Deltarune has plenty of mysteries, but few are as subtle as the blossoming question of what happened to Onionsan between chapters 2 and 4. A fully optional character, Onionsan has teased players with hidden knowledge since her first appearance.
Today we’ll be going over what we know about her, where you can encounter her, and where she may be in Chapter 5 of Deltarune.
Early Onionsan Appearances (Chapters 1 & 2)
To follow Onionsan’s story, you have one chance to meet her at the start of the file. While exploring Hometown after Chapter 1’s final boss, heading to the Lake and waiting in the small dirt circle beside the water for long enough will coax Onionsan out of her hiding place.
You’ll be given a prompt to name her, and choosing any option other than ‘Disgusting’ will earn her favor. She’ll tease Kris with information she only feels comfortable sharing with a real friend, and to meet her in the same spot tomorrow.
Just like she asked, meeting her in the same spot during Chapter 2’s post-adventure Hometown segment will offer another prompt. She’ll ask if you missed her, and answering ‘Yes’ will have her offer what she knows.
Namely, that there’s, of all things, a song under the Lake. She’s heard parts of it time and time again, and can’t help but be curious over what the cause could be. She knows it isn’t “a new song”, but can’t remember where she’s heard it. She vows to investiage and meet Kris with an update.
Sadly, this meeting never comes to pass…
Onionsan’s Disappearance (Chapters 3 & 4)
Without a Hometown segment, Chapter 3 never gives us a chance to meet back up with Onionsan. When the sun rises on Chapter 4, Kris can freely go and try to meet her. After waiting with no response, Susie theorizes she might be busy, and to leave her alone.
More interestingly, returning to the spot after leaving the screen will see the Striped Bird fill the spot, an NPC who has only been seen hiding in the Library’s upper floor. They’ll struggle out a few short words about how Kris shouldn’t wait before vanishing all together.
If you return to the spot after clearing the final Sanctuary, Susie and Kris will sit at the Lake’s edge. After a short conversation, Susie says she can faintly hear a song, or at least a part of one, coming from the other end of the Lake. Kris, and the player, can’t hear anything
Onionsan’s End? (Chapter 5)
During the Festival at the start of Chapter 5, Kris, Noelle, and Susie can find the Striped Bird running a small stand. They’re selling fried Octopus balls, initially for 2G (Undertale’s currency), before just giving them away for free.
If Susie eats one, she’ll note that the balls taste like raw onion. Onionsan isn’t mentioned for the rest of the chapter, but the implication is clear. The Striped Bird has seemingly caught and killed Onionsan to stop her from reaching the source of the song she heard, but why?
The Striped Bird’s Significance and Deltrarune’s Hidden Story
The Striped Bird has stuck out amidst the other seemingly extra NPCs that dot Hometown for numerous reasons. Noted as the “Normal NPC” in the games files, their strange speech patterns, and most significantly, their almost identical body plan to a Goner NPC from Undertale.
For a quick history lesson, the Goners were a series of monochrome NPCs that only appeared when an Undertale file’s ‘Fun Value’ was within a certain range. This value was randomly selected when the file was created, meaning that most players never encountered them.
The Goners together told the story of the former Royal Scientist, a monster named W.D. Gaster. Gaster created the massive engine at the center of Hotland before falling into his creation and disappearing from reality. Most don’t remember him, but the Goners do. Their minds and color fade away, but they still tell his story despite it all.
It has long been theorized that the blocky, white text that opens Deltarune’s very first Chapter and marks the game’s halfway point is Gaster himself, and the repeating significance of the Striped Bird makes it hard to ignore.
Onionsan’s disappearance and seemingly grisly fate feels like a final warning about how Deltarune’s world is about to change. As stated by Toby Fox in Chapter 5’s launch newsletter, Chapter 5 is the final bit of levity before we dive headfirst into deeper, darker territories.
Between the Lake’s significance to the Chapter 5 Weird Route, the repeated references to Gaster, and the party’s repeated failure, something sinister feels like it’s right under the surface, waiting to breach. We still have a few more chapters to wait for, so why not spend the time wondering what’s next?
