-=Chapter Two=-

POV - Unknown l Location: Remains of the Doodlesphere?

There was nothing, just darkness, shredded hopes and dreams.

Ink!Sans, surely the name is recognized.

Ink stared blankly at a shredded underfell file and drank some colored fluid from a vial, there was only one reality left, but there were still creators, in time the doodlesphere would be rebuilt.

"How very interesting. A pity I did not intervene." said a familiar voice.

Ink turned to face Gaster, at first mistaking him for XGaster, but then recognizing he appeared more like the Original, but there was something, off, different. Ink had met Out!Codes before, he himself was one, but this Gaster, was different.

"So, uh, you're not from the original game are you?" said Ink, One of Gaster's floating hands signed no and he said "No I am not, nor am I from any reality that was here in what you call the Doodlesphere. I've gone beyond even you, to places not related to Undertale in the slightest. But enough about me. I'm here to give you an offer to do what you normally do, to help stories continue forward and avoid falling into disrepair and becoming forgotten."

Ink's eye sockets changed symbols, a gold star and a blue star in his eyes as he got excited, a little too excited as he then vomited black ink, Gaster did not seem to care.

Ink wiped his mouth and then said "So, if you're not the original, which AU are you from?" Gaster shrugged and said "It is a fairly recent one, called Helltale: Heaven and Hell, I suppose you could shorten it to just Helltale. However you cannot get there without the address, which I have, before I give it to you, we must agree on terms for your interference."

Ink shrugged and said "Name 'em."

Gaster's smile widened and he said "You are not to interfere with the OC's quest to alter the timeline, if you do, I will not protect you from the consequences. Also, whilst you are free to reveal anything you know or suspect to anyone there, you should keep in mind these characters are not connected to your doodlesphere, you will encounter versions of Error, Dream, Nightmare and other Out!Codes who may or may not recognize you, but are not the people and monsters you know, however similar they may be."

Ink made a brief laugh and said "I'm familiar with how the Underverse works G'" Gaster sighed and said "Yes you are, but the Underverse and the Multiverse are not the same thing, before I take you to this AU, I will first show you several other places, they are much harder to get to, some alter your code to conform to their rules, though there are ways to counter this. There are things you, and they, need to understand."

Ink looked around, seeing nothing and stared at Gaster briefly, before saying "Who's they?"

Gaster replied "You've broken the fourth wall before, but let's just say there are two types of fourth walls, one in which the characters interact with their creators, and one in which they interact with the audience. Most assume they are the same wall, but in this manifold, they are in fact separate, yet connected. Time works differently even more so past the lines we will cross if you accept my terms, we might return in time for some big finale, or before this story even began, something to keep in mind."

Ink nodded and said "Sure, show the way!"

Gaster nodded and five boxes appeared near his attached right hand.

RESET

CONTINUE

LOAD

OVERWRITE

FILE

Ink looked at each of the boxes, RESET, CONTINUE and LOAD were orange outlined, Overwrite was purple, FILE however, was white.

Gaster pressed FILE, a multitude of boxes appeared around him and he selected one of them, as well as other options, Ink found himself with this Gaster in another place, a semi-deserted dilapidated stone city, humans wandered around, fighting eachother with martial arts, summoning weapons, wearing masks that helped them revive from death.

Ink wanted to greet them, but found he couldn't move to do so, he looked over at Gaster who said "A precaution, there would be negative consequences for intervening. This place is called Absolver, you are aware of how Players exist in Undertale correct? This game has multiple players, all connected to a server which allows hundreds, even thousands to play simultaneously. Each of them has the power of creation, most do not use it for anything other than dreams, a few create original works and others are the ones you're familiar with, those who write fanfiction, create fan comics and other similar activities."

Ink pondered this as Gaster pressed more buttons, changing their location to a skyscraper's roof, the time of day was around midnight and there were blimps flying around, fires in the distance, the city had an air of despair about it.

Ink said "Looks like Nightmare would like this place, what's it called?" Gaster replied "Gotham City, a part of the Batman comic series, which of itself is part of the DC Multiverse." A human male dressed as a bat like vigilante landed nearby, oblivious to Ink and Gaster despite there being enough light to see them.

Ink studied him as he studied the city, looking for a time and place to intervene and sure enough, a mugging caught his attention, the Dark Knight glided down to stop it. Ink then said "I take it you're keeping them from noticing us?" Gaster nodded and changed their location again, this time it had the feel of the void, but a purple mist had been shaped into furniture, walls and decor, there was another denzien there, a humanlike woman with a stereotypical demon tail from her lower back, she however, was aware of the two.

Beelzebub waved, Gaster and Ink waved back.

Beelzebub stared at Ink and then said "So you can freely come and go from this place and didn't tell me?" Gaster replied "I did say there was a way out, I never said I didn't already find and use it." The demoness had a look of annoyance on her face and sighed, having gotten used to Gaster's personality by now and looked over at Ink who held out his hand, Beelzebub shook it and introduced herself, with her usual long winded spiel, Ink seemed excited to hear her speak and introduce herself, a bit too excited, he vomited black ink again, which caused Beel to recoil a little in surprise.

Gaster chuckled and said "He does that when he's too excited, I suppose finding truly new and different experiences and stories has pushed him a little over the edge, or perhaps it is more accurate to say he has lost his sanity long ago due to a certain agreement he made."

Ink was surprised and looked at Gaster briefly, another voice spoke.

"Yes, we know what you've done. Don't worry, we are not here to judge you, merely to help you."

Ink turned to see Core!Frisk, Ink replied "Phew, for a sec I thought I was toast. I get the feeling you're not the Core!Frisk I know." Frisk nodded and said "Correct, although I am aware somewhat due to Gaster of the other multiverses, my omniscience is limited to what the creator of this tale knows, as are the others. I first became aware of this when Gaster introduced me to someone I had never been aware of before. We had a most interesting conversation about quantum physics, convergence and cognitive dissonance even."

Beel looked over at them and sighed "Sorry to interrupt but, I'm here just wondering when the hell I'm getting out of this place like Mr. Tall, Dark and Mysterious promised." Gaster chuckled and said "When the time is right. Releasing you now would have unpleasant consequences." Beel balled up her fist and couldn't hold her anger anymore, she shapeshifted her right arm into a insectoid claw and swiped at Gaster, only for Ink to hold up some kind of giant paintbrush to block her, then swiped a cyan ink across her face, she was confused, surprised and annoyed at the newcomer.

Gaster chuckled and said "It seems me and Ink have a similar sense of humor. Cyan represents Patience in most Underverse realities, of which you have a thin amount of."

Beelzebub accessed the power of Overwrite Gaster gave her long ago and said "Then perhaps you should not have given me this." Gaster opened up FILE and quickly typed in a string of text, before closing FILE and saying "Go ahead."

Beelzebub raised an eyebrow, not sure what he had just done, curious, she attempted to make a rainbow afro appear on Gaster's head with Overwrite.

"Access Denied. Administrator access required." appeared before her in response.

Gaster then said "Overwrite is a power yes, it works in a variable manner, much like RESET, but no matter how the power works, an Administrator has the ability to change it by simply rewriting the code. Call it what you will, True Overwrite, Rewrite, FILE, these are just terms to define the ability to change the code of the game. In short, Me, and a few others, are what Original Sans would call Dirty Hackers, or perhaps Programmers is more accurate."

Ink raised a hand and said "You mentioned a They earlier, is that her?" Gaster shook his head and said "No, you've by now noticed you're in a different medium, we can perceive images directly, our face, the colors, all these things must be described to them, but not to us, though a few, like myself and you, can perceive the change in medium, from Comic or in your case, Video Format, to novel format."

Ink's symbols changed and he stared at Gaster briefly, then something clicked in his mind, like a lightbulb turning on.

Ink then said "So are They the audience or the Creator?" Gaster grinned and replied "In a way, both. The creator like the audience can view their own work, however they can also alter it. The audience on the otherhand can only view it. I've accessed some tales the creator has made in the past, it would seem this is the first time they've positioned the point of view as the audience. I've also accessed other information to determine the reasons for the shift in story style, but I've no need nor will to reveal that."

Beelzebub spoke, saying "Wait wait wait, if We're just characters in someone else's story, are we even making decisions or is this all just their action?"

Gaster shrugged and said "To be honest, it depends on your point of view. To the audience and creator, it's perhaps the former, but if you combine multiverse theory and quantum convergence, even if we're just a figment of the author's imagination, in some other universe, we are in fact, reality, and our following of their story is purely coincidence. I like to think our situation is the latter, though it doesn't really matter as both situations are the case, much like a Schrodinger's Cat Paradox, though I suppose that paradox has different confines, it does serve as an example or metaphor to explain my point."

Ink turned to notice Core!Frisk was now eating some Nice Cream, before Ink could speak however, a Taco was shoved into his face, Ink took it and started munching without complaint.

A little time later, Gaster accessed FILE and opened a window for observing an AU, a human full of despair had shapeshifted with help from an apple from the divine tree. Ink recognized a similarity in his form to Nightmare, before noticing Nightmare watching in the distance in the view of the screen. The screen was paused, the human's arm had slashed at what looked like a human with an angel's appearance and a white uniform.

Ink looked closely and said "So is this ongoing or recorded?" Gaster replied "Both and neither. I would like you to place yourself in this story as inspiration to the creator to keep writing, several other tales he has made have fallen stagnant and I would rather not consider the possible consequences if we are simply part of his imagination. A good example might be the Dreamer in H.P. Lovecraft's stories. Should the dreamer awake, the dream ends, and any inhabitants of the dream may end with it. Maybe not an exact example, and if we're the latter of the possible situations, then it doesn't matter as we'll still go on, just in an unobservable state to the creator and audience. Besides, I have a more personal motive as well, but I will keep it to myself for now."

Ink got excited again, though held it in this time and said "So you want me to be a part of this story?" Gaster nodded and said "Yes, however I will warn you. If you try anything like your stunt with Cross and XGaster, I will ERASE you. You may take part in this story, but you will not endanger our reality purely for the sake of entertainment, you are a being of chaotic nature, though not one that cannot be restrained."

Ink felt a bit nervous and awkward, but the possibility of guiding a new AU directly was too great to pass up, but then he remembered something and said "What about if Error appears?"

Gaster's grin widened again and he said "I will handle Error if and when that happens, suffice it to say, Error is powerful but lacks administrator access and I'm competent enough with coding to keep him quarantined if he begins to act like a virus. And we shouldn't worry too much about any other creator altering our state, since they'd just be creating a new reality separate from our own, though I suppose the creator of this story does have the power to make canon whatever they may cause. Before you intervene however, there is someone, or rather, something I'd like you to meet."

Ink nodded and said "Sure, take me to 'em. I love meeting new friends."

Gaster smirked and said "It is not the friend making type of lizard."

Gaster accessed a FILE labeled "682" and he and ink disappeared, leaving Beel and Core!Frisk to observe the main story.

Core!Frisk offered Beelzebub a bowl of popcorn and Beel said "Where do you get all this stuff?" Frisk replied "I manipulate quantum mechanics, I can materialize and dematerialize objects by simply observing or not observing their superposition in my body's location. Since I'm technically everywhere and nowhere at once, that means I can for example, go to a universe that has nothing in it except a box of pizza and bring that box of pizza here, it'll be perfect and whatever type I choose to observe. Essentially this means I only ever need to buy food, drink or items if I wish to support the business selling them, and even then I can get the currency from another universe or sell a valuable item from such a sit-"

Beelzebub interrupted, saying "Ok, ok! I get it. You can just grab it from somewhere else. Lightly Buttered?"

Core!Frisk nodded and Beel grabbed a handful.

POV: Observing Parties l Location: Azazel's Room, Hell.

Ray found himself slammed into the side wall with Sans' magic.

Sans approached Ray and said "Calm down, whatever crime you want to punish that girl for hasn't even been committed yet, which means she isn't guilty."

Ray yelled back, saying "Is that why you didn't save Toriel, Froggit, or any of the monsters, even your own brother bef-"

Sans slammed him up and down the room, stopping briefly and saying "No, I just didn't see the point, nothing I would have done would have made a difference, but now things are different. Now what I do does have an effect, thanks to the present circumstances. What is it with you humans and jumping straight to violence? Can't you try talking things out for once?"

Nightmare and Dream again materialized, this was a pivotal moment after all. Sans summoned a Gaster blaster and aimed it at them, saying "Stay out of this."

A blue fire was in Sans' left eye, Asgore stared at the skeleton in a bit of a shock, he had never seen Sans use his powers before, the lazy skeleton rarely ever sparred and when he did, he typically just sent a single bone forward slowly and then gave up afterwards. But this time, Sans was done being lazy for some reason.

Sans approached and said "Y'know, I've seen a lot of timelines, most of them genocide, but a few pacifist ones too. Now that I know it wasn't really their actions, I can't say for sure which version of the kid, if any of them, really was them. I like to think they were the good kid who befriended everyone, but it's kinda hard y'know. So, what'dya say? How'z about we all calm down and be friends?"

Ray looked over at Sans, then back to Azazel. Nightmare sighed and said "You came to the tree for a reason. Are you going to give up now? The apples give you despair, hate, whatever negative feeling you're looking for yes, but you can still lose that if you give in to hopes and dreams. That's what you really want and need isn't it? Power."

Vergil stared after hearing this mentioned. He couldn't help but feel relation to Ray, assuming Nightmare was correct. Vergil knew all too well what the pursuit of power means. Without power, one cannot protect anything or anyone.

Dream spoke up, saying "There is power in goodness! With friends you can do things you could never accomplish alone! Don't give in!"

"Shut up!" said Ray, Sans started to sweat, intense hatred erupted from Ray as he broke free of Sans' grip and to the surprise of everyone, Ray lunged at both Dream and Nightmare, they evaded his attack as he said "I make my own choices, my own decisions, my fate is my own! So shut the hell up and don't interfere!"

Azazel seemed to shift from her surprise to curiosity and walked up to Ray, saying "Tell me, what causes you to feel Wrath against me?"

Ray stared at her, his darkened monstrous form receding slightly, so that his right side was human again as he said "In the interests of Justice, I'll tell you."

As Ray spoke, Sans and Chara checked him, curiously, his soul was also shifting, between the black color of hate and the yellow color of justice, apparently his natural soul trait was Justice. Nightmare sighed while Dream held hope that Ray was going to overcome the despair, though his outburst was somewhat uncharacteristic, perhaps his new power deprived him of his senses for a time.

Azazel got out her pen and paper, preparing to write down whatever he said, Ray seemed annoyed at her but also strangely used to it, likely he knew her in greater degree due to his RESETs. Ray then said "In the first timeline, after I had managed, with great effort and determination, to pull Luci from that moron's so called harem, you decided to visit on occasion to learn more about me and my decisions, which was a cover, you know of the prophecy, and it's your job specifically to watch Luci for those signs. This whole curiosity about sin is just a front, the pretender gave you this job directly, even Micheal doesn't know about it, I'm right aren't I? You pretended to be my friend for years and then when the clock reached the end of it's cycle, you opened the sky for the war of heaven and hell to begin. That war claimed Luci's life, and my own, several times, too many times."

Ray's form returned fully to human, but his yellow soul of justice was again overshadowed by the hate and despair, his eyes turned red and he scoffed, saying "I need to get used to this newfound power quickly if I'm to stop you, but now that I've calmed down, Sans has a point, you haven't betrayed me yet. But there's an old saying, Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. And I've killed you many times before, I can do so again, even without this power, I just can't take on the entirety of heaven without it, but with it, I stand a chance."

Sans relaxed his magic and sighed, saying "Man, I think that power of yours is influencing people around you, I'm normally not this energetic."

Chara and the Doom Slayer looked at Ray with understanding, they both have some experience with losing loved ones, for the Slayer, it was Daisy, for Chara, it was Asriel, then the entire underground.

Dante spoke, saying "So uh, not to interrupt your whole moment and everything but uh, we got company."

Sure enough, another skeleton guard army had amassed to interfere. Dream and Nightmare phased out again to avoid interfering directly and Ray sighed, saying "We can deal with our disputes later false angel, for now, we move forward unto Luci's throne room."

Modeus approached Ray in her human form and said "You do know she will be your undoing right? What drives you? Is it Lust?" Ray scoffs and said "I don't expect you to understand, your experience is with the worst of humanity, Love is something beyond your grasp, for now at least, I've lived enough lifetimes to have seen even you become redeemed. You all parade yourselves as demons and angels, you're just different but still mortal."

A volley of bone arrows launched at the group, their conversation being interrupted, Asgore created a massive wall of fire that destroyed the entire volley and Dante pulled out Ebony & Ivory and unleashed a barrage of gunfire at the skeletal guards. Sans shrugged, annoyed somewhat at having to exert so much effort and not having enough time for puns, several Gaster Blasters materialized and opened fire on their targets.

In the distance however, there was a lone human child running from a couple skeletal guards, Chara recognized him immediately and darted forward, his eyes crimson red as he took his knife and slashed at the guards, taking them down in a single strike.

Frisk looked at Chara, afraid, Chara checked Frisk and relaxed, saying "You're not under someone's control, so don't worry, I'm not your enemy. Unless of course you're a dirty monster killer? Are you?"

Frisk didn't reply with words, merely shaking their head. As Chara escorted Frisk to the safety of being near Asgore and Sans, Chara noticed this Frisk's hair was a little longer and their face a bit softer than the one he knew.

Chara spoke, saying "You're a girl ain'cha?" Frisk nodded and was puzzled, saying "Don't you know that already?" Chara shrugged and said "I think I'm not the Chara you know. I'm from a Genocide Timeline where I broke the Player's game."

Frisk nodded and said "Then we don't know eachother, no. In my timeline, I helped everyone break the barrier, I then shared my soul with Asriel so he wouldn't become flowey again. Then something happened, strings latched onto our AU and tore it apart, but Gaster, not the one from our AU, came and brought me here, just me, he said he wasn't able to save the others, only me."

Chara rubbed his chin and said "I recall a familiar voice saying something before we appeared here. Now that I think about it, it might have been Gaster's. Why didn't it occur to me before?"

A volley of bones flew past them into the skeletal pursuit, a wall of bones then rose from the ground to shield the two from another bone arrow volley whilst Vergil rushed forward, slashing with Yamato. As usual, the demon girls just watched, not assisting, they seemed curious and unconcerned, as if this was part of some test they were the judges of.

One Skeletal Guard looked up and saw something close in from the air, before long a heavily armored fist slammed the skeleton into the ground and a double barreled shotgun was rammed in it's jaw, it shook it's head rapidly before the hammers slammed into the shells, sending buckshot through the bone warrior's skull and shattering it. The Doom Slayer rose and two skeleton guards sent their swords at him, only to shatter upon contact with the Praetor suit. They stared at their broken weapons and then at the Slayer, who held up his right index finger and moved it left and right before slamming them together, their last thoughts being that they never really stood a chance.

The Helltaker as he would soon be known as simply fought through the hordes with sheer force of will.

Frisk stared at everyone fighting, she could not stand by and she checked one of the guards, noticing they had no soul, no will, they were puppets, little more than magic attacks like Sans' Gaster Blasters.

She took a stick out of her inventory and rushed forward, surprising everyone except Chara and Sans, Frisk made a simple twig look like a weapon of mass destruction as she danced around the attackers and shattered them with attacks, as her targets were not truly alive, she gained no LOVE nor EXP, but as a human of the Underverse, her base power eclipsed these enemies. A group of skeletons surrounded her however and before they could strike her down, a crimson red slash took them down, they then faded out in bits of code and ash, Erased from existence.

Chara said "I get you want to help but I'd rather not experience another RESET."

Frisk nodded and said "There are things about my timeline I should tell you later, but I cannot stand idly by and do nothing." She then surprised Chara and the others again, forming a sword of flame around her stick with magic, monster magic. Chara recognized it too, Asriel's magic. Chara checked Frisk and was shocked, her soul was half red and half white. Frisk's eyes went black and black lines formed across her cheeks, her hair turned white and she spoke with Asriel's voice.

"Stop staring and help you idiot!"

The sword of flame turned white and hardened, another formed and Asriel/Frisk levitated slightly before darting forward, their HP changing from 20/20 to Infinite/Infinite according to Chara's CHECK.

Asgore was momentarily stunned, he had never expected to hear his son's voice again, but clearly here he was, albeit possessing a human's body somehow.

And they fought together, the Sons of Sparda, Asgore, the hybrid Asriel/Frisk, Ray, Sans, all of them.

A new demoness had joined their ranks of observers too, Justice, a blind demoness with sunglasses and a casual demeanor, she seemed the most human out of all the demonesses present.

A row of skeleton guards seemed to be waiting in some kind of line, though they were facing the new arrivals.

Ray summoned Hate and Despair, Sans was about to use a gaster blaster but Ray held his blade to stop him, saying "They're mine. I've waited countless RESETs for this, I'd appreciate it if you didn't interfere."

Before he could rush forward however, the Helltaker bolted upwards, ignoring the skeletons until one of them sent a fist forward, sending him into the wall, a bolt of lightning hit him and he was back at the room's start again.

Ray laughed and said "The rules went out the window long ago." and rushed forward, Sans shrugged and with tired eyes along with the others, watched as Ray slashed through the demon guards who all moved in formation, forming lines to encircle Ray, however he merged Hate and Despair to form Wrath and using the longer reach of the blade, easily tore through them, those he missed found themselves impaled by black tentacles coming out of his back, Nightmare and Dream, invisible to the party involved, watched. But they were not alone.

"So, he's the main character right?" said a voice between them, they recoiled in surprise and saw Ink standing there, having appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

Ray hacked and slashed through skeletal guards and the Helltaker was rushing to try and outpace his so called rival, if he could be called that. Ink conversed with Nightmare and Dream, saying "Sup."

Nightmare replied "Will you not sneak up on us like that Ink!" Dream however knew something was off and said "You're not the Ink we know, are you?" Ink looked at Dream briefly, Nightmare also looked more closely and said "Yeah, now that you mention it, something is off about him." Ink then nodded and said "Yeah, I'm from another multiverse according to the big guy. I've learned quite a lot, met new people, some were nice, some not so much, like that lizard and that old man. But I've got a good idea on how things work around here. Sooooo that guy's the main character, right?" Nightmare sighed and said "Depends on your point of view, he's the one we've decided to guide, I like to think he's seeing my side of things well, but there's probably still some ugly hopes and dreams swirling around in him that he could do without."

Dream sighed and said "We're technically doing our old jobs again."

Ink put his finger on his chin momentarily, as if thinking or noticing on something, instead of mentioning it however, he looked over at Frisk who was still in the form that resembled Asriel, Asgore approached them.

Asgore spoke, saying "Is, it really you, Asriel?"

Frisk/Asriel turned their head and sighed, saying "Yes, Frisk was able to convert half her soul with the help of her reality's Gaster. I'm, not technically the Asriel from your world, but I am still Asriel, I just happen to share the same body with Frisk, it's a bit complicated to explain presently."

Asgore nodded, but still couldn't hold back some tears, Asriel-Frisk noticed this and hugged him, though a bit off guard with the whole situation, Asgore returned the hug, even if technically this wasn't his Asriel, it was still nice to in some way by technicality, talk to his son again.

Meanwhile, whilst the Helltaker was indeed a capable fighter, the power of Nightmare's Apple flowing through Ray fueled his emotions was stronger, but Ray's movement seemed to be slowing and he noticed it, this was likely due to Ray's positive emotions starting to surface again, Dream noticed this and Nightmare, knowing his brother, realized what was happening through Dream's expression and gave a groan of annoyance. Ink just watched with curious fascination.

Ray's power was enough to have him outpace the Helltaker, the two in a sort of competitive race to reach Luci's desk before the other, Sans chuckled and said "I know they're both adults, but they seem like kids to me." Chara shrugged and looked over at the demon girls who were watching the so called race between Ray and the Helltaker and approached them, saying "You haven't lifted a single finger except against our group when we had that little disagreement. What's exactly going on here, I'm not stupid and I know a deceptive plan when I see one, if humans are good for one thing, it's having taught me that you can't trust anyone."

Pandemonica, the tired demon, gave a quiet stare with intent to harm, though her exhaustion again won out and she said "Quite simply, Lucifer is testing you, all of you. Most likely she will give a slave offer to whoever reaches her first. Since you broke the normal flow of hell, she's improvising. This is all theory of course."

Azazel was writing in her notes and noticed Chara's stare. Chara then spoke bluntly, saying "Everything Ray accused you of, I bet it's true."

Azazel seemed nervous and in a defensive tone, said "I-I don't know what got into him. I'm just here to study sin is all!"

Chara nodded and said "Well, I don't trust either of you, so I'll wait and see. But I'll warn you here and now. If you do anything that I don't like. I'll kill you and sleep like a baby. Along with anyone who tries to help you. And I get the feeling I'm not alone in that sentiment." Chara looks over at the Doom Slayer who silently stares at the demon girls briefly before looking towards the Helltaker, his thoughts are his own, hidden behind the veiled material that comprises his helmet's visor.

Azazel's nervousness only got worse.

And Nightmare, being a creature who thrives on negative emotions, knew how much fear was in her soul. He smiled, saying "Well I can say this, this place sure is interesting, given that both dream and I can be here without issues, it's full of enough negative emotions and positive emotions to sustain both of us, depending on where you go.

Dream nods and says "Yes, I can feel this place is much larger than most AUs we've been to before." Ink nodded and said "Probably because it's a more complete reality, altered by the creator in such a way that it's an actual universe, as opposed to just a confined gamespace with set levels and rooms. There's also so many other realities I could explore here, ones made by creators and others that exist purely by happenstance. Almost...makes me think..."

Ink reached for a bottle of colored liquid containing the emotion of Joy, Nightmare briefly looked over at Ink and grinned as he drank it, Nightmare then said "You've been naughty haven't you?". Ink almost choked on it, coughing a bit and managing to down the rest of the liquid and he then turned to look at Nightmare and said "What makes you say that?" Nightmare chuckles and said "I could sense a little bit of regret from you. Granted one thing you seem to share with the Ink I know is that you can't feel emotions without those vials. And most of them are full, I know how often our Ink uses them, so I can make a decent guess and say you stopped drinking from them awhile ago, probably because you didn't want to regret something you were going to do while you were doing it, am I right?"

Ink just stared nervously, not replying.

Ray sliced the last Skeletal Guard before him clean in two, the Helltaker a bit behind. Ray turned to face his objective, who was clapping slowly with her feet laid on the desk as she took them off and stood and snapped her fingers. A horde of Skeletal guards entered to surround him and the Helltaker, their allies readied themselves for a fight.

"What a wonderful show of force, both of you. You need not worry, I've seen enough." A wave of her hand and the Skeletal Guards lowered their weapons and knelt in formation towards Lucifer, the Queen and CEO of Hell.

She reached down towards a glass of red wine on her desk and took a sip before saying "I'm intrigued at both of you, what has brought you to venture through hell to reach me?"

The Helltaker walked forward but Wrath was shoved in front of his face, Ray spoke, saying "I reached here first, I should go first. If of course that is what the lady wants." he looked over at Lucifer who smiled briefly, saying "Well, someone knows their place. Very well, you may speak first, you have earned that right."

The Helltaker was a bit annoyed, but knew who stood before him, he waited patiently for his turn. Ray spoke, saying "I have the power to turn back time to any point in my life after my birth and before my death. This power is called RESET and is linked to Determination. I've come here simply to court you." Lucifer chuckled, she couldn't believe her ears and started to laugh, Ray was patient and waited for her to speak, she then slowly stopped laughing and then said "And what makes you think you have any chance with me? You think you're powerful enough to be my equal? How about instead you become my slave, it's the closest you'll get to what you want, if you behave I'll treat you nicely."

Ray frowned and said "I am no-one's slave, not yours, not the false god's. The true God favors free will, and so I will exercise it in the interests of justice and liberty. I do not profess to be your equal, I was once inferior to your power, but now, I've surpassed it, so long as I can hold onto my hate that is. I've broken down your walls before, I can do so again."

Lucifer stared at him briefly, with a bit of annoyance and said "I understand a little bit about what you've mentioned, about RESETs, after all I'm the Queen of Hell, I know all about magic, souls and determination. What strikes me is even if what you've said is true, then you know the consequences for those actions. You should also know that you're dangerously close to getting murdered. But I like the show you've put on for me so I'll forgive you just this once. Your next transgression however, will be your last."

Ray sighs and says "I admit, I'm rushing some things more than I'd like, I've done that before with negative results, not all of my resets were because of the prophecy. But I have to prioritize, telling you about the Resets, and about my intentions I believe, is the best course of action. Contrary to the history of the identity you've assumed, I know you value honesty."

Lucifer twirled her glass of wine a couple of times and then said "So then if I'm correct, you want to become my lover and then when the armies of heaven mobilize as was foretold, you'll stand with me against those egotistical pricks?" Ray shook his head and said "No, Once I'm done releasing you and your sisters into the human world, I intend to wage my own war against the false heaven, I have allies both potential and actual who will assist me in this endeavor. One of them I cannot be certain of, but I believe he is watching us even now, he does enjoy being enigmatic and promised to assist me after my last RESET."

Lucifer took a long drink of her wine, eventually the glass was empty and she set it down, she said "Well, if you're eager to free us, I don't have any objections. But I don't do relationships." She looks over at the Helltaker and says "And you, what's your story?"

The Helltaker grinned and struct a confidant pose and said "I'm here to ask you to join my harem." Lucifer stared at him and then said "Seriously? Didn't you hear anything I just told this guy? What makes you think I'll change my mind just for you?" The Helltaker replied "I can make chocolate pancakes, play turn based strategies and serve coffee."

"It had better be a decent cup." said Pandemonica, the others in the group had by now walked within earshot, being carefully watched by the kneeling skeleton guards.

Lucifer didn't speak at first, staring and then saying "Pancakes? You think you can bribe me with pancakes?"

She turned over to Ray and said "And you, what do you offer?" Ray shrugged and said "Well I can't make chocolate pancakes like he can, but I've got a better variety in what I can cook, I happen to know for a fact you will enjoy the way I sautee mushrooms, vegetables and I experiment with my cooking, I've done quite a few requests for you, some I screwed up, others I exceeded your expectations. I also play turned based strategies better than he can."

"Is that a challenge?" said the Helltaker, and Ray smirked and said "Name the time and place." Lucifer sighed and said "Well, I happen to have a thing for pancakes, though I will admit, if you really have been with me in a past timeline, or several, then I cannot say I'm not intrigued as to how it would turn out. But I get the feeling both of you would overstep your place."

Ray chuckled and said "Luci, I'm an American. If you think just because you're royalty that I'll serve you without question, you're in for a rude awakening."

Lucifier frowned and said "I warned you.". Snapping her fingers, she cast a spell to turn his blood into vinegar.

Ray's SOUL shook and split apart.

But it refused...

It reattached itself in defiance of death.

Luci stared at him, expecting him to drop dead, Ray instead just grinned and said "I thought you knew about determination? If a SOUL is sufficiently determined, it can refuse death, no matter the cause. I can't exactly say this is a pleasant experience, but my Determination allows me to survive this and even reverse it.

Chara and Frisk walked up, Frisk was no longer in the Asriel form and Luci looked at her, a bit puzzled at seeing her here, being who she was, she could smell the taint of sin, Chara had plenty of wrath bottled up, but Frisk, there wasn't a taint of evil in any way shape or form in half her soul, the other half was clearly not her own soul, it had some sins crawling on their back, but honest repentance barred any claim she could make over it.

Frisk spoke, saying "I don't exactly know what you two have been through, but we don't have to fight. We can all be friends instead." Chara sighed, as if he knew that's what she would say. Lucifer looked at Frisk and said "Kid, you're so naive it's adorable, but I'll give you some decent advice. In this world."

"It's kill or be killed, right?" said Asriel, having taken control of Frisk with her consent, interrupting Lucifer, much to her annoyance, and surprise, as that was what she was going to say. Asriel continued, saying "I know that all to well, Frisk still refuses to believe it, but, you know. She's taught me a few things, that atonement and redemption are possible for anyone, even someone like me. Maybe, just maybe, even you could be redeemed. Why not give it a try, who knows, you might like it." Lucifer was annoyed, intrigued and surprised at the same time, before she started to laugh and said "Alright, fine, why not. I'm bored anyway. I'll go with you all to the human world, but don't expect me to commit to either of you."

Ray shrugged and said "I can play the long game, I've done it before." The Helltaker looked over at Ray, he wasn't expecting competition in his quest, but he wasn't going to let that deter him, he just nodded and then said "Looks like I'm gonna be making more pancakes than I've ever done before. But I won't lose."

Lucifer smirked and turned around, she would enjoy playing with her new toys, though she could tell Ray was going to be difficult, the Helltaker seemed to pretending to be a determined sort but she could sense he was a bit of a pushover if you knew which buttons to push, Ray however, was headstrong, she's tormented enough humans to learn how to make good judgements of character. She then said "Just don't take too long to break the seals. My patience is not infinite."

Vergil scoffed and said "Children, all of them. But this concerns us not. Me and my brother are trying to return to our world but something is stopping us. Lift whatever magic you're using to keep us sealed here, I don't care what your circumstances are, just don't get in our way."

Dante sighed and said "Bro, give them a moment will ya, we'll get home sooner or later, no need to rush." Vergil sighed but didn't reply.

Positive emotions started to well up in Ray, he sensed this so Dream and Nightmare appeared, Ink as well, before they could speak however, Ray suppressed those feelings with hate and fear.

Lucifer then said "I don't know what magic is keeping you from leaving. I could sense your arrival and your attempts to escape but some other force is interfering with your destinies. Who or what I do not know, but I have my suspicions."

Nightmare grinned and said "Looks like you're taking my advice, aren't you?" Dream frowned and Ray replied "I have no intention to let this hate and fear linger forever, but I need them, no matter how detestable they are, no matter how much cognitive dissonance I have to endure in order to carry out these actions, I will, because the consequences otherwise would not be acceptable to me."

Chara looked over at Ray and said "You're not like most humans I've known. Every human I've met up to now always thought themselves above consequences, especially the player, but you, you're different in a way. I won't say you're good, but you're not evil either."

Dream then said "Hold onto the hope then Ray, I understand you need power to overcome the challenges that lie ahead, but don't let yourself become consumed by darkness for too long." Ray nodded and said "That's the plan. Good to see you finally get it."

The next room annoyed Lucifer, remarking something about nobody cleaning up the place, then a few beams of light did the job, Sans' grin was wide as his blaster floated next to his head. Lucifer just stared at him, he stared back, as if silently judging her with his gaze.

A booming voice went on about how there was no escape after that, there was a bolt of lightning sent forth at everyone present, but Asgore created a wave of fire to defend against it. Chara looked over at Sans and said "He can't hold that up forever, you can get to the source of this, right?"

Sans shrugged and said "Don't know the map values." Ray approached as Asgore continued to fill magic into the firewall, Ray then said "I do."

Sans grinned and said "Well then, guess we're heading to the boss battle. I've got a bone to pick with whoever is trying to zap us."

Frisk chuckled at the pun and Ray told Sans the map values for their destination, Sans used his magic to take everyone through the shortcut.

POV: Observing Parties l Location: Judgement's Room, Hell

The demoness in charge of this place stared at the arrival of the intruders, intrigued at the method of their arrival.

Judgement, the High Prosecutor of Hell. Lucifer spoke, saying "Judgement, stand down. These people are with me."

Judgement instead spoke, saying "No one can escape judgement! I will punish them for every sin that's brought them here, nothing can stop me!" Lucifer's calm and stoic expression gives way to what looks like a combination of annoyance and childish frustration as she shouts "I'm supposed to be the G-" A hand is shoved over her mouth and she stares with killing intent at Ray, who simply replies "Watch the GD Bombs, the rest is fair game though." She grabbed his arm and twisted it backwards and a loud snap was heard, Ray looked over at his arm in shock before using his determination and the power of the negative fruit to restore his injuries, he panted a bit in pain and then said "Reminds me of the first time you did that..." Lucifer replied "I swear if you didn't have all that magic and determination, I'd maul you worse than any bear or lion could. But seriously, I'm the Queen of Hell and yet nobody seems to listen to me!"

Sans stepped forward, strangely, he felt a resonance with Judgement, she had his job in this place after all, it seemed only right.

Judgement stared at the skeleton whose grin seemed to both unnerve her, and intrigue her. She then said "You, I can sense a decent amount of sin in you, Sloth mostly." Sans shrugged and said "So I'm a lazy bones, don't judge me." Judgement's eye twitched and said "Puns, really?"

Chara chuckled and said "Don't. You'll only encourage him."

Sans then stared at Judgement, saying "So, how's about we play a game. We judge each other, and whoever ends up being the stronger and better Judge, wins. Your magic, I can feel it welling up, it's similar to mine. Our roles are similar, I bet we've frustrated many a player with numerous deaths. You talk to us about sin, well, let me tell you. Have you ever felt your own sins crawling on your back? Or of course you could just let us go, that'd be great. But if you don't, then I guess. You're going to have a bad time."

Judgement folded her hands together and rested her chin on them briefly, before saying "Alright then. A duel it is. But you aren't escaping me, Nobody escapes judgement."

Sans chuckled and said "Lady, I couldn't agree more."

A wall of bones erupted from the ground, Judgement's perch, a large machine which discharged magical chains, couldn't endure it, she backflipped from the top as large magical bones tore through the magical metal and caused the machine to explode, Lucifer and the other demon girls stared in disbelief as Sans slowly walked forward and summoned two gaster blasters to follow him, he then said "Don't say I didn't warn you."

White magical chains flew from the smoke the explosion made and Sans dodged them, they happened to hit the Helltaker, causing lightning to slam into him and he was back at the start of this room, he was shouting numerous profanities while Azazel wrote down each one as if she were going to investigate the words more closely in the future, whether this was an act or if her academic interest in sin was genuine, nobody but her knew.

Sans created two walls of bones and moved them to the sides to push away the smoke, revealing Judgement twirling a magic chain and sending it flying at him, only for him to teleport behind her and two of his gaster blasters fired, orange and cyanic energy at the same target, there was no escape, it wasn't even fair.

Judgement was fast, but not fast enough, however the damage inflicted wasn't much, She scoffed and said "You're a weak-"

She spoke too soon, she felt something crawling on her back, what was it? It was familiar, yes, her sins, every soul she's ever tormented, every ounce of pain she's ever inflicted, being the high prosecutor meant she's inflicted quite a bit, all of it scars her soul, and somehow Sans' magic makes these scars burn, he was right. Their magic is more or less the same.

She formed several chains from the ground and they rushed at Sans, who dodged again and created a circle of gaster blasters around Judgement, they didn't fire yet, instead a volley of bones came at her from multiple angles, she danced and dodged to evade them, then the blasters fired off in sequence, she managed to evade them without getting hit, she then laughed and said "Your attacks are too pattern oriented, if anything, the Sin Machine would have been a handicap!"

More chains, more dodges, Sans teleported above her and said "And you're too straightforward, maybe you're too high on your power to see that."

More puns, this angered Judgement as she reacted with chains erupting at Sans from six directions, Sans teleported to evade, several walls of bones rushed towards Judgement who evaded some, but was hit again and again she felt her sins crawl on her back. Was this what others felt when she judged them? These thoughts echoed in her mind painfully. She then unleashed in a fit of anger hundreds of chains which began to flail around wildly, Sans teleported to a safe spot and said "Now you're getting it. Puzzlin' ain't it." Bones erupted around Judgement, forming a maze which began to shift locations every now and then, Judgement managed to start getting a handle on Sans' patterns however and sent a chain to wrap around sans, he dodged to the left and a second chain shot out of the first, grabbing him.

Sans wasn't injured, but he could feel the burn of his inaction, however strangely, his determination kept him from being hurt. Sans, determined, he chuckled aloud and said "I guess this place must be getting to me. Give up, I keep hearing it in the back of my head. I'm sick of it. I want out of here Lady, you're not gonna stop me. Then I can just plop on a couch somewhere and sleep for a few days. Maybe a few months..."

Judgement's chain fed her the knowledge of Sans' sins, she was a bit dumbfounded, all this information, about resets, alternate timelines, alternate universes, the void. Endless cycles of death, genocide and suffering. And for the most part, Sans did nothing. It was only when everyone was gone, everyone except a small few who escaped, only in the end to be erased by whatever sick force was putting them through that hell in the first place.

"Feels terrible don't it." said Sans, Judgement noticed she had been distracted as Sans had teleported, maybe he didn't dodge on purpose, intending to overwhelm her with his past. She turned around but wasn't fast enough, not that speed would have mattered, her Soul turned blue and she was slammed into the ground, then across the room at high velocity dozens of times, she was brought to the brink of death and finally rested on the ground, Sans was panting and said "Get dunked on."

Sans released her Soul, her HP was reduced to a thin number and her physical form was also battered by the force of the impacts from the walls and ceiling and floor. Sans sighed and said "Y'know, right now you should just give up. Y'know, I'm really tired, I bet you're really tired. Let's just go to the surface, find a couple of couches and fall asleep watching TV. Sound good?"

Judgement was in too much pain to argue and nodded, saying "Sounds good..."

To be continued...