Remember: Spoilers for Undertale, my story, and R.I.P Lynn's are contained within this story.

If you'd rather not be spoiled in any of those three ways, please stop now and go read the other stories or play the game. (It's worth it!)

If you need another reminder/overview of either of our stories, please go back to chapter one or two to check them out.

Thanks again to R.I.P. Lynn for making this possible.

Now, time to check on everyone!

Epilogue: A Profitable Partnership

Doctor Alphys finished shutting down her personal console on her desk as she closed and locked her office room door.

After doing so, she maneuvered her way through the mostly dark lab, with all but one other office and the main lab still lit with the overhead lights. Knowing her superior's office was likely vacant, she made her way towards the main lab, through the hallway. Soon arriving, she entered the lab to find it mostly vacant; only one living creature remained within: Doctor Gaster.

He was typing some sort of report, or paper, or something at his personal computer as the QMA remained online yet unconnected to any specific timeline. The special device held a multicolored vortex in the center, which blurred together countless colors, shifting between different dominating colors as it continued running. That was what Gaster was likely working on, studying new timelines now that the doorway has been opened.

She took a few steps into the lab, clearing her throat to gain Gaster's attention as her reptilian eyes darted towards the clock on the wall. Just like the one on her console before she shut it down, the wall clock confirmed how late it really was. It was after eight in the evening.

Doctor Gaster turned around, tearing his gaze from the screen as he faced his assistant. He did not speak, prompting her to elaborate on why she'd interrupted him. "S-sorry Doctor Gaster. I w-was just letting you know that I'm going home." She informed him, motioning with her left hand to the clock on the wall.

After a quick moment, everything clicked with Gaster as he nodded, smiling, "✡ 💧📪 ✋ 💧🕆🏱🏱 💧 ✋ 💧❄ ❄ ✌👍😐 ❄✋💣 📬 👎 ✋ ❄ 👎 👍❄ ✌ 🏱 ✡💧📬 ✋🕯 💧 ✡ 🕆 💣 👎✌✡📬" (YES, I SUPPOSE I LOST TRACK OF TIME. GOOD NIGHT DOCTOR ALPHYS. I'LL SEE YOU ON MONDAY.)

Alphys smiled warmly at her superior, before nodding, turning around, and exiting the main lab. She made her way down the hall and through the Soul Scanner on her way out, logging herself out of the system as she returned home for the evening. Ever since that incident with the other timeline about a week and a half ago, he's been focusing large portions of his free lab time towards studying the Multiverse and whatever he'd received from the other version of himself.

The kind doctor shook her head and smiled, looking up at the beautiful night sky as she took a deep breath of fresh air. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of work. Now was the time to be thinking of the rest of her evening. She couldn't wait to get home.

After all, she and Undyne were planning an Anime Marathon tonight, and she wouldn't miss it for the world.

[Undertale OST – sans.]

Lynsie sat patiently on the barstool, watching Grillby absentmindedly as he cleaned yet another glass. The ambient lighting and idle chatter around her made the famous restaurant come to life in the early hours of the night. The stool beside her, normally reserved for her pun buddy, now sat empty, looking quite sad without its usual patron.

She was wearing a pretty casual outfit this evening, forgoing any dresses or skirts, and settling on a usual favorite combination. She wore her purple shirt with the delta rune on the front, with a pair of not-too-ripped jeans, allowing maximum comfort.

Before her, on the bar, was her usual order at Grillby's, mostly finished now save for the glass of milk she was in the mood for. Behind her, at the largest table in the pub, sat the bunch of dog Monsters, all enjoying yet another fun game of Poker together. Hehe, Poker…

That brought back the memory of Chara losing his entire wallet-full of Gold to the Dog Monsters of the other timeline. It was, and still is, quite humorous. It was pretty obvious that it would be the case that they were good. After all, they were quite skilled at poker and played it often enough here in this timeline, so it would only be logical that he'd not do well. And, that's despite the fact that Chara has a pretty poor poker face. Scary face? Yes. Creepy face? Yes. Angry face? Yes. But Poke Face? Not a chance.

Regardless of the Poker, though, she continued to sit alone, listening to the music that often appeared magically when she was in Grillby's. It was pretty simple, catchy, and reminded her of Sans. After another moment of silence, Grillby put down his glass and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. A few moments later…

Ding

Lynsie reached into her own pocket, pulling out her own phone, a new message appearing on screen. It was, without doubt, from Grillby. She quickly unlocked her phone to view the message.

[You're awfully quite tonight.]

She smiled, looking up at Grillby, who was looking back at her, "I'm fine Grillby, thanks." He raised a flaming eyebrow at her, silently asking her why she was here. She could easily read his expressions now, and it wasn't too hard to tell what he was wondering in this case. "Just waiting for a friend."

Now he looked even more curious, especially at the lack of information about said friend. Soon enough, she received another message.

[A friend? Are Sans and Papyrus going to be jealous of this 'friend'?]

At that, she began to laugh, shaking her head as she calmed herself down, "It's nothing like that, Grillby, and it's someone you don't know."

He nodded at that, still curious as to what she was doing here. He sent one more message before turning his attention back to the glass he was cleaning.

[I'll be here if you need me, Lynsie.]

She smiled gently, deciding to tease him a little, "Thanks, hot stuff. I appreciate it." A bit of blue snuck into his orange and yellow flames as he focused even more intently on cleaning the glass. She turned her attention to the side, looking around the place once more to see how everyone was doing. The dogs were still playing poker, the usual patrons were still drinking, laughing, and conversing, and Grillby continued cleaning, his blush having now faded into memory.

As she sat there in silence, it was only a few moments later that someone new announced their arrival.

"Is this seat taken, Princess?" The man asked her.

She smiled and shook her head, "Not at all, Mister Sower."

Jordan chuckled, taking a seat beside her in Sans' usual seat, "Please, call me Jordan, Mister may sound cool sometimes, but otherwise it makes me feel old."

"Then I insist that you call me Lynsie, Jordan. Princess may sound cool sometimes, but otherwise it makes me feel almost untouchable and overly regal." She responded back in a similar manner, making both of their smiles grow until they both laughed.

Grillby silently slid back into place, eyeing the newcomer curiously. Just as Lynsie had said, he'd never seen this man before in his life, and that's saying something, considering he'd met two lifetimes worth of people. He stood there silently for a moment, placing the glass down.

Getting the hint, Jordan turned his attention towards Grillby, before looking down at the provided menu for a few seconds. He quickly responded, "I'll just have an order of fries and… got any decaf coffee?"

Grillby nodded, before turning around to prepare Jordan's order of food. Lynsie shook her head, "Coffee? Really? At this hour?"

He shrugged in a manner not-too-different from Sans', "Hey, there's nothing wrong with a bit of liquid gold. And I DID order decaf, otherwise I wouldn't get any sleep tonight."

She shrugged back, "I guess, but still, coffee?"

"What can I say, it's a favorite of mine."

She shook her head as she reached for her own glass of milk, taking a sip of it before putting it back down. She could see the look in Jordan's eyes as he asked a silent question, "Listen here, teacher. If you can drink coffee at any hour, then I can drink milk at any hour. Plus, I'm royalty, I'm entitled to a few intricacies."

He held up his hands in surrender, "I wasn't going to say anything. Gotta keep your bones nice and strong for your boys, right?" He asked teasingly.

"Got it in one." She responded simply with a smile.

"Speaking of the boys, where are they? I would have thought they would have accompanied you here this evening?"

"I wanted a bit of time out alone tonight. Plus they might get a little jealous."

Jordan laughed aloud, "Jealous? Of me? I'm not going to try to take you away or anything."

"You should have seen them with Mettaton. Oh boy, were those some fun days…"

"Oh, I think I can understand that scenario. After all, it sounds like both of our Mettatons are quite similar."

"I don't disagree with you there. But yeah, just us two tonight. And, well, I guess Grillby and the rest of the bar as well, but that's besides the point."

"Yes." Jordan answered simply, as Grillby returned, placing his order on the bar in front of him, the hot steaming fries smelling absolutely mouth-watering. Jordan smiled genuinely at the famous fries as his mug of steaming black decaffeinated liquid gold was placed down next, with a bit of half-and-half and sugar placed nearby for him.

As he reached for the sugar and half-and-half, he grinned and nodded toward Grillby, "Thanks Grillby."

Grillby nodded, taking a few steps to the side to wait for any other orders. Far enough away to not be considered eavesdropping or in their space, but close enough to help if something were to happen.

Jordan took a sip of his coffee and had a few fries, before turning back to Lynsie, "So, I figured since we didn't have much time to talk earlier, that we'd meet up and perhaps talk now. After all, it seems you wished to say a few things, but refrained from doing so… so ask away."

Lynsie lightly nodded, thinking for a moment, "Your timeline… who's the Anomaly?"

"You may have to be a bit more specific, Lynn." He replied, before eating another fry.

"Here, it's quite obvious that I'm the Anomaly. I took Frisk's place in the timeline, and my influence changed everything." She explained, to which Jordan nodded, "In your timeline, it's less cut-and-dry. At some points, it sounds like Alex is the Anomaly, since he changed the timeline by falling into the Underground after Frisk. Yet at other points, it seems like that title would belong to you."

Jordan finished a few more fries before he took a sip of his coffee. He exhaled happily before answering, "We both are, but in different ways." He answered simply, to which Lynsie silently told him to continue, "If we use you as the definition of the Anomaly, then in comparison, I would be equivalent to you in the Anomaly State, and Alex would be equivalent to you elsewhere, where you changed things by your actions and presence, rather than raw power."

"I see. I'd also like to understand how you're here." She responded, motioning towards his chest, "Didn't you say your Soul isn't meant to leave the timeline?"

To this question, Jordan summoned his Soul forwards, letting off a soft, green glow as it was currently a solid green color. He stared at it for a moment, before looking back up at him, silently asking him what happened, "Ahh, you see, Creativity can only effect a single timeline… its own. So yeah, in the Void, where my Creative Soul was being forced through to another timeline, it was killing me. But, I discovered I can, in fact, enter another timeline. I just need to be cautious, for I lose all of my power while I'm outside of my own."

"I guess that makes sense, but nothing like that happened to me when I left my timeline and entered yours."

"Your Soul is unique, Lynsie. It works far differently than my own. Where mine can do a lot more specific things, in some cases, yours is more powerful, and not restricted to one timeline like mine is."

"That's pretty interesting."

Jordan nodded, taking a final sip of his coffee, before placing the provided mug down beside his empty plate. They might not have noticed it, but they'd spent well over an hour simply conversing with one another, easily losing track of time. He smiled and nodded towards Grillby, who walked over and took care of the plate and mug. "Thanks, Grillby." He then placed several Gold down onto the bar, leaving a rather generous tip as well, "The food was fantastic Grillby, thank you!" Grillby nodded gratefully and took the money as well, disappearing for another few moments.

Jordan then stood up, smiling at Lynsie, "It's been nice seeing you again, Lynsie, and under much better circumstances, this time…" Lynsie, too, stood up, smiling back. She extended her hand towards him, which he excepted, shaking hands with the princess.

"And it's been nice to meet you and talk as well, Jordan."

He motioned with his head and walked towards the exit, stepping outside and leaving her at the bar for a moment. Grillby came back out and noticed that he was gone and that she was now standing up. He raised an eyebrow at her, but Lynsie just smiled back, "See you later Grillby. Just put it on Sans' tab."

Grillby seemed to laugh at that, shaking his head as he took care of her empty glass of milk. With that taken care of, Lynsie stepped outside to meet up with Jordan, who was just leaning against the wall, looking up at the clear, night sky.

"It's a beautiful night, tonight, isn't it?" He asked quietly.

She nodded, "Yes, with a lot less light pollution it's a very beautiful sight on clear evenings like tonight."

"Indeed." He said, leaving the two of the standing in silence for a few moments. He then turned towards Lynsie, "It's been a pleasure, Lynsie, but I think it's time we both return home."

She sighed, nodding, "I understand. Thanks for coming to talk."

"No problem." He took a few steps towards the direction of Gaster's lab, "And Lynsie…" he turned back, "Keep an eye on old Gaster for us. He's quite ambitious, as is ours…" He ended, leaving the suggestion open-ended.

She smirked, "Of course, I've worked hard for this ending. There's no way I'm gonna let anything take this away."

"Atta girl." Jordan replied with a smirk of his own. "Send Sans and Papyrus my regards."

And with that, Jordan walked down the sidewalk, heading towards the lab. Lynsie watched as he got further and further away from her, before losing track of him entirely. After spending another moment or two in the cool, summer air, Lynsie turned in the opposite direction, staring towards her home up on the nearby mountain.

"Let's see, how do I shortcut again…?" She quietly mused to herself, focusing on the magic coursing through her Soul. "Ahh, there we go. Let's see, and a one, and a two, and a three!"

And with that, Lynsie vanished.

"✋ ❄ 💧❄✋ 📬📬📬 ✋❄ 💧 💣💧 ❄ ✌❄ ✋💧 ✡🏱 ❄ 💧✋💧 🕈✌💧 👍 👍❄📬📬📬" (INTERESTING... IT SEEMS THAT HIS HYPOTHESIS WAS CORRECT...)

Doctor Gaster spoke aloud to himself absentmindedly as he studied the results on his console. Or, rather, to himself AND himself.

"HAVE I EVER BEEN WRONG?"

Doctor Gaster chuckled as he turned around to face his alternate, who was also still wearing his lab coat. Every day now, after Alphys left the lab in the evening, he'd use the QMA to travel to the other timeline. The PureTale timeline, as it is referred to. Together, with his alternate, they'd conduct research into Souls and Soul Traits. Alone, they'd both spent large portions of time, energy, and resources into studying Determination and the unique trait to their timeline. In his case, Lynsie's Soul. In his alternate's Purity.

However, after Gaster got a good look at the trait samples he'd been given during their exchange, he had come up with a temporary proposal to work together on a project involving Soul Traits. After all, they were both quite interested in the subject. Together, in fact, they'd gotten more work done into the field of Souls in the last week than either had accomplished alone during either of their lifetimes.

"🕈 ✍ ✡ 💧📬" (WRONG? YES.) He said with a smirk, motioning over towards the data, "✋❄🕯💧 ✌👍❄🕆✌ ✡ ✈🕆✋❄ ✋ ❄ 💧❄✋ 📬 🏱🕆 ✋❄✡ ✌ 👎 ✌❄ 👎📪 👎 💧🏱✋❄ ❄ ✋ 👎✋ 👍 💧 ✌ 👎 🕆 ✋✈🕆 💧💧📪 ✌ ✈🕆✋❄ 💧✋💣✋ ✌ ❄ ✌ ❄ ❄ ✋ 💣✌ ✋👍✌ 🏱 🕈 ✞ 📬 ✡ ❄ ❄ ✋ ✈🕆 👍✋ 💧 👍 🕆 👎 🕯❄ 👌 🕆 ❄ ✌🏱✌ ❄📬" (IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE INTERESTING. PURITY AND HATRED, DESPITE THEIR DIFFERENCES AND UNIQUENESS, ARE QUITE SIMILAR TO ONE ANOTHER ON THEIR MAGICAL POWER LEVEL. YET THEIR FREQUENCIES COULDN'T BE FURTHER APART.)

His alternate went quiet for a moment, taking in this information as he got a closer look at the specific data points gathered and collected. After a moment, a smile broke on his face, "DOCTOR… I THINK WE JUST MADE A BREAKTHROUGH."

" 🕈 💧 ✍ ✋ 🕆 👎 💧❄✌ 👎 💧 💣 ❄ ✋💣🏱 ✋👍✌❄✋ 💧📪 👌🕆❄ ❄ ✋💧 😐 🕈 👎 ✌ ✋💧 🕯❄ 💣🕆👍 📬 ❄ ✌ ✡📬" (HOW SO? I UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS, BUT THIS KNOWLEDGE ALONE ISN'T MUCH. NOT REALLY.)

The other Gaster nodded, walking over to the console and pulling up another two data sets that he had previously recorded. He pointed to the set on the left, "OBSERVE, THE READINGS WE HAD RECORDED ON BRAVERY." Then, to the one on the right, "AND HERE, WE HAVE THE READINGS FOR FEAR." He typed in a few commands, compacting the data of the two graphs into a display similar to the one generated for the Purity-Hatred graph. "NOW, DOCTOR, WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU COMPARE THE TWO?"

He did as he was asked, looking over and comparing the two charts before he breathed out a breath in astonishment, " 🕆💧❄ ✋😐 🕈✋❄ ✌❄ 👎 ✌ 👎 🏱🕆 ✋❄✡📪 👌 ❄ ✌ ✌ 👎 👌 ✌✞ ✡ ✌✞ ✌ 📫✋👎 ❄✋👍✌ 🏱 🕈 ✞ 💧📪 ✡ ❄ 💣✌💧💧✋✞ ✡ 👎✋ ❄ 💣✌ ✋👍✌ ✈🕆 👍✋ 💧📬📬📬" (JUST LIKE WITH HATRED AND PURITY, BOTH FEAR AND BRAVERY HAVE NEAR-IDENTICAL POWER LEVELS, YET MASSIVELY DIFFERENT MAGICAL FREQUENCIES...)

He paused for a moment before realization dawned on him, while his alternate's smile grew. "🕈✌✋❄📪 ❄ 👎✋ ❄📬📬📬 ✋ ✞ ❄ 👎✏ ❄ 💣✌ ✋👍✌ ✈🕆 👍✋ 💧 ✌ ✋ ✞ ❄ 👎 ✋ 👌 ❄ 👍✌💧 💧✏" (WAIT, NOT DIFFERENT... INVERTED! THE MAGICAL FREQUENCIES ARE INVERTED IN BOTH CASES!)

The alternate Gaster smiled and nodded, "PRECISELY. AND IN THE CASE OF FEAR AND BRAVERY, THEY ARE OPPOSITES. NO OTHER DISCOVERED PAIR OF SOUL TRAITS, NO MATTER THE COMBINATION, HAVE READINGS LIKE THIS. THAT IS, EXCEPT FOR PURITY AND HATRED."

"❄ 📪 ❄ ✡📪 ❄ 📪 ✌ 🏱🏱 💧✋❄ ❄ ✌✋❄💧📬 ❄ ✌❄ 🕈✌💧 🕈 ✡ ✌ ✠ 💧 ✌💧✋ ✡ ❄ ✌❄ 👎📬 ✋💧 💧 🕆 🕈✌💧 💧✋💣✋ ✌ 🕆 ❄ 👌 ✌❄ ✋💧😐📬" (THEREFORE, THEY, TOO, ARE OPPOSITE TRAITS. THAT WAS WHY ALEX FELL SO EASILY TO HATRED. HIS SOUL WAS SIMILAR ENOUGH TO BE AT RISK.) Gaster continued.

"YES, BUT THERE'S EVEN MORE. THIS PROVES AN EARLIER HYPOTHESIS THAT I HAD FORGED. YOU SEE, IT WAS REASONED THAT FEAR AND BRAVERY WAS A UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCE. HOWEVER, WITH THIS, WE'VE PROVEN THAT NOT ONLY ARE THERE MORE 'INVERSE TRAITS', BUT THAT THERE ARE THOSE THAT WE HAVE NOT YET DISCOVERED."

"🕯✋ ✞ 💧 ❄ ✌✋❄💧🕯 💣💣✍ ✋ ❄ 💧❄✋ 📪 ✞ ✡ ✞ ✡ ✋ ❄ 💧❄✋ 📬" ('INVERSE TRAITS' HMM? INTERESTING, VERY VERY INTERESTING.) Gaster said, remaining silent for a moment as he scanned back over the data. After a moment, he hit the jackpot.

Gaster smirked to his alternate, pointing towards a few data points, " 😐 ✌ 👎 📬 💧 ❄ 💧 ✍ ❄ 💧 🕈 🏱 ✋ ❄💧 💣✌✋ ✌❄✋✞ ✡ 👍 💧❄✌ ❄ 👌 ❄🕈 ✋ ✞ 💧 💧📬 🕈 ✞ 📪 ❄ 💧 ❄ 🏱 ✋ ❄💧 ✞ 👎 🕯❄📬 🏱 ✌🏱💧📪 🕈✋❄ 🕆 💣✌ ✋👍📪 🕈 👍 🕆 👎 👍 ❄ ✌✋❄💧 ❄ ✋ ✞ 💧 ❄ 💣💧 ✞ 💧📪 💣🕆👍 ✋😐 ❄ 🕆💧 ✌ 🏱✌ ❄✋👍 ✠👍 ✌❄ ❄ 👍 ✌❄ ✌ 👎 👎✋💧👍 ✞ 🕈 💣 ❄💧📬" (LOOK HERE AND HERE. SEE THESE? THESE FEW POINTS REMAIN RELATIVELY CONSTANT BETWEEN INVERSES. HOWEVER, THESE OTHER POINTS OVER HER DON'T. PERHAPS, WITH ENOUGH MAGIC, WE COULD FORCE TRAITS TO INVERSE THEMSELVES, MUCH LIKE THE USE OF A PARTICLE EXCELLERATOR TO CREATE AND DISCOVER NEW ELEMENTS.)

"YOU'RE A GENIUS, DOCTOR. IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES, THE ADVANCES THAT COULD BE MADE WITH MORE SOUL TRAITS."

"✋ 👎 👎📬 ✌ ❄ 🕆 ❄ ✡ 👍 🕆 👎 👌 👎✌ 🕆💧📪 ❄ ✋💣🏱 ✋👍✌❄✋ 💧 ✌ 👎 ✌🏱🏱 ✋👍✌❄✋ 💧 ✌ 🏱 ✋👍 💧💧📬 🕈 💧 🕆 👎 🕈 💧❄✌ ❄✍" (INDEED. ALTHOUGH THEY COULD BE DANGEROUS, THE IMPLICATIONS AND APPLICATIONS ARE PRICELESS. WHERE SHOULD WE START?)

Clap, Clap, Clap.

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of clapping hands echoing throughout the main laboratory, originating from a few feet behind the two of them. On instinct, the two of them summoned forth their Gaster Blasters as they turned around in the blink of an eye, preparing to vaporize whatever enemy was standing behind them.

However, the individual seemed unimpressed by their display. They stood there, staring at the two of them with black, void filled eyes, which were narrowed at the two of them. Their black hair sat upon their pale white skin and they wore monochromatic stripped clothes, just as they, too, were monochromatic. The being's mouth was drawn down into a frown, yet they clapped an additional two times after making eye contact with them.

Gaster's alternate smiled, dispersing his blasters, "AHH, CORE FRISK. TO WHAT DO WE OWE THIS HONOR?" Hearing the use of the name, Gaster lowered his own blasters, yet continued to eye Core Frisk suspiciously.

After the clapping stopped, Core Frisk crossed his arms, continuing to frown at the two of them, yet seemed to be less hostile toward the RenewTale Gaster when compared to the relationship with the other one. Finally, after a moment, they spoke.

"I'm shocked, Doctor." They started sarcastically, "It's been less than two weeks since you nearly destroyed your timelines, and you've already returned to bad decision making."

The Gaster in question narrowed his eye sockets at Core Frisk, "SO THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE HERE FOR? AFTER SWEARING THAT YOU WOULD NEVER GET INVOLVED WITH HIS TIMELINE OUT OF FEAR OF LYNSIE'S POWER, YOU SHOW UP BECAUSE OF MY RESEARCH?"

Gaster tried to play peacemaker, "🕈 ✌📪 🕈 ✌ ❄ 📬 ✋🕯💣 💧🕆 ❄ ✋💧 ✋💧 ✌ 👌✋ 💣✋💧🕆 👎 💧❄✌ 👎✋ 📬 🕈 ✌❄ 💧 💣💧 ❄ 👌 ❄ 🏱 👌 💣📪 👍 ✋💧😐✍" (WHOA, WHOA THERE. I'M SURE THIS IS A BIG MISUNDERSTANDING. WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE PROBLEM, CORE FRISK?)

Core Frisk turned their attention towards him now, "Frisk." They said simply, "I'd prefer if you just called me Frisk." They said, before returning to the task at hand, "And I'm here, because you idiots are crossing into dangerous territory."

"STUDYING SOUL TRAITS?"

"No, actively seeking out Inverse Traits!" Core Frisk answered, "You've seen the destructive power of Fear and of Hatred. You really want to find more of them?"

"DESTRUCTIVE? YES. BUT,"

"But nothing!" They cut him off, "You've already put yourselves in danger by opening your timelines up to the multiverse, but this is another whole matter entirely."

That's when Gaster responded, "✡ 💧📪 ✋💧😐📪 👌🕆❄ ❄ ❄✋💣 ✋ 💧 ✌ 👎✌ 🕆💧📬 ✌ ✡ 🕆 💧❄ ✡ ✋ ❄ ❄ 🕆💧 ❄ ✌❄ ❄ ✋💧 🕯❄ ✌ 💧✋ ❄✋💣 ✋ 🕆❄ ❄ ❄ ✌❄ 👎 💧 🕯❄ ✌✞ ✌ ✡ ❄ 💧 ✋ ✞ 💧 ❄ ✌✋❄💧 🕈 🕯 😐✋ ✍" (YES, FRISK, THE TIMELINES ARE DANGEROUS. ARE YOU HONESTLY GOING TO TELL US THAT THERE ISN'T A SINGLE TIMELINE OUT THERE THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANY OF THESE INVERSE TRAITS WE'RE LOOKING FOR?)

Core Frisk hesitated for a moment, "Well, yes, there are other timelines out there that have these, but it's under control. They will never be of any threat toward any of you."

"REALLY? JUST AS ERROR AND BETTY WERE NEVER A THREAT!"

"That's different and you know it!"

"YES, BECAUSE WE KNEW HOW TO COUNTER THEM! WE HAD INTEL WHICH TOLD US HOW TO DEFEAT THEM!" His alternate responded, pausing for a moment, giving Gaster a chance to continue.

And he did, continuing where his doppelganger left off. "🕈✋❄ 🕆❄ 😐 🕈 👎 📪 🕈 🕯 ✋ ✌ ❄📪 ❄ 💧✌ 📬 ❄ 🏱🕆 💧🕆✋❄ 😐 🕈 👎 ✋💧 ❄ ✡ 🕈✌✡ ❄ ❄ 🕆 ✡ 🏱 🏱✌ ✌ 👎 💣✌😐 🕆 💧 ✞ 💧 🏱 🏱✌ 👎📪 ✞ ✋ ✋❄ ✞ ✌🏱🏱 💧📬" (WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE, WE'RE IGNORANT, NOT SAFE. THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRULY PREPARE AND MAKE OURSELVES PREPARED, EVEN IF IT NEVER HAPPENS.)

"I…" Core Frisk began, before pausing to consider this. Finally, they continued, "I understand your worry, but the danger is too high. Betty could not be contained, and Fear and Hatred, themselves, aren't easily contained." They reasoned, "I'm just trying to stop this before it gets too far." He admitted, their frown becoming more sad than angry, "I'm trying to save you…"

The alternate Gaster took a deep breath to calm himself. "FRISK…" He said, gaining his attention, "I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO. WE'RE TRYING TO SAVE OTHERS AS WELL. WITH THIS KNOWLEDGE THAT WE'RE SEEKING, WE COULD SAVE LIVES AND MAKE GREAT LEAPS IN TECHNOLOGY. GIVE US A CHANCE, PLEASE?"

Core Frisk took a deep breath, before they wiped away a small tear and smiled, nodding, "I… I think I can give you guys a chance. I'm sorry, it's just… I'm trying to help…"

Gaster smiled at the young, alternate version of Frisk. From what he remembers, this version of Frisk shared a fate similar to his own, except they were cast into the Core and the Void, rather than falling into it. And, with Frisk's unique powers and circumstances, they'd been scattered through time and space on such a level that they're nearly omnipresent. It's… it's honestly quite a sad fate.

"❄ ✌ 😐 ✡ 🕆📪 ✋💧😐📬 🕈 🕯 👌 👍✌ 🕆 🕈✋❄ 🕆 🕈 😐📪 ✌ 👎 ✋ ✋❄ 😐💧 ✋😐 ✋❄ 🕈✋ ❄ 🕆❄ ✌ 👎📪 ✡ 🕆 👍 🕆 👎 ✌ 🕈✌✡💧 ❄ ✡ ❄ 🕈✌ 🕆💧📬" (THANK YOU, FRISK. WE'LL BE CAREFUL WITH OUR WORK, AND IF IT LOOKS LIKE IT WILL GET OUT OF HAND, YOU COULD ALWAYS TRY TO WARN US.)

"I… alright." They said, nodding as he looked to Gaster, "You know, I was always afraid of this world and yours... With Lynsie's power and your… ambition, but it's reassuring to see that both of you are not unreasonable." They paused, looking at the other Gaster, "And you've become more reasonable over time, I suppose…"

And after that, Core Frisk vanished, leaving the two of them alone in the lab.

With the lab filled with silence for a few moments, one of them finally broke the silence. "DOCTOR… TO ANSWER YOUR PREVIOUS QUESTION, WHY DON'T WE START WITH THE TRAIT WE ALREADY KNOW MOST ABOUT."

Doctor Gaster smiled and nodded, reaching over to his collection of vials. He grabbed a clear, glass vial, containing a warm, lightly glowing crimson liquid. "👎 ❄ 💣✋ ✌❄✋ 📬 🕈 ✌❄ 🕈 🕆 👎 ❄ ✋ ✞ 💧 👎 ❄ 💣✋ ✌❄✋ 👌 ✍" (DETERMINATION. WHAT WOULD THE INVERSE OF DETERMINATION BE?)

"HOPELESSNESS? WEAKNESS? DOUBT?"

" ✌ 👎 💧💧📪 ❄ 🕆💧 👌 ✋ 📬📬📬 ✌👍❄✋✞✌❄ 👍 ❄✌✋ 💣 ❄ 💧 ✋ 👎💧 ✌ ❄ 🕆 ✌ 👎 🏱 🏱✌ ❄ ❄ ✌✋❄ 💧✡ ❄ 💧✋ 📬" (REGARDLESS, LET US BEGIN... I'LL ACTIVATE CONTAINMENT SHIELDS A THROUGH F AND PREPARE THE TRAIT SYNTHESIZER.)

He nodded, doing as his alternate asked, preparing the lab for their first experiment. Gaster smirked to himself as he grew excited at this experiment. For the first time in a long while, he was running an experiment that could radically change the face of the world; all of Monsterkind and Humankind.

While he did that, he heard the skeleton doctor tap a few commands onto his console, bringing up the specific program he needed. It had been a very long time since he had used this program, and just as long a time since he'd studied Determination. He leaned forward and spoke aloud.

"ENTRY NUMBER 22…"

"👎✌ 😐📪 👎✌ 😐 📪 ✡ ❄ 👎✌ 😐 ✍" (DARK, DARKER, YET DARKER?)

"NOT TODAY, DOCTOR. NOT TODAY..."

A/N: And so, this journey has finally come to a close for everyone.

The PureTale Cast has returned home, safe and sound. Alex is talking with everyone, telling them of his fears and nightmares, on the path to recovery after all that he's endured with his version of PTSD thanks to all of his experiences. The RenewTale Cast has endured their first encounter with an alternate timeline and universe with little-to-no casualties. (RIP MTT Hotel Room). Together, they all prevented a timeline collapse and their ultimate destruction, and have even agreed to possibly work together if they ever need help in the future.

All-in-all, everything seems to have worked out for the most part. Sure, there are people asking questions in Lynsie's timeline, but there's no chaos. Sure, Alex is scarred, but he's coming around. Both Gasters have aided one another with their own, unique technological advances, and the future seems bright for both parties.

But… Core Frisk's worries aren't exactly unwarranted. After all, neither Gaster is innocent. Both have made many mistakes that have led to suffering in some way or another. But, the question remains… what happens next?

Well, the PureTale Saga, as I see it, is finished. At least, for the foreseeable future. Maybe there'll be more crossovers at some point or another, but the main saga is probably done. Everything is settled. There were some points that, looking back, I'm not particularly proud of and would change completely if done over, but it's all done and over with now.

As for RenewTale. That's R.I.P. Lynn's story, for which I'm grateful for having the opportunity to write about the characters, and bring them back to life for another adventure, as "Undertale: File Name not Found" belongs to her and is probably my favorite Undertale FanFiction out there. Thanks R.I.P. Lynn for this opportunity, and I hope you enjoyed this extra story with your characters!

For the immediate future, I will be MIA for the next month or so, so responding to any messages or reviews or anything might be spotty at best. Regardless, let me know what you think. I hope this story was written well enough to enjoy, even if it felt almost sub-par at some points, and I thank you for reading!

Welp, I guess this is the end. Thanks everyone for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following. Please, let me know what you thought of it, grammer issues and all, I guess.

Thank you!

-swrWriter (Jordan)