Cold Place
Damn, who turned on the AC!?
Where the heck... is this?Susie, Chapter 3
The Cold Place (JP: 寒いところ) is the easternmost region in TV World. The party visits this location twice during Chapter 3, with the second visit making it TV World's final area. It is the location of the Dreemurr residence Fountain created by Kris.
After the Island Board, the Zapper blocking the east door in the Green Room can be interacted with. Choosing "Don't do anything" initiates an encounter with him, which grants access to the door after the party's victory. Alternatively, choosing "Press his buttons" twice allows them to pass without fighting.
Susie comments on the area's decreasing temperature. The party first encounters "parental lock" puzzles, which they solve by playing a game similar to The Legend of Tenna on the hallway monitors. Solving the puzzles leads to them finding the codes to unlock further doors within the area.
Between the parental lock rooms, Susie runs ahead of the party, giving Ralsei the opportunity to talk to Kris for the first time since TV Time started. Kris may choose to ask either Susie or Ralsei how they are doing, or skip the entire scene.
If Susie is chosen, Kris walks up to her, though they apparently only say the dialogue option chosen. Susie then talks about having fun with Kris and Ralsei, but laments that the Dark World is not real. Kris can either comfort Susie with "I'm not a dream" or "Your friendships are real", or say "Sucks to be you", but every option results in Susie laughing it off, and hoping that Ralsei realizes the Dark World not being real doesn't matter to her that much.
If Ralsei is chosen, he speaks about the games, and how he got wrapped up in it and forgot about their goal. Kris may tell Ralsei "It's ok to take it easy", or to "Stay on task", with either choice resulting in Ralsei thinking back to the festival. Ralsei then asks Kris to buy Susie something and tell her it was from him.
- Kris may agree ("Of course"), or refute ("I'm saying it's from me") Ralsei's proposal, which both end with Ralsei lamenting over not being able to be there for Kris or Susie in the Light World, and how treats from the Dark World won't make them full, but he takes solace in Kris being able to be with her.
- Kris may deflect by saying they are not going with her, and then pick one of the options:
- Ralsei or bust: Ralsei starts blushing and asks Kris to make sure Susie has a good time.
- Not going: Ralsei wonders if Kris intended to go to Castle Town instead.
- Berdly: Kris appears to shout this option out loud, several times over, with Ralsei surprised by Kris's behavior.
- Noelle: Ralsei mentions that Noelle would really appreciate if Susie was with them too. If Chapter 2's Weird Route was completed, he says that it is a bad choice, before correcting himself.
After the last parental lock room, the party ends up in a snowy area with the Dark Fountain in the background. They find Toriel inside a gachapon capsule under a Christmas tree, but hide behind the capsule when Tenna calls out to Toriel from offscreen.
Tenna appears to regret the actions he took towards her. He lifts up the ball in triumph, revealing the party underneath. Susie and Ralsei stutter, then the screen cuts to a "TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES" card. The party is transported back to TV Time for the bonus round.
Upon returning to Cold Place after the bonus round, Tenna reminisces on how the Dreemurrs and Holidays would spend their holidays watching specials, until, one by one, everyone disappeared. The Knight promised him that he can have all the people watch him he wants, as long as he keeps the party busy. When Tenna's attempts to convince the party to turn back prove unsuccessful, he fights them.
After defeating Tenna, he laments his lack of use and fears that he will be thrown away. Ralsei responds by saying that all Darkners become obsolete eventually, which doesn't cheer Tenna up. Susie then interjects, and declares that Tenna doesn't have to take being thrown away. She recalls her turbulent past experiences with making friends, and talks about how Toriel found her crying on the bench at the graveyard, when she told her everything was going to be okay and took her to QC's Diner. Finally, she promises Tenna to search for someone in the Light World who wants a TV.
This boosts Tenna's spirits, and he agrees to free Toriel against the Knight's wishes. Upon releasing Toriel from the capsule, Tenna's arms get cut off, and he falls offscreen. After a brief shock, Susie notices a mysterious black figure in the distance, soon revealed to be the Knight itself. It attempts to take Toriel with it, but Susie stands in the way.
The Knight is a tremendously difficult foe, especially if the Shadow Mantle has not been obtained. If the party defeats the Knight, it drops a BlackShard and a Shadow Crystal, but then SWOONs Susie and Ralsei before knighting Kris.
Regardless of the battle's outcome, the Knight attempts to take Toriel again, but Susie grabs its leg. Spears from offscreen appear aimed at the Knight, as Undyne is soon revealed to have entered the Dark World. The Knight subsequently takes Undyne instead and moves towards a Great Door.
Susie pursues the Knight, while Ralsei kneels, telling Kris he will be fine, and Toriel sleeps peacefully. Alternatively, if the Knight is defeated, Ralsei instead laments their struggle is only beginning,[1] and Toriel appears to be having a nightmare.[2]
As Kris moves eastward, a fog in the form of IMAGE_DEPTH slowly overtakes the screen and Susie gets lost. After Kris catches up to Susie, the two find the Great Door and enter it, finding themselves in the Light World, in front of the Dreemurr residence.
Kris and Susie are briefly seen at the Cold Place at the beginning of Chapter 4, sealing the Dreemurr residence Fountain.
At the very start of the Cold Place, there are three locked doors with a "Parental Lock", with a silhouette of Toriel's head on them (called dooriel internally).[3] Each of these rooms with a locked door contains a game console which turns on after interacting with the door at the end of the hallway. Depending on whether the Sword Route has been followed, Kris either plugs in the OddController, allowing the use of HERO_SWORD and their sword, or Susie plugs in her controller, allowing the use of HERO_AXE and her Power Croissant.
The first parental lock room exists to prevent viewing of R-rated movies. The second parental lock room exists to prevent viewing of music videos. Upon returning from the greater TV World, the rooms are condensed to a third parental lock room which, if not completed already, is skipped if the Shadow Mantle holder has been defeated, as their defeat shuts down all monitors in TV World.
The final room of the Cold Place is a snowy area with a SAVE Point. The SAVE Point's flavor text varies slightly depending on the current event. It foreshadows the Knight's encounter, and is an allusion to Undertale's SAVE Point description in Waterfall for Undyne's Arena, though it contextually contrasts.
In the background, the Dark Fountain is seen. A giant Christmas tree with a gachapon capsule with Toriel trapped inside is at the east end of the area, where the party gets transported back for the bonus round on first visit, and battles Tenna and the Knight on their second visit. Past the Christmas tree, the backdrop contains a different view of the same Fountain; much further to the right is the Grand Door leading outside.
Dynamic Border for the parental lock rooms
- The snow in the final room is potentially a reference to TV static, often called "snow". This is a pattern of random pixels resulting from electronic noise accidentally picked up by a television in the absence of a transmission signal.
- It could also reference the front door of the house being left ajar, just as the Great Door is. The SAVE Point mentions a harsh draft in the room, likely coming from the winds blowing into the house.
- ↑
...
— Ralsei after the Knight is defeated, Chapter 3
Somehow, I thought we... had won... for a moment...
That... we would be able to end the battle... here and now...
... you...
You were so brave... and yet...
In the end... our struggle...
It's only beginning, isn't it...?
... Isn't it, Kris...?
... - ↑
(Her face contorted...)
— Narration upon interacting with Toriel after the Knight is defeated, Chapter 3
(It looks like she's having a nightmare.) - ↑ gml_globalscript_scr_text script, line 7415, Chapter 3