9 Questions That Still Need to Be Answered After Deltarune Chapter 5

So. You just finished Deltarune Chapter 5, right? How are you holding up? I was pretty surprised by how long it was, but it makes sense. We had to get to know the flowers. This game just loves getting you attached to people.

I feel like we should enjoy it while it lasts. We've only got two chapters left, after all, and they're likely going to tug every heart string Deltarune has plucked so far. Chapter 5 was teased to be the last fun adventure before the end, and it really seems to be shaping up that way because not a lot of the lingering questions were answered this time.

If anything, it just made the bigger mysteries just a little more enticing. So let's refresh on what's unanswered so far going into Chapter 6.

9 Where's Papyrus?

What Do You Mean Their House is New?

Deltarune is the "parallel story" to Undertale, and part of that means we get to see alternative versions of Undertale's iconic cast. Toriel is your mother figure once again, Undyne and Napstablook are part of the police force, and Sans is busy being Sans.

We're now 5 chapters into this parallel story and Papyrus has yet to be seen. If anything, the dialogue about "hearing" him in their house seems to be implying that he's getting further and farther away from us. In Chapter 5, we don't get any remarks about hearing him this time, but Susie has dialogue claiming their house is "new" and she "can't remember what was here before."

It's a bizarre piece of dialogue that just makes the situation surrounding Sans, much less Papyrus, all the more strange and full of questions. There are tons of evidence that points toward Sans being from Deltarune and somehow making his way to Undertale after, but Papyrus is nowhere to be seen. It makes you wonder if we're even going to see him before this story is done.

8 What's Going on at Susie's Home?

Might Be a Discussion for Another Day

I've been worried about Susie since Chapter 4. The way she acted when reading the prophecies in her own handmade Dark World made it seem like she was becoming obsessed with her role and what it turned her into after being the outcast of Hometown for so long.

Now, with the reveal that she's been staying in Castle Town, living there and sleeping there, it adds context to her defending their Dark Fountain to Flowery. It has literally become her home, and she's no longer staying at the apartment she used to live in. There have been heavy implications that Susie's living conditions weren't good, but the game hasn't gone into it all deeply yet.

When it does, I don't think any of us are going to be ready for the emotional side of it. It might only come up when the adventure ends, and we have to say goodbye and seal Castle Town's fountain. At this point, I don't think Susie's going to let that go easily. Not without talking about the home she'll have to go back to after.

7 Is Flowery Going to Be Okay?

Stuck in a Different Can

At the end of Chapter 5, the cut-open Flowery is back to being the golden flower, cut into two on the floor. His glass case is shattered, and Susie decides to put him back together using tape while borrowing Blue's glass case. Blue is sharing a case with Yellow for the time being. I doubt those two mind, though.

Chapter 5 made a strong case that the flowers were delicate and needed careful care. Asgore was an expert at taking care of them, and he'd suddenly been taken by the Roaring Knight. I really have to wonder if Susie's attempts at saving Flowery will work. If she actually got floral tape, there may be a chance. If she didn't, then we might be in for a rude awakening soon.

6 What Really Happened to December?

Still Haunting the Narrative

As you know, December Holiday is Noelle's missing sister. Ever since Chapter 2, she's been mentioned and invoked multiple times. Everything we know about her implies that she's likely missing. Some secrets give off the idea that she's trapped in the Shelter. Now, with what Asgore said about his motivations in Chapter 5, it might be up in the air again.

Chapter 5 reveals that there was a Dark World in Hometown a while back, likely the one in the Shelter. An accident happened regarding the Dark World that only Asgore saw. It was a tragedy that's been haunting Hometown ever since, which matches with Dess' fate. Considering at one point during his monologue, the screen turned red with a squelch behind it, someone must have gotten hurt or even killed. There may be a chance, knowing Deltarune, it could be both. We'll just have to wait and see what happens with newer chapters.

5 Who is the Roaring Knight?

It's Likely a Holiday, But Which One?

On the other side of the theoretical coin, there's a lot of potential behind the Roaring Knight's identity. There is plenty of evidence pointing towards Dess as the Roaring Knight, coming to take some form of revenge after what happened in the Shelter or whatever tragedy Asgore witnessed. It's implied, though, that the Knight made the original fountain that played a role in this tragedy.

Out of all the characters, Noelle's father, Rudy, was acting a bit strange in this chapter. He was feeling well enough to hang up lights for the Festival, and if you talk to him during it, he has some interesting dialogue. He talks about how he would do anything for his daughter, and he says Holidays are full of surprises. Susie asks if the surprises are good or bad, and he replies that it "depends on the Holiday."

Depending on how old the original fountain was, there was no way Dess could have made it because she was a victim of it. On top of that, the Knight was definitely not at top form in this chapter, being seen on one knee when cornered by Flowery. Rudy coincidentally had fallen earlier in the chapter, and that injury could have affected his performance as the Knight. Like many things, the Knight's identity is still hidden in shadow.

4 What's Noelle's Role in All of This?

It's All Over the Place at This Point

Noelle's part in Deltarune's story has been very interesting since Chapter 2. Her search history and longing for her sister is what brings Dess into the story. She was also a party member for a time in Chapter 2. In Chapter 4, Susie's role in the story is kept vague. She's represented by the ACT symbol, and referred to as "the girl." It leaves room for both Noelle and Susie to be the girl in the prophecy.

After the weird route in Chapter 5, though, I have no idea what's going on anymore. I thought after the events of Chapter 4 that Noelle would be in a trance and just follow Kris. Instead, she's of the opinion that how Kris acts in the weird route is much more "interesting." She decides that they could go to the other side of the lake together, which somehow skips Chapter 6 entirely.

It's terrifying and all around confusing. I miss the days when I was only concerned if Susie really was meant to be in the prophecy. Now, we won't know what happened to Kris and Noelle until Chapter 7. Specifically, Chapter 7's "Side B," as ominous as that is on its own.

3 Why is the Roaring Knight Kidnapping People?

At Least Toriel is Safe For Now

For every villain, there's got to be some kind of plot. The Roaring Knight seems to be gathering the people involved in that past tragedy back to the shelter for some sort of purpose. There are a lot of things we don't know yet, and the "why" of the Roaring Knight's plan is one of them. Are they trying to replicate it? Is it Dess, and she's dragging the people she thought abandoned her in the dark back into the Shelter's Dark World with her?

We've got no clue. All we know now is that Asgore has now been taken along with Undyne. There was an attempt at taking Toriel, too, but luckily we stopped that in Chapter 3, and she's safe at home. There's an important detail between the chapters regarding the kidnappings: those are the chapters where Kris made the Dark Fountain. Toriel was also in a gachapon ball for some reason, asleep throughout Chapter 3. Asgore being obsessed with the Dark World is why the Dreemurr family went through that divorce. It's interesting that Kris kept that secret alive for some reason when they're definitely struggling in the divorce's aftermath still. Food for thought.

2 How Long Has the Shelter Been a Dark World?

Ignorance is Seemingly Bliss

In Chapter 3, when Undyne is taken, we see the black bubbles coming out of the door that represent Dark Worlds. Whatever Dark Fountain that's in there could be tied to whatever Dark World-based tragedy that occurred. Or it could have been made by Carol, or anyone else involved in this plan, as they definitely have the Shelter codes. We really have no idea where the Shelter comes into play right now, and the plot keeps thickening.

On top of that, Chapter 5 sees Ralsei consistently challenges. The rules he follows, his role in the prophecy, and how he refuses to do anything off of its beaten path to possibly avoid the tragedy at the end were all called into question by Flowery. There are even a few lines that imply Ralsei is pretending to be something he's not.

With that said, don't you think it's interesting how Ralsei doesn't mention the Shelter's Dark Fountain in Chapter 4, only saying that he doesn't sense any immediate danger? It's almost as if he knows, but hasn't done anything because the prophecy dictates it needs to be taken care of later.

1 What's the Truth Behind The Prophecy?

It's Never as Simple as it Appears

It's not a new question, but it's definitely one worth asking with what I mentioned before regarding Ralsei. Each and every chapter seems to build to this not being the fun adventure that us players, Kris, and Susie thought it was at first. Queen was suggesting anyone could make a fountain as early as Chapter 2, Kris made the Dark Fountain in Chapter 3 to bide time for the Knight to take Toriel, Chapter 4 reveals that there's a great tragedy waiting at the end, and Chapter 5 argues that going against the line of fate might lead to happiness.

We still don't even know what the tragedy in the prophecy is, but Susie wants to avoid it at all costs. As the tension between The Fun Gang grows, and these chapters add an element of grayness to the simple story Ralsei told us at the beginning, the tragedy looms above our heads. Seeing Ralsei pray for a different ending, then seeing him yell about how he doesn't want things to be "like this" and if he doesn't play along, "everything will fall apart" really makes it sound like it's even worse than we expected in Deltarune Chapter 4.

In the end, Deltarune only has one ending. So, as hard as it is sometimes, we'll just have to wait and see.