I was the first into the corridor; the final corridor before the Rift. I stopped for a moment and peered down it. At the far end I saw the final door still shut, standing tall and looking as ominous as ever. Broken memories came to mind as I looked down this corridor... of all the times I had walked it… and of all my mistakes I had made...
"You alright Gramps?" Sans startled me.
I shook his hand off my shoulder and walked on, they followed right after. Our footsteps echoed off the steel grating that made up the path, holding us over piping that housed wires and cables carrying mass amounts of electricity from the CORE's main power output. I could just barely hear the sparks of electricity within them over the sounds of the CORE itself. Further below us I could hear lava being moved towards the steam chambers, the clanking of the machinery, the loud hum of the turbines...
"Grandpa Semi...?" Papyrus' worried voice called.
I still felt too ashamed to face either one of them. But I stopped, and looked back at them. Sans smiled at me right away. Papyrus looked at me concerned. Frisk looked at me interested. I could feel my fear raising as I worried about the boys. WHY did I let them come with me? My concern was growing into an overwhelming anxiety the longer I looked at them, so I turned back around. Somehow, that only made me worse. Everything here, the sights, the sounds, the smell even... It all reminded me of that day...
I feared what was waiting for us, for me,beyond that door.
My soul ached with sadness as I thought back to how it started. Hate made me tense; angry with myself. My heart turned callous, not wanting feelings to distract me… But instead of assuring myself I was capable of doing what needed to be done, that I could solve all our problems here and now— I stood lost... confused...
"No. No I'm not alright." I turned back to the boys and admitted.
"You want to hold off and... I dunno.. talk about it?" Sans suggested.
"If we had time, yes, but, I don't have time." I sighed, bracing myself for what was ahead. "I've already wasted too much of it." I pressed forward.
"What does that mean?" I heard Papyrus ask.
Sans mumbled a puzzled response, and followed me down the corridor, past towering pipes along the wall with the Delta Rune symbol between them. Lights highlighting them flickered for a moment, causing me to notice steam gathered at the ceiling as the flicking lights reflected off of it. The CORE made some strange noises as the power fluctuated, and that didn't help my fear. If something went wrong with the system; with the lava flow... I don't think anyone could stop it. I took a deep breath to smell the air in here, and found it clear of o-zone. That meant nothing was leaking in from the CORE itself, except for that steam, which had me worried. Or maybe I just missed a few places when I was sealing the place up like W.D had done to prevent rusting when he originally built the place. My eyes wondered around the corridor as we walked down it, but something suddenly caught my attention. Something I sensed that felt out of place. I looked ahead at the end of the path and saw someone familiar. I held my arm out to stop everyone from walking past me.
"Noto!" Papyrus ran past me.
"Papyrus wait—!" I tried to stop him.
Noto's tail perked up as he ran towards them, and they charged at him. They jumped up on his legs and he pet them as they barked happily.
"Noto! I have not seen you in years!" Papyrus said with joy.
"You know them...?" Sans glanced at me.
I pulled my arm back and kept my eyes on the skeletal creature. Sans hesitated for a moment, but began walking towards Papyrus to see for himself.
How were they here...? And why?
Noto pounced on Papyrus, knocking him to the floor, and nuzzled at his face.
"No! Nyeh! S-Stop!" Papyrus laughed.
I stared at that... creature... utterly confused. I could still sense they were not a summoned creature, and that their soul was very weak. In fact, sensing it now, it seemed... broken somehow to me. It still felt familiar too, why?
"You gonna introduce me or what bro?" Sans chuckled.
"Of course!" Papyrus stood up. "Sans. This is Noto." he gestured towards them. "Noto, my brother Sans!" he smiled.
Noto barked and wagged their tail at Sans.
"Wait, Noto? Your imaginary friend?" Sans laughed.
"She is NOT imaginary!" he stomped his foot.
Noto was growling at Sans now.
"Well, obviously..." Sans snickered. "But uh... what is it doing here?" he asked a bit worried.
Why is it here indeed. I don't like it. Why did they show up NOW? Why does everything go wrong at THIS point every stinkin' time? This wasn't right.
"Someone's got us set up in a trap." I stated for everyone to hear.
"A trap?" Frisk asked from beside me.
I glanced around us for a moment and recalled what Mystrium had said during his crazy outburst, a certain string of words that stuck with me… 'Lord Mastic Monster is a masterful tactician.' I recalled. 'He has planned every step, foreseen every event, and accounted for every choice any of us could possibly make.'
"Mystrium mentioned that 'everything has been planned from the start.'" I quoted him. "What if what we're doing is exactly what that monster wants us to do, and we're walking into his trap?" I asked frustrated.
Sans looked back at me with a fearful expression.
"Then I guess we need to ask what exactly is it we're doing." he replied with a more serious expression.
I looked past him towards the last door. What are we doing? How did I come in here without a clear goal in mind? What was I going to do? I could just shut off the power to the Rift, like I had originally planned when I was here before, or I could dismantle the whole thing. Or... I could… No. No I'm not using it. It's far too late for that Semi. Don't repeat your mistakes.
"We're disconnecting the Rift from the CORE's main power. It will be useless then." I stated. He smiled at that.
"I'll let you handle that I guess. We'll watch your back while you work on it so you don't end up in some other dimension again." he winked.
Asgore forbid I have to do that again...
"I swear, if anyone else gets thrown through that thing I'm starting a war and filing a complaint." I grumbled as I walked over to him.
"With who?" he laughed.
"I don't know boy! Life itself?!" I shouted out flustered.
"Calm down Gramps. We'll get this done. Don't snap your spine out of place over it." he gestured to clam me.
"Don't snap yours trying to keep me calm." I warned him.
He looked at me with a mix of fear and concern on his face.
"Who's a good girl? Who's a good girl?" Papyrus cooed over Noto, who was soaking every bit of the attention up. "Yes you are! It's you!" he rubbed their ribs as they rolled over.
Frisk was quick to join Papyrus in petting it.
"Oh boy..." I sighed them. "Come on. We can handle it ourselves I guess." I pat Sans' back and invited him to follow me past them. He stared at Noto with a thoughtful look for a moment. "Boy!" I called him. He snapped out of it and came running, glancing over at Noto as he passed them. "You sense it too?" I asked.
"Noto's... weird soul?" he replied.
"What can you tell about it?" I asked, to see if he was picking up on something I wasn't.
He stood silent for a moment as his eyes darted around towards the floor.
"It... It seems familiar." he said.
"Familiar? How can it feel familiar to you?" I asked out loud. He dodged my eyes and didn't answer. "Sans..." I pressed him.
"T-Their soul just... feels the same as someone else I knew. A... long time ago..." he hesitated to say.
"Who?" I asked with interest.
He didn't answer. He didn't want to answer it looked like. Well, I know how to fix that. I'll use your own curiosity against you. I waited for the right moment, just as Papyrus got up from petting Noto and looked our way, and smiled at Sans, making him nervous.
"You know my brother built all this?" I gestured my hands out.
"Your brother?" Papyrus looked at me curious.
"Younger brother by about 5 years. W.D Gaster." I stated, putting my hands in my pockets and walking in a circle around myself. "He was a whiz when it came to technology, especially in the area of engineering. He built the CORE to help power the underground. And the uh... Rift." I paused for a moment. I'd never talked about W.D like this to anyone before… "He was also, as far as I know anyway, the first to discover the secrets of a human soul's power." I added, managing to speak clearly on a painful subject.
"DT. Determination." Sans said.
"He called it Will Power. WP." I looked at him, unhappy with the new name it had apparently taken on. "With Lillian's soul, he was able to reset time, and did so many times. For good reasons. He even did it a few times to make sure I didn't die some horrible death!" I laughed at the memories of him telling me of all the ways he had seen me die.
"Well that was nice!" Papyrus replied.
"So... what happened?" Sans asked, no doubt already knowing from Lillian what W.D's experimenting turned into.
I leered angrily at him for a moment. Like I was going to readily answer that. I was going to get answers from you first boy.
"Who does Noto's soul feel familiar too?" I asked him plainly.
Sans shivered, realizing I had set him up for this. If he wanted to know more, he would have to tell me more first.
"I've met a soul like Noto's before. Broken, weak, unable to use magic." he explained.
"Oh yeah? Who were they?" I asked.
He snickered.
"What happened?" he was done giving his partial answer.
I hummed in frustration and turned around on my heels away from him.
This is where it's going to get hard...
"My pride." I answered, or maybe more like admitted. "I wanted that same power to... make things better. But doing so would have made things worse for everyone in the long run." I struggled to say. I wanted it to save them so badly...
"But you still went through with whatever it was." he understood.
"I did. And to call it a mistake would be an understatement." I looked over my shoulder at him. "Worse part of it is, I probably still would have done it even without the monster egging me on." I shrugged a hand up.
"Done what...?" Papyrus asked concerned.
I forced myself to smile and spun on my heels back towards Sans.
"Back to you boy." I told him.
He raised a brow at me before answering.
"The monster I met, was just like Noto here." he tilted his head towards her as she sat next to Papyrus. "Her soul was broken somehow, and I tried to help her..." he stopped short of the full story as he looked away saddened.
"And?" I pressured him.
He stared at me irritated. I stared back with the same expression no doubt. I huffed a heavy breath and turned to keep walking. That wasn't enough from him for me to tell any more of my own story.
"W-Wait! What did you do?!" Papyrus exclaimed.
"He'll come around with it all Paps." I heard Sans tell him.
"What did YOU do?!" he replied to him. "Who was this monster you helped? What happen—" he asked confused.
"Another promise I couldn't keep alright?!" Sans yelled at him.
I stopped and looked back at them along with Frisk who had been following me. Papyrus stepped back from Sans as Noto stood behind him eyeing Sans.
"Sorry Papyrus I... It's a sensitive subject, like what happened with Chara.." Sans' expression dropped.
"Do you forgive yourself for what happened with this monster too?" Papyrus stepped towards his brother.
Sans didn't answer right away.
"I dunno. That was all something... I did entirely on my own." he looked to the side. "Not that what I did was anywhere near as bad as what I did to stop Chara, but... it's still hard to live with." he sighed.
"Well I forgive you!" Papyrus told him with a big smile.
"It doesn't even involve you bro." Sans looked up at him with a weak smile.
"Oh... well..." Papyrus lost his smile. "I am sure the monster you helped forgives you! For... whatever it was that you did!" he got his cheerfulness back.
Sans eyes grew dark as he looked away ashamed. Noto cautiously approached him and forced their muzzle under his hand. He pet them, and his eyes brightened back up. Noto suddenly barked at him, making him flinch, then raced around behind him to shove him towards the Rift.
"Noto! This is no time for playing!" Papyrus scolded them. They looked back at him and barked. "I'm afraid I don't speak... whatever you are." he replied a bit confused. They barked again and snatched Sans' jacket sleeve in their mouth, dragging him towards the door. "Hey! No! Drop it!" he commanded them.
Noto drug Sans along until they passed me, where I grabbed Sans' hood and pulled him from their grip. I thought. Noto was holing on to him pretty tight.
"LET. GO." I sternly ordered them.
Noto looked at me with anger, their angry eyes sending fear up my spine. I had seen those eyes before somewhere, and they scared me now as much as they did last I had seen them. They suddenly let go and immediately bit into Sans arm to get a better hold on him. Sans cursed under his breath, and they tugged him away from me. I quickly got around them and blocked them off, Papyrus got behind them, and Frisk beside them, trapping them in.
"Noto. Let Sans go." Papyrus calmly ordered her.
"Hey. Wanna trade?" I summoned up a bone to try to temp them into letting Sans go.
They didn't react to it. Worth a try. I recalled the magic and step towards them. Noto sank their teeth deeper into Sans' arm. Sans did his best not to yell out from the pain.
"Noto what are you doing...?" Papyrus asked bewildered.
Noto got ready to try and run past me, so I got ready to stop her. Frsik reached for the Star Blade, and I sensed Papyrus magic surge. Sans suddenly grew angry, and Noto noticed.
"Suzy let me go this instant young lady or I will report you to the Royal Guard!" Sans shouted out at Noto. Noto yanked their teeth out of his arm and whimpered in fear of him. "You cantankerous little goblin of a monster! You better explain yourself and you better do it quick or I won't be meeting you for lunch this weekend!" he threatened her. Noto whined and lay on the floor. "Yeah you BETTER be sorry! You little brat..." he told her off, rubbing his arm where she had bit him.
The heck did I just witness...? That came out of nowhere for Sans. Papyrus knelt down to heal him, while Frisk's attention turned to Noto.
"Suzy...?" I heard them ask.
Suzy. But this is... Noto? Who even is this Suzy? Is that who Sans thinks Noto's soul feels familiar too…?
"Aw! You DO still love me!" a small voice echoed around us suddenly.
I turned behind us to see a little monster, a dragon skeletal type, who wasted no time running up and grabbing Sans by his injured arm. He winced in pain as she held it, and flinched in fear when he saw her. The little monster wore a purple bow and pinkish vest, and if I weren't suspicious of her, I'd say she was almost the cutest kid I'd ever seen. But, heh, Arial will forever hold that record with me.
"H-How are you...?" Sans tried to ask.
She pulled on his arm and circled him giggling.
"It's all thanks to you Sans!" she said happily.
"What? But I—"
"Shush shush." she cut him off, holding a finger to his mouth. "It's okay Sansy. I forgive you for thinking I was dead. But now that I'm here, and you know I'm alive, I would like to ask you to help me again." she grinned at him.
Sans looked terrified the longer he looked at her. I could sense his fear it was so strong. I summoned up a bone sword and walked up to the monster.
"Get your claws off him." I warned her.
Sans snapped out of his fear and pushed her behind him to defend her.
"Okay... I wasn't expecting that to happen." I said surprised.
Noto crouched next to him, growling at me. Suzy came around him on the other side and held his arm as she stood close to him. Sans began shaking, and I sensed a corrupting confusion on his soul.
"Sans. Who is this?" I calmly asked him.
"S-.. Suzy." he stuttered.
I tried to sense Suzy's soul, and found it was like Noto's; weak, broken, and… familiar. How though. How are we BOTH finding these souls familiar? I've never met this weird kid before, and Sans had never met Noto. So who was I sensing? Who were they? Were they... the same person...?
"Don't tell me you're scared of some old fossil Sans." Suzy gave me an evil glance.
Sans shook his head and focused on me.
"How come their souls are so much alike?" I asked to help him focused off of her.
"I-I don't know." he glanced over at Noto. "I don't even understand how Suzy is here! I-I failed to save her..." he said in disbelief.
"Do I look like a failure to you Sans?" she leaned into him.
He kept his focus on me, desperate to ignore her. She was obviously trying to use him. I tried to come up with something to say to keep him thinking. I wonder... If me and Sans both find their souls familiar, does Lillian?
"Does Lillian find their souls familiar?" I asked.
He relaxed a bit. No doubt him and Lillian were having a discussion in his mind.
"Oh come on Sans! Let's ditch them!" Suzy tugged at his hand.
"No!" he yanked his hand free from her. "You need to explain some things to me first!" he grew angry at her.
Her eyes narrowed at him. Then she smiled and hummed a laugh.
"I'm here to help you of course. Because helping you helps me!" she winked.
"What...? You mean you know about—" Sans stopped himself.
"Yes! Now let's go!" she pulled him towards the door.
"I don't think so kid." I held my sword out to block her off. "Let him go and step back." I ordered her.
"Or what old man? You gonna poke me with that stick?" she narrowed her eyes at me.
"Suzy, chill. That's my Grandpa you're talking to. He—"
"I know silly!" she leaned into him. "I know ALL about him..." she grinned at me.
I actually stepped back out of fear of her. Who was this kid?
"I sure don't know you." I replied.
"Oh yes you do." she giggled. "Amiri." she grinned with a sly look.
"How do you know that name...?" I flinched.
It had been years since I heard that name. It was who Mystrium mistook me for after he fought with the monster and got his memories backwards.
"It's what Mystrium called you!" she laughed. "Because he mistook me for her cousin! Which is funny, now that I know I actually AM her cousin." she said with a big smile.
I tightened my grip on my sword and stepped forward.
"Sans. You really need to get away from her." I told him.
"But I need your help first!" she pleaded with him.
"With what exactly?" he asked her confused.
"The Rift." she said plainly.
I stomped my foot forward and pointed my sword right at her.
"How does a kid know anything about the Rift?" I growled at her.
"How did you know anything you knew?" Sans asked her.
She knew? What's he mean by that?
"Like I told you Sansy! I hear all sorts of rumors and stories!" she told him.
"Expect NO ONE but myself and Arial know about THIS story kid!" I informed her. "Anyone else that did know forgot because of the resets!" I explained in anger, and in fear of just who she was.
No one else knew about the Rift. No one but me, Arial, Tahoma I guess, Calibri, Lillian, and... W.D.
Suzy held onto Sans.
"Are you going to help me Sans?" she asked him.
Sans stood silent.
"Suzy." Frisk walked up behind them. "This isn't how I remember you telling me we would do this." they said.
"OU! You remembered!" Suzy wagged her short tail as she let go of Sans and turned to Frisk. "I'm so sorry for not finding you when you came Frisk! Some things... came up." she explained.
"Wait how do you know—" Sans tried to ask.
"Never mind that!" Suzy pulled Sans lower. "Just grab Frisk, and we can go finish the last component for the Rift." she whispered to him. But I heard every word.
Sans reacted before I did, pulling away from her.
"No! You need to explain things, NOW!" he shouted at her. "Who are you? Either of you!" he glanced between her and Noto.
Suzy grinned.
"Catching on are you Lilly?" she replied.
"Don't do this. You KNOW it's too dangerous!" Sans voice came out higher pitched, telling me that was Lillian's words.
"This is why you have always been my favorite Sans." Suzy leaned side to side. Then she stopped. "You are not an idiot like the rest of the world." she stated with blank eyes.
In an instant she pulled Frisk over with magic and rammed them into Sans, shot attacks at me and Papyrus to back us off, then summoned up... an anomaly; A SAVE point! I sensed her WP and magic around her and the other two, along with corruption. Dark magical influence. Where was she about to take them?!
"Suzy no—!" Sans tried to stop her, but it was too late for any of us to act.
She cast the magic, and in a flash of light, they were gone. It was just me and Papyrus here now. Or so I thought, until I heard growling behind me. I turned and found Noto ready to pounce me as she bent low in attack posture.
"Whoa! Heel! Down! Halt!" I commanded the beast, but she kept creeping closer.
"Noto stand down!" Papyrus sternly ordered her.
She kept getting closer…
Papyrus growled and got between us.
"I said STOP!" he held his arms out. "Why do you dislike Semi so much?!" he asked. She barked a few times and growled. "Whatever that was, it is not a good enough reason to dislike him!" he told her. She growled and searched for a way around him. "What has gotten into you?! I do not remember you being this aggressive before!" he kept her blocked off.
Noto barked a reply, and while he kept her attention, I slipped past them towards the Rift, hurrying down the corridor and into the final room. I ignored the Rift itself at the center of the room, looking about how I had left it, and rushed over to the main console. I got it activated and found that the Rift's systems were all online and ready... So I started up its special scanner system, able to detect sources of WP across the underground. Hopefully with it, I could find where that kid took Sans and Frisk.
That monster... Her soul was just like Noto's. I had the same vague sense of familiarity with them both. She knew about something from my past, something only W.D would know about in such detail. And for her to know anything about the Rift, even its existence... And Sans seemed to imply she knew more than even he thought she should from before… The only way she could know any of this… Was my theory on W.D's soul not dying from the incident... right? Was his soul simply shattered by the rip in space made by the Rift? Did it also somehow string him across time as well? That seems impossible, but... we're talking about a magic based soul empowered by WP, making it more willing to live and fight against death. Could that little bit of WP have been enough to keep him somewhat alive? Shattered across time and space...
W.D... alive all this time...
What has he been doing if that's true?
The console signaled it was ready and I ran scanner program. While it looked over the entire underground, I switched over to the power controls and got ready to disconnect everything at a moment's notice. The scanner took its sweet time, making me impatient. I kept glancing over my shoulder as I waited for it to finish, expecting someone to catch me off guard while I was here, like last time. The scanner finally completed its sweep and displayed the results. 7 souls, besides myself, came up as sources of WP. 7? Who else is down here that has WP? It should just be me, Frisk, and Lillian with Sans. One of the souls was in the corridor the report said. Noto? Another was in the room before the corridor, where I had left everyone with Mystrium. This couldn't be him showing up though, he lost Brianzar's soul. And it wasn't Calibri, and couldn't possibly be Tahoma, heh. Could it be... Arial...? Splints! That would explain how she was aware of the anomalies my resetting created! No wonder she was always so mad at me! But how…? I didn't have WP until after she was born, so there's no way I passed it on, if that's even possible. How did she...? Who could have...
W.D!
That's the only way; he's the only other one who had access to the stuff. He must have given it to her at some point— when did I last let him watch her? I left her with him once when she was a baby bones... Could he have done it then? Why? Why would he do that? Was that why he was so interested in her ability to remember over resets when she started showing signs of it? Was she just some experiment to him?! WHY?
"What the heck are you doing brother?!" I slammed my hands on the console.
3— no 4, of the marks were close to each other in Snowdin. Sans, Frisk, Suzy, and… someone else? The mark in the corridor I realized was overlapping with another. And there was only one other person in there with Noto.
Papyrus.
Splinters. It can be passed on then...
I better go tell him where Sans is and send him to go get him back. But first. We're shutting this all down. I switched back to the power controls I had opened and began the procedure to disconnect the Rift from the main power. I raced through the familiar console commands, turning the system off one piece at a time. I came to the last command needed... and hesitated...
Semi. It can't time travel. You never finished it. Just shut it off. Give it up already ol'boy… you can't save them and bring them back... But you can save who you still have; you can save the future.
Sans… Has he really forgiven me...?
Has W.D forgiven me...?
I typed out the last command and confirmed it. Everything began to shut off, and all the sounds in the room disappeared one by one. I grasped the edge of the console as I listened, and waited, still expecting the worst to surprise me. But nothing happened, and everything shut down. I took a deep breath, relieved this was over with, and turned to go get Papyrus.
And got hit smack dab in the face back into the console. I got hit again from one side then the other, and something wrapped around me. It picked me up and slammed me to the floor then tossed me aside where rock magic attacks hit me from the floor. Sharp claw like magic attacks came through the air and hit me, then something hit me from behind and I was poisoned by them. I knew these types of attacks all too well.
They were W.D's assistants magic.
"Ah... cripes... How did the gang get here...?" I got myself up, seeing them standing before me, all still gray, soulless, and on W.D's side I guessed. "How are you using magic? I thought you told me you couldn't!" I panted, frustrated with them for lying to me, because this meant they COULD have healed me when we met in the Void!
"We are an exception." Specs said.
"Because what? You're smart?" I replied.
"Our souls were not lost, merely displaced." his body flickered like a glitched screen for a moment. "We are very much intact though." he straightened his glasses.
"So what's the deal here?" I cringed from the lingering poison Snak had got me with. None of them answered. "Papyrus!" I called as loud as I could for him.
"No one is stopping the Doctor's plan." Specs said.
"It will be done." Clay said.
"The Doctor has been waiting..." Snak hissed.
Something about them seemed... off. More than they already were. They were almost emotionless, as if being... directly controlled. But by who…?
Poison—!
"Speaking of, I better go find one." I inched towards the door.
Their magic blocked me off.
"You will not stop this Semi. This time you will not win." Specs stated.
"Win, wha—? That war's over!" I reminded him.
"Not until the Doctor's plan has succeeded." he walked closer. "When he has rewritten history, and has made the future better than the past." he explained.
W.D had told me that the day I... when he...
"T-That's not how I interpreted what he said..." I stepped back.
"You do not know what awaits you should this fail Semi." he stared at me through his glasses as they glared in the lights. "The world, the galaxy, the universe itself will cease to be." he stopped a few feet from me.
"A bet dramatic don'cha think?" I shrugged.
"Not when it is the truth." Clay replied.
"Well, let me go get the others and uh, we can talk about this and... help out." I suggested. They kept their blank gazes on me. "Hey, we talked about this didn't we? I said I was sorry, you forgave me, all that jazz?" I tried to remind them.
"Your past actions and forgiveness do not have a bearing on this Semi. Neither does your living." Specs summoned his magic.
"Just so you know..." I took a step back. "All those shots before didn't exactly hurt me. My uh, defense is pretty high." I informed him. Poison—! The poison still hurt though...! Can't defend against that.
"Defenses can be broken." Specs said, firing off his sharp claw like magic.
Not my defenses pal.
I dodged the shots and countered at them, all of them firing back right away. I dodged the flurry of magic attacks and let off a blaster at them. They somehow got around it and I quickly countered with blue bones to catch them as they moved. They stumbled through them, but seemed unaffected by the damage they took. Before they could make their next move I sent a blaster at Specs and hit him with it. He survived it and countered. Shock that he survived he blast so well, I failed move out of the way of his attack. It knocked me back, but my defense kept it from getting through. I moved with the force and used it to get myself back upright, summoning a bone sword at the same time.
"Come on Chara, help me out attack wise too." I said to myself.
Then I remembered; their knife. I still had it on me.
They launched their attacks again at me again, and the poison I had flared up and made me stagger when I needed to dodge, causing me to get hit by quite a few. One that scraped by me was a poison attack, only making the condition worse. I couldn't afford to get directly hit by one of those again. I fired back, and so did they. Only a few of my attacks connected, while theirs did nothing to me. This was going to be a long battle, but it would end in a win for me. Not that I wanted it to… but... I did… I felt something motivating me to attack relentlessly, to show no mercy. It was like all my LV was being used against me to take me back to the way I was before. Angry. Hateful. Fearful... Callous... I reached behind me and took hold of the knife behind my belt… But shook my head to keep it from filling with blind rage. As much as I hate these guys I'm not killing them. I can't. I'm supposed to be moving past this. Their magic stuck me while I was distracted, along with a poison attack that drained my hp by the second.
"We can't... talk about this...?!" I staggered from the hit.
"The Doctor wants you out of the picture Semi. There can be no disruptions to his plan." Specs stated.
"I guess... he still doesn't trust... me..." I felt weaker.
"No." he replied.
"Funny... I trust him..." I replied, weakly laughing. "Despite... this..." I cringed, losing my balance.
"You are too unpredictable Semi. Too much of a threat. You are not worth saving in this broken timeline." he summoned his magic.
"This timeline...?" I wondered. "W.D is planning to use the Rift, right?" I asked.
"For a purpose of his yes. Not for time travel." he told me.
"If it were to be used, the universe would split into 2 separate realities." Clay explained. "That cannot happen." he stated firmly.
"That would be bad yeah..." I groaned in pain. "So what is his plan?" I asked.
"You do not need to concern yourself with that." Specs said.
"You won't remember any of this once he's done anyway!" Snak proclaimed.
I don't like what this is implying...
"Where is he? Let me talk to him directly…!" I demanded.
They stared at me in silence.
"I am afraid he is too busy to make time for you." Specs stated.
The poison took effect again and I could tell I was getting closer to being dusted by it. I needed to get out of here and find the others before it got that far… I stared out at them, surrounding me... I might have to kill them, just to survive this...
This has become a kill or be killed situation.
I gathered my focus, gripping the hilt of the knife at my back, but someone else magic came blasting through from the doorway at the monsters. I heard a howl, and Noto came leaping through the magic debris in the air at Specs. She pinned him down and growled at the other two to scare them off. Bone magic came raining in and knocked the other two back while Noto kept Specs down. Everyone came rushing in behind the attacks. Arial was thrown forward with gravity magic and kicked Snak square on, knocking him to the wall. Calibri's pan hit Clay, and someone's magic shot up from the floor at him, landing him next to Snak. Noto grabbed Specs and tossed him up, where a wave of bones knocked him over to the other two. All three landed together, quickly defeated in one turn.
"Yeah! Good coordination!" Papyrus cheered.
Poison—! Stinkin' stupid poison—!
"Dad!" Arial caught me as I fell over in pain.
"Heh, nice moves Dot." I winked up to her.
"My god you look worse than ever." she said with a worried expression.
"It's called dying..." I wheezed.
"I cannot afford to keep healing everyone." she held me up.
"Then don't. Just get rid of the poison." I told her.
"Poison? I-I have never healed poison!" she exclaimed.
"Let me." Calibri knelt down to me.
Her healing magic rushed through me and I felt the poison disappear.
"Thank you..." I heaved in relief, falling into Arial's arms. I might just live now.
"T-They are getting back up!" Tahoma warned us.
I sensed their magic coming at us and shoved Arial and Calibri to the floor to avoid it. Their attacks flew over and I got myself up to counter the next wave, which came as soon as I was up, giving me no time to react. A sheet of white magic blocked the attacks last second, cracking under the damage, and protected all of us.
"Enough of this!" Mystrium's commanding voice rang out. "Stow your magic displacements, or I shall send you back to the Void from wince you came!" he threatened them. They all stood back and stopped their attack. Heh. Mystrium's back to normal I see.
"Semi." he snapped his finger to summon me. I winced in surprise and hurried over to him out of habit. "This Rift is powerless correct?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the others.
"Just got it disconnected." I reported.
"Good." he replied.
I waited for what he had to say next. But he uh... didn't continue.
"Do you want me go find some cuffs for these three or...?" I asked.
His eyes widened.
"I... did not think past that." he stated surprised with himself. "But knowing the Rift is without power I shall not have to worry about it at the least." he said more seriously.
"Right, but, there's another problem." I decided to tell him, getting a quick glance from him. "Another party is involved in this whole... fiasco." I told him.
Noto suddenly came up and sniffed me for some reason. I attempted to pat her head, and was able to. She was too distracted with my smell to notice it seemed.
"Who?" he asked.
As Noto's eyes met mine… I knew exactly who it was.
"W.D Gaster, my supposedly dead brother." I answered.
His eyes narrowed.
"What? Uncle...?" Arial gasped.
"I am aware." Mystrium replied.
"You are?" I asked surprised.
"He and my grandfather have been at odds for thousands of years I have come to discover. The two have fought in a war that has spanned all time, concluding here at this place, at this time." he explained. "Both have altered history to end here in their victory, but…." he paused.
"Who's really going to win?" I looked at the assistants. "And whoa hold on did you say grandfather?!" I panicked and looked up at him. "Don't tell me he's—"
"The Dark Soul Monster." he interjected. "Yes." he said somberly, then looked disgusted for a moment. "Mastic Monstar is the Lord and King of the Black Sands Kingdom to the south of these lands on the surface. He is a master of magical corruption, and the reason we are all here." he explained.
"He will not exist once the Doctor sees his plan through." Specs stated. "He will be destroyed, and the underground will be free of his evil influence." he added.
"I think you mean the world… right?" I corrected him.
"This war will not be won by W.D. It is not possible." Mystrium replied. "Not time travel nor reset can erase him, only the Blade in the hands of a pure soul can end his reign." he explained with a bold stance.
And both are lost in Snowdin someplace right now...
"That is where you are mistaken." Clay said.
"The Doctor has had time to think this through Mystrium." Specs said.
"He's going to stop him, and the human half of his soul, and save everyone." Snak said.
"I would not be so sure of that." Mystrium raised a brow at them. "Not even the human army of the Raba kingdom could defeat him, and that was when he was at his weakest." he informed them.
"You underestimate the Doctor." Specs replied.
"And you underestimate the monster who conquered kingdoms in a single day." Mystrium replied with anger. "I myself have played part in his wars and have seen his mastery of tactics. You will not get ahead of him. I would not be surprised if I am still playing part in his master game even now..." he growled under his breath.
"So let's work together then!" Papyrus told everyone.
"Why don't we?" I offered the three.
They looked our way with blank expressions.
Suddenly, I sensed an anomaly. Me and Mystrium were the first to react to it. It came from the Rift as it suddenly sparked to life with power and began to charge. In the conductor, below in the massive gap, electricity sparked up, then was suddenly pulled back down. Up from the gap came the girl, Suzy. She flew up out of it and landed at the front of the Rift. And she was here alone...
I gasped out the start of a word when she attacked with her magic. A massive wave of bone magic arracks hit me and knocked me to the floor. The magic was corrupted and tore into my soul, leaving behind a painful, cold, feeling. I struggled to recover from the damage... I struggled to even breath… I sensed my soul fighting to survive, trying to force a reset of time. But because of Frisk... that wasn't happening...
"Dad!" Arial came to help.
All of them stood to defend me while she helped me up. My vision was blurred for a moment, but I could see Suzy beginning another attack. W.D's followers attacked Mystrium, and Suzy attacked the others around me. Everyone was knocked back except me. And that was on purpose. I faced Suzy, almost losing my balance, but Noto caught me, whimpering with concern. They stood still as I held onto them for support.
"Where... are the others?" I cringed in pain.
As the Rift drew in power behind her, she giggled and spun a full circle on her heels. She must have bypassed the controls somewhere down there and reconnected it to the CORE, which was the worse thing to do. Without the proper control system regulating the power, this thing could easily overload. But I bet you know that if you're really W.D...
"Don't worry about them, they'll be here." she winked. "Once I've made sure none of you will in interfere." her eye flashed with magical power.
I sensed reality flicker. It had to have been Frisk, wherever they and Sans were. I staggered towards Suzy, and Noto barked angrily at her.
"Oh hush up you mutt!" Suzy snarled at them. "You agreed to this just like all the others!" she hissed.
"Agreed to what...?" I struggled to speak.
Suzy narrowed her eyes at me for a moment. Her stare reminded me of W.D... This whole situation reminded me of all the times I had met him here... and we fought each other...
"Over 1,000 years of planning; learning, studying, altering history, training, watching, listening..." she paused. "Waiting." she looked right at me. "No one, Mastic nor you, will stop me from seeing this through...!" she growled.
I sensed her magic building, and got myself ready to fight her.
"What exactly are you planning to do?" I asked, cringing in pain still. My HP was incredibly low, but that wasn't going to stop me. She laughed as the Rift sparked with electricity behind her. "W.D." I stepped towards him. "WHAT are you doing?" I asked again. She raised a brow of interest at me when I said his name. I took another step forward and stood up straight past the pain I was feeling. "Why did you toss the Star Blade along with Calibri into the Void? Why did you give Arial WP? Why did you use Sans for— whatever it was you got from him?" I asked in anger. "Why bring a human here!?" I shouted.
She stood on her toes and held her head high with a wide smile.
"I had to keep the Blade safe from the monster, obviously. Calibri I kept there just for you, so she could keep you reined in when you arrived in this time." she winked. "Arial was to keep your soul from being taken by Mastic, which, almost happened!" she laughed. "And Sansy I needed to get everything YOU destroyed rebuilt and operational. And to empower my soul with Will Power; Determination; Resoluteness; whatever you want to call it." she explained. "As for Frisk, well, they're lucky number 8 on my attempts to get a strong human down here to use the Star Blade!" she shrugged her hands.
"What?!" Arial exclaimed. "YOU are the reason all those humans came here? And were... k-killed…!" she stuttered with fear.
Humans? Dang, what else did I miss? What all happened after I was gone?!
"They died because they were weak." Suzy replied uncaring.
"And for what?" I growled in anger.
I saw Suzy wince, and sensed something that made me uneasy.
"You wanted a human and the Star Blade here at the same time." Papyrus stepped forward. "And it is obvious you expected Semi to be here as well and made sure to keep him unaware of your plan." he rubbed his chin. "I have the feeling there is more to this, something involving the Rift." he added with suspicion.
"Ou, someone's been paying attention." she replied in a childish tone.
"If everything you have said so far is true, I can only conclude you have been working to led everything to this point." Papyrus told her.
"Yup!" she winked.
"You have a living human soul. The Star Blade. All of us to use against Semi. And Sans to blindly help you with your... fake friendship!" he said disgusted.
"I wouldn't call it fake. We did have some good times together!" she smiled.
"And now we are all here along with you with the Rift powered on. Powered to do... something..." he lost his confidence, as well as information to run off of I'm sure.
"Take a guess. I'm interested to see what you come up with." she grinned at him.
I watched Papyrus intently as he thought about it, he had things figured out pretty well up until now. I thought about the answer myself. The Rift, as it was, could create a portal to different dimensions. But, if Suzy got Sans to help her finish it, and she just came up from the shaft... She could have just installed the magical element convertor, giving it the ability to turn magical electricity into W.D's theorized Time Magic element. I wasn't going to question where she got it from, but I had the sinking feeling that was what she had been doing down there. And if so, we were in the greatest of danger. This Rift could do just about anything now.
"Something to do with your broken soul that Sans helped you with?" Papyrus guessed.
"Sooo close! But not entirely wrong!" she laughed.
"There is something else?" Arial asked worried.
The Rift sparked and went dark for a moment, then activated, colliding concentrated electricity and magical energy into each other just above the shaft. As I watched it tear through space and time in a swirl of energy, I began to shiver in fear. It wasn't because of the Rift though, or even bad memories. It was... dread...
"I'm afraid none of you will get to see the ultimate outcome." Suzy stepped back towards the Rift.
W.D's assistants stopped anyone from moving to stop her. I tried to stop her myself, but she quickly fired her magic at me. Noto shoved me out of the way and took the shots. I heard Noto yelp at the hit, and Suzy winced in pain at the same moment.
"And if this fails..." Suzy wheezed a laugh. "No one will be seeing anything." her eyes went blank in terror.
The Rift flashed as the portal was stabilized. The light filled the room and I heard electricity sparking through the circuits. Along with... voices...? I got up and tried to look towards the Rift, but the light from it wasn't fading. The CORE's power fluctuated for a moment, then thankfully returned to normal. The light began to fade, and the sounds coming from the Rift grew quiet. Noto I noticed was gone, but everyone else was alright. As the light disappeared, I got up and saw..
Him.
It really was him… He stood crouched over on all fours, his claws cutting into the metal floor. His tail wiped across the metal behind him, creating sparks, then he rose up and let out a distorted roar. He fell back onto his hands and locked his sights on me. The dread I sensed from him paralyzed me. He was broken both in body and soul; his bone scuffed and scared, his soul flickering between different forms— It was as if he had been pulled right out of the Rift he had fallen into. His soul was not entirely here, but somehow he was holding his original form. Just barely...
"W.D..?" Calibri gasped.
"I-I can't believe.." Arial stuttered.
Tahoma hid behind her. Papyrus stood by, hiding his fear pretty well. I stood my ground as well as W.D stared me down with his flashing eyes. When he began walking towards me Papyrus cut him off, but I moved him out of the way with magic. This was my problem to deal with, and I wasn't afraid to face it head on. W.D rose to his hind legs as he drew closer. I took some steps back as he stood tall over me. He looked ready to tear his sharp claws right through me... I'd forgotten just how tall he used to be, and standing in his shadow... made me very uneasy…
"Do not try to stop me Semi." his eyes were glowing brightly. "I have come too far to fail in saving you now." he stated, his voice sounding... broken.
"Saving me...?" I replied confused.
He grabbed me by my head and tossed me back at the others. I collided with Arial and Tahoma, and we crashed to the floor all at once. I saw W.D moving back towards the Rift, watching me closely, but Papyrus cut him off again, blocking an attack from one of the assistants at the same time. W.D stopped and stared at him.
"I don't understand." Papyrus shivered in fear.
"I doubt you could." W.D replied in a cold tone.
"You used everyone here to get what you wanted, but I fail to see what it is you used me for. If you were Noto, why did you help me so much? Why am I here? Why be... a friend to me, if you were just going to hurt everyone later on!?" he demanded to know. W.D didn't answer. "Why did you not try to tell me about this? That you were a broken soul? We could have helped you without all this fighting! Why did you not try to tell Semi it was you? He's your brother isn't he?!" he gestured towards me. W.D was visibly shaken. Papyrus expression then showed his understanding. "Do you not trust him?" he put the question to him.
W.D stepped back shaking his head.
"No... No! I couldn't! It would not have worked!" he shouted in fear.
"Why not?" I asked him, turning his attention to me.
His expression was hard to read... because I could tell he was feeling multiple emotions at once as he looked at me.
"I will n-not let you r-repeat history..." he stuttered.
I walked towards him, ready to stop him before HE repeated history, but he lashed out at my first step with magic attacks. I countered his magic attacks and defended the others beside me. He tossed Papyrus aside with magic, and fell back into his creature stance.
"I will not let any of you fools stop me!" he snarled in anger. "I have given up too much for this to fail now! I WILL save you Semi! No matter what it takes!" he declared with crazed eyes.
"You're insane W.D..." I whispered.
He was making the same mistake as me. He was too desperate.
"This timeline as a whole is destined to be destroyed." he stood on his hind legs in front of the activated Rift. "But I will change that, by changing all of history. And you will not fall to that monster's corruption." his tail whipped behind him.
Does he mean to use the Rift to go back in time, to... stop me...?
"You open a way to the past, and that monster will jump right through to this time." I warned him. "And if you alter that much history, there is no telling what might happen to all reality!" I sternly added.
"That did not seem to worry you, Semi." he stared me down.
My anger summoned a blaster at him, but his assistants shot their magic through me to stop my attack. Their magic didn't hurt me, so I turned the blaster at them.
"Dad no!" Arial shouted at me.
I winced, and W.D's broken magic shot through me. He fired on the others as well, but they managed to dodge the attacks.
"This timeline is lost." W.D said with a tired voice. "By creating an alternate timeline, reality will survive in it, while it is destroyed here. We both dreaded the idea of such an alternate timeline existing along the first, but in order to create a better future, we must erase all the damage that has been done up to this point." he explained.
"Damage...?" I panted.
Reality flickered around me, but it wasn't because my soul wanted to reset. In fact, I did not sense any attempt to reset. Was that... reality itself breaking down? Don't tell me W.D is right about that.
"I will change everything to save you. From yourself, from that monster..." he began to cry. "From ME!" he said angrily.
His soul grew cold, just like Sans' had earlier... It was corrupted...
By Sadness.
No... That's been his weakness all this time, just like Sans! He…
"W.D..." I reached out to him, only now understanding the damage I had caused to him.
The Rift flashed again, and W.D's expression turned to one of shock. We both looked at the controls and saw his assistants, they faces covered by a dark haze like Mystrium had earlier. They had control of the Rift and had opened it to someplace else. Mystrium gasped and I looked back at the Rift to see a familiar silhouette standing in its light.
Everything... has been planned from the start...
He was here.
I drew Chara's knife out, and nearly tripped over myself when I moved to attack. I was too weak to fight that corrupted human again. One hit from him and I would be dusted. Or worse... I looked at my hand, and a drop of liquefied magic fell from it to the floor. The magic making up my body was beginning to destabilize as the WP kept me alive. Hold it together Semi. You can't die just yet... not like this...!
Sans... Frisk... Where are you two...?
My soul attempted to reset on its own, but time itself seemed to feedback into me like a bad magic spell. I could sense time breaking down, as my connection to it didn't feel the same. It really was breaking down… And so was I.
"Well... This is indeed a welcome surprise." the callous soul human spoke as he walked out from the Rift. The Rift's portal collapsed behind him, and I saw his smug face as he glanced around the room at everyone. His sights stopped on Mystrium. "So good to see you again Mystrium." he stated with an evil smile. Mystrium flinched back in fear. Someone shot their magic at him, but he easily dodged it. "You monster's have such weak souls. Souls prone to kindness rather than power." he muffled a laugh. "Corruption is the only way to reveal a monster's true power. So is you wish to attack me, do so with all your hate! Show me what you are capable of doing with that magic of yours when you are pushed beyond your limits!" he shouted out, inviting everyone to attack him. I held myself back from attacking him, so did everyone else thankfully. "Oh come now. Do not let your fear hinder you." his gaze turned to me. "Let it empower you." he smiled. I ignored my fear, and debated what to do… "You seem a bit overwhelmed Semi." he laughed as I staggered in pain. "Or are you losing hope?" he mocked.
"There's always hope." I growled.
"You are no hero, monster." he said disappointed.
"No. I'm not." I admitted. "But someone out there is. And they won't give up in doing the right thing, no matter what you do." I held Chara's knife out at him. "I'm just here to stall you until they get here." I smiled.
"You speak of the Angel of prophecy?" he asked, somewhat interested.
"Maybe." I replied. "But I have someone specific in mind. And I trust him to do the right thing, and be the hero I was not. He's already proved he can be." I tried to laugh.
"Whom?" he pressured me.
We held our stare at each other. I hope I can stall this guy long enough for—
Magic hit the human and the assistant trio, and a flash blue went past me. The human was instantly struck, and while he staggered from the hit, magical bone attacks came at him from every angle before he could recover. The attacker struck him from behind, skidding to a stop in front of him. They had attacked using the Star Blade, and wasted no time turning around and holding it at him as he fell to his knees.
It was Sans.
Papyrus gasped in awe as Sans stood fearlessly before the human. His jacket looked like it was being blown by wind, adding to the heroic stance he was taking, heh. Frisk ran up beside me and asked if I was alright, but I paid them no mind. I was too busy watching my greatest hero. A true hero. The one had been waiting for.
Thank Asgore he got here before I had to fight this human...
"This is as far as you get, buddy." Sans told the human. "I already gave your friend a good wallop on the way here, so don't think it will be any easier for you." he informed him.
A soul of patience and kindness. Of true justice. He was a better monster than me in every way. That's why he acted on what he knew, why he believed the best in others, why he tried to help me... And it was why he was here now. He wasn't here for selfish reasons, he was here to right wrongs. My wrongs...
"Hold on..." Papyrus glanced around. "It that... theme music?!" he exclaimed in shock.
Now that it was quiet, I noticed the heroic music. It sounded like it was coming from Sans.
"It's Undyne's ringtone." Sans winked as he held out what looked like a cell phone. "Thought it would be a nice touch for my entrance, heh." he chuckled.
"Why didn't I ever think of that?" Papyrus replied amazed.
Frisk hurried to Sans' side and he passed the Star Blade to them.
"Fool..." the human laughed as he staggered up. "It is far too late to stop what is to come now." he said.
"Oh yeah?" Sans asked.
Frisk stood determined with the Blade ready.
"There is only one soul we are now lacking..." the human's gaze turned to me. I flinched back. If I fall again to my pride… "Even without it, we will not be stopped." he grinned.
W.D fell to the floor suddenly, and his 'assistants' gathered around him, and it didn't look like it was to help. I took a quick glance around and found everyone else was fine. We could stop this human by working together. As long as he was within the magnetic field of the CORE, where the monster half of the Dark Soul couldn't reach, we stood a decent chance of defeating him. I'll just have to ignore W.D for now, because stopping the human was far more important. The world is worth more then my brother…!
The CORE suddenly fell silent. All the power went out almost instantly, leaving us in the dark. Luckily, the auxiliary lights along the base of the walls came on right after. But in the dark silence... I felt an overwhelming sense of dread enter the room.
Splinters.
I really must thank you...
I could hear the monster in my head. He was here.
Especially HIM.
I looked at W.D. The three Goner monsters were keeping a strict watch on him. He looked up at the human with blank angry eyes.
"It is time this game of ours came to an end." his voice came from outside my mind. It came from the human, who was now surrounded by dark magic. Frisk stood their ground with the Star Blade beside Sans. "Do not think you can win simply because you wield that blade child." he chuckled with amusement. "The last two that tried to use it against me FAILED." he stated. Mystrium stood with his head hung low.
In an instant, the darkness of the monster swallowed the human, and their souls combined. Darkness filled the room, and within it I could sense their collective soul. There was no way to quantify their power; their LV… it was far beyond what I believed was the limit.
"Surrender now, and I will make good use of your corrupted souls rather than destroying them." he offered everyone, his voice echoing around us.
"Never." I shivered, summoning a bone sword.
Everyone stood with me, summoning their magic in different forms. But I sensed their fear... Their sadness, anger... everything negative. I ignored my own corrupting emotions and tried to focus. Even if they fall, I won't. I can't.
I'm not giving up like I did before.
"Very well." the monster replied, his tone indicating he wasn't surprised.
DIE.