Toby Fox owns Undertale and all associated characters. Alexander belongs to me.
Hours passed, and late afternoon arrived, bringing the teens back from school. Not long afterwards, Sans called both his friends and the otherworlders to Alphys's home where they spread across the living room, talking softly with one another while they waited for the skeleton to arrive.
It was not a long wait. When Sans walked through the front door, all eyes turned to him, eagerly awaiting his reason for calling everyone together. Fortunately, he got straight to the point.
"The Rift should be returning. Everything I have set up tells me that it should reappear sometime within the next half-hour."
There were collective sounds of relief, and it was the fire elemental that spoke up. "Are there any signs as to where it might appear then?"
"I managed to narrow it down, it should appear somewhere within the Monster District. Where exactly, I can't say, so we're going to need to keep an eye out for it." His grin widened slightly. "Fortunately, it shouldn't be hard to miss."
"We should be careful with it, though," Dogamy said. "If it changed locations here, than it likely did for us as well...and heaven knows where it decided to open up again."
"Anywhere that isn't instantaneous death is fine by me," was Gerson's reply.
"That shouldn't be a problem," the skeleton reassured. "Having something like that hanging over the city is uh… probably not such a great idea anyways. When we find it, I've got some tricks that might just help us get it back into it's original position, and properly stabilized this time. With luck, that'll keep it where it was in your world too."
"Hmm," Mettaton murmured. "That's slightly troublesome…"
"Oh no…" Napstablook moaned.
"How come?" Muffet questioned.
"Well, currently, anyone can waltz into it. For safety measures, we'll probably have to build something around it, but I'm sure we can manage."
"N-not if we seal it." Alphys piped up. "Sans and I were working on some theories before it disappeared, and we think that when it's shut it should just appear as a… scar floating in the air."
"It'll only open through applied magical force, and even then, it's have to be fairly substantial," Sans continued. "Even so, it might be a good idea to keep it blocked off… I don't like the idea of random yahoos coming through and causing trouble."
"I cannot believe you just said "Yahoos,"" Papyrus groaned.
"That's funny, I can believe it," his brother replied.
Rex snickered, muttering something into Frisk's ear, causing a little smile to show up on their face.
Gerson rolled his eyes. "He's got a point. We don't need some rambunctious trouble makers finding out they've got more territory."
"Especially if we're keeping our opening in my lab…" Alphys murmured. "I might have to do something about that..."
"Hah! Any troublemakers come through, and I'll set 'em straight!" Undyne cried, raising her arm to pound at the table before realizing she was still holding Alexander and lowering the appendage somewhat sheepishly.
Mettaton blinked. "...I'm just going to build something around it. Just to be safe. After all, we have humans who can use magic, and not all of them would waltz through with the best of intentions."
"There's a handful…" Napstablook mumbled.
"Probably for the best, if we want Alphys to actually be able to accomplish anything in her lab," Asgore joked.
"Anyway, I'm thinking we should all head out to try and find this thing." Sans's gaze flickered to different individuals as he spoke. "Not only does it give a chance to say goodbye early on, so you can get back home quickly when we've got the Rift stable again, but between all of us, we should be able to find it quicker, before people start panicking."
Grillby and Muffet looked to each other, and then nodded. "Sounds like a plan," they said in unison.
Gerson shook his head. "Hopefully it doesn't hide too long," he said, not exactly looking forward to walking around.
"Count me in!" Undyne exclaimed. "I'm not missing the looks on everyone's faces when they see that thing appear out of nowhere!"
"Truly, the city cannot help but be safe in the stalwart hands of this gentle knight," Frisk spoke up, earning him a chuckle from around the room.
The teen Kid looked in slight worry at Chara, who was leaning tiredly against him on one of the couches.
"Chara? Will you be okay to go?"
The girl waved a hand vaguely.
"I'll be fine. I wouldn't mind a walk, anyways."
Toriel and Asgore smiled at each other.
"Well, why don't you all go out then?" The former queen said gently. "Fluffybuns and I can stay here and make sure Alexander doesn't get into any trouble. If you're coming back here anyways, we'll have the chance to say our farewells before you leave regardless."
"Then we should probably start searching," Mettaton replied. "...with those that actually know the borders of the Monster District."
"Wowie! This is just like a big game of hide-and-seek!" Papyrus enthused as the Monsters and one full Human began making their way towards the door. "You know, Trouble is very good at that game, it once took me two weeks to figure out where he was hiding!"
"...where was he even hiding?" Dogamy asked with a tilt of his head.
"In Sans's room!" The tall skeleton replied, striding through the door.
"Come on, Chara, keep up with the rest of us will you?" Frisk called back to his sister who had fallen behind the rest of the group again, her metal feet clanking against the sidewalk. Kid was walking beside her, of course, and lending a shoulder for the girl to lean on slightly.
"Look, the Rift obviously hasn't appeared yet, otherwise we'd have heard something by now," she called back. "That means there's no rush, which means I am free to walk slowly with my boyfriend as much as I want, thank you very much!"
"But Darlings," Mettaton said, turning with a smile. "Even Gerson's walking faster than you two."
The turtle jerked his head up. "And what's that supposed to mean!?" he asked, folding his arms. "That better not be a crack at my age, ya walking calculator."
"Oh, you wound me, Gerson. I feel my systems failing," the robot replied somewhat dramatically, while the turtle deadpanned, and looked to the teenaged Frisk.
"I get to live with this."
"What is it with saucy robots?" The teen grinned. "I mean, Chara was sassy enough when she was in my head, but it's even worse now! Hey Alphys!" He called to the yellow reptile, who turned to look at him. "You think we could install a chip into these two to calm them down a bit? This is technically your fault after all."
The reptile just gave a nervous laugh, obviously unsure of how to answer that particular question.
Gerson huffed. "A virus couldn't do anything to this one's personality. I doubt anything can. We'll have to resign ourselves to this fate."
"And people say I'm the dramatic one," Mettaton replied as he folded his arms.
"Whatever you say, Whatchamacallit."
"I think I can die in peace now," Undyne called back to them. "I never thought I'd see you two bickering like an old married couple."
The two paused, and both deadpanned at her. "Wonderful," was their reply.
"You know Muffet…" Papyrus said thoughtfully as he walked beside the spider Monster. "I always wondered, are you in charge of the spider clans? They certainly seem to listen to you all the time, even the surface ones!"
Muffet paused, giving a quiet hum of thought, trying to figure out how to answer that. "It's a little complicated. The Monster kingdom's spiders are organized into little clans that look to Spider Monsters like me for guidance and management. The ones outside are more on their own, I just...happen to be able to communicate to them on some level."
"So you're like the queen!" The tall skeleton surmised.
"I'm not sure if 'Queen' is the right word. I just loosely manage them."
Dogamy grinned. "Which means one could say you're a boss...and the Queen and King are Boss Monsters."
Grillby sighed, shaking his head, before muttering into the canine's ear. "Just because our Sans isn't around to poke at words doesn't mean you have to fill in for him."
"Dogamy, why have you betrayed me?" Papyrus moaned, finally getting the pun.
"Heh, good one. I'll have to remember that for if I-"
Sans was cut off when a sound like a sudden peal of thunder followed by the crack of lightning split the air, causing several of the group to start in fright. Looking desperately around for the source of the sudden noise, their collective gazes lit upon the familiar form of the Rift, the lower part of it obscured by the buildings between it and them, while the upper part loomed above, crackling with multicolored swirls and pulsing with a strange energy.
"That's a… lot bigger than it was before," Alphys managed.
Mettaton glanced up at it. "I say we get to it, figure out how to put it back to normal, and call it a day."
"I like it," Sans said, beginning to run. "Come on, guys, it's only a couple of blocks away!"
"Since when do you run?" Papyrus cried out in confusion, momentarily frozen in place by this unexpected display before taking off swiftly after his brother, followed by the rest of the group.
As they were running towards the Rift, they met a lot of people on the way who were running away from it, some screaming, others focussing on keeping their breath inside them for as long as possible. They were close enough to hear the crackling sound from the Rift now, which was another thing that it had lacked before.
Up ahead, they could hear sounds of panic and commotion, but they didn't truly understand the reason for it until they were one block away from the Rift and forced to stop, frozen in momentary horror at the beasts roaming the street before them, between them and the Rift.
The beasts ranged in appearance, some seeming like horrid fusions of mammals, while others seemed more reptilian-or even a mix of the two. All were confined to all fours, and all of them seemed like feral, vile creatures. Most of the ones scampering about, however, were about half Gerson's height, thankfully.
Those from the other side of the Rift slid to a halt, eyes widening in sheer horror at the creatures. "Oh Gods-" Gerson managed, choked.
"Are those-they are!" Muffet exclaimed, clasping two hands over her face.
"Beast Monsters…" Gerson managed, before turning. "We have to get everyone out of the area-now! Those things are just going to destroy everything if they aren't killed!"
"Beast Monsters? What the hell-" Undyne began, then cut herself off. "Nevermind, not now. Sans!" she barked. "Get the civilians out of here, as far away as you can! Chara and I will handle these things!"
The fish-warrior stepped forward, her entire body beginning to glow. Chara was close behind, calling her knives into her hands while red energy began to gather in her right eye. Meanwhile, the short skeleton had already vanished to carry out Undyne's command. Not one to be left out, Papyrus stepped forward.
"Do not worry, friends! I will aid you in this battle!"
However, two hands swiftly grabbed his arm as the little Frisk grabbed him in terror, unwilling to let him go forth, while Papyrus looked down in confusion.
Gerson stepped forward, drawing his warhammer out. "Dogamy-get Muffet and Grillby out of here-now!"
"Right!" Instantly, he scooped up Muffet and turned tail, while Mettaton whirled.
"Alphys-you can't stay here!" he shouted, rushing for the lizard, causing her to squeak as Mettaton scooped her up.
"M-Mettaton? Wha-"
"I'm taking you back to the house-hold on!" He turned, getting a running start, as energy began to hum, and he activated the wings of his NEO form, before launching into the air.
The younger Frisk glanced over their shoulder to watch him go, and then looked back up, tugging gently on Papyrus's arm, insisting that he not go any further. They didn't want him to learn of the fate of Beast Monsters...they didn't want to see another Papyrus have to go through that. They had to keep him away from the fight!
Undyne's glow grew brighter and brighter until it pulsed once, then disappeared, revealing her again. Instead of her casual clothing, she was now dressed in heavy black armour, and she seemed taller and more bulky than she had been before. Her back was to the others, but she turned her head, revealing a gleam in her good eye, and the spears of energy forming from her left.
"Papyrus," she commanded. "Take the others, and go find where Dogamy took Grillby and Muffet. Bring them back to my place, and call the station. I want the whole Monster district evacuated as fast as possible, understand?"
Gerson, Rex, and the fusion gawked at the sight, stunned and bewildered, before Rex yanked out their dagger, holding it in front of them with their strange magic. They couldn't fight these things head on-but they wanted to be able to provide some sort of cover.
Gerson shook his head. "What in the world…?" He shook it harder, shoving it away as he looked back to the problem.
The teen Kid nudged the younger counterpart, momentarily forgetting about the creatures who seemed to be finally noticing the group.
"See what I mean?" he whispered. "So cool…"
"Undyne! But…" Papyrus sighed. "Alright, I'll take them. Don't worry, they'll be fine as long as the Great Papyrus is looking after them! Come on, let's find where Dogamy ran off to!"
"Yo, let's hurry!" Rex called. "Those three might be able to get away fast, but they don't have a lot of magic right now!"
Then, the little lizard turned. "Yo! Papyrus! They went this way!" Instantly, the child was leading the way the three had gone, though they wished they still had Napstablook or Mettaton with them, as they could easily track down others.
The young Frisk tugged on the skeleton's hand as they went to follow their friend, afraid to let go, as it might mean he'd enter the fray. They couldn't let him know...and they certainly couldn't let him die.
Gerson glared as some smaller beasts noticed and came rushing at them, one going straight for Undyne, a second for Chara, and a third ran past them, only to be greeted by Gerson's hammer. They were some blend of what appeared to be a canine and a rat, but there seemed to be an absence of fur, and an odd mix of what seemed like flesh and bone.
Undyne grinned and flicked her wrist, lighting up the ground beneath the creature and calling up spears to impale it from below, causing the Beast to writhe for a few brief moments before crumbling to dust.
"You're gonna have to try a little harder than that!" she gloated, while more spears formed behind her.
Chara, meanwhile, called upon four orbs of energy to fly forth, homing in on the attacking creature before she leapt forward, the red glow of her knives seeming to strengthen at the prospect of battle.
Gerson grunted as he swung his hammer, unable to go all out like he wanted with his shell cracked and his whole body protesting more so than usual at all the movement, but he was stubborn, and refused to relent until he knew it was safe.
More of the small, grotesque Monsters poured out from between the houses, coming from the direction of the Rift. they were quick and nimble, and homed in on the three like they were a beacon, not unlikely since Undyne's recycler had started playing the song she had written for this purpose; "The Heroine Appears"
The fish-warrior made a gesture, hurling the spears that had formed behind her at the creatures, some striking home, while others were dodged by the nimble creatures. The beasts that were hit let out brief cries of pain before falling to dust, even at the strike of a single spear.
"Hah! These things are barely even worth fighting!" Undyne grinned, while Chara charged ahead, unleashing a beam of energy from the tip of each knife and weaving the blades in an intricate pattern, cutting down a few more of the creatures too slow to dodge.
Gerson swung his hammer again, hitting it head on, causing it to crumble into dust. "Don't let your guard down-if these are coming in a swarm, we can get overrun!" He jumped forward, slamming his hammer into the ground, the momentum carrying him forward as he kicked another in the face, and then landed, whirling the weapon to hit in the side. As it fell, he brought it up again, then smashed it down and shattering its skull-though the sight swiftly vanished into dust.
Gerson looked about, already feeling tired, his body yelling at him to stop, but while these smaller ones were swiftly getting dealt with-his hearing could pick up more on the way...and with his hearing as far gone as it was, that was far from good news. "Brace yourselves!"
Even as Gerson voiced his warning, a few of the creatures leapt for Chara, one latching onto her shoulder and attempting to sink it's teeth into it, while another attached itself to her leg, madly clawing at her while more charged at her.
The beams coming off her knives sputtered, then cut out, though the weapons themselves remained intact, allowing her to hack away at the creatures now surrounding her. She brought a foot down on one's neck and the creature emitting a startled squeak as its neck snapped, while her knives cut down the creatures attached to her.
"Chara, get back!" Undyne warned, calling another volley of spears. The mechanical girl did as she was bid, leaping backwards and narrowly avoiding another Beast's attempt to latch onto her while she ducked low, allowing Undyne's spears to launch where she had been, scattering the Beasts.
Chara stood up straight, panting slightly, her shirt and pants torn and her body scratched.
"There's more coming…" She warned, crouching low and holding her weapons before her. "I've never felt any magic like this before…"
Gerson panted, a hand on his knee as he tried to catch his breath. "Where the heck have they been-just to come all at once…" Exhausted, he slowly rose again. "Urchin-do you really not know? These were-"
The turtle whipped his head up as more of them slid into view...but these were bigger, and their appearances ranged even greater. Some had canine appearances, as well as felines and even a few equines. They were nearly as tall-if not taller than Undyne, and they charged straight at them, but just before they came, a blast of magic from above sent them reeling back-and killing one that stayed too long in its blast.
"Be careful!" a voice called from above. Gerson jerked his head up to see Mettaton, the wings fully out, and his dominant hand was now a weapon. The robot whipped his head around, scanning everything. "These are worse than the others-they'll take a bit more to get rid of."
"Peachy…" Gerson groaned in exhaustion as he clenched his weapon, fully rising again.
Undyne looked to the robot, noting the weapon, but she said nothing about it. Instead, she summoned another spear into her hand.
"In that case… Chara! Get back here and protect the geezer! Give me covering fire with your magic, I'll keep these guys from getting too close!"
She charged towards the closest of the Beasts, a war-cry tearing loose from her lips, distracting them and giving Chara a chance to follow the fish-warrior's commands.
While she fell back to protect the weary turtle, Mettaton flew past them, taking care of the Beast Monsters furthest away so that he wouldn't have to worry about the power of his weapon. It was damaging, but it took several long moments for a beast to die from the power.
Gerson looked around, panting, shaking his head. "They just keep coming…" he muttered mostly to himself. "Where the blazes have they been to not get noticed…?" With this many-the city should have found out about them ages ago!
Chara spared a quick glance at the turtle while orbs of energy formed behind her.
"When this is over, you're gonna have to tell us what the hell these things are," She stated quietly, then returned her attention to where Undyne was fighting up ahead. The majority of the Beasts had conjoined on her, and the shrieks and triumphant cries coming from the the cluster were unmistakable.
However, Undyne was only one woman, powerful as she was. Even with Mettaton providing aerial support, there were a lot of Beasts, and several of them turned their attention to the two standing back, letting out roars and cries before charging them. It was these ones Chara directed her magic towards, the orbs of red energy homing in on the beasts, though they seemed to wobble slightly along their trajectory, their aim not completely true.
Unlike the Beasts from before, a single attack was not enough to send the creatures to dust. Chara's first volley did not take a single one down, and by the time her second was prepared, they were almost upon them.
Gerson slid forth with a battle cry, his hammer moving swiftly through the space between him and the Beast, and soon enough, a loud echoing crack was heard, as the hammer smashed into the beast, damaging its form and disfiguring it even more so than it already was.
The turtle didn't relent-swiftly smashing it down again. However, he staggered as he tried to raise it a third time, and his hammer hit the ground with a clang as he breathed heavily.
He jerked his head up as the beast lunged at him. At the last second, he gathered his strength and slammed the weapon into it, before dropping it again as the creature turned to dust.
But, the turtle's exhaustion was swiftly growing. And there were only more Beasts coming down upon them.
"What part of "stay back" are you not getting?" Chara called in frustration, sending her prepared volley at the remaining Beasts.
But, with her battery still drained, and her magic reserves already being used to power her body, the strain on her magic was showing. The attack did not home in on its target as it normally did, and while most found their marks among the Beasts regardless, one sped towards Gerson where the old turtle panted in the dust left behind by the Beast he had slain.
Author's note: I'd ask "Alright, who saw this coming" but I feel like if I did, Orange-is-Love's hand would go up so fast it would burst into flames. Maybe Xinexi too.