No Matter What - A HC + other MCYT'S Undertale fic.

A Sad Ghost and Irritating Puzzles

Rocks, it's always rocks. Life is nothing but rock puzzles. Gem was going to implode.

At least this time, Fwhip helped, with some... ahem, 'convincing.'

The third rock is where things got... weird. She really shouldn't be surprised anymore.

"Whoa there, pardner! Who said you could push me around?"

The rock. Was talking. And with the worst country accent she ever heard. Jimmy would've gotten a kick out of this!

"Well, we kinda need you to move to complete this puzzle, then we'll be on our way." Fwhip answered it, clearly not as surprised as she was.

The rock grumbled, shifted a little. "Hmm? So you're ASKIN' me to move over? Okay, just for you, pumpkin."

Gem wasn't sure how, but the rock(?) slide a bit towards the pressure plate. Not all the way, though.

"Oh boy... this is awkward. We need you to move a bit more." Gem wanted this interaction to end, please. This is weird, weirder than normal.

They eventually got the rock to where it needed to go, but if Gem never ran across that rock again, it would be too soon.

There was a mouse hole they passed by. The tiny creature would sometimes poke its head out of its hole and try and pry the cheese off the wooden table. The cheese was probably too old for it to eat if it was stuck that badly.

The next room had something to behold. A young man, he looked human. The only thing wrong was... he was transparent. He was a ghost.

He looked up at them and went back to lying down next to his guitar.

Gem felt bad for him. Was that weird? Feeling bad for a ghost like that? He just looked so... sad.

Gem bent down, a smile forming. "Hey, buddy...? You doing okay??"

The ghost looked up, and a wave of dark blue tears poured out of his eyes.

"Oh!" Gem stepped back, aware that her Soul had taken form again. Was this a battle?

Fwhip stood back, face betraying the fact he was clueless on what to do.

Should she try comforting him?

"Hey, it's okay... everything's gonna be just fine," Gem didn't move from her spot, not wanting to encroach on this ghost's personal space.

The ghost wiped his eyes a bit, the solid blue being replaced by white sclera and deep brown irises. A soft laugh left him.

"Hey, why do ghosts use the elevator?" Gem stood, spreading her arms wide. Her grin widened. "Because it 'lifts their spirits!'"

The ghost laughed again, floating up to Gem.

"Can I show you something...?" His voice was soft, with an echo.

Fwhip gave a small thumbs up, nodding his head slightly. Gem copied the gesture.

The blue of his tears floated up, solidifying into a dapper hat. "I call it 'Dapper Bur,' do you like it?"

The twins clapped, and the ghost floated back down, his hat dispelling. A warm smile replaced the long-gone tears. "Thank you... I usually come to the ruins to get away since there's usually no one around. But today I met some nice people. Thank you..."

He vanished, taking his guitar with him.

"He was nice, if a little sad." Gem noted, her heart warm now that the sad ghost had been cheered up.

"I wonder how he died..." Fwhip whispered, staring at the place the ghost once was.

There was something called a 'Spider Bake Sale' in one of the other rooms. Neither if the twins had much money, with only the 'G' they got from the few encounters they had.

Gem had a grand total of only 5G, and Fwhip had even less, with 3G. Not enough to contribute to anything.

Fwhip was less clingy with her when they passed by a group of Froggits (playing some kind of card game). It's nice to see he's improved.

Ring!

Oh, that could only mean-

"Hey Xan!" Gem tried to keep her voice even. She didn't want to give away the fact they'd disobeyed him.

"Hello! I just realized it's been a while since I have cleaned up," Based on what he said earlier, company doesn't come around much, or even at all sometimes. "There's probably a lot of stuff lying around. You can pick it up if you want, but don't carry too much! You never know if you'll find something you really want, but your pockets are full! Hope that helped!"

Okay... so don't be greedy with what you take, got it.

"We gonna keep going?" Fwhip called back. He'd scouted ahead while Gem talked.

"Yeah! Coming!"

-

There is only one switch.

That's what the plaque on the wall said. That was supposed to be useful for this new puzzle.

Gem and Fwhip decided to tag team it. Gem took the bottom half and Fwhip the top half.

So far, she ran across an angry carrot, the formerly sad ghost as he appeared to sleep and a weird red thing.

Fwhip had much better luck. The switch was in the second room he explored. Gem sighed, so the damage she took from that dumb vegetable was for nothing.

The next puzzle was equally frustrating, but at least Fwhip was here. If she was on her own, Gem would've lost it by now.

The first switch was hidden behind one of the pillars, and the second one wasn't hidden like the first. The third switch decided it wanted to be a copycat, and was hidden like the first one.

Finally, finally, they were free from the dumb switch puzzles. There in front of them looked to be a quaint little house.

And there, looking worried, was Xanther. He paced, his arms behind his back as he quietly muttered to himself. "I shouldn't have left them alone so long! Are they hurt? Or lost? Or-?"

He took out the phone, only getting one ring in before he looked up, a shocked expression flashing on his face. He closed to the phone, pulling the twins into a hug.

"I'm so sorry! I wanted to surprise you both and took much longer than I should've! Here, let me heal you," Green magic ran across their cuts and scrapes, closing them up. "I went back, and the both of you were gone! I was so worried for you kids!"

Gem felt guilt wash over her. If only she hadn't suggested leaving. Then Xanther wouldn't have been stressing out like this.

"We're really sorry." To Gem's surprise, Fwhip was the first to apologize, his head hung low. "We shouldn't have done that..."

Xanther sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "Let's head inside, hopefully the surprise I prepared will lift your spirits."