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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86IkTOIGSx
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFEQmtPc6u
"Shh!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWSpCnyiHB
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ572EfTdpa5
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84C1VMzdJR
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKWjLUkft9
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtmCvXTWxd
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzfX3E1CdW
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'.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSUn5pamJ9
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhy9KXpU9kJ
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmH9CWps3By
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVaQofTHjI
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshtYTHLdVv
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ZUyKa3PoE
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZykAp5gKQ
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYgymspZEI
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYANxXp2ag
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZyTcGZWr0P
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJsZxJp0Wp
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmzB3LZDe5
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgqJLPYU72b
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOXOswr6LU
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIL332OEcCs
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWfytlps25
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfopHS6aWdQ
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGc6sjarnz
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wEFDZ3y74
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYc7jQFEsHk
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN741MnQgEr
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsz2wUIk90o
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgDfDjzm6s
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUKs8E3Mql
"There you are." Error!Sans said, "I've been looking for you, doggy."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYYXEHWmqW
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPEuvF3M4e
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroCZcfsjrW
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3k27ZbFp8K
"That's my name." Error!Sans said, grinning all the wider. "Don't wear it out. Oh, that's right; you can't talk."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEuYNmefcj
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Nbg2EXenx
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRkb1gpFeu
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCA4PGO18MT
"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!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXm1xJkXEN
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ1HGNgH8Mr
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwDublrjfK
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibJF5Nszwg
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 ..."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1lTVczLKX
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2UOJzNMqr
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpr1lSjhwLe
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqEqKfbXOwB
"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?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppVlAP96yN
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSn9vcbo9Q
Jake barked loudly at Error!Sans, still struggling to free himself from the blue threads.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHtVzoczTI
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aQ4G2GUkb
"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!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1iQq3NVuS
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3u3NZzdGCx
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKI1vLbaVR
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpraRzBFXgQ
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRf83SB4JyA
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuge8C7woC
A hand touched Jake's side. Jake turned to see it was little Frisk, her small face a mask of determination.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUAn6bItmv
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVocSRzFk74
"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'.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo305VB5Exv
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanwMk6Zt9g
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBIGNvhYfe3
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqr86AIm9Yf
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUXEFUsLpyB
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2MeLOQpnG
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?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9MUWlnglp
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4HKJv3wkU
Jake waited cautiously as Error!Sans looked around in confusion. After a few moments, he shook his skull and said, "I-I gotta go ..."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzHcCJJWJc
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPC6GLL4PmI
With that, Error!Sans was gone. Jake waited a few moments before deciding that he would likely not return for a little while.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAefyE5w6BG
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGUE72y4Nn
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBxubvFJaq
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGY6Cw0oIC
"I'm all right." She signed to him. "What happened? The black skeleton was shooting something at us, and then ... I can't remember."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pQepRznU2
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6MDSX0Of6
Jake considered his options for response for several moments before tilting his head forty-five degrees and displaying his 'puzzled' face.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2eGYL2GCi
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZvLI0Im4T
Frisk giggled and rubbed his head. "Silly doggy! Come on; we really shouldn't be here. Mom will get mad."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡub5PlPpZYa
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32XgbJMpRo
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCCZxjX2L2
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rHN7aZgfz
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgXQ2OLuMY
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBOeIBxKPB
"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!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEQYFdJylX
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDbn9FlOac
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOTR4dAG0j
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJHxv9LxgY
"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!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCe836mgT3
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJoT0OD1QA
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!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71i8tGlNHv
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKp5bing8c2
Flowey laughed again. Jake lunged at the flower, but it dove beneath the dirt and was gone in seconds.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUrulDOK3w
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUHN3A5qX3
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7D7Lfklle3
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOc8kpt05Xh
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDY91vgSENF
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTIEpDuIOn
"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."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hLk04MwDY
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUHG4KtdwG
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnp6RSDc3W
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVGfLPow4y
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyuqBdJmUJ