Unmei Force Shattered Heroes: Dawn of Despair
Prologue: An Omen
In the Future Seeker universe…
As Richard and Siege had managed to finally return from their long war in Andaron, the two of them decided to take a rest, as they decided to commune with several of their members.
"Must be a real story, right down there, doesn't it?" Mokou remarked. "All these people, coming around here… and how much impact you brought. I'm surprised that Kaguya didn't partake as much in this."
"Oh, bite your tongue." Kaguya scoffed. "I was more concerned about keeping Tenmei safe than fighting. Besides, I can have my chance to deal with other threats when I'm not stuck with babysitting duties."
"Still, I never thought that things would get so serious." Gullveig remarked. "...We were teetering on the edge of something terrible."
"What could it possibly be…" Weiss answered back. "Call it wild instinct, but I have a feeling that something is going on."
As the group finished conversing, Mortimer soon approached them, a dire look on his face. "Magina just passed a word to me from a universe you apparently all know well. I need to see Siege and Richard immediately."
"Could you mean-" Richard remarked, before he then felt a sensation of dread, which coursed through his body, as it washed over him in pulses like a heart-beat.
"R-Richard…!?" Siege exclaimed, looking at him.
Richard focused on the sensation, closing his eyes, before he then followed the sensation right to the source, which was right where Richard was, as he could sense that his alternate self was finally complete… but he was slowly awakening.
"...It's finally come." Richard muttered softly. "...That time has finally arrived."
"What… what do you mean?" Shirli remarked, as she walked over, catching Richard's words.
"Siege, gather up the strongest." Richard remarked, as there was a serious look on his face. "...There's no telling what could possibly happen over there. We cannot afford to be caught off-guard for the slightest of windows if he comes undone."
"Tch. Is that right then?" Siege remarked, before looking towards Mortimer. "Mortimer, send a request out to King Baudimon of Andaron. We'll need the might of Randall and his crew, likely Galahad as well." Siege stated before turning towards Alear. "Alear, go and get Veyle. She almost rivals you and I in strength. And we cannot afford to waste a moment with strong warriors."
"Yes, right away." Alear nodded.
"Can I come, dad?" Mirai asked.
"No. The terrors and horrors we might face are far beyond what I will expose my own child to. Stay here with your loved one, Mirai. This is going to require some hefty firepower." Siege added, before he soon remembered something else. "...Dehya, what was the name of the assassin you all came across back in the Mushroom Kingdom?"
"Utsuna, I think her name was…" Dehya remarked.
"Give her a call. And have payments ready. We'll need her Time-Skipping abilities to help even the odds." Siege stated. "And last but not least…."
Siege soon turned to one of the other newest recruits, as he could be seen looking over his dark blade before turning to Siege, his golden eyes hardened.
"...I figured you might call on the might of a Demon Lord." The young looking man stated as he flared his magic. "Alright, I'm in. You're holding up your end of the deal, trying to find my universe to get my friends here. Least I can do is help out."
"Much obliged, Rimuru." Siege Bstated with a nod.
"I have one more." Richard stated, before he then left, before returning with Killia. "...His powers will be useful, and he will be enough to be able to do substantial damage should my other self go into whatever berserk form comes out of his ordeal."
"Tyrant Revelio can ensure that the advantage remains while I disrupt the strongest attacks that he could possibly unleash." Killia answered back. "...And I believe that my own strength and understanding of battle will be substantial for what comes next."
"So, that's it, just the ten of you, plus a couple other pick ups, factoring in Randall's crew." Kaguya remarked. "...I hope that none of you end up being wrecked. From what I heard from you guys… that other Richard is on a whole another level."
"But we are no spring chickens either." Richard remarked. "We faced gods, we faced demons, and we have found new strength in our tribulations. We are also prepared for what comes, and know that the only way to stop him is to thoroughly defeat him, no matter what he tries. I refuse to let the same fate that I reincarnated from ravage the Color-Verse a second time. All those heroes…"
"We won't let that happen." Alear declared. "No matter what it takes, we will save your alternate self from whatever despair has consumed his own soul. Even in his deepest moment of darkness… there is still a ray of hope that keeps him from being truly a monster."
"So, where shall we go, after we get news of Baudimon, Aylanda, and possibly Galahad?" Killia asked.
"Where else? Where the Unmei Force are. It's that sensation that I know that the time has finally come." Richard declared. "...They are about to sortie forth… and we must be sure that they know that we have their backs at the very least."
At the GFS Ryujin, in the Color-Verse…
The fragment-seekers were all gathered to be present, along with a large portion of the Unmei Force, as they laid before a large table, where Yukari was sitting on the end.
"...Say it again, what's going on?" Gus asked.
"X-Gaster's plans are finally in motion." Yukari declared. "X-Chara is currently in motion, intending on kickstarting his own plans to break free of his abusive creator."
"Then…" Corrin remarked. "Is he an ally-"
"No. No, he isn't. The logs make that very clear." Yukari firmly shot down Corrin's argument. "Stopping him early stands to force X-Gaster underground… and we can't have that. Our only choice is to run an interception with whatever actions he may do, to limit the collateral damage."
"Then who's going to go along with this?" Hitomi asked.
"For now, the fragment-bearers will be enough." Yukari answered back. "But make no mistake, because of what Magina has foreseen as a very likely outcome, if not almost inevitable, I will ensure that back-up will come to handle what comes next."
"You're not exactly filling me with confidence here…" Sanae grimaced.
"Believe me, you will understand that I kept these things secret for a reason." Yukari declared.
As the meeting was adjourned, the heroes were prepared to head off, and follow X-Chara's trail, only to find that there was another portal before them.
"Hey, where did this portal come from?" Sumireko remarked, before turning to Yukari. "...Did you bring someone here?"
"No, I do believe that this is the same reinforcements that helped us with Wano back then. And the ones that we lent two of our surviving Espers to, in order to retrieve the final fragment." Yukari remarked.
As Yukari deduced this, Siege would walk through, Alear and Veyle next to him, along with those mentioned before, as Randall led his group in right behind him, Galahad included, along with the purple haired assassin named Utsuna, bearing heavy resemblance to Hit in her outfit, as well as Rimuru and Killia.
"Hm. So this is the faction that the other Richard has been cultivating." Killia remarked, before examining the group. "Quite the number of familiar faces."
"They share many common members." FS!Richard remarked, before he then walked out, much to the surprise of the Unmei Force members. "What, you all look like you've seen a ghost."
"You're… the other Richard?" Sumireko remarked with shock.
"In the flesh." Richard answered back with a bow of his head. "I am not exactly the same kind of Richard as you might remember him as. Let's just say that the difference between us is the same as apples and pears are as fruits."
"Did you come here to assist us?" Meiling asked. "To prepare for what comes next?"
"That's right." Alear responded back. "Magina knew it, Richard, our Richard knew it, and we came here to ensure that you are all prepared for what comes next."
"Huh…" Eruza stated. "Now I understand why Yukari is fairly minimal when it comes to members taking this mission. Picky as well. Seems that you filled the numbers out well, eh?"
"Hm." Killia gently scoffed.
"Let's cut the bullshit and get to the point. Sitrep." Siege sternly said.
"You might not have the full vision from how this started, so allow me to provide some context." Yukari remarked. "A rogue agent of X-Gaster is about to start his plans, and it will be what will drag him out to be exposed. However, at the same time, his actions will cause mass destruction. That's why I've been preparing for members to interfere, to prevent the most terrible outcome from passing, without compromising the end of the plan itself."
"So… we will be mostly acting on reactive duty then." FS!Richard stated, as Yukari nodded. "...Right, where does the trail start?"
"One of the prime universes." Yukari stated, before she then opened a sukima. "Just so that you are warned beforehand. The worlds that you are going to find yourselves in are intertwined by a web of creativity and connections. And only several people have mapped it out fully to know how to follow a trail through them. You must follow me, and not deviate from the path. Trust me on this, or you risk being lost in the countless worlds that exist in that sphere of worlds."
"Understandable." FS!Richard nodded, before turning to Siege. "What about you, Siege?"
"We'll do exactly as ordered. Count on it." Siege affirmed.
"That's all I ask." Yukari stated. "Pass on through, and remember, do not cripple the rouge agent. You merely need to fend him off should he engage in hostilities. And be careful, he may be one person, but he is well prepared for interferers."
"We will keep that in mind." FS!Richard remarked, before he then entered through the sukima.
"Into the breach we go… just hold on, Richard… we'll get you back on your feet." Gus declared with determination in his voice.
As the rest of the group filed into the sukima, they found themselves in a small park, as they seemed to be bundled well together.
"...So far, everything's looking peaceful." Randall answered back. "...Too peaceful."
"...Don't let your guards down for a moment." Ezroa advised.
"No kidding… This place is scary…" Veyle remarked.
"Now, if we could just…" FS!Richard remarked, before he then turned around and came face to face with Sans. "Oh."
"Huh. Roleplayers?" Sans asked, as the skeleton seemed to be fairly calm, despite his sudden encounter with people like the entire group.
"You… could say that." Heiwa awkwardly chuckled.
"But seriously, we didn't think that we'd bump into you… Sans, if I remember correctly?" Meiling remarked, scratching her scalp.
"Wait, how do you know my name?" Sans remarked, as his stance became much more alert and guarded.
"We met some people who are from alternate places, as alternate 'yous', so to speak." Fs!Richard argued back. "So it's no surprise that we know your name. Don't get worried about us. We're not here to cause any trouble."
"Hm… you seem to have quite the mess of LV among you all." Sans remarked, as his right eye glowed blue for a moment, analyzing the group. "Care to explain?"
FS!Richard could only sigh, before turning to Siege. "...Siege, you know what he's talking about. And I don't feel like I'm the best guy to break this to our jokester skeleton as gently as possible. What's your say?" He asked his sworn brother.
"...Yeah. We have a lot of LOVE in us. But that's only because we've slain others with LOVE higher than ours." Siege bluntly explained.
"That so?" Sans asked, twitching his eye-socket in the place of a raised eye-brow.
"Yeah. Most of them are wretched jackasses who deserve to be in hell… frankly, some of us do too for some of our mistakes." Siege admitted. "But that won't stop us from fighting for what's truly right. We don't kill senselessly. We only kill those who deserve it. We're not genocidal bastards. But we aren't pacifists, either."
Sans looked at the group for a moment, before closing his eyes.
"Alright, I take your word on it." Sans answered back. "You all don't seem to be in a joking mood right now. So I'll spare ya the theatrics."
"What… did he just do?" Randall remarked, confused at what happened.
"That felt… Odd…." Ezroa remarked, having felt Sans peer into her very soul.
"One of his abilities is Judgement. He is a judge of sinners, of all kinds and all races." FS!Richard remarked. "He does this by accessing a record of one's own record of deeds. All of this data is inferred to determine a certain statistic, LOVE, or more correctly put, the Level Of Violence."
"And if I remember clearly…" Kaguya remarked. "That statistic refers to how willing one would hurt another. That is, an umbrella term for killing intent, villany, and all possible natures that lead to the fore-mentioned violence, or even murder. Our LV is scattered all over the place, because we have killed a fair amount of people, done some terrible things for varying levels of reasons. I doubt that any of us is truly pure as a LV1, which is what a true pacifist can be."
"Huh, and here I thought I was the only one who know these things." Sans chuckled slightly. "So, what brings you odd folks on this corner of the world collection?"
"We're following a trail." FS!Richard answered back. "And we-"
Suddenly, the entire world began to distort around the group, which alerted them.
"Huh? Did you guys break some sort of interdimensional law?" Sans remarked. "Because I swear that reality is coming apart at the seams here."
"No, reality's not coming apart, it's being shifted." FS!Richard stated. "Everyone, stick close. And eyes everywhere, I think that our rogue agent just arrived on the scene!"
Everyone immediately raised their guard, drawing their weapons, before the entire world turned into a white void, as Sans was pushed away from the group at a fair distance, too far out of earshot, but within the line of sight.
"Was this… X-Chara's, or X-Sans's doing…?" Suika remarked. "Seems like that he got some sort of wonky power after what happened on his side of things…"
"Is everything alright?" FS!Richard asked the group.
"I am not disturbed in the slightest." Killia stated.
"That was a real sudden pull, but I'm okay! So is Heiwa!" Popol exclaimed back.
"It will take more than a jarring experience for me to waver." Kearza remarked.
"To think you deal with threats like this on a daily basis… This could get quite fun." Galahad mused with a small smirk.
"Well we're not here for 'fun'." Siege stated tersely. "...Tridor, is there any chance you can figure out who caused this situation with your Lightbringer Magic?"
Tridor was silent, as he began to survey the area with his magic, before he then shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Siege." Tridor answered back. "But my magic yields no analysis on what happened. If someone mass-teleported us all here, they must have been tapping into the universe itself. No residual energies. It's as if someone tampered with reality itself."
"Concerning…" FS!Richard answered back.
"Over there!" Reisen exclaimed, pointing at Sans, who seemed to have found someone. "Do you think that you got a way to listen in?"
"I might." FS!Richard remarked, before discreetly forming a sukima, behind Sans's head, as Tridor used his own magic to mask its presence.
"Your voice can't be heard in this place." A child's voice remarked, as it was unfamiliar to the entire group. "And you don't need to introduce yourself, I know who you are. You are Sans, and you are living in a True Pacifist Timeline."
"Jackpot." FS!Richard remarked under his breath.
"...Dude, it has to be great having monsters and humans living together on the surface." The voice continued. "Your brother… Your friends… Even you… Everyone is so happy, aren't they? There's no need to fight again, right?"
"True Pacifist?" Griselda remarked. "Am I missing something here?"
"It's a term referring to timelines where a certain incident has been resolved fully with the truth." Kaguya explained. "A world built upon reconciliation and peace… an ideal world, so to speak.
"You don't need to use your powers now, right? After all, nobody is going to hurt you." The voice continued, as it gained a hint of bitterness to it. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say? Oh, don't worry. Your timeline won't change when you… Well… Let's just say no one will notice anything is different when you're gone… because…"
"We need to act, whatever that voice is doing, it's about to engage in hostilities." Randall declared.
"Took the words out of my mouth. But not everyone for now." FS!Richard remarked, before creating a sukima ahead of him. "Randall. Galahad, rush through."
Randall and Galahad rushed through it, just as the voice continued.
"...I… am… you!" The voice remarked, before Sans immediately reacted by gathering a trio of Gaster Blasters to respond to the implied threat, while Galahad and Randall had sword and lance pointed right near the figure.
"Wait, what trickery is this?" Randall growled, seeing X-Chara in his child form. "...This is what they're worried about?"
"Hm… a little bit of Mortimer in this one." Galahad remarked, before he then shifted his spear, as X-Chara winced slightly. "I wouldn't recommend you moving."
"Hey, wait! Calm down! I'm j-just joking with you!" X-Chara hastily said. "Did I drag you in with a few unwelcome guests?"
"You know, jokes are only funny when they're not morbid like that." Sans answered back.
"I just… I just want to be happy before I die… I only have one day left to live…" X-Chara declared. "I don't have anyone else. Please… let me spend time with our loved ones. Let me stay in your timeline for a while. I won't hurt anyone and-"
Sans merely turned around, and walked away.
"Hey! Where are you going? I haven't finished yet!" X-Chara shouted, as he pushed forward, only to be inched back by Randall's sword.
"I would be smart not to trespass one's boundaries, boy." Randall scowled harshly.
X-Chara watched Sans walk away, before he then clenched a fist.
"You know what. Fine… the hard way it is then!" X-Chara shouted, before the SOULs of Sans, Randall and Galahad immediately flashed blue, as Sans froze, understanding what was going on.
Suddenly, Sans was being dragged towards X-Chara, while Galahad and Randall were being slammed backwards, as a mass of blades suddenly glitched into existence, right in the path of the lord and the knight.
"Shit!" Richard exclaimed, before he then quickly formed a sukima to swallow Galahad and Randall, as they crashed onto the ground. "Stop him!"
As Utsuna and Killia were about to dart off, they heard the sound of cracking, as Sans keeled over, while X-Chara had half of a white monster SOUL, being Sans's own, as he was in the form of X-Sans, or Cross.
"Well, I don't know who just saved those two… but you should have never let your guard down. You should listen to Undyne when she gives you advice." Cross remarked. "I had just wanted a few minutes but now your selfishness has given me many years to live. That was much easier than being nice to you, huh? With this part of your soul, I can have a new bright life in your universe."
The entire world began to reform around them, pixel by pixel, until they were back in the same lush park that they started in, while Sans glared at Cross.
"C'mon, Sans. Don't look at me like that. I'm just giving you a looong break that will last-" Cross started, before Utsuna decided to stop time, while Killia immediately used a short-burst of Tyrant Revelio to move as well, as time stopped and the world went gray.
"It seems that we're too late to stop whatever this entity had planned." Killia remarked.
"Sadly, but at the very least we can strike while we can." Utsuna remarked, the world a mix of gray and painted glass as Utsuna prepared to charge.
Killia nodded, as the two of them immediately rushed forth, before then pummeling Cross with a barrage of attacks, as they held back, to avoid destroying Cross with overwhelming damage, although they were surprised that his body was far tougher than his small physique seemed.
They immediately backed away, as time flowed again, before Cross was interrupted by a string of blows, sending him crashing through a line of trees.
"Sans! Are you okay!?" FS!Richard asked, rushing over to the injured skeleton.
"He… He actually took half of my SOUL with him…!" Sans remarked. "What in the world is he…?"
"I don't know either, but I plan to find out." Gus remarked, as Cross immediately rushed back, with jagged bones in hands, rushing towards the group.
"Don't you try!" Alear exclaimed, before she then used Liberation to clash with Cross, as the two of them were locked, before they were sent back from each other.
"Well, I didn't know that I was so popular." Cross remarked sarcastically.
"Drop the act, and while you're at it, give back that half-SOUL." Kaguya growled, as she immediately brandished her naginata.
"Or else what?" Cross retorted back.
"We'll make you." Suika growled, as she smacked her fist into her open palm. "And whatever you tried just then, it ain't going to be enough. Pull all the tricks you like, you're not going to like what's coming for you if you don't."
"Face it. You're outnumbered, outmatched, and frankly, outclassed." Siege stated as he drew both Breaker of the Dark as well as Ragnell-Yato. "And I have half a mind to dice you to bits when given the chance."
"...Well, that changes things a lot." Cross remarked. "However, I didn't come all this way to just stop because some interlopers got in my way. So how about I even the odds a little. I might not have the numbers, but I have the people to give you a real headache."
Cross then snapped his fingers, as a trio of figures appeared, one that was familiar to Gus, if only due to reading up on them, as a draconic individual whose left arm ended in a stump, while the second was a female samurai that had long black hair, wielding a blood-coated katana, while the third was a man in wild-west gear, with an arsenal of gunnery on him. All three of them had pixellated white-crosses over their eyes.
"You know, I was holding these trump cards for later. But I know that you will hound me to no end if I let you all be." Cross remarked. "So enjoy these three. I have plenty more like them. Happened to be great servants who are a tad weak, but thanks to the power of OVERWRITE, they've been overclocked to be a fair match for any being in my way, barring the Color Gods themselves, and even them, if worst comes to worst. So then, I bid you farewell."
"Don't you dare run, you-" Weiss growled, before Cross immediately left with a flash of light.
"Tridor, analysis." FS!Richard declared. "What the hell did he do to them!?"
"No magic still… That gravity magic, I could tell… but there is not a trace of foreign magic on any of them." Tridor remarked. "But I can tell that they are being bound against their will. Their inner consciousness is rebelling against their control, although it won't work unless…"
"...Unless we beat them." Veyle remarked. "...Just like me."
"Randall, get your personal squad to guard Sans." FS!Richard ordered. "He's in a vulnerable state as he is now. As for the rest of us, divide and conquer. If we can beat them, we could potentially get allies, and get some clues on how to not let him catch us off-guard like that again."
"So it shall be." Randall remarked, before turning to Tridor, Griselda, Ezroa and Kearza. "You four, guard the skeleton at all costs."
"Yeah, yeah. Doubt that the fight will come to us…" Griselda remarked with an eye-roll.
"Come, Sans." Tridor remarked. "I may not be versed in any magic that could heal the damage of a soul… but I can at least alleviate your pain."
"Real nice… for that." Sans winced.
"They're attacking!" Gus exclaimed, before seeing the wild-westerner pull out a futuristic bazooka. "Out of the line of fire, now!"
The bazooka then fired off a sleek rocket, as the faster of the members forced their slower one out of the blast radius, which was a blast of pure anti-matter that swallowed up the ground.
"How did they get such armaments…!?" Reisen exclaimed, before she tried to shoot at the westerner with her custom assault rifle, only for her foe to dodge her attack. "He wasn't kidding about them being overclocked."
"I almost think that he was off-guard as well back then!" Alear exclaimed, before she tried to clash with the female samurai, only to be parried with precise strength, leaving her open to a cut that created a thin line of blood that was absorbed into her katana, as it gained a bloody glow to it. "Argh!"
"Alear!" Siege yelled in concern.
The female samurai was about to go for an overhead attack, only for Galahad to intervene, using his buckler to parry the attack aside, as the samurai's slash hit the ground between them, creating a massive crevice from the force, as Galahad noticed that his buckler, forged with the strongest of metals from his land, was dented badly from that one parry.
"Well, color me quite impressed." Galahad remarked, as the samurai turned her attention to him, going for several slashes, that he managed to block and parry precisely, before Siege came in with a double swing that knocked the samurai back several inches.
"Tch. I'm just about tired of this already." Siege snarled as he readied Breaker of the Dawn. "I'll smash you to bits in ONE GO!"
While the westerner and the samurai were fighting, the dragon-man immediately began to gather purple fire into his maw, before firing it at the group, as FS!Richard quickly used a magic barrier to deflect the flames, although it was rapidly melting his barrier.
"Damnit, what the hell is he using!?" FS!Richard exclaimed. "He's burning through my defenses like a hot knife through butter!"
'That's Draco!" Gus exclaimed. "One of the Elders who were involved in the incident that Color God Black caused! He turned over a new leaf… but I don't know how he ended up like this!"
"DEVOUR ALL, BEELZEBUB!" Rimuru yelled, finally speaking after a long mote of silence as the attack was swallowed up by his Skill, as Rimuru drew his blade. "Leave this one to me. I can handle it one on one."
Draco seemed to recognise the challenge, as he temporarily stopped the attack, allowing Rimuru to approach.
"...Did he just…" Suika remarked.
"Keep on the toes in case Rimuru needs backup." FS!Richard remarked. "We can still help by keeping Draco's attention off him, in case he uses the big guns."
The samurai and Draco began to clash against their foes hardly, as Siege found that the samurai was landing several glancing blows that were drawing blood from him, even if it took eating several blows herself, as he noticed that she was getting gradually stronger for it.
"So the blood of her enemies is what empowers her… then I have a simple fix for this." Siege smirked. "You'll regret absorbing my blood! DECLARE SPELL: TRANSMUTANT SIGN: RADIANT BLOOD!"
Suddenly, Siege began radiating with white magic, his own blood duplicating to replace the blood he lost, however, because his opponent was drawing his own blood, the magic recognized her as not being the host, as she suddenly began suffering internal damage from multiple light magic explosions, rendering Siege's blood a harm opposed to a benefit for her, much to the surprise of the samurai!
"And now that things are going the other way for you, take a NAP!" Siege declared, before he immediately used Ragnell-Yato to perfectly parry a wide swing, and then smashing Breaker of the Dawn on her head with full force, flooring her in a crater, as she tried to get up, only to fall down defeated.
Meanwhile, Draco and Rimuru were still fighting, as they were mostly even, despite the power-up that Gluttony gave Rimuru against the human dragon, as he took several claw strikes, before Rimuru blasted him back with a powerful magic blast point-blank.
"Hrmph. He's lasted quite long to survive all of my basic skills multiple times. But I wager he's not going to survive this next attack." Rimuru stated, his dark magic flaring as suddenly, Draco found himself restrained as a dark cloud shrouded him and Rimuru, the group barely able to watch Rimuru perform his attack.
"Time for you to become nothingness." Rimuru declared darkly, stabbing his blade into the ground as power raged from within the dark cloud, and the temperature began to rise incredibly. "This is the end for you, Megiddo INFERNUS!" Rimuru yelled, as spikes erupted from the ground, before dark magic and heat blasted Draco in a massive cloud of hellfire and dark magic while also being impaled by the spikes.
Meanwhile, even hurt as he is, Draco roared as he held out the stump of his left arm, purple flames forming a clawed arm that he held forward, the flames turning black as he blasted it at Rimuru.
"BEELZEBUB!" Rimuru yelled, absorbing the attack again as he soon raised his hand to the air. "Enough of this. I've won…. BLACK HELLFIRE!"
Combining the mights of Black Lightning with magical hellfire, Rimuru unleashed a variant of Black Flame that was immensely stronger than the downgraded variant, as Draco's very body was being scorched, even his soul, if he had any remnants of it, with the attack hitting him full-on, causing him to be unconscious by the first seconds of the blow.
"He was durable… But that was hardly a challenge." Rimuru scoffed.
As the battle began to wind down, both Reisen and Weiss were double-teaming the westerner, as they were left trying to dodge his attacks, as he pulled out a massive arsenal of weapons, firing them at rapid succession.
"We can't get through to him, in this hail of fire!" Reisen exclaimed, dodging a close-range shotgun-blast to the face.
"Then we'll need a way to keep him distracted." Weiss stated. "...I have a plan, Reisen. Go on the offense. I'll make something."
Reisen nodded, before she then rushed forward, before creating a trail of ice, as she strafed the westerner from all directions, changing her path to keep the aim off her, while Weiss created a massive glyph that was rapidly forming something.
However, it was not all safe for Reisen, as she took a rail-gun shot to the stomach, as her protections barely stopped it from destroying her inside-out, although it left a bruise, and stunned her for a moment.
The westerner was about to use a large gun that was emitting ominous green energy from its barrel.
"HEY, OVER HERE!" Weiss cried out, as the westerner turned around, to see that Weiss created a massive ice golem that was built like a fortress.
The ice golem then immediately raised a hammered hand to crush the westerner, only for it to switch its target to the golem, as it fired a massive green orb of energy right into the golem, detonating right within it, creating a massive rain of snow that limited the vision of everyone in the zone… all except for two.
Reisen and Weiss immediately used the snow to propel themselves forward, before Weiss created a glyph at the end of her rapier, while Reisen pulled out her twin pistols, charging energy into it, as they rushed towards the westerner, using the ice to temporarily stun him for a moment, and then forcing their weapons point-blank.
"CHECKMATE!" Reisen and Weiss declared as one, before their attack went off, sending the westerner flying up into the air, through the clouds, before crashing down with a massive thud.
Eventually, with all three hostiles defeated, the group took a sigh of relief.
"Well, if that was meant to be a distraction… that was one good one." FS!Richard sighed.
"Annoying pest. I could have wiped all three of them out if I wanted to." Rimuru stated firmly, before sheathing his sword. "Hrmph…"
Suddenly, the bodies of the three attackers began to convulse, as the crosses of pixels over their eyes began to disintegrate rapidly, until it was all gone.
Several moments passed, before Draco was the first to wake, clutching his head in pain.
"Urgh… what just happened…?" Draco cursed.
"You're still breathing after taking Megiddo Infernus AND Black Hellfire!? ….Color me impressed." Rimuru remarked.
"Well, I've taken similar stuff back when I was a problem. You have no idea how strong the heroes get when they're motivated." Draco admitted. "...Don't tell me that Black is at it again. I swear, if that back-stabbing bastard of a god-"
"No. This time you were possessed by whoever we just saw." Siege explained.
"Possessed…" Draco stated, before he then clutched his head. "...Yeah, it checks out. I remember a large memory gap between my last conscious memory and now."
"Also who is Black? I know of Goku Black… but I have a sneaking suspicion this isn't who you're referring to." Siege asked.
"He's a Color God." Gus explained. "The Color God of the Darkness Universe. He's an antagonistic force for the Hero Alliance on several occasions. Draco is one of his victims, as someone manipulated to do his bidding."
"...Look, what I did in the past was wrong." Draco sighed. "...Doing the Color Gods in was a huge mistake… considering that Black was about to go for Siblicide with his sister. What a sick bastard. I feel sick thinking about what happened then."
"Do you remember anything?" Kaguya asked.
"...All I remember is a white expanse. I was literally just chilling with Barry's guild for a moment. They were nice to take me on as one of their operatives." Draco stated. "The next moment, I saw that white child… and he did something to me, and I remember nothing after. It's as if he cleaned my own conscience out."
"Hrm…" FS!Richard grumbled, with hand under chin.
"So, we have a child, masquerading as a skeleton, who has brainwashed a lot of people to do his bidding." Gus sighed. "...Just what our Richard would find worth investigating."
"Oooh…" The samurai remarked, as she came awake next, rising up. "...Why does my body hurt so bad…?"
"Easy, Senshi, don't push yourself. These people saved us." Draco told the samurai.
"Them?" Senshi remarked, looking at the group. "...Am I supposed to know them? I see some familiar figures… and wait, why is Richard Liu among them? Wasn't he supposed to be comatose?"
"You're referring to your Richard. How do you know about that, anyways?" FS!Richard questioned.
"It's an open secret among most Hero Alliance members. As a subsidiary under Barry Flux, who is an acquaintance of your alternate self, we are privy to this." Draco responded back. "Don't worry, the general public and most other factions are only aware that your alternate self is missing in action for the time being."
"MIA?" Siege asked. "That's… concerning."
"It's a cover story." Kaguya answered back. "Richard is still locked inside that life-pod that we used to preserve his being. We got his fragments back… but he still hasn't awakened, not even after… after…"
Kaguya became sullen, as Gus comforted her, as the rest of the Unmei Force group bowed their heads solemnly, as FS!Richard and Siege realized what they were talking about.
"...So it happened too." FS!Richard answered back, before taking a deep breath. "...Damnit, do you know what happened after?"
"The threat was thoroughly destroyed." Gus answered back. "The amount of force that he put into that final spell-card of his… it destroyed anything that it was aimed at. Soul, body, mind, presence, everything. A life for ultimate death."
"He really went out in a blaze. Just like I would." Siege sadly said. "And so did my Richard…"
"Siege…" Alear remarked.
"You… were dead?" Gus asked FS!Richard, who averted his eyes.
"It's… it's something that I would not like to revisit as a topic of conversation." FS!Richard answered back. "Just… let's talk about what's going on now. Senshi, do you recall anything that Draco hasn't? He said that he was teleported here by your kidnapper, who enslaved you both and a third, implying that he has even more behind the scenes."
"...Whatever that brat did… he did it on whoever he controlled, one by one. I remember being the only one being transported." Senshi answered back. "And I heard no disappearances."
"You haven't?" Draco asked. "I was the first to notice that you were silent for an unnerving amount of time… Could it be that there was a certain order that our captor took us in?"
"Did anyone get the name-tag of the lass that ran me over?" The westerner groaned, getting up. "Because I feel like a saloon full of bandits shot up my entire noggin."
"Glad to see that you're alive and well, Sawyer Star." Draco stated. "We were just talking about what happened back then, when we were all controlled to fight against these heroes."
"Well, that's just a real downer, ain't it?" Sawyer sighed. "Look, whatever mustache-twirling villain was wearing that little kid's face, he really played us all like a well-tuned piano. Didn't even realize something was wrong."
"Sounds like you all got played then." Siege remarked.
"Hah, yeah we did." Sawyer chuckled, before devolving into a groan. "Still aches all around. How hard did ya beat all of us?"
"We had to use serious force." Gus answered back. "It was necessary, since you are empowered by your kidnapper to fight against us, while he beat a hasty retreat."
"Ah heck." Sawyer scoffed.
"Tridor? What is the state of the skeleton?" Randall asked his personal guard.
"He is stunned, Lord Randall." Tridor answered back. "But he is still intact, as much as he can be in his fractured state."
"Well, glad to see that we managed to protect a key witness and target for our own prey." FS!Richard remarked.
"You're hunting this person?" Senshi asked.
"His actions are crucial for unearthing a far more sinister mastermind." Meiling explained. "But we did not expect him to react so violently to these occurrences."
"Well, we may not be much, especially with my current… state." Draco remarked, waving his left arm's stump around. "...But we will do what we can to ensure that you all find this culprit and bring him to justice for what he has done."
"We intend to." Popol declared, as there was fire in his eyes.
As the conversation winded down, the group noticed that a purple splash of ink appeared before the group, causing them to immediately raise their guard, as if expecting something terrible, only for Ink Sans to pop out.
"Right, if I can just find C-" Ink remarked, before he then noticed the entire group. "...Oh, that was… not expected."
"So how rich would I be for the number of god-like beings I met?" Siege quipped.
"Hardy-har-har." FS!Richard dryly remarked, before turning towards Ink Sans. "So, what brings you around to this corner of this collection of words, eh?"
"Well, I was just following a trail, looking for a certain friend that I have lost along the way." Ink jovially remarked.
"And does that friend of yours seem to have white skin, white hair, a golden heart-pendant, and is a brat?" Kaguya remarked with a glare in her eyes.
"Yeah, that's C." Ink answered back.
"Well, your friend 'C' went and stole half of this Sans's SOUL, and then fucked off while leaving me to fight with his thralls." Kaguya growled. "We saved them, so you're very much welcome."
"He… had what?" Ink Sans remarked, before concern crossed his eyes. "...He… He couldn't have possibly… did everything that really… This is bad… really bad…"
"You're muttering." FS!Richard informed Ink, snapping him out of his stupor.
"Oh, right. Sorry." Ink answered back, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"So, if that's your friend… mind if you tell me about what just happened?" Sans asked, limping over. "He is really not the kind of friend you want to meet in an alley… or anywhere particular."
"Look, I'm sorry, so sorry, Sans." Ink said, as his expression was guilt-filled. "I never thought that this would happen… to think Cross and Chara have gotten this much out of hand when I wasn't looking."
Kaguya merely bored holes at Ink with her harsh glare, while Gus gently sighed as a result.
"It's ok, bud. I'm not dead. At least not yet." Sans answered back. "And I got these nice friends of mine, recently made, to thank for that."
"Can you… Can you tell us more about this person…?" Heiwa asked. "...We want to find him, so that we can stop what is about to come as a result."
Ink looked at Heiwa for a moment, before he then sighed.
"This is the first time he's done something like this." Ink admitted. "I don't know what you saw, but he's truly scared… Ever since… Well… it's a long story…"
"If you know him, then surely you know what his motivations are, and what he is capable of." FS!Richard declared. "For the sake of countless lives, please, Ink Sans. Tell us."
"Well-" Ink Sans remarked, before he then began to gag, before quickly turning his head away, and barfing a stream of black ink onto the ground.
"Woah! You alright!?" Veyle exclaimed, watching Ink Sans barf. "D-do I need to heal you!?"
"Ah, I ain't no expert, miss, but ah think whatever's ailin' him is above your expertise." Sawyer said. "That ain't a natural sickness, ain't it?"
"Ha ha ha, read like an open book." Ink Sans chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, it happens from time to time. I'm fine, really."
"'From time to time?' How often is that, exactly?" Randall asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well… every few days or so." Ink stated. "But let's move that aside for a moment. It all started with a simple drop in a far universe. Everything seemed normal. This universe, and the thousand existing variations still continued peacefully. Suddenly, I felt the appearance of a new universe, it had a very strong presence… despite the sound of dripping water. So I couldn't contain my excitement, and decided to go there. I was eager to meet this new world and its inhabitants… But there was absolutely nothing except for one person. An empty void, where there was only a trail of blood leading towards its sole resident, whose tears were the sound of dripping water that I heard."
"So he wasn't truly hostile when you first met him." Gus remarked, pondering on the matter. "What was he like then?"
"He was very scared, and he was in a catatonic state, saying the words 'I'm sorry' over and over again." Ink remarked with a sympathetic expression on his face. "His mind was invaded by horror, and torn by despair. It was after a few moments, that he noticed that I was there. However, we soon broke the ice, and he told me his name. He called himself Cross, the only survivor of a Genocide run with no RESET possibilities."
"And what does that mean…?" Killia asked.
"It means that he came from a timeline where everything and everyone was wiped out from it." FS!Richard declared. "Genocide Timelines vary in levels of cruelty. Sometimes, it's just the eradication of all monsters. Sometimes, it's mass-extinction. And in some cases, it's the cessation of an entire world, or several, which might be what Ink is referring to."
Rimuru immediately clenched his fist, recalling how his own pain stemmed from a similar situation, trying to hide his now clenched teeth.
"And what else?" Meiling asked.
"He had his Chara sealed inside his body. As for how it happened… he never told me. In fact, when that name was mentioned, a great sadness crossed his eyes." Ink continued. "At first, they acted as two separate beings in a single body, taking turns speaking with me, or even amongst themselves. However, as I visited Cross to keep him company, he won full control of the whole soul. It was going fairly well… but you know what this led to…"
"How did it happen?" Killia questioned further. "If he is so temperate, then it doesn't make sense that he would have done something like this, unless he was possessed by this 'Chara'."
"I wager a third party." Siege deduced. "I think something, or someone, might have tampered with his SOUL."
"If they did, I don't know." Ink answered back. "One day, while we were drawing stuff, he stood up. He looked pretty down in the dumps. He told me that a strange child appeared in his world, and tried to convince him to go to a place with other survivors like him. But he refused to go, because he was convinced that his world was still alive. Cross thought he could restore everything with my help. But when I told him that I can't resurrect the dead… His face… I don't know how to describe it other than endless despair…"
"Wow…" Sans remarked. "That is some deep stuff this Cross was going through…"
"I can sadly relate to Cross… A lot." Rimuru remarked.
"Anyways… his last hopes and dreams came to an end… Because he met the end of his loneliness…" Ink stated, before taking a deep breath. "He was found by Error, my counterpart in this cycle of creation and destruction. Their soul was extracted by Error…. And when I came back, it was too late."
"So you literally just confirmed someone tampered with his SOUL." Siege deadpanned, regarding the earlier statement about Cross's Soul.
"...Say, did you see any blue strings on Cross earlier?" Ink asked the group seriously.
"...No, no, we haven't. And the ones that he was using had only a white cross over their eyes." FS!Richard answered back.
"I… did see him glitch a time or two if that helps any." Siege recalled.
"Hm… that's not enough. And I know Error enough that Cross is so repulsive to him, that the mere act of deciding to control him would put him off." Ink grimaced. "But back to the topic… when I confronted Error… I wanted to save Cross's soul, but I couldn't let what remained of his world be destroyed… So I had to make a compromise. Distracting Error, I whisked Cross away, but his SOUL was gone in Error's hands. But what was left was Chara's powerful and sadistic DETERMINATION. Due to that, they were both able to stay alive with a deadline. Fighting each other for the control of that corrupted body. And when they saw me hurt, they ran away. I could never find them… until now."
"So that explains the two forms…" Popol remarked. "They're two people using the same body."
"After that, Cross and Chara teleported to this timeline, and somehow intersected their world with this one to take Sans's place before dying…. Spending their last few minutes in a world they once had. Now I realize this Chara managed to convince Cross…. Maybe he pretends to use half of Sans's soul to keep themselves alive, but he's scheming something else. Someone capable of manipulating a monster's body with that twisted mind… it could be really difficult trying to stop them." Ink continued.
"Well, Siege. I say that answers your question quite neatly." Galahad remarked, crossing his plated arms.
"After what I have noticed from the aftermath of the battle… I most certainly cannot stop them by myself." Ink declared. "I know that this isn't the right thing to do, but… all of you… Sans too. I need your help to find Cross… Would you like to come with me?"
"...Heh. Sorry, bud, but no. Actually, I think I can live with this." Sans answered back. "It doesn't worry me at all."
"Oh… what about you all?" Ink asked, turning his attention to the rest of the group.
Before anyone could even respond, Kaguya immediately stepped forth to speak.
"As much as we are thankful to have your aid, we have our own way of tracking Cross down." Kaguya responded back. "Rest assured, we will be able to stop him, even if it's in your stead."
"I see. Then I suppose that… I'll just tag along wherever you all go." Ink chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "I get it, I let this happen because I was careless…. So, I'll do my best to support you all and bring Sans's other half of his SOUL back."
"Y'all count us in, too." Sawyer spoke up. "If the Cross varmint got us, then he also got the rest of our gangs. My deputies are in mighty big trouble, and Ah'm damned if ah don't pitch in when they get sent against y'all."
"Yeah, especially since some of them have abilities that put us to shame." Senshi added. "Our third teammate, Tab, can make powerful soldiers already, I shudder to think what an…overclock would do to him."
"And that's without telling how many of us he managed to capture…" Draco cursed. "Color Gods help us if he got Miles and Wally…"
"Right, I suppose, I should leave this to all of you then. I'm rooting for you all!" Ink declared with passion, before he then used the brush on his back to create another streak of purple ink, to serve as his exit. "Anyways, I gotta go now. Have a nice day with all your friends, Sans. I promise that everything will be back to how it was soon enough."
Ink then stepped right through the purple ink, plopping inside of it, before the ink evaporated away.
"Well, this is all too weird for me." Sans admitted. "Never thought that I would find myself in some sort of plot in one of good ol' Alphy's 'animes'."
"Well, you aren't wrong-" FS!Richard responded back.
"SANS!" A familiar voice remarked, before the group turned around and saw that Papyrus and Undyne were there, in casual picnic attire. "HAVE YOU BEEN MAKING FRIENDS BEHIND MY BACK?"
"Oh, hey, Paps." Sans chuckled. "...Funny, you should say that… these people… well…"
"We just so happened to cross nearby." Kaguya quickly answered back. "And we decided to have a little chat. Sans was fairly interested in us, due to our unique attire, and the fact that… well, we just survived a close shave with death."
"Huh… so that explains the damage." Undyne remarked, referring to the various marks of damage. "...I'm surprised that we just barely noticed that. Did some sort of invisible monster attack you, Sans!?"
"Well, something on those lines." Sans answered back. "...Anyways, Undyne. Mind if you do me a favor?"
"Yeah?" Undyne stated.
"Invite these good folk to our picnic, won't you?" Sans stated. "They did help me a lot, and I owe them for that."
"Sure, the more the merrier! I think that Frisk would like to know a few human faces among this crowd! I have a feeling that they'll get along like wildfire!" Undyne declared with burning resolve.
"NYEH-HEH-HEH! MORE FRIENDS TO SHARE THE FUN WITH! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WELCOMES YOU TO THE DREEMUR FAMILY GATHERING!" Papyrus declared with as much of a majestic voice as he could give.
"We're most thankful." Gus smiled back. "A picnic could help take our minds off recent occurrences."
"Wait, are we really going along with this?" Draco asked.
"Just follow their lead, Draco. I'm sure they know this world better than us." Senshi said.
Eventually, the group were lead right to the picnic, as Asgore was on the grill, preparing some meat, while Frisk was watching over them, as Toriel and Alphys were setting up the picnic mat, with a large pot of stew.
"Hey, Asgore, you won't believe what we found!" Undyne exclaimed, before showing the group. "We found a group of humans and half-monsters who managed to save Sans from a near-death experience of some sort!"
"Oh. Howdy, everyone." Asgore greeted the group warmly. "I take it that Undyne invited you to our little picnic, hasn't she? She is quite head-strong."
"You know it, Your Highness!" Undyne grinned widely.
"Anyway, don't worry if you think that we don't have enough to support the lot of you." Asgore stated. "I'm on a surplus of meat today, due to the fact that I expected guests. After all, being the Ambassador between Humans and Monsters tends to attract quite the crowd around."
"Must be tough, isn't it?" Gus asked with genuine respect, causing Asgore to guffaw gently.
"Frisk is quite capable of his duties." Asgore answered back. "He's really talented for a young human child."
"I must say… you are quite odd for fellow humans and half-monsters." Toriel remarked. "You almost look as if you're…"
Toriel was interrupted by Alphy's high-pitched squealing, as the yellow-scaled dinosaur had both of her hands to her face, which was rapidly going red from a mass blush, while her eyes sparkled.
"Alphys?" Toriel exclaimed.
"Kakkoii~" Alphys squealed at the sight of the group, whose figures and appearances were things that Alphys could only imagine in anime productions. "So many… of them… So many…!"
"Don't you burn out on me, Alphys!" Undyne shouted, rushing over to noogie Alphys to take her mind off. "They're the real stuff, aren't they?"
Alphys nodded fiercely, before she then took a few breaths to calm herself down.
At the meantime, Frisk couldn't help but take a look at the group, as something about them nagged upon his soul.
*You have a feeling that this group is more than meets the eye.
"Something wrong?" Kaguya asked Frisk, who noticed him looking back.
"Oh.. Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to be rude." Frisk apologized.
"It's fine. You're young." Kaguya smiled back warmly. "To be fair, we're also fairly surprised that your friends invited us to this picnic. We mostly took it, because we wanted to have a moment to relax after learning a few odd things.
"Odd things…?" Frisk asked.
"Look, it's nothing to be worried about. Just enjoy the picnic." Kaguya assured them.
And so, the picnic went on, as the group got to enjoy Toriel's cooking, as it was quite delicious, even in the form of sandwiches and stew, and Asgore was a mean man on the grill, cooking the meat quite well, as it was juicy and delicious for the group.
"Hm, so this is what otherworldly cuisine is like." Randall remarked, eating a sandwich in a few bites. "I must teach this to other people. Such delicacies cannot be left unknown!"
"Ah…should we tell 'im that sandwiches are actually common 'round most parts?" Sawyer asked.
"Let him have his dreams, Sheriff." Senshi said.
Galahad could only snicker in response, while taking a bite of a sausage.
"Ah… I never had something truly delicious like this before!" Popol remarked, before turning to Toriel. "Thanks, goat-lady!"
"Call me Toriel, little one." Toriel answered back. "And you're very welcome. I'm glad to see that you are such a fine young little gentleman under that attire of yours…"
"Uh… Eheheheh…" Popol remarked, rubbing his head sheepishly. "Well… About that…"
"Don't worry, he's no barbarian! In fact, he's a really nice person when you get to know him!" Heiwa declared cheerfully.
"Isn't it quite a beautiful day? Everybody is having fun." Torel remarked, as they saw that the entire group was enjoying the picnic quite well. "What do you think, Sans?"
"Well, staying at home would be a…" Sans remarked, before lifting his plate of steak. "...MISS-STEAK."
Toriel erupted into chuckles and snickers, while Asgore and Frisk looked at Sans as if he grew a second head, while FS!Richard managed a small chuckle, while Siege merely groaned.
"...I fail to see what's funny about the joke." Killia stated.
"Everyone's got their own sense of humour, Killia." Alear told Killia. "I think Miss Toriel merely has a sense of elevated humour compared to the rest of us. Still, it's NOT the worst joke that I've heard."
"IT'S TIME TO PLAY VOLLEYBALL! NYEH-HEH-HEH!" Papyrus declared, holding up a volleyball, as Griselda and Veyle had already set up the net to be used for the makeshift court.
The residents immediately took their places on either side of the net, with Sans, Papyrus and Frisk on one side, and Asgore, Undyne and Alphys on the other, while Toriel and the two groups spectating the match.
"NGAAAHHAAAAH!" Undyne cackled. "My team will win this time! We've been training everyday to defeat you, punks!"
"YOU CANNOT WIN, UNDYNE!" Papyrus declared, wrapping an arm over Sans, who was ominously silent, which Frisk immediately noticed. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAVE A STRATEGIC AND INVINCIBLE TEAM!"
"Let's put that to the test, SHALL WE!?" Undyne exclaimed, before she then threw the ball high, before spiking it with extreme force, as it tore through the net.
"OH NO!" Papyrus exclaimed, seeing the ball hurtling towards the group. "RUN AWAY, HUMAN! IT'S GOING TO CRUSH US!"
Papyrus and Frisk wisely dodged out of the way of the incoming shot, but Sans did not respond, as Alphys realized that it was about to hit him.
"Sans! Watch out!" Alphys warned Sans, to no avail, as Sans was knocked down on the ground, as everyone rushed over.
"SANS!" Papyrus shouted with concern. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"
"Uh…" Sans finally responded, as he was back to normal, before sitting up, clutching his face. "Sorry, I was distracted…. Maybe I need a break, can I, bro?"
"OF COURSE, BROTHER! BUT DON'T FALL ASLEEP! WE NEED YOU TO WIN THIS GAME!" Papyrus declared.
"Ok bro." Sans answered back, giving a thumbs up, before he then walked over to the picnic mat to pick up his blue hoodie.
"Are you OK, Sans? Do you want some ketchup or-" Toriel asked Sans with worry in her voice, only to see Sans walk away with another word. "...Sans?"
"Be right back, Tori." Sans responded back, as the residents discussed amongst themselves what could be the source… except for Frisk, who immediately went towards Sans's direction.
"...Did you see that?" FS!Richard remarked.
"See what?" Draco asked, turning to FS!Richard. "...What did you see?"
"Sans was glitching as well." Siege remarked. "He was inactive because something was on his mind like he said. And taking a ball to the noggin snapped him back to reality… I have a feeling that dear Cross left a nasty gift for Sans."
"We're going." FS!Richard remarked, as he and Siege followed after Frisk and Sans.
"Gus, keep watch over here." Kaguya said, before rushing over, and then turning to Draco. "You, come with me."
"What would you need me for?" Draco asked.
"Insurance, in case Cross tries anything else funny." Kaguya. "You're the most experienced and the strongest of the three we saved so far, so you'll be able to be of help to protect Sans."
"Well… I'm flattered that you think of that for me…." Draco stated, before shaking his head. "...Oh, what the hell am I thinking? Of course it's a responsibility for me to help. And if Cross comes back… he'll get his dues."
As Sans found a desolate place to be alone in, the same place he found the group at, he then examined his own soul, as there was a red cross-mark on it.
"Wh-what's happening…?" Sans stated. "Ink? Can you hear me? C'mon pal, please answer me!"
"Sans… Who is Ink?" Frisk remarked, finally catching up to Sans, causing Sans to freeze.
"...I can tell you a very bad pun to explain this… But… uh… that's not necessary… Nothin' important, kid." Sans said, as he had a worried expression on his face.
"Like hell it is." FS!Richard exclaimed, as he, Siege, Draco and Kaguya caught up to him. "...Seems we didn't assess the situation well enough."
"You were with him… what happened?" Frisk asked, as there was a stern expression on his face.
"...ACT, Frisk." Siege declared. "...Check all of us if you must, but I assure you, we have no hand in perpetrating all of this. We were helping Sans, not hindering or hurting him."
Frisk
ACT
Check
-Siege
500,000 ATK
650,000 DEF
*There's no evidence of SOUL altering magic, and he's clearly holding back power…
*...Odd.
*He also seems to have light radiating from his very SOUL
*And… [ACCESS DENIED]
Check
-Richard
1,000,000 ATK
100,000 DEF
*His SOUL is radiating with magic.
*Just like the magicians of old lore. The same ones who sealed the Underground Barrier
*But he's something more…
*He's… [ACCESS DENIED]
Check
-Kaguya
40,000 ATK
15,000 DEF
*...These stats are already high enough to be a danger to the entire Underground
*...But, you feel like there's something within her.
*It's as if she's a god playing mortal
*Almost like… Asriel.
Check
-Draco
750,000 ATK
800,000 DEF
*Someone who has found his atonement.
*...Something happened to him. His SOUL is showing disarray in his emotions
*He wants to know the truth.
Frisk was shocked to notice that his own CHECK was being interfered with by some outside force when he tried to read upon FS!Richard or Siege. Deciding to question that later, he immediately turned to Sans.
Frisk
ACT
Check
-Sans
1 ATK
1 DEF
0.5/0.5 HP
*...Only half a SOUL.
*How… How is this possible?
*Splitting a SOUL… it was merely a hypothesis…!
*Sans…
"I knew it! Your… SOUL…!" Frisk gasped in horror.
"...is torn in half." FS!Richard finished. "And what's more, something wormed itself into Sans's soul. And that is grounds for us to fix the problem immediately."
"What… What problem?" Frisk asked, as his expression shows that he was going to dread the answers.
"Just… Please, kid. Don't worry about it too much." Sans pleaded. "It just was an incident with-"
"Stop bullshitting, Sans." Siege snarled.
*You feel that whatever you're going into…
*It's something that you might not want to get involved in.
"We made a promise, right? But if anything really bad happens… I have to reset." Frisk remarked, as concern crossed his face. '...Sans, this is not-"
"DO NOT RESET!" Siege exclaimed. "DO! NOT! RESET!"
"Don't tamper with the timeline." FS!Richard told Frisk. "...I don't know what it could do to Sans… but with an incomplete soul like that, it will cause chaos."
Frisk looked at the group, before he then faced them fully.
"Tell me everything, please." Frisk asked firmly.
And so, the four of them explained what happened with Sans and Cross, as Draco gave his side of his story to help fortify their own stories.
"So… it's really that bad… Alternate worlds…" Frisk stated.
"It's not your fault. You're just a hapless bystander who was caught in all of this." Kaguya comforted Frisk. "Please, you have to prevent anyone else from learning what happened here. We will help Sans, and we will fix this matter up."
"And I'll rescue everyone who that sick bastard controlled." Draco growled, as flames licked within his mouth. "I will not suffer another monster ruining countless people's lives."
"Sorry, kid. You gotta cover for me while I'm gone." Sans remarked. "The others would find it weird… if I stopped being lazy after all this time…. You can help me that way, ok?"
"...Promise me that you'll come back." Frisk told him.
"Heh. You know I hate to make promises… but I'll try." Sans answered back.
"Maybe this will be useful." Frisk stated, before offering a bottle of ketchup.
"Ketchup?" Draco asked, confused with an eyebrow raised.
"It's some sort of personal charm for Sans." Kaguya explained.
*You equipped Sans with a Bottle of Deluxe Ketchup - Limited Edition.
"Cool. Thanks, Frisk." Sans smiled back, before Frisk hugged him tightly.
"Please, take care of yourself…" Frisk told Sans softly, as the group could swear that he let out a tear or two.
"...'Cause someone really cares about you." Sans finished, as Frisk put his heart locket around San's bony neck. "If I'm going to die because of Cross… I prefer that my family and friends don't see me turning into dust."
"Don't lose hope, Sans." Draco told Sans firmly. "...You never know where you might find hope in. Take my word as someone who has lost almost everything."
"Besides, you got the rest of us fighting with you now." Siege remarked. "With us all working together… perhaps we can come out of this with a victory."
"All of you…" Frisk stated. "...Can you promise that you'll save Sans?"
"You have our word." FS!Richard declared. "...And we have yet to fail such a promise."
"As for you… Let me leave you some advice." Kaguya stated, before whispering something into Frisk's ear that shocked him.
"You are better than you think you are… no matter what wrongs you have done."
Frisk was silent, before FS!Richard created a sukima.
"Sans, if you would just step right through." FS!Richard told the skeleton pun-master. "This will lead to a personal pocket dimension, where you will be protected from unwelcome entities until we reach ground. Consider this as some sort of inter-dimensional cab for you."
"Heh." Sans stated, before he then walked into it. "I always wanted to see how others travel through worlds."
As soon as the four of them were done, another sukima appeared, as Yukari poked her head out.
"Have you wrapped up affairs over here?" Yukari asked.
"Mostly, yes." Kaguya responded back. "And the others?"
"Gus led them away quietly, when I gave the signal for them to be taken back." Yukari responded back. "...Kaguya, you met Ink, didn't you?"
"...Yes I did." Kaguya responded back, as there was some steel to her voice.
"Kaguya, do not let your feelings compromise this. You-" Yukari said.
"...Will not harm him, because he's the creator god of this section." Kaguya recited tonelessly. "...Yes, I'm aware. He's not fully to blame for all of this. But even still…"
Kaguya took a deep breath, before calming down. "Let's get a move on. Did you find the next stop on Cross's journey?" She asked.
"I traced him down to a primary divergence. Underfell." Yukari responded back. "Be prepared for a more serious fight if you are there… I can tell that he has gotten quite the gruesome ally on his side."
"Then we'll skirt the rules, and take his ally out before he can cause more damage." FS!Richard declared firmly. "We need to save all those he controlled, and prevent him from causing more damage than he already intends to, after what he just done."
"I understand." Yukari stated, as the four of them entered through the sukima, as FS!Richard and Siege turned back to Frisk, before giving him a gentle nod, as the sukima closed behind them, leaving Frisk alone.