Hey, guys! Sorry about the lack of updates, but here it is!  The next few chapters are going to be a little slower than the others probably because of my huge plot twist coming up that's only going to make the story EPIC. Plus the ending is going to be amazing! Anyway, I'll try to keep this up and not have you guys wait so long anymore. Enjoy!

"I find it hard to believe that you defeated Mettaton. When I used that spin attack on him, it did nothing!" Sonic exclaimed.

Lily nodded and Shadow huffed. "Undyne believed me! She was excited that I was able to humiliate that robot again! You two have no idea how satisfying it feels!"

Sonic sighed and shook his head. What was up with Shadow these days? It felt like he was just getting worse. They should almost be at the end, so it couldn't be that bad. They had been warned of the Core by the locals. They also heard that Mettaton was actually really popular. So, they did still have quite a ways to go before they reached King Asgore's castle. A hotel was in sight, so maybe they could stop and rest there. Well, after saving at the save point.

Shadow continued to ramble about his greatness and annoyed Lily to death when they saw a familiar face. Lily lit up. Sonic smiled and waved. Shadow's ears pricked and his eyes were filled with terror almost. Sans.

"Well, well, well... Look at who's come...," Sans said as he looked Shadow in the eye. Shadow took a few steps back and tried to act casual.

"Hi, Sans! Long time, no see!" Lily chirped.

Sonic laughed at the quote. "Not the first and surely not the last time I'll hear that line!" Memories of Sonic Heroes came rushing back.

Sans leaned against the hotel wall. "Say, I'm on break right now. If you don't mind, I'll treat ya to dinner. I got something to speak with the three of you about. Don't worry. I'm buying," he said.

Lily had shimmering eyes and her stomach growled. Aside from the fact that she was starving, she first waited for Sonic and Shadow to answer. Shadow, of course, was once again avoiding Sans by any means necessary. Sonic was already nodding rapidly. "You bet I wanna eat something! Shadow squandered all of our money!"

Shadow put his hands up in his defense. "Hey! I had to give something to Muffet! We're besties now! Well, actually, my bestie is still Undyne, but I can have two besties, right?" he asked.

"I'm not surprised by your friend list...," Sans stated as he stared at Shadow in particular. His intensity was matched by no other and Shadow's skin began to crawl.

Sonic looked to Shadow. His face was fearful of what would happen. It was almost as if he was unsure of what to believe. His dark friend was mumbling something under his breath. "My past killer is asking me on a dinner date? What's wrong with this...? Will he kill me in there? No. Surely not in front of my "friends"...," he mumbled. Sonic shivered. Shadow's eyes were red once more...

"Of course, take us in!" Lily chirped.

A hop, skip, and a shortcut later, the four of them were inside and sitting at a table. Steaks in the shape of Mettaton's face were on the plates. Lily was stuffing the face steak down her throat because she hadn't eaten in so long. Sonic was waiting vainly for a chili dog to appear on his plate, but it never came. He finally just gave in and started biting away at his steak. Shadow just sat. The neverending staring contest was occurring. Nobody knew who was going to break first. The possessed maniac or the skeleton. Shadow inhaled deeply and broke the tension building up. "So, what is it that you wanted to say to me, funny man?" Shadow asked.

Despite how familiar the insult sounded, Sans shrugged it off. He knew Shadow was being possessed by now. "I wanted to tell you a little story. The same one I told a friend a long time ago. I'm sure you'll quite enjoy this actually, Chara," Sans stated.

Every muscle froze in Shadow and he stared at the tablecloth. Lily looked up, confused. "His name is Shadow. Not Chara!" she claimed.

I very well am Chara...

Sonic read Shadow's face. That was exactly what it said. "Shads, what's he talking about...?" he asked.

"DON'T CALL ME SHADS, YOU BLUE PIPSQUEAK!!" Shadow yelled towards Sonic. He froze again and drew his eyes further down until they were on the floor. Sonic sat, wide-eyed.

"Okay, okay. Don't start killing each other. It'll only take a moment. I just want you to consider something Chara, so listen up. You know how I'm a sentry in Snowdin Forest, correct?" All three hedgehogs nod. "Good. Because one day, I was just hanging 'round outside my station. Naturally, I got bored standing there, so I started exploring the area. After a few minutes of looking around, I found a door. It was a huge door, perfect for telling knock-knock jokes. So, that's what I did. Hour after hour after hour."

"Of course...," Shadow stated with a roll of his eyes.

"However, one day, someone replied. 'Who's there'?"

Shadow sat up straight. His ears suddenly pricked. Yet another wave of recognition flashed through his red eyes and the owner of the voice of the entering character rested at the tip of her tongue. Goat mom? Toriel? "M-Mo- Toriel?"

Sans noticed the sudden change in facial expression, noted the mistake in words, and continued. "Of course, I was as surprised as he is," Sans stated as he pointed to Shadow who flattened his ears at being called out for his mistake. "Naturally, I answered her knock."

"Dishes."

"Dishes who?"

"Dishes a very, very, very bad knock-knock joke."

Sonic snickered and Lily rolled her eyes with a grin. Sans waited for Sonic to finish snickering and was once again back on subject. The tension neither eased or intensified. It still hung in the air. "Well, she laughed a lot harder than Sonic. Almost as if she hadn't heard a joke in a hundred years. But, back then, it was true that she didn't have anyone to ease her pain and loneliness. I'm sure all of you would go crazy too if you had to sit alone for years, decades, or centuries even... So, I came back. Again and again with jokes up my sleeves. She'd laugh and laugh. One day, I heard her knock and so I had to answer."

"Knock knock!"

"Who's there?"

"Old lady."

"Old lady who?"

"I didn't know you could yodel!"

Sonic had yet another fit of snickering with Lily now joining him. Shadow was in deep thought. Jokes, huh? She did have quite the sense of humor. But it wasn't the jokes he cared about. "What is the point of this? So you know Toriel. What does this have to do with us?"

"There was one day where I showed up at the door. I knocked and told her a joke, but she didn't laugh. Knowing something was wrong, I asked. If there was something in history I could change... it would be asking what was wrong because what she said...," Sans said with his voice drifting away. Sonic and Lily leaned in. Shadow gripped the tablecloth. Sans saw the both of them were paying attention and he let his eyes go black. Lily jerked back by this sudden change. Sonic flinched, but his will to find out wasn't at all damaged. Sans made sure his eyes burned directly into Shadow's eyes. "Her words saved your ungrateful little life, Shadow."

...

"Can I ask you to promise me something...? Please..."

"Uh... I'm not very good with promises. Depends on what you're asking of me."

"If anyone with a soul comes through this door... I want you to promise me that you'll protect them... Because if they die... I'll never forgive myself. Please..."

...

"If it weren't for that promise I made..., you'd all have been dead where you stood. So here's the moral of all of this, Shadow. You must understand the consequences of failing to uphold your promise... If you don't... I may need to go into the bad time department," Sans explained.

Shadow looked up. His eyes had returned to normal. He nods slowly. "I don't want to hurt anybody, but it's not like this is easy... She comes in my sleep and takes control. Taking back control is what's hard. But... I'll try as hard as I can... because I can't afford to fail this battle... against myself."

Sans nods and stands up. "Welp, that was a really long break. I should really be going before Papyrus gets mad again. But hey, I'm still rootin' for you guys." He then glances towards Shadow. "Even you, believe it or not. Because I made a promise... And you're our only hope..."

They watched Sans walk away and vanish into thin air. After a moment's silence, Sonic looked over at Lily's steak. "So..., are you going to eat that?"

"That's seriously what you're thinking about?!"

Walking out of the restaurant, Shadow stared at the save point next to the fountain shaped like Mettaton. It spewed water onto the floor and it sank through the carpet. He wondered where the water went once it went through the carpet and deep into the cracks of the Underground. Would it rain down onto the statue they saw back in Waterfall? That was a crazy thought! He ignored the save point. Lily and Sonic touched it. Shadow reluctantly followed.

Outside, they saw the Core ahead of them. It would be one of those moments where Alphys would call and explain. However, Alphys got rid of their phone number. Something else happened. Papyrus and Undyne called instead. Shadow got a sudden burst of hope as he answered the phone.

"Hey, Shadow! Alphys called me earlier and told me that you were just at the Core! That's totally rad! You're really close now to Asgore's castle!" Undyne yelled into the speaker.

"Asgore's castle...," Lily stated as she gazed into the Core. Two dark, shady figures snuck into the Core just ahead of them. Only Lily noticed, but she decided not to make a big deal out of it. They wouldn't play a major part in the story anyway.

Sonic greeted Undyne and was tragically shot down by Undyne's spear. Not an actual spear, but her spear-like words towards him. Apparently, the only one Undyne was rooting for was Shadow... She began to quickly explain. "Alright, once you get inside the Core, there should be this elevator. Once you get there, use the elevator to get to the top and you should reach Asgore's Castle. Also, if you hurt our king, YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN FOR IT! Our cell signal disappears as soon as you enter, so this is the last I'll hear from you unless if you're successful," Undyne explained. Her voice wavered slightly.

Shadow felt bad. He knew the risks. He knew what needed to be done. "Undyne, if I do come back... Do you wanna have another crazy cooking session...?" he asked trying to raise her hopes.

"Y-Yeah... Sure... Not like... anything's wrong... We'll become the best cooks in the universe with Papyrus by our side!" she proclaimed. It was obvious that she didn't believe in her enthusiasm.

"UNDYNE! COME ON! THE STOVE IS READY AND BLAZING!" Papyrus yelled in the background. A random explosion went off and footsteps were heard. "AH!!! THAT STUPID MUTT HAS RAIDED THE SINK AGAIN!!!"

"I'll be there in a minute, Papyrus!" Undyne yelled. She returned to Shadow. "Listen, I'm not good at goodbyes... Just... Free everyone. Okay?"

"Okay..."

"Promise, Shads?"

"I... I promise!"

"And promise too that you won't die! Or I'll pummel you!"

"I'll keep that in mind."

Click...

Shadow lowered the phone slowly and stared up at the Core. So, that was the last time he'd ever hear Undyne's voice again? His hand fiddled with the phone. He had to be strong and he couldn't let Chara take over again. Clearing his mind, he walked slowly into the Core. Sonic and Lily followed obediently. They knew how hard it was to say goodbye to a friend.

Thinking the journey was almost over, Shadow approached the elevator, placed his hand on it, and waited. It didn't open. With a quick glance towards a security camera, he figured out that Alphys was watching intently on what he'd do. "Hey, Alphys... I know you have control over the entire Core! Give the stupid elevator power!"

"Shadow, why are you yelling at Alphys? She's not even here!" Sonic exclaimed. He was corrected with a point towards the camera.

"Alphys, don't suppose you want me to damage the Core or something? I've heard several rumors about this place... That the Core supplies power to the Underground, that it is incredibly unstable unless if kept cool by those blocks of ice the ice wolf throws into the water, and even that there was another scientist who fell into this place and became forgotten by everyone. Lost in the code. I can destroy this place. I can throw Sonic into the Core and make him suffer the same fate that W.D. Gaster did! So, unless if you want to regret everything, you'll supply power to the elevator...," Shadow threatened. Sonic knew he was bluffing, but he couldn't help but wonder. How serious was he? How did he obtain all of that information?

Lights to the elevator flicked on and it was immediately obvious that Alphys was indeed listening. Shadow grinned from his success and hopped into the elevator.

"Hey, Lily? What do you think is going to happen to Shadow when we get close to the end?" Sonic questioned with an annoyed look in his eyes.

"I think... he'll explode?" Lily replied with uncertainty.

"No... I think it's going to be worse..."