Lost In The Echo @magicdreemurr17 - Tumblr Blog

Update

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(So sorry in advance if my formatting is a little off compared to normal, this is the first time in a while that I'm doing this...)

Happy New Year's Eve, my darling readers! I know it's been a while and you guys are probably wondering where the next chapters of Lost In The Echo are (or you forgot about it, which is equally as likely thanks to this obnoxious hiatus I took). So, just to clarify some things and hopefully clear some confusion, I've decided to share what's been going on behind the scenes regarding Lost In The Echo, and give you guys an update on the progress itself, including the structure of the story going forward. (Be prepared, because I doubt majority of you are ready to hear this.)

So for those who don't know, my main project is an Undertale fanfic titled "Lost In The Echo". It is the first fanfic I've shared publicly, at least across multiple social media platforms. It started as a much smaller project over on Wattpad and the original story is still available, but I wouldn't recommend reading it. I wrote it back in 2017 and, well... let's just say you can tell it was my first fanfic that I ever wrote. 🤮

Since then, several other fan projects have helped inspire me to develop my writing abilities (while my art has admittedly taken a bit of a backseat, or maybe that's just me being my own worst critic), and Lost In The Echo grew to be a massive thing for me. As of right now, there are seven planned arcs for L.I.T.E, with FIVE of those seven arcs fully constructed in terms of storyboarding (not in chronological order, I planned Arc 6 before 1, 2, and 3 technically speaking, so 5 and 7 are the only arcs that still aren't fully done)

Without spoiling too much of the story, I wanted to answer this question because I feel like a couple of people were wondering: yes, this story will eventually include AUs. I've sorta teased it in the early chapters, and they're planned to make their debuts in Arc 3 and beyond. Arc 1 is currently fully storyboarded, however drafts for the individual chapters are still not fully complete. So, why is it taking so long..? Well actually, there's a couple of reasons:

1. Change of Plans - The original plan for L.I.T.E was to have an entire year's worth of Chapters. I wanted to tell a big story and give everyone's favorite characters a chance to properly shine, unfortunately, I ran out of unique ideas in the 200s, so I settled on 255 planned chapters (not including the prologue and the planned epilogue). Then as of September of this year, I decided to rework the existing Arcs of L.I.T.E; I no longer know the exact amount of chapters that it will have, and some arcs have been completely rewritten from what I was planning when I started this fanfic. Some of you may know what I'm planning but for those who do not, I will leave the surprise as is. Just know that Arc 2 is not going to be what I originally planned.

2. Introductory Arc - Arc 1 was always planned to stop at Chapter 30, that hasn't changed since. The problem I'm having is setting a limit to introduce many important, long-term characters via five chapters per each major area of the original game (5 for Ruins, 5 for Snowdin, 5 for Waterfall, and 5 for Hotland / the CORE). While not the most efficient, I feel it's a necessity to reintroduce the setting and characters to people who might be familiar or unfamiliar and need to understand how these characters will interact in this continuity. As a result of this, trying to squeeze each major area's progression in just five chapters is proving more difficult than I counted for, especially when Boss fights are meant to occur at the fifth chapter per area. The five chapters also are never structured the same way, due to the way the actual sections of the game are stretched out. The other issue with Arc 1 is lack of creativity. It IS going to follow the actual plot of Undertale, with sprinkles of originality, though don't expect much deviation. That's the point of the introductory arc, to set up the plot for something bigger (as teased most notably in Chapter 4.5)

3. Time & Motivation - Grouping these two together because I cannot tell you how infuriating it is having to explain the differences between passion and motivation. As a writer on the autism spectrum, I often struggle to motivate myself to write something when it's not my current hyperfixation, and lemme tell you, hyperfixations come very easily to me. I am EXTREMELY passionate about this project, but writing any story is a challenge. It requires time, motivation and lots of proofreading. Up until recently, I've been doing all my own editing and writing this mostly on my phone (which is the big reason why my formatting might look odd to those of you on PC), so while I wouldn't call it burn-out from writing the story itself, it gets a bit exhausting needing to tap an on-screen keyboard excessively. Also, within the last 3 months, give or take, I was planning to release Chapter 13 at the very least. Unfortunately I got hit by Writer's block when I was dragged into a couple of new fandoms as of late, most recently being the Hazbin Hotel fandom (I don't even want to hear a single controversial / hate comment). I must reiterate, it is very difficult for me to write chapters if I'm hyperfixated on something else that zaps my motivation, but my passion for Lost In The Echo remains strong as ever (seriously, I can't shut up about how excited I am to get to the later chapters).

4. Multi-Platform - I post Lost In The Echo across multiple sites, the three I use being Tumblr, Wattpad and AO3. I wanted to share this project with as many people as I could, and not everybody uses the same platform to read fanfics. That being said, there was a period of time where I couldn't access my AO3 account because I had forgotten my password and struggled to update it (the same almost happened with my Tumblr account, however we're good on that). I've gotten it back though now so hopefully I'll be able to catch up with posting chapters on there like the other two.

Going forward, since there have been changes made to the storyboards, I wanna take the story a bit slower before I get back into posting more consistently, so I don't know when Chapter 13 will be OFFICIALLY released. HOWEVER! This doesn't mean you guys aren't going to be left completely in the dark. Since collaborating with some of my friends has helped me speed up my editing process, we've managed to update the Prologue! So if you haven't read the prologue recently but read it at some point in the past, feel free to read it again and see the updated version. As of right now, we're working to update the currently posted chapters with Chapter 1 underway, so I'll let you guys know when those get updated (or maybe you'll get notifications for it, Idk).

Also, I do have a Masterpost in the works for Arc 1, but that won't be posted until Frisk makes past their confrontation with Omega Flowey. Also if you're wondering about the Promo Posters, yes, we are still doing those. It takes a bit more time to get them done but I like having some art to go with my works since I want to promote actual artists and not AI-Generated slop. Plus, it helps give my readers an actual idea of what certain characters look like. Matter of fact, we already have the Chapter 15 Promo Poster done. Though, I don't know when I'll be doing my own posters again. I haven't done one since Chapter 1 and that's kinda been a bummer for me, but at the same time, my art has to take a backseat when I'm already working on such a big creative project.

Then there's also the side projects that I wanna get to that have ties to L.I.T.E, but I don't wanna spoil it before it's ready. Some of you already know what it might entail...

Before I sign off, I just wanted to say, again, thank you for your patience. I know it's been a long wait as it is, but your wait will be worth it, and I hope you all have a great new year's eve. Before I send you guys off entirely though, have a little sample of what's to come in the future. Here's to 2026!

- Stay Determined! <3

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(CW: Slight Blood & Gore Mention)

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Entry Number XX - Timeline [REDACTED]

Another anomaly ripped open the fabric of the void. While traveling to the outer reaches to confront its source, I stumbled upon something most unusual: a human lying on the 'ground'. They looked exhausted, for lack of a better word. Something had brutalized and maimed them, parts of their body were even missing altogether. Particles floated adrift in the surrounding area; blood particles and some flesh particles, yet there was a feeling embedded into my soul that these did not come from the human laying before me. There wasn't much about them that I could decipher from their appearance. They were completely bathed in red that any semblance of what one could call a 'person' was miniscule and barely noticeable.

Yet, against my better judgment, I could not in good faith just leave them there. Even knowing they were not from our universe, I still couldn't leave this human lying here to aimlessly wander the void; assuming they even would wake up with those injuries. Holding out one arm, I beckoned their soul out of their body, disturbed to find a disturbing detail: it had greyed out.

Normally, when a human soul greys out, it loses its former trait, and means that psychologically, the soul in question lost its will to keep living. It was a color most associated with depression in monster culture. I can't leave them in this state. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to..-

* The file cuts off abruptly. Seems it was corrupted or deleted.

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#undertale #lost in the echo #fanfic #update #so sorry for the wait y'all #w.d. gaster #data entry

alastors-totally-canon-deertail

magicdreemurr17

Actual genuine brilliance, this is what every fandom should have and especially the last slide LIVE by. Just because a media is popular and toxic fans in fandoms are commonplace, does not mean they should be tolerated by any means. It makes the fandom look bad, it makes the media look bad to anybody looking to get into it, and it discourages people from making fan content which is the whole point of a fandom. People should NEVER dismiss a comment from someone trying to correct a character's sexuality or someone's headcanons, because at the end of the day, you're disregarding the whole reason fanfictions and fanart got their namesakes from: it's FAN-MADE! Of course it's not gonna be canon. They're not trying to rewrite the show, they're putting their own spin on it. If you don't like it, boo-hoo, ignore it. It's not that hard to swipe past a post, in fact it takes more effort to type out a hate-comment than it does to swipe past something and ignore it.

#Speaking as someone new to the Hazbin fandom #I've only been a member of it for like a month now

lovethatmakingcoffee

oh my god. Literally every post, video, comment, piece of art, gif, anything about radiostatic will have someone asshole comment underneath 'alastor is aroace so this is bad and toxic" or "don't you know alastor hates vox? He could never love him" or some shit like that. Like who are these people?! Let people enjoy a ship in peace. I have never EVER seen so much bullshit over one ship in my life. It's madness!

magicdreemurr17

This isn't even just an issue with the Hazbin community, people need to learn the differences between aromantic, asexual, and aroace. Any of these does not rule out the potential for relationships, they're all a spectrum. Alastor is the type of asexual that does not like physical contact, which is understandable, he wants his boundaries to be respected.

That being said, the toxic bullsh!t of "Oh (insert ship here) could never be a thing because so and so" has to stop. It's not even funny or creative, you're just reiterating the whole point of fanart and fanfiction: IT'S. NOT. CANON.

As both an artist and a writer myself, it irks me to no end when people harass content creators for their work purely because it's "not canon". If that really bothered people as much as they think it did, people would be complaining about artists' artstyles and how they draw the damn characters. Take Hazbin as an example, a lot of people hate the stick figure, cartoony designs of the characters (which in/of itself is ridiculous, did you not grow up with cartoons like the rest of us?), but you don't see those same people complaining about redesigns being "not canon" now do you?

Let people like what they want to like. They're not hurting anybody. The only time a ship should EVER be concerning to the point of being frowned upon and chastised is if it promotes something that is problematic and should not be accepted (the biggest example being underaged characters being shipped with adults).

And I am aware that these issues will not go away anytime soon, it's just the nature of being in a fandom, but I'm not going to lie down and act like it doesn't bother me. It's not just words on a screen, these are artists and/or writers who are real people with real feelings, and words can cut deeper than any knife. I'm saying this as a person who doesn't even like Radiostatic, but I do appreciate the love and detail that goes into its works.

#people in a fandom need to remember their boundaries #not everybody is going to like the same stuff you do in the fandom #respect your fellow fans #and if you're not even in the fandom you have less room to speak

yugogeer012

What do you MEAN FISH MOMMY IS MY HEIGHT!? I WANT HER TO LOOK DOWN AT ME NOT AT EYE LEVEL!!

Now the in-joke of me constantly falling for deceptively "tall" characters will be even stronger. UGHHHHHH!!! FIRST XUNDYNE AND NOW EPIC!UNDYNE! SOMEONE JUST CUT MY KNEES OFF SO I CAN BE SHORT FOR THEM!

I mean you could just-

... Kneel? 😏

magicdreemurr17

Aight, bet. I'll do it for her right now.

#FOR UNDYNE I'LL DO ANYTHING #don't test me yugo

4th Anniversary Update

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Hello, my wonderful readers. Good day/night/morning/whatever your time zone may be right now. Happy fourth anniversary to Lost In The Echo! I'm gonna say upfront: This update is to clarify some issues, concerns or questions some people might be having regarding the story.

First of all, no. I am not stopping or ending Lost In The Echo. I am fully committed to this project, however as many of you may have noticed, I haven't posted Chapters 13 - 15 as I promised I would. To put it frankly, I am on a bit of a mental snag, which has put me in Writer's Block for the time being. I'm steadily climbing out of it, but I need more time to really get back into my biggest project I have planned.

The other reason LITE's production has been so slow lately is because I've been working on other smaller projects that tie into its lore, and I want to make them known before I get into some of the later arcs. I've also been writing the Arc 1 Masterpost for LITE, which I know may come as a surprise since we're only about halfway through Arc 1 (at least on Chapter 15, the current Chapter I'm drafting), but I wanted to work on a few other things so as not to burn myself out writing the same story day after day.

The problem with Lost In The Echo is that Arc 1 is a lot like Undertale in terms of the story events. It only serves to introduce the cast and new characters included in the story, with some context to character relationships and dynamics. While I understand that this is crucial in establishing some OCs I've added, it makes it difficult for me to be creative when I'm mostly following a pre-determined script (ironically something acknowledged in Arc 1's chapters subtly through the dialogue).

I thank you all for your patience and really hope that by April at the earliest, May at the latest, I will be able to write LITE more consistently. I won't make any promises on when I will finish Arc 1, however, I can promise that when Arc 1 is completed, the following arcs will be much more consistent in release dates.

In the meantime, look forward to more future projects, and as a little treat... Here is a teaser for one of my other side projects I've been working on...

Enjoy~ <3

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Many hundreds of years ago, the Earth was governed by two races. One were the humans, who were quite advanced for their species but possessed very little magical prowess; the other were the monsters, who possessed great magical capabilities but had little technological advancement at the time. One day, a war broke out between the two species. Fearing that monsters were far too powerful to be given authority over the land, the humans sought to extinguish them. Even though they could've easily used their magic to eliminate their foes, the monsters were far too compassionate and their souls physically frail. The humans' intentions on destroying their kind led to many monsters being dusted in the blink of an eye, their numbers dwindling gradually.

Through an act of desperation to save his people from extinction, the king of the monsters, Asgore Dreemurr, led his people into hiding for a long period of time. With no sign of the monsters, as if they had vanished off the surface of the world, historians proclaimed the war a victory for mankind, and monsterkind officially extinct. Despite the evidence to suggest such a truth, there were still many humans who believed these claims were false, and some even mourned the loss of their fellow sentient species. This created a sinister divide among the human race. Those who revered the monsters out of fear believed they were just in removing them from the world, as if they were acting on the creator's will. Those who revered the monsters out of respect, however, saw these preachers as liars who mainly sought power through manipulation and deceit, an insult to the creator's name. These two factions grew alarmingly out of control, as what was once a singular faith divided into two factions… those who considered monsters to be no more than demons and those who considered monsters to be as much loved by the creator as humans were.

Many years later, a young human went missing in the regions of Mt. Ebott, a territory that initially bordered the original kingdom of monsterkind. There had been legends passed down through churches and nearby villages that beneath the sacred mountain laid a gateway to the demon realm, but none had ever lived the journey to tell the tale. It wasn't simply that the mountain itself was thought to be cursed, but the land surrounding it as well. The acres stretched far, so much so that no one could make a clear guess as to how much of the land was actually cursed, only taking the necessary precautions to avoid more casualties.

"Those who tread across Ebott territory will be consumed by its jaws of ebony." said many who preached about the existence of the demon realm.

No one exactly knew what became of the human who disappeared on that day, but records stated that whoever approached Mt. Ebott would be left to the wolves, fated to die with no one to call for help. As human civilization began to advance and old stories dissipated into mere legends and superstitions, fewer and fewer people regarded the dangers of entering that foreboding territory. Though the rumors were enough to keep mankind from cultivating the majority of those lands, there were a curious few who couldn't help but wonder what exactly made that land cursed. Thus, this is where the story begins…

[ Name the lost human. ]

M a g i c

[ WARNING: This name will make your life a living hell. Proceed? ]

* Yes

...

See you soon...

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START OF LOST IN THE ECHO

#undertale #lost in the echo #fanfic #update #Ooo I wonder who those mysterious silhouettes are

jakei95

Commission - Undertale x XTale | Day at the Gym https://vgen.co/jakeiartwork

magicdreemurr17

W o m e n 🏳️‍🌈

#My queens!!!#<3 #and Papyrus too

Chapter 12: "An Eye For A Spear"

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… Nothing.

They could faintly see through their blurry vision that they'd been impaled by an energy spear… and yet, they felt nothing. There was no pain, no sharp, tense sensations surging through their body, no indication of the spear hole, just… nothing. The dreadful ringing in their ears made them deaf to all sound, but on the ground, they could see a splotch of red, staining the wood of the bridge they were on. They looked up, noticing a figure looming over them. They could barely recognize the face of who they once called their sister. She, too, had been impaled, while trying to protect them… but unlike them, she was impaled through the head, at the cost of one eye.

Frisk felt the foreboding presence of their attacker slowly approaching from the left side, the direction they came running from. She successfully landed her spears to stop their advance before they could reach the tall grass in order to hide. They weren't sure if she was talking or not, because they couldn't hear anything through the ringing. Regardless, it didn't matter as the ground below them lit up in a blue glow.

With one swift hand motion from the royal guard captain, there was a splattering of red, everything went black, as a small, red heart split and shattered.

…

“Frisk, are you okay?” Magic suddenly interjected.

Frisk snapped out of their thoughts, their breathing rather shaky as they looked around cautiously. They were just a few steps into the next room from where they saw Papyrus and Undyne talking to each other. All was well, nobody was hurt.

“I-I'm okay… I was just daydreaming, I think.” Frisk replied, their hands quivering while they signed.

“You sure..? If you're still not feeling well, I could carry you. I don't want you having another freakout like you did before.” the older human offered.

Frisk shook their head. They couldn't do that to Magic, not over a possible hallucination. Likely, it was just the anxiety of getting caught by Undyne that was making them nervous. That made the most sense.

“Well, if you're sure, try to stay with me, yeah?” Magic reminded them, “This isn't exactly the right setting to have a bad daydream.”

Frisk looked around after hearing their sister’s words. She was right. There was an unusual serenity that filled their heart as the two of them traversed the more quiet caverns of Waterfall. Whereas Snowdin was bustling with monsters wherever they looked, Frisk and Magic noticed that the inhabitants of this location were few and far between. There was also less variety in their encounters, namely the two locals: Aaron and Woshua. Aaron appeared to be a cross between a stallion and a merman, whereas Woshua… actually, there was no comparison they could make with Woshua. He certainly was a creature of all time.

The puzzles of Waterfall didn't take that much brainpower to solve either, in comparison to the Snowdin puzzles. Papyrus definitely put more thought into his designs. These ones were, for lack of a better description, reconstructing bridges out of lotus flowers in order to cross the water safely. They had to be lined up perfectly in a row (or column, depending on the perspective) of four, but other than that, there was really no challenge here. Papyrus wasn't kidding when he had mentioned that Undyne didn't like designing puzzles (oh yeah, he mentioned that during the humans’ stay at his house).

“I won't even bother to ask how these flowers can support our combined weight without completely collapsing,” Magic pointed out, “I guess we’re just gonna have to accept that it’s another weird monster mechanism type of thing.”

After exploring the possible pathways they could take using the “bridge seeds” as they appeared to be called, at least according to one of the signs on the wall, the siblings came across an abandoned quiche sitting under a bench next to a strange, blue, luminescent flower. They weren’t exactly sure what to make of the quiche's story, but Magic ultimately decided that it would be safer for Frisk's health if they left it where it was. After all, they weren't sure how long the thing had been there if it wasn't already spoiled or laced with some kind of poison for unsuspecting humans. Continuing their trek, they constructed another bridge to the northwestern corner of the chamber, stopping only just before the door after receiving a phone call from their trusted(?) guide, Papyrus.

“HUMANS! IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

… Wait a second… How did he get their number to begin with?

“IF YOU'RE WONDERING HOW I FOUND YOUR PHONE NUMBER SO EASILY, IT'S QUITE SIMPLE,” he continued, “I DIALED EVERY POSSIBLE COMBINATION UNTIL YOU ANSWERED!”

Both siblings nearly fell over from the utterly stupid genius that was his method.

“You can't be serious…” Magic responded.

“THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOES NOT JOKE AROUND, TALLER HUMAN! I AM ACTUALLY CALLING ON A VERY IMPORTANT MATTER,” his tone slightly skewed near the end of his sentence, as it felt like he was attempting to hide something from them, “A FRIEND OF MINE WAS WONDERING… SHE THOUGHT SHE HAD SEEN YOU TWO EARLIER AND WANTED TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF ACCESSORIES YOU'RE WEARING!”

Frisk immediately looked up at their sister with a nervous expression. They both knew immediately who was wondering and why Papyrus was asking them.

“What are we supposed to say..?” they signed with their free hand.

“I don't know..! We both stick out like sore thumbs… she can't be that stupid..!” Magic whisper-yelled, looking just as nervous.

They debated for a while on what sort of response to give. Either they lied to their new friend and hope that Undyne falls for it, or they tell Papyrus the truth and pray he covers for them by lying to Undyne out of a good conscience.

Inevitably, option two sounded a bit more reasonable, given that they didn't want to do something that would break Papyrus's trust, and by extension Sans’s trust. Even if Papyrus was the nicest monster they've come across so far in the Underground (not counting the time before they left the Ruins), they couldn’t be entirely sure if he had a bad bone in his body and would turn on them if they did something to anger him.

“Uh, you saw us not even two hours ago.” Magic answered on Frisk's behalf, “We never changed our clothes between then and now. Frisk is still wearing a gross bandaid on their knee, and I'm still wearing the casual reading glasses.”

Papyrus hesitated for a moment, processing the information that was given to him, “UNDERSTOOD! THANK YOU, HUMANS!”

After he hung up, the two siblings continued their journey into the next chamber, where they waded through a small river that was lined with those same blue flowers, like the one from the quiche room.

“... The bridge… Be careful…” one of them whispered, startling the humans slightly.

Magic looked over at the flower that spoke up and shuddered a little in discomfort, “Is it just me or are these things somehow even creepier than that Flowey guy we met back in the Ruins..?”

Frisk stared at the flower with a blank expression as a cold sweat rolled down their head at the mention of the word “bridge”. They felt a strange feeling like that wasn't supposed to be there, yet stronger still to heed that warning. They held onto their sister’s hand a little tighter as they kept walking, stopping when they noticed a fork in the road leading to two dead ends. Stumped, the two humans decided to peek into a nearby telescope to admire the gems that were embedded on the cavern ceiling. They twinkled like stars in the night sky, something that they noticed monsterkind lacked in terms of being able to view from down here. The only spot that had a view of the surface, as far as they knew, was the massive hole that they’d fallen through to begin with.

While gazing through the telescope, they panned over towards a glowing crystal in the ceiling that was in full view of the lens, showing some words scribbled on it in a rather sophisticated handwriting that said “Check wall” with an arrow pointing to the north. The two humans exchanged puzzled looks before following the telescope’s instructions and retracing their steps back to the top path they took initially.

“Check the wall..? Like this?” Magic asked, reaching her hand out to tap the wall as if knocking on a door. Just then, as if they used a secret code or something, the wall magically shifted into a cozy little door, startling the two siblings.

“It worked!” Frisk beamed gleefully.

“How in the hay were we supposed to guess that was the way out?!” Magic gestured in mild annoyance, utterly baffled by the strange mechanism.

Frisk shrugged in response, unsure of how to process the exact logic behind the way the door works other than to do a sparkly gesture with both their hands and simply sign, “Maaaagic…”

The older human stared at her sibling with a look on her face as she rolled her eyes, attempting to hide the grin she was bearing, “Ha ha, very funny. Can we keep moving now?”

The two of them continued to the next room, their eyes fixated on several screens that lined up on the northern wall. As they approached, the screens lit up with ancient glyphs that appeared to be illegible. They didn’t look like any language that Frisk had seen in any of the books they read during their short time in school, and Magic hadn’t seen that writing anywhere that she could recall. They could only assume that the writing was from an old monster language, but they couldn’t safely verify that without some sort of severe consequences to their own health. Deciding to bypass the glyphs, they trekked on into the darkness of the next chamber, when Frisk suddenly noticed a disturbing detail that made them stop and tug on their sister’s arm defiantly.

“Huh? What’s the matter? We can’t just stop here just because you’re scared. We can use the surrounding darkness here to our advantage.” she told them.

Frisk’s arms started signing rapidly, trying to get the message across to Magic about the bridge they were standing on, but at the speed they were trying to communicate, their words fell to rather confused eyes.

“Frisk, I can’t tell what you’re trying to say if you sign like you’re the Flash.”

As Magic tried to reach her hand out to calm her sibling’s nerves, Frisk saw a bright blue glint out of the corner of their eye and turned to find a certain ominous figure standing in the shadows across the bridge they were on, aiming an energy spear right for Frisk’s head. They flinched at the force in which the spear was thrown, covering their eyes fearfully expecting to be hit, but though the sound of pierced flesh was heard, Frisk felt no pain or blood leaving their body. They uncovered their eyes to find Magic had thrown herself into the path of the spear, getting hit in the shoulder and gritting her teeth in slight agony. The sight of it caused Frisk to let out a small gasp.

“F-Frisk… RUN.” Magic winced, speaking through gritted teeth.

Albeit a bit hesitant out of fear, the adrenaline coursing through the tiny human’s veins forced their body to act on their sister’s suggestion, turning towards the dark hallway the bridge led through. Undyne tried to hurl another spear at her target, but Magic ripped the one that pierced her out of her shoulder and hurled it with frightening speed, ignoring her horrid accuracy, in order to throw off Undyne’s aim.

“HEY! Over here, you senseless fish stick!” Magic taunted, “I’m your opponent! Unless you’re scared to have the floor wiped with your armor…”

Frisk could hear a deep growl fading away behind them as they heard what sounded like a warcry and the clashing of weapons. Magic would never use her power on others; she swore that to Frisk since before they’d fallen down, however, that would leave the only other option being that she was using Undyne’s own spears against her, and something about that mental image made Frisk’s stomach lurch in discomfort. They made their way quickly to the dark grass up ahead and dove right in so that they could hide. They could hear the fighting very faintly in the distance for a good few minutes until the clanging sound from Undyne’s armor completely faded away. Frisk wasn’t sure if they should move or if they should stay put, even with the danger gone (or so they thought).

After a while, they started to hear some footsteps coming from down the hall. The echo and slow movements made it difficult to tell whether it was friend or foe, since Undyne could just as easily be sneaking up on Frisk in order to avoid alerting them to her presence via the clanging of her armor. Frisk decided it would be easier to just stay put and hope their soon-to-be company goes away without much issue. Unfortunately for them, the footsteps kept approaching until they were practically right in front of Frisk, they looked up and noticed the shadow of an arm reaching out to where they were standing, flinching slightly and cowering down on their knees, hoping to be spared, when suddenly, they felt a rather gentle touch ruffling their hair softly.

“Easy there,” said a familiar voice, “is that how you greet a person who just saved your skin and everything under it?”

Frisk’s eyes widened, turning up towards the looming figure as they were met with the rather tired and worned out smile of their big sister. With a great relief, they threw themselves into her embrace and clung to her as if their very life depended on it. Though startled at first from the suddenness of the hug, Magic laughed a little and graciously returned it, her right arm noticably still a little slumped after being shot in the shoulder.

When she heard the quiet sniffles from her younger sibling, Magic spoke up to break the silence, “Hey, hey… you didn’t seriously think I’d let her win that, did you?”

Frisk couldn’t bring themselves to sign through their blubbering. They had been so tense from the moment they recognized the bridge they were standing on, having flashbacks of that hallucination from before of them and Magic being killed by Undyne. It felt so real, and in the heat of the moment, they feared that it was going to happen, like a premonition of sorts. Yet, despite of all that, here she was. Magic had survived the royal guard captain and distracted her long enough so that Frisk could escape too.

“Ho-How did you get away?” they asked, trying to piece the scenario together in their head.

“It was easy… well, not entirely,” she explained, rubbing the back of her neck while avoiding eye contact, “I did pay a small price in order to get away from her.”

Frisk cocked their head in slight confusion through the tears streaming down their face, gasping quietly when they realized what she meant, “You tel..-!?”

“Ah, ah, ah. Let’s not go there.” Magic grabbed their hands gently to stop Frisk from signing, “Look, I know it’s dangerous and damages my soul every time I do that, but it was the only way to lose her around that corner. I imagine she’ll be scrounging the back rooms for a while and retrace our steps. We should move forward while I’ve bought some time.”

Frisk didn’t look all too happy, but complied with her suggestion. They carefully made their way through the tall grass, mindful of the rustling noises it made while they moved. Magic stayed close behind, keeping one hand on Frisk’s shoulder so they wouldn’t lose track of her. Eventually, they made it out of the tall grass and each breathed a sigh of relief, the tension from earlier melting away. Just then, as soon as they figured they were safe, a rustling noise came back from the grass as both humans jumped and looked over in confusion and paranoia.

“What!? There’s no way she checked those rooms already and caught up that fast!” Magic exclaimed.

Before either of the siblings could process it, a reptilian monster child, no taller than Frisk, came running out from the grass. They wore a yellow and brown striped sweater; the yellow matching their scale color, while the brown matched the leggings that they wore; and appeared to be some kind of dinosaur monster. They had no arms, which made Frisk a little concerned when they first saw them, having noticed this kid back when Sans was giving them a tour of Snowdin Town. The child gave the two of them the biggest grin they could muster, seeming very excited about something as their eyes sparkled with wonder.

“Yo, did you see that!?” they asked, looking at the two humans, “Undyne was SO COOL!!!”

Another cold sweat dropped down the side of Frisk’s head when Undyne was brought up, not having fully recovered from the recent scare she gave them.

“She was all up on that person, and was like, ‘WHAM’ and ‘BAM’! But then that guy was like, ‘Woosh’! And then they ran off like a coward!” they continued.

Magic’s eyebrow twitched slightly, an awkward smile masking her anger, “C-Coward?”

“Yeah!! Weren’t you paying attention!?” they noticed the two siblings’ expressions and looked back from the direction they ran from, “Oh, right. I guess it was kinda hard to see the other person. I wonder who she was fighting!”

“Erm… Have we met before??” Magic asked, trying to divert the conversation.

“Oh! Right, sorry. I’m called Monster Kid! You can call me M.K for short, dudes.” they looked at Frisk curiously, “Yo, you guys are kids too, right?”

Frisk seemed confused by their words, gesturing to Magic in confusion as if to tell them how they could confuse their big sister for a child.

Monster Kid didn’t seem to understand, “You’re not? But you’re both wearing striped sweaters. That’s, like, totally a kid thing, right?”

Magic facepalmed, muttering under her breath, “Kids these days, I swear… Always making the most absurd logic.”

“Ohh, I get it! You just had a really awesome growth spurt, huh?” their eyes sparkled again, “Man, that’s so cool! I bet you’ll be as tall as Undyne when you grow up!”

I AM GROWN UP! Magic screamed mentally, using every ounce of her willpower not to lash out despite her irritation from this child’s ignorant comment.

The face Magic was making in a sore attempt to hide her annoyance was priceless, forcing Frisk to strain on keeping a straight face as they tried to sign an explanation to Monster Kid.

“Sorry, no. My sister is way older than me. I’m only eight years old. Magic’s ten years older than me.” said the tiny human.

Unfortunately, their words did not register to the confused monster child, and therefore they had to tug on Magic’s arm to get her to translate for them.

“Oh, sorry, dude. Most of the grownups I know don’t wear striped sweaters, so I just thought it was something only kids do.” they replied.

“It’s fine. At least you had a sound reason to jump to that conclusion… sorta.” Magic responded, rubbing the bridge of her nose a little.

“Yo! You guys are traveling through Waterfall, yeah? Why don’t we go together!? I’ll bet we’ll see Undyne along the way!” Monster Kid exclaimed happily.

The two humans exchanged a nervous side eye. After that last encounter, they were hoping to avoid Undyne as if she were a plague; they weren’t looking for front-row seats to get their lights pummeled out by her. Unfortunately, M.K’s excitement could not be deterred as they rushed off past the two humans, nearly tripping on air along the way. It was clear that they idolized Undyne, so having them as a companion would probably serve as a detriment to the two humans.

Magic suddenly spoke up, “Hey, Frisk?”

The tiny human looked up at their big sister in slight confusion until her next words had them torn between fear and amusement.

“If that kid reveals our location to the royal guard captain, and therefore be the reason we get impaled with a sea of spears, I’m haunting them from beyond the grave.”

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Author's Note: Hello, everyone. I'm sorry that this chapter took as long as it did to release. I was originally going to post it back when I promised before April (I think, it's been a while), but I hit a snag when my mental health started to tank that week, so I tried to push it back and then we ended up in Summer when my brain naturally refuses to do any sort of work, be it art or writing. That being said, this time around is a little different. I've got a surprise planned for y'all that I think you'll like, I only ask that you be a little more patient so we can get everything sorted together.

Thank you all for being so patient thus far, and I promise you, it'll all be worth the wait. The Hotland chapters will NOT take this long to make..- oops, I may be getting a little ahead of myself there. :)

Once again, have a great day, and remember, stay determined! <3

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#undertale #lost in the echo #fanfic #chapter 12 #frisk #oc #undyne #monster kid

What? "Where's the new chapter..?"

...

OH! RIGHT! THE NEW CHAPTER!! Sorry, things got a little complicated in our studio and the girls had a bit of a catfight. Well, more of a fist fight, but I'd rather not specify right now. You guys don't want the author to be used as someone's spear target practice, now do you?

Stay tuned tomorrow for the release of Chapter 12: An Eye For A Spear! <3

#undertale #lost in the echo #fanfic #update

Entry Number 9, Pacifist Timeline Number 1

The subject has experienced her first "death", in which she forced the human child to "LOAD" from their last "Save Point". Further analysis will be required to determine whether or not this experiment led to memory loss, as did all whom came before her to command this vessel.

Ironically, while most others who fell to the Guard captain experienced bouts of frustration or sorrow, she merely smiled, as if impressed by Undyne's feat.

She continues to perplex me, this one, however she shows promise. I will continue to study how she interacts with the monsters, and how she will learn to guide Frisk in approaching Undyne.

- W. D. Gaster

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#undertale #lost in the echo #fanfic #wd gaster #data entry #yes this is canon

Chapter 11: "Into Dangerous Waters"

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"It just goes on endlessly!" exclaimed Magic, surfing through what one could consider the world's largest joke book, "How many joke books and quantum physics books do you even have?"

The lackadaisical skeleton shrugged at her from the couch with a response that could best be described as 'eh', sitting beside Frisk as they slurped on some of their spaghetti. They weren't exactly fond of the mushy texture of the overcooked pasta, but it wasn't completely inedible like Papyrus's previous attempt. He appeared to be very hit or miss with his cooking skills. The two humans had been staying at the skeleton brothers’ house for at least a day now, under Magic's suggestion. As rough a start as they had with the two monsters, she didn't want to take any chances with the scare that Frisk had during their earlier confrontation with the taller skeleton. It was surprising she even made such a suggestion in the first place, given her own less-than-ideal start with Papyrus's brother.

Actually, to Frisk's amazement, Magic got along rather well with Sans. Since discovering the mutual feelings they shared over looking out for their younger siblings, the older human and skeleton gained a newfound respect towards each other. Much to Papyrus's chagrin, Magic was slowly beginning to reveal her own funny bone as she randomly threw puns at Sans mid-conversation; the kind that were almost as bad as his own jokes and the shorter skeleton couldn't be more proud. It was practically written on his face. (No seriously, he got a dry-erase marker and wrote "proud" on his forehead just to mess with Papyrus.)

"I don't even understand how you managed to pull this off." Magic continued, a mischievous smirk forming on her face, "This book completely defies physics."

Frisk signed a mellow 'boooo' at the terrible joke, but couldn't help the few quiet snickers that escaped their body. Sans, on the other hand, let out a hearty laugh that broke into a hysterical fit, especially after hearing his brother's groans of dismay from upstairs.

The taller skeleton peeked out from behind his bedroom door, an intense scowl on his face as he yelled, "ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU AREN'T SANS'S LONG LOST HUMAN TWIN!?"

"pap, i think i'd know if buddo here was related to us. it ain't rocket science." the smaller skeleton replied in the middle of his laughter.

The face Sans got from Papyrus just before he slammed his bedroom door shut sent the stout skeleton over the edge. He fell off the couch and clutched his ribs throughout his bursts of laughter, blue tears pricking at the edges of his eyesockets as the two humans joined in with him. It was weirdly fun seeing Papyrus react to their stupid jokes so dramatically.

"As fun as this has all been, I'm not sure how much longer we can stay." Magic expressed apologetically, recovering from her laughter first, "It's been great hanging out with you guys, but our journey wasn't just to make it to the end of Snowdin. We’ve still got a ways to go to get out of the Underground."

Before Sans could give his input, the door to Papyrus's room had been kicked open yet again, startling both humans. Papyrus may be full of boundless energy, but one thing that still baffled them was how he didn't immediately snap the door off its hinges. Seriously, how could that door possibly still be intact with its frame?

"FEAR NOT, HUMANS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN BE YOUR GUIDE ON YOUR TRAVELS!" the taller skeleton proclaimed after rushing down the stairs and striking a heroic pose.

"Are you sure, Papyrus..? Won't you get in trouble for helping us..?" Frisk signed, a questioning but worried look on their face. Judging by what they heard of the captain of the Royal Guard, who enlisted Papyrus as a rookie-in-training to capture humans, it was clear that they weren't exactly as open to the idea of making friends with humans as easily as Papyrus.

The taller skeleton knelt in front of Frisk with a gentle smile, "I INSIST THAT I ACCOMPANY YOU, TINY HUMAN! WE CAN SOLVE MANY PUZZLES TOGETHER, AND ONCE THE OTHERS SEE YOU ARE FRIENDS WITH ONE AS GREAT AS I AM, THEY’LL WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND TOO!"

Magic stifled a scoff, rolling her eyes with a sarcastic smile.

At least one of us has faith in them getting all chummy with the humans whose race literally imprisoned you guys underground, she thought.

…

Okay, seriously, how did they get here? The two humans were currently on their way to Waterfall, the next major area of the Underground according to Sans, but instead of traveling by foot, they were literally being yanked by a very boisterous Papyrus, who moved faster than their poor human limbs could keep up. At the pace he was going, they were speed walking, almost running ahead to their destination. Because of their difference in height, poor Frisk was especially struggling, since the taller skeleton was basically dragging them off the ground. They could barely make out the blue, gem-embedded cavern walls from how much their head was spinning.

“ISN’T THIS GREAT, HUMANS?! WE’RE OFF ON A GRAND ADVENTURE, TOGETHER!” he exclaimed with glee.

“Pap, can we please slow down just a little!?” Magic begged, her eyes swirling behind her glasses from being dizzy and lightheaded from the lack of oxygen Papyrus was letting them have through their sprint.

Despite their desperation, their monster companion failed to notice the human siblings struggling to keep up, lost in his own little world of wonder and excitement, “I CAN’T WAIT TO INTRODUCE MY NEW FRIENDS TO EVERYONE! WHEN I TELL UNDYNE..-” he cut himself off, a sudden worried look taking over his skeletal features, “WAIT, I PROBABLY SHOULDN’T DO THAT. SHE MIGHT HAVE AND THEN THROW A COW.”

“Have a what..?” Magic replied, almost bursting into laughter at his outdated analogy if she hadn't caught a small detail in Papyrus’s statement, “Wait, she..?”

“OF COURSE! SHE, MEANING UNDYNE!”

Huh, so the guard captain’s a woman… gotta hand it to her for that level of authority and respect she commands, Magic thought.

Just then, the taller skeleton dragged them to a screeching halt when he heard his phone buzzing in his pocket, a very shocked ‘NYEH!?’ leaving him as he paused in sheer terror, nervous sweat dripping from the top of his skull.

“ERM… I’M SORRY, HUMANS… THAT WOULD BE MY PHONE.” Papyrus slowly turned away as he reached into his pocket(?) and pulled out his cellular device, starting to panic to himself as he whispered loudly, “OH NO… THAT’S HER CALLING RIGHT NOW… AND I WAS SUPPOSED TO CAPTURE THE HUMANS AFTER FIGHTING THEM..! WAIT A MINUTE…” he looked back over at the confused siblings before crying out in dismay, “I DIDN’T EVEN FIGHT THEM!!”

“Uhh, Papyrus..? Are you okay..?” Magic asked, Frisk tilting their head in concern beside her.

“I’M SO SORRY, FRIENDS! I’VE, ERR, GOTTA TAKE THIS CALL RIGHT NOW. I’LL BE BACK… PROBABLY…” Papyrus whimpered as he bolted off, his loud voice echoing down the caverns in distortion as he spoke to someone on the other end of the line. The two humans just watched him go quietly, unsure of what to say or if they should even stop him. Sure, they had a moment to stop and catch their breath now, but if Undyne were to find them, they’d wish they had kept running, nevermind the fact that they were on borrowed time as it were with how paranoid Magic still was about a hidden security system that she believed the Underground had.

She tugged gently on her sibling’s arm, silently gesturing them to follow her down the path through the damp caverns, a twisted expression on her face that was mixed between fear and worry. The tiny human got the message as they continued their journey without Papyrus. As they walked further into Waterfall, the chilling tension from the thought of being discovered began to melt away, for the two humans began to feel a strange comfort from the quiet, yet mystical ambience of the area. Even having only been there for no more than five minutes, there was something about this place that just felt… magical. The two of them exchanged sudden glances, as if they knew what the other had just thought. Small bits of laughter escaped both of them. Sans would’ve loved that one.

“something funny, buckos..?” said a familiar baritone voice up ahead, “you look like you’re enjoying yourselves…”

Magic and Frisk jumped slightly when they turned to find Sans standing just a few feet ahead of them. Two other monsters were standing in the same chamber, including a weird, armless monster kid they saw back in Snowdin, but both them and the orangish-red fish creature were too distracted by whatever they were doing to notice the two humans. Magic flared her nostrils slightly, storming over to the older skeleton, who was apparently working from another sentry station. The oddest part about it was that there was still snow on the roof of the hut. Waterfall’s climate wasn’t particularly warm, but it certainly wasn’t cold enough to warrant snow on the roof of Sans’s station here.

“Dammit, Sans! Don’t sneak up on us like that!” the older human exclaimed, slamming her hand down on the counter, “And just what are you doing following us? You said you were going to take a nap when we left!”

He shrugged, grinning innocently, “i tried to, but undyne would be very cranky if she caught me slackin’ on the job. believe me, kiddo, i don’t like resisting a-rest any more than the next guy.”

The older human’s cheeks swelled with laughter, but she swallowed it under a choking cough, “D-Don’t try to distract me with jokes, man! Honestly, you could give someone a heart attack with how you just pop up out of nowher..-” she stopped when she noticed blue tears threatening his eyes again as he desperately tried holding in his own chuckles, “What..? What did I say..-?” then it clicked, “Oh, for the love of..-”

Once again, the older skeleton broke into another laughing fit. It didn't help that Frisk also began to roll around on the ground, clutching their stomach as their body shook with quiet giggles. Magic rubbed the bridge of her nose with a disappointed look on her face, but unable to mask the amused smile that crept onto her features. She had been caught off guard by the clever punster; what else could she have said or done?

“Seriously, though,” she interjected, “you need to work on your entrance.”

“yeah, sure. i'll do that.” the skeleton monster replied, wiping away a few blue tears that still lingered, “say, if you two aren't that busy, you should come with me to grillby's sometime. my treat..?”

Magic raised an eye suspiciously at the overly innocent grin and wink that Sans gave her and Frisk. The invitation seemed harmless enough, yet with Sans, you could never tell. This was the same skeleton that hid a whoopie cushion underneath his pillow on the couch.

“I thought you said you couldn't afford to take breaks because your boss would throw a fit…” the older human inquired.

“nah. the guards are legally obligated to give sentries like me at least one break throughout my shift, that being my lunch break.” Sans shrugged innocently, “it was just a suggestion though. i know you kids are busier than me.”

Magic narrowed her eyes at his derogatory remark, “I am not that much younger than you are.”

“oh really? shoot. c'mon, prove it.” he challenged with smug confidence.

The older human faltered slightly, dodging his question, “I-I know better than to tell someone I've only just met my age.”

The stout skeleton let out a more sarcastic laugh this time, almost more of a scoff.

“or you're just too embarrassed to admit you're still just a kid, but since ol’ sans here is a nice guy, i'll let ya in on a little secret.” he took out a ketchup bottle from who knows where and slurped on it a few times (look, nobody wants to know what it's like to drink ketchup from the bottle through your teeth, but for Sans? It's natural.) before he spoke up again, “monster ages aren't exactly measured in the same way as human ages. by your standards, i'm already at least a century old.”

Magic's eyes widened, “Seriously? How long do monsters even live?”

“it depends… if we're talking mentally, though… i'd say my brother is the same age as you,” his smile curved into more of a smirk, “so guess what that makes you, kiddo.”

The older human twitched her eyebrow slightly in irritation, but it's not as if she was genuinely angry at Sans. If anything, their relationship was now more of a playful rivalry/friendship with plenty of banter between the two of them… which was a good thing because had this been a serious conflict, Frisk probably would've dove in behind the sentry station to avoid Sans's potential wrath, let alone their sister's.

“Just because I'm eighteen in human years, doesn't make me any less of an adult than you, bonebag.” Magic retorted, tugging the little human's arm, “Come on, Frisk. Let's keep moving.”

Frisk gently waved a short-lived goodbye to their skeleton friend, who grinned slightly and returned the gesture as the two humans continued deeper into the caves of Waterfall. For a sentry who was supposedly on duty, it almost seemed like Sans was intentionally doing the opposite of what he was hired to do, like he was following his own agenda… but if he really wasn't invested in his job, why did he still bother following them? The question tormented their thoughts as they traversed the water, carefully avoiding the rocks that fell, carried by the current of the falls spilling over the back wall.

“I don't wanna beat a dead horse, but I still think he's hiding something from us.” the older human commented, “I want to believe he’s on our side, I really do… but he's just looking out for his brother. I highly doubt he'd come to save our skins if the situation called for it.”

“You can't just make that judgment… you hardly know Sans.” Frisk signed back, pouting a little.

“Look, I'm not saying that I take back my respect for the guy in how he looks after his own family, Frisk… I'm just making a point to not get too comfortable in thinking he'll let us off the hook if we decide to..-”

The older human suddenly cut herself off when she noticed the cave ahead of them had less lighting than the ones before, with fewer crystals embedded in the walls. It didn't help the ominous atmosphere that the slight muttering of a voice on the higher cliffs could be heard from where they stood. Magic made a silent gesture to Frisk for them to keep their voice down and crouch low, sneaking into the tall grass and trying to get a closer look… or rather, to listen more closely. Magic and Frisk noticed a shadow standing up at the edge of the cliff menacingly, but they couldn't make out any notable features through the heavy-looking armor they donned, completely masking the individual's identity.

Who is that..? They seem familiar somehow, Frisk thought.

Just then, they heard some lighter, quick-footed steps at the end of the cavern, entering from the same side that the two humans came from. They recognized the bright red scarf/cape of Papyrus as he rushed over to greet the armored figure standing at the cliff's edge.

“H-HI, UNDYNE! SORRY I'M LATE, I HAD, ERR… ERRANDS TO RUN! YES!” he lied, having formulated an excuse on the spot, “A-ANYWAYS, REGARDING THOSE HUMANS I CALLED YOU ABOUT BEFORE… UMM…”

“.... Did you fight them..?” Undyne responded, her voice barely audible underneath her helmet.

“WELL, I CONFRONTED THEM WITH MANY GRUELING PUZZLES AND FEARSOME..-”

“Papyrus…” she turned to face the skeleton monster, whatever look she was giving was making even Papyrus sweat nervously and it made the crouched humans feel genuinely threatened on his behalf, “that's not what I asked. Did. You. Fight. Them?”

“I… NYEH…” Papyrus sighed in defeat, “NO… I DID NOT.”

His response had the guard captain boiling, sending her over the edge, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T FIGHT THEM!? PAPYRUS, YOU HAD ONE JOB!”

“I-I TRIED! I REALLY TRIED TO, UNDYNE! B-BUT, THE LITTLE HUMAN, THEY WERE SO FRIGHTENED..-!”

Undyne groaned and smacked her hand against her helmet a few times, looking rather irate.

“I swear… Pap, you can't just trust humans you only just met..! They could've been putting on an act! Do I need to remind you that it's their fault we're even down here in the first place!?” she scratched the back of her neck in annoyance, “Guess I'll just have to do it myself…”

“W-WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO, UNDYNE..?” asked the sheepish young skeleton.

“Simple.” the armored monster held one hand out in front of her before crushing it into a fist forcefully, “I'll rip out their souls and crush their little human bones, with my bare hands if I have to.”

Magic unconsciously clenched her sibling's arm protectively while Papyrus recoiled from Undyne's remark.

“I CAN'T HELP BUT FEEL THAT WAS A PERSONAL ATTACK…” he replied, trying to approach his boss with extreme patience and gentleness, “UNDYNE, Y-YOU DON'T NEED TO DESTROY THEM. THERE'S SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW..-”

Magic took the initiative and whispered in Frisk's ear, “Come on, let's get out of here while she's distracted.”

She attempted to drag her sibling off, but the rustling of the tall grass caught Undyne's attention immediately, causing her to look over the edge of the cliffside as she summoned a blue energy spear eagerly. Frisk quickly pulled back on their sister's grip, forcing her to come to a halt and stay down, hidden in the tall grass from the alerted captain.

“U-UNDYNE!?” Papyrus sounded both concerned and confused.

“Shh! Something was just down here…” she responded, shouting out into the caves, “Can you hear me, humans!? It's hunting season!” she ran her finger across her neck threateningly, “Your days are numbered… mark my words!”

Yeah, so are yours if you get in our way, Magic thought, her nerves on fire from how tense their predicament was.

Frisk kept a close eye on Undyne as she scoped out the area, trying to search for any sign of movement again before she gave up and let her weapon disperse into thin air, backing away from the cliff and stomping off further into the cavern, dragging Papyrus off with her. Both humans breathed a sigh of relief. Had Frisk not stopped Magic then and there, they would've gotten impaled with a face full of spears right on the spot.

“Thanks for that… Guess you saved both of us with your quick-thinking there.” Magic responded, ruffling Frisk's hair.

Frisk nodded slowly, pointing frantically to the far exit, clearly in no mood to stick around.

“Yeah, you're right.” Magic adjusted herself, moving some of the bangs out of her eyes, “I don't want to be here if she comes back, so let's keep going.”

As they exited the tall grass, Frisk noticed the golden glimmer of that same shiny object, reaching over to touch it for a sense of comfort. The feeling of dread didn't exactly wash away, but they still felt determined to keep going. Unlike her sibling however, Magic was all but one step away from a complete nervous breakdown. She hadn't felt that tense since the incident at the beginning of Snowdin when they encountered Red, only this sense of danger was multiplied tenfold, like they had just been at death's door and walked away with a warrant written on their backs. She figured that the royal guard captain was someone of an imposing nature, but meeting her directly in person, and seeing a mere fraction of what she was capable of had her mind racing. It wasn't like how she felt around Sans; this danger was very potent, very much real. One wrong move and it could spell out more than just unease or trouble.

Magic clutched her chest, feeling the tremors of her soul deep inside. She thought back to what Flowey had said at the end of the Ruins.

“Every game has at least one player that it's very unforgiving towards…”

She shook her head, trying to remove that memory from her mind. She wouldn’t let that little flower's words get to her right when she would need to stay focused more than ever. After all, deep in her being, there was this tiny voice that was warning her, as if calling from her very soul.

If I lose focus now, that lady's going to be the end of us, her thoughts caused a burning sensation within her that she couldn't describe, I have to prove that little weed wrong… even if this entire world sees the monster I am within, I have to do what I can to protect Frisk… and I won't hesitate to strike down anyone who dares to threaten their life.

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Author's Note: The hiatus is finally over, y'all! Chapter 11 is here, and with it, the start of the Waterfall mini-arc! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and again, sorry for the wait. I promise the next four chapters will be released in a more consistent manner (at least until we get to Chapter 15, which is all dependent on the next Promo Poster getting done).

Also shoutout to Man On The Internet and their crew for being the major inspiration behind Papyrus and Undyne's characterization during this chapter. As a huge fan of Undertale the Musical, I had to include a reference to it.

Stay determined, darlings! <3

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#undertale #lost in the echo #fanfic #chapter 11 #frisk #oc #sans #papyrus #undyne

"W-WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO, UNDYNE?"

"Simple... I'll rip out their souls and crush their little human bones. With my bare hands if I have to..."

Beautiful promo poster by my friend, @ari-cuno

Look forward to the release of Chapter 11 tomorrow, darlings! <3

#Undertale #lost in the echo #fanfic #frisk #oc #promo poster

3rd Anniversary

"Along This Trail"

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“You’ve been quite the little busy body, haven’t you?” Magic growled.

The child’s malicious smile turned into a tormenting smirk. They had taken the lives of everyone and everything living in the underground, multiple times, so it shouldn't have been so surprising that they weren't faced by her aggression. Doing this, they'd already been through hell and back, so Magic's frustration was much tamer by comparison.

“What? Did you think I’d feel any remorse for those idiots?” an unfamiliar voice spoke out of Frisk’s mouth. That was… strange. That voice sounded nothing like Frisk’s sweet and mellow voice.

“W-Who are you?! You aren’t Frisk!” Magic stammered, taken aback from the shock of there being someone else pulling the strings.

The child began to cackle maniacally, these odd, black tears streaming from their crimson eyes, “You STILL haven’t figured out my true identity? I think you’ve been spending so much time gawking at that sorry excuse of a robot that it rotted away your brain.”

Magic clenched her fist, her blood boiling from the hate she felt, “Listen to me now, kid. You can say whatever you want about me. Frisk or not, I don't care what you think anymore… but don't you dare insult Mettaton!”

They never even tried to get to know him personally, so what gave them the right to attack his character? The way she saw it, this entity would stab first and ask questions later. Perhaps whoever was using Frisk’s body and allowing no remorse or regret from Frisk’s portion of their intertwined soul to come through so they could maintain control.

“Who do you even think you are?! You never bothered to even learn about any of the monsters..-”

“WRONG!!! I know everything about each and every single one of them! Especially that traitorous scum of a goat prince, Asriel!” The child yelled in pure hatred.

Magic gasped as her eyes became wider than ever. She knew that name all too well. Asriel was the prince of all monsters, son of Toriel and Asgore Dreemurr, the queen and king. There were several timelines where she and Frisk discovered, at the end of their journey, that Flowey was Asriel. It was strange that this child brought up the deceased prince, almost like they knew him before he became Flowey, as if they were… best friends. There was only one person Magic heard about in the underground who fit that description.

“C-Chara..? The first human to fall… but that was years ago! There’s no way you survived your illness!” Magic snarled in anger, showing only slight surprise.

“Ah, but you forget that I had a small chance of turning into a lingering spirit.” Chara replied with a smirk pasted across their features, “I’m just getting my revenge on those pathetic monsters.”

“What would you even want revenge for?! They never did anything to hurt y..-”

“THEY DID EVERYTHING TO HURT ME!!! Asriel betrayed me and broke a promise he made to me. That sweet, innocent monster that was my best friend, he said he trusted me, that he would never argue or judge my opinion. When it all really mattered, however, he betrayed me, like he didn’t even care!” Chara monologued in anger and sadness.

“Still! How can you blame all the monsters that were alive today for a mishap that occurred years ago? Can’t you see it’s not fair to the..-” Magic’s sentence was cut off as Chara lodged the Toy Knife they had kept with them since the ruins right through the older human, stabbing clean through her chest. Blood splattered from the open wound as Magic fell to her knees.

No...

Not like this…

…

“Aghh..!” she cleared the draft in outrage, “Why is it so much harder to write about something you lived through while also making it sound interesting!?”

“Relax… you've been staring at that screen for the past four hours, procrastinating.” Magic took a sip of her bubble tea, one hand resting comfortably in the pocket of her MTT-brand hoodie, “You're gonna wear yourself out if you keep doing that. Why don't you take a break? Mettaton's fired up the disco room alongside his Dancetale counterpart. You like to dance, don't you?”

“I can't just relax right now. I've gotta get this done so I know what to build off of for the next chapter.” Pacifist replied.

“I know, I know… but I feel like you're taking this a little too seriously. Yeah, you might've lived through it, but I feel like you're exaggerating this story just for the publicity.” the human raised an eyebrow at her as she took another sip, “You sure Mettaton and Undyne weren't a bad influence on you..?”

“That's not the point..! It's not like I'm retelling our story just for my readers..! I… have some personal motivations behind it too.” Pacifist leapt in her defense, only earning an eyeroll from her lookalike.

“Uh huh, sure. Come with me a sec, yeah?”

Without warning, the girl in glasses snatched Pacifist's wrist and dragged her out of her room in the studios located in the Omega Timeline. The building itself was massive, hosting enough rooms for almost every person who's been to this place. CORE!Frisk really went above and beyond to make sure everyone felt at home, or at the very least welcomed, here. On the way to the cafeteria, they passed by a recording studio, where some members from XTale were getting ready to rehearse for a special movie that Ink!Sans wanted to put out for everyone to see. It took a lot to convince Mettaton to play his part, mostly because he'd been salty over the fact that he gets killed off in his debut episode… or at least, that's what he claimed, despite the implications of the script saying otherwise.

XGaster sensed them pass by and turned towards the door for a brief moment, exchanging tense glares with Pacifist. This didn't go unnoticed by Magic as she yanked on the anomaly's arm harder to get her attention.

“Will you just stop glaring at that mummy-man and keep moving?” she ordered impatiently.

“He doesn't have enough plasters on him if you ask me…” Pacifist grumbled.

“I heard that,” XGaster responded.

“Oh, good. You can listen… selectively.” she retorted, earning her an undignified snort from XChara and surprisingly Cross, who both earned an over-the-shoulder death glare from their universe's creator.

“Come on, Pacifist.” Magic walked around and literally pushed Pacifist out of the doorway so she couldn't exchange glares with the apathetic… skeleton..? Monster..? Honestly, they didn't know what to call him anymore. Ink!Magic insisted that he wasn't just a skeleton, yet they didn't want to find out what he actually was.

Moving into one of the recreational rooms, they noticed several kids from various AUs sitting around a table, coloring together. Among them were Underfell's Frisk, who had dragged their Asriel over with him, but seeing the now taller goat prince trying to sit comfortably in a kid's chair was just pure comedy. In the corner of the room, Fell Magic was watching them like a hawk with the Royal Guard captains by her side. Hiding behind her leg was her daughter, who sheepishly kept her distance from the other children (she was antisocial, there was no getting her to join the crowd). In another corner of the room, Outertale Magic was accompanied by her robot companion, trying to teach some of the AU children to understand sign language. She was planning on asking one of her alternatives to help her, but Outer!Mettaton insisted that he had to keep an eye on her. It probably didn't help that just a few moments ago, her Horrortale counterpart had triggered some… disturbing memories of his.

“Better watch out, robot. If you lose sight of her again, she might scream for help if she's in danger..- Oh wait, she tried, but nobody came.” she had said, a belligerent smirk on her face.

That instantly sent the poor robot into a “what-if” spiral, as not even CORE!Frisk could reassure him that they were safe in the Omega Timeline. Luckily, Horror!Magic didn't get away with it, as she was employed (against her will) to help the librarian organize their books. Unfortunately, she wasn't very good with her organization skills, so she got yelled at a lot for not putting things in the correct order. It got a laugh out of her Undyne though, who enjoyed watching her wallow in her frustration… even if it was at a distance where they couldn't get into one of their… “confrontations”.

A sudden voice snapped Pacifist out of her thought train, “Well, look who finally crawled out of her little cave… Finally remembered to touch some grass once in a while?”

The human anomaly looked over to find Fell Magic's eyes piercing through her soul. Behind that cold glare, she could faintly see hints of concern laced in her expression.

“Actually, I..-”

“No, Blackthorn, she did not remember to touch grass.” Magic interjected, “As a matter of fact, she was still staring at her screen, moping about our autobiography before I dragged her out of there myself.”

“Of course she did…” Fell Magic shook her head slowly, rolling her eyes, “Papyrus, Undyne, go upstairs and bar her door shut for the rest of the day.”

“Yes, ma'am!” the edgy skeleton quickly replied, rushing upstairs in an instant.

“Hey! Wait, don't do that! I haven't even gotten past the prologue yet!” Pacifist whined.

“Or eaten something half decent in almost three days! You can't keep gorging on snacks twice a day and call that a meal just because you're stressing out..!” Fell Magic growled, “I swear, if I wasn't restricted from it, I'd smack you upside the head for your stupidity, dumba..-” she looked down at her daughter, who had her head tilted in confusion as she gave her mother the large, timid but slightly curious eyes, “ergh, I mean… I'd lightly tap you on the back of the head for not taking care of yourself.”

Outer!Magic nodded her head slowly in agreement, affirming her alternative's concerns silently.

“The last time any of us saw you leave your room, it was because you and Genocide had a debate over plot elements.” Underfell's Frisk added.

“In my defense, he was arguing about how I should've changed my weapon from a sword to a lance since I favor polearms.” Pacifist crossed her arms and huffed in offense, “Every great story I know has a main character with a sword.”

“And most of those stories you know have the same, monotonous, god-slaying sword.” Fell Magic rolled her eyes again, earning a scowl from Pacifist.

Moving past the recreational room, Magic dragged her to the cafeteria and into the kitchen where Epic!Toriel was engaged in pleasant conversation with her XTale counterpart. Sitting at one of the tables in the main dining area were XTale and Epictale's Magics, the former being carefully monitored by her bodyguard and partner. It didn't take long until the two monster queens noticed they were no longer alone in the kitchen.

“Ah, good evening, children,” greeted Epic!Toriel.

“To what do we owe this pleasure..?” XToriel asked, checking them both for any cuts, scuffs or bruises, “You didn't get into any trouble, did you..?”

Pacifist shuddered in slight discomfort at how maternal XToriel was being, throwing up her hands quickly in defense, “No, no! Nothing like that..! We're just here because… well, Magic insisted that I eat something.”

“Hmm?”

“Well, I've been so preoccupied with writing that I kinda lost track of time.” she replied.

The room suddenly got much more tense, as both goat moms exchanged a… perfectly ordinary glance with absolutely no hidden message beneath them. Epic!Toriel's face darkened as the tension in the air grew thicker, making Pacifist feel incredibly small where she stood and Magic grateful that she wasn't the one under the goat monster's intense gaze.

“My child… when was the last time you ate..?” she asked, her voice flat and emotionless minus the inquiry.

“U-Umm, s-s-solid meals or snacks?” Pacifist laughed nervously, swallowing hard.

“Snacks are hardly a meal!” bellowed Epic!Toriel before covering her mouth in shock, “Ah, forgive me. I've been needing to raise my voice a lot as of late to a… certain, stubborn someone. We must correct this at once! Go on, out of the kitchen with you. We shall make you something more substantial to eat.”

“But..-” Pacifist got cut off as she was ushered out of the kitchen by XToriel, moseying on over to the table where Epic!Magic was chatting it up with XMagic.

The two noticed her presence quickly and smiled as she approached them. The XTale General immediately took a bow out of respect, but it made Pacifist physically uncomfortable.

“Lady Pacifist, allow me to pull a chair for you.” XMettaton implored.

“That's… That's not necessary, General. I can seat myself.” she replied.

“But surely you must be exhausted…”

“General, I was upstairs writing; that doesn't require much physical activity, last I checked.” she clarified.

“Yes, but it requires brain power, and that can only be draining for someone as fragile as yourself.”

Who's he calling fragile..? He's lost his limbs multiple times, including on set… accidentally, Pacifist thought.

“We from XTale know how that can be, I assure you. We wouldn't want someone as delicate as you getting any ludicrously absurd ideas that torments your health further or jeopardizes the ones you care about, now would we..?” he let out a nervous robotic chuckle, but Pacifist could tell he was attempting to side eye his princess over the shoulder without her noticing.

Unfortunately for him, XMagic's brow twitched slightly, catching the slight tilt of his head in her direction. Without warning, she snatched the tail-end of his cape and, with all her strength, flipped it right over his head, blinding him temporarily which caused him to flinch before spiraling into a panic.

“Gah! Milady, forgive me! Please! Please, I beg you! Fix this cursed thing!” he whined, “Darling, please..! I can't seeeee..!”

“Oops, so sorry, General… My delicate hands must've slipped for a moment.” she retorted, a touch of salt dripping in her tone, causing her Epic alternative to let out a hearty laugh in amusement.

Pacifist giggled slightly, “That's what irked you? Not him addressing me as ‘Lady Pacifist’?”

“He refers to your universe’s Magic as ‘Lady Magnolia’,” she took a sip of her tea, maintaining an air of decorum as she spoke just to taunt her robot companion, “I think you'll find I am not the jealous type. If anything, I should think it's a compliment.”

“Oh, I'm flattered, don't get me wrong…” Pacifist replied, “but I'm still not used to hearing it, y'know? I don't really like being treated as royalty..-”

XMettaton was quick to correct her, “With all due respect, you are the adopted child of the original Dreemurr family! There is no greater honor in all the Multiverse… That title alone should be celebrated, regardless of your origins.”

Pacifist scowled slightly, “You know if you were one of those overpowered skeleton characters that I begrudgingly know exist out there, I would not take those words very lightly… but you're one of Mettaton's alternatives, so you're lucky your cute looks force me to bite my tongue.”

Epic!Magic wiped a tear from her eye after recovering from her laughter, “I see now where Snowdrop got both sides to her personality.”

Pacifist paid her a confused glance, unsure of what she could possibly be referring to, but before Epic!Magic could answer that question, she stopped when a sudden chill went down her spine. It was so paralyzing, even she couldn't muster the guts to turn and look behind her.

“Is there a problem with our Magic's personality..?” a rough, feminine voice interjected, with Reapertale Undyne looming over, glaring down at Epic!Magic.

“Great to see your hearing in regards to her is still top-notch, Undyne…” the paranoid human responded with a nervous smile that screamed ‘help me’ as the goddess of war just stood there… menacingly.

“Hmph. Don't you dare speak her name in vain, mortal… Alternative or not, I don't care. If you dare soil her reputation as a goddess, I'll pull you aside and knock some sense into you, got it?” she threatened.

The sudden sound of heels clicking against the floor broke the tension in the room as a softer voice interrupted, “Honestly, Undyne… Are you ever going to leave me to fight my own battles..? The tension you are bringing to this room won't help Pacifist calm down… and you know it makes a majority of the refugees uncomfortable.”

“But she was..-”

“I heard her… but did you not hear what I've told you about controlling your temper? You can't always go on a warpath whenever you hear something you don't like.” the blonde-haired goddess replied, maintaining composure even in the presence of the enraged goddess.

Reaper!Undyne grumbled and crossed her arms, dropping the conversation but not without muttering incoherent words under her breath in frustration.

“Thanks for that, Snowdrop…” Epic!Magic replied, letting out a relieved sigh with an expression that made it seem like her soul had left and was just reentering her body.

The Reapertale variant of Magic snapped her fingers, forming a makeshift chair for herself out of vines and branches uprooting from the ground beneath the floor, taking a seat calmly while she sipped on a teacup she got from… gods know where.

“That was worse than anything Sans has come up with.” Reaper!Magic suddenly interrupted, looking over at Pacifist.

“Whuh..-? I didn't say anything.”

“Not you… per se...” she inquired.

What is that supposed to mean? thought Pacifist.

“Nevermind. So how is your… I mean, our story coming along?” Reaper!Magic asked, “Everyone around here seems to be waiting with baited breath, and yet you produce nothing. There's also been word that you've been tiring yourself faster than you can get a single chapter done… to the point of skipping meals.”

“I wouldn't go that far..! You make it sound like I'm doing it on purpose. I may be stressed because I can't find the right words to… well, write, but I'm not beating myself to a pulp over it.” the human anomaly replied.

“... You've become a perfectionist, haven't you..?” XMagic inquired.

“What..-?”

“Say what!? You mean that old geezer rubbed off on her?” Epic!Magic stood up so fast, she knocked her own chair down, “Where's his ugly mug!? I'll reintroduce him to my battle axe for corrupting Pacifist with his influence!”

XMagic glared at her alternative, her eyes going hollow briefly, “Amaryllis. Sit. Down.”

“Uhh… S-Sure thing, Hibiscus.” she replied nervously.

XMettaton shook his head from behind, looking upon the other royal Magic in disapproval, “Such rash behavior from a Royal Guard…”

“General, if I may be so bold, hypocrisy is no virtue to live by.” Reaper!Magic interjected, sipping her tea casually, “We've all seen how you and Cross behave in interaction, or do I need to remind you of a certain incident involving a popularity contest..?”

The monochrome robot general immediately shut his mouth, his mind blanking at the obvious callout. Yeah, there was no way out of that one… he and Cross have had many heated interactions with each other in the past, especially ones where the General lost his cool… namely that incident.

“Ahem.” XMagic cleared her throat to get their attention before continuing to scold her Epictale counterpart, “I can assure you XGaster did no such thing. For him to corrupt Pacifist would be among the tallest orders… next to him getting along with your AU's Gaster, of course…”

“I’m insulted that you even think I’d let him do that; I thought you knew me.” Pacifist responded in mock hurt before getting more serious, “I've been trying to make this story perfect, yeah… but I think I'm so worried about what others will think of it when I start to reveal where it goes, no matter how accurate it really is. I mean… in the eyes of some random monster or man on the internet, most of it sounds completely made up.”

“That's because you have a wild imagination and a tendency to exaggerate just for suspense. With you, anything can sound made up.” Reaper!Magic commented.

Pacifist laughed slightly, “I mean, if I'd been told about four years ago our time that I'd have seen this many alternate universes and met all of you guys, I probably would've said ‘you're making that up’. I would've believed someone who told me I was going to turn into some kind of supernatural animal that leaves a blue blur as it runs before I believed that.”

“... Again I say, a wild imagination.”

“What!? That's a real character in the fighting game that Asriel and I like to play!” Pacifist replied in offense.

“Super Smashing Fighters?” asked Epic!Magic.

The human anomaly facepalmed, holding her head in the palm of her hand as she rolled her eyes, “Who the heck invented that ripoff name anyways..?”

Reaper!Magic giggled slightly, “It is truly a joy seeing you get so passionate about what motivates you… though you needn't be such a perfectionist with what you love. That's the most important thing… just doing what you love for the sake of doing what you enjoy. Mistakes can and will happen… but it's okay. Just live and learn.”

“Easier said than done, but… I can give it my best shot.” Pacifist replied, smiling slightly, “Thanks for the pep talk, guys. I'm used to being the person who does that.”

“You've given pep talks to last us to Ink's twentieth birthday since XTale's arrival. We've heard enough.” Epic!Magic answered, making Pacifist somewhat confused.

“But… you know Ink!Magic doesn't age, right? I mean… Moonflower looks like she's nineteen, but she's older, and also doesn't age because… well, y'know.”

“Yeah, but she doesn't act her age and being reminded of that gives us, her creations, an excuse to baby her because HAVE YOU SEEN HER!? SHE DESERVES TO BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS!” Epic!Magic responded, slamming her fist against the table and knocking her and XMagic's drinks into the air, startling the monochrome woman a bit.

The General quickly stretched out his arms and swiped both glasses before they smashed against the floor, glaring at Epictale's oldest human angrily.

“You could've indirectly burned her highness like that!” he complained.

“Come on, she's fine. Live a little, General! You're so overprotective of her.” Epic!Magic waved her hand at him dismissively.

“FOR GOOD REASON!” screeched the robot.

Pacifist watched as the two royal guards started to bicker back and forth, with the XTale princess caught in the middle looking amused that what was once a mutual respect was completely shattered the moment that she met her Epictale alternative. It was little moments like these that made her truly adore the life she had now, even if it was still plagued with its stressful moments. It didn't matter whether the day was plagued by scorching sun nor freezing cold, there was always a journey ahead to look forward to; a new day to celebrate with the colorful characters she'd befriended.

“You know, guys..?” Pacifist spoke up, grabbing their attention briefly, “It's moments like these where I truly don't miss the old life I had. I never really had this kind of stuff back home… so thank you for that. May these peaceful days last… I look forward to the tomorrow with you.”

Her words made their hearts melt from their honesty. It was written on her face.

“That old conflict was not our adventure's end… merely a fresh start to see what else lies beyond the sky.”

…

“Please… S-Spare us….. g-give…. us….. m-mercy…….” the commoner fell to the ground, limp after the sword that had been lodged into their chest was removed.

The sword's wielder stared at the blood from behind their mask with a lifeless gaze. That was the last light that was to be snuffed out from this world… one of the outer realms from the world they came from. They stopped when they noticed their reflection in the blade's metallic sheen, dark as it were, as they flinched and lowered the sword, sheathing it with the last soul taken from this place.

“In the end, it didn't even matter…” they spoke softly, “your rulers tried to put up a fight and failed… your most valuable soldiers killed, and for what? A promise to a good future..? Promises are useless. Certainty is all that counts… if you want to defy fate, you must have the conviction and determination to grasp that certainty.”

They stopped and held up a heart-shaped locket in their free hand. In contrast to the black and dark purple armor they adorned, this locket was a bright gold, much like the luminescent parts of their old body… their weak, mortal body that was destroyed what felt like years ago. They weren't sure how much time had passed; only that it had been over five years. A stray tear formed in their eye, but immediately dried up when getting caught in the mask they wore to hide their face. They clenched the locket in their hand, causing it to crack slightly.

“There… Now, like me, it is broken.” they stated, “Hmm. It left behind an x-shaped crack… how intriguing.”

The sounds of footsteps approaching caught their attention as their fellow comrades joined them, overlooking the destruction, both donning a similar black armor… One lethal swordsman, and one skilled mage.

“It appears we could not retrieve the data belonging to the two queens.” said the mage, “Tch… and after we went through all this trouble.”

“... Destroy the ark containing every last bit of data for this world.” they ordered all of a sudden, causing the swordsman to widen his eyes in slight shock.

“Are you certain..? That data will be lost forever…” he reminded them.

“Not forever,” they retorted, “I can OVERLOAD its destruction. I have a copy of each of these worlds’ data saved to my personal bank, along with the code of every individual soul that belongs in these worlds… or have you forgotten..? Death doesn't exist to us.”

He turned away without another word, understanding his comrade's instructions now.

“The World of Two Titans… and the World of Blades shall cease to exist now… just as the worlds we attacked before them. All that leaves is… that world…”

The mage hesitantly spoke up, “Are you certain this is the path you'll take..?”

“I will not depart immediately… our contractor has... other plans for me.” they reached into their cape and pulled a suspicious-looking canister, one with a smell that reeked so bad, it could turn up even the least sensitive nose, “I'm afraid I will be detained for quite a while… At least until I'm finally able to manifest this blasted curse.”

“You call it a curse, just as he did…” the swordsman pointed out, frowning behind his mask, “Do you still miss him..?”

The first one was silent for a while, but then finally spoke, “I am the False Light… I hold no ties. I miss none and have no one to miss.”

“Nemesis…” The mage answered sympathetically.

The first character marched past their two allies, tormented by a single lingering thought that had pestered them since they slaughtered that last commoner.

Spare them? What kind of fool would do such a thing..? All enemies have to be eliminated… they're in my way. That's how you play the game. Simple as that.

-------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE: Hello everyone! Happy third anniversary to Undertale: Lost In The Echo! I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, and likely most of you have given up waiting on Chapter 11, but, well, I'm actually here to explain what happened. See, I was SUPPOSED to post Chapter 11 back in Summer, I wanna say around the end of June, early July... the problem came from the fact that I wanted to release a promo poster to go along with the start of the Waterfall Chapters, but the artist I recruited to assist me with that while I worked on the chapter got overwhelmed with other things and couldn't finish it.

That being said I did manage to get another friend to do the piece for me, and with Chapter 11 finished and ready to be posted, I ask that you please wait just a little longer and it'll be out by the end of the month at the very least, early March at most.

Oh, and for those wondering if this story is canon to the events of Lost In The Echo; no. This story is NOT CANON. This rush job was put together last minute after I realized today was the anniversary for Lost In The Echo and needed an excuse to put something out to appease my readers. I won't be uploading this story to Wattpad or AO3, so uh... I guess those people will have to just be patient?

Again, sorry for the delays, beauties. Thank you for reading this and remember to always stay determined!~ <3

Oh yeah, this should go without saying, but uh... The AUs mentioned in this short story don't belong to me (though the alt Magics do). Go give props to the creators of Underfell, Outertale, Horrortale, Reapertale, Dancetale, XTale, Epictale, and the creators of Ink!Sans, the Omega Timeline, and CORE!Frisk. Also, shoutout to one of my Discord friends for listing the first five AUs in that list to use in this crazy little spinoff story. You're a true bro. Who knows if I'll be using these AUs again in the future? Maybe you'll have to wait and see for yourselves. ;)

Bye now!

( LOST IN THE ECHO PROLOGUE )

xtaleunderverse

Hello, General XMTT (I've been waiting SOOOOO long to talk to my favorite robot again). I've been curious. What are your thoughts on each member of the Royal Guard? Do you like working with them?