((I'm saved from being murdered. It's summer! Also, you'd think of me consistent with my update schedules now but y'all know me. I have a PhD in procrastination. I'm proud.))

((Lmao, that beginning was written in June....oOf.))

Arg̶o̶n's P.O.V
Stepping out of the flowing water, I feel a rush of energy.

It's been forever since I've been alive.

At first glance you may say 1 timeline isn't long. That's a lie.

I look back at the waterfall.

Betty is looking at me with a bright smile. Akumu is flying around Flowey and my Pacifist self's body. It's taunting them. How cute~

Betty turns to me and tries to reach her hand out. It begins to glitch different shades of pinks and purples.

A few blues escape.

Hissing, she pulls her hand back. "It'll take me a while before I can actually pass through. I hope you have everything under control?" She asked me, looking at me dead in the eye.

I smirk, brushing the dust from my black sleeves.

"Oh don't worry Betty! There's no possible way they know the change even happened! Not with her dead anyways.." I reply.

Flowey had moved Ar's body deeper into the rocky walls, forming some form of cave and trapping themselves behind his vines.

Akumu can't seem to get through.

I laugh. "I doesn't seem like the flower has any plans on coming out. It's all about timing from now on." I answer.

Betty lets out a laugh. It glitches here and there. Looking back at me, she frowns.

"Give them hell." she ordered.

I nodded, giving her my back. "When have I not?" I asked. There's no response as the waterfall closes back up, no trace of an opening could be seen.

Only by glitching you can get through.

I look down at my hand. Black and white glitches form when I think about them.

If anything went wrong, all I would have to do is glitch my way into any body of water and hide.

Not that I would anyways.

K̶i̶l̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ o̶f̶f̶ p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ h̶a̶s̶ b̶e̶e̶n̶ m̶y̶ s̶p̶e̶c̶i̶a̶l̶t̶y̶.
H̶a̶s̶n̶'t̶ i̶t̶, N̶o̶a̶h̶? V̶i̶c̶t̶o̶r̶i̶a̶?

💚

I stroll past the familiar environment with my hands inside my pockets.

This place was devoid of life when I roamed the Underground.

It was...better that way.

Peaceful. Quiet.

No monster was there admiring paintings or crystals on the ceilings.

No monster was talking to the echo flowers.

No monster was wishing their stupid hopes to become a reality.

They were all forced underground for a reason.

It should stay that way.

W̶h̶y̶ s̶e̶t̶ m̶o̶n̶s̶t̶e̶r̶s̶ f̶r̶e̶e̶ i̶n̶t̶o̶ a̶ w̶o̶r̶l̶d̶ o̶f̶ p̶r̶e̶d̶a̶t̶o̶r̶s̶?

Laughing and the sound of footsteps stop me in my tracks. I can hear taunts. Not a battle clearly..but..a game?

I follow the voices to a larger area of the Waterfall. Where there was once ashes and silence were monsters and humans playing around.

It almost made me sick.

My work was completely ruined. It was all for Char̶a and they ruined it! If only she could see the mess Frisk has made...

The taller skeleton....Papyrus was it? Yes, he was trying to chase the human.

Not Frisk...the other one. The one with the Perseverance soul.

What was her name?

"You've been at this for minutes Paps! If I reach that column it'll be over!" The black haired girl shouted, laughing.

She looked like the athletic type. That or she ran because she could.

"Nyeh Heh Heh! I am aware of that, Purple! However, the great Papyrus shall not let you pass!" The taller skeleton shouted, his laugh filling up the cavern.

I raise my brow "Purple? That's not a name..." I mutter to myself, remaining in the shadows.

I fail to notice a presence near me until it's too late. It's the other one. The shorter skeleton.

I mentally curse. He hasn't spotted me.

For some reason he's clearly into the game. Strange for someone who's lost motivation to do anything.

He's drinking from his ketchup bottle without a care in the world. Clearly they haven't spotted him.

The other two begin to play a game of chase. Papyrus is using his magic to try and stop Purple.

She has a good reaction time, jumping and ducking over the bones as she runs. I unconsciously lean against the wall, studying her.

She's quick and she might be hard to take down. Either I take care of her first or take care of her last.

As expected, she reaches her destination and touches the column.

Cheers emerge from her lips as Papyrus groans in defeat. She rolls up the sleeves of her jacket and stares at the skeleton.

"Told ya, Paps! I'm the best at hide and seek!" She claims, sitting down and trying to catch her breath.

Hmm..she may be fast but she tires easily.

"No fair, Miss Ana! You've clearly hatched a plan against the great Papyrus! Worry not! As I know the actions behind such plan! It was to test me and my abilities!" The skeleton blurted out of the blue.

However, I completely ignored his monologue.

Ana.

That was her name.

It's simple to forget the many people you've killed.

My breath hitches in my throat as I remember. She was one of the reasons I failed.

I only had to kill the skeleton and it would be over, like it alw̶a̶y̶s̶ h̶a̶d̶ b̶e̶e̶n̶.

She just came in out of nowhere and took the hit. Then she died....

Sans was pissed.

My nails scratch the wall as I form a fist.

"How dare sh—"
"man. she's good at this game."

I almost jump out of the shadows and reveal my position once he began talking. He chuckled as he thinks he just startled me.

He can't see me in the darkness but I turned to him with hatred in my eyes.

We can barely see each other.

We can make out our figures. We can clearly see the outline of our bodies. Hands, legs, head.

We can't make out our expressions.

He can't see my anger.
He can't see my frown.
He can't see my clenched fists.

"Yeah, I have to agree!" I replied, trying to sound as cheerful as I could be.

I tensed up once he out his hand on my shoulder. "i tried telling Pap it was a terrible idea to go after her. he didn't listen." he talked.

Wait.

I can't sense it.

Anger. Rage. Hatred.

I can't sense any of it coming from him.

He's calm?...

He's calm around Ar?..

This makes me shake more.

I stop once I feel something leaking from my eyes.

"Fuck." I mutter and bring up my hands up to my eyes to wipe the liquid away.

Sans tilts his head. "something wrong kid?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I just cut myself on a piece of rock. That's all." I lied, bringing out my palm and quickly slicing it a bit with my knife.

I bring it out into the light so Sans could see.

He hissed. "ouch. that was a bold move from the wall. definitely rocked your world." he joked and laughed.

I almost groaned when something came across my mind.

Ar likes the bad puns.

Letting out a fake, yet realistic laugh, I make sure he keeps trusting me. I'll need this. I look back to see that Papyrus is making his way over to us.

Sans grabs my arm. "cheating is sansational." he said, snapping his fingers.

We reappear far from Papyrus.

I drop to my knees, holding my head. "I hate when you do that.." I groan, making him laugh.

"i'll never get tired of it." he answered. I looked up at him and he tilted his head. "when did you switch hoods?" he asked.

Shit.

"It's reversible. Got tired of the white." I replied. He nodded in understanding and pulled out yet another ketchup bottle.

I get back up and wave goodbye, looking for a place to hide.

Hide among the grass, I think to myself.

Papyrus was always easy, and seeing as he's close friends with Ar it would be a piece of cake.

Ana could be potentially dangerous but she gets tired easily. Sans was also a problem but if I could catch him in his sleep....

I looked to the side and see a ghost staring back at me. "Oh..Ar! It's lovely to see you...You've disappeared most of the game!.."

This is?...

"Yeah! I'm good at the game! The trick is to just keep moving!..er—"

"Blooky?"

"—Blooky! Yeah! Oh..Napstablook! Yeah. Keep moving! Totally."

This mysterious voice saved me from a terrible mistake. The ghost didn't seem to notice though.

Approaching us was a robotic figure.

I have never seen it in my entire existence.

Why was there so much...hot pink on it?!

"Oh! Ar! Here you are darling! Are you keeping Blooky company?" It asked, looking at me sweetly. I almost don't know how to respond.

I sit down and loot at it. "Uh..yeah! Decided to be more engrossed in the experience and not hide on my own." I replied.

The robot raised an eyebrow but quickly shushed us all as we heard footsteps.

Napstablook and I lay down on the grass while the robot just lowers himself as much as he can between us.

Papyrus was whistling as he strolled by us.

The robot's color changed to match the color of the Echo flowers.

I have to admit that this blue was more soothing to admire than the screeching pink he seemed to wear on the daily.

The skeleton looked around and almost went past us until he seemed to focus on me.

He couldn't see me but I could see him.

I was more than down to reveal myself for this game when the robot suddenly hovers above me.

It's hands are next to my arms and it was inches from me. "Trust me on this darling." it whispered and I shrugged as a response.

Papyrus inspected the area. As he was about to reach over, someone caught his attention.

A red haired monster strolled by, immediately regretting her decision.

"Coming to greet me Undyne?" He asked, causing her to immediately take off.

We sigh in relief as the robot gets off me and Napstablook reappears. "That was too close for comfort" the robot said.

The ghost nodded. "Y-Yeah...Ar was very calm about it though...so cool!.." he said, giving me a ghostly embrace.

I boil up inside but pat his head.

"That's another trick! We should...head for the..column.." I state, starting out strongly but ending weakly as the robot has its eyes on me.

I kinda glare back but refuse from it. That would just be suspicious.

💚

"Just give up!" Ana shouted at Undyne. We had all reached the column except for, surprisingly, Undyne.

She was having quite the hardship.

Papyrus and Undyne were both in defensive positions and anyone knows that if you can't attack, you can't win.

The redhead kept stepping forwards and back. The taller skeleton responded accordingly.

Everyone was getting tired and falling asleep.

Sans was down to his last ketchup bottle. The robot even seemed irritated which I thought was impossible yet here we are.

I'm not sure how strong this robot is but I could probably defeat it if Napstablook weren't around. I found out they are cousins and I can't quite kill him.

If he snitched on me it would be over. There had to be some sort of off switch or something among those lines.

Undyne and Toriel could put up a fight if I don't catch them by surprise. What about Asgore?

Screaming immediately made me look up.

Papyrus. Tagged. Undyne.

The blue female was on the ground defeated as Alphys...yes, the royal scientist, was patting her back.

Everyone else celebrated, happy they could end the game.

I smirked.

I̶'l̶l̶ b̶e̶ h̶a̶p̶p̶y̶ t̶o̶ t̶a̶k̶e̶ a̶w̶a̶y̶ t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ h̶a̶p̶p̶i̶n̶e̶s̶s̶.

"Alright kids! Let's head back to the skeleton's place!" Toriel called out.

I assume she meant all humans. I smiled and trailed after Ana and Frisk.

They both seemed happy with her.

How could she be happy about replacing C̶ha̶ra?

How many children has she replaced her with?

💚

I rummage through my inventory. I'm sitting on the far end of the couch.

Everyone is at the dinner table playing some human game. Clue, if I'm not mistaken. I simply told them that I wasn't feeling too good.

"Hmm..not many food items...an umbrella...ah! Here it is.." I mutter to myself, equipping the knife.

"Ar?" A robotic voice asks. I mentally groan yet turn to face it. Not once has a monster or human revealed its name.

If I blow it I'll simply kill it first. "Yes?" I replied, plastering a smile on my face.

It smiled back.

"I wanted to have a quick work with you if you didn't mind." I tilted my head and nodded. "Of course! What about?" I asked.

It calmly sat next to me on the couch and turned to look at me. It stared into my eyes and didn't move.

I awkwardly looked around the room. Did it malfunction?

"I was curious. You lost your stutter when you talked to me." it said, playing with the pillow on the couch.

Ar had a stutter? How come I didn't know about this?

I'm not sure how to reply but I don't have to; it kept talking. "I kept getting awfully near you and you didn't even squirm once. I wondered if you had gotten past your shyness...but I noticed that wasn't it." it stopped.

The tone. I didn't like it's tone.

"You...changed. You're not goofy. You haven't shown interest in anything. You didn't even look at the game properly. You were analyzing it." it said, beginning to lean in.

I frown and lean back slowly.

"Flowey isn't here with you. That's already suspicious." it suddenly said.

That's why he—

"So tell me, what are you and what have you done with Ar."

I have a stare-down with the robot. Now I remember him. I remember as clear as day.

Mettaton.

((Chika-chan_13 you're welcome or sorry? I dunno. If y'all have questions about the timeline or about certain characters in this story lemme know! Don't kill meee and ignore any typos :) ))