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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRgpCQqwja
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgjVWS8dCh
"Shh!"814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlQYYxx7XV
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMXCkijFeX
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8YNzHT0qB
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHQEs3pXfe
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZPHcWWIML
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPehGtasdV
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'.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvn7AZ2WqTn
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2dXDCr2q6
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWkLkvCI8q
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qZy2rxV8T
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCv6g3lnZvA
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRu7II6LyvX
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLyA6cW1m3
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVe4eeU3Ne
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqaDGrVOgz
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtaSBZ14tr
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWELWTeoNU
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78gbPf5TtI
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tMOH9gvme
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEYP5ivy84
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHePvdVvbbW
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuREePOSuDA
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2ZsLpEXXM
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYbsTKR4gw
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRdMBGnuFoh
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4lPbNOHck
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eJsU6QaxL
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqZNojXPdB
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rWf0HdU4k
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFXqsiq3aE
"There you are." Error!Sans said, "I've been looking for you, doggy."814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRKFUtqqhx
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7aWL8CkHe
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnkmu7TCa8
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgr6Tuukpc
"That's my name." Error!Sans said, grinning all the wider. "Don't wear it out. Oh, that's right; you can't talk."814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LyrsSj0Ib
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rsVKGhbNg
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYF7iCFQ4o
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlk3nNhOMpm
"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!"814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADnYviwgVF
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmaeSv2oAM
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAMbNbnm93
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEreBc3Rvjj
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 ..."814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXeBpnvH2sc
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvbvvR8ww9
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstEx1HVAQ0
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ349qpWLmdz
"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?"814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TIwxIXOUk
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOcs3PKpMG
Jake barked loudly at Error!Sans, still struggling to free himself from the blue threads.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOwplVdtCD
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTyDDh8iJP
"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!"814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYb6aqvfCS
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPs2UdYNPLB
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7qj0MMZzv
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEBbRLt4ip
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTl6mLmOEIU
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡob970HwyLq
A hand touched Jake's side. Jake turned to see it was little Frisk, her small face a mask of determination.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPsIbxsPk2e
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5X3nkUtRGc
"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'.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1E1QOdDFhN
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzYgXcj03G
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYg6Pu26pxJ
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOkWc0B5tG
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAbTAWfs9i
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQXplwSGtX
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?"814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDLWb2Bo0y
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTc3TGsWqA
Jake waited cautiously as Error!Sans looked around in confusion. After a few moments, he shook his skull and said, "I-I gotta go ..."814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVFtAPEUtq
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYn1hr3PzJ
With that, Error!Sans was gone. Jake waited a few moments before deciding that he would likely not return for a little while.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPOg9QsCJ4
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJhIU8PuiO
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJI4Nxu5F8
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYywzZUAc4F
"I'm all right." She signed to him. "What happened? The black skeleton was shooting something at us, and then ... I can't remember."814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznSy3Qa5Si
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIrlpvW0Re
Jake considered his options for response for several moments before tilting his head forty-five degrees and displaying his 'puzzled' face.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5AWxXV5oA
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gl6Z0Ebkp
Frisk giggled and rubbed his head. "Silly doggy! Come on; we really shouldn't be here. Mom will get mad."814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpFuGZNkln
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6IaNeUsQlP
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28CFEoXUO9
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTz8yuixFp
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2dMcgbRq5
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BnmZY2bWe
"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!"814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzk5mzhbH3b
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQY9it63WZ
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7if6TPBZR
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRuRNY0qnv
"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!"814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfUynejK39
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkvXnpNaYF
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!"814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCydsOWi2sk
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZBnpLpnt1
Flowey laughed again. Jake lunged at the flower, but it dove beneath the dirt and was gone in seconds.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaLAakLNFL
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenHEIOWIZa
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEMuSbSKnp
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGejJl9j7Lq
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsmfJ1e7dg
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJLKMZJ8TI
"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."814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTaqIG5n5W
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZEk0CGomk
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbIo9vfGyxs
814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMO9qE2z9r
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.814Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxUUpwxoJNd