"So you finally made it." He said.
"Sans? Why are you here?" Asked Nemo, his eyes were wide with shock.
"The end of your journey is at hand." Said Sans. "In a few moments, you will meet the king. Together… you will determine the future of this world. That's then. Now. You will be judged."
"Judged?" Asked Nemo. Frisk stayed close to his side.
"You will be judged for your every action. You will be judged for every E.X.P you've earned." Explained Sans.
"E.X.P?" Asked Nemo.
"It's an acronym. It stands for execution points." Said Sans. Nemo inhaled sharply. "A way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others. When you kill someone, your E.X.P increases. When you have enough E.X.P, your LOVE increases. LOVE, too, is an acronym. It stands for Level Of ViolencE. A way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt. The more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself." Nemo's hands were shaking. "The more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. The more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others." Sans paused as he observed Nemo, who was staring at the ground, his expression blank. "Now, you understand. It's time to begin your judgement. Look inside yourself. Have you really done the right thing? And, considering what you've done… what will you do now? Take a moment to think about this." Another pause. "...Truthfully, it doesn't matter what you say. All that's important is that you're honest with yourself. What happens now… we leave up to you."
Frisk looked up at Nemo, and then back at Sans, only to see that he was gone. "Nemo…?" They said softly.
Nemo slowly raised his hands so that he could stare at them. His hands were shaking. "What have I done…?" He asked.
"N-Nemo…" They said.
"Oh god… they were right… I'm a murderer!" He cried as he fell to his knees. He put his hands on his face. "I'm a monster!" That's when Nemo realized something. His hands fell to his sides. "No… I'm not a monster… monsters are kind hearted and gentle. They only attacked us on the king's orders, so that they wouldn't be trapped down here! I'm something far worse than a monster." Nemo looked over at Frisk, tears falling from his empty, emotionless eyes. "I'm a human…"
Frisk bit their lip for a moment before wrapping their arms around Nemo and pulling him into a hug. "It's ok, Nemo." They said softly.
"It's not ok." Said Nemo numbly. "I can't believe what I've done… how can you stand to be around me? After what I've done?"
"Because I believe in you." Said Frisk. Nemo's eyes widened. "I know that despite everything… despite the E.X.P, the LOVE you've gained, you're still Nemo. And I know that you are a good person." Now even more tears were spilling. But these were ones of happiness. Nemo returned the hug and buried his face in Frisk's shoulder.
"Thank you… Frisk…" He said.
"It's no problem…" Said Frisk as they continued to hug Nemo. "Now c'mon, let's go." They exited the hug and tugged on his hand, leading him to their destination.
Nemo looked down at them before smiling at them. "Ok!" He said. The duo made their way to the end of the hall, and took a left into another gray corridor.
They walked down the path, and took another right before stopping at a doorway. There was a sign. "Throne Room." Read Frisk.
"This is it." Said Nemo, still holding Frisk's hand. Then Frisk looked over and down another pathway.
"What is it?" Asked Nemo.
"I'm... not sure…" Said Frisk as they walked down the path. The duo passed a golden star that was on the other side of the doorway. Frisk didn't even bother using it as the duo took a right and continued down the path and down a flight of stairs. At the bottom of the steps was a doorway that Frisk walked through. The duo entered, and to their left, they noticed a row of seven coffins, each one with a different colored heart on it. Frisk walked over and read what was printed on the coffin with the red heart. "Chara…" They said before looking at something to their right. Nemo followed their gaze, but he saw nothing. Frisk looked away before releasing Nemo's hand and going back up the stairs.
"F-Frisk!?" Exclaimed Nemo in shock before chasing after them. He saw them back at the front of the doorway, and in front of the star. They looked at Nemo as he reached the top of the stairs. They reached out and placed a hand on the star before entering the throne room. Nemo followed them. It was a dimly lit room with a bed of flowers. And in the center…
His back was facing them at the moment, he seemed to be doing something. All they could see was his horns, his blonde hair, the crown atop his head, and the purple cape obscuring his back. "Dum dee dum…" He hummed. "Oh? Is someone there? Just a moment! I have almost finished watering these flowers." Nemo looked down at the sunflowers that he was watering. The memory of one certain flower made him sick. "Here we are!" Said the king, causing Nemo to look back at him. He then turned and faced them. Nemo's eyes widened at the sight of the goat monster. "Howdy! How can I…" Asgore was cheerful at first, but that cheer faded as soon as he realized who stood before him. Nemo crossed his arms and looked away. "Oh…. I so badly want to say, 'would you like a cup of tea'? But… You know how it is."
"Unfortunately, yeah." Siad Nemo. Asgore slowly walked to their left, before stopping and turning back to them.
"Nice day today, huh? Birds are singing, flowers are blooming… perfect weather for a game of catch." Said Asgore.
"Sure seems like it." Replied Nemo.
Asgore looked away for a moment before turning back to them. "...You know what we must do. When you are ready, come into the next room." He said before walking away. Nemo and Frisk slowly followed. They passed the throne and stopped at the doorway to the next room. Next to it was another star, and next to that… a throne covered in a white sheet.
"Those monsters… they said that there was a king and a queen…" Said Nemo blankly.
"Yeah…" Said Frisk softly.
"They never did say what happened to the queen." Said Nemo.
"No. They didn't." Said Frisk as they placed their hand on the star. There was that feeling of warmth again. It made Nemo's stomach churn. The duo turned and entered the room, Frisk put a hand over the locket they now wore. The duo went through the door.
"How tense…" Said Asgore. "Just think of it like… a visit to the dentist."
"I don't think a dentist ever killed anyone." Said Nemo drily. Asgore walked down the path and stopped before a decorated frame.
"Are you ready?" Asked Asgore. "If you are not, I understand. I am not ready either." Asgore entered the doorway.
"Are you ready?" Asked Frisk.
"Nope." Said Nemo. "But… it's not like that's stopped us before." Frisk smiled as they entered the final room.
Before them was a giant wall made out of glowing energy. Asgore stared at it, his back facing them. "This is the barrier." He explained. "This is what keeps us all trapped underground…. If… if by chance you have any unfinished business… please do what you must."
"There's nothing left for us back there." Said Nemo.
"...I see." Said Asgore. "This is it, then." He turned to face them. "Ready?" Suddenly, seven canisters rose from the ground next to the humans. Six of them contained souls. The seventh was empty. Nemo looked at them before looking at Asgore as his soul manifested. "...humans… it was nice to meet you. Both of you."
"One last thing, Asgore." Said Nemo. Asgore looked at him expectantly. "If I die… just let Frisk go… you don't need their soul, and they haven't hurt anyone. I doubt they ever will…"
"..." Asgore was quiet for a moment. "Very well… goodbye." From his cape, Asgore pulled out a large trident and stabbed it into the ground. He then pulled it out and held it as he stared at Nemo, his eyes obscured by a shadow.
Asgore then put his spear in the ground once more before waving his hands, summoning flames to attack Nemo. He did his best to avoid them, but one struck his chest. It burnt. Nemo slid back from the attack before striking Asgore. Then flames rained down. Nemo tried to avoid them, but he wasn't lucky. He hissed as the flames tore a hole in the shoulder of his shirt.
"Nemo!" Cried Frisk. Nemo ran up and kicked Asgore. Few flames from before rained down. "Nemo, dodge left!" Shouted Frisk.
"What?" Asked Nemo as he stepped to his left just in time to dodge a large burst of flames.
"Go right!" Shouted Frisk. Nemo did as he was told and avoided a burst of fire from the left. Nemo avoided the worst of it, but some of Asgore's attack still struck him. Nemo punched the king again. Asgore's entire face became cloaked in a shadow. His right eye glowed blue, than his left. Asgore raised his trident as it turned blue. He swung at Nemo from the left, and then the right. Nemo froze in place, letting the attack go through without hurting him. Nemo kicked Asgore again. Asgore swung his hand, causing flames to appear from different directions at different times and all fly straight at Nemo. He did his best to avoid them, but he would still get caught by some fire once in a while.
Nemo struck Asgore again. Rings of fire with only one opening started appearing and closing in on Nemo. Fortunately he was able to get through the attack without getting singed. Nemo landed another decisive strike before a rain of flame came bearing down. Nemo avoided almost all of it, before taking a hit by one of the last fire balls. He struck Asgore again. His face was covered in a shadow before his eyes glowed again. Orange right, blue left, orange right. The trident came at him in that order with those colors. Nemo punched Asgore, resulting in a rain of fire. Nemo was struck twice by it. He kicked Asgore back.
Fireballs appeared at all sides at different times and homed in on Nemo. He managed to avoid the attack. He kicked Asgore. Now it was rings of fire again. Nemo managed to get through. He jumped and kicked Asgore. The king's face became covered by a shadow. His right eye glowed orange, then his left, then his right eye became blue. Nemo avoided the following trident attacks before punching Asgore. Flames rained down and one of them struck him. Nemo was filled with immense pain and in that moment, it felt like his soul would shatter, but Nemo glared as he remained steadfast. He didn't plan on dying. He punched Asgore again. The minor fire rain came again, and Nemo knew what this meant.
"Go right!" Shouted Frisk. Nemo avoided the major burst to the left. "Left!" They said. Nemo dodged again. "Right!" They said. Nemo avoided the flames. It was the flame rings again, but Nemo managed to get through. Nemo slammed his elbow into Asgore's jaw. His face became shadowed once more. Right eye became orange, followed by them both being blue. Nemo got through the attack unhurt. He struck Asgore, and had to deal with even more fire rain. He moved through the attack, sidestepping all of it.
He struck Asgore, leading to the minor fire rain. "Right!" Shouted Frisk. Nemo avoided the flames to his left. "Stay right!" Another burst came from the left. "Now left!" Nemo jumped away from a burst of flames to the right. "Right again. Nemo rolled away from a burst of flames on the left. He got to his feet and struck Asgore. More flame rings, the first was slow, and each one got faster. Nemo got through, but more of his scarf got singed off. He hit Asgore again. His face went dark as both eyes flashed blue before the right one went blue again. Nemo stayed still, avoiding all three blue trident attacks.
Fireballs appeared at all directions and homed in on Nemo. He sidestepped, ducked under, and jumped over, all of them. He struck Asgore again. This led to even more fire rings. They were starting to become ridiculously fast. Nemo was running out of gas. He wasn't sure how much was left in him. One more solid strike and he was probably toast. He let out a shout as he struck Asgore's chest with everything he had. He ignored the sounds of the bones in his hand cracking as he focused on the sight of Asgore's armor cracking. The king coughed as he fell to one knee.
"Ah…" He said. "...So that is how it is… I remember the day after my son died. The entire underground was devoid of hope. The future had once again been taken from us by the humans. In a fit of anger, I declared war. I said that I would destroy any human that came here. I would use their souls to become godlike… and free us from this terrible prison. Then, I would destroy humanity… And let monsters rule the surface, in peace. Soon, the people's hopes returned. My wife, however, became disgusted with my actions. She left this place, never to be seen again. Truthfully… I do not want power. I do not want to hurt anyone. I just wanted everyone to have hope… But… I cannot take this any longer. I just want to see my wife. I just want to see my child. Please… young one… this war has gone on long enough. You have the power… take my soul, and leave this cursed place."
Nemo clenched his fist as he raised his good hand. He remembered everything that brought them to this point. "Nemo…" Said Frisk. Nemo grit his teeth as he brought his fist down.
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