...Yeah, this one's another long one.
I dunno how it happened...but it's a long one.
Lots of dialogue, and a LOT of setup for the next several chapters. I hope this mess is somewhat comprehensible to you, readers.
Also, as I said before, there's a slight perspective change near the beginning; Team Toriel is currently heading to Surripio after River Person dropped off Team Asgore.
I hope you enjoy, readers.
Chapter Start!
"Hey...Muffet."
"Yes Red-Dearie?~"
"...Do you think they'll be alright?" Red eventually said what was on her mind, lightly pressing her paws together. "Asriel and Chara, I mean. Do you think they're okay...? This is a pretty big deal after all..."
"Of course I do, Red-Dearie. Do you not have confidence in them?"
"Come on, that's not fair." Red pouted, staring down at her lap. "You know what I mean."
"Indeed I do." Muffet said while gently patting her shoulder. "Of course I'm worried about them. But they're strong, they're brave, and they're dependable. And you know what? So are we." She said with a smile. "They trust us to achieve our objective, so we'll trust them with theirs while we do what we need to do. As such, what you should be most concerned about right now, how we can best help them right now...is focusing on achieving victory."
"Really...?"
"Listen well, Red." Undyne piped up, only turning halfway so her single eye could see her. "We've taken up this reckless mission in the hopes that we can pave way for a better future. And to take risks as massive as this, takes a whole lot of resolve. And I assure you; few things in this world can match the power of a woman who has resolved herself. Even fewer can stand up to them when they band together for a purpose."
Red blinked as she met the gaze in Undyne's eye. It was fierce, it was unrelenting, it was powerful. All in her single uncovered eye as her luscious crimson hair flowed gently around her. She gazed towards Toriel, who was simply gazing ahead, her floppy ears lightly flapping in the wind, yet she didn't look the least bit distracted. Alphys looked a bit giddy, twiddling her thumbs and looking around to properly get a feel for the path they were taking, though her eyes behind her glasses didn't show any hesitation, merely caution. Dogressa was also keeping watch forward, having her halberd balanced on her shoulder. Muffet was sitting down calmly while sipping from a teacup-with sticky web hands-and simply sighing from the richness of said tea. And finally there was Elvira, who was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, feeling quite confident with herself, just like Parvos tends to do.
They're...pretty amazing.
"hey. don't forget about us." Sans lightly waved. "we've got our uses too, ya know."
"VERY SOMEWHAT WELL-PUT SANS! WE CAN BE USEFUL IN OUR OWN WAY! THAT WAY WE WON'T HAVE TO HAVE ANYONE SLOW DOWN!"
"yeah. we ain't exactly chopped liver."
"Nah. You're more like scattered bones." Elvira quipped, making Sans mock gasp and feign hurt by he dramatically grabbed his chest.
"Pfft!" Toriel snorted, covering her muzzle with a paw.
"Terrible jokes really are your weakness, huh?~" Elvira chuckled. She then looked forward a bit, then narrowed her eyes as she pointed forward. "There it is. The Surripio Capital is up ahead." Honestly, she didn't expect to reach it this fast. River Person truly was a remarkable and reliable means of transportation.
"Oh my." Toriel stared ahead with a paw above her eyes. Given how the sky turned a bit darker as they closed the distance, and how the plant life was looking less and less healthy, with the trees becoming few in number as they went...it gave her warning bells that she couldn't afford to ignore. "The Kingdom as a whole is said to he the worst of the bunch...so of course the capital is unlikely to be very pleasant."
"Yeah." Elvira nodded. She soon turned to the gang. "Surripio has been the worst of the trio of Kingdoms for years, and is likely to stay thay way even if we succeed. But that's fine. We fight the bigger battles today, the smaller battles can be won gradually over time by the Kingdom itself. If things go well, the Kingdom will keep itself from getting any worse."
"do ya think the kingdom can pull itself together at all?" Sans asked.
"Probably...but like I said, even if we succeed, it's unlikely to get drastically better overnight, not if that crappy King is still in charge. A goblin named Faust." Elvira sighed. "...Helping the Kingdom completely clean up it's act won't happen, it's been the way it was for far too long. But we can at least keep it from getting worse. To put it simply..."
"...There needs to be someone to keep the more monstrous groups in check. Someone they either fear or respect too much to directly challenge." Undyne sighed. This was surely a difficult objective indeed, one with heavy effects, victory or no.
"And you suspect that the King has allowed those less humane groups to do what they please, which is why you believe he needs to be straightened out." Toriel suspected.
"I don't suspect, I know, because I regularly do my own business here. The King needs to be straightened out, or replaced. And if we have to remove him, but don't find a reliable replacement..."
"We'd be risking a power vaccum that'll tear the Kingdom apart. Shit...we really gotta be on top of this." Undyne grumbled, lightly pushing her hair back.
"Exactly. There are definitely decent, good, innocent people who will be caught in the fallout. Which is why I need to confirm that the King is still reasonable before we do anything drastic." Elvira looked forward again. "Alright, the gates are ahead. They're likely to feel jumpy that I've brought such a large group with me. I'm hoping they don't see Toriel and attack her on sight. But what would be the odds of that?"
"Your magic is literal bad luck." Flowey pointed out.
"Oh yeah...damn it."
"Kinda puts how we approach this into perspective, huh?"
"...Hey, it's okay! No problem!" Elvira pepped up with a clap. "It'll work out! We just have to be careful as we go in, it'll be easy!"
"That's how it always starts..." Flowey grumbled but didn't say more as the group began pushing forward.
It was only the first ten steps that Doggo patted Undyne's shoulder and leaned close for a whisper. "Boss...we're being watched. I hear and smell them nearby."
"They're likely intending to ambush." Dogamy added.
Undyne narrowed her eye, looked between her group, then nodded. "Alright. I'm guessing you'll know what to do in case things go south, which is likely."
"Yes ma'am." Dogressa quietly growled in confirmation.
Elvira didn't miss this suspicion. She could tell too, sensing several magic signatures around them, and they didn't seem to be there for guarding purposes. There was malicious intent laced in them. I'm hoping this isn't gonna lead into what I think it is...did something happen...?
Soon enough they cautiously approached the gates, where a single, short guard was placed before the gate. Elvira smiled and waved.
"Jack O'Frost! What's up?!"
"Oh god, it's you..." The guard groaned. Closer inspection would detail that he is a short monster-slightly shorter than Sans-with a ragged farm shirt, slightly torn farm pants with blue shoes, a straw hat on his head with a small blue bell on the top, and his head is a blue pumpkin. It was like those human horror stories about a Jack O'Lantern...instead of fire constantly emitting within his pumpkin head, it was snow. Like those winter stories with Jack Frost.
so...jack o'lantern and jack frost? Sans thought. Weird. Then again...most mosnters were. And they were fine with that.
"Elvira, what are doing back here so soon? It's not exactly the best time to be here..." Jack whispered, looking back and forth.
"Aw, come on, Jacky! Is that how you'll continue treating an old friend?~" Elvira pouted cutely.
"The same old friend that would ALWAYS start up chaos when things were perfectly fine? You're seriously still surprised that I'm still cautious around you?!" Jack comcially shouted with a tick mark on his head. Sans took note of his tone of voice, there was no actual venomous intent behind it, no actual maliciousness. Just familiar annoyance.
"Aw, that's not fair, Jacky. I always apologized and bailed you out when it counted, didn't I?~" Elvira cooed. "I'd like to chat more with you, but I'm afraid I'm a bit busy at the moment. So...do you mind telling me what the King has been doing while I was gone?"
"I...I can't tell you."
"Whaaaat?"
"You heard me, I can't tell you!"
"Come on, Jack. Please." Elvira said, genuinely begging the small monster.
He shakes his head multiple times, trying not to meet her eyes. Though he looked at her once again, then sighed again, knowing he would regret this decision later. "...I can't go into deeper detail...but the King has it out for the Queen of Monsters all of a sudden. He wants her dead."
"W-What...?!" Toriel gasped, taking a step back.
"What?" Elvira said, a serious tone gracing her as she stood up fully. She turned and noticed that several mages and monsters decided not to hide anymore, and make their way towards the group. Shit...what the hell is this?!
"what a drag...i'll get us inside." Sans raised his hand, only for Toriel to gently catch his wrist and shake her head.
"Sans, your magic reserves are the lowest among us. If you try teleporting all of us at once, you'll only exhaust yourself." Toriel gently warned.
"but tori..."
"She's right. Save your magic, midget-skelly." Elvira said with a hiss as she stepped forward. "Meanwhile, I have an abundance of it. I'll take care of this."
"huh? are you sure?"
"Positive." Elvira turned towards the enemies, her magic flaring and giving her a sinister purple glow around her body, her tail waved slightly with casual flair. "Silly little fools. Don't you know what happens when you carelessly cross a black cat's path? Misfortune befalls you.~" She smiled wickedly as she held out a paw, fingers connected. "Normal humans would call it a mere superstition. I can make it real."
Snap.
It was near-instantaneous. Nearly all of the enemies have been thrown back by a powerful dark purple magical force that suddenly disrupted the ground in front of them, cracking it and rupturing it to a great degree, even causing rocks to spike upwards and nearby trees to fall over. They all landed on their backs, some being conscious enough to look back at the black cat's face, who simply smiled and waved at them. Feeling significantly less confident, they turned tail and ran, carrying their injured comrades away.
"Oh my, what a display.~" Muffet cooed while tilting her head slightly.
"You call THAT a mere display...?" Red muttered wide-eyed. Sure, it wasn't the most spectacular or destructive thing she's seen...but she did so with a snap of her fingers.
"We don't have time to waste on them now." Elvira says while turning around and paying the fleeing enemies no further heed, instead walking back to Jack, who had already begun opening the gates.
"Look...just...be careful in there, alright?" Jack said while looking away. Elvira sighed, as she moved towards Jack, then kneeled and pulled him into a hug into her ample bosom. His eyes flashed and he blushed slightly. "E-Elvira...?"
"Don't worry. I'll get you out of this soon." She said quietly, lightly petting his head. "...Does you-know-who still mess you up from time to time when I'm not looking?"
"Y-Yeah, he does...but don't worry! I'm fine, really!"
"No...no you're not." Elvira said bluntly as she stood up. "I know you're just doing what your job, Jack...but I'm still gonna do what I need to do." She said seriously as she tipped her hat and passed him by. "And what I do...is bring down chaos on those I believe deserve it.~"
alright, i know i said it already, but this time i absolutely mean it. she is definitely parvos' mother. Sans mentally concluded, after seeing the chaos Elvira had caused towards her enemies, reacting to how they react to said chaos with amusement, and not really concerned if they live or die by her own paw or from someone else because of her actions. Aside from Elvira being a genuinely benevolent monster who uses her chaotic magic energy for good, they're very much alike.
Sans' observational skills brought about something else. Elvira's magic energy is chaotic in nature, while Eloise is orderly and diciplined. In nature they completely counter each other, yet they're so very close. They need each other in their lives.
After all, magic can have an influential and commanding effect on one spectrum, and/or be completely unpredictable on the other. No wonder Elvira chose not to be in charge of the Fortuna Kingdom, despite being a Noble Monster. That spells wonders for how much she trusts Eloise with the position.
"Oi! Sans! Quit lazing about and get moving already!" Undyne shouted towards him. He was falling behind a bit.
"whoops. my bad." Sans warped up to the center of the group, catching up instantly. "sorry about that, just thinkin'."
Elvira nodded. "It's fine. We need to get to the bottom of this. I have a place where we can go, but getting there is gonna take some effort since the King has it out for Toriel when she literally just got here. I'll keep up the lead, so follow me." Everyone quietly nodded as they proceeded onwards.
Jack O'Frost watched them go on. He lamented what he would await him...but he would rather experience that than rat Elvira out.
He doesn't backstab people who actually care.
Surripio.
Elvira certainly wasn't bluffing when she said that it was possibly the scummiest of the three Kingdoms, and it looks/feels the part as they traversed through the entrance and had to stick to the shadows, in which there were plenty. It wasn't that the place was poorly made or anything. Far from it. It actually seemed pretty well-built, with Alphys and Sans occassionally picking out the admirable architectual aspects, with the buildings being tall, sleek, well-lighted snd supported. The streets appeared to be well-paved and just as sleek, the street lights being nice and bright. It seemed to be a pretty well-adjusted city from where they entered.
But with Alphys and Sans being the most observational, they took a very good look at what's underneath it all.
Sans took a look at several citizens, human and monster, passing by from a distance. They seemed rather hesitant and nervous that something may trouble them at best, while others appeared completely apathetic to possible plights at worst. It was in their body language: Some appeared shaky and scared for themselves, while others couldn't care less for anyone other than themselves. A very decent amount were actually decent citizens, with a few of them genuinely oblivious to what's going on, and another few just hoping things improve.
"What a nice place." Undyne deadpanned.
"I'M GETTING A SOMEWHAT UNPLEASANT VIBE FROM THIS PLACE...SOMEWHAT UNPLEASANT INDEED..." Papyrus muttered with a pout.
"We gotta get moving. A group as large as ours is sure to get noticed if we're stationary for too long." Elvira warned as she hurried along. The Pack, especially with a canine as large as Ice Wolf, worked to keep Toriel has hidden as possible, staying around her and keeping her from obvious view. It wasn't that she couldn't take care of herself, but if what they heard was true, they couldn't risk letting her be seen in the open, shadows or no.
This is stupid. I really was hoping for Faust and Toriel to have a little sitdown and simply negotiate a couple things, but no. He springs THIS crap and practically makes her public enemy number one under hours! What the hell is up with that?! What the hell happened?! What is that dumbass thinking?!
"We...we should probably keep an eye out for the Colddusts. They should have made it here before us." Alphys brought up while pushing her fingers together. "I-I'm a bit worried about them..."
"Don't worry babe, I ain't forgetting about them. They're really high on the priority list." Undyne said while keeping her eye out for potential enemies. "It's about high time we regroup anyway. We need to figure out what to do and try to divide our numbers up accordingly towards those objectives."
"I...I agree..." Toriel said quietly, still in a slight reel at the realization that Faust had ordered her to be killed on sight. She hadn't even done anything to him yet. Hell, she was only here to reason with him! How could this have happened?!
"Ah, here we are!" Elvira pointed forwards. The gang looks ahead to see a warehouse up ahead, looking like it's seen better days but not quite ready to collapse yet. "Alright then, we can take a breather right here and...uh-oh." Her smile fell as she sees paper on the walls and doors of said warehouse. She walked up to them and observed them really quick, before she pulled back and scratched her head. "This...is gonna be an issue."
"What is..." Toriel begun to ask, until her own eyes fell upon the papers and she had ro step back with a gasp.
"The hell...?" Undyne narrowed her eye.
"Ooooh dear..." Alphys shook a bit at the sight of it.
They were posters. Wanted Posters.
Wanted Dead: 'Black Jinx' Elvira
Reward: 3,500,000 gold.
Wanted Dead: 'Royal Scientist' Alphys
Reward: 5,650,000 gold.
Wanted Dead: Undyne 'The Undying'
Reward: 10,850,000 gold.
Wanted Dead: Toriel Dreemurr, 'Queen of Monsters'(HIGH PRIORITY TARGET)
Reward: 15,000,000 gold.
"W...W...We're wanted...?! Specifically Dead?!" Alphys gaped while pointed at said posters with a shaky claw. "B-But wait...why o-only the four of us...? Wait, scratch that! Why at all?!"
"That's what I wanna know. We literally just got here." Undyne said inquisitively, trying to push down the strange pride at being worth so much gold.
"That asshole finally put me on the chopping block, huh...?!" Elvira growled while her claws threatened to poke out, and her magic flared from he body.
"How peculiar. King Faust really doesn't want Toriel here." Muffet hummed while her head tilted to the side. "Aside from being the Queen of Monsters, I wonder why that is...?"
"Muffet! For dog biscuit's sake, this is actually super serious! Act like it!" Red barked at her spider friend, who was still more curious than outwardly concerned.
WHOOSH!
The entire group jumped back as Toriel set all the posters on fire with a fierce wave of her paw, watching with disdain as they fell to the ground in pieces, breaking into crackling embers.
She...was not happy.
Elvira sighed with raised paws. "If your name is high-profile, you'll be worth more dead than alive. But I've never experienced a reaction this drastic." She folded her arms again. "I dunno what the hell happened with Faust, but we're gonna have to take it seriously if he actually went through the trouble of putting these all over the major places and in several low-key ones." She shook her head. "Looks like we've no choice...we're gonna have to go under. I know a couple more friends who might be able to help, and may even help a couple of your friends."
"you know some people." Sans noted.
"Yeah, I know some people. Important people. They're likely to like your spunk, so I don't think you need to worry too much."
"Very well. We shall go to meet this friend of yours. We can discuss more with him." Toriel declared.
"Sure thing." Elvira nodded to Augustine. She nodded as she stomped the ground twice and stepped back. Moments afterwards, the floor opened up, revealing a set of staairs leading underground, with lights turning on to illuminate the way.
"Oooh! A secret passage!" Alphys beamed brightly. "But wait...wouldn't this be easy to discover by anyone outside the circle?"
"The entrance-and the supplies along with them-usually changes up and appears in a different location, almost every day. I was informed ahead of time that it would be an unimpressive warehouse." Elvira shrugged. "Anyway, let's go. I wanna introduce you to more friends. But first..." Elvira turned over and cracked a few of the crates open. She pulled something out...snazzy suits.
"How do you all feel about suits? I have some for everyone.~"
The Underbelly of Surripio. As Elvira said, the Kingdom itself looks nice enough, but the substsnce tends to range from too apathetic to incredibly corrupt. Case in being, the bounties on Toriel, Undyne, Alphys, and Elvira's heads right when they barely entered. There was something really off there, and they would be intending to get to the bottom of it. They couldn't stay in the open and risk being seen, since there's a lot of risk of being caught in a major brawl that would get a lot of innocent people hurt. They would have to conduct their business...underground. As Papyrus ssid, it feels just slightly ironic.
And the one area of Surripio's underbelly where they would be speaking...isn't as bad as one might think.
Sure it's still not the cleanest, but things were far more laid-back there than they were above ground. If anything, things were safer down there.
The area was filled with much more bright and colorful lights-not enough to render one blind-and much monsters and humans populating the area. Cheers and laughs could be heard in most of the areas, and there was the occasional good-natured brawl over a brief disagreement before their friends would break them up. Most disagreements were over who lost a recent gambling session, with a majority of their winnings suddenly gone. Though surprisingly, the winner usually gives them portion anyway, just to show there were no hard feelings. And there weren't any.
To put it simply, it's places like these that help forget their problems at least for a night. Elvira usually comes here when the going's good to simply relax via chugging her drinks a lot. But more importantly...several of her bigger information contacts are usually found here. Which is why she needed to bring the gang here. If they were going to find answers without having innocents put in the crossfire on sight, then shady or not, this was the way.
And there was someone that Elvira was absolutely sure would know something about what happened in her absence.
In one of the bigger buildings, possibly the biggest, resides a boss. A boss with quite a wide reach when it comes to information on the world, under or over. And not only was his reach large, as well as his amount of contacts, but so was his immense magic power. He especially has contacts across the seas, and has even set out to personally rescue his subordinates overseas. When he does battle within the water, he's a fearsome demonstration of power.
They know him as Boss Levi. Levi the Leviathan.
"Graaaaaah! Hell! Ping Pong should not consistently make me this frustrated!"
And apparently he sucks at ping pong.
Levi wasn't any regular lizard, he was a dragon, donning blue scales, a yellow underbelly, and fins on the sides of his head, with a thick tail angrily swaying behind him. He was wearing a black suit with blue stripes, a yellow tie, and a hat with a blue stripe around it. His eyes were a shining jade.
"SssssaaaahhhhHA! I'm afraid that's yet another match point for me, love.~" The shapely, black-scaled, golden-eyed, cobra beauty on the other side of the table cooed, clapping twice with her paddle in hand. Her upper body-covered with a smooth yellow dress-having arms but the rest of her body being fairly snakelike, she was regardless very beautiful. "A win for me! Yes sirree! Your victory simply isn't meant to be!~" She playfully taunted, swaying her hips and waving her arms, as well as her tail.
"Cleeeeoooooo...! I demand a rematch! You kept distracting me with your stupid sexy hips!" Levi shouted, irritated. "I KNOW I can win this time!"
"This is your ninth loss in a row, love.~"
"Then ten is my lucky number! We're going again!"
"I'm not sure you can handle another blow to your ping pong pride.~"
Before their playful banter could continue, a sheepish human subordinate, politely knocking first, opened the door to their game room. "Boss...M'lady. Elvira is back...and she brought Toriel Dreemurr."
Both reptiles eyes widened. They looked at each other briefly, before nodding. "We'll be right there.. They were in a bit of a hurry to get there swiftly, there was no way they could miss something like this. They would quickly make their way to the set boardroom, which was rather large, with a long table than was extended to both sides of the room. Closer subordinates would sit around here to eat. They waited patiently for them to enter.
The doors opened, and they filed in.
The Pack came in first. Doggo, Dogamy, Dogressa, Lesser Dog, Greater Dog, Ice Wolf, and Red each stepped into the room. Each of them were wearing suits, with Dogressa and Red wearing skirts that match said suit.
Sans and Papyrus stepped inside next, each wearing suits of their own to fit their frames. Sans in particular had his suit sround his shoulders, leaving the white shirt underneath to be seen. Muffet was next, stepping inside with a snazzy suit of her own that fit all of her arms, and with a cute hat to match it. She seemed to be enjoying this wardrobe chsnge the most. Alphys stepped in right after, a suit and skirt of her own, and she held Flowey in a pot.
Up next, the remaining three arrive. Elvira and Undyne also stepped in and were also in suits, with the former in a shorter skirt while still keeping her witch hat, and the latter holding her coat over her shoulder and had a toothpick in her mouth, scoffing slightly. Both of them stepped to the side to make way.
In came Toriel herself.
She quietly strolled in, her eyes carefully taking in the room before her, as well as the one she'd be dealing with. She wore a black jacket with a red interior, a red skirt, and a coat that hang from her shoulders without falling off. Her paws were clasped in front of her, her every step containing careful grace, yet also capable of igniting anything that might cross her. She walked in front of everyone while staring ahead at Levi.
Levi smiles and opens his arms.
"Nehahaha! Toriel Dreemurr in the fur! And you brought friends! I must say, I never expected for you of all monsters to come and see me personally. It's truly an honor." Levi beams as he strides up to her, gently takes her paw and places a gentlemanly kiss on top of it. Not sensing any oitward malicious intent, her comrades allowed it.
"Thank you for welcoming us." Toriel said with a soft nod. "I must say...I did not expect to come into Surripio, with Elvira confirming on our way down here that one of our major allies...is a Kingpin."
"Ah, yes, I would expect that something like this would be a bit of a surprise to someone like you. Please please, have a seat." Levi gestured to the seat next to her. She nodded as she moves towards the chair and seats herself with one leg crossed over the other, with Sans appearing on her left side and Undyne on her right. Levi soon seats himself on the other side of the table, with Cleo on his right. "Now how may I help you, Lady Toriel? Is it alright for me to call you so?"
"It's acceptable." Toriel nodded.
"Very good to know. Because my my, what lovelyladies we have gathered here.~" Cleo says slyly while her eyes shifted from the girls/women of the group, nodding in approval for each and every one of them, especially towards Toriel and Undyne. "It's rather abrupt and cruel for four of you nice ladies to have bounties out on your heads out of nowhere."
"Yes, that is my first concern. How did that come about?"
"To be quite honest...we don't know what Faust could possibly be thinking. What we know for sure is that he's quite dead-set on having you killed all of a sudden. He sees you as a high-level threat before you even had a chance to really enter the Kingdom. It's truly bizarre." Cleo hissed while stroking her chin. "We have tried to see if there was some sort of catalyst for this behavior, though the only thing that comes to mind is your name and your reputation. The thing is he hasn't shown any signs of being seriously intimidated by you before."
"so this goblin literally just snapped one day quite a time before we showed up." Sans sighed. "that's a pretty high case of paranoia. well of course they'd be worried about tori. though what about undyne, alphys, and elvira?"
"Oh, that's easy. The King doesn't exactly like me." Elvira raided a casual paw. "I guess that dislike finally turned into flatout hate."
"possibly. plus parvos is your son."
"Ooooh yeah...that might have caused some issues."
"yup. overall still suspicious though. what about undyne?"
Cleo blinked and playfully tilted her head. "Well, I certainly wouldn't want to fight someone who has the word Undying in her title. If I knew I wasn't strong enough to challenge that, I'd honestly turn tail and run."
"Fuhuhu.~" Undyne chuckled, before coughing and turning serious again. "What about Alphys? Why would these bastards put a price on my wife's head?"
"Ah, now that we know for a certainty." Levi piped up, sitting up and clasping his paws. "Because she's probably the only one currently here from outside Surripio who could safely and effectively shut down a certain operation and put it down for good."
"And...what would that be?"
"Human soul trafficking."
Flashes of the past came back to them. Alvina's family, how they intended to steal the souls of all humans within Ebott with cylindical absorption capsules. How they were emppwering themselves on said souls, and they had to kill them to buy time to fully stop the process. Adam and their family cat Alex were the only ones spared. It was a dangerous weapon capable of causing close to hundreds of human deaths, almost without warning. Humans souls turned into a power soirce for monsters AND humans to absorb.
And Darkness invented it when he was still acting without morals. Alphys hadn't forgotten that, and neither did he. It still haunts him.
"Welcome to Surripio." Elvira repeated. "Where several things are most likely to be stolen by those willing to take it, willlngly or not. Your innocence...your money...your future...your family...your life...your soul. If it exists, it's able to be stolen, from it's own people or from other people."
"...I HAD HOPED WE'D BE DONE WITH THIS...PERHAPS I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT IT A BIT MORE." Papyrus spoke up with a frown. "THEN AGAIN, OF COURSE THEY WOULD HAVE MORE."
"And they likely set these devices on those they see as troublesome or disobedient. It's a means to quell." Muffet hummed, lightly poking her cheek. She then smiled. "Ahuhuhu...they're right to fear Alphys because of this."
"H-Huh?"
"Mr. Levi? Or maybe Don?" Levi nodded with a smile. "Their operations in Human soul trafficking...would it be too much of a stretch to say that they have a facility meant to keep these capsules hidden and out of sight?"
"That is correct."
"And they usually bring humans in so they can catch them off guard and drain their souls of their essence and put them in smaller soul jars so possible buyers can take them?"
"Accurate." Cleo nodded.
"And...it's safe to say that they've been doing this for so long that they feel secure in their position...so secure in fact, that this is the only facility holding those absorption capsules...which means there's highly unlikely to be more."
"They've wouldn't let that tech leave this Kingdom, not letting it get to the rest of the continents. They only sell the soul jars to potential buyers. They're making much money off of this, so they're too greedy to share that kind of special..." Cleo's eyes slowly widened, then a snakeline grin graced her. "Hooo...I like you, Little Miss Muffet."
"WAIT, I DON'T GET IT." Papyrus tilted his head.
"You see, only Surripio is in possession of these soul stealing capsules that produce soul jars from poor unsuspecting humans. And they've likely gotten too greedy and confident, soooo sure that no one would be crazy enough to destroy that facility...that they forget that someone actually doing so would be cutting off a pretty significant chain of dark business that'll heavily cripple many dark guilds/cabals." Muffet put up a finger. "They likely only have ONE blueprint to work with in case those capsules need to be fixed. And Darkness, who is our ally, is the only one who could rebuild it from scratch AND have it function correctly. And here we have Miss Alphys, who has the genius to safely release the souls AND destroy the capsules along with their blueprints, simultaneously."
Sans blinked a bit. "...that could work. reckless as hell, but it'd work."
"Quite a deduction, Miss Muffet." Cleo applauded.
"It's quite simple, really. The greedier you are, the more focus you'll gradually lose for the sake of profit, unless you're REALLY paranoid. Being a greedy gal myself, I can see behavior like this easily." Muffet raised her finger. "Oh! And on the off-chance that there IS more than one facility, Alphys has the genius to only need one facility to have them ALL shut down."
"...Because I can create a program from the console from the facility here to send a signal to ALL facilities like the one here around the world to release the souls, shut them down, then self-destruct, destroying them and the blueprints-paper and digital-within." Alphys deduced as she pushed her glasses up. She had the brains and the technomagic to make it work. All she needed was the time.
"...Say...YOU didn't benefit from any of this, did you?" Red asked pointedly, narrowing her eyes towards the lizards.
"A fair question I'd like the answer to." Toriel asked calmly, her eyes narrowing a barely noticeable fraction.
"Oh no, of course not! Never!" Levi shook his head. "We're a mob yes, but we'd never stoop so low as to do something like that." He clasped his paws. "Lady Toriel...given the state of our Kingdom and what we do, we will not falsely pretend that we are saints. But I'd never stoop as low as to partake in human soul trafficking. All I want is to keep the innocents within my territory happy, protect my subordinates, and keep small-time bosses from wrecking havoc for a better reputation. Hell, most of my subordinates have normal, respectable jobs of their own during the day to bring in their own money. An example being, my wife is a model."
"Seriously...?" Undyne blinked.
Cleo would smile as she grabbed a magazine from a table with her tail and tossed it over to her. Undyne gazed at the cover, with the serpentine monster in question posing rather sensually on a floor of pillows, with a longing look in her eyes...yep, she had the model's talent alright. "Are we completely happy with how things ended up? Not entirely, no. But we do the best that we can to make the best of it."
"Indeed. We do so for our own sake, for the sake of our innocents...and for our daughter." Levi nodded twice to Cleo. She nodded as well, typing a bit on her phone, then showing them a picture of said daughter. She was a beautiful dark-blue serpentine with golden eyes, wearing a long pink dress, and the sweetest of smiles one would not expect to see from a snake. She looked around Muffet's' age, and she wasn't as...voluptuous as her mother, but she was getting there. "Valerie's aware of what we do, it'd do no good to lie to her about it."
"And what was her response...?" Toriel asked softly, her tone indicating such at the mention of their child.
"None of us can really predict what might happen, so she simply hopes the best for all of us." Cleo answered. "She's a very sweet girl."
"I see. Where is she now?"
"Out baking. I'd have more people watch over her...but she can take care of herself." Levi said confidently.
"I see." Toriel nodded. "Now then, back to the matter at paw. There's quite a bit more to discuss. Would you mind informing me about anything else that might need our sttention? Perhaps something else about these bounties?"
"One thing that comes to mind is that your bounties will certainly be hunted by several possible takers. Some might even be from the actual 'enforcers' that seemingly protect our fair Kingdom. You know it's a sad day when a mob cares more about the people than the official people's protectors. Some completely decent citizens even come to us about problems instead of said enforcers...what does that say?" Cleo said quietly.
"Who's in charge of that?" Undyne asked bluntly. Red could hear the agitated hitch in her tone when asking that.
"A guy named Arno is in charge of them. Thinks he's sly, but is actually quite cowardly."
"I'll take care of them." Undyne declared. "I'll bring the Pack with me. We're gonna take that guy down. Protectors who don't protect...we'll see about that!"
"Oooh. I do enjoy that fire in your eye. I suppose we'll leave that to you then.~"
"Meanwhile..." Toriel turned towards Alphys. "Alphys, I need you to take Flowey, Sans and Papyrus with you to this facility, safely shut those capsules down and free the human souls, and destroy the whole place. Make sure those blueprints are destroyed as well. I don't think we need to mention that it's likely to to be heavily guarded because of it's importance, I implore you to be careful."
"U-Understood, ma'am..." Alphys nodded with a slight shiver throughout her body. She could do this...she'd have help. She could do this.
"Indeed. Well said, Lady Toriel." Cleo nodded. "And just to be safe, Alphys will have some extra help. You'll be assisted by the Colddusts." Said group of lizards entered the room, each wearing suits of their own. Dynamo was the only one with his shirt over his shoulder.
"DYNAMO! YOU'RE OKAY! YOU MADE IT SAFELY!" Papyrus beamed as he leapt up and hugged the alligator. He chuckled and returned the hug kindly.
"Good to see ya made it here, friend Papyrus." Dynamo smirked playfully. I look forward to fighting alongside you, friend.
"You all failed to mention that you all are pretty much part of a mob..." Undyne raised her eyebrow towards them.
"Well, when you have the kind of life we have, it isn't too far'fetched, Boss." Scythe said with a sheepish smirk, his own toothpick in his mouth. Gotta repay you for your hospitality, right? We've got your wife covered.
Undyne sighed while scratching her head. "Listen, don't worry. Something like this isn't enough to dissuade me from believing you're good monsters. Just make sure my wife gets outta there safely. She comes back too hurt, I'm kicking all your asses."
"Doesn't that sound a little bit unfair...?" Dyra huffed, pushing up her glasses. ...Like I'd let anything happen to my rival.
"I don't know about you...but I'd rather not get my tail kicked, Akai." Warkie said nervously, lightly holding his chin. I don't want anything bad to happen to Alphys, either.
"We have her back." Akai said with a confident smile. Lady Toriel did a number on me, but she spared my life too. I'll do what I can to repay that kindness...even though it'll involve a bit of smashing of property.
"It appears that we have our setup for that objective then.~" Levi smiled.
"And in the meantime, I shall go confront the 'King'." Toriel said, her voice sounding resolved.
"you sure, tori? with that amount of gold on your head, it's gonna be dangerous."
"There's a lot of gold on my head too. You don't see me giving a damn." Undyne scoffed.
"That is right. Something like this will not intimidate me. I will do what I must to progress forward, and help my comrades." Toriel said as fire flashed across her eyes. "I shall not run and hide in the dark simply because things are getting difficult. I shall overcome this obstacle."
Elvira chuckled and tipped her hat. "That settles that. I'll help you get close to him."
"Now then, who does that leave...?" Cleo lightly tapped her lip as she scanned the whole room. Her eyes landed on Red and Muffet. "Ah! You two young lovely ladies!~"
"L-Lovely...? Me...?"
"Yes?~"
"I'll be hosting a fundrasing party tonight. It's for Mire Town and a certain select people who need the money the most. I'd like you two to join me for it, and keep your nose, ears, and eyes out for someone that might try and...'appropriate' it through uncouth means."
"Fundraising parties? I love fundraising parties!~" Muffet clapped.
"You want us to participate and keep watch?" Red blinked.
"If you don't mind doing so. Valerie might stop over to give her support as well, and I'd love for you to meet her. I think you three might get along." Cleo smiled.
"what is this fundraiser for, exactly?" Sans asked.
Levi and Cleo looked towards one another, and both nodded solemnly before turning towards Toriel. "Lady Toriel. Do you remember your venture on the Seloms Archipelago?"
"...What happened?" Toriel asked, already taking note of the sudden downturn in mood.
"It's gone. It's been destroyed, with many of it's broken pieces sunk into the ocean. It...happened months ago. We're sorry."
Toriel, Undyne, Alphys, Red, and Muffet's souls suddenly felt significantly colder. Each of their breaths hitched, with Alphys and Red shaking slightly in shock and utter disbelief at what they just heard. They didn't want to believe it. The Seloms Archipelago, hounded by Augustine's guild Stonehenge, which they've fought so hard to save...gone?
Sans saw the sorrowful looks in Cleo and Levi's eyes for having to give the news. They weren't lying. Some would say that it's very risky to trust the words of a serpent, but Cleo looks genuinely heartbroken at Toriel's stunned reaction, she knew how deeply it affected her.
It was gone. And they never even knew about it.
"...Nikon...Nikon! Is she okay?! Is her tribe alright?!" Toriel nearly leapt out of her seat from how concerned she was.
"Nikon has been hurt a bit, but she's alive and healthy. She lost few members of her tribe, but they're recovering thanks to the charity drops we send them to Mire Town from these fundraisers." Cleo explained. "A human earth mage named Augustine is one of my top supporters."
"...Augustine?" Toriel narrowed her eyes.
"We know your relationship with her isn't the best, Lady Toriel. But we assure you, she has changed." Levi attempted to placate her. "Living with Nikon and the others hospitality has managed to warm her heart snd soul. She became a better person. But...she was too weak to defend them against a devastating attack on the islands. Her entire guild was erradicated, with herself being seriously maimed."
"...Guild erradicated...seriously maimed...?" Toriel's eyes softened slightly.
"Scars across her collarbone, with the right having shattered, several broken ribs, a chunk of her left leg was gone, her entire right hand was gone, a deep claw gash across her stomach, and burn marks around her neck. That's how she was found when she was mysteriously transported to Mire town with the tribe." Levi listed off.
"Oh dear..." Muffet's five eyes lowered slightly.
"She's doing better now, having prosthetics for her leg and hand. She left Nikon after that, and has been helping me set up these fundraising parties for them and Mire Town as a whole, ever since." Cleo finished. "She's...too ashamed of herself for her past treatment of them AND her failure to save their home to see their faces again."
"...Nikon...Augustine..." Toriel says softly, her eyes now gazing at the table in front of her. "...But of Augustine failed to protect them...then how did the two of them, as well as the tribe, make it out alive."
"That is what we're still unsure of. Some of us are looking into it, but overall it doesn't matter TOO much. Them being alive is what counts." Levi said.
Red heard the entire story, with her paws on her sides. All that effort...all of that struggle...for nothing? It was almost too much to bear. It should have been fine afterwards. Everything should have been okay for them. But...
'Few things in this world can match the power of a woman who has resolved herself.'
Red narrowed her eyes, slapped her cheeks simultaneously, shook her head and stood up straight. "You can count on us, ma'am!" We're not going to get anything done by sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves. I learned that from Lady Undyne...!
"...Atta girl." Undyne suddenly grinned. "We can hunt down the punks thay did this to Nikon, Augustine, and the tribe later. Believe me, the assholes that did this are gonna pay. But right now, Surripio's issues has to come first. That's why we came here."
"S-She's right. It sucks at the moment, but we have to focus on Surripio right now." Alphys agreed.
"I concur. Besides, the fundraising part is for helping them. Take care of them first and further help their recovery. I think that's worth focusing on." Muffet nodded.
"...I agree with my friends." Toriel eventually collected herself, clasping her paws and nodding. "What has happened to the Seloms Archipelago is tragic, and do believe that we will bring fiery retribution for this malevolent cruelty towards those innocent people...and Augustine. But we have to help the people right in front of us first, snd that's what we'll do."
"My my, what firm determination in your eyes." Cleo hissed playfully, happy for the lifted mood. "What about the boys? Have they nothing to say?"
"nah. we're kinda following the ladies lead at this point." Sans shrugged.
"LADIES FIRST, AS ANY FAIR GENTLEMAN WOULD SAY." Papyrus folded his arms a bit.
"I just have a few more closing requests and statements before we proceed." Toriel said as she leaned forward slightly. "Levi. Do you truly, honestly believe that this Kingdom can pull itself together?"
Levi sighed, scratching his neck while keeping eye contact with her. "I want to believe so, but there's no certainty. It doesn't mean that I won't try and help. Until then, I consider it my main role to keep minor bosses from causing too much damage, and to silence those that act out and get innocents in the crossfire." Levi paused while lowering is own paws. "I won't lie to you, Lady Toriel. If you go through with this, and succeed, it will piss off many underworld organizations in Surripio. They'll attempt to take retribution upon you for disrupting their means of profit."
"I am aware."
"...But I won't let them." Levi said strongly. "There's a chance that you dislike working with a mob boss like myself enough to consider not talking with me again after our business is done, and I can accept that. But rest assured, whether you do or don't, I will not allow them to touch you or your family and friends. Anyone who tries within my sights will be crushed. You and your family have bigger things to worry about than every single malevolent underground cabal in Surripio and possibly further out, trying to antagonize you. We'll keep them in check. And as an extra, I'll do what I can to provide you information on anything you might need in the future."
"Levi...Cleo...are you sure about this? To be involved in this kind of trouble with us?"
"Of course, Lady Toriel. We do hate losing in competition. But what we hate to lose the most are potential friends." Cleo smiled.
"The Underbelly of Surripio and beyond...leave that world to us. You just focus on making the world above a better place." Levi agreed.
Toriel thought deeply on this, looking at her paws and clasping them slightly. She closed her eyes and hummed. This was a very major decision, and going through with it is bound to change many things. A part of her is a bit bothered, and concerned about the consequences towards her friends and family. But having just come here, already having a bounty on her head and the heads of three of her friends...she couldn't afford to hold back. And she wasn't about to run away from potential problems. She'll just file this as one of the more troublesome choices she'd have to make today. One that had the potential to pay off.
The greatest saving factor...was that she wasn't facing the danger alone. Her friends were with her, and they do so willingly.
"Very well. We have ourselves a partnership." Toriel decided. She stood up from her sest as she and Levi walked around and met in the center, then shook paws.
"I hope we can get along.~" Levi smiled.
"As do I, Lady Tori.~" Cleo smiles as well, tasting the name on her tongue. "Tori...what a beautiful, powerful name. I have a very good feeling you'll continue to live up to it.~"
Toriel nodded as she turned towards everyone. "We know what our objectives are. Let's move out!"
"MA'AM!" Everyone shouted in attention as they made way for her to pass through the door first, then began to follow one by one.
"...hey tori. since you're a part of somethin' like this and all...ya think this makes ya a mob boss?" Sans couldn't help but ask.
"Honestly? I'm not too sure..."
"'Lady Toriel' sounds a bit mob-ish." Flowey wondered.
"Maybe a Don? That might go to Asgore instead. But he's not here right now. Toriel is a suitable boss of her own merit." Undyne hummed. "Which makes ME their most powerful enforcer!"
"you kinda already were that before this."
"Still counts."
"I'm gonna need the location of that facility. Get me inside, give me time, and I'll take care of the rest." Alphys stated strongly.
"A SIMPLE ENOUGH ROLE FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS! LEAVE IT TO ME!~"
"That fundraising party needs to go well. Nikon and her tribe need to know we support them." Muffet smiles.
"No one's gonna ruin it." Red narrowed her eyes.
One by one, they all filed outwards. Elvira smirked while briefly glancing at Cleo and Levi. "This is even more fun-sounding than I hoped! No way I'm missing out on this. Succeeding in this will be worth drinking to!~" She hoped off the table and strutted off.
Cleo stretched her arms and tail, while Levi cracked his knuckles. "I'll send a notice out. Any innocents in dangerous areas outside will have to get inside for safety. I'll go with Lady Toriel. This is going to be quite a job."
Cleo smiled towards him, slithering around him a bit and giving him a light kiss to his lips. "Do your best, love. No man of mine is going to fail a job this important.~"
"Your faith is well-placed, Cleo." Levi smiled. "And besides, I'm unlikely to lose myself with Lady Toriel and Elvira having my back. You just make sure to have a good time. Your role is arguably the safest."
"Probably not for tonight...but we'll see.~" With this, the couple leaves paw in paw, eager for night to come so they can get started.
Things were likely to get very busy.
"You...USELESS pumpkinheaded imbecile!"
"GAH!"
Jack O'Frost hits the wall hard before landing on his side, coughing slightly red snow. He has been badly beaten, with multiple marks on his body and head, with his hat slightly out of reach. The monster who attacked was much taller than him, wearing similar yet darker clothes, a pointier and more menacing straw hat, and his pumpkin head was filled with flames, and his expression was violently murderous, with a scythe attached to his back.
His name: Jack O'Ripper.
"You allowed them in? Instead of stopping them or at the very least, raising the damn alarm? How could you be so stupidly useless?!"
"T...They wouldn't have let me...all of them were much stronger than me...much much stronger..."
"You truly a worthless case!"
"Frost! Ripper! Enough!" A hoarse shout cut off their one-sided argument, causing both of them to turn towards someone with their face in ther hands, irritated by all the unnecessary noise. A large, bulky monster who's green skinned, pointy eared, yellow eyed, and exhibiting quite a surplus of magic. He had torn his jacket off, simply wearing a white shirt with chest pockets and black pants. "Frost made a mistake. I don't care who fixes it, but one of you fix it."
"Yeah yeah, I'll help take care of it. Probably not this pathetic snowflake." Jack O'Ripper kicked Jack O'Frost in the head, before dragging him away. "But you're gonna do something, you worthless runt."
"Ngh..." Frost couldn't muster up the energy to say anything, having a hard time standing. Ripper would most likely heal him up so he could fight...and possibly fail again.
El...vira... Frost mentally muttered, fading in and out of consciousness.
Faust was shaking as he was facing the window, clutching his head, digging his claws into it. He's wrong...everything he showed me...everything he said...it won't happen. It can't!
(The day before)
Faust was lying on the ground clutching his head and screaming in pain. Never has he experienced such a savage attack to his mind before, and it only ended once the one inflicting it did so. They stepped back, pulling out their inhaler, breathing in and exhaling deeply.
"Can you not scream so much? I have a killer headache right now..."
"I told you to take better of yourself. Now you have a headache NOT related to your powers."
"I don't need you hounding me on my health!"
"If I don't, you'll only get worse, boy. You need your rest."
"...What...what did you send in my head...? What did you do to me...?" The gargoyle slowly lifted his head and glared at the human looking at him, who simply shrugged.
"I showed you your future. Fire. Anger. Disbelief. Collapse. Tomorrow, everything you possessed, everything you have, everything you acquired via your long list of sins...Toriel Dreemurr will be the one who burns it all to ash."
"H-How...how can I stop it...?!"
"Sorry, I can only see the outcomes, not the paths. And this outcome is highly likely. All I have to do is sit back and watch from afar to make sure it happens." The young man pushed up his glasses. "Your future has been set. You have been warned by the traveling seer, the Pro-"
"Alright, that's enough. Let's go, boy." The large cloaked monster next to him roughly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. "I have entertained your game of manipulation today. Queen Toriel has been issued her trial, along with three of her most critical allies to liberating this Kingdom. Now we return home."
"H-Hey! You can't just manhandle me like this!"
"You need your rest. Worry not. I'll tie you to your bedpost when we get home so you don't run off on your own and hurt yourself more."
"Wh-You can't just say stuff like that with a straight face!"
"Why not? Am I doing it wrong?~"
"Don't you sound all innocent! What do you think I am, a sack of potatoes?!"
"Nay. You're not a sack of potatoes at all."
"...Oh. Well then-"
"You ARE, however, a constant pain in my arse."
"EXCUSE ME?!"
"Hmph.~"
The duo left the room, and eventually the building, behind, leaving the seemingly mightly King Faust on the ground breathing heavily and sweating. Faust pushed himself up, looked around, and shook his head. He recalled the names: Toriel, Undyne, Alphys, and Elvira. He'd memorize those names, they need to go.
While HE needed to send out a notice. Very quickly.
(Present)
"...N-No...it won't all burn away...never. I'll prove your prophecy wrong, insignificant human..." Faust snarled while clawing at a wall, then lifted his head and glared at the wanted posters on his wall. "I've been at this for years. No random group of upstarts are going to get the better of me!"
He looked especially incensed at Toriel's poster. It seemed to stare back at him in very obvious defiance. He snarled again and slashed at it with his claws, the poster shredding as his magic pulsed.
"Your flames don't scare me, Dreemurr. Your last name is damaged goods! Do you hear me?! It means NOTHING!" He snarled at the shreds, his eyes glowing. The Dreemurrs meant nothing. Their name isn't meant to be feared. He was embarrassed to even give them a notice. But he had to in order to be sure they don't interfere. It wasn't out of fear. He'd keep everything he had. Did so many things, crossed many lines. So what, some weird goat woman is out to defeat him? Why would he be afraid of something as stupid as that?
Toriel Dreemurr will be the one who burns it all to ash.
It was nonsense. He didn't fear Toriel Dreemurr.
He didn't...!
Yeah...many things are happening.
In case you got a bit lost: lemme try and summarize:
Muffet and Red are going with Lady Cleo to meet up with Augustine for a fundraising event for Mire Town, they must ensure it goes well. Undyne and the Pack are heading out to bring down leading corrupt enforcers within Surripio, most gather at an underground prison. Alphys, Flowey, the Skelebros, and the Colddusts head out to the facility holding stolen human souls. Alphys will have the souls safely freed, with the tech itself all deactivated...then they'll wreck the place. Toriel, Elvira, and Levi are heading towards 'Kingpin' Faust, aiming to take him down directly as the others destroy his operations around him.
And let it be known that Surripio is NOT the best place. Operations in it's dark underbelly tends to regularly disrupt the overworld peace there. And they don't think that there's anyone crazy, focused, or hellbent enough to try and interfere with that, and risk pissing off anyone who profits or has connections to the darker side of things here.
To their incoming GREAT surprise, they don't know Toriel Dreemurr very well, who mostly checks off the latter two with a tiny bit of the first. Or Undyne the Undying, who gleefully checks off all three. And they've just made some shady, yet reliable, and VERY powerful allies...
On the side, Cleo notes that the nickname Toriel goes by, 'Tori' is a beautiful, powerful name. I looked into it while writing that, and it means quite a couple of interesting things. The one most constant-in English that is-was 'victory' and 'conqueror' along with the characteristics involved.
I think of authoritative, powerful, tough, tenacious, wealthy, problem-solving, and achieving. With me adding kindness and understanding to top things off. Your call on whether these fit or not.
Even the Tu-Toriel pun kinda works. In-game, she tries to teach you the best, preferred path to true victory.
And if it's for the sake her her family and friends, this Toriel WILL find a way to win. Bet on that.
Alright, this chapter's long enough as it is, so i'll stop here. Next couple of chapters are more likely to be touches shorter, but more things will be going on, as mentioned above.
See ya then!