White: sorry for not updating, I started live streaming my drawing process and ended up drawing more things than normal. Including a lot of teasers. Lol.
Let's just get this over with. xD
Time measurements:
Astrosecond: .273 seconds
Klik: 1 minute
Joor: 3 hours
Cycle: 1 day
Breem: 1 week
Groon: 1 month
Stella Cycle: year
Meta Cycle: 5 years
Deca Cycle: 10 years
Orn: Century
Vorn: 5 centuries
Decivorn: 50 centuries
Note: ...i'm sorry. please don't kill me for what happens...
Last time…
The group of four walked through the house, down the stairs, and towards the gate.
Toriel placed her hand on the door, and pushed it open…
Currently…
Snowstorm was happier, at least somewhat.
There was snow, and she loved snow… snow she didn't create that is.
Running off she ended up tripping over her own legs.
She landed face first into the thick layer of snow.
Pushing herself back up, she grinned somewhat at the fact she was able to be free… somewhat.
As she stood back up and walked in pace with the group, she wondered silently to herself if the Monsters considered this place a prison as they weren't able to leave… at least that was as much as she could gather considering she couldn't send, nor receive signals outside the Underground, like it was some sort of different world.
Not more than a few moments later, Sans appeared; greeting them.
"Soooo… mind explaining what happened?" Sans prompted.
[Later.] Gaster signed, his pinprick eyes conveying that where they were… wasn't the best place to talk about it.
Snowstorm ignored the exchange, walking on with them, twirling here and there as boredom ate at her mind.
But then, as she ignored the empty feeling within her chest, she questioned something…
What kept the Monsters inside the Underground?
Thinking about it, and looking at the walls, ceilings, and floors of the caves… she realized something.
It was a barrier.
By the time she realized this, they were already 'back' at the house, and she was sitting on the couch, Asriel watching Mettaton on the television as the adults talked upstairs.
Sitting there, a look of deep concentration appeared on her face as she thought about what to do.
When she had been going through town, she could hear murmurs from the Monsters about wishing they could leave…. Which…. How long had they been stuck there?
A Breem? Groon? A Stella Cycle? Perhaps even a Deca cycle or Orn….
It made her sad, that they had been trapped in a glorified prison.
'How does one destroy a barrier?...' Snowstorm questioned, getting back on track.
Hit its weakest point. Came the 'voice' of Soundwave, though it was a mere memory.
Thinking about it… she had no clue where the weakest point would be on this barrier.
Normally it is the point furthest from the corners, but this one clung to the walls of the cave, so it wasn't cuboid.
Then, she thought back to Chara…
Oh how that…that thing… sparked hatred deep within her spark.
Pushing the hatred that had bubbled up within her.
Then, in the most random of thought patterns, she wondered….
'Is that…thing connected to the barrier?' and with that, she felt joy at the possibility of killing two birds, with one stone.
But, you cannot kill a demon. Once again, came a voice from one of her memories, but this time, it was Shockwave.
Her face scrunching up, she pulled up all the data she had of Chara on her visor, and compared it to the data that Soundwave and Shockwave gave her about 'demons'… a rather… unknown subject to humans, or at least, they didn't know anything beyond the fact that they were malevolent-
'Wait a second…' she thought suddenly, resisting to urge to face palm.
'There…yes…that might work.' She thought.
{Snowstorm, what are you up to?} Came Gaster's voice which was dripping with suspicion as he came down stairs, finished talking with Toriel and Sans.
{Nothing.} She said simply, not giving anything away, she would not make him worry.
{Alright then… would you like some ramen?} Gaster suggested, not prying further, but he didn't fall for such a simple trick either.
Snowstorm nodded in excitement, her plans pushed to the very back of her mind for now.
Gaster chuckled as he made his way to the kitchen, Snowstorm following after with an excited smile gracing her face.
She sat there, on the kitchen stool, grinning like a fool as Gaster proceeded to make some ramen.
She never noticed Sans and Toriel look at them, and then exchange glances, as if asking: what did we just miss?
"Asriel, will you come with us for a moment?" Toriel asked as an idea came to her.
"Sure?" Asriel replied in confusion as he got up from his place on the couch and followed Sans and Toriel upstairs.
Snowstorm clapped happily as Gaster sat a bowl of ramen on the counter in front of her.
It amused him to no end how she found such joy in food, something he never really understood.
{Thank you!} She chirped before she dug into her food.
Gaster shook his head as he smiled, sure, he ate food… but it was for the energy to sustain his body, though… the taste and texture was interesting.
Suddenly, Sans appeared in the kitchen in a small flash of blue light.
"Hey, Dad, mind coming upstairs for a little bit to talk?" Sans asked casually, but his smile was stretched further than normal and his eye sockets slightly narrowed as if he were excited by something.
Gaster nodded, and told Snowstorm he would be back in a few minutes.
Snowstorm nodded and went on with her meal, a smile on her face disappearing as soon as Gaster left the room.
The plans she had resurfaced to the top of her mind, though she was rather careful to keep them from going through the bond.
A determined look entered her eyes as she looked out the kitchen window, she would end their imprisonment… even if she ended up on bedrest for the next Stella Cycle.
But…it wouldn't hurt to stay a while, would it?
Sighing, she finished her food and put the bowl in the sink.
Walking back into the living room, she sat on the couch, and proceeded to finalize her plan… making sure she knew what she was going to do and that she had backups in case something went wrong.
Midway through working on a digital map of the underground, everyone came back downstairs, grins on their faces… or at least more so on Sans' than normal.
{Why don't we go for a walk?} Gaster suggested.
Snowstorm's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
{Sure…} she trailed off, looking at the others as they walked off.
{Where to…?} Gaster mumbled to himself as they made their way through town, gaining odd looks from others, the guards nowhere to be found.
{The lab?} Snowstorm asked hopefully, many people may hate or even fear labs, but she felt at home in them because she grew up in one essentially.
{Hm, alright.} Gaster agreed.
And with that, they were off.
Though, Snowstorm was puzzled as they took a route that led to the river if she was correct.
{Why are we going to the river?} she asked, steadily growing more and more of her true self… which was often hidden due to fear.
It was something many people did it to protect themselves, especially when their past isn't the best.
They wear a mask, which sometimes even their closest family members cannot see through it, even once they see the mask broken.
Snowstorm was snapped out of her thoughts as they reached the river… only to find a black cloaked figure on a boat waiting there.
{It's a quicker way to the lab, the river person always waits for passengers.} Gaster hummed, answering Snowstorm's unasked question.
"Tra la la, it's been a while, Doctor G." the cloaked figure stated as the two boarded the boat.
Gaster merely nodded, a soft smile gracing his face as he told Snowstorm to hold on tight.
She wondered why…
"Tra la la. The angel is coming…" the figure said as the boat sped off, leaving strong waves in its wake.
The line puzzled both Gaster and Snowstorm…
'So that's why…' Snowstorm thought to herself as she held onto Gaster's sleeve in a death grip.
Not even five minutes later, they were at the entrance to the lab.
Gaster's private lab, to be exact.
Snowstorm was practically bouncing as she walked.
It never occurred to her that they had just overridden a lot of security measures that were part of the lab that surrounded Gaster's lab.
Once they entered, Snowstorm appeared to become more confident.
Gaster watched in complete bewilderment as Snowstorm began taking items out of her 'inventory' and setting up a station and quickly going about setting things right….
Gaster's eye sockets were open wide as he attempted to figure out what in the world Snowstorm was doing, as he was having trouble processing the things she kept muttering through the bond unintentionally.
He almost laughed as he realized how at home she felt in the lab, and just what she was… probably, doing.
{Pivot joint… memory card… Energon slot… coolant tubes…..} Snowstorm listed off the somewhat random list of items.
And now Gaster was utterly confused.
She placed things and connected different wires, ignoring Gaster completely as she went about the seemingly random task.
Grabbing the vial of Energon, she dropped it on the machine and it lit up, soon changing shape.
{Formatting complete….} she paused, blinked…
{uhhhhh… I'm sorry?} She 'asked', unsure of his reaction as she had basically fallen into one of her old habits without meaning to.
Gaster merely blinked, unsure of how to react without scarring her.
{It's… it's alright.} He began, {what…is that?}
Meanwhile
"How does Yuki not even know when her own birthday is?" Asriel asked in horror.
"She could've been an orphan from a young age..." Sans proposed, knowing that in such places… there is often a lack of flow when it comes to information.
"That would explain…." Toriel muttered to herself as her eyes grew wide in realization.
Asriel didn't like being ignored, be he also wanted to make Yuki happy, as something seemed to make her sad earlier.
"Why don't we throw a birthday party for her?" Asriel suggested out of the blue.
This seemed to startle Toriel and Sans out of the dark thoughts that were roaming their minds.
"That is an awesome idea, kiddo." Sans laughed.
Toriel quickly agreed, and they began concocting ideas about what to do.
All thoughts of the Reset were pushed out of their minds at the thought of a cheerful event.
But then… something occurred to them all.
"Yuki doesn't like loud noises or bright lights…."
Thinking for a moment, Toriel proposed something.
"Why not a small, simple party? It would be her first one, so why not some cake and presents?"
Sans and Asriel looked at her for a moment before exclaiming: "That's brilliant!"
And so, they sat about getting the things done.
"I will make the cake, why don't you two go pick out the presents?" Toriel said, shooing them out of the kitchen.
"C'mon Sans! Let's go!" Asriel exclaimed, dragging Sans out the door.
As Sans was dragged out of his own house, he could hear Toriel's soft laughter at the silly scene.
His grin widened as they entered the shops, and then they paused…
'What kind of present would Yuki like?' Ran across their minds as they entered one of the shops.
Looking through the shop windows, Sans saw something simple…
It was a small metal pendant that matched the royal symbol, it also had a sheen to it that made it look as if it were made of crystal; the pendant was fifteen gold.
Asriel was not much further away, staring at a selection of fabric, one of which looked suspiciously metallic, the purple one was five gold a yard, while the metallic one was thirty gold a yard, probably because of how unique it was.
Sans grabbed the pendant, and went over to Asriel, asking him what he had in mind considering what he was looking at.
"Remember the symbol that was on Soundwave's arm when Yuki showed us that hologram of him?" Asriel whispered, mentioning what happened before the last reset.
"Yes… what about it?" Sans asked, his mind already coming up with ideas of what Asriel might have planned- wait….
"Maybe we could make the same symbol using this fabric-" Asriel began, pointing at the metallic fabric. "And make something she can wear using the purple one… and purple the symbol made out of the other fabric on it?" he finished, a nervous smile gracing his snout.
Sans blinked, before replying "That sounds like a good idea, kiddo."
And with that, they looked around a bit more for a couple more presents, and in the process sans found a leather cord necklace that was warded against the cold, so that it wouldn't freeze solid if worn or touched by an ice elemental.
It was only five gold, which was surprisingly cheap, but he could feel the magic thrumming just underneath the visible leather.
Nodding in satisfaction, he looked once again towards Asriel, who was looking at a few bento boxes, one in particular having an ice flower design on it was in his paws; seven gold.
Sans didn't question in though as Asriel gave him a look of determination, as if he knew something that Sans didn't… which was actually highly likely since he had been with Yuki for a slightly longer period.
That, and Asriel and Snowstorm appeared to be closer in age range.
Chuckling, Sans helped Asriel carry some of the fabric to the store counter where it would be cut and they could purchase their items.
All in all, they spent fifty gold, having gotten some sewing needles and threat while they were at it.
Grabbing the bags that held the items, they hurried back to the house, somewhat excited to see what papyrus had done decoration wise and what Toriel had baked.
As they entered the house, they saw it was disturbingly clean like a lab, the couch in perfect conditions, the walls freshly painted white instead of an odd mustard yellow, softly glowing fairy lights hanging from the ceiling creating an almost magical feeling to the room, it was simple, yet nice.
Sans blinked, he never noticed 'till now how much he didn't like the mustard yellow walls.
Not only that, but the smell of home baked food made it rather inviting and homely.
"Mom, can you help us sew something?" Asriel asked before Sans had the chance to even mention such a thing.
"Sure, just wait a moment while I go get my sewing supplies from the Ruins." She called back as she finished putting plastic wrap over the dishes and setting the area to keep the food at the right temperature.
And with that, she hurried out the door and towards the ruins, no one even turning to look her way.
Sans just chuckled, everyone was excited for this, and he had a feeling that Gaster knew they were going to come to the conclusion of a birthday party somehow.
Walking upstairs he moved the bone painting and got into the closet behind it, grabbing a couple boxes with a simple lift top and some wrapping paper.
"Almost forgot this was here… well, at least we'll finally use some of this stuff…" he muttered, shaking his head as he closed the door behind him.
By the time he had everything on the table down stairs and the painting back in its place, Toriel had returned with her sewing supplies.
"Let's get to work!" all four of them said, working quickly to get everything done… Papyrus doing the wrapping as that was his favorite thing to do.
Meanwhile….
{That is truly fascinating! I never knew such a thing was possible!}
{Ehm…well… not with current earth technology…} Snowstorm replied awkwardly, memories poking painfully at her.
{Understandable. As they haven't advanced much in the past couple of centuries...} he trailed off, a figurative cloud of depression formed above his head.
Snowstorm laughed silently, a giggle chiming through the bond.
She still didn't understand why so many beings cared about their age…
After all, both her Kaa-san and Oto-san had been a couple Decivorns old!
Rolling her eyes, she pointed out the time to Gaster, and his eyes went wide as he realized how much time they spent in the lab.
{Aw fiddle sticks… we better get back before her majesty sends Sans and the others out in a search party for us…} he trailed off, shaking his head as he quickly grabbed Snowstorm's cloak and helped her pull it on.
For a split second he took the time to marvel at the fact it still somehow hid her rapidly growing wings.
Quickly, he took a 'shortcut' out of his personal lab, and Snowstorm suddenly found herself with Gaster by the river where the River person had dropped the off at.
And to her surprise, the river person was waiting.
"Tra la la, had some fun with Cybertronics? Tra la la..."
Snowstorm's eyes went wide… how did the River person…
'ACK!' she thought in shock as the boat jerked forward, Snowstorm once again grabbing Gaster in a death grip.
And not even a few minutes later, they were back in Snowdin, and Snowstorm was rather happy to be on solid ground again.
Gaster chuckled silently as he helped Snowstorm back up from the ground.
It was a rather heartwarming scene that, had the River Peron had a face, they would've been smiling softly.
{We should probably get back before her majesty begins to worry.} Gaster couldn't help but laugh as he knew what was actually going on.
He was quite the puppeteer when he wanted to be.
Snowstorm looked at Gaster questioningly through her visor, but followed after him anyways when he walked off through the snow.
She smiled again as she felt the snow beneath her feet and heard the soft crunch as she walked through it.
-Time skip-
{That was fun.} Snowstorm chirped, still somewhat hyper from the sugar she had.
{Good,} Gaster chuckled, he had been a bit worried at first how she would take it, but she seemed to take it rather well.
And with that, they both went to sleep…or so Gaster thought.
Snowstorm laid there, her eyes closed as she calmed herself and steeled her resolve.
She waited for around an hour, waiting for everyone to slip into a deep sleep.
And once they did, she sat up, and got out of bed, her eyes steeled behind her visor.
'I've got to do this.' She thought, nibbling on her lip a bit as she removed the dress she wore, leaving on only the bandaging, her shorts, and visor.
Walking around, her footsteps silent, she grabbed the armband with the Decepticon insignia, and she couldn't help but remember something funny as she slid it up her left arm.
'ehe… still can't believe Megatron never noticed that it was a painted version of Kaa-san's visor…' she giggled mentally, her body relaxing slightly.
Next, she grabbed the leather cord that had the little metal pendant on it, and temporarily looped it through her visor's necklace form once she switched them.
Quietly, she left the room, closing the door behind her.
She crept down the stairs, eerily silent.
Sneaking out through the kitchen window which was left open, she looked at the house and the people sleeping within it.
"I'm sorry." She murmured, a tear running down her face as she turned around and ran off into the forest.
Climbing up the cliff where she remembered losing the bond she had with her Kaa-san, she sent out a weak pulse of energy, searching for a way to get through undetected.
All Monsters were in their beds, asleep. She could take the same route she did before when grabbing Gaster from the prison cell they had thrown him in.
Pushing away her hatred, she jumped off the cliff, and landed much like a cat would.
She took off running, her hurried footsteps barely making a sound as she sprinted through the underground, her markings fully active and steadily glowing a dull blue, neither bright nor dark.
She ignored her surroundings for the most part, merely following the map shown in a hologram in front of her.
Soon, she was in Waterfall, then Hotland, the core… and finally, the throne room.
The king wasn't there. But she didn't need him to be.
Going through the door at the back of the throne room, and immediately knew she was in the barrier.
Opening her visors Menu, she pulled out an item simply titled Crystal.
The misty blue crystal was semi-transparent and seemed to just radiate with power.
It was wrapped in copper metal, with a simple hoop at the top.
She slipped it onto the leather cord, and then placed the leather cord around her wrists as she held her hands in a way one would if they were to pray.
She knew what she had to do.
And she knew it might kill her.
"I'm sorry, Bormah, but I have to do this." She whispered to herself as she released her hold on her ability.
"Kren!" she growled, and a block she had placed on herself broke, knowledge flooded through her mind, power flowing through her veins, her eyes also became more animalistic.
Her hair moved about her in wild ways as a wind seemed to whip around her, and an insane laugh left her mouth.
She knew it would crush her.
The air around her dropped well below zero, and Chara came out of hiding, no emotions visible on the demons face.
The crystal broke, releasing a large wave of energy that knocked Chara backwards into one of the barriers walls of energy.
Snowstorm snapped, her ability going truly wild as she began to sing a cold and chilling tune to direct it into attacks.
"How'd it turn out this way
shattered lives on display
Why'd it all turn hollow
clues we should have never followed
Tact turned to obsession
unveiled your transgression
Points connected in turn
guided us down a path to burn"
Chara backed away, dodging the wild winds that seemed more like invisible blades, the ice spikes that appeared at random, the arrow like ice pieces that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Please don't go
I don't know
how to find my way in this dark
hands to hold
void and cold
to lead us all away to the ark"
Was it just Chara… or were the lyrics and tone of voice not matching?
She didn't care anymore.
She just dodged what attacks were thrown at her and attacked when possible, which wasn't very often because of the constant barrage of attacks.
"Faces crack and fade out
fragile whispers can't shout
seems I've lost my free will
drowning in my thoughts and my pills
cannot escape this fate
watch as fear becomes hate
lines of data upload
waves of static masking the code"
Snowstorm's voice was just as cold as her attacks, no emotions evident, though It sounded as if there were more than once voice.
Chara dodged as best as she could, but many attacks were hitting her and she already lost half her health points.
"Please don't go
I don't know
how to find my way in this dark
hands to hold
void and cold
to lead us all away to the ark
please don't go
I don't know
how to find my way in this dark
hands to hold
void and cold
to lead us all away to the ark"
She was losing health rapidly, and she couldn't understand how or why Snowstorm had become so powerful so quickly, how she was keeping up such a strong barrage of attacks, or why Gaster wasn't there.
"Watching as the light fades from your eyes"
Chara's eyes widened as one of the spikes went through her chest, removing her heart as she was impaled.
So this was it?
"How the hell did things turn out this way"
Chara didn't care anymore, she only had one thing she wanted to do before she died.
"Blank expression nothing more to say"
Chara laughed, her vision beginning to grow dark from the lack of blood.
"It's apparent that my time is near
but the joke's on you for now I have no fear
all I used to love's a tainted gash
burnt it all to cinders burnt to ash"
She knew what she wanted to do… but why was it so hard to do..? why wasn't her body listening…?
"Watching as the light fades from your eyes
was there ever anything more than your lies
how the hell did things turn out this way
blank expression nothing more to say"
Chara laid there, pinned to the ground, slowly dying.
"It's apparent that my time is near
(please don't go, I don't know)
but the joke's on you for now I have no fear
(how to find my way in this dark)
all I used to love's a tainted gash
(hands to hold, void and cold)
burnt it all to cinders burnt to ash
(to lead us all away to the ark)"
Chara coughed up blood as she attempted to speak…
And Snowstorm was sweating, blood dripping down her body from the wounds she had gotten.
"How the hell did things turn out this way
(hands to hold, void and cold)
blank expression nothing more to say
(to lead us all away to the ark)"
Snowstorm finished, her body shaking unsteadily as her eyes drooped; the cord and what was attached to it returned to her menu.
"I'm…so…rry.." Chara coughed out weakly as her artificial body turned to ash; the barrier dissipating with her.
Snowstorm never heard her.
Note: Song is "TO THE ARK (A Marble Hornets Inspired Song)" by Madame Macabre