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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoxPfpU5VS
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDffbi3Px6v
"Shh!"794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoTdNAwZR1
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6NwUZwrRJ
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKzDLtcuhB
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGWJ0Wpizg
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFDGXj1xJP
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2fREreT5iK
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'.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOiWvnjQMZv
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2Cxc5NEKY
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULW9rF7Bbw
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqB4Uy0ptP
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgF8DwLQCM
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjkZJ2pDZu
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdCCg3mEsU
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwBFD7mnV9
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWhzuT4qji
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlB4uqtRK6
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKeulbiHmP
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvTWbkYv8W
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvDrNRozeA
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwuqsN2yFA
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaR4erbdPO
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡINhl9tR2h4
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2KMzZOX7d
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHY351DGjf6
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2Zadp3LCR
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEZ4pyMOBZ
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdEePaOaMMc
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHuCNFUoGqY
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBU4UTtlOY
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oazqIGhhc
"There you are." Error!Sans said, "I've been looking for you, doggy."794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOId3zoOkf
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0w13B6VdTY
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESJoOJlifM
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLDf84MAKr
"That's my name." Error!Sans said, grinning all the wider. "Don't wear it out. Oh, that's right; you can't talk."794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFCHe0ZDZD
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Ei57eiBkn
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJayYwAA2X
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqWuRReKIZ
"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!"794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKez6h7iQzQ
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBv44fCwUR
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS42XcEGgRf
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjjiPPh6v5
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 ..."794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckzdpHBSXz
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgdonlhW6m
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtqME6Y3qD
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhQkP4k2ei
"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?"794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NL84HKdGy
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jYcTJ0sSR
Jake barked loudly at Error!Sans, still struggling to free himself from the blue threads.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZivSKs5tka
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYMigEekLQ
"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!"794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwTkidRz2A
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpzz3AW3ve
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXozEkdO28k
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gpDkCLQ3E
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0es6TDow5
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtR7YsvmKG
A hand touched Jake's side. Jake turned to see it was little Frisk, her small face a mask of determination.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjAUFaAcjg
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJydc4w79i8
"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'.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxuAElLO2t
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbIxcOIUoEC
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIaMUqUj6eT
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CQtzGi2mg
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jgJdwFcur
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkwOatEjSU
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?"794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6WKIO5iLd
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFNNwLPueD
Jake waited cautiously as Error!Sans looked around in confusion. After a few moments, he shook his skull and said, "I-I gotta go ..."794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8VSIPGVT8
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXFJFljzAS
With that, Error!Sans was gone. Jake waited a few moments before deciding that he would likely not return for a little while.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ghqFkEnTT
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTl4WxRYll
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgF0GQxuklB
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmNWXZZu2z
"I'm all right." She signed to him. "What happened? The black skeleton was shooting something at us, and then ... I can't remember."794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSd0k5cglwf
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8Zwj0a7v8
Jake considered his options for response for several moments before tilting his head forty-five degrees and displaying his 'puzzled' face.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlc98rgsWmG
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPi4F1bgie
Frisk giggled and rubbed his head. "Silly doggy! Come on; we really shouldn't be here. Mom will get mad."794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ301moVUB6n
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZIO5kPTD0
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdEZKnDx9l
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2gSSE4qnz
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcxi5BTfdI
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirhiyWPeiU
"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!"794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevjwl9i7QO
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVndWeMlqM
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNKgPweySd
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8BlCyZW7m
"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!"794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1eGET39WN
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODNWR3Om2v
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!"794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqevnytRSg
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zs8ZwUwyx
Flowey laughed again. Jake lunged at the flower, but it dove beneath the dirt and was gone in seconds.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDyOsf8aM0
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYselsJeJv
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyx9w8Q9KhJ
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMf9Snbpj1
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuKqcJPKJx
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpfSxlX5KC
"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."794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmFFbGHspg
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGTKi4NjTr
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCglaNylErR
794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQonfpgQTi6
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.794Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TgVhX1tDV