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Kris stumbles out from behind a street corner. They are on a sunny street in a main street suburb on the surface. Humans and monsters go about their everyday lives peacefully. Everything seems amicable.
*Buzz!* Their phone goes off, and a text appears right in the center of the screen.
Okay, go left. You see that group of kids at the table?
Kris: Yeah?
Kris’s voice is a mutter. This is the best way to talk to Hack (the one sending messages through their phone) without attracting attention.
Those are the ones. Go over there.
Kris starts walking down the street. They mutter again.
Kris: And what do I do?
Just stand over there. You’re just in time.
Kris arrives at the table. There are three kids sitting there. Fourth or fifth grade, probably. Maybe a bit younger. There’s a pink monster, geometrically shaped like a Picasso painting. There's a blue demon monster, frowning. Kris thinks they’ve seen him around town before. But older. They could have sworn they saw them in church when they were little. They don’t know why he’s a kid here, but this is another universe, and it’s not even Hometown. Guess that could be expected. The third kid is a black human with short and curly hair. He looks younger than the others. Or at least shorter and smaller. His hair also looks kinda greasy. They are talking to another human, a teenager. The kids are sitting around a table, and the teen is sitting backwards in a chair pulled over from another table. Nothing looks super remarkable or noticeable. The table is in the outdoor dining space of a local pizza place. The kids have sodas and some fries. They have some trash on the table, probably from a leftover pizza. There’s a small fence separating the dining area from the sidewalk. Kris stands on the other side of it.
Picasso monster: What do you mean you’ve never heard of it? Everyone’s heard the legend of Undertale!
They sound really surprised. The human kid chimes in.
Boy: Yeah! We all know about that story!
His voice gets a little quieter.
Boy: Even if we don’t agree on all the specifics.
Teen: Nope!
The teen chimes in cheerily.
Teen: I’ve never heard of it. I told you, I’m from out of town. How about you, stranger?
The teen turns to Kris.
Teen: You’re from out of town too. You ever heard of the story of Undertale?
When the teen looks Kris in the eyes, Kris freezes up. They have cream colored skin, pink cheeks, and dark brown hair. They wear a blue long sleeve shirt with two purple stripes, (sort of like Frisk’s, but Kris doesn’t know who that is). They wear blue jean shorts that reach their knees. They wear dark brown lace up boots. Their hair reaches their shoulders, but they have bangs that cover their eyes completely. They don’t look weird or anything. They seem normal, by all accounts. So, why did their body shiver when they looked at them? Something about their voice. Something about it just sounded….different. Looking at them more closely, something about them just feels different.
Kris ignores the feeling.
Kris: Maybe they’re just weird. Nothing wrong with that.
Kris: Story of Undertale? Uh….
Kris: Do I tell the truth here? Yeah, I think that’s right.
Kris shakes their head.
Kris: Nope, doesn’t ring a bell.
The teen turns back to the kids.
Teen: See? They don’t know about it either.
Demon boy: You sure like talking to random strangers.
The teen laughs and grins, throwing their head back.
Teen: Ha! What can I say?
Picasso kid: Well, fine. If you don’t know, we’ll just have to tell you. It’s a great story.
The teen gestures to Kris.
Teen: Come on and pull up a chair.
Kris finds the gate and walks over.
Teen: By the way, I never got any of your names.
Picasso kid: I’m J-amie.
Demon boy: I’m….well, you can call me Peter.
Human kid: Jeffrey. Jeff, for short.
Teen: Nice ta meetcha! How bout you, stranger?
They grin at Kris.
Kris: It’s Kris. You?
Teen: Haarc.
J-amie: Okay! You guys wanna hear the story? Not to worry. I’m an expert on it.
J-amie: Okay, so, it all started long ago. Legend says that there was a war between humans and monsters.
Jeff: Yeah, and humans won. So they sealed the monsters underneath a mountain with a magic spell.
Haarc: Wow! Magic?
Kris can tell that Haarc is playing up their reactions to the kids’ story. They have a silly grin on their face.
Jeff: Yeah! Everyone had magic in that story!
J-amie: Right, so many years later, a human fell down.
Peter: Like, into the mountain with the monsters.
He perks up, speaking more cheerily. He had previously been kinda shy.
Peter: So, this human, they go and meet this flower named Flowey. And Flowey’s actually the soul of a dead human possessing an object.
Kris: Wait…what?
Jeff: Really?
Peter nods solemnly.
Peter: Yeah.
Haarc cracks a smile and glances at Kris.
Kris: They look like they don’t believe it. As in…they know the right answer. Were they just messing with these kids earlier? Wanting to know their perspective?
J-amie: Oh yeah, and there are other dead humans because everyone who climbs the mountain never returns, so all the people who climbed it died.
Jeff: Yeah, the monsters killed them. Not for a bad reason though! They just needed souls to break the barrier and escape from the mountain.
Kris: Uh….sure.
Peter: Flowey’s also from another timeline. And he’s a bad guy. He tries to kill the human.
Kris: Wait, another timeline?
Kris gives a confused smile.
Jeff: Well, yeah. Everyone knows that Undertale has multiple timelines.
J-amie: That’s its whole thing!
Peter: So, after Flowey tries to kill them, the human meets Toriel, who saves their life.
Kris’s face falls. They aren’t smiling anymore.
Kris: Mom? No, Hack warned me about this. It’s another universe. So it’s not MY mom.
They smile sadly.
Kris: Still, it’s no wonder this other Mom saved some kid’s life. That sounds like her, alright. Always looking after others.
Peter: And Toriel actually has the ability to reset the timeline.
J-amie: What? No she can’t! That’s the human’s special ability. They can control time and stuff.
Kris: Control time, huh?
Kris and Haarc both give humoring smiles.
J-amie: Yeah, that’s their whole thing. They can go back in time and come back from the dead.
Kris’s smile drops off completely. Their face becomes serious, and their eyes widen with grave intensity. The kids don’t notice.
Kris: What?
Jeff: Well, Toriel being able to reset makes sense. Cause she killed everyone.
Haarc: What?
Haarc chuckles.
Peter: She does?
Jeff nods.
Jeff: Yeah. That’s the other timeline Flowey came from, isn’t it?
Peter: Huh. I guess that makes sense.
J-amie: Yeah, but no one can reset the timeline but the human!
Meanwhile, Kris is deep in thought, lost in their own head.
Kris: A human….controlling time? That sounds….so similar to what happened to me. I wonder….
They glance at their phone. They mutter.
Kris: Hack… What’s this mean?
Haarc: Hm? You say something, Kris?
Everyone turns to Kris. They gulp.
Kris: Uh, it’s nothing. Just wondering. What’s….what’s ‘reset the timeline’ mean?
Jeff: Oh, it brings everything back to the beginning.
Kris: What do you mean by the beginning?
Jeff: Like, when the human first fell down.
J-amie: But everybody loses that ability when the human falls down. Everyone but them.
Peter: I’m not saying that Toriel can come back from the dead. She doesn’t have the determination. But all I’m saying is she can reset the timeline.
J-amie: But that needs determination too! Besides, Flowey had that ability before the human.
Peter: Well….you think Toriel had it before Flowey?
J-amie: But Flowey had it from his birth! Er, creation.
Peter: Or did he get it from that dead human soul?
J-amie stutters in frustration.
J-amie: N-no-! Alphys gave it to him! I mean, she maybe got it from the human soul. That makes sense.
Peter: I don’t know….
Kris: Wait, who’s Alphys?
Jeff: She must have gotten that power from Gaster.
Peter: Why would Alphys get power from Gaster? Didn’t he get erased from existence?
Kris: Gaster? Who’s Gaster?
Haarc looks at Kris and giggles.
Peter: She does?
Haarc leans toward Kris and speaks softly.
Haarc: Alphys is the royal scientist, and Gaster was the previous one.
Kris: So they did know the story!
J-amie: No she doesn’t! She has that power cause she’s as strong as Sans!
Kris looks very confused.
Kris: The guy from the convenience store????
Jeff: What? Are you serious? Sans isn’t even that strong in real life.
Kris: Strong?????
J-amie: Where’d you hear that?
J-amie snaps. All three of them are getting heated.
Jeff: I don’t remember! Somewhere!
Peter: Well, you’re wrong.
J-amie: Thank you.
Peter: Asgore is Sans.
Kris: My dad?????
J-amie and Jeff: No he’s not!
The kids start bickering with each other
*Buzz!*
Yeah, that Sans. The guy from the convenience store.
Kris: Huh, weird.
They furrow their brow in realization.
Kris: Wait…did you read my mind?
What? No.
Why would you even think that lol
Kris: Cause I thought about Sans, and then you talked about Sans, so-
Yeah. I could tell you were confused.
It was written all over your face, lol.
I used basic reasoning.
Kris: Oh.
One of the kids gets Kris’s attention.
J-amie: Look, if we want to talk about Gaster, then we should talk about Monster Kid. THEY’RE the one who knows him.
Peter: Monster Kid? Knows Gaster? Ha!
Peter: For your information, Monster Kid is a thousand years old, and has a Tardis.
Everyone stares at him.
Peter: So, I guess they could know Gaster. But it’s more like Gaster knows them.
Haarc looks at Kris, trying to stifle their laughter. It’s infectious. Kris feels a smile building up.
Kris: Monster Kid?
Kris: As in, my classmate, Monster Kid?
J-amie: …..You seriously need to stop watching Doctor Who.
Jeff: Yeah, how would Monster Kid have a Tardis?
Jeff turns to J-amie.
Jeff: That’s just as stupid as thinking they know Gaster.
The kids start bickering again.
Kris: Oh boy….
They roll their eyes.
Kris: This is why I’m not a big fan of kids.
They grumble.
J-amie: PAPYRUS IS STRAIGHT!
Slander
He’s aro/ace
It’s canon shut up
Fight me
Jeff: FINE!
Jeff takes a deep breath.
Jeff: Fine. I’ll give you that one. But you cannot tell me Mettaton wasn’t trans!
J-amie: He was cis!
Jeff: No way in hell!
They start fighting again. Haarc leans over.They softly say to Kris.
Haarc: No, he was totally trans. It was really obvious.
Agreed.
Peter: The amalgamate was Asian!
Everyone shuts up.
Haarc: …What?
Haarc looks taken off guard. They give an awkward and forced smile.
Peter: That always gets everyone to shut up. And they can’t prove me wrong.
Haarc: But…the amalgamate was a bunch of monsters melted together.
Peter: Yeah, and? What if those monsters were Asian?
Haarc: ….How would they be Asian?
Peter: What if the mountain they were under was in Asia?
Haarc: You mean…in Japan? I guess that’s possible.
Peter: Exactly. Now, can we please move on? We’re scaring our guests.
J-amie and Jeff settle down in their chairs, muttering apologies.
Peter: Now, where were we?
Kris: Uh….why don’t you explain some more about the human’s powers? You said they can control time and come back from the dead?
The kids perk up.
J-amie: Oh yeah!
Jeff interrupts.
Jeff: So, they have these ‘save points’. Little floating stars. And they touch them to save, and then come back from them when they die.
Kris’s chest tightens.
Kris: That settles it. That is just like what happened to me. I need to find out more about this Undertale story. Maybe it’s not just a story.
J-amie: Napstablook is a save point!
Peter: Who’s Napstablook?
Kris: The traffic cop.
They wrinkle their brow thoughtfully.
Kris: Wait, but I talked to them, and they didn’t seem like a save point.
J-amie: Mettaton's cousin!
Peter: Mettaton had a cousin?
Jeff: Wait, wouldn’t that mean they’re just a ghost?
Peter: Wait, what? Mettaton’s related to a ghost?
J-amie: Mettaton is a ghost.
Peter: What?!
Jeff: You didn’t know? He’s a ghost possessing a robot.
Peter: I had no idea!
J-amie: Well, they’re a ghost, but they’re also a save point.
Jeff: But-!
Jeff takes another deep breath.
Jeff: Okay, even if they were, they hate humans, so they wouldn’t help the human.
Peter: What if they couldn’t help it?
J-amie: Wait a sec. Why would Napstablook hate humans?
Jeff: Well, the whole underground did.
J-amie: Except Toriel.
Peter: And Alphys.
Jeff: Right, except for them. Napstablook super hated them though. Just like Onionsan.
J-amie and Peter: Who?
Jeff: Onionsan. He’s…..a person.
J-amie and Peter glance at each other, then J-amie sighs.
J-amie: You are way too obsessed with side characters.
Jeff: Am not! Everyone just ignores them! I want justice for my physically stunted Mad Dummy with the height of a child.
Peter: You’d know all about that.
Jeff glares.
Jeff: Watch it.
Peter: What next, you gonna tell us more of your ridiculous science theories? Go ahead, tell us who you think invented the Gaster Blasters.
Kris: The what?
Jeff sulks.
Jeff: The Nicecream guy.
Kris: Who?
Peter: Just some random dude who serves nice cream.
Kris: What’s nice cream?
Jeff: We don’t know, but we think it’s magical ice cream.
Peter scoffs.
Peter: You two think everything is magic.
J-amie: Do not!
Jeff: Well, it is!
Peter: Oh, yes you do.
He turns to J-amie.
Peter: You think that the Annoying Dog is a magical human. He’s just a dog, for crying out loud!
Haarc seems to straighten up.
J-amie: Oh, he is so not! I’ve heard about him. That’s a magical human.
Peter: Oh at least say magical dog.
J-amie: Nope. Human.
Peter groans. Kris notices Haarc’s body tensing up. They aren’t smiling, and they seem to be gripping the chair pretty hard.
Jeff speaks up to change the subject.
Jeff: Chara’s a magical human.
Peter: Ugh! No, they’re not!
Jeff: Well, why not? They were human.
J-amie: And secretly depressed.
Peter: Secretly? Depressed, yes, but secretly? I don’t know about that.
Kris: Who’s Chara?
J-amie: The first fallen human.
Jeff: Yeah, the one who stayed with the Dreemurrs.
Kris: The Dreemurrs?
Kris: What were they like in this world?
Peter: Yeah, the royal monster family.
Kris: R-royal?!
Kris is cut off by the sound of car horn honking.
Jeff frowns.
Jeff: Oh, darn. That’s my mom. She’s our ride out of here.
Peter: What, you mean we can’t finish the story?
Jeff gives him a sad look.
Peter: Aw, man.
J-amie: Sorry, guys.
Haarc responds cheerily.
Haarc: Aw, it’s okay guys. Thanks for telling us as much as you did. Bye!
The kids wave bye and head off.
Kris stutters and blubbers.
Kris: Wha- Bu-
They slump back in their chair. They still look in shock from the realization, but their face softens.
Kris: Royal, huh? Imagine that.
They scoff.
Kris: Dad, king? The only thing he’s king of is flowers.
Kris: And mom….well, she might make a good queen. Can’t imagine she’d be greedy or anything though. Maybe a nice and kind queen, like out of a fairytale. I could see her pulling that off.
*Buzz!*
They glance down lazily at the phone in their limp hand.
Welp, think that’s our cue to go.
That’s all for here. Let’s find a spot to make another portal.
Kris: Yup.
Kris grunts and stands up.
Kris: Do I just go back the way I came?
That’ll work.
Kris starts walking, when a cheerful voice interrupts them.
Haarc: Hey Kris, wait up!
Kris: Huh?
Kris turns around to see Haarc right behind them, swaying back and forth on their toes.
Kris blinks. This is awkward. They’re confused too. They don’t really know how to respond here. They start hesitantly.
Kris: Oh. Uh, hey, Haarc. Is there…something you need?
Haarc responds in a carefree and cheery manner.
Haarc: Nah. Just figured I’d walk with you for a bit. Got nothing better to do.
Kris: Uh…..sure?
Haarc grins even wider.
Haarc: Great! Lead the way, Kris!
Kris: Weird. Sorta like how Ralsei was when I first met him.
Their face brightens up.
Kris: Maybe that’s what’s weird about them! Maybe they’re Ralsei!
Haarc beams.
Haarc: Those kids, huh? Crazy what they did to that story.
Kris: Huh? Uh, yeah, I guess.
Kris seems distracted, and not in the mood for conversation. Haarc singsongs.
Haarc: You know……
Their voice drops back down.
Haarc: There was almost nothing right with that story.
Kris looks at them. It resumes its normal high pitch.
Haarc: I mean, the general stuff….well, okay, the save point stuff….that was all correct. Except for the part about Napstablook being a save point. And the whole ‘Toriel saving the human from Flowey’ thing was true. But, uh….
They trail off, and sort of awkwardly glance at the ground. They clear their throat.
Haarc: She didn’t kill anyone.
Kris: What?
Haarc: Toriel. She, uh, she didn’t kill anyone.
Kris: Of course she didn’t. Why would she kill anyone? Where did that even come from?
Kris is offended and confused. They look Haarc up and down.
Haarc blinks, although you can’t see their eyes, and stares back at Kris, equally confused.
Haarc: Were you not paying attention earlier? When Jeff said Toriel killed everyone?
Kris: What?! When was this?!
Haarc: You weren’t?! I thought you wanted to hear the story! It was when they were talking about Toriel resetting the timeline.
Kris: I…I didn’t hear that.
Kris looks distressed. Haarc puts their hand on their shoulder.
Haarc: Well, she didn’t. That’s what I wanted to tell you.
They frown.
Haarc: I have no idea where they got such crazy ideas from. I mean, Asgore is Sans? The Nicecream guy invented Gaster blasters?
Haarc: And some of them are just stupid. The amalgamate is Asian? That It’s like it came from an edgy theory generator.
They smirk.
Haarc: Ha! It probably did!
The two stop in front of the alley Kris came from.
Haarc: Well, this is your stop.
Kris: Wait, how’d you know-
But Haarc is already walking away. They throw up one hand in goodbye, and call out behind them.
Haarc: See you around, Kris!