Hey, look! This guy is back from the dead!
(Review section gets lit on fire)
Well, after a really long hiatus, I finally re-uploaded this thing. The reason why I removed this chapter in the first place was because the character that is featured in this version of this chapter, Sewmurr, was originally going to die in the second to last chapter, but because of his design I could not figure out how to kill him, so I swapped him in for Incinerate. As always, I do not own Undertale, just my characters. Enjoy the show.
The human had breached the lab. Despite the lab's advanced defense systems, and Alow's large arsenal, the human had managed to worm his way into the heart of Hotland and kill the royal scientist. In his defense, a majority of the system had been deactivated, though that did not excuse him from the fact that he had forgotten to activate the defense system in the first place.
"And on the day that I get put in charge of overseeing Hotland," the sack monster muttered bitterly. "I am telling you, the universe is out to get me."
The snake monster on the monitor laughed. "You're just ssaying that becausse you're a paranoid old burlap ssack."
"Well, wait until you've lived for several centuries," Sewmurr retorted.
"Yeah, whatever you say, grandpa."
Sewmurr sighed in response. His one eye drifted over to the monitor to his right, at the files he had opened up.
"So, I select everything here, right?" Sewmurr grumbled, changing the topic.
"Yeah," the snake replied, a smug smile on his face.
Sewmurr snorted in satisfaction. He paused before he turned his attention back to the screen. "So," the sac monster said, "I just drag everything into this document..."
"Yeah," the snake monster said affirmatively. "Then, you just hit ssend, and delete all the files you have in your possession."
Sewmurr replied with a grunt. He pressed down on the mouse button with one of his needle-like digits.
On the other end, the snake monster received a soft ping from his monitor. He reached over to his mouse with one of his floating arm-like appendages. In a single click, all of the files the royal scientist had kept were displayed for him to see. The snake hastily scanned the documents to check if there were any files missing.
As the snake monster scrolled through the various files he had opened before him, Sewmurr began to whistle. He tapped the mouse buttons with a rhythmic beat, and lifted the hand he had on the keyboard. He drifted his finger over to delete the files when the snake monster called out from the other end.
"Wait," he said, his eyes narrowed into slits. "Where are the perssonal filess?"
Slowly, Sewmurr retracted his hand. "What do you mean?"
"Among the files that you ssent to me, you sseem to have left out all the filess Alow kept on all of uss."
Sewmurr stayed silent, the line sewn across his face that was his mouth twisted in confusion. "I thought you told me to leave those out."
"I never ssaid ssuch a thing!" the snake monster hissed, his forked tongue flicked through his mouth. "I told you sspecifically not to leave out thosse filess."
"Alright," Sewmurr said, flicking his hand carelessly. "Whatever you say, bub."
A loud scream sounded off from out in the halls. An irritated sigh escaped the sack monster's lips, and he slowly got to his feet. He strolled over to the door, the metal braces on his legs groaning in protest as their parts were rapidly ground together, and threw it open. The loud noise produced by the door slamming against the wall beside it caused both the trembling monster on the floor and the human standing over him to freeze as they stopped to stare at the new presence.
"Will you two please be quiet," the sack monster grumbled, his voice resounding through the smooth, white walls in the lab. "I am trying to have a conversation here!"
"Yeah," the snake called out from behind him. "What he said."
What followed was a stunned silence. The area had gotten so quiet, one could hear their own heart pounding in their chest. Satisfied with the silence, the council member slipped back into the room, closing the door behind him with a slam.
"Right, now where were we?" Sewmurr said, returning to his cheerful demeanor.
"Hey!" the snake monster said from the monitor across the room. "That wouldn't happen to be the human behind that door, would it?"
Sewmurr huffed. "No, that was a pack of wandering adolescents I was speaking to-of course it was the human, who else?"
"Well, aren't you at least a little worried that there is a sserial killer outsside that door?"
"Of course not," Sewmurr replied, twisting his hand carelessly. "I've handled worse before in the war."
"I'm just saying, seeing as how that human killed Mel and Scrapheap, it isn't completely ludicrous to asssume that the human would find a way to kill you." The snake paused, before adding, "I mean, you aren't exactly the same monster you were. You're body hass aged quite a bit, and your heart hass not exactly been favorable towardss you as of recently."
The sack monster remained silent.
"Don't want to disscusss it?" the snake asked, tilting his head.
"Yeah," Sewmurr said, tapping his five needle-like digits on his hand against the surface table. "Now, I assume you know what to do with those files."
The snake straightened himself in an instant, responding with a silent nod.
"That's good," Sewmurr said, his voice filled with what could be called warmth.
A low creak came from behind the sack monster's chair, as someone slowly pushed open the door on the opposite end of the room, and at that moment he knew that his time was up. One last sigh escaped the permanent grin sewn across his face, before he steadily rose to his feet, pushing the chair out of the way.
"Well then," Sewmurr said, making sure that each word that emerged from his mouth was clear, "it has been a pleasure working with you, Haltress Hiestone."
A small smile graced Haltress' reptilian lips. "And it has been an honor serving alongside you as well," the snake said in return, performing one final salute before the screen faded into black. Sewmurr pressed down on the keyboard, and at once, all the files on the large monitor before him disappeared. Sewmurr's expression darkened, as he was suddenly reminded of his past, of the role he had played in the war. He remembered the humans, and all the death and destruction that they brought with them. He remembered the glint of their weapons against the sun, the terrified screams of monsters as they scrambled to get away from the thundering feet of the thundering of the armored men that brought nothing except despair with them. He was reminded of how much this situation was like ones he had faced in the past, and for once he wished that he could just turn back the clock on himself and bring him back to his youth. Then, the human pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The sack monster's broad chest jerked forward, a smoldering hole at the center. The human stood several feet away, his revolver aimed forwards, a small trail of smoke wafting out of the gun. The human observed the scene with cold, hate-filled eyes from underneath his hat; the same eyes that had watched countless monsters fall by his hand. The emotionless mask he wore on his face did not shift as he eyed the hole in the back of the sack monster's chest; to him, he was just another normal monster, who would soon crumble into dust.
Only, this monster remained standing. The joints in his leg braces creaked as Sewmurr turned to face the human.
Sewmurr growled, and the gaping hole that was his eye narrowed into a long gash into his head. "It's going to take a lot more than that to take me down," the sack monster said. He raised his hand high into the air, and slammed it down onto a button on the wall behind him.
The fire alarms began blaring loudly, and in an instant the air was filled with water droplets as the sprinklers above poured water into the room.
The human's head was quickly battered with water, the rim of his hat being forced down by the weight of the water. A loud, husky chuckle filled the air, breaking the rhythmic sound of rain beating against the walls and floors.
Sewmurr spread his arms wide as the water gushed down from above, seeping through his skin, trickling down to his very core. The human blinked, and the moment his eyelids parted, the monster before him seemed bigger. The human squinted his eyes, only to see that the sack monster was in fact growing larger as the water pouring down on them seeped through the fabric that was his skin and was absorbed.
Sewmurr let out a laugh, and he beat an arm against his chest.
"Weren't expecting that, now were you?" Sewmurr said, each word loud and vigorous. He reached over his back, and snatched a patch off the desk behind him, and slapped it down on his back. His arm reached out towards the human, and with a flick of his finger, and yellow heart materialized before his opponent. His metal claws clinked as he clenched them together, forming a fist. Then, he charged.
The human's bullets bounced harmlessly off his thick hide, barely slowing down the charging brute. The human leapt out of the way as the sack monster crashed into the wall behind him, taking the opportunity to reload.
The same moment six empty bullet shells clattered to the ground, and the drum snapped back into place, Sewmurr stumbled out of a newly formed dent in the wall. He noted with irritation at how even that small of an impact jolted him, before he quickly shook off his sentimental thoughts. Then, he lunged again, arms outstretched. This time the human slid under the flying sack monster, disturbing several newly formed puddles on the floor. He jumped back to his feet, only to be battered aside by a kick to the side of his face.
The metal on the sack monster's leg braces only added to the force of the impact. The human was sent flying into the wall, and his hat detached itself from his head, drifting down to the wet floor. As the human came to, he clutched the side of his head. He shakily got to his feet, only to feel a hand gripping his collar. The human barely even had time to open his eyes again before Sewmurr flung him over his head, sending him crashing down onto the set of screens on the other side of the room.
The human's head spun as he felt small water droplets pour down on his throbbing scalp. He brought a hand up to wipe away the water that had begun to trickle into his eyes, only to feel a sharp pain on his head. He quickly brought his hand to his face, and found his palm covered in a thick red liquid. He was bleeding. For the first time since he had fallen into the Underground he was bleeding. The small sparks leaping out of the pile of blackened screens behind him only added to the pain. He looked down, and saw that a small piece of his bright yellow SOUL had chipped away.
"Not so fun when you're on the receiving end." The human glaced up to see the sack monster slowly advancing towards him. The human responded by shooting him in the face.
The bullet sliced through the air with ease, disappearing into the gaping hole on the monster's head. The sack monster did not even flinch, showing no signs of being damaged in the slightest.
"Was that supposed to hurt?" Sewmurr said mockingly. "I've taken multiple crossbow bolts to the eye, I've sucked up entire pot fulls of scalding oil without so much as batting an eye, I've shattered boulders as big as houses in a single blow; you think a small metal projectile's going to do anything against me?"
The human responded with a scowl. Then, he pulled back his arm, as if he were going to hurl his weapon at his foe, an action which confused the sack monster. To his surprise, the human actually threw the revolver, sending it flying over his head. Sewmurr reached up to grab it, only for the human to slide under him, and threw two sparking wires around his legs. The sack monster looked down at the black cord loosely wrapped around his leg, even more confused than before. Sewmurr lifted his head only to find himself face to face with the barrel of a revolver. Without a moment of hesitation, the human fired two bullets in quick succession.
The bullet barely grazed his leg, and sent both wires flying backwards. The wires quickly snapped tight as they were stretched to their limit, and swung back around, wrapping around the sack monster a second time. Two more shots went off, and the cords flew back around the burly monster one more time.
Sewmurr stared at the wires draped around his body the same way a man would look down upon a child. He eyed the black cord, inspecting it without interest, before he snapped them apart without breaking a sweat.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the human slip something into his mouth. In a matter of seconds, alll of his wounds quickly sealed up, his SOUL had been restored to its original state. He narrowed his eye, and his mouth twisted into as best of a scowl as it could create.
The two stood, staring daggers at each other from across the room. Drops of water pounded down onto them, and the water splattering against the floor bit at their heels. With each drop of water that soaked his skin, the monster grew in size. The human knew that the longer he hesitated, the stronger his foe would be.
Slippery as a snake, the human ducked under the sack monster's grasp, and kicked the monster in the chin. Sewmurr took the blow to his head without flinching, before he responded by smashing his arms down onto the ground. The human rolled aside moments before the blow made contact. He jumped up, and fired the remaining two bullets in his revolver. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the sack monster's thickened hide.
The human quickly deduced that if he were to defeat this foe, he would need more options. He had already exhausted a majority of his options, and he guessed that the ones that he had left would prove to be useless as well. If he were to try to escape, however, he would have to pry open the door, which had closed shut on its own, something which would waste precious seconds in which he could have spent looking for better options.
The human resolved this problem by unsheathing the knife at his side, and hurling it at the monster. Sewmurr raised a hand to catch the blade without hesitation, only for the human to lob a grenade over his head in his moment of distraction.
The resulting explosion forced the door to open, putting a sizeable dent in its metal frame. As the small round object was enveloped by bright orange flames, it jogged something inside Sewmurr's memory, and he instinctively raised his arm to shield his face from the blast. The second the flames died down, the sack monster lowered his arm, only to see that the human had taken the opportunity to slip past.
The human broke into a sprint for the doorway on the other side of the room, reloading his weapon as he ran. He glanced over his shoulder only to see a misshapen door flying towards him. The human ducked, and the door sailed harmlessly over his head, slamming against the side before screeching to a halt.
Looking back, the human saw Sewmurr charging at him. He fired two bullets at the sack monster's legs, hoping to buy himself some time. The metal braces that Sewmurr had around his legs were not as resilient as the rest of his body, and it bent from the force of the bullets. Now without support for his legs, Sewmurr's run changed into a stumble, and he had to stop for a moment to straighten his leg braces.
The human took advantage of this distraction, and slipped through the open doorway. He took one last look at the room behind him, and noticed a small button off to the side. Without a moment of hesitation, the human raised his revolver and fired at the button. The bullet tore through the button console like paper, revealing the sparking wires underneath, and in the process activated it. A thick metal door slid down behind him, locking into place with a click.
Barely taking a moment to stop and rest, the human tucked his weapon back into its holster, and continued on his way. He rounded a corner to find himself in an open area. Screens decorated the walls, varying in sizes. Some were as small as a picture frame, while others were large enough to reach the ceiling. There was a large, flat table was placed against the back wall. On the table, elaborate blueprints for various weapons were scattered about in a disheveled mess. From traps designed to ensnare unsuspecting victims to blades that could slice through anything, every single idea the previous royal scientist had ever conceived and put down onto paper was laid out before him. And piled off to the side were the weapons themselves.
Quietly, the human inspected the weapons with his eyes. Hovering a hand over the items scattered on the table, the human eyed each one carefully, assessing them just by appearance. He stopped at a small black disk, plucking it off the table. The human carefully inspected the item, rubbing over the glowing bright orange dot in the center, noting the glowing lines that diverged from the center. The human decided that this item was something he would save for later. He reached into a pocket in his jacket, pulling out an object that greatly resembled the weapon he wore at his side, and replaced it with the black disk. He turned back around, only to see the sack monster burst around the corner. They locked on to each other, and immediately the fight resumed.
The sack monster charged at the human, a roar resounding from his chest. The human grabbed one of the items lying on the table behind him, a small, shiny white canister, and hurled it at the monster. The object bounced off the monster's head, ejecting a cloud of gas only moments after contact. Sewmurr's head was engulfed in a light green fog, and a second later, the entire cloud burst into flame, causing the monster to pause. The fire quickly burned itself out, passing over the sack monster like a wave lightly crashing over the shore. The only trace of its existence was a tiny flame that danced atop the monster councilor's head, but a large bulky arm came down on the small flicker of orange and red, snuffing it out as well.
The human hauled one of the larger items off the pile of weapons on the table, before he broke into a run. Taking one glance at the object in his hands, he saw that he had picked up a large unwieldy weapon that hung inches above the ground. Lifting it with both his hands, he carefully aimed at his foe, and fired.
The cannon the human was holding emitted a burst of air with a deafening bang, and he was knocked to the ground by the force of its recoil. The burst of air forced its way through, knocking over tables and shattering glass. When it hit the sack monster, however, all it did was cause him to stumble back.
The human quickly regained his senses, his hands still on the cannon. His eyes landed on his opponent, and he saw that the sack monster had also come to his senses, and was already gaining momentum. The human raised the weapon, and fired again. This time, the human was knocked to the ground as the weapon as it emitted another harsh burst of air. The burst created a ripple in the air, disturbing the tables already on the floor. The items that had been on the tables were flung backward, only to clatter against the floor, like a wave made of various objects of different shapes and sizes.
Sewmurr, however, was not as unprepared as he was before the previous attack. His bulky arm reached over, and grabbed a table off its side. Inches away from being hit by the blast, he flung the table at it with a roar. Weapons crashed against the table, bouncing off to the side, but the table was flung with enough force so that the items did little to slow its advance. The table slammed against the wave, and the moment they made contact, the table shattered into countless smaller pieces, wooden fragments flying in all directions. The human barely had time to blink before the sack monster burst forth out of the wreckage. The instant Sewmurr feet touched the ground, he pushed off the ground again, launching himself at the human
The human stepped back as Sewmurr's arms came crashing down onto the ground, a spiderweb of cracks appearing on the tiled floor below. He raised his arm, aiming his revolver at the monster, but something caught his attention that caused him to hesitate. He had only paused for a second, but a second was all Sewmurr needed to close the gap between them. The sack monster delivered an uppercut, causing the human to release the weapon he was holding as he was sent into the air. The sack monster to leapt up into the air as well, before delivering a downward kick that sent the human back down to the ground. The human's head spun, and clutching his head he made a clumsy attempt to get back on his feet. Suddenly, a large hand gripped his throat and lifted him off the ground.
As the human struggled in the monster's iron grasp, he noted at how moist the monster's arm felt, noticed the small water droplets falling off the monster's body as if it were a rain cloud. He quickly guessed that the monster was in fact not resistant to fire, he just needed a larger flame to kill it off. If only he had a large enough source of heat...
It was then that the sack monster decided to throw the human at the window beside him. The fragile glass window shattered under the force of the throw, breaking into a million tiny pieces that cut into the human's skin like tiny daggers as he made contact with each one. Not even a scream escaped his lips as he plummeted into the unknown below.
Sewmurr watched as the human disappeared from sight. He was about to turn around, but a small voice told him to check again. Sticking his head out the window, he scanned the landscape. A sea of molten magma stretched beyond the horizon, and for a moment, Sewmurr truly believed that the human had been defeated. Then, his eye turned downward, and he noticed the fire escape platform below.
"Of course there's a platform below," Sewmurr groaned. Knowing that the longer he waited, the more time he was giving to the human for him to make his escape, the sack monster pulled himself over the edge, and dropped down onto the platform.
The human was already climbing up the second ladder, when a heard a thud sound off beneath him. The ladder trembled violently under his grasp, and he looked down, only to see that the sack monster had followed, glaring back at him. The human only increased his speed, desperate to reach the top. Sewmurr watched as the human scrambled up the ladder, and a low growl escaped his lips. He turned to the wall beside him, placing a hand on the wall. He flexed his needle-like digits, before he increased the pressure he was applying to the wall, causing his fingers to sink in. He pushed himself higher, and struck the wall with his other hand and grabbing onto the material with his claws.
With each stroke, the monster closed the gap between him and his opponent. His hands swung up and down against the wall, leaving a series of holes in their wake as he clawed his way to the top. He reached the roof in a matter of seconds, hauling himself over the edge with a crash. The human was not expecting the sack monster to emerge so far away from the end of the ladder, and his eyes widened ever so slightly. He had been entirely focused on getting up to the roof, and had not paid any heed to the monster following behind him. The human stepped back, inches away from falling to his doom.
Sewmurr observed the human, watching for anything that might reveal his next move. Almost immediately, he noted that the human's muscles were tensed like a spring, coiled up and ready to activate at a moment's notice. The sack monster quickly put two and two together; The human was waiting for him to charge, so he could be tricked into falling into the sea of magma below. Of course, the human's plan could be a bit more complicated than that, but they all most likely involved him attempting to get close. The human would not expect his opponent to attempt anything besides a melee attack, as he had yet to use any kind of ranged attack. Something which Sewmurr just so happened to have, but had not had the chance to use. The sack monster's grin broadened slightly at the thought of taking the human by surprise.
Sewmurr raised one foot high into the air, and brought it crashing back down onto the ground. The force of the impact was so great, the roof shook, and he heard the ceiling under him crumble slightly. The human was lifted off the ground only by a few inches, but a few inches was all the sack monster needed. Acting swiftly, Sewmurr thrust his arms forward, pointing his metal fingers straight at his opponent, and streams of water erupted from his needle-like digits. The human touched the ground again the same moment he was hit by a blast of water. He put his hands up in an attempt to push back against the force of the water, but the damage had already been done. One step back turned into another, and the next step the human took brought him over the edge. The human slipped, and as he began his fall, he felt something began to slide off his neck. A heart-shaped locked emerged from underneath his jacket, and for a moment, the human's face was a display of genuine fear. In an instant, the locket was once again stuffed under the human's jacket, vanishing from sight as soon as it had appeared, and the human finally fell, disappearing from sight.
The sack monster stayed back for a moment. He was suddenly brought back to one of his worst experiences during the war, a great victory that had quickly turned to defeat. At that time, he was but a common foot soldier, seen as nothing but another face among the crowd in the grand scheme of things. It was a chaotic battle, going on for several hours. For the longest time, no side seemed to gain the upper hand. The deadlock was ended when the human at the lead, the strongest of them all, fell by his hand, and his hand alone. Like insects exposed to the sun the moment their hiding place had been revealed, the humans scrambled for cover, running into the cliff behind them that only ended in the sea. A loud roar quickly reverberated through the ranks of the monster army, and they surged forward, eager to finish the fight. They were a few feet away from the edge, when suddenly the humans burst out from the cliffside. They swarmed over the monster forces like rats, and with them they brought a new weapon with them; fire. Hoisting some kind of cannon, the humans spread flames into the ranks of the monster army. The first monster who was torched happened to be him. Time seemed to slow as the fire crawled toward him. He barely had time to say anything before he was engulfed in flames. The only thing he could remember after that was unbearable agony as the flames clung to his body, eating away at his flesh. Days later, he would away to find himself in a new body, one that was sewn together by one of the elders of the monster nation; one of the members of the council. But even to this day the memory of being burned alive still clung with him like his own skin, and as he stood eyeing the ledge from which another human had once stood upon, he was reminded of that moment. A voice inside told him that this was another trick; that the human had once again found a way to survive, and like on that fateful day the human would suddenly spring out from under the edge. The same voice told him to go over and to finish what had been started. But another voice, a much quieter voice, cautioned against going over to the edge. It reminded him that the last time he had found himself in this situation, the humans had almost ended his life. Despite its warnings, Sewmurr decided to listen to the voice before.
Cautious, the sack monster crept forwards, the metal braces attached to his legs squeaking in protest as he crossed the rooftop. He carefully peeked over the edge, scanning the environment below with his one eye. Nothing but a vast sea of red lay below, and Sewmurr huffed in satisfaction. He had finally killed the human.
The sack monster was about to turn back, and head down when suddenly, pain erupted from his large chest. His legs gave away, and he fell to the ground, clutching his heart. His head spun for a moment, but to his relief, his headache quickly cleared up. Then he noticed the black disk clinging to the edge of the wall just under him, with a series of glowing orange lines that diverged from the center. And the elder council member just sighed.
An explosion tore the ground out from underneath his feet, and he slipped from the rooftop into the sea of magma below. He plummeted through the air, and as he fell, he noticed the human had found a surface to wrap his arms around after he had fallen, and was clinging on to dear life. The human was positioned a fair distance away, so even if the sack monster had tried, he would not have been able to bring the human with him. And as he fell to his demise, Sewmurr couldn't help but say one last thing to the human.
"Well played, human," Sewmurr called out. "Well played." As the sack monster sunk into the endless sea of red, he ignored the cold pair of eyes glaring back at him, and instead he drifted back into the past, back into all the wonderful things he had been through. And as his body sank below the surface of the vast ocean of molten rock, and burned up, becoming nothing more than smoke in the air, he raised his head high, and he gave the world one last grin, before his head was finally concealed by a thick blanket of red-hot magma.
The human watched as his foe disappeared. His face an emotionless mask once more, the human pulled himself back onto the roof without making a sound. He scanned the landscape before him, and as he did so he recalled the items he had left behind; particularly a hat and the knife he had received as a gift, and a toy weapon from his early years. For a moment, he considered going back to retrieve them, but that train of thought was short lived. He had been taught that being sentimental was only going to drag him down, and if he wanted to truly be great, he could not let the past hold him down. So he decided to carry on with his journey. With one last look at the landscape of Hotland, he turned around, and left, to continue onward.
If I were to create a list of the top ten most painful writing experiences, this would be #-3. I had to write this chapter three times before I eventually settled on a version of the story that I liked.
