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.)

79. Chapter 79: DoubleScramble's Last Stand

Thanks go to Zillowzest, Wingah, GMLxAwesome, TiredWhiteMayge, Doctah Sawbones, sauceman95, Acoolnamme, I move weight, 10burgers, Zack Frost, VoidGivenForm, Kizoku San, and MrDen1999.

Zillowzest, the DT in the timelines stands for DoubleTale. But, it was intentionally that DT is also shorthand for DETERMINATION. Glad you noticed!

Glad to have you back, VoidGivenForm! You picked a good time to come back, I have some crazy stuff in store.

Kizoku San, glad you're enjoying the story so far. If you're reading this, congrats on catching up! If this isn't the latest chapter by the time you're reading it, good luck binging the rest! It's gonna be a wild ride.

MrDen1999, I don't really have plans for too many new AUs. The story's track is already pretty laid out from here, there isn't too much room for anything more than cameos. And if I did have plans to showcase one of those AUs you mentioned, I wouldn't say because I won't give spoilers. But maybe, just maybe, there are some plans for one of those AUs you listed. ;)

Now, I hope you guys like the chapter! Next one will be up in two weeks, on March 15th!

Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.

P.S. dawg seriously if you ain't read DoubleScramble on Tumblr at DoubleTaleAU-

---

They got faster. Was Anarchy's only thought as he leaned his head back, ducking his head back and out of the path of a crackling DETERMINED blade. He continued to throw his body backwards, performing a backflip and swinging one of his boots up at the chin of Nephilim, who was gone from reality with a simple pop!

He landed on his feet and hastily turned his head from side to side, waiting for this enemy to appear out of nowhere. They'd picked up the smiley knockoff's teleportation - that was good. It'd keep 'em alive longer. But for the moment it didn't seem Anarchy had to worry about Nephilim popping back in and attempting to cleave his head off, because ring after ring of bones had suddenly appeared above him, rotating and dripping with ink.

In the sky overhead Nephilim reappeared, watching those hundred ivory spikes explode in towards The Anarchist from every side. Whichever way he dashed, he would have to smash something or get skewered. He would have to give them some sort of opening, or at least that's what the unholy fusion was hoping. Anarchy didn't think much of their hopes or their dreams however, holding his ground without a care in the world. He didn't dodge, duck, or jump. Instead, he stood there, one hand in his pocket and the other holding his crowbar as those spikes raced closer.

But, suddenly and without any motion from Anarchy, his shadow exploded up around him. A burst from his fountain of Darkness sent a vantablack geyser exploding up around Chaos Incarnate, if only for a moment. But that proved to be more than enough, those bones stopping dead in the iron chitin that had built itself around him. Those dark waters took shape instantly, forming over The Anarchist an empty Scorpion's shell. The hollow carapace curved over him and shielded him from the piercing calcium rain, each bone sticking into the chitin and stopping dead.

"... What are you waiting for?" Anarchy's voice called out from beneath the shadow of that pierced hide. He took a few steps forward and out from under his arachnid shaped shield, the darkness that it cast slipping over him as he sauntered back into the light. Exhaling a red mist from between his sharp teeth, he lifted his scarlet eyes to look up to the glaring fusion. His ruby orbs were lightless, without psychotic rage or malevolent glee. "You've got the wings, right? Then try and kill me with 'em."

"..." Silently Nephilim watched the Son of a Bitch below. What a strange feeling it was to look upon The Anarchist now, with Cter's soul now apart of them. They could remember him now, see with green eyes into Anthony's past and envision the bright eyed boy he had grown from. Moments ago this man had seemed some faceless destroyer without reason, but now Nephilim understood. It hurt them in a strange way, a way that it likely hurt all Angel's to look upon The Anarchist. A halo was a heavy thing to bear, and though Nephilim was never supposed to, they would bear it together.

"... You asked for it, Anny."

Chapter 79: DoubleScramble's Last Stand

Or: A Cold Day In Hell

---

"So whaddaya think the odds're a this bein' a trap?" Clover's eye glossed over to his boss, who he stood right beside at the door of their ship's hangar. The news from CORE!Alphys had been instant - all those nasty worms had abandoned the spire and let her speak the moment Anarchy appeared, she said. Predator had made sure the all seeing lizard got to the point; DoubleScramble. Anarchy had appeared, for the first time in nearly three years, in DoubleScramble.

Now, Predator stood at the front of her pirates. A cowboy to her right and a king to her left, a human and monster chef fell in line behind each of them respectively. Then, a demigod dinosaur and a wizard. At the very back was their skeleton, who kept his head lowered and his sockets empty of light. Their fearless leader took another step closer to the hangar door, exhaled white fog while she narrowed her less than PATIENT cyan eyes. She answered Clover, "There's no odds. This door's gonna open and Xander's gonna try to blindside us."

"With that in mind!" Predator's voice suddenly rose, and she glanced over her shoulder and back at her comrades. They all stood at attention in the weird and unique ways that they did - they were a motley crew and Lexi had always taken pride in that. But now wasn't the time for pride, now was the time for wrath. Frown digging into her face, The Predator yanked the scythe from her back. The hangar door was starting to part, a frigid wind blasted inside and carried with it snow and ice. Snowdin's chill now pulling at her raven black hair, Lexi shouted, "If ya see an albino, run! If ya see anybody else, KILL!"

Eyes once more looking forward, Predator stomped right up to the edge of the hangar. She stared down to the snowy forest below - she hadn't been Underground in quite some time, but last she recalled Snowdin forest wasn't supposed to be smoking. The battlefield was the first thing she noticed from this vantage point. A clear path of destruction, starting at the beginning of Snowdin forest and carving slowly through the trees and the snow towards the city lights in the distance. Predator's brows furrowed - that must have been Anarchy. But what being could possibly be slowing his path of destruction? Didn't matter. In another minute or two she would finally be face to face with him. Xander wouldn't get in her way again.

Stomping her foot on the metal floor, Predator sent three ice slides blasting out from the hangar's edge. And as she stared down the ice blue path to the flaming trees and smoking dirt below, she imagined herself back on that bench in Fortune City. Near the bridge she would later jump off of, meeting the Bastard Son of the man who'd murdered her mother twice over. Her jaw tightened, her knuckles went white around her scythe's handle. The cycle of hate and slaughter ended today - she would stop The Killer's legacy, and she would do it the right way. This was what Jade raised her for, sacrificed her life for. So, without another moment's hesitation, she bolted forward and onto that slide. Skidding down the slick surface on her boots, Lexi The Predator rested her scythe over her shoulder and pointed below. "Scatter!"

Order was simple enough, and everybody understood. Xander's merry men lurked below, and each pirate needed to find themselves a dance partner. Hunt them down, lure them out, get those indoctrinated scumbags out in the open and make them regret picking a fight with Predator and her Pirates. Anarchy was not to be trifled with by anybody who couldn't regenerate a mortal wound or talk a madman out of crushing their skull. With all this in mind Melanie jumped onto the slide right behind Predator, chasing her down towards the path of Anarchy's destruction and preparing to stare down the barrel of annihilation for the sake of her friend.

Future's shoulders shifted beneath his clothes before wings of ink tore out from the button up and black vest that covered his shoulder blades. His wings spread wide, instantly catching the chilling winds. His highness grimaced some at the sight below - how'd he get himself dragged into this, again? The munchkins better not drag ass, Grillby would never let him live it down if he died out here and left his timeline without a king. Until the kids got here, he'd support whatever was slowing down Anarchy. Maybe go ahead, try to help evacuation. Unless he bumped into Character down there, in which case he was gonna rip the arms off those punkass kids. He dropped off the edge, his wings catching him and sending him gliding down towards the destroyed path.

Shifting his shoulders and tilting his head to the left until his neck cracked, Clover had the expression of a man who was doing the same shit on a different day. Staring down at the snowy forest below, a little smile cracked his usually stern expression. He was better at hiding it than his boss, but the cowboy did this for a reason. He was an adrenaline junky like she was, and his golden soul burned for JUSTICE. Wasn't every day you got to thwart a despot's master plan, so he'd better not be late. The cowboy jumped onto the ice slide laid out before him, racing on his boots down into the forest below with a "Yeeehawww!"

Susie jumped onto the slide on the left, slinging her ax over her shoulder and letting out her uniquely loud laugh on the way down to the icy river bank below. Ralsei hopped right onto the slide behind her, grabbing ahold of his hat with one hand and holding the other out to his side. His scarf whipping in the wind, a golden star manifested in his open palm, ready to blast anyone who might try to harm him or his fellow Fun Gang members.

Fell Grillby stepped to the center of the hangar's exit. He glanced briefly over his shoulder to Sans, who still stood with his head lowered, half enveloped in shadows. The two didn't have to exchange any words - such was the simple relationship between a Sans and his bartender. Grillby looked ahead again, and his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. He lifted his hands, and a burning heat raced down those ice slides, melting them behind the pirates sliding down them to assure no one could climb back up. After completing this task, the fiery bartender glanced back over his shoulder, only to find that Sans had disappeared. And Grillby might've smiled at that, if he wasn't so pissed. With the memory of Muffet's letter fresh in his mind, the quiet bartender rolled up his sleeves and let his violet flames ignite even brighter. Then, he jumped right over the edge, plummeting below in a purple fireball.

---

Clover hopped off the end of his slide and let his mud stained boots hit the snow. He skidded another few feet, before his momentum reached its end and he was left standing in a small opening in the trees. Revolvers already drawn from the holsters on his hips, the cowboy's shadowed eye didn't have to look for too long to find himself somebody to shoot at.

"Underground again..." Eden pondered from the tree branch where she sat, one leg crossed over the other. Her purple eyes looking up into the snowy clouds overhead and watching the frozen rain drift endlessly towards the earth below, her finger tips glossing absentmindedly over the open notebook laying in her lap. Decade old ink, things she'd scribbled with her brother by her side. Her lips parted some, she watched the white fog of her breath trickle out into the cold wind before she finally looked down to the man pointing a gun up at her. "It's a feeling I've likened to seeing your own grave. At least, for people like you and I, right cowboy?"

"I try not to go thinkin' too hard about it." Clover answered without much tune in his voice. His golden eye took aim on the space between Eden's eyes - a quick death. She was just a girl after all, didn't deserve to bleed out. Clover still remembered her as the little brat he'd last seen three years ago, the one The Angel had nearly punched in half before tossing aside. Now there was a real chill in her eyes, something that her younger self had been lying to convey. Teen angst was real trauma now, the bandanna wrapped around Eden's neck made it obvious. "Other Clovers bit it out here, but I survived. 'Cause I'm the best Clover there is."

"I won't argue with that. You would have been a great asset to our cause Clover, if only you weren't so married to this bandit life." Eden's fingers continued to trace that notebook page, her amethyst eyes narrowing down at the gunslinger below. She didn't emote, didn't dare smile until that gun fired. With the bang came a pitiful ding!, and that bullet bounced off of a purple energy wall that appeared briefly between the bookworm and the cowboy. Clover frowned and Eden smiled as the shield returned to invisibility, smoke rising from Clover's barrel. "We were supposed to die down here, you and I. My brother, your chef. That's how the story was always supposed to end. And yet here we are."

"Well I got good news for ya." Despite the shield that blocked his first bullet, Clover kept one of his guns on the young woman looming over him. Quietly, he had slipped his other revolver back into its holster after he noticed the empty flower pot resting on the branch beside Eden, that hand instead opting to reach behind his back and grab hold of one of the four small cannisters strapped along his lower back. While his finger rested over the trigger of his gun, the index finger of his other hand wrapped itself around the pin of the cannister he was holding behind his back. "I hear this timeline's got space for another human soul."

"They aren't the only ones." Eden answered, her smile growing some to gain a certain sinister edge. She really was a lot like Xander, but Clover knew how to deal with that guy too. So, he was hardly surprised when the earth beneath him exploded apart. Jumping backwards, the cowboy's eye darted down to the spine covered vines that crashed out of the snow towards him. Yanking that cannister off his back and flicking the pin right out of it, Clover tossed it down into the green reaching up towards him.

Hungrily those tendrils snagged that cannister out of the air, thoughtlessly wrapping around it and being rewarded with misting death. A chemical gas sprayed in grey mist out of all ends of the grenade, turning the green vines brown and rapidly decaying them. The poison sent those tendrils crumbling to the ground, wriggling and writhing as the life was washed out of them by that venomous mist.

"Was a good try, but'ya gotta get up pre-yitty early in the mornin' to pull the wool over this eye." Clover assured as he landed on his feet, drawing his second revolver once more. Eden's expression had returned to bland stoicism - she figured her plans going forward needed to be a little more subtle. Regardless, she remained seated on her branch while the shadows behind her rumbled. Trees parted around the massive eye that pushed through them, vines slithering out of the dark and wrapping tight around the bark that imprisoned Horror!Flowey's massive form. Pine trunks crumpled in the grip of the cyclops vegetation, trees plummeted to the ground and crashed into the snow while it slithered around the tree where its master sat.

"Drink him." Eden stated casually, adjusting her glasses with one hand while she looked down to her notebook. She carelessly flipped to another page while Flowey stomped forward, looming over the grimacing gunslinger. That massive eye stared down at him, before slowly splitting down the middle. Flowey's eye creased and opened, revealing the jagged teeth of a vicious vertical maw. And the moment that mouth had split open, it inhaled loudly and prepared to release its horrible laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA- AUGH!"

Before Flowey could enjoy too much giggling, a beam of white light screamed in from the side. The boiling plasma exploded into the side of the malevolent flower, forcing him to steady his body and wince as fires shoved him out of Clover's path and forced him to skid across the snow. And the moment that blast died down, and the now semi-burnt flower turned its eye towards the origin of that beam, he was met with a skeletal beast lunging right into him. Gaster Blaster San snarled viciously, colliding claws first with Flowey and toppling the beast. The two tumbled backwards in a mess of vines and bone, both nightmare creatures rolling down hill and crashing into the tree line to continue their battle.

"..." Eden stared in silence as GB Sans and Flowey ripped and tore at one another until the both of them had disappeared into the trees, before slowly releasing a disappointed sigh. She looked back to where Clover stood to find him smirking up at her, a sight that made her frown. Without another word she slid forward and off of her tree branch, landing with perfect balance in front of Clover. "If you want something done right..."

Eden lifted her notebook in one hand, and violet energy crackled in her eyes as the ink began glowing on the page. Clover's golden eye glowed bright under his hat's shadow while he lowered his stance, bending his knees and preparing to dodge whatever magic strike was on its way. His guns rested comfortably in his hands, and he finished Eden's sentence for her. "Ya do it yerself."

---

Susie jumped off the ice slide with a hungry grin on her face, red eyes darting left and right in search of a foe. But, the river bank her and Kris had landed on was quiet. Devoid of action, not even a good land mine to try and blast the two of them away! This made Susie growl, and she stepped away from the slide just in time for Ralsei to drop off of it and land in the snow. He barely managed to stop himself from slipping onto his ass.

"C'mon, where is everybody?!" Susie snarled, stomping closer to the river and looking out along the bank. That slide had landed the Fun Gang on a lower ledge in Snowdin's mountainous forestscape, and as Susie stared up at the ledge overhead, she wondered if they'd stationed themselves too far from the action. "I swear to The Angel if we get stuck fighting that stupid doll again..!"

*Wait, who?

"Oh, you mean ME?!" Mad Mew Mew's voice made Susie roll her eyes, all while Ralsei nearly jumped from the sudden shouting. He turned his head towards the doll first, with much more urgency than Susie did. Mew Mew laughed villainously from where she lurked across the plateau, posing like the most maniacal pink cat figurine there ever was. She pointed her scepter out towards the gang. "It is I! Your arch nemesis, Mew Mew. Mew Mew! MEW MEW!"

*Never heard of her.

"Ha." Susie laughed at the sight of Kris's words in her text box, before looking past the box and to the ground beneath her. Her eyebrows rose with surprise at the sight of blue puddles suddenly forming under her feet, and without hesitation she jumped backwards and towards the river. Watching spears shoot up out of those puddles, Susie's sharp toothed grin returned while she landed on a slab of ice floating down the river. "That's better!"

"Susie, wait!" Ralsei called out, reaching out to her hastily despite the distance between the two of them. Susie furrowed her brows at her friend's urgent expression, standing firm on her ice float and slowly drifting further down the river. Ralsei recognized those attacks just like Susie did, but he remembered something Susie hadn't thought of. "Felldyne is a fish-!"

Before Ralsei could finish his sentence, the ice that Susie stood upon exploded apart. From the river beneath Felldyne launched upwards, smashing an uppercut into the lizard's chin and throwing her upwards. Susie winced, blood flying from her split lip while she looked down to the pitch black eye of Felldyne, who certainly looked a lot more like an ocean dweller than usual. With her eye dark like that of a shark and a fin now raised between her shoulder blades, Felldyne spun forward, holding out one leg and smashing an ax kick down into Susie's chest. This launched the mean girl right back down through what remained of her ice float and into the freezing river with a harsh splash.

"Susie! Kris!" Ralsei called out, his star growing larger where it spun over his palm. But before he could throw it into the water to retrieve his friends, the magic bolts of Mew Mew's scepter caught his attention. The fluffy prince spun on his heel, holding up his star like a shield to block the boiling plasma Mew Mew spat from her staff. "Shoot..!"

"Mwuhahahaha! Now you see my ultimate plan!" Mew Mew gloated, her rapid fire blasts burning against Ralsei's star shield. She struck up a different silly pose with every few blasts, grinning like a madwoman. "Sick Undyne on you!"

---

Predator's cyan orbs darted left and right as she slid down towards the torn up path below. Dead worms, broken bones and pens... Her eyes caught on the blood stained sweatshirt hanging from one of those bone spikes. It was black and soggy with red, which dripped endlessly from its torn fabric to the snowy puddle beneath it. Lexi's expression tensed, her eyes narrowing painfully at the sight of the symbol across the chest of the sweatshirt. An encircled A, with its edges reaching out from the circle. The symbol for anarchy.

... I'm almost there, Anthony. Lexi thought, her eyes glossing further down the path. She shifted her grip on her scythe, holding it in front of herself. Her knuckles were white with their anxious hold on the handle - she couldn't see him yet, just the battle around him. Beams of light, worms rising and falling. She just had to talk to him, she knew she could do it. If she could just get the chance to speak to him... I'll hold the umbrella this time. It's the least I can do. You won't have to stand alone in the rain any more.

Suddenly, in her brief moment of distraction, Predator felt the slide disappear below her. The ice had suddenly shattered - no, more than that, it had skipped the shattering part and was already laying shattered. As though time had skipped, a few seconds had been removed from reality. Regardless, Lexi managed to catch herself. Rolling in her sudden landing, she darted right back to her feet and skidded over the frosty dirt on the heels of her boots.

Melanie suffered a less sudden drop, having had the benefit of seeing the slide suddenly disappear beneath her boss ahead of her. She jumped off the cracking slide, landing on her feet and sliding in a similar way to Predator. She turned as she slid, and stopped back to back with Lexi, the both of them watching every direction for movement. Where was the fire? Maybe ink? If Gatherer sent anybody less than himself or Character, Predator would make sure to prove a very gruesome poin-

"Ayy, Lexi! It's been forever!"

Predator's head turned, eyes darting upwards to spot her foe. Atop a discarded black shell the traitor stood, watching Lexi with a happy smile and eyes barely open. Frisk had their arms folded behind their back, holding their twin rapiers there. With the points poking up behind their head, it gave them the appearance that they had little metal devil horns poking up from the top of their head. Their scarf billowed in the chilling wind that blew by, Frisk tilted their head and opened one ruby eye in a strange backwards wink. "Chasing Anthony after dropping Angel, huh? Samesies."

"Get outta my way, Frisk." Predator spoke in a low growl, uprooted dirt refreezing under her heel. She took a step away from Melanie and towards the human bold enough to stand in her way when she was this close to reaching her goal, exhaling white fog through gritting teeth. This was the traitor who had won Xander the scavenger hunt, if it wasn't for them Predator would have already reached Anthony. Who did they think they were, smiling down at her now? "And don't ever compare yourself to me."

"Aw, c'mon! Don't be so cruel. You and I are here for the same reason after all~!" Frisk nearly sang, carelessly swinging their legs out from under themself and taking a seat on the discarded carapace that they were standing on. Seeing them so fearless only made Predator seethe more, ice forming along the blade of her scythe while the traitor went on. "You're here for him, right? That's your stake in this - you wanna see him again."

"I'm here to stop your boss." Lexi denied, taking another bold step forward. Behind her, Melanie furrowed her brows with worry. She didn't like seeing Lexi like this, knew that the weight of the world was resting on her friend's shoulders. But, before she could reach out a hand to comfort her, Predator was stomping another step forward. "And if you don't get out of my way, I'm gonna mount your fuckin' head over my fireplace!"

"Temper temper~! There's no need to get defensive, nobody understands your position better than I do." Frisk swung their legs and bobbed their head from one side to the other, doing a happy little dance to a tune only they could hear. That arrogant smile remained painted clear across their face, and their eyes slowly opened, revealing the heartless red of their soul. "He's your hero, isn't he? Your knight in shining armor. He's mine, too. And I won't let you have him."

"..." Predator's jaw tightened. Hair shadowing her eyes, she found herself standing back in Fortune City for just a moment. In those alleys, in that abandoned mall, by that bridge and in that warehouse. Always digging herself into a hole that someone else had to dig her out of. Not this time, this time it was different. It had to be. Lifting her head, Predator glared up at Frisk with eyes now tinted red. "I don't need a hero."

That got Frisk giggling. They laughed, louder and louder until Predator thought her blood was boiling. Then, a momentary blink. Another skip in time, and suddenly Frisk was no longer sitting on that empty husk. Instead, they stood on the ground across from Predator and Melanie now, directly in their way. holding those rapiers out to each side and lowering their head, Frisk let shadows slip and slither over their smiling face while their eyes gleamed red murder.

"You will if you wanna survive a fight with me."

---

Future was in his head weighing what he thought was shittier - shuffling papers or fighting for the multiverse. And as his wings beat and he flew closer towards the booms and flashes of The Anarchist's showdown with DoubleScramble's hometown hero, his desk chair definitely sounded pretty nice. He grimaced as he watched worm chunks fling through the air, felt his heart beating faster with every foot closer he got to The Anarchist. He hadn't seen Anny in something like 15 years now, not that it would matter to the albino death god. Future wasn't the Angel that Anthony wanted to see, and he certainly wasn't an Angel that could stand up to Anthony. With just one pair of wings and no Chara to back him up, Future feared his story was about to end with him fulfilling the dead master trope.

Alright, think ya old fuck. It's the only thing you're still good at. Future grimaced when he thought he could make out manic laughter all too familiar, even a decade and a half removed from the last time he'd heard it in person. Maybe he could talk Anthony down? He was older and wiser now, and he knew The Angel personally. Just talk Anarchy down, get him to chill out until Angel got here. Like in DBZ, when they got the saiyans to wait three hours. ... Wait, shit, that plan still ends with Piccolo, who was Gohan's master, dying.

It was right about then that Future got hit with a fireball. He heard the whoosh of its blast, managed to fold one of his wings in to catch the brunt of the heat. The orange ball of flames exploded on impact though, sending Future sailing downwards and towards the trees. Gritting his teeth, Future flipped and flailed some in air before his wings managed to straighten out, catching air and giving him some semblance of balance. He landed on his feet on top of a lightly scorched tree trunk, immediately lifting his eyes to look across the scorched plain that Anarchy had left. "... Ah shit."

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Xander The Gatherer was kind enough to inform the king that he'd deemed inferior. Horns already reaching up from his forehead, The Balor King used his clawed fingers to place a cigarette between his lips. One of his pitch black finger nails pressed to the tip of the aforementioned cigarette, and it ignited nearly immediately. His snake tattoos burning a searing white, Xander lowered his hands then, shoved them into his pockets while he calmly breathed in the grey death of his cancer stick. And he smiled, letting black smoke trickle up through his teeth while he wandered without haste towards Future.

"Xander, buddy. Friend, guy, pal." Future shook his head, frowned in a way that only a politician in his thirties could. His wings fluttered and shifted some, embers trickled off of the wing that had eaten that fireball as ink filtered through the feathers to replace what had been burned away. Clenching his fists and letting ink trickle down past his fingers, Future clenched his jaw. All this misery, masterminded by the man before him. Of all the people the King of the Monsters had imagined himself clobbering, he'd certainly never thought Xander would end up in his line of fire. But he more than welcomed the opportunity. "We started doing things the hard way the moment you decided to get involved in my students' business."

"That so? I know who you are, Future. My sources say you're the one who's been committed to preparing The Angel and The Ascended Heir for this day." Gatherer finally stopped wandering closer once he was within ten feet of his foe. His posture remained relaxed while he sucked in another lungful of smoke, those embers creeping down the length of his oral fixation. He smiled just a little, "I also heard you played quite the hand in defeating Character once upon a time."

"This better not be the part where Character blindsides me." Future's haggard eyes narrowed, darting from side to side. The hairs rose on the back of his neck with a tinge of paranoia... But no assault came. No loud bang or explosion or spike of deadly agony. On second thought, Future thought that might not have added up. Gatherer wouldn't have bothered stopping him if Character was the one meant to fight him. But, that did beg the question... Who was dealing with Hacker and Demon?

"Character is waiting for someone else, I'm afraid." Xander lifted his right hand and opened his palm. The serpents tattooed onto that arm slithered out of the space they'd been painted in, coiled up around his hand and took the shape of a flaming whip. A stream of grey was exhaled from the corner of his mouth, and The Balor King spat his cigarette butt from his lips. It tumbled to the ground at Future's feet, and Xander's devilish smile grew as Future's eyes darted down towards it. "But I think you'll find me to be adequate company."

Snap!

With the snap of Xander's fingers, a wave of heat exploded upwards from that cigarette. Future recoiled just as the flames blasted upward, his perception slowing everything to a frame by frame. His wings beat, launching him backwards and away from the growing ball of fire, but he was too slow. But just as those white hot flames were about to reach him, a blast of purple color came into view. The violet flames collided with Gatherer's explosion, sending the upwards launching fire blasting to the side instead.

Gatherer and Future turned their heads in sync to see Fell!Grillby, fires crackling around him as he pushed up his glasses. He marched right towards the two of them with purpose, leaving melted and scorched dirt under his every step. The white line of his mouth curled downward, and downed trees ignited in his purple shade as he stepped by them. No words - like usual he had nothing to say, but much to do. It was Gatherer that had brought Character after all, it was him that took Swap Muffet away. His fists tightened, and his flames burned brighter.

"... Hm. Two DILFs for the price of one." Gatherer turned his body to face Future and the approaching Grillby, his snake tattoos raising from both of his arms. They hissed in their fiery way, swaying and smoking with his wrath. "It must be my lucky day."

---

Nephilim exhaled white fog and red mist. Blades clutched tight in either hand, they stood atop the squishy corpse of the last worm that they'd cleaved into death. Emerald orbs rapidly scanned their surroundings, but it was getting harder to see. The snow was picking up, falling faster by the second. A blizzard was rolling through Snowdin. Didn't matter - all that mattered was the little town at Nephilim's back. Their KIND eyes glanced over their shoulder, they could make out those warm city lights through the heavy snow.

*Keep fighting.

*it's what we were born for.

Nephilim suddenly whipped their head forward, throwing both of those blades over their head to catch the brutal downward swing of Anarchy's crowbar. The force of his strike was so intense that it splintered the body Nephilim stood upon, crushing their footing and sabotaging their balance. They dropped down to one knee beneath The Anarchist, taking a moment to shoot a glare up at him before he cocked his foot back. Their wings shut swiftly around them, taking the brunt of Anarchy's merciless kick, the force of which sent Nephilim launching back through the air.

The fusion flipped backwards, their wings unfolding and catching the brisk air. They landed on the balls of their feet, bending their knees and staying low to the ground while they skidded backwards and back into the snow. They grimaced at the familiar feeling of frost under their heels - he'd shoved them back into untouched snow. No matter how harshly they fought, he kept pushing them backwards, closer to the warm lights of Snowdin Town.

*Doesn't matter. Keep fighting.

Inexistent Freedom by GoldenFlowers began playing after Nephilim nodded to their text box, eyes darting up to The Dark sauntering closer. Anthony hopped off the mutilated worm corpse he'd been standing on, holding his crowbar out to his side while he marched right towards them. Nephilim snarled at the sight of this - what part of "You aren't getting passed us" didn't this freak understand? Apparently they needed to be more clear.

With the stomp of their foot, the earth beneath The Anarchist suddenly ruptured. An eraser exploded up from beneath him, raising him at lightning speed towards the cloudy Snowdin sky. Anarchy remained standing despite the force pouring down upon him, wind resistance nothing more than a gentle breeze to his indestructible body. Soon, that pencil pillar came to a stop, leaving him stranded a hundred feet in the air. Squinting into the white out that surrounded him, it wasn't a moment later that Anarchy spotted the burning orange light of a Grillby Gun.

Red soul igniting half black on his chest, Anthony's shadow spiraled up around him in a vantablack blanket. Those fires flashed around his Darkness but failed to pierce it, that beam reduced to embers crackling along the blackened shield after a few seconds had passed. That shadowy cylinder split into waving, two dimensional tendrils after that, slashing and swiping around him to crush the barrage of bones and graphite bolts that were racing in from all sides.

Anarchy hadn't moved at all, didn't have to. And it remained that way for another few seconds, until Nephilim suddenly popped into existence right in front of him with one leg cocked back. Anarchy barely had time to crack a smile before their kick had crashed right into his nose. Nephilim winced at the red shock wave their strike created, felt the brutal vibrations climb their leg as Anarchy was thrown back off the platform they'd risen him on.

The Bastard Son cackled as he plummeted below, blood flinging off of his shattered nose while his bloodshot eyes stared straight upwards, watching Nephilim launch themselves down after him. They chased him in a nose dive, blades crossed in an X in front of them in preparation for their collision. Anarchy yanked back his crowbar to swat them away, and when they teleported suddenly to be right in front of him in an attempt to catch him off guard, he blasted them in the jaw with his free fist. And though the force of Anarchy's strike threw their head to the side and chipped one of their teeth, Nephilim shoved their head right back into Anarchy's face. Ramming their forehead into his, they screamed with a mouthful of blood before yanking their blades apart and cleaving into Anarchy's chest.

This brutal slash sent red spraying up out of Anarchy's split chest and sent him launching downwards into the jagged patch of bones that was waiting for him on the ground below. Nephilim's wings spread wide, catching wind and launching them back into the sky as The Anarchist exploded right into that brutal crash pad. An explosion of dust and snow fired up around him, obscuring him from The Nephilim's view. But they knew how to get that smoke out of the way.

Looming in the frigid sky, red mist filtering out of their mouth as it healed the shattered jaw Anarchy's punch had given them, Nephilim let both their blades disappear into their inventory before they opened their palms down towards the desecrated forest below. They spotted the few red cracks that were splitting the back of their hand, but paid them no mind as white lights beginning illuminating the white out sky. Rapidly a ring of Beat Blasters had taken form, humming with their charging while they begin to circle the dust cloud below. Above that, another halo formed, this one lighted in orange. Grillby Guns formed a second circle above the Beat Blasters, their maws parting in righteous fury and showcasing the brutal flare within. The Rings Of Fire flared bright, and waves of plasma and fire rained down upon The Anarchist.

But just as those beams started to fire downward, Nephilim spotted something firing up from below. They squinted momentarily, tried to make out its shape. Too small to be a worm, not pale enough to be Anarchy himself. Oh shit-! They realized too little too late, a pincer on a stretching arm of Darkness shooting between their arms and clamping shut around their throat. The instant they were grabbed it retracted, yanking them right down into their Rings Of Fire.

Hastily summoning a blade in their hand, Nephilim swung and sliced through the stretchy part of that freaky Scorpion limb to free themself from its grasp. Then, they flipped in air, continuing to fling downwards with their rapid momentum. They flung just over Anarchy himself before landing feet first on the uprooted Snowdin dirt, skidding and spinning around to face their foe. Anarchy grinned wide, the flashing lights surrounding the two of them reflecting in his scarlet eyes. Nephilim didn't say a word, just lowered their stance and launched at him.

Beams of light crashing around the two of them, Nephilim's slash was deflected by Anarchy's crowbar. He stomped forward and reached out to grab them by the throat with his free hand, but they disappeared, reappearing halfway through a spin kick in the air behind him. Anarchy lifted his forearm without even looking back, catching their kick on his arm before hastily spinning back around. He reached out and grabbed them by the knee before they could pull their leg away, stepping forward and yanking them into a brutal headbutt.

Anarchy's strike throwing their head back and splitting their forehead, Nephilim disappeared the moment his fingers released their knee. They reappeared in the air above him, flipping backwards with the momentum his headbutt had given them and pulling their knees to their chest before shotgunning a brutal spiking kick into the crown of Anarchy's skull with both feet. And Anarchy's head was thrown down at breakneck speed, his entire body lurching forward and his hair falling around his face.

Blood trickling down their face from their split and steaming forehead wound, Nephilim watched as Anarchy's left shoulder burst open. That vicious black pincer that had throttled them earlier launched out of his flesh, this time keeping its pincer shut and just slamming into their sternum like an iron fist. Nephilim's eyes snapped open wide, a mouthful of bloody spit flinging past their lips along with whatever wind they had in their lungs. That Scorpion punch launched them backwards, and after a few yards of flight they hit the ground tumbling.

"I can survive bein' in here." Anarchy assured them as he wandered towards them, the vicious blast of a Grillby Gun decimating the earth a few paces behind him. Those circling blasters, they were only firing in intervals. Random waves of fire and plasma, nothing like that seven layered Beat Dome Anarchy had lived through once upon a time. He frowned a little at the memory - being in that thing fuckin' sucked. But this, Anarchy thought as a beam of plasma flashed across the dirt to his side and illuminated him in white, was painless. "Whaddabout you?"

"We can survive anything..!" Nephilim assured from where they now knelt, red smoke rising from cuts and scrapes across their upper body. Anarchy smiled through his blood stained beard at that response, straightening his crowbar out to his side while his one black pincer slipped back under the skin of his shoulder. Nephilim darted forward and right out of their kneeling position, summoning their second sword and holding both out to their respective sides. They sprinted across the scorched earth at a breakneck pace, their wings beating and firing them forward with extra speed. They launched right under a Grillby Gun's ray, narrowly dodging the beam and striking at Anarchy with the blaring light right behind them.

"That's what I like to hear!" Anarchy cackled, tilting his head to the side and letting their stab sail over his shoulder. He swiped at their abdomen with his crowbar, but their wings beat, sending Nephilim flipping up and over The Anarchist. The two stood back to back for just a moment, before immediately spinning around with the vicious swinging of their respective weapons. Crowbar struck twin blades, and once again Nephilim was grinding their teeth as a red shockwave sent vibrations blasting up their arms. Red cracks split deeper along the backs of their hands, and the shockwave sent both them and Anarchy skidding back on their heels away from one another. This proved to be a blessing when a Beat Blaster's beam crashed through the earth where they had just been standing.

Nephilim snarled as they planted their feet, forcing their skidding to a stop before jumping into the air. A blast of fire flashing over them, they spun in air and slashed down at Anarchy like some sort of ax. The Anarchist effortlessly sidestepped this attack however, carelessly striking at the unholy fusion with his Inheritance. they popped out of existence however, immediately reappearing behind Anarchy with one of their blades cocked back. But when they stabbed at the back of his head, he tilted his head to the side and dodged their strike as though he had eyes in the back of his head. "Teleporters are always so predictable!"

Spinning around, Anarchy's hand latched onto Nephilim's outstretched arm like a vice. But when he yanked them in while throwing his head forward in an attempt to split their forehead with his yet again, he heard a familiar pop! In the next instant his forehead was smashing into the thick trunk of a Snowdin pine, crashing through the bark and lodging about halfway through the wood. Nephilim, who had teleported the two of them to be standing on opposite sides of this massive tree, yanked their arm free of Anarchy's loosened grip while the light of a Grillby Gun screamed down towards Anarchy's back from above. "Oh, we're the predictable ones?!"

They disappeared, and Anarchy yanked his splinter covered face out of that tree just in time to get blasted in the back by that Grillby Gun. In the next instant another blast struck him, and then another, and another. Nephilim had appeared back on the other side of their Rings of Fire, which had all focused their aim to the opposite side of their circles, firing in a brutal tidal wave of flame and plasma across the forest. Trees ignited and snow evaporated, sending a massive cloud into the frosty Snowdin air.

Nephilim stood there for a moment, exhaling red mist while cold sweat poured down their face. Their body felt heavy, and a burning pain was creeping from the backs of their hands and over their fingers and palms in the form of scarlet cracks. Nephilim's green eyes glossed momentarily to their splintered flesh - some old memory reminded them of The Angel's fight with The Anarchist, and the way his own body crumbled in the way theirs was now.

*Doesn't matter. We can do this.

Nephilim nodded quietly at their textbox, lips still parted while they quietly gasped in the bitter winds. Snow continued to drop from above, undeterred by the heat their fire shower had produced. Undeterred in a way that Nephilim knew Anthony would be, too. With that in mind they flipped their blades to be facing the burnt earth, stabbing them into the ground for safe keeping before throwing their arms out to their sides. With their blasters having finally disappeared from the sky, instead it was a vast number of mechanical pencils that appeared in the air above them. And with the forward throw of Nephilim's open palms - despite the searing cracks that chipped their way up their wrists - bolts made of bone fired from those pencils, blasting out and into the smoke field that enveloped The Anarchist.

Things went on like that for a minute that felt like an hour, before the retaliation that Nephilim was hoping wouldn't happen came suddenly and with terrifying force. From the simmering smoke and through the bitter snow a beam of pressurized black water fired. Nephilim ducked down some, their eyes went wide as the massive hydro blast sliced through the sky above and shredded each of the bone blasting pencils. The moment their assault had been decimated that water cannon stopped its spraying, and Nephilim grimaced at the sight of a slithering mass in the hole the aforementioned blast had left in the withering dust cloud.

But, before any monstrosity came its master. His outline first appeared in the mist, glowing red eyes an eerie sight within the fog. Crowbar tight in his scarred hand, Anarchy sauntered out of the flames and the smoke. His white tank top had been scorched away, the last remnants of its fabric hanging useless on the single bone that was speared through the left side of his chest. Nephilim's shrunken pupils trembled in their blackened eyes at the sight of this - he had a spear in his heart and he was still walking towards them like nothing was wrong!

Face a blank mask and white beard stained with fresh blood, Anarchy reached up with his free hand and took hold of the spike jammed in his chest. His fingers tensed around the calcium bolt, before he tore his arm back and ripped the spear out of his heart. Blood spewed across the melted permafrost, and by the time Anarchy had tossed that crimson stained bone over his shoulder the hole in his chest was almost halfway sealed. Only then did he flash Nephilim a smile with his blood stained teeth, and only then did they see a much larger pair of glowing red eyes appear in the smoke behind Anthony. Licking his red dripped teeth, Anarchy gave an easy command. "Sick 'em."

The dust cloud exploded open then, the gnarled jaws of a Wyrm racing over Anarchy's head and across the decimated field at a mortifying speed. It was all Nephilim could do to yank their swords out of the dirt and throw their wings down as hard as they could, launching themselves into the air and just narrowly dodging the ferocious snap of that massive serpent. A snap that they were certain could have devoured them and probably a few friends whole.

Nephilim raced upwards as fast as they could while the Wyrm's head slid too far, flinging over one of Snowdin's many cliffs. The creature's massive body probably slid about twenty feet before the rest of its body tensed, pulling the head back up from over the ledge and flinging that hungry maw right back up at the fusion. Nephilim's wings beat harder, and once again they flew narrowly over those jagged jaws. The Wyrm's head righted much faster this time however, and soon those gnashing teeth were just a few feet below, chomping hungrily. Nephilim groaned as they looked between the approaching ceiling of the Underground and the feral eyes of the beast beneath them. "Just how big is this fuckin' thing?!"

*It won the Big Ass Snake Award at the county fair three years in a row. Try swatting it with a stick.

"Gotcha!" As Nephilim rapidly approached Snowdin's ceiling and the Wyrm chased close behind, an eraser started to poke from the roof they were racing towards. Nephilim's wings beat slower, and they glanced anxiously over their shoulder at the blood thristy snout below. It was a good thing this beast was so intent on eating them - if it had just tried to blast them with that water beam again, things might have played out differently. But the Wyrm wanted to eat Nephilim, and they'd make it pay for that. Those jaws snapped apart again, and Nephilim watched with baited breath as those teeth reached up around them and that forked tongue lashed out to snag them like some slimy lasso. "Chew on THIS!"

Pop!

The Wyrm's jaws raced shut, but its red eyes snapped open wide when it felt its teeth stick into wood. Nephilim had disappeared, and their eraser had fired down from the ceiling to reach down that maw instead. It was a perfect fit, the massive pillar crashing down the serpent's throat and rapidly stiffening its long body. Was a good thing the dumb snake had straightened so much of itself out when it was reaching for Nephilim, now that pencil could smash right down its throat and through whatever organs a beast made of Darkness had.

Speaking of Nephilim, they had reappeared on the ground before the exposed under belly of the Wyrm. Flipping their blades so the sharp edges were facing upwards, they bent their elbows and cocked back the both of their DETERMINED swords. They grit their teeth and tensed their muscles, felt the Deltarune on their back burn just like the scarlet cracks now splintering up their forearms just before releasing a primal roar. An explosion of DETERMINATION detonated from their soul, a pillar of red energy launching up beside the Wyrm. Nephilim's blades crackled and burned, stretched and grew another foot or two before the fusion stomped forward and drove them into the underbelly of that wretched creature.

The Wyrm hissed and groaned through its wooden mouthful, before a muffled giggling started in its decimated throat. Clearly the monstrosity understood the humor in its mutilation as Nephilim's wings beat and they launched themselves up the underside of the serpent, their blades carving with great effort up through its thick flesh. Cold and dark blood sprayed from the brutal incisions opening along the Wyrm's gut and throat - a few drops squirted onto Nephilim's cheek and left a blackened stain on their cheek. They hardly noticed, too busy roaring with power and carving twin gashes into the abomination that had tried to devour them.

Finally, Nephilim was back at the snout of the Wyrm, their blades slashing out under the beast's chin and sending both filthy blood and splintered woodchips flying when they finally broke free. yanking their blades out to their sides, Nephilim kept ascending. And once they reached the ceiling of Snowdin and the base of that pencil, they swung their swords inward on it like a pair of mantis claws. Cleaving through the pencil removed the last support that The Wyrm had, and its body instantly folded backwards. Its filthy giggling echoed still out of its muffled maw, all the way until it collapsed back into the scorched forest from once it came.

Gasping for air, Nephilim yanked a massive bone spike halfway out of the ceiling over them just so they could perch on its edge. The spike was at an angle, its point facing the head of that downed creature in case it moved again. Their wings were limp at the moment, drooping over their sides while they crouched there. Emerald eyes glossed over their arms - the cracks had reached their elbows now, and they burned with pain. Nephilim's fingers had gone numb, their hands now gripped those sword handles purely because they had locked up that way.

They didn't have too long to contemplate the status of their arms however, because they noticed that giggling from earlier was only getting louder. Becoming... More. Their darkened and green eyes darted back to that massive corpse, pupils shrinking at the sight of it bubbling and shifting. It didn't sound like the Wyrm was laughing anymore - seemed to Nephilim its bubbling flesh was doing the cackling. And when that flesh exploded apart, and Nephilim watched thousands of those smaller worms explode out of the beast's corpse, they exhaled red mist. They climbed to their feet, stood on the spike and watched those freakish creatures climb over one another. A wave of cackling maws was wriggling up towards Nephilim now, and it was all they could do to straighten their wings and ready their sabers. "Any ideas?"

*uhhh... special attack?

*Like that big dome thing?

*Beat Dome would need more time to charge.

*any chance those things will pause if we just say it's our turn?

"Fuck it." Nephilim lowered their stance on the massive bone they'd perched on, folding their wings onto their back so the wind wouldn't catch them. Then, that bone fired with them on it, launching them at mache speed down into the wriggling doom below. "We're winging it."

*... Was that a pun?

*:)

In the next instant, Nephilim was hacking back and forth. That bone spike skewering a number of eager invertebrates, Nephilim cleaved clean through the dozens that flung into their range. With a left handed slash they separated a worm's head from its body, with a right handed upward swing they split one of those grinning faces into fourths. Then they folded that same arm back and blasted their elbow into the chin of the worm jumping at their head, splintering its teeth against one another and throwing its head back. They stabbed their left blade over their right shoulder to pierce that worm's skull while they stabbed their right blade under their left arm to puncture the worm jumping at their back in the same way.

Nephilim jumped right off the calcium spear only after its blood stained mass started slowing in the tidal wave of Darkness, front flipping over a few giggling worms while the light of their DETERMINATION ignited even brighter within their swords. And the moment they completed their rotation they slashed down in an X, and that excess DETERMINATION exploded off their blades in a blast of fiery red that cleaved clean through the wriggling ocean. This left an opening, carved a hole that Nephilim's focused eyes could see The Anarchist waiting at the bottom of.

They dropped right through the opening they created. Their wings unfolded, and they darted between the worms that were immediately starting to close in around them. Red flashed with every slash; those disgusting creatures were cleaved into twos, fours, eights, sixteenths. Red fire igniting over both of their green eyes, Nephilim flipped over the chomp of a worm, landing on their feet along its slimy back and racing down its body towards The Anarchist below.

With their right sword they sliced another worm apart, stabbing their left down into the long body they were sliding down. They teleported suddenly from that worm's body to another, skating down its body in the same fashion. One slash from their right saber cleaved apart the domes of three more worms while their spare sword stabbed back into the body they were sliding down once more. Yanking that sword out and slicing away the top jaw of another worm in the same motion, Nephilim jumped from the body they'd been cascading down and flipped in air, crashing an ax kick into the skull of the worm flinging right up the middle of the tunnel with enough force to crumple its head into its body.

Using the heel hooked in that dead worm's skull Nephilim kicked that corpse out of their way. They leaned forward until they were plummeting down towards Anarchy in a nose dive. Their wings folded on their back, making them drop even faster. They folded their splintered arms over their chest, one burning blade over each shoulder. This position hardly lasted long - they swung their sabers out in an X and cut the next worm that dove at them into four quarters, its chunks flinging up past them and spattering cold blood in splotches over their body. They proved they didn't mind that spray though when one of their wings unfolded, catching air and launching them into a spiral motion. They held their blades out to their sides while they spun, carving downward like a drill through The Dark.

A whirlwind of blackened blood spraying out into the frosty air, Nephilim was a scarlet light in the blackness before they finally exploded out the other side of the worm horde. As soon as they were, their wings snapped open and caught wind, stopping their rotation instantly while two Grillby Guns appeared at either side of them. Those fiery maws were wide open, and beams of red hot fire took aim on The Anarchist.

Anarchy jumped back and let those twin heat rays explode into the ground, throwing up a plum of smoke that Nephilim dropped right into. Not a second later the fusion had shot out of the cloud, shutting the distance between themself and The Anarchist and slashing up at him with their left blade. Taking a step back, he swatted that blade aside with his crowbar just before ducking a stab from their right sword. Nephilim jumped then, spinning with their momentum and swinging a kick at the side of Anarchy's head.

Again The Bastard Son's mad eyes widened with his sick thrill, and his jaws snapped open to catch Nephilim's kick. His fangs crunched down around their ankle, and they winced as he spun on his heel, yanking them over his shoulder with his jaws and throwing them at the ground. He released his bite and let them sail, but they disappeared just before striking the ground. Eyes going wide, Anarchy spun right around at the sight of them disappearing, only to catch a knee in the face as they reappeared right behind him and flung at him with the momentum he'd gifted them with his throw.

Nephilim backflipped off of their brutal knee strike, landed on both feet while their gnawed ankle steamed red. They wasted no time, darting forward while glowing lights once more appeared in the blizzard around them. The shadows of bones appeared in the snow fog right with those blasters and guns, but Anarchy paid them no mind. Blood trickling down his already healing broken nose, he swung his crowbar back and forth to deflect the rapid stabs and slashes of Nephilim.

Anarchy didn't budge, not until Nephilim disappeared and four bones crashed down around him. He jumped up to dodge those bones and ended up in the path of one of those Grillby Guns, and upon spotting the heat ray blasting closer he instinctively reached back for the shield he used to keep on his back. His frown deepened however when he found it missing, and his thoughts drifted once more back to Mako - the one he had let hold onto his shield. He wondered if he should have given her something else instead, but then remembered his only other possessions were his Inheritance and Devilsknife. So, probably not.

Anarchy managed to get his arms up in an X and block that blast, but its force still sent him flinging back through the air. Forearms bubbling black and steaming red, he flipped back in air, landing on his feet and sliding back on the snow covered mud. The moment he'd landed he had to throw up his forearm, blocking a dropkick from a suddenly appearing Nephilim. They backflipped off of him after their kick was stopped dead against Anarchy's powerful arm, and with a pop! they had landed on the opposite side of him instead.

The fusion lunged at him, but Anarchy spun right around and deflected their stab with his crowbar, knocking their blade to the side. They spun with the momentum however, jumping and spinning 360 degrees to swing a spin kick at The Anarchist's head. He ducked and Nephilim launched over him, landing on the ground behind him and quickly turning to face him as they skidded back on the frosty mud. They ground their teeth, ignored the feeling of burning pain creeping deeper into their flesh as they lunged at Anarchy again. C'mon, give already you giant pasty douchebag!

Not bothering to turn to face them, Anarchy instead back flipped right over Nephilim's stab. And their green eyes snapped open wide, just before he smashed both of his boots into their spine and sent them smashing face first into the dirt. Snow, dirt and mud splattered up around their impact, cracks shattering through the ground. And Anarchy dropped down towards them with one foot raised high, plenty prepared to crush their skull under his heel.

Nephilim disappeared just as he landed however, and Anarchy glanced around for a moment before looking straight up to see several rays of light crashing down towards him. So he jumped backwards and let those blasts explode into the dirt, sending smoke and mist exploding up into the air. The moment he landed he looked to the sky, ducking to the side and letting a massive spike of bone sail over his shoulder crash into the earth behind him. He swung effortlessly up at the next spike with his crowbar, shattering it against his Inheritance and sending a cloud of calcium shards exploding out around him.

Through that cloud blasted Nephilim, slamming foot first into Anarchy's face and sending him launching back through the air. He hit the ground and tumbled before jumping right up to his feet, skidding backwards in the decimated dirt and immediately slashing his crowbar forward to smash the next bone that fired at him. With a pop Nephilim appeared right in front of Anarchy in a crouch, and they immediately lunged up at him with twin stabs.

Anarchy didn't bother dodging - he instead stepped in to those stabs and let Nephilim's swords drive clean through his abdomen. And the momentary satisfaction the fusion felt from driving their blades in Anarchy's front and out his back was dwarfed by the pain they felt when his crowbar bashed them across the face. If it wasn't for their locked up hands they likely would have dropped their swords, but instead the force of the strike threw them back and forced them to yank their sabers right back out of The Anarchist.

Nephilim tumbled back across the dirt for a few seconds, before finally managing to catch themselves by stabbing both swords into the ground. They skidded back another few feet, hunched over on knees that threatened to buckle. Blood poured down their bottom jaw, red mist slowly trickling up from their gasping mouth. With shaky vision their eyes locked on to The Anarchist, who was smiling as he walked towards them. The holes in his stomach already sealed, blood on his teeth and in his beard. Splattered over his body, under his finger nails. He looked so much like he belonged in this moment, like the battlefield was created to have him within it.

*Doesn't matter. Keep fighting.

Apparently, that was all the encouragement Nephilim needed. They launched forward from their barely standing position, raced over the desecrated field on spaghetti leg. This time, however, Anarchy did not wait for them to reach him. Instead, he too darted forward, running low to the ground and holding his crowbar out to the side. He slashed at their knees, but they jumped over his Inheritance, spinning around in air and slashing the crackling red of one of their blades down at Anarchy.

Anarchy reached out, caught the wrist of the arm that was slashing at them and used it to yank Nephilim out of the air and throw them back out in front of him. They disappeared however, and he immediately spun around just in time to block the twin stabs they were attempting from behind. The points of their blades stopped against his crowbar, the two locked eyes for just a moment before Anarchy shoved his crowbar forward shoved them back with it.

Skidding back on their heels, Nephilim crossed their blades in front of them as Anarchy darted forward. He reeled back and brought his crowbar crashing down upon them, and they barely managed to catch it on the X they'd created with their sabers. Their blades trembled under Anarchy's force, one of their knees buckled and they dropped down to a kneeling position. Just as Anarchy's shadow dropped over them and a grin split The Bastard Son's face, two spikes of bone fired up from either side of Nephilim and jabbed up at his face, making him throw his head back to dodge and relieving the pressure he'd been slamming down onto the cracking fusion.

Nephilim forced their aching body to jump right up, darting between the two bones and immediately raining slashes and stabs down upon The Anarchist. They were slower now, he noted as he beat back every motion of those blades with the rapid swings of his crowbar. He recognized the cracks separating their body - a soul too big for its body. Too much DETERMINATION for a human to handle.

As Nephilim and Anarchy dipped and dodged between rapid slashes and bashes, three beams of light hit the ground around them. The fires of those Beat Blasters slowly coiled inward in a counterclockwise motion around the two of them, but they paid this no mind, continuing to strike viciously at one another. Finally, Anarchy stopped a pair of downward slashes on his crowbar and swiftly jabbed his fist into Nephilim's sternum, making their eyes pop some out of their skull while they hunched over his fist before they were sent launching backwards. They flung between the beams of the blasters, leaving Anarchy alone in their swirling prison. Anarchy hardly minded - with the flex of his soul, his shadow fired up in points and skewered each of those blasters in an instant. The moment the blasters were punctured they sparked and flamed, before exploding into crackling wires and flaming circuits.

Through the smoke dropped Nephilim, flying straight down towards The Anarchist with both blades yanked back to cleave his head off his shoulders. But as they got into range, Anthony's shoulder blades once more split apart, and two of those wicked pincers fired up and at a recoiling Nephilim. It was a quick motion - each pincer snapped shut around the base of each of their swords and shattered them effortlessly! Shards of DETERMINATION, steel and bone flung through the air, and Nephilim dropped right down into another brutal gut punch from Anarchy.

They flung forward, flipped and skidded across the ground like some misshapen bowling ball. But, even though their body screamed for them to lay down and die, Nephilim still dug their heels into the dirt. Their wings still spread wide and they still caught themselves in a kneeling position, only to jump forward from it and sprint fearlessly at The Anarchist once more. Anarchy grinned wide at that sight, and while he watched them pull the useless handles out of their rigor mortis hands he threw his own crowbar up into the air. "That's it! Keep fighting, you've almost got me!"

Nephilim fearlessly darted in and cocked back a fist, blasting a right hook into Anarchy's chin and shoving his head back. Wearing that same grin he was wearing before they punched him, Anarchy swung up his left fist and slammed it into Nephilim's jaw with a vicious uppercut. And they stumbled back, before suddenly swinging their head forward and cracking their forehead into Anarchy's. The Anarchist's eyes went wide, pupils shivered with manic joy as he met the furious green stare of The Nephilim. They'd split his forehead with theirs, made him bleed his worthless blood, and he repaid them by crashing his right fist into their stomach and making them slide back a few steps.

Though they curled inward some and wrapped their arms around their abdomen, Nephilim's eyes remained locked on The Anarchist even as they twitched with pain. And when Anarchy stomped forward and pulled back his fist, they mustered their strength and stepped in, ducking at the last second and throwing their right fist out to smash three quick jabs into The Anarchist's sternum, before teleporting just a few steps back to avoid his retaliation punch.

Nephilim darted back in, cocking back their right fist while Anarchy yanked back his. The two threw their punches forward at once, and their knuckles collided with a brutal shockwave. Steam blasted out from the cracks on Nephilim's arm, their eye twitching with the agony that vibrated through their bones just before blood sprayed out of their shattered arm. Nephilim's body was locking up, the force of Anarchy's punch carried through and threw back their right arm with enough force to dislocate their shoulder. And while Nephilim recoiled, The Anarchist yanked up his boot, crashing a pump kick into their sternum and sending them flying back through the air.

Eyes clenched shut tight and jaw clenched even tighter, Nephilim hit the ground and skidded through the dirt. Pebbles, mud, and ice all crackled up around them as they slid, back being cut and scrapped along the way. Finally, after god knew how many yards, they slowed to a stop. Laying flat on their back, right arm limp, gasping and sputtering through cracked and bleeding lips. They stared up at the white out sky, felt the snowflakes hit their burning flesh. And though their vision was fading in and out and their heart was pounding painfully in their cracked sternum, Nephilim only had one thing on their minds. Get, up... Have to... Get up..!

Even though every muscle in their body screamed at them to do otherwise, Nephilim still forced their limbs to move. They got their one functioning arm under themself, used it and their barely responsive core muscles to sit up. Then, it was a matter of getting a knee under themself. Eventually, they were kneeling there, wings limp at their sides right with their arms. Those red cracks were creeping over their shoulders now, they matched the cracks sprouting around the Deltarune on their back. They managed to clench their left fist with shaky and bleeding fingers, even though their grip strength had all but disappeared. Behind them, just a step or two away was the stone bridge. And across the bridge, the lights of Snowdin town. He'd beaten them all the way back, but they refused to let him get even one foot on this snow covered path.

They lifted their head, looked across the smoldering valley to see The Anarchist sauntering closer. Shadows slithered over his body, the red light of his soul kept him illuminated in the blizzard and melted any snow before it could touch him. He reached up, caught his crowbar as it finally dropped back down after he'd thrown it into the air moments ago. And Nephilim clenched their aching jaw, forced their wobbly legs to carry their body and managed to stand. This was it, one last shot. A final blow, with every ounce of strength they had left. Red mist steamed from the cracks in their left arm, scarlet electricity crackled over the knuckles of their clenched fist while their wings spread. And for just a moment, Nephilim could see so many things. A playground, a dark hallway, a snowy field. Petals, lights. Wheat field, the hole that lead to the Ruins. The Judgement Hall, from both the position of The Judge and the sinner. Their wings beat, and they exploded forward.

Nephilim blasted across the valley of shadow and death, releasing a vicious battle cry while they yanked back their fist. Their eyes igniting with red flames, their arm crackled and steamed. All four of them and all the paths they took to get here, they all poured every ounce of themselves into this instant. Sans, Frisk, Cter, Chara. Everything that they were, all their work and all their struggles, everything they each loved and everything they each hated. If it meant stopping Anarchy from destroying all that they each had, they would put their life on the line. Red flames crackled, exploded to life out of the cracks that were splitting skin all over their body. Faster, move faster! Hit him hard! Harder than any of us have ever hit anybody before!

In the next instant, they were right in Anarchy's face. With that sparking and flaming fist pulled back, they screamed with all their might. They would die here, so long as it killed him too. So long as everyone else got to live. Power surged through their shattered body, crackled in their searing arm, and with everything they had they sent that fist blasting down into Anarchy's face.

SLAM!

Lightning crackled, the ground behind him exploded apart. Force shredded across the ground and red waves sliced up through the earth. But... Anarchy didn't budge. Having turned his head, he caught their final fist right on his cheek. His head hadn't moved, his heartless eyes watched the light and the hope wash off of Nephilim's face. For a moment that felt like an hour to Nephilim and like nothing at all to Anarchy, the two were suspended in time. Nephilim staring mortified, and Anarchy staring like he stared at all his victims. It didn't matter who they were where they came from or what they did, Nephilim bled the same as everyone else Anarchy killed.

Finally, time continued its flow. Nephilim dropped down to their hands and knees at Anarchy's feet, and Anarchy spat a bloodied loogie to the side. Then, his stare moved to the back of Nephilim's head. Their body was shattered, cracked and bleeding all over. Those wings they'd sprouted were dripping and dusting now. And Anarchy, expressing nothing at all, pulled back his crowbar. The fusion couldn't even lift their head, too busy staring at the burnt ground with wide and teary eyes. While they watched blood drip off their body and hit the ground, they heard Anarchy's voice. He spoke of them in the past tense. "Your name was Nephilim, right? I hope the world remembers you."

With the crack of his crowbar, Anarchy sent Nephilim sailing back through the air once again. Wings disintegrating from their back, the unlikely allies all sailed right over the path connecting Snowdin forest to Snowdin Town. And when they finally hit the snow covered ground, they never bounced. Sliding across the smooth and cold surface, they left a red trail behind them. All the way past Snowdin's one lighted tree looming in town square, until they were laying flat on their back in front of the Gaster's diner. The music faded out.

Nephilim had no idea how long they laid there. Fading in an out of consciousness, if one were to ask them if they were awake or not, there was no way they'd be able to give them an answer. But there was no one to ask them any questions - Snowdin was empty. Not a single monster around. If Nephilim had opened their eyes to see this, they certainly would have been relieved. But they didn't move, didn't even know where they were until they heard a voice.

"You fought hard. Put up a good fight. But I'm beyond strength." Anarchy's words got Nephilim to open just one of their eyes. Sucking air through gritting teeth, they couldn't even lift their head to get a better look at him. He stood beside them, loomed over them with that bland, thoughtful expression. His crowbar dripped with their blood, his own blood stained his beard. "This place must mean a lot to you, Nephilim. I wish it meant something to me, but it doesn't."

Nephilim didn't respond, figured it would hurt to talk. They just stared straight up, watched the snow fall down. It landed on their face, stuck in their hair, melted against their steaming body. They couldn't feel it, couldn't feel much of anything. Anarchy continued to stare down at them, even though they weren't looking at him. "There's no reason for me to destroy this place. You all just have to die because I have to kill. That's the life I chose, and that's the way it's gonna be until The Angel dies."

"H-how... Noble, of you..." Nephilim managed to spit up a few words, drenched in blood and sarcasm. Their one open eye glossed back over to Anarchy, and it was hard to be sure with their mouth hanging open in gasps but it sort of looked like they were frowning. "Killing innocent people, a-all to feed your psycho... I-ideals..."

"A being with wings could never understand." Anarchy assured, his own frown carving some into his face. But Nephilim didn't have wings anymore, The Anarchist's cruelty had ripped those away. Blood trickled off his crowbar, stained the pure white snow at his feet. A gust of wind blew by, pulled his long ivory hair to the right side. "Redemption is a sin, Nephilim. There is only justice in annihilation."

"... You... Hope, they remember us..? That's, that's what you said..?" Nephilim winced as they turned their head, their body trembled with an agonizing shiver. Still, they managed to spit a mouthful of blood onto Anarchy's boot. Defiance shined dim in their shared eyes while they looked upon The Bastard Son, Son of a Bitch. "We... We hope they forget you... We hope, someday t-this multiverse can... Can move on, that some day p-people like you... Like us..."

"... A world where no one has to ponder redemption, because no one needs to be redeemed." Anarchy finished their point for them, because they appeared to be too busy dying. Fighting for consciousness was Nephilim, so Anarchy barred the burden of their message himself. Smiling some at them, even though they had just wished for him to be forgotten. That was fine by Anarchy, he didn't think much of being remembered anyway. "That's what you were getting at, right? That does sound nice."

"If I ever find a way to get us there, Nephilim..." Anarchy lifted his boot, and Nephilim stared up at the underside of it. They could see some of Alphys' dust still stuck in the rubber rivets, figured their brain matter was about to join it there. Smile on his face despite the dimness of his scarlet eyes, Anarchy felt a snowflake land on his left hand. The hand that wrapped tight around his crowbar. "I'll disappear right with you."

THUNK!

Anarchy's eyes went wide, glossing to the sapphire spear that had pierced his shoulder while he stumbled back a step. His scarlet eyes, once more alight with his mania, darted up to the empress standing on the roof of Gaster's diner. One foot planted on the G of the sign, DS Undyne snarled as she stared down at The Anarchist, her arm still extended from throwing her spear. Behind her DS Gaster was standing with a similarly intense expression, the portal to Undyne's throne room shutting behind the two of them. The Empress shouted, "Get the hell away from them!"

"U-... Undyne..?" Nephilim muttered, their head barely managing to tilt and their blurred vision trying to focus in on the two figures atop the diner roof. Their attention was swiftly grabbed however by the armored figure that flew right over them, and they managed to look up just in time to see Monster Kid slam his hard head right into Anarchy's chest. With Chaos Incarnate already off balance, the Royal Guard's Captain managed to send him skidding back a few yards before his wings beat, and he flew back up into the sky over head. Nephilim choked, "Monster Kid..?!"

Over MK's shoulders twin portals opened with Gaster's help, and through each of them flied a robot. Napstabot and Mettaton NEO took aim on the blindsided Anarchist with their respective arm cannons, firing beams of white hot plasma down towards him. Grumbling, he shoved his crowbar's end into his back pocket before reaching up with his bare hands. Those plasma beams were stopped dead in each of his palms, black and red smoke misting out around his hands as they were rapidly melted and regenerated. Anarchy, remembering what happened the last time he was about to kill an Angel, snarled. "Startin' to get tired of this power'a friendship bullshit!"

Suddenly, Nephilim started to feel relief creep into their body. A green glow had overtaken them, and they looked from the battle ahead to the one kneeling beside them. Their exhausted eyes widened, pupils trembled some while their blurry vision tried to focus on the shape of what they could have sworn was a goat monster. A spike of emotion hit their shared heart, and they managed to whisper under their shallow breath... "A-... Asriel..?"

"You've become so brave, Chara." Toriel's voice shook Nephilim from their trance, their shaky vision finally focusing in on her motherly smile. Nephilim winced some despite her kind words, a bitter ache hurting worse in their heart than the brutal pain stinging in their skin. Still, they managed to listen to Toriel's words while some of their sense returned to them. The goat mother had tears in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them die. Her son had given up his life to make sure they lived, after all. Through a shaky voice she spoke, "I'm so proud of you..."

"H-... How..?" Nephilim managed to choke out - speaking didn't hurt them as bad as it had a moment ago. Relief was creeping into their shattered bones and torn muscles, but the burn in their flesh didn't dull. They figured it would take a little more than some healing magic and a cinnamon bunny to fix them up now. They really hadn't even noticed that Toriel had called them Chara, or at least they didn't think it was worth anyone's time explaining that they were also Cter, Sans, and Frisk. Instead, they just asked. "How did you k-know to come here..?"

Suddenly, a massive beam of white light screamed across Snowdin. Anarchy, who had just thrown those two blasts he'd been holding in his palms aside, caught the wave of power right in his chest and was sent exploding back across Snowdin. A drawn out "Fuuuuuck!" could be heard getting quieter as the blast sent him sailing backwards, and through another one of Gaster's portals some inky beast stomped.

Suspended on massive black arms, a screen flashed Flowery's wicked grin. There was an eye at every corner of this screen, and at its bottom was a cannon of mix matched metal, ink leaking out between the steel plates. Each of its four eyes glimmered with a different color - gold, dark blue, purple and orange. On the left, right, and top of that flat screen face were large bulbs that were detailed by mouths not unlike Anarchy's worms, all of which were laughing like some tainted Great hero. Digging the pencil tips of his ink claws into the ground, Omega Flowery gladly answered Nephilim's question.

"A TINY FLOWER HELPED THEM!"

---

Lovely weather down in Snowdin. The raging blizzard made it impossible to see what was going on within, but I could hear it alright. Explosions, roars, blasts. Orange lights flashed, beams of plasma occasionally shot into the sky, and there was definitely a few guns being fired. No doubt about it, there was a war going on down there. And I figured from the massive chunk of ice that blasted up and out of the blizzard, along with the dead Wyrm skeleton still laying out across a burned forest and the white hot fire snakes that flashed in the mist that we were the last ones to arrive.

"They've started without you down there." CORE!Frisk spoke up from where they stood on thin air. They stared down into the chaos below, arms folded behind their back. They were frowning, and those empty eyes were narrowed. Behind them Chara and I stood on a small plateau on the mountain scape that separated The Ruins and Snowdin, looking over the ledge just as CORE did. "I don't know what Gatherer has waiting for you down there."

"My guess is he's tall, muscly and loves sunscreen." I theorized bluntly, ink dripping down from my finger tips. My fight would be simple - I knew Anarchy wouldn't wanna trap me or catch me off guard. It was whoever wasn't me and Anarchy that I was concerned about. But it was too late to worry about that now. There was no plan of attack, no information to go off of. All of our greatest enemies were lurking in that blizzard and Chara and I were gonna have to rely on ourselves and each other to make it out alive. No, not just make it out alive, to win.

"Well, they went through all the trouble to set this party up." Chara stepped up beside me, and their twin knives appeared in their hands. From their back, wings of scarlet DETERMINATION flared while onyx black wings unfolded from my own shoulders. Just two for now - The flash that came with ascending to Cherub would draw too much attention. Something I'd learned: You wanna bring the fight, ya don't want the fight to come to come to you. With that in mind, I flashed Chara a smirk.

"Lets see what all the fuss is about."

---

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