Putting things simply, this chapter represents very important reasons to why Act Two is called 'Souls'. Heck, it's even in the title.
Asgore: And it's not for very good reasons, either.
Toriel: No, they're actually...very terrible.
Asriel: It's something we need to stop before it's far too late.
And wow, readers. The further you read this chapter, the more you'll wonder how in the world Alvina was born from a family like hers. Most of them are outright despicable people and deplorable scumbags. But, as one reviewer and one guest observed, only the brother, Adam, has an actual chance of turning himself around. Whether he takes it, or someone else ruins it, that remains to be seen.
Chapter Start!
Frisk was busy making sure that Alvina was alright, while the both of them could see Chara facing down against Adam. The former's arm was pulsing with darkness from underneath his poncho, and the latter could surely sense the power being exerted from the child, and had a hunch on what kind of power he was exerting. While it wasn't his main priority right now, and wished to get his assignment over with as soon as possible, that didn't mean that he couldn't be the slightest bit curious about it. So during their brief pause, Adam decides to comment about it.
"You seem to have quite an interesting type of magic there...I don't suppose you know what it is...?" Adam said mysteriously.
"I don't see what's so special about darkness/shadow magic. I just have it." Chara said, still looking slightly bored.
That's all he sees it as? Well, it looks like he genuinely doesn't know what specific type of magic those two go into. And yet despite his true magic type, he looks rather calm. Clearly angry, but much calmer than I expected him to be. That's...that's never happened before. Before Adam could ponder it some more, he jumped up as shadowy spikes were shooting from the ground and attempting to impale him. He landed a few feet away while keeping his eyes on him. "Wow. You don't waste any time, do you?"
"In a situation like this, I can't afford to." Chara said simply and seriously, before swiping his claw around and slashing at Adam, who jumps away and barely avoids him. Adam can definitely give him credit for one thing, Chara was taking this as seriously as he should, even though he's a mere adolescent. Though that just makes him all the more cautious around him as they fought. He pushes Chara back with a powerful gust of wind, which was surprisingly crimson in color. Chara stood his ground while placing his shadow arm in front of him, not giving an inch to him. While Adam prepared another spell in the making, he jumped again seeing how Red briefly tried blasting him with one of her Delta Guardians firing a purple blast. "What's this? You're both going to fight me?"
"A very high majority of the human's souls in this city are being sucked out of their bodies...were you expecting us to fight fair in a dire situation like that?" Red declared, her eyes flashing silver before slashing at Adam from behind. Adam swiftly avoids it by dodging under the slash, and avoids yet another slash from Chara's claw. Both of them were avoided without much effort, though he did have a very close call in regards to Chara. Though the moment he ducked too low, Adam ound his feet stuck to the ground. He looked down to see them covered in purple webs.
"Whoops! Fingers slipped! My bad!~" Muffet said while slightly sticking out her tongue.
Red and Chara were both quick to strike at him again, and he swiftly avoids them both simultaneously. Though he found himself briefly overwhelmed when Red slashed swiftly at his legs before he stepped back, too late to realize; a magic bomb gathered in her other paw and struck him in the chest. The following blast sent him flying far, before he recovered himself via crimson winds stopping his momentum. Though once his momentum stopped, he swiped his hand as a large amount of green energy shot out and exploded around them, which they were all able to swiftly dodge with good enough timing. Throughout all this, Frisk was in a bit of a bind; he switched to Green Soul Mode, keeping the unconscious humans bodies protected throughout the battle.
Adam watched as Red gathered a magic bomb, which began growing in her paw. He was prepared for it this time, however; once she tried throwing the magic bomb towards him, a brief flash of green surrounded his entire body. A few seconds afterwards, the attack grew twice in size, and then was unceremoniously returned to sender. Red's eyes widened as her own attack was sent back towards her; the blast was immense, and she flew out of the smoke and landed on her side, her sword slipping out of her paws for the moment. Frisk's gasped slightly as yet another green shield surrounded Red as well, giving her time to recover from the blast.
Muffet was of course worried about Red's condition due to having her own attack reflected back towards her, before she turned her head towards Adam cautiously. "Okay...ranged attacks are a bit of a bad idea, Chara. He's catching on, and will send them back quite ruthlessly."
"Alright then. Limit the ranged attacks. And I don't suppose he can manage that multiple times in a row." Chara narrowed his eyes as he swiftly moved towards Adam, who began shooting more green blasts of magic towards him. Chara's eyes flashed crimson as his claw slashed each of them clean away whenever they came too close. Though on the very last one, he pulled his darkened claw back and catches it. He jumped forward while Adam readied another attack, though Muffet sneakily shoots purple webbing at his hand, briefly interrupting him and leaving him exposed to Chara's attack. He thrusts his energized claw into Adam, and what followed was yet another blast that sent the both of them flying in different directions. Though they each landed on their feet soon afterwards, with their cloaks just slightly ruined from the clash. While Adam was visibly weakened, Chara still looked ready to continue.
He's a durable one... Adam thought as he eventually gets back up while gazing at Chara's stern glare. "Aren't you going to ask me why I'm doing this?"
"You're trying to kill your little sister, who is actually pretty decent for a human. Therefore, I'm not interested in your 'why', only that you're going to pay for it." Chara replied simply, and there was absolutely no indication that he was joking. He stretched his shadow arm outwards as it extends far towards Adam. He raised is hand as a green magic spike briefly rose and cuts the dark appendage in half. Chara narrowed his eyes as said arm retracted and returned to his side for a few moments, before it quickly grew back to normal...or as normal that a shadow composed of dark magic can be.
Oh. It grows back. That's good to know. Adam thought sarcastically. He refocused as Chara raised the same arm as black flames gathered within it. He raised an eyebrow, didn't he already see how he can effectively reflect projectiles...? Before he knew it, Chara tossed the darkened ball of fire towards Adam. He prepared himself to reflect it with his green shield; only for his eyes to widen as the flames immediately dispersed an inch before him, and Chara was revealed to be right behind it, with his normal hand reared back. He swiftly punches Adam across the face, lifting him off his feet and sending him flying into the building wall behind him, cracking it slightly. He grit his teeth from the pain while inwardly sighing. It was a decoy...
In the meantime, Alvina and Frisk were protected behind the latter's green soul shield, and were both kept safe from the outrages of the battle around them. Frisk was still focused hard on keeping the unconscious humans protected under other shields. Frisk was really exerting himself in order to keep all of them safe. While they were watching something rather surprising on the side.
Axel, in an enlarged, flaming feline state, was giving Temmie a bit of a hard time. However, Temmie was managing surprisingly well, having stretching one of her arms around his leg and swung him upwards in a surprising degree of strength, before slamming him back down with a feline hissed from the pain, before recovering and standing back up with a growl. The burns Temmie suffered from touching Axel didn't harm her too much, as she mostly grabbed the few places where Axel wasn't covered in flames.
Temmie was slightly surprised when Axel rushed towards her and smacked her away with a large paw. Since she was still smaller than his current size, it wasn't too hard to send her flying. But she recovered well, her limb stretching around a nearby lamppost and swinging her back towards Axel. She expanded her paw and slams it into his head, sending him rearing back and roaring from the intense pain.
"Temmie...I had no idea she could be so strong...nor did I think that stretchy powers could be such a big deal...' Alvina said quietly as she watches Temmie battle with the flaming cat, seemingly not caring about any burns she received from attacking him. Was Temmie truly that protective of her? Because before now, she's never seen this intense side of her, not even when she breaks from her usual speech pattern to be serious. And then she transfers that protectiveness into power...
Temmie ran towards Axel on all fours, whom was more than prepared to slash her apart with flaming claws. Though Temmie narrowly avoids each strike that came her way, almost appearing to be casually moving around them due to how flexibility she was with her current magic. Though she took some bits of damage at some point, it wasn't enough to push her into serious danger. Though at one point, she did retaliate by briefly inflating right before impact, absorbing some of it and reducing damage. She expanded her body for several moments to really send them flying back and across the road. She returned to normal size as she still glared down Axel. She completely understood that the feline wasn't doing any of this out of malice towards them, he was just doing what his master ordered. And what his master ordered...even he seemed to be hesitant about what he was doing.
...Still, that was no excuse for her to let them harm Alvina. She would allow no such thing to happen. Nowhere close.
Temmie leaped again, as Axel stared up towards her and breathed multiple balls of flames towards her. A few of them grazed her cheek, and a bit of it singed her hair, undoing her bun and overall undoing it completely, allowing most of it to come undone and flow freely. She pulled her paw back and expanded it to large proportions. She narrowed her eyes, her hair flowing in the wind.
Sorry. You're not a bad kitty, so I'll make it quick.
The large fist crashed down on Axel, creating a large crater and shockwave throughout the street. The others had to shield their eyes for a few moments due to the smoke that it kicked up. Temmie's arm soon turned to normal, and she landed on all fours while sighing tiredly. In the crater, Azel lies on his side in normal form, his eyes turned into slightly comical X's. Adam was very briefly worried about him until he saw his chest rise and fall, then he sighed in relief. Temmie didn't kill him. Thank goodness.
Temmie sighs as she turned towards Alvina. "Alvina...it's time to leave. We need to get back to your office and confront your folks. They're no doubt the ones behind this, so we need to go and stop them."
Alvina was more worried about Frisk than anything that might involve her folks. But she understood the importance and nodded. Temmie dashed off while Alvina followed her closely, heading towards her building to confront her parents. Adam saw Alvina running off and slowly getting out of his reach. Though with Chara currently blocking his way, there's no use in trying to catch up with her or Temmie. That...and he honestly, truly didn't want to hurt her. So he chose not to give chase.
Acacia let him know how much she appreciated his lack of action.
Adam was distracted by his focus on Chara, so he was unable to defend himself as a shot of magic pierced into his back and through his lung. There was a brief lack of air within said lung before he fell forward on his face, surprising both him and Chara. The latter slowly looks up towards Acacia with narrowed eyes. Shooting through your ally...?!
"It appears I will have to handle this issue myself. Adam, you shall be dealt with another time." Acacia said as she held her hand outward, and a ball of green magic gathered within said hand. The moment they saw it, the other's felt the threat.
It's much stronger than anything Adam threw...!
The ball of magic shot out towards the ground. From an aerial view, a long, large trail of green flames scattered down the street with destructive force, so much of it that Frisk's shields went down almost immediately. He fell on his side while everyone else was scattered about, covered in severe green burns. Frisk coughed a few times as green smoke surrounded him and the others. Though once he fully regained his bearings, he noticed that Chara in front f him, his claw outstretched, though he was burned a bit was well. He used a bit of black flames to shield them both. Though he slowly fell on one knee so he could catch his breath.
"Frisk...are you alright...?" Chara said quietly. Frisk slowly nodded towards him. He then smiled. "That's...that's good...that's very-" He wasn't given time finish, as another green blast separated the two of them down the middle. Though the damage was much more clear on Chara, while Frisk was mostly knocked aside. Chara groaned a bit as he tried to stand back up, but he was stopped by being knocked on his face.
"You don't have the luxury of worrying about anyone other than yourself." Acacia said as she waved a wrinkled hand towards Chara, and green flames began badly scorching his back and causing him to grunt in resistance. How unprecedented. A person-a child, no less-who wields Fallen Angel magic, actually retaining his empathy for others...his continued existence is too problematic if it's really true. As the green flames burned at Chara's back, she applied an extra spell towards his body, of more like a curse...greatly magnifying the pain that the burns were causing him. It immediately broke through the amount he was able to grit through, and he actively began screaming in agony.
Chara...! Muffet thought desperately as she tried lifting herself up from the debris that landed on her, and was very close to succeeding.
Time to die, child. Acacia thought as she began intensifying the curse she placed...until she was blasted in the chest by a strong purple blast. Bring forced back a bit, she was able to recognize who was responsible for the blast: Red, having recovered due to Frisk's assistance. Speaking of Frisk, he made it back to Chara's side while turning towards Acacia.
"...Tell me. Why?" Frisk asked while pressing soothing white flames onto Chara's back, working to heal the damage done to his back. "We haven't done anything to you. We've been minding our own business for the most part...so why?"
Acacia narrowed her eyes as she stood up, brushing herself off. "Ebott has become something the world around it cannot afford to tolerate, especially since the people were foolish enough to allow my former granddaughter Alvina lead them and let monsters join them without so much as a struggle. Therefore, it shall be erased with great prejudice and merciless intensity."
"...I see..." Frisk said softly. Someone casually talking about killing her granddaughter after badly injuring her grandson for not following orders were not signs of a person he can properly reason with. Frisk wished this wasn't the case, but multiple cases of his loved ones being constantly in danger instead of just himself...it was really wearing down on his patience.
"'...I'm not done with you yet..." The remains of the group turned, especially Muffet, to see Red rise from the ground after being mostly healed by Frisk. She raised her head, her cowl pulled back, leaving her head exposed. "Attacking our home...harming your own kin...spitefully stealing people's souls for the heck of it...?"
"Hm...?" Acacia turned carelessly.
"...I'm going to cut you down. No ands, ifs, or buts about it." Red snarled, her eyes shining silver with her pupils being turned to dangerous slits. "A wolf will do whatever they must to protect and preserve their home. For threatening both it and everyone within, you're about to see that dedication, first-hand!"
Sans was getting quite a feeling for how Tempest might fight if he ever shifts into Assassin Mode or if he's forced into dropping whatever restraints he has...and he was sincerely wishing that he wasn't. Tempest, by all intents and purposes, was an Assassin, and a highly trained one. And combining that skills have regards to how swift and silent his deadly precise wind magic is, Tempest becomes significantly more deadly as a result. It didn't help that whoever his puppeteer was him basically turned off his empathy. No matter what he thought, Tempest was going to his hardest to try and kill them.
Tempest disappearing in a swirl of wind and then basically going completely silent, made things significantly harder for all of them. Therefore, Sans, being the most savvy of the core group when it comes to pragmatic fighting to compensate for still being the weakest of them-even Alphys was overall much more powerful than him at this point-, offered to handle Tempest himself. He requests for Undyne to handle the much stronger Lunar. And in the meantime, Papyrus, Alphys, and Asriel would take care of whatever disturbance in the area was causing human souls to leave their bodies. The two of them would keep the dragons at bay while the other three would handle the more pressing matter.
So Sans currently stood alone in the forest, his eye sockets closing with his hands in his pockets. He takes a deep breath, and sighs as he feels the wind blowing around him, lightly rippling his unzipped jacket...and he was already able to tell that it wasn't normal wind.
here goes.
His eye sockets flashed cyan for a few moments, and a blade slashed down on his skull without the slightest sound being made. Though Tempest tilted his head as Sans disappeared without really exerting too much magic.
"heh. well how about that. now i see why people might like usin' afterimages." Sans commented as he was standing next to a tree. Tempest had little time to turn as he jumped up, avoiding a storm of bones rising from the ground attempting to impale him. Though truthfully, Sans was simply aiming to incapacitate tempest as soon as he possibly could, though it was obvious it wouldn't be happening without the both of them getting hurt, given how ruthless they both tended to be with dangerous opponents.
Tempest slashed his blade again, which launched a sharpened blade of wind which sliced horizontally through several trees. Sans used another afterimage to thoroughly avoid it; though Tempest was prepared this time, having swiftly turned around and threw something with the help of his wind. Sans briefly gasped as he felt a throwing knife embed itself into his side. Brief flashbacks from very unfortunate timelines flashed before his eye sockets for a moment, before he simply pulls the knife out and tosses it aside with a bit of effort. The seriousness of his situation renewed itself as he did his best to avoid Tempest attempting such a thing again.
This seriousness shows itself via summoning a Gaster Blaster and having it fire at Tempest, after distracting him with a few barrages of bones. And the blast that follows afterwards, he was able to avoid with a helpful boost of speed via wind magic, and he slashes at Sans again with another slash of wind. Sans teleports out of the way this time, and right behind Tempest. He thrusts his hand forward, Tempest's soul briefly flashing blue as he was sent flying from the burst of telekinetic force that even rippled the ground below them. Tempest was sent spiraling back before he regained his footing. Sans took a breath, having exerted much power just to send Tempest flying...but then he sees Tempest also trying to catch his breath.
ah, i got it. like me, heavy enough attacks can do some really heavy damage to a lightweight like him...those attacks actually LANDING, and not having the stamina to use them too repeatedly, however...
He began moving even faster, manifesting multiple clusters of bones and launching them relentlessly towards Tempest, who began slashing away at them. In a way, Sans could see where Tempest was coming from. There was no doubt that Tempest had to do some morally questionable things in order to keep himself and his sister alive while their cousin was doing who knows what at the time. Sans was well aware that being pragmatic can help in the long run when connected to desperate situation. Moral qualms didn't apply to them once a situation becomes desperate.
Though unlike Tempest, he didn't have the poor excuse of being in too much depression to try earlier, and that lead to long-lasting emotional consequences that still haven't completely healed.
Nonetheless, he was intent on finishing this quickly and rejoining the others. So without further fanfare, Sans summoned two Gaster Blasters and fired them simultaneously towards Tempest, who swiftly dodged, before promptly turning invisible. Sans was still able to quickly guess what he might attempt to do though, and summoned a bone in front of him, grabbed it, and swiftly jabbed it over his shoulder...right as a golden sword stabbed straight through his side, while the bone pierced Tempest's chest, barely missing his lung.
One second earlier, they would have simultaneously killed each other.
"...wow. we're fighting so dirty that the dirt below us is shakin' in disapproval." Sans weakly snickers, which caused Tempest to mentally groan while his expression remained dull.
Sans was fighting for his life; that didn't mean that he couldn't still be cheeky.
In the meantime, Undyne was busy competing with Lunar. And it was quite the feat that Lunar was able to pull after she said this:
"...Heh...hehehe..."
What is the meaning of this, Lunar...I suddenly lost control of your body...! That definitely didn't sound like he was in control.
Decided to amuse your little sense of power for a little bit. I got bored of it once I saw this one. Lunar mentally said while cracking her knuckles, as well as her neck. You can do whatever you wish to do...but this one...she's one who's definitely going to be worth my time. With or without magic. Though just for kicks, I'll have her believe that you're still in charge...
Undyne was unsure Lunar just standing there as she toned down her magic, but she was soon surprised as she suddenly leaps towards her and punches her dead in the face, making her step back in shock.
"C'mon, ya sexy fish. Let's see how hard you can hit~" Lunar growled playfully, her eyes gleaming with excitement and her blood pumping.
"...If you insist." Undyne said slowly, before she clenched her fist and leaned forward, jabbing Lunar hard in the cheek, pushing her much father back. Lunar immediately knew that this would be somewhat worth the trouble. Undyne had undeniable muscle to her. Which means Lunar can indulge her battle-lust without having to use any magic.
The prospect made her grin widely as she wiped blood from her muzzle, before charging towards Undyne and lashing out again, with her bare fists. Undyne, while fully aware of how serious a situation everyone was in, realized Lunar wasn't going to let her go so easily. So she played along, reacting to her punch with one of her own, forcefully parrying it with increased aggression on her part. They both pushed against each other from said parry, and the ground cracked beneath them. Undyne's hair flowed with the resulting wind, as well as Lunar's tattered long-coat. When things somewhat calmed down, Lunar charged at her again, and punched forward. Undyne caught her fist, though the force was enough for slight smoke to rise from the impact.
"Tell me. Exactly what drives you as a warrior?" Lunar asked as the two of them briefly jumped away from each other. "It's already apparently clear that you're a powerful warrior who has her own lust for combat. I don't want to hear you denying it, either. I can see it in your eyes, and sense it within your fists...you're a fighter at heart. You deeply enjoy the feeling...so what's with all of your restraint...?"
Undyne paused for a moment, even as Lunar charged at her again with a spinning kick, one she blocked with her arm. "Yeah. I can't deny that my heart and soul get racing at the prospect of a good brawl, like they are now. However...Asgore taught me a couple things about curbing that habit of mine."
"Why would you want to curb your fighting spirit...?"
"There's a time and place for indulging myself like that, mostly when no one that I love, nor the home that I protect, are in any serious danger." Pressed while grabbing Lunar's leg, spinning her twice before throwing her across the forest for several feet, before the dragon realigned herself and landed easily on her feet. "Fighting for me, I'm more sporting about it nowadays. Once upon a time, I kind of used to be like you. But I learned some self-control. There's a time and a place."
"Is that so...?" Lunar hummed as she rushes Undyne with a flurry of punches. Undyne was prepared to defend, but most of them were feints that she didn't see until she felt herself kicked in the side of her head, lightly making her stumble before she raised her arm and blocks a knee that would have smashed into her face. "Do you really seek to limit your fighting potential so much because of these other things?"
"I DO have a life outside of fighting, Lunar." Undyne said as she throws the dragon off, watching her land on her feet. "I have a job, I have father figures, I have best friends, a sweet and adorable girlfriend who is many times smarter than me, and a little brother figure whom I also teach to fight so he can come to the defense of others who can't fight for themselves. As a Prince, that trait kinda grew within him, along with his sense of responsibility."
"And I suppose he was being truthful when he said that you taught him that it was okay for him to hit women?"
"When they're a very legitimate and dangerous threat to him or others, then yeah. Because not fighting back against people like them just because they're women is stupid."
"Finally, we see eye to...eye...on...something..." Lunar paused a little bit.
"Don't worry, I heard it too." Undyne deadpanned. Lunar shrugged and charged at her again, in which Undyne parried another kick. "Lunar, just how the hell were you raised to think that fighting is everything, and that it was the only thing that mattered?"
"To some cabals, I was crafted to be a living weapon of war. Thus, I was not allowed to be anything else aside from someone who relishes in battle. And I've ALWAYS been like this. All they've done is enhance it!~"
They didn't let you grow up to be someone other than a ruthless fighter who cares only about the fight and little else...what kind of bastards...? Undyne thought as she and Lunar clashed fists again. it would have to wait, they were still battling intensely. Though it was becoming more apparent that someone intended to separate the Dragon Trio on an emotional level...
Meanwhile; Alphys, Papyrus, and Asriel were following the trail of human souls to the source that was pulling them forth. Though obviously with Alphys being the least athletic of the three, and not really having much stamina for that kind of thing, had to be carried a bit by Papyrus so she could actually make it there without wheezing and panting for breath every couple of seconds. Sometimes it was a bit sad to see...but it was also kind of funny. She still proves to be better than Sans in this regard. Once they've managed to reach the location they were going in, Papyrus gently sets her down s she can begin walking on her own. Though, she did need a moment...
"Hah...hah...geez...this isn't...the time...to be out of breath...Alphys..." She muttered to herself as she kneels on the ground slightly, facing it while she kept her glasses from falling over. A bit worried, Papyrus and Asriel looked towards her, wondering if she's alright.
"UM...ALPHYS? ARE YOU DOING OKAY...?"
"Yeah. We can help you along a bit more..."
"No...I'm fine...just gotta catch...my breath...ah god my sides...whew..." Alphys wheezed, before she takes a deep breath and stands up a bit more as she brushes off her skirt. She adjusted her glasses and zipped her jacket, before she readily nodded. "Okay, I'm good. So let's keep going." Alphys pointed forward and pushes through a few bushes, going into an open field. Though once she actually got there, her eyes widened as she and the others looked onward, then upward. "W-What...what is this...?" Asriel and Papyrus briefly shared her look of shock once they've seen what was before them.
What lies before them looks much like a container of sorts, a clear tank container pointed directly upwards. And within it, they could see the souls pouring it, filling up close to the brink. A small console was attached to the side of it, constantly flashing. A green wall of magic surrounded the container as well, and what appeared to be an elderly man in a wheelchair stood in front of it, glaring at the trio. Atherton. Before they could demand who he was, Asriel took the moment to sense the human souls within the container.
"They feel so...so...pained. It's like they're calling for help..." But nobody came. Asriel glared at the elder before him, his sclera turning dark. "You...what are you doing to them?!"
"Harvesting." He said far too easily. "This is a thing that we've been doing for years. Centuries, even. And further down the line, it only becomes easier to do so." He lightly tapped the container behind him while gazing at them. "A majority of the monsters that scattered after the war would be more than willing to teach a few curious humans how to do this sort of thing, and the smarter ones designed machinations on how to make soul-harvesting easier and quicker."
"Soul...harvesting?!"
"Of course, many other locations in the world have been subject to soul-harvesting. But for some reason, the strongest of them mostly originate from Ebott. So having it isolated made things easier for us in regards to reaping the human souls and converting them into power...power that even other humans can absorb."
Alphys felt cold, very cold. Humans absorbing the souls of other humans...someone made that kind of impossibility possible? How? And why? "...and...there's a way to make this process faster and more efficient? Who in the world would do extensive research on something like that?!"
Atherton narrowed his eyes. "You Ebott monsters already know him...Darkness." Alphys and Asriel's eyes dilated from this. "And the most amusing part, he did that kind of research just to see if he could make it possible. And he certainly did, while damning the consequences."
"WHAT...DARKNESS DID RESEARCH ON THAT...?" Papyrus said, in disbelief. "BUT...DARKNESS SEEMS SO NICE AND POLITE...WHY WOULD HE..."
"This was in his mad scientist days, before he regained his sense of morality. But by then, it was far too late for him to stop others from abusing his research. Now...now there are certain human mages like myself, who are capable of feats like this." Atherton waved his hand once again. Asriel realized his intentions form what he just explained, and immediately throws a red fireball towards him. A green shield formed around him and dispersed it. By then, three souls have left their containment and phased right into Atherton. The ground quaked from beneath him as the souls gradually empowering him, a menacing magic aura surrounding him as he grins darkly. "Do you see that? How willingly they give up their soul's power to further someone so far beyond them...?"
"Why you...there's nothing willing about this!" Alphys clenched her fists.
Atherton slowly stood up from his wheelchair, due to the human souls granting new strength to him. Asriel senses this, and mentally noted that it wasn't anywhere near as big a boost as monsters get from absorbing human souls. But still...it was immense enough to be considered a threat. And that was just from three. Atherton then held out his hand, a scythe coated in green flames appearing within it. He clutched it while holding it towards them.
"Two of you will die. As for you..." He looked towards Alphys. "...Heh. I'm sure there's someone desperate out there who's willing to buy someone of your physique..."
Why am I being singled out?! Alphys thought anxiously...she definitely did not like the implications he was making towards her at all.
"...Regardless on how it's been made possible, the fact that you're actually putting it into practice..." Asriel narrowed his eyes angrily, colorful flames surrounding him as he glares at Atherton. "If this continues, Ebott will suffer permanent damage...we're putting a stop to it, RIGHT NOW."
Asgore, Toriel, and Gerson definitely felt something strange while on their way to city hall. And it wasn't simply because of the numerous human bodies around them that tipped them off either, and it also wasn't simply that the monsters that were surrounding them were doing whatever they could to try and resuscitate them, with no success. They keep the bodies alive for as long as they could. But without their souls, they wouldn't last very long at all. Which meant that they would need to find the cause of all of this and put a stop to it, much sooner rather than much later. Though after focusing their senses, they could properly see that the human souls were indeed heading around in at least three directions. Towards the forest, towards one of the city blocks, and towards city hall itself...
They pressed onwards, the gathering of souls becoming more noticeable. Though once the three of them got close enough, they would see Alvina standing in front of the building, holding Temmie in her arms, and Flowey popped up beside her from below ground. Closer inspection reveals that the city hall is surrounded in a green shield, which might have prevented any other monster from getting inside who wasn't Flowey. He could easily burrow his way under and appear on the other side, but he knew better than to try. He didn't stand a chance against whoever was inside, he hated to admit. Most likely, he was simply checking on them to see if they were alright, his own boredom keeping him form being inactive.
He caught sight of the two, and rolled his eyes. "Oh FINALLY. Some reliable back-up. maybe now we can make some actual progress throughout this stupid crisis we've somehow gotten ourselves into. We're an official magnet for trouble these days. There's no avoiding that fact now. Just, how does this kind of crap keep happening to us?" He then thought back to his own memories regarding Sans and Undyne, and he immediately retracted. "Actually, nevermind. I think I know why."
"What...why would they...?" Temmie began, not speaking in her usual way, as the situation was still far from over, and her usual speaking patterns wouldn't suit it at all.
"There's no time for that now." Flowey shook his head as he glared towards Asgore, Toriel, and Alvina. "You three especially need to get in there and stomp out whoever's in there, because they're likely the ones trying to mess everything up more than they already were."
"I do sense a strong degree of magic within..." Toriel said while rubbing her chin, staring at the green shield surrounding the building. "We will need quite a bit of brute force to shatter it and make our way in."
"That's not a problem for me." Gerson stated while holding out his hand, his hammer manifesting within it. He takes a deep practiced breath; and with a powerful heave, he thrusts his hammer right into the shield. It stood no chance against his raw strength, and the front of the shield promptly shatters into pieces, while the rest of it remained mostly intact. Asgore makes his way through without the slightest delay, and Toriel soon follows. Alvina thinks about what to do for a few moments, before she shakes her head and follows the Dreemurrs into the foundation, Gerson not too far behind. Temmie soon follows suit, while Flowey sighed relucantly, before burrowing underground. He did his part here, but now he feels like he's needed elsewhere.
Alvina was the first to see into the building after briefly passing her friends, before she eventually sees that most of the staff were in the same state as the other humans outside. Alive, but their souls were judging by how utterly pale their skin was, they wouldn't last too much longer. Toriel estimated at least forty-five more minutes until they actually die from their condition. Unlike Flowey, they're unable to survive without one.
Toriel immediately raised a wall of flames to protect them, and something crashed against the fire barrier soon afterwards. Asgore wasn't fazed in the slightest, while Alvina covered her ears while protecting Temmie by holding onto her. Toriel soon dispersed the flames after the first attack towards them ended, and the three of them looked towards the ones responsible. Toriel glared at them from where they stood, while Asgore stood by them. Alvina stood her ground while Temmie stood in front of her, hissing slightly.
"That Adam...I can't believe he could mess something as simple as this up." Azami said after lowering her hand. Alastair stood by her, with the main office mostly in shambles. "You were obviously supposed to be dead by the time this day was done. I suppose I'll have to lecture him about the importance of following orders down to the letter."
"...Is that how you've been treating him while you were away?" Alvina asked with narrowed her eyes. "I know he isn't exactly the best brother in the world...in fact he's actually kind of cruddy. But you've been hounding him all these years to be like you two? Even when he 'attacked' me, I could tell how much he hesitated to go through with it. It was clear how much he didn't want to go through with this, and yet you're making him."
"He shouldn't have had any problem killing you immediately. By this point there's hardly anything between the two of you that resembles a bond. By this point you two are complete strangers." Alastair said. "There's nothing between the two of you anymore, he shouldn't have hesitated to kill you."
"...I'm appalled." Toriel said, straight to the point. "You two...are really Alvina's parents? She's utterly different from the two of you in more ways than I care to observe..." She started while looking around in the room. "And I can see that you have close to no consideration for Alvina's belongings...nor for Alvina herself. To put things in a bit more perspective, for first impressions, you two are really striking me as the kind of people Alvina should avoid."
"There's no need to worry about that. We wanted to avoid her...but circumstances have forced us to interfere after so many years. It doesn't matter what she believes or what she thinks. She's officially become a detriment because of her allowing you lot to crawl out from your mountain and begin causing problems for others around you. You've taken little to no consideration for how your actions affect us." Azami said while glaring straight at Toriel.
"That's enough of that. We were doing perfectly fine before more of you began harassing us." Asgore cuts in, glaring back at them with heat gradually rising from his body. "Tell us, why do you feel the need to antagonize us? We haven't done anything to you when we first exited the Underground. Not in the least, we were more than content to simply stay within Ebott and live in peace. You all are the ones who struck first. And due to the danger it brought to innocents as well as our loved ones, we couldn't simply ignore it."
"That's exactly what you should have done. If you had, you wouldn't be having these troubles now." Alastair reasoned while holding his hand out towards Alvina. "Troubles that she is ultimately responsible for, due to letting you settle so easily in Ebott in the first place. Thus, a majority of the responsibility mostly lies upon her, allowing such atrocities to befall her city because she let trouble-making creatures like you settle where they shouldn't."
"Don't you dare blame her!" Toriel shouted as she raised her paws with flames intensifying within them.
"Yeah! Why are you placing all of that on me?! I'm trying my b-" Gerson blocked another blast from Azami with his hammer the moment that she tried killing Alvina the second time. Even Alvina was balking at this. "Really? REALLY? You've seriously tried to murder your own daughter TWICE in a row?! Has the practice of dark magic made you into bigger jerks than ever?! How long was this a thing, anyway?!"
"The further your existence continues, the more it aggravates us." Azami said simply. "I'm stamping out your life before you can annoy us further."
"You will not harm her." Toriel states strongly as she throws two simultaneous fireballs towards Azami. Both of them were immediately deflected by the appearing Knight Knight and her mace. Toriel was briefly surprised by this, while Gerson looked to the side to see Madjick right next to Knight Knight. The both of then pushed Gerson back and chased him down. Toriel and Asgore looked back towards him, but another green barrier prevented them from following. Toriel briefly saw their eyes; their actions were not their own.
Azami reached out as a glowing whip manifested in her hand. Though Toriel, under closer inspection, it looked more like a magic whip-sword. Her eyes widened as Azami swiftly whips forward, the bladed whip flew around her and wrapping around Toriel tightly. She winced as the blade-whip both restricted and cut into her arms and sides. She narrowed her eyes and pulled her back and around the room, and smashing her into the wall. Asgore's eyes widened as he reaches out to help her, but Alastair stops him via a powerful push of flames. Asgore grits his teeth and extiinguishes them with a clutch of his paw. Once they cleared, phantasms of him surrounding the monster appeared with menacing expressions.
"Our family has been practicing black magic for certain generations. And our ancestors have been assigned specifically to Ebott to reap the strong souls from there." Alastair's phantasms all said as they each shot forth blasts of green lightning towards him at once. All of them made impact with small green explosions, and the last one knocked him on his back with a grunt. "The humans here have long-since outgrown their purpose, and their usefulness. So we will be harvesting ALL of their souls, there will be no survivors. And Alvina...your unforeseen election as Mayor stopped that tradition in it's tracks. That cannot be tolerated."
Alvina narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute...THAT'S what my predecessors did before me, isn't it?! They had some twisted tradition to sacrifice some of their own citizens souls to whoever wanted them?!" She shouted in outrage.
"Ever since Ebott's City overall foundation. Their souls have been offered to pacify the outside magic cabals, using them as means to enhance their own powers, or simply for profit and display." Azami said while her whip-sword tightened around Toriel, making her wince. "And every couple of years, the number of offered souls increases with the better efficiency to harvest them."
Alvina blinked, then she clenched her arms while Temmie looks worriedly towards her. "Are you tellin' me that they willingly allowed Ebott to be used as a soul-reaping ground just to keep those guys off their backs?! And they allowed those numbers to climb to entire generations from there?! And almost all of them were kids!"
"Children's souls tend to be far less resistant to harvesting. The stronger ones tend to survive, but barely. Frisks is one of those lucky few...he will have to be dealt with."
"Like hell you'll hurt Frisk..." Asgore bared his fangs angrily. "Souls are the cumulation of one's entire being...does that mean nothing to you...?!"
"To many outside, souls are seen as nothing but a means to an end." Azami stated while walking up to Toriel. "Ebott has nothing to offer but their souls, like they're crops to reap, to help further the agendas of others outside. You consume those crops or sell them to others. Souls aren't much different, there no reason to make such an uproar about them." Her eyes widened as Temmie stretched her arms outward and grabbed Azami's arm, pulling on her. She turned towards her with aggravation. "The vermin dares to lay her filthy mitts on me..."
"You're a terrible mother and an even worse person!" Temmie shouted in outrage.
"Unhand me!" Azami shouted as she through Temmie off with a blast of magic. Temmie was thrown against the wall from the blast, and landed on the floor with a pained whimper. Though she still forced herself to stand, albeit with great difficulty. "Horrid freak of nature...you refuse to accept your place..."
"I already know my place, and it's by Alvina's side." Temmie shot back, shaking. "She deserves so much better than all of you...the only possible exception that we could make is her brother...you left him with no means of escape...you shouldn't corner him like that...mistreated people get unpredictable when their tolerance runs out..."
"Enough!" Azami untangled her whip sword from Toriel, and shot it towards Temmie. The tip sharpened and shot towards her faster than she could dodge with how hurt she was, so she braced herself. Though both of them were surprised when Alvina placed herself in-between them. The whip sword pierced straight through her abdomen and out through her back, which made her fall to her knees...but she stil hugged Temmie regardless. Azami was gritting her teeth at this point, restracting her blade. "Alvina! Must you oppose me at every single turn?!"
"I...really don't think...you understand...how this works..." Blood dribbles down from both her mouth and her wound, though Alvina didn't care at the moment as she was knelt down before Temmie and gently hugged her, petting her head. "This here is my secretary...the best I've ever had...I'm not letting you hurt her...any further. And that's the end of it..."
"Fine. Then both of you will perish." Azami said menacingly as her whip sword sharpens further and she glared darkly towards the both of them. "Alvina. Your soul is not worth harvesting. I'll personally crush it within my hands."
"You shall do...no such thing..." Toriel muttered as she stands to her feet, her paws on her knees.
"Alvina is the one who allowed monsters to have a chance in Ebott. We owe her a great debt of gratitude." Asgore supported, a raging inferno briefly incinerating Alastairs weaker phantoms, giving him clear view of Alvina. "Your family line has been abusing Ebott, reaping their souls without their knowing, and the past mayors allowed it to happen without resistance. Alvina isn't like the rest of you, and she never will be."
"She may be a bit lazy, slightly slow to things, and tends to shirk her responsibilities to goof off...she's nonetheless one of the significantly better humans we have ever met. While you horrid lot...you're officially among the worst. How Alvina could have possibly been born into a family like yours, it's preposterous to even think about! The contrast is far too great!" Toriel glared.
"This twisted 'tradition' that's been forced upon Ebott, it ends TODAY." Asgore snarled.
"We will not be lectured by you. You have no idea about the enemies you'd be making by stopping this flow of business." Alastair said while barely avoiding the swipe of Asgore's trident.
"I grow tired of you. All of you!" Azami said as she and Alastair stood side-by-side. "There's nothing more to discuss between us. All of you are going to die. But before you do, we'll place you on your knees and make you watch, as we kill Asriel Dreemurr right before your eyes, and throw his dust into the wind like the forgotten memory he should have stayed as!"
Alvina and Temmie shivered from the intense amount of killing intent that radiated off of the two monarchs the moment her parents brought up Asriel. Alvina was fully aware of what happened to him as they trusted her enough to tell her about his first run at life tragically ending too soon. She's seen how protective they are of him ever since his revival, though they try to tone it down a bit. The mere fact that her mother just threatened to kill him, right before their eyes...
They really only needed to say one thing as a response to this. And to her impression, they said it simultaneously. They both held out their paws, and uttered one word with such quiet yet intense passion, that it made Alvina and Temmie shrink into a corner:
"BURN."
...Things happened here.
Soul Harvesting. Turns out shadier parts of the outside world practice it, and Ebott is one of the more major sources. Alvina's family line have been assigned to Ebott in order to sell the harvested souls or empower themselves...and they've been doing it for years. Darkness' research made it possible for humans to absorb other humans souls a long time ago. You can see how okay the Dreemurr Faction are with them actually DOING it, right?
Asriel, Asgore, Toriel: Not. One. BIT.
Yeah...you can see why Darkness might feel heavy guilt, right? He'll be needing a bit of reassuring after this.
Until next time, dear readers.