Undyne's eye flicked between Martlet and Clover, her hand clenched reflexively as she stared down the pair. This had very suddenly gone from energetic brunch to "DO I STAB YOU!?"

The worst part about it was that Clover had no idea what was going on, well, he sort of had an idea, but he really didn't want to believe in it.

"Undyne just, end the battle, please. This is just a misunderstanding."

"Just a misunderstanding!? That's a human SOUL right there-" Undyne narrowed her eye as she spoke, at first in skepticism, but then she noticed something else. Clover's SOUL itself. Her mouth opened and closed as she struggled to think of the words, but eventually settled on a different course of action.

Clover - ATK 45 DEF 30

On edge.

Undyne's eye almost bulged out of its socket when she saw the kid's stats. He almost had stats as high as herself! Children didn't just have stats like this, neither did humans for that matter! Their power came in other forms, so what in the hell was this!?

"What... What IS that?"

"I-I don't know." Martlet admitted hesitantly.

Meanwhile, Clover was standing there shaken. What was with the sudden hostilities? Had they done something wrong...? Undyne said something about them being a human, but this didn't sound like jealousy... It was shock, anger...?

"Hey... Kid... You're not a human are you?" Undyne stared at Clover incredulously, these were certainly not the events she was expecting today.

"I... Sort of?"

Martlet looked at Clover horrified, Undyne matched that intensity but in bewilderment instead.

"I..." Undyne struggled to find the words as she took a closer look at Clover's soul. It didn't look like a monster that had absorbed a human's SOUL, was that what it looked like when a human absorbed a monster's SOUL...? But no, that wouldn't make sense either! Humans didn't change shape like monsters did when they absorbed SOUL's, their forms were physical in nature, the magic of a monster's SOUL wouldn't change the shape of their body. So what WAS this!?

"I think... I need to take you to the Royal Scientist."

"W-wait!" Martlet tried to oppose that, but she was quickly shut down.

"Look Martlet your kid will be fine, alright!? But this is... I don't even know what to say about this! Monsters don't just have SOUL traits, there's clearly something going on with your kid here. Even if they aren't the human, something is clearly wrong with them!"

Clover only grew more confused by the second. The only reason they weren't interrupting the conversation was because they had just about no idea what was going on. What was the big deal about them having been human, being human? Humans were just another kind of monster weren't they? His body started to freeze up as a pit of dread formed in the bottom of his stomach. Something about his present situation felt deeply incorrect, wrong.

Martlet wanted to say something in response, but she knew the jig was up. Also, what else was she supposed to do? Even if she wanted to try and protect Clover, Undyne was far stronger than her! There's a reason she's the captain! Out of all the possible ways this could've gone, at the very end Undyne just decided to start a battle...? Maybe... Maybe it'd be okay? They wouldn't just kill Clover right? They were just going to take him to see the Royal Scientist, it'd be fine! They'd do their sciency stuff, come to a diagnosis and they'd know Clover wasn't human!

He... Wasn't human was he? He couldn't be. Human's didn't just grow feathers. There's no way they'd just... Kill her child. They couldn't... She wouldn't let them.

"...Okay. But I'm coming with you."

"Martlet..."

"They're my CHILD Captain! I don't care if there's something wrong with them, or if they're somehow related to the human-" she boldly left out the truth "-I can't just leave you to do whatever to them! ...Not that you'd hurt them but, I just..."

Undyne sighed as her armor materialized. "Alright, we'll go together. You deserve to know if there's something wrong with your kid, I guess."

"Thank you." Martlet struggled to keep herself from trembling. Clover also tried, but failed.

"Hey, Clover?" Martlet kneeled down to his eye level and put a wing on his shoulder. "Hey, it's alright honey, we're just gonna go on a trip to a place near The Dunes, alright...? Captain Undyne is just worried about your SOUL, don't be afraid alright?"

"O-okay... Mom, is there something wrong with me...?"

"N-no, of course not." Clover didn't feel particularly assured as he heard that. It felt like Martlet had said it more so to reassure herself.

"Why does... Why does it feel like I'm missing something? There's this feeling... This feeling in my SOUL, like something is just beneath the surface... Mom...?"

Martlet's beak opened to say something in response, but she stopped before she said anything...

"Mom?"

"N-nothing, don't worry about it. I'm sure the Royal Scientist will be able to figure it out for you."

He didn't believe her.

...

Alphys stared at the results of her testing. It had taken a while to figure out what exactly it was she had been dealing with, but she'd been able to figure it out before days end. With what this serum was, the person who made it had to have been some sort of visionary as far as Alphys was concerned. A mixture of monster magic and determination paired with a few unknown substances.

It seemed as if the magic had been used to lighten the transfer of power somehow, which was good, because even with the determination diluted as it was, if it wasn't eased into the monster somehow all it would do is make their situation worse. This was all well and good, but Alphys had to wonder... How exactly had they gotten determination...? The thought came to mind, the sixth human had gone missing for awhile now... She grimaced.

Now, as for the results of her testing, Alphys had been trying to create her own. Reverse engineering wasn't exactly her specialty... Not much was to be fair, but this one more so. Side by side sat two syringes, one filled with a yellow liquid, and the other a green one. She ran as many checks as she could on the newer of the two, and she came to a few conclusions.

For some reason, the green serum held much more energy when compared to the yellow one. Alphys wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing... But other than that, there were a few key differences in the two serums. Both of them had somewhat unknown components, but with the side by side comparison she could now pin it down a bit more exactly. Aside from the determination and magic, the yellow concoction had three unknowns to it, the green had only one. But was that a good or a bad thing? She wouldn't know without testing but... Who could she test it on?

She had to do something soon, the monsters in her care melted more and more by the day. If she didn't come up with a solution within the week they might just... She didn't want to think that thought.

Alphys sucked in a breath and reached for the green serum. At least trying something would be better than waiting for the inevitable. That was when her phone started ringing. She almost fumbled and let the serum fall to the ground, but in a miraculous feat of reaction speed that she'd normally fail, she bent down and caught it just before it hit the ground.

She sucked in another, this time, much shakier breath, before setting down the syringe on the counter.

"H-hello, Royal Scientist Alphys speaking?"

"ALPHYS! Glad you picked up! We've uh... I've got a bit of a situation here. I need some help, gonna be real, I've got no idea what to do..."

"Wh-Undyne? Help with what?"

"It's about the human that went missing recently, or maybe it's not? I need you to run some tests, or whatever."

"I-I'm in the middle of something-"

"Alphys, please, you've gotta help out here this is REALLY awkward."

"W-wait, did you s-say this is about the human...?"

"MAYBE!? I'm not even sure, look, we'll be there in less than an hour just be ready, ALRIGHT!?"

"Y-yes ma'am!"

...

The doors opened with a vwoom, the metallic obstacles giving way at the press of a button.

"HEY! ALPHYS! WE'RE HERE!"

"C-coming!" A nervous voice called back from somewhere upstairs.

Martlet held Clover's hand as gently as she could manage, which wasn't very because the entire situation was putting her on edge. Her grip was just short of strangulation of blood flow. Clover for his part, did a somewhat good job of remaining calm, but the tension in the air was not lost on him. This all felt very... Very... He couldn't quite put it into words. And why had his mom lied to him? None of this boded very well...

"Okay, I-I'm sorry, what did you w-want help with Undyne...?"

Undyne paused for a moment, before turning to Martlet and Clover.

"Wait here."

She left anything else unsaid, but Martlet understood well the threatening tone in her voice. She could try and run away with Clover, but really where would they go? The Underground was a small place... It would be worse to run than it would be to stay.

"Mom?"

"Y-yes, Clover?"

"What exactly is going on here? Why are you lying to me? ...What are you lying to me about?"

"I-I uh-"

She had not at all expected to be called out like that, especially not by Clover of all monsters.

"W-what do you mean...?"

"There's this feeling deep down, like something's been wrong this entire time. I've been ignoring it but... I am right, ain't I...? This... Isn't my normal."

"..."

"Every day, it's like there's a disconnect between my expectations and reality, y'know? I... Wanted to believe you, and I... I still love you mom, even if you've been... Lying to me. But you haven't been telling me the truth, whatever the truth... Is."

"Clover..."

"Habits that have been... Beaten into me, instincts screaming at me that something is out of place. They're... They're right aren't they? I'm not misremembering things."

"..."

"Please answer me, mom. Please."

Martlet felt weak at the knees, days of lying finally having taken their toll. What would Clover think of her...?

"...Okay, what... What do you want to know?"

"What am I? Really?"

"You're..." Martlet paused, looking around the room to make sure Undyne was not currently within the vicinity. Even though she didn't spot anybody, she whispered the next few words regardless. "You're a human, Clover."

"...But aren't humans just rare monsters?"

"N-no... They're not. I'm sorry. I lied to you."

"...Why?" Clover looked up at her with an inscrutable face.

"Because... Because I guess I was scared. Scared to hurt you, or cause you problems. I thought... I thought you deserved to live a normal childhood, free of violence. Free from..."

"...Free from what?" Clover's expression was rapidly darkening, a picture was being painted in his mind, and the further the conversation progressed the clearer it became. Out of anything he had done in the past few days, this alone lifted the most fog from his head. His memories became clearer, more defined.

"You..." Martlet took in a shaky breath. "Clover, I'm... I'm not sure if now is the time for this."

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Then when is the time for it mom?" His tone took on a hint of anger. He knew now, he had come here for a reason. Pictures in his mind still refused to fall into place, but he knew this without a shadow of a doubt.

He HAD been human, he came to the Underground with a purpose, a sense of JUSTICE. But for what had he come for? How long had it been? Who was he after? Was it already too late? Had his... Mother cost him his chance?

"I-I'll explain as much as I can to you as soon as we head home but-"

Clover's usually stoic expression was quickly turning to a scowl. The inability to remember, when he truly WANTED to remember... His mothers refusal to explain...

"But, what? What did you do to me?"

His mother... His mother? Clover wasn't from the Underground, how could Martlet be his mother?

"What did you do to me mom?"

Clover was getting a headache.

...

"O-okay! Undyne told me stuff is... S-sort of weird right now-I-I'm sorry am I interrupting s-something...?"

Clover was staring at nothing in particular, his eyes distant. Martlet looked as if she were about to faint.

"E-excuse m-me?"

Martlet blinked, and her eyes widened. "N-no! Nothing at all sorry!"

"R-right, well, Undyne asked me to do some checkups on your kids... SOUL...? Are they a boss monster?"

"I... Guess you could say that." Martlet mumbled. There were thoughts racing through her head at a million miles a minute and not many of them were very positive.

"Okay, t-then, what's... What's your name?" Alphys turned her gaze from Martlet to Clover. "Hello...?"

Martlet hesitated for a moment, but she sucked it up and spoke anyway. "Clover, they're trying to speak to you."

"...Oh."

"W-well, I was asking for your name but your g-guardian already... Said it."

"I see." His tone of voice was rather dispassionate.

"Okay, C-Clover. Could you follow me? I just need to do s-some tests."

He nodded evenly and stepped forward.

...

Clover was thinking. He was thinking hard. There was a puzzle in his mind made up of a million pieces and he was sorting them all bit by bit. Each second resulted in just a bit more definition to that picture, every moment piecing together another clue.

The elevator doors opened again, but he barely registered it. Alphys asked him to step forward, so he did.

His mind and body were two separate forces. Clover continued to walk forwards practically unconsciously, yet in the meanwhile his world was breaking down around him in his mind.

Was Martlet his mother? She couldn't have been, but why did everything else point towards her being his mom? It couldn't be right, yet it still was. Disregarding that fascinating distinction, Clover continued to ask himself one simple question. What had he been forgetting? What was his purpose, his drive?

Something that had happened, something bad up on the surface, something bad down in the Underground. Something horrible. Something that deserved punishment, that deserved vengeance... That deserved justice. But who? Who did this crime? Why was Clover being a human so horrible?

With each question he asked himself, it felt like a piece fell into place. What had happened before he'd fallen? A bad day, that's what. But what had happened for him to choose this particular place to die fall? He had a purpose coming here, he knew he did... The humans... Falling? Who fell?

And suddenly it hit him. Clover knew what he had come to the Underground for. The fallen children, the missing five. He supposed that numbered six now.

"O-okay, could y-you show me your SOUL? You can use your magic r-right?"

"...No. But I do know how to show you my SOUL, I... Think."

Surprisingly, blinding rage wasn't the first thing Clover felt at that realization. Which was odd, because that was certainly the feeling he'd associated with the recollection of that memory. Yes, a desire for justice driven by anger wasn't the ONLY thing that caused him to fall to the Underground, but it was the most prevalent of the factors at play. But, despite that being the case... Why was it that even knowing that, he couldn't bring himself to feel any sort of anger at Monsterkind? What else was playing at him?

"W-what the... What in the world is that!?"

"A long time ago humans sealed Monsterkind beneath Mt. Ebott."

"I've never... Seen anything like it... D-did you...? No, y-you couldn't have... You're j-just a child, even if you d-did, that's not the SOUL of a human or a monster that's absorbed the other..."

"I did everything in my power to entertain... So monsters wouldn't have to worry about being stuck down here."

"Asgore only needs two more SOUL's to shatter the barrier."

"What a world it would be if I had two whole friends."

Where had Clover heard this from...? Even more than before, it felt as if it was a vague echo of his very being. A memory hopelessly drifting away...

"Most might act cheerful, but life down here... It's hopeless."

"...I see."

"...Eh?"

"So that's why." Clover sighed to Alphys' confusion.

Despite knowing what they've done... I just... I can't. I can't bring myself to hate any of them, can I? And yet... Despite that fact, despite everything... It's still me.

Martlet... She... She just wants the best for me, doesn't she?

She... Sure as hell isn't my mother, I know that for certain. But that's fine. She doesn't need t'be.

Clover stood still for a moment longer, looking at his own SOUL, hovering just above his hand.

Maybe I should just...? I could... Give myself up, couldn't I? Let my SOUL be used to free monsterkind...? But... I...

I don't... What about mom...? What if I'm not ready to go?

What if I... Want to live?

Alphys who was now thoroughly confused watched on as Clover's eyes grew misty. The child seemingly caught themselves however, wiping at their eyes a moment later.

"S-sorry about that. I was just... Just thinkin about stuff."

...

Alphys stared nervously at Clover. He'd been very... Unresponsive so far, so now that he was looking directly at her for the first time it felt a bit off putting...

"O-okay, no judgement, I-I get sidetracked all the time t-too!"

"If you d-don't mind, I'd like to get a sample of your m-magic?"

"Oh... Uh, o'course."

Alphys produced a syringe from, seemingly nowhere, and held it to Clover's arm. A moment later, a now familiar sense of pain persisted in the point of impact.

"T-tha..." Alphys began to mutter, but stopped herself when she saw the red in the syringe.

She walked out of the room without another word.

"Bl-blood...? They're... They really are human?"

"Howdy doc!"

"Wuagh!-" Alphys tripped over herself.

"Wowie, you might wanna be a bit more careful there! Nobody will hear you scream all the way down here, heh!" Flowey said with a not exactly outright aggressive tone, but like, the threat was there.

"I've got another deal to make with you here, it'll work out real swell for you as well doc! You won't have to have a child killed in your lab either!"

Had this been a normal run, Flowey probably would've let the next events play out. However, at this point Clover would obviously choose to stay with Martlet instead of going to the king. Letting Clover and Undyne fight it out might be interesting though... Flowey supposed he'd come back to it at a later date. Hell, the kid might even win who knew?

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

"Aw please, you've got the evidence right there in your little claws doc, but here's my deal y'hear? All you have to do, is not tell Undyne about the bona-fide human she just brought in! In return, I'll make sure to introduce you to the monster who made that serum you're researching so desperately, capiche?"

"I-I have a duty to-"

"Just like you have a duty to inform those poor, poor monsters about the state of their family members?" Flowey asked innocently.

...

Alphys couldn't believe she was about to do this.

"O-okay Undyne I-I checked up on the h-kids SOUL l-like you asked me to."

She'd let the human head on back over to Martlet's side, and now she stood face to face with her idol... Preparing to tell the second worst lie of her life. The sixth human SOUL right here in her lab... And she was giving up on it just to not expose her own lies.

God, I'm so pathetic.

Her mind immediately tried to rationalize it, to say that it wasn't really a HUMAN SOUL, but even if it wasn't entirely a human's SOUL... Alphys sighed.

"T-they're not h-human, t-that's f-for s-sure. It's d-definitely weird, but t-they didn't a-absorb any S-SOUL's. They c-can't be a h-human either... Humans d-don't look like... That."

"Really? Oh wow I'm glad! It'd be... Real bad to have to..." Undyne trailed off as she spoke, shaking her head and smiling her best immediately afterwards. "GOOD! Thanks for clearing that up Alphys, I can always count on you!"

"Of... Of course..."

Undyne stomped off downstairs, and Alphys could hear the happiness in Undyne's voice as she called out "HEY! GOOD NEWS!" But despite that... She couldn't help but feel the lump of dread that was always with her grow even heavier.

"What's wrong with me?"

...

It was a quiet walk back home.

Clover had a lot to think about, he was now working with a far larger amount of his own memories. While there was still a good chunk of his life under a blurry fog, he now knew some things for certain. Like for instance, what a billboard was. Among other things.

Martlet on the other hand, had no idea how Clover himself felt. What he remembered, or even if she should say anything. So instead of asking, she kept running horrible scenarios through her head. What if Clover hated her? What if that bond they'd built over the past few days just... Shattered? What if she'd finally acknowledged Clover as... Her kid, just for him to hate her the very next day...?

It wasn't until they'd gotten half way through Waterfall that one of them finally broke the silence.

"...Hey."

"Y-yes Clover...?"

"I just..." He took a moment to breathe. "Martlet... You..."

Martlet closed her eyes, she knew what would come next...

"No... Mom."

Scratch that, no she didn't. Her eyes went wide at those words.

"I don't... I don't blame you for being afraid to tell me the truth. I think I know what you were trying to stop now."

"I-"

"Just know... I still love you."

Clover held his arms out for a hug, looking up at Martlet without a word.

Her breath caught for an instant, out of all the possible scenarios she'd gone through over the past thirty minutes, that hadn't been one of them.

Martlet wrapped Clover up in the biggest hug she could manage, plucking them off the ground and holding them tight.

"I... I love you too."