PLDF Chapter 23

> Chapter 23: Summer Days and Firework-Filled Nights as DeltaRune C2 Nears Its Climax (Sub-Entries 221-230)
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## Sub-Entry 221:  "Once in Your Life You Find Her"

I'm in a romantic mood, right now.

It's late night and by god what a beautiful starry sky with a big, bright full moon.

I had originally thought to...lead off with a reminder that today, July 1st, was Aunt Violet's birthday.  For those in the know?  Yes.  Princess Violet Usako "Usa-Hime" Tokugawa shared a birthday with the late princess of the United Kingdom, Lady Dianne.  In fact, I'm told that Violet shortening her name to "Vi" was just her riding the coat tails of Lady Di.  But...no one had the cajones to say such a thing to her face.  How cowardly of us, eh?

Well, whatever the case...I had NO doubt that Vi was dragging Bunnie to Little Tokyo, Edoropia for a massive blowout during Golden Week.  A blowout that mean up to 14 roller coaster rides at her family amusement park, a couple of loud rock concerts, and anything else she could fit into a day as if she was really trying to deny her age by staying young forever in the most frivolous of ways.

Well.  That was a nice diversionary shoutout to my most charismatic teacher.  Back to the matter at hand.

Why was I so contemplative?  Well...

A while ago, Undyne bought a new grand piano.  And...I won't go into details but...I'm currently holding onto it until such time as her house is in shape to have it delivered. And on a related note...that the Fire Department and the appliance store will un-blacklist her.  At this rate she'll never operate an oven again.

That said...here I am, sitting at the piano, looking out my window.

Who would have thought I'd actually HAVE the room for this thing temporarily?

Either way...it put me in a mood to think of certain people

If you guessed Frisk, give yourself a gold star.  You know me well.

I looked over the instrument.  God, it was actually a pretty impressive piano.  What did it cost, you, Dy-Dy?  This thing's incredibly elegant.

I could imagine Sir Elton John being seated at one of these, probably wearing some pink framed sunglasses that might have appeared in the third Terminator movie...sorry, Arnie.  Though in more likelihood he'd probably be playing opposite 2-D of Gorillaz.  Didn't they have a song called "The Pink Phantom"?  Seems like the kind of collab you'd have Sir Elton John and artist, "6LACK" join in on.  Maybe that's exactly what did happen.  But I digress.  It is a nice piano.

Maybe...she wouldn't mind if I at least give it a try.

Aunt Vi didn't give me all those piano lessons for nothing, right?

"Hmmm."

I got up momentarily and opened the lid of the seat and shuffled through sheet music.

"Ooh.  How about that one?"

I set the music on the stand above the keyboard.  I glanced briefly at the metronome that came with it.  She must've gotten some kind of discount as a frequent buyer.  As many pianos as she's probably replaced...for reasons...

I looked over the title.

Yeah...this was a movie theme song.

It was a movie I hadn't personally seen but I'm told Violet had it on her queue.  Old 80's flick starting Dudley Moore and Liza Minelli.  A 1981 romantic comedy about a drunken New York City millionaire on the brink of an arranged marriage to a wealthy heiress but falls for a common working-class girl from Queens.

I don't know why but it definitely FELT like the kind of movie that Vi would be into.  I knew she liked doing things on a whim and sure didn't handle her liquor well...allegedly.  Though I was inclined to trust sensei's word on the things Vi did and didn't do.

Still...

Most guys my age tended to try to get OUT of seeing rom-coms when in a relationship.  Me?  They were growing on me.  It wasn't just a matter of liking them because Frisk liked them.  I was a rare instance of this passion being mutual.

I had heard the theme song before.  Sally had given Vi one of her vinyl records.  Sometimes it really does sound better, despite the scratchy noise that comes with the recording.  That effect that comes from the needle tracing the long, winding groove of the record.  Snaps and pops.  It was old-timey but it gave character to the sound.  On a tube-driven amplifier, it had that timbre you just couldn't fake with microchips.

"Let's give her a go."

I picked up my cell-phone and accessed the app for the room's sound-proofing dampener field.  Let's not wake up the neighbors and have them complain about the noise.

I took a moment to adjust the belt on my bathrobe and fix my open-toed slippers......I think they call them "slides" now.  Like simple one wide-strap sandals but made of fluffy slipper material.  Now THAT'S floof.

I had a seat at the piano, hack-n-cracked like a maestro and didn't bother with a warm-up.

I only took a moment to turn my framed 8 x 10 glossy photo of Frisk sitting nearby.  I wanted her to at least watch me in metaphor even if I wasn't going to wake her at this hour just for a concert.  I'd perform for her when she was bright and bushy.

"Arthur's Theme.  By Christopher Cross.  From the motion picture, Arthur."

I felt as if I HAD to say it out loud.  Like I was giving credit where credit was due.

I just dove right into it.  Song and vocals.

***"Once in your life, you find her***

***Someone that turns your heart around***

***The next thing you know, you're closing down the town***

***Wake up and it's still with you***

***Even though you left her way across town***

***Wondering to yourself, "Hey, what've I found?"***

***When you get caught between the Moon and New York City***

***I know it's crazy, but it's true***

***If you get caught between the Moon and New York City***

***The best that you can do***

***The best that you can do is fall in love***

***Arthur he does as he pleases***

***All of his life, he's masked his choice and***

***Deep in his heart, he's just, he's just a boy***

***Living his life one day at a time***

***And showing himself a really good time***

***Laughing about the way they want him to be***

***When you get caught between the Moon and New York City***

***I know it's crazy, but it's true***

***If you get caught between the Moon and New York City***

***The best that you can do (the best that you can do)***

***The best that you can do is fall in love***

***When you get caught between the Moon and New York City***

***I know it's crazy, but it's true***

***If you get caught between the Moon and New York City***

***The best that you can do (the best that you can do)***

***The best that you can do is fall in love***

***When you get caught between the Moon and New York City***

***I know it's crazy, but it's true***

***If you get caught between the Moon and New York City***

***The best that you can do (the best that you can do)***

***The best that you can do is fall in love***

***If you get caught between the Moon and New York City***

***I know it's crazy, hey, but it's true"***

The last note faded out as I pulled the cover back down over the keys and got up.

I felt...liberated.

It was a good song.

I just didn't have anything I could think of saying.

I switched off the noise-proofing.

I exited the room and headed upstairs.

I passed by Flowey.  He was fast asleep.

"Sleep well, little bro."

Once in my room, I took a look outside the window.

"If I had one wish right now...I'd wish that somehow across space and time, you all could hear my song.  But...y'know it would be enough if at least Frisk could have heard it resonate in her heart from afar.

Perhaps...this would be just the lullaby you needed, my love?"

Did I just call her my love?

Huh.

I guess I did.

How bout' that?

Well.  Here's to you, Arthur Bach; as played by Dudley Moore.  I may not know the gist of your movie, but I hope your character found happiness.

I think...no...I know, I've found mine.

## Sub-Entry 222:  "Surfing Cyber-Waves"

I suppose the follow-up to the other night's impromptu concert...I got the chance to prove it to my girlfriend.  Song for your own soul while wishing it would resonate in hers was one thing.  But songs are often words set to music.  Words are a form of talking.  And talk is often cheap.  Or at the very least, actions speak louder than words.

So.

Of course I invited Frisk to the simulator at the lab.

Alphys had been working tirelessly with me to improve and upgrade it.  It was getting harder to see the line dividing reality from simulation at times but...I made a very sincere promise to never lose sight of where that line is.  To never lose my grip on reality.

I owed it to myself and to Violet and everyone in her circle who proudly identified as "gamer".

True gamers may have passion for the game but they can leave the game behind when it's time to return to the real world.  It was a distinction we don't understand as kids but we need to learn before it leads us down a path that could get you or others hurt or...worse.

This preachy warning out of the way...

I wanted to try something else with the set-up this time.  And that mean...getting a little braver with my endeavor.

You probably think I'm talking about taming lions or jumping out of airplanes or something scary.

Good guesses but woefully wrong.

No...I was talking something more along the lines of...summer-wear at the beach.

Yeah...the danger of seeing Frisk in a swimsuit.

Don't worry.  I'm going to keep it PG-rated and not go into detail.  Just that I'm going to see it and I'm going to try my best not to freak out worse than "Black Leg" Sanji of the Straw-hat Pirates.

Really...having a nosebleed in the simulator would be really embarrassing.  Especially if Alphys has explained the anime meaning behind it to Frisk.  Oh boy.

There's that worry of yours that you inherited from Volt.

But yeah...the world's most powerful virtual reality setup and I was programming a day at the beach for us.

What inspired this?  I haven't the foggiest.  I mean it WAS July, and midway into summer, so...there's that.

But it's not like Aunt Vi had snuck artwork of the female characters of the Mega Man series in swimsuit into my NXS Board.  Though...if she did I'm pretty sure Bunnie has long since thwapped her for it.

Is there a natural progression into growing into adult themes in a healthy and not lewd manner?

Dial it back, Goat Son.  Family friendly!  Family friendly!

"Getting all hot and bothered already?"  Flowey taunted as I was leaving the house.

"Not going to work, little bud."

Flowey scoffed at the nickname.

"Feh.  Enjoy your chips and diodes.  See if I care."

"Feeling a little slighted?"

"As if!  You've gotta be sniffing your capacitors to suggest that!"

Hmm...Flowey actually learning the names of electronic components?  He really can't help himself but absorb bits and pieces of the world of science I took an interest in.

You're definitely an Asriel.

It was a quick trip to the lab.  Frisk promised she'd meet up with me.  I got there pretty early so I had time to set up.

"It's ready to go, Asriel."

Things must've gone pretty well for Alphys to be in this good a mood with no stutter and for her to be addressing me by my first name rather than a royal title.

"You rock, Alphys."

The door opened and my gateway into a virtual world led me to the beach.

I had a lot of inspiration to draw from.

The Police Academy movies for levity.  Both Top Gun movies for team-building.  The two Great Ones of San Dimas for the proper California philosophy (be excellent to each other and party on dude), and of course Kevin "Captain N' Keene for everything else I needed to know about hitting the surf and the whole gambit of California Games World; the essentials of a nice paint job to go over the actual skill, knowledge, and experience of surfing and skating as taught by big sister, Gadget Tress Hackwrench.

On that note, there was one reference that stood out in my mind that I didn't expect would be the crux of this date.  However...

I just had to pay tribute to one of Violet's favorite movies.  A nice little gem of a historical fiction...or...maybe it's a satirical biopic?  Whatever the case...the story of Albert Einstein as told if he were from Tasmania.  Played brilliantly by the wild-haired Yahoo Serious.

So...I took a moment to actually CRAFT my own surf board while on the beach.  I spent a good amount of time before Frisk arrived actually carving out of a large chunk of wood, shaping it, refining it, and coating it completely in candle wax...everything I'd need to do to make it actually able to surf.  With a few minor mods and tweaks to the code just to guarantee it wouldn't turn out defective on its maiden voyage.

And like that, Frisk stepped through the door-way in the middle of seemingly nothing.  Just like Willy DuWitt of Bucky O'Hare's Righteous Indignation crew (thanks to his Photon Accelerator synching up with the one aboard said space ship)...I could create a doorway to another world.

"Hey, Azzy."

"Howdy, Frisk."

"Wow, sweet jams!"

"Thanks.  I decided NOT to let mom or dad pick out a pair of swim trunks.  Though...I did take a bit of advice from Mettaton.  Speaking of which--"

"Yeah, I know.  Alphys is loading it up now.  You think I'd stay overdressed at the beach?"

Frisk pre-emptively answered before I could explain she wasn't exactly in swim attire at the moment.

"Load me up, Doctor!"

And like that, the digitization process was dazzling.  Of course, knowing Alphys...it had to have that anime magical girl transformation.  Down to the gravity-defying, three-dimensional twists and flips while the background goes completely neon.  A glorious dance of special effects, lights, and display all for Frisk's outfit to delete away and/or morph into swim attire; finishing with those sun-flower flip-flops that Volt spoke of that she came back from one her two off-world vacations.

I really wanted to see Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, now.

'What do you think?"

Wait a minute.  Frisk in bathing attire...!  My moment of self-distraction had failed!

My eyes were wide and I was doing my best to keep it together but my shyness felt like it was in full overdrive.  It was like college again.

Come on, Azzy.  It's the girl you've chosen.  The girl that's chosen you.  The love of each other's lives.  You're ready for this.

"You look great, Frisk!"  Was all I managed to get out.

It was a miracle I hadn't said it with a voice-cracking squeak.  I was definitely fighting back the blushing and trying to keep my line of sight synched with hers.  Her face was up here, dude!

"Azzy.  Don't try so hard to be a gentleman.  It's okay.  I trust you."  She pulled me into a hug.

"Now.  We going to see some surfing or not?"

Gods I love that woman.

"Sure.  I just finished up."  I pulled the board off the stump, taking a moment to snatch up an apple I had lying nearby.

"Shall I show you what I can do?"

"By all means, your highness."  Frisk smiled as Alphys digitized some reclining beach chairs, a beach blanket, a sun umbrella, and plenty of other items including sunscreen.

It may be all virtual, but...the rules in here could be just as iron-clad as the ones in the real world.  Let's try to avoid any sunburns, yes?

"I didn't have time to give it one of those splashy arts or paint jobs.  I wanted to keep it simple and old school."

"It's great, Azzy.  Less talking, more shooting the curl."

"How can I say no to that?"  I said as I reached over and made some adjustments to my NXS Board; now converted into a pretty impressive stereo boom box.  The kind of radio you had to bring to the beach but feeling like something you'd see on the shoulder of a rapper on the street.  You know...big and booming.

I know it's a bit of a cop-out to have two song in my set of journal entries for this month but...

You know...

Frisk and I are really getting close and...

I just can't find the words.  So.  As it turns out...some groups already had the lyrics ready to go.

I just had to recite them or at least play them on a media device.

And I think Frisk really got what I was trying to say through my music choices.

So...in this moment...

"Well.  Now or never."

I took a bite of the apple before tossing it over my shoulder into a trash can I had materialize out of nowhere.  Just because it's a simulated beach didn't mean I had any intention of littering.

I grabbed my surf board and kicked off my flip-flops and ran straight for the ocean ahead.

I got out far enough before climbing on and paddling my way out.

Frisk watched from her beach blanket, waving.

I waved back.  I took a deep breath and let the wave build; counting down to the exact second.  As I started to move I got aboard.

"I'll do you proud, big sister Gadget.  I'll do you proud."  I said to myself.

And thus began my own almost IRL run of the NES game, T&C Surf Design.  I wasn't a cat in a tuxedo or a Thrilla Gorilla...but I was going to make my mark by catching some waves, hanging ten and showing off for my girlfriend.

When I say that last part though, it felt a bit superficial if not shallow.

But maybe a better way of looking at it was...I was just giving her plenty of motivation to show off to me when it was her turn to try.

Then we'd surf together.  What's a little healthy competition between boyfriend and girlfriend?

"Three...two...one..."

And so it began.  The wave took me away and it was up to me to balance...to ride it...to make the moment mine.

Cue the song, now.

Specifically "At First Sight" by an Australian group called The Stems.

It really was perfect and it really did fit me.  For all the moments I was thinking of Flowey back home...how I was thinking of Lupe's garden...for thinking that I was forever tied to flora...this perfectly summed up my feelings in the moment:

***"Just say the word and I would die for you***

***And I'll be a flower if you wanted to***

***'Cause I never met anyone quite like you***

***I lose my head my heart starts pounding too***

***And all I had to do was look at you***

***At first sight"***

I was thinking of the first moment I laid eyes on Frisk...and the moment she laid eyes on me.  Not the previous Asriel’s and Frisks of the old timelines.  Specifically, us.  Us, and only us.

In the moment...I was balanced on my board.  It felt natural.  It felt right.  Why did it feel right?  Where in multi-versal history has a goat ever been painted as a beach bum with a knack for surfing?

***"I'll be the motor in your car***

***And I'll be the fire in your flaming star***

***And I'll be the water in your waterfall***

***'Cause I'd hit the ceiling I'd feel ten feet tall***

***And all I had to do was look at you***

***At first sight"***

What is it about the elements that perfectly convey emotion?

***"Just say the word and I would die for you***

***And I'll be a flower if you wanted to***

***'Cause I've never met anyone quite like you***

***I lose my head my heart starts pounding too"***

I'd lived by the credo, don't kill and don't be killed.  But...when you have someone you want to live for...would not also be willing to die for them?  To give yourself that they may live on?  Why did the one exception have to be the one that still forces you to let go...to be willing to give up the person you love?  It's the ultimate act of love.

I wanted to live a long life with Frisk.  I knew...she wouldn't outlive me.  Not even at her luckiest.  As a human...the day would come I'd...  I'd...  No.  No, don't think like that, Azzy.  You have her now.  She has you now.  Focus on the now.  Distractions like this will make you wipe out.  Both figuratively AND literally.

I refocused and managed to right the inside of the wave...inverting 180 degrees inside that aquatic pipe...and then completed the full 360 degrees and came out the other end.

I was showing off...but...not ridiculously so.  Just enough to show that big sister Gadget had taught me well.  And I have every intention of teaching Frisk all that I knew.

***"All I had to do was look at you***

***At first sight***

***All I had to do was look at you"***

When it came down it...yeah...it was all just three words that tied back to when I first realized I loved Frisk.  Three words I was willing to repeat twelve more times...

***"At first sight***

***At first sight***

***At first sight***

***At first sight***

***At first sight***

***At first sight***

***At first sight***

***At first sight***

***At first sight***

***At first sight***

***At first sight***

***At first sight"***

And unlike Yahoo Serious in Young Einstein...my ride didn't end with me in a wipe-out but me actually sliding my board onto the beach like a boss.

Yeah.

I crushed it.

"You were MAGNIFICENT, Asriel!"  Frisk had tackle hugged me before I could blink.

"Huh, you really think so?"

My fur was still damp but not completely soaked as I hadn't ended up submerged, yet.  Merely...kissed by the mist...graced by the waves.

Frisk was still dry.

I...actually forgot in the moment we were both in swim attire.

Yeah.  This is wholesome.  This is "hic-a-doo-lah", right?

"Now, it's your turn."  I stopped long enough to pick the board back up and hand it to Frisk.

"No pressure, right?  Eheheh."

"Don't worry.  I'm a fair teacher.  Good ride or wipeout, you have nothing to be ashamed of as a beginner.  Hey, if you want I can turn the learning-assist app on."

"Hold that thought.  I'll see how I do on my first run."

As it turned out, she was...about average...before the wipe-out.

Well.  She did start out pretty well for a beginner.

I hurried over and helped her out of the drink.

"You okay--"  was all I got out before she playfully pulled me in with a splash.

Once I emerged from the soaking...

"I uh...guess I broke sensei's rule about expect the unexpected."

"Guess so."

"Not sure what I did to earn this, but...truce?"

"Well.  You looked like you needed to cool down after such a hot performance."

Okay, I did walk into that joke.

"Truce."

Not that we were ever at war.  We were both just having fun.

"Okay.  Guess class is in session.  Then the competition."

"I intend to surpass the teacher."

"Determined.  Perfect.  But you better not skimp on the patience.  I guarantee it's not going to go as quick as you think."

"I'll hold you to that, Azzy."

So...time does fly and...

A doorway into the simulation opened up and there was Alphys with a tray full of hot dogs and a couple sodas and two bags of "Papato Chisps".

"Y-you both have been at this s-s-so long.  I t-thought you m-m-might want to b-break for lunch?"

"You're a peach, Alphys."  Frisk had a seat on the blanket.

"I'll take you up on that offer."

So we eat and conversed and made merry.

"This reminds me of my outings with Dunkle Sans."

"No kidding?"

"But...much wetter and with more sand."  Frisk rubbed the back of her head.

"I missed out on quite an upbring."

"But I missed out on the life you lived.  So many places I haven't seen or experienced.  I'm completely in the dark about this Miranda place even though you talk about it--"

"Every waking moment of my life.  I'm surprised you're not sick of me talking your ear off over it."

"Azzy, no.  I get it.  How can I hope to understand what it must be like for you?  I'm fascinated.  I want to be part of that but..."

"Yeah.  You could never know unless you were there.  Some day.  Some day, Frisk.  It's a promise, y'know?"

"Yeah.  I totally know."

## Sub-Entry 223:  "Celebrating the Holiday that Doesn't Exist With Fireworks"

I promise no song.

For this entry, anyway.

No, I figure today was a good day to celebrate the Miranda holiday, Founding Day.  I wanted to say something profound about why we celebrate it, what it means, etc.....but...

...the more I tried to come up with something.  Anything.  The more I kept coming back to the Earth holiday known as "The Fourth of July".  Or "Independence Day".

The latter of course carries the additional reference of a certain 1996 movie with Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum,  Vivia A. Fox, and Bill Pullman.

In the immortal words of the first entry of that list: WELCOME TO EARTH.

It was because of that movie, I'd later recognize certain scenarios that were now tropes.  Such as...just putting it out there...the giant death laser from the mother ship that obliterates an important landmark.  Something that almost happened on Katina in the Lylat system.  I had the phrase "the hatches are open" echoing in my head for a while.  And it wasn't even a close second to the likes of "Do a barrel roll!" or "Move it, Fox!  He's right behind you!"

My experience with Star Fox would have to wait another day.

Back to the topic at hand?  A reason to celebrate.

So...

Yeah.  This was another holiday post.  But...ironically this world didn't have a holiday on this day to correspond to the 4th.  So.  To be perfectly frank?  I...didn't actually start a holiday today.

Yet...

It somehow BECAME the unspoken holiday.  The phantom holiday.  The holiday that doesn't officially exist, yet everybody celebrates it.  And I don't know how it happened or how it started.  I...I don't think I can take credit for it.

It's like almost everyone in our country channeled my thoughts on cookouts, bald eagles, a flag made of alternating red and white stripes with a blue patch adorned by 50 white stars--the iconic "Old Glory" as it exists on the countless AU Earths out there.

But most of all...fireworks.

And by gods, if I did have it my way (imagine that) we would need no reason to shoot off waves of colorful fireworks at night.

I was sold the first time I'd seen fireworks in Miranda.  I was dazzled BEYOND words.  Drew completely blew me away and exploded my mind with his craft.  I had to learn all I could about them.  Through Violet's chemistry classes, Volt's field trip of a fireworks manufacturing plant...to of course...Drew's on personal touch hands-on-technique to proper fireworks fabrication.

A demo man knew his craft; whether it was to blow stuff up...or just blow up the internet with viral videos of his best fireworks shows.  I'd seen how many times Drew White's shows trended on social media.  It was no superficial title of his to be granted the master of pyrotechnics.  He was the best in the business.  He stood by that claim and I supported that claim.

I learned so much about the magic of firework science.

I learned that the basic four colors were as such: strontium salts produce red, sodium salts produce yellow, barium salts produced green, and copper salts created blue.

As a precaution I wasn't going to list any of the propellant chemicals, lest someone be foolish enough to use my diary as a guide to making their own.  That's incredibly dangerous and should only be done by professionals.  There.  My public service warning is out of the way.

So what now?

"So.  You excited for the  celebration?"

"Dude, am I ever!"

"Rock on."

"But...couldn't your dad have given it a better name?"

Fluffybuns strikes again.

I sighed.

"When it comes to naming, he has no imagination." I facepalmed and shook my head.

"Sparkle Sparkle Sparkle Day is by the far the worst name ever."  M.K. followed up.

"Yeah.  If I didn't know better, I'd swear he's been watching Channel Awesome's entire video list and came across the Nostalgia Critic reviews."

"Oooh!  Channel Awesome?  What's that?  It sounds cool."

"Oh no.  Now what have I started?"  I chuckled.

Better quit before he starts asking about Cinemassacre, next.  I don't want to be known as the goat that got Monster Kid to start being more "sweary".

Jokes aside, I know I said the holiday had no name...that's only because I boycotted the one Dad chose.  At least in my head.  Also I didn't know that many people who called it by that name in town.  At least...willingly.

Around Dad?  Everybody was inclined to be nice.  Even me.

Oh boy the sacrifices we make for the greater...good?  Let' just call it the "greater nice".  A white lie it may be...but better to swallow your own bile about it and then let out your angst later when there are no feelings to hurt.  And boy does it hurt to be courteous, sometimes.

"It's not that bad, Azzy."

"You're cringing, Frisk."

"Am I...?"

"Like sensei says...you kill a part of yourself when you lie. But who am I to talk?  And I'm a terrible liar."

"It's just for a day."

"Until next year.  It must be written into a parent's DNA at some point on how to embarrass your kids."

"That's universal, I think.  But uh--"  Frisk broke up.

"...what is it?"

"No.  Nothing."

"Friiiiisk."

"You know how there are some things you're not ready to talk about yet?"

"...touché, Frisk.  Okay.  When you're ready to talk about your past.  Chara...still hasn't told me about hers so....fair's fair."

"Thanks, Azzy."

"Frisk.  I'm the only one of the three of us whose past is pretty much known save for a few blanks spots I haven't talked about?  You and Chara are nothing but a blank space before falling down Ebott.  I mean there's probably an upside to being an open book but..."

"Hey, don't get bent out of shape.  All in good time, Asriel."

The way she was going...I think she wanted to wait until we...actually did get married...before she disclosed everything.

It used to be that I thought secrets were a bad thing to keep.  Now...it was a grey area.

Wait.  We have gone WAAAAY off topic in such a short conversation.  This ...um......okay, I know I can come up with a better name for the holiday than "Firework Day" or "Sparkle Sparkle Sparkle Day".  I just...need more time to ponder.

"How about Blast Day!  Cause it's such a blast, dude?"

"Well...it's better than dad's."  I shrugged.

By the way, to clarify we had arrived at the town festival; an arts and crafts show.  That was mom's contribution.  Mettaton backed it whole heartedly as did Muffet.  The three of them collaborated pretty well, all things considered.

It actually kind of reminded me of something Volt had said about a place he knew on one of the alternate universe Earths.  Something called "Holiday at Home" on what they called "Labor Day".  An event kicked off by a parade with floats.

Dad and Mettaton thought it was a great idea but...for some reason this addendum fell through the last couple of years and we've been trying to get it organized ever since but...who knows?  Maybe next year will be our lucky year to add it to...gods, do I really have to call it Sparkle Sparkle Sparkle Day?  It sounds like a convention for Twilight Fans.

...however few of those there are, is what Flowey would probably say.  And it would take a looooot of effort for me to disagree.  Only for the sake of being polite to anyone who actually is a fan of vampires that sparkle.

"So...your sister?"

I folded my arms before uncrossing them and pointing.

"Huh?"

"It figures."  Frisk shrugged as she traced my claw's direction toward the cotton candy booth.  And for good reason.

"Only you, dear sister, could actually get an idea like chocolate cotton candy off the ground."

I didn't even know how it was possible to make chocolate cotton candy.  But there it was.  In that familiar chocolate color on top of an elongated cone.

"Don't knock it until you try it."

"And don't hug your brother until you've washed your hands.  I don't want you be stuck to my fur or my threads.

Chara chuckled.

"That better be an "okay, brother"."  I deadpanned.

"If it'll get Azzy out of his cranky mood."  Chara prodded.

"Chara."  Frisk scolded.

"Wow.  Two against one, eh, Pretty Mirror?"

"Why do I feel nervous when you call me that?"

"Who could say?"

So...yeah, this weird hybrid of Fourth of July and Labor Day was off to a good, though at times, awkward start.

You know it reminded me of the Renaissance Festivals that Aunt Sally and I enjoyed once.  But with 100 percent less jousting, giant turkey legs, pirate ship stunt shows, and life-sized chessboards.  All the arts and crafts?  All there.  From basket weaving to metalwork and glassblowing.  Heck, I even thought of Lupe when coming across a stall making rope sandals.   How about that?  I think Violet would probably scan my journal logs if she could just to see how many times the words "feet", "toes", and "sandals" appear.  Just because she's Vi.

"You have that look when you remember that Violet person, Azzy."

"Yeah...and it doesn't get any less...awkward and embarrassing when I think about it.  Just...when you meet her...keep an open mind.  She's...unique."

"You know I do Azzy.":

"I was talking to BOTH of you."

Chara grinned ear to ear.  Oh, she remembered.  She remembered.

"I don't think I like that look, Chara."  Frisk grimaced.

"Then be worried when she covers up her chuckle.  Which she's attempting to do now."  I warned.

"I already am."

So...yeah.  Cue the montage of various booths and wares that we perused and sometimes purchased from.  Whatever comes to mind is probably accurate enough.  I can't imagine anyone reading this would seriously be interested in all the minute details.  It's just browsing and shopping at an arts and crafts show.  What is there to say?

"Well that was fun."

"Up to the part where you tried to push the envelope on how far you could go without getting us kicked out or banned, Chara."  Frisk scolded.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same, Frisk."

"I don't know, personally, but I'm quickly finding out that's true."

"At least she washed her hands before touching any of us."  M.K. reminded.

"Yeah.  That wouldn't be fun for any of us.  And Flowey would never let us hear the end of it."

"Speaking of--"

"Not a chance in Gehenna."

"Is that like uh...?"

"Yeah.  H, E, double hockey sticks.  That's what it's called in Fontraile at least."

"Well, now I have a new way of swearing without swearing."

"Ugh...any chance you can get, Chara?"  I facepalmed.

"Your fault for name-dropping."

Well...this banter could go on all day so let's just fast-forward to the night time.

"...thank you ever so graciously for providing Blooky and the others with the sheet music for this event.  Uh...what do you call it again?"

"Well, on Earth realms, it's known as the "1812 Overture" composed by Tchaikovsky.  Pretty famous song and very patriotic.  Plus Violet wouldn't forgive me if I didn't mention it was featured twice in one of her favorite movies. (As I recall they blew up the Old Bailey and Parliament but I don't think I need to share that information.)."

The more I imported to Undertale, the more I was concerned I was turning my home world into another Earth AU.

Maybe it always was one.  Despite all of Volt's research he never did confirm the name of our humble planet and...somehow this common knowledge still eluded us.  Almost like a remnant boundary set from when our creator made our game world.  Really.  Was it even anything he, she, or it considered at the time?

Then again...the very nature of our world certainly seemed to have been inspired or adapted by what I can only assume was some semblance of familiarity to our maker and our maker's world.  it had to have SOME kind of foundation based on something recognizable.

This kind of thing was in all kinds of media Violet showed me.  Like Dragon Ball Z?  Was the world Goku living on SPECIFICALLY called Earth?  I mean before it was localized.  English/Common dubs tend to...add, subtract, or outright change details in translation.

Right here on Undertale, it still stayed ambiguous.  Almost like a haze or a blurred out word that you speak or read on a daily basis.  Yet, as soon as you REALLY stop to think about it?  You DON'T really know what that word even is.  A real "tip-of-the-tongue" situation...that everyone is just kind of awkwardly afraid to admit to.  Afraid to admit that we...don't actually know the true name of our world.

It was through Volt it even started being called Undertale.  Like suddenly a layer of meta was revealed when it was never supposed to.  You know what it reminds me of?  Last Action Hero.  What happens when the fourth wall is broken in a world where it was NEVER meant to be broken?  Everyone within that world suddenly looks at you crazy that you now see past this...supposed illusion.  That all the tropes you've been oblivious to are now front and center.  The kid made a good point.  What ARE the odds that a young woman that FLAWLESS would be working in a VIDEO RENTAL of all places.  Or pretty much EVERY location.  Like the kind of flawless that just stepped out of a Hollywood studio makeup room?

Speaking of Volt...if I'm going to address this issue of about not knowing the true name of my own world...when you got right down to it?  Volt never gave the real name of his home planet...our home planet.  The only designation it had ever been given is VGM-098.  Not even a name but an alpha-numeric planetary number; the same way Volt numbered timelines.

Oh snails...how'd I crank THIS MANY thoughts out of just one little side note while talking to Mettaton?

How is it possible that I had two homes...and I don't know their true planetary names?

Anyway...back to......y'know I'm not going to call it that name.  No slight against, dad, but...c'mon.  Really?  What were you thinking?  Ahem.  Back to the holiday that doesn't technically exist.  At least not in any legal holiday sense.  Observed but not yet in the books.  And if it does end up official...let's get a name change by then, yes?  Tell me I'm not alone in this sentiment.

So the day withered away, minute by minute, hour by hour.  Most of which just flew right by.  The somber, quiet moments didn't quite reach boredom status but...y'know.  They were necessary.  Like...a sorbet to cleanse the palette.  Now, where have I heard that one?  Probably some place...excellent.  Wow!  What a totally not-forced-and-completely-organic observation!  NOOOOOOOOT!

"Mind's buzzing like a beehive again, Azzy?"

"You know it is, sis."  I shrugged.

Finally it came down to the night hours and the moment that Mettaton had spared no expense gearing up for.

Unlike Miranda, we didn't have a harbor per se so we had to designate an open area and have the fire department on standby.  Regardless of how much we had safely cleared away.  Accidents could happen.  But frankly...I think the fire department would be just glad if they didn't have to be called to Undyne's.......again.

"Ready for this, babe?"  Undyne gave Alphys a powerful squeeze.

"A-a-absolutely!"  Weeb lizard shook off the momentary pain.  Like the Gorillaz video, Strobelite says...momentary pain can be pleasuring.

I won't read into that.

"Is it not wonderful to see such celebration take shape?"  Asgore had inched closer to mamma Toriel.

"Why, Asgore...are you trying to butter me up?  What did you do this time?"

"T-Tori!  I--"

And mom giggled like a school girl.  She still liked doing that.

"Oh get over here."  She yanked big ole' Fluffybuns close.

"...!!!"

It's something else seeing your own father flustered.

"They are a good couple when they want to be."  Chara shrugged.

"I never doubted they'd be back together."  Frisk beamed.

Frisk and I laid out the beach blanket.  It would be a good test of Alphys' new non-toxic bug and ant repellant formula, too.

"I still don't have an accurate gauge of how popular this holiday actually is.  I mean it still doesn't compare to the upcoming star festival in only three days."

"Turn that brain of yours off."  Chara wrinkled her nose from where she was seated in her lawn chair.

"Aww, leave him alone.  He's not hurting anybody."

"Just himself if he ends up getting a migraine."

"Yes, yes.  But you don't seem worried about giving yourself one."

"Oh no.  Little brother just gave me a savage burn.  My intelligence has been slighted."  Chara couldn't have been more insincere with that line delivery if she gave a wink to the "screen" in a meta fourth-wall break.

Why do I still acknowledge these if I never became Flowey?  And yet Flowey hardly ever acknowledges what's behind the "curtain" of our game world anymore.  Life's mysteries.  Strange times we're living in.

Of course Mettaton, insisting on being master of ceremonies, introduced and narrated everything with gusto.

We managed to get some "sorta-famous" but not mega-famous acts.  You know.  Whoever would be willing to drop in on the notable but not super-trending Newest Home.  Granted, just because they were in the home town of the human and the hybrid that were changing the whole world and ushering in the future didn't mean it was a 5-star, Hollywood or New York City grade tourist trap.

We prided ourselves on how we stayed a humble hometown even though...yeah.  Everyone knew that Prince Asriel and Frisk Dreemurr live right here.  It was the location of the famous Mount Ebott.  Monsters came into the world from here.  We were the prison...now we were the unspoken, unspoiled paradise everyone has heard of but never really visits.

After all that, the moment finally arrived as Napstablook D.J. ‘ed amongst the full orchestra that Mettaton brought in (and made sure his cousin wasn't drowned out at any point).

It was...definitely the most modern, yet still classical take on the 1812 Overture.  It was like those remixes of Phantom of the Opera or Beethoven's 5th.  Amazingly contemporized while still staying true to what made the original scores.

Personally, I think Napstablook is a musical genius.  Shy but absolute genius.

"Here it comes!"

And the sky was lit by a fireworks display you wouldn't believe.  I tell you, the sky was filled with all kinds of beautiful reds, yellows...and chrooooooomes.  Hehehehehehe.

If you just heard me deliver that line as 50's D.J., Wolfman Jack, then kudos.  You are not only super old school, but you are a Garfield in Paradise fan, too.  Respect to Jim Davis, yo.

"Oh man!  What the heck did it COST Mettaton to do this!?"

"Worth every denomination."  I replied, not really answering the question.

"So beautiful."

"You really think so?"  Frisk turned to me.

"Yeah.  And the fireworks are lovely, too..."

"Oh!"

This time it was my turn to steal a kiss.

"Happy Sparkle Sparkle Sparkle Day, Azzy."

"Happy what-you-just-said, too, Frisk."

"Still not going to call it that?  It's cute, you know."

"Yeah.  But Dad still can't name for beans."

I guess I should wish all Earthlings "Happy 4th of July"/"Happy Independence Day".

Have a safe and happy holiday!

## ***Sub-Entry 224:  "Tanabata Star Festival.  Nothing Could Prepare Me For Its Massive Success"***

There's often that one moment in our lives when we stop and say...I may have created a monster.

Okay, chill out.  Chill out.  I'm not being a serious as you might thing.  But I am being candid for a reason.

The bottom line is...I wasn't ready for what I ended up unleashing.

A holiday so successful it actually threatened to overtake Christmas as our world's most popular holiday.  Who would have thought that stargazing...watching for shooting stars...and making wishes upon them would resonate with so many people--human and monster alike.

It was one thing back in the Underground to make our wishes on fake stars...painted rocks in the ceiling...

...but this was next level...and the level about that.

In case you haven't realized it?  It was July 7th.

"Oh wow..."

Frisk stopped long enough to window gaze at the plethora of adorable shooting star plushies.  Honestly...I felt like this was part Care Bears, part Rainbow Brite.  All cute beyond words.  And they would be right up Nermal's and Mitzi's alley.  Owners of the largest collection of stuffed animal plushies I'd ever know.  That, in turn, somehow inspired Frisk to start her own collection.

And I think I have Captain Snuffles to thank.

Ohhhh boy.  I wonder if I was the only Asriel in the multi-verse who had an embarrassingly adorable stuffed animal.  I wonder if I was the only one THIS AGE who still had one...?

Ohhhhh boy.  Also, I gotta stop using Sam Becket's catchphrase.

Plushies were the tip of the iceberg.

In the electronics store?  An animated special based ENTIRELY on the story I had passed on about Vega and Altair; broadcast world-wide, albeit translated and localized for each country.  Do I even NEED to say that the broadcast overseas called it the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi?  Oh...I...probably do as it's probably been ages since anyone brought up Tanabata.  Not since I was still living in Miranda City.

Well.  Regardless...back on task.

Muffet's Bakery was already in a back-and-forth rivalry with Grillby's Diner over who could have the most star-studded holiday menu selection.

It started with the breakfast items of Muffet's Stardust French Toast against Grillby's Comet-Fire Pancake stack.

Which lead to the lunch items of Grillby's Galaxy Gyro Sandwiches versus Muffet's Cosmic Constellation Calzones.  Then dinner featured the Planetary Pizza against the Quasar Tacos.  By that point I couldn't keep track of whose specialty items were whose.

And of course...desert.  with the Polaris Parfait...as if I had to clarify who was hosting that one.  It went head to head against Grillby's Solar Molten Lava Cake.

I had a feeling if I got between these two, I'd be about 150 pounds heavier by the time I left the area.  And probably about 200 times more sick to my stomach from overindulging.

Tread carefully in this area and consider finding someone with a REALLY big stomach as your wingman or wing-woman.  Agender, if need be.

Whatever the case...the commercialization was strong.

But was the message as strong?

Judging by how much Muffet was recycling Valentine's Day decorations...probably not as much but not by much.  At least it was being remembered at all.

That said, it was certainly NOT lost on anyone with spatula in hand or dollars...rather...Gold emblems in their eyes.

I think I even managed to get Chara to briefly acknowledge the vibe.  Just not for who I thought it would be.

"Uh...nice...cosplay, sister dear..."

"Damn right it is."

Was she trying to be Altair or Prince Damian?  Oh boy let's not tell Serena or the other Sailor Scouts.

Then again...she could have picked the disguise of Hollow from Mega Man Star Force 2.  I'm sure Lady Vega would have something to say about that, wherever she is when she turned herself in after the fall of Mu.

"Could I have any more references to draw from?"  I asked myself.

When I thought about it...Tanabata was more connected to things I hadn't thought about in a while than I gave credit for.

All day the celebration was in full swing.

What I said in my previous entry about not being a tourist trap?  Today somehow made it a rare exception.

Anyway...let's just cut to the payoff.

Out of all of us, Alphys absolutely begged to do this one.

And you know what?  I could think of no one more fluent in sensei's home dialect then Dr. Alphys.

Years of refining herself on subtitled anime and manga had honed her pronunciation to a fine art.

And while her singing voice wasn't anything to speak of...she held her own on karaoke night.  Often placing in the top 5 or 3 just on technique and flawless memorization of the lyrics alone.  Plus she had the distinct honor of being the only one of us who consecutively sang in "Anime-ish" as Undyne put it.

I did promise not to have a song in the last journal entry.  Well.  This is THIS journal entry.   And I pay tribute to sensei's holiday in the most tasteful way.  By letting Shyren sing this one.  The Traditional Tanabata Song:

***"Sasa no ha sara-sara (The bamboo leaves rustle)***

***Nokiba ni yureru (shaking away in the leaves.)***

***Ohoshi-sama kira-kira (The stars twinkle)***

***Kingin sunago (on the gold and silver grains of sand.)***

***Goshiki no tanzaku (The five-colour paper strips)***

***watashi ga kaita (I have already written.)***

***Ohoshi-sama kirakira (The stars twinkle,)***

***sora kara miteru (they watch us from heaven.)"***

You can relax.

It's a short song.

And so the hour was upon us and the night sky was beautiful.  We'd turned off about every light in the city just to eliminate the light pollution.  And it showed.  It really showed.

M.K. immediately took a position at a telescope.

Frisk and I just decided to view with the naked eye.  It was more romantic that way.

"Look!  There's some right now!"

Sure enough...shooting stars.

"Make your wishes!"  I hurriedly said as I clasped both hands and bowed my head and wished as hard and fast as I could.

Frisk did the same.

All of our family did the same...all close together.

Our hearts were beating as one.  I had a feeling we all had the same wish.  It was the one I was working hard to make come true.

"Did you make it in time?"

Frisk nodded.

"You?"

I smiled.

"Let's hope for the best."

"And dream of the day it comes true."

"Wishes do come true, Frisk.  As long as you work to make them so.  Then the rest...is just good luck and good karma."

Festive Tanabata to all.

## Sub-Entry 225:  "NerdiCon"

I knew I was just sugaring the Devil with this one but...

Alphys literally begged me...on bended knees, arms out and palms overlapping each other on the ground, with forehead pressed tightly against the top of her hands.  Otherwise known as the "if all else fails" apology if my Jangese was correct.

it's really hard to say no when someone degrades  themselves to this extent.

But oh well.  She earned it.  She's more than earned it.

So.  Starting our town's own convention.  A convention of all the good, the bad, and the nerrrrrrrdy (with apologies to Andre Meadows).

Naturally that mean booking a venue.  And yes...once again Mettaton came through with a new town convention center.  More than large enough to host.  Of course the condition was that he had to be the top billing guest of honor.  Auto-graph signing and official merchandise was a must.  And of course he had to plug his latest foray into the  movie-making business.

Who were Frisk and I setting this all up for?

Naturally, I studied up on the various conventions of the Earth realms.  Y'know.  ComiCon, E3 (the Electronics Entertainment Expo), and so forth.

But to mentally prepare myself?  I had to binge watch all the fandom anime out there.  Of course Lucky Star was in the mix.  Konata Izumi certainly showed me how it's done.

And of course, leave it to Frisk to handle the bookings of all the other celebrities and such.

This of course took me back to my earlier journal entry which of course centered on a pair of acorn-eating gumshoes, a sentient candelabra, and of course...that guy who the internet TORE APART before the CG was changed.  You know who I'm talking about.  Really, was the original venue REALLY going to be Jar-Jar Binks?  A lot of people back in Miranda insisted that this was a character who was beyond irredeemable.

Which reminded me.  I hope someone at least noticed Drake Mallard in his Darkwing Duck personal trying to get attention.  Whoops.  Spoilers.

So of course if I was going to do this right...yeah...I'd have to listen to every suggestion Alphys had to give.

Every.

Last.

One.

Oh boy.

"...and we have to appreciate the old-school!  Old-takus like me know our craft so you need the grand-daddies of them all.  Project A-KO, and Bubblegum Crisis and...etc...etc..."

Oh boy.  I had a list that was continuously growing.

You're probably wondering where we would even get a lot of these manga which weren't even found on VGM-098, much less our own planet?

Well...cue Violet compressing down soooo many digital copies of stuff.  And then leave it to Frisk and a legal team to figure out how to set up reprinting it all and exploit some loop-holes that the right connections made possible.

I thought it was better NOT to ask how we do this without being in contact with the respective companies over their IP's.  No doubt...Mettaton found a way and Asgore somehow pushed the additional red tape out of the way.

And that was just comic books.  Mettaton and Alphys had been raiding the NXS's memory core for months now.  Many of the movies and TV and such I had the monopoly over in my first days back here in Undertale were now in the public domain without any licensing issues.  I still don't know how we pulled that off.

Oddly enough when something is public domain...you actually see less bootlegs, knockoffs, and such made.  It's almost like, especially for our human populace...if it's not against the law then why have any desire to do so at all?  Weird how freedom actually lessens that urge to dive into the cookie jar.

Though...there are exceptions.  I'm not going to talk about the file that decompressed recently, telling about the umm...project involving a certain silly old bear that likes his honey.

Back on topic.

Muffet jumped at the chance to do tie-in-pastries.  Of course...Grillby ended up getting the jump on her which only doubled her competitive streak.

This could end up ugly.

Still...if they came up with anything as clever as the food featured at Super Nintendo World in that Japan place on the various Earth realms, I think Frisk and I were going to enjoy it a lot.  Dibs on any Yoshi Egg sweet bean pastries!

Guess my DeltaRune counterpart and I both still have a thing for green dinos that serve as an Italian plumber's steed.

"Fuhuhuhuh!"

"You're okay with this, Undyne?"

"It's like one of those Renaissance Fairs, right?  And if it's all things anime, that must mean there are swords for sale, right!?"

I'll get right on that.

Mom and Dad didn't quite know what to think.  Just that it was some new-age Millennial thing.  They dismissed it as "harmless".

Clearly they don't know the intense regimen of Cons.  Or how packed they get.

Of course Dad had to bring up--

"So this anime convention.  Lots of robots kissing, yes?"

Darn it, Alphys.  Why did you ever show him that video?

I just forced the cheesiest grin in the hopes that I'd reassure him.  Really.  I was trying to convince myself.

Of course Mettaton had Burgerpants to serve as his all-day peon.

"Why have I been forsaken...?"

I think he almost bit his cigarette in half just from grinding his teeth.  Gross.

I've been trying to get him to quit for months now.  I think...it isn't even about the addiction.  It's just about how much Mettaton makes his life suck that he just can't quit.  There's a dark irony that he could end up as much ash and dust as what he's leaving in the ash trays at MTT Resort Deluxe.

Enough about something so disgusting.  I really worried for my friend.  But the more I tried to do...the less I could do...and thus the less I did do.  Some friend, huh?

Monster Kid pat me on the shoulder.

Man, those arms we got him were the best thing that happened to him.

"He'll come around.  He has to listen to you some time or another, dude."

Proof life wasn't always clean cut, much less a bed of roses.  Even in Undertale.  Whether gross habits or low-row toilet humor...yeah...it reminded me all the time that this was no cartoon.  There was still strife.  There was still coping mechanisms.  And yes...all too often the struggle often proved real.

"Maybe that's what something like this is for.  Yet another outlet for our daily grind.  Another way to forget about going through the motions and the constant cycle.

I really wanted to steer this conversation back to more pleasant materials.  The more I brought up Burgerpants...the more he turned my journal entries into downers.  Sometimes controversial downers.

It was kind of a rare thing when M.K. didn't put "dude" in every other sentence.  Yeah, he's more than just a skater/surfer stereotype on our world.  And honestly a nicer guy then he is in DeltaRune.  Thank goodness.  In fact a lot of our town was made up of comparatively better people than our counterparts.  If they were the Lightners...where was the light that shone inside?  If anything...as a Darkner, Ralsei had a kinder heart any of them.

What's impure is now pure.  What's pure is now impure.  That's how it went, yes, Lady Kikio?

As the days leading up to the big one progressed, Alphys and a group of fellow lab techs who shared her passion scrutinized everything.

I took the notes.  Burgerpants ended up making the corrections.  The very.  Fine.  Detailed.  Corrections.

I couldn't feel bad enough for him.  Even when I offered to help but Mettaton insisted menial labor was no place for royalty.

And then I remember why I don't like acknowledging that I am a prince.  Learned from Sally, who hated acknowledging she was a princess.

A royal heritage was no excuse for entitlement and idleness.  A prince doesn't wait for the future.  A prince makes the future.  With his own two hands and the hands of anyone who'd follow him and his example.

"Dear me!"  Dad was getting overwhelmed by the sights and sounds and the prep.  It wasn't even opening day yet and I was worried I was overstimulating him.

"I will keep your father under control."

You're the wind beneath my wings, mom.

And of course--

"About face, goat boy."  Flowey smoldered.

I didn't even get a word in much less invite him to the party.  But nope...yet another day Flowey wouldn't leave the house.  He's really relegated himself to the role of shut-in.  Maybe if he didn't acknowledge us, he wouldn't be acknowledged in return?

Not okay with you playing reverse Roman Reigns, little bud.  But oh well.  You may regret the missed opportunities some day.

So...the day finally came.

"Well.  You've all been given your 'allowance' for the con.  Spend responsibly and spend wisely."

"If you insist, goat dad junior."  Chara prodded.

"I hear you, Azzy."  Frisk saluted.

"Dude!  This is already so awesome!"

"Well then, my friends.  Lock.  Load.  And got to work."

And NerdiCon was off and rolling full steam.

In short order...I think Alphys ended up blowing her entire week's salary.  Maybe more than that.

Oh boy...I'm glad I'm not the accountant who ends up being told to write this off as a business expense.

"Pace yourself, Doctor!"

All I really got out of her was a lot of stuttering and squealing.  This was the best thing ever for her.

Naturally manga and anime topped the features.  But of course we also had to have a gaming section on the next floor up.  And boy oh boy...M.K. must've burned himself out on every single thing coming in the next six to nine months...to a full year away.

And of course...the top floor had to have the TV and movies third of the convention.  Which Mettaton of course darn near overtook.  But...as large as life as he could be...I guess we couldn't find a bigger act.  Though the others might have felt a little...pushed to the side.  But who am I to say for sure?  Some were probably, themselves, fans.

By the end of its fifth day, the Con finally ran down.

And boy did I walk away with probably more than my house had room for.  But...it was once a year.   What's a little spoiling now and then?

If anything Alphys was the one I worried about.

"Are you okay?"

A moan underneath the MOUNTAIN of swag she had gotten.

"She just needs a nice day or two of sleep.  Then I'll get her back to her exercise regimen!  Fuhuhuhuhuh!"

"You do that, Undyne.  And make sure she keeps her eyes off the monitors for a while.  Or she's going to have some seriously bloodshot eyes under those glasses."

"Darn right!"

And the doctor was off and about.

"Ready to go, Frisk?"

"Mmm-hmm."  Frisk picked up her various bags and sacks full of materials.  Mostly reading stuff.  She was sensible.

Chara on the other hand just horded all the sweets and chocolate items she could.

"Don't let your captain see that." I facepalmed.

"What's he going to do?  Confiscate it?"

A momentary pause before Chara tightly hugged her haul to her chest with a death grip.

"Careful.  Or you'll end up melting it before you even get it in your fridge."

And of course M.K. had so many games to haul off he had to bring a little red wagon...or two.

"Oh man...your parents are going to GROUND you when they find out what you spent."

"Duuuuuude!"

"I know, dude!"

Well.  It was a success.  Here's to next year's Con.

## Sub-Entry 226: "The Fourth Floor":

As I narrate this, I hear my own footsteps go from faint to defined.  I'm looking at the ground and seeing the staircase leading up; I see my own sandal-clad feet ascending one step at a time.

"These transitions are becoming smoother and smoother..."  I muttered.

"Hmm?  Did you say something?"  Ralsei asked.

"Nothing important."  I shrugged it off.

It was nerves making me apprehensive about being open at that moment.

The stairs...covered by the familiar red carpet.  It was like Queen's invitation into a trap extended well outside of...wherever she was at this moment.  Mostly likely in the last room of this giant mansion.

Kris remained silent.

Susie was being quiet as well.  Too quiet.

We were all on edge.  And for good reason.

As we reached the top of the staircase...!

It was hard not to notice the hallway of pillars.  They towered over everything.  The city skyline, at night, was visible off in the distance.  Despite how much this building had confined us?  Now it was opened up.

It was then I came to realization once we reached the end of the hallway and entered the next room...a room with a doorway to the left leading up...marked with 3F in green letters above the doorway...and an arrow pointing down, reminding us where we'd come from.

We didn't have time to get our bearings for that was when we met of all things...an upgrade of something familiar.

The Werewerewire strongly blocked the way;

I reasoned a new strategy was in order and whispered my plan to the others.

"You want us to what..!?"  Susie snapped.

Kris and Ralsei whispered sweetly to the Werewerewire.  While it didn’t' seem to do much, it did make our ACT-ing more effective.

It buzzed with an exclamation of "ZTG!" before shooting seeking lasers out of its...er...cone-shaped nose.

"Spark Chaser...!?"  I seemed flabbergasted that his attacks strongly resembled the main weapon of Terra of the Stardroids...and even behaved similar.

Werewerewire clearly acted like it was ignoring us.  But the attacks suggested otherwise.  And...just a feeling, really, that we were having an effect.

While there was variation...ultimately it didn’t' take us much to get him to give up the fight so we could spare him.

"Queen's upping the ante."  I noted the strengthened enemies standing guard.

Susie couldn't help but be distracted, deciding to look into a lone room just a ways over from the 3rd floor staircase; a room underneath a chandelier.

Of course...she homed right in on the statue in the corner.  A statue wielding...of course...an axe.

"Whoa, this statue rocks!  Hey, Ralsei!  Can we take this for my room?"

"Huh?  Umm...th-that would be stealing..."

And like that, we ended up stealing the Susie-like statue.  How about doing some parenting, Azzy!

Further searching revealed clothes of all sorts.  Susie commented she never saw Noelle wear such a thing.

We ended up stealing a lot more items such as an ICE-E statue.

I had a feeling...a feeling we were being led astray...or at least being delayed.  And it wasn't any definitive trap or metaphorical keys-being-dangled in our faces...

...no...it was just run-of-the-mill items you'd probably overlook.  And Susie just couldn't help herself.

Wait, this was the room Noelle was being held in!

Coincidence?

As we left the room...finally...I took only a minute to look over my shoulder and through the window at the night sky.

The moon was full.

In the moment...I was missing Volt and Jon and the other lycanthropes of Miranda City.

The lunar celebrations...

There was no clocktower in our town to host such a thing.  And...I'd just kind of let lunar celebrations pass on by except for the rare September Otsukimi festival of Jang.

Wait.  Head out of the clouds, Azzy.  We have to finish this.

Back outside...

I eyed the doorway back to the third floor...but ultimately our group consensus was to keep going east, through the semi-maze of pathways that ultimately went deeper into our current floor level.  Though...if this was still floor 2...did that mean we started in the basement level all along?

I don't know why I was confusing myself with all of these thoughts and details.  Seemed like distractions in the long run.  But...maybe there was a degree of noise creeping in...?  Maybe this was Madam Fate dragging out this adventure when she decided we were making too good a time.

A lot of maybe...but not enough fact.

"Watch it.  These things again..."  I grumbled seeing the overhanging plugs.

"Goddammit."  Susie cursed as we started dodging zaps and shockwaves.

Finally...

"Let's never do that again."  Susie growled.

I nodded.

"I sense we are getting close."  Ralsei peered ahead.  I could barely make it out.  The darkened room made it hard to see...but I could make it out on the ground.  In big red outline.

Queen's likeness.

As soon as we crossed into the room.

"!!!"

Susie's reaction was instant.

## Sub-Entry 227:  "The Bitter Taste of the Plot Twist.  Queen Had the Upper Hand All Along!?"

"THERE SHE IS!"  Her grinding teeth accentuated how feral she was feeling at the moment.

Admittedly...I think we were all tired of her BS.

Sure enough.

Queen was there in her hover throne, back to us...as nonchalant as ever.

To our left...the towering form of the Dark Fountain's billowing plume of smokey black...darkness...energy.

It undulated in regular, swelling pulses as it poured upward into the sky.

Why were so many Darkners and...Cyberners...?...enticed by this power?

"QUEEN!!! STOP RIGHT THERE!"   Susie was straight to the point.

She spun her chair around, not even phased.

"Ah My Sweet Idiot Children

You Are  Just In Time To Witness My World Domination

With Noelle In My Possession

It Is Only A Matter Of Time Before Her Will Turns

And She Unleashes Her Power

Blanketing The World In--"

My eyes widened as the echoes of my nightmare came reverberating back for an instant.

The horrific call of that dreaded phrase...Snow Grave...

No!  No, we can't allow that to happen!

I grit my teeth, fraught with questions.  Why her?  Why did she have this power?  Why....

And then it became all too clear.  She was like me.  She was like Flowey.  It can sometimes only take one bad day to reduce the sanest person alive...to madness.  The Joker syndrome.

Flowey had a bad day once...when he was Asriel.  When he lost his best friend...he lost his life...and he lost his soul.

With everything...going on...all around Noelle...I was completely amazed how it hadn't pushed her over the edge yet.

Then again...Kris...was the trigger.  And so far...they hadn't done anything that seemed to...encourage Noelle to take that dark path.

"Too late, dumbass!"  Susie interrupted.  "Noelle's with Berdly!"

"Oh

Then Who Is This"

The reveal hit us like a ton of bricks when Berdly's body hit the ground, rag-dolling as his face was gripped by a Werewire plug...dangling from the cord above.

"Oh crap..."  I grit my teeth.

"B...Berdly!?  But he's been...!"

"Intercepted

My Control Plugs Are Now Suitable For Teenagers"

NO!!!

"Now The Whole Family Can Enjoy The Servitude

(Sort Of Regal Mostly Cruel Laughter)"

"Wait!  Then where's Noelle!?"  Susie was now in an understandable panic.

(Laughter Becomes More Cruel)

"Oh I Wonder (I Actually Know The Answer)"

Out came Susie's axe.  Her actions were almost totally on cue.  Understandably so.

I slowly made a move to grip the NX Sabres and fire them up.

"ENOUGH ALREADY!"

"Oh Dear

I Do Sincerely Like You Two

It Will Be A Shame To Force You To Serve Me

An Enjoyable Shame"

Two?  Which of us, too?  And what were the other two of us!?  Never mind.  Not important.  We have a battle right in front of us.  Whether we liked it or not.

"OOOH-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!!!"

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, between my eyes...

"We're doing this."

At this point I didn't know if we could spare such an opponent.  And frankly...it was honestly VERY difficult to care right now.

Yes.

We were all very tired of her bull crap.  And this is the certainly the closest I've come to swearing.

So...

Nothing to do but...do what you gotta do.

With Berdly unwillingly being her pawn?  Yeah...this reeked of a trap.

I scanned with my scanner glass.

Berdly.  Obviously.

And Queen (Defeneseless).

Wait.  Defenseless?  Why was it showing her as defenseless...

No.

It can't be.

It's too easy.

There was no doubt.

This battle was a trap.

And we walked into it.

There was no way out of it but...straight forward.

## Sub-Entry 228: "Showdown. Us vs. Queen"

"Queen blocks the way"

There we were.

Us.

Against her.

With Berdly caught in the middle.  What was her game?  Was she planning on using him as a shield?  Was she planning on using him as her sword?  I'd seen this situation so many times before.  On many a world.   During many a battle against "final bosses".

It was the smart move.  It was a cowardly move.  It was a move that there was no easy way to work around.

A single mistake would mean Berdly would be caught in the crossfire.  He'd take the hit.

If we did nothing?  He'd probably attack us directly under Queen's control.

This was a hostage situation, baiting us to take action.

What were our options?

Loosen.  Throw.  Group Loosen.  Dual Heal.  And Red Buster.

We decided...team effort.  Let's all help Berdly!

We used group loosen.  Everyone loosens Berdly.

Ralsei tried to appeal to reason.

"Queen, think of the Lightners!  Aren't we supposed to make them happy?"

"Is That Not What I Am Doing?"

And sure enough, Berdly was commanded to attack; he literally dropped in on us like a puppet on a string, releasing his tornados while being completely mute all the while.

I sniffed the air and made the observation: "Smells like overclocked high heels."

Violet would have appreciated that.

Susie was quickly taken down but...because of the mathematics of this world she ended up with  negative HP...still alive but...unable to battle.  Like a Pokémon fainting.

While I took the initiative to use our healing items on Susie, Kris went forth and loosened the plug on their own.

"You shook Berdly's wire!"

One ReviveMint later and Susie was back in action.

"Think!  Lightners Have Already Been Enslaved By Me And My Kin"

And just like that the message about her being defenseless was proven a BOLD FACED LIE!  We were bombarded by rapid stomps of her high-heels stomping us from above...and...I wasn't sure how she was doing it, while still seated at her throne!?

Maybe she was doing that Bayonetta thing with Madam Butterfly?

"The Skyline echoes with evil laughter."

This time it was Susie's turn.  And with a mighty toss she lugged Ralsei at the plug's cable.

It loosened significantly.

"Each Day They Spend Hours Worshipping In Global Rapture"

What was she talking about--

"Our Screens of Funny Animals And Candied Games"

Wait.

She was talking about...spending time on the Internet!  She meant web-browsing!  All those times looking at cat videos and playing games like Candy Crush and Angry Birds!?  They called that worship in the Cyber World?

It was an obvious thing I'd glossed over.  Even though I Clearly acknowledged it at every turn!

And then she hit us with a new attack as her wine glass took on a life of its own and become our temporary prison!?  Like that...drops of battery acid rained down on us, filling the glass as our souls tried to avoid being both splashed...and submerged.

And like that the attack ended.

No sooner had it done so...Queen had projected a wall...like a hologram.  A barrier in front of herself.

"That glass of acid is generating her shield!"  Ralsei figured out.

We both looked at each other before getting the same idea.  Which Kris followed up on.

Yeah.  Our path was clear.  Group toast!

"So...you gonna drink all that?"  Susie asked.

"No This Is Mine You Can't Have It"

Queen sipped from the acid...and like that the barrier lessened, darkening panel by panel.  Like a Mega Man life meter bar graph!

And then she resumed her speech about web-browsing.

"Staring. Tapping, To Receive Joy

Staring.  Tapping, To Avoid Pain"

Oh god...she was exactly right!  Sometimes...going to the internet...was just an escape.

Wait.  No time to consider semantics.  Noelle and Berdly need our help!

In that realization, I almost noticed too late that Queen had taken a page out of the Sigma Virus' book and produced a wire-frame head of herself which exploded in wire-frame clones of itself in viral blasts.  And it repeated.  And repeated.

Good gods!  Mega Man X2 much!?

"The Fountain Flows Ominously."

Queen's status had gone from defenseless to protected.  We had to lower that shield.

We all nodded as we had agreed upon our move ahead of time.  Everyone toasted to Queen!  which prompted her to sip from her acid!

And when she emptied the glass...the barrier exploded with a blast, knocking her back only momentarily.  Knocked her back with a yelp.

"...Until Recently When The Town's Internet Disappeared

Now The Refuge They Take In Screens Will Slowly Disappear"

Okay...I was now seeing a legitimate fear Queen was having.  If this place was the internet and everyone's was down...then I'd see why this place would feel like its usefulness to the Lightners was in jeopardy.

No time to ponder!  Commence to dodging mouse cursor lasers!  Like right now!

With her acid shied down, we could attack the plug again.  That had to be her weakness.  Without a peon...was she genuinely powerless?

Everyone loosened Berdly's plug again.

"Noelle...then who will help her?

Her Strange And Sad Searches

Who Will Answer Them?"

It was slowly becoming obvious...the undertones of internet addiction...a substitution for a shoulder to lean on and friendly, sage advice to turn to.  Really.  I didn't want this to become preachy but the message was bombarding us and I think I was the only one picking up on it.

As far as everyone else was concerned this was about saving our classmates.  But was it more?  Was...this the experience that Volt went through?

Yet...wasn't the overall arching narrative...that our choices don't matter?

What's...what's the one truth to believe in in DeltaRune!?

"Get with the program, old man!"

Thanks, Susie.  I needed that.  Focus, Azzy.  You may not be a regular member of the party.  But you HAVE a role to play.

The wine glass attack repeated again.  She was building her acid barrier again!

"A toast to you, er, for making me wear a butler outfit!"  Ralsei offered.

"Bro That's Weird But Okay"

Queen sipped a little from the glass and drained the barrier a little.....moments before Susie cut loose with a Red Buster, doing HUGE damage to the shield.

"Ahem...As I Was Saying...Noelle...then who will help her?

Her Strange And Sad Searches

Who Will Answer Them? Is What I Wondered, Until The KNIGHT Appeared..."

My gaze sharpened as I furrowed my brow.

"And Created This Wonderful World Of Darkness"

And like that we were suddenly bombarded by rabbit emoji-avatar things spewing random words at us...presumably from Noelle's search engine results.  Words like: Cry, Guy, Family, Sound, Laugh, Top10 Tale, Like, Queen, Boy, Mix,  Doll Top20...and so on...

Another group toast.  Another Barrier self-destruct.

"Now The Path Is Clear

All I Have To Do Is Expand This Dark World"

Out of nowhere, plugs suddenly...snapped into place on the sides of our "battle grid" in a weird 4th wall break.  And like that our battle box's sides were all electrified, trapping our souls and limiting our movement...all the while, she showered us with electric sparks.

Another attempt at group loosening...

The wire was cut!  But the plug still held fast.

"Then With The World Covered In Darkness

No One Will Have To Suffer Anymore"

I'd heard this speech before.  It was the classic escape-ism trap.  To quote Captain James Tiberius Kirk....we need our pain.  Without it...we can never know if we're even alive.  We need our pain to grow...to overcome...to make the moments of pleasure mean anything.

A typical villain made something like taking away pain forever sound so noble.  But the truth is...

...it just was a path to entropy.  To what both Chara-Wraith and Evil Chara fought to bring about...it was what Adonis had dreamed of.  A world without a dynamic.  Static.  All while claiming chaos would return the world back to its true self.  Timelines jumping around, shifting left and right and up and down until they stop completely.  In other words...the great NOTHINGNESS.  The Never-ending Story really did say it first.  But it had been said since the dawn of time.

Queens attacks began to run together and barrage in combos by this point.

Another throw and Susie was able to cut the wire again.  But not sever it.

"Instead, Everyone Can Live In My Perfect Mansion

Everyone Blissfully Worshipping Me Like We Blissfully Both Deserve"

ANOTHER wine glass attack.  ANOTHER barrier.

Another combo of toasts and Red Busters.

"Now Stop Resisting Me And Welcome The New Age Of Darkness"

Queen's search engine spam attack unleashed again...but half-way through the text changed to red...and her icon suddenly spewed out a laughing "DRAMA" before everything changed to...censored profanity!?

Peoples avatars were spitting flame wars at us!?!?  WHAT THE HECK!?

By now Ralsei was getting a little fed up.

"We won't let you control everyone with your wires."

"Whoa When Did I Say I Would Do That"

Berdly was suddenly forced to attack again.  Yeah.  Way to disprove our point, Queen.  Sarcasm intended.

"This one's for the marbles..."  I muttered before I decided to...make a memorable and charming toast to Queen.  And Ralsei just happened to do the exact same thing at the same time, making it double effective.

"Wow Spoken Like A Real Trucie"

"Pretty cool how we're...going to kick your ass."  Susie attempted.

"It's A Good Thing I Have No Standards For This"

Another self-destruct.

"Enough You Foolish Children

You May Have Survived My Attacks (Regular)

But I've Been Secretly Downloading My Ultimate Move The Whole Time"

This sure feels familiar...doesn't, it Papyrus?  Sans?

"Now Perish In the Bosom Of: My Hellish Reign"

Okay two red flags, lady.  Language.  And Lewd.  Not in that order mind you.

And the progress bar started filling above the playfield until...error messages?  Download failed?

Instead we got more Sigma Virus type wireframe heads in Queen's likeness.

We all attempted another loosen on Berdly's Plug while Queen attempted her rebuttal.

"So That Final Move Was Supposed To Be Cooler But The Internet Is Down"

Shocker.

The attacks just kept coming and our attempts to loosen the plug just kept up.

Ralsei managed to loosen one of the wires inside the cable.

"Not Bad You Foolish Children--"  Queen started before...

"What The...!"

Berdly suddenly willed himself over to our side of the playfield.

"What Are You Doing

Why Isn't My Control Wire Working"

That was when Berdly's voice, albeit muffled spoke up.

"Thanks to my comrades' kindness...their MERCY...

Now...it's time for me to take my freedom!"  Berdly grabbed the plug and forced it off his face.

And then he stood tall with polearm in hand.

"Queen...!"  He was not happy.  "You may have mastered the number 3...but can you stand up to FOUR of us......I mean five."

I've been acknowledged.  I'm...happy.

"Running Simulation For: The Number Four.  And Five.

Hmm...

You Are Definitely Going To Kick: My Ass

Unless..."

Oh, COME ONNNN!!!  That's like the worst cliche set-up ever!

"Oh No What That"  Queen pointed behind us.

Really...did she think we were going to fall for--

\*snap\*

Guys...guys....guyyyyys.  SERIOUSLY!?!  GUUUUYS!

And in my disbelief of turning to direct my voice at my team mates, clearly falling for the oldest trick in the book...I ended up falling for it, too.

Rouxls put it best.

GOD.

DAMN.

IT.

There.  I cursed.

And like a giggling loon...she just ran off.

"W-wait!!  Wait one nanosecond!  You...!  You cowardette!

You...you...!"

Berdly's temper was about to boil over.  Reasonably so.  I could sympathize at that moment.

"We are all king-sized, colossal IDIOTS..."  I groaned, facepalming.

In that moment, fatigue however took its toll on Berdly and he dropped to one knee.

"Alas..."

## Sub-Entry 229:  "Pride in Spite of the Fall."

"Berdly?"  Susie was genuinely concerned.

"Haha...just now was nothing more than simple bravado...the truth is that wire...Already absorbed all of my succulent energy juices."

Eew.  Gross way of putting it...but ohhh noooo!  Berdly was drained of his strength!  That actually...wasn't good.

And like that...he fell face-first...face down.  He had fainted.

"Berdly!!  Hey!  Hey, Berdly!!  Are you okay!?"

"Everything...getting dark...

(Only...)"

C'mon...don't do this--

"(Only a kiss from a beautiful gamer girl can save me now...)"

...........

All in favor of just leaving him here?

Susie walked over.

"Berdly..."  She leaned over as the world started to turn white...

"Like...get you're...like, losing consciousness and stuff, but,

could you speak up!?"

I recognized that sinister look.  Better quit while you're ahead, Berdly.  For your face's own health and not-beaten-to-a-pulp sake?

"Umm, aha, s-sorry, suddenly I...I...I'm feeling a bit better!"

I crossed my arms and deadpanned.

"Hey.  That's a relief."  The smug was great with this one.

"Well gotta hurry up and save Noelle, so...later."

And Susie headed off.

"Ahh, dearest Susan...so enigmatic in her ways..."

Just.

Make.

It.

Stop.

"We're wasting time."  I smoldered and brushed past him, clearly not having this.

"But I can read her heart, Kris.  Like a health meter."

Are you still talking?

"And it's beeping...for love."

No.  No.  No. NO. NO. NO. NO. NONONONONONONONO...

I'm not listening!  Lalalalalalalalala...!

"Well enough tales, Kris.  Good luck."

And we went our separate ways, yes, Kris?

"May the smarts...NOT be with you."

Holy schnikees...

"Okay."  Ralsei confided in Kris.

A save star.

Perfect.

Ralsei and Kris caught up with me.

We were on our way.

## Sub-Entry 230: "We Finally Reach the Climax! The Final Final Boss!?"

I thought by this point reality would fade back to Undertale again.  But...it was prolonging.  Even after a major battle.

That was clearly no final boss.  But I felt like we weren't AT the final boss yet.

No.

I felt that there was...a bit of discovery before then.

I felt...the Queen had something important to drop before that big point.

This catwalk went on forever.

I had a weird feeling about that statue in the foyer. The one that extended three floors high.  Higher, maybe.

Either way...

It just felt like something of this magnitude...was being not-so-subtly foreshadowed.  But I was jumping to conclusions without solid evidence.

Just because it worked for Dr. Evil in the third Austin Powers movie...

Boy that was a dated reference, already!  How soon we forget after underperforming sequels that leave a fourth one in limbo.

But in all seriousness...

This felt ominous.

This felt like build-up to something.

There she was.

In her hover-throne...back turned to us as she stared out into the night sky.

"The Knight

The Roaring Knight..."

I think I'd heard enough tid-bits about this night.  I wanted the whole story.  Who were they?  What was the deal?

"Today, It Deigned To Create This World"

As Queen narrated, an aqua green outline wrapped around the border of the city skyline...taking the shape of the pattern of skyscrapers.

"Reaching Its Long Hand To The Sky

It Coursed Its Will Into Its Blade

And Made

Thrusting The Fountain From the Earth

...

Unfortunate the World They Created

Is Trapped Within the Confines Of the Library

If Only We Had A Way To Create More Darkness

We Might Be Able To Cover The Whole World

That Is When I Realized

This Power...

This Power Of The Will

This Power Of Determination...

Is This Not Something That All Lightners Possess...?

If One Was Simply

Determined Enough

Could Not Anyone Make A Dark Fountain?"

My eyes widened at that revelation.  Again Determination proves to be the double-edged sword.

"So Then

If The Knight Has Taken Its Leave

Then I Will Simply...

Make A New One"

And that was when the great reveal was made...

Noelle...tied to the giant blue hand from earlier...

She looked so defeated. Head slumped over like that.

"Noelle Honey Darling Sweetie Gravy

How Do You Find The Giant Hand"

"..."

Her silence was worrying me.

"Great.  And How Do You Feel About World domination--"

\*SMAAAASH\*

Like that the purple blast had knocked Queen off her perch.  Literally.

I think...Susie had reached her breaking point.

"Oooh!  Ouchie Mama!"  Queen's cry echoed as she plummeted over the catwalk.

The blast had also undone Noelle's bindings.

"S-Susie!  You...you came t save me!  Somehow...I...I...I knew you would!"

"Uh...you did?"

"Umm...I mean...I...um...well...

...

W...Wait!!  Wait!!  Wait!  You need to get out of here!  Hurry!"

"H-huh...?"

That was when the rumbling began...followed by a VASTLY amplified, vocoded version of Queen's laughter.

Uh-oh...

Big uh-oh.

Big...big...BIIIIIIG uh-oh.

Those rumblings...

Rhythmic...more like...

STOMPING.

And slowly...came the reveal.

As it rose up...I saw the hair...

...I saw the visor...like a windshield...

I saw the giant pauldron shoulders...

...and that face...

And inside the visor...

Queen.

Oh my gods....why do I never think to trust my instinct!?

She did it.

She really, REALLY did it.

The biggest, baddest...most cliche supervillain trope of all.

Getting into a giant robot/mech of your own likeness.

Yeah.

This sure felt like a final boss.

"Q...Queen!?"  Ralsei was beyond flabbergasted.

"Seems That You Failed To Notice

The Giant Freaking Robot In the Middle Of My Palace"

Darn it all...darn it all...DARN IT ALLLLLL!  I saw it.  I acknowledged it.  I wrote it off as just an eccentric statue.

And even when I was about to come to the conclusion that this was probably the final boss...

...I brushed it aside for what I thought was the bigger picture.

Well.

No picture gets any bigger than this.

Curse you, Madam Fate.  For making the most obvious trope in the world...and yet...you STILL caught us all by surprise!!!  How did you do it!?  How!?  HOW!?!?

I think...by this point...my frustration...my panic...and everything else...

...finally pushed my concentration to break...and thus finally loosened my grip on this dreamscape reality.

I could barely hold onto Noelle's words as she whimpered.

"Th...this isn't good...she's...she's invincible like this!"

"Huh?"  Susie was...oddly nonchalant?

"She...she's been bragging about her final form all day!"

"H...Heh..."  Susie chuckled with...extreme difficulty.  Yeah...there was no trying to convince us of your believability.  You were just as scared as the rest of us.

"YOU THINK GROWING A FEW INCHES IS GOING TO HELP!?"

Okay, THERE'S the Susie we all knew.

"Yes"

And the right hand raised...in it...a giant wine glass of green battery acid.  Oh boy.

Typically robots that use acid as an attack are no small--

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZZ!!!

The green laser beam swelled out from the acid and swept across the WHOLE catwalk, flooring all of us and knocking us almost completely unconscious.  That one attack...!

"Are We Cool To Take Over The World Now?"

"S...Susie...let's just give up and..."

"HELL IF WE'RE GIVING UP NOW!"  Susie roared, getting back up, Hella pissed.

"S...Susie...?"

"So what if you got another form!?"  Susie pointed at Queen.

That was when I was feeling a familiar energy.  The same energy from Gol D. Roger...the same energy from Monkey D. Luffy.  The energy of someone to dumb to quit...but too strongly committed to never breaking their world.  Yeah.  The best kind of determination usually erupted from this mentality.  The hero that just gets more and more determined the more you knock them down.

"We've got one too!"

Oh no...no, Susie, no."

"Kris, Ralsei!  C'mon."

Not...that...

"Wha...what are you doing!?"  Noelle's look of disbelief was...legendary.

"This is our ultimate... uh...w-wait a sec...now that you mention it..."

"Oh No It Appears I Am Evenly Matched"

...did this suddenly become Wonderland and everyone was as mad as a hatter or...were we being trolled as we're also trolling?

"I Hope You Don't Mind If I Don't Hold Back!"

And with that...the fist came down and knocked the four of us off our perch, leaving Noelle by her lonesome.

Oh no.

Oh no...oh nononononononono....!"

I hated falling dreams...

Because I had no way of knowing if I'd wake up before I hit the ground.

"We're falling...!"

"Any bright ideas on how we're getting out of this one?"

"We could try flapping our arms?"  Ralsei suggested.

You're.  Not.  SERIOUS.

"Fear not!  Your knight in glow-in-the-dark armor is here!"

What!?  BERDLY!?

I would have figured the dream would have ended on a cliffhanger by this point...and we'd find out what happened in another month but...

I still needed to hang on for just a bit longer.

And like that...a long convoy of flying rollercoaster cars in Berdly's ducky likeness caught us.  But we weren't alone.

Sweet.  Cap'n.  And Cakes where there, too.  And suddenly...the music changed again.  This time...to absolute rockin'.

And while.  What a segue.

"Kris...Susie...my energy is still too low to help you fight...so I found help for you!  Behold!  Comrades!

"On your quest against Queen..."

"You've made all sorts of buddies, right?"

"Using our junk-making skills..."

"We modified everyone...to work together."

"(I shalt also take Credite for This...)"

They also rescued Rouxls Kaard!?

That was when I noticed how long the rollercoaster was...and how many people were with us in total.

To quote Pit and the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament?

EVERYONE.  IS.  HERE.

"Kris!  Susie!  Behold!

The ULTIMATE GROUP PROJECT!"

And our transformation began...!?

"With a splendid base..."

Oh god...not the gold statue with nipples...

"...flashing lights...."

"HAPPI...BRAVARY..."

"(meow noise)"

"My energy"

"(squeak noise)"

"Tender Loving Care!"

"Fresh cooking!"

"Organization!"

"And...mosteth of all...Whatevereth this thingeth is!!!"

Shut.  Up.  We're really...really doing this!?  We're going FULL VOLTRON/POWER RANGERS!?!

Oh gods...I think I just fan-gasmed.

"Finally...A Worthy Opponent..."

We landed SMACK dab in the middle of the city street...just as Queen's robot landed in front of us.

if ever a more epic set-up.

It would be a battle of battles...a fight of fights.....the ultimate robotic beatdown...

...only it would have to leave off on that cliffhanger...

"Asriel!"

I sat up in a frenzy.

"Aww, MAN!  It just got to the good part!!!"

"Ooooooooh!!!!"  Alphys gasped with starry-eyed wonder, sounding remarkably like Deep Log administrator, RiCO from Mega Man X DiVE.

"What a place to leave off on a cliffhanger..."  Frisk lamented.

"I know, right!?"  I was practically kicking myself.

By now anyone in the know of our dreamscape project was on the edge of his or her seat.

We had to see this through.  And yet...despite how much progress we made...despite being at the very last boss...despite everything...

I felt there was still a lot more left.  Not just a battle.  But a return to the Light World...and let's not forget...

...the promise we made to Spamton.

There was still so much left to wrap up...and so many questions.

"You'll get em' next time, tiger."

"So, I'm Peter Parker now, huh?  You my M.J., Frisk?"

Blank stares.

I sighed.

"Yup...another reference I'm going to have to explain.  One I think Muffet might appreciate, too....

I hopped down off the table and pondered, pacing a bit.

Here we were.

At the climax.

I knew next month would be a doozy.  And even then...I felt like there was a story beyond.

Was there, though?

It was hard to say.

All I knew...was it was time to put DeltaRune on hold, yet again.

For next time...we'd be closer if not at finality.  And maybe...maybe we'd find out what the deal was beyond the Cyber World.  Maybe...maybe we'd finally get to the bottom of the mystery of the Knight.

For now...

It looks like the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure send off was in order.

To be continued...?

Maybe...to be concluded.

Chapter 24

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