As another break to the action, we get more dialog and updates from our favorite NPCs. Ramb give more advice to Kris, Rouxls is enjoying having the attention of his polycule, and Lancer is being Lancer.

Before we check the S-rank room again or see what's going on with Tenna's guarded door, I want to point out this dialog from Shuttah, an enemy we faced off in the last round. They're sitting outside the green room, right where the shower curtains used to be. And while at first their dialog seems cryptic, what they're alluding to is very specific:

"A frozen waste, watery basin, a metal desert."

"But, this theater was built upon that... and, it grew."

are

are you telling me this joke theory was actually true??

Is this a ruse? Is this another red herring? What is going on??

Knowing Shuttah is some camera/image capturing being, they have the ability to record moments in time. They must have some memory from this to be making these statements. And for them to start alluding to the fact that Undertale may have been a Dark World inside Deltarune this entire time... is kinda nuts.

But at the same time, this could be a false lead. Given Ralsei's intro dialog about seeing things that weren't there before and references to Undertale only a fan could recognize, this makes it all too convenient to be true. What else could they be referring to though? I'm just not sure yet.

There's more dialog if you talk to them again:

"Not everyone like the change. Some people left.

"Of course, that was in the days of the black-and-white."

I don't know what to take away from all of this. There was some dialog when they were in the shower before Round 2, but unfortunately I didn't write that down. I did notice them mentioning purple cliffs; were they talking about it with Tenna? Hmm...

Just like before, we move Kris along the S-rank door and play the secret version of the 8-bit game with permission from Ramb. The game is booted up to an island, just like in the previous round, except all entrances teleport you to the same room near spawn. Except, of course, if we kill every enemy to amass enough levels to break down the trees below a waterfall, we'll end up warping to a location of the map that was blocked off in Tenna's version of the game.

Going north to where the ice cave entrance was, we can break the tree down to enter a dungeon. Gotta say, I wasn't expecting this Zelda-inspired minigame to be as thorough as it is. Once we reach a certain point inside, the text "FOLLOW THE WHITE CLOAK" is presented to us on-screen...

Once we meet with the white cloak, we can proceed on forwards to areas we weren't able to before, solving puzzles by inevitably freezing them into hexagonal ice crystals...

This is all happening while a foreboding melody plays throughout the dungeon.

Once past the dungeon, we reach a point with a locked door. This door is similar to the entrance of the dungeon, except it has red highlights around it. At first, the text displayed is typical ("THE ICE KEY WAS USED UP") until getting more and more sinister.

"SHE WAS USED UP."

"YOU GOT THE SHELTER KEY"

At one point, we are spoken to directly, assumingly by the original creator of this 8-bit game. They thank Kris by name for "ALL YOUR HARD WORK" before the text "YOU WERE USED UP." is the last thing the television displays before turning itself off.

What do we know about this game's creator (in-universe 8-bit game, not Toby Fox)? They know of something neither Kris or the player does (as suggested by the hint "THE FORBIDDEN PATH BEGAN WITH ICE MAGIC", something the Weird Route in Chapter 2 follows through). Their game was presumbly modified by Mr. Tenna himself, sloppily edited as his version still contains remnants of the original. They continously insist that the only way forward is to "BECOME STRONGER", even if it means using up ourselves or party members.

Who is the creator then? It's too easy to point the blame on Gaster/MysteryMan/Egg Guy, so why not have it be Mike? We have yet to be formally introduced to him, and seeing how he can edit the game at any time (shown when we were blocked off from visiting the ice cave while in Round 2), shows he has access to the source code. But other than that, we just don't have a lot of information to go by. At the very least, they seem to be aware of the Soul as well. It's too late to back out of this, so we'll just have to come back at a later point to see what's truly going on.

Seems like the way to Mr. Tenna's room is guarded by a remote control-looking enemy. Without having meant to go into battle, we defeat them and enter his door only to be met with a corridor of monitors and doors locked by parental control (go figure lol). Seems simple enough.

We have a moment with Ralsei as if he was breaking into another intermission. However, we have the choice to talk with him instead to see how he's feeling after all this.

"The cakes I bake, the cotton candy we eat, it might be yummy."

"...But, when you return to the Light World, you won't be full."

Ralsei starts to show regret of his actions as well, feeling sad that he can't be there for Susie at the festival. It's sweet; even knowing full well that he physically can't be present there, he asks Kris if they could give Susie an ice cream in his name. As much of a responsibilty it is to save the world, friendship is equally as difficult for Ralsei. Honestly, it can be that challenging. Hopefully Kris feels the same way about keeping ties with Susie.

And hey, with the sword we collect in the secret sections, the puzzles for breaking into parental control is made easier by bypassing them entirely.

After leaving the security hallway, the Fun Gang finds themselves in a winter wonderland. The fountain isn't too far, either, flowing in the background.

However, the reality sets in that Toriel was here all along! Though, she appears to be sleeping inside a giant gachapon capsule. Susie appears the most shocked about all this, probably feeling guilty for prolonging their time here while Toriel was in need of rescue. (Though, we get nothing from Kris on the matter.)

(Seeing Toriel here, I'm still not certain if Undertale is a Dark World or not. She does have a crown on, for what it's worth.)

Tenna shows up, but not before the team hides behind the capsule. Their efforts were fruitless, however, as Tenna sends them back on the quiz stage, desparate for attention. The set is in a hellish state, with everyone but Tenna trapped in a capsule as well. It seems hopeless, with everyone forced to abide to Tenna's 8-bit playthrough—which involves setting everyone's battle commands with an ACT button. To add insult to injury, the overworld music is reminiscent of Dark Land from Super Mario Bros. 3.

The team is obviously upset about this, with seemingly no way to escape. But Tenna also starts to show discomfort, as Mike doesn't appear to follow his commands to set stuff in the 8-bit game, either. With enough TP, however, the team can distract Tenna long enough to escape.

This montage is great. The music is urgent (has that BBC News beat) and the various sequences initiated are quick and fun. I love how a cowboy shooting minigame is added to the midst of this chaos, in addition to playing the 8-bit game and new sneaking mechanic.

One thing I was NOT prepared to see was a very [[SPECIL]] cameo.

As shown by my previous days playing the game, I've been collecting as many secrets as I can, including the Dealmaker and Jevilstail in my inventory. I know Spamton has mentioned Mike and referenced Tenna (don't trust everything you see on TV, etc.), but what happened next was a welcome surprise.

After the second cowboy segment, a hay bale and closet stand on the side. Interacting with the hay bale gives this dialog:

"(... is what it felt like your glasses would say.)"

And I thought, "oh that's a cute bit of dialog." But in the next sequence of rooms, you can come across a hidden entrance along the TV monitors. And going further into this room is a special interaction that I had no idea could happen.

The same closet as before is seen in a dark room. Interacting with it releases a Pipis on the ground. Fearing Tenna will see them, the Fun Gang turns back left. The TV host then sees the Pipis, reminding him of someone familiar. He wonders how this thing got there when:

"(Suddenly, the [Dealmaker] came out of your inventory...!?)"

HOLY SHIT

THAT'S SO COOL. I didn't think 1) that Darkners can turn back into themselves after becoming an equipable item, and 2) we would actually get to see how Mr. Tenna would react if he saw who Spamton was today.

Unfortunately, he didn't take it very well.

I guess Spamton is corrupted beyond recognition for people who knew him before to recognize him anymore. That's sad, but at least he tried.

More shenanigans ensue as we meet up with Rouxls again, alongside his two (dissatisfied) partners. As it turns out, he was only using their status as a way to obtain more power for himself. That's pretty low of you Rouxls, even for you. But I should've suspected this.

The battle here is similar to the one with Tenna earlier (seems like Rouxls obtained the same card used by him), but once you won over enough enemies on your side, Lancer is thrown into the mix, helping you with his LANCER CARD. This is so silly but that's why I love it so. It's a cumulation of everything in this chapter, from the reunion of the weather forecasters, to battle mechanics used against you, to having an ace up your sleeve (Lancer).

...and yet after all this, Rouxls still stole the CHIPS you FIEND

One more scene with Tenna ("Darnit, this is all that spammy MAILMAN'S fault!") and we're back at the Green Room. Though, things are starting to look different. For one, everyone (at least those who haven't turned to stone) seems to have dissented as we cut up all their contracts from earlier. But the most prominent change is the light snowfall(?) covering everything.

Taking one more trip to the S-rank room, we find Ramb, currently mid-petrification, explaining to us how he witnessed Kris creating the fountain and wanted to help us play games "Just like the old days."

And now that the games are almost over, it "Makes you think, was it really all such as good idea?" Of course, he's referring to allowing Kris play the secret game, but a deeper meaning to this is probably hinting at whether we the players should've been hunting down these secrets in the first place.

Something I've been thinking about is where Asriel fits into all this. Kris obviously misses seeing their brother, with Queen revealing their search results and the QC Diner rabbit giving them a hot chocolate on the house "just like old times". And one can make the obvious observation that Ralsei both looks similarly to and is an anagram of Asriel. Was journeying through these dark worlds a way to cope of the loss of spending time with someone close? Noelle misses those times spent together with Azzy and Dess too, so it's definitely possible.

But if that's the case, then Kris didn't know what they signed themselves up for because this next section is kinda... spooky.

With Kris playing Kris in the 8-bit game, they spawn at a familiar-looking place. I wasn't sure where because the building behind them looked nothing like what we've seen (looks like MTT Resort from Undertale, but it can be any hotel-like building). But exploring further, it resembled more and more like Cyber World. What an odd choice, and what's odder is that we have Susie and Ralsei in our 8-bit party.

However, there are no enemies in the overworld, and the only way to obtain EXP is...

The most unsettling visual cue is Kris turning their head and sideeyeing us from the forth wall. I didn't mean to fell Ralsei! I swear it was a mistake! But there was still Susie to deal with, before we're strong enough...

We gain our levels and destroy a red velvet barrier before entering the sewer, with a resemblance much like Queen's Mansion basement. While here, a couple puzzles had to be completed, namely one involving us the player taking control of a mirror enemy. Directing both Kris and the enemy to a button on each side destroys a barrier in the center, but Kris had no hesitation of killing us out of our control. Genuinely was not expecting that dang

Moving further along the sewers, we reach a long stretch of corridor, with Tenna's 8-bit representation present. He goes on to talk about how a supposed "Big Shot" was what he wanted to become. There was a piece of dialog from Ch.2 that mentions someone else in the room when Spamton turned into who he is now (though I don't remember it fully), but it's confirmed here that it was in fact Tenna.

"ALL. HE HAD. TO DO. WAS TELL ME WHAT HIS LITTLE SECRET WAS."

Having downing 8-bit Tenna as well, we run along a path until

oh

oh shit

What the hell? How does the game creator know where Kris lives? Let alone what the bunker looks like in Hometown.

Opening the bunker doors reveals a dungeon with SMB3-like blocks along the walls. Once we find a seemingly dead end, we reach a point where the game creator talks to us directly. It appears that they know about the existence of the Shadow Crystals too, since they tease that they have the Shadow Mantle (as Seam thought was lost).

"Do you honestly think it'll get you what you want...?"

Continuing onwards reveals a boss fight with this supposed creator of the game. They appear to be all dark (possibly looking like the "chicken" that Toby would use in social media posts). This is a tough fight: 4-way bombs sent by the shadow, no way of healing except for enemy drops (felines with the "Friend" face from Ch.2, pink and yellow eyes and a smile), and firebars toward the end. Not to mention, every time you die in the 8-bit game, you die in the actual game too (aka, your/Kris' soul). More than a couple tries later, the creator is seemingly felled, but not before teasing us again to claim our reward fast enough.

"You can't hide it Kris. Without play..."

"The knife grows dull."

this is so messed up

OK so: a player-controlled, 8-bit Kris can't reach the chest. But we can go to the right of the screen and exit out the television, only to be met face-to-face by the real Kris.

Kris is shocked by this as the closer we approach them, the more they walk backwards. I don't wanna spook Kris more than I have been, so I just sent the 8-bit Kris walking offscreen to the right, and we regain control of actual Kris to obtain the ShadowMantle. I'm just as freaked out as them.

By the time we leave this room, Ramb is nowhere to be seen. The 8-bit Kris supposedly kept walking out, as evidenced by the dust bunny mentioning it in the hallway. And as we exit the S-rank room, Ralsei was lost playing a game, to the surprise of Susie.

WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?
WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?
WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?

So we go back to the winter wonderland outside the Green Room and meet with Mr. Tenna. Even until now, he tries his damndest to convince Kris and Susie to stay.

As a last-ditch effort, Tenna tries to get Kris to remember what it was like to watch television as a group. He believes that there was something about him that caused people to leave, rendering him abandoned with any day now to be sent to be scrapped. What he doesn't know are the external factors that has caused folks (Asgore, Dess, the rest of the Holidays) to dwindle in visitor numbers until only Kris and Toriel are left. And even then, they don't see much of a reason to watch reruns if they aren't doing it as a group.

"I can have ALL the people watch me that I want."

However, in a turn of events, it turns out that the Roaring Knight has in fact been in communication with Tenna! But how is this possible? Did someone, like, break into their house and said words to the TV before leaving? How does that work?

Well, no matter. The show must go on, and on comes Mr. Ant Tenna to challenge our heroes.

Gotta say, this was a fun fight! The atmosphere is electric as we can choose to ACT in a challenge either solo, duo (with Susie/Ralsei), or as all three members. We can also choose to say other acts for bonus points, such as saying "I LOVE TV", with a target point total set to 1000.

Each challenge is a minigame that we've played before in the chapter, with some new ones here and there (I don't remember playing the weather balancing minigame). But it's all quick & easy to grasp. It's like a Deltarune version of WarioWare, and that's fantastic.

"I just wanted you to look at me." "One last time."

"I... I don't have anything anyone wants to watch anymore..."

"I don't wanna be thrown away."

Once we beat Tenna at his own game, he secedes, saying how much of a failure he is for not retaining the same amount of attention like he once did. Ralsei steps in to say that it doesn't make him a failure, that all Darkners will eventually become obsolete, that it's all part of the process and that they shouldn't worry Lightners about what happens to them ("But we aren't 'real', Tenna."). This all touches upon the theme of finding purpose mentioned thoughout the chapter, though here, it seems like none of it has stuck with Ralsei as we once thought.

But Susie disagrees.

It's suggested that Susie didn't have any friends before the events of Deltarune, but here, she lays it out in full, expressing the frustration of never having any permanent friends due to having to move all the time, as well as people's perception of her.

But after having met Toriel while crying to herself in the cemetery, Susie gained a bit of hope that things would be different here in Hometown. She views Toriel as a friend, and she respects her for giving her the time of day to feel like a valued individual.

"I felt like you." "I felt like a broken toy no one wanted."

And she knows now how valuable her friends are. Susie refuses to give up on Ralsei because, real or not, the moments they spend with each other are what's important to her. And she could've easily hurt Kris during their confrontation in the first chapter, but that would've meant hurting Toriel, too. So here, she suggests that perhaps Tenna is better spent looking elsewhere, to find a household that would appreciate having a television set like him around.

"No one's gonna get thrown away."

Mr. Tenna couldn't be any happier. It's not what the Knight wanted, but who cares? All we need is to seal the fountain so that everyone can be hap-

"(It looked like a digital security lock...)"

"(There were three entry fields and three symbols besides them.)"

"(One had a pine tree beside it.)"

"(One had an officer's badge beside it.)"

"(And one had the DELTA RUNE.)"

WHAT THE FUCK

you can't end the chapter like that?????

was this all because i got the ShadowMantle??? were they the ones who took away Dess?? why did they need these people for??? and what the hell does mike have to do with any of this????

in the midst of all this i've forgotten that we just left ralsei back at kris's house alongside toriel. is he ok?

i am so stressed out about this but so excited to start the next chapter soon. Holy Shit what an ending