Sans: how much damage can several resolved women cause? apparently a lot.
Papyrus: QUITE A LOT, WHEN THEY REALLY OUT THEIR MINDS TO IT!
Toriel: It appears we are once again being underestimated...
Flowey: What did you expect? At the moment, we're mostly considered nobodies who got lucky several times. Victims who just have tremendous luck and no real danger factor. They've no idea how wrong they are. How dangerous we can be when we resolve ourselves. Right...Alphys?
Alphys: U-Um...
Chapter Start!
Several costly mistakes have been made by the enemy.
First, they thought that no one could be pissed enough to attack Faust, their Kingpin, directly. Second, they didn't think that someone would have the power and technique to make it happen. Third, they honestly didn't expect Elvira and Levi-decent enough people and quite powerful, but still a bit selfish-to join in on such a thing without giving a damn about the consequences, choosing to deal with them when they get to them.
Toriel Dreemurr surprisingly factors into all three, somehow in the worst ways possible.
She certainly IS pissed enough to want to fight her way towards Faust, she definitely DID have the power and technique to make it happen, AND both Elvira and Levi joined up with her, out of real mutual trust, respect, and interest, as well as genuinely liking her.
Which equates to the hell that's going on right inside their building.
"Away with you, fleas.~" Elvira smiles gleefully as she casually flicks her paw to the side, blasting away men with a pulse of violet energy. "I brought myself back to this building because of your bounty on me. Which means...you can't really complain about the misfortune that befalls you afterwards.~"
"It's been a while since I've been on a personal job this big. I'll have to tell Cleo all about the experience later." Levi stated calmly as water formed around him and automatically attacked any mobsters that got close. Several tendrils of water would slam right into them, right onto them, ceushingnthem slightly, then outright engulfing them in water and tossing them aside. His magic would do this automatically, with his paws clasped behind his back. Though Lady Toriel certainly seems to be ruthless with her fighting...
Her flames were intense, waves of them reaching out and smashing right into the incoming waves, burning them whenerver they tried to get close. And for those that did get close, it hardly mattered; Toriel's punches were fast, they hit hard, and theu obviously burned quite fierce. One would come from the side, a flaming punch to the face sent them spiralling into the wall. A flaming low sweep would send another wave of fire and crash against several others. She would turn quickly as a flaming elbow slammed into another enemy's face. Said elbow would then send a fiery blast that would send all the mobsters in that direction forced back with heavy burns.
"Oooh. I was totally right to pick siding with her on this little venture.~" Elvira smiles gleefully with folded arms. As she did so, her magic manifested and floated over her head, with it taking the form of a wicked black cat, with glowing gold eyes and a wicked mischievous smile that matched her own. "Unfortunate for you folk, my goody good luck beloved sister isn't here to tell me to go easy on you.~" The feline manifestation unsheathed it's claws and slashed horizontally, causing a violet rupture in the ground that split up multiple mobsters and sent them crashing in various directions. They all pulsed as their magic suddenly went haywire and would backfire on themselves, occasionally attacking their allies on accident. Jinx!~
Levi hummed as more tendrils of water grew and splashed harshly against the incoming mobsters, especially slapping a whip across the face of one that tried to attack Toriel from behind. "Nehaha...I can do this all day. It's rare for me to let loose like this. But alas, we have more important things to do, and a much more meaningful target." Levi stated as he stood in-between the two woman and wrapped an arm around their waists.
"Hey hey, watch the paws. What would Cleo think about this?~" Elvira teased.
"She'd laugh. Hang on." Levi mostly ignored her as a sphere of water manifested around the trio, then a waterspout of it would properly them upwards. The water sphere carried them directly upwards, slamming through multiple floors without any damage to themselves, knowing that Faust was on the top floor.
"There are no innocents within the building, Toriel. Trust me, they don't let anyone they don't approve of in their main base of operations." Levi noted when he saw the curious look in Toriel's eyes. She nodded, trusting Levi while looking directly upwards as they kept crashing through multiple roofs, leaving plenty of running water behind.
At the top floor, Faust and Sloanes could feel the trembling under their feet, and knew something was amiss when they suddenly disappeared from the cameras every several seconds before reappearing briefly on a higher floor than a last. After a brief bit or confusion, Faust narrowed his eyes as he finally figured out what was happening, and what was going to happen.
"She found me..."
On cue, the final burst of water made it to the top floor, greatly surprising Slones as he and Faust could see the three intruders in the large ball of water. Toriel narrowed her eyes dangerously towards Faust. As the water sphere popped, Levi swiftly threw Elvira towards Sloanes, and Toriel towards Faust. Sloanes cried out in surprise as he was kicked out of his chair and Toriel punched Faust in the face with a flaming fist. The trio landed as the opposing duo struggled to stand from the suddenness of it all. Sloanes was somewhat freaked, but Faust was much calmer, spitting blood from his mouth with a huff.
"Tch. I never thought you'd be bold enough to pull this stunt." Faust muttered while wiping mouth and stands up. "You forced your way in here without a care. And not only that, you made allies with the likes of a mob boss dragon and a living jinx feline witch. Are you mad?"
"I've no interest in your criticism of me. And I suggest you not deliberately make me angrier. I've already found you quite damnable." Toriel stated icily.
"Oooh, I'm liking this already.~" Elvira chuckled mischievously.
"What have we done that warrants something like this?" Faust narrowed his eyes.
"I just warned you not to deliberately make me angrier, and yet you say something like that. Just from that, you infuriate me." Toriel narrowed her eyes, which slowly turned from fiery red to icy blue as her flames gradually turned a similar color, and grew colder. "Surripio's latest King. Collaboration with Ratoveros. Together you put your resources together to exploit both Fortuna and Astus for years. Even before I left the Underground with the other Mt. Ebbot monsters. And now I realize how deeply this has gone and how badly it's affected people."
"And you come all the way here to help Levi dethrone me for it? You have never acted on it before. Why change that so recently?"
"I will admit to that folly. We were not proactive enough, and that proved costly to others. And I will also admit that we hesitated on taking action because we wanted to hold onto our peace, enjoy our freedom that we've wanted for so long. But...you've made it clear, intentionally or not, that we cannot ignore you or your collaborators, nor the other sources of hostility in this world that target us." Toriel clenched her fist. "Not only that...these 'activities' have hurt two people I especially hold dear to me, before I ever met them and had them complement my life with their existence. The first is my youngest son, whom despite the troubles he's endured, is the primary reason we've been liberated in the first place. And the other is a friend who helped raise, love and protect him to the best of her ability despite her own serious hardships. I simply cannot let their suffering go unpunished."
Faust scoffed. "So that's you're biggest reason for being here and attacking me? I hurt the people closest to you? I've done that to plenty of people in the past and it's changed nothing. What makes you any different than the others?"
"You're correct. I'm not the first person who's loved ones you've hurt. Unfortunately for you, the difference is that I AM the first person who's gotten mad enough to deliberately march into your territory...so I could do THIS."
Faust eyes widened as he barely dodged a wave of cold flames, which swiftly hardened into spiked ice and nearly impaled him in the side. He winced while landing on his feet, holding his side. It was so cold, yet it burned so intensely. The distraction led to him being struck in the face by a water ball to the face from Levi, further knocking him off-balance.
"And since Lady Toriel has a vendetta against you, that gave me an ally for my own plans to dethrone you and take your place. We have a mutally beneficial goal for our mutually beneficial partnership." Levi grinned. "I take your place at the very top of Surripio so I can help make it somewhat morally respectable again..she gains a powerful ally and friend to assist her in the future. See? Mutual benefits.~"
"And in Toriel's case, victory means better chances to help and protect her loved ones. So you can bet your ass on her being hellbent on winning." Elvira grinned.
"Okay...then why are YOU here?" Sloanes pointed towards Elvira, who shrugged.
"Who, me? I'm simply a cat who wants to see how things turn out, what kind of chaos a Dreemurr can stir up if you piss one off enough. I am so far, definitely not disappointed." She smiled. "Plus, despite the large amount of trouble he caused them, they showed my son hospitality. I kinda owe them for that."
"...Oh for the love of...YOU'RE the one who reached out to them, were you? YOU started this! You brought these living disasters to our front door! You really are a jinx!"
"Only when I feel like it.~"
"Stupid cat...I'm gonna do something I should have done long ago." Sloanes grumbled. The doors to the surprisingly large room opened as multiple monsters came in and surrounded him as he sits back again. Concrete began to surround him as well as the mobsters, which seemed to be their main magic. "Once I skin you alive and sprinkle your dust in front of him, you feline menace of a son will be next. Might as well join Ratoveros in hell, right?!" Sloanes said with a malicious grin.
Elvira's playful smile vanished as her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oh my...that's a rather poor choice of last words."
Faust stood up and glared at Toriel and Levi, who seemed to be the ones choosing to deal with him. He shook his head. "You've no idea what your messing with...what you're trying to do is borderline insanity. Everything has been fine until you and your insipid faction came out of nowhere and started making a massive mess of things! The consequences for these actions will be severe. Yet you still choose to take this choice of action, all because someone you care about got hurt due to me? You REALLY want to shatter the status quo over something stupidly sentimental?!"
"...I have already told you. Your criticism does not concern me." Toriel stated simply as more cold flames wrapped around her, with her eyes shimmering icy blue.
"You heard the lady." Levi shrugged with his draconic smile.
"...Fine...FINE...FINE!" Faust snarled ferociously. His appearance changed even further as his rage grew. His skin turned into black scales, his eyes larger and sharper, his goblin ears more pointed, a double chin with horns sticking out and black eyes without pupils, dragon-like wings, and razor sharp horns. Demonic blue flames began emitting from his jaws. It only took a moment for Toriel to notice that his now black scales had a slight sheen to them, and noticed that it was metal. Black metal secreting a very negative aura.
It's metal magic with immense amounts of malevolence attached to it. It's corrupted..thus much stronger than regular metal magic. This might prove problematic.
"There...that's much better. I'll be doing every one of MY people in Surripio a favor by ending your disruptive actions, by killing you myself!"
"No...we'll be the ones doing everyone in Surripio a favor once I steal your throne. That's how it works here, you know.~" Levi smiled as Toriel cracked her knuckles.
"And I am MORE than willing to assist him with that..."
Okay. Okay. Okayokayokay. You got this, Alphys. You're only infiltrating a facility mostly functioning on draining soul essence from humans and putting them into jars for consumption...and you have to shut that all down. Sure. That's totally something you can do.
Alphys frowned and shook her head. Dang it, focus! I don't have time to be overthinking this! This is NOT something I'm allowed to fail at. Undyne and Toriel are counting on me to do my part, so that's what I intend to do! Alright, let's see now...
"You losers do what you need to do. I'm gonna scout things out on my own for a bit." Flowey said as he hopped out of his pot and burrowed into the ground, despite it being metal. He had some pretty admirable burrowing skills and strength.
"Okay, we have limited time, so we have to gather and confirm as much data as possible before proceeding further." Alphys muttered while checking her phone, which had more complex data and numerical setups than the others expected. "Dyra, fill me in."
"There should be a storage room where the capsuled souls are being preparing into be shipped out to minor mob bosses and other possible shady customers off of the continent. If I had to estimate, they're likely to be shipped out in about ten to twenty minutes." Dyra explained quickly.
"That's right. Alphys, you should focus on making sure they can't help produce any more. We'll make sure that they can't ship out the ones they already processed." Warkie said while twiddling his fingers.
"They want those soul capsules they'll have to get past us, and that ain't gonna happen." Akai pounded one fist into the other. "Leave it to the Colddusts!"
"There ain't nothin' to worry about, Alphys. You can count on us." Scythe grinned.
"No one will touch those capsules." Dynamo growled lowly. "Friend Papyrus...will you fight with me?"
"I WILL DO MY ABSOLUTE BEST, FRIEND DYNAMO!~" Papyrus saluted with strong confidence. "SANS, ALPHYS. IF THIS WILL BE THE SETUP...THEN THAT MEANS THAT YOU'LL BOTH BE ON YOUR OWN."
"it's gonna be fine, bro. me and alph are gonna be fine. well...as fine as we can account for." Sans noted while shrugging. Unexpected variables always come up. In times like this, adaptation is a very important skill to have. He and Alphys can think on their feet when needed, they'll be fine.
"I already sent a copy of the digital map to your phones. You'll be able to make your way through here with ease." Alphys said, still focused. "Alright everybody, we know what we need to do. So let's go out and...uh...do the things...we need to do...?" She muttered while twiddling her fingers. "Sorry...i'm feeling a bit anxious about how seriously heavy this objective is, so motivational words are kinda escaping me."
"That's pathetic." Dyra said coldly; she then blinked when Alphys chuckled nervously in agreement, and shook her head with her eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, that did NOT come out right at all!"
"Your mood-swings send out really confusing signals." Scythe said bluntly.
"S-S-Shut up! I'm in perfect mental balance, you bastard..." Dyra muttered while lowering her head, blushing in embarrassment. Alphys caught the type of blush that it was, though refused to comment.
"You'll be fine. Dyra. Just stay focused and your mind won't wander too far off kilter." Dynamo said strongly. "I'll be there with you to keep you on our path. Just like I'm always willing to do." He said softly as he lowered himself to gently pat her head.
"Don't patronize me, I can stay focused." Dyra grumbled, but nonetheless climbed Dynamo's arm and hopped on his shoulder, claiming it as her seat again. "Just get us there, you oafish step-brother."
"There's no need to be like that, Dyra. Alphys has already forgiven you."
"Ugh, whatever! I bet giving HER a shoulder ride felt nice, huh? Her butt feel nice on your shoulder?! I didn't expect you to lend your shoulder to just any girl's butt to carry them around! Hers must be one of the better ones, huh? Nice and voluptuous right?!"
"W-Whaaaa?!" Alphys sputtered in disbelief at this direction. H-H-How did this suddenly become about my butt?!
Dyra blinked and shook her head. "Ah man, I really do need help staying focused..."
"Is there something you'd like to say, Dyra?~" Scythe teased.
"Yeah. Piss off."
"I DO BELIEVE WE SHOULD GET MOVING BEFORE LADY DYRA FALLS INTO ANOTHER RANT! BEST OF LUCK! THE GREAT PAPYRUS MOVES...ONWARDS!" Papyrus sped down the directed hallway, with the Colddusts sighing and following suit almost immediately afterward when Dyra was finally placated, Dynamo carrying her away. His patience with her mood swings was admirable.
"...the colddusts, ladies and gentlemen. or in this case...just a lady." Sans chuckled while slapping Alphys back. "c'mon, al. no time to be gaping like your fish gal. we got work to do."
"R...Right..." Alphys nodded as the two relatively short monsters strode forward down a different hallway, which would lead to the destination that they sought out. "Um...Sans?"
"yeah?"
"I have been thinking about something. Something important." Alphys rubbed her chin. "They use these machines to drain these souls of their essence and place them into jars or capsules so the energy can be absorbed by anyone...but it doesn't seem to work immediately on someone like Frisk and Chara. In other words, people with especially potent souls..."
"yeah. their human souls are unusually powerful. there might be a reason for that. they might just be special rare cases. who knows." Sans hummed. "but i see what you mean. if someone with a strong soul resists the process, they would have to try and break their spirit first. break down their will to resist. that can be accomplished in several ways."
"Yes. Severe prior trauma...physical torture...pyschological torture...pyschic torture...mind control...lobotomy...these are pretty effective prerequisites to breaking someone down enough for their souls to be drained much more effectively. Attack the body and mind as coldly and efficiently as possible, then their soul will be more vulnerable." Alphys shook a bit while scratching her head. "With this in mind, they must have a room specifically for this kind of thing. To break them before draining them..." Alphys lowered her head while pressing her paws together. "And they've been willing to do this to so many people...even Darkness was able to approve of it...before he had a change of heart."
"yeah. there's bound to be several that tried to resist at first. they needed to be broken." Sans sighed. "and of course darkness would feel bad creating something that would lead to something like this. he's too ashamed to even try to fix it himself..."
"That's fine. I'm more than happy to do so in his place." Alphys said with a strong nod. They soon approached another pair of white double doors, and Alphys checked her phone. "It's right behind here. And their are several signatures right behind it. I don't thinknthey detected us yet."
"you let me handle them." Sans said as he takes his right hand out of his pocket. "just open the door and i'll take care of the rest."
"Okay." Alphys typed in several things on her phone while looking at the door. After a particularly long button press, the doors would slide open and they would expose themselvesnto the possible trouble to befall them. They were correct, as several guards have been helping watch the room. The were all met with surprise as Alphys and Sans run in.
"Wha-?!"
Sans didn't give them a chance to react. His threw his hand forward as multiple dense balls of bone manifested over his head and shot forth, smacking every one of the guards in their heads, knocking them unconscious upon impact. As for the scientists they were guarding, a swift ping of their souls to blue, and he swiped his hand to the side, pinning them to the wall.
"sorry. just stay over there for a bit." Sans said with his eye sockets flashing cyan. "al...i think we found the room we're looking for."
"This is definitely the place..." Alphys muttered while stepping further inwards andnpocketingnher phone.
There was no doubt about it. Cylindical clear see-through capsules could be seen all around, she estimated about one-hundred at best, and each of them had one soul in each, almost completely drained. This must have been a new batch. She could even sense several of them. Each of them were being stripped of their energy, personality, defining features...all torn away to become a mere jar of energy that can be absorbed by just about anyone, human and monster alike. These machines take away what makes each person unique, what makes them truly alive.
If Asriel was here to see this, he would take this VERY personally, for obvious reasons.
"There might be more...but on this floor, I can use the console to safely free all of them before they're completely 'gone'." Alphys explained as she moved forward towards the back of the large room, likely to be a control room, with Sans keeping an eye on the scientists. She looked at them all with extreme distaste, then looked towards the floor with a sigh. No wonder Darkness was so ashamed of this when he regained his morality. Many have lost their own for power. Alphys thought mentally. It would end soon enough, then their objective would be compl-
Her entire body was diagonally bisected from shoulder to hip...
Alphys froze in place, with her eyes widened and sweat suddenly dripping down her face. She was shaking violently with her mouth slightly agape. Because of that, her teeth wouldn't be able to chatter.
W-What was that...? W-W-What did I...did I just...die? No, I didn't...but then what did I...?!
"ALPHYS!"
She almost didn't hear Sans shout her name in panic, just like she barely felt him tackling her into the ground before a scythe would make the grisly vision come true. They both grunted from the impact of the floor, with Sans quickly recovering and helping Alphys up, who took the time to scramble for her glasses, setting them back on her face.
"W-W-W-What was that...?!"
"we've got company." Sans muttered as he was the first to stand, his eye sockets still glowing cyan as he pushed Alphys behind him. Quick observation would see that that the scientists he merely restrained-as well as the guards he knocked out-have been quickly slaughtered with one messy slash across each of their bodies. The monsters of them turned to dust, and the humans were already dead with their blood pooling across the floor. They didn't even have the time to warn them. "really, really bad company..."
"There, THAT'S how you do it. Don't leave the guards alive when you KO them, cause they'll just get back up and try again, or run away from the consequences like cowards. One failure is enough, so they die. And the scientists...well...just like the guards. Easily replaceable.~"
The shadows gathered, as well as flames sprouting from the ground. In it's place, was a sinister monster standing in it's wake, with it's flaming head lighting the room even further, and the sheen of his scythe intimidating Alphys, having almost been bisected by it. Killing intent came off of the monster in sinster, malefic waves that shocked Sans and nearly caused Alphys to suffocate from the pressure. Sans didn't know what to think about this, aside from covering for Alphys. Rarely has he met a monster who's killing intent came off of them in waves this immense and this heavy. Alphys' focus having been drastically affected to the point of having difficulty breathing told Sans that she was receiving the brunt of it. That told him that this enemy was far more invested in killing her, and making sure the death was gruesome. He could feel it, this has become an obsession, and he's very much bound to attempt it, no matter what anyone says.
Like he'd allow such a thing.
"Greetings, Dr. Alphys. My name is Jack O'Ripper." The monster grinned mockingly, his pumpkin head glowing more from the flames within. "And I have come for you..."
"It should be this way." Dyra narrowed her eyes while gazing at her phone as she rides on Dynamo's shoulder carrying her forward. "Geez, this is seriously reckless. Then again, it sounds like the kind of thing we'd do if there was something beneficial for us. But it's beneficial for a lot of people, not just ourselves."
"Hey, I'm alright with getting a little reckless, if that's what it's gonna take." Sycthe hummed as he carries one of his katanas over his shoulder. "Never liked this idea, never would have. Too many innocents have been used for this stupid business."
"Aye, Scythe. But that shall also be their downfall. They've gotten used to 'services' such we this. They were spoiled. Which means if we take them away, they'll have a difficult time to develop without them, unlike the ones we have allied ourselves with, who have chosen to become stronger without such tactics that require callous sacrifices." Dynamo looked down towards Papyrus. "Do you not agree, friend Papyrus?"
"YES! WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO RESORT TO SUCH THINGS TO INCREASE OUR STRENGTH. THINGS HAVE BEEN MADE APPARENT THAT WE HAVE QUICKLY GROWN STRONG DUE TO BOTH OUR TRAINING, AND THE NUMEROUS CHALLENGES WE HAVE FACED." Papyrus sighed. "IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT THINGS HAVE COME TO THIS POINT. THE CONSTANT DANGER NEVER CEASES TO WORRY ME. BUT ALAS, HELPING MY FRIENDS REQUIRES ME TO BE STRONGER. SO STRONGER I SHALL BE!"
"Well spoken, friend Papyrus. I highly agree."
"Doesn't bother us that much. We've been used to that kind of thing for a while. It's just that you guys have been trying much harder at it, and you actually intend to win for the long haul." Akai mentioned offhandly. "I used to think I was pretty tough. But then Queen Toriel took down my giant form...which I didn't have much control over it to begin with...heck, just transforming hurt a lot..."
"You might want to hold off on that transformation until we seriously need it. You were forced into it that time." Warkie mentioned while shyly patting his shoulder.
"IN ANY CASE, ARE WE GETTING CLOSER TO OUR TARGETED AREA? I'M ACKNOWLEDGING JUST HOW IMPORTANT THIS OBJECTIVE IS. IT'S QUITE RARE TO TAKE A MORE PROACTIVE APPROACH TO SOMETHING LIKE THIS." Papyrus said quietly while gazing forward with the others in tow.
"We should be there. The warehouse!" Dyra shouted as they approached a set of double doors. They would automatically open once they approached.
And they were indeed right to go this way, as they continued forward and saw the supplies they seeked. The jars/capsules of the souls that have been completely broken and turned into simple energy. Their personalities have mostly been removed. They were all in cargo crates and looked fully prepared to ship out at any time. Fifty crates of ten souls each. They were simply glowing balls of energy of various colors, capable of being absorbed by anyone.
They would not be taken.
"ALRIGHT, THEY ARE HERE." Papyrus mumbled quietly while folding his arms. "THIS IS A BIT WORRISOME, THOUGH. HOW WILL WE KEEP THE SOULS FROM LEAVING?"
"It's going to be difficult, and tragic. But if these souls have Been here a while and their owners weren't strong willed enough to survive without it, then they're most likely dead by now." Drya said stoically, causing a slight frown within Papyrus. "But as long as we can keeo this from continuing, it won't be in vain. Remember this is the only facility in the world that does this as welp as it does, never letting the overall designs and functions of it leave Scelus. Destroying this place afterwards will make sure they can never do it again."
"...THEN...THE BEST THING WE CAN DO...IS RETURN THEM TO THEIR FAMILIES." Papyrus said solemnly. "IF IT IS TOO LATE, AND WE TRULY CANNOT RESTORE THEM...THEN...PERHAPS THE BEST THING TO DO IS RETURN THE SOULS TO THEIR FAMILIES...AND LET THEM DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH THEM, FOR CLOSURE."
"Papyrus...are you sure...?" Scythe turned towards the tall skeleton.
"THESE SOULS BELONG TO GOOD PEOPLE. GOOD PEOPLE WHO DESERVED BETTER THAN THIS. AND I'M SURE THEY ALSO HAVE GOOD FAMILIES AND FRIENDS THAT WISH TO HAVE CLOSURE WITH THEM. IT SHOULD BE THEIR FINAL SAY ON WHAT TO DO WITH THEM...I THINK THAT'S THE BEST WE CAN DO FOR THEM." Papyrus turned around and noticed the back door opening up. The others looked in his direction and saw what had him on alert. "WHICH MEANS THAT IN THE MEANTIME...WE MUST NOT ALLOW THEM TO FALL INTO ANYONE ELSE'S HANDS."
"Aye." Scythe narrowed his eyes as his grip tightened on his katana.
It wasn't too hard to tell that the ones attempting to file in were no doubt enemies. They to wore suits that somewhat contrasted each other. What Papyrus could most identify were that there were three different groups involved, judging by their contrasting colors of purple, yellow, and brown. And most importantly, they didn't look very friendly or reasonable. All of them wanted the same thing.
They were not allowed to have it.
"I'M SORRY, GENTLEMEN. BUT FROM TONIGHT ON, THESE SERVICES WILL NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE TO YOU. IT'D BE BEST IF YOU LEAVE NOW AND, HOW YOU SAY, CUT YOUR LOSSES?" Papyrus declared.
They didn't seem to take Papyrus all that seriously, given how they simply gazed at him with annoyance. "Who the hell are you...? And how did you get Scythe's League of all people to sidenwith you?"
"I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS. AND THESE ARE MY COMRADES. AND YOU, MY UNFRIENDLY PEERS, WANT THESE SOUL CAPSULES FOR YOURSELVES. WE CANNOT ALLOW THAT ANYMORE." Papyrus said more seriously. "SO ONCE AGAIN, I SUGGEST YOU TURN AWAY PEACEFULLY. I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO HURT YOU."
"If he's too hesitant, I'm more than happy to do it for him. Who wants to go first?" Scythe grinned.
"What is...who has time for this? Somebody take care of this." One of them said nonchalantly.
"I wouldn't be brushing us off so nonchalantly, jackasses." Dyra stuck her tongue out. "Let us make it clear: Your business here is done. Turn around, and get lost. Before you get humiliated."
"Dyra..." Dynamo sighed as the mobsters were greatly annoyed by her attitude, and instead began inching closer. They were surprisingly cut off by a sudden storm of bones raining down just close enough to force them all the way outside. Papyrus and the others slowly walked outside after them, his scarf flapping slightly as orange light flashed in his eyes.
"I'M TELLING YOU, YOU CANNOT HAVE THESE SOULS."
"So, Papyrus...you're finally prepared to do some damage...?" Flowey suddenly appeared out from the ground, grinning up at Papyrus. "That's what I've been waiting for from you, especially with a look like that."
"USUALLY I'M MORE HESITANT TO RESORT TO THINGS LIKE THIS...BUT I'M ALSO AWARE OF THE POTENTIAL FALLOUT IF I DO NOT." Papyrus glared at the incoming enemies. "FLOWEY, WILL YOU BE FIGHTING BY MY SIDE AS WELL, MY FRIEND?"
"You kiddin' me? Of COURSE! After all, you're still one of my favorite playmates." Flowey put on his scary smile as vines rose from the ground, as well as a dozen 'friendliness pellets'.
"And this just happens to be one of my FAVORITE games!~"
Many things were wrong with the current scenario. Alphys was terrified out of her mind, and not without reason. This Jack O'Ripper had sent out a malefic aura so potent that she imagined that she died on the spot, and actually felt it happen, even though she KNOWS it didn't. Up to know, she has NEVER known a monster with so much killing intent pouring from them so casually. Even Parvos' intent was somewhat tame compared to this 'Ripper'. And it didn't really take much for her to know that the name meant serious trouble.
Oh dear. Oh Dear. Oooooohhhhhhh Dear... "J-Jack...O-O'Ripper? Oh...how...how nice...ehehe...heh..." Alphys muttered while shivering behind Sans. "A-And what is y-your business w-with me...?" Ah geez, I'm stuttering again! Of COURSE I know what he's here for! My bounty! Why did I have to get a scary one after me?! That's SO not fair!
"I believe I've made myself quite clear, Dr. Alphys. I have come for you. You...are MINE."
Alphys shook her head with a scared smile. "N-No thanks. I-I'm already a h-happily m-m-married wife..."
Ripper blinked, as his scythe lowered a bit. "...Of all the things I've heard when people see me coming...that is a new one."
"i'm sure it is." Sans scoffed. "listen al. i'm, uh...gonna need ya to go on ahead and do your thing while i take care of this guy."
"You're going to fight him?!"
"ya got more important things to focus on than this jack o'chump. besides, the others are as occupied as we are. get to that control room and free these souls. i'll keep him off your back." Sans said seriously as he turned to meet Jack O'Ripper's eyes. Alphys gazed at Sans back for a moment, before shaking her head and makingnher way towards her direction. She almost felt the heat of a fireball hitting her in the back, though a wall of bones quickly blocked it off. "nope. you're dealing with me now. that includes not taking potshots at my friend. capiche?"
Ripper tilted his head. "Hmmm? No, nonono...that won't do. I'm only here to rip her apart. Don't think I won't mind doing the same to or anyone else who gets in my way. It'll just be less satisfying for the rest of you."
"then it seems that we are at, what they call...an impasse. cause ya see, i can't exactly let that happen." Sans shrugged. "it's a friend thing. i reckon ya don't know much about that, huh?"
"Oh no, that was soooo hurtful."
"yeah, fair point. maybe i shouldn't try so hard to to rip you a new one?~"
Jack O'Ripper frowned as Sans gave him a super cheeky grin. Ripper took a deep breath, then sighed. "...I'm going to start killing you now."
"everybody's gotta be a critic..."
It started instantaneously. Sans had jumped back to dodge a vicious slash at the ground where he was just standing. It dug several centimeters into the ground and was just as many centimeters wide. Despite how lean Jack O'Ripper looker, he had a lot of strength behind him. Strength that would put Sans in a lot of trouble if one of those attacks make serious direct contact.
Good thing Sans was light on his feet.
Several bone shards shot towards Ripper, with one of them grazing his arm. A sudden purple glow surrounded him, and he felt a lot of weight all of a sudden. Oh? What is this? I feel a lot heavier all of a sudden...
"alright. looks like karmic retribution works on this guy..." Sans muttered, before he jumped up and avoided another slash at his feet. "and given how bright he's glowin', there's a lotta sins on his back." problem is, it's barely slowin' him down...emphasis on barely...
"I seem to be slowing down a little. Is that your doing? Impressive ability." Ripper grinned. "But given the look of disappointment on your face, it's not working nearly as well as you hoped it would. On me, at least.~" Several flaming, evil-looking pumpkins manifested around him and shot forth. And each of them were laughing maniacally.
Sans showed them no respect, with a bone wall raising and defending against the flaming pumpkins, crashing against it. It cracked under the pressure, but did not break. geez. not only are his scythe skills ridiculous, but his flames are intense. they seem normal, but it's more erratic, wild, malevolent... Unfortunately, a bit of extra pressure from the flames did indeed shatter his bone defense to pieces, forcing Sans to teleport back and shield his skull from the resulting debris. Jack O'Ripper walked through the resulting smoke, grinning evilly as his scythe also ignited with intense flames.
In the meantime, Alphys pushed open the doors to the control room, shaking her head from the intense noise going on in the background. Sans will be fine...Sans will be fine...focus on the objective. Free the souls safely. The souls in the room still have a chance to survive. I just need to be fast. Alphys muttered as she looked around in the multiple monitors snd computers in the back. Hacking into them is child's play for her, so she observed a bit more at first. She could see one large monitor with specific handling towards the souls. Aha! There you are, my pretty! Now I just need to...wait a minute.
She blinked. There was another room, viewed by a camera. It gave her...a bad feeling. Then her eyes widened a fraction as it clicked. "Wait...don't tell me." Hesitant, she pressed a button on said board, and her fears have been confirmed. I knew it...I didn't want it to be true. But my guess was correct after all...
There IS a torture chamber somewhere in here. And from the high quality image the camera projected-which she will lament having to waste-it has been quite a busy room. Rusty and bloody torture, surgical tools were all around as she occasionally moved the camera and zoomed in. There was especially a surgical leather stable with pretty strengthened straps that likely restrain those capable of magic.
And the occasional dust...it was the amount of blood that bothered her more. Human blood. And the abundance of it has dine more than make her a little bit sick. She didn't know how or why anyone would authorize this. This was terrible, and it's main purpose was to break humans down until they surrender their souls without a fight? Even worse. That was a room she wouldn't feel the least bit bad about destroying. Though she had to know of someone was financing these. She resumed quick typing, then raised an eyebrow as a name came up.
"Sloanes...?" She narrowed her eyes slightly, and searched/cross referenced his name to find out more. Once his name did indeed come up, as well as a profile pick. Subconsciously, she felt a lot better about her own weight after seeing him.
Let's see now. It appears that he's been a major name in Surripio's grand scheme of things...but he certainly isn't very pleasant. Not the biggest fan of monsters. Has been a pretty steady co-director as a reliable job creator for Surripio...huh? Alphys blinked. Despite his success, he's been dangerously envious of Levi because some mere 'scummy crime lord' has gotten more love and popularity from Surripio's people than a 'legitimate businessman'. He doesn't appreciate fashion model Cleo hogging the positive spotlight either. What makes it worse is that they barely pay him any noticeable need. It doesn't help that he has a seriously low opinion of monsters. Though overlooking that, he's done his part in helping Faust run things from the shadows.
Alphys groaned. This was indeed interesting information, but she had bigger things to focus on, like the souls. But she's confident she can manage it in a few minutes, then she'll get back to it. "Alright, here we go. Hold tight Sans, this won't take long." She muttered while cracking her fingers and getting to work.
Back with Sans and Ripper, the former had been quickly dodging every superheated fireball thrown his way, to the point that hid suit was in slight danger of catching on fire from close contact. Then he barely manages to dodge again as Ripper appeared before him and slashed diagonally upwards, forming a burning tear on said suit.
no good. he's gettin' the hang of me...
"Ever find it strange how the term 'monster' has been sorta altered over the years? Tends to be pretty confusing." Ripper said casually while tossing up snd cstchign a flaming pumpkin in his hand. "The term unsually means a creature or animal, or someone who's inhumane nd cruel. And yet more than a few monsters have been described with love, hope, and compassion...sounds kinda backwards, don't you agree?"
Sans felt cold. The Ripper toned down his excitement and was now calming down, which someone made him feel more at a disadvantage. i don't like the sound of this...
"One day I figured...that's not right at all. Monsters aren't supposed to be kind and warm and compasssionate, but ruthless and cruel and cold. But alas, that's become the norm." Ripper said while appearing behind Sans, surprising him slightly and then attempting to slash at his back. Sans barely managed to leap forward out of range. "There's no way I can force them to think my way, so I gave that up and simply enforced that way of life myself. No need to mind other people's way of life, only my own. And it feels great."
"you've become sooo enlightened." Sans scoffed. He looked to the side as he looked and could see that the souls were no longer being drained, with the machines they're trapped in slowly shutting down. They even further encased themselves in tougher metal alloy to prevent any attempts at absorbing them. He nodded. good work, al. ya got it done...
Sans barely managed to dodge once again as the scythe tore deeper into his suit and a bit of his ribs, making him wince from the assault. Several Gaster Blasters manifested above his head as a wall of bones surrounded the souls for their protection, and they fired simultaneously towards Jack, with the latter swirling around in a wall of flames to defend against the blasts. He shields his face from the debris, bits of the room collapsing as he tried to find Jack again.
He turned on a swivel and shot a barrage of bones towards Jack, several piercing into his body, but it wasn't enough to avoid the powerful fireblast that knocked Sans off his feet and threw him against the wall. He vanished in cyan light after Jack very narrowly missed slighting him in to, vertically. The jack o'lantern was rewarded for that effort from a gaster blaster shot from the side, briefly engulfing him and pushing him back. He managed to quickly recover while taking a bit more effort to move. Karmic Retribution was kicking in very intense waves, and it was causing him great amounts of pain.
But still, he stands and pushes through it. Almost as if he were used to it...or simply didn't care.
ya gotta be kiddin' me... Sans mentally muttered as sweat dripped down his skull from the exhaustion. Jack didn't miss this, prompting a curious grin.
"Ahaha, I see now. You don't have a lot of power behind your attacks, so you attack constantly and relentlessly, wearing your enemy's defense as quickly as possible." He held his scythe outward. "However, as effective as that is offensively...that doesn't do wonders for your already poor stamina, does it...?~"
...crud. i kinda hoped he wouldn't figure that out...
Jack O'Ripper proceeded, as a much larger flaming pumpkin manifested next to him. It opened it's jaws and shot an intense beam of flames towards Sans. The latter reacted quickly as a similarly large Gaster Blaster manifested by his side and shot a powerful beam of cyan light, which soon clashed with the searing flames...
Meanwhile, Alphys wiped her brow as she finished her objective. The sounds outside worried her so, but she kept the doors shut and trusted Sans to stay alive. Right now, she needed more info on this Sloanes. Blocked files. Puh-lease. Alphys rolled her eyes while proceeding forward. Extra info on Sloanes. Let's see. Ooohhh? Looks like he's involved in quite a few things in the dark. Smuggling, assassination, trafficking of souls...well well, and obviously he has no altruistic intentions with any of this. He approves of most of this so long as HE benefits from it. Anyone else like Levi and it's suddenly beyond sinful. Tch. Alphys clicked her tongue. Obviously, judging by this many X's below him, he's likely to have gotten rid of certain subordinate contacts who've either grew a conscience or tried to upstage him before they were ready. And so long as Faust is Kingpin, they'll both keep benefitting from these things no matter how much they hate each other's guts.
Alphys narrowed her eyes as two folders in particular came, both on hardened lockdown. "Oh. You especially don't want anyone seeing these two, huh? We'll see..." Alphys poked her tongue out a bit while cracking through the first available folder. "Let's see now...huh?!" Alphys eyes widened. Three major mob bosses fighting in a mob war with each other, to the point of complete destruction, which was finished off by Levi and Cleo, over a ransom for Valerie's safety. And that one mob boss was given this idea by Sloanes? He tipped them off? Why? To spite them...break them through their only daughter...that stunt cost a lot of innocent people their lives, and he just sweeps that under the rug without being traced?! Alphys narrowed her eyes darkly. Why that fat...Alphys sighed. Getting angry over this wasn't going to change anything.
She needed to check the other folder, which she freely opened.
She then fell back on her rear with her paws over her mouth and her eyes wide. What the hell...?
Images of numerous humans spread out on the screen...and almost every single one of them have been viciously mutilated, horribly eviscerated, inhumanely dismembered, and simply left out in the night to rot until somebody found them. She sees their pictures before their death, and after death they're barely recognizable. And every single one of these grisly deaths-with a majority being female-have been ordered by either Sloanes or Faust, with the killer in question being Jack O'Ripper. The monster took the chance to build a reputation and bring a name for himself that he could be proud of, while Sloanes assets made sure that none of them can be traced back to him. Whether it connected to Faust or not didn't matter, none was brave enough to directly challenge the King.
Is that why he's called O'Ripper? Not only does he rip people apart...but he rips apart any and all physical evidence connecting him to Sloanes and killing those who try to look...and...and...they personally sent him after me...? It was too much. The worst part about it is that most common citizens were too apathetic from their poor experiences to look deeper into this, meaning Jack can appear and disappear whenever he wishes.
Alphys felt sick, even while making sure she download the information for later use. Even though the digital evidence was here with assigned deaths towards witnesses, cocky upstarts, five women who most vocally spoke against Sloanes, and even a bit of info on Faust...she still couldn't help but shiver and hug her arms as she fell to her knees and bends down a bit, her eyes widened, her pupils small, and tears threatening to leak from her eyes from the sheer fear paralyzing her, as well as the intense killing intent continuing to fill this area of the facility, she had to force herself to swallow the bile rising in her throat. The images wouldn't go away...she was next. Except instead of a bloodied corpse, she'd be dust. She didn't stand a chance against someone like that! Papyrus and the others were busy protecting the other captured souls from an onslaught mob, they wouldn't be able to come help her.
Yet despite this, a feeble part of her mind-the coward within her-began mentally begging for help, and she whimpered as she tightly closed her eyes. I can't go back out there, he'll slaughter me! Undyne, Asgore, Papyrus, Sans...somebody, ANYBODY! Please help! I...I...wait...
She suddenly stopped whimpering, stopped shaking, and her eyes slowly slid open as she came to a realization through all the fear trying to obstruct her thinking, specifically towards the last name she mentally called out.
If I don't do something...Sans will be the one who dies...
Everyone else was occupied. She was the only one who could immediately interfere before Sans gets killed. She knew she had the power to fight, she's done so several times before. It's just that this time her enemy was strong, wouldn't hold back against her, and no one would be coming to her rescue. Undyne and Toriel-her beloved wife and Queen of Monsters respectively-counted on her more than everyone else to accomplish her goal.
But above all else...her friend needed her!
Alphys slowly took her paws off her head. Her fear hasn't gone away, not in the slightest. But something more powerful swelled up within her, and her eyes narrowed dangerously as yellow lightning began to gather around her body...
Sans grunted and panted as the cyan light within his eyes flickered slightly from how much energy he was spending just to keep himself from falling unconscious.
"You're much more resolved than I thought, despite the lack of good it did for you. I do commend you for it." Jack O'Ripper hummed, multiple bone shards were jabbed into his body, and his body was constantly being assaulted with Karmic Retribution. But he remained standing, with his scythe piercing through Sans' shoulder, pinning him to the wall.
"yeah...i blame my principles...i'd rather not rip em' to shreds..." Sans gritted his teeth, admirably not shouting from the searing pain as the blade of the scythe heated considerably and worsening his wound. He was soon tossed aside, crashing on his side with an aggravated groan. Ripper soon approached him and stepped on his skull.
"Joking even near death's door. You're a special one. But unfortunately, I have a scientist to kill, and I can't have you attacking me from behind while I do so." Jack said while pressing his foot harder, which earned a few cracks on Sans' skull. And yet to the shorter skeleton's credit, he refused to cry out in pain. "What? No screams of agony? Are you too lazy to even manage stuff like that?"
"...yer the type...that gets a kick...outta stuff like that...hence why i...won't...amuse it..."
"Such a letdown...but alas, I do have things to do." Jack grinned while pressing even harder, Sans clutching his fist and grinding his teeth as more cracks formed on his skull. "This one is sure to crack you up, until your skull falls to pieces! Won't that be a deli-"
ZZZCHT!
Jack O'Ripper found himself thrown off Sans with a powerful blast of electricity, landing on his feet and skidding backwards, with the assistance of his scythe. "Ooohhh...?"
Alphys slowly walked out of the control room with her body generating copious amounts of electricity, and a steeled glare, in which her eyes were glowing slightly. She stopped just a few feet in front of Sans, who soon gazed at Alphys back in surprise.
alphys...?
"Sans. Are you alright?" Alphys asked quickly.
"uh...yeah..."
"Okay...good. That's good."
"So then, you've decided to come out and face me?" Jack tilted his head. "How very, very...foolish." Several flaming pumpkins manifested in front of him wnd shot towards Alphys. She held both of her paws out and a digital wall formed and defended against the onslaught of flames, gritting her teeth slightly in the process.
"...Hey...you okay?" Sans blinked as he was helped back on his feet by something cold, and the voice was highly timid. He would to see a colder-in a literal sense-and kinder Jack O'Lantern monster smiling nervously at him while helping cool his burns.
"jack o'frost...?"
"H-Hey...how's it going? You and your friends sure have caused a lot of ruckus...heh..."
"Snowflake!" Ripper shouted out to Frost, noticing him with a fierce glare yet still smiling. "I knew ya would turncoat sometime! I oughta melt ya on the spot!"
"Y-Y-you can go ahead and try! I-I'm gonna do what I should have done a long time aho, what Elvira kept telling me but I was too afraid to listen to!" Frost shivered, but he also glared. "I'm not gonna be someone for you to push around anymore! And I won't amuse your sadism anymore!"
"Well...you seem prepared to stick to your guns. I give you props for having a backbone for once. However..." Ripper gripped his scythe and sent a slash of hot flames towards Frost. This was immediately denied by Alphys, forming a larger and more durable digital wall in front of Frost and Sans.
"That's enough of that." Alphys said while lifting her head and glaring, her customized wrench manifesting in her paw from her phone's Dimensional Box. "You wanted me. Here I am. But it's not going to end the way you think it will."
"Such big words! But do you really think you can back them up?" Ripper grinned madly. "I can sense your fear, Royal Scientist. I feel your soul shaking, shivering in terror at the sight of me and the intensity that my aura is instilling. I know for a fact that I TERRIFY you. And yet...you stand before me anyway, prepared to fight. Why?"
"My friend was in trouble. That's the only reason I need." Alphys said seriously.
"Is that r-"
Ripper was cut off and surprised as Alphys twirled her wrench around and shot three electromagetic blasts towards him. To his further surprise, the three of them bounced off the metallic surfaces, and did so faster than he thought they'd go, until each of them crashed onto his back after bouncing off the ceiling. It sent him on his knees, though Alphys was quick to swoop forward and smack him upside the head with her wrench, sending another wave of shocks through his body and sending him flying against the wall again. He had to quickly move aside as another lightning blast pierced the wall, creating a harsh and superheated dent. He lifted his head and gazed at Alphys in surprise.
She simply twirled her wrench around and then pointed it towards him on the final twirl, glaring fiercely towards him.
"Yes, that IS right. Hunt me down all you like, but I'm not letting you single out my friends in the process!" Alphys glared. "Your reputation may be scary, but this time you're the one who's going to be ripped apart!"
Sans and Frost were both looking at her in awe, blinking owlishly before looking at each other. "Should...should we help her?"
"of course...but obviously she's gonna be takin' the lead from now on..." Sans muttered. He's never seen Alphys so fired up before, despite admitting her fear. Yet she was going to fight despite her fear. Admirable. A far cry from who she used to be. This time she wasn't going to cower and hide.
Jack O'Ripper grinned as he picked himself up and held his foaming sight out towards her. "Very well. I'll take this challenge!~"
Alphys narrowed her eyes as she recalled the words of Undyne which, even though they weren't specifically towards her, still managed to bolster her resolve. Few things in this world are as powerful as a woman who has resolved herself.
"Let's do this, Jack O'Ripper! If you went after me believing that I'd be an easy target, then you have made a GRAVE miscalculation!"
Sans sweatdropped, sheepishly rubbing his neck. yeeeaaah...i'll feel MUCH better if she took the lead on this...
And here we are, the final major battles of Surripio have been put into place. Kingpin Faust, Sloanes, and Jack O'Ripper as the main opponents. Goblin, human, and pumpkinhead monster with very messed up life goals and bloody hobbies.
Toriel and Alphys take the lead against them. The former is angry with how things are in Surripio, and wants to take it out on the Kingpin Faust for being responsible for a majority of it. The latter is deathly and justifiably afraid of Jack O'Ripper, but fear of the potential consequences of failing far outweigh her fear of him. Far more concerned for Sans and the others more than she is for herself.
Hence why she'll fight.
Until the next chapter!