Glen and Asriel ran through the Junkyard, neck and neck as they rushed toward the settlement. They both showed remarkable speed, though the constant sounds of garbage crashing behind them accompanied by a low rumble in the ground and an occasional sound that could only be described as a metal scream.
They were just within sight of the cobbled-together outer wall of the settlement when the rumbling intensified. Asriel looked confused, but Glenda had enough experience with similar matters to realize that something was passing beneath them. She grabbed Asriel by the back of his hood and pulled him behind the abandoned shell of a storage truck moments before something burst through the ground of the junkyard, sending garbage and fetid water in every direction.
Garbage rained around them. Fortunately, the remains of the storage truck kept anything harmful from crushing them. Just before they could breath a collective sigh of relief, massive metal jaws caught the top of the storage truck and crushed in a solid mass of metal before pulling it away from the terrified Dreamer and monster.
Before them stood what could only be described as a massive snake made entirely of garbage. Several bulldozer jaws surrounded one central jagged maw that opened to reveal a massive grinder within. Asriel and Glen watched in horror as it swallowed the remains of the transport car and in moments ground it to nothing. The rest of the body was just a mass of rusted metal, framework, and tightly packed cables.
"What do we do?" Asriel asked, turning to Glen with eyes full of desperation.
"What are you lookin' at me for?" Glen said, still holding on to some hope that this wasn't all her fault. "I mean, surely you've seen something like this before!"
"Of course I haven't seen anything like this before!" Asriel said, "Trash doesn't just come to life and start chasing people!"
An alarm sounded from the vicinity of the city. Massive cobbled-together doors slammed together, blocking entrance into the village and drawing the mechawyrm's attention. It screamed again and slammed into the gate several times. The gate shuddered, some of the bits falling off the gaate, but it still held.
"Okay," Glen said, "We need a plan. Asriel ..."
She turned to see Asriel's back as the young Bossun beat a hasty retreat. Sighing, Glen said, "Okay, I need a plan."
While frightening, the monstrosity wasn't exactly complex. Reasoning that it didn't have any kind of sensory apparatus to detect touch, Glen hurried to the exposed tail of the creature. She'd only taken a few steps when the tail reared back as well, expanding to reveal a small circular opening. Pure instinct made Glen throw herself aside moments before the tail shot a large spear-like sliver of metal through the opening.
Glancing at the half-buried metal spear, Glen realized it was recycled materials from the delivery truck. She couldn't help but be impressed; this was a machine made from recycled parts that used more garbage as ammunition. Sure, it was aggressive, but it there was a way to tame the damn thing, the residents of the underground could make use of such a machine. The metal of the spear-like projectile was still warm to the touch, and quite strong; obviously the Mechawyrm didn't just harvest materials, but refined them as well.
Glen shook her head; the MechaWyrm was still bashing against the settlement wall; given the wyrm's girth and the makeshift nature of the wall, it was only a matter of time before the wall lost. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure what to do. The MechaWyrm was practically a Dreadnaught, and her Dreadnaught, the Popeful Mail, was two-thousand years out of reach.
She considered her Dreamer abilities briefly before quickly shoving the thought aside. Playing with her powers caused this mess; trying to use them again would likely just make the situation worse. No, she needed something more conventional, something like ...
The growl of an engine caught Glen's ears. She glanced in the direction of the noise to see the tank-like treads of a large repaired construction truck moving her way, a large wrecking ball attached to the central mast. Squinting at the cabin, Glen realized Asriel was the driver.
"Way to go, Azzie!" Glen said with a grin. "Show it who's boss!"
The MechaWyrm turned as the wrecker approached. It screamed, a poor use of its time considering that the wrecker was already swinging its arm toward it, the massive metal ball following suite. The Wyrm darted forward just a moment too late, the wrecking ball catching it in the side of its head. The resulting clash send several of the bulldozer jaws tumbling to the ground.
Asriel drew the arm back for another swing, but the Mechawyrm was already moving to counter attack. It coiled around the treads of the wrecker and squeezed. The treads were reduced to scrap in a matter of seconds; Asriel worked the controls frantically, the panic in his eyes visible even to Glen.
Asriel needed help. Glen looked around frantically for something, some way to distract the beast. There was nothing lying around heavy enough to threaten the Mechawyrm, but maybe she could throw together something that was loud and flashy with some lights and old speakers.
A flash of light caught her eye. She looked down at her rune horrified as beams of dream energy shot into the pile of garbage.
"No, no, no!" Glen said, grabbing her extended hand and trying in vain to yank it back.
The pile of garbage rumbled. Glen watched in fear, wondering what monstrosity she was making this time, when something shot from the pile straight toward her far too fast to dodge. Instinctively closing her eyes, Glen raised her hands in time to catch the device, it landing in her hand with almost practiced ease.
She cracked her eyes open to look at the device. It looked like someone tried to build an assault rifle out of audio equipment, the 'muzzle' being in fact a massive speaker. It was also quite familiar, Glen having seen the business end of a similar weapon only a few months prior.
"Dubstep gun!" Glen said, taking the weapon in both hands. "Hell yeah!"
The musical loadout matched her knowledge of dubstep, small surprise seeing as her powers made the thing. After choosing an appropriate song, it took Glen a few moments to find the proper switches to activate the device. The speakers immediately produced the familiar low-rumble of bass Glen associated with the weapon. Popping in a pair of earplugs (thank the Creator she kept a few pairs in her tool belt), she took aim and pulled the trigger.
The air filled with streams of light as the thunderously loud notes of Madeon's 'Pop Culture' tore through the air. Both sound and song slammed into the creature, making it let out a scream that almost overpowered the dubstep. It released its grip on Asriel and tuned to Glen.
Glen tensed herself, ready for the giant mechanical snake to make a rush for her. Instead, however, it simply dove into the ground, tearing a hold through the dirt and the junk.
Glen lowered the dubstep gun, feeling a little proud of herself despite the fact her powers seemed to take matters into their own hands, so to speak. A shame it couldn't have done the same with Headache, but One warned her that Dreamer powers are by nature unpredictable.
"Hey, a victory is a victory." She said, turning off the gun. "And any fight you can walk away from is a good one in my book."
She hurried over to the wrecker just as Asriel managed to climb out of the cab of the vehicle.
"T-thanks for the save." Asriel said as Glen helped him down from the wrecker.
"Likewise." Glen said, nodding at the wrecker. "A shame about the wrecker."
Asriel waved her off. "Ah, just a hobby of mine. Most of the vehicles that end up down here are scrap; this one was just old. I was hoping I could use it to help with the scavenging, but ..."
"Hey," Glen said, "You saved your town ... er, what's it called?"
"Junk." Asriel said, furry cheeks growing pink. "Er, sorry. My Dad named it back when he and Mom were together. He never was very original, I'm afraid."
"Junk." Glen repeated. Shrugging, she said, "Eh, fair enough. My hometown's called Bridges ... because it's between two bridges, get it? I'm hardly in the position to criticize."
"Bridges?" Asriel said, frowning. "I've never heard of that settlement. Where is it in the Underground?"
Glen froze, realizing she'd said more than she intended. "Er, it's between Snowdin and the Ruins. Tiny settlement; you've probably never seen it."
Unfortunately, Asriel was looking her over now. While not harmful, the water of the junkyard had washed off much of the paint covering her body, leaving her caucasian skin exposed.
"You're not a skeleton." He said unnecessarily.
"And you're not an armless lizard person." Glen said. "And yet here we both are."
After enduring another few moments of Asriel's suspicious stare, Glen let out a sigh. "All right, all right. If you must know, I'm human."
Asriel's eyes went wide. Taking her arm, he said, "We have to hide you! If my mother finds out you're down here-"
"Relax." Glen said, raising her hand. "I came here by accident; as soon as I find a way back, I'll leave."
A brief rumble shook the ground before subsiding. Glen amended, "All right, I'll leave as soon as I find a way and I've dealt with that thing."
Asriel opened his mouth to ask another question when a loud screech of metal shot through the air. Both Glen and Asriel tensed at the sound, but it wasn't the shriek of the MechaWyrm; it was the scraping of metal caused by the village gates opening.
Sighing, Asriel said, "C'mon; we'll talk more once we get inside."
After a moment of thought, he pulled off his coat to reveal a baggy green and yellow-striped shirt. He handed the coat to Glen. "Put this on."
"I'm fine." Glen said.
"You're not fine, you're human. Look, I trust Mister Kidd, and the other people in the village are nice people, but all it takes is one to alert Alphys. Please, just wear the coat until we get home."
Sighing, Glen slipped on the brown coat and pulled the hood over her head. Nodding, Asriel led them back into the city.
The old turtle manning the gates asked, "Gee willikers, what in the name of tarnation was that thing?"
"I don't know, Gerson." Asriel said. "Better keep the gates closed just in case."
"Aye, lad, just as soon as the other scavvers get back." Gerson pulled out a tool box, adding, "I should probably try shoring up the door a little more until then."
"Just be careful, okay?" Asriel said, worry on his young face.
Gerson laughed. "Wa ha ha! Don't worry about me, kid! Ain't no old snake 'bout to bring this old man down!"
Several of the other villagers joined the turtle man in his efforts as Asriel led Glen back to Mister Kidd's house. Mister Kidd was outside the door, the worry in his face quickly changing to relief at the sight of Asriel.
"Thanks be." Mister Kidd said, "I was worried sick. What was that creature?"
"Some kind of giant trash snake." Asriel said. "Garamond managed to drive it off."
"Actually," Glen said, pushing back her hood the moment she was inside. "It's Glen."
Mister Kidd didn't look surprised. "Ha. Finally admitting your human, miss historian?"
Blushing, Glen opened her mouth to explain only to stop when Mister Kidd shook his head.
"My eyes aren't as bad as all that, missy. Even if they were, a skeletons bones make all kind of clatter, even when they're just sitting there." He chuckled and added, "Besides, I'm one of the few monsters left down here who still remembers what actual humans look like. Me, Gerson, and Asriel's parents. I had you pegged before you stepped through the door, miss."
Feeling a little embarrassed, Glen rubbed her arm and said, "Sorry for lying, but-"
"I know, I know. The Queen's edict." Mister Kidd's smile faded. "She wasn't always like that, y'know. Her mother's death hit her hard, but even then she was inclined to mercy."
Asriel's chair scraped the floor. "I'm going to go wash up." He announced, a note of coldness in his voice.
Mister Kidd was silent until Asriel departed. "Poor kid. He's had the worst of it. He used to be such a happy child too."
"What happened?" Glen asked.
Mister Kidd sighed. "Tell me something, human. Glen. Why did you come here? I don't need the whole story; just give me the general gist."
"Like 'I'm here to destroy you?'"
"Is that your goal?"
Glen shook her head. "No. I came here at the request of a friend, to save someone she left behind a long time ago."
Mister Kidd nodded. "You are a helpful person, aren't you?"
"Normally, yeah." Glen said, thinking to her mistake with the Mechawyrm. "I have good intentions, at least."
Mister Kidd was silent for a long moment before he finally said, "After the war, we were prepared to slaughter any human who fell down here. We watched and waited, poised to harvest the souls as soon as we found them. As the years passed with no humans arriving, however, we gradually settled. We moved from the ruins to the rest of the underground, New Home and Dreemurr Castle were built, and many of us settled down and had families, myself included. We had a little boy. His name was Billburt, but everyone just called him 'Kidd'. He and Asriel were friends, and were always getting up to some mischief. We didn't mind; they were just kids, after all."
Glen sat down at the table, Mister Kidd doing so as well as he continued, "I come home to find Kidd and Asriel have a new friend. To my surprise, she's a little human girl. She didn't talk much, but she did tell us her name was Frisk."
"Frisk?" Glen said automatically out of surprise. Quickly catching herself, she said, "Sorry; please continue."
"Part of me wanted to turn her in to the queen, but she was a timid and kind child. We let her stay the night so me and the Missus can talk it over. Truth is, Asriel wasn't able to come over very often, and the Missus liked the idea of having a daughter. In the end, we decide to take Frisk in as our own."
"We warned them to be careful; Frisk had to wear a hooded cloak and a mask when she went out. We were worried it was a bit hard on her, but she seemed to understand. The three of them were inseperable; in the end, we had a room for Asriel too, for all the nights he'd end up staying over."
"And the Queen never noticed?" Glen asked.
"Not at first." Mister Kidd said. "We were careful to keep her humanity hidden when Asgore or Toriel came to pick their little prince up, and Frisk was very careful with her disguise. She seemed to really like it down here. She was such a sweet child. Of course, the ruse didn't last forever; our friends figured it out eventually, but by that point they too had grown to love the little human girl. We're pretty sure the Temmie Knights figured it out as well."
"The what?" Glen asked, frowning.
"The Temmie Knights. Asgore's top soldiers; they patrolled the entire Underground, keeping the peace. They're a stern group, but they too seemed to have a soft spot for our little girl. We eventually relaxed a little and let Frisk and Kidd spend more and more time outside."
Chuckling, Mister Kidd said, "They poked around New Home, sometimes going as far as Hotland and Waterfall. They were just playing, but I think it was Frisk's curiosity that pushed them further and further. Eventually, they even found their way to Dreemurr Castle, against the wishes of myself and my wife. There's relaxing, and then there's flaunting fate. Sure enough, one day, the three of them return home with the King and Queen. They were caught playing in the central garden, and the Queen caught Frisk taking her mask off to sniff a flower."
"We were worried the Queen would be angry; we'd hidden Frisk from them, essentially hiding one of the souls we'd need to escape the Underground. Fortunately, we were wrong. Maybe it was her own son standing protectively in front of Frisk that swayed her ... or maybe her anger following the war had ebbed as much as ours. Whatever the case, the Queen spared Frisk and allowed her to live peacefully in the Underground."
"For awhile, it was fantastic. Frisk was so happy to be able to move around without having to hide. Everyone fell in love with her too; she was so kind, so gentle. Even the Queen and King came to view her as family."
Mister Kidd's face fell. "And then Kidd got sick. We tried everything we could think of, all manner of medicines and curing magic we could find. The Queen herself tried her best, but something just kept making Kidd get worse and worse until one day, we woke up and found Kidd nothing but ash and Frisk gone. We searched and searched the Underground, the Royal Guard and the Temmie Knights assisting.
Mister Kidd's eyes stared down at the table as he and Glen sat in silence for what felt like a few minutes. "Eventually, one of the Temmie Knights found Frisk at the barrier, badly hurt. The Temmie knight did what they could to help her back, but Frisk ..." Mister Kidd drew in a shakey breath. "Frisk died just outside our house. Her soul faded before the Royal Scientist of the time ..." Mister Kidd frowned and shook his head. "Can't remember his name at the moment. Anyway, her soul was gone by the time he got here with a proper containment pod."
A long moment of silence passed through the room before Mister Kidd continued, "Losing both of our children was hard on me and the missus, but it hit the queen especially hard. The humans on the surface had once again taken one of ours; that Frisk was a human meant nothing. The Queen swore to collect the souls to breach the barrier and make the humans pay. King Asgore left not long after another human was discovered and immediately killed. Asriel came to live with us not long after. We were glad; it was nice to have a child in the house again, and aside from the occasional Temmie Knight checking in on us under Toriel's orders, it felt like we had a family again. The Missus passed away a few years ago after a long sickness; the new Royal Scientist tried to save her, but ultimately all we got back was an urn of ash."
Mister Kidd sighed and finished, "Not an entirely happy story, but hey; that's life, right?"
Glen didn't respond. She was still taking in the tale, her mind already working at it to find the correlation to her own reality and the fate of Asriel. This whole universe seemed like a play with the actors mixed up. Perhaps there were similarities to be discerned, similarities that might give her some idea of her Asriel's fate.
"Mister Kidd," Glen asked, "Could I see Kidd's Room? Frisks's as well, if it's not a problem."
"It's not a problem." Mister Kidd said, "But can I ask why?"
"The friend I came to rescue may have run into a similar situation. It's a longshot, but I might be able to find something in Kidd's or Frisk's room that'll explain what he was trying to do."
"He? Who is this friend, anyway?" Mister Kidd said, looking suspiciously at Glen. "And how in tarnation did he have a similar situation? Only eight humans have ever fallen down here."
"Nine." Glen said, "Assuming that Sans and Papyrus are on a false alarm."
She paused, remembering the strange versions of her friends. "Ugh. By the Creator ... Sans and Papyus! I completely forgot about them!"
There was simply too much to do: deal with the Mechawyrm, help Papyrus and Sans with the eighth child (as far as Glen was concerned, she didn't count), investigate the rooms of Kidd and Frisk for clues about her Asriel, and the ever-important find a way back to her friends and her reality.
"I can help you with Sans and Papyrus."
Mister Kidd and Glen turned to see Asriel standing in the stairwell, dressed in a fine purple cloak bearing the Delta Rune, the symbol of Queen Toriel and the monster kingdom. He walked down the stairs and said, "You need help, right?"
"Well, yeah." Glen said, glancing between Asriel and Mister Kidd. "But I didn't want to drag anyone else into it."
"Garamond ... Glen, I mean ... I want to know what happened to Frisk and Kidd too. I've been over their rooms and found nothing, but you're different. You're from a different world."
"In more ways than one." Glen added, but she did so under her breath.
"Maybe you'll see something we missed." Asriel said. "And I can relay anything you want to say to the skeleton brothers in the meantime."
Ultimately, Glen had no choice; she couldn't do everything at once.
"All right.' Glen said, nodding. "Tell them to be cautious of the new human. If they're kind, good; if they're going around killing monsters, do not hesitate in killing it. One way or the other, that kid represents an end to the Underground; I'd like to make sure it's a good one."
