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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfsJbjyX6Eg
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUzi8sCrwh
"Shh!"731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiZON5a0gs
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBnNkBmwKU
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4REZeQJ7N
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Ts93yvdbb
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauqHbYDTQM
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRI8znfHphX
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'.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5fxFiPFu0
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrz0lWfLTG1
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tqHsDiIyU
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeItPkH0GrE
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzuvOQpBhh
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMUz7CUgYc
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEc1yYgmrq5
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jLNBGAkkY
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxMCHc03TM
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhO1oS7R6jk
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOIsfMgzFQ
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDQHWh0w5i
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMf7mKVGGnB
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7v5L5xkCze
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzW32DECk4p
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAY4pMKiod3
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMdK95WX8y
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8JRZ0zRqU
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrigrSbzOF
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsrU6tk7EO
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqa2gkqWicN
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwQdESiFWL
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnr9x3836e5
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aBQtQnPMl
"There you are." Error!Sans said, "I've been looking for you, doggy."731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbTNH4A5Ea
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmtA9qaWig
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSu3IlrSNXJ
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGQKsr4FZ6
"That's my name." Error!Sans said, grinning all the wider. "Don't wear it out. Oh, that's right; you can't talk."731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznnoOgD2le
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI97vSjklNG
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakwf3stR8T
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjkb8BP1Nja
"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!"731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnGk6bR7RU
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipFZkvHvq4
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDVymZzZx8
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pxxx5hhPw
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 ..."731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZu9RG0EhVO
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYP5SIPA9U
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOx8z1tVjwL
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59mA8UjAhK
"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?"731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEuzEvyqc38
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbZzMpb34S
Jake barked loudly at Error!Sans, still struggling to free himself from the blue threads.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8oBMffBNU
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5UMTozCkqV
"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!"731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SmyuQzhnB
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynserIGSzy
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZ3spoGPTR
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcm3iOlh3L
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡorO4nXWD5R
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMJ5YL2T7D
A hand touched Jake's side. Jake turned to see it was little Frisk, her small face a mask of determination.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzUBiSIvAt
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbOuGPH0W4
"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'.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmpTakXg4J
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpohTgpISmf
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YuTNLYEaZ
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpId9VhppYl
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjOgQTiNpv
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAG6R5XgJb
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?"731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDMQcOEOdm
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN93IqSIawK
Jake waited cautiously as Error!Sans looked around in confusion. After a few moments, he shook his skull and said, "I-I gotta go ..."731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPCKBGeoHL
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4h2oC21BtZ
With that, Error!Sans was gone. Jake waited a few moments before deciding that he would likely not return for a little while.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjm7ISZwUK
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6IDA1MJkj
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmQziIxjod
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdR3xVlYREr
"I'm all right." She signed to him. "What happened? The black skeleton was shooting something at us, and then ... I can't remember."731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYHB1i4v6U
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpkkNcBDFp
Jake considered his options for response for several moments before tilting his head forty-five degrees and displaying his 'puzzled' face.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphEdUQQIyp
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvq2Nw3sFxX
Frisk giggled and rubbed his head. "Silly doggy! Come on; we really shouldn't be here. Mom will get mad."731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5SgkQM3fbm
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5XojkNrmW
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TnQieuIbc
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4hOrqgZCF
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtiRr5x3Xh
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqOn2VaOmF
"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!"731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8U5kyhA0t
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4kryJNJ91
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSR9l5Db7z
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5MNtmj4Ze3
"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!"731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBTicaIvUE
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrrKYKj26R
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!"731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQkBVKG0Xa
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18G0v7vxht
Flowey laughed again. Jake lunged at the flower, but it dove beneath the dirt and was gone in seconds.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOIb9ooLWm
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU4zAWBLfa8
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrlSUzSt7H
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeU6YKSCSg
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjM22pdGV0F
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoFBzoYaZD
"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."731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODYFdPH1Hr
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6izkBaI4ot
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHmEnuxKx0
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JtK9NseOp
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.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKbSh5Mivw