As they arrived back at camp, Mary quickly got to work- though first she insisted Madotsuki keep some of the reeds for herself so she could craft her dairy, grinning broadly. “I wanna see what you can make!”

The dreamer couldn’t help but smile back in the face of such enthusiasm. “I will see what I can do, as soon as I get something to write with.”

Mary nods. “I think I know how to get something.” She tosses a black feather, a twig, and some charcoal into the Science Machine, which in turn produced a feathered quill. “See?”

Madotsuki nods and picks it up, examining it. “This will do, but… why was the feather needed?”

Mary shrugs. “I don’t know, it just… is. Anyway, time to make more friends!”

Madotsuki adds, “Be sure not to use all the black stuff, I have an idea I want to try.”

“Okay!” Mary eagerly gets to work crafting a new doll, her first one watching eagerly.

Meanwhile, Ib seemed to be keeping herself busy checking their chests and storage. “We’re doing good for food now. But we need more wood.”

Mary smiles as a new doll is made, lifting it into a hug. “That’s okay, now we have a new little helper!” The other doll squeaks happily and hugs it too as it is sat back down, both letting out cheerful sounds and hopping excitedly. Mary gives them both pats on the head, gaining their attention. “Alright! We need some wood, okay? I’ll show you both how to get it and get you both axes, so do your best okay?”

They chirp in the affirmative and follow her out of the camp, Ib smiling as they go.

“They really are kind of cute.” Seeing them now, it was hard to believe she once found them as scary as everything else in the gallery.

Madotsuki pulls out her knife, examining it. “I have a feeling I can turn this into something stronger, with what was left of those shadows.” She counts out how many little blobs they have. “Six… perhaps not enough yet.” She stows both items away again. “If only there were some way to get these without having to fight the shadows.” She looks up at the sky, pondering the issue.

Ib spoke up. “A lot of them seemed to be after me...”

“Yes, but I won’t let you put yourself in danger for something like that… besides, they seemed to be attracted to fear, if I am right. No, the best thing would be to find another source. There must be something we haven’t found.”

“I suppose… where would we start looking?”

“That is what we need to find out. For now… I suppose we pick a direction.” Madotsuki shrugs.

Ib thinks on that. “Well… the furthest out I went was the plains with the bunnies, and those pig houses.”

“Then that could be a starting point. It would be good to map this place out even if we don’t find anything. But first… let’s start with the pigs. Who knows? They may be friendly.”

Ib frowns. “I hope so...”

                                                        ______

As they got closer to their destination, the shadows seemed blacker, the lights dimmer, and the very air shook with some mysterious and ominous force. Frisk could feel it all around them, as they had every time they had come here. The Batter on the other hand, seemed more and more determined as they went, eyes darting to every shadow.

“He’s going to wear himself out before we even get there.” Frisk had no response to that. They had hoped that this Batter’s will would slip, even a little, as they got closer, so that they could convince him to go, but it seemed he wasn’t the sort of person to falter. They had that much in common at least, but it did not make this any easier.

They could see a bright red light ahead of them, and soon they could spot the source, an eerie crack in the ground with light pouring out. As they approached, shimmering fanged shadows appeared to attack. The Batter instantly snapped to attention and rushed in to fight. The rock lobster they brought with them, on the other hand, didn’t seem to notice them at all- it did seem wary of the light, though, and refused to get any closer.

Frisk did not intervene just yet- a single shadow wasn’t too dangerous, and they wanted to see exactly what this Batter would do. And what he did was smash it in the face with his bat, making it stagger back while he pressed forward and kept attacking. He was clearly a lot stronger than he looked, it seemed. Soon the shadow was nothing more than a black dead puddle, which he ignored.

Frisk moved up to pick up the goop, while the Batter looked around for more enemies. The shadows did seem to be moving, but there were no eyes watching them.

“Only one comes out of those.” Frisk explained. “But if we stick around, more will come before it closes.”

The Batter stayed put, so it seemed he wanted to face them. “If I close all of these holes, will they stop appearing?”

Frisk decided a small lie couldn’t hurt. “It could. It has never been done.”

Soon another shadow appeared, a Terrorbeak, and the Batter went into battle. It did not last long, but his recklessness earned him a bite on the shoulder.

“At that rate he will get killed sooner or later for sure. Why don’t we save them the trouble?” Frisk ignored their friend, moving over to the Batter as the fissure closed and the shadows faded away. “See? One less place for shadows to come from. I don’t know where any others are though.”

The Batter looked around, but it seemed there was nothing else for him to slay. “That’s fine. I know what to do now. Once all sources of the shadows are destroyed, this world will be purified.” He starts to walk onwards, Frisk staying behind.

“Good luck!” They called out. The Batter didn’t respond, but their job was done. Frisk turned to head back the way they came. “I don’t like this… Frisk, we can’t just let him go wherever he wants.”

“He’s wasting his time chasing shadows. He won’t-”

“You don’t know that! He will kill anything he thinks is ‘unpure’, you heard him! Frisk, we can’t let him live. And we can’t leave this to chance. I’m sorry, but I’m taking over.”

Frisk shakes and falls to their knees, struggling to move. “Don’t… Chara...” Their eyes lit up with a dull red glow, clothes changing to green and yellow. Chara stood up, dusting themselves off, pulling out their knife.

“Sorry Frisk. He’s too dangerous to be left alive, and it’s time for me to cut loose.”

For a moment, there was silence, then Chara frowns. “No reaction to that? I thought you liked puns.”

“You just stole my body. Again.”

Chara sighs. “You’re right. I am pretty horrible, I said it myself. But this has to be done. You’ll thank me later, Frisk. When the world is safe.”