Jake lifted his monitor at the sound of the door creaking open. Toriel was standing in the doorway, a dish of some sort in her hands. He started to rise when she quickly held a finger to her mouth.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeK9qFCBMyL
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVrmJ0iF5t
"Shh!"833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJlOWVz7uL
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡellge86bc9
Jake settled down and watched as the Bossun woman approached the sleeping form of Frisk and carefully laid the dish on the floor beside her bed. Jake scanned the object on the dish and identified it as some sort of confection due to the high level of sugars.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJTDvlkmlG
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDoB25HmlI
Toriel patted Jake on the head before leaving the room silently. Jake remained active, however. Something about the room resonated with the memory files tucked away in his memory. It was a fairly large room, complete with a wardrobe full of clothes, plenty of toys, and a surprisingly number of shoes in different sizes, but there was something else that seemed to stick in Jake's data-banks.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfXO0f56Mg
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfYxfDgkgt
He remembered another room, one with a young boy and a little girl. No matter how much they squabbled, the boy always went over to the girl's bed at night and made sure she was tucked in properly. He called her 'sister', and she in turn called him 'brother'.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68UVQdEPnE
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWk93zO24Ow
Brother ... the term seemed important somehow, but Jake's processes couldn't identify why. As the minutes passed, he felt a sudden compulsion to locate the boy; perhaps he could help Jake make some sense of the data.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEETazYzQjH
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtv40iCJpVh
Jake looked at Frisk. The little girl was sound asleep, her small face peaceful. The goat-woman named Toriel had treated her with kindness that could only be described as motherly. She would keep the little girl safe. While Jake's authority subroutines demanded he stay with her in hopes of finding Glen, his current master, he nevertheless found himself standing up and approaching the door. The old data-files were useful, telling him exactly how to open the door with his front paws without making much noise.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GlWXq0peo
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgAQjtyEoLF
He walked through the tidy house softly, ultimately finding Toriel asleep in a chair beside the hearth. He started to activate a fire suppression system to prevent her from injuring herself, only to realize the fire itself was not actually burning; it was merely pleasantly warm, and caused no damage to the log it sat upon.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67grDYvVkV
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglAXcbpz4F
Jake considered waking up Toriel to let her know of his departure, but ultimately decided against it. He still couldn't access any kind of verbal communication, and visual communication would take time. He wanted to be gone before Frisk woke up ... before either of them could wake up. He wasn't part of their story.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuj2zxFDij
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYxQsZEFyd
Jake froze, that final stream of data confusing him. Their story? What did that mean? How did he know he wasn't a part of it? He tried to compute some sort of satisfactory answer, but ultimately came up with nothing. Not even the memory data gave him an answer.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUoEJY0kI2
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPuPEBpuxr
Shaking his head, he turned around and left Toriel asleep by the fire. Going back wasn't an option, as his scans determined there were no exits that way. Fortunately, he'd already scanned the house and discovered the central staircase led to an underground corridor.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4nNQpKR1k
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9avKBgR77
Jake walked down the corridor slowly, scanning the air for particulates in hopes of determining where the corridor might lead. The readings didn't match any location he'd visited recently, but he continued (doggedly ... heh heh) scanning.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrCAY5MJXn
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡas4lN9BoPo
He paused. Where had that thought come from? Finding no answer, he continued walking. The corridor was quite long, eventually turning ninety degrees to the left toward a small chamber with a large door.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsn3hMzGq0
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYHxnPl1Je
Scans of the area indicated a definite drop in temperature, as well as particulates indicating vegetative life, namely pine trees or some similar conifer. He hurried to the door and pushed against it with all his might. To his surprise, they opened quite easily. He staggered through, only to stop inches away from a familiar slipper.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG491wWiHtq
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedkfza03Bu
It appeared to be the bio-form known as Sans; the bone structure and the face matched Jake's files on the skeleton, but the colors were wrong. The bones and clothes were black, the sweater beneath the coat was red, and the face looked so strange, Jake was certain the circuits that translated visual data for him were glitching.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWD8nfwbndd
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYoVFc9JrZ
The skeleton who looked like Sans stared at Jake, the larger of his red eyes bearing two irises around a tiny black pupil, the outer yellow and the inner as blue as the real Sans's coat.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJ8pVfTpMB
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeLJPohg1j
"There you are." Error!Sans said, "I've been looking for you, doggy."833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6p4XOCUwm
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB26guYeyMX
Jake began to sense subspace anomalies forming around the skeleton. In a flash, memory files clicked into place. This was the creature that attacked Glen, Sans, and Jake in the middle of what Sans called 'a shortcut'. Already the being was causing Jake's sensor data to overload as it has before. Jake shut off everything but his visual and auditory senses to prevent another overload, but not before the word 'ERROR!' appeared again and again in the corrupted data.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Pek3L8Oqf
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1gtDaJ6Uu
"That's my name." Error!Sans said, grinning all the wider. "Don't wear it out. Oh, that's right; you can't talk."833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnYLrP0n63
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlxrq5ZwoCo
Jake let out a growl. He hoped it would intimidate Error!Sans, but once again his information files proved incorrect. Error!Sans simply laughed at Jake and shook his head.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXl1JhSZB8p
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EvJ8AjFaR
"I've destroyed hundreds of timelines, mechamutt ... maybe even thousands. What can I say? It's hard to keep count when you're having so much fun!"833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslHL3rA1PA
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hGZqFDASK
Error!Sans thrust a hand at Jake. Blue threads shot through the air, wrapping themselves around Jake's limbs and lifting him from the ground. jake tried to open his back panel to use his interior energy buster, but more thick threads wrapped around his back, preventing the panel from opening. Jake yelped, but there was nothing he could do. The threads were surprisingly strong; even a blast of electricity from this front emitters did nothing.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUt8hcgnQS
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrL6y1C1LW
Error!Sans slowly approached the floating dog until his face was only inches away from Jake's monitor. "What makes you think you have any chance of stopping me from tearing you apart and taking your ..."833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavbFVchQEh
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jlCQEciKm
Error!Sans frowned, his corrupted eyes squinting at Jake as though searching for an errant pixil in Jake's monitor. His smile faded, only to be replaced with a look of suspicion.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAggH9PjKn
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhDx7BGrGf
"It's missing." Error!Sans said slowly, as though not believing what he was saying. "I can see inside you, where your soul should be ... but it's not there. What have you done with it?"833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRv4mTdnSk
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgO8kdN8gg
Jake barked loudly at Error!Sans, still struggling to free himself from the blue threads.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKR2n8bPx6n
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJP2bUfRRO
"One of the others." Error!Sans said to himself. "The new abomination ... no, that human woman, the one with the green and gray striped shirt. She must have it. Where is she, dog? Tell me, or I'll tear you apart!"833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbW8AiB03dZ
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ocprSGQ1g
Jake was at a loss. His weapons were ineffective, his mobility was nonexistent, and the data Error!Sans wanted wasn't in his memory banks. There seemed to be nothing he could do to stop his destruction.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYWjGGOOym
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk13SjjXMqJ
A stick hit Error!Sans right in the face. It didn't do any visible damage, but the shock of it made Error!Sans release his threads from Jake. Jake landed on all four legs, his back panel sliding open and the blaster attachment rising out. He fired at Error!Sans, but the strange skeleton blinked out of existence only to appear a safe distance away.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6Do5MBcTy
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzca1k0RMaZ
A hand touched Jake's side. Jake turned to see it was little Frisk, her small face a mask of determination.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJj7G1mMbLs
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUyVtjdgs3N
"Little brat!" Error!Sans said with a scowl. He raised his hand, but this time Jake didn't wait for the threads. Barking may not have worked, but Glen had Jake hooked up to her personal database, which included a directory labelled 'Wrhse13' that contained among many strange and bizarre files a single sound file: 'marsden.mp3'.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQ4J2ljYyJ
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XtqOY696h
Jake blasted the file as loud as his speakers could handle. The effect was immediate; as the sound reverberated off the stone walls of the corridor, the look of anger on Error!Sans's face became one of bliss. True tears, separate from the strange teartrail-like markings on Error!Sans's face fell down the skeleton's cheekbones. The blue threads fell to the ground and faded from existence as Error!Sans sank to his knees.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWu8W9ZW4VJ
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7lYZW4BBy
Jake nudged Frisk, only to find her in tears as well, a look of pure happiness on her face. He was still at a loss for what to do when his speakers suddenly gave out under the strain.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqOnKlkfvL
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDKjFchUIi
The music died with a crackle of static. Jake tensed in anticipation of Error!Sans's resumed attacks, but the strange skeleton simply looked at them for a long moment before saying, "What was I doing?"833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYb9HR6mo88
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwAvPylCxe
Jake waited cautiously as Error!Sans looked around in confusion. After a few moments, he shook his skull and said, "I-I gotta go ..."833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcGBZHs0i3
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJge6zmjII
With that, Error!Sans was gone. Jake waited a few moments before deciding that he would likely not return for a little while.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJmu6jkLrY
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRJqAemyes
Hearing a sniffle, Jake turned to see Frisk rubbing her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. Jake sat on his hind-quarters and put a paw on her shoulders.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YaHeIQtzc
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3bNApiYPd
"I'm all right." She signed to him. "What happened? The black skeleton was shooting something at us, and then ... I can't remember."833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKZVhAOO8t
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamXeauN9qn
Jake considered his options for response for several moments before tilting his head forty-five degrees and displaying his 'puzzled' face.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHfLGHsh4B
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfosaoOnsse
Frisk giggled and rubbed his head. "Silly doggy! Come on; we really shouldn't be here. Mom will get mad."833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpnY73zenD
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgGjjWyQnl
Frisk turned back to the door that led to Toriel's house, only to find the doors closed. There were no handles on their side, and Jake discovered that pushing them had no effect. Whether through magic or mechanics, the doorway was apparently one way only.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6jGadQJyH
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjuXDK6cbov
All trace of happiness left Frisk's face. She tried again and again, banging her fists on the door in desperation to no avail. She even tried calling Toriel's cellphone; while Frisk could not speak, she and Toriel had figured out some simple tapping rhythms that gave her some basic communication: yes, no, help, that sort of thing. Unfortunately (and quite strangely), the phone-line picked up to the sound of another dog barking inquisitively. Jake tried to bark in reply, but found his speakers still non-functional.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlGmZghZZT
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxD435nqa2
"It's no good." Said a voice that made Jake growl immediately. "It's a one-way door. Even your dog's blaster won't make a dent. You're stuck out here!"833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBH2ROfLfZI
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0bMUTO7dI
Flowey was back, having emerged from the small mound of dirt in the middle of the room. Jake moved in front of Frisk and growled, but Flowey lifted his petals in supplication.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ERcKbGjO8
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8PHCTdRFA
"Oh, don't mind me; I've learned my lesson ... but have you?" Flowey asked, looking at Frisk. "I've been watching you, making friends with the froggits and the whimsuns, buying donuts from the spiders ... you think you're real clever, aren't you? Befriending all the monsters? Ha! Don't you realize in this world, it's kill or be killed? Well, you'd better realize it soon; you'll soon be out of the Ruins, where the rest of the Underground is waiting to kill you and steal your soul!"833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnBVkZScpA
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBXey9ZFNT
Frisk trembled as the little flower let out a high-pitched evil laugh. "Good luck, Frisk! You're going to need it where you're going!"833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD4ww3ns37T
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9DVB3tzPf
Flowey laughed again. Jake lunged at the flower, but it dove beneath the dirt and was gone in seconds.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWWLLqDcR6
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35FHGHaLBq
Hearing a sniffle, Jake turned to see Frisk crying. He walked over to her and gave her another pat on the back. As she looked at him with tear-stained eyes, Jake again felt the strange resonance with the data files, this time producing an image; another face, that of the boy who lived in the room with his sister. He was crying too.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDY2v9MrIl
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW366zfcsXp
Jake's programming told him that he belonged to Glen Adams Soleil, and if not to her, then to some person named Finn Cresste. In that moment, however, he realized his programming allowed for him to name other owners, should the need arise. Looking at the little girl's face, Jake knew the need had arisen.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BzwapbqY3
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xG1e2BZX2
"New user accepted." Crackled an automated voice from Jake's speakers as his self-repair systems patched them back together. "Frisk is recognized as the owner of this unit."833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4R3BQfbGYC
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0OH8mJeSnV
Frisk put a finger on her chest, a look of surprise on her face as she pointed it at Jake. Letting out an affirmative bark, Jake nudged Frisk's side. She looked confused until he did it again, crouching down on his legs. Realization in her eyes, she smiled and climbed on Jake's back.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDp6IyjT5pp
833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHRbJBNyOi
With another bark, Jake ran down the corridor, Frisk giggling as she held him tightly. Toriel would come looking for her sooner or later, and until that time, Jake would keep his little master safe. After all, now it was his story too.833Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNbxtsYDDF