*(You feel a sort of finality about falling into the mountain. As if, if you are to go back to the UNDERGROUND, you'll never see this bakery again. You look at the building behind you, now in the distance, and a sense of sadness washes over you. If this was not your home, why did it feel so wrong to leave it behind?)
*(Your legs tremble, and you stand, hesitating to move toward the mountain. Ebott was HOME for so long, why now was the thought of going back so heavy? You fail to realize it. In fact, this place was never home at all! Simply a bakery that never belonged to you. A familiar, unfamiliar place. Simple as that!)
*(You continue to walk away from that town that you assume was once inhabited by humans. Certainly not monsters, they couldn't have lived there. It wasn't possible. Fields give way to thick forest, leaves now blocking out the sun as you begin your ascent of the mountain.)
*(There's that singing again. A voice echoing through the trees that, in a way, sounds dreadfully familiar. Your pace slows, and you stand with your head on a swivel, trying to locate the direction it's coming from. It surely isn't coming from the mountain, nor is it coming from the way you came. You turn toward it when you do eventually pick out which way the voice is traveling from, and start to walk toward it instead of toward your final destination. As you do, your limbs feel heavy, as if the pull of the mountain was trying, desperately, to keep you on track.)
*(After what must have been an hour of walking, you do finally discover where the singing is originating from. On the ground in a clearing, just at the edge of a small pond, is a pale blue crystal. The crystal itself, it seemed, was the source of the sound. You approach it, unsure if you should touch something in Gaster's world like this. If it was trying to draw you in, could it be a trap?)
*(It is only when you reach out to touch it that your memory gets a flash of where you know this voice, this tune. A beautiful siren- one you surely knew very well, with the way the memory of her makes your heart race. Flashes of her, unclear but there, appear in your mind as though the memories themselves are fighting to be in the forefront.)
*(You know her name. Say it.)
*Layla...
*(Barely a whisper, but you're able to recall her. As you say her name, the memories become more clear... And the singing stone falls silent. Something to grasp onto, or rather someone, gives you a new drive. What's stopping you from remembering everything? Names, places, your successes and failures? Surely this is Gaster's doing, but you're unsure how to stop it. What happens to you if everything is gone?)
*(Your fight with decisions on what to do is interrupted when the first living creature you've seen since you woke up here buzzes by. A single honey bee. It is out of sight long before you can think anything of it, but between that and the crystal... No, you can't do this. The mountain would have to wait.)
*(You're left on the ground, reeling and panting from the pain as it dissipates from your back. Smells like burnt carapace. Slowly you stand, using your arms for support, before you are once more standing up straight.)
*(And... Gaster is nowhere to be seen. He is gone, leaving you alone once again in a silent, empty bakery. The webs that littered the walls and floor are gone, as well, leaving the place looking as it did when you had it built first. Sunlight shines in through a dusty window, staining the floor with pale grey.)
*(You stand in place for some time, thinking on what to do. The silence, the nothing, the lack of spiders, all these things are becoming too much to handle. What do you do when there is no one to talk to? No one to give comfort in this dark time? Bake, of course. Nothing quite as cathartic as creation... Especially when it is something you so love doing! And, of course, a clear head was the best way to discover your next move, to plan what to do about this.)
*(You begin walking down the stairs, all six hands clasped neatly behind your back as your mind still reels. A place where you are truly alone, alone with him. This could easily be Hell, you're sure of that. As you reach the bottom stair, looking out into the empty bakery, something dawns on you. A realization, or perhaps something you don't recall...)
*(You do not recognize this place.)
*(Surely it must be your home, right? It was where you awoke, there were even photos of you- however distorted- on the walls. It had your style, your flair, everything that you would have designed- but you have never seen this place before. Not even before this. Your head begins to ache as you try desperately to find a memory of the parlor and the bakery- but only the parlor in Hotland finds its way to the forefront of your mind. This was not Hotland, it was surely the surface. The light was too bright, too colorful, to be coming from the magma.)
*(Your very soul begins to tremble, and you stumble backwards onto a chair in the bakery's cafe section. How did you get to the surface? Why was there a bakery there that was clearly designed by you? If you did in fact build it, or design it at least, why can't you recall anything about it?)
*(What... Happened to everyone?)
*(Your claws ball into weak fists, then fall limp at your sides. Yes, everyone... Everyone was sure to know where you are! There were people looking for you; friends, family, spiders, maybe the Guard! If a spider simply disappeared from Hotland, her not being there would be immediately realized, right? The guard captain, oh Angel what was her name again? Didn't matter, surely she was worried! Before long someone was-)
*They... Can't leave the UNDERGROUND...
*How would...
*....Why...?
*(You fall silent once more, your words hanging heavy in this unfamiliar bakery. This cafe that was surely another spider monster's creation, this place that felt like a home you do not belong in. You are not welcome in this place- it is for humans.)
*(You slowly stand and exit the building, beginning your walk toward a mountain in the distance. Mount Ebott. That was the only way for you to return home. That was the only way to make it back to Hotland.)
*(Somehow, you thought you heard someone singing in the silence. Perhaps it was in your head. Perhaps... This world wasn't as impenetrable as Gaster had thought it to be.)
*(You feel a sort of finality about falling into the mountain. As if, if you are to go back to the UNDERGROUND, you'll never see this bakery again. You look at the building behind you, now in the distance, and a sense of sadness washes over you. If this was not your home, why did it feel so wrong to leave it behind?)
*[💜ACT - HESITATE] / *[💜ACT - PROCEED]
*DOCTOR'S LOG.
*MEMORIES ARE FICKLE THINGS. STUBBORN, OFTEN MISLEADING, EASILY MANIPULATED. UNFORTUNATELTY, THAT HAS CAUSED SOME... COMPLICATIONS.
*ATTEMPTS TO SIMPLY ERASE SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT MEMORIES FROM THE SUBJECT HAVE PROVEN TO BE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE.
*MORE CURIOUS STILL, TUFFET APPEARS TO HOLD MANY MONSTERS CLOSE TO HER. I DID NOT REALIZE SHE HAD SUCH REACH, A FAILURE ON MY PART.
*I BELIEVE IF SHE CHOOSES TO FORGET ON HER OWN ACCORD, I WILL NO LONGER NEED TO CONTAIN THESE MEMORIES.
*ONE IS FIGHTING. ONE IS BEATING AT THE MAGIC HOLDING IT. VINES SHAKING THE BARS OF A CAGE.
*A MEMORY SCREAMS, AS IF ITS VERY VOICE INTENDS ME HARM.
*ANOTHER FIGMENT, IT SMELLS SWEET. I BELIEVE IT THINKS IT IS MORE POWERFUL THAN ME HERE.
*MORE SIMPLY SIT AND WATCH. WATCH AS SHE APPROACHES THEIR ERASURE.
*It truly depends, deary~
*Complexity, material, current workload, the speed at which it needs to be done...~
*It is not as simple as a solid number~
*I certainly have a starting rate, though~
*At the very least, 1000g to start, free consultation though~
*A little note to my fellow monsters~!
*Humans don't turn to dust when they die! There will be a corpse and it will rot and stink~!
*Muffin, my dear pet, does love to eat meat~!
*Just in case you needed somewhere to.... Dispose of anything~! Ahuhuhu~!
*(At least the shop had been taken care of while you you were away. Each counter, table, and surface was dust free and the strong scent of fresh baking came to your... nose? Do you even have a nose, Muffet? Sidetracking aside, you step back into the kitchen and take in the sweet smells of all your hard work. You’re greeted with some very enthusiastic voices and even an embrace from one, something you welcome.)
*(After your time in the kitchen, however, it’s time to man your real spot, behind the counter. You rest your appendages on the bakery counter and begin to load the finished bakery items into the display windows. You hum a tune as you work, and a few of the spiders in the corners of the dining hall dance with it.)
*(You’re in your element. You unlock the door, then make your way back behind the counter to observe... Hopefully it has been successful while you were away.)
*(You place a finger at the base of Nansi’s chin, look deeply into her eyes, and follow up her quick peck with a very light peck on hers, though dangerously close to her lips. You linger there a moment, then let slip a very light giggle.)
