Took a bit of time for me to do this, but it's here. And with that, there comes a few major revelations. But here's a real-life one about me:
I've turned twenty years old.
I reached that threshold of age now. I'm sure I'll get used to that fact, but right now it feels really weird. Not a bad weird, the 'huh, this is a thing now' kind of weird. Confused but genuine acceptance is how I can best describe it. Ah well, I'm sure it'll be fine.
Also, my birthday starts off my Spring Break. Super Sweetness.
Chapter Start!
Frisk realized that he wouldn't accomplish much by lying down in the rubble for too long. He needed to recover quickly so he could act as quickly as possible. Frisk pushed himself up and stood back on his feet, panting slightly as he brought a glowing hand to his chest, healing whatever injuries he might have had. After that was taken care of, he shook his head and brushed himself off, as well as checking to see if his Golden Locket was alright, in which it was perfectly intact. He sighs in relief at this, as well as beginning to go over what happened briefly flashing the soul trait of Perseverance, tapping into it's skill of analysis.
He sensed a malicious presence within the city and decided to follow it, only to find Ratoveros standing on a roof. And after a brief scuffle, he knocked him back, and two other monsters accompanied him. Then one of them somehow acquired the souls of his fellow human adolescents, and Flowey promptly absorbed them all, immediately transforming into Photoshop Flowey, and shifting the entire city of Ebott into the Void almost instantly. He guessed that the citizens were currently freaking out over the sudden change in atmosphere taking a turn for the dark.
In short...everyone's having a bad time.
Frisk sighed at this as he shook his head. Well, there wasn't any use in standing around and gawking in awe, he needed to do something, no matter how small. He lifted his head and sensed Ratoveros once again, feeling a bit conflicted on what action to take. The large panther monster definitely did not look like he's interested in any talking. He didn't want to waste any time trying with him. Though Photoshop Flowey was something different altogether. So he decided to try anyway.
"Flowey...do you think we can talk this over between friends?"
"Haaaah!? You're actually tryin' to talk me down again, Frisk? Ya know how well that worked the very first time? Didn't do SQUAT!" Photoshop Flowey grinned madly. "Don't waste your breath! Just lemme have some fun and die for me!"
"I'd rather not..."
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT ATTITUDE!" Flowey shouted in outrage as he shot multiple vines out towards Frisk in an attempt to impale him. Frisk took a deep breath. A brief moment later, he as was able to jump out of the way of the vines and landing on another roof. Frisk was briefly glowing blue from an increase in speed via Support Magic. Flowey grunted angrily. "Damnit! Don't get all dodgy on me! You did that once already is no fun!"
"I'd rather not, thank you." Frisk said politely. "I've been impaled before. It hurts, so I'd rather not experience it again when I have a choice. And I choose no."
"DON'T GET SMART WITH ME!" Flowey shouted as he lashed more vines at Frisk, who gradually began dodging more and more vines, with his increased speed via Support Magic. Though at one point, he realized he won't get anywhere by dodging forever. So he took a risk and spread fire around him, burning away a few of the vines harmlessly. Flowey continued to glare while trying to hit him. "GRAAAGH! HOLD STILL!"
"I'd rather not."
"STOP SAYING THAT, DAMN YOU!"
Frisk didn't acknowledge it too much, simply choosing to try and be offensive, holding a fireball in his hand and multiplying it twice with Support Magic and throwing it towards the large beast. Flowey narrowed his eyes as he lifted his arm and blocked the blast, though there was still a very noticeable burn mark on it. He nodded in acknowledgement of his progress, though it was still nowhere near enough to defeat him. Still, he couldn't stand down now. Besides, as long as Photoshop Flowey was focused on him, he couldn't hurt anyone in the vicinity. Though if he got frustrated enough, that can change pretty quickly.
Dyra and Warkie, in the meantime, were watching from a safe distance, with the latter slightly worried. He turned towards Dyra, who was simply pushing up her glasses and analyzing the situation. It looks like things are going in our favor so far. Though given what we've heard about our enemy's persistence, the tides can turn extraordinarily quickly if enough effort is put into it...what a curious and peculiar scenario for that dedication to come to the surface. Still, it's not something we can't match up to. At least, that's what she's choosing to believe.
Ratoveros watched the very first altercation between them from atop the creatures head, though Flowey was way too into his battle to notice. Ratoveros soon looked around as he could see the destruction being spread throughout the city from both Flowey and his other subordinates. He then looked towards the skies, noticing that they were pitch black. And he also noticed that there was an empty energy floating around, feeling slightly heavy in nature. However, it wouldn't be too much of a bother. He simply acknowledged this as the 'Void' that the human Prophet spoke of. It was of no serious consequence.
"Hm...this is how things should be..." Ratoveros said quietly. ...This city has caused much more trouble than they could ever be worth. One insignificant city shouldn't be capable of causing so much trouble, and yet here they stand, still alive and kicking after multiple attempts to cull them. They continue to believe that they're in any position to continue their defiance... Ratoveros sighed. He's faced much more intimidating enemies than this sorry lot, and yet somehow they were able to hold out against obviously superior force...that was unbelievable, and it won't be tolerated anymore. Especially in regards to Shamir, Ribras, and Rasha. They belonged to him, and they were meant to die for him upon his command. And yet that was defied due to these minimal enemies from a city that no longer even registers on any other location's map.
That simply couldn't stand. He wouldn't allow it.
Ay any rate, he did have one thought: This was taking far too long. He needed this beast to destroy the city much sooner than this, and he was getting distracted by a lowly child. He manifested a magic arrow and bow, and began taking aim towards Frisk while he was busy with Flowey. It sharpened multiple times, and he narrowed his eyes, aiming for the child's heart. This has gone on long enough. There's no need for extended, insignificant distractions like this. Time t-
"NGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Ratoveros was interrupted by something rather shocking. Some crazy-looking fish woman manifested a glowing blue spear in her hand, raised it up, and jabbed it into the ground, and the spear extended and carried her towards the feline. And when she reached his level, he promptly received a hard boot to the face which sent him flying across the streets, tumbling a bit before he managed to ultimately landing on his feet. He looked up to see the crazy fish-woman land on her feet, her crimson hair getting a bit messy aside from the thick bang in front of her left eye. Soon enough, she slowly raised her head, and he saw the most bloodthirsty of grins he's ever seen on any woman's face.
Undyne.
"Fuhuhuhu...gotcha...you must be Ratoveros." Undyne stated with a manic grin as another glowing spear formed in her hand. "Let's see...being a jerk by bringing back something that Asriel would rather not revisit...being a jackass by outright attacking my home...being an asshole by mentally and emotionally tormenting my feline friends...and being a BIGGER asshole by currently trying to kill one of my best buddies. Yeah...you just keep cementing yourself on my official shit list. It's not enough for you to mess with my friends, now you gotta mess with my entire home! Repeatedly! And for what?!"
Rataveros stands up straight while gazing towards her. "You've been causing exponential amounts of disarray in a plethora of lower factions to several mid-level factions. And it's aggravating to hear how easily they're intimidated by an insubstantial group of beings like yourselves. The humiliation comes in when one realizes that lost of these annoying voices are born from my forces' failure to cull you without my intervention. But now it's become too much, and I have no choice but to oversee your destruction personally."
"Seriously? You're tired of those other factions whining to you about us and ya believe that the only surefire way to silence them is to take us all out?"
"They're apparently too frightened or too lazy to confront you themselves. I just want their constant mentions of you to end. You're all a passing fancy meant to be forgotten. Nothing more. Besides, the merit I'll gain from having put this persistent faction down for good will put those bothersome whispers to rest, as well as do wonders for my standing." Ratoveros huffed. "You only have yourselves to blame. Resist too many times and you'll only make yourselves a target. It would have better if you resigned yourselves to subjugation. and if not subjugation, then complete destruction. You weren't allowed to choose either."
Undyne grinned, though it was one of rage. "Fuhu...at the very least, I appreciate your upfront honesty. I can't really appreciate anything else about you, though." She then frowned. "You messed with us one too many times. No matter what, I'm taking you down!"
Ratoveros scoffed. "You seem pretty confident in your chances...allow me to crush them for you, fool."
"You're not crushing anything of mine, filthy furball! You give cute and fluffy felines an unbelievably bad name! And even more than that, you're just outright despicable!" Undyne gritted her teeth while glaring at the feline. "Me taking you out means that you're stupid petty attacks will end, and then maybe me and my friends can have some semblance of peace, however long that lasts."
"You'll never see that peace become reality, not as long as you all exist. It's better for you to accept your demise and spare yourselves the pain later. You don't stand a chance now, and you certainly won't stand a chance later."
Undyne grinned darkly. "Ya really think so, huh? Well then, guess we'll see about that!"
In the meantime, Frisk once again dodged more vines that attempted to impale him. Though he wasn't swift enough to avoid one of Flowey's pellets shooting straight through his arms and legs, then one of the large arms smacking right into him from behind, smacking him into the ground hard enough to crack, A brief cry of pain left him as he tried to keep it together.
"HAH! GOT ANYTHING TO SAY NOW, SMART GUY?!" Flowey cackled madly. "Ya really thought you had the upper hand? I think you're forgetting who's REALLY in control here, and that is quite obviously me! The souls aren't coming to your rescue this time! They're being very obedient right now!~"
"...Not yet..." Frisk muttered as he pushed himself back up, wobbling slightly before shaking his head. "I'm not...done yet...!"
"Oho! Frisky actually did manage to grow himself a backbone! Like that's gonna do you any good now!" The mouth on the beings body soon opened up, and a beam was charging up in the middle of it. "Congrats on your very first obliteration in a long time, by the way! I'm betting you MISSED this!"
"...No, not really..." Frisk muttered while gazing upwards towards the maw that charged with energy. And within an instant, the beam fired off, heading towards Frisk and giving him little time to react properly. He didn't shy away from the blast...because it's been completely deflected, shooting somewhere else within the Void, away from him. He found himself surrounded in a shield, which felt like stellar magic.
"Frisk...are you alright?"
"We know you wanna prove yourself, but you have to agree that you set your own bar a bit too high, don't you think...?"
Frisk looked up a bit as he could see his saviors. Asriel and Chara with their backs to him, not taking their eyes off of Flowey for a moment, knowing he'll take advantage. The large abomination gazed at them in a bit of surprise, before he cackled once again, bringing a slight bit of annoyance to Chara's ears. Asriel for one didn't seem to mind the noise, he looked more focused on the appearance and the overall fact that Photoshop Flowey was here at all. All he could say was that this was bring up more than a few unpleasant memories.
"Hey, Flowey. What the hell do you think you're doing, causing this much ruckus?" Chara asked, sounding and looking more annoyed than anything else.
"What do you mean, 'what am I doing?' Idiot, what do you THINK I'm doing! I'm bringing a lot of wreck to this sorry city! It's been so long since I've possessed such immense power, and it's all MINE! Why shouldn't I exercise it for a little bit via city-wide destruction? Doesn't that sound like fun?~"
"...Dumbass."
"EEEEHHHH?!" The baffled and insulted look on the screen from Chara's completely unimpressed reply was a thing of unique beauty.
Chara huffed, before he briefly turned around and helped Frisk up, noticing his wounds healing slowly but surely, seeing him surrounded in a green light after his soul flashed green. "Frisk. Are you alright?"
"I've been better, thanks." Frisk said with a slight smile.
"Good. You should stay back and recover while me and Asr-"
"No." Frisk shook his head. "I'm going to fight too, guys. This is something I need to do."
Chara blinked in concern. "Frisk...are you sure...?"
"Let him fight, Chara." Asriel said strongly, gazing up at Photoshop Flowey with narrowed eyes, his sclera going black and black markings spreading on his cheeks. "I'm just as worried as you, but Frisk has been training hard for so long so he wouldn't be a burden anymore. Even if it's against a situation like this, pushing him back will feel like a insult to all of his efforts."
Chara looked towards Frisk, who nodded strongly. "I can do this. Trust in me."
"...You know what? Why not? It's not like we're in a very considerable position to tell refuse. All the help we can get, we might as well take." Chara yawned and stretched, lightly rolling his flesh arm, while shadows gathered from his arm stump. "This is such a pain in the ass...and it's obviously going to get worse. But whatever; we'll just have to deal with it."
"That's...kind of a better attitude, I suppose." Asriel shrugged as he glared at Flowey. "It looks like we we'll have to knock some sense into you, Flowey."
"You're an idiot, my goodie-two-shoes half! I'm obviously the better one in every way that matters!" Flowey cackled while spreading his much larger cactus-like arms. "I've regained my status as a God! And you three are-"
"Can you boast a bit more quietly? You're hurting my ears." Chara rolled his eyes.
"Oh come on! You won't even let me finish!"
"We'd rather not." Frisk deadpanned.
"CURSE YOU!"
Asriel briefly looked to the side, with both Alphys' moving along, seemingly following Dyra and Warkie. He nodded softly. Good...while we're keeping Flowey occupied, Geno Alphys will proceed with her plan, and Undyne will take down Ratoveros. If this goes well, we'll be able to drastically turn this situation around. But then, Geno Alphys will... The thought greatly saddened Asriel, though he shook his head and resolved himself.
He didn't have time to worry about that. Right now, he needed to focus on his own battle alongside his determined brothers. He had full confidence in all of his loved ones, and this battle would also serve to greatly increase Frisk's own confidence.
Plus, they had to win. The fate of their city depended on it.
Sans, analytical as he was without giving it away, knew something was dreadfully wrong when he realized that the sky has gone completely dark, seemingly with no end in sight even over the horizon he could see. And the slight heaviness in the air didn't help matters. It didn't take too long for him to figure out where he was, nor did it take him a lot of time to realize why, as he could see a certain creature in the distance that Frisk encountered in a Neutral timeline. Taking this thought into account, he turned towards Parvos, who seem highly amused, gazing far into the distance with a slight whistle and grinned.
"Wow! I didn't expect them to actually succeed in doing it. What a surprise!~"
"What did you do...?"
"Remember what I just said before? My old man's willing to risk everything just to kill you all. Ya thought I was bluffin'?~" Parvos replied with a cheeky smile and a few claw taps to his forehead. "He's goin' all in with whatever he has within his disposal. And what he has is information he's been told. He doesn't care about the when, why, and how. Just what he can do right now."
"That rhymes!~" Muffet snickered, sitting idly by on a web.
"Muffet, can you...can you not, please...?" Red grumbled.
Sans didn't bother asking more questions first, he simply went on the offensive, with a Gaster Blaster blinking into existence by his side and firing towards Parvos. Parvos snickered in return, as shadows gathered around and formed into a monstrous cat head with dark violet flames. It was exactly what was fired in retaliation towards the oncoming beam, immediately canceling each other out and picking up smoke in the process. Sans narrowed his eye sockets as he heard the heavy steps of Dynamo, with Will swiftly moving towards Red. Moments later, within the smoke, he simply raised his head, and extended his arm to the side.
Parvos was standing right behind him. They were back to back, with Parvos holding a dagger near the skeleton's neck, while multiple bone sharps pointed at Parvos own neck. They stared in opposite directions, almost contemplating what to do next.
"you're not gonna pull your punches anymore...right?"
"I did say that...supposing you'll return the favor?"
"depends."
"Thought so..."
In the meantime, Papyrus was met with the rather intimidating Dynamo, who gazed down at him with folded arms. "Hm...you seem to be a user of osteomagic much like your brother..."
"THAT IS CORRECT! PARVOS REFERS TO YOU AS DYNAMO! THAT'S QUITE A NAME! VERY EXPRESSIVE IN SOME ASPECTS!~"
"...Expressive? Not exactly the word I would use to describe me..." Dynamo tilted his head quietly. "...Regardless of that, it appears that I am your opponent. Don't take this too personally...we are not given a choice in the matter."
"WHAAAAT? NONSENSE, WE ALL HAVE CHOICES TO MAKE! THERE'S NO NEED FOR US TO GO THROUGH WITH THIS. THERE'S STILL A CHANCE TO TALK THIS OUT IN A MUCH LESS CONFLICTING MANNER." Papyrus suggested. Though given the struggling look in the monster's eyes, he recalled important information he's been told before, and took the time to rethink the situation in a different light. "...YOU REALLY DON'T HAVE A CHOICE, DO YOU...? ARE YOU BEING MANIPULATED AS WELL...?"
"..."
"...I UNDERSTAND." Papyrus said quietly, his scarf flailing in the wind. "UNLIKE PARVOS, YOU DON'T FEEL OBLIGATED TO TELL ME ANYTHING YOU DON'T WISH TO. BECAUSE I FULLY INTEND ON DEFENDING MY HOME, WE WILL REGRETTABLY HAVE TO FIGHT."
"Hm." Dynamo hummed quietly, before he narrowed his eyes and unfolded his arms. Soon, his entire body was slowly becoming covered in stone, aside from his eyes. He didn't say anything more. He simply charged towards his reluctant foe, leaving feet imprints in the ground. Despite being quite large, that didn't make him any slower. Luckily Papyrus was able to respond in kind, hardening his bones before meeting Dynamo with a powerful punch. It was parried, but it ended up creating a circular crater around them upon impact. Eyes matched eye sockets as they simply gazed strongly at one another for a few moments. Appears that in terms of defense, our styles are somewhat similar. Harden our bodies for higher defense. Though while Dynamo used earth, Papyrus simply hardened his bones, evidenced by his body being slightly darker.
They both pushed away from each other, creating slight skid marks in the ground. Papyrus collected himself as he shook his gloved hand a bit. He did find a bit of accomplishment as Dynamo did the same. Both of their physical strengths were respectable, as they both nodded towards one another. Though it was rather clear that Dynamo still viewed Papyrus as an enemy, despite several cues saying that he really didn't like the position he was forced into.
Papyrus gingerly shook his head, refocusing. He could think about that once the fight ends and everyone is safe. Brother and comrades included. As such, he continued on with another approach. He raised his hand as three large bones manifested over his head. And when he thrusts his hand forward, all three of them burst into shards and propelled towards Dynamo in a scatter shot fashion. Dynamo huffed as his skin hardened with earth and he allowed the shards to simply bounce off of him.
A bit pitiful, they're not doing much damage at all. Dynamo pondered. He can't possibly expect to take the time to chip away at m- Dynamo paused his thoughts when he realized that Papyrus vanished within the storm of bone shards. He turned around slightly to see that Papyrus was right behind him, winding his arms back, which also carried a staff. Huh...he's much lighter on his feet than I expe-
WHAM!
Papyrus managed a very strong swing of his bone staff, hardening the staff enough to smack Dynamo hard enough to send him flying and tumbling, until he stopped and face-planted. Papyrus nodded in success at the hit, though he also hoped that Dynamo wasn't harmed too badly. While he wanted to be victorious, he also didn't want Dynamo too seriously injured, despite the feelings unlikely to be mutual. But even besides that, he knew that Dynamo wasn't a bad person.
He just had a feeling.
"...Your name is Papyrus, right...?" Dynamo slowly said, standing up and casually cracking his neck and his tail whipping a bit. "I'll be blunt. You're definitely more eccentric than many foes I've faced in the past. And you're undoubtedly the most powerful. Which says a lot, because we quite literally just started."
"PRAISE FROM A RELUCTANT ENEMY? A BIT UNEXPECTED, BUT THANK YOU!~"
"Hm. Unfortunately, I'm not like most of my comrades. I prefer to get things done as quickly as possible in order to reduce the suffering." Dynamo continued as the earth armor around him voluntarily collapses, confusing Papyrus for a moment. "You've obviously have my normal earth scales outmatched. So now I'll have to switch."
WHAT DOES HE MEAN BY THAT...? Papyrus muttered, only to be incredibly surprised as Dynamo's armor switched from earth to metal, giving it a slight sheen. "W-WHAT...?"
"I won't lie to you, I can't really do anything super fancy like my comrades. All I can do with my earth magic is give myself pretty strong earth scales. Drastically increased endurance, and much harder attacks."
"BUT THAT IS CLEARLY METAL, NOT EARTH!" Papyrus tried to counter, but it fell short once he remembered what exactly was used to make metal. Metal was a sub-attribute to earth, in the most basic of terms. So since Dynamo's primary magic is earth, which he mainly uses to make exo-skeleton armor, metal surely isn't that much of a stretch for him to have access to. "...THE GREAT PAPYRUS...MIGHT BE IN FOR SOME SERIOUS DIFFICULTY."
Dynamo smirked cheekily. "That's an understatement."
That was the only warning Papyrus received before he was suddenly sent flying across the street, though he was luckily caught by the nearby Ice Wolf, who held out his arms and caught the skeleton before he could crash, setting him on his feet, slightly dazed.
... CONFIRMED. THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS CERTAINLY IN FOR SOME GREAT TROUBLE...GREAT, I'M PUNNING OUT OF STRESS. CONFOUND IT, SANS...
In the meantime, Red was busy fighting Will. At first, she thought that he would fall relatively easily, until he two revealed to know the ways of the sword; he had readily parried one of her slashes, and was now busy in a sword struggle with him, face to face with sparks flying from the forceful grinding of the blades. Red narrowed her eyes, which have gone white with intense focus. Her feline opponent on the other paw, seemed relatively relaxed. Not what she expected at all.
"Hey there! Sorry about all this, but our options were very forcibly limited." Will smiled rather lightly, with a hint of anxiousness behind it as well. Red was unable to completely understand this feline's attitude and actions, which were quite heavily contrasting one another. She didn't ponder it too heavily, as they both pushed away from one another, landing on opposite sides while holding out their blades. "And I gotta say, you're a pretty effective swordswoman!"
Red's eye twitched a bit in disbelief. "Are...are you serious. You're part of some faction that's quite actively attacking my home, and here you are making light-hearted small-talk." She grumbled while her muzzle pulled back in a snarl. "Idiot! If you're going to be a part of something this serious, you can at least go all the way and act the part!"
"Hey now, there's no need to yell so loudly." Will said with a nervous smile while closely parrying another slash. "But like I said, our options are rather limited. We wouldn't be able to disobey even if we wanted to. And believe us when we say that we do."
"Really. You seem to be pretty invested in this from where I'm standing." Red grumbled as they once again clashed blades a few times, with her managing a slight cut across his cheek before he jumped away again. He didn't seem to bothered by it, though he did wince a bit while smiling.
"Sorry about that. It's not something I can really explain in detail. You'll just have to trust that I'm not really enjoying this whole invasion thing. Really, the boss seriously has to learn when to give up on his pride. There's a reason why pride is a deadly sin. So is greed. And he's got a seriously nasty case of both."" Will chuckled. "Heh...sad thing is, he isn't the worst case. Believe it or not, things on the outside world are quite cruddy in some places. Not all, of course. But certainly too many to be comfortable with..."
Red seemed suspicious, not letting up her focus as she gripped her sword tightly. She wasn't sure why her enemy was telling her all of this, but she could tell that it was completely deliberate. Muffet, however, was smiling quite pleasantly as she rubbed her chin while thinking it over.
It appears that our seemingly friendly feline friend wants us to know about the darker shades of the world outside of Ebott. Understandable, to an extent. We go outside once and a lot of the grudge-holding cabals and factions are constantly trying to kill us or. Now we know why...a majority of them are not particularly nice. Quite the opposite.
Muffet smiled as she clasped her hands. "Goodness gracious. How many enemies have we gained just by being ourselves? Quite an unfortunate way to gain so any foes-" Muffet reflexively flipped backwards as she was nearly slashed at her midsection. She landed gracefully on her feet and smoothed her skirt. "Ahuhu...that was close.~"
"Can you be a bit more serious...?" Red muttered, despite knowing the answer.
Will rubbed his neck. He had tried to attack Muffet while she was in the middle of speaking, before Red could interfere. Though it seems she dodged with pure reflex rather than actually seeing it coming. That was unfortunate, it would have spared him the guilt of hurting them further if he incapacitated the weaker one right away. But alas, she was very agile. He sighed. It was rather unfortunate that he had to do this, but he needed to keep up appearances.
"You two really are a quirky and energetic duo, in your own ways." Will said while scratching his head. "Man, I really wanted this over sooner rather than later...but I guess that's hoping for too much. Guess I gotta use my magic, though I'm still seriously limited with it for the most part..."
Red raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by t-" Red began, though she was cut off by her eyes flashing silver for a few seconds, and briefly saw an image of herself being slashed across her back. Immediately afterwards, knowing not to dismiss her soul's ability, she turned around and parried a slash from Will...only to blink in confusion. She sensed no magic from him, and the Will she was just speaking to didn't move from his spot at all. What the dog biscuit?!
Muffet was briefly concerned for Red, though she focused on the cause of the sudden development. It's no regular clone...even if it was, it would have had least a portion of his magic split from him...but it does not. Despite the attack being blocked, it still almost harmed Red. It must be an illusion...but how can an illusion physically endanger someone for real...? Unless... Her eyes narrowed. "You have Illusion Magic...and they're not normal illusions. They're Psychosomatic."
Will blinked in surprise, then sighed while scratching head, genuinely impressed. "Geez, and here I thought you were the ditzy one...now I feel stupid..." These two can at least avoid my illusion's attacks through instinct and reflex alone...impressive, but still a bit of a pain...
In the meantime, Sans and Parvos once again jumped away from one another. Sans still had his hands in his pockets, though he was scratched up and slightly panting, with his jacket in tatters. Parvos was bruised as well, but he was in better shape overall.
"Aw, poor Sans! Still having issues with stamina for extended battles." Parvos taunted, paw on his hip. "At this rate you're gonna die before you get the chance to turn things around."
"...heh. sorry, but dyin's not really on my to-do list." Sans smiled tiredly. this blows. he's wearin' me out and is clearly enjoyin' it. yet...still...
"You have a to-do list with 'not dying' on it?"
"it's in my mind."
"Ah! A mental to-do list, then."
Sans chuckled as he shook his head. "regardless of all of that...i'm not gonna let this stand, parvos. can't do it." He raised his head as a Gaster Blaster manifested over his head, gaining a draconic body as well. "the entire city is under attack again...and it even got sent into the void...i can't just not care about that...so, as much of a drag as it is...imma have to try harder to defeat you."
Parvos scoffed as his flames formed a feline's head above him, and it too gained a body. "I'll admit, your tenacity is certainly surprising, yet respectable. So let's see how long you last!"
Both of the creatures above their head charged powerful magic in their maws, and then fired at one another. The blasts connected, and then came a brief blinding light, which engulfed most of the area.
...A tall black figure, with a glitching white face, watched worriedly from afar...
Asgore had to admit, the one who identified himself as Scythe was certainly a threat to be acknowledged, he was much stronger than he first expected him to be. Not that he expected him to be weak by any means, but this was much more than the Boss Monster was expecting. Of course, he was very cautious of how things were progressing, because Scythe seemed to be an incredibly eager fighter, much like two other women he knew very well, and he trained one of them. Well at the very least, the cycle's been broken. Though one thing that remains unchanged was the others insistence to keep picking fights with the Dreemurrs when they really didn't want to.
Trident clashed with katana blades as Asgore and Scythe pushed roughly against one another. Scythe grinned a bit towards Asgore, while the latter simply wore an uncomfortable frown. "C'mon, King! Why do you look so bent out of shape? This is quite an amazing battle! Immerse yourself a bit more!" Asgore sighed softly while shaking his head. He was still incredibly curious-and concerned-about many things aside from what's gong on now.
"I find that a very difficult request to fulfill, given the circumstances..." Asgore muttered. He was very much aware of what was going on, considering that the atmosphere felt empty and nearly all light in the sky has simply ceased to be, leaving nothing but infinite pitch-black. It was a rough guess for him, but this must be the Void, the place that the others tended to talk about. The place that Chara forcibly pulled himself out of through sheer Determination. It feels much colder than he expected, but he had fire magic to help deal with that. Otherwise, he was very much shocked by this change of events. Though he had to focus on one problem at a time, his current problem being the monster known as Scythe. He wouldn't be getting anything done so long as Scythe was so eager to fight. A duck of a katana swing, and he swipes his trident, in which the Komodo Dragon monster dodges by jumping back out of it's reach.
"...Yeah, I can see why you might have a hard time enjoying yourself considering what's going on. But look on the bright side, at least the civilians around here have been properly evacuated." Scythe said with a cheeky grin as he swung his blades at Asgore once again, which was parried with his trident, the two of them pushing against one another. "I can also understand that being shifted into a different dimension of space in order to eliminate you once and for all. Our bosses are quite serious about getting rid of you all, to the point of desperation. Lesser factions and cabals are getting ridiculously antsy about getting rid of you all. To the point where that they're willing to completely and shamelessly using your past against you in the hopes of your destruction."
Asgore sighed. "They'd really go that far..."
"I know...I consider their methods despicable and dishonorable. But nevertheless...me and my comrades are unable to disobey. Believe me, I wish we could." Scythe sighed, before he swiftly slashed at Asgore again which was parried by his trident. "That's why I want to enjoy this as much as I can, that's about the only positive feeling I can gain from this, aside from getting the citizens out of the way."
"Hm." Asgore hummed as he ducked under another one of Scythe's slashes; this time he clenched his fist and coated it in flames, and punches Scythe in the chin and sending him flying a few feet away, before landed on his side. Asgore sighed while twirling his trident and holding it to the side. "You said something with your friend before...about a Pretender Monster King. What did you mean by that...?"
Scythe blinked. Then he chuckled and scratched his head. "Well, damn. You weren't supposed to hear that part yet. What a mess I made..." He mumbled as he stood up and stretched slightly. "...Eh. I can't really divulge that kind of serous info...though I guess you of all monsters here deserve the truth, even though I don't exactly know the entire story myself. I'll try not to get distracted while giving you some slight explanation. Akai might give away a few things too." Scythe sighed as he raised his paw. "Now then, lets step things up a bit. Time for a bit of magic.~" Scythe beamed as he then pushed his paw outwards. Asgore's eyes widened as he jumped back, barely avoiding a burst of ice magic. Though it wasn't normal ice.
Dark Ice...I'll admit, that's a surprise. Asgore thought as he slid back and twirled his trident. "That's quite the magic you've got there."
"Combine dark magic and ice magic, this is what we get!~" Scythe chuckled as his swords were coated in dark ice, then jumped towards him and slashed at Asgore again. Asgore parried them rather easily, but noticed that it was much heavier than before, and he could feel that it was indeed much darker. He looked up to see Scythe's face, and he was grinning much more than before. "I know you can do better than that! You're the true King, after all!" Asgore was a bit startled by this exclamation, though he was startled even more by a block of ice smashing into his side, knocking him down.
Asgore grunted as he pushed himself up with his trident, lightly wiping his muzzle a bit from the slight blood that left it. Golly...he's far too eager...despite the darkness of his magic, his soul doesn't feel that way at all. "I suppose you're right. I should try much harder myself." Asgore has little choice but to indulge the Komodo Dragon monster. So long as he kept going after him, he wouldn't be getting anywhere else. At least the citizens were safe, but that didn't stop him from worrying about his friends. He hoped they were all alright. Regardless, I need to focus on the battle. The sooner we resolve these serious battles, the sooner we can all effectively see to Ebott's overall safety...
In the meantime, Toriel was standing rather close to Akai, on her guard and cautious of any sudden attacks he might be up to towards her. Though they were out of the eyesight of Aindreas, who was busy fighting Adam, he didn't seem antagonistic at all. If anything, he seemed to really dislike the fact he's involved in any of this to begin with. This isn't what he wanted to be a part of, that she could be certain of. She didn't let down her guard, but seemed willing to listen, as it appears Aka had something to say to her, like Scythe was towards Asgore. He sighed while shaking his head. Toriel raised a cautious eyebrow as he moved a bit closer, though not to attack.
"Sorry. I'm near-sighted. Have to close the distance a little..." Akai said quietly. "Listen. We're really sorry about how things have transpired...I never thought that things would get this absurdly bad...none of us did..."
Toriel lowered her eyes slightly at hs vulnerable tone. "That's the impression I've received from you. You certainly don't seem like you want to be here. So, have you been forced here as well...?"
"Aindreas and Ratavaros have us coming out here simply to annihilate Ebott, all because both they and many others can't stand the 'troublesome rumors' about you anymore. As far as most outside factions and cabals are concerned, you're all an uncontrollable element that either needs to be reigned in or destroyed completely. And it seems that they've chosen the latter option after decided that claiming you simply aren't worth the trouble. So they had someone come in, somehow analyze one of the darker aspects of your past, and use it against you all in hopes of destroying you...yet most are far too arrogant to think you're worth their time, and having lesser cabals like us do it for them."
"Is that right...?"
Akai sighed quietly while rubbing the back of his neck. "...I'll be telling you something I really shouldn't, but I feel like I have to..." Toriel nodded, allowing him to continue. "The world outside is much worse than you might think. Compared to most places, Ebott is one of the very few jewels it has that's relatively successful. Not mainly because of it's size or status, but because how monsters and humans here are for the most part, living in genuine harmony while remaining powerful. The others are intimidated by you. Not just because of your power, but your constant, unfailing unity has left them utterly terrified. You're a seemingly insignificant city that's become a rogue element that refuses to bow to them, and you're rapidly getting more powerful. And not only that, you're inspiring other more confident and benevolent factions to rebel more against their enemies and cause even more headaches."
"Mhm...we're already very much aware of this. And it distresses us greatly..." Toriel muttered in discomfort.
"Yeah..." Akai said while scratching his head. "Multiple Kingdoms out there with various lands...some have adapted to being relatively modern, while others still do things mostly old-school. Lots of royals and nobilty and such are in-charge...very few of them are decent people. Some tend to join together to be stronger, while others are always butting heads to see who's superior. Even fewer tend to actually care about the well-being of their citizens. Since I'm so far down the expanded hierarchy, I don't really know exactly who or what kind of people they all are...all I've been told is that lots of terrible things have happened ever since the Human-Monster War...and they've been exploited by various people in order to further their goals at the expense of others...this continues even today."
Toriel simply stood and listened to all of this, her eyes narrowed. ...What has been happening on the outside...just how much has happened outside of our knowledge...? Toriel paused her thoughts and dodged to the right. Akai's fist had suddenly grown large and nearly smashed into her, crashing into the wall behind her.
"Sorry...if I stalled any more, the retribution would have been significantly worse..." Akai said apologetically while pulling his fist back and shrinking it to normal size.
Hm...Giant Magic. Curious. "I understand..." Toriel frowned. Her paws ignited with flames as her ears flailed slightly from the force of how fast they lit up. "In that case, I shall try not to harm you too much. You surely do not seem like a malevolent monster...and you have told me quite essential information at risk of yourself. I will not dishonor that by appearing ungrateful."
Akai blinked a bit, then he had the smallest of smiles. "I appreciate that. But...don't hold back too much. We need to keep this as convincing as we can..."
"Very well." Toriel sighed as she proceeds to throw a fireball towards him. Akai lifted his arm and expands it outwards, blocking the flames that dispersed on impact. Aside from a brief black spot, it doesn't seem he suffered significant damage. "Your gray scales are admirably durable."
"Heh. Thank you." Akai said while blinking slowly. Damn it...I don't want to fight her...she seems like such a nice lady. Older than she looks, sure, but still pretty cool. And yet, here I am... Akai frowned as he shook his head and focused on the battle to come, leaning forward slightly. I seriously hope the others are managing through this entire thing better than I am...because despite my bravado, I'm at a loss on how to properly react to all of this...
He didn't want to admit how envious he was of the Dreemurr Faction. They would never intentionally abandon one another. Nothing like he experienced...
Adam was opposing Aindreas. And to fully understand how well he was doing, he was covered in a plethora of bruises, complete with a black eye and bleeding head. While Aindreas, hasn't suffered a single major injury yet. Adam had a feeling things would turn out like this, yet that hasn't stopped him from trying. He was far too invested in this to turn back, and Aindreas wasn't exactly interested in letting him run away even if he tried. Good thing he didn't have any plans on doing so. Even if it did result in him getting ruthlessly beaten down by his old superior. Luckily it was nothing new with him. Unluckily, that didn't make it hurt any less.
Aindreas sighed as Adam once again throws a ball of green flames towards. He deflected it quite easily, sending it to the side. "Adam. You'll have to realize that you're not really a match for me. Everything you know, I've taught you."
"You didn't exactly give me a choice in the matter..." Adam deadpanned while panting hoarsely.
"Even with time away, you're still filled with complaints. How about you show a bit of gratitude that you were able to learn and tap into your magic?"
"I don't consider permanently corrupting my parents and grandparents to be a very fair trade." Adam didn't really regret those words, even though a green blast of lightning struck him in the chest and knocked him into a wall. A phantom clone of Aindreas immediately appeared before him and held him there by the throat, gradually choking him as the real Aindreas walked up to him, shaking his head in disdain and disappointment. Adam didn't care about either of those, because he has a significant amount of the former aimed towards the man in front of him.
"Your parents and grandparents were great assets, you know. They helped us buy and conquer many different lands that were most beneficial to our superior's forces. You should know what happens when you go against their wishes."
"Yeah...I'm aware. So what...?" Adam glared, even though he could feel darkness entering his vision and draining the life out of him.
Aindreas sighed. "I took care and tutored you and your family. I helped you survive, become stronger, learn and endure one of the deeper and darker aspects of our world, your potential is grand and respected...and now you're going to make me destroy all of that by killing you?"
"It's clearly...an intentonal action...don't you give me...that bullshit..."
"Disappointing...I've lost four dependable comrades, and my best apprentice has turned coat. I'm genuinely hurt by this." Aindreas shook his head. "...But alas...I'm not a forgiving person when it comes to betrayal...so this is goodbye, my disobedient student..."
Adam's world got darker...
POW!
Adam was soon able to breathe again as the phantom holding him dissipated, because the real Aindreas has been punched hard in the cheek and sent flying by an outstretched paw clenched into a fist. He then heard a snapping sound as he slowly turned to see the owner: Temmie. Alvina and Alex were there as well. Adam has been worried about her, and was genuinely relieved to see that he was alright. But on the other hand...
"Alvina! What are you doing here?! Get back, it isn't safe for yo-"
SMACK!
"Oww..." Adam whimpered while rubbing his bruised head. "What the hell was that for...?!"
"I can't believe this! I leave for five minutes and your seconds away from getting killed!" Alvina growled. "Are you seriously gonna let this self-absorbed asshole do that?!"
"Hey! It isn't always easy for a student to defeat his more experienced teacher!"
"I refuse that excuse! You'll have to do MUCH better than that!"
"What th-You're being a bit bull headed, don't you think?!" Adam sputtered, unsure of what to say to appease her.
"I'm within my rights to worry about losing my stupid brother again!" Even though Adam could very reasonably argue against his sister's stubbornness, it still stopped him in his tracks regardless...and he felt guilty for worrying her so much. When it was obvious Adam wouldn't speak any more, Alvna stood in front of him and glared towards Aindreas. "...Don't think I haven't dealt with your kind before. You may act like you care and that you're genuinely hurt. But really, you're just upset that you can't manipulate them for your own gain anymore. You've done so with my cruddy parents and grandparents and them made them even cruddier people. Adam won't fall under your heel anymore, he's done with you exploiting him. And now that you can't, you have no problem throwing him away. I'm not gong to let you kill him."
"...Your sister is quite plucky, Adam...if nothing else." Andreas muttered while standing up and brushng his arm off.
Alvina narrowed her eyes. "You were behind my parents and grandparents further descent into dark magic...does that mean you're the one who revived those six children against their will? Tearing them right out of the afterlife just to exploit them as well...?"
Aindreas paused for a moment, pretending to think it over. "...They too, refused to show a bit of gratitude for their second chance at life for the most part. Sure, it was a bit painful, but I had to exchange an equal amount of my human subordinates just to make extra sure the procedure was successful. I sacrificed so much for them, for Adam's parents and grandparents, as well as for him...yet none of them has shown the least bit of gratitude for any of it. It feels as though none of them really appreciate my efforts to have them be better than they truly are, or ever will be...it's all for them. Yet my devotion to their growth flies right over their heads. They make it so much more difficult than it needs to be..."
"...Alright. I've heard enough." Alvina muttered darkly. "..Temmie. Be a darling and help my brother kick this guy's ass."
"Yes ma'am." Temmie nodded as she hopped n front of Alvina, eyes narrowed. Alex also stood next to Temmie, hissing as magic flames danced across his body.
Aindreas shook hs head. "All of my efforts are proven to be pointless, I suppose...there's much opportunity for me to start over, but that can't happen the longer you'e alive. Don't hold it against me, it's just the way things are."
"Say what you will. I'll keep on protecting my brother regardless of what excuses you have."
Adam watched the three of them, a bit baffled by their immense willingness to come to his defense. Then he looked up towards Aindreas. And after a moment of indecision, he shook it off and stood by their side as well, magic gathering in his hands again. Even after everything that's happened, Alvina still considered him worthy of protecting.
He will definitely make sure that effort isn't wasted.
Chapter done! Quite a few mental seeds have been planted in the heads of our heroes, seeds that are very much set to sprout later on in the story. I'm so eager to get there already, but I'm being patient.
Chara: Combined with turning twenty, he's got much on his mind.
Toriel: As do we...admittedly our thoughts on what's currently happening are nowhere near as pleasant...still, we're happy for him.
Undyne: This isn't anywhere NEAR enough to bring the likes of us down!
Asriel: I'm not entirely sure what's to come or why it comes. Though I'm hoping it ends well...
We'll simply have to wait and see.~