~Percy~

Percy scanned the room. He put his glasses on. He shook his head. He felt normal again. By normal, he meant both conscious, and he could think about anime. 

He was on a couch. A blanket was covering him. He scanned the area around him: a carpeted floor, a bunch of people (great), some monsters (even better), a TV, a kitchen, a table. 

He recognized this house. Sans and Papyrus' house.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus exclaimed. Percy flinched. He forgot how loud Papyrus was. "YOU ARE AWAKE!"

"PERCY!" Brayden jumped on top of Percy. Because this couldn't get any more uncomfortable. "THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WHAT WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! DON'T FALL ASLEEP ON US!"

"Brayden!" Melody scolded. She pulled him off. "I'm so sorry, Percy. You know how it is." 

The others came over, curious yet relieved. 

"What were you goin' on about, Percy?" Clover asked, folding her arms. 

"I..." Percy shook his head. "I had a strange dream. It was dream that depicted Flowey talking to Sans about 'a deal'? Apparently it would save everyone. Then the stick-wielding human was talking to Chara I believe, and Chara was angry at them."

"Who had a strange dream?" Undyne walked over. She grinned at Percy. "Oh, you're awake! What's up, punk?! Don't do that again! I ALMOST freaked out!"

"The ceiling," Percy responded. "Anyway..." He stared at the eighth human again. "Chara said something to you about 'loosing control' yourself. They also mentioned something about coming back. It's getting harder to remember."

The eighth human frowned. They shrugged casually.

"Are you okay, Percy?" Cody asked. "It sounds like a scary dream..."

"On the scale of nightmares, yes, yes it was," Percy admitted. "Tokyo Ghoul is scarier, though."

"(That kid has seen Tokyo Ghoul?!)" Undyne asked. She grinned. "(I LOVE IT!)"

"Well, I don't care what Chara says," Clover said, her arms still folded. "We're gonna stop them."

"YEAH!" Brayden cheered. "CHARA'S GOIN' DOWN!"

"Yes, of course," Melody agreed. She looked at Percy. "Are you sure you're okay, Percy? You passed out and..."

"The energy from my determination," Percy said. He shook his head. "It drained me. But now I feel better." He stood up. "We should leave if we want to stop Chara."

"oh, percy's awake?" Sans strolled over. "nice."

Percy remembered the dream with Sans and Flowey. He walked over to Sans. "Hey, Sans-"

"HUMAN!" Papyrus held up a plate of spaghetti. Percy bit his lip. "YOU SHOULD TRY MY SPAGHETTI!"

"uh, actually, pap, the humans have gotta go," Sans told his brother. 

"Yeah, they've gotta go to Hotland!" Undyne piped in, gesturing at the door. 

"OH," Papyrus said. He patted Percy's head with his big, red glove. Percy fixed his hair. "GOOD LUCK, HUMANS!"

...

No one wanted to walk all the way to Hotland, especially not Percy. Luckily, the eighth human had a solution. There was a boat that went all the way from Snowdin to Hotland. It was driven by a strange, hooded person known as the river person. It was in some part of Snowdin that was connected to a river. The kids climbed onto the boat, floating upon the cool, blue water. The river person drove them to Hotland. They spoke to Faye about random nonsense during the whole journey.

When the kids arrived at Hotland for a second time, the first thing they found other than the barren land was a white laboratory. Percy got excited. He was all about labs (and not the dogs). Especially since his parents were scientists.

"A random laboratory," Faye commented. "That's nice."

"Lab... labo..." Brayden groaned. "Can we go somewhere elseee?"

"The laboratory is the only place we can go," Melody told him. "Those Royal Guards are blocking the way." She pointed to two royal guards blocking another path. "So to the lab we must go."

The kids entered the lab. It was quite dark. There was a faint outline of white walls, a table full of stuff, and a screen with a video of the kids.

"Ooo," Faye said, looking around.

"Someone's recordin' us." Clover said, eyeing the TV.

"YO PEEPS!" Brayden waved at the screen. 

Faye blushed, looking a little self-conscious. Melody waved at the camera, doing her hair.

"Does someone live here?" Cody asked, looking around. 

Percy was eyeing that computer. He loved computers to death. There were also some anime-related things surrounding it. He smirked.

The kids passed a bag of dog food. The eighth human stopped. They were staring at a door. 

It opened, revealing a small, yellow, dinosaur-like monster. She had glasses, buck teeth and was wearing a lab coat. Percy had to admit, she was kind of adorable for a monster. The lights switched on.

"Hello!" Cody waved at the monster. Clover was staring at her. Melody had her arms folded. Faye was waving. Percy took out his notes. The eighth human, as usual, didn't care.

"WHAT'S UP!" Brayden yelled.

"Oh," the monster freaked out. She ran around in little circles. "My God. I didn't expect you all to show up so soon! I haven't showered, I'm barely dressed, it's all messy, and..."

"Calm down, pardner," Clover said, folding her arms. "What's your name?"

The monster calmed down. She took a deep breath. "Ummm.... H-h-hiya! I'm Dr. Alphys. I'm ASGORE's royal scientist!"

"ASGORE has a royal scientist?!" Brayden asked. He looked confused. "What's a royal scientist?"

"I, um, basically help the king with scientific stuff," Alphys answered, laughing anxiously.

"Lemme guess, you wanna hunt us down?" Clover asked, raising her brow.

"Oh, no!" Alphys squeaked. "No no no! I'm, uh, not of the 'bad guys'! Actually, since you all stepped out of the RUINS, I've been, um... I've been observing your journey through my console."

"So you've been stalking us..." Faye realized. 

Everyone stared at Alphys.

"I-it's not like that!" Alphys said, waving her arms. "I saw it all... your fights... your friendships... everything! I was originally going to stop you, but... watching you guys going through the underground like a little family... it was so cute, I started rooting for you instead! S-so, ahh, now I want to help you all!"

The kids kept staring at her.

"Uh..." Alphys looked away for a moment. "Using my knowledge, I can easily guide you through Hotland! I know a way right to ASGORE's castle, no problem!"

"Although, Papyrus already told us a way," Melody pointed out. "We have to go to the end of this cavern, he said."

Alphys nodded. "Well, I-I can help you get there faster!" She paused. "There's, um, actually just a tiny issue."

"Oh no!" Cody commented. 

"Tiny?!" Brayden asked, folding his arms. "We can take it!"

"Eh..." Alphys laughed anxiously. "A long time ago, I made a robot named Mettaton. Originally, I built him to be an entertainment robot. Uh, you know, like a robotic TV star or something."

"Like Vocaloids?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, kind of like them," Alphys agreed. "Anyway, recently I decided to make him more useful. You know, just some small practical adjustments. Like, um..." She sounded nervous again. "Anti... anti-human combat features?"

"Are you kiddin' me?" Clover groaned.

"Well, that's just great!" Melody groaned sarcastically.

"Not at all like most Vocaloids." Percy sighed with disappointment.

"YEAH! MORE FIGHTING!" Brayden cheered. Everyone stared at him. 

Alphys looked away, her face bright red.

"Can we stop him?" Cody asked.

"Well, of c-course, when I saw you guys coming, I immediately decided..." Alphys paused. "I have to remove those features! Unfortunately, I may have made a teensy mistake while doing so." Everyone stared at Alphys again. "And.. now's he an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood?"

"Are you KIDDIN' me?!" Clover grumbled.

"Tiny issue?" Melody asked. "More like huge hassle!"

"You shouldn't have been watching human sci-fi films," Percy said, adjusting his glasses. "It really changes your perception on robots."

"But I like robots..." Faye sighed.

"We can handle this, right guys?!" Brayden looked around.

"Well, we might not run into him, right, Alphys?" Cody asked Alphys.

"Hopefully not, Cody, eh heh heh!" Alphys chuckled. 

Suddenly, there was a loud BOOM.

"The heck was that?" Brayden asked.

"Sounds like someone's walking over here..." Faye commented. 

Clover held out her pistol. Melody held out her ballet slipper. Percy took notes. Because that's his thing.

"Oh no." Alphys commented, fear in her eyes.

"OHHH YES!" an overly dramatic, robotic voice called. There was a flash of light. "WELCOME, BEAUTIES..."

A robot appeared. He looked like a calculator with red and yellow buttons on his... chest...? Why is it so darn hard to describe monsters? He had a bunch of dials as well. He moved around on a lone, motorized wheel. In a gloved hand, he was wielding a microphone. He was definitely not a vocaloid.

"Is that a calculator?!" Brayden asked. "NO! I HATE MATHS!"

"That's a robot, Brayden." Melody sighed.

"... TO TODAY'S QUIZ SHOW!" the robot continued, ignoring Brayden. 

The kids stood in a line. Streamers with their SOUL colours were everywhere. Percy was covered in purple streamers. He couldn't complain. He had long, purple hair. He looked like a lot of his favourite anime characters.

"I HATE QUIZ SHOWS!" Brayden yelled. "THEY'RE SO BORING!"

"I like quiz shows," Percy commented. "Aside from when the contestants don't know anything."

"You could be in a quiz show, Percy." Melody told him.

"OH BOY!" Mettaton shouted (Percy guessed that was him). "I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANTS!"

More streamers appeared.

"Wait, are we on TV?" Cody asked. He looked at the cameras and waved. "Hi, Dad!"

"Your father won't see this broadcast," Percy told Cody. "I've tried calling numbers from home. They don't connect to the surface."

"Oh..." Cody looked dejected. He cheered up again and waved at the camera. "Hi, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne!"

"Hey, we've never played before," Clover spoke up, folding her arms. She was glaring at Mettaton. "This ain't fair!"

"And there are too many streamers!" Melody complained. She was covered in them. "I look like an octopus!"

"NEVER PLAYED BEFORE?" Mettaton asked. "NO PROBLEM! IT'S SIMPLE! THERE'S ONLY ONE RULE. ANSWER CORRECTLY..." He paused for dramatic effect. "OR YOU DIE!" A battle started.

Mettaton attacks!

"YEAH!" Brayden yelled. "LET'S GO!" 

Percy eyed the eighth human. They nodded.

Mettaton 10 ATK 999 DEF. His mental body renders him invulnerable to attack.

"Notes taken." Percy took the notes.

"LET'S START WITH AN EASY ONE!" Mettaton yelled. "What's the prize for answering correctly?" 

The souls of the kids were standing in the middle of four answers. They started bickering over the answer.

"Oh look, Alphys is giving us the answer." Faye commented, noticing Alphys. 

Alphys' claws were shaped into a 'D'. The eighth human selected the answer before anyone could say anything. More streamers rained down on the kids.

"RIGHT!" Mettaton exclaimed, waving his arm in the air. "SOUNDS LIKE YOU GET IT!"

The quiz show continues.

"What kind of prize is more questions?" Melody asked, folding her arms.

"Stop complainin', Melody." Clover grumbled.

"Oh says you." Melody grumbled. 

The eighth human spared Mettaton and let him have his turn before the argument could escalate. Percy was thankful for that.

"HERE'S YOUR TERRIFIC PRIZE!" Mettaton exclaimed. "What's the king's full name?"

Four more answers appeared.

"It's ASGORE DREEMURR," Faye said. "Undyne told us."

The eighth human nodded. They pressed the answer. There was even more confetti. Melody groaned.

"CORRECT!" Mettaton yelled. "WHAT A TERRIFIC ANSWER!"

The quiz show continues.

Percy took down more notes. He wanted to see if Mettaton had any sort of weakness.

"Do you guys think if we threw Mettaton in a pit of water his body would malfunction?" he asked his friends.

"Maybe...?" Cody answered.

"I guess." Clover shrugged. "I dunno 'bout robots."

"I wanna do that now!" Brayden yelled.

"ENOUGH ABOUT YOU," Mettaton spoke up.

"We weren't even talking about ourselves!" Melody complained.

"LET'S TALK ABOUT ME!" Mettaton ignored her. "What are robots made of?"

Four more answers appeared again.

"Sugar and spice and everything nice," Faye recited. "Snips and snails and puppy dog tails."

"You know that poem?" Percy asked, eyeing her. "I respect you."

"Why would you want to cut off a puppy's tail?" Cody asked, looking mortified.

The eighth human answered Metal and Magic to Mettaton's question, which was correct. Confetti was everywhere.

"HERE'S ANOTHER EASY ONE FOR YOU!" Mettaton yelled. It was a really long question about mathematics. Percy pulled out his notes. He could solve this question.

"Okay," Percy said, looking up from his notes. "I'm about halfway there-" The eighth human chose the right answer without even looking at Alphys. "Oh. Nevermind."

It seemed they were incredibly intelligent as well. Percy thought of something.

"Hey," he asked them. "Do you like anime?" They nodded. Percy then decided they weren't so bad. "Which one/s do you like?" The eighth human grinned. "Yeah, I like Pokemon as well. Yes, I have played the games. All of them." He tried not to laugh nervously. "They're definitely some of my favourite video games. What's your favourite Pokemon game?"

"HEY!" Brayden yelled. "WE'RE FIGHTING HERE!"

"We'll talk later." Percy said, nodding at them. 

They gave him a thumbs up.

"DON'T 'COUNT' ON YOUR VICTORY..." Mettaton said. "How many flies are in this jar?"

A jar full of flies appeared.

"NOT MORE MATHS!" Brayden groaned.

"That's animal cruelty..." Faye said, frowning at all the trapped flies. 

Percy observed the jar. He noticed the eighth human. As usual they already had the answer. He sighed. That kid was too smart. In the end, they were the one with all the knowledge. And not him. He was the one who listened to Chara.

He really was clueless.

"LET'S PLAY MEMORY GAME!" Mettaton exclaimed. "What monster is this?" 

A picture of half a Froggit's face appeared. Percy whipped out his notes. It was definitely Froggit.

"That's the frog, right?" Brayden asked.

The eighth human shook their head. They made a few gestures.

"Whaddya mean that's Mettaton?" Clover asked.

"Yes, Mettaton is clearly not a Froggit." Melody agreed. 

The eighth human selected the Mettaton response anyway. The picture ended up being Mettaton wearing a Froggit shirt.

"I'M SO FLATTERED YOU REMEMBERED!" Mettaton cheered. 

"What?!" Melody spat. 

"BUT CAN YOU GUESS THIS ONE?" Mettaton asked. "Would you smooch a ghost?"

All the responses were Heck Yeah.

"What kind of question is that?" Melody asked. "Why would you smooch a ghost?"

"Love is love." Clover responded.

"I guess if it was a nice ghost." Cody commented. 

"I wouldn't smooch a ghost, but there are a few anime characters..." Percy trailed off. "Um, nevermind."

The eighth human, with a -_- face, selected 'Heck Yeah' from the responses.

"GREAT ANSWER!" Mettaton yelled, waving his arm. "I LOVE IT! HERE'S A SIMPLE ONE. How many letters in the name Mettaton nnnn..." The ns continued. 

Alphys and the eighth human already knew the answer. Percy sighed dejectedly.

"This quiz show is so weird." Melody commented, shaking her head.

"I like the confetti." Faye said.

"I like the anime references." Percy said, adjusting his glasses. 

The eighth human chose their answer.

"OF COURSE THAT WAS EASY FOR YOU!" Mettaton exclaimed. "TIME TO BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS! In the dating simulation video game 'Mew Mew Kissy Cutie', what is Mew Mew's favourite food?"

"OH! OH! I KNOW THIS ONE!" Alphys and Percy screamed together, totally in sync. "IT'S SNAIL ICE-CREAM! IN THE FOURTH CHAPTER EVERYONE GOES TO THE BEACH AND SHE BUYS ICE-CREAM FOR ALL OF HER FRIENDS BUT IT'S SNAIL FLAVOUR AND SHE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTS IT! IT'S ONE OF MY FAVOURITE PARTS OF THE GAME BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY A..."

"... very powerful message about friendship." Percy finished. 

He and Alphys stared at each other. They blushed.

Melody face-palmed. "Oh Percy..."

"ALPHYS, ALPHYS, ALPHYS," Mettaton said, wagging his finger. "YOU AREN'T HELPING OUR CONTESTANTS, ARE YOU?"

Alphys shook her head.

"To be fair, she was a little." Clover said. "But then again, they also know everything." 

She pointed at the eight human. They shrugged innocently.

"OOOOHHHH!" Mettaton yelled. "YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME. I'LL ASK A QUESTION... YOU'LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO! Who does Dr. Alphys have a crush on?" 

The options were Undyne, Asgore, the Penguin Squad, and don't know. Percy remembered the Penguin Squad. It was beautiful.

"What on Earth is the Penguin Squad?" Melody asked.

"Crippling depression," a weirdo said, peeking out of their flying trash can. "IT'S STILL 2010!"

"Good gravy." Melody face-palmed.

"We don't know who Alphys' crush is, let's say Don't Know." Clover said, folding her arms.

"We can't say that," Percy argued. He'd been noticing how Undyne spoke about Alphys... It spoke to him like anime. His voice, for once, was full of sincerity and emotion. "Alphys and Undyne is my new OTP. We have to say Undyne."

Clover was giving him an unfriendly glance. 

Percy adjusted his glasses. He had a feeling Clover was still annoyed about the whole Chara issue. Even if everyone else was normal towards him, she wouldn't be.

The eighth human, however, was nodding at him. Percy was surprised they weren't upset about the Chara issue. They were the one hunting Chara after all. Yet they didn't seem bothered in the slightest. At least, Percy hoped so.

"Alphys and Undyne sounds... kind of cute..." Faye commented. Percy was glad someone agreed. 

"SEE, ALPHYS?" Mettaton asked. "I TOLD YOU IT WAS OBVIOUS. EVEN THE HUMANS FIGURED IT OUT." Alphys looked so embarrassed. She was blushing crimson. He ranted, "YES, SHE SCRAWLS HER NAME IN THE MARGINS OF HER NOTES. SHE NAMES PROGRAMMING VARIABLES AFTER HER. SHE EVEN WRITES STORIES OF THEM TOGETHER... SHARING A DOMESTIC LIFE. PROBABILITY OF CRUSH: 101 PERCENT. MARGIN OF ERROR: 1 PERCENT."

"Wow," Cody commented. "I didn't realize Alphys felt that way!"

"If only other people would reveal their feelings about each other." Melody sighed, eyeing Brayden and Faye.

"What're you lookin' at, Mel?" Brayden asked, crossing his arms.

Percy gazed at Clover, trying to avoid sweating all over. 

"WELL WELL WELL," Mettaton spoke up. "WITH DR. ALPHYS HELPING YOU... THE SHOW HAS NO DRAMATIC TENSION! WE CAN'T GO ON LIKE THIS."

"Aww, that was kind of fun." Cody said, frowning. 

Percy had to agree. He liked answering questions. Even if other people already knew the answers.

"BUT." Mettaton wagged a finger. "BUT! THIS WAS JUST THE PILOT EPISODE! NEXT UP, MORE DRAMA! MORE BLOODSHED! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS...!"

He turned into a rocket and flew away.

"AW C'MON ON!" Brayden complained, still blushing a little. "We didn't even get to fight him!"

"Who wanted to, anyway?" Melody asked, making a face.

"I did!" Brayden yelled.

"Did anyone else?" Melody asked. Brayden groaned.

"Well that was certainly something." Alphys commented, making a face. Percy had to agree.

"I suppose we'd better be off, y'all." Clover said, eyeing the exit. 

Percy didn't want to leave just yet. He wanted to observe the laboratory, speak to Dr. Alphys and the eighth human about anime, then speak to Dr. Alphys about science...

"Wait, wait!" Alphys squeaked. She raced over to the kids. She wasn't much taller than any of them. "Let me give you my ph-phone number! Th-then... m-maybe... if you need I help, I could..." She gasped, observing the kids' phone. "Wh... where'd you get that phone!? It's ANCIENT! It doesn't even have texting!"

"I know, right?" Percy asked. That phone had been bothering him the whole journey. "I want to fix it up but I don't have the resources to do so."

"W-well, I can help with that!" Alphys said, grinning. "Because, I, um, do have the resources!"

"Thank goodness." Percy replied. 

Alphys took the phone. Percy, feeling curious, decided to follow her. She raced into a small room, Percy just behind her. Though she was unaware he was there.

Strangely enough, in the room, Percy could hear Alphys... talking to someone.

"DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN STOP SEVEN HUMANS?" a voice asked. It was Mettaton. "WERE YOU NOT LISTENING? THEY'RE ON A MISSION TO STOP THAT FALLEN ANGEL."

"I-I know, I know..." Alphys replied anxiously. "But... I just need to do this... you understand, right, Mettaton?"

"I HAVE A FEELING THIS WILL NOT END WELL," Mettaton replied. "BUT REGARDLESS, IF YOU'RE SO CONFIDENT... I'LL HELP YOU. TOODLES, DARLING!"

Mettaton flew away on a rocket, like he did previously. Alphys shivered.

"Alphys?" Percy asked. 

Alphys jumped.

"O-oh my God!" she yelped. "Percy! I... I didn't see you there!" She looked nervous. "You didn't... happen to see anything odd, right?"

"Why were you talking to Mettaton?" Percy asked.

"Oh, uh, that was about, um..." Alphys paused. "A technical issue! Yeah, a technical issue. Don't worry! It's nothing serious."

Percy frowned. 

"Anyway, I need to upgrade your phone!" Alphys chuckled. She upgraded the phone at lightning speed. Percy was, needless to say, hella impressed.

"You'll have to teach me how to upgrade phones that quickly." he told her.

"I-I will one day, Percy," Alphys said. She handed him the phone. "Here, much better. It can do texting, it's got a keychain... I even signed you and your friends up for the Underground's No. 1 social network! Now we're all officially friends! Eheheh... heheh..." She gasped. "Also! I have phones like that one for all your friends." 

She handed Percy six phones. He carried them all like they were his children.

"Can I alter my username?" Percy asked. Alphys nodded. 

Percy opened the phone. He changed his username to 'OtakuBoy'.

He nodded. "Alphys. I hear you're a fan of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie?"

"Y-yeah," Alphys said, blushing. "I really like it..."

"Me too," Percy agreed. "In season 1, Mew Mew is so cute 'cause..."

...

Percy and Alphys returned to the others. They were still talking about anime.

"YOU GUYS ARE TOO SLOW!" Brayden whined. 

Percy handed him a phone. 

"OMG I HAVE A PHONE NOW!!!" Brayden squealed. 

Percy gave everyone else a phone too. "I hope you all know how to use a phone, otherwise I will be severely disappointed."

"How the heck do you turn this thing on?!" Brayden asked, checking out the phone. He accidentally took a selfie.

"Ay yi yi." Percy groaned.

"Um, well, you guys have fun!" Alphys said. "I'm... going to the bathroom!" She went into the bathroom. Yellow feet were tapping just behind the door.

The kids spent a bit of time exploring Alphys' lab, even if Melody said it was extremely bad manners. Percy found 'human history' in Alphys' bedroom, which was actually manga and anime. He realized this is what Undyne must've seen. Poor naive Undyne. Or lucky, actually. He sat down and read some of the manga. Part of him wanted to stay here and read manga forever, but another part of him knew he couldn't do that. He'd have to leave eventually. Or would he...? Percy thought about the Chara thing again. He realized something.

Something that could help his friends.

"Percy," a voice spoke up. It was Clover. Percy almost jumped. "We're going now."

"Okay." Percy said, standing up. 

He put the anime away. Clover had her arms folded. Percy suppressed the urge to reach out.

"Are you..." he looked away. "Are you okay, Clover?" 

"I'm just worried, Perce," Clover said. She sounded slightly less agitated. "I don't want anything to happen, y'know? The whole Chara thing's kinda freakin' me out."

"You're right to be suspicious," Percy said. "According to my research, my death may have given Chara more power. Was I possessed by them? I can't tell. But I have come to a conclusion. Anything that happens will most likely be my fault." 

He took off his glasses. He rubbed the lenses.

"I don't think I can come with everyone else anymore. Look what's already happened. I passed out. That's an unnatural occurrence. I have given everyone a great reason to be upset." He paused, biting his lip. "Go on, Clover. I'll stay here. Alphys won't mind."

Creases appeared around Clover's eyes. "You're a soul of perseverance, right? Doesn't sound very... persevering to me."

"Maybe I'm just different." Percy said. He observed his cloudy glasses. "That's my conclusion. You had better go. Leave without me."

Clover looked away for a moment. She looked back.

"We're not gonna leave you here," she told him sternly. "Like Brayden said, we're a team. We have to stick together, Perce." She sighed. "If Chara has done somethin' bad to ya, I'll make sure they pay. And you can fight too. Giving up is probably what Chara wants. So get up, pardner." 

She offered Percy a hand. Percy turned away.

"Percy," she said. "Everyone will miss you if you don't come. We need everyone on this journey. What's your quote, determination is the only way to survive this world?" She paused. "You can't give up. Yeah, you may be possessed or whatever by Chara, but we can deal with it. You're still Percy. That's what Melody was sayin' to me." She held out her hand. "C'mon, pardner. I believe in you."

Percy accepted her hand. His heart was thumping once again. She was just so...

"Thanks," he replied. "Lucky. According to my..." He paused. His smile grew a little bigger. "... heart, that's what you are."

"You've got a case of the feels now, huh?" Clover asked, raising her brow.

"Try as I might..." Percy smiled. Just a little. "I'm human too." 

Clover gave him a noogie. He fixed his hair immediately afterwards.

"Let's go." Clover said.

Art by https://theminiartblog.tumblr.com/