Be Like the Twenty-Second Elephant with Heated Value in Space

OK, read it? Good. Now, in order to keep you up to speed with my thoughts, read this excerpt from the user PastaGuy on Ao3, concerning my Hiatus. I cut out the portion of the comment that has no ties with what I’m writing.

I find the blank slate thing to be a bit exciting actually. I think that it opens up so many possibilities for different characterization between alternate versions of themselves without the restrictions that other characters in fanfictions of other works of trying to stay in character. I like seeing the differences between two different versions of Frisk or Asriel. 

Now what this user has said (thanks for that, btw.) I agree with wholeheartedly. I do like it when you have your own spin on characters. Its what defines “headcanons” and what this whole sub-genre of writing is based on.

“FAN”-fiction. AKA, fiction made from a fan’s interpretation. A crossover where Frisk is the new mayor of a town comprised solely of Undertale characters is exactly the type of thing that a fan would create, and I’m happy I’m bringing my ideas out to the world.

Now, as for what happens in the future, I don’t know. I will say that I would REALLY like to continue Undercrossing. I want to continue Determination: The Fanfic, and show what I interpret as the way that Asriel gets out of the underground. But will it be written?

For one, I’m not sure if anyone even READS my stuff anymore. I’ve known since 2019 that the spark of Undertale has been steadily dying, and there might not even be an audience for my works.

But, I still want to write it. I don’t want to stare at my unfinished works with a heavy heart, knowing they’ll never see the light of day. 

Now, something I want you, the reader, to do. Did you read my fanfics way back when? Did you wait with bated breath for every update? Would you be excited, knowing that I may be getting into updating Undercrossing? I’m not ego stroking, I just want to know if you, personally, will appreciate my fanfics coming back. Because trust me:

Amelia and Gura never thought what happens when you go to the afterlife; but they realize now that it doesn’t really matter. It’s happening now. After getting transported via Calli Airlines, they’ve arrived in a cloudy, surreal area with large, imposing gates in front of them.

“You know, I always imagined pearly gates, but I never thought they’d ACTUALLY be made of pearls.” Gura remarks, staring up at the gates.

“They’re marble, idiot. C’mon.” Amelia rolls her eyes, taking Gura’s hand and head toward the gates. As they approach the gates, they notice someone sitting behind a pedestal of some kind, reading a newspaper. They’re an oni: red skin, horns, everything including a white robe. Along with a halo adorned on top his head. They stop for a second to notice that they too have halos.

They go up to the oni, and he stops reading his newspaper. He gives Amelia and Gura a long look, sizing both of them up, which they squirm under his gaze. He pulls out a slab of marble, which seems to have something written on it. 

“Amelia Watson?” He finally asks in a tired tone, looking over to the detective.

“Uh, present?” Amelia responds dumbly, kinda blown back by what’s happening.

“And Gura... Watson?” The oni makes a face at the last name, but addresses Gura the same way.

“Right here.” Gura also responds, giving Amelia’s hand a reactive squeeze.

“... You’re clear, go right ahead.” As soon as he finishes his sentence, the large marble gates open, signaling their admission.

“Uh... Thanks.” Gura thanks, eyeing the oni quizzically.

“Wait, you.” He stops Amelia, and heaves a long sigh. “We were wondering when you were supposed to show up, Mrs. Watson. Time-travelers always screw up the filing system.” The oni remarks then goes back to his newspaper. “That’s all I wanted to say. Enjoy the afterlife.”

“Uh, okay! Sorry for the trouble.” Amelia apologizes and gives Gura a shrug. They continue on through the large gates.

.

Amelia and Gura arrive at some type of plaza, and some large metal doors close behind them as they arrive. The architecture is very Greek; stone and clay buildings, tiled colored stone paths, an exit on the other side of the clearing, and  a large tree in the center of it all. And sitting under the tree, reading a book is...

“INA!!!” Gura and Amelia rush up to their old friend, giving her a hug.

“Amelia, Gura! I was wondering when you two were going to show up!” Ina reciprocates the hug. “I knew Gura was going to take a long time, but I didn’t think Amelia would take just as long!”

“Well...” Amelia and Gura relay the whole story.

“Aww, that’s so sweet, so you decided to die in each other’s arms together?” Ina remarks, which the two blush at. “Man, you two are still adorable. Hey Kiara, Amelia and Gura are finally here!”

Before Amelia and Gura can even react, they’re taken down by an orange blur and are faced with a hug from a (former) phoenix. “AME, GURA! I MISSED YOU TWO SO MUCH!”

“We missed you too, bird-brain.” Gura chuckles, hugging her back. “I kinda knew what happened to you after I couldn’t find you in the real world, but Calli never gave a proper explanation. You’re a phoenix, how the hell did you die?”

“Oh, that!” Kiara lets go of the two. “Well after Ina and Amelia disappeared, Calli lost her human body, and you stopped communicating with me...”

“I feel we both needed some time alone...” Gura defended sheepishly.

“Hmm. Well, I gave up Hololive and just flew around the world, trying to find something to occupy myself. Turns out, I wasn’t thinking well and died a couple stupid ways. Getting run over, hit by a plane, mauled by bears, tripped into a volcano...” Kiara sweatdrops.

“Geez, kinda morbid, don’t you think?” Amelia winces.

“Hey, we’re all dead. What’s the harm?” Kiara states matter-of-factly. “Well after the 15th or so death, Calli chastises me for dying so many times so quickly. She mentioned that my phoenix soul didn’t have enough time to rematerialize in the real world. She equated it to me losing all my lives, like in a videogame.” Kiara chuckles to herself. “I was kinda sad to leave Calli, but she mentioned I could keep Ina company until you two showed up! Plus she gave me a hug right before she reaped me! If I knew I’d get a hug after killing myself for realsies, I would’ve done it a long time ago!”

“Jesus, Kiara. Care a little more about your mortality, please?” A 5th voice appears behind the group, surprising all four of them.

“CALLI???”

“Hey guys. Sorry I had to be last to the party.” Calli apologizes. She’s in casual attire: no tiara, no jacket, no familiar scythe on her back.

“CALLIII!!!” Kiara practically takes down Calli, whom grunts from the impact. “How are you here? I thought reapers couldn’t go to the afterlife? Can I hug you more?”

“First off: No. Get off me, you stupid bird, and I’ll explain everything.” Kiara lets go reluctantly and Calli dusts herself off. “Well, to explain how I’m here: Reapers can’t hold feelings for any of the souls they reap. Ever since I had to reap Ina, my powers have slowly been diminishing since then and have completely disappeared once I reaped you two.” Calli motions towards Amelia and Gura. “Needless to say, you four made quite an impression on me during my career as a part of Hololive.”

“Aww, we love you too, Calli!” Gura exclaims, holding Amelia’s hand harder.

Calli smiles at this. “So I contacted Death Sensei and asked him about a reaper “reaping” themselves. He was surprised, as a reaper has never requested this before. But my request was accepted, on the grounds that I’d lose my powers altogether. I accepted that, and here I am.” Calli finishes her explanation and breaths in slightly. “And now that that’s done: Yes Kiara, you can continue hugging me.” Kiara squeals and latches onto the former reaper again.

“Aww, she’s finally being honest.” Ina remarks, staring at the two happy couples.

“You shut your face.” Calli retorts as she puts an arm around Kiara. “I was kind of worried I wouldn’t be able to find you four, but you didn’t even make it past the entrance.”

All five of them stare at the opposing exit. “Yeah, we were waiting for you guys.” Ina mentions as she stares at the exit. “I wonder what happens now...”

“Well it doesn’t matter.” Gura states. “Now that my wife’s back by my side, she ain’t leaving it!” She pulls Amelia closer, and Amelia pecks her cheek.

“I forgot you two got married...” Calli off-handedly mentions, then stares at the former phoenix still bear-hugging her. “Sounds like a good idea...” She murmurs under her breath.

“You say something, Calli?” Kiara pipes up, having her face inches away from Calli’s.

“You didn’t hear anything, you stupid bird.” Calli pushes Kiara’s face away in a dismissive gesture.

“I hope you two aren’t going to act like this the entire time.” Amelia teases, getting a death glare from Calli. “Almost flirting is going to get boring after a while.”

“Well, no time like the present, right?” Ina chimes in. She grabs Gura’s hand (who in turn is holding Amelia’s) and Calli’s hand (who in turn is still being overwhelmed by Kiara). “Let’s find out together! As a family!”

“Yeah!” The four others exclaim.

“It sure is going to be awkward when we find our actual families.”

“Oh god, don’t make me think of that!”

Amelia, Gura, Calli, Kiara, and Ina never thought about what happens in the afterlife; but they realize now that it doesn’t really matter.

Amelia and Gura never thought about what happens when you die; but they realize it doesn't really matter. Just as long as they’re together. People always have different interpretations of what happens. Some say that it’s like sleeping but you never wake up. Some say it’s an unimaginable pain then nothing. Some say that your soul goes to a garage in Buffalo.

What Amelia and Gura didn’t expect, however, is to suddenly be sitting in front of a slightly ticked off reaper they know all too well. “Calli?!?” They both exclaim in surprise, as they both expected to see at least a different reaper.

“Took you two long enough.” Calliope mutters indignantly. “Not just you Gura, even Amelia left me waiting for over 1000 years. If I could revive you two I’d do it just so I could kill you two again for wasting my time.”

“Well nice to see you too, Calli.” Amelia greets back sarcastically. “I see it’s 1000 years later and you still sound like you just got out of bed.”

“You have no right to complain, time traveler.” Calli shoots Amelia a glare, then softens when she turns to Gura. “And Gura, I’m sorry I suddenly stopped communicating with you so many years ago.”

“Yeah, what gives!” Gura pipes up, almost forgetting that her one consistent friend up and disappeared like all her others. “After Ina and Amelia left, I thought things couldn’t get any worse!”

“I sincerely apologize for that.” Calli starts, giving Gura a small bow. “You see, once I lost my human body, my connection to living beings slowly diminished. As a reaper, I could only easily communicate with either soon-to-be dead beings, or dead ones, as you two are now.”

“So we really are dead now.” Ame comments dumbly, then thinks for a moment. “Wait, you said you were waiting for us two? So is Ina really dead? Wait, what happened to Kiara? Isn’t she a phoenix???”

“One question at a time, Amelia. As you suspect, Ina passed away soon after her stream announcement. Seems undertaking eldritch powers took a toll on her body, much like your antics with time-traveling. As for that stupid bird...” Calliope goes silent for a moment.

No words are needed to convey the fate of Kiara, so Amelia and Gura stay silent.

Calli shakes her head “It’s not important now. Besides, the time we have right now is limited. You two are here for a reason.”

“Well yeah.” Amelia nonchalantly replies. “We’re here to get ‘reaped’, right? Where do you go, if you know?”

“Steal my thunder, why don’t you...” Calli mutters under her breath. “Now, even I’m not sure where you go when you get ‘reaped’, so your guess is as good as mine. On another matter...” She coughs and turns to the couple, and smiles slightly. “I’m happy to see you reunited with your ‘sunshine’, Gura. You were pretty choked up about her every time we had ‘commune’ication.” she chuckles at her own pun.

“Yeah, it only took 1000+ years, but it was worth it when it happened.” Gura states, giving Amelia’s hand a squeeze.

“Gotta say, it’s pretty cruel to let her wait that long, Ame.” Calli remarks, deciding to chastise Amelia a little longer.

“Hey! You said yourself I had limited travels left! I wanted to make them count.” Amelia defended sheepishly.

Calli smiles at that. “Very true. Now, before I do the deed: Have you two any regrets left over? Anything you wish you did differently? It may hinder you passing over successfully.”

Amelia and Gura look at each other, and give the hand between them another reassuring squeeze. “None.” They say in unison.

Gura never thought about what happens when you’re about to die; but she realizes now that it doesn’t really matter. She’s seen multitudes of colonies, societies and cliques rise and fall, all while she watches in the background, wondering if it’ll ever happen to her. She’s never known another of her species long, so she has no clue of the lifespan of an Atlantean. All she knows is that it has taken way too long; but it’s finally happening.

She’s finally dying.

She hasn’t heard from any of her friends from the old times in a long time. Ina was the first one to suddenly disappear. She mentioned something about meeting the Elder Ones during her last stream and hasn’t been seen since. Of course, Calliope happened next when she lost her human body. Gura used to commune with Calli whenever she had time off from her reapings; but those occasional communications also ceased for whatever reason. Gura felt no ire, she’s sure Calli had her reasons. She never met her in the human world again, so Gura concluded she wasn’t able to find another body to occupy. Kiara was last seen flying through the air aimlessly with no plan, and Gura expected she needed some time alone. A lot of time, apparently.

And Amelia. Gura kept telling herself that that fateful day when her sunshine left her that final letter was not the last time she’d see her; but she knew she was lying to herself. Gura kept on making excuses like “Oh she’s probably jumping the time streams, searching for the answer to longevity and she’ll be right back when she’s done.” but lying to yourself for over 1000 years straight gets old. She only wished she could’ve kept the letter Amelia left for her, but like everything on this damned rock, nothing lasts forever and has decomposed. She didn’t think much of it anymore, she knows her memory’s not going anywhere.

Gura picked a quiet, serene place to die: an abandoned beach. Nice place to watch both the sunset and the ocean. She remarked that she gets to see her two favorite places that remind her of her two favorite things: The sea, from whence she came; and the sun, representing the place she left her heart, with Amelia. 

No-one was around to spend her final days with, as she never kept anyone close to her since her first friends. No need to form any relationships if they’re just going to dissolve once they die, she figured.

“Stupid Ame.” Gura muttered to herself, hugging herself closer to keep warmer. “Are you really not going to meet your wife ONE time before she dies? You really are cruel, you bozo...”

“Hey, you’re still badmouthing me until your last dying breaths? You pain me, sharky.”

“Great, now I’m hallucinating her voice right before I die, what a pai-” Gura stops halfway and whips around to find an all too familiar figure standing in front of her. “A-Ame?”

“Long time no see, Gura.” Amelia remarks nonchalantly as she walks up to Gura. She pushes her back down as Gura stands up to greet her. “Stay down, save your energy right before you die, right?”

“I.. I don’t get it. Why are you back? HOW are you back? Why are you back now?” Gura has so many questions she doesn’t know where to start. 

Amelia heaves a grunt and sits beside her. “I suppose I do owe an explanation, huh?” Amelia ponders a moment before starting again. “Well, your memory’s still sharp, right? Do you remember why I left in the first place?”

“Of course I do!” Gura almost shouts, but realizes she doesn’t need to raise her voice when Amelia’s right next to her. “I remember everything in that goodbye letter you wrote. Lots of cheesy lines in that, BT-dubs” Gura jokes which Amelia chuckles back at. “Sorry I couldn’t keep the letter; paper only lasts for so long.”

“Hey, I’m not the only one with the cheesy lines. I got your letter from Calli, she was somehow able to find the right me; despite me time-jumping all over the place.” She pulls out a small piece of paper. “Decomposing doesn’t matter to a time-traveler, so I still got mine. Anyways, I left because I wanted to find a way to be forever with you. And suffice to say, I didn’t find it.”

“Yeah, I gathered that when you left me alone for 1000+ years.” Gura commented dryly.

“Can it, shorty.” Amelia bit back. “Well time-traveling back and forth multiple times without resting took a massive toll on my body, and I was informed by Calli,” Amelia mutters “figures” under her breath “that I had only a few time-travels before it would be it for me. I pondered going back to see you one last time and dying in the timeline I met you guys.”

“On one hand, I’d be happy that you did return. On the other hand, you dying in my arms...” Gura thinks of the possibility and shudders. “So what you’re saying...”

“Yup, this is my last time travel. I went forward in time and found out when the last Atlantean Shark died, and figured it was you. Only hard part was finding out where you decided to die. Thank the stars you didn’t decide to sink to the bottom of the seabed alone.”

“And you figured that I’d want to die somewhere with some memories.” Gura concluded and Amelia nodded. “You recognize this place? We went on many midnight strolls down this beach.”

“Well the landmarks are certainly different from our time as Hololive members, but the geographical position is similar.” Amelia comments, looking at the surroundings.

“Yup, still our special place.” Gura smiles and intertwines her hand with Amelia’s. “So, now that you’ve explained why and how you’re here, I can finally say what I’ve been wanting to say.” Gura places her head on Amelia’s shoulder. “I’ve missed you, Sunshine.”

“The feeling’s mutual, sharky.” Amelia squeezes the shark’s little hand. “You know, I expected you to look radically different in 1000 years. But you’ve barely changed, save for a couple lines around your eyes.”

“I look the same because my heart left with you when you disappeared.” Gura gets up and whispers into Amelia’s ear.

Amelia turns several different shades of red. “Okay, how many years did it take you to come up with that corny ass line?”

“Couple hundred.” Gura jokes, then returns to her position beside Amelia. “I suppose when I arrived at Hololive I was already an adult. And you...” Gura sits up slightly to get a better look at Amelia’s form. “You still look the same as when you left me. What, you didn’t find the secret to immortality but found eternal beauty instead?”

“Well, by my own personal timeline, I say it’s only been a couple years since I left you, so I guess I haven’t changed mu-” Amelia attempts to explain how old she is but is cut off by Gura.

“Ha, trick question! You’ll always be beautiful in my eyes.” Gura faces Amelia and gives her a toothy grin.

And tomato red goes Amelia again. “I should NOT have left you that long if all you were going to do is come up with cheesy one-liners.”

“Damn straight!”

“Which begs the question.” Amelia shuffles into a more comfortable position and stares at the slowly descending sun. “Apart from coming up with the one-liners, what HAVE you been doing for over a millennium?”

“Oh, I’ve got a bunch of stories to tell you, Ame.” Gura starts, preparing her vocal chords. “But they’re going to take some time.”

“Wow, you’ve sure been on some adventures, Gura.” Amelia remarks, not shifting from the spot they’ve been sitting for the past couple hours. The sun has been slowly descending past the horizon and is minutes away from plunging the surroundings into twilight.

“Well, we’re not going anywhere, Gura. Let’s hear them.”

---

“I’ll always say this, they will never top the time I spent with you guys.” Gura stretches and lets out a big yawn. “Think it’s about time for me, how about you?”

“Thinking about the same, Gura.” Amelia feels the most tired she’s ever been, and that includes the massive amount of time-travelling she’s done. “Let’s hope we’ll meet again once we go through... Whatever the hell happens when you die, huh?”

“Oh please. Now that you’re back by my side, you’re not leaving it, alive or not. Afterlife or whatever it’ll be, I’m making sure we’re never separated.” Gura struggles to keep her eyes open.

“I’ll hold you onto that, sharky.” Amelia gives her wife’s hand one last squeeze. “From now on...”

“Until forever...” 

“‘Till death do us part.” They say in unison.

...

“Wait, we’re dying right now. Maybe we shouldn’t’ve said that.”