[CONTINUE] ROUND 6 - INTRO

[foundationmods]

[After so long a trip, you're all finally here. Taken through a hidden passage inside of the very mountain itself, you find yourself standing in front of a field of flowers, growing well due to the open roof above it. If you look up, you can just make out the shimmering colors off of the barrier - looking almost like the shine off of a soap bubble.

Try not to trample on the flowers as you approach the open, purple gate, where it looks as if someone is waiting for all of you just inside. And remember to wear your masks, now that you're here!

...Still, the sight of the yellow flowers waving in the wind....such a cheery sight fills you with determination for what's to come.

Welcome to the Underground.

You have the -

wait.

Haven't you done this before? No, you have. There was the murder, the trial, the ending and the Darkness -

Any abilities or powers you might have had are now totally off, as if they were never there.

...Someone who was dead is alive again. And someone else....

...

What was his name? You've forgotten it.]

Comments

[ugly_split_ends]

...Are you kidding? Or is this some false-humility?

[dereban]

I'm not joking.

I mean - I expected Atsushi, Yoshi and Karen, but everyone else was a bit of a wild card...

[ugly_split_ends]

Eeeengh... I guess it's not really a "ha ha" style of joke, anyway.

Don't you all know each other?? I thought that was part of the whole situation.

[dereban]

I know the others, but I don't really know them - I haven't really spoken to the ones on the Winchester mission much prior to this, and I've only spoken to some of the others on occasion outside of those three.

[ugly_split_ends]

... Fair enough, I guess. There's plenty of people I worked with who can't stand me, after all.

[She bites her knuckles, considering...]

Maybe it's also how it got talked up. T-Toriel wouldn't shut up about "Oh no, how could you murder a child?"

Honestly, it made me want to puke. I seriously thought I might.

[dereban]

Jeez.

I'm not that young... not that I know what they would consider as a 'child' down here. I don't like being talked about like I'm a child, though. And more than that, the way you say it makes it seem like they were... presumptuous. And that pisses me off.

[ugly_split_ends]

Y-Yeah, really... there's people a lot younger than you here. And they practically forced us to do it.

[She gives a conspiratorial little glance before ducking her head and whispering.]

W-We're gonna find out they're in on it. Maybe not every single one, but d-definitely the Queen Goat.

[dereban]

Out of our group, I think Nanaka's technically the youngest out of us...

... But you think Toriel is involved? I honestly think it's the opposite. I mean - she did give me that sad look when I said I wanted to come back to visit...

I don't think she'd want to destroy the world, and it doesn't look like she'd even have the power to do a timeloop like this. She showed us her SOUL already.

[ugly_split_ends]

...Not the Bunny?

I w-wouldn't put it past her. She's manipulative. And calculating. O-Obviously it's all a front. It wouldn't even qualify as a plot twist if this were a novel and she turned out to be the bad guy.

...Wait, what? Her SOUL?

[dereban]

Yoshi's young, but he's not that young - unless you're counting his birthday...? He's a leap year baby, after all.

Yeah. When we were asking about SOULs in the last loop, she showed us her own.

[ugly_split_ends]

I think I missed it. Was I Genocider Shou at the time...? [She grumbles.]

You're not the first person to say it couldn't be her, though. I just... think we should keep an open mind. S-Sometimes it's who you least expect.

[dereban]

I think so.

'Expect the unexpected' is definitely something, but... I also think we shouldn't make assumptions without proof. That's how we'll mess up.

[ugly_split_ends]

...Short of outright murdering people and seeing how that changes each "week," I'm not sure we can "get" proof.

[dereban]

Murder isn't the only way to obtain information.

Watching people and how they react is important. There's also places we haven't explored yet.

[ugly_split_ends]

I-I didn't say it was the "only" way! Don't put words in my mouth.

[dereban]

Then don't imply it.

[ugly_split_ends]

F-Fine... I'll just think it.

[dereban]

I don't know if that's any better. . .

[ugly_split_ends]

W-What... I'm not allowed to think things? Are my thoughts bothering anyone?

[dereban]

I'm not saying that.

But it's not as if it doesn't bug me, either. Especially if I'm aware of it.

[ugly_split_ends]

[There's a long pause.]

...We'll get proof. But, we need to be willing to do whatever it takes to get it. E-Especially if the alternative is being 'erased' and letting the world end.

[dereban]

'Whatever it takes' isn't something that I can agree with. I have my own morals to uphold and if I start breaking those simply because there's a "worse" option - because it'd be supposedly better to take the option that is simply 'less terrible' when both are bad...

I'd rather create my own, third option.

[ugly_split_ends]

You're talking so vaguely I don't even know what you're really saying at this point.

[dereban]

Does it really not make any sense?

Using the phrase 'whatever it takes' is dangerous. Taking it as it is: it's a turn of phrase that basically means that someone is willing to do anything in order to achieve their goals, disregarding any sort of morality.

Let me give an example. Let's say you have two goblets of wine. You know what's in both of them, and you're forced to drink one. They both have poison, but very different types. One will burn you, the other will erase your existence. Most people would choose the former over the latter because that's supposedly the "less terrible option", morally. But that's just a hypothetical, anyway.

The real picture is this: I refuse to choose any sort of option that will hurt myself or others I care about if it's presented to me if it's "whatever it takes to complete the mission and not get everyone erased"... if that makes sense.

[ugly_split_ends]

...Morality doesn't mean much when literally the entire world could end. No one will be around to pat you on the back and say "At least you kept your virtue."

I'm not saying it should be the first option. Or even the second. But I refuse to just give up.