DoubleTale: Rewritten

by XWolf26

What if two humans were in the Underground at once? What if one human was DETERMINED to stop the other? What if they could both SAVE? What happens when an Unstoppable Force meets an Immovable Object? When a certain scientist pulls enough of himself together, he finally finds a way to stop the destruction of his world. (Undertale AU. Rewrite of DT.)

76. Chapter 76: A Killer's Empathy

Thanks go to Wingah, Tbone8454, 10burgers, Acoolnamme, Zack Frost, CrystalGamer82, Zillowzest, sauceman95, and Guest!

Happy New Year everyone! Zillowzest, I appreciate you leaving a review just to wish me a happy new year lol. Here's hoping 2022 is a good one! My resolution is to update on time more often!

So, yeah, this chapter was pushed back a week. Lots of holidays and some personal issues to sort out, but things are looking up and I'm back! The next update should be in two weeks, on January 18th! If not, it will be one week after that on the 25th. I hope you all had great holidays, and I hope you all enjoy the chapter enough to leave a review! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale. Also read DoubleScramble at DoubleTaleAU on Tumblr.

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Eden had one arm folded in front of her chest to hold a clipboard in place, her heels clicked on the stone path. Flowey thought she'd definitely dressed to impress today, a white button up shirt, purple tie and black skirt to match her black tights and heels. She'd really gotten good at dressing like she was in charge - if Flowey'd been given crayons and told to draw a business woman, he'd probably draw something that looked like Eden.

Hair pushed back and out of her face, Eden marched straight ahead down the cobble path with her clipboard in hand and her plant horror on her backpack. The addition of the one eyed flower probably clashed with her outfit, but whether Flowey liked it or not he'd become synonymous with Eden. People probably thought he was her body guard, but the fact'a the matter was she was much scarier than he was. Xander had taught her his killer stare but not his perfect smile - said she didn't need it. Said he was lucky enough to be born with respect on his name, trust was always what he'd had to gain. But she, as a young woman in a position of power, would have to pry respect from the hands of people who were older and believed they were smarter than she was. So, she walked with her head high, her back straight and her relentless eyes forward from behind the glasses that reflected some of their purple glow.

Speaking of eyes, Flowey was using his to examine the changing scenery. Trees were beginning to line the paths, they were more and more frequent the further Eden wandered out from Gatherer's compound and into the barracks. Tents began appearing, dummies and targets. Shooting ranges rang out with the bangs of guns and the thunks of bows, even the pews of magic. A rolling wave of footsteps washed up behind Eden, and without hesitation she stepped to the side of the path and let a platoon of humans and monsters lead by a Dogaressa jog by. Their footsteps in perfect sync, their dog captain gave Eden a salute as she marched by. Eden nodded once in response.

"Eden. Hey, Eden." Flowey finally chimed in, tilting his eyeball flower around her head to look at her face. She glanced up at him, wordlessly cocking an eyebrow. He had at least some of her attention, so he continued to speak in his shrill voice. "First the lab n' now this? What are we visiting the jar heads for?"

"I need to check in with Demon on the progress of our elite soldiers." Eden explained in her monotone, eyes peering ahead once more. They were coming up on a wide field, littered with trees and large stones. The stones had burn and slash marks, but all the trees remained unharmed. A group of humans sat in a circle, wherein the shape of Demon and whatever poor student they were sparring with could be seen. "It's important that our defenses are at their absolute highest. We must protect our cause and our people."

Eugh, she was using her work voice. Flowey wouldn't be able to get any fun response out of her until she was done checking things off that clipboard of hers. Still, he rolled his eye and challenged. "We have Anarchy on our side, remember? Defenses don't get much higher than that."

"Anarchy's presence in this timeline is exactly why our defenses must be at their best." Eden's lips curled downward into a frown, her grip tightened on her clipboard. The two of them were approaching Demon's Circle Of Asswhooping now, they could hear the clangs of weapons and the cries of battle. "I'm not going to trust that genocidal maniac, not that easy."

"Even though Gatherer trusts him?" Flowey's flower split into its vertical maw, flashing a smile that was entirely wrong. He was leaning around Eden's shoulder, speaking into her ear like some devilish creature whispering deceit. "Eden, could it be? Are you questioning our unquestionable leader?"

"... The judgement of The Gatherer is absolute. He knows what he's doing far better than you and I." Eden didn't flinch at the sound of Flowey's malevolent little giggle. Eyes straight ahead, stone face. Like Xander taught her. But, she'd hesitated when she'd answered. And that had never happened on the topic of Xander before. "I'm just... Taking extra precautions. One can never be too careful."

The two didn't exchange anymore words after that, they'd made it within earshot of Demon, who appeared to have just finished knocking their student flat on her ass. Or, at least Eden had thought it was one student. But, after reaching the circle and finding Demon standing tall, she could see two young women sitting flat on their asses. They were both INTEGRITY souls judging by the blue shine in their eyes and the sapphire hearts glowing on the both of their chests. And while they both sat there defeated, only one of them appeared to be scraped and bruised, only one of them panted with exertion while the other placed a concerned hand on her back.

"That was good, but not good enough!" Demon relished in the relieved sigh that the first half of their sentence got from their students, only for them to rip that relief away with the contradicting second half of their sentence. 12 humans sat and watched them, two of every soul color but red. Sheathing their machete back on their hip, Demon barked more harsh wisdom. "If you're going to share a body, if you're going to fight together, you need to be on the same page! Otherwise, the only thing you're gonna do is die together! That's what soul merging means!"

"It's not a battle for dominance, no one person should have full control!" Demon continued while they began pacing within their circle of students. Then, they paused. Looked out to their little crowd and lifted their hand, opening their palm. Within this open palm their scarlet soul appeared in a flash of color, and they went on. "It doesn't matter that you've got two minds - when you're together, what matters is that you've just got one soul! Remember that!"

It was about there in Demon's ranting that they spotted Eden standing at the edge of their circle. They glanced over towards her, and their expression reflected some confusion, before they looked back to their students. Face immediately reflecting a drill sergeant scowl once more, Demon snapped their fingers and pointed out to the track surrounding the field that they sat in. "Twenty laps! Hop to it!"

A few disgruntled groans trickled out of the crowd of twelve other humans, and Demon smiled just a little at the sound of it. They watched their fellow humans dissipate out towards the track, before looking over their shoulder towards Eden. Arching a curious brow, they crossed their arms over their chest while they asked. "Can't see I've ever seen you in this neck of the woods. What's up?"

"She's paranoid about Anarchy." Flowey chimed in as soon as Eden opened her mouth to speak, and in one fluid motion the young woman summoned a rolled up newspaper from her inventory, swinging up and smacking him right in the eyeball. The unfeeling flower certainly felt that, hissing and grumbling while he blinked his now teary eye. Demon snerked at the display.

"I was curious about the functions of our military branch. You're right - I've never taken the time to visit." That may have had something to do with Cliff, now that Eden thought about it. He had spent a lot of time with Gatherer's soldiers, been a top trainer and high ranking general. His undying faith in The Gatherer was exactly what those who were training to fight and possibly die for Xander needed to hear, and he was a big part of the reason that the military remained so completely loyal to this day. Eden turned her head, glanced out across the fields. It really was pretty out here, minus the sweaty humans and monsters marching around. At least everyone looked busy, that was something of a relief. "With our biggest mission ever at hand, I want to make sure all of our defenses are in top shape."

"You know we aren't bringing The Angel here, right?" Demon smirked a little, turning their body back to face Eden. But, then they realized Eden had far higher clearance than themself, and that she was likely to know the actual plan a lot better than they were. So, their now wide eyes blinked twice, and they added. "... We're not, bringing him here, right?"

"No, after his last visit I think The Angel has spent enough time in our humble timeline." Eden answered, her frown cracking a little deeper into her expression. Despite her dry answer, Demon breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't considered it until that precise moment, but they wouldn't want their soldiers anywhere near that four winged monstrosity. Skeptically, they glanced out towards their team of twelve humans marching in circles around the field. Maybe those kids weren't that shitty at learning. Eden arched a brow, "Something wrong?"

"... I'm gettin' doughy." Demon's eyes narrowed cynically with their answer, before looking back to Eden. They uncrossed their arms, placing their hands on their hips instead and leaning their head to one side. "But, anyway - Gatherer's army is tough. Standard soldiers are real good at what they do, looks to me like they follow every order to the T. And the special group I was assigned is getting a grasp over this soul merging thing."

So that's what Demon does here, Eden thought. Made sense now that she thought about it; of course Xander was interested in that strange sort of possession-fusion thing that Hacker and Demon did. One person becoming nothing but a ghost to support another of the same soul color, bestowing all the power of their soul on another for a period of time. But, from the looks of those exhausted students, there was a little more to it than that. She wished those kids - or, people in her age range from the looks of it. But people her age often felt like kids to her. Which was a sort of lonely feeling. - looked more prepared than they did. But there was little preparation that mattered when it came to Anarchy. Eden opened her mouth to speak,

"Heyyyyy over there~!"

... Before immediately closing it.

Eden looked over her shoulder and Demon tilted their head to look past her, the both of them staring down the path to see two individuals wandering their way. At the front was the shorter of the two; Frisk stood and waved their hand giddily over their head like they were greeting old friends, and it made Demon grimace. Behind the traitor loomed The Anarchist, hands in his pockets and a few overgrown strands of ivory hair overflowing from his mane down his face. The sight of him made Eden's jaw tighten and her eyes narrow, but she and Demon had both wiped away their irritated expressions before the two were close enough to see.

"Eden, love the outfit!" Frisk complimented hastily, smiling wide and looking Eden up and down with their mostly closed eyes. Eden didn't let the traitor butter her up, friendly as their tone was. That said, she did almost crack a smile when Frisk turned that same giddy smile to Demon, looked them up and down, and spoke in the same cheery tone. "Demon! Ew!"

"..." Angrily Demon smiled, pushing their tongue into the bottom corner of their cheek for a moment while they nodded and gathered their thoughts. Eden thought they might bite Frisk's head off, but Demon decided against it. Might've had something to do with the albino looming behind the traitor. Anarchy remained silent in this matter, his disinterested eyes glossed out across the fields and watched the marching monsters and humans. Strange and insignificant things, he thought them. Ready to die on the principals of a being other than themselves, believing in a power higher than their own souls. Creatures like them lacked the will and resolve to wrestle their fate out of destiny's hands in the way that Anarchy had. Demon's voice was a distraction from his internal monologue, "Frisk, Anarchy. Didn't expect to see either of you leaving your rooms. Also didn't think you would be... Hanging out?"

"It's our first date!" Frisk exclaimed so casually and genuinely, it was like a lightning bolt had struck the group. All pairs of eyes - including Anarchy's red ones - darted right towards the shamelessly smiling backstabber, who had folded their hands behind their back and tilted their head to the side.

"What?!" Demon had nearly choked, almost recoiling out of their shoes.

"What." Eden's deadpan expression somehow reflected disappointment and anger at once, her voice not unlike a disgruntled parent.

"What?" It was Anarchy's confusion that had both Demon and Eden breathing a sigh of relief. Frisk was just being weird, thank god. The last thing anyone wanted was emotional strain on the mentally unstable murder god that slept within kill distance of each of them, and the added concept of someone as horrible and manipulative as Frisk having any sort of leverage over The Anarchist's blackened heart was something worth worrying about too. But luckily, Anarchy was glaring down at them too, clearly aggravated by the lie Frisk had just told.

"You're clueless!" Frisk, however, had planted their fists on their hips and were glaring right back up at him. Tapping their foot, clearly they didn't believe that their date claim was untrue. Then leaned forward and fearlessly got into Anarchy's face to keep giving him that disappointed and annoyed date glare, but he just planted one of his big hands over their face and pushed them back out of his personal space.

"And you're annoying!" Anarchy stated irritably, pulling his hand off their face once he felt they were a good distance away and knocking two of his knuckles on their forehead like some kind of go to horny jail bonk. Frisk grumbled, reaching up and rubbing their forehead after Anarchy took his hand away and pouting up at him. He didn't pay them anymore mind, grumbling like the ornery old man he was and looking back to Eden and Demon to explain. "Wanted to explore the place, see what Xander's been cooking up these past few years. Got talked into bringing them along."

"He can't resist me." Frisk stated with absolute certainty and a convincing smile, even though they were still rubbing the red mark on their forehead. It was far from the hardest Anarchy had hit them, in fact he was being gentle with them. A love tap, they were sure. They were growing on him, they grew on everyone.

"You should be careful where you go." Eden spoke while Anarchy glared at Frisk from his eye's corner and they just flashed him their smile. Her eyes narrowed some at the sight of the two, clearly Frisk was up to something and Anarchy wasn't responding by murdering them. In her eyes, that looked a little too much like the two were in kahoots. Something to bring up to Xander, not to anyone else here. "This timeline has taken in people from timelines that you have devastated. There are survivors of your tragedies training here, living in the city outside."

"People living here don't give a shit about their own desires and their own fears." Anarchy stated with absolute certainty, looking away from Frisk and back to Eden. Smiling to flash his fangs and tilting his head, he continued. "All anybody in this timeline cares about is what Xander wants, and what Xander wants is me."

Eden paused... Before smiling back at him. She lifted the clipboard she'd had in her off hand, removed a pen from its clip, scribbled a few words, and tucked the board back under her arm again. Then, she looked back into the eyes of Anthony The Anarchist, widened that smile just a little, before nodding her goodbye. She walked straight forward, right through him and Frisk while she spoke. "Do what you will, so long as your eyes stay focused on our mutual goal."

"My eyes have been on that goal my entire life." Or, at least since he was reborn as Chaos Incarnate. Anarchy turned his head to watch Eden leave, his smile fading from his face. He thought back to his first meeting with the girl, the heartless glow in her eyes. She hadn't flinched, not even from the feel of his crowbar. That was sign enough that there was more to her than most. Not taking his eyes off her as she disappeared down the path, Anarchy finally spoke again. "... Hey, knockoff. Angel killed her brother, right? You know anything about that?"

"... He did, yeah. Me and Hacker - as well as a handful of other people - watched it happen." Demon wasn't particularly happy about being called 'knockoff', but they weren't about to argue with the most dangerous man alive about it. Not that they liked thinking about that day either; remembering how all that DETERMINATION felt, what it was like to watch The Angel gain another pair of wings and smite a man for standing against him. But, Anarchy had asked them what they knew. So, glancing uncomfortably to the side, Demon recounted. "It was about three years ago, you'd remember it as the day you fought The Angel. Predator was sieging Gatherer's compound because Gatherer had attacked her ship the day before."

"I'd only been working here for like a week or something. Gatherer scraped me and Hacker off the void floor after our own encounter with The Angel and the Ascended Heir." Placing their hands in their pockets, Demon glanced thoughtfully around the fields that surrounded them. Truth was, they didn't remember Cliff as a person, they'd known him for much longer as just the statue that loomed in front of Gatherer's tower. "Eden's brother, Cliff, he didn't like me or Hacker. That's most of what I remember about him; he was a hundred percent dedicated to what Gatherer was creating, and he didn't think me and Hacker were here for the right reasons."

"He was right, of course. Hacker and I were only looking out for ourselves." Demon looked back to Anarchy, smirking just a little at the memory of their own selfishness. Anarchy had turned to face them though, was listening to their story. This was a little surprising, Demon had half expected him to snap and demand they get to the point. But there he was, face hard to read as they recounted their little time knowing Clifford The BRAVE. "But, anyway. When Predator invaded, I was dealing with her cowboy. He was kinda kicking my ass for a minute, but then Hacker finally woke up. And just as I thought we were gonna turn this fight around and start carving through pirates... It starts getting windy. Like a tornado was about to touch down, or something. It was getting hot, too."

"And then, just before this big boom hits and everything gets tinted red, I remember that I'd felt this pressure before. See, about a week ago when Hacker and I had been fighting The Angel, he'd almost sprouted a new pair of wings. We managed to get him to stop by throwing his Chara under the bus, but..." Demon's eyes narrowed, glossed down to the floor. They still remembered what it was like, watching Cter climb to his feet with a vertical slash opening his stomach. His hand holding his guts in while his DETERMINATION sealed the slash, how pissed he looked and how terrifying the pressure of his soul felt in the pit of their stomach. Then, the panic that set in days later, when they were suddenly exposed to that feeling again. "The moment I realized what was going on, it was like the world paused. I remember thinking he's here. He's here and we can't stop him this time. And then, boom. Winds so harsh they blew bricks off the wall, temperatures so intense the glass was starting to melt. And everything was colored this horrible red shade."

"Fights were off then. People who worked for Gatherer, people who worked for Predator. We all forgot why we were trying to kill each other, we just rushed for cover from whatever disaster was unfolding in front of us." Demon shook their head slowly, pursed their lips momentarily. Truth was they didn't remember much of what Angel looked like in that instant, mostly just remembered the broken lab they were huddled in because they'd been too scared to look over the rubbled wall. "Hacker and I were hiding behind this busted wall, cowboy was hiding behind the wall across from us. I wasn't looking but... God, the sounds. Roaring winds, the creaking buildings, animal sounds and then... Laughter. Horrible, inhuman laughter. It wasn't a voice I had ever heard before and I hope I never hear it again."

"After hearing that, I had to look around the wall. Had to see what was happening. And then I see him - Cliff the BRAVE. Everyone is hiding, and he's just standing there. Cherub marching towards him with fire on his heels and murder in his eyes." Demon lifted their head finally, looked back to Anarchy with semi wide eyes. They shook their head and shrugged their shoulders, like they still had trouble believing what they were recounting. "And I remember thinking oh, shit! He's paralyzed like me! He can't run away! But then, Cliff puts his fucking fists up! He was ready to punch out the goddamn Angel, never even flinched! Now my only thought is really simple - he's dead."

"It was instant. Angel just, pointed at him, and suddenly he had a hole punched in his sternum." Demon winced, glancing to the side and shaking their head. They grimaced at the memory, "I reacted like I had just seen someone take a bad fall. Tensed up and winced, thought ooh, that had to hurt! I didn't like Cliff, but he was the kind of person who commanded respect. He had that sort of unbreakable aura about him, so watching him just get one shot... Suddenly, it felt like Angel was gonna kill all of us."

"Everything had been so loud, but as soon as he killed Cliff, there wasn't any sound anymore. I remember holding my breath, hearing my heart pounding in my ears and being afraid that he could hear it too." Seemed Demon's story even had Frisk's attention. Cter hadn't just killed a man, he'd massacred him! In front of his soldiers and his poor baby sister no less! Demon didn't see Frisk smiling though - they were looking at the ground. Eyes distant, seeing into the past. "... And then Eden screamed."

"... I had a brother too once, y'know. I'd seen him die so many times, kinda forgot what that first one felt like." Demon lifted their head, their eyes focused back in on his. They were the same color, but his red soul was nothing like theirs. Still, he did not smile like Frisk, he did not grin like a madman. he just stared, intrigued. Emotions existed in his eyes, but they were too strange and twisted for Demon to understand them. Eden mourned her brother and Demon had once forgotten theirs, but Anarchy wished to kill his brother. So how was he interpreting this story? Whatever, didn't matter. He'd asked a question and Demon was gonna answer it. "But, seeing Eden scramble to cling to her brother's lifeless body... Watching her plummet further into despair as she shook his body, as his blood stained her hands and pooled under him... It made me think of Asriel. Reminded me of the weight that death carries, and just made me even more terrified for what was about to happen. Like I said: it felt like he was about to slaughter all of us."

"Mew Mew tried to attack him. Some say it was brave of her but honestly I think she was just too stupid to see how outclassed she was. He brushed her aside like she was a plastic bag, permanently mutilating her face in the process." Demon rolled their eyes as they remembered the sight of Angel pitching that doll aside. But, then their expression tightened. Anarchy thought it was strange, seeing disgust on the face of a creature like Demon. Were they not a killer? Was that not what drew Angel to the real Chara? "Then... The Angel marched right up to Eden. I don't know what kind of power trip he was on, where he got off looming over a sobbing teenage girl like he really thought he was above her. Of course he was above her, she was barely sixteen fucking years old."

"Eden lashed out, screamed at him in a way that I didn't know she was capable. But, it was over as soon as Angel grew those wings. As soon as she tried to attack him he pulled her right off the ground, started strangling her." Anarchy's eyes narrowed some, he leaned his head curiously to one side. So interesting to see Demon so angry over this - what did they care? What did anyone care? He thought back to earlier, when he put his crowbar to Eden's neck. How suddenly everyone had been ready to jump into action, how suddenly even the vile creatures that were Hacker and Demon were prepared to throw their corpse at him in Eden's name. And now he stood there, imagining Cter The Angel use his power to abuse a helpless teenage girl. He started to frown, and Demon continued. "I thought he was gonna kill her, but he didn't. Just punched her in the stomach and broke a bunch of ribs before throwing her aside like he did Mew Mew."

"It's like he was just, trying to send a message. She was weak, he was strong. Weak people die when they fight strong people, that was why Cliff died. Or, something like that. I dunno." Demon crossed their arms over their chest, glanced to the side and exhaled quietly. They hesitated, before adding. "... The, wall that she hit. After Angel tossed her aside, I mean. It was the same wall I was hiding behind. And I just huddled there, hands over my head, praying to whatever god would listen that Hacker and I weren't next."

"... And then what?" Frisk's tone hardly matched the tone of the conversation. Angel beating up a sobbing girl? That was exactly the kind of story they wanted to hear about him! More gratification, more reasons to believe he was a scumbag. They were positively giddy, whereas Demon and even Anarchy were both frowning.

"... And then he was gone." Demon's eyes darted to Frisk after a pause. Their scarlet orbs looked dejected; seemed they hadn't really thought about this story or how it made them feel in quite some time. Not that Frisk actually thought Demon felt anything - they were a Chara. Charas sucked. But Frisk didn't have a personal problem with this one, so they didn't bother informing of them of how much their kind sucked. It was likely that Demon felt a similar way about Frisk. "Said a few more things, before him and his suffocating aura just... Disappeared. Not five minutes later there's a screen floating in the sky showing him and Anarchy in the same place at the same time."

"And we all know what happened then~!" Frisk sang, turning their smile towards The Anarchist. Their eyes opened, flashing the giddy malevolence of their red soul. A wretched and spiteful creature, Anarchy wondered if they just didn't remember he'd almost murdered them that day too. Whatever, didn't matter. His tagalong wasn't important, but they continued speaking regardless. Shutting their eyes again and turning their plastic smile towards Demon, "That was quite a story, Chara! Didn't think you'd drag it out so long!"

"I know what your "date"'s gimmick is. Honesty's important to you, isn't it?" Demon glanced over to Anarchy. He didn't answer verbally, but he did flash a shark tooth smile. They figured that was a yes. Demon smirked a little at that, "You wanted to know what I knew about Angel killing Cliff, so I told you the full story from my perspective. Hope it didn't bore you."

"Not at all." Anarchy finally spoke, that grin of his shrinking down to a smirk. He tilted his head back then, ruby orbs glossing up at the overcast sky. With one hand he reached up, pulling gently at his bottom lip with his finger while he furrowed his brows. His voice grumbled in his throat, "It was..."

Slowly, his lips curled downward. His eyebrows furrowed further, his expression tensed with rage. On a nearby tree, a few birds cawed and took flight in the opposite direction. The next word left his throat in a low growl.

"... Insightful."

Chapter 76: A Killer's Empathy

Or: The Last Supper

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We left Frisk's room after reading that last entry in their diary. There wasn't anything else for us there, we weren't gonna figure out what was waiting on the other side of that firewall. It was a somber realization, but one we had silently made before ever setting foot in that room. Honestly, when I pitched the idea, I can't really say I was trying to find out Gatherer's evil plans. Mostly I was just trying to find some kind of evidence of Frisk's innocence. Or, at the absolute least, my innocence. Didn't work out like that, though.

When we got back down stairs, we broke the bad news to Gaster. He was in the middle of cleaning his papers off the kitchen table, and he looked disappointed to hear that Frisk hadn't left Gatherer's entire playbook under their pillow but he didn't look surprised. Awkwardly, he'd stated that he would get out of our hair and keep running numbers. Keep trying to find answers while Chara and I prepared however we could.

As Gaster collected the last of his supplies, Chara made their way to start cleaning up the mess we'd made of the kitchen. I went to help them, but they gave me a look. I furrowed my brows at the expectant look they gave me, and they pointed to Gaster's turned back. I shrugged and shook my head, they nodded and pointed at him more urgently. I rolled my eyes and groaned silently; that's what they wanted? 'Go talk things out with your old science buddy who screwed you over.' 'Maybe say sorry for screaming at him and saying you never wanted to see him again.' 'Come on its been like three years you guys can't just sweep that shit under the rug.'

So, begrudgingly, I turned around. Rolled my eyes, shook my head, did all the body language I could think of to bitch while Gaster wasn't looking. I wandered towards him, lifted my hand and called out just as he looked like he was about to start walking towards the door. "Hey, Gaster. I'll walk ya out."

*(Whip sound effect.)

I shot Texty a nasty glare before Gaster turned around. He looked to me with a bit of surprise, but flashed his least nervous smile and pretended to perk up. I remembered the terror and shame in his sockets when I was screaming at him a few years ago - still kinda thought he was a chicken shit. But I guess most reasonable people would be with someone like me screaming at them. Regardless, I pushed that memory back into my brain's messy filing cabinet and tried my best to look happy when he agreed. "Oh, thank you!"

We made our way to the door, and I opened it for him because his hands were full. As Gaster made his way through the doorway, he flashed his polite - albeit awkward - smile back towards Chara. He called back as he made his exit, "Thank you for breakfast! Asgore and Toriel are always welcome over for tea if they wish to talk!"

Chara waved and smiled to acknowledge his words, before Gaster and I stepped outside and I shut the door behind us. On the porch, Gaster made his way down the two steps and onto the sidewalk before turning around to look up at me. He was still wearing that polite smile, but he wasn't dumb. He knew there was tension, he knew the last time him and I were alone together I'd nearly vaporized him for his deceit. Still, he found the nerve to speak before I did. "I'll be sure to update you if I find out anything else. It's been, very nice talking to you and Chara."

"I appreciate all the work you put into helping us." Appreciate what you're doing, hasn't been that great talking to you. Didn't really think about it, but that's exactly what I was saying when I didn't acknowledge his 'very nice talking to you' line. I wasn't trying to be prickly, it was just my first reaction. Try harder. I told myself. He's trying to be nice. This train of thought was immediately followed by a slightly quieter Yeah but still fuck this guy. I swallowed my poison, and forced out a few words before he could walk away. "Hey, uh, Gaster."

"Hm?" Gaster furrowed his brow bones up at me. I thought about stepping off the deck too, so he wasn't looking up at me. But, I was worried it would be unsettling if I started walking closer to him. So I stayed on the porch, looking down at the doctor I'd once thought was good and I now thought was fine I guess. "What is it, Cter?"

"Listen, uh..." Frown not too hidden on my face, I rubbed the back of my neck while I glanced to the side. Fuck, Angel, just say it. 'Sorry for...' Sorry for what, again? He fucked me over - all I ever did was get beaten to a bloody paste to fix his problems! Had a scar on my chest and a deltarune on my back because this guy couldn't handle his own shit! No, no. Not a healthy way of thinking. Coming to Undertale saved me, and it's not like Gaster didn't have reasons to not trust me. I couldn't be sure what I would have done if I knew Anarchy was coming for me back then, either. Be rational, rise above hate, anti-bullying zone, all the shit they write on the walls of Elementary schools. I took a deep breath, aaaand... "I'm sorry. For when I uh, flew off the handle and told you to never speak to me again. That wasn't the right thing to do."

"Oh! That? Well, Cter, I appreciate it, but..." Gaster glanced to the side, furrowed his brow bones. He looked a little ashamed, my first thought was good. But, I pushed those vengeful feelings away again. I'm bigger than my anger, that's the whole reason I'm apologizing. For me, not for him. Unaware of that, Gaster frowned while he looked away. "You, really shouldn't apologize. I don't deserve it."

"..." Not feeling like you deserve forgiveness. I understood that feeling. It made my expression soften up some, made me remember my KINDNESS. People make mistakes, it's okay. Forgiveness was what separated me from Frisk, from Xander. From Anny... I took a step down, then another. Off the porch, down next to Gaster. I put a hand on his shoulder, and he lifted his head to look into my green eyes. I hoped my expression looked a little less like resting bitch face when I spoke again. "It's okay, Gaster. Really, people make mistakes. I forgive you."

"... You've really grown up, Cter." Gaster managed to smile. It was the first one I'd seen in years that didn't have some kind of 'please don't kill me' energy to it. He relaxed some, didn't look quite so sorry for himself anymore. I was glad, and I didn't think I would be. Maybe he was right, maybe I had made progress. Gaster looked to the side again, his smile got a little more sad. "But, still. You shouldn't apologize to me. The people that have died because of Anarchy, those scars on your arm, anything that happens when you and Chara walk through that portal..."

"It's not your fault." Who did this guy think he was, claiming my crimes as his own? Almost made me smile - someone other than me felt responsible for this mess? I squeezed the doctor's shoulder to reassure him, I felt a little less disgusted about being KIND to him. "I'm in no position to judge other people on their honesty. You did what you thought you had to do."

"... I should have trusted you then, Angel. Even if you don't think you were trustworthy then, I had no reason to believe otherwise." Gaster looked back to me, that sad smile drooped into a frown. Gently, he wiped my hand off his shoulder, before taking a step back away from me. I furrowed my brows at this, wondered if I was upset or relieved that he was having so much trouble accepting forgiveness. "I could say that CORE Frisk played up my paranoia or that I was scared of losing my timeline so soon after getting it back, but the bottom line is that you trusted me and I didn't trust you. And because of that everyone got hurt."

"... Y'know, Gaster. After what Frisk did last night, I think it's starting to get a little easier to see who my real friends are." I looked to the side, glanced out at the lawn. The street, all the houses lined up. Not too many people out right now, seemed everyone was moping around. made sense, Frisk was a friend to all of monsterkind. Everyone felt the weight of their betrayal. Still, I looked back to Gaster, and I managed a smile. I felt a little relieved, for some reason. Had Chara been right about this? Nah, that couldn't be it. "So, thanks for the help, G. I'm glad you're still in my corner."

I didn't have anything to say after that, it felt like enough. So, I stepped back onto the steps. Made my way up to the door, while waving my goodbye to Gaster. Hopefully he felt a little lighter after our talk too, but right now I didn't care to know. I didn't really know if I still cared about him all that much, but I didn't feel so angry at him anymore. And I think that's a good start.

I made my way back into the house - the first thing I was greeted with was Chara sitting on the couch. They were slouched, sunken into the cushion. Tired as they looked, they smiled at me when I entered the room, and I smiled back. I wandered right over to them, plopped down on the cushion to the right of them, and slouched in a similar way.

"Well?" Chara glanced over at me, that tired smirk plain on their face. Never too exhausted to tease me, I liked that about them. "I didn't hear you screaming at him - couldn't have gone too bad."

"... Nah, it went alright." I answered after a dramatic pause and a roll of my eyes. I was smirking just a little with them, until my eyes drifted over to the red scars of my left arm. Then, my brows furrowed some, and I frowned a little. "He, kinda sounded like me. The way he blamed himself and apologized, looked so uh... Y'know, disgusted with himself. I could relate."

I stared at my open hand for a few seconds with that mopey expression, until Chara reached over and placed their hand in my palm. I lightened up some while our fingers intertwined, and I glanced back up at them with a little smile gracing my face. They never let my brood these days, I guess I was thankful for that. They returned my smile, "I think forgiving him will be good for you, Angel. Might help you forgive yourself."

"Well aren't you thoughtful?" I reached up with my free hand, trying to pinch their cheek like some clingy aunt. Chara of course hissed and leaned their head back away from my hand, which got me laughing. After a few moments of me trying to grab their face and them fighting me every step of the way, my brain dead laughter and their childish grumbling died down. We both relaxed back into our seats, looking ahead again. I was grinning like an idiot for a few moments longer, riding the high of harassing Chara - who was trying to hide their own smile. We didn't let go of each other's hand.

"... Man, today's been a weird day. And it's only like one in the afternoon." I eventually spoke up after my grin died down. I was still smiling a little, because I was still holding Chara's hand. I thought for a moment, before looking back over to them. I squeezed their hand some and spoke up, "I'm sorry about all the screwed up stuff Frisk said about you in their diary. I appreciate you trying to make me feel better up there, but... I know that had to have been hard on you, too."

"Eh, I was lucky. Frisk wasn't as subtle about hating me as they were with you. Or, maybe I just had an easier time understanding when they were being fake." Chara shrugged like those words didn't bother them, but I could see the joy wash off their face. They glanced to the side, frowning some while they forced out the next sentence. "But... It, is definitely a bummer. These past two weeks, it really felt like we were reconnecting. It really felt like I could trust them again. It felt like I was making a friend."

"But... I'm bigger than them. Than all the hate they wanna hold onto, all the things they said about me, all the things they tried to hurt me with when they betrayed us. I know who I am, I know who we are." Chara looked back to me, my eyebrows rose some at the confidence in the smile they were now wearing. Then... I started smiling. They'd come so far, I was so proud of them. "There are people who actually care about me. So if Frisk doesn't want to be apart of my life, then they don't deserve to be."

"..." Silently, I leaned my head onto their shoulder. Their eyebrows rose a little at that, cheeks tinted a pink shade. I smiled thoughtfully while I looked ahead, out the front window of the living room and at the world outside. Bigger than us and our problems were the monsters beginning to wander outside, people that we knew and loved were healing too. Moving on, living their lives. I sighed, felt a little relieved for some reason. "Y'know Chara, sometimes it feels like you're so much smarter than me."

"That's because I am." Chara couldn't stop themself from saying, knocking their fist against my head lightly as though they thought it would make a hollow wood sound. I smirked dryly at that, shooting a warning glance up at them. They grinned, rubbing the spot on my head they'd just knocked on.

---

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Frisk asked, flashing their plastic smile over towards The Anarchist as the two of them made their way down the halls of Gatherer's tower. Anarchy glanced at them from the corner of his eye, made some kind of groan-grunt, and then looked ahead. Frisk did one of their weird reverse winks, tilting their head to the side. "You didn't even ask me once about Angel. I think it's because you had so much fun hanging out."

"I think it's because you're exhausting to talk to." Hands in his pockets, Anarchy slouched forward some. He was a lot more reserved than Frisk imagined he would be - they likened him to a shark. If he got hungry, if he smelled blood, his eyes would light up and he would come to life. They missed seeing him like that, even if this no nonsense version of him was fun in its own way.

"Oh? So the man with infinite stamina thinks I'm exhausting?" Frisk smirked - they didn't believe that for a second. Hands folded behind their back, they had to take a long stride to stand beside him. He was always walking fast, staying ahead of them. Keeping distance, trying to make them feel like a tag along. He didn't want them close, but what did he have to be afraid of? Only one way to find out. "Can you just admit you like being around me?"

"I try not to make a habit of lying." Anarchy was frowning now. Why were they so pushy? Why'd they keep bugging him? Why did they talk so much? He couldn't wait for the quiet of his room. He was tired of this screwball trying to make him want to figure them out - he didn't care to know them. He'd grown tired of knowing people.

It was right around then the two reached their room doors. Anarchy wished he could say he forgot Frisk's room was right next to his, but just like Frisk themself, it had become an ever present weight on his psyche. The traitor was an annoying anomaly - people were supposed to fear him. Keep their distance, watch him like they were afraid he was going to jump out and attack them. The only previous change from this had been hateful stares in his childhood and the loving care in the eyes of Mako and Angel once upon a time. But Frisk did not appear afraid, nor did they appear to hate him. They didn't want to try and heal him, he did not think they thought he was broken. But they did look at him with... Something. They wanted something for him, or was it from him? No, stop analyzing. He knew all he needed to know about them. There was nothing left of Frisk that he wanted to learn.

Anarchy didn't bother saying goodbye. He just turned to face his room's door, reached for the knob. He didn't want to talk to them anymore, didn't want to think about them. But, before his hand reached the knob... There was some sort of blink in time. His perception turned off, it was like he'd been asleep for a single second. And when the world lit back up, Frisk was standing between him and the door. They'd taken hold of his hand, caught it from the air between Anarchy and the door. They held it up between the two of them - their hands were small, it took both of them to hold one of Anarchy's. Everything about them was small and fragile to Anarchy - he loomed over them. His shadow stretched over them, his lips peeled back to bare his fangs, his eyes narrowed with a Killer glow. And Frisk smiled, opened their eyes to show their honestly. Scarlet, just like Anarchy's.

"You think I'm annoying? Prove it." Frisk spoke boldly in the face of The Anarchist. Even more bold than their challenge was their actions - they lifted the hand they were holding. Brought it up to their throat, tilted their head back and opened Anarchy's unobjecting hand. They wrapped his fingers around their neck, fastened his palm to their throat like it was a stylish choker. And Frisk smiled, eyes glowing with the sick perversions of their twisted soul. "Go on, handsome. You've killed for less, right?"

Anthony The Anarchist was silent. His hand didn't pull away, but his fingers didn't tighten. They shifted, grazed over the warm skin of Frisk's neck. They were soft. Squishy, fragile. He could clench his fist and snap their larynx and brain stem in one attempt. And whatever that blip in time was, he already had them. They wouldn't be able to escape with that power again. He'd killed for less, he'd killed for more. A bug, a little ember of life that he could stomp out to scratch the itch in his brain... He stepped forward, with the hand on their neck he pushed them back. Their breathe hitched in their throat when their back struck the door, he felt it. But they didn't stop looking up at him like they were eager. That vile smile didn't wash away.

"... Your heart is racing." Anthony spoke - his voice was quiet. He could feel their pulse in their throat. It pounded against his palm. Goosebumps were rising on the back of their neck, Anarchy felt it with the tips of his fingers. Something compelled him to step closer, loom over them, trap them between the door and his body. No escape - be afraid. "You are scared of me."

Frisk's eyebrows rose at that statement, their eyes widened. Then, their smile got wider too. They might've laughed, if they didn't think it would kill the mood. The sight of their expression made Anarchy's eyebrows furrow, his jaw tighten. Was he wrong? Why else would their heart be racing? Frisk fearlessly lifted their hand. They slid their fingers under his shirt, he felt their palm on his bare skin. It traveled up his scarred abdomen - he was so rigid, a stone body for an immortal man. And it wasn't until Frisk's hand laid on top of his chest, his shirt pulled halfway up his body on their wrist, that Anthony The Anarchist realized his heart was racing too. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing, goosebumps formed around the warm hand that was interpreting the rapid beating of his unstoppable heart. Voice calm and collected, quiet enough to force The Anarchist to listen to every word. Frisk repeated something they said earlier - and this time Anarchy had to consider it. "You're still clueless."

Clueless wasn't the right word - he felt like he had a lotta clues, he just had no idea to what. Why was his heart beating so fast? He'd derived excitement from killing before, but not in a scenario like this. Battle made his heart race, a victory he'd earned made his hairs rise. But this wasn't a fight, this wasn't exciting. It wasn't scary, either. At least, he didn't think so. It was hard to say, he hadn't been afraid of someone since he was a child. But Frisk wasn't scary - they were fragile. Soft... His eyes scanned them up and down, looked for a reason to be intimidated. He found none. He loomed over them, could exert his power over them and they would welcome it. That wasn't how it was supposed to be - that was never how it had been before. Frisk rolled their eyes at his lack of response, like they knew something he didn't. He wished they would stop being so weird and just explain what the fuck was happening or what they were trying to make happen.

"You know... If you wanna 'kill' me somewhere with less potential witnesses..." With Frisk's free hand, they reached back to the door they were pushed against. Their fingers grazed over the handle - if they pushed it down, the door would certainly swing open with how Anarchy was holding their body against. Frisk smiled, held the tip of their tongue between their teeth while their eyes narrowed with some strange desire that Anarchy had trouble interpreting. "You could always drag me back to your room. Nobody would see."

Anarchy's pupils shrunk, his eyes twitched. His room? Why would he want to drag them to his room? Why did he need to hide what he was going to do to them? What was he going to do to them? What did he want from them? Wait, no - that's not right. They wanted something from him, didn't they? So how were they making him feel like he was the one who had something to gain here? Why did he feel that they had something he wanted? What could they have? What did he want? Frisk just frowned, pouted like they were so helpless and so innocent. Batting their eyelashes, they stared up at him with honesty in their liar's eyes. He could feel them drawing circles on his chest. "I promise I'll try my hardest not to scream, Mister Anarchist...~"

Something hit its peak. Anarchy realized he either stopped this interaction now, or Frisk was going to be coming to his room with him. And he didn't know what would happen then, but he didn't think he would kill them. And he didn't like that - didn't know why. Didn't know how Frisk did this. He'd wanted nothing to do with them before, but somehow they drew him in. From this morning to now, he'd gotten less and less exhausted with their presence, and now...

That's enough.

Suddenly, Anarchy stepped back. He was nothing if not decisive - certainty in all that he did was what made his soul powerful, and whatever Frisk was trying to get from him was not something he wanted to give them. So, he threw them away in a very literal sense. Frisk's eyes went wide as they were ripped from the moment by the hand around their neck, the mood utterly murdered by Anarchy shitwhipping them by the neck down the hallway and away from himself and his room. Hastily Anarchy grabbed the doorknob Frisk had been threatening him with, waving one hand down to where Frisk laid in the hallway and calling out. "Night, Frisk!"

Slam!

Anarchy left them in the hallway, didn't care to hear whatever their response to being pitched aside would be. But, he felt better now that his hand was removed from their throat, now that theirs was off his chest. And though some darker part of his psyche - the same part that longed to take his angers out on the world and do whatever he wanted no matter who it may hurt, he reckoned - longed to know what may have happened if Frisk reached the other side of his door, Anthony did not deal in what ifs. Actions in this life were set in stone the moment that they happen, there is no point in considering alternate endings. He was here now, they were gone from him, and he felt... Clean, in a way that he did not feel when he was so close to them.

So, after locking the door behind him, Anarchy wandered deeper into his temporary room. He reached up, pulled the shirt and sweatshirt from his body and threw it on the couch that he passed by. On his way towards the bathroom, he passed a full length mirror, and he paused. He turned, looked over his body. His hulking frame, his height, the scars covering his skin... He felt dirty after being so close to the traitor. After nearly being convinced he wanted something from them. So, he grumbled in his low voice while he turned back towards the bathroom.

"... I need a shower."

---

At the counter of a pirate ship's diner bar, Future checked his watch. He'd made it a habit these past few days, anxiously watching the time while he waited for what could have been the end of the world for all he knew. Two days gone, one day left before shit would presumably hit the fan. He'd called Grillby and Alphys, explained he wouldn't be home for a few days. While Future wasn't typically in the business of endangering himself on this multiverse bullshit, he knew that the states here were far higher than his humble timeline. His kingdom could survive without a king, but as the king he could not survive without his kingdom. Thaaaaat's politics.

"Pancakes and bacon!" Melanie's voice suddenly piped up, and Future lifted his head from the world's end counter on his wrist to see her placing a plate before him from her side of the table. He smiled at the sight of her - she was so bright, just days removed from what he was sure was her life's greatest tragedy. She thought differently than he did, Future thought. Someone like her must have believed we were not burdened by death, but blessed by life. Her glass was most certainly half full.

"Thanks." Future smiled - the green in his eyes shined just a little brighter when met with the green in hers. It'd been an interesting two days, meeting pirates and giving proper introductions. There was a silent and mutual respect between him and Clover, as well as him and Fell!Grillby. Hadn't seen much of Predator, she'd been spending most of her time obliterating punching bags, training dummies, and whatever weights she was lifting in the gym. In her absence Susie and allegedly Kris had taken up the mantle of calling Future a DILF - something Ralsei continued to scold them for. Sans was pretty much just Sans most'a the time - Future was happy to talk to him. Reminded him of his own Sans, and how many years it'd been since he had a living skeleton friend. Then of course there was Melanie, who explained her carefree friendship towards Future with a simple saying.

"Greenies gotta stick together!" Melanie flashed a smile, a response to Future's thanks that the old king appreciated. They were a motley crew, but Future enjoyed all of them for their individuality. He got to work on the breakfast Melanie had so kindly prepared for him at noon - greenie, he liked that. He had not gotten much use from his KINDNESS in the early years of his life, but lately he felt it was a trait far more important that most of his others.

His eyes glossed down to his wristwatch again. 12:19 PM... 11 hours and 41 minutes until that firewall went down and The Angel and The Ascended Heir were free. Then, god help Xander.

---

For his second day in Gatherer's timeline, Anarchy didn't go outside and didn't talk to anybody. Didn't have anyone he wanted to see, least of all Frisk. He had to center his focus on destroying Angel, he had no time to try and win whatever sick game the traitor wanted to play. So he had spent much of the past twenty four hours in the dark. Blinds shut, doors locked. He'd expected Frisk to bother him, but they didn't. In fact, he wasn't sure if they'd left their room at all, either. Whatever, didn't matter, he didn't care.

It wasn't until the morning of his third and final day in this timeline that he heard a knock upon the door. He hadn't bothered to check the time, hadn't bothered to ask who was there or look through the peep hole. He just stood from where he'd been sitting with his legs crossed in his living room's center, abandoned god knows what meditation it was that soothed his psychotic mind to answer the door.

"Good morning." Eden answered in a very welcome and very emotionless voice. Anarchy preferred her over who he thought it might have been - but when he lifted his eyes, he could see that Frisk already stood behind her. One hand folded behind their back, Frisk blew a kiss at The Anarchist with the other hand, who's frown settled deeper into his face. Their outfit was, as usual, different from the last. An oversized, tan crop top. It showed less midriff than the last, was baggier and far less form fitting. The direct contrast to that was of course the white skinny jeans they were wearing, which were very form fitting. Jeans matched white sneakers, gold chain around their neck went well enough with the shirt. They had a metal bracelet with some charms Anarchy didn't care to examine on one wrist and a watch on the other. He would never understand putting that much effort into clothes, but Frisk would certainly describe this outfit as "Just something they threw on" if he asked. Lucky for him he didn't ask.

"Whaddaya want?" Straight to the point, Anarchy's stare dropped down to the young woman before him. She stared right up at him, back straight and expression stone. Xander really had taken his time teaching this kid... Always thinking of the future, that one. Eden's purple stare carried much of the weight that The Gatherer's stare could, but it was all weight Anarchy could lift with his pinky.

"The Gatherer has called for one last meeting with his most important associates before our mission tonight." Eden explained, unphased by Anarchy's less than polite question. Then, without another word, she turned on her heel and behind walking back down the hall. Straight and to the point, Anarchy liked that about her. Eden was about her business, her and Anarchy had that in common. So, he shut the door behind him, and he followed those two down the halls.

They made their way down the halls for the next few minutes. Things were quiet for awhile, but eventually and inevitably Frisk started speaking again. They kept a few paces behind Eden, and against his better judgement Anarchy walked slower to listen to whatever nonsense they had to say. They whispered, like they were trying to keep some dirty secret. "Y'know, you coulda just said 'no'."

"I do what I want." Anarchy grumbled back, begrudgingly keeping his voice low to keep whatever secret Frisk was trying to hide. He kept his scarlet eyes straight ahead, frown digging deeper into his face.

"Doesn't seem like ya do~" Frisk opened their eyes while they flashed Anarchy an evil little smile. A smile that made them look like they thought they knew something - Anarchy tried his best not to wonder about what information they thought they had.

He didn't look at them, didn't talk to them anymore. Eventually, Eden had lead them back to the board room where Frisk and Anarchy had first been briefed on the Angel Eradication Plan two days ago. Now, once again, Xander stood at the head of the room. They walked in somewhere in the middle of a conversation that he was having with Hacker, who sat slouched beside Demon in one of the chairs in front of the projector screen.

"C'mon G, we've been over this a hundred times already!" Hacker complained, gesturing one hand at Gatherer while his other remained around Demon's shoulders. "We know what the deal is! Throw bait, lure asshats, kill shitheads!"

"... So are they asshats or are they shitheads?" Xander responded dryly, narrowing his eyes while his unamused expression reached new levels of 'shut the fuck up Hacker'. But, his expression lightened with glee when his violet eyes lifted to see Eden leading Anarchy and Frisk into the room. He perked up, folded his hands behind his straightened back. "Ah, Anthony! Eden, thank you for retrieving him and Frisk, I appreciate it."

Eden curtsied, before stepping aside. She made her way to the seat beside Demon, leaving Frisk and Anarchy alone in the doorway. For the amount of chairs set up, it was odd to The Anarchist that they were the only ones here. Coulda swore Xander had a few more lackies, but the only nonhuman was the potted plant Eden now held in her lap. Regardless, Frisk happily hopped over the back of one of the chairs, plopping themself into the seat before looking happily over their shoulder at Anarchy. They rapidly patted the seat beside them. Anarchy chose to sit in the middle, far away from both Eden and Frisk.

"Well, now that everyone is here, I would like to share the reason for this meeting." Xander seemed much less exhausted now that Hacker was not speaking, and the moment that the loud mouth parted his jaws to say something else, he lifted one hand towards him, signaling him to wait a moment. "This meeting is not, as Hacker theorized, to rehash the Angel Eradication Plan. I have went over that enough with each of you, I am certain you all understand your role perfectly."

"Hm?" Eden arched a brow - though she hadn't bitched about it as Hacker had, she certainly had thought this was one final briefing on their plan to destroy The Angel. She didn't show it, but this was a stinging surprise. She usually heard about things long before the others - had Xander kept something in his plans from her? Would she really be learning about it with the same lot as Anarchy and Frisk?

"As you know, the DoubleScramble timeline is unique because it does not have six contained human souls." Gatherer clicked something in his hand, and the light of the projector flashed to life. It displayed four containers, each holding a human soul. Gatherer gestured to the screen, "They have four contained souls, and three living humans underground."

Another click, and the screen shifted to display sprite art of a familiar man with an unfamiliar smile. To his right stood someone in a green and yellow striped coat with red circled cheeks, and to his left was a shorter person with a familiar disinterested expression. Gatherer elaborated, "A Cter, a Chara, and a Frisk. None of which could hold much of a candle in strength to those of us gathered in this room."

"Yeah, that's why we're attacking them, right?" Hacker questioned, arching a brow and tilting his head. He bounced one leg impatiently, "It's harder for them to just throw together a seven souled god - which would be kinda hard to deal with."

"That is one reason yes. But, the importance of these seven souls goes beyond that." Another click, and the image changed to what the room recognized as Xander's own containment area for the six souls in Hacker's laboratory. Expression hardly expressing a thing, Xander went on to explain. "The power of seven souls is invaluable. A human soul is a hard thing to come by - humanity fought an entire war without ever letting Monsterkind get their hands on one. We were lucky enough to be blessed with six souls when this empire began, but we are in need of a seventh and have been for three years."

"Wait, what?" Eden's eyes were wide, her pupils were shrunk. Why would he want that kind of power - did he not understand what he was playing with? A seven souled god was an occurrence beyond rare in the multiverse - outside of Asriel Dreemurr, who often attained godhood only to give it back. Eden thought there was wisdom in that. That if a god knew it should not exist, mortals should certainly understand the same thing. So why did Xander want a seventh soul all of a sudden, and why hadn't he spoken to her about it?

"The powers that be in this multiverse grow stronger every day. We are blessed to have a being as powerful as The Anarchist on our side for now, but Anthony will not be protecting our empire." Xander gestured over towards Anthony The Anarchist, who sat fascinated in his chair, lips parted, his wide red eyes stared at Xander. At the screen. A god, seven human souls... He remembered the dwarf in the flask. He remembered Jevil's words. And under his breath, he muttered...

"Order's Mad God..."

"I do not wish to create a god, but as time passes it becomes more and more likely that a being with that level of power could threaten our home." Xander folded his hands behind his back, a frown curled his lips downward. He did not look himself, Eden thought. He looked like The Gatherer, Hacker thought. Like the ruthless kingpin him and Anarchy had known once upon a time. And while Hacker liked seeing that vicious side'a his cleaned up boss, he couldn't say he was jazzed about this idea either. He was the one who studied those souls every day after all - he knew exactly what kinda power they had. Regardless of the skepticism in the room, Gatherer went on. "This operation - The Angel Eradication Plan - will be the biggest move our empire has ever made. And whatever the outcome, it will garner the attention of every being with an ounce of sense in this multiverse."

"So, I want us to have infinite power at the ready. This is a safety precaution that we will hopefully never have to use, but we must obtain to ensure the safety of our people." The Gatherer's powerful eyes scanned the room, a whip ready to strike out disobedience in his followers. His word was absolute, Eden knew this to be true as she straightened her back and masked her dismay. Her ruler was not to be doubted - of course Xander cared about the safety of this empire beyond anything else. If there was any man alive who could be trusted with godly power, surely it was-

"Hey. I don't give two shits about gods and human souls." Anarchy rose his hand, a polite sprinkle on his rude sentence. His hand dropped back down over the back of the chair beside him, and he frowned unapologetically. "I told'ja what I'm here for. I got no interest in your empire's future."

"You do not have to help on this part of the mission if you do not wish to Anthony, that is your prerogative." Gatherer flashed his perfect smile, it got Anarchy to relax in his chair. He remained perfectly calm in the face of Anarchy's disobedience - it was no problem to him. "You were invited here to assure you understood everything that will be happening around you and so that you never have to worry that things are being hidden from you, not to be assigned this mission."

"... Mn." Anarchy grumbled, sunk back into his chair. He didn't have any particularly strong feelings about this plan, didn't care what Xander did after Angel was gone. All he cared about was Angel being gone, and then hopefully no one would ever bother him again. Seven souled god or not, Anarchy could destroy any foe put before him. He had no reason to fear whatever the backlash of Gatherer's greed could be.

"So, the rest of you. Your main focus is The Angel's head, but this timeline is not to be erased. You may kill and destroy the souls of the humans in this timeline, so long as at least one of the captured souls comes into our possession." With one more click, the light flashed off and the projector projected nothing more. Then, in the dark, the violet glow of The Gatherer's eyes was ever present. Even as the serpent slinked backwards the door at the back of the room, retired to whatever study was beyond this board room. "Thank you all for your help, our empire could not prosper without each and every one of you."

After that... The room cleared out. Hacker and Demon had some kind of banter as they left, Eden wasn't listening. Anarchy wandered off without a care, and Frisk chased his coattails. Eden didn't care. She just sat there, staring down at the tiles and disassociating. Flowey glanced up at her, and he smiled at the sight of doubt and despair on her face. What had Cliff died to protect, again?

---

Frisk had said all sorts of things on the way back to their rooms, and Anarchy had tuned them out all the while. It wasn't until his hand was on the doorknob again that Frisk managed to reach him - it was just a little remark. "You sure you don't wanna invite me inside this time, Mister Anarchist~?"

They followed it up with an evil little giggle. Anarchy remembered momentarily what their neck felt like in his hand, how it felt to loom over them, trap them with his body... Then he shot them a warning glance. His eyes cold and dead - a shark with no blood in the water. But Frisk had seen him come to life, they knew they could make it happen again. Regardless of that, he opened his door, stepped inside, and shut it behind himself.

Anarchy needed a shower after that. He made his way from door to bathroom, wandered by the mirror without a glance as he pulled his clothes from his body. He tossed them aside as he wandered, left them in a trail to the bathroom door, which he reached in the buff. He shut the door behind himself, made a straight line to the shower curtain and pulled it back to step inside. He shut that behind himself, too.

Cold water spewed out of the showerhead - Anarchy liked cold showers. They felt real, felt like home. The pipe he'd shattered over his head, the stream he'd meditated in after his battle with Angel. The cold brought comfort that the warm couldn't replicate. Anarchy's life had taken place in the dark and the cold, the warm was something hardly familiar and hardly welcome.

As he ran his hands through his water straightened white hair, The Anarchist pondered what the next twenty four hours would mean to him. By this time tomorrow, The Angel could already be dead at his hands. His brother's blood would be under his fingernails soon - was he ready this time? He had to be; three years was a long time to wait for redemption. And besides, he had a home to return to. Mako and Max were waiting for him. Angel's time was reaching its end and, perhaps... Perhaps Anarchy's time was about to reach a new beginning. For so long Anthony had felt he would have nothing left after Angel was gone - but now he had a home to return to. So, all that was left to wonder was whether or not he actually deserved that home.

Would destroying the ultimate evil in Angel be enough to forgive Anarchy's sins? Would sacrificing his strongest bond, his most beautiful hate and most bitter love in his brother all floating face down in the river... Would the death of that part of Anthony be enough of a sacrifice? Would Angel's blood clean his hands?

Anarchy shut his eyes while he washed soap from his hair. A world without Angel... It was still hard to imagine the day. He supposed he wouldn't truly know what to do until he stood over his brother's corpse, all he knew was that his brother had to die. No matter what, Angel had to die. Anthony was put on this earth to ride this earth of Angel. That was why he survived his last life and awoke in this one, that was why he'd clawed his way to immortality and achieved the power he had. He had worked his entire life for tomorrow. He would not let it slip through his fingers.

"You becoming Anarchy, and everyone you ever hurt or killed... That's all my fault. And I'm sorry."

... He would not let it slip through his fingers. Not again.

Bodywash, conditioner, some shit Badster gave him for his beard. Soon enough, the water was shut off and Anthony The Anarchist was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, trimming away any excess that had grown from his beard with a straight razor pulled from his inventory. He cut his cheek at one point; the red steam of his soul sealed the cut right behind the razor, closing the wound as soon as it opened. He didn't even get the chance to bleed.

Once he felt like he was done, he lowered the razor and stared at himself in the mirror. Tilted his head, looked himself over. He had a scar on his collar bone - his mother had snapped the thing with his Inheritance when he was fourteen. It was a miracle it healed right, seeing as Anthony never went to the hospital for it. But, now he forever had a scar that reached up his chest and along his neck. Had a more defined and straight cut on the right side of his chest. He'd tried to help his mother off the kitchen table, she was fucked up on something. She cut him with her kitchen knife. He was twelve, and he stopped giving her knives with the dinners he made her after that. He decided to stop examining the scars on his front, he did it enough.

His gaze drifted to the eyes of his reflection. What would she think of me if she saw me now, he pondered for just a moment. Then, he scoffed. Smiled just a little. She'd hate the hair, but she might like the beard. It didn't look like dad's, after all. Anthony grabbed his towel, and he turned his back on the mirror. His back had a lot more scars, the mirror reflected while he rubbed the towel into his hair and walked towards the door. He'd taken a lot of his beatings in the fetal position, it was why he only had one scar on his face. Curling up over his jawline and onto the bottom of his cheek, now hidden under his beard. Unfortunately, that meant his back was plenty carved up.

Sometime after drying his hair, between drying his pits and his junk and after he'd wandered back into the living room, there was another knock on his door. Fuck, he'd almost forgot the door was there. He was having so much fun in his thoughts, what with the abuse memories and the impending destiny. His bland expression souring, Anarchy tossed his towel aside while he grabbed a pair of boxers from his pile of haphazardly stacked clothes on the table of the small kitchen. He made it a point to not get cozy here, he wouldn't be staying.

Chaos Incarnate or not, Anthony put his underwear on one leg at a time. This resulted in a bit of hopping as he marched towards the door, but by the time he got there he was dressed enough. Whole multiverse had seen him in basically this after his fight with Angel, anyway. Didn't matter - Anarchy didn't feel much shame, because the opinions of others mattered very little to him. He would have answered the door naked if his boxers had been too far out of the way.

Once again, Anarchy yanked open his door without bothering to peer through the peep hole - he didn't care who was on the other side. He feared nothing and no one. That said, when he spotted Frisk there, he about groaned. This was hardly a surprise - neither was the fact that they'd changed clothes again. Something a lot more simple - the same white shoes now went with black leggings. Also form fitting. Didn't matter. They were big on crop tops today, judging by the one they were wearing now. It was different from the last, less baggy and sleeveless without shoulders. It held itself up with the string that curled up over Frisk's collar and behind their neck. The shirt was interesting colors - blue and purple striped. Not colors Anarchy had seen on Frisk since he first met them.

Anarchy took a moment to look the traitor up and down, curiously examining their outfit. He figured they'd appreciate that, considering they took the time to change it. But, when he actually made eye contact with Frisk, they were like a deer in headlights. Eyes wide, face tinted red. If this were a cartoon, Anarchy thought their pupils might've taken on a heart shape. Mako did that sometimes; he thought it was cute. Anyway, he realized Frisk was rapidly looking his body over. Oh, yeah. Anarchy remembered. Just in boxers.

He glanced down at his mostly naked and still kinda wet self, before looking back up to Frisk. Frowning now, he was tired of their silent staring. So, he shifted his footing, placed his hand on the door frame and let his shadow drop over them. He leaned forward some, dead shark eyes demanding their attention. "What do you want, Frisk?"

Frisk remained silent. Slowly, their eyes lifted from boxers to chest to neck to eyes. And when they looked at Anarchy, they couldn't help but grin in some weird, sheepish way. There was something... Honest in their expression now. What had changed? Frisk just folded their hands behind their back while they stood there, lowering their head just a little and looking up at Anarchy from under their eyebrows. That shaky smile only grew on their face, and eventually they squeaked out a sound.

"... Ehehe...~"

---

It'd been a pretty quiet three days, all things considered. The goat family got up and moving around by the second day, but things were still tense. Asgore and Toriel managed their best fake smiles, Asriel did not. At dinner earlier today, we had MK over. It was interesting, being in a room with all my favorite people. Years removed from our departure to Future's timeline, years removed from the day where everyone who cared about me held me and assured me that they loved me. It hurt to know one of them had been lying, but at least the rest of them had told the truth. That was a lot more than most people could hope for.

After dinner, Chara and I had went to bed in our respective rooms. Thought we should try to get as much sleep as we could, alarms set for 11:50 PM. At midnight, the firewall went down, and Chara and I faced the future. So, knowing all that, how could I sleep? A metallic clang resounded as my basketball dropped through the hoop, followed by the boing of it bouncing over towards the woodchips. Felt like forever ago that me, Chara, Asriel and MK had gathered here and played basketball. At least Frisk hadn't been there, otherwise that memory would certainly be sour now.

The basketball court looked different under streetlamps, but I still kinda liked the vibe. When I was a kid, I could never go out and do something alone after dark. It was freeing, healed some part of me to know I could wander Ebott City at any hour. To know that this place was safe, and that I could protect myself from almost any threat. With that in mind as I walked towards the end of the streetlamp's light to retrieve my basketball, I about shit a brick when it bounced back out of the dark at me. That kinda instinctual bump in the night danger warning went off in my head, and my imagination was kind enough to give me the rundown of every horror movie I'd ever seen as my eyes darted up from the ball and to the dark before me, with a pinch of Anarchy's monsters and Killer's crime files thrown in for flavor.

"A little late to be practicing your free throw, don't you think?!" The loud voice that piped up from the shadows made me arch a brow into it. Slowly, my lips curled upwards, and I started to relax. I recognized that volume anywhere.

"Papyrus?" I asked, beginning to chuckle while I leaned down and picked my ball from the pavement. By the time I was standing again the tall skeleton was out of the dark, smiling like always. I shut my eyes and shook my head for a sec, reaching up to rub my eyebrows with my thumb and fingers. "Jesus, Papyrus, you scared me half to death! What are you doing out this late?"

"Depression naps after Frisk's betrayal have ruined my sleep schedule!" Papyrus assured with his chipper tone, his smile not faltering for a moment. He wandered onto the court with me, watched me turn and take another shot. It hit the backboard, bounced right back to me. The hoop jingled, mocked me with its metallic chings. "What has my curiosity is what you are doing out at this hour, Cter! From what I've heard you have quiet the day ahead of you!"

"Yeah, that's what I've been hearin' too." Another shot, ka-ching, it goes in. Papyrus took a few steps on his long and boney legs over to get the rebound, and after passing it back to me, he took up a stance under the backboard to grab any further rebounds. I squared myself up for another free throw, "Couldn't sleep. Guess I've got the jitters."

"Can't imagine why!" Papyrus stated, and because it was him I didn't know if he was being sarcastic or if he was really so sure I had nothing to worry about. Regardless, it made me smile just a little as I fired the basketball again. It rolled around the rim, but ultimately dropped off to the side. Papyrus reached out and caught it in his mitten, before bounce passing it back to me.

"... I guess, it's just, y'know. All the Frisk stuff -which is a lot of stuff - aside, tomorrow is... I'm probably gonna see Anny again." I swallowed, winced some after catching the ball. I squared my feet again, but held the ball in limbo for awhile. Then... I sighed, lowered it and let it rest under my arm while I looked back to The Great Papyrus. "For the first time in three years. And, the last time we met up, it... Didn't go so good."

"I think I might die. I, think he might kill me." That just kinda came out while I squared up again. I actually shot the ball this time - air ball. Papyrus had to step out to catch it, but with his long arms it wasn't too hard. My shoulders sunk, arms went limp while I glanced to the side. "I just, know what the outcome that I want here is. And I feel like no matter what happens, I'm not gonna get it."

"And what outcome do you want, Cter?" Papyrus asked with a caring furrow of his browbones. He passed the ball back to me only after I got my hands up and showed him I was ready for it. I caught it; was a good pass.

That was a good question, felt like it wasn't one I ever got asked. It was never about what you wanted with Anarchy, it was about what was within the realm of possibility. And that was usually something along the lines of 'hopefully survive'. But, even though I wasn't sure I'd ever heard the question, I had my answer pretty quick. "... I wanna make things right between the two of us. I wanna help him. We don't have to be friends again, but... I can't just kill him. And I don't think it's gonna heal him if he kills me, either."

My eyes lifted to the backboard, to the hoop and the net. I took another shot, form a little less put together. It went in, didn't bother with the backboard or the hoop. Nothing but net, Papyrus caught it before it ever hit the ground. That was reassuring somehow, and I continued as I looked back to The Great One. "But is that even possible? Would he ever accept any apology from me? Would he ever give up trying to destroy me after what I did?"

"Well... It's what he did last time, isn't it?" Papyrus asked like it was obvious, but that sentence blew my fuckin' mind. I recoiled a little, eyes going wide and eyebrows raising. My surprise only put a smile on Papyrus's face, and he doubled down. "You were honest with him and said you were sorry, and Anthony spared you. I believe that is the key, Cter. Your KINDNESS will reach him better than any violence ever could."

"Wow, uhm... You, you think so?" I perked up, caught the ball when he passed it to me and then immediately forgot I had it. I was jarred, it seemed like every time I even considered getting a good ending out of this, reality crushed it. So how did Papyrus say it like it was so obvious? Did he really believe... Wait, of course he believed! He's Papyrus!

"I think that somewhere in that big freaky guy is that little boy you knew! And I think your KINDNESS is the only way to reach him!" Papyrus spoke with absolute certainty, his grin only growing wider as he lifted the weight from my shoulders. He stepped forward, walked out from under the hoop and up to me. He put a hand on my shoulder, gave me a thumbs up while he shut his eyes with his ever present smile. "Anthony lashes out because he's in pain, and you're the one who can heal him! You're his brother, aren't you? Brothers stick together!"

"..." Ah fuck was I tearing up? Eugh, this is embarrassing. I swallowed the lump trying to form in my throat, glanced to the side. How badly had I needed to hear that? I didn't even think about it; was I that used to despair? My thoughts drifted back years - when Papyrus died in my arms, when else? Years later and he was still knocking sense into me just by believing in me. Smiling shakily, I reached up and wiped one of my watery eyes to stop anything from overflowing. "... Thanks, Papyrus. I forget sometimes that I can do this."

"Call me any time and I'll remind you!" Papyrus gave me one more big smile before stepping away. He walked back towards the open gate of the court, waving back towards me. I spun around to watch him, smiled as I waved back. "I've got to get back home now - Sans is liable to plant whoopie cushions in my room if he finds out I'm gone! You should get to bed soon!"

"Goodnight, Papyrus! Thanks again!" I lowered my hand as he wandered further away, breathing a sigh of relief. I felt a lot lighter now. Maybe tomorrow wouldn't be so horrible after all. Regardless, I turned towards the basket, took another shot. Ka-ching!

---

Admittedly, Hacker did think it would have felt inappropriate to show up to a battle for the fate of the multiverse in a hoodie. That didn't mean he had to like the battle gear he had to put on. It wasn't much - black pants, black T-shirt, combat boots and a bullet proof vest that would hopefully make it sting less what that cowboy inevitably shot his ass again.

Almost everyone in the train was wearing some variation of this gear - what were they, a SWAT team? At least Demon looked good in it, Hacker thought. Felldyne thought it was cool. Eden had no opinion on it, Mew Mew had put sparkles on hers, and Frisk had added some flowy white scarf that just screamed villainy. Gatherer left the bullet proof vest behind, probably to make his gold chain more visible. In a black tank top, the snake tattoos that detailed his arms were plain to see. He always dressed like that before a big fight, from his usual CEO look to one more fitting of a some warehouse lurking gangster. Anarchy and Badster didn't bother wearing the gear - Hacker didn't think Anarchy wanted to be any more associated with the rest of them than he had to be and he didn't think Badster had worn new clothes in centuries.

Most of them had taken their seats now, Hacker and Demon had just buckled themselves in beside each other. Down the same row of seats lining the train car's wall was Eden and Mew Mew. Directly across from them was Felldyne, then Badster, an empty seat, and Anarchy. The Anarchist hadn't said a word since arriving - it was hours after their earlier meeting, the sun had already set. Just a few more hours before Angel would be unleashed.

Anarchy was strange. Zoning out, staring off into space. Hacker thought better than to ask what was bothering him - he didn't have much desire to get chummy with the monstrosity sitting across from him. he thought for sure Anarchy would come to life when Frisk walked right by an empty seat, only to carelessly seat themself in Anarchy's lap. For just a moment both Hacker and Demon wished they'd had popcorn - they thought Anarchy would toss Frisk right out the window. So, reasonably they were kinda shocked when he... Didn't do anything.

More surprising than that, as the train began moving, he lifted his arms. Wrapped them around Frisk from behind - was he trying to make sure they didn't get thrown around in the rapid acceleration that was soon to come? Hacker couldn't deny that Anarchy's arms were likely more reliable than any seat belt, but... Was he missing something here? He was pretty sure a few hours ago Anarchy'd wanted nothing to do with the traitor that was now getting comfortable in his lap. At least Frisk looked plenty happy about this situation, even though Anarchy remained distant and silent. Hacker and Demon glanced at each other, both equally disturbed by what was looking more and more like a scene from The Twilight Zone.

"The Angel will be released in three hours. We arrive in one." Xander The Gatherer spoke from where he sat at the back of the room, in the only seat on the back wall. Kingpin, head of the table. He leaned forward, folded his hands over his lap and rested his elbows on his knees. He didn't seem to care much about how fucking weird Anarchy and Frisk were being together, he didn't seem to care about anything other than the mission at hand. "I trust you all know what to do."

Get revenge, that's all there was to do. That's what Demon was certain of. Years living in humiliation after what The Ascended Heir had done to themself and their Hacker, now it was time to strike back. They smiled wickedly, leaned into Hacker as he put his arm around them.

Eden looked down to the orange bandanna in her hands. Silently she narrowed her eyes - the abs that were drawn on it were so faded now... Didn't matter. Cliff's strength remained, it was eternal. Xander's empire was eternal. She lifted the bandanna, tied it around her neck and let it mask the bottom half of her face. She would protect Gatherer's interests, and in doing so she would protect Cliff's dream.

And Gatherer smiled - he looked so proud of himself as he leaned back in his chair. He carelessly retrieved a cigarette from his pocket, placed it between his lips and ignited it with one flaming fingertip. He took his time, enjoyed a long inhale and let it rest within him for a moment or two. Then, smiling while smoke curled out past his teeth, he spoke again.

"Tonight, The Angel dies."

---

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