Chapter Twenty 7
Frisk then relayed her meeting and conversation with Clair Voyant to the others as they sat on the ground in a semi-circle while Blaze preferred to sit on the bench. She told them about what Clair showed her of the events that led to her corruption as well.
"… So that's what happened," Frisk said.
"Gracious… so Corruption blames the humans and monsters for what happened to her love and herself it seems. She hates us all," Marisol said, sadly.
"Her desire for revenge became hate, and it hasn't stopped for all this time. Even after she was destroyed and came back," Sol said.
"What a sad story… poor Clair Voyant," Papyrus said with a sad expression.
"Indeed so. It's such a shame, she seemed like such a very nice person before," Sur said.
"sigh. i was afraid of being able to understand her because i wanted to take her down without pity… but fighting her is no different then fighting myself… no wonder she keeps coming back," Troth said as he touched the scarf he wore.
"She is in pain, and she has been taking it out on everyone… as monsters had wanted to do over the humans… pain after pain, vengeance after vengeance… It just keeps going, and Corruption just keeps coming back all the same," Veil said as she leaned on Troth's shoulder.
"Unless we stop her… and stop being corrupted ourselves," Blaze said as she closed her eyes.
"yeah… though now finding the problem, maybe we can find the solution. no one but us could have gotten this far since most of them were defeated by corruption," Sans said.
"… Frisk, what do you think you should do?" Curtain asked her.
"I'm leaving that to all of you. She hurt all of us, so… let's decide together. I vote that we save Clair Voyant," Frisk said.
"I'm with you, Frisk! We should at least try!" Papyrus said with a raised hand.
"Whatever you think is best, I agree too," Asriel said, as he raised his hand up.
"I will try too," Marisol said, lifting her hand.
"sure, why not," Sans said, raising his head in acknowledgement.
"I will," other Frisk said, standing up and walking besides Frisk, as she too stood up.
"How about the rest of you?" other Frisk asked.
"… it's a hard decision to make. she's been our enemy for so long, and now we have to decide to save her when she spared no one… but if I hold onto that… does that make me corrupted? or am I still seeking justice for what happened to us? for what happened to my Curtain…" Troth wondered out loud.
"… To completely destroy Corruption, we can't destroy what little Clair Voyant remains. Besides, I came back to save you guys, not for my own vengeance. So I say we should save her," Veil said with determination.
"… heh. alright. then let's save her and everyone else back home too," Troth said with a nod.
"I agree. We fought to protect everyone from Corruption. Might as well do it for herself too," Sol nodded.
"Yes! Let's do it! For the world, for ourselves, and for Clair Voyant!" Sur said, raising both arms up.
"…" Blaze was silent as the others looked towards her.
"Blaze, what do you think?" Frisk asked.
"… I have no interest in saving my Corruption. I sense no form of light inside her so I assume it was destroyed when Chara finished their work. So no, I won't save mine. I will destroy her. But… I will help you guys save yours if needed," Blaze replied.
"Okay…" Frisk then turned to her Curtain, who remained silent the whole time.
Frisk approached her and asked, "Curtain? You haven't said much and… I'd like to know… what do you want to do? Corruption hurt you really bad so… I'd like to respect your decision too."
"…" Curtain closed her eyes, as Frisk waited patiently.
Curtain reached out and petted Frisk's head as she opened her eyes,
"I will fight her to the end..."
Frisk's eyes widened, as did everyone else in the room besides Blaze.
"No matter how long, no matter how far, no matter what, I will destroy Corruption once and for all. For you, for everyone home… and for Clair Voyant. I'd like to meet her too if possible," Curtain said, as she stood up with determination mirroring Frisk's own eyes.
Frisk nodded firmly, as everyone stood up, while Blaze smirked at the response.
"Since we're all in agreement, I have an idea. We should split them up first and..." other Frisk relayed her idea to the others.
Two hours later, outside the chapel:
The Corruptions walked along towards the chapel, as they stood before it.
"This place… why did it remain?" GenCorruption wondered as she looked upon it in her dragon form.
"No idea. I gave energy to build this world, but I don't remember this being part of it," Other Corruption replied.
"Hmm," Chara looked up at Corruption, who was in human form, and noticed that her expression darkened looking at the chapel though she had a grin on her face as well.
"Does this place mean something to you?" Chara whisper-asked Corruption.
"… No matter what I do, I can't destroy myself," Corruption replied, as Chara tilted their head to the side.
"Yourself, huh? Which self are you referring to then? Could it be that part of you is still... but why though?" Chara asked her.
"… To destroy the light completely, you can't snuff out one at a time or it'll just rekindle from another light, even if only one remains... isn't that right?" Corruption said as she peered towards them.
"…" Chara answered with silence, although gritting their teeth in admittance that they cannot defeat their Curtain at all.
"So, what do you do? Well, I decided to take a gamble… To gather all the lights together into one big light. A light that could even possibly destroy me by even recruiting a dim one if possible…" Corruption said louder as the other Corruptions and Chara looked upon her with widened glowing eyes.
"And if I could conquer the strongest of lights as one… then victory is assured, even beyond this world! A final gamble to snuff out the light, once and for all," Corruption declared with a hint of madness and terror that inspired the others to follow suit.
"Time to land the final strike," Other Corruption said in a lower tone as she brought her blades forth.
"Yes! A duel of fate!" GenCorruption said as her mouth smoked.
"A perfect opportunity for an interesting ending," Chara said, as they brought out their knives between each finger.
From the chapel, they saw Frisk emerge as she walked a few meters away from it's direction so that the Corruptions could turn towards her and not accidentally break the chapel. She stood her ground waiting, as Chara walked forth to greet her.
"Shall we finish what we started, Frisk?" Chara asked, her eyes glowing more darkly.
"We shall, Chara," Frisk replied, her eyes filled with determination.
"Lets!" Chara threw a few blades, as Frisk dodged and actually blocked one with a dagger of her own that glowed purple.
"Ah! Is that… Curtain's?" Chara asked, as Frisk nodded.
"Let's fight more fairly. This time… I'm not holding back," Frisk said as she stood in a battle stance.
"Ha HA HA! Yes! Perfect!" Chara said, as they readied themselves in their own stance.
As the two battled, the Corruptions figured that the child couldn't have possibly have walked out alone… unless their enemy was waiting for them to move.
To test this, other Corruption walked forward, and then stopped when a purple arrow shot next to her foot. She looked up to see a blaster holding Veil and Troth on it. Her grin grew into a twisted madness and her blades grew more intense in power, as Troth's eye did as well with Veil's bow and arrow. GenCorruption could see from the corner of her eye that Blaze was leaning against a tree about twenty feet away, awaiting her next move with a steely gaze, as she smirked with malicious intent. Corruption turned her head the opposite of where the others were as her eyes met with Curtain's glare, the two locked in a silent stare down, their eyes spoke more words then they. Asriel was peering out from within the chapel along with Marisol and Papyrus as they awaited the signal, while Sol and Sur stood atop the chapel roof hidden from view on the most stable areas.
During this time, Frisk and Chara were in a pretty heated battle, as Frisk could barely harm them when she landed her attacks, while Chara could barely hit her. However, by the pace of the battle, they seemed quite evenly matched, except that Chara had so much health while Frisk didn't, though Chara couldn't understand why Frisk was still able to fight even after being attacked.
"How are you… still moving? My attack deals tremendous damage! How are you even alive?" Chara asked.
"… Well, considering who you can't see, that could be the reason. You see, I knew that fighting you head on also meant I'd be taking more of a risk then you with your much stronger attacks… so I evened it out, as I said, I wanted to fight you fairly," Frisk replied.
"… Does this… have to do with the comedian, by any chance?" Chara asked, as Frisk didn't answer.
"why not? you seem to get bored pretty easy, so why not change the tempo a bit," Sans said from a few feet behind Frisk.
"I should have known you'd be here… but I'm surprised you aren't fighting me directly. You did give me quite a battle, the other you of mine," Chara said, knives gleaming in the light.
"well considering that you aren't level nineteen, it would be less fair for us to fight you one-on-one, wouldn't it?" Sans said with a wink.
"Tsh. You always know how to piss me off more, don't you?" Chara said, as their smile held animosity towards the skeleton.
"touche. i mean, you've pissed off your Curtain pretty bad, and everyone else who was once there, myself included. and like what you told Frisk… I shouldn't care about you anyway, right?" Sans said, with a widening of his grin, which made Chara grit their teeth more.
"Then let's see what you got," Chara hissed as they ran forward to attack the two.
Within the skies thundered a battle between two beasts, both determined and enraged to end the other's existence. GenCorruption shot forth blast after blast, as did Blaze, and they kept at it as more clouds seemed to gather around them to watch the intense match. They barely spoke to one another, knowing where they stood and already saying enough, as they continued the fight until one of them would be killed. The intensity and acceptance of death as the outcome precipitated worry over the few below who could witness it.
Curtain and Corruption had also started their battle, fighting with swords at first, as Curtain's sense of suspicion grew with each sword clash.
"… What are you doing?" Curtain asked.
"Hmm? Am I not fighting you right now?" Corruption answered.
"No, you aren't," Curtain replied with narrowed eyes.
"Ahh. Hehehe. A keen sense you have as usual, Curtain. Or is it because you know me so well?" Corruption said as they both jumped away from their recent clash.
"You aren't fighting to win or kill right now… you're wasting time on purpose," Curtain said.
"Correct," Corruption simply answered.
"Why? Why aren't you fighting me?!" Curtain asked, stomping a foot forward.
"I could ask you the same thing… you aren't fighting me one hundred percent either," Corruption retorted.
"... Because defeating you is not enough. You always come back… I want to fight you in your entirety so that when I win, you'll be gone forever. Then I'll have a reason to fight at one hundred percent," Curtain replied, her fist clenching.
"… Hehehehe. It's funny, don't you think? I had the same exact idea… gathering all of you together for one more brawl to decide once and for all who comes back and who doesn't… since you seem keen on participating, then shall we do so?" Corruption asked, her eyes brightening.
Curtain's eyes shifted downward for a moment to contemplate this decision: for fighting at one hundred percent would be the best way to settle everything, but could they ensure victory? Or risk losing it all? This would be the biggest gamble, not only for the individual but for the worlds as a whole, and even time itself. Although the risk was high and she felt uncomfortable making a decision without first consulting her peers, she then caught on to a pulsating rhythm in each of their hearts. She could hear their hearts beating as one, and this reaffirmed her resolution as she boldly looked up at the beast before her and firmly replied,
"Alright."
An eager smile grew on Corruption's snark countenance as she nodded in agreement with her foe.
"Come hither!" Corruption called out as the other Corruptions made haste to gather behind her.
"Why call so soon? The battle was just getting interesting!" GenCorruption complained.
"… The REAL BATTLE is about to begin in a moment," Corruption replied as a sinister energy radiated from her and the others understood.
"Come on guys!" Curtain called out as her people gathered around her.
"What happened, Curtain? Are we changing tactics?" other Frisk asked.
"… We're speeding things up a bit. Might as well dive right into the final stage… I think we're ready for it anyway. How about you guys?" Curtain asked, her focus planted on Corruption as her words radiated from her own determination.
Other Frisk and Frisk could feel Curtain's resolution resonating with their own, as their eyes seemed to glow brighter, and other Frisk nodded firmly. The Corruptions began to emit darkness from their bodies, as they growled and stood their ground, besides Chara who seemed to be chuckling instead.
Sans, Troth, Veil, Sur, and Sol felt deep within their souls the same feeling that the three before them displayed. Even Marisol, Papyrus, and Asriel joined with them as well and stood firm next to their friends.
"heh… so this is it then. the final battle… welp, might as well go all out then," Sans said as he stood next to Curtain, and she could sense his true power seeping from him which made her glance towards him in surprise.
"Yes. This is it, isn't it… no more holding back. Everyone! Let's put our all into this. All our struggles, all our pain, all our determination… everything! We'll finish this story once and for all!" Curtain said as she brought forth two long swords and held them backhanded as they resembled feathers.
"Finally! No more holding back! This is where the war really ends!" Sur shouted as he summoned his bones and a large bone spear, along with Papyrus.
"It's time! Prepare, our loves! Prepare, our brothers! Prepare, our friends! The end has come!" Papyrus proclaimed.
"Time to make amends and fix what has been torn," Sol said as she readied her broadsword that glowed with orange power.
"To restore our broken worlds and refine our hearts from the fires of sorrow," Marisol said, as she brought her sword and it glowed with green power.
"looks like this is the final boss stage after all. everyone is so pumped up… and i can't help but be too. Ready, my dear?" Troth said as his eye glowed brightly.
"Very ready to plunge into the abyss with you, my love," Veil said, summoning her ghostly bow in an enchanting royal purple glow.
"No turning back… this is the real end… this time, I'll fight to SAVE everyone," Asriel said as he brought forth a cannon on his arm and readied it to fire as it glowed yellow and green.
"That's right," Frisk said as she stood besides him, "We'll save everyone."
Blaze watched all them in their most determined states as their light grew brighter, ready to face off against their enemies, whose darkness only grew darker. She observed them for a moment longer and then closed her eyes to enter a state of quietness. A moments peace for all that she and her friends had been through, and then she thought,
'It won't be the same after this. I'll be different too… this deciding outcome will always call for change. Losing will call for one obvious change, though winning has it's own too… I would no longer need to carry this burden upon me, but will have to decide what I do afterward… I'll have to think about it later. For now, I will engage in this battle with all my might…'
Blaze opened her eyes and called upon her weapons from her soul as two small blaster heads encased her hands while color claws extended a foot from her fingers. Wings had also formed on her back with blue bones as the main ridge that curtained downward in pure white energy in the patterned shapes of tears, fire, spears, webs, electricity, ice, and leaves.
"Let's win already," Blaze said, as she flew up a few feet.
Corruption's grin darkened as she chuckled and said, "Oh how lovely. A true finale…"
In just a whisper that wasn't detected by anyone other then the two Frisks, and was not actually uttered out loud but from somewhere within the darkness of Corruption came a familiar voice,
"Final Judgement."
The two looked towards one another and nodded, as if reading each other's minds and set their stances for battle.