Alphys took up a post at the entrance to the Power Room. "Things are a lot safer down here when the power's on," she explained. "And the door will open as soon as all four keys are in their nodes. So...once you activate the last node, I'll run in and turn the main power on."
Woona nodded. "That works," she agreed.
"You're stammering a lot less, Alphys," Chara noted calmly.
"Yeah..." Alphys replied hesitantly. "It's...I need to be strong here. For you both...and for me. I came down here...to face what I'd done...so I could find the strength to tell everyone. To...stop hiding."
Woona nodded understandingly, nuzzling up against Alphys. "Don't worry," she whispered warmly. "We'll be there with you."
Alphys sighed in relief. "Thank you..."
Turning, Woona moved up along the right branch of the path. If I make it out of here alive, Woona thought silently, swallowing nervously.
If you die, you can just reset to after Papyrus solved the puzzle you gave him, Chara pointed out. That's when you last saved.
...oh yeah, I forgot I could do that, Woona replied silently, much more relaxed. ...place is still terrifying. She continued reading from the data panels that lined the walls, seeing Alphys' progress reports of what she'd done to try and revive the monsters. Entering a large room with a path to the east and north, she paused. Which way, Chara?
Why are you asking me? Chara demanded.
Cause...you've always known which way to go?
Flowey never came this far down here, Chara pointed out. The Amalgamates terrified him into resetting...and now I see why.
Swallowing, Woona made her way around the room full of beds, reading the panel that told of how the monsters Alphys had been experimenting on had finally woken up as themselves. Well...how about the left wall maze method?
Works for me, Chara replied as Woona went through the north path, then turned left at the split there.
Woona continued to read the entries. 15 spoke of a happy ending...but 16 was just a series of 'no's. "Alphys?" Woona asked through the phone. "What happened between entries 15 and 16?"
Alphys was silent for a long time. "Do...do either of you know what it looks like when a Monster dies with too much Determination inside them?" she asked sorrowfully.
"I do," Chara replied. "Instead of turning to dust...they melt."
"Yeah," Alphys answered. "The monsters who'd revived...they started to melt. And then...they clung to each other to try and pull themselves back together...and fused to each other, unable to separate..."
"That's why you call them Amalgamates..." Woona spoke up, understanding.
"...yeah..." Alphys replied sorrowfully. "And...you see why it's been...so hard to face this."
Woona said nothing as she kept going, letting the connection cut. As she passed a small room to the side of the path, she paused, feeling something in the small room. Turning, she stepped in.
She found herself in a small bathroom, with a pink curtain pulled in front of the bath and...something tall and thin waving back and forth inside as though showering. Carefully, Woona approached, swallowing worriedly as she saw the creature wriggle faster as she got nearer. "Umm...excuse me?" she asked softly as she reached the edge of the tub. "Is...do you have one of the keys?" she asked nervously. "I don't mean to disturb you..."
A tendril reached out from the tall, thin body, seized the edge of the curtain, and pulled it back...revealing an empty tub with a glowing green key at the bottom, no sign of the creature that had actually opened the curtain.
Woona stared, eyes wide. "They...really like freaking us out, don't they?" she squeaked out as she levitated the key out.
"Sure seems that way," Chara replied. "...can we get back to the creepy hallway instead of the creepy bathroom with only one door?"
Woona immediately dashed out of the bathroom, not pausing for breath until she was a ways further down the hall. Unfortunately, that breath was immediately exhaled in a scream of terror as Woona caught sight of what looked like a massive dragon skull with endless tubes connecting various parts of it. "What's that?" she cried out.
"I...hear you found the DT Extractor," Alphys stated calmly through the phone. "Not very pleasant, I know...but it's the only design that worked..."
A strange laugh echoed, and an Amalgamate rose from in front of the pit the DT Extractor rested in, posing sensually as its flesh dripped, its face possessing only a mouth of teeth against a lips-shaped head. A strong scent of lemons filled the air as Woona was surrounded by FIGHT lines, and the words 'Lemon Bread' appeared above the monster.
Woona did her best to hold herself still. Any ideas? Woona asked Chara silently.
No... Chara replied softly.
Woona stared as the creature's eyes took shape as the face behind the teeth warped into a grin, before shifting back. The face is a giant mouth... she thought. Having no other idea what to do, she started to hum the song she sang with Shyren.
The Lemon Bread stared at her. "I...remember something..." a voice spoke up, echoing from all around.
As the creature's magic shaped a giant mouth, Woona shielded herself, hiding in the gaps in her teeth. Something about the way it reacted and was posing... Chara, did Shyren have any family before she became so...shy?
An older sister who fell down... Chara began, his voice trailing off as he realized what Woona was saying. You think...?
Following a desperate thought, Woona flexed the way she saw Aaron do, since he spent so much time around Shyren.
"This seems...familiar..." Lemon Bread's voice echoed from all around.
Carefully, Woona stepped back, giving Lemon Bread her space. With a wide smile, the Amalgamate withdrew, the FIGHT lines vanishing. "Alphys...they're still themselves," she said into the phone.
"Well, I know that, but-"
"No, I mean...the links they share with others...they're still there," Woona explained. "I...I don't think the ones they knew before this will...care that they are different. Not if it means having them back."
"You...you really think so?" Alphys asked, her voice awed.
"I have something to...test...with any other Amalgamates I meet, but..." Woona straightened herself, staring into the Lab. "I think so," she concluded firmly, filled with DETERMINATION.
I just can't think of any good puns for this chapter. Maybe I should just stop making puns for this fic. What do you think, Other Sans, Blue Yoshi?
This really is one of the creepiest parts of the game.
It's not creepy; it'll be okay?
7273570 It just depends on the situation for puns. This isn't one of those where you pun so if you wish to stop, you can. I'll be going on until the end even if I can't pun in the last chapter like in Heart of The Dragon General.
So the fused Monsters still have connections with their family members? Hmm, this is pretty intriguing, even if the Amalgamates freak the heck out of me.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good work.
7273570
The True Lab is not a good place to pun due to the creepy environment. Maybe the section where Sans judges Woona may be a good part to pun, since Sans may try and lighten up the mood a bit for Woona before she faces Asgore. But I dunno. This story has taken a serious turn right now after all of those funny and heartwarming moments, and with no puns to rage at, it makes me a sad Papyrus.
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But... I swear Chara said something earlier about Flowey finding out the Amalgamates were invincible. He had to come down here some point, and he had to interact with them. But now Chara is saying Flowey never did come down here. This is so contradicting.
EDIT: Found the source I was talking about, in History At The Edge of The Abyss.
Also, for being a soulless, emotional-less flower, Flowey does seem to have stories of emotion. The only time he had fear in the games where when Flowey realized that Chara could kill him at any moment. And that was when Chara was Lv 19. I doubt that the Amalgamates even had EXP. A genocidal demon brother can't scare him until he realizes he could actually die, but a much less dangerous monster can? Eh, just a minor nitpick though.
7273815 It's possible that he came down, but ran away at the first Amalgamate (after finding out about it's invincibility) and therefore, never really explored the place.
It probably should be rephrased into "Flowey never came this far down here". It would make more sense.
is it just me or is it seem a little creepier reading about the true lab rather than playing through it?
Huh, foreshadowing the DT extractor's appearance when compared to another's?
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Yeah, I can just see Toby dancing in the background, saying "ask me what it means!"... You know, except it's worth the question.
Oh... nevermind, then.
And thus it was that everyone begged Tatsurou to explain what the Memoryheads are, as they don't resemble anyone in the slightest... well, except Giygas, sort of.
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7273570 Those puns are always a… mouthful.
7273904
Whimsuns.
7273950 That almost makes sense. The flavor text mentions the phrase "smells like batteries", which is similar to Whimsun/alot's phrase about lavender, mothballs, nightshade, and bleach (because batter acid), and the rough translation for lorem ipsum docet is "pain itself teaches"... except, that's not all they could be. (Don't worry, the G-man isn't a part of the following breakdown)
Other than bearing something of a resemblance to Whimsun (you know, except it has pupils), Memoryhead more heavily references elements of the electronic variety. For example, without a cell phone, the text and accompanying sound are garbled, like a fax machine error. Then, Lorem ipsum is a filler text commonly used to demonstrate the graphic elements of a document or visual presentation. Plus, it gives you bad memory... almost as though it's a double entendre or something...
So I guess you could say that they're just Whimsuns, but if you leave it at that, well... it'd be kind of disappointing.
I now wondee what the Bed Amalgamate will affect Woona.
7273904
Huh. Another point for the 'Sans is Ness' theory, I suppose.
7274021
I was actually just stating one monster they resembled somewhat. I honestly don't know what they might be beyond that.
Glorious work well done! Heeheehee, such awesomeness~
I freaked out when I found that bathroom, I noped out of the room two times before finally pulling the damn curtain to get the green key. A bit anticlimatic, tho.
7273698 You do realize That The Other Sans puns in other stories, right?
Ever wonder how you would react if you were in the true lab IRL?
........................
Raise your hand if you would NOPE the f#%k outta there in 5 second flat?
Everyone? Ok.
7273698
7274532 I know, this certainly seems to have turned into a bad time for all of us, as none of us wants tibia the one to make non humerus puns.
7274689 And yet, you did.
GREAT GOLDEN GODDESSES ABOVE, THE BATHROOM SCENE! It was like something out of Silent Hill: The Room. This entire level gave me huge Silent Hill vibes, and NOT in a good way.
7274532
He told me that. But I don't know which other stories he puns.
Okay, two down and two to go... I wonder how Woona would react to Endogeny?
7275229 Why don't you just ask him?
I assume they will find Gaster, right? I think that's him, don't know.
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Great. I can't eat lemon bread without thinking of this... again. Thanks, Toby.
7274918
I'm pretty sure there's never "a good way" in the silent hill series
Is she going to sleep in the bed and have the tentacle tuck her in?
7273904
Some peopel on youtube think that the Memoryheads are a fragment of Gaster, since when they attack the dots expand into his face without the lines that run down and up to his left and right eyes.
7274348 the I saw that shape in the tub I just said and I quote"NopeNopenopenopenopenopehellnonopenopenopenope"
Also Articuno much?
7277490 I went in and gtfo'd, then I went back in again, but it started going faster and I just said "fck this shit, I'm out.", then I said "fck it" and got the key.
And that's Anivia, from League of Legends. Tha BlackFrost Anivia skin, to be exact.
7277684 yes I know that's anivia,the cryopheonix the imobile mage with a wall,a slow stun,snowstorm,egg resurrection and did I forget anything else?
7277695 Yes, you forgot her E that deals 100% of your AP as dmg, and the fact that she's the best mage in the game.
7277701 eh the reworks good,I'm more of a tank guy myself
7277704 The rework messed her up a bit, and I still need to adjust, but she's OP as support now that her stun lasts for 1.5 sec at nv 5. Good thing I'm a Mid/Sup combo.
7277723 have you tried the new tank ekko? And no I'm not talking about ekko
7277723 hint:its swain anyway do play carry supps like brand,velkoz and zyra? Or peely supps like orianna and soraka? Or the poke kind?
7277725 I have Ekko, but I never tried to make him tank, and never wanted, I have Volibear for that. Tried sup Swain before the rework, it was pretty strong, and I love playing those chars as support, Ori and Miss combo is OP as heck, Vel'koz supp is very funny to play with, and poke supps like Sona are awesome. But no supp is better than Thresh, I'll instabuy his legendary skin when it comes out.
7277725
7278060
The comments of a story is not the place to discuss something unrelated to the story.
7278104 Oops, sorry.
7277649 Sorry for getting your hopes up, my friends computer is dead. He won't be able to do anything like that until he gets a new computer, which would take a while... sorry...
Way to make something creepy into something so sweet towards the end
Well, interesting.
Your discovery of a lingering connection fills you with DeTemmienation.
7331052 CANYOUSTOP!
Very kingdom-heartsy.
(I'm pretty sure Undertale drew pretty heavily on KH for inspiration, for all that it went its own direction.)
8425787
As one who's never played Undertale but recently done extensive reading and watching of its playthroughs, as well as one who has played EVERY Kingdom Hearts game in one form or another... That's a distinct possibility.
The Hearts used to represent the SOULs... Perhaps the creator of Undertale drew inspiration from KH's dive into the nature of the heart, and created his own background and logic to suit what he thought up? If that's true, then I have yet another reason to play Undertale once it's on a console I can get my hands on. It's truly a fascinating game, and the openness of the lore, even with what the game fills in naturally...
8425787
8904856
Once Undertale is on console, I'm now imagining an Undertale world in Kingdom Hearts.