//------------------------------// // chapter five // Story: Of Monsters and Girls // by Fullmetal Pony //------------------------------// Fluttershy cast out her hand and spread seeds across the nearby grass. Birds flocked from all across the courtyard and descended on the snack. A few birds flew out of the flock after getting their meal, landed beside Fluttershy and chirped at her. She smiled and pet them on the head. She then turned to her right and stared down at the ghost gazing up at the reddening sky. “Are you doing okay, Mr. Napstablook?” “Yeah,” Napstablook moaned. “It’s not like the family tradition, but staring up at the sky and contemplating your insignificance in the infinite cosmos is nice.” “Well…” Fluttershy glanced away from Napstablook and over at the statue. “I’m happy you’re enjoying it at least.” Napstablook vibrated in response. Fluttershy flinched at the display, but relaxed when he pulled out a cellphone from within his translucent form. He turned onto his side and muttered a few words then stuffed the cellphone back into wherever he kept it. Lifting upwards, he turned to Fluttershy. “Sorry, my cousin called asking for a favor,”* he sighed. “He’s usually too busy to notice me, so it’s probably important.” “Oh, that’s fine.” Fluttershy heard the distant sound of a door opening and spotted Rarity emerging from the the backstage exit of the theater department. “It looks like my friend is ready to head home too. I hope things go well with your cousin.” “Maybe they will.” A draft caught Napstablook and he floated a few feet into the sky and then vanished. Fluttershy scattered the rest of the birdseed she had on her and then got up. After brushing off her skirt, she made her way over to Rarity. ~~~ “This is gonna be so super duper amazing!” Pinkie exclaimed with a wide grin. “Thank you so much for agreeing to this!” Across the table, a girl bedecked in large headphones and tinted glasses smiled at Pinkie and gave her the thumbs up. She appeared unaffected by the large-slab like figure sharing that side of the booth with her. Tube-like appendages extended out of its sides and ended in cartoonish gloves that rested on the table. A series of dials and screens dominated the front of it and were constantly lighting up either red or yellow. “It’s a pleasure,” the figure beeped. “King Asgore has been working hard to get monsters accustomed to the surface, but the lack of entertainment venues is killing me!” “Well, don’t worry about a thing, Mr. Mettaton,” Pinkie sang. “It may not be as amazing as your own TV program, but I’m sure everyone will love seeing you perform!” A few of Mettaton’s screens turned red. “Oh, how wonderful.” Pinkie clasped her chin and narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure you’re gonna be able to do all those moves though? They look kinda… impossible to do on a wheel.” “Ooohhhh yessss,” Mettaton said in an alien and smooth voice that perked Pinkie’s ears. Something whirled within Mettaton and he shook violently. Vinyl scooted back a few inches. A bright light erupted out of Mettaton, illuminating the dimmed dining area of Sugarcube Corner for a brief moment. A electric guitar strummed from somewhere. Pinkie and Vinyl’s recovering eyes were drawn to the lone light that now shined down on the counter that divided the kitchen from the rest of the Corner. The light glistened off the shimmering metal chalice that made up the torso of the figure standing on top of the counter. The heart around his waist glowed with neon. Even inside the Corner, his luxurious hair flowed over his right side and glowed from the circuitry underneath. “Pinkie?” Mrs. Cake called as she rushed out of the kitchen. “There was a flash, is everything o— Oh my…” “I’m glad to see my appeal in this form isn’t lost on humans either,” Mettaton mused. He raised a more intricate hand up to his perfectly dimpled chin. “Though Frisk seemed quite shocked as well… then again, I was trying to get their so—” Pinkie shoved her face right up to Mettaton’s. “That’s amazing! Wow, Mr. Mettaton, if you do that with everyone there, they’ll be talking about you forever!” “And this is only the start,” Mettaton chuckled. “With the modifications Alphys has made since we got to the surface, I’m sure I can make your plan a shining success!” A knock at the door drew everyone’s attention. Mrs. Cake bussed over to it and then turned back to Pinkie. “Dear, were you having any more monsters over?” “Yup!” Pinkie replied. “Let them in! Let them in!” Mrs. Cake undid the lock and smiled while a ghost and a what appeared to be some sort of mermaid monster came in. The past few days had worn on her and Carrot Cake, but after some talks with Pinkie and assurances that the monsters outside wouldn’t devour their children's’ souls, they’d managed to reopen the Corner to a flood of business. The first two days had been nerve racking, but the Cakes had persevered and professionalism had won out. Now Mrs. Cake had no problem greeting monsters with the warm and practiced smile that was a signature part of Sugarcube Corner’s charm. Her smile shrank when the third monster sloshed into the Corner. It was a bone white thing with a bottom like a slug that burbled and hissed as bubbles rose up along it. It left a slimy trail behind it that made it seem like a glue factory had just exploded. Its torso somewhat resembled the mermaid monster’s but it pulsated and twitched in a way that roiled Mrs. Cake’s stomach. What truly made the muffin she’d taste tested earlier crawl up the back of her throat though was the amorphous mass of clay-like flesh that composed the monster’s head. It constantly quivered and shifted around with massive fangs jutting out in all directions. Mrs. Cake let out a sigh when it finally passed, but turned white as a sheet when an eye appeared out of the goop and glared at her. Napstablook floated up to Mettaton and sighed. “Sorry we’re late.” “Oh, Blooky, I’m just glad you came.” Mettaton snapped his fingers and in a flash returned to his slab-like form. He then beeped, “Anyway, I’d like you to meet Pinkie Pie and Vinyl Scratch. They’ve given me quite the event to perform at and Ms. Scratch would love to have another DJ to play off of.” “Okay,” Napstablook moaned. “Wonderful!” Mettaton exclaimed. “Glad to see you’re up for it. Now, if she’s willing, I think this would be a good chance for Shyren to perform too.” “I don’t know…” Shyren bowed her head. “Are humans really interested in singing?” “Of course we are!” Pinkie exclaimed. She sunk back into her seat when Shyren shied away from her. In a lower voice she said, “I mean, I bet everyone would love to hear you sing.” “But those girls…” Shyren murmured. Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Girls?” “Girls only care about magic,”“Girls only care about magic,”“Girls only care about magic,”“Girls only care about magic,”“Girls only care about magic,”“Girls only care about magic,” Lemon Bread bellowed with the voice of several monsters. “I didn’t like them.”“I didn’t like them.”“I didn’t like them.”“I didn’t like them.” “Woah, woah.” Pinkie waved a hand. “Sorry, I’m still learning a whole bunch about monsters, but it’s a little hard to understand all of that.” “It was really nothing,” said Shyren. Mettaton turned toward Napstablook. “What’s this all about? I wouldn’t want there to be a problem.” “Shyren’s been meeting with some girls the past few days,” Napstablook explained. “They said they really liked to sing but didn’t have the voices for it anymore so they kept asking Shyren about her magic too. Sounds like they had an argument today… and then Lemon Bread stepped in.” “No one hurts Shyren,”“No one hurts Shyren,”“No one hurts Shyren,”“No one hurts Shyren,” Lemon Bread muttered. “Huh, weird,” said Pinkie. She then smiled at the group. “Well, I know how important it is to be comfortable when you do something you like, so if you don’t feel like singing that’s a-okay! We’ve got plenty of events planned, so no worries!” Napstablook drifted close to Pinkie. “What is this ‘plan’?” Pinkie’s grin widened. “Only the greatest thing I’ve ever come up with yet. It’s gonna be the most awesomest way to get monsters and humans together but we’re gonna have to work fast to get it all set up!” ~~~ “And you think this Coco girl could help?” Rarity asked while she and Fluttershy walked home. “I mean, I’m not entirely sure, but Twilight said the work she does at Crystal Prep is really good, and well…” Fluttershy tucked her chin. “Because of everything that’s happened lately, maybe she won’t be near that scary girl.” “Oh Fluttershy,” Rarity chuckled. “I can see why Suri might scare you. Heavens knows she gives everyone a death glare at fashion shows. If Coco is as skilled as you say though, that certainly explains how Suri’s been able to do so much business on top of schoolwork.” Something pressed against Rarity’s head. She raised and hand and seized up, feeling spide webs clutching to her hair and finger. She shot her hands up to her head and swatted the web out while trying not to disturb her hair too much.. Fluttershy frowned as Rarity wiped the ruined web off off on a nearby wall. Another web hung in front of her, but she ducked, leaving the web untouched. “Oh, I hope my hair is okay,” Rarity whined. “I hope the spider is okay,” Fluttershy murmured. They moved along, but after a few steps, the ground started sucking at their shoes. With the sun little more than a sliver on the horizon, the street was dark enough to obscure whatever was tugging at Rarity and Fluttershy’s feet. A bit of sweat covered their foreheads as they kept moving along. After a few more steps, it felt as if weights were wrapped around their ankles. They could feel something pressing against their boots as they trudged forward, their breath growing quickening. More and more of the unseen substance crept up their legs, further slowing them. “R-rarity,” Fluttershy gasped. “I-I think we should take a different way back. S-something’s not right.” “G-good idea,” Rarity huffed. She twisted her torso around, but her legs remained locked in place. The spin sent off her balance and she fell to the ground. Instead of asphalt or cement, she landed on a springy substance. She sighed in relief at not getting scraped up, but she froze when she found herself unable to get back up. “Fluttershy, I’m stuck!” “I’m coming, Rarity!” Fluttershy trudged forward, but she was caught mid-stride and couldn’t move her legs another inch. She felt something pressing against her arms as well. “Okay, I’m not coming… help.” Both girls opened their mouths to scream, but froze when they felt something crawling up their bodies. As the road darkened, the streetlights came on, revealing that the small side street was completely covered in spider webs. Goosebumps erupted across Rarity’s skin seeing that she was stuck to a web that covered the ground and spiders were crawling all over both her and Fluttershy. “Well, well,” came a voice from up above, “looks like we have guests.” A monster descended down from the shadows and came to rest on the a large spider web that hung between Rarity and Fluttershy. Her five eyes scanned over the scene and she crossed her uppermost pair of arms across her chest. “You’ve got a lot of nerve barging in here,” she huffed. “W-we take this way home every day!” Rarity yelped. “Now please, get these spiders off of me!” “And that give you the right to break up a spider’s web?” asked the monster. “It’s going to take at least two hours to fix all the damage you’ve done. And we’re going to be hungry afterwards” “We’re s-sorry!” Fluttershy pleaded. She glanced over and saw a lone spider clutching the remains of a web with its frontmost legs. Its thorax glinted like a diamond under the streetlights. Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Oh my, a jeweled zipper spider.” “Yes,” the monster grumbled. “And she was just getting ready for dinner to fly by.” “Oh…” Fluttershy managed to lower her head an inch. “Their webs are said to be some of the thinnest but also incredibly intricate. In the dark, they’re almost impossible to see. I’m sorry.” “Hmmm, it’d be a shame to waste a human spider enthusiast and at least you avoided the webs.” The monster blinked its eyes in a counterclockwise manner and then grinned. She then crawled across the webs and neared Fluttershy. She stretched out her middle set and lower set of arms and sliced through the webs binding Fluttershy. “You’re free to go.” Fluttershy rubbed wrists and looked up at the monster. “What about Rarity?” “I don’t tolerate spider-haters.” “It was an accident!” Rarity shouted. The monster’s eyes gleamed and her fanged smile widened. A jug of liquid and a large orange donut dropped down on strings beside her. “Prove it. I’ve been struggling on the surface to establish my own cafe, so the spider cause needs all the help it can get. If you’re not really a vile web smasher, I’m sure you won’t mind supporting our bake sale.” “Yes! Yes!” Rarity gasped. “I’ll buy whatever it is, no matter how many calories it has!” “Excellent.” The monster crawled down to the Rarity and sliced her out of the webs. “That’ll be seven thousand two hundred and thirty two gold.” Rarity thrust her hand into her purse and pulled out piece after piece of gold. After some time her pace slowed and she looked up at the monster. Her brow furrowed. “Does your king approve of riffling through humans’ bags and getting them to ‘contribute’ to your cause?” The monster shrank back, a few pieces of gold spilling from her arms. “Well, I did get a rather nasty prank pulled on me after I had two other customers… but that’s beside the point. Life on the surface is a lot harder now with no hits to take or spiders to free. Plus, that giggly pink human is stealing all my business. Oh, how I hate her!” The monster stomped it feet. The spiders nearby crawled back a few feet, but Rarity and Fluttershy remained where they were. “You know,” Rarity said, “instead of competing with Pinkie, I’m sure she’d love to have a few extra pairs of hands helping her out with all the new customers.” “Or maybe sharing recipes,” Fluttershy suggested. “But I do—” the monster paused when it felt something poking at her leg. She looked down to see a spider clutching a note. With a raised eyebrow, she picked it up and read over the contents. She seemed to deflate and let out a sigh. “It seems even the spiders agree with you. So much for starting my own cafe.” “Well, maybe you could save up and learn what humans like,” said Fluttershy. “Then, you can open up your cafe.” The monster pressed a finger to her chin. “I suppose that could work… I guess I should be letting you go now.” “Not quite,” said Rarity. Both the monster and Fluttershy corked their heads at her. “Now that I have my wits back, I can’t help but notice you have quite the ensemble, Miss…” “Oh, where are my manners?” The monster extended out two right hands and clasped Rarity and Fluttershy’s. Both of them shuddered from the hands’ hairy sticky texture. “Muffet. Pleasure to meet you dearies.” Rarity withdrew her hand but felt web dangling from it. “Rarity.” Fluttershy was pulled forward by the web, but some fresh webbing on her legs kept her from falling. She glanced down to see a few spiders supporting her and then cleaning off the webbing. She looked back at Muffet. “Fluttershy. Nice to meet you too.” “Oh, you’re the fashion designer and the animal lover all the local spiders have been talking about.” Muffet leveled her gaze on Rarity. “I guess they were right about you if you noticed the hard work my spiders and I spent on making my clothes. Actually, I tried selling a few in the Underground, but then I got accused of all these false charges of ‘extortion’ and ‘public indecency.’” “Perhaps a little chat is in order about finances,” said Rarity. Muffet glanced down at the gold in her hands. “The spiders have been saying just keeping gold in webs isn’t the best investment.” “Why don’t we have a get-together at Sugarcube Corner sometime to talk about this?” Rarity suggested. Muffet smiled at them. “I think that could work. I’ll send a spider whenever I’m free or you can just find one to tell me when’s a good time…” Muffet pushed the gold back to Rarity. “Consider our future meeting pay for all of this. You can have a donut too.” Rarity took back her gold and glanced away from the donut. “Right.” While Rarity tepidly grasped the donut off of the webbing it hung from, Muffet turned to Fluttershy. “And if you ever want to talk about spiders, you’re always welcome back, dearie.” Fluttershy’s eyes sparkled. “I’d love to hear about all the kinds of spiders that were in the Underground… if that’s okay.” “Of course!” Muffet grabbed onto some webbing and ascended back into the shadows. Her voice rang out, “Take care, dearies.” Rarity and Fluttershy walked away with Fluttershy giving a wave back. Both took extra time to avoid any of the webs until they came out onto the larger main street. Rarity let out a deep sigh and then stared at the donut in her hand. It was unglazed at least but it resembled the kind that was usually stuffed with jelly or cream. A chuckle drew her attention over to Fluttershy. “Is something funny?” Rarity’s pupils shrank. “Please tell me there isn’t a giant spider on my head.” “No,” said Fluttershy. “It’s just… well, a few days ago, that probably would have been too much for me to handle.” “I think you’ve done a great job handling this,” Rarity said with a smile. “Why, I think you’re even doing better than me. I may have a lot of new clients but you’ve actually made a friend with that ghost fellow.” “I just hope Mr. Napstablook starts feeling better.” Fluttershy then peered at the donut. “So what are you gonna do with that?” “Having the life scared out of me probably shaved off a few calories too.” Rarity placed another hand on the donut and clasped its edges. “How about we split it?” Fluttershy nodded. Rarity smiled and pulled the donut apart. An army of tiny spiders erupted out of the center. Rarity’s scream rang throughout town. ~~~ Sonata’s ears perked up. “You hear that?” Adagio glared down the cliffside at her. “Just shut up and keep climb—” The rock Adagio was holding onto gave way. A light magenta hand clasped her wrist and Aria pulled her up to safety. Adagio laid prone on her back, gasping for air. Sonata clambered up and came to rest with the other two Dazzlings. “Nice catch, Aria!” she said with a smile. She then tilted her head to the side. “I thought you were totally bailing on us though back at the bottom.” “No.” Aria jerked a thumb back at the winding trail behind her. “I just wanted to take the easy way up.” Adagio jerked upright. “There was a path!?” “Well, duh,” Sonata chuckled. “I just thought you were really into a barehanded night rock climbing expedition.” Adagio clasped the bridge of her nose. “Just stop talking.” A hot wind kicked up and blew some dust around the Dazzlings. The looked toward its source and were greeted with a massive cave mouth that loomed over them. Sonata got goosebumps looking into its black depths and Adagio shuddered. Aria blinked. “This looks like the place,” Aria stated. “It does feel pretty creepy-magicy,” said Sonata. “Oooh like that time we had that awesome dance party in Tartarus and managed to get past the guards… I miss cerberus.” “Then maybe you should have stuck around with that freak back in town and let it bite off your head,” Adagio scowled. “Not that it’d get much nutrition from it.” “Hey!” Sonata huffed. “I’m not the one that was bullying its sister. We probably wouldn’t even have had to come up here if you’d just been nice.” “I don’t do nice!” Adagio hissed. She fished a flashlight out of her bag and stormed over to the cave. She then glared back at Aria and Sonata. “Well, are you coming?” “Fine,” Aria sighed. She helped Sonata up and the two followed after Adagio. “Just try not to tick off everything we run into while we’re here.” ~~~ Three tiny beams of light cut through the shadows. They offered a glimpse at building upon building as white as snow. Save for the small little chamber and the brilliant golden flowers that had filled it near the cave’s entrance, the world the Dazzlings entered into was devoid of color. The silence was wearing thin on them as they climbed up a massive shaft, the elevator at its bottom having lost its power. When they emerged at the top, a wave of steam greeted them along with a churning and bubbling of something far below them. Having another sound to go along with their breaths and heartbeats was a relief to the Dazzlings at first as was a color other than black or white. The relief evaporated as the temperature climbed higher and higher until the Dazzlings had to shed their jackets. The path grew rockier and lost the metallic plating that had dominated the area near the elevator. They could now see deep down to the lava they had heard roiling earlier. With its crimson glow, they were able to turn off their flashlights at least. Soon the glow faded and the temperature dropped again. The Dazzlings trudged forward with parched lips, having drained what water they brought back while navigating the rocky ledges and rusted conveyor belts of the previous area. When water glinted from their lights, they fell upon the it and buried their heads in it. “Leave.” All three of them jerked up from the pond and flailed their lights around. “Leave,” the voice repeated. The Dazzlings brought their flashlights down on where the voice had come from: a bright blue flower that held a glow to it. “Leave,” the flower said once more. Adagio stood up and plodded over to the flower. “What sort of joke is this?” “What sort of joke is this?” the flower said in Adagio’s exact tone. “Huh, weird,” Sonata giggled. “Let’s just keep moving,” Adagio huffed. “And maybe keep our voices down,” Aria commented. “I don’t need to hear more than three of us.” The Dazzlings continued on and welcomed the cooler temperatures as well as more of the flowers that lit up the path. Every now and then they would jump from a flower echoing the words of some long gone monster, but they continued on until the temperature dropped further and the put their jackets back on. “W-we must be close,” Sonata chattered. She blinked when a snowflake fell near her eye. “T-the siren said t-the library was in the s-snow place, r-right?” Aria took slow breaths out her nose that fogged up around her face. “How is it even snowing down here?” “It must be the magic,” said Adagio. Her flashlight cut through the falling snow and the dim cave, illuminating a collection of what looked like log cabins. “Looks like we’re close.” After a bit more walking, the trio shined their lights on a building with a misspelled sign. They stumbled in with the cold wind howling around them. Empty shelves lined the room. Adagio ground her teeth. “She lied,” she scowled. “Wait, look!” Sonata lept forward and crouched by a corner. She then stood up and held a book high over her head. “Found one!” Adagio snatched the book out of Sonata’s hands and slammed it onto a dusty table. “Finally.” The grin slipped from her face when she opened the book and found its pages in shreds. She lost more and more color flipping through the ruined book until she reached near the middle and froze. Aria and Sonata peaked over Adagio’s shoulders and felt their blood curdle. Green crusty letters were scrawled across the pages. “Come join the fun,” read the message. “It’s just a little further.” Sonata pulled her arms tight across her chest. “Adagio, I don’t like this.” Adagio glared at her. “Please. This is amateur stuff. Next you’re going to tell me you really believe in windigos.” “Says the emotion draining siren that breeds and feeds off hatred,” Aria quipped. Adagio growled and stomped back out into the snow. Sonata and Aria sighed and followed after her. As they walked through a snowy forest, their footsteps echoed around them. Loosened snow would fall from the branches every now and then. Adagio trudged onwards while Sonata grew closer to Aria. With the way the snow fell, it almost sounded like something was prowling through the woods. A faint scent slowly filled the air. It was similar to the air that had blown out of the cave at the start, but was so heavy with the smell of dust that it almost completely blocked out the hint of buttercups. The Dazzlings soon stood before a great stone door that stretched far over their heads. The wind whipped around them and made it seem as if the massive entrance was letting out a haunting moan. Adagio snorted and marched inside. When all three of them were fully inside, they turned on their flashlights once more. Crumbling columns, sagging roofs, and aging stone littered the area. As they walked, Sonata kept raising her eyebrows at the the abandoned buildings and the worn pillars. When made their way out into the courtyard of a house, she clasped Aria and Adagio. “We have problem,” she said. “What?” Adagio grumbled. “We’re going in circles!” Sonata jabbed a finger at the building they’d just left. “This house, the buildings, and a whole bunch of other stuff is all the same as the entrance!” Adagio tensed up. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Aria slowly blinked. “Actually, she is. I noticed it too, but things just look similar, the layout isn’t exact and this place is way older.” Adagio and Sonata stared at her. “What? You thought I wouldn’t take note of things so we don’t get lost?” Aria shook her head. “You two really are i—” “Idiots,” something hissed. The Dazzlings waved their flashlights around. The only other things in the area were a gnarled tree and some dead leaves. “Must be another one of those stupid flowers,” said Adagio. “Y-yeah.” Sonata clutched Aria tightly around the arm. “Probably.” All of the Dazzlings felt goosebumps crawling up their legs and arms while they walked now. A bit of a crumbling rock would clatter in the darkness or water would drip and echo throughout the cave. These were just the sounds a cave made. Yet, no matter how much the trio reassured themselves, the feeling of being watched hammered away at the back of their minds. They all nearly fell on each other when they rounded a corner and were blinded by the light of dawn streaming down from far up above. When their sight readjusted, they found themselves looking at a mound of buttercups in full bloom. In the center of the mound was a flower far larger than the rest. When Adagio took a step forward, it turned towards her. In place of seeds and pollen, it had a face about as detailed as an emoji with simple black dots for eyes and a grin like an orange slice. “So, you actually made it all the way,” it said with a jovial tone. “That’s some DETERMINATION you’ve got there… but that’s not all is it?” “And what exactly are you?” Adagio asked. “I’m Flowey,” the flower answered. “Flowey the flower. You’re new here so why don’t I explain how things work in the Underground.” Adagio smirked. “Sure. We’d love to learn how your magic works.” “Sure, I’ll show you in a sec.” Flowey’s grin thinned and he furrowed his brow, giving him an exasperated look. “You should know though it won’t matter to you. Whatever you are, that magic you lost is gone.” Adagio backed away. “What?” Flowey twisted his head to the side while his grin widened to an unsettling degree. “You think I haven’t heard you ranting while you bumbled through here? You idiot. You should have left when I told you to, but since you’ve got so much DETERMINATION, you’re probably important. But if you’re not, well, as I used to say...” A ring of white dots encircled Adagio as well as Aria and Sonata. Flowey’s mouth grew fanged and tiny white pupils appeared within his eyes. “It’s kill or be killed,” Flowey cackled. The bullets zoomed in on Adagio. They pierced her arms and legs first before tearing through her torso. A guttural scream rose up in her throat, but it was cut off with a bullet blew through her chest and another ripped through her skull. She collapsed onto the ground beside Flowey, a bit of her blood splattering across his petals. Aria and Sonata screeched at the top of their lungs when he turned his deranged sights at them. Sonata flailed around without thinking and ran straight into the wall of bullets. Blood went flying everywhere and splashed onto Aria. Sonata’s glazed eyes stared back at Aria while a red puddle formed underneath her. Aria brought her hands to her head and shook back and forth, wailing like an infant. She sunk to her knees in complete hysterics while the bullets closed in on her. Flowey frowned at the display and then sent his bullets crashing down on rehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 01100101 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110010 01100101 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110010 01100101 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110010 01100101 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110010 01011001 01101111 01011001 01101111 01011001 01101111 01011001 01101111 01011001 01101111 01011001 01101111 01011001 01101111 01011001 01101111 01010011 01100101 0110010101010011 01100101 0110010101010011 01100101 0110010101010011 01100101 0110010101010011 01100101 0110010101010011 01100101 01100101 01001001 01001001 01001001 01001001 01001001 01001001 01001001 01001001 01001001 01001001 01001001 01001001 01001001 01001001 01001001 00100000 01110011 01100101 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 “We’re going in circles!” Sonata jabbed a finger at the building they’d just left. “This house, the buildings, and a whole bunch of other stuff is all the same as the entrance!” Adagio tensed up. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Aria slowly blinked. “Actually, she is. I noticed it too, but things just look similar, the layout isn’t exact and this place is way older.” Adagio and Sonata stared at her. “What? You thought I wouldn’t take note of things so we don’t get lost?” Aria shook her head. “You two really are i—” “Idiots.” The ground in front of the gnarled tree near the Dazzlings trembled and rose up. A flower spouted out of it and stared at them with a broken grin and white eyes rimmed in shadow. “Hee. Hee. Hee. So that’s how it is, eh?” Sonata flinched back and hid behind Aria. “I knew this was a bad idea.” “Oh, you have no idea,” Flowey giggled, making the Dazzlings’ skin crawl. “But thank you for the help. Now I’m sure of it. Now I know!” “W-what?” Sonata asked. “Of course you idiots don’t get it, but now I’ve seen it!” Flowey’s grin widened even further. “All the changes, all the anomalies, all the edits! They weren’t satisfied, but they didn’t want to RESET, so they brought us into this. This is no longer a game, is it? This is a story!”