Chapter Five
Lovers Quarrel
As the morning rose above Ebott, Alphys was still awake, staying awake all night. Alphy's personal quarters in the Aboveground research facility was packed, being filled with paperwork, parts and her inventions. In the corner was Mettaton, her robot assistant and a now famous automated super star. However, after the Ebottian Civil war, Mettaton was repurposed as a combat robot like they were years ago. Now with no enemies to face, Mettaton was left in Alphy's room, collecting dust and talking to her whenever important news arose. "Alphys, I've received a message from second in command Noose," Mettaton said, "N-Noose?! Military?" Alphys exclaimed, "W-What is it?! Did something happen?" Alphys remarked, "... The message is a status report. It is as follows: This is a message to Alphys, the head scientist of the Ebottian Science Association. I am here to tell you the events of the Gensokyian greeting party. I will tell you the events in chronological order. Once the Ebottian team entered Gensokyo, they were greeted by Yukari Yakumo, a "Sage" of Gensokyo, alongside her were several of her confidants. After a short tour and icebreaking conversation, a piece of the Ebottian group were herded into a local bar / pub, where they stayed for approximately one hour. Asgore and Commander Bulch were escorted to the party location, Noose was unable to obtain any information of the events before the party. Once the party had started, the "Sages" of Gensokyo, a group of Six, introduced themselves, those being as followed: Byakuren Hijiri, Suwako Moriya and Kanako Yasaka, Eirin Yagokoro and Kaguya Houraisan. Yukari Yakumo," Mettaton summarized.
Alphys sighed, "That's a lot of information… How did Noose obtain this?" Alphys asked, "Unknown, all we know is that Noose sent this message around 5:33 in the morning." Mettaton said, "C-Continue Mettaton…" "To match the rushed nature of the events prior, the party only lasted an hour, it was around this time when they revealed a second generation jet fighter, however no weapons were spotted." Mettaton said, "J-Jet fighter?! You mean Gensokyo has an army?" Alphys asked, "You've made a good point Alphys, this contradicts the prior expedition, it was revealed that Gensokyo has little to no military presence, or what would normally be classified as "Military". The most likely case is that the jet aircraft displayed that night was a reconnaissance plane, or just a simple test bed… Again the resources I am working with are a bit limited." Mettaton said, "S-So what does this mean?" Alphys asked, "The Gensokyian populace is much more advanced and smarter then Bulch originally thought, from the interactions with Yukari, it can be said that the people of Gensokyo have an intelligence level or even surpassing ours, despite their feudal look. Overall, I think the most likely scenario we are dealing with here, is that Gensokyo is but another monster group that has been sealed away beyond our knowledge, from the quardinant values you sent me, Gensokyo borders Ebott." Mettaton said, just then, the sound of the portal reopening could be heard, Alphys and Mettaton rushing out of the room.
Exiting the portal was Noose, Commander Bulch alongside him. "Noose, C-Commander Bulch!" Alphys shouted, "Greetings Alphys, good to be back home…" Noose said, "Yes, yes… Very good indeed," Bulch said, walking up to Alphys. "W-Where's everyone else? Did something happen!?" Alphys asked, "Not at all, me and Noose just decided to leave early. We had Yukari assist us in leaving," Bulch said, "I see, w-well it's good that you all are getting along… But still… Is Asgore and Frisk ok?" Alphys asked, "Completely fine, but don't think we left for no reason, you see, Noose just got a call from President Garsin's staff, apparently he wished to conduct an opening party of his own." Bulch said.
Alphys sighed, "That quick? Geeze… This Yukari and President Garsin are taking things really fast…" Alphys said, "Your telling me, but from what they were saying the president just wants to meet Yukari to become familiar." Noose said, just then, the rest of the Ebottians teleported in, Yukari behind them.
A man in a black suit adjusted his tie, opening the door for Frisk and Yukari, motioning the rest to get into the car behind them. Inside was President Garsin himself, to a normal person, meeting Garsin would be a big shock, but over the years Frisk had become a well ranked member of the Ebottian upper class. Yukari slowly got in, making sure not to damage her elaborate dress. The president bowed his head, "Greetings, welcome to Ebott… My name is Garsin Winters, 13th President of the Ebottian Republic," Garsin said. "Yukari Yakumo, Sage of the land of fantasy, Gensokyo, pleased to meet you," Yukari said. "So, let me start off by saying that I'm pretty perplexed. We shared a border with you for so long, yet had no knowledge of it," Garsin said. Yukari chuckled, "Quite so, but not to change the subject… What's this country's relationship with monsters?" Yukari asked, Garsin cleared his throat, "It's been a complicated one, you see. Us humans and monsters haven't always agreed the most, our history has been filled with violence, even now… But I sense things are clearing up…" Garsin said, "I'm sorry to hear that… What happened?" Yukari asked, "Even before the civil war, humanity and monsters have been warring. Our ancestors had a war, the monsters lost, being forced to be sealed away inside Mount Ebott, using ancient magic, a power less and less people have been able to perform… Years later, Frisk over here fell down the mountain. Through some miracle they were able to pacify the monsters, leading them back to the surface… That's when the civil war happened…" Garsin said.
"The Pro-Monster humans, alongside their comrades, fought the Anti-Monster nationalists for a year. Resulting in the deaths of thousands…" Garsin said, a deep tone over his voice. "I see, your people have had a rough past. It makes me grateful that our Gensokyo is so peaceful… But what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Yukari asked, "My apologies Lady Yukari, what I called you here for is the future relations between our nations. Things have been happening pretty rapidly, but I have great hope that together we can aid each other!" Garsin said, Yukari nodded, "I agree, our people would be more than happy to aid each other. Gensokyo has been pretty isolated for the longest time you see… So, what will be our first order of business?" Yukari asked, "Oh yes, I feel that the plausible next move would—" "Mr. President, there's a van blocking the road!" The driver shouted, "W-What!? Stop the vehicl—" Just then an RPG landed near the presidential car, the explosion and shrapnel breaking the windows. The convoy was immediately peppered with gunfire from several buildings, the van driving up to the lead car. "Mr. President get down, Lady Yukari, get down as well!" "Oh don't worry about me, you two just handle it," Yukari said. The rear car pulled beside the President's car, blocking the small arms fire, nationalists firing onto the civilians and presidential guard below.
Molotolvs were thrown onto the streets, soon the quiet capital of Ebott resembled what it did a year ago. Undyne, now a police officer, was unfortunately caught in the battle, a bullet hitting her shoulder, a human officer helping her into cover. "This is Golden Rose One! The presidential car has been ambushed, requesting air and ground support immediately!" The driver shouted, the van that had blocked the road, rammed into the presidential car, Frisk only caught a glimpse of his maddened eyes before the van bursted into flame, an explosive going off. The bomb ripped into the two cars, killing the driver, the shrapnel scattering around the car. Thankfully the president was crouching behind the seat, Yukari still not fazed from the battle. Out of the corner of Frisk's eyes, they noticed a nationalist with an RPG pointing towards them. Out of instinct, Frisk opening the car door, grabbing Garsin's tie and pushing Yukari out of the car before diving onto the concrete. Despite Frisk's small stature, they were able to do this surprisingly easy, the car erupting into flame completely. Yukari starred in surprise, seemingly caught off guard from the explosion, "M-My… This place really is hectic…" Yukari remarked, the president brushed his tattered clothes, standing up.
Back when Garsin was first elected, he was a "replacement President", his last two predecessors being killed by Nationalists, during his time there have been over thirty attempts on his life. All unable to kill him… Sans, Papyrus and Asgore were in the other car, just able to slip by before the explosion, now taking cover behind the burning presidential car. "Frisk! You ok!?" Sans shouted, Frisk nodded, saying that the president and Yukari were ok to, "Good, good! I-I see Undyne, I-Im going to save her," Sans said. A gaster blaster appeared, blasting away a group of nationalists on the roof of a building, Sans sending a wave of bones as he ran to Undyne. Helicopters flew overhead, firing rockets into the buildings along the street, civilians fleeing in a panic. A convoy of police cars drove into the area, an RPG hitting the lead car, "Human stay down! The Great Papyrus will assist you!" Papyrus shouted, pulling out a pistol, fighting at the nationalists, by now the gunfire had let up, the police dismounting, forming a protective wall around the president's convoy.
A police officer came up to Frisk and the President, "President Garsin, are you alright!?" The officer asked, "Fine as I'll ever be, tell my daughter I'll be late tonight, got caught up in morning traffic…" Garsin said, fighter jets flying over. "S-Sir you're alright! ME and the rest of the platoon will clear out the remaining resistance, get in the APC now!" A Ebotian soldier shouted, "Right, unfortunately my car has been dinged up… But these things are replaceable, what about Lady Yukari?" Garsin asked, Yukari shook her head, "I'm fine, just a little surprised, I'll get in the armored vehicle if you want me to…" Yukari said, "You'd be safer anyways… Get in before any more of those thugs show up…" The soldier said. Just then, the soldier pulled out a pistol, firing it at Yukari, and in an instant, Frisk took her place. Several bullets ripped into Frisk, Yukari quickly summoning a stop sign, knocking out the soldier. "You didn't have to do that, you know… But of course you have the power of determination… Correct?" Yukari asked, Frisk nodded weakly, "So you've noticed… They're no ordinary human, they possess a strong ability, Determination…" Garsin said the APC began to turn its turret around to the presidential guard and police. "Frisk… Lady Yukari, we are all too influential to stay here any longer… All listening to this radio, we are leaving the area! Retreat the best way you can! This is a job for the military…" Garsin said, "Let's go! Down here!" Garsin continued, running down a thin alleyway, Frisk and Yukari following him.
The sounds of heavy gunfire echoed down the alley, Garsin pulling out his pistol, "Sir Garsin, why haven't you used your firearm?" Yukari asked, "This one's special, I had it costume made by a general during the Civil War, don't use it unless its an emergency," Garsin explained. "Mr. President, roger, our combined force is splitting up into small groups, a loyalist group is egressing to the ambush point to finish them off! We will meet up at Celestial Park for air evacuation!" A police man shouted, "I thought so, heading there now…" Garsin responded, as they continued to run down the winding alley, Frisk's pace started to stutter, almost tripping. "Human, It is obvious you are critically injured," Yukari said, Frisk admitted that they were in desperate need of medical attention, Yukari picking Frisk up. "Do your best to keep pressure on they're wounds, it looked pretty bad last time I checked!" Garsin said, blood trickled down the brick floor as the end of the alley was in sight. Soon the light of the outside had enveloped their faces, the firefight extending to the evac point, the park was in a square shape, a series of streets surrounding it. The old theater and apartment complex were facing the park, the team making a run for it as sniper fire whizzed by. Jets flew overhead, dropping bombs over buildings as tanks rolled down the road for support. This was no small scale skirmish anymore, this was all out war. The bleeding Frisk alongside the president was rushed to a helicopter, Yukari declining the offer as the helicopter rose to the sky. Sans gritted his teeth as he fired a gaster blaster down the streets, hoping to hit something.
"Is Frisk ok!?" Sans shouted, "I can assure you they'll recover…" Yukari said, "It's kinda odd… Somehow, I feel like we've met before," Sans said. Yukari chuckled, "I feel so too, perhaps in another world…," Yukari said, "Maybe, maybe… Since we brought you all the way here, mind if ya help us out a bit?" Sans asked, Yukari looked around the cityscape, "I don't see why not, the resistance here seems a little hectic, but not too much to handle…" Yukari said, a stop sign appearing in her hand. The local law enforcement had now been cornered into the park, more air support on its way. The true numbers of the nationalists was hard to make out, but swarms of them were hurdling themselves at the park, ignoring any casualty. Formations were erased, as Sans fired his gaster blasters erratically, damaging buildings and vehicles from the blast.
Undyne ran over to Sans and Yukari, having been crudely bandaged up, "Pretty hectic huh!?" Undyne asked, "U-Undyne!?" Sans shouted, "Hey Sans, long time no see! Kind of a difficulty change eh? Sorry, I've been playing a lot of video games with Alphys lately…" Undyne said, "Sure looks like one right now, b-but your injury, why didn't you evacuate?" Sans asked, "Are you kidding? You think I'd just run from this kinda fight?!" Undyne shouted, firing wildly. "H-Hey, who's this lady?" Undyne asked, "She's the foreigner I called you about last night," Sans said. Just then, a mob of terrorists broke through a group of policemen, gunning them down as they charged forward. Sans was caught off guard, the mob beating him over the head, before Yukari eviscerated the crowd with her stop sign, shocking Undyne. Gunfire erupted in the park, the rest of the mob firing at Yukari in desperation, the bullets making impact, but not faltering the Sage. An attack helicopter flew over, firing missiles at Yukari, a Gaster blaster knocking out of the sky. Yukari used a gap to teleport the missiles to impact a mob down the street. "To think this is a problem here… How often does this occur?" Yukari asked, "Not too often… Depends on the day," Undyne said, the now falling helicopter careened into the park, enveloping the whole area in flames.
Suddenly, San's radio turned on, "S-Sans, this is Alphys! Respond!" Alphys shouted, "This is Sans, don't worry, the President and Frisk are alright… Just got ambushed, that's all…" Sans said, "This is not the time to be m-modest! The situation in the city is getting worse, from the reports it seems they're launching a full on coup! I'm sending Mettaton right now, it seems they'll have another taste of combat after all…" Alphys remarked, "Is the Gensokyian there?" Alphys asked, "Yeah… She's here, what is it?" Sans asked, "Lady Yukari, I apologize for the inconvenience—" "Not at all! This is the most excitement i've had in a while, I'll aid in your efforts, but I need to be home by noon. It's Chen's birthday you see," Yukari said. As they left the park, the streets were filled with combat, the loyalist tanks were taking grievous fire from buildings alongside the park. The team ran, ducking behind one of the tanks as it reversed, relentless gunfire pelting its armor. The tank turned its turret to the building, an RPG whizzing by. The street erupted as the tanks collectively showed the surrounding buildings what terrorists were left enveloped in the explosions. Just then, the lead tank was ripped apart by a railgun, the tank splintering into thousands of pieces. The shrapnel sent the team flying, Undyne taking the most damage, her body cutoning San's impact. A cloud of dust and ash covered the street, making it almost impossible to see.
Out of the cloud, the sound of mechanical limbs echoed, the dim outline of a mech appearing. The remaining tanks fired into the smoke, the mechanical beast charged forward, missiles flying into the air, destroying the tanks in quick succession. Sans slowly got to his feet, Yukari helping Undyne up, "Ugh… Shit, S-Sans… I d-don't think I can go on like this…" Undyne said. "Yukari, get Undyne out of here please, I'll keep this thing busy for a while!" Sans shouted, she nodded, gapping away as the smoke cleared. "Where's Noose! Where is that lying, traitorous heap!?" The mech shouted from its speakers, the mech in front of Sans towered over him, being around nine meters tall. The walker resembled that of a turtle, large individual plates covering a second armored hull. Below it had two stubby legs, these being the most armored. For weapons, the mech had two, sword like compartments, a railgun on both sides. A missile battery was stationed inside this compartment, some of its gantries being empty from use. Poking out of its hull was a pointy, almost bird-like head, the face of its human pilot on a screen on the end. Sans immediately started running towards it, gaster blasters burning chunks off it's armor, the second layer being unaffected. The mech retaliated, a railgun ripping apart the ground beneath Sans, sending him into a burning building. "Pathetic, Pathetic! Pathetic!" The mech shouted, Sans crawled out of the building, parts of his skeleton forming cracks. A swarm of gaster blasters appeared, but were shot out of the sky as Sans regained his footing. Not only did this combat walker have two rail guns and missiles, but it also had an array of machine guns as well.
Sans gritted his teeth, "Who are you?!" Sans shouted, "Who am I? Simple, I'm Sampson, Zero's ace walker pilot, I know you've heard of me skeleton!" Sampson shouted, "I kinda had a hunch, but was unsure, you're all alike anyways…" Sans replied, "That's a bit rude, you should be grateful I performed some renovation, not that your president would've done any better!" Sampson replied, "Sorry, I'm full, I don't have much of an appetite for Politics. Let's get this over with so I can return home…" San said, rushing forward once again. Machine gun rounds came inches from Sans before he dove into an alley, a swarm of gaster blasters and bones chipping away at the mech. A railgun bolt demolished the buildings near the alley, collapsing the small space, but not before Sans escaped. Sans ran under the mech, clinging onto its legs as it tried to shake him off, distracting it just in time for a helicopter to fly in. The helicopter deployed Mettaton, the mech throwing Sans off. "Mettaton…" Sampson muttered, the docile looking robot then morphed, taking on a humanoid appearance, being converted for combat. Mettaton's body was covered in armor plating, one of his eyes being replaced by a rangefinder, looking like a menacing red eye. Mettaton carried a sword in his hand, the blade glowing a burning orange. "Mettaton, engage and disable the Nationalist mech!" Alphys shouted, the helicopter flying away, "Mettaton copies, Sans, clear the area, there will be a great number of complications in a few seconds!" Mettaton commanded, "R-Right, you got this bud!" Sans shouted, running away as the two robots lined up for a duel. "It's been a while Mettaton," Sampson said, "Yes, it's been a year since our last engagement, but I've improved over that time… I won't fail again—" Mettaton said, his sentence being cut off by a hail of gunfire, impacting his armor.
Mettaton ran into the gunfire, dozens of bullets denting his armor, blocking what he could with his sword. Sampson's rail guns fired in unison, the robot dodging just in time, but not before a batch of missiles exploded near him. Unlike Sans, Mettaton used the blast to launch himself into the air, landing on top of the mech. Mettaton then began relentlessly slicing off bits and pieces, the mech swerving and stumbling frantically. Mettaton then located the entrance hatch, but as he did so, a pile bunker ripped into his arm, the broken limb flying into the air. The watch swung upon, as the Mech began to tumble to the ground, the bald Mech pilot punching the robot, but not before his own arm was sliced off. As the mech fell to the ground, Sampson grinned, grabbing ahold of Mettaton before jumping off the mech, flinging Mettaton with the mech. The walker hit the ground, Mettaton being all but destroyed from the impact. "M-Mettaton! Are you alright!? Respond! Mettaton!" Alphys shouted, "We must go back! Mettaton's been injured! Respond!"
Frisk had been rushed to the hospital long ago, the President being sent there for hiding. Frisk layed in bed, gunfire and explosions being heard outside as staff rushed around the hospital. "Getting pretty bad out there… Glad we took the early route out of there…" Garsin said, Frisk nodded, a bandage over their lower body. Yukari teleporting behind them seamlessly, "Greetings you two," Yukari said. President Garsin was startled, turning around quickly, "L-Lady Yukari! Thank god your back… I thought we lost you," Garsin said, Yukari chuckled, "Don't worry It'll take a lot to do me in," Yukari said. "That's a relief… We'd have some real explaining to do if you died…" Garsin said, "How's the child? Frisk was it?" Yukari asked, "Doing better, took quite the injury, but thankfully no extensive damage," Garsin said. "H-Hey, what time is it?" Yukari asked, "What time is it? Uhh, its 12:10, why do you ask?" Garsin asked, "I need to run an errand, its Chen's birthday today and I need to buy her a cake and a present…" Yukari said, "W-What!? Are you serious, thats suicide, going shopping out there!" Garsin remarked, "Don't fret President, I'll be just fine… While I'm at it, I'll aid the war effort as much as I can—" "No! Don't go!" Garsin shouted, before Yukari left the room, as Garsin went into the hall, the sage was gone.
"She's gone…" Frisk muttered, Garsin lowered his head, "It appears so… It appears so…"
Unknown Location / 12:11
The bleeding woman stumbled into a small eastern house, her voice as raspy and hoarse as before. "Lacy… Why here…?" She said to herself, closing the door behind her, "Why here… This place is a ghost town…" She muttered before sighing, "If the numbers are correct, it should be in here…" She muttered, entering the bathroom. Inside was a mirror, the reflection revealing a pale, sickly white face. In an instant she covered her face, shaking her head, "N-No! No—! … … Calm down…" She said, looking at a moldy, disgusting bathtub. She opened the shower curtain, revealing a large briefcase, "As expected… But why did the foundation leave it here? In a village like this…" She said, picking up the briefcase, making sure not to look at her reflection. The woman's hair was wispy and long, giving off an even more ghostly appearance. As she walked out, she noticed a phone ringing, "Lacey!" She said, running over to the phone, frantically answering it, "Hello, hello!" She asked, "Hey, how's it been? Make it ok?" Lacey asked, "Fine I suppose… So tell me, why on earth was there a foundation cache here?" The woman asked, "Who knows, but good thing you got, there's a fortune worth of money in there!" Lacey said, "Y-Yeah… We'll need it if we're going to get out of this garbage heap…" The woman said, "So, still glued to that computer?" The woman asked, "Oh shut it! What are you, my father?" Lacey asked, "Besides, it's a great way to make new friends, I haven't had this much fun since I went to that festival when I was a child!" Lacey remarked. The blooded woman sighed once more, "Lucky… The time spent with my friends wasn't so bright… So dark…" The woman said, "There there, come on, bring that money back to the trailer house, I know just the guy who might offer us a ride out of here!" Lacey said.
