Unmei Force Shattered Heroes: Dawn of Despair
Chapter 2: Swapped Destinies
As the group came out of the sukima, they were surprised to see the scene that Swap!Chara and Swap!Sans were surprised at the group's arrival, as the former had his bottom stuck in a open box.
"Well… that's one scene to be walking up to." Kaguya sweat-dropped.
"Woah! Clones!" Swap Sans exclaimed with surprise, rushing over to Sans and Fell. "Although I'm surprised that you all look so different though."
"Well, he and I… We're like the two sides of the moon." Sans jokes, gesturing at Fell. "I'm the more jovial and lighter side, and he's the darker side, and the edgier side as well."
"Okay, just this much, and I already hate you." Fell growled. "But it's better than being dead."
"Oh my gods, look at this cute boy!" Heiwa remarked, as she was fawning over Swap Chara. "His rosy cheeks, and that soft and gentle expression of his! I can't help but-"
"Down, girl, down!" Kaguya quickly declared, as Heiwa stopped her stupor immediately. "Sorry about that, energetic fox-girl who is a tad bit too gung-ho about being close and friendly."
"Yeah… Sorry for that…" Heiwa remarked, pressing her fingers together as a gesture of awkwardness.
*You don't seem to be angry at this monster girl.
*It was fair that she could be a bit affectionate as she is.
*But she should really tone it down.
"Really?" Heiwa remarked, lighting up. "Well, I promise that I'll behave, really!"
"MWEHEHEH! That's a nice party you have there!" Swap remarked, before rushing over to put a hand out. "We're currently moving everything to the Surface. Wanna help us? It'll be fun!"
Siege didn't respond, though someone else did as he was looking around, his eyes narrowed.
"Ink hasn't been around ever since we met him at the start… where in the hell did that skeleton get off to…?" Siege whispered, but some could hear him.
"What's wrong?" Meiling asked.
"I think that something is fishy about Ink Sans." FS!Richard explained. "...I can't shake the feeling that there's something that he didn't tell us about Cross and his partner. It's as if… he was expecting someone to deal with this situation in his stead."
"But why would that be?" Gus asked. "He's the protector of the alternate universes, from what Yukari told me, and what Richard's logs told me… Why would he not be active in trying to stop Cross?"
"He's guising for his true plans… He might be a protector…. but he's not what he truly says he is." Siege remarked. "...He's a pawn, being used by someone else."
"And we'll have to find that answer ourselves." FS!Richard stated, as there was a harsh glare in his eyes.
"Right, uh, sorry…" Kaguya said, quickly addressing Swap Sans. "We won't mind helping a little. I think that it's just as well we do that, since we're on the way to where you're going. And we have quite the muscle-men to help us."
"Yay! Then to the city of humans we go!" Swap declared, as some of the group decided to pick up each a part of the pile of cardboard boxes that were being stacked behind them, before they made a long trek into the city in the distance.
It didn't take them long to get there, as none of the group were having problems holding the boxes in their possession, although something ahead of the group caused them to stop, as the group froze immediately.
"Wh- what is…" Swap remarked, seeing that Swap Toriel had a nasty bleeding gash over her eye. "Qu-Queen Toriel!? Are you okay? What happened?"
"Sans… Human… I'm glad to know that nothing happened to you both…" Swap Toriel told the group. "A monster attacked everyone in the town center… He's out of control. I just wanted to help him."
"Alphys did everything she could to stop him, but it was useless…" Swap Undyne said.
"Papyrus prevented me from fighting." Swap Alphys growled, with a pained expression on her face.
"Wh-what? My brother?" Swap remarked with horror, before Swap Chara immediately rushed towards the back of the street. "Hey wait, human!"
"Tridor! Heal that queen!" Randall ordered. "I will not risk that bastard causing more harm than he has!"
"As you wish, my lord." Tridor remarked, before moving over. "Queen Toriel, you may not know me, but I ask for your trust, as I heal that wound over your face."
"Do it." Swap Toriel said, as Tridor immediately used a Restore stave, as the cut disappeared. "...It worked."
"Were there more injured?" Tridor asked, as he immediately pulled out a Fortify stave. "I have means of wide-spread healing for any who are still alive and breathing."
"There are injured… but I don't know how many." Swap Asgore remarked, as sadness crossed his face. "Please, kind magician, do whatever you must."
"Griselda, Ezroa and Kearza. Guard me if any threats arrive." Tridor remarked. "As the only adept healer in this group, it lies to me to treat the injured."
"You got it, Tridor." Griselda remarked.
The rest of the group proceeded, as they saw that Swap Papyrus and Swap Chara was witnessing the devastation that Cross was causing, as Nightmare was watching from above from a ruined skyscraper.
"QUICK. GET OUT OF HERE." Swap Papyrus warned a human child that he was guarding himself.
"Oh no,. You won't get away that easily." Cross remarked. "This world needs panic and hatred from all of you.
Cross then snapped his fingers, as a Gaster Blaster formed in front of him, as it was aiming for the buildings.
"Xuan-Yuan!" FS!Richard declared, summoning the Regalia blade mid-flight, before using a double-handed cleave, to cut the Gaster Blaster in two vertically, as the halves exploded into bone fragments.
"WHO THE HELL ARE ALL OF YOU?" Papyrus remarked, looking at the entire group.
"Long story bro- I mean, buddy. Just stay close." Sans remarked.
"You all… AGAIN?" Cross growled, as his eyes glowed.
"As many times as it's necessary to stop you." FS!Richard declared. "Because you have gone too far! This world and all the others… they are NOT yours to control!"
Cross immediately froze, as those words were familiar somehow as if…
"THE WORLD IS NOT YOURS TO CONTROL!"
"No… it cannot be… you can't be him! You're NOT him!" Cross exclaimed, as horror crossed his face. "You're supposed to be dead!"
FS!Richard did not answer, as he merely stared down Cross.
"Don't look at me like that! DON'T LOOK AT ME!" Cross panicked.
"W-wait! Why are you doing this?" Swap remarked. "Did someone do anything bad to you?"
Cross went silent, looking at Swap Chara and Swap, as if he could glimpse into his own past, just by looking at the two of them.
"...Seems that Rimuru's words rang true in you." Siege remarked, stepping up. "This world… you went for it, because it reminded you of the past. I know that distant look from anywhere. I have seen a few people who had the same feeling."
Cross was silent, as the world turned gray for a moment, as FS!Richard, Kaguya and Siege stepped forth.
"Think about it truly. Do you think that it is fair that other people should suffer for your sake?" Kaguya asked. "...Don't try to lie to us. I know that you're sick of this as much as we are. Do you think that it'll make you better than HE is? You're being no different."
"You have already done enough damage to the lives of others." FS!Richard declared. "Hurting all of these people because you can't deal with this, it's just… utterly asinine of you! I literally recent got around dealing with someone who thought the same way you did!"
"So, Cross. Think carefully on Rimuru's words." Siege offered. "Do you really think that hacking this alone with that ghost partner of yours will solve anything? We will stop you, no matter what it takes. There has been enough pain and suffering here."
"...Who told you about that… You don't know anything about me." Cross answered back. "My prize is taking parts from these places to my world…. The perfect home that was denied from me. And you also won't scare me by talking about X-Gaster. I don't care if he still exists…. He won't be in my new world. Chara tried to be smarter than me. But I'll be the one who'll have control over this body forever. With or without determination. I'll get what I want. That is my only purpose."
"Is that your final answer?' FS!Richard asked firmly, as Cross was silent.
"Wait, so does that mean you don't have a house?" Swap remarked, before walking over. "I have an idea! Now that we're on the Surface, that won't matter! It's never too late to have a new home and new friends!"
Swap then reached his hand out, as Cross looked at the hand, before smiling bitterly.
"I hate you all." Cross gently said, before he summoned his cleaver, about to attack Swap.
"Sans! Fell! Now!" FS!Richard declared.
Fell then immediately summoned a bone that hit Cross's head, stunning him momentarily, before Siege rushed forward, and slashed down on Cross's chest with full force, causing the SOUL fragment to reveal itself from the damage he took, as FS!Richard then smashed Cross into the ground with a massive air-borne earth pillar that flattened him to the ground.
"Game, set, match." FS!Richard coolly remarked. "...Nowhere to run this time."
"...Nightmare isn't moving." Siege narrowed his eyes. "What's your game here."
"No, no… please go ahead." Nightmare remarked with a sneer. "I want to see how you're going to deal with this."
Siege didn't respond to that, although he had Breaker of the Dark at the ready.
"Poor little buddy… We should take him home so that he can recover…" Swap said, feeling pity for Cross's wounded state.
*You think it's not a good idea.
"HERE WE GO AGAIN WITH THE ALTERNATE VERSIONS." Swap Papyrus grumbled, smoking a cigarette. "AND OTHERWORLDLY INTRUDERS. WHAT DID INK DO THIS TIME?"
"We don't know." Gus answered back. "We are merely here to stop Cross, and get Sans' other half of his SOUL back. Speaking of which, Sans… You really should take this chance to get back what is yours."
Sans walked over to Cross, before he then raised a hand out, as it took the half-SOUL that was taken from him, before he then merged it with his own half, as it finally combined back to being whole, as Sans let out a sigh of relief, while Cross was replaced with the child, presumably X-Chara.
"Good riddance." Fell scoffed, as he turned to leave.
"Now that we got my SOUL back… I guess this is where we part ways, huh?" Sans told the group.
"Yes, right through the sukima." FS!Richard remarked, summoning a sukima. "I have the coordinate to your home-world, so I can send you back quickly-"
"Something's wrong." Kaguya answered back. "...I'm sensing that none of us are unconscious…. And that includes X-Chara."
"What are you saying-" Gus remarked, before he then noticed that Swap Chara was inching closer, as X-Chara's eyes snapped open. "NO!"
Before X-Chara could take Swap Chara's soul, Gus pushed the child out of his way, before being grabbed by the arm.
"Gus!" Kaguya exclaimed, as the entire group were up in arms.
"Oh, boy, you've made a huge mistake trying to play hero." X-Chara chuckled malevolently, before plunging a hand right through Gus's chest, snatching his orange-coloured SOUL, gripping it hard until….
CRACK!
X-Chara managed to wrench half of Gus's SOUL, causing him to collapse backwards, before a blast of purple energy sent him flying, as Kaguya caught him.
"Gus! Damn it… X-Chara was only playing dead to Cross…!" Kaguya cursed. "I should have known that it wouldn't be this easy!"
"Damnit, of all things to happen…!" Siege cursed, as his face was in a snarl. "...You planned this, didn't you, Nightmare?"
"No, but that makes it all the sweeter with your anger." Nightmare chuckled.
As soon as the light faded, X-Chara stepped forth, finally corporeal.
"Greetings. Thanks for waking me up." X-Chara remarked. "I missed having a physical body, even if it's just the 95% of it. Cross was really silly all this time. He's too easy to manipulate, don't you think? He thought nothing like this would happen again, haha.
"Give back Gus's SOUL, you damn bastard!" Kaguya growled, as she immediately assumed Nahobino form. "Or I'll tear to pieces, orders be damned!"
"Kaguya, no!" Meiling exclaimed.
"Orders?" X-Chara remarked, tilting his head, before merely smirking. "...Not like it matters. Well then, you get front-seats to witness the X-Event at its fullest glory."
"You're not getting away with this." Draco growled. "I will rescue the members of the Cross-World Guild that you have kidnapped. And you WILL pay for your crimes. In fact, I'm itching to tear you apart myself, to be frankly honest."
"Oh, and you think that you're on my level?" X-Chara remarked. "...Let's see about that, shall we?"
X-Chara's face began to distort, as a purple darkness began to flood the entire area, as FS!Richard immediately forced a barrier that directed it away from the group, although their surroundings were being consumed, until there was only a white empty void around them.
"WHAT… HAPPENED…?" Swap Papyrus remarked.
"Wait, why the hell is Sans and Fell gone!?" Siege remarked, noticing that the two skeletons were gone.
"I think we've got bigger fish to fry, Siege…" FS!Richard winced, as Nightmare finally walked forward. "X-Chara, or whatever you are… you will hand back Gus's SOUL, or I will pry it from your body from whatever state that I will-"
"That's a bold threat, considering that I'm watching over him." Nightmare remarked. "And I don't think that all of you will be in the state to complain soon enough."
"Funny, I'm shocked to see that Ink doesn't care about everything. But he is always like this." X-Chara remarked. "But I can be truly grateful that he showed X-Gaster and me the multiverse and its timelines. I always wanted to find an universe with similarities to mine, like this one… He really did a very good job protecting all those worlds. But it's time I repay Nightmare back for setting this up, and deal with these nuisances in one go."
X-Chara then raised a hand, before summoning his cleaver, as it turned from red into glowing purple, before plunging it tip-first into the ground, creating a field of purple that swallowed the entire ground around them, as it stopped around the entire group, as they saw the countless residents disappearing, leaving behind their various SOULs, that were being warped away.
"What the fuck are we seeing?" Jaw remarked. "...Did that brat actually…"
"...I finally understand now." FS!Richard remarked. "No wonder the core code part seemed familiar… the power of OVERWRITE… it's literally a power that tampers with the code of reality itself, and overwrites variables and constants regarding it."
"Bravo, bravo." X-Chara remarked, clapping his hands together. "You truly are of the same bake as the Richard that I knew. But I'm more surprised that you didn't disappear. I suppose that someone has locked me out trying to tamper with you all… But no matter, I don't mind the old fashioned way."
"Hey, don't think that thiz will go your way!" Marty growled. "You won't get to enjoy thiz!"
"Oh really, even if I pull out the big guns?" X-Chara chuckled ominously. "You see, Cross was holding back with the less aggressive members of my collection. But now that all of you have outlived your use, I think that I'll make use of everyone left."
"No… You damn bastard!" Draco exclaimed, as he was filled with horror.
"And as for you, the sole remaining residents of this universe…" X-Chara remarked, pointing at the three Swap-verse members. "This pacifist timeline won't be wasted, now that I'll turn it into something really interesting… The best stories always have blood and tears. The pacifist timeline of this AU deserves to be the best like mine was. Don't worry! If I kill any of you by accident trying to dispose of the rest… I can fix it as if nothing had happened with something better than our old power."
"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!" Siege growled, before gathering energy to his hand, and firing a massive ki blast that X-Chara merely teleported out of the way. "If you think that you have free reign to do as you please with that power, you're dead wrong. You said that you can't do jack-shit to us with that precious OVERWRITE power of yours. So we're just the right people to take you out."
"Oh yes, thank you for reminding me." X-Chara remarked, before snapping his fingers, as a group of five appeared before the group, all of them being controlled by X-Chara, evident from the cross-marks.
The first two were the most normal looking, a middle aged man dressed in scientist like robes, wearing a helmet with the image of a lightbulb on it, and a young man in soldier uniform, its primary colors being red and blue. The third was more unusual, being a young looking fairy dressed in royal clothes, their most notable feature being the two fairy wings on his back.
But the last two… there was a dissonance between them, as one was a male man with black hair, and a leather brown coat, while the other was a child that was almost the same age as Popol and Heiwa was, complete with a purple top-hat with a yellow line, a yellow cape, and purple clothing, and a starry umbrella in her hand.
"No…" Draco remarked with despair. "...Even Miles… "
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Jaw exclaimed, looking at the girl. "You even went for the girl!? What kind of sick fuck would force her into this!?"
"Well, I suppose that you're doing much, much better than Cross ever did." Nightmare cackled. "I can feel the despair and hatred flow from their teammates, yes…"
"And just so that they don't interfere…" X-Chara remarked, before FS!Richard and Siege tackled Nightmare in a blink, both of them with indescribable anger on their faces, while Alear followed along to assist her husband.
X-Chara then snapped his fingers, as the entire group found themselves in another part of the white void, faraway from X-Chara, with the five controlled members of the Cross-World organization facing them down, while FS!Richard, Siege and Alear were absent.
"Well, this is a bad situation…" Kaguya grimaced. "Gus is incapacitated, Siege and his Richard, along with what seems to be his wife, are off fighting Nightmare… And we're going to have to deal with five of Draco's old friends at once."
"Quick, what do you know about each of them?" Reisen asked.
"Thinker's a projection based physic, Aster has elemental magic!" Draco said. "But Tab…he can-!"
Tab then pulled out a whistle and blew into it. The moment he did, the group was surrounded by hundreds of soldiers from multiple time periods, some of them even being powerful deities with varying weapons.
"…do that." Sawyer finished. "Hat Kid has hats that grant her different abilities, and has a mean whack with her umbrella. And y'all already know 'bout Miles and Wally."
"…We're gonna fucking die, aren't we?" Jaw asked.
"Hey, no quitter talk in my presence!" Kaguya stated, before she then summoned her demons. "Girls, we got a real situation at our hands."
"Oh my, what's this now?" Cleopatra remarked.
"These… creatures… What are they?" Artemis remarked.
"I sense… misery and despair from the five people who seem to be influenced…" Idun remarked sadly.
"Who said anything about quitter talk?" Jaw said, pulling out a small gun that unfolded into a much larger weapon with multiple barrels. "I was just wondering how many guys we can take with us! Let's fuck shit up!" he cackled.
"Alright, with that army active… we're going to have to make selections for who is going to engage the big four, ignoring the army creator, for the time being." Kaguya remarked.
"We'll get the kid out of this!" Popol quickly stated. "Heiwa, you have to-"
"I won't let her continue this!" Heiwa declared firmly. "We'll save her, together, Popol!"
"Yes. Yes, we will." Popol nodded.
"Leave your thinker to me." Rimuru stated. "I think that considering his fighting style, I have the most experience dealing with him."
"I will face this Miles and his Walrider." Randall declared. "I have slain Asmodeus, the Demon Lord, by my own blade where I come from… And I doubt that this Walrider will be the most formidable foe that I have fought. Let it come, and I shall face it head-on."
"A real fucking bad time to have our caster away…" Kaguya swore, noticing that FS!Richard was not present to clash against Aster, who could possibly be his perfect opponent in this case.
"Then we make do with what we have." Killia remarked. "...I shall fight Aster."
"Wow, that's a really big army right there…" Amanozako winced. "I don't like our chances."
"Fret not, fellow comrade." Fionn remarked. "We will prevail through this struggle."
"Right, about time the talking ceases." Royal Pixie growled, before she then immediately used her ability, as she drained the power from the foes, before giving it to the group. "Give them hell, ladies and gentlemen!"
"ONWARDS!" Kaguya exclaimed, as the group immediately clashed with the forces that Tab was creating.
At the same time, the attack displaced Nightmare with FS!Richard, Siege and Alear to yet another part of the void, as Nightmare knocked both of the former away from him.
"Well, it seems like you really want to die." Nightmare remarked.
"You first." FS!Richard declared, as there was a cold look in his eyes. "If you think that I'm not enough against you, I have enough emotional control to ensure that you can't draw anything from either of us."
"You had this long coming." Siege growled. "Go ahead and do your worst. To us, you're nothing but a gad-fly to us."
"Oh, is that so? Then let's do a census on that, shall we!?" Nightmare declared, before he then sunk into the ground.
As soon as Nightmare rose up, they saw that the goop had formed into the shape of Lumera, who seemed to be broken apart.
"Why did you not save me, Alear!? You left me to die!"
"Lumera…" Alear remarked, before she then closed her eyes. "...I see, so that's how you'll intend to go with all of this."
Before the Lumera doppelganger could even attack, Alear immediately summoned Liberation, before cutting through the duplicate, as it exploded into puddles.
"Really? This is your big game, Nightmare?" FS!Richard taunted. "Throw whatever trauma you can dig up from us, and hope that one of them sticks!? Boy, I say, you really have confidence in your anti-therapy abilities."
However, Nightmare did not respond, as more duplicates began to rise, all of them as monstrous as the first, consisting of Reisen, who was nothing but a crawling torso, Marisa, who had anger in her eyes, and Shirli in Nemesis.
"Someone… Someone save me…!"
"You monster… you killed everyone! You killed them all! I'll never forgive you!"
"Siege, why did you leave me like this… Why do I feel so cold…?"
Richard tensed slightly, before dodging a lethal energy blast from the duplicate Reisen, only to be taken by surprise by the duplicate Marisa's potion bombs, as they exploded into lasers, that grazed Richard's body, while Siege was being assaulted from all angles by the duplicate Shirli's laser bits, that were firing all over.
"Alear, help Siege!" Richard declared, before he then fired a massive flame blast that knocked both the duplicate Reisen and duplicate Marisa back. "I can hold my own against these, but Siege looks like that these shots are really forcing him to block everywhere!"
"Welp. Seems like you guys are in a time where laser focus is important, eh?" A voice rang out before suddenly, a trio of Gaster Blasters appeared, before multiplying and blasting down the attacks.
"Wait… those are Gaster Blasters…." FS!Ricahrd remarked. "Could it be…!?"
Cue: Bad Time Trio Guitar Cover by NyxTheShield
"...I recognize those." Siege remarked in realization before turning around, seeing two skeletons and a human standing behind him, all three of them with hoods up and smiles on their faces, the central figure having a black hoodie, the figure on his left having a red hoodie, and the figure on their right having a yellow hoodie, to distinguish them from other familiar figures. "...My former executioners."
"Hot damn… Looks like that a bad time is in order for this nightmare-bringer." FS!Richard remarked with glee. "Looks like luck's down on your side."
"What!? What are you three…!? You're not the same as either of those Sans and Papyruses!?"
"Nope. We're a full realm away." The Sans said with a smirk.
"Sure is funny that I would find my alternate self here." The Papyrus remarked. "Wonder if he's got a penchant for the cigs like we do."
"Let's cut the chatter. It's time for us to strike, isn't it?" The female human spoke up while twirling her knife, being Chara of that particular timeline.
"ENOUGH!" Nightmare declared, before getting larger. "I AM THE VERY FEAR AND DESPAIR THAT YOU ALL SHY AWAY FROM! YOUR EFFORTS ARE IN VAIN, YOUR STRUGGLE IS POINTLESS! WIN OR LOSE, YOU'RE MINE!"
Before Nightmare could even use his arsenal, FS!Richard snapped his fingers, as multiple chains began to bind every single appendage that was exposed, as Nightmare was stunned.
"What…!?" Nightmare exclaimed.
"You think that positive emotions is the only thing that can keep you down?" FS!Ricahrd remarked. "You forget that light is a suitable substitute for dealing with the likes of you. And while I ain't no light-master, you ain't breaking free from this."
"DAMN YOU!" Nightmare screamed, before several chains forced his mouth open.
"Down the hatch, you three. Bust him with a stomachache of punishment." FS!Richard declared.
"Face it bud… you're in for a bad time." FS!Sans smirked, as he, FS!Papyrus, and FS!Chara summoned Gaster Blasters once again, firing a blue, orange, and red beam straight down Nightmare's throat!
Nightmare gasped in agony, as the attack was powerful enough to actually cause him mass discomfort due to the internal attack, while the trio continued to pile more and more Gaster Blasters, until Nightmare began to bulge, before exploding apart, as it caused a pile of goo to be spread around.
"Thank you for your aid." Alear remarked. "...That could have gotten fairly messy."
"Eh, we owed Siege one anyways. After all, we said if he survived that day, then he deserved to be helped by us again." FS!Sans smirked.
"We aRe nOt DoNe…" Nightmare growled, as his voice was damaged, as most of his body was destroyed, as he tried to recover, although he was too scattered to be able to fight properly. "YOoU CaNnOoT kIll meEe, As LoNG aS YouR hAtRED aND AnGER eXIstS, I wILlL-"
"You don't shut up, do you?" Siege asked as he brought out Breaker of the Dark. "Shut the hell up. NOW." Siege snarled, cleaving down the rest of Nightmare with the Regalia, as the resulting force left Nightmare in a state that he couldn't recover from for a very long time.
"Right, now that's done… we should get back to the others." FS!Richard remarked. "...We're already took long enough beating Nightmare down."
"Wanna take a Shortcut? It'll be quicker." FS!Papyrus offered.
"Sure." FS!Richard remarked. "Transport us to our allies. And if they're done, get to where your counterpart is. A certain someone is already causing problems for them."
"Lemme guess, Cross?" FS!Sans asked.
"Bingo." FS!Richard responded back. "Full events flashback. That's all I can say on it. And since you're here, stay with us. We need all we can for dealing with what comes after Cross and his partner."
"Alright. Let's go." FS!Chara declared.
While the battle against Nightmare raged on, the group in the void that was once Underswap fought against the forces stacked against them.
"Zanbarion!" Idun exclaimed, before she then cast a massive green gust of wind that immediately ravaged through the enemy lines, as even war engines were being thrown around by the force of the attack.
"Make way for the lord, gnats!" Galahad growled, before he then began to charge right through the enemy lines, as he was cutting down soldiers left and right with his great-lance.
A squad of Zeus units began to appear, complete with their lightning bolts, as they were about to attack the group, only for Artemis to rush forward, and grapple one of them.
"You shall not besmirch my father!" Artemis declared, before tossing the unit in her hand right into their duplicate, before she then began to charge power, before unleashing an Astral Saintstrike, as the myriad of blows smashed the lightning gods into the ground.
However, Artemis would not be left unattended, as Tab flicked a hand, as a pair of Minotaurs rushed her down, pinning her down to the ground, as they smashed at her, while she was forced to use her arms and gauntlets to guard against theri blows.
Senshi, who was just finished dealing with a group of samurai and knights, noticed her ally's plight, before she then rushed forward, as she slashed right through both of the minotaurs, cutting them down and freeing Artemis.
"My thanks for your aid." Artemis stated.
"No need for thanks." Senshi replied. "We stand together. It is expected to help."
As Suika grappled one of the Da Vinci tanks to use as a make-shift, she noticed that the horde of forces that Tab was putting forth was diminishing slightly.
"Seems that creating such a large army is giving good Tab there a bit of a mental cramp, doesn't it?" Suika remarked.
"All powers have their limits." Draco remarked. "...I'm surprised that we're able to stand strong against his strongest forces like this, with Cross's overclocking on him."
"Come on, at least we can brag about this to Tab when we smack sense back into his head!" Jaw chuckled.
"Now, that just ain't kind of ya, Jaw." Sawyer Star frowned. "Taking a bruise to his own confidence like that is a real low blow."
"Alright, alright." Jaw admitted. "Sorry."
"We're getting an opening! If we knock him out, the rest of the army will disappear!" Scrap said as she walloped a quick draw cowboy with her crowbar.
"That will be left to me." Utsuna remarked, before she then immediately used her Time Skip to rush towards Tab, as the Chronomancers, who were merely slowed due to their own resistances to time manipulation, tried to stop the assassin, although there were too few of them to be able to hit the rapidly-moving assassin.
Utsuna then reached Tab, before hitting him with a powerful blow to the neck that hit him directly on the nape of his neck, as she resumed time, as Tab fell forwards, as his forces disappeared in a mass of puffing clouds.
"Whew… Thanks a lot, pal!" Amanozako exclaimed. "Even a great Tengu like me got limits to how much butt that I can kick!"
"Hmph." Utsuna gently growled back.
"Now that the path is clear… Prepare yourself, Miles Upshur!" Randall exclaimed, as he rushed forward to engage Miles.
Killia didn't say anything, as he rushed after Aster, before knocking him away from the rest of the group with a powerful tackle punch.
"Hey, over here!" Popol exclaimed, trying to catch Hat Kid's attention. "We'll stop you!"
Hat Kid looked at the group for a moment, before she then put on a witch's hat, before she then began to throw a mass of potions right at the group.
"Uh oh." Heiwa remarked, as she and Popol were forced to dodge the incoming potions.
Meanwhile, Rimuru walked over to Thinker, as the two of them examined each other.
"I must say, of all the kinds of opponents that I would have got to fight… You're a unique one." Rimuru remarked. "However, even if your mind might be intact enough to still make use of that power of yours… your state will prevent you from using its full potential. I am sympathetic to your situation."
Thinker didn't respond, before he then raised a hand, as a mass of fuchsia-colored missiles shot towards Rimuru, causing him to use Beelzebub to devour the ballistic weaponry before they could detonate on him, as Rimuru immediately fired a beam, that Thinker blocked with a similarly-coloured tower shield that evaporated away.
"Hm." Rimuru remarked. "Perhaps I might have underestimated you a little."
Thinker then summoned a massive battle-golem, which took several seconds, rather than mere split-seconds, for Thinker to create, as it loomed over Rimuru, before raising an arm, as a massive cannon formed on it.
"Hm. I might need some help with this." Rimuru remarked, before raising a hand, as a magic circle formed under his feet. "Summon Shade Velgrynd."
A massive red dragon began to rise from Rimuru's feet, as its skin was a lot darker, as if it was blended with shadows, and its yellow eyes were fairly listless. As large as the battle-golem itself, the two titans faced each other.
Velgrynd immediately fired a massive breath of roaring fire right at the battle-golem, as it managed to deal severe damage to it, melting through its armor, as Thinker quickly summoned a large blade for the battle-golem to use, as it tried to hack down on Velgrynd's neck mid-breath.
"Not a chance! Universal Barrier!" Rimuru declared, as a large multi-layered barrier formed, as it managed to knock the battle-golem's swing back, although the golem didn't relent, as it continued to slam on it over and over, as the layers were being broken apart one by one.
However, Velgrynd finally managed to finish its attack, before it then charged another, as fiery particles began to gather in its mouth.
The battle-golem, as if sensing that the next attack would be its demise, immediately grabbed Velgrynd in a vice-like grip, as Rimuru was shocked by the sudden act, before it then began to glow violently, as Rimuru immediately noticed that it was about to self-destruct, to take Velgrynd with it.
"Shit-" Rimuru remarked, as he quickly shifted off Velgrynd's head, before applying Universal Barrier himself, as dragon and golem were consumed in a massive explosion, as the blast hit Rimuru's barrier, although it didn't destroy it.
Back to square one, albeit having exhausted a fair amount of resources with their summons, Rimuru and Thinker faced each other again.
"Alright, if that's how you want to play it…" Rimuru remarked, before drawing his blade. "Then I'll just cut you down before you even have the chance to summon anything like that while you still can!"
Rimuru then began to increase his speed rapidly, as Thinker quickly equipped himself with shield-gauntlets, as he defended himself against Rimuru's all-directional attack, as the demon lord warped from different directions to hit Thinker, as his attacks were powerful enough to damage Thinker's own constructs.
"Eat this! Melt Slash!" Rimuru growled, as he came from above, with his blade being infused with purple destructive force.
Thinker quickly shifted his gauntlets to protect from above, only for them to be cut right through, as Rimuru managed to land a powerful slash that cut Thinker down his chest. However, Rimuru was not done, as he grabbed Thinker by the head.
"I have to admit, this is the first time I truly had a serious fight." Rimuru remarked. "Given proper training, you could stand to surpass that level of power you have just shown. In fact, I think that most of your power comes from you, rather than what that Cross did to you. Get stronger, don't let anyone take your fate away."
Rimuru then blasted Thinker with ultrasonic waves, as Thinker was knocked unconscious by the auditory attack.
Meanwhile, Killia was fighting against Aster, as the two of them were clashing strongly against each other, the fairy firing off elemental spells, while Killia was trying to block the incoming spells.
"Tch… To think that you're this adept with magic." Killia remarked, before evading a field of earthen spikes, that Aster rose from his position. "No wonder that Kaguya Houraisan believes that Richard would be a suitable foe for you…"
Aster, not replying to that statement, simply raised his hand, as a sickly green glow began to overtake the area.
"What the…" Killia remarked, as he examined the group, trying to figure out what was going on.
R҉̢͟͢a̡͡d̨̡̛̀͝į͠͡ą̢̧̛͏ţ͘͞i͝҉o͠͡n̕͡͞ ̴̴͝E̶͝l̷̡̀͡è̕͡m̡̀͢͡ę́͢͡n̸͠͠t͡͠҉͏:̀͠ ̡̀̕͟͝F̶̨͟͡a̷͘͝͡l̶̵̢̛͟l̷̀ò̡ù͘͝t͏̴̸̛
The green glow solidified for a few moments before it faded, Killia starting to feel nauseous and dizzy.
"Oh shoot!" Sawyer realized, observing what just happened. "Killia, you got yerself radiation sickness!"
"Oh great, Aster's overclock expanded his elemental library…" Draco realized. "Jaw, can you help him?"
"Ask a stupid question…" Jaw said as he pulled out a syringe labeled "RadAway" and a blaster. "Hang on, killer!" the Jawa said as he ran over.
Aster saw Jaw running over and targeted him with a bolt of lightning, which was narrowly avoided, the midget returning fire as he reached Killia. "Don't tell Siege I stuck you with this." he said as he jammed the syringe into Killia's arm, the effects of the radiation fading away.
"...Thank you." Killia answered back, before he then prepared himself for an attack.
Killia then leapt backwards, before then engulfing himself in a aura of fire, before leaping into the air, as he began to barrage Aster and his surroundings with a rain of fire, as Aster quickly formed a barrier of ice to block the attack, although the heat of the fire was enough to melt the barrier halfway through the fire rain.
"Hrah!" Killia exclaimed, before he gathered all of his fire into his right fist, before throwing a massive blast of fire that engulfed Aster, and created a massive pillar of fire.
Killia then landed down, as Aster stayed down for a moment, before pulling himself up, as magic began to tingle from him.
"...It seems that you intend to use your full power, then." Killia remarked, before he then adopted a battle stance, as white energy began to emanate from him. "Come then, I shall face you head-on, as Goldion shall!"
From around Aster's body, energy of fire, water, earth, and air elements surged around him before rising above, coming together as they formed a small planet.
Ń̨̧a̴̷͟͝t͠u̷̶̡҉ŕ̷̷̛́a̕͟͜͜l̸̡̛̕ ̸̕͢͏E̴͟l͞e̴͏m̨e҉̧̀͞͠n̷̢͞͝͞t̸͘͟ ̨́͘͠C̴̶̸͜͢o̢͟͟ḿb̨͏̸͜í̧̕n̨̛̕͘a͘͝t̶̀̕͘͏i̢͝o̕͏̛͝n̵̨̨:
Ǵ̛́͟A̷̴͟I̛͏A̸̷͘͞͡
The fairy then raised his hand before lowering it ahead of him, as the planet began to fall towards Killia.
"...Quick question: can you bust a planet?" Jaw asked casually.
Killia didn't answer, before he then dashed forth, as he met the planet, before hitting it with a barrage of techniques that slowed its fall, while his punches and kicks were sending him higher and higher up, and his blows were getting faster and stronger, as the aura of white around him began to grow stronger and bigger.
"Prepare yourself!" Killia remarked, as he gathered his energy into his right hand, as a massive orb of energy began to form on it. "Ultimate Demon Technique, Final Skill: Avidya Holy Water!"
Killia then fired a massive beam of energy that hit the planet, as the force of it slowly grinded the moving celestial body to a stop, as the beam began to dig right into the planet, pushing it back towards where Aster was, until it penetrated through the core of the planet, as the beam grew larger, and consumed the rest of the planet, as well as hitting Aster fully with the almighty blast of energy. The fairy was sent flying back before he landed hard onto the ground, knocked out.
"...That's a yes then." Jaw answered his own question.
"Well, you were asking a literal Overlord, who literally can bust galaxies with his strongest ability. And that's only if this was his original self." Kaguya remarked. "I think that if he could bust planets with his second-strongest… without even using his Overload… I think that he's far stronger."
"Wow, that'z quite zcary actually." Marty remarked.
"WAIT, HE'S WASN'T GOING ALL OUT WITH THAT!?" Jaw exclaimed with horror.
"Not unless he has a good reason for it." Kaguya remarked. "...And I'm starting to think that we're about to bump into said reason soon enough."
With Heiwa and Popol, the latter found himself being sent flying back, as Hat Kid procured a bat, and slugged him right into his kitsune partner, sending them both tumbling.
"Wouch! She's really strong like Boki was!" Popol exclaimed.
"We can win this!" Heiwa remarked. "We have to… I cannot imagine how horrible she must be feeling, being forced to do all these terrible things…"
Hat Kid then immediately put on a red cap with wings on it, before she then shot up fast, as she smacked them both around hard with rapid swings of her umbrella, knocking them both together, before putting on a icy beanie, and turning into a massive ice statue that slammed them both to the ground.
"Get… OFF!" Heiwa growled, before she then unleashed a pulse of fire that managed to knock the statue off them.
Hat Kid reverted back in midair, before she spun around and divebomb towards the boy and girl, while charging her umbrella, as energy began to gather at the tip of her umbrella, as stars began to revolve around her.
"Oh no you don't!" Popol exclaimed, before he then deflected Hat Kid's dive with his spear, redirecting her umbrella towards the air, as it fired a massive beam of energy.
"Wow! Did she just do something like Aunt Yuuka, with that beam from her umbrella!?" Heiwa exclaimed, as she was awed by the umbrella beam.
"Heiwa, please, focus!" Popol pleaded, as Hat Kid went down, as she began to summon a magic-hand from the tip of her umbrella to grab Popol, and drag him closer. "Wuh-oh…!"
Hat Kid then began to wind up a fist, before smacking Popol right in the stomach, and then sending him crashing to the ground.
"Popol!" Heiwa exclaimed, before turning to Hat Kid. "Alright, if that's the case, I'm going to have to be a bit rough!"
She then pulled out her brush, as she swung at Hat Kid, who used her umbrella to block the swing, as the two of them tried to force the other down, although they broke apart.
"Take this!" Heiwa remarked, before slashing her brush through the air, as it created several blasts of fire that turned into crawling fissures of fire that began to shoot towards Hat Kid from various directions, while Heiwa added some mid-air fireballs to try and trap Hat Kid.
Hat Kid tried to use her umbrella, managing to knock the fireballs away, but the fissures were too much for her, hitting her dead on as she collapsed to the group, the Xs in her eyes being replaced by swirls, as Heiwa rushed over, and smacked her on the head, as Hat Kid toppled over.
"...Finally." Heiwa sighed, before walking over to Hat Kid, and rubbing her head gently. "...Sorry if I was too hard on you."
Heiwa then moved over to Popol, who was rubbing his own chest, where he was hurt the most from his fall.
"Popol, are you okay!?" Heiwa asked with extreme concern on her face.
"I'm alright." Popol stated, before giving off a confident grin. "It'll take more than that to take me down!"
"I was worried about you!" Heiwa exclaimed. "Hat Kid hit you pretty hard."
"There, there." Popol said, as he gently hugged Heiwa briefly. "I'm glad that you care for me so much."
Heiwa could only give off a light blush, while Popol immediately felt the same, realizing what he said.
Meanwhile, Miles and Wally were fighting against Randall, as the latter was quite injured, as his armor was torn from the attacks.
"Tch… what manner of creature is this…?" Randall growled. "My attacks cannot seem to be able to affect him, even though my blade is blessed… this creature… it cannot be supernatural, to be able to negate my blade's power. What can it be…?"
"That's the thing: Wally is supernatural." Draco said, having joined him. "And mechanical. And psychic. And magic. And…pretty much everything else, all at once."
Wally took the opportunity to lunge towards Randall, subduing him by bursting apart into a dark cloud and restraining him. Miles then pulled out a phone and walked over to the trapped warrior, who was made to look forward and keep his eyes open as the former reporter held up the phone to Randall's eyes, the screen showing a Roarsach image in motion.
"Miles, no!" Draco yelled as he tackled the reporter, the phone dropping to the ground. The Walrider immediately released Randall and moved to get the Skyain off of his father, throwing him away.
Wally then turned his attention back to Randall, as the warrior was already back on his feet.
"Grgh… Truly, Draco was right to fear your strength." Randall remarked. "To dabble between the supernatural and the technological. You are a formidable creation indeed."
The Walrider was about to advance, before it then began to convulsed violently, as if something was causing it to stop, much to Randall's surprise.
"What the…" Randall remarked, as Draco realized what that meant.
"Wally! Wally, if you're in there, keep fighting!" Draco cried out. "You can't let whoever took your father to win! He needs to be freed from his control."
Within his head, Randall then heard a young voice cry out.
Save…daddy…now…!
Don't… let me hurt… anyone…!
"...Your wish is my command." Randall declared, before he then rushed forward, with his blade poised to hit Miles with the blunt-end, as Miles grabbed the weapon trying to force it back, although Randall was the stronger of the two, despite Miles's physical enhancements.
Randall growled, as he began to force the blade down, pushing Miles onto the ground, as he used the blunt end of his blade to force Miles to be choked under the blade, as the reporter struggled violently, kicking and punching Randall everywhere, although the warrior did not let the pain faze him, as the struggle slowly ended, as Miles fell unconscious.
"...It is done." Randall remarked, before turning to the Walrider. "...He will not be able to direct you. For now, you are free to protect him without the wretch that used him to control you."
Thank… you…
"That's all five done and accounted for." Kaguya remarked. "Now all that's left is-"
Gus began to cry out in agony, as wounds began to form on his body, as if it was caused by some sort of unknown source.
"Gus, what's wrong!?" Kaguya exclaimed.
"Something's… hurting me…!" Gus wheezed. "I can't… Something that X-Chara did to me… it's transferring his damage to me as well."
"His damage…!?" Kaguya remarked, before they then looked into the distance, as there was a burst of light. "...What the hell is going on over there…"
"We have to rush to the aid of the others." Meiling remarked.
"All of those who are not heavily wounded, follow me!" Kaguya exclaimed. "We're going after X-Chara!"
During the entire battle…
Swap Chara was in despair, as both Swap and Swap Papyrus were turned into Amalgamations of themselves, as they slowly advanced towards SwapChara, whose backs against a wall.
"You know, I'm surprised that Ink still isn't here." X-Chara remarked, watching his creations lurk towards Swap Chara. "But then again, I know he is truly deep underneath that fake face of his. If it suits his convenience, he'll let us do whatever we like, because our actions foster creation. Good or bad, it does not to him. Now then, won't you beg for me? After all, I need your despair to pay back Nightmare for his help."
Swap then raised a clawed hand to tear Swap Chara apart, as they closed their eyes in fear.
However, before it could come down, Swap Sans was smashed back by the attack of a blade, while Swap Papyrus was blasted away by an arrow of light.
"Well, ain't this just a terrible situation, ain't it, Ayla?" A voice remarked, as Swap Chara opened their eyes, only to find that Baudimon and Aylanda was in front of them.
"It was fortunate that Magina sent us here in time… Poor child, they could have ended up scarred from this." Aylanda remarked sadly.
"Who… Where did you come from!?" X-Chara growled.
"So, you're the one responsible for this mess." Baudimon remarked, before readying Dawnbreaker. "Normally, I would make exceptions for fighting children like you… but I doubt that you're an actual child under that body. So I won't feel bad for handing you your punishment."
"You will not harm this child." Aylanda declared, as she readied her staff and tome. "Your cruelty ends here."
"Heh… Heheheheh…" X-Chara chuckled darkly. "You think that a king and queen coming out of some fantasy gets to tell me what to do? Alright then, I suppose then that killing you both will achieve the same effect. And once I'm done here, I'll take care of the rest of your friends."
Cue BGM: Overwrite (X-Event Chara Theme)
X-Chara blinked his eyes, before the entire area turned into a field in the sunset, as both Swap and Swap Papyrus were mid-air, with a massive barrage of purple jagged bones.
Baudimon narrowed his eyes, before he then wielded Dawnbreaker, taking a deep breath, as Aylanda moved behind him, before the bones came down, as Baudimon cut and deflected the bones away with precise and fast slashes, before several Gaster Blasters lined up to blast at him.
"By the light!" Aylanda exclaimed, before she then raised her tome, as a massive storm of light arrows hit the Gaster Blasters, before detonating and destroying them, while also hitting both Swap and Swap Papyrus, and even targeting X-Chara, who immediately warped the arrows of light away.
X-Chara merely scoffed, before Swap Papyrus immediately used his SOUL magic, before sending both Baudimon and Aylanda flying back, into a massive pit of spikes, as Baudimon used his blade to cut the spikes apart, so that they wouldn't be impaled into them, although they were stuck inside.
"DIE-" X-Chara said, as he warped above them, with a murderous face, with cleaver ready to destroy them, as Baudimon quickly raised Dawnbreaker to prepare to block the attack.
However, unexpected help came from Swa, who returned to normal, throwing a bone that pierced right through X-Chara's body, and sent him flying away, as the entire world turned back into a black void, as X-Chara crashed down, before recovering, releasing what X-Chara has done to Swap Papyrus, much to Swap Chara's relief.
"Thank you-" Aylanda was about to thank Swap, only to see that Swap Sans were glaring angrily at X-Chara, bones in hand, as tears were in his eyes. "...Oh."
"How did you…" X-Chara growled.
"...Are you proud of what you're doing here?" Swap remarked. "I know there are alternate timelines where all my friends and I are suffering. And now you've ruined the only place where all of us are happy."
Swap San's left eye glowed blue. "Let me guess. You're frustrated, aren't you?" He continued. "Hurting others will not fix whatever it is that happened to you."
X-Chara could have sworn that he saw X-Gaster's shadow behind Swap Sans for a moment, shocking him, while Swap Sans tried to smile.
"I want to help you…" Swap said, before he frowned. "...But I can't believe in you. Your actions… they're wrong."
X-Chara was about to go for the OVERWRITE Button, only for Swap to act first, hitting him with a rising row of bones, knocking Chara flying into the air, who landed back down, as Swap then rushed down X-Chara with both of his bones, before X-Chara tried to go for a back attack, only to be sent flying forward by Baudimon's shoulder tackle.
"Hey, skeleton-boy!" Baudimon exclaimed. "You're not the only one who needs to bring this bastard down! How about we work together? Both of us have some experience working alongside people like you. Although that tall skeleton friend of yours… he reminds me of someone."
"...Okay." Swap answered back.
"...Royal Guards… Kings… Queen… Princes… Princesses." X-Chara scoffed, using his cleaver to slow his skidding. "They're all the same."
As Swap elevated himself perching on a bone that was upright and tall, he then immediately began to summon a massive rain of jagged bones, as X-Chara smirked, before both of them acted against each other, as X-Chara was side-stepped each and every bone, before hitting the bone itself, knocking Swap into the air.
"Let's see you handle this." X-Chara remarked, before using OVERWRITE to change their orientation, so that they're falling head-first towards the ground, before using it again, as a massive storm of purple knives formed
"Hehehe, OVERWRITE. What a quaint little tool." A voice called out as suddenly, bones intercepted the knife storm as the familiar trio of Gaster Blasters returned. "I'm feeling deja vu here. But I doubt you are… Cross. Or should I say, Color Cross."
"Who… Who do you think you are!?" X-Chara growled.
X-Chara would be blasted by the Gaster Blasters just as FS!Sans, FS!Papyrus, and FS!Chara came into view, with Siege, Richard, and Alear with them.
"Well, I'll be damned, we got saved by the ones we were backing up." Baudimon chuckled.
"Sup, Baud." FS!Richard remarked. "Kid give you much trouble?"
"He's quite dramatic." Baudimon remarked. "Seems like he's got a real chip on his shoulder like Morty once. By the way, just a sit-rep, Isabelle, Jakka, Victoria, and Robert are on their way."
"Good man, Baud." Siege nodded.
"Damn you…!" X-Chara growled, as he was about to summon something with OVERWRITE, before FS!Richard rushed over, and hit X-Chara with a gut punch that stunned him.
"Bad luck, Colors." FS!Chara remarked, as she readied her knife. "While I can't kill you, I do intend to make you bleed for the sins you have caused."
FS!Chara then slashed X-Chara right across the chest, as it managed to damage the soul heavily.
"And here's another-" FS!Richard was about to hit him with a massive laser blast.
"Stop! You're going to hurt Gus this way!" Kaguya exclaimed, rushing forward, as everyone turned to see that Gus was wounded heavily, with the same injuries that FS!Chara caused on him, resting against Kaguya's shoulder. "They're sharing the same kind of damage with the SOUL between them."
"What!?" FS!Richard exclaimed, as he punched X-Chara back, creating some distance. "...So that's your game. You're using that as a safety net to stop us from crushing us immediately."
"That's right. And you can't do a single thing-" X-Chara said, before his SOUL turned blue, locking him in place.
"Sorry, kid, but you ain't trying that same trick twice." Sans remarked, as he and Fell were transported back in.
"Not to mention… hehehe… I can do something about it. I already have experience with it." FS!Chara smirked, before turning to two people. "Hey, you and the white haired girl." She said, looking at Rimuru and Veyle. "C'mon up here, would ya?"
The duo nodded and walked up, as FS!Chara smiled wickedly.
"See, I got this little trick that allows me to steal essence from SOULs and put them into someone else. So, sadly for you, I already did this once saving the Chara of this place from you in another time. I'll do it once again, to save the man whose SOUL you stole." FS!Chara cackled.
Cue: Megalo Strike Back - Orchestral Metal cover by FalKKonE
Rimuru would take control from Sans, slamming X-Chara down before drawing them in, letting go of their soul as FS!Chara smiled wickedly, stabbing right through a chunk of the SOUL as it robbed that chunk from X-Chara, the essence then shooting right back into Gus to restore him some.
"Are you scared yet? Because you should be." FS!Chara spoke menacingly.
"No…! NO!" X-Chara exclaimed, before he used his OVERWRITE to get himself released, summoning a mass storm of knives, as FS!Chara merely sighed, before summoning a barrier of knives, as the knives merely clattered against the barrier, as the group were protected from it.
"Seriously, you're not winning this." FS!Chara remarked, with a shake of her head. "I know your motivations from top to bottom, and I know your game as well. I beat you with only my fellow buddies back then. What's going to change with everyone here?"
The group had X-Chara surrounded, as the X-verse rogue noticed that the odds were out.
"Nightmare won't be getting up for a good while." FS!Richard answered back. "Face it, you're done."
X-Chara could only silently glare with scorn, before he then breathed deeply.
"You know what… you're right. I have no options left." X-Chara declared. "I miss when everything was still good…. When we had a family that we could be proud of, when the universes reminded us of the good. You have no idea how hard we tried to save those moments of joy. Even when both of us were lost… he continued on."
"Oh, I know." FS!Chara stated, as she, FS!Sans, and FS!Papyrus approached X-Chara. "We know that feeling all too well… Especially because you robbed that from us."
"...You're like that Sans that Nightmare hired with him… Alternate timelines…" X-Chara remarked. "So you are from a world which someone like me had ruined."
"Someone like you… no, it was you, X." FS!Chara explained. "Because of you and your so-called 'X-Event'… We're the only ones left of our Underverse. Even INK doesn't fucking exist, you absolute moron. All because you played right into X-Gaster's hands, as you are now."
X-Chara merely looked away. "What do you know? You act as if you had known how I tried to save my own universe." He declared, before he smashed his fists on the ground. "But that bastard kept on getting in our way. He's always one step ahead of us, one step ahead of Richard… Worlds like these frustrated him so much, he could never be satisfied, and we all suffered for it."
"But that's no excuse to visit the same suffering upon others." FS!Papyrus remarked. "...You know a funny thing, kiddo. 'You're only a piece of code with a scripted story. Whatever you say, I don't care'. Those were the last words you gave to my brother, before you literally erased him. So I'm sorry if I can't find myself forgiving you with that story of yours. But I can say that you ain't half-assing it either."
"That's where we came in. Magina knew that with the way things were, an endless world of suffering would come about. So, she changed the code. She 'hacked' the story… X-Gaster wanted us dead immediately, threw every bit of his army at us… including you." FS!Sans remarked. "Because you played by his rules. Even going against him, rebuilding your own world, etc…. You're doing his will to destroy us psychologically and emotionally piece by piece."
X-Chara was left silent by those words, as his own motivation was shattered.
"But it's time for us to come into play. New variables. Another 'hack', if you will." FS!Chara remarked. "Because we know you in and out. We know your pain and your suffering… not to mention, just your will to live, however shattered that might be now. I know that you still care for someone, in the end of it all."
FS!Chara suspended the SOUL of Cross again, as she looked to Rimuru. "Hey, got a human soul you killed you can hand me?"
"Sure. Which one?" Rimuru asked, pulling out the SOULs of all his previous 1000+ human victims he slew to become a Demon Lord in his world.
"Any one will do." FS!Chara remarked, soon ripping Gus' SOUL free from X-Chara, and then taking one from Rimuru and shoving it in place, which once again allowed Cross and X-Chara to swap between themselves again. "So what do you say? Are you ready to shatter this cycle and become happy again or what?" FS!Chara asked.
Cross looked at FS!Chara, who reached her hand out, before turning away.
"...I… I cannot trust you all… but I am thankful." Cross remarked. "...You know… if I may speak the truth with you all."
"Shoot." FS!Sans remarked, before crossing his arms. "Can't be worse than what I heard from our first time going through this."
"I… I'm doing this… because this is what Richard wanted." Cross declared. "...It was my fault that the X-Verse was gone to begin with, because I distrusted Richard when I should have believed in him. I regret everything about that. He did everything to help us, from the first timeline that we met him. He believed in X-Gaster to the end, and tried to help him off the dark path. And when he failed, he picked himself up and tried to save us… And I spat in his wishes."
"So you seek redemption by continuing his work." Gus stated. "...This wouldn't be what Richard wanted for all of you. He would never sacrifice others for the sake of making his people happy…"
"I know. But I can't do anything else to repay him. Chara wanted the same." Cross declared. "You know… those heart lockets that you once had… I once had one. It was supposed to be a memento to represent what I was supposed to fight for… And I threw it away. Because I was so angry at Frisk and Chara for doing the same thing to us, as Gaster had done to us through those multiple timelines."
Cross then shifted into X-Chara, as there was a sad smile on his face.
"With the OVERWRITE button, I have the control, I can do justice for everyone like Richard wanted." X-Chara remarked. "Just one world. With the best of the others. Just one universe to give us the happy ending that Richard died and sacrificed so much for. I didn't want this mass destruction anyway. After all, I could have taken Underfell's entire code… but I only needed fragments. That was all."
"That ain't right." Sans answered back. "Remember what Rimuru told you? You can let others help you to fix your problems. You don't have to fight alone. In fact, none of us were. We all fought together to beat back your clones, and force you into this situation. We got this far because we believed in each other, cheesy as it sounds. So, won't you believe it again?"
X-Chara looked at the group, as a grim memory crossed his mind, with Richard and X-Asriel standing against both family and friends to do what was right, as he closed his eyes.
"...I'm too hurt to believe again." Chara answered back, before turning away. "...I need time to consider everything… And I know that Ink is planning something at this point. If he's really a part of X-Gaster's plans… I'm going to stop him myself."
Before any of the group could do anything, X-Chara teleported out of the universe.
"Well, it seems that this ended far better than it was before?" FS!Richard remarked, with an unsure tone, before turning to the FS! Bad Time Trio. "...You never told me that you went through all of this before…"
"Richard, old chum." FS!Sans remarked. "You've seen the stuff that happened up to now. Now, magnify it to be ten times worse, and you got the gist of our experience. Do you think that any of us would really revisit that dark age?"
"It's the reason we formed the 'Bad Time Trio'. To act as the new guardians and Judges… Of a now empty Underverse." FS!Chara explained.
FS!Richard opened his mouth, before shutting it. "...I'm sorry for reopening old wounds like that." He apologized.
"It's fine. We live with them every day." FS!Chara stated, as she closed her eyes solemnly.
"If you've been through this… like a Redux…" Draco remarked, walking to the Bad Time Trio. "Then you must have an idea about what's going to happen next. Please, if it doesn't pain you to remember…"
"At this point, X-Chara, or Color Cross which we decided to call him, would be whisked away into Outertale." FS!Papyrus declared. "It was there that we really got into hot damn soup. Every big player was there. Error, Ink, X-Gaster, and every single one of the X-Numbers, or the core characters. You know, like me, Sans, Alphys, Undyne and so on. Boss Monsters if some of you are gamers."
Kaguya was silent, before FS!Chara turned towards the group.
"By the way, you guys seem to have a suspicion of what Ink is doing. If you're thinking that he's not being quite cozy with you all… You're absolutely fucking right." FS!Chara declared. "He's buying time. The reason he was fighting Color Cross in the first place? Stopping said kid from flipping the board with his bat-shit plan, until X-Gaster nuzzled nice and warm in one of his color vials, to be broken free again at the right time."
"...So Richard didn't trust Ink either." Gus remarked. "...Then what do we do about that then?"
"We're going to need to split into two." FS!Sans remarked. "You see, while the big man himself is still recuperating, he still has his assistant, X-Alphys. She's basically the big summoner in those games. With the 9 pages she carries, she can summon her fellow friends from each and every one. And during this time, she's going to be coming for this place, and then Underfell. First time we were around, Paps said that she merely just quarantined the Underswap universe, which is already an empty void like this. Underfell however… you didn't forget about them, didn't you?"
"What the HELL are they going to do there…!?" Fell growled.
"Take a guess." FS!Chara remarked with hands out. "Do you think that X-Gaster is the kind of person to leave unknown variables on the table?"
"No fucking way…" Siege growled. "...We're definitely stopping this."
"Siege, you take the majority of the group, and go forth to Outertale." FS!Richard declared. "I'll take some of the team, and head for Underfell to prepare for when the shitstorm hits. If I can damage the X-verse residents, it might be easier to break them free of whatever control that X-Gaster put on them."
"Let it be known: If you want to break them free… X-Gaster has to die." FS!Chara informed.
"You know, CORE Frisk, the same kid who wants to keep a balance, told us that the other option ain't viable." FS!Richard remarked, crossing his arms. "So, don't worry, Chara, we won't get soft when we need to do what is done."
"Then I'll take Rimuru and Veyle to take on X-Gaster." Siege stated suddenly, as he had a look of determination on his face. "Baudimon, I leave you in charge to lead our forces to Outertale. I know you can take them on just fine."
"You got it." Baudimon said with a firm nod. "I'll contact the others coming and tell them the new meeting location."
"Much obliged." Siege stated.
"The Unmei Force will march to Outertale as well." Gus declared. "Whatever X-Gaster has planned, we need everything and everyone to be prepared."
"Utsuna, Killia, Randall, Galahad." FS!Richard declared. "I need you all to come with me. Some powerhouses to deal with the situation at hand would be useful."
"Understood." Utsuna nodded.
"Very well." Killia remarked with a nod.
"I will be of utmost aid." Randall declared.
"As you command, Richard." Galahad declared.
"And where's your take on this, Draco?" FS!Richard. "Where will you stand?"
"I think that you all have enough power-houses coming along to Outertale, where the real stuff is going down." Draco remarked. "Everyone's in my band is coming with you, Richard."
"Besides, would be real unkind of us to leave these poor monsters back there without a guardian." Sawyer Star smirked.
"Wait, speaking of which, what about the others?" Senshi remarked. "They haven't woke up-"
"Are you referring to us?" Thinker remarked, as he, Miles, Hat Kid, Aster, and Tab walked up to the group.
"Hah. I figured you would wake up soon." Rimuru chuckled at Thinker, still impressed with Thinker having matched him despite him not even letting loose yet.
"Are you alright?" FS!Richard asked. "Some of you have taken quite some damage from the fights you all had."
"Well, I remember the fact that I was lying face-down on the ground." Tab remarked. "But I can tell that I must have gone all out on all of you… Sorry for all of that. It's embarrassing that I ended up being used like that."
"Ah, no problem." Suika remarked. "It happens to the best of us."
"You saved me and my son, before we could do more damage." Miles remarked. "...As Wally might have told you… thank you so much."
"To be fair, it was only because your son fought as hard as he did against his control, that we managed to prevail." Randall admitted. "He is a terrifying combatant, and I for one am truly glad that he has a father to guide him well."
"Say…" Aster remarked, before turning to Killia. "...You don't happen to be an Overlord, right?"
"That is a former title of mine. I have lost it in my own personal journey" Killia remarked. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, it would explain why you were able to do what you did to GAIA." Aster said. "Usually it's a one hit kill. Forbidden under normal circumstances."
"...Do we tell him, or don't we…?" Kaguya whispered to FS!Richard, who merely shook his head.
"It is indeed a powerful attack." Killia remarked. "And yes, I believe that it is as powerful as you may claim it to be. But it is an attack that can be redirected, due to its slow speed. Although there are only a few ways to do so… The Demon Techniques are meant to deal with such techniques."
"...Oh." Aster remarked.
"Hm, I could stand to take some interest in you." FS!Richard remarked, before showing an assortment of elements in his hand. "After all, we're two peas of the same pod in that regard, fairy mage."
"Wow…" Aster said in awe.
"I could stand to get a few friends around here." FS!Richard remarked. "After all, our Siege made a few here as well, with Hope the Victor… although it would be more precise to say that this is a long-distance relationship of a kind."
"Are you all fine now?' Heiwa asked Hat Kid, as there was worry on her face. "...Sorry about what happened, but you were going to try and kill us when you were under that white boy's control…"
"Ah, I'm okay." Hat Kid said. "Thanks for getting me my senses back. Those sad jerks had my mind locked down tight."
"Well, I'm glad that you're alright." Popol remarked, before heartily laughing. "After all, this hunter won't let anyone be sad like that again."
"Um… mind if I ask something of you…" Heiwa remarked, as she sounded fairly timid in her voice. "...My brother says that getting to know other people around the worlds is a good thing to do, ever since I met Koyomi. So… would you mind if we can be friends, or at least work towards being friends? You're… you're pretty nice and cute, and I think that you were really awesome with how you fought just before… even if you were controlled by that boy…"
"…You won't try to steal my stuff, will you?" Hat Kid asked.
"Where did that idea come from?" Heiwa asked, tilting her head. "I… I'm sure that I won't do such a terrible thing to a new friend. And besides, I think that I would rather share things than to take them."
"Then we'll get along just fine!" Hat Kid smiled.
"You… you had a bad friend or something?" Popol asked curiously.
"Yeah. She turned into a jerk, so I had to beat her up." Hat Kid explained.
"Wow…" Popol remarked. "Well, I hope that we'll be able to remain friends. I don't think that I'll even be a jerk by those definitions. Besides, a pack of friends makes all of the adventuring all the more fun, right?"
"Yay! A new friend!" Heiwa remarked, before hugging Hat Kid tightly. "I'll be sure to find a way to write to you about the fun things from my side, when I ask my aunts and my brother about a way to contact you. And maybe, we can even have some fun together when we meet again someday!"
"Cool!" Hat Kid responded cheerfully. "We could go exploring, beat up bad guys, and I can watch you and your boyfriend over here be adorable!"
"Of course, just the way we like it!" Heiwa exclaimed with joy, as Popol blushed heavily at a result, realizing that the hat-wearing girl could sense their love just from their first moments of proper interaction.
"Huh, how sweet." FS!Richard remarked, seeing the scene between Hat Kid and Heiwa feeding off each other's excitement. "Man, I wish that our Heiwa was this cutesy. She's more the kind of tomboy."
"Really?" Gus asked, as FS!Richard nodded firmly.
"We should split off now." Siege remarked. "So, we got the plan, and everyone is prepared to carry it out."
"See you on the other side, brother." FS!Richard declared, before he then opened his sukima, as his group entered through it.
"Yukari, we need your help." Siege declared. "We have the next destination. Outertale."
"And just as well. I eavesdropped on the conversation at hand." Yukari remarked, as she opened her own sukima "I have set my own sukima to there. Once your Richard is done fending off the X-verse residents, he will come before you."
Siege merely nodded, before the remainder of the group immediately went through the sukima, prepared to put an early end to X-Gaster's plans…