as the trim and highlights on Frisk's dress and sandals lit up with the same color.

***"Come and follow me,***

***To wherever the light breaks through,***

***Come and follow me,***

***And you're gonna be dancing too,***

***In your eyes I see,***

***You're alive as me,***

***So whenever I'm lost then I can follow you***

***Come and follow me, babyyyyyyy!  (Come and follow me!)***

***(Follow me!) You know it, you know it...!***

***In your eyes I see!  You're a live as me!***

***(Oooooooooh-wooooooooo!!!)***

***Baaaabyyyy!***

***In your eyes I see...yooooooooou're alive as me!***

***So whenever I'm lost I can follow you.  (Yeeeeah!)***

***Come and follow me, follow me, follow me!  (Ohhhhh!!!)***

***Come and follow me, babyyyyy! (Ahhhhh!)"***

The song faded out as we both took a bow...to thundering applause.

"Oh!  I do believe we have a winner, dearies!  It's unanimous!  Asriel and Frisk have absolutely knocked it out of the park!"

A standing ovation that I lost track of how long it actually lasted.  All I remember was...Frisk and I stealing a long-lasting kiss from each other on stage.  One of those ones where she ended up standing on one leg, flamingo style as we embraced.  It was such a cliche...but it felt as natural as anything.

You know what...this is a really good end to a month of recording in my journal.

Well.  Until next time.

This is Asriel Arcade...signing out.

Chapter 21

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