Thanks go to Wingah, TacoTurd777, BadDRUMMERboy15, Alrarora, NBoss01, Chara Moonstone, Fixer140.85, Doctah Sawbones, welcometodalolz, Allagenda-domsitzers-chan, and DescendantYI2.
Now, I've been asked multiple times about why I'm rewriting this. And unfortunately, I'm in a bit of a rush as I finish up proof reading and add the authors notes, so I don't have time to answer that question. But I will get to answering it most likely next chapter o please just know that I have heard the question and will answer it. Thanks!
Also I felt bad about missing a week on updates to I decided to cram two chapters into one with this long boi update yayyy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.
*Something doesn't feel right.
"Hm?" Frisk cocked a brow at their text box, feet thudding on the harsh, dry grounds of Hotland. "What do you mean?"
*I mean that we're half way through Hotland, and everything is... The same as always.
"Yeah..? And?" Frisk's expression shifted with confusion.
*Shouldn't Cter be here? Trying to put a thorn in our side? Failing miserably?
"He got past us. He's probably just hiding wherever the monsters evacuate to." Frisk shrugged. "Good riddance."
*No, Cter wouldn't do that.
"Seems pretty up his alley to me." Frisk cocked a brow at their text box. "What's your deal?"
*But that's so... Boring! You're telling me you think he would just hide?
"I mean, yeah. With each kill the already very large gap in strength between us gets even wider." Frisk looked ahead, stuffing their hands into their pockets. "He'd have to do something pretty crazy to catch up to us now."
*Hm... Then we'll be seeing him again.
"Huh?" Confusion appeared on their face again as they looked to their text box. "What makes you so sure?"
*Because Cter is crazy.
Chapter 6: The Option
"How do you kill somebody with a face like that?"
"Nice human!"
My eyes widened in shock, feeling skeletal arms wrap around me, lifting me up to Papyrus's chest, Papyrus hugging me joyfully.
"It is wonderful to see you again! I am glad you are okay!" Papyrus grinned happily down at me, setting me back on my feet in the black memory void we stood in.
"Uh... Yeah, it's..." I blinked, eyes looking to the side. "... Good to see you too..."
Papyrus arched a socket-brow at me, before sighing somewhat sadly, kneeling down and putting a hand on my shoulder.
"It wasn't your fault, human." Papyrus assured. "I chose to save you, because it was the right thing to do. Like how you're choosing to save the monsters! Because it's the right thing to do!"
"..." I smiled weakly, looking back up to Papyrus. "... I really appreciated you saying you believed in me. I um... I hadn't heard anything like that in a long time, and... I think it really pushed me."
*To crave murder.
"Pushed me to do better, that is." My smile widened a bit sheepishly, ignoring the words of my text box.
"Nyeh heh! I knew you had it in you!" Papyrus grinned happily. "And look at you now! Gearing up to save everyone!"
"Do you really think I can do it..?" I asked, feeling a bit unsure. I unconsciously gripped my chest, memory of the searing pain from that slash ringing fresh in my mind.
"Human, with a little effort," Closing his eyes and tilting his head to the side, Papyrus smiled brightly, holding up one hand before me. "You can do great things!"
"But if I may have one request, human, please..." Papyrus took a more serious tone, his body beginning to swirl into the two bones that were forming in his hand. "If and when the opportunity presents itself..."
"Use a little mercy, won't you?"
"..." I stared down at the two bones, crossed in an X, that Papyrus had left floating before me, his body gone. The bones were each about a foot long.
I gulped, before nodding slowly, reaching out and cupping my hands under the bones.
Gradually, the bones began to shimmer and shift, their forms changing from two bones to a large pen and a large pencil.
*You made it your own.
My eyes snapped open.
Interesting, this time Sans had been nice enough to put me in my bed after knocking me out cold with another jar o' magic.
"Eugh..." I sat up, rubbing my head, placing a hand over my chest. I had been told to report any issues immediately, but other than that dazed state I awoke in after each magic insertion, nothing had felt off.
I turned my body, my feet dropping over the side of my bed and touching the cool tiles as I blinked away the cobwebs in my brain.
"Where is everybody..?" I scratched my head tiredly, glancing around the large room. "How long was I out for..?"
"Well it's about time you woke up."
The tiny, high pitched voice made me look down, where my eyes widened, pupils shrinking at the little yellow flower that was staring up at me.
"Howdy!" Flowey smiled in a friendly way. "I'm-"
"Flowey the Flower." I stood, eyes narrowing down at the soulless creature that stared up at me.
"..." Flowey's eyes narrowed up at me, his smile suddenly seeming a little aggravated. "... Lucky guess."
"I've got a lotta meta knowledge, little guy." I held one hand a little further back, ink swirling gently down my arm, not leaving my sleeve. I didn't want to reveal my magic unless I had to. "You aren't gonna trick me."
"... Mm. That so?" Flowey's eyes narrowed up at me. "You sure are a knowledgeable guy, Cter."
At this, Flowey gained a confident grin. "Smart enough to know it's better to hide than to keep getting in Chara's way."
"But, you know, they expected more from you." At Flowey's words, my eyes narrowed. "In fact, they're very disappointed in you."
"Aww, they miss me?" I smirked cockily, making Flowey squint suspiciously at me, though his smirk remained.
"So much so that they might just come looking for you." Flowey's grin widened, venom dripping from his words.
"Well idn't that sweet?" I knelt down then, Flowey watching me skeptically as I smiled at him. "Give 'em a big ol' smooch from me next time you see them, won't cha?"
"You think you're so funny, don't you?" Flowey growled, his grin fading to a frown.
"And then, after you've done that," Ignoring Flowey's statement, I leaned in, looming over him as my smile faded, my eyes widening in a vengeful fury. "Be sure to tell them that the next time I see them?"
"I'm gonna rip their fucking arms off."
"..." Flowey's eyes were wide for a moment, before he took on an expression that I can only describe as demonic. His eyes shrunk and turned black, and his mouth curled into a small smile.
"I'm sure that's just what they wanted to hear."
Flowey popped back into the cracks in the tiles, and I took a deep breath, climbing back to my feet.
*The stakes have been set.
"What possessed me to lay down a threat like that..?" I muttered to myself, walking towards the hallway at the back of the room, looking down at my open palm.
*The desire to rip their arms off, of course.
"..." Not gonna lie, the truth in those words concerned me.
"Use a little mercy, won't you?"
I watched my palm be hidden away as I clenched my fist, frown growing on my face.
"Are you really sure the kid with no arms should be holding the ladder?" Monster Kid looked up at Alphys, who had a canister of magic under one arm, standing at the top of a ladder and holding onto the skull of the Magic Insertion Machine with shaking claws.
"Well he certainly can't be the one to climb up here and put in the cylinder." Alphys said a little harshly, looking to immediately regret saying something so mean, before sighing with relief as she heard Monster Kid laugh.
"Haha! Got a point there!" Monster Kid grinned joyfully, and Alphys smiled somewhat anxiously down at him before turning back to the machine, gulping.
"There you guys are!"
"AHH!" Alphys cried out, flailing and falling back off the ladder, plummeting down towards the hole in the floor under the machine.
"Oh, shit!" I quickly reached out, and a wall of pens seemed to manifest under Alphys, ink holding the pens together, forming some kind of raft-looking floor under the machine, which Alphys landed on, letting out an "Oof!"
"H-huh..?" Alphys, still clutching that cylinder of magic to her chest, looked at the floor under her, seeming confused for a moment, before looking to see me standing at the entrance to the room, grinning sheepishly and waving.
"... G-giant pens..?" She tilted her head to the side, and I shrugged slowly.
"Yo, these things look pretty pointy though!" Monster Kid said, kneeling down to look at the tips of the pens. "You could probably kick some serious butt with these!"
"I hope so." I laughed lightly, lifting the ladder that had fallen over and stepping onto it, reaching out to Alphys, as if to signal her to hand me the canister.
"O-oh, thanks!" Alphys sweat nervously, reaching out and handing me the cylinder of magic liquid, before holding the ladder as I began to climb. It felt a lot more comfortable with my pens covering that gaping hole under the machine. God knows where that led...
"S-Sans is usually here to just teleport up there and put in the magic, but he's out right now, g-gathering more... Um... Materials..?" Alphys's eyes darted to the side, gulping. "... T-the other human has... Left a l-lot just... Laying around in Hotland..."
"..." I frowned, jaw clenching as I forced the cylinder into it's slot, before turning, hopping off the ladder and immediately walking towards the platform that I usually stood on to get blasted with more magic, turning back around to face the machine.
"Alphys, hit me." I stated firmly, pointing to the lever on the wall.
"W-what?" Alphys said with surprise, her eyes widening. "C-Cter, you just woke up, don't you think you should rest a little more..?"
"I can rest when the Genocidal is dead." I frowned, before pointing to the lever again. "Hit. Me."
"..." Alphys gulped, before nodding, making her way to the lever. Monster Kid watched with some concern, quickly walking to stand by Alphys, where he knew he was out of the way of the blast.
"R-ready..?" Alphys asked skeptically, reaching up and gripping the lever.
I nodded solemnly, before looking back up at the machine.
Monster Kid glanced with concerned eyes from me to Alphys, watching as she closed her eyes, possibly in some silent prayer, before she pulled down the lever.
*Power.
"... You're asking me to cover for you?"
"Been awhile, hasn't it?" Sans winked an eye shut, though presumably the person on the other end of the cellphone he held up to his head couldn't see it.
"You know I'm retired, Sans."
"Yeah and I'd like to stop reliving this day so I can eventually retire too." For such a serious statement, Sans spoke pretty casually, his hand glowing a light blue aura as he lifted it. Dust seemed to rise from the floor and walls around him, swirling into the canister he held under his arm.
"... How much time do you need?"
"Not sure." Sans reached into his jacket pocket, retrieving a seal for the cylinder and placing it over it's top before lifting it in his palm. The cylinder suddenly disappeared, presumably being teleported back to the lab. "Could take fifteen minutes, could take three hours."
"..."
"Look," Sans leaned his head back, eyes glossing over the empty Hotland that he stood in. "The kid's already made it to The CORE. And this other human is the only shot we've got at stopping the RESETs."
"I need to know now if you're in or if I gotta improvise even more that I already have been." Sans pupils disappeared from his sockets as he spoke.
"... I need this to end. I can't do it anymore." As Sans spoke, his grin faltered slightly, his pupiless eyes looking particularly tired. "So are you gonna help or not?"
"..."
The other end of the phone was silent for a few painstakingly long moments, before a deep breath was heard.
"... You really believe in this human?"
"He's the only chance we've got."
"Then I better get going. It's a long walk to the Judgement Hall."
*Click...
Sans' pupils reappeared hopefully, his grin returning to its usual cheery state as he lowered his phone from the side of his head.
"... Heh, who knows." He looked to the side to face the CORE that loomed in the distance.
"Maybe we do got a shot at winnin' this."
"... So, the fate of Monster Kind rests upon a human's shoulders." Undyne frowned, looking to the side. "Kind of ironic, don't ya think?"
"Lil' bit." I shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm not really... A part of the humanity that trapped monsters underground..?"
"..." Undyne smiled lightly at that. "It does make me feel a little better."
Suddenly, that toothy grin ripped up her face, and she stomped, holding her fist out in front of herself.
"But you know what will make me feel REALLY GREAT?!" Crazy appeared in the fish woman's eye as she grinned down at me, her sudden pep startling me. "WHEN YOU PUMMEL THAT LITTLE PUNK INTO THE DIRT!"
"So here! From the last hero to the next!" Undyne lifted one hand high above her head, her body beginning to disappear into the spear that she was forming, pointing it high above us. "Take this, and use it to save the world!"
The blue light from that spear reflected in my green eyes as I slowly reached out, that spear gradually floating down until it levitated over my hands. Soon, it's form began to shift as the bones and fireball had.
Within a few moments, a spear sized mechanical pencil floated in my grasp. I couldn't imagine what size led this thing would take...
*You made it your own.
"... I'm worried about him..."
Alphys looked across the bed that Cter lay on to Monster Kid, tilting her head to the side in confusion.
"He's been acting weirder and weirder ever since he found out he'd have to have this fight..." Monster Kid frowned, watching Cter's sleeping features.
"I know I always try to hype up this beating up bad guys thing, but... This isn't a cartoon." Monster Kid's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Cter's my friend, and we're both just kids." Monster Kid furrowed his eyebrows, looking up to Alphys. "And now, all of a sudden, he has to be the hero?"
"... W-well..." Alphys looked to the side, suddenly feeling a deep shame in what they were doing.
"And then I got to thinking." Monster Kid continued, looking back down to Cter. "Is this hero bad guy thing really the right way to phrase this..?"
"I don't know why that other human is hurting people, but... I've never seen a monster fight another monster. Something about it just seems wrong, right?" Monster Kid shrugged as he looked back to Alphys.
"So then, wouldn't that make it wrong to pit two humans against each other..?" Monster Kid pondered, furrowing his brows in thought.
"... Do you think Cter feels like this is wrong, too..?"
The two looked down at Cter, who lay on his side, hair falling over his eyes, frown clear on his face as he slept.
"... Humans are different from monsters..." Alphys held her claws together in her lap as she watched her future savior rest. "Physically, biologically, mentally... I-I think that it's... Very hard for monsters to comprehend how humans function... I have no idea what could be going on in Cter's head right now..."
The two were silent for another few moments, before Alphys turned to walk away.
"I-it's getting late... Y-you should get some sleep." Alphys smiled over her shoulder at Monster Kid, who smiled weakly in response, nodding and watching her walk away.
"..." Monster Kid looked back down to Cter, sighing and sitting at the foot of his bed.
Being a human... Monster Kid looked from Cter to the ceiling, sighing silently.
... It seems kinda lonely.
We would fight, and one would die.
My eyes opened to that thought.
I would either be destroyed, or destroy someone else.
*It wouldn't be the first time.
I sat up, leaning forward and looking down at my hands. It had been strange, what with my fading in and out of consciousness every few hours. It made me feel a little... Disconnected.
My eyes glanced over to the analog clock on the wall. 6 AM.
The grind don't stop.
I carefully stood, eyes glossing over to the bed next to mine, where Monster Kid looked like he'd haphazardly passed out, not even under his blanket.
I sighed, smiling lightly as I grabbed his blanket from the foot of the bed, gently laying it over him before turning around, beginning to walk towards the back hallway once more. Needed to see if Sans had finished the forth cylinder yet.
But when I reached the end of the hallway, I only found Alphys sitting against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She frowned, eyes barely open, seeming to be lost in thought.
*Yikes. Maybe come back later.
I considered my text box's advice, before shaking my head, walking past the Dust Conversion Machine and taking a seat next to Alphys, glancing over to her.
"... They're all gone..." Alphys spoke after awhile. "... Undyne, and Mettaton, and everyone else..."
"..." I chose not to speak, just looking ahead and listening.
"... What's the point of all this..? What does it matter if you win when everyone's dead anyway..?" Alphys reached up, wiping away the single tear that ran down her cheek.
"... Because everyone isn't dead. 'Least, not for good." I finally spoke, making Alphys turn her head to give me a confused look.
"... Is all that magic frying your brain?" She sounded legitimately concerned.
"Look, I might not be supposed to tell you all this, but, the most dangerous thing about that human isn't their murdering skills." I looked over to Alphys, frowning. "It's their ability to RESET time."
"... W-what..?" Alphys's eyes slowly widened.
"They have enough DETERMINATION in their soul to refuse death." My eyes narrowed, frown growing. "They die, and they wake up right before the fight they died in began. They can try a fight over and over again until they win."
"... N-no, that... That doesn't..." Alphys slowly looked ahead, horrified eyes staring at the cracked tiles under us. She covered her mouth with her hands, as if for fear that she'd vomit.
"They're... I-Immortal..?"
"No." I looked ahead, expression remain solemn. "They're just stubborn."
"They can keep from dying, and once they finish their game in the Underground, the can RESET to the beginning and start all over again." I sighed, Alphys looking over at me, still looking quite afraid.
"S-so how do we possibly stop that?!" Alphys snapped, tears spilling over in her eyes.
"Because I'm stubborn too." I looked over to her, and her eyes widened.
"I don't know about RESETing, but I can refuse death just like they can, on account'a this crimson soul I got here." I knocked on my chest. "That's why I'm the only one who can face them. Because they've already fought just about everyone else in the Underground and won a hundred times over."
"But they can't beat me." I looked ahead, hands slowly clenching into fists. "They'll fight me, and they'll be excited at first at the challenge. Then they'll be frustrated. Then they'll panic. Then they'll finally give up."
"... And, what if you give up first..?"
"That won't happen."
"But-!"
"That WON'T happen!"
Alphys jumped at my rise in volume, looking to me with wide, fearful eyes. She held one arm up defensively, leaning back on her other hand.
I panted lightly, heart suddenly racing. I too looked shocked by my actions, slowly looking down at my hands.
"... I'm, sorry, I... I didn't mean to snap at you..." My hands shook lightly, and I slowly reached up, burying my face in my hands. "... Eugh..."
"... C-Cter..." Alphys slowly reached out, hesitating for a moment or two before placing a hand on my shoulder, making me look up at her from between the cracks between my fingers. "... Are you okay..?"
"..." I sighed, closing my eyes and letting my hands drop into my lap.
*She'll forget by the end of this, anyway.
"... Nah, man, I'm not..." I shook my head slowly, opening my eyes and looking at my legs, which were sprawled out in front of me as I slouched against the wall.
"Look, I'm not cut out for this whole savior thing, Alph." I tilted my head back, looking up at the ceiling. "I feel like because I'm not going around murdering everyone, everybody thinks that makes me the nicest human in the world."
"... But it doesn't." My eyes narrowed painfully. "It just makes me the second meanest human in the Underground."
"I'm... A bad person, Alphys." My eyes darted to the side. "I've hurt people that didn't deserve it. Least, not from me."
"... I don't remember jumping down that hole that put me down here, but that other kid said that every human who falls into the Underground was running from something." My hands clenched into fists on the knees of my jeans.
"... And I certainly had some things to run away from."
Things were quiet for a minute or two, but just as I prepared to awkwardly change the subject and began doubting if I should have shared my feelings, Alphys spoke.
"... L-look, Cter, if anyone gets running from something, it's me. And if anyone gets not feeling like the best one suited for the job, t-that would be me too." Alphys looked over to me, smiling somewhat nervously.
"But you're here. A-and, you've been trying really hard!" She smirked in an attempt to reassure me, though her smirk was a tad shaky.
"I-I don't know what kind of person you were up there, but, down here?"
My eyes widened slowly at Alphys's words, which rang clear in my head.
"You're our hero, Cter."
I blinked once or twice, jaw slightly ajar, before I reached up, pushing my jaw back into place and smiling lightly at Alphys.
"... Thanks, Alphys. I think I... Really needed to get that off my chest." I leaned my head back against the wall behind me, sighing lightly, certainly feeling better.
"Hey, us screw ups gotta s-stick together." Alphys smiled lightly.
I smiled back over at her, and then things were quite for a moment.
"... Wait," My eyes snapped open at a sudden realization. "Did you say they got past Mettaton?!"
"H-huh? Y-yeah, they w-went to bed after that, but they're probably h-heading towards the King by now..." Alphys seemed surprised by my sudden rise in volume, her eyes widening as I stood with a new sense of urgency.
"Where's Sans?" I asked sternly, Alphys looking confused by my question.
"H-huh? He should still be out collecting dust, why do you ask..?" Alphys tilted her head to the side inquisitively.
"Relax, kiddo."
I jumped, turning to face Sans, who was suddenly standing next to the Dust Converter, pushing another canister of dust into it before pushing a few buttons on the screen, the dust beginning to be processed.
"Sans!" I smiled lightly with some relief, but questions still pressed in my mind.
"Wait, but, if you're here, who's..?" I cocked a brow at Sans, who looked to the side, waving a skeletal hand dismissively.
"I got an old buddy a'mine covering for me, don't worry about it." Sans leaned against the machine as the dust drained into the last cylinder of magic, filling it.
"But we're running low on time, so would'ja mind hoppin' up on that platform so we can get this over with?" Sans tilted his head to the side, and I nodded quickly.
"Lets get this bread."
Footsteps echoed down the golden hall. They bounced off the stained glass windows and tall pillars, breaching the shadows with ease.
A glowing light in the darkness.
They squinted with confusion.
*What's that?
The light burned a low orange. It illuminated the hall in a dim candle light, distracting from the soft dawn light that shun through the barrier and over the final corridor.
Frisk made their way to the light, and their eyes narrowed in some confusion and some curiosity.
"... I'm not who you were expecting." Reaching up with one flaming hand, Grillby pushed up his glasses with one flaming finger, before recrossing his arms.
Frisk's hand wrapped around that knife, watching Grillby skeptically.
"Truthfully, I didn't expect to be here today either." Grillby stood completely calm in the face of the beast, flames crackling gently in the silent halls.
"... But, I'm a man of few words, so I'll keep this simple." Grillby lifted one hand, and flames danced in his palm, hopping between his fingers.
"I'm here to bide time for your real final battle. and I have no interest in fighting you, nor do I have any reserves about fighting you. So I'm going to give you an option." Grillby looked to Frisk with the glare in those glasses covering his eyes as they always did.
"You can fight me, or you can sit and wait." Grillby threw his arm to the side then, and Frisk's head snapped back to the doorway behind them, where they heard a whoosh of flames, followed by the crackling of burning.
They squinted with mild annoyance at the wall of flames that had sprung to life at the exit to the hall behind them.
"... I'm not going to let you leave either way. But you have the option of being burnt within an inch of your life every few moments for the next fifteen minutes to three hours in a futile attempt at killing me, or you can sit down and rest for whatever may come next. It's your choice."
*A new fight? We'd have to be an idiot to pass up this opportunity.
Frisk's lips slowly crawled up their face in a smile as they stepped forward, holding that blade out to the side. The Real Knife gleamed, reflecting the light of Grillby's flame.
"..." Grillby smiled as well, reaching up and beginning to roll up his sleeves. "Always the hard way with you humans, isn't it?"
"That's alright. I think I might have wanted it this way. As a fire elemental..." Grillby extended his arms to the side, his chest lifting with a deep breath. "It's hard to express anger without..."
In an instant, the hall was alight with flames behind him, Frisk wincing from the sudden brightness, watching the wall of fire rise behind Grillby, twisting and flickering. The hall was now a vengeful orange instead of that heavenly gold.
"... Turning something to ash."
Frisk grinned eagerly, bending at the knees. They could feel the heat of the flames on their face, and they watched as Grillby's body almost seemed less stable, growing and breathing like the flames behind him. Fire rose up around his rolled up sleeves, licking up into the air.
"But I guess..." Jaw clenching in a frown, Grillby reached up, pushing up his glasses.
"You know a lot about turning things to ash, huh?"
"W-wait! Cter!"
I looked over from my place on that platform, cocking a brow as I watched Monster Kid emerge from the shadows and into the room.
I shot Sans a glance, and he shrugged, one hand up on the lever to turn on the machine.
"I-I overheard you talking to Alphys..." Monster Kid looked down, and my eyes widened in surprise.
"Monster Kid..." I slowly stepped off of the platform, walking towards him.
"I knew you were acting weird, I knew something was even more wrong than everything already seems..." I watched as Monster Kid's toes curled on the floor, the dull, talon-like claws on his feet scraping against the tiles.
"You aren't a killer, Cter!" Monster Kid suddenly looked up, tears building in his eyes. "This isn't right!"
"Look, Monster Kid, no one hates this idea more than me,"
*That's a lie. You want to slaughter them.
I shot my text box a glare, before looking back to Monster Kid as I walked closer to him. "... But you know what the stakes are. I have to do this."
"Well there's gotta be some other way!" Monster Kid stomped, tears over flowing from his eyes. "Y-you'll be alone with them for so long! A-and they're really mean..! A-and..! I..!"
Monster Kid buried his head in my chest as I hugged him, clinging to me as if trying to keep me from leaving.
"... I-I don't want you to become mean like them..."
"Aw, Monster Kid, is that what this is about..?" I asked quietly, Monster Kid sniffling and nodding, keeping his face in my shirt.
"You've already been acting different lately..." Monster Kid's eyes narrowed at the ground, tears dripping down from his cheeks to the cracked tiles.
"What? That's not... True..?" As I spoke, I looked up, glancing to Alphys and Sans for confirmation. But, to my surprise, they were both slowly shrugging, nodding that yes I was in fact acting differently.
"... Ah, shit..." I slowly looked back down to Monster Kid, sighing and patting his back comfortingly.
"Monster Kid... I'm sorry." I smiled sadly at Monster Kid as he looked up at me. "I didn't mean to freak you out. I've just... Been a little stressed out."
"I kinda..." I laughed nervously, reaching up and rubbing the back of my head. "Went from being a total loser to being a super hero legendary savior of the Underground in a couple days. That breeds a lotta doubts."
"Cter, you aren't a total loser..." Monster Kid frowned up at me. "You're like... Really cool, haha... And magic doesn't have anything to do with that..."
"And knowing that you think that about me is gonna keep me that way." I smiled down at Monster Kid, winking an eye shut. "Even if I gotta fight that kid a billion times."
"..." Monster Kid sniffled. "You promise..?"
I grinned, holding up one hand as I stepped back away from Monster Kid. "I'll even shake on it."
"Uh..." Monster Kid looked to my hand, before laughing, reaching up with his tail, wrapping it around my palm, my hand grasping his tail and shaking it up and down.
We both grinned wide at each other.
Megalo Grilled Back by katrina 130 playing.
Frisk spun their knife around so that the blade was facing downwards, holding it out to the side before bending at the knees, firing off the ground at Grillby, who stood calm, unmoving.
Suddenly, just as Frisk reached him, a torrent of flames blasted out from under him, making them skid on their feet, throwing up their arms in an X to block from the heat as they jumped back.
As Frisk slide back on their feet, they watched the ring of fire around Grillby die down to the height of his knees, spinning around him defensively. Pillars of flame burst into the air behind the fire elemental, bending and launching forward, firing down the hall at Frisk, who growled, crouching low to the ground before bursting off in a sprint, their feet crashing heavily down to the tiles.
As they ran, they ducked under the flames launching at them, which crashed into the wall behind them, exploding in a wave of heat that threw their hair forward and ignited the back wall of the Judgement Hall.
Frisk dove forward, yanking back that knife and swinging down at Grillby, a red slash following their blade through the air.
Grillby's body flickered, flames shifting and dying down in an instant, Frisk watching in shock as their blade sliced nothing but air. In the next instant, Grillby reignited at their side, burning hand wrapping around the wrist of their knife wielding hand and yanking them from the air.
Grillby slammed them into the ground, and as they tried to push themselves back up, he pressed his free hand to their chest, and their enraged eyes darted into Grillby's cold and calculating ones.
Grillby's fiery jaw clenched in a sudden straining, and his body burned brighter, the ring of fire around them exploding up into the air as Grillby's body shifted from a warm orange to a searing blue, and Frisk screamed out in pain, his hand scorching through their shirt and melting it's way into their chest and wrist, black smoke rising from their body as they flailed, eyes widening in the excruciating pain coursing through them.
Roaring, Frisk suddenly threw their free arm out to the side, and a burnt frying pain appeared in their grasp just before they swung up, cracking Grillby across the face. A red shock wave blasted through the hall, Grillby recoiling as the flames around them whipped back from the shock wave.
The fire elemental spun through, however, keeping his grip on their wrist as his flames returned to orange, lifting them and turning on his heel, whipping them back across the hall.
Frisk landed hard on their side, flipping and skidding across the warm tiles before eventually sliding to a stop just in front of the Save Point, everything behind that up in flames.
Frisk growled, using their good, not so scorched left hand to push themselves to their knees, clutching their melting right wrist to their blackened and bleeding chest. They opened their left palm, and a Legendary Hero appeared in their grasp. They opened their mouth surprisingly wide, stuffing the sandwich into their jaws and chewing it in mere seconds.
They stood after another moment, looking down to their HP bar as their wrist and chest sealed and filled back out, their bubbling blackened flesh turning to a beat red, still cracking and rashy looking state. Third degree burns turned to first.
41/92.
*The Hall is on fire.
Chara certainly wasn't wrong. It was getting hard to breath, black smoke building over the ceiling. The wall behind Frisk was entirely covered in writhing flames, and so were several of the pillars between them and Grillby, along with the floor around and directly behind Grillby.
"Fire and humans are a lot alike, I think." Grillby did not move from his place across the hall as he spoke over the crackling of flames. "They both destroy all that they touch."
"Another similarity is that we both need oxygen to breath." Grillby threw his arms down to the sides then, two waves of fire blasting from his arms down the hall, Frisk watching with wide eyes as they shot by them, further igniting the hall and giving them less room to maneuver.
"Lets see who runs out of air first, shall we?"
As the blinding light of the machine faded, Sans appeared behind Cter, who's body was falling limp from the platform on which it stood.
"I gotcha, kid." Sans' sockets narrowed thoughtfully as he caught Cter, who was limp in his arms, head hanging forward and legs sprawled out in front of him.
"... Alright," Sans sighed, looking up to Monster Kid and Alphys, who watched with somewhat sad eyes. "I better get him to the throne room for when he wakes up."
Alphys and Monster Kid both nodded solemnly, Alphys looking over to Monster Kid and trying her best reassuring smile.
"L-lets get to the evacuation zone, okay?" Alphys tilted her head to the side, reaching out her hand for him to take. "I-I'm sure your family must be worried sick."
Monster Kid nodded once to her as he took her hand with his tail, before looking back to Sans.
"Yo, when Cter wakes up, make sure to tell him that we believe in him, alright?" Monster Kid asked, and Sans nodded.
"You got it kiddo." Sans made a skeletal finger gun at Monster Kid, before disappearing with Cter in his arms.
Monster Kid sighed as they disappeared, looking down.
Please be okay...
"I can't imagine all that smoke will be good for my flowers..." Asgore found himself muttering, looking up from the flowers he was watering to the smoke filtering in through the top of the doorway leading from the Last Corridor to the throne Room.
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that one, your Majesty. Grillbz gets a little hot headed."
Asgore's eyebrows raised in surprise, and he turned to watch as Sans set Cter's limp body into Asgore's throne, which loomed at the center of the room.
"Hope ya don't mind that I gave him your seat." Sans turned around, winking an eye shut at Asgore as he stepped closer. "He's still a little out of it, is all."
"That is not a problem, Sans." Asgore smiled kindly, waving a hand to dismiss worry. "He has more right to sit there than I."
"So... This is him, hm..?" Asgore paused in front of the throne, looking down at the slumped over Cter with sad eyes. "The one from another world, destined to save Monster Kind?"
"I've never been too big'a believer in that destiny stuff myself, but yeah, somethin' like that." Sans shrugged, those white dots in his sockets darting to the side.
"Sans... You have heard of the legend, yes?" Asgore glanced over at Sans, lifting his eyebrows inquisitively. "The one that speaks of the savior of the underground?"
"Somethin' about an Angel that's seen the surface, right?" Sans cocked a brow up at Asgore. "You think this kid is him?"
"Wishful thinking, I suppose." Asgore chuckled lightly, looking back to Cter.
"But, looking at him now..." Asgore furrowed his brows in thought. "I find reason to worry."
"Hm..?" Sans looked up to Asgore with confusion. "Whaddaya mean?"
"Well, he may possess a powerful soul, and he may possess magical prowess the likes of which has likely not been seen in humans since they trapped us beneath the earth, but..." Asgore reached down, gently taking hold of one of Cter's limp arms, lifting it and rolling up the sleeve of his hoodie, revealing what was mostly bone. "... He is lanky, scrawny, and frail."
"Eee..." Sans sweat some, grimacing. "When ya got a point ya got a point."
"The other human may not have magic, but they possess agility and strength increased from each life they have taken. That combined with their powerful soul gives them a reasonable shot at defeating our champion here." Asgore's eyes narrowed slightly as he set Cter's arm back down.
"So... What do ya propose we do?" Sans cocked a brow.
"... Us Monsters have something left to give." Asgore spoke after a moments pause, Sans looking even more confused.
"And what's that?" Sans tilted his head to the side.
"Do you believe in him, Sans?" Asgore turned back to Sans, arching a brow at the short skeleton.
"Well, yeah, I built him up." Sans grinned wide, shrugging. "It's the hardest I've worked on anything in a long time."
"Then would you give him your life, like you have given him the lives of the rest of monster kind?" Asgore continued to ask, and Sans' eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"... Yeah, I would." Sans nodded slowly, watching as Asgore smiled with what looked like relief.
"Then lets give it to him." Asgore reached out one hand, which was glowing lightly. "The Judge and The King. Let us complete The Angel."
"..." Sans chuckled after a moment of thought, looking to Asgore's hand before reaching out and taking it. "You got a real way with words, ya know that?"
"And yet I've never been good at naming things." Asgore laughed lightly along with Sans, before opening his free hand out towards Cter.
That hand began to glow as well, and slowly, floating above his fluffy palm, an upside down, white heart appeared. A Boss Monster Soul.
Sans and Asgore exchanged thoughtful glances, before nodding.
Slowly, Asgore reached out with his soul, and Cter's red soul appeared on his chest, resonating with Asgore's.
The room almost seemed to pressurize as the souls grew near, lights shifting. A wind blew through, shaking the flowers around them.
Megalo Grilled Back resumes.
Frisk aimed with that Empty Gun, the chamber of the revolver glowing red before they pulled the trigger, bolts of red DETERMINATION firing down the barrel and blasting through the stained glass windows, smoke immediately filtering out of the sweltering hall and into the sky above through the now shattered windows.
They ducked a blast of flames, their revolver disappearing as the burst forward, spinning their knife in their other hand.
Grillby's fiery body shifted, swaying and swirling out of the way of each slash before he spun, swinging with one arm, which lashed out like a flaming whip at Frisk, who jumped back, slashing the fire away and landing on their feet, skidding back for a moment before bursting forward again.
They jumped from side to side, tiles lighting up in white hot heat before flames exploded in whirlwinds of fire under Frisk, who continued to nimbly dodge.
They dove into the air, slashing down at Grillby, who's body split into three masses of flame, two moving by Frisk's sides and the bottom one, which carried his clothes, going under them.
Grillby reformed behind them just as they landed, opening up both palms to their back. His fire muscles tensed, his body once again igniting with blue as sapphire flames exploded from his palms, Frisk looking over their shoulder with wide eyes. Their ruby eyes reflected the sapphire flames, just before they were engulfed with the scorching light and heat, letting out yet another ear piercing scream.
Frisk was sent exploding forward, hitting the ground and rolling, their clothes and skin scorched black, their body quivering with agony as they skidded to a stop, leaving a bubbling blood trail behind them.
*He hit you!
Frisk snarled, slowly lifting one hand to their face, a piece of pie appearing in their grasp. They opened their scorched mouth, cracked lips breaking open and bleeding before they wolfed down the pie in their grasp.
*What are you gonna do about it?!
Frisk looked up from their hands and knees to Grillby as their wounds and clothes healed completely, rage burning in their eyes, which reflected the many orange and blue flames burning across the hall. The ceiling cracked, chunks of stone plummeting from it down to the earth every now and again.
"HIT HIM HARDER!" Frisk roared in response, their gun appearing in one hand as their frying pan appeared in the other before they burst off the ground, racing across the burning hall towards Grillby.
Grillby frowned, pulling back one hand before throwing it forward, sending a wave of flames launching out at Frisk, who cranked back that frying pan, swinging forward and wincing as it collided with the blast of flames, stopping their run and skidding them back for a moment before they snarled, pushing the pan to the side and launching the flames to the wall, crouching as they did so and launching off the ground in a sprint towards Grillby once more.
They brought up that revolver, firing rapidly at Grillby, who's eyes widened, his flaming body shifting out of the way of several bullets, before he winced, one firing through his leg and another through his shoulder, making him stumble back as Frisk spun, launching that frying pan out at Grillby as they dove into the air.
Grillby looked up just in time to catch the frying pan with his face, making his head snap back, cracks spreading through the lenses of his glasses.
As he managed to open his wincing eyes, he spotted Frisk plummeting down towards him, holding that knife high above their head, a murderous crimson gleaming in their eye.
So, it's like that, is it? Everything seeming to slow down, Grillby smiled. The bartender life has softened me up, hasn't it..?
SLASH.
99999
99999
99999
99999
The music stopped.
Grillby fell backwards, landing leaned against a collapsed pillar, slumping forward as his flames began to grow more dull, a large slash across the front of his shirt, black smoke pouring out from it.
"... Sorry, Sans..." Grillby spoke softly, tilting his head back and watching the smoke swirl up from his chest and into the hall, the flames around them now dying down. "I hope I got you enough time..."
Frisk just stood there, chest heaving, sweat beading down their face as Grillby's flaming form died out, leaving nothing but his clothes lying there.
*The Hall is smoldering.
"..." Frisk frowned, turning around and beginning to walk towards the other end of the hall, their steps echoing in the room along with the dull crackling of flames. It cost them all of their healing items, but they'd killed Grillby just like everyone else. Whatever Sans was planning he had failed.
*I win again.
"Now take this darling." Mettaton EX held out his hand, his body swirling into the two of his Mettabots that appeared floating above it. "And save us with a bit of extra creativity and flare."
I nodded, smiling lightly as I reached out, letting the bots float into my grasp. As they did, their forms shifted, one of them turning into a large... Computer key? The other morphed into a paper airplane of about the same size as the key.
*You made it your own.
I smiled lightly at the message, watching as the items disappeared from my grasp.
"Welp, looks like you're almost there, kiddo." I jumped as Sans put a hand on my shoulder, shock contorting my expression as I quickly spun around to face the grinning skeleton.
"Sans?! What are you doing here?!" as I looked to him, I quickly realized a much taller and more floofy character was standing behind him, making me recoil further.
"W-wait, Asgore too?!" I looked up to the King, who smiled, waving. "What's-?"
"Relax, relax." Sans reached up to get my attention, shaking his head and closing his sockets. "The king and I just came to the conclusion that we needed to give ya somethin' else for your big debut."
"Use this, kiddo." Sans winked his right eye shut, and his left ignited in blue flames as he reached out to me, opening his palm. "And finally bring judgement."
I watched with wide eyes as Sans faded before I could tell him to wait, his body swirling into the dragonic skull that was forming in his palm. It was about the size of a baseball.
"Whoa..." I reached out slowly to the small Gaster Blaster, cupping my hands under it and watching as it shimmered and shifted.
The skull design became that of a simple ear bud, missing the cord, there being a blue base and a black squishy thing as padding around the speaker. As if an ear bud this size could fit in anyone's ear.
*You made it your own.
The ear bud - I'd already decided on calling it a Beat Blaster - disappeared somewhere into my soul, and I looked back up to Asgore, who smiled, kneeling down in front of me.
"You are strong, young one." Asgore spoke, his deep yet humble voice reaching deep into my soul. "There is little I can offer that you do not already have."
"But, I will still give you all the strength that I have in my bones." Asgore reached out a hand, and I watched as he began to swirl into the forming upside down heart. "Take my soul, and know that we all believe that you can do this."
The glowing, pure white light of Asgore's soul reflected in my emerald eyes, and slowly, skeptically, I reached out, cupping my hands under the soul of the King.
I brought it close to me, watching as my Human soul appeared in response to it's Monster other half, glowing red on my chest.
I gently pulled the soul closer, bringing it to my own, watching as it seamlessly slipped into my soul.
Just then, the void I stood in began to light up in white. So bright that I winced, reaching up and shielding my eyes with my forearm.
*It's time for your ascension, Angel.
My eyes fluttered open, skeptically winced after the blinding light I had just been covered by.
But, I was no longer in the void of my mind. I was sat in the King's throne at the center of his garden. My back was straight, sitting with uncharacteristically perfect posture. I looked down in my lap, where my hands were delicately wrapped around the crown that Asgore once wore.
I would have been confused, but... Something inside of me was aware of what had happened. I felt... Strangely content. At peace with what was to come.
Feeling a warmth on my back, I pulled away from the back of the throne on which I was seated, cocking a brow at the pattern that was burnt onto the chair. I recognized it as the Deltarune. The Angel's symbol.
Judging from the gentle and yet burning heat I felt on my back, I guessed that the symbol had burned from my flesh, and that the pattern was now engraved in my skin. This permanent mark, too, I felt at peace with.
"..." Slowly, I sat back in Asgore's-... My throne, my eyes drifting back to the crown.
*Your crown.
On the crown, there was a little note.
"We all believe in you! :D"
- Monster Kid
Though it was quoted to Monster Kid, it was written in comic sans.
I didn't speak, for I had no words to convey the way I felt. I only lifted that crown, slowly bringing it down upon my head. It felt like it was... What I had to do. I rested my elbow on the arm of my throne, leaning my chin on my fist and watching the doorway. my other hand's fingers tapped impatiently on the opposite arm rest.
Footsteps.
The shadows writhed as evil crossed through them, even the darkness sickened by touching such a foul creature. And, after another moment, they stepped from their darkness into my light. And there they stood, at the entrance to the room. Knife grasped in one hand, those ruby eyes dead set on me.
"So you finally made it." I spoke first, since they seemed keen on glaring silently. "Killed everybody who ever got in your way and then some. Well, everybody but me."
A gust of wind blew gently by, lifting their bangs over their face as they smiled, eyes unblinking.
"You've been pretty busy with all that. And, as I'm sure you can guess from this whole crown and throne thing I got goin' on, I've been pretty busy too." I smirked lightly, leaning back in my throne and letting my formerly propped up arm drop back onto it's arm rest.
They took a step forward, light reflecting in that knife of theirs. I frowned, looking to the knife for a moment, peering into the reflection of my own eyes on the cold steel, before looking back to them.
"... Alright, look. I know fighting is like... Your whole ass deal." I sighed, slouching slightly. That crown tilted, leaning to the left side of my head. "And I know that's what you've always wanted outta me: a good fight."
"And don't get me wrong, I wanna tear your arms off." I said frankly, and they nodded, smirking lightly.
"Flowey relayed the message." They spoke. They certainly didn't sound like Frisk.
"Aww, did'ja get the kiss too?" I grinned lightly, tilting my head to the side.
"Surprisingly, Flowey didn't follow through on that one." They humored me, their smirk widening as I snapped my fingers in feigned disappointment.
"Well, as I was saying, you and me?" I pointed between them and I. "We don't have to do this."
"So I'm giving you one chance here." I leaned forward in my throne, frowning and narrowing my eyes at them. "Turn around, RESET, quite this murder child bullshit for good, or I'm gonna hurt you. Over and over again. For an eternity."
They took another step forward.
My jaw clenched.
"I'm serious, dude." I shook my head. "I don't believe all this destiny fated battle finale bullshit, alright?"
"I mean, look at me." I pointed over my shoulder. "I got the god damn Deltarune branded on my back and the crown on my head. I'm sitting in the throne and I'm telling you that this is all nonsense."
"I've been through a lot to prepare for this moment, Chara." I sat up straight, leaning my head back slightly. "And the conclusion I've come to is that this is stupid. We can go back, forget this mess, and maybe we'll even be friends?"
"I don't want to be your friend." Chara frowned, eyes narrowing at me as they took another step forward. "I want to kill you."
"Honestly, I can't believe you, Cter!" They reached up, pinching the bridge of their nose and shaking their head. "I fight Grillby instead of Sans and he's hyping up some big final boss, and I come in here to find you sitting on the throne."
"And at first, you know, I was a little excited. You seemed so confident, I thought you'd really found a way to get stronger." They crossed their arms. "But after listening to that idiotic spiel of yours, I don't think you've gotten any more powerful! Clearly this is just some bluff!"
I sighed, reaching up and rubbing my eyes with my index finger and thumb.
"Chara, if you take another step forward, I'm retracting this olive branch and I'm kicking your ass." I let my hand drop into my lap, looking back to them and glaring through them, face reflecting nothing but apathy towards their calling of my 'bluff'.
"I dare you." They took another thoughtless step forward. "Honestly, the audacity! Wearing that crown, sitting on that throne... Do you even know what it all means?"
I smiled a big, genuine smile then. I once again rested my chin on my fist, and with my other hand I reached up, pressing my fingers together in preparation to snap.
"Why, a'course I do!"
The sound of my snap echoed through the room, and Chara's crimson eyes widened in shock as the air behind me was filled, one after the other, by Beat Blaster after Beat Blaster. They were each about the size of your average Gaster Blaster, and they were each pointed down at Chara, a glow beginning to shine in each blaster's speaker.
"It means I'm the King." The friendly tone dropped from my voice as I tilted my head to the side, that smile rising into a grin. I still held up the hand that I'd snapped with, the hand now open, as if preparing to order a volley.
"So kneel."
I threw my hand down, the shine of my blasters igniting the room with white light as Chara, shock still in their wide eyes, managed to take a single step back. And in the split second between those beams firing and when they closed the distance, a little smile crossed Chara's face. Then, the burning ray of those lasers blasted into Chara and the wall behind them, completely engulfing them.
Chara exploded out through the wall, firing back across the smoldering Judgement Hall before crashing to the cracked tiles, skidding across them on their side before slamming back first into a fallen pillar, whiplashing their head back against the stone before they slumped over, hair falling over their face and blood trickling down over their forehead.
Gradually they managed to lift their head, eyes focusing in first on their HP bar, which read 1/99. They looked over their HP bar then, watching as I placed both hands on the arms of my throne. I slowly pushed myself to my feet, which thudded heavily to the floor with all the weight of the future that rested on my shoulders. Heavenly beams of light shun down through the shattered windows of the hall, the only thing standing between us.
I clenched my hands into fists, frown clear on my face as I began to walk towards them. I reached out and pressed the save point as I walked by it, not so much as slowing down along the way.
Chara growled weakly, reaching up and putting a hand back on the pillar they'd smashed into. They struggled to push themself up to their feet, where they stumbled to the side, reaching out and pressing their own save point, their wounds healing and tears in their clothing sealing. Then they looked up, narrowing their eyes as they watched me walk down the shattered hall towards them, not hesitating but not in any rush.
As I walked, I threw my left arm out to the side. Ink slid down my sleeve, shaping and hardening into a thin spear, each end coming to a sharp point. And I spat the venom on my tongue, jaw tightening with wrath. "Remember that I gave you the option."
*You feel like you may have inflicted upon yourself a crummy juncture.
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