The world is aquiver. Blurring at the edges.

The endless abyss of blinding Ozone shone in front of you, as you stood at the very edge of the CORE. You would always find solace from turmoil within the corridors and railings that connected miscellaneous chambers and laboratories. Cyan and red hues transcended from circuiting lights to cast your shadow helplessly on the floor.

You stood still, your head low, hearing the small buzzes of machinery that cooled down the CORE within the Underground. But you weren't alone. Next to you stood a tall and slender figure of your dear companion who you came to work with for so many years - Doctor ██ ████.

"(Y/n)." - he spoke calmly "Isn't it fascinating."

The CORE is the most industrial and modern region of the Underground that you and Dr. ████ endeavor on for years. Lavish decoration of multicolored tubes blinked on and off as they serve as wall ornaments as well as embellishments.

"After so many years of trying to harvest the most efficient energy for the underground - we finally did it." - ████ sighed with satisfaction, admiring the newly built facility that he... no, he and you built. "We created the CORE of the underground."

"We did." - you murmured cooly, slowly turning to face him. ████'s bony face held a genuine smile of pride and accomplishment, as it was evident with his composed tone that he spoke towards you. He couldn't deny the fact that he was simply enjoying the silent sensation of solitude with you next to him.

"We went through many trials and error, my dear. But we opened up so many new revelations that no man or monster has set foot on."

"Isn't It correct."

"At last, we may start working on understanding the fundamental phenomenon of multiverses..." - he turned to face you, placing his hands on both of your shoulders to finally make you look in his eyes. His eyes that showed adoration only to you. "(Y/n), just imagine - millions of alternative universes and timelines! And perhaps... we may just find the perfect world where humans and monsters live together in harmony."

But you, instead, stayed silent. "What do you think, dear?"

"████, I'm afraid."

His cheerful smile dropped slightly, seeing as your own smile was fainting away. He knew of your anguish and the storms that ravished your soul when you were lost in thoughts for a long time - either way, he couldn't stand leaving you alone in such troublesome times "With your kind being on a brink of declaring a war against us - I cannot blame you for your concern. But rest assured, we'll fix everything."

"Heh... I surely hope so." - no matter how much you contained yourself, a sheepish laugh escaped your lips, arousing a rosy blush on your cheeks. Of course, he would care so much. The Doctor's eyes would only yarn for your smile to look at.

"Everything will be alright, (Y/n)." - with that being said, he stepped closer to envelop you in an embrace, caressing your shoulder in a supportive manner. Despite his higher stature, You placed your chin on top of ████'s bony shoulders, your eyes glaring at the white crevasse behind him. It was Ozone, a byproduct of electrical power, as it was omnipresent below the floor level of the newly built CORE.

"████..." - you finally said, pulling away from his hug for the last time "Thank you."

Taking a vigorous grip on Dr. ████'s lab coat, your benevolent and delicate expression of peace turned into a vengeful one as you shoved the scientist of the edge of the CORE. With his echoing scream leaving a shrinking scar in your heart, You watched as his figure got devoured by the gluttonous ozone that shredded his existence into pieces.

You stared off into the distance until your head sunk low with pain.

*You didn't even dare to say goodbye.

_________________________________

*R I N G

The deafening sound of school bell resonated, signaling the crowd of various monsters to turn into their respective classes, as each skedaddled into their corresponding seats. At last, the school hallway was emptied and silent, free from any mumbling noise of teenagers' chattering. It was the most relaxing moment for you.

'(Y/n)(L/n), the school pedagogue and counselor' - was written on the door of your office as you were folding some paperwork on your desk. There was a dazzling yellow flower in a pot beside your school computer. The day was hazy yet brighter than usual, emitting a luminous sunlight from the windows of your office. But alas, as much as you wanted to take a walk outside or skip work - you wouldn't allow yourself to be apathetic.

"work hard - work happy." - you would say.

*It's a beautiful day outside.

A sudden knock emitted from the outside of your office door, pulling you out of your fuzzy daze. "Yes, come in!"

Once the door was open, a recognizable figure of your co-worker was revealed - it was Ms. Alphys, in her own awkward demeanor as she hesitantly entered your office, her expression is visible with worry and tension. "H-hey, um, (Y/n)?"

"What can I help you with, Alphys?" - you chimed, signaling for her to enter your office with fortitude. Alphys was your co-worker and friend who worked as a science teacher in this school. She is known to be an awkward gal, yet you highly respect her attentiveness and intelligence.

"Y-you see, (Y/n)... Um," - Alphys took a step forward fiddling with her hands for a moment "I sent Susie and Kris into the storage room to fetch some chalk, but-"

"Did Susie cause troubles again?" - you cut her off immediately once you heard the familiar name.

"Well, uh, not exactly" - once more, Alphys stumbled upon her own word "The problem is..."

"Did they get into a fight?!"

"N-no no, it's just..."

"Did Susie use Kris as a Dodgeball as she did once with monster-kid?!"

"NO!" - The Teacher's eyes were now wide with dread just by imagining this type of scenario "At least I hope not..."

"Well, when the matter comes to this student - there's always a problem ought to happen. What is it?"

"I've sent them about an hour ago a-and they still haven't returned."

"An hour? In the storage room?"

"Y-yes, I sent Kris with Susie just to make sure that she won't skip class or something... but now that I think about it, I-I'm afraid I only made it worse."

You couldn't condemn Ms. Alphys for her fear and apprehension about Susie. She's certainly an interesting character who has seen the light of your office perhaps way too many times. But on the contrary to Kris - they're a clammed up child. They're always silent and wouldn't display much of a reaction if it's unneeded. Since you've known Kris long ago from the lovable Dreemurr family - you'd trust them to be a behaved child. Either way, an old instinct of yours made you worry about Kris as an older sibling would.

"I sure hope nothing happened. But I will go and check the closet to identify the issue."

"You think... S-Susie might've hurt Kris?" - Whispered Alphys as she saw your own behavior stern upon thinking of the female purple monster "Oh no, what if she did?!"

"I never said that! Listen, I know Susie can be... a troublesome student, but we can't immediately jump into conclusion. There might be a reason for their disappearance. I'll check the closet very quickly, and if they're not there, I'll search for them around the school."

Alphys sighed in somewhat of a reassurance as she trusted your further actions to resolve Susie's behavior "A-alright, (Y/n). Thank you for your time, really. I'll trust on this one."

You smiled back at Alphys for her kind words, but her second of solitude was cut short as she remembered about her lessons - "Oh I forgot about my class, I've got to run, or else they might be playing on my class computer again. B-bye!"

With that being said, Alphys ran off.

"Welp. I guess it's just me now - Into the closet I go."

You truly hoped Kris or Susie didn't get into any trouble. Another trip into your office could be the last one for Susie If things went sour. But you didn't like to think of that, no matter how strict you could be with her - you were determined to rehabilitate that delinquent.

Once you arrived to the storage room at the end of the hallway - you proceeded to open the door, but to no avail. The door was locked. You tried once more, but it didn't even budge

"Huh, that's weird." - This time you tried to knock hoping that someone will hear you from the other side. "Kris, Susie - you two there? Would you open the door, please?"

*But nobody came.

A chilling air of confusion and ran came past you. Something was wrong. Even when you looked on the floor to see if there was any light coming from beneath the door - there was none. As if no one was there.

You tried to force the door open, one more time, wondering if you violently shake - it will magically open.

*Click.

"Huh?" - lo and behold, the door was unlocked. It wasn't your force that tore the lock open nor was it someone from the inside. The storage room was remarkably pitch black and empty. "Kris? Susie? Is that you?"

You mindlessly walked in, thinking it was someone's try to play a prank. "I hope none of you decided to play a game all of a sudden - otherwise I would-"

The door was violently shut behind you, leaving you in the dark. "Ah!"

____________

Cover art by - le me.

I rose from the dead once I heard the rising call of DeltaRune calling for me to get back into the fandom of UNDERTALE

Warning: this cringy story is still under heavy construction and editing since DeltaRune is a demo and there's only ch.1 as I write this. Some info might be raw and disagreeing with canon facts of the game. Idk

Another warning: mild spoilers to Deltarune