On The Surface | An OCTale Sequel

41) Epilogue

A month after the events of On the Surface...

I awake. An odd feeling of deja vu over-runs me as I observe the blank void I stand in. I feel lost, however at the same time, deep in my soul, I know exactly where I am. Perhaps it's due to my glitched nature that I feel this way. I wish Impact were here right now. He'd know what do to.

Alas, I'm left to go it alone again. I decide to take steps in what seems like forward - the scape I'm in is quite disorientating, as there seems to be no walls, floor, or ceiling, but it still feels like I'm inside of a room. I can hear the faint sounds of a heartbeat, and around me, I see faint circles emanating with a power I can't describle.

Eventually, after a few minutes, or however long that is in real time, I see a purple figure on the horison. I hear...faint sobbing.

Somebody's here with me!, I smile, and break into a run. After another minute, I reach them. Looking up, I observe the person I was chasing after.

It's me.

But somehow...she seems a little different from me. Crying on the floor is a goat of a similar age to me, who has black hair longer than mine, and wears a grey striped turtleneck. She wears glasses, too.

"Hello? Can you tell me where I am?" I ask, feeling uneasy around all of the pulsating orbs. My doppelganger turns to look at me, and seems to recognise me.

"You're OCTale me...I remember you. It was about a month ago...although, I guess you don't recognise me in this form." She laughs half-heartedly. I squint at her, and suddenly realise. Her voice...!

"The Puppet-Master?! You...how are you here?" I yell in shock.

"How are YOU here? Get out of my head!"  She yells back, equally shocked. We both laugh awkwardly, and I sit down next to her, not wanting to fight.

"Where are we right now?" I ask, looking up at the faint circles around us. I notice that this 'void' is tinted a slight red.

"This is the outer reaches of your world, OCTale, or 'the void', if you will. From here, you can watch and listen in solitude. I came back here after I got my happy ending. I wanted to visit you one more time." She explains, and I smile.

"So you did take Tyler's words to heart! How is life On the Surface for you, Puppet-Master?" I ask, and she giggles at the reference to my world.

"It's Astell now. And it's...fun. I never thought the day would come where we were freed. My AU is a lot different from the original." She explains, and I nod.

"Well, it was nice of you to visit, OCTwist me. But I think it's time I wake up." I giggle, and she nods.

"Yeah! Thank you, really...for everything. I came to this world to destroy you, but in the end, I learnt...how to love. But you're right. I've got my happy ending to protect." Astell says cheerily, before standing up. I feel my vision start to go blurry, but it's stopped as somebody places a hand on my shoulder.

My vision...starts returning back to normal. Usually it's always been a little fuzzy, but...my eyesight is fixed. What...?

I watch as I'm surrounded in an orange light, my soul glowing. It glitches slightly, but eventually...the glitches fade. As the light fades, I feel...different.

And as the hand on my shoulder receds, I hear a voice in my head, a voice I've never heard before.

"I'm so proud of you, Guidea. And now...I've fixed the 'glitch' in your 'code'.   You now exist as your own entity, seperate from the code of your family. You are now... Guidea Summers."

I smile, and look down at my unglitched self. My imitation of Asriel's sweater has now become a grey turtleneck, alongside a brown skirt and boots. My hair is also no longer purple, instead a natural blonde.

"Wait...but if I'm my own entity now, does that mean...?" I murmur, before the voice interrupts.

"Don't worry, they will still see you as family, even if you're technically not related anymore."

"Oh! That's great, thank you so much! This really means a lot to me, uh, whoever you are!"

"It's...Verbena. Now, time for you to go back to sleep, Guidea."

"Yeah...I'm so...tired..." I yawn, my vision going blurry as I drift further off to sleep, this mysterious "Verbena" person starting to cradle me in her arms.

And...she starts to sing.

"Let's go in the garden,
You'll find something waiting,
Right there where you left it,
Lying upside down.

When you finally find it,
You'll see how it's faded,
The underside is lighter,
When you turn it around.

Everything stays, right where you left it
Everything stays, but it still changes
Ever so slightly,
Daily and nightly,
In little ways,
Where everything stays..."

--- THE END ---