Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-36110859-20181102003515

I've tried to analyze a lot of things since the launch of Deltarune Chapter 1, and I think I can predict some of the major events that connect Undertale & Deltarune together. Before I start, to be honest... I think it's a "different" timeline, a prequel, and a sequel ALL AT ONCE! Now here's my theory which explains that. If you haven't completed Undertale yet, DO NOT READ IT! it might be long, and there might be holes in it, but please listen if you want:

First of all, it's a different timeline because some of the characters' relationships don't exist here. Undyne doesn't know Alphys, Sans only arrived recently and doesn't know anyone, and Bratty and Catty weren't as close as they were in Undertale. Also notice that aside from Kris/Chara, humans don't exist on the surface. This might be for many reasons, with the most assumed one as "the monsters won the war against the humans", and that basically confirms it takes place in a different timeline. Asriel is also alive, and is now in university.

Now why it's also a prequel? 2 reasons: Gaster and his followers, and Sans and Papyrus themselves: If you remember one of Goner Kid's quotes when you find him: "Have you ever thought about a world where everything is exactly the same... Except you don't exist? Everything functions perfectly without you... Ha, ha... The thought terrifies me." This quote, alongside stuff that the other followers say, may imply they existed in the Deltarune timeline before! As for Sans and Papyrus, Sans has inside his workshop a picture of him and 3 people smiling. These people might be the 3 heroes you play as in Deltarune, and Sans might have known them. In the genocide fight, Sans himself is also aware of different timelines, and even says "Look. I gave up trying to go back a long time ago." So he might originally be from the Deltarune timeline as well, and he's aware of everything that happened there. With that said, he and Papyrus might have transported themselves into the Undertale timeline alongside those who survived, and another person.....Gaster.

And now, the reason it's also a sequel is because of Chara: Chara turned into that kind of personality because they hate humans. But if the humans don't exist in Deltarune, then who is Kris? Well, I think Kris is the result of Chara and Frisk cooperating together in an INITIAL Genocide Ending(more about that in a bit). That could mean Kris' human soul is actually Frisk's soul, and the body is in possession of both of them. The reason why they look different in the Dark World is because in that place, they are one of the 3 heroes. As for that hero, It's actually the one you create in the beginning. that brings me to another question: What if the Dark World doesn't exist? What if the legend of Deltarune and this world's citizens, are all a mere illusion created by Gaster? (more about that in a bit) Back to Kris, Perhaps Chara and Frisk decided to split their control so at nights, Chara is in possession of the body while the soul is in a birdcage, and in the mornings, Frisk take control. That brings me back to the case with Sans. In Undertale, he is very suspicious of Frisk, but in Deltarune, he doesn't even know you. Basically, there was a single timeline where Sans and Papyrus didn't exist there, and Frisk(manipulated by Chara) completed the genocide. This is what I call The INITIAL Genocide Run. the events of Chara and Asriel as kids and their death are still the same, but in this initial timeline... Chara survived through the power of Determination as a ghost. So they waited until someone with the same Determination power as them will arrive, and they eventually manipulated Frisk. So Chara and Frisk, through the power of Determination and all the EXP they gathered, jumped into a different timeline, and were reborn anew. Then they were adopted by Toriel and Asgore as Kris, and lived in peace there for many years.....that might have been Frisk's condition, and when that condition's time limit is over, they will go for a genocide. One of the details that give proof is that Kris' HP is 92, and Frisk/Chara's HP was also 92 at the end of their INITIAL Genocide run. Remember, because Sans and Papyrus didn't exist there, their final lvl was 19 instead of 20. Flowey couldn't exist either because the True Lab was never built(more about this and Gaster in a bit), so the golden flower experiment never happened.

Eventually they almost completed the genocide in the Deltarune timeline, all were killed...except Sans, Papyrus, Gaster and his followers(one of them is this timeline's Monster Kid, and another one is Clam Girl). Gaster already planned his theory about different timelines, but in order to do that and survive Chara, he needed enough time to build a machine. Chara was already aware of different timelines, so even if they just nuked the world with their life, they will still exist again in the timeline they were originally born. Gaster successfully finished the machine, and he, Sans, Papyrus, alongside his own followers, escaped in time and reached the Undertale timeline...a reality where the monsters lost the war, the same one where Chara was originally born. But they didn't calculate that other than Sans, Papyrus and Gaster, the others already exist in the Undertale timeline, so their existence....has been gone. They arrived at the timepoint AFTER Chara and Asriel's death. They found out Chara is already dead, and since they accomplished their goal, they all decided that the best way is to just stop thinking about the past and start getting used to their new life. Gaster continued his research and experiments, eventually promoted by Asgore as the Royal Scientist, and built the DT Extraction Machine. He was aware of Chara's power of determination, and wanted to find a way to inject it into monsters. Sans and Papyrus helped him, and Gaster also developed the Gaster Blasters so Sans could use them. Sans at that time, got his eye powers thanks to his ability at controlling Gaster Blasters. Papyrus didn't think he should get that power, because of his belief(basically violence is not the best option). Because of that, he didn't help much in the research, and Alphys was recruited as a scientist instead. But in one of his experiments, Gaster got into an accident that erased his existence in this timeline. Before the accident, he realized that could happen, so he left a note to Sans. That note says: "Don't Forget". He means to tell Sans that he shouldn't forget what happened in the Deltarune timeline, and try to create good memories in his current life. Sans then realized that Chara might still exist in this timeline. So he decided to inspect every human that falls into the Underground, and enhance the abilities he have. He also asked Asgore to promote Alphys into the Royal Scientist rank, because he was aware of her capabilities as a scientist. Alphys is already used to work in the lab, but she will never remember her mentor. Sans did all that so he could eventually find Chara and kill them. How can he tell a human is actually Chara? his Judgement. depends on what they do, he can tell if Chara exists in this human body. if they do exist, chances they'll go for a genocide. If they fail reaching him in the Judgement Hall, they can't be Chara. If they do but haven't killed most of the monsters, the human might be conflicted and still needs to be judged. Sans talk about EXP and LOVE because he wants the human to realize that it is dangerous in this world. So once they go through the barrier into the surface, they won't have to suffer from Chara's manipulations. The reason why he does try to befriend Frisk all the time in the Neutral route is because he doesn't want a repeat of what happened in the Deltarune timeline. Papyrus' belief that "any one can be a good person if they just try", was one of the important things that kept him existing in the Undertale timeline, but he decided to move on with his new life, and tried to join the Royal Guard. That actually helped Sans to track Chara faster without him doing much. The only thing he miscalculated was that even Papyrus wasn't strong enough against Chara, since he never met them. he might have known about Chara, but he never actually saw how they look like. And because of that, Papyrus was betrayed, and killed by Frisk/Chara. after Undyne was killed, Sans realized he needs to stop them himself immediately. Even Undyne has the power of Determination, yet she didn't survive. After almost everyone were killed by Frisk/Chara, they approached Sans in the Judgement Hall. THUS BEGAN THE INFAMOUS SANS FIGHT! The result? genocide completed, and the Undertale timeline was erased as well....again. Thus, once again, they enter the Deltarune timeline from the very beginning, making it an infinite loop. That is.... until Gaster became involved. As in...the Gaster that was erased from existence. He got access to The Void, and found every possibility of the Deltarune timeline. He realized that Chara was born in the Undertale timeline, and was already in partial possession of Frisk's Soul and body in the Deltarune timeline. Thus, he created The Dark World, in order to remind Frisk(as Kris) the importance of friendship, trust, and courage to face the most dangerous threats. That leads to the events of Deltarune Chapter 1. The one who tells you that you don't have a choice is actually Chara, but the one who helps you to create a vessel is Gaster himself. Chara and Gaster are mentally fighting through Frisk. Based on your choices in the game(as in, the full game with all chapters), Frisk might gain control of themselves again, and Chara will be vanished, leading to the True Redemption Ending. But if you fail, you either go through self destruction, leading to the Loop Ending, or decide to stay alive without anyone in the world, leading to the Absolute ending. The best twist happens after the True Redemption Ending: with the help of Sans, Ralsei gets a true body, so they can live in the surface with everyone. Thus, it leads to Sans having a picture with Kris, Susie and Ralsei. Gaster, after completing his timeline theory, have realized that Chara doesn't belong to this timeline, and built the machine in order to reach Chara's original timeline and stop them. This time, however, he only arrived with Sans and Papyrus. his followers were left behind. the same history of Undertale repeats itself, but this time they are a part of the events of the TRUE PACIFIST route of Undertale, and this is why Frisk finds the picture of Sans, Kris, Susie and Ralsei, in the old workshop.

Now in conclusion, there is no true timeline here. but at the same time, there isn't a single true timepoint to this story! And because of Chara, Sans, Papyrus and Gaster, this can potentially be a sequel to Chara's genocide story, and a prequel to Sans' true story, all taking place in another timeline. As for Gaster….well, it's a prequel to Gaster's story, and a sequel to Gaster's story :)

That is my theory. thank you for reading! 