Thanks go to Wingah, Spencer the Gamer, Doctah Sawbones, CrystalGamer82, Zack Frost, Tbone8454, 10burgers, Jack54311, Acoolnamme, Sonic245, NBoss01, Genowar, and elicas!

Happy belated birthday, CrystalGamer82! I'm glad last chapter lined up to be a birthday present, and I hope you had a good birthday. :)

Don't worry Acoolnamme, what they learned over the timeskip will most certainly be covered.

The next chapter should be up two weeks from now! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.

I'd never felt like the underdog. Not once in my entire life.

Dust. Ink. Fire. Blood. Everything stunk. His kingdom, his home. All that Xander had built was shattered, its remains laying broken to rubble to his left and to his right. On spaghetti legs, The Gatherer wandered forward. Across a scorched stone path his filthy black shoes tapped, one foot in front of the other.

I never needed a title like that. Failure's love to call themselves underdogs; it justifies being a loser. And I, Xander The Gatherer, am not a loser.

He was like a corpse, wandering lifelessly ahead. The only sound was the quiet crackling of the flames and the hiss of his fountain's broken pipe. Water sprayed over the stone, its clear puddle reflecting the shimmering red of the DETERMINED fires. It was all that was left, the Aftermath of The Angel.

... Or, I wasn't.

Xander's shrunken pupils trembled in his skull. He stared straight forward. Left, right, left, right. Even though his body was vibrating with tremors, Xander forced himself to keep moving.

I was a success. I was a leader, a winner, a champion, and a hero.

He could see it. That man - his man - face down in his own growing puddle. Unlike the fountain, however, the liquid that Cliff soaked his face in was not clear. It did not glimmer or shine, it reflected nothing. It held no beauty. Clifford The BRAVE was face down in a pool of his own blood.

And that was taken from me. In an instant.

Xander's footsteps came to a stop. He stood there, paralyzed and mortified as he stared into the gaping, gushing crimson hole in Cliff's back. His skin had grown so pale, so cold. He was completely stiff and utterly motionless. And The Gatherer could not blink, even as tears built in his horrified eyes. With a voice that was cracked and broken, he whispered... "... Clifford..?"

… When Anarchy formed his Scorpion. When Angel or his Chara sprouted their wings. I always thought that it was posturing, honestly. Or that maybe, they just didn't understand the full heights of their powers. That they weren't as smart or as good as I was, that they didn't understand themselves like I did. I never believed in the concept of Ascension.

Now, the world was loud and violent. A hurricane of flames roared so loud it almost drowned out Xander's anguished screams. The Gatherer had dropped to his knees, and desperately he clutched the cold corpse of the one he loved in his arms. The tears streaming down his cheeks steamed and evaporated, and the brutal, super heated winds pulled at his hair and clothing.

But, do you want to know something, my dear audience?

Shaking his head in violent denial of this fate, Xander sobbed hysterically. He buried his face in Clifford's torn open chest, staining his face with cold blood. The fires of his wrath burned his worthless kingdom to ash, for his fury had no aim. He wanted everything to hurt, hurt like he hurt. Suddenly, he threw his head back, screaming to the sky until his throat felt it was going to split apart. Past his lips black smoke sprayed, reaching out from the fire within him.

His soul burned on his chest, crimson flames spiraling up around his neck. Ruby grew rapidly over his amethyst eyes, DETERMINATION overtaking PERSEVERANCE in an instant. His thoughts were moving rapidly, expanding while his mind searched desperately for an answer. A solution. But nothing came, so his brain shut off and his heart took over. And what his heart demanded was blood and ash. Burn, burn! It all had to burn!

And all of The Gatherer's hurt, all of his trauma and all of the rage and indignation he blocked away behind his forehead grew. It grew and expanded, causing splitting pain to rip through Xander's skull. And finally, as his agonized roars reached over the furious yells of his fire, the barrier broke, and his hatred broke through. His forehead split apart over each of his eyebrows, and blood spewed through the air.

Instantly Xander The Gatherer threw his head back, leaning his whole body with it. His scarlet eyes stared straight at the smoke covered stars, wide and tear filled. And from his skull, two horns had burst out towards the sky. The red of his blood trickled along their obsidian forms in gorgeous streams, and the twisting of his hellfire shimmered beautifully in those scarlet rivers.

I was wrong.

Chapter 50: The Loneliest Man Alive

Or: Three Years As The Gatherer

"Love... Does things to a person. Terrible things... Xander, I want you to promise me something."

Distant, violet eyes glossed over those words for the billionth time. Xander clutched the bouquet that he held just a little tighter as he winced, swallowing with a dry mouth. It had hardly gotten easier, finding the words. The hardest part was that it didn't matter, because he couldn't hear him.

"Yes, father..? What is it?"

"... Promise me you'll never love anyone like I loved your mother. Can you do that for me, son..?"

CLIFFORD

A good man. A BRAVE man.

March 23rd, 1999 - September 22nd, 2019

"... Yes, father. I... I promise."

"... It's a big day today, Clifford." The Gatherer finally spoke, exhaling quietly through his nose. He lowered those flowers to his side, shutting his eyes briefly and reaching up with his free hand. He ran his palm over the top of his head, smoothing over any out of place hairs. His reddish black hair was clean and well kept, pulled back into a small bun at the crown of his head. "Eden's 18th birthday. She's all grown up."

"She's always been a smart kid, and she's really grown these past few years." Xander reopened his eyes, letting them gloss over the well decorated grave before him. Cliff's tombstone was a shimmering grey rock, perfectly smoothed and detailed with specks of white and black. It was bordered with rows of flowers, all perfectly cared for. Eden took care of them herself; she didn't trust a gardener with a job this important. "I'm so proud of her."

"..." The Gatherer paused then. He lowered his eyes to his shined black oxford shoes, and winced some. Had he not been holding a bouquet, he certainly would have clenched his fists. He might even ignite, if he lost his cool. So, instead, he took a deep breath, and he continued. "... I know you would be proud of her too."

"I've worked hard to look after her, you know." Xander lifted his half-lidded amethyst orbs to the engravings of Cliff's headstone. "To protect her, and make sure she grows up to reach all of her potential. I know it's what you would have wanted."

"... All of this, is what you would have wanted." Xander let out a quiet sigh, his shoulders sinking some. From side to side he turned his head, looking out over the world around him. Clifford's grave was the center piece of this graveyard, on a hill slightly taller than all the rest. It was hardly noticeable unless someone looked hard, but Xander knew he had placed Cliff above all others his cause had lost. And that was enough for him. "I just... Wish you could see it."

"For years now I've been expanding our dream. Planting seeds everywhere that they might grow, gaining powerful allies and defeating powerful enemies." His eyes locked back onto that unforgiving rock, glimmering with sorrow. "All for you."

"... If you can hear me, Clifford, then you should know that I've promised you three things." Xander lifted those flowers gently in both of his hands, bending his knees some. He knelt down onto one knee, resting those flowers carefully across the perfect green grass over Cliff's tomb. "One: to protect Eden on her path to adulthood."

"Two:" Xander slowly stood back up, straightening his back. He straightened his tie, brushed his hands down the front of his suit's red jacket, which was buttoned over his red tie and black button up shirt. The black of his button up matched his dress pants, the pocket of which he reached into. "To make our dream a reality by any means necessary."

"And three..." From his pocket, The Gatherer retrieved a carton of cigarettes, the bottom of which he smacked against the palm of his opposite hand. After loosening a cigarette, he took it from its pack delicately between his fingers, and brought it to his lips. Closing his eyes, he carefully took it into the corner of his mouth, stuffing the remainder of his pack into his pocket.

His right index finger ignited in a small orb of orange flames, and he lifted it to his cigarette's tip. And as he lit up his tobacco, he let his eyes open. Fury shined red within his orbs, and his expression grew bitter.

"To destroy Cter The Angel."

"... Until then, I won't be able to rest." Quietly The Gatherer inhaled a lungful of smog, before slowly pulling his cigarette away from his lips. He tilted his head back, exhaling a stream of grey fog into the air above.

"... But." He lowered his head, looking back to the tomb of his beloved. He slipped his cigarette between his lips again, and he forced a sad smile. "That shouldn't stop you, Clifford."

"Rest well." Xander lifted one hand, giving a halfhearted wave to the rock that forever loomed over Cliff's corpse. Then, he turned on his heel, and he began walking away. One hand in his pocket and the other keeping a gentle grip on his cigarette, The Gatherer breathed a sad puff of poison smoke into the air.

"... You've more than earned it."

Humming quietly to themself, Demon leaned in closer to their bathroom mirror. They reached up, sliding a red, plastic headband over the top of their head. This band pushed back their bowl of auburn hair, which had hardly grown or shortened in their time with The Gatherer, folding their hair back behind their head. This was hardly a stylistic choice; Demon was just tired of having hair in their eyes. And, they also felt the need to set themselves apart some from all the other Charas they had met.

For a similar reason - along with a few others - they wore Hacker's old blue, red striped hoodie zipped up over their chest. It was big on them, obviously, but they found it comfortable. Especially in the chillier winter months they were on their way out of. They wore brown khaki pants that were nearly identical to their shorts, which they had to set aside for the winter.

It had been an interesting few years, that was for sure. After Hacker finally woke up, Demon had thought they would ditch Gatherer with Hacker and never look back. But, after witnessing the terrifying transformation of The Cherub, and then his battle with The Anarchist, the duo of Hacker and Demon had to make some critical decisions.

The fact of the matter was, the multiverse was far more dangerous than either of them had imagined. And they were far from ready. Cter The Angel and The Ascended Heir could hunt the two of them down and destroy them if they heard the two were causing more trouble, and there was no way they could beat those two on their own. At the time, they weren't nearly strong enough. The both of them on their own were just above average, not really anything devastating on a multiverse scale. Working together to gang up on a single person was how they won most of their battles, so when separated the two of them were hardly as threatening.

And though, by combing their souls, by compiling their wills and their DETERMINATION into one body, they reached a terrifying level of strength... Character wasn't strong enough, either. Seeing the battle between Cter and Anarchy made that painfully obvious. Someone like The Anarchist would fold Character like clean laundry.

And the two of them hardly had control over all the power their fusion held. When Chara pushed them to their limit as Character, they came apart. They lost themselves in their loathing and started attacking like some mindless animal, and that let their skilled opponent pick them apart. Even if they had overwhelming power, they hardly knew how to use it.

So... They remained under The Gatherer's protection. They bided their time, played along with their new boss and his cult until the right opportunity came their way. The two of them still didn't know exactly what that opportunity looked like, but what they did know was that they were playing for the winning team.

The Gatherer had an army, for god's sake. He had eyes and ears everywhere, and he had plans to get ride of one of Hacker and Demon's biggest problems: Cter The Angel. And the two of them were certain that if that dickhead died, the Chara that they both loathed would die with him.

So, while they waited for the day of their triumph to come, they prepared. They trained in every way they could think, tried their hardest to get stronger. To the both of their frustrations, neither of them had managed to sprout a pair of wings. But, eventually, they decided they didn't need those stupid feathers. They were different, and they were the best of their kind. Together, they were the best Chara and the best Angel. They had to be.

So, they didn't pursue individual strength. Apart they were weak, but as Character they were ungodly powerful. Maybe not enough so to level a mountain top or kill a kaiju scorpion, at least not yet, but enough to destroy almost anyone else. Instead of becoming strong as Hacker and as Demon, they strived to grow more powerful as Character. And now, in terms of raw power, The Gatherer didn't have a better asset.

Not that the two of them liked working under Xander's thumb. They were kept on an exceptionally tight leash, after all. Hacker had betrayed Xander in a past life, and The Gatherer was not a forgetful man. So, they were watched closely, even after working here for years. The Hacker went back to his old job as The Gatherer's 'guy in the chair' most days. Keeping up with multiverse contacts, trying to get connected to those Gatherer wished to reach out to, keeping an ever watchful eye over those Gatherer sent on important missions, whatever those missions may be.

Hacker wasn't the only one with this job; Gatherer's empire was far too big to be monitored by one man. But of all the nerdy AU monsters Hacker worked with, he was by far the most skilled. He was a valuable asset, him and Demon both. That's what kept them around and kept them comfortable, even though Gatherer didn't necessarily trust the both of them. They were necessary parts of The Gatherer's system, and the two parties could provide one another with things the other needed. Gatherer kept Hacker and Demon hidden from The Angel and his Ascended Heir's watchful eye, and they provided him with both brains and muscle. For those reasons they could coexist.

SLAP!

Suddenly, The Demon stood up straight. They stiffened up, their cheeks turning a light shade of red. In the mirror they spotted The Hacker, who grinned with a little wink, stepping up behind them. He moved his hand up to their lower back, and the moment they realized it was him, their expression relaxed.

"You better watch where you're putting those hands, mister." Demon spun around, giving a little smirk up at The Hacker while they wrapped their arms around his shoulders. He was shirtless, and still a little damp from the shower he had just gotten out of. His pointy brown hair was still wet and matted in a few places. On his chest was the massive X that was carved into him on the day they were defeated by Chara. His whole body was scarred up like that, devastated permanently by that failure. But, Hacker hardly seemed to mind. In fact, to cheer Demon up, he had even told them he thought the scars looked cool. That had made them smile at the time.

"Or what?" Hacker egged them on, taking gentle hold of either side of their waist with his hands. As he looked down at them, their faces were only inches apart. Neither of them seemed to mind this though, Demon gently tracing their fingers along the words tattooed across Hacker's shoulder. In bolded letters and a deep black shade, the words "BAD KARMA" reached from shoulder blade to shoulder blade. "You gonna punish me?"

Just then, an electronic bell rang out into their shared apartment, and Both Hacker and Demon's faces drained to an exasperated frown. They each turned their heads to look out the open bathroom door and to the speaker that rested in the wall of their living room. Through the speaker a familiar, nasally voice rang, "Hacker, please report to the Research Center. Hacker to the Research Center."

"..." Hacker sighed, shutting his eyes briefly on his living room while the speaker shut off. "Not one cock goes unblocked in The Gatherer's eternal empire."

"We didn't have time to do anything anyway." Demon laughed a little at his remark, standing up on their tippy toes to kiss him on the cheek. Then, they dropped back to their regular height, smiling some. "Maybe after work."

"I guueess." Hacker sighed dramatically as he let go of Demon, who shoved him lightly, laughing some at his melodrama.

"Go put a shirt on, dork." Demon ordered, the corner of their mouth curling while they watched him roll his eyes and stuff his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He took exaggerated, goofy steps with his lanky legs towards their shared bedroom, where he kept his clothes. "The last thing your awkward coworkers need is you showing up half naked."

"You sayin' you'd be jealous if I had Alphys eyeing me up all day?" Hacker teased from across their apartment, snagging his red striped, black shirt from the tangled sheets of their bed. Hacker's style had hardly changed much these past years. He'd told Demon 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' when they asked him about his repetitive way of dressing himself. They had gotten him to make one addition however, and they smiled softly when they watched him casually snag a golden, heart shaped locket from the bedside. Hacker pulled the chain of the necklace over his head with ease, letting the heart of the locket rest over the chest of his shirt, plain for all to see.

"I would put Fell!Alphys through the wall for breathing near you, let alone looking at you." Demon crossed their arms over their chest, tapping their foot with a measure of sass. "But that's not the point."

"Whatever you say, Char-bear." Hacker grinned some, giving them a wink while he exited their room and began making his way towards the door. Demon met him half way, and the two walked side by side to the exit.

"A-agh-! Guh!"

Eden was choking. An unstoppable pressure closed in around her throat, and though she clawed desperately at it, her nails sunk uselessly into its dark, inky texture. She kicked her feet, but they didn't connect with anything. She was suspended in the air, like she was weightless. She felt so small and so weak, like a little kid she was totally helpless.

Through her blurring vision, she tried desperately to make out the face of her attacker. But it was so difficult to see, hot tears streaming down her ice cold face. She wished she would stop crying, but she was so afraid. So hurt, so humiliated. If she could get even one gulp of air, she would have used it to beg for her life. But this thing wouldn't listen. This thing was a monster.

This thing killed her brother.

Behind the looming, four winged shadow was an empty grey corpse, face down in a puddle of red. The haunted, lifeless eyes of Clifford the BRAVE stared on into the infinite nothing, cold blood dripping out of his parted lips.

Clenching her eyes shut in an attempt to clear her tears, Eden looked away from the forever stunned face of her elder brother. And when she opened her terrified amethyst eyes, glowing rubies stared back into them. Piercing red lights in the lonely dark, unblinking and soulless. Their unending stare felt like it was boring holes in Eden's face. Speaking of faces, its face was a smooth, black surface. It had no features besides those horrible red eyes.

And when it lifted its hand, and that hand clenched into a fist, Eden started to struggle. Desperately she kicked her feet. Shook her head, clawed at the wing that restrained her by the throat. Pathetically she cried, unable to make any sound, unable to breathe. She shut her eyes, too scared to look. But she knew it was coming.

The Cherub's fist darted out like a bolt of lightning, striking her dead center of the solar plexus. And electric agony split her body, tearing through every cell of her.

With a gasp Eden sat up in bed, instantly wrapping her arms around her abdomen as she hunched forward. Her wide, violet eyes stared straight ahead, freezing sweat beading down her face. The wind had been knocked out of her, and for a few long seconds she gasped and sputtered to get it back in.

Once she realized she was back in reality though, the tremors rocking her body began to die down. Her breathing began to regulate. She stopped sweating. Taking a deep breath, Eden leaned forward a little more, letting her messy bedhead fall around her face. She folded her arms over her knees, which she brought up to her chest, groaning while she rested her head on them.

"Another bad dream, huh?" Horror!Flowey perked up from his pot in the windowsill, leaning his head back and looking to Eden with one big yellow eye.

"Eugh..." Eyes remaining closed, Eden's hand darted out to her bedside table. Her fingers fumbled along the wood for a few seconds, until she found her glasses. She pulled them back to her face and began the process of putting them on, "I don't want to talk about it."

"I bet it was about The Angel, wasn't it?" Flowey egged on heartlessly, watching Eden climb out of bed. She was slouched, sinking in to her oversized black shirt and purple pajama pants. The young woman limped on sleepy legs over towards the window where Flowey ran his nonexistent mouth, grabbing a newspaper from the top of her dresser while she was at it. "Was it the one where he's choking you again? Was it-?"

"Bonk."

Flowey hissed from the sting of Eden's rolled up magazine swatting him atop the flower. He lowered his head some, squinting up at her. She just blinked her tired eyes, reaching up and using her index finger to push up her glasses. "I meant I didn't want anyone to talk about it."

"Well, someone's grumpy this morning." Flowey commented with an aggravated squint of his eye. Eden didn't pay him much mind though, turning her back to him and making her way towards her dresser. She pulled open a few drawers, gathered a few different articles of clothing, and shut those drawers.

"I'm grumpy every morning..." Eden mumbled, lifting her eyes to the mirror that rested atop her dresser. She squinted some at her messy black hair, a single purple streak running through her locks. It had been a struggle dying it, but Xander had been happy to help her out. She remembered that night fondly.

After Cliff passed, Eden got to see a more human side of The Gatherer. Of course, her and Cliff had always been the closest to him, Cliff especially. But, he always used to keep up a few walls. He was always her leader first and her friend second. He had a divinity to him, something about him always seemed so perfect and so trustworthy. Something still did. It was why she had followed him then and it was partly why she followed him now.

But... When she found Xander, exploding with anguish and clutching her brother's body in his arms, she realized he was human, too. If she hadn't waded through the heat that day, if she hadn't hugged the newly horned Xander tight to her chest and cried with him, she feared he may have burned the entire empire to the ground.

On that day Eden had witnessed both the full extent of The Gatherer's humanity and the full extent of his inhuman powers. He had always said he was different from the other DoubleKids. That he was a 'good one', so to speak. And his general perfection never failed to make that convincing. But, when he nearly scorched the entire innermost layer of his empire to the ground, turned all the rubble to ash, Eden understood that he was still a DoubleKid. He did in fact have that ungodly power lurking within him.

But Xander was more than his strength. He was a good man, someone who worked hard. In fact, his work had doubled or even tripled after Cliff died. He took on so many responsibilities, had so many late nights and early mornings... It hurt Eden sometimes, because she could see how heartbroken he was every day.

Every day Xander visited Cliff's grave. Every night Xander stared wordlessly out to the statue of her older brother that he had erected in the old fountain's place from his pent house sweet's window. And Eden cared about Xander, he was her best friend. Cliff was the only family she had ever had, and when he was taken from her, Xander had tried his absolute hardest to make sure she never felt alone.

But... Eden knew Xander was the loneliest man alive.

Frowning silently, Eden let her eyes settle on the loose picture she had tucked into the corner of her mirror. It was all three of them, Eden Xander and Cliff. Some festival Xander had ran for the holidays. On his shoulder Cliff hoisted Eden's small body up, and under his free arm he kept Xander hugged tight. He was grinning so wide, he was always so infectiously positive that even his younger sister, consumed by 15-year-old-angst, was smiling some. Xander was blushing, looking so small and awkward under Cliff's big arm. But, he was smiling too.

"..." Eden reached out slowly, gently tracing her index finger's tip over the picture. Pain glimmered in her eyes, a bittersweet ache in her heart as she looked upon Cliff's smile. The pain she had felt when she saw that smile go from his face, never to return. When that light faded from his eyes. When he left her here, when he was taken from her...

Eden shut her eyes. She pulled her hand away from the photo. Not today, she told herself. This day is supposed to be special. Xander needs this day to be special.

So, she stepped away from her mirror, holding her clothes under one arm. She turned, and made her way towards the folding screen beside her dresser. The screen walled off that portion of the room from the rest of her apartment, and it was detailed with a black and white painting of Mount Ebbot.

Eden disappeared behind this screen, and Flowey nodded his head back and forth with boredom while he waited for her to return. Eden had always been a weird kid, that was why the two were able to function as a team. Flowey had lived in a freaky, messed up underground before he was brought onto The Gatherer's payroll. He had adopted a weird, eerie appearance to ward of the mad folk of Horrortale, what with his single eyeball-flower that stared judgmentally out into the world.

Eden had never so much as flinched when she had met Flowey, though. She had knelt down, looked at him like he was a fascinating abomination. He didn't remember exactly what she had said, something about how he was such a haunting beauty. A flower that no one would ever dare pick. Flowey would have taken her soul, if Cliff hadn't been looming over her shoulder. Eden had just been an adolescent girl at the time, Flowey had thought her easy prey. Her older brother, not so much.

But, as it turned out, the two weren't there just to examine the wilting flowers in that dying timeline. And Eden made Flowey and offer he would have been a fool to turn down. A partnership. She would give him power, and he would be her abomination. He would help her uphold The Gatherer's regime, and she would take him from the endless bore of that decaying timeline.

Flowey didn't care much about Gatherer's will, whether he was truly going to save the multiverse or just take it for himself. He was just along for the ride. If Gatherer won or died a horrible failure, Flowey saw no difference. The only person the cyclops of a flower gave a rat's ass about was Eden, and he'd just as easily ditch her in the face of true danger. The way he fled the scene the moment The Cherub appeared was evidence of that.

All that said... He had stuck around these past few years, and he hadn't been bored. He had enjoyed his time under Gatherer's flag and by Eden's side about as much as a soulless creature like him could, and he was very invested in what was to come. The three faction hunt to find the Anarchist. All the plans waiting to be set in motion. It was coming soon, he could feel it in his vines. His patience was going to be rewarded with something very, very interesting.

The folding screen was pushed open from within, and Eden stepped back into the open. Now free of her pajamas, she instead wore a light, purple hoodie. It was zipped to about halfway up her chest, showing some of the black, purple striped shirt beneath. The sweatshirt was a bit long, reaching down to about halfway down her thighs. She wore black jeggings as well, and white tennis shoes that were detailed with violet stripes. Her messy hair had been brushed some, now falling just short of her shoulders in slight curls. On her back was a simple brown backpack, hanging wide open for Flowey's pot to fit in.

Eden's exact style had been hard to pin down, Flowey had noticed lately. On some important days she would dress up with something a little more extravagant, maybe do an interesting makeup look. On other, much more casual days she would wear a big purple sweatshirt and hide in it all day. Flowey wondered if it had to do with a fluctuating level of confidence, or whether or not she wanted to draw attention on any given day. Either way, she had went a safe route today. A more casual outfit that was neither lazy or exciting. The most interesting part of her attire was the orange bandanna that Cliff had left her, which was wrapped and folded neatly around her neck.

Eden made her way over to Flowey, casually picking him up and lifting him over her head. As though she'd done this one million times, she skillfully placed his pot within her backpack. Then, she lowered her hands, and turned to face the door. Sighing quietly and blinking a few times to try and get any remaining sleep out of her eyes, Eden stuffed her hands into her hoodie's pockets and began making her way to the door of her room.

"So, what are we gonna do today?" Flowey inquired curiously, curling his stem around so that he could look around the side of Eden's head and make eye contact.

"Whatever makes my friends happy." Eden answered with ease, staring straight ahead as she made her way down a dim hallway towards a much better lit living room.

"Sounds boring." Flowey rolled his eye, turning around to stare into the fading background behind Eden. He leaned the back of his flower against the back of her head. "Don'tcha wanna do whatever makes you happy instead?"

"Today isn't about me, Flowey." Eden told her petaled pal calmly, walking straight through the living room of her home and towards the front door.

*Knock. Knock! KNOCK!

The PERSEVERANCE soul furrowed her brows with some confusion at this knock, knowing instantly who must have been on the other side of her front door. She walked the few steps she had left to reach it, before grabbing the doorknob and turning it, pulling it inward and facing her guest.

"Happy birthday!" Mad Mew Mew greeted instantly, shoving her offering out towards Eden. Eden nearly jumped from her forwardness, recoiling a bit as a small, potted plant was shoved towards her.

Mew Mew's appearance had hardly changed in all the time Eden had known her. She was a doll after all. The only shift her appearance had was after The Angel scorched a hand print into her pretty plastic face. Mew Mew was devastated after that, so furious with how hideous her scar was. For some reason, unlike the rest of her body tended to, her face never healed itself. No one was sure if it was the potency of Cter's DETERMINATION that had made the wound permanent, or if Mew Mew felt such strong rage and indignation about the injury that her powerful emotions had made it a permanent addition to her body.

Either way, she wore sparkly bandaging all around her face, making her look like a shiny mummy. The wrapping was pink, shimmering and glimmering loudly. It was detailed with little cat doodles and hearts, and it wrapped in an X around her face. Bandages went down from her forehead, between her eyes where they crossed, down to opposite sides of her chin. This left both of her eyes and her mouth uncovered, but totally hid her nose. Or, really, the burn mark where her nose used to be.

"Oh, yeah. It's your birthday." Flowey commented from Eden's back, blinking calmly down at her. "Huh."

"..." Eden smiled mirthlessly up at her soulless companion, before lifting up the cute, potted succulent that Mew Mew had handed her. The black pot had a pink ribbon wrapped around it, and the plant had a googly eye on each of its thick green leaves, which opened up in a way that was similar to a flower and its petals. "Hey, look Flowey. Mew Mew got me your replacement."

Flowey hissed at this plant, coiling behind Eden's head. His single eye narrowed irritably at this rival vegetation, and Eden's smile only grew from his reaction. "Why did you put those dumb googly eyes on it?!"

"Because Eden clearly likes her plants with eyeballs!" Mew Mew said like it was obvious, putting one hand on her hip and waving the other to both Flowey and the plant Eden was holding. "Duh. Duh! DUH!"

"It's lovely, Mew Mew. Thank you." Eden smiled politely, making Flowey groan and Mad Mew Mew beam with pride. While the possessed doll patted herself on the back over her obviously perfect gift, Eden turned around, making her way towards the bay window in the wall of her living room.

She leaned down, carefully placing the pot on the ledge before the window. Then, she lifted her eyes, glancing out of her window and down to the courtyard below. Painfully she squinted, spotting the stone statue of her older brother. The stone effigy stood tall and proud, a powerful memorial to the one she had lost. Slowly, thoughtlessly, her hand drifted up, and her fingers wrapped gently around the bandanna she wore around her neck.

"There's more, though!" Mew Mew suddenly said, and Eden almost jumped out of her skin when the ghost suddenly wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "Gatherer said he was gonna be busy for awhile, so he gave me the company card!"

"You know what that means?" Mew Mew held the credit card baring The Gatherer's insignia upon it in front of Eden, blocking her view of Cliff's statue. She sang, "You n' me are going shopping~!"

"O-oh, really?" Eden stammered, clearly a little jarred by Mew Mew's high energy. She had to blink her semi-wide eyes a few times, quickly trying to gather her bearings. "I-I mean, I don't want to waste important funds-"

"Nonsense. Nonsense! NONSENSE!" Mew Mew spun Eden right around so that she faced the door, before taking hold of her wrist and ever so casually dragging her towards the exit. "Its your birthday! You need to treat yourself!"

"U-uhh..." Eden blinked a few more times, her eyes staying wide. A nervous sweat drop or two appeared on her forehead, but her introverted heart didn't have the strength to blow Mew Mew off. "A-alright, if you say so..!"

"Eugh... Why am I helping with this, again?" Demon turned their head to squint irritably over at Gatherer, who was across from them. The two each stood on a step stool, holding up opposite sides of a banner that read 'Happy birthday Eden!'. They were in the midst of hanging it over the overhang that lead from the small entrance room of Gatherer's home and into his living room. "Couldn't you have hired any amount of servants to put this together?"

"A surprise party put together by friends has a much more personal touch, Demon." Xander answered with ease, pinning his side of the banner to the overhang. "It is the little things that have the biggest impact."

"... You got Hacker a fifteen dollar GameStop gift card for his last birthday." Demon squinted spitefully over at The Gatherer, standing on their tippy toes from the step stool's top step and pinning the banner into place. "And friends? Eden doesn't even like me!"

"That's because you haven't put forth the effort. With her or anyone else." Gatherer answered simply, stepping down from his two-rung ladder. He reached down, taking hold of the step stool and folding it inward. Then, he moved it aside, setting it against the wall. "Perhaps if you and your boyfriend were less enamored with one another, and opened up some to those around you, you would find you're surrounded by potential friends."

"No thanks." Demon crossed their arms, haphazardly pushing their own step ladder out of the way with their foot. The apartment was currently empty of all but the two of them. Fell!Undyne and Swap!Alphys, who had been helping here earlier, had left to pick up the cake. "Hacker and I are just here for business. Not to be a part of your-"

"Weird cult, yes I know." Xander rolled his eyes, waving his hand in a circular "move it along" motion. He'd heard this one before from both Hacker and Demon, a hundred and one times it felt. "Almost three years here and you still believe I'm evil, hm?"

"Evil's a strong word." Demon explained, wandering further into Gatherer's home. They made their way through the living room and into the dining room, walking right up to the table, at the center of which one folded piece of cloth laid across the expensive wood. "But I know darkness in a person when I see it."

"Oh?" Xander followed after them, standing in the entry way to the dining room. Once there, he crossed his arms over his chest, arching an incredulous brow. "So you think I have darker intentions?"

"Xander, we could talk all day about our suspicions towards one another, but there wouldn't be any point." Demon answered with ease and without hesitation, taking hold of the table cloth folded at the center of the dining table. They pulled it into the air, waving it open with a loud flapping sound, before letting it slowly descend back over the table, now covering its entirety. "The bottom line is, you're going to win this game for the multiverse. And Hacker and I are going to stay under your flag until you do."

"Ah, so that's why you two stick around? You prefer to play for the winning team, and you're convinced that's me?" Xander tilted his head to the side curiously, a small smirk lifting the corner of his mouth.

"Seems kinda obvious, right? You've got more followers than anyone else, you've got more pull than anyone else, you've got more information than anyone else." Demon circled the table, flattening out the cloth and making sure it was even over the wood. "You're just missing one thing."

"... Anarchy." The Gatherer knew exactly what Demon was getting at, and his eyes narrowed. His smirk fell into a frown. Anthony The Anarchist was in fact the ace in the hole. The one wild card in this game. Wherever his allegiance lied, victory was assured. He was the only man more powerful than The Angel. More powerful than The Gatherer or The Predator. A one man army, an unstoppable force and an immovable object. The Gatherer would find him, he had to.

"Which brings me to a question." Demon turned around to face Xander. They leaned back, resting their palms on the table behind them. Their lips curled into a malicious smile then, darkness trickling into the whites of their eyes. "How are you going to keep up the 'benevolent ruler' look when you get the big bad Anarchist back on your payroll?"

The Gatherer smiled at that. He smiled, and he began to chuckle. He shook his head, shutting his eyes for a moment. He laughed, and Demon arched a brow with confusion, the blackness disappearing from their eyes. "Something funny, Gatherer?"

"Oh, Demon... If only you could understand." The Gatherer opened his eyes, and they gleamed a sinister purple. Smirking like the snake he was, Xander spun on his heel, turning his back on them there. he wandered back towards the living room, waving a hand for them to follow. "I believe we've gotten sidetracked quite enough."

"Today is supposed to be a fun day, after all."

Hacker stared emotionlessly up at the skeleton floating over him, hands buried in his lab coat's pockets. As he had been for three years, Error Sans was suspended in green fluid in one of The Gatherer's healing chambers. And it had taken some time, but after The Hacker was added to the project, they finally started making progress on the glitched skeleton.

Hacker didn't know much about the mechanics of all this futuristic machinery, at least not at first. But he was a quick learner, and something he did understand was coding. And boy howdy, Error was one interesting specimen. Hacker'd had to do extensive work on the make up of his glitched body and his twisted mind, and he was proud of the outcome.

Finally, Error had began healing around the two year mark. His missing limbs and ribs had slowly reformed, and the dusty cracks in his skull had sealed up. Once Error was finally healed, Hacker had asked Xander if he wanted to wake the skeleton up. The Gatherer had laughed in his face. Hacker didn't really get why, it wasn't like Error was dangerous. Him and Demon could mop the floor with the skeleton, so could Gatherer. But, Xander had different plans for Error Sans.

That was when Hacker's work on Error's mind began. Gatherer made it clear: when Error wakes up, he is to be a devout supporter of his cause. So, with the machine already washing the glitched skeleton's brain with subliminal and subconscious messages all throughout his unconsciousness, Hacker started to work on the code of his mind.

What Hacker had found in Error was beyond interesting. The skeleton wasn't built like the other beings made of code were. Error was coded like an 'uninstall' option, if that made sense. Regular humans and monsters were built like programs, like NPCs in a game. They were built like their purpose was just to exist. Error Sans, however, was built as though his purpose was to destroy.

Hacker had researched Demon's ERASE button after learning this about Error, and the code of that button was not dissimilar from what made up Error's body. And that intrigued the nerdier bits of Hacker's brain. Error really was a complete anomaly, unlike both the original inhabitants of the Undertale multiverse (who are made from standard code) and the DoubleKids (who are made of atoms from the real world, not code).

"How are his vitals?" Hacker turned his head with his question, looking to Fell!Alphys, who stood beside the little screen beside Error's tank. In her arms she held a clipboard, the paper of which she was taking quick notes on.

"Same as always." She answered robotically, staring down at her notes with her swirly glasses. Alphys wasn't a fan of Hacker from the moment he arrived, and she certainly didn't enjoy working under him. But, unfortunately she couldn't deny the potential the young man had in the realm of science. She thought him and his Demon were just gonna be more dumb muscle when they arrived, but she'd been wrong. She didn't know if she was happy or angry about that, even now. "He's stable and healthy."

"Alright. Next task." Hacker spoke dryly, a bored frown burned into his face. As much as this job could stimulate the more scientific side of his brain, the bloodthirsty adrenaline junky side of him got nothing out of it. And the monotonous check ups and little tasks were certainly something he could do without. But, ultimately, they got him out of his computer chair for a few minutes.

The two walked from the healing pods lining the walls to the laboratory's back wall, where one steel door loomed. Next to it was a keypad, with a slit beside it for a card to be swiped through. Hacker made his way to this door, reaching into the pocket of his white lab coat and quickly retrieving a card key. Alphys stopping behind him, he swiped the card. Then, while he hid the card back away in his pocket, he used his free hand to punch in a series of numbers into the keypad.

Finally, Hacker lowered his hand, and those steel doors began to budge. They slid apart, retracting into the walls. And the moment they ceased movement, Hacker stepped forward, his brisk pace making his lab coat wave slightly behind him.

Inside of this room were six tall, glass tubes. Each of these tubes were illuminated in a different color by the soul sealed within them. From left to right, the human souls were PATIENCE, KINDNESS, BRAVERY, PERSEVERANCE, JUSTICE, and INTEGRITY. Between the two of them and the souls was a wall of glass, behind which metal bars provided further protection.

Hacker's lightless green eyes lifted, scanning across the walls. Security cameras watched him and Alphys from every angle, and attached to each camera was a barrel. He still wondered if some magic would shoot out of those barrels if he made a play for the six human souls, or if he would just get filled with good ol' bullets. But, his desire to live far outweighed his curiosity, so he never tried.

Six keypads with little screens rose from the floor in front of the glass wall, and Hacker and Alphys split up. She went to the furthest right screen, and he went to the furthest left. Hacker pulled a clipboard out of his other oversized lab coat pocket, ink trickling down his fingers. Skillfully he waved his fingers over the lines of the paper, and ink began perfectly filling out the lines with data.

After a minute or two, Hacker and Alphys had finished up their analyses of all six souls, and they both turned towards the door. After walking back past some sensors on the doors, they immediately began shutting once more. Hacker turned to Alphys, holding out his clipboard to her. "Here, get these filed."

"And what are you gonna do?" Fell!Alphys squinted up at Hacker with her pointed remark, giving him quite the sneer.

"Deduct money from your paycheck ya little shit." Hacker responded without an ounce of patience, waving one hand to shoo Alphys away. She sighed with annoyance, turning on her heel and walking to the exit of the laboratory.

Hacker shook his head, scowling to himself as he watched her go. Always with the smart remarks, that one. He walked over to one of the computer chairs, plopping into it with a tired sigh. He sunk into the chair, groaning to himself while his eyes glossed over towards the clock. Wouldn't be much longer before he had to report upstairs for some dumbass birthday party. That would no doubt suck, but it might suck less than running numbers all day.

*Ring, ring...

"Hm?" Hacker furrowed his brows with some curiosity as he felt vibrations begin in his pants pocket from his cell phone. He quickly retrieved his phone and glanced at the screen, only to get more confused. There was no number displayed, and this piqued his curiosity. So, against his better judgement, he swiped his thumb to answer, and brought the speaker to his ear. "... Hello?"

"Heya."

"... Who is this?" Hacker's eyes remained skeptically narrow, darting over towards where he held the phone at his ear.

"Don't get too worked up, bud. I'm a friend."

"Well, that's unfortunate." Hacker's lips curled sinisterly. "I'm a Hacker; bad things happen to my friends."

"That a threat?"

"Depends." Hacker looked ahead, leaning back in his chair. He rested one hand behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. "How'd you get this number, and whaddaya want?"

"I got my connections, and that's all you need to know." The low, slimy voice on the other end answered. It was unbelievably deep, a voice that was almost nightmarish. Hacker assumed it was some kind of distortion, but he could hardly be sure. "As for why I'm callin'... I think I've got some valuable info for ya."

"Information, huh?" Hacker lazily arched a brow at the white panels that lined the ceiling. "Alright, mysterious phone dude. You've got my attention."

"Heheheh... Glad to hear it." Hacker could almost hear the sinister grin this stranger must have been wearing through the phone. His voice seethed and dripped malevolence. "So, you're The Gatherer's Intel guy, aint'cha, Hacker?"

"..." Hacker frowned at this. It was more than unsettling, all the information this stranger had on him. He knew there were forces in the multiverse beyond his understanding, and he was starting to think he was speaking with one of them. "... Yeah, you could say that."

"Then I need'ja to relay a message for me."

"I thought you had information to give me." Hacker spoke in a low growl, leaning forward in his chair. He rested his elbow across his knee, glancing over towards the phone.

"Not over the phone, bud. Too risky."

"Listen, bud. Friend. Guy pal amigo." Hacker's jaw tightened irritably as he clenched his hand over the knee of his jeans, some ink dripping from his finger tips. "I'm gonna need some kinda information before I go wastin' my boss's time. So cut the mystery bullshit, or we ain't doin' business."

"..." There was an audible sigh on the other end, before the voice continued. "Fine, fine. Since I'm such a big fan'a your work Hacker, I'll share three things with ya. Relay 'em to Gatherer, if you'd be so kind."

"Get on with it." Hacker spoke impatiently. Though his tone was demanding and uncaring, he spun around to face the computer, and his free hand grabbed the mouse and rapidly clicked to open up a notes tab. Then, he let his hand hover over the keyboard, ready to type down whatever this stranger had to say.

"Tell him that one: Nightmare is finally ready to talk to him."

Hacker's eyes widened some at those words, and his jaw tightened again. Nightmare? As in Nightmare Sans? This was a very important contact indeed if that were true. Nightmare was a special being, one that Xander had been trying to get ahold of ever since Anarchy disappeared. But, Nightmare had been ducking him for years now. So, Hacker was skeptical.

"Two: That I'll be waitin' for him and whatever muscle he wants to bring in timeline DT00001."

A meeting place? Hacker and Demon would have to tag along for that, in case this was a trap. Hacker could feel the anticipation drying his mouth as he rapidly typed down all that the man on the other end told him with one hand. "... And three?"

"..." Things were ominously quiet on the other end, for far too long. A handful of seconds that felt like a handful of hours passed, and just as Hacker opened his mouth to repeat his question, a low, ominous chuckle echoed out of his phone's speaker. "And three..."

In the dark corners of the room, shadows darted and writhed strangely. Hacker could never get a good look at the motion he spotted from his eyes' corners. Suddenly he felt hairs rising on the back of his neck, and he didn't understand why. It felt like he was being watched, like some hungry beast was lurking just beyond his senses. And as Nightmare spoke his final sentence, a few vantablack maggots wriggled out from beneath several keys on Hacker's keyboard, making him scowl with disgust and unease.

"I know where Anarchy's hiding."

Please Favorite, Follow, and Review!

XWolf26, out