Chapter Three: The Morrigan
Don't open your eyes even for a second…don't you do it me. I waddle awkwardly in the dark as I maneuvered through the house without falling or bumping into anything. I heard that women's hearty laughter and barely repressed my urge to curse her out. I really should have thought this through when I invited Shepherd o live with us.
That women just has no shame whatsoever…enough to embarrass even Frisk, and that girl had a good poker face. She has a habit of walking around in a stringy tank top with boxer shorts.
But this is the final straw… but thank god that in this case it wasn't some weird habit of hers. Frisk has forgotten to mention that Amira was talking a shower and I ended up walking in on her like a moron. Thankfully she had managed to put on a towel before I could see anything, and while she wasn't naked. It was still really embarrassing…
"H-Hey you can look now I'm not…" The middle eastern girl was tongue tied at the moment, and I sluggishly opened my eyes. I was relieved to find Amira with a black sweatshirt that had N7 printed on the corner. For whatever reason that shirt summoned a sense of further familiarity that worried me. She also wore some grey gym shorts that said the same thing. We walked out of the bathroom with an air of awkwardness. It quickly faded once I turned to look at Amira's face.
"Thank you…" A teasing smirk rose on her face but before she could get a word in I shushed her placing my finger on her lip. We remained still waiting for who would make the first mood. Who would win? Who would draw first? I reckon it'll be m–
"You licked me?!" I retracted my finger and brushed it against my newly made green shirt and made a sound of disgust. She stuck out her tongue and made another licking motion. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" She shrugged with a grin, and I grumbled half heartedly. I already had enough of the admittedly insanely attractive women and her…weirdness. But…I annoyed her almost as much as she annoyed me. She could dish it out but she couldn't take it herself. Teasing her was like a worthwhile martial arts and I couldn't stop myself. Especially with how cute her reactions were.
A knock on the door stopped our friendly "conversation" in its tracks, and Frisk breezed past us and opened it. My jaw tightened as Gaster made his return after three days, instead of the one or two days he had promised. When he said it would take longer, I could also sense the concern and guilt within him. Penny was hopping down the stairs in a hurry and we waited for her to get down.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
"That's enough of that." I picked her up, long since getting into the habit of carrying people for fun. She squirmed in my arms as she adjusted her positioning. I walked down the rest of the stairs and gave Gaster a sideways of suspicion as we walked to the Lab. Amira followed as did Frisk and Gaster looked mildly guilty as if he had done something…not unforgivable but definitely not morally ethical.
I hope I was just worrying over nothing but…well he doesn't have the best track record. But the biggest problem is the strange sense of mortal terror as well as fear for somebody else. He found something that could harm or even kill us all and he hasn't told us. That really pisses me off that he thinks that it's a good idea to hide that. He should know how well that's ended for him and for others in the past.
"Yello?" I opened my eyes and Amira's eyes flashed dangerously for a moment before suddenly calming down. She looked almost ready to attack me before a sense of confused horror filled her eyes. I blinked dumbly as she grasped her head as if a headache was coming on. Frisk whispered in her ear trying to calm her to the best of her ability.
I rubbed my hands together as anxiety filled me and my heart dropped into my stomach. Amira looked pained and I didn't understand what I did wrong. I didn't know why she was scared of me and I didn't like it.
"A-Amira…?" She flinched when I called her name and I felt even worse.
"Um…" I perked up when she spoke up, moving from one leg to the other. Frisk sighed in relief and took a step back as Amira got her footing. "Most people just call me Shepherd." That is an odd way to address an eighteen year old, why would?
That it couldn't be right? Gah! There's no time for this we need to get to Gaster's. Comfort her now, ask questions to answers you may already know.
"Uh…do you need anything?" She quirked a brow, with a thin grin spreading across her face. "Like something to eat or drink…maybe a hug from Toriel?" Her grin shifted into a smirk and I knew I made a terrible mistake.
"You offering?" I shook my head vehemently and she chuckled, amused at my expense. But she wasn't in pain anymore so it seemed like it was worth it…
"No…" I think I may have hesitated there, and I shouldn't have. A weak blush tinged her cheeks, and I looked away awkwardly.
"Cough…Just ki—." I covered Frisk's mouth and in a moment I had her in my unoccupied arm. She relaxed and let herself hang off my impossibly strong arm. Like seriously I bench pressed like 3758 kilograms the other day, beating that other guys record with less than one third the body mass. Heck the bar snapped in half a few seconds after. If I could do that I can carry a lightweight like Frisk for a little while.
I actually think I could lift more than what I did too…but I still need to learn how to use my aura correctly. There are actually a number of uses for aura other than a strength enhancer or a shield. An important part about our aura is that to function in such a fragile world, we must channel our aura into our surroundings or else we will break it. Running at 100 miles an hour with human limbs will shatter the ground underneath our feet.
So we have to channel aura with our every step just to keep the ground from breaking into dust. It gets worse, different types of terrain offer different resistances and thus differing manners of aura channeling. Something we've had to figure out to not shatter a building support by mistake. Penny was the one to tell us that, since monsters do that inherently. It took a fair amount of practice, but it was way more convenient. Before that…we were limited to maybe 40 or 50 miles per hour to keep the roads undamaged, but now…well hitting 200 isn't an issue anymore. Heck we can use aura channelling to run up walls in heels…well Frisk can. I ain't wearing heels.
And then there's sliding where we decrease friction across the front of our foot and increase it on the back of our foot or vice versa. It lets you skate across any smooth terrain like sand dunes, glass anything smooth and even will work. It's much more efficient in energy expenditure for the same speed but is limited to only certain surfaces.
Then there's hopping where you need to reinforce the ground so you don't leave a crater every time you leap a 100 feet in the air. You can even use it to literally bounce off the walls, it needs preparation for obvious reasons.
The final movement technique I know of is flying…yeah flying. You use your aura to move without using your limbs, but most people have limited applications with such a thing in combat. You can use it to lengthen the arc of a jump, or even alter your course like a human missile. You can also increase your speed beyond what gravity and speed alone would allow, making yourself a cannonball. Or do the opposite and slow yourself down, giving you the time to make multiple hits on an opponent.
Thank you, obligatory secondary powers…
"We're here…" Everyone was staring at me and I blushed as I realized I had been daydreaming for 10 minutes. A smug Gaster opened the door, and we entered into the almost industrial air of the Lab. The lab looked like it had been retrofitted, with armor plating the outside and what looked like the lasers from the CORE being placed within. There was the distinct sound of tinkering as Alphys welded away at the frame for another CORE, but much, much smaller. Around the size of my clenched fist.
"N-Now just the final touches and done!" Alphys lifted off her welders mask and murmured in surprise as she saw us approach.
"Oh u-um I didn't think you would come in yet. Uh your body is over in that direction." Alphys pointed to left and continued to mutter as she lifted up the small power source. I only the click of her claws on the floor, as she kept tinkering with the incomplete machine. Penny took the lead, her small wheel screeching on the hard metal floor underneath us. A door whooshed open and we entered into the room.
The room was brimming with lights all of them shining down on the inert body of Penny. There was something different about her and I noticed an out of place purple heart emblazoned on her abdominal area. In the center there were six small colors each decreasing in their share of the small pie. The only other missing part was her left eye, revealing a star shaped camera eerily resembling Mettaton Neo. I also noticed the glass box filled with advanced robots, with one active one placing on the pseudo organic skin over the eye area. Another arm resembling a massive spot welder reverbated with energy.
"I assume you are ready?" A nod from Penny was all he needed for permission from the robot. Her Metta body went dead, and the arm blazed with lightning injecting its energy into the technorganic body of the machine with a SOUL.
"Ahh…" Penny's eyes opened widely and she let out a mix between confused shrieks and pained moans. Her body spasmed for several seconds before going unnaturally still. Her eyes blinked and I heard the shutter of a camera, before an adjustment made it fade.
"That is quite strange." Her eyes lit up like flashlights and I caught a beam to the eye. OWW… what the shit it BURNS! The robot bent her body into a sitting position, and scanned the room with an odd look. She stepped off from the table and landed on the floor with a thump. She suddenly vanished and popped out in front of me with a worried expression.
"Oh friend I apologize for the light. I've been getting used to my new systems, Gaster has made extensive modifications."
What the hell did you do Gaster?! The skeleton raised his hands up in a placating gesture but Penny stopped me from doing anything drastic.
"Please do not get angry Brandon! I gave him my permission to make the modifications to my physical platform." I nodded tiredly and Gaster seemed almost shocked at my passiveness.
"Why are you not angry?"
The guy isn't the brightest bulb socially huh? "You do remember that she's a superhuman robot girl designed to fight armies of demons right? If she gave you permission then there's no issue as long you follow ethical guidelines." I was only annoyed at the fact he didn't tell us. Whatever freaked him out that's his problem until he feels ready, but healthy communication is an important part of any kind of relationship.
"True enough…" He sighed and rubbed his hands together, and I flinched as I heard his bones spark with the force. "It's just I found something disturbing." A single snap of his fingers and a holographic player a short video. Gaster was confronting a…Boarbatusk. But that…oh god.
"I feel like I've seen that thing in a book before." Amira whispered under her breath thinking we couldn't hear her. I let her think so, I would give her time to tell us when she felt it was right. Frisk was shivering and I grasped onto her shoulder to calm her down. A few light coos were enough to quiet her whimpering. Penny had a stony expression on her repaired face, and stepped in front of Gaster. Within that lull she bowed at a 90 degree angle shocking Gaster into silence.
"Please… Doctor Gaster will you teach me Magic!" A wave of uncontrolled magical energy leapt free from the deepest part of her SOUL. Her determination, her will to protect those weaker than herself sprung to life. Gaster regained his composure and both his eyes lit up their respective orange and blue.
"Child…of course." He gestured with a soul finger for us to approach him. "We'll need to accelerate your training as well, bring the other human too. Their magic should prove useful."
All of our thoughts came to a crashing halt as what he said sunk into our minds.
"What?"
The four of us plus Chara had joined Gaster in his special lesson. I felt better about this, since we had been bumbling in the dark for weeks without him. We had spent maybe a day or two studying and experimenting with our magic in the last busy weeks. I had changed into a green sweatshirt with long and loose black pants, perfect for what we were doing. Amira was wearing the same clothing as before, and Frisk had changed into a loose sweatshirt version of her sweater with shorts. Chara was no different and I asked myself where they had gotten them. Penny being Pennyless didn't bother with a wardrobe change.
Several mats had been placed down on the flat dirt plot behind the lab. Gaster waved at us to sit and we did. I sat down wrapping my arms around my legs, curious on what we would learn. Amira sat back to my left, taking Frisk's spot before she could sit down. Frisk pouted and tried to sit to my right until Penny took her place. She collapsed to the right of Penny and pouted even harder, crossing her arms in rage.
Chara was the next to sit and curled up next to Frisk, whispering quietly into the young girl's ear. Both girls had red cheeks, and I sealed my lips not wanting to alert them. I felt a pull on my hair and grinned as a blushing Amira spoke.
"Oh my god that is adorable. They're so cute I think I could die!" I smirked as the two girls kept talking, ignoring Gaster's unamused look. He clapped startling the two girls, they both sat back down on their own pads with stronger blushes on their cheeks.
"Well if you're done with distractions let us get started." Dozens of shapeless holograms forked around us, and Amira muscles coiled, her eyes narrowing to slits. Penny smiled eager to start her training in the ways of true magic. One of them formed a wide screen over Gaster's head and my eyes widened as they formed a battle screen.
Gaster 66 ATK 66 DEF HP 6666
…Damn…that's a lot of attack and uh aura I guess. Everyone who isn't familiar with the system blinked in confusion and he waved it away with an edit.
Gaster 66 ATK Aura 100%
"Oh you have figured out your own way to measure aura then! How fascinating that you use the guise of a video game as a measuring system." Penny looked positively tickled at the idea, and the skeleton monster shrugged in response. He passed us some small wrist devices and the hologram changed, with Penny and then my devices glowing purple.
Penny Polendina 25 ATK 25 DEF HP 2500
So Penny has a greater attack stat than Papyrus?! How strong is the lovable skeleton then if he can almost match up with a goddamn waifu terminator pound for pound. But…Penny's got him even more beat on the defense and hit points. My "stats." popped up next and I was curious to see what had changed.
Brandon Rubio 18 ATK 18 DEF HP 1200
Well…then that's actually really impressive, seriously holy crap. I didn't have any indication I had that much aura. The image shifted and the three others wrist bracelets all glowed red. Frisk's approximate stats were the first to be shown and I was curious to know just what she had.
Frisk 16 ATK 40 DEF HP 4000
…
…
Well then…let's skip to Chara this time then? When the image on the screen flashed, the little bas—child had the smuggest look on her face.
Chara Dreemurr 24 ATK 24 DEF 1200 HP
I'm literally the weakest person in this group aren't I! Heck I expect Amira to be tougher with the magic she has. The next hologram flickered oddly and Gaster frowned for a moment until Amira's statistics came up.
Amira Shepherd 60 ATK 60 DEF 6000 HP
"That is an abnormal amount of aura isn't it?" Amira looked confused as well as intrigued and clearly had questions. The screen started to glitch and Gaster grumbled as he attempted to fix whatever issue was ailing the machine.
"It was working fine for at least two days! What the devil is happening now?!" There was a fog as something with immense power watched us, and my muscles tensed for a fight. The screen glitched again and I warily read the screen waiting for whatever it was to pop out.
It didn't…
R**v*
BOOM! The screen imploded and we were thrown back, our aura taken the damage for us. A small crater had formed where the screen was and Gaster cursed under his breath as he picked up the microscopic pieces of the hologram making machine.
"Damn…well we need to continue with this lesson…despite the setback." Gaster gave a forlorn shake of his head. He was puzzled as Penny with a smile raised her hand in the air. He pointed to her uncertainly and she stood up to her feet with a bounce.
"How accurate is this ATK, DEF, and HP?" Penny was still smiling sweetly waiting for her answer.
"Not very…" Gaster dryly replied and pinched the bridge of his…face. "ATK and DEF can both be easily altered. Whether by the use of weapons or armor, the numbers can decrease or increase based on those factors. DEF alone can be altered by a surprise attack or betrayal, ATK can vary based on your mood, your training, or just what you ate that morning. The strangest thing is that aura is separate from DEF. My research has led me to believe that defense…in the case of humans works solely on magical attacks, while in monsters it protects us from both."
"That is truly interesting…so HP would be the manner in which you measure aura. We have always measured it only in percentages." Gaster nodded and he told some notes on the information, scribbling it down in a shoddy book.
"I have a question of my own." Gaster gave a thumbs up and I kept going. "What does DEF do when it's human vs human?"
Gaster showed us a mysterious smile and flourished with his hands. "Nothing."
"Huh?" He chuckled at my expression and his face became serious.
"To be honest, it really doesn't do much at all. Only True magic is blocked by it, and basal aura techniques and "semblance," don't count for whatever reason. Of course to compensate, Magic is much, much stronger." He pauses as he mulled something over. "Well defense can block such attacks but it takes great amounts of training to do so. Only fully trained Huntsmen could manage it."
So if DEF only works against magic, how come whenever we got attacked by monsters physically we'd only take one with…oh so that's why monsters are so weak against humans. Any attacks from monsters will be blocked since they're almost entirely made out of magic in the first place.
"Uh, dude." Amira patted my cheek, snapping me out of my speculations." Everyone was staring directly at me, and I flushed like mad when I realized I had spoken out loud. Gaster eye sockets had widened to their fullest extent possible, and he was suitably interested in what I had to say.
"An excellent hypothesis, but that would mean monsters are made of nearly pure aura. I will need to start some tests." Gaster rubbed his chin for a moment and edifices to move on. "Hmm…now onto the next lesson! For the two of you I will be evaluating your SOUL!"
A purple and red heart emerged from their bodies. Penny calmly smiled though there was a twinge of discomfort, but Amira looked like she was internally screaming.
"Hmm…" Penny's SOUL pulsed and Gaster nodded in affirmation. "55% Purple, 10% Green, 10% Yellow, 10% Cyan, 10% Red. Five magical affinities, it's incredible something never seen before." Penny looked as if she was preening just the tiniest bit and it was quiet cute to see.
Amira's SOUL was next…
"80% Red, 8% Yellow, 5% Orange. Not too varied though her level of determination is unusual, typically only one in well…a very large number. I can teach this, Brandon has experience with Justice magic, Chara can help with Bravery."
"Should we get started?" Chara asked, impatience clouding her eyes.
"Of course…let us begin our lesson in magic!"
"Now Penny…as your magic is the most well documented… ignoring your Patience aspect. We will help teach you some of the basics, normally I would teach you aura use as well…but I don't believe that will be necessary. Your own experience must far surpass our own."
Penny was directed to raise her hand and she did, her SOUL still out. Gaster let out a deep hum of approval and spoke up again. "Now feel your aura…but go even deeper into the true CORE of your soul, your Anima. And push it out onto the palm of your hand." Penny closed his hands and concentrated…slowly I could feel the power from her soul snake up from her chest to her to the palm of her hand. I grinned as a rainbow flame radiated from her hand. Penny watched in awe at the flame that represented a tiny fragment of her SOUL.
"Now reach for the larger part of your soul. Imagine what you can do with it and let out a basic spell. Imagine the outcome of that magic and let go." Gaster places a small vase on the floor and gestured for her to start. Within a minute or so, wobbly purple lines wrapped around the vase entrapping it. Penny smiled gently at her success, and Frisk clapped wildly, even whistling too.
"Its, I can't even begin to describe what this feels like. Though to me it reminds me of my weapons and how…" She frowned and there was a flash of remembrance in her eye.
"Ahh, wait here." Gaster teleported and the strings faded as Penny stopped holding them together. We waited for a minute as some distant rummaging could be heard from the lab building. I felt my heart stop as Gaster reappeared with her backpack in full repair. "I made some modifications to the weapons, the strings are made of magic now…wouldn't want a magnetic current frying your electronics. Not like it would cause much damage now a days."
I guess we don't have to worry about Penny getting roasted in a Pyrhra. You know like a pyr?
…
Kind of feel like a dick now. Anyway Gaster was in a full on monologue now and Penny was intently listening to his spiel.
"Those of Perseverance specialize in various different magics, you have advanced binding and web magic, as well as an infinite array of trap spells. Lethal or otherwise. There is the enhanced memory and intellect, allowing greater understanding of their subjects." Penny nodded, taking in the information in stride, she was also testing some smaller spells making a web between her fingers.
"There is also a form of analysis almost to the point of a sixth sense. You can surely understand how useful that is." Penny continued to play(study?) with her magic. A small blank array formed in the ground and when she threw a pebble, a glowing bear trap formed, crushing the rock.
I think I'm going to start studying magic as part of the College Gaster is setting up. Human magic isn't exactly the same, but Gaster's expertise would be very useful. I've just been…rather distracted, but I need to get back in the game. I mean magic has dozens of applications in my life for whatever I want to do. Quick Analysis alone will do wonders for a career with the sciences.
"Now for the next lesson on what some call Kindness magic." The magical pressure from Penny weakened and her webs faded. "Advanced shielding magic falls under their domain, though several other traits have weaker forms of it. Healing and reconstruction magic is another. There are also rooting spells which chain ones body to themselves."
I had no damn clue what that meant exactly, but…I had experimented with my green(?) magic. I was limited to weak walls and shields, very weak repair/healing magic. At best I could fix a small cut, or a repair a broken window. While Frisk could reattach an arm, and that actually happened due to some poor guys run in with a wild Veldrak.
As to what a Veldrak is they're usually part of a genus called Torvoraptor within the family Boreonychidae, unrelated to Boreonykus. They typically fit the role of medium sized predator across much of North America, and Eurasia, though some mammals have managed to outcome them on the lower end. Mainly raccoons and skunks surprisingly enough. Wolves aren't doing half bad either, but coyotes have been pretty much fucked over. Tigers and cougars have most likely gone entirely extinct unfortunately displaced by the similarly sized species.
They're distant cousins to our talking, sapient Draks separated by over a million years of evolution, as well as a rapid burst of genetic mutation around 6973 years ago. What that meant for how they came to be, I had little to no clue. Oh forget to mention the Veldrak that guy encountered was 7 meters long, so uh yeah…he's lucky to be alive.
OWW! I flinched as I felt a small fit open up on my hand. Gaster had cut my hand!
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I yelled at him as he gestured for Penny to do something. She closed her eyes and placed her hand in my bleeding one. I tasted green for some reason, and my hand felt like it was under cool running water. Penny let go of my hand, and smiled sweetly at me.
"Better!" I couldn't help but grin at her innocent expression.
"Heh…better." Penny looked suitably proud of herself and even formed a small set of barriers formed into the shape of a chair. Gaster looked positively astounded and was taking some more notes, muttering under his breath the entire time.
"Now I believe you have the honors, to demonstrate Justice?" I felt a smirk come on and pointed to a holographic target. Another short up next to it for Penny to practice on.
"Justice magic are for who must seek out truth, the color of law enforcers. Justice magic is specialized in long range combat with projectile magic and supernatural marksmanship. The traits have some limited forms of spycraft with an all seeing eye of sorts. Combined with other magic and you can create a near perfect agent…at least theoretically." I felt an odd sense of pride as Penny's eyes lit up. She was eager to learn and I was eager to teach her what little I did know.
"As to how to activate it, just remember that feeling, that need to bring justice, to fight injustice, and protect the weak." Both Penny and Shepherd lifted a finger to a target. Amira was doing well and the air crackled as two bursts of magical plasma shattered the solid holograms.
"Not bad…" I congratulated with a "Sensei," kind of voice and nodded sagely at their effort. I frowned as Penny let out a speculative "hmm," she placed her backpack back on and I told everyone to step back once I realized what she was going to do. Gaster smirked and formed a hologram that took the shape of a…
Paladin Mech…the massive killing machine was almost 20 feet tall, and whirred as its holographic mechanisms shifted around. Gaster input some more command and a dozen mechs were summoned.
"I'm out!" Amira backed away from the fight, while Penny only moved up even closer.
"Now it's time to work on your Patience, child of metal. Now stand your ground and wait." A see through box formed around the robot girl, and the machines fired.
A cacophony of sound rocked our senses as a barrage of weak missiles, and plasma blast battered the blue boxed shield. It cracked under the pressure but continued to hold for several seconds. I crossed my arms as our view was blocked by a kicked up dust cloud.
It wouldn't be over so easily…
From the dust, Penny emerged with a small half smile on her face. She sighed and two dozen swords emerged in a rotating circle. The swords shifted in color, shining in all of her traits except for Red. Six swords for each of her traits, and I felt a bubble of magical power emerge from the newly rebuilt robot. A red string bound the swords to her body, and the rebuilt weapons moved erratically. She gave me and Gaster an unreadable look.
Six purple swords shot out hundreds of strings immobilizing the dozen 10 ten robots. Six blasts of blue magic smashed three mechs to pieces and crippled another, the motors nearly whirring themselves apart. One mech leaped into the air out of its confinement bringing a downwards punch. A single shield formed from six swords blocking it, but shattered in the process. A yellow laser barrage destroyed the fourth one, while the attacking robots armor was melted to slag. The hard light shattered to pieces once they were defeated. She took four hits to the face by the mechs and I flinched as her aura dropped to sixty percent.
Frisk exploded away, forming a dozen meter wide shield as a blast of wind and dust flew away from Penny's fists. I steeled my stance, my Integrity keeping my footing in the quake that followed. Sweat fell down Frisk's forehead as she strained to keep her magic flowing. I spit as Amira's hair flipped onto my face… and she lightly tapped my head to remove it. Her expression was sheepish and I sighed.
The smoke cleared for the second time, and I blanched at the small crater left behind, the mechs nothing more than dissolving nite of coded light. Penny crouched onto one knee. She was feigning heavy breathing though she did look she had expended a large amount of energy. Gaster shut off the remaining hologram with a satisfied look.
"An excellent start, but nowhere near the limits my calculations indicate."
Dear god? Just how strong can a Mage get then? Even if the simulations aren't as tough as the real thing, she took seconds to take them all out. I mean, I guess it makes sense, I have effectively no training but I'm almost as strong as a first year Beacon student. I can imagine that if they had magic, that things would even out rather quickly.
RING! Amira flinched as what sounded like a phone call interrupted the awed silence. She scrambled away with some hesitation, Gaster nodded though he had certain look on his face. Almost like he knew something that nobody else did.
"That…was kind of rude we didn't even get to show off Bravery." Chara had a look of disappointment on her face and I patted her head. She grumbled but let me be for the moment. I felt my frown deepen, as I thought about what I should do. Chara growled as I tugged on her hair and I let go immediately.
I can't just stand around and do nothing anymore, because something is going to give. First we had Penny, then a creature of Grimm, and whatever the hell is going on with Amira.
Asriel was right…something is coming.
"Still have no idea what the hell I'm doing here." Asriel Flowey muttered to himself as he hopped over strange terrain. He had felt a strange entity that was making him paranoid. It was like several people other than the four human SOULS were watching him. One gaze felt nostalgically motherly while a second was more like they wanted a meal ticket or a deal. The third seemed heroic and disgusted with themselves as if they had made a terrible mistake.
He had wandered away into a deep valley and had nearly pissed himself when a black scaled raptor/trex esque thing ambushed him. It…she didn't try to eat him, mistaking him for a bomb somehow. The 10 foot tall being had let him alone, and had given him a cookie as compensation. Now why the heck a giant dinosaur had a cookie on hand he didn't want to know.
"This was a stupid idea…" Flowey heard footsteps behind him, and dozens of billets cracked against every bit of the ground around him. He coughed as shiver ran down his stem, having taken an experimental 8% dose of monster Dust. He was now at 21% complete and could already feel the difference. I feel…alive. Flowey closed his eyes as the voices grew stronger, the human souls chattering happily.
He felt a smile at their happiness, a piece of Asriel rising to the surface of Flowey's mental ocean. But even then he felt uneasy, and was constantly on guard waiting at any moment for an attack.
"GRAHHH!" Flowey ducked under the arm of a strange beast, an ape the size of a small building swinging its arm in anger. The bone masked being roared and swung a black blur right at the shocked prince of thorns.
"AWOO!" Flowey gaped as a flying wolf man beast slashed overhead. A single bullet pierced its spine, crippling it. That gave the greater ape beast the opening it needed to crush the flower.
CRACK!
"Son of a…MY POT!" Asriel raged and dived into the hard ground. Drilling into the earth, he rooted himself and grew. Pinpoint vine missiles shot out from the ground and the creature of Grimm roared as the attacks carved out marks across its dense skin. It roared calling for more of its brethren, and distant calls replied to the powerful being of darkness. Flowey squinted his eyes as he peaked up from his underground abode. He would have paled if he could as two more Beringels joined the first accompanied by ten times their number in wolves and bear demons.
What the hell are these things? Flowey thought to himself, shivering as the terrified thoughts of four humans vibrated in his mind. The Grimm grew more frenzied and instantly charged. The ground rumbling as their appendages rammed against the ground. Flowey quieted the voices and with a sneer, swept three wolves and two bears aside. A crack of breaking bone and the sound of tearing hide echoed, the monsters crashing to the ground motionless.
"Too easy, nowhere near as tough as a human or even a monster…but then…why do these things feel." His eyes widened as a larger and bonier bear easily 4 meters tall on its hind limbs, slashed with foot long claws.
'Let us help you…' Flowey twitched when Kindness spoke to him, the urgency in their tone easy to hear. 'That is why we stayed…we can help.' Flowey sighed and a green barrier suddenly blocked a three meter long black feather. A shadow circled around the flower like a spectre of death. The shadow grew closer, and closer. The other Grimm grew even more excited bellowing in a demonic victory shout. Blood curdling howling, ear-shattering roars, and guttural growls signaled the arrival of a monster.
Larger than Asgore, larger than the house, larger than a plane…
"CAWWW!" Flowey was nearly ripped out of his roots as two football field wide wings flapped kicking up a dust storm. The four SOULS within Asriel pulsed as the crow like monsters gave him a fear inducing glare.
The Elder Nevermore had arrived…
Observation: Hibernation estimate: 251 years. Last command 3 years ago. Uncorrupted resisting. War of attrition lost. Primary target location unknown.
Response: Annoyance.
Orders: Kill Uncorrupted. Regroup. Locate Primary Target.
—Play Hate(Instrumental Mix) by Vetrom—
The massive Grimm leaped down, almost taking off Flowey's head. He shrieked again and arrogantly fires off dozens of pellets landing a direct hit. The Grimm shrugged them off, and lazily cored through the ground with its feathers.
Flowey had overestimated his current power level, and underestimated the far more intelligent than expected monster. He surged through the ground in desperation as the ancient one followed with a bored expression. The massive demons 400 plus foot wingspan blotted out the sky overhead.
Was he imagining it, or had the large thing started grinning? It didn't matter as he formed a tornado of fire to scorch the creature. The creature impossibly hovered in midair and with a single twitch batted away the tornado, receiving only minor burns with the block.
That's impossible! Asriel picked up the pace, leaving an easy trail to follow, a deep furrow in the ground acting like a beacon. Instead of directing his energy toward the amazingly strong Grimm, Asriel took out its weaker lackies.
"AWOO—GRK." One Beowolf gurgled as a spine pierced its vulnerable throat. Three more were torn apart by bullets, and with a shout over a dozen bullets made their mark leaving only the gigantic ape Grimm. Asriel looked around the strange wasteland, he had travelled maybe forty or fifty miles yet this desert like landscape existed. He held back a scream as he cut his stem on sand melted into sharp glass.
"This place doesn't make any sense! Unless…" He sensed with his inherited plant abilities. Weak radiation was emitting from the entire valley and he realized where he was. A nuclear detonation? Asriel wondered as he kept fleeing from his jumbo jet sized pursuer.
He didn't have time to speculate further as the ground exploded around him. The Grimm was eerily calm, despite firing off a feather macross. Each hit, one of dozens left smoking craters like the epicenter of artillery.
'Please listen…our power can defeat the Corrupted.' Asriel flinched But nodded, not seeing any other way to stop the terribly powerful monsters. Asriel glowed and he felt his power rise to better match his opponent. The ancient Grimm stopped, hovering in the air. Its expression became analytical and it subtly gestured to the three gorilla Grimm to attack.
Observation: Tertiary Target possesses human SOULS.
Secondary Observation: Traces of Determination line it's organic body.
Hypothesis: Tertiary Prime is Determination experiment
Standing Orders: Find Prime Target and bring to REAPER.
Order: Single BLUE Barrage. Then disengage.
Asriel had more than quintupled in size, now meeting the Beringels eye to eye. He smirked as a single swipe of his vine cracked the huge gorillas skulls open. One dissolved into dusty mist while the second and third got back up.
As one deranged ape leaped and brought down its fist, a wave of blue shattered the bindings of it bodies. It imploded into a cloud of gas, leaving no trace of its existence other than the damage it had caused. The third one remained still, observing and learning from its kins failures. Big mistake, you damn dirty ape!
"Gotcha bitch!" Asriel unleashed two orange bus sized fists, and crushed the young ape under the force of a barge crash. He chuckled as the Grimm faded into dusty wind, leaving nothing just like his brethren. His instincts screamed at him, as a dark presence made itself known.
The Grimm was still only hovering, a faint hint of blue outlining its massive aerodynamic body. The red glare in its eyes shifted to blue, and Asriel flinched as over a hundred massive feathers flew out. But instead of finding himself impaled, they were lingering, almost hungering for his blood. He felt a chill run down his sp—stem, as Integrity flowed through the Grimms nonexistent veins. The magic felt unnatural and broken, twisted by anger, rage, and hatred. Then before he had a chance to flee gravity increased a hundredfold and the ground liquified under his feet. Asriel shrieked forming a bubble to protect himself from the scorching lava drowning him.
The Grimm flapped its wings taking off into the lower cloud cover. It soared in the direction of the vast Canadian Grass Sea fading out into the distance.
Need to…warn them.
Will…will…will…
Even with the power of four SOULS, Asriel faded away into darkness …
'Red is that you?' A suave and angry voice broke through the only blackness of Asriel Dreemurr's sleep.
'Not at all…but you're lucky we're both dead young man.' A motherly voices tone changed into a growl, a threat implied in the tone.
'I failed…so stupid, and I left him with only a…' A third person spoke, and the drowsiness began to fade.
Asriel grumbled and opened up his eyes, stiffening up as he felt four pairs of eyes on him. He shook his petals at the thought, scanning the room and finding nothing unusual.
What was I doi—, he shot up in the air, as everything flooded back in. He gripped some rocks as he noticed a cracked open lab door that radiated cold. He didn't need a weapon, but it wouldn't hurt either. He began to crawl lightly on his bruised roots, and hisses as the pain came back. He had a scowl on his face, as he looked around the broken down lab, sniffing the rancid smell of human corpses.
There was a great number of flickering computer screens and his curiosity got the better of him. Asriel sat comfortably on a rotting swiveling chair and read what looked like logs.
Entry 3
Hybridization experiment complete success…a medium sized Tyrannosauridae base with genetic inputs from Dromaeosauridae, unknown Enantiornithes species, various Abelisaurid species, and Therizinosauridae. The specimens are growing rapidly, and learning their innate abilities quickly as well. They average around 3 meters in height, and 1000 kilograms in weight. Fast, powerful, and intelligent is an excellent fit for their intended roles. Their dark scales, and resemblance to wild animals is enough to stop deliberate attacks by the black beasts.
The rest became illegible as the screen faded to black, and Asriel scowled in irritation. When he turned around however…
"AHHH!" The flower fell out of his resting spot as he came face to face with a man in bowler hat, wearing girly makeup. Standing behind him were two ethereal women, on in her mid twenties whose face was obscured by a billowing white cloaks. The other much more conspicuous, wearing a strange spartan esque armor, and a shirt skirt that just looked off place.
"Who the hell are you!?" He was inches away from attacking the three humans until a cry from the four human SOULS stopped him.
'Be patient…they can be of use.' The patience SOUL attempted to convince the flower. He scowled but schooled his expression at the uncomfortable looks on the humans faces. He reached out with a vine, waiting for one of them to shake his hand. The hooded women was the first to oblige, and the whole mismatched group was left shocked as she phased though.
"Oh…guess you're all dead." Asriel said nonchalantly making everyone except the hooded women flinch. The only man of the group clenched his fists, and his easy charming smile fell into a grimace. The girl collapsed to her knees, and Asriel could hear harsh admonishments under her breath.
"Well then…" The man didn't say anything else, while the girl only continued to panic and was inches away from sobbing her heart out. The older women turned to face Asriel. He flinched as bad memories poured in at the familiar structure of her face. Asriel let out a deep breath, he would not allow himself to be scared that easily. No after all he had been through, not after all he had done.
"What's your name?" Her voice was kind and gentle reminding him of a younger Toriel. He could tell, that as motherly as she acted, that she wouldn't hesitate to fight if it came down to it.
"Fl—Asriel." Asriel stumbled on his name for second, and the women tilted her head. Asriel didn't want to talk about his stumble with a random dead person, and waited.
The silver eyed women jolted up. "Ah yes please call me Summer Rose. These two would be…hmm Roman Torchwick and Pyrrha Nikos." Both the party members stopped any previous activity, and became suspicious. The women was uncaring for their looks and gave the prince a smile.
He smiled back…subconsciously and then decided to test something. All three shivered as three hearts appeared, their bodies becoming translucent. Summer's SOUL was red, the man's was purple, and the spartan's SOUL was yellow.
'Pretty convenient…' Asriel ignored the boisterous Bravery soul and had a new idea.
"I have a proposition for you." Asriel's smile widened as the older women and himself synchronized.
From a distance a large cursorial omnivorous archosaur stealthily followed the muttering talking flower. The sapient lifeform had been curious after meeting him on the edge of Radia Valley, and had decided to follow him. She had hidden from sight as the monstrous Grimm attacked the prince. Eventually once the coast was clear she had dived into the magma to retrieve the little flower and brought him to the lab. Her aura had blocked the damage just long enough to keep herself and the flower from being burned alive. Now he was speaking to someone on an oddly durable block phone.
"Yes I know Chara and Frisk are going to be pissed! But I need to do this, that demon is a monster! It's as big as the dang CORE and could use MAGIC! I think it might be…" The theropod stopped listening as one name stuck out in her mind. Her five fingered hand grasping a branch and shattering it under her strong grip.
I'm so sorry, the female was overwhelmed by guilt for a mistake that resulted in unneeded death and destruction. She crept along, her chromatophores allowing her to easily blend in in the forest surrounding them. Her jaws snapped in feigned irritation, the guilt stabbing deep into the core of her SOUL.
She had been the one to start the awakening of The Morrigan all those years ago after all.