Let's Rol-ol-ol-ol
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Chapter 11: That Little Voice in Your Head
Running.
That was all she could think of as she sprinted away. Darkened skies sat overhead and beckoned for the lightning and hailstorm that followed. Cars were overturned and windows were shattered. Oh god, when did it all get this bad? Why had she let it come to this? If only she had listened to the signs…
She had been right about Sans the entire time. He killed Frisk, and he had been planning to kill everyone in Academy City too. All of her suspicions had been right, but she had refused to take the simple step of doing something about it. Now people were dying, and it was all her fault. For once the Railgun was helpless.
A crack lit up the sky, whether it was the weather or one of Sans lasers… she didn't know. She kept running, tears streaming down her face. If only she were more powerful and didn't accept her limits, then maybe she wouldn't have had to sit there and watch Kuroko die. Maybe Saten's last words wouldn't have been to run.
She stopped a moment to catch her breath. Panting heavily as the rain poured onto her back like a torrent. Her vision was blurry and her lungs hurt from going for so long. Her legs felt like they were going to explode.
"heya." a voice called from above, a crack of lightning able to be heard distinctly in the distance as he spoke. She looked up to see the boy in his blue hoodie all soaked in rain atop the hangover of the Seventh Mist. He wore that same face he always did, the one that hid all of his emotions. It was the same face she had mistaken for a smile a year ago.
"You BASTARD!" Misaka screamed at him a major arc of electricity coming off of her. Usually in anger she was the calmest, but this was primal rage for her. This… this monster had killed her friends and the girl who called her sissy. She hated him for it, yet she knew killing him wasn't possible. He would just use his laser to rip through any offence she tried to lay down.
Sans chuckled and jumped from his position on the hangover and landed onto the ground with an impressive 'THUD'. She looked Sans in the eye as he looked up, a visceral rage making her body shudder at the thought of what she'd do to him, "I was always right about you!" she called to him, a nearly-intact street light nearby exploding from voltage overload, "You just wanted to hurt us!"
He let his arms up in a shrug, "heh heh heh. you don't think i enjoy playing with my food first? looks like you'll always be playing ketchup, railgun." A wicked smile set across his face as he she heard him saying it. The Level 5 Electromaster's fists shaking in a boiling fury.
"Stop USING ME!" she screamed, releasing all of the pent of emotions out in the form of electricity. The arcs came from all over her body and engulfed the area in a blinding light. She covered her eyes from the light, hopefully vaporizing the monster she once called a friend. Sadly to her dismay though, he somehow stood upon the hangover again. He let out a wicked chuckle.
"it's funny how much you villainize me railgun. you honestly think me to be your foe?" he asked while flicking his arm up, letting loose the same skull-looking lasers she had seen back from when he saved their lives in the Seventh Mist. The same place they stood before now.
Misaka was forced to take flight at the sight of the weapons, watching the raw power inside of them rip apart the street where she once stood. She landed back onto her feet and attempted to land a hit on the monster, an arc shooting off in the boy's direction. It was on a direct collision course, and surprisingly enough he didn't even bother to move out of the way. However when it hit him he didn't even act phased. It was almost as if he were immune.
"you SiSsy, look around you. this city is in the Wake of destruction." He told her, a rabid smile across his face. He still stood atop the hangover, perhaps another strike was appropriate? "the mighty MISakA fought down so easily. GET UP and live a little!" he yelled at her, releasing two more lasers behind her that barely missed their mark.
"MISAKA! WAKE UP AND REALIZE IT'S TOO LATE!" Sans uncharacteristically yelled at her, another crack of lightning hitting in the distance, "WAKE UP MISAKA!" he called again as he ran forwards in attempt to punch her in the face.
"WAKE UP MISAKA! WAKE UP SISSY!" he called again, the world seeming to be fading from existence as she came across the realization everything here was a dream. Her idea of Sans began to fade away as Misaka watched the broken skyscrapers faded into white, and let the rest of the world follow suit.
One moment Misaka was dreaming of an imaginary battle with an apocalyptic Sans, and the next she was lying in her bed with Kuroko standing by the bedside and grabbing her by the shoulders with a concerned expression, "Sissy wake up!" she called again, pulling Misaka from the trance of sleep.
The electromaster pulled from the depths of her mind and entered reality once more. The skyscrapers and rain had been replaced with sheetrock walls and the company of a version of Kuroko that was alive and well.
The dream was over.
"You with the living again?" Kuroko joked with her roommate, pulling her hands back to her slender, petite frame. Misaka blinked the sleep away from her eyes before replying.
"Y-yeah. Just had a nightmare that's all. This whole Sans thing's got me all worked up." Misaka explained, throwing her arms out from under the blankets to stretch. No matter how bad anyone's dream was, or even previous day… nothing beat that feeling in the morning of a good stretch. Railgun took in a deep breath as her outstretched limbs craned into the air.
As she did this, Shirai the roommate watched devilishly on the sidelines, a plan forming in her head,"Hehehehehe, is that a hug you want my dear Sissy?" Kuroko said under her breath, squirting breath freshener into her mouth, "Allow me to provide…" At saying this the teleporting girl jumped into the stretching arms of her beloved sissy and embraced the heat of the moment, "Oh Sissy!"
Railguns face began to redden as she grabbed the pigtailed lass by the arm and threw her across the room. The teleporting esper hit the wall with a 'THUD', her body sliding down the wall to the floor as if she were puddy. Normally one would be worried, but it was something Misaka was used to at this point. Filthy perverts like that get what they deserve.
Even as perverted and rude as it was, the notion had helped break the tension left behind by the dream. She felt a bit better after that little scene, perhaps the esper did have a plan after all?
Kuroko sighed and stood up from her position on the floor, wiping off her nightgown. Even if the room was clean, somehow at the end of every one of their… 'fights' she managed to get it dirty somehow, "Oh! While we're up.." Kuroko trailed off, running over to her laptop with new interest. Misaka only watched in curiosity and slight wonder of what must go through that poor girls head.
"Here," Kuroko said, moving out of the way so that Misaka could see the computer on the desk. The Level 5 rolled onto her stomach and squinted at the screen so she could see. The words were simple, but answered a few questions.
No search results found for search name: "Frisk"
Misaka frowned. If it was true that Sans had killed Frisk, why hadn't there been any record of them in the database? Academy City has records of any living esper in the world spare a few unregistered or undiscovered, but those never showed any power. So why did Sans kill Frisk?
"It's the same thing for Gaster too. I tried searching all different types for his name: W.D. Gaster, Doctor W.D. Gaster, Gaster, W.D.G.A.S.T.E.R., and a few others." she told Misaka, shutting the lid of the laptop, "No results, once again we're left with dead ends and no answers." she complained, leaning her head back over the backrest of the chair.
"What if we were wrong though? To go back into Sans head without permission….." Misaka said aloud, giving voice to her thoughts as she pondered the idea that maybe they were jumping to conclusions. Even if it were her idea to get in Sans head, she still had that voice in her head that made her feel guilty.
Kuroko shook her head in response to Misaka's thoughts, "No, if we are going off what we saw in the first dream that Frisk was at one point alive, then we have to believe that Gaster was telling the truth that Sans killed Frisk as well. We can't pick and choose what to believe." she explained, crossing her arms to show she was thinking about something.
"We can't tell Uiharu and Saten though. They'll only see the good in him, and I don't know if I can anymore." she told her sissy, revealing her thoughts on their two low level friends.
The Level 5 nodded in response and threw the covers off from over her, the little Gekotas on her pajamas smiling happily. However Misaka was wearing a face the exact opposite to her froggy companions. Her face held a frown and scrunched eyebrows showed her torn thoughts as her mind battled an internal conflict. Sans had clearly done something in his past, yet she couldn't help but think something was wrong here in the present.
Misaka threw her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, walking over to her desk to prepare for the activities the day held. Her mistrust of Sans was evident, yet she wasn't at the point where she felt she needed to confront him about it yet. No, she needed something real, something physical for that.
As to if she would find what she desired, she had no idea. Getting dirt on Sans would be difficult. Where would they even look to find so-
Her thoughts were interrupted by Shirai's phone going off on her bed. Even if it was on vibrate, it was quite loud. Kuroko walked over to the bed and met Misaka's eye with an apologetic face before answering, "Hi? Yeah this is Kuroko." she said into the speaker, "Mhhm. Mhhm. Tomorrow? The West End?! That's crazy expensive!" she called into the phone.
Misaka stared her roommate in suspense. Who was she talking too, "Mhhm, yeah? Yeah we can do that. Tomorrow at seven sound good?" Kuroko asked before saying her salutations and shutting the phone, "Guess who just called? Our good pal Sans. He said he wants to have dinner with us tomorrow night."
Looks like Misaka just found a great chance to find some potential dirt on Sans.
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Sans sat in the hospital room without his usual smile, instead he wore the face of someone with a heavy heart. He was feeling down, depressed, even a little bit careless. He had let his trust fall to someone else, and they had betrayed it. They hadn't even the patience to let him fall asleep first before their execution.
That's right, Sans was talking of Misaka and Kuroko.
Ever since he arrived here he wasn't exactly being clear, but at the same time no one had exactly came out and asked him. Actually, since he arrived here on the plane he was being told what to say right out of the gate. It wasn't his fault his story couldn't be trusted, it was all in the paperwork.
And now once again he sat alone on his bed, pondering what he thought he had.. And what the reality was. Misaka had been getting in his head by linking electrical charges that formed memories, thus allowing her to see into his mind. Well, that's what he assumed anyways. Between the passing out by the two of them and the feeling that his head had been missed with… something had to be off.
And Sans knew a thing or two about his head being messed with.
Sans flung his feet over the side of the bed, ignoring the beeping noise that was alerting the doctors of his movement. He'd be out of here before they came in anyways. The soft pat of his feet hitting the ground could be heard, and an observer might see him grab his clothing from the table. However his escape, well that was more of a magic trick.
Sans walked into the shadows and welcomed the void into his world. The sterile white walls became replaced with the eclipse of darkness and cold. He was in a place where no doctor could touch him, nor no friend could betray him. He, if only for this one instant, was one with the void.
Just as sudden as it began, it stopped. Sans was slowly faded from black and into reality. A smile set onto his face again as he was welcomed by the orange haze of a setting sun in his apartment window. A flock of black birds flew past his window in a hurry to return home somewhere else.
He stepped out from the shadows of the corner of the room and into the sunlight of the overworld. It was a nice contrast from the dark, damp depths of The Undergound he was used to. However he still hadn't forgotten his feelings for the people he left behind there. Alphys, Asgore, Monster Kid, and everyone else who had been evacuated… they were still trapped under there, yet Sans had no intention of rescuing them. Chances were that a reset would happen long before he managed to get the remaining souls he needed.
To be honest he wasn't even sure if his body could handle any more souls either.
However Ariel had more pressing matters at hand right now. How was he going to deal with Misaka and Kuroko? They needed to see he wasn't a threat, but at the same time he didn't want to pop the delicate balloon that was keeping him afloat as friends with them. Something needed to change.
Sans reached deep into his pocket and retrieved his cell phone, it was the same one from the Underground but it had a few new contacts in it. He thumbed down until he saw the person he was looking to call.
*Ring Ring..Ring Ring..*
"Hello? Is this Kuroko? Thanks for checking up on me back in the hospital, but I have a question for you.. Do you two want to go out for dinner tomorrow at The West End?"
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Saten skipped happily through the park, a spring in her step. The birds were singing outside and the sun was high above the park, giving the world a beautiful yellow glow. It seemed as if nothing could go wrong today, and oh how great today was. Today was her first day as an Esper.
Her ability was 'Areo Hand', an ability that allowed for the ejection of air from touch. She could launch a car if she were powerful enough, but after taking her new powers for a test drive she came to the conclusion that her power was weak. She estimated at least a Level 2, which was two levels above zero so she had absolutely no complaints.
The green grass of the park around her looked so natural in the breeze that flew overhead. It swayed the trees and pushed her hair back. It felt nice, and it reminded her of her new ability.
"Hey Saten! Look at me!" her friend called from behind. Saten looked over her shoulder to see the fellow user of the Level Upper. She was using her newfound abilities to lift up several old soup cans (she had hopefully been carrying with her) into the air, "These powers you gave us are great! I never thought I'd be able to do this!" the girl smiled and let the cans gently fall to the ground and leaving them there, "I can't thank you enough!"
Saten giggled a little bit just out of joy and walked over to her friend, "I know right? Last night I kept blasting anything and everything in my apartment! It's so great, but I just feel that if I keep trying I can get even more powerful!" she explained to her friend, talking her ear off in excitement.
The two continued talking and joking off as they went through the park. They laughed at each others jokes, tried a few different things with their abilities in the form of dares, and ran away with glee as they missed with the non-espers in the park. A part of Saten thought it was wrong to do that since they weren't espers that long ago, yet overall she really just didn't care. It was as if she had become blind to a little piece of what people thought of her.
"Hey kid!" Jamie, Saten's friend, called out to one of the kids on the playground, "Go fetch!" as Jamie said that, the kids toy truck he had been playing with launched out of his grasp and into the bushes nearby. Jamie let loose a hardy laughter, "Oh man being an Esper is great! Imagine what we could do if I were a Level 4 or 5 though?!" she thought aloud.
Saten knew they were bullying the kid, and was trying to find it in herself to get Jamie to stop. But the day had been so fun, and their new abilities had put them both into such a good mood. She didn't want to kill it all by telling Jamie what a rude person she was being….
Eh, the kid would be fine anyways right?
Saten ignored her impulse to stop her friend from her bullying, and the two continued their way through the park. There was still daylight left in the day, why not seize it? And carpe diem they did, as the two continued their joyful walk through the park until the sun began to set.
After all the fun she had today, Saten had to admit… being an Esper was great. She felt like she could get away with anything. She'd have to remember to tell Sans what a wonderful day she had tomorrow after she went home and got some rest.
The two girls exited the park together, but waved as they went their separate ways home. As Saten walked home, exhausted from using her ability so much, she couldn't help but feel like she had done something wrong today. The only way she knew how to describe it was… like a snake? No, like a flea. There was this flea on her back and it kept telling her things that made her feel bad like how she shouldn't have used her ability to get a reaction out of that couple.
I'd be okay, she'd apologize later of course. That aside, the only thing left on her mind was what she'd do when she woke up to the next beautiful morning.
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Gaster sipped from the coffee cup in some attempt to get rid of the throbbing headache caused by his other half in the void. There was no reason for such an annoyance to be so deliberately placed upon the only working half of himself. You'd think the Void Gaster would learn to carry his side of the load. Well, maybe it was the third part of Gaster's fault, but he hadn't run enough tests to see if that part of him even existed anymore.
Sipping more of the hot caffeinated lava from the cup, he pondered why humans enjoyed selling the stuff at a molten temperature. Was it merely to scold the customer for not buying more? Or perhaps it was in some attempt to destroy their taste buds before they could taste their terrible food.
Swallowing the beverage, Gaster looked at his reflection in the dark substance. One might not distinguish his black attire from the black of coffee, but after time in the void you realize how many shades of darkness there are. Even most monsters in The Underground agree there are shades darker than the shadows. The darkness grows dark, darker, yet darker.
As Gaster waited there in his seat for his accomplice, he felt his soul grow darker, more broken, yet still in one piece.
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Rising tensions between Misaka and Sans. Could it be that Gaster is manipulating the two? Or perhaps Misaka is manipulating herself? What about Saten's growing LOVE?
Thank you all for reading this chapter, and thank you all who reviewed. You guys wonder why I ask for reviews, because if I don't I'll get 7 reviews compared to about 30. Oh, and for that matter.. Guys and gals, don't be afraid to post something negative in a review. I'm not afraid of some flames, in fact it would help to see where you all stand. I wish to improve my writing, and seeing in what areas I need to work on and refine and what areas I excel in… that's up to me.
Also I've been considering putting up a request for a Beta Viewer so I can get chapters out on Sunday instead of early morning Monday (Like 2 AM). At the moment I've got a friend helping with proofreading while I do plot stuff and rewrite areas they think need to be fixed. However that takes a while, so a Beta Viewer might be helpful…
Also some of you may notice I posted this on Monday rather than Monday morning/Sunday Night. That's solely because I felt the chapter wasn't ready and needed more refining before posting. I know, I hate making you guys wait. But on the same page I don't want you to wait and find a poorly written chapter that will need to be completely re-edited and re-read. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Due to the amount of reviewers now, the review for faster chapter limit has been moved up. This time it is: 190. Last time you guys hit the limit two days after posting, I feel this is due to the amount of new readers we have. (Welcome!) So, to help with that I'll also consider counting one review as two if it is thorough. (Ex: Hellfire or Jack)
And that's about it for this chapter. I'd say we have a few chapters left for this ARK.
Thank you everyone for reading, and have a nice day!
Catalog of Discovered Abilities:
Gaster Blaster (Ability): Summons a skull imbued with magical ability. The jaws can be seen popping apart as they prepare to discharge the magic within. Powerful enough to cut through even the thickest of steels. Point of origin unknown. Further research required.
Judgement (Passive): The ability to read a person's LOVE and EXP.
Judgement Eye (Ability): By focusing on a person's mind the user can see shards of a person's past. Not enough to know their past, but useful when needing small bits of information or threatening. You can tell when this skill is used when the user's speech seems to… lower. That's typically the case.
Shadow Eye (Ability): They say the eyes are the window to the SOUL. The user knows differently, as they can make theirs disappear on command. No side effects or physical effects, good for threatening. DeveLopeD bY ERRoR/?
Shortcut (Ability): Sans is able to teleport up to 500 Miles away if the known X and Y coordinates are present. However, without a picture of the location he cannot choose the altitude of his teleport. Without a picture he will ALWAYS land upon the highest land mass he can physically enter. (Ex. Rooftop) MUST be created in a shadow.
Time Slow (S Ability): A move not to be taken lightly. It can slow, or even freeze time. However, great power comes with great responsibility. It is a MAJOR (as marked by the "S") ability, and saps immense amounts of magical energy. The more energy that is prohibited by this ability, the more magical energy sapped. Not recommended for battle, especially one with high energy weaponry.
Voice Distortion (Ability): Much like the Shadow Eye ability, this is a way to intimidate your opponent. It gives Sans the ability to make his voice gain an echo and produce a hollow sound. Perfect for declaring the state of the world from a hallway.
