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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLDrrSDohe
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuz3AcOhDET
"Shh!"753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx28ECNp4EP
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5A2r9uBrd
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uv0ZYTZZg
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqnOkF5egB
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wDXZB1K6B
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREE1ToKE4R
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'.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclJ19fuOAG
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2WycDBaKa
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xSjPpFiaU
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxteWHSNe5
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHSjFEWJwW
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJlZKUMj6e
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRt3hQhoA3
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWupO5Rshj
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjoTRltKxK
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyi2E6DtmaM
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZKyDjYZu2
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhu1MPejfku
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VDjd93f8W
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJrufluH2M
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpe8mGqIydo
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiRj0fBnPI
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhb276VkATw
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhPvB2dcnX
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdilyeFCyL
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ194BklLGUJ
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujIxzDLjkX
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhVPJwBU0P
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJlln4bJoM
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRewEYYTzr
"There you are." Error!Sans said, "I've been looking for you, doggy."753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHieH3PO5J
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFhirXp7BK
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0OcSfRMWo
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8iWNzGOW2
"That's my name." Error!Sans said, grinning all the wider. "Don't wear it out. Oh, that's right; you can't talk."753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4vmyv1RSi
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHaPGMvrdjn
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMyqo8NPQ3Z
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGa57sEzJc
"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!"753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqYtURsfRG
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2owqY3UJ6I
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1QQnW3drb
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfuR01Vnak
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 ..."753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUQclf80yR
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoChWmq7q67
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1e3Mk2dS0
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOSTTahsXJ
"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?"753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsNF527msW
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBi8xjP2YBq
Jake barked loudly at Error!Sans, still struggling to free himself from the blue threads.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTt8SA4Jkzo
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZg2qbr476V
"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!"753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMxGK1tkLj
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vuOIb3JhB
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD494K9fhQe
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrtYE3H5bj
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxJMpeK2w2
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnJJGQuhoL
A hand touched Jake's side. Jake turned to see it was little Frisk, her small face a mask of determination.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcA3qH3wlK
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXYs84QSrL
"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'.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYGchhGurb
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdAud9ORYN
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4AjkvPva0
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfrw6p2WXL
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHY05osoQF
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1uQ5j3tF6
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?"753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaz41PZXGg
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2feq9be5X
Jake waited cautiously as Error!Sans looked around in confusion. After a few moments, he shook his skull and said, "I-I gotta go ..."753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqlxjZYe3Y
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQ7vP6CP8m
With that, Error!Sans was gone. Jake waited a few moments before deciding that he would likely not return for a little while.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIBGJJJOc2
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMlQGJnaUQ
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobPcTZdBTY
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49M9C31PJR
"I'm all right." She signed to him. "What happened? The black skeleton was shooting something at us, and then ... I can't remember."753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1kvJ86h7zF
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8s0tCzUGLQ
Jake considered his options for response for several moments before tilting his head forty-five degrees and displaying his 'puzzled' face.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUA5X78VjR
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1hgQ1pUhq
Frisk giggled and rubbed his head. "Silly doggy! Come on; we really shouldn't be here. Mom will get mad."753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzzMaJvmWU
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZs13JtgHDD
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUm5zZFtVn
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5ftyxlzca
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVP6UrLlIfa
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAtsKQ3XJQ
"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!"753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpOdgdy6oY
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwMi7CBBKC
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW19D5gl10P
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡii0FFsMok4
"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!"753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGt5rIUupaE
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7nTThQnLE
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!"753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Lvgk6UnPK
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSA1AGjwSHz
Flowey laughed again. Jake lunged at the flower, but it dove beneath the dirt and was gone in seconds.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGoRdcpgYu2
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAH1g6GcfJ
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMB5H6Fz0R
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWisTbpdNZ
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JKQWHhAD9
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwK4u4q4Cn
"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."753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UvrXZgM5E
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOmkzGHDsU
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwf4HwVsAEy
753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cDot8Kg6O
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.753Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGuhJI7wvS