just chaos basically chapter 78:
After some quick goodbyes, the skeletons, Toriel, and Suzy packed into the elevator and headed straight for the path that led up above New Home and to Asgore's home. Suzy was a little ball of frustration, claws, and teeth. She was frowning and bristly, but didn't know what to do with herself. She grabbed tight onto Sans's arm, scowling at nothing; digging her talons lightly against the bone. Her grip tightened at every bump and rumble of the elevator.
"You believe me, right?" she asked in the smallest of whispers.
"Hm?" he said.
"Bout the ghost."
"Told ya I did," he said. "You were right last time."
"…Okay."
"Try not to let it bother you too much, dear one," Toriel said gently. "We've all seen a strange phantom or two over the course of all this."
The kid nodded, but still, she gripped against the skeleton harder.
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On the paths above New Home, there was a little change in the scenery. Some of the parks within view and a couple of the wider streets were interrupted by tall cabins— places for the Hotland evacuees to stay, no doubt. But still, the mountain rumbled. A spider or two had set up webbing above sections of the city, and those had already caught a few falling rocks. That was a good idea, Sans thought. He wasn't sure why the spell that should have been circulating at the top of the cavern hadn't activated to stop them, but he guessed that was pretty typical considering everything else that was going on. He snagged his phone back from Papyrus and messaged Muffet on the UnderNet about putting something similar where the Snowdin refugees ended up.
"How much is the commission, dearie? ;3 " was the swift reply, instantly followed up by, "Just kidding, of course, I am the Mayor after all!"
She wasn't, but he had zero desire to correct her.
.
Outside Asgore's house was an unusual sight as well. Several tables, round and square, were set up out front, covered in mismatched tablecloths. Asgore gleefully placed different teapots on top of them, while the human kids, Mak and Ellie, darted around, racing each other to put cups on saucers. Boyd, scruffier than before and with deep, dark circles under his eyes, was sitting off to the side with a book in one hand and an overbaked shortbread cookie in the other. He caught sight of the group first and greeted them with a slight smile and a nod.
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"Hi there, King Uncle and humans!" Papyrus called.
"Howdy!" Asgore said brightly.
Makena waved and Ellie rushed in front of the tables and bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.
"Suuuuzzyyy!" she shouted. "Hiiiiii!"
Suzy paused, startled, then awkwardly waved back.
"Asgore, what's all this?" Toriel asked.
"Ah!" He smiled bashfully and rubbed his mane. "A tea party! I know it may be a little silly, but I really think there is no better way to soothe the nerves." He winked, directing it mostly at Papyrus. "I used to do this with Undyne all the time, you know."
"You did?! Oh! Of course! And I bet you'd try all her tea mixes, too!" Papyrus said, perking up.
Asgore guffawed. "Indeed we did! She has such a good palate for it!" He tilted his head. "Oh. No Gaster or Alphys?"
Toriel shook her head. She pressed in closer to him and his face instantly flushed.
"The earthquakes are a danger," she said in a rushed, quiet voice. "They are working on the CORE, but, as Gaster explained it, all the jolts of time travel are wearing on it. Things will most likely keep progressing in a negative way. They will do their best to keep it steady so Sans's machine can be attached to it. We must keep everyone safe until then."
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Asgore blinked. "So that's… not just two regions, it's all of it, then?" he whispered.
"I think so, yes," she said.
"Then do we evacuate everyone?"
"To where? The surface?"
"Well, why not?" he said. "It's an option, now, isn't it? That or bring as many as we can to New Home and prop up the mountain from the inside."
"Roof can't fall on your head if the only thing up there is sky," Sans put in, sliding in close.
Asgore nodded quickly, staring at Toriel.
"We can set up a temporary settlement on the plateau or in the forest," she said. "We have lived through worse."
Asgore clasped his hands together. "We'll… We'll have tea; we'll calm down, and then I will head to the square and announce it. Get things moving. Toriel, would you be so kind as to oversee people coming out?"
She nodded. "Better safe than sorry," she said.
"Thank you." He turned to the others and raised his voice up again. "Alright! Let's get settled in, there are a few teas to try, and I've made some cookies and scones, too! Come, come, let's take a seat!"
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As he moved to herd the kids and Papyrus towards the tables, Toriel stood back, folding her arms tight. Sans shot her a look.
"Sup?"
"I'm just thinking of how… lucky we are," she said quietly. "If this had happened with the barrier still up… I don't want to consider it." She smiled tepidly. "In all my years here, I can count the number of truly damaging earthquakes on one hand. So, some thanks for small mercies, I suppose." She pointed her snout towards the purple crocodaur, now awkwardly seated between the two human kids and staring at a jam jar as if it were some alien artefact. "Do you think Suzy is alright?"
"Not sure," he admitted. "I dunno if it's void junk or what."
"I hope it doesn't harm her," she said.
"She almost bit the arm off some void Gaster, I think she'll be okay," he said with a grin.
Toriel cracked a small smile. "A very tough little one."
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A small rumble of stone paused their discussion, punctuated by the breaking of glass as the jar of jam tumbled from Suzy's claws, getting blueberry goo on both her and the ground beneath her.
"Crash!" Ellie said loudly, and Mak began to laugh.
"Aah, I didn't mean to!" Suzy said shrilly.
"It's alright, little one," Asgore said with a laugh. He came over to pick up the few jar shards. "I have plenty more."
Another rattle, more aggressive this time. The teacups clattered loudly. Boyd got to his feet and put a hand on the back of his daughter's chair, shooting Asgore a worried look. The big King winced, but he quickly clapped his hands together and put on a smile.
"Let me get you each a nice cup of tea," he said, looking to Toriel and Sans as well. "Please, take a seat."
The extra request was unsaid, but understood— keep the kids calm. Sans shrugged and plunked down beside his brother, taking one of the shortbread cookies and munching on it.
"Sans! You're getting crumbs everywhere," Papyrus said.
Sans winked. "You callin' me crumby?"
"SANS, PLEASE."
Makena snorted into his scone.
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Toriel held in a worried sigh. She was about to join them when her ears perked to the sound of large feet on the stone. She turned to see an armoured, spotty rabbit sentry bounding up, a little short of breath. The sentry froze, long ears drooping at the sight of Toriel, jaw drooping, but then quickly looked to Asgore and bent in a deep bow.
"Your Highness," the rabbit said quickly. "There's something going on in New Home."
"Oh my," Asgore said, stepping forward. "Are you alright? Would you like some tea?"
The rabbit straightened up and shook her head quickly. "Big stones are c-coming down! I need to go help, but you need to know—!"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, what about the defensive sonata?" Asgore asked worriedly.
"It didn't activate," the rabbit said swiftly. "We've got some spider silk going up, but it's not enough. W-We don't know what's going on, but—"
"Start guiding people towards the castle," Toriel said steadily. "Get them on a path towards the barrier chamber. Spread the word amongst the other guards."
"Wh…?" The rabbit looked between Toriel and Asgore, but then nodded quickly and saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"
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The sentry bounded off, and Boyd almost followed her.
"Wait one moment, friend," Asgore said, putting his hand on the man's shoulder.
"I gotta go find June," he said. "She went down that way an hour ago. Textin' her didn't work."
"We'll go!" Papyrus said quickly, jumping to his feet and dragging Sans with him. "We're much faster! We'll find her."
Boyd frowned slightly, but he nodded. He thumped Papyrus on the shoulder. "Thanks, mate, I'm countin' on ya."
"I will be there soon," Asgore said.
"Get these guys out first," Sans said. "…Humans are squishy, y'know?"
"Are we?!" Ellie squeaked.
"I think a little bit?" Mak said.
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"I wanna come," Suzy said, hopping to her feet. She flinched and looked down at the jam. "Ew."
"Kid, it's safer here," Sans said.
"So?!"
He laughed. He bent down and took her by the shoulders. "You're a little brawler, ain't ya? They might need ya."
"But last time I stopped paying attention to you, you pretty much died," she growled.
He snorted and mussed up her hair. "And that was my bad luck, not yours. Stick with Toriel."
"You're going to do great!" Papyrus assured her, sticking his thumb up. "We'll be back soon! And we have our phones on! So don't worry."
The kid grimaced, but she nodded. Papyrus dipped to give her a tight, warm hug, waved to the others, then scooped Sans up over his shoulder and took off at a sprint.
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Toriel grimaced. She gestured to the kids. "Alright, little ones, grab your snacks. We will finish this in the fresh air, alright?"
"Miss Toriel, should we… help, somehow?" Mak asked.
"Oh, dear one, that is a lovely thought," she said. "But you are our guests, and we would very much prefer you to stay as safe as possible." She nodded at Boyd. "We will take the path you came in through. Do you understand?"
"…It's underground, is there another way?" he asked.
She shook her head. The man bristled.
"Then I'll take point, one of you in the middle with the kids, the other at the back. Think that's safest."
Toriel nodded and headed for the door, holding it open. "Come on, now, little ones."
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Ellie grabbed up an armful of cookies, while Makena chugged his tea. The two of them hurried inside with Boyd. Suzy lingered for a moment, staring at nothing, before she jolted and rushed to follow them, leaving a little trail of jam behind her.
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Asgore watched to make sure they were gone, then hurried to Toriel's side. "I-I should be out there. I need to go to the city, I have to help, I—"
"You can double back," she said. "I understand how you feel. For now, focus on these people." She gave a little smile. "Your guards are reliable. They will have already started sheltering the citizens without your word."
He took a deep breath. "You're right. They are wonderful. I'll head there after this."
"Perfect," she said. "Come."
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The ground beneath their feet rumbled. Something cracked. Asgore went into the house and Toriel closed the door quickly, just as a huge chunk of stone fell and smashed one of the tables to bits.
xXxXx
Meanwhile, Papyrus ran until he and Sans reached to overlook looking down on New Home again.
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It was chaos. Chunks of rock had already busted through some buildings. One of the cabins in the street was half flattened and they could see the tiny spec of a monster dragging another one out. Sans winced.
"Shit," he muttered.
"Shit," Papyrus agreed. He shielded his eyes with his hand and peered around. "Is it the same layout you know?"
"Nnnnope."
"Triple shit. How the heck do we even see—?" He yelped as the ground rumbled underfoot, and he grabbed Sans and pulled him away from the edge, just in case. "Ugh, what a mess."
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Sans looked thoughtful. He vanished for just an instant and returned with a telescope. He handed it off to his brother. "Blind for about a minute after a warp," he said.
"I understand. Thanks." He lifted the scope to his eye and peered around for a few long seconds. Then, a gasp. "Nyeh! I think I see her!"
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He pulled the telescope away from his face; it had left a bright red circle around his eye. He pointed way off at a park he could hardly see except for half a collapsed gazebo.
"Is it far?" Sans asked,
"Nnnnot if I run!"
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Papyrus tossed the telescope over his shoulder, scooped his brother up and, with his soul flaring bright, he took a leap down off the edge. A small, rocky outcrop was his first foothold down, then another; then the roof of some old storehouse. As soon as his boots hit the cobblestone, he was off and running again.
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They passed roads already blocked with rubble and monsters rushing to get somewhere safer. A long spider in guard's armour swung over rooftops but, just behind him, a rock tumbled down and smashed the silk trail he was making and he spiralled off into a bush.
"Are you alright?!" Papyrus called.
"Moooostly," the spider replied from somewhere. "Get to a shelter, citizens."
"We just came from the King's!" he said. "He wants people to go to the surface!"
"The surface?!" The spider poked his head from the shrubby. "Oh! No falling stuff! Good idea!" He shot out a web to the roof of the nearest building and zoomed away.
Papyrus took a breath and kept going.
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Over his shoulder, Sans felt the phone in his pocket buzz. He pulled it up and squinted at the screen to find a text from his father.
"CORE prep started. Progress soon. How goes?"
"bad" Sans replied. "new home busted. evacuating"
"Are you out?"
"soon"
"Let me know!"
"k"
"What's going on?" Papyrus asked.
"Hopefully I'm shootin' myself into space soon," he said. He winced. "After all this, didn't think it would be such a rush job."
"Of course it would be, why wouldn't some crazy nonsense go wrong at the last second?" Papyrus joked.
"Pff. Guess you're right."
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When they finally arrived at the park, Papyrus put his brother down on the grass. Debris from above was all over the place. June was still there, still looking like a deer. She knelt in front of the mostly collapsed gazebo, her arm outstretched into it.
"June!" Papyrus called loudly.
The woman twisted around a little, her eyes widening. "Papyrus?! Sans?!"
"We're here to take you out of here," Papyrus said.
"Oh! Just… Just a minute, I have to…" She leaned back into the gazebo. "Come on, sweetie, There's a few more people here now, okay? Don't be scared."
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The skeletons leaned in and saw the glint of eyes shining in a crevice between rock and broken wood.
"Oh my god, are you trapped?!" Papyrus cawed.
"They're not, their mother got caught on the other side of that mess, there." June pointed a little ways down the road where a large, stone archway had collapsed. "They're just too scared to come out."
"Ah, jeez," Sans said, squatting down. "Kiddo, c'mon, we'll get you back to your ma, alright?"
Whoever was in the stone made a frightened wuuuuu sound. Papyrus bent down, too. Suddenly, the eyes got big and bright.
"B-Blackletter?" they asked in a squeaky voice. "Th… The real Blackletter?"
Sans looked at his brother and grinned. Papyrus's eyes went wide, but he quickly puffed himself up and put his hand to his chest.
"Yes, exactly, it is I, the real Blackletter," he said, deepening his voice a little. "And definitely not just the actor who plays him. See?" He rolled up his sleeve to show the faint spiral tattoo on his arm. "I even have the grand Life Spiral marking as granted to me by the Guardian of the Forest. So! Um. Please come out. It's not safe to stay under all that stuff."
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Something shifted in the shadows. After a moment, a big, embarrassed-looking centipede crawled out. June's eyes looked like moons and she drew back and out of the way as the bug approached Papyrus. They held out their many arms and Papyrus gladly gave them a hug, patting them warmly on their reddish carapace.
"Wow, I can't believe it!" the bug child said.
"Yes, what an extremely strange turn of events," Papyrus said. He stood up and hurried towards the pile of rubble. "Now let's just get you over—"
"C-Can I see your bow?" the kid asked.
"Wh…?" Papyrus looked towards Sans and June, who both gestured an okay to him. He puffed up again and held out his hand— the great bow materialized instantly. "Why, of course!" He took a stance before the rocks and drew back a magical string. "CLEAR THE AREA BEHIND THE ARCH COLLAPSE, PLEASE!"
"Okay!" a small voice called back.
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Papyrus took a deep breath. He counted down from five in his head and then let a shaft of magic pierce into the stone like a drill. With a burst of dusty debris, a hole enough for a moderately-sized monster was carved. After a second, a much bigger centipede's face appeared. She stuck many of her little arms in the air, long antennae wiggling.
"My boy!" she cried.
"Mom!" the centipede said. He reared up and gave Papyrus another hug. "You're the best!" Then, he scuttled away as fast as he could.
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Papyrus beamed and waved. "You guys head towards the King's place now, please! Stay safe!"
"Great job," Sans said, sliding up beside him.
"I know! Thank you." He turned and grabbed June's hand and began to move back the way they'd come. "Come on, us too!"
"What's going on, exactly?" she asked. "Everything started shaking and—"
"Time stuff catchin' up with our main power source," Sans said.
"It's causing all these earthquakes," Papyrus said.
"Shouldn't there be some sort of failsafe?" June asked worriedly.
"There is, normally! It's just that nothing's working for some reason that's probably time-nonsense -related." He looked at Sans. "You can head back, if you want."
"Nope," he said.
"Wouldn't that be safer, though?"
"Not for you."
Papyrus sighed. "…Okay. Keep up, then!"
xXxXx
A part of a boulder had fallen on the path below Asgore's home before anyone had arrived. The way it was wedged into the ceiling and wall made it impassible without magic, so the King went to work, battering the thing with huge fists to carve a passageway through.
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Around them, the world shook. Asgore was starting to sweat, cold nerves making his insides churn. He could hear the echoes of stone clattering against stone. He had to be careful. He couldn't just blast the obstruction away. Too much at the top could cause further cave in. Too much power and he could hurt the others gathered around with the debris.
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It was only a few minutes before his fist crashed to the other side, but it felt like hours to him. Only then was he comfortable letting out a large burst of energy to shatter the rest. A big cloud of dust shot into his face, and he spluttered and coughed, but pulled away with a big smile.
"And there we go!" he said. "Easy as can be."
"Whoa, nice!" Mak said brightly.
"Yaaay, big King did it!" Ellie cheered.
"That was so cool!"
"He has super fists!"
Asgore smiled a little wider.
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Boyd patted him on the shoulder and went through the opening, reaching back to help the kids through. Toriel gave Asgore an approving nod and squeezed through as well. He followed, ducking low for his long horns.
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The group rushed as fast as they could to get out of the tunnel until they came to another walkway that looked down upon New Home. The disaster area was immediately apparent. Asgore stalled, hand to his mouth, as Boyd hurried the kids along.
"Asgore," Toriel said. "We have to get them out. We will come back in a few minutes to help."
He nodded swiftly and hurried back to his centre position. Suzy waited for Toriel, who quickly ushered her forward as well.
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In the golden Judgement Hall, some columns looked a little worse for wear, but otherwise the going was clear. The groaning and grinding of stone was still obvious to the sensitive, floppy ears of the royal monsters. Toriel eyed the ceiling suspiciously, but she kept moving.
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Through the next passageway and up to the garden, the ground shifted and grumbled, evoking a strange feeling like vertigo. Suzy grabbed onto Toriel's leg, and she bent and lifted the little monster into her arms.
"Brace for a large one," Toriel said.
"We're almost out," Asgore assured them.
She frowned. "Brace anyway."
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The dim cavern beyond the shining flowers had already seen some damage. Chunks of fallen stalactites littered the floor, forcing the group to step around them. Boyd set the path, then paused right before an ancient, carved archway.
"Crack in the floor here. Careful," he said. He stepped over it and then turned, offering his hand to his daughter. "C'mon, kiddo."
"Cookies, though," she said.
"Ellie."
"Aww…"
"Here." Mak grabbed some of the shortbreads to free up her hand and she grinned appreciatively.
She took her father's hand and he helped her do a little hop across the gap. Then, he guided Mak across in the same way. Asgore's step cleared it with ease.
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The stairs were in sight. Boyd checked ahead and stepped up the first few, only for a tremor of earth to hit. Something cracked. The man grunted and toppled backwards onto the ground, hitting it awkwardly. Ellie squeaked and rushed for him. Another crack. The whole room shook and Toriel raised one arm and a swath of fire above to incinerate any stray, little—
.
But, no. That wasn't a stray rock coming down, already halfway through the fire when she cast it. It was more like an entire hill. She let out some incoherent sound of dismay and saw Asgore come to the same conclusion. He dove for Makena and the gargantuan piece of mountain that crashed down slammed the ground so hard that Toriel jolted and lost her footing. She fell, cushioning Suzy in her arms.
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The great monster released the child and heaved herself up as fast as she could. She wailed, slamming her claws into the rock. She felt weak. Her fire spluttered under her hands.
"ASGORE?!" she yelled. "MAKENA?!"
"Holy shit," Boyd croaked from the other side of it. "Mak?!"
"Wh-Wh-What happened?" Ellie squealed.
"Get… Get them out of here," Toriel croaked. "Get the kids out!"
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She could hardly see. Her head ached. Her entire body was overwhelmed with nausea and cold. She dug her claws in and roared. Her limbs hurt. She felt stone crack beneath them. "Impossible. I-It… It's impossible. Come on. Come on, you old fool, why are you so weak?! Why are you—?"
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Heat.
.
A glow.
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Toriel's eyes lit up and she drew in a deep breath that snagged in her throat. She clawed through the rock and flame seeped out.
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Was that a noise?
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A cough?
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She dug as fast as she could, chucking chunks away as if they were made of styrofoam.
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She saw red beyond flame. White and gold. The fire spluttered out and a massive form raised out of the broken rock into an uncomfortable sitting position. All the air left Toriel's body and she dropped to her knees.
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Asgore's left horn was broken and red dust poured like sand from where it had snapped, and down his face and arms. Nonetheless, he smiled. Makena coughed. He was covered in dust— Asgore's and what was normal for being stuck under a rock, and the crumbs of a half-dozen shortbread cookies. Toriel let out a little wheeze and she reached out, gently pulling the boy from the King and holding him against her chest as she was afraid her soul might burn clear through her body.
"Oh dear," she whispered. "Oh dear, oh dear."
"I-I'm…" Mak coughed. "I'm f-fine, Miss T-Toriel."
"I know, dear one. I know." She set him up on his feet and forced a smile. She held his shoulders gently. "Whew, that was something, wasn't it! Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No, but the cookies broke," he said.
"That's a shame, but I'm sure there's more. Why don't you hurry up and go with Ellie and Suzy, alright?"
"Yeah. You're right." He turned and gave Asgore a big hug around the shoulders before hurrying away, brushing the dust out of his fluffy hair.
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Toriel saw spots. She rubbed her eyes and then grabbed Asgore to her, snarling. "You fool!"
"I know."
"You could have been—! You were almost—!" She sighed. "Sit still and let me heal you."
"…I'll need to return your magic," he said with a hoarse laugh.
"Wh…?" Toriel blinked. She felt her soul swell and heat coursed through her limbs. "How on earth—?"
"It was you who saved me." Asgore's smile grew a little. "Just like old times. I… never thought you would…" He coughed and laughed bashfully. "Sorry about the dust."
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Toriel's throat caught. She grimaced and held the huge monster close, her healing magic bursting like lavender flames beneath her hands as she sent ambient, green sparks to aid in the restorative aura. He slumped, all the tension leaving his body.
"Thank you," he said softly. "Without your magic, I doubt I could have—"
"I did it without even thinking," she said swiftly.
"I know. Like a true knight."
She gave him a gentle whack and Asgore laughed again.
"Don't bother trying to restore the horn," he said. "Just the eye."
"…Alright." She closed her eyes and focussed her energy on his, feeling the gaps in his body rebuild against hers. "… It did a number on you, did it not?"
"It could have been much worse," he said.
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"Sorry to interrupt," Boyd said, "but I can't find Suzy."
"What?!" Toriel barked, her eyes snapping open. "But she was just—!"
"I can go back and look," the man said.
"Let me," Asgore said, heaving himself to his feet. He wiped a hand across his face and blinked an eye that had come back red instead of deep green.
"You need to rest!" Toriel said.
"I'm going back to the city regardless, Toriel," he said.
"No. You…! You stay," she said. "Stay with the humans." She reached into her phone's inventory and pulled out an entire pie. She placed it into Asgore's hands and he looked at it with awe; like he might cry. "Eat this. Protect them if something else happens. I'll go."
"O-Okay," he said quietly— he almost sounded like a child.
"You too, human. Stay safe. Protect your daughter," Toriel said. "I… I'll find Suzy." She felt faint. She wanted to yell and light something on fire. She took a deep breath, rolled up her sleeves, and hurried back the way they'd come. "I will find her."
xXxXx
A ruckus was overtaking New Home, and it didn't look to be letting up. The ground was shaking and cracking, though nothing so wide anyone would vanish into. The real worry was the chunks from above. With every quake of the mountain, something else fell. If they were lucky, it was just something small and some disgruntled creature would shake their fist at the top of the cavern. Unlucky, though, and half a home might be squished against the road in a matter of seconds.
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Luckily, no casualties. But the situation certainly wasn't improving. It seemed like every couple blocks, Papyrus was stopping to help someone else. Sans's borrowed strength definitely didn't hurt, either. Wreckage was pretty easy to move with the power of a guard captain who regularly suplexed boulders in his bones.
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Along with them, June was no slouch. Though she had no magic or particular physical strength, she was quick on her feet and in the absence of guards, she guided monsters to unobstructed paths. People had to move fast, though, as things didn't stay the same for long.
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Just as they were clearing another park and shooing monsters on their way, Sans suddenly felt light headed. His vision scrambled and the wind was almost knocked from him.
"Paps," he called, his voice croaking. "Shift's comin'."
Papyrus, who was just a little ways away, getting some junk out of a path from the area, whipped around quickly. "Really?!" He reached out and grabbed June tight. "Try not to forget who we are, okay?!"
"I-I'll try?!" she said shrilly. "I—"
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Sans lost her words. He was suddenly somewhere else. He hadn't warped himself, but it seemed like the streets had changed beneath his feet. Whistling sirens blared in the air and glowing alert orbs pulsed high in the cavern, giving everything a worrying red hue. He'd seen this system activated a few times before, but it looked like the sonata above still wasn't coming on. Rocks, now reflecting a threatening red, were still tumbling downwards.
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At least they were easier to see, he thought without much relief.
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He took off down the street and grabbed his phone to call his brother. The connection sounded like nothing but garbage noise. He tried to text instead, looking up quickly, trying to see if anything might serve as a landmark. A big pillar of rock slammed to the ground about half a block away, and he guessed that would have to do.
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He headed straight there and, despite feeling exhausted just looking at it, sunk his fingertips into the rock's side and climbed to the top. He had a better view of the chaos from up there. With that red light everywhere, the city looked like it was burning. He picked out more guards than he'd seen before— more monsters in larger groups rushing out of the centre of town. There was also a tiny speck of light way above. His soul thunked and a chill ran through him.
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He looked around for Papyrus and June, hoping that they'd stayed together. He didn't see them, but an arrow of light shot up from a few blocks away. Sans breathed a sigh of relief. He jumped down from the rock and headed back to meet up with his brother.
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He hadn't gotten far before Papyrus ran into him and scooped him up off his feet into a tight hug.
"I was worried!" Papyrus said. "Everything suddenly looks like a horror movie!"
"Yeah, that's what an emergency alert's supposed to be like," Sans said as he was plunked back down. "Seen June?"
"Just here!" June jogged up, waving as she did. "Papyrus, you're fast!"
"Nyeh! Sorry," he said quickly.
"And Sans, you—! Your jacket changed."
Sans looked down at himself. Black jacket with blue detailing. He shrugged. "Another for the pile." He pointed off down the road. "Saw evacuation goin' that way."
"Then let's follow them," Papyrus said. "At least until we can see one of those upper walkways."
"We gotta hurry," Sans said, beckoning them to move with him. He pointed up at the top of cavern. "See that light?"
"…Is that the sun?" June asked.
"Sure is."
"But that means…" She gulped. "I see."
"What? What does it mean?" Papyrus asked.
"Some crack spread all the way up there," Sans said. "Meanin' it's only a matter of time before the whole roof of the cave comes in."
"What?! That's…! That's horrible, what if there's people still in the city?!"
"I, uh… I dunno, but—"
.
The ground quaked. The deep sound of grinding stone and sharp, ominous cracking seemed to come from everywhere. The cave growled and, suddenly, there was a little more light. Papyrus looked at his brother with wide, worried eyes. Sans grimaced.
"You got an idea?" he asked.
"Maybe. But we would maybe sort of kind of have to go closer to the centre of town."
"Excuse me?" June yelped. "Are you serious?"
Papyrus nodded quickly and looked at his brother. "Like you said," he said, "the roof can't fall on you if it's only sky up there. Right?"
Sans stared at his brother. Papyrus looked as determined as ever. His soul was already starting to glimmer. The short skeleton sighed. He looked at June apologetically.
"Guess you got two choices. You can—"
"I'm coming with you two," she said.
"Oh, okay, that's easy, then."
"I'm glad," Papyrus said. "Better to stick together." He took her hand. "Come on! Sans, keep up!"
.
As shards of the cavern kept falling, the three of them made their way to somewhere close to the centre of town— a wide market street that people were still trying to clear out from. The spotty rabbit sentry was there, hurrying citizens out of the area via one of the few streets that wasn't blocked yet.
"Hey, you guys! Get out of here!" she shouted at them. "Weren't you just at the King's?"
"Um, yes?" Papyrus said.
"Go to the roads out of the city, we're already way behind!"
"O-Okay, we will, thank you!" June called, sticking her hand up.
The rabbit nodded and hopped back to work.
.
Papyrus stared up and took a few wide, deliberate steps to position himself as close to the centre as he could, then turned to look at the widening crack. He rolled his fingers, called up his bow, and looked at Sans. "Here." He handed him his phone. "Use the magic book to boost me, okay? It'll save me some energy."
"Uh. Can I…?"
"If Undyne could, you can," he said.
"…Well. Shit, alright." Sans grabbed the book of Dirges and flipped through it quickly to find the boost spell they'd used. "I've, uh, never cast before."
"That's fine," Papyrus said. "Just give it a try."
.
Sans nodded. June scooted close to him to read over his shoulder and gently whistled the melody. He took a deep breath and set his soul aglow. Tentatively, he ran his magic along the notes, feeling them out. A spark of power prickled along his hands. He closed his eyes and let the melody sound in his head. Couldn't afford to screw this up.
"Mind, uh…? Mind whistlin' it again?" he asked.
"Got it." The human licked her lips and began to whistle.
Sans matched his soul to the notes she whistled and, a sudden burst of cyan erupted from him, crackling over Papyrus and making the rabbit guard jump as it ran through her, too.
"What the heck?!" she squeaked.
"Ah, sorry, just a magic boost," Sans said.
"It feels like you did it right!" Papyrus said.
"Don't launch us into the air this time," June teased.
"Nyeh heh! Hopefully I will not."
.
With cyan crackling between his bones, Papyrus drew a magic string and and pulled back. A beam of light concentrated in his hand. It burned with gold and white and he aimed it carefully.
"If I'm right, this should…" He released the burst of magic. "Vaporize it!"
.
The beam of light soared upwards, widening; burning through debris it was nothing. It slammed into the roof like an explosion of fireworks, and then—!
.
Nothing.
.
Papyrus drooped. "Aw."
"Not enough," Sans said apologetically.
"Is there anything we can do?" June asked. She rested a hand on her chest. "…Maybe, um…"
"I have no idea," Papyrus said, "I—"
A crack sounded from high above. The skeleton yelped and Sans winced as the gap grew wider.
"Um! Okay! We help with getting people out, then, right?"
"Yeah," Sans said.
.
"Papyrus, wait," June said. "Could my soul—?"
"No," Sans said.
"Human! June! Friend!" Papyrus said shrilly. "That kills you!"
"Are you sure?" she insisted.
"Yes!" He grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's get going!"
.
"HEY, YOU GUYS!" The rabbit sentry was back, bouncing up and down on her cyan-charged feet. "If you're just going to stick around here, come help me get some people outta here!"
"On our way!" Papyrus said, jogging after her. "Come on!"
.
The sentry guided them down a street, around a broken set of shops to another small park, made smaller by the fact that an apartment building seemed to have fallen straight down sideways onto it. There were a substantial amount of monsters there, dazed— some with minor but oozing injuries. There was a green oogly boogly guard and a flamingo-faced sphinx in a nurse hat trying to load the stunned monsters into large wheelbarrows.
.
June froze for a moment, hand to her mouth.
"Oh my god," Papyrus said. He grabbed the sentry gently by the arm. "D-Did anyone—?"
"Everyone's accounted for," the spotty rabbit assured him. "But we need to transport these guys out of here and some are too scared or out of it to walk right."
June fished in her pockets and pulled out a heaping handful of wrapped chocolates. "I have these, would that help?"
"Anything, honestly."
.
Papyrus instantly went to work with the sphinx, giving a gentle healing to some of the injured, while Sans used blue magic to transport more into the large wheelbarrows. June rushed between monsters, handing out chocolates and reassuring with words. While they did that, the sentry bounced back and forth, leaping up the side of the fallen building periodically, then doubling back up the road and returning to them.
.
Before they could finish, the world trembled again. The windows around them rattled and structures groaned. The rabbit's ears lifted high and her eyes grew large and round.
"HEADING OUT!" she shouted.
"We're not ready," June said quickly.
"Carry the ones that aren't ready, then," the rabbit said. "I hear a crack coming."
"Crap," Sans muttered. He grabbed one of the wheelbarrows from the sphinx and lifted it, much to the other monster's visible surprise.
"That's fine!" Papyrus helped a shrew and disoriented elemental upright, then moved on to a small family of slimes. "Come on, it's okay."
June grimaced. She pulled a skinny tabby cat to his feet, but he stumbled when he took a step. There was a small chunk missing from his leg. She gulped, grabbed him, and adjusted his arm around her shoulders to help hold him up.
"Th-Thanks," he said.
She nodded. "Just stay close, we'll get out of here."
.
"Come on, come on!" The sentry waved them along, bounding down the road, trying not to stumble as the earth shivered.
The light shifted a little. Something cracked. Sans dropped his end of the wheelbarrow and teleported straight at the rabbit, grabbing her and yanking her back and to the ground as a huge chunk of ceiling smashed the street right where she'd been, solidly blocking their way. The sentry shrieked and hugged Sans so tight his back popped, and all the other monsters burst into alarmed chaos.
.
"Sans!" Papyrus yelled as the elemental he'd helped clung tight to his arm and a little snake wrapped around his leg. "Should I shoot a hole through it?!"
"Probably," he croaked.
.
Everything shook. It sounded like thunder. Many monsters could hardly keep their balance and some were bowled over altogether. The oogly boogly struggled to hold her wheelbarrows up. One of them tipped, leaving a heap of dazed and whining occupants on the ground.
.
June hurried to catch up to the group, but she could feel the cobblestones moving under her feet. Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath her heel and she cried out, shoving the cat she carried forward as her leg plunged down into the maw of the earth.
"June?!" Papyrus whirled to search for her past the crowd.
"Oh. Shit," Sans said, blindly stumbling upright. "Where—?! Paps, grab 'er!"
.
The light shifted again and the world heaved. The woman yelped with pain and Papyrus peeled the other monsters from himself and ran back towards her. The cat was trying to get up, but he was frozen, eyes wide with terror as the earth behind him seemed to sink away.
"Wait," he breathed.
"Hang on!" Papyrus called. He raced past the feline and stretched his arm out towards June, trying to grasp her soul in blue.
It latched, but when he pulled, she cried out. He yelped and dropped the grip, leaning over and reaching out his hand instead as she sunk a little more. She looked up. Eyes widened. Her gaze floated over the group of monsters; of the stone on the only road before them. Then, she smiled a little.
"Papyrus, blow the top off this place, okay?"
"Grab me!" he shouted.
.
She didn't have time to answer. She vanished beneath a catastrophe of stone and a tidal wave of debris.
.
Papyrus gawked, frozen in place for only a moment until a glimmer of light green shone in the dust.
"No, no no no, wait," he breathed. "Wait, wait wait, that's wrong, I can—"
"What the hell happened?!" Sans called.
"She… She's…"
"…Wait, a human?" the cat squeaked.
.
The little green light floated up and up, resting right above Papyrus's hand. A burning, green soul, staining everything with its light. He gulped.
"June, can you…?"
Energy flitted down into his fingers. His brow furrowed.
"I… I see. Sans, I'm about to do something very stupid."
.
He clenched June's errant soul in his fist just in time for Sans to regain his vision and see him overwhelmed in blinding light.
.
The short skeleton must've spouted every swore he knew in two languages as he raced to his brother's side. The light turned a bright, acidic green and twisted like vines before bursting and revealing—
.
Papyrus. But taller.
.
The skeleton had four arms now, and antlers on the sides of his skull. His scarf mimicked that bright green of the soul he had claimed and now fanned out in a long end over his shoulders, each emblazoned with shining, golden circles. His bones were marked with green stripes, like the ones he'd painted on June, and spirals running up his bare arms. The ink mark around his eye had turned green, too. He was garbed in a white coat very similar to the biking windbreaker he'd had before, but longer. Geometric leaf patterns ran over its back and down the sides of the white pants he wore as well.
.
"…Paps?" Sans croaked.
Papyrus turned shining, chartreuse eyes on him and smiled. "Sorry, I told you it was stupid."
"Are you—? She didn't—?"
"…She's… alright. I mean, obviously not that alright, but alright all things considering." He held out his right arms and called up a version of his longbow that was taller than he was, entangled with vines of green magic. "Just like she said."
"Careful," Sans said weakly.
Papyrus smiled reassuringly. He leaned back, taking a long, deep breath, pulling the magic as the arrow formed. He aimed up, let the breath go, then released.
.
The arrow shot straight upwards, flaring intense green, white, and gold. It twisted in a spiral, growing wider and wider. An arrow— a drill— piercing straight into the heavens and casting bright, clear light down upon the whole city.
.
The rocks were gone. Dissolved to nothing but sparkling dust, like light snow. No cave to cave in.
.
Papyrus stood proudly, extra hands on his hips. He held the bow up in the beaming sunlight and let it dissolve, too. When he turned, the crowd of monsters erupted into adulations. He put his hands up quickly.
"A friend of mine had to… Had to give her soul for this to work," he said. "So let's cheer for her instead."
"How was a human even…? Oh, who cares." The rabbit sentry got up and saluted. "Thank you both."
The other monsters joined in. Papyrus smiled, but he looked like he might cry. He saluted in return, then put a hand on Sans's back.
"Just one second!" he said.
.
He took Sans off to the side behind a chunk of building and squatted down, and Sans immediately gave him a hug. The huge skeleton wilted and held him in return.
"Holy shit," Sans said.
"Tell me about it," Papyrus muttered.
"I'm sorry."
He shook his head. "She let me feel a little. We… wouldn't have been able to get her out in time without someone else going down, her leg was stuck."
"…Can she hear me?" Sans said.
"Sort of kind of? She's just a little there," Papyrus said. "She's really tired."
"No shit, a mountain just fell on her." He let out a weak laugh. "Let her know we're real grateful, alright?"
Papyrus nodded. "We'll tell her she was a hero when our sister fixes everything, too."
"Sure will." Sans heaved out a sigh and rubbed his head. He looked up at the clear, blue sky above them. "You guys did good."
"I know. Thank you." He smiled a bit. "She's glad." He straightened up. "I'm, um… Not sure if this… has a time limit, or what happens, but I'll keep helping here, in case there's more people who fell out of buildings or into crevices or something. You should head out."
"You sure?" Sans asked.
Papyrus nodded. "Absolutely! Plus. You don't need to protect me for a little bit, at least." He winked. "Definitely go check in with the others. Oh." His face fell. "Tell the humans, um… Well. Tell them the truth, I guess. At least Boyd."
"Yeah," he said. "Catch you there?"
Papyrus stuck all four thumbs up. "Yep! See you soon, brother."
.
Papyrus hurried to rejoin the others, much to their excitement. Sans reluctantly teleported away to the plateau.
.
He was met with some weird sounds and, though he couldn't see, he knew Asgore was about to seize him. He braced and was abruptly yanked off his feet and into a big, kingly hug.
"I'm so glad to see you," Asgore said.
Sans wished he could say the same, but he couldn't see at all. "What's goin' on?"
"Oh, you know, everything is… falling apart," he said. "Though… Toriel gave me some pie, so that's something, at least."
"What, you almost die or somethin'?"
"…Yes."
"Crap."
"It's alright now. How is the city?"
"Oh, it was real bad," Sans said. "Paps fixed… part of it, anyway."
"That's good! Did you find June?"
Sans flinched. Asgore let out a small, sad breath.
"Oh dear. What happened?"
"Wait 'til you see Paps."
"Oh god."
"Yeah. It, uh…" He sighed. "She tried to save some people and got caught in the mountain collapsin'."
.
Sans's sight began to filter back in time to see the King wipe his big, watery eyes, one of which was the wrong colour. One of his horns was also half-gone. It really must've been a disaster.
"She was… very kind. Very brave," he said. He straightened up and looked around, then lowered his voice. "…The humans are just a little ways down the path. Should I…?"
"I'll… tell 'em," Sans said.
"No. No, it's alright. I will. I will make sure they know Papyrus did nothing wrong. Oh. Also. I'm sorry, but, there is more bad news," Asgore said. "Suzy seems to have run off."
"…What?" Sans put a hand to his head. "Okay."
"Toriel's gone looking for her," he said. "I'm… not supposed to leave the humans alone until she returns but, the city…"
"Leave the city to Paps," Sans said. "Know where Tori is?"
"No clue," he said. "But Suzy vanished just after a cave in near where the barrier used to be."
Sans was exhausted. He felt a little sick. He nodded nonetheless. "I'll go."
.
The skeleton hurried back down into the shaking mountain and lit his eye up to see the dark better. The room just below the stairs was a disaster area. He took note of a spot where rock was shattered and specks of dust and crumbs lingered. What a nightmare.
.
He also noticed something else. Little jammy dinosaur footprints. He perked up and followed them.
.
The trail led back towards Asgore's house. Sans skipped over the judgement hall and back to the front of the home. He waited for a moment until his eyesight returned. He found the small puddle of jam had been re-stepped in, leaving a fresher track. He thanked his lucky stars for the messiness of kids.
.
He followed as far as he could, but where the trail stopped didn't make much sense. It was almost as if…
.
Sans warped again, this time to the CORE. He held his hand against the wall, and was once again prewarned of an impending goat-grabbing.
"Sans! Thank goodness." Toriel whisked him up and gave him a gentle squeeze. "You look absolutely bereft, my child."
"Heard 'bout Suzy," he said.
"Ah. Did you follow the tracks as well?"
He nodded.
"I tracked her here but I'm afraid I'm not sure how to proceed farther," she said, "or why in the world she would have come to this place, of all things."
"There's cameras on… some level. I dunno." His head ached. He needed a nap. "Maybe there's jam in the elevator."
"It's locked," she said.
Sans strolled up to it and stuck his pointy fingers in between the doors and shoved as hard as he could. Something snapped and the doors flung apart. He gestured to it and Toriel snorted laughing.
"I was trying to avoid that."
"No point. Just wreck stuff," he said.
"Maybe the Captain's worn off a little on you," she joked.
"Seems like that might be what I need."
.
There wasn't any jam visible in the elevator, but Toriel could smell a little blueberry somewhere within. They rode down to a floor Sans remembered having a control station, then went to find it.
.
Sure enough they found a room full of monitors that observed all kinds of areas of the CORE. There was one replaying the skeleton breaking the elevator on loop with the word CRIME? over top of the video in red. He laughed to himself and skimmed each one. He saw Alphys and his father on one— in one of the other control stations. Gaster was just leaving.
.
"Ah! There!" Toriel pointed out one of the larger screens on the right side of the room— one of the few that was in colour. "Where is that?"
Sans's soul did a sickening flip the second he saw Suzy. She was down in the heart of the CORE, just outside the deepest chamber. The way she was standing almost looked as if she was speaking to someone just off camera.
"Oh shit."
"What on earth is she doing?" Toriel asked shrilly.
"Dunno, but—"
.
The CORE rumbled. All the screens flickered and the skeleton nearly lost his footing. Toriel grabbed him and held him up. His vision scrambled into an incomprehensible mess. He squinted.
"Gotta go down there," he said. He was about to warp but a sickening chill passed through his whole body and he lurched forwards.
Toriel held him close again. "Sans! What's wrong? What's happening?"
"Either too many shifts or it's the time crap," he grunted.
"We'll go together," she said.
.
They hurried back to the elevator, only to find it occupied. Must've been Gaster. They took the stairs as far as they could, though the building was still shuddering. By the time they'd reached as low as they could on foot, the elevator was vacant again. They took it and plummeted down deep into the CORE, then rushed out, almost running right into Gaster.
.
"Ah!" the old skeleton yelped. "What are you two doing—?!"
"No time." Sans pushed passed him and flung open the doors to the CORE and was instantly assaulted by heat and visions of nonsense.
.
What he did see that was real, though, was Suzy. The purple crocodaur was right up at the console, her hair billowing in the magic-steeped wind.
.
"Suz, what're you doing?!" he called.
"Ah!" She whipped around and held out her hands. "I was wrong!"
"What?"
"Wait a second!" She turned back towards the massive pillar of energy and leaned up against the console before it. "Go, go!"
Some magic sang out, shrill and distorted, and so loud it made Sans feel sick. All he saw was red.
.
The rumbling stopped. Stilled. Sans's vision cleared to just a few ambient shards. He stared at the kid with bafflement.
"Wh…? What'd y'do, kid?" he asked.
"Nothing!" she said. "Not me!" She turned and raced out past him. "Sorry, bye, I'll catch up in a minute!"
.
Sans was flummoxed. He heard Gaster and Toriel exclaim, but Suzy protest and, presumably, race on back to the elevator. The short skeleton rubbed his head. The ground felt solid. The CORE's magic was all but lethargic.
.
"Sans!" Gaster called. "What was that?"
"I have no clue," he said.
"Wh…? Um. Hang on." The old skeleton went quiet for a moment. "Alphys is telling me everything looks relatively normal, all of a sudden."
"…Yeah." Sans turned his eyes up on the spiral pillar of magic. His soul seized and a cold sweat beaded at his brow.
.
Was that a red handprint against all that energy? Or was he imagining things? He snapped a photo and, sure enough, blazing red, so bright it almost hurt his eyes even in the picture, there it was. He'd never seen anything like it.
.
He had to go talk to Suzy.