Within Hot labs, Sans had called Undyne back.
He knew she saw Kain earlier. He called her on her phone to fall back from Waterfall for the moment. She hated Hotland, but knew something concerned him with this murderer that destroyed her royal guard in Snowdin.
With them both was Alphys the royal scientist, who was the one that made sure those who had fled from Snowdin were being sent to the shelter that had been set up to keep them away from the path leading up out of the underground.
The large screen in the lab was focused on Kain via hidden security cameras, as he was travelling slowly through Waterfall. He had met several monsters on the way who tried to confront them, either in a friendly or aggressive manner…both resulted in death.
Undyne had her helmet off and was watching it happen, getting madder and madder. "Sans you can't expect me to do NOTHING!"
"I know you want to confront him but believe me, Kain is no human and nor is he a monster. His a dangerous nightmare that should be avoided." Sans was staring at the screen as well.
"W-well where did he come from? The world above?" Alphys asked the skeleton.
"Kinda sorta. Listen I want you both to focus on getting everyone away from here, get everyone to safety and nothing else." He quickly turned to Undyne "That includes you. I know what you want to do but don't."
"…Why is he slowing down? Why is that flower talking to him?"
'Flower?' Sans turned back to the screen after Undyne said that and noticed Kain was looking at the walls of the caves, looking at the inscriptions and saying something, the cameras receiving no sound, but besides him was a pain in the neck that Sans should've guessed would be mixed in this somehow. "Flowey…"
"Flowey? Where have I heard that name before?" Alphys tried to think that over, whilst Sans was closing his eyes, beginning to feel tired again. Kain was clearly going to take his time looking for whatever he was looking for and…
Sans suddenly clicked on what it was.
"Gaster! The kid found him in Waterfall before!"
Within a blink of an eye, Sans was gone.
"G-gaster? The previous royal scientist?" Alphys focused on Undyne, who was clearly now getting angry. "U-Undyne?"
"Do what Sans want's you to do Alphys. I'm going back to Waterfall." She turned and began walking away.
"U-undyne wait! Sans said this person is dangerous!"
"Yeah well so am I! I'll show this intruder what I can do! I'm the head of the Royal Guard!"
Sans meanwhile, appeared in the basement of his house. The white sterile walls, the metal flooring, computers here were humming away…this was nothing like anything in Snowdin. It stood out.
Nearby one of the computers, was a time scroll glowing an eerie purple. Sans walked over to the machine it was beside and started to take a look at his notes. With each loop of the cycle down here, the notes were normally lost. But Sans soon found a way to prevent that. Inside the wiring of the machine was a fragment of the time crystal he had brought here. With that connected it had made sure the computer was unaffected by time distortions, loops and otherwise.
He checked out the images he took from the security cameras when Frisk once found a pathway to Gaster. A mysterious doorway that in most cycles never exists. He had to determine it's origin now so he could predict where Kain was going, trying to recall where exactly in Waterfall the place was…
He felt sleepy again, leaning over the keyboard and closing his eyes. This time around he didn't open them for a while.
But when he did, he noticed he was in the living room of his house, laying down on the couch. He bolted upright. "W-what the!?" quickly looking around, he noticed Papyrus in the kitchen, obviously trying to improve on his cooking skills. The smell of tomato and meat lingered in the air.
Sans got off the couch and ran into the kitchen. "Papyrus!"
His brother seemed to look at him with a surprised expression as he was cooking the mince for his spaghetti in the pan. "Sans? What's made you rush about?"
"Kain has! Why are you here? You're suppose to have evacuated!"
"…Who?"
It took Sans a minute as he stared at his brother.
Before it clicked, and he knew where he was now. He shook his head, rubbing the side of it and sighing loudly. "Right, right, must've been a bad dream. Sorry bro. Say, where's Raziel and Frisk?"
"The human and the not-so-human-monster have both headed into Waterfall. I…rushed ahead of them to inform Undyne before coming home. She said she'll call me when she wants information on the human so she could surprise them? It sounds fun. I hope they all enjoy themselves."
'So I'm back in this loop…' Sans frowned. "Well knowing Undyne and her ability to use spears she'll going to get to the 'point' of the matter with them." The blank expression from his brother showed to Sans he did get the joke there, but clearly was not impressed. "I'm gonna head to the basement. Lemme know when you stop burning the meat."
"What're you—OH NO!" Papyrus was clearly now noticing the rising smoke coming from his pan as Sans made his exit and left the house to go into where his computer was housed.
It didn't take long for him to get back to where he was in the other version of the underground. Soon enough he figured out the location…how to summon the door though?
That he now needed to figure out. He looked to the images around the time Frisk found it. Any sort of sequences of events or something out of the ordinary that made it possible. It wasn't one of Frisk's murderous runs so her killing people is out of the question. The kid was friendly to everyone, avoided Undyne's aggressive attacks…
Then he spotted it, as Frisk pulled it out of her pocket in one image, and by the timestamp that the door vanished and Frisk walked on, she didn't appear to have it anymore. A green crystal that glowed, a tiny fragment of it.
"A time crystal piece! But how the heck did she-!?"
He looked back through the images again. Something must've given her the piece at some point.
But no.
There was no evidence of Frisk stopping for it, spotting it, or picking it up. That means she came with it. Which didn't make sense as she never had it before that timeline and now.
He then tried to think within the spans of the timeline, there was only two people here who would carry time crystals. Himself, and Gaster.
One is trapped away.
So that means...He sighed in annoyance to himself. "Something tells me I tried to use a small fragment to play Chara's game one of our bouts, and that was the little trophy they got afterwards which came over to the next cycle."
Still, he now had the whereabouts of where the door was. He stepped back from the computer. "Welp, better head off to waterfall to see how things are going."
In an instance, he was gone.
"Hoi!"
"..."
"Hoi!"
"..."
"Hoi!"
Raziel didn't know what to make of this place.
Temmie village.
The little critters around him wore shirts, able to speak and had gathered to him whilst Frisk needed to look in the small shop nearby...the cave hole with a wooden board above it.
A part of him wanted to gut each and every one of these things to get them to leave him alone. He gave up talking to them as whilst they could speak, he struggled to fully understand.
"Cold humman! Smells like baed rotTen tEms!"
"Humman has claws liek us! Mosta?"
"UwahahaH! Yous liEk Tems Roight? Can I has scraf?"
"What covers my face is the cloth that carries my family symbol."
"Symboal? LieK shirts? Tems have LOTS of tehms!"
He stepped out of the group, not wanting them to try and trade their shirts of his stuff. He knew where that conversation was going to go, walking off towards the edge of the village leaving the obviously oblivious temmies behind...and spotting Sans standing there, watching him walk up. "Hey Raz."
"Sans. When did you get here?"
The skeleton gave a shrug. "Eh, about a minute ago. Noticed you were speaking to our local population of temmies so I just enjoyed the show."
Speaking of them, they had seemingly forgotten about Raziel now and were speaking amgost themselves, running around and seemingly enjoying themselves. Raziel had turned to look at them whilst Sans joined besides him. "The monsters in this place have been, unusual."
"How so?"
"They are very passive, besides one so far. They appear to be easily calmed and pacified by the human girl. She enjoys becoming friends with them so easily. And anything they strike her with she avoids like a master."
"She done it all before."
"Once before?"
"Frisk lost count once she got up to one hundred. That was, in one way, a long time ago."
Raziel looked over at him. "How long has it been going on for?"
"About 202 years Raz. Can't really say how long each loop runs for, sometimes days, sometimes months. Did she explain how it works out?"
"She mentioned us facing Undyne, a contraption named Mettaton, then waiting around for someone called Alphys to go to the hidden 'labs', the meaning of that word I do not understand, before we face the last one named Asriel and escape to the surface."
"Simple yet pretty much correct. She's going for a full happy ending this time."
"Happy ending?"
Sans sighed. "Everyone gets out. We all escape to live on the surface."
Raziel tried to figure this out. "But then something happens. Is that right?"
"Yeah...I recall it each time, so does the kid. It made her go idle on the second loop for a couple of months. Lived in Snowdin with me and Papyrus...You see the blue sky, the green lands below, the clusters of buildings made by humans in the distance. The fresh clean air going through you. It's almost magical to us who fled into this place years and years ago. We all say our goodbyes, we tell Frisk she can help us make contact with the humans again after so long, and I walk back into the underground...But as I turn to look and Frisk hold Toriels hand, or wave goodbye to her as she leaves..."
He could hear it, see it in his mind. The orange mushroom cloud that consumes the nearby city close to Mt Ebott. The sky going dark. The sudden intense heat. The rapidly rising winds carrying the cries of death…
The brief shock and terror in the voices of those nearby. Then, as the blast reaches Frisk…
He just wakes up in his bed.
"..." He notices now he must've just phased out as Raziel spoke to him. "Sans? What happens next?"
"Well, we just reset back here."
"Reset?"
"Yeah. We all just start again." He didn't feel like explaining what a nuclear bomb was. The nearest he could think to make it akin to was a magical spell so powerful it could wipe out a kingdom...even then that doesn't cover the long term destruction it brings.
But recalling the blast made him feel down. It reminded him that despite what the kid does, it always comes at the end. The cruel twist in the loop. "It's what makes the kid try other means of escaping. Like trying to do things differently, only help some of us, try other ways of doing so...or outright killing us all."
That moment, Frisk came out of the shop, smiling and greeting the temmies that moved in around her.
"That child? Killed you all?"
"A fair few times. The merciful attempts really heavily outweigh those darker attempts but still...she has. Out of frustration, despair, whispers of others. Each time it's one thing or another. Once she did it because she was simply bored. Got little bit of a god-like feel around herself as she felt like she could do anything she wanted. The reset reminded her otherwise...as well as me just dropping the act of not knowing when she asked me 'Do you remember me killing you all?'."
Frisk soon met up with them, with a temmie clinging on her head looking at them smiling away. "Hi Sans!"
"Heya kiddo. Just been looking after Raziel here. He needed a little 'tem' out from the little guys here."
That was the first time Raziel had seen a temmie give a death glare towards Sans before jumping off of Frisk and headed back to the others, clearly not a fan of puns. Frisk meanwhile had chuckled at it. "Heh. So now we're gonna head off and get through what's left of waterfall and see Undyne."
"She'll love Raziel. Probably call him a traitor monster and to face execution for his crime." He glanced at Raziel. "Just follow Frisk and leg it. She'll know when to go for it...oh! And don't be too surprised when you meet Mettaton. I mean, it'll be a heck of a shock to you that such things exist but it still relies on magic."
Raziel just took his word for it and eventually followed Frisk as they set off back into the caverns of Waterfall.
Leaving Sans to head to his next location, which, within several instances, he had arrived at.
A blank stone wall was before him, in an eerier quiet part of this place. The purple hue covering it reflecting from the ceiling…
He placed his hand on the wall. He was trying to sense for something. Anything. There had to be a small gathered point of energy related to the time crystals for them to have any effect on places like this.
But to his confusion, there was nothing.
"...Alright that isn't going the way I hoped. Had Gaster managed to find a way to hide even something like that?" He thought about it for a second. "Nah. Chronoa never figured it out so why would he?"
He stared at wall. But now he couldn't help but feel a terrible chill down his spine, as if someone was right behind him. He glanced to check and nothing was there, but there still remained that feeling.
He soon decided to leave it for now. He had other places to be and hopefully, Gaster might so happen to reveal himself in due time on this cycle of events. In an instant, he vanished.
In the other underground, Kain was standing where San was.
Besides him was Flowey.
Close them were particles of dust. Fallen monsters remains.
Kain stared at the wall before gently placing his hand on it.
"Hey uh, Kain? Don't want to rain on your parade but how the heck do you even know where you need to go?" Flowey looked up at him, baffled.
"I can sense something."
"What?"
"A calling."
Flowey just blinked before looking between the ancient vampire and the wall.
Kain slowly moved his hand away from the wall before pulling his sword out and impaling it into the stone wall with ease…
He was glad he held onto the handle of the Reaver, as that segment of the wall crumbled away, leaving a doorway into pitch darkness. Hoisting the sword back into its casing, he walked into the darkness, feeling something wrap around his left arm, glancing, he noticed the green roots and Flowey now there. "...What do you think you are doing?"
"I'm your friend remember? I'll come with you into this, place."
"Is it because you are afraid flower?"
Flowey slowly looked around at the endless darkness before them. He was heavily curious as to where this led never seeing it before, but at the same time he felt unwelcome and uncomfortable. "A little."
Kain was thinking of grabbing and throwing the damn plant back to the entrance, but then a whisper came out from the darkness, male sounding, echoey. "Kain of Nosgoth..."
Kain looked into the void he stood in for a few moments, looking in the direction his ears picked up the voice in before heading deeper into this place. The entrance slowly faded away as he and Flowey travelled. His footsteps were audible but there lacked any visible ground.
"Timelines are an interesting thing aren't they? How many branches can come from single small decisions, how many realities form out of it. Parallels, alternates, quantum...They are all results, yet one must always affect the main timeline. One must always occur."
"Yet even that can be altered. A fixed point in time the time lords were so proud of calling it could be violated. By the 'edge' of the coin, as you describe it. The moment a powerful choice can be made. When those around the moment are aware of what is to come, and what could be."
Soon, there was something ahead in the darkness.
A figure was standing there, in black, his back turned to Kain and Flowey. His voice was what they were hearing.
"Time patrollers are suppose to make sure people such as yourself do not attempt to alter these moments, yet here I stand. Interested by what you defy. Choosing to save you instead of allowing you to be altered by your worlds major change. You have changed a key moment in time, but there is something greater I know of that you must exist to witness. I saw it once, in the scrolls that show a future."
"What we call time scrolls show the past and present. They are created in the moments. The scrolls that show futures, known as elder scrolls, change their contents over time, but were created at the dawn of the cycle. No more beyond the selected few exist."
The figure turned around, looking at Flowey and Kain as they stopped before him. It's voice now clear to them.
"Kain. The balance guardian of one world. The bearer of fate to many others. I am Gaster, and I believe the future within the scroll of stars is one you'll find very, very interesting."
"You were the one who brought me to this, strange place." Kain looked a little annoyed at Gaster, whilst Flowey was now clearly showing he was unsure of what the hell he was getting himself into.
"P-professor Gaster...I remember you."
"Ah. Asriel." Gaster gave a smile, leaning towards the flower a little. "You should be thankful Kain has tolerated you up to this point. He is unlike Chara and Frisk and could have destroyed you without a second thought."
"You know, who, I am? Really am?" Flowey sounded really surprised at that.
"Of course. I was around when you and Chara went to the human world and came back severely wounded. That should've been the end of you both." Gaster turned away after straightening up, clicking his fingers.
The darkness disappeared, and now they all stood within an abandoned lab. There were damaged computers, cracked tiles on the ground, the ceiling held long since dimmed lights, the walls were covered in mould and rust.
Gaster walked over to the only working computer, it's dulled screen flickering. "But thanks to Chara that wasn't to be the case. Then but a few weeks after the incident on the world above happened and Frisk arrived."
"What did Chara do?" Flowey quickly asked.
Gaster looked back at the flower, before placing his hands at his back and looking at the wall beyond is old machine. "The boy found an altar. The altar of the deity us monsters followed before and whilst being cast in the depths by humanity hundreds upon hundreds of years ago. Do you know it's name, Asriel?"
"..." Flowey was clearly trying to think to it's previous life. "I know we once followed one and I vaguely recall praying once but-"
"Molag Bal. The tyrant who controls many monster-like species in this universe, including vampires." He faced them once again. "Chara found the altar and prayed for a way out for all monsters to get revenge on humanity, and should the monsters fail this chance, to damn all of them for eternity, specifically he said 'Molag Bals once-followers in the underground'. Molag Bal answered that prayer and thanks to it you were condemned. You had to live on by his will. Your dust carried your soul, and you took the form of that flower, whilst Chara was damned into the spiritual realm, unable to go to the Lifestream nor find peace in the Farplanes. Only two exceptions avoided this fate. Myself. And Sans."
"You said Vampires, yet I do not recall any being that I follow as a 'god'." Kain now spoke.
"Perhaps you know him as a 'Daedra' or deity, the latter being the correct name. He often comes to those who worship him in many forms but uses one of those two for what he is."
"No. I have never heard of either."
"Interesting..." Gaster thought about this for a moment. "Ah. Of course. You didn't have much of a choice in the matter did you? I vaguely recall your history. Mortanius, the necromancer. The pillars of Nosgoth. Each pillar controlled by a Aedra and a Daedra and granted a mortal champion."
"Now you mention the word Aedra."
Gaster smiled a little. "Aedra and Daedra are words used far more commonly in this universe then the word deity. In this universe you have the eighteen deities who control most of what is going on. The nine 'kind' deities, named by many mortals as the Aedra and the Nine Divines, and the nine 'evil' deities who are called the Daedra and the Old Gods. The pillar of balance, the one you are the champion of, is controlled by both Talos the Aedra and Molag Bal the Daedra. Molag Bal ensured you would become what you are whilst Talos had protected and watched the previous champion...Ariel, wasn't it?"
Kain nodded. "So I have been commanded by this, 'Molag Bal'?"
"Blessed by him Kain. He gives the power of vampires to others. Though I doubt you will want to thank him. He wanted you discarded as the countless times you had to fight fate have showed. Between him and the other Daedra who took an interest in your life being brought to an end, I can imagine you might be out for their blood."
The ancient vampire frowned. "And I suppose you want to help in that endeavour? Is that why you brought me to another world away from Nosgoth?"
Gaster motioned with his hand to Kain to come and stand besides him at the computer as he reached into his black coat that he wore...and produced a time scroll, a light purple aura surrounded it. "I want to escape this realm you've now entered. The only way was with you using the Soul Reaver to bring that wall down. Your sword has the ability to break boundaries. Time crystals only can allow me brief openings before I am dragged back into this place as a price for what I had to do."
Flowey was now fully interested. "What's that you got there?"
"A scroll of time. Of this place and that one moment. To let you understand what must be done to let all of us truly escape this nightmare." With that, he opened it up showing the inside of it towards Kain and Flowey, a white light slowly glowing brighter and brighter out of it, as the story within began to unfold.
Gaster stood within hot labs.
Alarms were blaring out across the place.
He stared at the giant screen before him.
Missiles, hundreds of missiles were launched into the sky of the world outside the mountain. Nuclear missiles.
He was typing away at the keyboard, trying to find a way, an answer to his questions.
"We have so little time...So little time! The crystal won't grant me anymore! I can't save the humans but I have to try and save those here! There has to be a way to improve the barrier!"
He yelled out in fury as nothing worked. There was nothing the systems on this place could do to avoid the certain coming storm of death. He was panting, pulling out the same scroll that was showing this past.
"Chronoa…Why must we let them die!? I was born here! I won't let it happen!" He tossed the scroll in fury away from him, the paper unfolding as it hit the ground as he focused back on the computer, hoping to find one last way out.
He didn't hear the heavy footsteps, the darkening shadow as it was cast over the scroll, a purple aura suddenly appearing over it as a light blue, three clawed hand reached down and picked it up. The echoing, demonic voice though had stopped Gaster in his tracks. "You want a way to save them, servant of Hermaeus Mora?"
Gaster spun round, raising his hands towards the figure, light blue energy forming.
There stood Molag Bal, his menacing height towering over Gaster, his icy blue eyes staring him down. A bipedal beast that is a mixture of both reptile and mammal, a long spiked tail and a fanged filled mouth with two large horns coming from his cheeks.
He slowly brought the scroll forward, as if offering it back to Gaster. "I have one offer for you. Take it or wait for the death of all those you cherish."
Gaster lowered his hands with hesitation. "Molag Bal...You still torment them do you? They renounced you."
"All but one. They offered me blood in exchange for power. A human child now dead, trapped roaming the spectral realm. The deal was that all those here are to suffer life beyond death for failing to take revenge on the humans of this world. With humanity aiming to destroy itself, I see no reason to keep the deal. But watching your desperation makes me feel...generous."
"You are not generous person, Bal." Gaster grabbed the scroll off him. "A liar, trickster and conqueror explain who you are."
"Ah, but time is short and your hopes will soon be dashed. Here is my offer: Pledge yourself to me, and I will enforce the barrier created by the men over six hundred years ago, and all those who live here will be saved."
"I require details."
"You don't have time."
"Amuse me."
Molag Bal clenched his fist for a moment before easing it, his eyes locked on Gaster. "They will live a secluded life, but any attempts to break the barrier will end in time being placed back to this moment, when the bombs hit. The barrier, and this offer, will be terminated when a living follower of my own passes through the barrier. A proof that only those who obey my will are able to survive."
"So I simply need to walk through it once the radiation passes."
"A small catch, you will not start here, but somewhere more difficult to escape from within this underground realm. Now make, your, choice."
Gaster smirked. He knew this place inside out. There was no where he didn't know of. Escaping will be simple enough. He placed his hand into the talon of Molag Bal. "I agree to the terms of your offer, master Molag Bal."
"Good...Good. I always like to take away my rivals best and brightest. Hermaeus Mora will not forgive you for your treachery. He will make you pay once you leave."
"I simply used him to improve my knowledge. He was not worth much to myself, like you."
"Hmph." Molag Bal stood back as the ground shook violently around them. "I shall take my leave. Enjoy your time here, Gaster."
In a click of his talons, he vanished in a white light...revealing Sans nearby, having come in to the labs soon after Molag Bal and having heard the deal.
He was clearly pissed off beyond anything. "Gaster! You betrayed us!"
"Sans...When did you get here?"
Sans pulled out of his pocket a time crystal. "Chronoa sent me back when she suddenly noticed a change in the timeline!" he aimed his other hand towards Gaster, palm outstretched as appearing close to him, forming from a grey dim light was a dragon shaped skull. From it's mouth a white energy beam began to charge up. "She told me to destroy you!"
"Its too late Sans. I've saved them all."
"If I destroy you I might be able to revert what you've done! You may be a fellow monster from this planet but I'll do whatever it takes to keep the timeline stable!" The dragon skull fired it's beam as Gaster quickly raised his hands up and fired out his own two small light blue energy beams...before a blinding white light covered them and the whole underground.
When it died away for Sans and his eyes adjusted, the ground no longer shook, all was settled...and Gaster was gone, only too late did he realize the deal dragged him off to somewhere that was far more difficult to get away from then he expected…
Gaster closed the scroll. "I was placed here, in the spectral realm with my own little patch of land, a computer that allowed me to see the mortal realm, to curse my mistake of dealing with that Daedra. For the last two hundred years I've been watching and making numerous attempts to leave, to fulfil the bargain and destroy this entrapment I've placed us all in, a life never ending and forever looping as someone will always try to leave."
"...Frisk...Chara..." Flowey realized.
"Chara cannot fulfil the requirement. A living follower is needed. Something I have never told the brat. All he could do is convince Frisk to do what he wanted. Frisk is an outside unknown to all this. She fell into the mountain as the bombs hit and the barrier was enforced. She past through it as it changed to the new condition...No doubt greatly effecting her and giving her, what she must perceive, as a power to reset things and keep living. I've long since figured out that it's merely because she is connected to the barrier, each time she died it was seen as someone trying to pass through, so everything would be restored back to before."
"...So you needed a living follower. And by that-" Kain figured it out.
"I remembered you. I recalled the scroll of the stars. I knew you carried the blood blessed by him. I knew your time was running out thanks to the state of your world. I recalled when the fixtures would be tampered with. That's why I started reaching out to you. It took a very long time, and to my annoyance, used up what energy that was stored in my time crystal. It could only grant me temporary visits to the mortal realm and making it go beyond this world took it's toll."
"And so you brought me to here. For the sake of escaping, and for that scroll's future you said of."
"…" Gaster walked away from them both, stopping a good distance away before raising one hand up. "On one side eight golden stars guided by four golden feathers and a singular golden crystal, shaped like that of a heart." then he raised his other hand. "On the other, eight silver stars, guided by four silver feathers and also a crystal shaped silver heart."
He slowly brought his hands closer. "And in the middle, a light teal coloured gem. A symbol of life waited for them."
His hands returned to his sides. "I recall the words whispered to me through the scroll, it's voice faint and distant but each word still reached me;
As the Multiverse begins it's descent into destruction. Eight golden stars will come from the four, and eight silver stars will follow.
The stars will follow each a god.
One will bring stability. Hope for a tomorrow.
Another will bring life, though short and soon entirely forgotten.
8 messengers will guide the stars.
And all will meet at the last core…
and only one god's prayer will be heard at the fifth, as the four begin to fade."
Gaster glanced behind him at Kain. "You are one of the stars. You are one of the golden ones."
"A Prophecy? That's all you relied upon for sparing me beyond this place? Who is to say I wish to allow that to pass? Who will tell me that is the best choice where I have defied those who have spoken such to me before? I will decided what paths I will take. As I have to be the scion of balance in Nosgoth, whilst returning it to the rule of vampires." Kain scoffed at Gaster as he began to head back to the hole he made to come here. "I have freed you, and now I must move on and make this barrier vanish. I have a world of my own to go back to."
"I shall accompany you from afar." Gaster began to follow the vampire, who stopped and glared a little at the monster as he stepped outside the entrance.
"For what purpose?"
"To try and convince you otherwise. Also to repay you for freeing me. I have no other option than to end this barrier, so, we are both heading to the same destination."
"..." Kain then looked to Flowey. "And you flower?"
"I...I don't know now. This is all so different from anything before." It was clear his happy-acting demeanour wasn't going to come back now. "Golly. To know this was all because of Molag Bal. I..."
"Don't waste my time. A simple agreement or a swift departure will answer my question."
"Asriel." Flowey looked over to Gaster as he talked. "You have been condemned to this form for a long time, only gaining moments of freedom to be trapped down here. Perhaps there is a way to resolve that, if you are interested. I have a few ideas that will require the labs in Hotland."
"...Alright. I'll stick around." Flowey then untwisted his vines off Kains arm and flung himself to the purple ground of the cave, quickly rooting himself in. "But I'm gonna watch from afar too. If this is all just some crazy mad route that ends with nothing I don't want to get any hopes up."
With that, he buried himself underground disappearing from view. Kain stepped away from the entrance, noticing a difference in the feeling of the place compared to the emptiness felt inside the hole in the wall.
Gaster slowly stepped out. To him it was like stepping out of a freezer into a heatwave, the air and all around felt completely different to what his been in for the last few hundred years, taking a few deep, slow breathes. "Ah, the mortal realm. How I've been waiting to come back and be alive again."
"I shall leave you to taking your time remembering it." Kain walked away, heading deeper into Waterfall and to Gasters amusement, the right direction for Hotland.
"Farewell Kain. I hope you will be able to deal with the one true obstacle in your way here. The head of the Royal Guard."
"NGGGGAAAHHHHHHH!"
Frisk was dodging left and right like a pro. Smiling a several blue energy shaped spears flew by her, holding a small blue spear for herself to deflect the odd one that she seemed to know she couldn't avoid.
Raziel was...surviving, knocking away spear after spear with the Soul Reaver and taking a few swings at their attacker, who was easily parrying each attempt. Though granted, Frisk asked Raziel to take it easy on their enemy before the conflict started.
"We do not wish to fight! Cease this pointless combat!"
"You're with the human! You should know what that means for us! NOW HAND HER OVER! NGAAAHH!"
The wraith soon found himself blocking the main spear their attacker carried, glaring into the singular eye of none other than Undyne.
Neither of them noticed Frisk was slowly making her way away from the fighting, heading towards Hotland.
"So what made you turn on us huh?! Did the human go 'Oh please mister monster I just want friends! Please look after me?'. Like she tried to pull with everyone else!?"
Raziel shoved her away, only to leap back to avoid a hail of spears shooting down from the ceiling. "We are at a mutual agreement! Your companions accept the child!"
"She's messed with their heads like she's done to yours! A good butt kicking will sort you right out! NGAAH!"
'What is with that annoying battle cry of hers? Not even the human remnants of Nosgoth were this grating to me.' Raziel briefly thought to himself before finding he had to fend out another round to spears.
He rushed at her swinging the Reaver again, with her giving all she had back at him whilst he forced himself to hold back and avoid getting angry enough to kill this creature and move on.
But Undyne was no quitter.
Raziel soon began to notice this as they didn't stop.
She wouldn't stop.
Her spears were going left right and center, stabbing into walls, the ceiling, the earth. Didn't matter where, so long as it was wherever Raziel tried to go.
Maybe it was because he was different, or maybe it was because he was the first real challenge she's had in ages.
But the fact she completely focused on him now and stopped looking around for Frisk was becoming a major problem.
He just focused on the task and hoped Undyne would sooner or later call it quits as their battle continued on, with her each and every time saying to him;
"THIS TIME I GOT YOU! NGAAH!"
She never did, but she was confident the next one would work.
It led to them both eventually getting company, still failing to notice, of Sans and Frisk.
Sans was standing near the kid with a hot dog, whilst Frisk was nibbling on a slice of butterscotch cinnamon pie, both watching the show of blue lights flickering around and Raziel's impressive wall climbing and jumping skills.
"So Kid? You like your new friend huh?"
"Mm hm." Frisk had a mouthful.
"Ya think Undyne's gonna get him eventually?"
"Mm mm." Frisk shook her head.
"Probably right, Undynes way of trying to get to the 'point' with those spears isn't helping."
Frisk was smirking.
Eventually, things did calm down.
But not the way Frisk expected it to.
Raziel had reached the end of his tether. He had one too many close calls with the spears and Undynes declarations of victory being imminent angered him. The next time she threw her spear at him...He dived down on her, smashing her head in the chest with his spare talon knocking her flying and slamming into the ground, and before she could recover and stand she came to a dead stop staring up at Raziel.
His Reaver was directly in front of her face with him looking down at her.
She focused her power and made three spears appear around him, ready to fly down.
He gave one warning. "I will strike you faster than those will strike me...and unlike you, I have died and returned before."
"Ohhh kay Raz, you can chill out now." Sans called out to him.
"I don't think that would be acceptable. If I turn my back to her, she will strike."
"...Uh oh." Sans started to panic. Frisk quickly rushed over to Raziel.
"Raziel! It's okay! Undyne can be a friend to us!"
"Excuse me!?" Undyne looked bewildered at that. "Friends!? With you!?"
Raziel glared at Frisk. "I have grown tired of this game child. I cannot trust this one and I have been patient with so many before."
"Please don't kill her!" Frisk demanded as Undyne looked at the child.
One of spears pointed to it.
"GOTCHA!" Undyne called out as the spear hurtled towards Frisk, something she noticed a little too late.
The Reaver caught the spear, knocking it away as it shattered apart, the green glow of the blade reflecting on Frisks face...before it swiftly moved away and was brought down on it's next target.
A faint wind blew through the cavern...as monster dust was scattered across the floor.
But near Raziel, his presence made something slowly appear. A small faint orb, blue tinted. Floating there above the monster dust.
Sans knew what that was.
A soul. Only made visible under certain conditions before they descend to the Lifestream. Raziel was one such condition.
He felt that hunger now. He needed this from that exhausting stand-off. Raziel moved the cloth from his face with his hands, showing the lack of a jaw, and a small black vortex appeared in the gap between him and his clothing.
The soul floated there for a small time, before it was dragged into the darkness and vanished. Raziel only a strong sense of satisfaction from consuming that soul, his spent strength returning to him fully as he placed the cloth back over his face.
Frisk was stunned. She just stood there, not moved since the spear came at her. Staring at the fallen remains of Undyne.
When Raziel turned towards her, the Reaver disappearing…
She ran. She fled to Hotlands.
Sans just slowly shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment as Raziel was about to run by to chase after Frisk but he stepped in front of the wraith to halt him. "Let her go Raz." He looked up at the figure, looking a little sad now. "The kid didn't know you. She probably forgot that while she's done it so many times, it's all new to you."
"I saved her and this is how she reacts?"
"She wanted everyone to make it. Undyne had been a real good friend to her over the cycles. It's a shame we won't get the chance to see that this time...and, perhaps, the last time. That's why it hurts more for Frisk. You might be the answer to us all escaping...and Undyne won't see that now."
Raziel went quiet. He just looked ahead, past Sans. The skeleton guessing he was reflecting on it. "Hey. Why don't you come back to my place for a while? Let the kid handle Hotland for a time. She'll probably cool off by the time she gets to the Core."
"Will she be alright?"
"The kid can handle everything down here." Sans placed his hand on Raziel's arm. "Here."
Raziel just felt...everything fly past him, in very brief, very small flashes of images. Then he found himself standing in the living room of Sans and Papyrus' house. He quickly spun around, dumbfounded by the sudden change of scenery. "How, how did you?"
"It's a technique I have. Don't worry about it." Sans walked over to the couch and sat down, leaning back and relaxing. "I'd say give the kid about 3 hours. You wanna watch some TV?"
The wraith looked at the glowing machine box, but wasn't interested. "I would rather be alone for a time."
"Alright. Nice spot near the river up north from here. Usually quiet." Sans closed his eyes. "I'll come find you."
He heard the footsteps, the door opening of his house then closing shut. Straight after Papyrus was heard from his bedroom calling out. "Sans? You're back home?"
Sans answered him. "Yeah. Been a real busy time in Waterfall."
"How did Undyne do with the Human and the other one?"
"...It left a lasting impression on her once the dust settled." Sans mentally kicked himself 'WOW man.' "I wouldn't bother giving Undyne a call. She said she needed to pack and take a vacation to recover from the battle she had with them. Said she'll call you when she gets back."
"Oh okay! Maybe we should get her a welcome home gift later for when she gets back!"
"Yeah...sure."
Sans felt himself start to drift. He was trying to think of a way to eventually break it to his brother that Undyne won't come back…
He bolted awake, moving off the keyboard of the computer of his basement.
He knew where he was straight away. Kain's version of events.
Sans got himself away from the computer for the moment. The jumps were getting jarring to him. He decided he'd head back inside his house. No need to check on where Gaster should be now as he did it in the other timeline.
As he opened the door to the basement and closed it behind him stepping into the snow, he noticed a post it note on the door. "Hm?" He looked at it, and his body quickly went cold.
Sans.
Gone to help Undyne. Couldn't leave without being a part of the Royal Guard.
-The Great Papyrus
Kain stood at the end of the bridge, staring past the deep ravine before him, for waiting for him at the other was the head of the royal knights, her menacing helmet showing her single eye through the visor as she stood ready with her blue energy formed spear.
He simply stood there, The Reaver in hand. His hair blowing lightly in the wind, as was hers. "So you must be the one who has been trying to strike me from the shadows. If that weapon is anything to go by."
Indeed, since his encounter with Gaster, his encountered Undyne three further times in her attempt to strike him down to no avail.
The voice that answered him was clearly pissed off, gritting through her teeth. "You murdered everyone you've met. You slaughter them without a thought. What kind of monster are you?"
"I'm one that your people have little chance of fighting against. I am a master of vampire kind. You are just a guard. Step aside." He took a step forward.
Without hesitation she quickly readied her spear in defense. "Sans warned me about you. I have no qualms in striking you down but I demand to know why you do this! Why do you just kill!?"
"Because this world holds little value to me, guard. There is nothing here I wish to keep and so far, all you have proven is to be an obstacle in my path to escaping." He took another step forward and as he guessed in his mind, the guard gripped her weapon tighter. He knew one final step would begin the fight.
"I'll stop you!"
"You can try."
He took the last step needed, and ran towards her sword held high.
She yelled out and charged, raising her spare hand as she ran towards him and made several spare spear appear around her and fly at the vampire, who easily avoided each one before she had to use both hands to use her weapon in defense, blocking the Reaver coming down, then from her left side, then right as Kain kept to the offense.
Before he allowed her to take the attack, thrusting her spear at him now which he simply avoided batting the weapon aside and punching her in the stomach with enough force it made her double bent over before he quickly moved around her.
She dropped her spear as she felt the twisted blade slice through her armor with ease, as well as her skin and flesh. It was clearly sticking out of her stomach as she looked down, her helmet falling off, rolling on the bridge before dropping down into the chasm below.
He roughly pulled the blade out, allowing her to fall to her side twitching and curling up as the cold feeling of death began to take hold.
"You were the head of the royal guard. If you fell this easy, then there is no one left to stand in my path who can provide me with any sort of resistance." He said with a tone of disappointment down at her.
"But, but I'll stop you!"
Undyne knew who that was, it alone made her snap out of her acceptance of death. Looking behind Kain, she could see Papyrus standing there, trying to look angry and determined.
Kain didn't bother to look. "I warned you skeleton, did I not?"
Papyrus wasn't allowed another word in.
Kain tightened his grip on his blade and as he spun around, allowed it to horizontally go through the air.
Leaving Papyrus with a visible slice through his lower chest, as he stared in shock at Kain...before he turned to dust, all that was left was his scarf that was blown away into the chasm, into the darkness.
Kain felt a little relief from doing that, placing his sword in it's carrying brace, before walking towards the other end of the bridge.
"Y-You just won't stop. Will you? You'll just keep, keep killing them all. P-Papyrus didn't deserve that. None of them deserve what you do!"
Kain looked a little surprised, turning back around to find Undyne on her feet, the pink blood of her species dripping on the wooden planks from the hole she had, her hand covering it. "I could feed on you if you wish for death to come more quickly."
"I, am not going to die. Not now." Undyne was now standing tall, letting go of her wound, eyes shut. "Not when you exist 'vampire'. Your kind is unforgivable, and if I let you go now, you'll feed on everyone, not just monsters, but humanity as well. But I won't let you!" Her eye opened, her face showing new strength and energy within her. "I know everyone is looking to me to end you! I know everyone fears you! I know that I, Undyne-"
Kain rushed at her again, aiming to simply plunge his weapon back into her stomach to end this banter.
But in the midst of his charge, Undyne was bathed in a white light, blinding him before he found his weapon being halted.
A blue spear had appeared, halting it dead in it's tracks as the light faded, Undyne's armor blackened, growing larger and mightier, a massive white heart embedded into the torso where the wound once was, her pauldrons spiked and vicious looking, the eyepatch she had burned away showing a glowing blue hue within the eye socket which was burning like a flame.
"-Will strike, you, DOWN!"
Kain roared out. He struck the spear aside and slashed her torso twice in succession, slicing through the armor and causing spurts of pink blood to gush out. But she smiled, summoning a dozen blue spears around her before kicking him back away from her as they launched towards him, making him use the Soul Reaver to deflect each one into the darkness around them.
The vampire quickly raised the sword up to the sky as light blue electricity formed from it's tip, swirling down the blade across his arms and shoulders before he pointed his spare hand towards Undyne and unleashed several energy bolts towards her, the burning sensation of each one striking her caused her to stumble a little as trying to block them only made the energy coarse through her spear, yet she still stood strong after, as Kain was before her, using his talon to slash at her face, blood spraying onto his arm as her face was mauled by it.
She laughed madly at his attempts to take her down and headbutted him with enough force to stun the vampire for a moment taking a step back. Then she felt him plunge his weapon into her.
He gave a little smile, before it turned to anger as she wasn't buckling this time, instead swinging her spear and causing a green energy curve to come out of it and send Kain back across the bridge, cutting into his arm and chest and causing a spray of his own inner liquids as he smacked into the wooden panels, breaking a couple with his back before he forced himself on his feet.
"What manner of sorcery is this..." He rushed towards her, and launched himself into the air, flying over her as she fired off a wave of spears, each striking the ceiling above as he landed a distance behind her, turning around and charging sword ready.
Undyne had turned to face him and was met his weapon with hers, halting the sword once more, his intention as he used his other talon to aim towards her wounded chest, and her blood quickly began to flow out of it into his mouth as he drank, making her step away, feeling weaker and weaker as her blood left her body.
But as the last droplets seemed to leave her, with Kain standing looking victorious...she still was standing. Looking at him like all he did was annoy her. "Tha, that all you got vampire?" readying her spear again and making ten more appear close by to her.
Kain was once more forced on the defensive, feeling a couple of spears reach him, one of them went through his left arm and another stabbed into his right leg before it dispersed.
He fell to one knee, looking at Undyne as now as a new blue light source filled the place. Like a great wall surrounding her, hundreds of energy spears were at the ready as she aimed the one she held towards him, ready to throw it as it become brighter with a mighty aura covering it. "This is where you FALL!"
Kain quickly got himself up from his weakened position as Undyne tossed the weapon, with every other spear flying along with it towards him.
They all past by Kain's last attempt.
A shrouding mist was in his place as the spears smashed and began to cause the collapse of the bridge, causing Undyne to leap high into the air backwards and crashing down onto the stone pathway leading to Hotlands, her feet leaving indent cracks on the ground.
She watched as the mist seemed to be running, as if escaping the collapsing bridge before it too jumped high up.
Reforming into Kain as he held the Soul Reaver in both hands, aimed downwards towards her as he cried out "VAE VICTIS!"
The blade landed square into her head, the hilt touching her skin as she went rigid, Kain standing on her shoulders for but a few moments before leaping past her, pulling the blade out as he went.
She remained there as Kain landed turning around to meet her again. But this time, he knew he had reached victory. Undyne, her armor and herself, appeared to be slowly dripping to the floor, her body unable to maintain itself any longer. He figured out what kept her alive to this moment. It reminded him of Malek, a man who had his soul forced in a suit of armor, able to keep fighting till he his very being was unable to hold it together. "A soul as powerful as yours living in a place filled with fools, able to push on beyond a point of death. It's kind've sad."
"He—heheh...heheheh. Maybe, you were right. Maybe there, is no one else that can give this much, of a resistance. But they'll try, heheheh, they'll try. And with their actions, this, world will, live on..."
With that, as her legs were no more as her arms melted down, she turned to dust.
Kain walked away heading to his next stop in the Underground, but not before he had spotted someone that had been watching this entire thing, giving them a moment's glance.
Sans was across the way. He had watched the entire thing happen. He had planned to rush in and strike Kain as he was occupied with Undyne, but the fact she was incapacitated at first so quickly, then Papyrus came at the worst moment led to him just staring on. His mind wrecked with grief as he saw the scarf disappear down into the depths. He only snapped out of it as the bridge collapsed.
No matter how many times his brother died, it hurt. Especially now, as this could be leading to the final chance they have at getting out alive. "P-papyrus..."