Finn freezes, staring in shock at the spot where the skeleton had been just a moment before.
"Is... is he a ghost?"
No, the dummy replies immediately.
"But how would you know?" Finn asks, inclined to be skeptical.
Because I'm a ghost, Finn, the dummy answers patiently.
"Oh." Finn thinks about this for a moment. Suddenly, everything makes sense. "That's so cool!!"
Thanks. The dummy sounds pleased.
Finn decides not to worry about the weird magic skeleton. If he's going around telling people to hide and stay safe, then they're his biggest fan. They, obviously, can't follow his advice, having a murderer to defeat and no home to go hide in anyways, but they appreciate the gesture.
They exit the cave, passing the blue flower one last time, and replaying the haunting echoes of its voice in their mind as they make their way across the flower bridge.
I just wasn't ready for the responsibility.
They wonder who it heard that from, and what they were talking about.
The next cave, beyond the room with the bell, is long and narrow and as dark as the cave with the park bench. There's more blue flowers scattered around in here, but as the skeleton informed them, they're all silent. No murmurs, no whispers, no music, nothing. Finn can barely even hear the running water in this cave. There's a glowing plaque on the wall that reads "WISHING ROOM", but it doesn't feel like one. It feels like all the wishes made here involved pleas for mercy, and none of them were granted.
Case in point, Finn soon stumbles upon another pile of dust, this one next to a telescope, of all things, set up in the center of the path. They touch the dust, pressing the RESTORE button, then succumb to the temptation and walk over to examine the contraption as the dust swirls up and reforms. It puzzles them why there would be a telescope in the middle of an underground cavern, until they look up at the ceiling. The roof of the cavern is studded all over with glowing white gemstones of different shapes and sizes.
"These poor monsters..." Finn whispers, staring up at the shining lights. Sealed underground for hundreds of years, with no way of escape. They can't see the real stars, so they use telescopes to study rocks. Finn guesses this is also why the cave is called the "WISHING ROOM"; the monsters can't wish on shooting stars, so they make do with what they have.
Out of curiosity, Finn leans down and puts their eye up against the eyepiece.
They're shocked by what they find. Seen through the telescope, the ceiling legitimately looks like a starry sky. Cascades of silver stones flow across the galaxy of the dark rock, swirling into geometric nebulas and exploding in tiny bursts of white. Crumbs of turquoise and teal linger in the spaces between, sparkling like a spray of glitter caught on a midnight canvas. Crescent-shaped jewels of blue and white twinkle gently in the midst of an underground cosmos, closer and brighter than any city stars.
It's... it's beautiful.
Finn stands back up, feeling like an intruder in someone else's dreams, and turns their attention to the newly resurrected monster.
"Your SOUL is very wosh," says that newly resurrected monster matter-of-factly.
Finn looks quizzically at that newly resurrected monster, who somewhat resembles a fish tank with legs. They subconsciously reach up and touch their mask, which is still, happily, there.
They're beginning to think that newly resurrected monsters in this part of the Underground are just weird.
"Thanks," says Finn, not wanting to be rude. Then, because the creature just stands there and stares at them creepily, they continue along the length of the cave, turning into a bend leading up to a large, jagged hole in the cave wall.
This is... interesting, the dummy comments as Finn climbs through the hole and emerges onto a wide wooden deck, bordered by reeds sticking up from the dark water below. There's a rocky wall directly ahead of them, and attached to this wall are a series of glowing plaques, much like the one that names the WISHING ROOM. They're arranged so that they can be read in order as the reader continues down the path, and Finn gladly takes advantage of this, staying close to the wall as they traverse the deck.
"The War of Humans and Monsters," Finn reads out loud from the first one. They keep walking, moving at a slow pace, their eyes skimming over each plaque as they approach. "Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed that they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievably strong. It would take the SOUL of nearly every monster just to equal the power of a single human SOUL."
Finn pauses, confused. They don't understand. How can a soul be more powerful than another? Aren't they all just the same thing?
They continue down the deck, moving even slower, trying to understand.
"But humans have one weakness. Ironically, it is the strength of their SOUL. Its power allows it to persist outside of the human body, even after death. If a monster defeats a human, they can take its SOUL. A monster with a human SOUL... A horrible beast with unfathomable power."
Finn slows down even further at the next plaque, which says nothing but displays a horrific illustration of the most terrifying abomination Finn's nightmares could ever have come up with.
"Okay, what is this?" Finn asks, perplexed, moving on. The deck ends soon after the last plaque, but a part of the deck detaches as they step onto it and carries them carefully across the water. Finn is too distracted to pay much mind to it. "What do they mean by SOULs? And what..."
Don't you know? the dummy asks, surprised. It's one of the only things fallen humans seem to know right after they fall... Your SOUL is the very culmination of your being. It's basically like... your magic, the thing that powers you, defines you, and keeps you going. Humans and monsters have different kinds of SOULs, and human SOULs are a lot more powerful - more driven, let's say - which is why we need seven human SOULs to open the Barrier, we can't use monster SOULs, they're-
"Wait, what?!" Finn freezes in the act of stepping off of the detachable deck piece onto the path beyond.
Well, it's true. Your SOULs possess this thing called Determination that's very-
"THERE'S A WAY TO BREAK THE BARRIER?!"
Yes, the dummy replies, irritated at being interrupted twice in a row. Why do you think Papyrus was so intent on capturing fallen humans? The only way to get a human SOUL is to get a human.
Finn steps off the detachable deck piece. A very long length of deck stretches ahead of them, pierced in several spots by what look like long, thin, luminescent blue spears wedged firmly in the wood, but Finn is far too distracted to pay attention to anything like it right now. "How many does it need? Seven?"
Yes.
"How many... how many do you have?"
I don't know!! I've been shut up in the Ruins for a very long time, the dummy snaps. But if they've got the SOULs of all the humans who fell before - which I'm sure they do - then they must have about six.
Six. One more. One more SOUL, the Barrier would be broken, and Papyrus, Toriel, the dummy - they'd all be free.
They'd see the stars.
"They can take mine," Finn says immediately.
No, they can't!! It's not like a library book, Finn!! You can't just loan it out to whoever needs to use it!! In order for us to take your SOUL, you'd have to DIE, FINN!! the dummy yells in Finn's head. We'd have to KILL YOU!! That's what we did! We murdered each and every one of those innocent children so we could take their SOULs, and now we're living with the karma for our crimes! And Damnation take me if we're going to kill you too, destroying our angel to free our own filthy souls!
Finn falls silent, walking quietly down the deck, around the spears and the odd sections of broken wood. The dummy says nothing more, and they don't push it to.
They have a lot to think about.
YOU ARE READING
UnderHappened
FanfictionThe Undertale Genocide Route is happening, but a new card has joined the deck: Finn, a quiet kid with a love for stuffed animals who falls into the Underground soon after Frisk. At first, it doesn't seem like there's much Finn can do, until they dis...
