Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers

Sweetie Void and the others were in the skeletons’ house, sharing some hot cocoa to warm up after the intense snowball fight. They used the occasion to talk about an important matter: Undyne.

“WATERFALL IS UNDYNE’S AREA. SHE PATROLS THE WHOLE PLACE BY HERSELF. OTHER GUARDS AREN’T NEEDED. IF YOU PASS BY THERE, YOU WILL DEFINITELY ENCOUNTER HER SOONER OR LATER. AND HER OPINION OF HUMANS IS RATHER… MURDERY,” Papyrus explained.

“Undyne is the current Captain of the Royal Guard, right?” Toriel asked.

“EXACTLY! SHE TRAINED HARD FROM CHILDHOOD WITH ASGORE HIMSELF! AND… WELL… AS HER FRIEND, I AM OBLIGATED TO TELL HER THE TRUTH ONCE I REPORT WHAT HAPPENED TO HER. WITH ALL THIS EXCITEMENT, I ACTUALLY FORGOT TO CALL HER TO TELL HER ABOUT THE HUMANS. I KNOW THAT I SHOULD LIE TO HER AND TELL HER THAT THERE ARE NO HUMANS, BUT I DON’T WANT TO LOSE HER TRUST… BUT THEN, I WOULD PUT YOU IN DANGER…”

The poor skeleton was clearly conflicted.

Phantom chuckled. “Then don’t lie. Tell her that there are humans, and that they are being escorted to the capital by Asgore’s ex-wife. You are telling the truth, and Undyne will believe that we are being sent to our death, so even if we encounter her, she will let us pass.”

Papyrus stared at Phantom, then got stars in his eyes and put his hands on his cheeks. “WOWIE! THAT'S AN EXCELLENT IDEA, MY COOL FRIEND! I’M CALLING HER TO TELL HER THAT RIGHT NOW! WAIT. TO YOUR DEATH?”

Sans sighed. “later, paps.”

“OKAY!”

At that, Papyrus took his phone and dialed Undyne’s number. After a couple of rings, the captain answered.

“UNDYNE! I HAVE GOOD NEWS! THERE ARE HUMANS!”

He suddenly had to put the phone away from his ears as they could hear Undyne yell.

«REALLY?! Humans?! Plurial?!»

Once Undyne stopped yelling, Papyrus hesitantly put the phone back against his ear. “YES. FIVE HUMANS.”

Again, he had to move the phone away.

«HECK YEEEEAH!!! Finally! Freedom, here we come! Where are they?!»

“THEY ARE IN SNOWDIN TOWN.”

«WHAT?!! Why did you not warn me before?! You must have seen them in the forest! Did you try to capture them by yourself? Papyrus, that’s too dangerous! I know that you are tough, but five humans, that’s too much!»

“ACTUALLY, I DIDN’T HAVE TO TRY TO CAPTURE THEM. YOU SEE, THEY ARE ALREADY BEING ESCORTED TO ASGORE BY NONE OTHER THAN THE EX–QUEEN HERSELF!”

«WHAT?!!»

“I ACTUALLY ESCORTED THEM THROUGH THE FOREST. AND… I MAY HAVE USED THE OCCASION TO TEST MY PUZZLES ON THEM TO SEE IF I COULD CAPTURE THEM.”

«Wait wait! Are you saying that Asgore’s ex revealed herself after all these years MIA and is actually bringing the last human needed to destroy the Barrier to the capital? Willingly? What about the humans?»

“OH, THEY ARE WILLINGLY FOLLOWING HER!”

«…Bring them to Waterfall ASAP. I’ll meet you at the entrance, before Sans’ station.»

“VERY WELL, UNDYNE!”

Then, he ended the call.

“LET’S NOT MAKE HER WAIT,” he said before he finished his cacao and got up.

Everyone else did the same.

“i’m going to my station. wouldn’t want undyne to yell at me for not being present at my post,” Sans said before he moved into the kitchen, never coming back out.

“I can not thank you enough for helping us, Papyrus,” Toriel said as she got up.

“IT’S ONLY NORMAL.”

Before long, they exited the house and moved toward Snowdin’s exit. Not even one minute later, they were before Sans’ station at Waterfall’s entrance where they found the armored figure of Undyne trying to calm down a very excited Monster Kid. Sans was also present at his station, looking very amused.

“When I grow up, I wanna be like you and beat up bad guys!” the kid shouted.

“The Royal Guard will be happy to have you, kid. Now, please, I’m on a mission, so return to your home. Humans are approaching,” Undyne said.

“Really? Humans? Oh my god! Will you beat them up?”

“I’m here to see about that.” At this moment, Undyne spotted them approaching. “Speaking of the devil, here they are.”

“HELLO UNDYNE! I’M BRINGING THE HUMANS! I SUPPOSE THAT YOU WILL WANT TO ESCORTE THEM THROUGH WATERFALL.”

Through her helmet, Undyne stared at Toriel. “So that’s true, the queen is back.”

“Ex-queen,” Toriel corrected.

“I didn’t expect YOU of all people to be the one to send a human to Asgore. I thought that you left him and the kingdom because you hated the idea of sacrificing humans.”

Toriel sighed. “They convinced me.”

Frisk nodded. “We want the monsters’ freedom.”

Undyne stared at her, then removed her helmet, revealing her fish-like appearance.

“You are saying that you are ready to give up your life for us?”

“Exactly,” Phantom said.

“...Very well. But there is no need to go all the way to Asgore for that. Asgore… He doesn’t want to kill another human. The six previous ones weigh heavily on his shoulders. So…” She summoned a spear. “Let me be the one to bear this weight this time. I’m prepared for that.”

However, Toriel placed herself in front of the kids, glaring at Undyne. “Asgore is the one who started that, he should be the one to end it. Let him live with the full weight of his choice. Besides, whether you are the one who kills or not, it will still be under his law, so he will still be responsible for their death. Their blood will still be on his hands, even if indirectly. You killing them now will not help him.”

Undyne growled. “You think I don’t know that? But this is still preferable than him giving the killing blow!”

“How about you talk to him and see what he prefers?”

“besides, undyne, must i remind you that papyrus is still here?” Sans suddenly said from his station, no humor in his voice.

Undyne immediately looked toward Papyrus who looked very… uncomfortable. “Shit…”

“THE HUMANS SENT TO ASGORE ARE KILLED? WHY?” the tall skeleton asked.

The captain panicked, then looked around in search of a solution before she looked at Sans for help.

Toriel was surprised. “You mean, you did not know that it is why monsters capture humans?”

“NO? I THOUGHT THAT THE KING JUST NEEDED A POWERFUL SOUL TO DESTROY THE BARRIER, AND THERE WAS NO NEED TO KILL THE HUMAN FOR THAT. THE HUMAN WOULD BE LET GO TO RETURN TO THEIR HOME.”

“Oh…” Toriel wasn’t sure what to say. She then looked at Sans to see what she should do, only to see him with a look of sad acceptance. She sighed. “In order to destroy the Barrier, seven human SOULs are needed. However, the SOULs need to be absorbed by a monster, and for that, the humans need to be killed. There is no other way around that.”

“NO OTHER WAY?” Papyrus repeated. “REALLY?”

Undyne groaned. “Asgore made Alphys try to find something, but there have been no words about that project in a while. Probably a dud.”

“Asgore tried to find an alternative?” Toriel asked in surprise.

“Yeah, as I said, he really doesn’t want another human to die. He really hoped that Alphys would find something using the SOULs we already possess. But it seems that, in the end, there are no other ways. We either kill seven humans to get their SOULs, or we remain trapped down here, hopeless.”

“HOW ABOUT LETTING THE HUMANS LIVE WITH US AND WE WAIT FOR THEM TO DIE OF NATURAL CAUSE?”

“That was the initial idea when Chara first arrived. But then, THAT day happened, and plans changed,” Toriel said bitterly.

“And it would be cruel for other monsters to let humans live among us when we are so close to freedom,” Undyne said. “Hope is already dwindling, monsters are falling down one after another. Then, finally, freedom is within reach, but we let the humans live and we have to wait around another century to see the sun? Especially after we killed all the previous humans?”

“it would be a very horrible bad joke,” Sans said. “monsters would fall down by the dozens, or revolt.”

“BUT… I DON’T WANT THEM TO DIE…”

Undyne sighed. “Damn it, Papyrus… You befriended them, right?”

Papyrus just looked down sadly at that.

Undyne groaned and rubbed her face.

“MAYBE… IF WE SHOW TO THE MONSTERS THAT THE HUMANS ARE NICE? HOTLAND IS ON OUR WAY. WE COULD TALK TO METTATON AND HAVE HIM TALK TO THE HUMANS BEFORE THE CAMERA.”

“The humans being nice wouldn’t change the situation we are in. Either we kill them, or we remain trapped for another century,” Undyne said. “While the monsters would be less willing to have the humans killed, they would still feel bad knowing that they are so close, yet so far to see the sun. Some would accept the situation and wait, but others… And most monsters aren’t as long-lived as Gerson, so for many, giving up killing the humans would mean giving up seeing the sun during their lifetime.”

Toriel stared at Undyne with hesitation. “It has gotten that bad?”

“Yeah, the hope Asgore gave us when he declared war on the humans is the only thing holding this kingdom together, but even that hope is disappearing fast as we talk. Monsters falling down are multiplying. We are slowly but surely losing population.” Undyne then glared at Toriel. “Their queen suddenly abandoning them certainly hasn’t helped.”

Toriel winced.

She… didn't really give all that much thought on how things would develop in the Underground over the years. She was so focused on preventing further bloodshed, it didn’t cross her mind.

And having Undyne in front of her, she found out she didn’t have anything to respond to her.

Undyne, tired of glaring, simply huffed, then turned around.

Reservations for the ex-queen aside, she could admit part of her dreaded fighting her: boss monsters were called such for a good reason, and she likely had more years of experience than her even if her skills must be rusty.

But then there was Papyrus… He was just too considerate-to the point it made her really hesitant to ever let him be a Royal Guard. If she fights now, he might genuinely freeze up and get caught by a nasty attack. And in the worst case… He might even try to run away with the humans, branding him a traitor and then she would have to…

Yeah, no. She was not dealing with that.

“Anyways, while I don't doubt a boss monster would be enough to deliver them… I'm still gonna stick with you. Just to make sure there's no… second-guesses,” she said, glancing quickly at Toriel before looking ahead again.

“AND AS AN ASPIRING ROYAL GUARD, I SHALL ESCORT YOU TOO!” Papyrus said.

Undyne sighed. ”I don't think that's-”

The moment she turned around, Papyrus was giving her puppy-eyes.

More annoyingly, the humans joined him.

Undyne groaned loudly. ”Fiiiine! But you better don't let them out of your sight!”

“YES MA'AM!” Papyrus saluted.

Internally, he sighed in relief.

Good, that should have bought him some time.

He… didn't know what to think right now. All this time, what he believed a Royal Guard to be…was a lie.

A lie that Undyne, his friend, upheld to him. That… hurt.

But he could deal with that later. Right now he must make sure the humans remain safe! And when they meet Asgore… He didn’t know how, but somehow he would convince him and everyone else to not kill them, that there was a pacific solution to all this.

There must be.

And so, with Undyne putting the helmet back on her head and taking the lead, the group entered Waterfall, leaving a sighing Sans behind, as well as Monster Kid, who had been forgotten but didn’t dare to say or do anything after such a discussion.

They passed the Bridge Seed puzzles, Undyne scaring away an Aaron, then the wishing room where the kids let a Woshua clean them, then they arrived at the raft that could only pass one person at a time.

“Ok, I’m going first. Toriel next. Then the children. And Papyrus will go last. Papyrus, be sure that the humans don’t escape,” Undyne instructed.

“OF COURSE!”

So they used the raft one by one, and they were able to continue. After that, they traversed the pier, then thy arrived at the room with the cheese trapped in crystal.

Suddenly, as they advanced into the following corridor, Undyne stopped, making the whole group stop.

“What the hell?” she said.

Sweetie Void looked ahead and understood why Undyne stopped.

She may have traversed the Underground only once, but from what she remembered, this corridor wasn’t supposed to be that long. It should lead right away to Sans with his telescope. Instead, the corridor was longer, and there was a gray door in the left wall.

For some reason, Sweetie Void felt a chill when she saw the door.

Beside her, Frisk gulped and muttered, “Another one…”

“What do ya mean?” Apple Death whispered back.

“Throughout my runs, I encountered a couple of anomalies. Once, I got a phone call asking for someone with a name starting with “G” only to give me the wrong number song. Then, in another run, I met a gray monster that looked like that guy who used all his money to buy a donut from Muffet in Hotland, however, this one was holding a talking head, and he talked about the ancient Royal Scientist, one Doctor W.D. Gaster, who apparently shattered through space and time. And apparently, the talking head was a piece of him. Then he disappeared.”

“Creepy,” Kris said.

As they talked, Undyne carefully approached the door while Toriel and Papyrus frowned.

“I don’t remember ever seeing a gray door in this area,” Toriel said.

Papyrus nodded. “Me too.”

The children decided to approach, and the adults remained close.

Slowly, Undyne reached for the door, then opened it, looking at what was inside.

All she could see was a gray room… and someone in the center, immobile.

He… was familiar. The guy looked like a skeleton wearing a black smock. However, his skull was cracked, with one crack going from his right eye to the top of his skull while a second crack was going from his left eye to his mouth. Also, his hands had a large hole in their palm. As for his body, it seemed goopy, with no legs visible. Currently, his eyes were closed.

Undyne frowned. “Who are you?”

The skeleton didn’t answer, remaining immobile.

Undyne entered the room, letting the others look into it.

“Who is this?” Phantom asked, on her guard.

“No idea, I never saw this guy,” Frisk said. “But he looks like a skeleton. Is he related to you, Papyrus?”

Papyrus rubbed his chin. “YES, HE DOES FEEL VERY FAMILIAR.” He then gasped. “COULD HE BE…?!” And suddenly, he entered the room.

“Papyrus, wait! I have a bad feeling!” Sweetie Void shouted before she entered the room.

Hesitating, the other children entered too.

“Wait, my children!” Toriel said before she entered too.

Everyone stared at the skeleton, not saying a word until Papyrus said, “ARE… ARE YOU…?”

Suddenly, the skeleton reacted, his eyes opening, and his smile widening.

“☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☼︎☜︎📪︎ (HERE YOU ARE,)” a voice then echoed from all around

Then, the door closed behind everyone.

And the room simply disappeared, leaving behind a… void, with lines of ones and zeros floating around.

The skeleton’s smile widened even more as he looked right at Sweetie Void.

“✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎✌︎☹︎😐︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎📪︎ 💧︎🕈︎☜︎☜︎❄︎✋︎☜︎ 👌︎☜︎☹︎☹︎☜︎📬︎ (I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU, SWEETIE BELLE.)”