Asgore's approach was frightening; though distant, he was growing larger by the second. He'd be there in a a few minutes, if that. Sans had to think of a strategy fast; fortunately, he had information that the people of that Universe were not privy too.
Brushing past Mettaton, Sans ran to the Ruins door and banged on it with both fists.
"Toriel!" He shouted, "Toriel, I know you're in there!"
Fuku was beside him in an instant, a look of shock on her delicate features. "Toriel? You mean Queen Toriel? She's in the Ruins?"
"Yeah, she went there after leaving Asgore." Glancing at the caped terror drawing nearer by the second, he added, "Or maybe she just wanted to run away from that."
"Oooh! Did you hear that, viewers?" Mettaton said, his voice screechingly loud in what passed for Sans's ear. "The challengers believe the mad queen is in the Ruins, and are attempting to gain her assistance! Oho, stay glued to those tellies, folks; this fight could become epic!"
Sans gave up on the traditional approach. He motioned to Frisk's cage, only to find his telekinesis still not working.
"Mettaton!" He said angrily.
"I'm sorry, Sans, but the rules ..."
"Are you kidding?" He stopped, quickly changing tactics. "Think about it; this is your main event, the big showstopper, the thing you're gonna be famous four covering. Do you really want it to be constrained by a bunch of boring rules, or do you want something to make your fans roar with excitement?"
"Yes! Yes! Oh, Yes!" Mettaton said, excitement building to a fever pitch within the robot. "You're absolutely right, darling! This fight will have no rules! Anything could happen!"'
"Good." Sans said, feeling his telekinesis responding again. "Then grab your kitty and get ready to run!"
"You got it, darling! Oh, Buuuurgerpants!"
Sans levitated Frisk's cage near the door to the Ruins while Mettaton continued torturing the unlucky cat man.
"Okay, kid." Sans said, "Gonna need you to lie down. We don't got time for finesse, and I don't wanna clip you by mistake."
"Clip her?" Fuku asked. "With what?"
Sans raised a hand, summoning a gaster blaster. Fuku and Burgerpants gasped as Mettaton's smile went even wider.
"Oh me, oy my, look at that blue eye!" Mettaton said, "Our friend Sansy's just full of surprises!"
"Yeah, well ... I'll send Gaster your compliments."
"Who's Gast-"
Sans brought his hand down. A blast of raw magical energy shot from the gaster blaster's mouth and reduced the Ruins door to ashes. The angle of the blast also disintegrated the top of Frisk's cage, freeing the little human. She ran to Sans and gave him a hug.
Rubbing the kid's hair, Sans glanced back at Asgore. He was very close now, a minute away, tops.
"All right, we gotta get movin'" He said, motioning for her and Fuku to take the lead. "It's too open out here!"
He raised his hand at the remnants of the cage as they passed. Once everyone was inside (Mettaton riding on the unlucky Burgerpants's back), he slammed the cage into the opening made by his Gaster Blaster. It wouldn't hold Asgore for long, but Sans would take every second he could get.
They raced down the corridor's twists and turns until they reached a staircase leading up. Before anyone could even set foot on the staircase, however, a loud crash resounded through the tunnel behind them.
"Oh, no!" Mettaton said gleefully. "Looks like King Bad News is on the way!"
Fuku glanced at Sans as they continued to flee. "You have a plan, right?"
"Yeah." He told her, "Get as much distance between us and the King."
"And?"
"Uh, haven't thought that far ahead yet."
Fuku's eyes widened. "But ... can't you just open a shortcut?"
"Sorry." He said, "I'm a little to distracted; even if I could open up a shortcut, there's no guarantee I could get everyone ... or that we'd end up in the same place. The last thing we need right now is to get split up."
The stairs ended in what appeared to be someone's house. A quick glance around the main room showed three doors, one to a long hallway, on leading outside to a small courtyard with a tree surrounded by red leaves and the other to a living room with a roaring fireplace and an empty armchair. There were dark smudges and burn marks everywhere, most showing some signs that someone attempted to clean or repair them.
"Oh my!" Mettaton said, forcing Burgerpants to turn around and film him. "A rather nice, if slightly singed home! Could this be the residence of Queen Toriel? What secrets will we find here?"
Asgore's trident smashed through the railing of the banister, the three-pronged weapon stabbing the air between Sans and Fuku. Fuku and Frisk backed into the living room as Asgore swept the weapon from side to side, sending bits of the railing flying in all directions as he attempted to hit something.
Sans backed out of range of Asgore's trident, now separated from Fuku and Frisk. Asgore's massive claw slammed through the remains of the stairwell railing. His blood-red eyes met Sans, a look of wanton blood lust that rivaled that of the possessed Frisk of Sans's home reality.
Whatever anger was there, however, was not directed specifically toward Sans. One look at the comparatively tiny skeleton warranted only a snort from the King of the Underground before he turned his sights on Fuku and Frisk.
The King let out a growl. "Give the human to me."
Frisk hid behind Fuku. For her part, Fuku was putting on a brave face, but even a fire elemental can be hurt by fire magic if it is strong enough.
"I'll not ask again." The King said, taking a step toward her.
"Hey, Fluffybuns!"
Asgore stopped dead in his tracks. Slowly, he turned back toward Sans, who realized that it was in fact he who had just shouted that. He wasn't even sure why he settled on fluffybuns; it was just a little fact Gerson tossed his way a long time ago, something about a small gaff at a royal function. He just needed to get Asgore away from Fuku and Frisk.
"You dare insult me, you impudent bone pile?" Asgore said in a low dangerous voice.
Sans was struck with a moment of panic ... but only a moment. The next moment, something clicked inside him. It wasn't that this universe was totally bad; Fuku and Frisk were by themselves proof of that. Fuku herself had told Sans that things in the Underground had been okay before Asgore lost his child. The death of Asriel had hit Sans's Underground too, but Sans's Asgore was a kind-hearted soul who dressed as Santa and gave out presents at Christmas. He was the sort of monarch who always had time for a cup of tea, even after he lost his children and his wife; he shouldered the tragedy himself, and afterward did his best to help his people.
When faced with the same loss, this Asgore turned his grief on his people. He became a tyrannical overlord, ruling his people through terror and fear. He wasn't interested in freeing his people; he wanted revenge. he wanted to overthrow the remains of the humanity and make them suffer, and when he couldn't reach them, he made the monsters who looked to him for leadership suffer instead. Suffering begets suffering; because of those choices, Papyrus was a murderer, NegaSans's apathy reached a point where he stood by and watched, and half the kingdom was rising up to overthrow him.
"Yeah, I am. You goat a problem with that, big guy?"
Asgore's nostril's flared. He brought his trident down, but Sans easily leapt over it and ran up the shaft towards Asgore. Before the King could even react, Sans leapt from the trident shaft and delivered a swift slipper-footed kick right to Asgore's face.
Asgore stumbled back over the edge of the stairwell and fell to the lower landing with an angry roar. He rose to his feet and found himself staring at a Gaster Blaster.
Eyes wide, he forced the skull aside moments before it released an energy blast that narrowly caught Burgerpants.
"Whoa! Hey, Asgore, baby, easy on the camera man!" Mettaton said as Fuku and Frisk hurried over to Sans.
"Out the front door!" Sans said, already backing away from the staircase as Asgore clambered toward them.
Fuku didn't need to be told twice. She picked up Frisk (fortunately, magical flame only burns when fueled with intent) and hurried past Sans as he spread his arms above his head, spinning white bones appearing between his hands.
The first caught Asgore right through his hand when the king attempted to reclaim his trident. Sans let the others fly as the King roared at the injury. The king thrust out his good hand, sending out a wave of fire that incinerated the bones and sent Sans running through the front door as well.
They fought on the run, Fuku and Frisk ahead of Sans as he shot hundreds of bones at Asgore. Most bounced off Asgore's gold-etched black armor, but a few managed to dig in between plates or on exposed portions of skin. One skimmed the side of Asgore's face, leaving a long, deep scratch along his cheek bone.
Gaster Blaster beams tore through the stone floor of the cavern. Asgore must've been aware of their strength, as he took care not to let a single beam touch him, even abandoning his trident to get blasted into metal fragments at one point.
"You're only delaying the inevitable!" Asgore shouted as Sans, Fuku, and Frisk ran into a room with pillars and multi-colored switches. Fortunately, the trap seemed to be set on the doorway leading to Toriel's house, allowing them to run past without messing with anything. That was good; Asgore's aim was lousy, but the blasts of fire were strong enough to reduce any pillar they hit into a pile of rubble. Sans's aim wasn't much better, though this worked in his favor when Asgore trod on several bones that hit the ground, their other side tearing through the unarmored pads of Asgore's feet. The bones splintered as he tried to pull his foot away, making the massive Bossun stop and pull out the bone shards or try to run on them. He opted to remove them, giving Sans, Frisk, and Fuku a chance to get some breathing room.
They passed through a few rooms, fortunately, finding nothing more threatening than a few froggits, all of whom quickly hopped quickly away whenever Asgore let out another roar.
"So," Fuku asked, "Any plan yet?"
"Working on it." Sans said moments before the ground gave from under him. He fell with a loud shout, only to land face first in a massive pile of red leaves.
"Sans!" Frisk shouted, her and Fuku's frightened faces visible from the hole in the floor for a few moments before the hole sealed itself.
"I'm fine." Sans paused to shake the leaves out of his skull before taking in the sight of what was now his ceiling; the stone he'd fallen through was thin, but there was a definite path of thick stone.
"I see the safe path!" He called out. "Two steps back from where I fell, turn left!"
Small bits of stone fell as she presumably moved to the location in question. "Okay!"
"Take about ..." Sans paused, considering how big Fuku's steps might be. "Four steps forward then turn left!"
"Sans, he's getting closer!" Fuku said, fear in her voice.
"Don't think about him! Four steps then left!"
It seemed absurdly slow, but after a few more instructions, Sans saw the ceiling return to uniform thickness. "All right, you're clear! I'll see if there's a way up."
Sans paused, an idea forming in his head. "Hang on; don't move."
"What?"
Sans moved to the other side of the room and summoned a wall of Gaster Blasters. "Just stand where you are for a few seconds; make sure he can see you."
"R-right."
"Don't worry." Sans found himself adding. "I won't let him hurt you, Fuku ... either of you. Trust me."
"O-okay." Fuku said.
Sans waited until he heard the sound of claws scratching against stone. He didn't have to wait very long.
"Give me the Human!" Asgore roared, only slightly muffled by the floor.
"Come and get her!" Fuku said, her voice surprisingly steady.
It happened like slow-motion; two pounding footsteps, then suddenly the massive form of Asgore was falling through the trapped floor. He managed to land on his feet, only to realize too late what was waiting for him.
The Gaster Blasters released as one, flooding the far side of the room with their white light. When the light faded, Asgore lay on the ground, his armor rend and most of the fur gone from his exposed skin, revealing horrible burns.
"Long live the king." He murmured before shaking his head and hurrying through a small doorway on his side of the room.
Fuku and Frisk waited nervously at the top of the stairs.
"Got 'im." Sans said with a grin. In truth, he felt a little sick, though whether it was from regicide or overuse of magic, he wasn't sure.
His discomfort faded, however, when Fuku and Frisk threw their arms around him.
He was stunned for a moment before simply taking it in stride.
"All right." He said, hugging them back. "We're gonna be all right. You'll see. Now come on; I'd like to get a little more distance between us before trying to use a shortcut.
They slowly made it across the room,
"AMAZING!"
Sans groaned as Mettaton and Burgerpants came through the far doorway.
"Watch the ground!" Sans called out, "It gives-"
Burgerpants fell through the floor with a yelp.
Sighing, Sans said, "Nevermind."
Mettaton, however seemed to have no trouble navigating the hidden maze. Approaching Sans, Fuku, and Frisk, he said, "What a performance! What a thrilling fight! I have to say, this has been by far the most exciting premiere I've ever had, and it's all thanks to today's winners, Sans the Skeleton and his main squeeze, Fuku Fire!"
Fake applause sounded. Fuku's cheeks went pink, but Sans just pulled his arm a little tighter around her mid-section.
"With the defeat of Asgore and the human child in your possession,"Mettaton said, one of his second set of hands holding an additional microphone out for Sans and Fuku, "Tell us, Sans; what do you plan to do now?"
Sans glanced at Fuku before saying, "Well, Mettaton, quite frankly I'm gonna make an inter-dimensional portal to another universe and get the hell outta this one ... but I don't mean to go alone. I'll take anyone ready to leave this place with me."
"Oh, my!" Mettaton said, "Freedom from the tyrant and the barrier all in one day? Darling, you three are gonna be heroes of the Under-"
Mettaton jerked forward, one arm twitching. His eyes widened as his body jerked again, this time four claws sticking out of the front of his chest plate.
Another massive claw grabbed the robot's head and tore it from the rest of the body, the claw embedded in the chest clenching around the floating power core in Mettaton's translucent stomach area. The head skidded over to Frisk's feet, coughed once, and whispered, "T-the show ... must ... go ..." before falling inert.
Horribly burned and missing most of his fur, Asgore smashed the rest of Mettaton into pieces. His anger was, at the moment, overpowering his reason, and he continued to smash the robot until nothing larger than a paperclip remained.
At least, that's what Sans surmised from the continued sound of smashing coming from behind them. He, Fuku, and Frisk took off running when it became apparenty Asgore was momentarily distracted. Frisk was still carrying Mettaton's head, likely the only piece big enough to salvage; Sans just hoped that it held some portion of whatever soul Mettaton had.
Soon, however, they heard the sound of Asgore's pursuit ... and this time, he was moving with the speed of the enraged.
Fortunately, Sans had an idea. Three Gaster Blasters appeared in front of them. Fuku and Frisk shrank back from them until they saw Sans leap on top of one.
"C'mon!" Sans said, grabbing the horns on the side of the Gaster Blaster's head like handles. "Let's go!"
Frisk and Fuku exchanged a quick glance before jumping on to their respective Gaster Blasters. Sans could feel it draining away his magic, but he knew he wouldn't need them for long. Besides, he'd always wanted to do this.
The Gaster Blasters shot through the Ruins in a perfect line, swerving around corners and pillars and gliding over traps and puzzles. Sans could still hear Asgore behind them, but the sound of his pursuit was definitely getting a little fainter.
Fuku pulled along side him, doubtlessly channeling some of her own magic to give hers some extra speed.
"Sans!" She shouted. "How long can you keep this up?"
"As long as I need to." He called back, though in truth, he could feel fatigue mounting within him. He'd already used so much magic, and what they were doing now was eating away the last reserves of strength much faster than he anticipated.
Fuku must've realized this too. She channelled more of her magic into all three constructs. Sans started to protest, but she anticipated that too.
"If I stop, you have to stop too." She called out.
Sighing, Sans said, "All right; the house is pretty close. We'll go on foot from there."
"We'd better."
Sans looked at her in surprise only to see a teasing smile on her face. Chuckling, he smiled back at her. It was nice to know someone was thinking of him.
He was true to his word; once they neared the doorway, Sans slowed the Gaster Blasters and gave Fuku and Frisk a chance to climb off before dismissing them.
The moment he touched the ground, the world seemed to sway around him.
"Whoa!" He said, nearly falling before Fuku caught him.
She clucked whatever flame people used for tongues at him. "I know we're still in danger, but pushing yourself to the breaking point isn't going to help anyone, Sans."
"Sorry, Mom."
Fuku opened her mouth to scold him, but froze as he gave her another magic kiss on the cheek. Her flames went pink as Frisk giggled.
"How about you, kid?" Sans said, putting a kind hand on Frisk's shoulder. "You okay?"
"Y-yeah." She said, "Just ... just a little scared."
"Yeah, me too. Look, we get back to the Snowdin Woods, and I'll try and shortcut us back to New Home."
"Are you sure
"Are you okay?" Frisk asked, her little face worried.
"Yeah." Sans said, the sudden vertigo passing. "Just a bit tired. This whole mess as seriously cut into my nap time."
He paused, considering for a moment just how long it had been since he'd gotten any rest. Other than the nap back in the lift near the core, there was nothing.
Shaking his head, he said, "Plenty of time to rest when we're somewhere safe. Let's go."
They moved toward the stairwell that led to the tunnel beneath the house, only for a blast of fire to sweep across the carpet in front of them.
"Go? So soon? But you only just got here." Said a soft voice.
For a long moment, Sans thought Asgore had already caught up with them. While the figure standing in the hallway to the right of the main entrance had horns and white fur, it was also clearly a she. her robe, while clearly having seen better days, still bore the Delta Rune. There was still some elegance in the way she moved, and a certain beauty about her, offset by red eyes that seemed to open just a little too wide.
There was something faintly familiar about her, something from a timeline long since gone, but it wasn't her appearance as much as her voice that caught his memory. He never had a name for his joke-loving friend behind the door before, but now he knew she was Toriel, former Queen of the Underground.
"Y-your Majesty!" Fuku said, quickly kneeling before the tall bossun woman. Sans quickly followed, but Toriel wasn't looking at them; she was looking at Frisk.
"Child." She said, her tone unsettlingly quiet. To Sans's surprise, she knelt down and pulled the child into her embrace ... an embrace that Frisk returned.
"You ... you came back." Toriel said. "After what I said ... after what I did ... I thought I'd driven you away forever."
"I-I didn't mean to make you sad." Frisk said.
"I know, child, I know." Toriel lowered her head, tears in her eyes. "And ... and if you still want a terrible mother like me ... I would do my best to make our lives here as wonderful as I can!"
"Mom!" Frisk said before breaking into tears and hugging the Bossun woman.
Sans felt Fuku's hand take hold of his. He gave it a gentle squeeze; after everything else he'd seen, the sight of Toriel and Frisk's embrace filled him with something he'd found precious little of during his journey; hope.
Unfortunately, the sound of crashing far too close for comfort would cut the moment short.
"Queen Toriel," Sans said, "King Asgore is on his way right now. We managed to slow him down, but he is seriously pissed, and-"
"Asgore? Asgore is here too?" Toriel's face brightened. "He's come back!"
"Mom!" Frisk said, trying to pull Toriel back, only for the Bossun's hand to slip from her grasp.
Toriel stepped out of the house just as Asgore appeared at the far side of the cavern.
"Asgore!" Toriel said, arms outstretched. "You've come back! You've come back for me!"
Frisk, Sans, and Fuku all made a grab for the Queen, but she was too fast; swiftly running across the courtyard toward her husband.
For a moment, Sans hoped that maybe the sight of the Queen would change things. Maybe seeing his wife would bring something of what Sans knew as Asgore would awaken, just as he'd seen bits of his friends in Papyrus, Grillby, and Alphys. Maybe Asgore had a chance for redemption.
That hope died as Asgore slammed one massive fist against Toriel's chest, sending her flying across the clearing and crashing against the side of the tree only to fall to the ground in a heap.
"MOM!" Frisk said, rushing forward only for Sans and Fuku to catch her.
Asgore stepped around the body of his former wife, what remained of his face impassive.
"She was your wife!" Fuku shouted, the heat of her flames intensifying.
"She was an insane wretch." Asgore said, his voice raspy. "If she'd been watching Asriel and Chara instead of sleeping by the fireplace, my son would still be alive! Instead, he left with that ... that human child and got himself killed. Humans, once again destroying everything we hold dear! And as if that weren't bad enough, Toriel had the sheer audacity to stand against me to defend the other humans who fell. It didn't matter; I took their souls, and there was nothing she could do about it ... and now, the last soul is within my reach."
He suddenly stopped, unable to move. Thick green vines were wrapped around his burned legs, holding him fast.
A small yellow flower popped out of the ground nearby.
"Run!" Flowey shouted, his small face full of desperation. "Get Frisk out of here!"
"No." Frisk said, moving to stand beside Sans and Fuku. "No more running. No more being afraid."
Sans and Fuku looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
"The kid's right." Sans said, his eye flaring blue.
Asgore stared at them for a moment before letting out a long, cruel laugh. "You've thrown everything you have at me, and still I stand. All that work Gaster put into keeping his little toys secret, and it doesn't matter; it wasn't-"
"Let me tell you a story." Sans said. "once upon a time, a kid fell to the Underground. That kid made her way through the Underground slaughtering everything and everyone in her path. By the time I got off my lazy ass and tried to stop her, it was too late. Because of that, I'm the last monster of my universe."
Sans fixed his eyes on Asgore. "Funny thing is, I can't hate the kid. I did; she destroyed everything I ever cared about ... but then I came here. See, having some kid fall down here and routinely genocide the Underground, that was just an accident. Might as well had a rogue hurricane or tornado make its way down here; what are ya gonna go, right?"
Asgore slowly approached as Sans continued, "But what happened here, in your universe ... you did that, Asgore. You stole from them, you had them killed. You had your wife banished at the one time she needed you more than ever ... or didn't you ever consider that maybe Asriel and Chara's death might have hurt her too?"
"He didn't." Fuku said grimly. "Because he's selfish. It's all about him; him in charge, him ruling the surface, his pain more important than any he caused us."
"Well, that's gonna end now." Sans said. "Maybe you've seen my best, maybe not; maybe we don't stand a chance ... or maybe you're hanging on by a thread. Doesn't matter; we aren't letting you cause any more pain to the people of this Underground."
Asgore glared at Sans as he continued to struggle against Flowey's vines, though some were already strained to the point of breaking.
Sans closed his eyes and remembered the words he'd spoken over and over again, ever time he stood as the final defender of the Underground.
"It's a beautiful day outside." He said softly as he felt his blue eye surge with the last of his power. "Birds are singing, flowers are blooming ... on days like this, guys like you-"
Asgore's eyes suddenly went wide, throwing Sans off a little ... but not as much as the sight of Asgore's body dissolving into ash, leaving only the remnants of armor, Flowey's vines, and a floating white soul floating inches above the knife held in the hand of a bloody Toriel.
"... s-should be b-burning in ... h-hell ..." She whispered before falling to the ground.
"Mom!" The shout came from both Frisk and Flowey. Frisk ran over to the bossun woman, her face a mask of panic. "No ... mom, please ... not like this ..."
Fuku was the next to reach Toriel. She knelt by her body and placed a hand of white flame against Toriel's cheek. Sans could feel the healing energy as he approached.
"You're a healer?"
"In training." Fuku said. "I was a year away from getting certified. What did you think I was going to school for?"
"I dunno. I just thought you liked the schoolgirl outfit 'cuz it was hot."
She almost but not quite suppressed a smile. "Not the time, Sans."
Flowey popped his head out of the ground beside Toriel. "Is ... is she gonna be okay?"
Fuku didn't respond, her face a flaming mask of concentration.
Sans's gaze shifted to Asgore's soul as it fell slowly through the air and landed on one of Flowey's vines.
Flowey noticed too and started to pull his vines back in, only to freeze as the soul landed on him and instantly merged with him. Flowey's eyes went wide as cracks of light appeared over his vines, his stem, his leaves his face.
"Flowey!" Frisk cried out as his body seemed to coil in on itself, the light growing brighter and brighter until it hurt for Sans to look at it. With a final flash, the light shattered and fell away, revealing the small body of a young bossun boy.641Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡud59DQVGsE
He stared down at his hands, turning them and wiggling his fingers as though he couldn't believe it.
"A-Asriel ..." Toriel whispered, her eyes open a crack.
"Mom!" The young prince cried out, hugging his mother's side.
She put a weak hand around his bare furry shoulders. "My son ... you ... you're alive."
"I ... I-I ..."
"Shh." She put a finger over his mouth. "I ... I don't care. That I got to see you ... both of you one more time ... that's enough."
Toriel closed her eyes. Asriel and Frisk cried against their mother's side until Fuku sat back and said, "It's okay. She's just asleep."
Frisk and Asriel stared at Fuku as she stood up. "She still needs healing, but she's stable for the moment. Sans?"
"Right. I'll take us to New Home; the rebels will have healers with them." He paused and said, "Good work, Fuku."
She smiled at the praise, looking about as tired as Sans felt. Sans wasn't surprised; healing magic was notoriously difficult.
Nodding at Asriel, Sans said, "It'll take a minute or two to set up the shortcut. Frisk, you wanna help his Majesty find some clothes?"
Asriel's fuzzy face went pink, no doubt realizing that he'd returned to his original form unclothed. Frisk blushed as well, but grabbed the prince's hand and pulled him toward the house.
As Sans took a moment to focus his thoughts, he heard Fuku ask, "Sans ... there's something I have to ask you?"
"Why, Miss Fire, that's awfully forward of you."
He grinned as she hit him playfully in the arm. "Very funny, bone-head. No, I'm just a little curious about ... well ..."
"Yeah?"
She sighed and said, "Fluffybuns?"
Sans's laughter, filled with the culmination of his relief, happiness, and his renewed sense of hope, spilled from his mouth unhindered as Fuku watched, an amused smile on her face.
ns 15.158.61.45da2
