Thanks go to 10burgers, Wingah, Zack Frost, EpicSlayerguy99, Zillowzest, ZeraoraTheKnight, and Get vectored.

Alright, here I am six days later! This chapter ended up being shorter than I thought it would be, but I think you guys will enjoy it. The next update should be two weeks from now, on July 13th. Now, on to the chapter! I think you guys are gonna like this one. ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.

Blasts of orange light fired by The Predator as she dashed up the pincer shell that her and The Gatherer stood upon. She ran low to the ground, darting from side to side to dodge the burning fireballs Gatherer was launching at her with the lazy swipe of his fiery blade. In a matter of moments she'd closed the distance separating them, and she jumped over the snake whip that launched out towards her.

Pulling her scythe up over her head, stalagmites of ice nearly instantly manifested over Predator as she dropped down towards The Balor King. With the vicious downward swing of her scythe, those chilled spikes plummeted down towards him too, but he didn't flinch. Instead, Gatherer threw his free hand up towards Predator, and those snakes that coiled on his arm raced upwards towards her.

The flaming serpents suddenly split apart around her, rapidly racing up to sink their fangs into the spikes raining down and melting them into clouds of mist. Predator paid that no mind however, slashing brutally at Gatherer as she reached him. But, with the swing of his flaming blade, he blocked the frosty curve of her scythe on the pressurized flames of his sword.

Growling, Predator pushed her blade against his own for another second or two, before jumping back and putting some distance between the two of them. The moment she was out of the range of his sword, those serpent tattoos were upon her again. Racing through the air, they hissed and snapped their jaws as they approached Predator, who simply threw her free hand up into the air over her head, before yanking it back down.

With this simple motion, the clouds of mist that the snakes had turned her ice into rapidly pulled themselves together, pouring down from above in one massive splash of water. Gatherer grumbled with aggravation as he watched this wave pour from above, but with the flare of his brutal heat all the water turned right back to mist before even a drop of it could hit him. His snakes were not so lucky.

Hissing feebly, the fiery ophidians were reduced to smoke and embers under Predator's rain, and she didn't even bother them a passing glance as she skated forward on the rapidly freezing water she'd coated the surface of the chitinous floor with. Gatherer didn't really mourn his snakes either; they would spawn once more from his tattoos on command. But, until then, he had a different plan.

Pulling up his free hand, Gatherer straightened two fingers. Blue electricity crackled from within the black smog that seeped out of his finger nails, and as Predator closed the distance, he swiftly pointed those fingers out towards her. From his finger tips, a bolt of lightning suddenly flashed, blasting down the pincer and towards an unphased Predator.

The Ice Queen just threw her scythe underhand, sending it spiraling up above her. Its metal gleam attracted the arch of Gatherer's lightning, which shifted mid firing to launch upwards, blasting Lexi's spinning scythe from the sky instead of The Predator herself. She used this opportunity to race forward, getting into the range of a brutal slash from Gatherer's flaming sword. She pushed off the ground however, front flipping over the slash as well as The Balor King himself.

She landed right behind him, and for just a moment the two of them stood back to back. A king and a queen, standing on equal footing atop the wreckage a god had left in his wake. But, whatever this moment was, neither of them noticed any potential meaning behind it. Instead, Predator ducked, and Gatherer spun around with another vicious slash of his sword. The moment his sword had swung by, Predator popped back up.

She wrapped one ice cold hand around the wrist of his sword wielding hand and grabbed him by the throat with her other, and Gatherer's eyes widened at the deathly chill her touch inflicted. His skin and bone screamed out in agony, and he watched her exhale white fog through grinding teeth as her touch frostbit his flesh. Rapidly his skin changed color under her touch, from red to white to black. He could feel her cold locking up his arm and creeping into his jugular vein, and in response The Balor King inhaled sharply through his grinding teeth.

His chest puffed out with his deep inhale, before his snake tattoos began shining brighter and brighter. Predator did not bother to examine this, instead just wrapping her hand tighter around his throat and shoving forward, forcing Xander to lean back. She was intent on ripping his life out of his hands whether he liked it or not, but when she saw an orange light start to shine through the black fabric of Xander's shirt, her brows furrowed with quick confusion.

That orange light raced up from his chest to his throat, and The Balor King's eyes shined nothing but red as his jaws snapped open wide, revealing the searing orange light in the back of his throat. And Predator barely had time to let go of him and start jumping back before a wave of condensed flames exploded out of his maw like a laser beam.

This laser hit The Ice Queen at point blank range, blasting into her with brutal force and igniting her flesh. Smoke blasted out from the melting of her skin and probably some fabric from her clothes, and Lexi was sent sailing over the edge of the pincer. Smoke trailing off her along with red mist, she plummeted over the edge, briefly holding her arms close to herself while the wind pulled her hair upwards, making it fly wildly around her face.

Gatherer threw his arms out to his sides, and once again a wave of flames exploded up around him. In the next instant, when those fires had cleared, the ice had been burnt from his skin, and his fiery blade had disappeared back into his inventory. Now, with his serpent tattoos alive and writhing on his arms once more, Gatherer broke into a sprint towards the ledge. Diving over it and dropping right after Predator, he threw his arms down towards her, and with vicious hisses his tattoos lashed down after her. Four separate snakes, fire on their fangs as they launched out towards The Predator.

Growling irritably, Predator pulled one hand away from her red steaming face and thrust it out towards the fire slithering down towards her. Red gleaming in her eyes, in a flash a massive blast of ice was exploding out from her palm and up towards The Gatherer. It was as though she had crafted an entire iceberg in the blink of an eye, or at least it certainly felt that way to Gatherer as he watched the huge mass of shifting ice race up to meet him.

Quickly, Gatherer's snake whips cracked into the iceberg hooking into it and letting him yank himself over the peak that was firing up to smash him. Once he flung himself over the edge of the ice mass, he landed feet first on its slippery form and rapidly skated down it towards The Predator. He reached out one arm, once more sending those snakes launching down towards her.

Predator flipped in air, landing on the ground hands first and immediately springing backwards off of them to dodge the flames lashing down. The snakes bit nothing but sand, which immediately ignited and melted into glass from their molten venom. Not bothering with a counter attack on the serpents, Predator instead reached up towards the mass if frost that Gatherer was sprinting vertically down and clenched her hand into a fist.

Suddenly, Xander's footing shifted, and cracks rapidly split the iceberg he was on. Before he had time to react, the entire chunk exploded apart, blasting outwards in ice shrapnel and engulfing him in an explosion of shards and mist. The sound was deafening, ice crashing apart as it engulfed The Gatherer in its blast. His snakes, previously attached to the earth in front of The Predator, rapidly retracted up into the cloud of mist and hail raining down from above.

Predator held one hand up over her head as chunks of ice plummeted towards her, and before any of it made contact with her, it rapidly melted. Ice blocks turned to streams of water, which all filtered downward, racing her finger tips and coiling around her arm. These streams moved continuously, more and more water being added as debris continued to plummet from above. Whatever was not going to fall on top of the Ice Queen simply crashed into the sands, chunks varying from dime to boulder size. But what hit the ground was not Predator's concern. She was far more focused on what had yet to appear from the plume of mist.

She didn't have to worry long though, when a vicious crackle of lightning blasted out from the white smog. The sapphire arch of electricity raced towards The Predator, who was quick to throw her hand forward. The water coiling her arm exploded out like a fountain from her palm, instantly freezing and forming a jagged umbrella shape for Gatherer's lightning to blast against.

And blast against it did. The electric javelin crashed into Predator's quickly formed wall, sending it exploding to mist and shards. The force of this collision threw Lexi back, forcing her to roll backwards over the earth one time before she managed to dig her heels into the sands and will herself to a stop.

And as soon as the Ice Queen had her feet planted, Gatherer launched through the cloud before her. She wasn't sure what attack he had planned, but she never let him execute it. Instead, she shot forward off her front foot, and the two met halfway. Colliding, they grappled one another. Hands locking together, the king and the queen pushed with all their might against one another. Feet planted and teeth gritting, the two hardly noticed the furious winds whipping around them, or the way the sands at their feet froze over or melted to glass.

Chapter 68: Those Who Write History

Or: The Worthless Metal (Part 3)

"You just can't stop yourself from getting involved in my business, can you..?!" Gatherer snarled, flames crackling briefly out from the corners of his mouth. His demonic red eyes flared with wrath, showcasing the wretched soul beneath. "Always a thorn in-!"

Xander if you call me a thorn in your side one more time I swear to god I'm gonna knock your teeth down your throat!" Predator cut him off, subzero fog hissing out from between her jaws. Her fingers locked tighter around his, and her frostbite touch tried its might against his molten touch. "Either grow a pair and call me a cunt or shut the fuck up!"

Gatherer growled furiously at that, but instead of shouting back at Predator, he just threw his head forward and headbutted her. His forehead cracked against hers, and while Lexi's skull was known to be thick, with the added bonus that was the blunt end of Gatherer's horns, he split the skin of her forehead and forced her to reel back. Keeping his grip on her hands, Gatherer yanked one foot up, blasting a kick into Predator's abdomen as he released her hands and sending her sliding back on the balls of her feet.

Hunched forward after that kick, Lexi's jaw clenched irritably as her eyes darted up from under her eyebrows to shoot Xander a glare. He smiled at the sight of her disdain, but before he could lunge forward and continue his assault, the earth exploded open beneath him. From within the sands a massive pillar of ice rose, lifting him atop it into the sky. Predator's agitated expression disappeared, and she flashed a little grin just before two other spires of ice blasted up on either side of the one that Gatherer had just been launched upon.

Roundtable Rival by Lindsey Stirling began playing as Predator jumped to the side of one of those pillars. The ice molded around her feet, catching her every step and allowing her to sprint vertically up the tower. And when those snakes came flying down towards her, hissing with their brutal heat, she jumped from one tower to the other, dodging the molten serpents with ease.

Gatherer stood atop the peak of ice Predator had raised him on in attempts to disorient him, frown defining his features while he held his arms out to his sides, letting his fire ophidians race down below in attempts to catch the Ice Queen. These attempts proved unsuccessful when Lexi launched up over the ledge in front of Xander, sailing into the air over his head. She spun in air, straightening out one leg and plummeting down towards the Balor King with an ax kick.

Eyes widening some at the sight of her, Gatherer knew immediately he would not be able to get his arms up or call his snakes back fast enough. So, instead, he did all he could do. He moved his head to the side, and his expression twitched with pain as Predator's ax kick crashed down on his shoulder. The force rocked his body, and he heard the snap of his collar bone as well as the pop of his shoulder dislocating.

Furious red eyes darting up to the Ice Queen, Xander's jaws snapped open with another fiery shine. Eyes widening at the sight of this, Predator bent the knee of the leg she'd just cracked down onto Gatherer's shoulder, the rest of her body still in air. Digging her heel into his shoulder blade, Predator used the strength in her leg to yank the rest of her body over Xander's shoulder and flip over his body, narrowly dodging the beam of scorching heat that blasted out from his maw at her.

She landed crouched behind him, immediately spinning and standing in the same motion. She yanked back one fist, whipping a punch at the back of Gatherer's head as she stood to face him. Unfortunately, before her punch could connect, an explosion of fire blasted up from Xander's heels, crashing into Predator and knocking her back away from the Balor King without him even having to turn to face her.

Flipping in air again, Predator growled irritably while she landed perched on the side of one of the two ice pillars that loomed over the one Xander stood upon. Red mist ran from the handful of new burn marks added to her currently pale skin, rapidly healing them. Unfortunately her DETERMINATION could not heal the holes burnt in the fishnet of her under shirt or her shawl, which was now scorched and uneven.

"You can't stop me, Predator." Gatherer spoke again as he turned to face her. His snakes had coiled back around his arms, and they lifted his still limp and dislocated arm while he spoke to her. Another pop resounded as the serpents dragged his shoulder back into its socket, but the Balor King did not flinch. "No one can stop me."

"Blah blah blah!" Predator responded hastily, opening one palm out towards The Gatherer. In front of her, thousands of small shards of ice rapidly manifested, and their razor edges sprayed out to shred Xander apart in a brutal wave.

Grumbling to himself about her defiance, Xander was quick to slash one hand up through the air in front of himself. With this motion, a wave of flames exploded to life, engulfing Predator's tearing cold and melting all of it before it could reach him. Predator proved to be a lot harder to melt however when she launched fist first through the wall of fire, instantly closing the distance and crashing her knuckles into Gatherer's jaw.

Eyes wide with surprise and pain, Xander's head was quickly thrown to the side from this impact, frost bite creeping over his jawline from the brief impact of her subzero skin on his flesh. The force of this brutal hook sent Gatherer off his feet, sailing over the ledge of the ice tower and plummeting down below. Predator didn't let up though, immediately diving over the edge right after him.

She dropped right down after Gatherer, who was heading head first towards the ground. Predator, who was falling feet first, grabbed Xander from behind. Wrapping her legs around his upper body and locking his arms to his sides, she wrapped her arms around his legs to lock those together as well. Then, she buried the soles of her boots in Gatherer's chin, locking his head in place and assuring that he would hit the ground skull first.

Snarling with rage, the Balor King flailed and struggled against the Ice Queen's grip, but she refused to let up. Locking her hands together and using all of her might to keep Gatherer in her grasp, Predator rocketed right down with him, and it was all he could do to stare wide eyed towards the rapidly approaching ground.

With a boom, Gatherer crashed dome first into the sands. The collision was so powerful and the ground was so weak that it exploded up and created a crater. In the center of this crater, planted up to his forearms, Nearly all of Xander's upper body was buried in the earth. Predator was certain that impact, even into a softer surface like sand, would kill any mortal man or woman. Unfortunately, the Balor King wasn't mortal. So, even though she would have loved to have taken the time to point and laugh at how ridiculous Xander looked with his legs sticking straight up and the rest of his body stuffed in the dirt, Predator instead jumped up to her feet and sprinted up the slope of the crater she'd left Gatherer's currently motionless body in.

Spinning around to face the crater the moment she'd escaped it, Lexi dropped to one knee and planted the both of her hands on the sands beneath her. With her touch, permafrost shredded through the ground, hardening sand together and encasing Xander in something much less malleable. At the same time, ice raced across the surface, spiking up in jagged edges and closing in around the buried king from all sides.

Bury him in ice, she thought. Shred through his body, sever limbs, rip him apart. He wasn't built like Anarchy or Angel, neither of them were. Rip enough of him apart and he wouldn't be able to come back together. That meant that the execution had to be brutal, whether Predator liked it or not. Really, she didn't wanna think about whether she liked it or not. It was easier if she forgot about when things were easy between her and Gatherer. Her and everyone, really. Before Angel split their family, before they were separated and pitted against one another.

She did not long for those days. She regretted the crimes she'd committed in Gatherer's name, she still felt shame for how foolish she'd been to trust him or Angel. But, she missed the unity that once existed between the four. Some part of her was troubled by the thought of killing Xander, because with him gone it would mean that there would never be a time where the four of them could be together again. And even though that already seemed beyond possible, it felt some nights that Lexi was still PATIENTLY waiting for a happier reunion.

The frosty sands exploded apart, and lava blasted out in super heated geysers. Seemed the time for waiting was over.

Predator's eyes widened some at the molten heat firing up into the crater Gatherer was in, and she was quick to jump back just as waves of flames blasted up after the lava plumes. Eyes narrowing into the flames, Predator watched pensively as walls of fire shifted and flickered upwards, obscuring the rapidly melting crater from view. With gusts of brutal heat to match her deathly chill, two oozing and steaming forms lifted from behind the fiery walls.

Resembling the serpents tattooed onto Xander's arms, two massive snakes comprised entirely of lava rose their dripping heads into the air, and Predator nearly groaned at the sight of them. Then, the ring of fire parted, and through its searing heat the Balor King stepped. Xander The Gatherer stared at Predator with unfeeling eyes, and with one smoking hand he reached up, flicking the single tress of black hair that was dangling over his forehead back into place.

"... I liked ya better in the sand." Predator commented after a moment or two of cold stares, plating her feet and watching PATIENTLY for Gatherer to strike. Frost crept up her hands, and she shifted her fingers, exhaling white fog.

"I'd like you better dead." Was Xander's simple comment, before those molten snakes that loomed beside him struck. They shifted and slithered towards The Predator, opening their magma jaws and flashing fiery fangs. Racing across the sands, they burnt the ground beneath them to glass while they closed in on her.

Predator didn't hesitate to sprint head first into the rushing serpents, jumping forward and planting one liquid nitrogen hand right between the boiling eyes of the first ophidian to reach her. Steam blasted out around her, throwing her hair back and forcing her to wince as her cold rapidly cooled that lava down. And though the snake shifted and struggled against the creeping death of her touch, she latched onto it's obsidian head and let her chill turn it back to stone.

The moment one serpent was a statue, the second crashed its molten mass down upon it in attempts to melt The Predator, who was quick to jump back away and out from under the glow of its burning body. The magma serpent shattered its fallen brother with its weight, but never seemed to notice. Instead, it turned its fangs towards Predator and gave a crackling hiss before racing after her.

Predator squared her feet and prepared to ice the second snake as she had the first, when she suddenly had to jump to the side to avoid a brutal crack of lightning from The Gatherer's finger tips. Shooting the Balor King a quick glare, the Ice Queen then jumped back to dodge a blast of flames. Being forced onto the defensive, Predator backtracked, throwing up walls of ice to catch blasts of flames and lightning. Each encounter ended in a stalemate; no fires made it through but no barrier remained.

Finally, Predator's eyes darted to the base of the massive claw that this battle had started atop, and she spotted the scythe she'd been forced to discard near the start of the fight. It was stuck blade first in the sand, which was frozen around its point of impact. Her brain quickly put a plan together, and Lexi The Predator looked forward to see that molten snake racing across the sands towards her like some fanged freight train.

Suddenly, Predator kicked off the ground, ice forming under the heels of her shoes and rapidly racing out in a curving wave around The Gatherer's flank and towards the base of that pincer. She skated, or possibly surfed if one went off the ice's wave-like shape, across the curve of her freeze and towards her lost scythe.

Gatherer easily pieced together where she was running too, and while his snake raced after her, he pointed two smoking fingers out towards the end of that ice wave. With a crack, another arch of blue electricity fired out and exploded through Predator's transportation. Gatherer frowned though at the sight of her flinging through the smoke, landing clean on her feet and easily recovering from having the track destroyed beneath her.

Lexi continued her dash, racing by her scythe and wrapping one hand around its handle, yanking it from the frosty sands without ever stopping running. Once she got a few steps onto the pincer the glow of that molten serpent shined upon her again, and she spun around suddenly. Slashing her scythe through the air up towards the magma maw baring down upon her, Predator sent a blast of wind so cold up into the beast that on impact it sent steam hissing out from the creature's body. The cold of this single terrible gust rapidly hardened the creature's body, and its final hiss echoed from an obsidian maw as it too was turned to a steaming statue.

Predator had no time to celebrate this victory though, when Gatherer suddenly dove off the now stone skull of his beast and raced down towards her. He yanked his hand up over his head, and once more that flaming blade manifested in his hand. He slashed down at Predator with it while he landed, and she slashed up with the frosty blade of her scythe, deflecting the strike to the side and filling the air with the hiss of heat hitting cold.

The moment Gatherer's sword wielding hand was thrown aside, he reached out to Predator with his free hand, and she jumped back as those serpentine whips fired from his wrist at her once more. Jumping back to put more distance between herself and the fire whipping closer, Predator once more sliced her scythe through the air, blasting them to embers with another wave of subzero winds.

Gatherer braved these winds however, launching forward and slashing at her with his molten blade once more. Again Predator jumped back, dodging his slash and throwing one hand out towards him. On this command twin pillars of ice streaked up from the sides of the shell they stood upon, crashing up towards The Gatherer.

Slicing through one pillar with the cure of his fiery blade, Gatherer reached out and stopped the other in the palm of his hand. His heat sent cracks blasting through it and steam exploding out from those cracks, and as the assaulting ice shattered apart, he turned his wrathful glare back towards The Predator.

A torrent of winds whipped around the pincer, brutal heat chasing bitter cold and quickly forming something of a tornado around them. The hollow shell that they battled upon creaked and groaned under the weight of their souls now, every slash of scythe and sword shifting it in the sands. More and more fog and mist was rising over head, a cloud swirling above the circus from the clashing of their elements. All the while the queen and the king battled viciously, working their way right back up to the pincer that their fight had started upon.

"All these years, and you're still nothing but a stubborn brat!" Gatherer berated, knocking Predator's scythe aside with his sword and reaching out to her with one crackling palm. Before any fire could blast from his hand however Predator reached out, grabbing his hand with her own and matching his heat with her cold. No fire and no ice was released, just another blast of steam from between their intertwined fingers.

"I work to bring all of reality under my banner! Every move I make is calculated and plotted to bring me closer to my goal!" As Gatherer shouted, his snakes blasted up from the arm that Predator had stopped with her own, and she gasped just before their searing fangs sunk into her shoulder and side, shoving her back away from Xander and yanking her up into the air on their fangs. "And you! You rage and struggle against me just to spite me! How could you ever understand the dreams of me and my nation?!"

"A stupid gutter rat! That's what I found you as and that's what I'll have to put you down as!" Gatherer's snakes curled down, shoving a grunting and growling Predator back towards the pincer's edge. Their brutal venom burnt at her flesh, red steam rapidly spraying out around their bites to stop the spread of the melting heat from the point of impact. The snakes slammed her back onto the shell, before releasing her from their wretched grasp and slithering back up Xander's tense arm. "I took you in! I took all of you in! And you and Angel both have spat in my face! Now you're going to die! I'm going to make you both pay for biting the hand that fed you!"

"Fed me..?! Do you even hear yourself..?!" Predator growled as she sat up from the hollow chitin she'd been slammed into. Seemed she hardly noticed the cracks that were splitting it. Instead, she reached up with one hand, grabbing painfully at the still steaming wound on her shoulder while her other hand kept a tight grip on her scythe. "You just used me! You used all of us, and you're still using people! You're the one who needs to grow up, not me! You've been on a power trip from the moment you inherited your daddy's money!"

"Don't you talk about my father!" Xander snarled viciously, eye twitching with some terrible emotion as he pointed the smoking tips of his fingers out towards Predator once again. She aimed her scythe up at him, and from its blade ice exploded out like an umbrella around her. His lightning blasted against her defenses, and electricity crackled through the air with shards of ice and drops of water.

And there they were, the Ice Queen and the Balor King struggling to overpower one another upon the alter that Chaos Incarnate had left behind. Lightning continued to blast from Xander's fingers, and ice continued to freeze into existence on Lexi's command. They were in a stalemate, but The Gatherer, blinded by his rage, failed to see that The Predator rose her free hand into the air.

The massive cloud forming overhead suddenly began condensing. All of its vapor stuck together and rapidly froze just above the frothing Balor King attempting to snuff her out. But he was so distracted, his vision had gone so red that he never noticed the massive shadow forming above him. And that gave Predator all the time in the world to manifest one massive spike of frost in the sky above him.

Gatherer never saw the iceberg falling towards him. His mind was racing with memories that only fed the fires of his rage. The sight of Angel's empty room the day that he betrayed them all, the feel of Clifford's cold and lifeless body in his arms. The sound of Eden's crying, the sight of his parents graves. All that he was, all that he worked for, all that he'd sacrificed and all that had been taken from him. Who was she to stand in his way? Who was anyone to stand in his way? Xander had spent his entire life working finger to bone, and she wanted to stop him for friendship? Honor, duty, whatever The Predator stood for was meaningless to Xander. She could never stand against his will, she could never deserve all that he deserved. This world was his to own, everything was his to own! It was his birthright! It was the culmination of all the work he'd dedicated his miserable, lonely life to! It was his! It had to be! Everything would belong to-!

CRASH!

That mass of ice blasted down upon Xander with such incredible force that it shattered right through the iron chitin of The Scorpion's molted shell, sending both Predator and Gatherer plummeting down to the sands below. Gatherer, unlike Predator, was trapped beneath the jagged points of that ice mass. Brutal spikes tore through his body. Punched through his abdomen and out his back, stabbed into his arms and legs, sliced at his face. All the way down the funnel of the tornado the two battled within, until it smashed him into the sands. The force of this impact blasted outwards, sending a boom of dust so powerful that it tore that tornado apart from the inside.

Predator flipped in air to straighten herself out, watching with a deep frown and narrowed eyes as her assault slammed The Gatherer into the dirt. She had to throw her arms up to guard her face as the massive blast of sand exploded by, the winds pushing her back through the air some before she eventually landed on her feet. The music faded out.

And there, in the clearing dust, she saw The Gatherer. He was flat on his back, trapped beneath two tons of ice, the points of which were stained with his blood. He was steaming DETERMINATION, and he looked pissed. But he couldn't move, he couldn't escape. At least not for the moment. His body was torn up and broken, and every injury was still being shoved against by the mass of ice on top of him. If Lexi had to guess, his soul would be too preoccupied keeping him alive to let him mount much of a counter attack. Still, that didn't stop Xander from thrashing his broken body beneath the ice, breathing flames in puffs of fire instead of beams of heat.

"..." Predator thought she should say something. Or, maybe walk over there and finish him off with the blade of her scythe. But she couldn't. In that moment, staring at The Gatherer so furious and unhinged, she didn't feel enough disgust to berate him or enough pity to put him out of his misery. She just felt sad. There was a time when she trusted him, believed in what he believed in, and saw good in his soul. Now she could see just how much agony he must've been in, and once more she felt herself longing for a day where these differences that separated the four of them would somehow be put aside. She didn't know how they would get there though, especially when she could not bring herself to set aside her disdain for Xander. Or even Angel, to a lesser extent.

Lexi lifted her eyes then to a gleam she spotted in the sands. Somewhere in the blast that all the falling debris had caused, a chunk of silver had been unearthed. It looked like the metal had been purposefully crushed down, folded over itself from whatever its original shape was. It was small, something she could pick up in one hand. And whatever that silver had once been, Predator could no longer tell. What it once was didn't matter, now the Metal was Worthless.

Her frown didn't lighten, this moment hardly felt like salvation. But, still. This was the payoff for her hard work. So, with The Gatherer trapped, she did not waste her chance. Lexi walked over to the Worthless Metal laying in the sand. Her boots crunched the earth under every step, the only other sound in the world was the fiery woosh of Gatherer's flaming exhales. He couldn't stop Predator, though. And it wasn't until she reached the metal there in the dirt that Gatherer finally got ahold of himself.

"Lexi!" He finally shouted out, and The Predator stopped in her tracks. The Worthless Metal laying right in front of her, Predator looked over towards where Gatherer lay trapped. Though he was still panting, and his black and red hair laid in unkempt strands across his face, Gatherer seemed to have composed himself as best he could. He flashed her his perfect smile, but it was tainted by his horns and the smoke in his mouth's corner. "You're on the losing side of this. And you're going to learn that whether you like it or not."

Lexi didn't say anything to that. She stared at Xander for a moment longer, before she looked back to the Worthless Metal. She leaned down, reaching out one hand and wrapping it around the inward curve of the silver. Then, she straightened her back, standing back up and pulling the metal from the sand with her. She lifted it up over her head, not bothering to look back to Xander and instead staring up into the void sky. "Nightmare, I won. Now get your goopy ass out here."

After a few seconds of silence, the gross slap of Nightmare's gelatinous hands clapping together echoed out from across the circus. Predator turned her eyes over to spot the short mass of malice wandering across her battlefield. He casually stepped by iced and glassed sand, walked right over broken chunks of chitin and obsidian while he clapped. "Congratulations, Predator. And what a convincing win, too. I mean, only one of your friends died!"

Lexi's expression twitched some at those words, but she forced herself to remain stoic and ignore the pit that sentence had opened in her stomach. Everyone knew what this mission was, she told herself. She knew what the odds were. She could grieve later, right now it was better to keep her mind clear of fears for her crew or hopes that Nightmare was lying. She had to stay focused. Nightmare clearly didn't have the same concerns though, tilting his head to look past Predator and to the trapped Xander. His grin jiggled with laughter, "And look at Gatherer! That's hilarious."

"I don't feel like talking, Nightmare." Predator stated stoically, her eyes somewhat sunken in as Nightmare stepped up to her. She lifted the Worthless Metal in her blood stained hand, offering it out to the dark skeleton before her. "Would you mind just cutting to the chase and telling us what you want next? Me and Xander are tied now. you've gotta have a tiebreaker planned."

"You are being a lot less fun than usual." Nightmare tilted his head to the side, grin widening some. One of his tendrils swiped out, snagging the Worthless Metal from her hand. Predator had disgust written all over her face while she watched the gross tentacle slip back into Nightmare's gelatinous body, bringing the metal with it. "What's gotcha upset? Is it Muffet's death? Seein' your ol' pal show his horns? Or the fact that you know you're about to have to risk even more so that I might spill the beans on where Anarchy's hidin'?"

Muffet..? Again Lexi's expression twitched with guilt. Her mind flooded itself with memories of the spider baker, and of course the initial denial that came with learning of the death of someone you know. Lexi thought it was probably impossible to ever just immediately comprehend that someone was dead, and you would never see them or hear from them again. That you would never gain a new memory of them. It was a lot to come to terms with in an instant, but again The Predator used all of her might to push it to the back burner. Later, she could remember Muffet later. She could worry for Melanie and Grillby later. Now she had to work, or Muffet will have died for nothing. "... Get to the point."

"You must'a really learned your lesson after I chewed ya out the last time, huh?" Nightmare leaned forward a little, that one eye shutting halfway and watching her lazily. He sneered like he was just so proud of himself, "Alright, fine, ya caught me. There's one last thing I need one of you special brats to fetch for me."

Last thing? Xander thought from his place on the ground. His body still steamed red, and his snake tattoos' lethal glow reflected within the ice. He was relieved by this news; he might be able to finish things before The Angel was unleashed after all.

"Ya see, everywhere you kids have gone has been somewhere Anarchy walked first. His original timeline, his Deltarune dream, and even his big circus performance with Jevil." Nightmare gestured out to the destruction around him, head swimming with fond memories. What a treat it'd been to sit in the now destroyed balcony, right beside his brother Dream, and watch The Anarchist unleash his wrath on the multiverse. "And I think we all know there's only one event in Anarchy's life that topped this one on the important chart, don't we?"

"... You, don't mean..." Predator's eyes slowly widened as dots connected in her head, and Nightmare only smiled even wider at the sight of her shock.

"That's right! The last thing I want will be found in DT00002. The last timeline Anarchy was seen in before his disappearance, and the very same one he defeated The Angel in." Nightmare's slimy grin seethed more and more malevolence, and his one eye went wide with glee at both the frustration appearing on Predator's face and the glee creeping over Xander's. Nightmare tilted his head, and his one evil eye gleamed a vicious blue. "Whoever can bring me The Angel's Ichor gets to know where Anarchy is."

"You want some of Angel's blood?" Predator recoiled like that was ridiculous, her eyebrows furrowing with confusion. This didn't make sense, the last two timelines were dead and barren, not to mention unguarded. And the last two objects were inanimate and perfectly easy to take. So why would Nightmare now request the blood of one of the most powerful men to ever walk the multiverse? Predator was sure to voice this confusion, shaking her head. "That timeline has become one of the most heavily firewalled timelines there is, and Angel's not exactly an easy guy to get bleedin' these days. I don't get it, why would you-?"

"Ha... Haha... Hahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Predator stopped speaking, the pit in her stomach only growing wider as she turned to look over her shoulder. She looked just in time to see the ice Xander was trapped beneath split apart, molten snakes exploding out from within and sending the iceberg blasting out into shards. The gust of wind this caused threw Lexi's hair back, but her careful eyes never looked away from the mist that launched out from the shattering ice.

And after a moment, Xander The Gatherer sauntered from the fog, laughing like a madman. He hunched forward some, one hand resting on his newly healed abdomen while the other rested over his horned forehead. Something about this was absolutely hysterical to Gatherer, and that unnerved Predator. Finally, he lifted his scarlet eyes to Nightmare, DETERMINATION still smoking from the many injuries that could now properly seal themselves. "Oh, Nightmare! I knew I was your pick to win, but I didn't dare hope you would rig the game like this!"

"Rig the..? What are you talking about?" Predator's eyes darted between Xander and Nightmare, who both looked so pleased with themselves. Smiling, laughing... Was this some kind of joke to them? "What do you two know that I don't?!"

"Sorry, kid. I like ya, but it's true. Gatherer's the guy who I need to win." Nightmare smiled fearlessly up at Predator, who's eye twitched furiously. Her knuckles whitened around the handle of her scythe, anxious sweat breaking out on her forehead. "Really, this whole scavenger hunt thing was just so I could play around with the both'a ya. Torment Gatherer a little, and dangle victory right in front of your face before I yank it away."

"Nightmare if you don't start talkin' sense I'm gonna make you regret it." Predator snarled, mist rising from between the fingers of her clenched fist. "Xander can't get into that timeline either, so why is he so cocky?"

"Because, Lexi dear, I already have someone inside that timeline." The Gatherer's smooth voice cut back into the conversation, and Predator's furious eyes darted back towards him. He was wearing that perfect smile again, slicking all of his messy hair back into place and regaining his composure now that his victory was assured. "And they're more than capable of drawing The Angel's blood."

". . ." Predator went quiet. Her eyes glossed down to the sands at her feet. This couldn't be right. She worked so hard, did so much... There had to be a way. He couldn't just win, not like this! Not after everything everyone had given! Muffet had died for this, damnit! Didn't that mean anything?! The ground froze at her feet, her fists clenched so tight that blood was drawn. Its chill dripped between her fingers, and DETERMINATION rose up from her palms.

"I told you, Lexi. Sooner or later you're going to have to accept that I'm the only winner here." Gatherer's eyes shined a lethal red, malevolent smile curling his lips. Somewhere in this instant, Nightmare began stepping backwards. He walked away, faded back into the darkness. As much as he would have loved to stick around and berate Predator or laugh with Gatherer, the fact was that Lexi now knew she wasn't getting that information. That meant she was liable to turn and decapitate him with that scythe. So, Nightmare fled the scene like the rat he was before he let that happen. All the while, Xander reached up, pushing in the button of a communicator in his ear. He spoke, "Eden, contact our ace. Tell them what Nightmare has requested."

"... This isn't over, Xander." Predator finally found the strength to speak, lifting her DETERMINED stare to the Balor King before her. Though she had nearly faltered, nearly panicked and nearly let the failure of this moment crush her, she refused. She fought back against despair, she stood tall and she held on to her hope in the face of all the terrors that this day could bring. "Whatever you're planning, I'm gonna stop you. This multiverse isn't yours to conquer."

"... You almost won today, Lexi." Gatherer spoke after one disdain filled pause, and a rift in space suddenly opened behind him. As he began to step backwards and disappear within it, and as its darkness slipped over him, that smile faded from his face. For just a moment, he removed his mask again, and Predator could see all the rage and indignation that burned in his soul.

"So, congratulations. I'm actually going to take that threat seriously."

*Ring... Ring... Ring...

"Make it quick. I'm busy."

Leaned against a brick wall, they stuffed one hand in the pocket of their dress pants. The other held their phone to their ear, all while their disinterested eyes glossed out over the monsters mingling in the courtyard before them. All the tables were empty, crowds of monsters gathered around the dance floor to watch the bride and the groom dance. If their phone hadn't rang in this instant, it's likely they would not have answered it.

"Aren't you always?"

"You're not the usual caller. Boss take a day off?" Their eyes rolled away from the reception unfolding before them and towards the phone that they held to the side of their head.

"He's working a double shift, actually. That's why I'm giving you your next order."

Order? Ooh, it'd been awhile since they got one of those. For quite some time it was just check ups, information sharing. But, this was admittedly poor timing. "I'm at a wedding, y'know."

"I don't care and neither does your boss. We've almost secured Anarchy's location, we just need you to gather the last item for Nightmare."

"Oh?" That got them smiling. Seemed their time in this special prison was finally reaching its end. Still, they contained whatever they may have felt about this news. "Well, I guess I am in a helpful mood."

"Draw The Angel's blood."

". . ." Their eyes went wide in the dark, the smile fading from their face. For just a moment they stood and contemplated what this request meant, slack jawed with surprise. Then, they were smiling again. "... I thought you'd never ask."

"Nothing fancy. Nightmare just wants some of his blood. Don't engage in any more combat than you have to."

"... You understand that there's no way I do this that doesn't blow my cover, right?" A rare lack of coded words. Maybe they thought everyone was distracted, or maybe they didn't care if they were caught.

"Once we have Anarchy's location, you will no longer need to be undercover. Get us The Angel's Ichor, and you will be transported back to the Home Timeline."

"... Home, huh? That sounds nice." Pushing off the wall, they stepped out into the open. The lights strung up overhead shined down upon them, revealing the blue shades of their suit and tie as well as the brown of their slicked back hair. Red gleaming in their eyes, Frisk frowned apathetically out at the happy memories unfolding before them. The blissfully unaware playthings, all the giddy NPCs pretending to be people. They might've pitied them, if they really cared about them at all. Their voice lowered, reflecting what sinister beliefs lurked beneath the mask they'd worn all these years.

"Consider it done."

*Click...

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