Chapter 15:
"So what did you want to talk to us about, Sans?" I asked as I saw a waiter appear who I recognized as being one of the monsters I rescued from the True Lab, her being the feminine slime girl.
"Hello, human friend! I never expected I'd be waiting on you and that I could be my own person again!... So, what would you like to order?" she asked, me smiling at that.
"What do you recommend?" I smiled.
"Me personally? I recommend the Glamburger... just don't get grossed out when you get it, it's actually edible and tastes really good, it's just that Mettaton views surface food with... odd tastes," she said, me smiling at that.
"Then we'll all have a Glamburger each," I smiled, the two kids smirking at that as she then jotted the order down and then went off to talk to the chef.
"anyways, i wanted to talk about what the future will hold... as my nemesis said, this world no longer has any threat to it from the time loops... at least for right now..." Sans said, me tilting my head at that. "when you go to meet with asgore, i'm gonna show up with all our friends... that should make it so that you get to encounter the final fight for the true pacifist route... that being the flower in his true form. with the power of 7 human souls and him being a monster, he'll be even more of a god than you are... so how do you plan to battle him passively?" Sans asked as I looked at the kids and then at Sans before I had to ask.
"How would he get 7 human souls, though? Does he take one of mine?" I asked.
"nope... he takes the 6 currently owned by asgore in storage... as well as the soul of every living monster in the underground. after all, every monster alive down here equals the strength of a single human... so what will you do? risk getting some lives lost because of the test subjects also being absorbed? or will you find another way to go about things?" Sans asked as I then looked down at the table and then took my soul out of my chest. I then asked a simple question to Chara.
"Is it possible for our soul to be split apart?... And then give Flowey my soul while yours remains inside of me?" I asked, Chara sighing at that.
"Noble, yet stupid idea... but if you do decide to go through with that, then you'll only have at most an hour until your body is permanently resided for me and Thorn... and as for Azzy... if he were to get your soul inside of him, then yes, he'd be able to turn into his original form... in front of literally everyone. Mom, dad, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys... everyone would see him and recognize him immediately... but he'd still have nothing but animosity because he still would be incapable of feeling emotions... so that means that Thorn and I would have to try and pacify him before the hour is up," Chara explained, me shuddering at the idea and Spike gulping at it as well.
"Sounds dangerous... but if it means that everyone can survive at the end, I'd say go through with it," Magenta said, me nodding at that as Sans then smiled.
"by the way... you said that you knew that i was the one to be promised to look out for you and protect you, right?" Sans asked, me nodding at that. "you know what would've happened if she said nothing... and if you had a high LV?" he asked, me nodding at that.
"I'm already aware... I probably wouldn't have made it this far against someone with your skills and strength," I said, him nodding at that.
"yep... just remember that we care for ya, kid. and we don't want anything bad to happen to ya," Sans smiled as the food then arrived along with some strange shakes that looked to be filled with glitter and confetti. And the burgers?... They were made of sequins on the buns and burger itself and the mayonnaise was made of glue. I then did the daring move and took a bite of the burger... and was legitimately surprised that it tasted oddly like burgers on the surface, just with a sweeter taste! I smiled and then took a sip of the shake and smiled at how it tasted like cotton candy mixed with cherries and marshmallow flavors. It was amazing!
"Mmm! I never expected food made with arts and crafts would taste so good!" I smiled widely as Spike and Magenta ate their food as well and they smiled at the taste as well. After all, kids had a sweet tooth from birth to old age.
"hehe, yeah," Sans smiled as I was surprised at how he had finished eating all of his in only a single second.
"Um... how did you eat that so fast?" I asked him.
"He probably stopped time and ate while we weren't looking," Magenta said, Sans smirking at that.
"yep, she's correct... i'd rather want everyone to keep seeing my smile. besides... the way i eat is kinda odd," Sans said, me smirking at that.
"Yeah... how does a skeleton eat? You're nothing but bones after all," I asked as Sans smiled back, as per usual.
"how about i show you, but only after a full 24 hours have passed after the adventure concludes? i want to be sure that this is, indeed, the final reset," Sans said, me nodding as I then got into my wallet to get some money and Sans smiled. "nah, you don't need to pay for the meal. i get free food because i'm the most popular form of entertainment here at the hotel," Sans said, me smirking at that.
"Let me guess... the tomatoes get thrown on a daily basis, huh?" I asked.
"pretty much. you better get going to the core, kid. you'll need to get through gaster's invention in order to reach the elevator to the king's castle. only issue is that mettaton will probably pull out all the stops to kill you, no thanks to that talking flower. be safe and stay alive, okay?" Sans said, me nodding at that as I then proceeded to walk out of the restaurant and happened to find a couple of girls that looked like they were pretty sleazy. One was a lizard girl with blonde hair and the other was a big cat with purple fur and black hair.
"Hey, like, aren't you that human that's appeared on Mettaton's shows?" asked one of them, that being the cat.
"Um... yeah, I am," I said.
"OMG, like, really? How cool! You think it'd be possible if you could get us an autograph from him? He's, like, TOTALLY awesome!" the lizard girl smiled widely.
"No way, Bratty! I want his autograph first!" the cat girl smirked.
"No need to fight, ladies. Just give me an item from each of you that you want autographed and I'll deliver them to Mettaton for him to sign, okay?" I smiled, Bratty smiling at that.
"Sweet! Like, you're even cooler than you are on the TV! Catty, give her the stuff," Bratty smiled at the cat girl as she then handed me a toy gun as well as a frying pan. "That frying pan is mine and the toy gun is Catty's. Like, get the signatures right and we'll totally be your BFFs forever, okay?" Bratty smiled.
"You got a deal," I smirked.
"Yay! Have fun! I'm sure that Mettaton will, like, totally try to kill you when you meet him, so don't hurt the items, got it?" Catty asked.
"Okay," I said, me feeling like they were using me, but I didn't care.
"They are using you. They're kind of insufferable," Chara said in thought as I then went to the back of the hotel and saw a couple of monsters standing guard of the CORE's entrance. One was a small magician-like monster and the other was a very tall and strong-looking soldier with eyes on her chest.
"Those are Madjick and Knight Night. Very formidable opponents..." Chara said as I went closer to them and the duo looked at me with a glare.
"You... you're that human, aren't you?" the knight asked, her actually having a very calm and cute voice, me nodding my head at her question.
"Tinkle tinkle... you're the one that Mettaton said was dangerous, yet we heard a very different story from some other monsters," Madjick said, me smiling at that.
"So which do you classify as? A murderous villain?... Or a friendly savior of the monsters in Alphys's lab?" the knight asked.
"I'm the latter of the two. Trust me, if I were a murderer, then the Underground wouldn't be full of monsters like it is right now... after all, humans have absurd power over monsters and I'd never hurt you guys for being so nice to me," I said, Madjick smirking and snickering at that.
"Very well then, you'll be allowed passage to go meet with Mettaton, then. He hired us to kill you, but we don't wanna do that to innocent people," Madjick said as he and Knight Night led me forward and then activated an elevator for me to get on, me doing so and finding that I was next to a very important-looking door. I then went inside of it and saw that Mettaton was right there and he looked a bit annoyed.
"My, my. So you've finally arrived," Mettaton said as I sighed.
"Yeah, I have... look Mettaton, whatever that flower told you about me is highly incorrect. You see, I-" I was about to say before Mettaton interrupted me.
"Oh no, you're mistaken human. The flower had nothing to do with me deciding you were dangerous," Mettaton said, me being confused at that. "As any true fan would know, I was first created as a human eradication robot. And with those functions, I was given the ability to sense the strength of their souls. And when I sensed your soul during our first couple of meetings, at first, I thought they were malfunctioning... but as it turns out, they weren't. Every time I'm near you, my sensors go into overdrive because of your strength. So, to prevent you from ever harming anything with your horrible strength, I will stop you right here and now!" Mettaton said as I saw him then hit a switch on the top of his head and for his body to then slowly begin to morph into something different.
His body opened up to show a humanoid head, he gained arms and legs after getting rid of his single wheel, he gained giant legs on his back that produced large neon wings, and finally, his left eye gained a scope lens and his right hand turned into a laser cannon. "Now, if you take one step closer, then I'll be forced to slay you right here and now!" Mettaton exclaimed, me keeping my feet planted in place and Mettaton waiting as I simply took out the two items from Catty and Bratty and simply laid them on the ground without moving forward. "Um... what are these and why are you not moving forward?" Mettaton asked in confusion.
"I had a couple of your fans request to have these items autographed by you. The toy gun belongs to a girl named Catty and the frying pan belongs to her friend, Bratty. Would it be too much to ask for you to autograph them?" I asked, Mettaton frowning as he sent out his left arm via stretching it forward and he then grabbed the two items and scanned them, me wondering what he was thinking.
"Hmm... these belonged to the previous humans... and who are Bratty and Catty?" Mettaton asked.
"Bratty is a green lizard girl... and Catty is, hence her name, a purple cat," I said, Mettaton frowning as he then etched out his autograph on both of them and then him simply placing them back in front of me and me then putting them back in my bag.
"I uh... I expected you to make a move by now," Mettaton said as I simply frowned at him.
"Now do you get it, Mettaton? I'm not a fighter. Sure, I am the owner of a very powerful soul, but that's also why I'm so unwilling to fight. I don't want the world to be destroyed, so I refuse to attack anything maliciously or with the intent to end their life. So please, just let me pass by. I have to meet with the king," I said, Mettaton frowning and simply arming his arm cannon and me sighing at that. "Fine... I'll prove to you that I'm not dangerous," I said as I simply moved forward and put on my gloves, Mettaton immediately trying to shoot at me, but I walked through all the explosions before then connecting a punch to his left leg... but not with the intent to kill. I attacked while holding back my strength, Mettaton looking surprised as he felt absolutely nothing and he looked at me in confusion.
"What?..." he asked as I then took his free hand and I then shook it with a smile.
"I'm not a dangerous person, Mettaton. Besides, why would a kid want to kill anything? I'm only 9 years old and I'd never want to hurt anyone on purpose... now I'm afraid I need to go meet with the king... excuse me," I said as I then went past him and into the door ahead, me moving down a hall until I then heard a voice from behind me.
"Wait," spoke Mettaton as he appeared behind me and I looked at him with a smile. "You... You promise that you aren't evil in the slightest, right darling?"
"I promise... hey, can I ask you to deliver the autographs to Bratty and Catty by chance?" I asked, Mettaton looking at me with a smile as I then gave him the two items and he put them into the compartment on his chest. "Make sure they don't get injured, since they said they don't want them to get hurt," I said, Mettaton then leaving and me then moving to the elevator once again and then going up it, me wondering if I could finally have a bit of time to breathe.
"Yeah, you do... that was pretty brave what you did with Mettaton Neo, by the way. I'm honestly kind of jealous," Chara said from my thoughts as Thorn then spoke.
"Agreed... I just worry about the final confrontation... if Asriel is reborn as a god, then we're all gonna have a shitty time," Thorn said from my mouth, me being surprised by her swear and she then spoke again. "I'd rather not be lectured about censoring myself. I'd prefer to swear from time to time," she said as we then got off then elevator... only for the door to be completely coated in vines, me being surprised.
"Flowey again... now how is mom going to get up here?" I asked, me gasping at saying that before Chara then smiled at that and took control.
"I have a feeling she's already here... see, there's a bit of white fur on the ground moving forward down this path here," Chara pointed out, me smiling at how they went down a path and I saw another elevator nearby, me seeing that it was free to use. "That's a shortcut to the cathedral. It's very close to Asgore's throne room," Chara said as I then went inside of it and smiled at how it led me to the area Chara mentioned. And when I went into the hall, I moved forward a bit before I then gasped as, not five feet in front of me, Sans appeared out of nowhere and I felt my entire body stop in place as the bells tolled at least 5 times.
"So... the end of your journey is at hand... the final trial is just around the corner," Sans said, his eyes dark as sin and his voice very deep. "In a few moments you'll meet the king and get the True Pacifist run... but that's then. Now, you will be judged. Not just by me, but by the others you've befriended thus far," Sans said as Magenta then appeared alongside Gaster and Spike.
"You will be judged for every amount of EXP on your person... you may already know this, but it stands for Execution Points, not Experience," Gaster spoke as Magenta then spoke.
"If you gain enough, you'll gain LOVE. LOVE, too, is an acronym. It stands for Level of Violence. The higher of that you have, the more willing you are to hurt others... and the less you regret hurting them... but here's the thing, Frisk," Magenta said as Spike spoke next.
"From what Sans and Gaster say, you don't have a single LOVE. In fact, your LOVE is 0. No human in this world has ever had that before... even before the great war, no one ever had a LOVE of 0... so not only have you never killed anything, but it seems that Thorn hasn't either... Chara on the other hand? We already know she was responsible for Thorn's death," Spike said before Thorn then took control and she spoke her mind.
"So you kids and bone boys know, I didn't mind being killed by Chara. The moment I saw her, I knew she was much different and very important... her body was very digital in the true world and her eyes bleeding black? I knew she was from this world the moment I saw her," Thorn said as Sans then sighed.
"welp, if i were in your position, i wouldn't be as forgiving, kid... now you'll need to meet with asgore. as for what happens with the flower? make sure that no one gets killed, okay? and that includes yourself," Sans said, me nodding at that as we then went forward as a group and I looked at the others seriously.
"When I meet with Asgore, I'd like it if I could do so alone... and then all of you join me when he reveals the human souls. Okay?" I said, Sans nodding at that as did Spike, Gaster, and Magenta.
"Be careful with Asgore, Frisk. He may be truly shocked to learn the truth," Gaster said, me nodding as I then went into the throne room with a heavy heart... what in the world would I say to him? And what would happen with Flowey and Chara? I'd need to decide my words and choices carefully for the next crucial moments.