Playershift

Chapter 2: Helping Dust

Player 2

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't expected this. Part of me had known things would get tense once Player figured out I was one of the players they encountered. So I told them everything and didn't hold anything back. They listened carefully as I told my story. When I finished, Player was quiet.

"It sounds like you were quite determined to get yourself here," Player finally said. "Odds are you won't go back without a fight. Am I right?"

I nodded. "You are."

With a sigh, they released me from the magic they used to keep me in place. "Very well. In that case, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, P2. Don't make me regret it."

"I won't," I promised. "I'm not here to cause chaos, Player."

"Well see about that." They crossed their arms. "Anyway, I've heard from Core Frisk that you'd like to know how to travel between wordlines."

I nodded. "I do. Sure, I could figure it out on my own. However, that would involve a lot of trial and error. Learning from you seemed more convenient."

"Fair enough. Tell you what, I'll show you the code I wrote for traveling through worldlines, along with a few things you may find useful. In return, you can owe me a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"You'll see when the time comes." With that, Player opened up a red screen. "Shall we begin?"

—

We spent some time going over different programs Player wrote, including their method of jumping through worldlines. "This is the program I used during my journey," they stated, giving me a copy of said program. "With it, you can open portals to other worldlines, negating the need for True Reset."

I frowned. "What if I wanted to choose a worldline to jump to?"

"Oh, that's easy." They showed me another program. "This program is loosely based on San's shortcuts. So you can travel to other worldlines as long as you know their FUN Value. It works... more or less."

"More or less?"

"It can be a bit buggy. I'm still working out the kinks."

Well, that didn't sound too bad. "Can I have a copy? I can always fix the bugs myself."

"Sure." Player gave me a copy of the program. "Now, before we part ways, let me give you some friendly advice. If you ever run into Error; be careful. He isn't fond of hackers like us."

"I'll keep that in mind," I assured. "Trust me, I'd rather stay off Error's radar for as long as I can."

They shrugged. "I can understand that. In any case, good luck on your journey. You may need it."

I chuckled. "You can say that again. Undertale's Multiverse is full of surprises." I smiled. "See you around, Player."

"Likewise, P2."

Player's copy disappeared, leaving me alone in the entrance area. Before I did anything else, I created a database of AUs I've been to. Then I added the worldline I was currently into it. After that, I wrote a program so each worldline I travel to would be added to the database. Once I was finished, I opened a portal and stepped through it.

—

Unsurprisingly, I found myself standing on the flowerbed in the Ruins. However, it wasn't much of an impression of this world. So I teleported to Snowdin. The Underground had a bleak atmosphere. The air smelled of dust. The town was empty.

"Okay, which AU is this?" I muttered as I walked around. "No one's around, so this must be a..."

I didn't get a chance to finish that sentence. Suddenly, I was flung into the air by blue magic. Then several sharpened purple bones pierced parts of my body. That was followed by a group of gaster blasters.