Jake lifted his monitor at the sound of the door creaking open. Toriel was standing in the doorway, a dish of some sort in her hands. He started to rise when she quickly held a finger to her mouth.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnAYY7k6Wgc
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"Shh!"818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJmpRKvR2U
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Jake settled down and watched as the Bossun woman approached the sleeping form of Frisk and carefully laid the dish on the floor beside her bed. Jake scanned the object on the dish and identified it as some sort of confection due to the high level of sugars.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uPXxWyXsZ
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLHWH6aojo
Toriel patted Jake on the head before leaving the room silently. Jake remained active, however. Something about the room resonated with the memory files tucked away in his memory. It was a fairly large room, complete with a wardrobe full of clothes, plenty of toys, and a surprisingly number of shoes in different sizes, but there was something else that seemed to stick in Jake's data-banks.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXMtOmmFw2
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He remembered another room, one with a young boy and a little girl. No matter how much they squabbled, the boy always went over to the girl's bed at night and made sure she was tucked in properly. He called her 'sister', and she in turn called him 'brother'.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvScKqrsdZ
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgjmqVzOOI
Brother ... the term seemed important somehow, but Jake's processes couldn't identify why. As the minutes passed, he felt a sudden compulsion to locate the boy; perhaps he could help Jake make some sense of the data.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCYIQeUp3j
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlNc2p6YX9
Jake looked at Frisk. The little girl was sound asleep, her small face peaceful. The goat-woman named Toriel had treated her with kindness that could only be described as motherly. She would keep the little girl safe. While Jake's authority subroutines demanded he stay with her in hopes of finding Glen, his current master, he nevertheless found himself standing up and approaching the door. The old data-files were useful, telling him exactly how to open the door with his front paws without making much noise.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8lzJQZ7C4
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjKOxyrPVh
He walked through the tidy house softly, ultimately finding Toriel asleep in a chair beside the hearth. He started to activate a fire suppression system to prevent her from injuring herself, only to realize the fire itself was not actually burning; it was merely pleasantly warm, and caused no damage to the log it sat upon.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoiE4AsYaD
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGoMvwdHf70
Jake considered waking up Toriel to let her know of his departure, but ultimately decided against it. He still couldn't access any kind of verbal communication, and visual communication would take time. He wanted to be gone before Frisk woke up ... before either of them could wake up. He wasn't part of their story.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPXLkjyN1o
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50pQFFvPiR
Jake froze, that final stream of data confusing him. Their story? What did that mean? How did he know he wasn't a part of it? He tried to compute some sort of satisfactory answer, but ultimately came up with nothing. Not even the memory data gave him an answer.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nVbM0kioj
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Shaking his head, he turned around and left Toriel asleep by the fire. Going back wasn't an option, as his scans determined there were no exits that way. Fortunately, he'd already scanned the house and discovered the central staircase led to an underground corridor.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8zpMMpBv7
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZR8IAMHQ8v
Jake walked down the corridor slowly, scanning the air for particulates in hopes of determining where the corridor might lead. The readings didn't match any location he'd visited recently, but he continued (doggedly ... heh heh) scanning.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzol8euHil
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiDEMgI3Fl
He paused. Where had that thought come from? Finding no answer, he continued walking. The corridor was quite long, eventually turning ninety degrees to the left toward a small chamber with a large door.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHhJjj8G9T
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMpmy8BRav
Scans of the area indicated a definite drop in temperature, as well as particulates indicating vegetative life, namely pine trees or some similar conifer. He hurried to the door and pushed against it with all his might. To his surprise, they opened quite easily. He staggered through, only to stop inches away from a familiar slipper.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpV5NS9Cno
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5no9prMcfR
It appeared to be the bio-form known as Sans; the bone structure and the face matched Jake's files on the skeleton, but the colors were wrong. The bones and clothes were black, the sweater beneath the coat was red, and the face looked so strange, Jake was certain the circuits that translated visual data for him were glitching.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWwSzUUazs
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCBB2LFECQ
The skeleton who looked like Sans stared at Jake, the larger of his red eyes bearing two irises around a tiny black pupil, the outer yellow and the inner as blue as the real Sans's coat.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgUj6ZDaxx
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"There you are." Error!Sans said, "I've been looking for you, doggy."818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRdPRGEyg19
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMtC6lpZJ3
Jake began to sense subspace anomalies forming around the skeleton. In a flash, memory files clicked into place. This was the creature that attacked Glen, Sans, and Jake in the middle of what Sans called 'a shortcut'. Already the being was causing Jake's sensor data to overload as it has before. Jake shut off everything but his visual and auditory senses to prevent another overload, but not before the word 'ERROR!' appeared again and again in the corrupted data.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cO9keS3UP
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJSbKbeFba
"That's my name." Error!Sans said, grinning all the wider. "Don't wear it out. Oh, that's right; you can't talk."818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYCCwMG1TJ
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDYJBKbZ0I
Jake let out a growl. He hoped it would intimidate Error!Sans, but once again his information files proved incorrect. Error!Sans simply laughed at Jake and shook his head.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjo8JbOkI8u
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"I've destroyed hundreds of timelines, mechamutt ... maybe even thousands. What can I say? It's hard to keep count when you're having so much fun!"818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZnm8ApCSb
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSyHsUGaQu
Error!Sans thrust a hand at Jake. Blue threads shot through the air, wrapping themselves around Jake's limbs and lifting him from the ground. jake tried to open his back panel to use his interior energy buster, but more thick threads wrapped around his back, preventing the panel from opening. Jake yelped, but there was nothing he could do. The threads were surprisingly strong; even a blast of electricity from this front emitters did nothing.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqSbJiHrK9
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxZLkDLsLm
Error!Sans slowly approached the floating dog until his face was only inches away from Jake's monitor. "What makes you think you have any chance of stopping me from tearing you apart and taking your ..."818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurt18PFheI
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdCs6mos1O
Error!Sans frowned, his corrupted eyes squinting at Jake as though searching for an errant pixil in Jake's monitor. His smile faded, only to be replaced with a look of suspicion.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbdB6uSZEe
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0gRVX1H4O
"It's missing." Error!Sans said slowly, as though not believing what he was saying. "I can see inside you, where your soul should be ... but it's not there. What have you done with it?"818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPv9h1kEhE
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62LTKLf4ef
Jake barked loudly at Error!Sans, still struggling to free himself from the blue threads.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9FMAoAjai
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9oUXSA0Xh
"One of the others." Error!Sans said to himself. "The new abomination ... no, that human woman, the one with the green and gray striped shirt. She must have it. Where is she, dog? Tell me, or I'll tear you apart!"818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡheWzpaKJbq
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4eDnOK3x5
Jake was at a loss. His weapons were ineffective, his mobility was nonexistent, and the data Error!Sans wanted wasn't in his memory banks. There seemed to be nothing he could do to stop his destruction.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxABOXpnsVX
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZnUub4y2x
A stick hit Error!Sans right in the face. It didn't do any visible damage, but the shock of it made Error!Sans release his threads from Jake. Jake landed on all four legs, his back panel sliding open and the blaster attachment rising out. He fired at Error!Sans, but the strange skeleton blinked out of existence only to appear a safe distance away.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2E1CULiNJj
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A hand touched Jake's side. Jake turned to see it was little Frisk, her small face a mask of determination.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvXuvxwXSO
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"Little brat!" Error!Sans said with a scowl. He raised his hand, but this time Jake didn't wait for the threads. Barking may not have worked, but Glen had Jake hooked up to her personal database, which included a directory labelled 'Wrhse13' that contained among many strange and bizarre files a single sound file: 'marsden.mp3'.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcA41D8l7n
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTg8y99Ke6
Jake blasted the file as loud as his speakers could handle. The effect was immediate; as the sound reverberated off the stone walls of the corridor, the look of anger on Error!Sans's face became one of bliss. True tears, separate from the strange teartrail-like markings on Error!Sans's face fell down the skeleton's cheekbones. The blue threads fell to the ground and faded from existence as Error!Sans sank to his knees.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqp8suQCa8X
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquvLkOIyU8
Jake nudged Frisk, only to find her in tears as well, a look of pure happiness on her face. He was still at a loss for what to do when his speakers suddenly gave out under the strain.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsM9hryrqUG
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFz2EidmiT
The music died with a crackle of static. Jake tensed in anticipation of Error!Sans's resumed attacks, but the strange skeleton simply looked at them for a long moment before saying, "What was I doing?"818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmaHrXmfzc6
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqW6NpP2pzw
Jake waited cautiously as Error!Sans looked around in confusion. After a few moments, he shook his skull and said, "I-I gotta go ..."818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1N9ULQBDD
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With that, Error!Sans was gone. Jake waited a few moments before deciding that he would likely not return for a little while.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsoHfNOa1M
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJkfc4KpVA
Hearing a sniffle, Jake turned to see Frisk rubbing her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. Jake sat on his hind-quarters and put a paw on her shoulders.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUq8KMh0IHL
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"I'm all right." She signed to him. "What happened? The black skeleton was shooting something at us, and then ... I can't remember."818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxwu9Yt9OS
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Jake considered his options for response for several moments before tilting his head forty-five degrees and displaying his 'puzzled' face.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcjVWCSzSr
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Frisk giggled and rubbed his head. "Silly doggy! Come on; we really shouldn't be here. Mom will get mad."818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxXGvQYYvp
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Frisk turned back to the door that led to Toriel's house, only to find the doors closed. There were no handles on their side, and Jake discovered that pushing them had no effect. Whether through magic or mechanics, the doorway was apparently one way only.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOF06Zs3Bo
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWoilLmMDAy
All trace of happiness left Frisk's face. She tried again and again, banging her fists on the door in desperation to no avail. She even tried calling Toriel's cellphone; while Frisk could not speak, she and Toriel had figured out some simple tapping rhythms that gave her some basic communication: yes, no, help, that sort of thing. Unfortunately (and quite strangely), the phone-line picked up to the sound of another dog barking inquisitively. Jake tried to bark in reply, but found his speakers still non-functional.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9XcIpc9Es
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HIbix58IO
"It's no good." Said a voice that made Jake growl immediately. "It's a one-way door. Even your dog's blaster won't make a dent. You're stuck out here!"818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNohUY4QqqJ
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡty6rSunwSq
Flowey was back, having emerged from the small mound of dirt in the middle of the room. Jake moved in front of Frisk and growled, but Flowey lifted his petals in supplication.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURELYhPbqR
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBABTtfRkm
"Oh, don't mind me; I've learned my lesson ... but have you?" Flowey asked, looking at Frisk. "I've been watching you, making friends with the froggits and the whimsuns, buying donuts from the spiders ... you think you're real clever, aren't you? Befriending all the monsters? Ha! Don't you realize in this world, it's kill or be killed? Well, you'd better realize it soon; you'll soon be out of the Ruins, where the rest of the Underground is waiting to kill you and steal your soul!"818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkk0bGqvbV
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28Dpd1jZYV
Frisk trembled as the little flower let out a high-pitched evil laugh. "Good luck, Frisk! You're going to need it where you're going!"818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgi5lWq2vR
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Flowey laughed again. Jake lunged at the flower, but it dove beneath the dirt and was gone in seconds.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBwTM9rWTS
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWxe3W0TWj
Hearing a sniffle, Jake turned to see Frisk crying. He walked over to her and gave her another pat on the back. As she looked at him with tear-stained eyes, Jake again felt the strange resonance with the data files, this time producing an image; another face, that of the boy who lived in the room with his sister. He was crying too.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZVPkRzDHP
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkt4y4z3RU
Jake's programming told him that he belonged to Glen Adams Soleil, and if not to her, then to some person named Finn Cresste. In that moment, however, he realized his programming allowed for him to name other owners, should the need arise. Looking at the little girl's face, Jake knew the need had arisen.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTcaxjze6S
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cc6FXUpss
"New user accepted." Crackled an automated voice from Jake's speakers as his self-repair systems patched them back together. "Frisk is recognized as the owner of this unit."818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOlVKDDUpR
818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jgwlkAH3m
Frisk put a finger on her chest, a look of surprise on her face as she pointed it at Jake. Letting out an affirmative bark, Jake nudged Frisk's side. She looked confused until he did it again, crouching down on his legs. Realization in her eyes, she smiled and climbed on Jake's back.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjxZddM2sX
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With another bark, Jake ran down the corridor, Frisk giggling as she held him tightly. Toriel would come looking for her sooner or later, and until that time, Jake would keep his little master safe. After all, now it was his story too.818Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0mk2gCN51