In the center of the Deep lies a massive town known simply as Nowhere. It's considered the unofficial capital of the deep, mostly due to the city serving as the hub of the skyway and the headquarters of the skyway repair crew. It's a bustling town bathed by the light of the Lumos, a glowing moon-like sphere that hovered over the city.
The city proper consists of two parts: the Foundation and Central Nowhere. The Foundation is a massive ring of land that houses most of the business and industry of Nowhere, such as the Skyway Repair Crew.
The Foundation surrounded Central nowhere; a much smaller yet still considerably large landmass that hung in the very center of the Foundation. Most of the hundred or so monster residents lived there, mostly in private homes though there were a few apartment complexes.
The Foundation and Central Nowhere are connected by dozens of small roads, all of which were maintained by the Skyway Repair Crew. Roads were always going down due to the shifting of one or both parts of the city or fading enchantments. As such, it saw regular visits from members of the Skyway Repair Crew, such as Golemite and his new apprentice.
Asriel stepped back from the remnants of the road on the Foundation side, sliding the tool that looked like a whisk back into its holster on his belt. Holding a hand to the side of his mouth, he shouted, "Accessway Jay twenty-seven, ready!"
From across the empty space that lay between the Foundation and Central Nowhere, Golemite bellowed, Accessway Cee thirty-two, ready!"
Nodding, Asriel stepped back and tapped the metal tile with the steel toe of his boot. Almost instantly, stones rushed together to form a wide road that linked the two Accessways, bridging the gap between the Foundation and Central Nowhere. Asriel and Golemite crossed the newly-created road, meeting at the center.
"Piece-o-cake." Golemite said, holding out a hand so Asriel could give him a high-five. "Anutha road fixed thanks ta us. You really been pickin' dis up quick."
"Well, like you said." Asriel said, beaming. "Piece-o-cake."
"Ha! True 'nuff. Tell ya what; lunch is on me today. Whaddya say we go hit Crossroads?"
"Heck, yeah!" Asriel said excitedly. "I'm gonna have two cheeseburgers!"
Golemite laughed as Asriel climbed on his shoulder. "Easy dere; eat too much and yer gonna have a tummy-ache, and we still got work ta do today."
"Let's go! Go, go, go!" Asriel chanted, practically hopping up and down.
"All right, Azzie." Golemite said, "Hold on tight!"
The golem ran across the new road, only knocking one or two bricks out as he passed. It was of no concern; the next time the road was called, the fallen bricks would return. It was part of the same enchantment that kept people from falling over the edges and the roads, according to Golemite. Asriel had yet to muster up the courage to test it.
Most of the fancy restaurants were on the Foundation, but a few small diners were open for business in Central Nowhere, mostly catering to the nightshifters such as the Skyway Repair Crew. It was always night in the Deep, just as there was no proper day in the Underground, but the inhabitants did adhere to a standard daily cycle. There were no visual cues; it was just the sort of thing people who lived in Nowhere for any length of time gradually came to know.
Crossroads wasn't the closest diner to where Asriel and Golemite shared an apartment, but it was, in their humble opinion, the best of the lot. The booths had plenty of space for Golemite's massive form, they had booster chairs for smaller monsters like Asriel, and their menu had a little something for everyone.
The lamia at the counter glanced up at them as they entered, a smile soon crossing her face. "Hey, boys! Go ahead and take a seat; I'll be over in a minute to take your order."
"Thanks, Jenny." Golemite rumbled as he and Asriel took their usual booth, Asriel plopping one of the booster seats on his side so talking to Golemite wouldn't cause either of them undue neck strain.
Jenny picked up two menus and moved over to them, her long blue tail trailing behind her as she sashayed her hips their way. Once she was at their table, she glanced at Asriel and gave his ear a playful pinch.
"Hey?" Asriel said, clutching his ears.
She bopped him in the snoot with her pencil. "Ah, you love it. Now, what'll it be tonight?"
Golemite glanced at his menu, his solid orange eyes taking in every entry as though he were studying to a test. "I gonna go wit da Lodestone Platter wit extra corpse, I tink, wit a glass o mineral water."
"I thought you were trying to eat healthy." Jenny said with a smirk.
"Well, dis is a special occasion." Golemite said, nodding at Asriel. "Tha kid passed his Skyway test today."
"Really? That's great!" She swooped down on the embarrassed bossun and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Congratulations, Azzie."
He laughed nervously. "T-thanks, Miss Jenny."
"I'll have to get you somethin' extra special today, on the house." She said, giving Asriel a wink before heading back to the kitchen. Asriel watched her for a moment before turning back to Golemite, who was giving him a look.
"What?" He asked.
"She'll break yer heart, y'know."
"Oh, shut up." Asriel said, trying to ignore the heat rising in her cheeks.
Chuckling, Golemite laid his arm across the table and leaned forward. "So, I saw you got a lettah from da Mayor. Good news?"
"I dunno." Asriel pulled the letter from his pocket and handed it to Golemite.
Golemite held the letter delicately between two fingers. After staring at it for a moment, he glanced nervously at the counter. "She's not lookin', right?"
Asriel shook his head. He resisted the urge to smirk as Golemite pulled out a pair of spectacles. The eyewear looked comically small perched on the lump of rock that served as his nose.
The letter read as follows:
To Skyway Repair Officer DM-118 Asriel Dreemurr:
Your petition for an appointment with the esteemed Mayor Mayor has been accepted. Please arrive promptly at the End of Nowhere alone at 6:00 AM for your audience. Tardiness or the presence of unauthorized personnel with result in the nullification of your appointment.
Golemite frowned, turning over the page to see if there was anything more. "Huh. Dat's odd."
"You're telling me." Asriel said. "Any idea where this 'End of Nowhere' is?"
"Not a clue." Golemite said, quickly pulling off his spectacles and hiding them as Jenny returned with two trays floating in front of her.
"One Lodestone Platter with extra quartz." She said as a massive tray filled with various stones gently landed in front of the golem. "And a bacon double cheeseburger and an order of spicy cheese fries for the newest member of the Skyway Crew, with a little something extra on the side."
'Something extra' turned out to be a a generous slice of pie topped with whipped cream. Asriel couldn't resist trying a little, but froze the moment the brown custard-like filling hit his tongue.
Jenny's smile faltered. "What's wrong, hun?" She said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Does it taste okay?"
He lowered his fork, his eyes on the table. "Delicious." He said quietly. Shaking his head, he gave her a slightly forced smile. "Butterscotch-Cinnamon, right?"
She beamed at him. "Yeah. Mom taught me how to make it. You enjoy it, okay?"
"I will." He told her.
She gave his fluffy head a quick tousle before heading back to the register.
Golemite watched Asriel for a few moments before asking, "You okay? I haven't seen ya look like dat since we first met."
Asriel sighed. "My mother used to make cinnamon-butterscotch pie. I miss her."
They sat in silence for a good minute before Golemite let out a rumbling cough and said, "Er, I don't wanna seem insensitive-like, but I'm gonna eat now, if dat's okay."
This brought a laugh to Asriel's lips. "Right. Yeah; let's eat."
The food was excellent, as always. Asriel offered Golemite some of his pie, which the golem rejected on the grounds that sugar made him sneeze. Golemite offered Asriel a rather tasty-looking ore, which Asriel rejected on the grounds that he enjoyed having teeth.
"So whatcha gonna do about da meeting, Azzie?" Golemite asked as he brushed the remaining gravel into a pile on his plate.
"I dunno." Asriel said, about half-done with his pie. "I mean, someone's gotta know where the End of Nowhere is. Maybe somewhere on the outer rim of the Foundation?"
"Nah, dat's de edge of Nowhere." Golemite said as Jenny returned to freshen their drinks.
"What's wrong, boys?" Jenny said as she filled their glasses. "Somethin' bothering you?"
Golemite gestured to Asriel. "Kid's got a meeting with Mayor Mayor at the End of Nowhere, but we don't know where dat is."
"Well, it'd be the middle, wouldn't it?"
They stared at her. She chuckled and said, "He's talkin' about the city, obviously, and as any Skyway worker should know, Nowhere is basically a circle. The outer rim could be called the edge, but there isn't any one point that could truly be called an end; it just keeps going around."
She pulled a napkin from the dispenser and used a french fry to draw a circle in ketchup. Drawing several lines going from the center to the outer edge, she said, "So if we eliminate any of the outer points as the end, that just leaves us with the inner point."
Golemite looked at Asriel, his stone face confused. "Uh, does dat make any sense to you, Azzie?"
"Er, well ... I-I guess I can kinda see ..."
"No you can't." Jenny interrupted with a carefree laugh. "I'm playing with you; it's just the line from an old song. Here; I'll show you."
She moved over to the old jukebox beside the register. After putting in a coin and peering at the entries for a few moments, she said, "Ah, E-nineteen."
A few button presses later, and the silky-smooth notes of a soft jazz number filled the air of the diner.
I lost my dearest love, a lady fair in form and face
I searched the city day and night but never found a trace,
"I'm at the End of Nowhere" she told me over the phone
I've wandered every road and yet I still wander alone
I lost myself in Nowhere, I'm lost without a friend
Around the rim I've searched, through every alley, street, and bend
If only I could find her, all her wishes I would tend
But Nowhere is a circle, and the middle is the end.
Jenny hummed along, her hips swaying in time with the beat as she left Asriel and Golemite stunned at the table.
"Whatchoo thinkin'?" Golemite asked.
Asriel wiped his mouth with a napkin before hopping out of he seat. "I think I better get moving if I'm gonna make it on time. Thanks for dinner, Golemite; I'll see you back at the apartment, okay?"
"Sure ting."
Asriel waved goodbye to Jenny and headed for the door, stopping when Golemite called out, "Hey, Azzie!"
"Yeah?" Asriel asked.
"Be careful, all right? Mayor Mayor's a bit ... what's de word, Jenny?"
"Enigmatic." Jenny said.
"No, de other one; like dat stuff goin' through de phone lines.
Jenny chuckled and shook her head. "I think he means eccentric, Asriel."
"Yeah, dat's the one; he's all full of eccentric. Not harmful or nuthin, but he can be a bit wierd, that's all."
Asriel hurried through the streets of Central Nowhere. Unlike New Home, the buildings grew shorter and further apart the closer they were to center. Most of this open land was converted into mushroom gardens. The glowing caps grew quite large in the Nowhere dirt, some taller than the trees in Snowdin. Asriel enjoyed the parks; there was something soothing about the glow of the mushrooms and the sounds of the artificial streams that flowed through the parks.
Even so, he rarely went further than the parks near his apartment complex. One park looked like another; besides, a small group of water-benders frequented the nearby parks, and it was always fun to watch them compete to make the best water sculptures.
The parks near the center of Central Nowhere were much larger, but none were larger than the one in the very center, where all the streams seemed to converge in a circle around a single raised hill with a single ashen-barked tree with dark violet leaves.
Asriel approached the tree slowly, looking around uncertainly. There didn't appear to be anyone around whatsoever.
Clutching the letter in his paws, Asriel called out, "Um, hello? Mister Mayor Mayor? I'm here about the appointment. Hello?"
Only crickets replied. Asriel sighed and rubbed his eyes; he was already tired from his exams, his first official day at work, and the long walk through Central Nowhere. For all he knew, Jenny was wrong and the mayor of Nowhere was wondering where the hell Asriel was.
He waited for a few minutes before shoving the paper in his pocket in disappointment and sat down with his back against the tree.
Staring up at the stars of the Deep, he let his thoughts wander to his friends and family on the surface. Were they okay? Were they happy? Did mom ever forgive dad? Was Frisk even still with them?
"I miss them." He said, hugging his knees to his chest.
"I know." said a timid voice.
Asriel looked up to see the shadow child standing just beyond the stream encircling the tree. Just as before, the child's body was solid black, discernible only in the shape it left around it. He might have easily thought it facing the other way were it not for the child's glowing white eyes.
He started to rise when a shudder made him fall on his backside. The tree and the ground around it were rising. Asriel struggled to stand, but by the time he made it to his feet, the floating island was too high from the ground to risk jumping. The shadow child stared up at him wordlessly as he floated ever upward toward the shining form of the Lumos.
Asriel was certain he was going to crash into the glowing moon, but as they drew near, a circular indentation on the bottom slid open, revealing darkness within. Asriel clung to the tree as it rose through the opening into the dark inside of the moon.
After a few moments of staring into the silent darkness now surrounding him, Asriel called out, "H-hello? M-mister Mayor Mayor?"
"State your name." Said a stern voice that seemed to surround Asriel.
"Asriel Dreemurr, sir. Skyway Repair Officer DM-118."
"And your purpose?"
Asriel looked down at his chest, the warmth of the Everstar giving him some comfort.
"Well?"
"I'm looking for something called the Everstar."
A long silence followed this announcement. Just as Asriel wondered if something was wrong, a massive flaming skull appeared above him.
"YOU SEEK THE EVERSTAR?!" The skull roared.
"Y-yes!" Asriel said, trembling. "I need to find it so I can rejoin my parents."
"THE BRINGER OF WISHES, THE GRANTER OF ULTIMATE DESIRES, AND YOU WISH TO USE IT TO CLING TO YOUR BIRTH-GIVERS?"
Though the flaming skull glared at him, Asriel felt a sudden surge of determination. Stepping forward, he stood his ground and said, "Yes!"
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THE ENORMITY OF WHAT YOU ASK? THE EVERSTAR LIES SCATTERED ACROSS THE DEEP! SUCH A SEARCH IS SURELY BEYOND SUCH A SMALL THING AS YOURSELF!"
Asriel started to give an angry reply when he noticed the skull's jaw seemed very wobbly. Sure enough, it hit the ground in mid-word and rolled until it caught some kind of hanging cloth that Asriel realized surrounded both him and the skull.
"Are you okay?" Asriel asked, raising an eyebrow.
"WHAT? OF COURSE I'M OKAY! I'M FANTASTIC!" One of the flaming eyes went out, revealing a dead bulb. Coupled with the missing jaw, it made the skeletal head look a lot less intimidating.
Asriel took a few steps to the side, and noted the skull did not follow. Frowning, he moved toward the skull. He could see something poofy poking out just beneath the curtain.
"STAY BACK!" shouted the voice, but Asriel could hear it coming from two places; one above him, the other directly ahead.
Asriel grabbed the curtain and flung it open to reveal a small booth occupied by the strangest monster he'd ever seen. About two feet high, basic humanoid in form, but with wild blue, green, and white hair all over the creature's head and face, resembling a slightly tacky feather duster. Two massive bat-like ears stuck out at odd angles from the creature's head, and a long tail with a massive poof-ball on the end hung from the creature's posterior, the tip of which Asriel previously saw.
"Eeek!"
The creature said, letting go of the complicated mechanisms that filled his little booth.
"All right." Asriel said taking a step forward even as the monster tried to back further into his little control pod. "Who are you?"
"I'm Mayor!" The little creature squeaked. "Mayor the Mayor!"
"Seriously?"
The creature sighed and shook his shaggy head. "Ah, forget it. This was a stupid idea. I told him it was a stupid idea."
"Told who?"
"My sister."
Another wild head poked out from a different part of the curtains, this one identical to the first except for a vague sense of femininity in her face and body, and her hair was purple, pink, and yellow. She also seemed a little more well groomed than her brother; most of her hair was in braids, the hair on top of her head worn in a topknot.
"It didn't work because you screwed up the timing, you dingus!" she said, eyeing Asriel nervously.
"No," Her brother said, shooting her a dirty look. "It didn't work because your little monstrosity started falling apart."
"It fell apart because you weren't controlling it right!"
Asriel watched the two creatures squabble in disbelief for a few moments before finally shaking his said. "Um, sorry to interrupt, but which one of you is the Mayor?"
"I am!" They both said in perfect unison.
Asriel was taken aback; part of him expected them to argue over the title. "So Mayor ..."
"... Mayor." Sister mayor moved to her brother's side, not walking as much as hopping like a bunny. Side by side, they both smiled at him.
Shaking his head, Asriel said, "I thought ... I heard that the mayor was a boy.'
"That I am." said the first mayor, bobbing his poofy head.
"Then she's the mayor too?"
She laughed. "Don't be silly; he's the mayor. I'm just Mayor."
Asriel blinked a few times, trying to wrap his head around this. "So you're both Mayor."
"No, my sister just said that I'm the mayor." Mayor the mayor exchanged glances with his sister, the both of them shaking their heads as though thinking Asriel silly.
"How do you tell each other apart?" Asriel asked.
They both laughed at this. "Well, I'm a boy and she's a girl. You're young, but I didn't think you were that young, Mister Dreemurr."
Asriel rubbed his temples, trying to ignore the headache slowly taking form. "Why were you trying to scare me?"
"Mayor thought I needed a new image. Something strong, ruthless. I told her I was plenty ruthless already, but she never listens."
"You're the one who was all worried about people thinking you were a big fuzzy pushover."
Asriel couldn't get the feeling that the squabbling siblings were about to engage in a very embarrassing slap-fight, and quickly stepped between them. "Listen, Mayor ..."
"Yes?" They asked in chorus.
Taking a deep, calming breath, Asriel continued, "I'm here to ask about the Everstar."
"Oh ... right. Right." Mayor the mayor glanced around and said, "Um, you mind if we clean this stuff up first?"
"Go ahead."
The two monster Mayors immediately set to hopping around the room. Sister Mayor levitated the skull and jaw away as Mayor the mayor quickly pulled open the curtains, finishing by yanking the thick black canvass from overhead
Asriel gasped; the tree platform that brought him to the moon now sat almost but not quite in the center of a large spherical chamber easily twice as large as his apartment complex. Instead of homes, however, the walls of the sphere were filled bookshelves; hundreds and hundreds of bookshelves. Some even floated in segments around a central tower right next to Asriel's platform, itself filled shelf-to-shelf with hundreds of tomes.
"Whoa!" Asriel said, "I've never seen so many books!"
"Are you kidding?" Mayor Mayor said, spreading his arm to indicate the library. "This is a paltry collection at best. Surely you've seen better."
Asriel thought the paltry collection of books in Castle Dreemurr; throwaways from the surface that were badly water-stained and rarely had covers. "Not really, no."
"That's a shame!" Sister Mayor said, "Such a genuine shame! He would've liked our old collection."
"Indeed. Of course, his father was just a princeling back then."
"My father?" Asriel said, surprised.
Mayor the mayor nodded. "Yes, Asgore Dreemurr. He's doing well, I trust? When I saw your name in the pile of requests, I had a feeling you might be a relative."
"I'm his son." Asriel said.
"Yes, I know; you look quite a bit like him."
"You knew him."
The Mayors nodded in unison, Sister Mayor saying, "Very well. We were his advisors during the war with the humans."
Asriel stared at them for a long moment before finally managing to say, " But ... it's been thousands of years!"
Sister Mayor elbowed her brother in the ribs. "He means why aren't we dead yet."
Flushing, Asriel opened his mouth to reply, but Mayor the mayor was already waving him off.
"It's a just question, one that ties into your own. Come with us, Prince Dreemurr, and let us tell you about the Everstar."
