In 2021, tumblr user "campyvillain" had a dream that there was an alternate route in Chapter 2, similar to the "snowgrave" or "weird" route dubbed "The salt route".
In this fictional route, the player would have to find 5 stray white pixels around the city, called "salt stains". One could then add Spamton to your party by offering to help him find his keys. One can then "use spamton to kill a bunch of shit around you", eventually ending the chapter in a softlock.
Original Salt Route Post
Transcription:
campyvillain, Oct 9, 2021
"anyone wanna hear about the dream i had where toby fox added in a route where you could put spamton on your team but only through extremely specific circumstances "
campyvillain, Oct 9, 2021
ok so the way you’d recruit spamton is youd have to randomly stumble about these 5 loose white pixels scattered about the city called salt stains and then when you go to fight spamton for the first time he stops midway through and looks really dejected and troubled and goes “My keys….I left them.” and then you’re given an option to help him find his keys which is how you could get him on your team and you have to carry him around. for the rest of the game no other party members would join you it’s just you and spamton and you’re made to use spamton to kill a bunch of shit around you and you can’t spare anything like the option just isn’t there. towards the end spamtons faith in you starts to wane and he starts catching on to how you’re not actually going to help him find his keys, you’re just using him. but you have to convince him that you’re on his side. if you failed to do this enemy encounters got more and more infrequent. if you manage to convince spamton you can eventually get to the queen fight where no dialogue is exchanged and berdly isn’t even mentioned once. she disappears after the fight and you sit with him in the middle of the carpet once it’s done. you’re put in a dialogue loop where it’s just him going “I made you proud, didn’t I?” and then an option to select yes or no. if u say yes it’ll just loop and if you pick no spamton limps offscreen like “Well. cant please everyone i guess!” and can’t be encountered again. also you cant return to the light world after this. people called this the salt route and it basically locked your game for good