Thanks go to Andyfire123, Tbone8454, Wingah, Acoolnamme, 10burgers, cassianaswindell123, saltythebear, WhoWritesThisCrap, Doctah Sawbones, Zack Frost, Jack54311, Sonic245, Linki, NecroGodYami, TheFallenAngel873, Guest, and I'mANervousWreck.
10burgers, you've only ever forgotten to review once lol. And then you went back and fixed it later. So don't sweat it.
A lot of people have asked if I plan on including more Deltarune characters, and uhh... Maybe.
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.
Hisssss...
Groggily my green eyes opened, vision fading in and out. It took a moment to adjust to the darkness that surrounded me, and as more of my senses returned to me, I became aware of the puddle I was laying in and the coldness that was pouring over my foot.
Know this place.
I gradually managed to prop myself up on my elbows, earning a dull splash from the puddle I was laying in. My left foot was right under the broken pipe from which the white trash waterfall poured, and I was quick to pull it out from the cold once I fully understood what was going on.
Closer.
Blinking my still adjusting eyes, I crawled back out of the water while I scanned my surroundings. Concrete floors, cinder block walls, pipes and wood beams lining the ceiling. I knew this basement like the back of my hand, even though I'd hardly spent any time here.
Worst place on Earth.
Riiiippppppp...
Birthplace.
Blinking and squinting into the writhing, slithering darkness, I could make out a shape. So pale that what little light existed in this hole reflected enough from it's alabaster skin that it was visible in the murky depths. I could see it there, the ivory ghoul. Hunched over its latest victim and it's new meal. A meal it desperately needed, that much was obvious to anyone who looked at the wretched thing.
Its skin was vacuum packed right to its bones, the outline of every vertebrae visible along its back. Its arms were sticks and so were its legs, and yet its muscleless form commanded strength the likes of which I'd never seen. Effortlessly it tore apart flesh and bone, anything and everything that its jaws could crush was sucked down into a bottomless gullet, feeding the new born ghoul.
Shouldn't have been possible.
And somehow, this sickly, frail beast commanded all the power in the world to me. It horrified me, made my blood cold. I knew those jaws would rip through my flesh soon, it was nearly done eating. Desperately my terrified emeralds darted about the darkness, spotting each and every giggling worm that slithered just on the line between invisible and visible. Their laughter echoed quietly over the walls, bouncing and hitting my ears from a different angle each time.
Finally, my eyes landed on it. The ghoul's greatest weapon and its only kryptonite. The twisted, blood dipped metal of that crowbar reflected crimson in what little light landed upon it, and its disgusting form created hope in my petrified heart.
Before he kills you.
Slowly and quietly I got my feet, my eyes never leaving that mane of blood stained snow upon the ghoul's head. My ears listened intently to the gnashing of its teeth, every slurp and every quick gasp for air between chomps. With painfully slow steps I crept up towards the feasting creature, crouching low and letting my left hand hang down.
Silently I scooped that crowbar from the blood spattered floor, straightening my back and gradually lifting the wicked tool up over my head. I loomed over the huddled freak on the floor, knuckles white around my weapon. Its red shades bled over my palm and its taint crept deep into my flesh. That didn't matter though, survival is what mattered. I cranked back that chaotic tool, and I swung down with all my might.
But all my might was nothing in the face of The Anarchist, and that was made painfully clear when those bleached fingers clamped around my wrist like a vice, and my swing was stopped dead. My heart stopped in my chest, cowardly tears welled in my eyes, my lungs were punctured by fear.
The ivory ghoul's head snapped right back around like an owl, and I stared into glowing red spheres. Its jaw unhinged, revealing an accountable amount of teeth as it lurched towards me.
Those jaws closed, and my face was torn from my head, shredded between a thousand rows of teeth and sucked into the gully of the abyss.
Karma.
I shot up in bed like someone had jammed a needle full of adrenaline into my chest, not pausing for a moment to let my sleep wash away. I ripped the blankets from my body, casting them to the floor and racing through the dark towards my room door. I burst out into the hallway in nothing but my boxers and a gross, sweaty sheen.
With urgency I bolted down the stairs of my darkened and slumbering home, down to the bathroom furthest from anyone's bedroom, the door of which I blasted through. Instantly I was knelt before the toilet, my dinner spewing up from my jaws and both my nostrils and into the formerly unsoiled waters of the toilet with a disgusting splash.
Fingers wrapped around the porcelain edges of that bowl, I shoved my head deeper inside, hurling shades of green and yellow for several long moments. Until finally, my stomach was empty, and I thoughtlessly leaned my head on the seat, gasping for breath while hot garbage still stung in my throat, mouth and nose.
Weakly my hand lifted, fumbling for several moments before finally slapping down on the chrome nob on the toilet's back, flushing my puke into the sewers and erasing the evidence. The disappearance of that odor was an added bonus.
I laid there for awhile, waiting for strength to trickle back through my limbs. Eventually though, I managed to push myself up from my admittedly gross head rest. I stumbled over to the bathroom sink, brown hair dangling over my face while I hung my head low.
The dull hiss of the sink and the splash of the water was a refreshing sound, and I leaned forward, washing the disgusting streams of vomit that still made their way down my face from both nostrils and my mouth away, along with the sweat that dripped from the tip of my nose.
Still panting lightly, I lifted my head, the faucet squeaking some as I turned the water off. And there I stood. Hunched over the sink, shaky hands resting on the counter. My face was pale and dark bags hung under my eyes. My jaw was slacked with my continued gasping.
I stared into my own eyes, and I could see my own contempt. My hate, my disgust. From the barrel and right back in, my fury wasn't aimed at anybody other than me. Slowly my fingers dug into the counter, threatening to send cracks through the granite while more and more loathing crept into my less than KIND eyes.
But, before I accidentally shattered something in my grip, I caught a figure out of the corner of my eye. In the mirror, I could see through the wide open doorway behind me. And though it was dark, the boy that stepped into the door frame was perfectly clear.
Sweetly little Anthony smiled at me, his hands politely behind his back. Our eyes met through the mirror's reflections, and some of that hate faded out of mine. In its place was guilt, shame. Still Anny smiled, pure and loving and accepting as always.
I threw up in the sink.
Chapter 39: Friendship Isn't A Cure
"Long time no see, you damn dirty traitor."
It'd been about a week since we first heard about Character. Five days since Chara iced 'em. When I got home that night, clothes shredded and blood on my tongue, the family was shocked to say the least.
I stumbled in the door in the middle of dinner. Guess I had missed a few phone calls while I was getting my ass handed to me half way across the multiverse. Everyone rushed over to me when they saw me. Asgore had been visiting for dinner, so he didn't have much trouble helping me over to the couch.
They all had plenty of questions, and I had plenty of answers. I told them what happened with Character. I left out the bits about Future's tragic timeline timeline and how I let Hacker get away by sparing him like an idiot. What I did talk about was how it was Chara that saved the day. In fact, I think I talked about that the longest.
I just felt that they deserved it. Chara had come a long way, and not everybody knew that. So I had to make it a point to explain that to Frisk, Toriel, and Asgore. The goat parents believed every word, it was clearly something they wanted to hear. Frisk, however, was a little more skeptical.
It wasn't that they didn't believe what I told them, it was that they almost couldn't believe what I told them. I understood that. They spent an uncountable amount of time with Chara when they were both at their worst. After all that, anyone would struggle believing the heroics they'd displayed.
Things were still always a little tense the few times Chara and Frisk were in the same room. A sort of unspoken discomfort that neither of the two seemed particularly willing to face just yet. All that said, Frisk did seem glad to hear what Chara had done to save the day.
Though there was some scolding for my recklessness, Toriel mostly understood why we had put ourselves in danger like that. She didn't like it, and I could tell she wished she had more to scold me with, but we both knew I was a special case. First and foremost, I was The Angel. And that came with certain responsibilities, some of which were dangerous.
"Lexi, Xander, and Anarchy are alive."
... That was something else I'd left out.
I mean, we've been over this. I couldn't tell them. I couldn't tell anyone. They'd be disgusted by what I'd done, by who I was.
*Who you are.
I had to lie. I had to lie and hope that my past never found us. Never found them.
Down the chrome hallways footsteps echoed fiercely. Through the voidcraft The Predator walked with purpose, icy eyes piercing through all in front of her while chilled hands clenched in tight fists at her sides.
It was an interesting craft. Some strange amalgam of a spaceship, an airship, and a cruise ship that blasted through the endless nothing of the void between timelines. It was large enough to house a dozen space pirates and a dozen more if and when Predator found the right recruits. A little apartment for every member of her team, a mess hall, a shooting range, a gym, a common area. It was a nice home on the go, a place where everyone felt welcome and happy, despite the dark and dangerous tones of their line of work.
"You sure about this whole 'Anarchist' thing, boss?" From a few paces behind Lexi a shorter, somehow chubby skeleton padded along in his pink slippers with slower, less than energetic steps.
"Yes, Sans." Predator scowled, not turning her head to look back at him while she continued forward. She didn't slow down, clearly not caring how hard it was for Sans to keep up at his leisurely pace. "I know I probably sound like a madwoman, but my mind's made up."
"I've known you were a madwoman since I met you." Sans' eyes darted to his right, that playful grin never fading from his expression. "Now you sound like a suicidal woman."
Predator rolled her eyes, slowing her pace some without really noticing as Sans picked up his own feet, the distance between the two closing. "Look, I know Anthony seems bad, but-"
"Bad?" Sans repeated with some disbelief, turning his mask of an expression up to The Predator. "No, wasps are bad. Anarchy is a jumble'a words that shouldn't be said in polite company."
"Anthony is my friend." Predator growled, shooting a glare Sans' way. Her stomping had lead her to the end of the hallway, where a large steel door labeled 'COCKPIT' loomed. "He gave everything for me once. I owe it to him to help him."
"Anthony is gone, Lexi." Sans stated much more forcefully, staring at his boss's back. The two now stood still, Predator's eyes unmoving from the door looming before her. "And Anarchy tried to kill you."
"... He's still in my reach." Lexi spoke quietly, hair shadowing her eyes. Slowly she lifted her hand, reaching out to the hand print pad beside the door. "I can just... Feel it. He can turn things around, he just needs a friend..."
"Anarchy is not the victim here, Predator." Sans lowered his head some, looking at her from under his eyebrows and letting a deathly seriousness creep into his tone. "Whatever he might have been to you before is gone. He's a wild animal now."
"..." Predator's jaw clenched, and her fingers curled back away from the hand scanner, forming a fist. With venom on her tongue, she struck a lethal blow.
"... So were you when I found you, GB."
Sans recoiled from that, the pupils disappearing from his sockets and his grin shrinking on his face. The two stood there, silent as they let those words settle. Until finally, Sans blinked away, disappearing from the hallway without a word.
Predator slowly lifted her head, a strand of long black hair falling down between her eyes, which glinted with DETERMINATION. She pressed her hand to the scanner on the door, and after a few lights slipped across her fingers and palm, the pad lit up in green, and the doors slid apart.
"Tra la la~ Made a decision, have you?" River Person turned their head, letting the infinite darkness of their cloak stare back at The Predator as she marched into the cockpit. The room was alight with blue streams of energy, a strange control system that only River Person could navigate. Lights and screens and buttons that Lexi couldn't hope to understand - nor did she have any desire to.
Curled at the monster's feet - at least, Predator thought River Person was a monster. No one had ever seen beneath the cloak, so no one could be certain - was an animate wooden structure. A large cat, like some kind of tiger laid by the base of River Person's cloak. Their pet and body guard, Splinters.
"There's only one person who knows Anthony better than I do, River P." Predator nodded with certainty, taking a step forward and looking out into the shimmering black of the void through the massive window that overtook the front half of the room. "And if I'm gonna help Anthony, I'm gonna need him by my side."
"Tra la la~ A secret friend? Who might he be?" River Person spun gently, doing a little twirl to get over to a hovering holo-keyboard and lifting their large sleeves over it. Their hands remained shrouded as they turned their covered face back to The Predator, "Show me the path, and let me see."
"... DT00002." Predator spoke solemnly, and River Person tilted their head back with a little surprise, before nodding and turning their head back to the keyboard. On a bar that floated above the board, a jumble of letters and numbers that almost resembled a URL was altered. The last seven digits of the code were changed to the code Predator had given, and upon hitting enter, a pulse of energy washed through the many streams of light illuminating the room, and the ship's course was altered.
"Tra la la~ Cter The Hacker, yes?" River Person looked back to Predator, who stood with her back to him, staring out into the endless space that they blasted through. "I had no idea you two were close, tra la la~"
Predator smiled a little fondly. She tried her best to hide it, but it was clear that she was excited to see him again. She'd grown so much, she was sure. The cowardice she'd once suffered from was gone from her, and she knew that she was ready to see him again. All the work she'd put in, everything she'd built. She wasn't someone who often looked for approval in others. In fact, following the beat of her own drum is what had gotten her this far.
But, she'd be lying if she said that some part of her wasn't hoping for Angel to be proud of her.
"... Very close."
"... So, uhm, Xander?"
Cliff looked up from a plate of food to the other side of the table, where Gatherer was seated with perfect posture. The two were alone in Gatherer's private suite, eating dinner together in candle light. And while Cliff certainly didn't have any qualms with this oddly romantic setting, it certainly confused him. Gatherer hadn't really explained his motives, he'd just invited him up here after asking him if he'd eaten yet.
"Yes, Clifford?" Xander lifted his own head, rising his eyebrows inquisitively as his purple spheres connected with Cliff's orange ones.
"Well, it's not that I have any problems with with you inviting me to your home for dinner, but..." Cliff's eyes glossed around the neat and tidy dinning room they were seated in while he spoke, almost a little too embarrassed to make eye contact with eyes as powerful as The Gatherer's. "I'm, sort'a confused. Did you want to talk to me about something? I know how hard you've been working since our encounter with The Anarchist a few days ago, does it have something to do with that..?"
"Hm." Gatherer's lips curled up a little smirk, and he shook his head, clearly amused. "Clifford, does this look like the setting for a business meeting?"
"Uhh..." Clearly inexperienced with business meetings and decorum, Cliff let his eyes scan the room for a moment or two, hoping it would present him with the correct answer to Gatherer's question. "... No..?"
Gatherer laughed a little at Cliff's response, lifting a hand to his mouth while he did so. Then, he lowered his hand, and finally answered Cliff's question. "This is a date, actually."
"W-wait what?!" Cliff recoiled, his face immediately lighting up in red hot embarrassment.
"I hope that isn't a problem." Xander folded his hands together over the table, approaching this whole ordeal like it was a business meeting. That made sense, he'd never faced a scenario quite like this one, and despite his composure, it was obvious to Cliff that he had no idea what he was doing. "You inspired me earlier this week, and upon facing Anarchy's danger, I was reassured that time is precious. So I didn't want to drag my feet with things between us any longer."
Cliff paused, staring at Xander with widened eyes and risen eyebrows. Then, after a pause, he burst into laughter, making The Gatherer recoil. A light red overcame his cheeks, Clifford's laughter clearly catching him off guard.
"W-what?" He asked, clearly disheartened and flustered. He was terrified now that he'd misread something, that he'd made a fool of himself with this little plan. But then, Cliff smiled sweetly at him. The larger man lifted his chair after standing, walked it over to Gatherer's side, set it down, and took a seat next to him.
"You really look at everything like it's one big plan, huh?" Cliff smiled with a gentle care and affection as he put an arm around Gatherer, pulling him in close. Gatherer stiffened some at this, the red on his face darkening while he shrunk with embarrassment. "It's cute."
"W-well, I have a very analytical brain..." Gatherer crossed his arms, pouting while Cliff held him. Then, he muttered. "... And, I lack... Experience, in this area... So I stuck with what made sense..."
"Well it worked." Cliff teased lightheartedly, planting a sweet kiss on the top of Gatherer's lowered head. A move that just made his face darken to a crimson shade. "You really woo'd me."
"S-shut up..." Gatherer spoke, even though there was a little smile on his face while he reached up, nervously twirling a strand of his hair between his fingers.
"So does this mean I'm your boyfriend now?" Cliff continued to tease, Xander's embarrassment warming his heart. "Do I have a quota of flowers and chocolates to bring you every day?"
"Very funny..." Gatherer rolled his eyes, starting to get a little more comfortable in Cliff's arms. After a moment, he smiled up at him, his blush fading to a lighter shade of pink. "No, I don't need anything like that. Just keep being yourself, okay?"
This time it was Cliff who recoiled, a light blush forming on his own cheeks at his words. Xander was a collected man most days, very calculating. Cliff figured Gatherer was at least four times smarter than he was, so of course he followed him. But it was more than that. Xander's ambition and his passion truly inspired Clifford to work his hardest, be his best self, and dedicate his everything to their cause. It was hard for Cliff to remember a life before Xander, or imagine a life without him. And when he looked into his violet eyes, he thought Xander might have felt the same way.
"I... I think I can do that."
Demon stood there, arms crossed over their chest while they stared into the dim green light reflecting in their scarlet orbs. They were in a large laboratory, multiple desks scattered with papers standing right where the dim light of the medical pods met the darkness.
The lights were shut off, and all scientists had left the room, their work hours over. The Demon was alone, lingering in the shadows as they had been since Gatherer had taken them and The Hacker in. The Hacker who now floated before them, eyes shut in his coma while the magical green goop he was cast into healed his body and soul.
... The two had went overboard as Character, Demon knew that now. Hacker's soul was damaged so thoroughly that even if he had been awake to eat a healing item, it was unlikely it would have helped much. So now they waited here with him, every day. Hardly sleeping and hardly eating, Demon watched that unconscious expression pensively. They had to keep him safe while he slept, and they had to be here to reassure him when he awoke.
"Haven't you ever heard the story about the watched pot and its lack of boiling?"
Demon scowled as the lights were flipped on, turning their head to look back into the room's doorway. An Alphys was standing there, staring condescendingly from behind her stupid swirly glasses. She was from one of those 'Underfell' timelines, Demon was pretty sure. She was less stuttery than the rest, but the same coward deep down.
"What do you want?" Demon growled, watching Alphys walk right past them and towards the pod at the farther end of the room. The only other patient currently in the laboratory.
"I'm not here for you or your idiot in a jar." Alphys stung in her irritating, nasally voice. She stopped before the emerald hue of another pod, hunching over the little key pad and screen displaying vitals at its side. "So lose the tone."
"..." Demon watched this Alphys step out of line without even looking them in the eye. This sass from a lower life form made their eye twitch, and without hesitation they stomped over to the distracted doctor. While Alphys was busy with a routine check up, Demon got right up behind her, snagging her by the back of her shirt and spinning her around suddenly and violently. They grabbed the front of Alphys' shirt then, shoving her back against the wall that was to her side earlier and looming over her with a malicious red glow in their eye.
"Do you have any idea how easy it is to hide a pile of dust?" Was Demon's only question, shadows slipping over their face and leaving nothing but bright red eyes and a malicious smile. =)
"U-u-uh..!" Suddenly, Alphys' stutter was back. Her glasses drooping down her nose, Demon could see the terror in her eyes. That, in tandem with the sweat pouring over her scales and all that trembling she was doing in their grasp was answer enough for Demon.
Demon's smile faded to a hateful scowl, and they tugged Alphys to the side, letting her tumble to the floor haphazardly after letting go of her. They turned to face the glowing pod before them, shooting a disdain filled glare over their shoulder at Alphys, who was scrambling to find her glasses after they had flung from her face with her landing. "That's what I thought."
Alphys grit her teeth, but despite her indignation, she didn't say a word. She knew her place, after all. She was considerably less valuable to Gatherer than The Demon was at the moment, so she couldn't afford to step too far out of line with them, even if they were a brat.
"Speaking of idiots in jars," Demon crossed their arms over their chest once more, staring up at the unconscious skeleton floating in green goop before them. "What's up with this guy? Thought that Cter and Chara axed Error a few months back."
"They c-certainly got close..." Alphys finally managed to find her glasses, slipping their spiral lenses over her eyes before she began climbing to her. "But, much like you and H-Hacker, Gatherer found him in the nick of time."
"Looks to me like Gatherer was a minute or two too late." Demon sneered, some sadistic part of them amused by seeing Error's pathetic, shattered body. "I mean, look at him. He's down three limbs and most of his ribs. Not to mention half of his face is melted."
"M-monsters are a lot harder to revive when they fall down. There's little we can do for Error as it stands." Alphys too turned to face the broken, photo-negative skeleton, pushing up her glasses and shrouding her eyes behind their strange pattern. "Still, though, The Gatherer has use for him. So we will keep him alive until his p-plan comes to fruition."
"... Un huh." Demon rolled their eyes, like the idea that there was any use for this crumbling mess of a monster was completely ridiculous to them. "And what's that plan exactly?"
"T-that's top secret." Alphys crossed her arms, clearly annoyed by Demon's lack of belief in her leader. "Not even I know what it is..."
"Ha!" Demon shook their head as they laughed, turning and walking away from Alphys, back towards Hacker's healing pod. "Sounds like he doesn't have one."
"Yes he does!" Alphys snapped angrily, chasing after The Demon. "Gatherer always has a plan!"
"I'll believe it when I see it." Demon frowned, pausing once more before The Hacker. They were displeased, as usual, to see his eyes had yet to open in the two minutes since they last checked.
"L-look, if you're gonna be around here, you b-better learn a few things!" Alphys spoke with a mix of confidence and fear, now standing near Demon, but not within arms reach. "G-Gatherer took you in, show some gratitude!"
"..." Demon didn't speak, instead opting to shoot Alphys a glare. They were all like this, a cult of weak minded devouts worshiping The Gatherer. As much as they wanted to denounce the silver tongued pyromancer, right now they were in his home. At his mercy. Forced to rely on him, at least until Hacker got better. So instead, they picked their words carefully.
"... Hacker didn't trust Xander." Demon lifted their eyes back up to the tank before them, their jaw clenching anxiously.
"So I won't either."
"Yo, Cter!" Monster Kid grinned happily over at me as he pulled open the passenger side door of my van with his tail. He climbed into the seat next to mine as I pulled the gear shift into drive, shutting his door before using a combo of his teeth and his tail to buckle his seat belt. "Happy Birthday!"
"Thanks!" I smiled some as I pulled off the side of the street and onto the road, flashing my expression to him briefly before turning my eyes back to the road.
"Do you feel old yet?" Monster Kid joked, sending his pure smile my way. I couldn't look to see it, but I felt its light shining on me.
"MK I've felt old since I was nine years old." I joked right back, the corner of my mouth curling upwards when I heard him laugh.
"Then you really must really feel over the hill now, huh grandpa?" MK teased while we made our way towards the mountain looming over town, a 25 zone jumping to 35, then 45, and finally 55.
"You have no idea." I spoke like I was playing along with his joke, but I was being honest. Lately I felt like my hair was gonna go grey and my face was gonna wrinkle up. My hair clogged the shower drain last time I took one, and that ain't exactly normal when you have shortish hair on your head and aren't a super hairy dude.
"So you really convinced Chara to drop by, huh?" MK changed the subject to something that brightened my mood. I hadn't seen Chara since they defeated Character, but I checked in with them to make sure they were still good to go this morning. "How'd you manage that?"
"Well, I think they might'a realized life's a little too short to give in to social anxiety all the time after we both almost got iced against Character." I shrugged casually, eyes forward while I made a turn off the paved roads and onto some dirt ones. "'Sides, them n' Asriel have come a long way. I'm sure they were already considering taking a step like this one."
I wasn't sure of that at all, but I didn't wanna take credit for something I really didn't do.
"Do you think they'll show me their transformation too?!" MK lit up with excitement, little stars forming in his eyes as he looked over to me. "The way you described it made it sound so cool!"
"That's because it is so cool." I smirked a little at Monster Kid's fanboy tendencies. "But I wouldn't press your luck, bud. Chara's not the biggest fan of displaying their power these days."
"Boooo!" Monster Kid voiced his displeasure, making me snerk some. The road got a little bumpier beneath us as we got onto some old mountain path, hardly managed and barely safe for my rickety old van.
Me and Kid talked for awhile longer, until we eventually made it to the end of the road, and I pulled to a stop. But, just as MK and I were getting ready to exit the car and walk the rest of the way to reach the mountains peak, we spotted two individuals making their way down to greet us.
Chara lifted their hand with a small smile, waving a little timidly while Asriel waved a lot more excitedly from behind them. Suddenly those anxieties eating at the back of my brain pulled their jaws away and disappeared, and I smiled, unbuckling my seat belt and pushing open my door.
"Hey! And here I thought I'd have to drag you two outta your hidey hole!" I returned their wave as I climbed out the side of my van, MK escaping through his own door.
"And we thought we'd be waiting for you to show up all day!" Asriel joked right back to me, smiling a little wider with my friendly greeting.
"Glad you two are keeping your expectations low, means I can afford to be less punctual next time." I grinned in the way a Cter does, shoving my hands into my pockets as I reached the two with Monster Kid on tow.
"So that's how you get around on the surface, huh?" Chara crossed their arms, smirking a little over at me while they faced my faded purple, rusty, ozone obliterator of a van. "Are we sure that thing is safe?"
"Everything is up to code in," Suddenly, I posed dramatically, pointing both of my arms to the front of my van. "The violet vehicle!"
"The magenta mode of transportation!" MK joined in, posing right their with me in the same manner.
Then, together, we started the sentence to finish off my car's titles. "The-!"
"Purple piece of shit?" Chara tilted their head some as they cut the two of us off, smirk growing with clear amusement and playfulness.
MK and I froze in our tracks, before MK broke into laughter at Chara's words. I just placed my hands on my hips, tilted my head back, and gave them a look that said 'very funny'. That had a look that read 'Thank you, I'll be here all week'.
"... You're walking." I finally spoke, making them snerk while I turned to walk back towards the newly christened Purple Piece of Shit.
"Screw you, I'll fly there and get there before you do." Chara played along in my sass as the two of us walked back towards the van together.
"Nope. Not allowed." I shook my head, shrugging like there was nothing I could do.
"What do you mean not allowed?" Chara narrowed their eyes at me now from the other side of the van, grabbing a door handle while we feigned an argument about how they were gonna get to the party without the van. "I do what I want!"
"Nope." I spoke casually, pulling open the driver's side door and sliding into my seat.
"You can't just say nope like it's a real argument!" Chara shouted despite the slight smile upon both our faces, taking their own seat in the van.
Asriel stood there for a moment outside the van, squinting a little suspiciously at the scene he just watched unfold between the two humans. His eyes glossed from side to side, like equations were appearing in his field of vision and he was working on solving them. Before he could find any answer to the cause of the strange and, almost out of character interaction he just witnessed however, Monster Kid finished up his giggling.
"Purple piece'a... Ahh, that's a good one." MK chuckled, slowly shaking his head while he patted Asriel on the back to get his attention. "C'mon, we don't wanna be late!"
"Huh?" Asriel jumped slightly, before his wits returned to him, and he smiled politely. "Oh, yeah! Sorry, heh!"
Nervously Gaster clacked his digits on the table of his laboratory, leaning back on the smooth surface while he held his other hand over his mouth. His anxious eyes were focused on the tile floor, which CORE Frisk paced silently across, their ethereal little feet not making a sound.
"Okay, think." Gaster spoke, not lifting his head while his brain ran laps inside his perspiring skull. "What are our options here?"
"Options? Options?!" C Frisk snapped anxiously, making Gaster jump some as they looked back to him. "We don't have other options, Gaster! That's why Cter became our guy in the first place!"
"Unfortunately for us Character had the foresight to throw an attack Chara's way before he could finish... Whatever that thing he was doing was!" C Frisk threw their hands into the air with frustration, before beginning to pace back and forth. "And while it's great that Chara got a power boost too and all, now NOBODY is strong enough to beat Anarchy!"
"Well maybe he'll reach that power again when fighting Anarchy!" Gaster offered a frantic solution, but that did little to calm down C Frisk, who just shook their head.
"We can't afford to role those dice!" C Frisk looked back to the doctor with growing panic on their face. "Even if he does start to change and Anarchy decides to let him, that might, plenty of emphasis on the might, put them on equal footing!"
"Well... I don't know, maybe..." Gaster trailed off, holding his chin thoughtfully while he pondered.
"Maybe? Maybe what?" C Frisk looked back up to Gaster, clearly desperate for any kind of solution.
"Well, perhaps... Perhaps there's some way we can work in another trial?" Gaster lifted his head, arching a brow bone over at C Frisk. "Something to push him over the edge and unleash that power we saw briefly against Character?"
"Uugh! Gaster! You aren't getting it!" C Frisk reached up both hands and ruffled their own hair, shutting their empty eyes tight for a moment before snapping them back open. "We don't have time for anymore trials! Anarchy could open his eyes in the next few seconds at the very worst and the next few days at the very, very, absolute best!"
"And the moment he does, he's comin' here!" C Frisk turned on their heel to face the doctor, throwing their hands dramatically out to their sides. "He's coming here and Cter isn't ready!"
"Well we have to do something, Frisk!" Gaster snapped right back at them, slamming his skeletal fist down on the table behind him. "We have to make a move! There has to be something left that we can do! I don't care what!"
"I know something you two can do."
In an instant Gaster and C Frisk snapped their heads to their side, eyes widening in shock and terror as they spotted another skeleton with madness in his eyes materializing from a rainbow of pixels. From thin air Badster had appeared, flashing dead eyes and a mad smile. He extended one hand outward, the other tucked behind his back in a strange and friendly gesture that was undercut by the evil clear in those bright white pupils.
Gaster took up a defensive stance while C Frisk took a step behind him. Sweat formed on Gaster's brow, and he clenched his jaw, a purple glow igniting his eyes as he opened the both of his palms. Magic crackled as a warning in the holes that pierced his hands, but Badster's smile never faded.
"Relax, relax!" Badster instructed with a calm and friendly tone. He was almost jovial as he retracted his hand, lifting both hole punched palms over his head to show he lacked any physically harmful intentions. "I am not a violent man, no matter what company I may keep."
"Well I am going to be getting very violent if you don't remove yourself from my laboratory this instant." Gaster growled his threat through grinding teeth, not even considering lowering his guard for a moment.
"What are you doing here, Badster?!" C Frisk demanded from the safety of Gaster's calf, shooting a glare up at the looming madman.
"Badster? Is that what you've been calling me?" Badster cocked a brow, snerking with some amusement. But then, his eyes narrowed with lethal precision, and his amused smile grew into a malicious smirk. "You really are just a child, aren't you? It was foolish of me to ever leave The Hacker's grooming to the likes of you."
"Grooming..?" Gaster repeated quietly to himself, narrowing his sockets suspiciously. He didn't object however, deciding to let his less than reputable doppelganger speak awhile longer.
"So, since you two clearly have no concept of what you're doing, I've come all the way out here to offer you a solution." Badster tilted his head, that smile shaping his face in its usual wicked malformation.
"Like we'd take advice from you!" C Frisk snapped, stomping forward and out from behind Gaster's leg to display their defiance. Gaster held out one hand however, asking them silently to let Badster speak.
"I think this news will interest you both." Badster perfected his posture, holding both hands behind his back and looming like some crow. Some black cat, some terribly bad omen of things to come. "The Predator is on her way here as we speak."
"What?" Gaster exclaimed with some surprise, his expression tensing further along with the rest of his body. "What would she be doing here?"
"She wants to drag your Cter into some harebrained scheme to 'save' my Anarchist." Badster rolled his eyes at the silliness of such an idea. Like Anarchy was some kind of victim. As if anyone but Anarchy commanded what Anarchy did. "And she's going to be leaving her pirate cruise ship docked, without her there to defend it. You know where that will be, don't you, CORE Frisk?"
"... Yes, of course I do." C Frisk narrowed their eyes suspiciously, an anxious sweat breaking out on their forehead as they theorized what Badster could be planning. "I'm omnipresent. Why are you telling us this?"
"Well... It sure would be a shame if someone like, oh, I don't..." Badster tilted his head from side to side, one of his many hands appearing over his head to roll in a circular motion, like his brain was pretending to buffer. "The Gatherer, purely for example, knew where that ship was and how long Predator would be away from it."
Both Gaster's and C Frisk's eyes went wide, instantly catching on to what Badster was being coy about. Swiftly the kinder doctor clenched his fists, shaking his head. "Absolutely not."
"I'm only spit balling ideas, the same as you two." Smirking cockily Badster shrugged, two hands appearing over his head and mimicking the same motion. "I just think that if Predator came home to a half-destroyed ship and a few dead friends... Well."
"We all know how The Predator is." Wickedly Badster grinned, shadows slipping along his face as he tilted his head to his side. "With that kind of motivation, I personally don't have a doubt in my mind that she would drag your Angel along for a suicide mission. And that is how you make him stronger, isn't it? Throwing him at the wall so hard that he has to stick?"
"There is no way we would ever commit to doing something so cruel!" Gaster snarled, stomping one foot forward to emphasis his point.
"Oh no, I completely understand." Badster shut his eyes and shook his head in feigned understanding. He lifted his hands and waved them dismissively. As he did so, however, not only did he begin to break away into pixels, but Gaster did as well, much to the other doctor's surprise and fear.
"Cruelty is something I know very well."
In the next instant, Gaster was standing in the endless nothing, staring out over a vantablack desert with one horrifying sandstorm at its center. From the nothing had come something. And that something was a terror the likes of which Gaster had never seen before.
There, in the center of his darkness, The Anarchist sat cross legged, his eyes closed and the knuckles of his fists pressed tightly together. On his chest a ruby soul burned brilliantly, its light blasting out through whatever cracks in the squirming, black tornado that surrounded him it could find.
Endlessly those giggling worms circled up into the shadow sky, gnashing their teeth and wriggling over one another like massive, blood thirsty maggots. It was a striking display of the rot that would soon shape this multiverse, a horror to witness and a terror to hear. The disgusting, writhing darkness and the gross giggles between endlessly clamping - endlessly hungry - jaws.
Gaster stared, eyes wide and pupils shrunken in his sockets. His jaw hung loose as he beheld this power. He could feel its malice in his soul. Its darkness and its evil pierced through him so harshly that his knees buckled, and he dropped down to them, his arms hanging limp at his sides. Beside him, C Frisk stood with ethereal sweat beading down their face, looking thoroughly sickened.
They were reminded - as they always were when they looked upon the alabaster face of Chaos himself - of the day they sat and spoke with him. Six months ago now, when he reached across the table and touched their flesh. Or, they thought he had. Some fearful vision he had caused, and it had poisoned them every day since. Stopping The Anarchist was not just important to them, it was an obsession. They would do whatever it takes.
... Whatever it takes.
"Do what you please." Badster stepped forward, standing between the two of them and death looming in the distance. "But Anarchy is coming. Whether you like it or not, whenever time he decides, Anarchy is coming."
"Prepare. Defend. Run. Hide. It makes no difference." Badster turned to face the two and began walking backwards, fearlessly towards the devastating storm that loomed in the distance. As he spoke, Gaster began to fade back to those pixels, being transported away once again.
"The Reunion is set in stone."
Gaster gasped for breath as he was once more in his home laboratory, having fallen onto his hands and knees. As he desperately sucked air, sweat dropped from his skull, splatting to the ground before him.
"..." Silently C Frisk stood before him, letting their wide eyes drop to the ground as well as they contemplated all they saw and all they knew. But as they slowly began to step back away from Gaster, the doctor lifted his head, and his eyes widened when he saw the certainty and the guilt on his younger associate's face.
"Wait, Frisk..!" Gaster lifted one hand out to C Frisk, but they just shook their head, haunted eyes unblinking before they suddenly disappeared from sight. "Don't-!"
". . ." Gaster let his wide eyes drop back to the floor, along with his out stretched hand. Now alone, his hands slowly curled into fists against the chilled tile.
There was an eager goat parent on either side of my car when I pulled back into our driveway. Toriel grabbed Chara in a hug, and Asgore grabbed Asriel, and then after about thirty seconds of embracing, they traded children, and continued the huggening. I thought that was a little cute and a lot funny, but I didn't wanna spoil the moment by poking fun at the reunited family.
Frisk was just finishing up hanging a "Happy 19th Birthday!" sign over the front door, standing atop a short ladder which Sans was holding. Or, at least, putting one hand on. The both of them gave us a wave as we pulled up, and I returned the gesture.
From there, we all funneled inside. I was worried at first that things would be awkward with Chara and Asriel around everyone, but things were going surprisingly well. Asriel was catching up with Frisk and Papyrus, while a semi-flustered Chara was talking to Undyne and Monster Kid, no doubt fending off a hundred and one questions about the newfound power of theirs that must have inspired endless wonder in the two.
It was honestly... Really great. Everyone in our big home, all our friends in one place. It put me at ease, made me forget the fears that haunted my dreams, made my stomach a trampoline to bounce food back up after I ate it. I didn't notice at the time, but for the time the party went on, I felt... Happy.
Happy feelings had felt very far away ever since Character, but when surrounded by all my loved ones, I was alive in the moment. No memories of before, no worries for after. Everything was perfect and peaceful and-
Ding dong!
"Oh, could someone get the door?" Toriel called from the kitchen, leaning back to look into the living room full of people with a gentle smile. In her oven mitt covered hands was a pie tin, presumably filled with a warm pastry treat. "I'm a little preoccu-pie'd! Haha!"
"I got it!" I called back, giving Mettaton and Alphys a 'just a sec' as I stood from the couch. I walked carelessly to the doorway, casual smile still on my face. I hardly had time to ponder what friend I could have missed. It felt like I had so many it was almost hard to keep track of.
I turned the door knob, and with a happy, greeting, I pulled it open. "Hey! Glad you could ma-..!"
"Angel!" Lexi grinned joyfully from the other side of the door, not hesitating to jump forward and wrap her arms around me in an excited hug. "It feels like it's been forever!"
And just like that, everything crashed back down on me. The colors faded to black and white around me, all the happy conversations disappeared from my ears. My blood ran cold and my eyes went wide. I didn't have a mirror on hand, but I figured I must've been about as pale as my murder junky albino best friend.
"L-... Lexi..?" I managed to choke out, slowly lifting shaking arms to return her hug as I tried not to hyperventilate.
"Yup!" happily The Predator shook me back and forth, clinging to me with glee. "In the flesh!"
She pulled away after another few moments, planting her hands on my shoulders. She must've seen my expression, because she laughed sheepishly, retracting one hand to scratch the back of her head.
"Sorry I didn't call, wasn't sure if phone numbers are the same after a hop through dimensions, y'know?" She shrugged casually while I stood bewildered. "Plus, I thought it would be more special to talk in person!"
"U-uh... Y-yeah..!" I managed to choke out, forcing a smile that I hoped looked happy to see her again. I mean, it wasn't that I never wanted to see her again, there were about a million things I wanted to say to her, but... Now?! completely unannounced?! That's so! So..!
... Eugh... Completely like her... I should have seen this coming...
"I'm sorry, I've been so busy that I didn't have time to get'cha a present, birthday boy." Lexi grinned, holding her arms out to her sides and doing a little pose. "So I hope my visit will be enough!"
"Uhh... Yeah, of course!" I shook my head, trying to jumble my thoughts together and compose myself. Like an idiot, I opened the door further, stepping aside to give her space to come through. "Why don't you come in? We've got plenty of room, and a'course you're welcome!"
*Hahahahahahahaha!
"Why thank ya!" Predator nodded her head gratefully to me, stepping inside a home that, as I myself turned and followed her, I realized was now full of prying eyes.
"Cter, I had no idea you had made more friends without me!" Papyrus marched right up to the two of us, smiling in the welcoming way that he did.
"Uhh, actually, Paps, I've, known her since before I met you guys." I winced some, knowing full well the curiosity that would insight.
I'd left my backstory a mystery for every one of my friends, and they were all understanding enough not to pry. But, I knew full well there had to be a fair bit of wondering behind the scenes, even if no one would ever ask about it. These theories of mine were confirmed when even Papyrus recoiled a little, everyone now giving me and Lexi their full attention.
"Uhm, everyone..?" I timidly gestured to Lexi, who straightened her back and waved politely, despite the slight crookedness of her smile. "... This is Lexi."
"We, sorta... Used to..." Further panic rose in me as my eyes fell to the floor, and I fidgeted, reaching up and scratching the back of my head. With what felt like a crowd of one billion before me, the last word scratched my throat on it's way up. "... Date..."
CRASH!
The glass Chara had been holding dropped from their hand and exploded to glass shards as they stared with eyes about to pop out of their skull. The monsters and other human around them all had similar expressions, Papyrus's bottom jaw quite literally clattering to the floor. Sans' pupils disappeared from his sockets he was so shocked, and Frisk dramatically leaned forward in their seat.
Then, all at once.
"WHAT?!"
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XWolf26, out
