#josh loosely holds the flowey role but it's just mad science and unoccupied mushrooms

[spiderh0rse]

whoops short fic in the tag

Fool hit the bed of flowers hard, as always. Not the best part of being down here, he'll be honest. A parrot lands in front of him and kicks his hand.

"Doovid," Fool greets. "Did you pick up a parrot while I was gone?"

"Fool! You're back!"

---

Doovid didn't have much news about the state of the Kingdom, just something about a gradually developing rivalry with Leon, as the conflicting airline and boat transit fought for customers. Doovid was fairly sure it was friendly, but Fool elects to not use the airline, anyways. Leon's been around all seven times Fool's fallen, and he's not going to get on his bad side now.

He walks through the snowy forest instead. Ruby and Viking catch him in the act, as they are prone to do.

"Trog's probably seen you by now," Ruby tells him.

"Did they finally get local omniscience, or..."

Viking laughs at him. "Nah, they're the lead scientist now. Avid had to step down."

"Really, now?"

"Yeah, he kind of got his SOUL split in two? We're not too sure where the other half of him is. There's been search parties, though!"

Viking's new outfit is apparently just as new as it looks. Or maybe newer. It was an anniversary gift from Avid, and he hasn't taken it off since, which explains the three weeks worth of cat hair.

Asking after what else is new yields a lot. M1g's dead, but there was a massive cloning project at some point, trying to see if they could artificially create more human souls via hybrid nonsense, and of all the attempts, M1g took best.

There's a single clone each of Ruby (Rue is apparently NOT made of gems. There was also an incident regarding Vintage, but that's smoothed out.), Milkman (who Ruby and Viking both refuse to spoil some kind of surprise about), and Trog. Then there's apparently been hundreds of M1gs. Not all of them lived long, but the ones that did passed around the stories of the original, so there's a good chance they'll know some things about Fool.

"Don't tell Vintage," Ruby says with a wink, "but she's lived a lot longer than most would expect from her species of tree."

---

About as soon as he sets foot in the marsh, Josh pops up from the ground.

"I was wondering where you went."

"My patch at the jungle wasn't doing too hot. Here's more comfortable anyways."

Fool looks around the damp cavern, then back to the mushroom man in front of him. "I'd imagine so."

---

He does stumble across the witches, eventually. Tea catches him having issues with the mud and simply picks him up and moves him out. The mud slides right off her leaves. Their houses are as nice as ever, and have started to grow that soft glowing lichen that pervades the place.

Marmalade sloshes her way out of some crypt-like structure in the ground, her mud all over the ground behind her, gradually creeping back towards her. The fish in her kelp flit about.

It's not surprising that these two have lasted centuries, frankly. He doesn't know the particulars of what they do, but it's powerful stuff. Marmalade exposits briefly on the both of them searching for Avid's missing half. It's not really their business, but they think he'd like it.

---

Milkman grins as he runs across the lobby of the apartment building/hotel, which is a fascinating sight, considering he did not have legs the last time Fool saw him. Or arms, he reflects, as they greet each other with a firm hug.

"So you're a robot, now?"

"Kinda. I managed to talk a couple folks into building me something with limbs, and in I went!"

Fool nods. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but-"

"Not yet, no," Milkman sighs. "I'm still trying to get the moustache perfect."

"You'll get it soon," Fool promises.

"Oh, sure, but you'd better be around to see it happen!"

"I'm planning on an in and out, frankly. It should be my last time down here, unless one of my older SOULs broke."

"No, no. You're right. Come back quick, though."

"As soon as I can. Maybe sixteen, if I'm lucky."

"You're lucky that half of us down here cheat death in some way."

"Don't I know it."

---

The Barrier breaks later that day. The Underground emerges into the Surface, for the most part. Josh and Leon take a bit to uproot themselves (literally or via business.)

Sure enough, Fool arrives at their new town at the base of the mountain, freshly eighteen for the eighth time.