The Multiverse in a Nutshell

by Pennington Inkwell

An Angel Fallen Down

Missy didn't tend to need much sleep when they were out on the open road. She mostly did it because staying awake all night by herself was REALLY boring. It was an easy way to pass the time while Penn and Sunset recharged, and it gave her a nice boost of energy in case they passed through any particularly tiring dimensional barriers. She simply closed her eyes at night, and they opened back up when the sun was starting to rise.

It was strange, then, when her eyes opened back up BEFORE the sun had risen. She pushed the blankets off of her as she sat up, giving her wings a refreshing stretch. A quick peek to her left showed that Sunset was still sound asleep, so she tried her best to stay quiet as she unzipped the door to their tent and floated outside. Once she'd shut the door behind her, she properly stretched all of her limbs spread-eagle in midair. With a quick full-body shake, she felt her hair and feathers settle into their proper place and the wrinkles in her dress press themselves smooth.

It was only as she felt herself settle that she realized what it was that had woken her up: an anxious energy deep in her chest. She couldn't help but start tapping her toes against nothing to try and dispel it, but it refused to leave her.

"Greetings, Missy."

"Hey, Isis." She glanced around the campgrounds, seeing them just as they had been left when she went to bed, aside from the fire being reduced to a pile of burning embers. They had stopped at the base of a small mountain, setting up camp under the canopy of several tall trees just off the side of the highway. "Are we the only ones up?"

"Affirmative."

"Weird..." She scratched at the back of her head. "I feel like something woke me up... Have you got a case of the heebie-jeebies, or is that just me?"

"I am unfamiliar with the concept of 'heebie-jeebies.' Please elaborate."

"It's... like the feeling of being watched." She performed the obligatory series of horror movie glances: first over each shoulder, then up above, followed by a glance at the ground beneath her feet. No threats revealed themselves following her verbal and physical cues, but the feeling remained.

"I am unfamiliar with 'the feeling of being watched.' Please elaborate."

"It's like..." Missy sighed. "Never mind, I can't explain it in a way you'll understand. It's like you can FEEL someone's eyes on you!" She shivered as a cool breeze sent chills running up her spine. "Penn could probably put it into words better than me, try asking him about it in the morning."

"Affirmative. If you are so unsettled, would you like a form of relaxant? I can provide a lullaby or one of many pre-recorded meditative sessions."

Missy shook her head. "No... it's just- ugh!" She groaned as her frustration began to build. "I can't put my finger on it! It's like it's on the tip of my tongue, or something I KNOW that I forgot!"

"My apologies, but I am unable to empathize."

Missy felt her feathers beginning to stand on end as the nervous energy kept building, and her toe-tapping accelerated. There was no way she was going to be able to get back to sleep like this. "Maybe I'm just a little over-energized after sleeping when I didn't really need to... I'm gonna go for a flight, try to clear my head. Wanna come?"

"Negative. Proper fire safety protocols dictate that I remain here until the final embers have cooled beyond the point of ignition for nearby combustibles."

"Right, that 'responsible grown-up' stuff. Okay, suit yourself! I'll be back in a few!" Missy gave a quick salute before pushing off of the air, propelling herself up through the canopy. Once she was free and in the open air, she could really cut loose, spreading her wings to their full length and accelerating as much as she could. It was blissful, the weightlessness she had in this world. The laws of gravity were only a suggestion here, and she could push herself through the fluid air with only a thought, like flying in a dream. It was the ultimate freedom, sailing on the wind and feeling the chill of the autumn night seeping through her feathers and her clothes and into her flesh. It was like dunking herself in a cold pool, washing away all of her worries as she climbed higher and higher towards the stars.

The stars. The final home for every duel spirit. When they finally did fade away, whether in battle or because they had been forgotten completely by the world of humans, their essence would travel upwards, to eventually rest with the spirits of other noble fallen warriors who had run their full race. It was their final reward, whether human or duel spirit, or a life well-lived... Or, alternatively, they would be turned away by the stars. Their soul would be forbidden from entering, stranded among the infinite blackness between the shining lights, a realm of shadows that would hungrily consume everything that made their soul their own, until they joined the throng of the empty legions.

Or, at least, that was how the stories went. There hadn't been a spirit who'd passed to the stars in as long as she could remember. Even if they didn't always have the fire for dueling that Penn and other "collectors" did, humans were very good at cataloging their cards and keeping records, and no wars had been waged on or within their world since the Supreme King's return. Here, the stars were just great balls of burning gas so far away, their shimmering light was likely the last remains of something already dead. Still, there was a thrill or danger to seeing how high she could climb, how close she could come to brushing her fingers against that mystical and mysterious firmament.

When she finally bothered to look back down, she could see for miles around, leaving even the mountain far, far beneath her. She couldn't even hope to make out the speck that was Penn's car or their campsite, even if they weren't hidden beneath the trees. She let out a long sigh as she finally felt her unease wash away, finally freeing her from the ominous feelings. Still, she wasn't free from shivers, but these had a much more mundane source, considering she was so high up in the night sky. She closed her eyes and smiled as she wrapped her wings around herself for warmth, willingly letting gravity take her. She felt the wind grow faster and faster, blowing back her hair as it whipped and whirled around her head like a wild animal, her feathers trembling as the speed threatened to blow them back out of place, and her dress pressing tight against her legs as it was forced to give up its fashionable puffiness in favor of a more aerodynamic shape. As she approached terminal velocity, she wondered if anyone really WAS watching her. Could she give them a good scare?

She cracked one eye open, watching as the world beneath her began to grow larger and more detailed. She imagined what would happen if she couldn't open her wings, if they were to suddenly find themselves locked in place. She would plunge through the trees and branches like a bullet, colliding with the ground. It would all be over in an instant. She felt her heart beginning to pound in her chest as adrenaline took over, filling her with dizzying levels of fright. She relished in it, that feeling of being alive, every sense in her body pumping itself to the absolute maximum. She grinned from ear to ear as she was reassured she really COULD still give herself a good scare.

Everything in this world was so much more powerful than it was back home, as if every one of her senses had been dialed up to eleven. Colors were vivid and brighter than she remembered, music was enrapturing, filling her from head to toe with emotion, even simple birdsong first thing in the morning. Taste and smell were like a banquet, more fulfilling than the most gourmet meals Alucard could prepare back at the mansion. Every bite was like tasting it for the first time. She couldn't stop herself from often stealing off of others' plates just for more opportunities at the powerful tastes. She loved it here, getting to experience everything right alongside her best friends in the world.

She could sense that she was almost out of time, and another peek confirmed it. She could practically see the individual leaves of the trees in the silver moonlight. Finally, she flung her wings out again to their full width, feeling her bones strain and her joints sting as her body was pushed to its absolute limits. In just under a second, all of her downward momentum had been converted into forwards propulsion, sending her rocketing at speeds that made her eyes water.

"WAAAAAHHHOOOOOOOOOOO!" she made no effort to hold back her rapturous scream as she tore through the night sky, unable to do anything more than hold on and keep her flight as steady as she possibly could. At this speed, small breezes and eddies transformed into turbulence that threatened to send her tumbling end-over-end. She easily covered the distance to the mountain before her momentum began to finally peter out, watching it explode into full size. She pulled up slightly to match the incline of the rising land, finally coming to a gentle landing at a cave opening near the peak. She hunched over slightly, taking in deep lungfuls of the crisp air as she leaned on her knees.

"Phew... That certainly knocks out a few of the cobwebs!" she muttered to herself, giving her head a slight knock with her palm before running her fingers through her hair. She panted a few more times as the last of the adrenaline faded from her system and took a closer look at the spot where she had landed.

She was nearly at the top of the mountain, able to overlook a large portion of the forest below. Beneath her feet was a thick layer of hardy grass that almost reached up to her knees, clearly a path that hadn't been walked for some time. A few of the bolder trees had taken root this far up, but it was mostly clear around the entrance to the cave she had landed in front of. She could see that the moon was at just the right angle for its light to be streaming inside, giving plenty of illumination to the path inside. She looked down at the easy flight back to the camp, then towards the cave entrance.

She shrugged and stepped through the cave entrance.

"I'm still a little wound up. Might as well take the scenic route down, right?"

She slowed her pace as she walked into the darkness, letting her eyes adjust as the light level dropped. Being a dark-type monster, she had better-than-average night vision, but it was far from perfect. If the light were to drop to pitch-blackness, she would be just as blind as anyone else.

If anything, I'm probably not going to make it much farther than the first corner, but hey, if it satisfies my curiosity, I'll be able to go back to camp with a smile!

To her surprise, while the floor did slope slightly downwards and the grass gave way to damp moss, there was no sign of any twists or turns in the tunnel. Eventually, just as she was having to strain her eyes to see in the darkness, it opened up into a wide cavern, almost large enough to hollow out the entire peak of the mountain. Stalagmites and stalactites dotted every surface, creating the illusion of a mountain-sized mouth full of sharp teeth waiting to eat her whole. In the center of the room was a massive hole, one that could have easily played home to one of the Subterror archetype's "behemoth" monsters.

I wonder what they're up to these days? I haven't heard from them since Subterror Fiendess came to our last haunted house almost a year ago!

She leaned slightly over the edge for a better look, seeing only pure, inky darkness below that even her gifted night vision had no chance of penetrating. The hole was wreathed by thick roots and vines that seemed to be clinging to the rock with all of their might. She glanced upwards and noticed a hole in the ceiling that would have provided the necessary light and water for these plants to exist, but the moon was already too low in the sky for it to offer much in the way of extra light. After a few seconds she sighed and shrugged to herself.

"Welp, no luck there! Guess I'm taking the boring way back to camp!"

Just as she was beginning to walk away, however, she felt a tug as her foot became caught in one of the roots. She blinked and squinted, trying to see how she could have gotten tangled in it without even noticing. She pulled upwards on her foot, trying to slip it out. Instead, she felt the vines pull up from the floor, yanking on the stony edge of the hole. Her eyes widened as she saw a chunk of stone break away from the rest and plunge into the darkness, a portion of the vines still rooted to its surface. She looked back at her ankle, seeing that the roots had been drawn tight into a knot by her tugging.

This was going to suck.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She could only scream as she was pulled down into the hole, the stone and vines acting like an anchor far too heavy for her to carry in flight. Unlike earlier, her fall was not in her control, flapping her wings as desperately as she could to try and slow her descent and watching underneath her for any sign of hitting the bottom. This time, it wasn't a casual thrill she was feeling, but a genuine fear for her life as she was dragged further and further into the deep bowels of the underground one that overrode every sense or rational thought.

It felt like an eternity before the wrenching weight on her leg finally stopped, soon followed by a rough landing of her own on the ground. However, it wasn't as bone-shatteringly rough as she had expected. She had managed to slow her descent enough that she had avoided hitting the ground at breakneck speed, and she had landed in some sort of plant bed, flowers by the feel of it. Still, her entire body had been through a hearty shock, and it was obvious from the all-over pain of having the air knocked out of her lungs that she was going to need a few seconds to recuperate.

Huh... She made the only motion she could and rolled her eyes upwards, barely able to make out the hole above as anything more than a pinprick of light. I'd never have thought that was enough light to grow any plants down here... I guess life- uh- finds a way.

Slowly, she pushed herself up off of the ground and into a sitting position. She took a moment to go over each of her limbs, then patted her torso up and down. No broken bones... She reached down to where the roots had wrapped around her ankle, now finding that they tore away easily, clearly weakened from the stress of fighting her all the way down. Oh, great, NOW they snap! Of COURSE!

She carefully floated herself upwards, only to find a shooting pain traveling down through her wings. After an embarrassing yelp of pain, she dropped back down to the ground, forced to stand with her feet planted firmly on the ground.

"Guess I pulled something..." she muttered. "Figures." She reached up on top of her head, removing her hat and reaching inside. She shuffled around, feeling for the desired card until it was in her hand. She held it up in the darkness, making the motion for summoning the monster in question. A few seconds later, a pair of glowing blue eyes appeared in the darkness, staring at her curiously. After that, a softly glowing lantern emerged, casting a yellowed light over the area and revealing the hovering form of Ghostrick Lantern hanging over her.

"Hey... I fell down this hole and I think I sprained my wings, do you think you could give me a lift out of here?" Missy pointed upwards. Lantern looked up, then down at her, eyes wide. Missy planted her hands on her hips, slightly indignant.

"Look, it wasn't my fault, these stupid vines wrapped around my ankle! It was all I could do to slow down enough not to go splat!" She gestured to the chunk of rock and ropelike vines. Lantern gave the situation another pondersome look before finally nodding and floating lower down with his back to her. Missy smiled and hopped up, wrapping her arms around his neck and clasping her hands tight. Together, the two of them began to float back up towards the hole that was her unintentional entrance. The higher they flew, the higher Missy's hopes became of getting safely back to the camp. She was going to have to explain the embarrassing reason she'd been injured in the middle of the night, and likely deal with a thorough chewing out by Sunset and Penn about going off on her own, but then she'd be able to play the "injured" card and flash her big, teary eyes at them, and soon enough she'd have all the ice packs and sweets she could ask for.

BONK!

"Yeowch!" Missy cried as her head ran into something hard. She glanced upward, expecting that Lantern had drifted off-course and flown them into the ceiling. Instead, it looked as if the air above them was still completely clear. She and Lantern both exchanged confused glances before beginning to float up again. This time, as they drew close a pulsating barrier appeared, covering the entire cave opening just before they could emerge on the surface again. Lantern reached up, hesitantly knocking on the barrier a few times before shaking his head.

"What the- that wasn't there on my way down!" Missy felt panic beginning to set in, but she didn't let it overtake her. She still had more options. She tightened her grip with one arm while reaching up with the other. She slid her hand under her hat, pulling out another card, one of her classic go-to's: Ghostrick-Go-Round. With a thought and the card in her hand, the familar stone door appeared in the barrier, and she smiled with a smug grin as the two of them floated up and through the door...

...only to emerge back on the underside of the barrier, arriving at the same place they'd started.

"Wha- oh, come on!" She cried as Lantern sunk back downwards, already coming to the same conclusion she had: they weren't going to make it past that barrier. Soon they were back at the bottom of the hole, Missy grumbling to herself as she sat among what were now revealed to be yellow flowers.

Finally, it was time to throw in the towel for her pride. She reached up and switched on her earpiece.

"Hey, Isis? I... got into a little trouble. Can you come bail a girl out?"

She winced as she let go, her pride stinging more than any of her injuries could. She waited several seconds before reaching up again, flicking the on/off switch multiple times.

"Hello? Isis? You there?" she waited again, but there was no response. She felt her blood turn to ice as an unfortunate possibility presented itself. "Penn? Sunset? Isis? ANYBODY? Can anybody hear me? Hello?"

No response. Whatever kind of magical barrier was blocking her escape, it was also stopping any signals from getting out.

"Okay... this is bad. This is really, REALLY bad..." she muttered, trying and failing to control her breathing. "I just fell down a HUGE hole into the heart of a mountain in the middle of the night! Even if I didn't manage to sprain both of my wings and possibly my ankle in the process, I still wouldn't be able to get out because there's some type of magical barrier!" She could feel herself starting to hyperventilate as tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm LOST and there's no way Penn and Sunset are going to be able to see this far down into the hole, even if they DID come all the way up the mountain while they were looking for me! I- I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do... I-"

She cut herself off as Lantern floated a small distance away, using its lamp to illuminate an ominous-looking stone doorway. She swallowed loudly as the obvious course of action presented itself.

"Okay, so there's another way out... leading deeper into the mountain..." she whispered. "Maybe I can find a way out there on ground level, but... what if Penn and Sunset DO come here? Maybe I should just stay put... Isn't that what you're supposed to do if you get lost?"

All at once, Missy felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight. Her whole body shivered as she felt almost certain that she could feel some kind of gaze on her, to the point where she instinctively swiveled her head from side to side searching for the source. It was the same feeling she'd had at the campsite, but amplified to a point where it sent her almost into a frenzy after a few seconds of searching fruitlessly in the dark for its source. Whatever was out there watching her, she could tell it was wrong, and every one of her duel spirit instincts told her to put as much distance between it and herself as possible.

"On second thought, maybe we can find our own way out! COME ON, LANTERN!" She shouted, limping as quickly as she could out of the room and through the doorway.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"WAUGH!" Sunset sat bolt-upright in her tent, flailing frantically until she had completely thrown off her sleeping bag. By the time she had come completely to her senses, she was standing up in the tent, breathing heavily and grabbing at her chest.

"Sweet Celestia... S-sorry, Missy, but I just had the most vivid nightmare and-" she blinked, realizing she was alone in their shared tent. "Missy?"

She poked her head outside the tent door, spotting Isis sitting by their fire pit. "Isis... have you seen Missy?"

"Affirmative. She reported feeling a strange form of anxiety, described as 'heebie-jeebies' and 'the feeling of being watched' before leaving for a nighttime flight to settle her nerves."

Sunset felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Do you know where she is now?"

Isis paused and tilted her head for a moment in thought. The little drone's eyes widened.

"Negative. Signal to her earpiece was lost three minutes, twenty-six seconds ago. Her last registered location was near the top of the mountain."

Sunset slipped into her shoes and half-ran to the car, where she knocked furiously on the window. Penn jumped in his seat, clearly surprised at the sudden wake-up, but Sunset ignored the guilt over scaring him as he reached for the door.

"Wha- Sunset, what-"

"Missy's in trouble." Sunset made the statement with one hundred percent assuredness. "She got nervous and went out flying and she hasn't come back."

Penn didn't seem as instantly-awake as her, mumbling something under his breath as he swung his legs out of the door. "You sure?"

"I- I had this nightmare... I was flying, having the time of my life, and then... this THING grabbed me and dragged me down into this hole in the ground! It was terrifying, I haven't had a nightmare this vivid in ages! And now Isis can't get a signal from Missy's earpiece, either! I really think she's in trouble!"

Penn blinked several times, more and more slowly each time until he finally let out a long sigh.

"Okay. I'm not gonna argue with that. Let's go find her."

Comments

[Alex3410]

undertale!

[Boltstrike58]

Sit down, children
Do not quail
Peace and love
Always prevail
Follow me
Along this trail
Let me tell
The Undertale

[MariusIoannesP]

Oh wonderful! An update so soon since I've caught up.

We already knew that Missy apparently lives like in a birdhouse within Sunset's heart. Doesn't seem too unusual she'd have dreams or nightmares based on what Missy's feeling and experiencing. Though it does seem their connection is growing stronger with time.

I know enough to see that Missy has found herself in the world of Undertale. And so we begin the Undertale arc. I watched an Undertale playthrough back in the day and seen some Game Theory videos about it. So I should get it enough. I look forward to what's coming. Keep up the great work.

[DIRKWITHAGUN]

just because i knew this was going to happen doesnt mean it didnt take me by surprise.

[Venerable Ro]

Alright, turtles are on hold, goats are more important.

[Pedroxmv97]

10278968
Clarify please?

[A_Bloodthirsty_Unicorn56]

I really hope this is going where I think it is...

images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/a68aeb61-07fd-4701-8550-576a37a27e19/d9kg0tl-b72a35d9-9ebc-452d-81be-cba1d1f93a28.png/v1/fill/w_826,h_967,q_70,strp/sans___undertale___you_re_gonna_have_a_bad_time__by_walkingmelonsaaa_d9kg0tl-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD0xMTk4IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYTY4YWViNjEtMDdmZC00NzAxLTg1NTAtNTc2YTM3YTI3ZTE5XC9kOWtnMHRsLWI3MmEzNWQ5LTllYmMtNDUyZC04MWJlLWNiYTFkMWY5M2EyOC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTAyNCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.CRVjuSpJOlIYxPQ3iDoAWu9RzZ7U0hjjPUzOnKHmn_g

[Pennington Inkwell]

10279091
If you want to see Sans, you're gonna have to try a little harder than that.
pm1.narvii.com/6178/f54fafa300c9cb67445f72cf2c9a2224c1b678a2_hq.jpg

[Pedroxmv97]

But the question is this: What route are they going?

[Jane_Shadow]

I've never looked into Undertale, so I'm completely blind. This'll be so fun

[SilverDiamond]

Okay... this is bad. This is really, REALLY bad..." she muttered, trying and failing to control her breathing. "I just fell down a HUGE hole into the heart of a mountain in the middle of the night!

"Name the fallen human", huh?