Determination

Frisk dragged the barely breathing Linde through the snow until a trap ahead blocked their way.

"Um... under... the snow... map..." Linde reminded her.

Frisk set Linde aside and dug away the snow on the ground, revealing a map of the immediate area.

A large red X marked one spot on the map.

Linde shifted into a more comfortable position on the ground. "There... mechanism..."

Frisk carefully studied her surroundings and soon pinpointed the spot marked by the red X.

She walked over, felt around in the snow, and activated the hidden mechanism.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, she hurriedly dodged to the side-

A spear landed precisely where she had just been standing.

"Fuck." Frisk copied Linde and let loose one of the Dragon Country's classic curses. Mm, that felt good.

She spun around and saw a sturdy little dog in armor standing behind her.

[Lesser Dog]

[Attack 12][Defense 2]

[Wields the Dog Fang Heaven-Piercer, forged from Swarovski Husky Crystal.]

What the hell kind of name was that for a spear?! Frisk grumbled inwardly, then ran up and started petting the little dog just as Linde had.

Strangely enough, the more she petted Lesser Dog, the longer his neck grew. Frisk had no choice but to stop petting his head and switch to his neck.

Watching the neck soar into the sky nearby, Linde suddenly remembered a funny video made by utlover from his previous life. Just how far could Lesser Dog's neck stretch, anyway? Without the barrier, could it actually stretch all the way out of Mount Ebott?

Just then, two shadows fell over Linde.

"Uh-oh."

Only after playing with Lesser Dog for ages did Frisk finally remember Linde. She hurried back, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh no! Did the monsters take him?!" Frisk anxiously searched the area, but she couldn't find Linde anywhere.

Tears streamed down her face as she searched helplessly. She walked over to the mechanism she had activated, saw signs of a battle scattered across the ground, and sank down in despair.

That's right! I can reload!

Just as she was about to reload, she suddenly noticed a little note on the ground.

[I've taken care of the Dog Couple for you. They thought I was an interesting little dog and decided to invite me to Grillby's for a drink.

By the way, the Dog Couple asked Sans to take us straight over, so Papyrus doesn't even know where I am yet, hahaha.

Papyrus has prepared plenty of puzzles up ahead. Enjoy!

Oh, one more thing. Remember how I taught you to spare monsters? Make absolutely sure you watch carefully!

-Linde]

Honestly! Couldn't he have used a bigger piece of paper?! Frisk wiped her eyes and smiled with relief.

Meanwhile, Linde was sitting in Grillby's, eating a burger. "Sans, remember when you said you'd do me a little favor?"

"Of course, kid. I take promises pretty seriously. Just don't take up too much of my time. I've still gotta help my brother 'deal with' that Frisk kid." Sans took a swig of ketchup, then scratched his butt.

Linde nodded. "Could you take me to the Determination Lab underneath the laboratory? I've got something to take care of."

"Oh, didn't expect you to know about that place... but it makes sense. You're a time traveler, after all. Naturally, you'd have a better 'sansation' for things." Sans spread his hands.

"All right, let's go, then." Linde stood with a smile, then turned and waved to the Dog Couple. "Thanks for treating me!"

Sans placed a hand on Linde's shoulder, and the two vanished on the spot.

The True Lab...

"How long are you planning to stay here?" Sans turned to ask.

"Not long. I'll grab something and leave."

Linde had Sans take him to the control room.

At the entrance to the control room, Alphys was feeding the Amalgamates.

"Great. That saves us some trouble." Linde clapped his hands.

Hearing the noise behind her, Alphys turned around and froze. "Oh! My gosh! How did you get here? Uh... hey, Sans, um... could you explain?"

"Oh, this kid wants to pick something up." Sans pointed to Linde beside him.

"Uh... haha, honestly, I didn't expect you to know about this place..." Alphys looked away, unable to meet Linde's eyes.

"It's all right, Alphys. I have a way to turn them back to normal." Linde patted Alphys on the shoulder to help her relax.

"Really?!!" Alphys was stunned speechless. Could this human actually help her undo the greatest mistake of her life?!

Linde nodded. "But not just yet. Alphys, could you give me a vial of determination?"

Alphys nodded dazedly, opened a box inside the safe, and took out a vial of determination.

Determination had a peculiar form. The transparent substance constantly shifted between gas, liquid, and solid, looking as though it were boiling and churning inside its container.

Linde solemnly accepted the container of determination. Feeling its weight in his hand, he smiled.

"All right, Sans. Take me back to Grillby's." Linde shook the container of determination in his hand and turned to Alphys. "I'll need some time. Once I've figured out the nature of determination, I'll do my best to solve this problem."

Then, under Alphys's hopeful gaze, Linde held on to Sans and vanished from the True Lab.

"Um... I don't think I understood any of that," Frisk said helplessly as she looked at Papyrus.

"Oh, all right. I'll leave the rules here. You can play on your own." Papyrus set the note on the ground and ran off cheerfully, leaving Frisk standing bewildered in the wind.